Off the line it was the same story for Webber who saw most of the pack of cars pass him as he got bogged down at the start with a failed KERS  system, while Vettel made a text book start to the race ensuring a clear track ahead entering turn one.

It was the Lotus-Renault’s of Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov that immediately impressed as the red lights went out at the start of the race, Heidfeld going the long way round both McLaren’s in an extraordinary move at turn one to grab second place, while Petrov’s heroics in the same corner put him into fifth place.

With rain threatening to liven up an already exciting race the first round of pit stops saw Heidfeld get jumped by both McLaren’s and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, dropping to fifth in the proceedings.

Hamilton began making inroads into Vettel’s lead while Alonso mounted a charge, passing Button with both drivers pulling a substantial lead on Heidfeld.

It was all change again following the second round of pit stops with Button moving back past Alonso and mounting pressure on his team mate Hamilton in a fight for second place.

Hamilton’s pursuit of a podium place was fast disappearing after his third stop for tyres, the harder compound rubber causing all sorts of problems for the Brit and the faster Ferrari of Alonso looming large in his mirrors.

With Hamilton clearly struggling for grip Alonso tucked the Ferrari close in behind the McLaren but was unable to haul his car out of the slipstream quick enough to pass, and caught the rear tyre of his former team mate damaging his own front wing.

With Alonso needing to pit for a new nose cone Heidfeld, Massa and Webber mounted their own final charges on Hamilton who by now was easy meat for the baying pack.

A wonderful overtake on Hamilton with five laps remaining took Heidfeld into third with Webber breathing down the German’s neck as he appeared to at last find some pace in the car with his final set of tyres.

Sebastian Vettel finished another flawless race in first place followed home by Jenson Button and the final podium place going to a richly deserving Nick Heidfeld.

Malaysian Grand Prix 2011 Results:

1.     Sebastian Vettel     Germany     Red Bull-Renault     56     1h37m39.832
2.     Jenson Button     Britain     McLaren-Mercedes     56     3.261
3.     Nick Heidfeld     Germany     Renault     56     25.075
4.     Mark Webber     Australia     Red Bull-Renault     56     26.384
5.     Felipe Massa     Brazil     Ferrari     56     36.958
6.     Fernando Alonso     Spain     Ferrari     56     57.248*
7.     Kamui Kobayashi     Japan     Sauber-Ferrari     56     1m06.439
8.     Lewis Hamilton     Britain     McLaren-Mercedes     56     1m09.957**
9.     Michael Schumacher     Germany     Mercedes GP     56     1m24.896
10.     Paul di Resta     Britain     Force India-Mercedes     56     1m31.563
11.     Adrian Sutil     Germany     Force India-Mercedes     56     1m41.379
12.     Nico Rosberg     Germany     Mercedes GP     55     1 Lap
13.     Sebastien Buemi     Switzerland     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     55     1 Lap
14.     Jaime Alguersuari     Spain     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     55     1 Lap
15.     Heikki Kovalainen     Finland     Lotus-Renault     55     1 Lap
16.     Timo Glock     Germany     Virgin-Cosworth     54     2 Laps
17.     Vitaly Petrov     Russia     Renault     52     DNF, Accident

The incident involving Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton led to both drivers being penalised by the race stewards. Both drivers were given a twenty second time penalty on their finishing position, while this did not affect the outcome for Alonso* who retained his sixth place, Hamilton** was not so lucky and slipped to eighth in the final reckoning.

robert kubica

Despite  showing excellent signs of recovery from the recent surgery performed on him following the appalling injuries sustained in his rally crash, the Renault team doctor Riccardo Ceccarelli has said that it is impossible to predict how long it will take before Robert Kubica is fit and well enough to drive in Formula 1 again.

When asked when we might expect to see the driver back behind the wheel of an F1 car, Ceccarelli said that Kubica is ‘getting better every day. I see that he is recovering physically and psychologically, very quickly.’

Dr Ceccarelli went on to say; “No one can answer when (he will recover) because we can only say that the surgeons did a great job. Robert is very strong and he is recovering in a good way. It is a question which is impossible to answer, the time is impossible. We have two positive aspects. The job done by the doctors and Robert who is strong. All the other things are impossible to say.”

He added that Kubica will stay in Pietra Ligure for the foreseeable future, where they have the specialists required to deal with his recovery fully.

But he warns that although Kubica is reacting well to treatment, it will take a long time to reach full recovery. ‘This year, next year, three years? I can only say what I know,’ said Dr Ceccarelli.

Only time will tell if Kubica can recovery well enough from his injuries to drive a Formula 1 car again, in the meantime we can only wish him all the best and look forward to one of the best racers on the F1 grid returning to the sport at some point in the future.

Former team mate at BMW Sauber,  Nick Heidfeld will replace Kubica at Lotus-Renault for the 2011 season, which because of the postponement of the Bahrain GP, now starts in Australia on March 25/27.

Nick Heidfeld

Facing the possibility of losing first choice driver Robert Kubica for the whole of the 2011 season, it is unsurprising that former BMW driver Nick Heidfeld has emerged as favourite to replace the injured driver at Lotus-Renault.

Fighting it out with the Lotus-Renault reserve driver Bruno Senna and discarded Force India driver Vintonio Luizzi, Heidfeld will offer the team the experience that the other two drivers lack, having already shown that he can mix it with the bigger teams throughout his career.

For me he would be the natural choice of the three, an opinion that would appear to be shared by team boss Eric Boullier who has suggested that if Heidfeld would be offered the job if the team is happy with his performance in testing the car at Jerez this weekend.

It is no foregone conclusion however and Bruno Senna will also get his first chance to impress behind the wheel of the 2011 race car in Spain during this weekend.

Heidfeld was Kubica’s team mate at BMW Sauber during 2006 to 2009 and actually outscored the Pole during their time together.

His experience could be vital to the development of the Lotus-Renault during the early races of the season and I firmly expect him to be named as Kubica’s replacement by the end of the weekend.

Fernando Alonso - Ferrari 2010

Fernando Alonso won the Singapore Grand Prix yesterday after dominating the race from pole position in the Ferrari.

As the race got underway it was Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull that took to the front but he was quickly knocked off the front spot as he was forced out by Alonso.

The safety car was deployed on lap 3 of the race after Nick Heidfeld hit Tonio Liuzzi from behind leaving the Force India car stranded on the circuit in a dangerous place.  The usual scramble for the pit lane began although the top four drivers remained on track staying on soft tyres.

The safety car was deployed for the second time when Kamui Kobayashi slammed his BMW Sauber into the barrier at the exit of turn 18.

As the safety car left the track, Lewis Hamilton attempted to make a move on Mark Webber in the Red Bull going into turn 7.  It looked as if Hamilton would make it through but cut across the front of Webber who had nowhere to go and the two touched.  Hamilton was out of the running and the incident was investigated by the stewards who decided it was a racing incident and no further action would be taken.

A similar incident then took place between Nick Heidfeld and Michael Schumacher, resulting in the retirement of the Sauber driver and once again although the accident was investigated no action was taken.

With just two laps of the race remaining Sebastien Buemi hit the back of the Lotus driven by Heikki Kovalainen causing it to spin.  As the Lotus limped around the final sector of the lap it burst into flames and after crossing the start/finish line, Kovalainen jumped out of his stricken Lotus, grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the flames himself as he waited for the marshalls.

Alonso crossed the line to take the chequered flag just 0.2 seconds ahead of Vettel with Mark Webber in the second Red Bull in third.

Jenson Button finished in fourth place ahead of Nico Rosberg in fifth, Rubens Barrichello in sixth, Robert Kubica in seventh, Felipe Massa in eighth, Adrian Sutil in ninth and Nico Hulkenberg in tenth.

Here are the results;

1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 61 laps 1hr 57m 53.579s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00.2s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +29.1s
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +30.3s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +49.3s
6. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +56.1s
7. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +1m 26.5s
8. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +1m 53.2s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +2m 12.4s*
10. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth +2m 12.7s**

all results unofficial

Nick Heidfeld 2008

The Sauber F1 team have confirmed that former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld will be in the cockpit of their car from the Singapore Grand Prix race for the rest of the season.

The rumours of Pedro de la Rosa being replaced began at the Monza Grand Prix following his disappointing results this season.

De la Rosa said in a team statement;

“I am surprised by the team’s decision but I respect it and would like to wish everyone good luck for the remainder of the season. I still intend to be in Formula One for 2011.”

Heidfeld said;

“I’m looking forward like crazy to having the opportunity to go racing again in a good car in Formula One from the Singapore Grand Prix onward.  After the last few months I’m even more motivated than ever. For me it is like coming home, as I raced for seven years in total for the team. Without doubt I will feel at home straight away and this should help me to familiarise myself as soon as possible with the car. I want to thank Peter Sauber for the faith he has put in me.”

Nick Heidfeld

Nick Heidfeld has been released from his duties as reserve driver for the Mercedes Grand Prix team to join Pirelli, the 2011 F1 tyre supplier as their official driver.

Pirelli’s new testing programme began on Monday at Mugello with further development work days scheduled at Jerez, Monza and at the Paul Ricard circuit.

The team statement read;

“We can confirm that the team is pleased to allow Nick the opportunity to join Pirelli and contribute to their development work for the company’s imminent return to F1” said team principal Brawn.

“Nick is an extremely experienced driver and we are confident that his racing knowledge and technical feedback will prove extremely useful to Pirelli and therefore of benefit to the sport as a whole. Nick has been a real asset to Mercedes since joining our team this year, and we are pleased to see his career progressing”.

Norbert Haug added;

“It was clear from the beginning of our co-operation that Mercedes would release Nick from his obligations as soon as a promising opportunity as an active F1 driver developed.  This is now the case, and there could be no more experienced and knowledgeable driver in the cockpit to steer the tyre development for next season.

We thank Nick for his contribution to our team over the last nine months and wish him well with his new challenge. It would be great to see Nick in a competitive car in next year’s F1 World Championship, and I am sure his leading role in the new tyre development, in addition to his skills, puts Nick in a good position for the remaining seats in 2011.”

Jenson Button 2010

The McLaren driver Jenson Button took the victory at the Australian Grand Prix at the weekend while his team-mate was heard angrily calling his team on the public radio over his second pit-stop decision.  Button took a massive risk coming in for slick tyres after just seven laps on a drying track but the move paid off and he proved his point by taking the chequered flag.

The weekend was a disaster for Hamilton after having his road car impounded outside of the circuit on Friday.  The McLaren driver apologised for the “silly  mistake” he made after he was pulled over by the police and charged for driving in an “over-exuberant manner”.

The Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, was forced to retire from the lead of the race after suffering a mechanical problem with the left front wheel.  The German driver reported a problem with his brakes on lap 26 of the race before sliding off track and into the gravel trap.

As the yellow flags were waved after Vettel’s car went off circuit, a battle was beginning between Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, Hamilton and Mark Webber in the second Red Bull.  Hamilton made a move on Rosberg, taking the Mercedes driver around the outside of turn 12 and was then chasing down the Renault of Robert Kubica.  Kubica held his ground leaving Hamilton to return to the pits for another set of tyres and the loss of a place on the podium.

Mark Webber ploughed into the back of the McLaren just as Hamilton was lining-up Alonso for a pass, taking the both into the gravel and allowing the Ferrari driver to make his break.

Kubica finished in second place ahead of the two Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.  The Mercedes of Rosberg came in fifth followed by Hamilton, Vittonio Liuzzi in seventh and Rubens Barrichello in eighth.  Mark Webber managed to recover and took ninth place ahead of Michael Schumacher in tenth place.

The Formula 1 teams and drivers now head to Sepang for this weekends Malaysian Grand Prix, however, the weather reports have not been great so far leading to the a repeat of last years race which was abandoned.

POS	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	ENTRANT	LAPS	TIME/RETIRE
1.	Jenson Button	Britain	McLaren-Mercedes	58	1h33m36.531
2.	Robert Kubica	Poland	Renault	58	12.034
3.	Felipe Massa	Brazil	Ferrari	58	14.488
4.	Fernando Alonso	Spain	Ferrari	58	16.304
5.	Nico Rosberg	Germany	Mercedes GP	58	16.683
6.	Lewis Hamilton	Britain	McLaren-Mercedes	58	29.898
7.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italy	Force India-Mercedes	58	59.847
8.	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	Williams-Cosworth	58	1m00.536
9.	Mark Webber	Australia	Red Bull-Renault	58	1m07.319
10.	Michael Schumacher	Germany	Mercedes GP	58	1m09.391
11.	Jaime Alguersuari	Spain	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	58	1m11.301
12.	Pedro de la Rosa	Spain	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	58	1m14.084
13.	Heikki Kovalainen	Finland	Lotus-Cosworth	56	2 Laps
14.	Karun Chandhok	India	HRT-Cosworth	53	5 Laps
R	Timo Glock	Germany	Virgin-Cosworth	41	Suspension
R	Lucas di Grassi	Brazil	Virgin-Cosworth	26	Hydraulics
R	Sebastian Vettel	Germany	Red Bull-Renault	25	Brakes/Spin
R	Adrian Sutil	Germany	Force India-Mercedes	9	Engine
R	Vitaly Petrov	Russia	Renault	9	Spin
R	Bruno Senna	Brazil	HRT-Cosworth	4	Hydraulics
R	Sebastien Buemi	Switzerland	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	0	Accident
R	Nico Hulkenberg	Germany	Williams-Cosworth	0	Accident
R	Kamui Kobayashi	Japan	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	0	Accident
R	Jarno Trulli	Italy	Lotus-Cosworth	0	Hydraulics
FASTEST LAP:
	Mark Webber	Australia	Red Bull-Renault	47	1:28.358

Sebastien Vettel - Red Bull Racing 2010

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel lost his chance of his first win of the season due to a spark plug problem rather than a faulty exhaust.

The German looked certain to take the victory until a loss of power on lap 33, saw the Red Bull being overtaken by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso and then the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa.  The team initially put the problem down to a cracked exhaust but it has now been confirmed that it was in fact a spark plug failure which was to blame.

The opening round of the 2010 F1 championship saw a mostly uneventful race under the new regulations of ‘no refuelling’.

On his return to the F1 series, Michael Schumacher slammed the new regulations stating that it makes overtaking virtually impossible.  Surely it proves the point that if you have the driver and the car, overtaking is possible anywhere and is not just down to the strategies on pit stops for refuelling!

In the words of Alan Prost, who also drove during a refuelling ban in his career;

“When you start with 160kg you have to think differently, and they are not used to that.

After a few races, I am sure the good drivers, the top drivers, will like it.”

Mark Webber looked as if he were to be the first casualty of the race as his Red Bull was seen providing a huge smoke-screen as the race got underway.  Fortunately it tuned-out to be excess oil in the car and did not cause a serious problem.

Robert Kubica in the Renault and the Force India driver Adrian Sutil made contact and both spun out on the first lap of the race although both  managed to continue and cross the finish line.

The new Lotus team managed to finish their debut race with both drivers crossing the line in fifteenth and seventeenth place while both of the Virgin drivers were forced to retire, along with both of the HRT cars.

The next race takes place on the March 28 in Australia but here are the results for the Bahrain Grand Prix;

POS	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	ENTRANT	LAPS	TIME/RETIRE
1.	Fernando Alonso	Spain	Ferrari	49	1h39m20.396
2.	Felipe Massa	Brazil	Ferrari	49	16.099
3.	Lewis Hamilton	Britain	McLaren-Mercedes	49	23.182
4.	Sebastian Vettel	Germany	Red Bull-Renault	49	38.713
5.	Nico Rosberg	Germany	Mercedes GP	49	40.263
6.	Michael Schumacher	Germany	Mercedes GP	49	44.180
7.	Jenson Button	Britain	McLaren-Mercedes	49	45.260
8.	Mark Webber	Australia	Red Bull-Renault	49	46.308
9.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italy	Force India-Mercedes	49	53.089
10.	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	Williams-Cosworth	49	1m02.400
11.	Robert Kubica	Poland	Renault	49	1m09.093
12.	Adrian Sutil	Germany	Force India-Mercedes	49	1m22.958
13.	Jaime Alguersuari	Spain	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	49	1m32.656
14.	Nico Hulkenberg	Germany	Williams-Cosworth	48	1 Lap
15.	Heikki Kovalainen	Finland	Lotus-Cosworth	47	2 Laps
16.	Sebastien Buemi	Switzerland	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	46	3 Laps
17.	Jarno Trulli	Italy	Lotus-Cosworth	46	3 Laps, Hydralics
R	Pedro de la Rosa	Spain	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	28	Hydralics
R	Bruno Senna	Brazil	HRT-Cosworth	17	Engine
R	Timo Glock	Germany	Virgin-Cosworth	16	Gearbox
R	Vitaly Petrov	Russia	Renault	13	Suspension
R	Kamui Kobayashi	Japan	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	11	Hydralics
R	Lucas di Grassi	Brazil	Virgin-Cosworth	2	Hydralics
R	Karun Chandhok	India	HRT-Cosworth	1	Accident
FASTEST LAP:
	Fernando Alonso	Spain	Ferrari	45	1:58.287

Nico Rosberg

The former Brawn GP team, Mercedes Grand Prix, have confirmed the signing of the 2009 Williams driver Nico Rosberg for the 2010 season.

Although the move has come as no surprise, there is still no clear indication of who his team-mate is likely to be for the year ahead or for how long Rosberg has signed to race for the team.  Michael Schumacher is the latest in a long line of drivers rumoured for the second seat along with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.

Rosberg said;

“I am really happy to be a part of the Silver Arrows re-launch in 2010 as a driver for Mercedes.  No other brand in Formula 1 can look back on such a long and successful tradition in motor racing. I am very proud that I will now drive for the new Mercedes team and work with Ross Brawn. I am more motivated than ever, and can hardly wait to start testing with the new Silver Arrow and for the first race of the new season in Bahrain.”

Ross Brawn said;

“We are delighted to welcome Nico Rosberg to our Mercedes team and are very much looking forward to working with him.  Nico is a great talent, and with four years of experience in Formula 1 is a driver who will be able to make a valuable contribution to our team right from the outset.

I had the pleasure of working with his father Keke during his Formula 1 career, and it is great to see Nico following in his footsteps. 2009 was Nico’s best season in Formula 1 to-date, and we look forward to seeing his development continue with us at Mercedes next year”.

Mark Webber - Brazilian Grand Prix 2009

The Red Bull driver Mark Webber took the chequered flag yesterday in the Brazilian Grand Prix as Jenson Button was crowned the 2009 Formula One World Champion.

Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello started the race from pole position followed by Webber,but after the first set of pit stops it was Webber that took to the front and dominated the race.  Barrichello had managed to create a gap of three-seconds but an early stop lost him the lead as he was passed by both Webber and the BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica.

At the beginning of the race the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen made contact with the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella at turn 1.  At the same time the Toyota driver Jarno Trulli attempted a pass on the outside of  Adrian Sutil but instead spun into the Force India with Fernando Alonso’s Renault getting collected as Sutil rejoined the circuit.

Kimi Raikkonen used his KERS system to move into third place as he passed Webber at the start of the race but made contact and damaged his front wing.  As the Ferrari returned to his pits for a new wing, Kovalainen exited in front of him with the fuel hose still attached causing fuel to leak and spray the Ferrari which burst into flames.  Raikkonen managed to keep going and rejoined the race without damage.

Rubens Barrichello led the race followed by Webber, Kubica and the Williams of Nico Rosberg.  Jenson Button in the second Brawn GP had moved into seventh place by lap 11 behind Timo Glock’s replacement driver Kamui Kobayashi in the Toyota.

Barrichello pitted from the lead on lap 22 as Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber pulled off track with a problem, apparently running out of fuel after the earlier incident with the fuel hose.  Button finally made it past Kobayashi, moving up into fourth place with Webber taking his pit stop on lap 27 from the lead.

On lap 28 Nico Rosberg retired to the garage after suffering a gearbox problem with the Williams car as Button pitted on lap 30.  On lap 31 the second Williams car of Kazuki Nakajima crashed into the tyre wall after losing his front wing after hitting the  back of the Toyota of Kobayashi.

By lap 41 it was Webber ahead of Kubica, Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren, Raikkonen, Button, Vettel and Sebastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso.

Webber took his second pit stop on lap 53 and rejoined ahead of Kubica as Button took his final pit stop on lap 56, exiting in front of Kovalainen until the McLaren passed him at turn 4.  On the following lap Vettel pitted and rejoined ahead of Kovalainen and Button to sit in fifth place.

On lap 60, Kovalainen made a surprising pit stop with Lewis Hamilton passing the Brawn GP of Barrichello on lap 62.  Barrichello appeared to have a problem with his car and was soon told over the team radio that he had developed a puncture after making contact with Hamilton earlier in the race.

On lap 65, Webber led Kubica, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Raikkonen, Buemi and Barrichello. Felipe Massa was given the job of waving the chequered flag at his home circuit as Webber crossed the line, followed by Kubica in second and Hamilton in third.

Here are the results;

1. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 71 laps 1hr 32m 23.081s
2. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber +7.6s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +18.9s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +19.6s
5. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes +29.0s
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari +33.3s
7. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +35.9s
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes +45.4s

Rtd. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 30 laps completed
Rtd. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 27 laps completed
Rtd. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 21 laps completed
Rtd. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
Rtd. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 0 laps completed