F1 2011 Launch Catch Up – McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Renault…
Catching up on the launches in one mega post. Here in you’ll find quick interviews with senior members of the team and photos from the Red Bull, Sauber, Renault Lotus, Toro Rosso, Mercedes and McLaren launches.
Apologies for being somewhat late, the whole blog isn’t running at full power until the season starts again.
Red Bull RB7
The world champions launched their new car, named the RB7. A clear advancement on the hugely successful RB6, hopes are high that this machine can deliver once again.
“This year is no different to any other,” said Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull.
“I think if we had not have won either championship last year there would have been that expectation and obviously the pressure that comes with that. We’ve achieved that and achieved that in a short space of time and I think it is like winning your first grand prix.
“Out of that comes confidence but not arrogance, but the team goes into this year very, very motivated and very committed but you have to remember we are still an independent team with a customer engine that achieved some remarkable things last year and that is our target again, again, obviously this year.”
Sauber C30
The independent Swiss team pulled the covers of their new car, the C30 marking the second incarnation of the team in its modern era. The new car is backed heavily by Mexican giants Telmex and will be raced by Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez.
Former Force India but now Sauber technical director James Key said: “Our aim in the development of the Sauber C30-Ferrari has been to build on the strengths of the C29 and to eliminate its weak points.
“In addition, it is also important for us to go into winter testing with a car we understand, and we have worked hard on ensuring the characteristics of the car are heading in a direction we believe in. There will be much to learn about the new Pirelli tyres and in this respect we want to ensure there are no surprises with the way the car is handling.”
“My rookie season was a very challenging, very exciting period,” Kamui Kobayashi commented at the launch as he enters his second full season of racing.
“Now it’s still exciting but it’s a different role. It’s more the experienced driver in the team. I am thinking how I can bring a good level to the team.
“I have to be ready to lead the team. That’s why Peter Sauber and the team chose me for this year. This is definitely my challenge and let’s say I am ready to be the leader for the team.”
Renault Lotus R31
Newly backed by Group Lotus, Renault pulled the covers off their new car – the R31 – to a mass of media wondering what the final paint scheme would look like, and wondering how the Lotus name debate would go on. The debate on the name may still be rumbling, but there is no debate over how fabulous the car looks in classic JPS brown and gold.
Featuring front blown exhausts, it looks fast and could be a title contender. And with Bruno Senna as a spare driver, it harks back wonderful memories seeing the yellow helmet inside a JPS liveried Lotus.
“I’m happy that we had some creative designs on the car. We clearly back our team and definitely our technical team because we want to be fast, we want to be at the front.” said team principal Eric Boullier
“We know it takes time. You have to be creative. You have to find different ways of creating downforce or performance points. We have been taking this path because we believed, quite early in 2010, that we could find more gains going this way.
“In the wind tunnel, or on paper shall we say, the car already has more performance than 12 months ago. If it’s on the car it’s because we believe it works. But we will see on the track.”
Meanwhile Robert Kubica, the number 1 driver was somewhat cautious on their chances ”I think realistically speaking is far too early to say what will be possible to achieve this year,”
“Last season was quite disappointing and let’s hope this year will be different. I think definitely we are more prepared this year, because of the more stable situation in the team than last winter, when I joined the team.
“The winter of 2009 and 2010 was very difficult for Renault and I think this year the engineers and designers had a much easier time and much more time to design the car and I think they have done a really good job.”
Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6
Toro Rosso, always in their senior brothers shadow has brought a new design to the table and hopes it will deliver them more success this season in the capable hands of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi.
The pairing are aiming for 6th place in the Ferrari powered beast.
“My expectations are to do a decent year and we have to have the target to be eighth and as I said, we are good to be ninth but we have to do better. And at the end of the year we have to bring back an eighth place,” said Giorgio Ascanelli.
“Last year we didn’t have a wind-tunnel, the CFD was not mature in order to define the car,” he added. “Therefore, we did not change very much apart from those elements linked to the change of regulation between 2009 and 2010.
“This year the tools which design the car in its performance aspect, which are again the wind tunnel and CFD, are more mature, which means that although we are still learning how to make the best of them I think we have started using them properly.
“For this year, we have to aim for eighth place, because that is our target and I didn’t think that was possible if we had gone with some sort of conventional car.”
Mercedes Benz WO2
Mercedes Benz will be hoping that their second modern F1 car can deliver them some more success than last season. With Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg behind the wheel they have plenty of potential. A well sponsor backed car now features the light green of Petronas merging into the brushes silver paintwork. Ross Brawn, the technical mastertmind behind multiple drivers world championship wins will be eager to deliver the German squad some success.
“It is always a thrill to see a new car ready to take the track for the first time and this year is no exception,” said Brawn. “After our first year as the Mercedes-Benz works team, we are now seeing the benefits of our chassis and engine groups working well together.
“With a good technical structure and a strengthened race engineering organisation, both at the factory and the race track, I am confident that we have done and will continue to do a better job this year in all key areas.
“We want to be setting the standard right from the start but if we are not, we will respond very strongly to get ourselves into the game. Everyone is excitedly waiting to see what the new season will reveal.”
Meanwhile top driver Michael Schumacher was upbeat on the chances of the car delivering him a record breaking 8th world championship.
“I very much look forward to the new season. We have said it several times already but again, we are really to building up something big together. I am very confident that this season we will be standing on the podium much more regularly; ideally in the middle!”
McLaren MP4-26
McLaren launched their radical new car in Berlin in a ceremony hosted by lead sponsors Vodafone. The car will be raced by two former world champions, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
The new car features L-Shaped sidepods, and a two tier floor amongst other technical advancements. The squad are already looking at incorporating a front blown exhaust similar to the Renault Lotus’ design.
Lewis Hamilton was very happy with the machine on launch day.
“I hope the car proves just as innovative once we take to the track next week,” said Hamilton. “I head into 2011 in a relaxed but determined frame of mind.
“I’ve spared nothing during my winter fitness preparations and, in many ways, I feel as fit, focused and refreshed as I did ahead of my first season in Formula 1 in 2007.
“Having spent the past few weeks talking with our designers and engineers, I feel extremely happy that we’ve created a car that will once again allow us to fight at the front.”
New Team Order Rules Won’t Change Anything – Webber
Mark Webber believes that the recent changes in the ruling on team orders, changing them from being banned to being allowed, will not change anything in the sport.
The team orders ban had been in force for some time, but following Ferrari’s flagrant disregard for the rule at Hockenheim in 2010, speculation was to be that the rule needed to either be enforced or dropped.
Webber, of Red Bull Racing, has been at the forefront of “second driver” following his teams clear desire to support team mate Sebastian Vettel.
“Like they [team orders] never went!” said Webber during an interview with BBC Radio Five Live.
“Look, it is something that has been around since the 1950s, 1960s. It’s always been there, when you have got two drivers driving for a team and you swing results around every now and again to help the team achieve a better result.
“It has been done in the past, done up and down the field. I’ve done it myself at times and been on the receiving end.
“I think people should not get too nervous, they won’t see it every weekend, nothing is going to change.”
Webber’s New Book Reveals He Raced End Of 2010 Season With Broken Shoulder
A new book being published by Mark Webber has revealed that the Australian drove the final four rounds of the 2010 season with a broken shoulder following another mountainbike incident.
Webber was one of 4 drivers in contention for the world championship last season, racing for Red Bull alongside eventual winner Sebastian Vettel.
An extract from the book, obtained by the BBC revealed:
“On the Sunday morning before (the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at) Suzuka, I got on a mountain bike for the first time since my accident in Tasmania at the end of 2008.
“I was riding with a great friend of mine. Suddenly, he crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go but straight through the ears of the horse! I suffered what they call a skier’s fracture to my right shoulder.
“Suzuka is a brutal track so it was a blessing that the Japanese weather gave me an enforced rest day on the Saturday (when qualifying was rained off), and a pre-race injection helped, too. In the end, we got through the weekend all right.”
Reaction To Sebastian Vettel’s 2010 World Championship Win
Here’s a selection of comments and quotes to Sebastian Vettel’s World Championship win today at Abu Dhabi.
Sebastian Vettel: “I am a bit speechless to be honest, I don’t know what you’re supposed to say in this moment. It is unbelievable. I went to bed and kept thinking about the race, about what might happen. I had some good imaginations and a good feeling.”
“We have seen incredible fights and a tight season.” don’t know how many times we have had a different leader. Some people got written off very early and then came back, like Fernando, they came back hard. Lewis [Hamilton] came back and was leading all of us. For some reason it does not feel like it is happening. It’s strange, but it will sink in when I finally go to sleep – but I think we will have daylight before that happens.”
Michael Schumacher (former 7 time world champion): “I’m quite happy for him because we are friends and it has been a tough year for him. He’s had up and downs he has had to go through, probably more on the mechanical side than on the driving side so he really deserves this championship. Well done to him, well done to the team, a great job from them all.
“My time was different time from his time, I just feel very happy for him. I think he deserves all the credit. He is a great driver, he is a fantastic guy, so I am more than happy for him.”
Christian Horner (Red Bull team principal): “It’s unbelievable. It’s been a very emotional week for this team. I’m just so proud of the team. It’s just an amazing feeling to be double world champions, it’s the icing on the cake with the drivers’ [title]. This team is the best team in the world. Sebastian, it’s the first time he’s led the world championship and he’s done it at the last race of the year. Unbelievable. A great job, he drove a perfect race when the pressure was on.
“He has had ups and downs, he’s had bad luck, he’s had some mechanical problems, some engine failures but he never lost his focus and belief – and now he is a champion. A great season.”
Mark Webber (Red Bull team mate): “I fully congratulate Seb on the world championship.”
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes Benz): “Congratulations to Sebastian today and he deserved the title.”
Jenson Button (McLaren): “Sebastian’s had some great races this year. We’ve all had up and down races this year, but for the last few races Sebastian has done a great job, and he deserves to be world champion of course.”
Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber): “I also want to congratulate Sebastian (Vettel) for his great success!”
Rob @TheF1FanaticsBlog: “I was always confident that Vettel would win a title someday, but I really thought Alonso would win today. Well done to him, but as a Ferrari fan I am highly disappointed!”
Brazilian GP 2010: Vettel Wins At Interlagos As Red Bull Crowned Constructors Champions
Sebastian Vettel won the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, ahead of team mate Mark Webber. The pairs 1-2 means that Red Bull are now the constructors world champions.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was 3rd, picking up more points as he looks to shore up the drivers championship.
Race Review
We had a new pole sitter at the start of the race inn Nico Hulkenberg. However the glory was short lived for the German, who didn’t have a great start and was immediately over taken by Sebastian Vettel.
On the way down to turn 3, Webber took 2nd from the Williams driver while it took Fernando Alonso another lap to dispatch the former GP2 Champion. Alonso had managed to sneak past Lewis Hamilton for 4th, when the British driver made a mistake at the end of the straight into turn 3.
From then on, the Red Bull’s significantly pulled away and Fernando Alonso attempted to catch them up. Lewis Hamilton got stuck behind Hulkenberg, complaining of a poor amount of grip. He would eventually pit for harder tyres, set a few fastest laps and once again begin complaining of a lack of grip. This years McLaren seems to be struggling with the tyre degradation.
Further back, Michael Schumacher had a good start but got force onto the grass at turn 2, but got moved back to 10th when he rejoined. He slipped passed Jenson Button, but after his pit stop he got stranded behind Adrian Sutil.
Many drivers, including Jenson Button and Felipe Massa pitted for tyres early on to get out of the train that had formed behind Hulkenberg’s Williams. Both Massa and Barrichello had problems at their stops, no luck for the Brazilian’s today. Massa had to make a second stop, he seemingly had an issue with the front right tyre.
There was relatively little action in the middle half of the race, with the action coming from Webber trying to catch Vettel. Massa was making his way through the field, and Jenson Button too had thrown himself into contention.
On lap 51, Vitantonio Liuzzi got it all wrong into turns 1 and 2, had he slammed into the barriers by the pitlane. The safety car had to come out, and both McLaren drivers pitted for tyres as they had been complaining of a lack of grip. It left them with a lot of overtaking to do.
The safety car also threw Nico Rosberg into the pits, and a horrible pit stop where the front tyre changers appeared to have no idea which Bridgestone’s had been taken off the car and which ones were supposed to be going on. Nightmare stuff from the silver arrow mechanics. Rosberg pitted again a lap later changing his mind from harder prime tyres to super soft option tyres.
When the safety car returned to the pits, Vettel pulled away with the fastest lap of the race. Further back, drivers struggled to work their way through the traffic. Alonso was held up for far too long by Alguersuari, meanwhile the two McLaren’s couldn’t free themselves from a brace of fast cars in the midfield with their new tyres.
On lap 60, Massa went around the outside of Buemi at turn 3. The Swiss driver wasn’t happy so rammed Massa off the road. More bad luck for the Brazilian who is having oen of the worst seasons of his Ferrari career. Adrian Sutil also had contact with Buemi, but managed to get passed to secure 12th.
Nick Heidfeld was unlucky to be given a drive through penalty for ignoring blue flags at the restart. In all honesty, everyone in that pack wasn’t concentrating on the flags – either penalise none or all.
From there on it was a relatively easy race, and Sebastian Vettel took the race win ahead of Mark Webber. Red Bull are now the constructors World Champions.
Race Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 1.33.11.803 |
| 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +4.243 |
| 3 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +6.807 |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +14.634 |
| 5 | J. Button | McLaren Mercedes | +15.593 |
| 6 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +33.300 |
| 7 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +43.400 |
| 8 | N. Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | + 1 lap |
| 9 | R. Kubica | Renault | + 1 lap |
| 10 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | + 1 lap |
| 11 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | + 1 lap |
| 12 | A Sutil | Force India Mercedes | + 1 lap |
| 13 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | + 1 lap |
| 14 | F. Massa | Ferrari | + 1 lap |
| 15 | V. Petrov | Renault | + 1 lap |
| 16 | R. Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | + 1 lap |
| 17 | N. Heidfeld | Sauber Ferrari | + 1 lap |
| 18 | H. Kovalainen | Lotus Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 19 | J. Trulli | Lotus Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 20 | T. Glock | Virgin Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 21 | B. Senna | Hispania Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 22 | C. Klien | Hispania Cosworth | + 6 laps |
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| L. Di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | 63 | Unknown |
| V. Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | 50 | Accident |
Brazilian GP 2010: Hulkenberg Takes Surprise Maiden Pole Position
Nico Hulkenberg took a surprise pole position for Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, the German rookie’s first ever pole.
His Williams team were delighted with the performance, which marks their first pole position since 2005. Their last win came at this circuit in 2004, with Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the wheel.
Hulkenberg used the changing conditions to his advantage, slipping through into Q3 then using the slick bridgestone tyres to set a flawless lap time that was over 1 second faster than the nearest opponent.
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will start 2nd and 3rd respectively, while the other two title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will start 4th and 5th.
Michael Schumacher will start only 8th, the German driver showed good pace at Interlagos today getting into Q3 unlike his team mate Nico Rosberg who will start only 13th tomorrow.
Rosberg isn’t the only big name to be low on the time screen’s today. Jenson Button, the 2009 World Champion starts only 11th and Adrian Sutil is down in 18th.
With changeable conditions, and a surprise man on pole we are certainly set for an exciting Brazilian Grand Prix tomorrow!
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:20.050 1:19.144 1:14.470 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:19.160 1:18.691 1:15.519 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:19.025 1:18.516 1:15.637 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.931 1:18.921 1:15.747 5. Alonso Ferrari 1:18.987 1:19.010 1:15.989 6. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:19.799 1:18.925 1:16.203 7. Kubica Renault 1:19.249 1:18.877 1:16.552 8. Schumacher Mercedes 1:19.879 1:18.923 1:16.925 9. Massa Ferrari 1:19.778 1:19.200 1:17.101 10. Petrov Renault 1:20.189 1:19.153 1:17.656 11. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.905 1:19.288 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.741 1:19.385 13. Rosberg Mercedes 1:20.153 1:19.486 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.158 1:19.581 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.096 1:19.847 16. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:20.174 1:19.899 17. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:20.592 1:20.357 18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:20.830 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.130 20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:22.250 21. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:22.378 22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.810 23. Klien HRT-Cosworth 1:23.083 24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:23.796
Webber’s Blown His World Title Chance – Brabham
Jack Brabham, the three time F1 world champion says that fellow countryman Mark Webber has blown his career opportunity to win the world championship following his retirement from the Korean Grand Prix last weekend.
Webber crashed out in rainy conditions, after losing traction on the outside of a turn at the Yeongam circuit. He spun out into a concrete wall before cannoning across the circuit and smashing into Mercedes Benz driver Nico Rosberg’s car.
Brabham believes that Webber has now lost the opportunity to win this title, and possibly lost the opportunity to ever win a title as he gets towards the end of his racing career fighting younger drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
“It would mean a lot to me and it would mean a lot to Australia, but unfortunately I think his real opportunity has been blown last weekend,” 84-year-old Brabham, explained to the AAP news agency.
“I’m really there behind him in the hope that he gets there, but if he doesn’t do it this year I don’t think he ever will; people like Alonso are young and Mark’s getting a bit too old now, really.
“He can probably go one more year but every year that goes by now he’s getting older and this is a young man’s sport; he’s racing against 21 or 22-year-olds and he’s got the job in front of him.”
Japanese GP 2010: Vettel Wins Japanese Grand Prix As Title Stays Wide Open
Sebastian Vettel took the flag and the full 25 points in a thrilling Japanese Grand Prix from Suzuka. The Red Bull driver led his team mate, Mark Webber over the line.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished in 3rd.
Race Review
There was carnage before the start of the race today, when on the way to the dummy grid Lucas di Grassi lost control of his Virgin and smashed into the wall at the 130R. The Brazilian got out of the wrecked VR01 unscathed, but his chances of retaining that race seat for next year are looking slimmer. A shame for the Brazilian as he had enjoyed a good weekend, out qualifying Timo Glock.
The start of the real race wasn’t much better either, a charging Vitaly Petrov cut across the front of Nico Hulkenburg and smashed into the wall in front of the main grandstand. He was out, along with the Williams driver whose car had multiple bits of large damage.
Felipe Massa got caught up in the action too, he went too hot into turn 1, and ended up on the grass. Out of control he slammed straight into Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India, wrecking the Mercedes engined machine and knocking them both out of the race.
A safety car was called for due to all the carnage. There was more excitement when that was out as Robert Kubica’s Renault decided to part company with its rear right tyre as he approached the hairpin, the Pole retiring from the race after just a handful of laps. A shame for the Enstone based team, as he had been running in 2nd.
From there on though, the action did slow a little. Red Bull really ran away with the race at the front, with Fernando Alonso clinging on to third place for dear life.
Jenson Button decided to start on the harder prime tyre and ran longer, allowing him a 10 lap or so opportunity to lead the Grand Prix. When he emerged from the pitlane he was behind team mate Lewis Hamilton down in 5th. Hamilton had been racing forward to try and catch Fernando Alonso after his pitstop, but he couldn’t make it and would have to settle for 4th on a poor weekend for the 2008 champion.
Further down field, Michael Schumacher was having a heck of a good Grand Prix. Having already pulled a lovely overtake on former team mate Rubens Barrichello, the Silver Baron as he is now known, was hassling team mate Rosberg. He really tried to get passed, some lovely slipstreaming and racing for many laps. A hint of the Michael of old there, perhaps he is beginning to find form – hopefully he can carry it through to 2011. Sadly though the fight between Rosberg and Schumacher was cut short when Rosberg smashed into the barriers on the Esses.
Home favourite Kamui Kobayashi had a GP to remember too, passing people left right and centre. He eventually finished 7th, with some questionable barging and slipstreaming moves. I think he had been playing F1 2010 on the Xbox before getting in the car today!
So as Vettel took the flag, the championship fight remains wide open. Its Webber’s to lose now, as we head into the final 3 rounds of the year. Hopefully, Korea’s circuit will be finished by the time the circus arrives in 2 weeks…
Race Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 1.30.27.323 |
| 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +0.905 |
| 3 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +2.721 |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +13.522 |
| 5 | J. Button | McLaren Mercedes | +39.595 |
| 6 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +59.933 |
| 7 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | +1.04.038 |
| 8 | N. Heidfeld | Sauber Ferrari | +1.09.648 |
| 9 | R. Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | +1.10.846 |
| 10 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1.12.806 |
| 11 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 12 | H. Kovalainen | Lotus Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 13 | J. Trulli | Lotus Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 14 | T. Glock | Virgin Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 15 | B. Senna | HRT Cosworth | +2 laps |
| 16 | S. Yamamoto | HRT Cosworth | +3 laps |
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 48 | Crash |
| A Sutil | Force India Mercedes | 45 | Engine Failure |
| R. Kubica | Renault | 4 | Rear Tyre Failure |
| N. Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | 0 | Crash |
| F. Massa | Ferrari | 0 | Crash |
| V. Petrov | Renault | 0 | Crash |
| V. Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | 0 | Crash |
| L. di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | 0 | Crash – Pre Race |
Japanese GP 2010: Red Bull Duo Fastest Again In FP2
The Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were once again 1st and 2nd in Free Practice at Suzuka. They looked almost unstoppable.
Ferrari got up to pace, with Fernando Alonso leading the session for most of the way until Red Bull smashed the times set by the Spaniard by around 0.8 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton only managed a handful of laps, his McLaren did not finish being rebuilt until there was just 10 minutes of the session left.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:31.465 31 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:31.860 + 0.395 29 3. Kubica Renault 1:32.200 + 0.735 32 4. Alonso Ferrari 1:32.362 + 0.897 34 5. Massa Ferrari 1:32.519 + 1.054 35 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.533 + 1.068 28 7. Petrov Renault 1:32.703 + 1.238 32 8. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.831 + 1.366 27 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:32.842 + 1.377 26 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:32.851 + 1.386 26 11. Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.880 + 1.415 26 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.471 + 2.006 31 13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.481 + 2.016 8 14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:33.564 + 2.099 16 15. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.697 + 2.232 33 16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.005 + 2.540 32 17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.055 + 2.590 37 18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:34.310 + 2.845 33 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.095 + 4.630 37 20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.333 + 4.868 33 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.630 + 5.165 28 22. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.834 + 5.369 28 23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:37.352 + 5.887 33 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:37.831 + 6.366 34
German GP 2010: Vettel Grabs Pole From Alonso By Tiny Margin
Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole position for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix by the smallest of margins. He beat Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by just 2 thousands of a second.
Alonso had shown good form throughout the entire session and makes his first front row start of the season as he tries to get his title challenge back on track. Team mate Felipe Massa starts in 3rd, with Mark Webber back in 4th.
Its an all McLaren 3rd row with Jenson Button just outrunning Lewis Hamilton for 5th and 6th.
Home favourite Michael Schumacher didn’t make Q3 as rookie German Nico Hulkenberg sneaked through for Williams, a team which is showing good form.
It was a bad day for Tonio Liuzzi though who smashed his Force India up early into Q1. The crash on the start/finish straight red flagged the session and means he will start only 22nd tomorrow. Still despite completing only one run he will be ahead of the appallingly poor Sakon Yamamoto, and Lucas di Grassi who didn’t complete a flying lap due to a gearbox problem.
We’re all set for a cracking German GP tomorrow!
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:15.152 1:14.249 1:13.791 2. Alonso Ferrari 1:14.808 1:14.081 1:13.793 3. Massa Ferrari 1:15.216 1:14.478 1:14.290 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:15.334 1:14.340 1:14.347 5. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.823 1:14.716 1:14.427 6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.505 1:14.488 1:14.566 7. Kubica Renault 1:15.736 1:14.835 1:15.079 8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:16.398 1:14.698 1:15.109 9. Rosberg Mercedes 1:16.178 1:15.018 1:15.179 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:16.387 1:14.943 1:15.339 11. Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.084 1:15.026 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.951 1:15.084 13. Petrov Renault 1:16.521 1:15.307 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:16.220 1:15.467 15. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.450 1:15.550 16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.664 1:15.588 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.029 1:15.974 18. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:17.583 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:18.300 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:18.343 21. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:18.592 22. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:18.952 23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:19.844 24. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
Red Bull Gives You Wings…..Unless Your Name Is Mark Webber
Red Bull’s slogan gave me that terrific title you read above, okay perhaps its no better than something you might read in a tabliod newspaper like The Sun but this weekend’s controversy surrounding the Red Bull Racing team once again highlights the problems with in-team politics and the effect it can have on the drivers.
Mark Webber was denied the use of the new Red Bull front wing, after his was given to team mate Sebastian Vettel for qualifying whose new wing had been damaged in Saturday morning practice. The Australian was duly annoyed when Vettel took pole position. It was another item of favouritsm toward the young German from this season, Webber is even using one of Sebastian’s old chassis.
Despite all of this, Webber managed to win the Grand Prix – barging Vettel off the road into turn 1 – but no amount of nice press photos with Christian Horner and Adrian Newey could put the lid on the problems within the team. Mark claimed down the radio on victory “not bad for a second driver”, a clear point towards his status within the team – or at least his percieved status. Red Bull had defended themselves by claiming they were giving the championship leader the advantage, but we will see if that is true in Germany as Webber now leads the standings ahead of Red Bull favourite Vettel.
“Whether the gap between us in qualifying was the difference between the two front wings, I don’t know,” said Webber after last weekend’s British Grand Prix. “But it was a far from ideal situation and it definitely made my win taste even sweeter.”
Christian Horner came out in the Monday newspapers claiming he regretted not speaking with Webber before the decision was made, and he categorically denied that it had anything to do with Helmut Marko or Dietrich Mateschitz the owners of the Red Bull Energy Drink brand.
“There has never been any pressure from Red Bull to favour one driver over the other.” Horner told The Daily Telegraph in England
“I didn’t have a conversation with Helmut or anyone from Red Bull regarding the decision to give Sebastian the wing. It was purely a technical decision, which I discussed with Adrian [Newey].
“My one regret is that I didn’t have time to discuss the issue with Mark personally prior to qualifying as I’m sure that would have given him a more balanced understanding.”
We have seen many instances of team bias and favouritsm over the years, most recently with the arguments between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren, a row which has never really been cleared up and forced the Spaniard to leave the team and then earlier between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello during their time at Ferrari.
Top teams have trouble keeping their drivers together and motivated, especially when they are fighting for the championship – Barrichello even had trouble with Brawn GP last year with their dominance. However this is the first time we have seen the management of a team really getting involved and openly favouring one driver over another, even during the Schumacher days at Ferrari they did not willingly pass equipment or new parts over Barrichello – definitely not during a race weekend in any case.
The path Red Bull now tread with Webber is a difficult one, but they really have the Australian cornered to an extent. He has signed a new contract, and there aren’t really any race seats with top teams on offer for next season. He could potentially leave the team, who are looking likely to win the world championship, and head to Renault alongside Robert Kubica. That would leave the door wide open for Red Bull sponsored rally driver Kimi Raikkonen to come back to F1. Or Webber can just live with the favouritism toward Vettel and get on in trying to win the World Championship.
Nick Fry, the CEO of Mercedes Benz has seen these problems before, having dealt with the Button/Barrichello problems last year and advises Red Bull to sort the issues out quickly otherwise they have the potential of shooting themselves in the foot.
“I do sympathise on the one hand with them,” said Fry
“But one of the main points is to stop shooting yourself in the foot. Just looking at it from the outside, there seems to be a case of Red Bull causing more problems than they need to.
“They have clearly got the fastest car by quite a margin, and they should be way ahead of the rest of us, and they are not. So they do need to look at themselves and try and work out what they are doing wrong.
“They are beating themselves – which is very satisfying for the rest of us but it should not be what they are up to.”
All I know is, I am glad I am not in Christian Horner’s shoes this week!!
Happy families?
British GP 2010: Webber Wins As Ferrari Stung Again
Mark Webber took a commanding victory today at Silverstone in the wake of controversy surrounding his status at the team. Webber believes he should have not had his new front wing taken off him and handed to Sebastian Vettel, believing the team were favouring the young German.
However all that emotion that was so clear on the Australian’s face yesterday was saved for the first corner where he forced Vettel off the circuit onto the run off at turn one, where Vettel’s luck ran out and he got a puncture.
It was all going on at the back too, with Alonso’s poor start hampering him down the field, before he made contact with team mate Felipe Massa who joined Vettel at the back with a puncture on his Ferrari F10. Michael Schumacher made it up 3 places to 7th too.
Hamilton was hassling Webber in 2nd, and their pace was surprisingly good as they racked home fastest laps. They pulled well clear of Kubica, Rosberg and Alonso who formed the front of a long processional line of traffic that was only broken by the first round of pit stops.
Schumacher gambled on an early stop which didn’t pay off, his team mate Rosberg’s strategy to stay out longer than Alonso and Kubica who pitted one lap after Michael, worked a treat and the young German found himself in 3rd position.
Alonso closed the gap significantly to Kubica and as the pair came into Vale, Alonso dived around the outside, but Kubica forced Fernando off the circuit. However Alonso was still in front as he rejoined at Club, where he stayed as Robert Kubica’s Renault gave up with a differential problem and he retired. However, course steward Nigel Mansell believed Alonso had cut the circuit – not avoiding an accident as the majority of viewers, and former driver Martin Brundle believed, and Alonso got a drive through penalty which he had to serve straight after a safety car period so the Spaniard once again got heavily stung by the FIA.
The safety car was brought out by a battle between Liuzzi and De la Rosa. The Italian tagged the rear of the Sauber and the rear wing disintegrated on the Hangar Straight. It brought the new safety car rules into play, with the SLS AMG Mercedes of Bernd Maylander waiting to pick up the lead car, there was confusion and many backmarkers ended up getting in the way – the new rules might need to be tweaked again.
Further back, Sebastian Vettel was tearing through the field, and would go on to score points passing German rivals Michael Schumacher and Adrian Sutil. Schumacher had a slightly better weekend, but the former 7 time world champion really hasn’t dialled down back to his great racing of the past just yet.
Liuzzi later tagged Alonso giving him a puncture and putting the icing on a failure cake for Ferrari – neither car ended up in the points.
Rubens Barrichello had a stellar day though for Williams, their second consecutive high point score.
Race Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | 1.24.38.200 |
| 2 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +1.360 |
| 3 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes GP | +21.307 |
| 4 | J. Button | McLaren Mercedes | +21.968 |
| 5 | R. Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | +31.456 |
| 6 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | +32.171 |
| 7 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | +36.734 |
| 8 | A Sutil | Force India Mercedes | +40.932 |
| 9 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes GP | +41.599 |
| 10 | N. Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | +42.012 |
| 11 | V. Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | +42.459 |
| 12 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +47.627 |
| 13 | V. Petrov | Renault | +59.374 |
| 14 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +1.02.385 |
| 15 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1.07.489 |
| 16 | J. Trulli | Lotus | +1 lap |
| 17 | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | +1 lap |
| 18 | T. Glock | Virgin Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 19 | K. Chandhok | Hispania | +2 laps |
| 20 | S. Yamamoto | Hispania | +2 laps |
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 45 | Crash |
| P. De la Rosa | Sauber Ferrari | 30 | Rear wing failure |
| R. Kubica | Renault | 20 | Differential |
| L. Di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | 10 | Hydraulic |
British GP 2010: Vettel Storms To Pole As Button Falters
Sebastian Vettel scored another pole position, a vital pole ahead of team mate Mark Webber ahead of tomorrow’s British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit.
Despite laps which were not completely clean, the superior pace of the Red Bull led to Webber leading through both Q1 and Q2, but it was Vettel that stole the show in Q3. Red Bull have again been accused of favouritism toward the young German, something which team boss Christian Horner profusely denies.
Fernando Alonso made it into 3rd, a stellar effort in the Ferrari which is certainly looking like the second fastest car – although he was blocked in Q3 by Rubens Barrichello. Team mate Felipe Massa could not do as well, and will start 7th tomorrow.
Lewis Hamilton has the hopes of the entire home nation on his shoulders, despite a poor weekend for the McLaren with their blown diffuser failure, he starts 4th. Team mate Button starts 10 place further back in 14th. Not good for the 2009 World Champion. Martin Whitmarsh of McLaren tells us that they are only keeping 6 of the new parts on the car from an initial start list of about 30 new pieces. Still lots of work to do.
Rosberg and Kubica are 5th and 6th, with Barrichello, De la Rosa and Michael Schumacher rounding out the top 10.
Jaime Alguersuari got caught out in Q1, and will start ion 18th – the young Spaniard was clearly unimpressed.
Sakon Yamamoto, Bruno Senna’s replacement at Hispania just looked poor. Indeed both HRT’s were appalling today, some 6 seconds off the pace through Q1. If the 107% rule was in, the new Japanese man would not be racing tomorrow. The other new teams, Lotus and Virgin now have an easy 2 second advantage over the Spanish outfit.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:30.841 1:30.480 1:29.615 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:30.858 1:30.114 1:29.758 3. Alonso Ferrari 1:30.997 1:30.700 1:30.426 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.297 1:31.118 1:30.556 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.626 1:31.085 1:30.625 6. Kubica Renault 1:31.680 1:31.344 1:31.040 7. Massa Ferrari 1:31.313 1:31.010 1:31.172 8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.424 1:31.126 1:31.175 9. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.533 1:31.327 1:31.274 10. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.058 1:31.022 1:31.430 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:31.109 1:31.399 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.851 1:31.421 13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:32.144 1:31.635 14. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.435 1:31.699 15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:32.226 1:31.708 16. Petrov Renault 1:31.638 1:31.796 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:31.901 1:32.012 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.430 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.405 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:34.775 21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.864 22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.212 23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:36.576 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:36.968
British GP 2010: Webber Keeps Red Bull On Top In FP2
Mark Webber kept Red Bull Racing in control at Silverstone, setting a scorching lap time of 1.31.234 on an incredibly warm day at the British circuit.
Fernando Alonso was 2nd, and with Massa in 4th Ferrari fans have big hopes this weekend of a comeback. Michael Schumacher managed to get into 6th, as Mercedes’ form improved.
Home favourites Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only manage 9th and 13th respectively, however we can expect much more from them in qualifying tomorrow.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:31.234 15 2. Alonso Ferrari 1:31.626 + 0.392 26 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:31.875 + 0.641 24 4. Massa Ferrari 1:32.099 + 0.865 25 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.166 + 0.932 29 6. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.660 + 1.426 27 7. Petrov Renault 1:32.745 + 1.511 28 8. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.757 + 1.523 22 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:32.787 + 1.553 27 10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:32.967 + 1.733 32 11. Kubica Renault 1:33.019 + 1.785 30 12. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:33.164 + 1.930 28 13. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.200 + 1.966 24 14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:33.402 + 2.168 23 15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:33.728 + 2.494 27 16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:33.836 + 2.602 36 17. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:34.051 + 2.817 29 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.643 + 3.409 36 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:35.465 + 4.231 25 20. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.237 + 5.003 24 21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.553 + 5.319 21 22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:37.019 + 5.785 27 23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:38.303 + 7.069 32 24. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:42.901 + 11.667 3
Webber and Rosberg Raise Kerb Concerns At Silverstone
Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber, both front running drivers have raised concerns about the new “high-kerbing” used in parts of the refurbished Silverstone Circuit at this weekend’s British Grand Prix
Rosberg believes that the kerbing could well be potentially dangerous, but did admit the new circuit design was very good.
“I think the track overall is good,” said Rosberg. “The first complex is always exciting, which is still the same.
“I like the layout a lot, and there is no particular area, but I think they have done a good job with it. The only concern is those high kerbs, which we need to discuss in the drivers’ meeting.
“From my point of view there are some safety concerns with that. There are some big kerbs on the insides, big lumps – like half sausages.”
Webber was concerned that cars could hit the high kerbing and get thrown into the air, completely out of control.
“I think at Becketts there are a few larger sections behind the main kerbing, if you like, which the drivers are certainly not a fan of,” he said.
“We don’t feel the necessity to have this type of kerbing in high speed corners because the main aim of that kerbing is to keep us inside the circuit, for example, like Monza and Canada.
“So to have them in fifth and sixth gear corners isn’t particularly necessary. We’ve seen here many cars in the past aquaplaning across Maggotts and Becketts out of control.”
Red Bull Confirm Webber’s New Contract For 2011
Red Bull Racing have confirmed rumours that they have signed Mark Webber onto a one year contract extension which see’s him tied to the current championship leading team until the end of 2011.
Webber had been linked with a move to Ferrari or Renault following his recent good form, and incidents with team mate Sebastian Vettel, who is contracted to the team until 2012 although that may be extended until 2015. Vettel and Webber’s fraught relationship came to a head in Turkey where the pair ran into each other causing Vettel to retire from the race, the team were on for a 1-2 finish.
“It was an easy decision to remain with Red Bull Racing. We began talking very early this year and were in a position to sign by the Barcelona Grand Prix.
“The decision to extend for a further year was a mutual one; it’s widely known that I’m not interested in hanging around in Formula 1 just for the sake of it and at this stage of my career, I’m happy to take one year at a time.” Webber said this morning.
“I continue to feel very comfortable here – I have a fantastic relationship with the whole team and the factory at Milton Keynes feels like home. It’s been incredible to be part of the team as it’s moved forward from a mid-field competitor to one that is challenging for the Championship.
“I hope we experience more success together in the future and achieve our ultimate goal of winning the world championship.”
Team principal Christian Horner added: “The decision to retain Mark was very straightforward. He is an important member of our team and is currently in the best form of his career, as the current leader of the drivers’ championship. The team is extremely happy that the driver pairing of Mark and Sebastian will remain unchanged for a third season in 2011.”
Ferrari now hold the cards to change the driver market, but it looks likely they will retain Felipe Massa and Renault will retain Robert Kubica.
Red Bull Look Set To Extend Vettel Contract To 2015 And Retain Newey
Red Bull Racing look set to make Sebastian Vettel the longest contracted driver in Formula One if insider reports from the team are to be believed.
Vettel, who is rated as one of the best young drivers in Formula One with multiple Grand Prix victories to his name has been sponsored by the Austrian energy drink company for the majority of his career. Following a stand-in race with BMW Sauber, the young German was contracted to Scuderia Toro Rosso for whom he promptly won their first and only Grand Prix in Monza in 2008. Since 2009 he has driven for the Red Bull team with whom he is contracted with until 2012.
However according to Autosport Red Bull executives want to extend his contract until 2015. This would make him the longest under contract driver in F1, with Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton being the other top two with contracts until 2012.
Red Bull also wish to retain the services of design ace Adrian Newey.
Team principal Christian Horner said about the Newey situation: “The relationship is open-ended. He is enjoying what he is doing, he enjoys the environment at Red Bull and he is still relatively young.
“It is not like he is an old timer, so I don’t think he has any plans to retire at the moment. He will certainly be here for the foreseeable future.”
Mark Webber could well be kept on under a single year contract extension for 2011 despite the recent troubles in the Turkish Grand Prix. If the Australian decides to move, his only serious option is seemingly Renault.
Turkish GP 2010: Hamilton The Surprise Victor As Red Bull Drivers Collide
Lewis Hamilton emerged the surprise victor of the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix following a collision between the two Red Bull drivers which left World Championship hopeful Mark Webber languishing in third place. Jenson Button finished 2nd making it a McLaren 1-2.
Race Review
The race temperatures were hot as we got the first anti-clockwise race event of the year underway. There was little incident into the first corner, a surprise considering recent activity. Perhaps because Jarno Trulli was so far back this year, or maybe because of Giancarlo Fisichella’s absence.
Drivers traded places through the first few turns with little or no overtaking moves sticking, most notable was Rubens Barrichello who went down to 20th place. Sebastien Buemi and Adrian Sutil had a slight coming together around turn 3, the Swiss driver had to pit immediately for emergency repairs but the Force India driver kept on going.
The first part of the race was relatively quiet, and somewhat boring in a similar fashion to the lacklustre Spanish Grand Prix a month ago. The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso pitted early onto the harder compounds, the under-peforming in qualifying Spanish driver was set in for a long run.
Lewis Hamilton, at this point in 2nd place thought the pitstops would give him an advantage, instead he didn’t have a clean stop and ended up behind Vettel’s Red Bull, now 3rd place was all he could hope for as the Red Bull’s held a theoretical 1st and 2nd. Only Button stayed out slightly longer, but the World Champion ended up in 4th after his stop behind his team mate.
Rain was predicted but never arrived, the drivers who were stuck behind Nico Rosberg would have been after that shower if only to move the mobile Mercedes chicane. Rosberg was lapping slower than Kovalainen and Alguersuari at one point, not catching his team mate Michael Schumacher who was having a quiet and consistent race in 5th. It hampered the chances of Kubica, Massa, Petrov and Alonso.
Unfortunately for the best new team Lotus, both of their cars retired on laps 33 and 34 thanks to hydraulic failure. It had been a positive weekend for the Norfolk/Malaysian based outfit who were within half a second of Scuderia Toro Rosso in practice.
Lap 40 was the exciting one however. On the back straight, the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel slipstreamed team mate Mark Webber, the young German slotted his car down the inside but as they both hit the rev limiters in 7th gear, Vettel’s rear flew over Webber’s car sending them both spinning off onto the run off area. Vettel’s arms flew out of the car with surprise, anger and shock – he was to retire with a rear puncture. Webber narrowly avoided the spinning German and had to pit for emergency front wing repairs.
Hamilton and Button, who traded places in a beautiful turn 10 to turn 2 set of moves could hardly believe their luck. However with Hamilton ahead, it was revealed the cars were low on fuel due to the heat and the laps where they attempted to match Red Bull pace. The pairing would have to limp to the end of the race on an economy run.
Alonso and Petrov got ina tangle around turn 3, with Alonso grabbing 8th place while Petrov got a puncture for hitting the Spaniard. Kamui Kobayashi and Adrian Sutil traded places for 9th and 10th, the Japanese driver ending up with 10th place and a point – at last!
Classified Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 1.28.47.620 |
| 2 | J. Button | McLaren Mercedes | +2.645 |
| 3 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +24.285 |
| 4 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes GP | +31.110 |
| 5 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes GP | +32.266 |
| 6 | R. Kubica | Renault | +32.824 |
| 7 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +36.635 |
| 8 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +46.544 |
| 9 | A. Sutil | Force India Mercedes | +49.029 |
| 10 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | +1.05.650 |
| 11 | P. De la Rosa | Sauber Ferrari | +1.05.944 |
| 12 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1.07.800 |
| 13 | V. Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | +1 lap |
| 14 | R. Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 15 | V. Petrov | Renault | +1 lap |
| 16 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 17 | N. Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 18 | T. Glock | Virgin Cosworth | + 2 laps |
| 19 | L. di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | +3 laps |
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| K. Chandhok | Hispania HRT Cosworth | 53 | Unknown |
| B. Senna | Hispania HRT Cosworth | 47 | Unknown |
| S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 40 | Accident |
| H. Kovalainen | Lotus Cosworth | 34 | Hydraulic |
| J. Trulli | Lotus Cosworth | 33 | Hydraulic |
Post Race Interviews
L. Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes (1st): “Red Bull made it tough for us and we put up a good fight. You can see how close it is between the four of us. It’s down to momentum, and we will do the best we can to win both championships. We have been ragging their tails for some time. It’s such an achievement for us, to really be able to take the battle to them. They had one strength that was particularly good here, we had a strength here, and we didn’t know how it would pan here. Me and Jenson were able to compete with them and push our hardest to be on their tails. To get our second 1-2 is fantastic.”
J. Button – McLaren Mercedes (2nd): “The pace of our car was very good and it was great to be battling with the Red Bulls. So many times we have seen them disappear into the distance. I had a battle with Lewis at the end,” added the Briton, who also made contact with his team-mate while battling for the lead. We were both told to save fuel but it’s always difficult to know how much and when Lewis got back past me I was told to keep saving and I think it got a bit critical towards the end.”
M. Webber – Red Bull Renault (3rd): “Seb had good a top speed advantage and he went down the inside. We were side by side and then looks kike he turned pretty quickly to the right and we made contact. It definitely happened fast. It’s a shame for the team, but not an ideal day. The McLarens were solid today. It was good race between all four of us up until then. Neither want to make contact but it can happen sometimes when both are in front. It is never ideal but it happened.”
M. Schumacher – Mercedes Benz (4th): “My race started as I had hoped when I was able to catch Jenson right at the start. Unfortunately, I did not have a lot of grip with the tyres as the formation lap was quite slow and the pressures had gone down which, combined with the top speed of the McLarens, meant that I could not hold Jenson behind me for long. I was even struggling to keep the car on the track during the first lap. From there onwards, I was in my starting position and when Sebastian retired, we were able to pick up a place. That was about it. It was a straightforward race for me without any more possibilities.”
F. Alonso – Ferrari (8th): “We have been a bit surprised, as both in Barcelona and here we were not too competitive. All race Felipe fought with Rosberg and I fought with Petrov, so we are at Renault’s level, which is obviously not enough. We have an improvement for Canada and then for Valencia we have a bigger package. But we know McLaren and Red Bull are very far away, and we don’t know if that’s enough, so we have to work very hard.”
K. Kobayashi – Sauber Ferrari (10th): “I am very happy that we finished the race with both cars and got the first point. In the end I could see from the car the canvas on the front right tyre. Therefore I started to be very careful, especially in turn 8, and that’s also the reason why I didn’t defend any harder against Adrian Sutil.”
V. Petrov – Renault (15th): “Although I’m disappointed to miss out on points today, I really enjoyed the race and the car felt really good. During the race I thought there was a chance of rain, which would have made things interesting, but in the end it was very light and didn’t have a big impact on things. At the end of the race my tyres were really worn when I was fighting with Alonso.”
S. Vettel – Red Bull Renault (Ret): “Obviously, I think if you look at the pictures it was clear I had the inside. I went on the inside, I was ahead and just going down to focus on the braking point and honestly, you can see we touched and he touched my right rear wheel and I went off. There is no fight. This is something that happens. We do not need it but there is nothing we can do now. Obviously I am not very happy, I was inside focusing on the braking point, we touched and that was it.”
Horner Dismisses Raikkonen F1 Return Rumours
Christian Horner has openly dismissed the rumours circulating that his red Bull Racing team was about to hand the 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen a race contract for the 2011 season.
Raikkonen quit Ferrari at the end of last season so the team could take on Fernando Alonso. After failing to agree terms with McLaren, the former champion Raikkonen went off to race in the World Rally Championship for the Citroen Junior Team. At the time there was speculation he had a return to F1 contract signed with Red Bull, following the drink manufacturer becoming the Finn’s title sponsor with Citroen.
When asked about Kimi returning was a possibility Horner said ”No. Kimi has committed himself to rallying, and he seems to be enjoying that environment.
“We have been happy with the job that Mark is doing, so why would you change?”
Mark Webber now looks set to recieve a big contract to stay with the team for another year, as the 2011 silly season’s big movers are set to stay in their current environments. Felipe Massa is set to be offered another contract by Ferrari and Robert Kubica will commit himself to another season with Renault.
“When we sit down and talk about it, it will be very straightforward,” said Horner. “Mark is an important member of the team, he enjoys driving for the team and we have a great balance between our two drivers. So, it is the usual thing – if it is not broken, don’t fix it.
“I think that it is clear where our intent is, it is clear where his intent is. It is just a matter of sorting out the paperwork with his management, but in the coming weeks I am sure that will be sorted.”
Force India and Red Bull Racing To Run F-Ducts In Turkey
Force India and Red Bull Racing have confirmed that they will be running F-Ducts in the practice sessions for the Turkish Grand Prix this weekend as they evaluate whether the air flow control mechanism is a worthy new technical advancement to their cars.
Vitantonio Liuzzi told reporters that the Force India team were very confident of their system, a system which is operated by the drivers wrist.
“We are really optimistic about it,” Liuzzi said. “You can never know. It might change tomorrow, but the team has done a big work in the wind tunnel for the last two weeks to test it and it seemed to work pretty well.
“Tomorrow we’ll get the confirmation because on track you never know, but we are pretty optimistic that it should be spot on.”
“We made a simple system with the wrist so we don’t have to take the hand off the steering wheel,” he added.
Meanwhile Red Bull Racing’s man of the moment Mark Webber told reporters in the pre-race press conference that Red Bull were to evaluate their own F-Duct system as they try and maintain their recent dominance.
“Yes, we will give the F-duct a go tomorrow,” Webber said during a pre-event press conference in Turkey. “We will give it a chance.”
Ferrari, who were one of the first teams to use the system are going to try a variation on the position of the hole that needs to be covered in order to stall the air during practice.
F-Duct air vent
Williams Misses Webber But Throws Symonds Lifeline
Sir Frank Williams whose team bears his namesake says that he feels not renewing mArk Webber’s contract for the 2007 season was one of the biggest mistakes he has ever made.
Williams, confined to a wheel chair since a horrific road accident near the Paul Ricard Circuit some years ago, employed Webber when he was fresh out of the failed Jaguar team. During that time the Williams team were not particularly competitive, and when Webber asked for more money along with a contract extension at the end of 2007, Sir Frank and assistant Patrick Head decided the best thing would be to let the Australian go.
Webber went to Red Bull, and had a good season in 2009, but this season he has been on fire winning the past 2 races in a row. Indeed things are looking so good, he is being tipped for the World Championship and potentially a race drive with Ferrari.
“Our car was not competitive, and we thought that Mark was part of the problem. To renew the contract for 2007 had requested an increase of engagement. We were reluctant to pay a large wage to him, partly because we lost our sponsor. Today I would say that it was still a mistake. ” Williams told Autosprint
“When he was with us Webber was very quick over one lap in the race but had a tendency to make mistakes.” Williams added
The first year with Red Bull behaved in much the same way, but in the second began to improve. But now he is running very well. “
Meanwhile the Williams team could be set to offer disgraced former Renault technical director Pat Symonds a lifeline job for the 2011 season as a consultant to the FW33 car. Symonds who was involved in the crash-gate scandal had a lifetime ban overturned recently in the high court along with former employer Flavio Briatore. Out of work since, the Williams team are looking for someone with a wealth of experience to help them build a competitive car for next season which could potentially have Renault engine.
Sir Frank Williams (Centre) with Mark Webber (Left) back in 2005
Mark Webber Set To Secure Red Bull Future Following Monaco Success
Mark Webber’s victory in the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday looks set to deliver him more than just a helping of pride and a hangover, following an interview released with his boss Christian Horner.
Horner, who in team principal for Red Bull Racing Webber’s employer, says that he wants to offer the Australian another contract to stay on with the team and partner popular German Sebastian Vettel.
Webber’s future with the Austrian energy drink backed team had been in doubt with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, and former World Champion turned rally driver Kimi Raikkonen both being linked with poaching the seat with the current constructors championship leaders.
However despite this, the team say they want continuity as they focus on winning both the drivers and constructors titles and pushing their team to the front of the grid.
“We are very happy with the way that Mark is performing,” Horner told ESPN last night.
“He’s an important member of our team and he has got to a stage where, at 33, we said let’s take one year at a time rather than signing some long-winded agreement. I am very happy with the balance and dynamics in team, and there is nothing that we would change for.
“It’s all down to relationships and how he feels at the end of the day. He is driving fantastically well, he is a very valued member of the team, so when the time comes to sit down and talk about contracts I am sure it will be a very short conversation.”
