© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
In a test day filled with changeable weather, Felipe Nasr topped the time sheets at Brands Hatch ahead of the fourth round of the British Formula 3 series.
The Brazilian secured a best lap of 1:17.847, heading an all-Carlin top six, with Carlos Huertas next up, two-tenths of-a-second off the pace.
Rookie Formula 3 driver, Jack Harvey took 3rd in the session. He will be hoping for more of the same this weekend – the Lincolnshire pilot currently sits 16th in the championship with only 2 points.
Harvey was one of the busier bodies in the morning, clocking up 30 laps – only Fahmi Ilyas (Fortec, 31 laps) and Bart Hylkema (T-Sport, 32 laps) circulated more often.
Jazeman Jaafar (4th), Kevin Magnussen (5th) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook (6th) completed the Carlin rout.
William Buller assumed 7th in his Fortec machine, seven-tenths shy of Nasr. Pietro Fantin (8th, Hitech), Scott Pye (9th, Double-R) and Adderly Fong (10th, Sino Vision) rounded out the top ten.
The day also saw Formula 2 drivers Max Snegirev and Miki Monras make appearances – Snegirev will be replacing Riki Christodoulou for this weekend’s race, while the latter struggles for budget.
Carlos Huertas headed the rain affected afternoon session ahead of Scot Pye (2nd) and Lucas Foresti (3rd, Fortec).
The Colombian’s best lap (1:28.747) was a clear eight-tens quicker than Pye, with the rest of the field more than 1.4 seconds slower.
Wet running made for tough running, with Fantin and T-Sport’s Menasheh Idafar taking to the gravel trap on separate occasions.
As per usual, Bart Hylkema was quickest in the rookie class for both sessions.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m17.847s 2. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m18.072s + 0.225s 3. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m18.410s + 0.563s 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m18.423s + 0.576s 5. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m18.484s + 0.637s 6. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m18.501s + 0.654s 7. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m18.577s + 0.730s 8. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m18.773s + 0.926s 9. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m18.821s + 0.974s 10. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m18.924s + 1.077s 11. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m19.013s + 1.166s 12. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m19.154s + 1.307s 13. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m19.518s + 1.671s 14. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m19.578s + 1.731s 15. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m19.954s + 2.107s 16. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m20.491s + 2.644s 17. Max Snegirev Hitech Dallara-VW 1m20.678s + 2.831s 18. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m21.202s + 3.355s 19. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m21.382s + 3.535s 20. Miki Monras Hitech Dallara-VW 1m21.541s + 3.694s 21. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m25.438s + 7.591s
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Pressure. On occasion, the best know how to deliver it in spades, while sometimes the best can crack under it. The Canadian Grand Prix was no different.
It was a race that could so easily have belonged to Sebastian Vettel, only for McLaren’s Jenson Button to steal it from right under the German’s nose.
But like everyone else, Button had to wait a very long time for it all to happen.
Delaying the Inevitable
Button – starting from the fourth row – didn’t make an instant jump; in fact, no one did. Slight rain had been forecast for the race, but come 1pm in Montreal, it had become a deluge.
With safety in mind, the Grand Prix started under the safety car, neutralising the field from the get go – by the time the safety car had pulled in, four laps had passed.
Vettel – starting from yet another pole – launched away from the pack with only Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) in his mirrors. Alonso’s challenge was shortlived – the Spaniard, frustrated by a lacking Ferrari, fell toward teammate Felipe Massa (3rd).
Behind Massa was Red Bull’s Mark Webber, until a punt in the opening turn from Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) spun the Australian down to 14th.
Hamilton lost out too, falling to 7th behind Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg (4th) and Michael Schumacher (5th).
Button too got in on the action. Having passed the recovering Hamilton to 6th, Button was quickly gobbled up by his fellow McLaren man, only for Hamilton to lose out to Button again following a brief battle with Schumacher at the hairpin.
The silver fight came to a controversial end at the start beginning of the eighth lap. Seeing an opportunity to retake 6th spot, Hamilton closed to the inside of Button on the start / finish straight, only to find the door closed.
The most awkward of glances against the pitlane’s outer wall and Hamilton’s day was done. The 2008 World Champion dragged his car around to turn five, abandoning it as the field streamed by. Safety car.
“I touched Mark’s [Webber] car after he braked a bit early into the first corner. He left me enough room, but I touched the inside kerb and understeered into him.
After I fell back, he [Jenson] outbraked himself into the final chicane and got a poor exit, so I was able to get a good run on him. It felt to me like I was halfway alongside him down the pits straight – but, as he probably hadn’t spotted me, he continued moving across on the racing line. There was no room for me, so I hit the wall.”
Sensing a little change in the air, Button made for the pits for intermediate tyres, leaving him 12th in the pack. That became 15th on the lap 14 – having sped under the safety car start, Button was slapped with drive through penalty.
Meanwhile, with wreckage building up in his mirrors, Vettel drew out a five second lead over Alonso, only to have his advantage disappear. It mattered little – as the green flags flew again (lap 13), Vettel jumped into a solid lead again.
Progress and then… Stop!
A long way behind, both Webber and Button were busy making progress, as the midfielders provided fruitless challenges.
From the lower midpack, Webber carved his way up the order, claiming 9th by the restart and 8th a lap later as he dispatched Vitaly Petrov’s gripless Renault.
One pass on Nick Heidfeld (lap 17) gave Webber another position and that was to become 4th as Alonso and both Mercedes drivers pitted for intermediate tyres on laps 18 and 19.
Already on intermediates, Button was scything through the field. Already 11th by the lap 15, the 2009 World Champion swept by Paul di Resta (lap 18), Petrov (lap 19).
Then the clouds opened once again, turning into a monsoon in a few short seconds. Suddenly on the wrong tyres and the wrong strategy, Button stopped for a set of wet Pirelli’s dropping him back down the order to 11th.
Faced with no visibility, the safety car returned and as luck would have it, Vettel stopped for wets before the pace car could catch him. For the reigning champion, this was more luck and a free pitstop – for the rest of the field, it was just another woe.
Massa, the last of the front runners to pit, slotted back into 3rd place.
Not all were disappointed though – in fact, Sauber seemed happy with the canny hand they had been dealt.
The C30 – famously soft on the Pirelli rubber – gave an opportunity for the Swiss squad to leave Kamui Kobayashi out on his original set of wet tyres, bringing the Japanese runner to 2nd place, while the others scrambled.
Kobayashi’s Sauber teammate, Pedro de la Rosa (9th) applied the same strategy, as did Heidfeld (4th), Petrov (5th), di Resta (6th) and Timo Glock (15th, Virgin).
It worked out even better for the half-dozen. Come the 25th lap, the safety car slowly pulled up at the top of the start / finish straight where red flags were being waved.
The race was stopped. For two hours.
Sliding to a halt, several instantly regretted recent strategy choices – having just changed tyres, Webber (7th), Alonso (8th), Button (10th), Rosberg (11th) and Schumacher (12th) all looked on as those around them availed of new Pirelli’s with no penalty.
Any advantage they may have had vanished – under red flag conditions, all drivers changed to the most appropriate tyres and when the race eventually did recommence, the road ahead was muddled with opposing machinery.
Cars Ahoy
Come 3.50pm in Montreal, it would be Bert Maylander that led the pack around for nine laps in the safety car.
Debates raged from the various pitwall and the as to how long the field needed to be held behind the Mercedes road goer – with the heavy rain now a memory, clear racing lines had developed. This race was ready to go.
That is unless you were Heikki Kovalainen. Having waited out the rain delay, the Finn’s Lotus suffered a driveshaft failure on lap 29 – on a day when a topsy-turvy score was possible; Kovalainen would not be there to claim reward.
Virgin’s Jerome d’Ambrosio on the other hand was just making life difficult for himself. Having pitted under the safety car on lap 34, the Belgian took a drive through penalty for changing to intermediates before the being cleared to do so.
As the green finally flew come the 35th tour, the sun was beginning to show its hand, as Vettel sprinted away from Kobayashi and Massa.
Indeed the track had dried so much, that the field began to stop for intermediates almost immediately after the restart, most notably Button (lap 36) and Alonso (lap 37).
So desperate were the Ferrari team to get Alonso onto the shallower tyre, they queued him up behind Massa in the Ferrari box – it would put the Spaniard just ahead of Button as the order filtered out.
Button, his tyres already up to temperature, needed to be clear of the sluggish Ferrari dived down the inside of Alonso at turn four, only for the door to close as the apex tightened. Inevitably, the pair clashed, leaving Alonso beached on the kerb and out of the race and Button with a puncture.
That should have been it for the McLaren driver as the remaining runners streamed by – yet Alonso’s stranded car brought out another safety car, essentially saving Button’s race by bringing the field together again.
Once again Vettel used the emerging safety car to secure another free pitstop – everything was going the German’s way.
Another stop for Button (his fifth) pinned him to 21st place, yet the McLaren ace’s day was not finished. Not by a long shot.
Tearing Through the Order
The yellow was short (four laps), with the on again at the beginning of the 41st lap – a steaming Button was on it.
Slicing through the backmarkers brought the McLaren driver to 15th by lap 44, then 12th less than two tours later – aided slightly by Sutil receiving a drive through for overtaking under the safety car. Sutil’s day would only get worse – an early switch to slicks saw the Force India man lose grip and clip one of Montreal’s walls. Out!!
Di Resta in the other Force India also gave Button a helping hand – the Scot clouted the rear of Nick Heidfeld, crippling his front wing; an action that would earn di Resta a drive through several laps later.
For a time, Button found himself staring at a battle for 10th between Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) and Pastor Maldonado (Williams), with the Toro Rosso man leading the group.
While they squabbled, Button became decisive, taking both on the 49th tour to bring him into the top ten. One final stop for slick tyres three laps later would prove to be another game changer.
Schumacher was also barging his way back up the order. From 12th at the lap 26 restart, the veteran dragged his Mercedes up to 7th by lap 39 thanks to being the first to (legally) switch to intermediates.
Finding traction in places where others dreamed it existed helped Schumacher pass Webber (lap 42) and Heidfeld (lap 45) to take 4th, once di Resta had also departed.
The Mercedes driver was soon pulled up to the epic Kobayashi / Massa battle for 2nd.
With a large portion of the race, Kobayashi was beginning to struggle on his Pirelli’s and sensing this, Vettel – out front alone – saw no reason to push too hard.
Massa, meanwhile, was giving it all he had, but the Sauber man had him covered all the way – neither, however, gambled on Schumacher’s guile. Come lap 50, Schumacher was nearly three seconds behind the pair. One lap later, he had taken both of them.
Admittedly, it took an error from Kobayashi to pave the way for the seven-time Champion, but opportunities are there to be taken. As Kobayashi held Massa off through the turn 8/9 chicane, both lost traction in the fight – and Schumacher sailed through.
Slick Territory
By now, the rest of field was beginning to pour in for slicks. The biggest beneficiary (other than Button) was Webber.
The Australian lingered around 6th place for much of the second race in a Renault sandwich (behind Heidfeld and ahead of Petrov) – his KERS-limited Red Bull simply lacked traction out of the necessary corners to make daring moves.
Having changed two-three laps earlier than Kobayashi, Massa and Heidfeld was all Webber needed to assume 3rd just behind Schumacher – soon a new battle was to unfold.
The Red Bull would face the same issues as before – Schumacher, with his superior traction, kept Webber firmly in his silver mirrors.
Massa, meanwhile, took himself out of the equation four corners after his move to slicks.
Attempting to lap Narain Karthikeyan’s Hispania, the Brazilian dipped onto the still wet off-line, pitching his Ferrari into the barrier. Another change for a new front wing would see Massa fall to 12th.
On the other hand, Vettel took a nice, easy stop; changing tyres one last time, as the field fumbled and fought over each other behind him.
Surely, this was another victory for the reigning champion…
Yet Button continued to advance and like Webber, the McLaren ace also jumped several cars at the final stop – so many in fact that once the order settled, Button was 6th and chasing Heidfeld (5th) and Kobayashi (4th); now some 20 seconds adrift of Vettel.
Whereas Button was clearly on top of his McLaren and Heidfeld just keeping with his Renault, Kobayashi was struggling in his Sauber.
The Renault – a good car (but not good enough) – gave Heidfeld enough to tease Kobayashi, but little more. Button was having none of it, quickly dispatching the pair of them on lap 55 to take 4th, all the while still gaining on Vettel.
Within a lap, Button had taken 2-and-a-half seconds out of the Red Bull lead.
Just as it seemed the race could not get any more dramatic, another safety car emerged to clear up a debris strewn Renault, while in the turn 3 escape road, a fuming Heidfeld looked on.
It was a simple crash – Heidfeld closed on Kobayashi in turn 2, too much so, clouting the rear of the Sauber hard. The Renault, with a wounded front wing carried on only a few hundred feet, before the wing folder under the wheels, spreading shards of carbon fibre everywhere.
In an instant, it halted Button’s charge, but also brought him fully into the fray up front – as long as he could clear Schumacher and Webber…
The Chase
Indeed Button was instantly “on it” from the green at the start of lap 61, while Vettel scurried away.
Schumacher – his attention drawn away from the leading Red Bull – concentrated on Webber, while Button stalked both. Webber did pas Schumacher, but only temporarily, having cut the final chicane – the place was handed back in order to avoid a penalty.
The Red Bull made another mistake at the same chicane on lap 64, only this time he was punished by Button, who shot through into 3rd, before doing the same to Schumacher one lap later.
By the 67th lap, Webber was finally close enough to bring his DRS into full effect and take 3rd from Schumacher.
With the McLaren in the clear, Vettel led by 3.7 seconds with five laps remaining – no problem, right? In most situations, that gap would be enough – but this clearly wasn’t a normal day.
The clearly faster Button closed to 1.5 seconds by lap 67, then 1.3 seconds a lap later and 1 second exactly the lap after that. With two laps remaining, the DRS was now becoming a very real factor.
As the pair started the final lap, they were separated by mere tenths. Vettel, seeing only silver and orange in his mirrors, defended hard, taking just the right line to hold Button off.
Through turn 1 and 2, he held the McLaren at bay and continued to look assured in the turn 3 / 4 chicane. Yet on the approach to turn 5, concentration slipped and with it, a wheel peered onto the damp stuff.
Vettel – his car suddenly an impossible machine – lost the rear of his RB7 briefly, catching it beautifully before the slide became too deep, but Button was already gone.
The victory was his – and as he crossed the finish line, the jubilation in the McLaren garage was obvious to all. A stunning drive and a stunning victory and one that will be remembered as once of the best in the sport’s history.
“I fought my way from last to first to win the race. To win a Grand Prix by getting one over on your rivals with a series of strong overtaking moves makes it even better. Races in changing conditions are always very tricky but I love it when you’ve got to search for grip on the track rather than knowing in advance where it is. I was a little bit fortunate today when Sebastian [Vettel] made a mistake on the last lap, but I think we deserved that bit of luck! I can’t stop smiling now!”
For his trouble, Vettel took 2nd ahead of Webber, but while the former was clearly disappointed to lose the race, Webber lost over 13 seconds in the final few laps, as he claimed yet another podium.
So Close…
It was a case of so close, yet so far from Schumacher. The veteran trailed Webber across the line by only four-tenths, but a podium would surely have been a more worthwhile result.
“Having been in second place towards the end, I would obviously have loved to finish there and be on the podium again. But even if it did not work out in the very end, we can be happy about the result and the big fight we put in. A good strategy after the red flag made it possible, and I am very happy for our team.”
Following Heidfeld’s slight miscue, Petrov, who took 5th, secured Renault’s honour. The Russian had not had a spectacular race, but that matters little when solid points are on hand.
As dramatic as the leaders battle was, Massa and Kobayashi provided another battle at the end. After dropping to 12th following his front wing change, the Ferrari man calmly picked off Maldonado, Barrichello and Alguersuari amongst others to bring him to the rear of Kobayashi.
However, it would be daring last dash to the flag that separated them, with Massa piping Kobayashi to 6th by only 0.045 of-a-second.
Both Toro Rosso’s took points in the end with Alguersuari coming home 8th and Sebastien Buemi (a rather anonymous) 10th.
A late race coming together with Kobayashi would see Rosberg fall to 11th while his front wing crumbled.
The Mercedes pilot was less than three seconds shy of a point, but a clear thirteen seconds ahead of Sauber substitute Pedro de la Rosa (12th). The Spaniard had run well throughout, but a bump on his nose left de la Rosa dangling just outside the points.
Hispania ended the day in Canada with a big result. With the addition of the hot blown diffuser this weekend, Vitantonio Liuzzi quietly guided his F111 to 13th place, ahead of the Virgin pair, d’Ambrosio (14th) and Timo Glock (15th).
Narain Karthikeyan had crossed the line 14th, but a post-race penalty for hopping the final chicane late on dropped him to 17th. The sole Lotus of Jarno Trulli found himself elevated to 16th spot.
On what was a busy day, Force India’s Paul di Resta had climbed to 12th, but clipped the wall just prior to the end of the race, damaging his suspension too much to continue.
When it got going eventually, it was fabulous, but despite all the good racing this season, Vettel continues to pull out in the Championship – the German now has a commanding 60 point lead over Button, who has jumped to the runner-up spot.
Both Webber and Hamilton are there or thereabouts, but it’s looking like Vettel will need some horrid luck if he is to lose this title.
Race Rating: 5 out of 5
The Canadian Grand Prix (70 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 4h04:39.537
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 2.709
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 13.828
4. Schumacher Mercedes + 14.219
5. Petrov Renault + 20.395
6. Massa Ferrari + 33.225
7. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 33.270
8. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 35.964
9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 45.117
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 47.056
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 50.454
12. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari + 1:03.607
13. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap (*20-sec penalty)
17. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Button, 1:16.956
Not classified/retirements:
Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 8 laps
Heidfeld Renault + 13 laps
Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 20 laps
Alonso Ferrari + 26 laps
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 34 laps
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 62 laps
World Championship standings, Round 7
Drivers:
1. Vettel 161
2. Button 101
3. Webber 94
4. Hamilton 85
5. Alonso 69
6. Massa 32
7. Petrov 31
8. Heidfeld 29
9. Schumacher 26
10. Rosberg 26
11. Kobayashi 25
12. Sutil 8
13. Buemi 8
14. Barrichello 4
15. Alguersuari 4
16. Di Resta 2
17. Perez 2
Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 255
2. McLaren-Mercedes 186
3. Ferrari 101
4. Renault 60
5. Mercedes 52
6. Sauber-Ferrari 27
7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12
8. Force India-Mercedes 10
9. Williams-Cosworth 4
What an incredible weekend for motorsport. A great deal of which was snuggled up in front of the television, while trying to rid myself of a cold and a bad back.
Le Mans and an Obsessive Sickness
Boo hoo me, etc… I don’t get too many opportunities to shout at televisions and when Allan McNish and Mike Rockenfeller crashed hard in separate incidents on Saturday, I shouted like an abusive 4-year-old.
Come the chequered flag point at Le Mans, I had notched up nineteen hours in front of the television (including pre and post race); something that is clearly not healthy. (It is still shy of the 21-and-a-bit hours I managed a couple of years back, but it is really not something that should be attempted too often.)
Add in a Grand Prix and a delayed flight on top of that and one may understand my frazzled mood. Perhaps next year I will just go to the great race instead – it least there will be plenty of fresh air.
Beyond that, a few bits of news flew around the place, only for exhaustion to render them meaningless at the time.
Block and Pirelli
One such announcement was the revelation that Ken Block – of Gymkhana fame – is to get behind the wheel of Pirelli’s Formula 1 test car at Monza on August 5.
Also at the test will be Pirelli’s current full-time tester, Lucas di Grassi. The Brazilian will be running in the modified Toyota during the two previous days as the tyre company assesses its latest compounds and developments.
Block currently runs a partial schedule with Ford’s Monster World Rally Team in the WRC, scoring a best finish of 9th in the Rally Spain last week.
This year has been somewhat more frustrating for the Californian – after competing in four of the six rounds so far, Block has yet to score a point and even crashed out prior to Rally Portugal.
Until last year, the Gymkhana star also competed in the Rally America Championship, taking ten victories and finishing runner-up in the series twice; however even this is something of a different prospect for Block.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do some pretty spectacular stunts in my career so far, but this is something else! Everybody talks about Formula One being the pinnacle of world motorsport so I can’t wait to discover it for myself. I’m very grateful to Pirelli, which has been one of my partners since 2010, for this amazing opportunity.
These cars are so specialised that I need to be realistic about what I can do, but I know that it’s going to be a lot of fun and take hooning to a whole new level.”
Block was in Montreal all weekend in preparation for the announcement, only for it to be overshadowed somewhat by one of the best Grand Prix in recent memory.
Something tells me there’s a YouTube video in this somewhere.
Topsy Turvy Bahrain
More important was the eventual cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Considering the potential reaction from sponsors and associates (let alone fans), this wasn’t too much of a shock.
Admittedly I did like the teams’ angle, that logistical and insurance issues were the biggest hurdle to re-instating Bahrain and moving the Indian Grand Prix. What a brilliant way to have the race removed without bringing any actual politics officially into the equation. Bullet dodged.
Regardless of the eventual outcome, Formula 1 and the FIA came out of this debacle looking very, very dirty.
This decision may yet need to be ratified by the teams by means of a vote, although Bernie Ecclestone’s assertion that votes may be taken by fax was probably one of the funniest things I have read in a very long time.
This kind of technology puts the DRS and KERS to shame – it almost makes me wish for a return telex.
British Formula 3
Apart from all that, Carlin-pair Felipe Nasr and Kevin Magnussen topped the two days of British Formula 3 testing at Rockingham last week ahead of this weekend’s fourth round at Brands Hatch.
The test was dominated by Carlin, with Nasr pipping Magnussen, Pietro Fantin (Hitech Racing) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook (Carlin) by less than two-tenths on day one.
Carlin’s sixth pilot, Jack Harvey, missed the day due to exams, while British Formula Ford racer Garry Findlay took Riki Christodoulou’s Hitech seat.
Day two saw Magnussen on top ahead of Carlos Huertas (Carlin), with Fantin taking 3rd once again and Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) in 4th. Fortec’s William Buller also gatecrashed the Carlin party. The Northern Ireland racer stole 5th ahead of Nasr and Svendsen-Cook.
GP3 regular Alexander Sims joined Sino Vision Racing in place of Adderly Fong, recording the 8th best time. The Briton will be sitting in with the team over several sessions, in order to offer feedback to the team regarding their Mercedes-powered Dallara car.
Both Harvey and Christodoulou returned to the fore to record the 9th and 15th best times respectively. Remarkably the top 16 were all covered by a single second by the end of the second day.
Alas, Brands Hatch may be my last British F3 race for a while. The sheer stretch of budgets and continuing travel problems (i.e. – I can’t drive) may leave the summer European rounds out of my grasp this year.
Maybe. Maybe not. I suppose we’ll just have to see.
British Formula 3 In-season Testing (Rockingham, June 7th) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.687s 2. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.830s + 0.143s 3. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m12.843s + 0.168s 4. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.857s + 0.170s 5. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.969s + 0.282s 6. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m13.047s + 0.360s 7. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m13.085s + 0.398s 8. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m13.184s + 0.497s 9. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m13.238s + 0.551s 10. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m13.293s + 0.606s 11. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m13.402s + 0.715s 12. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m13.747s + 1.060s 13. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m13.750s + 1.063s 14. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m14.206s + 1.519s 15. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m14.209s + 1.522s 16. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m14.461s + 1.774s 17. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m14.816s + 2.129s 18. Garry Findlay Hitech Dallara-VW 1m15.584s + 2.897s 19. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m16.502s + 3.815s British Formula 3 In-season Testing (Rockingham, June 8th) Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.633s 2. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.689s + 0.056s 3. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m12.705s + 0.072s 4. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.890s + 0.257s 5. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m12.892s + 0.259s 6. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.962s + 0.329s 7. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.963s + 0.330s 8. Alexander Sims Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m12.982s + 0.349s 9. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m12.985s + 0.352s 10. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m12.987s + 0.354s 11. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m13.130s + 0.497s 12. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m13.137s + 0.504s 13. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m13.193s + 0.560s 14. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m13.222s + 0.589s 15. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW 1m13.364s + 0.731s 16. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m13.655s + 1.022s 17. Fahmi Ilyas Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m14.038s + 1.405s 18. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m14.182s + 1.549s 19. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m14.207s + 1.574s 20. Kotaro Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m15.981s + 3.348s
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel collected yet another pole position ahead of today’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull pilot set the quickest lap (1:13.014) during his first run in the final stint of qualifying, leaving him with a two-tenths advantage over the Ferrari pairing of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
This pole on a supposedly weak circuit for Red Bull, does not bode very well for the rest of the field. Vettel was happy, but still cautious:
“We’ve made up some ground from last year when we committed to a different strategy and sacrificed qualifying, but this year I feel comfortable. It’s a tricky track to understand, with the kerbs and the chicanes, coming from high speeds with hard braking, but we had a smooth qualifying session today and two very good runs. The conditions are likely to change and I’m sure we’ll see some rain – the question is when and how much.”
With the threat of the Scuderia looming large, Vettel set off on a second run in Q3, only to fall short of his previous best. Opting for longer runs, both Alonso and Massa improved, but not by enough to topple the poleman. A relieved Alonso revealed:
“On a track like this, where aerodynamic downforce is not as important as elsewhere, our deficiencies are a bit masked but it’s equally true that the updates we brought here worked as we had expected and that’s important for the rest of the championship, because we want to be fighting for the top places. We will try to put the Red Bulls under pressure, right from the start, but we know McLaren will also be very strong, especially as their rear wing is possibly better adapted to the conditions in the case of a wet track.”
Mark Webber secured 4th on the grid in the other Red Bull, albeit an RB7 handicapped by a malfunctioning KERS.
Both McLaren’s of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button set their MP4-26’s up with high drag rear wing settings – it would prove to be costly as the silver and red machines lined up 5th and 7th respectively.
“I hope our race pace will prove to be stronger tomorrow than our qualifying pace was today: we’re losing a couple of tenths along the back straight, which hurt us in qualifying. We’ve got a long seventh gear – a bit too long for qualifying perhaps – but that should be good for overtaking and will be a help when I’m slipstreaming as it means I won’t be on the limiter.”
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) split the McLaren’s, with teammate Michael Schumacher setting the 8th quickest lap. Both Renault’s filled out the fifth row, with Nick Heidfeld pipping Vitaly Petrov.
Paul di Resta once again out-qualified his Force India teammate, Adrian Sutil. The Scot took 11th as he missed out on Q3, yet still boasted a half-second advantage over the German.
Alongside di Resta will be Pastor Maldonado. The Williams rookie secured 12th on the grid, four spots ahead of veteran teammate Rubens Barrichello.
Both Sauber’s made it through to Q2, with Kamui Kobayashi (13th) coming away three-tenths quicker than substitute Pedro de la Rosa (17th). Indeed de la Rosa was lucky to make it as far as he did – the Spaniard smacked the wall exiting turn 4 in the first session, but escaped with no damage.
Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) also fell out in second qualifying, taking 15th place.
Buemi’s under-pressure teammate, Jaime Alguersuari didn’t even make it out of first qualifying. The Spaniard sat on the bubble just prior to end of the session, before been consigned to 18th place.
The Lotus pair followed headed by Jarno Trulli. Hispania’s latest updates lifted Vitantonio Liuzzi to 21st ahead of Virgin’s Timo Glock (22nd) and Narain Karthikeyan (23rd, Hispania).
Jerome d’Ambrosio set the slowest time at the tail end of the session. The Belgian fell shy of the 107% rule, but will still race thanks to solid pace set in Friday practice.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.014s 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.199s + 0.185 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.217s + 0.203 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m13.429s + 0.415 5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.565s + 0.551 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.814s + 0.800 7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.838s + 0.824 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m13.864s + 0.850 9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m14.062s + 1.048 10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m14.085s + 1.071 Q3 cut-off time: 1m14.467s Gap ** 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m14.752s + 1.321 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m15.043s + 1.612 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.285s + 1.854 14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m15.287s + 1.856 15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.334s + 1.903 16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m15.361s + 1.930 17. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.587s + 2.156 Q3 cut-off time: 1m16.229s Gap * 18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.294s + 2.472 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m16.745s + 2.923 20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m16.786s + 2.964 21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m18.424s + 4.602 22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m18.537s + 4.715 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m18.574s + 4.752 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.414s + 5.592 107% time: 1m18.989 * Gap to quickest in Q1 ** Gap to quickest in Q2
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Sebastian Vettel laid down a marker for qualifying in Saturday morning practice.
The reigning Champion set a fastest lap of 1:13.381 – finishing the session three-tenths quicker than Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Vettel’s Australian teammate Mark Webber did not have the same luck. A failed battery pack in his KERS unit ensured he would set no laps.
Nico Rosberg assumed 3rd place on the time sheets. The Mercedes driver was the first to break the 1 minute 14 second barrier on his way to completing 29 laps.
It has been something of a positive weekend so far for Mercedes – whether the silver team can carry this pace through to qualifying and the race remains to be seen. Rosberg’s teammate, Michael Schumacher took 7th in the classification, having been pipped by Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and both McLaren’s, headed by Jenson Button.
A late session accident for Pedro de la Rosa brought out the red flag. The Sauber man lost his C30 exiting turn 3, although with the chequered flag thrown, it made little difference.
Following their accidents into turn 4 yesterday, both Jerome d’Ambrosio (Virgin) and Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) received new chassis.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.381s 21 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.701s + 0.320 21 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.919s + 0.538 29 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m13.956s + 0.575 20 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.335s + 0.954 18 6. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.469s + 1.088 16 7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.488s + 1.107 23 8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m14.917s + 1.536 23 9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m15.217s + 1.836 18 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.243s + 1.862 17 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m15.312s + 1.931 19 12. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m15.350s + 1.969 22 13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.138s + 2.757 17 14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.145s + 2.764 19 15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.236s + 2.855 21 16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.438s + 3.057 21 17. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.706s + 3.325 22 18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m17.093s + 3.712 21 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m17.523s + 4.142 24 20. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m18.910s + 5.529 20 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.073s + 5.692 19 22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.213s + 5.832 22 23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.475s + 7.094 19 24. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault No time
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Fernando Alonso topped what was a stuttered second practice session in Montreal.
The Ferrari man set a best lap of 1:15.107 to give himself a three-tenths advantage over Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Alonso completed 34 laps in a session that was red flagged twice, thanks to crashes from Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Jerome d’Ambrosio (Virgin).
Adrian Sutil also lost a battle with a Montreal wall – the Force India man drifted on to the marbles and into turn 7’s welcoming barriers on his 16th lap, although that did not stop the session. It is something that could prove problematic for Sutil – the 25-year-old missed out on morning practice as his seat was taken by Nico Hulkenberg.
The only driver to run fewer laps than Sutil was Sauber returnee Pedro de la Rosa. The Spaniard stepped in for Sergio Perez, who reportedly felt ill following the morning’s opening session, but was unfortunately only able to run in the final twenty minutes of practice.
Amongst all the drama, Vettel completed 29 laps on his way to 2nd spot – a very good achievement considering he smashed the wall only a few hours previously.
Felipe Massa (3rd) once again finished ahead of the McLaren pair, this time led by Lewis Hamilton (4th), with Button trailing his compatriot by a mere 0.012 of-a-second. The afternoon wasn’t all clear for Hamilton – the 2008 World Champion damaged the floor of his MP4-26 late in the session, finishing his day early.
Hamilton’s fellow-Brit, Paul di Resta, continued to impress for Force India – he took 6th ahead of Mark Webber (7th, Red Bull), Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld (both Renault’s).
Rubens Barrichello completed 28 laps on his way to 10th in the Williams FW33. His Venezuelan teammate, Pastor Maldonado, was the busiest man of the afternoon, clocking up 39 laps and securing the 12th best time.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.107s 34 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.476s + 0.369 29 3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.601s + 0.494 33 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.977s + 0.870 26 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.989s + 0.882 25 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.089s + 0.982 34 7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.102s + 0.995 28 8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m16.324s + 1.217 32 9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.422s + 1.315 32 10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.687s + 1.580 28 11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.905s + 1.798 16 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.941s + 1.834 39 13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.051s + 1.944 32 14. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.684s + 2.577 34 15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.757s + 2.650 20 16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m18.470s + 3.363 33 17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m18.482s + 3.375 38 18. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1m18.536s + 3.429 14 19. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m18.601s + 3.494 38 20. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m19.209s + 4.102 28 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.810s + 4.703 25 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m20.284s + 5.177 31 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.311s + 5.204 38 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.922s + 5.815 26
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
As the Formula 1 circus makes for a short stint to North America, it was Mercedes that made the first step up.
With engine power at a premium, Nico Rosberg took the top spot in first practice. Indeed, it was a busy session for the marque team, with Rosberg and teammate Michael Schumacher completing 62 laps between them.
Rosberg notched a best lap of 1:15.591 late in the session, giving the Mercedes man a half-second advantage over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Schumacher finished the session 3rd on the timesheets, albeit 0.958 of-a-second shy of the fastest pace.
Felipe Massa made it two Ferrari’s in the top four, with the McLaren Mercedes pairing of Jenson Button (5th) and Lewis Hamilton (6th) just shy of the Brazilian. Hamilton had a stuttered session thanks to a data transfer problem in his MP4-26.
Both Ferrari and McLaren brought minor upgrades to Montreal, mainly floor and diffuser tweaks; however whether it brings them closer to the Red Bull’s on “regular” circuits remains to be seen.
Williams arrived in Canada with a new floor – it helped Rubens Barrichello to 7th in the session, although Pastor Maldonado could not capitalise in a similar fashion, he ended the morning in 17th.
Nick Heidfeld recorded the 9th best time by the chequered flag. The Renault veteran found himself sandwiched by a pair of Force India’s, led by Scotland’s Paul di Resta. Sitting in for Adrian Sutil was Nico Hulkenberg – the German took 10th, some 1.958 seconds down on Rosberg.
Daniel Ricciardo was the busiest man on circuit, completing 35 laps in his Toro Rosso, whereas in his sister Red Bull team Sebastian Vettel turned the fewest laps in RB7.
The reigning champion was to be running minor diffuser updates today; however brake issues kept Vettel in the garage until the midway point. Unfortunately, a crash for the German ended his practice after only eight laps, with Vettel becoming a new addition to the “Wall of Champions.”
Sergio Perez returned to his Sauber seat after missing the Monaco Grand Prix. The Mexican recorded 27 laps in his Ferrari-powered C30, taking 11th some two seconds off the pace. Hispania arrived in Montreal with a new blown exhaust, giving the upgrade appeared to give the Hispania some small improvement at the rear of the pack.
Pirelli supplied an set extra of medium compound tyres in the session, as the Italian company prepare for the European Grand Prix in Valencia in two weeks.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.591s 32 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.139s + 0.548 27 3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.549s + 0.958 30 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.658s + 1.067 26 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.676s + 1.085 20 6. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.842s + 1.251 19 7. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m16.990s + 1.399 28 8. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.294s + 1.703 26 9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.445s + 1.854 28 10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.549s + 1.958 20 11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.662s + 2.071 27 12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.820s + 2.229 30 13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.458s + 2.867 31 14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m18.506s + 2.915 15 15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.648s + 3.057 35 16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m18.852s + 3.261 8 17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m18.932s + 3.341 20 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m19.274s + 3.683 29 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m19.422s + 3.831 30 20. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m19.577s + 3.986 26 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.838s + 4.247 31 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m19.960s + 4.369 23 23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m20.520s + 4.929 21 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.839s + 5.248 27
One of the greatest racing drivers to ever emerge from the UK, Moss was runner-up in the Formula 1 World Championship on four occasions – three times to the great Juan Manuel Fangio and once to Mike Hawthorn.
Recently Moss also celebrated the 50th anniversary of his 1961 Monaco Grand Prix victory – one of the greatest wins in Formula 1 history.
An accident during the 1962 Glover Trophy at Goodwood left him in a month long coma and ended his top level career prematurely.
In the time since, Moss has raced touring cars and sportcars on numerous occasions, but has mainly spent time racing in historic races and appearing at classic festivals, such as the Festival of Speed and the Goodwood Revival.
Moss was due to race in Legends / Classics race at Le Mans this weekend, but has pulled out beforehand citing that “the car was just too quick for him and that it deserved better.”
His place will be taken by classic car racer and specialist, Ian Nuthall.
Don’t be surprised if he changes his mind though…
If one reads and watches enough science fiction, it is possible that a person could chance upon several different explanations and definitions of déjà vu.
For some, it is the re-occurrence of a feeling triggered by vaguely similar instances (as opposed to experiencing something twice) or possibly meeting a person (or people) under certain circumstances.
Others may consider it a vastly more scientific prospect, such as dimensional branches and timelines that momentarily embrace each-other, creating memory shadows that are received at a later time.
Memories can, at times, play wonderful games and the more playful the memory, the more inventive the game.
An example of this would be the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix. I could have sworn that Rubens Barrichello won that particular Grand Prix, yet for some strange reason the statistics tell me differently.
Maybe my memory has decided to cheat me for a laugh; or alternatively the race swung from a hard fought win to a cheapened parade out of step with the common rules of competition. This happens sometimes, although my brain and I still manage to get along with little fuss.
One element of my Austrian memory is the distinct recollection of a booing, hissing and whistling crowd, contrasting with a very puzzled Michael Schumacher and Ferrari team on the podium and ground
Indeed, the Ferrari team seemed to be so oblivious to the reaction of a blatant race manipulation, that they did not and / could not comprehend the crowd’s negative reaction in any way, shape or form.
Last Friday, that lack of understanding of the real world rang true once again – and a sense of déjà vu hit me in the head like a red brick.
As news of reinstatement of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix began to filter through, the almost universal condemnation of the decision by fans everywhere could not quieten
Normally reasonable voices, such as Sir Jackie Stewart started spewing nonsense. Apparently, sport will unite the country – sorry Sir Jackie; that is not quite how the world works. The upset majority might be silenced to give the impression of togetherness amongst the well off and fortunate, but to think any sport – let alone Formula 1 – will unite a country is painfully naïve.
The lack of understanding showed that, like Ferrari in 2002, the FIA and World Motor Sport Council have misjudged the feelings of people across the globe.
Martial law was lifted last week, but that didn’t stop security forces firing on protesters with rubber bullets on Friday – just as the announcement was made by members of Bahrain’s political interior. It also didn’t stop security forces from opening fire (again with rubber bullet) and launching sound bombs on a religious march yesterday evening.
Like the former definition of déjà vu, this was a feeling governed a vaguely similar impact – it was the feeling of related entities that had misjudged the understanding of the world and the reaction it would provoke and the sad thing is, they still don’t seem to understand.
Hungaroring. © Creative Commons
In the first in-season test session of 2011, Lewis Williamson topped the time sheets in his MW Arden machine, but teammate Mitch Evans gave him a run for his money too.
Indeed, it was Evans that was quickest in the morning session (a best of 1:38.508) after Michael Christensen set the early pace in cool, but dry conditions.
Evans ran a busy morning, completing 25 laps, to Christensen’s 20; however neither came close to matching Alexander Sims’ schedule – the Status Grand Prix driver completed 33 tours of the Hungaroring on his way to 17th place, less than one second off of Evans’ pace.
Before the lunch break, Nico Muller (Jenzer Motorsport) found 3rd position on the timing boards; just two-tenths ahead of the Lotus ART pair, Valtteri Bottas (4th) and James Calado (5th).
Next up Antonio Felix da Costa continued to show his quick hand with a best of 1:39.111 from 32 laps.
The Portuguese pilot bettered Tamas Pa’l Kiss (7th, Tech 1 Racing), Gabby Chaves (8th, Addax), Lewis Williamson (9th) and Aaro Vainio (10th, Tech 1 Racing).
While the afternoon stayed cool and dry, rain threatened the Hungaroring, but the lingering grey clouds were not enough stop Lewis Williamson.
The Englishman set the best of the day with a lap at 1:33.330 from a 33-lap afternoon – only one-tenth quicker than Alexander Sims (2nd) and Manor Racing’s Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (3rd).
James Calado shared the honour of most distance covered – both he and Simon Trummer (MW Arden) clocked up 37 laps of the tight and technical Hungaroring circuit; however where Calado finished the day 4th, Trummer had to make do with 13th, some eight-tenths down on Williamson.
Tom Dillmann returned to the GP3 paddock – this time with Addax – after missing the second round in Barcelona, nailing 5th in the session. For now, this is a one-off outing for the Frenchman as he battles to secure a budget to run the rest of the season.
Like the morning, Antonio Felix de Costa set the 6th quickest time, with the RSC Mücke Motorsport pair of Michael Christensen (7th) and Nigel Melker (8th) less than one-tenth shy.
Valtteri Bottas (9th) and Aaro Vainio (10th) filled out the top ten respectively.
Thomas Hylkema took over Andrea Caldarelli’s seat at Tech 1 Racing, following the Italian driver’s departure to Japan’s Formula Nippon Championship. The Dutchman took some time to get up to speed, finishing the day with a best of 1:40.180 after completing 58 laps.
Morning Times Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:38.508 25 2. Michael Christensen RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:38.823 + 0.315 20 3. Nico Müller Jenzer Motorsport 1:38.879 + 0.371 17 4. Valtteri Bottas Lotus ART 1:39.036 + 0.528 26 5. James Calado Lotus ART 1:39.108 + 0.600 21 6. Antonio Felix Da Costa Status Grand Prix 1:39.111 + 0.603 32 7. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 Racing 1:39.140 + 0.632 24 8. Gabby Chaves Addax Team 1:39.166 + 0.658 23 9. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1:39.244 + 0.736 21 10. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 Racing 1:39.257 + 0.749 23 11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Marussia Manor Racing 1:39.289 + 0.781 16 12. Luciano Bacheta RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:39.296 + 0.788 25 13. Tom Dillmann Addax Team 1:39.357 + 0.849 28 14. Nigel Melker RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:39.373 + 0.865 14 15. Daniel Morad Carlin 1:39.418 + 0.910 26 16. Simon Trummer Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.466 + 0.958 24 17. Alexander Sims Status Grand Prix 1:39.498 + 0.990 33 18. Pedro Nunes Lotus ART 1:39.589 + 1.081 23 19. Ivan Lukashevich Status Grand Prix 1:39.590 + 1.082 29 20. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS GP 1:39.720 + 1.212 24 21. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS GP 1:39.762 + 1.254 18 22. Conor Daly Carlin 1:39.859 + 1.351 31 23. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.869 + 1.361 22 24. Rio Haryanto Marussia Manor Racing 1:39.888 + 1.380 24 25. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS GP 1:39.953 + 1.445 14 26. Leonardo Cordeiro Carlin 1:40.651 + 2.143 31 27. Fernando Monje Addax Team 1:41.125 + 2.617 25 28. Maxim Zimin Jenzer Motorsport 1:41.148 + 2.640 16 29. Matias Laine Marussia Manor Racing 1:41.169 + 2.661 18 30. Thomas Hylkema Tech 1 Racing 1:41.389 + 2.881 29 Afternoon times Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1:38.330 33 2. Alexander Sims Status Grand Prix 1:38.462 + 0.132 27 3. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Marussia Manor Racing 1:38.487 + 0.157 21 4. James Calado Lotus ART 1:38.626 + 0.296 37 5. Tom Dillmann Addax Team 1:38.660 + 0.330 20 6. Antonio Felix Da Costa Status Grand Prix 1:38.747 + 0.417 26 7. Michael Christensen RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:38.777 + 0.447 26 8. Nigel Melker RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:38.847 + 0.517 25 9. Valtteri Bottas Lotus ART 1:38.854 + 0.524 36 10. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 Racing 1:38.860 + 0.530 23 11. Nico Muller Jenzer Motorsport 1:38.936 + 0.606 35 12. Gabby Chaves Addax Team 1:39.050 + 0.720 21 13. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1:39.137 + 0.807 37 14. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 Racing 1:39.189 + 0.859 18 15. Conor Daly Carlin 1:39.220 + 0.890 32 16. Leonardo Cordeiro Carlin 1:39.244 + 0.914 26 17. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS GP 1:39.315 + 0.985 18 18. Luciano Bacheta RSC Mücke Motorsport 1:39.323 + 0.993 32 19. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS GP 1:39.514 + 1.184 34 20. Daniel Morad Carlin 1:39.592 + 1.262 20 21. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS GP 1:39.636 + 1.306 21 22. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer Motorsport 1:39.673 + 1.343 34 23. Matias Laine Marussia Manor Racing 1:39.820 + 1.490 26 24. Rio Haryanto Marussia Manor Racing 1:39.867 + 1.537 22 25. Ivan Lukashevich Status Grand Prix 1:39.979 + 1.649 31 26. Pedro Nunes Lotus ART 1:40.067 + 1.737 14 27. Fernando Monje Addax Team 1:40.093 + 1.763 19 28. Thomas Hylkema Tech 1 Racing 1:40.180 + 1.850 29 29. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:40.248 + 1.918 26 30. Maxim Zimin Jenzer Motorsport 1:40.532 + 2.202 36
Unsurprisingly, a “day of rage” has been planned for the day of the Grand Prix (October 30th). The action calls the people of Bahrain’s cities and towns to show their anger and displeasure toward the government.
In terms of international attention, the Grand Prix is the only event on Bahrain’s sporting or entertainment calendar that truly focuses the eyes of the globe onto the small country.
What better platform for charged protests to be held and for political messages to be sent; however should events turn bloody, Formula 1 may never be able to wash the stains away.
This story still has a long, long way to go and many strands are still developing even now. There may be further revelations this week, especially after the teams in Montreal, prior to the Canadian Grand Prix.
Wickens will officially assume the duties of reserve driver from next week’s Canadian Grand Prix. The Virgin Racing squad do already have a reserve driver in former-Hispania pilot, Sakon Yamamoto; however little has been seen of the Japanese driver since he signed to the team earlier this year.
For a time, Wickens was one of many Red Bull junior drivers, until they parted company at the end of 2009 after an unsuccessful championship campaign in Formula 2. However, an impressive showing in the GP3 Series last year raised the stock of the 22-year-old.
Following a tough start to 2010 with Status Grand Prix, Wickens powered his way through the second half to the season, taking three victories and several points finishes to give the Canadian runner-up spot to Esteban Gutierrez.
Virgin’s team principal, John Booth, yesterday expressed his delight with his latest signing:
“Robert Wickens is a very impressive young driver who is currently going great guns in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. His fantastic performances so far this season are testimony to the fact that he has a bright future ahead of him. Robert will join us trackside at Grands Prix for as many races as his schedule will allow and in turn he will have the benefit of working closely with our race drivers and engineers as we develop our car and our team through the rest of the season.”
Wickens currently sits 2nd in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, having taken a feature race victory at Spa-Francorchamps, as well three other runner-up finishes. The Canadian is only a single point behind Championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne, with Alexander Rossi in close pursuit.
Normally it occurs when a driver, marshal, attendee or other personnel is injured or killed in an incident. The internal politics of the sport playing out in the public eye often leaves me embarrassed and ill-at-ease with the sport, but today politics made me feel sick.
Whether it is medical staff being put on military trial for aiding injured protesters, journalists being imprisoned or tortured for the stories they write or the promised hardline crackdown on any pro-democracy protests, everything about going back to Bahrain in this climate is wrong on every level.
This post is not a forum for the validity of the Chinese Grand Prix amidst their human rights abuses – this is purely about the Bahrain Grand Prix and the abuses that the authorities have committed in that territory.
That this announcement comes on a day when police opened fire on protesters in the vicinity of Pearl Square with tear gas and rubber bullets, is in itself a great irony. It was at this spot that the protests began in February.
It is more than conceivable that sponsors may not want to be involved in events of such disrepute, potentially making their participation questionable. If that were the case, I do hope one, or even several teams pull out of the event, but I doubt any of them have any balls to do so.
How sad that Formula One has so little respect or integrity that it needs to lower itself to such levels. What is worse is that I am not completely surprised by the decision the FIA have made.
According to Bernie Ecclestone, the decision to re-host the Bahrain Grand Prix has “…Nothing to do with money at all. Nothing, in any shape or form…”
Bollocks.
As a result of the Bahrain Grand Prix moving to the end of October, the inaugural Indian Grand Prix will now take place in December.
Senna. © Working Title Productions / Universal Pictures
At long last, the award winning documentary film Senna, opens in the UK and Ireland today.
Directed by Asif Kapadia from a written work by Manish Pandey, the film tracks the life of the legendary driver Ayrton Senna from when he entered Formula 1 until his demise at Imola in 1994.
Rather than produce a work that simply tells of his in car prowess and technical abilities – an effort told by numerous other documentaries over the years – Senna focuses on the man himself, his feelings of deep faith and his demons throughout his time in the sport.
While many will remember his on track fights with Alain Prost, Senna also goes some way to unearthing the sport’s internal battles, where the chief protagonist was then FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre.
The story is chiefly told by use of interviews and soundbites from Senna and his contemporaries at the time, only occasionally feeling the need to resort to talking heads of recent times – and the film is all the better for it.
Noticeable also is how the picture of the film improves with time. Footage taken from his early days remains naturally grainy and raw, improving greatly until the beginning of 1994.
This is not a criticism – far from it. In fact, it works perfectly. Not only does the quality of footage improve over the years as cameras and signals got stronger, but the characters involved age, giving a very real feeling of passing time.
Over the course of the film, the once youthful Senna gains lines across his forehead and face, Prost’s eyes deepen and his face becomes thinner, while Ron Dennis gets progressively balder.
I was lucky enough to see the film at a preview screen at the Curzon theatre in London last month and I can tell you now that it was worth the wait.
Every second of the movie oozed charisma, every character exotic, every moment tense. Once distance memories flashed back into focus, as images of those long since retired – or dead – filled the screen.
Senna truly is an astonishing movie – and thankfully one where being a motor racing fanatic is not a necessity. This is drama in its truest sense.
In a world where we are often surrounded by soundbite stars, Senna was one of the last great enigma’s of Formula 1 – how fitting that his story be told in such a beautiful manner.
Earlier this year, Senna won the World Cinema Audience Award for documentaries and already rumours of a possible Oscar nomination are flourishing.
Coming in at (roundabout) the length of a Grand Prix, Senna is not too taxing on ones spare time; however should one choose to go see it, they will be much richer for the experience.
© Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
No one saw Dan Wheldon coming; especially not his former team Panther Racing and rookie pilot JR Hildebrand.
When the Hildebrand drew through the final turns in the lead of the 2011 Indianapolis 500, how exactly did Wheldon still manage to win it – or more precisely, how was the race lost?
Admittedly, it probably helps if your Honda-powered Dallara has all four wheels intact as you cross the finish line.
To be victorious in motor racing, there is no doubt that skill must come to the forefront; however the right amount of luck – good luck, that is – is also necessity and on Sunday, Dan Wheldon had both skill and luck in spades.
Patience
Admittedly patience was a factor too. This race being 500 miles in length there was no need to rush to the head of the pack – Scott Dixon did that.
Having started in the middle of the front row, the Ganassi pilot surged ahead following a sluggish start by poleman Alex Tagliani – indeed Oriol Servia even had enough speed to peak passed Tagliani, but only momentarily.
Tagliani – fired up in his Sam Schmidt prepared Dallara – refused to hang back, retaking Dixon on the 8th tour, but this was early yet; another 192 laps remained.
For Simona de Silvestro, her race realistically came to end before 25 miles had even been run. The briefest of slaps of the wall damaged the suspension of here HVM machine. She would rejoin later, only to retire for good at the one-quarter distance.
Paul Tracy suffered a similar experience after he touched the SAFER barrier on lap 20. While there was no wreck as such, there was enough of a dent in his suspension to render his day effectively done.
The Canadian would lose 25 laps in the pits getting repairs, but returned to the track to pick up positions from other retirees later in the race.
One of those retirees was – inevitably – a KV Racing driver, this time Takuma Sato. The Japanese driver had been running efficiently and quickly all month, only to lose it when it mattered most – this time there would be a full course caution.
With one eye on strategy, the field pitted; only Penske did not seem to have their eye on the ball – indeed for the first time in many years, Penske looked out of sorts at the Speedway.
As Championship leader Will Power exited the pits, it was clear his wheel had not been properly attached, coming off completely before the Australian had even rejoined the circuit. A second stop for a replacement set would leave Power lingering at the rear of the field, but as the green flag waved on lap 29, the Penske runner would not have long to boost his position at the restart.
Indeed, the race came to a halt almost immediately – as the field barrelled into the first turn, an over-enthusiastic EJ Viso attempted a three-wide manoeuvre, only to slam the barrier hard. Another caution.
Stop-Start
However, as the dust settled and the field slowed a new leader emerged from the melee. Unconcerned by fracas behind him, Scott Dixon took command of the race once again, leaving Tagliani behind in the brief sprint.
In the pack that followed, Townsend Bell held a quiet 3rd ahead of the quick starting Dario Franchitti (4th), while Servia fell backward to 5th. Wheldon, meanwhile, held a solid 6th following a short battle with Bell early on.
Green conditions returned on lap 34 and it was here that Ganassi began to stretch their legs. Dixon and Tagliani swapped the lead momentarily, while Franchitti cut into the battle up front; first by taking Bell (lap 35), soon Tagliani (lap 44), before taking the lead from Dixon (lap 61).
Wheldon also briefly charged to 3rd ahead of Tagliani and Bell, while Fisher Racing’s Ed Carpenter fought his way into the top six at Servia’s expense.
By the one-quarter mark, Tony Kanaan had also joined dogfight behind Carpenter, while Servia faded. The Brazilian had qualified 22nd, but yet another excellent first stint saw the KV Racing driver power his way through the field.
Even after the second round of stops the Ganassi machines led comfortably, although hic-coughs stopped progress by Kanaan, Jay Howard (Rahal / Letterman / Lanigan Racing) and Danica Patrick (Andretti-Autosport).
Stopping under green, Kanaan pulled into his box – or attempted to, but very nearly collided with Pippa Mann as she was about to rejoin the race. The extra time waiting would cost the Brazilian nearly 20 positions.
Jay Howard had no such trouble, but he did find to his dismay his left rear tyre had been poorly attached. The Englishman was on the apron when his wheel flew off, forcing Howard into the wall. Game over and a safety car.
With the pits subsequently closed, Patrick’s Dallara-Honda ran dry – a quick splash-and-go kept her car running until the pits opened proper, but a second stop shortly thereafter left the American starlet 14th.
Tasting the Wall
Dixon retook Franchitti as the race got under way again on lap 70, although it was not the harshest of fights between the Ganassi duo – both well aware that the race was far from over; however for James Hinchcliffe, the day was done by halfway.
A driver error, rookie mistake or loss of concentration – whatever you call it, the Canadian still lost his Newman-Haas machine, while Indianapolis’ tough walls gained another victim.
Ryan Hunter-Reay almost part of the retired list too. The American had a bobble in his “borrowed” AJ Foyt Enterprises machine on the 78th lap, very nearly wiping the right-hand side of his Dallara away. For a man who never qualified, Hunter-Reay was lucky.
Like the previous set of stops, Hinchcliffe’s accident came slap bang in the middle of green flag stops – and once again Danica Patrick was caught out, again requiring an additional stop.
For once, Ganassi seemed sluggish with Dixon dropping to 5th. Tagliani was also stationary for a lengthy period – sadly for Sam Schmidt Motorsports, it was the beginning of the end of the small squad that could.
Amongst the confusion, Franchitti retook the point ahead of Servia, an on fire Marco Andretti (who started 27th), Carpenter, Dixon with Bell filling out the top six. Wheldon lurked in 7th, with the emerging Hildebrand in 8th.
The green flag flew again on lap 108 and to the delight of the (nearly) packed house, Servia tailed Franchitti, surging ahead five tours later.
It would be a lead that the Spaniard would hold for twenty laps, before Franchitti took it away again on lap 131, but for Newman-Haas, the point had been made. Servia, sitting 3rd in the IndyCar Championship was running very strong.
Dixon too was showing his hand. Despite losing a number of spots, the Kiwi remained calm, knowing full well that the race was still in its relative youth.
A steady pull back up the order saw Dixon climb back to 3rd as the next round of stops drew in, only for the Ganassi man to stall slightly in his pitbox on lap 137; however Dixon would only lose a single spot.
Falling Backward
For fellow front row man, Tagliani, the opposite was the case. The Canadian, now suffering with a severely ill-handling car, dropped to 17th and off the lead lap – come lap 148, Tagliani lost his Sam Schmidt Motorsports machine, scrubbing the wall just enough to injure his right front suspension. Game over and another caution.
It would be the first element that locked the result of the race – with two more stops inevitable, Wheldon, Rahal and Servia, amongst others, took to the pits under caution, whereas the Ganassi’s – trying to stretch their fuel – stayed out.
Admittedly, giving the number of accidents that often occur during oval races, it is rare to see long periods of green flag racing, so in theory Ganassi’s strategy could have played out on a different day.
But this year, the final caution period came on lap 158 – only two laps after the restart. Having pitted in the previous stoppage, Bell found himself in 11th battling with Andretti (10th) and Penske’s Ryan Briscoe (12th).
As the trio entered turn one together, Bell squeezed down on the Australian – too much in fact – leaving Briscoe with no room. Wheels inevitably interlocked and the helpless pair slid toward the SAFER barrier to be met with a smash. Another period behind the pace car ensued.
It was an unfortunate end for both – Bell, his day and season effectively done as he returns to unemployment and Briscoe, whose smart climb up the order was digging his way out of a Championship hole.
Now both will be left to consider “what if..?”
Helio Castroneves was another driver left to ponder a poor Indy 500. The Brazilian has not had much luck attempting to capture his fourth “500” win – having started in a poor 16th position, Castroneves clung to the outside of the top ten prior to falling back again.
A shredded right rear tyre on lap 159 didn’t help matters; in fact, it left the Penske runner back in the pits scrambling for 20th position. It all conspires to add further pressure to Castroneves, who has had a relatively poor start to the season and as the potential costs for the new car soar, team boss Roger Penske may be on the verge of shrinking his three-car team…
Fuel-Saving Mode
The lead Ganassi pair – Dixon and Franchitti – took their stops here, placing them 4th and 11th respectively; the team banking on there being a late caution. It would not come.
As the green flew on lap 166, Graham Rahal – in his satellite Ganassi entry – took the lead from Servia. Rahal had started from the tenth row and an early burst through the pack saw the American linger on the outside of the top ten. His pass for the lead was a popular, signified by an eruption from the crowd, but it did not last.
Now running on a full fuel mixture, Dixon scythed through the front three, assuming the point on lap 171; Franchitti, meanwhile, was playing a leaner game, taking Bertrand Baguette (Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan) and Andretti to bring him into the top nine.
When Wheldon and co made for their final stops around lap 177, the Scot pulled in closer to the front.
Kanaan had also pulled back into contention following the earlier pitlane faux pas. The veteran has never won the Indy 500, despite having come close on a number of occasions, yet the KV Racer has led the event in seven different years.
Moves by teammate Tomas Scheckter, Servia and Rahal gave Kanaan 2nd place behind Dixon, but like those immediately in arrears, a stop was necessary to reach the finish.
Dixon, too, pitted, only taking on just enough to get him to the flag – Franchitti, meanwhile, continued to play the fuel-saving game, but was having to run off the pace to compensate.
For Ganassi, it would prove to be a disastrous error of judgement – short-fuelling Dixon made it impossible for him to surge back through the field, while Franchitti was going so slowly that he could not stay ahead of the fresher runners.
With Dixon out of the way, Danica Patrick assumed the lead, but this was to be no fairytale finish for the GoDaddy.com woman for her Honda engine was never far from spluttering either.
When Patrick peeled off the circuit for her final stop on lap 188, Baguette surprisingly became the new leader. The Belgian had thus far played a canny race – despite having impressed during his début season, the cash-strapped World Series by Renault Champion had been dumped for the sponsored Sebastien Saavedra for 2011.
His strong run at Indianapolis was a calling card for a driver that deserves a seat in the IndyCar Series.
With Patrick now dropped to the edge of the top ten, the crowd became more muted; however Baguette was not going to be able to take to the flag either and as the Belgian pitted on lap 197, the crowd erupted once more.
Amongst the festival of fuel stops, JR Hildebrand emerged at the head of the pack. The American had pitted earlier than most, but a clever fuel-saving stint gave Hildebrand the necessary advantage – and while the Panther Racer led, Wheldon was still four seconds in arrears, but closing.
That Finish
For those precious few laps, Hildebrand led with a certainty that bodes so well for his future; however as JR Hildebrand cleared the 199th lap, the American still had two-and-a-half miles to run.
The crowd rose, as did the tension – Hildebrand in the final few corners only had a single car ahead of him – the Ganassi satellite car driven by Charlie Kimball. The Ganassi rookie had run quietly, but competently for the duration, holding on to the lead lap right to this late stage, but whereas Hildebrand was running lean, Kimball had only fumes in his tank.
With the final turn of the race approaching, Hildebrand caught Kimball – it all happened at just the wrong time. In the belief that Wheldon was close to his tail, Hildebrand kept his foot to the floor through the final curve, only to slide wide on the discarded tyre marbles.
The Panther machine, now robbed of its precious grip, pulled wide onto the track and slammed the wall hard. Undeterred, Hildebrand kept on the throttle, despite the destruction reaped upon the machine, but it wasn’t enough.
As Hildebrand slid ever closer to the flag stand, Dan Wheldon barrelled out of the final turn, sweeping passed the stricken Panther just a couple of hundred feet before the finish, taking a shock victory.
Mild congratulations turned to unhinged celebration for Bryan Herta’s team, taking the biggest prize in IndyCar racing in what was only their second ever race.
Receiving his prize in Victory Circle, Wheldon presented himself an emotional winner as he became only the eighteenth driver to be crowned a multiple victor of the great race.
A Lesser Return
Hildebrand did take 2nd place for Panther – their fourth consecutive runner-up finish (the previous two ironically being earned by Wheldon) – in his crippled machine; his foot still firmly on the throttle.
While many may remember this 500 as the race Hildebrand lost, hopefully he will remember it as the race he came of age – in only his seventh IndyCar race, the 23-year-old displayed a veteran’s touch. He will surely be a winner eventually.
A Ganassi machine did take a top three finish, but it was neither of its front-tier drivers. Indeed it was Graham Rahal next up, some five seconds down on Wheldon. The American had been running full pelt in the final few laps, but was just too far shy of the Englishman.
Finishing in 4th, two seconds further back, was Tony Kanaan, with Oriol Servia (5th) and Scott Dixon (6th) on his rear. Bertrand Baguette eventually came a credible 7th – the Belgian led home a four car train including Tomas Scheckter (8th), Marco Andretti (9th), Danica Patrick (10th) and Ed Carpenter (11th).
Dario Franchitti took 12th place, the last on the lead lap, as his tank ran dry just after the line.
Credited with 13th was Kimball, who was lapped by Wheldon a matter of feet from the line. Will Power, Vitor Meira, Justin Wilson and Helio Castroneves all had relatively anonymous days, as rounded out those lapped once.
Buddy Rice faded throughout the race – the 2004 Indy 500 winner took 18th place, albeit two laps down. Alex Lloyd (19th) and Pippa Mann (20th) were also lapped twice.
John Andretti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Davey Hamilton and Paul Tracy were the last of the twenty-five finishers.
It was assumed that it would be a Ganassi-Penske walkover and could have been had Ganassi got their sums right, but today was all about the underdog – and incredibly enough, an underdog without a drive.
By midnight on Sunday night, Wheldon’s one-race deal with Herta Motorsport officially concluded and the Manchester man faces life on the sidelines once again – but not for long, surely?
Race Rating: 4 out of 5
Results - 200 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Dan Wheldon Herta 2h56m11.7267s
2. JR Hildebrand Panther + 2.1086s
3. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 5.5949s
4. Tony Kanaan KV + 7.4870s
5. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 8.8757s
6. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 9.5434s
7. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan + 23.9631s
8. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH + 24.3299s
9. Marco Andretti Andretti + 25.4711s
10. Danica Patrick Andretti + 26.4483s
11. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher + 27.0375s
12. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 56.4167s
13. Charlie Kimball Ganassi + 1 lap
14. Will Power Penske + 1 lap
15. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap
16. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 1 lap
18. Buddy Rice Panther + 2 laps
19. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 2 laps
20. Pippa Mann Conquest + 2 laps
21. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 3 laps
22. John Andretti Petty/Andretti + 3 laps
23. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 3 laps
24. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold + 7 laps
25. Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold + 25 laps
Retirements:
Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 157 laps
Ryan Briscoe Penske 157 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 147 laps
James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 99 laps
Jay Howard Rahal/Schmidt 60 laps
Simona de Silvestro HVM 44 laps
EJ Viso KV 27 laps
Takuma Sato KV 20 laps
2011 IZOD IndyCar Series Standings
Pos Driver Team Points
1 Will Power Penske 194
2 Dario Franchitti Ganassi 178
3 Oriol Servia Newman-Haas 150
4 Tony Kanaan KV Racing 135
5 Scott Dixon Ganassi 129
6 Graham Rahal Ganassi 120
7 Ryan Briscoe Penske 114
8 JR Hildebrand Panther 113
9 Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 110
10 Mike Conway Andretti-Autosport 102
11 Vitor Meira Foyt Enterprises 96
12 Marco Andretti Andretti-Autosport 95
Monte Carlo. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
One could say it was luck, one could say it was skill, but there is no doubt that Sebastian Vettel used both of those precious elements to take yesterday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Two safety car periods and late race red flag were unable to stop the reigning champion from picking up his fifth victory of the season – if anything, they helped Vettel’s cause.
As the German crossed the line to a jubilant Red Bull reception, a resigned Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button followed behind – clearly unable to close the gap to Vettel in the final segment of what was a fantastic Grand Prix.
Getting Ahead
Such is Vettel’s stellar form at the moment, he led with ease from pole position, building a four-second lead over Button in the early stages, while the McLaren man held off Alonso’s roving Ferrari.
Having qualified 4th, the Spaniard needed a good start and he got it, having jumped the other Red Bull of Mark Webber off the line.
Michael Schumacher also had a poor getaway. The Mercedes veteran launched from his grid slot – and then halted – and then pulled away again, dropping to 10th from 5th.
On the approach into the first corner, Schumacher nudged the rear of Lewis Hamilton, splitting shards of silver-coloured carbon fibre across the tarmac. The McLaren – slightly unsettled – would soon be passed by Schumacher into Loews hairpin; a move expertly executed.
Hamilton took the place back on the 10th tour, as Schumacher’s rear tyres fell apart, before Rubens Barrichello (Williams) demoted Schumacher even further the next time by. His pace gone, the 42-year-old pitted for a new front wing and set of supersoft rubber on lap 13.
Nico Rosberg was also finding his Pirelli’s a tough prospect in the second Mercedes. The German jumped to 5th from 7th on the grid, but was soon under pressure as he struggled for grip. Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Vitaly Petrov (Renault) and eventually Hamilton all drew to the Mercedes and it was Massa’s impatience that curtailed Rosberg’s struggle.
A half-hearted move into St Devote on lap 15, saw the Ferrari pilot clip the rear of the Mercedes, spreading yet more debris across the racing line. The destabilised Rosberg quickly became easy meat for both Massa and Maldonado, before the Mercedes driver darted for the pitlane.
Changing the Race
Also in the pits was Button. Being the first of the leaders to stop would be the first key turning point of the race – whereas the McLaren crew were quick and clean, the Red Bull team left a lot to be desired.
As Vettel pulled into his box, neither his pitcrew, nor his new set of softs were ready. Amidst the calamity, Button jumped Vettel, effectively gifting the McLaren driver the lead.
The disaster was not yet over for Red Bull. Webber entered the pits, also to be met my missing tyres and unprepared mechanics, causing the Australian to fall deep into the pack.
Alonso’s fed in just behind Vettel after his 18th lap stop, but as the field filtered out, Button led from Vettel, Alonso, while a distant Massa ran 4th.
Now it was Button’s race and the Englishman grabbed the initiative with both hands. Soaring on his supersofts, Button built a huge gap over the chasing pair – on lap 19 it was 6 seconds; lap 22 it was 9.7 seconds; and by lap 25 it was 11.6 seconds.
It would take until the 30th tour before Vettel began to peg Button’s pace – by which time, the McLaren driver possessed an advantage of 14 seconds.
While Button’s race was coming together nicely, Hamilton’s was dissolving before his very eyes. With one-third of the race run, the former-Champion was locked into 7th place – stuck in a battle with Maldonado (5th) and Petrov (6th); neither of whom were pitting soon. Desperate for clean air, McLaren ordered Hamilton in on lap 23 – only to not be ready for him.
The scramble for four tyres would be crucial – despite running slower laps on old tyres, Massa still managed to emerge ahead of Hamilton when the Brazilian finally pitted on lap 27. Worse still for Hamilton, Webber cleared the pair of them.
When Maldonado and Petrov did eventually stop (on laps 26 and 29 respectively), both filed in behind the McLaren in 13th and 14th spots.
Getting it Right and Very Wrong
Force India’s Paul di Resta was another driver spending far too long in the pitlane, only this time the error was his won doing. The young Scot attempted an ill-advised move on Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) into Loews hairpin for 15th place, clattering the Spaniard in the process – it would earn di Resta a drive through penalty for the error and further add to what was becoming a disappointing weekend.
Schumacher would show how to make the move at Loews on lap 30; although the veteran had a more willing victim in this instance as he passed Rosberg. Sadly for the veteran, his race would not last too much longer – a fire inside the airbox of the Mercedes stopped Schumacher at the pitlane entry on lap 35.
The Mercedes pilot wasn’t the only driver to pull off. Timo Glock suffered a damaged suspension on the 34th lap – it gave the Virgin pilot no option to retire, once again leaving Glock watching from the sideline.
Little of this mattered to Hamilton, yet one could argue that the Englishman should applied some of Schumacher’s tact at the tight Loews hairpin.
Trapped under the wing of Massa on the 34th lap, the McLaren pulled an over-enthusiastic move down the inside of the tight turn, only to smack the left sidepod of the Brazilian. As the Ferrari took the corner, Hamilton had not drawn fully alongside Massa, making the collision inevitable.
It was enough to push Massa into Webber, hampering the Ferrari through Portier. As Hamilton got alongside Massa in the tunnel, the Brazilian slid offline on the tyre marbles and hit the barrier – hard. Safety car.
For Hamilton, the penalty came – deservedly – a drive through on lap 44 the result, dropping him to 9th position, back behind Maldonado and Petrov. Déjà vu.
The disadvantage would be all McLaren. Having pitted for new supersofts at the beginning of the lap, Button suddenly found himself in 3rd in the middle of a bunched-up pack.
Alonso too pitted on lap 35 (as did numerous others), dropping behind the Englishman; however while Vettel and Alonso had used both tyre compounds, the McLaren pilot still had to taste the soft Pirelli’s.
What advantage Button may have had under racing conditions, was now disappearing – there were even three lapped cars between he and the leader.
Yet Red Bull seemed keen to play a curious game. Having stopped early, Vettel was staying out – it gave him the lead of the race, but would mean he would suffer the soft tyres for the duration.
A Challenge Halted
As the race returned to green conditions on lap 39, Vettel took advantage of Button’s difficulties with traffic, by pulling a four second gap on the McLaren.
Not for long though.
As Button emerged from the lapped trio, he upped the pace, pulling to the rear of Vettel by the 43rd tour – were Button to take this race, he would have to pass for the lead.
Vettel for all his youth and relative inexperience soaked up the pressure – Button was not getting passed any time soon. Alonso, meanwhile, was some six seconds in arrears of the leading pair, but as Vettel’s tyres aged, the pace at the front dissipated and Alonso drew himself slowly back into contention.
Button stopped for the third time on lap 48, this time making the mandatory change to soft tyres – it dropped him to 3rd, but gave him instant pace.
It was clear now that neither Vettel nor Alonso would need to stop again – if Button wanted to win, he would have to take the leading pair on track and at Monaco, that does not come easily.
As the McLaren emerged, the gap was 19.9 seconds; however Button – undeterred by the task – began setting purple sectors everywhere.
The fight for 4th place was becoming equally frantic, but for very different reasons. Having started down in 14th, Force India’s Adrian Sutil stayed out on his initial set of tyres until the first safety car – his pace steady, but not startling – it would bring him to 4th place by the 45th lap.
On his rear was Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber on an identical strategy – in his case, the Japanese driver had started 12th and made his way to 5th. Sadly, Kobayashi was flying solo in the race – his rookie teammate, Sergio Perez, having been injured during the latter stages of qualifying.
Behind this pair, Webber had stayed on track during the safety car period, enabling the Australian to recover to 6th, not far ahead of the Maldonado / Petrov / Hamilton fight. Of the chasing foursome Webber (lap 56), Maldonado (lap 55) and Hamilton (lap 50) all made their final stops, giving Petrov enough clean air to catch the Sutil / Kobayashi battle.
The cracks shun eventually. A half-dive down the inside of Mirabeau saw Kobayashi nudge Sutil’s rear every so slightly – with the Force India slowing considerably, Kobayashi finished the move to assume 4th.
With fresh rubber and determination, Webber wasn’t hanging around either. Moves on the gripless Petrov (lap 66) and the bruised Sutil (lap 67) brought the Australian to 5th – the chase to Kobayashi was on.
Pressure Cooker Racing
Up front, the distance between the leading trio was shrinking considerably with each circulation of the track, as Button set about putting fastest lap after fastest lap. From 19.9 seconds, the gap had already closed to 14.5 on lap 53 and 7.5 on lap 57.
Alonso was also closing in on Vettel. As Button drew in on the leaders, the Ferrari was already on Vettel’s rear wing. Like in Barcelona seven days previously, Vettel was going to have to soak up some serious pressure, while Alonso crawled all the Red Bull, searching for a way passed.
But… Vettel defended hard and fairly. His repeatedly good exit from Anthony Noghes, gave Vettel ample breathing space into St Devote. It was the same at the end of the tunnel, where a solid exit from Portier denied Alonso an opportunity to get by.
As much as Vettel’s Pirelli tyres were degrading, Alonso – and soon Button – could do nothing. By the 62nd lap, the trio were line astern around the Monte Carlo circuit, but no one had enough of an advantage to strike out.
Come lap 69, everything was annulled. As the leaders pulled up to the back of 4th-9th place battle, Sutil’s right rear tyre shredded.
A slow hop over the kerb’s at the Swimming Pool back the entire field into eachother, causing a pile-up that would see Hamilton slow severely, before being rear-ended by Alguersuari, who was in turn clumped by Petrov.
The Renault then turned in on the barrier, knocking the Russian unconscious momentarily. Broken suspension bars invaded the monocoque, causing severe bruising to Petrov’s legs – for certain, Petrov – like Perez the day before – is a very lucky boy. For three laps, the safety car circulated, but when it became clear the medical staff needed room, the red flag was thrown.
It was controversial of course, but under the rules, all the remaining drivers were allowed to change on to fresh tyres. Hamilton – who had received rear wing damaged – received a fix under stopped conditions. After a 20 minute delay, the signal to restart was given.
A (Very) Brief Run to the Flag
Naturally, the switch to fresh tyres negated any advantage that Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button had built up and as the race restarted, Sebastian Vettel took the final few laps easily, but not easily enough to lose the race.
In this instance, it really is difficult to fault Vettel – he had done everything that was asked for him and brought home twenty-five more points, but Alonso and Button may still lament the amount of luck that fell Red Bull’s way
Whether it be brilliantly timed safety cars or red flags, everything played to Vettel’s advantage – that he played it perfectly on track is simply icing on the Monegasque cake.
Alonso shadowed Vettel to the end, but there was nothing that the Ferrari driver could do. The Red Bull was too strong where it mattered, while the Ferrari was not strong enough where Red Bull were weak. The same could be said of Button too, who over a single lap had the pace to take the front two, but didn’t have the grunt in traffic.
Once again Kamui Kobayashi drove a very strong race for Sauber, but even he could not hold off Mark Webber after the restart.
As the Australian pressed the Sauber driver through Loews, then Portier and through the tunnel, Kobayashi missed his braking point approaching the chicane, cutting the corner slowly, giving Webber 4th in the process.
…and the Rest
As for Lewis Hamilton, his nightmarish Monaco Grand Prix came to a close amidst more controversy. While the McLaren driver laid pressure on the Pastor Maldonado, the Williams driver defended vigorously – possibly too vigorously into St Devote on the 74th lap.
Hamilton dived down the inside of the Williams, taking fully to the pitlane exit as Maldonado closed the door hard – there would be only one result and with a clatter Maldonado was sent into the barriers, while Hamilton continued on. It would give Maldonado a non-finish and Hamilton a 20-second post-race penalty.
Realistically, it was an ambitious move by the McLaren driver that wasn’t quite on – especially considering Hamilton had to take to the pitlane and hop the kerb’s to get close to being alongside the Venezuelan…
Adrian Sutil had a better weekend. A brief tyre change prior to the red flag left him 7th and one lap down, yet still ahead of the invisible Nick Heidfeld (8th, Renault), Rubens Barrichello (9th) and Sebastien Buemi (10th, Toro Rosso).
It was something of a consolidation prize for the Williams squad, who had scored no points until this race, while Buemi’s single points score goes a long way to securing his seat at Toro Rosso for the season.
Nico Rosberg and Paul di Resta took 11th and 12th respectively after difficult day’s, yet for Lotus, the Monaco Grand Prix held positives, with Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen coming home 13th and 14th ahead of Jerome d’Ambrosio in the Virgin (15th).
Both Hispania’s made it to the flag in 16th and 17th, led by Vitantonio Liuzzi. The pattered around the track for the duration about five-six laps off the pace, eventually losing three laps to the victors.
With round 7 in Montreal two weeks away, Vettel has a massive 58 point lead over Hamilton, with Webber and Alonso a further 6 and 9 points adrift respectively.
It is well known that Montreal is not a Red Bull favourite thanks to its concentration on power and lack of high speed-downforce reliant corners – if ever the following pack need to break the Red Bull spell, Canada may be the place to do it.
Race Rating: 4.5 out of 5
The Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo, Monaco 78 laps; 260.520km; Weather: Sunny Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h09:38.373 2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.378 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 23.100 5. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 26.900 6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 47.200 (*20-sec penalty) 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 8. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap 9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps 13. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 16. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps 18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 5 laps Fastest lap: Webber, 1:16.234 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap Petrov Renault 68 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68 Massa Ferrari 33 Schumacher Mercedes 33 Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31 Perez Sauber-Ferrari DNS World Championship standings, round 6: Drivers: 1. Vettel 143 2. Hamilton 85 3. Webber 79 4. Button 76 5. Alonso 69 6. Heidfeld 29 7. Rosberg 26 8. Massa 24 9. Petrov 21 10. Kobayashi 19 11. Schumacher 14 12. Sutil 8 13. Buemi 7 14. Perez 2 15. Barrichello 2 16. Di Resta 2 World Championship standings, round 6: Constructors: 1. Red Bull-Renault 222 2. McLaren-Mercedes 161 3. Ferrari 93 4. Renault 50 5. Mercedes 40 6. Sauber-Ferrari 21 7. Force India-Mercedes 10 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7 9. Williams-Cosworth 2
Presented by host Garry Moore, US television show, “I’ve Got A Secret”, welcomed two guests for a short piece – the first being a young AJ Foyt and the second being Ray Harroun. The object of this short was for a panel to discover who the guests were and what their “secret” was.
It is certainly a harmless little fluff piece, and one which was very typical of its time.
Broadcast on June the 1st 1961, Foyt had a week earlier won his first Indianapolis 500 ahead of Eddie Sachs and Rodger Ward, fifty years to the day after Harroun controversially claimed the inaugural race in his yellow and black Marmon Wasp machine.
While Harroun took the victory and the headlines, it is still felt by many that the race was incorrectly scored and that the real winner of 2nd place man Ralph Mulford.
In the early years of the race, an entry would have to complete the full five-hundred miles in order to be classified – as a result, David Bruce-Brown finished 3rd, nearly eleven minutes behind Harroun’s registered finish time.
How very nice.
I hope readers have enjoyed the five hundred posts and articles thus far, and will continue to enjoy hereafter.
Good stuff,
Leigh O’Gorman
Monte Carlo. © Creative Commons / Will Pittenger
Another Grand Prix, another pole for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and what better place to do it than Monaco.
The reigning World Champion set a best of 1:13.556, nearly half-a-second quicker than McLaren’s Jenson Button (2nd) and the other Red Bull, driven by Mark Webber (3rd).
It was a final session punctured by a long red flag session, brought out when Sauber rookie Sergio Perez lost his C30 at the exit of the tunnel, crashing into Armco lining the short straight leading into the Nouvelle Chicane.
Perez continued out if control, before pummelling side-on into the barrier at the chicane, signalling a thirty minute stoppage, while the barrier itself was repaired.
Prior to the Perez incident, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso set the 4th quickest time ahead of Michael Schumacher (5th, Mercedes) and Felipe Massa (6th, Ferrari).
Nico Rosberg (7th, Mercedes) and Pastor Maldonado (8th, Williams) also set their peak runs after the red flag, but neither could dent the top positions. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had to settle for an indifferent lap once qualifying restarted, but later had his time deleted for jumping the chicane – he starts from 9th place.
Despite the ferocity of the accident, Perez suffered only a concussion and a thigh strain; however it means the Sauber man will not be able to race tomorrow.
As the season ages, Renault continue to fall back into the midfield pack, with Vitaly Petrov leading their charge from a disappointing 11th place, three-tenths shy of Maldonado’s Q2 cut-off time.
The Russian has Rubens Barrichello for company on the sixth row, with Kamui Kobayashi (13th, Sauber) and Paul di Resta (14th, Force India) just behind.
It’s another solid qualifying result for di Resta, who once again out-qualifies his far more experienced teammate, Adrian Sutil (15th). Nick Heidfeld will start from 16th – his best lap was nearly half-a-second shy of Petrov, while Sebastien Buemi will take the 17th starting spot in his Toro Rosso.
Heikki Kovalainen led the group that fell out of the first stint of qualifying. The Lotus driver fell just over 0.5 shy of the cut-off point. Kovalainen (18th) only just pipped teammate Jarno Trulli, with the Italian lagging behind by four-hundredths.
Both Lotus’ were half-a-second quicker than Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari. The Spaniard struggled through Q1 on soft tyres, before nudging the rear of Kobayashi, damaging his front wing in the process.
The Virgin Racing pair of Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio assumed the eleventh row of the grid, while neither Hispania even set a time Narain Karthikeyan with a “suspension problem” that developed in the morning practice. Vitantonio Liuzzi’s F111 was too damaged to run after his accident this morning; however both Hispania’s will still be allowed to race, having run on or near the verges of the 107% gap during the free practice session.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.556s 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.997s + 0.441 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.019s + 0.463 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.483s + 0.927 5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.682s + 1.126 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m14.877s + 1.321 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.766s + 2.210 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.528s + 2.972 9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes No time 10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari No time Q3 cut-off time: 1m15.545s Gap ** 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m15.815s + 1.540 12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m15.826s + 1.551 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.973s + 1.698 14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.118s + 1.843 15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.121s + 1.846 16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.214s + 1.939 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.300s + 2.025 Q3 cut-off time: 1m16.813s Gap * 18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m17.343s + 2.136 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m17.381s + 2.174 20. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.820s + 2.613 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m17.914s + 2.707 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m18.736s + 3.529 23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth No time 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth No time 107% time: 1m20.471s
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