Kurt Adolff Fred Agabashian Kurt Ahrens Jr Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi

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Lotus Renault GP unveiled their much-discussed 2011 challenger, the R31, in the pit lane of Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit on 31st Jan’11.

Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov revealed the R31, with reserves Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Jan Charouz and Fairuz Fauzy.

Technical specifications

Chassis	Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, with engine incorporated as a fully-stressed member
Suspension (front)	Carbon fibre double wishbone, operating inboard torsion bar and damper units via a pushrod system
Suspension (rear)	As front except via a pullrod system
Engine	Renault RS27-2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM with KERS naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission	Seven-speed semi-automatic titanium gearbox with reverse gear “Quickshift” system
Weight	640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel	Total
Tyres	Pirelli P Zero
	OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13″

Links

Renault R31 ? Launch Details and Analysis (Scarbsf1′s Blog)
“What was formerly the Renault F1 Team and now Lotus Renault GP (I?ll use the term LRGP for this article) have unveiled their new car the R31. It seems some critical details are not fitted to the car for its unveiling, indeed the car was shown only briefly to the press before it was covered back up and returned to the garage. Despite the mystery surrounding the cars exhaust exit location, its clear this is a very new design for the team. In creating this the team were given a mandate to take risks, which probably explains the very different front and rear end treatments.”

Renault R31 Front Exit Exhausts (FEE) ? Explained (Scarbsf1′s Blog)
“Renault have found a new solution to the blown diffuser concept. In fact they?ve turned it on its head. With an exhaust that exits at the front of the sidepods.

Last years teams reintroduced the blown diffuser concept, either by blowing exhaust gasses over the top of the diffuser, or by creating an opening into the diffuser to blow inside the diffuser. Both solutions created more downforce. With the latter solution now banned, it seemed the less effective over-blown solutions are all that?s left to race.”

Renault R31 launch pictures

Photos © Renault/LAT

Toni Branca Gianfranco Brancatelli Eric Brandon Don Branson Tom Bridger Tony Brise

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Posted on 11.19.2011 12:00 by Simona Filed under: Rimac Automobile | video | Rimac Concept One | Cars | Car News

When Rimac unveiled the Concept One at the Frankfurt Motor Show we believed there are minimal chances to actually see one in action in the real world. But this video proved that we were wrong. A very lucky guy caught this electric car in action on the streets, most likely at his home in Croatia.

Short reminder: Concept One uses a unique powertrain divided into the front and rear sub-system, each of them including two symmetrical motor-controller-reduction-gearbox units. This system will control each wheel independently. This system develops a total of 1,088 HP and 2,802 lb/ft of torque and will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in 2,8 seconds, while top speed has been limited to 189 mph. The car will be built in limited production sometime in 2013. Only 88 units will be built.

Video: Rimac Concept One in action originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 19 November 2011 12:00 EST.

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Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick Chris Amon

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2011 FIA Formula 1 World Championship Race Calendar (Provisional)

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
*	Bahrain	BIC	March 11-13
1	Australian	Albert Park	March 25-27
2	Malaysian	Sepang	April 8-10
3	Chinese	Shanghai	April 15-17
4	Turkish	Istanbul	May 6-8
5	Spanish	Catalunya	May 20-22
6	Monaco	Monaco	May 26-29
7	Canadian	Gilles Villeneuve	June 10-12
8	European	Spain	June 24-26
19	British	Silverstone	July 8-10
10	German	Nürburgring	July 22-24
11	Hungarian	Hungaroring	July 29-31
12	Belgian	Spa	August 26-28
13	Italian	Monza	September 9-11
14	Singapore	Singapore	September 23-25
15	Japanese	Suzuka	October 7-9
16	Korean	KIC	October 14-16
17	Indian	Noida	October 28-30
18	Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina	November 11-13
19	Brazilian	Interlagos	November 25-27

* Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix postponed ? future date to be confirmed

Luca Badoer Giancarlo Baghetti Julian Bailey Mauro Baldi Bobby Ball Marcel Balsa

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It is an open secret in Formula 1 that Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest double world champion in history this year, is motivated at least partly by statistics.

The Red Bull driver himself, though, has been a little shy about admitting it so far – but on Wednesday he went as far as he ever has towards acknowledging that, yes, he would not mind having a crack at the all-time records.

Until Vettel’s remarkable run of success, particularly this year, Michael Schumacher’s landmarks of seven titles, 91 wins and 68 pole positions looked unbeatable.

But Vettel, at the age of 24, already has 20 victories and 27 poles, as well as those two titles. Suddenly, Schumacher’s records don’t look quite so impregnable after all.

Vettel on his 2011: "Seasons like this don’t happen too often… we want to enjoy it." Photo: Getty

“I like statistics,” Vettel said, “as in I care about the sport, I know the sport, I know ex-F1 drivers, the big names, and know a little bit the numbers according to the drivers.

“The only thing I like from time to time is to see if my name is somewhere there. I don’t really set myself a target of wins and poles, I am not racing for statistics, so I know some numbers, but not all. I love Formula 1, I always did as a small kid and that hasn’t changed.”

A little later, the mask seemed to slip a little further when someone asked him who was the youngest three-time world champion.

“I don’t know,” Vettel replied. “Michael is the youngest seven-time world champion.”

So that’s the ambition?

“That is a long, long way to go,” Vettel said. “Obviously we have had two phenomenal seasons and sometimes then you get over-excited and start to talk about those things.

“But really we know how much it takes to win a race, and a whole championship. That really puts things in perspective. It’s a long, long way. I don’t think you can set the target to say I want to win seven world titles. What Michael achieved in many ways was outstanding.”

Vettel was talking at Red Bull Racing’s Milton Keynes headquarters, where a news conference on Wednesday morning preceded a private team party in the afternoon.

Vettel – and Red Bull – have every reason to celebrate, after putting together one of the most extraordinary seasons in F1 history.

With 16 races down and three still to go, Vettel has won 10 races, taken 13 pole positions, finished on the podium in every race but one (when he was fourth) and tied up the title in Japan 10 days ago with four races to spare.

But he admitted that it took the most mundane of things for the fact that he was a double world champion to finally sink in properly.

He arrived home in Switzerland on Monday from the Korean Grand Prix to find that his heating had broken. “It was quite cold, so I put the fire on,” he said, laughing. “I won’t go into details.”

Regardless, he said, “I really enjoyed the moment of opening the door, going into the house, knowing what we have achieved. It’s those small things that really make you realise what has happened.

“I really like it when nothing is happening, to enjoy the peace, to enjoy time. I didn’t do anything special on Monday – just surfing the internet, sleeping, just enjoy the peace and no stress. That’s when things really start to sink in.

“It’s a nice feeling, because you know all the hours you have spent in the gym, on the race track, it paid off.”

Vettel was in a sunny mood on Wednesday – as he so often is. But there was no mistaking the underlying steeliness that is part of what makes him such a formidable competitor.

Anyone who thought his ambition might have been dulled by such towering success so young will need to recalibrate their expectations.

Can you be as dominant next season, he was asked.

“We try,” he said. “You never want to come back and do worse than you have done. We set the benchmark very high, and it has been a special season for both sides.

“I had a very good run and the team had a phenomenal run, reliability was great – we’ve had no technical failures so far. We’ll see. We are working hard and we are extremely motivated.”

Sebastian Vettel “drove perfectly” all season, according to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Photo: Getty

None of their rivals at McLaren and Ferrari are under any illusions that Vettel and Red Bull will be anything other than formidably tough to beat next year.

After a 2010 season in which, as Vettel has admitted himself, a series of mistakes made winning his first world title much more difficult than it should have been, he and the team have moved on to another level.

He did make mistakes this year. One thinks of the half-spin on the last lap in Canada that handed victory to a charging Jenson Button. Or another spin when trying to stay in touch with the leaders in Germany, his least competitive race of the season. Or his couple of crashes in Friday practice sessions.

But none of them badly affected him, and overall he “drove perfectly”, as Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, the previous youngest double champion, described it.

Vettel looked at the new form F1 took on this season with deliberately high-wear Pirelli tyres and the DRS overtaking aid, realised what was needed to succeed in races, and ruthlessly used the best car on the grid to crush his rivals.

Race after race, he took pole, used the car’s inherent pace advantage to build the lead he needed to protect himself at the first pit stops while taking only what he needed to out of the tyres, and held the cushion for the rest of the race.

This strategy formed the bedrock of his season, and generally worked even on the few occasions when the Red Bull was not the fastest car in the race.

His driving was matched by a team that, operationally as well as in terms of the performance of its car, was in a league of its own.

“After every race, I get a print out of the race results, the championship standings and everything and the first thing I do is rip the championship standings off, because the only thing that matters is what we did on that day,” Vettel said.

“If you get beaten, you have to accept it. You shouldn’t like it, because then you would be in the wrong sport, but there are other very smart people and other very good drivers, and you never get beaten for no reason.

“This year some of the racing has been close, but if there was a chance to open a gap and benefit from it for the rest of the race we were always in a very strong position and many times used that to go for that.

“But I don’t think it’s fair to say we had a massive advantage all year long. Seasons like this don’t happen too often and that’s why we want to enjoy it.

“I am extremely proud and to see my name alongside some of the great names is really special. As much as the first world title, the second one people can’t take away from you. Many things in life come and go but this will stay forever.”

Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti Pablo Birger Art Bisch Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen

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Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the US GP is on the verge of disappearing from the calendar – and that nobody holds a contract to run the race. In essence the final deadline for any kind of resolution is the … Continue reading →

Duane Carter Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert Eugene Chaboud

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After winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the weekend, Lewis Hamilton has said that it marks the start of a new chapter. The McLaren man has had a difficult season overall, but was back to his best at the weekend to secure a memorable victory. Speaking afterwards he said: “It is early days yet, [...]

JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta Allen Berg Georges Berger Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard

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Vitaly Petrov says he regrets making harsh statements about his Lotus Renault team in a recent interview…

Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button

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Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd

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Chris Bristow Peter Broeker Tony Brooks Alan Brown Walt Brown Warwick Brown

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