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F1: Sauber Applies To Drop BMW From Name, Williams To Test Improved F-duct At Valencia

The word 'BMW' is set to be officially dropped from the title of Formula One's Hinwil based team.

Although the German carmaker pulled out of the sport at the end of last year, Peter Sauber's once-again independent team retained the


The word 'BMW' is set to be officially dropped from the title of Formula One's Hinwil based team.

Although the German carmaker pulled out of the sport at the end of last year, Peter Sauber's once-again independent team retained the official title BMW Sauber F1.

It is believed the reason was so that the commercial rewards due from Sauber's participation in the 2009 World Championship, resulting in sixth place in the title, were not jeopardised.

However, the situation means the C29 has been known officially and awkwardly as the BMW Sauber-Ferrari, due to the use of a Ferrari customer engine.

But although initially using clearly visible signage, the team has increasingly moved away from mentioning BMW, now running a red 'S' logo and Sauber Motorsport branding.

According to Germany's motorsport-total.com, the F1 Commission met on Monday ahead of a Geneva meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on Wednesday.

Sauber reportedly lodged a request with F1 Commission members - among them key stakeholders including FOM, fellow teams, promoters and sponsors - for a name change.

The next step is the approval of F1's governing body.

(GMM)

Williams To Test Improved F-duct At Valencia

Williams will try a developed version of its F-duct system at the Valencia street circuit this weekend.

The British team's interpretation of the McLaren-like concept first appeared in China, but technical boss Sam Michael said then that he expected it to take "a couple of months" to perfect.

Very little about Williams' F-duct - called the 'blown rear wing' by the Grove based team - has been heard since.

But on Monday, the team announced that the innovation will feature on the FW32 alongside some other new parts at the European grand prix.

Williams, however, referred in the media statement to its Valencia-spec F-duct as "the development blown rear wing", indicating that the component may not be fitted for qualifying or the grand prix.

"We'll have more new parts for this race but we'll have to wait and see what improvements they bring to the car," said driver Nico Hulkenberg, whose teammate Rubens Barrichello won at Valencia in 2009 at the wheel of a Brawn.

Hulkenberg added: "We are inching a bit closer to the top ten, as we showed in qualifying in Montreal, but we have to continue pushing and gain more tenths to get into the top ten consistently."

(GMM)

No Gearbox Flaw With Red Bull Car: Horner

Christian Horner has played down fears Red Bull might be suffering a fundamental problem with its RB6 car.

Mark Webber lost his front row starting place in Canada due to an unscheduled gearbox change penalty, and his teammate Sebastian Vettel finished the Montreal race with a gearbox problem.

German Vettel, 22, left the American continent insisting there is "no reason to panic" about the latest apparent reliability flaw, but he will drive on the streets of Valencia this weekend with the same gearbox.

Like Webber in Canada, an unscheduled change will cost him five grid places.

But team boss Horner told Germany's Auto Bild: "They were both different problems. We do not have a fundamental problem with the car."

And despite suggestions McLaren could be set to dominate again at Valencia, Red Bull will have a refined F-duct on the RB6.

"We expect some new parts and a step forward," said Vettel.

(GMM)

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