Wednesday 28 November 2012

How energy drinks replaced tobacco advertising in Formula 1

One of the slightly bigger changes the sport has faced in the last few years was the ban of tobacco advertising on cars. Today we have energy drinks as title sponsors for almost every team. 


In the '80s, tobacco sponsorship was a common sight in Formula 1. Philip Morris, thanks to the Marlboro brand, was seen everywhere sponsoring teams and individual drivers, as well as Grand Prix events. Several other tobacco companies were also involved, such as Gitanes with the Ligier team, JPS with Lotus, Camel with Tyrrell, West with Zakspeed, Barclay with Arrows, Skoal Bandit with RAM, and Player's Ltd. as the title sponsor of the Canadian Grand Prix.


In early 2000, the non-tobacco laws forbade all types of advertising, and all but Philip Morris disappeared. Interestingly, Philip Morris is still a sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari, although the team has removed all forms of identification on its cars, including the controversial, infamous bar code.


The new sponsorship boom started in late 2004, when Jaguar Racing was put up for sale by Ford Motor Company after the firm decided that sponsorship in racing was no longer a profitable investment. Red Bull, a company that initially sponsored the Sauber F1 Team between 1999 and 2005, took the bite. The energy drinks company gave up on the Sauber deal and purchased Jaguar to become the first major energy drink sponsor to run its own team in Formula 1. Red Bull Racing continued their cooperation with Cosworth for engine supply and  initiated the sport's very first young drivers programme in order to promote new talent and fresh blood for the sport. The team came a long way from their initial struggles to rise as regular title contenders over the past 4 years. 

Red Bull was the first to trigger a series of major sponsorship deals as teams realized that this form of sponsorship was the way to go. This season, almost every team (with the exception of Williams and HRT) had energy drinks and alcoholic beverages advertising on their cars. The latest deal was announced by Lotus. The Enstone team established a partnership with Coca Cola and will introduce Burn Energy Drink advertising on their cars from 2013. Rumours are that Coca Cola is seeking to purchase Lotus and initiate its own team in order to compete with Red Bull at the highest level of motorsport. 'Monster' is pursuing the same with Marussia F1, as the team will most likely hit bankruptcy in the coming year and the beverage company would be willing to offer them a solution.

Teams associated with energy drinks and alcoholic beverages in 2012: 

Red Bull - Red Bull

Toro Rosso - Red Bull
McLaren - Lucozade
Ferrari - TNT 
Mercedes AMG - Monster
Sauber - Cuervo Tequila
Caterham - EQ8
Marussia - Monster
Sahara Force India - Vladivar Vodka, Whyte & Mackay, Kingfisher
















Tuesday 27 November 2012

Michael Schumacher and the bizzare number 7

The legendary seven-time world champion said his goodbyes on Sunday afternoon after finishing 7th in Sao Paolo. So what, you say? Let's take a deeper look at the connection between Schumi and the number 7.  



Schumacher's career has strangely revolved around a certain number. That number seems to be the same as the number of championships under his name. And also some other rather interesting figures:


This season:

- He finished 7th in Sao Paolo in car nr. 7
- He scored a total of 49 (7x7) points 
- With 49% (7x7) of these points scored from his four 7th places
- 7 of his point finishes were non-podiums finishes
- Schumacher got 7 DNFs this season

Overall:

- 77 fastest laps
- started from 7th place in his first race and 7th again in his comeback race (2010)
- had 7 different team mates
- most consecutive wins in a season: 7 (2004)
- most consecutive poles: 7 (2000-2001)
- he won his first two championships with Mild SEVEN Benetton and raced for 7-UP Jordan

Probably the most shocking of all: Exactly 7,777 days between his first ever race and his last race this weekend in Sao Paolo. 
-
The Red Bull vs. Ferrari dominance eras

Red Bull is only the second outfit in F1 history, after Ferrari during the Michael Schumacher years, to have completed a hat-trick championship doubles with the same driver. 


This is how the dominant eras compare so far, with Red Bull closing on Ferrari's five-year pole stats just three years into its reign but looking unlikely to match the Scuderia's win tally even if its steamroller run continues.


Ferrari 2000-04

Races: 85
Drivers' titles: 5
Constructors' titles: 5
Wins: 57 (67%)
Poles: 51 (60%)
Fastest laps: 42
Podiums: 117

Red Bull 2010-12

Races: 58
Drivers' titles: 3
Constructors' titles: 3
Wins: 28 (48%)
Poles: 41 (71%)
Fastest laps: 23
Podiums: 61

Monday 26 November 2012

2012 Season Review: Top 5 Drivers

1. Sebastian Vettel

Against all odds, Sebastian Vettel managed to dodge the traps of fate in Brazil. After crashing at the start and  suffering from a poor pitstop and a radio failure, the German fought back relentlessly and proved critics and fans alike that he can drive superbly under pressure. People may argue that most of his strong results this year were down to the car's dominant speed. In Brazil, Vettel has shown that the perfect car is nothing without the perfect driver. It was the car that was severely damaged and it was Vettel who got on top of that problem and stormed from the back of the pack to secure his third consecutive title. Which he damn well deserved. 



Best drive: Brazilian Grand Prix (suffering from an exhaust damage, a wrong pitstop call and a radio failure, and still managed to finish 6th to secure title) 
Best moment: securing third consecutive world title
Strong points: qualifying speed, racecraft, motivation
Weak points: sometimes incosistent and short tempered

2. Fernando Alonso

The F2012 was never a winning car. But Fernando Alonso's season is another fine example that the machine is nothing without the man. Consistent performance, regular points finishes, three superb victories, but somehow always slower and never that close to his main rival. Truth be told, if Ferrari had another driver in that seat, they probably wouldn't have race wins this year. Probably Alonso's strongest season to date. 



Best drive: European Grand Prix (qualified 11th, stormed to brilliant victory)
Best moment: emotional win in front of home crowd in Valencia
Strong points: racecraft, consistency, speed and determination
Weak points: short temper and lousy car

3. Lewis Hamilton


A mixture of bad luck and poor reliability overshadowed Lewis Hamilton's otherwise strongest season. Mature driving, raw qualifying speed and fantastic racecraft. Had McLaren sorted out the reliability problems from the start, Lewis would've made the top spot in the drivers' championship. A brilliant comeback from last year's issues as he shrugged off the rustiness and criticism. 



Best drive: United States Grand Prix (only man to challenge Vettel, hunted him down and snatched victory towards the end)
Best moment: overtaking Vettel to secure win in Texas
Strong points: raw speed and qualifying
Weak points: prown to make mistakes often

4. Kimi Raikkonen

Despite all the early criticism, Raikkonen's comeback was superb. One victory, six podiums, stellar driving, solid racecraft and consistent performance saw him initiate a sneaky approach towards snatching the championship. Rusty qualifying performance and Lotus' average development mid-season hindered the Finn from doing better. Ultimately secured 3rd spot in drivers' championship.




Best drive: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (dominated the race after Hamilton's retirement, and fended off Alonso to get comeback victory in the end)
Best moment: a brilliant wheel-to-wheel overtake on Schumacher in the final round in Brazil
Strong points: clean overtaking skills, racecraft, consistency
Weak points: qualifying speed and lack of aggressiveness

5. Sergio Perez

Sauber's Mexican driver has shown some flashes of brilliance this season with podium finishes in Malaysia, Canada and Italy. However, his inconsistent performance gave a hint that he's probably not ready for a top team just yet. Nevertheless, strongest season to date for Perez and best rookie driver.


Best drive: Malaysian Grand Prix (mastered tricky conditions to hunt down Alonso for win, but ultimately had to settle for 2nd)
Best moment: passing Alonso in Italy after failing to do so in Malaysia
Strong points: speed and adaptation to tricky conditions
Weak points: inconsistency 




Tuesday 11 September 2012

Raikkonen set to return to McLaren in 2013

With rumors about Hamilton's move to Mercedes strengthening, Raikkonen has been linked with a return to McLaren. The Finn's management team has been spotted in the last three race weekends and it's likely they've been in contact with McLaren. 



Lewis Hamilton’s demeanour and that of his team after victory in the Italian Grand Prix bore all the hallmarks of a divorce that has already been agreed. Minimal celebrations on the pit wall and beneath the podium, a team photo for appearances’ sake with an implacable looking Hamilton and Ron Dennis declining to join in.

After Hamilton's departure, McLaren will have to fill a big hole in their driver line-up. The only logical replacement would be a driver that comes close to Hamilton's performance. While Raikkonen seems to be a fitting target, he has a contract with Lotus for next year. Supposedly the contract is valid only if the team could give him a car capable of finishing in the top 8 in the world championship. That requirement has pretty much been fulfilled and pundits believe that the Finn is now locked into their 2013 contract now. 

However, contracts can be easily terminated as we've seen after Kimi's sudden departure from Ferrari in 2009. The Robertsons (Raikkonen's management team) have been spotted in Budapest, Spa and Monza and are supposedly conducting negotiations with several teams regarding Raikkonen's future. And with Hamilton now almost surely set to leave McLaren, the team's plan B could easily feature the 2007 World Champion. 

Raikkonen is no stranger to McLaren. He enjoyed very successful years there and built a healthy relationship with the Woking team. Team principal, Martin Whitmarsh has been praising the Finn for his comeback performance and his words are proof enough that they might be interested in hiring him back. 


Friday 10 August 2012

2012 Mid-Season Standings: A Championship of Five

The once unpredictable 2012 season has now been narrowed down to five drivers in contention for the world title. Alonso leads the pack, but the improving Red Bulls, McLarens and Lotuses could spoil the Spaniard's party. We'll take a driver-by-driver look. 

1. Fernando Alonso
















Points: 164
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 10/11

(+) Aggressive and consistent performance 
(+) Ability to push car beyond its limits
(+) Has the most wins from all drivers this season
(-) Car's inconsistent pace sometimes erases hope for high place finishes

The season so far: Even if Alonso's championship campaign tanks over the next nine races, and there are no signs that it will, his first half of the season deserves its own little place in F1 history. Given a car that was completely unbalanced, lacking traction and slow on the straights at the start of the season, the Spaniard kept his head down and continued to drive at his best regardless. Even after his victory at a sodden Sepang there were few that thought the Ferrari was capable of winning in 'normal' circumstances, yet he is the only driver to have secured three race wins from the first eleven races.

Looking ahead: His position 40 points clear at the top of the championship is entirely deserved, but there have been signs that Ferrari is still a little off the pace of its rivals. Even after Alonso's victory in Germany, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he was "concerned" by the strength of Ferrari's opponents. Alonso may be clear on points but he is going to have to work just as hard and continue to avoid DNFs if he is going to hold off the chasing pack all the way through to the final race in Brazil.

2. Mark Webber













Points: 124
Previous titles: 0
Odds: 12/1

(+) Bounced back in style after troublesome 2011 campaign
(+) When in form, able to deliver skillful and intelligent driving
(-) Inconsistent performance

The season so far: After some pretty average performances, it's something of a surprise to find Webber in second place in the championship. But when he has been on form he has made the most of it and when he hasn't he has, more often than not, taken 12 points for finishing fourth. There really is no knowing what kind of performance Webber will put in before each race, but on his favoured tracks he has shown strong pace and his performances are certainly closer to his 2010 form than the Webber of 2011.

Looking ahead: His performances so far this year bear a remarkable similarity to his 2010 season where he could have won the title had it not been for an accident in Korea. If he can continue to follow the 2010 pattern he stands a chance of closing the gap to Alonso and passing him, but he needs to put the disappointment of just eight points from the last two races behind him. The Red Bull is clearly one of the quicker cars, but Webber needs to make sure he stays on top of the way the developments alter the car's behaviour, because on a couple of occasions he has failed to match team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

3. Sebastian Vettel












Points: 122
Previous titles: 2
Odds: 3/1

(+) Solid qualifying performance often useful
(+) Managed to grab a respectable amount of points with only one win so far
(-) No longer able to replicate 2011-style dominance

The season so far: One win from the first 11 races was not what Vettel or the rest of the paddock was expecting after pre-season testing. In 2011 he was consistently able to qualify on pole and run away with the races, but he has only been able to employ that tactic twice in 2012. The first occasion was in Bahrain, but even then he was hauled in by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, and the second was in Valencia, although his race came to a premature end when his alternator packed in. It will also be interesting to see how important his dropped points for passing Jenson Button off the track in Germany prove to be.

Looking ahead: Red Bull found a significant improvement at the European Grand Prix thanks to a new exhaust layout at the rear of the car. Several other innovations have been knocked back by the FIA, but the general trend has been towards a car that is improving race on race and is especially effective in Vettel's hands. It will be no surprise if he returns from the summer break and closes in on Alonso and it's worth remembering that he was 24 points off the lead with five races remaining in 2010 and still won the championship.


4. Lewis Hamilton














Points: 117
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 5/1

(+) Excellent qualifying pace
(+) Improved race craft since 2011
(-) Inconsistent car
(-) Faulty strategies and pit stops from team

The season so far: It's never simple with Lewis Hamilton. At the start of the year it looked like McLaren had the quickest car but Hamilton couldn't match his team-mate Jenson Button. Yet Hamilton remained calm and picked up consistent results with three podiums in the first three races ... then things started to go wrong. A slip up in the pits cost him in Bahrain and then his car was underfuelled ahead of qualifying in Spain and he was sent to the back of the grid after comfortably securing pole position. He eventually won in Canada but at the very next race he lost a possible podium when Pastor Maldonado punted him off the track. Even a conservative estimation of the points lost in incidents that were out of his control amounts to a massive 54 (an extra 8 in Bahrain, an extra 21 in Spain, 12 in Europe, 12 in Germany), which would put him clear at the top of the standings. It could well be another case of what might have been for Hamilton.

Looking ahead: His victory in Hungary will keep him in the fight and the improved performance of the McLaren should be enough to give him the motivation to continue to fight at the front. But as the first half of the season has proved, Hamilton has a distinct ability to attract trouble and just one more DNF could spell the end of his championship challenge. He now needs to rediscover his consistent early-season form and then pounce on any victories that present themselves.


5. Kimi Raikkonen














Points: 116
Previous titles: 1
Odds: 11/1

(+) Excellent race pace and race craft 
(+) Consistent performance with points finishes at almost every race
(-) Rusty over a single lap
(-) Lacked aggressiveness in the first few races

The season so far: Raikkonen has exceeded most people's expectations since his comeback at the start of the year, even if his first win with Lotus remains elusive. The signs are that it's not far away after five podiums in the first 11 races and arguably one of the best performances of any driver at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Raikkonen has shown that he can still produce spates of unadulterated speed when it's needed, although he has not yet found his form in qualifying. Nevertheless, no one can knock his motivation and his results this year rather put Michael Schumacher's comeback efforts in the shade.

Looking ahead: The news that Lotus's double DRS has made good progress in its first two outings should mean the car will have an extra boost in time for qualifying at Spa Francorchamps. Raikkonen has won on four of his last five visits to Spa so will be in contention for victory when the cars return to the track in September, and if he can pull it off he'll be right in the middle of the chasing pack behind Fernando Alonso. Lotus has shown impressive pace this year and multiple victories are a real possibility in the second half of the season. Raikkonen's title challenge must be taken seriously.





Monday 9 July 2012

GB Analysis: Webber in the hunt for world title


The sun finally shone on Silverstone on Sunday, as Mark Webber made all the right moves. The Australian hunted down and passed polesitter Fernando Alonso in the closing laps, narrowing the gap between them at the top of the driver standings to just 13 points, as the season nears its halfway point. 




Red Bull

Mark Webber, P1
Sebastian Vettel, P3
Webber drove a great race, starting on the option Pirelli, then running two sets of primes. On the second set he was able to haul in Alonso before passing him easily with five laps left. Vettel damaged a front-wing endplate slightly early on in his fight with Massa, but a great strategic call of an early first pit stop put him ahead of Schumacher and Massa and set him on the road to a solid podium finish. Their performance confirmed the step forward they made in Valencia, even if relative to their rivals that step wasn’t as big as some had feared.


Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P2
Felipe Massa, P4
Alonso drove superbly on the prime tyres initially and looked a certain winner, but the Ferrari lacked pace on the options in its final stint and eventually he could not contain Webber. Nevertheless, it was another great race for Ferrari as he kept his championship lead, and Massa took a strong fourth after a great opening battle with Schumacher and Vettel.


Lotus
Kimi Raikkonen, P5
Romain Grosjean, P6
Yet again Lotus were fastest at the end of a race, but Raikkonen couldn’t quite catch Massa for fourth. Grosjean hit Di Resta on the opening lap, but fought back superbly to take sixth. As a result, Lotus move to third overall ahead of McLaren.


Mercedes
Michael Schumacher, P7
Nico Rosberg, P15
Schumacher made a great start and was a tough proposition for Massa, but after Vettel jumped them both in the first pit stop he gradually faded before managing to repass Hamilton for seventh towards the end. Rosberg was a lower points contender until his second stop, when problems with the left front wheel delayed him and dropped him to 15th.


Williams
Bruno Senna, P9
Pastor Maldonado, P16
Senna was the points scorer today, after Maldonado blotted his copybook again by colliding with Perez. He was later reprimanded and fined 10,000 euros.


McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P8
Jenson Button, P10
McLaren had a horrible time. Both drivers said their cars felt fine but they lacked grip. Hamilton led briefly after Alonso’s stop and a 21-lap opening stint on the prime tyre, but later dropped away when his final set of primes did not perform to the same level. Button said both Sauber and Williams were faster. They fell from second to fourth overall in the constructors’ stakes.


Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, P11
Sergio Perez, Retired lap 12, collision with Maldonado
Perez was flying and a contender for decent points, but was taken out by Maldonado on the 12th lap when they collided and both spun. Kobayashi was also very quick, faster than the McLarens, but a late braking pit stop knocked three team members off their feet and the delay cost him a points finish. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but he was fined 25,000 euros.


Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, P12
Paul di Resta, Retired lap 3, accident damage
Di Resta’s race was over at the start when he got hit by Grosjean and suffered a punctured right rear tyre. That caused a spin and a lot of autocrossing which damaged the floor too much for him to complete more than one lap after a resultant pit stop. Hulkenberg seemed set for ninth under pressure from Senna and Button, but slid off trying to repass the Brazilian for the position and ended up 12th.


Toro Rosso
Daniel Ricciardo, P13
Jean-Eric Vergne, P14
Both drivers raced the wheels of their cars, with Ricciardo just coming out on top after a race-long duel. Encouragingly for the team, the Australian was eighth in the fastest lap rankings and the Frenchman tenth.


Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen, P17
Vitaly Petrov, Did not start, engine
Caterham’s race got off to a frustrating start as Petrov’s Renault engine ate itself on the grid formation lap and the Russian was thus unable to start. Kovalainen said things went reasonably well as he drove his CT01 as hard as he could, but the team believe there is more to come from their latest updates.


Marussia
Timo Glock, P18
Charles Pic, P19
A tough race ended a tough week for the Banbury team, after Maria De Villota’s accident. The positives were a healthy two-car finish and boss John Booth’s conviction that they are gradually pulling away from HRT and closing on Caterham.


HRT
Pedro de la Rosa, P20
Narain Karthikeyan, P21
No real problems for either driver as their races went pretty much to plan, though Karthikeyan said his rear tyres wore out faster than expected.




Sunday 8 July 2012

Mark Webber beats Alonso to Silverstone victory


Red Bull's Mark Webber trimmed Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 championship lead to 13 points by hunting down and passing the Ferrari in a dramatic conclusion to a totally dry British Grand Prix at Silverstone.


Sebastian Vettel completed the podium and almost managed to make it a Red Bull one-two as he gained on Alonso's tyre-troubled car at the end.

Alonso pulled out a five-second lead over Webber in the first stint and maintained it for the majority of the race. But while most of the field used soft tyres early then switched to hards, Alonso waited until his final stint to try the softs, and could not keep up his previous pace.

Webber caught up rapidly and was on the Ferrari's tail with seven laps to go, trying several moves before deploying his DRS on the run towards Brooklands on lap 48 out of 52. Alonso defended the inside as Webber swept around the outside, and after attempting to retaliate at Luffield, the Spaniard had to let Webber go and concentrate on staying clear of Vettel.

The world champion had run fifth in the opening stint before a slightly early first stop helped him jump to third, where he would finish, unable to catch Alonso in the end.

Felipe Massa spent the opening laps trying ever-more creative attempts to overtake Michael Schumacher's Mercedes for third, finally managing at Stowe on lap 11. The Ferrari lost out to Vettel in the following pit sequence, then resisted the fast-closing Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen to take fourth.

Lotus got two cars in the top six despite Romain Grosjean breaking his front wing in a brush with Paul di Resta on the first lap. The resulting puncture and associated damage ended the Force India's race, while Grosjean charged back from last to sixth.

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button could only finish eighth and 10th in the McLarens. Hamilton spent a while in the lead and enjoyed a spirited dice with Alonso as he ran a very long first stint on hards, but then did just a handful of laps on softs before switching back to harder Pirellis. The Briton's pace then faded and he lost seventh place to Schumacher late on.

Although Button jumped to 12th at the start, his progress was less dramatic thereafter. In the closing laps he was in the thick of an epic dice for ninth with Bruno Senna and Nico Hulkenberg, won by the Williams. Hulkenberg (Force India) ran wide at Copse in the heat of battle and dropped out of the points.

The other major incident of the race involved Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez. Running seventh and ninth in the first stint, they pitted together on lap 11 but then collided at Brooklands on their out-laps. The furious Perez sustained terminal damage to his Sauber, while Maldonado dragged his Williams back to the pits for repairs and finished 16th.

Completing a bad day for Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi hit several mechanics at his final stop. Initial reports suggested there were no serious injuries and the Japanese driver continued to 11th ahead of Hulkenberg.

Nico Rosberg had a less dramatic bad pitstop during what was already a low-key midfield race, which ended with his Mercedes 15th.

Monday 2 July 2012

Is Vettel ready to dominate the rest of this season?


Looking back at Red Bull's pace in Valencia, Vettel's performance might trigger the beginning of the end regarding 2012's wide-open season. Are Red Bull now ready to dominate?


Having comfortably taken pole position for the European Grand Prix, Vettel was dominant in the race as he opened up a 20-second lead before a safety car period. His alternator failed soon afterwards, however, and he was forced to retire as Fernando Alonso took victory.

When asked by if he thought the pace advantage could be maintained at Silverstone Vettel replied: "Well we hope so.

"I think Silverstone is a very different track in terms of speed range - Valencia is fairly low speed. Weather wise is going to be very different I think! I would be surprised if we have 30 degrees and sunshine in Silverstone, but why not? Maybe the English summer is treating us differently this year!

"I think it will be interesting, as I said it's a very different track all in all. It's important for us to ideally confirm the results or confirm the feeling we had in Valencia - but not the result!"

Christian Horner believes Fernando Alonso is Red Bull's "obvious" rival in the fight for the title, but is expecting challenges for race wins from several teams.

Alonso currently leads the drivers' championship but Sebastian Vettel could have been on top had an alternator problem not forced him to retire from the lead of the European Grand Prix. Red Bull had the fastest car in Valencia two weeks ago, but Alonso, in a car that is still off the pace in qualifying, took victory.

Asked if there was a single driver he saw as Red Bull's biggest threat this year, Horner told ESPNF1: "The driver, obviously, is Alonso. But there are so many drivers that are in contention and teams as well. I think Formula One has never been so open as it has been [this year], going in to grand prix weekends where there could be eight potential winners."

Red Bull brought a major upgrade to the rear of its car at the last race in Valencia to enhance the performance of its diffuser. Horner is wary that Silverstone will provide a different challenge at this weekend's British Grand Prix, but said another strong performance would bode well for the car's chances at all venues this year.

"In Valencia the car worked very well, but that was in high temperatures and with a different type of layout. Hopefully it will follow through in to the next grand prix at Silverstone - it's a completely different layout of circuit with fast sweeping corners, probably cooler temperatures and knowing the British summer maybe a bit of rain. Hopefully the car can be competitive and if we can be competitive at Valencia and Silverstone then the rest of the season looks promising."

Sunday 24 June 2012

Post-race Analysis: Epic Valencia delivers best Formula 1 race so far this season


Non-stop action, drama, plenty of overtaking and a shocking finale. Not bad for a venue known to have monotone and boring racing. In short, Valencia will be remembered as one of/the best race of the 2012 season.





Shock 
Fernando Alonso - At the start of the weekend it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility that Alonso would win, but starting 11th having missed out on Q3 nobody would have given him a chance in Valencia. The Spanish Gods were smiling on him today.

Shocker 
Pastor Maldonado - In an almost opposite situation to Alonso, Maldonado qualified brilliantly but then struggled to match pace for much of the grand prix until the final stint - when he threw away a podium finish by driving in to the side of Hamilton.

Best overtake 
Romain Grosjean - With his race being 
compromised by Hamilton early on, Grosjean made up for a lack of straight-line speed by outbraking the McLaren around the outside of turn 12 and then muscling through on the inside of turn 13



Best lap 
Sebastian Vettel - Take your pick of any of the first 35, but on the second lap Vettel extended his lead from 1.1s to 4.0s and ensured the race was his to win, until a suspected alternator failure robbed him

Worst lap 
Nico Rosberg - At the restart after the safety car period, Rosberg failed to get temperature in to his medium tyres and dropped from sixth place to 12th

Drive of the day 
Fernando Alonso - After a good start, Alonso judged a number of overtaking moves beautifully to run third behind the safety car. Having passed Grosjean and inherited the lead he then showed his experience to judge his pace perfectly to the flag to the delight of his home crowd
Fernando Alonso beats Raikkonen and Schumacher to win brutal European GP



Fernando Alonso came through from 11th on the grid to take a remarkable home victory in the European Grand Prix in Valencia. The result made the Ferrari driver the first repeat winner of the incredible 2012 Formula 1 season, and also moved Alonso into the championship lead.




The latter outcome was due in large part to Sebastian Vettel retiring with a mechanical problem on his Red Bull after dominating the first half of the race, and Lewis Hamilton's McLaren retiring late on in a collision with Pastor Maldonado's Williams as they fought for third.


Lotus's Romain Grosjean had looked like a victory threat as he chased Alonso, only to suffer an alternator failure, but his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen came through to claim second after a late pass on the fading Hamilton, whose incident with Maldonado then allowed Michael Schumacher to make his podium return for Mercedes in third place, chased by 19th-place qualifier Mark Webber's Red Bull.


Vettel commanded the early stages, immediately pulling out a lead of several seconds as the pack behind took several corners to sort itself out. Front row qualifier Hamilton got away slowly, and had to fend off several attackers before establishing himself in second ahead of Grosjean, Kamui Kobayashi, Maldonado, Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and the fast-starting Alonso.


During the opening stint Alonso overtook Hulkenberg and followed Raikkonen past Maldonado, then jumped Raikkonen and Kobayashi by running one lap longer before his first pitstop.


This group then came out in a long train of yet-to-stop cars, through which Alonso made much more assertive progress than his rivals.


Approaching half-distance, Vettel was leading by 20 seconds over Grosjean, who had overtaken Hamilton with a neat outside-line move on lap 10 and then pulled out a 10s gap over the McLaren, which had Alonso edging closer.


When the safety car was called out to clear debris from a clash between Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso and Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham, most drivers made their second and final pitstops. Hamilton's was very slow, allowing Alonso to get up to third, and the Spaniard then went around the outside of Grosjean into the first corner at the restart to claim second.


Moments later that second place became the race lead, as Vettel's Red Bull suddenly cut out and retired, to the world champion's shock.


Grosjean kept Alonso under pressure and still seemed a likely winner, only for an alternator failure to halt the Lotus with 17 laps to go.


After that Alonso was able to pull clear and become the first repeat winner of the 2012 season, retaking the championship lead in the process.


Hamilton held on to second until the final two laps, when his tyres appeared to wilt. Raikkonen got past after a long battle, but when Maldonado tried to do likewise, the pair clashed, putting the McLaren in the barriers and breaking the Williams's front wing.


That allowed Schumacher through to claim the first podium of his Formula 1 return, as fended off Webber, who made great progress through from 19th on the grid.


Both Schumacher and Webber passed the Force Indias in the closing stages, with Nico Rosberg then getting his Mercedes between Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta's Force Indias to take sixth on the last lap.


Jenson Button had a low-key run to eighth for McLaren, ahead of Sergio Perez's Sauber and the limping Maldonado.


The second Ferrari of Felipe Massa was delayed with damage from a collision with Kobayashi and finished a lowly 16th. Kobayashi had to retire after the incident.


For some of the race it looked like Caterham might score its first point, as solid pace and the attrition ahead allowed Vitaly Petrov to pick his way up to 10th place. But the Russian was pushed back down the order and then tangled with Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo.

Saturday 23 June 2012

Sebastian Vettel expecting to fight Grosjean and Raikkonen for the win

Sebastian Vettel may have taken pole position, but hot conditions and impressive long run pace favor the Lotuses. The German expects to be fighting Raikkonen and Grosjean on Sunday afternoon.  


Vettel has won the last two races at Valencia from pole and is hoping to make it a hat-trick on Sunday. However, the unpredictable nature of this season means Vettel is not taking anything for granted. 

Romain Grosjean and his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen are widely tipped as a dark horses for race victory because of the Lotus's performance in hot weather and race conditions. "Lotus have proven in Bahrain that they will be there in hot conditions. Grid position is important but maybe not as important [as it used to be].", reckons Vettel. 

However, the circuit in Valencia does not offer many overtaking possibilities. Jenson Button is not expecting to make progress on his grid position. Still, the Briton also expects Lotus to fight for victory tomorrow. "The only people I would say can maybe move up will be the Lotuses., said Button. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton shares his views: "The Lotuses look massively competitive, I think they're going to be the ones to watch out for tomorrow."


Romain Grosjean declared fourth on the grid a good result for Lotus despite looking like having the pace to challenge for pole position.

At the end of Q2 Grosjean was the quickest driver and with track temperatures high the conditions seemed to be suiting Lotus. However, in Q3 Grosjean saw his best time beaten by Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado to knock him back on to the second row. Despite that, Grosjean was not disappointed, pointing out that it was his second best qualifying performance of the season.

"The only time I've been better on the grid was in Melbourne when we were P3," Grosjean said. "Monaco we were P5, here we're P4 so it's getting better. It's not as good as the Red Bulls today, which were flying but again we are consistent at the front. There's no race where we are really up and another when we are down. So it's good, the race pace looks good from yesterday which is interesting for tomorrow. We have to discuss some of the strategy but I think without compromising our race set-up we managed to get a good qualy lap today."

When asked if Lotuses long run pace meant this could be the race that it secures its first victory this season, Grosjean said it could be but added that a win wasn't the be all and end all.

"It might be the one, as the next one might be the one or the next one again. It depends on circumstances, it depends on a lot of things. If I was starting tomorrow without thinking about the win it wouldn't be right, but I'm not focused on only winning the race. If we can then I will do it, if we cannot then I'll take the points, the podiums or whatever we can get. Every result is important for the championship, we are fighting with Ferrari who is behind us and with McLaren there is one in front and one behind. So we have a good chance to score good points and that's the main objective."


Sebastian Vettel takes pole position in Valencia


Sebastian Vettel beat Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado to pole position in a spectacular qualifying battle ahead of the European Grand Prix in Valencia.


Williams driver Maldonado looked set to start first for the second time this season - having inherited Barcelona pole after Hamilton was penalised - as he surged to the top with a 1m38.475s lap in the closing moments of qualifying.

But Vettel was putting in a spectacular lap in the revised Red Bull, coming through to depose Maldonado by nearly four tenths of a second with a 1m38.086s.

Hamilton's McLaren then slipped ahead of Maldonado by 0.065s with the Briton's final lap.

Lotus could not quite produce the pole challenge that many had predicted, but still qualified better than has often been the case this year, with Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen lining up fourth and fifth.

The astonishingly close initial stages of the session claimed several early victims - including both Ferraris, Michael Schumacher's Mercedes and Mark Webber's Red Bull, none of which made it into the top 10.

That was in part because a host of underdogs proceeded to Q3, with both Force Indias and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi reaching the top 10.

The Force Indias both made appearances inside the top four during Q3 before being edged back to eighth (Nico Hulkenberg) and 10th (Paul di Resta), split by Jenson Button's McLaren.

Kobayashi took seventh, just behind Nico Rosberg's Mercedes.

Less than three tenths of a second covered the top 13 cars in Q2, and several top teams were squeezed out.

Most significantly for the title battle and most disappointing for the Spanish crowd was that Alonso missed out on Q3 by 0.004s, as lapping just 0.218s off pacesetter Grosjean left him 11th. Schumacher squeezed in between the two Ferraris in 12th, with all three less than 0.08s from the Q3 cut-off.

The other early shock was that Webber only managed 19th, hampered by hydraulic issues and a lack of DRS on his Red Bull.

The session gave Heikki Kovalainen and Caterham another chance to star, and the Finn outpaced both Toro Rossos to take 16th on the grid, behind Bruno Senna (Williams) and Sergio Perez (Sauber), both of whom were some way off their team-mates' pace in Q2.

It was a tough session for Marussia. While Timo Glock was sidelined by illness, his team-mate Charles Pic was unable to beat either HRT.

Friday 22 June 2012

European GP: Red Bull tipped for pole, Lotus for win


Red Bull brought an impressive array of updates for its RB8 to Valencia which Mark Hughes reckons makes it a contender for pole. But come race day it could be Lotus that is dictating the pace of the European Grand Prix.


Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of the second free practice session for the European Grand Prix.

Vettel's time of 1:39.334 set on soft tyres was enough to put him at the head of a group of 15 cars which were separated by less than a second. Second quickest was Nico Hulkenberg as Force India showed the sort of pace that could make it contenders for a Q3 slot tomorrow, while Kamui Kobayashi was third for Sauber - just 0.261s behind Vettel.

Michael Schumacher and Bruno Senna made it five different teams in the top five as the field was extremely close on one-lap pace, something that will cause a number of headaches amongst the teams ahead of qualifying.

The Lotus race pace was still evident as Romain Grosjean was the quickest man during the longer runs, but again it struggled a touch when trying to set a headline time - Grosjean half a second off the pace in eighth place and Kimi Raikkonen back in 11th.

Even further back were the McLaren pair as Jenson Button ended the session in 12th and Lewis Hamilton 14th. Both drivers were fairly early on to the soft tyres during FP2 so the times can't be read in to too much, but it appears Button has found a few answers to his recent struggles as he ended the session 0.656s slower than Vettel and almost 0.2s ahead of his team-mate.

At the back of the field the updated Caterham matched the pace of the Toro Rossos, although both teams were at least half a second off the pace of the rest of the teams ahead.

Pedro de la Rosa caused a yellow flag when he put his HRT in the wall at turn 14. It was a strange incident as de la Rosa was cruising round but appeared to misjudge how quickly he was still going and just understeered straight in to the tyres, burying the car. A number of other drivers locked up and ran wide as they had in FP1, but Sergio Perez managed a full spin at turn 17 as he seemed slightly out of sorts; eventually ending the session almost a second slower than Kobayashi.

Monday 11 June 2012

Canada: Hamilton writes F1 history by becoming seventh different winner after seven races 


Lewis Hamilton finally took his first victory of the 2012 Formula 1 season as the McLaren driver charged back to pass the one-stopping Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and win the Canadian Grand Prix for the third time in his career.


The result also makes Hamilton the seventh different race winner in as many GPs this year, extending the record.

Lotus's Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Sergio Perez took the second podium finishes of their careers as they demoted the fading Alonso, who eventually dropped to fifth.

Poleman Sebastian Vettel only finished fourth, but had led Hamilton and Alonso in the opening stint. The Red Bull driver was the first of the trio to stop for tyres, and found himself jumped by both his rivals as they came in shortly afterwards. Alonso came off best of all as he vaulted both the Red Bull and the McLaren, but Hamilton was able to re-pass the Ferrari in the DRS zone on Alonso's out-lap.

The McLaren then edged slightly away before coming in for a second tyre stop on lap 49. Alonso and Vettel decided to try and make it to the end on their existing rubber, but Hamilton had the pace to hunt down and pass both of them, going to win and claim the points lead in the process.

Vettel then gave up his one-stop attempt and made a very late tyre stop, while Alonso clung on and hoped to still make it to the end in second, only for his pace to get ever worse. Grosjean - who had pitted only two laps later than the Ferrari - was soon past Alonso into second, with Perez (who left his sole stop until lap 41) and the recovering Vettel also easily dismissing the Spaniard.


Two-stoppers Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Mark Webber (Red Bull) were sixth and seventh, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus and Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber.

Felipe Massa spun from fifth to 12th in his Ferrari early on, and had to settle for 10th after stopping twice for tyres.

Force India's Paul di Resta had a spell as high as sixth in the early running, only to lose ground with a relatively early first of two pitstops, leaving him 11th.

It was another disastrous race for both Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher. The second McLaren had to make three tyre stops and finished a lapped 16th, while the rear wing flap on Schumacher's Mercedes jammed open, ending his race.

Friday 8 June 2012

Canadian GP: Hamilton tops both practice sessions


Lewis Hamilton was on top for McLaren as the rain held off in the second Canadian Grand Prix practice session in Montreal on Friday.


After going quickest in the morning, Hamilton barely let anyone else have a look in at the head of the order in the afternoon, moving to the front for the first time after 14 minutes with a 1m15.895s lap.

That time then came down and down - the Briton eventually reaching a best of 1m15.439s on soft tyres.

He then went slightly faster still at the start of a long super soft run just before the session's halfway point, lapping in 1m15.259s, a time that would stand as the best of the day.

Fernando Alonso came closest to deposing Hamilton. The Ferrari driver had a wild spin through the Turn 8/9 chicane early on, visited the grass there again shortly after, but avoided damage and eventually got to within 0.054 seconds of taking the top spot. His team-mate Felipe Massa was less than a tenth slower in third.

Sebastian Vettel took fourth in the leading Red Bull, ahead of an impressive performance from Force India's Paul di Resta in fifth. Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber was sixth.

Mercedes duo Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg lined up seventh and 10th, sandwiching the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and Jenson Button's McLaren. The latter only made it out for the final 18 minutes of the session as his car required a gearbox change following its morning oil leak.

Like the morning session, practice two also featured a single red flag just after the mid-point. This time it was Bruno Senna in the wars, as he spun his Williams backwards into the wall at the final chicane -shattering one of the team's funky new rear wings among other things.

Caterham managed to repair Heikki Kovalainen's car after the Finn's practice one crash and he was able to join the action half an hour in, eventually taking 16th place.

Thursday 7 June 2012

The Canadian GP Preview: Lucky Number Seven?



Will we see a little bit more history made in Canada with a seventh winner in the seventh race? Or will McLaren’s Jenson Button, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, Williams’ Pastor Maldonado or Red Bull’s Mark Webber step up as 2012’s first repeat victor?





McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Lotus team mates Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean and Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher would all dearly love to stop them, and the truth is that all 10 drivers, plus perhaps Ferrari’s revitalised Felipe Massa, have a chance this weekend.


On paper this track should favour McLaren, who are still thought to have the best car aerodynamically, and they certainly need an upturn in form having failed through a variety of circumstances to make the podium since China. 


But Mercedes and Lotus fancy their chances here, Red Bull don’t believe that having to close up holes/slots in their floor will hurt them too much (after the FIA’s post-Monaco rule clarification), and Ferrari say their form here will dictate their likely performance over the rest of the season.


“I know that the results we all want will soon come to us,” Hamilton says. “I’m looking forward to bringing the fight to Montreal, which is one of my favourite races of the season. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a fantastic track. It’s super-fast in places, which means it requires finesse and precision, but you can also end up racing wheel-to-wheel with people at 200 mph too, which is an incredible sensation.


“However, you still want a car with decent low-speed traction - all those long drags are usually preceded by tight hairpins, so it’s important that you can get the power down efficiently if you’re to pull a good lap time together. With KERS and DRS in the mix, it should be an exciting Grand Prix - although, interestingly, we’re reverting to a shorter, single-DRS zone after the double-zone last year.”


This will be after Turn 10, the hairpin, and will begin 600 metres before the braking zone for Turn 13, the entry to the final corner. It is 50 metres shorter than last year as the FIA considered overtaking was too easy then. 


“On paper,” Hamilton concludes, “I think our car will be well-suited to the combination: we showed in Spain that we’re very good in high-speed corners, but we were also quick in the final sector, which is slower and more technical. Of course, it’s still difficult to predict the outcome accurately, so I’ll be focusing on another clean weekend where I can score more consistent world championship points.”


Meanwhile Button, last year’s winner, says: “This weekend it’s going to be important to get a handle on the car in qualifying. At the last two races, Q2 hasn’t gone my way, so, no matter what pace you have in the race, you’re still compromised on Sunday afternoon, particularly as the pack is so tightly bunched at the moment. My aim will be to have a stronger qualifying performance and to be able to build on that in the race.”


“With its low downforce and slow corners, the track’s a little bit like Monza and should suit our car,” Rosberg says. “We've made good progress over the past few weeks, and that was clear from the performance in Monaco. So I'm hopeful that we can make another step forward here.”


Lotus boss Eric Boullier is determined to get Raikkonen and Grosjean back on track after the bitter disappointment of Monaco, while Fernando Alonso says menacingly: “In Canada we want to confirm our improvement and be competitive in a more 'normal' circuit because Monaco is unique due to its characteristics and Barcelona has very quick corners. Canada and Valencia are going to be two very important tests for us to see if we can really put both Ferraris in Q3, like we did in Monaco, and opt to be in the top places.


“We're taking some upgrades to Canada, a race both on and off the track because all the big teams are going to bring new parts so let's see whose works best. We've tried to extract the most of what we had and our rivals have let their guards down. This year two or three tenths makes you lose or gain five or six places, because everything is very close."


Pirelli are bringing their two softest tyres again - the P Zero Red super-soft and P Zero Yellow soft - but face a very different challenge to Monaco two weeks ago. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve may be another temporary circuit, but it’s significantly faster and tyre wear is much greater. Thus there will be far more pit stops than we saw two weeks ago. 


The circuit changes a lot during the course of the race weekend as more rubber goes down, which means that engineers and drivers are constantly honing their cars’ set-ups. The brakes also take a caning here, more than anywhere else, with heavy retardation into the first corner, the chicane out the back and again for the hairpin, and good traction is essential to exit the numerous slow- and medium-speed corners. 


As the surface is relatively low grip, the cars also oversteer a fair bit, exacerbating tyre consumption. Finding the tyres’ sweet spot has exercised everyone all season; here it may be even harder.


Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director says: “We go from Monaco to Canada: two of the most spectacular races of the year. Not only is Montreal a fantastic place to hold a race, but it’s also a great circuit. The soft and super-soft tyres should be able to demonstrate more of their natural characteristics than they were able to in Monaco, where drivers are constrained by very low average speeds and not much energy going through the tyre. 


“This enabled them to complete very long runs even on the super-soft, which should not be the case in Montreal where the tyres have more work to do. Tyres have traditionally played a very important role in this race, especially if it rains. 


“The practice sessions will be vital for teams to understand how exactly the tyres work on full tanks in particular. We think we will see several different strategies at work, with teams likely to split their strategies in order to cover every possibility.”


Weather-wise, it could be a mixed weekend again, with isolated thunderstorms forecast for Thursday, and partial cloud with the possibility of showers for the remainder of the meeting, with ambient temperature highs of around 23 degrees Celsius. 


Minor changes to the track include the replacement of steel guardrails in Turn 10 with walls topped by safety fences.


Timings will be as normal on Friday, but on Saturday practice and qualifying will each start an hour sooner (1000 hours and 1300 hours respectively). The race will run over 70 laps or 305.270 kilometres (189.688 miles) and starts at 1400 hours local time, which is four hours behind GMT.