Barrichello Wins European Grand Prix in Valencia

Brawn's Rubens Barrichello beat McLaren's Lewis Hamilton to win the European Grand Prix after the world champion suffered a pit-lane mix-up.
Hamilton, who led from the start, was engaged in a tight battle with Barrichello when he was delayed at his final pit stop because his tyres were not ready.
But the mix-up did not cost him the race - an analysis of lap times suggests Barrichello would have beaten him anyway.
Jenson Button was seventh and team-mate Barrichello is now his closest title rival.
The Brazilian's victory puts him 18 points adrift of the Englishman with 60 remaining in the final six races of the season.
Red Bull's Mark Webber slipped to third in the championship 20.5 points behind Button, after finishing only ninth. His team-mate Sebastian Vettel, lying fourth, failed to finish following an engine failure.

Kimi Raikkonen finished third for Ferrari, ahead of Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, with Williams's Nico Rosberg fifth from Renault's Fernando Alonso, Button and the improved BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica.
Barrichello dedicated his victory to fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa, who is recovering at home after suffering a fractured skull in a crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"I had two wishes," Barrichello said, "first that he would be the same guy, and he is, and second that he will be the same driver, and I think he will be better.
"We knew if everything went to place we could win the race. You don't forget how to do it, even though it's five years.
"They were telling me push, push, push. You want to do it for yourself, your team, your family, your country. So there was a lot going through my mind."
Barrichello was third on the grid behind Hamilton and Kovalainen, but was fastest of all on fuel-corrected qualifying times.
He held on to third place off the start and settled in behind the McLarens for the duration of the first stint.
He stayed within touching distance of Kovalainen and leapfrogged the Finn by using his larger fuel load to stop three laps later, during which time he set a succession of fast lap times.
Once the field had settled down after the stops, Barrichello was slightly more than three seconds adrift of Hamilton and the gap see-sawed between three and four seconds until Hamilton's final pit stop on lap 37.
The McLaren pit wall were late in asking their mechanics to bring Hamilton's tyres into the pit lane, and that delayed the world champion by about five seconds.

He was just over six seconds clear by the time the two cars emerged from the pits - meaning he had made up four seconds on Hamilton on the track, slightly more than his deficit to the McLaren when it made its stop.
And Brawn brought Barichello in four laps earlier than necessary as soon as it became apparent he had enough of an advantage to make a stop and still retain the lead.
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "It was clear we weren't as quick in the race as we should have been.
"Rubens was quite a bit quicker than us and we were tying to get an extra lap. That made our call late and we didn't get the tyres out in time.
"We were monitoring the fuel, he was meant to come in on lap 37 and were trying to get him to come in on lap 38, but we didn't have quite enough.
"To have a car arrive and not have the tyres there is an operational error. But had the tyres been ready it wouldn't have made a difference. It only cost us a couple of seconds."
Hamilton said: "We win and we lose together. We had a tremendous effort to get us here so we cannot at all take second place for granted or be disappointed we didn't get the win because we've had extraordinary pace and it was a tremendous effort from everyone.
"These things happen. I've had so many races for this team and this hardly ever happens. It's only the second time, I think. We need to catch these guys up because I believe they are a little but quicker than us but we're pushing all the time."
Button qualified fifth - two places behind his team-mate - on a weekend when the Brawns returned to form. But he slipped down to ninth after a messy first lap.
The Englishman spent the middle part of the race trying to pass Webber, a feat he finally managed during the second and final pit stop period.

Webber lost eighth place to the improved BMW Sauber of Robert Kubica after getting stuck behind slower cars on the lap before his stop and then suffering a slight delay in the pits.
Once clear of the traffic he had got himself stuck behind, Button set a series of fastest laps in the final stages of the race as he attempted to chase down Alonso.
He will nevertheless be encouraged by his pace here - but well aware that he does not know whether Brawn have solved the problems that prevented them from being competitive in the cooler conditions of the preceding three races.
Button will now be anxious to see whether the changes Brawn are planning to improve their performance in cooler conditions than the stifling heat of Valencia work at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in the Ardennes mountains next weekend.

By Andrew Benson BBC Sport in Valencia

All the F1 action in Spain was off the track

It was perhaps inevitable that the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia, Spain, was going to be a little flat. Michael Schumacher was there all right, and wearing Ferrari clothing--but not the driver’s suit virtually everyone hoped he would. Michael smiled a lot, and kept wishing Ferrari stand-in Luca Badoer well, but that didn’t really help. And as he stared at the timing screens, it was impossible to disguise his frustration at Badoer’s, er, modest pace.
During Friday practice, the hapless Badoer set a record by exceeding the pit lane speed limit on four different occasions-—as the paddock’s razor-tongued observers noted, somewhat cruelly, that no one could accuse him of excessive speed on the race track. In qualifying, the No. 3 Ferrari was dead last; 12 months ago, driven by Felipe Massa, it dominated the weekend.
You had to have some sympathy for Badoer, however, as he had not raced an F1 car since 1999, and though he is Ferrari’s official test driver, has virtually no experience of the F60 now that in-season testing is banned.
Some wondered why Ferrari did not draft a guy such as Sebastien Bourdais, whom Scuderia Toro Rosso fired recently. Bourdais may not have set F1 on fire, but he is at least very much race-fit, and fully conversant with both the Ferrari engine and Bridgestone slicks.
Though Ferrari will not make the announcement before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next month, Fernando Alonso is to drive for the team in 2010, with Massa--assuming he recovers fully from his injuries suffered in Hungary--returning to partner him.
The suggestion in Valencia was that Ferrari reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen to end his contract a year early. During three years with the team, Raikkonen, despite nicking the world championship two years ago, has rarely looked anything like the driver he was at McLaren-Mercedes, and it is not known whether he will stay in F1--Renault has been mentioned--or perhaps turn his hand to rallying. During the recent summer break, Kimi took part in Rally Finland--he rolled his car--but not before impressing onlookers with his raw speed.
Given that it is now accepted that Alonso will join Ferrari, the driver market has come very much to life, and of course BMW’s forthcoming withdrawal has contributed to that: Robert Kubica, who has the measure of anyone in terms of natural talent, is unexpectedly available.
Kubica has been linked with three teams--McLaren, Renault and Williams--but the belief at the moment is that current Williams driver Nico Rosberg will join his old karting teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Renault, soon to lose Alonso, is believed to be keen to sign Kubica, but Robert himself is believed to have more enthusiasm for Williams, a team very much on the up at the moment.
Williams’ problem for 2010 could be engines, for it is known that Toyota, which has supplied the team for the last three years, is profoundly displeased by Williams’ stance in the recent FIA-FOTA battle, and may well terminate the contract. Rumors abound that Red Bull Racing will use Mercedes engines next year; if that happens, Williams and Renault could very well renew the highly successful partnership last seen in the mid-’90s.
Quite evident in Valencia qualifying was that McLaren is emphatically back on its game. Hamilton won in Hungary, but perhaps his car wasn’t the out-and-out quickest: at Valencia, though, Lewis won the pole, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen alongside him.
Only McLaren and Ferrari still use kinetic energy recovery systems, and as the teams improve their once lamentable cars, KERS can make a difference: An extra 80 hp for six seconds a lap can come in quite handy. Imagine the advantage it might provide in the next race, at Spa, up the long hill from Eau Rouge to Les Combes. Indeed, Hamilton will not retain his title this year, but he may well have a say in who takes it.

By NIGEL ROEBUCK

Hamilton optimistic for F1 Valencia street fight

Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton will be hoping to pick-up this weekend on the streets of Valencia where he left off in Budapest last month when he takes part in the European Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Englishman claimed his first win of the season last time out in Hungary for McLaren Mercedes and with a package of improvements on his car believes he can challenge for another win after Formula One's month-long summer break.
Hamilton said: "It's great to be getting back to business after the break and I'm still buzzing from the win in Hungary.
"I'm hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car."
His team boss Martin Whitmarsh is also optimistic that after a desultory start to the year, McLaren will be back with plenty to prove in the second half of the season.
He said he believed the latest upgrades for the MP4-24 car will give Hamilton a great chance to win again on the Mediterranean street circuit laid out around the harbour of the Spanish city.
Whitmarsh said: "It's very important that we are able to maintain the winning momentum into this weekend's race. Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain.
"The whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend."
Hamilton's improvement and optimism is bad news for championship-leading fellow-Briton Jenson Button of Brawn GP and his Red Bull rivals as they see the title race thrown wide open.
Spaniard Fernando Alonso is another challenger who could upset all the easy predictions of a Button v Sebastian Vettel duel for the crown as the Renault driver bids to give his home fans plenty to cheer in Sunday's race.
He secured his first pole position of the season in Hungary and believes he can fight for a podium this weekend.
"Our performance in Hungary was encouraging as the car was quick and we managed to get pole, which was actually a bit of a surprise," he said.
"To retire from the race was disappointing, but I'm looking on the bright side because I think that the car can be just as competitive in Valencia.
"Last year my race there was very short - less than a lap - so I'm really determined to make up for that this weekend and hopefully we can fight for the podium."
A strong showing by Alonso may also go some way to quell the disappointment of those who bought tickets in anticipation of seeing seven times champion Michael Schumacher make a dramatic comeback for Ferrari as replacement for injured Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Massa crashed in Hungary and suffered head and eye injuries after debris from compatriot Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car flew up and hit him.
But after injuring his neck in a motorbike accident in February Schumacher has failed in his fitness fight to make a return and instead Ferrari will run veteran Italian Luca Badoer, a test driver, in the car.
Badoer said: "I have to say, my first thoughts when I take to the track will be for Felipe, because I got a real fright when I saw his accident.
"I have to add that I am also thinking of Michael, because having trained with him over the last few weeks, I know how much he wanted to make this comeback and how much effort he was putting into his preparation."
Massa has made good progress and is targeting a comeback in the season's penultimate race his home Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo.
Button, desperate to recover his form after three races without a win that have seen his lead trimmed heavily, said: "I've kept pretty busy over the past few weeks with the London Triathlon at the start of the month and then some time to relax with my family and friends, but it's seemed like a long time without a race!
"Valencia is a beautiful city and the track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge. It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers.So, it will be an interesting weekend."

European Grand Prix Preview - Valencia GP

The 11th round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship sees yet more driver changes. Of course, the original plan was to have Michael Schumacher making his return to Formula One for Ferrari amid much fanfare, but the multiple champion’s neck injury ruled him out.

Instead, Luca Badoer returns to the category for the first time in almost 10 years, intent on finishing the race and scoring the first world championship points of his F1 career. At the same time, GP2 star Romain Grosjean takes over from Nelson Piquet at Renault, who will be racing after the suspension handed down to them by the stewards in Hungary was overturned by the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris on Monday.

Both teams ran well here last year, and have high hopes now, but Red Bull and McLaren both fancy their chances and Brawn are desperate for Jenson Button to increase his points’ lead which has been seriously eroded in the past three events.

“The track is quite fun when it goes round the edge of the marina and over the bridge,” Button says. “It's quite challenging for the drivers with so many turns and the added factor of being surrounded by barriers means you have to maintain your concentration. There's been a lot of work going on at the factory following our shutdown and with the cars at the front being so close at the moment, it will be an interesting weekend."

It remains to be seen whether Brawn have got to the bottom of their tyre temperature issues, and the signs are that Valencia won’t be as warm as Hungary, where they struggled.

“It’s great to be getting back to business after the four-week break,” Hungarian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton says. “I’m still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I’m hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car. It’s a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It’s quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It’s also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year - but, with our KERS, Mercedes-Benz has proved that anything can happen and I’m once again hoping that it will provide the difference in the race.”

The 5.419-kilometre (3.367-mile) street course uses roads that run through the recently refurbished Juan Carlos I Marina, formerly the base for the 32nd America's Cup in 2007. It features 25 corners and a minimum width of 14 metres all the way around the lap, and incorporates sufficient run-off for the expected top speeds of more than 300 km/h (186 mph). Even though it’s a street track, drivers are on the throttle 68 percent of the time, and with relatively high levels of downforce and high brake wear teams must be canny with their set-ups.

The race will mark the 150th race win for Bridgestone’s F1 tyres. “This is an interesting track,” says Hirohide Hamashima, their director of motorsport tyre development. “It has the high-speed configuration of a permanent circuit, however the track surface gives away that this is only a temporary facility. There are numerous turns, yet there are also many high speed sections and we see speeds of around 300 km/h five times during the course of a lap. There are low-speed corners too, so some heavy braking does take place. On the slippery surface that accompanies a street course it is difficult to find grip off line.

“Last year we saw a lot of circuit surface evolution over the weekend and it was very much a learning process for everyone who attended the race. We also found last year that the infamous gap between the bridge surface and the road surface presented no difficulties for our Formula One tyres. Last year our visit to Valencia was a momentous one as it was here that we celebrated our 200th Grand Prix participation since our entry in 1997.”

As in Hungary, Bridgestone will again bring their soft and super soft compounds.

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean (born April 17, 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a racing driver. He races under the French flag in the GP2 series although he holds dual nationality from France and Switzerland. He was the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion.

Early racing career
Grosjean won all ten rounds of the 2003 Swiss Formula Renault 1.6 championship and moved to the French Formula Renault championship for 2004.
He was seventh in that first season with one win and champion in 2005 with ten victories. Grosjean also appeared in the Formula Renault Eurocup and finished on the podium twice in Valencia.
With his results and potential in the Formula Renault series, Romain joined the Renault Driver Development for the continuation of is career.

Formula Three
Grosjean made his F3 debut at the demanding Macau Guia circuit, standing in for Loic Duval at Signature-Plus. He qualified 19th and raced to ninth, beating team-mates Fabio Carbone and Guillaume Moreau.
He did a full season in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2006 but had a tough year, taking only one podium finish and ending the year 13th. But in a one-off appearance in the British Formula Three Championship he started on pole position for both races at Pau, won both and set fastest lap in each.
He stayed in the F3 Euroseries for 2007 but stepped up to ASM Formule 3, for which Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, and Paul di Resta won the previous three titles. Sébastien Buemi led the championship in the early stages but Grosjean moved ahead with a victory in the ninth race of the season at Mugello. He maintained a lead in the standings from that point onwards and won the title at the final round of the year with one race in hand.
Grosjean took pole position for the prestigious Masters of F3 race at Zolder but finished 14th after stalling at the start.

GP2 Series

Grosjean drove for ART in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series season alongside Stephen Jelley, winning both races of the first round of the championship. He went on to win the championship with four race victories and sixty-one points overall.
He stayed with ART Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Series season. His team-mates were Luca Filippi and Sakon Yamamoto
In the first round at the Circuit de Catalunya Grosjean started 11th after engine problems in qualifying. He rose through the field to finish fifth in the feature race, giving him fourth on the grid for the shorter sprint race. After a good start Grosjean was up to second and then passed Kobayashi for the lead. But Grosjean made a mistake on a late rolling restart and Kobayashi tried to pass him again for the lead. Grosjean moved across on Kobayashi to keep the position but the stewards decided his defensive move was illegal and gave him a drive-through penalty dropping him to 13th at the end of the race. Victory in the sprint race at Istanbul, the fourth round of the season, moved Grosjean into second place in the championship. Despite dropping back from this position, he finished the season fourth and achieved the distinction of being the highest-placed rookie in the championship.
2008 Formula Three Euroseries season champion Nicolas Hülkenberg joined Pastor Maldonado at ART for 2009, forcing Grosjean out of the team. Nonetheless, Renault placed him at 2008 team champions Campos Grand Prix for 2009, now known as Barwa Addax

Formula One

Grosjean was confirmed as Renault's test driver for 2008, replacing Nelson Piquet, Jr. who graduated to a race seat. He drove a Formula One car for the first time at the UK round of the 2008 World Series by Renault weekend at Silverstone on June 7 and June 8, 2008 where he gave a number of demonstrations of the previous year's R27 car. He initially continued in the test driver role at Renault for 2009, but will take over Piquet's seat from the European Grand Prix onwards.

Renault F1 Team cleared for European GP

Renault and Fernando Alonso have been cleared to compete in the European Grand Prix in Valencia after winning an appeal against a one-race ban.
The French team were punished after allowing Fernando Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel, which then came off, at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
However, Alonso will now be able to race at his home grand prix this weekend after the ban was overturned.


Motorsport's governing body (FIA) will instead fine Renault £30,000.
Alonso's right front wheel came off and bounced across the track at the race four weeks ago, race stewards subsequently ruling that the team's pit crew knew the wheel was not properly secured and failed to tell the driver.
But Renault team manager Steve Nielsen had said he was confident the team's suspension would be lifted.
"I've been optimistic since we got the penalty. We feel it's unjust," he said.
The stewards said Renault's pit crew "knowingly released car number seven from the pit stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position."

They also determined that "being aware of this, Renault failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit lane... and failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."
However, Nielsen insisted his team did not realise there was a problem with Alonso's car.
"We admit we did some stuff wrong, but we don't think that the penalty fits the crime," added Nielsen.
To argue their case Renault used comparative footage from races where drivers breached safety rules - but either went unpunished, or were punished less severely.
One example was German driver Sebastian Vettel racing at the Australian Grand Prix in March with a loose wheel hanging by the side of his car after colliding with BMW's Robert Kubica.
Vettel was fined £30,000 - the maximum amount that race stewards can levy - for continuing on three wheels and Renault said their punishment - at worst - should be a similar fine.
But Whiting said that incidents such as Vettel's had not occurred when leaving the pits, but during the race itself.

Renault engineering director Pat Symonds attended the hearing
Renault were represented at the hearing by engineering director Pat Symonds and technical director Bob Bell, while F1 race director Charlie Whiting represented the FIA.
With the ban overturned Alonso will now race at his home grand prix while Renault test driver Romain Grosjean will take Nelson Piquet Jr's seat.
Frenchman Grosjean was asked to step in after Piquet Jr was told by Renault he will not continue driving for them in F1 this season.
The decision to allow Alonso and his Renault team to race is also likely to delight the Spanish crowd.
"The reason there are two races in Spain is largely because of Fernando's involvement," said Nielsen.
"People in Spain were not so interested in F1 until he got involved, and now it's a big sport there."
The incident was particularly pertinent as it happened the day after Brazilian Felipe Massa was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries suffered while racing.
The Ferrari driver was struck by an object dislodged from the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello car during qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Massa had surgery on his skull and is recovering.
The previous week, 18-year-old F2 driver Henry Surtees - the son of former F1 champion John Surtees- was killed after losing consciousness and crashing into the barrier after a stray tyre hit him.

Romain Grosjean to Drive for Renault F1 Team

Allez la France !!

Renault have confirmed that Romain Grosjean will replace Nelson Piquet Jr at the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
Grosjean has also been chosen as the team's second driver for the remaining races of the season after Piquet Jr failed to pick up a point in 10 races.
"I'm very proud and looking forward to helping the team get the best results," said the 23-year-old Frenchman.
"Romain is an impressive young talent and we expect him to show his skills," said Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.
Grosjean will race alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for Renault in Valencia at the weekend after getting the green light to replace Piquet Jr.
"It is an honour to be Fernando's team-mate and to make my Formula 1 debut alongside a double world champion is especially motivating," said Grosjean.
Briatore thanked the Brazilian for his efforts in a team statement but said the switch was evidence that the team would "take an aggressive approach to the second half of the season".
Renault were reinstated on Monday for this weekend's race in Valencia after successfully appealing a one-race ban they were given at the Hungary Grand Prix.
The French team were punished after allowing Fernando Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel, which then came off, at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, Alonso will now be able to race at his home grand prix this weekend after the ban was overturned.
Motorsport's governing body (FIA) will instead fine Renault £30,000.
The decision to allow Alonso and his new Renault team-mate to race is likely to delight the Spanish crowd.
"The reason there are two races in Spain is largely because of Fernando's involvement," said Renault team manager Steve Nielsen.
"People in Spain were not so interested in F1 until he got involved, and now it's a big sport there."