F1 Reports

[Ackmann]

Congratulations to Toyota for their first 1-2 Qualifing.

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Trulli heads all-Toyota front row

By Matt Beer Saturday, April 25th 2009, 12:03 GMT


Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock claimed Toyota's first ever Formula 1 front row sweep as the Japanese manufacturer dominated Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying.

The result was Toyota's first pole since the 2005 Japanese GP, and came after increasingly impressive progress from the team in the opening rounds of the season.

Trulli and Glock held first and second after the early runs of Q3, and although Jenson Button (Brawn) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) briefly pushed them down the order - fleetingly making it an all-British front row - the Toyota duo moved back to the top with their final runs.

Pole ultimately went to Trulli by 0.3 seconds, with his team-mate Glock enjoying the same margin back to third-placed Sebastian Vettel, whose excellent qualifying form for Red Bull continued.

Championship leader Button had to settle for fourth, ahead of Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello in the second Brawn.

Fernando Alonso claimed seventh for Renault, with the Ferraris in eighth and 10th - Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen split by Williams's Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton's progress actually knocked his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen outside the Q3 cut-off, leaving him 11th, alongside Kazuki Nakajima, who was closer to Williams team-mate Rosberg than at recent races but still not quick enough for the top ten.

The BMWs will share row seven after another disappointing performance, while Renault's Nelson Piquet finally reached Q2 for the first time in 2009, only for his error at the final corner to leave him 15th.

Last week's third-place qualifier and second place finisher Mark Webber is set to start from the back row of the grid in Bahrain - but through no fault of his own.

The Red Bull was on course to easily make the Q2 cut when Webber was impeded by Adrian Sutil's at the entry to the final corner, leaving the Australian in the bottom quarter of the grid along with the Force Indias and Toro Rossos.

Sutil managed a season-best 16th, although this will be in jeopardy if the stewards opt to issue any penalties over the Webber incident.

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:32.779 1:32.671 1:33.431 2. Glock Toyota (B) 1:33.165 1:32.613 1:33.712 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:32.680 1:32.474 1:34.015 4. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:32.978 1:32.842 1:34.044 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:32.851 1:32.877 1:34.196 6. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:33.116 1:32.842 1:34.239 7. Alonso Renault (B) 1:33.627 1:32.860 1:34.578 8. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:33.297 1:33.014 1:34.818 9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.672 1:33.166 1:35.134 10. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:33.117 1:32.827 1:35.380 11. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:33.479 1:33.242 12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:33.221 1:33.34813. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.495 1:33.48714. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:33.377 1:33.56215. Piquet Renault (B) 1:33.608 1:33.94116. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.722 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:33.753 18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:33.910 19. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:34.038 20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:34.159
All Timing Unofficial

[Ackmann]

Button Storms to Bahrain GP victory

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By Matt Beer Sunday, April 26th 2009, 13:38 GMT

Jenson Button claimed his third win in four races as he took Brawn back to the front in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Delays behind slower cars cost Sebastian Vettel dear and the Chinese GP winner had to settle for second for Red Bull, with pole-sitter Jarno Trulli (Toyota) third and Lewis Hamilton taking the best result of his title defence so far with fourth for McLaren.

A second lap pass on Hamilton proved critical to Button's victory. As the Toyotas led away, Hamilton had used his McLaren's KERS advantage to blast past both Button and Vettel off the line, with the Red Bull and the Brawn swapping places as Vettel tried to fight back against Hamilton.

Trulli lost out to team-mate Timo Glock into the first corner, and was also briefly passed by Hamilton - again thanks to KERS - further around the lap before reclaiming second place.

Button then drafted Hamilton on the pits straight and managed to out-brake the McLaren into Turn 1. This allowed the championship leader to lurk behind the lighter Toyotas throughout the first stint, while Vettel fell ever further behind due to his inability to pass Hamilton's slower McLaren.

Glock had led confidently in the early stages, but fell back into traffic when he pitted on lap 11 and also struggled with the medium tyres in his second stint, ending his chances of victory.

Trulli ran two laps further and then lost time having a spectacular battle with the yet-to-stop Fernando Alonso, all of which helped Button to pull out ahead when he rejoined after his first stop on lap 15.

Vettel ran right through to lap 19 before pitting, and although this vaulted him clear of Hamilton, it was not sufficient to get ahead of Trulli.

The Red Bull emerged from the pits right behind the Toyota, but with Trulli losing a second per lap to new leader Button while using medium tyres in the middle stint - and Vettel unable to get past the Italian - Button's position became ever more secure and he duly resumed his winning habit after the mild disappointment of China.

It was not until the final stops that Vettel managed to pass Trulli, and by that time he was 12s adrift of Button - and in any case Trulli proved faster in the final stint having saved a set of the preferable super-soft tyres for the end. He shadowed Vettel to the flag, before settling for third.

Hamilton dropped away from this contest but still took an encouraging fourth.

Rubens Barrichello came through to fifth in the second Brawn despite his three-stop strategy causing him a great deal of traffic frustration. He just pulled out enough of a margin before his final stop to beat Kimi Raikkonen, who finally opened Ferrari's points account for 2009, and Glock, who probably would have beaten Raikkonen had the Ferrari not activated KERS as they diced after their last pit visits.

Alonso beat Williams's Nico Rosberg to the final point, with Renault's second driver Nelson Piquet showing much better form to complete the top ten, resisting late pressure from Mark Webber as the Red Bull driver tried to recover from his qualifying frustrations.

The first few laps saw some ferocious three- and four-abreast racing in the midfield - and predictably a lot of damage.

All those involved managed to keep going, but Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and both BMWs all needed new front wings, and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen fell to the back of the field and also had to pit early to replace a flat-spotted tyre.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain;
57 laps; 308.238km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Button Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) 1h31:48.182
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) + 7.187
3. Trulli Toyota (B) + 9.170
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 22.096
5. Barrichello Brawn GP-Mercedes (B) + 37.779
6. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 42.057
7. Glock Toyota (B) + 42.880
8. Alonso Renault (B) + 52.775
9. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 58.198
10. Piquet Renault (B) + 1:05.149
11. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 1:07.641
12. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1:17.824
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1:18.805
14. Massa Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
15. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
18. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 1 lap
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1 lap


Fastest lap: Trulli, 1:34.556

Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 49

World Championship standings, round 4:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Button 31 1. Brawn GP-Mercedes 50
2. Barrichello 19 2. Red Bull-Renault 27.5
3. Vettel 18 3. Toyota 26.5
4. Trulli 14.5 4. McLaren-Mercedes 13
5. Glock 12 5. Renault 5
6. Webber 9.5 6. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 4
7. Hamilton 9 7. BMW Sauber 4
8. Alonso 5 8. Williams-Toyota 3.5
9. Heidfeld 4 9. Ferrari 3
10. Kovalainen 4
11. Rosberg 3.5
12. Buemi 3
13. Raikkonen 3
14. Bourdais 1

All timing unofficial

[Boxer]

Ferrari has a lot of work to do before the car is competitive. It just is not fast.

[LeManns67]

Yea! Much different year then last years season. I play in a couple of F1 internet contests. 1 Fantasy F1 League and the other is F1tipping.com
F1 Tipping you have to pick the top three qualifiers and top three podium placers. Every week its tough to even have a clue. Practice doesn't help you guess as well. McLaren may contend a little this year but Ferrari is hurting.

[Boxer]

Ferrari is in very tough situation. If the new aero package that they are installing for Barcelona does not make the car competitive, then that is basically it for the season. To make matters even more complicated, Kimi has not endeared himself to anyone at Ferrari and they will likely replace him before next season.

[Ackmann]

For those of you not lucky enough to be in Bahrain to experience the ‘new' McLaren, here are the two cocktails that were served in Bahrain by the team's expert catering department Absolute Taste.

ABSOLUTE TASTE MIDDLE EASTERN BREEZE

1 part sugar syrup
10 parts fresh apple juice
5 parts ginger beer
6 mint leaves
A fresh lime chopped into wedges
Muddle together in a glass and add ice.
To make alcoholic add 3 parts Johnnie Walker Black

ABSOLUTE TASTE DESERT SUNRISE

1 part sugar syrup
10 parts pomegranate juice
10 parts blood orange juice
A fresh lime chopped into wedges
Shake together and pour over cubed ice
Garnished with a wedge of lime
To make alcoholic add 3 parts Ciroc vodka and 1 part peach schnapps

Cheers!

[Boxer]

For those of you not lucky enough to be in Bahrain to experience the ‘new' McLaren, here are the two cocktails that were served in Bahrain by the team's expert catering department Absolute Taste.

ABSOLUTE TASTE MIDDLE EASTERN BREEZE

1 part sugar syrup
10 parts fresh apple juice
5 parts ginger beer
6 mint leaves
A fresh lime chopped into wedges
Muddle together in a glass and add ice.
To make alcoholic add 3 parts Johnnie Walker Black

ABSOLUTE TASTE DESERT SUNRISE

1 part sugar syrup
10 parts pomegranate juice
10 parts blood orange juice
A fresh lime chopped into wedges
Shake together and pour over cubed ice
Garnished with a wedge of lime
To make alcoholic add 3 parts Ciroc vodka and 1 part peach schnapps

Cheers!

Great find. Any idea what Ferrari was serving? Hopefully something very strong that might cause short term memory loss.

[Ackmann]

Great find. Any idea what Ferrari was serving? Hopefully something very strong that might cause short term memory loss.

I haven't heard but I'm sure it was something sour!
Actually Kimi had a respectable race considering.

[Boxer]

I haven't heard but I'm sure it was something sour!
Actually Kimi had a respectable race considering.

Agree, his best performance since before he got fat last season.

Did you see the look on Luca's face when he was down on the pit wall towards the end of the race? Seems he knows that their season is basically finished.

[Ackmann]

No Ferrari in F1. That would be a sad day.

Mosley: F1 could survive without Ferrari

By Edd Straw Saturday, May 2nd 2009, 09:56 GMT


FIA president Max Mosley has insisted that Formula 1 could live without Ferrari in response to Luca di Montezemolo's criticism of the budget cap regulations.

The Ferrari chairman hit out at the introduction of the budget cap in a letter to the FIA revealed by AUTOSPORT yesterday.

In the letter di Montezemolo said the budget cap could undermine the credibility of the sport and be difficult to implement. He suggested that "all aspects of the new regulations should be carefully reviewed."

But Mosley insists that the £40 million budget cap is vital for the health of F1, saying that if Ferrari was to be lost to F1 it would simply be "sad". He added that he expects it to be difficult for the team to justify its opposition to the budget cap to the Ferrari board given the amount of money it could save.

"The sport could survive without Ferrari," Mosley told the Financial Times. "It would be very sad to lose Ferrari. It is the Italian national team.

"I hope and think that when a team goes to its board and says, 'I want to go to war with the FIA, because I want to be able to spend £100m more than the FIA want me to spend,' the board will say, 'Why can't you spend £40m if the other teams can do it?'"

Mosley emphasised that the FIA would not back away from the budget cap and that it is vital for the financial health of F1 in both the long and short term.

"The cost cap is here to stay," he said. "There is room for discussion, it might go up or down in 2011 and if the economy picks up, say in 2014, then it might go up. You might adjust the cap in the interests of the sport, but you'll have everyone on a level playing field.

"The credit crunch hasn't really hit F1 yet. Obviously we lost Honda, but the real crunch will come when current contracts come to be renewed.

"Those contracts were signed before their share prices took a dump. I believe FOM [Formula One Management, the commercial rights holder of F1] will not be able to give the teams as much money as they have."

Mosley admitted that policing the budget cap would be difficult, but that any suspected irregularities would be thoroughly investigated.

"The difficulty and danger of cheating would be enormous," Mosley told the FT. "If we had the slightest suspicion that anyone was cheating, we'd send a team in to check. That's part of the deal.

"The [Inland] Revenue can't put even one tax inspector into each business on a permanent basis, we can put several in."

[Boxer]

Conceptually he is right. F1 could survive without.......Mosley.

[Ackmann]

Winner Takes All for 2010

The controversial 'winner takes all' scoring system has been rubber stamped for introduction in 2010 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The governing body tried to introduce Bernie Ecclestone's favoured system this year, but the late change was vetoed by the Formula One Teams' Association.

We reported in March that the FIA would consult the teams before trying to introduce the system for 2010, but the new sporting regulations for next year already feature the controversial rule.

Article 6 states that the drivers' title 'will be awarded to the driver who has been classified first in the greatest number of races'.



The news has until now slipped the attention of the media because - unlike all other changes to the rules - the amended rule was not highlighted in pink and underlined in copies of the 2010 sporting regulations.

The FIA also confirmed that, accompanying the ban on race refuelling next year, drivers in 'Q3' can refuel under parc ferme conditions prior to the race.

This change ensures the spectacle of low-fuel dashes for pole position, not affected by varying race strategies.

Source: GMM

[Boxer]

I believe they really need to restructure F1 from the ground up.

[Ackmann]

I believe they really need to restructure F1 from the ground up.

I agree it needs a good sorting out. Better than a loss of teams and/or a seperate spin off. If I were the manufactures I would try and get the cap set at 50 Million, adjustable by some average cost factor, no set engine or chassis, more freedom of aero packages and greater tire selection. Would make for better racing I think. Then take their extra funds and focus on ALMS & LMS racing. Especialy the GT2 class since most car buyers can associate with those cars more.

[Ackmann]

Mosley's Son Found Dead.

I dont like the guy, but I do feel for him and his grief. Not meant to make fun, but I sure hope Ron Dennis has a good alliby.


FIA President Max Mosley's son has been found dead in his home in Notting Hill, West London.


Alexander Mosley, a 39-year-old economist, was discovered slumped in a room by a relative late on Tuesday afternoon.


A Scotland Yard statement said: "We were called at 16.20pm on Tuesday to reports of a male found dead at a property in W11.


"He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man is in his late thirties.


"We believe we know the identity of the deceased. The Coroner's office has been informed."


Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, issued a statement of condolence on Wednesday afternoon.


"The FIA extends sincere condolences to the Mosley family on the sad news of the death of Alexander Mosley," the statement read.


"Our thoughts are with Alexander's family and friends, and we would request that the media respect the Mosley family's privacy at this difficult time."