Vettel Takes Brazilian Grand Prix; Red Bull Clinches Manufacturer's Title

Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/ LAT Photographic

The penultimate round in the 2010 Formula 1 tour, the Brazilian Grand Prix started with four drivers in contention for the season's world driver's championship. Suffering a massive meltdown during the Korean Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber left without scoring championship points. With Webber parked, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso cleaned up racing to victory on the wet Korean race circuit propelling himself into 1st place with an 11-point advantage.

Contrary to the Korean Grand Prix, the weather for the Brazilian Grand Prix was an absolutely bright, sunny day. However, Saturday qualifying did present a watered-down Autódromo José Carlos Pace track. As the track transitioned, Williams F1's Nico Hulkenberg surprised many by claiming pole ahead of Red Bull Racing and McLaren.  

Hulkenberg's honour was quickly disregarded by the Formula 1 field as the Williams-Cosworth was simply no match for the Red Bull-Renaults off the standing start. With Sebastian Vettel using a superior start to out-drag his fellow German native into the first corner, Mark Webber got by the Williams on the track's third turn. As Nico Hulkenberg continued a gradual drop down the running order to settle within the bottom end of the top-10 for the duration of the event, the Red Bull Racing cars installed themselves into Brazilian Grand Prix's top race positions.

Formula 1 current driver's points championship Fernando Alonso weaved his way into third place but his Ferrari lost touch with the Red Bull-Renaults. By mid-way through the 71-lap grand prix, the gap between 2rd place and 3rd was over 16 seconds. Unable to fight for the front, the McLaren-Mercedes race cars of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button ran competitively but were unsuccessful in preserving the team's chances for the manufacturers championship.      

Unlike the Korean Grand Prix which resulted with a sizable casualty list, the Formula 1 race at Brazil ended with one official retirement. That solitary vehicle not finishing the Brazil Grand Prix was the Force India-Mercedes of Vitantonio Liuzzi that ended the race with a collision into the turn 2 pit road wall at lap 50. As the wreckage of the Force India-Mercedes littered within the narrow off-track area, safety car period was necessary to clean up the turn 2 portion of Autódromo José Carlos Pace circuit.

Under the brief period behind the Mercedes SLS AMG safety car, some teams used this opportunity to take on fresh slick tires. McLaren and the Mercedes GP pitted while the top-3 maintained its composition. As the race was sent back to green on lap 56, the restart had a collection of slower race cars separating the 3 top Formula 1 cars aiding in Vettel's defense of the lead over Mark Webber.

While Liuzzi's crash was the only race-ending collision, their was no shortage of contact on the Brazilian race circuit. Ferrari driver Felipe Massa ended his home country's grand prix in 15th place after no fewer than two incidents of contact with other race cars. The latest incident occurred between Massa and Renault's Vitaly Petrov in turn one as they were fighting for position late in the grand prix. Both drivers continued to finish the race. Other Brazilian drivers including Rubens Barrichello and Bruno Senna were also presented with disappointing results in their home grand prix wanting to impressive the country where their careers were first stoked.

Despite some minor drama regarding fuel mileage concerns on the final laps, the Red Bull-Renaults rolled down the track's front stretch with Sebastian Vettel taking the victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Mark Webber's second place run guaranteed Red Bull Racing their first constructor title in Formula 1 with a 48 point cushion over McLaren heading into the final race at Abu Dhabi.

Playing follow the leader throughout the event, Fernando Alonso settled with 3rd gaving up points to both of his main drivers title opponents. Moving from 11 points behind to a tighter 8 point gap behind Alonso, Webber closes along with teammate Vettel now 15 points away from lead. Finishing 4th in the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton barely holds onto F1 World Championship contention but would need an awful amount of trouble to plague the forward three in the points at Abu Dhabi in order to gain the McLaren driver's 2nd F1 title.

Other qualifying on pole, Nico Hulkenberg's race resulted with a respectable 8th place run improving two spots thanks to the pitting during the safety car period.


2010 Formula 1
Brazilian Grand Prix
Race Results

 

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
8. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
9. Robert Kubica Renault F1
10. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
11. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
13. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari
16. Vitaly Petrov Renault F1
17. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber-Ferrari
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
21. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
22. Christian Klien HRT-Cosworth
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes

Hungarian Grand Prix Pole Scored by Red Bull's Vettel

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP



Racing on a track highly dependent on vehicle downforce, the 4.381 kilometer Hungaroring hosts the latest round of the 2010 Formula 1 tour, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

For the 11th time in 12 races, a Red Bull Racing is top seated after Formula 1 time trials. Taking the pole for the 4th straight event on the F1 calendar, Sebastian Vettel outpowered his teammate Mark Webber in the Q3 session of qualifying by 4/10ths of a second. On the Red Bull Racing team's website, Vettel complimented the entire race team saying “Mark and I were pushing hard to finish first and second, but this is your moment, enjoy it – you built this wonderful car”.

With Red Bull-Renaults taking the front row, the second row on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid as also an all-team sweep. In 3rd, Fernando Alonso took position over Felipe Massa. One year ago, this grand prix was the site of Massa's frightening accident set off when the Ferrari driver was struck in the helmet by a suspension component turned projectile. With Massa missing the remainder of 2009 season with head and neck injuries, the Brazilian driver returned this season and made the opportunity to personally thank the Budapest hospital. On the Ferrari website, Felipe Massa broadcasted praise to those who looked after him in the once life-threatening situation. " I wish to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for what they did for me one year ago; they are really extraordinary people.”

Following the controversial German Grand Prix, the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 was left the team $100,000 U.S. lighter after a blatent case of team orders saw Fernando Alonso pass teammate Felipe Massa without contention. The team is still under investigation for the incident with possible remification for Formula 1 driver's and manufacturer's points.

Mercedes-Benz powered race cars complete the third row but are the products of different organizations. Placing the McLaren-Mercedes up ahead of a Mercedes GP car of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton settled into 5th. Hamilton will work to defend his 2009 victory on the Hungaroring.

Earning admiration of Formula 1 observers for readying a team after losing major funding, the BMW Sauber group has charged into a solid mid-field runner. Lately, this has included contending for a top-10 point paying position at the finish of grand prixs. Continuing a to place their Ferrari-engined vehicles competitively, Pedro de la Rosa brought the BMW-Sauber into 9th place. Despite delivering some excellent Formula 1 which included a 6th place at Silverstone 2 races prior finishes, the second BMW Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi experienced a less than glorious qualifying. Winding up 18th in the time sheet, Kobayashi's car will receive a 5-grid spot penalty for the team not submitting to post-qualifying inspection.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is set for 8 A.M. Eastern Time (2 P.M. local time) on TSN in Canada or Speed for American viewers. set to compete in warm conditions, it is also likely that the grand prix could be run on a wet race track as rain and even thunderstorms are forecasted.


2010 Formula 1
Hungarian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Vitaly Petrov Renault F1
8. Robert Kubica Renault F1
9. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
13. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
15. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
17. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
23. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
24. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth

Sebastian Vettel Flies to Silverstone Pole for British GP

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Storming to his first grand prix victory in Valencia, Spain since the Malaysian Grand Prix early in the F1 season, Sebastian Vettel is determined to relaunch the optimism the German had entering the 2010 campaign. While Vettel has been showing strength, teammate Mark Webber has endured two races which could have ended better for the Australian. Having the overcome a grid position reduction at the Canadian Grand Prix due to a gearbox change and an eye-catching crash in the European Grand Prix after colliding with a Lotus, Webber's momentum following the Monaco Grand Prix win is dimishing.

Competing on Silverstone this weekend, the Red Bull Racing has been an established frontrunner but the team is struggling to find consistency in this year's racing. With each Red Bull Racing driver finding themselves at the top of a speed chart for the two practices on Friday, Saturday qualifying was again going to be another speed battle between the Red Bull-Renault. Taking the top position for Sunday's race is Sebastian Vettel who eclipses Webber by about 14/100ths of a second. The 2009 winner of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Vettel will enjoy repeating that performance as he stands 12 points behind Lewis Hamilton. Definitely a battle amongst themselves, the Red Bull-Renaults' time, led by Vettel's 1 minute, 29.615 second fast lap in Q3, would be the only F1 cars to outrun the 1 minute, 30 second barrier.

With Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber being equal drivers for the Red Bull Racing squad, a team rivalry is clearly in place. When the battle is between the two of them, you simply have to look at the face of following driver to see the most disappointed F1 pilot.

7/10th of a second off the pace of Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault, Ferrari emerged as the best of the rest with Fernando Alonso slotting into 3rd place. After a disappointing 8th place result from Alonso's home grand prix, the Spaniard and his Italian F1 team are looking for their record-setting 15th victory at the circuit. Currently, Ferrari shares the record for most constructor wins at Silverstone with the McLaren F1 team which happens to have Lewis Hamilton starting alongside Alonso in the second row. However, while Hamilton's McLaren was up to full song, handling problems on the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button meant he could do better than 14th place for qualifying.

Mercedes GP placed Nico Rosberg into 5th place but Rosberg's teammate and seven-time world driving champion Michael Schumacher was 5 grid spots behind in 10th. Starting alongside the BMW Sauber-Ferrari of Pedro de la Rosa, it's interesting to note the ties between the two race teams. When Mercedes returned to Formula 1 in 1993, Sauber moved into F1 backed by the German auto company. It was also Sauber who gave Michael Schumacher his first major motorsport job driving in prototype sports car racing.


Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Back in Formula 1, Lotus Racing's 2010 efforts are not spectacular but the team is showing incredible commitment to regain the traditions that followed the original Lotus Racing team. Through the weekend, a special visitor to the paddock included the Duke of York Prince Andrew as the racing name returns to Silverstone. With Heikki Kovalainen starting 19th and Jarno Trulli positioned in 22rd, the Lotus Racing team is not a favourite to win in 2010 but victory in the British Grand Prix was difficult even in the glory days of the Colin Chapman-based British team. Lotus last won the British Grand Prix in 1972.

With weather expected to be dry, the British Grand Prix on the grounds of the former RAF runway will start 1 P.M. local time (converting to 8 A.M. Eastern time for the attention many North American racing fans).


British Grand Prix

2010 Formula 1

Starting Lineup


1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
6. Robert Kubica Renault F1
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari
8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
9. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
12. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
14. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
15. Vitaly Petrov Renault
16. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
17. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes (Assessed 5 grid position penalty for ruled blocking)
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
22. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
23. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
24. Sakon Yaramoto HRT-Cosworth

Hamilton's The Man in Montreal; Wins 2nd Canadian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing


Saying bonjour to the Formula 1 drivers and teams for the 8th race of the 2010 season, the Canadian Grand Prix returns to the F1 circuit and Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after a one-year hiatus.

Gaining the pole through a fastest lap time Saturday around the 4.361 mile road course, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren Formula 1 team starts in a handsome position on the race grid. Even before the race began however, Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber lost his front row starting spot when the team addressed a gearbox problem on his Red Bull-Renault.

Once the race got underway, the start was shaken by contact between the Ferrari of Felipe Massa and the Force India-Mercedes belonging to Vitantonio Liuzzi. Though requiring pit service to fix car damage, the incident was not enough for the FIA to call out the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG pace car. In fact, uncharacteristic for a the past F1 outings by Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the 2010 edition of the race went on without a safety car period at any point in the event.

Head to head, the McLaren and Ferrari fought to get their driver out first. Unleashed, both Alonso and Hamilton stormed down the pit road side-by-side with Fernando Alonso just edging out the McLaren. However, shortly afterwards, Hamilton thrusted past the Ferrari F2010 for what would be a defining pass in settling the race's victor.

Remembered as a demanding track on the mechanicals of a Formula 1 car, an engine failure on Pedro de la Rosa's BMW Sauber-Ferrari and a brake issue on the Lotus-Cosworth of Jarno Trulli were the only major technical-related retirements in the race along with Bruno Senna. The only real physical attributes drivers and teams were contending with in the Canadian Grand Prix were the Bridgestone tires. While the primary compound was the hardest compound selected for the teams to run in the race weekend, several drivers faced trouble preserving their rubber. In the standout case in the Canadian Grand Prix, Mark Webber attempted to run longer on a set of primary tires only to see his nearly 11 second lead reduced to a few car lengths over Lewis Hamilton. As Webber's Red Bull-Renault fell into the grasp of Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes, the tires on the Red Bull Racing tire were showing severe signs of shredding. Losing the large interval lead, Webber also lost any hope of a podium finish. When Webber pitted, the top-3 were led by the two McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in third spot.


Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

As the race was going well for younger drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, 7-time Canadian Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher pressed through one of the toughest days the 41 year-old German had experienced since his F1 return. Starting 13th, Schumacher was able to lift himself into a top-10 spot inside the Canadian Grand Prix running order past halfway but would fall quickly into the gunsights of mid-mark F1 teams.

On lap 61, Sabastien Buemi in the Toro Rosso-Ferrari was able to vault himself past Schumacher started with a determined charge down the front stretch into the Senna curves. Falling to Buemi, when Felipe Massa charged on Schumacher's Mercedes GP car on the final laps, the German was intent not to away anymore championship points. As Massa attempted a move on the outside of Schumacher through the Casino stretch, the Mercedes gave no room to the Ferrari causing Massa to clip Schumacher's rear tire. Massa's Ferrari suffered a damaged front wing and would require a late race pit stop for a replacement nose piece costing him also a point-scoring finish. The incident questions whether Felipe Massa made a misjudgement or if Schumacher made a second blocking move into the corner; a move which is a no-no.

Completing the bad day for Michael Schumacher ended with a dream moment for both Force India Formula 1 team cars. Into the final lap, Vitantonio Liuzzi was working on a way past with his teammate Adrian Sutil in tow. Through a well-timed last lap move, Luizzi found an opening around Schumacher's Mercedes which provided a path for his Force India teammate to follow capturing the 10th and final point-scoring position for the Canadian Grand Prix.

For his second win in a row for 2010, Lewis Hamilton brought his McLaren-Mercedes to victory excitedly celebrating in the site of his very first Formula 1 pole and victory in 2007. A 1-2 for McLaren, the team effort allowed the group to launch over Red Bull Racing in the Formula 1 Constructors Championship. Joining the McLaren pair, Fernando Alonso brought Ferrari a podium effort while his teammate Massa suffered hard-luck throughout the Canadian Grand Prix event. Happy with his 3rd place finish, Alonso will be looking to the next Formula 1, the European Grand Prix in his home country of Spain. The race on the Valencia Street Circuit is on June 27th.

Performed in front of a crowd of 300,000 race fans through the 3 days of race action, the weekend of the Canadian Grand Prix has once again proven that Canadian and even American Formula 1 audiences are substantial.


2010 Canadian Grand Prix Formula 1 Unofficial Race Results

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Robert Kubica Renault F1
8. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
12. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault
18. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
22. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari

Mark Webber Wins Monaco Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Amidst the luxury yachts and lavish accommodations of this principality for the social elite, one of the most prestigious events on the 2010 Formula 1 schedule. Occurring May of each year, the Monaco Grand Prix has been a staple on the modern Formula 1 since 1955. Competing on the 2.075 mile race course fixated in the streets of Monte Carlo, the race is the 6th round in the 2010 tour.

With Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber snatching his second straight Formula 1 pole, the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix started on a wonderful Sunday afternoon. On the start, Webber got a clean start retaining the lead into the first turn Sainte Devote corner. Robert Kubica, having split the Red Bull-Renaults of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel with magnificent 2nd place qualifying performance in his factory Renault, immediately faced opposition from Vettel. Timing the lights perfectly, Sebastian Vettel launched his Red Bull Racing past Kubica within the first few hundred meters of the race. Taking second, Sebastian Vettel spend the event following the charge his teammate Webber was leading for the Formula 1 cars.

As the field set off, the Williams-Cosworth of Nico Hulkenberg suffered a bizarre front wing component failure running through the tunnel. Bringing out the safety car early, this was only the first of four times the field would be slowed.


Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Photographic

The McLaren F1 team had been enduring a rather plain weekend at Monaco as the team's record 15 previous wins in the Grand Prix have done little to overcome the hot Red Bull Racing squad. McLaren-Mercedes driver and 2009 F1 world driving champion Jenson Button experienced an early retirement from the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix. Classified as an engine failure, it was later discovered that a piece rogue race equipment was left under the engine cover of the McLaren-Mercedes. Button's plans to defend last year's victory on the streets of Monaco ended in just 2 laps. As the race progressed, McLaren surviving car in the hands of Lewis Hamilton was able to endure the race but would only muscle a 5th place finish for the day.

With the Mercedes-Benz engines unable to catch the Renaults on the street course, Ferrari also fell short of matching performance wits of the powerplants supplied by the French auto company. However, the Ferrari F2010 managed to secure an honourable finish in the hands of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Massa would lead the Italian team in the Monaco Grand Prix firmly holding onto the 4th position. The Brazilian took the Ferrari F2010 home in 4th place for his best finish since the Australian Grand Prix more than a month and a half ago. Starting in the back due to missing qualifying, Fernando Alonso left the pit lane filing into the back of the grid once the field took off. Carefully maneuvering his Ferrari past the slower Formula 1 contenders, Alonso would eventually move into the top-10 points scoring positions.



Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

On lap 30, the second Williams-Cosworth suffered a surprise rear end mechanical problem as the issue sent Rubens Barrichello's car spinning in Massenet. The FIA dispatched a safety car for a second dramatic exit of a WilliamsF1 car at Monaco. With both incidents the result of mechanical problems not the result of the drivers, team engineers will have two weeks until the Turkish Grand Prix to account for two unrelated issues.

With 4 laps remaining, the scurrying for positions led the Lotus-Cosworth of Jarno Trulli into the back of Kudan Chandhok's HRT-Cosworth. In the two-car tangle, Trulli's Lotus flipped on top of Chandhok but fortunately resulted with no injures to either driver. Bringing out the final safety car, the Formula 1 field was given a last-lap run. With no changes in the top-3, Mark Webber took his Red Bull-Renault to a second straight win for 2010 with teammate Sebastian Vettel following closely in tow. Completing a 1-2-3 finish for Renault-engined vehicles, Robert Kubica came 3rd for his 2nd podium of the season.

While the podium was locked in through much of the Monaco Grand Prix, a desperate fight deeper in the pack saw Michael Schumacher dice with Fernando Alonso for 6th place. As the safety car steered into the pits on the final lap, Schumacher's Mercedes shot past Alonso's Ferrari for the position. After the pass however, the FIA ruled that his pass occurred under the safety car period. Ultimately punishing Michael Schumacher with a 20-second time penalty dropping the 7-time world driving champion down to 12th in the final running order.

Final point standings following the Monaco Grand Prix witnesses Red Bull Racing drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel sharing the points lead with 78 points. Rallying to 6th place after starting last, Fernando Alonso earned enough points to sit only 3 points behind the Red Bull duo.

Next race for the Formula 1 schedule is the Turkish Grand Prix on May 30th.


2010 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Final Results

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3. Robert Kubica Renault F1
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
10. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
11. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
13. Vitaly Petrov Renault
14. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
15. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
17. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
19. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
20. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
22. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
24. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth

Red Hot Red Bull Driver Mark Webber Takes Monaco GP Pole

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

With the tight streets of Monte Carlo providing an unique spectacle to see modern 21st century Formula 1 racing machines running on one of the tour's oldest race circuits, the Monaco Grand Prix captures the lavishness and starkness the series have long gravitated towards. While the Formula 1 tour in general has been brought to the realization of exploding team budgets through the 1990s and last decade, this is only allowing this perennial to cast itself as a brighter crown jewel.

Fresh off his pole and victory in Barcelona last week, Mark Webber carried momentum onto the narrow street course netting his Red Bull Racing car the preferred 1st place grid position in tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix. Webber's pole time in the Red Bull-Renault on the streets of Monaco matches the single lap time record set by Michael Schumacher in 2004 down to he one-thousandth of a second. As Webber scored pole, this meant the second race in a row that the Australian beat this teammate Sebastian Vettel. Vettel had it up to 3rd in the final qualifying session to just miss a 3rd consecutive Red Bull front row.

On Saturday, the Renault F1 team and Robert Kubica rose to life recording the fastest time in practice. Kubica attempted to repeat the performance through F1 qualifying. Coming roughly 3/10ths of a second short, the Renault settles for a well-earned 2nd place place dividing the two Red Bulls. "Second on the grid at Monaco is a great result for us. The car has been great all weekend and I think we got the most from it today." Robert Kubica proudly admits after the time trial session. Renault Team Principal Eric Boillier delightfully commended Kubica's effort qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. "We are now looking forward to an exciting race tomorrow and hopefully coming away with a great result." Boillier voiced confidence for Sunday's Grand Prix.


Lorenzo Bellanca/LAT Photographic


While Webber, Kubica and Vettel showed the top pace in Saturday qualifying, one potential polesitter spent the entire session on the sidelines. After posting the fastest speeds on track through early weekend practices, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso collided with the retaining barrier in the Massenet section (also known as a wide turn 3) as an incident Alonso admitted was a driver's mistake. With the Ferrari F2010 too damaged to compete in qualifying, Fernando Alonso will start the race from the pit lane in a back-up Ferrari. The other Ferrari of Felipe Massa curbed a streak of declining qualifying efforts in 2010. Producing have second-best qualifying effort of the 2010 Formula 1 season, Massa slotted in 4th after Q3.

Having led the 10 driver group of the final Q3 session, Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg fell to 6th fastest for the final starting order. Rosberg was able to poke his Mercedes Formula 1 race car one position ahead of Michael Schumacher who is coming off his best finish of 2010 at the Spanish Grand Prix. Schumacher has won 5 Monaco Grand Prix races making him the winningest active driver of this prestigious Formula 1 event. Besides Schumacher, previous Monaco Grand Prix winners running this weekend includes Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli.


2010 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Starting Grid

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2. Robert Kubica Renault F1
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
11. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
13. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault
15. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
16. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
17. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
23. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
24. Fernando Alonso Ferrari

Red Bulls Rule Friday Practice for Spanish Grand Prix

Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic


At the beginning of the three-week break, a major concern for Formula 1 teams was making the trip from China. The volcanic ash cloud that hampered commercial air travel had projected some drastic predictions that the Spanish Grand Prix could even be delayed. Fortunately through, worst case scenarios did not come into play as Formula 1 teams returned to their European bases. The Lotus Racing team reported to be back at their Norfolk headquarters by the Thursday and no other team recorded serious issues preparing for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

With major environmental issues aside, the 2010 Formula 1 tour makes its first European stop in Barcelona, Spain. With three different cars in victory lane after 4 races, the 2010 Spanish Grand Prix hosts a close and unpredictable Formula 1 event. While the McLaren of Jenson Button has recorded two wins in 2010, wins have also gone to Red Bull Racing and Ferrari when Fernando Alonso brought the F2010 to victory in Bahrain. This 2010 season has also seen resurgent efforts from RenaultF1 and a fairly strong showing from the former Brawn GP team now known as Mercedes GP. With the teams receiving three weeks to perfect their 2010 packages, the Spanish Grand Prix might be the first time a clear breakaway team can emerge.

In Friday practice on day 1, the Circuit de Catalunya track was lit up by the Red Bull Racing pair once again showed pace through the early part of a Grand Prix weekend. As usual is the case, German Sebastian Vettel topped Australian driver Mark Webber on the time chart with a 1 minute, 19.965 second lap time. Less than two-tenths of a second faster than his teammate, Vettel was under eight-tenths quicker around the track than the 3rd place runner in practice. That 3rd place car was the Mercedes GP of Michael Schumacher who's entering Spain with a revised chassis. 3rd fastest in the first and second practice sessions, Schumacher is showing to be much more comfortable with the changes to his Mercedes W01 race car. The Friday run for Michael Schumacher was also a chance start evening up the score with his often faster teammate Nico Rosberg. In the second Mercedes GP car, Rosberg was 7th fastest through this second practice session.

While the first practice session saw the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton clocking the fastest time, the quickened pace in practice session two relegated the 2008 world driving champion to fifth. Jenson Button's car second fastest performance in session one could only be supported with a ninth place time on the speed sheets.



Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Among the up and coming teams, Lotus Racing led over Virgin GP with Heikki Kovalainen leading almost a second over the Virgin-Cosworth of Timo Glock. The other Lotus-Cosworth of Jarno Trulli separated Kovalainen and Glock. Given four races of authentic Formula 1 experience, Lotus Racing, HRT, and Virgin GP were able to make use of the three-week break to evaluate their vehicles for 2010. Lotus Racing has said to be performing with upgraded components installed during the hiatus. With neither one of the 3 new teams yet to realize the top-10 points-paying positions on the Formula 1 grid, the European rounds starting with the Spanish Grand Prix might represent a chance to make a first step forward in their evolution.

Button Masters Weather Again to Win the Chinese Grand Prix

Under threatening skies, the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix underwent final pre-race preparations with Formula 1 teams remaining on slick tires. Completing their warm up lap as the 24 f1 cars filed into grid, drivers Sebastian Vettel and teammate Mark Webber held the front row ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso as well as the Mercedes piloted by Nico Rosberg. As the lights went out, it was the 3rd place Ferrari bypassed the pair of Red Bull-Renaults to lead the field into the first corner. However, upon review of the start, it was revealed that Alonso accelerated before the signal lights went dark. With the Ferrari committing a foul, Alonso was eventually sent to pit road to serve a drive-through penalty. "I made a serious mistake at the start as my reflexes let me down and I left early." Alonso would admit in a post-race interview. With much of the race ahead, Alonso was able to make-up for his uncharacteristic gaffe.

Other than the Ferrari start, the first lap involved some additional drama as Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi locked up his rear brakes slowing for turn 4. The rear of the Force India broke sideways siding collecting the BMW Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi and the Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Sebestien Buemi. Heading wide through the turn, Rubens Barrichello narrowly misses the tingling race cars in his William-Cosworth. Liuzzi cited problems placing heat in the braking system during the pre-race formation lap as contributing to his loss of control.


Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

The multiple-car crash on lap 1 drew the safety car allowing teams to switch their slick tire with wet weather Bridgestone rubber. This safety car period ended after four laps with Nico Rosberg leading Jenson Button and the Renault of Robert Kubica. With Rosberg padding to the interval between him and Button through over a dozen laps, Rosberg made a critical misstep on lap 20 spinning his Mercedes GP car in the final corner. While Nico Rosberg recovered, the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button stormed by the slowed factory Mercedes GP racer.

On lap 25, the safety car came out once again as the remaining Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Jaime Alguersuari lost its front nose and wing assembly on track. The race restarted with a last set of pit stops looming for the Formula 1 cars. While Jenson Button would maintain his lead through the cycling as pit stops, the McLaren team went to work on teammate Lewis Hamilton's car. Running third before the stop, Hamilton's stop for intermediate thread tires allowed the McLaren-Mercedes to spring ahead of Nico Rosberg after the round of pit stops were completed.

Through the late laps, both McLaren-Mercedes race cars ran on the edge of control as Button and Hamilton struggled to sink their worn tires into the wet Shanghai track. Once possessing an almost 10 second lead over 2nd place, the interval shrank to 1.5 seconds by the time the McLaren teammate's crossed the start/finish line. Holding on, Jenson Button win in China made him the first multiple winner of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

Coming home 2nd, Lewis Hamilton brought his McLaren-Mercedes to a season-best finish. Complimenting his teammate Button for the victory, Hamilton felt the call for intermediate tires left something on the table. "...I think the whole team deserves this incredible one-two result. I hope the spectators and viewers enjoyed it, too!

Driving another dedicated race in the Mercedes GP team car, Nico Rosberg grabbed his second-straight podium finish in the Chinese Grand Prix. Also interesting to note, Rosberg's placement allows Mercedes-Benz engined car to own the podium for the race.


Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Despite pitting 5 times through the Chinese Grand Prix including , Fernando Alonso's Ferrari was within striking distance of Mercedes GP car of Nico Rosberg. In fifth, Robert Kubica is still making the most of a growing year for the Renault F1 team. Along with Kubica's run, Renault F1 rookie Vitaly Petrov put together an overall strong effort in his young career finishing 7th and in the points. Driving against some seasoned veterans through the wet Shanghai International Circuit, Petrov passed drivers including Michael Schumacher for position.

As for the Red Bull Racing team, the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix will certainly send the Formula 1 team into a frenzy isolated the mistakes made after starting so promisingly on the front row. Losing the lead off the start, Sebestian Vettel never recovered the top spot and faded to 6th in the final results while Mark Webber could only gain 8th place.

Thanks to the two wins in four races, Jenson Button leaves China with the lead in Formula 1 points. Leading by 10 points, Button is holding off the very consistent Nico Rosberg who in turn is just a single point ahead of both Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

With a three-week break before the 2010 Formula 1 season gears for their first European round with the Spanish Grand Prix, the volcanic ash cloud activity over European skies has some officials concerned with flight arrangements. However, current reports place the likelihood of air travel being interrupted through three weeks as possible but not entirely creditable. Nonetheless, some teams will probably find the trip back to European countries from China could be complicated.


2010 Formula 1
Chinese Grand Prix
Finishing Order

1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5. Robert Kubica Renault F1
6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
7. Vitaly Petrov Renault
8. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
9. Felipe Massa Ferrari
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
13. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
14. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
15. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
16. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
17. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
20. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
21. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
22. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
24. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth

Vettel and Red Bull Triumph in Malaysian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Entering into the 3rd round of the 2010 Formula 1 schedule, the Red Bull Racing team has been snake-bitten by misfortunes. Plaguing Sebastian Vettel in the worst way, the German succumbed to mechanical problems on his Red Bull-Renault leading both the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix. As a preseason championship favourite in the 2010 Formula 1 drivers standings, the stumbling start resulting in the forfeiture of two potential victories leaves Vettel chasing the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa sitting in an early lead for the points championship. Red Bull Racing as a whole needed the Malaysian Grand Prix to turn around the team's overall poor showing last week in Australia.

With qualifying proceeding the way of Red Bull Racing for the third time in the three races, Mark Webber was able to show the team's colours in the pole beating Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg and teammate Sebastian Vettel for the position. Due to rain through qualifying, the time trial positions saw some surprises throughout the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix starting grid as McLaren and Ferraris were to start deep in the field.

As the field of 24 cars took their grid positions, the start lights expired to initiate the 56 lap contest on the Sepang circuit. With Formula 1 cars rushing up to speed, the Williams-Cosworth of Rubens Barrichello suffered a stall in his 7th place grid position requiring some evasive actions from cars starting back in the pack. Barrichello was eventually restarted and would finish 1 lap behind in 12th.

With action in the back of the grid, the start saw Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel launch like a lion through the frontstretch tailing his teammate Mark Webber. In a critical race-making move, Vettel was able to outpower Webber into turn 1 to take the lead. The Red Bull Racing Formula 1 cars would be a common sight in the top-2 spots in the race's running order.

While rain was in the forecast, not a single drop of water fell on the Sepang track through the event leaving some longing for the same suspense of the race in Australian disappointed in that regard. However, the Malaysian Grand Prix did provide some exciting dry weather action. As promised, the Ferrari and the McLaren cars quickly gained positions. Providing the best show moving through the field was McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Snaking by four cars before entering into the first corner, Hamilton continued to rage war on drivers including Renault's Vitaly Petrov. The bout between Hamilton and Petrov was the highlight of the early race action as positions swapped several times amongst the two runners.



Photo Credit: Steven Tee/LAT Photographic

Showing bulletproof reliability through the first two races, the Ferrari team suffered their first mechanical problem of 2010 on the F2010 car of Fernando Alonso. Dealing with a gear selection issue most of the event, Alonso was fighting a temperamental problem through corning. With 2 laps to go, Alonso's Ferrari was attempting to pass one of the McLaren-Mercedes cars when the shifting problem finally amounted to the first retirement of a Ferrari F2010 this season.

Running like clockwork, the Red Bull Racing team celebrated their first 1-2 finish since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which concluded the last Formula 1 season. Sebastian Vettel led teammate Mark Webber across the start-finish line to secure has first 2010 Formula 1 victory.

Showing considerable pace with the Mercedes GP team, Nico Rosberg was the best of the rest compared to the strength of the Red Bull Racing team at Malaysia. Finishing 3rd, Rosberg became the first driver since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix to ride a Mercedes engine/chassis to a podium in Formula 1.

Rounding out the top-5 of the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix is a Renault and a Force India formula 1 car. Robert Kubica's 4th place run comes after a podium finish last race while Adrian Sutil was able to back up his qualifying effort after 56 laps with 5th.

In the final two top-10 spots, drivers Jaime Alguersuari in the STR-Ferrari and Nico Hulkenberg with a Williams-Cosworth gained their first career Formula 1 points. Finishing outside of the points, the best of the new for 2010 teams at Malaysia was the HRT-Cosworths driven by Karun Chandrok and Bruno Senna. They pair finished 15th and 16th on the event still running at the end.

Despite the rough outing for Alonso and a 7th place for Ferrari's Felipe Massa, they continue to hold the top spots in the 2010 Formula 1 points after 3 races. However, thanks to the victory in Malaysia, Vettel is tied with Alonso for second place in the standings heading into the next grand prix round in China.


Malaysian Grand Prix
Formula 1
Race Results

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
4. Robert Kubica Renault F1
5. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
9. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
11. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
13. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
14. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
15. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
16. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
17. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
19. Vitaly Petrov Renault
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
21. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
22. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
24. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari

Webber Swims to Malaysian Grand Prix Pole

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Touching down on the Asian continent after an eventful Australian Grand Prix, the 2010 Formula 1 tour prepares for their 3rd race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Coming off victory in Australia with his McLaren-Mercedes, Jenson Button returns to the 3.444 mile Sepang track as the defending race winner from 2009. 2010 competition ofr the Malaysian race is expected to be tough as the driver of the ultra-fast Red Bull Racing cars and the consistent Ferrari F2010s have shown early season strength.

As Formula 1 competitors and cars braced for Saturday qualifying, memories of the 2009 Malaysia race were probably flowing through many minds. Last season, the downpour followed by a mid-race thunderstorm permanently halted the Malaysian Grand Prix after running 33 of the 56 lap distance. In the final moments of the 3rd qualifying segment, rain became so intense that FIA race stewards threw a red flag.

With qualifying run, the Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber set the fastest time by a considerable 1.3 second margin. Timing his run perfectly in before the heavy rain hit, Webber was able to blitz around the Sepang track 1 minute 49.327 seconds on intermediate Bridgestone race tires. Mark Webber takes the pole for Malaysian Grand Prix the weekend after getting reprimanded by the FIA for rough driving in the latter stages of the Australian Grand Prix. Webber bested the Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg who joins the Red Bull-Renault on the front row.

The second Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel starts right behind Mark Webber in 3rd place on the grid. Overall for 2010, Red Bull Racing has shown incredible pace but has encountered incidents through the first two grand prix events both mechanical and contact related.

In an outstanding fourth place, Adrian Sutil placed the Force India-Mercedes in the best grid position since his second place qualifying effort in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last season. Not typically a front-running team, Force India has made massive strides to becoming a full-fledged Formula 1 constructor. Sutil's teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi also performed admirably in Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying placed 10th on the day.

Joining the front of the grid, Williams F1 also had an overall stellar performance. Setting 5th and 7th fastest times, Williams' rookie driver Nico Hulkenberg outrun his more experienced teammate Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello, holding the most starts of an active Formula 1 driver, was not the only seasoned veteran bested by his younger teammate. In the Mercedes GP team, Nico Rosberg 2nd place start tops Michael Schumacher who mustered an 8th place time.

While Lewis Hamilton through the first two Malaysian Grand Prix practices on Friday, Hamilton and the McLaren team had trouble finding pace amongst a wetter Saturday time trial. Having the worst qualifying luck of the McLaren F1 team was Australian Grand Prix winner Jenson Button. Benefiting from a daring wet weather strategy last week at Albert Park, the intensifying precipitation around Sepang elected not to cooperate with the reigning Formula 1 Driver Champion. Failing to find traction on Bridgestone intermediate tires, Button slid his McLaren-Mercedes off the circuit in the 1st round of the knock-out qualifying. Resting in the sand trap, Jenson Button was unable to improve on his 17th place time even though he was eligible for the second round qualifying. McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton remained on track (particularly after McLaren opted Hamilton onto full rain tires) but finished slower in 20th.

If the struggle of the McLaren team wasn't surprising enough, the legendary Ferrari Formula 1 team was also bitten by speed issues on Saturday. Sandwiching Lewis Hamilton's McLaren, Fernando Alonso placed 19th while Bahrain Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa seeded in 21th. In fact, both of the Lotus-Cosworth cars outran the vast resources of the Italian auto racing powerhouse.

Weather conditions are expected to be wet for the 2010 running of the Malaysian Grand Prix set to start 4 p.m. Sunday Malaysia time or 4 a.m. Eastern time. With quality driver and teams at the back of the field, the start of this grand prix is certainly going to be worth watching.


2010 Formula 1
Malaysian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
5. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
6. Robert Kubica Renault F1
7. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
9. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault
12. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
13. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
14. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
15. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
16. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
17. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
19. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
20. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
21. Felipe Massa Ferrari
22. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
23. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
24. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth

Jenson Button Wins Suspenseful Australian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

Late last year, the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park was in danger of being lost on the Formula 1 schedule. Thanks to a commitment from the Victorian government of Australia and the title sponsorship of Qantas Airways, the Australian Grand Prix was saved. Providing a early season challenge against new race equipment and Formula 1 drivers, the Australian Grand Prix enters 2010 as the first sight of colour to a gray start. Many critical reviews of the season opening 2010 Formula 1 race, Bahrain Grand Prix, judged the event as snooze-worthy.

On Sunday, the Melbourne area endured a rain shower that drenched the 3.295 mile Albert Park complex. Though the rain stopped by the time the 2010 Australian Grand Prix started, potential was already mounting for a much more eventful race than the season opener. With the field starting on intermediate thread Bridgestone tires, the start was guaranteed to challenge the 24 Formula 1 drivers struggling for grip on cooler tires. Right off the starting line, the Lotus-Cosworth of Jarno Trulli became the first retirement when his car suffered hydraulic problems. This is the second time this season that Trulli would fall out to this issue.

Intent on improving on the lost opportunity at Bahrain, German driver Sebastian Vettel rolled to pole position over his Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber in Saturday qualifying. As the lights went off to start the Australian Grand Prix, Vettel shot to a slight lead. With pretty of wheel-banging and contact right off the start as the Red Bull-Renault took off, the initial lap will end under with a safety car leading the all cars. A multi-car wreck between Sebastien Buemi, Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi into turn 6 rendered all three of these racers out of competition.

When the safety car returned to pit road, the Albert Park track had dried substantially but the track was still too slippery for most teams to elect a change to slick tires. With many drivers experiencing brief off-track excursions, the only driver who suffered a permanent effect was Renault rookie Vitaly Petrov who slid into the sand trap on lap 9 ending his race. In spite of questionable traction, the drying track tempted the McLaren F1 team to bring Jenson Button to pit lane as the first taker for stick tires. A gamble, Button was running 2nd at this point in the event for McLaren. While Button fought unsuccessfully to completely keep the Mercedes-powered McLaren on the circuit, he would continue to set faster times on the dry weather rubber.

Starting with a 1-2 start for Red Bull Racing, Australian Mark Webber lost touch with his teammate Sebastian Vettel early. Webber fell further back as a late call going to slick tires cost him time running on the slower intermediate Bridgestones. With Vettel still leading the hopes for Red Bull Racing, lap 20 would end the day for the German racing superstar. Described as a wheel issue, Vettel's car spun out the track into the turn 13 sand trap. "...I had huge vibrations building up and as soon as I touched the brakes, I had some sort of failure going in to Turn 13 and ended up in the gravel." Vettel commented on the Red Bull Racing website.

With Sebastian Vettel out of commission, the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button was able to maintain a comfortable grasp on the lead as he went on to win the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. Finishing 12 seconds behind Button was the factory Renault of Robert Kubica. Running without major incident, Kubica's podium for Renault F1 is the first for the team since the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix.

In 3rd position, Felipe Massa brought the Ferrari F2010 home to his Italian race team's first Australian podium since Kimi Raikkonen's win in 2007. Following up the effort of Massa, fellow Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso arrived across the finish line fourth. Alonso position at the finish resulted are a hardest fought 3-way battle through the closing laps. Driving his McLaren-Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, attempting to recover lost ground after a pit road penalty, was slip-streaming (referred in the United States as drafting) Alonso's Ferrari with the resurgent Red Bull Renault of Mark Webber also hot pursuit for both cars. With 2 laps to go, Hamilton timed a move into a braking section on the outside of Alonso. Countering the McLaren, Alonso was successful in holding off the charge by braking only at the last minute. Disturbing Hamilton's momentum, the McLaren slowed to make the corner. However, Mark Webber did not react in time to avoid running into the back of Hamilton causing both of their cars to spin out. Losing touch with Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton would finish 6th while Mark Webber would salvage a 9th place result after being his Red Bull-Renault for a front wing replacement.

After two races, the Formula 1 driver's championship points sees Fernando Alonso holding a 4 point lead over his teammate Felipe Massa. With a total of three podium finishes in the first two races of the 2010 season and their drivers first and second early in the F1 driver's championship, the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team is off to their best start in years.

The Formula 1 cars heads directly to Malaysia for a April 4th running of their county's Grand Prix. In the Malaysia Grand Prix last season, a heavy monsoon downpour led the FIA officials to end the race at 31 laps. Driving for Brawn GP in 2009, Jenson Button triumphed.


2010 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
2. Robert Kubica Renault F1
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
6. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
9. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
11. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
12. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
13. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
14. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth
15. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
16. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
17. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
18. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
19. Vitaly Petrov Renault
20. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
21. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
22. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
23. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
24. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth

Alonso and Ferrari Triumph in Bahrain Grand Prix

Formula 1 Class of 2010: Driver Lineup
Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

The small Persian Gulf island of Bahrain played host to the kick-off of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

Before the start of the race, the Scuderia Ferrari team swapped out the engines in the cars of Alonso and Massa due to suspicions with the powerplants. While in previous years that would have resulted in a 10-grid spot penalty, 2010 regulations now state that each driver is allotted 8 engines for the season which could be used however the teams wish. Therefore, Alonso and Massa were allowed to retain their starting positions for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

As the 24 cars assumed grid positions for the 2010 season opening race, the heat of the 30-plus degree Celsius day provided a symbolic ambience to the intensity of this first grand prix of the year. Winning the top spot on the standing start through qualifying of day 2, Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull-Renault experienced a perfect launch to the young German hot shoe. Early in the race, Ferrari teammates battled as team newcomer Fernando Alonso passed the Formula 1 team's incumbent Felipe Massa for 2nd place.

Indicative of a driver who experienced very little track time, the rookie Indian driver Kuran Chandhok suffered an early retirement with his HRT-Cosworth after a second lap crash. The second HRT-Cosworth of Chandhok's teammate Bruno Senna didn't fare much better retiring by the 17th lap. While troubles haunted the debut of the HRT Formula 1 team, Virgin GP joined their fellow new F1 entrant in early retirement hindered by mechanical issues. Virgin GP's best result came from Timo Glock lasting only 16 laps until falling out due to a gearbox problem. What's interesting is that Glock's Virgin-Cosworth is running the spec gearbox supplied by Xtrac to Virgin GP as well as three other teams as a cost-cutting measure. The only Xtrac gearbox failure, the widespread use of this component could spark concern as the season endures.

As the pole sitter Sebastian Vettel appeared destined to claim the first race of 2010, his Red Bull Racing car began to slow unexpectedly. By lap 34, Vettel's race-leading car fell into the grasp of Ferrari's dynamic duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Both red Ferrari F10s passed the Red Bull Racing car by the end of lap 35. While thought to be a broken exhaust, the slowdown of Vettel's Red Bull Racing-Renault was attributed to a spark plug. When everything was said and done for the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, the power loss on Vettel's Red Bull would cost the German driver a podium finish.

Without any interruptions through the final 15 laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso pulled out a 16 second lead on his teammate Massa to win his first Formula 1 race since the controversial 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with Renault. In the 3rd and final podium spot, the McLaren-Mercedes team 2008 driver champion Lewis Hamilton came across the line 23 seconds behind the lead Ferrari. Admitting to a lack of speed, the McLaren F1 team has gained begging rights placing one of their cars over the Mercedes GP factory team in this first race.

As for the factory-backed Mercedes GP, the all-German driver lineup flew their team and country colours admirably in this first outing. Nico Rosberg finished 5th narrowly missing the opportunity of gaining one more spot from the wounded Red Bull-Renault of Vettel. In his much-anticipated return to formula 1, the 41-year old Michael Schumacher rejoined competitive ranks in 6th place behind his younger German countrymate.

Thanks partially by the new points system which was designed to improve competition among the mid to rear-running teams, Force India and the Williams F1 team enjoyed scoring their first points for the season. Vitantonio Luizzi Force India-Mercedes finished 9th while Rubens Barrichello grabbed the final point available crossing the line in 10th place.

Lower in the grid, the Lotus Racing team made performance honourable to the history of the predecessor team founded by legendary car owner Colin Chapman. Underpowered and underexperienced compared to the existing teams, their best efforts are clearly far from performance of Ferrari. However, with the Bahrain Grand Prix being their first maiden, Lotus Racing drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli made sure that the Formula 1 fans knew the team competed. Three laps down in 15th position, Kovalainen achieved the Lotus Racing's goal by finishing the first event. Trulli was almost able to bring the second Lotus T-127 race car but suffered last lap hydraulic problems.

Formula 1: 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Race Results

1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
8. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
11. Robert Kubica Renault F1
12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
13. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
14. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
15. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
16. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
17. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
18. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
19. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
21. Vitaly Petrov Renault
22. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth

New F1 Team Hispania Racing F1 Names Chandhok to Drive

Recently stabilized by secure funding and management, the racing outlet now known as the HRT F1 Team (the team has now dropped the full Hispania Racing F1 name banner) scrambles to ready itself for the 2010 Formula 1 season. Holding the last vacancy of all the committed Formula 1 teams, HRT filled the gap with just 10 days remaining before the V8 F1 engines start at Bahrain. Joining the team's first named driver Bruno Senna, HRT has opted for another newcomer to F1 slating India's Karun Chandhok to command the team's other Cosworth-powered Dallara.

The second Indian driver to ever run in the Formula 1 tour (Narain Karthikeyan was the first in 2005, driving 19 races for Jordan Grand Prix), Karun Chandhok has shown himself a rising talent in the GP2 series. Formula 1 interest in the driver has spawned from 2007 when Chandhok served as a test driver with Red Bull Racing. Enthusiasm for Chandhok was renewed in 2009 when Force India was seeking a mid-season replacement to Giancarlo Fisichella.

In a distinguished career that included two GP2 wins, Kuran Chandhok's highlight is being crowned the first champion for the Asian Formula Renault series in 2006 winning an impressive 7 races and 9 poles.

The Tale of Four Teams: F1 Newcomers Rough Race onto the Grid

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing


Coming as news midway through the 2009 Formula 1 season, the world racing sanctioning body accepted entries of four new teams to complete in the F1 world circuit in 2010.

USF1 Team, Campos Meta, Manor Grand Prix and Lotus Racing were the successful applicants out of 15 organizations known to have made proposals to the FIA. Determined to increase the car count and team representation in the major open wheel racing series, the 4 teams brought into the series under this arrangement will become the first entries to deploy an unique effort devoted to lower cost racing. Running spec engines supplied by the Cosworth and common Xtrac racing transmissions, the financial relieve of not building these expensive car components will stride to allow these teams to be reasonably competitive at a lower annual budget than the established Formula 1 teams.

Rewarded the coveted spots on the 2010 Formula 1 grid, these four auto racing teams committed themselves to almost 9 months of work in building a grand prix racing group. In the case of three of these teams, 2/3rds of a year run sported some interesting drama.


Virgin Racing (Formerly Manor Grand Prix)

One of two teams upgrading themselves from an F3 series, Manor Grand Prix linage included the fostering of a younger Lewis Hamilton in 2004. As the team takes to the 2010 grid, Manor Grand Prix is now known as Virgin Racing after the team's name was changed to reflect the title sponsor and majority owner the Virgin Group. Signing the driver will piloted the now defunct Toyota F1 effort, the Timo Glock announcement can as one of the first driver linked to the new 2010 teams. With 36 Formula 1 race starts of experience, Glock will enjoy the lead driver position with Virgin Racing over F1 rookie Lucas di Grassi. Grassi joins the new F1 team with history running for Manor Motorsport in the 2005 Formula 3 Euroseries.


Lotus Racing

Lotus Racing has assembled their Formula 1 effort with minimal complications. Rising from the ashes of Colin Chapman's once iconic Team Lotus grand prix group, the Lotus badge returns in 2010 after a 15-year hiatus. The new incarnation of Lotus in Formula 1 is created through the united efforts of the Malaysia's Proton parent company and the crew members located in the Lotus Racing facilities in Norfolk, England. The team steadily built itself with some enviable pieces that even established teams were struggling to set in place including a dedicated team principal Tony Fernandes, the team rests on strong financial footing with corporate partners recently added CNN International as a sponsor. Mike Gascoyne took the reins of the team's Chief Technical Officer traveling with over 20 years of Formula 1 experience in working for McLaren, Tyrrell and Toyota's F1 effort. Naming veteran Formula 1 drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen as pilots the Lotus' T127 race car for 2010, the Lotus Racing team should be at least a stable mid-pack grand prix team.


The USF1 Team

Equating to the biggest drama in the Formula 1 off-season, the fate of the USF1 Team had been the talk of the motorsport world. The USF1 Team had been eagerly followed by North American race fans who have long been seeking a greater presence in what is considered the World's top auto racing series. With the team's conception occurring well into 2008, the team was co-founded in February of 2009 by Formula 1 media legend Peter Windsor, former de Ferran Motorsport principal Ken Anderson, and Youtube creator Chad Hurley. As of March of 2010, USF1 appears to have withdrawn plans to contend in the upcoming Formula 1 season. Reports have indicated that staff for the team have been layoff as plans to get USF1 into Formula 1 for 2011 is being championed by Ken Anderson and Chad Hurley.

Initially plotting to feature an All-American driver lineup, the USF1 Team had been rumoured to be charming American racers AJ Almendinger Kyle Busch and Danica Patrick. 1997 F1 World Champion driver Jacques Villeneuve was also mentioned as connected to the team but the negotiations never materialized. In late January, Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez was named to one of the two vacant seats. A second driver has never been named for 2010 and Lopez has just recently been released from the team.

Stefan GP, an ambition Serbian-based F1 effort initially turned down for one of the four F1 team entries, has also been hinted to propositioning the team to sell their spot on the 2010 F1 grid. As the season opening race in Bahrain nears, the USF1 Team has officially sought a 12-month deferral from the FIA as they plan to ready the team for 2011. A revised entry list published on the Formula 1 official website March 3 excludes the USF1 Team from the car roster.


Hispania Racing F1 (Formerly Campos Meta)

Amidst the media coverage around the troubles of the USF1 Team, a similar but less featured Formula 1 story has been transpiring around Campos Meta. Founded by Adrian Campos, previously an owner of F3 and GP2 teams, Campos Meta's application to become a 2010 Formula 1 team was bolstered by the organization's plan to have reputable chassis builder Dallara supply their cars. Late last year, the team attracted some notable attention by announcing 2008 GP2 points runner-up Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Formula 1 great Aryton Senna, would debut in Formula 1 in 2010. However, as Formula 1 team planning extended beyond the new year, Campos Meta's progress apparently stalled.

By February of 2010, Campos Meta's capacity to make the 2010 Formula 1 season was in serious doubt as cash flow to the effort fell dry. Before that, F1 CEO and president Bernie Ecclestone voiced concerned about the financial strength of Campos Meta along with the USF1 team. Ecclestone's predictions have since been supported by team owner Adrian Campos confirmation the start-up team's financial issues admitting to BBC Sport "sometime we have the money sometime we don't". Realizing their inability to field a team for 2010, team financier Jose Ramon Carabante took control of the race entity recommitting the team under the new name Hispania Racing F1. Bruno Senna retains his ride and speculation has the free agent driver Jose Maria Lopez joining the Hispania Racing F1 team. As the Bahrain Grand Prix nears, the team is optimistic about completing in the 2010 Formula 1 tour.


Almost a week away from first practice during the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, the more established teams of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing is still destined to be the class of world open wheel auto racing. Making efforts to build the best teams possible, the three new teams in Formula 1 racing changes from team formulation to openly fighting for every position in the 24-car field through the season. When Lotus Racing, Hispania Racing F1 and Virgin Racing cars are finally unleashed into the 2010 Formula 1 grid, maybe through all the hard work that the upcoming grand prix season will bring, these new F1 entrants can celebrate a skillful victory in the motorsport business.

USF1 Team Stalls in Making 2010 Formula 1 Debut: Team Execs Deny Complete Closure

About two months ago, the trials and tribulations of the USF1 Team were beginning to show steps moving in the right direction. Announcing Argentinian driver Jose Maria Lopez late in January, the USF1 Team was also securing strategic corporate partnerships in building their first car inside the Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters. Since that time, there had been many warning signs indicating the inability for the USF1 Team to make the grid for the 2010 Formula 1 season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Today (Tuesday March 2nd), the most transparent occurrence to the American race team shuttering resulted as the USF1 Team's only driver Jose Maria Lopez has been released from his contract.

While speculation existed since December on the USF1 Team's preparedness to ready their entry for 2010, team representative were refuting those claims officially. According to one media outlet, it was rumoured that the upstart Formula 1 team has yet to take delivery of their spec Cosworth engines and Xtrac gearboxes leaving their competition car incomplete. Through the USF1 team's official website, the new auto racing organization were making every attempt to show that progress was definitely being made on developing the race vehicle. Photos illustrated the team's manufacturing capacity as well as video relating to the design of vehicle aspects including the front nose section and the electrical wiring.

Despite this preparation, signs of USF1's troubles became apparent as there has yet been a sighting of the Formula 1 car. At the beginning of this year, the team tipped off an anxious crowd of American motorsport followers with a planned test of a completed vehicle on North American soil. Once scheduling a shakedown of their USF1 car at Barber Motorsport Park in early February, the month past without a single lap performed by the team.

Pledging that the USF1 Team still has life, co-team principal Ken Anderson has been insistent on mentioning that the USF1 Team organization has not folded. In fact, Anderson speaks positively about competing in the 2011 Formula 1 tour. However, these plans might depend on an investigation by the Formula 1 sanctioning body, the FIA. In recent weeks, FIA president Jean Todt has corrected a misquote that left the impression that the FIA would excuse the USF1 Team from missing the first events of the season. In fact, USF1 could face penalties for breaching the Concorde Agreement (in a nut shell, a contract that grants missive financial considerations to teams and governs the team's business within the sport).

Vitaly Petrov Joins Kubica in 2010 Renault F1 Team

Photo Credit: Renault F1 Team


As teams like Mercedes GP, Ferrari and McLaren F1 are taking the wraps off their competition machines, there are still a few organizations rushing through their final full-month of preparation for the 2010 Formula 1 season. The Renault F1 Team remained as one of the only returning Grand Prix teams yet to confirm drivers for both vehicles. Signing former BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica before the end of the 2009 Formula 1 season, the Renault F1 Team waited until the 31st of January to add Kubica's teammate. Alongside the Polish driver, Renault has committed to F1 rookie Vitaly Petrov to pair with Kubica.

Making his first big mark in the Russian Lada Revolution Championship, Petrov won pole in every round in 2004 and the overall championship in 2005. His latest accomplishments have been some standout runs made in GP2 races for both the European and Asia series. The 26 year old Petrov's young career is highlighted last season by a runner-up spot in the major GP2 championship behind Nico Hülkenberg (Hulkenberg has been signed to drive for Williams F1 through 2010).



Photo Credit: Andrew Ferraro /LAT Photographic

Petrov's addition comes on the team's introduction of the Renault R30 race car in Valencia, Spain. A rookie set become the first Russian driver to compete on the full 2010 Formula 1 schedule, Vitaly Petrov name was no stranger to Grand Prix insiders. At the end of 2009, Petrov was highly rumoured to be behind the wheel of a race car belonging to Formula 1 newcomer Campos Meta.

Formula 1 One 2010: The Final Pieces

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP


With under 46 days remaining before the start lights illuminate for the Bahrain Grand Prix, some Formula 1 teams are more prepared for the start of the 2010 season than others. Two veteran F1 teams with full driver lineups for the upcoming season (Ferrari and McLaren), are set to take the wraps off new cars later this week in press unveilings.

BMW Sauber, having named Pedro De La Rosa to join Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi this past week, are due to introduce their competition vehicle next Sunday. As BMW sold their stake of the team back to original owner Peter Sauber, expect the German auto company's name to be stricken from the team's banner as the 2010 cars are planned to run customer Ferrari engines. Sauber's ceremony will take place in Valencia, Spain in coexistence with the Renault F1 team without the lavish displays once the norm for Formula 1 car unveilings. Renault F1 continues to possess one of the few vacancies left for the established Formula 1 teams alongside Robert Kubica, ironically the former driver of the BMW Sauber team. Two more teams, Williams F1 and the high-profile Mercedes GP, are slated to show off their race cars one day after in the same Spanish locale. Red Bull Racing, Force India and Lotus are scheduled to show their team colours later in the month of February.

The US F1 Team, a 2010 Formula 1 start up once questioned for whether they'll even have a car ready for the March Bahrain debut, has publicized the headway they've been making through the past month. This week, one of the biggest announcements for the American Formula 1 team is set, some media outlets jumping to name the US F1 Team's first driver ahead of an impending announcement planned for Monday January 25th. Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez, a driver who has been associated with the US F1 Team since early December, is likely to be tabbed as the freshman F1 organization's first driver hiring in a press conference in his South American homeland. Lopez credentials include two seasons of GP2 and a test role with the Renault F1 team in 2006.


2010 Formula 1 Grid (As of January 25th)

McLaren F1
1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes GP
3. Michael Schumacher
4. Nico Rosberg

Red Bull Racing
5. Sebestian Vettal
6. Mark Webber

Ferrari
7. Felipe Massa
8. Fernando Alonso

Williams
9. Rubens Barrichello
10. Nico Hulkenberg

Renault F1
11. Robert Kubica
12. TBD

Force India
13. Adrian Sutil
14. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Toro Rosso
15. Sebestian Buemi
16. Jaime Alguersuari

Lotus
17. Jarno Trulli
18. Heikki Kovalainen

Campos Meta
19. Bruno Senna
20. TRD

Virgin Racing
21. Timo Glock
22. Lucas di Grassi

US F1 Team
23. *Jose Maria Lopez* (Pending January 25th Announcement)
24. TRD