F1 - German GP Quali

After the thrills for the British crowd of Silverstone and the eventual win by Mark Webber after his trials and tribulations with his team mate Sebastian Vettel the F1 circus moves onward to the Hockenheim circuit in Germany, twenty km South of Mannheim.

Obviously the German drivers are what the crowd have come to see and there are 6 of them, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil, Timo Glock, Nico Hulkenberg and of course the darling of the German crowd Michael Schumacher.

The weather is changeable albeit the forecast has been unreliable since they started running on Friday. Lewis put his Mclaren into the barriers during Friday and they have had to rebuild his car which reduced his running time in practice which could affect his weekend. Sebastian headed the time sheets on Friday but Fernando wasn't far behind.

A lot of the cars were straight out as soon as the flag dropped due to the unreliable nature of the weather. After only ten minutes running yesterday Lewis seems to have forgotten yesterdays woes as he ran fourth early on behind the two Ferrari's and Jenson.

Vitantonio then put his Force India into the wall on the pit straight and the session was immediately Red flagged as his car lost the left hand front corner. The stopping of the session can have a detrimental effect for some of the teams as tyres are so quick to go off in quali.

The usual protagonists were fighting at the front of the pack and now they were down in the 1.15's which is the minimum time they need to be up at the front of the pack. The pole time is expected to be in the 1.14's as Fernando through in a 1.14.6. The usual teams were in the drop out zone with Virgin this time ahead of Lotus for a change.

This is going to be a mighty battle between the major three which will add spice to the weekend and we all need Ferrari to do well to make the numbers up at the sharp end. So out went Timo, Jarno, Heikki, Vitantonio, Bruno, Yamamoto replacing Karun for the weekend for contractual reasons and bringing up the rear Lucas.

At the sharp end the timings are headed by Fernando after Q1 as the times heat up followed by Felipe, the two Red Bull's and both Mclaren's. Out they all went into Q2 and things were now to hot up.

Ruben's is driving well again and the times from some of the drivers could mix up the grid as Ruben's and Robert were up there early in the session but the two Mercedes cars are not lighting up the timing screens and running way down out of the top ten.

With seven minutes to go a mere six tenths covered the top ten. Those not making the top ten were Michael, Kamui, Nico, Vitaly, Adrian, Pedro, Jamie and Sebastian Buemi bringing up the rear. So Michael didn't make the top ten to the dismay of the crowd I have no doubt.

Fernando was fastest again in Q2 followed by Sebastian, Mark, Lewis and the rest as the chips are down for Q3 and the shoot out for pole as the rain started to spit but shouldn't affect them on slicks.

Out they went immediately the flag dropped trying to get a banker lap in should the rain come down albeit the sun then came out. Mark put in the first time at 1.14.2 but was almost immediately usurped by Fernando as he went into the 1.13's. With the last six minutes this will be a mighty dash for pole as Fernando, Sebastian, Mark, Lewis and Felipe battle at the sharp end.

It was going to be a battle and that what we had. Sebastian out qualified Fernando followed by Felipe, Mark, Jenson, Lewis, Robert, Rubens, Nico and Nico H. Now we have a slightly mixed up grid for tomorrow and the German crowd were ecstatic about Sebastian topping the field. Bring on the Grand Prix.

F1 Silverstone Race

Welcome to race day at the home of the British Grand Prix. In glorious weather this is going to be a hot day and we Brits must be a little disappointed with Lewis in fourth and Jenson a lowly fourteenth after commenting his Mclaren was undriveable during qualifying.

It was great to see Sir Stirling being interviewed by the BBC team and wonderful to see his recovery after falling down the lift shaft at his home. The fans came out in force and it is a feature of the British GP and the drivers were in awe of their presence. It was also nice to see Lewis with his Dad and that there is no animosity between them.

The new look Silverstone will add to the challenge for the drivers and this weekend Nigel Mansell is on the FIA Stewards panel in case of queries or problems. Silverstone is a wonderful spectacle and has never looked better and a compliment to Damon Hill and his development team.

After the problems in Friday pre qualifying Mclaren removed the blown diffuser as it didn't work which made it difficult for Lewis and Jenson as they didn't get the running time in the changed trim.

A lot of controversy again at Red Bull after they came with only two new front wings and after Sebastian's broke they took Mark's off and put it onto Sebastian's car. That would suggest Red Bull have made a decision to support Sebastian which has caused condemnation in the pits.

Nobody seems to be giving anyone a chance against the Red Bull's but I think Lewis will have something to say about that and obviously ring the neck of his Mclaren at his home grand prix. The season suggests the red Bull's have had reliability problems for one or both of the cars and nothing can be taken for granted.

We have an interesting start to look forward to with conflict between Sebastian and Mark on row one after the spoiler issue, needle between Fernando and Lewis after they didn't hit it off as team mates on row two and Jenson staring fourteenth. Michael had a good qualifying session and is close to Nico compared to recent results and accepting one wants to first beat your team mate that could add a little spice. Throw in Robert in the Renault and Rubens in the Williams and all is set for a great race.

The tyre blankets come off and the warm up lap starts as the fans in the grandstands are flying a mix of flags flying around in the somewhat breezy conditions. Back to the grid all cars managed the warm up lap without hitch and we are ready for the start.

Charlie Whiting has a fantastic view over the pack and off they go. What a start, Sebastian went off with a puncture, Lewis moved into P2 as he launched past Fernando who went backwards after a bad start and when the two Ferrari's came together Felipe finished up with a puncture, Jenson came up to eighth at the end of lap one and Robert up into P3.

Mark then stabilised the position between himself and Lewis up in front and what else can happen as Sebastian is now dead last after this tyre change from the soft to the premium tyre, will that play out through the race.

After ten laps it was Mark out at the front and moving two and a half seconds away from Lewis, Robert comes next but one and a half seconds off the pace and in front of Nico, Fernando, Rubens, Michael, Jenson and Kamui in ninth.

Then we had the first round of tyre stops which benefited Jenson up to fifth whilst Mark and Lewis retained their positions out front with now five seconds between them. Now we had Nico in third followed by Fernando who then received a drive through penalty for an overtaking move on Robert who subsequently had to retire with a broken diff.

Then we had a safety car period to pick up debris from the circuit and this will negate any gaps between the field. When the safety car came in Lewis set off behind Mark and as Fernando went in to serve his penalty it brought Jenson up to fourth and accepting Nico has a barge board missing Jenson could finish up on the podium, we keep our fingers crossed.

Adrian passed Michael who obviously didn't like it and he lost a front wing end plate in the process of trying to stop him. Sebastian was now up to twelfth place after he was helped by the safety car.

After his penalty Fernando was not out to take prisoners from his now lonely sixteenth and sent an instruction to the pits he didn't want any more radio communication as he was to run his own race to the finish. On new tyres he put in some stunning laps and managed the fastest lap of the day on the now rubbered in track.

Mark managed his pace out front with a five second difference between him and Lewis albeit they are trading fastest lap after fastest lap in the mid 1.32's. Sebastian is still coming but his move forward was slightly held up by Adrian in his Force India.

Rubens was still driving well and running in fifth behind Mark, Lewis, Nico and Jenson and in front of Kamui, Adrian and Sebastian. The Mclaren team then confirmed Jenson is running short on fuel and hence the reason he wasn't able to close in on Nico.

So at the chequered flag Mark had driven from pole to finish and we didn't see a great deal of either him or Lewis finishing in second and a great result after all for Mclaren. Some great drives throughout the field including Jenson going from fourteenth to fourth, Sebastian who went from last after lap one to seventh but a bad day for Ferrari who weren't in the points for all sorts of reasons.

When Christian Horner spoke to Mark on his slowing down lap after the flag Mark commented not bad for a number two driver as he just proved a point. As the drivers met prior to going onto the podium they donned their promotional hats and watches and chatted happily after a great grand prix. So it was a win for Australia, a second for Great Britain and a third for Germany albeit all the cars are built in the UK.

The winners trophy was presented by the Duke of Kent who always officiates at the British Grand Prix and Sir Stirling presented the trophy to Lewis to the sounds of tumultuous applause from the crowd, presumably for both of them.

Whilst it was little processional at the front there were some great drives behind them. Well done Mark and poetic justice after the insult of the spoiler change yesterday.

Fernando is not well pleased again after his penalty and latter puncture even to a point he was furious enough not to talk to anyone after the race. All he needs now is for Spain to lose the World Cup Final tonight and his day will be complete!

After a great British GP the drivers left with Lewis still heading the chart on 145, Jenson 133, Mark 128, Sebastian 121, Fernando 96, Nico 89, Robert 83, Felipe 67, Michael 36, Adrian 35, Rubens 29, Kamui 15, Vitantonio 12, Sebastian B 9, Vitaly 6, Jamie 3, Nico H 3 and finally Pedro 1.

In the constructors championship Mclaren left Silverstone with 278 points followed by Red Bull 249, Ferrari 163, Mercedes 125, Renault 89, Force India 47, Williams 32, BMW 16, Toro Rosso 12 and Lotus, HRT and Virgin still left without a single point.

So not a lot changed at the front of the drivers and constructors and only Mark moving ahead of Sebastian was of any consequence. The battle at the top still rages with all the teams trying to match the pace of the Red Bull's and when they get it right they are pretty unstoppable. It was only Lewis who offered spirited resistance today and one feels he is the only one who can maybe apart from Jenson.

Now we are off to Hockenheim and the German Grand Prix in two weeks and "if" Mclaren can get the blown diffuser working properly we may see them approach the speed of the Red Bull's. What is unusual is that Red Bull always seem to have something that affects one or both of their drivers and I suppose that is a blessing or it could become boring at the front of the field.

Bye for now and enjoy the great spell of weather we are experiencing.

F1 China - Shanghai Race

The Volcanic Ash fallout meant the commentary team was without Eddy Jordan who couldn't get there due the problems with air travel. They did have him on the phone but it was strange not hearing the regular banter between him and DC.

It was anticipated the race would start in the rain but that didn't happen albeit there was rain on the cars cameras on the warm up lap. The track temperature had dropped to 23 degrees with air temp of 20. So a lot of nerves as the cars approached the grid wondering whether they had chosen the correct tyres. Off they went in a cloud of spray and into turn 2 there was a big accident as Vitantonio lost it and speared across the grass and into Sebastiaen (Buemi) taking Kamui with him as well as he had nowhere else to go but run into the side of Sebastien. This brought out the safety car and in came some of the teams to change tyres. Fernando had obviously jumped the start as he shot into the lead past Mark who had out dragged Sebastian as the rest went off in grid order. Fernando had to take a drive through which he did once the stewards announced it.

Then it started to rain heavier and more cars changed to inters including Lewis who made a very late decision entering the pit lane across the grass. Both Red Bull's also came in for tyres and that dropped them both back down the field. Nico and Jenson stayed out on wets so the restart once the safety car went in was going to be interesting as those cars on new inters had so much more grid, they thought. In the ensuing laps the inters burned off almost straight away so Sebastian and Lewis went back in to change back to slicks and when they left they came down the pit lane together and nearly touching as they were side by side. Sebastian moved across on Lewis to push him nearer to the pit crews and this event will be looked at after the race by the stewards and it is likely action will be taken with penalties at Barcelona.

Nico was now leading on lap 8 followed by Jenson and the 2 Renault's but Mark, Sebastian & Lewis were locked in battle for ninth, tenth and eleventh. The rain came and went again and gave us some very interesting laps and then confusion as the rain started again. Lewis passed Mark on the long back straight as he was a sitting duck for the Mclaren. Then we had an almighty battle between Adrian, Sebastian and Lewis and as Sebastian got on the wrong side of Adrian, Lewis jumped them both up into sixth place and shot up behind Michael as he put in fastest lap after fastest lap.

Lewis was then stuck behind Michael and eventually passed him on the long back straight as Sebastian loomed again in his mirrors. Meanwhile the 2 Ferrari's were line astern in eleventh & twelfth. Then all of a sudden up at the front Jenson passed Nico after he went off in the rain on what must be worn tyres at this stage of the race. A lot of cars then came into the pits to change to inters as the rain came again. Lewis came in with Sebastian and came back out together but as Mark had pitted a lap earlier they were both behind him.

I have to say I have never seen anyone pass another driver going into the pits but Fernando did exactly that as he passed Felipe in what can only be considered a very dangerous move and I am sure the stewards will be having a look and words about that as well. Back at the front Jenson still led Nico and then the safety car came out to move some debris and hopefully settle things down again as there really were some heroics going on. This of course bunched the pack back together. So we had Jenson, Nico, Robert, Vitaly, Lewis and the rest.

The safety car came was coming in on lap 25 and after the goings on we still had 26 laps to go. With the safety car lights off and as they approached the next to last corner Jenson suddenly slowed the field too much and the cars all bunched up in chaos behind him as the 2 Red Bull's lost out. Hence there was a lot happening into the last turn but Lewis as usual kept his head and passed Michael and then shot straight onto the back of Vitaly and straight past and into fourth. Mark in the meantime had taken an excursion around the last corner as he got too aggressive mixed up with Lewis and Sebastian.

There is controversy over the way Jenson approached the last turn as he nearly stopped which according to Martin broke the F1 rule book but nothing about that during the rest of the race, another for the stewards. Anyway in the meantime Lewis was on the back of Robert and straight past into third and you can see by the cars body language he thinks he can still win this race. Behind we had Fernando passing Adrian followed by both Red Bull's in a serious tussle.

So after all the chaos of safety cars and rain Jenson was still in the lead well in front of Nico, Lewis, Robert, Fernando and Sebastian, A great battle ensued as Nico and Lewis became locked in battle and a very spirited drive from them both with Lewis going past. So behind Jenson we had Lewis, Nico, Fernando and Robert still there with the Renault. Now we had a very interesting scenario at the front as Jenson led from Lewis and we know what Lewis can do in this position.

Plenty of racing going on down the field with great drives from Fernando, Felipe, Mark, Sebastian and there is so much going on it is difficult keeping pace with it. Jaime was also driving a very spirited race but lost out to Adrian and Rubens which was a shame. Jenson seemed to have stabilised the position at the front and with 10 to go he was 4 seconds to the good. Then all of a sudden Fernando got the hurry up and closed on Nico to within one and a half seconds but by this time his tyres were shot so that is where he stayed.

Both Jenson and Lewis had also got tyre problems but Lewis was still ten seconds ahead of Nico with only eight to go but he was closing. The tyre issue hit all the drivers but no point in pitting then as the race would have been over. There were still some close fights in the last few laps including Felipe on Michael who went off towards the gravel trap at the last turn and Vitaly on Mark.

Jenson took the flag after and his tyre choice very early in the race and that actually won him the race as he had 2 tyre stops to Lewis's 4. It was nice to see the spirit between Jenson and Lewis before going onto the podium and along with Nico all the talk was about vision during the race. John Button can stop eating his finger nails now and he looked thrilled with the result. Martin Whitmarsh was obviously delighted albeit he said it was a very long race on the pit wall.Nico as usual drove an exemplary race and once again out gunned Michael who simply couldn't match his pace all weekend. The Red Bull's had to concede defeat finishing in sixth and eighth and they will be very disappointed as they seemed to have it in the bag from qualifying.

What a great race again and whilst not quite matching Melbourne there was something going on all 56 laps. Leaving China the championship had changed at the top as Jenson (60pts) now led Nico (50), Lewis and Sebastian (49), Felipe lost his lead (41), Robert (40), Mark (28), Adrian and Michael (10), Vitantonio ((8), Vitaly (6), Rubens (5), Jamie (2) and the lost point scorer Nico Hulkenberg in only his fourth race (1).

In the constructors championship Mclaren now took the lead (109), Ferrari (90), Red Bull (73), Mercedes (60), Renault (46), Force India (18), Williams (6) and the last team scorer Toro Rosso (2).

Now the teams head back into Europe to Barcelona (9 May) but they going to have problems getting out of China due to the Volcanic Ash fall out from Iceland. There are 6 Jumbo's waiting to move the cars and freight but things don't look good for air travel as I write. The only thing I can say in closing in bring on the rain in Barcelona as it seems to add huge excitement each time we have a wet race.

The results are now also posted on my website (www.scorpion-eph.co.uk) and by clicking the F1 tab at the bottom of the home page you can see the results of each race in 2010 and a compilation of the results I have shown above as well as results of past years races in F1. .

F1 Malaysia Race

After the problems in quali the teams faced at least a dry start but with rain forecast.

Temperatures of 48/49 for both air & track meant it was for sure to be a hot sticky time for the drivers. As the cars came out to the grid Pedro's Sauber stalled in the pit lane and after starting it up it stopped on track and that was the end of his race.

The very mixed up grid after quali caused huge anticipation for all concerned into T1. Off they went onto the warm up lap and all seemed all well as they formed into position. Down went the flag and Sebastian launched his Red Bull past Mark & Nico into T1 and all the rest followed and cleared the first two corners.

Rubens had stalled on the grid but was to get going whilst Lewis launched his Mclaren down the pit wall and clean side of the track and made up 8 places to 12th by the end of lap 1. Meanwhile Jenson had opted for the dirty, grandstand side and found himself locked in battle with Fernando and Felipe and they were to remain like that for a lot of the race, albeit Felipe passed Jenson ultimately.

At the front Sebastian, Mark, Nico, Robert and Adrian were holding station and really nothing happened to change their relative positions to the end of the race. Jenson had made his first and only pit stop earlier than anyone on lap 9 which hampered him a little but his position to the 2 Ferrari's remained the same until Felipe went by.

Michael suffered a broken wheel nut which put him out the race on lap 9 and still he can't really match Nico in the sister car who has out gunned the 7 times world champion all season. Timo went out on lap 2 after a spin, we lost Kamui on lap 8 so both Saubers were out and then Vitantonio went out on lap 12 with throttle problems. Then later on out went Vitaly on lap 32 with gearbox issues and Heikki with problems with hydraulics on lap 46.

The fight between Lewis and his mate Adrian continued and with the Mercedes engine in the Force India, Lewis never over came him and they finished 5th and 6th respectively. Fernando had gear selector downshift issues all through the race which obviously hampered him throughout and his latter fight with Jenson for 8th filtered away and then his engine blew albeit he was classified 13th having completed 54 laps.

In the tyre change competition Mercedes came out top with a 3.9 sec season best change. Jamie confirmed his talent and drove a good race to earn his first point for Toro Rosso and he made some excellent overtaking moves throughout the race.

So, the rain stopped away which I suppose on reflection took away some of the excitement and Sebastian commented he would have liked a wet spell to cool things down. The race was not as thrilling as Melbourne but that will go down as a classic but Lewis's fight through the field and latter scrap with Adrian, Felipe, Jenson and Fernando locked in combat throughout the race and Jamie's overtaking moves added spice to a dull race up at the front.

Leaving Sepang the points have moved around a bit with Felipe taking over first place so they stood: Felipe (39), Sebastian and Fernando (37), Nico and Jenson (35), Lewis (31), Robert (30), Mark (24), Adrian (10) and rounding out the top 10 was Michael (9).

In the constructors championship it is Ferrari (76), Mclaren (66), Mercedes (44), Red Bull (61), Renault (30) and Force India (18) followed by Williams (6) and Toro Rosso (2).

The real excitement of the race was Lewis's meteoric rise from 20th and his scrap with Adrian for a few more points. The scrap between Felipe, Jenson & Fernando caused a few edge of seat moments but the front 5 remained basically as the first lap so that must be considered a little boring.

Off we now go to China on April 18 and we look forward to seeing any upgrades and moves from the lower teams into the higher ranks. Force Indai are now stamping their authority on the top positions with both Adrian & Vitantonio and it would be good to see Williams doing similar.