looking more and more like it's gonna be a very good season every day...
Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.
>>The car should be ready between the 20th and 25th of February and then we’re going to test drive it in Alabama.
THAT is great news. I was worried some of the rumors of USF1 being a vapor-ware team were true.
looking more and more like it's gonna be a very good season every day...
There are four world champions on the grid for the first time since 1999 - and unlike 11 years ago all of them are driving for what are expected to be competitive teams.The battles facing McLaren
When McLaren bolted their new Formula 1 car together for the first time on Thursday night in preparation for Friday's 2010 launch, they hit upon a problem. It wouldn't fit in the lift in the team's factory.
The engineers solved that little conundrum - caused by the car being longer than last year because of the bigger fuel tank needed following the banning of in-race refuelling - by taking the car around a different way. But McLaren might find other difficulties they face this year harder to resolve.
Friday's launch at title sponsor Vodafone's plush headquarters on the outskirts of Newbury in Berkshire was typical of McLaren for its smooth professionalism but, as last year proved, the realities of racing in the white heat of F1 competition are not always so easy to manage.
To McLaren's credit, they did not try to dodge the issues - in fact, they had clearly worked hard on coming up with an answer to them. But it remains the case that a number of big question marks hang over the team as they head into a season that promises to be one of the most competitive in years.
Ferrari may be working on 'B' spec F10
Ferrari may already be working on a 'B' version of its recently-launched F10 car.
It became the first team to launch its 2010 challenger on Thursday, but there are rumours that the initial performance estimates aren't as high as Ferrari had hoped. The Times said that, despite cutting short development on last year's car to focus on the F10, there is speculation sweeping through the Italian media that a replacement is already on the drawing board.
It is not unusual for teams to immediately work on updates and traditionally all cars receive major tweaks after the first few fly-away races. However, the possibility that the team is already working on a 'B' spec version suggests a more fundamental revision of the design.
Ex-Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger thinks his old team is not as strong as it was during its years of domination in the early 2000s.
http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/7644.html
Teams hit with bill for FIA technology
Each of the thirteen Formula One teams have received a bill of almost €60,000 (US$83,000) to pay for the FIA's latest technology addition for this season.
Last year race stewards were criticised for making poor decisions about on-track actions by drivers. To help them, the FIA have told the teams that each car must be fitted with an ultra-sensitive GPS system that will be able to accurately track the cars position on the track to within one metre.
The data from the cars will be sent straight to the race director and will be used by the stewards to judge rule breaking. The technology is likely to be used in examining such infractions as cutting chicanes, ignoring flags, illegal overtaking, impeding rivals and touching pit exit white lines. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that the total cost of the new technology is €750,000 (over US$1 million).
http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/7777.html
Button dismisses Alonso's fuel-ban concern
Jenson Button has countered Fernando Alonso's suggestion that racing will be more predictable now there is a ban on refuelling.
Fuel strategy, which had been crucial to the outcome of a grand prix in previous years, will have no bearing on races in 2010, as cars have to start with enough petrol onboard to reach the finish. As a result Alonso believes races could be a foregone conclusion after qualifying, as he thinks drivers outside the top three on the grid won't be able to challenge for victory. But Button disagrees and reckons that high tyre wear, which is inevitable when carrying a heavy fuel load, will mean there will be a big enough difference between drivers' speed to allow overtaking.
"I don't agree with Alonso," he said at McLaren's launch. "I think there will still be passing, don't forget we still have the tyre stops and new tyres could be worth two seconds a lap."
McLaren chief engineer Tim Goss agrees and elaborated on why the refuelling ban would make for more exciting racing.
"It could make the show significantly better, yes," said Goss. "Previously, you knew when everyone was going to stop and refuel, so each team based their strategy decisions on overtaking cars during the pit stops. What's changed for this year is that we won't know when people are going to stop. The only thing affecting drivers' mandatory stops now is that they have to run both the option [soft] and prime [hard] tyre, so the strategy choices will be less predictable and will become a little more complicated. Races could be one or two stints with both early and late stops for tyres. It will definitely make the racing more challenging and interesting - and, hopefully, it will promote more on-track overtaking and less overtaking during the pit stops."
McLaren's race director Jonathan Neale said that higher tyre degradation on heavy fuel loads will mean engineers will have to hold their nerve, as a poorly-timed pit stop could cost the race. He added that the team had got tyre changes down to two-and-a-half seconds but would realistically aim for three seconds in a race environment.
With all of the talk about making F1 less expensive, d’ya ever wonder why they don’t stop making rule changes that require all sorts expensive research & refits?
yup... FIA / Federal Government = same / same
Fernando Alonso sets pace on Ferrari debut at Valencia
 Alonso was on top throughout the final day's testing
Fernando Alonso got his Ferrari career off to a flying start by setting the fastest time of the major Formula 1 test at Valencia on Wednesday. The double world champion took over from Felipe Massa and set a best time of one minute 11.470 seconds - more than half a second clear of the field. Pedro de la Rosa's Sauber was second, ahead of Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, which was 0.968secs off the pace.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8496405.stm |
Ferrari ping...
New points system given nod by teams
Formula 1's thirteen teams have given the green light for a second version of the new top ten scoring system for this season. With F1 governing body the FIA expected to confirm the scheme within the next 48 hours, a total of 25 points will now be collected by race winners, with a larger margin of 7 back to second place.
With the field increasing in size from 20 to 26 cars for 2010, teams have agreed that World Championship points should now be offered down to tenth place for the first time in the sport's history, replacing the previous top eight system which was introduced for the start of 2003.
The (provisional) 2010 F1 points system is as follows:
Winner 25
Second 18
Third 15
Fourth 12
Fifth 10
Sixth 8
Seventh 6
Eighth 4
Ninth 2
Tenth 1
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works for me...
The cars, especially the McLaren, look gangley.
Valencia's tight and twisty circuit provides only a limited test for cars and drivers, and the seven teams in Spain this week were primarily focused on reliability. But a vague picture did emerge...
Ferrari: Though the team has downplayed their quick start in Valencia, the rest of the paddock is in no doubt that the F10 has proved fastest out of the box and the car to beat. Fernando Alonso's best-of-the-week lap was set during a morning of acclimatisation and, even if the team ran shorter stints than McLaren, there was no suggestion that Ferrari were pushing for speed either: the Spaniard's 1:11.470 was set on the fourth of a 12-lap run when he was still focused on achieving "comfort in the cockpit". Ominious?
Just as encouraging was the team's reliability - Ferrari registered more laps than any other team on view and did so without a single glitch - and Alonso's long-run stint on Wednesday afternoon. He reduced his time on every one of his 16 laps, starting in the 1:13s and ending in the 1:11s, suggesting that the F60 is well balanced, already well set-up, and consistent on its tyres. There's talk of an issue with the car's fuel efficiency but so far it's nothing but talk.
McLaren: Relief is likely to have been McLaren's overriding emotion as they left Valencia. The MP4-25 has yet to bare its teeth but, unlike its predecessor, it's certainly no dog.
Lewis Hamilton finished Tuesday half a second adrift of Felipe Massa but the McLaren was probably carrying around an additional ten laps' worth of fuel when those times were set and on a long run that afternoon he became quicker and quicker in much the same way as Alonso did 24 hours later. So far, so good.
Less impressive was Jenson Button's debut. The World Champion had a frustrating and limited first day at work. While Alonso quickly settled into his new office, Button spent most of Wednesday trying to find a comfortable seat in his McLaren. The contrast was probably a consequence of Button being seven inches taller than Hamilton whereas Massa and Alonso are roughly the same size. Nonetheless, it was a slow start for McLaren's new recruit with every other driver in action this week completing more laps.
So, with testing time a precious commodity this winter, Button must hit the ground running next week at Jerez on a circuit that is not only likely to provide a clearer picture of each car's true speed but also a proper test of McLaren's aerodynamic weakness last season - high-speed cornering. Only then will it emerge just what sort of a bite the MP4-25 possesses.
Sauber: The surprise package. Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi took second place in the timesheets on all three days in Valencia and, though it looks bland, Sauber appear to have created a handy machine.
It should, of course, be noted that De la Rosa and Kobayashi seem to have been carrying less fuel than either Ferrari or McLaren when they set their fastest laps of the week, but this was undoubtedly an impressive first outing.
Mercedes: The bad news is that Ross Brawn has admitted his team are "off the pace" and have "work to do" if they are to catch Ferrari and McLaren. The good news is that he probably wouldn't have made such a public admission if he wasn't confident they could do just that.
"We've got a handling imbalance because we are all learning about these tyres here and we've seen straight away some things we want done on the tyres which we'll have done by Jerez.," he reported. "We are cracking exhausts and are having to change those every 150-200km. It's a problem we can fix but here it's difficult."
Quite the irony really: Last February, Brawn bolted on the Mercedes engine in a last-minute 'botch job' without a hitch but have hit a leak this winter when both car and engine carry the same name. But it's the power of Mercedes that is probably the cause of Brawn's optimism that their problems can be fixed - and quickly.
Another positive was Michael Schumacher's return to action and the absence of any genuine fitness concerns. He appeared in front of the press within minutes of climbing out of the car on both Monday and Wednesday and did so without a bead of sweat apparent. He at least looks in good shape.
Renault: A slow(ish) start. Robert Kubica struggled to settle into his new car on Monday and then found himself hampered by understeer. Tuesday was spent mostly focused on long running and Kubica's solitary short stint produced a time that was not particularly impressive given the very low amount of fuel that the car is likely to have been carrying. On the other hand, the times set on his long run that afternoon were encouragingly consistent.
Williams: Valencia's long-distance runner with the team quick - almost too quick - to remind all observers that they were heavily fuelled throughout the test.
That tends to be the Williams way - they're far too serious a racing team to even contemplate making a 'glory run' - but their conservative and cautious approach is also likely to have been a result of the need to use the test as a preliminary examination of their Cosworth engine. Not since 2006 has a F1 car been powered by the Northampton company and the apparently trouble-free and inconspicuous nature of its return was itself probably the best news of the week for Williams.
Toro Rosso: The only team to suffer a serious mechanical fault this week with Sebastien Buemi only completing 18 laps on Monday due to a gearbox failure. Such teething problems were inevitable with the team debuting the first car they have designed and built themselves. That in itself is a considerable achievement - team boss Franz Tost hailed it as a "landmark" - and Wednesday's results were especially respectable with Jamie Alguersauri completing almost 100 laps as well as the day's fourth-fastest time.
What's Next: Testing at Jerez, February 10-13; Testing at Jerez, February 17-20; Testing at Barcelona, February 25-28.
Pete Gill.
Now that's a scoop on the air intake
My friend who drives a 612 just took delivery on a California for his wife - not bad for an 8 up front
Sauber ... hmmmmm
Lots of realty left for sponsors
Toro Rosso
Today's Virgin
.
Heidfeld becomes Mercedes reserve driver
The Mercedes Grand Prix team has confirmed that Nick Heidfeld has joined as official test and reserve driver for this season. The German, who had hoped to race for the Brackley squad, switches from the departed BMW outfit.
With BMW having confirmed its exit from Formula 1 last July, Heidfeld had targeted a race seat alongside Nico Rosberg and was not shy to admit his disappointment upon the confirmation of Michael Schumacher. The appointment of the Monchengladbach man confirms Mercedes' 100 percent German line-up for its comeback season.
"I am very pleased to be joining Mercedes GP," commented Heidfeld, who has finished on the podium 12 times. "It's the team which has attracted the most interest in the close season, not only because of the comeback of Michael Schumacher but also because this season sees the return of the silver arrows cars as a Mercedes-Benz works team for the first time in over fifty years.
"Whilst I would of course have preferred a seat as an active driver, I am really proud to be part of the new silver arrows team. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same. I will be doing my very best to support Michael and Nico this year."
.
New Virgin F1 team halt test after front-wing failure
 Glock has managed only 16 laps in two days of testing at Jerez
The new Virgin team have been forced to stop running their car following a front-wing failure at this week's test. The front wing fell off the car after driver Timo Glock had completed only 11 laps at Jerez in southern Spain. Technical director Nick Wirth said the cause of the failure had been identified and that the team planned to continue work on Friday. Glock's best time before Virgin ended their running was more than 10 seconds off the fastest lap of the day. Glock had done three short runs when the problem occurred about an hour and a half into the second day of the four-day test. Wirth said in a team statement: "This morning we experienced a front wing mounting problem which caused the wing to come off the car at the beginning of a run. The cause has already been identified. "Unfortunately, we're missing one or two spare parts which will hopefully arrive this evening, so we won't be able to run for the rest of the day.
"In the short amount of running that we've achieved so far, we are very encouraged by what we've seen and we have gathered some vital aero data which is very much in the range of what we were predicting. "We look forward to resuming the programme tomorrow morning." Virgin also managed only limited running on Wednesday, when the late arrival of new parts meant Glock did not go out on to the track until the afternoon. He managed only five laps before the team ended his work, saying they wanted to ensure the car was ready for a full day's testing on Thursday. Virgin are one of four new teams to enter F1 in 2010, and are the first to get their car on to the track. The new Lotus ran for the first time in secret at Silverstone on Tuesday, and will join the other teams for the second of the two Jerez tests, which starts on Wednesday next week. US F1 and Campos have not run their cars.
US F1 are expected to do their pre-season running close to their base in Charlotte, North Carolina. There are question marks over Campos's participation as they struggle to raise the required funding. Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber set the fastest time of the day, recording a one minute 19.950 seconds lap with a run late in the afternoon session. Underlining how difficult it is to draw any conclusions at all from this test, that time is more than two seconds slower than was set in the F1 young driver test days at Jerez in December. Toro Rosso's Sebastian Buemi was next quickest, setting his 1:20.026 in the morning. He was followed by Jenson Button's McLaren (1:20.618), Williams's Nico Hulkenberg (1:20.629), the Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi (1:20.754), Mercedes's Michael Schumacher (1:21.083), Ferrari's Fernando Alonso (1:21.424), Renault's Robert Kubica (1:22.033), Red Bull's Mark Webber (1:22.043) and Glock. Alonso and Schumacher concentrated on doing runs of lots of laps, with the Spaniard running 48 laps consecutively - about two thirds of a race distance - and setting a 1:21.9 on his final lap with worn tyres. Schumacher said: "I am very happy with how the day went today even if we could not finish our schedule completely due to red flags.
"However, I managed to complete a lot of laps which is very precious to me. "A new car, a new team and new conditions, therefore our first goal has to be to make the car reliable. "Days like today help massively in that respect, especially as the weather forecast for the next few days isn't looking quite so rosy. I felt very comfortable driving the car and it was good fun today." Webber completed two days running for Red Bull, who launched their car on Wednesday, and will now hand the wheel to 2009 runner-up Sebastian Vettel for the remaining two days. "We've had a few little niggles here and there with reliability, but despite that we've managed to complete quite a few laps with the new car," said Webber. "We've had one wet and one dry day and learned a lot on both. We've still got quite a bit of testing to go before we get to Bahrain, which we're going to need to continue to understand the car and keep finding performance." It is all but impossible to judge the relative performances of the cars at this year's winter tests because teams do not release information about how much fuel they have on board. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8510697.stm |
Kamui Kobayashi sneaked in the fastest time of the very end of the second day of testing at Jerez by setting a lap of 1:19.950 in his BMW Sauber C29.
Jenson Button caused the third and final red flag of the session when his McLaren MP4-25 stopped on track with just 11 minutes remaining in the session. The track went green again with 34 seconds remaining, which allowed Michael Schumacher, Robert Kubica and Kobayashi to snatch a couple more laps.
Sebastien Buemi had been quickest during most of the day with a time of 1:20.026 in his Toro Rosso STR5. "Our basic programme for today was evaluating a couple of new aero parts, scanning different fuel levels and comparing tyres compounds," a Toro Rosso spokesperson told ESPNF1. The team worked on understanding the hard and the medium compound Bridgestone dry weather tyres and comparing them to the soft and the super-soft tyres used in Valencia.
Unlike Wednesday when it rained virtually nonstop, the sun was out today. But it did take more than an hour for the track to dry off in the morning.
Schumacher took over the Mercedes W01 from Nico Rosberg today, and Kubica replaced Vitaly Petrov in the Renault R30. The rest of the line-up stayed the same as it was on Wednesday: Nico Hulkenberg - Williams FW32; Fernando Alonso - Ferrari F10; Tonio Liuzzi Force - India VJM03; Mark Webber - Red Bull RB6; and Timo Glock - Virgin VR-01.
Hulkenberg brought out the first red flag just 22 minutes into the session when a hydraulic leak caused his Cosworth engine shut down and stranded him on the track on his fourth lap of the day. The Williams team reported that his programme for the morning was "carrying out aero and weight distribution tests and cooling runs," but the car spent three hours in the garage being repaired.
The Williams crew got Hulkenberg back out on the track just before the midpoint of the session, and he ended the day with the third quickest lap at 1:20.629.
Liuzzi was fourth after setting a 1:20.754. He reported that the Force India had understeer and the front tyres were graining, but the team has been banking plenty of data.
Out on the track, Schumacher was seen to adjust his entry to some corners as the Mercedes seemed to prefer an earlier more gentle turn in rather than a late, sharp one. He ended up fifth with a time of 1:21.083
Like the rest of the drivers and teams, Kobayashi, who had been sixth with a lap of 1:21.337 until the topped the times, was pleased the track was dry today. "With the new regulations, narrower front tyre and the big fuel tank, we need to learn many things, for myself, and for data for the team as well," he said. "So if we can gain a lot of mileage it would be nice for us."
Testing in the dry also meant that the teams did not have to deal with the problem they had in the rain on Wednesday when the Bridgestone intermediate wet weather tyre wore out very quickly. "Everybody had troubles with the intermediate," Kobayashi explained. "We could do about 10 laps and then the tyres had no grip. They became like slick tyres. Maybe the narrower front tyre makes the difference. We don't know."
One of the reasons the track organisers scheduled the four day test to run through Saturday was so that they could draw in weekend spectators to watch Spanish hero Alonso drive the Ferrari. Ironically, Ferrari scheduled Alonso to test on Wednesday and Thursday, and Felipe Massa will drive Friday and Saturday. Still, over 10,000 fans came to the track on Thursday.
Massa arrived at the track on Thursday and spent some time watching the cars going through the final corner. Button is sitting too high in the McLaren while Schumacher is sitting too low in the Mercedes, Massa observed.
Alonso programme for Thursday centred on long runs, pit stops, and stressing the tyres on heavy fuel loads to simulate race conditions this season. After eight laps there was a two second drop off in his lap times as the tyres lost their optimum grip. But, after stopping for new tyres, he still did a 212 km run, which was equivalent to just over two-thirds of a grand prix distance, and set the seventh fastest time at 1:21.424. He completed 129 laps, the most of the day.
With the track being dry, Kubica and the team decided he should test rather than Petrov who has been scheduled to drive today. Kubica clocked the eighth best time at 1:22.003.
After losing half a day's running Wednesday because of an oil leak on the Red Bull, Webber racked up 99 laps on Thursday's session. He was back in eighth with a time of 1:22.043.
"It is early but I felt pretty confident in the car straight away," Webber said. "You never, ever know where you are in terms of the competition. Obviously that is what we are here for, to race against other people. And that is what we will do in Bahrain. But up until then it will be very hard for people to know exactly what is happening. We are pretty happy with the rollout of the car, and we will learn a lot more this month. We will start to look at doing some lap times later in the month."
The second red flag came out at 11:11 am after Glock's front wing came off and he ran over it. Virgin certainly did not need anything like that to happen. The team is extremely short on spare parts for the car. A shipment of parts arrived at about 11 pm Tuesday night, and the mechanics worked through the night to build up the car for the opening day of testing on Wednesday.
But when it rained almost the entire time Wednesday the team decided to run only a few laps rather than risk breaking anything in the wet conditions. With the track dry on Thursday, Glock headed out for some serious running but only got in 11 laps before his front wing woes intervened. His car stayed in the garage for the rest of the day.
"We experienced a front wing mounting problem which caused the wing to come off the car at the beginning of a run," said technical director Nick Wirth. "The cause has already been identified. Unfortunately, we're missing one or two spare parts which will hopefully arrive this evening, so we won't be able to run for the rest of the day.
"In the short amount of running that we've achieved so far, we are very encouraged by what we've seen and we have gathered some vital aero data which is very much in the range of what we were predicting. We look forward to resuming the programme tomorrow morning."
The weather stayed fair all day, with the ambient temperature topping 15 degrees Centigrade, and the track temperature exceeding 28 degrees Centigrade.
Lap Times February 11, 2010
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Best Time | Laps |
| 1. | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber C29 | 1:19.950 | 103 |
| 2. | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso STR5 | 1:20.026 | 121 |
| 3. | Jenson Button | McLaren MP4-25 | 1:20.618 | 83 |
| 4. | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams FW32 | 1:20.629 | 67 |
| 5. | Tonio Liuzzi | Force India VJM03 | 1:20.754 | 80 |
| 6. | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes W01 | 1:21.083 | 124 |
| 7. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari F10 | 1:21.424 | 129 |
| 8. | Robert Kubica | Renault R30 | 1:22.003 | 103 |
| 9. | Mark Webber | Red Bull RB6 | 1:22.043 | 99 |
| 10. | Timo Glock | Virgin VR-01 | 1:29.964 | 11 |
Feeds: ESPNF1 Staff
Last week Button said he was "frustrated" by his first day of testing in Valencia, as he hadn't been able to get his seating position right. But after two days in Jerez, where he set the third fastest time of the week so far, he said he was finally comfortable with the MP4-25 and was making progress.
"For me, today was a better day because we could get out in the dry," Button said. "It is the first real time that I have felt good in the car, good enough within the car to actually do set-up work and find a balance with the car. And also work with different components that I prefer. So today was a positive day. There is still a lot of work to do with the car. But the basic car itself is a good baseline. But I also know that there is a long way to go before we will have a car that is capable of winning races. But that is the same for everyone. This is just testing and we have a long way to go."
Button completed 83 laps on Thursday, considerably less than some of his competitors, but said there were no problems with the car's reliability and he was happy with the work he completed.
"It is not about just going out and putting in as many laps as possible," he said. "We know that our car is reliable, and that is important. Normally that is why you do so much mileage. But when you are testing different things, you don't necessarily need big mileage. So we were doing a lot of back-to-backs and set-up work. For me that is more important than putting big distances on the tyres. So I am very happy with the way the program was today."
Lewis Hamilton will take over testing duties for McLaren on Friday and Saturday.
The 'Arena Complex' was originally designed for MotoGP, but when Silverstone won back the contract to hold the British Grand Prix from Donington, it immediately approached the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM) for approval to hold the race on the new piece of track. On Thursday FOM gave the final green light to use the new loop, which organisers are hoping will improve viewing for spectators as well as spicing up the racing.
"The 'Arena Complex' was always designed with both two and four-wheeled racing in mind," Silverstone's managing director Richard Phillips said. "We have been very careful, working closely with drivers and riders, to make sure we are improving and enhancing what Silverstone already has to offer - from a driver's, rider's and spectator's point of view."
The new F1 circuit will retain the majority of the high-speed track, but will lose the Abbey Chicane, Bridge Corner and the left-hander at Priory - all of which will remain intact to provide an alternative layout. Instead the drivers will now turn right at Abbey, before entering a 90 degree right-hander that opens into two left-hand turns linking the track to the existing National Circuit and eventually the old F1 circuit. The extra length is expected to increase F1 lap times by four seconds.
"Some will miss not seeing modern day F1 cars accelerating through Bridge, but we have to move with the times and continue looking at ways to improve the overall experience," said Phillips. "The new layout will bring an extra dimension to Silverstone, a new challenge for the drivers, and will enable fans to get closer to the action."
The £5 million 'Arena Circuit' extension is just the start of an extensive redevelopment programme that should see the pit and paddock area moved to the straight after Club Corner by the end of 2011. Silverstone has undergone a number of redesigns in the past, most notably the creation of the Complex towards the end of the lap in 1991.
The German came second to Jenson Button last year and hopes are high that the new Red Bull RB6, which was launched in Jerez on Wednesday, can propel him to the top of the tree.
"Being favourite or not, I set my target for myself. I know what I want to achieve this year," Vettel said. "Most important now is that the car is running and that we improve the reliability and speed. First you need to make your car work, then you see where you are and according to that you set your expectations.
"For sure there is only one target, to be just one step better than last year. I want to win the world championship. If we are the favourites, that's fine. If not, that's fine too."
Button and Lewis Hamilton are sure to be challenging for honours, along with the Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, and Vettel is aware it will be a tough battle for podium finishes.
He said: "Obviously I hope we are as strong as we were last year, or even stronger. Then you've got McLaren and Ferrari, who look very competitive already, and Mercedes with Michael [Schumacher}. It's going to be an interesting season."
Vettel was joined by Mark Webber to unveil the new car, which features the double diffuser and the 'shark fin' engine cover as adopted by many other teams for 2010.
Feeds: ESPNF1 Staff
Tuesday, February 9th 2010
The first Lotus Formula 1 car for 15 years hit the race track on Tuesday as Fairuz Fauzy completed a secret shakedown for the team's 2010 challenger at Silverstone.
As AUTOSPORT's exclusive spy shot of the new car shows, the so-far unnamed machine was running in the historic green and yellow colours that were so synonymous with Lotus in the 1950s and 1960s.
It is not clear, however, whether the team will keep these colours for the season or they have just been used for the initial run.
The successful shakedown of the car marked an emotional moment for the Lotus team, which was only granted an entry for the 2010 season back in September.
Having undertaken the first engine fire-up of the car on Saturday, the team travelled to Silverstone to get some mileage on it before its official launch in London on Friday.
Team principal Tony Fernandes admitted that the first run with the new car had meant a lot to him. "Shakedown started. Quite a few tears," he wrote on his official Twitter feed.
Lotus is scheduled to begin proper testing of the car at next week's third pre-season F1 test at Jerez in Spain.
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