Welcome to race day in the Ardenne Forest and the 4.3 mile Spa Francochamps circuit for the thirteenth race of the 2010 season. After the mix of weather of qualifying the weather for the start looks as though it will be changeable again.
A great celebration this weekend for Rubens as he celebrates his 300th Grand Prix start and along with me I am sure you all wish him all the best for his future. He has always been such a lovely man but when he drops the visor it's business as usual. Hugely talented, a credit to his Brazil and now he is setting great laps and results for Frank Williams and the rejuvenating Williams team.
I always felt sorry for Rubens during his time at Ferrari running second best to Michael but he simply got in with the job and carried on regardless. Back in the early days in the lower formulae he has always had raw speed and whilst he did get nine wins at Ferrari that really belied his talent. Congratulations Rubens and carry on giving us the pleasure you always have.
Back to Spa as the cars leave the pits for the grid. Having just watched Mark's wonderful pole lap it shows how accurate one has to be around this 44 lap, 4.3 miles circuit. I run the F1 2009 championship on the Wii and have picked up a few tips and for those who have Wii please buy the program as it is a wonderful, realistic challenge.
After quali yesterday some of the teams are struggling for tyres including Sebastian who has only two sets of inters for the race if the rain comes. Martin did his usual excellent job on his grid walk and talked to a lot of the drivers including Sebastien, Jenson and Mark. Plenty of talk about the launch into the first corner and then of course down and up Eau Rouge which is a daunting corner.
I have stood at the bottom of Eau Rouge and the TV gives no real appreciation of how steep it is. Let us not forget the drivers will be launching into Eau Rouge on lap one and onto Kemmel with no testing time on full tanks due to the mix of weather during qualifying.
Mark commented he is concerned about Lewis behind him into Au Rouge as you would be and it will be interesting to see who succeeds. The other interest will be Fernando in a lowly tenth with Felipe up ahead in sixth and how will Ferrari play that?
So with a track temperature of 20/21 and air temperature of a lowly sixteen degrees the sky seems to be getting darker. Most of the drivers are on the softer, Green walled tyres and the weather will play a major part as the cars launch from the grid for the warm up lap.
The lights turned Red and Lewis went straight into P1 as Mark had a slow start. All went well into turn one and up Eau Rouge to but as they approached the bus stop at the end of lap one as most of the drivers went off on the wet surface and unfortunately Rubens went into the back of Fernando and his race was finished.
After lap one Jenson went past Robert and up behind his team mate so Mclaren into one and two. Then the safety car was deployed to clear the mess in the bus stop chicane and after it came in Sebastien passed Robert into P3. Lewis shot away at the front with Jenson in close pursuit.
Lewis seems to be in a class of his own and is flying being more than a second ahead of Jenson on a 1.53 on lap five. Mark is still stuck behind Robert but the stewards are investigating an incident between Sebastien and Robert and we await the result.
Jenson has a problem with damage on the front of his Mclaren and Sebastien is closing in on him on lap eight whilst he changes things in the cock pit to stabilise his damage problem. Lewis is going away at the front and in a class of one and now nearly five seconds ahead and should Jenson and Sebastien start to fight that will make it better for him.
Fernando is coming through the field after his pit stop after his coming together with Rubens and on lap ten running in fourteenth. Lewis is taking nearly a second away up at the front and driving like we know he can.
After fifteen laps things are stabilising at the front with Lewis out on his own followed by Jenson, Sebastien, Robert, Mark and Felipe but rain is forecast in Stabilo in ten minutes so there is a long way to go in this race as the rain will mix it up.
As in his usual style Sebastien got it all wrong again and shot straight into the side of Jenson and Jenson was out. Sebastien must learn you only win races by crossing the finishing line and his move is under investigation by the stewards. Sebastian dropped down to twelfth after going straight across the track into the pits for a new nose but Jenson got no further than turn eight.
The stewards then announced Sebastian had a drive through penalty for causing an unavoidable accident which is what he deserves. Robert seems to be putting distance between himself and Mark on lap twenty two who seems to be sitting and waiting. Felipe is also sitting comfortably running in fourth but Fernando is down in ninth.
The weather is getting cooler as the air temperature drops to fifteen. Mark then does his first pit stop on lap twenty three and rejoins in fourth whilst Robert, Lewis and Felipe haven't. Then Robert came in on lap twenty four and came out in front of Mark again followed by Felipe who came out in fourth as he was.
Lewis then came in the following lap and rejoins in his first place with nineteen laps to go and he really is in a class of one again. The Force India's are driving superbly as Adrian swept past Michael along Kemmel into Les Coombes, so easy.
The Mercedes are running line astern with Michael ahead of his much younger team mate. On lap twenty seven Sebastien once again had an issue in the bust stop chicane as he drove around Vitantonio and caught his rear tyre on Vitantonio's front spoiler giving himself a puncture but destroying Vitantonio's front spoiler causing him to pit once again.
Sebastien has a lot to learn and he must lose his imperious nature and calm down as he always seems to affect others rather than just hurting himself which is not good for those around him. His reputation if this continues will not do him any good with the other drives and one only hopes they don't start to respond.
All the talk is about the rain as on lap thirty four and only ten laps to go and whilst only light in the pit lane to start with it is forecast to get heavier as the minutes pass. It is easy to see the rain on the camera lenses and I am sure this is all Lewis needs out front. The weather then got wetter as Lewis went off in Stabilo but got it back on the track.
Lewis then came in to change onto inters followed by Robert who over shot his pit and let Mark through after his pit stop into second. They are now all having to protect the inters as they still have some eight laps to go.
Sebastian and Fernando are under investigation as Fernando came out of his pit into the side of Sebastian and banging wheels. Sebastian yet again involved in an incident albeit this one may not be his fault.
Sebastian then came in again after burning his tyres in the dryer tyres and then Fernando shot his Ferrari into the wall at Malmedy and he was out. This then brought out the safety car and as all the cars assembled behind the safety car anything could happen now. Three of the cars are on full wets with the remainder on inters and the only time one should really need full wets is where there is deep running water.
Lewis is complaining the safety car is too slow and one goes back to a comment Martin made on the grid about the tread depth of the tyres on the safety car. With Fernando's car now lifted off the track things seem to be brightening up so hopefully all the drivers will be safe to the end of the race in only four laps.
In came the safety car and Lewis walked away at the front and to see him coming along Kemal into Les Coombes at some two hundred miles an hour with the other cars creating plumes of smoke behind was fantastic.
So after a very mixed weather weekend Lewis took the flag after a start to finish where he was never headed. A wonderful drive by Lewis and Mark was fortunate to finish in second after Robert's cock up when coming into the pits for his tyre change.
The points scorers are therefore Lewis in first taking the championship lead from Mark followed by Mark, Robert, Felipe, Adrian, Nico, Michael, Kamui, Vitaly and Jamie.
Three of the championship hopefulls fell away during the race including the unfortunate Jenson, the unforgivable Sebastien and sadly Fernando who eventually shot it into the scenery near the end to bring out the safety car.
In the constructors championship Red Bull still retain their lead albeit only one point ahead of Mclaren on 330 and 329 respectfully.
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Sunday 29 August 2010
Saturday 28 August 2010
F1 Spa Quali
After the 3 week holiday break it is time to go back to the hustle and bustle of the F1 circus.
Before going into the quali session I would like to send a special welcome to Dick Bennets from West Surrey Racing and his partner and my great friend Teri Dickens who have gone to Spa this weekend for a break away from BTCC. West Surrey run Rob Collard and Andy Neate in the BTCC having won the champiosnhip last year in the hands of Colin Turkingon.
WSR are running Colin and a BMW this year in certain rounds of the World Touring Car Championship and I wish Colin all success along iwth the whole West Surrey Racing Team for the rest of this season and many more to come.
Back to F1 and this weekends race at the fantastic Spa Francochamps circuit in the Ardenne Forest where the weather can play a huge part in the outcome of the race going in and out of the forest. The first news is the ten place grid drop penalty to Michael for his very dangerous move to try and stop Rubens passing him in Hungary.
Who will beat the Red Bull's for the rest of the season as up to now it has only been mechanical gremlins that have kept the championship alive. Lewis suggests the weekend will be damage limitation for Mclaren but Ferrari seem to be making huge moves towards the front.
The 4.3 mile circuit is certainly a challenge as the circuit can be dry at one side of the circuit and wet on the other making life very difficult race. Mark is of course leading the championship but it is very close at the sharp end and the likes of Mclaren and Ferrari need to take points away from Red Bull or Red Bull will go away.
So into Quali one and all cars were ready to go at the Green light to try and get a banker lap in before the weather closed in. The sky looked very overcast and the clouds are closing in all the while. The weather affected things almost immediately as Vitaly lost it at the top of the circuit and the session was Black flagged whilst they recovered his car.
The teams lost time obviously in the Red flag period and then all cars piled into the pit lane ready to go as the weather could drastically affect the outcome of Q1. All teams went out on slicks but then the rain came down in Rivage and the drivers must have been driving on the very edge of adhesion.
As there were so many cars out at the same time there was real drama whilst Lewis and Jenson set the initial pace. The rain still came down in buckets at the top end of the circuit and times were all over the place. Nigel Mansell is the driver on the steward panel for this race and for certain he will have a busy weekend.
The circuit changed from wet to dry and back again mixing up the grid as both Sauber's went out at the top of the circuit. The White lines at the edge of the track are critical as plumes of water come off them as they put their tyres across them.
The winners out of the changeable conditions Heikki and Timo as we lost Jarno, Kamui, Bruno, Sakun, Pedro, Lucas and Vitaly who went out on lap one as the teams move into Q2. Through the top fifteen the Q1 times were really irrelevant and into Q2 all were out on slicks.
Lewis seems to be much faster than Jenson as Lewis slotted in a 1.46 and the frist driver to do it. He was followed by Sebastian, Robert, Jenson and Fernando and Mark seems to be struggling and under pressure.
After Q2 we lost Michael and with his ten place grid drop he will start on twenty first followed by Nico R, Jaime, Vitantonio, Sebastien B, Heikki and Timo. The track is now dry again as we get ready for Q1 and the pole shoot out.
Lewis looks masterful which wasn't expected and the Red Bull's are the one's really not doing what was expected. Out they went immediately into Q1 as the lights went Green and the pole shoot out started in earnest. Rain is still a threat and all drivers wanted to ensure they get the times in before the risk of the wet stuff.
With only ten minutes in Q1 everything is critical and Lewis was first out of the box and lighting things up albeit a little wild. Watching Lewis through Au Rouge on full chat without the slightest thought of lifting lifts the hair on the back of your neck. Mark came to the front with seven minutes to go and the gladiators are locked in combat. Robert and his Renault are well in the mix and running second at one point.
Both Rubens and Nico H were also running well in the Williams and it is wonderful to see both cars in the top ten. At the flag Mark took pole followed by Lewis who through in a mighty lap at the end, Robert took third followed Sebastian, Jenson, Felipe, Rubens, Adrian, Nico H and a miserable tenth for Fernando.
As usual Spa mixed things up and a very exciting quali session. I feel sure we have a great race in prospect tomorrow and I personally cannot wait.
Before going into the quali session I would like to send a special welcome to Dick Bennets from West Surrey Racing and his partner and my great friend Teri Dickens who have gone to Spa this weekend for a break away from BTCC. West Surrey run Rob Collard and Andy Neate in the BTCC having won the champiosnhip last year in the hands of Colin Turkingon.
WSR are running Colin and a BMW this year in certain rounds of the World Touring Car Championship and I wish Colin all success along iwth the whole West Surrey Racing Team for the rest of this season and many more to come.
Back to F1 and this weekends race at the fantastic Spa Francochamps circuit in the Ardenne Forest where the weather can play a huge part in the outcome of the race going in and out of the forest. The first news is the ten place grid drop penalty to Michael for his very dangerous move to try and stop Rubens passing him in Hungary.
Who will beat the Red Bull's for the rest of the season as up to now it has only been mechanical gremlins that have kept the championship alive. Lewis suggests the weekend will be damage limitation for Mclaren but Ferrari seem to be making huge moves towards the front.
The 4.3 mile circuit is certainly a challenge as the circuit can be dry at one side of the circuit and wet on the other making life very difficult race. Mark is of course leading the championship but it is very close at the sharp end and the likes of Mclaren and Ferrari need to take points away from Red Bull or Red Bull will go away.
So into Quali one and all cars were ready to go at the Green light to try and get a banker lap in before the weather closed in. The sky looked very overcast and the clouds are closing in all the while. The weather affected things almost immediately as Vitaly lost it at the top of the circuit and the session was Black flagged whilst they recovered his car.
The teams lost time obviously in the Red flag period and then all cars piled into the pit lane ready to go as the weather could drastically affect the outcome of Q1. All teams went out on slicks but then the rain came down in Rivage and the drivers must have been driving on the very edge of adhesion.
As there were so many cars out at the same time there was real drama whilst Lewis and Jenson set the initial pace. The rain still came down in buckets at the top end of the circuit and times were all over the place. Nigel Mansell is the driver on the steward panel for this race and for certain he will have a busy weekend.
The circuit changed from wet to dry and back again mixing up the grid as both Sauber's went out at the top of the circuit. The White lines at the edge of the track are critical as plumes of water come off them as they put their tyres across them.
The winners out of the changeable conditions Heikki and Timo as we lost Jarno, Kamui, Bruno, Sakun, Pedro, Lucas and Vitaly who went out on lap one as the teams move into Q2. Through the top fifteen the Q1 times were really irrelevant and into Q2 all were out on slicks.
Lewis seems to be much faster than Jenson as Lewis slotted in a 1.46 and the frist driver to do it. He was followed by Sebastian, Robert, Jenson and Fernando and Mark seems to be struggling and under pressure.
After Q2 we lost Michael and with his ten place grid drop he will start on twenty first followed by Nico R, Jaime, Vitantonio, Sebastien B, Heikki and Timo. The track is now dry again as we get ready for Q1 and the pole shoot out.
Lewis looks masterful which wasn't expected and the Red Bull's are the one's really not doing what was expected. Out they went immediately into Q1 as the lights went Green and the pole shoot out started in earnest. Rain is still a threat and all drivers wanted to ensure they get the times in before the risk of the wet stuff.
With only ten minutes in Q1 everything is critical and Lewis was first out of the box and lighting things up albeit a little wild. Watching Lewis through Au Rouge on full chat without the slightest thought of lifting lifts the hair on the back of your neck. Mark came to the front with seven minutes to go and the gladiators are locked in combat. Robert and his Renault are well in the mix and running second at one point.
Both Rubens and Nico H were also running well in the Williams and it is wonderful to see both cars in the top ten. At the flag Mark took pole followed by Lewis who through in a mighty lap at the end, Robert took third followed Sebastian, Jenson, Felipe, Rubens, Adrian, Nico H and a miserable tenth for Fernando.
As usual Spa mixed things up and a very exciting quali session. I feel sure we have a great race in prospect tomorrow and I personally cannot wait.
Sunday 1 August 2010
F1 Hungary Race
So qualifying is over and the race is upon us, welcome to the Hungaroring. The grid is primed for competition with Red Bull team mates on the front row with needle between them, Ferrari team mates on row two with obvious animosity from the team order farce at Hockenheim and on his own Lewis fighting the flag for Mclaren.
It appears Lewis phoned in on his warm up lap complaining about a bad vibration under braking so we await his appearance on the grid. He has appeared on the grid and they are inspecting his brakes actually on the grid to try and identify the problem.
Martin interviewed Bernie on the grid and he seemed quite relaxed about the furor over the Hockenhiem team order issue. He thought teams have a right to team orders so we await the final outcome in September once the WMSC have finalised their views.
With an air temperature of 46 degrees it is going to be hot as they run down the 700 metres to turn one on the first lap of this 2.7 lap circuit, so off they go for the warm up lap. With Jenson in eleventh he will have to be accurate and positive on the first lap.
Off they went and Sebastian launched his self away from the grid and continued to put in lap after lap a second quicker than the field and after only six laps he had a seven second gap back to Fernando in second. Fernando jumped Mark followed by Felipe but Vitaly also jumped Lewis for a couple of laps until status quo was established.
Jenson had a bad start as he got squeezed out into turn one and come out in a lonely fifteenth behind Michael. It appears he also has a spongy brake pedal and is in constant contact with the pits and maybe he is already in fuel saving mode for later in the race. All the top cars have two laps less fuel and they have to save that during the race.
Then we had a safety car causing all sorts of happenings. Lewis jumped Felipe as he had to slow down on the in lap allowing the team to change Fernando's tyres. There was an accident between Robert and Adrian as Robert was let out of his pit box too early as Adrian was coming in. Nico came out of the pits and lost his rear drivers side wheel and his race was run.
Mark was the only one not to change tyres and he started putting laps in the mid 25's. The stewards announced then Sebastian was under investigation by the stewards for not keeping within ten car lengths behind Mark as the safety car was coming in. To say he was not happy is possibly and understatement.
Once again Red Bull seem to be throwing things down the road as the stewards announce he has a drive through penalty which will compromise his race obviously.
Then out of the blue we lost Lewis with a mechanical issue and the championship leader was out. Robert then retired and we had all sorts of action within a few laps. This then makes life interesting as Fernando is only eleven seconds behind Mark and the race is his if he can retain that gap as Mark has to change tyres.
After his drive through Sebastian came out in front of Felipe but behind Fernando and this set lit the touch paper up front as Sebastian has a faster car than Fernando, Mark still hasn't given up as he pumps in qualifying laps in the low 1.24's attempting to get the eighteen second tyre change gap back to Fernando.
Mark is driving like a man possessed as he drops in times in the high 1.23's and lap after lap he is putting in times in that are taking him into the winning zone. Sebastian then began closing on Fernando albeit Mark now had the time he wanted to change tyres.
What a fantastic drive from Mark and with two or three laps left he has the time he needs to change and still come out in the lead. Fernando and Sebastian were now locked in combat on lap forty two and we await with anticipation for the overtake move.
Jenson was now running ninth on lap forty three as Mark came into the pits for his tyre change and came out well in front of Fernando and Sebastian as the two of them came down the pit straight. Sebastian now must have the Red mist down as he sees Mark come out in the lead and he is stuck behind Fernando and he will not be an easy man to pass.
With Mark now in the mid 1.22's he is pulling away from Fernando and Sebastian as Felipe closes in on the two of them so anything can happen yet. Lewis then advised it appeared he had a gearbox bearing failure.
Rubens is driving an excellent race along with Vitaly are running well in the top ten and nice to see. Michael is running in eleventh fifty two and with Rubens having to stop for tyres he is likely to move into the top ten and score some points.
Michael and Rubens were having a meteoric battle as Rubens had his late tyre change and was obviously very quick. As they came onto the pit straight Rubens was sat on Michael's tale in the slip stream and as he pulled out and half way past Michael moved him across into the concrete down the pit wall.
How Rubens got through is in the lap of the gods and Michael will be investigated by the stewards after the race as Michael's move was so dangerous.
After a fantastic drive Mark came home in P1 and left Hungary leading the world championship whilst Red Bull took over the constructors championship lead. Fernando was second followed by a very unhappy Sebastian after his drive through, Felipe was fourth followed by Vitaly which is a fantastic drive from him.
Nico Hulkenberg came home after another great drive in sixth followed by Pedoro, Jenson, Kamui and finally in the points Rubens. So both Sauber and Williams finished both cars in the top ten which is encouraging.
Great grand prix and fascinating race which switched back and fourth as the race went on.
It appears Lewis phoned in on his warm up lap complaining about a bad vibration under braking so we await his appearance on the grid. He has appeared on the grid and they are inspecting his brakes actually on the grid to try and identify the problem.
Martin interviewed Bernie on the grid and he seemed quite relaxed about the furor over the Hockenhiem team order issue. He thought teams have a right to team orders so we await the final outcome in September once the WMSC have finalised their views.
With an air temperature of 46 degrees it is going to be hot as they run down the 700 metres to turn one on the first lap of this 2.7 lap circuit, so off they go for the warm up lap. With Jenson in eleventh he will have to be accurate and positive on the first lap.
Off they went and Sebastian launched his self away from the grid and continued to put in lap after lap a second quicker than the field and after only six laps he had a seven second gap back to Fernando in second. Fernando jumped Mark followed by Felipe but Vitaly also jumped Lewis for a couple of laps until status quo was established.
Jenson had a bad start as he got squeezed out into turn one and come out in a lonely fifteenth behind Michael. It appears he also has a spongy brake pedal and is in constant contact with the pits and maybe he is already in fuel saving mode for later in the race. All the top cars have two laps less fuel and they have to save that during the race.
Then we had a safety car causing all sorts of happenings. Lewis jumped Felipe as he had to slow down on the in lap allowing the team to change Fernando's tyres. There was an accident between Robert and Adrian as Robert was let out of his pit box too early as Adrian was coming in. Nico came out of the pits and lost his rear drivers side wheel and his race was run.
Mark was the only one not to change tyres and he started putting laps in the mid 25's. The stewards announced then Sebastian was under investigation by the stewards for not keeping within ten car lengths behind Mark as the safety car was coming in. To say he was not happy is possibly and understatement.
Once again Red Bull seem to be throwing things down the road as the stewards announce he has a drive through penalty which will compromise his race obviously.
Then out of the blue we lost Lewis with a mechanical issue and the championship leader was out. Robert then retired and we had all sorts of action within a few laps. This then makes life interesting as Fernando is only eleven seconds behind Mark and the race is his if he can retain that gap as Mark has to change tyres.
After his drive through Sebastian came out in front of Felipe but behind Fernando and this set lit the touch paper up front as Sebastian has a faster car than Fernando, Mark still hasn't given up as he pumps in qualifying laps in the low 1.24's attempting to get the eighteen second tyre change gap back to Fernando.
Mark is driving like a man possessed as he drops in times in the high 1.23's and lap after lap he is putting in times in that are taking him into the winning zone. Sebastian then began closing on Fernando albeit Mark now had the time he wanted to change tyres.
What a fantastic drive from Mark and with two or three laps left he has the time he needs to change and still come out in the lead. Fernando and Sebastian were now locked in combat on lap forty two and we await with anticipation for the overtake move.
Jenson was now running ninth on lap forty three as Mark came into the pits for his tyre change and came out well in front of Fernando and Sebastian as the two of them came down the pit straight. Sebastian now must have the Red mist down as he sees Mark come out in the lead and he is stuck behind Fernando and he will not be an easy man to pass.
With Mark now in the mid 1.22's he is pulling away from Fernando and Sebastian as Felipe closes in on the two of them so anything can happen yet. Lewis then advised it appeared he had a gearbox bearing failure.
Rubens is driving an excellent race along with Vitaly are running well in the top ten and nice to see. Michael is running in eleventh fifty two and with Rubens having to stop for tyres he is likely to move into the top ten and score some points.
Michael and Rubens were having a meteoric battle as Rubens had his late tyre change and was obviously very quick. As they came onto the pit straight Rubens was sat on Michael's tale in the slip stream and as he pulled out and half way past Michael moved him across into the concrete down the pit wall.
How Rubens got through is in the lap of the gods and Michael will be investigated by the stewards after the race as Michael's move was so dangerous.
After a fantastic drive Mark came home in P1 and left Hungary leading the world championship whilst Red Bull took over the constructors championship lead. Fernando was second followed by a very unhappy Sebastian after his drive through, Felipe was fourth followed by Vitaly which is a fantastic drive from him.
Nico Hulkenberg came home after another great drive in sixth followed by Pedoro, Jenson, Kamui and finally in the points Rubens. So both Sauber and Williams finished both cars in the top ten which is encouraging.
Great grand prix and fascinating race which switched back and fourth as the race went on.
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