Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Mark Webber topped the second free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix.
In a session where the Australian completed 22 laps, Webber notched up a best lap of 1:50.321 on the soft Pirelli tyres, before a steady fall of rain silenced proceedings.
Webber came away from the practice with 1.469 second advantage over Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, although the reigning Champion’s best came via the slowing, longer-lasting medium compound tyre.
Fernando Alonso came close to placing his Ferrari at the top of the pile, with a time just 0.14 of-a-second shy of the Red Bull.
The Spaniard managed 18 laps over the changeable session, allowing himself to be the first to run on slicks in the early running.
The McLaren’s of Jenson Button (3rd) and Lewis Hamilton (4th) were next up, both of whom only ran nine laps apiece as they struggled to catch dry running.
Williams did not have the best of practices, with Rubens Barrichello found his FW33 shy of a working KERS unit. It did not stop the veteran from being only two-tenths shy of teammate Pastor Maldonado, following a 17 lap stint.
Vitaly Petrov had another tough session in his Renault. The Russian suffered from a pulling steering wheel, limiting him to only 12 laps in the early part of the session.
Petrov rounded out the timesheets – his best lap set at the session beginning in damp conditions – while new teammate Bruno Senna registered the 17th best time, before the rain fell.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m50.321s 22 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m50.461s + 0.140s 18 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.770s + 0.449s 9 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.838s + 0.517s 9 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m51.218s + 0.897s 14 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m51.242s + 0.921s 22 7. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.655s + 1.334s 20 8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m51.725s + 1.404s 17 9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m51.751s + 1.430s 8 10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m51.790s + 1.469s 13 11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m51.922s + 1.601s 22 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m52.750s + 2.429s 20 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m52.780s + 2.459s 25 14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m52.911s + 2.59 s 24 15. Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m53.009s + 2.688s 24 16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m53.156s + 2.835s 17 17. Bruno Senna Renault 1m53.835s + 3.514s 20 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m55.051s + 4.730s 20 19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m55.494s + 5.173s 22 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m56.202s + 5.881s 15 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m56.816s + 6.495s 20 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m57.450s + 7.129s 19 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m57.612s + 7.291s 24 24. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m02.234s + 11.913s 12
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
On the weekend of his 20th anniversary Formula 1 début, Michael Schumacher topped first practice at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.
The Mercedes veteran secured the top of the time sheets with a best of 1:54.355 – just under half-a-second quicker than teammate Nico Rosberg.
It is unlikely that this will be seen as a Mercedes resurgence however.
Within ten minutes of the green flag, rain clods drew in, quickly releasing its contents onto the circuit below. Cool conditions in the region made sure that track would fail to reach optimum conditions during the session.
For McLaren and Williams, the rain was far from ideal. McLaren arrived at the Belgian arena with a heavily updated rear wing and DRS, while also having made modifications to their exhaust system.
Throughout the session, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button ran different rear wings as they attempted to draw a picture of where they were in comparison to Red Bull and Ferrari, but with Button only completing eight laps and Hamilton running only seven, little useful information was gained.
Indeed Hamilton curtailed a run early in the session after narrowly avoiding a big crash at the fast Blanchimont corner. The Englishman chanced upon a river running across the circuit half way around the bend, sending the McLaren in a violent wobble.
Williams brought a somewhat bulbous rear wing design to the Belgian Grand Prix as they fight to bring themselves back up the order.
Again the tricky conditions made it difficult to judge whether the upgrade was worth the effort – something that will hopefully become more apparent in the dry.
Ferrari, too, lost time as they endeavoured to test several upgraded components – the damp conditions leaving them little opportunity to form a true picture of their machine at this stage.
It was not a good morning for Renault. The French / Swiss team curtailed Vitaly Petrov’s session early due to power steering issues, but suffered another set back when Bruno Senna backed his R31 into the barrier at Bruxelles.
The Brazilian incurred rear wing and rear suspension damage to his machine, ending his practice thirty minutes early.
Senna was not the only driver to have an off there. Paul di Resta also suffered as he slid helplessly into the same spot, damaging the right rear suspension of his Force India machine.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m54.355s 13 2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m54.829s + 0.474s 15 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 2m02.740s + 8.385s 8 4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2m03.752s + 9.397s 10 5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 2m04.301s + 9.946s 7 6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 2m04.663s + 10.308s 18 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 2m04.728s + 10.373s 10 8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 2m05.391s + 11.036s 12 9. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m06.583s + 12.228s 16 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 2m06.886s + 12.531s 15 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2m07.055s + 12.700s 12 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 2m07.481s + 13.126s 15 13. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 2m08.233s + 13.878s 14 14. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m08.239s + 13.884s 14 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 2m08.918s + 14.563s 10 16. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 2m09.792s + 15.437s 8 17. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2m12.278s + 17.923s 13 18. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 2m12.389s + 18.034s 10 19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 2m12.772s + 18.417s 13 20. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 2m13.058s + 18.703s 8 21. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 2m13.090s + 18.735s 11 22. Vitaly Petrov Renault 2m13.601s + 19.246s 10 23. Bruno Senna Renault 2m14.340s + 19.985s 7 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 2m14.933s + 20.578s 11
Following on from his fabulous post last week about the old British Grand Prix circuit at Aintree, Race of Two World’s Phil Charnock has kindly submitted the first in a number of syndicated posts for The Motorsport Archive.
This week, Phil examines the difficulties faced by a true ground-breaker in NASCAR – Wendell Scott.
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by Phil Charnock.
Wendell Scott at Bristol Motor Speedway. © Bristol Motor Speedway.
At the beginning of March, the NASCAR boys rolled into Las Vegas with every car on the grid proudly carrying a small image to mark a very significant anniversary.
Indeed on March 4th, it was 50 years to the day since Wendell Scott became the first black driver in NASCAR and to this day he remains the only non-white participant to win at the highest level of stock cars.
Half a century of progress later and until the recent Drive for Diversity campaign and its championing of female drivers, the world’s largest spectator sport has seen little but Good Ol’ Boys from the deep South making the running.
As a fan Wendell Scott found himself in the blacks-only areas of the race track, but he didn’t let that kill his passion for speed. He may not have been welcome as a spectator, but as a competitor he eventually found his place as the popular underdog.
Here was a man who served in a segregated army after the war who came home to tackle the whiter-than-white world of motor-racing – a brave soul indeed.
Scott’s credentials were perfect; his father was a skilled mechanic while Wendell himself was a convicted moonshine runner, which is about as NASCAR as it gets.
In a country where he couldn’t sit next to a white man on the bus, it was his encounters with the law that directly led to his dream life as a racing driver.
Wendell’s local track was Danville Speedway, which hadn’t managed to attract the new and popular NASCAR-sanctioned racing, reckoned they needed a new attraction to get bums on seats.
Danville decided that a black driver who could beat the Good Ol’ Boys would be quite an attention-grabber, so they searched the area for talent. But where do you go to find the first brilliant black driver when they weren’t allowed into the best seats in the house, let alone onto the track?
The organisers decided to give the cops a call; after all, they were chasing black kids in cars every week. They told them that the fastest moonshiner in town was a 30 year old called Wendell Scott, so he was invited down to race in the spring of 1952.
Like many of the white-skinned fugitives-turned-racers, Wendell showed up in the same machine he used to outrun the police when running whiskey around the South. His début was booed by some and his trusty car broke down, but after catching the racing bug he carried on and had already won his first race 12 days after his unexpected début.
Many more wins followed and Scott’s popularity rose, but not with everybody. There were still those who booed him in the crowd and NASCAR, to its shame, shunned him for years.
One night he remembered returning in tears from a NASCAR event when he was told by the officials that it was OK to race – but only as a car owner. The pioneering young man was informed he needed a white face in the car to be allowed to continue at the meeting.
A part-time official eventually handed Wendell Scott a license to race in NASCAR in 1953, with Bill France himself even offering the series’ first black driver words of encouragement after initially voicing displeasure at the interloper joining the party.
Things remained tense with some drivers recognising Scott’s talent and attitude as a good thing, others clearly were threatened by it and stooped to running him off the road. But Scott kept his head and eventually made it to the top level of NASCAR stock car racing by 1961.
At the end of this first season of what is now the Sprint Cup, Wendell Scott made history by taking victory on the dirt of Jacksonville. But even this unique achievement was overshadowed as it took days for NASCAR to actually declare him the winner, instead they had tried to claim that second-placed Buddy Baker had taken the spoils.
NASCAR conceded the mistake and announced Wendell Scott as the first African-American winner of stock car racing’s premier series.
This remains the only win for a black driver at the pinnacle of NASCAR, although Scott himself finished a brilliant sixth in the championship in 1966 thanks to consistent finishes. There was to be no repeat victory amongst his amazing 147 top ten finishes, although there was one pole position and a few hard-luck tales to tell.
After retiring from racing in 1973 Wendell eventually succumbed to cancer age 69. We’ve never seen another black stock car driver reach such heights again – indeed, the only black driver to go significantly further in motorsports anywhere is Lewis Hamilton.
It can be a strange experience, but there is absolutely no denying the alteration – growth if you will.
Those under the roof of the World Series by Renault Championship are, with time and experience, becoming less recognisable.
The demeanour stoic, the temperament solidified – this truly is the art of metamorphosis in front of prying eyes.
When one matures under these pressuring glares, the language – both spoken and physical – hardens too.
Barriers arise and the chatter narrows itself to formal, more professionally considered matters. Only when a common, friendly face arrives does the defence lower its shield.
For those unused to these elements, it can all seem quite surreal.
Of course, this is not be completely unexpected. Some of those that inhabit this paddock are only a few short steps from super-stardom – a fact that Daniel Ricciardo is beginning to appreciate.
Others too are becoming more prominent and familiar. Several years ago, a number of these drivers were anonymous faces competing in the lower reaches in front of miniscule numbers.
This weekend at Silverstone saw those figures climb close to 80,000 – a number far higher than is seen at a few of Formula 1’s circuits on race day.
Eventually, for that progress toward the sport’s pinnacle, thoughts of this simple paddock and all of its periphery will become dust to the years and the fans that follow may never get close to them again.
Now, the World Series by Renault category is giving something that most other championships brands would never dream of – paddock access to the competitors and teams and all for the price of a brilliant nothing.
Mainstream news rarely makes a habit of delivering positive motorsport news stories.
Coverage often present bog standard Grand Prix result in thirty seconds or less; unless there is a massive smash or a great controversy, motor racing tends to sit firmly out of the limelight.
Of course, live television broadcasts of feeder or support categories are an absolute rarity, often only gaining light in the most bizarre of circumstances.
However one of the few support championships in the world to garner a solid live TV broadcast package has been the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series.
A backer for the Aussie V8 Supercar Championship, the Aussie Racing Cars acquired a deal that sees a number of its races being shown live on Australia’s Channel 7 station and it was during one of these live showings yesterday that championship manager and competitor Phil Ward turn the show upside down.
At Queensland Raceway, Ward qualified his 1.2 litre Commodore 18th on the grid; however the unhappy Australian powered his way to the front of the pack prior to race start to remonstrate with officials about an oil slick across parts of the track.
It was certainly an unusual way to garner the attention of race control and while it was certainly effective in bringing the situation to light, it was an action that eventually cost the experienced Ward.
Following the race (in which Ward came home 14th), the Australian was withdrawn from the race and stripped of his position as championship manager.
For the sake of confusion, Phil Ward’s assistants the championship managerial team – Brad Ward and James Ward – will continue in their roles, but will be viewing replacements for Phil Ward eventually.
Kyle Clews eventually won the shortened event in his Australec Switchgear Commodore machine.
To mark Viva F1’s Summer Swap Shop, Phil Charnock from Race of Two Worlds has kindly written a piece about the now defunct motor racing circuit at Aintree – a place more famous for actual horses, rather than motorised ones.
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Aintree Circuit (1955).
2011 marked the year that the “Home of British Motor Racing” finally stepped into the 21st century with the opening of the impressive and imposing Silverstone Wing.
Britain has the Grand Prix venue it deserves at last, one that even Bernie will find it hard to pick holes in.
England may have boasted the world’s original permanent racing facility and Silverstone itself was the scene of the very first round of the Formula One World Championship but we have long been outshone by Asia and the US when it comes to the complete picture of what a racetrack can be.
Humble Beginnings
Back when Silverstone kicked off Formula One, the track was hardly the most attractive patch of green and grey that the racers or the viewing public had been treated to; Monte Carlo or Monza it was not.
This deserted airfield lacked the fortuitous topography of Brands Hatch, the stately magnificence of Goodwood or the tree-lined avenues of Oulton Park.
Silverstone has unquestionably grown into something rather more special since, although at the time it was quite an unlikely place for the world’s most glamorous and sophisticated sport to start its post-war reinvention.
With Brooklands ruined and Donington dormant there was an opening for the role of Britain’s premier circuit. By the 1950s Aintree racecourse was already very well versed in how to stage a major sporting event; punters in their tens of thousands had been entertained here for over a century, a more suitable place for a race was hard to find.
With Liverpool beginning its decline from its position of the world’s number one merchant city many who visited Aintree would stay in nearby sunny Southport instead, mixing the race with a holiday in the tranquil Victorian seaside retreat, Stirling Moss included.
A train line literally neighboured the venue on one side while a major road bordered the other, a great grandstand was already in place and the Aintree name was already familiar to the whole nation. It was all here, the only thing missing was a stretch of tarmac fit for Fangio and friends.
A New Home
The formidable proprietor Mrs Mirabel Topham spearheaded the development of motor racing at Aintree, the Topham family having long been custodians over the course.
For a while the Grand Prix proved to be a boon – 150,000 turned up to enjoy each of its five World Championship Grand Prix held between 1955 and 1962. Plenty of non-championship Formula One events roared around Aintree but the days of suburban Liverpool reverberating to racing engines was not to last.
When they decided to ditch top-line motor racing Aintree proved unable to shake off the lean times of the post-war years, eventually being bought by developers that spent the next decade toying with shutting the whole place down.
Motorsport continued on the Grand Prix circuit until 1982 when a group of errant cars damaged one of the Grand National’s famous fences prompting them to truncate the track, effectively removing it from the motorsport calendar for the sake of a solitary bush.
For years the fences were hastily assembled from gorse bushes trimmed from the pine woods of nearby Formby, it seemed that this pathetic pretence was quite literally the last straw for the owners who could never fulfil the early promise of the pioneering Grand Prix of the Topham days.
I owe Aintree a lot; without the Grand Prix coming to town I may never have happened upon the joys of motorsport. My family have all either been born in or lived in Liverpool at one time or another – my dearly-missed Nan lived more than 60 years of her life within a quarter of a mile from Canal Turn, the cars would have been easily within ear-shot whilst she was gardening.
Indeed it was the sound of the rasping, roaring Mercedes and Alfas that compelled my Dad to attend the famous 1955 Grand Prix at Aintree, “I was on my bike a few miles away and I could hear the sound of racing engines” he tells me today, “I got there, bought my ticket and watched Stirling Moss win the British Grand Prix.” Ah, simpler times.
Thoughts and Memories
Over the following decade my family attended plenty of races at Aintree, none of which were the equine-kind.
So how did it compare to other circuits of the time? “Oulton Park was lovely but you couldn’t see as much of the cars while later in the sixties we moved near to Snetterton which was bleak and featureless,” my parents have visited just about every circuit in England since, “even Silverstone in the 1990s was no better than Aintree in the 1950s from the spectator’s point of view.”
Grandstands towered above the start-finish straight, as the drivers left the throngs behind they skimmed stone walls and passed the fences jumped by the horses.
After the cars slid and slipped through Canal Curve they traversed the Railway Straight where trains would pull up so the passengers could watch the Grand Prix stars from their carriage.
While pushing 160 miles per hour they reached Melling Crossing, a name made famous by the Grand National though the drivers and their mechanical steeds passed through here somewhat faster than the jockeys. It was about the only corner with exposed trees on what was a relatively safe and well designed circuit in a perilous age.
After surviving the right-left flick it was on to the tight Tatts Corner at the end of the three mile lap as they funnelled between concrete walls, the cars back in close proximity of the thousands in the stands who were afforded a view of most of the track if they sat up in the Gods.
The First Time
That first Grand Prix at Aintree in 1955 was a special affair, the kind of race that you know will go down in legend even before the chequered flag falls. Stirling Moss was already a favourite of the faithful and he treated them to a toe-to-toe battle with Juan Manuel Fangio, the acknowledged master of 1950s motor racing.
Their Mercedes machines were head and shoulders above the Italian and British opposition and they duly took command, occasionally swapping the lead between themselves while the other two Silver Arrows of Kling and Taruffi trailed by a minute. After three hours of duelling Moss finally crossed the line to become the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix.
He beat the great Fangio by a scant two-tenths of a second, Moss moving slightly aside out of Tatts to make room for the Argentinian to pass if he could.
Did Fangio gift the win to Moss or did he not have the pace to pass the Englishman even when offered an open door? To this day Sir Stirling does not know, not that it mattered to anybody on that glorious July day.
As Liverpool recovered from the ravages of war it still retained some of the glow of its Victorian glory; a Grand Prix so far up north was the perfect fit. Now the Grand National is about the only major sporting event in the city that doesn’t involve kicking a ball around. The track lives on with occasional sprints on a much-shortened version of the track.
You can also see parts of the Grand Prix track utilised by course cars in pursuit of the horses on Grand National weekend, it is just such a shame that today the horsepower is in units of one rather than hundreds.
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Phil Charnock writes for Race of Two Worlds
1955 British Grand Prix
Quick glances upward do not reveal a sky looking its prettiest.
Amidst battleship grey buildings, a sombre sheet of clouds stretch along a bleak skyline. While no precipitation is imminent, the look above reveals an ominous threat.
It could be so much worse of course. Only last Monday evening, this same skyline was tainted by fires of violence and greed. In a week of sheer madness, we saw some of the worst in people — and the best.
Amongst a thrashed East London (and all other affected parts of the UK), communities gathered together to clean up the mess left behind, undeterred by further threats of rioting, that – thankfully – did not blossom.
The scattered remains of the riots and the rolling twenty-four news was enough to keep my mind off of all things motor racing and also left me shattered by the week’s end.
Thankfully, much of the motorsport world has been on a long deserved holiday of late. Little of note has developed on the European side of things in recent weeks – indeed, beyond Dallara announcing their new for 2012 Formula 3 chassis, life has been relatively quiet.
At Zandvoort, Robert Mehri secured the inaugural FIA Formula 3 International Trophy; however disqualification from the opening race soured the celebrations somewhat. Also at the Dutch circuit, Scott Malvern took another two British Formula Ford race wins, making it twelve victories from fifteen races. Malvern had been on a run of eleven straight wins, before Joey van Splunteren stepped in. Surely now the Briton cannot lose the Formula Ford title honours.
Of course, there have been several happenings of note in the US. At Mid-Ohio last week Scott Dixon took a well deserved IndyCar victory, as the circuit celebrates its 50th anniversary and at the weekend, Ryan Hunter-Reay scored a controversial victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
It was a race that also saw Penske pilot Will Power lose the plot with race control following a late race incident. In a confused mess, Power was one of several drivers that spun in damp conditions on the oval – Power still came away with 5th, leaving him 47 points adrift of the non-finishing Dario Franchitti – with only five rounds remaining, the title game is once again on.
Tony Kanaan, too, went out with a smash – Tomas Scheckter, Marco Andretti and several others; however Kanaan made the matter more spectacular by taking out a portable toilet and landing upside down.
Pippa Mann became another injured member of the IndyCar community at New Hampshire’s 1-mile oval. The Briton spun exiting turn two, missing the SAFER barrier and clouting the concrete hard, sustaining heavy bruising and a nasty concussion in the process. Mann is due to race again for Rahal-Letterman Racing at Kentucky – best wishes to her in her recovery.
Meanwhile, former GP3 competitor Josef Newgarden took his fifth Indy Lights victory to bring him closer to the 2011 crown. The American lapped the entire field in a shocking display of dominance that left all others scratching their heads.
For Newgarden and Malvern, it is simply a matter of time. For others, the struggle continues – and the European season will soon be ready to wake again.
During what has been a tough year so far, Justin Wilson’s 2011 became much worse yesterday evening.
A quick off-circuit trip for the Englishman during free practice resulted in a painful back injury. Leaving the track at turn one at Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, Wilson suffered an anterior compression fracture of the fifth thoracic vertebrae.
The excursion launched Wilson’s Dallara, causing him to come down hard on Mid-Ohio’s short infield, sending a tough shock through his lower back. The Dreyer and Reinbold runner was to be transported to Indianapolis today for further examination.
Wilson will be replaced for this round by the occasional ALMS racer Simon Pagenaud. It will be the Frenchman’s second appearance of the season – Pagenaud replaced Wilson’s teammate Ana Beatriz at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this season after she injured her hand at St Petersberg.
Pagenaud has qualified 18th for this race and will be hoping to better the 8th place finish he managed at Barber.
The F1 and Motorsports Archive wishes Justin all the best and hopes he recovers very soon.
Still catching-up with life, here’s TV notes from last week’s Hungarian GP Qualifying session.
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Hungaroring. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel made it twelve consecutive pole positions for Red Bull at the Hungaroring last Saturday.
The reigning champion powered to the head of qualifying on his second run in Q3, giving himself a 0.163 advantage over McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel’s initial run would have left the 24-year-old 2nd on the grid and nursing poor off-line grip, yet an “on it” final blast around the fourteen-turn course – setting a quickest lap of 1:19.815 – ensured another qualifying top spot for the German.
Unlike Vettel, Hamilton could not improve as the clock wound down, although the Briton’s best was just enough to keep him ahead of teammate Jenson Button.
Felipe Massa filled out the second row in his Ferrari. It was a notable achievement for the Brazilian, out-qualifying team-leader Fernando Alonso by 0.015 thanks to a stellar last moment effort.
Mark Webber filled out the third-row; however the Australian had been handicapped somewhat by a faulty DRS and inconsistent KERS unit.
Mercedes headed the “best-of-the-rest”, with Nico Rosberg claiming 7th and Michael Schumacher 9th. The silver and turquoise pairing squeezed Force India’s Adrian Sutil (8th), while Sauber’s Sergio Perez made the top ten, yet chose not run and save a set of tyres.
Paul di Resta only just missed out on the top ten. The Force India rookie was on target for another Q3 appearance, when bumped by Schumacher in the dying moments.
Vitaly Petrov led the Renault charge by taking 12th – two places and two-tenths ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld. The dark green machines found themselves split by the second Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi (13th), while Rubens Barrichello (15th, Williams) and Jaime Alguersuari (16th, Toro Rosso) assumed the eighth row.
Pastor Maldonado did not attempt a run in Q2, opting to take 17th place and a spare set of Pirelli rubber.
Indeed Maldonado only just made into Q2. The Venezuelan pipped Sebastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso as the clock ticked to zero; however as the chequered flag waved, Buemi’s time was nowhere near good enough to progress.
With Buemi accepting a five-place penalty for offences caused during the German Grand Prix, the Toro Rosso man would have to make do with starting 23rd. The Swiss driver secured a best lap of 1:24.070 – some eight-tenths shy of the cut-off point and only three-tenths clear of Heikki Kovalainen Lotus (18th).
As per usual, Kovalainen’s teammate Jarno Trulli was next up on the timing sheet, with both green and yellow machines some two seconds clear of Timo Glock (20th, Virgin).
A pair of HRT’s followed Glock, headed by veteran Vitantonio Liuzzi, although new boy Daniel Ricciardo continues to run Liuzzi close. Jerome d’Ambrosio was last of the runners, three-hundredths shy of Ricciardo.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m19.815s 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m19.978s + 0.163 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.024s + 0.209 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.350s + 0.535 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m20.365s + 0.550 6. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m20.474s + 0.659 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.098s + 1.283 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s + 1.630 9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.907s + 2.092 10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari No time Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s Gap ** 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s + 1.994 12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m22.284s + 2.022 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.435s + 2.173 14. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m22.470s + 2.208 15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m22.684s + 2.422 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m22.979s + 2.717 17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth No time Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s Gap * 18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m24.362s + 2.784 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m24.534s + 2.956 20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.294s + 4.716 21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m26.323s + 4.745 22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m26.479s + 4.901 23. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.070s + 2.492 *** 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.510s + 4.932 107% time: 1m27.288s * Gap to quickest in Q1 ** Gap to quickest in Q2 *** Five-place grid-penalty
While at the Spa 24 Hours last week, Lara Platman shot some rather fabulous photographs during the night of crews and drivers at work within the pitlane’s tight confines.
Platman’s work – much of which is focused under night’s solemn glare – captures, not just the effort and ethic, but also the exhaustion and the passion of motorsport’s endurance paddock.
That these crews and teams work to such demands for often dim glimpses of the limelight is astonishing; to do it as a group for over 24 hours, punctuated only with occasional naps, impresses even moreso.
For more of Lara Platman’s work, or to visit her blog – which I contributed a piece to on Tuesday – please visit photofeature.co.uk.
© Lara Platman / Photofeature.co.uk
© Lara Platman / Photofeature.co.uk
© Lara Platman / Photofeature.co.uk
© Lara Platman / Photofeature.co.uk
As I was based in Spa-Francorchamps last weekend for the seventh round of the British Formula 3 Series (not forgetting the Spa 24 Hour Race), I completely missed all of the Hungarian Grand Prix coverage.
With a few days off and several large pots of tea to hand, I finally managed to squeeze in the entire GP weekend into a couple of measly evenings.
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Hungaroring. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton proved himself to be quickest in two of the three Free Practice sessions in Hungary.
The 2008 World Champion topped both ninety-minute practices on Friday, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel firing back on Saturday morning.
It was certainly a smooth start for a McLaren squad boasting new aerodynamic and exhaust upgrades, while Vettel actually reverted to an old front wing in an effort to lift himself back to the head of the time sheets.
Indeed Hamilton was the first to find advantage, pipping Vettel in FP1 and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in FP2 (both occasions by just over two-tenths), while Vettel proved quickest by three-tenths over Alonso in FP3.
Alonso was certainly the busiest of the leading trio, notching up 82 laps in the available time, despite missing part of FP1 due to a small fire at the rear of his Ferrari.
Neither Vettel nor Hamilton had such dramas, as the duo registered 72 and 62 laps respectively, although the McLaren driver endured a shorter stint in FP3 due to suspected brake trouble.
Red Bull, worried about numerous set-up problems on Vettel’s RB7, broke the curfew for the first time this year to work on the car during late night hours. Come Saturday, it appeared any outstanding problems had been nailed.
Practice proved to be less rosy for the “other” drivers in the top three outfits. Mark Webber crashed on Friday morning at turn nine, destroying one front wing and damaging several suspension pieces. The Australian claimed 4th place in all three sessions, constantly wavering around four-tenths off the quickest pace.
Felipe Massa (Ferrari) struggled for a quick time during the practices – a factor he laid at the feet of tyre testing; however it is unlikely the Brazilian was helped by several spins and off-track excursions during the running.
McLaren’s Jenson Button continued much set-up and update work for the British team, while mostly hanging around the top five, often three to four tenths adrift.
Mercedes proved to be “best of the rest” for much of practice, although a return of high tyre wear at their rear end worried the silver and turquoise team.
Both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher limply hung around one second off the leading pace – well shy of the front group, but also distant from the chasing few.
Behind Mercedes, the timing screens produced a tense mixed up both, as Renault, Force India and Sauber squabbled just ahead of the Toro Rosso and Williams’ machines.
On Friday morning, Bruno Senna sat in for the under-pressure Nick Heidfeld at Renault, eventually getting to within eight-tenths of teammate Vitaly Petrov. The Russian complained of tyre temperature and floor issues, as the team struggled to find grip around the Hungaroring’s dusty surface.
It was a complaint that also rang true at Sauber, who found great difficulty getting heat into the soft tyres; however there were fewer issues at Force India, as the British squad worked on their Nurburgring updates. It was a sole dim light for a bright day at Sauber – prior to practice, it had been announced that all three drivers (Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez) are to be retained for 2012.
There was still little to choose from the three squads as the chequered flag waved – qualifying would surely see a mishmash of the six drivers.
There is no doubt that Toro Rosso and Williams are not quite in that pack. As the little Italian team continue to close, the great British squad fall further toward the rear and are now surely the weakest of the established teams.
Admittedly, Williams have not been helped by further balance issues at the front end of the FW33, despite several aerodynamic upgrades in recent Grand Prix. Toro Rosso, meanwhile continue to adapt to the design progress that they have made so far this year, although there is now nearly exclusively with Williams.
There was no surprise at the rear of the pack, as Lotus once again trounced the “newer teams”, yet remain a long way short of the main pack.
For this race, Jarno Trulli received his upgraded power steering package, immediately reporting a much better feel from his steering wheel; however the veteran now needs to turn this upgrade into finer results.
The pace of neither Virgin nor Hispania was encouraging, with both squads potentially tiptoeing around the 107% rule come qualifying.
Free Practice 1 Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.350s 19 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.564s + 0.214 24 3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m23.642s + 0.292 29 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.666s + 0.316 12 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.772s + 0.422 20 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m24.115s + 0.765 25 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.250s + 0.900 22 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m24.369s + 1.019 20 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.620s + 1.270 24 10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m25.093s + 1.743 22 11. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.113s + 1.763 21 12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.336s + 1.986 22 13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m25.357s + 2.007 17 14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m25.836s + 2.486 24 15. Bruno Senna Renault 1m25.855s + 2.505 25 16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.890s + 2.540 28 17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.099s + 2.749 36 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m26.124s + 2.774 25 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m26.878s + 3.528 26 20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m27.352s + 4.002 21 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.533s + 5.183 30 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.903s + 5.553 22 23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m29.059s + 5.709 24 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m29.904s + 6.554 26 Free Practice 2 Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.018s 29 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.259s + 0.241 40 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.322s + 0.304 34 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m21.508s + 0.490 35 5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m21.549s + 0.531 31 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.099s + 1.081 40 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.121s + 1.103 36 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.440s + 1.422 36 9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m22.835s + 1.817 40 10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m22.981s + 1.963 37 11. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m23.030s + 2.012 34 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m23.399s + 2.381 37 13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m23.679s + 2.661 34 14. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m23.861s + 2.843 28 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.181s + 3.163 39 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.182s + 3.164 26 17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m24.546s + 3.528 21 18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.878s + 3.860 35 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m24.994s + 3.976 38 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m25.447s + 4.429 39 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.823s + 5.805 33 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.261s + 6.243 28 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m27.730s + 6.712 31 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m28.255s + 7.237 25 Free Practice 3 Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m21.168s 17 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.469s + 0.301s 13 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.639s + 0.471s 14 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m21.645s + 0.477s 18 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.002s + 0.834s 14 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.534s + 1.366s 22 7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.667s + 1.499s 14 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.037s + 1.869s 19 9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.175s + 2.007s 19 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m23.276s + 2.108s 18 11. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m23.281s + 2.113s 13 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m23.375s + 2.207s 18 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m23.626s + 2.458s 25 14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m23.663s + 2.495s 17 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m23.894s + 2.726s 17 16. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m23.966s + 2.798s 18 17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.998s + 2.830s 15 18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.061s + 3.893s 19 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m25.141s + 3.973s 20 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m25.501s + 4.333s 20 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.955s + 5.787s 20 22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m26.991s + 5.823s 19 23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.174s + 6.006s 16 24. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m27.713s + 6.545s 20
Being at Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend kept me busy, but what downtime I did eventually have allowed me kick back and think a bit.
To be frankly honest, not much news from the outside world filtered in – there were other things going on that enjoyed my attention; however one couldn’t help but notice the new UK television deal for Formula 1.
If anything, it took me – and everyone one else it seems – by complete surprise and although I normally appreciate surprises (life is so much more fun when you don’t know what’s going to happen next), this announcement left me dumbfounded.
So from 2012 until the end of 2018, the BBC will get to show half of the races live (choice events no doubt), while showing highlights for the remaining events. Meanwhile, Sky Sports will have coverage for the whole season – reportedly without ad breaks, but only for 2012 – within their usual pay per view package.
Well I am not going to pay it. Firstly, this nonsense about Formula 1 being “free to air” desperately needs to be debunked, for the simple reason, the TV license is a tax that is hardly free.
Indeed, when £145.70 leaves my account every April, I feel dreadfully poor for a time; however this is not the place to get into the pros and cons of the license fee – I am happy to pay, for I actually know where it goes and what it does.
There is no such thing as “free to air” and there never has been – everything comes at a price and on this occasion, Formula 1’s price is simply too high.
(Hint – those that concentrate on how much presenters potentially get paid as a way to criticise the BBC license fee, need to seriously broaden their horizons.)
Yet if I were not to pay the TV license, I would face prosecution from the authorities. Y’see, they don’t like it here if you keep your hands in your pockets for the duration…
However what Formula 1 and Sky are asking me to do is to pay for something for a second time… and I will not do that.
Regardless of the product – whether it be Formula 1 or a packet of biscuits – I will not willingly pay for something twice. Never. I am not – and never have been – that foolish.
Pay per view might be an idea when the audience is not already paying a mandatory fee, but forcing the issues rarely transfers into TV viewing figures. One only has to look at Sky Sports’ dire TV numbers to understand that.
Admittedly I do not have a choice in the matter. Living on the second floor of an unattractive block negates any possibility of my landlord saying yes to a satellite and quite frankly, the hardware necessary is out of my price range.
Numerous folks are saying publicly that they will watch the highlights, rather than give money to Sky; however I only see this giving more traffic to torrent sites and streaming sites.
Formula 1 has made a mistake.
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Prema Powerteam’s Roberto Mehri powered to another British Formula 3 victory yesterday.
The Spaniard led all seventeen laps at Spa-Francorchamps in what mounted to a controlled demonstration run at the front of the field.
At times Mehri was lapping over one second quicker than the rest of the field, such was his dominance in greasy conditions.
Mehri was one of several F3 Euroseries drivers to join the British F3 field this weekend as part of the FIA F3 International Trophy.
One of those that also participated was with the Spaniard was Marcus Wittmann. The German took the runner up spot in the final F3 race of the weekend following a relatively quiet event.
Wittmann spent much of the race with a comfortable advantage over Marko Asmer and later Laurens Vanthoor; however a late race charge by Fortec’s Will Buller cam close to changing the face of the podium.
Come the flag, Wittmann had fallen 23.3 seconds behind Mehri, yet Buller – who had fought his way up from 6th on the first lap to 3rd on the tenth tour, clawed to within three seconds of his Euroseries rival.
Despite a rocky start, it had been quality drive by Buller. Moves passed Carlos Munoz (lap 2), Asmer (lap 6) and Vanthoor (lap 10) brought the Northern Ireland man up to final podium spot, but was out of reach of Wittmann by race finish.
Vanthoor may take a positive note from his eventual 4th place classification. The Belgian started 9th and was 5th by the end of the first tour. Passes on both Buller and Asmer took Vanthoor to as high as 3rd early on, before the resurgent Buller retook the position.
Despite starting 3rd, Asmer fell to 6th by the flag with even Raffaelle Marciello getting by the former British F3 Champion.
Felipe Nasr was the next British F3 runner to take the flag. After a blistering start from 20th, the Championship leader spent much of the race battling hard with and passing Carlin teammates Kevin Magnussen (lap 4), Carlos Huertas (lap 10) and Jack Harvey (lap 16).
Fortec’s Lucas Foresti also lost out in the melee as the group chasing 7th clung together for much of the running.
Magnussen eventually claimed 8th, with Huertas following in 9th position. Harvey rounded out the top ten – the rookie pilot headed the middle group for several laps, but lost a number of positions in the final pair of laps.
Foresti also dropped a number of places in the final laps, ending up 11th and pipping Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) across the line by four-tenths.
A quite brilliant opening three laps helped Daniel Abt to 13th after starting 25th. The German led Rupert Svendsen-Cook (14th, Carlin), Scott Pye (15th, Double R) and Pietro Fantin (16th, Hitech) across the line.
Kotaro Sakurai finished the race to take another Rookie Class win. The Japanese driver fared far better than Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam), Pipo Derani (Double R) and Hannes van Asseldonk (van Amersfoort) – all whom fell off the track and retired at various stages of the race.
Hitech’s Pietro Fantin was later thrown out of the race for hitting Carlos Munoz (Signature) , taking the Spaniard out of the race, while Hywel Lloyd (Sino Vision) slammed T-Sport’s Yann Cunha for spearing him through Fanges on the opening lap.
With only three race weekends remaining, it is now only a matter of time before Felipe Nasr secures the 2011 British F3 title; however focus now shifts to the runner-up spot – a prize that will hotly contested by six drivers.
It may only take a single weekend to change everything.
2011 British F3 Rnd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Race 3)
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap
1. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 38m06.645s
2. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW + 23.298s
3. Will Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 25.355s
4. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW + 27.203s
5. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc + 28.451s
6. Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc + 32.708s
7. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 34.110s
8. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW + 35.399s
9. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 36.663s
10. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 38.405s
11. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 38.881s
12. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 39.279s
13. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW + 47.520s
14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 50.638s
15. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc + 53.164s
16. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1m02.012s
17. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW + 1m11.807s
17. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc + 1m12.811s
19. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW + 1m23.129s
20. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW + 1m26.350s
21. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen + 1m42.373s
22. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 1 lap
Retirements:
DQ. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW + 57.237s
Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW 10 laps
Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc 6 laps
Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 5 laps
Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 1 lap
Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 0 laps
2011 British F3 Rnd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd7, Race 3)
Pos Driver Points
Championship Class
1. Felipe Nasr 267
2. William Buller 153
3. Carlos Huertas 153
4. Kevin Magnussen 144
5. Lucas Foresti 140
6. Jazeman Jaafar 134
7. Rupert Svendsen-Cook 128
8. Jack Harvey 74
9. Harry Tincknell 66
10. Pietro Fantin 64
11. Riki Christodoulou 51
12. Antonio Felix da Costa 51
Rookie Class
1. Kotaro Sakurai 267
2. Bart Hylkema 214
FIA International Trophy
1. Roberto Mehri 118
2. Marco Wittmann 43
3. Daniel Juncadella 39
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
The oft luckless Kevin Magnussen claimed his fourth British Formula 3 win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Dane garnered pole following the qualifying draw after the opening race and used the advantage to its fullest to bag ten points.
It brings Magnussen closer to an increasingly ferocious battle for 2nd in the Championship – a fight that also includes teammates Carlos Huertas, Jazeman Jaafar and Rupert Svendsen-Cook.
Fortec’s Lucas Foresti and William Buller are also preparing themselves to fight for runner-up honours.
A clean start edged Magnussen away from the chasing pack, although the margin was still a somewhat tight 2.6 seconds come the chequered flag.
Svendsen-Cook kept his Carlin stablemate in his sights, but was unable to pressure him into any mistakes. For his pleasure, Svendsen-Cook had International F3 Trophy driver Daniel Juncadella close to him for the duration.
Juncadella great start (from 8th on grid) to jump ahead of svendsen-cook on the opening lap; however the Briton repassed the F3 Euroseries regular to garner the 2nd spot.
Despite this, 3rd overall was enough to give Juncadella victory in the International Trophy class ahead of Hannes van Asseldonk (4th, van Amersfoort) and Signature trio Marco Wittmann (5th), Carlos Munoz (6th) and Laurens Vanthoor (7th).
Juncadella led the Euroseries train covered by just over four seconds, bringing the Spaniard closer to International Trophy leader Roberto Mehri.
Mehri’s fate was taken out of his own hands. The Prema Powerteam driver was hit by Jazeman Jaafar on the opening lap, dropping both down the order. By the end of the race, Mehri had climbed to 15th and Jaafar 16th; however the Malaysian was later excluded from the results.
Van Asseldonk drove a fantastic race to assume his 4th position. The Dutch pilot slowly climbed the order through the British F3 runners, eventually taking Wittmann and Munoz in the late stages.
Both Munoz and Wittmann had somewhat contrasting races, with Munoz dropping to 5th after starting on the second row, while Wittmann climbed to an impressive 6th despite being 11th on the grid.
Vanthoor also had an impressive run. The Belgian raced to 8th after after lining up 17th, before nailing British F3 Series leader, Felipe Nasr, on the penultimate tour.
Nasr did finish to claim 8th (and 3rd in the British F3 class) – a solid result considering the Brazilian started on old tyres.
Invitational pilot Daniel Abt finished 9th ahead of British F3 runner William Buller (10th, Fortec). Buller edged Carlos Huertas (11th, Carlin) out of the points by a mere three-tenths at the line, with F3 rookie Jack Harvey a further 0.311 of-a-second in arrears.
Neither Harry Tincknell nor Fahmi Ilyas finished the race. The Fortec teammates removed themselves from the action on the third lap,
Marko Asmer and Menasheh Idafar also retired from proceedings before halfway, making for a miserable opening day for both pilots.
Kotaro Sakurai again claimed a Rookie Class win.
2011 British F3 Rd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Race 2)
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap
1. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 18m12.965s (8 laps)
2. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 2.614s
3. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc + 3.369s
4. Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW + 4.245s
5. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW + 6.118s
6. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW + 7.143s
7. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW + 7.862s
8. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 8.485s
9. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW + 13.043s
10. Will Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 14.563s
11. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 14.866s
12. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.177s
13. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 17.934s
14. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW + 18.811s
15. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc + 19.964s
16. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc + 26.246s
17. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc + 28.423s
18. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 28.757s
19. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW + 29.939s
20. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 31.981s
21. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc + 33.185s
22. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW + 39.149s
23. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen + 50.402s
Retirements:
DQ. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 24.116s
Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 5 laps
Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 4 laps
Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc 2 laps
Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 2 laps
2011 British F3 Rd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Race 2)
Pos Driver Points
Championship standings
1 Felipe Nasr 251
2 Carlos Huertas 143
3 Lucas Foresti 134
4 William Buller 133
5 Kevin Magnussen 132
6 Jazeman Jaafar 130
Rookie class
1 Kotaro Sakurai 246
2 Bart Hylkema 214
FIA Formula 3 International Trophy
1 Roberto Merhi 99
2 Daniel Juncadella 72
3 Marcus Wittmann 51
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
A dominant performance by Roberto Mehri was more than enough to give the Spaniard victory in the weekend’s opening British Formula 3 race.
The Prema Powerteam driver launched off the pole spot and into an immediate lead, eventually building a 12 second gap over 2nd place man William Buller (Fortec).
Mehri saw little of what occurred behind him throughout the thirteen laps, such was his dominance at the famed track.
The Spaniard joined British F3 this weekend to compete in the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy. Mehri’s victory extends his lead in the International Trophy considerably ahead of Daniel Juncadella and Daniel Abt.
It also gave Buller his second British F3 class win of the season, lifting the Fortec pilot up the points standings.
Buller, too, enjoyed a great start. The Northern Ireland shot off his 3rd on the grid spot, pipping teammate Lucas Foresti at La Source. Foresti, determined to keep pace with Buller, banged wheels with Signature’s Marco Wittmann, spinning the unfortunate German and damaging Foresti.
Wittmann fell down the order, recovering to 11th for his troubles. Foresti, meanwhile, lost two places, before progressively falling to 13th come the race finish.
Unlike Mehri, Buller was unable to shake off rearward competition. The Fortec pilot fell under the gaze of Jazeman Jaafar, who pressed his British F3 rival to the flag, separated by only six-tenths as the pair finished.
It was a thoroughly deserved result for Jaafar. The Malaysian started 9th, but a good start twinned with the first corner clash was enough to bring the Carlin man to the forefront.
Another Euroseries invitee, Carlos Munoz, assumed 4th just one second shy of Jaafar, while Jack Harvey claimed 5th place, six-tenths shy of Munoz. Both took an ailing Foresti on the opening lap, before commencing their own battle.
Carlin teammates Rupert Svendsen-Cook and Kevin Magnussen battled throughout. Magnussen initially led the pairing, until Svendsen-Cook forced his way through on the seventh lap to garner 6th place ahead of the Dane.
Magnussen refused to give the position lightly, trailing Svendsen-Cook rear wing to the bitter end.
Daniel Juncadella registered an 8th place finish, despite his Prema Powerteam car filling momentarily with fire retardant during the race. Felipe Nasr climbed his way to 9th after starting on the eighth row of the grid. The Brazilian came home three seconds shy of Juncadella, but five ahead of Carlos Huertas.
Kotaro Sakurai took an unchallenged victory in the Rookie Class.
Bart Hylkema (T-Sport) and Raffaelle Marciello (Prema Powerteam) were early retirements, but neither were quite as dramatic as Marko Asmer’s early crash.
The Double R guest pilot smashed his Dallara chassis in the Bus Stop chicane, taking him clean out of the event. Menasheh Idafar withdrew on the ninth tour.
2011 British F3 Rd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Race 1)
Pos Driver Team Car Time/Gap
1. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 29m18.572s
2. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc + 12.846s
3. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW + 13.486s
4. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW + 14.410s
5. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW + 15.005s
6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW + 16.378s
7. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW + 16.912s
8. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc + 22.360s
9. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW + 25.511s
10. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW + 30.999s
11. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW + 32.627s
12. Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW + 32.982s
13. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc + 34.351s
14. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW + 35.452s
15. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 36.017s
16. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc + 37.502s
17. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW + 38.518s
18. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc + 43.275s
19. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW + 45.137s
20. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc + 53.692s
21. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc + 56.479s
22. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc + 56.646s
23. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW + 59.179s
24. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen + 1m16.779s
Retirements:
Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 8 laps
Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc 3 laps
Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 2 laps
Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW 0 laps
2011 British F3 Rd of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 7, Race 1)
Pos Driver Points
Championship Class
1. Felipe Nasr 243
2. Carlos Huertas 137
3. Lucas Foresti 130
4. Jazeman Jaafar 130
5. William Buller 126
6. Kevin Magnussen 122
Rookie Class
1. Kotaro Sakurai 234
2. Bart Hylkema 214
FIA International Trophy
1. Roberto Mehri 93
2. Daniel Juncadella 47
3. Daniel Abt 38
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Qualifying for today’s British Formula 3 race at Spa-Francorchamps was dominated by F3 International Trophy competitors.
Invitational runners – all full time pilots in the F3 Euroseries – notched up the first four places on the grid, with Spain’s Roberto Mehri leading the charge.
The Prema Powerteam driver registered a best lap of 2:17.438 late in the running – a full one second quicker than former British F3 Champion, Marko Asmer.
Signature Motorsport drivers Marco Wittmann and Carlos Munoz filled out the second row, ahead of leading British F3 competitors, William Buller and Lucas Foresti, albeit over 2 seconds shy of pole.
Changeable conditions aided Mehri’s advantage to a degree. Having started in damp conditions, the circuit dried in the final minutes of qualifying, with the Spaniard taking the point as the chequered flag emerged.
It was a dreadful session for British F3 Championship leader Felipe Nasr. The Brazilian placed his Volkswagen-powered Carlin 20th for race three, having notched up an eighth row start for the opening race of the weekend.
Several drivers were caught out by the wet conditions, including Harry Tincknell, who had an off on his second lap and will start last for both races.
A red flag late in qualifying for a spun Menasheh Idafar, also had the effect of shortening the session.
British F3 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Race one grid): Pos Driver Team Car 1. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 2. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 3. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 4. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW 5. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW 6. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 7. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 8. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW 9. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 10. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 11. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 12. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 13. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 14. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc 15. Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 16. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 17. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 18. Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc 19. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 20. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW 21. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW 22. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 23. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 24. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 25. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 26. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 27. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 28. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc *Times for race one grid not available at time of publishing. British F3 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Race three grid): Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 2m17.438s 2. Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc 2m18.502s + 1.064s 3. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW 2m18.800s + 1.362s 4. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW 2m19.289s + 1.851s 5. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m19.692s + 2.254s 6. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m19.993s + 2.555s 7. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 2m20.249s + 2.811s 8. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 2m21.253s + 3.815s 9. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW 2m21.398s + 3.960s 10. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 2m22.582s + 5.144s 11. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 2m22.741s + 5.303s 12. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 2m25.510s + 8.072s 13. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 2m26.398s + 8.960s 14. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m26.889s + 9.451s 15. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 2m27.133s + 9.695s 16. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 2m27.315s + 9.877s 17. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m27.347s + 9.909s 18. Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 2m27.517s + 10.079s 19. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 2m27.767s + 10.329s 20. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 2m28.254s + 10.816s 21. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 2m28.942s + 11.504s 22. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc 2m29.496s + 12.058s 23. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m29.578s + 12.140s 24. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 2m30.009s + 12.571s 25. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW 2m30.229s + 12.791s 26. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 2m33.004s + 15.566s 27. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m36.104s + 18.666s 28. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m38.252s + 20.814s
Spa-Francorchamps © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Kevin Magnussen continued his run of pace during practice for this weekend’s British Formula 3 meeting at Spa-Francorchamps.
Although lacking luck in recent rounds, the Dane has showcased speed on numerous occasions; however several mechanical problems and accidents have marred his results sheet.
The Carlin pilot finished atop of the timesheets yesterday, holding a seven-tenths advantage over teammate Felipe Nasr.
On what started out damp, dried throughout the morning running, with Magnussen’s best of 2:14.299 remaining the quickest lap of the entire day.
Several drivers from the Formula 3 Euroseries will also be taking this weekend as part of the FIA F3 International Trophy.
Indeed F3 Euroseries leader Robert Mehri proved to be the quickest of these, coming just seven-thousandths shy of Nasr in the final timings.
Mehri – along with Raffaele Marciello, Laurens Vanthoor, Carlos Munoz, Marco Wittmann, Hannes van Asseldonk and former British F3 champion Marco Asmer amongst others – will expand the field to twenty-nine cars at Spa.
British F3 regulars Jazeman Jaafar and Carlos Huertas are the sole drivers from the series that also run in the International Trophy.
A rain affected afternoon session slowed times dramatically. Roberto Mehri was quickest by some margin over fellow Invitational drivers Laurens Vanthoor and Hannes van Asseldonk.
Mehri’s quickest tour of 2:40.491 gave the Spaniard a one-and-a-half second advantage over Vanthoor, with van Asseldonk over three seconds adrift of the Spaniard.
Kevin Magnussen headed the British F3 contingent with a best of 2:43.925; however such were dreadful conditions around the famed circuit, the times can be viewed as largely irrelevant.
T-Sport’s Yann Cunha came close to the bottom of the time sheets, summing up both his week and his season thus far. The Brazilian was fined £1,000 and docked 40 points for breaking rules regarding Championship participation earlier this season.
According to Formula 3 regulations, “competitors and teams / entrants registered for the series are free to take part in other F3 race meetings, except at circuits (or part of one) that are listed on the 2011 series calendar.”
Cunha raced a European F3 Open event at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this year.
Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 2m14.299s 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 2m14.942s + 0.643s 3. Roberto Merhi Prema Dallara-Merc 2m14.949s + 0.650s 4. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 2m15.264s + 0.965s 5. Raffaelle Marciello Prema Dallara-Merc 2m15.438s + 1.139s 6. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 2m15.443s + 1.144s 7. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 2m15.517s + 1.218s 8. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 2m15.916s + 1.617s 9. Laurens Vanthoor Signature Dallara-VW 2m15.924s + 1.625s 10. Carlos Munoz Signature Dallara-VW 2m15.938s + 1.639s 11. Marko Asmer Double R Dallara-Merc 2m15.938s + 1.639s 12. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 2m16.016s + 1.717s 13. Marco Wittmann Signature Dallara-VW 2m16.184s + 1.885s 14. Hannes van Asseldonk Van Amersfoort Dallara-VW 2m16.399s + 2.100s 15. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m16.431s + 2.132s 16. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m16.442s + 2.143s 17. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 2m16.776s + 2.477s 18. Daniel Abt Signature Dallara-VW 2m16.915s + 2.616s 19. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m16.992s + 2.693s 20. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 2m17.103s + 2.804s 21. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m17.279s + 2.980s 22. Luis Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 2m17.339s + 3.040s 23. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 2m17.595s + 3.296s 24. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 2m17.604s + 3.305s 25. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 2m17.946s + 3.647s 26. Fahmi Ilyas Forr Dallara-Merc 2m18.457s + 4.158s 27. Daniel Juncadella Prema Dallara-Merc 2m18.615s + 4.316s 28. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 2m19.358s + 5.059s
Nürburgring. © Creative Commons / WIll Pittenger
McLaren ace Lewis Hamilton, won a dramatic German Grand Prix on Sunday at the famed Nurburgring.
It took a mesmeric display behind the wheel from the Englishman as well as a brilliantly executed strategy from his team to take the twenty-five points; however Hamilton had to fight hard for the honours.
A race long battle with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull’s Mark Webber kept the Briton honest throughout – the trio eventually filling out the podium.
In the distance, an off-colour Sebastian Vettel brought his Renault-powered Red Bull home 4th, not far ahead of the under pressure Felipe Massa (Ferrari). However few will remember that – this day belonged to McLaren and Hamilton.
A Stellar Beginning
Having started on the front row, Hamilton jumped into the lead ahead of poleman Webber at the first corner. Vettel also lost out off the line to Alonso; however the 24-year-old repaid Alonso by taking the Spaniard on the following lap, as he offroaded his Ferrari 150° through the second turn.
Behind the leading quartet, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) took 5th from Massa off the line, while a dreadful start by Jenson Button (McLaren) dropped him to 10th behind Adrian Sutil (Force India), Vitaly Petrov (Renault) and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes).
Within a lap, Schumacher had taken Petrov for 8th, leaving the Russian to battle it out with the stranded Briton.
Button was not the only Briton to suffer at the start. Scotland’s Paul di Resta (Force India) was the victim of a bump from behind by Renault’s Nick Heidfeld. The resultant touch spun di Resta around, dropping him from 12th to last.
It would be a battle through the slower machinery for the young Scot – he was 20th by lap four and 17th five laps later, as the competition began to get tougher.
Heidfeld too would lose out early on – only his accident was a far more violent affair. The veteran chanced upon the quick starting Sebastien Buemi on the ninth lap, attempting a move around the outside of the final chicane.
The Toro Rosso man squeezed Heidfeld onto the grass, launching the R31 off the ground, before landing hard minus a front wing.
Heidfeld was not best pleased:
“He blocked the left hand side, as he is allowed to do, but when I went to his right hand side he just moved over on me. He just didn’t give me any room and pushed me on to the grass and after that there was nothing I could do. It’s never nice being up in the air in one of these cars and it could have been dangerous.“
Buemi (naturally) saw the incident rather differently:
“Heidfeld drove into me at the chicane and I got a puncture on my right rear. So I had to pit and change tyres, which compromised our strategy (…) and that was really it. It has been a disappointing weekend in which we cannot be satisfied with our performance, therefore all we can do is look ahead to the Hungarian Grand Prix and at least we don’t have long to wait for that.”
The Swiss pilot’s ensuing tyre change left him trailing around near the rear end for much of the day.
Stops and Wheel Banging
At the front, the crews were readying themselves for the first set of tyre changes, but on track movements continued to alter strategies. Indeed, the gap between the leading four rarely extended beyond four seconds and Hamilton – leading with aplomb – was certainly being kept on his toes by Webber.
Yet while Webber couldn’t force the issue on the McLaren, Alonso made his Ferrari appear large in Vettel’s mirrors, as the Spaniard ducked and dived around the peripheral vision of the Red Bull. It would be soon.
On the eighth lap, the moment came and Alonso dived down the inside of Vettel at the Castrol-S for 3rd place. Suddenly the game had changed.
One tour later and Vettel – cast adrift of the leading trio – planted a wheel on a damp patch approaching turn five and with a snap; Vettel’s RB7 was a spinning mess.
There was some luck in Vettel’s hand – the German held his 4th place, thanks to a squabbling battle between Rosberg and Massa; however the Red Bull had now fallen a further twelve seconds behind Alonso; however Vettel was not alone in error.
Closing in on the tail of Hamilton, Webber pushed the 2008 Champion for the lead. For a time, the McLaren pilot kept his attacker at bay, only to be distracted by an ill-timed call from the pitwall. His concentration broken, Webber ducked to the inside of the final corner snatching the leading – albeit temporarily – from Hamilton; however this was not over yet by any stretch.
The Australian – his straight-line speed hampered by a sluggish exit – slugged it out with Hamilton down start/finish, with the McLaren’s more powerful Mercedes grunt giving him the edge. Now back in the lead, Hamilton’s balance was firmly restored.
There Were Other Fights Too…
Meanwhile, Massa continued to press Rosberg for 5th place, but for all his extra pace, it would not be until the twelfth lap that the Brazilian took the position; although it would require some force from the Ferrari pilot as he playfully banged the Mercedes out of the way.
With Rosberg out of the way, Massa began to pull in the struggling Vettel. As the stops approached, Vettel was under the watchful gaze of the encroaching Ferrari.
Button, too, was fighting against perceived weaker opposition. Having leaned on the Renault for opening stint of the race, the McLaren man finally made his move into the first turn on lap seventeen.
By then, the leading group had already gained a full pitstop on Button. The McLaren driver was not his happiest about the fight:
“I got too much wheelspin away from the line and had to fight my way back from 10th place. I got stuck behind Vitaly [Petrov], who was very difficult to pass because he moved a lot in the braking areas.”
While Massa and Button battled, those ahead were already changing tyres. Webber was first in (lap 14), followed by Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel (lap 16). Massa stayed out for an extra lap, playing the leading car for a single tour – it would prove to be vital.
Webber – turned over quickly by his Red Bull crew – emerged facing the rear wing of Sutil in 6th place. The Australian dispensed with the Force India driver after several corners, but it was enough to hold Webber briefly.
Once in the clear, Webber chased down Vettel / Massa, who were by now busy with their own intense fight. This time, the Ferrari man made quick work of the German – a dive bomb down the inside of Vettel approaching the final chicane gave Massa the position and Vettel the impetuous to pit.
His teammate now vacated, Webber closed in on Massa; however this was no easy fight, despite the Australian’s fresher Pirelli’s – this time, Massa was going to win out… for a lap at least.
Webber was not too disappointed. In spite of Sutil and Massa, the extra two laps offered the Red Bull driver enough extra pace to beat Hamilton and Alonso to the lead. Vettel, for all his trouble, emerged behind the on fire Massa, when the Ferrari stopped.
Massa’s push continued. Overtakes on Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi (lap 20) and Petrov (lap 21) bringing the Brazilian up to 6th behind Webber, Hamilton, Alonso and the yet to stop Sutil and Button.
Falling and Climbing
Where one Brazilian was on it, another came to quiet halt. Starting from 14th, Williams’ Rubens Barrichello jumped to 12th early (even without a KERS unit); however an oil leak curtailed his day on the seventeenth lap.
“We were doing quite well after making a good start and were looking comfortable for a two-stop strategy but then the team came on the radio and called me in with an oil leak. I wanted to continue but the team said there was no way and that was the right decision.”
Vettel, on the other hand, was beginning to make progress once again. On fresh tyres and renewed confidence, the young German sliced by Kobayashi and Petrov (on laps 20 and 22 respectively).
With Sutil stopping on lap 22, Vettel now held 6th, followed closely by a surging pair of Mercedes machines, led by Rosberg. Amidst the overtakes, Kobayashi and Petrov also made the first of their stops, hoping that maybe they might fall into small points by the chequered flag.
Button, too, would make his first stop in lap 25, but his race would not last much longer than that. The Briton had just forced a way passed Rosberg, as “long stinted” up the order, when the hydraulic pressure of his MP-26 dropped.
“I’d just overtaken Nico [Rosberg] for sixth when my power steering started to get heavy. Soon after, we retired the car on safety grounds because we had a hydraulic issue. It was a very disappointing end, but these things sometimes happen in motor racing and you just have to put it behind you and move on.”
It wasn’t all gloom for McLaren. Despite emerging behind Webber after the first stops, neither the silver Hamilton nor the red Alonso allowed the Red Bull pilot to get away.
With every tour, the Australian caught glimpses of his foes in his mirrors and each time around, the pressure grew substantially. After all, this is the same machine in which Vettel has delivered six victories to Webber’s none…
Yet for all the pressure, Hamilton could not pass yet. Webber’s corner-exit pace was just a little too good. Alonso was facing the same problem behind Hamilton.
The Deciding Scrap
Where the status quo held on track, it was finally broken in the pits. Once again, Webber was first in (lap 30); Hamilton followed on the next lap, with Alonso completing the threesome a lap later.
If one were to follow the guide of tyre stops from this year, Webber realistically should have emerged well in the lead, but nothing was going Red Bull’s way today.
A swift stop by McLaren and Hamilton beat Webber out of the pits, only just. As the Red Bull speared into the first corner on already warm tyres, Hamilton fought the Australian hard, shoving Webber aside in the exchange. The first battle had been won in brutal, but efficient style.
Just under one hundred seconds later, Alonso exited the pitlane to face Hamilton in a similar fight, but this was one scrap the Spaniard would lose.
Like Webber, Hamilton hung Alonso out to dry as they banged wheels through turn two – with the inside line and the better pace, Hamilton drove around the outside of the Ferrari to retake the lead.
This time, he would not give it up. From here on in, the race was a controlled event, with Hamilton coyly setting the pace. By lap 34, the lead was 1.7 seconds, extending to three seconds by lap 37. From there, the gap held, there was simply no need to extend it further.
By the time, Hamilton made his final stop for the medium Pirelli’s on lap 51; the top three places had solidified somewhat. The Briton maintained a solid gap through the laps; his tyres wearing in unison with Alonso and Webber – they too, separated themselves by three seconds.
Still wary of the Red Bull, Alonso made his final stop on lap 53, with Webber dipping in three tours later; however the dire pace that was expected of the mediums never transpired and once again, the status quo held.
Battle Won, but What of the War?
As the chequered flag flew at the end of the 60th lap, Lewis Hamilton raised his fist in glory. Following several tough races, it was easy to feel his delight.
“Every win is special – but with all the emotion, effort and energy the team put into today’s victory, this one feels even more special than usual. Coming into this weekend, I said I’d take things one race at a time. So to win today is massively positive for us, but there’s a long way to go and it’ll be about consistency as well as speed from here on in.
I felt the moves I made today were some of the most precise I’ve ever pulled off. Being able to drive with your head as well as your heart, and getting it just right, is massively satisfying. The fight for the world championship will be very, very, very hard now. We’re back in the fight though, and I really hope we can carry this forward and keep the momentum going.”
Fernando Alonso, too, had much to be happy with, even if he didn’t win the Grand Prix:
“I think in the last stint we could not get any closer to Lewis. I think with the medium tyres we were not too quick, so we just controlled the gap with Mark and secured the second place. We struggled a little in quail(fying), being 4th yesterday, but today the car showed great pace, a great degradation of the tyres, so we can keep the pace of the leaders.”
Mark Webber, however, was feeling somewhat off colour having lost a potential first win of the season:
“I’m disappointed not to get the win today. At the end we needed to try and do something a bit different; we led the middle part of the race, but we couldn’t get the tyre range around the pit stops to get the undercut on the second stop. I drove on the limit, but we were not quick enough and that was it. I did pretty much everything I could today – it was very intense racing between the three of us at the front (Lewis, Fernando and Mark), I was pushing to the limit, but there wasn’t much more we could do to challenge for the victory.”
Disappointment and Satisfaction
Felipe Massa was also feeling a touch of disappointment following the race. Having headed Sebastian Vettel into the final stint, the pair pitted together for mediums at the beginning of the final lap, only for the Brazilian to suffer a stuck wheelnut – again – during the vital tyre change.
It gifted Vettel 4th place, with Massa four seconds adrift at the flag – poor reward for what was a stellar job by the Brazilian.
On the other hand, Adrian Sutil was ecstatic with his 6th place finish – a surprise considering the outright pace of his Force India. A well managed two-stop strategy kept the German pilot in 6th – just reward for a good day’s work:
“We had a great car all weekend and everything just went perfectly. The tyres lasted well and we definitely made the right calls with the strategy, which helped me beat Nico [Rosberg] in the final stint. It was actually quite a lonely race for me because I spent most of the time running in clean air so I could really show the potential of the car.”
Nico Rosberg eventually won the Mercedes battle for 7th and 8th, but was helped in part by a spin from Michael Schumacher during the race. The veteran lost fifteen seconds as he went around, yet pulled to within nine seconds of Rosberg at the flag.
Schumacher’s fastest lap was over half-a-second quicker than Rosberg, hinting that if they mistakes were ironed out, Schumacher could potentially topped his younger teammate. Admittedly, much of Rosberg’s pace was lost in battles in the upper echelons of the midfield, including tussles with Kobayashi and Sutil; however neither Mercedes driver will appreciate the simple fact that they were lapped.
Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov rounded out the point scoring positions, with the Sauber man winning the battle to 9th.
Quiet Lives
They beat Sergio Perez (11th, Sauber) and Jaime Alguersuari (12th, Toro Rosso), both of whom had quiet events, while Paul di Resta took a frustrated 13th following his first lap clash with Nick Heidfeld. Perez, too, was in the wars early on – an clash on lap 8 left him requiring a new nose and a reworked strategy.
Pastor Maldonado closed a disappointing day for Williams by coming home 14th, ahead of Sebastien Buemi (15th). After a tough weekend, Buemi was slammed with a five-place grid penalty for the Hungarian Grand Prix thanks to his accident with Heidfeld.
It potentially leaves the Swiss racer with another tough few days in prospect at the hot and dusty Hungaroring.
Heikki Kovalainen came 16th in his Lotus. The Finn held a healthy advantage over the Virgin Racing pairing of Timo Glock (17th) and Jerome d’Ambrosio (18th).
Daniel Ricciardo was the sole HRT F1 finisher in 19th, following the retirement of teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi on lap 44.
Lotus substitute Karun Chandhok was the final classified driver. A tough race for the Indian saw his require a new nose on the ninth lap and spin twice thereafter. He was lapped four times.
Incredibly, Vettel only lost three points from his championship lead, leaving the title hunt in quite a precarious position
Should Hamilton, Alonso, Webber and Massa continue to have good races, the reigning Champion may find himself losing bundles of points at every round. However, with no clear challenger emerging from the pack, Vettel’s lead may just be too large to cut down. Next week sees the paddock go to Hungary – the final race before the summer break.
Race Rating: 5 out of 5
2011 German Grand Prix (Rd 10, July 24th) Pos Driver Team Time 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h37:30.334 (60 laps) 2. Alonso Ferrari + 3.980 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 9.788 4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 47.921 5. Massa Ferrari + 52.252 6. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:26.208 7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 8. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 13. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 18. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 20. Chandhok Lotus-Renault + 4 laps Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:34.587 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 44 Button McLaren-Mercedes 42 Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 23 Heidfeld Renault 10 World Championship standings, Drivers: 1. Vettel 216 2. Webber 139 3. Hamilton 134 4. Alonso 130 5. Button 109 6. Massa 62 7. Rosberg 46 8. Heidfeld 34 9. Schumacher 32 10. Petrov 32 11. Kobayashi 27 12. Sutil 18 13. Alguersuari 9 14. Perez 8 15. Buemi 8 16. Barrichello 4 17. Di Resta 2 World Championship standings, Constructors: 1. Red Bull-Renault 355 2. McLaren-Mercedes 243 3. Ferrari 192 4. Mercedes 78 5. Renault 66 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35 7. Force India-Mercedes 20 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
This coming weekend sees the British Formula 3 Series join up with the Formula 3 International Trophy at the magnificent Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Around twenty-nine drivers are expected to contest the meeting, that marks the seventh round of the British F3 series, while the International Trophy will enter its third weekend of competition.
As well as the regular British F3 field (currently headed by Carlin Motorsport’s Felipe Nasr), up to eight F3 Euroseries regulars will be fighting for honours, including former GP3 ace and International Trophy leader, Roberto Mehri.
Having amassed 68 points from the opening pair of weekends, the Spaniard currently leads his fellow countryman Daniel Juncadella and German pilot Daniel Abt by 33 and 36 points respectively, with Marcus Wittmann a distant 4th in the standings.
Following the races at Spa, two further rounds remain at Zandvoort and Macau, with the original sixth meeting at Korea removed several weeks ago.
British Formula 3 regulars Carlos Huertas and Jazeman Jaafar are also full-time competitors of the International Trophy and are currently placed 8th and 9th in the standings following the first two weekends at the Hockenheimring and Pau. Both have been podium regular during this years British F3 series; however neither has to stand on the top step of the podium at this level.
Returning for this weekend will be Marco Asmer. The Estonian won the British F3 series in 2007, spending one season in GP2, before a lack of funding curtailed his career. A brief spell testing Superleague machinery followed; however Asmer announced his return to motorsport earlier this year with occasional F3 drives.
Asmer will be fielded by Double R Racing in Spa, alongside team regulars Pipo Derani and reigning British Formula Ford Champion, Scott Pye. Fernando Monje will join Pietro Fantin at Hitech Racing, while three F3 Euroseries teams will be fielding their own entries.
As this round makes up part of the International Trophy, Saturday afternoon’s Feature Race will be broadcast live on Motors TV at approximately 11.50am (UK time), with the usual highlights package being shown on channel 4 and Motors TV just over one week later.
2011 British F3 Championship Standings (Rd 6, Race 3) Pos Driver Points Championship Class 1. Felipe Nasr 237 2. Carlos Huertas 133 3. Lucas Foresti 127 4. Jazeman Jaafar 115 5. Kevin Magnussen 113 Rookie Class 1. Bart Hylkema 214 2. Kotaro Sakurai 213 2011 FIA Formula 3 International Trophy (Rd 2) Pos Driver Points 1. Roberto Mehri 237 2. Daniel Juncadella 133 3. Daniel Abt 127 4. Marcus Wittmann 115 5. Carlo Munoz 113
In the quick turn 8 and 9 chicane at the vast Nurburgring circuit in Germany stands the marooned Karun Chandhok.
A difficult weekend for the Indian has seen him lock up and / or spin on numerous occasions as he struggles to get used to brakes that simply won’t get used to him.
Although Chandhok has a team of engineers and mechanics willing him on in the Team Lotus garage, the 27-year-old stands stricken and alone.
For this race weekend only, Chandhok will be replacing Lotus regular Jarno Trulli, yet the need to prove himself, is itself, proving to be difficult, as the harsh reality of Formula 1 continues to press home hard.
With each passing session, the weight of the sport grows and it comes not only from his own team, but also from the attention of those in Delhi.
This October, the lights will go out for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix and Chandhok is expected, not only to be there, but also to be racing. The German Grand Prix is not just a simple race for the Indian – it is also a proving ground to see whether he has what it takes to be India’s first motor racing star.
How fitting that the Renault of Vitaly Petrov – sponsored by bitter rivals Group Lotus – pulls into view, just as Chandhok distances himself from his stranded Team Lotus machine.
The Indian’s position was certainly not helped by the surprisingly low temperatures in the Eiffel region – one would struggle to realise it was late July amidst the cool conditions.
However that is an excuse that will wear thin quickly – the Indian will need to run a great race, but one should not be quick to judge; Chandhok proved in Bahrain last year that he can perform in the toughest of conditions when he ran his Hispania car in qualifying, having not even given it a shake down.
Chandhok starts today’s German Grand Prix from 20th position with a time some eight-tenths slower than teammate Heikki Kovalainen, who starts 18th.
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