“Of course that’s our goal. But you’ve got to remember the car was more than a second off, sometimes two seconds off, last year and we’ve not caught two seconds up, and the new teams will have put another second on this year and we’ve not caught up three seconds. That’s just a fact.

“Hopefully by the end of the year we will have gained three seconds but definitely not at the beginning.”
But this year the Mercedes Team have one big difference – Lewis Hamilton.  There’s nothing he can do about improving the cars’ reliability but Hamilton is arguably the best F1 driver out there.  Hamilton was crowned F1 World Champion in 2008 and has an amazing record.  He’s one 21 races, enjoyed no less than 49 podium finishes and clocked up 12 fastest laps along the way.

The mind games started last month when former team-mate, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso predicted Lewis Hamilton would win races with Mercedes this season following his move from McLaren.  Something that three-time and current World Champion, Sebastian Vettel agrees with.

Personally, I believe Hamilton will make some podium finishes at the very least, and won’t be at all surprised if he sneaks a win or two over the course of the 2013 season which starts with the Australian Grand Prix on 17th March.  But with Vettel & Red Bull, Alonso & Ferrari, and Jenson Button & McLaren all chomping at the bit, I for one am getting really excited about this season’s FIA F1 calendar.

Ayrton Senna - The Messiah of Motor Racing

In Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing, Formula One journalist Richard Craig paints a realistic portrait of the brilliant driver while debunking the myth that he was some kind of modern messiah.

Richard Craig tackles the ‘Senna myth’ head on, offering a more balanced portrait of Ayrton Senna using the dichotomy of his personality as a basis – Ayrton the man and Senna the driver.

Written in conjunction with former colleagues of the three-time world champion, this new biography includes personal testimonials from close friend and fellow driver Thierry Boutsen, veteran Formula One journalist Mike Doodson and F1 photographer Keith Sutton, who met Senna at the start of his racing career in 1981 and subsequently captured most of his career on camera (many of these images appear in this book).

This book takes a two-fold look at both Ayrton da Silva, the softly-spoken and introspective man, and Senna the aggressive, ruthless and brilliant driver – two distinct entities who often struggled to coexist peacefully together – and discusses why, of all the great drivers Formula One has nurtured, Senna still attracts the most fervent following.

Early in the book Craig writes:

“In 2010 veteran motorsport journalist Mike Doodson wrote, in Motor Sport: ‘One day, somebody will write a great, full-length biography of Ayrton Senna. Let’s hope it won’t take a couple of centuries for that someone to compile the balanced, well-informed assessment of the Brazilian’s 34-year life.’ What he was alluding to is the absolute, unyielding respect and sometimes borderline blandishment with which the Senna myth is treated.

‘I think (this phenomenon) is entirely to be expected,’ he told me. ‘When somebody is dead you can write about him in ways that you didn’t before. You can be more critical, or more fulsome about his qualities. There is some hagiography surrounding Senna because some people regarded him as superhuman, which clearly he wasn’t. They put that into words and it’s a bit embarrassing to read what they write.”

Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing aims to be exactly the ‘balanced, well-informed assessment’ to which Doodson alluded.

FREE TO ENTER COMPETITION

To win a copy of Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing simply answer the following question:

In which country was Ayrton Senna born?

Send your entries to comps@buzzinmedia.co.uk with “Ayrton Senna book” in the subject line (other subject lines will not be entered) with your full name, address & contact number.

This competition ends on 2 January 2012.

The editor will randomly choose 3 winners from the correct answers. The editor’s choice is final.

The editor’s choice is final.

Clearly the bookmakers think that Vettel will take the crown, and are offering odds of 2/9 on him doing so with Alonso priced at 4/1, but make no mistake, Alonso is still in the game. He might not be as fast as Vettel, but he is considerably cooler than the somewhat temperamental Vettel who has been known to lose it when the going gets tough, as exemplified beautifully when he was cleanly overtaken by Lewis Hamilton in the US Grand Prix and cried his way to second place incorrectly complaining that Hamilton had not allowed him space.

Of course for F1 fans it is a long wait until the 2013 season gets underway, but if you are looking for some early bets then Vettel is prices at 11/8 to win the 2013 title. He is followed by Alonso at 11/4 and Jenson Button at 10/1. Kimi Räikkonen is fourth favourite and is priced at 12/1, which could be a value bet. He has been showing good form towards the latter part of this season and Lotus is a team that seems determined to take a championship win.

So, how do you intend to while away the hours until the first race of 2013? There is a great little motor racing video slot game called ‘Good to Go’ available in many casinos in the UK that could help you pass the time. With great sounds and graphics this high speed video slot is a real adrenaline raiser. It is a 5 reel 9 payline slot which has the potential to make you seriously wealthy; on the maximum bet you can win up to £50,000. There are wild symbols, scatters, bonus features and side games; a seriously good motor racing slot.

Meanwhile, McLaren team mate, Jenson Button retired with engine problems. He was one of a few high profile drivers not to finish the race, including both Red Bull cars of Mark Weber & Sebastian Vettel. It is the first time Red Bull have not finished in the points since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix.

Monza is the home of Ferrari and Fernando Alonso had a great race finishing in third place from tenth on the grid. He survived a coming together with Sebastian Vettel which resulted in a drive through for Alonso & a penalty for Vettel. Alonso tried hard not to get drawn into blaming Vettel in a post-match interview, while Vettel adamantly denied doing anything wrong.

Starting in 12th position, Sergio Perez had a near perfect race for Sauber, and watching scenes of celebration following the race, you may have thought Perez had just completed Sauber’s first grand prix win. The Sauber team uses a Ferrari engine, and this podium finsh ahead of the Ferrari’s of Fernando Alonso & Felipe Massa, only adds fuel to the speculation that Sergio Perez will be racing for Ferrari next season.

With Sebastian Vettel & Mark Weber failing to finish, Lewis Hamilton’s victory elevates him into second place in the Drivers’ World Championship, just 37 points behind his former team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Italian F1 Grand Prix @ Monza 2012 Result

1 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2 Sergio Perez (Sauber)
3 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
4 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
6 Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)
7 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
8 Paul Di Resta (Force India)
9 Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber)
10 Bruno Senna (Williams)

FIA 2012 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship

1 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 179 points
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 142
3 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus-Renault 141
4 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull-Renault 140
5 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull-Renault 132
6 Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 101
7 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP 83
8 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus-Renault 76
9 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber 65
10 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 47

With seven races to go in the Formula 1 2012 season, the next race is Singapore Grand Prix on 23rd September.

In an effort to get a head start, 26-year-old Frenchman and Lotus Team driver, Romain Grosjean cut across Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren to cause a collision on the first corner.  His car span out of control, hitting Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari as it flew into the air across the track.  Grosjean’s dangerous driving meant he retired from the race, along with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.  The cars broke into pieces but it could have been so much worse as Grosjean’s flying Lotus only just missed Alonso’s head.

Romain Grosjean has been banned for one race for dangerous driving. But this is not the first time he has been involved in a crash. In fact, Grosjean has been involved in a staggering seven first lap crashes in only 12 races this season.  For this latest incident he has been fined 50,000 euros (£40,000) and misses the Italian Grand Prix.

Jenson Button went on to lead throughout the 44 laps to win his second race of the season.  Current world champion Sebastian Vettel had a great race too, giving a masterclass performance as he weaved his way through the traffic from a lowly position on the grid to finish in second place in his Red Bull.

Jenson Button’s win was down to a great race but equally some time-efficient pit stops to help him keep his poll position; something that has eluded him at times this season.

Belgian Grand Prix Result

Following the Belgian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso continues to lead the drivers’ world championship but is now only 24 points ahead of defending world champion Sebastian Vettel.  While Jenson Button moves into sixth position just 16 points behind McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship

The next F1 Grand Prix will be the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday 9th September.

Hamilton had an exceptional race which only really came alive towards the final laps.  But his McLaren team-mate, Jenson Button had another poor race.

Lewis Hamilton came from third place to beat Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the Red Bull of current world champion Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps; and although his pit stops were slow in comparison, McLaren’s two-stop strategy won the day over Fernando Alonso, who would have probably finished second if it wasn’t for his fading tyres after Ferrari elected to go with a one-stop strategy.

After the race Lewis Hamilton to reporters:
“This for me feels like one of the best races I’ve had for a very long time.”

2012 Canadian F1 Grand Prix Result

1   Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)1:32:29.586 – 25 points
2   Romain Grosjean (Lotus-Renault)  +00:02.513 – 18 points
3   Sergio Perez (Sauber) +00:05.260 – 15 points
4   Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) +00:07.295 – 12 points
5   Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) +00:13.411 – 10 points
6   Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP)  +00:13.842 – 8 points
7   Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +00:15.085 – 6 points
8   Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus-Renault) +00:15.567 – 4 points
9   Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) +00:24.432 – 2 points
10 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +00:25.272 – 1 point

With his first win of the F1 season, Lewis Hamilton goes back to the top of the FIA Drivers World Championship.

FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship

1    Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 88 points
2    Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 86 points
3    Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 85 points
4    Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 79 points
5    Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP) 67 points
6    Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus-Renault) 55 points
7    Romain Grosjean (Lotus-Renault) 53 points
8    Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 45 points
9     Sergio Perez (Sauber) 37 points
10  Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Renault)     29 points

Vettel beat off the challenge of Kimi Raikkonen who caught Vettel  halfway through the race even though he started from 11th on the grid.  Raikkonen’s Lotus team mate Romain Grosjean was third, while it was a bad weekend for McLaren’s British drivers as Lewis Hamilton finished in eighth and Jenson Button retired.

The highest place Britain was Paul di Resta who finished in sixth place for Force India after which was a great achievement after problems that started with the team getting involved in violent anti-government demonstrations on Friday.

The Bahrain Grand Prix Sakhir circuit is known for not being one of the most exciting tracks for F1 racing but this race, as with others this season, was a memorable one.  Vettel had a great start from the grid and looked untouchable.  But Kimi Raikonnen fought his way through the field to produce a spectacular drive that pushed Sebastian Vettel all the way.

The result means Vettel now leads the way in the F1 2012 season from Lewis Hamilton.

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Result

1 Sebastian Vettel  Red Bull-Renault  1:36.379 1:35:10.990
2 Kimi Raikkonen  Lotus-Renault  +00:03.333
3 Romain Grosjean  Lotus-Renault  +00:10.194
4 Mark Webber  Red Bull-Renault +00:38.788
5 Nico Rosberg  Mercedes GP +00:55.460
6 Paul Di Resta  Force India-Mercedes +00:57.543
7 Fernando Alonso  Ferrari +00:57.803
8 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +00:58.984
9 Felipe Massa  Ferrari +01:04.999
10 Michael Schumacher  Mercedes GP +01:11.490

FIA 2012 Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship

1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany)Red Bull-Renault 53 points
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 49
3 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull-Renault 48
4 Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 43
5 Fernando Alonso (Spain Ferrari 43
6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP 35
7 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus-Renault 34
8 Romain Grosjean (Switzerland) Lotus-Renault 23
9 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber 22
10 Paul Di Resta (GB) Force India-Mercedes 15

Rosberg followed his debut pole position in F1 with his first Formula One race victory in a thoroughly exciting F1 race today.

Nico Rosberg led from start to finish in a race that was as much about tyre management as it was skill and speed.  Michael Schumacher started second on the grid to give Mercedes poll positions after Lewis Hamilton (second fastest in practice) was docked five places for changing his gearbox.  Unfortunately for Mercedes, Schumacher was forced to retire with a loose wheel nut.  But that didn’t take the shine off Nico Rosberg securing Mercedes’ first victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.

Rosberg had a superb race and won by an amazing 20 seconds.  But the real drama was in the chasing pack where at one point there were as many as seven cars vying for second.

Jenson Button eventually finished in second, though it could have been closer if it weren’t for a poor third pit stop that could have been very costly for Button and McLaren as he dropped to sixth place with just 10 laps remaining.  But fresh tyres and some great overtaking manoeuvres meant Jenson Button was able to once again finish on the podium.  Lewis Hamilton also had some great battles towards the end of the race as he passed the Red Bull’s of Mark Weber (4th) and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel (5th).

The track was littered with rubber and tyre management was essential; and Kimi Raikonnen was made to pay for losing his grip when on the 49th (of 56) lap he dropped back through the ranks, from second to tenth.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 Result
1 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:36:26.929
2 J Button (McLaren) 1:36:47.555
3 L Hamilton (McLaren) 1:36:52.941
4 Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:36:54.853
5 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:36:57.412
6 Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:36:58.420
7 Bruno Senna (Williams) 1:37:01.526
8 Pastor Maldonado (Force India) 1:37:02.572
9 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:37:04.185
10 Kamui Kobayashi     (Sauber) 1:37:05.649

Lewis Hamilton’s podium finishes sees him leading the F1 Drivers Championship by three points from Jenson Button and sees Nico Rosberg move up to sixth.

FIA Formula One Drivers’ World Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 45
2 Jenson Button (GB) McLaren-Mercedes     43
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 37
4 Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull-Renault 36
5 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull-Renault 28
6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP 25
7 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber 22
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus-Renault 16
9 Bruno Senna (Brazil) Williams-Renault 14
10 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 9

This was Nico Rosberg’s first F1 victory and coupled with the superiority of the Mercedes car over the whole weekend, it could well be the beginning of a very interesting season as Mercedes go head-to-head with McLaren and the Red Bull Team.

Lewis Hamilton once again started on the grid in first place. But torrential rain stopped the race after just 10 laps.  After the worst of the rain had passed, the race continued with the safety car out and all cars ordered to resume on wet weather tyres.

Alonso soon built a lead of up to 7 seconds from Sauber’s Sergio Perez who had a great race.  Perez gave chase and had a chance to catch Alonso, but towards the end of the race he over ran a corner and settled for second.

Lewis Hamilton had to settle for his second third place finish once again ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber.  Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was once again in the points with a fifth place finish.
Points were also scored by Bruno Senna (Williams-Renault), Paul Di Resta (Force India-Mercedes), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso-Ferrari), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP).

Both Sebastian Vettel (who finished in 11th place) & Jenson Button 14th) had frustrating races and finished out of the points after separately colliding in minor shunts in the ever-changing and therefore difficult racing conditions.

This was Fernando Alonso 28th Formula One win and leaves him behind Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell in the all-time F1 race winners list.

F1 Malaysian Grand Prix Result
Sunday, 25 March 2012

1 Fernando Alonso     (Ferrari) 2:44:51.812 25 points
2 Sergio Perez (Sauber) +00:02.263  18 points
3 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +00:14.591 15 points
4 Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +00:17.688 12 points
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus-Renault) +00:29.456 10 points
6 Bruno Senna (Williams-Renault) +00:37.667 8 points
7 Paul Di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) +00:44.412 6 points
8 Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +00:46.985 4 points
9 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) +00:47.892 2 points
10 Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP)+00:49.996 1 point
The next F1 race is the Chinese Grand Prix, 13-15 April

FIA F1 2012 Drivers’ World Championship

1 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 35 points
2 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 30 points
3 Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes) 25
4 Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 24
5 Sergio Perez (Sauber) 22
6 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 18
7 Kimi Raikkonen ( Lotus-Renault) 16
8 Bruno Senna (Williams-Renault) 8
9 Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber)    8
10 Paul Di Resta (Force India-Mercedes)     7
11 Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)    4
12 Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)     2
13 Nico Hulkenberg (Force India-Mercedes) 2
14 Michael Schumacher (Mercedes GP)1

Drivers yet to score…

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP)
Timo Glock (Marussia-Cosworth)
Charles Pic (Marussia-Cosworth)
Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Vitaly Petrov (Caterham-Renault)
Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham-Renault)
Narain Karthikeyan (HRT-Cosworth)
Pedro de la Rosa (HRT-Cosworth)
Pastor Maldonado (Williams-Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Lotus-Renault)

The next F1 race is the Chinese Grand Prix on 15 April.

Lewis Hamilton finished in third place behind the current F1 Drivers World Champion Sebastian Vettel.  Red Bull’s Vettel took advantage of the saftey car and on lap 37 took a pit stop while the safety car was out on the track and managed to come out of the pits ahead of Hamilton.

So the F1 2012 season starts as the previous season ended with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber battling it out with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren’s.

Mark Webber finished in fourth place, ahead of the surprisingly quick Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Pastor Maldonado also had a good race until he crashed on the final lap while chasing Alonso.

Sixth place was taken by Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. While Lotus Team’s Kimi Raikkonen had an impressive return to formula one, after a two year break racing rally cars. Raikkonen started in 17th place on the grid but finished the race in seventh ahead of the second Sauber of Sergio Perez.

Jenson Button told reporters it was great to win the first race of the new season. He said:

“It’s an amazing way to start the season […] we haven’t been so strong at this point in the season before, so all in all a great day. For the last couple of years our first races have been tricky. […] I’d say we’ve been pretty dominant today.”

Button went onto to say:

“We all think this is a very special year in Formula One, having six world champions and so many competitive teams. It’s great to see F1 is in a great place at the moment. I’m very excited heading to [the next race in] Malaysia.”

F1 World Drivers Championship & Australian Grand Prix Result

1 Jenson Button
McLaren-Mercedes 25 points

2 Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull-Renault 18

3 Lewis Hamilton
McLaren-Mercedes 15

4 Mark Webber
Red Bull-Renault 12

5 Fernando Alonso
Ferrari 10

6 Kamui Kobayashi
Sauber 8

7 Kimi Raikkonen
Lotus-Renault 6

8 Sergio Perez
Sauber 4

9 Daniel Ricciardo
Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2

10 Paul Di Resta
Force India-Mercedes 1

The next race is the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang on 25 March.