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Motorsports Mondial - May 12, 2012

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f1weekly @ 8:26 PM

HAMILTON DISQUALIFIED FROM QUALI GOES TO THE BACK OF THE GRID.

Lewis Hamilton has been demoted from pole position to the back of the grid for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix for having too little fuel at the end of qualifying. It is the latest incident in a catalogue of pit‑lane gaffes for McLaren this season.

The decision means the Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado will start on pole, the first for Williams since Nico Hülkenberg in the rain of Brazil in 2010, with Fernando Alonso alongside for Ferrari. A McLaren spokesman said: “We accept the stewards did not agree with our interpretation of force majeure. Our aim is now to maximize the points we can score tomorrow.”

Hamilton had completed his triumphant lap and was midway round his slow-down lap when his McLaren team ordered him to stop because of a “technical problem”.

FIA rules state a car must return to the pits after qualifying and then have a litre of fuel remaining for a sample to be taken. Whitmarsh claimed 1.3 litres was ultimately extracted, but clearly the additional 0.3 litres – over and above the required one litre – would not have been enough to see Hamilton return to parc fermé. There was substantial doubt that Hamilton would have had that much fuel left after completing his slow-down lap. An F1 car will use about two litres of fuel every lap.

Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button also struggled, managing to secure only 11th – now upgraded to 10th – after failing to find the right setup to resolve understeer. McLaren’s performance here was merely the latest in a series of misfortunes to plague the team.

 


Motorsports Mondial -

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f1weekly @ 8:39 AM

Lewis Hamilton takes his first Spanish pole position number 150 for McLaren.

Pastor Maldonado puts his Williams on the front row.

Lewis Hamilton: “It was a fantastic qualifying session for me, very very happy with it – one of the best I ever had,” said Hamilton. “Amazing job by the guys in the garage and thanks to guys in factory who have brought upgrades.

The car feels great. It is a great day for the team I think. I really feel fantastic. I feel very, very happy.

You can normally be happy with a position but for some reason this feels better than other pole positions because you are looking for a perfect position. It is an incredible feeling you have.

I am very much aware that I have incredibly tough race tomorrow with these guys who are massively quick and how tricky it is in general,” he said. “It will mean a lot to me to win in Spain.

It has always been a good place for me, beautiful weather and people are incredible and the support I have continues to grow year by year and it has become such a pleasure. To win where you have such a big fan base will be fantastic.”

Pastor Maldonado: We have been working so hard all year to understand these tyres and with the updates we have brought to this race we have made a very good step forward.

The car is very consistent and its race pace is good so I am really looking forward to the race tomorrow. There has been a really positive atmosphere in the team all season and this is a great result for them and Venezuela.

Frank Williams: On the face of it, the regulations aren’t a myriad of high class mathematical problems; they are quite straightforward engineering problems. We’ve done it before and we just have to be more clever and more organised, maybe get one or two people in. We can make better cars than we have done. My job is to find the money; the engineers’ job is to make racing cars.”

“Do we have the right people? Well, the proof of the pudding is the proof of the pudding. I don’t think we lack very much. We have people with strong ambitions and good, strong optimism too. We’re proud of what we do.

“We make good racing cars, coupled with a good engine. We have the same engine as three or four other teams. We have the same tyres as all the other teams. It’s a bunch of human beings. The trick is to get the best group.”

Pos Driver Team Time Gap

 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m21.707s
 2.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m22.285s   + 0.578
 3.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m22.302s   + 0.595
 4.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m22.424s   + 0.717
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m22.487s   + 0.780
 6.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.533s   + 0.826
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m23.005s   + 1.298
 8.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     No time
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             No time
10.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       No time

Q2 cut-off time: 1m22.904s Gap **
11.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m22.944s   +  0.839
12.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m22.977s   +  0.872
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m23.125s   +  1.020
14.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m23.177s   +  1.072
15.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m23.265s   +  1.160
16.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m23.442s   +  1.337
17.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m23.444s   +  1.339
Q1 cut-off time: 1m24.362s Gap *
18.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m24.981s   + 2.398
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m25.277s   + 2.694
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m25.507s   + 2.924
21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m26.582s   + 3.999
22.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m27.032s   + 4.449
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m27.555s   + 4.972
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m31.122s   + 8.539

Pau novice Raffaele Marciello claims Pole-Position

Italian Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam, 1:11.600 minutes) was fastest in qualifying for the Grand Prix de Pau, which was split up into two groups. At the 2.76 kilometres long street circuit at the foot of the Pyrenees, another driver from the Formula 3 Euro Series, Carlos Sainz (Carlin, 1:10.802 minutes) topped the time sheets in the other group. Accordingly, Marciello and Sainz will be on the front row for Sunday’s 71st Grand Prix de Pau, which counts towards the FIA European Formula 3 Championship.

In the first group, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam, 1:10.826 minutes), Pascal Wehrlein (Mücke Motorsport, 1:10.853 minutes) and Jack Harvey (Carlin, 1:10.987 minutes) staged a thrilling battle for first place, which Sainz eventually secured with a tiny margin: his advantage on Juncadella was 0.024 seconds while third-placed rookie driver Pascal Wehrlein was only 0.051 seconds down on the fastest time. In the second group, fastest driver Raffaele Marciello had a bigger margin: he outpaced Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin, 1:10.864 minutes) by 0.254 seconds.

The starting grid positions for this afternoon’s first race are based on the second-fastest lap time by every driver. Here, Marciello also came out on top and as a result, he will be starting from the best grid position for race one as well. Danuel Juncadella and Pascal Wehrlein were first and second in their qualifying group. Thus, Formula 3 Euro Series drivers also locked out the front row of the starting grid for the first race.

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam): “I am really delighted by being on pole position for the Grand Prix de Pau and in fact, I am slightly surprised myself. After all, things didn’t go too well for me yesterday and moreover, this is my first time at Pau. In qualifying, I made a mistake on turn 1, but fortunately, the run-off area there is big enough.”

Carlos Sainz (Carlin): “I am absolutely delighted by being fastest of my group. As a novice at Pau, I hadn’t expected that. Only the fact that traffic on the track prevented me from driving a fast second lap is a pity.”


Motorsports Mondial - March 25, 2012

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f1weekly @ 11:10 AM

Fernando Alonso wins a chaotic wet GP in Sepang

Perez with a glorious second place for Sauber.

Hamilton happy to take third under the circumstances.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso scored a dramatic victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday when the Spaniard denied Sauber’s Sergio Perez a first Formula One triumph in a race turned on its head by the weather.

The race started in torrential rain and was stopped for 51 minutes after eight laps but Alonso took charge on its resumption to register a shock 28th career victory in a car that had been outpaced in qualifying in the opening two rounds.

“A big surprise today the win,” championship leader Alonso told reporters. “Our goal was to score as many points as possible. An unbelievable result, a great job from the team.”

Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton repeated his third place finish from the opening race of the season in Melbourne last weekend, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber in fourth and 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen fifth in his Lotus.

Australia race winner Jenson Button and world champion Sebastian Vettel both suffered mid-race collisions with the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan and finished outside the points.

Fernando Alonso: Yeah definitely, a big surprise today with the win. We were not competitive in Australia, we were not competitive here and our goal for this first race is to score as many points as possible. But today we did 25 so it’s an unbelievable result, so great job from the team and trackside I think we maximised the potential we have in our hands at the moment. Good qualifying yesterday going into Q3 and then today keeping calm in some extreme conditions I think, at the beginning with the Inters with a lot of water and then switching to the Inters and then switching to the dry tyres in the perfect moment with perfect pitstops. Congratulations to the team because I think they deserve this victory. It’s a tough time for us at the moment but this Sunday we will remember.

Sergio Pérez: I think so, I definitely think so. I mean, I was catching Fernando toward the end of the race, I knew I had to get him soon because all the sectors with the high speed I was losing already my front tyres with a lot of degradation going behind Fernando, so it wasn’t easy. Then I ran wide in the quick corner, I touched a kerb and I went to the dirty side. It was completely wet and that was the end of the win, probably. It was very difficult obviously to get Fernando but I think today the win was possible. I have to say the team has done an incredible job. They called me always on the right time, especially the first pitstop we did, it was really at the right moment. Unfortunately Fernando pitted one lap earlier than us, towards the end of the race when the track was already dry and he opened some gap there, and even then we managed to get him, the pace was fantastic, I was really quick. I have to say many thanks to the team, they have done a great job and I’m very happy for them.

Lewis Hamilton: I think we can be satisfied, definitely. First of all congratulations to Fernando and also to Sergio who both drove fantastically well. It was very tough to catch them. Yeah, of course we would have liked to have more points this weekend but yeah, I guess I can’t really complain. I’m on the podium for second week in a row so I’m pretty happy. I feel pretty fortunate that I was able to stay out of trouble with the conditions changing constantly. I think we did a great job.

Kimi Räikkönen: “It was a bit difficult today. It was my first time on the wet weather Pirellis and I didn’t know how the intermediate or wet tyres would react – I had only completed one installation lap on them before. I just tried to stay on the road and push as much as I felt comfortable with. When I changed to the dry tyres it took a couple of laps to get heat into them, and my visor was pretty dirty so seeing the dry line was difficult. Once I found my way I could push much harder. It was difficult to have another mixed weather weekend. The conditions changed a lot today so it was always a case of adapting and looking for grip. Overall, we seemed to have a pretty strong package again this weekend, so I’m relatively happy. A fifth today was okay, but we’re always looking for better results.”

Bruno Senna: I am really excited about the result today. I’m so happy that I have scored points for the team after a very tough race. It’s on days like to today that you can show what you can do in difficult conditions. I knew we had to attack after the restart, so it was very satisfying to push hard, not make any mistakes and to make my way up through the field. I’m so happy for everyone in the team.

Pastor Maldonado: It was very difficult today with conditions changing so quickly at the start. I had poor visibility in the pitlane so missed the pit box entry after the restart which dropped me down the order. I was then just pushing every lap and our pace was very consistent. I had a good race to come through from 20th to tenth with just two laps remaining. Bruno had a great race and we have both been able to show that the car is competitive.

Paul Di Resta: “The start of the race was a bit of a mess and it was all about trying to stay on the track and stay out of trouble. I did pretty well until Maldonado hit me just before the red flag, which spun me around and cost me about three places. At the restart our pace was very good on the intermediate tyres and we were able to get well up the order and stay with the leading group. As it dried out we switched to dry tyres at the same time everyone else did, which was the safe way to play it, and just tried to hold position in the points. We were a bit lucky with some of the issues for cars ahead, but in races like this you need a bit of luck and given where we started I think we can come away from here very happy with this result.”

Nico Hulkenberg: “I think today’s performance with two cars in the points is a great team result and I’m very happy to pick up my first points of the season. It was quite a complicated race and the rain certainly helped mix things up, but we made the most of our chances and made good calls on the strategy. I have to say that the wet conditions today were some of the worst I’ve raced in and the visibility was almost zero before the race was stopped. It was much better when the race restarted, but I struggled with the balance of the car on the intermediates, so it was just a case of trying to stay in the points and catch Vergne ahead.”

Photo: saubermotorsportsAG


Motorsports Mondial - March 19, 2012

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f1weekly @ 12:34 AM

“Excited Nervous”


Photo. Reuters

Mumm in Melbourne. Jenson Button goes three in four to win season opener. Two McLaren drivers on the podium. Two Aussie mates in the points. Maldonado meets the wall on final lap.

Jenson Button won the Australian Grand Prix with authority; beating teammate and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton at the start and holding-off Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps.

Victory was Button’s third in Melbourne in the past four years, and the first all McLaren front row since the 2009 European Grand Prix in Valencia when Hamilton shared the front row with Heikki Kovalainen.

Button’s papito, John, was elated in his usual race-day pink shirt and claimed his son was “nervous, but excited nervous” before the race.

Michael Schumacher ran third in the early stages before grinding to a halt with gearbox issues.

Button and Hamilton were headed for a one-two finish after their second pit stop for tires; then the safety car was deployed as Vitaly Petrov parked his Caterham along the pit wall. This allowed Sebastian Vettel to change tires and he got the jump on Hamilton.

Vettel came within striking distance of Button late in the race but was happy to claim second step on the podium. The winner in Melbourne last year said, “I’m very happy with myself today – I think it was the most we could have achieved.”

Pole-winner Hamilton never had the pace to threaten Button and came under threat of losing his podium spot from local man Mark Webber who finished behind the Briton in fourth; his best place in his home grand prix.


Photo. Getty Images

Take Five. Alonso, as usual, hauled in important championship points and is already asking the Italian team to change thinking to save the season. Teammate Massa crashed out with fellow Brazilian Bruno Senna.

Fernando Alonso, in his usual fighting spirit after the blues in qualifying, came home fifth. “I am happy I managed to bring home a useful number of points.” The Ferrari star came under intense pressure from the Williams of Pastor Maldonado in the final few laps of the race.

The Venezuelan driver crashed heavily on the final lap of the race after a tremendous drive. Even Alonso felt sorry for him. “When I saw he’d gone off the track I breathed a sigh. I am sorry for him, because it’s a real shame to finish a race like that.”

Kamui Kobayashi was sixth in his Sauber-Ferrari.

Photo. William West. AFP/Getty Images.

Clear Channel. Kimi’s comeback was hampered by communication issues but he was in the points at the end. Teammate Grosjean was impressive in qualifying but was taken out early in the race.

The Comeback Kid, Kimi Raikkonen, was seventh for Lotus. His teammate, Romain Grosjean, started from the second row but fell victim to wheel banging with Maldonado’s Williams shortly after the start.

Mexican Sergio Perez did a repeat of last year and made only one pit stop. He was rewarded with eighth place finish.

Daniel Ricciardo made it two Aussie mates in the points, taking ninth in his Toro Rosso, his first world championships points. Final point was snatched by Paul Di Resta for Force India. His teammate and another Comeback Kid, Nico Hulkenberg, for the second time in Australia was taken out on the opening lap.

The 58-lap race featured six world champions for the first time in an F1 event.

The fastest lap was recorded by race winner at 1:29.187

Photo. Getty Images 

Vergne gone wild. F1 debutant Jean-Eric Vergne was impressive in Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso. He set the sixth fastest lap of the race and was highest placed of the three French drivers.

Two French drivers made their Grand Prix debut. Jean-Eric Vergne was first man out of points in 11th and surprisingly had the sixth fastest lap of the race. Charles Pic was 15th in his Marussia-Cosworth albeit two laps down. His teammate Timo Glock was 14th and a lap down.

F1’s Asian fusion follows next weekend at Sepang with the Malaysian Grand Prix. 

– Nasir Hameed

   Greetings and Fair Dinkum regards.


Motorsports Mondial - March 18, 2012

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f1weekly @ 9:49 AM

Photo: stupix

Jensen Button Dominates the Australian Grand Prix

Jenson Button: I think, as we all know sat here, every win means a lot to you, and for us as a team it really shows how important the winter is. We’ve had a strong winter – yesterday’s qualifying really showed that – so it’s nice to come away with a victory today (at the) first race of the new season. The guys back at Woking have done an amazing job this winter. This will definitely help them to push harder into the extra hours in the morning when they’re making that extra little part. So, big thank you to everyone at Woking and the whole of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team for this victory here in Melbourne.

Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, nevertheless I think we would have had a good shot at him because it was very close and I was quite quick and I decided to stay out and he went to the pits so I think we would have had a crack even without the Safety Car, it would have been very close but surely it did help a little bit. Nevertheless, I think it was a great race. Quite a lot of fun. A good start initially but then I was surprised by Nico. He had a very good start. I got a bit stuck at the inside, I didn’t really have an option on where to go and he got past and then I had two Mercedes ahead. I got past Nico very quickly – which was a great manouevre, on edge. And then I was behind Michael where I had a mistake, went off in the first corner and then he decided to do exactly the same the next time I got close to him. That was good. And then, obviously, catching up the McLarens. I think all in all, congratulations to McLaren and to Jenson, he drove a fantastic race and was unbeatable today but I’m very happy to come away with second, it’s a lot of points. I think a lot of people would not have expected that after the result of yesterday. I think we had a better car in the race and the car seems to have a lot of potential and it’s up to us to get to it. Then we should be very close to these guys but I think it was a great day and thanks to everyone for pushing so hard and making the race result today possible.

Lewis Hamilton: No. First of all, congratulation to Jenson he did a fantastic job and congratulations to the team for doing a great job over the winter. Yeah it as just a bit of a tough day but we have plenty of races ahead so I just have to keep my head down.

Kimi Räikkönen: “It feels like I’ve never been away. Yesterday we made some mistakes which cost us quite badly so it could easily have been better in the race. I made a good start but then there was an accident in front of me at the first turn, so we lost a few places there as I had to almost stop and move onto the grass to avoid it. That made the race harder again as we had the speed, but a lot of traffic to get through. When you look at all these things we could have finished in a much better position. We had the safety car which I think actually hurt us a bit as well. Overall the weekend was far from ideal, but the car feels good and to come back to 7th means we at least come away with some points.”

Romain Grosjean: “I think we could have achieved a great result today. It’s frustrating as I really wanted to make the chequered flag and even the podium, but on the positive side the car is performing very well. I was keeping pace with the guys in front of me and everything was looking good. My start wasn’t great so we’ll need to have a look at the data. Then of course there was the collision with Pastor (Maldonado). From what I saw he braked far too late and hit my right front wheel which broke the steering and that was it; my race was over. The team deserved better because they have been working very hard, but by tomorrow morning it will all be a memory. We’ll move on to Malaysia now which is one of my favourite circuits and focus on getting a result there.”


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