There was no repeat of the Canadian Grand Prix where a lapse of concentration allowed Jenson Button to overtake Vettel on the last lap.  Yesterday the 23 year-old defending champion won the European Grand Prix with a fautless and somewhat effortless drive to give him his sixth victory of the 2011 season. He led from start to finish and never looked like being overtaken, even with a slight lead over Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber.

BBC1 commentator and former F1 driver, Martin Brundle remarked: “This has again been a study in dominance by Sebastian Vettel. [...] He was using his head, using his tyres better than anyone else and we haven’t seen him put a foot wrong.”

Following the race both Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren-Mercedes‘ Lewis Hamilton admitted they believe this season’s F1 Drivers Championship is already wrapped up.  Though today, Lewis Hamilton has vowed to continue trying his best to beat the unstoppable Red Bull-Renault driver.

Sebastian Vettel’s victory yesterday extends his lead to 77 points with eight races still to go.

Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place with Jenson Button in sixth.

F1 Drivers’ World Championship 2011
1   Sebatian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull-Renault 186 points
2    Jenson Button (Great Britain) McLaren-Mercedes 109
3    Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull-Renault 109
4    Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) McLaren-Mercedes 97
5    Fernado Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 87
6    Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 42
7    Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 32
8    Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 31
9    Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Renault 30
10 Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 26

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Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing 2010

The Red Bull driver Sebastain Vettel took victory yesterday at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain while Mark Webber walked away from an horrendous accident.

Vettel who started from pole position dominated the race from the start followed by Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren and the second Red Bull of Mark Webber as they headed into the first corner.  Webber was soon moved back to five position as he was passed by both the Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

The Australian soon slipped further back to ninth before getting it all wrong on lap 10 when he dropped into the slipstream of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus.  Webber clipped the back of the Lotus, launching his Red Bull into the air and landing on the roof before flipping back over and going at full speed into the tyre wall.  Webber miraculously walked away from the high-speed crash as the safety car was deployed.

The usual mad dash for the pit lane followed the accident leaving Michael Schumacher to lead the Grand Prix followed by the second non-stopper Kamui Kobayashi.

As the safety car entered the pits it was Vettel still in the lead followed by Hamilton, Kobayashi, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Robert Kubica, Sebastien Buemi, Adrian Sutil, Nico Hulkenburg and Alonso.

On lap 21 of the race it was announced that Lewis Hamilton was under investigation by the stewards for passing the safety car.  The McLaren driver pitted on lap 28 to serve his drive-through penalty and rejoined the circuit still in second place.

Timo Glock was forced to make an unscheduled stop when he developed a puncture after coming into contact with the HRT car of Bruno Senna, who also ended up returning to the pits for a new nose cone.  Glock was later issued with a 20 second penalty for ignoring waved blue flags.

It was then announced that nine cars were under investigation for speeding behind the safety car Button, Barrichello, Hulkenberg, de la Rosa, Petrov, Sutil, Liuzzi, Buemi and Kubica. All nine drivers have since been given a five-second penalty added onto their finishing times although it didn’t make much difference to the outcome of the positions.

Nico Hulkenberg was forced to retire with only 7 laps of the race to run after developing a perished rear tyre that damaged the rear bodywork of the Williams.

Vettel crossed the line ahead of Hamilton, Button, Barrichello, Kubica, Sutil, Kobayashi, Buemi, Alonso and de la Rosa completing the top ten drivers.

Here are the results;

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 57 laps 1hr 40m 29.571s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +5.0s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +12.6s*
4. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +25.6s*
5. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +27.1s*
6. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +30.1s*
7. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari +30.9s
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +32.8s
9. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +36.2s*
10. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +44.3s

Looking forward to this weekend’s race at Valencia for the European Grand Prix, Lewis talks about his main rivals in Spain and his own preparations for the event.

In the second part of the video watch Lewis joined by team mate Jenson Button as they are left to their own devices to assemble a Formula One car without the help of the people that know what to do.

The result is predictably hilarious, lets hope they never have to work in the garage!

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.

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.

Rubens Barrichello - European Grand Prix - Valencia 2009

The Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello, claimed the win at the European Grand Prix in Valencia yesterday, 2 seconds ahead of pole man Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren.

With Barrichello running on a heavy fuel-load from third on the grid behind the two McLarens, it was expected to be a race of  strategies, and one which paid off for the Brazilian driver after a problem with a tyre on the car of Hamilton caused a delay of several seconds on his final pit-stops.

As the race got underway, Kimi Raikkonen moved his Ferrari up into fourth position after starting from sixth on the grid while the Brawn GP car of Jenson Button, lost places at the first corner. Button got a good start as the lights went out and headed into the first corner alongside Sebastien Vettel but backed off seeing four cars slip past him.  Button then passed Mark Webber but the move was seen as having gained an unfair advantage by cutting the chicane and he was advised to let Webber back in front.

Hamilton led the pack followed by Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren, ahead of Barrichello, Raikkonen, Vettel in the Red Bull Racing car, Nico Rosberg in the Williams, Fernando Alonso in the Renault and Button in eighth.

Sebastien Buemi suffered a damaged front wing on the Scuderia Toro , after a coming together with Timo Glock in the Toyota and had to return to the pits for a replacement.  Jarno Trulli in the second Toyota also had an incident on the first lap with newcomer Romain Grosjean in the Renault but both drivers continued. Grosjean had a huge spin on lap 10 but again managed to continue without problem.

Hamilton went in for his first pit stop on lap 17 along with Vettel, who had suffered a problem with refueling and Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber. On lap 18, Kovalianen and Alonso entered the pits as Vettel returned after a very slow lap, to once again try to take on fuel.

Barrichello was now leading the race as Raikkonen and Button took their first pit stops on lap 20 and on lap 21 the Brazilian entered the pits for his stop followed by Rosberg.

Barrichello rejoined in front of the McLaren of Kovalainen, moving him into second place and closer to the leading man.

Sebastien Vettel’s race was over on lap 24 as he stopped on the side of the track with smoke coming from the Red Bull engine, a disaster for the German driver who is currently running at third in the championship.

On lap 32, Luca Badoer, the replacement driver for the recuperating Felipe Massa in the Ferrari,  was given a drive through penalty after crossing the white line when he exited the pits, which he took on the following lap.

By lap 35, Barrichello had recorded the fastest lap of the race as he got his head down to close the gap between himself and the McLaren of Hamilton.  He needed to be closer to the British driver if he had any hope of jumping him in the next round of pit stops.

Hamilton made his second pit stop on lap 38 but what a disaster, it appeared that the front left tyre was not ready, losing valuable seconds for the McLaren driver as Barrichello set another fastest lap on track.  Kovalainen then entered the pits for his second stop on the following lap.

On lap 40, Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams car suffered a left rear puncture and struggled back to the pits which he had left only a few minutes earlier on a scheduled stop.

Barrichello came in for his second stop on lap 41 and rejoined the track in front of Hamilton, while Raikkonen and Kubica entered the pits.

On lap 43, Button, Rosberg and Webber took their second stops with Button and Rosberg both managing to rejoin ahead of Webber.  Sebastien Buemi suffered a spin in his ToroRosso on lap 44 after struggling with what was left of his brakes, finally retiring from the race.

By lap 45, Barrichello had increased the lead between himself and Hamilton, to 6 seconds with Raikkonen up to third place after passing Kovalainen in the second stop.  Rosberg was in fifth in the Williams followed by the Renault of Alonso, Button and Kubica.

Barrichello, wearing a crash helmet in support of his fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa, took the tenth victory of his career and his first win since 2004, moving him up to second place in the championship and only 18 points behind his team-mate Jenson Button.

The Formula One teams and drivers now head to the Spa Francorchamps circuit for next weekends Belgian Grand Prix.

Here are the results:

1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 57 laps 1hr 35m 51.289s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +2.3s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +15.9s
4. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +20.0s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +20.8s
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +27.7s
7. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +34.9s
8. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +36.6s

9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +44.9s
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +47.9s
11. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +48.8s
12. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes +63.6s
13. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +64.5s
14. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +86.5s
15. Romain Grosjean France Renault-Renault +91.7s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
17. Luca Badoer Italy Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
18. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota +3 laps

Rtd. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +16 laps
Rtd. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 23 laps completed (engine)

Fastest lap:

Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota 1m 38.683s

Ferrari Testing

Michael Schumacher has hinted that although he will not be in the cockpit of the Ferrari at the Valencia round of the Formula One championship due to his ongoing neck problems, he isn’t ruling out a return later in the season.

Schumacher suffered an accident while riding a motorcycle last February and received injuries to his upper vertebrae, head and ribs.

Luca Badoer, the Ferrari test driver, has now been given the job of replacing the recovering Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix after not having driven in the series for ten years.

The 38-year-old Italian declared that it has been his wish to race for Ferrari since he was a child and at last his chance has come and he fully intends to keep the team at the front of the pack.

It was thought that the Spaniard Marc Gene, would be chosen for the drive in front of his home crowd, especially has he raced in the Formula One series in more recent years and having won the Le Mans 24 hour race for Peugeot this year, however, he may still be in with a chance at other rounds.

Schumacher, Wanna Job?

The Ferrari Formula One team have announced that Michael Schumacher will be stepping back into the cockpit as a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa.

The 40-year-old, former Ferrari driver must first pass a fitness test, having retired from the sport at the end of the 2006 season, but is expected to be on the grid at next months race in Valencia, which will be a brand new experience for the seven-times World Champion.

The Ferrari Team statement said;

“Ferrari intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa’s car for as long as the Brazilian driver is not able to race.

“Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific program of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix on August 23.”

Schumacher had written on his personal website;

“I talked on the telephone with (team principal) Stefano Domenicali and (Ferrari president) Luca de Montezemolo this afternoon and we decided jointly that I’ll start preparing to jump in for Felipe.

Even though I completely wrapped up the subject of Formula One quite a while ago, due to my attachment to the team I cannot ignore this unfortunate situation. As a competitor, like I am, I’m looking forward to this challenge.”

Lewis Hamilton - Hungary Grand Prix 2009

Lewis Hamilton dominated the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, to claim his first win of the season for the McLaren Formula One team.

The British driver started from fourth place on the grid while Spanish driver Fernando Alonso, had put the Renault on the number one spot in Saturday’s qualifying session.

As the race got underway it was Alonso who led the Red Bull Racing car of Mark Webber and Hamilton as Adrian Sutil returned to the pits with what looked like a mechanical problem in the Force India.

On lap 5, Hamilton passed Webber going into turn two and began to chase the Renault of Alonso, however, the McLaren driver bided his time knowing that Alonso would be pitting shortly which he did on lap 13.

Alonso rejoined the circuit ahead of his team-mate Nelson Piquet but within seconds, the spinner off the front right wheel of the Renault fell off followed by the entire wheel on the following lap, seeing the Spaniard three-wheeling back to the pits.  Alonso rejoined the circuit behind Hamilton and then let Webber although as he was already a lap down running in 18th place, he retired the R29 on the following lap.

Renault have since been banned from the European Grand Prix, subject to appeal, after it was decided that the team had permitted Alonso to exit the pit-lane when the R29 car was unsafe for competition.  Officials were called to the race control where they checked video and radio transmissions, and it was discovered that the Renault team “knowingly” allowed Alonso to rejoin despite knowing that he had a loose wheel-nut, with Alonso unaware of any problem.

Webber and Raikkonen both pitted on lap 20, running in second and third respectively, but after a slow stop from the Red Bull team, Raikkonen passed Webber in the pit lane.  This incident also went under investigation as it appeared that the Red Bull team released their driver into the path of the Ferrari, who had to avoid collision, but this again went without any action being taken.

Raikkonen confessed after the race that he was unaware that he was under investigation for the incident at the start of the race.  From seventh on the grid, the Ferrari driver appeared to bump wheels with Hamilton, putting him off line as he made a move on the Red Bull of Mark Webber, causing him to make contact with the Red Bull of Vettel.  Fortunately, it was decided that there was no problem with the move.

Hamilton took his first pit stop on lap 20 as Timo Glock, in the Toyota passed Webber.  Rosberg pitted and rejoined in the Williams behind Glock but in front of Webber until the Australian retook the position going into turn two.

On lap 28, Sebastian Vettel in the second Red Bull pitted with a problem while in eighth position, he was sent back out with a new front wing after a long stop but it didn’t help the situation and the German driver retired from the race on lap 30.

Hamilton had increased the gap considerably by now ahead of Raikkonen in second and Webber in third, who was being challenged for his position by Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren and Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg took fourth position for the Williams team followed by Heikki Kovalainen in fifth and Timo Glock in sixth.   Jenson Button in the Brawn GP car finished in eighth place ahead of Jarno Trulli in the second Toyota, Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams and Rubens Barrichello in the second Brawn GP to complete the top ten drivers.

Here are the results;

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 1hr 38m 23.876s
2. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 11.5s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 16.8s
4. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota +00m 26.9s
5. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +00m 34.3s
6. Timo Glock Germany Toyota-Toyota +00m 35.2s
7. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +00m 55.0s
8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +01m 08.1s

Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 21.931s lap 65

(all results are unofficial)

Felipe Massa

The Formula One teams and drivers have started a three day test at Monza and Felipe Massa in the Ferrari continued to be the fastest man on the track on the opening day.

Only three-hundredths of a second separated the top three drivers, with Heikki Kovalainen in the Mercedes McLaren in second and Williams Toyota driver Nico Rosberg in third.

Sebastian Vettel continued his impressive form with fourth place in the Toro Rosso ahead of Rubens Barrichello in fifth place for the Honda team.

Over the three days, Barrichello will share testing with Jenson Button, both spending one-and-a-half days each behind the wheel of the RA108. The team will be working on set-up for the next race as well as testing different Bridgestone Potenza medium and hard tyre compounds.

Mark Webber finished in sixth place for the Red Bull Racing team followed by BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld in seventh and the Force India test driver, Tonio Liuzzi in eighth place.

Jarno Trulli in the Toyota was in ninth place after a few technical problems with the car in the morning session followed by the Renault of Nelson Piquet in tenth.