Alguersuari to begin testing for Pirelli with R30

F1 Fanatic round-up

Posted on

| Written by

In the round-up: Jaime Alguersuari will make his first appearance as a test driver for Pirelli this week.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Alguersuari set for F1 Pirelli test (Autosport)

“Jaime Alguersuari will participate in his first on-track Formula 1 running as a Pirelli test driver as the Italian company runs its 2010 Renault R30 for the first time at Jerez this week.”

Mark Webber via Twitter

“Great shot of Jimmy [Clark]. Sat 28 April 1962 Aintree. I wonder if V Petrov was there http://twitpic.com/9hhmxr”

Evolution of a front wing (Formula One Update)

Changes in HRT’s front wing design over the first four rounds.

Grand Prix name is mud for local sports club (The Age)

“A sporting club has written to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to complain about the state of sporting fields at Albert Park, two months after the event.”

Comment of the day

Baluundertaker on Fernando Alonso’s comments about Felipe Massa:

Past performances doesn’t necessarily indicate present form. Who in their right minds would have thought Schumacher would be beaten by Rosberg few years back?

Massa was one of the best F1 drivers in 2007 or 2008. He is nowhere one of the best F1 drivers in the current F1 grid.

Even assuming Red Bull, Mclaren, Lotus and Mercedes are faster than Ferrari at the moment, the Saubers, Williams and Force India let’s say are about same pace as Ferrari. Is Massa beating Kobayashi, Perez, Di Resta or Senna? So I would easily rate all of them above Massa as of today.

Alonso is good, no doubt, but Hamilton matched him in his first year and Fisichella beat Alonso in about 1/3 races in the two years together and Trulli earlier had matched Alonso in 2004. So yes I believe Alonso can be beaten in races though over a championship it might be difficult. So I don’t get the justification that just because Alonso is Massa’s team mate the latter is being beaten soundly.
Baluundertaker

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Peter Dixon!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Denny Hulme scored his first F1 victory in the Monaco Grand Prix 45 years ago today.

But the serious injuries suffered by Lorenzo Bandini following a crash at the chicane cast a pall over the race. Bandini died three days later.

Here is a newsreel report of the race:

Image © Red Bull/Getty images

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

48 comments on “Alguersuari to begin testing for Pirelli with R30”

  1. “A sporting club has written to the Australian Grand Prix Corporation to complain about the state of sporting fields at Albert Park, two months after the event.”

    How, exactly, is that the AGPC’s fault? The race was two months ago. Albert Park is public land. And Australia has endured an unusually cool summer with El Nino breaking and La Nina taking over – it’s been consistently wet for weeks, and when it isn’t raining, the temperatures are generally cool. To my mind, it’s conceivable that the playing fields were simply washed out and never had a chance to dry.

    1. El nino isn’t breaking as it has not been el nino conditions for a few years. La nina has been prevalent for almost 2 years now, and it is, in fact, breaking. Your assessment of australian weather conditions does seem to be correct despite this.

    2. disgruntled
      7th May 2012, 3:36

      AGP corporation is and always will be a disgrace. Isnt it time the Aussie GP was moved elsewhere? Adelaide was a far better venue, nothing happens over there so they’re all too glad to have their gardens treaded on, roads blocked, knobs thinking their Michael Schumacher do burn outs all the way up your street & have the ability to hear yourself think withdrawn for 3 days ..and its been here for 17 years costing us tax payers money.

      A few years back I was out having a pints on the Friday of the GP in St Kilda on the other side of Albert Park when we saw a terrified swan travelling on foot up from Canterbury rd and on to the middle of Fitzroy st – yes, running away from Albert park…I s* you not. There used to be animals on that bldy lake, ducks, possums you name it. My pet poodle gets aggitated and wont eat every grand prix weekend. Bernie should take his show somewhere else where its wanted once and for all. Phillip Island is a cracking track, instead of lights on albert park invest on the infrastructure over there

      Sorry love Formula 1 but not on my door step

      1. Sorry love Formula 1 but not on my door step

        If the race is so unpopular in Melbourne, why are you the only Melbournian who is upset about it?

        Phillip Island is a cracking track, instead of lights on albert park invest on the infrastructure over there

        Bernie doesn’t want lights at Albert Park. He says he does, but his favourite tactic with circuits is to make an insane demand and then bargain them down to what he actually wants, all the while making them think that it was their idea. In the case of Albert Park, he wants the AGPC to sort out the annual political furore over the cost of the race. Once a year, like clockwork (except this year, strangely enough), some would-be politician comes out and takes a stand against the race and vows to get a better deal for the city, often using phrases like “playing hardball with Bernie” (who is arguably World Champion at “playing ahrdball”). Their comments have little to do with actually saving money, and more to do with scoring political points with the public. When it comes time to renegotiate the contract for the Australian Grand Prix, Bernie obviously doesn’t want to contend with these egos potentially disrupting the negotiations with their posturing, so what he does is he says that he wants to hold the race at night, which would require a massive investment. This will cause Ron Walker and the AGPC to get all their ducks lined up in a row and remove any element of political grandstanding. When it comes time to negotiate, everyone will be reading from the same songsheet, the discussions will go quickly and smoothly, and the end result is that the contract will be renewed with a daytime race and without wannabe politicos trying to score headlines.

        1. disgruntled
          7th May 2012, 4:44

          only melbournian? 95% of Melbournians residing in Albert Park is more like it if you go by the latest of the yearly local petitions going round

          I dont know what he has told the rest of the world but Bernie wants lights in Albert Park so that the race can start later so Europeans can sleep in on the Sunday & have their jam & tea breakfast whilst watching the race. Obviously there would be other rea$on$ in there $omewhere but thats the crux of it

          Whats the allure of Albert Park anyway? the track is as flat as a pool table. Ron walker is a disgrace

          1. 95% of Melbournians residing in Albert Park is more like it if you go by the latest of the yearly local petitions going round

            And those petitions are no doubt aimed at people who don’t want the race to go ahead, so of course they’re going to present statistics like “95% of people don’t want it to happen”.

            I dont know what he has told the rest of the world but Bernie wants lights in Albert Park so that the race can start later so Europeans can sleep in on the Sunday & have their jam & tea breakfast whilst watching the race.

            No, that’s what he has told the rest of the world. But like I have said, there is a subtext to it. When you look at the way he managed to get Silverstone to upgrade their pits or Sepang to resurface, it was always the same tactic: make one outlandish demand, and then bargain them down to what he actually wants. Given the way local politicians always pounce on the Grand Prix for the sake of a quick headline, it’s pretty obvious that Bernie wants the AGPC to put a stop to it by getting the local government involved.

            Whats the allure of Albert Park anyway? the track is as flat as a pool table.

            Before it was a racing circuit, Silverstone was a World War II airfield. In order for planes to land safety, the runways had to be perfectly flat. The end result is that Silverstone is one of the flattest circuits on the calendar – and yet, it is heralded as one of the finest in the world. On the other hand, Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi was built with some thirty-odd (thirty-five is the exact number, I think) metres of elevation, particularly in the second, third and fourth corners. And yet, the circuit is almost universally despised.

            In short, elevation is not the be-all and end-all of good circuit design.

            Ron walker is a disgrace

            You keep saying that, but you never say why.

          2. Whats the allure of Albert Park anyway? the track is as flat as a pool table.

            It’s pretty, it’s fast, it provides overtaking and produces classic races nearly every single year. Melbourne prides itself on being the sporting capital of Australia, but if you take the Grand Prix — the largest single event that Melbourne will ever see other than the Olympics — away, you can no longer claim such a thing.

            One single weekend per year of roads being closed and a beautiful (OK, I understand some people may not like it!) noise and people still complain…

        2. disgruntled
          7th May 2012, 6:15

          And those petitions are no doubt aimed at people who don’t want the race to go ahead, so of course they’re going to present statistics like “95% of people don’t want it to happen”.

          How do you think a petition aimed at stageing a GP in your neighbourhood would fare?

          Before it was a racing circuit, Silverstone was a World War II airfield

          That is a fantastic solution mate, brightest thing ive read all day. Im sure if they staged the GP at avalon airport there wouldnt sporting clubs with stuffed up sporting fields aye? or any peeved off residents as there isnt a dwelling within sight

          Still i say Albert park is flatter than silverstone & with obvious less character

          You keep saying that, but you never say why.

          he’s in bed with Bernie thats why. Its our job to keep the ******* honest

          1. Still i say Albert park is flatter than silverstone & with obvious less character

            Disagree entirely and on every level. Silverstone is a paddock with some roads. Melbourne is a parkland with an amazing party atmosphere. The fact people from all around the world hail it as the equal best Grand Prix of the year to visit (alongside Montreal, which is an almost identical set-up) says it all. Some people don’t like it, but the boost it gives Melbourne’s economy must be simply insane. I travel to Melbourne to watch the race, and all up, I spend about $1000 in your city for the whole weekend. International visitors would doubtless spend more (I do it on the cheap), and when you multiply the number of visitors by the amount of money each one is spending on average, you’re left with an enormous sum. That’s without even mentioning the TV exposure and wonders it does for the tourism industry. Yet somehow it’s bad for Melbourne…

          2. Lol. Most of Victoria is a mud patch right now even our local foootyngrounds are a mess, its got nothing to do with the GP.

          3. How do you think a petition aimed at stageing a GP in your neighbourhood would fare?

            Petitions aren’t the only ay of doing things. This petition obviously read STOP THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX IN ALBERT PARK, and collected signatures from there. Anybody who did support the race clearly wouldn’t sign it. So it’s misleading to state that 95% of people don’t want the race to go ahead when the only people you asked are people who don’t want the race to go ahead. If it had instead been worded as a question, say DO YOU SUPPORT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX AT ALBERT PARK?, then the responses would not doubt be different – and far more accurate.

            Im sure if they staged the GP at avalon airport there wouldnt sporting clubs with stuffed up sporting fields aye?

            Why did it take two months for the sporting club to write to the AGPC? With more rain and colder temperatures this year compared to previous years, don’t you think it is possible that the sports fields were a mess because of constant rain, and they stayed churned up because cold temeratures meant they never had the chance to dry out?

            Its our job to keep the ******* honest

            And how do you propose doing that? This isn’t #OccupyPitLane, and Bernie doesn’t post on the blog. So I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.

            I find your attitude hilarious, by the way. You claim that it is your responsibility to keep everyone honest, but then you go ahead accuse everybody of being guilty by association, which is about the least-honest way you could go about dealing with the situation. You’re not the champion of corporate responsibility that you clearly think you are, or some lone voice speaking up on behalf of the people with no voice of their own.

            You’re a guy on the internet with an opinion, which makes you just like all the rest of us.

          4. I’m just gonna pop in and say I’m having a lot of fun reading this. :p

        3. disgruntled
          7th May 2012, 8:40

          So it’s misleading to state that 95% of people don’t want the race to go ahead when the only people you asked are people who don’t want the race to go ahead. If it had instead been worded as a question, say DO YOU SUPPORT THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX AT ALBERT PARK?, then the responses would not doubt be different – and far more accurate.

          I apologise for those misleading numbers, it was closer to 96%. Predictably numbers decreased as a function of distance from the track but rose when capital letters were used

          And how do you propose doing that? This isn’t #OccupyPitLane, and Bernie doesn’t post on the blog. So I don’t know what you’re trying to achieve.

          Its a matter of putting wheels in motion (pardon the pun). What are you setting out to achieve? your not the member of the under 13’s Albert Park Yacht club with muddy shoes. And your certainly not an Albert Park resident. If you were, maybe muddy carpets in your range rover would tip the issue & you would sooner be the one starting petitions whilst distributing SAVE ALBERT PARK stickers?

          You’re a guy on the internet with an opinion, which makes you just like all the rest of us.

          Pipe and slippers for you sherlock

          1. Its a matter of putting wheels in motion (pardon the pun).

            You’re going to set a group of NIMBYs, a football team of muddy twelve year-olds and an angry swan loose on Bernie and his fifty million dollar enterprise? The phrase “cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war” springs to mind, but your army isn’t so much made up of the dogs of war as it is the puppies of a schoolyard scuffle.

            Pipe and slippers for you sherlock

            Yeah, but the difference between you and me is that I’m aware of what I am. I’m not the one onf a self-professed crusade to “keep them honest”. I’m not the one who seems to think he is Che Guevara in suburban slacks. I’m not the one calling for a revolution in a place where nobody will hear the battle call. You are.

    3. Did you read the article PM? Its clear that the Aus GP organisers did have an obligation to put the fields back into good condition, they admit so themselves, only claim that it has been tough to do so with bad weather not helping.

      1. Yes, and that’s my point: how can they be blamed for the bad weather?

        When I was in primary school, I used to play football on weekends. And at least once a month, we drew a game at a local field that was notoriously poor. It was totally flat, there was no drainage and it was right next to the river. In winter in particular, the field could take weeks to dry out.

        I see the same thing happening here: the pitches behind the pit building are in poor condition because of the weather. Australia has had an unusually cool and wet summer this year, and winter has come sooner than it usually does. The wet conditions would make the pitches soggy, while below-average teamperatures would mean the pitches take longer to dry than they normally would.

        So how is that at all the fault of the AGPC? The last time I checked, they didn’t have the ability to control the weather.

        1. Its important to seperate two facts here PM. First is, that the AGPC clearly admits, that it IS their responsibility.
          The second one is, that after waiting a couple of months, the fields are still not usable, and the local sports clubs now are taking the matter to the press to force the AGPC to do something about it. Hard to tell what they can do, but its their responsibility to do what they can.

          1. after waiting a couple of months, the fields are still not usable, and the local sports clubs now are taking the matter to the press to force the AGPC to do something about it

            Those lower-than-average temperatures and ongoing rain that I was talking about didn’t just happen for three days. They’ve been happening on and off for months. It might be the AGPC’s responsibility to fix the fields up, but when the weather is constantly poor the way it has been since March, how much can they reasonably do?

  2. Re: CotD

    Alonso comprehensively beat Fisichella at Renault, at about the same margin he had over Massa since joining Ferrari.

    To say that GF had the measure over FA a third of their time together as teammates would be a gross misapplication of perception, not to mention an insult to the cold, colorless stats tables.

    1. And just to add to that, even if Fisichella had the measure of Alonso for a third of the races they had as team-mates, that still means that Alonso was the better man for two-thirds of the races, and therefore was the better driver.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys – Of course one doesn’t need advance maths to know 2/3 is greater than 1/3 :) . Alonso was significantly the better driver. My only point was that he CAN be beaten at some races however strong he is.

        1. is it? I would be happy if you would have referred to the stats before saying 1/3.

          Out of 37 races in 2005 and 2006, GF beat FA in only 6 races. Is that 1/3? Or even close?

          Those GPs were,

          Australia 2005 – FA did his lap in wet conditions whereas GF did it in damp and hence had pole and FA was 13th or 15th

          Hungary 2005 – FA chopped his front wing at the 1st corner of the 1st lap and hence was beaten since he had to make an extra stop but still finished only 2 places behind GF

          Japan 2005 – Same situation as Australia (rain) which gave GF a second row while FA, KR, JPM were all at the back of the grid

          Malaysia 2006 – Renault made an error and double-fuelled FA and hence GF got pole and FA was 8th but still FA was hounding GF towards the end.

          US 2006 – FA was struggling with his cars all weekend

          Italy 2006 – FA had an engine failure

    2. I still don get why we’re still talking about how Hamilton matched Alonso in his rookie year. Enough, we get it! Hamilton was fantastic that season! No one has ever doubted Hamilton’s talent, he may have all the talent to be a reincarnation of Jim Clark, but get this, since 2008, your boy has regressed as opposed to going from strength to strength. Talent is only a fraction of the formula, mental strength is the rest. So as things stand, Alonso has your boy well beaten.

      And why do we keep talking about team mates who beat Alonso? This was years ago! The man has come a long way since then and he has proven time and again over the last 3 years what a consistent driver he is and he has been out performing the machinery he’s been given. And yet, he is still so very positive. No complaints, no whinging, he’s just gets on with it, supporting his team 100%. And yet, people still want to hate the guy when he gives words of support to his teamate and boss, I just dont get it!

      1. Personally I sure don’t see LH as a reincarnation of Jim Clark, and I too question his mental strength…as in…he lost some races and some WDC’s that were his to lose, and the one he won he squeaked in, on a weekend that saw FM do everything right when the pressure was at it’s greatest, everything he had to do within his own control to win the WDC including winning the last race of the season.

        I like FA and am impressed with his talent, but when you ask why people keep talking about his teammates, and when you suggest FA just gets on with it and supports his team 100% with no whinging, I think there are definitely people ready willing and able to point out FA’s whinging about secondary treatment to LH at Mac, and the further fallout of spygate. Some would suggest FA has at times insisted on MS-like treatment on his teams. Personally I think that attitude was only borne because when MS had it all at Ferrari, including a non-competing teammate, it was hard to compete against that without also having a teammate on your own team to not compete against you and interfere with your efforts to try to beat MS/Ferrari.

        Anyway my point being that as great as FA is, I can see why some people might not like the guy, or might even ‘hate the guy’ as you suggest. He’s really good…he’s a threat if you are a fan of someone else…he’s also no angel…but he’s got a great proven track record and is a blast to watch. And he absolutely is not prone to the mental errors of the likes of LH.

      2. @jaymenon10 – Hamilton at best is my 6th or 7th favorite driver on grid. So am no fanboy of his. I have specifically included all of Alonso’s teammates who was close to him on performance at some point to prove that Massa isn’t performing well enough and not really to claim that hamilton is great etc ..
        How do we know Alonso was awesome last 3 years ? Only based on comparison to Massa and Piquet Jr. If lets say for comparison Massa is at Karthikeyan level then Alonso is only as good as Luizzi was. Thats the reason why a driver compared against multiple team-mates rather than just one.

        PS: I also consider Alonso to be one of the best and i believe he is driving better now than his championship winning years. 2011 has been by far his best year. Hardly any mistakes and consistently mixing with Mclarens and Webber. (He made lots of mistakes in early part of 2010 before recovering well later)

    3. @alonsowdc – Yep my mistake. Checked the results closely now. Fisichella beat alonso 6 out of 36 times in 2 years.

  3. @baluundertaker – Well done on the COTD! I read through it and replied to it. :)

  4. Please, let’s not overlook the best tweet of the day! :-)

    https://twitter.com/#!/alo_oficial/status/199189902481563649

    1. That should be the picture that appears on-screen when they show the grid at every race.

    2. He has a Spiderman cover on his iPhone. +1 respect.

    3. LOL, I really like how Alonso approaches twitter!

      1. He uses it properly :) @BasCB

    4. @aka_robyn Great pic!

  5. As expected, Nicolas Sarkozy has been defeated in the French elections, with Francois Hollande elected as the new President of France (though a formal declaration is yet to come). Francois Fillon, the Prime Minister under Sarkozy, is probably going to be replaced (though as I don’t know the nuances of the French political system, I can’t say for sure).

    I’m posting this because it was Fillion who spear-headed the campaign to get the French Grand Prix back on the calendar. Bernie says that an agreement to run the race has been met, but I can’t imagine that a change in government would do the deal any favours.

    1. I strongly protest this undue mixing of sport with politics! They must always be separate even if objective facts tell us they’re not. Bada-boom. … but seriously folks, a funny thing happened to Sarkozy on the way out of the polls yesterday. Bada-boom. But seriously, depending on what the government’s financial input was going to be (?) the plan might come under fire under Hollande – he certainly ran on a platform appealing to a left-leaning electorate and in a time supposed austerity stopping public money going to F1 may well be a choice target to score early points in his presidency. At the same time, I’m not sure whether money was to come more from local than central coffers…?

    2. Francois Fillon, the Prime Minister under Sarkozy, is probably going to be replaced (though as I don’t know the nuances of the French political system, I can’t say for sure).

      The French Prime Minister is usually appointed from the National Assembly by the President. The Assembly can vote on a confidence motion in the Prime Minister, so the officeholder is usually selected from the largest block (party or coalition) in the Assembly. Sometimes that means a Prime Minister from a different party to the President – a situation known as cohabitation.

      At present, the UMP (Fillon’s party) is the largest grouping but there are elections next month and so everything will depends on the composition of the Assembly after that.

    3. I read on ‘another blog’ that Bernie made his early announcement to try to make sure he gets the deal done. Normally Bernie only announces when everything is on paper, but here he had a possible political reshuffling to take into account.

      1. He did the oppposite in Valencia. He made his deisre to have a race in the city known, but because of upcoming municipal elections, he decided to wait until after the elections to sign the contract. Then then-incumbent party remained in power, but there were a few people claiming that Bernie had used the race to influence the outcome of the elections (though I seem to recall reading that the sitting party won in a landslide, so it’s unlikely Bernie did anything to influence anyone).

  6. mark really put the wood to petrov with that one! :D

    1. I wonder if Webber would be willing to race there …

    2. This time he’s exaggerated. At those times drivers died (Clark himself did), and I don’t think Mark would be willing to risk so much.

  7. I love the old newsreel stuff. I just wish the clips were longer.

  8. Here’s a nice video of a helicopter flight to film what the COTA track is looking like currently.

    1. Wow, thanks for that Bas – that elevation going up to turn 1 is looking even better than I thought.

    2. @bascb Excellent video :) ! That turn 1 and the approach up the hill are spectacular. A lot of people say that the Mercedes engine has a few horsepower more. I think if that is true then they would have much more power up the hill than the others. Should be a good race I think.

    3. Not that clear on the video, but I got the impression the trackis far from anything nearing the finish.

  9. @keithcollantine – Thanks for my first COTD :)

Comments are closed.