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Felipe Massa Malaysia f1 2010 photograph

Richard — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 08:52:26 +0000

A photograph of Felipe Massa working his way through the field in the 2010 Malaysian formula 1 grand prix in 2010.

Sam Michael On Malaysia F1 Practise Sessions

Richard — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:23:41 +0000

Sam Michael, Technical Director

We spent today’s practice sessions working on starts and evaluating a revised diffuser and front brake duct. The
tyres appear to be quite stable again, something we’ve come to expect from Bridgestone. Tonight we’ll be
focussing on extracting more speed out of the FW32 for qualifying. We had a mechanical problem on Nico’s car
in the afternoon session, but the mechanics were able to fix it quickly.

BMW Sauber Malaysia F1 Friday Practise

Richard — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:18:39 +0000

Press release Malaysian GP ? 1st/2nd Free Practice ? Friday, 02.04.2010 Weather: Sunny and dry, 27-32°C air, 30-50°C track It was a trouble free start to the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend for Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa. Besides the usual set-up work and race preparation, the team found time to test the new rear wing system again in both free practice sessions.

Kamui Kobayashi: C29.01 / Ferrari 056 1st Practice: 12th / 1:36.503 min (28 laps) / 2nd Practice: 11th / 1:36.018 min (38 laps) ?The car seems to be better than last week in Melbourne, but obviously we need to keep working hard to find a better pace. For me it is good that I know the track here so well, that makes it easy. While driving the heat isn?t an issue, but if you sit in the car in the garage waiting for the next outing you almost get grilled. In the afternoon session the asphalt was really, really hot when it reached 50 degrees, and this certainly is hard on the tyres. But perhaps it is a useful experience as the qualifying and the race are also in the afternoon.?

Pedro de la Rosa: C29.03 / Ferrari 056 1st Practice: 16th / 1:36.899 min (24 laps) / 2nd Practice: 13th / 1:36.325 min (33 laps) ?It was a really positive Friday as we were able to do a lot of testing and tried different things including our new rear wing system. Balance wise, I am happier with the car now than I was in Australia and I enjoy the high speed corners of the Sepang circuit quite a lot. However, we need to find some more pace.?

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: ?We used both sessions to test different configurations of our new rear wing. We will analyse the data here at the track and in the factory in Hinwil to decide on the next steps. In preparation for the race we did long runs with the option tyres to get an understanding of their behaviour when we have a heavy car and a very high track temperature. Overall it was a productive day without any technical problems. We were able to complete our planned programme

Force India Post Practise Sepang Malasia Grand Prix

Richard — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:15:42 +0000

Hot and humid Sepang was the venue for the opening day of practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend. Teams and drivers sizzled in the searing heat during the two 90 minute sessions, the curtain raiser to the third event of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta were back in action for Force India in FP1, with regular race driver Tonio Liuzzi returning for FP2 as test and reserve driver Paul got more time in the VJM03 as part of his scheduled programme.
The trio ploughed through the standard Friday workload of tyre and set-up evaluation and - in Paul’s case - circuit familiarisation. Adrian was a promising seventh quickest while Paul was 15th in FP1. Tonio returned for the second session, setting the 12th quickest time while Adrian posted the 10th best lap.
Adrian Sutil (car 14)
Today was very much following our normal Friday programme. I had to be a little bit patient as the track was dusty at the beginning of the morning so it was just driving and learning the circuit again. In the afternoon we then went to do a little set-up work. It was difficult with the hot track temperatures we experience here as the tyres overheated very quickly and it was challenging to get it under control. We have a few things to look at set-up wise but we should be fine for tomorrow. We are in the top 10 still, just behind the top four teams. I think it will be an interesting day, probably with some rain thrown in as well!
Tonio Liuzzi (car 15)
Today was a good opening day of practice for the team. I missed the morning session but we did the most important job of understanding the tyres and following our programme targets. We are quite happy, and although the car suffered a little understeer in the high speed corners, it is responding well and we understand the behaviour of the tyres over the longer runs. It looks like qualifying here will be interesting as the rain started at 4pm but we can deal with the conditions I am sure.
Paul di Resta
I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and I think that was why I was able to get up to speed relatively quickly. It ran more smoothly today and even though I didn’t have any prior experience of the circuit I got into a relatively comfortable zone quite soon. The programme was exactly the same as if Tonio had been in the car, running through baselines and then understanding the tyres. Here the tyres don’t last very long with the heat and we missed the peak with them and didn’t quite set the optimum time, but I think ultimately you can’t pay too much attention to that as it’s not always going to be relative to what we are doing and where we are. It’s just getting myself in the environment, getting the track time and learning the circuits.
Dominic Harlow, chief race engineer
We didn’t encounter any major problems today as we established the relative performance and degradation characteristics of the two tyres available for this race. The high track and air temperatures are, as usual here, dominating the behaviour of the car. Today’s sessions have been at the normal times of day, but as we head into the weekend they become later again, and that will be a factor in the decisions we make overnight. We’ve more work to do, but are looking forward to the challenges of the weekend ahead.

Jenson Button Wins Australian Grand Prix 2010 Photo

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 16:09:25 +0000

Jenson Button was once again victorious in Australia 2010 as he fought against the odds to win the 2010 Australian F1 grand prix. Button took a gamble and was the first driver to switch to slick tires after the wet start to the race. BBC commentators immediately chastised Button for taking such an early decision but it paid off and Button quickly took up second place behind Vettel. Later in the race a break failure caused Vettel to crash out of the race leaving button to lead from the front all the way to the chequered flag.

Alonso And Schumacher Crash Australia 2010

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:41:20 +0000

On the first lap of the Australian Grand prix 2010 Michael Schumacher was shunted into a spin by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. This is sure to heat up their already fiery relationship at the start of the new formula one season. Lewis Hamilton (top left of picture) got an excellent start and can be seen avoiding imminent collision with ex team mate Alonso.

Chinese Grand Prix Circuit Shanghai F1 Racing Track

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:24:48 +0000

Chinese F1 Grand Prix In Sepang

The Chinese grand prix at Shanghai is one of highlights of the formula one callender. Here is some of the most essential information for the 2010 race.

Fast facts

Race Date: 18 Apr 2010
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 5.451 km
Race Distance: 305.066 km
Lap Record: 1:32.238 - M Schumacher (2004)

View the chinese (shanghai) racing circuit on wikimapia

Chinese Grand Prix Diagram

Get your tickets and travel arrangements sorted today (it’s not too late)

BMW Sauber Post Race From Australia Melbourne Grand Prix

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:03:39 +0000

Following Kamui Kobayashi’s retirement after a crash on lap one, it looked good for Pedro de la Rosa to score the team’s first points. But in the end his tyres degraded too much and he had nothing left for defending.

Pedro de la Rosa: 12th place
C29.03 / Ferrari 056
“For a while the race went okay, I managed to stay out of trouble and there was a good chance to get our first points. But, I’m afraid, we underestimated the tyre degradation. In the end I really had no rear tyres left. For the last 15 laps it was just a question of how to keep the car on the track. I was absolutely helpless when Michael and Jaime came in the end to overtake me“

Kamui Kobayashi: accident on lap 1
C29.02 / Ferrari 056
“It looks as if I touched a kerb or another car in turn three. Everything was very close and I don’t really remember anything major, but on the data it looks like there was something. I had no worries about the front wing, but a few corners later it went off and got stuck under the car. At first I had no idea what had happened. I had no control anymore.”

Peter Sauber, Team Principal:
“Looking at how the race evolved, it’s a disappointing result. For a third of the race Pedro was able to defend ninth against Rubens Barrichello, but then he lost out, and in the penultimate lap he was also passed by Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari. Kamui’s race didn’t even last one lap. Following contact with another car his front wing broke, and he went off, unfortunately hitting other competitors.”

Willy Rampf, Technical Director:
“It was a race start under difficult conditions. Kamui most probably had contact with another car and damaged his front wing. As a result the front wing broke in the braking zone of corner 6, and Kamui went off. Pedro won positions after the start, and we made the change from intermediates to slicks at the right moment. Our strategy was to finish the race with this set of tyres, which - looking at the overall result - was the right decision. However, the tyres degraded too much, and the lap times were not consistent enough, therefore we lost our chance to finish the race in ninth.”

AT&T Australia Post Race Press Release

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:01:09 +0000

Aided by the forecasted rain, Melbourne’s Albert Park delivered a thrilling afternoon of racing today.
Starting on the fourth row of the grid, Rubens Barrichello again scored points for the team in his second
race for AT&T Williams, finishing in eighth place. Nico Hulkenberg’s debut Australian Grand Prix ended
before it began as he fell victim to Kobayashi’s turn six incident on the first lap. The team now pack up and
travel straight to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix next Sunday.

Rubens Barrichello:
It was a good race, but we should have finished in seventh really. We took the chance to change tyres
when we did and go for it. I thought everyone else would also come in, which is why I went for that route.
More points for the team today is positive though. The car is good enough; we will just be picking up more
points before we get podiums.

Nico Hulkenberg:
Today was obviously pretty disappointing. I was already in the corner when I was suddenly hit from behind by
Kamui Kobayashi. It was quite a big impact. I’m not sure what caused it, but it’s frustrating because I was looking
forward to my first race here.

Sam Michael, Technical Director:
It was good to get some more points, but we need to bring more performance to the car and to the
engine. Doing both is the major part of our development programme over the next few races. Rubens
drove well through all the conditions he faced today. Unfortunately, Nico was knocked out of the race
by another car.

Force India Comment Pre Malaysia Grand Prix

Richard — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:57:16 +0000

After a spectacular race in Australia the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship is just a few days away. The teams continue their journey to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Grand Prix on April 4.

Pedro de la Rosa: ?The Sepang circuit is one of my favourite tracks. It has a lot of rhythm with many flowing corners which reminds me a little bit of the Circuit de Catalunya. The track in Malaysia is physically extremely demanding, especially because of the humidity and the heat. I like driving there a lot! It is important to be fit for there. For a driver it is by far the toughest race on the championship calendar and it is also very demanding on the car. I think if you are quick there you are quick everywhere, and, as I said before, it is a bit like Barcelona and both are very representative of what we find at other circuits. This means it is a good test bench for the drivers and the cars.?

Kamui Kobayashi: ?I have good memories of Sepang as I won a GP2 Asia race there in 2008. It is a pretty nice track - I like it. The heat is tough, but that?s the same for everybody. I don?t mind the heat, but I hope we don?t get the same weather as during last year?s Grand Prix when the race had to be stopped because of the heavy rain. Malaysia is not too far from Japan and, hopefully, I will meet some Japanese fans there. The last corner before the main straight is my favourite. You have to brake very hard and get the corner right to accelerate down the straight. It has a lot of influence on the lap time, because if you don?t get this one right you really pay for it.?

Technical Director Willy Rampf: ?Sepang is a very demanding circuit which asks a lot from the chassis and the set-up. It has corners with very quick changes of direction in which stability is crucial. At the same time you need good traction to accelerate out of the slow corners, which in some cases lead uphill. The right hander before the back straight is especially tricky with its tightening radius. ?We expect ambient temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius and accordingly track temperatures over 40 degrees. Therefore you have to take care of the cooling, and this is something you also have to take into account for the set-up to avoid excessive tyre wear. The weather is rather unpredictable with the chance of rain in the late afternoon high, which certainly would make for an exciting race.?