52
Scuderia Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne & Williams F1's Dr Mark GillanFrance is in the F1 spotlight again! Three French drivers (Jean-Eric Vergne, Romain Grosjean and Charles Pic) will be racing in 2012; and there is talk, too, of a return of the French GP. At the forefront of the Renaissance, shoulder-to-shoulder with Grosjean, is the precociously-talented Vergne, a 21-year-old whose path to F1, backed by Red Bull from an early stage, has been straight and true: a successful karting career led to FRenault Campus, FRenault Eurocup, British F3 and, last year, World Series by Renault. Jean-Eric won that British F3 Championship in 2010 (driving for Trevor Carlin) and he finished runner-up in the 2011 WSR Championship, again racing for Carlin. After some late 2011 season Friday morning outings with Scuderia Toro Rosso and then a sparkling test for both STR and Red Bull Racing at Abu Dhabi, Jean-Eric (known by the diminutive "JEV") clinched the STR race drive for 2012. We spoke to him at STR's headquarters in Faenza, Italy. Also joining us on Episode 52 is the new Williams Chief Operations Engineer, Dr Mark Gillan. Highly-rated in the industry after successful careers at McLaren, Jaguar,Toyota and at the University of Surrey, where he was a Professor of Vehicle Engineering, Mark is a key part of the new face of WilliamsF1 - one that includes Mike Coughlin's style of engineering, Jason Somerville's aero department, Renault engines and Bruno Senna. |
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this episode? 
Another suberb show, and excellent after show show, your connection between the sport and the supporter is wonderful. Ron Dennis deserves credit for his award winning building.
question : are the mclaren team going to copy the Williams gearbox ? because the driveshaft look pretty lower than the last year
Staistics for team members who have been on Winning teams.
Exciting Times and location.
Electronic viewing and audible aids for rear and side visibilty.
Looking foward to the up coming tests in Spain.
Hope Lewis Hamilton is more relaxed this year.
question : is the ride of the car is more higher than the last year car ? and can they improve that ?
Showing wording from Episode 52.
The new Mclaren looks great in design and overall effect.
Must have been a great day at Mclaren.
Another one for scarbs; how many of the teams and which would you expect to stay away from the stepped nose?
How did McLaren manage their nose? At first I thought they lowered the front of the tub. But on the comparison (26 to 27)photos the front of the tub looks even higher. The tip of the nose is lower I can see that…
Could the actual exhaust outlets have been disguised on the launch car?
How much do you think that the MP4-27 will change until we see it on the grid for the Australian GP?
question to scarbs: didnt the rules say that the exhaust exit should be a circle…so is that exhaust exit the mclaren has on their launch car legal?? and doesnt it look too small??
question to scarbs: didnt the rules say that the exhaust exit should be a circle…so is that exhaust exit the mclaren has on their launch car legal?? and doesnt it look too small??
question to scarbs: didnt the rules say that the exhaust exit should be a circle…so is that exhaust exit the mclaren has on their launch car legal?? and doesnt it look too small??
Question for Scarbs:
Under 2012 technical regulations, can exhaust placement influence rear tyre heating?
Effectively using the exhausts as a tyre warm-up aid.
Looks like Mclaren have ditched the 2011 side-pods and gone with the traditional style. What does Scarbs think about the changes.
On a separate point, Rubens did so well in testing for Indycar, and I know he is a racer at heart but what a great shame his final year of racing in #F1 was not a farewell one, where he could have be clapped out by all. He has been a great ambassador for motorsport.
The snout of the new MP4-27, is nothing like I imagined, the front end look great
So that’s the case? Quite a revealtoin that is.
Such an ipmresisve answer! You’ve beaten us all with that!
I see that people like to discuss the Rubens situation. My opinion is that all those years of experience he has didn’t make him a top driver. He should have been clearly dominant over Pastor but he was outpaced several times. He should have been Button’s biggest rival during the Brawn year and he wasn’t. And finally he was behind Michael most of the time during the Ferrari era. He is quite good in the rain, but makes mistakes frequently during the season as well. So what do you expect? Brawn didn’t want him anymore, now it’s Frank’s turn. F1 is about results. If experience was so important, neither Vettel nor Hamilton would have been world champions so soon. I have a lot of respect for Rubens, but honestly, he didn’t deliver. A top driver has to be fast and consistent. Rubens is not consistent and his speed comes only under special circumstances. This is my humble opinion.
FIA is constantly quenching all the fun and excitement from Formula 1 by blocking new clever technical solutions like the new “active” suspension. I’m with Ross Brawn, stablish a budget cap and loosen the restrictions. Let the engineers put their talent on track! Let smaller teams surprise the big ones with new revolutionary solutions, let the cars be different! FIA is acting like an enemy. Another thing I don’t understand, how and why other teams get to know what a particular team is submitting for approval? Weren’t things supposed to be secret?
when will formula 1 increase they’re wheel size, pirelli was interested in doing so.. any news??
How important is Bruno Senna for the future of Williams F1 team? His uncle drove there which ended in a very unfortunate event. I think it is the beginning of a new era for Williams’ future.
Do you think Jules Bianchi will be Force India’s 3rd driver this year?
Good fixing, good show. Thank You again.
I’m sure that Williams will perform well (TOP6) in 2012. With or without Peugeot the Le Mans Racing will be equally good within the next two years thanks Audi, HPD and Toyota…
Not Magny cours I hope. Paul Ricard would be much better IMO
Sorry!!! Lotus car launch is 5th of Feb 4 pm online NOT March…….My fault not Scarbs
why no acknowledgement of Rubens?? from Williams itself for his services i mean, something wrong here…
Apparently Lewis Hamilton has to testify! Such a shame not to see stutil in a car next year
Well said Mike!!! I hope were wrong
Williams now have very little experience between their drivers, which will hinder development of the car. History shows that experience is crucial from at least one driver
Lotus to launch their car on-line March 5th according to a Scabs tweet
Im pleased to hear Ed Wood is still at Williams.
why no acknowledgement of Rubens??
Good evening all!! :)
your saying Rubens isnt talented or doesnt have more potential, were just after the cash!!!!!!