Motorsports

The wife of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be preparing a £10 million ($17.9 million) medical facility at their family mansion in anticipation of her husband being forced out of his current hospital intensive care unit place.Schumacher has spent the past three months in ICU at France's Grenoble University Hospital after his skiing accident and resultant brain injury at a French snow resort. However former F1 medical expert Dr Gary Hartstein has said it's likely Schumacher will have to exit his ICU bed to make way for other patients -- either more seriously injured, or with better chances of recovery."It's important to remember that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds are a very limited resource. Every day intensivists are asked to admit critically ill patients to units whose beds are all filled," Hartstein stated in his blog. "The 'chronically critically ill,' patients like Michael who depend on technology (a ventilator) to stay alive, are a tremendous conundrum for ICU personnel. As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent."The UK's Daily Mail has cited contacts close to the Schumacher family as saying that the F1 champion's wife, Corinna, has spent close to $18 million building a home care unit to anticipate her husband's release from hospital.The Schumacher family currently visits his Grenoble bedside daily, a 120km journey from their home estate on the banks of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. With Schumacher's condition not showing signs of improvement since the accident, and with the process of awakening him from his induced coma still not resulting in independent signs of activity, doctors could decide he would be just as comfortable with highly specialised maintenance care in his home.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The basic C-Class is already being rolled out and the C63 will follow later this year with a smaller 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 in the engine bay.There’s not much to see in this winter testing picture beyond wider bumpers and wheels, but we’re expecting much larger air intakes in the nose by the time its ready for showrooms.

Gary Hartstein, F1 sport's chief doctor between 2005 and 2012, said he had information from "usually impeccable sources" that Schumacher's care had been mismanaged.The lapses "could, and almost certainly did, worsen the outcome in Michael's case", Hartstein said, but he did not reveal what the medical mismanagement was, the Daily Mail reported.Hartstein said that the "terribly dismal prognosis" of Schumacher's long-term recovery prospects had led to his carers at the University Hospital in Grenoble, France, not encouraging his family to transfer him to a specialised clinic better equipped to deal with people in long-term comas."It is possible that the staff at Grenoble feel duty-bound to not place any pressure on the family to transfer out, despite the terribly dismal prognosis ... because of the clear (but unquantifiable) contribution of medical misjudgement to that prognosis," Hartstein wrote in his latest medical blog.Schumacher has now been in a coma for 87 days since a ski accident during a family holiday and Hartstein said it was now unlikely that the Ferrari legend would ever recover. "As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent," Hartstein said. 

It might be annoying to have your mum give directions while you're driving, but if she's four-time Australian Rally Championship winner Coral Taylor, you're going to be listening up. Taylor is taking on the role of navigator for her daughter Molly, who has been achieving considerable success in international competition, and was last year ranked the world's top female rally driver.This year she will compete with D-Max Racing, an Italian-based company that manages motorsport programs across Italy and Europe for customers driving Citroen rally cars. The 25-year-old Sydneysider will contest the year in a Citroen DS3 R3T, the same model she drove to success in last year's European Rally Championship (ERC), to become the Number One-ranked female rally driver in the world after taking victory in the inaugural ERC Ladies Trophy.Marketing pressures have seen Molly part company with long-time British co-driver Sebastian Marshall, with Coral Taylor taking on the role in which she and Neal Bates dominated Australian rallying for years. "I asked Seb how he would feel wearing a wig and a skirt but he didn't feel it would suit him," Molly joked."However, he understands the commercial reality of what I have to do. He is a first-class co-driver and I will miss having him in the co-driver's seat. I wouldn't be where I am without him, but I'm also mindful that to take the next step in my career, I need to be in a position to attract the commercial partners to make this happen."Equally I'm excited to share this next stage of my professional development with my mother, who has had my back since I first stepped into a car. She is arguably the best co-driver in Australia, plus she has had World Rally Championship experience and no-one knows me better." Coral Taylor, meantime, says she is looking forward to 'calling the corners' for her daughter.Molly's 2014 program includes Vodafone Rally de Portugal (April 3-6), Lotos Rally Poland (June 26-29), Neste Oil Rally Finland (July 31-August 3), ADAC Rallye Deutschland (August 22-24), Rallye de France-Alsace (October 3-5) and Wales Rally GB (November 14-16). 

Daniel Ricciardo has been stripped of becoming the first Australian to score a podium at the Australian Grand Prix with FIA stewards disqualifying him from the race in a midnight bombshell.In an ugly aftermath to the best performance by an Australian at either Melbourne or former GP venue Adelaide, the nation’s new sensation was a shattered man after learning his heroic and historic drive would be stricken from the record books.FIA officials fronted the media soon before midnight and told them the new Red Bull Racing driver had been disqualified from the season-opening race for a fuel flow breach that saw the Australian exceed regulations.Ricciardo, himself, was blameless in the debacle, race officials said. Red Bull Racing also maintain they’re not at fault. Team director Christian Horner says the team will appeal the disqualification, at a date yet to be known. “It is no fault of Daniel. I don’t believe it is the fault of the team,’’ Horner said.“I believe we have been compliant to the rules. I am extremely disappointed, quite surprised ... hopefully through the appeal process it will be quite clear that the car has conformed at all times to the regulations. We would not be appealing unless we were extremely confident that we have a defendable case.’’The bombshell was dropped after Ricciardo became the Melbourne Messiah when he defied history by holding off a fast-finishing Kevin Magnussen.The F1 paddock was sent into a frenzy about 8.30pm (EDT) when an FIA official reported the team had breached official fuel flow regulations.FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer said Ricciardo’s RB10 had “exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow of 100kg/h”.“As this is not in compliance with Article 5.1.4 of the 2014 Formula One Technical Regulations, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”Cars are not allowed to consumed more than 100kg’s of fuel an hour under new rules introduced this year with the introduction of the 1.6 litre V6 turbo engine.Ricciardo left the track about 11pm (EDT) before knowing his fate and said he was proud of his effort regardless of the ruling after only Nico Rosberg and his red-hot Mercedes stopped Ricciardo from winning.Regardless of the disqualification, Ricciardo’s performance has assured his future in the sport. The home crowd went wild as Ricciardo, 24, took his runner’s up trophy following a stunning start the 2014 season, the roar reducing the winner’s reception to a mere cheer.Ricciardo is now our man, and he proved why he was given a seat next to world champion Sebastian Vettel in the all-conquering Red Bull Racing team. “Wow…’’ Ricciardo said.“To be the first Aussie on the Aussie podium. I am just speechless. I’m tripping balls. This has been a remarkable turn around by the team from a few weeks ago and I am lost for words.’’Ricciardo was swamped on the line but blasted past Mercedes big gun and race favourite with a turn one lunge to steal second place.In a difficult race with several struggling to survive with the new machinery, Riccardo hopelessly chased the flawless Rosberg, who proved uncatchable in his superior machinery after teammate Hamilton and Vettel bombed out.Ricciardo was forced to show all his fight, determination and skill in the closing stages of the race as McLaren rookie Magnussen attacked.His effort was made even grander given his team was predicted to struggle following a horror testing season in the new V6 turbo.“If l look back to where we were three weeks ago it exceeds my expectations definitely,” he said. “We didn’t have confidence we would see a checkered flag let alone a podium. The support has been crazy and being the only Aussie on the grid and the result has been more than I could have been expected.’’Even winner Rosberg acknowledged Ricciardo’s stellar home race after beating him by almost 25 seconds. “Daniel got a little more support than us but that was expected,’’ Rosberg said.“We all worked hard over the winter and it is amazing to have such a good Silver Arrow. They have done a remarkable job. I had a great start and after that the car was just really quick today. We had a really good engine and no problem with fuel consumption. It all worked perfectly.’’There was drama even before the start light ushered in the new area of Formula One with a stalled Marrussia forcing an aborted start on the formation lap.With the flag set to drop on the Australian Grand Prix, Jules Bianchi forced a yellow to drop as he sat helpless on the grid.The Brit joined his teammate Jules Bianchi in the pitlane after the French man earlier fell victim to the same problem.Lotus driver Romain Grosjean further reduced the grid after being slapped with a pit-lane penalty for a pre-race blue.Rosberg blasted his way to the front when the flag finally dropped with a lightening start rocketing him past Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton.Ricciardo recovered from a sluggish start to steal second place from Hamilton. The carnage began behind instantly with Kamui Kobayashi locking up and taking out new Williams driver and Ferrari reject Felipe Massa.The drama continued when race favourite Hamilton was ordered to retire when his Mercedes dropped a cylinder. “As soon as I left the line I had a lot less power. I didn’t understand it and people came past. They asked me to come in and I think it was one of the cylinders that was not firing.’’Another bombshell was unleashed when reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel became another high-profile causality of the all-new machinery.Vettel’s race was over on lap five. “Second formation lap we lost power," Vettel said. “We don’t know why yet. It is going to be a long season. All of us expected cars to beach but unfortunately it was us." 

After besting the Holden Commodore, Toyota Corolla and Toyota HiLux to become No.1 in showrooms, the Mazda3 faces the Albert Park race test. It's a certain winner as the field for the Celebrity Race at the AGP is entirely comprised of all-new Mazda3s.They've had only minimal safety tweaking, and each is competing with a driver-friendly automatic gearbox, which means the race will come down to skill and daring.And the ability to keep the car alive in an environment where it's too easy to go crazy or kill the brakes and tyres by overdriving in the wide open spaces of Albert Park. "If I cannot win I'm going to take out as many people as possible. But don't tell anyone," Charlie Boorman, a long-distance motorcyclist and great mate of actor Ewan McGregor, jokes to Carsguide."I always tell people to get onto a racetrack to learn what it's like to be able to do something properly. I truly believe that what you learn in one day on a track will stay with you for your whole life." Last year's Celebrity Race was loaded with car-crashing craziness, so chief trainer and five-time Australian touring car champion Mark Skaife is working to ensure all 20 cars come through without damage."We have to make sure they apply themselves safely and enjoy the experience," says Skaife. "On the face of it, the Celebrity Challenge is fun. The people are normally full of character and ability and application, whether they are in the arts or sport or whatever."But, just as that is a good aspect, it can actually be one of the traps. Some of those great character traits can also cause a few problems. Some people, in the end, feel so comfortable that they think they're a bit bulletproof."This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

Scuderia Ferrari, along with the rest of the F1 teams, face a new set of challenges for the 2014 season, with new regulations bringing such extreme changes that they will alter not only the design of the cars, and the formula for the engines, but also the use of fuel and new driving styles and strategies.Together with their fuel and oils partner, Shell, the Ferrari team have produced the documentary Horse Power, which takes us behind the scenes of the campaign preparation. The documentary takes us into the inner workings of the high temple of Ferrari – the factory at Maranello – and the Shell labs where the specialised competition demands are researched and developed into race-bred fuels and lubricants."Since 2011 when the new rules were announced we have been working side by side with the Scuderia Ferrari engineers to develop the fuel and lubricants needed to meet the demands of the new V6 engine," Shell global sponsorship manager Richard Bracewell said."Horse Power features never-before-seen footage of the inner workings of the Maranello factory and Shell laboratories presents a unique opportunity for us to share with the world how closely we work with Scuderia Ferrari. It is a chance to meet the people and see the passion behind the racing highlighting our relationship and aspirations for the year ahead."Watch the desktop version of the Ferrari shows F1 preparation video here. The full version of Horse Power can be seen on Channels One and Ten on these dates:ONE HD:Sunday 16 March 0900 (AEDST) before live F1 coverage in all marketsMonday 17 March 0220 (after Aus F1 replay)Saturday 22 March 1500Friday 28 March 0930Wednesday 19 March 1.40amMonday 24 March 4pmSunday 30 March 10amTEN:Saturday 29 March 1500 

Wedged between the Red Bull and Mercedes pits is a white box about the size of a small caravan. Wedged into the same space are stacks of Pirelli tyres in tyre warmers and temporary walls shrouding fuel storage tanks known as carlottas.Inside the box white box is Shell's fuel laboratory, believed to the only such facility in the pitlane and working exclusively for Scuderia Ferrari.Normally there's three staff in there - the Technical Manager and two scientists. For the first race of the 2014, Shell has sent both of their Technical Managers, Ian Albiston and Guy Lovett to see in the new rules.Albiston is starting his fourteenth year with Shell and Ferrari, his seventh as a technical manager. He and Guy Lovett each do half of the races on the Formula 1 calendar and divide their time between their London homes and Maranello when not on the road with the Scuderia.As the door closes on the fuel lab, the sounds of the pitlane outside - in this case some loud, raucous music from the Red Bull pit, abruptly cease. The inside of the box looks like it's out of an Omo advertisement - bright, white surfaces, immaculately clean, with touch screens on the benches that run down either side of the lab.A pair of centrifuges sit on the left-hand bench and nothing is out of place. A clean desk policy ensures our prying eyes don't see anything we shouldn't.Tiny vials of fuel are stored in racks and several specimen bottles containing fuel are neatly lined up. The bottles have the car number inked on the side."What you see here goes to every Grand Prix," says Albiston. "We always have two scientists, one on fuels analysis on this side of the lab and engine oils and other oils on the other. You're probably asking well, what do we do in here? Three guys going round the world eating ice cream in the sun and parties every night. It's not quite true," he laughs.Out in pitlane we'd seen a nest of fifty litre drums with V Power logos on the side. Guy Lovett  told us that the fuel had been flown in because development was still going on the new fuel. Since the new rules were announced in 2011, Lovett and his team have blended around fifty iterations.Once delivered, the fuel is taken from the drums and put into what Ferrari call "carlottas", where the fuel is stored before being put into the car and when it is removed from the car."Every time Ferrari shift the fuel from the drums to the carlottas, we'll take a sample of fuel. When they shift the fuel from the car to the carlottas, we'll take a sample. We check and double check.""Over the race weekend will do anywhere from thirty to thirty-five samples. A lot of the fuel work is done prior to the race weekend. It's a lot of work to make sure the carlottas are clean, a lot of work before the fuel gets anywhere near the car."The reason so many samples are taken is simple - even a small irregularity in the fuel sample could mean the fuel is deemed illegal."The FIA can turn up at any time over the three days and take a sample of fuel from anywhere here. So they can take it from a drum, from a carlotta, could be the rig on a Sunday morning before the race, it could be from the car. It could be after qualifying or after the race."If there was an irregularity, what's the penalty? On a Friday, anywhere between a quarter or a half a million dollars fine. Saturday, we'd certainly be put to the back of the grid and Sunday you'd certainly be disqualified.""So we could be front page headlines but for totally the wrong reasons. That's not why Shell gets involved in motorsport."Albiston has been doing this for fourteen years and says he still loves it. "I always say, if hair doesn't come up on the back of your neck, it's time to give up. It still happens," he smiles. 

Every season of Formula One sees some tweaks to the rules, but in a few instances the changes have been so extreme they essentially transform the race series. This is one of those years.The technical regs are vastly different for this season, driven by the twin aims of making the cars both safer and more fuel efficient. Briefly, there's a new nose, front wing, rear wing, engine, gearbox and revised energy recovery system.The new engine formula ditches the 2.4 litre V8 used since 2006, replacing it with a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine limited to 15,000rpm. The engines now have to last twice as long -- 4000km compared to 2013's 2000km -- before they can be replaced.The ratios in the gearbox are no longer allowed to be changed at every race, with the teams nominating their eight ratios for the entire season, with just one change allowed.There are also new restrictions on fuel use, and there will be new driving styles to match -- and new strategies brought into play to win.In this video, Red Bull's new Australian recruit Daniel Ricciardo and teammate Sebastian Vettel compare the new and old cars -- with the Aussie in the new one. And clever computer animation gives a great break-down of the new cars.Watch the desktop version of the F1 in 2014 video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Michael Schumacher's family have issued an optimistic statement saying they're confident the seven-time Formula One champion will wake up. It's the first positive official comment from their camp since his skiing accident on December 29 and the subsequent induced coma and surgery to treat brain haemorrhaging.Doctors in France's Grenoble hospital -- where he remains since the accident are now trying to gradually bring him out of the coma, but the family also says they know the time span for ongoing awakening process, which started three weeks ago, could be extensive.Former teammate Fernando Alonso also said recently he saw encouraging signs when he visited Schumacher's bedside, and spoke to him of preparations for this year's Formula One, saying afterwards he saw Schumacher's mouth moving and that he was a very strong person.SCHUMACHER FAMILY STATEMENT"We are and remain confident that Michael will pull through and will wake up. There sometimes are small, encouraging signs, but we also know that this is the time to be very patient.Michael has suffered severe injuries. It is very hard to comprehend for all of us that Michael, who had overcome a lot of precarious situations in the past, has been hurt so terribly in such a banal situation.It was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael. We are taking this fight on together with the team of doctors, whom we fully trust. The length of the process is not the important part for us.It is heart-warming to see how much sympathy his family is shown and I can say that the family is extremely grateful for it. However, it should not be forgotten that Michael's family is dealing with an extremely intimate and fragile situation. And I would like to remind all of us that Michael has always actively kept his family out of the public eye and consequently protected their private lives.We try to channel all the energies we have toward Michael and we firmly believe that this will help him. And we believe that he will also win this fight."This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott