£5 Million Mercedes 'abandoned' in warehouse.

Photo courtesy of Motorshout.com

A Mercedes Formula One car has been discovered in a warehouse after being abandoned for over thirty years.

The W196 model is the car former World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio drove in the 1954 season.

The Argentinian driver drove to four consecutive titles between 1965 and 1957 and is widely considered one of the greats of the sport.

The 'Silver Arrow' car had been untouched in the warehouse for over thirty years until earlier this year and is considered by auctioneers as 'one of the most important F1 cars of all time.'

W196 interior. Courtesy of Peachparts.com

Racing historian Doug Nye said: "The first time I saw this car I needed oxygen. It's landmark technology and it was driven by a landmark driver."

"Some people think it looks grotty - that's not the point - the really rare cars today are the unrestored ones," Said Nye, who declined to reveal the location of the warehouse.

"Every car that's restored has lost a part of its history because it's been obliterated by repainting or by rebuilding. Nothing's been obliterated on this, it's just a beautiful survivor."

The car will now be auctioned off at the GoodWood Festival of Speed and is expected to fetch over £5 Million.

Car enthusiast Robert Gerald spoke exclusively to TheDRSzoneF1, he said: "I would love to have it, it would be more than owning a car, it would be owning a piece of history."

Robert, believes you cannot put a price on a car like this, "It is a lot of money, I cannot deny that but for what it is, you cannot put a price on that, it is less than one in a million," he said.

"Whoever gets it, I hope it is up and running again before long, cars like that need to be shown to the world, it has been hidden away for far too long."

Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of Fangio winning the World Drivers Championship' in the car, so it would be fitting for the car to be ready for then.




Written By Ben Kelbrick

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton

9. Nico Rosberg

Source: Theplace2

27 year-old Nico Rosberg outperformed 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher last year which is not an easy task.

However, finishing 9th in the Drivers' Championship it would be superficial to say he had an impressive season.

A first career win at the Chinese Grand Prix provided a great start to the season, but the Mercedes driver was unable to really kick on from there.

The 'Silver Arrow' team produced some staggering straight-line speed but lacked downforce to compete with the front-runners on too many occasions.

Since their return to F1 the Mercedes team have insisted they aren't here to make up the numbers and want to challenge for titles' on both fronts.

Following an impressive pre-season test, Rosberg reflected on his 2013 challenger, the W04 he said:

"Definitely progress from last year and for sure we are going to be closer to the top guys," said Rosberg. 

"That's important because it's going in the right direction. The team has done a really good job over the winter and it really looks like all their hard work and effort has been worthwhile."

"It's a pleasure to drive at the moment because the balance is quite good and there are a lot of positives."


10. Lewis Hamilton

Source: The Sun

Any driver who leaves a race winning Mclaren to join a struggling Mercedes will have his critics and Lewis Hamilton is no different.

With Mercedes only beginning their 3rd year since returning to F1, the possibility of them producing a competitive car within the current rulings are slim. 

Hamilton was undoubtedly influenced by Niki Lauda who talked of him 'emulating Michael Schumacher at Ferrari,' with this in mind Hamilton will have one eye on the rue changes in 2014

But, for now the Brit notably agrees that his new team probably won't be as strong as Mclaren and claims he was ready for a 'fresh challenge'.

Upon his arrival Hamilton has been impressed by the work ethic experienced at the team factory, he said:

“It’s so encouraging to see the amount of work that’s going in, to see the atmosphere there [at the factory] and how determined everyone is."

“I’ve a great group of guys behind me. I’m sure they’ve been working hard over the years."

“But I’ve only just arrived and immediately I see just a fantastic determination and effort going in. I hope it all pays off.”

2013 F1 season preview

9 days until the wait is finally over.

                                                      Source: polepositionsimulators.co.uk

By Ben Kelbrick

The third and final pre-season test at circuit de catalunya has now drawn to a close and all eyes are turned to FP1 at Melbourne on March 15. With relatively minimal rule changes, the cars have been described as 'evolutions' to their predecessors so, RedBull once again are favourites for the title.

Although legalities remain similar to last year, the driver line-up has had several changes. We bid farewell to seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, the most decorated driver in F1 is joined in retirement by the man who has entered the most races, 40-year old former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

21 year-old Brit, Max Chilton makes the step up from GP2 to Marussia Racing. He is joined by Jules Bianchhi who impressed at last seasons young drivers' test. Although, he becomes the third proposed driver to partner Chilton this year following a chaotic closed season for the Oxford-based team.

 Former Sauber man Sergio Perez joins Jenson Button at Mclaren. The Mexican will be looking to re-kindle the early form of last year that caught the eye of the Woking-based team.

Sauber will start the 2013 campaign with an all new line up with lead driver Nico Hulkenberg being joined by rookie Esteban Gutierrez.

Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil returns to Force India following a one-year absence and Valtteri Bottas fills the vacant slot at Williams.

Arguably the most anticipated move was Lewis Hamilton, leaving Mclaren after working with the team for six years. Ross Brawn will be looking to further improve on last years disappointing season and fans will relish the chance to see how well Lewis can perform in, I daresay a likely weaker car than the Mclaren.

                                             Triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel. Source: formula-one.speedtv.com
Following the three tests the usual suspects have impressed although, it has been difficult to gauge any real performance between them.

Sebastian Vettel described this years testing as 'less conclusive than ever,' so surely, we should expect another exciting year.

The German triple World Champion is said to be disappointed with the final few days of testing though, blaming the influence of the tyres for the lack of data received from his new RB9 challenger.

                                                Pirelli 2013 tyre range. Source: F1.com

"We just have to look after ourselves, we didn't tick all the boxesthat we would have liked to and the last two days were not as good as we would have expected," said Vettel.

"But there's still a little bit of time left before the season starts."

Vettel was unable to answer the specific areas that Red Bull needed to improve, "It's extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact areas because the tyres were not consistent enough."

"If you sum up the whole three tests, we were all limited to what the tyres could do."

"It was extremely difficult to read some set-up changes and find a good direction with the car because the tyres were simply not good enough."

                                                        2012 runner-up Fernando Alonso. Source : binaryapi.ap
                                                                                        


His Closest competitor last year, Ferraris' Fernando Alonso seemed optimistic about his chances this season following his initial reaction to the F138

"Last year we had a very difficult winter, we were completely lost, we didn't know what the car was doing. And with that car we fought for the title until the last race in Brazil."

"We now have a car that is responding well to what we change, and that is doing what we expect."

"We know we are maybe not the quickest yet, but the potential of the car is there."

                                                         New Mercedes man Lewis Hamilton. Source: DailyMail

Lewis Hamilton has remained coy on his hoped for the year and was initially adamant that he wouldn't challenge for the title, despite impressing in early pre-season testing.

Although, the blistering pace shown by both Hamilton and team-mate Rosberg at the final test in Barcelona has led to many people feeling they are more competitive than they claim.

When asked if he tought he could challenge for the title Hamilton replied, “It’s not ‘no chance’ and not definitely ‘we will’.”

"There is everything to play for still. We won’t know until the first race but don’t be surprised if we get to the first race and we are not at the front. We are going in the right direction, though.”

                                                        Mclarens Jenson Button. Source: therichest.org
Mclaren have experienced an up and down pre-season with undoubtedly quick single lap pace but reliability has hindered them.

"In terms of laps completed and the testing I have achieved, I think we're behind on that," added Button. "It's not been perfect and we know we've got a lot of work to do in terms of spending more time out on the circuit and understanding the car.

Speaking ahead of the final test Button said:

"So I am really looking forward to a good test next week in Barcelona as I don't feel that we have been able to do enough to really understand the car and where we are with the car. We've got to sort out our own issues and get the best out of the car that we have."