Virgin VR-01
Encyclopedia
The Virgin VR-01 was a Formula One
motor racing car designed by Nick Wirth
for Virgin Racing
in the season. It was driven by former Toyota driver Timo Glock
and Brazilian ex-GP2 driver
Lucas di Grassi
. The car was the first Formula One racing car designed entirely with computational fluid dynamics
. The car was due to be launched online through the official team website on 3 February 2010, but technical issues prevented the live internet broadcast from taking place.
that the VR-01's fuel tank was too small for the car to finish a race, and that the team applied to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA) in order to obtain permission to modify the chassis to accommodate a larger tank. The revised chassis, with a longer underbody, engine cover and other bodywork changes, was expected to be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix
. This was later clarified to mean that the car would struggle to complete races with a heavy rate of fuel consumption.
on February 4 in the hands of Glock. It tested with other teams for the first time at the group test at Jerez from February 10 to 13. On the first day, Glock completed five laps of the track during wet weather conditions. On the second day, he completed eleven laps before the car's front wing failed; the team had to abandon the day's running due to a shortage of spare parts. Virgin modified the front wing mounting of the VR-01 ahead of the third day's running in Jerez, where di Grassi ran the Virgin for the first time. The following test was plagued by weather conditions and the car suffered a hydraulic problem on the first test day and Glock only managed 10 laps. On the next day Glock notched up 72 laps for the car and had no mechanical problems, however the weather was still wet. Di Grassi took over for the remaining two days of the test. Technical director Wirth said that the hydraulic problem was solved and the car has not had any big glitches. The problem recurred, however, at the final pre-season testing session held at Catalunya
, costing the team further track time and necessitating a further redesign of the relevant components ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
.
Glock was the fastest driver of the new teams in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but both he and Di Grassi retired from the race with further hydraulics problems. Di Grassi managed to finish in Malaysia
, ending the race in fourteenth position ahead of rivals Lotus Racing and Hispania Racing, albeit on fuel conservation mode.
Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
motor racing car designed by Nick Wirth
Nick Wirth
Nicholas John Peter "Nick" Wirth is an automotive engineer and the founder and owner of Wirth Research.He is also the former owner of the Simtek Formula One team, a former aerodynamicist at March and former technical director at the Benetton, and Virgin Racing teams.- Education and early...
for Virgin Racing
Virgin Racing
Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four...
in the season. It was driven by former Toyota driver Timo Glock
Timo Glock
Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...
and Brazilian ex-GP2 driver
2009 GP2 Series season
The 2009 GP2 Series season was the fifth GP2 Series season. The season consisted of twenty races at ten rounds, beginning on May 9 at the Circuit de Catalunya and finishing on September 20 at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. The Algarve circuit hosted its first GP2 weekend, and was the only...
Lucas di Grassi
Lucas di Grassi
Lucas Tucci di Grassi is a Brazilian racing driver who drove for Virgin Racing in the 2010 Formula One season...
. The car was the first Formula One racing car designed entirely with computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
. The car was due to be launched online through the official team website on 3 February 2010, but technical issues prevented the live internet broadcast from taking place.
Development
It had been reported by Auto, Motor und SportAuto, Motor und Sport
auto motor und sport , often abbreviated to AMS, is a leading German automobile magazine. It is published fortnightly by Motor Presse Netzwerk subsidiary Motor Presse Stuttgart, a specialist magazine publisher that is 59.9% owned by the publishing house Gruner + Jahr.The magazine, originally...
that the VR-01's fuel tank was too small for the car to finish a race, and that the team applied to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA) in order to obtain permission to modify the chassis to accommodate a larger tank. The revised chassis, with a longer underbody, engine cover and other bodywork changes, was expected to be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix
2010 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held on May 9, 2010 at the Circuit de Catalunya...
. This was later clarified to mean that the car would struggle to complete races with a heavy rate of fuel consumption.
Racing history
The car passed its mandatory FIA crash tests, and completed its first track run at SilverstoneSilverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...
on February 4 in the hands of Glock. It tested with other teams for the first time at the group test at Jerez from February 10 to 13. On the first day, Glock completed five laps of the track during wet weather conditions. On the second day, he completed eleven laps before the car's front wing failed; the team had to abandon the day's running due to a shortage of spare parts. Virgin modified the front wing mounting of the VR-01 ahead of the third day's running in Jerez, where di Grassi ran the Virgin for the first time. The following test was plagued by weather conditions and the car suffered a hydraulic problem on the first test day and Glock only managed 10 laps. On the next day Glock notched up 72 laps for the car and had no mechanical problems, however the weather was still wet. Di Grassi took over for the remaining two days of the test. Technical director Wirth said that the hydraulic problem was solved and the car has not had any big glitches. The problem recurred, however, at the final pre-season testing session held at Catalunya
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Catalunya is a racetrack in Montmeló, to the north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit.-History:...
, costing the team further track time and necessitating a further redesign of the relevant components ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening race of the 2010 Formula One season. It was the first time since 2006 that Bahrain had hosted the opening...
.
Glock was the fastest driver of the new teams in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, but both he and Di Grassi retired from the race with further hydraulics problems. Di Grassi managed to finish in Malaysia
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix
The 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix was the third round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Sepang, Malaysia on April 4, 2010....
, ending the race in fourteenth position ahead of rivals Lotus Racing and Hispania Racing, albeit on fuel conservation mode.
Complete Formula One results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Racing Virgin Racing Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season. It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four... |
Cosworth Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries... CA2010 V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
BHR 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix The 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 March 2010, at the Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix and the opening race of the 2010 Formula One season. It was the first time since 2006 that Bahrain had hosted the opening... |
AUS 2010 Australian Grand Prix The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 March 2010 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the second race of the 2010 Formula One season. The race was won by McLaren driver Jenson Button, the first back-to-back Australian Grand Prix winner... |
MAL 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix The 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix was the third round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Sepang, Malaysia on April 4, 2010.... |
CHN 2010 Chinese Grand Prix The 2010 Chinese Grand Prix was the fourth round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Shanghai, China on April 18, 2010.The race was won by Jenson Button ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.... |
ESP 2010 Spanish Grand Prix The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held on May 9, 2010 at the Circuit de Catalunya... |
MON 2010 Monaco Grand Prix The 2010 Monaco Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in the streets of Monaco on 16 May 2010, and was won by Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber.-Background:... |
TUR 2010 Turkish Grand Prix The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix was the seventh round in the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Istanbul on 30 May 2010. The race was most notable for the collision between both Red Bull Racing drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, which resulted in Vettel's retirement and Webber's loss of... |
CAN 2010 Canadian Grand Prix The 2010 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Montreal, Canada at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 13, 2010. This was the first Grand Prix to be held on the North American continent since the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix... |
EUR 2010 European Grand Prix The 2010 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on the June 27, 2010 at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain. The race, contested over 57 laps, was the ninth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was won by Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing, who led every lap of the... |
GBR 2010 British Grand Prix The 2010 British Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 2010 Formula One season. On 7 December 2009, it was confirmed that the race would take place at Silverstone for the next seventeen years after the failure of Donington Park to raise the necessary funds to hold the race... |
GER 2010 German Grand Prix The 2010 German Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Hockenheim, Germany on 25 July 2010. The race was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso after Felipe Massa controversially slowed to let Alonso through into the lead on lap 49... |
HUN 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Hungaroring, Hungary on August 1, 2010... |
BEL 2010 Belgian Grand Prix The 2010 Belgian Grand Prix was the 66th Belgian Grand Prix and the thirteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Spa, Belgium on August 29, 2010. Williams driver Rubens Barrichello celebrated his 300th Grand Prix... |
ITA 2010 Italian Grand Prix The 2010 Italian Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It was held in Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy on September 12, 2010... |
SIN 2010 Singapore Grand Prix The 2010 Singapore Grand Prix, officially the 2010 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was the fifteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season, the third Singapore Grand Prix to be held as part of the Formula One World Championship and the eleventh overall. It was held at the Marina Bay Street... |
JPN 2010 Japanese Grand Prix The 2010 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 October 2010 at the Suzuka Circuit, in Suzuka, Mie, Japan. It was held as the sixteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. Contested over 53 laps, the race was won by Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel after starting from... |
KOR 2010 Korean Grand Prix The 2010 Korean Grand Prix was the seventeenth round of the 2010 Formula One season. It took place at the Korean International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea on 24 October 2010... |
BRA 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix The 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix was the eighteenth round of the 2010 Formula One season... |
ABU 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 November 2010 at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island, an island on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It was the 19th and last round of the 2010 Formula One season... |
0 | 12th | |||
| Glock Timo Glock Timo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship... |
Ret | Ret | Ret | DNS | 18 | Ret | 18 | Ret | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 17 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 20 | Ret | ||||||
| di Grassi Lucas di Grassi Lucas Tucci di Grassi is a Brazilian racing driver who drove for Virgin Racing in the 2010 Formula One season... |
Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | 19 | Ret | 19 | 19 | 17 | Ret | Ret | 18 | 17 | 20 | 15 | DNS | Ret | NC | 18 |
Driver failed to finish, but was classified as they had completed >90% of the race distance.