F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

Formula 1

F1: Grand Prix News Briefs (Update 5)

"I have a good feeling about 2012," says Nico Rosberg...

SPEED Staff / GMM | Posted January 04, 2012 GMM Newswire

Nico Rosberg will be back at Mercedes next season. (Photo: Getty Images)

Rosberg Hopes Mercedes Can End Losing Streak: Nico Rosberg is confident Mercedes is the key to ending his losing streak in Formula One. The highly rated 26-year-old, with six full seasons under his belt, now has the unenviable tally of more than a century of consecutive Grands Prix without a single win. "If you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, you can't do anything about it," the German told Bild newspaper. Rosberg spent his first four seasons with Williams but, now at Mercedes into the foreseeable future, he is confident he is at the right team. The Brackley-based squad does not intend to get its 2012 car up and running until the second test of the preseason, but Rosberg does not sound worried. "I have a good feeling about 2012," he insisted. "I know our guys are working hard in the factory to finally bring us to the front. I know we have many good ideas." He was asked by the Kolner Express tabloid if he has a new year's resolution. "I need to be patient," said Rosberg. "I will not get frustrated as our sport is unique. You are so dependant on the equipment that is available to you, which means that the majority do not win and someone thinks he's the best, even if this is often not the case. But I'm happy where I am and I want to lead Mercedes to wins and championships."

Ferrari Shops At McLaren To Boost Aerodynamics: Pat Fry has attracted a swathe of engineers to follow his move from McLaren to Ferrari. After a long and fruitful McLaren career, Briton Fry switched to Ferrari last year and is now the famous Italian team's chassis technical director. According to Italy's Corriere dello Sport, he has convinced his former senior McLaren colleagues including Rupad Darekar, Jonathan Heal, Ioannis Veloudis, Lawrence Hodge and Giacomo Tortora to join him at Ferrari. And Finland's Turun Sanomat reports that McLaren's aerodynamics project leader Marcin Budkowski is also set to switch to Ferrari. But on the F1Enigma blog, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale insisted Budkowski is simply taking a "well earned sabbatical" and will return to work later in 2012.

Bianchi Regrets Sauber Debut Not Possible In 2012: Jules Bianchi has admitted a race seat at Sauber this year would have been a logical step for his motor racing career. The Frenchman admitted to RMC radio that he is likely to play "an important role" in the paddock this season in order to push for his race debut in 2013. Multiple sources are reporting that the reserve seat at Force India, occupied by Nico Rosberg in 2011, is the 22-year-old's likely destination. "The goal is to find a team that allows me the most mileage and (at the same time) I can still stay with Ferrari," GP2 driver Bianchi, a Ferrari development driver, said. "I feel ready for F1 already in 2012, but I must stay on the ground. It's a little hard, but that's what Formula One is like." The Swiss team Sauber is powered by Ferrari and, prior to Felipe Massa's Ferrari debut in 2006, it gave the Brazilian a race seat. "It wasn't possible to be at Sauber," insisted Bianchi, "as Perez and Kobayashi are signed up for a while. It would have been a very good opportunity but it wasn't to be."

Famous Son Rosberg Now Own Man In F1: Nico Rosberg, once chiefly described as the son of 1982 World Champion Keke, insists he is now his own man. As a teenager, while he charged toward F1 as GP2 champion six years ago, Rosberg's career was guided by his father, the tough 'Flying Finn' who once managed Mika Hakkinen. "His advice has always been important to me," Rosberg admitted to the Kolner Express, "but now he stays out of it completely. I have done all the negotiations with Mercedes myself," he added, referring to his new multi-year contract with the Brackley-based team. "That was quite a challenge but my father helped me in the closing stages, with all the paperwork and things." Rosberg, meanwhile, insists there are no problems between his father and Michael Schumacher, despite Keke publicly lambasting his Mercedes teammate amid the 'Rascasse' scandal some years ago. "They have buried the hatchet," said Rosberg. "I've always been very neutral on that one. But maybe that's one reason why my father does no interviews anymore."

Red Bull driver Mark Webber likes living on the edge. (Photo: Getty Images)

Webber Enjoys Wheelie On Grand Prix Motorbike: Mark Webber has this week enjoyed a high-risk ride on the back of a Grand Prix motorcycle. The Australian, who recently sat out part of his own outdoor adventure challenge in Tasmania ostensibly due to Red Bull's fear of injury, rode at the rear of a Ducati 2-Up machine at Queensland Raceway. At the controls was his countryman Troy Bayliss, a former MotoGP rider and triple Superbike World Champion. "Some things need doing," wrote Webber on Twitter as he published a photo of himself and Bayless mid-wheelie. Bayliss replied: "You (Webber) were a top pillion and ripped it up solo as well." During the 2008/2009 preseason, Webber badly broke his right leg in a mountain biking descent. He said earlier this month: "I'm not going to wrap myself in cotton wool. Formula One rules my life for most of the year, but I am going to go away, train and have fun doing it and nobody is going to stop me."

Mercedes Sure V6 Engines Will Sound 'Great': Mercedes is sure Formula One engines will still sound good when the regulations change significantly in 2014. The German marque, whose F1 engines are designed and built in Northamptonshire, is believed to be imminently ready to fire up its first 1.6 liter turbocharged V6. But after the sound of F1 changed when the sport moved from normally-aspirated V10 to its current V8 engines in 2006, there have been fears the cars could sound comparatively tame when they are powered by turbo V6s in 2014. Thomas Fuhr, managing director of Mercedes' HighPerformanceEngines division, doesn't think so. "With the limit of 15,000 rpm, the engines will have a great sound," he is quoted by Italy's Tuttosport. "With the six pipes going into the turbocharger I think the sound will be very nice," added Fuhr.

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