Vijay Mallya has given his reaction to the words of A1GP promoter Tony Teixeira. An interview with Teixeira hit the media and the clear message he gave Reuters was that Force India should be promoting Indian drivers (such as Karthikeyan) and show more of an attempt at promoting F1 racing through India.

“The Force India thing, although great for India, is a little bit negative in terms of youngsters and getting them to race if you are never going to win a race,” said Teixeira.

“It’s the wrong message. I think (Force India owner) Vijay (Mallya) is trying to set something up which is a long-term plan but it’s not the right message having Force India and non-Indian drivers.”

Being passionate about your country is a great image to portray, but Teixeira is showing his passion for racing and his country on one hand and on the other he is criticizing India’s brand new F1 team at a time when he should be on board. A team that is already putting India on the map along side the technology and scientific community. While Mallya is building an F1 team which seems to be going in the right direction, he is being criticized for not employing Indian drivers thereby not promoting India as a racing nation.

India has begun to flourish in the technology and scientific world of late. Take for example Hyderabad which with it’s rich history, culture and architecture have now added information technology, and the world of science, specifically biotechnology and has put India on the world map in these areas. This has been made possible through the Indian people and a tremendous influence from other countries. The starting point came from already established companies from other parts of the world who located to India after seeing great potential started by some influentially rich Indian people. Bring on Vijay Mally. He is marketing his country the same way India has marketed their tech and scientific industry.

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Force India revealed their new motor home at the Spanish Grand Prix, and they are in style. The motor home is just oozing glitter and glamor with a huge glass front and state of the art facilities. Reminds me of the one McLaren have. Vijay Mallya really makes a statement with his team and I bet he’s loving every minute of it.

This has got to hurt when Super Aguri look at this and then look at their portable public toilets and rented coffee machine. Ouch!

Now that McLaren are back at the back of the grid, their motor home will be neighbors with Force India.

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What’s happening at Force India these days? A lot.

The team is doing far better than anyone thought and there are plenty of signs they are about to progress even quicker. Early this week it was announced that a group of engineers from his Kingfisher Airlines have been recruited to help the team with it’s computational fluid dynamics programs. Basically this will allow them to simulate different aerodynamic ideas without the need for 100 percent reliability on wind tunnels.

In July now, Force India is hoping to introduce their new car to replace the existing VJM01.

Not only that, but it’s almost certain that they will be using Ferrari’s KERS energy-recovery system next year.

This is the future of Force India over the next year and it’s very exciting for the team. All of this on the heals of tremendous testing this week in Barcelona where Giancarlo Fisichella recorded extremely fast times with the new 2009 slicks. Without these tires, Fisichella ran a time of 1min 20.7, 1.5 seconds faster than the last time through Barcelona where he did a 1min 22.3.

Things are looking good for The Force!

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Force India is continuing to impress just about everybody. Yesterday’s superb times are certainly turning some heads. By mid day today, Giancarlo Fisichella has already turned in a 1:22.233 in 34 laps.

The constant improvement they have had in testing has them now believing Q2 is a definite possibility. You don’t have to convince me of that and they have more improvements planned for the Australian Grand Prix.

Adrian Sutil who initially was skeptical about their chances is now not holding back his pleasure in driving then new car and their chances this year.

“The new car has improved, that is for sure,” he said. “The first day was quite good in my opinion. The entrance into corners, the stability, is better. And it is easier to drive.

“So there is more coming, perhaps three to four tenths for the Melbourne Grand Prix. So I think it is quite a good update and I am very confident to be competitive in Australia.”

“If we do that, then we should have a step of seven tenths, which could get us into Q2.”

Maybe Toro Rosso should be looking over their shoulders because it’s not this on their tail

It’s this…

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Ok, now that testing is just about over, I can make my F1 drivers championship predictions. Testing has been pretty informative, a little surprising, but not too surprising.

Originally I had thought Honda would show better, but they haven’t given me any reason to keep that prediction. Red Bull and Toro Rosso are just about the same as last year, but Williams have improved like I thought they would. I’ve been more than impressed with Force India, but the learning curve is pretty steep so the rear of the train in front of Super Aguri is where I place them.

I’m not sure Ferrari is really in front of McLaren as much as testing has shown. They have been quick out of the box, but McLaren have tweaked their car enough for me to put them right up there. I anticipate a good battle there.

BMW-Sauber has had issues with their car that certainly weren’t expected and despite what Fernando Alonso says, I don’t believe they are as close to McLaren as he suggests they are, but I will go out and put them ahead of Renault. I think there will be a pretty good battle between Renault and BMW-Sauber with Williams in there too.

Originally I would have put Toyota up a place, but after erratic testing, NOT.

1. Ferrari
2. McLaren
3. BMW-Sauber
4. Renault
5. Williams
6. Red Bull
7. Toyota
8. Honda
9. Toro Rosso
10. Force India
11. Super Aguri (if they show up)

My predictions are not that far off many others I’ve seen. I would like to see Honda in 6th position and Force India in 9th position, but that isn’t a prediction.
I do think there will be a great battle between Ferrari and McLaren, and a good battle between BMW-Sauber and Renault.

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Yesterday, the second last test session closed out leaving just Barcelona left before the start of the 2008 season. It is now pretty clear where teams will stack up come the season start and despite hours and hours of work some teams just haven’t accomplished their goals while others like say Ferrari have caused frustration for just about everyone.

Giancarlo Fisichella echoes this with his stunning statement that Ferrari are the best and probably will dominate through the early part of the season with McLaren close behind, and then the rest.

He is pleased with the progress and performance of his car and is predicting a faster car after a new update in Barcelona.

“At the beginning of the season it will be hard to stay out of the bottom (of the field), but we hope that we can gradually improve.”

Toyota sat near the bottom of time sheets through most of testing, but pulled out something good in the last week with some pretty respectable times and are one of the few that have closed gaps to teams previously ahead of them. Their senior general chassis manager is now predicting serious gains between now and season start.

David Coulthard has decided to lift spirits of Red Bull fans by telling them not to believe too much in the test times Red Bull are pulling off. He says not to expect Red Bull to be front runners just yet.

Jenson Button, up and down with his feelings on his car says Honda made ‘good progress’ in Jerez, but more work is still needed and they are moving in the right direction.

Over 2 seconds off the pace with only a month to go? Yes, a lot more work is needed.

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Force India, from the top down are an excited bunch. Testing is going their way so far and with Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil, and Vitantonio Liuzzi are terrific finds for them, especially Fisichella who is fast shutting his critics mouths. Now, Vijay Mallya with deep pockets and a lot of support is predicting a podium finish in 2010.

“I urge all the cricket-loving fans in India to support the new team. I promise that you will not be disappointed.”

“But I am sure with your blessing, prayers and good wishes, Force India will be on the podium when India hosts a race in 2010.”

Blessings, prayers, and good wishes aside, this is one tall task, but it has been a long time since this much excitement has surrounded a new entry into F1.

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So where’s Renault headed. Buoyed by the return of Fernando Alonso, Renault have placed a slightly better car on the track and are now eclipsing BMW-Sauber fairly consistently in times. Alonso, always looking to be in the fight isn’t satisfied yet and desperately wants another few 10ths out of the car.

“To close the gap, and to be behind them (Ferrari and McLaren) two or three tenths is not such a big problem. But to be one second or eight tenths, like we are at the moment, is a little bit too much.”

Fairly uneventful for Toyota, and despite continuous ‘positive’ reports from the team, times continue to be over a second off the pace. I haven’t seen any real progress in Toyota so far except for a brief period in the top 10 with Trulli seventh at 1’12.109 and Glock tenth at 1’12.705. Everyday seems to be the same thing with no real improvement seen.
Bahrain so far hasn’t proved any different. I don’t see a particularly great start to the season for Toyota.

Force India? Not bad. There is no doubt Giancarlo Fisichella’s presence at Force India is paying off. Aside from a few mechanical problems including the clutch, Fisichella managed to post the 4th fastest time on Friday. Adrian Sutil, not so lucky. for a revamped team, I’d have to say I’m impressed. Toro Rosso is now their ‘carrot’ on the road.

Fisichella:

“I’m very happy as we’re showing the potential we have now.”

I want to see what Force India has by Australia. I’m impressed with this team already and although back markers they are, it will be fun to watch the development of this team.

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Monday, January 21

Monday, Williams showed their new car for 2008 in Valencia. Test driver Nico Hulkenberg gave it a good shakedown briefly before fog stopped the session until later in the day.

Renault also rolled out the R28 at Valencia, just over a week (10 days) from their official Paris launch date. Fog again was the story of the morning delaying any work until around midday. Fernando did eventually get out and put in a good 39 laps and declared himself satisfied in his first impression of the car.

“When you have your first day with a new car, you always have to take your time to check that all the systems are functioning correctly, and that is what we did today.”

“We were able to lengthen our runs little by little and ended the day with a 14-lap stint.

Nigel Stepney got himself back in the news today saying “It’s not my fault”. He apologized for the mess created by his actions but doesn’t feel responsible for the spy scandal nor the penalties McLaren incurred.

Tuesday, January 22

Darkness seems to be the new trend on track with the news that this years Malaysian grand prix may just be the last held in daylight. The Circuit chairman, Mokhzani Mahathir spoke with the New Straits Times and hinted he was investigating the possibility of a night race for 2009.

“Our target is to have the race at night next year and the same consultants who are doing the lighting for the Singapore grand prix are advising us on our lighting system.”

BMW-Sauber showed off a radical front nose wing at testing at the Valencia circuit on Tuesday.

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Testing at jerez. 2008 testing got underway today with 9 of the 11 teams on track. Weather was a bit of a story in the morning with a wet track to start things off, but it certainly didn’t faze Ferrari as Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa turned in the fastest times on the day. McLaren, Ferrari and Toyota had their flashy new cars churning up the track, but Felipe Massa’s new F2008 showed a first bug when he lost track time with an unspecified mechanical problem. A relatively quick fix and Massa was off again and turned out the second fastest lap on the day.

It was a good showing for Toro Rosso with Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais finishing the day with Vettel grabbing the 4th fastest time and Bourdais taking 6th fastest time.

McLaren representatives today were Pedro de la Rosa and Heikki Kovalainen both driving the MP4-23. de la Rossa had an inspiring day finishing with a best lap time of 1:20.548 placing third on the day. Kovalainen faired a little worse finishing the day with a 5th best time at 1:20.936.

Nico rosberg in the FW29 fell short today with a 7th fastest time.

Toyota drivers worked hard today with Jarno trulli driving the new TF108 a leading 86 laps and finishing with the 8th fastest time. Timo Glock wasn’t as lucky and spun off track early losing valuable time and finished with the 13th fastest (or slowest) time of the 14 drivers in action today.

Jarno Trulli

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