Belgian GP 2010: Hamilton Wins Battle Of The Elements
Lewis Hamilton took victory in Belgium, a race which saw the drivers fighting against inclement weather conditions which turned the race on its head. Mark Webber took 2nd place, while Renault’s Robert Kubica took 3rd to reward the team with another podium.
Race Review
The Belgian Grand Prix has often been a race against the rain, and the 2010 race didn’t look like it was going to be any different. Mark Webber had a poor getaway from pole position allowing Lewis Hamilton an easy early run in to La Source and on through Eau Rouge.
Further back the drivers were concerned about running off on the first corner after the FIA said they would be hevaily penalised. Michael Schumacher made up some 4 places on the first lap, and then 5 on the second lap. Schumi back on form despite his 10 place grid penalty.
Rain came within the first few laps, and chaos ensued. Many drivers slid off on the greasy track at the Bus-Stop, where 300th Grand Prix starter Rubens Barrichello drove straight in to Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. It relegated Alonso to the back of the grid after he pitted for intermediates, a wrong choice as the weather conditions improved. He pitted again for slicks but by this time the safety car which had been brought out for Barrichello had pitted and he was plum last. Barrichello retiring a handful of laps in to his special day.
From there on, Alonso provided much of the overtaking action, literally driving around the outside of various cars. The pace of the Ferrari was evident. At the front, a hot headed Sebastian Vettel smashed in to Jenson Button, mounting the McLaren and putting the World Champion out of the race. Vettel some how recovered to the pits and continued in the race, but Nigel Mansell the acting driver steward handed him a 10 second stop/go penalty.
Rain came again late on, and nearly claimed the race of our leader Lewis Hamilton when he slid into the gravel but he just managed to keep his McLaren going. A bad stop for Robert Kubica for intermediates allowed a recovering Mark Webber to take 2nd. On the laps out, Fernando Alonso who had just banged wheels in the pitlane with title rival Vettel, who had been having a terrible race, smashed his Ferrari up and out came another safety car.
After that safety period most of the cars toured around to the end of the race which gave Hamilton another win and strengthened his title challenge but Mark Webber was still there and in with a definite shout.
Race Results
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h29m04.268s 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault +1.571 3. Kubica Renault +3.493 4. Massa Ferrari +8.264 5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes +9.094 6. Rosberg Mercedes +12.359 7. Schumacher Mercedes +15.548 8. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +16.678 9. Petrov Renault +23.851 10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +29.457 11. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +34.831 12. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari +36.019 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +39.895 14. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap 15. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +1 lap 16. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap 17. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +1 lap 18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth +1 lap 19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap 20. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 laps Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1m49.069s Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Alonso Ferrari 38 Button McLaren-Mercedes 16 Senna HRT-Cosworth 6 Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1
Belgian GP 2010: Alonso Once Again Fastest In FP2
Fernando Alonso capped off a good day for himself and the Ferrari team securing the fastest lap time in FP2 at Spa, but the rest of the field crowded in on him with second placed man Adrian Sutil on 2 tenths slower.
Fans who strayed into a dangerous viewing point caused a stoppage in the session, as did a broken red light annoying the drivers as it was their first chance at some dry running.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m49.032s 25 2. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m49.157s +0.125 17 3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.248s +0.216 14 4. Robert Kubica Renault 1m49.282s +0.250 20 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.588s +0.556 23 6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.689s +0.657 19 7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.755s +0.723 20 8. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.081s +1.049 27 9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m50.128s +1.096 22 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.200s +1.168 24 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m50.251s +1.219 24 12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m50.341s +1.309 23 13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.382s +1.350 21 14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m50.682s +1.650 25 15. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m50.831s +1.799 20 16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m51.520s +2.488 17 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m51.523s +2.491 25 18. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m51.636s +2.604 19 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m53.480s +4.448 15 20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m53.639s +4.607 21 21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m54.325s +5.293 17 22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m55.751s +6.719 24 23. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1m56.039s +7.007 21 24. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m03.179s +14.147 3
Belgian GP 2010: Alonso Fastest In Wet First Practice
Fernando Alonso sent a clear message to the rest of the field about Ferrari’s intentions, setting the fastest lap in the first free practice session at Belgium.
It was the first time the cars had hit the track for more than 4 weeks thanks to the F1 official summer break.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m00.797s 17 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m01.567s + 0.770s 7 3. Robert Kubica Renault 2m02.081s + 1.284s 14 4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m02.450s + 1.653s 11 5. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m02.646s + 1.849s 14 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m02.913s + 2.116s 6 7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m02.926s + 2.129s 11 8. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2m03.401s + 2.604s 17 9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m03.424s + 2.627s 7 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 2m03.489s + 2.692s 9 11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m03.601s + 2.804s 17 12. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 2m03.649s + 2.852s 17 13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2m03.654s + 2.857s 6 14. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2m03.851s + 3.054s 17 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 2m04.145s + 3.348s 12 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m04.250s + 3.453s 16 17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m04.690s + 3.893s 15 18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m05.680s + 4.883s 6 19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m05.697s + 4.900s 18 20. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2m06.695s + 5.898s 14 21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 2m07.189s + 6.392s 15 22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 2m07.737s + 6.940s 13 23. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 2m07.955s + 7.158s 15 24. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 2m10.507s + 9.710s 18
Formula One Announce UBS Sponsorship Deal
Formula One’s official governing body have announced a new partner today. Swiss based banking corporation UBS have announced they will be partnering the sport in attempts to increase their global brand awareness.
The multi-million pound deal is a big boost for the sport which had suffered as a result of the global economic crisis with major banks including ING and Credit Suisse distancing themselves from the sport. However with a major bank joining forces with F1, its a sure sign that better times are ahead for us. UBS join Santander in becoming a major force in F1.
UBS themselves are based mainly in Switzerland but have overseas investment and banking units in America and England.
Marketing managers within the firm evaluated various different major sporting events to use for their new brand exposure campaign and eventually found themselves settling on using Formula One as a platform for their increased exposure. Previous the bank have sponsored the Spengler Ice Hockey Cup in Davos, the Hong Kong Open Golf and a team in the Americas Cup yachting race.
Oswald Grubel, UBS Group Chief Executive, said: “UBS has been searching for a global sponsorship platform that has appeal to our clients, promotes our brand globally and makes good commercial sense.
“Our new partnership with one of the largest and most popular sporting organizations in the world will fulfil all these criteria, and it constitutes a key element of our newly launched branding activities. The global reach of F1 complements the many local activities we support.”
Yamamoto Retains Hispania Race Seat Ahead Of Chandhok
Sakon Yamamoto has retained the second race seat in the Hispania HRT Team for the Belgian Grand Prix next weekend.
The Japanese driver who has been consistently off the pace in the backmarker team was chosen ahead of popular Indian driver Karun Chandhok who after 3 races out of the seat must be considering his options for a team move.
Hispania have been rumoured to be having large financial difficulties, and the paddock is awash with rumours that Yamamoto, who previously only drove for Spyker and Super Aguri, is meerly racing because of money he can bring to the ailing Spanish squad.
Speaking about his continued spell in the car, Yamamoto said: “I am looking forward to be back in action after the break. In 2007, I was already running in Spa-Francorchamps with Spyker F1.”
Yamamoto - A Golden Handshake...
Bahrain Revert Back To Old Track For 2011
Bahrain Grand Prix officials have announced they will be reverting back to the old style Sakhir circuit for the 2011 race to be held at the start of next season.
They decided to use the longer and slower ‘endurance’ circuit which added on further corners and cut out a straight from the normal F1 circuit that had been in use for many seasons previously. The circuit extended in length from 5.412km to 6.299km.
“One of the major tasks we undertook to mark this milestone was implementing changes to our FIA approved track layout, giving the participating teams of the Bahrain Grand Prix a completely new challenge,” said Shaikh Salman Bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Bahrain International Circuit.
“It was an enormous task given the time frame we had to implement it, but one that demonstrated Bahrain’s characteristics as a race promoter prepared to continually make changes designed to heighten the awareness and increase the levels of presentation associated with the sport of Formula 1.”
Sutil Keeping His Options Open On Future
Adrian Sutil, the talented Force India driver has told GrandPrix.com that he is keeping his options open with regard any future race seats.
The German driver, who has begun to start scoring consistent points finishes with Force India had until recently spent majority of his F1 career at the back of the grid. However with a rejuvinated Force India team results had been going his way, and he currently lies 10th in the championship ahead of the likes of Rubens Barrichello.
Things have not been quite so rosy for him in the last two races though. At his home event at Hockenheim, a pitlane error caused him to finish the race at the back and saw his team get fined. Then last weekend in Hungary he scored a DNF following a collision with Robert Kubica.
Sutil has been courted by teams in the past, but this is the first time he has openly suggested he may move. With the top teams all being locked down for 2011, his main option for move appears to be with Renault. Talented Russian Vitaly Petrov could be on his way out of the team, and Sutil is in high contention for the race seat fighting against the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Timo Glock and Bruno Senna.
“I’m happy at Force India but I want to move forward,” Sutil said this morning
“The top teams are pretty much closed, so it’s hard to find a better seat than here.
“Scoring points regularly was my goal for this season and next year I want to improve again, whether it’s somewhere else, or here.”
He added: “It’s a tough decision to make right now.
“If you are signing up for something like three years and you’re not confident the team is better, then you shouldn’t do it.”
FIA Set Date For Ferrari Team Orders Hearing
The FIA have announced that Ferrari will come before the World Motorsport Council hearing on September 8th.
Ferrari are being called before Formula One’s highest court for allegedly breaking rule 39.1, which states that team orders are not allowed in any form within the sport. The incident in question occured at the German Grand Prix two weeks ago, when Felipe Massa was allegedly asked to move aside so that Fernando Alonso could win the race.
Ferrari were immediately fined $100,000 and could face further penalties.
There was significant furor at the time of the incident, but it is now being called into question over whether they actually did break the rule or not. They did make one car move aside for the other, but the indication from Bernie Ecclestone (who sits on the judging panel) was that the rule is in place not to stop a team deciding which order their cars finish but moreover to stop two teams working together to fix the result of a race.
With the hearing only a matter of days before the Italian Grand Prix, it is likely any penalty will be met with distaste from the Italian Tifosi fans.
Mercedes To Launch Investigation Into Hungarian GP Pit Mistake
Mercedes Benz team principal Ross Brawn has said he will be launching a full investigation into the mistake in the pitlane at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which led to the rear tyre of Nico Rosberg’s car becoming detatched.
Rosberg came into the pits under the safety car, along with many others in a relatively standard move. However the rear right hand side wheel change went totally wrong when the wheel nut flew off the car just before he was released. While the rear gunner tried to scramble it back on, the lollipop man and rear jackman let Rosberg leave the pitbox, and the rear tyre subsequently became detatched and flow down the pitlane.
The loose tyre raced away, nearly knocking one Sauber mechanic over, before flying into the air after hitting a Williams mechanic who suffered cuts and bruises. It was finally caught by a brave Sauber mechanic.
Mercedes were fined $50,000 for the incident.
“It appears that as the guy came off with the wheel gun, it spat the wheel nut but he didn’t see it disappear,” said Ross Brawn.
“He went back on, fired the gun and realised the nut was no longer there so came back out to grab the other gun and the rear jack guy thought he had finished, so he dropped the car and away he went.
“I think we understand what happened and we will clearly look at how we can prevent it happening again.”
He added: “When the gun went on to take the nut off, the gun hadn’t engaged properly so the nut was off the axle and it spat it out. The guns are so quick and powerful now you don’t see the nut travelling at the speed of light.”
