McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are among those involved in what is essentially a five driver race for this years world title. Can they keep in touch and compete with the Red Bull cars and the Ferrari of Alonso?

Lewis Hamilton remains calm in his pursuit and is relishing the prospect of getting the second part of the F1 season underway. Following a relaxing time over the break, he, like everyone else involved is desperate to get behind the wheel and give his all.

Australia has now been chosen as the second round, allowing the race to begin at 5pm to fit in with the television broadcasters who favour racing in ‘twilight’ rather than the dark.  However, the Singapore round will still be under full floodlights when it takes place in late September.

Although as yet no contract has been signed, the Canadian Grand Prix has been pencilled in for the 13 June, if the contract fails again this year the Turkey Grand Prix will be held later to compensate.

South Korea is a new circuit on the calendar, set to take place in mid-October with the final round being held in Brazil as usual but it will be held in November.

Here is the calendar;

Australia          March 28
Malaysia           April 4
China              April 18
Spain              May 9
Monaco             May 23
Turkey             May 30
Canada*            June 13
Europe (Valencia)  June 27
Great Britain      July 11
Germany            July 25
Hungary            August 1
Belgium            August 29
Italy              September 12
Singapore          September 26
Japan              October 3
Korea              October 17
Abu Dhabi          October 31
Brazil             November 14

*Subject to the completion of contract negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to 6 June.

Note: The race in Australia will start at 1700 local time, in Malaysia at 1600 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Abu Dhabi at 1700 local time.

Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari 2009

Kimi Raikkonen took the win yesterday at the Belgian Grand Prix, for the first time this season for the Ferrari team in an incident packed race.

Giancarlo Fisichella set pole position in an amazing qualifying session yesterday in the Force India while team-mate Adrian Sutil qualified in eleventh.  The Toyota of Jarno Trulli was in second place on the grid with an impressive Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber alongside him in third.

Rubens Barrichello set third fastest time for the Brawn GP team while his team-mate, championship leader Jenson Button could only manage fourteenth.  Second BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was in fifth followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen in sixth and Timo Glock in the second Toyota.

Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel is in eighth ahead of team-mate Mark Webber in ninth and the Williams of Nico Rosberg in tenth.  In eleventh was Sutil followed by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and the Renault of Fernando Alonso in thirteenth place.

Button was in fourteenth ahead of Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren and the two Toro Rosso’s of Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari in sixteenth and seventeenth places respectively.  The second Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima was in eighteenth place followed by Romain Grosjean in the second Renault and Ferrari replacement driver Luca Badoer on the final grid spot.

As the race got underway, Raikkonen took to the outside of the pack and slotted into second place while behind him Jenson Button got tagged by the rookie driver Roman Grosjean, which put him into a spin and also caught out the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton and Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari.  The safety car was out on track while the track was cleared of cars and debris.

Rubens Barrichello had a terrible start, going from fourth place on the grid to the back of the field in the Brawn GP car while his team-mate Button was now out of the race.

Fisichella led the race followed by Raikkonen, Kubica, Glock, Webber, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Vettel, Alonso, Kovalainen, Nakajima, Badoer, Trulli, Barichello and Sutil, with the final two having already pitted.

The safety car was in on lap 5 as Raikkonen lined-up the Force India and passed Fisichella on the run-up to Les Coombes to take the lead.  Vettel passed the Williams of Rosberg for seventh place as Barrichello was on the move, taking the Ferrari of Badoer for thirteenth place before passing the Williams of Nakajima on the following lap for twelfth.

The BMW Sauber of Kubica came  into the pits on lap 13 along with the Toyota of Timo Glock, moving Mark Webber, the Red Bull driver into third position.  Glock had a terrible pit stop, losing valuable seconds after suffering a problem with the fuel rig, rejoining the race in thirteenth place.

On lap 15, both Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Fisichella in the Force India took their first pit stops, followed by Heidfeld and Webber.  Webber exited the pit lane directly in front of  Heidfeld but was given a drive through penalty for the move.

On lap 17, race leader Sebastian Vettel pitted from the lead, leaving Rosberg at the front followed by Raikkonen and Fisichella.  Vettel rejoined in eighth place as Rosberg took his first stop and Webber entered the pits to serve his penalty.

Trulli had a disastrous race and was then held-up in the pit stop, ending any chances of scoring any points in this race, retiring the Toyota on the following lap.

Raikkonen led in the Ferrari followed by Fisichella, less than a second behind and Alonso in the Renault in third, until he pitted on lap 25.  The team struggled to get the front wheel onto the car after damage was discovered from the incident with Sutil at the start of the race when the two cars touched wheels.  Alonso rejoined the race in fourteenth place, on lap 27 he pitted the Renault and retired from the race.

Kovalainen pitted the McLaren on lap 27 while running in fourth place and rejoins in front of Buemi.  Sutil pitted on the following lap as the GP Brawn car of Barrichello rejoined in front of the Williams of Nakajima.

On lap 31, Kubica took his final stop from third, he’s followed by Buemi, Raikkonen and Fisichella.  Raikkonen stayed ahead of the Force India driver as they exited the pits, while Vettel leads the race in the Red Bull.

Nick Heidfeld pitted on lap 33, followed by Glock and Rosberg.  Vettel was still leading the race with Raikkonen and Fisichella right with him.

Webber pitted the Red Bull on lap 35 and rejoined ahead of Glock but behind the Williams of Rosberg.  Vettel pitted on the same lap as he battled for position with Kubica, the Red Bull driver managed to get ahead in his pit stop and rejoined in third place.

Raikkonen led the race, with Fisichella less than a second behind, followed by Vettel, Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Barrichello and Rosberg.

On lap 38, Sebastian Vettel was on a charge and set the fastest lap of the race,  he continued to take half-a-second a lap out of the leading two, but would not have enough laps left to pass them.

On lap 40, Heidfeld caught-up with his BMW Sauber team-mate Kubica while Barrichello was on the tail of Kovalainen, for sixth place.  Moments later, smoke was seen coming from the rear of Barrichello’s Ferrari, he was radioed by his team and told that it was just an oil leak and to carry on.

Raikkonen took the victory ahead of Fisichella and Vettel in third.  Kubica finished in fourth followed by Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Barrichello, Rosber, Webber and Glock.

Here are the results;

1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 44 laps 1hr 23m 50.995s
2. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes +0.9s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +3.8s
4. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +9.9s
5. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +11.2s
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +32.7s
7. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +35.4s
8. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +36.2s

9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +36.9s
10. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +41.4s
11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +42.6s
12. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +46.1s
13. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +54.2s
14. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +98.1s

Rtd. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 26 laps completed
Rtd. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 21 laps completed
Rtd. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
Rtd. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0 laps completed

Fastest lap:

Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 47.263s

all times unofficial

Hamilton Cutting The Chicane at Spa 2008

The teams and drivers of the Formula One series, were packing up their equipment on Sunday evening and heading for the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for this weekends Belgian Grand Prix.

Known for it’s unpredictable weather patterns, the circuit is a favourite amongst drivers with it’s fast curves and long straights.  While one part of the track can be totally dry, rain can begin to fall on another section leaving the tyre selection a nightmare.

Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello, crossed the line at the European Grand Prix last week, to claim his first win in five years.  Despite the rumours that Barrichello, 37,  will retire at the end of the season, the Brazilian very much wants to continue and is still aiming to win the championship.

The Brawn GP team are adamant that there will be no team orders after Barrichello’s victory, despite carrying a heavier fuel-load than his team-mate.  Jenson Button and Rubens are separated by only 18 points on the leader board with Jenson acknowledging that his team-mate will now be even keener for wins after last weekend.

Red bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel, still intends to give it his all and has vowed not to give up his chances of winning the championship.  Vettel retired from the European Grand Prix after blowing another engine, leaving him with 5 retirements this season in just 11 rounds.  However, there is still 60 points up for grabs and Vettel feels that he is still in the running.

The Toyota team are looking forward to the race this weekend, with Jarno Trulli saying;

“Spa is a fantastic track and definitely my favourite in F1.  It is a real driver’s circuit and that suits me perfectly. There is almost every type of corner, so all the way around the lap you are challenged and I love that. Every time you drive around Spa it is amazing but I have to say it was special to get pole position there a few years ago.”

Team-mate Timo Glock confirmed his love of the circuit and said;

“Along with Monaco, Spa is my favourite circuit.  To drive a Formula 1 car around it is a fantastic experience and it’s one of the best feelings you can have in this sport. It’s one of those circuits you dream about racing on when you are growing up; it’s just a very impressive track.

Even though I really enjoy the circuit, I have some frustrating memories of the place; being taken out by another driver on the warm-up lap in 2007 and being penalised last year when I did one of the best final laps of my career to get into the points. That was all down to bad luck so I am due a change!”

The BMW Sauber team are expected to be running with a medium-downforce specification at this weekends meeting, and their cars will be featuring special wings.  Nick Heidfeld is running in 13th place in the championship with his team-mate Robert Kubica, right behind in 14th place.

Lewis Hamilton claimed the win at the Belgian Grand Prix last year for the McLaren team, however, after the race the British driver was demoted to third after it was deemed that he had gained an unfair advantage after cutting the chicane as he battled with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton and his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, both started on the front row at Valencia and are keen to continue although Hamilton claimed that they have not got the best car at the moment.

Fernando Alonso feels that the Belgian circuit is the greatest challenge of the year and intends to push the Renault to it’s limit.  His new team-mate Romain Grosjean, won his GP2 feature race at the track last year and is eager to push to get closer to Alonso’s times.

Adrian Sutil, Force India driver, confirmed that the cars new aero package has given the team a great boost and is aiming for another top ten finish.  His team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, has driven at the circuit many times and recalled his first time at the track for the Jordan team, where he finished second to Mika Hakkinen in 1997.

The Ferrari team have confirmed, that for the second time, Luca Badoer will be in the driving seat as a replacement for the Brazilian driver Felipe Massa.  After struggling to get to grips with the F60 at the Valencia circuit, Badoer qualified in last place and finished the weekend in 17th, while Kimi Raikkonen made it onto the podium.

Badoer was given four speeding fines in the pit lane in Friday’s practice session and incurred a drive-through penalty during the race on Sunday for crossing the white line on the pit lane exit.  The team have put last weekend down as Badoer’s learning weekend, seeing him improving the more track time he got and have given him the second drive to prove himself.

Williams driver Nico Rosberg, thinks that the Spa circuit will suit their car perfectly with it’s strong aero package for the quick corners.  His team-mate Kazuki Nakajima, was disappointed with their results in 2008 but feels that the weather made it difficult for everyone.

This weekend, rain is expected at the circuit although race day is expected to be overcast but dry.

Felipe Massa

This weekend the Formula One teams and drivers are in Belgium at the Spa Francorchamps circuit and Ferrari have been at the top of the time-sheets in the Friday morning free practice session.

Felipe Massa in the Ferrari took the top spot early in the session today and then went even faster after putting the softer option tyre onto the car, setting a time of 1:47.284, three-tenths of a second quicker than his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

The two McLaren drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen took third and fourth respectively, six-tenths of a second behind Massa.

Fernando Alonso was a surprising fifth in the Renault with Mark Webber in sixth after opting for a softer tyre late in the session for the Red Bull.

The two Toro Rosso drivers, Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel finished in a respectible seventh and eighth place, although Bourdais seemed to suffer some king of mechanical problem right at the end of the session.

Timo Glock in the Toyota finished in ninth position with the second Renault driver Nelson Piquet behind him to complete the top ten fastest drivers of the morning session.

The two BMW Sauber drivers Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld were in eleventh and twelfth places although Heidfeld seemed unhappy with the set-up of his car.

Nico Rosberg for the Williams finished in thirteenth place while his team-mate Kazuki Nakajima was down in eighteenth place.  Both cars had a change of front wing during their time on track, testing out a new design.

Jarno Trulli in the second Toyota was in fouteenth place followed by the second Red Bull driver David Coulthard in fifteenth.

The two Force India drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil finished in sixteenth and seventeenth place repectively after Sutil’s fastest lap was disqualifeid when he cut the corner at the final chicane.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were at the back of the runners today for the Honda team, both over three seconds off the pace.