F1 News and Updates

Ferrari roar back to business in Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Ferrari looks set for a repeat of last year's Malaysian Grand Prix rebound, posting the fastest times in Friday's pre-race practice to shrug off last weekend's disappointing results in Australia.

In 2008, Ferrari finished without a point in Australia and then dominated in Malaysia.

After another pointless finish in Melbourne in F1's season opener last weekend, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa recorded the two best times Friday to hint at another immediate comeback.

Raikonnen's time of 1 minute, 35.707 seconds in Friday's afternoon session was faster than last year's pole-winning time set by teammate Felipe Massa, who was an eighth of a second behind his teammate Friday.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, Williams' Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber of Red Bull followed the Ferrari pair.

Brawn drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, who finished 1-2 in last weekend's season-opening Australian GP, were sixth and seventh on the time sheets, ahead of Williams' Kazuki Nakajima.

Raikkonen's strong showing shook off doubts about the reliability of the Ferrari after a mishap in morning practice, when a short circuit in the KERS energy-storage device sent smoke began billowing into the cockpit and streaming from the rear of the car.

"We had felt that the situation here could be different to Melbourne, but it is still too early to say where we are up against the opposition," Raikkonen said.
"What we can be sure of is that when the car runs trouble-free, we are competitive."
On Melbourne's street circuit, Ferrari was badly hampered by degradation of its softer tires and an inability to get heat into its harder compounds, but Massa said there was better grip on the specialist racing surface of Sepang.

"Clearly looking at the time sheet today, there's a slight feeling of relief," the Brazilian said.

Rain threatened the Sepang circuit in the afternoon, but both morning and afternoon sessions were dry, preventing teams trying out their wet weather settings. This heightened the chances that they will go into Sunday's race - with rain forecast - without the benefit of acquainting themselves with a wet track.

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella was the main casualty of the second practice, spearing off the track on the dual right-handers of turns 10 and 11, sideswiping the tire wall. It ended his session, but he walked away unhurt.

Rosberg set the fastest time in the morning practice, making it four straight practice sessions in which the German had topped the time sheets after the three at Melbourne last week.

Rosberg's time of 1 minute, 36.260 seconds was just four hundredths of a second quicker than teammate Nakajima.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton's horror week - after being stripped of his third place in Australia for misleading stewards in an inquiry - continued when the McLaren driver was fined euro1,200 ($1,600) for breaching the pit lane speed limit during morning practice.

Hamilton loses Aussie GP points

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:16:00 +0000

Lewis Hamilton has been disqualified from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after the world champion and his team were judged to have provided 'misleading' evidence during a post-race stewards' hearing.

The British driver had finished fourth on the road, but was moved up a position when original third place finisher Jarno Trulli was handed a 25-second penalty for having overtaking Hamilton behind the safety car.

However, following the discovery of new evidence, believed to be radio transmissions from the Toyota and McLaren teams, the race stewards convened a fresh hearing in Malaysia to discuss the matter.

It is believed the radio transmissions contradicted the original statements presented to the stewards by Hamilton and McLaren.

A statement issued by the stewards said: "The Stewards consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards."

Further to the Hamilton decision, the race stewards have scrapped the penalty against Trulli and he has now been awarded third place for the Australian Grand Prix.

Australia Grand Prix : Button reborn as Brawn flex muscles

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Just before the start of yesterday's Australian Grand Prix, as Sir Richard Branson gazed skyward, a Boeing 747 flew a demonstration run over Melbourne's Albert Park. It was a Qantas plane rather than a Virgin, but that was the last time that afternoon that anything rained on the Brawn team sponsor's parade.

Just over 90 minutes later, after a spectacular season opener, they were celebrating a one-two victory for Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello that confirmed all the fears rivals had harboured about their pace ever since the cars began testing at the beginning of the month.

Button's second grand prix triumph – the 200th for a British driver – came the hard way as he had to fight out front in the lead all the way while withstanding pressure from Germany's Sebastien Vettel in a Red Bull and, late on, the increasing threat of Poland's Robert Kubica in a BMW Sauber.

"It's not just for me but for the whole team, a fairy-tale ending really to the first race of our career together, and I hope we can continue this way," Button said, his words almost distorted by the ear-to-ear grin of a man who, three months ago, appeared to have no future as Honda withdrew their team from Formula One. "We are going to fight every way we can to keep this car competitive and at the front. This has got to continue and this is where we want to be. Bring on Malaysia!"

It was fighting talk to back up a fighting drive in a race of two halves. Button led away from pole as the car of his team-mate, Barrichello, was bogged down when its anti-stall device activated. The Brazilian was quickly engulfed and became embroiled in a first-corner encounter with Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber, Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen. As Button streaked away from Vettel, the fast-starting Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, Kubica, Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, and Nico Rosberg's Williams, Barrichello faced a recovery drive in a car he initially thought had been too badly damaged to continue.

The face of the race changed on lap 19 when Rosberg's team-mate, Kazuki Nakajima, crashed his Williams heavily, bringing out the safety car until the end of the 24th lap. Button had to watch a 47.7 second lead slashed to nothing – some felt that the safety car stayed out an unnecessarily long time, perhaps to spice things up – and then began to struggle to generate heat in his tyres. But he got his head down and pulled away from Vettel again.

Meanwhile, the fancied Ferraris were fading as they ate their tyres, and Lewis Hamilton was working his way back up the order after some fantastic opening laps prior to his first pit stop.

Crucially, Kubica had used his softer compound tyres in his first stint; Button and Vettel had opted to use theirs in their last. They were not as durable as the harder tyres that teams must also use at some stage in the race. Now things were coming Kubica's way, as he pushed his BMW Sauber ever closer to Vettel. By lap 55 the German was in all sorts of trouble with grip, and Kubica drew alongside in Turn Three. In what seemed a typical racing accident, for which Vettel later admitted liability, they hooked up and collided.

Each got going again, only to have separate crashes further down the road in their damaged cars. Out came the safety car for the second time. Kubica was out, Vettel tried to carry on before yielding to the inevitable.

Incredibly, that mêlée promoted Barrichello back to second place, despite his first-lap incident and a later touch with Raikkonen which damaged his front wing. It was changed during his first pit stop on the 18th lap, but damage elsewhere had taken away his car's edge. As the race finished under the safety car, he said that he had never expected a one-two after all his dramas.

Jarno Trulli had started from the pit lane after a rear wing infringement the previous day had seen both Toyotas relegated to the back of the grid. He hauled through to take the final podium, until the stewards ruled he had passed Hamilton under that final safety car and dropped him to 12th. Thus, after a very determined run, Hamilton took a hugely valuable third place ahead of Timo Glock, Fernando Alonso and Rosberg.

While Button and Ross Brawn might have expected to win, this was a tremendous fillip for McLaren. "We scored way more points than we could have realistically expected," Hamilton said. "I was looking to try and get one point, so to get six is a great achievement. We've definitely not forgotten how to win: our strategy was perfect and the team did a fantastic job. Considering the package we've got, I wrung every last ounce of pace out of the car, drove one of my best ever races and absolutely raced my heart out – I'm so satisfied. Also, my heartfelt congratulations to Jenson – he's driven brilliantly all weekend and both he and his team really deserve this success." Indeed they did.

"It always looks easier than it is," Button beamed after the fairy tale. "The first few laps were great, and I settled into my pace. Then I struggled massively to heat my tyres after the first safety car, and flat-spotted the left front really badly. So after that I was struggling with vibrations and, towards the end, with bad light.

"Then I made a mistake in my second pit stop. I was in the wrong gear because I was confused with Massa in front of me. I overshot the box and they couldn't get the fuel hose on. It was not my best race I have to say, but I won so I'm chuffed to bits.

"This win is for me and the team, that's what I care about. I don't need to poke anyone in the eye about what they've said about me – there've been many positive comments in the past. I'm just happy to be here. I've worked bloody hard to be here."

Button, Brawn GP take Pole in Qualifying

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 19:16:00 +0000

The 2009 Formula One season began in Melbourne on Saturday, 28 March with Qualifying throwing up some strange results.

The lack of tyre warmers and the new slicks seemed to put everyone off their marks with almost every team taking almost three laps to get the tyres up to temperature and still going wide in turns and looking shaky in straights.

The KERS technology made its debut but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. The controversial Diffusers did not play as large a part as it was suggested before the session.

Here is a team-by-team analysis of the Australian GP Qualifying Session.

Brawn GP confirmed all pre-race predictions by taking the Australian GP Qualifying Session by storm with a P1 for Jensen Button (1:26.202) and Rubens Barrichello (1:25.505) in P2.

An exhilarated Barrichello later declared that he felt a thank you was in order for everyone who ever touched or worked on the new car, since it was “fantastic!” The sentiments were echoed by Jensen Button.

The new car, which was actually developed by Honda in 2008, the addition of a Mercedes engine and Ross Brawn's takeover has only increased the ‘muscle’ in Brawn GP.

Wunderkind Sebastian Vettel’s transfer to Red Bull Racing paid dividends as he grabbed P3 with a time of 1:26.830, dispelling the bad memories of Friday testing. But his team-mate Mark Webber finished in P10 with 1:27.246.

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica (1:26.914) grabbed P4 for the race. He seemed poised to take P3 but lost it to Vettel in the last second. Ironically, Kubica did not use the new KERS technology because he was too tall and too heavy for the unit to be fitted in his car while his team-mate Nick Heidfeld (1:25.504) did use KERS and did not even break into Q3, finishing his session in Q2 and in P11 for the race.

Team Williams’ Nico Rosberg (1:26.973) began the session on a positive note, occasionally being in P1 and P3 but was eventually edged out to P5 for the race. This was the only light for the team, since team-mate Kazuki Nakijima (1:25.607) dropped out in Q1 itself, being placed P13.

Toyota's Timo Glock (1:26.975) came in at P6 and his team-mate Jarno Trulli (1:27.127) is placed at P8. Toyota was perhaps the only car on the track today to perform consistently. They held roughly the same scoring positions as the 2008 season.

P7 saw the first Ferrari on the grid with Felipe Massa (1:27.033) continuing to outperform team-mate Kimi Raikkonen (1:27.127) who ended up in P9. The signs are worrying for Ferrari and much work needs to be done on the F60.

Fernando Alonso (1:25.605) in his Renault got P12 for the race and his team-mate Nelsinho Piquet Jr had been placed at P17. The car can be blamed for Alonso’s flat performance as Red Bulls, who use a Renault engine but have fielded a better car, placed been higher on the grid.

In the dark mirror of Brawn GP, the worst fears and predictions regarding the new McLaren car became starkly evident when both drivers – defending Champion Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen - struggled to even cross Q1. Kovalainen pulled through to Q2 with a margin to be placed P14 but Hamilton barely scraped through at P15.

Hamilton did not appear on the track again. The car was later seen bereft of driver and wheels leading to speculation about if McLaren had simply decided to spare unnecessary wear-and-tear on the engine by attempting a better time. A mechanical problem was later cited as the reason and Hamilton will begin the race in P15 with a time of 1:26.454. Kovalainen, with a time of 1:25.726, had to drop out from Q3.

Toro Rosso’s debutant driver Sebastian Buemi (1:26.503) made an even start to his season with a quiet P16. The team must be rethinking their decision to retain Sebastien Bourdais (1:26.964) who was out in Q1 at P20.

Team Force India has declared that their aim this season is to score points. To do so, they will have to do better than today. Giancarlo Fisichella (1:26.677) led the team with a P18 and was followed by Adrian Sutil (1:26.742) in P19.

Underdogs to the recue

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Success-starved Williams, Toyota and Formula One newcomers Brawn signalled they could be ready for breakthrough wins by dominating practice on Friday ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The presence of the three teams atop the time sheets will infuriate their rivals, some of whom are convinced their bodywork is illegal. Williams, Toyota and Brawn showed impressive pace, aided by the additional downforce created by their rear diffusers which rival teams claim are too large and infringe new aerodynamics rules. The three teams are racing under appeal this weekend, with other teams set to challenge the legality of their cars following next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Williams’ Nico Rosberg was quickest in both the opening and second sessions, posting a best of 1 minute, 26.053 seconds in the second session. Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello was second fastest in the second session with 1:26.157, ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli on 1:26.350.

Trulli was among the drivers complaining of low tyre grip. “I am still not completely happy with the car balance and, even though when you look at the timing sheets things look pretty good for us, the car isn’t completely comfortable to drive,” Trulli said.

Williams, seven-time winners of the drivers’ championship and nine-time constructors’ champions, have not won a race since the final event of the 2004 season at Brazil—a run of 72 races without victory. Toyota are yet to win a race since entering F1 in 2002, while Brawn took over the former Honda team after the Japanese carmaker pulled out following the 2008 season.

Australia’s Mark Webber steered his Red Bull to a fourth quickest time in the second session after a reliability issue in the opening stint. Brawn’s Jenson Button was sixth in session two, ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock, Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Red Bull’s Sebastien Vettel.

Let the Magik Begin !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:45:00 +0000

It’s a new year and a new season….Welcome to Formula 1 Grand Prix 2009.
Ahhh…..the long days of waiting are over. Hardcore is back and what better way to start the season by introducing a host of changes for the 2009 F1 Grand Prix
Below mentioned would be a bit technical to some of you….but what the Heck…go through it…If you don’t get it, gear up for 27th March 2009 when the first race begins in Australia.

A good number of changes to both the Sporting and Technical Regulations have been introduced by the FIA for the 2009 Formula 1 season. In the case of the Sporting Regulations, the primary aims are increased reliability and further cost reductions (you hear this term everywhere….cost cutting, retrenchment, recession…n the list goes on & on & on ).
In the case of the technical changes, there are three main objectives - reducing the role of aerodynamics in the cars’ performance; Making overtaking easier; And keeping lap times in check.

Tyres
After 10 seasons on grooved tyres, Formula 1 racing returns to slicks in 2009, as part of moves to increase the emphasis on mechanical rather than aerodynamic grip. With no grooves, grip will increase by around 20 percent, bringing a significant performance gain. However, that gain will be offset by the vastly reduced down force levels of the revised aerodynamic regulations. The overall effect should be reduced performance through high speed corners.

Drivers will still have the choice of two dry tire compounds and will still have to use both compounds during a race. As before, suppliers Bridgestone will select the two compounds for each race from their four compound range super soft, soft, medium and hard. However, unlike in 2008, they will not select two consecutive compounds, so the difference between ‘harder’ and ‘softer’ at any given race will be far greater. A green band on the sidewall will distinguish the softer compound.

Standard wet weather tyres will now officially be known as 'intermediates', and extreme wet weather tyres will be referred to simply as 'wets'. The latter will feature a green central groove.

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS)
From 2009 teams have the option of employing a KERS to boost their car’s performance. As its name implies, a KERS recovers the (normally wasted) kinetic energy generated by the car’s braking process. This energy is stored using a mechanical flywheel or an electrical battery and then made available to the driver, in set amounts per lap, via a ‘boost button’ on the steering wheel. Under the current regulations the power gain equates to around 80 horsepower, available for just less than seven seconds per lap. This could be worth several tenths of a second in terms of lap time, but the weight and packaging of the system and its impact on the car’s weight distribution also have to be taken into account. ( So that means I can see Kimi back on the top of the Grid….Ferrari 1-2 in every qualifying is more of a reality now )

Engines
In a move designed to boost reliability still further, rev limits will be cut from 19,000 to 18,000 rpm. Drivers will be limited to eight engines per season, with each team allowed an additional four engines for testing. Once a driver has used up his eight engine allocation, any engine change will incur a 10 place grid penalty (or a move to the back of the grid if made after qualifying) for the event at which the change is made. Just one team Renault has been allowed to make performance modifications to their engine for 2009 in order to help equalize power outputs.

Aerodynamics
Along with slick tyres, this is the biggest area of change for 2009. Down force will be dramatically reduced and the cars ’ bodywork will appear much cleaner, thanks to new dimensional regulations that effectively outlaw extraneous items such as barge boards, winglets, turning vanes and chimneys on most areas of the car.

As well as reducing overall aero performance, the revisions are also designed to increase overtaking by making the car less susceptible to turbulence when closely following another driver. The most obvious changes are to the front and rear wings.

The front wing becomes lower (75mm from 150mm) and wider (up from 1400 to 1800mm the same width as the car) with driver adjustable flaps. Drivers will be allowed to make two wing adjustments per lap, altering the wing angle over a six degree range.

The rear wing becomes taller (up 150mm to bring it level with the top of the engine cover) and narrower (750mm from 1000mm).

Also at the back of the car, the diffuser has been moved rearwards, its leading edge now level with (rather than ahead of) the rear wheel axle line. In addition, the diffuser has been made longer and higher, all changes that will reduce its ability to generate down force.

Testing
From 2009 onwards testing is not allowed during the race season (from the week prior to the first Grand Prix until December 31) and is limited to 15,000 kilometers.

Safety car
The pit lane will now remain open throughout any safety car period, allowing drivers to refuel without penalty. However, to ensure that drivers are not tempted to speed back to the pit lane, a new software system which employs GPS and the cars’ standard ECU has been introduced. When the safety car is deployed, each driver is given a minimum ‘back to pit’ time based on his position on track. If he arrives in the pit lane before that time he will be penalized.

Prerace weights
After qualifying, the FIA will publish the weight at which all cars are expected to start the race, giving spectators an accurate gauge of what fuel load each driver is carrying.

Timings (IST)
Friday Practice 1: 7-8.30 AM
Practice2: 11– 12.30 PM

Saturday Practice: 8.30-9.30 AM
Qualifying: 11.30 Am

Sunday Race day: 10.30 AM

Belgium 2008 : Cutting corner proves costly for Hamilton

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:27:00 +0000

Lewis Hamilton was sensationally stripped of his Belgian Grand Prix victory on Sunday as the race for the 2008 world championship was thrown wide open.

The British McLaren driver was penalised 25 seconds by the race stewards, which pushed him down to third place, for having cut a chicane in his dramatic, late tussle with world champion Kimi Raikkonen on the rain-soaked Spa track. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was promoted to race winner with Nick Heidfeld, of BMW Sauber, promoted to second place. Massa had originally finished 14sec behind Hamilton, who thought he had claimed a fifth win of the season, with Heidfeld 23sec off the pace. The decision left 23-year-old Hamilton with just a twopoint lead over Massa in the championship with only five races left.

Raikkonen had taken the lead at the start of the second lap when Hamilton spun at the La Source hairpin, but after controlling the race he lost his lead and his title challenge when he crashed out in heavy rain in the closing laps. “It was an experience and a half,” said Hamilton before the penalty was announced. “I could see Kimi ahead and after the second stop he was so far ahead, I didn’t know he had made a gap. I was pushing, pushing, pushing, I was catching him onetenth a lap. I was praying for rain, I wanted the rain to come, I knew how to deal with it and the heavens opened. I saw Kimi about to back off, brake a lot earlier than he did, into Turn 8 and I knew the fight was on. “When I went into Turn 12 I was going reasonably wide, it looked like Nico Rosberg had done a spin and came back onto the track and I nearly crashed into him. I went over the grass, Kimi spun at the exit and I got it. It was incredibly tough.”

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain came home fourth for Renault ahead of German Sebastian Vettel in a Toro Rosso and sixth-placed Pole Robert Kubica in the second BMW. With six laps remaining of the race, the first rain drops began to fall and produced the conditions that created the amazing final few laps when Hamilton regained the lead.

On lap 42, he caught Raikkonen and passed him. As the rain became heavier with three laps remaining the race was turned into a lottery as both drivers spun and soon after Raikkonen crashed off into a wall and out of the race.
In another late development, Timo Glock of Toyota was demoted a place to ninth, with Mark Webber of Red Bull promoted to eighth, following a 25sec penalty for not taking notice of yellow flags.

Belgian F1 2008 - Qualifying : Hamilton on pole in Spa

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:00:00 +0000

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton oozed confidence after he secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix with a dazzling lap in Saturday’s qualifying session.

The 23-year-old Briton, in a McLaren, claimed his fifth pole of this season and the 11th of his career with a perfectlytimed lap to outpace Ferrari’s Felipe Massa

Hamilton’s supreme lap lifted him clear of Massa by three-tenths of a second and proved he is fully recovered from his sore neck suffered in Spain two weeks ago.

Finland’s Heikki Kovlainen in the second McLaren was third fastest and starts ahead of defending champion and compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari on row two. German Nick Heidfeld was fifth for BMW Sauber ahead of Spaniard Fernando Alonso in a Renault.

Australian Mark Webber was seventh for Red Bull ahead of Poland's Robert Kubica in the second BMW, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in a Toro Rosso and Sebastian Vettel of Germany in the second Toro Rosso. Hamilton leads Massa by six points going into the penultimate European race of the year and oozed confidence.

After a morning of heavy rain, the afternoon session was run in dry, if cloudy conditions and Hamilton was swiftly out to top the times after Massa and then Raikkonen had laid down good marker laps.

In the final minute, and as the flag fell, both Massa and Hamilton were pushing as hard as possible and the Brazilian went top briefly before the leader took over again to get the prime grid position.

German Adrian Sutil and his Force India team-mate, Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella, were also removed along with the Japanese Kazuki Nakajima in a Williams.

Europe 2008 : It’s Massa all the way

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa revived his title challenge on Sunday with a convincing victory in the European Grand Prix at Formula One’s newest street circuit.

The 27-year-old Brazilian led a processional race from pole position to beat McLaren’s championship leading Briton Lewis Hamilton by 5.6 seconds with Poland’s Robert Kubica third for BMW Sauber.

The result remained subject to a post-race stewards’ enquiry, however, after Ferrari released the race winner into the path of Force India’s Adrian Sutil during his second pitstop. Massa’s win lifted him up to second in the drivers championship with 64 points, six fewer than Hamilton on 70, with six of the 18 rounds remaining.

It was Massa’s fourth win this season and helped him wipe away the disappointment of his enforced retirement, while leading with three laps remaining, from the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago. It was also the ninth win of the Brazilian’s career, achieved in exemplary fashion, and ended McLaren’s run of three victories in a row.

Massa’s Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was involved in a nightmare pitstop, with the world champion accelerating away with the fuel hose still attached in an incident that left a mechanic on the ground.

The Finn, who had started the day second overall in the championship, retired two laps later when his car's engine blew. He fell to third overall with 57 points while Kubica moved closer on 55.

Force India’s Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella finished 14th while teammate Adrian Sutil crashed out.

Kimi runs over team mechanic

A Ferrari mechanic was hospitalised after being run over by Kimi Raikkonen during refuelling on Sunday. Raikkonen was refuelling for the second time at the same time as McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. Under pressure, the world champion took off while the fuel pump was still in his car. He reversed and apparently ran over the leg of the Ferrari mechanic, who was quickly stretched off. The Italian team has not yet revealed details of the mechanic’s condition.

HOW THEY FINISHED
1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1h 35m 32.339
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) +00:05.611
3. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 00:37.353
4. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 00:39.703
5. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 00:50.684
6. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 00:52.625
7. Timo Glock (Toyota) 01:07.990
8. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 01:11.457
9. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 01:22.177
10. S Bourdais (Toro Rosso) 01:29.794
11. Nelson Piquet (Renault) 01:32.717
12. Mark Webber (RedBull) 1 lap
13. Jenson Button (Honda) 1 lap
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 1 lap
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) 1 lap
16. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 1 lap
17. David Coulthard (RedBull) 1 lap

Retired:
Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 12 laps
Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 16 laps
Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 57 laps

Fastest Lap:
Felipe Massa, 1:38.708, lap 36

HOW THEY STAND
Drivers
1. L Hamilton 70 pts
2. F Massa 64
3. K Raikkonen 57
4. R Kubica 55
5. H Kovalainen 43
6. N Heidfeld 41
7. J Trulli 26
8. F Alonso 18
9. M Webber 18
10. T Glock 15

Constructors
1. Ferrari 121 points
2. McLaren 113
3. BMW Sauber 96
4. Toyota 41
5. Renault 31

European F1 2008 - Qualifying : Pole No. 13 for Massa

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Brazilian Felipe Massa put Ferrari on pole position for Sunday’s European Grand Prix with McLaren’s championship leader Lewis Hamilton alongside on the front row.

The 27-year-old secured his fourth pole of the season, and the 13th of his Formula One career, with a flying lap in the final seconds of Saturday’s qualifying. Hamilton had already clocked 1:39.199 seconds when Massa roared around Formula One’s newest street circuit with a time of 1:38.989 to push the Briton into second place.

Hungary 2008: HEIKKI ALL THE WAY

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:27:00 +0000

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen celebrated a shock maiden win at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday after Ferrari’s Felipe Massa suffered an engine failure while leading with three laps remaining.

Finn Kovalainen capitalised on Brazilian Massa’s misfortune to finish ahead of podium debutant Toyota’s Timo Glock of Germany with Kimi Raikkonen third.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton stayed top of the championship standings despite a puncture just after the midway stage that saw him finish the race in fifth place behind Renault driver and former teammate Fernando Alonso of Spain. Briton Hamilton now holds a five-point lead over Finland’s Raikkonen in the championship with Massa dropping into third place, a further three points back.

“Of course I feel a bit sorry for Felipe because what happened to him has happened to me a few times this year,” said Kovalainen. “But I’m very happy today, of course, after working through all the hard times along with my team. Massa and Lewis were very fast today but halfway through things were working better for me. I just tried to put pressure on Massa at the end and try to make something happen which it did with what looked like a mechanical failure.”

Massa had looked set to regain the world championship lead after making a stunning start to Sunday’s race. From third on the grid, the Brazilian used the race’s opening turn to surge ahead of his two McLaren rivals before building a comfortable lead.

With overtaking all but impossible on the rest of the twisting Hungaroring track, Massa saw his advantage boosted when Hamilton left the track on the 41st lap before limping into the pit lane with a punctured front left tyre.

Massa then suffered a much more costly problem when his engine died in front of the main grandstand with three laps to go, allowing Kovalainen to wrap up his unexpected win.

Hungarian F1 2008 - Qualifying : Lewis’ POLE Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:27:00 +0000

World championship leader Lewis Hamilton put himself on course for a third successive Grand Prix victory after grabbing an emphatic pole position for Sunday’s Hungarian race.

The Briton powered around the blisteringly hot Hungaroring track in one minute 20.899 seconds, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen posting the second best time of 1:21.140.

“It’s been a pretty decent weekend for us so far and I feel safe with the position we’re in,” Hamilton said.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa had to settle for third place after finishing his last flying lap in 1:21.191. “I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with my laps in Q3,” said Massa, who trails Brit Hamilton by four points in the standings.

Massa’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start in a disappointing sixth place behind BMW-Sauber’s Robert Kubica and Toyota’s Timo Glock.

Twice world champion Fernando Alonso will line up on the fourth row of the grid for Renault after finishing qualifying in seventh place ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Jarno Trulli ensured that both Toyotas qualified in the top 10, finishing the final session in ninth place just in front of Nelson Piquet.

BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld, who was a surprise casualty of the first qualifying session, will start Sunday’s race in 16th place ahead of Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, with Force India pair German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella bringing up the rear.

STARTING GRID
1st :Lewis Hamilton (McLaren),Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
2nd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
3rd: Timo Glock (Toyota), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
4th: Fernando Alonso (Renault), Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5th: Jarno Trulli (Toyota) Nelson Piquet (Renault)
6th: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (Honda)
7th: David Coulthard (Red Bull), Nico Rosberg (Williams)
8th: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)
9th: Rubens Barrichello (Honda), Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India)
10th: Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India).

Germany 2008: LEWIS LEADS ’EM ALL

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Briton Lewis Hamilton delivered another massive endorsement of his great potential Sunday when he opened a clear lead in this year’s drivers’ championship by winning the German Grand Prix in thrilling style.

The 23-year-old Englishman, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, dominated the early stages and then, after being upset by two Safety Car interventions and some cautious team strategy, proved he could overtake anyone with a dazzling display of passing moves in the final laps. “Sorry about that,’’ said his McLaren team chief Ron Dennis over the radio system later. “We made it much more difficult for you and we made you drive like that in such a great car.’’ Hamilton, smiling afterwards, said: “That’s ok, Ron. Don’t worry about it. We did good in the end, so it is ok.’’

In blistering style, Hamilton had to pass a clutch of drivers in the closing laps to make up for time lost in the pits when he made an out-of-synch late stop. But he showed his true speed and brilliance by overtaking both Brazilian Felipe Massa in a Ferrari and then his compatriot Nelson Piquet in a Renault to regain the lead. Hamilton took the chequered flag 5.5 seconds ahead of Piquet who claimed the first podium of his career while Massa was third. Hamilton now leads the standings with 58 points from Massa, on 54, whose Ferrari team-mate, defending drivers world champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen, is seven points adrift after finishing a disappointing sixth.

Hamilton had dominated the first half of the race after powering away from the ninth pole position of his career.

The Geneva-based driver had built-up a lead of around 12 seconds by lap 36 when German Timo Glock crashed out in his Toyota. Glock lost control of his car at the last corner when the right rear tyre suddenly deflated sending him spearing into the wall. The German, 26, slid backwards down the home straight before his wrecked car finally came to a stop. Glock was clearly dazed after he got out of the Toyota and was later taken to the medical centre and then a local hospital for a check-up, although his conditions was described as ‘fine’.

Hamilton was kept out on the track as all his main rivals made their final pit-stops under the safety car. The Mercedes-powered driver dropped to fifth when he was forced to make his final pit-stop, but soon passed Kovalainen for third spot. Hamilton then hunted down Massa overtaking his rival on lap 57 as he forced him wide at the chicane to take second with Nick Heidfeld having pitted for BMW.

Massa attempted to fight back a couple of corners later, but was again forced into the dirt. Hamilton made the same move on Piquet at the hairpin turn three laps later to regain a deserved lead.

German F1 2008 - Qualifying : Lewis in top gear at Hockenheim practice

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton put McLaren on pole position for engine partners Mercedes’ home German Grand Prix yesterday. The 23-year-old Briton will share today’s front row with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, the Brazilian who is level on 48 points with Hamilton and his own world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen at the halfway point in the season.

Raikkonen, on pole at Hockenheim for McLaren in 2005 and 2006, qualified a distant sixth for Ferrari alongside Renault’s Fernando Alonso. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen will start third, paying the price for some ‘rallycross moments’ in the final session, with Italian Jarno Trulli fourth for Toyota in what amounts to a second home race for the Cologne-based Japanese team.

The pole was Hamilton’s third of the season and ninth in 27 Formula One starts. “My lap was pretty smooth, you know, it was pretty easy going and I’m quite comfortable that we could have gone a little bit quicker if we needed to,” said Hamilton, the runaway winner in Britain two weeks ago.

The changing conditions and swirling wind, with the car buffeted by gusts down the back straight, made life difficult but Hamilton kept it all together to secure his first pole since June.

“I think I just collected all the little pieces that were missing,” he said when asked whether he felt the season had begun to swing his way since the pre-British Grand Prix Silverstone test. “At the test we’ve made a step forward with the car and that’s definitely made us more competitive. I think we’ve improved all round.”

Massa shrugged off his dire Silverstone performance in the wet. “It’s not really a recovery, I know I’m quick,” he said.

“All my career I was quick on the wet, even in go-karts always when it rained I won.” REUTERS

GERMAN GP GRID
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari
3. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren
4. Jarno Trulli Toyota
5. Fernando Alonso Renault
6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
7. Robert Kubica BMW
8. Mark Webber Red Bull
.
.
.
19. Adrian Sutil Force India
20. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India

Britain 2008: Hamilton wins British Grand Prix

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:35:00 +0000

A MESMERISING drive in the wet at Silverstone saw Lewis Hamilton cruise to a stunning British Grand Prix victory, to the delight of the 90,000-strong crowd.The McLaren driver drove a masterful race, in changeable conditions, with his team making all the right tactical decisions, as Ferrari had a day they would rather forget.

The win means Hamilton's World Chamiponship hopes are now back on track, and sees him in a three-way tie at the top of the drivers' championship with Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikonnen and Felipe Massa.

Nick Heidfeld took second for BMW, with Brackley-based Honda celebrating an excellent third place for Rubens Barrichello. Honda's Jenson Button - one of many drivers who spun off the slippery track - had to retire, but Barrichello used all his experience to drive well in the wet as Honda got their tyre choices spot on. Barrichello would have taken second place if not for a late problem with the refuelling rig.

Hamilton's victory in the rain saw him give a masterclass in skillful driving, making up two places at the first corner from his start at fourth on the grid and taking the lead from team-mate Heiki Kovaleinen on the fifth lap.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen began to challenge, but when the pair came in for their first pit stop on lap 21, McLaren made the crucial decision to replace Hamilton's intermediate wet-weather tyres, while Ferrari deciding wrongly that the weather would remain dry, left Rakonnen's used ones on. The rain came down shortly afterwards and Raikkonen could not get the grip he needed.

Hamilton still had a huge job to do, but drove the best race of his Formula One career, keeping his head in extremely tough conditions, and finishing over a minute ahead of Heidfeld.

Massa had his worst race of the season, spinning five times on his way to a position as last of the finishers.

British Grand Prix Results
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber +68.5 secs
3 Rubens Barrichello Honda +82.2 secs
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +1 Lap
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes +1 Lap
6 Fernando Alonso Renault +1 Lap
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota +1 Lap 14 2
8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota +1 Lap
9 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota +1 Lap
10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +1 Lap
11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari +1 Lap
12 Timo Glock Toyota +1 Lap
13 Felipe Massa Ferrari +2 Lap
Ret Robert Kubica BMW Sauber +21 Laps
Ret Jenson Button Honda +22 Laps
Ret Nelsinho Piquet Renault +25 Laps
Ret Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari +34 Laps
Ret Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari +50 Laps
Ret Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari + secs
Ret David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault + secs

Britain F1 2008 - Qualifying : Maiden pole for Kovalainen

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:52:00 +0000

MCLAREN have claimed pole position for Sunday's Santander F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, but it was Heikki Kovalainen, not Lewis Hamilton who took the honours, with a stunning winning lap in Saturday qualifying.

The Finn, who looked faster than his team-mate throughout practice and qualifying sessions, had to battle against spitting rain and high winds which affected the cars on the exposed circuit during the first part of final qualifying on Saturday afternoon, but secured his first ever pole with a time of one minute 21.049.

Hamilton's car was blown into an oversteer which put him on the gravel at Priory on his first lap in Q3, but his second run put him into second, until Mark Webber snatched a surprise second-place for the Milton Keynes-based Red Bull team, and Kimi Raikkonen, for Ferrari, knocked Hamilton down to fourth spot.

BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fifth ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso.

World championship leader Felipe Massa, for Ferrari, will be desperately disappointed with ninth place, behind Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Brackley-based Honda endured another dismal qualifying showing, Jenson Button failing to advance to Q2 at his home GP for the third successive year and managing only 17th on the grid, one spot behind team-mate Rubens Barrichello. Silverstone-based Force India-Ferrari also failed to make it through Q1.

There was much discussion trackside on what fuel loads the teams were running, as there was a relatively big difference in times between the top few drivers. Sunday's race is expected to be wet, and carrying more fuel into a rain-affected grand prix can be a good strategy.

Silverstone Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren one minute 21.049 seconds
2. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull-Renault 1:21.554
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21.706
4. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:21.835
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.873
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:22.029
7. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:22.491
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.251
9. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:23.305
10. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber no time
11. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull-Renault 1:20.174
12. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.274
13. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.531
14. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.601
15. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:21.112
16. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:21.512
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.631
18. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:21.668
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786
20. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885

Britain F1 GP 2008 - Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:32:00 +0000

IT was even stevens for McLaren and Ferrari after Friday's two practice sessions at Silverstone, ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix.Felipe Massa for Ferrari clocked up the fastest time in the morning session - despite missing the final 30 minutes of the session after crashing at Stowe corner at 180mph when his car hit oil – while McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was fastest in the afternoon.

Kovalainen's team-mate, top British hope Lewis Hamilton, was third in both sessions.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the morning, but struggled in the afternoon, only managing the 12th fastest time.

Brackley-based Honda will be pleased with British driver Jenson's button second practice time, which put him in seventh spot, 10 places higher than his morning session performance. Silverstone-based Force India-Ferrari again struggled to keep pace with the bigger teams.

British Grand Prix Friday practice (morning session):
1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1mins 19.575secs
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.587
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.623
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:19.948
5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:20.367
6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:20.436
7. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.588
8. Nelson Piquet (Bral) Renault 1:20.653
9. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.698
10. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:20.744
11. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.892
12. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.102
13. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.107
14. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.166
15. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:21.265
16. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:21.282
17. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:21.901
18. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:22.169
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:22.219
20. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:24.123

British Grand Prix Friday practice (afternoon session):
1. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1min 19.989secs
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.520
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.543
4. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault 1:20.589
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:20.748
6. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.805
7. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:20.929
8. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:20.943
9. Kazuki Nakajima (Jap) Williams-Toyota 1:20.985
10. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:21.002
11. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.023
12. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:21.275
13. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.453
14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.472
15. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:21.511
16. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.520
17. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.634
18. Nelson Piquet (Bra) Renault 1:21.642
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 1:21.756
20. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:22.196

France 2008 : AFTER POLE, IT’S PODIUM FOR FERRARI

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won Formula One’s French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours today to head the drivers’ championship standings for the first time this season.

The Brazilian finished the 70-lap race 18 seconds clear of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion, who lost the race lead after his exhaust broke. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli was third after holding off the challenge of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen. BMW’s Robert Kubica, who started as the leader in the standings, was fifth. Red Bull's Mark Webber, in sixth, and Renault duo Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso were today’s other points scorers.

Massa, after his third win this season, tops the standings on 48 points, 2 ahead of Kubica. Raikkonen is third on 43, and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who failed to score a point, drops to fourth on 38 after a second straight disappointing race.
“That was fantastic, I didn’t expect that,” Massa told the post-race news conference. “Today I had a lot of luck with Kimi having his exhaust
problem, but fortunately for the team he could finish, so this was a good present for me.”

Hamilton was penalized 10 places on the grid after his pit-lane crash in Montreal two weeks ago and started in 13th. There was another setback for the Briton today when he incurred a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner in overtaking the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel at a chicane early in the race. The punishment hit his chances of finishing in the points and he came 10th.

Raikkonen and Massa filled the first two places on the grid after dominating in qualifying, and proceeded to take charge in the race.

Raikkonen led in the early stages as the pair pulled clear of the field, and Massa took over in mid-race when Raikkonen — winner of the event last year — had the exhaust problem. Even so, he managed to get the car to the finish line.
“I had a good car all weekend, was easily on the pole, but then I have a problem with the car,” Raikkonen said. “I almost stopped a few times at the end. I’ve still taken eight points and I am in a more comfortable position in the championship,” he added.

France F1 2008 - Qualifying : POLE NO 200 FOR THE REDS

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:24:00 +0000

World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in a front row sweep for the Italian team at the French Grand Prix on Saturday.

His Brazilian teammate, Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team’s third one-two in qualifying this season. The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen’s GP career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th. His demotion left Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso sharing the second row with Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota.

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen moved up to fifth. Kubica leads Hamilton and Massa by four points in the championship with Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven races. ‘‘It’s the best possible chance to win the race from the first place and the car has been good all weekend, so hopefully we will get some good points here,’’ said Raikkonen. ‘‘It’s going to be a long race. I'm pretty sure we have a good race car but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen.’’ Raikkonen failed to finish in Canada after the pit lane collision and drew a blank in Monaco after running into the back of Adrian Sutil’s Force India while in fifth place. But he has never failed to finish in France.

France F1 GP 2008 - Testing : Massa makes Ferrari fly

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:28:00 +0000

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa set the pace in free practice for the French Grand Prix on Friday with a time inside the circuit’s race lap record.

The Brazilian, who started on pole position at Magny-Cours last year but has yet to win in France, lapped fastest in the morning with a time of one minute 15.306 seconds.

Renault’s double world champion Fernando Alonso, preparing for the car company’s home race on Sunday, topped the timesheets in the afternoon with a lap of 1:15.778. Massa was second, a mere 0.076 slower.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who will be penalised 10 places on the starting grid after a pit lane collision with world champion Kimi Raikkonen’s stationary Ferrari in Canada, was second and fourth in the two sessions.

Massa’s best time compared to his 2007 pole of 1:15.034 and retired Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher’s 2004 race lap record of 1:15.377.

BMW Sauber’s championship leader Robert Kubica, winner in Canada, was fifth quickest in the morning and sixth after lunch. The Pole leads Hamilton and Massa, who have both won twice this season, by four points with world champion Raikkonen a further three adrift after seven rounds of the 18-race championship.

However, Kubica could struggle to match the pace of the Ferraris this weekend. The Italian team have won for the past two seasons at Magny-Cours and seven times in the last 11 years. Raikkonen led Massa in a one-two finish in 2007. Alonso, who has scored just nine points this season with Renault struggling to match the pace of the top three teams, had pulled over with two minutes remaining of the morning session with smoke billowing from the engine. The Spaniard was still sixth fastest however.

Canada 2008: Petronas wins Montreal F1

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:42:00 +0000

Robert Kubica made a triumphant return to Canada on Sunday, storming to his maiden grand prix victory exactly a year after suffering a horrific crash on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Pole led a shock BMW Sauber one-two in Montreal after pre-race favourite Lewis Hamilton took himself and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen out of the fray in an early pit lane collision.

Nick Heidfeld took second place and Red Bull's David Coulthard was third but the day belonged to Kubica, now four points clear at the top of the world championship.

"It is fantastic to win for BMW Sauber," he said. "We grew up together and thanks to the team for providing a good car - we managed to do first and second.

"Winning in Canada where I had big shunt last season and achieving the goal to win a grand prix this season... We have done it and I'm leading the championship, so I hope the team will give me 100 percent support to defend it until last race.

"It's fantastic for me, the team, my country and my fans. It was a great race. It is always chaotic here with the safety car and it is not easy. I have never struggled so much before, I was pushing so hard."

The win was the first by a team other than McLaren and Ferrari since October 2006 and fulfilled the BMW Sauber's pre-season ambition to win their first Formula One race.

Toyota's German Timo Glock took fourth place, the best result of his first full Formula One season and Ferrari driver Felipe Massa did well to claim a highly eventful fifth.

The Brazilian now joins Hamilton in second place in the driver's title race.
Italian Jarno Trulli completed a good day for the Toyota team with sixth place with Honda's Rubens Barrichello and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel filling the other point-scoring positions.

The race started amidst serious concerns over the state of the circuit. Patches of the track surface had crumbled badly during qualifying on Saturday and although running repairs were made overnight, many in the paddock were expecting trouble.
Those concerns translated into a generally cautious attitude amongst the drivers and the start passed without incident.

Nico Rosberg did manage to slip his Williams into fourth place around the outside of Fernando Alonso's Renault at the second corner; but it was a clean getaway for Hamilton's McLaren, Kubica and Raikkonen who started first, second and third respectively.

Raikkonen began to put Kubica under serious pressure, the Finn quickly setting the fastest lap of the race, but Hamilton was moving well clear in front.
His lead was erased though, when the safety car was deployed after German Adrian Sutil's Force India car caught fire.

As the field bunched up, the leaders ducked into the pits to refuel. Raikkonen and Kubica emerged from the garage ahead of Hamilton, but were held up by a red-light at the end of the pit lane.

Inexplicably, Hamilton did not realise that his two rivals were stationary ahead of him and after pulling away from his garage he barrelled into the back of Raikkonen ending his own race and that of the reigning world champion.

"I don't know what happened to be honest," Hamilton said. "I was comfortably in the lead, it was looking like an easy win. Then I went in for the pit stop. It was not a good stop and I saw the two guys in front of me battling in the pit lane.

"I saw the red light but by that time it was a bit late. It was not exactly a racing incident as such, it was unfortunate.

"It was one of those things. It is different to if you crash into the wall and you are angry. It is not like that. I apologise to Kimi for ruining his race."

Rosberg was also caught up in the incident and though he was able to continue after some hasty repairs to his front wing, his chances of a points finish were ruined.
Heidfeld was now leading the grand prix, with Barrichello and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima lying second and third.

Heidfeld, his one-stop strategy working perfectly, soon pitted and could not stay ahead of Kubica who had emerged unscathed from the pit lane chaos. Kubica knew he would need one more fuel stop, so he pushed his BMW to the absolute limit to establish a significant margin between himself and his teammate.

With 22 laps remaining the Pole pitted for the final time, emerging safely in front of Heidfeld.

Scottish veteran Coulthard was now in third place with a mad scramble for points unfolding behind him.

There was no catching Kubica though, and there were scenes of joy in the BMW garage as he crossed the finish line to become the first ever Polish grand prix winner.

Canada F1 GP 2008 - Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:07:00 +0000

Germany's Nico Rosberg was fastest in Saturday's final free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix after late crashes interrupted the session.

With warmer temperatures heating up the track and most of the teams working on their fuel strategies for Sunday's race, the times were slower than Friday. The Williams driver, son of Finland's 1982 world champion Keke, lapped the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in one minute 16.555 seconds., a long way off defending race champion Lewis Hamilton's fast lap of 1:15.732 on the opening day of practice.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen was close behind at 1:16.589 in his Ferrari, followed by current championship leader and last year's Canadian GP winner Lewis Hamilton of McLaren third at 1:16.725, Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari at 1:16.787 and Kazuki Nakajima at 1:16.898 in the second Williams.

It was a messy hour. Renault's Nelson Piquet hit the wall and spun twice. And both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers — Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais — also hit walls as several other drivers bounced off the concrete barriers that line the 12-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The session was halted after Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel crashed into the barrier at the exit of turn nine and his Ferrari-powered car had to be towed away, leaving plenty of debris to be cleared.

The session resumed with just six minutes remaining, the drivers switching to their softer tyres but having little chance to give them a real workout.
The session was again interrupted after the other Toro Rosso driver, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, clipped the wall on turn five and brought out the yellow warning flags preventing any further flying laps.

F1 2008 - Canada Grand Prix Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:53:00 +0000

It’s off to the Canadian Grand Prix and the only stop in North America. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a temporary circuit with a combination of street and track racing. As you see by the track pic, it has long fast straights always leading to heavy breaking where great traction and great acceleration are so important.

Aerodynamics
Not much downforce required at this circuit so a low downforce setup is the package of the day. With a top speed of over 320 km/hr drag is a drivers nightmare, but at the same time, some downforce is required to keep the car just stable enough that when under heavy breaking the car doesn’t get away from the drivers. This means a very twitchy car that can be tricky to handle if not smooth and easy with brakes, throttle and steering.

Brakes
One of the two most demanding tracks on breaks. The other of course is the high speeds of Monza. There are serious demands on the brakes in Montreal which include 4 breaking points from over 300 km/hr and 2 from over 250 km/hr. With this in mind, break wear is the biggest concern to the team and monitoring of them is a high priority throughout the race.

Suspension
The combination of chicanes and slow corners require responsiveness and stability and brake locking is an issue in Montreal. Too much break locking at either the front or the rear of the car is serious time lost.

Engine
When looking at the track map, it doesn’t seem that only 60% of the track is at full throttle, but that is exactly what it is. An over heated engine is not an issue, but the demand on the engine in the longest full throttle section of 14 secs is high. The engine has to be strong to respond to 6 full throttle accelerations separated by the chicanes.

Tires
Green is the word for this circuit by virtue of it being temporary so grip levels on Friday morning will be low, but slowly improve throughout the weekend. Because this circuit is not particularly demanding on tires and the surface is fairly smooth, soft and super soft tires will be used.

Rain can always be an issue in Montreal and the high speed nature of the track poses some risk to the driver if putting a tire off track. We remember Robert Kubica last year with his explosive crash. The walls are close on the street section and many a car have wiped against them exiting corners. I do see that happening more than once this year.

Monaco 2008: Hamilton- The new King of Monaco

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:49:00 +0000

Monaco struck and Raikkonen was the prey or should I say Adrian Sutil. Anyway, Lewis Hamilton was the man of the day winning the race in fine style. Ironically it was an early mistake that set the tone for his win. Just a few laps into the race when rain was pouring down, Lewis got out of shape and brushed the wall. Punctured tire was all the damage, but when in the pits, the crew loaded him with fuel to go late in the race and possibly take advantage of the others taking earlier second stops. It did the trick! Hamilton drove quicker and quicker as the rain finally stopped and the track dried out. He switched to dry tires at just the right time and built a lead over Felipe Massa to almost 39 seconds. He then pitted and of course came out in the lead and went on to win easily.

It didn’t seem that this year’s Monaco Grand Prix would be Hamilton’s to win. Qualifying was good, but not good enough and Ferrari looked bullet proof. Last year a little controversy between him and Alonso sealed Hamilton’s fate to second when he felt he could have won the race. This is what you do with a disappointment, you take it and use it to motivate you next year and Lewis did just that.

I thought he drove a great race from his mistake on in. He was fast, on line, smooth and seemed to have little trouble in the changing conditions. He also stayed out of trouble. Love or hate him, he drove like a champion.

Coulthard once again crashed out. It’s a thing with him these days, he either attracts other cars or smacks a wall like in this race. Lap 8 was his bad break when he lost it in the wet and side swiped the wall. That wasn’t all, Sebastien Bourdais did the same thing right behind Coulthard; into the wall and rear ending Coulthard and finishing him off. Bourdais was also gone in the crash. This is probably Coulthard’s last year and I think the broadcasters box may be a bit safer.
Now the first problem for Raikkonen. He was served a drive through penalty for get this, not having his tires fitted before the 3 minutes mark before the start of the race and drove through the pits on lap 13. Not entirely his fault, but he may have asked for a different set of tires too late and got caught. From there on in, Raikkonen wasn’t up to the task and never recovered.

Nick Heidfeld who qualified like an amateur had battled back from 13th to 5th when an over aggressive Alonso tried what I think was the 2nd most stupid move of the race. At the hairpin, he tried an impossible pass on Heidfeld, the 2 tangled with Alonso t-boning Heidfeld causing substantial damage to his sidepod. Heidfeld continued the race, but the car was so out of shape he ended up lapped not once but twice. This wasn’t the first incident for Alonso, he smacked the wall on lap 8 sending him to the pits for repairs.

I didn’t like the way Alonso drove this race. He was too aggressive for the conditions and overdrove his car. The move on Heidfeld was just plain stupid. The opening to take Heidfeld wasn’t there, but he took it anyway and ruined Heidfeld’s race.

Robert Kubica was one of the drivers of the day. After Hamilton had to pit on lap 8, Massa regained the lead and drove well. That moved Kubica up to 2nd. It wasn’t long before Kubica was pushing Massa. Massa made his one mistake of the day at Ste Devote running wide into the run off area and Kubica took the lead of the race. Kubica drove a perfect race and it showed. No mistakes and it seemed he had a relatively easy time driving Monaco in wet or dry. The lead wasn’t to be though as when both he and Massa pitted, Hamilton who was only 16 seconds behind took over the lead he wouldn’t give up.

On to Raikkonen again, at Ste Devote he went off again and damaged his front wing and had to pit once again for a nose change. Raikkonen wasn’t on in this race and hasn’t been on for a while now. Adrian Sutil, yes Force India’s Adrian Sutil started way back and by the last few laps was running in 5th place. A place gained by loads of attrition and solid driving with no mistakes. His lap times were up there with the leaders and was set for Force India’s first points of the season. That is until coming out of the tunnel, Raikkonen behind him loses control and rear ends Sutil. Raikkonen had exited the tunnel all day long knowing what lay ahead on the track, but this time he lost it. This has to be the number one stupid mistake of the race. Not only did he take himself out of contention (he was able to continue), but he damaged Sutil’s car badly enough he had to retire. After the race Raikkonen did apologize to Sutil, but I’m sorry, this was the most hollow apology I’ve heard in a long time. I’m sorry I hit you but, but, but, but. It was almost like he was justifying his mistake. Not the words of a champion.

Sebastian Vettel was another driver of the day. He drove a mistake free day with steady pace. After not having a good time at all with the new car, Vettel’s day looked doomed before it began, but he drove really well and ended up in 5th.
In the end, my driver of the day has to go to Adrian Sutil. Even though he was a ‘dnf’ due to Raikkonen he was set for a great finish and good points. I was sickened when I saw the crash that took him out. It almost seemed unbelievable that it happened.

Another driver driver of the day has to be Robert Kubica. This guy is set to be a real threat in F1. If not for Hamilton’s mistake early on, he could have won the race.

1 L. Hamilton McLaren 2:00:42.742
2 R. Kubica BMW + 3.064
3 F. Massa Ferrari + 4.811
4 M. Webber Red Bull + 19.295
5 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso + 24.657
6 R. Barrichello Honda + 28.408
7 K. Nakajima Williams + 30.180
8 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 33.191
9 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 33.792
10 F. Alonso Renault + 0 laps
11 J. Button Honda + 0 laps
12 T. Glock Toyota + 0 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota + 0 laps
14 N. Heidfeld BMW + 0 laps

Did not finish
15 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 7 laps
16 N. Rosberg Williams + 17 laps
17 N. Piquet jr. Renault + 31 laps
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 + 40 laps

Monaco F1 2008 - Qualifying : Massa leads Ferrari 1-2 at Monaco qualifying

noreply@blogger.com (Rohit Ranganathan) — Sun, 25 May 2008 04:52:00 +0000

Massa by only a hair on his last flier takes pole and Ferrari locks up the front row with Raikkonen second. I must say Ferrari was on a mission to better their cars for Monaco and finally beat McLaren to pole.

Q1 saw the usual strugglers and maybe reality is starting to set in on Force India. After a dream start to the season and maybe some steady improvement, they’ve tailed off and here will start 19th and 20th.Nelson Piquet is looking more and more out of place in an F1 car. Q1 was just too ragged and unorganized to be competitive and he’s starting a flattering 17th. When will it end for Piquet?

Nick Heidfeld was a surprise to me. Both BMW-Saubers started usually late in Q1 and Heidfeld’s times were not particularly impressive. When Q2 came around he remained in the garage until well into it. Knowing he was struggling, I’m not sure why he didn’t take more laps to ensure he’d get into Q3. The result, grid position 13.

David Coulthard on his last flyer in Q2 smacked the wall, big damage and a trip down the run off road. He made it to Q3, but thats all for him and he starts 10th.
Q3 was a great battle between McLaren and Ferrari. McLaren have always been better than Ferrari by a long shot at Monaco, but not today. Hamilton could not do anything about Ferrari speed and loses out to both Ferraris and starts 3rd.

Hey now, look at Felipe Massa. He’s been the best driver since he bombed in the first 2 races of the season and it is starting to look like he is a serious threat to challenge for the championship. Pole in Monaco is gold and he’s got it.

1. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:15.787
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:15.815
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.839
4. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.165
5. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1:16.171
6. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1:16.548
7. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:16.852
8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 1:17.203
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:17.343
10. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Renault No Time
11. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1:15.907
12. Jenson Button Britain Honda 1:16.101
13. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1:16.455
14. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1:16.479
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Honda 1:16.537
16. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.806
17. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 1:16.933
18. Sebastian Vettel Germany Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.955
19. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Ferrari 1:17.225
20. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Ferrari 1:17.823