With the Circuit of the Americas readying itself for its first Grand Prix in just over thirteen months time, Red Bull Racing busied itself filming at the Texan arena.
Last month – around the same time the team were filming a segment with Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise – Red Bull also ventured to the southern state to capture former driver David Coulthard raising dust and dirt in Austin.
Opening on ranch, the Red Bull powers out of horse shed (geddit – horsepower? Boom, boom…), the Renault-engined machine blasts out of no mans land and onto Austin’s pristine city streets.
Following several burnouts, Coulthard shoots down a barren motorway toward the incomplete Circuit of the Americas, where he takes the Red Bull for a high-speed jaunt around the dust-laden track.
According to this video, there is a lot of sand and dry ground in Austin, Texas.
If nothing else, it is an interesting little piece, but little more than PR fluff – the kind of thing that Red Bull get very, very right.
It is conceivable that David may well have been advised to try and avoid the 6-foot high mounds of dirt that line the corners on his lap – it is unlikely that Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will have similar issues come next November.
It is unlikely that Sam Michael had 9th in the Formula 1 Constructor’s Championship in mind when Williams released the FW33 earlier this year.
Indeed many elements of Williams’ 2011 season show a team struggling to meet the demands of modern Formula 1 competition.
Following a tough start – it took Rubens Barrichello six races to score points, with Pastor Maldonado achieving his first score three weeks ago – the former top dogs of Formula 1 have been unable to pick up the pace. Now lagging a long way behind the likes of Sauber and Toro Rosso, Williams barely seem able to muster a bark, let alone a bite this season.
Now with Michael on his way to McLaren and Head of Aerodynamics Jon Tomlinson being moved aside, Williams find themselves in the midst of a significant restructure of its technical staff.
Movement of the team’s driver line-up is also looking more and more likely and Maldonado’s seat more-or-less solidified thanks to backing from Venezuelan oil money, courtesy of PDVSA.
Despite having captured a majority of Williams’ points tally (a mammoth four of five thus far), Barrichello looks to be the driver who may find himself without a seat at the team come next March.
The Brazilian was initially hired to bring experience to the team following the departures of Nico Rosberg (to Mercedes) and Kazuki Nakajima (to Formula Nippon). Partnered by then reigning GP2 Champion, Nico Hulkenberg, Barrichello helped the team climb to 6th in the Constructor’s; however 2011 has been less than stellar.
Although the Brazilian veteran has performed better on paper than his current rookie teammate, several of his drives have been somewhat lacklustre. Indeed, had Maldonado not been involved in an incident with Lewis Hamilton at Monaco, the rookie may well have had overtaken Barrichello in the standings.
Visits by former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and Force India’s Adrian Sutil to the Williams’ factory in Grove, have sent rumours into overdrive – and it appears Barrichello may the driver on the firing line.
Last week’s Italian Grand Prix was typical for the team this season. A solid start (helped by several in the midfield getting wiped out) was followed by a slump back down the order as the race aged.
Come the flag, Maldonado had fallen to 11th (after running 6th), while Barrichello crossed the line 12th after beaching himself on a kerb in the first corner incident.
Whereas Maldonado struggled (and lost) in a fight to hold off both Toro Rosso’s, Bruno Senna (Renault), Force India’s Paul di Resta and Sergio Perez (Sauber), Barrichello found himself in a battle against the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen, with the Finn running the Williams in lap times for the first half of the race.
Although Kovalainen fell away in the second half of the Grand Prix, it displayed worrying signs for once successful team.
At this stage, it looking less and less likely that a large allotment of points will be forthcoming for the Williams team, especially as the rest of the midfield garner their final upgrades for a late season battle.
With a twenty-four point deficit to Toro Rosso, Frank Williams’ squad are on the verge of the worst result in the team’s history – and with it, Barrichello’s long Formula 1 career may end on something of a bum note.
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel placed one hand on his second world title in Monza on Sunday with a startling victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old also went some way to quashing criticisms that he cannot overtake drivers thanks to a stunning fifth lap move around the outside of Tifosi favourite, Fernando Alonso.
Like in Spa two weeks earlier, Vettel found himself the victim of a sluggish start, fighting McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton off at the pair approached the Rettifilo chicane.
Neither saw the quick moving Alonso, who garnered a wheel on the grass as he powered his way into the lead down the inside of turn one.
Carbon Shards
Moments later, as the close-nit field poured through the tight right-left-right chicane, the action would grind to a halt amidst clouds of carbon fibre and pummelled machinery.
While challenging the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen for position, HRT F1 pilot Vitantonio Liuzzi ran out of room, losing control on the grass lining the track. The resulting loss of grip sent the Italian into a sideways spin, short cutting across the gripless surface and towards a heavy smash with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes).
As the three cars melted together, Rubens Barrichello ground to a halt beside Rosberg, only to find himself blocked in and going nowhere. In the melee behind, both Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Bruno Senna (Renault) damaged their front wings as the pack closed together.
With lumps of destroyed cars littering the opening corners, the safety car made a quick appearance. It gave the race a breath of air for Senna, Kobayashi and Barrichello – all of who made their first stops while the field trundled around the Royal Park in an obedient line.
For his troubles, Liuzzi would be hit with a five-place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix in Singapore, although the Italian were less than pleased with that outcome.
“I had a good start getting past both Virgins, Lotuses and Daniel but then I went for another overtaking manoeuvre and got closed out. It was a shame and I apologise to Rosberg and Petrov but it wasn’t my fault because I got squeezed into the grass by Kovalainen. Once I was on the grass I lost completely the control of the car and that is why it happened and everything.”
The day also started poorly for the second HRT of Daniel Ricciardo. Having beaten his more experienced teammate in qualifying, the Australian’s Cosworth-powered machine, the HRT stood still with an engine and gearbox issue.
Despite spending several laps in the pits, Ricciardo returned to the race eventually, in order to garner much needed mileage.
It was also a poor start to the day for the Virgin squad. Rookie Jerome d’Ambrosio encountered a lost second gear on the warm up, rendering his car undriveable. The Belgian pulled in after two slow tours.
Good Getaways Amidst Poor Judgement
Out front, as the safety car pulled in on lap four, Alonso made a solid getaway from an ever Vettel; however Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher calmly stole 3rd from the sleeping Hamilton. Red Bull’s Mark Webber too advanced, albeit briefly. A poor start dropped the Australian to 7th, but a swift pass on Jenson button (McLaren) brought Webber into the top six. It would last only a lap.
An overly optimistic move on Ferrari’s Felipe Massa at the first corner resulted in a smash, destroying Webber’s front wing and leaving Massa pointing the wrong way. Luck played a favourable hand for the Ferrari man – the Brazilian only fell as far as 10th, while those that did pass missed him completely.
Webber, on the other hand, slowly lapped back to the pits, only to be foiled by the remnants of the shattered wing folding underneath his RB7. With a thud, the Australian hit the barrier in the Parabolica and was out.
“I was lining up Felipe, breaking around the outside for turn 1, trying to get the inside line for turn two. I probably wasn’t quite far enough to get completely inside, but when I tried to come out of the move the kerbing on the inside is obviously pretty high; as soon as I touched that I unfortunately made contact with Felipe and that was that.”
Meanwhile, Vettel – in the leading Red Bull – forced the lead away from Alonso at Curve Grande – even with two wheels on the grass…
Forcing the Issue… Repeatedly
Indeed, Alonso briefly held off the advancing Schumacher and Hamilton battle, before even he broke away into a solid 2nd place. As for the Mercedes and McLaren pair, their fight was only just beginning.
Hamilton – seeing Alonso escape – pressed Schumacher hard, yet the veteran used the width of his Mercedes (and more) to keep the feisty Englishman at bay, but this was always going to be a difficult prospect for Hamilton.
With his MP4-26 running a short top gear, the McLaren pilot had little with which the overpower Schumacher on speed alone and where Hamilton used as much of his guile to try and force a way by lap-after-lap, Schumacher was doing the same to keep the McLaren behind. Indeed, Schumacher probably went overboard in his defence of 3rd place.
Several times, the veteran clearly move across the racing line at least twice; however the situation came to a head on the sixteenth lap, when Schumacher forced Hamilton onto the grass while running through Curve Grande. None of which the race stewards apparently saw.
Whereas the battling pair fell behind Alonso, Button drew to the rear of Hamilton, getting by his teammate as he recovered from his grass excursion, before taking Schumacher on the approach to Ascari half-a-lap later.
It all seemed so easy for Button – realistically, the McLaren driver simply waited for the right moment. The move on Hamilton (recovering from a near accident) was easy, before breezing passed a tyre-shot Schumacher.
Yet with Button five seconds shy of Alonso and fifteen off of Vettel, making further positions would be tough.
Stopping on Time
It certainly wasn’t going to happen for Button at the first round of stops. Stung by worn Pirelli rubber, Schumacher pitted on immediately after losing 3rd, with Button stopping a lap later. Over the next three tours, Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel all made for new tyres – soft tyres being the choice across the board.
The quintet emerged from the Monza pitlane in the same order they entered – with Vettel leading handsomely from Alonso, Button, Schumacher and Hamilton.
Behind this group, the recovering Massa made good use of his first set of tyres. Having been punted early, the Brazilian passed the stricken Webber for 9th, before moving swiftly by Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) and Paul di Resta (Force India) on the seventh tour.
Passes on Sauber’s Sergio Perez on the following lap and Pastor Maldonado (Williams) on lap ten, brought the Ferrari pilot back into the top six, becoming 2nd when he finally pitted a second set of softs on lap 21.
With the Schumacher / Hamilton fight far in the distance and no realistic threat from behind, Massa would settle for 6th.
Massa wasn’t the only driver fighting through the field. While avoiding the opening lap melee, Force India’s Adrian Sutil dropped to 17th – it would have been worse had he not had the foresight to remove himself from the action.
Having started on the medium compound Pirelli’s, the German took time to get up to speed before climbing up the order. Sadly for the 28-year-old, 14th place was all he could manage before a hydraulic failure on the tent tour ultimately robbed Sutil of his power steering and gear selection.
Both Kobayashi and Senna had made their way to the edge of the top ten by the first round stops, despite having fallen to 17th and 18th respectively following their early services.
However, whereas Senna fed his way to 10th (thanks to a reconfigured strategy and plenty of patience), Kobayashi removed himself from the fight on the twenty-fourth lap with a gearbox problem. It made for a poor day for the Swiss squad – several laps later, Perez also pulled off with a gearbox failure, leaving the Swiss team dejected at the tail of the European tour.
Making (a) Point(s)
Nearer the back, Barrichello’s recovery drive was less than spectacular. The popular Brazilian emerged from the first lap mess in 19th; climbing two places by lap ten.
Barrichello, hamstrung by an uncooperative Williams machine, struggled over the first half of the race to shake off the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen – both of whom set comparable times – as the FW33 once again displayed its high fuel weaknesses.
Not for the first time this season, Barrichello was being shown up by his much-unfancied teammate, Maldonado. Having started on the seventh row, Maldonado jumped to 9th off the start, before climbing to 6th following the safety car period.
Like Barrichello, Maldonado’s Williams began to show its deficiencies soon after, with the Venezuelan dropping to 11th once the stops had completed their course.
Another rookie, Di Resta too spent the Grand Prix making a point to the Force India management. Qualifying left the Scot on the sixth row (ahead of his more experienced teammate, Sutil), becoming 8th after the first lap incident.
Battles with Maldonado, Perez and Alguersuari kept di Resta in check until a thirteenth lap stop for new softs saw the Force India pilot emerge in 15th. Di Resta reclaimed 8th place once everyone else had changed their Pirelli’s – although this would become 7th once Perez fell out of the race.
The Toro Rosso’s were also bedding themselves quite nicely in the Grand Prix. After qualifying a lowly 16th and 18th respectively, both Sebastien Buemi and Alguersuari took advantage of the early mayhem to climb to 10th (Alguersuari) and 12th (Buemi) when the field sorted itself out.
Silver Shadows
Not that any of this mattered to Vettel. Indeed the reigning champion was so far ahead of the midfield by the halfway point in the race; he was actually closer to lapping them.
Alonso, on the other hand, had plenty to worry about. For the second race in a row, Button was drawing himself closer to the rear of the Ferrari and nothing Alonso could do would shake him off. Where Alonso was making the best of the situation, Button went about setting the fastest lap of the race.
The opposite applied to Hamilton. Unable to clear Schumacher after the opening stops, the 2008 World Champion went about pressing the Mercedes veteran once again.
As before, Schumacher was… forceful in his defence – so much so, that Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn delivered several coded messages to the seven-time champion. It was clear at this stage that the stewards were beginning to take not of Schumacher’s actions.
Meanwhile, Hamilton continued to lose over one second per lap to the leading trio, cementing his best potential finish to 4th. Indeed, Hamilton finally did make the decisive move on lap 27, taking Schumacher – rather easily into Ascari – however Button had long since disappeared into the distance.
The distance between Button and Alonso, however, was rather less. As the pair crossed the thirty lap barrier, only tenth’s of-a-second separated them, but like the Hamilton / Schumacher fight, this would not be easy.
McLaren attempted strategy to try and bolster Button’s chances, bringing him in lap 33. Crucially, the Briton found himself blocked by a slow Barrichello at the pitlane entrance – when Alonso stopped one tour later, the Spaniard emerged ahead… just, but not for too much longer.
Split by half-a-second across the start / finish line on lap 36, Button placed his MP4-26 on the tail of Alonso as the swept through Curve Grande, stealing 2nd place as the approached the della Roggia chicane. In a few brief moments, thousands of soaring Italian hearts drew shallow breaths; their man, Alonso, relegated to 3rd by the silver enemy.
Soon Alonso and Ferrari would have to watch their mirrors once more. With one McLaren gone, another was growing larger in the distance…
Charging Ahead, Almost Unnoticed
Amongst all the noise and action, a calm Red Bull team changed Sebastian Vettel onto the Pirelli medium tyres on lap 35 in a cool 2.9 seconds – apparently the quickest pitstop in Formula 1 history. The service completed, Vettel re-emerged on track to a clear space ahead – and behind.
With seemingly little urgency, the reigning champion powered on, extending his lead to over 15 seconds, before cooling his Renault engine a degree or two.
As the Austrian crossed the line to another victory, the gap stood at 9.59 seconds – nothing was ever going to worry this Red Bull driver. Everything was – and is – in hand.
Vettel’s lead, now 112 points, is becoming more oppressive with each Grand Prix and with only six races remaining; the title could be wrapped up as early as Singapore.
“The car was amazing in qualifying yesterday and in the race today it was even better. The start was not that good, Fernando was suddenly there and I didn’t know where he was coming from – it took me a while to see we were three going into Turn 1. I kept second place and then after the restart, I was able to pass Alonso. He didn’t give me much room there, but it was just enough, so it was very enjoyable.”
A Fighting Second (Third and Fourth)
Jenson Button brought his McLaren to a slightly unexpected 2nd place, several seconds ahead of Alonso. Admittedly, once ahead of the Ferrari, there was little for Button to do, but bring his McLaren home to the delight of the Woking ensemble.
“It’s nice to have fought my way back through to second. I dropped back to sixth, then, at the restart, I had no way of keeping Mark [Webber] back, because his straight-line speed was so strong, so I slipped to seventh (…) and was delayed by a further four or five seconds when Mark and Felipe [Massa] tangled in front of me at Turn One.
After that, I was able to get my head down and passed Lewis and Michael [Schumacher]… after that, I set about closing down Fernando [Alonso], it was great to be able to secure second because we got some good points for the team.”
It is a result that brings Button close to the fight for Formula 1’s runner up spot – a four-way battle with Alonso, Webber and Hamilton.
For Fernando Alonso – hamstrung on ill-handling medium tyres – the Spaniard watched as Hamilton closed up in the final laps. From an eight second deficit, the McLaren pilot closed to less than-a-second at the flag; however Hamilton ran out of time. It was a close call, but in this instance, the final podium placed belonged to the Ferrari, although a clear sense of relief ran down Alonso’s features.
“We knew we needed to get a great start and we managed it, partly down to a great preparation job done with the engineers over the past two days. There was nothing we could about Vettel, he was much quicker than us and passed me easily. The situation was better up against the McLaren’s: with the softs, we could defend well, but on the Mediums they still have a significant advantage and I think that if the race had gone on a few more laps, I would have been off the podium.”
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, accepted another solid points finish, but realistically, his chance of a podium was lost behind Schumacher.
“At the restart, Michael was on my outside; I was looking at him in my mirrors, then, all of a sudden, the guys ahead had gone, so I missed an opportunity to slipstream Sebastian [Vettel]. So they caught me napping. We were a little bit slow on the straight today, which meant it was hard to get past Michael, who was faster along the straight even when I had my DRS activated. I had to really fight Schumacher, but the fact that I finished ahead of him meant everything was okay. That’s racing.”
Encouragement
For Michael Schumacher, Monza brought much encouragement with another 5th place finish. The Mercedes veteran has shown improved form of late, although with the top three teams proving harder to crack, results haven’t always reflected performances.
Felipe Massa, on the other hand, displayed much disappointment with his 6th place, but realistically, there was little he could do to catch the top five once Webber spun him around.
Jaime Alguersuari was the first of the lapped cars, coming home 7th. In fact it was a double points finish for the Toro Rosso team with Sebastien Buemi taking a credible 10th spot. Alguersuari had spent much of the race battling with di Resta to some degree of another, although part of that came as they measured each other’s pace on different pit strategies.
Paul di Resta gave Alguersuari a close run, missing the Spaniard by 3.93 seconds at the flag, but it was a mountainous compared to how much di Resta pipped Senna at the flag.
An excellent resurgent drive by Bruno Senna bring his Renault home 9th, despite taking three stops – indeed Senna may well have taken di Resta had he not been held up by Buemi in the dying laps. A 45th lap pass on the Swiss pilot left the Brazilian with a five second gap to make up with only four tours remaining – it would prove to be too much.
Beyond the points
It can hardly get worse. As the race wore on, Pastor Maldonado’s Williams’ fell away, while Rubens Barrichello never looked on song – the Grove-based drivers finished a distant 11th and 12th.
Barrichello was not too far ahead of a pair of Lotus’, headed by occasionally impressive Finn, Heikki Kovalainen (13th). Kovalainen showed solid pace in the early laps, although Jarno Trulli (14th) was hampered slightly by niggling mechanical issues.
Timo Glock took 15th in his Virgin Racing machine, two laps shy of the leaders on a quiet day for the German.
The European leg is now complete, but there is little that can truly be done about Sebastian Vettel. A 112-point advantage with 150 available is just too impossible to lose – especially on his current form.
How is 2012 looking, then..? Singapore runs from September 23rd-25th.
Race Rating: 3.5 out of 5
2011 Italian Grand Prix (Rd 13, September 11th) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h20:46.172 (53 laps) 2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.590 3. Alonso Ferrari + 16.909 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 17.471 5. Schumacher Mercedes + 32.677 6. Massa Ferrari + 42.993 7. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 8. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 9. Senna Renault + 1 lap 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 13. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 15. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:26.187 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 40 Perez Sauber-Ferrari 34 Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 23 Sutil Force India-Mercedes 11 Webber Red Bull-Renault 6 D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 3 Petrov Renault 1 Rosberg Mercedes 1 Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1 World Championship standings (Round 13); Drivers: 1. Vettel 284 2. Alonso 172 3. Webber 167 4. Button 167 5. Hamilton 158 6. Massa 82 7. Rosberg 56 8. Schumacher 52 9. Petrov 34 10. Heidfeld 34 11. Kobayashi 27 12. Sutil 24 13. Alguersuari 16 14. Buemi 13 15. Di Resta 12 16. Perez 8 17. Barrichello 4 18. Senna 2 19. Maldonado 1 World Championship standings (Round 13); Constructors: 1. Red Bull-Renault 451 2. McLaren-Mercedes 325 3. Ferrari 254 4. Mercedes 108 5. Renault 70 6. Force India-Mercedes 36 7. Sauber-Ferrari 35 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 29 9. Williams-Cosworth 5
Superleague Formula’s difficult 2011 continues with the cancellation of its upcoming Brazilian rounds.
The events – set to take place over the second and third weekends in October – have withdrawn due to complications with the circuit at Goiânia.
With the third round of the 2011 Superleague season fast approaching, bosses at the 2.38-mile circuit have informed the series that the track will not be ready in time.
The planned resurfacing of the circuit has run overtime and with time to find a replacement running short, Superleague took the decision to cancel the Goiânia event. As a venue for the fourth round – to be held the following week – had still to be confirmed, both events have been officially withdrawn.
Robin Webb, Director of Competitions for the Superleague Formula confirmed that:
“…unfortunately time has run out for us to commit to transporting the cars and equipment across the Atlantic. For a European-based operation it is simply too much of a risk to send everything there without being wholly confident Goiânia is ready to hold a race. It’s also unfair on our teams and drivers who have understandably been seeking our assurances on this matter.
I know our colleagues in Brazil are as frustrated as I am but realistically there was no other satisfactory decision we could consider. I want to make it clear however that this has in no way affected the chances of hosting a race next season.”
Following the opening rounds at Assen (Netherlands) and Zolder (Belgium), Team Australia lead the Championship ahead of Team Japan and Team Luxembourg.
The event in Beijing (October 29th – 30th) now becomes Superleague’s third round, with rounds in Shanghai and Seoul to follow. A round in New Zealand is due to end the season in December; however a venue is yet to be confirmed.
© Jakob Ebrey Photography
Some forty-five years after its inception, Ford has once again stepped up with an all-new 2012 specification Formula Ford car at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday.
The car, to be initially introduced in next season’s British Formula Ford Championship, will mark a significant increase in the usage of road car technologies in the formula.
Included in the upgrade is the latest production-based 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine direct injection turbo-charged engine, linked to a 6-speed sequential gearbox, amongst other elements that represent an advance in performance for the category.
Rather than fall into a single-spec category as with many of its rival championships, Formula Ford will retain chassis design and engine build freedom (within reason).
This freedom has, over the years, allowed the development of increased technical standards from teams and drivers – an element many consider essential when guiding young talent behind the wheel, while they learn the fundamentals of car racing.
An important aspect of the design is its compliance to the latest FIA safety standards. With its newly drawn tubular steel frame, the formula opens itself up to new markets previously restricted by differing technical regulations.
Improvements, such as front and rear carbon crash structures, side intrusion panels, FIA specification head restraint system, wheel tethers and an FIA removable seat have been implemented into the new machine making it the first in a single seat racer to comply with the latest, stringent FIA safety standards.
Once the new machine has been successfully bedded into the British and European series’, the formula is to be spread globally, with an eye on still untapped markets.
Alignment with the latest FIA regulations will finally create worldwide parity for this type of formula – especially in emerging territories where compliance to the latest FIA specifications is regularly practiced.
This step may go someway to establishing Formula Ford championships across markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe, where Formula 1 is currently trying to garner a foothold.
With trickles of racers beginning to filter through from territories such as China, Malaysia and Bahrain, the new Formula Ford chassis may be the bridge the creates a more solidified link for emerging talent.
Formula Ford has been a remarkable stepping stone from karts for many top level competitors including Jenson Button and Mark Webber, as well as ex-Formula 1 pilots Emerson Fittipaldi, Jody Scheckter amongst many others.
© Jakob Ebrey Photography
© Jakob Ebrey Photography
© Jakob Ebrey Photography
© Jakob Ebrey Photography
Every so often, when one exists in a bubble – as most people invariably do – it is good to step back and soak up the wider world.
Should one cease to examine the minutiae for a moment, instead choosing to absorb the depth of our surroundings, it would be possible to lose oneself in the scale of beauty.
Sadly, horror too can prevail, rendering even the most supposedly significant details impotent. It is in these times that life’s truly important elements emerge.
Earlier this year, Formula 1 photographer Russell Batchelor lost his eight-year-old son, Ethan, to a very rare condition called Congenital Disorder of the Glycosylation, for which no known cure currently exists.
Following lengthy periods in intensive care with severe physical, visual and medical difficulties, Ethan passed away in April.
For a time, Ethan attended the Castleview School in Stirling, Scotland. Operated by the local authority, Castleview provides education for young children with a need for profound support and additional needs.
Last Friday, a fundraising appeal for the school in honour of Ethan was launched, aimed at raising money to provide his schoolmate’s at Castleview with much-needed equipment.
Culminating in a special auction carrying numerous items from drivers, teams and Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, the Ethan Batchelor Fundraising Appeal runs until next Sunday (September 18th) and the auction can be found at www.castleviewf1.com.
Items up for auction include:
*One-off photo (measuring 36 inches by 29 inches) featuring an image of each of the 2011 field, signed by every driver and Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone;
*Signed Sebastian Vettel fireproof vest (Red Bull Racing);
*Framed McLaren T-Shirt signed by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren);
*Signed Fernando Alonso overalls (Ferrari);
*Mercedes GP T-Shirt signed by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP);
*Signed Nico Rosberg cap (Mercedes GP);
*Rear-wing endplate from Force India signed by Paul di Resta, Adrian Sutil and Nico Rosberg (Force India);
*Fireproof vest signed by Sebastian Buemi (Scuderia Toro Rosso);
*Racing boots signed by Jaime Alguersuari (Scuderia Toro Rosso);
*Williams’ car and picture book signed by Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado (Williams);
*Team Lotus wing mirror signed by Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus);
*Gloves signed by Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT);
*Racing boots signed by Narain Karthikeyan (HRT);
*Signed Dario Franchitti TW Steel watch and box;
*Signed Emerson Fittipaldi TW Steel watch and box.
Do have a good look around the items, for what is a very good cause.
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel claimed his tenth pole of the season and the twenty-fifth of his career following a stunning performance at Monza.
The reigning champion claimed the top spot for the Italian Grand Prix with a last lap run of 1:22.275 – a startling 0.45 of-a-second ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton
Jenson Button was next up in his McLaren taking 3rd spot, with Fernando Alonso (4th, Ferrari) a further 0.1s in arrears.
At a track that many had claimed was Red Bull’s bogey circuit, Vettel’s pace was certainly a frightening prospect. For McLaren and Ferrari, if Red Bull have cracked Monza, it could make for a long afternoon.
Admittedly, it wasn’t all about Red Bull up front. Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber found himself in 5th following a strategy error. Rather than attempt two shorter stints, the Australian opted for a single long stint, rendering Webber unable to garner the best from his machine. Felipe Massa rounded out the top six, with a best just under a second shy of Vettel.
Renault’s Vitaly Petrov was the quickest of the rest. The Russian kept the Mercedes pair (fronted by a rejuvenated Michael Schumacher), while Bruno Senna made the top ten once again, although did not set a time in Q3, opting instead to save tyres for the race.
Paul di Resta only just missed out on Q1 in the dying moments. The Scott was beaten to the final element of qualifying by a determined Senna, rendering the Force India driver a sixth row occupant.
Adrian Sutil made it an all-Force India row six, with both Williams (led by Rubens Barrichello) commandeering the seventh row of the grid. However, Williams rookie Pastor Maldonado can count himself lucky – the Venezuelan crashed at the exit of Parabolica, destroying his front wing, but leaving his suspension and other components unscathed.
Both Sauber’s struggled for balance around the Monza circuit, leaving Sergio Perez 15th and Kamui Kobayashi 17th. The pair sandwiched the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi, who finished his Q2 session early.
Unfortunately for Toro Rosso, Jaime Alguersuari was unable to join Buemi in Q2. “The Squire” found himself dumped out in the first section of qualifying thanks to a late improvement by Barrichello. The early exit does however mean Alguersuari possesses an unused spare set of tyres for the race tomorrow.
Alguersuari had little worry about from behind. With a comfortable gap to his rear, the Spaniard kept both Lotus’ (led by Jarno Trulli) on the tenth row. It was a rare victory for Trulli, who has well and truly been beaten in qualifying this year by Heikki Kovalainen.
Both Virgin Racing drivers found themselves one second shy of Trulli, although Timo Glock (21st) suffered an issue with his DRS, often refusing to close approaching corners. Jerome d’Ambrosio, for once comfortable with the balance of the Virgin, came within two-hundredths of his more experienced teammate.
The HRT F1’s were a further half-second back on the final row of the grid, with Daniel Ricciardo beating Vitantonio Liuzzi in qualifying for the first time.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.275s 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.725s + 0.450 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.777s + 0.502 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.841s + 0.566 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.972s + 0.697 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.188s + 0.913 7. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.530s + 1.255 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.777s + 1.502 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.477s + 2.202 10. Bruno Senna Renault No time Q2 cut-off time: 1m24.157s Gap ** 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.163s + 1.249 12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.209s + 1.295 13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.648s + 1.734 14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.726s + 1.812 15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.845s + 1.931 16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.932s + 2.018 17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.065s + 2.151 Q1 cut-off time: 1m25.164s Gap * 18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.334s + 1.358 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m26.647s + 2.671 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m27.184s + 3.208 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.591s + 3.615 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.609s + 3.633 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m28.054s + 4.078 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m28.231s + 4.255 107% time: 1m29.854s * Gap to quickest in Q1 ** Gap to quickest in Q2
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel led a Red Bull 1-2 following third practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The 24-year-old German elbowed teammate Mark Webber off the top of the standings in the final minutes as teams prepared their cars for qualifying.
Webber, however, came over three-tenths shy of his teammate as the team tried new front wings in the sixty minute running.
The Australian has at times this year struggled for answers against Vettel in qualifying and if this session is anything to go by, he may be looking at the rear of his teammate’s machine once again.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa assumed 3rd just ahead of the McLaren pairing of Lewis Hamilton (4th) and Jenson Button (5th). This was not the brightest of sessions for Button, who admitted struggles with car balance throughout practice.
Mercedes were next on the sheets with Nico Rosberg pipping Michael Schumacher to 6th. Rosberg led for much the session before being usurped by the Red Bull’s (et al); however his silver and turquoise machine still lost over seven-tenths over the course of a lap.
Schumacher (7th) had a more difficult Saturday morning than anticipated. A spin at the opening chicane curtailed one of his runs, but even in clear running, the veteran fell nearly three-tenths shy of Rosberg.
Williams’ poor weekend continued with a KERS failure for Pastor Maldonado (18th), while behind him front wing damage to Jarno Trulli’s Lotus (19th) stopped him from getting to within 1.5 seconds of the Venezuelan.
It was not the best of sessions for Trulli, who raised a smile to camera’s thanks to a newly signed contract with Lotus for 2012.
There were few smiles at either HRT F1 or Virgin – Daniel Ricciardo lost most of the session through multiple mechanical issues, while Timo Glock ran with a malfunctioning DRS.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.170s 18 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.534s + 0.364 19 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.668s + 0.498 14 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.741s + 0.571 17 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.787s + 0.617 16 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.875s + 0.705 22 7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m24.114s + 0.944 20 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m24.133s + 0.963 14 9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.543s + 1.373 21 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.581s + 1.411 22 11. Bruno Senna Renault 1m24.853s + 1.683 20 12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m24.889s + 1.719 19 13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.948s + 1.778 22 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.261s + 2.091 21 15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.319s + 2.149 19 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.426s + 2.256 19 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.439s + 2.269 22 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m25.539s + 2.369 19 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m27.328s + 4.158 19 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m27.491s + 4.321 21 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.186s + 5.016 23 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m28.441s + 5.271 22 23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.962s + 5.792 17 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m30.316s + 7.146 16
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This post was originally published on Grab Bag Sports in December of last year, as part of the VivaF1 blogger swap shop.
“The Shy Champion” reappears here today, as it marks the 50th anniversary of Phil Hill’s World Championship success.
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Always wary, but Phil Hill showed bravery at the Nordschleife.
“The Shy Champion: Phil Hill”
When Wolfgang von Trips found himself involved in a horror crash on the second lap of the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, it once again hoisted Grand Prix motor racing into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A slight error from the German Count saw the red Ferrari bounce politely into Jim Clark’s Lotus-Climax, before clouting the inside barrier and ricocheting violently across the circuit.
The out of control machine became airborne and plunged into the crowd, killing fifteen spectators. In the middle of this melee, von Trips himself was thrown clean of his car, landing fatally upon the Monza tarmac.
This was a black day – not just for Formula 1, but for all motorsport.
It was all the more galling for a Ferrari team on the verge of crowning a new World Champion – as the season drew to a close, von Trips was leading team mate Phil Hill and only needing a podium to claim the crown. In the end, death betrayed the German – with von Trips dead in the circuit’s medical unit and Sir Stirling Moss eleven points adrift of the points lead; Hill became the first American World Champion with one race to spare.
It would be bittersweet – a distraught Hill was to be one of von Trip’s pallbearer’s.
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Sportscar success came first for the American. © John G. Zimmerman
Favourite Aunt’s and Model-T Fords!!
An almost unlikely Champion, Philip Toll Hill Jr was born on April 20th, 1927. A deeply intelligent and introverted Florida native, he initially started out towards a path in music, quickly becoming prodigious as both a pianist and a horn player.
Music was not his only love. The young Hill became enamoured with motorcars, often delving into the magazines and the annuals of the day. All the while, he absorbed the dangers and the romance of competition – the very same perils that would later haunt him during his time behind the wheel.
Hill had already assumed control an Oldsmobile by the age of nine, often driving around the dirt fields of Santa Monica, aided by his Aunt’s chauffeur. These lessons would soon assume an extra depth and three years later, Hill was gifted a Model-T Ford. It would begin a process where he would dissemble the car and put it back together again – just to find out how it worked.
With the passing of his teenage years, a post-war Hill became more embossed in the automobile culture and soon settled into the California Sportscar Club, only to be interrupted by a two-year sojourn in the University of California to study Business Administration. This deed, done more to please his father rather than gain intellectual credits, simply bored Hill and soon the allure of speed pulled him back to his Sportscar roots, where he took to working as a mechanic for a local amateur racer.
Although tinkering with midget car entries soothed his interest temporarily, the 21-year-old was keen to get behind the wheel, soon picking up and MG-TC. Converting the machine to a single-seater, Hill settled into racing very quickly, winning on his racing début at Carrell Speedway.
It would be the beginning of a legacy that would eventually see Hill winning both his first and final races.
As the curtain drew upon the 1940’s, Hill left for England to work as a trainee for Jaguar – it would not be long before the American found himself behind the wheel in a number of sponsored drives.
Instantly recognising his potential, Texan oil tycoon Allen Guiberson placed Hill in one of his Ferrari’s for several entries of the Carrera Panamericana – a popular Mexican road race that ran from the city of Ciudad Juárez towards Texas. The 22-year-old impressed immediately with a 6th place finish on his first outing and would be the beginning of an incredibly successful relationship with the famed Italian marquee.
It also was a time of distinct change for Hill. Having both passed away in 1951, Hill’s parents left him enough money to purchase his own 2.6-litre Ferrari and further success soon followed, where the American began to develop a fresh sense of self-depreciation over time; often crediting wins to his machinery rather than his own skill.
Carlo Chiti’s “sharknose” Ferrari would become iconic.
Anxiety, Horror and Success
Yet, constant anxieties about the dangers of motor racing lingered left Hill suffering from stomach ulcers and in great pain – so much so that he was sidelined for ten months and even then, tranquilisers were a necessity to drive.
Such was the struggle to find a sensible balance between the pleasures and perils of racing; Hill became the cause of his own discomfort.
As he recovered gingerly, sportscars came back into view and with his Ferrari at the ready; Hill had every intention of hitting the track. Indeed, sportscars had become so popular, that in 1953 a World Championship was declared, with Hill contesting two-rounds – the first at Sebring and the next at the Carrera Panamericana.
For the famous Mexican event, drivers were allowed to take riding mechanics along and at Ciudad Juárez, Richie Ginther sat in with Hill. Whereas differential problems ended the Ferrari’s Sebring race early, his run at the Carrera Panamericana was halted by a violent accident, but despite initial reservations, neither Hill nor Ginther would not be deterred from further competition.
Where 1954 brought some further solid results for the American, it was 1955 that things really began to fall into place for Hill – a period that culminated in him being proclaimed as America’s best sportscar driver by Sports Illustrated as the year drew to a close, earning the canny racer a prized front cover appearance.
Yet while he took some of the acclaim with grace and honour, the truth is 1955 was another horror year in motorsport’s history – a horror best represented by the tragic events at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. Hill’s entry – a Ferrari 121LM with Umberto Maglioli – retired after only 76 laps. Just over two hours into the race, the Mercedes of Pierre Levegh ramped over Lee Mackin’s Austin-Healy and plunged into the main stand. It would claim more than 80 lives, including Levegh himself.
As sensitive to the dangers as Hill was, it almost seemed as if he was spurned on, yet remained apprehensive. For many others, each fatality was an invitation to an early retirement and a longer life. While motorsport remained under the microscope, Hill took the SCCA Championship – his first title.
An Italian Renaissance
Ferrari beckoned in 1956 and the Floridian moved to Modena, competing in the Nurburgring 1000kms and Le Mans. Partnering Peter Collins, Hill would have a quiet, but successful 1957, claiming a podium and a win at races in Sweden and Venezuela respectively.
However, whereas the previous two seasons saw Hill complete reasonable campaigns, 1958 would prove to be a year of change for the American. Wins at the Buenos Aires 1000km race and the Sebring 12 Hours set Hill up for his first Le Mans triumph with Olivier Gendebien.
As he crossed the line, he became the first American to win the famed 24 Hour Race, eventually taking it three times – all the while partnered by Belgian sportscar legend, Olivier Gendebien.
Still, being with the bounds of Ferrari was not that easy. Frustrated by not being afforded the opportunity to race in Formula 1, gave Hill the impetus to hire Jo Bonnier’s private Maserati 250F for the French Grand Prix at Reims.
The American, as always, drove a solid race and it was one that eventually changed his career – nine laps in saw Ferrari pilot Luigi Musso crash fatality at the tricky Muizone Curve. Suddenly a place opened up within the red team, but this was never how Hill intended to make his progression.
More disaster was to follow. While Hill made his début for the Prancing Horse at the Nordschleife in a Formula 2, Ferrari’s second driver Phil Collins would perish behind the wheel.
The lead Ferrari, driven by Mike Hawthorn would eventually take the title from Sir Stirling Moss by a single point, while Hill claimed two podiums in the final two events of the year at Monza and Casablanca.
Still in mourning following the deaths of Collins and Musso, the new Champion retired instantly from the sport, only for Hawthorn to be killed in a road accident several weeks later. Ferrari’s tragic 1958 was complete. Four podiums followed in 1959 and 1960, before Hill comfortably won his first Grand Prix in 1960 at Monza in a field made up mainly of Formula 2 machinery.
However the fear was still all too apparent in approach. Before races, he would be very nervous; often spending time chain smoking, chewing gum or constantly cleaning his goggles – the pre-race nervousness became almost compulsive.
With a difficult 1960 out of the way, Ferrari went into the following year buoyant. The introduction of a new formula signalled the dawn of a new period of success for the red cars, as Carlo Chiti’s “sharknose” machines powered their way to six pole positions and five victories in the seven events they contested. Yet, as fast as the new Ferrari’s may well have been fast, their handling was regularly derided its drivers.
Having secured both titles on that ill-fated afternoon in Monza, Ferrari never bothered to show up at the final race of the season – ironically, the United States Grand Prix.
The Falling Star
Sadly for Hill, as the curtains were pulled on 1961, his success flirted away too. The tail end of the year saw the great walkout at Ferrari as many the key personnel and engineers left to form their own team and while the season began reasonably well (three podiums in the opening trio of races), it was fairly clear that Ferrari’s advantage had disappeared. Thereafter, their season deteriorated and Ferrari found themselves routed by their British opponents – particularly BRM and Lotus.
Hill eventually finished 6th in the Championship following two retirements and a poor Italian Grand Prix; while Ferrari withdrew from the French, US and South African Grand Prix altogether!
Eventually Hill left Ferrari for ATS with teammate Giancarlo Baghetti, but by now the success of two years previous was a distant memory. Blighted by unreliability, Hill only managed to see the chequered flag once – ironically at Monza where he took 11th, while Baghetti only managed one 15th place finish, also at Monza.
ATS withdrew from several races during the 1963 season, compounding the frustration, prompting Hill to jump ship to Cooper in 1964. It would be his final season in Formula 1 and although Hill started to reach the chequered flag on a more consistent basis, he only scored a single point for his efforts.
As he crossed the line to finish 9th at the Mexican Grand Prix, Hill waved goodbye to Formula 1 forever.
Later Life
Once Hill left the top flight, he continued to race sporadically in sportscars for Chaparral and with Ford’s GT programme, taking several more victories before hanging up his helmet, including a win at the BOAC 6 Hour Race at Brands Hatch – a victory that ensured Hill was a winner in both his first and last races. Thereafter, many offers poured in to tempt the former-World champion out of retirement, but a wary Hill always politely turned these temptations down.
After two years away from the Ferrari squad, Hill did step back into a single seater, but not to race. With John Frankenheimer direction, Hill stepped in as the driver of the camera car for the 1966 feature film, Grand Prix.
While other drivers of the day appeared as cameos, Hill took to a modified Formula 3 car, as he sped around Monaco, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza on practice days of race weekends. When viewing the film now, it is clear that a true professional is turning the screws of the speedy machine.
Later in life, Hill became a commentator on ABC World Wide of Motorsports, formed a classic car restoration company and also became a regular judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. He would also fill up his time by occasionally writing for Road & Track magazine.
A Champion in more than one sense.
Hill was often sensitive and suffered from an inner turmoil about the dangers motor racing. These feelings instilled a sense of care behind the wheel; while also allowing him to pull the maximum out the machines he had at his disposal.
For a man so pre-occupied by the perils of motorsport, Hill was never once injured during his career. Such was the ease of his driving style, the American rarely suffered accidents or offs and he always left his best for the monster circuits like Monza, Spa-Francorchamps or the Nordschleife, while finding great comfort in difficult conditions, such as heavy rain.
Having being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the turn of the century, Hill retired to a quiet life in Santa Monica, before passing away in August 2008 and the age of 81.
Phil Hill became America’s first World Champion in 1961 and with the 50th anniversary approaching in nine months time, let’s hope it is a anniversary suitably embraced.
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel led the times at the second practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The reigning champion set a best lap of 1:24.010 in the second half of the session, while showing some tame pace during the later long runs.
Vettel pipped McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton by a mere 0.036 of-a-second as qualifying simulations came to a close; however Hamilton was hit by clutch problems late in the running.
Michael Schumacher was again the faster of the two Mercedes pilots, helped somewhat by KERS problems for teammate Nico Rosberg. Rosberg eventually managed twenty-nine laps, although spent his session managing high fuel runs, leaving him 22nd.
Unlike the morning practice, Felipe Massa proved to be the quicker of the Ferrari’s, although he and Fernando Alonso remained close to half-a-second shy of the leading pace.
It wasn’t a stellar session for the Ferrari-powered cars. Both Toro Rosso’s had offs, with Jaime Alguersuari being forced onto the grass at speed by one of the Force India’s.
That paled into comparison with Sebastien Buemi’s adventures – the Swiss pilot ran wide at the Parabolica, resulting in the STR06 hitting the curving barrier hard.
At Sauber, Kamui Kobayashi’s session finished early thanks to a transmission failure, but not before he secured the 9th best time of the session, only one-tenth and one place shy of teammate Sergio Perez.
Balance problems hindered running for the Williams squad with Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado only achieving a best of 15th and 16th respectively.
At HRT F1, Daniel Ricciardo’s day took a turn for the worse – his Cosworth-driven machine completed only seven laps, due to an electrical fault.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m24.010s 37 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.046s + 0.036 21 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m24.347s + 0.337 39 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m24.366s + 0.356 33 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m24.433s + 0.423 31 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m24.468s + 0.458 32 7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.508s + 0.498 30 8. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.097s + 1.087 39 9. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.182s + 1.172 37 10. Bruno Senna Renault 1m25.325s + 1.315 38 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m25.450s + 1.440 31 12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m25.496s + 1.486 39 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.683s + 1.673 37 14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.758s + 1.748 29 15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m26.202s + 2.192 36 16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m26.353s + 2.343 40 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.347s + 4.337 5 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m28.559s + 4.549 32 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m28.605s + 4.595 32 20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.804s + 4.794 25 21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m29.162s + 5.152 34 22. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m29.184s + 5.174 29 23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m29.622s + 5.612 34 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m29.841s + 5.831 7
Monza. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton topped first practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The Briton registered a best of 1:23.865 at the tail end of his morning’s running, some nine-tenths quicker than teammate Jenson Button.
Indeed, Button struggled to find a consistent balance with MP4-26 throughout the session. McLaren would spend much of their time working on rear wing set-up’s, aiming – like everyone – to ascertain the finest low drag solution for the super fast 3.6 mile circuit.
Both Red Bull’s enjoyed longer stints than the McLaren pair, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber ending the session 1.3 and 1.6 seconds shy of Hamilton respectively. The reigning champions arrived at Monza with an upgraded floor, as they battle on a circuit unsuited to the peculiarities of the RB7.
A relatively straight-forward morning for Adrian Sutil saw he Force India man garner 5th on the sheets, albeit 2.6 seconds off of the top spot. Teammate Nico Hulkenberg sat in for Paul di Resta, ending three-tenths and seven places back.
Less than a tenth off of Sutil was Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. The Russian completed twenty laps in his R31 – three fewer than teammate Bruno Senna, who found himself 16th and a further eight-tenths adrift.
Some bodywork and front wing updates were the centre of Ferrari’s focus, helping Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa to 7th and 8th, just ahead of the Ferrari-powered Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso). Alguersuari’s teammate, Sebastien Buemi, suffered a dramatic spin at Ascari – the Swiss pilot managed a best of 1:27.433 during his twenty-five lap practice.
Michael Schumacher led Mercedes’ charge in 11th, despite a spin and a trip through the gravel. The “German squad from England” concentrated mostly on high fuel stints through first practice as they aim to solve some early race issues.
Heikki Kovalainen was, unsurprisingly, the quickest of the new-ish teams, despite only completing ten laps for his Team Lotus squad. The Finn pulled off track mid-session due to gearbox breakage.
Fellow Lotus runner, Karun Chandhok also had a tough session. While sitting in for Jarno Trulli, Chandhok lost a rearview mirror on his outlap, before suffering electronic glitches on his steering wheel. A spin at the opening chicane late-on summed up the Indian’s practice.
Virgin Racing also had a difficult opening ninety minutes – engine problems for Jerome d’Ambrosio and sensor issues for Timo Glock limited running for the pair, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the time sheets.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.865s 18 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.786s + 0.921 19 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m25.231s + 1.366 25 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m25.459s + 1.594 24 5. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m26.550s + 2.685 23 6. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m26.625s + 2.760 20 7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m26.647s + 2.782 20 8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m26.676s + 2.811 24 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.694s + 2.829 28 10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.696s + 2.831 15 11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m26.699s + 2.834 21 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m26.826s + 2.961 21 13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m26.836s + 2.971 25 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.996s + 3.131 29 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m27.365s + 3.500 25 16. Bruno Senna Renault 1m27.385s + 3.520 23 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m27.433s + 3.568 25 18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m27.492s + 3.627 24 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m29.539s + 5.674 10 20. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m30.148s + 6.283 19 21. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m30.609s + 6.744 27 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m30.619s + 6.754 24 23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m31.052s + 7.187 12 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m31.899s + 8.034 22
Rockingham. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
In changeable conditions at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Felipe Nasr claimed the 2011 British Formula 3 Championship with a solid podium finish.
The Brazilian came home 3rd behind race winner Kevin Magnussen and 2nd place man Pietro Fantin, with Nasr ensuring he could not be caught in the points standings.
With two safety car periods lasting six of the twenty-four laps, the final British Formula 3 race was littered somewhat by accidents in the midfield as the drivers battled hard for positions.
For Magnussen, the win – his fifth of the year – lifted the Dane to second in the Championship, ensuring that the battle for British Formula 3 runner-up was still on.
The Carlin pilot led every lap of the forty-minute event, aided by a stellar jump off the line. Starting 3rd, Magnussen slotted behind front-row pair Fantin and Nasr, before forcing his way through to the lead at the second corner.
Finding himself on the outside of the turn exiting Deene, Fantin also feel behind Nasr. Although Magnussen stayed ahead, the Dane never pulled away from his followers, choosing instead to maintain his Volkswagen-powered machine in the slowly drying conditions.
As the circuit dried, Magnussen fell close to the Nasr / Fantin battle, however the Carlin-pilot maintained a small gap over the final tours to take the win and twenty points.
“It didn’t get a lot drier [late on], it seemed quite stable, but obviously it dried up a little bit, so you had to take care of the tyres a little bit.
It was all about trying to find out how much you needed to push. In conditions like this, it is very easy to make a mistake and I knew that Pietro [Fantin] would be pushing as hard as he could, so I tried to hold the gap.”
Nasr, on the other hand, was keenly aware of Fantin’s presence, but even more aware that he only needed a top four place to secure the title today. As the race developed, Fantin pressed upon the tail of the Carlin pilot, eventually securing 2nd spot with a move at Deene on the fifteenth lap.
With 4th place Will Buller several seconds behind, Nasr let Fantin go to chase Magnussen for the lead. Fantin rued his loss at the first turn, but remained happy with the result:
“The start was not too bad, but there was a little wheelspin. At the first corner, I broke too late trying to defend and went wide, but I knew by making no mistakes that I could have positions back. Felipe [Nasr] made a mistake at turn one and I got his position.
I found that it was getting close to slick [tyre conditions], but it was already too late in the race, so there was no point. It was slippery to drive in the wets, so we needed to find the water to keep them cool.”
By far the most pleased man on circuit was new champion, Felipe Nasr.
“It feels awesome, it’s a great feeling. I still have to try to keep winning to keep my name near the top and I will not give up now. In the race, it got slippery and I struggled near the end as my tyres were wearing, so once I saw I couldn’t catch [the leaders], I just finished the race.”
Buller, meanwhile, made the best of another good start. The County Down man jumped from the fifth row, to 5th by the first turn, making that 4th with a move on Jack Harvey six laps in. Harvey lost another spot to Jazeman Jaafar one turn later, as the Briton battled hard to maintain traction of the greasy surface, although Harvey maintained his top-six position to the flag.
It was another solid result for Scott Pye. The Australian jumped from 11th on the grid to 9th – aided, admittedly, by Hywel Lloyd clashing with Menasheh Idafar in the opening corners – a crash that brought out the first safety car. As Double R teammate Pipo Derani also fell off the circuit, Pye gained another spot, before a lap 14 pass on Harry Tincknell secured 7th for the race two winner.
Fortec’s Tincknell took a quiet 8th ahead of recent Rookie Class promotee, Bart Hylkema (T-Sport). Hylkema stole numerous spots from those fell off the circuit; however a mid-race move on the ill Lucas Foresti made sure the Dutch pilot secured his second points paying finish of the year.
Fahmi Ilyas (Fortec) had something of an adventurous race. Having started on the seventh row, the Malaysian pitted on the fourth lap for a new nose; however Ilyas persevered to climb to 10th as others dropped off the times sheet.
Yann Cunha was looking to a potential points finish, when he lost his T-Sport machine at Tarzan on the tenth lap – with his Dallara in an unsafe position, the safety car was recalled for a further three laps, closing the field up once again.
Kotaro Sakurai enjoyed his second Rookie Class win of the season. The Japanese youngster lapped Luca Orlandi on his way to the class victory, eventually finishing 13th overall. Sakurai was happy not just to have won, but to have survived the conditions:
“It was really difficult conditions – absolutely different from before. It was a really greasy track and we stayed on the rain tyres; which is really difficult to control – many cars went off.”
Round nine of the British Formula 3 Series takes place at Donington Park in three weeks time.
2011 British F3 Rnd of Rockingham (Rd 8, Race 3, 24 laps)
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 40m10.018s
2. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW + 0.691s
3. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 4.579s
4. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 8.721s
5. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 9.271s
6. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.077s
7. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc + 17.325s
8. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc + 29.851s
9. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW + 31.270s
10. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc + 33.123s
11. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 33.826s
12. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 47.776s
13. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen + 55.400s
14. Luca Orlandi West-Tec Dallara-Mugen + 1 lap
Retirements:
Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 18 laps
Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 8 laps
Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 5 laps
Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 5 laps
Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 0 laps
Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 0 laps
2011 British F3 Rnd of Rockingham (Rd 8, Race 3)
Pos Driver Point
Championship Class
1. Felipe Nasr 297 C
2. Kevin Magnussen 174
3. William Buller 171
4. Carlos Huertas 166
5. Jazeman Jaafar 159
6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook 144
Rookie Class
1. Kotaro Sakurai 300
2. Bart Hylkema 214
3. Luca Orlandi 45
Rockingham. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Reigning Formula Ford GB Champion, Scott Pye, claimed his maiden British Formula 3 victory this morning.
The Australian dominated the twenty-minute race in very wet conditions to win by over ten seconds from Championship leader Felipe Nasr.
It was just rewards for Pye, who has endured a trying learning curve so far this season.
Prior to this, the Double R pilot had achieved a best of 4th place at Brands Hatch earlier this year. Pye was rightfully pleased with his victory:
“It was all about the start. In the rain there’s a lot of spray, but thankfully Kevin [Magnussen] and I both made similar starts, but mine was a little bit better and I led into turn one. From then on, it was all about controlling the race. The pressure was on, but I know I could get the result. Our pace is very good. I just felt that race came on and I drove at the pace that I was comfortable with.”
Pye had little to worry about from behind, although Nasr was not quite as comfortable. The Brazilian picked up 2nd spot on the fourth tour when fellow Carlin runner, Kevin Magnussen had an off in turn two. Magnussen’s mishap also allowed Jazeman Jaafar through into 3rd.
Despite a constant stream of pressure, Nasr held Jaafar at bay for much of the duration, but as the race aged, Jaafar’s threat began to dissipate, allowing Nasr to secure the runner-up spot. Nasr appeared philosophic about his run:
“[The conditions were] very, very different from yesterday – especially this track, which very slippy compared to others tracks. It was a difficult race, tough to keep the car on the track, but it was good to still finish 2nd and gain those points and make the title possible.
I feel very relaxed. I just need to do the job as I have done and if it is possible to win [race 3], I will try to, but if not, then I would prefer to take the car to the finish for the title.”
The race was not quite as comfortable for Jaafar. As the Malaysian’s tyres fell away, he found himself under pressure from the resurgent Magnussen and the Fortec of William Buller, with Jaafar eventually losing out on the final tour.
As the trio battled through the last turns, Magnussen sliced through the inside of Jaafar at Brook corner taking the final podium position, with Buller grabbing 4th as Jaafar lost traction in the last corner. For Magnussen, it was a case of what could have been:
“It was a shame I went off, I could have challenged for the win had a stayed on track, but that’s if – it’s what you do that counts. So I expected to come back, but it was quite difficult. I had a tough fight with Jazeman [Jaafar], but managed to get through.”
It was a great reward for Buller, who started down in 15th following a questionable penalty after race one yesterday. The Northern Ireland man had meteoric start, jumping from 15th to 7th on the opening lap alone. Moves on Carlos Huertas and Menasheh Idafar gave Buller sight of Magnussen.
Jazeman was left to accept 5th with disappointment.
Carlin’s Carlos Huertas came 6th just ahead of Menasheh Idafar (7th, T-Sport). Huertas fought for the top-six spot early on, passing Idafar on the sixth tour – despite Idafar’s best intentions, the place would not be regained. Pipo Derani (Double R) took 8th with two laps to go from Sino Vision’s Hywel Lloyd, while Rupert Svendsen-Cook closed out the top ten.
It was poor luck for ex-Formula BMW championship runner-up, Jack Harvey – the Briton suffered a poor start to drop from 6th to 15th, before picking up a place in the later laps.
Kotaro Sakurai took the Rookie Class win, having lapped his sole competitor Luca Orlandi.
“It was really tricky. With twenty cars around, the spray was coming from everywhere, so I had to guess where all the braking points were.”
Race 3 gets the green light shortly.
2011 British F3 Round of Rockingham (Rd 8, Race 2) Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 20m19.368s 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 10.217s 3. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 14.592s 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.359s 5. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.765s 6. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 16.229s 7. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW + 17.976s 8. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc + 18.406s 9. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 20.220s 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 23.827s 11. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 25.638s 12. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 28.719s 13. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc + 30.610s 14. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 31.643s 15. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc + 43.699s 16. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW + 46.835s 17. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW + 59.250s 18. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen + 1m13.910s 19. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW + 1m27.725s 20. Luca Orlandi West-Tec Dallara-Mugen + 1 lap 2011 British F3 Standings Pos Driver Points Championship Class 1. Felipe Nasr 274 2. Carlos Huertas 161 3. William Buller 153 4. Kevin Magnussen 148 5. Jazeman Jaafar 144 6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook 143 Rookie Class 1. Kotaro Sakurai 267 2. Bart Hylkeman 214
Rockingham. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Pietro Fantin picked up his first British Formula 3 victory at Rockingham Motor Speedway today.
The 19-year-old picked up the lead on the fourteenth lap when the initial point man, Felipe Nasr, received a drive through penalty for exceeding the track limits at the turn three.
Fantin had started on pole, but bogged down off the line, offering the lead to grateful Nasr.
An early safety car would ensure Nasr did not pull away. While much of the field pulled away safely, T-Sport’s Yann Cunha collided with Fahmi Ilyas (Fortec) in the second turn – an accident that claimed the innocent Kotaro Sakurai (Hitech) – leaving a trio of Dallara’s stranded trackside.
Despite the neutralised field, Carlin’s Kevin Magnussen still managed a brief spin from 4th, dropping the Dane down to 11th as he regained his Volkswagen-powered machine.
When the race restarted on lap 8, Fantin kept the pressure on Nasr until a mistake shortly thereafter, leading to the Brazilian’s penalty.
Once in clear air, Fantin held the lead, despite the best intentions of Rupert Svendsen-Cook (2nd) and Jack Harvey (3rd), with the trio separated by 2.5 seconds to the flag. Post-race, it would be impossible to deny Fantin a smile:
“It is amazing, I’m really happy. At this track since the beginning of the year, we knew we would be quick when we put in some times in pre-season testing, so I knew this was my best chance and I got it.
My start was really good, but as the lights went off, [the clutch] slipped a bit. There was no traction, no revs and I couldn’t get 2nd gear. It’s really hard here to overtake, Rockingham is hard to follow, so you need a good start and for others to make mistakes.”
Svendsen-Cook, too, was pleased:
“I had a really great start and could, but it was very difficult to make progress to the guys in front because of the wind. On a high downforce track like this, it’s difficult to follow closely enough to make an overtake, unless the others make a mistake. That’s four 2nd places in a row and five podiums on the bounce, so we have a really good run of form.”
Harvey, however, had a slightly more straight forward race:
“I started 6th and managed to get quite a good start, moved to 5th straight off the line. Then [Kevin] Magnussen went off, so I gained a place there and then Felipe [Nasr] got a drive through, so the only person I overtook was off the start line. That was how my race went.
It’s been a tough week after Martin [Hines] died. I think things like that do take their toll, so to get a good result like this was the best way to remember him.”
Jazeman Jaafar had a relatively quiet race to 4th. After being passed by Harvey off the line, the Malaysian gained from Nasr’s and Magnussen’s errors.
Carlos Huertas had a slightly more adventurous race. The Colombian swapped positions twice with Double R runner Scott Pye in the opening tours, before settling into a quiet second half of the race.
Next up was Nasr who recovered to 6th after dropping to 8th. The Brazilian fell into a battle with Pye and Fortec pilot William Buller as he exited the pitlane, taking the pair on laps 16 and 19 respectively.
Pye could not hold onto 7th for long, with both Buller and Magnussen taking spots off of the Australian; however Buller, too, would go on to garner a drive through penalty for not respecting the track limits. After not taking the penalty, the County Down man would cross the line 8th, only to lose it later as the stewards added 60 seconds to his race time.
Menasheh Idafar (T-Sport) and Hywel Lloyd (Sino Vision) brought their machinery home 9th and 10th respectively at the flag. Lloyd was especially happy to see the chequered flag, having held Fortec’s Lucas Foresti at the bay for the duration.
Luca Orlandi won the Rookie Class at his first attempt, aided by the retired Sakurai.
2011 British F3 Rnd of Rockingham (Rd 8, Race 1)
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap
1. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 30m37.904s (23 laps)
2. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 1.219s
3. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 2.412s
4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 3.240s
5. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 13.216s
6. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.995s
7. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW + 22.660s
8. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc + 23.390s
9. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW + 25.025s
10. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 25.938s
11. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 26.495s
12. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW + 30.815s
13. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc + 30.961s
14. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 42.438s
15. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1m22.175s *
16. Luca Orlandi West-Tec Dallara-Mugen + 1 lap
Retirements:
Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 4 laps
Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 0 laps
Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 0 laps
Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 0 laps
* 60 second penalty.
2011 British F3 Standings (Rd 8, Race 1)
Pos Driver Points
Championship Class
1. Felipe Nasr 274
2. Carlos Huertas 161
3. William Buller 153
4. Kevin Magnussen 148
5. Jazeman Jaafar 144
6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook 143
Rookie Class
1. Kotaro Sakurai 267
2. Bart Hylkema 214
Rockingham. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Pietro Fantin secured his first poles of the British Formula 3 season on the road course at Rockingham Motor Speedway.
The Brazilian pilot jumped to the top of the time sheets with six minutes remaining in the single qualifying session, registering a best lap of 1:11.794 in his Hitech prepared Dallara.
Fantin will be leading fellow Brazilian – and Championship leader – Felipe Nasr in the opening and close events of the round.
The Carlin driver did not complete the entire thirty-minute session – feeling Fantin’s time was unattainable, Nasr pulled into the pits four minutes prior to the chequered flag.
Kevin Magnussen will lead the second row charge in both races, although the Dane will be partnered in 4th by fellow Carlin driver Jazeman Jaafar at the beginning of tomorrow’s feature race. Jack Harvey lines up 5th for race three, with Rupert Svendsen-Cook alongside.
It was an intriguing battle between the top six throughout the session, regularly swapping places until a final order was resolved.
The sixth and final Carlin runner, Carlos Huertas, will start 7th in both races, just ahead of lead Fortec driver, Harry Tincknell.
Will Buller (Fortec) and Hywel Lloyd (Sino Vision) have the fifth row to themselves, with Scott Pye (11th, Double R), Menasheh Idafar (12th, T-Sport), Pipo Derani (13th, Double R) and Fahmi Ilyas (14th, Fortec) close by.
Recent Championship graduate Bart Hylkema made the best of the conditions and his T-Sport Dallara to assume 15th place, beating off former-championship contender Lucas Foresti (16th, Fortec).
Adderly Fong (17th, Sino Vision) and Yann Cunha (18th, T-Sport) were the last of the championship runners, with rookie class pilots Kotaro Sakurai (Hitech) and Luca Orlandi (Team West-Tec) filling out the final row.
British Formula 3 Rnd of Rockingham (Rnd 8, Race 1) Pos Driver Team Time/gap 1. Pietro Fantin Hitech Volkswagen 1:11.895 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Volkswagen 0.180 3. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Volkswagen 0.228 4. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Volkswagen 0.377 5. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Volkswagen 0.406 6. Jack Harvey Carlin Volkswagen 0.632 7. Carlos Huertas Carlin Volkswagen 0.639 8. Harry Tincknell Fortec Mercedes 0.762 9. Will Buller Fortec Mercedes 0.841 10. Scott Pye Double R Mercedes 0.954 11. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Volkswagen 0.959 12. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Mercedes 0.985 13. Pipo Derani Double R Mercedes 1.001 14. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Mercedes 1.135 15. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Mercedes 1.459 16. Lucas Foresti Fortec Mercedes 1.466 17. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Volkswagen 1.529 18. Yann Cunha T-Sport Volkswagen 1.624 19. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Mugen-Honda 3.049 20. Luca Orlandi Team West-Tec Mugen-Honda 5.136 British Formula 3 Rnd of Rockingham (Rnd 8, Race 3) Pos Driver Team Time/gap 1. Pietro Fantin Hitech Volkswagen 1:11.794 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Volkswagen 0.180 3. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Volkswagen 0.284 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Volkswagen 0.379 5. Jack Harvey Carlin Volkswagen 0.410 6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Volkswagen 0.430 7. Carlos Huertas Carlin Volkswagen 0.597 8. Harry Tincknell Fortec Mercedes 0.679 9. Will Buller Fortec Mercedes 0.729 10. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Mercedes 0.964 11. Scott Pye Double R Mercedes 0.970 12. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Volkswagen 1.036 13. Pipo Derani Double R Mercedes 1.079 14. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Mercedes 1.158 15. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Volkswagen 1.359 16. Lucas Foresti Fortec Mercedes 1.451 17. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Mercedes 1.485 18. Yann Cunha T-Sport Volkswagen 1.626 19. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Mugen-Honda 3.009 20. Luca Orlandi Team West-Tec Mugen-Honda 4.462
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Another stellar performance from Sebastian Vettel gave the Red Bull pilot his seventh victory of the season at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.
Indeed, the Britain-based Austrian team made it difficult for themselves in the run up to event and showed that while the RB7 is still the best car to have, Red Bull are clearly pushing the margins.
Pushing the Limits
Having gone beyond the recommended limits for wheel camber, the squad applied for fresh tyres on the morning of the Grand Prix, only to be denied by the FIA. Whether it truly was the safety risk that Red Bull claimed it was is up for debate, but it still put a spanner in the works for a time.
It would mean either having to alter the camber in Parc Ferme – something that would have relegated them to starting from the pitlane – or alternatively taking a risk with the Pirelli’s as they were.
Alas, the title leaders ran with an extremely short opening stint – Vettel was in on lap 5 following Mark Webber two laps earlier – allowing the pair to enjoy fresh rubber and higher tyre temperatures.
This went some way to securing the big points; however the red and blue cars still had the entire 44-lap distance to cover before they could revel in the taste of victory.
Indeed for Red Bull, the opening tours were dire affairs. A superb start by Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg allowed the German to steal the lead from Vettel on the opening circulation, while a poor getaway by Webber left the Australian lingering down in 8th.
As the field crossed the line at the entire of the opening tour Rosberg led Vettel, the Ferrari pairing of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, Sergio Perez in his Sauber, with Webber tailing the group.
Rosberg’s joy was short-lived – come the 3rd tour, Vettel pulled to the rear of the Mercedes before slicing passed the helpless Mercedes.
Clashes and Bad Days
It wasn’t all clean in the pack though. A trio of clashes saw both Team Lotus’ collide, just after Timo Glock (Virgin) speared Paul di Resta (Force India) and Renault substitute Bruno Senna slid hard into Jamie Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso.
The start proved to be unfortunate for Alguersuari – the only casualty of the smash; the Spaniard’s brittle front suspension destroyed in the melee – however Toro Rosso’s high speed performance signalled that there may be more to come from the Italian squad.
“Going into the hairpin after the start, I was in the middle with Senna on my inside and Fernando on my outside and Senna completely missed his braking point and hit me which pushed me into the path of the Ferrari.”
Toro Rosso’s day would deteriorate further on the fourth tour. A misjudged move by both Perez and Buemi, forcefully disabled the rear wing of the Toro Rosso, before the Swiss driver could really make use of his 6th place.
Within two laps, the stewards called Buemi into the pits – his rear wing section now barely hanging on – whereby the Toro Rosso pulled into the garage, its day done.
“I got a great start, moving up from eleventh on the grid to sixth after the first corner, which was fantastic. Then Perez tried to pass me and simply drove into the back of me, which completed destroyed my rear win… I really can’t understand what he was doing, as I was clearly ahead of him: it was as though he forgot to brake.”
For now, Perez carried on regardless, only to be addressed by the stewards much later in the race.
Aside from the stricken Toro Rosso, di Resta, Glock, Senna and Heikki Kovalainen all suffered front wing damage, while Trulli garnered damage to the underside of his Lotus.
Meanwhile, Senna and Glock would both later pick up drive through penalties for their pleasure.
There was shrapnel damage to both Jenson Button (McLaren) and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. As loose carbon fibre littered the pair at surely lethal speed, the Briton had his right-hand wing mirror ripped off, while Kobayashi suffered a battered front wing – both continued.
Good Starts and Early Rubber
This hindrance to some would prove a help to others, especially Michael Schumacher. The Mercedes man suffered in car failure in qualifying leaving the veteran last on the grip; however a good start mixed with a plentiful sum of carnage gave Schumacher 13th as the field came around for the second lap.
A good start by the Williams of Pastor Maldonado (16th from 21st), gave the Venezuelan early hope of a points score following a trying weekend.
The Red Bull’s were not the only machine to populate the pitlane in the early laps – Button (lap 3), Schumacher (lap 4) and Perez (lap 5) also made use of an off kilter tyre strategy. All would change to the new Pirelli softs (bar Webber, favouring the medium compound), effectively shaping their races’ early on.
Both Ferrari’s followed in on lap 8 (Alonso) and lap 9 (Massa) – both taking softs – following an early on track scuffle between the red pair and Rosberg. Alonso won the brief battle and even took a brief lead while others pitted before him.
There was one battle the Spaniard was never going to win though. With Webber’s tyres already five laps old and snugly warm, the Australian approached the rear of Alonso exiting La Source, before squeezing through the inside of the Ferrari at the bottom of Eau Rouge.
As the road suddenly ripped upwards, the Red Bull emerged just ahead, as the RB7 pulled grip from every conceivable – and inconceivable – angle, allowing Webber to surge ahead.
A stunning move and one that should be a lesson to all though coming through the feeder ranks of the sport. Few, however, may remember Alonso re-passing Webber on the Kemmel Straight one tour later.
The Face of the Race
Whereas a number of the front-runners had by now discarded their worn Pirelli’s, several midfielders held on until just past the one-quarter race distance – including Kobayashi – until their hands became forced. By lap 13, Kobayashi’s softs had long passed their best and as a result, the Japanese pilot found himself being re-taken by recent “pitters”.
One of those was Hamilton. Having gone for a second set of soft tyres on lap ten, the Englishman reeled Kobayashi in swiftly, taking what was then 4th place off the Sauber three laps later – or nearly…
As Hamilton made his move coming out of Eau Rouge, Kobayashi sat under the rear wing of the McLaren – unsighted – as they approached the hard breaking point at Les Combes.
The McLaren pilot, feeling the position had been won, pulled back onto the racing line, only to clumsily clatter the Sauber, pitching Hamilton very hard into the Armco barrier. Hamilton was bemused by the incident:
“I was in a good position and I’d already got past one of the Ferraris, but then I was hit by Kamui. I don’t really know what happened, but I hit the wall pretty hard and my race was immediately over. I was ahead, so I don’t know why I got hit.”
It left the former world champion dazed, but relatively all right, while Kobayashi – already wounded from the first corner melee – received further damage, leaving no option but to pit for a new front wing and soft tyres.
“…I knew perfectly well he was faster than me so had no reason to fight with him. After he overtook me it was not my intention to get my position back, so I stayed on my line and didn’t expect him to move over.”
With Hamilton’s destroyed McLaren trackside – as well as several annihilated polystyrene advertising boards – the safety car was needed, neutralising the race and opening the pit window for the field.
As the pits filled with high-tech racing machinery, Alonso and Webber elected to stay out, taking the lead of the pack, while Vettel, Massa, Rosberg and Adrian Sutil (Force India) sat in wait.
On his climb through the field, Schumacher assumed 9th behind Perez and Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. Button, meanwhile, found himself 11th and in a Williams sandwich with Barrichello ahead and Maldonado just behind.
Making the Best of it
The green flags flew again come the 17th lap, with Vettel instantly dispatching Webber for 2nd before nailing the lead one lap later. The reigning champion was once again in full control, but with a new set of softs fitted, Vettel still had to be careful.
With Alonso keeping one eye on Webber, Vettel worked on extending his lead over the Spaniard, taking it to 3.9 seconds by lap 22 – despite the tyre worries, this Red Bull was showing its wings.
As the laps ticked off, Vettel continued to extend his precious lead – first to 4.7 by lap 25 and then 5.4 two tours later, but the German could feel the inevitable coming. Indeed, the beginnings blistered rubber made themselves apparent – the final laps of this stint would be quite a struggle.
In the pack Rosberg claimed Massa for 4th, Schumacher jumped to 7th ahead of Perez and Petrov, while Button broke into the top ten by demoting Barrichello.
Within a lap, Button had also surpassed the Perez / Petrov battle, before streaming by Schumacher at the bus stop – the McLaren man was putting on a sterling effort. Come the 23rd tour this became 6th as Sutil, too, fell behind the charging McLaren.
Now the 2009 World Champion set his sights on Massa and Rosberg, both of whom were falling toward Button. It would not be long before the inevitable – and quick – fight. Making the most of his soft Pirelli’s, Button latched on the rear of Massa / Rosberg, taking the Ferrari on lap 25 in the bus stop and Rosberg half-a-lap later.
With Webber some eight seconds ahead in 3rd and being caught, one was almost beginning to regret the Briton qualifying so low in the field the previous day.
Of course, worse things could have happened – just ask Sergio Perez. Remembering the Mexican’s collision earlier in the event, the stewards finally decided to address the matter nearly thirty minutes later.
Having examined footage from every conceivable angle (most of which are not available to television), Perez was adjudged to have assaulted Buemi’s rear wing. Just as the race ticked the halfway point, the Sauber man was running in the points, until being informed of an impending drive through penalty.
Having trundled through the pits at a sluggish pace, the rev-limited Ferrari engine ripping severely behind him, Perez fell toward the rear of the midfield, only to drop out of the race completely on the 29th lap with a broken wheel.
“On lap five I was in seventh when Sebastien Buemi changed his line in front of me under braking, I tried to avoid hitting him but couldn’t as I had lost downforce. I later got a drive through penalty.
After that I also made my second pit stop. I had dropped way behind and tried to recover from there. I had just overtaken Bruno Senna when I felt there was something seriously wrong at the back of the car, so I drove it carefully back to the pits and that was it for today.”
Final Throws of the Die
Perez would miss out on the final round of pitstops, led by Alonso (lap 29), with Vettel changing tyres a lap later followed by Webber (lap 31) – all of whom selected the medium tyres.
Both Button and Schumacher held the advantage of taking on the Pirelli softs – as the race entered its final stage the charge was on. Yet while the Mercedes pilot was able to take advantage, Button was about to hit a brick wall.
Having raised tyre pressures to counter excessive camber, both Vettel and Webber hit a sweet spot – so much so that Vettel was able to take the lead from Button before he made his stop.
While it was looking impossible for Button to snatch a win, a podium at least was on the cards, for Alonso was ripe for the taking.
The Ferrari’s had struggled to get heat into the prime tyres all weekend and although two stints on the softs was enough to take Alonso to 2nd spot, the mediums would see the Spaniard drift backward.
It would not be long before both Webber and Button had drafted passed the Ferrari to drop Alonso to 4th spot (on laps 35 and 41 respectively); however the Scuderia may be thankful that the advantage over the Mercedes was more than enough to stop the rot.
Indeed, this proved to be a difficult stint in general for the scarlet red squad. Having stopped for mediums on lap 30, Massa took 7th spot as the field restored its natural order.
Yet even this would go awry for the Brazilian – a puncture two tours later saw the Brazilian back in the pits and down in 11th place.
Indeed, when Massa made his initial stop, Schumacher’s turquoise Mercedes followed in 8th. That became 7th as Massa’s right rear Pirelli ran down and 6th when the veteran took the two-stopping Sutil on the 34th lap.
With teammate Rosberg lean on fuel and struggling to make sense of the medium tyre, the soft-shod Schumacher had pulled to the rear of Rosberg by lap 38.
For what it’s worth, the younger Mercedes man held Schumacher at bay with some magical defending, but Schumacher’s advantage was always going to be too great.
Come lap 42, the pair swapped places as Rosberg relented to Schumacher’s pressure.
Make a, or 25 Point(s)
I am sure had Sebastian Vettel been watching the Mercedes battle, he would have been impressed; however the reigning Champion was busy out front.
A firm lead established over the sister Red Bull, Vettel lifted off in the final couple of tours to ensure the victory – and 25 valuable points, a result that gives the spritely German a 92 point lead over Webber.
Vettel seemed well collected after the race; the early scare now a distant memory.
“I’m very happy; today was a very good race for us, although it was not easy with the tyres. This morning disturbed our normal rhythm, as normally you know what you do when you arrive on Sunday morning, but today we had a lot of discussions, which doesn’t make it easy to keep focused. Before the race, we decided the priority was simply to finish the race today and not think too much about where, so that’s why I am so happy with the result. It couldn’t have been any better.”
Relief drew across Mark Webber’s face. The Australian could have lost so much more following his poor start, but a good drive gave Webber another solid podium.
Indeed the Red Bull veteran can count himself lucky that he didn’t fall further down the order exiting La Source. Yet, as Vettel notches up his seventh win of the 2011 season, Webber has yet to make the top step once and that can only be a great frustration.
“The lights went out and I got anti-stall at the start. We were worried about the tyres going into the race and (…) in the end, the right decisions were made and the team reacted incredibly well and did some good research overnight to work out how we could best get through the race. We picked some people off, but in terms of the result I was after I was frustrated at that point.”
Although 3rd was not the ideal result for McLaren, the team can look on accept that Jenson Button drove a masterful – and aggressive – race; however a win was simply too much to ask. The mistake in the second stint of qualifying was enough to ensure of that. His lowly grid spot also put him in the heart of the turn one melee.
“At the start, somebody hit me at the rear and damaged a rear-wing endplate. At the exit of Turn One, there was debris everywhere, and somebody else’s front wing went through my front wing and sliced my right-side mirror off. The team had a look at the data and saw that the damage was manageable. Then, after that, I drove flat-out to the end of the race. We just need to stop the little mistakes from happening…”
Beyond the Top Three
Fernando Alonso’s 4th keeps the Spaniard within ten points of Webber, while Michael Schumacher’s drive 5th leaves him fourteen points shy of teammate Nico Rosberg who settled for 6th.
Come the flag, two stops worked for Adrian Sutil. After starting on row eight, the Force India driver displayed excellent patience to a 7th place finish out of the bag, although it is questionable if he would have held the spot had the race been a little longer.
Following his puncture, Felipe Massa reclaimed a part of the order on his fresh medium Pirelli’s. Passes on Kamui Kobayashi (lap 34), Paul di Resta (lap 36), Pastor Maldonado (lap 38) and Vitaly Petrov (final lap) gave the Brazilian an 8th place finish, several seconds shy of Sutil.
Petrov, too, made a two-stop strategy work. The Russian spent much of the race loosely hanging around the points paying spots, securing 9th, just ahead of the delighted Venezuelan, Maldonado.
After being denied a 6th place finish in Monaco following an accident with Lewis Hamilton, the Williams pilot finally achieved his first Formula 1 point thanks to a stellar driver from the eleventh row.
…and the Rest
Alas this left di Resta on the outside looking in. The Scot simply did not have enough in the car after his assault by Timo Glock at La Source.
Kobayashi came home 12th, despite being hit in the rear by Rubens Barrichello late in the event, while Bruno Senna climbed back up the order to take 13th spot on his Renault début. For his trouble, Barrichello pitted for a new front wing, dropping to 16th place in the process.
Jarno Trulli (14th) led the Lotus train, not far ahead of teammate Heikki Kovalainen (15th), while Jerome d’Ambrosio claimed 17th ahead of fellow Virgin racer Glock (18th).
Vitantonio Liuzzi was the final finisher, assuming 19th in his HRT-F1 machine. The Italian fared far better than teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who retired on the 13th lap with a mechanical issue.
This now means that with seven races remaining, championship leader Sebastian Vettel only needs to finish 4th in each event to secure the crown.
Even for the most optimistic betting man in the world, those odds are hardly worth putting the house on.
Race Rating: 4.5 out of 5
2011 Belgian Grand Prix (Rd 12, Aug 28th) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h26.44.893 (44 laps) 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 3.741 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.669 4. Alonso Ferrari + 13.022 5. Schumacher Mercedes + 47.464 6. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.674 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 59.713 8. Massa Ferrari + 1m06.076 9. Petrov Renault + 1m11.917 10. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1m17.615 11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1m23.994 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1m31.976 13. Senna Renault + 1m32.985 14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 16. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 19. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap Fastest lap: Webber, 1:49.883 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27 Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13 Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 World Championship standings, Drivers: 1. Vettel 259 2. Webber 167 3. Alonso 157 4. Button 149 5. Hamilton 146 6. Massa 74 7. Rosberg 56 8. Schumacher 42 9. Petrov 34 10. Heidfeld 34 11. Kobayashi 27 12. Sutil 24 13. Buemi 12 14. Alguersuari 10 15. Di Resta 8 16. Perez 8 17. Barrichello 4 18. Maldonado 1 World Championship standings, Constructors: 1. Red Bull-Renault 426 2. McLaren-Mercedes 295 3. Ferrari 231 4. Mercedes 88 5. Renault 68 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35 7. Force India-Mercedes 32 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22 9. Williams-Cosworth 5
Infineon Raceway.
When IndyCar race control penalised Dreyer & Reinbold’s Giorgio Pantano post-race on Sunday evening, the talking point of the day immediately shifted away from the race.
Chief Steward and President of Competition, Brian Barnhart, dropped Pantano from 6th to 17th place after the event for attempting to defend an overtake against Sebastien Bourdais.
That Dreyer & Reinbold team principal, Dennis Reinbold, only discovered the penalty on television twenty minutes after the close of the race made for an even more troubling marker.
Once again, Race Control became the news – and it is a trend that is becoming more and more common place for the beleaguered IndyCar Series.
Indeed, it did not help Barnhart that the race they were overlooking was painfully dull. Sonoma, despite its challenging corners and rolling hills, is simply not suited to the current IndyCar.
The current Dallara’s sluggish mannerisms; awkward nature and high downforce ensure that overtaking at a circuit such as Sonoma or Mid-Ohio is a difficult prospect at the best of times.
As the chequered flag flew, Roger Penske’s lead pilot, Will Power, assumed his fifth victory of the season; adding to his achievement of pole position, fastest lap and most laps led. It was a mesmerising performance from the Australian.
Title rival Dario Franchitti secured 4th spot in his Target Chip Ganassi machine, allowing Power to pull the championship lead down to twenty-six points.
With fellow Penske pilots Helio Castroneves (2nd) and Ryan Briscoe (3rd) rounding out the podium, it would prove to be the best of the days for the Captain. The result ensured it was the first Penske 1-2-3 since the CART Grand Prix of Nazareth Speedway in 1994.
A 5th place finish for Ganassi’s Scott Dixon just about keeps the Kiwi in shouting distance of Power in the points tally.
Where the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma really went wrong was in the scoring of 6th downward.
Following a late race caution – thanks to the crashing Ho-Pin Tung (Dragon Racing) – Dale Coyne road-course racer Bourdais attempted a move on Pantano through the final turn on lap 68; a move expertly halted by the determined Italian.
For Pantano, this was more than defending a position; this was about breathing life into an ailing career. Several unfortunate deals and poor decisions had left the 32-year-old’s racing life hanging on by a thread.
Forays into Superleague in 2009 and a partial Auto GP schedule last year kept Pantano’s name slightly afloat, but this season presented him with nothing until Justin Wilson was injured several weeks ago.
Sadly (and I mean sadly), IndyCar hosts a regulation where it is illegal for a driver to defend a position on a road or street course – they simply have to let an opponent through regardless.
Pantano, by fighting off Bourdais’ advances, fell foul of this regulation, garnering a penalty that dropped him to the rear of the lead pack behind Andretti-Autosport’s Mike Conway –17th place.
In an interview with Versus TV’s Kevin Lee following the event, Pantano appeared dumbfounded and rightly so.
The “no defence” rule goes against everything that is natural to a racing driver and the promotion of seamless passing, as opposed to hard fought overtaking appears lazy at best. That the rule has justified in the name of “safety” smacks of a lack of understanding of the many disciplines that make up the fabric of a racing driver.
One could very easily argue that the “no defence” rule has led to a dip in the standards of road and street course driving in the last twelve months – as recently witnessed during the Honda Grand Prix of Toronto. Even the follow-up event at Edmonton, while not as littered with Toronto’s hapless carnage, still left an awful lot to be desired.
As it stands, IndyCar has taken numerous hits during 2011 and is slowly beginning to resemble the shadow of a former friend – at one point bright and respected, now punch drunk and lost.
In its midst, the mutterings from those once close, tell of patience that has all, but withered. Where once fans were worried, those who worried the most are now struggling to care.
2011 IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma (Rd 13, Aug 28th, 75 laps)
Pos Driver Team Result/Gap
1. Will Power Penske 1h47m29.7619s
2. Helio Castroneves Penske 3.2420s
3. Ryan Briscoe Penske 6.4494s
4. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 7.6540s
5. Scott Dixon Ganassi 14.4755s
6. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne 17.1257s
7. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 17.2713s
8. Graham Rahal Ganassi 17.7900s
9. Ernesto Viso KV 21.6276s
10. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 22.1731s
11. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 22.9512s
12. Martin Plowman AFS/Sam Schmidt 24.2602s
13. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 29.7207s
14. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 41.1146s
15. Simon Pagenaud Dreyer & Reinbold 41.7526s
16. Mike Conway Andretti 1m.2912s
17. Giorgio Pantano Dreyer & Reinbold 1m14.2922s
18. Takuma Sato KV + 1 lap
19. James Jakes (Dale Coyne) + 1 lap
20. Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt + 1 lap
21. Danica Patrick Andretti + 1 lap
22. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap
23. JR Hildebrand Panther + 1 lap
24. Marco Andretti Andretti + 1 lap
25. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher + 1 lap
Retirements
Charlie Kimball Ganassi 66 laps
Ho-Pin Tung Sam Schmidt / Dragon 63 laps
Tony Kanaan KV 38 laps
2012 IZOD IndyCar Series (Rd 13)
Pos Driver Points
1. Dario Franchitti 475
2. Will Power 449
3. Scott Dixon 400
4. Oriol Servia 327
5. Ryan Briscoe 312
6. Tony Kanaan 305
7. Marco Andretti 282
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay 281
9. Helio Castroneves 277
10. Graham Rahal 264
11. Takuma Sato 250
12. Danica Patrick 247
© barthylkema.com
Never mind Formula 1 – the summer break truly comes to an end with “Episode 4” of the Parc Ferme Podcast.
In this episode, I’ll be chatting with British Formula 3 racer Bart Hylkema about his promotion from the Rookie Class to the International Division in the Championship.
The 21-year-old comprehensively led Kotaru Sakurai in the Rookie stakes, before deciding to take the plunge prior to the sixth round at Paul Ricard – a move that saw him garner three points on his opening weekend.
Hylkema will be racing with the rest of the British Formula 3 contingent at Rockingham in Northamptonshire this weekend, supporting the British GT Championship. For information and tickets to the weekend’s – and other events, simply check out rockingham.co.uk.
This episode, I will also be taking a quick look at the Formula 3 Euro Series as well as catching up with the latest in World Series by Renault following its visit to Silverstone last weekend.
- Episode 3 — with Alexander Rossi (World Series by Renault) and John Hindhaugh (Radio Le Mans)
- Episode 2 — with Pippa Mann (IZOD IndyCar Series)
- Episode 1 — with Harry Tincknell (British Formula 3)
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel secured his eighth pole position of the season ahead of today’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
A late run in drying conditions was enough to give the reigning Champion a four-tenths advantage over McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
It was a reassuring run for Hamilton who survived an assault from William’s Pastor Maldonado at the end of Q2. As that stint drew to a close, the Venezuelan appeared to deliberately swipe Hamilton on the exit of La Source, earning Maldonado a five place grid penalty.
Mark Webber assumed 3rd on the grid following his final run, although the Australian lost time through the final sector behind Sergio Perez (Sauber).
Felipe Massa once again out-qualified Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso.
Nico Rosberg broke into the top five in his his Mercedes machine, but the real surprise came from Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari, who powered his way to 6th on the grid.
Bruno Senna went some way to silencing his critics with a good effort to 7th place, three places and 1.2 seconds quicker than fellow Renault pilot Vitaly Petrov, while Alonso and Perez took 8th and 9th respectively.
Both Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) and Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) only just missed out on the final portion of qualifying.
Remarkably, Jenson Button could only manage 13th in his McLaren. The Briton was brought in early during the session, only to fall down the order as the track began to dry out.
Rubens Barrichello leads the charge for Williams in 14th place, ahead of Adrian Sutil (15th) who crashed his Force India lightly at the top of Eau Rouge.
A good session for Heikki Kovalainen means he starts 16th for Team Lotus, two spots ahead of veteran teammate Jarno Trulli.
Paul di Resta lost out in Q1. Like Button, the Force India driver was called into the pits with a time that was assumed to be safe, only for the Scot to drop out as the chequered flag flew.
Timo Glock leads an all-Virgin tenth row, ahead of the penalised Maldonado.
Vitantonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo assumed 22nd and 23rd respectively for HRT F1, while a lose wheel ended Michael Schumacher’s qualifying before he had even set a lap.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m48.298s 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.730s + 0.432 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m49.376s + 1.078 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m50.256s + 1.958 5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.552s + 2.254 6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m50.773s + 2.475 7. Bruno Senna Renault 1m51.121s + 2.823 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m51.251s + 2.953 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.374s + 3.076 10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m52.303s + 4.005 Q2 cut-off time: 2m04.625s Gap ** 11. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m04.692s + 1.924 12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m04.757s + 1.989 13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m05.150s + 2.382 14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m07.349s + 4.581 15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m07.777s + 5.009 16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 2m08.354s + 5.586 Q1 cut-off time: 2m07.194s Gap * 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m07.758s + 5.945 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 2m07.773s + 5.960 19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m09.566s + 7.753 20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 2m11.601s + 9.788 21. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 2m08.106s + 5.338 *** 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 2m11.616s + 9.803 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 2m13.077s + 11.264 24. Michael Schumacher Mercedes no time 107% time: 2m10.339s * Gap to quickest in Q1 ** Gap to quickest in Q2 *** 5-place grid penalty
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
As with much of the Friday running, third practice for the Belgian Grand Prix was punctuated by heavy rain showers.
It was not enough to stop Red Bull’s Mark Webber from taking the top spot.
The Australian only completed seven laps in his RB7, but his best of 2:08.988 was more than enough to steal the headlines.
Lewis Hamilton came a close 2nd in his McLaren. The former-Champion stayed in the garage for much of the session, in the end only completing eight circulations of Spa.
The Briton made for a short stint in the dying moments of practice, but such was the conditions on track, it is doubtful much of use was learned.
Both Toro Rosso’s achieved top six status, with Jaime Alguersuari 3rd and Sebastien Buemi 6th. The Ferrari-powered duo squeezed Jenson Button (4th, McLaren) and Sebastian Vettel (5th, Red Bull) respectively.
Nico Rosberg assumed 7th in his Mercedes, despite losing a few minutes of the session due to right front puncture. His teammate, Michael Schumacher, rounded out the top ten.
Ferrari completed very little running, with Felipe Massa setting only a single lap time. Fernando Alonso ran five installation laps, but did not attempt a fast tour.
The mid part of the session saw next to no running, as near monsoon condition prevailed over the circuit.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m08.988s 7 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m09.046s + 0.058s 8 3. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m09.931s + 0.943s 16 4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m10.257s + 1.269s 7 5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m10.402s + 1.414s 9 6. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m10.580s + 1.592s 15 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m10.837s + 1.849s 12 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m11.437s + 2.449s 13 9. Bruno Senna Renault 2m11.664s + 2.676s 14 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m11.667s + 2.679s 10 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m11.874s + 2.886s 13 12. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 2m13.036s + 4.048s 15 13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 2m13.074s + 4.086s 12 14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m13.182s + 4.194s 12 15. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m13.290s + 4.302s 15 16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m13.778s + 4.790s 12 17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 2m14.334s + 5.346s 14 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 2m14.682s + 5.694s 11 19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 2m17.159s + 8.171s 12 20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m18.039s + 9.051s 10 21. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 2m19.001s + 10.013s 12 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 2m19.001s + 10.609s 14 23. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m19.597s + 13.466s 7 24. Fernando Alonso Ferrari no time 5
TheMotorsportArchive.com 