Quali - October 31, 2009
Lewis of Arabia: Shining bright and dominating all three qualifying sessions at the new ultra-modern Yas Marina circuit, Lewis Hamilton captured pole position for the final F1 race of the season, the inaugural Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is McLaren driver’s fourth pole position in last seven races, and 17th in just three years of competition at the top tier of motor racing.
Mark Webber, winner of last race in Brazil, will start third behind his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel. The Brawn boys are fourth and fifth on the grid, Rubens Barrichello out qualifying newly crowned world champion Jenson Button.
Kimi Raikkonen will start 11th in his final race for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso, who will replace Raikkonen at Ferrari next year, did not make it out of Q1 in his final fling with Renault.
Senna name returns to F1: Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, has been confirmed at Campos Meta F1 team for 2010.
American in GP2: Yas Marina hosted the opening round of the 2009/10 GP2 Asia series. Saturday’s feature race saw the debut of 18-year old California driver Alexander Rossi who finished an impressive fourth. Race was won by Davide Valsecchi of Italy.
Formula 2: Andy Soucek of Spain won the penultimate race of the season at Circuit de Cataluña in Barcelona.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:39.873 1:39.695 1:40.948
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:40.666 1:39.984 1:41.615
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:40.667 1:40.272 1:41.726
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:40.574 1:40.421 1:41.786
5. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:40.378 1:40.148 1:41.892
6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:40.517 1:40.373 1:41.897
7. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:40.520 1:40.545 1:41.992
8. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:40.558 1:40.635 1:42.343
9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:40.842 1:40.661 1:42.583
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:40.908 1:40.430 1:42.713
11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:41.100 1:40.726
12. Kobayashi Toyota (B) 1:41.035 1:40.777
13. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:40.808 1:40.983
14. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:41.096 1:41.148
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:41.503 1:41.689
16. Alonso Renault (B) 1:41.667
17. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:41.701
18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:41.863
19. Grosjean Renault (B) 1:41.950
20. Fisichella Ferrari (B) 1:42.184
Abu Dhabi - October 30, 2009
Arabian Nights: Grand finale for the 2009 Grand Prix season takes place this weekend at the new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The Tilke-designed facility will accommodate 50,000 spectators and feature the longest straight in Formula One.
The circuit will also inaugurate the 2009/10 GP2 Asia series. Saturday’s feature race will make Alexander Rossi from northern California the first American in GP2 competition since Scott Speed in 2005.
“May I have your Monster, please?”
Lewis Hamilton tops the first free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Williams confirms engine deal with Cosworth.
Fernando Alonso with an emotional goodbye to Renault F1.
F1weekly podcast number 387
Motorsports Mondial with Nasir Hameed.
Nico Rosberg is leaving Williams looking for a winning car.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Renault has signed a sponsorship deal with Dutch watchmaker TW Steel.
Formula 1 would suffer huge damage if the British Grand Prix is lost.
Motorsports Mondial to return in podcast number 387 with Nasir’s return from Europe.
Abu Dhabi: Work at the Yas Marina Circuit has gathered pace since the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) confirmed last month that the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 15, 2009 would be the season-ending finale to the Formula One calendar.
Philippe Gurdjian, Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM) CEO, said: “I am very happy that the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the last race of the 2009 season. We continue to work day and night to create something which will be unique both for Formula One and for Abu Dhabi.”
Work began on the Yas Marina Circuit in February 2007 after the Grand Prix franchise was awarded to Abu Dhabi for a renewable seven year term until 2016.
With the present work force of 4,000 set to grow to a peak of 5,500 by the end of this year, the ADMM are confident the circuit will be finished in time for them to fully test the facilities prior to the Grand Prix.
Loeb - October 25, 2009
Sebastien Loeb wins the Rally of Great Britain taking his sixth World Rally Title.
Loeb started the year by winning Rally Ireland for the second time since 2007. He then won his first Rally NorwayMikko Hirvonen, lasting throughout the very final stage. Being first on the road through all three days, Loeb kept his lead, in the end winning with 9.8 seconds over Hirvonen. Loeb continued his good form by winning over Hirvonen in Cyprus, marking his career 50th victory, and in Portugal. His victory in Argentina, the fifth in a row in this country, was also his fifth victory in a row since the start of the season. ever, after a fierce battle with
At the Rally d’Italia Sardegna, Loeb had a puncture after going off the road and dropped from third to fourth. Although he passed Petter Solberg for the final podium spot, he still finished fourth due to a time penalty for a safety rule violation; co-driver Daniel Elena had unfastened his safety belts before the crew stopped the car for a tire change. At the Acropolis Rally, Loeb crashed out from third place. On Rally Poland’s return to the WRC, Loeb had another crash but he continued in the event under superally rules. After team orders issued for the Citroën Junior Team drivers and a late mistake by Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala, Loeb found himself seventh but had lost the championship lead to Hirvonen by one point.
By winning the Rally Catalunya, Loeb reduced the deficit to Hirvonen in the title race before the final event of the year; once again trailing by a single point. The Frenchman gained the championship by winning the final event of the year, the Rally GB. Victory was secured partly due to an incredible performance over SS8 and SS9, where in the course of only two stages Loeb extended his lead in the rally over Hirvonen from 2.4s to 25s.
Pos Driver Car Time/Gap
1. Sebastien Loeb Citroen 3h16m25.4s
2. Mikko Hirvonen Ford + 1m06.1s
3. Dani Sordo Citroen + 1m07.1s
4. Petter Solberg Citroen + 1m28.1s
5. Henning Solberg Ford + 6m28.0s
6. Matthew Wilson Ford + 7m46.0s
7. Jari-Matti Latvala Ford + 12m11.9s
8. Conrad Rautenbach Citroen + 14m27.8s
9. Eyvind Brynildsen Skoda + 22m22.7s
10. Armindo Araujo Mitsubishi + 24m18.8s
