It's good to be back in Melbourne and the stage for the first F1 race of the 2010 season. This season we have five world champions on the grid, Sebastian, Jenson, Lewis, Michael & Fernando and they are the cream of the crop. We all hope Mark can have an impact this season after being so close in 2010.
There remains one unanswered question, who is going to fight at the front with Red Bull as we certainly don't want a procession as we have had in the past. Hopefully the new form at Mclaren will keep both drivers up there, surely Ferrari are going to fight at the front, Mercedes are showing signs of being competitive and Renault also seem to have a good car from the start.
The new DRS (Drag Reduction System) will make a huge difference on the straights and at tracks like Monza, Silverstone and Spa it will be interesting to see the speeds they can achieve. The problem for the drivers is they have to be careful when they open up the rear spoiler as it obviously affect balance as we saw in quali yesterday as Adrian Sutil came onto the start/finish straight.
KERS is also back and the teams all seem to have problems one way or another and even Mclaren who seemed to perfect it had issues in Q3 yesterday and when it doesn't work it affects brake balance too. Red Bull didn't use it yesterday and amazing that they can throw away eighty horse power and still put in the stunning laps they do.
So new technology, new tyres, five world champions, four new drivers and it is all in place for the 2011 season but Sebastian's mighty lap yesterday doesn't bode well for the others. However, race pace is always different to qualifying pace, or let us all hope that is the case.
Prior to the start all the drivers and teams came to the front of the grid for a special one minute silence for the poor people in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami and others around the world less fortunate.
We all welcome David Coulthard to the commentary team along with Martin Brundle but we must all have noticed Bernie is missing, which is most unusual as he is in America discussing a new street race so we all wish him well with that.
As I mentioned yesterday during qualifying the track doesn't appear to rubber in like most circuits but it is a temporary circuit and normal roads when the Grand Prix has finished. There are also some support races here from Thursday onwards which is also unusual.
Most cars start the race on the soft tyres and of course on full tanks. So 17000 horsepower launches off the grid and Lewis didn't get a good start but he did retain his second place in front of Mark but Jenson lost two places, Michael lost a tyre completely after a puncture, Felipe shot up into fourth but Sebastian opened two seconds plus at the front which is bad news.
Up at the front Sebastian was still out front but Lewis is homing in followed by Mark, Vitaly and Felipe in a tremendous scrap with Jenson and Fernando is about to join then on lap eleven. The tyres are already going off and then all of a sudden Jenson shot past Felipe but not on the circuit and then when Fernando went past Felipe the question is whether Jenson had to let them go past.
To then add further confusion Ferrari pitted and it was then down to the stewards to decide what the position is. In the meanwhile cars were in for the first tyre change of the 2011 season and the leader stopped on lap fifteen. However, Lewis didn't and if he can do a fast lap he could pip Sebastian after his tyre stop.
After the pit stops it hadn't worked and Sebastian extended his lead out to six plus seconds and appears to be moving away. Mercedes are not doing well on lap twenty one with Nico down in eighth and Michael way down in twentieth.
Michael then retired with a technical failure, Rubens is now making headway up in ninth and closing in on Nico but he attacked and spun around and dropped back down to fifteenth. Nico then had smoke pouring from his Mercedes and it looks like both Merc's are out. That bodes well for Jenson as it moves into the points in eighth.
Mark doesn't seem to have the pace and comes in for his second tyre stop at the end of lap twenty six setting the mould for a three stop strategy. The new boy Paul Di Resta is doing a good job in his first race in eleventh and maybe he can get a point and Vitaly is still driving well still in third.
It will be fascinating to see how the tyre stops play out over the last few laps as there is so much difference between new and used tyres. Lewis then went off as his front under tray broke and we will await how it affects the car but still running in P2. The under tray is catching onto the floor and that will slow him down.
Sebastian came in on lap thirty seven followed by Lewis who doesn't seem to be affected by his floor problem. Sebastian in the meanwhile was still holding his lead to Lewis at now around twelve seconds and looks supreme out in front. Jenson then changed tyres on lap thirty eight in a meteoric stop in only 3.8 seconds.
A good scrap developed between Mark and Fernando and even with DRS Fernando struggled to get close enough to go by. Then Mark pitted on lap forty two and Fernando must have sighed as he now had a clear track. Fernando then pitted and his extra lap put him out in front of Mark whilst rookie Sergio Perez in his Sauber was driving brilliantly and starting to attack Jenson.
As we enter the last ten laps it will be interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out with some on hard and others on soft compounds. Jenson moved past Felipe into sixth although he went in for his last tyre stop. Meanwhile Perez in his Sauber was driving brilliantly and now in seventh but with only one pit stop.
At the flag the top ten were: Sebastian, Lewis, Vitaly, Fernando, Mark, Jenson, Sergio, Kamui, Felipe and Sebastien (B). So eventually nobody could match Sebastian in his Red Bull albeit Lewis did have a damaged car running to the end.
Pirelli appear to have done a good job and the last ten lap tyre issues didn't develop. Some great drives through the field including Sergio Perez, Paul Di Resta and Vitaly finishing third for his first podium.
Not a great race but a good start to the 2011 season and we await higher levels of competitive racing during the season. There is some debate as to whether Lewis's car will pass scrutineering which would be a shame.
So we start off as we finished last season with Red Bull. with at least one car way ahead and let us all hope Lewis and his Mclaren particularly are able start to fight harder up at the front. The new Renault also seems to be competitive after a great drive by Vitaly and one has to ask what would have happened if the injured Robert Kubica.
Lewis and Jenson must be satisfied with their performance after the initial running in pre-season testing.
We look forward to the next race in two weeks in Malaysia.
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Showing posts with label Red bull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red bull. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Saturday, 26 March 2011
F1 Australia Qualy
Welcome everybody to the 2011 season and let us all hope we have a season as exciting as 2010. The anticipated start in Bahrain was cancelled due to the problems in the country and all we can hope the unrest settles down and the GP can be rescheduled later in the season. A final decision will be made in May.
So it was off to Australia for the first race with a lot of changes to the cars. New tyres make their debut as Pirelli take over from Bridgestone. The interest is around durability as two to three tyre changes are planned which makes a huge difference to strategy for all the teams.
The new adjustable rear spoiler will also be a huge benefit on the straights where it can only be used. This will reduce down force and hence assist in overtaking. KERS is also back and we all know the challenges that system brings.
The drivers are now complaining about the amount of buttons they to activate in the steering wheel and one-handed driving can be dangerous when they are on the limit. There are also many changes behind the scenes, too many to discuss here.
The driver line up remains basically as 2010 but the notable addition is that of Paul Di Resta taking over the seat in Force India. Renault have been forced into a driver change after the unfortunate accident to Robert Kubica and the experienced Nick Heidfeld. One has to question the extra activities drivers undertake during the off-season.
Back to the cars and Red Bull seem still to be ahead but Mclaren and Ferrari are not far away. We all hope Mercedes are at the sharp end which will make the season much more interesting. Michael said he was fighting for a podium which is encouraging.
So after all the talk, the pre-season testing and comments from all the teams it is down to who can perform on the day. We also have a change in the commentary box as David Coulthard joins Martin Brundle, so we have two experienced drivers talking us through the races and they really make a huge difference to our TV experience.
Off we go for the first twenty minute qualifying session in 2011 and please note the 107% rule comes back so drivers not qualifying within 107% of the pole lap then they won't race. The first out was a Lotus with the others leaving it for what seemed a long time. Vitaly was the first to set a televised time in his Renault with a time of 1.29.4 which is fairly steady.
Out come the big guns as Sebastian goes fastest followed by Mark, Jenson and Lewis in the mid 1.26's. The times are obviously tumbling and Mark was the first into the 1.25's. Lewis then put in a typical Lewis meteoric lap into the low 1.25's confirming Mclaren could mix it with the Red Bull's. Strangely enough at this early stage both Ferrari's are sixth and seventh but then Michael puts his Mercedes up into fifth.
It is interesting watching the adjustable rear spoiler working as the drivers open it on the straights and it goes back once the driver hits the brake. The TV graphics are also very interesting showing all the new technology.
Ferrari appear to be panicking a little as both their cars went out on a new set of soft tyres. Vitaly was driving like a man possessed as he slotted his Renault up into a fantastic third but yet Nick Heidfeld didn't make it into Q2. At the end of Q1 we have two cars out due to the 107% and it will be in the hands of the stewards and teams to decide whether they race.
There was last minute panic for Felipe as he only got into Q2 at the very last minute. We lost the usual seven protagonists as we headed for Q2. Pasto Maldonaodo drove well to put his Williams through to Q2 in his first outing for the team.
Unfortunately Rubens got it all wrong on his out lap and dumped it into the gravel on turn three and went out to start the GP in seventeenth. Both Red Bull's went out new sets of soft tyres and then came back in without setting a lap time.
The first runs for Pirelli seem to be holding out well but the race tomorrow will show the durability albeit the track doesn't seem to be rubbering in as in previous seasons. Sebastian then through in a mighty lap on a 1.24090 which is a lightening lap and sets the bench mark in his first run on the soft tyres.
It is very interesting looking at the front of the pack as both Red Bull's, Mclaren's, Ferrari's and Mercedes with a lone Renault all in the mix with only 1.8 seconds covering the top ten.
Into Q3 we have Sebastian, Lewis, Mark, Jenson, Fernando, Kamui, Vitaly, Felipe, Nico and Jamei (deposing Michael who finished eleventh), so all the big guns are there.
Who can depose Sebastian will be interesting as we head into Q3 and the fight for pole position. They will all run as little fuel as they can and of course they have to start the race on the tyres they finish Q3 on. Lewis is the first out on the soft tyres into what will be a very interesting first qualifying of the 2011 season.
Sebastian sets an unbelievable 1.23.529 and who on earth can match that apart from maybe Mark, Lewis and Jenson but that lap is mighty. With only 3.25 seconds to go neither Ferrari's have even set a lap albeit they are on circuit.
So after Sebastian's mighty lap he remained on pole but Lewis slotted onto P2 followed by Mark, Jenson, Fernando, Vitaly (fantastic drive), Nico, Felipe, Kamui and in tenth, Sebastian Buemi. Great qualifying session and we all look forward to a very interesting race tomorrow.
So it was off to Australia for the first race with a lot of changes to the cars. New tyres make their debut as Pirelli take over from Bridgestone. The interest is around durability as two to three tyre changes are planned which makes a huge difference to strategy for all the teams.
The new adjustable rear spoiler will also be a huge benefit on the straights where it can only be used. This will reduce down force and hence assist in overtaking. KERS is also back and we all know the challenges that system brings.
The drivers are now complaining about the amount of buttons they to activate in the steering wheel and one-handed driving can be dangerous when they are on the limit. There are also many changes behind the scenes, too many to discuss here.
The driver line up remains basically as 2010 but the notable addition is that of Paul Di Resta taking over the seat in Force India. Renault have been forced into a driver change after the unfortunate accident to Robert Kubica and the experienced Nick Heidfeld. One has to question the extra activities drivers undertake during the off-season.
Back to the cars and Red Bull seem still to be ahead but Mclaren and Ferrari are not far away. We all hope Mercedes are at the sharp end which will make the season much more interesting. Michael said he was fighting for a podium which is encouraging.
So after all the talk, the pre-season testing and comments from all the teams it is down to who can perform on the day. We also have a change in the commentary box as David Coulthard joins Martin Brundle, so we have two experienced drivers talking us through the races and they really make a huge difference to our TV experience.
Off we go for the first twenty minute qualifying session in 2011 and please note the 107% rule comes back so drivers not qualifying within 107% of the pole lap then they won't race. The first out was a Lotus with the others leaving it for what seemed a long time. Vitaly was the first to set a televised time in his Renault with a time of 1.29.4 which is fairly steady.
Out come the big guns as Sebastian goes fastest followed by Mark, Jenson and Lewis in the mid 1.26's. The times are obviously tumbling and Mark was the first into the 1.25's. Lewis then put in a typical Lewis meteoric lap into the low 1.25's confirming Mclaren could mix it with the Red Bull's. Strangely enough at this early stage both Ferrari's are sixth and seventh but then Michael puts his Mercedes up into fifth.
It is interesting watching the adjustable rear spoiler working as the drivers open it on the straights and it goes back once the driver hits the brake. The TV graphics are also very interesting showing all the new technology.
Ferrari appear to be panicking a little as both their cars went out on a new set of soft tyres. Vitaly was driving like a man possessed as he slotted his Renault up into a fantastic third but yet Nick Heidfeld didn't make it into Q2. At the end of Q1 we have two cars out due to the 107% and it will be in the hands of the stewards and teams to decide whether they race.
There was last minute panic for Felipe as he only got into Q2 at the very last minute. We lost the usual seven protagonists as we headed for Q2. Pasto Maldonaodo drove well to put his Williams through to Q2 in his first outing for the team.
Unfortunately Rubens got it all wrong on his out lap and dumped it into the gravel on turn three and went out to start the GP in seventeenth. Both Red Bull's went out new sets of soft tyres and then came back in without setting a lap time.
The first runs for Pirelli seem to be holding out well but the race tomorrow will show the durability albeit the track doesn't seem to be rubbering in as in previous seasons. Sebastian then through in a mighty lap on a 1.24090 which is a lightening lap and sets the bench mark in his first run on the soft tyres.
It is very interesting looking at the front of the pack as both Red Bull's, Mclaren's, Ferrari's and Mercedes with a lone Renault all in the mix with only 1.8 seconds covering the top ten.
Into Q3 we have Sebastian, Lewis, Mark, Jenson, Fernando, Kamui, Vitaly, Felipe, Nico and Jamei (deposing Michael who finished eleventh), so all the big guns are there.
Who can depose Sebastian will be interesting as we head into Q3 and the fight for pole position. They will all run as little fuel as they can and of course they have to start the race on the tyres they finish Q3 on. Lewis is the first out on the soft tyres into what will be a very interesting first qualifying of the 2011 season.
Sebastian sets an unbelievable 1.23.529 and who on earth can match that apart from maybe Mark, Lewis and Jenson but that lap is mighty. With only 3.25 seconds to go neither Ferrari's have even set a lap albeit they are on circuit.
So after Sebastian's mighty lap he remained on pole but Lewis slotted onto P2 followed by Mark, Jenson, Fernando, Vitaly (fantastic drive), Nico, Felipe, Kamui and in tenth, Sebastian Buemi. Great qualifying session and we all look forward to a very interesting race tomorrow.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
F1 Abu Dhabi -The race for the championship
Welcome back to the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi after a thrilling qualifying yesterday when Sebastian once again took pole with a fantastic lap.
As I said in qualifying yesterday the permutations are endless but one thing is for certain Lewis is targetting winning the race and the first corner will be very interesting. Of the first four Mark is in the worst position starting fifth and he simply has to pass Fernando to have any chance at all of winning the championship.
Red Bull have said they will "allow" Mark to pass Sebastian if he can win and Sebastian can't as the race unfolds. All the talk about we are racing for the team maybe put into question today if Mark can win and Sebastian can't but he is in front, hmmm.
Both Mclaren drivers are racing for maximum points for the team and the gap between themselves and Ferrari stands at thirty points going into the race and Mclaren seem to have second place in the bag if they can score at least some points. Whilst Lewis has a chance of the championship it is really out of reach.
According to Martin on his usual grid walk there are three hundred plus permutations as to who can win but at the end of the day it is now down to basically six drivers on the front three rows of the grid.
The grid walk was chaos with Kings, Queens, World Leaders from a host of countries and of course our Bernie and he has so much respect from the world's countries he can encourage major sponsors into the sport.
After eighteen races the tension on the grid is immense particularly for Red Bull and whilst Christian Horner says it is just another race that is bull****. The outcome of today will crown the 2010 world champion and there can be no higher accolade in the world of motor sport.
The track temperature as the cars leave the gird is thirty three with air temperature of twenty nine. The talking is now over and with fifty five laps round this 3.7 mile circuit this is going to be a thrilling spectacle.
Dusk looms over the circuit and the flood lights come on, hearts are pumping, revs are rising and Charlie sits above the grid and there off. What a dramatic start as Jenson jumped straight into second and whilst had a go at Fernando he dropped into third.
Then as the two Mercedes cars of Nico and Michael came together, Michael spun out and as Vitantonio came around completely unsighted launched himself over the top of Michael and both were obviously out. Out came the safety car for the first time today and that can change things as some cars came in to make their compulsory tyre change including Nico's Mercedes.
As the race unfolds the early tyre changes of Nico and Vitaly are coming play as Fernando is stuck behind Vitaly and the middle field runners are suffering. Lewis then pits on lap twenty four with Fernando still down in twelfth. Lewis dropped down to behind Robert and he simply has to pass him.
As it stands on lap twenty five Sebastian is leading the championship and after his tyre stop he came out putting Kamui and Robert between himself and Lewis. It is now getting tense amongst the top three as Jenson is lapping quicker than all of them as his fuel load drops and he has yet to stop.
Fernando is still stuck behind Vitaly who is driving brilliantly but affecting both Fernando and Mark who is still running twelfth and really not working out for him. Jenson is till running first and driving brilliantly and trying to take second in front of Lewis and maybe attack Sebastian if he can force the gap before his tyre stop.
Jenson was still on the super softs which aren't supposed to run that far into the race as he has now completed thirty seven laps. He eventually pits on lap forty and he comes out behind Lewis so the extended run on the soft tyres didn't work. Sebastian then went through in the lead and and on his way on lap forty one to the championship title.
Robert has still not stopped on lap forty three and frustrating Lewis and Jenson even though he has to stop make his compulsory stop to ensure he uses both sets of tyres.
After all the talk about swapping drivers around Sebastian went out into the lead straight away and he never looked as though he was to be headed and drove to the world championship and takes the accolade of being the youngest ever driver to win the highest accolade in motor sport.
Lewis came in second followed closely by Jenson and a fabulous one, two. The jubilation on the pit wall was a sight to behold and if any team knows how to party it is Red Bull. On his closing down lap Sebastian was quite rightly crying in the car as Christian Horner announced his championship over the radio.
On the winding down lap we saw Fernando shacking a closed fist at Vitaly for losing him the world championship and what on earth did Fernando expect him to do. He was behind Vitaly but he still had to pass Robert and Nico anyway. Sorry Fernando that was out of order, you lost because Ferrari got it wrong on the day.
Through the very smart line up of young ladies the top three drivers on the day progressed to the podium and there was a lovely atmosphere between the three drivers who are of course world champions over the past three years.
So as we leave Abu Dhabi and the final race of the 2010 season it is euphoria at Red Bull having taken both the Drivers and Constructors championships, the most iconic in the world of motor sport. Mclaren take second in the Constructors championship and a great season for both Lewis (fourth) and Jenson (fifth).
Fernando had a frustrating day but finished second only four points behind Sebastian and Mark also had a frustrating day behind Fernando and finally finished third in the championship.
As I said in qualifying yesterday the permutations are endless but one thing is for certain Lewis is targetting winning the race and the first corner will be very interesting. Of the first four Mark is in the worst position starting fifth and he simply has to pass Fernando to have any chance at all of winning the championship.
Red Bull have said they will "allow" Mark to pass Sebastian if he can win and Sebastian can't as the race unfolds. All the talk about we are racing for the team maybe put into question today if Mark can win and Sebastian can't but he is in front, hmmm.
Both Mclaren drivers are racing for maximum points for the team and the gap between themselves and Ferrari stands at thirty points going into the race and Mclaren seem to have second place in the bag if they can score at least some points. Whilst Lewis has a chance of the championship it is really out of reach.
According to Martin on his usual grid walk there are three hundred plus permutations as to who can win but at the end of the day it is now down to basically six drivers on the front three rows of the grid.
The grid walk was chaos with Kings, Queens, World Leaders from a host of countries and of course our Bernie and he has so much respect from the world's countries he can encourage major sponsors into the sport.
After eighteen races the tension on the grid is immense particularly for Red Bull and whilst Christian Horner says it is just another race that is bull****. The outcome of today will crown the 2010 world champion and there can be no higher accolade in the world of motor sport.
The track temperature as the cars leave the gird is thirty three with air temperature of twenty nine. The talking is now over and with fifty five laps round this 3.7 mile circuit this is going to be a thrilling spectacle.
Dusk looms over the circuit and the flood lights come on, hearts are pumping, revs are rising and Charlie sits above the grid and there off. What a dramatic start as Jenson jumped straight into second and whilst had a go at Fernando he dropped into third.
Then as the two Mercedes cars of Nico and Michael came together, Michael spun out and as Vitantonio came around completely unsighted launched himself over the top of Michael and both were obviously out. Out came the safety car for the first time today and that can change things as some cars came in to make their compulsory tyre change including Nico's Mercedes.
As the race unfolds the early tyre changes of Nico and Vitaly are coming play as Fernando is stuck behind Vitaly and the middle field runners are suffering. Lewis then pits on lap twenty four with Fernando still down in twelfth. Lewis dropped down to behind Robert and he simply has to pass him.
As it stands on lap twenty five Sebastian is leading the championship and after his tyre stop he came out putting Kamui and Robert between himself and Lewis. It is now getting tense amongst the top three as Jenson is lapping quicker than all of them as his fuel load drops and he has yet to stop.
Fernando is still stuck behind Vitaly who is driving brilliantly but affecting both Fernando and Mark who is still running twelfth and really not working out for him. Jenson is till running first and driving brilliantly and trying to take second in front of Lewis and maybe attack Sebastian if he can force the gap before his tyre stop.
Jenson was still on the super softs which aren't supposed to run that far into the race as he has now completed thirty seven laps. He eventually pits on lap forty and he comes out behind Lewis so the extended run on the soft tyres didn't work. Sebastian then went through in the lead and and on his way on lap forty one to the championship title.
Robert has still not stopped on lap forty three and frustrating Lewis and Jenson even though he has to stop make his compulsory stop to ensure he uses both sets of tyres.
After all the talk about swapping drivers around Sebastian went out into the lead straight away and he never looked as though he was to be headed and drove to the world championship and takes the accolade of being the youngest ever driver to win the highest accolade in motor sport.
Lewis came in second followed closely by Jenson and a fabulous one, two. The jubilation on the pit wall was a sight to behold and if any team knows how to party it is Red Bull. On his closing down lap Sebastian was quite rightly crying in the car as Christian Horner announced his championship over the radio.
On the winding down lap we saw Fernando shacking a closed fist at Vitaly for losing him the world championship and what on earth did Fernando expect him to do. He was behind Vitaly but he still had to pass Robert and Nico anyway. Sorry Fernando that was out of order, you lost because Ferrari got it wrong on the day.
Through the very smart line up of young ladies the top three drivers on the day progressed to the podium and there was a lovely atmosphere between the three drivers who are of course world champions over the past three years.
So as we leave Abu Dhabi and the final race of the 2010 season it is euphoria at Red Bull having taken both the Drivers and Constructors championships, the most iconic in the world of motor sport. Mclaren take second in the Constructors championship and a great season for both Lewis (fourth) and Jenson (fifth).
Fernando had a frustrating day but finished second only four points behind Sebastian and Mark also had a frustrating day behind Fernando and finally finished third in the championship.
Saturday, 13 November 2010
F1 Quali Abu Dhabi
At last we are here, the final race of the 2010 season and the climax to the eighteen race season. Welcome to Abu Dhabi and the Yas Marina circuit in the desert on the Yas Marina circuit off the coast of Abu Dhabi.
The constructors championship went to Red Bull in Brazil and their first of no doubt many. The drivers championship is a different issue with Fernando Alonso (246), Mark Webber (238), Sebastian Vettel (231) and on the outer edge Lewis Hamilton (222).
There are too many permutations to consider as the points are so close with only twenty four points between which is of course less than a race win.
The interest will be what happens in the race between the two Red Bull drivers after the well publicised comments from both drivers over the past weeks. Mark thinks he has been badly done to over the past races and Sebastian basically doesn't care about Mark's feelings and after Turkey can they be sensible and race for the right reasons.
Ferrari on the other hand have developed remarkably over the past races and Fernando has forced himself to the front when all seemed lost. Mclaren seemed to lose the balance of the car over the past races and Lewis's three DNF's haven't helped him at all. Realistically Lewis needs the front three to go off and that is expecting a minor miracle.
This will be the most important quali of the season for the top four and Lewis has showed he is ready to get out there and mix it up with the top three. He is of course very capable of winning this race but he needs luck to win the championship.
Here we go for the last quali of the season as the sun goes down at 1700 Abu Dhabi time, the track temperature drops so the drivers are struggling with tyre temperature, the flood lights come on and all is to play for at this spectacular circuit.
The first of the three quali sessions had all four of the top championship protagonists locked in combat switching around with Fernando two tenths faster than Sebastian. Lewis and Mark. Nobody dropped into the 1.39's but that will come I feel sure. Nico slotted into P2 and that could cause a mix up amongst the top four.
Jenson and Felipe were running in close support in fourth and fifth so its like 2 x 2 x 2 into the arc. We lost the usual 6 newer teams and the main loser of the top teams was Sebastian Buemi in his Red Bull.
Off into quali two and the first into the 39's was of course as Sebastian took off with the softer tyres. Both Mclaren's are mixing it up the front behind Sebastian and all of them are performing to the maximum.
Nico then again put in a stunning lap and slotted into P2 really mixing them all up at the front. Q2 saw Robert, Adrian, Nick, Nico H, Vitantonio and Jaime out of the pole shoot out. All five of the top teams are in the top ten and what can Mercedes and Williams do in the final shoot out.
Here we go for the titanic battle for pole in the most important session of the season in the fight for the championship. The teams are so close it is too close to call and we are now dealing in 1000's of a second and who will come out in front.
What a final session as Sebastian takes pole and that's getting boring as he always seems to manage pole when he needs it, Lewis was absolutely mighty and finished on the front row in P2, Fernando finished up with a great lap in P3, Jenson came in fourth followed by a lowly and out of sorts Mark.
The talking is now over and the race happens tomorrow with both Mclaren's mixing it up at the front and one has to say on the results of the pole session seem to favour Fernando for his third title.
Cannot wait for tomorrow.
The constructors championship went to Red Bull in Brazil and their first of no doubt many. The drivers championship is a different issue with Fernando Alonso (246), Mark Webber (238), Sebastian Vettel (231) and on the outer edge Lewis Hamilton (222).
There are too many permutations to consider as the points are so close with only twenty four points between which is of course less than a race win.
The interest will be what happens in the race between the two Red Bull drivers after the well publicised comments from both drivers over the past weeks. Mark thinks he has been badly done to over the past races and Sebastian basically doesn't care about Mark's feelings and after Turkey can they be sensible and race for the right reasons.
Ferrari on the other hand have developed remarkably over the past races and Fernando has forced himself to the front when all seemed lost. Mclaren seemed to lose the balance of the car over the past races and Lewis's three DNF's haven't helped him at all. Realistically Lewis needs the front three to go off and that is expecting a minor miracle.
This will be the most important quali of the season for the top four and Lewis has showed he is ready to get out there and mix it up with the top three. He is of course very capable of winning this race but he needs luck to win the championship.
Here we go for the last quali of the season as the sun goes down at 1700 Abu Dhabi time, the track temperature drops so the drivers are struggling with tyre temperature, the flood lights come on and all is to play for at this spectacular circuit.
The first of the three quali sessions had all four of the top championship protagonists locked in combat switching around with Fernando two tenths faster than Sebastian. Lewis and Mark. Nobody dropped into the 1.39's but that will come I feel sure. Nico slotted into P2 and that could cause a mix up amongst the top four.
Jenson and Felipe were running in close support in fourth and fifth so its like 2 x 2 x 2 into the arc. We lost the usual 6 newer teams and the main loser of the top teams was Sebastian Buemi in his Red Bull.
Off into quali two and the first into the 39's was of course as Sebastian took off with the softer tyres. Both Mclaren's are mixing it up the front behind Sebastian and all of them are performing to the maximum.
Nico then again put in a stunning lap and slotted into P2 really mixing them all up at the front. Q2 saw Robert, Adrian, Nick, Nico H, Vitantonio and Jaime out of the pole shoot out. All five of the top teams are in the top ten and what can Mercedes and Williams do in the final shoot out.
Here we go for the titanic battle for pole in the most important session of the season in the fight for the championship. The teams are so close it is too close to call and we are now dealing in 1000's of a second and who will come out in front.
What a final session as Sebastian takes pole and that's getting boring as he always seems to manage pole when he needs it, Lewis was absolutely mighty and finished on the front row in P2, Fernando finished up with a great lap in P3, Jenson came in fourth followed by a lowly and out of sorts Mark.
The talking is now over and the race happens tomorrow with both Mclaren's mixing it up at the front and one has to say on the results of the pole session seem to favour Fernando for his third title.
Cannot wait for tomorrow.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
F1 Singapore - The Race
Here we go for the much anticipated Singapore Grand Prix around the 23 turns of the Marina Bay circuit. The teams are now into fly away races to the end of the season which means no real major upgrades so what they have will remain for the final five races of the 2010 season.
With only twenty four points covering the top five makes it very intense and any slip up amongst them could punt them out of the championship chase. Turns one and two could a major test for all the drivers.
Fernando on pole alongside Sebastian, the Mclaren's line astern behind, Mark back in fifth, Felipe last with plenty in between to cause problems for the top five including Robert in his Renault suggest this could be a very interesting if not great race.
Apart from the race in Singapore, underneath the lights it is also a great spectacle and you can really see the intense colours of the cars. A quick look at the Gull winged Mercedes safety car during Martin's grid walk showed what level of equipment this car has, a fantastic motor car which follows the grand prix circus.
The temperature in Singapore must be difficult for the drivers to deal with particularly as it is likely to be a two hour race. With humidity at 61 degrees, track temperature thirty one degrees, air temperature of thirty degrees and sixty one laps to go this is intense for all concerned.
The cars move off onto their siter lap and the tension begins to build. Tyres and brakes will be critical for all the cars and that has been the case for the past two years here. Mark blew a brake disc apart and rammed the barrier last year.
Away they go basically in grid order albeit Fernando had to move over to stop the fast starting Sebastian from coming past and Fernando put in quick laps from the start. Jenson passed Lewis momentarily but Lewis was later on the brakes into turn one.
Then out came the safety on only lap three and many of the cars came into to change to the prime tyres enabling them to run to the finish without another stop. Mark however rejoined in eleventh and his progress through the field was not helped by the twisty circuit nature. Felipe in the meanwhile was running in fifteenth and having the same problem passing as Mark.
Both Mclaren's seemed to be running a waiting game as Fernando was running a second quicker on lap fourteen. It will be interesting to see what happens when the top drivers come in to change the tyres. It appears the prime tyres are not working on their early stages and Nico H was complaining about traction on them.
Timo was causing a mobile chicane and the drivers who switched to the prime tyres were all blocked behind him and it took a mistake from him to allow Nico H and Felipe through. At the front Fernando was now down in the 51's as the fuel burns off and the front five won't have any problems changing tyres and holding their positions.
Sebastian was running some seven seconds ahead of Lewis and it seems the Mclaren's cannot hold the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull at this fairly early stage of the race. Mark has dropped some thirty seconds behind Fernando and his progress was stunted after his tyre stop.
Then the Mclaren's dropped straight off the pace and had to stop for tyres but their pace had dropped Lewis behind Mark. Then they were followed in by Fernando and Sebastian and Sebastian almost immediately narrowed the gap to Fernando.
Kamui went into the barriers and Bruno went straight into the back of him which then brought out the safety car again. After what seems to have have been a long race already there are still twenty eight laps to go as they all bunch up behind the safety car.
The placings at thirty four laps are Fernando, Sebastian, Mark, Lewis, Jenson, Nico, Robert and Rubens. With 26 laps to go the race will almost certainly run to the two hour period after all the events of the previous laps.
As the safety car came in Lewis was on better tyres than Mark and went to pass him, they tangled and once again out went Lewis and another non finish. The contact is being viewed by the stewards and we have to await the outcome. I believe a racing incident and will be surprised if any action against Mark is taken.
Now Mark has Jenson on his tail and the outcome between these two will be interesting. Out in front Fernando and Sebastian are in a class of their own trading fastest lap after fastest lap running only a second apart. After forty three laps we now had lost seven cars through accidents basically. In the meanwhile Felipe was now running in tenth which is creditable after starting last.
Robert picked up a right side rear puncture from sixth and pitted for a tyre change and strangely they put on a set of primes. He immediately shot onto the back of Sebastien B and with Vitaly in front him he was in a Renault sandwich. Robert was running now in twelfth until he passed Sebastien B and shot straight up behind Vitaly. Robert has nothing to lose as running eleventh and out of the points so action stations on his team mate.
Still nip and tuck between Fernando and Sebastian, Mark and Jenson and at the bottom end of the points Robert was now moving through as he passed Vitaly, Felipe, Nico H, Adrian and now Adrian is flying on his new tyres and already back to seventh.
It is still mighty close between the front two as Sebastian closes on Fernando when passing Michael and Heikki and they are both driving an outstanding race. As Fernando has the lead he will be very difficult to pass having the high ground.
As the final minutes ground down Sebastian was sat on Fernando's tail and it was certainly very tense. As the two hours struck Fernando took the flag after a great drive from the two times world champion.
At the flag Fernando finished in P1 followed by Sebastian, Mark, Jenson, Nico, Rubens, Robert, Adrian, Nico H and Felipe completing the points scorers. Vitaly, Jaime, Michael, Sebastien B, Lucas and finally Heikki whose was badly on fire and he had to put the fire out himself as the fire marshall's were too slow and he did a great job as the cars literally flew past him on the start finish line.
All the rest didn't finish and that of course included Lewis who leaves in third in the championship now twenty points behind Mark but still in the hunt.
Great race, great spectacle and congratulations to all the drivers for a wonderful job done under the heat intensity of Singapore. Now the teams move to Suzuka and hopefully to another thrilling race.
With only twenty four points covering the top five makes it very intense and any slip up amongst them could punt them out of the championship chase. Turns one and two could a major test for all the drivers.
Fernando on pole alongside Sebastian, the Mclaren's line astern behind, Mark back in fifth, Felipe last with plenty in between to cause problems for the top five including Robert in his Renault suggest this could be a very interesting if not great race.
Apart from the race in Singapore, underneath the lights it is also a great spectacle and you can really see the intense colours of the cars. A quick look at the Gull winged Mercedes safety car during Martin's grid walk showed what level of equipment this car has, a fantastic motor car which follows the grand prix circus.
The temperature in Singapore must be difficult for the drivers to deal with particularly as it is likely to be a two hour race. With humidity at 61 degrees, track temperature thirty one degrees, air temperature of thirty degrees and sixty one laps to go this is intense for all concerned.
The cars move off onto their siter lap and the tension begins to build. Tyres and brakes will be critical for all the cars and that has been the case for the past two years here. Mark blew a brake disc apart and rammed the barrier last year.
Away they go basically in grid order albeit Fernando had to move over to stop the fast starting Sebastian from coming past and Fernando put in quick laps from the start. Jenson passed Lewis momentarily but Lewis was later on the brakes into turn one.
Then out came the safety on only lap three and many of the cars came into to change to the prime tyres enabling them to run to the finish without another stop. Mark however rejoined in eleventh and his progress through the field was not helped by the twisty circuit nature. Felipe in the meanwhile was running in fifteenth and having the same problem passing as Mark.
Both Mclaren's seemed to be running a waiting game as Fernando was running a second quicker on lap fourteen. It will be interesting to see what happens when the top drivers come in to change the tyres. It appears the prime tyres are not working on their early stages and Nico H was complaining about traction on them.
Timo was causing a mobile chicane and the drivers who switched to the prime tyres were all blocked behind him and it took a mistake from him to allow Nico H and Felipe through. At the front Fernando was now down in the 51's as the fuel burns off and the front five won't have any problems changing tyres and holding their positions.
Sebastian was running some seven seconds ahead of Lewis and it seems the Mclaren's cannot hold the pace of the Ferrari and Red Bull at this fairly early stage of the race. Mark has dropped some thirty seconds behind Fernando and his progress was stunted after his tyre stop.
Then the Mclaren's dropped straight off the pace and had to stop for tyres but their pace had dropped Lewis behind Mark. Then they were followed in by Fernando and Sebastian and Sebastian almost immediately narrowed the gap to Fernando.
Kamui went into the barriers and Bruno went straight into the back of him which then brought out the safety car again. After what seems to have have been a long race already there are still twenty eight laps to go as they all bunch up behind the safety car.
The placings at thirty four laps are Fernando, Sebastian, Mark, Lewis, Jenson, Nico, Robert and Rubens. With 26 laps to go the race will almost certainly run to the two hour period after all the events of the previous laps.
As the safety car came in Lewis was on better tyres than Mark and went to pass him, they tangled and once again out went Lewis and another non finish. The contact is being viewed by the stewards and we have to await the outcome. I believe a racing incident and will be surprised if any action against Mark is taken.
Now Mark has Jenson on his tail and the outcome between these two will be interesting. Out in front Fernando and Sebastian are in a class of their own trading fastest lap after fastest lap running only a second apart. After forty three laps we now had lost seven cars through accidents basically. In the meanwhile Felipe was now running in tenth which is creditable after starting last.
Robert picked up a right side rear puncture from sixth and pitted for a tyre change and strangely they put on a set of primes. He immediately shot onto the back of Sebastien B and with Vitaly in front him he was in a Renault sandwich. Robert was running now in twelfth until he passed Sebastien B and shot straight up behind Vitaly. Robert has nothing to lose as running eleventh and out of the points so action stations on his team mate.
Still nip and tuck between Fernando and Sebastian, Mark and Jenson and at the bottom end of the points Robert was now moving through as he passed Vitaly, Felipe, Nico H, Adrian and now Adrian is flying on his new tyres and already back to seventh.
It is still mighty close between the front two as Sebastian closes on Fernando when passing Michael and Heikki and they are both driving an outstanding race. As Fernando has the lead he will be very difficult to pass having the high ground.
As the final minutes ground down Sebastian was sat on Fernando's tail and it was certainly very tense. As the two hours struck Fernando took the flag after a great drive from the two times world champion.
At the flag Fernando finished in P1 followed by Sebastian, Mark, Jenson, Nico, Rubens, Robert, Adrian, Nico H and Felipe completing the points scorers. Vitaly, Jaime, Michael, Sebastien B, Lucas and finally Heikki whose was badly on fire and he had to put the fire out himself as the fire marshall's were too slow and he did a great job as the cars literally flew past him on the start finish line.
All the rest didn't finish and that of course included Lewis who leaves in third in the championship now twenty points behind Mark but still in the hunt.
Great race, great spectacle and congratulations to all the drivers for a wonderful job done under the heat intensity of Singapore. Now the teams move to Suzuka and hopefully to another thrilling race.
Saturday, 31 July 2010
F1 Quali Hungary
Well, after the one, two at Hockenheim there has been no other talk apart from the question of team orders. As we armchair viewers there was no question Felipe slowed to let Fernando through after a call from his engineer Rob Smedley advising him Fernando was quicker than he was. Rob then followed it up with a further radio call apologising for the situation.
Rule 39.1 of the FIA Rule Book is quite clear that "there are no team orders in Formula 1" and there are of course three schools of thought. The teams are looking after the interests of their massive financial investment in the sport and accumulating points towards the manufacturers championship, the drivers wish to do the same thing towards the drivers championship and the fans want to see great racing.
It is fair to suggest Ferrari were going to finish with a one, two no what the driver was in front. Both Ferrari drivers drove brilliantly and definitely deserved their result. However, Ferrari did break the rules and it must now to be left to WMSC to decide what will happen in the best interest of the sport.
The stewards on the day decided Ferrari had broken rule 39.1 and fined them $100,000 and it must be left to Jean Todt and the WMSC to make the final decision. There has been much talk in the press and on the radio about how Ferrari have brought the sport into disrepute.
Personally I think that is rubbish as the fighting was over and Ferrari were one and two anyway. The Ferrari switch at Hockenheim has no reflection on the sport and this year is as competitive a season as we have had, Formula 1 is a team sport and always will be.
Let's turn our thoughts back to what we all enjoy, Formula 1 Motor Racing. We now have a six way fight at the front now Ferrari have finally got their act together. The controversy over the Red Bull flexible front wing goes onward and the teams are wishing the FIA to investigate it and Christian Horner is adamant that the car meets scrutineering and that should be the end of it.
Mercedes are still struggling and even after abandoning the new floor the car still doesn't seem to t0 be on the pace. Williams are ever competitive and Rubens particularly is showing the merit of the car. Hopefully they will get back to the results of Clay Regazzoni followed by Alan Jones, Ayrton Senna and our Nige, great times and we keep our fingers crossed for them.
Red Bull seem to be on fire for the weekend but Mclaren are struggling with both Lewis and Jenson in damage limitation mode this weekend. It always seems to be inevitable this year that Red Bull will be on pole with one of their drivers and we wait with anticipation to see if Fernando particularly can break Red Bull's stranglehold on the front row of the grid.
Felipe is also driving with more grit and this is of course the place of his accident during 2009 and we all wish him well for the weekend. Hopefully the two of them can start fighting consistently at the sharp end if Mclaren can't. Mclaren are lacking downforce and without doubt Lewis is having to punch the car and track into submission.
The usual protagonists are in the first drop out group and we lost Kamui, Timo, Heikki, Yarno, Lucas, Bruno and Yamomoto still in the car in place of Karun Chandock. The mid pack are getting tighter and tighter with each race with Force India, Sauber, Williams, Mercedes, Renault fighting for honours.
As they all move into Q2 Red Bull seem to be in a class of their own and it is obviously not a favourite Mclaren circuit as the F Duct doesn't work as well here as it is a more twisty circuit than say Silverstone. Both Renault's are after all working well here running in fourth and fifth with only a couple of minutes to go in Q2.
So we have lost Jenson, Rubens, Adrian, Michael, Sebastien, Vitantonio and Jamie bringing up the rear. So we lost two world champions in Q2 with both Jenson and Michael not going into the top ten shoot out. Q3 is going to be classic as there is only a tenth of a second between the top eight.
The pole shoot out will be tremendous as we watch with anticipation but Sebastian and Mark are so much quicker it is unbelievable. Both Red Bull's are one and two followed by Fernando, Felipe and Lewis ringing the neck of the Mclaren and only eight one thousands of a second slower than Felipe.
So pole went to Sebastian followed by Mark, Fernando, Felipe, Lewis, Nico, Vitaly, Robert, Pedro and Nico H in his Williams finishing tenth. So a great grand prix in prospect tomorrow and if the Ferrari's and Lewis can get off the line and fight at the front this could be exciting. Good drivers from both Vitaly and Robert in the Renault's and Nico in his Williams.
The big question is can Red Bull run from pole to the finish which they haven't done yet. Their cars are perfectly suited to the downforce levels required at Hungary and hopefully they don't run away from the front albeit it seems likely.
Martin Whitmarsh has brought a new term to Formula 1 "the best of the flxed wing cars" relating to the eighty five mm limit from the floor during racing.
Bring on the Hungarian Grand Prix tomorrow.
Rule 39.1 of the FIA Rule Book is quite clear that "there are no team orders in Formula 1" and there are of course three schools of thought. The teams are looking after the interests of their massive financial investment in the sport and accumulating points towards the manufacturers championship, the drivers wish to do the same thing towards the drivers championship and the fans want to see great racing.
It is fair to suggest Ferrari were going to finish with a one, two no what the driver was in front. Both Ferrari drivers drove brilliantly and definitely deserved their result. However, Ferrari did break the rules and it must now to be left to WMSC to decide what will happen in the best interest of the sport.
The stewards on the day decided Ferrari had broken rule 39.1 and fined them $100,000 and it must be left to Jean Todt and the WMSC to make the final decision. There has been much talk in the press and on the radio about how Ferrari have brought the sport into disrepute.
Personally I think that is rubbish as the fighting was over and Ferrari were one and two anyway. The Ferrari switch at Hockenheim has no reflection on the sport and this year is as competitive a season as we have had, Formula 1 is a team sport and always will be.
Let's turn our thoughts back to what we all enjoy, Formula 1 Motor Racing. We now have a six way fight at the front now Ferrari have finally got their act together. The controversy over the Red Bull flexible front wing goes onward and the teams are wishing the FIA to investigate it and Christian Horner is adamant that the car meets scrutineering and that should be the end of it.
Mercedes are still struggling and even after abandoning the new floor the car still doesn't seem to t0 be on the pace. Williams are ever competitive and Rubens particularly is showing the merit of the car. Hopefully they will get back to the results of Clay Regazzoni followed by Alan Jones, Ayrton Senna and our Nige, great times and we keep our fingers crossed for them.
Red Bull seem to be on fire for the weekend but Mclaren are struggling with both Lewis and Jenson in damage limitation mode this weekend. It always seems to be inevitable this year that Red Bull will be on pole with one of their drivers and we wait with anticipation to see if Fernando particularly can break Red Bull's stranglehold on the front row of the grid.
Felipe is also driving with more grit and this is of course the place of his accident during 2009 and we all wish him well for the weekend. Hopefully the two of them can start fighting consistently at the sharp end if Mclaren can't. Mclaren are lacking downforce and without doubt Lewis is having to punch the car and track into submission.
The usual protagonists are in the first drop out group and we lost Kamui, Timo, Heikki, Yarno, Lucas, Bruno and Yamomoto still in the car in place of Karun Chandock. The mid pack are getting tighter and tighter with each race with Force India, Sauber, Williams, Mercedes, Renault fighting for honours.
As they all move into Q2 Red Bull seem to be in a class of their own and it is obviously not a favourite Mclaren circuit as the F Duct doesn't work as well here as it is a more twisty circuit than say Silverstone. Both Renault's are after all working well here running in fourth and fifth with only a couple of minutes to go in Q2.
So we have lost Jenson, Rubens, Adrian, Michael, Sebastien, Vitantonio and Jamie bringing up the rear. So we lost two world champions in Q2 with both Jenson and Michael not going into the top ten shoot out. Q3 is going to be classic as there is only a tenth of a second between the top eight.
The pole shoot out will be tremendous as we watch with anticipation but Sebastian and Mark are so much quicker it is unbelievable. Both Red Bull's are one and two followed by Fernando, Felipe and Lewis ringing the neck of the Mclaren and only eight one thousands of a second slower than Felipe.
So pole went to Sebastian followed by Mark, Fernando, Felipe, Lewis, Nico, Vitaly, Robert, Pedro and Nico H in his Williams finishing tenth. So a great grand prix in prospect tomorrow and if the Ferrari's and Lewis can get off the line and fight at the front this could be exciting. Good drivers from both Vitaly and Robert in the Renault's and Nico in his Williams.
The big question is can Red Bull run from pole to the finish which they haven't done yet. Their cars are perfectly suited to the downforce levels required at Hungary and hopefully they don't run away from the front albeit it seems likely.
Martin Whitmarsh has brought a new term to Formula 1 "the best of the flxed wing cars" relating to the eighty five mm limit from the floor during racing.
Bring on the Hungarian Grand Prix tomorrow.
Sunday, 13 June 2010
F1 Canada Race
After the events of quali yesterday Mclaren were penalised with a £10,000 fine for requesting Lewis stopped on track and not make it back it to the pits. The question of team orders was again under discussion prior to the race but this time more about Lewis and Jenson.
The message Lewis received from the pit wall during the latter part of the race nearly cost him the win and very nearly lost the race for both the Mclaren's. After the collision between the two Red Bull's we all sat on the edge of our seats as Lewis was advised to save fuel, he asked whether Jenson would pass him and was advised No.
Jenson then went past, Lewis then took him into the lead again, again they swapped but it could have been a disaster for them both, so close. Let us hope we don't get a repeat this weekend even though we want the same excitement. We could have enough problems with safety cars today so that could give us a lot of excitement today.
There is a mix of tyres at the start which is unusual with Mclaren on the Green walled tyres and the Red Bull's on the harder compound. The soft tyre will present Lewis with a problem as the soft tyres suggest he will have to change them after as few as eight laps. We await with anticipation the result of this race.
The harder tyre is more difficult to get heat into so the start should be easier on the softer tyres but across the whole race all the teams have to use both compounds so it should equalise across the 70 laps.
Mark has been given a five place grid drop back into seventh which has moved from sixth to second up a place. Red Bull opted to change Mark's gearbox only as a precaution and hence the five place grid drop.
So with the highest track temperature of the year at 38 it is mighty hot which will be even more difficult for the tyres. The 2.7 mile circuit will present a problem balancing speed and high speed braking up as far as 5g. The run down to the first corner is a short blast from the grid and let us hope they all get through.
The first corner caused all sorts of problems as Lewis shot off into the lead followed by Sebastian and Fernando. Behind them there were all sorts of problems as Pedro, Felipe, Vitantonio and all needed new nose cones. Then coming into the last corner Kamui was the first to hit the wall and out he went.
We had an almighty scrap between Jenson and Mark but Jenson lost out and then Lewis seemed to be holding up the front runners forcing both Mclaren's to change tyres. Coming out of the pits Lewis and Fernando were side by side and all so close but Fernando went in front.
So the excitement started from the get go and after only nine laps we had both Red Bull's out front with Fernando and Lewis back to seventh and eighth. We must remember the Red Bull's will have to change to the soft tyres so as I mentioned earlier it could equalise over the race.
Up to lap sixteen it was very difficult to keep up with everything going on and as thought tyres are causing huge problems. Whilst all this was all going on we had changes in positions throughout the field and as it stabilised a bit Lewis was back in front followed by Fernando and Jenson as even the Red Bull's had to change the hard tyres much quicker than the teams thought.
The talk on only lap sixteen was the cars may have to change five times which is unheard of in F1. These walls around the circuit are looking mighty close as the drivers push hard trying to keep the lap times. The circuit seems to be rubbering up on lap twenty one and tyre management is the name of the game.
The five four are trading fastest lap after fastest lap as Lewis keeps Fernando at bay but Jenson, Sebastian and Mark are closing in and all are on the harder tyre excepting Sebastian who is still on the soft tyres. Great racing and anything could happen across this long race.
So on laps twenty nine and thirty we had another round of tyre changes which changed the front order with Mark in front followed by Lewis, Fernando, Jenson and Sebastian all battling for the lead. There is so much going on all the way down the field but the top five are basically equally two seconds apart.
On lap forty Mark was still out in the lead but only 10 seconds ahead and with a sixteen seconds pit stop for his final stop as he has to stop again to go onto the soft tyres. Lewis is closing in on Mark along with all the others in the top 5. On lap forty five Mark hit traffic and the gap was getting ever closer and the top five cars are only covered by ten seconds.
On lap fifty Lewis went ahead, Fernando couldn't go through but Mark then went into the pits for his last stop to go onto the soft, Green walled tyres. The two Force India's and Felipe had been having a great battle for the lower positions.
Both Mclaren's were also speeding and seem happier on the tyres than the others but still times amongst the top four moving all over the place. Jenson closes on Fernando who are closing slightly on Lewis whilst Mark has new tyres we will see whether he can close back on the top four.
Jenson then passed Fernando and we had a one, two for Mclaren again as the Ferrari got tied up ever so slightly by a slower car. Then Jenson and Fernando lapped Michael which must have been a blow for him. Mark in the meantime was hot on the heels of the front four and running quicker than Lewis. Now Jenson has clear air he is catching Lewis as the last ten laps start.
Michael was struggling with pace as his tyres were shot having had them on for some 30 laps. However, he then pushed Felipe off the track coming into the last turn which destroyed Felipe's front spoiler and he had no option to pit for a new one. Naughty Michael, very naughty and will be investigated by the stewards after the race.
Then Vitantonio was pushing Michael in a spirited fight between the two of them as the Force India tried to get to tenth and a point. Up at the front Lewis had it all under control followed by Jenson and a Mclaren one, two again for the second time in two races and they are now at the top of the both championships.
A huge welcome back to Canada and after a terrific F1 spectacle the top ten at the finish were Lewis, Jenson, Fernando, Sebastian, Mark, Nico, Robert, Sebastian (B), Vitantonio and Adrian finally pushing Michael out of the points.
After Canada there has been a change now at the top of the drivers championship as Mclaren lock it out at the top with Lewis (109), Jenson (106), Mark (103), Fernando (94), Sebastian (90), Nico (74), Robert (73), Felipe (67), Michael (34), Adrian (23), Vitantonio (12), Rubens (7), Vitaly (6), Sebastien B (5), Jamie (3) and Nico and Kamui bringing up the rear with 1.
In the Constructors Championship the positions haven't changed. Mclaren leave Canada with (215), Red Bull (193), Ferrari (161), Mercedes (108), Renault (79), Force India (35), Williams (8), Toro Rosso (8) and BMW bringing up the rear with just 1 point.
We need more races like these Bernie, great race and full of excitement all the way from flag to flag. Best race of the season.
The message Lewis received from the pit wall during the latter part of the race nearly cost him the win and very nearly lost the race for both the Mclaren's. After the collision between the two Red Bull's we all sat on the edge of our seats as Lewis was advised to save fuel, he asked whether Jenson would pass him and was advised No.
Jenson then went past, Lewis then took him into the lead again, again they swapped but it could have been a disaster for them both, so close. Let us hope we don't get a repeat this weekend even though we want the same excitement. We could have enough problems with safety cars today so that could give us a lot of excitement today.
There is a mix of tyres at the start which is unusual with Mclaren on the Green walled tyres and the Red Bull's on the harder compound. The soft tyre will present Lewis with a problem as the soft tyres suggest he will have to change them after as few as eight laps. We await with anticipation the result of this race.
The harder tyre is more difficult to get heat into so the start should be easier on the softer tyres but across the whole race all the teams have to use both compounds so it should equalise across the 70 laps.
Mark has been given a five place grid drop back into seventh which has moved from sixth to second up a place. Red Bull opted to change Mark's gearbox only as a precaution and hence the five place grid drop.
So with the highest track temperature of the year at 38 it is mighty hot which will be even more difficult for the tyres. The 2.7 mile circuit will present a problem balancing speed and high speed braking up as far as 5g. The run down to the first corner is a short blast from the grid and let us hope they all get through.
The first corner caused all sorts of problems as Lewis shot off into the lead followed by Sebastian and Fernando. Behind them there were all sorts of problems as Pedro, Felipe, Vitantonio and all needed new nose cones. Then coming into the last corner Kamui was the first to hit the wall and out he went.
We had an almighty scrap between Jenson and Mark but Jenson lost out and then Lewis seemed to be holding up the front runners forcing both Mclaren's to change tyres. Coming out of the pits Lewis and Fernando were side by side and all so close but Fernando went in front.
So the excitement started from the get go and after only nine laps we had both Red Bull's out front with Fernando and Lewis back to seventh and eighth. We must remember the Red Bull's will have to change to the soft tyres so as I mentioned earlier it could equalise over the race.
Up to lap sixteen it was very difficult to keep up with everything going on and as thought tyres are causing huge problems. Whilst all this was all going on we had changes in positions throughout the field and as it stabilised a bit Lewis was back in front followed by Fernando and Jenson as even the Red Bull's had to change the hard tyres much quicker than the teams thought.
The talk on only lap sixteen was the cars may have to change five times which is unheard of in F1. These walls around the circuit are looking mighty close as the drivers push hard trying to keep the lap times. The circuit seems to be rubbering up on lap twenty one and tyre management is the name of the game.
The five four are trading fastest lap after fastest lap as Lewis keeps Fernando at bay but Jenson, Sebastian and Mark are closing in and all are on the harder tyre excepting Sebastian who is still on the soft tyres. Great racing and anything could happen across this long race.
So on laps twenty nine and thirty we had another round of tyre changes which changed the front order with Mark in front followed by Lewis, Fernando, Jenson and Sebastian all battling for the lead. There is so much going on all the way down the field but the top five are basically equally two seconds apart.
On lap forty Mark was still out in the lead but only 10 seconds ahead and with a sixteen seconds pit stop for his final stop as he has to stop again to go onto the soft tyres. Lewis is closing in on Mark along with all the others in the top 5. On lap forty five Mark hit traffic and the gap was getting ever closer and the top five cars are only covered by ten seconds.
On lap fifty Lewis went ahead, Fernando couldn't go through but Mark then went into the pits for his last stop to go onto the soft, Green walled tyres. The two Force India's and Felipe had been having a great battle for the lower positions.
Both Mclaren's were also speeding and seem happier on the tyres than the others but still times amongst the top four moving all over the place. Jenson closes on Fernando who are closing slightly on Lewis whilst Mark has new tyres we will see whether he can close back on the top four.
Jenson then passed Fernando and we had a one, two for Mclaren again as the Ferrari got tied up ever so slightly by a slower car. Then Jenson and Fernando lapped Michael which must have been a blow for him. Mark in the meantime was hot on the heels of the front four and running quicker than Lewis. Now Jenson has clear air he is catching Lewis as the last ten laps start.
Michael was struggling with pace as his tyres were shot having had them on for some 30 laps. However, he then pushed Felipe off the track coming into the last turn which destroyed Felipe's front spoiler and he had no option to pit for a new one. Naughty Michael, very naughty and will be investigated by the stewards after the race.
Then Vitantonio was pushing Michael in a spirited fight between the two of them as the Force India tried to get to tenth and a point. Up at the front Lewis had it all under control followed by Jenson and a Mclaren one, two again for the second time in two races and they are now at the top of the both championships.
A huge welcome back to Canada and after a terrific F1 spectacle the top ten at the finish were Lewis, Jenson, Fernando, Sebastian, Mark, Nico, Robert, Sebastian (B), Vitantonio and Adrian finally pushing Michael out of the points.
After Canada there has been a change now at the top of the drivers championship as Mclaren lock it out at the top with Lewis (109), Jenson (106), Mark (103), Fernando (94), Sebastian (90), Nico (74), Robert (73), Felipe (67), Michael (34), Adrian (23), Vitantonio (12), Rubens (7), Vitaly (6), Sebastien B (5), Jamie (3) and Nico and Kamui bringing up the rear with 1.
In the Constructors Championship the positions haven't changed. Mclaren leave Canada with (215), Red Bull (193), Ferrari (161), Mercedes (108), Renault (79), Force India (35), Williams (8), Toro Rosso (8) and BMW bringing up the rear with just 1 point.
We need more races like these Bernie, great race and full of excitement all the way from flag to flag. Best race of the season.
Saturday, 8 May 2010
F1 Quali Barcelona
Now we are back in Europe in Catalunya and it is nice to see the hospitality suites and trucks back in the paddock. Most of the teams come here with plenty of upgrades but Red Bull still appear to have the edge in qualifying. Whilst both Lewis and Jenson were top of the field in testing on Thursday, as is usual this season Red Bull showed the field with Sebastian and Mark heading the field on Friday.
Michael looks happier with the car and let us hope he can get up up with Nico. Mclaren made a mess of the set up for Friday but they both seemed happier with the set up in readiness for quali. Lotus are more confident with the car and Heikki suggests there maybe a second a lap improvement in the car.
So off we go into Q1 and the first to put in a time was Heikki in a 1.26.048 but in testing yesterday Sebastian was running in the late 1.19's. Massa was next along flying compared with the Lotus and he slots in a banker 1.23 as Fernando then moved into P1. The times will come down as the track rubbers in and the hard tyres bed in.
Then we had both Mclarens leading the field but locked in battle with the Red Bull's with the Ferrari's loitering. So after Q1 we lost Rubens, Jarno, Heikki, Timo, Karun, Lucas and Bruno. Williams were disappointing as Rubens lost out and both Lotus cars were out which is a shame.
Q2 is going to be very interesting as the times in the mid field are so close. Very interesting development on the Ferrari as Fernando is having to use only one hand whilst adjusting the F duct trying to copy the Mclaren development as well as adjusting the brake balance using no hands at times.
As we move into Q2 Red Bull seem to have it in the bag as early in the run they were one and two. Mclaren are ever closer, this is going to be very close. Lewis seems to have the edge on Jenson as Mark appears to have the same on Sebastian but we know how that can change. Michael then came up into third and is he coming to be as one with the car whilst Nico is back in ninth which is a change in the team positions in the season so far.
After all the comings and goings in Q2 we lost Adrian, Pedro, Nico (H), Vitaly, Sebastian (B), Jamie and Vitantonio. Disappointment for both Force India's as they have been so competitive in the previous races this season. Q2 remained tight at the top but both Red Bull's still have the edge but Lewis is hovering.
Here we go into the pole shoot out and this will be even tighter looking at the times so far. Again we had an issue in the pit lane as Fernando was released into the pit lane in front of Nico and a near accident was only just avoided. It does make it difficult for the drivers with peripheral vision as the sides of the modern F1 car are so high but that is why they rely heavily on the pit crew in the pit lane particularly.
Both Red Bull's then laid down the gauntlet with mark followed by Sebastian but both 1 second quicker than Lewis followed by Jenson and Michael but Nico down in tenth. So all the cars went into the pits to add some fuel but only just enough to complete the run.
With all the cars now on the Green walled tyres and the times are tumbling. Then Mark put the rest in the shade with the first into the 1.19's. What a furious last 10 minutes and Mark was just over a tenth ahead.
So the final grid looks like this: Mark, Sebastian, Lewis, Fernando, Jenson, Michael, Robert, Nico, Felipe and Kamui. So Michael heads Nico for the first time this season, Lewis heads Jenson and Fernando heads Felipe. All this suggests we should have a great grand prix with 4 world champions in the top 6.
Now things will be hectic in the pits evaluating all the data and let us hope we have a good Spanish GP.
Michael looks happier with the car and let us hope he can get up up with Nico. Mclaren made a mess of the set up for Friday but they both seemed happier with the set up in readiness for quali. Lotus are more confident with the car and Heikki suggests there maybe a second a lap improvement in the car.
So off we go into Q1 and the first to put in a time was Heikki in a 1.26.048 but in testing yesterday Sebastian was running in the late 1.19's. Massa was next along flying compared with the Lotus and he slots in a banker 1.23 as Fernando then moved into P1. The times will come down as the track rubbers in and the hard tyres bed in.
Then we had both Mclarens leading the field but locked in battle with the Red Bull's with the Ferrari's loitering. So after Q1 we lost Rubens, Jarno, Heikki, Timo, Karun, Lucas and Bruno. Williams were disappointing as Rubens lost out and both Lotus cars were out which is a shame.
Q2 is going to be very interesting as the times in the mid field are so close. Very interesting development on the Ferrari as Fernando is having to use only one hand whilst adjusting the F duct trying to copy the Mclaren development as well as adjusting the brake balance using no hands at times.
As we move into Q2 Red Bull seem to have it in the bag as early in the run they were one and two. Mclaren are ever closer, this is going to be very close. Lewis seems to have the edge on Jenson as Mark appears to have the same on Sebastian but we know how that can change. Michael then came up into third and is he coming to be as one with the car whilst Nico is back in ninth which is a change in the team positions in the season so far.
After all the comings and goings in Q2 we lost Adrian, Pedro, Nico (H), Vitaly, Sebastian (B), Jamie and Vitantonio. Disappointment for both Force India's as they have been so competitive in the previous races this season. Q2 remained tight at the top but both Red Bull's still have the edge but Lewis is hovering.
Here we go into the pole shoot out and this will be even tighter looking at the times so far. Again we had an issue in the pit lane as Fernando was released into the pit lane in front of Nico and a near accident was only just avoided. It does make it difficult for the drivers with peripheral vision as the sides of the modern F1 car are so high but that is why they rely heavily on the pit crew in the pit lane particularly.
Both Red Bull's then laid down the gauntlet with mark followed by Sebastian but both 1 second quicker than Lewis followed by Jenson and Michael but Nico down in tenth. So all the cars went into the pits to add some fuel but only just enough to complete the run.
With all the cars now on the Green walled tyres and the times are tumbling. Then Mark put the rest in the shade with the first into the 1.19's. What a furious last 10 minutes and Mark was just over a tenth ahead.
So the final grid looks like this: Mark, Sebastian, Lewis, Fernando, Jenson, Michael, Robert, Nico, Felipe and Kamui. So Michael heads Nico for the first time this season, Lewis heads Jenson and Fernando heads Felipe. All this suggests we should have a great grand prix with 4 world champions in the top 6.
Now things will be hectic in the pits evaluating all the data and let us hope we have a good Spanish GP.
Monday, 27 July 2009
Hungary Quali
Firstly our thoughts go out to the Surtees family after the tragic accident to Henry at Brands Hatch. This freak accident just shows how dangerous motor racing still is as the wheel off one of the other competitors cars hit him on the head.
What brings it home even more is the spooky freak accident to Felipe Massa only a week after when a spring from the rear of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn bounced down the circuit and was collected by Felipe who, it appears finished up with a fractured skull.
All the signs are that Felipe will fully recover but as I write he is still in an induced coma. Whether he will drive again seems to be in doubt and their is talk of him being replaced by, wait for it, Michael Schumacher and that would be a real revelation.
Anyway that is unimportant compared with Felipe's complete recovery and our thoughts go out to the Massa family in the meanwhile.
On a somewhat sombre note after Brands the F1 circus goes to the tight Hungaroring noted for no overtaking which the drivers seemed to ignore all weekend.
We, I am sure all welcome Jaime Alguersauri to F1 who is the youngest driver to take an F1 seat and obtain his super license. He has replaced the luckless Sebastian Bourdais at Toro Rosso or maybe even STR -Ferrari, and as the 2008 Formula 3 champion he has been brought in under the Red Bull young driver program and he seemed to be consistent during his first run.
There was the usual fight to see who was to lose out in Q1 and apart from Alguersauri who broke down it was the Force India's and again the BMW's who just don't seem to be able to get things right. One expects better from BMW and I wonder what is being said in Germany about their continuing in the sport through these difficult times.
On into Q2 which is where Felipe had his accident and I don't think we should dwell on that. The loss of the spring in Ruben's car meant he couldn't progress to Q1 and the team launched an immediate inspection to find why and he finished 12th.
The Red Bulls's, Mclaren's (isn't that nice to be able to say) and Williams's were having an almighty fight at the top with Rosberg in P1 at one stage. Q2 saw the demise of both Toyota's, Nelson in the 2nd Renault, Rubens and of course Felipe.
On into Q3 and the same 6 cars were fighting it out but this time, with a lightly fueled Renault it was Fernando who put the Renault on pole followed by Sebastian (Vettel) followed by Mark, Lewis and Nico and then Heikki, Kimi. Jenson seemed to having tyre problems again and finished a lowly 8th and then rounding out the top 10 it was Kazuki and Sebastian (Buemi).
Albeit all the drivers were concentrating on the job in hand all the talk was correctly about Felipe and the only news we had post quali was that he was in hospital and stable. We desperately await good news.
What brings it home even more is the spooky freak accident to Felipe Massa only a week after when a spring from the rear of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn bounced down the circuit and was collected by Felipe who, it appears finished up with a fractured skull.
All the signs are that Felipe will fully recover but as I write he is still in an induced coma. Whether he will drive again seems to be in doubt and their is talk of him being replaced by, wait for it, Michael Schumacher and that would be a real revelation.
Anyway that is unimportant compared with Felipe's complete recovery and our thoughts go out to the Massa family in the meanwhile.
On a somewhat sombre note after Brands the F1 circus goes to the tight Hungaroring noted for no overtaking which the drivers seemed to ignore all weekend.
We, I am sure all welcome Jaime Alguersauri to F1 who is the youngest driver to take an F1 seat and obtain his super license. He has replaced the luckless Sebastian Bourdais at Toro Rosso or maybe even STR -Ferrari, and as the 2008 Formula 3 champion he has been brought in under the Red Bull young driver program and he seemed to be consistent during his first run.
There was the usual fight to see who was to lose out in Q1 and apart from Alguersauri who broke down it was the Force India's and again the BMW's who just don't seem to be able to get things right. One expects better from BMW and I wonder what is being said in Germany about their continuing in the sport through these difficult times.
On into Q2 which is where Felipe had his accident and I don't think we should dwell on that. The loss of the spring in Ruben's car meant he couldn't progress to Q1 and the team launched an immediate inspection to find why and he finished 12th.
The Red Bulls's, Mclaren's (isn't that nice to be able to say) and Williams's were having an almighty fight at the top with Rosberg in P1 at one stage. Q2 saw the demise of both Toyota's, Nelson in the 2nd Renault, Rubens and of course Felipe.
On into Q3 and the same 6 cars were fighting it out but this time, with a lightly fueled Renault it was Fernando who put the Renault on pole followed by Sebastian (Vettel) followed by Mark, Lewis and Nico and then Heikki, Kimi. Jenson seemed to having tyre problems again and finished a lowly 8th and then rounding out the top 10 it was Kazuki and Sebastian (Buemi).
Albeit all the drivers were concentrating on the job in hand all the talk was correctly about Felipe and the only news we had post quali was that he was in hospital and stable. We desperately await good news.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
F1 Turkey - The Race
Welcome to Turkey 2009 on the fabulous circuit at Istanbul Park. What Turkey needs now is a F1 driver to pull in the crowds as to date that is not happening. The same happened with Spain until Fernando came along and then they poured in by their thousands, lets hope someone comes along to fire that interest in the Turks.
So, we had Sebastian (Vettel)on pole with Jenson hot on his heels and Rubens lurking. All went well on the warm up lap with the usual tyre warming antics. There were concerns again about the Green walled tyres not lasting and certainly all the teams preferred the harder tyres. They have to run both types of course and it was just a matter off choice against pit stops.
Most teams went for the hard tyres from the start but Fernando thought better and started on the the softer Green walled jobbies, mistake or not? It did mean once the first stint was over he could run the rest of the race on the hard tyres but by then maybe it was too late. Most of the teams on the hard tyres at the start finished the last stint on the softer tyres, so just a matter of strategy.
Off they went at 1300 UK time into the first corner which is blind on the approach very similar to Brazil. Sebastian (V) retained his pole into the first corner quickly followed by Jenson, Mark and the rest.
It was thought Rubens may beat Jenson to the first corner on the better side of the circuit but whatever he did in the car caused it to go into anti-stall and he went backwards very quickly to about 13th.
In the meanwhile Sebastian (V) got corner 9 all wrong and Jenson pounced into the lead which he was never to relinquish. In his plight to move forward Rubens was having a very adventurous afternoon banging into people with gay abandon. Then he announced he had lost 7th gear and his race was basically done and on lap 47 he finally retired from way down in the pack.
Jenson and Sebastian had their first pit stops and as Sebastian was on a 3 stopper he was lighter than Jenson and pulled right up to the Brawn's tailpipes. He tried always to get past but Jenson was too canny for that and Sebastian remained in the dirty air of the Brawn to the next pitstop and he was gone.
Mark was on the same strategy as Jenson and once Sebastian had his pitstop's he lost P2 to Mark and it remained that way to the finish. Sebastian had a call from the pits confirming "Mark is faster than you so hold position", that didn't fool anybody so what about team orders "did you hear any!
Behind these 3 Jarno and Nico had a race long battle with the former coming off best but a great showing form the Williams and had it not been for a hiccup in the pits Kazuki would have also been in the points.
The Ferrari's were again disappointing with Felipe running 6th the whole race and just not able to get in touch with Jarno and Nico. Kimi had a miserable day and finished a lonely 9th and nil point. Robert (Kubica) had a better race for BMW finishing in the points with 2 points for 7th.
Timo (Glock) took the last point so both Toyota's finished in the points which bodes well for them with Nick (Heidfeld) finishing in 11th. At least the BMW's have come on since the past few races where they finished last or almost last.
What about the Mclarens we ask ourselves. Well Lewis stared from 16th and finished 13th ahead of his team mate who started one place in front. The car is a dog and one had only to watch the on board with Lewis coming through turns 8, 9 and 10 to see why. He obviously has a complete lack of confidence in the car as he simply has no grip.
The team say they are building a new car and it will be out in Germany but one has to suggest they may have to work a few more hours and get it ready for Silverstone in 2 weeks or it will be sad for all the Lewis fans at this home GP.
They worked so hard in the final stages of last year to win the championship they simply haven't had the time to work on the 2009 car, this is Mclaren we are talking about!
So, Turkey finished up another Jenson / Brawn benefit. In the drivers conference Jenson said the car was fantastic and probably the best it has been all season. Both Mark and Sebastian agreed with that and a tribute to the team and that man Ross Brawn. Maybe Mclaren should get Adrian Newey back from Red Bull to put Lewis back up at the sharp end.
Lets hope Jenson can do the same on his official home grand prix at Silverstone and the fans would then have 2 drivers to shout for albeit one at the front and one at the back.
Just 2 retirements this time for Rubens and Giancarlo with Jenson taking the fastest lap with a 1.27.279, an average speed of 219.422.
Well done Jenson and one wonders if this glorious season is ever going to end with 6 wins out of 7 starts equalling Schumacher and Ascari a long while ago. He is going to take some catching now with his closest rivals being Rubens, 26 points behind and Sebastian (V) 32 behind. He is going to have to drop out of the points on many races now for others to catch him.
Brawn are a country mile away in the constructors championship now on 96 points being 40 points ahead of Red Bull and then after that it is Toyota on a far away 32.5 points.
Bring on Silverstone and let us all hope Lewis has a car rather than a tractor!
So, we had Sebastian (Vettel)on pole with Jenson hot on his heels and Rubens lurking. All went well on the warm up lap with the usual tyre warming antics. There were concerns again about the Green walled tyres not lasting and certainly all the teams preferred the harder tyres. They have to run both types of course and it was just a matter off choice against pit stops.
Most teams went for the hard tyres from the start but Fernando thought better and started on the the softer Green walled jobbies, mistake or not? It did mean once the first stint was over he could run the rest of the race on the hard tyres but by then maybe it was too late. Most of the teams on the hard tyres at the start finished the last stint on the softer tyres, so just a matter of strategy.
Off they went at 1300 UK time into the first corner which is blind on the approach very similar to Brazil. Sebastian (V) retained his pole into the first corner quickly followed by Jenson, Mark and the rest.
It was thought Rubens may beat Jenson to the first corner on the better side of the circuit but whatever he did in the car caused it to go into anti-stall and he went backwards very quickly to about 13th.
In the meanwhile Sebastian (V) got corner 9 all wrong and Jenson pounced into the lead which he was never to relinquish. In his plight to move forward Rubens was having a very adventurous afternoon banging into people with gay abandon. Then he announced he had lost 7th gear and his race was basically done and on lap 47 he finally retired from way down in the pack.
Jenson and Sebastian had their first pit stops and as Sebastian was on a 3 stopper he was lighter than Jenson and pulled right up to the Brawn's tailpipes. He tried always to get past but Jenson was too canny for that and Sebastian remained in the dirty air of the Brawn to the next pitstop and he was gone.
Mark was on the same strategy as Jenson and once Sebastian had his pitstop's he lost P2 to Mark and it remained that way to the finish. Sebastian had a call from the pits confirming "Mark is faster than you so hold position", that didn't fool anybody so what about team orders "did you hear any!
Behind these 3 Jarno and Nico had a race long battle with the former coming off best but a great showing form the Williams and had it not been for a hiccup in the pits Kazuki would have also been in the points.
The Ferrari's were again disappointing with Felipe running 6th the whole race and just not able to get in touch with Jarno and Nico. Kimi had a miserable day and finished a lonely 9th and nil point. Robert (Kubica) had a better race for BMW finishing in the points with 2 points for 7th.
Timo (Glock) took the last point so both Toyota's finished in the points which bodes well for them with Nick (Heidfeld) finishing in 11th. At least the BMW's have come on since the past few races where they finished last or almost last.
What about the Mclarens we ask ourselves. Well Lewis stared from 16th and finished 13th ahead of his team mate who started one place in front. The car is a dog and one had only to watch the on board with Lewis coming through turns 8, 9 and 10 to see why. He obviously has a complete lack of confidence in the car as he simply has no grip.
The team say they are building a new car and it will be out in Germany but one has to suggest they may have to work a few more hours and get it ready for Silverstone in 2 weeks or it will be sad for all the Lewis fans at this home GP.
They worked so hard in the final stages of last year to win the championship they simply haven't had the time to work on the 2009 car, this is Mclaren we are talking about!
So, Turkey finished up another Jenson / Brawn benefit. In the drivers conference Jenson said the car was fantastic and probably the best it has been all season. Both Mark and Sebastian agreed with that and a tribute to the team and that man Ross Brawn. Maybe Mclaren should get Adrian Newey back from Red Bull to put Lewis back up at the sharp end.
Lets hope Jenson can do the same on his official home grand prix at Silverstone and the fans would then have 2 drivers to shout for albeit one at the front and one at the back.
Just 2 retirements this time for Rubens and Giancarlo with Jenson taking the fastest lap with a 1.27.279, an average speed of 219.422.
Well done Jenson and one wonders if this glorious season is ever going to end with 6 wins out of 7 starts equalling Schumacher and Ascari a long while ago. He is going to take some catching now with his closest rivals being Rubens, 26 points behind and Sebastian (V) 32 behind. He is going to have to drop out of the points on many races now for others to catch him.
Brawn are a country mile away in the constructors championship now on 96 points being 40 points ahead of Red Bull and then after that it is Toyota on a far away 32.5 points.
Bring on Silverstone and let us all hope Lewis has a car rather than a tractor!
Saturday, 6 June 2009
F1 Turkey Quali
Well here we are at Istanbul Park for the Turkish Grand Prix. With its 5.33km lap and 14 corners Istanbul Park has a total race length of 309.396km's.
The lap record is held by Montoya from as far back as 2005 which shows the difference in speeds as in 2009 the pole lap is 1.28.316 by Sebastian Vettel. Istanbul Park is an anti-clockwise circuit like Brazil giving the neck muscles a real pounding. After Monaco the teams and drivers look forward to stretching their legs back to a normal weekend.
So, 12 o'clock UK time quali began with a flurry of drivers hoping to get into the top 15 but as usual a top name went. As with Monaco, but for different reasons Lewis just hasn't got the car beneath him to put in the times. Mclaren are simply going to have to find grip from somewhere as the car looks very unstable and back end happy.
I believe Lewis is lacking confidence in the car and one cannot blame him, it is a beast. The usual protagonists were at the sharp end with Ferrari now beginning to mix it with Brawn, Red Bull and Williams. Nico hit the front for a time followed by Nakajima but status quo soon followed.
Sutil got through into Q2 dropping the luckless Lewis down into 16th which shows just how bad the Mclaren is. Piquet complained of no brakes, which could be a problem in one of these rocket ships and finished in the gravel, so his day was done. So after quali 1 we lost Lewis, Nelson, Sebastien (Buemi), Fisi and Sebastien (Bourdais). It appears you would have an advantage with a name such as Sebastien's and certainly at Red Bull / Torro Rosso!
Off into Quali 2 and the front 6 were fighting cat and dog at the sharp end, swopping places throughout the session. Trulli, who has always been a one lap specialist shot in a surprise by taking P1 but was soon to be overhauled by the top 6 but there or thereabouts. The BMW's were shaping a little better with Robert always ahead of Nick.
Jarno's lap put him into P2 at the end of the only topped by Sebastian (Vettel) followed by the 2 Brawn's, what's new. Heikki was shaping up only a little better than Lewis and finished Q2 in 14th place so the 2 Mclaren's will be behind each other on the grid. What they can do from there is really in the hands of the other drivers.
So we lost Adrian (Sutil), Heikki, Timo, Kajuki and Nick in his BMW. With little surprise we had the 10 to go through to Q3 and battle was to commence. Q3 didn't create much drama and not many were getting Green sectors due to the fuel levels now in the cars set for the race. Sebastian, Jenson, Rubens, Mark and Jarno were trading places throughout the 15 minute session.
Mark had come alight and headed the field, then it was Rubens, then Jenson and he must have thought he had it but he had not accounted for Sebastian who was on a charge and pipped him by a mere 100th of a second.
So we have a Red Bull, Brawn front row and finishing positions were Sebastian (Red Bull), Jenson (Brawn), Rubens (Brawn), Mark (Red Bull), Kimi (Ferrari), Felipe (Ferrari), Fernando (Renault), Nico (Williams) and finally Robert in his BMW.
So the Kers cars are back in the field and shouldn't worry the 4 away from the start and one would have to put money on Sebastian hitting the first corner first. However, it is always difficult until we know what fuel levels are in the cars and one has to say the Brawn's are usually supreme in race pace.
Let's hope we have a thriller.
The lap record is held by Montoya from as far back as 2005 which shows the difference in speeds as in 2009 the pole lap is 1.28.316 by Sebastian Vettel. Istanbul Park is an anti-clockwise circuit like Brazil giving the neck muscles a real pounding. After Monaco the teams and drivers look forward to stretching their legs back to a normal weekend.
So, 12 o'clock UK time quali began with a flurry of drivers hoping to get into the top 15 but as usual a top name went. As with Monaco, but for different reasons Lewis just hasn't got the car beneath him to put in the times. Mclaren are simply going to have to find grip from somewhere as the car looks very unstable and back end happy.
I believe Lewis is lacking confidence in the car and one cannot blame him, it is a beast. The usual protagonists were at the sharp end with Ferrari now beginning to mix it with Brawn, Red Bull and Williams. Nico hit the front for a time followed by Nakajima but status quo soon followed.
Sutil got through into Q2 dropping the luckless Lewis down into 16th which shows just how bad the Mclaren is. Piquet complained of no brakes, which could be a problem in one of these rocket ships and finished in the gravel, so his day was done. So after quali 1 we lost Lewis, Nelson, Sebastien (Buemi), Fisi and Sebastien (Bourdais). It appears you would have an advantage with a name such as Sebastien's and certainly at Red Bull / Torro Rosso!
Off into Quali 2 and the front 6 were fighting cat and dog at the sharp end, swopping places throughout the session. Trulli, who has always been a one lap specialist shot in a surprise by taking P1 but was soon to be overhauled by the top 6 but there or thereabouts. The BMW's were shaping a little better with Robert always ahead of Nick.
Jarno's lap put him into P2 at the end of the only topped by Sebastian (Vettel) followed by the 2 Brawn's, what's new. Heikki was shaping up only a little better than Lewis and finished Q2 in 14th place so the 2 Mclaren's will be behind each other on the grid. What they can do from there is really in the hands of the other drivers.
So we lost Adrian (Sutil), Heikki, Timo, Kajuki and Nick in his BMW. With little surprise we had the 10 to go through to Q3 and battle was to commence. Q3 didn't create much drama and not many were getting Green sectors due to the fuel levels now in the cars set for the race. Sebastian, Jenson, Rubens, Mark and Jarno were trading places throughout the 15 minute session.
Mark had come alight and headed the field, then it was Rubens, then Jenson and he must have thought he had it but he had not accounted for Sebastian who was on a charge and pipped him by a mere 100th of a second.
So we have a Red Bull, Brawn front row and finishing positions were Sebastian (Red Bull), Jenson (Brawn), Rubens (Brawn), Mark (Red Bull), Kimi (Ferrari), Felipe (Ferrari), Fernando (Renault), Nico (Williams) and finally Robert in his BMW.
So the Kers cars are back in the field and shouldn't worry the 4 away from the start and one would have to put money on Sebastian hitting the first corner first. However, it is always difficult until we know what fuel levels are in the cars and one has to say the Brawn's are usually supreme in race pace.
Let's hope we have a thriller.
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