My personal gathering about informations on the F1 scene in Singapore and the the rest of the world, as well as the latest developments of the Formula 1 world of Motorsports.
Force India's Adrian Sutil condemned Renault over the pitlane error that put him out of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Renault released Robert Kubica too early just as Sutil was driving into his pit entry box, resulting in a collision between the pair.
"It was definitely unsafe from their part," said Sutil.
"A real shame as it's my first DNF [Did Not Finish] since Australia, and even more disappointing as it wasn't our issue," added the German.
Chaos unfolded in the pit lane on lap 15 following the emergence of the safety car while a piece of debris from the car of Sutil's team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi's was cleared from the track.
The majority of the drivers immediately dived into the pits for a change of tyres, and Kubica's lollipop man
gave him the all-clear too soon.
"There wasn't anything I could do," Sutil added. "They released him into my path and I just crashed into him, and my car was damaged too badly to continue."
Kubica was initially able to return to the track, only to be handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for an unsafe release from the pits for which Renault were later fined $50,000.
The Polish driver failed to express any sympathy for Sutil, but rued his own exit from the race a few laps later.
"I saw the lollipop go up and I started to go but unfortunately we collided, forcing me to retire with damage to the front suspension," he said.
"It would have been nice to have at least finished the race because there are so many Polish fans here.
"Looking at how the race evolved, we could probably have got a good result."
Jenson Button injects excitement back into F1 with McLaren win
Boring? Who said anything about boring? Formula One rediscovered its vroom Down Under on Sunday as Formula One's "cool guy"
Jenson Button claimed his maiden victory for McLaren in an incident-packed, rain-affected Australian Grand Prix.
An inspired call from Button to switch to dry-weather tyres on lap six, one lap before the rest of the field, paid off as he moved from seventh place into second. Sebastian Vettel's brake failure midway through the race completed the job as Red Bull were once again left ruing their lack of points on a weekend in which they had the fastest car. As thousands of race fans trudged off into the Melbourne rain, chattering excitedly about the thrilling drama they had just witnessed, back in the paddock McLaren's luminous orange victory shirts lit up the night sky as Button celebrated wildly with his team and inner circle.
This was the eighth victory of the world champion's career but arguably the most important given the "Lion's Den" he was presumed to have entered at McLaren; the house that Ron Dennis built around Lewis Hamilton. Poor Hamilton. A wretched weekend, in which he was nabbed by Melbourne traffic police performing "burnouts" before struggling to 11th in qualifying, was nearly consigned to history with a truly magnificent drive that saw him climb as high as third at one point. "It was probably the drive of my life," he said. Unfortunately, a poor call from McLaren to bring him in for a change of tyres backfired and he eventually finished sixth after a less-than-brilliant shunt from home favourite Mark Webber. It was tough luck on Hamilton, although his radio outburst at the team's "freaking terrible" decision to bring him in, while borne of understandable frustration, only served to highlight the fact that Button had made his call unaided.
Button's experience showed on this occasion, although he admitted he thought his "game-changing" call might backfire badly as he struggled to stay on the track immediately after switching rubber. "When I went into the pit lane I thought I had made a catastrophic decision as it was soaking wet," he said. "I then had a little off at turn three but generally the pace was good and I was able to overtake three or four cars when they stopped." Button's win was his second in succession at Albert Park after his emotional victory on debut for Brawn GP last year, but the 30-year-old said it was impossible to make comparisons. "The emotions are completely different," he said. "But this is very special. It has taken me a little while to get to grips with the car but the team have been fantastic. They have really welcomed me in.
"I feel I am just building in confidence and hopefully when we get to the next race we can do something similar as this feels too good." Button's team principal Martin Whitmarsh was similarly thrilled, saying his new acquisition had made a "fantastic call" to come in early. "He's got to take the credit. He was the cool guy," said Whitmarsh who also defended Hamilton, a man he had described as "fragile and distracted" 24 hours earlier. "If Lewis didn't feel disappointed and frustrated, I'd be worried," he said. At least Hamilton later recovered his poise to give his team mate a generous hug. That bonhomie was not being played out at all teams. In fact, little niggles and rivalries that promise to boil over at some point this year are now simmering nicely. Nico Rosberg's continued dominance of Michael Schumacher at Mercedes is particularly intriguing. The returning seven-time world champion's woes continued on Sunday as he suffered an early prang and then spent most of the race stuck behind 20-year-old Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari.
Schumacher was even passed by Virgin Racing's Lucas di Grassi at one point, which inspired an almighty and telling cheer from the press room. Over at Ferrari, championship leader Fernando Alonso bore the brunt of a frantic start and spun 180 degrees after being clipped by Button. The Spaniard recovered well but could find no way back past slower team mate Felipe Massa. That must have rankled. A disconsolate Vettel, meanwhile, could not hide his disappointment at all. This was the second race in succession the young German was denied almost certain victory by a technical glitch. "It breaks my balls to be honest," the Red Bull driver said candidly of his brake failure. A special mention must go to Renault's Robert Kubica and Hispania Racing's Karun Chandhok for finishing second and 14th respectively, but it was Button who had the final word on proceedings. Such was his control as he opened up a 10-, then a 15-second lead over Kubica that he confessed he was in a unique position to pronounce on the rebirth of F1 as an exciting global spectacle. "I could see quite a bit on the TV screens and it did look like a very exciting race," he said cheekily. How's that for Mr Cool?
With the political rows that have dominated this Formula 1 season more or less over apart from a few late skirmishes, attention in Valencia has turned to the driver market.
The key move this season is Fernando Alonso's prospective switch to Ferrari. This has not been officially confirmed yet, but it is considered a given. And it will trigger a series of swaps that will significantly change the look of the F1 grid next season. Among the top teams, only Red Bull are not changing their line-up and there are attractive seats available at Ferrari, McLaren and Brawn. In the wake of Alonso's move, the key men in the market place are Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica.
Assuming Jenson Button stays at Brawn - which is not 100% certain, but looks very likely - they are the A-listers who will be top of most teams' shopping list. The driver market is always complicated - but the injury suffered by Felipe Massa has made it more Byzantine than usual this summer. Ferrari have actually got themselves into a bit of a pickle. Alonso's arrival means they have three of the top drivers in F1 for next season and only two cars to put them in, as both Felipe Massa and Raikkonen are under contract until the end of 2010. They intended to partner Alonso with Massa, but the Brazilian has a fractured skull following his accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Although he is expected to make a full recovery, in terms of living a normal life, it is impossible to know right now whether he will be able to race in F1 again, even if Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello and Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley, probably the two people closest to him in the paddock, are optimistic. Massa is talking about an emotional return for the Brazilian Grand Prix in October, but many feel that may well be over-optimistic, even allowing for the traditionally astonishing powers of recovery of F1 drivers. And if Massa cannot drive until after the end of the season - which means he might not be able to do so until January, because of the testing restrictions in December - that makes getting rid of Raikkonen less immediately appealing. Despite that, it does appear that the Finn will be the one to leave Ferrari, for whom one solution would be to gamble on Massa being fit and, if he isn't, take one of the experienced drivers who may be left standing after the game of musical chairs finishes. Jarno Trulli looks certain to leave Toyota - whose entire future in F1 may be in doubt - and the futures of Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld are all up in the air. All would make a more than decent one-year stand-in. In that eventuality, the question is where Raikkonen will end up. There are a number of interesting possibilities. His advisors are known to have had talks with Brawn, which interests him, and Toyota, which does not. And another obvious possibility is Renault, who need a top-liner to replace Alonso. And there is one intriguing possibility that I have not heard discussed on the paddock rumour mill - could Raikkonen make a shock return to McLaren?
It comes a bit out of left-field and might seem outlandish, but bear with me on it for a moment. Lewis Hamilton is locked in there until 2012, but the second seat is open. Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is under pressure because of his unconvincing performances in races and there has been talk of Nico Rosberg moving over from Williams. But, if you were McLaren, why replace one guy who is not as quick as Hamilton with, in Rosberg, another who isn't either but might be more disruptive? Raikkonen, on the other hand, is well known by McLaren having driven for them from 2002-6, and he is low maintenance - he just gets in the car and drives and couldn't care less who his team-mate is. Rosberg is known to be wary of facing Hamilton in the same car - he was his team-mate in karting and knows how quick he is - and Kubica has a reputation as hard work and demanding. Raikkonen is the total opposite. He would not be bothered about the team's focus on Hamilton. He would just do his job and go home - just like he always has. Not only that, but he left McLaren largely because he fell out with Ron Dennis, but the former boss has no involvement in the F1 team any more. So a fresh link with Raikkonen could be an appealing idea for McLaren - and vice versa. And read this quote from team boss Martin Whitmarsh after Sunday's European Grand Prix: "Kimi's really raised his game and all weekend has done a great job and Heikki has always been a fantastic team player and a good asset in our team but his race pace hasn't been good enough." Of course, all of that might be hugely wide of the mark, in which case Raikkonen will probably end up at Brawn or Renault - at both of which Kubica must be considered a contender. The Pole has been strongly linked with a move to Williams following BMW's decision to quit F1. But this weekend he has opened negotiations with Brawn, which would surely be a more appealing option considering the two teams' respective performance this season.
It is a difficult decision for Brawn. Given that Raikkonen has been a little off the boil in the last couple of seasons, Kubica is arguably the best driver on the market this season. But he has a reputation for being disruptive inside a team and Ross Brawn might prefer not to disturb the equanimity of Button, the man who still looks likely to be world champion this year. On top of that, Kubica is understood to want a one-year contract so he has the ability to move on for 2011 if a better drive becomes available, while Brawn would almost certainly want him to sign for two seasons.Traditionally, early September is the time the big pieces in the driver market puzzle begin to fall into place. But given the inherent complications, this season it could be a good deal later than that.
Sebastian Vettel (born July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim) is a German race car driver. He drives for Red Bull Racing having replaced former driver David Coulthard. By taking part in Friday practice for the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days. On Sunday September 30, 2007, during the Japanese Grand Prix Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a Formula One race. (Mike Thackwell remains the youngest driver to compete in a championship Grand Prix race; Nico Rosberg the youngest to drive an F1 car in private testing) He also became the quickest driver to get a fine in F1, being fined $1,000 nine seconds into his career, after speeding in the pitlane. He went on to become the sixth youngest driver to start a Grand Prix and the youngest driver to score points in a Grand Prix. During qualifying for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest Formula One driver to win pole position. He went on to win the race, making him the youngest F1 race winner by nearly a year.
Junior Series Vettel demonstrating his Formula Three Euroseries car in 2006 Vettel started racing karts in 1995, winning various titles such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup (2001). In 2003, he upgraded to open-wheel cars, and won the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship with 18 victories from 20 races. In 2005 he drove for ASL Mucke Motorsport in the Formula Three Euroseries. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 64 points, winning the year's top rookie honours. He did not win any races, but this was largely due to the championship's domination by Lewis Hamilton. Despite, this, he tested the Williams FW27 Formula One car on September 27 as a reward for this Formula BMW success. He then went on to test for the BMW Sauber team. Vettel finished as runner-up in the 2006 F3 Euroseries, behind series leader Paul di Resta. He also made his debut in the World Series by Renault at Misano, winning after Pastor Maldonado was disqualified. However, at the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying débris in an accident, and he was expected to be out of racing for several weeks.
However, he managed to compete in the Ultimate Masters of F3 at Zandvoort the following weekend, finishing in sixth place. He also set third fastest lap time, and it surprised his ASM team boss Frédéric Vasseur. Vasseur said: "I was impressed for sure, because at the beginning of the week I was sure he wouldn't race! But he showed good pace from the first practice session. I can't imagine he's 100 per cent but at least we know we can be competitive in the next F3 Euroseries round at the Nürburgring next weekend - that's important." Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica was called up to replace Jacques Villeneuve for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel impressed on his testing debut by setting fastest time in second Friday Free Practice before the race.The young German also impressed on his second testing session in the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions, a race weekend in which all the BMW cars were quick, with his predecessor Robert Kubica finishing on the podium in the race. He was confirmed as BMW's test driver for 2007, and also competed in the World Series by Renault Championship, where he had his first win at the Nürburgring. He was leading the championship when he was called up to F1 permanently, and his seat was taken by Michael Ammermüller. Formula One Vettel made his Formula One debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, driving for BMW Sauber. 2007: BMW Sauber Following the serious crash of regular BMW driver Robert Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel substituted for him at the US Grand Prix and started in seventh position on the grid, finishing in eighth position, thanks to Nico Rosberg's late retirement, to take his first F1 World Championship point and became the youngest driver ever to score a point in Formula One (at the age of 19 years and 349 days), a record previously held by Jenson Button – who was 20 years and 67 days old when he finished sixth at the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix.
2007-2008: Toro Rosso 2007 On July 31, 2007, BMW released Vettel to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team, replacing Scott Speed as race driver as of the Hungarian Grand Prix. He earned approximately $165,000 for finishing the season with Toro Rosso. Before the race, it was also announced that Vettel would drive for STR in 2008. His team-mate would be Sébastien Bourdais. Vettel struggled to keep up with Liuzzi's pace at Budapest, Istanbul, Monza and Spa, and never managed to progress amongst the lower-midfield pack (Toyota, Honda, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri). In the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for not only his but also Toro Rosso's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions taking them both out of the race and prompting Webber to say to ITV reporter Louise Goodman “It’s kids isn’t it... kids with not enough experience – they do a good job and then they fuck it all up.” Vettel was caught on camera crying after the incident. He was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube showed the incident may have been caused by Hamilton's behaviour behind the safety car, which Hamilton was also cleared of.
However, Vettel bounced back to finish a career-best fourth a week later at the Chinese GP having started 17th in mixed conditions. He collected five championship points, making it both his and Toro Rosso's best race result.
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz believes Vettel will be one of Formula One's big stars in the future. "Vettel is one of the young guys with extraordinary potential ! He is fast, intelligent, and he is very interested in the technical side."
According to some sources, at the end of the 2007 season Vettel was contacted by McLaren in order to replace Spanish two-time world champion Fernando Alonso who left the British team for Renault in the same period. The talks between McLaren chief Ron Dennis and Dietrich Mateschitz failed however, the Red Bull boss refusing a multi million Euro deal for the young German driver.
2008 After four races of the 2008 Formula One season Vettel was the only driver to have failed to finish a single race, having retired on the first lap in three of them. In each of these three instances, he was involved in accidents caused by other drivers. However, at the fifth round at the Turkish Grand Prix, he finally saw the chequered flag, finishing 17th after qualifying 14th. In the next race at the Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel scored his first points of the 2008 Season with a fifth place finish, mainly due to the changing conditions. Vettel also benefitted from the downfall of other drivers, such as Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen. Vettel scored again at the Canadian Grand Prix after starting from the pit lane and having to fight off Heikki Kovalainen in the last few laps for the final championship point. Vettel finished 12th in the French Grand Prix after passing Hamilton at the start. Vettel retired on the first lap of the British Grand Prix after being clipped by David Coulthard and aquaplaning into the gravel trap along with the Red Bull driver. He then bounced back from this by finishing eighth at the German Grand Prix by fending off Fernando Alonso and securing the last championship point after Jarno Trulli went off the track. Vettel then became the first retirement of the Hungarian Grand Prix after his engine overheated during his first pit stop. Vettel impressed many at the European Grand Prix by setting the fastest time in the first practice session and fastest time in the second qualifying session, which was also the fastest overall time in qualifying. He qualified 6th on the grid, and finished 6th, 2 seconds behind Jarno Trulli. At the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Aged 21 years and 74 days, Vettel broke the record set by Alonso at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix by 317 days as he won in wet conditions at Monza. Vettel led for the majority of the Grand Prix and crossed the finish line 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.
Earlier in the weekend, he had already become the youngest polesitter, after setting the fastest times in both Q2 and Q3 qualifying stages, and his win also gave him the record of youngest podium-finisher. Toro Rosso team boss Gerhard Berger said, "As he proved today, he can win races, but he's going to win world championships. He's a cool guy". Hamilton praised the German, stating that this victory showed "how good he is".
Alonso, whom Vettel displaced as the youngest Grand Prix winner, said the victory was "deserved" by the whole of the Toro Rosso team. The nature of the victory and the story of the 21 year old's fledgling career led the German media to dub him "baby Schumi", although Vettel was quick to downplay the expectation the result has brought, particularly the comparison with the seven-time World Champion: "To compare me with Michael Schumacher is just a bit ridiculous...It will be difficult in normal conditions for us to repeat this achievement". He then went on to finish fourth at the Singapore Grand Prix and fifth at the Japanese Grand Prix. In the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, after running second for much of the race, Vettel overtook Lewis Hamilton in the rain for fifth place on the penultimate lap to contribute to a thrilling climax to the season. He nearly deprived the McLaren driver of the championship before Timo Glock slowed dramatically on the last lap (he was struggling with dry tyres in the ever increasing rain) enabling both Vettel and Hamilton to pass him, earning the Briton the title. 2009 onwards: Red Bull Racing 2009 At the start of the 2009 season, Vettel replaced David Coulthard at Red Bull Racing. Vettel began strongly at the Australian Grand Prix, qualifying third and running in second for the majority of the race. However, a clash with Robert Kubica over second place on the third last lap of the race forced both to retire. He thought that he would be asble to do this because the yellow flag resulting from his incident forbids overtaking. Vettel attempted to finish the race on three wheels behind the safety car to salvage some points, but eventually pulled off to the side. He was given a ten-place grid penalty for the next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, and his team was fined for instructing him to stay on track after the damage occurred. In Malaysia he qualified in third position, but was demoted down to 13th due to his ten-place grid drop. He spun out of the race while eighth, just before the race was stopped due to adverse weather conditions. However in China he went on to take pole position, the first pole for the Red Bull Racing team. Race of Champions Vettel competed in the 2007 Race of Champions, representing the German team alongside Michael Schumacher. Vettel and Schumacher won the Nation's Cup Title, after exciting finals. Vettel had to beat two RoC champions, Kovalainen and Marcus Grönholm, after Schumacher stalled his car. Vettel lost the individual competition however, in first heat, in his second battle against Kovalainen.
Helmet design The Bergstraße Coat of Arms that appears on the chin area of Vettel's helmet Vettel's helmet, like most of Red Bull's drivers, is heavily influenced by the energy drink company logo. Apart from minor changes and sponsorship differences, it has rarely changed over the years since he has been backed by Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton will have to wait until Tuesday to find out if his win at the Belgian Grand Prix is to be reinstated, according to the FIA on Monday. The current Formula One championship leader appeared before the Paris tribunal on Monday in a bid to overturn a 25-second penalty which denied him victory at the Spa-Francorchamps course on September 7. The British McLaren driver was adjudged to have cut a chicane during a duel with Finnish rival Kimi Raikkonen in the closing laps, thereby gaining unfair advantage. However, Hamilton on Monday reiterated his version of events as recorded in a statement given days after the race, saying he had taken the chicane to avoid a collision with Raikkonen. "I thought I had given back the advantage that I had taken by cutting the chicane. I thought I had done what I needed to," Hamilton insisted. Shortly after the hearing, the Briton said: "It was long, intense and I was impressed by the complexity of the debates. "I hope the judges will see the truth and uphold it." McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh and team engineer Phil Prew also appeared before the Paris hearing on Monday. The time penalty dropped Hamilton into third place, handing rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari the win, and slashing the Brit's lead in the championship which now stands at just one point. Tuesday's appeal outcome will have ramifications for the championship with just four races left to go. The Briton now sits on 76 points, just one point ahead of Massa, with Poland's Robert Kubica, of BMW Sauber, on third with 58. McLaren's lawyer Mark Philips on Monday said: "Fans want to see good races on the track and it is very bad for Formula One that decisions of this type are made behind closed doors."
WITH only a month left until Singapore's first Formula One race, some banks are pulling out all the stops to get their clients revved up for the big event. Some are splashing out wads of cash to fly in top-tier customers from all over the world while others are hosting posh F1 cocktail parties at some top hotels. Splashing out Credit Suisse. The Swiss bank is inviting about 900 global guests who are its clients to the race. Royal Bank of Scotland. Clients will be hosted to a cocktail party at the old Supreme Court building and get a chance to meet F1 legend Jackie Stewart. ING. A major sponsor of the Renault team, it is hosting some 1,000 wholesale and private banking customers. In short, the inaugural F1 night race is shaping up to be a major marketing tool for a number of the banks here. Three big sponsors - ING Group, Credit Suisse and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) - are not only giving the highly sought-after Paddock Club tickets to wealthy clients, but also letting them hobnob with the world's best F1 drivers. While the three declined to say how much they are splurging on their clients, observers estimate each bank could chalk up millions during the race period. Credit Suisse is inviting about 900 global guests who are its clients to the race which runs from Sept 26 to 28. The Swiss bank did not want to disclose how many of its clients will be treated to exclusive Paddock Club tickets. But what is known is that these tickets - which allow guests to get close-up views of the pit-lane action while feasting on champagne and caviar - do not come cheap, with prices ranging from $3,500 to $7,500 for a single seat. As Credit Suisse is the official partner of the BMW Sauber team, its guests will get to meet the team's drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica at a dinner. RBS, a key sponsor of the Williams team, will host its clients at a cocktail party at the old Supreme Court building. ING, a major sponsor of the Renault team, also said it is hosting some 1,000 wholesale and private banking customers. Meanwhile, other banks have entered the fray to create opportunities for guests to meet and socialise. 'One of our party nights is built around a hawker stall theme,' said Mr V. Shankar, group head of origination and client coverage at Standard Chartered Bank. 'Our clients can look forward to lots of good, authentic Singapore food, lots of laughs and definitely F1 celebrities.' SG Private Banking has chartered a private yacht for clients to cruise to the Southern Islands. 'It will provide guests, especially those from overseas, the unique opportunity to view the much-talked-about developments along Singapore's waterfront,' said Mr Pierre Baer, SG Private Banking chief executive officer for Singapore and South Asia. OCBC Bank is the only local bank to invite its clients to the Paddock Club. 'No detail is too small for us as we make transport arrangements for our customers to get to the OCBC Paddock Club without fuss,' said Ms Koh Ching Ching, head of group corporate communications. Despite the glamour of being associated with the race, industry watchers say some private banks, including those belonging to Citigroup, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch, have chosen to give the race a miss, or are taking a subdued approach. Sources say many of them - saddled with credit-related losses and write- downs back home - would have thrown parties and sponsorships without hesitation when capital was plentiful. But now they have to be realistic. Citi, JPMorgan and Merrill all declined to comment. Those willing to go on record were either skittish on details or simply painted a mood of conservatism. UBS Singapore's chief operating officer Teo Lay Sie said it has made arrangements for clients to attend race-related hospitality events and the race itself. Mr Rolf Gerber, CEO of LGT Bank in Liechtenstein (Singapore), said the bank is sponsoring tickets for top clients - but they will make their own flight and hotel arrangements. 'We wanted to see how exciting, if at all, the F1 turns out to be before making a decision on perhaps a greater commitment for F1 next year,' he said.
Relive Robert Kubica's maiden F1 triumph and BMW Sauber's historic one-two in this exclusive video highlights from Sunday's incident-packed Montreal race...
It seems BMW are on a roll, 2nd in Australia, 2nd & 6th in Malaysia, and now a pole position for Bahrain. If you remember some of the post I wrote before the start of the season, I predicted the rise of GP2 drivers, well so far so good isn't it ? It certainly makes for a very intersting start to the 2008 season where we can clearly see that more than two teams can hold the candle and does make it more Fun for fans all over the world to have more than two teams hogging the limelight.
BMW looks surely the party poppers and if they can maintain their momentum we should be be able to witness some serious "fights" for the top positions.
I am certainly looking forward to the next 3-4 races to see if BMW and Williams have what it takes to compete a whole season at the top and put some dents in Ferrari and Mclaren advantages.
Let's discuss this after this afternoon Grand Prix in Bahrain, where my predictions are as follow :
REIGNING world champion Kimi Raikkonen could not have chosen a better venue to spark a fight-back for Ferrari in the F1 World Championships. It was at the Sepang F1 Circuit in 2003 where Raikkonen bagged his first Grand Prix victory and the Finn repeated the feat by winning the 10th edition of the Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in commanding fashion yesterday. While Raikkonen romped to a trouble-free victory, winning the 56-lap race by nearly 20 seconds, his McLaren rival, Lewis Hamilton, endured a torrid afternoon.
Hamilton, winner of the season-opening Australian GP last week, finished in fifth place after a pit-stop mistake by his crew delayed him by nearly 20 seconds. Polish driver Robert Kubica gave BMW Sauber their first ever podium finish in Sepang in second place behind Raikkonen. He finished the race in 1'31:38.155 and it was his career best performance in F1 thus far. Heikki Kovalainen restored some pride for the battered McLaren when he fought his way to third place in 1'31:57.005 after starting from eighth on the grid. But the day certainly belonged to his more illustrious Finnish compatriot, who was in a class of his own. Raikkonen took the lead after the first pit stop from Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, who later spun off on the 30th lap. Massa had started from pole ahead of Raikkonen and was in a position to give Ferrari a 1-2 finish but lost the back end of his Ferrari and spun off into the gravel. Raikkonen had already built up a lead of four seconds by then and it was just a steady cruise home for the Finn. Raikkonen’s win cut Hamilton's lead in the drivers' standings to three points after two races and the Finn, who seldom smiled to the cameras, had reasons to flash a big grin after the podium celebrations. The victory was also Ferrari's fifth in Sepang and the first since Michael Schumacher won in 2004. More importantly, Ferrari will see it as a boost to their championship aspirations after Raikkonen suffered from engine trouble and failed to finish the race in Melbourne. He was only classified in eighth place and picked up one point after Honda's Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane while the light was still red. “For sure we had quite a difficult weekend in Australia when I didn't really expect to have such difficulties,” said Raikkonen. “We were not 100% sure that things would be different here. We knew that speed wise, we would be fine, even in Australia the speed should have been fine. But everything worked perfectly here and we took it easy to make sure nothing went wrong. “We saved the engine. It was a perfect job by the team to come back. But I would have been happier if Felipe got second but things went wrong.” Massa said that he still did not know what happened to the car and said they would get to the bottom of the matter. “I just lost the car completely when the rear came round suddenly,” said Massa, who was also on pole in the Malaysian GP last year. Hamilton was not pleased with the outcome of the race despite finishing among the points. Also not helping his cause was the fact that his water dispenser failed to work during the race.
“I was very thirsty. We were in with a good shot for third place and then had trouble with the pit-stop. I pressed hard for fourth, I really wanted that point, but it wasn't to be,” said the Briton. Sebastien Bourdais had some mechanical problems sending him in the gravel at the first lap. And that concluded another very hot Racing week-end here in Sepang. I will upload my pics later today for your viewing pleasure.
Belgian GP - Preview Heidfeld returns to Spa for the first time since 2004
Spa-Francorchamps typifies the sort of atmosphere in racing as it was in the old days. The traditional circuit lies naturally in the hilly landscape of the Ardennes, where a total length of seven kilometres means it is the longest track of the season.
Just one week after the Italian Grand Prix, Formula One will hold round 14 out of the 17 in this season's World Championship on this uphill and downhill track. In 2006 Spa wasn't a Grand Prix venue - the time off was used to renew the pit and paddock facilities as well as to carry out the work regarding the final corners before the start/finish line. The former left-right-left Bus Stop chicane has been changed into a right-left chicane.
Nick Heidfeld: "I am happy Spa is back on the calendar. I didn't attend the test in July so for me the last time I was there was in 2004 – and those days I was in a car which wasn't competitive at all. It will be different this time. Althoug Spa isn't too far from my home town of Mönchengladbach, I didn't race there very often. The circuit wasn't on the Formula Ford and Formula 3 calendar when I was racing, and I had to miss the 2005 Formula One race after I injured myself in a bicycle accident. Spa is a very beautiful circuit with some very special parts. The combination of turns that make up Eau Rouge through the depression is world famous, and for spectators it is a must. The speed and power of the cars are really impressive if you see them rushing down the hill, going through the turns and accelerating uphill again. For us drivers the depression is not at all a physical problem, we are just not used to it. Normally we have to deal with G-forces in cornering speeds or under braking."
Robert Kubica: "It will be very nice to race in Spa in Formula One for the first time, although I have raced in Formula 3 and Formula Renault. Spa is a very nice track, very challenging, very quick and I think generally one of the favourite tracks of all the drivers. We had quite a good test there, but the weather, as always in Spa, will probably be unpredictable, so we have to see how things develop. After Monza, again we have a track where we have a lower downforce configuration on the cars, although not as low as in Monza, but it will be very good. "I think Spa is very nice because of the long, quick corners. Normally there is very good grip there so you have to bring a lot of speed into the corners."
