Webber Wins Tight Monaco GP

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

The streets of Monte Carlo is the most exotic Formula 1 racing locale in existence. The 2.075-mile street course is one of the slowest but most mentally testing circuits for Formula 1's drivers as they race within the wealthier sects of European culture.

With 5 different winners in the opening 5 races for the Formula 1 tour, the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix's unpredictable nature for competitors has historically resulted in some bizarre outcomes to the prestigious event. Even before this 6th race of the year started, the plot of the Monaco Grand Prix was one of intrigue. Saturday qualifying session's fastest car of Michael Schumacher was required to serve five-grid position penalty resulting from an incident at the Spanish Grand Prix. As the race's pole-sitting Mercedes GP racing machine was demoted to a 6th place start, Mark Webber was able to take the top position on the 24-car starting order.

When the green lights turned off to start the 78-lap Monaco Grand Prix, Webber's Red Bull-Renault got the necessary launch to hold off his fellow front row starter Nico Rosberg's Mercedes GP car. As two of the leaders got away safely into the first corner on the tight street course, the 4th and 6th place races cars in the Monaco Grand Prix would be involved in one of the race's early skirmishes. An altercation between Michael Schumacher and the Lotus-Renault of Romain Grosjean resulted in the Frenchman coming on the losing end of contact. Grosjean would fall out of the event without completing a single lap. In a separate incident on the start, the past grand prix winner Pastor Maldonado was also taken out of the Monaco race early with damage to his Williams-Renault.
 
The Monaco Grand Prix was an event that just took a turn for the worse for the 7-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher since winning pole in qualifying. The initial grid position penalty served at the start of the grand prix cost Schumacher the top position at the start with his Mercedes GP and a fuel pressure problem last in the event cost the German a solid race on a circuit he holds 5 previous victories. Parking his Mercedes GP car after 63 laps, Michael Schumacher has failed to finish 4 of the first 6 races in the 2012 Formula 1 season.

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Rain was in the forecast through the afternoon event at Monaco. As race cars circulated around the Circuit de Monaco, the anticipation for showers steered the pit stop strategy which most teams planned only a single tire change. Most of the leaders pitted between lap 27 and lap 30 of the Monaco Grand Prix but Sebastian Vettel experimented with a different plan during the race. Compelled to be in position to take advantage of potential incoming rain showers, Vettel stayed out on track as him and his Red Bull Racing team gambled that rain could fall and they can pit for a set of wet weather tires. The strategy was abandoned on lap 46 when Sebastian Vettel pitted.  

With 10 laps to go, some light precipitation fell on the streets causing at least one car (the Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Jean-Eric Vergne) to pit for intermediate tires. The rain in the late stage of the Formula 1 event would not be effort to significantly phase drivers in the final laps and Vergne's intermediate tires was unable to capitalize.

The top-6 cars were only within 6.1 seconds of each other as Mark Webber took the checkered flag of the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix. Only 0.6 of a second ahead of the Mercedes GP team's Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber records his first win since the Brazilian Grand Prix Formula 1 finale last season.

While Webber is the 6th winner of 6 grand prix races in 2012, an equally impressive streak came to end at the Circuit de Monaco. The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix ends the 5-race run of different teams winning Formula 1 rounds as the Red Bull-Renault becomes the first car to hold repeat victories in the series. The win for Red Bull Racing extends their continuous streak of victories on the streets of Monaco to three. Mark Webber won the 2010 race while Sebastian Vettel took last year's event with his Red Bull-Renault. Intending to take advantage of the weather, Vettel settled with a 4th place result at the end of the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Eric Vargiolu/DPPI

The final spot on the Monaco Grand Prix podium went to the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso will started 5th in the event. Alonso's embattled teammate Felipe Massa had a very respectable outing at Monaco collecting a 6th place finish for a double point day for Ferrari. It was also a double manufacturer's points day for the Force India squad as Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta secured spots inside the top-10. Lewis Hamilton captured 5th in the event for what was a disappointing event for his McLaren-Mercedes team.

Noteworthy, Sergio Perez was allowed by the formula 1 racing stewards to race the Monaco Grand Prix after a serious crash in qualifying that derailed the Sauber F1 team from entering a lap time. Starting from 23rd spot, Perez improved to 11th place, just missing a points-paying position. Bruno Senna (who's Williams-Renault in Spain was in the midst of a garage fire) took home the final point in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Formula 1 teams next race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix.



2012 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Race Results

1	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
3	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7	11 Paul di Resta Force India
8	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
9	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
10	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
11	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
12	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
14	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
15	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth
16	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
17	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
19	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
20	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
21	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
22	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth
23	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
24	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault

Red Bull Racing Battle Results With Webber Claiming British Grand Prix

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Photo Credit: Mercedes GP


The British Grand Prix's running at Silverstone is one of few F1 events which actually predates the inception of the current Formula 1 sanctioning body. Ever since the first running of the event on the former World War 2 Era RAF Bomber airfield, there have been some memorable developments which included the collision with a sheep in the inaugural Silverstone race.

Flashing forward to the 2010 race, the reigning winner Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole ahead of his Australian teammate Mark Webber perhaps thanks to aerodynamic revisions Vettel's Red Bull-Renault wore through qualifying. Showing to be a class above other teams through Saturday's time trial for grid position, the Red Bull Racing drivers looked to once again duke amongst themselves. With both Red Bull-Renaults showing near equal pace within the season, Vettel and Webber have not always shown the best in teamwork when starting close together. Dramatically resulting in a collision at the Turkish Grand Prix, the rivalry between the Red Bull Racing F1 drivers has been bordering on an all-out feud.

First and second on the British Grand Prix grid as the lights went out, Webber found the edge on his teammate Vettel from the standing start. Starting 3rd, looking to spoil the Red Bull Racing party, Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren-Mercedes was aggressive early seeking a move on the now displaced polesitting car of Sebastian Vettel. In result of the contentious start, Vettel suffered a major setback as he lost pressure in one of his Bridgestone tires. With some speculation that the dice from the start with teammate Mark Webber had some direct involvement for the tire puncture, Vettel speculated contact might have been with Lewis Hamilton's McLaren air dam. With Sebastian Vettel forced to make a pit stop on lap 2, Mark Webber was left as the lone Red Bull-Renault left to fight for British Grand Prix victory.

Now in 2nd place, the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton fell into hot pursuit of the Renault-powered Formula 1 leader with another factory-backed Renault of Robert Kubica running 3rd. Enjoying another run near the front in the improved Renault R30 race car, Kubica was one-half of another major race battle. Between his Renault and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, Kubica fought hard to hold back the challenger to the 3rd place position. On lap 17, Alonso speared for the podium spot ducking his Ferrari on the inside of Kubica heading into turn 8. In a defense driving move which appeared that Robert Kubica was squeezing the Ferrari into the corner, Alonso refused to let up remaining alongside into the S-shaped area. In fact, Fernando Alonso would make his way around Kubica's Renault Possibility a controversial decision considering that Kubica played a part in forcing the Ferrari off-track initially, Alonso was assessed a drive-through penalty for the pass off the track surface.

With an impending penalty for Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica was not free from trouble. Unfortunately for Kubica, his quest to score points in a 9th straight grand prix events was ended when his Renault R30 suffered a left rear driveshaft failure. Kubica's retirement was presided only by the Virgin-Cosworth of Lucas di Grassi for what would eventually in a very light race casualty list.



Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bellanca/LAT Photographic

On lap 28, the BMW Sauber-Ferrari of Pedro de la Rosa shed debris from a damaged rear wing. Landing within the racing groove littering the Silverstone frontstretch, the FIA pulled out the Mercedes-Benz SLS safety car.

Prior to the safety car period, Webber was enjoying a comfortable lead over Hamilton. With the Red Bull Racing team experimenting with new parts for improving their on-track performance, McLaren was also involved in extracting greater potential from their current car coming with an all-new exhaust system which was planned to improve aerodynamics. Instead, through Friday practice, the team found the new exhaust pieces were actually impeding the car's performance. McLaren team mechanics worked hard to remove the systems on both cars reverting back to another existing exhaust. While improving the McLaren-Mercedes cars, both were ultimately short on catching the Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber.

Through the last stage of the race as the top-2 stabilized, Nico Rosberg had quietly broke into the final podium spot with the Mercedes GP team car. The British Grand Prix would net Rosberg has 3rd podium finish of the season in another race where he outperformed Michael Schumacher. Schumacher himself finished 9th in the grand prix and has caught the ears of many Formula 1 insiders would have heard dissatisfaction coming from the 7-time world driving champion about the 2009 return to the series. In post race, Schumacher responded "Again a race which I am not really happy about today. It was ok and seeing Nico on the podium is good for the team but my race was obviously less rewarding."



Photo Credit: Mercedes GP

Coming down to the end, Fernando Alonso's attempt to regain points for the Formula 1 championship encountered another problem as contact with a Force India car resulted with a tire puncture sending him back to the pits for an unscheduled tire change. Finishing 14th in this British Grand Prix, the Scuderia Ferrari team hit a real sour note in the 2010 British Grand Prix as Felipe Massa was one place behind Alonso at the checkered flag.

Webber's Red Bull-Renault retained the lead while the second team car provided some jarring on-track action through the final laps of the British Grand Prix. Finishing 7th after a hard charge after the tire puncture, Sebastian Vettel was aided by the safety car period as well as his own determination to pass the Force India-Mercedes of Adrian Sutil on the final laps. Describing the race in the Red Bull Racing website, Vettel candidly admitted "There are some days where you should just stay in bed. Today was one of those days, or let's say, the beginning of the race was." As for the Webber/Vettel feud, Vettel made no indications of this even congratulating Mark Webber on the win.

Crossing the line to collect his 3rd 2010 Formula 1 win for Red Bull Racing, the Australian driver Mark Webber maintained a marginal gap on the two Mercedes-Benz engines within Hamilton's McLaren and Rosberg's factory-based Mercedes GP car. Another Mercedes-powered McLaren also rolled home 4th place on the Silverstone circuit for an important points day. Making a barn-burning charge within the early stages from a 14th place starting spot, 2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button retained 2nd in the Formula 1 standings behind teammate Lewis Hamilton.

With the drama for Ferrari and struggles for one-half of Red Bull Racing, the 2010 British Grand Prix was noteworthy for the performance of some of the mid-marker Formula 1 teams. Both Williams-Cosworth cars of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg scored points for a race close to the team's home base. However, the most impressive single driver performance from a mid-marker team came from Japan's Kamui Kobayashi who brought his BMW Sauber-Ferrari 6th across the line as a career-best for the driver.

Leaving the historic British track, next for the Formula 1 cars is the German Grand Prix where several popular native drivers would try to score victory at the Hockenheimring. The German Grand Prix is set for two weeks on July 25th.


British Grand Prix

2010 Formula 1

Race Results


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

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

The Red Bulls Triumph in Spain; Webber Wins First F1 Race in 2010

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP


With less than a quarter of the Formula 1 schedule in the books, the 2010 season has been full of some interesting surprises through the initial Asian and Australian grand prix rounds. With Formula 1 teams in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix, drivers, teams and fans may be watching if some form of consistency will take shape on the tour.

In pre-race speculation, the Red Bull Racing team should be the favoured operation. Achieving pole in every Formula 1 race in 2010, the Red Bull Racing team has shown little problem finding speed through the qualifying. However, with only one win so far in the Malaysian Grand Prix, the team has had minimal success in capitalizing on their prime grid positions. Starting 1-2, Mark Webber led teammate Sebastian Vettel at the start catching the start lights perfectly eager to complete the race where he's beginning.

As Webber pulled out a sizable interval on the field, the fight for position rested in 2nd place as Sebestian Vettel motored to keep the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton at bay early. Hamilton would eventually be able to pass the 2nd place Red Bull-Renault as the McLaren pit crew worked their magic to place the 2008 World driver champion in front of Vettel.

Behind the top-3 at the early stage of the Spanish Grand Prix, Fourth place Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was holding off the charge given by the Italian team's storied past resident Michael Schumacher. After the mid-point of the event, Alonso found himself catching the Vettel-driven Red Bull-Renault. Due to brake fade, Sebastian Vettel spent the final 12 laps of the event holding onto his race car slipping into fourth as Alonso cleared the Red Bull driver.

While Sebastian Vettel appeared out of a podium position, a late race incident shook the front running order. With only 2 laps remaining for Hamilton, his McLaren-Mercedes suffered a left-front tire failure heading into turn 3. Tearing apart the wishbone suspension system, Lewis Hamilton came to rest safely off-track but lost his 2nd place run. Examining the tire following the incident Bridgestone engineers was confident the tire construction was not the fault for the McLaren retirement. The race team will be investigating the cause of the problem as they prepare for the Monaco Grand Prix in less than a week. Benefiting from the misfortune of Hamilton, both Alonso and Vettel were promoted on the podium.

Setting his wheels in the right place all race, Mark Webber wins the 2010 Spanish Grand Prix with a 24 second margin on the second place car of Fernando Alonso. Webber captured his 3rd victory in his Formula 1 career. All of the Australian's wins came in the past 14 grand prixs.

Inheriting the runner-up position, the Spanish crowd could care less how their native driver Alonso achieved the feat. Emerging from his Ferrari F2010, the Spaniard was cheered on to a volume surpassing the applause for the race winner.

With Sebastian Vettel finishing on the final spot on the podium, the Red Bull Racing driver best 4th place Michael Schumacher by 1.8 seconds. Collecting his best finish since has comeback to Formula 1, Schumacher was flying high on the advances Mercedes GP made on his race car. The 38 year-old German driver consistently outran his younger teammate Nico Rosberg throughout the weekend. Overall, Mercedes GP leaves the Spanish Grand Prix somewhat mystified as it seems only one driver on a given grand prix weekend can be competitive so far this season.

In one week's time, the Formula 1 tour will eager set sights on the series' most prestigious round, the Monaco Grand Prix. The Barcelona Airport in Spain has canceled numerous flights as ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano eruptions is still causing havoc for European air travel. However, unlike the trip from China, the Formula 1 convoy could move on land to Monaco without too many logistical troubles.


2010 Formula 1
Spanish Grand Prix
Race Results

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

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