Source: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/10465.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Coulthard slams 'irresponsible' approach to new teams
David Coulthard has added his voice to those expressing concern about the presence of three new Formula One team on the grid this season
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Sebastian Vettel Q&A: Maybe I'll say I've lost the trophy…
After four years ruling the F1 roost, Sebastian Vettel is facing a huge challenge this season as his Renault-powered Red Bull team struggle to compete with their leading Mercedes rivals. Vettel insists he remains as focused as ever, however, and all the while he can still mathematically retain his title, it seems he won't be too eager to hand back the championship trophy. We caught up with the German for an exclusive chat ahead of this weekend's Budapest race
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/7/16145.html
Hungaroring stats - Ricciardo doubles up
In three previous races in Hungary, Daniel Ricciardo failed to break into the top ten, but on his fourth attempt the Red Bull driver got everything right, fighting his way to the front to record his second career victory.
And just like in Canada, where he scored his first win, the Australian made the race-winning pass with three laps to go
And just like in Canada, where he scored his first win, the Australian made the race-winning pass with three laps to go
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2014/7/16176.html
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Ricciardo motivated by Alonso praise
Daniel Ricciardo says his tussle with Fernando Alonso at Hockenheim and the subsequent praise he received from the Spaniard has made him hungry for more wheel-to-wheel duels with F1's best drivers
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/168965.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Ricciardo’s second win and Hamilton emulates Vettel | 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix stats and facts
Daniel Ricciardo claimed his second F1 win while Lewis Hamilton replicated Sebastian Vettel's feat of climbing to third from the pit lane. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/QuBzdfNAfUc/
Monday, July 28, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
2014 Hungarian Grand Prix lap times and fastest laps | 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap of the Hungarian Grand Prix as he was over two seconds faster than his rivals at the end of the race. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/2wpFNgRHuf8/
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Exclusive Nico Rosberg Q&A: I'd do anything to win at home
At the last race in Great Britain, Nico Rosberg saw his 100 percent finishing record expire along with his gearbox, but worse than that he saw his world championship lead over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton sliced from 29 points to just four.
But the weeks since have been much better for the German driver - not only has he signed a new contract with the Silver Arrows, but he also got married to his long-term girlfriend, and as a result he arrives at his home Grand Prix both happy and determined to return to winning ways
But the weeks since have been much better for the German driver - not only has he signed a new contract with the Silver Arrows, but he also got married to his long-term girlfriend, and as a result he arrives at his home Grand Prix both happy and determined to return to winning ways
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/7/16095.html
Friday, July 25, 2014
F1: Sutil says his Sauber future is safe
Adrian Sutil says his future in Formula 1 with Sauber is safe, despite speculation the Swiss squad might replace him in its driver line-up.
F3: Jones wins as Merhi claims top points
Ed Jones cruised to victory in the first British Formula 3 Championship race of the Spa weekend, while it was Roberto Merhi who claimed maximum points
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Fourth the 'best we could get' - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel does not think he could have finished higher than fourth in Hockenheim after an aggressive strategy call allowed him to beat Fernando Alonso into fourth at the German Grand Prix
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/germany/motorsport/story/168367.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Lauda lays into McLaren, Ferrari
Niki Lauda has had a go at McLaren and Ferrari for designing "s**t" cars that cannot rival the Mercedes W05...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9389530/Lauda-lays-into-McLaren-Ferrari
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Qualifying - Rosberg on pole as Hamilton crashes out
Nico Rosberg gave the home fans exactly what they wanted as he raced to pole position in Germany on Saturday afternoon, but Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton had another miserable qualifying session, crashing out in Q1 with a brake disc failure.
Behind Rosberg, Williams claimed second and third with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo
Behind Rosberg, Williams claimed second and third with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa, ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16110.html
Red Bull 'looks a bit closer' - Rosberg
Nico Rosberg is concerned Red Bull may have closed the gap at Hockenheim but thinks Saturday will be a better indication of just how much of its advantage Mercedes has retained without FRIC
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/germany/motorsport/story/167727.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Top teams resigned to FRIC ban
Formula One's top teams are reportedly ready to remove their Front and Rear Interconnected (FRIC) suspension systems for the German Grand Prix amidst growing doubts unanimous support for delaying a ban can found
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/166851.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Bianchi ends day two on top
Jules Bianchi set the pace on the final day of testing at Silverstone, which ended early when Giedo van der Garde crashed, damaging a guardrail...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9377084/Bianchi-ends-day-two-on-top
Monday, July 21, 2014
Race - home glory for Rosberg and Mercedes in Germany
Mercedes' Nico Rosberg drove a faultless race at Hockenheim on Sunday afternoon to earn his first career victory on home soil.
The German started from pole position and was never headed, whilst behind him Williams' Valtteri Bottas drove superbly to take second place and see off a late charge from the recovering Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who started 20th and finished third
The German started from pole position and was never headed, whilst behind him Williams' Valtteri Bottas drove superbly to take second place and see off a late charge from the recovering Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who started 20th and finished third
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16124.html
Bianchi ready if needed by Ferrari
Jules Bianchi insists he will be ready to stand in for Kimi Raikkonen should he be required to do so in Germany...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9376470/Bianchi-ready-if-needed-by-Ferrari
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Raikkonen in rude health
Kimi Raikkonen already had a bottle of beer in his hand by the time he joined his Lotus team for the now-traditional group photo following a grand prix victory.
Knowing Raikkonen's reputation, it will almost certainly not have been the last drink that passed his lips in Abu Dhabi on Sunday night as he celebrated his first win since returning to Formula 1 this year after two years in rallying.
"For sure we're going to have a good party today," the sport's most famous hedonist said on he podium, "and hopefully tomorrow, when we are feeling bad after a long night, we will remember how we feel."
How long will you celebrate for, he was asked.
"I have almost two weeks," he said. "As long as I manage to get myself to the next race I think the team is happy. I try to get home at some point."
The party is well deserved. Raikkonen's comeback year has had its ups and downs, but a win has looked a probability since the start of the season, and in many ways the big surprise has been that it has taken so long.
Raikkonen has been remarkably strong and consistent in races this season, but until Abu Dhabi his best chances of victory had been squandered by starting too far down the grid.
Raikkonen has now taken 37% of his career victories after starting from outside the top three on the grid. Photo: Getty
He is the first to admit that he has made too many mistakes in qualifying. Indeed, for the first half of the season he was generally being out-paced over one lap on Saturdays by his novice team-mate Romain Grosjean.
But in the second half of the season his qualifying pace has edged forward, the mistakes have dried up, and this weekend everything came together to produce the result the team and he undoubtedly deserve.
Out of the car, Raikkonen is about as uncommunicative as they come. He simply refuses to engage in the media game. That can be frustrating for journalists who are searching for insight from an undoubtedly great driver, but still there is no mystery about his true character.
The radio messages that caused such amusement during the race sum him up.
His poor race engineer was only doing his job when he informed him of the gap to Fernando Alonso's Ferrari behind him, and some may find it rude that Raikkonen would respond by asking him to "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing".
But that is Raikkonen all over. He's a no-nonsense character, and he just wants things the way he wants them. And if he is not comfortable in the spotlight, he was born to be in a Formula 1 car at the front of a grand prix.
"Kimi is a man of few words but he's all about racing," McLaren driver Jenson Button said, summing up the Finn's unique appeal.
"It's good to see him have a good race here and collect the victory. He does deserve it. He is back for the racing. That's what he loves and it's good to see that."
For all his impressive performance, Raikkonen owed his win to Lewis Hamilton's wretched fortune at McLaren.
Yet another failure - this one in a fuel pump on the McLaren's Mercedes engine - cost Hamilton another victory. It's the second time it has happened in five races and it is the story of his season.
Hamilton said on Sunday that he had "been at my best this year" and so it has looked, but he also made a pointed reference to McLaren's myriad problems throughout the season: "We have not done a good enough job to win this championship."
For the men who can win it, it was a weekend of wildly fluctuating fortunes.
Following Sebastian Vettel's exclusion from qualifying because not enough fuel had been put in his Red Bull to provide the requisite one-litre sample, it appeared that Alonso had a golden opportunity to close down some of the advantage the German had eked out with his four consecutive wins through Singapore, Japan, Korea and India.
But after a wildly topsy-turvy race and an impressive drive by Vettel, the German joined his Spanish rival on the podium.
All three podium finishers gave an object lesson in racing to the many drivers who crash-banged into each other behind them, including each of their team-mates, and while Vettel's drive quite rightly stood out, so too was a little luck involved.
Vettel damaged his front wing against Bruno Senna's Williams on the first lap, but was able to continue and overtake the rabbits at the back of the field.
Then, not for the first time in his career, he made a mistake behind the safety car, misjudging the pace of Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso as the Australian warmed his brakes, veering to avoid him, and finishing off the front wing against a marker board.
The mistake forced Red Bull to pit Vettel when they were not going to and the fresh tyres he fitted at the stop meant he had a grip advantage over the drivers he now had to pass.
Again, he sliced rapidly through the backmarkers - this time without incident - so that he was up to seventh by the time the pit-stop period started for those in front of him.
By the time the leaders had all stopped, Vettel was in second place, and suddenly it looked like he might have a chance of pulling off a sensational victory.
Raikkonen's Lotus team, for one, thought Vettel would not be stopping again, but Red Bull were concerned enough about tyre wear to want to play safe, and the 20 seconds he lost in his second pit stop were then wiped out by another safety car.
Fourth at the re-start, the fastest car in the field and on fresher tyres than Raikkonen, Alonso and Button ahead of him, it again looked like he might win.
In the end, though, Button's clever defence kept him behind long enough to ensure that although he could pass the McLaren, third was as far as he was going to go.
BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan said Vettel's ability to salvage a podium finish from a pit-lane start must feel like a "dagger in the heart for Ferrari" but if Alonso was disappointed you would not want to play poker with him.
He talked about his pride at finishing second in a race Ferrari had expected to deliver a fifth or sixth place - and as Red Bull team boss Christian Horner pointed out, Alonso celebrated on the podium as if he had won the race.
For a while now, Alonso has been saying Red Bull's winning run would end, that eventually they would have some bad luck.
Well, in Abu Dhabi they had it, and still Alonso could gain only three points on Vettel, and it was noticeable that the tone of his remarks after the race shifted slightly.
In India two weeks ago, he said he was still "100% confident" of winning the title. After Abu Dhabi, though, he did not repeat that remark.
"Without the problem for Sebastian we were thinking we would exit Abu Dhabi with 20 points deficit or something and we are 10 (behind)," Alonso said. "In the end it was a good weekend for us.
"They will have the fastest car in the last two races. There is no magic part that will come for Austin or Brazil. But as I said a couple of races ago, they have the fastest car, we have the best team. So we see who wins."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/11/post_abu_dhabi.html
GP3: Kirchhofer dominates home GP3 race
Marvin Kirchhofer scored his maiden GP3 Series victory on home turf at Hockenheim on Saturday
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Maldonado to remain with Lotus for 2015
Lotus have confirmed that Pastor Maldonado will continue to race with the team for a second season next year, having joined from Williams at the end of 2013.
Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 Series champion, made his F1 debut in 2011 and went on to become the first Venezuelan to win a Grand Prix
Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 Series champion, made his F1 debut in 2011 and went on to become the first Venezuelan to win a Grand Prix
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16116.html
No penalty for Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen has reportedly escaped sanctions for the manner in which he attempted to return to the track in the Britsih Grand Prix...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9378750/No-penalty-for-Raikkonen
Friday, July 18, 2014
Exclusive Q&A with Caterham team principal Christijan Albers
It's a little over two weeks since Tony Fernandes sold his stake in the Caterham F1 team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors and former Grand Prix racer Christjian Albers took over the day-to-day running of the squad.
But whilst he may not have had much time to assess the situation, Albers already has a clear idea about the future direction of the team, as he explains in this exclusive interview
But whilst he may not have had much time to assess the situation, Albers already has a clear idea about the future direction of the team, as he explains in this exclusive interview
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/7/16094.html
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Hamilton decision-making under the microscope
 Lewis Hamilton has come in for criticism |
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/hamilton_decisionmaking_under_1.php
Lopez rules out F1 in 2010
Jose Maria 'Pechito' Lopez will not take part in Formula One this year after his manager revealed that he had not been able to land a reserve driver role at HRT
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/teamus/motorsport/story/10165.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Kimi 'fully recovered' after shunt
Ferrari have confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen is 100 percent fit for this weekend's German Grand Prix...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9384071/Kimi-fully-recovered-after-shunt
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Sat: Williams, Ferrari, Caterham
It was a nightmare qualifying in Britain for Williams and Ferrari who faltered in the rain with only Caterham finishing behind them on the timesheets...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9372602/Sat-Williams-Ferrari-Caterham
Hamilton hoping for better Mercedes reliability | 2014 German Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton is hoping to draw a line under the reliability problems Mercedes have experienced during the first half of the season. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/0UlrCoE43BA/
Monday, July 14, 2014
Campaign launched to save Team Lotus
 |
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/11/campaign_launched_to_save_team_1.php
Exclusive Helmut Marko Q&A: Red Bull title still possible
Reigning world champions Red Bull are having a tough season - just one victory, and a distant second place in the standings, with less than half the points of leaders Mercedes. The Renault power unit issues have been well publicised, but Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko believes that together they can work through them, and with double points on the table at the final round in Abu Dhabi, he insists a shot at the title is not yet out of the question
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/7/16040.html
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Bianchi fastest for Ferrari as Silverstone test ends
Jules Bianchi made the most of his late call-up from Ferrari to set the pace on the second and final day of Formula One's in-season test at Silverstone.
The Frenchman, drafted in to replace Kimi Raikkonen who sustained bruising in a crash during Sunday's race in Great Britain, hit the front in the final hour as he worked down to a 1m 35.262s
The Frenchman, drafted in to replace Kimi Raikkonen who sustained bruising in a crash during Sunday's race in Great Britain, hit the front in the final hour as he worked down to a 1m 35.262s
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16071.html
Saturday, July 12, 2014
WEC: Ram Racing withdraws from WEC
The British Ram Racing Ferrari team has withdrawn from the remainder of this year's World Endurance Championship.
Home win for Hill while Schumacher earns ban | 1994 British Grand Prix flashback
Damon Hill narrowed Michael Schumacher's championship 20 years ago today with a home win at Silverstone while the Benetton driver was handed a two-race ban. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/WWgO9Bjg-WU/
Friday, July 11, 2014
Sebastian Vettel Q&A: Renault criticism exaggerated
After the disappointment of retirement at Red Bull's home race in Austria two weeks ago, Sebastian Vettel at least had something to celebrate in the Silverstone paddock on Thursday - his birthday (team mate Daniel Ricciardo's was two days ago). But will the party continue throughout the British Grand Prix weekend
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/7/16025.html
Hamilton glory cannot hide the hurt
Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the Italian Grand Prix was his second in three races and McLaren’s third in a row, confirming their position as the form team in Formula 1.
They have won nearly twice as many races as any other team this season – their five compare with the three of Ferrari and Red Bull. No-one else has won more than one.
Just as worryingly for their rivals, the last two victories – Hamilton’s on Sunday and Jenson Button’s in Belgium seven days previously – were utterly dominant.
The retirement of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel with his second alternator failure in a race this season also helped Hamilton move into second place in the championship.
Lewis Hamilton (centre) celebrates winning the Italian GP on the podium with Sergio Perez (left) and Fernando Alonso (right). Photo: Getty
The 27-year-old may be 37 points behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, but there are 175 still available in the remaining seven races.
Alonso is, by common consent, the stand-out driver of 2012, but Hamilton has also driven a superb season and has almost certainly been second best.
Had it not been for a number of operational problems early in the championship, he may well be leading the championship. Even as it is, he has every chance of making a fight of it to the end of the season.
For a man in such a position, after a strong weekend, Hamilton was in a subdued mood after the race, as indeed he was throughout the four days in Monza.
He insisted that the BBC Sport story in which Eddie Jordan said that Hamilton was on the verge of leaving McLaren and signing for Mercedes had not affected him, but it did not look that way.
Whatever was prompting him to keep his answers short and to the point in his news conferences and television interviews certainly did not affect his driving.
He was in excellent form throughout the three days, tussling with Alonso for the honour of being fastest man at Monza.
And once the Spaniard was put out of the reckoning for victory with a rear anti-roll bar problem that left him in 10th place on the grid, Hamilton always looked odds-on for victory.
His task was made easier when Ferrari’s Felipe Massa beat Button away from the grid and held on to second place, with the McLaren never really hustling as it might have been expected to do, until he made his pit stop on lap 19. By then, Hamilton had the race won.
There was no evidence Button would have been able to challenge his team-mate had he got away in second place.
Button did close a little a few laps after their pit stops, but it was clear Hamilton was measuring his pace, and he let Button get no closer than seven seconds before holding him there until the second McLaren retired with a fuel system problem.
It was a mature, controlled drive, just as were his victories in Canada and Hungary. Alonso, who rates him as his toughest rival, will take the threat from him in the championship very seriously.
All in all, it was a tense weekend at McLaren. The Hamilton/Mercedes story made it a difficult weekend for the team and the relationship between their two drivers is frosty, presumably following Hamilton’s decision to post a picture of confidential team telemetry on the social networking site Twitter on the morning of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Button said he was “surprised and disappointed” by his team-mate’s actions, for which read “seriously hacked off”.
“I didn’t concentrate on it too much,” Button said on his arrival at Monza. “I thought it was important to say how I felt. It’s very easy not to say anything; also if you say something you can clear it up quicker. That was the last race. We’ve moved on from that.”
Perhaps, but the body language between the two men was palpably cool throughout the weekend, and they were not troubling to hide it, even in public arenas such as the restaurant at their hotel.
One night, sitting at adjacent tables, they did not even look at or acknowledge each other, let alone exchange a word.
McLaren insiders were relaxed about the situation, though. They like their drivers to race and a bit of edge focuses their minds, one senior figure pointed out.
Hamilton admitted his victory would have been a lot harder had Alonso qualified on the front row, as he looked certain to do before his problem in qualifying.
As it was, Alonso was forced to salvage what he could from 10th on the grid and, typically, he made the most of the situation.
An aggressive and clinical first few laps go him into fifth place by lap seven, but there his progress halted against the back of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull.
The world champion was robust in his defence, and Alonso was not able to pass before they made their pit stops together on lap 20.
Ferrari’s slick pit work, consistently among the best this season, almost got him out ahead of Vettel, but the Red Bull edged ahead, forcing Alonso to get past on the track.
When he went for the big move, around the outside of Curva Grande at 180mph on lap 26, Vettel unceremoniously barged him on to the grass, the Ferrari bucking scarily as Alonso wrestled for control.
Understandably, he was furious, although he kept his counsel after the race. It was a sure-fire penalty, in the context of a clarification on acceptable driving which was issued verbally to the drivers at the Spanish Grand Prix and then in written form in Canada.
The assumption was that Vettel was getting Alonso back for a similar situation, with roles reversed, in last year’s Italian Grand Prix. That one, in which Vettel passed Alonso with two wheels on the grass, has rankled with the German ever since.
He has brought it up at every opportunity, and this looked very much like revenge.
The difference was that, then, Alonso left Vettel just enough room, and Vettel took to the grass when he could – just – have stayed on the track. This time, Vettel left no room, and his behaviour was clearly unacceptable.
Vettel has the arrogance and self-belief that is required of all great drivers but there is also sometimes a sense of entitlement about him which is less than appealing.
He got this one wrong, and one hopes that when he watches a video of the incident, he will recognise that himself.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/lewis_hamiltons_victory_in_the.html
Thursday, July 10, 2014
No guarantee of 2015 Mercedes challenge - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel has suggested Red Bull's current rate of development is not at the level it needs to be if the team is to enter 2015 on an even keel with Mercedes
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/166685.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Bianchi to replace Raikkonen at upcoming test
Ferrari have confirmed that Kimi Raikkonen will miss this week's test at Silverstone to aid his recovery from the bruising he sustained in a high-speed crash on lap one of Sunday's race in Great Britain.
The 34-year-old will be replaced at the test by Marussia driver Jules Bianchi, a Ferrari Driver Academy member since 2010
The 34-year-old will be replaced at the test by Marussia driver Jules Bianchi, a Ferrari Driver Academy member since 2010
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16063.html
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Hamilton decision-making under the microscope
| Lewis Hamilton has come in for criticism |
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/hamilton_decisionmaking_under_1.php
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
INDY: Montoya takes first win since return
Juan Pablo Montoya led Helio Castroneves to a Team Penske one-two to secure his first win since his IndyCar comeback with a superb drive at Pocono on Sunday
Monday, July 7, 2014
GP2: Nasr wins sprint race for Carlin
Felipe Nasr won the Silverstone GP2 Series sprint race to record his third victory of the season and close the gap to championship dominator Jolyon Palmer.
Di Montezemolo hails 'hero' Schumi
Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo says Michael Schumacher will "forever" be a "hero" to all at the Scuderia...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9365372/Di-Montezemolo-hails-hero-Schumi
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Lopez rules out F1 in 2010
Jose Maria 'Pechito' Lopez will not take part in Formula One this year after his manager revealed that he had not been able to land a reserve driver role at HRT
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/teamus/motorsport/story/10165.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Cool, canny Alonso seems to have all the answers
The remarkable story of Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's incredible season continued at the German Grand Prix as the Spaniard became the first man to win three races in 2012 and moved into an imposing lead in the world championship.
Those three victories have all been very different, but equally impressive. And each has demonstrated specific aspects of the formidable army of Alonso's talents.
In Malaysia in the second race of the season, at a time when the Ferrari was not competitive in the dry, he grabbed the opportunity provided by rain to take a most unexpected first win.
In Valencia last month, it was Alonso's opportunism and clinical overtaking abilities that were to the fore.
Other drivers may wonder how to stop Alonso's relentless drive to a third title. Photo: Getty
And in Germany on Sunday his victory was founded on his relentlessness, canniness and virtual imperviousness to pressure.
Ferrari, lest we forget, started the season with a car that was the best part of a second and a half off the pace. Their progress since then has been hugely impressive.
But vastly improved though the car is, it was not, as Alonso himself, his team boss Stefano Domenicali and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel all pointed out after the race on Sunday, the fastest car in Germany.
Vettel's Red Bull - which finished second but was demoted to fifth for passing Jenson Button by going off the track - and the McLaren appeared to have a slight pace advantage over the Ferrari, given their ability to stay within a second of it for lap after lap.
But Alonso cleverly managed his race so he was always just out of reach of them when it mattered.
He pushed hard in the first sector every lap so he was always far enough ahead at the start of the DRS overtaking zone to ensure his pursuers were not quite close enough to try to pass him into the Turn 6 hairpin.
After that, he could afford to back off through the middle sector of the lap, taking the stress out of his tyres, before doing it all over again the next time around.
Managing the delicate Pirelli tyres in this way also meant he could push that bit harder in the laps immediately preceding his two pit stops and ensure he kept his lead through them.
Equally, he showed the presence of mind to realise when Lewis Hamilton unlapped himself on Vettel shortly before the second stops that if he could, unlike the Red Bull driver, keep Hamilton behind, it would give him a crucial advantage at the stop.
It was not quite "67 qualifying laps", as Domenicali described it after the race, but it was certainly a masterful demonstration of control and intelligence.
And there was no arguing with another of the Italian's post-race verdicts. "(Alonso) is at the peak of his personal performance, no doubt about it," Domenicali said.
It was the 30th victory of Alonso's career, and he is now only one behind Nigel Mansell in the all-time winners' list. The way he is driving, he will surely move ahead of the Englishman into fourth place behind Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna before the end of the year.
At the halfway point of the season, Alonso now looks down on his pursuers in the championship from the lofty vantage point of a 34-point advantage.
That is not, as Red Bull team principal Christian Horner correctly pointed out in Germany, "insurmountable" with 10 races still to go and 250 points up for grabs. But catching him when he is driving as well as this will take some doing.
Alonso is clearly enjoying the situation, and is taking opportunities to rub his rivals' noses in it a little.
He is not the only driver to have been wound up by the index-finger salute Vettel employed every time he took one of his 11 wins and 15 pole positions on the way to the title last year.
So it was amusing to see Alonso do the same thing after he had beaten the German to pole position at Vettel's home race on Saturday.
The exchange between Alonso, Button and Vettel as they climbed out of their cars immediately after the race was also illuminating.
After standing on his Ferrari's nose to milk the applause, Alonso turned to Button and said: "You couldn't beat me?" He then pointed to Vettel and said: "He couldn't either."
All part of the game, but a little reminder to both men of what a formidable job Alonso is doing this season.
The race underlined how close the performance is between the top three teams this year.
Red Bull had a shaky start to the season by their standards - although to nowhere near the extent of Ferrari - but have had on balance the fastest car in the dry since the Bahrain Grand Prix back in April.
And while McLaren have had a shaky couple of races in Valencia and Silverstone, they showed potential race-winning pace in Germany following the introduction of a major upgrade.
Despite a car damaged when he suffered an early puncture on debris left from a first-corner shunt ironically involving Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa, Hamilton was able to run with the leaders before his retirement with gearbox damage.
And Button impressively fought his way up to second place from sixth on the grid, closing a five-second gap on Alonso and Vettel once he was into third place.
This has not been Button's greatest season, as he would be the first to admit.
Germany was the first race at which he has outqualified Hamilton in 2012 and even that may well have been down to the different tyre strategies they ran in qualifying.
Nevertheless, he remains a world-class grand prix driver and Germany proved the folly of those who had written him off after his recent struggles.
And despite Alonso's lead in the championship, the season is finely poised.
Germany was a low-key race for Mark Webber, who was unhappy with his car on the harder of the two tyres but remains second in the championship. And Red Bull's two drivers clearly have the equipment to make life difficult for Alonso.
The McLaren drivers are determined to make something of their season still and Lotus are quick enough to cause the three big teams some serious concern.
Mercedes, meanwhile, have a bit of work to do to turn around their tendency to qualify reasonably well and then go backwards in the race.
"It's going to be a great, great season," said McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh on Sunday. "It already has been a great season."
And the next instalment is already less than seven days away in Hungary next weekend.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/07/cool_canny_alonso_looks_diffic.html
Warrior Alonso bides his time
Almost Fernando Alonso's first act after what must have been the huge blow of seeing Sebastian Vettel slash his world championship lead to just four points at the Japanese Grand Prix, was to quote that country's great swordfighter and philosopher Miyamoto Musashi.
"If the enemy thinks of the mountains," Alonso wrote on his Twitter account, "attack by sea; and if he thinks of the sea, attack by the mountains."
That the Ferrari driver can reach for the words of a 17th century kensei warrior and strategist in a moment of such strain reveals a lot about the manner in which he combines an indomitable fighting spirit with a status as possibly the most cerebral Formula 1 driver of his generation.
But it will take more than relentlessness and clever strategy for Alonso to hold on to a lead for which he has struggled so hard this season, but which has now dwindled to almost nothing.
The 31-year-old, who spun out at Suzuka with a puncture after being tagged by Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus on the run to the first corner, has carried his Ferrari team on his back this year.
Alonso has won three races and taken a series of strong points finishes to establish what was until recently an imposing championship lead in a car that has never once been quick enough to set pole position in the dry.
He did so by driving, in terms of consistency and lack of mistakes, one of the most perfect seasons there has ever been - a feat made all the more impressive because it was done in not the best car.
Fernando Alonso leads Sebastian Vettel in the Championship by four points. Photo: Getty
Yet now, through no fault of his own, Alonso has failed to finish two of the last four races and in that time Vettel has made hay, taking 37 points out of his rival's lead.
Heading into Japan, it was already beginning to look as if Vettel was going to be hard to resist.
While the Red Bull has been a forbiddingly quick race car all season, the team did not in the first half of the season find it very easy to get the best out of it in qualifying.
But since mid-summer they have found consistency, and started to qualify regularly at the front of the grid as well. At the same time, luck has deserted Ferrari and Alonso.
More than that, Red Bull also appear in recent races to have made a significant step forward in the performance of their car.
Vettel looked very strong in Singapore two weeks ago, trading fastest times with Lewis Hamilton throughout the weekend and taking victory after the Englishman's McLaren retired from the lead with a gearbox failure. And in Japan the Red Bull looked unbeatable from as early as Saturday final practice session.
How much of this is to do with the new 'double DRS' system which came to light in Suzuka is unclear.
Team boss Christian Horner said he thought it was more to do with the characteristics of the track suiting those of the Red Bull car. Perhaps, but the 'double DRS' certainly won't be doing any harm.
Unlike the system that Mercedes have been using since the start of the season, which uses the DRS overtaking aid to 'stall' the front wing, Red Bull's works entirely on the rear wing.
What it means is that they can run the car with more downforce in qualifying without the consequent straight-line speed penalty caused by the extra drag, because the 'double DRS' bleeds off the drag.
This does bring a straight-line speed penalty in the race, when DRS use is no longer free. But as long as the car qualifies at the front, this does not matter, as it is quick enough over a lap to stay out of reach of its rivals.
It is not clear how long Red Bull have been working on this system at grand prix weekends, but to the best of BBC Sport's knowledge, Japan was the first time they had raced it. Coupled with a new front wing design introduced in Singapore, it has turned an already strong package into an intimidating one.
Vettel used it to dominate the race in the fashion he did so many in 2011 on his way to his second-consecutive title. As he so often does in the fastest car when he starts at the front of the grid, he looked invincible.
Alonso, though, is not one to be intimidated easily and will take solace from the fact that Ferrari's pace compared to Red Bull was not as bad as it might appear at first glance.
Alonso may have qualified only seventh, but he reckoned he was on course for fourth place on the grid before having to slow for caution flags marking Raikkonen's spun Lotus at Spoon Curve.
And judging by the pace shown by his team-mate Felipe Massa in the race, Alonso would have finished in a sure-fire second place had he got beyond the first corner. He might even have been able to challenge Vettel, given how much faster the Ferrari has been in races than in qualifying this year.
Alonso's problem for the remainder of the season is that salvaging podiums is no longer enough - he needs to start winning races again. Which means Ferrari need to start improving their car relative to the opposition.
Meanwhile, spice has been added to an already intriguing final five races by a seemingly innocuous incident in qualifying in Japan.
After slowing as he passed Raikkonen's car, Alonso continued on his flying lap, but when he got to the chicane, he came across Vettel, who blocked him.
Ferrari reckoned this cost Alonso somewhere in the region of 0.1-0.2secs, which would have moved him up a place on the grid. The stewards, though, decided to give Vettel only a reprimand.
They justified this on the basis that they believed Vettel had not known Alonso was there - and they let him off not looking in his mirrors because they felt he had reason to believe no-one would be continuing on a flying lap following the Raikkonen incident.
But some would see that as flawed thinking. Alonso was one of several drivers who had at that point not set a time in the top 10 shoot-out, and all of them were likely to be continuing their laps because whatever time they did set was going to define their grid slot.
Although there is no suggestion Vettel held up Alonso deliberately, the Red Bull driver is a sharp cookie, and almost certainly would have known this.
Even if he did not, his team should have warned him. And on that basis, it can be argued that Vettel's offence was no less bad than that of Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, who was given a three-place grid penalty for delaying Williams's Bruno Senna in similar fashion earlier in qualifying.
Ferrari were distinctly unimpressed by the stewards' verdict, but Alonso being Alonso, he has not mentioned any of this publicly. Alonso being Alonso, though, he will have lodged it away for the future.
In the meantime, before heading to Korea for another potentially pivotal race next weekend, might he be studying Musashi a little more?
You must "know the times", Musashi wrote. "Knowing the times means if your ability is high, seeing right into things. If you are thoroughly conversant with strategy, you will recognise the enemy's intentions and thus have many opportunities to win.
"If you attain and adhere to the wisdom of my strategy, you need never doubt that you will win."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/10/post_4.html
Friday, July 4, 2014
No penalties for Rosberg and Ricciardo over red flag | 2014 British Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo have been cleared after overtaking other cars under a red flag. 
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/7FWrepc8ZUc/
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Sebastian Vettel Q&A: 'Don't worry about me guys!'
From the outside at least, reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel is having a pretty tough season - just fifth in the standings, with upstart team mate Daniel Ricciardo having scored Red Bull's only 2014 victory to date, and rivals Mercedes seemingly running away with both titles. However, as Vettel explained in Austria on Friday, there are two sides to every story
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/6/15974.html
Briatore: It's not our Formula 1
A third of the way into the new season and Flavio Briatore says he is not enjoying the sport's new regulations...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9346484/Briatore-It-s-not-our-Formula-1
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Fernandes exits as Caterham confirm F1® team takeover
Caterham have confirmed that former team principal Tony Fernandes and his partners have sold the team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former HRT and Midland team principal Colin Kolles.
Under the terms of the sale, the team will retain their name and will remain based at their current Leafield location, whilst former F1 driver Christijan Albers will take over the day-to-day running of the squad
Under the terms of the sale, the team will retain their name and will remain based at their current Leafield location, whilst former F1 driver Christijan Albers will take over the day-to-day running of the squad
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2014/7/16015.html
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Kimi: Everything going against us
After another disappointing weekend in Canada, Kimi Raikkonen feels as if everything is going against Ferrari at the moment...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/9344112/Kimi-Everything-going-against-us
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