Fernando Alonso - Ferrari 2010

Fernando Alonso crossed the line to take the chequered flag for the Ferrari team yesterday in front of the famous Tifosi fans at the Italian Grand Prix.

It was the McLaren driver Jenson Button that took the lead as the lights went out at the Monza circuit from second on the grid. Felipe Massa tried to slot into second place, racing side by side with the British driver, compromising his team-mates line which resulted in the Spaniard hitting the rear of Buttons’ car.  His team-mate Lewis Hamilton got it all wrong when he got tangled up with the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa, making contact which broke the steering arm of the McLaren and ended his race.

Nico Rosberg moved up to fourth place while the the two Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber moved down the field to sixth and ninth respectively.

The Force India driver Adrian Sutil was forced to pit following an incident later in the lap which looked as if it had payed off as he made his way through the back markers but following his second stop Sutil soon dropped back down the order.

Kamui Kobayashi was starting his race from the pit lane following gearbox problems but after only a few laps he was forced back to his pit garage and retired from the grand prix.  Bruno Senna was another retiree later in the race after suffering from a mechanical failure.

Webber passed Michael Schumacher on lap 6 and sailed past his team-mate Sebastian Vettel on lap 19 after the German was heard on the radio to his team complaining of a suspected engine problem.  After losing a lot of ground the pit crew had seemed to have made the required adjustments to the Red Bull and once again Vettel was back up to speed.

Button could not shake off the Ferrari of Alonso and was one of the first to stop on lap 37 for new tyres, followed a lap later by the Ferrari’s of Alonso and Massa. It all played into the hands of the Spaniard who managed to get ahead of the British driver and take the lead to the delight of the Ferrari home crowd.

Alonso crossed the line to win the Italian Grand Prix ahead of Button in second and the second Ferrari of Massa in third.  Vettel took the fourth position ahead of Nico Rosberg and the second Red Bull of Mark Webber in sixth.  Nico Hulkenberg finished in seventh place for the Williams team followed by Robert Kubica in eighth, Michael Schumacher in ninth and Rubens Barrichello in the second Williams in tenth.

The Hispania F1 team received a fine following the race after Sakon Yamamoto was released from his stop while a member of the team was still working on the car.  The mechanic was hit by the right rear wheel of the car and was rushed to the medical centre before being taken to hospital but was released without serious injury.  The team were fined a total of $20,000 for an unsafe pit release.

Here are the results;

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 53 laps 1hr 16m 24.572s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +2.9s
3. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +4.2s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +28.1s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +29.9s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +31.2s
7. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +32.8s
8. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +34.0s
9. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +44.9s
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +64.2s

all results unofficial

Hamilton is in the driving seat, so to speak, leading the title race from Red Bull’s Mark Webber by a slim three points following his superb win at Spa in the last round.

Button meanwhile could be forgiven for thinking that his chances of a back to back World title disappeared in Belgium when hot headed Sebastian Vettel ruined his chance of a second place in Spa when the Red Bull collided with the McLaren.

The two McLaren drivers give their thoughts on this weekends race in this video:

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.

The Italian Grand Prix 2009

The Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello took the chequered flag yesterday ahead of team-mate Jenson Button at the Italian Grand Prix.

At the start of the race it was pole man Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren that led the field into the first corner followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Adrian Sutil in the Force India in third, after qualifying in second place.

Both of the Brawn GP drivers passed the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen on the first lap as Mark Webber in the Red Bull Racing car went off into the gravel trap at the second chicane, after being clipped by the BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica.  Kubica was called into the pits on lap 9 to have his front wing replaced while running in ninth position while Webber was out of the race.

Tonio Liuzzi, who has replaced Giancarlo Fisichella in the Force India cockpit, was the next man to pass Kovalainen who was running on a heavy fuel load for his one-stop of the day.

By the second lap Hamilton was leading Raikkonen, Sutil, Barrichello, Button, Liuzzi, Kovalainen and Alonso, but by lap 4, Alonso’s Renault had also passed the McLaren of Kovalainen.

Lewis Hamilton came in for his first pit stop on lap 15, with a 17 second lead on Rubens Barrichello, not nearly enough as the two Brawn GP cars were on a one-stop strategy.

On lap 16, the BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica retired his car to the garage, while Adrian Sutil in the Force India came in for his first pit-stop on lap 18.  Kimi Raikkonen entered the pits from the lead on lap 20 and rejoined just behind the Renault of Fernando Alonso in sixth place.

On lap 21, Jaime Alguersari retired his Toro Rosso as Barrichello led the Italian Grand Prix ahead of his team-mate Button, Hamilton, Liuzzi, Raikkonen, who has passed Alonso, Sutil and Kovalainen.

On lap 23, the Force India car of Tonio Liuzzi developed a problem and was seen crawling around the track until he parked it at the side of the track and retired from the race, a great shame after an impressive drive from Liuzzi.

Alonso pitted the Renault on lap 27 as Barrichello increased the gap from Hamilton to 14 seconds while Button made his first and only pit stop on the following lap.  Barrichello entered the pits from the lead on lap 28 and rejoined ahead of Button leaving Hamilton up front until his next stop.

Hamilton took his final stop on lap 35, with only a 16 second gap on Barrichello and rejoined behind Button. Raikkonen pitted on lap 38 along with the Force India of Sutil, who got it all wrong on his approach to his box and clipped one of his crew.  Raikkonen exited the pits ahead of Sutil and was now running in fourth place behind race leader Barrichello, Button and Hamilton.

Hamilton began to pick up the pace and was chasing down second placed man Button while Sutil was all over the back of Button again.

Vettel went off track on lap 43, taking the Red Bull Racing car through the gravel at the second Lesmo while on lap 47, Button set his fastest lap as he desperately tried to shake off the approaching McLaren of Hamilton.

On lap 48, Jarno Trulli in the Toyota made contact with the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima into the first chicane, causing him to nearly collect his team-mate Timo Glock as he battled to stay on track, taking a trip through the gravel at the second chicane.

On lap 51, Kovalainen seemed to find the extra speed he’d been looking for and was chasing the Renault of Alonso as Hamilton continued to put the pressure on second placed man Button.

On lap 52, it was all over for the reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who got it all wrong at the exit to the second Lesmo, putting his McLaren into the wall.  The safety car was deployed as Barrichello crossed the line to take his second victory of the season followed by his team-mate Button in second and Ferrari driver KimiRaikkonen in third.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished in fourth place followed by Alonso in fifth, Kovalainen in sixth, Nick Heidfeld for the BMW Sauber team in seventh, Vettel in eighth, Giancarlo Fisichella in his first drive for the Ferrari team in ninth and the Williams of Nakajima completing the top ten drivers of the day.

Here are the results;

1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 53 laps 1h 16m 21.706s
2. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +2.8s
3. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +30.6s
4. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +31.1s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +59.1
6. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +60.6s
7. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber +82.4s
8. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +85.4s

all times unofficial

Tonio Liuzzi - Force India 2009

It has been confirmed that after the release of Giancarlo Fisichella to the Ferrari team, Tonio Liuzzi will be in the cockpit of the Force India car at next weekends Grand Prix in Italy.

The 28-year-old Italian, began his programme with the Ferrari team at the beginning of 2008 as test and reserve driver and is looking forward to being back in a car with race trim.

In 2005, Liuzzi made his debut into Formula One in the Red Bull car before moving to the sister Scuderia Toro Rosso team, scoring four points in his two-year stint at the wheel.

Liuzzi will line-up alongside Adrian Sutil at the Grand Prix at Monza and will stay with the team for the remainder of the season.

Tonio Liuzzi said;

“I can’t wait to get back into the car in race trim, particularly at my home grand prix.  I really appreciate the opportunity Vijay has given me, particularly now Force India has a great car that’s performing very well.

I am confident I can carry on our progress. I’m very motivated, I’m in good shape and hungry to get some more points on the board. Although it’s unfortunate that this came about as an direct result of Felipe [Massa]’s accident, this is my opportunity to show people what I can do and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Force India team owner Vijay Mallya said;

“I’m delighted to give Tonio the opportunity to get back into a race seat, which I know he has been itching to do for the past two years.  Force India is now in a very competitive position and we need a driver who can continue this momentum. This will be the chance for Tonio to demonstrate to both the team and the field that he has the commitment, speed and professionalism to perform and I am sure he will seize this opportunity.”

Giancarlo Fisichella 2009

The rumours surrounding Giancarlo Fisichella driving for the Ferrari team for the remainder of the 2009 season, has been confirmed today.

Fisichella has been released early from his Force India contract and said;

I am very grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity to drive for the Scuderia Ferrari.  It is true that it has always been an ambition to do this, and for Vijay [Mallya] to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous. I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions. They are now a very competitive team and I wish them all the very best.”

Luca Badoer has been the replacement driver for the recuperating Felipe Massa at both the Valencia round of the Formula One Championship and also at last weekends Belgian Grand Prix, but failed to impress the team.

Team principle of Ferrari, Stefano Domenicali said;

“We have chosen Fisichella because we can expect him to make a valuable contribution in this final part of the season.  Giancarlo has shown, throughout his long career that he is fast and competitive and we are therefore proud to be able to run an Italian driver in our home race.

For Badoer, his final two Grand Prix were something of a ‘thank you’ from Ferrari for his long standing service to the team as test driver. “We wish to thank Luca Badoer for the team spirit he demonstrated in these circumstances.  It is a shame he was unable to show his true worth in these last two races, tackled under conditions which anyone would have found difficult.”

For the next round of the Championship, the Ferrari team, who are currently running in third in the Constructors Championship,  will be on home turf and are hoping to create a bigger points margin between themselves and  the McLaren team.

The Force India team are expected to put their test drive Tonio Liuzzi in the cockpit for the remainder of the season, although this has yet to be confirmed.

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel dominated the Italian Grand Prix yesterday after qualifying on pole position in the Toro Rosso Ferrari to become the youngest ever winner of a Formula One Grand Prix in the sports history.

Vettel finished twelve seconds ahead of the McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen after a safety car start on a rain-soaked track.

Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber finished in third place after starting from eleventh place on the grid and the one-stop strategy for refueling and a change to intermediate tyres worked perfectly.

Fernando Alonso in the Renault was in fourth place followed by Nick Heidfeld in the second BMW Sauber who had to fight off Felipe Massa in the Ferrari.

Heidfeld was also on the one-stop strategy unlike Massa who’s pit stops worked against him and he dropped his place to Heidfeld and couldn’t recover, finishing in sixth place.

In seventh was Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren, who had an amazing race after qualifying in fifteenth position.  His planned one-stop, however, didn’t go to plan and he had to change his strategy to take on a full set of wet tyres and then later changing to intermediates.

Mark Webber in the Red Bull was in eighth place despite an earlier spin, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari who seemed to struggle for most of the race for grip.

With only a three laps left to run, the Williams car of Kazuki Nakajima and the Red Bull of David Coulthard collided forcing the Red Bull back to the pits for new parts.

Nelson Piquet in the second Renault finished in tenth place, another driver on a one-stopper, followed by the Toyota of Timo Glock.

The Williams driver Nakajima, finished in twelfth place ahead of the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli and the second Williams of Nico Rosberg.

A disappointing weekend for the Williams team who had seemed to be on the pace during the free practice and qualifying sessions.

Jenson Button in the Honda finished in fifteenth place followed by the Red Bull of Coulthard and his team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

It was a disaster for Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais after being up with the faster drivers all weekend.  As the cars lined-up on the grid for the warm-up lap Bourdais stalled the Toro Rosso and went a lap down before his team could fire him back up to join the race, finally finishing in eighteenth position.

The Force India driver Adrian Sutil, finished in nineteenth place while his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, was the only retiree of the day after a battle with Coulthard going into the first corner.

Here are the results;

Sebastian Vettel

Tomorrow should be an interesting race after a wet qualifying session threw up a surprising grid line-up at the Monza circuit ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso claimed pole position while the normal front runners struggled to find any grip.

Vettel was the fastest man today in all three qualifying sessions and set his lap time in Q3 early, a wise move as the rain not only continued but got heavier as the session progressed.

Heikki  Kovalainen in the McLaren is in second place with an impressive Mark Webber in the Red Bull claiming third in his final flying lap.

Sebastien Bourdais finished in fourth place in the second Toro Rosso despite a spin at the Ascari chicane at the very end of the session.

Another impressive drive from the Williams Toyota driver, Nico Rosberg, who lines up in fifth place ahead of Ferrari man Felipe Massa in sixth.

Jarno Trulli finished in seventh position in the Toyota followed by Fernando Alonso in the Renault and the second Toyota of Timo Glock.

The BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld will start in tenth with his team-mate Robert Kubica in eleventh and Giancarlo Fisichella in twelfth, after the Force India driver made it through to the second round of qualifying for the first time this season.

David Coulthard in the second Red Bull will be in thirteenth place followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.

Hamilton took a gamble on intermediate tyres for the second qualifying session before changing later to full wets.  Hamilton looked uncomfortable for the whole of qualifying as he struggled for grip and pace in the McLaren.

Raikkonen, who on Friday was the fastest man on the track, today seemed to be just another casualty of the conditions, with no grip and the wrong set-up.

Rubens Barrichello in the Honda qualified in sixteenth place with the second Renault of Nelson Piquet down in seventeenth and the second Williams of Kazuki Nakajima in eighteenth.

Jenson Button in the second Honda finished in a dismal nineteenth place with Adrian Sutil in the second Force India at the very back of the grid.

Here are the results;

Pos Driver        Team                     Q1         Q2         Q3
 1. Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:35.464   1:35.837   1:37.555
 2. Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:35.214   1:35.843   1:37.631
 3. Webber        Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:36.001   1:36.306   1:38.117
 4. Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari  (B)  1:35.543   1:36.175   1:38.445
 5. Rosberg       Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:35.485   1:35.898   1:38.767
 6. Massa         Ferrari             (B)  1:35.536   1:36.676   1:38.894
 7. Trulli        Toyota              (B)  1:35.906   1:36.008   1:39.152
 8. Alonso        Renault             (B)  1:36.297   1:36.518   1:39.751
 9. Glock         Toyota              (B)  1:35.737   1:36.525   1:39.787
10. Heidfeld      BMW Sauber          (B)  1:35.709   1:36.626   1:39.906
11. Kubica        BMW Sauber          (B)  1:35.553   1:36.697
12. Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:36.280   1:36.698
13. Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault    (B)  1:36.485   1:37.284
14. Raikkonen     Ferrari             (B)  1:35.965   1:37.522
15. Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes    (B)  1:35.394   1:39.265
16. Barrichello   Honda               (B)  1:36.510
17. Piquet        Renault             (B)  1:36.630
18. Nakajima      Williams-Toyota     (B)  1:36.653
19. Button        Honda               (B)  1:37.006
20. Sutil         Force India-Ferrari (B)  1:37.417

All Timing Unofficial

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen was the fastest man on track today following the announcement that he has extended his contract with the Ferrari team until 2010.

The afternoon was dry for the majority of the session unlike the morning practice which was a complete wash-out.

Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber was the second quickest followed by team-mate Nick Heidfeld in third, both drivers were only a tenth-of-a-second behind Raikkonen’s fastest lap.

In fourth place was the McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton followed by Nico Rosberg in the Williams in fifth place.

Felipe Massa was in sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of the second McLaren, driven by Heikki Kovalainen in seventh and Mark Webber in the Red Bull in eighth.

Adrian Sutil in the Force India was in ninth place followed by Sebastian Vettel for the Toro Rosso team in tenth and David Coulthard in the second Red Bull in eleventh place.

In twelfth place was the second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais ahead of second Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella in thirteenth and the two Honda drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button.

Second Williams driver, Kazuki Nakajima, was sixteenth followed by Timo Glock in the Toyota and Renault driver Fernando Alonso in eighteenth.

The second Toyota of Jarno Trulli was in nineteenth place followed by the second Renault at the back of the pack driven by Nelson Piquet.

Piquet had spun his Renault earlier and managed to beach the R28 on the kerbing at the chicane while Sutil suffered a mechanical fault in the pit lane just before the chequered flag was waved.