F1 : FIA admits loophole, allows in-season engine development

 It appears that rather than 2014, where the dates were set and power unit homologations locked in, there is room for development in-season. The FIA has, in a note sent by the FIA’s Charlie Whiting to teams, admitted a rules loophole that allows for this to occur.

Teams can perform in-season power unit developments as long as they stick to the 32 development token limit outlined in the rules and do not exceed the four-engine per car limit for the season. It’s not explicitly stated within the rules that no engine work can be done.

This should, in theory, come as a blow to Mercedes, which has held firm on the engine freeze aspect for what could be further dominance as was delivered in the entirety of the 2014 season.

Renault and Ferrari could now have a fighting chance, and it was Ferrari’s technical director, James Allison, who brought up the issue during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.

Honda, however, is being treated as a new manufacturer and thus must have its 2015 unit homologated and locked in by February 28

Day 2 of the Abu Dhabi F1 Testing - Updated timings

The latest times from the final day of testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi at the end of the 2014 F1 season.

Ferrari Academy protege Raffaele Marciello made his F1 testing debut for the team on Day 2 of the final testing of 2014.

McLaren’s problematic start to their new Honda era continued on the second and final day of the Abu Dhabi test as their interim car completed just two laps.


1. Pascal Wehrlein Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 42 laps 1:44.557 

2. Max Verstappen Netherlands Toro Rosso-Renault 63 laps 1:45.222 

3. Raffaele Marciello Italy Ferrari-Ferrari 48 laps 1:45.376 

4. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 59 laps 1:45.666 

5. Felipe Nasr Brazil Williams-Mercedes 21 lap 1:45.937 

6. Esteban Ocon France Lotus-Renault 34 laps 1:47.013 

7. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Sauber-Ferrari 61 laps 1:47.173 

8. Will Stevens Britain Caterham-Renault 43 laps 1:48.348 

9. Spike Goddard Australia Force India-Mercedes 33 laps 1:48.738

Rosberg takes pole at Abu Dhabi GP

It was a Mercedes top 4 in qualifying as Nico Rosberg took the pole in the season ender closely followed by his team mate Lewis Hamilton. 

The other two Mercedes powered Williams cars that of Valteri Bottas and Felipe Massa will occupy the second row of the grid in Abu Dhabi GP.

Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastien Vettel who were P5 and P6 in qualifying were penalized for an illegal front wing on their car and will start from the back of the grid on Sunday.

Here are the full qualifying results:

1. Nico Rosberg  Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 40.480s 
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 40.866s 
3. Valtteri Bottas  Williams-Mercedes 1m 41.025s 
4. Felipe Massa  Williams-Mercedes 1m 41.119s 
5. Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull-Renault 1m 41.267s 
6. Sebastian Vettel  Red Bull-Renault 1m 41.893s 
7. Daniil Kvyat  Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 41.908s 
8. Jenson Button  McLaren-Mercedes 1m 41.964s 
9. Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 42.236s 
10. Fernando Alonso  Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 42.866s 

11. Kevin Magnussen  McLaren-Mercedes 1m 42.198s 
12. Jean-Eric Vergne  Toro Rosso-Renault 1m 42.207s 
13. Sergio Perez  Force India-Mercedes 1m 42.239s 
14. Nico Hulkenberg  Force India-Mercedes 1m 42.384s 
15. Adrian Sutil  Sauber-Ferrari 1m 43.074s 

16. Romain Grosjean  Lotus-Renault 1m 42.768s* 
17. Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari 1m 42.819s 
18. Pastor Maldonado  Lotus-Renault 1m 42.860s 
19. Kamui Kobayashi  Caterham-Renault 1m 44.540s 
20. Will Stevens Britain Caterham-Renault 1m 45.095s 

Important F1 car launch dates

With new cars, new engines, new driver line-ups and new partnerships up and down the grid, there's a lot to look out for as the 2014 pre-season starts to gather momentum.
As the first pre-season test at Jerez is just around the corner, here's a look at some important dates that we know, in regards to F1 in the coming days.

Important dates to remember for F1 fans in the coming 10 days:

24th January : McLaren Mercedes F1 MP4-29 car launch at Woking. (Online)

25th January : Scuderia Ferrari F1 car launch. (Online)

26th January : Sauber F1car launch.

27th January : Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 STR9 car launch at Jerez.

28th January : Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W05 car launch at Jerez.

28th January : Infiniti Red Bull F1 RB10 car launch at Jerez.

28th January : Caterham F1 C33 car launch at Jerez.

28th January :  First pre-season test at Jerez.
Lotus F1 team will not be participating in the Jerez  pre season test.

February : Lotus car launch pre-Bahrain test.

Another one joins the family..!!

A wise move, after the heroics shown by the Renault Duster since its launch, a couple of months back Ford launched one of the compact SUV, Ecosport,  to take on the Duster. The launch of the Ecosport marked the start of the fastest growing and one of the most exciting segments called the compact SUV. The Ecosport was also a huge success after the company had to stop bookings. And now Nissan looks to give it a go in this segment with its all new Terrano.

The Terrano is based on the Duster platform with Nissan giving it there own touch by making few changes to the interior and the looks of the vehicle. The traditional headlights and the grille give it a Nissanish look to the front. It looks neat on the front and the rear end as Nissan have kept it simple by giving it body colored front and back bumper. After looking at the Terrano you feel like you are looking at the Duster but it has few more features than that of the Duster.

At the rear, the Terrano looks neat and tidy. The tail lights are clustered and stylish and spread  onto the shoulders of the car from the boot lid. As spoken earlier the rear bumper is body colored with the towing hooks covered by a body colored plastic lid.

It's available in three variants, the 1.6 litre petrol, 1.6l in line four petrol and 1.5 litre dCi diesel. The 1.6l petrol and the 1.5l diesel have a five speed manual gearbox whereas the 1.6 l in line four petrol has a six speed manual gearbox.

As it is based on the Duster platform, the interior looks Dusterish with minute changes in the console.

The Terrano will be priced somewhat more than the Duster. With the rivals making it big in the market, it will be quite interesting to see what kind of impact the Terrano has on the market.

Verdict:

The Terrano is just a redesigned version of the Duster by Nissan.
Neat looking, stylish and with the same features of the Duster.

Mahindra Verito Vibe

Mahindra made a surprising move when they launched an under four metre hatch.

Verito sedan also known as Logan when Mahindra and Renault were together was a huge success story.
Vibe is actually a trimmed version of the Verito. Vibe cannot be called as a hatch because when we open the boot, the rear glass remains at its fixed position. This actually is one of the problems in the Vibe. The fixed position of the glass makes loading luggage or bulky stuff very difficult.

Moving in, Vibe is one of the few cars that can easily and comfortably seat 3 people at the back. There's enough shoulder and leg room for the passengers at the back. That's one of the many good things about this car.

Coming to the fuel efficiency,  it can do just better than 12 kmpl in the city and around 16 kmpl on the highway which are very good figures.

The Vibe has the same 1.5l diesel engine that we saw in the Logan and now in the Verito and also the Duster. It is available in 3 variants,  D2 , D4 and D6. D2 is priced at Rs. 6.8 lakhs, D4 at Rs. 7.1 lakhs and D6 at Rs. 8 lakhs.

At 172mm, the ground clearance of the Vibe is more than some of the SUV's which allows it to take on any kibd of roads.

The major let down of the Verito Vibe is the cost. It is priced at Rs. 8 lakhs which is higher than the expected cost.

The overall on road dynamics are very good. The Vibe can easily reach 100s on the highway and gives a good control. The looks are same as the Verito. The interiors are good but not that great. They could have been better considering what Mahindra have done to the XUV.

The Vibe is a nicely built spacious and a tough car which is a bit low on the styling and also loses out on the price. It could have done much better had Mahindra priced it better.

Ford Ecosport : Auto breakdown verdict

                                                  Ford Ecosport : From my sketchbook.

With its price being pretty low than other cars in its segment, it was always believed that the Ford Ecosport would grab a huge market after it was launched. Measuring just an inch under the 4 meter mark, the Ford Ecosport provides you with a new less known segment of cars called to be the "compact SUV".

The size still doesn't matter as it still has got all the requirements to be called as an SUV. It has got a ground clearance of 200 mm, then it has large 16-inch wheels, an approach angle of 25 degrees and a departure angle of 35 degrees.

The only short coming of the Ecosport is that it is a front wheel drive. However Ford have made it sure that they won't be looking to bring in a 4WD variant.

Efficiency:

The EcoBoost engine is a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, direct-injection, turbo-petrol that gives 118 bhp. The 1.5 L engine is whereas somewhat known to us through the Ford Figo and Ford Fiesta. The fuel efficiency of the EcoBoost engine is quite impressive. 

The 1.0 L EcoBoost Petrol gives 18 kmpl on highway and around 12 kmpl in city. The 1.5 L diesel variant gives 21 kmpl on highway and 14.5 kmpl in city. The 1.5 L Petrol variant gives 16 kmpl on highway and 11.6 kmpl in city.

Attractive pricing:

The EcoSport comes in three engine options: 

• 1.5L diesel engine priced between Rs6.69 lakh and Rs8.99 lakh.
• 1L EcoBoost turbocharged petrol engine between Rs5.59 lakh and Rs8.45 lakh. 
• 1.5L petrol engine between Rs7.90 lakh and Rs8.29 lakh.

Competitors:

• Renault Duster.
• M&M Quanto.
• Maruti Suzuki Ertiga.

Specs:

Engine:

Fuel:                 Petrol / Diesel

Installation:       Front, transverse

Type:         4 cylinder, 999 cc / 4 cylinder 1498 cc turbo diesel

Compression ratio: 10.0, 16.0:1

Power: 123 bhp at 6000 rpm

Transmission:

Type :               Front wheel drive

Gearbox:         5-speed auto/manual

Dimensions:

Length:    3999 mm

Width:     1765 mm

Height:     1708 mm

Wheel base:    2520 mm

Boot volume:    362 litres

Ground clearance:     200 mm

Body:

Construction:    Five-door

Weight: 1259/ 1290 kg

Wheels: 16-inch

Suspension:

Front:    Independent, MacPherson strut, coil springs, stabilizer bar

Rear:    Semi-independent, stabilizer bar

Steering:

Type:    Rack and pinion

Type of power assist:    Electric

Turning circle:  10.6 m

Brakes:

Front:   Ventilated discs

Rear:    drums

ABS:    Yes

Verdict:

It has got everything an average Indian consumer desires. 

It is strong, fuel efficient, stylish, compact.

It has a great EcoBoost engine.

It has a short cabin and boot space.

It is a good buy at a low cost.