FIA Brings In £40million Budget Cap For 2010, Refuelling Also Banned
The FIA have announced radical plans for Formula One today, with a £40million budget cap being the biggest new rule and regulation to be implemented from the 2010 season onwards.
It is a figure brought up from £30million pounds cited in earlier meetings by the FIA.
The cap covers all costs and expenditure, apart from driver salaries, marketing expenditure and most suprisingly engine development.
Teams who sign up to the new cap will recieve special benefits, including un-rev limited engines, flexible wings, unlimited testing and totally free reign over technical developments.
It is likely to turn the series into a two-tier championship though.
The FIA have also allowed up to 26 cars to race in the championship, up from 24 as new teams show interest in racing. These new teams will be given money from Bernie Ecclestone and also free transportation of cars and some staff to race events as a way to convince them to join. iSport, Lola, Aston Martin and USF1 are all teams interested in joining the series.
Refuelling Ban
The FIA also took the opportunity today to reiterrate their stance on refuelling, and its ban during races. Tyre heating devices will also be banned.
“It was confirmed that from 2010, refuelling during a race will be forbidden in order to save the costs of transporting refuelling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy (to save weight),” said the FIA in a statement following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council.
No offence on this one, but perhaps I have missed something. The cars will be on the grid, brimmed with 70 laps of fuel. They will have no tyre blankets, thus COLD slick tyres, which will have little or no grip. Methinks there will be a f*cking big accident into Turn 1 and a huge fire. BIG MISTAKE FIA.
McLaren Given 3 Race Suspended Ban For Lying To FIA
The FIA have given McLaren a suspended sentence of a 3 race ban for lying to the officials to deliberately mislead the result of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.
Former McLaren employee Dave Ryan and Lewis Hamilton colluded to lie to the FIA after the Australian race, claiming that Toyota driver Jarno Trulli had deliberately overtaken Hamilton, however he had not – the British driver had let the Italian through.
It was only after Trulli had been disqualified this all came to light, and the result was changed with Hamilton being disqualified from the race.
The FIA claim that there has been a change of culture within McLaren since the event thus have given them a suspended sentence.
A statement issued by the FIA said: “Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the application of the penalty it deems appropriate.
“That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the International Sporting Code.”
It’s a total joke, proves you CAN lie and cheat your way to success doesn’t it? It’s not Ferrari who have the FIA on the payroll it’s clearly McLaren. And also, a change in culture? From a team who have been on the wrong side of the FIA more than once recently, stealing all of Ferrari’s design documents in 2007 to name just one.
Surer Not Convinced Senna Is Ideal Piquet Replacement
Marc Surer, the Swiss F1 driver turned commentator believes that Bruno Senna, the newphew of the late Ayrton Senna is not the ideal replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr as rumour continues about his future.
Piquet, now in his second F1 season, has failed to impress so far, and has another two races to perform sources say before Flavio Briatore fires him. The young Brazilian has been under serious pressure, being outperformed on every level by team mate Fernando Alonso, and also the pressure of having Three-Time champion Nelson Piquet, his father, present at the past few races.
Bahrain was an improvement for Piquet, but it still didn’t appear to be good enough nor cover up his shortcomings previously.
“Perhaps if Piquet continues like he is, a driver exchange could be a topic, but at the moment I don’t see anyone on the market who would really be better.” Surer told UpdateF1
Bruno Senna is cited as a potential replacement, but Surer isn’t convinced the out-of-work GP2 ace is right for the job yet.
“Senna is a beginner who would probably make just as many errors,”he added.
Hamilton Considered Quitting F1
Lewis Hamilton has declared in an exclusive interview with The BBC that he considered quitting F1.
The British driver, who is the current reigning World Champion admitted that some of the shine of being a racing driver had gone, and that when his reputation was being called into question it w as very difficult to continue racing every week.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure I wanted to be here for the next five years,” Hamilton said
“There was so much going on. Do I want to be in the limelight with people slating me? Do I want be in the spotlight where I can’t even go… to go to the fish and chip shop or the cinema and have fun without people taking pictures of me?”
He has now confirmed that he is 100% committed to racing, and driving with McLaren.
It’s a shame he doesn’t enjoy his job, as I know myself and millions of others around the world would give anything to race an advanced F1 car at high speed every weekend….
Heidfeld – It Is A Complete Disaster
Nick Heidfeld was incredibly down after yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix declaring the race, and things at BMW Sauber as completely disastorous.
The German driver, who was fighting high last season with Robert Kubica may have finished 25 races in a row, but he was in last position.
The BMW Sauber car looked slow, and although he had an incident early on, it was no excuse for the poor car – one which many people cite as the worst looking in F1.
“The result is a disaster, although we were unlucky with the collision in the first corner,” the German veteran said.
“At first I thought the suspension was broken, but I only had to have a new nose fitted in the pits and then continued. The first half of the race with the harder tyres was difficult, but the softer compound made it a little bit easier.”
“However, it is another race to forget and we all hope for improvements in Barcelona,” he concluded.
Raikkonen Admits That 3 Points Is Just Not Good Enough
Kimi Raikkonen has told reporters that his sixth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix today, which awarded Ferrari 3 points their first 3 of the season is just not good enough for a team of their calbire.
The Italian outfit have struggled all season, and narrowly avoided making 2009 their worst start to a season ever with the 3 points today.
However Raikkonen said they needed to improve, and scene as this race was at the maximum of the F60′s potential, he is hoping that a swathe of new aerodynamic parts to be introduced ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix will help them close the gap and get onto the podium.
“I am happy to have picked up a few points but I can’t be that pleased with our performance level,” said Raikkonen. “I’ve been around long enough not to get very excited about a sixth place. We are well aware we have to improve.
“In theory, the new package we will have in Barcelona should see us make a good step forward, but we won’t know just how big it will be compared to the others until we are on track in Spain.
“Today, we got the most out of the F60′s current potential, even if I lost a bit of time in my final pitstop because of a problem with a part of the fairing on the left front wheel which cost me the chance of exiting pitlane ahead of Barrichello.”
Trulli Saddened Not To Give Toyota A First Win
Jarno Trulli has admitted that he was highly disappointed not to be giving Toyota the champagne glory of a first victory tonight, after he failed to win the Bahrain Grand Prix despite starting on pole.
The Italian had to make do with third position instead.
He started in first but was passed into the first corner by his team mate Timo Glock, who was lighter on fuel. He struggled with graining hard compound tyres, and was also passed by Sebastian Vettel during the race before finishing in third position.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because I was waiting for the first win for Toyota,” said Trulli. “Unfortunately the start cost me a position. From then on, it was a hard race.
“I was following my team-mate, I was going longer and then during the second stint we went long on hard tyres. I was really fighting with a lot of cars. I was not really quick, but was competitive on the harder tyres.”
“Eventually, Vettel took the position after my last stop. He was on the hard tyres and I was on the softs and I was pushing him because I was quicker. But there was no way of overtaking.
“I want to thank the team because they have done a very good job. Let’s fight again in the next race.”
Button Claims Bahrain Win The Best Of Season
Jenson Button, the world championship leader, proclaimed that his victory in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix was the best of the season.
Button has been racing under the Brawn GP banner, a team born from the ashes of the failed and closed Honda Racing Team.
The Brawn car arrived in Australia and was supremely dominant, winning that race, and then Button made it two with a win in Malaysia. They struggled a little in China, and in Bahrain they appeared not to have a competitive edge. However good strategy and Button’s supreme overtake on Hamilton meant he was first past the chequered flag.
Button increased his lead to 12 points over team mate Rubens Barrichello in the title hunt.
“This win was the best of the lot. We didn’t have that competitive edge. It is the fourth flyaway, we have a lot of bits that need to be changed and getting a bit aged, so to come away from this race is great and we are now looking at improving the car.” Button said post-race
“This was a tough race for us. This weekend we haven’t had pace we had in the first three races. These guys have probably gone past us, but the first part of race was very important. I made it work and came out of first corner in third, a tough race.”
Bahrain GP 2009: Button Takes Third Victory Of Season
Jenson Button stormed to victory in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix, despite lacking KERS and Ross Brawn admitting his cars had major cooling issues.
A great strategy from the master Brawn led the British driver to the top step of the podium for the third time this season, the fourth in his career which began back in 2000 with Williams.
Race Review
The Toyota’s started on the front row but it was anything but a friendly rivalry with Timo Glock disposing of Jarno Trulli into turn 1.
Felipe Massa in the Ferrari had a great KERS start, and Rubens Barrichello was forced to defend, pushing the Ferrari onto the red/white paint right down the pitwall. However he left himself open to attack and Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen passed them both, before Massa tagged Raikkonen from behind damaging his front wing. Hamilton also had a great start, getting up to 3rd place.
Further back in the field, Mark Webber was making use of a light and fast car overtaking many on the first lap. Robert Kubica and Kazuki Nakajima tripped over each other sending debris flying, as at times cars were four a breast the track. Both pitted at the end of lap 1 for new noses, Massa at the end of lap 2 with a KERS problem on top of needing a new cone.
Some laps in a faster Button was able to slipstream Lewis Hamilton down the main straight. The McLaren drivers KERS system couldnt keep Button behind any more. It was a great overtake.
Glock pitted early on lap 11, and the harder compound tyres did not work well for him, destroying any chance of victory. He would later end up in 7th place, behind the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen who had a quiet afternoon a few great overtakes, and at one point leading the race. Iceman was super-cool in making sure he got some point on the board for the Scuderia who were under the watchful eye of Luca di Montezemolo.
Vettel too could have won the race, but he got stuck in traffic, and that ended his chances. Rubens Barrichello to was fast, but a combination of a 3 stop strategy and also getting stuck behind Nelson Piquet Jr (who incidentally for all his flailing arms, Rubens was racing him). Barrichello could have lost out to Kimi Raikkonen had he not defended well into Turn 1 after his final stop.
Jarno Trulli also struggled on the harder compound tyres, and he lost around 1 second per lap to leader Button. By the time Vettel got past Trulli, Button was some 12 seconds ahead.
Fernando Alonso pulled a great performance to end up 8th, scoring the last point ahead of Nico Rosberg. Nelson Piquet Jr ended up 10th, in a much better performance where he raced well holding off both Rubens Barrichello, and late into the race a far superior Mark Webber.
Kazuki Nakajima was the only retirement of the race, with a fuel pressure problem.
Classified Results
2009 Bahrain Grand Prix;
Sakhir Circuit, Bahrain;
57 Laps;
Weather: Sunny/Hot
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | J. Button | Brawn Mercedes | 1.31.48.182 |
| 2 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | +7.187 |
| 3 | J. Trulli | Toyota | +9.170 |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +22.096 |
| 5 | R. Barrichello | Brawn Mercedes | +37.779 |
| 6 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +42.057 |
| 7 | T. Glock | Toyota | +42.880 |
| 8 | F. Alonso | Renault | +52.775 |
| 9 | N. Rosberg | Williams Toyota | +58.198 |
| 10 | N. Piquet | Renault | +1.05.149 |
| 11 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +1.07.641 |
| 12 | H. Kovalainen | McLaren Mercedes | +1.17.824 |
| 13 | S. Bourdais | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1.18.805 |
| 14 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 15 | G. Fisichella | Force India Merc-B | +1 lap |
| 16 | A. Sutil | Force India Merc-B | +1 lap |
| 17 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 18 | R. Kubica | BMW Sauber | +1 lap |
| 19 | N. Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | +1 lap |
Fastest Lap: 1.34.556, Jarno Trulli (Toyota)
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| K. Nakajima | Williams Toyota | 49 | Fuel Pressure |
Sutil Handed Grid Penalty For Bahrain
Adrian Sutil has been handed a 3 place grid penalty for tomrrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix after the stewards deemed that he blocked Australian Mark Webber in Qualifying session 1.
The German thought Webber was on an outlap, and was trying to steal his position, so defended the Australian’s overtaking move into the final corner. However Webber was on a hot lap, not an outlap like Adrian.
Webber was very angry about the situation.
“I just tried to stay in my position to get a clear start to the lap. It was a misunderstanding and I apologised to Mark after the end of the session,” said Sutil.
He will now start 19th instead of 16th.
Lauda To Be A Spaceman; Barrichello On Galactic Flight
No, I have not gone completely bonkers, former world champion Niki Lauda is to become a space pilot, and veteran racer Rubens Barrichello is going into space.
It is all part of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic scheme, where normal people (for the sum of $200,000) can take a flight into space. It will start some time next year, early tests with aircraft configurations are in progress and there is said to be a long waiting list.
Virgin are a sponsor to the Brawn GP team and this weekend in Bahrain the two Brawn cars are running with Virgin Galactic logos.
“Rubens has bought a ticket for space, and Niki is going to train to become an astronaut to hopefully fly other people into space one day,” said Branson.
Niki Lauda formerly owned Lauda Air, before it was sold to Austrian Airlines, and now runs Fly Niki. He is a professioanl airline pilot, and often flies his own jets with payload customers onboard.
“I have been a professional pilot for many years. I fly Boeing and Airbuses and my only dream was to fly the Space Shuttle.
“I was always looking at that, but that was impossible because basically Americans do that. When I saw this project I was the first knocking on the door.”
Lewis Hamilton has apparantly bought himself, his father, brother and girlfriend tickets for one of the first flights.
Barrichello's Brawn car featuring Virgin Galactic logos
Bahrain GP 2009: Toyota Lock-Out Front Row
Toyota secured a front row lock-out for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix after a very successful session for the Japanese automotive company. Jarno Trulli will start on pole, with Timo Glock admitting he just couldn’t make the first grid slot.
Sebastian Vettel, the winner of the Chinese Grand Prix last week has to settle for third. His team mate Mark Webber was knocked out in Q1 after being blocked by Adrian Sutil (16th). We await a stewards decision on whether the young German will recieve a penalty.
Jenson Button, the current leader of the World Championship starts third, with Lewis Hamilton alongside in 6th. Barrichello and Alonso make up the next row with strong performances from their drivers, and Ferrari got both cars in the top 10 with Massa starting 8th and Raikkonen 10th.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:32.779 1:32.671 1:33.431 2. Glock Toyota (B) 1:33.165 1:32.613 1:33.712 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:32.680 1:32.474 1:34.015 4. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:32.978 1:32.842 1:34.044 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:32.851 1:32.877 1:34.196 6. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.116 1:32.842 1:34.239 7. Alonso Renault (B) 1:33.627 1:32.860 1:34.578 8. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:33.297 1:33.014 1:34.818 9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.672 1:33.166 1:35.134 10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:33.117 1:32.827 1:35.380 11. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.479 1:33.242 12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.221 1:33.348 13. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.495 1:33.487 14. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.377 1:33.562 15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:33.608 1:33.941 16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.722 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:33.753 18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.910 19. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:34.038 20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.159
Rossi Says He Won’t Head To F1 After MotoGP Retirement
Valentino Rossi, the current MotoGP world champion and one of the most prolific motorbike racers of all time has dispelled rumours that he is heading to Formula One to drive for good.
The Italian claims that by the time he retires from motorbike racing he will be too old for F1, and instead cites the World Rally Championship as the area to prove his talent on 4 wheels. He has competed in some WRC events before.
“When I stop with motorbikes, it would appeal to me to go four wheels for many years. But for Formula One it is much too late,” said Rossi, who in February turned 30.
Rossi has test driven with Ferrari a few times, and says there were serious conversations about him joinign the team as a driver from 2008 – but he declined.
“We had long negotiations, there was a serious plan for me to be the test driver in 2007 and then to race in 2008. But in the end I decided to stay in motorbikes and now there is no time to look back,”
Berger Says Alonso IS Heading To Ferrari For 2010
Gerhard Berger has confirmed that he is confident that Spaniard Fernando Alonso is heading to drive for Scuderia Ferrari in 2010.
The Austrian former racer confirmed also that he had intensive contract discussions with the Spaniard between last season and this season to replace Sebastian Vettel – who was heading to Red Bull – for this season.
However, Alonso said he needed 2009 for just a transitional year before heading on to a new project in 2010. Berger reckon this project is Ferrari.
“Now I can say it: he was interested, but made it clearly understood that he saw 2009 only as a transitional year, because he already knew what he would be doing in 2010,” Berger said in an interview with Germany’s Sport Bild.
“Surely it’s Ferrari,” the Austrian winner of ten Grand Prix added.
Ferrari has both drivers contracted for 2010, but sources suggest Felipe Massa could be on his way out of Ferrari as he becomes discontented with their current form.
Schuey To Have Talks Over Ferrari Future
Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest racing drivers ever born, is set to have talks with the team about his role within Ferrari within the next month as his contract expires soon.
The German has been attributed, wrongly, to putting Kimi Raikkonen onto the wet tyres in Malaysia – a fundamental mistake which cost Ferrari points yet again. The Italian media were fairly critical, but Ferrari jumped to Schumacher’s defence with the management reshuffle.
“After the summer we will see what makes sense and what does not,” he confirmed in an interview with the German news agency DPA.
While many in the paddock seem to be suggesting Schumacher is on the way out of Ferrari, he confirmed that he wa soffered a much deeper role in the team and this could be offered to him once again.
“I could have taken on the role of Jean Todt, but it was not for me,” Schumacher explained. “It would have been the wrong time and, above all, I think Stefano Domenicali is able to perform the job much better than I would have.”
Bahrain GP 2009: Rosberg Fastest In FP2
Nico Rosberg took top spot, with special diffuser cars being dominant once again. Red Bull found their form again after great racing last weekend with the 1-2 finish. Ferrari look even slower, Kimi reckons they are 1 second off the pace.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.339 36 2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:33.530 + 0.191 25 3. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:33.616 + 0.277 37 4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:33.661 + 0.322 29 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:33.676 + 0.337 32 6. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.694 + 0.355 35 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.763 + 0.424 30 8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:33.764 + 0.425 37 9. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.885 + 0.546 30 10. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.899 + 0.560 36 11. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.994 + 0.655 30 12. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:34.025 + 0.686 23 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.127 + 0.788 37 14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.366 + 1.027 26 15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:34.411 + 1.072 29 16. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:34.564 + 1.225 34 17. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:34.605 + 1.266 31 18. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:34.670 + 1.331 28 19. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:34.764 + 1.425 35 20. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:34.790 + 1.451 33
Bahrain GP 2009: Hamilton Fastest In FP1
(After a short break to Italy, F1Fanatics returns!)
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in FP1 at Bahrain, a suprise entrant into top spot after a relatively lacklustre season thus far. Ferrari once again struggled, and Brawn were sporting a Virgin Galactic livery.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.647 + 19 2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:33.907 + 0.260 17 3. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:33.938 + 0.291 17 4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:34.227 + 0.580 24 5. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:34.434 + 0.787 15 6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:34.502 + 0.855 24 7. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:34.531 + 0.884 18 8. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:34.589 + 0.942 17 9. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:34.827 + 1.180 21 10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:34.827 + 1.180 19 11. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:34.880 + 1.233 24 12. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:34.938 + 1.291 21 13. Piquet Renault (B) 1:34.974 + 1.327 21 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:35.021 + 1.374 18 15. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:35.036 + 1.389 22 16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:35.042 + 1.395 16 17. Glock Toyota (B) 1:35.333 + 1.686 20 18. Alonso Renault (B) 1:35.348 + 1.701 24 19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:35.353 + 1.706 22 20. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:35.369 + 1.722 15
Message From Blogger: Off To Italy For A Few Days
Hi folks!
To start with I would like to thank all of my seasoned readers for their continued support of my little website.
However, I have to break some terrible news to you. I won’t be here until Friday! I’m off to Italy for a few days on a little holiday! Seeing the sights of Rome, while in the country of La Scuderia Ferrari, and of course now Scuderia Toro Rosso.
So, Ciao everyone – have a good few days and normal service will be resumed. If I manage to get online while away, it will be a significantly reduced service I am sorry to say!
Chinese Grand Prix 2009: Vettel Takes Pole!
Sebastian Vettel deposed the Brawn GP cars from scoring a 3rd straight pole position, by putting the Red Bull Racing car onto pole position for the first time in their history.
The team, based in the UK and funded soley by the Austrian energy drink company have been in F1 since 2005.
It was double glory for them with Australian veteran Mark Webber sealing 3rd position after topping the times briefly in Q3.
Fernando Alonso managed to get ahead into 2nd position, his car sporting a new rear diffuser. Team boss Flavio Briatore had his private jet taken apart, and the diffuser put into the back and flown to China overnight, the team then stayed up unti 5am this morning to put the new piece onto the car. It has made a clear difference.
Barrichello and Button will have to make do with 4th and 5th, is their reign as the fastest in F1 coming to an end already?
Trulli was down in 6th, well ahead of team mate Glock who will start 14th after a terrible qualifying session. Nico Rosberg is behind them, proving the new diffusers are not as quick as the used to be.
Kimi Raikkonen made a stellar effort into 8th for Ferrari, with team mate Felipe Massa down in 13th position – he has pretty much no chance tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton is down in 9th, his McLaren wall all over the place – didn’t look good at all. And Sebastien Buemi rounds off the top 10.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.565 1:35.130 1:36.184 11 2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:36.443 1:35.803 1:36.381 21 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.751 1:35.173 1:36.466 19 4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.701 1:35.503 1:36.493 21 5. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.533 1:35.556 1:36.532 19 6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.308 1:35.645 1:36.835 21 7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.941 1:35.809 1:37.397 23 8. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.137 1:35.856 1:38.089 19 9. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.776 1:35.740 1:38.595 17 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.284 1:35.965 1:39.321 21 11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.525 1:35.975 14 12. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.646 1:36.032 10 13. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.178 1:36.033 11 14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:36.364 1:36.066 14 15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.673 1:36.193 13 16. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.906 10 17. Piquet Renault (B) 1:36.908 10 18. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.966 8 19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.669 10 20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.672 10
Ferrari – Taking KERS Off The Car Has Made It Worse
It doesn’t seem to matter what Ferrari do at the moment, their chances seem to be going from bad to worse. To say Enzo Ferrari would be turning in his grave is an understatement.
What would the master say if he saw the absolute disarray his team were in? I can imagine heads would certainly be rolling.
Felipe Massa has told reporters after practice that the Ferrari F60 is indeed no worse than before at the loss of KERS. Ferrari removed the device in the hope of better reliability, but it seems the Scuderia has literally no pace, and without a fancy diffuser system they are lagging towards the back.
“Here we are also running without KERS and as a result, we are losing even more performance, in addition to not having as much aerodynamic downforce as the best cars,” Massa told Autosport.
“Our fight for the championship is ever more compromised.
“We must try and push as hard as possible on the development of the car, but we know it will be very hard to catch up. The only recipe for getting out of this difficulty is to work.”
Raikkonen this morning, struggling for pace without KERS
Button Lashes Out At Briatore After Italian Media Comments
Jenson Button has lashed out at Renault Team Principal Flavio Briatore after comments the flambouyant Italian made to Italian sports daily LA Gazetta Dello Sport.
“The drivers in our teams have been and are world champions, while the championship is now fought between a driver who was almost retired and another one who is a good guy but a paracarro (Italian saying for being as slow as a milepost at the side of a road),” Briatore told a reporter for the newspaper.
“I don’t know where credibility has ended up with all this. To make up the gap we have to those teams is impossible.”
Button was employed by Briatore for 2 seasons, 2001 and 2002 when Benetton changed over to Renault.
He accused the Italian of being bitter.
“Unless he is at the front of F1, I am sure [he thinks] any team [being there] hurts the credibility of F1,” Button told reporters in Shanghai.
“He also needs to remember that he tried to employ me for this year, so…”
Button (L) and Briatore (Center) in happier times at Benetton in 2001. Fisichella (R) and Webber (Far Right) also present
Chinese Grand PRix 2009: Button Fastest In FP2
Jenson Button staked his claim back at the top of the timesheets during FP2 in China. FP1 leader Lewis Hamilton slipped back down the sheets, where he found Ferrari’s, and behind them BMW Sauber’s and Renault’s.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.679 35 2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.704 + 0.025 36 3. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.881 + 0.202 35 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.105 + 0.426 32 5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.167 + 0.488 22 6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.217 + 0.538 42 7. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.377 + 0.698 32 8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:36.548 + 0.869 40 9. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.674 + 0.995 34 10. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.800 + 1.121 34 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:36.829 + 1.150 30 12. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.847 + 1.168 34 13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.941 + 1.262 28 14. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:37.054 + 1.375 33 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:37.219 + 1.540 34 16. Piquet Renault (B) 1:37.273 + 1.594 36 17. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:37.491 + 1.812 34 18. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:37.544 + 1.865 28 19. Alonso Renault (B) 1:37.638 + 1.959 28 20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.750 + 2.071 31
Chinese Grand Prix 2009: Hamilton Fastest In FP1
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in FP1 in China, the first session the World Champion has led in the whole of 2009.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:37.334 + 22 2. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:37.450 + 0.116 18 3. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1:37.566 + 0.232 19 4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:37.672 + 0.338 23 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:37.752 + 0.418 20 6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:37.764 + 0.430 19 7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:37.860 + 0.526 24 8. Glock Toyota (B) 1:37.894 + 0.560 21 9. Alonso Renault (B) 1:38.089 + 0.755 19 10. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:38.195 + 0.861 24 11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:38.223 + 0.889 23 12. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:38.274 + 0.940 20 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:38.307 + 0.973 26 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:38.319 + 0.985 18 15. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:38.418 + 1.084 20 16. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:38.456 + 1.122 21 17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:38.460 + 1.126 19 18. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:38.463 + 1.129 18 19. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:38.730 + 1.396 25 20. Piquet Renault (B) 1:38.825 + 1.491 20
McLaren Tried To Make The FIA Look Like A Bunch Of Idiots – Trulli
Jarno Trulli still appears to be scathing about the actions of McLaren and Lewis Hamilton over the scandal, now known as Lie-Gate, which followed the Australian Grand Prix.
In an interview ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, some 3 weeks since the incident, Trulli believes that McLaren were trying to make a joke out of the FIA and make them look like fools.
The Italian driver was displaced from 3rd, for overtaking under yellow flags. This was the story Hamilton gave to the race officials. However, it turned out Hamilton had let Trulli passed, leaving him no other option than to break the rules.
“The FIA took such a strong decision because they felt that someone was making a joke of them and they want to show everyone that the FIA is just like a judge,” Trulli is quoted as saying by the Mirror.
“Go in front of the judge and you have to be honest and tell the truth,” he added.
The punishment will be handed to McLaren soon, but is expected to be some race bans.
