Author Topic: 2011 F1 Grand Prix season (Read 70374 times)

TBWG · « **Reply #105 on:** June 23, 2011, 02:47:48 AM »

Well not F1 but it is 4 wheeled!

TBWG

PS ~ Stay tuned for Valencia GP!

Admin · « **Reply #106 on:** June 23, 2011, 11:09:05 AM »

Quote from: TBWG on June 23, 2011, 02:47:48 AM

Well not F1 but it is 4 wheeled!

TBWG

PS ~ Stay tuned for Valencia GP!

You must see the Video above.

TBWG · « **Reply #107 on:** June 24, 2011, 05:02:35 PM »

Hi Bums

1st practice ~~~~

Apart from Hulkenberg's crash, there were just minor incidents during the first 90 minutes, with several drivers going off track without consequence.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.403s 22
2. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m41.227s + 0.824 20
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.239s + 0.836 22
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.510s + 1.107 23
5. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m41.580s + 1.177 24
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.758s + 1.355 23
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.926s + 1.523 14
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m41.955s + 1.552 20
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m42.043s + 1.640 22
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.216s + 1.813 29
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.270s + 1.867 26
12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.412s + 2.009 27
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.704s + 2.301 23
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.738s + 2.335 20
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m42.841s + 2.438 28
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.941s + 2.538 21
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m43.201s + 2.798 18
18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.769s + 3.366 7
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m44.136s + 3.733 17
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.026s + 4.623 17
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.221s + 4.818 19
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m45.494s + 5.091 24
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m46.926s + 6.523 27
24. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 2

All Timing Unofficial

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #108 on:** June 24, 2011, 08:41:01 PM »

2nd Practice times

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.968s 35
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.195s + 0.227 26
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.265s + 0.297 31
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.315s + 0.347 30
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.443s + 0.475 32
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.483s + 0.515 30
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.531s + 0.563 26
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.981s + 1.013 33
9. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m39.040s + 1.072 35
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m39.586s + 1.618 27
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m39.626s + 1.658 31
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m40.020s + 2.052 34
13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m40.301s + 2.333 34
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m40.363s + 2.395 7
15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.454s + 2.486 32
16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.531s + 2.563 37
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.083s + 4.115 34
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m42.156s + 4.188 39
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m42.239s + 4.271 25
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.273s + 4.305 21
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.809s + 4.841 36
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m44.460s + 6.492 29
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m46.906s + 8.938 16

All Timing Unofficial

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #109 on:** June 26, 2011, 02:24:44 AM »

Hi Folks

This is getting boring Vettel on pole again!

Vettel secures yet another pole position ahead of European GP
By Matt Beer Saturday, June 25th 2011

Sebastian Vettel's 2011 qualifying tally now stands at seven poles from eight grands prix, as the world champion took his 22nd Formula 1 career pole in Valencia.

The German leads an all-Red Bull front row ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, who was only fifth after the first Q3 runs, but was the only man to improve at the second attempt and duly jumped to second.

Lewis Hamilton completes the top three in the best McLaren, ahead of the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Montreal winner Jenson Button (McLaren) will start sixth.

The Mercedes chose to only make one Q3 run and filled row four, with Nico Rosberg a scant 0.009 seconds ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher.

Fifth row men Nick Heidfeld (Renault) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) both made the Q3 cut but did not set times - Sutil sitting the session out, and Heidfeld going out briefly at the end before aborting his run.

Sutil's last-minute progress into Q3 came at the expense of Renault's Vitaly Petrov - which was the only real upset of the first two thirds of qualifying.

Paul di Resta joined the Russian on row six in the second Force India, ahead of Rubens Barrichello (Williams) and Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber).

The second Williams of Pastor Maldonado caused a brief red flag in Q2 when it ground to a halt in the middle of the track. But he had already done a time good enough to secure 15th on the grid ahead of Sauber's Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi.

After some fleeting scares for Webber, Kobayashi and Massa (who got himself out of danger by sticking on soft tyres and blasting to the Q1 top spot by a huge margin), it was Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari who was again the upper midfield driver exiting in Q1. He ended up 18th ahead of the Lotus duo - Heikki Kovalainen in front of Jarno Trulli, who spun on his final Q1 run.

Everyone comfortably made the 107 per cent qualifying cut, with Tonio Liuzzi's Hispania splitting the Virgins as he edged ahead of Jerome D'Ambrosio.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.975
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.163 + 0.188
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.380 + 0.405
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.454 + 0.479
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.535 + 0.560
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.645 + 0.670
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.231 + 1.256
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.240 + 1.265
9. Nick Heidfeld Renault No time
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m39.034s Gap **
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m39.068s + 1.763
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.422s + 2.117
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.489s + 2.184
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.525s + 2.220
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m39.645s + 2.340
16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.657s + 2.352
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.711s + 2.406
Q1 cut-off time: 1m40.131s Gap *
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.232 + 1.819
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m41.664 + 3.251
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m42.234 + 3.821
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.553 + 4.140
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.584 + 5.171
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.735 + 5.322
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m44.363 + 5.950

107% time: 1m45.301s

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #110 on:** June 26, 2011, 09:07:27 PM »

Hi F1 Bums

Well Vettel and Singha beer wrapped up another GP, difficult to see how he can loose the world championship now.

Off to Silverstone next ~~~~~~~~~~

Vettel eases to European GP victory
By Matt Beer Sunday, June 26th 2011, 13:45 GMT

Sebastian Vettel resumed his domination of the 2011 Formula 1 season after his Montreal blip, by winning the European Grand Prix in Valencia with ease.

The world champion broke his rivals' challenge with an early charge that saw him establish a three-second lead within a few laps and then nurse a similar advantage for the rest of the afternoon, before a push for fastest lap in the final stint took his winning margin up to 10.8 seconds.

Fernando Alonso finished a very encouraging second for Ferrari in front of his home crowd. Both Ferraris had jumped Lewis Hamilton's McLaren at the start, with the flying Felipe Massa dodging between Hamilton and Alonso, then trying to get down the inside of Mark Webber for second. But as he had to back out of the move, Alonso went around the outside of his team-mate and took third.

Alonso then stayed close behind Webber and managed to grab second place with an outbraking move on lap 21. The Spaniard could not shake the Australian off, and when the Red Bull made its second stop one lap sooner, Webber was able to vault back ahead of Alonso.

But the battle was not over, as at the final tyre changes Alonso regained the advantage by running three laps further on used softs while Webber was on his new medium tyres. The Ferrari rejoined just in front, and any hope Webber had of coming back at Alonso ended when the Red Bull team ordered him to back off and take care of a gearbox finish. He held on for third.

Running longer at most pitstops did not help Massa, who fell back to fifth in the end behind Hamilton, closing on the McLaren late on without ever threatening.

Montreal winner Jenson Button had a very low-key afternoon. He was passed by Nico Rosberg at the start and by the time he had dived back ahead of the Mercedes with a bold move at Turn 2 on lap six, the rest of the leaders were out of reach. A later KERS fault ensured Button would finish a lonely sixth.

Rosberg took seventh, having battled for a while with the impressive Jaime Alguersuari, as the Toro Rosso driver converted his miserable 18th on the grid to an eighth place finish by making a two-stop strategy work on a day when nearly everyone else had to pit three times. Alguersuari fended off Adrian Sutil to the finish, as the Force India escaped from an early battle with Nick Heidfeld's 10th-placed Renault.

Sauber's Sergio Perez pulled off a unique one-stop strategy but narrowly failed to convert it to points, chasing Heidfeld home in 11th.

Michael Schumacher's hopes of points ended when he made contact with Vitaly Petrov's Renault as he joined from the pit exit after his first tyre change. That meant an extra stop for a new front wing, leaving the Mercedes 17th. Petrov was only 15th, having never really recovered from a bad start.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The European Grand Prix
Valencia, Spain;
57 laps; 310.080km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:36.169
2. Alonso Ferrari + 10.891
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.255
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 46.190
5. Massa Ferrari + 51.705
6. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:00.000
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:38.000
8. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
15. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
24. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:41.852

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap

World Championship standings, round 8:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 186 1. Red Bull-Renault 295
2. Webber 109 2. McLaren-Mercedes 206
3. Button 109 3. Ferrari 129
4. Hamilton 97 4. Renault 61
5. Alonso 87 5. Mercedes 58
6. Massa 42 6. Sauber-Ferrari 27
7. Rosberg 32 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 16
8. Petrov 31 8. Force India-Mercedes 12
9. Heidfeld 30 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
10. Schumacher 26
11. Kobayashi 25
12. Sutil 10
13. Alguersuari 8
14. Buemi 8
15. Barrichello 4
16. Perez 2
17. Di Resta 2

All timing unofficial

24 starters ~~~ 24 finishers!
TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #111 on:** July 03, 2011, 09:52:13 PM »

The owner of Hispania Racing, José Ramón Carabante, sold his team to the Japanese investment bank Nomura on Friday. According to AS, the deal is worth €24 million.

Official confirmation is expected next Monday, July 4. The team is assumed to continue operating under the same name at least in the near future.

TBWG · « **Reply #112 on:** July 08, 2011, 05:15:14 PM »

A wet day at Silverstone

July 8, 2011 by joesaward

Mark Webber set the fastest time of the morning session at Silverstone in wet and dreary conditions. As a result the times have little real meaning. Michael Schumacher was second for Mercedes, ahead of Rubens Barrichello’s Williams and Sergio Perez in the Sauber. Felipe Massa was fifth in the Ferrari ahead of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes and Felipe’s team-mate Fernando Alonso. The top was completed by Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso. The only major incident was a crash for Kamui Kobayashi who damaged his Sauber after getting on to a wet kerb.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #113 on:** July 08, 2011, 08:57:31 PM »

Hi F1 fans

Massa leads the way

July 8, 2011 by joesaward

Felipe Massa set the fastest time of the second session at Silverstone in damp conditions, which again made the times less than indicative of what to expect in dry conditions. Nico Rosberg was second quickest in his Mercedes ahead of Kamui Kobayashi, bouncing back from his morning accident, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and the two Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta. The top 10 was completed by Rubens Barrichello, Sergio Perez and Sebastien Buemi. Red Bull did not really show its hand with Mark Webber 14th and Sebastian Vettel 18th, while Fernando Alonso was 15th.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.967s 9
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.744s + 0.777 16
3. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.395s + 1.428 16
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.438s + 1.471 6
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.518s + 1.551 6
6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m51.738s + 1.771 18
7. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m51.781s + 1.814 7
8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m51.992s + 2.025 13
9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m52.169s + 2.202 12
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m52.189s + 2.222 21
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m52.198s + 2.231 9
12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m52.325s + 2.358 12
13. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m52.578s + 2.611 16
14. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.587s + 2.620 6
15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m52.869s + 2.902 8
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m54.023s + 4.056 8
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m54.274s + 4.307 16
18. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m54.545s + 4.578 4
19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m54.714s + 4.747 13
20. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m55.155s + 5.188 8
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m55.155s + 5.188 12
22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m55.549s + 5.582 10
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m55.828s + 5.861 10
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m56.037s + 6.070 6

All Timing Unofficial

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #114 on:** July 09, 2011, 08:34:29 PM »

Hi Folks

Red Bull 2-1

July 9, 2011 by joesaward

Exhaust crises or not, Red Bull Racing was still 1-2 after qualifying at Silverstone, although perhaps one should say 2-1 given the preferred result in Austria of late… Mark Webber outran Sebastian Vettel by a few hundredths, the pair ending up a tenth clear of Fernando Alonso, six-tenths of a second ahead of Felipe Massa.

McLaren was not having a good weekend with Jenson Button only fifth, a second and a half off the pace of the Red Bulls, but ahead of local hero Paul di Resta in his Force India. Pastor Maldonado was another surprise with the seventh slot in his Williams, ahead of Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber, Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes and a troubled Lewis Hamilton.

The order did not change after the first runs in Q3 as drops of rain were falling.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m30.399s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.431s + 0.032
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.516s + 0.117
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.124s + 0.725
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.989s + 1.590
6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m31.929s + 1.530
7. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m31.933s + 1.534
8. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.128s + 1.729
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.209s + 1.810
10. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.376s + 1.977
Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.588s Gap **
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m32.617s + 0.977
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.624s + 0.984
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.656s + 1.016
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m32.734s + 1.094
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.119s + 1.479
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m33.805s + 2.165
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m34.821s + 3.181
Q1 cut-off time: 1m35.132s Gap *
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.245s + 2.575
19. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.749s + 3.079
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.203s + 3.533
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m36.456s + 3.786
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.154s + 4.484
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m37.484s + 4.814
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m38.059s + 5.389

107% time: 1m39.156s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #115 on:** July 10, 2011, 09:24:16 PM »

Hi F1 bums

Alonso takes commanding British GP win

By Matt Beer Sunday, July 10th 2011, 13:35 GMT

Fernando Alonso ended Ferrari's victory drought by charging to his team's first victory of the year in the British Grand Prix.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel and poleman Mark Webber had to settle for the remaining podium spots in the two Red Bulls, with Vettel just holding on in a huge late battle between the pair.

None of the British drivers made it onto the podium - Lewis Hamilton faded to fourth for McLaren after a superb early charge, and Jenson Button retired following a pit error.

The race had got underway in half-wet/half-dry conditions, with the area around the original start/finish area sodden but the new grid relatively dry by comparison.

Vettel got the jump on poleman Webber off the line, and charged into a comfortable early lead, while the Australian kept Alonso at bay in third.

Hamilton provided most of the initial action, making very rapid progress from his disappointing 10th on the grid to attack Felipe Massa's Ferrari for fourth within a handful of laps.

Michael Schumacher triggered the move to slicks tyres somewhat accidentally when he slithered into Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber on lap 10 and had to pit for a new front wing on his Mercedes, taking on dry rubber at the same time.

The German's immediate burst of pace convinced everyone else to come in, with Webber, Alonso and Hamilton choosing lap 12 while Vettel and Massa stayed out till lap 13.

Earlier proved slightly the better option, as by the time everyone was back up to speed on slicks, Vettel's lead over Webber was down to 3.3s, and rapidly getting smaller, although once the two Red Bulls were within 1.5s Vettel managed to raise his pace and keep his team-mate under control.

Alonso initially struggled to get temperature into his slicks and not only fell away from the Red Bulls, but lost third to a charging Hamilton into Copse.

But once the Ferrari and Pirellis were working in harmony again, Alonso started flying. He used DRS to sweep past Hamilton into Brooklands on lap 23, and both then started hunting down the Red Bulls.

They got close enough that when both Vettel and Webber had slow second pitstops on laps 26 and 27, they fell to third and fourth behind new leader Alonso and Hamilton.

Now in clear air, Alonso began to look unstoppable - storming away from Hamilton at a second per lap as the McLaren had to start focusing on holding off the Red Bulls.

He succeeded until the final pitstops, when Vettel stopped a lap sooner and jumped ahead. But even with the McLaren out of his way, Vettel could not catch the now dominant Alonso, who was long gone and heading for his first win since Korea last year.

With his team instructing him to save fuel, Hamilton backed off and lost third to Webber, who then caught Vettel and mounted a huge late effort to overtake his team-mate until ordered to 'maintain the gap' on the final lap.

The slowing Hamilton had Massa all over him going into the closing moments, but retained fourth in a wild, wheel-banging battle through the last corners of the race.

Button ran fifth until the final stops, when he was sent out with his right front wheel not properly attached and hard to park and retire in the pit exit.

Nico Rosberg made a two-stop strategy work to take sixth for Mercedes, just ahead of Sergio Perez's Sauber. Nick Heidfeld salvaged eighth from Renault's tough weekend, with Schumacher recovering well to take ninth, followed by Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, Adrian Sutil's Force India and Vitaly Petrov in the other Renault.

Paul di Resta's brilliant qualifying effort was wasted when a pitstop miscommunication badly delayed the Force India. He later needed a new front wing after clashing with Sebastien Buemi in an incident that forced the Toro Rosso to retire due to damage from a resultant puncture.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The British GP
52 laps;
Weather: Wet, then dry.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Alonso Ferrari 1h28:41.194
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.511
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 16.947
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 28.986
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.010
6. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:00.665
7. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.590
8. Heidfeld Renault + 1:15.542
9. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:17.912
10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:19.108
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:19.712
12. Petrov Renault + 1:20.600
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:34.908

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team Gap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 11
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 26
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 28
Trulli Lotus-Renault 41
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49

World Championship standings, round 9:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 204 1. Red Bull-Renault 328
2. Webber 124 2. McLaren-Mercedes 218
3. Alonso 112 3. Ferrari 164
4. Hamilton 109 4. Mercedes 68
5. Button 109 5. Renault 65
6. Massa 52 6. Sauber-Ferrari 33
7. Rosberg 40 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17
8. Heidfeld 34 8. Force India-Mercedes 12
9. Petrov 31 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
10. Schumacher 28
11. Kobayashi 25
12. Sutil 10
13. Alguersuari 9
14. Buemi 8
15. Perez 8
16. Barrichello 4
17. Di Resta 2

All timing unofficial

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #116 on:** July 21, 2011, 06:36:49 PM »

Karun Chandhok replaces Jarno Trulli for German GP

By Andrew Benson

Veteran Jarno Trulli has been dropped by Team Lotus in favour of their reserve driver Karun Chandhok for this weekend's German Grand Prix.

Lotus said the aim was to give Chandhok a chance to prove himself, which was part of their agreement with him.

Trulli, who has struggled with this year's Lotus, will be back in the car for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lotus have a new power-steering system for the Hungary race, which they hope will help the Italian.

Trulli, 37, has complained consistently that a lack of 'feel' from the system has prevented him driving at his best in 2011.

Known as one of the sport's fastest qualifiers, Trulli has lined up behind team-mate Heikki Kovalainen in eight of the nine races so far this year.

Last year, Trulli out-qualified the Finn 11 times to eight.

Trulli is likely to consider Lotus's decision to leave him out for the race at the Nurburgring as a message that he needs to up his game to retain his drive.

However, Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes revealed in a statement that he wants to keep Trulli on the staff.

"I am delighted to confirm that we are in the process of negotiating an extension to his contract with us and we are all looking forward to unveiling the details of that very soon.

"He is a key member of our team and I hope that we can give him a car as soon as possible that allows him to utilise his very large talents to the full.

"For this weekend he will be on hand to lend his considerable experience and support to Karun and I am sure Jarno, Heikki and Karun will do me, the whole team and all our fans very proud indeed."

Trulli said he was "looking forward to working with Karun this weekend and doing whatever I can to help him get the most out of his opportunity in Germany".

He added: "It's great that the team is true to its word of helping develop young talent, particularly from parts of the word where it is even harder to break through into the top rung of motorsport, so I'll be there to give him guidance and assistance, in and out of the car."

Regardless of Trulli's performance when he returns to the car, it is considered likely that Chandhok, 27, will race at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in October.

Sunday's German race will be Chandhok's first in F1 since the British Grand Prix last year, after which he was dropped by the Hispania team in favour of Japanese Sakon Yamamoto.

Chandhok has taken part in the first practice session for Lotus at this year's Australian, Turkish, European and British Grands Prix, although he crashed out of the one at the opening race of the season in Melbourne without completing a lap.

He said: "I want to thank Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin for giving me the chance to race this weekend for Team Lotus.

"Ever since I first joined the team I have been looking forward to this opportunity and I am determined to do my best to repay their faith in me.

"I am approaching the weekend in a very realistic frame of mind. I will be doing my best to push and to make sure I learn as much as possible.

"I know there will be millions of Indian fans, and Team Lotus fans around the world, who will be behind me and the whole team, so I will do the best I can to give them something to cheer for."

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #117 on:** July 22, 2011, 09:33:20 PM »

Hi Folks

Now the excitment of the Buriram Expats is over, it's off to Deutscheland

Webber tops the charts on a grey day

July 22, 2011 by joesaward

Mark Webber set the fastest time of the Friday afternoon session at the Nurburgring, beating Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari to the fastest lap of the session. The weather remained dull and overcast with the temperature still the same as in the morning. This meant that drivers continued to struggle to make their tyres work. The result of this was a number of incidents but without any serious impacts with anything solid.

Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, ahead of Felipe Massa.

Mercedes usually does well on Fridays and traditionally likes to impress the fans at home and so it was not really a surprise to see Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg fifth and sixth. This pushed Lewis Hamilton down to seventh fastest but McLaren’s Jenson Button had exhaust problems and could do no better than 11th. The two Renaults of Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov were eighth and ninth with Adrian Sutil completing the top 10, despite having a spin.

Paul di Resta was 12th in the second Force India, but was comfortably clear of the Sauber of Sergio Perez. Kamui Kobayashi continued to struggle and could do no better than 16th.

The Williams team were 14th and 16th with Rubens Barrichello ahead of Pastor Maldonado, the two being split by the Toro Rosso of Jaime Alguersuari. His team-mate Sebastien Buemi failed to set a time because of a misfire.

Heikki Kovalainen was 18th in his Lotus but was really fighting the car and had an eye-opening off-track moment. The second Lotus was rather slower but also had an off in the hands of Karun Chandhok, who was 20th.

Between the two was the Virgin of Timo Glock’s Virgin, another spinner, while his team-mate Jerome d’Ambrosio was 21st.

The HRTs were 22nd and 23rd. Daniel Ricciardo getting only a few laps before what looked like an engine problem.

Practice 1

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.894s 30
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.217s + 0.323 24
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.268s + 0.374 27
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.681s + 0.787 23
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.996s + 1.102 18
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.628s + 1.734 22
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.787s + 1.893 33
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.832s + 1.938 27
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m33.858s + 1.964 26
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.863s + 1.969 31
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m34.094s + 2.200 22
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.115s + 3.221 23
13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.371s + 3.477 20
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m35.389s + 3.495 24
15. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m35.444s + 3.550 22
16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.371s + 4.477 22
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m36.392s + 4.498 29
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m36.842s + 4.948 29
19. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.882s + 4.988 27
20. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m38.504s + 6.610 22
21. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m38.765s + 6.871 19
22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m39.279s + 7.385 24
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m40.109s + 8.215 23
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m40.428s + 8.534 22

Practice 2

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.711s 34
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.879s + 0.168 38
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.084s + 0.373 28
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.354s + 0.643 36
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.411s + 0.700 31
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.557s + 0.846 32
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.724s + 1.013 28
8. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m33.098s + 1.387 17
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m33.138s + 1.427 22
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.211s + 1.500 34
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.225s + 1.514 17
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.299s + 1.588 34
13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m34.113s + 2.402 34
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m34.344s + 2.633 34
15. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.487s + 2.776 37
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m34.491s + 2.780 35
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m34.996s + 3.285 35
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m35.753s + 4.042 42
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.940s + 5.229 32
20. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m37.248s + 5.537 33
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.313s + 5.602 33
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m38.145s + 6.434 31
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m40.737s + 9.026 5
24. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari No time 3

All Timing Unofficial

I would like to think this one has Webbers name on it

Time will tell.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #118 on:** July 23, 2011, 08:35:39 PM »

Hi F1 Bums

Webbah grabs pole!

Despite Vettel being quickest in 3rd practice!

3rd Practice times

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.916s 15
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.049s + 0.133 16
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.138s + 0.222 12
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.578s + 0.662 13
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.623s + 0.707 14
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m31.694s + 0.778 19
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.144s + 1.228 13
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m32.391s + 1.475 20
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.523s + 1.607 16
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m32.751s + 1.835 18
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m32.777s + 1.861 18
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.813s + 1.897 21
13. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m33.072s + 2.156 18
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.179s + 2.263 17
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.531s + 2.615 20
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.671s + 2.755 20
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.948s + 3.032 21
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.125s + 3.209 19
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m35.385s + 4.469 13
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.724s + 5.808 21
21. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m36.804s + 5.888 23
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.894s + 5.978 23
23. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m36.959s + 6.043 18
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m37.554s + 6.638 22

Webber beats Hamilton to pole position in the German Grand Prix
By Matt Beer Saturday, July 23rd 2011, 13:03 GMT

Mark Webber claimed his second consecutive pole position by holding off a surprise challenge from Lewis Hamilton in German Grand Prix qualifying.

After McLaren's low-key practice form, the team had not been expecting to challenge for pole position, but Hamilton turned out to be the biggest threat to Webber and Red Bull.

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel will start only third for his home race - the first time all year he has been off the front row. Silverstone winner Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) had to settle for fourth this time.

Webber looked unbeatable throughout Q3, producing a 1m30.251s on his first run and then improving to 1m30.079s to put himself out of everyone's reach.

Hamilton was third after the first runs, was briefly pushed down to fourth by Alonso, but then blasted to second with a lap only 0.055 seconds down on Webber.

Vettel's second effort was not quick enough to reclaim the outside front row spot, while Alonso was 0.4s off the pole pace as he took fourth, half a second clear of his fifth-placed Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa.

Nico Rosberg only required on Q3 run to put his Mercedes in sixth, ahead of Jenson Button, who was a second away from McLaren team-mate Hamilton.

Adrian Sutil reached Q3 for his home race and gave Force India eighth place, ahead of Renault's Vitaly Petrov and national hero Michael Schumacher in the second Mercedes.

Nick Heidfeld and Paul di Resta could not match their Renault and Force India team-mates' progress into Q2 so will share row six, ahead of the Williams duo, with Pastor Maldonado outqualifying Rubens Barrichello by 0.4s.

After three start 18th places in qualifying, Jaime Alguersuari finally got beyond Q1 again - though he only made it as high as 17th, just behind Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Buemi. The pair were sandwiched by the Saubers, with Sergio Perez in 15th and Kamui Kobayashi the big gun eliminated in Q1.

Karun Chandhok got within 0.823s of Lotus team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, though the Indian could not prevent Virgin's Timo Glock sneaking between the Lotus duo.

Daniel Ricciardo showed highly encouraging pace in his second grand prix qualifying session as he was only 0.025s adrift of Hispania team-mate Tonio Liuzzi on the back row - and he will start ahead of the Italian in any case due to Liuzzi's gearbox change penalty.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1n30.079s
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1n30.134s + 0.055
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1n30.216s + 0.137
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1n30.442s + 0.363
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1n30.910s + 0.831
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1n31.263s + 1.184
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1n31.288s + 1.209
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1n32.010s + 1.931
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1n32.187s + 2.108
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1n32.482s + 2.403
Q2 cut-off time: 1m33.180s Gap **
11. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m32.215s + 1.217
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.560s + 1.562
13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m32.635s + 1.637
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.043s + 2.045
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.176s + 2.178
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.546s + 2.548
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.698s + 2.700
Q1 cut-off time: 1m33.664s Gap *
18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.786s + 1.960
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m35.599s + 3.773
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.400s + 4.574
21. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m36.422s + 4.596
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.641s + 4.815
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m37.011s + 5.185
24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m37.036s + 5.210

107% time: 1m38.253s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

Webbo for a win!

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #119 on:** July 24, 2011, 09:41:40 PM »

Lewis Hamilton wins thrilling German Grand Prix

By Matt Beer Sunday, July 24th 2011, 13:42 GMT

Lewis Hamilton took his first grand prix victory since China in April as he emerged on top in a race-long battle with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber in the German Grand Prix at a dry Nurburgring.

Polesitter Webber's third place behind Ferrari driver Alonso was Red Bull's best result of the day, as championship leader Sebastian Vettel had a muted home race and came home fourth after a lengthy dice with Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari.

Webber almost got swamped at the start, with Hamilton instantly sweeping past him and the two Ferraris then going either side of the Red Bull into Turn 1. Neither made it through, and while Alonso held on in third ahead of Vettel, Massa was edged out wide and dropped to sixth behind Nico Rosberg.

Vettel would get past Alonso for third when the Ferrari ran wide in the first complex on lap two, but six laps later the Silverstone winner was able to successfully retaliate into Turn 1. Soon afterwards, Vettel lost touch with the lead battle when he brushed the damp white marker line under braking for Turn 10 and snapped into a spin. He rejoined without losing a place, but the top three were long gone.

Webber was the first of the evenly-matched lead trio to pit on lap 14. He initially lost time in traffic, but once in clear air he was able to start setting new fastest sector times, meaning that when Hamilton and Alonso pitted in unison on lap 16, they came out just behind the Red Bull.

Once the late-stopping Massa came in for his first tyre change, Webber finally found himself leading a lap for the first time in 2011, though he could not shake off Hamilton and Alonso.

Webber was again the first to come in when the second stops began on lap 30, with Hamilton and Alonso following suit over the next two laps.

This time the under-cut did not work. Hamilton rejoined ahead of Webber and determinedly fended off the Red Bull through the complex. Alonso managed to jump both of them, but Hamilton made the most of his warmer tyres to drive around the outside of the Ferrari at Turn 2 to retake the lead and then start edging clear, holding a three-second cushion while Webber began to drift away from Alonso.

With the medium tyres felt to be significantly slower, the leaders tried to stretch their third set of softs as long as possible. Hamilton came in on lap 50, and though Alonso held on for two laps longer, the McLaren was able to stay narrowly in front.

Webber rolled the dice and ran until lap 56 of 60 before finally taking the harder tyres, but it did not pay off, as he rejoined still some distance behind Hamilton and Alonso, with the McLaren taking what ultimately became a straightforward victory - setting the fastest race lap on the penultimate lap for good measure.

Vettel fell behind Massa at the first stops and spent the rest of the afternoon on the Ferrari's tail. Only when they finally pitted for hards with just one lap to go did Vettel manage to get fourth back as a day after missing the front row of the grid for the first time all year, he finished off the podium for the first time in 2011.

Adrian Sutil's best drive of the year brought him sixth place for Force India, as he made a two-stop strategy work superbly to beat the two Mercedes of Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. The latter had been challenging his team-mate until losing time with a mid-race spin at Turn 10.

A great start and a two-stop strategy helped Kamui Kobayashi come through from 17th on the grid to ninth for Sauber, just ahead of Petrov, who lost ground by staying out too long on his first set of tyres.

Jenson Button never featured at the front. A slow start dropped him to 10th, and he then spent the race in traffic, couped up behind Vitaly Petrov's Renault for most of the first stint. Just after making it past Rosberg and into sixth, the McLaren developed a hydraulic problem and had to retire.

Completing a disappointing day for the majority of the large home driver contingent, Renault's Nick Heidfeld tangled with Paul di Resta's Force India on the opening lap. The German earned a drive-through penalty for the incident, but never got chance to take it as by then he had crashed out for good in a clash with a wandering Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) on the approach to the chicane.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The German Grand Prix
Nurburgring, Germany;
60 laps; 308.863km;
Weather: Cloudy.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h37:30.334
2. Alonso Ferrari + 3.980
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 9.788
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 47.921
5. Massa Ferrari + 52.252
6. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:26.208
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
8. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
9. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
20. Chandhok Lotus-Renault + 4 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:34.587

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 44
Button McLaren-Mercedes 42
Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 23
Heidfeld Renault 10

World Championship standings, round 10:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 216 1. Red Bull-Renault 355
2. Webber 139 2. McLaren-Mercedes 243
3. Hamilton 134 3. Ferrari 192
4. Alonso 130 4. Mercedes 78
5. Button 109 5. Renault 66
6. Massa 62 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35
7. Rosberg 46 7. Force India-Mercedes 20
8. Heidfeld 34 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17
9. Schumacher 32 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
10. Petrov 32
11. Kobayashi 27
12. Sutil 18
13. Alguersuari 9
14. Perez 8
15. Buemi 8
16. Barrichello 4
17. Di Resta 2

All timing unofficial

TBWG

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