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-Micheal Schumacher at the 2010 Bahrain GP It's confirmed, the season opener for the FIA Formula 1 that was scheduled for Bahrain in March has been cancelled. The very sensible and logical decision was made by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who incidently is the rights owner of the race. Bahrain has been on the F1 race calendar for the last seven or so years and as far as I can remember, there has never been a cancellation on an F1 event over the last 25 years. It could be more, but I was a little kid then and Hot Wheels were the only cars I was interested in. This anti-government protests that have spread around the Arab world have serious repercussions. We all know that it first started off in Tunisia, then Egypt, then this Arab country, then that country. Amazing viral-like protests that have affected even us over here as oil prices are soaring and now we're going to have to wait for the next scheduled race -the Australian GP on the 27th of March for the F1 circus to start. In fact, the official pre-race group test that was also to be held in Bahrain will now be held at Barcelona on 8th to the 11th of March. There is also no news whether the Bahrain GP will be postponed to a later date or that it will still be a fixture in this year's F1 calendar. I suppose that would depend how stable the country is within the next few months. Oh well, last year's Bahrain GP was Bore-rain to me, and a lot of others too. But then again, this year, during the same time it'll be even worse as there wouldn't be a race at all as F1 begins a little later. - Alonso won at Bahrain last year source: associated press
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The FIA is proposing to mandate plexiglass windscreens for the cockpits of formula one cars, according to an Italian report. Autosprint published a photoshopped image of a possible F1 windshield that claims to protect drivers from being struck on the head. The exposure of the drivers' heads made headlines last year, when Felipe Massa was seriously injured by a flying suspension spring, days after Formula Two driver, Henry Surtees, was killed when he drove into the path of a stricken wheel. Autosprint said the proposed protective structure, whilst not impeding driver visibility, would be designed to withstand the impact of a flying wheel and the full 640kg weight of an F1 car. "I'm not saying we need to cover (the cockpit) completely," Ferrari driver Massa said after recovering from his skull injuries. "But maybe there are some other things we can do to the car to stop a wheel hitting your head." He added. After those incidents last year, Bernie Ecclestone said Professor Sid Watkins - the president of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety - had been commissioned to look into the issue. The renewed push for driver head safety also came just six weeks after the nose of Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India rode up and almost struck Michael Schumacher's head during the 2010 season finale in Abu Dhabi. The report said the solution would also need to take into consideration its aerodynamic impact, including the flow of air to the engine airbox and the wings.
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Volkswagen motor racing representative Hans-Joachim Stuck has applauded F1's radical engine formula for 2013. The German car giant and its subsidiary Porsche have been linked with a possible F1 foray in the near future if the sport moves away from its current V8 engine formula. Recently in Monaco, the FIA green-lighted a new efficient formula for 2013 featuring small energy-efficient turbo engines. "The conditions for a possible entrance of the Volkswagen group have been created," hailed Stuck. He is also quoted by rp-online.de: "We have not decided anything, but we very much welcome the FIA's decision." In addition, Stuck reportedly told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: "The engine rules are a good starting point for Volkswagen in formula one." Mercedes' motor racing boss Norbert Haug said the new rules will slash engine budgets by "at least a quarter". The existing 1.4 Twincharger is already generating 180 bhp in certain applications. How about a 1.6L Twincharger producing well above 200 bhp for F1 ?!
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Formula 1 has a new world champion - Sebastian Vettel wins in Abu Dhabi
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Formula 1 has a new world champion in the shape and form of Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver, who seemed to have started the 2010 Formula 1 season on a high, then faltered mid-season and then making a strong comeback even with a fabulous mid-season charge by Double World Champion, Fernando Alonso. Whatever the case, Formula 1 has a new World Champion and it was decided at the last race of the 2010 calendar, in Abu Dhabi last Sunday. I'd also have to add that it must be terribly disappointing for Alonso, who entered this race as championship leader. Finishing 7th basically scuppered all hope of winning the title. It is so frustrating watching the Alonso's race as he was basically behind Renault's Petrov, who somehow managed to hold up a two time world champion for almost two-thirds of the whole race -
Red Bull captures the Formula 1 Constructor's Championship in Brazil
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] Red Bull pulls off a 1-2 victory at Interlagos, Brazil and captures the FIA Formula 1 Constructor -
[extract] Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins the inaugural Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix and is ahead in the Driver
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Formula 1 at Suzuka, Japan: Sebastian Vettel finally wins something
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] Sebastian Vettel finally wins something after dominating qualifiying and sometimes in the races itself but failing to capitalize on it. He came out first in Suzuka, Japan at last weekend -
Monaco but in the dark: Alonso wins the Singapore Grand Prix
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Okay. The results for the Formula 1 Grand Prix, Singapore. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins. Sebastian Vettel comes in second and his team mate in the other Red Bull, Mark Webber was third. The Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix started off nicely without a pile up. This is good as we all know the fact that this race is run like Monaco, a street circuit and the starting grid was led by Fernando Alonso, Seb Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Mark Webber. However, this changed when Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi suffered a broken suspension from a knock on lap 4. This first major incident caused that beautiful Mercedes-AMG SLS Safety Car to be deployed and some of the teams decided to make their tire changes then. Mark Webber was thhe first among the front runners mentioned and because of this, he rejoined in 11th but as we know, he made it to 3rd in the end. The thing about this race was that as it was a street circuit, the surfaces aren't paper smooth and the crash barriers are close. Overtaking isn't something easy to do and this enabled front runners Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel to actually pull away from everyone including Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. This and the fact that if the car you were running was on the harder compound that Bridgestone brought to Singapore could not match the pace of those shod with the softer compound tires. Hamilton and even Mark Webber found this out the hard way. Ferrari's choice to keep with their strategy meant that Alonso made a stop around lap 29 and so did Vettel of Red Bull. This round of pit lane drama ensured that Vettel closed up on Alonso but his efforts were thwarted by Kobayashi of Sauber-Ferrari crashing in lap 32, then his stricken car getting hit by Bruno Senna driving for HRT-Cosworth. This meant a Safety Car situation and a procession of Formula 1 race cars following it until the debris of the crash was cleared. In fact, right before this, Kobayashi caused Michael Schumacher to hit a barrier due to his aggressive overtaking move. Schumacher was lucky that he didn't suffer any suspension damage. Lap 36 was a sad lap for Lewis Hamilton. Fighting for position with Mark Webber basically caused him to try a move on Mark Webber but he lost out when they touched, causing Hamilton's McLaren to suffer from a broken suspension. This is the second retirement in two races for Hamilton. His championship title race by now is severly compromised. Prior to this in lap 35, Nick Heidfield in the other Sauber-Ferrari had tangled with Michael Schumacher and had to retire. Schumacher pitted for a new nose cone and finished the race in 13th , out of the points of course. Yes, a lot of tangling and crashing. I suppose this was due to the tight track and their willingness to actually go for it or actually racing. Right up to the end of this night race, Alonso had to fend off the charging Red Bull of Vettel and I thought this charge was almost saved by the burning Lotus of Heiki Kovalainen if not for the race stewards decision to carry on while the track marshalls move the stricken Lotus to safety. You also get to see Kovalainen asking for a fire extinguisher to put out the fire himself. A Formula 1 driver putting out their own car's fire. Quite unusual indeed. Alonso basically worked hard to win this time in Singapore, making this a consecutive win since his victory at Monza a few weeks ago. And the Lion City looks spectacular with all those lights and the good weather. -
The Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix that was held last Sunday was won by Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Considered as Ferrari's home race, the win is a poignant one for the team in what was quite an event filled race this time around. Of course, by event filled, this basically means the mad dash to the first corner at the start and the pit lane tire change strategies. The start and first lap tussles claimed Lewis Hamilton who couldn't continue after his steering column gave way due to a come together with Felipe Massa. The planned tire changes which caused various strategies to be mapped out and this time, team HRT to be fined a good US$20,000 for injuring one of their mechanics who was adjusting HRT driver Sakon Yamamoto's radio during the Japanese driver's pitstop when the lollipop man released him off. The mechanic had to be driven to the nearest hospital to get his injuries looked at. What the outcome of this race was that Mark Webber is now once again Championship leader, overtaking Lewis Hamilton, who crashed out on the first lap, in the points. This outcome came regardless of the fact that Webber himself finished in sixth position. He was pretty frustrated as he started fourth, lost some track positions due to a bad start, then had a tussel with the Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg who refused to yield even though he was driving much slower than Webber (hey, its racing for position and finished seventh behind Webber
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[extract] It looks like F1 has contacted VW
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After a mid-season break, the Formula 1 Grand Prix is back again with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francochamps, a circuit both spectacular and emotive. The La Source hairpin, the downhill plunge to Eau Rouge, the forest setting and the longest lap distance in the Formula 1 World Championship which according to the Formula 1 drivers, a fabulous track to race on and a fantastic race for us to watch. This time, Lewis Hamilton driving the McLaren wins the pretty damp and wet race. The start was good for Hamilton, passing pole position Mark Webber of Red Bull. Then sometime on lap 2 it started raining causing havoc and cars were everywhere, on and off the track causing a Safety Car to be called out. Rubens Barrichello (his 300th F1 race by the way) driving for Williams retired due to a crash. The incredible thing was that it only rained for a short period causing those who changed tires to the intermediate compound during the Safety Car period to suffer as the track started drying soon enough. One driver who suffered badly was Fernando Alonso, who suffered from the Barrichello crash and two tire changes in a short period caused any chances of a podium for him to disappear. Hamilton slowly but surely pulling away from second placed Jenson Button (Petronas Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). Vettel on lap 17 was caught out by some water on the track at the final chicane, lost control, zig zagged and drove right smack into the Mercedes of Button. The Red Bull really speared its way into the Mercedes destroying the car's radiator, Button could therefore not continue. Vettel pitted for a new front wing and was later handed a drive-through penalty. Tough luck as both as championship contenders. Hamilton sometime after lap 36 nearly hit the barriers as it started getting wet again and nearly everyone had to pit for wet tires. By then, Hamilton was still in the lead, Mark Webber second, Kubica of Renault third with Filipe Massa of Ferrari in fourth. In fact the rain made proper havoc after that. In lap 39, Alonso spun and the Ferrari stalled right smack in the middle of the track. This prompted another safety car as Alonso could not get it moving again (Formula 1 cars do not have a starter and has to be started by a race engineer). Three championship contenders were now out at this time. Alonso with his spin, Button after being taken out by Vettel and Vettel himself out of the points due to his crash and drive through penalty mentioned above. By then, even after the restart of the race Hamilton had managed to pull away from Webber all the way to the finish. This has enabled him to garner the first place's 25 points, making him the current leader in the Drivers' Championship. This isn't a comfortable lead as Mark Webber trails by a mere 3 points. This is Lewis Hamilton's first victory at Spa, a milestone for him of sorts. The drive and driver of the day has to go to Michael Schumacher. He started in 21st place due to a penalty. He made it all the way to 6th position before being pipped by his team mate Nico Rosberg (who also started quite far back in 14th) in the final laps of the race. Amazing drive from Schummi anyway. Hats off to the man. The Results 01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1hr29.04.268 02 Mark Webber RBR-Renault +1.5 secs 03 Robert Kubica Renault +3.4 secs 04 Felipe Massa Ferrari +8.2 secs 05 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +9.0 secs 06 Nico Rosberg Petronas Mercedes GP +12.3 secs 07 Michael Schumacher Petronas Mercedes GP +15.5 secs 08 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +16.6 secs 09 Vitaly Petrov Renault +23.8 secs 10 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari +29.4 secs 11 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +34.8 secs 12 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari +36.0 secs 13 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari +39.8 secs 14 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 Lap 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault +1 Lap 16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap 17 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap 18 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +1 Lap 19 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 Lap 20 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 Lap Did Not Finish Fernando Alonso Ferrari +7 Lap Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +29 Laps Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth +39 Laps Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 43 laps -Barrichello DNF photos:planetf1
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Somehow Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull seems to start in pole position but fail to capitalize on this. At the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix last Sunday, his team mate, Mark Webber was instead the victor. With Lewis Hamilton of McLaren crashing out of the race, it looks like the championship chase is still an open book too. The race basically got on to a usual 'follow the leader' kind of opening lap but there was an incident that shook things up a little in lap 17. The Petronas Mercedes of Nico Rosberg lost a wheel right (below) after he pitted for a tire change. Upon pulling out the tire started detaching itself from the car and nearly hit some other team's pit crew. He was in sixth before the incident. Pit lane incidents seem to be in abundance in Hungary, Robert Kubica of Renault was released too early by his lollipop man and he ran into Force India's Adrian Sutil just as he was about to enter the pit entry box. Due to this the Force India car couldn't continue but Renault was able to send Kubica out again where the race stewards slapped on him a 10-second stop-go penalty for an unsafe release from the pits. There was a safety car incident that also allowed Lewis Hamilton to take the lead, but on lap 24 his transmission gave way on turn three. This makes it the second retirement suffered by the McLaren driver. This and another incident played things out to Mark Webber who was by this time running in fourth position. The incident in question is when the race stewards decided that Sebastian Vettel had to receive a 5 second drive through penalty for exceeding 10 cars lengths behind the safety car. Being the race leader at one point of the race, he had backed up the pack of cars too far from the safety car which was about to pull in to the pit lane. Mark Webber also emerged the victor due to staying out longer as everyone pitted due to the safety car. Pulling fast laps somehow ensured that when he pitted for the second time, he still had a good 20seconds lead over the number two, Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari (which seem to be quietly performing after last week's team orders fiasco). Results 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h41:05.571 2. Alonso Ferrari + 17.821 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 19.252 4. Massa Ferrari + 27.474 5. Petrov Renault + 1:13.100 6. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:16.700 7. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1 lap 9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 13. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps 15. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps 16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 17. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 18. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps Did not finish Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 25 lap Kubica Renault 25 Rosberg Mercedes 17 Sutil Force India-Mercedes 17 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2 photos: planetf1
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A Ferrari 1-2 at Hockenheim...but have you got no shame Ferrari?
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Ferrari has a 1-2 victory at the German Formula 1 Grand Prix at Hockenheim and Ferrari should not be proud about it. The reason was that Felipe Massa, after fighting tooth and nail for P1 against team mate Fernando Alonso and pole sitter Seb Vettel in the early stages of the race had to 'give way' to Alonso, letting Alonso win for the sake of the points in the driver's championship. I have just watched Scuderia Ferrari commit what was supposedly banned (team orders) in F1 by the most cunning way where Massa's engineer had said "So Fernando is faster than you? Can you confirm you understand that message?". Now of course Ferrari didn't say -
[extract] Bernie Ecclestone said he hopes Africa will join the formula one calendar in about three years
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Mark Webber wins the British Formula 1 Grand Prix - Even with some in-team conflict
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
After becoming airborne in the European GP due to a massive crash with a Lotus, Red Bull's Mark Webber wins this edition of the British Formula 1 Grand Prix held last Sunday. This time, aggressive driving and a bit of luck, his tussle with his team mate, and pole position holder, Sebastian Vettel, somehow caused Vettel to go a little wide and got a puncture. That gave him the lead over Lewis Hamilton of McLaren by the first few corners, who ended the race in second. Third place went toward Nico Rosberg, driving the Mercedes. Ferrari had an early incident with Massa colliding with Alonso and Massa suffering a puncture too. The race pace of the Red Bull is as good as the pace it had during qualifying. Webber managed to pull a lead over Hamilton and this somehow held even though there was a Safety Car incident, due to Pedro de la Rosa's front wing debris on the track after a small accident. The drive of the day could be handed to Jenson Button of McLaren though as he started all the way down in P14 and worked his way through the field. His storming effort, like a knife through nice soft butter, was effectively held back by Nico Rosberg. Button's 4th place must have felt like a bigger victory altogether. The biggest loser in this British GP is Fernando Alonso. He was given a drive through penalty due to overtaking Robert Kubica of Renault wrongly. This was as all four wheels of his Ferrari was off the track and this constitutes an offence. I suppose Alonso's argument was that Kubica had defended his position aggressively and that caused him to veer off the track. The race stewards thought otherwise and gave his that penalty. He started in 3rd and finished 14th due to this. Mark Webber's win was not without any incidents off the track. It seems that Red Bull had handed Webber's new specification front wing to his team-mate, Seb Vettel, even though the wing was already fitted on his car. It is safe to assume that he wasn't very pleased with the incident. When he won, his response on the radio to team principal Christian Horner was -
The European F1 at Valencia: Red Bull's Vettel takes his 2nd win of the season
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] Right. It has been a tiring weekend for me with the World Cup and all. This had nearly made me forget that the European Formula 1 Grand Prix was held over the last weekend in Valencia and Sebastian Vettel claimed his second victory of the season. This race -
He turns 80 later this year, but Bernie Ecclestone has vowed never to retire. "I cannot stop," the sport's British chief executive told the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "For me, to retire means to die.
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Formula 1 at Montreal, Canada: Another 1-2 for McLaren Mercedes
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Formula 1 in Canada was interesting and McLaren gets another 1-2 win with Lewis Hamilton taking 1st after starting on pole position (his second win of the season) and Jenson Button taking 2nd place. Fernando Alonso driving the Ferrari rounded up the top three by coming in 3rd place. This also makes McLaren taking the lead in the manufacturers championship too. The race was thrilling as even at the start, we get to see Formula 1 race cars bumping into each other as we got to see Liuzzi of Toro Rosso Ferrari taking up to three bumps at the start. By lap 2 Kobayashi hit the wall and limped back to the pits joined by Felipe Massa of Ferrari. Before that Liuzzi of Force India and Pedro de La Rosa entered the pits for the starting scraps. Laps 4 to 13 was really happening as everyone was overtaking or trying to overtake someone. In lap 13 Michael Schumacher driving the Petronas Mercedes pits from third place and comes out in seventh place and is dicing with Robert Kubica of Renault. The two are fighting collide, not heavily, bouncing across the kerbs. Kubica's front wing appears to be damaged and pits. It is still bumper car like in the start. The reason for this is that the tire choices and tire change strategy seem to be assisting some better than the other. Some chose to run the softer compound earlier and this seems to be the best choice, as shown by Schumacher in the earlier part of the race (of course he later seemed to have suffered from tire wear right at the end). Lap 40 was also fun to watch at Liuzzi and Massa were dicing it out and Massa came out the loser and was forced wide. Lap 44 and 45 was also fun as Mark Webber had to fight it out to gain a few positions by Hulkenberg and Sutil, which were having their own tussle. Even the final 10 laps were interesting, as everyone in the top 12 were fighting for position. And ultimately, a big loser in this was Michael Schumacher as he had defended, and lost positions to Buemi, Liuzzi and Sutil. The latter two taking the final points positions of 9th and 10th. It could be very bad tire wear making Schumacher's car uncontrollable right at the end. The actual final results, though, will only be confirmed after the stewards investigate an incident between Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil and another between Schumacher and Felipe Massa for all those bumper car maneuvers and other overtaking encounters. And that will only be done after the race. As I write this, nothing has been confirmed as yet but it shouldn't change the top three positions anyway. So many events had happened during this race in Canada and this from a track that was dropped from the Formula 1 Grand Prix last year. Somehow for 2010 it was brought back. And it seems it was worth it as there were lots of thrills, overtaking and spills. The next race is European Grand Prix at Valencia in two weeks time Results 01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h33:53.456 02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.254 03. Alonso Ferrari + 9.214 04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 37.817 05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 39.29 06. Rosberg Mercedes + 56.084 07. Kubica Renault + 57.300 08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 09. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 10. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 11. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Massa Ferrari + 1 lap 16. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Petrov Renault + 2 laps 18. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps Did Not Finish Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 43 De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 31 Senna HRT-Cosworth 14 Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2 -
Red Bulls skewer each other allowing a McLaren 1-2 at the Turkish F1 GP
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Time flies when you're having fun and befor you know it, another Grand Prix race has come and gone. This time, Lewis Hamilton driving for McLaren-Mercedes claimed victory at the Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix held at Istanbul last weekend. It was Mr Hamilton's first victory in a while (ten races). It was also a nightmare for Red Bull even though their drivers started in pole and in third position too. Hamilton started the race in second position. The nightmare was basically due to an overly enthusiastic Sebastian Vettel trying to overtake his teammate and pole sitter Mark Webber resulting in a crash. Now before we get to that let's start with a bit of trivia. Istanbul F1 Grand Prix of 2010 was Ferrari's 800th race in Formula 1 by the way and they started it badly by qualifying in 8th and 12th place. So critiques and fans are thinking about what is wrong with both Alonso and Massa before the race started. it was a good race for Lewis Hamilton as from the start he kept up the pressure on pole sitter Mark Webber only losing out to third position holder, Webber's Red Bull teammate, Sebastian Vettel moving into second when the McLaren pitstop crew had a small problem during the tire change. Now being someone who's young, fired up and already a world champion, Hamilton continued the chase and kept up the pressure on Vettel. I suppose it was this relentless pressure and also the fact that Webber won the last two F1 Grand Prix races prior to this made Vettel try something drastic, like try fit his Red Bull into Webber's Red Bull. This impulsive action basically caused him to crash out of the race and made Webber limp his way into the pits for repair work. This unfortunate turn of events (if you looked at it from Red Bull's camp) was capitalized by both Hamilton and his team mate Jenson Button which took over first and second positions respectively. Now these two world champions somehow nearly did some similar damage themselves by actually racing each other instead of pacing themselves to the end. Button actually too the lead on one occasion and they did rub into each other. But in the end, Hamilton pulled through and stayed in top position till the very end. Amazing. If both drivers of McLaren did the same mistake as the Red Bull ones then it would have been a real tale of not learning from other people's mistakes. Actually I do not think they learnt from other people's mistakes (in this case Red Bull's blunder) as they still fought for the lead. McLaren was just plain lucky in my opinion. Anyway, Lewis Hamilton claims his first victory of the 2010 season. Mark Webber somehow manages to still make third, looking a little depressed ahead of Michael Schumacher (it seems that the new modifications on the Mercedes-Brawn-Petronas made recently paid off), Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Not a bad 800th outing for Ferrari considering they started in 8th and 12th as stated above. Next race: Canada 13th June 2010 Results 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h28:47.620 2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.645 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 24.285 4. Schumacher Mercedes + 31.110 5. Rosberg Mercedes + 32.266 6. Kubica Renault + 32.824 7. Massa Ferrari + 36.635 8. Alonso Ferrari + 46.544 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 49.029 10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.650 11. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.944 12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:07.800 13. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 17. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 19. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps Did not finish Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 53 -
Who says Monaco will be a race where it becomes a procession or a 'follow the leader race'? This time the 2010 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix was action packed and there was action down to the wire. The final two laps were run under a safety car and just before the end of the final lap, the safety car pulled in and there was even an overtaking move made by Michael Schumacher on Fernando Alonso, which he somehow managed to pull off. Pole sitter Mark Webber won this race which was totally action filled. Sebastian Vettel made it a 1-2 finish with Robert Kubica of Renault coming in third. The Monaco street circuit is a yearly glamour event for the F1 circus. You get to see movie stars, billionaires and pop singers aside from the usual motorsport people. The tight circuit is somehow loved by the drivers as it requires a lot more concentration due to the narrow track and the barriers. The race started with Webber blasting away from the lead while Robert Kubica of Renault tries to hold off Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, but he can't do it and it's a Red Bull 1-2 through the first corner. Ferrari's Massa is fourth ahead of McLaren's Hamilton followed by Barrichello, Schumacher, Rosberg, Liuzzi, Sutil, Button. Although everyone made it past the first corner, Nico Hulkenberg, crashed at the exit of the tunnel causing the safety car to come out and also causing Jenson Button of McLaren to retire from a cooked engine (pic above) (caused by the slower safety car speeds and an error by the McLaren team on failing to remove an engine cover). This was the first of four safety car incidents. The second one was in lap 32 when Rubens Barrichello decided to stuff his Williams into the barrier. The third was when a drain cover coming lose at around lap 44. The final one was a real stunner in itself but it also caused another interesting event to happen, which I will get to right after this. The final safety car incident was caused on lap 76, two laps before the end. Jarno Trulli of Lotus tried to take Force India's Chandhok but hit him and the Lotus was airborne and landed on Chandhok's car. By this time everyone thought that the race would end with a safety car and with all the positions already settled. But Michael Schumacher had other ideas and right at the end, just after the safety car had pulled in he overtook Fernando Alonso to clinch sixth. I mean, if you blinked or started to rush for the loo, you'd miss it. Alonso must be miffed, as he started last from the pits, made his way though all the backmarkers and then at the last corner get taken by Schumacher. Then again, being seventh from last is a fabulous result anyway. Webber and Vettel are now tied in the Drivers' standings on 78 points each and Red Bull hold a 20-point advantage over second placed Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. It was a great race at Monaco this weekend. Four safety car incidents, lots of crashes, tactics and last minute action made it a great race. Actually, having more chances to view that new Mercedes SLS Safety car is a good thing too. POST RACE UPDATE: Michael Schumacher was demoted from 6th to 12th for his overtaking move which was deemed as illegal after a post race investigation. Mercedes will not appeal the result of the investigation. Tough luck Schummi! The Results: 1. Webber -Red Bull-Renault 1h50:00.000 2. Vettel -Red Bull-Renault + 0.448 3. Kubica -Renault + 1.600 4. Massa -Ferrari + 2.600 5. Hamilton -McLaren-Mercedes + 4.300 6. Schumacher -Mercedes + 5.700 7. Alonso -Ferrari + 6.300 8. Rosberg -Mercedes + 6.600 9. Sutil -Force India-Mercedes + 6.900 10. Liuzzi -Force India-Mercedes + 7.300 11. Buemi -Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 8.100 12. Alguersuari -Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 9.100 13. Petrov -Renault + 4 laps Retirements: Hulkenberg - lap 1 - crash Button - lap 3 - engine failure De la Rosa - lap 23 - mechanical Glock - lap 24 - suspension Kobayashi - lap 27 - technical Di Grassi - lap 28 - hydraulics Barrichello - lap 31 - crash Senna - lap 62 - mechanical Kovalainen - lap 62 - technical Trulli - lap 75 - crash Chandhok - lap 75 - crash Petrov - lap 76 - wheel problem Sources: Free TV and PlanetF1.com (for the pics)
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Formula 1 at Barcelona: Mark Webber wins from pole position
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
It seems the three weeks break has done wonders for Red Bull as Mark Webber gets his first win of the 2010 season. He started from pole position and steamed ahead of his team mate Sebastian Vettel at the start of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix at the Catalunya Circuit in Barcelona. The race was basically pretty straightforward as there was no overtaking on the track whatsoever. Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was second (to the delight of Spanish fans as he's Spanish) and third was Sebastian Vettel. I'd have to say that the only pit stop was used by most of the front runners to strategize an overtaking maneuver and only those taking up the rear of the field were taking a crack at each other. Moments of action were when Sebastian Vettel lost out the Lewis Hamilton of McLaren in the pit stop but unfortunately for Mr. Hamilton, he suffered a puncture on the penultimate lap causing him to hit the tire barriers and be classified in 14th. Tough luck. The other McLaren, driving by the reigning world champion Jenson Button lost out to the venerable Michael Schumacher. He spent 40 laps or so stuck behind Herr Schumacher, unable to overtake. It seems the Brawn Mercedes that Michael Schumacher was driving has a few updates. Particularly the longer wheelbase which seems to suit Schumacher's driving style (at the expense of Nico Rosberg's style, it seems) and the aero upgrades -
[extract] It is actually surprising that a volcano that most of us haven't heard of or know how its pronounced have affected millions of people indirectly. The Eyjafjallajokull volcano located in Iceland which had erupted on or around the 17th of April 2010 spewing volcanic ash and the winds taking it all over Europe. As a result of the unpronounceable volcano deciding to erupt, many flights were canceled as well as causing many airports in Europe to close as volcanic ash is destructive and corrosive to aluminium and other metal used in aircraft, making airlines lose up to
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Formula 1 at Shanghai: Button and Hamilton make it a one-two for McLaren
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Jenson Button wins the 2010 Shanghai F1 Grand Prix. The 2009 World Champion started fifth on the grid and his decision to stay on slicks when everyone else pitted for intermediates as well as Nico Rosberg spinning saw him move to P1 on lap 20. He maintained in that position till the end and insisted after the race that his victory was down to the team's ability to make the correct decisions when it mattered. The Shanghai race ended with Button 1st, his teammate Lewis Hamilton in 2nd and Nico Rosberg of Brawn Mercedes Petronas in 3rd. The bad news of the day was that Red Bull may have started the race in P1 and P2 on the grid but that's not where they finished after falling foul of the changing (quite wet) conditions. The other Brawn Mercedes Petronas driver, a certain Michael Schumacher finished 10th, behind Ferrari's Massa who somehow managed to slip pass Schumacher somewhere at the end of the race. After starting ninth on the grid, Schumacher nearly had a top-five finish following a row of pit stops due to the changing weather weather. However, aside from a small battle with Lewis Hamilton, he quickly slipped back to the middle of the pack and was even grappling for grip at times. Schumacher admits it wasn't a good weekend for him all-round, but says he enjoyed his battle with Lewis Hamilton. It was a pretty interesting race with the safety car coming out twice. The weather playing an important part in making things interesting and nearly everyone, with the exception of Jenson Button went in and out of the pits. Good decision making from the team and from him. Mclaren were really good in that the fastest lap of the race was also snapped up by Lewis Hamilton. Things should get even better as the teams now head to Europe -
Finally, Sebastian Vettel wins for Red Bull at the 2010 PETRONAS Malaysian GP
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] And Sebastian Vettel finally wins a race in 2010, after three Formula 1 GPs. His win and Mark Webber -
More Mercedes-AMG news: Mercedes AMG SLS previewed in Sepang
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Mercedes-Benz Malaysia gave a special treat to the Malaysian media on the 24th of March 2010 by inviting them to a preview of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. This preview is in line with the upcoming Malaysian Formula 1 race in Sepang on 4th April 2010. Mercedes Benz has deemed that the Malaysian SLS launch should coincide with this event as one prestigious launch should compliment the other. This event was held at Sepang and is one of the first previews of the car outside of Europe and the United States. The Mercedes-Benz SLS is equipped with a hand built 6.3 litre V8 engine with an output of 571bhp and 650Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 3.8 seconds and sure 0 to 200 km/h in 12 seconds. The top speed is an electronically limited 317 km/h. Why 317km/h is another mystery to me. Why not 318 as the number seems nicer to feng shui believing Asians? Anyway it is also equipped with a 7-speed dual clutch rear transaxle gearbox for better weight distribution. The SLS AMG will be touring Malaysia after the official launch on 27 March 2010. Malaysian and neighbouring country car buffs should be able to catch a glimpse of one at Mercedes Benz Malaysia's respective dealers. The exact schedule isn't out as yet and if anyone from the Lion City who wants to take a drive to the dealer in Johor Bahru, you'll have to check with them on the exact timing of the SLS arrival over there. But if you are a F1 fan, I don't think Mercedes Benz will miss the opportunity to have it on display for all those people that will fly in from everywhere. So if you do intend to travel down and watch the Sepang Formula 1 on the 4th of April, you may also get a first hand look at the car. Anyway, if it isn't on display, you would get to see it in the pitlanes as the SLS is also the official safety car for Formula 1. Production starts in June 2010, but orders can be made now. In Europe, the car will be sold at the price of 177,310 Euros inclusive of VAT. In Malaysia, it'll cost some lucky Malaysian RM1,999,000.00. Tax is a killer as 177k Euros do not become RM1.99million after current currency conversion rates.
