F1 Fanatic round-up
In the round-up: Valtteri Bottas gives the first indication teams will use the new rule which allows them to avoid having stepped noses, stating the Williams FW35′s nose will be flat.
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“With the new rules, the step nose is straightened. That is the biggest difference in appearance.”
“The project, set to cost Turkey around $20m in total, was supposed to receive 13 million dollars of state funding.”
David Brabham: “I’m delighted that this situation has finally come to an end. It’s been a long and tiring battle, but this was something I felt we needed to do to protect the Brabham name.”
Video interview with Perez.
“It would be amazing if our country had a proper race track and if F1 could arrive to our country, because we have such a good and successful history in F1. The population of Finland is only five million people, but there are so many racing fans and I’m quite sure the race would be a success.”
This is the full interview with Helmut Marko, an extract of which was published here on Tuesday.
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Comment of the day
@Bobthevulcan on Perez’s move to McLaren:
While Perez did show good race pace in the Sauber last year, most notably in Malaysia and Monza, it’s worth noting that all of his stand-out podium performances came from him starting barely within or outside of the top 10, and running an alternative strategy. As for his absolute one-lap pace, he did out-qualify Kobayashi by a fair margin over the course of the season (11-8, with Perez missing qualifying in Monaco).
Exactly how well Perez will fare in the McLaren remains a great unknown. However, his willingness to identify/rectify his own shortcomings, and setting ambitious targets for himself, shows that he has the right frame of mind.
From the forum
- Hotly-tipped Red Bull junior driver Antonio Felix da Costa’s race seat for 2013 is confirmed
Happy birthday to Cameron, Nano Rock, SamS and Ryan-Veitch!
On this day in F1
Toyota launched the TF108 five years ago today. It turned out to be another disappointing car, the team only finishing fifth in what turned out to be their penultimate season.
Image © Williams/LAT