KUBICA ← Parity Check

Citroen says Raikkonen free to make F1 return

Feb

9

2011

Kimi Raikkonen can pull out of the 2011 world rally championship to return to F1 if he wants to. That is the claim of Citroen’s rally chief Olivier Quesnel, amid reports the 2007 world champion is now contractually committed to rallying for this season. The Finn and his management have not yet responded to multiple ...

Heidfeld and Liuzzi in frame for Renault drive

Feb

9

2011

With Robert Kubica almost certain to miss the majority of, if not all, of the 2011 season following his Italian rally accident on Sunday morning, a number of names are now being linked to the vacant Lotus Renault GP seat alongside Vitaly Petrov. Although all thoughts continue to remain with the injured Pole, who requires ...

Why racers take risks and why we love them for it

Feb

7

2011

‘Did you never think of stopping Robert (Kubica) from taking part in rallies?’ asked L’Equipe newspaper to Renault team boss Eric Boullier today. “Not for one second,” replied Boullier, “He could just as easily have been knocked over by a bus. Robert is a racer, he loves cars and he lives for nothing but racing. ...

Raikkonen to replace injured Kubica?

Feb

7

2011

Kimi Raikkonen is top of Lotus Renault’s list to replace the injured Robert Kubica following his crash at a rally event on Sunday morning. Kimi Raikkonen relaxing before Rally Finland in 2010. Photo by Red Bull GmbH and GEPA pictures GmbH. Despite original fears that the 26 year-old might loose his right hand following the ...

Kubica to contest Monte Carlo Rally

Dec

11

2010

Renault driver Robert Kubica will contest the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally again next month. The Pole, who is an avid rally fan and has entered several lower-level events between grands prix in recent years, had tried to compete in Monte Carlo last year, only for his car to fail before the start. The Monte Carlo ...

F1 chiefs drop the ban on team orders in new rules

Dec

10

2010

The controversial ban on team orders has been deleted from the Formula 1 rulebook in the latest set of changes. The rule, which forbids teams telling a driver to cede to his team-mate, came under scrutiny after Ferrari were fined for using team orders in 2010. The adoption of moveable rear wings to aid overtaking ...

Lotus to start 2011 season without KERS

Dec

5

2010

Lotus has not changed its mind about running a KERS system in 2011. In May this year, team boss Tony Fernandes said the Norfolk-based team had “good reasons” to build the 2010 car’s successor without the energy recovery technology. Another new feature of the technical rules for 2011 is an adjustable rear wing to help ...

Proton confirms talks for partial Renault F1 takeover

Dec

5

2010

Proton intends to push ahead with a partial takeover of the Enstone based Formula One team Renault. Previously, it was believed the Malaysian carmaker was only in talks over a potential title sponsorship, with Renault F1 to be renamed after the Proton-owned British sports car maker Group Lotus. But Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed ...

Mosley: Race calendar becoming too long for F1

Dec

5

2010

A 20-race calendar is too long for Formula One, according to former FIA president Max Mosley. 2010’s tally of 19 races was the equal-biggest in the history of the sport, and next year the rally is growing to twenty rounds. The USA and Russia are set to join possibly more additional grands prix in the ...

Di Resta better than champion Vettel – Franchitti

Dec

5

2010

Paul di Resta is even better than F1’s new world champion Sebastian Vettel. That is the claim of triple Indycar title winner Dario Franchitti, who is Scot di Resta’s cousin. Di Resta, 24, is on the cusp of his Formula One debut, having secured the 2010 DTM title and forged a strong link with Force ...