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Showing results for tags 'Hamilton'.
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Hamilton convinced that Ferrari’s engine features a power mode
chitchatboy posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Despite Lewis Hamilton's team winning all seven races so far in the 2019 calendar year, the Formula 1 champion is still weary of his rivals in Ferrari. To be more exact, he feels that Ferrari’s engine features a power mode that his Mercedes does not have. “They were so quick on the straights,” Hamilton remarked in an interview with Autosport. “They definitely have another power mode that we currently don’t have. So, all of a sudden they turn up the power and he (Vettel) pulls away massively on the straight, even if I have DRS open.” Certain that he isn't just talking nonsense, the British driver pointed out that the evidence whereby his team was losing up to six tenths of a second on the straights compared to Ferrari in the Canada's qualifying session. “In the race I know all of a sudden they pick up a lot of pace on the straights [as well] but that’s the name of the game,” “They’ve clearly done a great job with their power unit.” he added. -
Pulling away from a flawless start, pole sitter Lewis Hamilton had a Vettel-esque lights to flag race after leading the silver arrows team for a one-two finish. He crossed the dance of the chequered flags ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg, by 17.3 seconds. The result is the first one-two finish for the German team - since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix - where Juan Manuel Fangio finished ahead of Piero Taruffi by just 0.7seconds in Monza almost 60 years ago. The win comes after Hamilton suffered the past nine races without a podium - one of his worst dry spells since he entered the sport at the start of 2007. And the win is a turnaround after Hamilton retired at the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago due to a misfiring engine. Trailing behind Nico Rosberg was quadruple champion Sebastian Vettel who brought the sole Red Bull home to a third place - although 25 seconds slower than the race winner. Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen brought the prancing horses to fourth and 12th respectively, as the latter suffered a puncture after McLaren rookie, Kevin Magnussen, ran into the back of Raikkonen's rear-right tyre. This resulted in the Iceman making a slow journey back to the pits. For his actions, Magnussen was slapped with a five-second stop-and-go penalty and eventually finished in ninth. Nico Hulkenberg and Jenson Button secured fifth and sixth respectively for Force India and McLaren. The Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas crossed the line with an impressive seventh and eighth, while Toro Rosso's, Daniil Kvyat, grabbed the last point-scoring position. Out of 22 cars only 15 finished as seven cars - including Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull - retired from the race. Sergio Perez was the first, as he failed to start - citing a gearbox issue.
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30 years after his father claimed victory, Nico Rosberg took the highest step of the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix - fighting off stiff competition from title defender Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg - a resident of Monaco - managed to fend off Vettel till the end while Webber completed the podium despite sustained pressure from Hamilton. A pit stop strategy worked well for the Red Bull team to leap ahead of Hamilton, during the first safety car period - trigged by Massa at lap 30 who managed to replicate a crash similar to Saturday
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The Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 15 was an interesting race and one that Nico Rosberg won after taking part in 111 F1 races. And now that little jinx has been settled, we may see an increase in confidence in the German driver (He is half Finnish and half German) much like how Jenson Button winning his first race and then go on to winning a world championship. Of course, the win was in a way handed to him by the fact that his Mercedes Petronas F1 team mate Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button in the McLaren suffered similar misfortunes. Schumacher, who started off second suffered as team mechanics failed to properly tighten his car tyres at his first pitstop causing, no, forcing the on-form seven time world champion to retire very early on. Jenson Button who was behind the suddenly very competitive Mercedes F1 cars had also suffered from a tyre change bungle as the McLaren pitcrew struggled to change the rear wheel on Button's car. This allowed Rosberg to scoot ahead comfortably and he wasn't seriously challenged at all right to the finish line. The Shanghai grand prix also showed to us F1 fans that Ross Brawn, who runs the Mercedes Petronas team which was born out of the championship winning Brawn GP squad in 2010, is back in the business of winning. These new Mercedes F1 cars seem to be even better than the Red Bull Racing cars that reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel drives. This also marks the first F1 win for the modern Mercedes F1 team and the first win as a constructor since 1955. It also allowed us to watch a mega scrap between those placed 2nd to 8th position. Which is usually what viewers want. One other notable fact that I happened to notice is that Ferrari, which won the previous race over at Sepang suffers from a lack of pace. It must have been down to the weather (the rain) and the fact that Fernando Alonso is indeed an exceptional driver. RESULTS 1. Rosberg (Mercedes) 1h36:26.929 2. Button (McLaren-Mercedes) +20.626 3. Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +26.012 4. Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +27.924 5. Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) +30.483 6. Grosjean (Lotus-Renault) +31.491 7. Senna (Williams-Renault) +34.597 8. Maldonado (Williams-Renault) +35.643 9. Alonso (Ferrari) +37.256 10. Kobayashi (Sauber-Ferrari) +38.720 11. Perez (Sauber-Ferrari) +41.066 12. Di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) + 42.273 13. Massa (Ferrari) +42.700 14. Raikkonen (Lotus-Renault) +50.500 15. Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) +51.200 16. Vergne (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +51.700 17. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1:03.100 18. Petrov (Caterham-Renault) +1 lap 19. Glock (Marussia-Cosworth) +1 lap 20. Pic (Marussia-Cosworth) +1 lap 21. De la Rosa (HRT-Cosworth) +1 lap 22. Karthikeyan (HRT-Cosworth) +2 laps 23. Kovalainen (Caterham-Renault) +3 laps DNF Schumacher (Mercedes) - Boo Hoo Hoo! I was rooting for the chap!
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A 2nd look at the 2012 Singapore GP, Vettel wins (again), Lewis Hamilton a villian?
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix concluded with Sebastian Vettel coming in first and he is almost assured to be crowned this year's F1 champion. Discussing Vettel's win over in Singapore is somehow pointless as he drove exceptionally well and the Red Bull F1 car in winning form. This year is his and there is nothing we can do about it but enjoy the performance. Now if you've been following this year's F1 like I have been you'd have noticed that the media has been trying hard to create waves elsewhere as Vettel's winning ways are killing headlines. In a way that is. Imagine the same headline 'Vettel Wins!' throughout the season with only the venue changing. So they try turning something into nothing. It must be hard for them to cook up stories as they've recently decided to crucify Lewis Hamilton because of his antics in the Singapore GP. What happened over in Singapore (somewhere behind the winning Sebastian Vettel) was Hamilton driving the tyres out of his McLaren and rear ending Fillipe Massa of Ferrari. This had caused a furious Massa trying to make his way towards Hamilton in the pits. This had also caused the media speculating that the drivers were ganging up on Hamilton stating that he had made dangerous moves on other drivers in Malaysia, Monaco, Montreal, UK Hungary, Belgium and a few others. Honestly, he was racing and trying his hardest to overtake everyone in front of him. I think the media is making a big fuss out of nothing. It also seems that some media people want races to be without incidents or without aggressive drivers. Maybe the cars would have neon signs that state 'Please move over I am faster than you, you slowcoach'. Too much hot air is being blown onto this issue. Oh yes. I have not reported on the 2012 Singapore GP as yet. Aside from Vettel winning again (and again, and again) it was quite good. Hamilton crashing in Massa meant that the drivers are indeed racing. The track is super tight as usual and there is no room for error. The Singapore GP is indeed taxing on the drivers as they mostly see barriers, tall fencing and lights. How most of them can keep their concentration lap after lap in a totally cooped up environment is totally commendable and truly awesome. photo credit:planetf1 -
2011 Italian F1: Vettel wins again but Schumacher shows us how its done
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix was another one of those action packed races this season where Sebastian Vettel won. Yes, that chap may still be knocking the socks off the other contestants but it isn't a dull one horse race at all. He may be impervious at this moment but I don't really care because after the recent mid-season break we're actually seeing some movement from the other teams. Ferrari and McLaren seem to have gotten their form back as Jenson Button came in second for McLaren and Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari Vettel drove impeccably and even did a brilliant overtaking move against Alonso early on in the race. But what really got me extremely enthralled with the Italian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher's ultra defensive (or aggressive -
2011 Hungarian Formula 1 GP: Jenson Button's 200th F1 race & 11th win
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The recent Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix was interesting. I suppose the weather helped again as it rained and we got to see defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel as well as previous World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso losing it with either a spin or having some off the track incidents. We also got to see a level headed ex-world champion Jenson Button winning the race in a McLaren. Lady luck must have been with him as the Hungarian Grand Prix was mainly led by Lewis Hamilton who drove the other McLaren. Now other than that this race marked Button's 200th race and incredibly his 11th race win. I suppose this basically means that Formula 1 is tough as this chap has been racing for so long and actually won the driver's championship once yet he only has eleven wins around his belt. It must be as he has to fight four other world champions out there (the chaps mentioned above and Michael Schumacher too). Anyway, it rained and as usual that sort of weather makes racing so unpredictable. Aside from the spins and slips by the race leaders and challengers, one other reason Jenson Button won was his decision not to come in of intermediate tires when everyone seemed to want to use them. He opted for the prime tires in a slightly damp track and kept it on the track when others seemed to be slip-sliding all around him. From what I have seen, the Red Bull cars are still the cars to beat on race day but when the weather comes into play, tire strategy, patience and skill comes into play. One other incident that is actually worth writing about is the fact that Nick Heidfield's Renault actually caught fire in the pits (at around lapd 20). This happened as the Renault was stationary for quite a while and upon exiting the pits, his car caught fire. Heidfield managed to scramble out of the car and the car experienced a small explosion while the track marshalls were trying to put the fire out. One marshall was hit by flying shards of carbon fiber and it was a nearly a safety car incident. It wasn't, but if the safety car was brought out, the outcome of the race may be altered. Anyway, as I posted earlier, mid-season is usually when Formula 1 gets interesting. No one knows what will happen after this upcoming 4 week break from racing. The next race is scheduled on the 28th of August at Spa, Belgium. Results 01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h43:42.337 02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.588 03. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819 04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 48.338 05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 49.742 06. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176 07. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 09. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps 15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps 16. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps 20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 5 laps Retirements Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 56 Schumacher Mercedes 27 Heidfeld Renault 24 Trulli Lotus-Renault 18 photo credit:planetf1 -
2011 German Formula 1 Grand Prix: Racing gets even more interesting mid-season
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
As the Formula 1 Grand Prix crosses the mid-season mark things have gotten even more interesting. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren has won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring F1 circuit ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's Mark Webber in third. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel came in fourth, his lowest finish of this season. Does this win by Hamilton and the second place by Alonso show progress by both McLaren and Ferrari as well as a slowdown in development by leader Red Bull? I have no idea. But it is interesting. Both Ferrari's and McLaren's resurgence seemed to have two races prior to this as the very dull European Grand Prix at Valencia. Both teams came in second and fourth respectively and what this shows is that every time the racing returns to Europe, major (or minor) changes occur. Teams would usually wait to deploy their latest mechanical and aerodynamic changes to the cars during this period. Teams who somehow seem to crawl suddenly gain a lot more speed. It also sometimes shows that in Formula 1, you cannot slow down development even though these days FIA comes out with tons of new rules and regulation to keep racing in check. Those that have been following Formula 1 would notice that the tire changes actually crucial. It was so crucial in this last race where Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel waited till lap 59, the penultimate lap before pitting for new tires. Things were down to the wire and during this last pit-stop, Vettel managed to exit earlier than Massa who was in front before the pit-stop and claimed a strongly fought fourth place. A few years ago this would never have happened in Formula 1. Racing is good these days. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso both drove maturely and deserved their podium finished. And for us fans it is even better as Red Bull isn't winning all the time. Results 0. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h37:30.334 02. Alonso Ferrari + 3.980 03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 9.788 04. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 47.921 05. Massa Ferrari + 52.252 06. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:26.208 07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 09. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 13. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 18. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 20. Chandhok Lotus-Renault + 4 laps Retirements Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 44 Button McLaren-Mercedes 42 Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 23 Heidfeld Renault -Massa Leads Vettel- photo credit: planetf1 -
2011 Monaco F1: Lots of thrills, lots of spills but the winner is still Vettel
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Monaco. Vettel wins again. His first ever win at Monaco. And it IS Groundhog day but at least the 2011 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix wasn't a procession of cars like it usually is year after year. Sebastian Vettel's win for Red Bull Racing wasn't a walk in a park. It was a race filled with the very good looking SLS Safety Car, red flags, stoppages and a lot of accidents. It is Monaco, but with a slightly different tinge to it. Vettel's win was quite unexpected. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso's second place was unexpected too. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was penalised for dangerous passing even though he finished sixth (and then post-race he started blaming the stewards for wrongly penalising him because of his color -
Finally got my watch...but I admit I was feeling a bit lost during the ceremony.
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[extract] Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins the inaugural Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix and is ahead in the Driver
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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. -
Lewis Hamilton should be suspended from F1 for his repeated cheats! Boo...
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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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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 -
Martin Whitmarsh has confirmed that a failed wheel rim caused Lewis Hamilton to crash on the penultimate lap of last weekend's Spanish grand prix. Shortly after the Briton's sudden tyre deflation, the McLaren team boss speculated that "debris" rather than an actual tyre problem probably caused the accident. Bridgestone's initial analysis was similar, but it did not stop some pundits from hinting that Hamilton's aggressive driving style might have been a contributing factor. But the damaged parts were returned to Woking for analysis on Monday, and Whitmarsh confirmed on Tuesday that a wheel rim failure looks the likely cause. "The rim failure is being investigated," he told reporters during a teleconference. "It could be debris related, it could be an issue of deflection, or it could be a lack of tightness in the wheel nut, which allowed some flexing. "What we know is the rim failed, probably human error somewhere in the process caused it, and that led to a deflation and the accident," Whitmarsh added. Source: GMM
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In one fell swoop, Dr Helmut Marko has dismissed the title threat posed by figures including reigning champion Jenson Button, the 2008 runner-up Felipe Massa, Mercedes' works team, and seven time world champion Michael Schumacher. Red Bull's motor racing adviser told APA news agency that the energy drink owned team only fears the challenges of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. "There are two people that we fear for this world title," said Marko. "They are Fernando Alonso, because he is at his absolute peak, and Lewis Hamilton. "What the others are doing bothers us not so much," revealed the Austrian. Red Bull's RB6 car has been clearly the fastest among F1's class of 2010, so Marko thinks the Milton Keynes based team is rightly the championship favourite. "With the package that we have, we clearly have to be going for the championship -- and in the coming years. "We have the people we need and the necessary tools to adapt to changes. We have had a winning car also in 2008 and 2009, so you can't say that it's a fluke when you're building a top car in three consecutive years," he added. Source: GMM
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There is no vendetta against Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion's formula one competitor Mark Webber insists. Australian Webber was heard on the radio complaining about the Briton during the recent Chinese grand prix, when a clash pushed the Red Bull wide. After Malaysia, Hamilton was the subject of intense controversy surrounding his weaving in front of Vitaly Petrov, and in China he was again warned by officials after a pitlane encounter with Sebastian Vettel. But Webber, 33, denies the McLaren driver's rivals deliberately give Hamilton a hard time. "There's absolutely nothing against Lewis," he told the BBC. Regarding the Petrov incident, Webber said the drivers wanted to clarify the FIA's future response to straight-line weaving, insisting there is no "witch hunt against anyone". "If anyone had driven like that there would have been some questions asked. It's totally fair to do that. In the end it was nipped in the bud. Lewis is fine with it and we move on," he added. Triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart thinks it is Hamilton's overtaking skills and on-track "enthusiasm" that are causing the problems among his rivals. "He has woken up a lot of drivers with his skills," he told the Mirror. "I don't think he is dangerous. He has got a lot of enthusiasm but he has to realise that can induce judgments you otherwise might not make. That is part of the maturing process," added the 70-year-old Scot. Source: GMM
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It is Jenson Button's "really intelligent approach" that is paying off so far in 2010, according to his former boss Ross Brawn. After two wins on damp tracks so far in 2010, the reigning world champion is currently leading the world championship. But throughout the winter, most experts predicted that Button, 30, would be blown away at least initially by Lewis Hamilton. His friend David Coulthard wrote in his latest Telegraph column: "I told you so." Brawn, who replaced Button with Michael Schumacher this year but insists the Briton switched to McLaren for the new challenge, told Reuters that F1 is again seeing the "natural Jenson" who won many races early in 2009. Brawn said the more conservative and tense driver in the second half of the season was the result of the "pressures" of the championship battle. "He's not looked necessarily quicker than Lewis, but he's doing a better job and he's getting the results," he added. Former long time McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa said most paddock regulars did not expect Button to have the upper hand over Hamilton. "Hardly anyone counted on that," he told the Swiss newspaper Blick. "He (Button) has stayed calm and had very few problems with the tyres. But I know Hamilton's strengths. He will soon wake up and strike back," de la Rosa predicted. Indeed, when asked to name his picks for the eventual title battle, the Spaniard answered: "Good question, difficult answer. "Hamilton, Vettel or Alonso -- and not necessarily in that order!"
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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 -
The Formula 1 star's
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Yes, things are much better this time around in Melbourne, Australia. The Quantas Australia Formula 1 Grand Prix 2010 saw Jenson Button of McLaren Mercedes taking the chequered flag, Robert Kubica of Renault taking second and Ferrari's Phillipe Massa coming in third. But the good thing was it rained and there was racing instead of a procession of cars. This fact played a real part in Button's victory as he gambled on an early tire change from intermediates to full race slicks very early on. It wasn't like Bore-rain, where I almost fell asleep while watching the telly. It had the racers maintain their track position lap after lap. It had overtaking this time unlike Bahrain, the rain in the early part of the race. As it was a wet start, entertainment happened from the start. Car crashes and all. Pole Sitter Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing had a decent start, as did Felipe Massa from fifth splitting the Red Bulls (who started in pole and in second) by Massa. Fernando Alonso who started in position 3( P3) dropped back. Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button got into a predicament as Alonso closed the door at the corner. Michael Schumacher got nudged and his front wing damaged (for which he had to pit). Button lost ground as he took avoiding action and cars passed by. A Toro Rosso (Buemi) headed for the gravel as the Sauber driven by Kamui Kobayashi which lost a front wing on the way to Turn 3 pitched him right into the barriers, then his car bouncing off across the track and taking out both Nico Hulkenberg and Sebastien Buemi. Three car casualties and not even one lap completed the Race Director Charlie Whiting called for the safety car. You see, rain makes entertaining racing. It was Jenson Button's decision for a very early pitstop (lap 6) that allowed him to win. After deciding that the intermediate tires were not doing well for him, he came in for slicks and it nearly cost him as upon leaving the pits, he lost control and went straight on turn 3. Two laps later almost all of the front runners came in for slicks with the exception of the Red Bulls which seemed okay on intermediates. Sebastian Vettel's seems to have gotten into an unlucky streak of starting on pole and then the car letting him down. In Bahrain, engine trouble was the cause and this time, the brakes had locked up and he ended in the gravel. The reliability of the Red Bull in question. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren also had bad luck and bad team decision. McLaren, had decided to call for a tire change without consulting the driver and according to Hamilton, this cost him a podium finish. Maybe it was down to inexperience on Hamilton's side and a bad mistake by the team. As some said that as driver he would have a choice to say 'no' to his race engineer. Even an experienced team like McLaren can make bad decisions. On the point of bad luck, Hamilton tangled with Mark Webber not once, but twice, the second time costing him to end his race at P6 instead of P5 and Webber a front wing and getting P9 with a possibility of a penalty at the next race in Sepang. Nico Rosberg of Mercedes Petronas capitalizing and getting P5 instead. It was fun. Even at the tail end of the race Michael Schumacher on the last 10 laps had overtaken two cars clinching P10 for the last point scoring position. Rain equals unpredictability in Formula 1 and this is a good thing. Maybe we don't need the Gatling Guns, batterin rams and missiles after all. Just add water to the race track instead. Sepang would be equally fun if it rains. I just hope it does not rain till all racing was stopped like last year. Results 1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h33:36.531 2. Kubica Renault + 12.034 3. Massa Ferrari + 14.488 4. Alonso Ferrari + 16.304 5. Rosberg Mercedes + 16.683 6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 29.898 7. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 59.847 8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:00.536 9. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 1:07.319 10. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:09.391 11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.301 12. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1:14.084 13. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 2 laps 14. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps Did Not Finish Glock Virgin-Cosworth 41 Vettel Red Bull-Renault 26 Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 25 Sutil Force India-Mercedes 12 Petrov Renault 10 Senna HRT-Cosworth 5 Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1 Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1 Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1
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Lewis Hamilton was on Friday night charged by local police after he was caught doing smoky burnouts and 'fish-tailing' in a Mercedes road car near the Albert Park circuit. At 9.15pm in St Kilda, within sight of the turn 13 section of the formula one circuit, the 2008 world champion was pulled over by a Victorian Police divisional van. We reported earlier on Friday that the 25-year-old McLaren driver's company car this weekend is a silver 2010 E500 saloon. Police charged Hamilton, who will be summoned, with improper use of a motor vehicle and have impounded the car for 48 hours. Police confirmed that a 25-year-old Briton has been charged. Senior Constable Scott Woodford said the man was "extremely cooperative" and "fairy disappointed" with the incident. Wire reports said Hamilton was "visibly upset" and "worried this would dent his reputation". The incident coincides with a push within F1 for better road safety, with all teams contributing to the FIA's global campaign. In a statement issued by McLaren, Hamilton said: ?"This evening, I was driving in an over-exuberant manner and, as a result, was stopped by the police. "What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it."
