Ferrari alters car´s name

Ferrari will now refer to its 2011 car as the Ferrari F150th Italia after complaints from the Ford Motor Company that the team’s use of the original F150 name was infringing its trademark.
The Maranello outfit announced prior to the launch of its new car last month that its latest challenger would be named F150 to mark the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification.
However, it emerged on Thursday that Ford had objected to the team’s use of the moniker, and subsequent logo produced for the car, as it was too similar to the one for its top-selling F-150 pick-up truck, with the car giant reportedly launched a law suit in America against Ferrari.
Ferrari has since issued a statement saying it finds Ford's complaints “very difficult to understand”, pointing outing that its use of F150 – which the Italian team claims was the 2011 car’s abbreviated name anyway – was to highlight the Italian anniversary and wouldn’t be used on a commercial vehicle.
Nonetheless, the team adds that in an act of good faith, and to avoid confusion, it will now only refer to the car as the Ferrari F150th Italia.

Massa, the fastest at day one in Jerez

Felipe Massa got the second pre-season test off to the ideal start for Ferrari as he topped the timesheets at Jerez on Thursday, as rival McLaren’s 2011 car made its official track bow.
The Brazilian, driving the car now known in more long-winded form as the Ferrari 150th Italia, set a best time of 1m20.709s during the morning and the mark comfortably remained unbeaten for the remainder of the day.
Ferrari worked on a programme that consisted of initial set-up work for the twisty circuit, further Pirelli tyre evaluations and aerodynamic testing, with Massa’s progress only uninterrupted by several red flags – although he still topped 100 laps. 
Mexican rookie Sergio Perez took his Sauber C30 to a potentially encouraging second place for the Swiss team, the 2010 GP2 runner-up also setting his best time (1m21.483s) before lunch.

Kubica injured in rally crash

Lotus Renault F1 driver Robert Kubica is in hospital because lat Sunday he suffered a heavy crash in a rally car. Kubica, who drives rallies regularly, was competing in the Rondo di Andora when he had an accident in his Skoda Fabia on the first stage.


There are no details of his injuries as yet but the proximity of the accident to the start of the F1 season could be a major blow for both Kubica and the Lotus Renault team who are ready to take on the field with the radical R31.


Fears that Kubica may not be fit for the start of the season are bound to surface and it is believed that Bruno Senna, an official Lotus Renault reserve driver, may be the man who replaces Kubica in the event he is not available. The team has said it will release further information when it is forthcoming.

Nick Heidfeld is going to ride the Lotus in Jerez and, if he makes it good, may be the Lotus Renault´s first driver.