I write this post as the latest game in the series ‘F1 2011’ is launched and yes it includes the new Buddh International circuit at Noida. Its coded by codemasters and is marketed by Zapak in India.

The game has a number of new gameplay options, one of which is the much awaited co-op mode, you and your friend compete as formula one racing partners for a team. I have just got my review copy and cant wait to play it out. If you are looking for features, they are all listed here. You can also view the release trailer here, the graphics look simply awesome ! Am awaiting my Xbox copy to really see the HD graphics

The game is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

F1 2011™ is the sequel to the BAFTA winning FORMULA ONE™ videogame from Codemasters®, the developer and publisher of award-winning racing games. Developed under Codemasters’ exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One   World Championship Limited, F1 2011 will come complete with all the official drivers, teams and circuits featuring in the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE World Championship™. Zapak Games, the licensing & merchandising arm of Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd. will distribute the title in India.

Developed using Codemasters’ EGO Game Technology Platform F1 2011 will deliver an unrivalled FORMULA ONE experience that puts players into the heart of the world’s most exciting sport, powered by cutting edge graphics, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

· Go Compete!  F1 2011 builds extensively on the multiplayer options from F1 2010. Split-screen racing is included for the first time in a high-definition FORMULA ONE title. Competitive online racing is extended with 16 players going head-to-head in GRAND PRIX™ with up to 8 AI drivers added to simulate the full grid of 24 drivers. An innovative new co-op Championship enables two players to lead their favourite FORMULA ONE team to Driver and Constructor glory across the course of a FORMULA ONE season. These enhancements are complimented by additional quick fire modes including Time Attack.

· New Circuits for 2011. Two stunning new additions to the race calendar extend the number of circuits to feature in F1 2011 to 19. Players will be able to debut ahead of the drivers on the Buddh International Circuit, the home of the first FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA and players will be able to test themselves on the iconic Nürburging circuit for the first time in High Definition, as this legendary track returns for the 2011 season.

· Be the driver, live the life.  From the paddock to the track, F1 2011 takes players closer to the experience of being a FORMULA ONE driver than ever before. A new Parc Ferme area, an expanded and revamped Paddock, new Pit Lane, celebration and reaction cinematics and an enhanced media interaction system fully immerse players in the glamour, pressure and excitement of being a FORMULA ONE driver. Players progress from rookie to FIA FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPION in an extensive career mode where gamers fight to become priority driver and shape the development of the car by performing well in races and earning performance upgrades.

· All the cars, all the stars. Fully licensed, F1 2011 features all the drivers set to contest the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button. All 2011 teams are represented including Ferrari, Red Rull Racing, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lotus Renault GP in their iconic black and gold livery.

· KERS, DRS and more! F1 2011 includes all the new rule changes set to make this year’s season the most exciting yet. F1 2011 debuts DRS (Drag Reduction System) – the new system which enables drivers to adjust the rear wing on the car to give a boost of up to 10km. KERS also returns, giving players an extra 80BHP for up to 6.67 seconds, enabling drivers to blast past rivals. Combined, these systems encourage close wheel-to-wheel racing with new options for both defence and attack. This season’s new Pirelli tyres are faithfully simulated in the game, and if players push their car too hard they may experience a range of authentic new damage failures.

· Full Day / Night Racing. The 2011 FORMULA 1 ETHIAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX comes alive with a full day/ night transition which recreates the special atmosphere at this unique track. Every one of the existing circuits from the 2010 roster has been given a complete visual overhaul. New atmospheric effects, including dynamic clouds, compliment a weather system which features an advanced rain model that affects on-track grip.  Powered by the EGO Game Technology Platforms, F1 2011 pushes forward the graphical standard of what can be achieved in a racing game.

· The world’s greatest cars, the most exciting racing. Building on the heritage of producing award-winning racing games for over a decade, Codemasters is uniquely placed to realise the spectacle and exhilaration of racing 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars for all fans. F1 2011 can be tuned for players from a wide range of skill levels, from the casual gamer to the hardcore simulation enthusiast and those in between, with a range of differing skill levels. A huge range of vehicle variables can be tuned to suit each player’s unique driving style, or drivers can entrust their Race Engineer to set their car up and head straight onto the track. F1 2011 will support a comprehensive range of racing wheels for the ultimate racing experience.

· Unprecedented authenticity. Codemasters has used its unprecedented access to the world of FORMULA ONE to connect the development team directly with FORMULA ONE teams and tyre manufacturers. Extensive consultancy has taken place with a range of FORMULA ONE professionals, including race engineers, mechanics and drivers. This has been combined with real world data including CAD and on-board telemetry to deliver a race experience complete with authentic handling, accurate circuits and precisely modelled racing cars.

· EGO powered FORMULA ONE. F1 2011 is being developed on the EGO Game Technology platform, evolved from the award winning EGO engine. Enabling Codemasters development talent to share tools and technology across Studios and Central Technology teams, the EGO Game Technology Platform empowers Codemasters game designers to realise their creative visions across multiple platforms featuring cutting edge graphics, powerful AI, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

“”The WMSC has stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructors’ points in the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championshiop an the team can score no point for the remainder of the season *.
“Furthermore, the team will pay a fine equal to 100 million dollar, less the FOM income lost as a result of the points deduction.
“However, due to the exceptional circumstances in which the FIA gave the team’s drivers an immunity in return for providing evidence, there is no penalty in regards to drivers’ points **.
“The WMSC will receive a full technical report on the 2008 McLaren car and will take a decision at its December 2007 meeting as to what sanction, if any, will be imposed on the team for the 2008 season.”
The full reasons for this decision will be issued on the 14th September 2007.

* Points gained by other teams so far this season will not be affected.
** No McLaren representative will be allowed on the podium should a McLaren driver win in any of the remaining races of the 2007 season.”

The decision basically hands the 2007 formula one constructor’s championship to Ferrari who are now 57 points ahead of now second place BMW sauber F1 team.

Ferrari released the following statement :

“In light of new evidence, facts and behaviour of an extremely serious nature and grossly prejudicial to the interest of the sport have been further demonstrated.

“Ferrari is satisfied that the truth has now emerged.”

Ronn Dennis was meanwhile relieved that McLaren can still race in the 2007 and 2008 seasons (they must prove no Ferrari data was used in their car)

“Having been at the hearing I do not accept that we deserve to be penalised or our reputation damaged in this way,” he said.

“Today’s evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.

“The WMSC received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren, and that no confidential data had been passed to the team.

“The entire engineering team in excess of 140 people provided statements to the FIA affirming they had never received or used the Ferrari information.

“We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home.

“We are also continually asked if McLaren didn’t use the information, what was the reason for Stepney and Coughlan collecting all this data about Ferrari? We can only speculate as neither Coughlan nor Stepney gave evidence at today’s hearing, but we do know that they were both seeking employment with other teams, as already confirmed by both Honda and Toyota.”

Martin Whitmarsh meanwhile said that they were infact contemplating an appeal

Martin Whitmarsh:”We believe we have got the grounds for an appeal, but of course we are going to wait for the findings of the FIA, which we believe are going to be published tomorrow, and will consider those carefully before we make that decision.

The nature of new evidence was also disclosed by McLaren, and as expected they were email exchanges between the drivers and also Mike Coughlan. Ron Dennis had said :

“I can tell you that the evidence today was primarily email traffic between our drivers, and in one instance, Mike Coughlan.”

So his chief designer knew about the Ferrari data, his drivers did , but apparently the rest of the team didnt.

Here are some snazzy photos of Markus Winklehock in Action and also an interview. Hopefully our German formula one fans will enjoy it the most, maybe the Dutch formula one fans dig him too

Q: It probably hasn’t sunk in yet, but how do you view the weekend?

‘It was a special day, my first F1 race, and in Germany. I was quite lucky that the team made a good decision to bring me in, and we immediately changed to wet tyres. It was a team decision – I saw some rain drops on my visor on the formation lap, but I really didn’t think that it was going to rain that hard! It worked, and I overtook many cars.’

Q: When you first went out you were at the back. When did you first start catching people and thinking, this could be good?

‘Immediately when I went out of the pits I overtook the first cars, and I could see that I was much quicker with the rain tyres. Many cars went off, and it was really difficult conditions. There was so much water, it was not easy to hold the car on the track. I didn’t want to take any risks, because for me it was the first time in an F1 in rain conditions. But I was really happy. I saw the pit board with P1 on, and I asked the team am I really in P1? They said yes you are, keep on pushing! Unfortunately the safety car went out, but they would have caught me out anyway.’

Q: Can you remember who you passed?

‘Everybody! I think I overtook four cars between the first corner and the second corner. Then when I overtook Kimi Raikkonen I thought that maybe I am now in P1! When the red flag came I knew I’d lost my lead, but anyway, I led an F1 race.’

Q: What advice did the team give you during the break?

‘Just keep on pushing. No risk, no pressure, just go!

Q: What was it like at the restart?

‘I didn’t want to take any risks, because I knew that the Ferraris and McLarens would be quick, and they would pass me. And at that moment we had the heavy rain tyres on, and the others had intermediates on. The track was already too dry in many parts, so I really lost a lot of grip compared to the others.’

Q: How hard was it to keep people behind?

‘It was not easy. Like I said I never drove in rain conditions, and I didn’t want to take any risks, I didn’t want to miss the braking point at the first corner and end up in the gravel. That would be the most embarrassing situation for me! So I let them past. I was trying to fight a little bit, but I was losing out of the corners so much, and they overtook me just like that. I couldn’t match their speed so we changed back to grooved tyres.’

Q: What happened in the end?

‘It was disappointing for sure, but it was not a mistake of the team. I think it was an electronic problem. Unfortunately the target was to finish the race and see the chequered flag, but anyway I have to say thank you to the whole team. I had a really nice weekend with them, all the guys, the mechanics and engineers, were working really hard. I just enjoyed it, the whole weekend.’

Photo Credit : Egmond/Spyker/Peter J. Fox

Felipe Massa ::

“I was really surprised when he came to say I did that on purpose – I would never do something like that on purpose,” insisted Massa.

“Like I said in Barcelona, that was normal, here was normal. It’s going to be like that.”

“So if he was a little bit unhappy, it’s not my problem. I just do my race and I follow the rules of the sport. That’s all.

“If somebody tells me something I did wrong, and I didn’t, I will be unhappy. That is normal.

“But if he has apologised, then that’s fine. He knows he was not right after the race.”

The race was initially stopped after cars went spin happy all around the track. Formula one débutante Markus Winkelhock who was on wet weather tyres was the race leader when other cars went scurrying to the pits for wet tyres.

Raikkonen had an unlucky race with him going out with a mechanical problems. I missed a part of the race as it was raining here also which meant that my satellite TV service went down with thunder.

Formula One European Grand Prix 2007 Results

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 8.155
3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault at 1:05.674
4. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota 1:05.937
5. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:13.656
6. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:20.298
7. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 01:22.415
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1 lap behind
9. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1 lap
10. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1 lap
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1 lap
12. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
13. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1 lap
R Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 34 laps completed
R Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 19 laps completed
R Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 18 laps
R Markus Winkelhock (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 13 laps
R Jenson Button (GB) Honda two laps
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari two laps
R Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota two laps
R Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari two laps
R Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari two laps

Fastest lap: Felipe Massa, 1:32.853, lap 34

The qualifying was delayed as Lewis Hamilton crashed at the Schumacher ‘S’(becoming the first driver ever to crash his formula one car there) and struggled to recover and get out of his car. He was carried away injured on a stretcher. But there are some serious doubts about his race fitness for Sunday’s race. The news is that he might even miss the race on Sunday. If he is infact fit for the German/European Grand Prix then he will start in 10th place.

Ron Dennis claimed the accident was caused due to a Wheel Gun failure, but went on to say that none of the mechanics were at fault for causing the crash.

“He has no pain, no broken bones and did not lose consciousness,” said Ron Dennis.

“We won’t decide for a couple of hours.”

“Effectively the wheel wasn’t properly put on, but that’s not the mechanic’s fault,”

“We are not quite sure what failed but in fact it was quite fortunate because the same gun was used on Fernando Alonso’s car and he hadn’t started to lean on it yet.

“We could tell from that it was a gun failure. At least we know we don’t have a problem with the car.”

Meanwhile the Iceman Flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen claimed the pole position. Kimi beat teammate Felipe Massa’s time in the final minute of the final session, and Alonso split the Ferraris later on. So the grid for tomorrow’s F1 race shall be :

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