Karthikeyan Makes Surprise F1 Return With HRT
Narain Karthikeyan has made a surprise return to Formula One after being announced as one of Hispania HRT’s drivers for the 2011 season.
The Indian driver was unveiled as the first racer to be working with the Spanish based squad, who look likely to enter into a second season of racing despite on-going financial concerns. Karthikeyan first raced in Formula One with Jordan in 2005, before spending a brief time as a Williams test driver. He has also raced in Superleague and in Audi sportscars.
Team principal Colin Kolles said: “It is a great pleasure for us to have signed Narain Karthikeyan as our race driver for the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship.
“I have known Narain for a long time and he can revert to the experiences he gained when he was competing for Jordan Grand Prix and being test and reserve driver for Williams F1. Narain has also been driving in other racing series and running in one of the legendary Audi sportscars in the Le Mans Series.
“I am sure that his experience and speed will be very useful for the team during the season. We are welcoming Narain to our team and we look forward to working closely with him this year.”
HRT have yet to announce their second driver, but it will not be Karun Chandhok. He claims he declined the chance to race for the team. Sources also suggest that Bruno Senna will not be returning as he cannot find enough sponsorship capital. Nico Hulkenberg and Tonio Liuzzi are both linked to the seat with the minnows.
De La Rosa Must Find €10million To Secure HRT Seat
Pedro de la Rosa must secure sponsorship and financial backing of at least €10million to gain a race seat with the Hispania HRT team for 2011 it has been revealed.
The Spanish minnow team have been struggling financially throughout the last season, changing drivers repeatedly in order to maximise sponsorship potential. However, following a deal being cancelled with Toyota last week due to a lack of bill payment for technical information and assistance the future of the team looked bleak.
Owner Jose Ramon Carabante says that the team is safe and will continue with its partnership with Williams. However, he said that as much as he wants Spaniard De la Rosa to drive with the team, he must bring appropriate funding.
“Pedro wants to drive for the team, but he has to bring the sponsorship” Carabante told radio station Cadena Ser
“Without the money, sadly, we can’t find a place for him in the team. We cannot afford such a luxury. He must contribute at least €10million
“Someone like Pedro would be great for the team, because he could really develop the car and give us direction into 2012″ he added
Toyota Cancel Hispania Deal Following Non Payment Of Fees
The financial security of Formula One minnows Hispania Racing is once again being called into question tonight following a statement that was released late this evening by the Toyota Motorsport Group.
Toyota, a former Formula One team who left the sport at the end of 2009, were in a deal to sell Hispania their un-raced 2010 prototype Formula One car and offer other technical assistance to the team, who featured no less than 4 drivers over the course of this season.
However the deal is now off as Hispania have not paid the Toyota Motorsport Group any of the installments required. Their financial security has been called into question repeatedly over 2010, but team boss Colin Kolles recently said they were totally safe.
“Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) confirms that all cooperation with Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) has been terminated and will not resume,” said the statement.
“TMG retains all intellectual property rights to its current F1 car and is completely free to pursue other projects and support new customers for its high-performance engineering services.
“TMG regrets that HRT has not met its contractual payment obligations and will pursue all available options to reach a satisfactory conclusion to this matter.”
Klien To Race Again For Hispania At Abu Dhabi
Christian Klien will once again race alongside Bruno Senna at Hispania Racing in Abu Dhabi.
The talented Austrian driver, who previously raced for Red Bull and Jaguar, will be starting his third Grand Prix weekend with the Spanish minnow team having been brought in to replace Sakon Yamamoto.
Klien has already impressed with the car, outqualifying Bruno Senna in both of his previous races. He was unlucky to suffer mechanical problems before the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend which put him 6 laps down before he even started.
“It’s my third chance to compete for the team this season and I’m getting more and more used to the car and the crew,” said Klien, who was initially signed as a test and reserve driver earlier this year before Hispania began rotating its race line-up.
“I hope we can achieve some great results and have a clean weekend. We should have a similar pace to the one in Brazil, so I think we can be a challenge for the [other] new teams.”
Hispania should be seriously considering him for a race seat next year. A talented and overlooked driver is CK, and an all round good bloke.
Maldonado Gets Hispania Test At Abu Dhabi
Pastor Maldonado is set to spend 3 days testing for the Hispania Racing Team at the post-season rookie test at Abu Dhabi following the season’s close event next weekend.
The Venezuelan, who won the GP2 Championship this season, is already scheduled to spend one day testing for Williams. He has been linked with a race seat at the Oxfordshire based squad, but the likelihood of the team dispatching Nico Hulkenberg is looking less likely following his great showing at Interlagos last weekend.
Maldonado said he was excited to recieve the test.
“It will be something special to test with Hispania Racing after being the GP2 champion,” said the Venezuelan. “It will definitely be an experience and one I am looking forward to very much.
“The three days will be very important. I hope to contribute to the development of the team and to accumulate as much experience as possible.
“My previous experience will be very important, at this test in particular. Having the experience that I do can only help me adapt to a new, more complex category. I know as well that it has only increased my determination to be successful.”
Klien Replaces Yamamoto Once Again For Brazil
Christian Klien is once again set to replace Sakon Yamamoto for the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend at Hispania.
The reasons behind the swap are unknown, but the Japanese driver has been dropped in place of the formerly Red Bull backed Klien for this weekend. Klien drove in place of Sakon at the Singaporean Grand Prix too, and has shown good pace in the slow HRT. He described its handling as “a bit like a rally car” at one point.
“I am excited to come to Brazil where I already raced two times, the last time in 2005, and where I could achieve good results,” said Klien. “The circuit is quite challenging and we are racing anti-clockwise which is going to be tough for the neck.
“There are many slow corners and the long straight at the start-finish-line where high speeds are possible.
“I am very happy to get a second opportunity to do another Grand Prix here after Singapore and I hope that we are doing a good weekend with positive results.”
Hispania To Use Williams Gearboxes In 2011
Hispania and Williams have announced a partnership which will see the Grove based team provide HRT with gearboxes for the 2011 season.
Hispania joined Formula One this season and have experienced a difficult rookie year, with retirements and an off the pace car. They will be hoping for more luck in the next season with an as yet unnamed driver line up.
Lotus, a fellow 2010 debutant team, have already announced they will be using Red Bull gearboxes next year.
“This is a logical partnership, given Williams and Hispania’s mutual relationship with Cosworth,” explains Williams F1 CEO Alex Burns.
“Our gearbox technology has consistently proven itself as both competitive and reliable and hence this agreement will be a positive development for both organisations.”
Bruno Senna “Likely” To Replace Trulli At Lotus Next Season
Reports from Brazil are suggesting that Bruno Senna is “likely” to be replacing Italian driver Jarno Trulli at Lotus for next season.
Senna, who is the nephew of the late three time world champion Ayrton, has had a difficult rookie season in F1 racing with the Hispania team. He has talent, but needs a car to show it in – and the Lotus would certainly give him the backing to do so.
According to Globo Esporte talks between Senna and Lotus are “advanced”. He would be partnering former McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen at the Malaysian backed team.
Jarno Trulli is a stalwart of the F1 paddock, having been in the sport since 1997. He has raced for Minardi, Prost, Renault, Jordan, Toyota and most recently Lotus.
Hispania Fined For Pitlane Incident
Hispania HRT have been fined $5,000 for their pitlane incident involving Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto in practice for the Korean Grand Prix today.
The Spanish team let Yamamoto leave the pit garage with one of the tyre warmers still attached. This was in breach of rules 23.1(j), 30.7 and 30.9
“It is the responsibility of the competitor to release his car after a pitstop only when it is safe to do so,” states article 23.1.
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...
Ecclestone Predicts Grid Shrink Before End Of Season
Bernie Ecclestone has said today that he believes the Formula One grid will shrink before the end of the season with one or two teams falling by the way side.
The ring leader of F1 was talking to The Daily Telegraph in an exclusive interview about the state of the teams in F1 today. While there had been a lot of concern surrounding Renault recently, Ecclestone canned fears that they might be leaving the sport by stating that Genii Capital who own the team were in good financial condition.
”All that was [the Renault situation] was the fact that one of the shareholders didn’t want to take money from another one of his companies because that would have meant convening a board meeting,” Ecclestone said.
“But I never gave them the money. And they got over the crisis so everything is fine.”
However Ecclestone was no so bouyant about the state of other teams in F1. He reckons that one team is very likely to leave, and another may well follow. He also downplayed the significance of the new teams that entered the sport at the start of 2010 claiming that Lotus were the only serious and important team.
“I would not be surprised if one or two of them did not make the end of the season. I think there are a couple of teams in Formula 1 who really shouldn’t be there. They are a bit out of their depth at the moment.”
“All we ever want is 10 teams,” he said. “Lotus is a good name. I wouldn’t want to lose them. But in general this year has been a bit of a nuisance because it has cost money to keep these [struggling] teams in. It has cost a lot of money to pay for them to compete.
“The bottom line is they haven’t really and truly given us value for being there. If suddenly these teams don’t turn up at races then I don’t think the crowds will get any smaller, or the TV sets will turn off, or the newspapers will stop writing, will they?”
With F1 looking for another team to take the empty place of the failed USF1 project for 2011, it really devalues their position. With regard the team that is most likely to leave, that is almost certainly a reference to Hispania. HRT were a last minute team, and have already been in financial struggles. There is great paddock rumour that Bernie himself paid out for the team to continue running, but they had to use Indian driver Karun Chandhok. Now he has been dropped from the team, Bernie seems to be telling it how it is.
He also didn’t seem convinced then about Virgin Racing in the sport, despite the fact that Timo Glock is near the pace of the Lotus’. It would be a big surprise if they were packing their bags and leaving F1 at the end of the season.
Yamamoto Retains Hispania Seat Despite Poor Results
Sakon Yamamoto has retained his race seat with Hispania for the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite poor performances across the weekend in both of his previous races.
The Japanese driver, who has previous race experience with Spyker and Super Aguri, was drafted in as a replacement for Bruno Senna at the British Grand Prix. However last weekend Senna was back for the German Grand Prix, and popular Indian racer Karun Chandhok was dropped.
There has been a furor of speculation surrounding the appointment of Yamamoto, who was a second slower than Tonio Liuzzi in qualifying for the German Grand Prix – worth noting the Italian had smashed his car up only 3 laps in to qualifying too, with people suggesting the decision revolves entirely around money.
If the decision was on driver skill then the other test driver, one of the sports most overlooked men, Christian Klien should be racing.
“I can’t wait to go back to the Hungaroring as I know the circuit already very well from my Formula 1 races with Super Aguri, Spyker F1 and with ART in GP2 series,” said Yamamoto in a team preview.
The team say they are retaining Chandhok, but the chances of him racing again this season are looking slimmer by the day.
Yamamoto In, Chandhok Out – F1 Fans In Uproar as HRT Change Drivers Again
Sakon Yamamoto is set to replace popular Indian F1 driver Karun Chandhok at the German Grand Prix next weekend, as the Japanese driver makes his second appearance this season for HRT F1.
Yamamoto replaced Bruno Senna in surprise circumstances the evening before the British Grand Prix, a move widely suspected to be about sponsorship money. However it has been revealed in Auto Bild and on popular motoring website Pistonheads that Senna was allegedly replaced because he sent an email criticising team boss Colin Kolles to…wait for it….Colin Kolles himself! A bit of a mistake from the talented Brazilian.
“After Sakon Yamamoto gave a very positive performance in Silverstone, the team has decided to give the Japanese driver another opportunity to drive the car alongside Bruno Senna,” said the team in a statement.
But now pay driver Yamamoto is racing alongside Senna, there has been uproar between fans on Twitter, with campaigns being started to get Chandhok his seat back. The man himself though is less concerned about his situation, believing he will race again this season.
“It’s not defined for the rest of the season and I expect to be back in the car at some races,” the Indian driver told Autosport this morning.
“Probably not all of them, but I do expect to be back in the car and racing soon.”
Yamamoto Thankful To Hispania For Race Opportunity
Sakon Yamamoto has said he is very thankful to the bosses of Hispania Racing for allowing him the opportunity to race for the team at last weekends British Grand Prix.
In a late change to their driver line up, Yamamoto replaced Bruno Senna in the #2 car alongside Karun Chandhok. It was a surprise to many in the paddock, but the outing for the Japanese driver is likely to be a one off with Senna set to take his car back in Germany.
Sakon had a quiet but consistent race, finishing 2 laps off the leaders pace.
“I am very happy that the team achieved its target, another two-car finish,” the former Spyker driver said.
“It was a good experience for me to race in Formula 1 again. I could improve all over the weekend and got a better feeling for the car.
“I want to thank the team for giving me the chance to race here in Silverstone. I was able to show that I am prepared to be back in the cockpit and, whenever I’ll get the opportunity to race again, I will take it. I also want to thank my, fans who always supported me over the years. It was a very special and exciting weekend for me.”
Senna Will Return To Race With Hispania
Bruno Senna will race again for Hispania at the next round of the F1 season and on until the end of the season, their team principal Colin Kolles announced this afternoon.
Following the surprise appointment of Sakon Yamamoto, one of the teams two test drivers, to a race seat instead of Senna this weekend, many believed the talented Brazilian was out of his race seat permanently.
However Yamamoto, whose only previous race experience is with Spyker and Super Aguri, will only get the chance of racing this weekend – we are unsure why he is, as yet there is no indication on the reasoning behind the change.
The statement continued to add: “In respect to the rumours about Bruno Senna’s current status with Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team, the team wants to confirm that Bruno Senna has all the support of the Spanish team, that he remains one of the Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team official drivers and that he will be continuing to drive in the remaining races of the 2010 Formula 1 world championship.”
Yamamoto Replaces Senna At Hispania For British GP
Sakon Yamamoto has replaced Bruno Senna in the race seat with Hispania Racing for this weekend at the British Grand Prix, with a view that it could be a permanent change.
Senna, whose Uncle is the late great Ayrton Senna, has underperformed in a car that is frankly terrible. He is still F1 worthy but needs better equipment, and if he is released from Hispania permanently I believe he will get another race seat within weeks.
Yamamoto has another comeback in F1, having previously raced with Super Aguri and Spyker. The Japanese driver is said to be delighted with a return, although many speculate that it is not to do with driver skill moreover it is to do with money, the car does indeed have some new sponsors this weekend.
“A decision as to who will drive for Hispania for the rest of the season will be taken over the weekend,” Colin Kolles cagily told the BBC
Senna Wants Driving Standards Improvement
Bruno Senna, who drives for the Hispania Racing Team says he wants driving standards in Formula One to improve, especially around the back of the grid where he currently is.
Senna, who is the nephew of the late Ayrton, was infuriated by Timo Glock’s chopping sides of the track at Valencia which caused the Brazilian to lose his front wing. Glock, who races for Virgin, was later penalised for ignoring blue flags.
“It is happening a lot this year where drivers who are overtaking other drivers are just chopping in front too many times,” Senna told Reuters.
“With the front wing sizes we have, everybody is losing front wings. The amount of front wings that are being damaged or lost, and punctures on the rear tyres, is ridiculous.
“Even if you are not competing for position, sometimes they just chop in front of you.”
When asked if the issue should be raised with the stewards, Senna replied: “I think it’s maybe a good idea. We need to see what can be done.”
Chandhok Believes Willis Can Save Hispania
Karun Chandhok, the popular Indian driver has said that he believes Geoff Willis will be the saviour of the Hispania team for this season, and almost certainly next season.
Willis, a highly experienced aerodynamicist and engineer has worked with various teams including Red Bull Racing, and was drafted into Hispania HRT to provide the team with advice on how to advance their 2010 car, and help design the 2011 machine. Willis described the 2010 car as “a dog, absolutely awful” previously.
However Chandhok believes his input is going to be absolutely vital.
Speaking about how he sees the next few months panning out, Chandhok told Autosport Magazine: “As long as there is a car in the pitlane and my seat in it, I will go drag the arse out of it.
“I have to look at it with a slightly long-term view. If the team improves I would love to be here, and if they can give Geoff the opportunity and budget to build a good car for 2011, he could do a good job.
“He has done it in the past, he has a capable team of aero people that he is pulling together from other teams and, if he does have the right financial possibility and the right infrastructure, it won’t be a bad place to be next year.
“I want to be in the best possible place for 2011, and I reckon this team has the potential if Geoff is given the right opportunity – he is key to where we go.”
Speaking about his own performance in an honest and frank interview with Autosport this week, he said he was rather happy.
“At the end of the day, you give me a car that is capable of doing a certain lap time and my job is to do that lap time,” he said. “And as long as I am quicker than Bruno [Senna], as I have been so far, and people see that I am doing well in the car, then it is good for me.
“They put Christian Klien in the car in Spain and within three laps I went quicker than him, with the same tyre and same fuel. So you can argue all you want, but I feel I am extracting the maximum I can out of this car.
“It is really down to the team to develop it. There is only so much I can do.”
There has been significant rumour that Hispania will replace one of their drivers with Christian Klien in the very near future, and although Karun is faster than Bruno Senna you can be your bottom dollar that if one of those two is to lose their seat it will be Chandhok.
Ecclestone Hints Hispania’s Future Is In Doubt
Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt upon the long and even short term future of the Spanish based team Hispania HRT Racing Team.
The team, born from the ashes of Campos Meta, have had no testing time, launching their car days before the first grand prix in Bahrain. The team fired up their cars for the first time in the garages ahead of free practice in the gulf state.
The team’s chassis and aero package has been described by both Geoff Wills, a consultant drafted in and test driver Christian Klien as “unworkable, slow and surprisingly bad”. They have been up to 8 seconds off the pace of the front runners, leading some to describe the cars as dangerous.
Drivers Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok have tried their best, and both look competent racers but the car itself is very poor. Senna looks tired and bored with the team, and could well be considering a future elsewhere. The drivers may not be the problem but drafting in experienced Christian Klien and Sakon Yamamoto must mean that the current line up and considering their futures.
With a lack of sponsors, it is unknown where the money to pay for the significant upgrades would come from.
Now in an exclusive interview with a British newspaper about the season so far, Ecclestone states that he is providing aid and assistance to the ailing squad just a handful of races into the season.
“HRT have got problems. I will sort it out,” Ecclestone told the Telegraph in an interview on Friday.
“I’d like to see 12 teams finish the season because they have made the commitment to come in.
“We might lose one of them. But I’m doing my bit to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Klien Returns To F1 As Hispania Tester
Christian Klien has returned to the Formula One scene after months in the wilderness with the Spanish based Hispania HRT racing team.
Klien, 27, had until the end of last season been BMW Sauber’s test driver. However following their withdrawl from F1, Klien had been left without a race seat. The popular Austrian has previously driven for Red Bull Racing.
He will become the 3rd and reserve driver bringing a wealth of testing and development experience to the team from his time both with BMW and Honda.
“This role offers me the opportunity to rejoin the Formula 1 environment and drive again, which is naturally where my longer-term ambitions lie,” said Klien.
“I was in Bahrain and China and had a close look at the car already. I have also met the team members and I know quite a number of them from my previous race seasons.
“I would like to thank Dr Colin Kolles for the interest he has shown in me at this stage. It is exciting and very motivating to be part of a new team structure in such a challenging sport.”
It leaves Sakon Yamamoto’s position at the team unclear, although he may well now be just kept on retention just in case or help Klien with test day roles.
Yamamoto Signs Up With HRT As Test Driver
Sakon Yamamoto has rejoined Formula One, this time as the test and dvelopment driver to the Hispania HRT racing team.
He joins the Spanish minnow and teams up with Colin Kolles, his former boss at Spyker where he enjoyed his last foray into competitive F1 racing back in 2007. Prior to that, he had raced for Super Aguri in F1, and also raced in the popular Japanese Super GT and Formula Nippon series’. When he left Spyker at the end of 2007, he joined Renault as a test driver and spent some time in GP2 and GP2 Asia last year.
Kolles is hoping that Yamamoto can provide some technical support as the team attempts to get off the bottom of the timesheets with their drivers, Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok.
Sakon Yamamoto said on this announcement: “I am very pleased to be joining the HRT F1 Team. It is fantastic to be part of a new team and I hope I will be able to gather useful data whenever possible on Friday for the race drivers. I have seen how committed everyone at the team is and I feel the same.
“I will be doing my very best to support Karun and Bruno this year. I’m proud to work with this Spanish team, because Spain is like my second home as I also live in Barcelona.”
Chandhok Confident HRT Can Score Points
Karun Chandhok, the rookie who will be racing alongside Bruno Senna at HRT this season says he is confident that by the European rounds of the season his team will be within point scoring positions.
Chandhok, who previously raced in GP2 and tested for Red Bull, says he expects initially things will be tough but HRT can prove themselves worthy contenders.
The team looked unlikely to even make the grid until 2 weeks ago when they were bailed out, and then the car launched a few days ago in Spain.
“Our goal early on in the season is to show the world that we are a credible company,” Chandhok told Indian newspaper the Deccan Herald. “The focus is to gain some mileage, reliability and experience in the first season.
“We’ll probably be off the mark in the first four races but from Catalunya, Spain, we will prove a challenge. You never know, we could also bag some points late in the season.”
Chandhok also said he felt no ill feeling towards Vijay Mallya who runs Force India with regards to him not giving him a race seat despite it being sold as a national team.
“He called me and wished me well,” Chandhok said of Mallya. “Force India required something else at that point of time and they have now turned into a very good team.
“I hold nothing against Vijay. I wanted to drive in F1 and it didn’t matter to me which team I drove for. My priority is to stay in F1 and give it my best.
“I will consider driving for Force India if an offer does pop up and if they are still on a high, in terms of racing.”
Hispania Launch Their Car, Chandhok Confirmed
Hispania, the recently re-named Campos Meta team have launched their first ever car last night with just over one week to go before the first round of the 2010 season in Bahrain.
The team, which was saved from extinction before its first race by businessman Jose Ramon Carabante, got re-named HRT-F1 a couple of days ago and confirmed Karun Chandhok as its second driver yesterday morning before displaying its car yesterday evening.
The machine has a chassis constructed by Dallara and engines by Cosworth, with be managed by new team principal Colin Kolles and Bruno Senna will bring back the eternal namesake to Formula One when he steps into the cockpit alongside Chandhok.
The car itself lacks sponsors, and is finished in a grey paint with a feint colouring of Spanish flag. Embratel is the only confirmed sponsor thus far through their deal with Senna.
“I am excited by our driver line-up and the amazing effort and passion I have witnessed from our entire team to get us to this point,” said Colin Kolles during a team presentation in Murcia, Spain.
“We have all tools in our hands to become the most successful new team in the F1 paddock this year.”
“There are always development and human issues within a team, but we are close to achieving our breakthrough in F1 and the coming season will be a massive learning curve for us working together.
“It would be a dream to win our first point in our first race, but we are focused on taking things one step at a time and building on our competitiveness as the season goes on.”
Stefan GP NOT Given Entry As Official 2010 Entry List Announced
Stefan GP have not been granted an entry into the 2010 Formula One season, and will not be allowed to compete unitl potentially 2011 as the FIA consider opening up entries fo the next season of racing to newcomers.
Stefan have already got a car and sent equipment to Bahrain, and despite USF1 not competing this season the Serbian outfit cannot take their place.
“Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage,” the FIA said.
“In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.”
USF1 are listed as deferring their entry until 2011 on the list, and Sauber retain the BMW moniker at the start of the name while Campos become HRT as mentioned yesterday.
Official 2010 Entry List
1 Jenson BUTTON (GBR) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES (GB) 2 Lewis HAMILTON (GBR) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES (GB) 3 Michael SCHUMACHER (D) MERCEDES GP PETRONAS FORMULA ONE TEAM 4 Nico ROSBERG (D) MERCEDES GP PETRONAS FORMULA ONE TEAM 5 Sebastian VETTEL (D) RED BULL RACING (AUT) 6 Mark WEBBER (AUS) RED BULL RACING (AUT) 7 Felipe MASSA (BRA) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (I) 8 Fernando ALONSO (ESP) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (I) 9 Rubens BARRICHELLO (BRA) AT&T WILLIAMS (GB) 10 Nico HÜLKENBERG (D) AT&T WILLIAMS (GB) 11 Robert KUBICA (POL) RENAULT F1 TEAM (FRA) 12 Vitaly PETROV (RUS) RENAULT F1 TEAM (FRA) 14 Adrian SUTIL (D) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM (IND) 15 Vitantonio LIUZZI (I) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM (IND) 16 Sébastien BUEMI (CH) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO (I) 17 Jaime ALGUERSUARI (ESP) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO (I) 18 Jarno TRULLI (I) LOTUS RACING (MAL) 19 Heikki KOVALAINEN (FIN) LOTUS RACING (MAL) 20 TBA HRT F1 TEAM (ESP) 21 Bruno SENNA (BRA) HRT F1 TEAM (ESP) 22 Pedro DE LA ROSA (ESP) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM (CH) 23 Kamui KOBAYASHI (J) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM (CH) 24 Timo GLOCK (D) VIRGIN RACING (GB) 25 Luca DI GRASSI (BRA) VIRGIN RACING (GB)
