Earlier this year, Red Bull Formula 1 designer and aerodynamicist, Adrian Newey, was asked by the creators of Gran Turismo to design his ultimate racing machine.
The result is the Red Bull X1 Prototype – a machine that is part Formula 1, part prototype Sportscar and part-Batmobile. His design – in conjunction with Polyphony Digital – is a car unrestricted by modern regulations, drawn up by using some very real technologies; most notably the long-banned “Fan-car” made famous initially by the Chaparral 2J car in Can-Am in 1970 and later by Gordon Murray for Brabham in 1978.
Other noticeable differences include a canopied cockpit and covered front wheels, to help reduce aerodynamic distortions.
Powered by a 1500ps direct injection V6 twin turbo engine, the machine could potentially produce a maximum lateral acceleration of 8.75G. At 15,000rpm, the engine would potentially produce an astonishing 1483hp and reach 200 mph in only 6.1 seconds. On paper, the car should reach an astonishing 450 kph at the top end of the longest straights, while also using some truly phenomenal grip to take each corner at extraordinarily high speed.
In this simulation, Red Bull’s Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel lapped the modern Nurburgring circuit with a time of 1:04.853 – some 27.4 seconds faster than Mark Webber’s 2009 pole time at the circuit.
It is truly a fascinating concept and something that I would love to test (should I ever get my hands on a PlayStation 3 with a copy of Gran Turismo 5). Although the release date for the game had continually been pushed back, it is expected that it will finally be released just prior to Christmas.
Now all that’s left is for someone to design it for real…
Kanaan (left) with Hunter-Reay at Motegi this year. © http://www.tonykanaan.com.br
This afternoon saw a day of change at Andretti-Autosport, as he final piece of their Championship winning team was quietly cut adrift.
It was announced that 2004 IRL Champion, Tony Kanaan, had reached an agreement with Michael Andretti’s squad to release the Brazilian from his contract three years early. Earlier this month, Kanaan’s position in the team had been rocked by the withdrawl of his long-time sponsor 7-11, thereby debilitating any chance to fully fund his car.
Yet, only one hour later, the squad confirmed a full-time race seat for Ryan Hunter-Reay to partner the team’s other two driver’s, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick.
There are several ways to look at this for Andretti-Autosport. For the last few years, they have looked far too stretched as a four-car squad, yet at the same time it felt as if Kanaan was the glue that was holding the ship together.
Ironically, it may be reduction in the team’s size that helps stabilise the once great team, as they endeavour to catch both Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske Motorsports. Yet, one cannot help, but feel the wrong driver has cut loose.
In Marco Andretti, they have a sharp and fast racer, although Andretti struggles to show form from race-to-race. The 23-year-old shows stunning pace one week only to be mired in the final half of the pack a race later. It has been three-and-a-half years since his sole IndyCar victory at Sonoma.
The same could be said for Danica Patrick. The winner at Motegi in April 2008 has shun brightly on occasion in the time since, but has also struggled a lot, especially on road and street circuits. There have also been questions as to whether her partial NASCAR Nationwide runs are potentially interfering with her performances in both series’.
There have been unconfirmed rumours as to how much the team has depended on Kanaan to help set up their respective machines and if there is truth in those rumours, Andretti-Autosport may find 2011 to be a tough year.
On the other hand, the challenge to replace Kanaan as team leader may well be the making of Hunter-Reay. The 2010 Long Beach Grand Prix may indeed be the driver that steers the unsteady ship back to victory… and possibly a Championship. However, the one piece that may well be missing is consistency and Hunter-Reay has on occasion fallen short in that department.
When one considers that this is a squad that only a few short years ago had a line-up of Dan Wheldon (Indy 500 winner and Series Champion), Dario Franchitti (twice Indy 500 winner and twice Series Champion) and Bryan Herta – a highly respected test and development driver – as well as Kanaan, one can see where the dip in form may have derived from.
This is not to say that Patrick and Andretti are poor – quite the opposite in fact, but it must be understood, they simply do not fall into the quality of category of Franchitti and Kanaan.
In a sense, this may work out well for Kanaan himself. Free of ship that has been floating adrift of the front for nearly nearly three years, he is now free to consider other options.
That Kanaan has often been a spokesperson for Apex Brazil will stand him in good stead and may help him find a spot sooner than has been the case with Graham Rahal, Paul Tracy or JR Hildebrand.
However, while there are plenty of teams with potential to make it to the front of the grid eventually, it remains to be seen whether they can challenge Andretti-Autosport in the short term.
The BBC documentary, Hammond Meets Moss, will be released onto DVD on Monday November 8th.
The film, originally shown recently on BBC2, concerns the life-altering head injuries that both Sir Stirling Moss and Richard Hammond suffered following terrifying car accidents.
Former Grand Prix winner Moss crashed heavily while taking part in part in the Glover Trophy at Goodwood in 1962; while Top Gear presenter Hammond suffered a tyre blow-out in a Vampire dragster while travelling at 280mph as he was filming a segment for the BBC show in 2006. Both accidents resulted in severe brain injuries that changed their lives forever.
Hammond talks to Moss about his life and career, before both reflect on their traumatic experiences and their eventual physical recoveries; however whereas the scars of their respective incidents have long since healed, the psychological effects took much longer to shore up. In this intimate atmosphere, both men tell of their stories and experiences, while the interviews themselves are dispersed by some prized archive footage and medical insights.
I watched this on its original showing and found it to be an absolutely fascinating film, well worthy of everyone’s time. A bonus of the DVD is that it has no region blockage and can therefore be seen on any DVD player anywhere. As part of the pre-order offer, there is a lower price for the DVD and also the option to obtain a signed copy by Sir Stirling. The DVD version also has an extra 20 minutes worth of additional footage, including interviews with ex-Formula 1 medical supremo Professor Sid Watkins and Grand Prix winner, Tony Brooks. This is an absolute must-buy for any motorsports fan.
As well as the DVD release, both Moss and Hammond will be signing DVD’s from 3.45pm to 4.15pm at the 210mph Show at Earl’s Court, London on Saturday November 6th.
To order Hammond Meets Moss, click here.
A marshal at work in Barcelona. © Sutton Images
At the beginning of yesterday morning’s Korean Grand Prix, the race was held stationary for over an hour as organisers assessed what were, in reality, crazy conditions.
Such was the lack of drainage from the Yeongam circuit, that spray was a large problem, despite there not being excessive rain.
However, during the long stoppage, it was very noticeable how many tweets and messages that seemed to pass through my Timeline that declared that the drivers should “man up” or that they “earn enough to take risks in difficult conditions.”
Quite frankly, this is absolutely absurd. It was instantly obvious that those were not the words of experienced racing drivers, but rather frustrated armchair supporters desperate to catch some early hours action. There has been far too many serious accidents in treacherous conditions over the years to warrant such a blasé attitude to safety in motor racing.
Even on their laps to the grid yesterday, both Timo Glock and Felipe Massa had minor offs and while these were not serious incidents, they did realise the potential for accidents to happen – even at the slowest speeds.
Indeed Formula 1 only needs to look back at the career-ending accident that befell Didier Pironi at the Hockenheimring in 1982 to realise that driving into spray blind, can only heap bad PR onto the sport. There have been similar incidents over the years too – most memorably a blinded Ayrton Senna ramming Martin Brundle’s Tyrrell at Adelaide in 1989.
More recently, there was also the now famous incident where Michael Schumacher slammed into the back of David Coulthard at Spa-Francorchamps in 1998, because he simply did not know Coulthard’s McLaren was in that spot.
Didier Pironi's accident was a horrific reminder of the sport's danger. © http://www.didierpironi.net
As for Yeongam, while it is an intriguing idea to have a city built around a race circuit (specifically the final sector), it has created problems of its own. The last few corners are surrounded by concrete barriers that block crane access to the circuit – this resulted in Friday afternoon practice being red flagged, while marshals scooped up the stalled Hispania Racing machine of Sakon Yamamoto.
However there are additional problems. The closeness of the walls also exposes the trackside marshals to unnecessary danger. Anyone that can remember the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix may recall the horrific scenes when Martin Brundle (then driving for McLaren) aquaplaned exiting Suzuka’s famous 130R corner and ploughed into a marshal that was helping to recover Gianni Morbidelli’s crashed Footwork machine.
In that instance, the marshal was lucky – the volunteer came away from that incident with only a broken leg, but it caused the red flag to be brought out instantly as it became obvious that track workers were in danger from out-of-control cars.
Over the Italian Grand Prix weekend in September, I wrote of the tenth anniversary of Paolo Ghislimberti’s death – the unfortunate trackside marshal who succumbed to head injuries from flying debris following a huge opening lap accident.
These are often the people that are the most vulnerable at a circuit and the ones that need the real attention. Unlike drivers, they are not cocooned in carbon fibre tubs and any time marshal’s are on track track clearing a stricken vehicle, they are in the line of fire – regardless of what speed a Formula 1 car is travelling at under yellow flag conditions.
Motorsport is not a simple game that anyone can take up on a Sunday afternoon – it is a very dangerous sport, regardless of the formula in which one competes and it is just as dangerous to those at the fringes of the circuit as it is to those driving.
When it comes to safety, this sport must not become complacent again.
Korea circuit layout. © FIA
It took a while – a long while in fact, but despite delay after delay after delay, the inaugural Korean Grand Prix eventually ran its course.
Eventually, after running for 2 hours and 48 minutes, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso crossed the chequered flag to take not only the race win, but the lead in the Championship following a race that completely turned the title battle on its head. As Saturday night seeped into Sunday morning, the rains fell over Yeongam and kept falling, leaving the track sodden as the race drew ever closer. Indeed, the conditions were such that virtually all of the Grand Prix’ sole support race was run under the safety car.
And that was how the race itself started.
Endless waiting
While far from the wettest race in Formula 1 history, the unsettled tarmac wept oil onto its surface creating extremely treacherous conditions – even Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Virgin’s Timo Glock had spins on the way to the grid. Thankfully, neither suffered any damage.
Initially, the race start was delayed by ten minutes as the rain became ever more persistent, before a decision to send them out behind the safety car was made.
It was short lived though. The field trundled behind the safety car for three laps in truly appalling conditions – the track surface having deteriorated to such a degree, that the red flag was brought and for the next 48 minutes, the cars sat motionless on the grid waiting for conditions to improve.
The race restarted at 4.05pm and already, worries of impending darkness began surface while the cars trundled around behind the safety car for a further fourteen laps. With little to lose, Bruno Senna pitted his Hispania – the wayward Spanish team having put his tyres on backwards before the original start. Lucas di Grassi also too two stops as the Brazilian rookie swapped from one set of warm wet tyres to another.
The tricky conditions caught out several drivers while they lapped at slow speed with Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India) and Sakon Yamamoto (Hispania) amongst those spinning.
It took nearly ninety minutes, but the green flags finally flew at the start of lap 18 as the Mercedes-powered safety pulled into the pits and in the blinding spray, the Mercedes pair were on the move. Within metres of the start / finish, Schumacher had moved passed Kubica into 8th place, while Nico Rosberg took the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton to move into the top four.
The title turns…
Sadly for Rosberg, his race would only last a further two tours. Exiting the off-camber turn 12 lap 20, Championship leader Mark Webber ran wide in his Red Bull, initiating a slow spin – as the Australian bounced kindly off the wall, his blue and red machine veered back onto the circuit. Moments later Alonso rounded the same bend, narrowly missing the stricken Webber; however Rosberg was not so lucky – as the silver Mercedes attempted to avoid the Red Bull, Rosberg ran out of road, to be taken out by Webber. In that brief moment, Rosberg’s chance of a good points score was destroyed, but it was more costly for Webber; his Championship challenge had in an instant been turned inside out.
A downbeat Webber admitted that he had made a mistake, saying:
“I got a wheel on the kerb on the exit of Turn 12 and it was a very slow motion moment off the back of it. Totally my mistake. Today isn’t my day. The wall obviously was close and did some damage and then I wrecked Nico’s race as well. It brings me back to them on points and we are all back together again so we go to the final two races.”
Rosberg would later reveal the problem presented by Webber’s spin:
“It was really difficult to judge which way Mark’s car would go and I took the decision to go left but he spun more and more that way and I just couldn’t avoid him. It’s a real shame as we could have had a great result today.”
Debris lined the section haphazardly, instantly bringing the safety car back on track – on this day safety car Bernd Maylander was finding himself in a constant action poise.
There was more action down the order before Maylander hit the track again – both Jarno Trulli and Senna spun entering the first turn and Adrian Sutil attempted the first of several bonzai moves in the race. Unlike Kobayashi at Suzuka two weeks earlier, these lunges were not quite coming off, signified by Sutil repeatedly taking to the run off area.
Meanwhile both Sauber’s, Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Vitaly Petrov (Renault) and the recovering Senna and Trulli pair all pit for new tyres – with the pace slowed, there is little lose as the early stoppers all moving over to intermediate tyres. It is quite apparent by now that the circuit, while not wet is certainly very slick.
Signals for the safety car to pit emerge and as the Korean Grand Prix picked up again on the 24th tour, Vettel still led from Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Jenson Button (McLaren).
It’s not long before there was further incident. An unsighted Senna clashed with Trulli rounding turn 6, as the Italian attempted to force his way by the Hispania racer. The crash would see Trulli in the pits for a new front, although it came to nought – within three laps, his hydraulics system had once again given up and the Lotus driver was finished for the day.
One thing was for certain; out front Sebastian Vettel was not struggling. In fact, the 23-year-old was pulling away from the trailing pack and had put several seconds between himself and Alonso, with Hamilton over three seconds shy of the second-placed Spaniard.
Where one McLaren seemed relatively comfortable in 3rd, the second was having problems. In a car that had proven difficult all weekend, Button fell a long way behind the leaders and soon found himself behind the reinvigorated Michael Schumacher on lap 27, as the veteran out-braked his way into the top five.
Neither Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi nor Virgin Racing’s Lucas di Grassi were quite as solid in their attempts to pass. Mired in lower reaches, Kobayashi tried a move on Petrov for 15th, only to slide well off the road and loses position. Di Grassi’s off track slide, however, finished his race rather permanently – looking at a half open gap on the inside of Yamamoto, the Brazilian lost control of his Cosworth-powered entry, ploughing into some trackside advertising hoardings. It was a tough break for di Grassi who is coming under increasing pressure at Virgin and this accident will certainly not help him solidify a 2011 drive.
The leading Virgin car, as driven by Timo Glock had found its way up to 13th place, with the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen following close behind – that became a startling 11th and 12th when both Button and Sutil pitted on lap 29 for intermediate tyres. It was a strategy that went severely awry for both cars as they emerged in 17th and 18th positions respectively and at the tail end of a long pack.
Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg also took time to pit for intermediates – a decision that brought into a battle with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. The Russian had made progress up until this point, despite starting as far back as 20th position – his move on the emerging Hulkenberg was enough to take him into the top ten.
Yet another safety car
Button quickly fell into some luck though – within two laps Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi clouted Kovalainen’s Lotus, while the reigning Champion also making a move by Nick Heidfeld’s Sauber.
This was not to be the last of the action for Buemi – having caught Timo Glock, the Swiss driver lost control of his Toro Rosso in a half-hearted move, slamming into the Virgin Racing machine as a result. Safety car.
It was a move that would garner Buemi a five-place grid penalty for the penultimate race at Interlagos in two weeks. Too damaged to continue, the race was ended instantly for the Toro Rosso, while Glock toured once more before pulling into the pits to retire.
Buemi was apologetic about the incident:
“I braked late and locked the front wheels, so I could not turn and ended up going straight on and hitting Timo. I am sorry for him.”
What cars remained used this opportunity to change tyres – it was a set of clean stops for all, except Alonso and Robert Kubica. With the pressure on, a lost wheelnut added precious seconds to Alonso’s stop, allowing Hamilton to sneak into 2nd position – as for Kubica, the Pole very nearly found himself spearing the side of Liuzzi’s Force India as he was about to be released. Holding him back for a brief moment saving Kubica from having an accident in the pits, but it would put the Renault behind the leading Williams of Rubens Barrichello, Petrov and Hulkenberg on track.
It turned out to be a relatively quick safety car period – by lap 35, the pack was go again and again Vettel got a great start as he sailed into the distance. Hamilton sailed off too, but only into the turn 1 run-off area – the McLaren man would see his 2nd position snatched from his by the lingering Alonso, although the Englishman did manage to hold off the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa (just).
Behind the front four, Michael Schumacher was having one of his strongest performances of the season. Following a good run to 6th at Suzuka two weeks ago, the seven-time World Champion had made his way up to 5th position; however with twenty laps remaining, the light began to fade around the Yeongam circuit. From here on in, the condition for Schumacher and everyone else would only deteriorate.
After Schumacher, were the Williams pair of Rubens Barrichello (6th) and Nico Hulkenberg (8th) as they sandwiched Vitaly Petrov (7th). Petrov’s Renault team mate was 9th in front of Kobayashi (10th).
Outside the top ten, the battle to try and get the last point intensified, with Button and Sutil in the middle of the group; however it was Vitantonio Liuzzi that made the necessary early move.
The under pressure Italian made his way under Kobayashi to steal 10th place from the Japanese driver – as the neat pass was unveiled, the following bunch found themselves squeezed with button taking to the escape road to avoid an accident. It was to drop Button down to 15th as both Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari took advantage – this Korea adventure was becoming a nightmare for the 2009 Champion.
Sutil continued to take advantage of his pace in the pack, taking 12th from Heidfeld (lap 37). From here, Sutil’s race began to unravel somewhat as his brakes grew longer – difficulties in the braking area saw Sutil fall back behind Heidfeld (lap 38) and Alguersuari (lap 39), although the German would sneak back passed Alguersuari several laps later.
If Sutil thought he had problems, he had nothing on Heikki Kovalainen. Following a drive through penalty for speeding in the pitlane on lap 36, the Finn emerged with bubbling hydraulic issues unsettling his Lotus machine, although with only the two Hispania’s behind (and by quite a margin), Kovalainen stayed the course.
One driver that was not going to make the distance was Vitaly Petrov. With one-quarter of the race remaining, the young Russian lost control of his Renault mid-way through the final corner, ramming the barrier as a result.
Later, Petrov revealed that:
“This was my first experience of such extreme conditions in F1, and I think the FIA did a good job to let us run behind the Safety Car and understand the circuit before starting the race. The team had made a good call with the change to intermediate tyres, and I was in a strong position in P7 when I crashed.”
Petrov has on occasion impressed with his sheer speed; however so many accidents and unforced errors through the season have created doubts as to whether he will retain his seat for 2011. Another accident and more lost point is certainly not the way to endear one self to Renault team boss, Eric Boullier.
Who needs two Red Bulls when you can have none?
Gloom also descended upon the sky – with sunset fast approaching, race director Charlie Whiting announced the Grand Prix would only run for a further 25 minutes. Indeed Sebastian Vettel was most vocal over the team radio – the German was beginning to fall back toward Alonso, as he struggled to see his braking points in the poor light.
After the race, the young German recognised the difficult conditions on track:
“I had a medium visor on my helmet and it was getting very dark and it became very difficult to see the bumps on the track and the reference points for braking. So Turn 1, the first sector was quite bad in places, (corner’s) 11-12, and then the last sector was a bit darker.”
Unfortunately for Vettel, it would come to nothing – lap after lap, both Alonso and Hamilton reeled in the Red Bull driver and on lap 46, the true problem became apparent. As the leading Red Bull spluttered fearfully, its Renault engine ripped itself open with a fiery rage entering the first corner. Spitting shards of metal and carbon fibre across the track surface, Vettel finally pulled off the following straight as his Championship charger began to catch flames – once again, the face of the Championship turned and now Fernando Alonso was in the driving seat for the title.
Of his race retirement, Vettel said that:
“It’s obviously not a very nice moment but I think it was a very tricky and difficult race for all of us. To be on top of the field all the time, controlling the race and looking after my tyres, I think there is nothing that we could have done better. So all in all I think we did a more or less perfect job…”
Alonso, the villain of the Hockenheimring, now led the final part of this incredible race for Ferrari – 2nd place Lewis Hamilton had no answer. As the final laps ticked away, so did the McLaren man – Hamilton wary of his balding tyres, choosing to bring his car home safe; Alonso, gentler on his Bridgestone’s, had no such worries.
One driver still not content to take it easy was Adrian Sutil. Despite a number of off track excursions earlier in the race, the Force India driver attempted a dive bomb the inside of Kamui Kobayashi into the first turn for 9th place, only to slam into the side of the Sauber and into retirement.
Kobayashi, with his brick-house Sauber, escaped with minor damage and continued on, but for Sutil, it was one point lost – something that might become crucial in their fight for 6th in the Constructor’s Championship with Williams. The stewards were in no doubt as to who was at fault and slapped Sutil with a five-place grid penalty for Brazil.
The German would tell of the troubles in his machine:
“I was just struggling with my brakes all the time. I had so much brake force that I always locked up and it was hard to drive consistently. There were a lot of times I was off the circuit, or locked up, and then got past a driver and went off the road.”
As for Button, Sutil’s retirement brought the reigning Champion up to 12th place, but it simply wasn’t going to be enough. It was a race encapsulated by a spin at turn 16 with three laps remaining.
Nico Hulkenberg also suffered a spin at the entry of turn 16, but for a very different reason. Lingering debris sliced open, leaving the Williams machine with a slow puncture – with three laps to the flag, Hulkenberg took to the pits for a new set of tyres.
Indeed, it was a poor end to the race for Williams as a whole. With Hulkenberg’s problem’s still fresh, Barrichello spun of his destroyed and aged tyres, elevating Robert Kubica and Vitantonio Liuzzi to 5th and 6th respectively. Whereas, it was another decent run for Kubica and quite representative of his skill, this was a big race for Liuzzi with the Italian well in the points places on a day when his team mate struggled.
Keeping your head
Absolutely none of this mattered to Fernando Alonso. When Mark Webber crashed, he kept his cool. When a pit error cost him 2nd, he kept his cool. When Vettel blew his engine, he kept his cool and when his tyres should have been destroyed, he kept everything together to claim the inaugural Korean Grand Prix in near darkness. It also gives the Spaniard an 11 point lead with two races to spare.
Post-race, Alonso was straight forward about the result:
“We have been doing well in the last seven races but the last two we cannot forget we need to be on the podium and at least fighting for the victory. One result for one race does not change the picture of the championship. There are still four contenders, five, so we knew before coming here that every race is important to finish.”
Lewis Hamilton’s 2nd place keeps his title hopes alive, albeit 21 points behind, but when considering the conditions, it was a sterling drive from the 25-year-old.
A pragmatic Hamilton later revealed that:
“…today we picked up some good points. It could have been better but if you look at the last four races we didn’t pick up such good points. We will keep pushing and as you saw today anything can happen, we didn’t expect two Red Bulls to go out but that is how close this championship is.”
Felipe Massa brought his Ferrari home in the final podium position having driven cautious, but good race. Considering the conditions, Massa was happy to take a podium:
“At the end definitely was very, very dark so even having strong lights it was very difficult to see in front. It was a good race, very difficult, with tricky conditions in the beginning and visibility was almost zero. (…) I am very happy for this position, for me for the team and Fernando did a very good job.”
Michael Schumacher brought his Mercedes home to finish 4th ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica in 5th place. The Pole may rue the time lost in the pits under the safety, but today there simply wasn’t enough to claw back Schumacher.
“It was a long, difficult race – and a race of two halves,” said Kubica. He added “…the first part was very tricky for me, because I had big problems warming up the tyres. I had no grip at all and couldn’t push – I was just concentrating on keeping the car on the track. For the second half, though, I think it was very good.’
A very good result for Liuzzi (6th), just ahead of Barrichello (7th); however there were also big smiles at Sauber, with both cars claiming point scores – Kobayashi took 8th place ahead of Heidfeld (9th). The second Williams of Nico Hulkenberg scored the final point with a late move on Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso (11th), but it could have been so much more were it not for that late puncture.
Alguersuari admitted that it had been a tough race, as:
“…throughout the race, I lacked speed down the long straights and that is why it was hard to move back up the order, then at the end, when I had finally managed to get into the points, I could do nothing against Hulkenberg, who was faster in a straight line and was on new tyres.”
Jenson Button did finish, albeit in a distant 12th place. Although the reigning Champion can still mathematically claim a second title this year, he is 42 points adrift with 50 remaining, making another success virtually impossible.
A very disappointed Button later told the BBC:
“I just didn’t have any grip, I was so slow. “I was pretty much the slowest person on the circuit. I was struggling with locking fronts, I couldn’t not lock them so when I hit the brakes we locked up. Every time I braked for the corner I went straight on, because I couldn’t stop the car, even though I was dialing backwards and backwards on the brake bias.”
Button had been using new suspension parts for the race, that never operated properly in the difficult conditions.
Heikki Kovalainen took another 13th place for Lotus and there was joy at Hispania Racing, as Bruno Senna and Sakon Yamamoto managed 14th and 15th respectively – it is yet another result that puts them further away from Virgin Racing in the Constructor’s championship.
Realistically, this race was a shambles – as witnessed at the start, but it was eventually completed, even if no one could see where they were going and while the amenities looked far from perfect, the circuit itself looks like a very nice design for racing.
On his current form, it’s looking very good for Alonso, with both Hamilton and Vettel teetering and Webber falling ever so slightly behind.
……and so then there were four.
Race Rating: 3 out of 5
*All quotes courtesy of Autosport, the BBC and the team’s respective press releases.
——–
Yeongam, Korean Grand Prix (Round 17, October 24th)
1 ALONSO Ferrari 55 laps
2 HAMILTON McLaren +14.9s
3 MASSA Ferrari +30.8s
4 SCHUMACHER Mercedes +39.6s
5 KUBICA Renault +47.7s
6 LIUZZI Force India +53.5s
7 BARRICHELLO Williams +69.2s
8 KOBAYASHI Sauber +77.8s
9 HEIDFELD Sauber +80.1s
10 HULKENBERG Williams +80.8s
11 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +84.1s
12 BUTTON McLaren +89.9s
13 KOVALAINEN Lotus +1 lap
14 SENNA HRT +2 laps
15 YAMAMOTO HRT +2 laps
R. SUTIL Force India +9 laps
R. VETTEL Red Bull +10 laps
R. PETROV Renault +16 laps
R. GLOCK Virgin +24 laps
R. BUEMI Toro Rosso +25 laps
R. DI GRASSI Virgin +30 laps
R. TRULLI Lotus +30 laps
R. WEBBER Red Bull +37 laps
R. ROSBERG Mercedes +37 laps
| Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 231 |
| 2. Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing | 220 |
| 3. Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 210 |
| 4. Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing | 206 |
| 5. Jenson Button | McLaren | 189 |
| 6. Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 143 |
| 7. Robert Kubica | Renault | 124 |
| 8. Nico Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 122 |
| 9. Michael Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 66 |
| 10. Rubens Barrichello | Williams | 47 |
| 11. Adrian Sutil | Force India | 47 |
| 12. Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | 31 |
| 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India | 21 |
| 14. Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 19 |
| 15. Nico Hulkenberg | Williams | 18 |
| 16. Sebastien Buemi | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 8 |
| 17. Pedro de la Rosa | Sauber | 6 |
| 18. Nick Heidfeld | Sauber | 6 |
| 19. Jaime Alguersuari | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 3 |
| Constructor Team | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Red Bull Racing | 426 |
| 2. McLaren | 399 |
| 3. Ferrari | 374 |
| 4. Mercedes GP | 188 |
| 5. Renault | 143 |
| 6. Force India | 68 |
| 7. Williams | 65 |
| 8. Sauber | 43 |
| 9. Scuderia Toro Rosso | 11 |
At the very start of the Gold Coast 600 at Surfers Paradise in Australia, the V8 Supercars race had something of a messy opening involving 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, 2010 IndyCar Series runner-up Will Power and nearly a dozen other competitors.
Villeneuve found himself squeezed in between three other cars entering the opening chicane and just survived, only to be bumped into a spin further on down the lap. The resulting spin turned him around to face into the approaching pack, where he was royally rammed by Will Power. Within moments, the stretch of road became a V8 carpark.
As we wait for the start of the inaugural Korean Grand Prix, the fun continues down under.
Jaime Alguersuari preparing for a run in practice. ©www.jalguersuari.com
When Jaime Alguersuari made his Formula 1 début at the Hungaroring mid-way through 2009, many considered the then 19-year-old too young and inexperienced to be partaking in a race at the top level.
Now 20, the young Spaniard has shown himself to be worthy of his drive; occasionally wrenching some wonderful performances out of a Toro Rosso car that often finds itself at the tail end of the mid-pack.
His battle with Michael Schumacher at Melbourne have been well documented – a fight for position that he won, while his pass around the outside of Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg at turn 5 at Sepang must rank as one of the great overtakes of the season.
So with Grand Prix circus in South Korea for the first time, Alguersuari finds himself on a level playing field with the rest of the grid at a circuit that is a big unknown to all the teams.
Despite all this, the young man found time after first practice to answer some questions for the F1 and Motorsports Archive. So, what does Jaime think of Formula 1 so far, his team mate and the internet?
Formula 1 Archive: Jaime, since making your début at the Hungaroring last year, how would you assess your achievements in Formula 1 so far?
Jaime Alguersuari: I think I can sum up the difference by saying I am a Formula 1 driver now and I was not when I drove in Hungary last year. I had great fun in that race, but the car was driving me around the track rather the other way round. So the main achievement has been in adapting to the top level of motor sport despite having very little experience.
F1A: Your team mate Sebastien Buemi is currently five points ahead of you in the Championship standings – how important to you is the inter-team battle?
JA: Your first rival is always your team mate and so I would like to be beating him. I am not so concerned about the points difference: we have both lost points we should have had this year. But I do feel I am getting closer to him in terms of lap times which is what matters and sometimes I have been quicker. The most important thing is that even if we fight one another on track, we work together with the engineers to try and improve the car for both of us.
Kicking up some dust in Korea. ©www.jalguersuari.com
F1A: For much of your time in Formula 1, you have been venturing to circuits that are completely new to you. What kind of preparation do you need to do when racing at a circuit for the first time?
JA: I have not found that so difficult and also, even some of the tracks I knew before actually seem completely different when you are in a Formula 1 car. I find I can learn a new track quite quickly and now we have a simulator that we can use which also helps us learn new tracks.
F1A: Do you have a specific set of goals for the 2011 season?
JA: You cannot have specific goals, because as a driver, your performance depends mainly on what equipment you are given by the team and then how that equipment compares to that of other teams. But in general terms, I am looking forward to driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, to improving and to move up the order.
F1A: You have been quite active with social networking sites, such as Twitter. How important is for you to connect with fans, even if it is at most basic level?
JA: I enjoy all the social networking and Twitter is nice and quick which suits my lifestyle and my job!
F1A: Best of luck in Korea.
You can follow both Jaime Alguersuari and Toro Rosso Spy on Twitter. Jaime Alguersuari starts from 15th position at the inaugural Korean Grand Prix tomorrow morning.
My thanks to both Jaime Alguersuari and Marieluise Mammitzsch (Toro Rosso media team).
Admittedly, this was originally going to be a shot of a photographer royally picking his nose at the start of Q1 that was brutally broadcast across the globe, but went for this instead.
Fans during qualifying for the 2010 Korean Grand Prix Qualifying session, sit atop of hill overlooking the circuit and possibly getting a better view than any grandstand seat could possibly provide.
© FOM
A focused Nigel Melker was fastest in the morning. © Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
Nigel Melker and Michael Christensen emerged the two top men at third day of GP3 testing at Jerez in Spain.
Melker topped the morning session for RSC Mücke Motorsport in the morning, while Christensen planted his MW Arden at the head of the list in the afternoon; however it was the former that nailed the overall fastest time of the day with a lap at 1:34.747.
Christensen ran Melker close in the morning, registering a time only two-tenths of a second shy of the Dutch driver – unfortunately Melker was unable to recreate his morning later in the day, as he clocked up 21st fastest in he second session. Christensen on the other hand, put his fastest time on the board at the very beginning of the session.Rio Haryanto moved to ART GP for the final day and while he was one second adrift of Melker in the morning, the Indonesian driver took 2nd later in the day, albeit some 0.7 of-a-second shy of Christensen.
Alexander Sims is showing that he could be a force to be reckoned with in GP3 next year – the Londoner has showed some wonderful pace and consistency, regardless of what car he stepped into during these tests. As the clock ran out on Friday, Sims had registered the 9th best time in the morning for Status GP, before making that 3rd in the afternoon.
Carlin Motorsport took on two new drivers today, as Callum MacLeod was joined by Antonio Felix da Costa and Conor Daly. All three struggled to an extent to get close to the fastest times, as their trio of young chargers generally set mid-pack pace. The Carlin squad finished in 5th in the teams Championship in the inaugural GP3 season – they will be looking to improve on that for 2011.
With testing now complete until the new year, it appears from the six test days that MW Arden may be the team to beat next season. Whether their drivers, whomever they end up being, can do the job is still a vital question – it’s only testing, but for now, a tiny pattern has been set.
Day Three (Friday, October 22nd)
Morning Session
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | TIMES | GAP |
| 1 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 37 | 1:34.747 | —- |
| 2 | 22 Michael CHRISTENSEN | MW ARDEN | 27 | 1:34.958 | 0.211 |
| 3 | 19 Roberto MERHI | ADDAX TEAM | 29 | 1:34.980 | 0.233 |
| 4 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 31 | 1:35.020 | 0.273 |
| 5 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 34 | 1:35.036 | 0.289 |
| 6 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRAND PRIX | 39 | 1:35.073 | 0.326 |
| 7 | 17 Carlos SAINZ Jr | ADDAX TEAM | 41 | 1:35.073 | 0.326 |
| 8 | 11 Carlos MUÑOZ | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 40 | 1:35.131 | 0.384 |
| 9 | 4 Alexander SIMS | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 39 | 1:35.161 | 0.414 |
| 10 | 31 Tamas P’AL KISS | ATECH CRS GP | 33 | 1:35.188 | 0.441 |
| 11 | 8 Robin FRIJNS | MANOR RACING | 29 | 1:35.283 | 0.536 |
| 12 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 52 | 1:35.285 | 0.538 |
| 13 | 15 Antonio F. DA COSTA | CARLIN | 36 | 1:35.326 | 0.579 |
| 14 | 7 Adrien TAMBAY | MANOR RACING | 38 | 1:35.395 | 0.648 |
| 15 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 36 | 1:35.475 | 0.728 |
| 16 | 23 Marlon STOCKINGER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 47 | 1:35.508 | 0.761 |
| 17 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 35 | 1:35.545 | 0.798 |
| 18 | 20 Matias LAINE | MW ARDEN | 31 | 1:35.562 | 0.815 |
| 19 | 27 Arthur PIC | TECH 1 RACING | 49 | 1:35.611 | 0.864 |
| 20 | 5 Leonardo CORDEIRO | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 50 | 1:35.644 | 0.897 |
| 21 | 26 Aaro VAINIO | TECH 1 RACING | 51 | 1:35.690 | 0.943 |
| 22 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 45 | 1:35.715 | 0.968 |
| 23 | 24 Juan C. SISTOS | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 42 | 1:35.733 | 0.986 |
| 24 | 30 Albert COSTA | ATECH CRS GP | 40 | 1:35.829 | 1.082 |
| 25 | 28 Miki MONRAS | TECH 1 RACING | 41 | 1:35.846 | 1.099 |
| 26 | 2 Rio HARYANTO | ART GRAND PRIX | 26 | 1:35.865 | 1.118 |
| 27 | 3 Pedro NUNES | ART GRAND PRIX | 36 | 1:35.904 | 1.157 |
| 28 | 6 Facu REGALIA | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 33 | 1:36.066 | 1.319 |
| 29 | 16 Conor DALY | CARLIN | 44 | 1:36.160 | 1.413 |
| 30 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 39 | 1:36.576 | 1.829 |
Afternoon Session
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | TIMES | GAP |
| 1 | 22 Michael CHRISTENSEN | MW ARDEN | 18 | 1:35.509 | —- |
| 2 | 2 Rio HARYANTO | ART GRAND PRIX | 31 | 1:36.255 | 0.746 |
| 3 | 4 Alexander SIMS | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 26 | 1:36.337 | 0.828 |
| 4 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 33 | 1:36.343 | 0.834 |
| 5 | 20 Matias LAINE | MW ARDEN | 34 | 1:36.394 | 0.885 |
| 6 | 7 Adrien TAMBAY | MANOR RACING | 37 | 1:36.402 | 0.893 |
| 7 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 26 | 1:36.441 | 0.932 |
| 8 | 27 Arthur PIC | TECH 1 RACING | 37 | 1:36.537 | 1.028 |
| 9 | 11 Carlos MUÑOZ | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 33 | 1:36.537 | 1.028 |
| 10 | 6 Facu REGALIA | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 30 | 1:36.593 | 1.084 |
| 11 | 15 Antonio F. DA COSTA | CARLIN | 36 | 1:36.609 | 0,001 |
| 12 | 19 Roberto MERHI | ADDAX TEAM | 28 | 1:36.699 | 0,001 |
| 13 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRAND PRIX | 29 | 1:36.700 | 1.191 |
| 14 | 8 Robin FRIJNS | MANOR RACING | 29 | 1:36.722 | 1.213 |
| 15 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 46 | 1:36.827 | 1.318 |
| 16 | 17 Carlos SAINZ Jr | ADDAX TEAM | 19 | 1:36.838 | 1.329 |
| 17 | 31 Tamas P’AL KISS | ATECH CRS GP | 19 | 1:36.857 | 1.348 |
| 18 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 36 | 1:36.866 | 1.357 |
| 19 | 30 Albert COSTA | ATECH CRS GP | 18 | 1:37.001 | 1.492 |
| 20 | 16 Conor DALY | CARLIN | 36 | 1:37.023 | 1.514 |
| 21 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 21 | 1:37.024 | 1.515 |
| 22 | 3 Pedro NUNES | ART GRAND PRIX | 28 | 1:37.079 | 0,002 |
| 23 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 40 | 1:37.108 | 1.599 |
| 24 | 24 Juan C. SISTOS | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 40 | 1:37.157 | 1.648 |
| 25 | 28 Miki MONRAS | TECH 1 RACING | 40 | 1:37.194 | 1.685 |
| 26 | 26 Aaro VAINIO | TECH 1 RACING | 31 | 1:37.212 | 1.703 |
| 27 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 14 | 1:37.229 | 0,002 |
| 28 | 23 Marlon STOCKINGER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 30 | 1:37.460 | 1.951 |
| 29 | 5 Leonardo CORDEIRO | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 25 | 1:37.489 | 0,002 |
| 30 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 29 | 1:37.589 | 0,002 |
Korea circuit layout. © FIA
Free Practice 3
Cool and dry was the order of the day come Saturday morning at Yeongam for the start of third practice – a sixty minute session that was topped by the Renault of Robert Kubica. The Pole registered a lap of 1:37.354, a time that saw him pip three of the title protagonists by less than one-tenth of a second.
Behind Kubica was the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, but it was not the easier of runs for the 2008 World Champion, as he had a number of minor off-circuit excursions. Next up were Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari (3rd) and Red Bull’s Mark Webber (4th).
Nico Rosberg picked up the 5th best time, but was on the receiving end of some criticism from Alonso. The Mercedes driver was thought to have heavily blocked the Spaniard on the racing line at the entrance of turn 15 – a block that, Alonso considered, nearly caused an accident.
Sebastian Vettel also took to the run-off area during the morning stint. The young German has yet to top a session this weekend and could do no better than 16th when the time ran out here.
Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari complained during the session about lots of oversteer on track – something that would catch out Adrian Sutil in his Force India. The Mercedes-powered car lost the rear end around the turn 11 section and speared across the track, eventually recovering to secure the 10th best time. Despite having an engine cut-out issue, Nico Hulkenberg claimed the 8th fastest time, some 0.2 of-a-second (and four places) quicker than team mate Rubens Barrichello.
Tyres were a common worry throughout the session with a number of drivers noting a high amount of graining.
Qualifying
Coming into this weekend, both of the Red Bull drivers have exuded calm, while the heat is turned up around them, yet it was Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole position with both hands at the Korean International Circuit on Saturday morning. The German had the barest of margin’s over team mate Mark Webber, with the Australian a mere 0.074 of-a-second behind Vettel.
For a time, it looked like it might the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso to pip both of them – indeed the Spaniard spent much of the final session on top of the times, before finally being dislodged. In the end, Alonso only had enough for 3rd spot. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton must have been wondering if the second row was possible. Despite coming into the weekend very confident, the 2008 World Champion had a big off entering the pit lane on his penultimate, very nearly punting the wall and destroying his silver car.
Hamilton’s McLaren team mate Jenson Button is surely now seeing his title slip firmly away. Button was also the victim of a minor spin, but even when was on track, he could not generate enough heat into his Bridgestone tyres to stabilise his car – the reigning Champion qualified 7th.
Hamilton and Button sandwiched the leading Mercedes of Nico Rosberg (5th) and other Ferrari of Felipe Massa (6th). It was something of a poor run by Massa that left his some eight-tenths of a second slower than his team mate.
The fifth row was made up former Ferrari team mates, Michael Schumacher (9th) and Rubens Barrichello (10th). Barrichello had complained quite extensively about being blocked by Schumacher in Q2, but as both proceeded to Q3, no action was taken by the stewards.
An last second error from Nico Hulkenberg left the young German 11th and out of qualifying in Q2. The 2009 GP2 Champion was just one-tenth adrift of team mate Barrichello, but had just enough to cover both Sauber’s of Kamui Kobayashi (12th) and Nick Heidfeld (13th). Adrian Sutil found that the Force India simply did not have the pace to qualify higher than 14th; however he will still be happier than Renault’s Vitaly Petrov.
The Russian spun on his final run, destroying any chance of getting into the final qualifying session – Petrov also has a 5-place penalty following his Suzuka crash with Hulkenberg, leaving him to start from 20th. Jaime Alguersuari out-qualified team mate Sebastien Buemi – the Toro Rosso’s will line-up on the eighth row of the grid.
It was more bad news for Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian dropped out of Q1 with a time more than three-tenths shy of safety, leaving the Force India driver in 17th place.
Jarno Trulli was the best of the new cars, just heading Virgin Racing rival Timo Glock, who suffered a rather dramatic spin early in the session. The German recovered to qualify ahead of Heikki Kovalainen (21st), Lucas di Grassi (22nd) and Sakon Yamamoto (23rd). Bruno Senna also had a very poor session in his Hispania, as he took up last spot, nearly one second behind the unfancied Yamamoto.
Korea, 3rd Free Practice (October 23rd)
1 KUBICA Renault 1m37.354s
2 HAMILTON McLaren 1m37.402s
3 ALONSO Ferrari 1m37.426s
4 WEBBER Red Bull 1m37.441s
5 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m37.629s
6 MASSA Ferrari 1m37.955s
7 BUTTON McLaren 1m38.419s
8 HULKENBERG Williams 1m38.501s
9 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m38.630s
10 SUTIL Force India 1m38.632s
11 PETROV Renault 1m38.668s
12 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m38.733s
13 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m39.058s
14 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m39.145s
15 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m39.159s
16 VETTEL Red Bull 1m39.780s
17 HEIDFELD Sauber 1m40.289s
18 LIUZZI Force India 1m41.591s
19 TRULLI Lotus 1m41.623s
20 GLOCK Virgin 1m41.853s
21 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m42.095s
22 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m43.111s
23 SENNA HRT 1m43.417s
24 YAMAMOTO HRT 1m43.880s
Korea, Qualifying (October 23rd)
1 VETTEL Red Bull 1m35.585s
2 WEBBER Red Bull 1m35.659s
3 ALONSO Ferrari 1m35.766s
4 HAMILTON McLaren 1m36.062s
5 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m36.535s
6 MASSA Ferrari 1m36.571s
7 BUTTON McLaren 1m36.731s
8 KUBICA Renault 1m36.824s
9 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m36.950s
10 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m36.998s
11 HULKENBERG Williams 1m37.620s
12 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m37.643s
13 HEIDFELD Sauber 1m37.715s
14 SUTIL Force India 1m37.783s
15 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m37.853s
16 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m38.594s
17 LIUZZI Force India 1m38.955s
18 TRULLI Lotus 1m40.521s
19 GLOCK Virgin 1m40.748s
20 PETROV Renault 1m37.799s (*5-place grid penalty)
21 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m41.768s
22 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m42.325s
23 YAMAMOTO HRT 1m42.444s
24 SENNA HRT 1m43.283s
Changwon circuit layout.
When thinking of special races in motorsports, events such as the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hour Race spring to mind.
Indeed, those three races form what is known as the Triple Crown of Motorsports, with Graham Hill the only driver in the history of motor racing claiming all three of those trophies.
Premier races do not only belong to the higher echelons of motorsports – when one looks further afield, there are events that are special to many a formula.
The most highly recognised of these is the fabulous Macau Grand Prix that takes place in China every November. Other events that have enjoy great reputations and vast histories are the Pau Grand Prix (returning with Formula 3 in 2011), the Zandvoort Masters and, of course, the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
Over the years, there have been attempts to try and replicate the success of Macau and others, but rarely have they worked long term for various reasons. One of those attempts was the short lived Formula 3 Korea Super Prix on the streets of Changwon, a city bordering on the south-eastern tip of South Korea.
The temporary street circuit was in reality, just a converted carpark, that somehow managed to squeeze in an incredible 18 corners in just under two miles. So many turns in such a small space made the track naturally twisty, to the point where passing became virtually impossible for much of the lap, unless mistakes were made.
As a pair of short straights bled into two and long twisting corners, the circuit then fell into a series of slow burning tight bends that drew competitors almost to a stop. Beyond these turns, two medium speed 90 degree right handers would spit the cars onto a long kink, interrupted near its conclusion by a temporary chicane. With the end of the lap fast approaching, a further pair of 90 degree right handers would swing the high speed traveller around, feeding them out onto the start / finish straight and to the start of a new lap.
Every venue has the ability to become a theatre where art is presented not as the finished article, but rather loose sketches of the future, rough etchings of what is to come.
Changwon never exuded such feelings – whereas Macau is something of a rite of passage for young drivers hoping to make it to Formula 1, the Korea Super Prix was just another race. It is easy to understand how the circuit designers were (clearly) influenced by the famed Macau track, but Changwon was simply not Macau – nor would it ever be.
The race had its inaugural run at the tail end of the ’90’s, eventually only running on five occasions. In 2004, the Super Prix moved to the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, running only once, before disappearing of the motorsports landscape completely.
Richard Antinucci won at Changwon in 2003. © Copyright unknown.
Bad luck or a curse?
During its run, victory at the Korea Super Prix became something of a curse, as it is arguable that none of the winners have gone on to success at higher levels.
Drivers that have taken to the top step at Changwon include former-IndyCar and BAR test driver Darren Manning and ex-Jordan Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan. Karthikeyan’s Formula 1 adventure would only last a single season – he has since moved on to Superleague Formula and the NASCAR Truck Series with Starbeast Motorsports.
Frenchmen Jonathan Cochet and Oliver Pla won in 2001 and 2002 respectively, before Richard Antinucci took the final race in 2003. Pla raced for three season in GP2 with DPR, yet despite taking two race victories, he never made a lasting impression – he has since raced in sportscars, whereas Cochet has taken to GT racing and Lamborghini Super Trophy runs.
Antinucci was runner-up in the 2008 Indy Lights Championship, before partaking in five races during the 2009 IndyCar season – neither he nor his squad, Team 3G, returned thereafter.
Thankfully fortunes have fared rather differently for the unsuccessful at Korea – podium finishers include reigning World Champion Jenson Button and three-time World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx.
Grand Prix winner, Heikki Kovalainen raced at the event in both 2001 and 2002, having a miserable time on both occasions, while both 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and current Renault pilot Robert Kubica would both struggle somewhat on their appearances at Korea.
In a bizarre twist, 2003 front-row qualifier – Nelson Piquet Jr – initiated red flags after he collected Hamilton and crashed into the wall. With the positions realigned to match that of the lap prior to the stoppage, Piquet Jr reclaimed his 3rd spot upon the restart of the race.
From this year, the Korea Super Prix moves to Yeongam.
Someone to cheer for?
Yet for all these events, the Korea Super Prix has always been shy of Korean competitors – bar several backmarkers, the fields have been generally been made up of racers from around the globe. Alan Cho may have claimed 11th in 1999, but that is the closest any Korean driver had come to success in the competition.
While the contract ran out on the event, it is conceivable that the lack of local drivers sealed the fate of the Super Prix and with no Korean driver’s anywhere near top level motorsport right now, the Formula 1 race at Yeongam could also potentially suffer in the short term. However, this is not a situation that confines itself to far off territories either.
Spain ran Grand Prix motor racing for decades before the success of Fernando Alonso pulled the sport into the spotlight.
When Michael Schumacher left Formula 1 at the end of 2006, German audiences appeared almost apathetic thereafter – a feeling that still resides to a small degree. Even British media occasionally seemed subdued about the series in the barren spell between Damon Hill’s downturn in form and the appearance of Lewis Hamilton.
In IndyCar, the drought of homegrown talent has been cited as one of the reasons why it has been difficult for that Championship to rebuild itself in the United States.
Of the territories that have been since the late 1990’s, Malaysia has struggled with crowds, as have Turkey and Bahrain. While these are obviously not the only reasons while these races suffer from time to time, they can be key factors.
One thing is for certain – new drivers do not mysteriously appear from nowhere and, like Spain, it may be some time before a competitor appears that grabs the attention of the “home crowd”.
With the inaugural Korean Grand Prix now only days away, this is the perfect time to nurture and grow motorsports in the area and what better way to help sow the seeds than to reinstate the Korea Super Prix.
Despite gaining little attention in the wider motorsports arena during its original run, the Korea Super Prix has discovered a new lease of life thanks to the construction of the Korean International Circuit at Yeongam.
Running from November 26th – 28th, one week after this year’s Macau Grand Prix, the field – comprised of Formula 3 drivers from around the globe – will race to become the next Champion of Korea, seven years after Antinucci last lifted the crown.
Whether the organisers can turn this into an even that has value across the motor racing world is entirely up to them. They certainly have a long road ahead of them.
Korea circuit layout. © FIA
Free Practice 1
It was very close, but the Korean International Circuit was just about ready as cars hit the track for first practice on Friday morning. As expected, the Yeongam circuit was covered in a shroud of dust and dirt, making it difficult for the teams and drivers to get set-up absolutely right and set representative times.
It didn’t stop McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton from registering the quickest lap of the morning, with only Robert Kubica (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) getting remotely close.
That Hamilton set his time (1:40.887) despite missing most of the session is quite an achievement in itself; however that benchmark will undoubtedly change as the circuit rubbers in throughout the weekend.
Hamilton’s team mate, Jenson Button notched up the 5th fastest time as the British team tried a number of upgrades, one of which was a a new rear wing. It was initially used in Japan, but disregarded at that track, only to reappear slightly tweaked in Korea.The Red Bull team brought an upgraded F-duct to Korea, while Ferrari arrived with a modified floor. Webber, who set the 7th fastest time, missed part of the session, as he was sidelined with a minor brake issue; while the Ferrari pair could do no better than 12th (Felipe Massa) and 15th (Fernando Alonso).
There was also some disappointment at both Lotus and Hispania Racing – Jarno Trulli suffered a gearbox problem in his Anglo/Malaysian machine, while Bruno Senna’s Spanish charger spun its way out of practice with a broken left rear suspension. At Virgin, Jerome D’Ambrosio once again replaced Lucas di Grassi for first practice – it’ll be tough for di Grassi, as he will be on the back foot on this unknown track, just as his seat becomes more and more insecure.
There were worries about the pitlane entrance, as it slightly covets the racing line into turn 18; however the organisers may look into that following the second practice to see if it can be modified to be less disruptive.
Free Practice 2
As expected, the times came down by quite a margin in second free practice session, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber claiming the top spot after ninety minutes with a 1:37.942 lap. The Australian topped the sheets ahead of Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and Robert Kubica (Renault). Webber “enjoyed” a big spin into dirty run off area in turn 11; his blue and red machine tearing up part of the astroturf in the process, but not doing damage to the Renault-powered car.
Jenson Button had a small issue with the exhausts of the McLaren overheating in the pitlane. It would leave the reigning Champion stuck in the garage for a short time; however he did eventually take to track, registering the 5th best time.
Further down the field, Sakon Yamamoto stopped on track midway through practice. The Hispania driver spun exiting turn 16, damaging his front wing and stalling his car in between the walled section, bringing out the red flag. Later, his team were fined $5000 and reprimanded for sending the Japanese driver out with a tyre warmer still attached to the right rear.
His team mate Bruno Senna didn’t get out on track until the final few minutes of the afternoon – the Brazilian was sidelined by a gearbox failure, following the collapse of his suspension in the morning. Both Hispania’s were the slowest of the 24 runners. Lucas di Grassi was back in his Virgin for the second session, although the Brazilian still found himself 0.9 of-a-second shy of teammate Timo Glock.
Vitantonio Liuzzi stopped out of track at the tail end of the session with another car failure. The Italian did manage to go one-tenth of-a-second faster than team mate Adrian Sutil, but that means little if the car falters.
A consistent complaint from the teams was the lack of grip in the pitlane. Mercedes were quite vociferous and even replaced their front jackman in the second session with an orange cone, due to their pit worker taking a number of knocks in the morning.
Korea, 2nd Free Practice (October 22nd)
1 WEBBER Red Bull 1m37.942s
2 ALONSO Ferrari 1m38.132s
3 HAMILTON McLaren 1m38.279s
4 KUBICA Renault 1m38.718s
5 BUTTON McLaren 1m38.726s
6 MASSA Ferrari 1m38.820s
7 VETTEL Red Bull 1m39.204s
8 PETROV Renault 1m39.267s
9 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m39.268s
10 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m39.564s
11 HEIDFELD Sauber 1m39.588s
12 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m39.598s
13 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m39.812s
14 LIUZZI Force India 1m39.881s
15 SUTIL Force India 1m39.971s
16 HULKENBERG Williams 1m40.478s
17 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m40.578s
18 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m40.896s
19 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m42.773s
20 TRULLI Lotus 1m42.801s
21 GLOCK Virgin 1m43.115s
22 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m44.039s
23 YAMAMOTO HRT 1m45.166s
24 SENNA HRT 1m46.649s
Korea, 1st Free Practice (October 22nd)
1 HAMILTON McLaren 1m40.887s
2 KUBICA Renault 1m40.968s
3 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m41.152s
4 VETTEL Red Bull 1m41.371s
5 BUTTON McLaren 1m41.940s
6 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m42.022s
7 WEBBER Red Bull 1m42.202s
8 HEIDFELD Sauber 1m42.293s
9 HULKENBERG Williams 1m42.678s
10 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m42.883s
11 PETROV Renault 1m42.896s
12 MASSA Ferrari 1m43.054s
13 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m43.309s
14 SUTIL Force India 1m43.602s
15 ALONSO Ferrari 1m43.928s
16 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m43.940s
17 LIUZZI Force India 1m44.887s
18 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m45.141s
19 GLOCK Virgin 1m45.588s
20 D’AMBROSIO Virgin 1m46.613s
21 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m47.115s
22 YAMAMOTO HRT 1m50.347s
23 SENNA HRT 1m50.821s
24 TRULLI Lotus 1m51.701s
Nico Muller ran well today for Jenzer Motorsport. © Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
With the Jerez circuit being treated to another unseasonably warm day, the GP3 Series once again sent thirty young hopefuls out for winter testing.
Today, Simon Trummer (MW Arden) and Nico Muller (Jenzer Motorsports) came up trumps as they topped the morning and afternoon runs respectively. With the pace much more apparent in the morning, Trummer’s 1.34.496 was enough to lead the times ahead of Nigel Melker (RSC Mücke Motorsport) and Muller as the clock ran out, but it was Muller that replied in the afternoon; a 1.35.858 sufficient to beat MW Arden’s Michael Christensen.
It was a timely lap by Muller – at that point Christensen was up top and on the way to giving MW Arden their fourth top spot in a row, but for now the Mark Webber / Christian Horner run team will have to wait.
Yesterday’s fastest runner, Antonio Felix da Costa, was unable to repeat that feat today as he switched from MW Arden to Tech 1 Racing. In fact, the Portuguese driver found himself mired well in the pack – he ended up 22nd in the morning session (1.299 seconds down on Trummer) and 17th in the afternoon (1.097 slower than Muller).
2010 Formula BMW runner, Carlos Sainz Jr. joined the paddock this morning for the first time. Sainz Jr. (son of the WRC legend) took up a seat with Addax CRS GP and while he managed 13th in his introductory session, the young Spaniard was unable to repeat that in the afternoon.
Fast times are one thing; however it will be interesting to see if any of these drivers can produce these times on a consistent basis. This second winter test concludes tomorrow.
Day Two (Thursday, October 21st)
Morning Session
| DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | TIME | GAP | |
| 1 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 35 | 1:34.496 | —- |
| 2 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 31 | 1:34.646 | 0,000 |
| 3 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 34 | 1:34.853 | 0.357 |
| 4 | 22 Michael CHRISTENSEN | MW ARDEN | 35 | 1:35.082 | 0.586 |
| 5 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRAND PRIX | 40 | 1:35.280 | 0.784 |
| 6 | 27 Doru SECHELARIU | TECH 1 RACING | 18 | 1:35.303 | 0.807 |
| 7 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 25 | 1:35.349 | 0.853 |
| 8 | 28 Alexander SIMS | TECH 1 RACING | 42 | 1:35.358 | 0.862 |
| 9 | 7 Adrien TAMBAY | MANOR RACING | 29 | 1:35.362 | 0.866 |
| 10 | 24 Zoel AMBERG | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 30 | 1:35.406 | 0,910 |
| 11 | 2 Matias LAINE | ART GRAND PRIX | 35 | 1:35.413 | 0.917 |
| 12 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 40 | 1:35.425 | 0.929 |
| 13 | 17 Carlos SAINZ Jr | ADDAX TEAM | 28 | 1:35.529 | 1.033 |
| 14 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 37 | 1:35.628 | 1.132 |
| 15 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 37 | 1:35.656 | 1,160 |
| 16 | 3 Pedro NUNES | ART GRAND PRIX | 37 | 1:35.708 | 1.212 |
| 17 | 6 Conor DALY | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 39 | 1:35.728 | 1.232 |
| 18 | 8 Rio HARYANTO | MANOR RACING | 35 | 1:35.729 | 1.233 |
| 19 | 30 Roberto MERHI | ATECH CRS GP | 12 | 1:35.733 | 1.237 |
| 20 | 23 Marlon STOCKINGER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 44 | 1:35.741 | 1.245 |
| 21 | 20 Arthur PIC | MW ARDEN | 44 | 1:35.790 | 1.294 |
| 22 | 26 Antonio F. DA COSTA | TECH 1 RACING | 44 | 1:35.795 | 1.299 |
| 23 | 11 Carlos MUÑOZ | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 41 | 1:35.806 | 1,310 |
| 24 | 19 Facu REGALIA | ADDAX TEAM | 26 | 1:35.836 | 1,340 |
| 25 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 44 | 1:35.963 | 1.467 |
| 26 | 5 Leonardo CORDEIRO | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 50 | 1:36.087 | 1.591 |
| 27 | 31 Tamas P’AL KISS | ATECH CRS GP | 35 | 1:36.164 | 1.668 |
| 28 | 4 Oli WEBB | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 38 | 1:36.257 | 1.761 |
| 29 | 16 Juan C. SISTOS | CARLIN | 45 | 1:36.356 | 1,860 |
| 30 | 15 Josef NEWGARDEN | CARLIN | 52 | 1:36.429 | 1.933 |
Afternoon Session
| DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | TIMES | GAP | |
| 1 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 36 | 1:35.858 | —- |
| 2 | 22 Michael CHRISTENSEN | MW ARDEN | 51 | 1:36.051 | 0.193 |
| 3 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 34 | 1:36.293 | 0.435 |
| 4 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 40 | 1:36.462 | 0.604 |
| 5 | 28 Alexander SIMS | TECH 1 RACING | 55 | 1:36.465 | 0.607 |
| 6 | 20 Arthur PIC | MW ARDEN | 30 | 1:36.529 | 0.671 |
| 7 | 23 Marlon STOCKINGER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 40 | 1:36.547 | 0.689 |
| 8 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRAND PRIX | 43 | 1:36.639 | 0.781 |
| 9 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 35 | 1:36.751 | 0.893 |
| 10 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 38 | 1:36.753 | 0.895 |
| 11 | 30 Roberto MERHI | ATECH CRS GP | 43 | 1:36.754 | 0.896 |
| 12 | 2 Matias LAINE | ART GRAND PRIX | 40 | 1:36.859 | 1.001 |
| 13 | 15 Josef NEWGARDEN | CARLIN | 49 | 1:36.861 | 1.003 |
| 14 | 19 Facu REGALIA | ADDAX TEAM | 33 | 1:36.881 | 1.023 |
| 15 | 8 Rio HARYANTO | MANOR RACING | 42 | 1:36.919 | 1.061 |
| 16 | 7 Adrien TAMBAY | MANOR RACING | 45 | 1:36.936 | 1.078 |
| 17 | 26 Antonio F. DA COSTA | TECH 1 RACING | 34 | 1:36.955 | 1.097 |
| 18 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 36 | 1:36.965 | 1.107 |
| 19 | 31 Tamas P’AL KISS | ATECH CRS GP | 28 | 1:36.995 | 1.137 |
| 20 | 24 Zoel AMBERG | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 41 | 1:37.050 | 1.192 |
| 21 | 27 Doru SECHELARIU | TECH 1 RACING | 22 | 1:37.082 | 1.224 |
| 22 | 3 Pedro NUNES | ART GRAND PRIX | 38 | 1:37.098 | 1,240 |
| 23 | 6 Conor DALY | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 34 | 1:37.175 | 1.317 |
| 24 | 4 Oli WEBB | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 30 | 1:37.181 | 1.323 |
| 25 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 42 | 1:37.321 | 1.463 |
| 26 | 17 Carlos SAINZ Jr | ADDAX TEAM | 15 | 1:37.654 | 1.796 |
| 27 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 52 | 1:37.782 | 1.924 |
| 28 | 16 Juan C. SISTOS | CARLIN | 43 | 1:37.816 | 1.958 |
| 29 | 5 Leonardo CORDEIRO | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 40 | 1:37.905 | 2.047 |
| 30 | 11 Carlos MUÑOZ | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 15 | 1:38.136 | 2.278 |
It would be safe to say that the build-up to the race has been filled with controversy. Like the recent and much maligned Commonwealth Games in Delhi, there have been constant reports that the Yeongham circuit would not be ready in time. Up until a few weeks ago, grandstands were incomplete, garages lay half built and the final layer of tarmac was not laid until just over one week ago.
Whereas races have gone ahead with incomplete facilities before, it is unheard of for tarmac to go down on a track so late and be perfectly ready for the race. There are fears that the surface may not have had time to properly cure, leaving the circuit potentially prone to peeling under the forces the Formula 1 cars generate. Should the surface be very slick as a result, then we may find ourselves watching a very interesting race.
Championship leader Mark Webber will be hoping the race will not be interesting. In fact the Australian will probably want as calm a race as possible – preferably with him out front. Despite extending his lead ever so slightly in Japan, Webber has not won since Hungary at the start of August and will be hoping to claim his 7th Formula 1 race win ahead of the on form Vettel and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari).
To say that Alonso is on a strong run would be something of an understatement. The Spaniard has claimed five podium in the last six races (he failed to finish in Belgium) including two victories, although he is level on points with Vettel.
As for the McLaren’s, it’s not looking good. 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton and reigning title holder Jenson Button are 28 and 31 points in arrears of Webber respectively and may need a miracle to plug that gap back. However, the increasing uncertainty of the track surface at Korea may produce the oddball race they need to stay in the hunt – regardless, both need to win with the other title contenders either retiring or having poor runs.
It’s unlikely – not impossible mind, but unlikely.
While not challenging for the World Championship, Nico Rosberg may have something to celebrate after the chequered flag this weekend. The young German is on the verge of officially defeating his veteran team mate Michael Schumacher, as Rosberg holds a 68 point advantage over the seven-times World Champion.
It could potentially be a momentous occasion for Rosberg – whose father was the 1982 World Champion – as Schumacher has defeated every team mate he has ever had, when running a full season. After 55 laps in Yeongam, that record of Schumacher’s may finally be broken.
This could also be a big weekend for Virgin. Despite having a much faster car, they are still behind Hispania in the Constructor’s and are increasingly facing the ignominy of finish the season in last place and if Korea does turn out to be an oddball event, then it may be their last chance to claim the necessary 13th place to avoid a wooden spoon.
A calm Antonio Felix da Costa led the way today. © Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
Antonio Felix da Costa made his presence felt at Jerez on the first day of the second GP3 Series winter test.
The Portuguese driver topped both the morning and afternoon sessions for MW Arden, leading ART Grand Prix Alexander Sims on both occasions.
It was interesting that da Costa was also fastest in the afternoon – the 19-year-old had been sidelined for much of the session with a mechanical issue, but immediately set the pace upon heading out on track.
Wednesday also saw the introduction of several new faces to the GP3 paddock – some with already familiar names, others with names we get to know. Arthur Pic, brother of GP2 racer Charles, ran for Status Grand Prix, and Eddie Cheever III (son of ex-Formula 1 driver and 1998 Indy 500 winner, Eddie Cheever Jr.) sat in at Jenzer Motorsports.
In an effort to confuse, World Series by Renault driver Albert Costa tried a GP3 machine for the first time, securing top-six times in both sessions for Tech-1 Racing.
To showcase the competitive nature of today’s field, the top-16 were within one second of each other in the morning session and in the after one second covered the top-22. The session will run twice more this week, as both tomorrow and Friday will see plenty of action on Spanish soil.
Day One (Wednesday, October 20th)
Morning Session
| DRIVER | TEAM | TIMES | Gap | |
| 1 | 22 Antonio F. DA COSTA | MW ARDEN | 1:35.458 | —- |
| 2 | 3 Alexander SIMS | ART GRAND PRIX | 1:35.783 | 0.325 |
| 3 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:35.822 | 0.364 |
| 4 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRAND PRIX | 1:35.943 | 0.485 |
| 5 | 2 Michael CHRISTENSEN | ART GRAND PRIX | 1:35.955 | 0.497 |
| 6 | 28 Albert COSTA | TECH 1 RACING | 1:35.969 | 0.511 |
| 7 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 1:35.973 | 0.515 |
| 8 | 27 Doru SECHELARIU | TECH 1 RACING | 1:35.981 | 0.523 |
| 9 | 30 Roberto MERHI | ATECH CRS GP | 1:36.016 | 0.558 |
| 10 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 1:36.129 | 0.671 |
| 11 | 8 Rio HARYANTO | MANOR RACING | 1:36.196 | 0.738 |
| 12 | 5 Miki MONRAS | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:36.211 | 0.753 |
| 13 | 7 Robin FRIJNS | MANOR RACING | 1:36.221 | 0.763 |
| 14 | 6 Conor DALY | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:36.363 | 0.905 |
| 15 | 31 Marlon STOCKINGER | ATECH CRS GP | 1:36.364 | 0.906 |
| 16 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 1:36.554 | 1.096 |
| 17 | 17 Pedro NUNES | ADDAX TEAM | 1:36.667 | 1.209 |
| 18 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:36.697 | 1.239 |
| 19 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:36.711 | 1.253 |
| 20 | 4 Arthur PIC | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:36.803 | 1.345 |
| 21 | 24 Zoel AMBERG | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:36.870 | 1.412 |
| 22 | 19 Facu REGALIA | ADDAX TEAM | 1:36.914 | 1.456 |
| 23 | 20 Matias LAINE | MW ARDEN | 1:36.999 | 1.541 |
| 24 | 15 Kevin GIOVESI | CARLIN | 1:37.073 | 1.615 |
| 25 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 1:37.178 | 1.72 |
| 26 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 1:37.338 | 1.88 |
| 27 | 23 Eddie CHEEVER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:37.786 | 2.328 |
| 28 | 11 George KATSINIS | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:37.884 | 2.426 |
| 29 | 16 Juan C. SISTOS | CARLIN | 1:37.920 | 2.462 |
| 30 | 26 Aaro VAINIO | TECH 1 RACING | 1:38.819 | 3.361 |
Afternoon Session
| Driver | Team | Times | Gap | |
| 1 | 22 Antonio F. DA COSTA | MW ARDEN | 1:36.430 | —- |
| 2 | 3 Alexander SIMS | ART GRANDS PRIX | 1:36.438 | 0.008 |
| 3 | 2 Michael CHRISTENSEN | ART GRANDS PRIX | 1:36.529 | 0.099 |
| 4 | 26 Aaro VAINIO | TECH 1 RACING | 1:36.668 | 0.238 |
| 5 | 28 Albert COSTA | TECH 1 RACING | 1:36.703 | 0.273 |
| 6 | 4 Arthur PIC | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:36.722 | 0.292 |
| 7 | 21 Simon TRUMMER | MW ARDEN | 1:36.775 | 0.345 |
| 8 | 10 Nigel MELKER | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:36.795 | 0.365 |
| 9 | 8 Rio HARYANTO | MANOR RACING | 1:36.825 | 0.395 |
| 10 | 30 Roberto MERHI | ATECH CRS GP | 1:36.904 | 0.474 |
| 11 | 14 Callum MACLEOD | CARLIN | 1:36.932 | 0.502 |
| 12 | 31 Marlon STOCKINGER | ATECH CRS GP | 1:36.941 | 0.511 |
| 13 | 17 Pedro NUNES | ADDAX TEAM | 1:36.955 | 0.525 |
| 14 | 12 Willi STEINDL | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:37.021 | 0.591 |
| 15 | 1 James CALADO | ART GRANDS PRIX | 1:37.025 | 0.595 |
| 16 | 6 Conor DALY | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:37.065 | 0.635 |
| 17 | 25 Nico MULLER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:37.077 | 0.647 |
| 18 | 24 Zoel AMBERG | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:37.101 | 0.671 |
| 19 | 5 Miki MONRAS | STATUS GRAND PRIX | 1:37.155 | 0.725 |
| 20 | 20 Matias LAINE | MW ARDEN | 1:37.188 | 0.758 |
| 21 | 7 Robin FRIJNS | MANOR RACING | 1:37.369 | 0.939 |
| 22 | 27 Doru SECHELARIU | TECH 1 RACING | 1:37.447 | 1.017 |
| 23 | 29 Nick YELLOLY | ATECH CRS GP | 1:37.534 | 1.104 |
| 24 | 15 Kevin GIOVESI | CARLIN | 1:37.684 | 1.254 |
| 25 | 9 Thomas HYLKEMA | MANOR RACING | 1:37.722 | 1.292 |
| 26 | 19 Facu REGALIA | ADDAX TEAM | 1:37.877 | 1.447 |
| 27 | 11 George KATSINIS | RSC MÜCKE MOTORSPORT | 1:37.961 | 1.531 |
| 28 | 16 Juan C. SISTOS | CARLIN | 1:37.990 | 1,560 |
| 29 | 18 Vittorio GHIRELLI | ADDAX TEAM | 1:38.225 | 1.795 |
| 30 | 23 Eddie CHEEVER | JENZER MOTORSPORT | 1:38.323 | 1.893 |
Over the weekend, SRO Motorsports announced the calendar for the 2011 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series – the schedule will take in ten rounds with races across the UK, as well as forays into Europe.
Since 1951, British Formula 3 has been a springboard for many local and international drivers as they scaled the motor racing ladder on the way to Formula 1. In the sixty years since its inception, famous racers such as the late Ayrton Senna, Martin Brundle and Jenson Button have all taken part in the series and there are high hopes for the next batch of champions, as they prepare to take the next step on the road to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Reflecting on the schedule, SRO General Manager Lisa Crampton revealed:
“…we’re absolutely delighted by the way the F3 calendar has developed. The circuits we plan to visit give drivers invaluable time on top Grand Prix tracks and will challenge them on some of Britain’s greatest driver circuits. There are many more improvements in the pipeline to underline the status of British F3 and these will be worked on together with feedback from FOTA over coming months.”
When noting about the lack of exact dates, Crampton was also keen to state that:
“…we’ve held the exact dates, as one or two may still change by a week or fortnight. We’d rather announce the month than to announce a date and then have to change it. We understand teams require a schedule at this point in the year to show to prospective drivers and sponsors.”
British Formula 3 will be charging head on into 2011. © Jakob Ebrey Photography
As the series aims to reinforce its plans to further enhance the reputation of the Championship, plans have been provide greater promotion of events to coincide with its existing marketing activities, as well as a renewed focus on the National Class – to be renamed the Rookie Championship from 2011 onwards. Drivers entering the Rookie Championship will receive data-sharing support from Neil Brown engineering and a branded race suit; however the real bonus goes to the Rookie Champion who will awarded with a waived entry fee into the following year’s International series. There are also some wonderful benefits for the top three in the main series – come the season end, they will be rewarded be tests behind the wheel of World Series by Renault machine.
This series has done much to positively impact the British motor racing scene for sixty years and long may that success continue. The British F3 is sponsored by US tyre manufacturer Cooper Tire and is further supported by Sunoco Racing Fuels, Anglo American Oil Company and Mirror.co.uk – more projects for 2011 and beyond will be revealed in coming months.
Provisional schedule of events
April Monza, Italy GT Endurance Series
April Oulton Park, UK British F3 & GT & UK support package
May Donington Park GP, UK British F3 & GT & UK support package
June Brands Hatch GP, UK British F3 & GT & UK support package
July Paul Ricard, France FIA GT1 World Championship
July Spa-Francorchamps Spa 24 Hours
August* Nürburgring*, Germany GT Endurance Series
September Rockingham, UK British F3 & GT & UK support package
September Snetterton 300, UK British F3 & GT & UK support package
October Silverstone Arena, UK GT Endurance, British F3, GT & supports
* Date/Circuit to be confirmed. All dates and circuits are provisional and subject to change
The field as they lined-up on the front stretch. © Greg Griffo / The Indianapolis Star
With the 100th anniversary of the very first Indianapolis 500 coming up next May, this week saw a very special photoshoot take place at the famed circuit.
Thirty-three previously victorious cars were lined-up on the starting grid, with Speedway historian Donald Davidson in tow. Fronted by a trio of winners, including Ray Harroun’s 1911 Marmon Wasp, the machines gathered silently, while all around celebrations for next year’s event gather pace.
Alongside Harroun’s winner were Dario Franchitti’s 2010 Ganassi Racing machine, as well as the AJ Foyt piloted Trevis-Offenhauser. All of the cars lined-up were the originals, bar Mario Andretti’s 1969 Ford-powered Brawner Hawk machine.
Of the 33 machines, twenty-seven of them belong to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the rest belonging to Chip Ganassi, Roger Penske and various other owners.
The field, as the lined-up were:
Row 1 – 1911 (Ray Harroun); 2010 (Dario Franchitti); 1961 (A.J. Foyt)
Row 2 – 1979 (Rick Mears); 1939-40 (Wilbur Shaw); 1970 (Al Unser)
Row 3 – 1963 (Parnelli Jones); 1990 (Arie Luyendyk); 1947-48 (Mauri Rose)
Row 4 – 1980 (Johnny Rutherford); 1953-54 (Bill Vukovich); 1968 (Bobby Unser)
Row 5 – 1964 (A.J. Foyt); 1965 (Jimmy Clark); 1922 (Jimmy Murphy)
Row 6 – 1969 (Mario Andretti); 1957-58 (Sam Hanks, Jimmy Bryan); 1983 (Tom Sneva)
Row 7 – 1912 (Joe Dawson); 1982 (Gordon Johncock); 1952 (Troy Ruttman)
Row 8 – 1972 (Mark Donohue); 1962 (Rodger Ward); 2000 (Juan-Pablo Montoya)
Row 9 – 1928 (Louis Meyer); 1995 (Jacques Villeneuve); 1950 (Johnnie Parsons)
Row 10 – 1977 (A.J. Foyt); 1951 (Lee Wallard); 1992 (Al Unser Jr.)
Row 11 – 1946 (George Robson); 1978 (Al Unser); 1932 (Fred Frame)
Lewis Williamson set the Friday pace. © Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
It may only be the middle of October, but winter testing has already got under way for the GP3 Series at the Estoril circuit in Portugal. A number of drivers from GP3’s inaugural year are returning, but many new faces will also be making an appearance.
The likes of James Calado, Lewis Williamson, Oli Webb and Rupert Svendsen-Cook will be looking to make the jump from British Formula 3, while the impressive Conor Daly (2010 Star Mazda Champion), Tamas P’al Kiss (Formula Renault UK) and Mitch Evans (2010 Toyota Racing Series Champion) also made their GP3 débuts in the test.
In the end, it was series-returnee Nico Muller that topped the timing sheets on the first day of testing for Jenzer Motorsport, heading the Addax Team duo of Miki Monras in the morning session and Roberto Mehri in the afternoon run. There were several red flag moments during the day, but none for any significant offs or damage.
Mitch Evans on track in his MW Arden machine. © Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
Come the second day, it was the third Addax driver, Felix da Costa that ran fastest in the morning ahead of James Calado (ART Grand Prix), although the afternoon told a slightly different story with Lewis Williamson (Atech CRS GP) and Nigel Melker (RSC Mücke) respectively topping the order – Da Costa was 3rd quickest, but Calado only picked up the 12th fastest lap.
P’al Kiss brought out the only major stoppage of the day – an off for the Hungarian driver, caused some damage to the front of his Status GP machine.
Manor Racing’s Adrien Tambay was fastest on the final day, registering the quickest time of the test in the process – he was ahead of Williamson, who did return to the top spot in the afternoon, with a time just faster than Robin Frijns (MW Arden).
With the field quickly getting used to their new cars, their were few red flags during the final days and apart from some minor issues, unreliability failed to rear its head. Despite only running on Thursday and Friday, Lewis Williamson really got the attention with his quick runs and he may become a force to be reckoned with in next years competition.
Next week, the teams arrive at the Spanish circuit at Jerez for the second post-season test as evaluations continue for the 2011 GP3 season.
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Time
|
(km/h)
|
|
1
|
25
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Nico Muller
|
40
|
1:32,581
|
162,6
|
|
2
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Miki Monras
|
38
|
1:32,600
|
162,6
|
|
3
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
31
|
1:32,641
|
162,5
|
|
4
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Adrien Tambay
|
24
|
1:32,742
|
162,3
|
|
5
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Roberto Mehri
|
27
|
1:32,912
|
162
|
|
6
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
48
|
1:33,007
|
161,9
|
|
7
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Christensen
|
34
|
1:33,012
|
161,9
|
|
8
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Adriano Buzaid
|
42
|
1:33,039
|
161,8
|
|
9
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Conor Daly
|
35
|
1:33,158
|
161,6
|
|
10
|
16
|
Carlin
|
Felix da Costa
|
28
|
1:33,172
|
161,6
|
|
11
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Dean Smith
|
40
|
1:33,219
|
161,5
|
|
12
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Aaro Vainio
|
30
|
1:33,220
|
161,5
|
|
13
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
31
|
1:33,234
|
161,5
|
|
14
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
34
|
1:33,352
|
161,3
|
|
15
|
10
|
RSC Mücke
|
Nigel Melker
|
36
|
1:33,407
|
161,2
|
|
16
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Doru Sechelariu
|
37
|
1:33,426
|
161,1
|
|
17
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
44
|
1:33,492
|
161
|
|
18
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Rio Haryanto
|
33
|
1:33,559
|
160,9
|
|
19
|
15
|
Carlin
|
Josef Newgarden
|
19
|
1:33,570
|
160,9
|
|
20
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
39
|
1:33,576
|
160,9
|
|
21
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
28
|
1:33,646
|
160,8
|
|
22
|
12
|
RSC Mücke
|
Willi Steindl
|
38
|
1:33,667
|
160,7
|
|
23
|
24
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Zoel Amberg
|
35
|
1:33,953
|
160,2
|
|
24
|
23
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
38
|
1:34,032
|
160,1
|
|
25
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
38
|
1:34,098
|
160
|
|
26
|
14
|
Carlin
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
21
|
1:34,312
|
159,6
|
|
27
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Matias Laine
|
42
|
1:34,359
|
159,6
|
|
28
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
41
|
1:34,515
|
159,3
|
|
29
|
11
|
RSC Mücke
|
Andrina Gugger
|
40
|
1:35,854
|
157,1
|
|
30
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
26
|
1:36,445
|
156,1
|
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Time
|
(km/h)
|
|
1
|
25
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Nico Muller
|
40
|
1:32,198
|
163,3
|
|
2
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Roberto Mehri
|
35
|
1:32,201
|
163,3
|
|
3
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
32
|
1:32,218
|
163,3
|
|
4
|
10
|
RSC M ü cke
|
Nigel Melker
|
41
|
1:32,286
|
163,1
|
|
5
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Christensen
|
32
|
1:32,294
|
163,1
|
|
6
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Adrien Tambay
|
26
|
1:32,312
|
163,1
|
|
7
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
37
|
1:32,406
|
162,9
|
|
8
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
26
|
1:32,471
|
162,8
|
|
9
|
16
|
Carlin
|
Felix da Costa
|
36
|
1:32,502
|
162,8
|
|
10
|
15
|
Carlin
|
Josef Newgarden
|
31
|
1:32,511
|
162,7
|
|
11
|
24
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Zoel Amberg
|
34
|
1:32,571
|
162,6
|
|
12
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Conor Daly
|
37
|
1:32,622
|
162,5
|
|
13
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Miki Monras
|
29
|
1:32,646
|
162,5
|
|
14
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
39
|
1:32,657
|
162,5
|
|
15
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Adriano Buzaid
|
38
|
1:32,678
|
162,4
|
|
16
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
29
|
1:32,714
|
162,4
|
|
17
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Aaro Vainio
|
39
|
1:32,736
|
162,3
|
|
18
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Dean Smith
|
38
|
1:32,799
|
162,2
|
|
19
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
39
|
1:32,810
|
162,2
|
|
20
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Doru Sechelariu
|
28
|
1:32,924
|
162
|
|
21
|
23
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
37
|
1:32,962
|
161,9
|
|
22
|
12
|
RSC M ü cke
|
Willi Steindl
|
44
|
1:33,010
|
161,9
|
|
23
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Matias Laine
|
46
|
1:33,034
|
161,8
|
|
24
|
14
|
Carlin
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
19
|
1:33,088
|
161,7
|
|
25
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
34
|
1:33,157
|
161,6
|
|
26
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Rio Haryanto
|
29
|
1:33,167
|
161,6
|
|
27
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
26
|
1:33,205
|
161,5
|
|
28
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
20
|
1:34,397
|
159,5
|
|
29
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
18
|
1:35,357
|
157,9
|
|
30
|
11
|
RSC M ü cke
|
Andrina Gugger
|
41
|
1:35,520
|
157,6
|
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Times
|
(km/h)
|
|
1
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Felix da Costa
|
32
|
1:31,627
|
164,3
|
|
2
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
30
|
1:31,659
|
164,3
|
|
3
|
10
|
RSC Mücke
|
Nigel Melker
|
40
|
1:31,762
|
164,1
|
|
4
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
31
|
1:31,924
|
163,8
|
|
5
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
34
|
1:32,062
|
163,5
|
|
6
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Robin Frijns
|
33
|
1:32,086
|
163,5
|
|
7
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Roberto Mehri
|
32
|
1:32,107
|
163,5
|
|
8
|
12
|
RSC Mücke
|
Willi Steindl
|
46
|
1:32,130
|
163,4
|
|
9
|
24
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Zoel Amberg
|
42
|
1:32,143
|
163,4
|
|
10
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Matias Laine
|
32
|
1:32,150
|
163,4
|
|
11
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
39
|
1:32,159
|
163,4
|
|
12
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Christensen
|
41
|
1:32,160
|
163,4
|
|
13
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Conor Daly
|
33
|
1:32,200
|
163,3
|
|
14
|
25
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
37
|
1:32,373
|
163
|
|
15
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Miki Monras
|
41
|
1:32,526
|
162,7
|
|
16
|
23
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
46
|
1:32,534
|
162,7
|
|
17
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Doru Sechelariu
|
38
|
1:32,560
|
162,7
|
|
18
|
15
|
CARLIN
|
Josef Newgarden
|
30
|
1:32,612
|
162,6
|
|
19
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Rio Haryanto
|
40
|
1:32,707
|
162,4
|
|
20
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Lewis Williamson
|
44
|
1:32,737
|
162,3
|
|
21
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
37
|
1:32,905
|
162
|
|
22
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
22
|
1:32,924
|
162
|
|
23
|
14
|
CARLIN
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
29
|
1:33,066
|
161,8
|
|
24
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
25
|
1:33,156
|
161,6
|
|
25
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Julian Leal
|
37
|
1:33,202
|
161,5
|
|
26
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
45
|
1:33,300
|
161,4
|
|
27
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Ivan Lukashevich
|
47
|
1:33,648
|
160,8
|
|
28
|
16
|
CARLIN
|
Richard Bradley
|
34
|
1:33,894
|
160,3
|
|
29
|
11
|
RSC Mücke
|
Andrina Gugger
|
39
|
1:33,943
|
160,3
|
|
30
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
22
|
1:34,635
|
159,1
|
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Time
|
|
1
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Lewis Williamson
|
35
|
1:31,432
|
|
2
|
10
|
RSC Mücke
|
Nigel Melker
|
33
|
1:31,672
|
|
3
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Felix da Costa
|
44
|
1:31,782
|
|
4
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Michael Christensen
|
31
|
1:31,843
|
|
5
|
12
|
RSC Mücke
|
Willi Steindl
|
49
|
1:31,945
|
|
6
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
42
|
1:31,976
|
|
7
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Matias Laine
|
37
|
1:32,004
|
|
8
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Roberto Mehri
|
37
|
1:32,030
|
|
9
|
15
|
CARLIN
|
Josef Newgarden
|
31
|
1:32,044
|
|
10
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Conor Daly
|
39
|
1:32,052
|
|
11
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
38
|
1:32,068
|
|
12
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
48
|
1:32,124
|
|
13
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
44
|
1:32,151
|
|
14
|
25
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
34
|
1:32,182
|
|
15
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Julian Leal
|
39
|
1:32,208
|
|
16
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Robin Frijns
|
40
|
1:32,273
|
|
17
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
41
|
1:32,296
|
|
18
|
24
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Zoel Amberg
|
40
|
1:32,301
|
|
19
|
23
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
37
|
1:32,601
|
|
20
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Miki Monras
|
31
|
1:32,624
|
|
21
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Doru Sechelariu
|
28
|
1:32,637
|
|
22
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
34
|
1:32,659
|
|
23
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
34
|
1:32,751
|
|
24
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
14
|
1:32,752
|
|
25
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Ivan Lukashevich
|
32
|
1:32,779
|
|
26
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Rio Haryanto
|
33
|
1:32,815
|
|
27
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
29
|
1:32,991
|
|
28
|
16
|
CARLIN
|
Richard Bradley
|
32
|
1:33,188
|
|
29
|
14
|
CARLIN
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
40
|
1:33,452
|
|
30
|
11
|
RSC Mücke
|
Andrina Gugger
|
26
|
1:33,768
|
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Time
|
|
1
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Adrien Tambay
|
40
|
1:30,973
|
|
2
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Lewis Williamson
|
44
|
1:31,098
|
|
3
|
10
|
RSC M ü cke
|
Nigel Melker
|
39
|
1:31,122
|
|
4
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
44
|
1:31,122
|
|
5
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Gabriel Chaves
|
41
|
1:31,224
|
|
6
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Robin Frijns
|
31
|
1:31,236
|
|
7
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Dean Smith
|
36
|
1:31,240
|
|
8
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Michael Christensen
|
34
|
1:31,242
|
|
9
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Julian Leal
|
40
|
1:31,266
|
|
10
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
34
|
1:31,310
|
|
11
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Aaro Vainio
|
42
|
1:31,374
|
|
12
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
31
|
1:31,465
|
|
13
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Miki Monras
|
25
|
1:31,490
|
|
14
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
37
|
1:31,506
|
|
15
|
15
|
CARLIN
|
Josef Newgarden
|
34
|
1:31,560
|
|
16
|
12
|
RSC M ü cke
|
Willi Steindl
|
41
|
1:31,596
|
|
17
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
40
|
1:31,598
|
|
18
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Oli Webb
|
45
|
1:31,653
|
|
19
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
42
|
1:31,679
|
|
20
|
25
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
44
|
1:31,763
|
|
21
|
24
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Zoel Amberg
|
31
|
1:31,771
|
|
22
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
38
|
1:31,815
|
|
23
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Adriano Buzaid
|
31
|
1:31,839
|
|
24
|
23
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
42
|
1:31,841
|
|
25
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
29
|
1:31,936
|
|
26
|
14
|
CARLIN
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
34
|
1:31,976
|
|
27
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Rio Haryanto
|
27
|
1:32,566
|
|
28
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
47
|
1:32,578
|
|
29
|
16
|
CARLIN
|
Richard Bradley
|
31
|
1:32,594
|
|
Pos
|
Car #
|
Team
|
Driver
|
Laps
|
Times
|
|
1
|
31
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Lewis Williamson
|
36
|
1:31,230
|
|
2
|
20
|
MW Arden
|
Robin Frijns
|
40
|
1:31,243
|
|
3
|
17
|
Addax Team
|
Dean Smith
|
24
|
1:31,734
|
|
4
|
2
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Gabriel Chaves
|
39
|
1:31,770
|
|
5
|
1
|
ART Grand Prix
|
James Calado
|
33
|
1:31,819
|
|
6
|
22
|
MW Arden
|
Mitch Evans
|
29
|
1:31,821
|
|
7
|
10
|
RSC Mü cke
|
Nigel Melker
|
36
|
1:31,829
|
|
8
|
18
|
Addax Team
|
Julian Leal
|
33
|
1:31,875
|
|
9
|
8
|
Manor Racing
|
Rio Haryanto
|
33
|
1:31,878
|
|
10
|
21
|
MW Arden
|
Simon Trummer
|
35
|
1:31,885
|
|
11
|
25
|
JENZER
|
Marlon Stockinger
|
47
|
1:31,888
|
|
12
|
28
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Miki Monras
|
28
|
1:31,908
|
|
13
|
7
|
Manor Racing
|
Adrien Tambay
|
27
|
1:31,957
|
|
14
|
4
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Christensen
|
34
|
1:31,983
|
|
15
|
19
|
Addax Team
|
Adriano Buzaid
|
35
|
1:32,015
|
|
16
|
3
|
ART Grand Prix
|
Pedro Nunes
|
31
|
1:32,035
|
|
17
|
15
|
CARLIN
|
Josef Newgarden
|
48
|
1:32,055
|
|
18
|
30
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Tamas P’al Kiss
|
41
|
1:32,209
|
|
19
|
24
|
JENZER
|
Zoel Amberg
|
40
|
1:32,233
|
|
20
|
29
|
Atech CRS GP
|
Nick Yelloly
|
36
|
1:32,316
|
|
21
|
26
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Aaro Vainio
|
43
|
1:32,427
|
|
22
|
16
|
CARLIN
|
Richard Bradley
|
40
|
1:32,519
|
|
23
|
9
|
Manor Racing
|
Thomas Hylkema
|
41
|
1:32,568
|
|
24
|
5
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Oli Webb
|
29
|
1:32,673
|
|
25
|
14
|
CARLIN
|
Svendsen -Cook
|
30
|
1:32,744
|
|
26
|
23
|
JENZER
|
Vittorio Ghirelli
|
39
|
1:32,923
|
|
27
|
12
|
RSC Mücke
|
Willi Steindl
|
25
|
1:33,050
|
|
28
|
6
|
Status Grand Prix
|
Kotaro Sakurai
|
29
|
1:33,083
|
|
29
|
27
|
Tech 1 Racing
|
Hugo Valente
|
27
|
1:33,341
|
Suzuka track layout. © FIA
It all seemed so easy. Having topped both Friday practice sessions and taken pole position in the delayed qualifying, Sebastian Vettel stormed to an emphatic victory in this morning’s Japanese Grand Prix in conditions that couldn’t be more different to yesterday’s wash out. It was enough to bring the 23-year-old German right back into the Championship hunt as he closed the gap on title rival and team mate Mark Webber.
A Chaotic Start
Those that may have been hoping for a quiet day following all of the climatic action of the weekend, may have been left slightly grim faced by an accident before all the cars had lined up on the grid. Virgin Racing’s Lucas di Grassi speared off of the circuit just after the chicane, destroying his Cosworth-powered car in the process finishing his race before it had even started. The pressure is on the Brazilian to retain his seat for 2011 and moments like this will not help his cause.
There was more action as the race itself got under way. With the red lights out, Renault’s Vitaly Petrov made an excellent start, only to clip the front of the slow starting Nico Hulkenberg in the Williams. The under-fire Petrov ploughed into the barrier lining the start / finish straight, while Hulkenberg limped slowly to a safe position with a mangled suspension – the stewards saw enough to slap a 5-place grid penalty onto Petrov, destabilising his Korean Grand Prix before he has even seen the circuit.
The Russian would later explain that:
“I was […] going passed Hulkenberg with Heidfeld on my right when he (Heidfeld) started to move left and so I also had to move left to avoid him. Unfortunately I hit the side of Hulkenberg’s car and this is why I crashed.“
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa would soon see fit to add to the mess of carbon fibre – as the pack soared into the first turn, the Brazilian planted his right-front wheel onto the grass, shooting across the track and striking the side of Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India at high speed, destroying both machines. Safety car.
The race neutralised, Renault were looking at one good result, only for the Grand Prix to turn sour on the third lap. As the remaining cars formed a long train behind the safety car, Robert Kubica’s right rear wheel worked loose, dropping off his yellow and black machine. It was a great shame for the Pole – in the brief few seconds that the race was running, he had barged passed Webber and into 2nd place, only to drop out of the race at the early stages.
It was a retirement that left the Pole rather perplexed:
“I was behind the safety car warming up the tyres, I nearly lost the car. […] I don’t know if there was a technical problem. I moved to the side and lost the wheel.“
With Kubica out of the picture, Vettel now led from Webber, Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) and the two McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Feeling they had nothing to lose, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Bruno Senna (Hispania), Jarno Trulli (Lotus) and Timo Glock (Virgin) all pitted to change to hard compound tyres, thereby promoting the second Hispania car of Sakon Yamamoto to the dizzying heights of 16th place.
The green emerged at the start of the 7th lap and this time time the getaway was clean. In clean air, Vettel surged ahead, while receiving little pressure from behind, although Webber kept the gap pegged to around two seconds in the early running. Alonso, however, fell backward as the Red Bull’s put in fastest lap after fastest lap – on this day, there was nothing the Ferrari could do. By the 11th lap, Alonso was already five seconds adrift of Vettel.
Neither Mercedes driver were being held back though – in a stunning move, Rosberg attempted a pass around the outside of Sebastien Buemi’s Toro Rosso at the fast 130R turn, but ran out of him before the deal could be sealed. Schumacher was a little more subtle as he attacked the sole remaining Williams of Rubens Barrichello – the seven time World Champion forced his way into the top-six with a precision move at the chicane.
Kobayashi Moves Forth
Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi was also on the move. The Japanese driver had found the perfect spot for overtaking with ballsy moves at the tight turn 11 hairpin – a place he would use to get by Jaime Alguersuari (lap 13) and Adrian Sutil (lap 18). Both Sutil and Kobayashi’s Sauber team mate Nick Heidfeld would use this lap to pit for new tyres, starting a sequence that would the rest of field slowly fall in for stops.
Stuck behind Button, Hamilton decided too to stop for fresh tyres on lap 23 and while his pace was good and the stop clean, the 2008 World Champion still dropped just behind Kobayashi. It would not be for too long though as Hamilton had fought his way passed the Sauber driver within two laps to move back into the top six; the McLaren with its Mercedes power proving too strong on the start / finish straight.
The three leaders followed Hamilton into the pits over the next two tours and while both Vettel and Alonso had clean stops, Webber suffered a momentary stall, quashing any possibility of taking his team; however it left Button in the race lead, albeit with waning strategy. The reigning Champion started the race on the harder compound tyre, but with the soft tyre lasting much better than anyone had anticipated, Button’s strategy was shot.
However, while Button had his problems, Hamilton was gaining – in fact, the McLaren driver was pulling in Alonso’s Ferrari at up to 0.9 of-a-second per lap by the 27th tour.
It helped somewhat that the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher had removed himself from the middle of their battle. The veteran had pitted on lap 24, but would lose a place to his team mate, Rosberg. The younger Mercedes driver was picking up spot-after-spot following his early decision to change tyres and it was enough to leave the silver cars 7th and 8th.
With 6th place Kobayashi still yet to pit, Button’s focus would become Rosberg; however with the McLaren driver already well over 30 seconds clear of Mercedes by lap 34, then an unchallenged 5th place was going to be on the cards. Unfortunately for Button, there was no hope of being close to the front four, but they were certainly reeling him in – if anything, the reigning Champion was beginning to squeeze the top our together; with less than 20 laps remaining Button led from Vettel, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton, with the race leader only 12 seconds ahead of his McLaren counterpart.
Button Slows for a Stop, Hamilton with a Gearbox
Eventually stopping for new tyres on lap 39, Jenson Button found himself slotting into 5th place, albeit a long way behind his team mate. For a time, it seemed as if the top five was set, yet as the race entered its final quarter, Hamilton began to show signs of dropping backwards. It would soon become clear that the McLaren had lost 3rd gear, leaving the 25-year-old to struggle around the ‘Esses’ – a series of turns whereby 3rd gear is a necessity. Whereas the McLaren had previous been catching Alonso’s Ferrari bit-by-bit, Hamilton would quickly fall back, losing 2 seconds per lap to his chasing team mate.
Come the 44th tour of the track, Button finally caught and passed his wounded team mate, to bring himself into the top four. With Rosberg in 6th, struggling with old tyres, Hamilton held onto 5th place in what was now a damage limitation exercise.
Nico Rosberg’s pace was beginning to cause some tension at Mercedes. Having stopped so early, the young German’s tyres were now long passed their best and it was clear that he was holding ‘team mate’ Michael Schumacher behind. It would soon come to nothing for Rosberg – with only a handful of laps remaining, the former GP2 Champion suffers a wheel failure; the Bridgestone tyre and wheel coming clean of his silver Mercedes. A worrying trend indeed.
One driver not worried was Kamui Kobayashi – in fact the Sauber driver was on the warpath. Having pitted with Button on lap 39, the 24-year-old found himself in 12th for a time, but Alguersuari, Barrichello and Heidfeld into the hairpin bought him some positions. The move on Alguersuari was especially noteworthy – having being forced to the outside of the tight turn 11, the Japanese driver drove around the outside of the Toro Rosso to surprise the Spaniard. After some momentary wheel-bashing, Kobayashi came away with minor damage, but not enough keep them back while Alguersuari pitted with a puncture.
Kobayashi made another spot thanks to Rosberg’s retirement, but just prior to that Adrian Sutil’s Force India engine blew (thanks to an ongoing oil leak) gifting the Sauber driver 7th position. It was unfortunate for Sutil – both the Force India cars had struggled prior to the race, but Sutil was on for some solid points until his car stopped.
There Was Always Going to be One Winner…
Unlike the Force India’s, the Red Bull’s never looked like stopping at any stage in the race. Realistically, this was Sebastian Vettel’s weekend as the German driver picked up his third victory of the season, in a time just over ninety minutes.
Mark Webber ran Vettel close at the end, but the reality is he may never have gotten by his younger team mate; although this did not stop the Australian from setting the fastest lap of the race on the final tour. Webber had a relatively quiet run to the flag, never threatening Vettel or receiving much of a threat from behind.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said:
“…I am delighted with the performance of the two drivers and obviously hope that they keep performing at this level over the remaining three races. Seb[astian] had a less comfortable summer break than Mark probably did, but in the last few races he has driven extremely well…”
Fernando Alonso secured the final podium spot for Ferrari, but it was always going to be difficult for the double-World Champion.
“We knew that before coming here, third was probably our maximum position coming here, but we are convinced that this was the worst track of the remaining races of this championship so a good weekend overall.“
The result leaves the Spaniard trailing Mark Webber by 14 points in the standing, tied with Vettel.
Coming home 4th and 5th was not the most desirable of results for the McLaren pairing. Button came home first of the two, some 13.5 seconds shy of Vettel – he would later rue a tyre strategy that left him struggling for pace against the leaders. In an interview with the BBC post-race, he countered that:
“I thought the others would struggle on the options at the start of the race, they didn’t. […] to stay out when everyone else pitted was probably the wrong thing. Maybe you should cover the people that you are racing and we didn’t do that.“
Lewis Hamilton seemed happy just to get to the end, as his McLaren shredded its gears late on; however the 2008 Champion remained optimistic with Korea, Brazil and Abu Dhabi still to run.
“Still three races to go, still 75 points available, but these guys continue to pick up points consistently […] but we will keep pushing.“
It may be a struggle for the McLaren’s – this result leaves Hamilton 28 points behind Vettel, with Button a further three adrift.
Michael Schumacher made it three Mercedes-engined cars in the top-six in his works’ machine, eventually finish five seconds clear of Kamui Kobayashi. Nick Heidfeld made it a double-points finish for the Swiss squad as he trailed home in 8th – a vital result as to aim to secure 8th in the Constructor’s Championship.
The Williams team pulled to within two points of Force India thanks to a 9th place finish by Rubens Barrichello – the Brazilian was only just shy of Heidfeld, the veteran’s found themselves separated by only 0.8 of-a-second across the line. Sebastien Buemi picked up a single point for the Toro Rosso squad following a quiet run to the flag.
Outside the Points
Jaime Alguersuari’s late stop dropped the Spaniard to 11th position and a lap down and while he may have come away disappointed, there was joy on the Lotus pitwall as Heikki Kovalainen brought his green and yellow machine home in a season best 12th spot – a result that means Virgin will need at an 11th place to beat them in the Constructor’s Championship. The ecstatic Finn said after the race that
“…it was a wicked race, really absolutely fantastic for me, Jarno and the whole team. Our pace was amazing – we were only lapped once and at this kind of circuit, where we needed to perform, we could not have done any more. An amazing day for the whole team.“
Kovalainen finished ahead of his Lotus team mate Jarno Trulli (13th) two laps down, with Virgin’s Timo Glock (14th) and Hispania Racing’s Bruno Senna in 15th position. Sakon Yamamoto was the final finisher in 16th place and it was, admittedly, a very impressive race from the much maligned Japanese driver.
Despite enormous pressure early on, the Hispania driver first fought off Jarno Trulli and then Timo Glock for many laps, before falling behind after his pit stop; however it is clear now, that the Hispania is clearly some 2 seconds per lap slower than the other new teams on an average circuit. Both Senna and Yamamoto registered their best results of the season.
In the end, it was a decent race, but somewhat processional up front, with Robert Kubica – the potential spanner in the works – removed from the action early on. Much of the entertainment was delivered by home driver Kamui Kobayashi, although accidents removed a number of the competitors.
In two weeks time, Formula 1 travels to Yeongam for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix. Reports from the area now say that the circuit is nearly ready, but that the final layer of track was only laid a few days ago. This could potentially result in a crazy race and it may also be McLaren’s last chance – if they don’t win there, then the title battle will certainly be a three-way battle come Interlagos.
Race Rating: 3 out of 5
*All quotes courtesy of Autosport, the BBC and the team’s respective press releases.
——–
Suzuka, Japanese Grand Prix (Round 16, October 10th)
1 VETTEL Red Bull 53 laps
2 WEBBER Red Bull +0.9s
3 ALONSO Ferrari +2.7s
4 BUTTON McLaren +13.5s
5 HAMILTON McLaren +39.5s
6 SCHUMACHER Mercedes +59.9s
7 KOBAYASHI Sauber +64.0s
8 HEIDFELD Sauber +69.6s
9 BARRICHELLO Williams +70.8s
10 BUEMI Toro Rosso +72.8s
11 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +1 lap
12 KOVALAINEN Lotus +1 lap
13 TRULLI Lotus +2 laps
14 GLOCK Virgin +2 laps
15 SENNA HRT +2 laps
16 YAMAMOTO HRT +3 laps
R. ROSBERG Mercedes +6 laps
R. SUTIL Force India +9 laps
R. KUBICA Renault +51 laps
R. HULKENBERG Williams +53 laps
R. MASSA Ferrari +53 laps
R. PETROV Renault +53 laps
R. LIUZZI Force India +53 laps
DNS DI GRASSI Virgin +53 laps
| Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing | 220 |
| 2. Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 206 |
| 3. Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing | 206 |
| 4. Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 192 |
| 5. Jenson Button | McLaren | 189 |
| 6. Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 128 |
| 7. Nico Rosberg | Mercedes GP | 122 |
| 8. Robert Kubica | Renault | 114 |
| 9. Michael Schumacher | Mercedes GP | 54 |
| 10. Adrian Sutil | Force India | 47 |
| 11. Rubens Barrichello | Williams | 41 |
| 12. Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | 27 |
| 13. Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 19 |
| 14. Nico Hulkenberg | Williams | 17 |
| 15. Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India | 13 |
| 16. Sebastien Buemi | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 8 |
| 17. Pedro de la Rosa | Sauber | 6 |
| 18. Nick Heidfeld | Sauber | 4 |
| 19. Jaime Alguersuari | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 3 |
| Constructor Team | Points |
|---|---|
| 1. Red Bull Racing | 426 |
| 2. McLaren | 381 |
| 3. Ferrari | 334 |
| 4. Mercedes GP | 176 |
| 5. Renault | 133 |
| 6. Force India | 60 |
| 7. Williams | 58 |
| 8. Sauber | 37 |
| 9. Scuderia Toro Rosso | 11 |
Suzuka track layout. © FIA
Qualifying
Sebastian Vettel secured his eighth pole position of the season, with Red Bull taking their seventh front row lock out; however Vettel’s conversion rate to wins this season has been quite poor. Mark Webber found himself only 0.07 of-a-second shy of the German once the final ten minute session ran its course.
Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time, but a penalty for a changed gearbox will leave the 2008 Champion getting off the grid in 8th place. It left Robert Kubica (Renault) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) on the second row of the grid, with the Pole just ahead.
Jenson Button was next up – the reigning Champion secured 5th, despite only having one run on the hard tyre; a strategy that could be advantageous during the race. Nico Rosberg took 6th in his Mercedes and Rubens Barrichello (Williams) was 7th, ahead of the penalised Hamilton. The second Williams of Nico Hulkenberg and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) secured an all-German row five.
Schumacher caused some controversy in the opening stint of qualifying – the German (apparently) raised the on track ire of Alonso with the former Champion blocking and weaving across the front of the Ferrari through Spoon and down toward the fast 130R corner.
Nick Heidfeld was the fastest of the drivers to drop out of Q2, but there was surprise when the Sauber beat the Ferrari of Felipe Massa. On the soft tyre, the Brazilian lost a huge amount of time on the opening lap of his final run as he it traffic, but was simply too slow on next lap lap around.
Vitaly Petrov took 13th in his Renault, not aided by an off a turn 1. The Russian just pipped local favourite Kamui Kobayashi – the Sauber driver had a lap good enough to get into final qualifying, but a mistake in the chicane left him in the drop zone.
Both Force India’s failed to make it into the final session, with Adrian Sutil (15th) heading Vitantonio Liuzzi (17th). They squeezed the leading Toro Rosso driven by Jaime Alguersuari (16th).
The second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi also struggled with the Swiss driver not making it through the opening session, only just behind Alguersuari – once again, the Red Bull junior squad were slowest of the established teams.
Buemi was, rather predictably, joined by the six new cars, headed by the Lotus of Jarno Trulli. Heikki Kovalainen was next up with Lucas di Grassi out-qualifying Timo Glock – a rarity this season. Bruno Senna and Sakon Yamamoto will make up the last row of the grid.
Japan, Qualifying (October 10th)
1 VETTEL Red Bull 1m30.785s
2 WEBBER Red Bull 1m30.853s
3 KUBICA Renault 1m31.231s
4 ALONSO Ferrari 1m31.352s
5 BUTTON McLaren 1m31.378s
6 ROSBERG Mercedes 1m31.494s
7 BARRICHELLO Williams 1m31.535s
8 HAMILTON McLaren 1m31.169s (* 5-place grid penalty)
9 HULKENBERG Williams 1m31.559s
10 SCHUMACHER Mercedes 1m31.846s
11 HEIDFELD Sauber 1m32.187s
12 MASSA Ferrari 1m32.321s
13 PETROV Renault 1m32.422s
14 KOBAYASHI Sauber 1m32.427s
15 SUTIL Force India 1m32.659s
16 ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m33.071s
17 LIUZZI Force India 1m33.154s
18 BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m33.568s
19 TRULLI Lotus 1m35.346s
20 KOVALAINEN Lotus 1m35.464s
21 DI GRASSI Virgin 1m36.265s
22 GLOCK Virgin 1m36.332s
23 SENNA HRT 1m37.270s
24 YAMAMOTO HRT 1m37.365s
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