Buzzin F1 - Formula One Blog

Photo: The Red Bull team gave Sebastien Buemi a test run today!

It was the third and final day of testing at the Paul Ricard track today but with showers, sometimes heavy, it was not a very successful end to the last afternoon for the teams.

The ten teams spent the first two days testing on a track that stimulates a few of the characteristics of the Monaco circuit to prepare for the next round of the Formula One Championship.

Today the drivers were running on the longer, faster track in readiness for the Canadian Grand Prix, although because of the wet weather conditions, lap times proved inconclusive.

Jarno Trulli in the Toyota however, was the fastest man on the track with a time of 1:31.360, which he set almost halfway through the 26 laps he run today.

Nelson Piquet managed 60 laps more than any other driver on the track today and finished the second fastest on the time-sheet in the Renault, just under three-tenths slower than Trulli’s fastest lap.

Pedro de la Rosa was testing the McLaren Mercedes in today’s session and came in third ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the new Toro Rosso STR3.

Felipe Massa came in fifth for Ferrari, but the team decided to end the testing early today due to the deterioration in the weather.  He was followed by the BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld.

Sebastien Buemi had a test run in the Red Bull Renault today and finished seventh in front of Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India Ferrari with Honda’s Jenson Button in ninth place.

Williams Toyota gave their young German driver, Nico Hulkenberg, some time on the track today.  He was at the bottom of the time-sheets but at least got some more mileage under his belt.

Nelson Piquet Jr., has been warned that he needs to improve and quickly or his future in Formula One is in doubt.

The young Brazilian driver has had a bad start to the 2008 season, especially the last two races where in Turkey, he only managed to qualify in seventeenth position.

Steve Nielsen, the Sporting Director at Renault said “Well, it is obviously his first season in F1.  We saw last year with Heikki, he had a difficult start to the season and then he was able to turn around and I think Nelson has to do the same.”

“Nelson had a good race in Barcelona, unfortunately he made a mistake, but the Friday, (and) Saturday in qualifying, certainly, he did an excellent job and then made a mistake in the race.  So I think rather than say he’s had a disastrous start to the season, it’s a bit of a curate’s egg - there are good bits and bad bits.  But he needs to start having more good bits than the bad bits, and he needs to start and he needs to start doing that as soon as he can because F1 is a business, it’s a very cut throat business, and if people don’t deliver they go the obvious way.”

Mr Nielsen added “But I’m sure Nelson can turn it around.  We have seen in testing and in Barcelona he has got the speed, he just needs to concentrate and focus and make sure he turns it into results.”

All ten of the Formula One teams are this week testing their cars at the Paul Ricard circuit in France from today.  The teams began on the short configuration or the High Tech Test Track with it’s tight curves for the forthcoming Monaco Grand Prix, and on Friday will switch to a lower downforce layout to prepare for the Candian Grand Prix.

The Williams team were today trying a new “shark-fin” engine cover in the FW30 being driven by Nico Rosberg, similar to those recently seen on the Red Bull and Renault cars but a much sleeker version.  It could prove to be a winner at the Montreal circuit as it’s used to control the rear of the car sliding but designed not to mask the rear wing when the tail does slide or if there’s cross winds.

The Honda car has also been visually updated, although continuing with the downforce theme by developing endplates for their wings and have also added small winglets on the inner front wings.

The Toro Rosso’s new STR3 chassis, was being tested by Sebastian Vettel before its debut at the Monaco circuit next week.

Toyota have appeared with a radical new rear wing at the test but, if they will be allowed to use it under the current rules remains to be seen.  The team have slotted in the forward element of the front wing allowing the wing to be steeper without stalling and so creating more downforce.  The rear wing is limited to just two elements unlike the front wing which can have multiple elements.  They have also added extra fins to the pod wings creating yet more downforce.

Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix today, with a four-second lead at the Istanbul circuit for the Ferrari team, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in a strategy packed race.

The race got underway on a dry track today, and after a delay with the lights, Massa held his pole position to take the lead with Lewis Hamilton moving into second place.

The safety car was on the track before the end of the first lap, after the back runners had a tangle and Giancarlo Fisichella’s car went over the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima, putting Fishichella out of the race and Nakajima into the pits for a new rear wing ,although he was out of the race by lap five.

After the first set of pit stops, Massa was still leading followed by Hamilton and Raikkonen with Kubica in fourth place.

Hamilton took the lead after out-braking Massa at the tight left-hander but had to pit on lap thirty-three. However, it was for such a short fuel load that it was obvious he was on a three-stop strategy.

Massa pitted on lap thirty-seven and rejoined in third place but Hamilton still had to come into the pits for his third and final stop.

Kimi Raikkonen pitted on lap forty-one and rejoined in third and on lap forty-five, Hamilton pitted and slotted back in to the Ferrari sandwich for second place.

Massa took the victory and is now in second place in the Formula One Championship, moving up from fourth place, and on equal points with Lewis Hamilton but, Raikkonen still leads.

Hamilton finished in second ahead of the Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen with Robert Kubica, seventeen seconds behind him in fourth place.

Nick Heidfeld finished in a respectable fifth with Fernando Alonso in the Renault finishing in sixth place after an uneventful race for him.

Mark Webber took seventh place and earned more points for the Red Bull Renault team. The Williams driver, Nico Rosberg worked hard today to take the final points for his team after a disappointing qualifying session.

The BMW Sauber team continued to impress with Robert Kubica finishing in fourth and Nick Heidfeld in fifth and are running in second place in the Constructor’s Championship.

Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren Mercedes, started in second place on the grid but nothing went his way today and he finished the race in twelfth position.

Sebastien Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso was the only other driver not to complete the Grand Prix after developing a mechanical problem that saw him into the gravel trap and out of the race.

Here are the results for the Turkish Grand Prix;

1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1min 26:49.451sec

2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 3.779sec

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 4.271

4. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 21.945

5. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 38.741

6. Fernando Alonso (Renault) 53.724

7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:04.229

8. Nico Rosberg (Williams) 1:11.406

9. David Coulthard (Red Bull) 1:15.270

10. Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 1:16.344

11. Jenson Button (Honda) 1 lap

12. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 1 lap

13. Timo Glock (Toyota) 1 lap

14. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) 1 lap

15. Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) 1 lap

16. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1 lap

17. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 1 lap

Felipe Massa in the Ferrari is on pole position for tomorrows Grand Prix in Turkey after a flying lap at the end of the final qualifying session today.

In second place is Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren Mercedes but only just ahead of his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton.

The reigning World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen starts in fourth position followed by Robert Kubica in the outstanding BMW Sauber in fifth.

Mark Webber was impressive again, to qualify in sixth position for the Red Bull Renault team and ahead of  Fernando Alonso who will start in seventh.

In eighth position is Jarno Trulli for Toyota ahead of the second BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld in ninth and David Coulthard, at last, back in the top ten drivers.

The Williams driver, Nico Rosberg will start in eleventh place alongside Rubens Barrichello, who will be starting his 257th Grand Prix from twelfth on the grid.

Jenson Button in just behind his Honda team-mate in thirteenth with Sebastian Vettel in fourteenth in the Toro Rosso Ferrari.

Fifteenth place went to Timo Glock, well behind his team-mate,  but ahead of Kazuki Nakajima for Williams. Nakajima had a spin on his first run of the day and never really recovered.

Nelson Piquet was in seventeenth position followed by Sebastien Bourdais, who had earlier had to abandon his qualifying run.

The two Force India drivers line-up at the back of the grid with Adrian Sutil now in nineteenth and Giancarlo Fisichella moved back to twentieth. Fisichella was penalised after going through the pit light while it was showing red.

Here are the Qualifying Results;