Lotus F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen said today in Barcelona that the sudden departure of technical director James Allison would not affect the team’s performance. Allison quit the team yesterday to be replaced by Nick Chester. There are no firm indications of where he is heading, but there is a strong suspicion that it is Ferrari, as they seek to build a brains trust at Maranello to mount a sustained challenge for the championships over the coming years. Fernando Alonso was cagey in the FIA press conference today when the subject of Allison came up; his body language suggesting that it More…

The Formula 1 teams have voted against bringing back in-season testing, after a meeting of the Sporting Working Group yesterday. Ferrari, which owns a test track on its doorstep at Maranello as well as the circuit of Mugello in Tuscany, which hosted a test last summer, was keen to see a return of testing and proposed various ideas including some aimed at opportunities to bring new drivers on. But in a vote yesterday, only the Ferrari engined teams for 2014 supported the return of testing, the majority were against it, these did not include Toro Rosso but did include Marussia, More…

Ferrari has decided to cut production of its high-performance road cars by at least 4% this year, despite an increase in sales, as the Italian luxury car manufacturer seeks to preserve the exclusivity of its brand. In 2012, Ferrari sold 7,318 cars but chairman Luca di Montezemolo said the company would look to reduce that figure to below 7,000 vehicles while still aiming to increase profits. Despite the global economic outlook remaining uncertain, Ferrari has seen a growth in revenue of 4% to 551m euros (£433m) in the first quarter of this year. Net profit was 54.7m euros (£46.3m). Ferrari More…

The Lotus F1 team has today announced that technical director James Allison is to leave the team and that Nick Chester has succeeded him as technical director. While Chester’s credentials for the role are unquestionably strong, the loss of an innovator like James Allison is a blow to the team, which has made great progress in the last two years on a significantly lower budget than the other front running teams. Allison is much in demand among the top F1 teams in an engineering arms race as F1 heads to a new formula from 2014 onwards. Under Allison Lotus has More…

The Formula 1 engineers have a love/hate relationship with Circuit de Catalunya; it is the track they know the best from the pre-season testing that has been held there for many years, but it is an enigmatic circuit, always changing with temperature and wind conditions. A car, which flies in the morning, can be uncompetitive in the afternoon, without anything being changed on the car itself. As the first European race of the season it is also a track where teams bring their first major technical update package to the car, which will have taken 10-12 weeks of wind tunnel More…

It has been interesting to note the comments from readers in response to Jenson Button’s point that the team radio extracts of conversations between drivers and teams can lead to a skewed view of what is really happening within a team. Team radio in the live broadcast coverage has been around for a while, but its’s noticeable as a commentator how much more frequently it is employed this season. And without it the drama of Button’s tussle with team mate Sergio Perez in Bahrain or the Red Bull driver’s clash in Malaysia would have been a lesser experience for the More…

JA on F1 technical adviser and former Williams chief engineer Mark Gillan thinks that Mercedes will be hurt by Pirelli’s decision to make a small tweak to the hard tyre compound. Last week the Italian tyre manufacturer said it will change the hard tyre, rather than the soft as expected, to be closer in specification to the 2012 tyre, which would make it more durable. It will likely have a larger working range, so will be more versatile, and Gillan adds that the move will help every other team on the grid except for Mercedes. “Pirelli specified at beginning of season More…

Caterham reserve driver Alexander Rossi will get his first taste of the team’s 2013 Formula 1 challenger when he takes to the wheel in Friday’s first practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. The American was expected to drive the car on Friday morning in Bahrain, but a combination of Heikki Kovalainen returning to the team in a reserve role and Rossi getting a drive for the team’s GP2 outfit meant it didn’t happen. “Obviously the weekends that I’m not doing GP2 I’ll be looking to be drive the F1 car in Friday practice sessions and that will start in Montreal,” More…

McLaren’s Jenson Button has voiced his frustration at the way television companies select team radio messages to broadcast during races because he believes they don’t always tell the full story. Radio messages have become even more of a talking point following the Bahrain Grand Prix where Button, 33, and team mate Sergio Perez, 23, clashed on track and then criticised each other after the race. While battling over fifth place, Perez tapped the back of Button, breaking off part of his front wing, prompting Button to get on the radio and say: “He’s just hit me up the back. Calm More…

Marussia is likely to use Ferrari turbo engines next season when the new regulations come in, according to the team’s technical director Pat Symonds. From 2014, the current 2.4 litre V8s will be dropped in favour of 1.6 litre V6s. Marussia’s current engine supplier Cosworth is pulling out of the sport at the end of the season, which will leave just Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. “Cosworth has decided it can’t find any commercial justification for building an engine [for 2014] so we have to look elsewhere,” said Symonds in the latest edition of the JA on F1 podcast. “There will More…