© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
TV Notes
Lewis Hamilton secured the 21st pole position of his Formula 1 career for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
The McLaren pilot registered his quick time – 1:36.219 – in his opening run in Q3; however it proved quick enough to not necessitate a second fast stint.
Hamilton’s teammate, Jenson Button, made it an all-McLaren front row thanks to a faster second run toward the end of Q3. Indeed, it was an effort that kept the Briton only one-tenth ahead of the resurgent Michael Schumacher (Mercedes, 3rd) and Mark Webber (Red Bull, 4th).
Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen initially took 5th, but will start 10th after he picked up a five-place grid penalty for an early gearbox change.
Raikkonen’s penalty promoted Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel to 5th, with the other Lotus of Romain Grosjean filling out the third row. In what could prove to be a key move for Vettel, the German set his time on the harder Pirelli tyres – a tactic avoided by the rest of the top ten.
Qualifying 7th, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) finds himself in rather familiar territory. The German pilot set a time well up on Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (8th) and Sergio Perez (Sauber, 9th) – all whom completed only a single run.
Pastor Maldonado just missed out on Q3, despite having a major off-track excursion on his opening Q2 run. The Venezuelan flung his Williams FW34 across the turn ten gravel, damaging the car’s bargeboards in the process.
Despite this, Maldonado took 11th, just two-tenths ahead of the disappoint(ed / ing) Felip Massa (Ferrari, 12th).
Led by the second Williams of Bruno Senna, the following quartet were split by a mere five-hundredths of-a-second. In the scramble for minor placings, Senna nudged in front of Paul di Resta (14th) and Nico Hulkenberg (16th), with Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo splitting the Force India duo.
Kamui Kobayashi’s difficult weekend continued, with the Sauber man finishing Q2 in 17th position, more than half-a-second shy of the cut-off time.
Memories of the Toro Rosso’s startling performance in Australia faded somewhat, as both Ricciardo and teammate Jean-Eric Vergne struggled in the Malaysian heat. It would see Vergne lose out in Q1 – the Frenchman destroyed his tyres on his “fast lap”, leaving him six-tenths away from the cut-off.
Unsurprisingly, Caterham led the regulars once again; however Vitaly Petrov will assume 19th, following a penalty for Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn was handed with five-place grid drop for passing under the safety car in Melbourne – Kovalainen will now start last.
At Marussia, Timo Glock out-qualified new teammate Charles Pic, while both HRT’s – headed by Pedro de la Rosa – made the race comfortably.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.219s 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m36.368s + 0.149 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m36.391s + 0.172 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m36.461s + 0.242 5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.634s + 0.415 6. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m36.658s + 0.439 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.664s + 0.445 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.566s + 1.347 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.698s + 1.479 10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m36.461s + 0.242* Q2 cut-off time: 1m37.477s Gap to Q2 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m37.589s + 0.874 12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.731s + 1.016 13. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m37.841s + 1.126 14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m37.877s + 1.162 15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m37.883s + 1.168 16. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m37.890s + 1.175 17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.069s + 1.354 Q1 cut-off time: 1m38.437s Gap to Q1 18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.077s + 1.905 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m39.567s + 2.395 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.903s + 3.731 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.250s + 4.078 22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.914s + 5.742 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.655s + 6.483 24. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m39.306s + 2.134* 107% time: 1m43.974s *Raikkonen and Kovalainen receive 5-place grid penalties ^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
TV Notes
A late run from Nico Rosberg was enough to propel the Mercedes pilot to the top of the timesheets in the final practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Despite spending the opening third of the session garage bound with an oil leak, Rosberg still managed some solid running, completing 16 laps before the chequered flag flew.
Indeed, Rosberg missed precious little action. Spitting rain at the very beginning of practice made the circuit surface somewhat treacherous for a time, as McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton found to his cost thanks to wild slide at the difficult turn fourteen.
Rosberg’s best time – 1:36.877 – was a clear half-second quicker than next man Sebastian Vettel, with the reigning champion heading a gaggle of eight cars, all covered by a further four-tenths. Vettel nabbed just clear of Red Bull teammate Mark Webber and both Lotus’.
Jenson Button (McLaren) rounded out the top six, some five-hundredths clear of Williams’ Pastor Maldonado, who set some impressive times on the Pirelli hard compound tyres. The Venezuelan was fastest for a time, before eventually being demoted by the end of session runners.
Michael Schumacher assumed 8th, three-quarters-of-a-second shy of Rosberg; however the veteran stayed ahead of Hamilton (9th) who managed only a single fast lap following his earlier spin. Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi ended the session 10th in his Ferrari-powered C31 machine.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.877 16 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.320s + 0.443 15 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.338s + 0.461 12 4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m37.356s + 0.479 13 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.382s + 0.505 13 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.404s + 0.527 12 7. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m37.455s + 0.578 13 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m37.663s + 0.786 15 9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.776s + 0.899 8 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m37.977s + 1.100 17 11. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m38.091s + 1.214 20 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.178s + 1.301 15 13. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.246s + 1.369 17 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.285s + 1.408 16 15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.423s + 1.546 13 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.640s + 1.763 11 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.794s + 1.917 18 18. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.20$s + 2.332 16 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m39.704s + 2.827 15 20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.189s + 3.312 14 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.901s + 5.024 14 22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.007s + 5.130 14 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.464s + 5.587 14 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.378s + 6.501 17 ^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
TV Notes
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton proved fastest of all in both Friday sessions for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.
In Kuala Lumpur’s typical hot and humid conditions, Hamilton set a best lap in the morning of 1:38.021, falling just over one-tenth shy of this mark in the afternoon.
The 2008 World Champion jumped ahead of Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher in the closing stages of Free Practice 2, before extending the gap further just prior to the chequered flag.
The opening session saw Hamilton head the charts, some five-tenths up on Red Bull man Sebastian Vettel.
It was not all clean from Hamilton. A high fuel run late in the day uncovered balance issues, with the McLaren pilot falling off circuit on a number of occasions.
Hamilton’s McLaren teammate Jenson Button endured a drawn out morning due to an oil leak failure; however the 2009 World Champion made up for this in the afternoon with some strong running.
Vettel was having difficulties with the medium Pirelli’s due to their quick drop off rate – no doubt accelerated by the Malaysian heat – causing the double world champion to slide around in his RB8.
In a back-to-back test, Mark Webber continued with the exhaust as used in Australia, while Vettel ran the previous version from the final test in Barcelona.
Fernando Alonso spent much of the morning clocking up much needed aerodynamic comparison work – which entailed running a new front wing in FP2 – before testing Pirelli’s different tyre compounds under varying levels of fuel during the later session.
Felipe Massa appeared to be well off of Alonso’s pace; however the Brazilian spent much of his day on a different programme to his Spanish teammate.
Mercedes put their two drivers through their paces, with the focus on tyre evaluations. Between them, Schumacher and Nico Rosberg completed 108 laps of the Sepang circuit, as they strive to manage consistent long runs.
Lotus duo, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean coveted the hard tyres in the morning, while they configured a baseline set-up for the weekend, although there may still be more work to do. Set-up work for the race followed, with Grosjean staying with the hard compound Pirelli and Raikkonen switching to the mediums.
Raikkonen tested a new steering rack in both sessions, following complaints from the Finn regarding the ‘weight’ of feel from the steering wheel. He would suffer from an3 inoperative KERS unit in FP2.
Grosjean lost time in the morning, due to ill-fitting wheelnut dislodging his right rear wheel somewhat.
A brake disc problem was one of several difficulties faced by Force India’s Paul di Resta. The scot also suffered two rather dramatic offs, as well as a few leery moments of rear-end sliding, while Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a clean day.
Sauber faced severe balance issues, as Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez struggled to get to grips with their Ferrari-powered C31 machine. Although things improved for Perez in long runs after the break, Kobayashi lost further time due to gearbox problem.
Toro Rosso ran some minor aerodynamic evaluations, before moving to set-up programmes for the second session. Neither driver appeared to have any issues, as they notched up 56 laps apiece.
Williams also concentrated on minor aerodynamic adjustments and tyre runs, as they aim for their first points of 2012. Thankfully, none of the drivers reported any issues in their respective FW34 machines. Valtteri Bottas sat in for Bruno Senna during FP1 – the first of fifteen pre-arranged FP1 sessions for the Finn during the coming season. Bottas will be replacing Senna in all his outings.
Set-ups, tyre evaluations and systems checks were the order of the day at Caterham. Despite going the wrong way on set-up in the morning, Heikki Kovalainen was brought back in the afternoon, although poor grip in early tyre stints still bothered the Finn. Kovalainen’s Russian teammate, Vitaly Petrov, discovered no problems during practice.
Marussia focussed on aerodynamic configurations and set-up work, while they continue to learn about the MR01. There was a new floor section on Timo Glock’s car, which appeared to deliver positive results.
Considering how last week’s Australian Grand Prix developed, Friday was a far better day for HRT, with Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan managing 40 and 26 laps respectively. However it wasn’t all good news for the Spanish team, as a hydraulic problem ensured Karthikeyan’s FP1 came to an early halt
Both cars also suffered from cooling problems, which could make the race an extremely tough one for its driver pairing. By the end of FP2, both drivers had placed their Cosworth-powered cars well inside the 107% time as set by Hamilton, as the team continued to claw away at the F112’s fundamental issues. Today also saw the team use DRS for the first time in 2012.
2012 Malaysian Grand Prix (Round 2, Free Practice 1) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.021s 19 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.535s + 0.514 21 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.813s + 0.792 21 4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.826s + 0.805 19 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.919s + 0.898 17 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.092s + 1.071 20 7. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.128s + 1.107 22 8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.298s + 1.277 23 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.323s + 1.302 15 10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.440s + 1.419 19 11. Valterri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m39.724s + 1.703 23 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.783s + 1.762 23 13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m39.896s + 1.875 16 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.910s + 1.889 21 15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m39.980s + 1.959 23 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.099s + 2.078 23 17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.247s + 2.226 19 18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.469s + 2.448 23 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.857s + 2.836 25 20. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.085s + 3.064 23 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.170s + 5.149 18 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.580s + 6.559 14 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m45.360s + 7.339 8 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m45.528s + 7.507 18 ^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
2012 Malaysian Grand Prix (Round 2, Free Practice 2) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.172 28 2. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.533s + 0.361 34 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.535s + 0.363 29 4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.696s + 0.524 34 5. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m38.853s + 0.681 33 6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.891s + 0.719 27 7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.133s + 0.961 29 8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.297s + 1.125 33 9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m39.311s + 1.139 22 10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m39.402s + 1.230 25 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m39.444s + 1.272 35 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m39.464s + 1.292 26 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.625s + 1.453 20 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.687s + 1.515 16 15. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m39.696s + 1.524 29 16. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.271s + 2.099 27 17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.678s + 2.506 34 18. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.947s + 2.775 33 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m41.464s + 3.292 25 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.681s + 3.509 20 21. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m42.594s + 4.422 18 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.874s + 4.702 24 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m43.658s + 5.486 18 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m43.283s + 5.561 22 ^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
Silverstone. © Creative Commons / Junafani
Last year’s Formula Renault UK champion Alex Lynn emphatically made Thursday his own during the final day of British F3 testing at Silverstone.
The 18-year-old was fastest in all three sessions, as the Fortec quartet closed up on Carlin’s fast five.
Many of the quickest runs came toward the end of the morning run, with the top six all setting their best in that session.
With a lap at 1:53.300, Lynn proved too quick for the close pack, making him the first non-Carlin driver to top a pre-season test this year. Having already raced with Fortec for two years in Formula Renault UK, Lynn was excited to be heading into another season with the squad.
“I’m really looking forward to my third year with Fortec and I think with the introduction of a new car we have a quite level playing field.
”I’m happy with how testing has gone so far, we’re continuing to improve and P1 in all three sessions today is really encouraging for myself and the team and I just can’t wait to go racing now.”
And it was close. The young Briton pipped Red Bull junior driver Carlos Sainz Jr to the top, by one-and-a-half tenths, as several set-up options did not pay well for the Spaniard.
Hannes van Asseldonk assumed 3rd in the next Fortec, narrowly edging ahead of Harry Tincknell (Carlin, 4th) and Jack Harvey (Carlin, 5th) by less than a tenth.
Carlin’s final two runners, Jazeman Jaafar and Pietro Fantin, ended the day 6th and 7th respectively. Both drivers were the first to fall into the ‘1:54” category, leaving them well shy of the main group.
Fortec pairing Felix Serralles and Pipo Derani were next up in 8th and 9th, while T-Sport’s Nick McBride rounded out the top ten.
Slowest of the International Class was British Formula 3 returnee, Fahmi Ilyas, who assumed 11th with a best of 1:55.073 in the morning.
There was an increased entry for the Rookie Class test, with four drivers showing up, including CF Racing teamboss Hywel Lloyd.
As he is still on the lookout for a driver to use his car for the coming season, Lloyd completed the session himself, as he continues to give his F308 chassis a shakedown. Lloyd’s best lap (1:55.811) left him well clear of T-Sport duo Spike Goddard and Dan Cammish*.
Duvashen Padayachee brought up the rear in his Mugen-Honda powered Double R F309 Dallara.
* {note 1}
Cammish managed only 50 laps throughout the day, after the ex-Formula Renault UK racer grew tired near the end of each session.
With a further test coming at Oulton Park next week, the 22-year-old faces a race against time to be fully fit for the season – that is, of course, should he sign on the dotted line.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Alex Lynn Fortec-Mercedes 1m53.530s 2. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin-Volkswagen 1m53.683s 3. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec-Mercedes 1m53.799s 4. Harry Tincknell Carlin-Volkswagen 1m53.822s 5. Jack Harvey Carlin-Volkswagen 1m53.850s 6. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin-Volkswagen 1m54.247s 7. Pietro Fantin Carlin-Volkswagen 1m54.399s 8. Felix Serralles Fortec-Mercedes 1m54.670s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec-Mercedes 1m54.826s 10. Nick McBride T-Sport-Nissan 1m55.063s 11. Fahmi Ilyas Double R-Mercedes 1m55.073s 12. Hwyel Lloyd CF-Mugen Honda 1m55.811s 13. Spike Goddard T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1m56.281s 14. Dan Cammish T-Sport-Mugen Honda 1m56.372s 15. Duvashen Padayachee Double R-Mugen Honda 1m56.489s Italics= National Class
Silverstone. © Creative Commons / Junafani
Carlos Sainz Jr claimed the fastest lap during Wednesday’s British Formula 3 morning test at a sunny Silverstone.
The Spaniard took the top spot in his Volkswagen-powered Carlin during a short late stint, keeping him ahead of teammates Harry Tincknell and Jack Harvey.
Registering 32 laps (the least of all the runners), Sainz Jr also displayed a modicum of consistency throughout his stints in the three-hour session, while displaying plenty of style on track.
Despite suffering gearbox issues during the session, Tincknell fell just two-tenths shy of Sainz Jr, with Harvey a further quarter-of-a-second adrift in 3rd.
Reigning Formula UK champion Alex Lynn headed the Fortec charge in 4th, just one-tenth up on teammate Hannes van Asseldonk. Come the midday-chequered flag, less than seven-tenths covered the top five.
Split by a quarter-of-a-second, Carlin pair Jazeman Jaafar and Pietro Fantin assumed 6th and 7th, although both fell more than one second outside Sainz Jr’s fastest effort. An off for Jazeman brought out a late red flag, bringing the session to a close a few minutes early, while Fantin struggled with set-up issues during his running, leaving him frustrated with the final outcome.
Fortec newboy Felix Serralles continues to bed himself into the category with each day of running. The Puerto Rican completed 45 tours of the Northamptonshire circuit – the most of anyone during the relatively brief session.
T-Sport’s International Class runner, Nick McBride was 9th with Nissan power, two-tenths up on the final Fortec man, Pipo Derani.
Spike Goddard (T-Sport, 11th) proved the quicker of the two Rookie Class men; holding a 1.5 second over new Double R signing Duvashen Padayachee* (13th). It was a busy day for Padayachee, as he attempts to gain mileage in Dallara’s F309 chassis, although is run was interrupted somewhat, when he right rear wheel fell of his Mugen-Honda powered machine.
The Rookie Class pairing were split by Malaysian pilot Fahmi Ilyas** – another driver who confirmed his place with Double R this week.
* {note 1}
Padayachee, an Australian national, was a relatively late starter in motorsport, when he began Karting at the age of 17, before moving into cars just prior to his 20th birthday.
Two seasons in the JK Racing Asia Series (formerly known as Formula BMW Asia) brought two podiums, with Padayachee finishing 5th following last year’s campaign. The Australian claimed 100 points, some 192 shy of eventual champion, Lucas Auer***.
*** {note 1b}
Auer is probably not the most recognisable name in motorsport, but the 17-year-old is the nephew of ex-Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton driver Gerhard Berger.
The Austrian took 7 wins and a further 10 podiums on his way to the JK Racing Asia Series title, before moving to the Toyota Racing Series at the beginning of this year.
Auer would claim 6th in that championship following a podium and two pole positions. Later this year, Auer will compete in the ATS German Formula 3 Cup.
** {note 2}
This will be a second year in the series for Fahmi Ilyas. The 20-year-old raced with Fortec in the British F3 Series during 2011, scoring 7 points on his way to 21st in the end of year standings.
Ilyas also registered four starts with West-Tec in the mainly Spanish-based European F3 Open Championship, where took one win (Brands Hatch) and a 2nd place (Portimao).
A single round entry to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series at Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps proved less successful. Ilyas ended the races 33rd and 21st respectively, leaving the campaign without any points, but with enough knowledge to use when F3 visited the track some months later.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time 1. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.193s 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.393s 3. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m53.649s 4. Alex Lynn Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m53.717s 5. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m53.841s 6. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m54.331s 7. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m54.581s 8. Felix Serralles Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m54.698s 9. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m54.960s 10. Pipo Derani Fortec Motorsport Dallara-Mercedes 1m55.169s 11. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m55.940s 12. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Racing Dallara-Mercedes 1m56.947s 13. Duvashen Padayachee Double R Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m57.446s Italics= National Class
“Selling” is what selling sells, but I really don’t think anyone can sell this!!
Albert Park, Melbourne. © Creative Commons.
TV Notes
McLaren’s Jenson Button got his 2012 Formula 1 campaign off to a flying start with a crucial opening victory in Melbourne.
Untouchable
The 2009 World Champion led nearly every lap, eventually finishing only two seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Button’s McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber (Red Bull) came home a further two seconds adrift.
Despite starting 2nd on the grid, Button was in front by the opening corner, while poleman Hamilton bogged down off the line.
Button made the most of a clear track, slowly building his lead to 3.5 seconds his first tyre stop (lap 16), before extending it further to 13.9 seconds when the McLaren pair pitted on the 36th lap.
That lead was slashed in an instant when Vitaly Petrov’s lifeless Caterham ground to halt on the start / finish straight, bringing out the safety car.
Making his final stop just as the race was neutralised was an opportunistic Vettel, who managed to split the McLaren duo, as the field realigned itself.
Vettel could do little about Button for the final seventeen laps under green, leaving the McLaren racer to control the closing segment and take the thirteenth victory of his career.
“The starts of the past two seasons have both been tricky for us, so today is really encouraging. At the start, I really wanted to get away fast in the first two laps to avoid the threat of DRS – it wasn’t easy because I had Lewis right on my tail. My biggest worry was the late-race Safety Car: I had a 10-second advantage, which was pretty healthy, but the Safety Car cut that to nothing.
“That was a big worry for me, but it worked out okay in the end: I got clear of Seb [Vettel] and the DRS zone pretty quickly and was able to pull out an advantage and hold it to the end.”
Next in line
With Button unassailable, the reigning world champion’s focus was devoted entirely to the chasing Hamilton and Webber. Neither driver was able to make headway, ensuring Vettel claimed a valuable runner-up spot, despite starting 6th on the grid!
The Red Bull man wasted little in cutting his way up the order. A pass on Lotus’ Romain Grosjean at the start, followed by a startling move around the outside of Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in turn nine on the next tour brought Vettel to 4th.
That became 3rd when the other Mercedes of Michael Schumacher retired on lap 11 with a gearbox failure.
Although the gap to Button was already 14 seconds by this stage, Vettel – now free of traffic – reeled Hamilton in, closing to within three seconds after the first round of pitstops on laps 16 and 17. Vettel spent the following twenty tours in Hamilton’s wheeltracks, pushing at every opportunity, before leapfrogging the Briton in the pits.
When racing resumed on lap 42 after the safety car period, Hamilton pressed Vettel repeatedly, with the McLaren man dipping into the Red Bull’s sightline at every opportunity. As the laps passed, the effectiveness of Hamilton’s medium compound Pirelli’s slipped away, allowing Vettel to ease away.
After a disappointing qualifying position, Vettel was happy to come away from Melbourne with 2nd position.
“I felt good in the car. Even before the safety car, I think we would have had a good shot at Lewis towards the end, as we were getting close. I decided to stay out when he went to the pits and we would have had a crack even without the safety car. I’m very happy to come away with second place, it’s a lot of points and I think people would not have expected it after yesterday.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton struggled to hold back his disappointment with 3rd place, after starting the race on pole.
“I struggled out there a little – it wasn’t my day. I’m not sure what happened at the start, but I lost ground and then suffered from tyre degradation at the end of the first stint. Then, at the end of the race, I wasn’t able to close the gap to Seb – he was very quick on the straights which meant that it was always going to be difficult to pass him – so I dropped back into some clear air, then Mark [Webber] put me under pressure.”
Fighting drives
All the while Hamilton pressed Vettel, the 2008 World Champion was also preoccupied by a lingering Webber.
From 5th on the grid, the Australian fell to 9th off the line, when he was hit by the returning Nico Hulkenberg and Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), rendering the Force India man too damaged to continue. Webber crept up the order in the early running, taking advantage of competitor’s poor luck and pit strategy to climb to 6th after the opening round of stops.
The Australian claimed two more positions as the next group of stops began; however the Red Bull team solidified Webber’s new found 4th spot with a quick thinking stop under the safety car.
Webber charged Hamilton’s rear as the green flags flew again; however the Australian could not break the McLaren man’s composure, leaving Webber to accept a top-four finish come the chequered flag.
Fernando Alonso once again showed why he is so highly rated in Formula 1. A stellar drive from Spaniard in a car that appears difficult to handle at the best of times, saw Alonso take 5th place after starting 12th.
A great start brought Alonso up to 8th, becoming 6th on the second tour as Pastor Maldonado (Williams) and Grosjean as clashed clumsily. Alonso claimed another position during the first set of pitstops when he jumped Rosberg, before easily slicing by Sergio Perez’ long-running and gripless Sauber. Alonso could do nothing to keep Webber behind him, with the Australian passing the Spaniard on pit strategy.
As Alonso struggled to make the medium tyre last from lap 34 onwards, Maldonado drew back toward the Ferrari.
Displaying superior grip and speed, the Williams pilot hounded Alonso; however the Spaniard held Maldonado at bay – until the final lap, when Maldonado lost control of his FW34, sending it hard, nose-first into the barriers exiting turn six.
His Williams destroyed; the Venezuelan plummeted down the order and was eventually classified in 13th place – a terrible shame for both team and driver, who drove a fabulous race indelibly stained by two mindless errors.
Grabbing the advantage
Maldonado’s accident promoted Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi to 6th place. The Japanese driver crossed the line closely followed by a group of five cars, all covered by 3.2 seconds.
After qualifying 13th, the Sauber driver had a relatively quiet race for much of the day, having spent a portion of the day around the perimeter of the top ten. With pit strategies unfolding around him, Kobayashi was 10th when a wheel and sidepod banging move on Kimi Raikkonen through the tight turn four gave him 9th.
All hell broke loose on the final tour, as not only did Maldonado remove himself from the action, but Perez and Rosberg collided as they attempted to avoid the debris, wounding both machines in the process. It was a clash that left Perez furious with the Mercedes pilot.
“On the very last lap Pastor (Maldonado) crashed and I backed off because of the debris. But then Nico (Rosberg) overtook me, our cars touched and I had to finish the race with tyres that were completely gone.“
Raikkonen too accepted the gift. On his much anticipated return to Formula 1, the Lotus man claimed a solid 7th, showing he had lost little of his natural skill and ability.
Despite losing out to Kobayashi earlier in the race, Raikkonen continued to press the Japanese driver; not once letting the Sauber get clear in the final stages.
Gang of four
A hobbling Sergio Perez led a tight group of four across the line. It was a fine drive by the Mexican, who started last after a post-qualifying gearbox change, incurred a penalty.
Perez was greatly helped by a superb start that saw him reach 10th spot by the end of the third lap around the Albert Park course, despite a slightly damaged front wing. Adopting the same one-stop strategy that worked so well last year, Sauber kept Perez out until lap 24 (dropping to 13th from 2nd place), before incredibly completing the final 38 laps on the soft Pirelli tyres.
While others stopped twice or three times, Perez floated back up the order to 7th place until his last lap collision with Rosberg lost him one position.
Daniel Ricciardo took 9th in his first Australian Grand Prix, although it may have seemed against the odds early. Like his teammate Vergne, Ricciardo found himself on the receiving end of a first corner thump when Felipe Massa and Bruno Senna ricocheted off eachother like pinballs.
A second lap stop for a new front wing left the Australian trailing at the rear of the field; however a slow climb through the field brought Ricciardo to 14th.
During Ricciardo’s ascent, the Australian once again chanced upon the battling Senna and Massa – neither of whom were enjoying the finest days.
With only twelve laps remaining, the determined Ricciardo sliced by Massa at turn three, causing the Ferrari out wide. Eyeing a gap, Senna also found himself on the outside line, leading to yet another clash between the Brazilian pair.
Neither Senna nor Massa made it to the flag – victims of their own misjudgements – although Senna carried on for enough laps to register a classification – 16th – gifting the Grove team a horror finish to the race.
Now 12th, Ricciardo bunched up behind the stricken Perez and Rosberg, opening the door for the Australian to carefully and intelligently weave through the meandering traffic and into a points paying position.
On the line
Technically Vergne had not lost out in the last lap kerfuffle, although the Frenchman was unfortunate not to benefit from the lottery.
Indeed, Vergne was less than one hundred metres from his first score, but a sluggish exit from the final corner compromised his run toward the finish line, allowing Force India’s Paul di Resta to nip through to 10th as the pair crossed the grid markings.
Di Resta may be somewhat happy to score a point after a quiet day. Having started 15th, the Scot struggled badly in both the early and latter part of his tyre stints, hampering any significant progress, leaving the Scot to amble around 11th to 13th positions for much of the running.
Vergne also spent the day meandering from 11th to 13th, depending on where his tyre wear dictated he should be. He would be the first driver to not score.
Rosberg crawled across the line some twenty seconds later, rendering Mercedes pointless for all their efforts.
From all the pre-season promise, it was dreadfully disappointing weekend for the Brackley / Cologne (delete where necessary) team. A stellar opening lap saw Rosberg run 5th for the opening portion of the event, and returning to that position once the opening series of stops filtered through.
Unfortunately for Rosberg, his race fell apart in the final stint. Emerging from his second tyre change in 10th place, Rosberg struggled make headway behind the long running Perez. Despite the threatening shadows of the Mercedes, Perez held Rosberg behind for lap after lap, ensuring Rosberg fell far behind the leaders.
The last lap crash put a stamp on a poor weekend for the German giants.
Both Marussia drivers registered finished in 14th (Timo Glock) and 15th (Charles Pic), although the latter pulled into the pits with four laps remaining due to an oil pressure problem.
While the Marussia MVR01 may have been by far the slowest pairing on Sunday, the result represented a wonderful effort for a team that had not run in anger prior to Friday practice.
Marussia certainly fared better than back-of-the-grid rivals Caterham. Only five laps after Petrov retired with a steering wheel issue, Heikki Kovalainen retired his CT01 due to a broken suspension and mangled steering arm.
In what proved to be a difficult race for the Finn, he lost his KERS during the opening stint, losing even more pace as a result.
2012 Australian Grand Prix (Round 1, 58 laps) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h34:09.565 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.139 3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.075 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.547 5. Alonso Ferrari + 21.565 6. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 36.766 7. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 38.014 8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 39.458 9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 39.556 10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 39.737 11. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 39.848 12. Rosberg Mercedes + 57.642 13. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap 14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps 16. Senna Williams-Renault + 4 laps Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap DNF. Massa Ferrari 47 DNF. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 42 DNF. Petrov Caterham-Renault 37 DNF. Schumacher Mercedes 11 DNF. Grosjean Lotus-Renault 2 DNF. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1 DNS. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth DNQ DNS. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth DNQ Fastest lap: Button, 1:29.187 World Championship standings (Round 1): Drivers: 1. Button 25 2. Vettel 18 3. Hamilton 15 4. Webber 12 5. Alonso 10 6. Kobayashi 8 7. Raikkonen 6 8. Perez 4 9. Ricciardo 2 10. Di Resta 1 Constructors: 1. McLaren Mercedes 40 2. Red Bull Renault 30 3. Sauber Ferrari 12 4. Ferrari 10 5. Lotus Renault 6 6. Toro Rosso Ferrari 2 7. Force India Mercedes 1 ^ Notes compiled from live updates and team releases
A number of television pundits and reporters have spent the weekend noting that the 2012 Australian Grand Prix was the first to run with two Australian drivers.
This is not quite true.
Having been inaugurated in 1928, the most recent event was the 77th to hold the title “Australian Grand Prix”.
Although the race has been short of Australian drivers – bar Mark Webber and more recently Daniel Ricciardo – since it joined the World Championship in 1985, the race has plenty of local history.
After suffering a five-day weather delay, the 1928 running of the event* took place at Phillip Island in Victoria and was won by Adelaide native Captain Arthur Waite.
Driving a super-charged Austin 7, the World War I veteran claimed the race by 3-and-a-half minutes from John McCutcheon in his Morris Cowley. Cyril Dickason came home 3rd the Austin 12 machine.
The format of the race ensured Waite met with little rearward antagonism. Prior to the start, the field was split into two, with each-half running 16 laps. Running in the second heat, Waite finished seven minutes clear of the next man, Arthur Terdich.
Once each race was complete, the times from the two heats were compiled onto a single list, finalising the result. For his troubles, Terdich was classified 4th overall.
Prior to his Phillip Island adventures, Waite also won the Easter Small Car Handicap at Brooklands, before taking the Grand Prix Cyclecars at Monza in 1923. A year later, Waite raced at the fifth Le Mans Mans Grand Prix (not the 24 Hour Race), taking 3rd in the 750cc Voiturette Class.
Bar a few minor gaps, the Australian Grand Prix has been run almost continuously since its inception, although its position in the motor racing world received a huge boost when it gained Formula 1 status.
However, that did created a barrier for national racers to compete in the nation’s key event.
Run to Formula Mondial rules, the 1984 Australian Grand Prix from Calder Park hosted sixteen homeland drivers, with fifteen taking to the starting grid**. It was won after 100 laps by Roberto Moreno in the Ralt-Ford, who came home 30 seconds ahead of former world champion Keke Rosberg, while Andrea de Cesaris finished 3rd.
Newly crowned triple-world champion Niki Lauda, suffered a collision while lapping Terry Ryan on the 41st lap, ensuring his day was quickly finished.
* {note 1}
Technically, the opening event was called the “100 Miles Road Race” and did not obtain the title of Australian Grand Prix until some years later.
** {note 2}
Touring car racer Peter Williamson suffered a large accident during practice, effectively writing off his Toyota-powered Toleman.
Emerging from wreckage somewhat unscathed, Williamson announced his immediate retirement from single-seater racing, while Toleman withdrew from the rest of the weekend. By the time qualifying had begun, the team were packed up and ready to leave.
Albert Park, Melbourne. © Creative Commons.
TV Notes
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton claimed the 20th pole position of his Formula 1 career with a stellar fast lap in Melbourne.
The former champion set his best of 1:24.922 at the halfway point of the final qualifying segment, but it was more than enough to stay ahead of the chasing pack.
It was yet another confidence booster for Hamilton, who suffered an early off in the turn one during the opening qualifying session.
Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button ensured it was an all-McLaren front row, with a late effort to displace Lotus-returnee Romain Grosjean, while a solid effort from Michael Schumacher made it three Mercedes-powered cars in the top four.
Red Bull filled out the third row, headed by the KERS-less Mark Webber. Both drivers found themselves a mammoth seven-tenths shy of pole – quite a turnaround from last year’s qualifying efforts.
Nico Rosberg planted his Mercedes mere hundredths shy of the Red Bull’s, while Pastor Maldonado (Williams) laid claim to an excellent lap, placing 8th. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg allocated a single run to assume 9th spot ahead of Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) who did not run in Q3.
Ricciardo’s new French teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, just missed out in the top ten, but did enough to line 11th for what will be his first Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Q2 provided plenty of shocks for Ferrari fans, as neither Fernando Alonso nor Felipe Massa progressed through the second segment of Saturday. A dramatic spin for Alonso beached the double-World Champion into the gravel, bringing out a brief red flag, while Massa struggled with what appears to be an evil handling F2012.
Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Bruno Senna (Williams) continued from where they left off in 2011, by taking the seventh row; however Paul di Resta (Force India) was disappointed to only place 15th.
Sauber’s Sergio Perez did not set a time in Q2, initially settling into 17th spot; however a gearbox change for the Mexican resulted in a five-place grid penalty.
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was the surprise loser in Q1. A brief off by the Finn toward the end of the segment ruined his chance of progress, leaving Raikkonen to meander with the usual bottom pack.
Aside from Red Bull and Ferrari, Caterham must also be extremely disappointed with their performance in qualifying. Despite the intra-team reshuffle and their introduction to KERS, both Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov were still around one second shy of the midfield runners.
Next were the Marussia pair – headed by the ever-efficient Timo Glock – who remained approximately five seconds off the pace, while neither HRT were even close to qualifying for the Grand Prix*.
* {note 1}
HRT’s Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan respectively qualified a mere 1.2 and 1.4 seconds outside the 107% cut-off point.
With their well publicised hydraulic issues, causing a lack of power steering, it begs the question as to how much closer they would have been had this been in operation.
While downforce is again severely lacking on the F112, the absence of power steering was clearly hurting de la Rosa and Karthikeyan, comprising both turn in and corner exit.
2012 Australian Grand Prix (Round 1, Qualifying) Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.922s 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.074s + 0.152 3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m25.302s + 0.380 4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m25.336s + 0.414 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m25.651s + 0.729 6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.668s + 0.746 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.686s + 0.764 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m25.908s + 0.986 9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m26.451s + 1.529 10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari (no time) Q2 cut-off time: 1m26.319s Q2 Gap 11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.429s + 0.960 12. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m26.4942 + 1.025 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.590s + 1.121 14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m26.663s + 1.194 15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m27.086s + 1.617 16. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m27.497s + 2.028 Q1 cut-off time: 1m27.633s Q1 Gap 17. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m27.758s + 1.576 18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m28.679s + 2.497 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m29.018s + 2.836 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.923s + 4.741 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m31.670s + 5.488 22. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari (Q2, Penalty) 107% time: 1m32.214s DNQ Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m33.495s + 7.313 DNQ Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m33.643s + 7.461 ^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
Albert Park, Melbourne. © Creative Commons.
TV Notes
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton jumped to the top of the final free practice standings this morning, thanks to late effort at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit.
The 2008 World Champion knocked Lotus’ Romain Grosjean off the top spot, as the session drew to a close.
Mark Webber secured 3rd spot in his Red Bull RB8, just ahead of Jenson Button (McLaren) – both of whom fell some two-tenths shy of Hamilton.
It was a busy 60-minute session as the teams looked to regain ground lost following Friday’s changeable conditions, with a number of drivers crack the 20-lap barrier.
Both Mercedes pilots endured early off-track excursions, although Michael Schumacher cemented his mark in the session by burying his F1 W03 in the turn nine gravel trap five minutes before the chequered flag.
Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel did the same several minutes earlier in turn six, as he beached his Red Bull in the stones.
Both Bruno Senna (Williams) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) spun harmlessly toward the end of the lap. The Brazilians lost little running time, but may have suffered some little embarrassment for their woes.
At the back, Pedro de la Rosa continued to complain about a loss of power steering, as his HRT fell foul to further hydraulic problems.
2012 Australian Grand Prix (Round 1, Free Practice 3) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.681s 18 2. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m25.758s + 0.077 21 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m25.900s + 0.219 20 4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.906s + 0.225 17 5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.929s + 0.248 23 6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m26.078s + 0.397 14 7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m26.211s + 0.530 12 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m26.470s + 0.789 17 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.632s + 0.951 20 10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.723s + 1.042 17 11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.733s + 1.052 15 12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m26.737s + 1.056 19 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.755s + 1.074 21 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m27.029s + 1.348 23 15. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m27.119s + 1.438 20 16. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m27.323s + 1.642 19 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m27.428s + 1.747 22 18. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m28.023s + 2.342 19 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m28.341s + 2.660 19 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m28.702s + 3.021 11 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m30.728s + 5.047 13 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m31.225s + 5.544 14 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m33.114s + 7.433 12 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m33.261s + 7.580 13
Albert Park, Melbourne. © Creative Commons.
TV Notes
Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher made the most of the limited Free Practice running at Melbourne yesterday.
The former world champions topped the morning and afternoon sessions respectively, although much of the day was dictated by inclement weather.
A heavy shower between the between the practices only served dampen the day even further.
McLaren brought no updates for this opening Grand Prix weekend; however appeared from afar to be relatively comfortable with the performance of the MP4-27 machine.
Button’s time of 1:27.560 left him several tenths ahead of the field, although the Briton was hampered by lack of clean running, while he and McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton sought optimum set-ups.
Hamilton – who finished 2nd in the morning – spent much time focussing on warming up the tyres, ensuring he could “switch them on” in the conditions.
Despite heading the afternoon, Schumacher was wary about getting overly excited about the coming season, with the veteran pointing toward the difficult conditions as the decisive element in practice.
However, Schumacher was also appeared positive about the F1 W03’s characteristics in changeable conditions on varying fuel loads.
Red Bull endured something of a difficult day, especially in the speed traps that showed them approximately 12 kph sigh of the Mercedes-powered cars.
Their opening gambit was still far better than Ferrari’s offering. The F2012 looked a handful through several corners, as lingering understeer clasped with snap oversteer.
This came close to removing Fernando Alonso from the action toward the end of FP1; however Felipe Massa’s off was all his own error. A wheel on the grass entering turn nine pulled the Brazilian toward the gravel trap, beaching the helpless Massa as he slid harmlessly off the track.
A change of steering rack on Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus E20 kept the 2007 world champion garage bound for a time, with Romain Grosjean similarly losing time with suspension set-up alterations. Thereafter the Enstone-based team consolidated their basic wet set-up characteristics and enjoyed productive running with high fuel.
Inconsistent weather conditions made for a frustrating Friday at the Force India camp. Despite Nico Hulkenberg claiming 2nd spot behind Schumacher in FP2, the team focussed on assessing the aero package of the VJM05 machine.
Friday proved to be a day of off-track excursions for Sauber. Both Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez endured wild rides at various points of FP2, with Kobayashi providing a most spectacular save after losing control of his C31 exiting the final corner.
By sending both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne out on track right at the beginning of FP1, Toro Rosso proved they were not too shy in the face of the changing weather; however the team did use the session to run every tyre compound, bar the softs. Spins for both drivers briefly stuttered their respective sessions.
It was a positive day for Williams, as both their drivers – Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna – ran various aero evaluation programmes and set-up work, hitting a majority of their objectives in the process.
Caterham ran both an old and new spec front wing during the Friday sessions, while also completing a raft of systems checks on the CT-01, although a mechanical issue cost Vitaly Petrov running time in FP1. A high-speed off across the damp grass at turn one in FP2 was enough to Heikki Kovalainen that the conditions were far from perfect.
Friday marked the first official running of Marussia MV01 this season, having missed the pre-season tests with this new machine. The team managed some brief runs in FP1, before gaining more consistent mileage in FP2, during which Timo Glock jumped to 12th place.
Also running for the first time officially were HRT, who endured a torrid day with the Cosworth-powered F1-12. Pedro de la Rosa managed a single lap in a day plagued by hydraulic problems, while Narain Karthikeyan ran a more respectable 19 laps, before his car too succumbing to a hydraulic issue. FP2 got off to a poor start for the team, when it was realised the nose of de la Rosa’s car did not properly fit the mountings on his car.
2012 Australian Grand Prix, (Round 1, Free Practice 1) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m27.560s 11 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m27.805s + 0.245 14 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m28.235s + 0.675 17 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m28.360s + 0.800 21 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m28.467s + 0.907 21 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m28.683s + 1.123 22 7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.908s + 1.348 23 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m29.415s + 1.855 16 9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m29.565s + 2.005 8 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m29.722s + 2.162 26 11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m29.790s + 2.230 21 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m29.865s + 2.305 17 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m29.881s + 2.321 18 14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m29.953s + 2.393 21 15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m30.124s + 2.564 22 16. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m30.515s + 2.955 16 17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m30.586s + 3.026 16 18. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m30.743s + 3.183 11 19. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.178s + 3.618 17 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m31.983s + 4.423 8 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.730s + 7.170 8 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m40.256s + 12.696 11 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth no time 3 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth no time 0 2012 Australian Grand Prix, (Round 1, Free Practice 2) Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m29.183s 16 2. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m29.292s + 0.109 19 3. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m30.199s + 1.016 23 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.341s + 1.158 13 5. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m30.709s + 1.526 14 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m31.466s + 2.283 13 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.505s + 2.322 14 8. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m31.932s + 2.749 16 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.184s + 3.001 17 10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.194s + 3.011 19 11. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.296s + 3.113 20 12. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m32.632s + 3.449 17 13. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m32.767s + 3.584 15 14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m32.822s + 3.639 11 15. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.039s + 3.856 18 16. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.252s + 4.069 11 17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m34.108s + 4.925 21 18. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m34.275s + 5.092 7 19. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m34.312s + 5.129 17 20. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.485s + 5.302 29 21. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.604s + 5.421 31 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.770s + 5.587 13 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m42.627s + 13.444 16 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1 ^ Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
Exeter-born Harry Tincknell rose to the top of the standings on day two of British Formula 3 testing at Rockingham.
The Carlin runner set a best of 1:16.810 in the morning session; coming to within thousandths of repeating the time during an afternoon session that he also fronted.
In what proved to be a busy day all round for the twelve drivers in attendance (every driver registered at least 60 laps), Tincknell logged an impressive 74 tours.
Although it is tempting to read too much into testing times, the 20-year-old may still garner a bolster of confidence from yesterday’s running.
Indeed, the Carlin quintet once again proved their worth, with all five of the Farnham team’s cars residing in the top positions.
After turning the quickest time on Tuesday, Jack Harvey claimed 2nd, only half-a-tenth shy of repeating prior glories. Carlos Sainz Jr (3rd) and Jazeman Jaafar (4th) also proved their worth, as they settled to within one-tenth of Tincknell’s best.
Set-up issues saw Carlin new boy Pietro Fantin become the first driver down in the ‘1:17s’ bracket, although the Brazilian remained some distance up on the chasing group.
Once again, it was Fortec’s Alex Lynn who came closest to the Volkswagen-powered Carlin machines in 7th spot.
Lynn, who completed 68 laps in his F312 chassis yesterday, ended the running in something of a timesheet limbo. Still playing the catch-up game with Carlin, the Fortec racer came to within three-tenths of Fantin, while still holding a similar gap to his Fortec teammates.
The other Fortec pilots – Hannes van Asseldonk (8th), Felix Serralles (9th) and Pipo Derani (10th) all enjoyed busy days, as they continue to bed themselves into their new regulation machines.
T-Sport’s Nick McBride split the Fortec foursome with a lap time good enough for 7th, as his Nissan-powered machine garners more chatter about its impressive straight-line speed. Enjoying only his second day in his Dallara F312, the former-Formula Ford ace collected 76, setting a quickest run of 1:17.727 in the afternoon.
McBride’s Rookie Class teammate, Spike Goddard, was fastest of the two second tier entries, as the Australian garnered a 1.062 second advantage over sole rival tester Duvashen Padayachee (Double R).
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Harry Tincknell Carlin-VW 1m16.810s 74 2. Jack Harvey Carlin-VW 1m16.856s +0.046s 71 3. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin-VW 1m16.904s +0.094s 63 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin-VW 1m16.918s +0.108s 76 5. Pietro Fantin Carlin-VW 1m17.368s +0.558s 66 6. Alex Lynn Fortec-Merc 1m17.613s +0.803s 68 7. Nick McBride T-Sport-Nissan 1m17.727s +0.917s 76 8. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec-Merc 1m17.915s +1.105s 67 9. Felix Serralles Fortec-Merc 1m18.107s +1.297s 65 10. Pipo Derani Fortec-Merc 1m18.442s +1.632s 60 11. Spike Goddard T-Sport-Mugen* 1m19.361s +2.551s 64 12. Duvashen Padayachee Double R-Mugen* 1m20.423s +3.613s 75 *= National Class
© Drew Gibson / GP3 Series Media Service
Although many people may not realise it, New Zealand has produced some considerable racing talent over the years.
Young drivers such as recent Toyota Racing Series champion Nick Cassidy, Brendan Hartley and Richie Stanaway have followed the paths of notables, such as Chris Amon (Le Mans and Tasman Series champion), Scott Dixon (twice IndyCar champion) and 1984 Formula Two champion Mike Thackwell.
One must not forget, of course, New Zealand’s sole world champion Denny Hulme, who claimed the crown in 1967 with Brabham.
The latest in a long line of Kiwi drivers charging to the top is 17-year-old Auckland native Mitch Evans.
There can be little doubt that Evans certainly has some pedigree. Last year at the age of 16, he became the youngest winner of the prestigious New Zealand Grand Prix, wrapping up his second Toyota Racing Series crown in the process.
A move to GP3 with the MW Arden team – run by Formula 1 driver Mark Webber and Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner – brought one race win and 9th in the series standings, falling only seven points shy of 3rd spot through what was a very tight season.
Evans stays with MW Arden for the 2012 season – a campaign that has already shown promise, with some strong runs in pre-season testing; however one does not score points or race wins in testing.
Following the opening test at Estoril, I caught up with Evans as he prepares for the coming season.
Since then, the 17-year-old participated in the second pre-season GP3 test of the year in Barcelona, securing the fastest lap on Monday and finishing 3rd yesterday.
The Motorsport Archive: Last year, you came to Europe to race in the GP3 Series with MW Arden. How did you find the transition from the likes of Australian Formula 3 and the Toyota Racing Series with regards to competition, environment, etc..?
Mitch Evans: The transition was difficult as expected, the competition is very good back home but it just doesn’t have the depth as Europe.
Last year fifteen + cars could have won a race easily. Environment wise is a lot different, the atmosphere is incredible at the Formula 1 events. To race in front of massive crowds is amazing.TMA: I am led to believe the GP3 machine has a higher power output, but is also heavier – with the likes of F3 and TRS in mind; could you describe the characteristics of a GP3 car? Did it take long to settle in to this type of car?
Evans: Yes the GP3 car is a lot bigger than the likes of F3 and TRS, it is quite a bit quicker and is also heavier, it has a similar amount of downforce to an F3 car which makes the GP3 car a bit trickier to drive in the high speed corners especially because the cars travelling quicker and is heavier than F3.
A GP3 car is about 3-5 seconds quicker than F3 and probably 8-10 seconds quicker than a TRS car on a grand prix circuit.TMA: After a very solid first half season in 2011 – including a win in Barcelona – it appeared, from the outside at least, to fall away from you as the year progressed. From your perspective, could you describe your first year in GP3?
Evans: The first half of the championship was awesome, we led after round 3. We continued to have the pace right throughout the championship,
I was on average the best qualifier in the field with an average of 4th but the amount of bad luck we had with mechanical failures was just horrendous, a lot of things out of our control went wrong.TMA: What lessons can be taken from that campaign that you can use in 2012?
Evans: Lots of lessons can be taken into 2012, just a whole lot of things I learnt as I was very inexperienced. Speed is there, just need consistency and some luck.
TMA: You are staying with MW Arden through 2012. In what ways do you feel that can be turned into an advantage against your competitors?
Evans: I believe it can be turned into an advantage because I have worked with the MW Arden boys before,
I know them all very well, the car was very competitive last year so I believe if we can start as strong as we did last year which I think we can, that should be an advantage us over the others.TMA: Few will know that the “MW” in MW Arden is Red Bull Formula 1 racer Mark Webber. Has Mark had much of an influence on your career and if so, can you give an indication of the type of lessons passed on and influence he has had?
Evans: Mark has had a big influence on my career over the last 14 months especially, I learn more off him off track to be honest. We train a lot together and hang out casually as I live basically at the end of his drive way.
He has handed a few valuable tips over to me which he has learnt over the many years he’s been involved in the sport, which has obviously been massively beneficial for me.TMA: What can viewers of the GP3 Series expect from Mitch Evans in 2012?
Evans: A lot of aggression, I will not be leaving anything on the circuit, I will be pushing 100% for the championship.
The next GP3 pre-season test takes place at Silverstone on April 11th -12th. The opening race of the season takes place at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya over the weekend of May 12th and 13th, as support to the Spanish Grand Prix.
For more information, check out mitchevans.com or follow Mitch on Twitter at @mitchevans_. Also don’t forget to click on GP3.com for further news and information.
My sincere thanks to Mitch Evans for his time with this Q&A session.
© Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
© Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
© Drew Gibson /GP3 Series Media Service
Antonio Felix da Costa jumped to the top of the time sheets on the final day of the second GP3 test yesterday.
The Carlin racer registered a best of 1:37.934 around Barcelona’s warm and pleasant Circuit de Catalunya, pipping MW Arden’s Matias Laine by half-a-tenth.
The Portuguese racer spent the morning on top or at least near the top of the timesheets, with Laine occasionally proving a threat.
Da Costa also logged a solid 64 lap total during the day, adding to the 72 he registered on Monday.
Laine’s MW Arden teammate, Mitch Evans, ended the day 3rd overall after another impressive showing. The young Kiwi fell a mere two-tenths shy of the top spot; however Evans did prove to be one of the busier runners with 72 laps in the bag.
Trident’s Kevin Ceccon fronted Trident’s charge. The Italian headed an impressively long gaggle of entrants, with approximately half-a-second covering 4th to 15th overall.
Lagging just shy of Ceccon was Status GP man Marlon Stockinger and Lotus’ Conor Daly, with Jenzer pairing Robert Visoiu and Patric Niederhauser a further tenth-of-a-second adrift.
Aaro Vainio returned to the Lotus fold to assume 9th overall, while Carlin’s Will Buller rounded out the top ten.
Despite the closeness of the field, David Fumanelli (MW Arden), Tamas Pa’l Kiss (Atech CRS), Tio Ellinas (Marussia- Manor), Maxim Zimin (Jenzer) and Daniel Abt (Lotus).
Following a difficult morning session hit by an oil leak, Abt returned to the fold to go fastest in the afternoon session.
Other drivers to crack the 200-mile barrier were Ellinas, Alex Brundle (Carlin, 18th) and Kotaro Sakurai (Status, 21st)
Sakurai’s Status GP teammate, Yann Zimmer, had his times deleted post-test, when it was discovered his car had been running underweight.
Several red flags stuttered proceedings. Spins by Ceccon and Atech’s Ethan Ringel brought out temporary red flags in the morning, followed by a stoppage in the afternoon courtesy of a spinning Vicky Piria (Trident).
Ringel brought another red flag period after lunch, when his car stopped on track.
All drivers used Pirelli’s hard compound GP3 tyre for this test, as opposed to the medium compound GP3 rubber as run in Estoril.
The hard tyre will again be in use at next month’s final test at Silverstone.
Combined times:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Antonio Felix da Costa Carlin 1m37.934s 64
2. Matias Laine MW Arden 1m37.993s + 0.059s 67
3. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m38.154s + 0.220s 72
4. Kevin Ceccon Trident 1m38.239s + 0.305s 60
5. Marlon Stockinger Status 1m38.283s + 0.349s 63
6. Conor Daly Lotus 1m38.322s + 0.388s 62
7. Robert Visoiu Jenzer 1m38.391s + 0.457s 66
8. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 1m38.452s + 0.518s 57
9. Aaro Vainio Lotus 1m38.469s + 0.535s 71
10. William Buller Carlin 1m38.471s + 0.537s 63
11. David Fumanelli MW Arden 1m38.542s + 0.608s 67
12. Tamas Pal Kiss Atech CRS 1m38.593s + 0.659s 53
13. Tio Ellinas Manor 1m38.603s + 0.669s 70
14. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m38.692s + 0.758s 60
15. Daniel Abt Lotus 1m38.760s + 0.826s 53
16. Dmitry Suranovich Manor 1m38.955s + 1.021s 69
17. Antonio Spavone Trident 1m38.977s + 1.043s 68
18. Alex Brundle Carlin 1m39.129s + 1.195s 75
19. Fabiano Machado Manor 1m39.318s + 1.384s 58
20. Vicky Piria Trident 1m39.348s + 1.414s 67
21. Kotaro Sakurai Status 1m39.419s + 1.485s 75
22. Ethan Ringel Atech CRS 1m39.785s + 1.851s 61
23. Robert Cregan Ocean 1m40.601s + 2.667s 57
24. John Wartique Atech CRS 1m40.930s + 2.996s 36
25. Carmen Jorda Ocean 1m41.997s + 4.063s 55
Yann Zimmer Status (no time) --
Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.
Jack Harvey topped the first of a two-day British Formula 3 test session at Rockingham yesterday.
Fronting an all-Carlin top-five, the 18-year-old laid down his marker – 1:17.022 – during a relatively lengthy stint toward the end of the day, giving Harvey a three-tenths gap over the following group.
Harvey set three separate times that would have given him the top spot, as he completed an impressive 72 laps throughout the day, further bedding himself in with the new Dallara F312.
“It was a very productive day. The car felt good all day, we made a few tweaks, put some new tyres on towards the end and it all came together. However, we will have to keep working hard tomorrow to try to create an even bigger gap.”
Ending the day was a rather close-knit pack headed by Harry Tincknell. The ex-Fortec racer enjoyed his quickest run at the very tail end of the day, pipping Carlos Sainz Jr (3rd) and Jazeman Jaafar (4th) by three-hundredths.
Jaafar’s quickest – a 1:17.347 – helped him to top at lunchtime; however the Malaysian got to within hundredths of repeating this feat during the afternoon running. Pietro Fantin claimed the 5th as the day drew to a close.
It was the continuation of a productive week for Sainz Jr, who tested a GP3 car at Barcelona for Lotus on Monday.
From there, gaps grew with leading Fortec runner, Alex Lynn 6th, half-a-second shy of the top spot. A further half-a-second split Lynn and teammate Felix Serralles in 7th, while Hannes van Asseldonk (8th) and Pipo Derani (9th) brought up the Fortec rear.
T-Sport’s Nick McBride finally got his hands on a Nissan-powered Dallara F312 today. McBride completed a shakedown run, as well as a series of short stints, falling just shy of Derani in the time sheets, but well ahead of the Rookie Class pairing Spike Goddard (T-Sport, 11th) and Duvashen Padayachee (Double R, 12th).
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Jack Harvey Carlin-VW 1m17.022s 72 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin-VW 1m17.319s +0.297s 69 3. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin-VW 1m17.322s +0.300s 64 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin-VW 1m17.347s +0.325s 44 5. Pietro Fantin Carlin-VW 1m17.423s +0.401s 72 6. Alex Lynn Fortec-Merc 1m17.559s +0.537s 63 7. Felix Serralles Fortec-Merc 1m18.122s +1.100s 59 8. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec-Merc 1m18.251s +1.229s 54 9. Pipo Derani Fortec-Merc 1m18.341s +1.319s 65 10. Nick McBride T-Sport-Nissan 1m18.560s +1.538s 68 11. Spike Goddard T-Sport-Mugen* 1m20.084s +3.062s 73 12. Duvashen Padayachee Double R-Mugen* 1m21.507s +4.485s 86 *= National Class
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
— TV Notes —
Race One
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs opened his Auto GP World Series account with a lights-to-flag victory at Monza on Saturday.
The Briton spent much of the event keeping Italian Formula 3 champion, Sergio Campana at bay, with the Briton enjoying a 1.5 second advantage at the flag.
Former GP2 racer, Pal Varhaug, crossed the line in 3rd spot, some three seconds adrift of Campana.
Quaife-Hobbs endured a couple of brief scares during the fourteen-lap event, when the Super Nova driver suffered a minor gearbox fault, before being balked badly by Sergey Sirotkin on the eighth lap, as the Russian exited the pits.
Despite these, Quaife-Hobbs maintained the lead, taking first blood in the championship chase.
Following the event, Campana’s day would go awry when he – and teammate Michele la Rosa – were penalised one minute for irregular pitstops, dropping them to 10th and 12th respectively.
It would promote Varhaug to 2nd and Dutch pilot Daniel de Jong to 3rd.
De Jong had his own heart-stopping moment early in the race. The Manor MP pilot missed the opening chicane two laps in, dropping him to 7th place.
Passes on Max Snegirev (lap 3) gave de Jong 6th, becoming 5th when Chris van der Drift suffered an off four tours in. Good pit work by the Manor crew gave de Jong an extra position at the halfway point, before collecting from Campana’s post-race penalty opened up a podium place.
Facu Regalia assumed 4th after an early pitstop left him strategically vulnerable, while van der Drift recovered to take 5th.
Giacomo Ricci returned to the cockpit to grab what would become 6th from Snegirev shortly before the chequered flag came down (7th) – both of whom enjoyed a gap of several seconds to Antonio Spavone (Euronova, 8th) and Giancarlo Serenelli (Ombra, 9th).
As per usual at Monza, the opening lap offered its own unique form of excitement. Sirotkin stalled on the grid, encouraging evasive action from field behind; however five cars still managed to collide comically in the tight opening corner.
Race One (14 laps) Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Super Nova 23m37.782s 2. Pal Varhaug Virtuosi UK + 4.800s 3. Daniel de Jong Manor MP + 11.480s 4. Facu Regalia Campos + 13.444s 5. Chris van der Drift Manor MP + 22.896s 6. Giacomo Ricci Zele + 27.137s 7. Maxim Snegirev Campos + 28.245s 8. Antonio Spavone Euronova + 32.073s 9. Giancarlo Serenelli Ombra + 40.862s 10. Sergio Campana MLR71 + 1m01.499s* 11. Giuseppe Cipriani Campos + 1m27.688s 12. Michele la Rosa MLR71 + 1m54.340s* 13. Adderly Fong Ombra + 1 lap 14. Sergey Sirotkin Euronova + 1 lap 15. Victor Guerin Super Nova + 2 laps Retirements R. Matteo Beretta Virtuosi UK DNS *One-minute penalty applied.
Race Two
Pal Varhaug grabbed the race two victory in what can only be described as a frantic event.
Having started 7th, the Norwegian claimed full points ahead of Chris van der Drift and race one winner Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.
Varhaug was initially held by the slow starting Antonio Spavone, eventually gaining two spots when the over exuberant Daniel de Jong and Facu Regalia ran wide at the Rettifilo on the second lap. Within a tour, Spavone had also been dispatched by the Virtuosi UK racer.
That became 3rd when van der Drift made his mandatory pitstop on lap six, with Varhaug’s impressive pace ensuring he was on the tail of the leading pair (Max Snegirev and Giacomo Ricci) in less than a lap.
Snegirev would remove himself from the lead fight when he stopped on lap seven.
Varhaug eventually grabbed the lead two tours later – albeit through the stellar pitwork of his Virtuosi UK crew.
Spavone, who also stopped on the ninth tour (along with Ricci, Quaife-Hobbs and Sergio Campana) climbing to 2nd spot, but with the wind in his sails, Varhaug was quickly out of sight, eventually taking the chequered flag first.
Admittedly, Varhaug was helped by a clumsy Campana. Ricci, who passed Campana after the stop, found himself on the receiving end of a sideways thud in the Rettifilo.
Ricci retired on the spot, while Campana – who was handed a drive through penalty – decided to retire instead.
Spavone’s race soon also turned into a nightmare. After nearly stalling from his pole position spot, the Italian fell to 6th, recovering back to 2nd thanks to mistakes and pitstops.
Amidst a tight battle for 2nd that saw four cars lightly clutter in the Rettifio – through which van der Drift and Quaife-Hobbs intelligently avoided – Spavone fell to 5th, before succumbing to the charging Snegirev a short time later.
Having avoided the turn one carnage, van der Drift and Quaife-Hobbs brought their machines cleanly to the flag, holding off the advances of the impressive Sergey Sirotkin in the process.
Lining up 14th on the grid, Sirotkin had jumped to 10th by the end of the second lap, before claiming several more positions as pit strategies unfolded. The 16-year-old stole 4th following the four-car circus act in the Rettifilo chicane, closing on Quaife-Hobbs fast.
Despite setting the fastest lap, Sirotkin was unable to break into the podium positions, but still showed signs of promise. As for Spavone, he would reclaim 5th from Snegirev on the final tour with an aggressive move* into the Roggia chicane.
Snegirev took 6th, ahead of a quiet Adderly Fong and Giancarlo Serenelli, while Regalia recovered from his early off to take 9th.
Giuseppe Cipriani rounded out the top ten, with only Victor Guerin and Michele la Rosa finishing behind.
* {note 1}
It must be noted that some of the defending in race two was far too vigorous to be considered remotely sensible, to the point where I spent the latter part of the race wincing.
Whether it be cross-circuit weaving or forcing a competitor off track, the impression that “all is fair” is probably not the most encouraging for a series that is effectively regarded as a leftfield step on the Formula 1 ladder system.
Race Two (14 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Pal Varhaug Virtuosi UK 23m48.744s
2. Chris van der Drift Manor MP + 3.519s
3. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Super Nova + 4.445s
4. Sergey Sirotkin Euronova + 4.520s
5. Antonio Spavone Euronova + 9.839s
6. Maxim Snegirev Campos + 12.332s
7. Adderly Fong Ombra + 20.060s
8. Giancarlo Serenelli Ombra + 23.840s
9. Facu Regalia Campos + 26.135s
10. Giuseppe Cipriani Campos + 27.103s
11. Victor Guerin Super Nova + 31.180s
12. Michele la Rosa MLR 71 + 48.448s
Retirements:
Sergio Campana MLR 71 11 laps
Giacomo Ricci Zele 9 laps
Matteo Beretta Virtuosi UK 7 laps
Daniel de Jong Manor MP 6 laps
Drivers’ Championship
1. Pal Varhaug 38
2. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs 38
3. Chris van der Drift 25
4. Daniel de Jong 15
5. Facu Regalia 14
Under-21’s Drivers’ Trophy
1. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs 41
2. Pal Varhaug 38
3. Sergey Sirotkin 22
4. Facu Regalia 20
5. Antonio Spavone 20
Teams’ Championship
1. Manor MP 40
2. Virtuosi UK 38
3. Super Nova 38
4. Campos 26
5. Euronova 24
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
MW Arden’s Mitch Evans claimed the top spot as GP3 pre-season testing resumed at the Circuit de Catalunya yesterday.
The 19-year-old made the best of the cool morning conditions to register a time of 1:38.609 – giving the Kiwi a one-tenth advantage over Marussia-Manor’s Tio Ellinas.
It was not all gold for Evans – the Kiwi spun early in the afternoon session, beaching his Dallara-Renault in the gravel trap.
Evans’ off ensured he would only compete 38 laps – well shy of the day’s mileage peak. That honour went to Antonio Spavone, who completed an impressive 77 laps in his Trident Racing machine.
Antonio Felix da Costa and Alex Brundle (both Carlin) were the only other pilots to break the 200-mile barrier by the end of the day, with 72 and 71 circulations respectively.
Lotus GP’s Daniel Abt assumed 3rd at the chequered flag. The German national ran fastest as the afternoon session came to a close, ending a sensible day for the former-German Formula 3 racer.
MW Arden pairing David Fumanelli (4th) and Matias Laine (5th) ran just under half-a-second slower than teammate Evans, while also pipping up-and-coming Hungarian racer, Tamas Pa’l Kiss (Atech CRS, 6th).
Carlin’s British Formula 3 competitor, Carlos Sainz Jr, found himself at the wheel of Lotus GP’s third machine today*, stitching together 60 laps in a solid display of speed and consistency.
The 17-year-old Red Bull junior driver logged his best (1:39.087) in the afternoon running, ensuring the Spaniard enjoyed a small advantage over Kevin Ceccon (Trident, 8th, 67 laps), da Costa (9th) and Tom Blomqvist (Status GP, 10th, 48 laps).
There were red flags aplenty in the morning when Robert Cregan (Ocean Racing Technology), Blomqvist and Fabiano Machado (Marussia-Manor) all suffered separate offs. The afternoon session was closed prematurely, as Ceccon spun with mere minutes left on the clock.
* {note 1}
Of course, it means absolutely nothing, but it does occasionally make me smile to see such crossovers in the feeder categories.
That the son of WRC legend, who happens to be a Red Bull driver**, tested with a Lotus branded GP3 team (formerly ART GP), while his British F3 sister team – Carlin – and ran three cars with other drivers was enough to raise my eyebrow. But only a little.** {note 1b}
This is without going into the MW Arden situation, which is owned by Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner and driver Mark Webber; however MW Arden’s line-up for 2012 was filled some time ago.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:38.609 38 2. Tio Ellinas Marussia-Manor 1:38.733 44 3. Daniel Abt Lotus GP 1:38.799 54 4. David Fumanelli MW Arden 1:38.944 56 5. Matias Laine MW Arden 1:39.014 36 6. Tamas Pa’l Kiss Atech CRS 1:39.075 31 7. Carlos Sainz Jr Lotus GP 1:39.087 60 8. Kevin Ceccon Trident 1:39.102 67 9. Antonio Felix da Costa Carlin 1:39.105 72 10. Tom Blomqvist Status GP 1:39.139 48 11. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.231 58 12. Maxim Zimin Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.271 55 13. Conor Daly Lotus GP 1:39.320 62 14. Marlon Stockinger Status GP 1:39.340 51 15. Robert Visoiu Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.649 52 16. Antonio Spavone Trident 1:39.747 77 17. Alex Brundle Carlin 1:39.898 71 18. Fabiano Machado Marussia-Manor 1:40.107 69 19. Vicky Piria Trident 1:40.516 61 20. Kotaro Sakurai Status GP 1:40.541 38 21. William Buller Carlin 1:40.589 48 22. Dmitry Suranovich Marussia-Manor 1:40.731 60 23. Robert Cregan Ocean Racing Tech 1:40.951 49 24. Ethan Ringel Atech CRS 1:41.013 52 25. John Wartique Atech CRS 1:42.781 41 26. Carmen Jorda Ocean Racing Tech 1:44.009 58
© Alastair Staley/GP3 Media Service.
Whether it’s sons trying to better their fathers or nephews attempting to emulate their uncles, famous families have often been a difficult burden in motorsport.
Where the likes of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve succeeded in proving themselves more than just a name, there were others, such Christian Fittipaldi or Michael Andretti (and numerous others) who could not hit the mark of their namesakes.
As the son of former Formula 1 and Indycar racer Derek, Conor Daly is aiming squarely for the former category.
A former Karting champion in North America, Daly moved to the Skip Barber National Championship and Formula Ford in 2008, enjoying considerable success on both counts.
There followed a move to the Star Mazda Championship in 2009, where Daly claimed the title in 2010 in emphatic style, by taking seven wins from nine pole positions in thirteen races, along with four 3rd place finishes and a 4th.
After splitting his racing between the Firestone Indy Lights Series and GP3 throughout 2011, the 20-year-old is firmly committed to running in the GP3 for the coming season.
So with the opening test at Portugal’s Estoril done and dusted – Daly was 5th on both days of running – I checked in with Conor to ask him about racing in the US and Europe; swapping machinery; having a racing father and his thoughts of 2012.
The Motorsport Archive: 2011 saw you venture into Europe full-time with Carlin in the GP3 Series. In terms of competition and environment, how did you find the transition from US-based racing, such as Star Mazda and Indy Lights?
Conor Daly: It was definitely a whole new world for me. I only described it to people saying it was like playing a completely different sport. It’s not like the drivers in America at the front aren’t as good, but in Europe, especially GP3, there are more drivers all capable of running extremely close and at the front.
TMA: Compared to what you had raced previously, could you give a quick description of a GP3 car’s characteristics? Did it take long to settle in to this type of machine?
Daly: The cars are also very different because every car you race in America on the ‘ladder’ system towards IndyCar are actually quite old cars now. The Star Mazda car and in the Indy Lights cars have been around for quite a while.
I really enjoyed driving both but jumping into a GP3 car was definitely a change. The GP3 car is one of the latest Dallara chassis and has a lot of great high tech equipment. I could go one for quite some time really but overall racing on both continents is very different.TMA: Last year, you competed in Indy Lights alongside your GP3 commitments. That’s a long season with a lot of flying – how did that feel in terms of the physical attributes?
Daly: The only reason we really did the Indy Lights races is because it actually helped secure funding for our GP3 program, which I wanted to focus on as my main program.
It was difficult only at first because the GP3 testing was going on around the same time as the first three Indy Lights races. I did a lot of flying and a lot of driving but it went quite well considering I was leading the Indy Lights championship after the third race!TMA: How did you cope with swapping cars in such a manner?
Daly: That didn’t effect (sic) me though because, yeah it was great, but my main focus was learning as much as possible about GP3 and doing as well as I could in that. Once the third Indy Lights race was over I moved to England and lived in England all summer as I raced throughout Europe in GP3.
TMA: After a rather tough first half season in 2011, it appeared, from the outside at least, to come together as the year progressed. From your perspective, could you describe your first year in the GP3 Series?
Daly: It was a very difficult first half of the season no doubt, but every weekend I was learning an incredible amount and each session I just tried to build on what I knew and what I was learning and I just kept improving every weekend.
TMA: What lessons can be taken from that campaign that you can use in 2012?
Daly: I also gained a lot of confidence every weekend because I was overtaking A LOT of cars and I really proved to myself that I could compete with these guys. It was cool because by the end of the season we were in a position to win a race in Monza until getting taken off the road by Bottas in the final race.
TMA: You are moving to Lotus (formerly Lotus ART) – the team that have taken the first two GP3 championships. From your limited time there, have you found an element (or elements) of the team and your relationship with them that may lend you an advantage against your competitors?
Daly: It has been a great relationship so far. The team are very professional and as soon as I got in their car it seemed to suit my driving style much more so than the Carlin car did. It will be very interesting to continue to learn from them before putting it all together for the first race weekend in Barcelona.
TMA: Your father, Derek, is a former racer – and a very experienced one at that. Has Derek had much of an influence on your career and if so, can you give an indication of the type of lessons passed on and influence he has had?
Daly: My Dad taught me a lot about pure driving back when I was karting and now he has moved into more of a mangers role. He wants nothing more than to see me succeed so he works incredibly hard every day for me and I can’t thank him enough for that.
He has also become very good at recognizing how drivers need to develop and improve so to have him helping me improve my weaknesses is very nice. He can’t always be at all of my races but when he is there it’s always helpful.TMA: Obvious question, but what can viewers of the GP3 Series expect from Conor Daly in 2012?
Daly: I want to win the championship. There is no excuses (sic) this year, I’m with the best team I could be with and I’ve had a season to learn a lot about GP3.
There are only two tracks I don’t know this season, Monaco and Hockenheim, so if I can get a handle on those tracks as quick as possible I’m going to be in a good position to be quite competitive this year.
The second pre-season GP3 test commences today at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The opening race of the season takes place at the same track over the weekend of May 12th and 13th, as support to the Spanish Grand Prix.
For more information, check out conordaly.net or follow Conor on Twitter at @ConorDaly22. Also don’t forget to click on GP3.com for further news and information.
My sincere thanks to Conor Daly for his time with this Q&A session.
© Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
© Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
© Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sauber’s Formula 1 reserve, Esteban Gutierrez, headed the final GP2 pre-season test in Barcelona before packing up for the season start.
On a bright and sunny Thursday, Gutierrez – who was also fastest the previous day – set a fastest lap of 1:29.154 in the morning.
The Mexican eventually logged a total of 77 laps around the 2.9 mile-long Circuit de Catalunya.
It marks yet another positive signal for Gutierrez, as he readies himself for what may be a key season in his young career*.
GP2 veteran Davide Valsecchi was next up in his DAMS machine after completing 63 tours of the circuit, while Rapax racer Tom Dillmann ended the day an encouraging 3rd (58 laps). Max Chilton headed the Carlin charge in 4th, although the Briton fell one-thousandth short of Dillmann on his quickest run.
Caterham Racing’s Giedo van der Garde enjoyed a small advantage over James Calado (Lotus, 6th, 71 laps)*** and Tuesday’s fast man, Fabrizio Crestani (Venezuela GP Lazarus, 7th, 40 laps).
Crestani was the first driver to break into the ‘1:29’s’, before being overhauled as the day progressed. The Italian’s time at the top was artificially extended, when Scuderia Coloni’s Fabio Onidi spun off, bringing out an early red flag. There were further stoppages later, when the cars of Simon Trummer (Arden) and Johnny Cecotto Jr (Barwa Addax) both needed to be retrieved.
Nigel Melker (Ocean Racing Technology, 64 laps), Onidi (48 laps) and Stephane Richelmi (Trident, 59 laps) rounded out the top ten.
Dillmann would later top the slower afternoon session, as he – and most others – completed last chance race simulations and pitstop practices. Stefano Coletti, Crestani and Felipe Nasr ended the afternoon just shy of Dillmann.
Trummer caused another red flag soon after a lunch with a spin that damaged his car, ensuring the Swiss pilot managed only a single tour in the afternoon. Julian Leal and Nasr brought out two more red flag periods, when they stopped on track.
The teams will soon be on their way to Sepang for the opening round of the season, which takes place over March 24th-25th.
* {note 1}
Gutierrez debuted in GP2 at the beginning of the now defunct Asia Series** last February at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. During a season mired by disappointments, he achieved one race victory (Sprint Race, Valencia) on his way to 13th in the Championship.** {note 1b}
This is the same GP2 Asia Series that had not visited the Asian continent since its April 2009 visit to Sepang – which is also the venue for the Main Series’ opening round this year.
*** {note 2}
For some reason, the GP2 timing system has either given an incorrect time for James Calado (more than possible) or they placed him in the wrong position (now that’s just plain silly).
Combined times: Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:29.154 77 2. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:29.318 63 3. Tom Dillmann Rapax 1:29.455 58 4. Max Chilton Carlin 1:29.456 77 5. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:29.490 66 6. James Calado Lotus GP 1:29.599 71 7. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:29.581 40 8. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.632 64 9. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:29.679 48 10. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:29.694 59 11. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:29.748 82 12. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:29.849 58 13. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:29.918 53 14. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:29.977 51 15. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:30.047 52 16. Nathanaël Berthon Racing Engineering 1:30.055 59 17. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:30.075 79 18. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:30.211 50 19. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:30.250 70 20. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:30.287 80 21. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:30.477 24 22. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham Racing 1:30.680 70 23. Jon Lancaster Ocean Racing Technology 1:30.724 55 24. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:30.740 61 25. Ricardo Teixeira Rapax 1:31.406 59 26. Giancarlo Serenelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:32.872 57 ^ Noted compiled from live updates and releases.
© Motors TV.
For the upcoming 2012 season, The Motorsport Archive is proud to announce that it will be publishing British Formula 3 material for Motors TV.
The first piece, a round up of the opening pre-season test, can be found at the following address – Jaafar and Sainz Jr head opening British Formula 3 test.
Following in the footsteps of its French equivalent, which launched in September of 2000, the British arm of Motors TV began broadcasting in March 2001, showcasing an extensive range of national and international racing series featuring cars, motorbikes, boats and aircraft.
Its premier championships include the World Rally Championship, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Grand-Am, V8 Supercars, British Formula Three and a host of FIM-sanctioned motorcycle competitions.
It is broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on Sky Digital channel 413 and can be found on the web at MotorsTV.com.
TheMotorsportArchive.com is a blog dedicated to providing exclusive trackside coverage of UK and European based motor racing events. In 2011, TheMotorsportArchive.com began covering the Cooper Tyres British Formula 3 Series from numerous venues around the United Kingdom and Europe.
In 2012, trackside coverage of motor racing events is set to continue, with an extra focus on endurance racing as TheMotorsportArchive.com adds the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series to its growing roster.
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