2011 F1 Grand Prix season

[TBWG]

    

Vettel closes in on title with dominant Monza victory

By Matt Beer    Sunday, September 11th 2011,

Sebastian Vettel cruised to his eighth victory of the 2011 Formula 1 season as he proved that Red Bull had firmly conquered its Monza weak spot by dominating the Italian Grand Prix.

Jenson Button won a battle with Fernando Alonso for second, with Lewis Hamilton having to settle for fourth after spending much of the race trapped behind Michael Schumacher. Mark Webber - Vettel's closest challenger in the points prior to the weekend - crashed out early.

Alonso had briefly raised the Italian crowd's hopes by surging his Ferrari to the front in a spectacular start from fourth on the grid. Poleman Vettel was slow away and was attacked first by Hamilton's McLaren before Alonso appeared down the inside, briefly took to the grass and slipped ahead, with Hamilton running out of space and falling to third behind Vettel.

Carnage further back would prompt an immediate safety car. Tonio Liuzzi lost control of his HRT under braking and spun down the inside grass before slamming into Nico Rosberg's Mercedes and Vitaly Petrov's Renault in the middle of the Rettifilio. Rubens Barrichello's Williams and Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber picked up damage in the consequent traffic jam, while Bruno Senna (Renault), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) all had to trundle through the gravel in avoidance.

At the lap four restart Hamilton was caught unaware by Schumacher, who had thrust his Mercedes to fourth at the start and then grabbed third from the McLaren.

Webber was taking sixth from Button at the same time, both having lost ground at the start. But when the Red Bull attacked Felipe Massa into the first chicane a lap later, Webber ended up tagging the Ferrari into a spin and smashing his front wing, which then folded under the car and caused him to crash at the Parabolica.

The other Red Bull was faring better. Vettel was all over Alonso as soon as racing resumed, and on lap five he managed to get through into the Roggia chicane despite having put two wheels on the Curva Grande grass moments earlier as the Ferrari defended. After that, Vettel was unstoppable, storming away and holding a 15-second cushion for most of the rest of the race as he notched up yet another victory.

Alonso then came under attack from Schumacher and Hamilton for a while, but soon the latter pair were too busy with each other. The Mercedes' incredible straightline speed and some firm defending from Schumacher kept Hamilton at bay despite the Briton trying move after move.

Button caught them too, and was able to pass both in quick succession on lap 16 - taking Hamilton when he had to abruptly back off as Schumacher slammed the door shut at the Curva Grande, and then slicing down the outside of the Mercedes into Ascari.

That left Button free to chase down Alonso, who he overtook shortly after the second pitstops when the Ferrari got a poor exit from the first chicane.

Hamilton finally overtook Schumacher using the pre-Ascari DRS zone on lap 27, and then mounted his own pursuit of Alonso - catching the Ferrari on the final lap and just running out of time to try a pass.

Massa recovered from the Webber incident to take sixth behind Schumacher.

Sergio Perez looked assured of seventh on a one-stop strategy until his Sauber's gearbox failed, which meant Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) could take the place after a strong drive from 18th on the grid.

Di Resta, Senna and Buemi recovered from their first-corner delays to complete the points-scorers.

A fine start and a safe passage through the first-lap mess saw Pastor Maldonado run as high as sixth for Williams. But he did not have the pace to stay there and slipped to 11th by the finish.

Behind the delayed Barrichello, the high attrition rate allowed Lotus duo Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, and Virgin's Timo Glock, to take potentially useful finishes in 13th through 15th places.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Italian Grand Prix
Autodromo di Monza, Italy;
53 laps; 306.720km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver                 Team                       Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           1h20:46.172
 2.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +     9.590
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    16.909
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    17.471
 5.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    32.677
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    42.993
 7.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 8.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 9.  Senna         Renault                    +     1 lap
10.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
12.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
13.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +     1 lap
14.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps
15.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Hamilton, 1:26.187

Not classified/retirements:

Driver               Team                         On lap
Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth                 40
Perez         Sauber-Ferrari               34
Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari               23
Sutil         Force India-Mercedes         11
Webber        Red Bull-Renault             6
D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth              3
Petrov        Renault                      1
Rosberg       Mercedes                     1
Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth                 1


World Championship standings, round 13:               

      Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       284        1.  Red Bull-Renault          451
 2.  Alonso       172        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          325
 3.  Webber       167        3.  Ferrari                   254
 4.  Button       167        4.  Mercedes                  108
 5.  Hamilton     158        5.  Renault                    70
 6.  Massa         82        6.  Force India-Mercedes       36
 7.  Rosberg       56        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             35
 8.  Schumacher    52        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         29
 9.  Petrov        34        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5
10.  Heidfeld      34       
11.  Kobayashi     27       
12.  Sutil         24       
13.  Alguersuari   16       
14.  Buemi         13       
15.  Di Resta      12       
16.  Perez          8       
17.  Barrichello    4       
18.  Senna          2       
19.  Maldonado      1       
       
All timing unofficial


TBWG

[TBWG]

2012 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar

01    Australia (Melbourne)    15 - 18 Mar
02    Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)    23 - 25 Mar
03    China (Shanghai)    13 - 15 Apr
04    Bahrain (Sakhir)    20 - 22 Apr
05    Spain (Catalunya)    11 - 13 May
06    Monaco (Monte Carlo)    24 - 27 May
07    Canada (Montreal)    08 - 10 Jun
08    Europe (Valencia)    22 - 24 Jun
09    Great Britain (Silverstone)    06 - 08 Jul
10    Germany (Hockenheim)    20 - 22 Jul
11    Hungary (Budapest)    27 - 29 Jul
12    Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)    31 Aug - 02 Sep
13    Italy (Monza)    07 - 09 Sep
14    Singapore (Singapore)    21 - 23 Sep
15    Japan (Suzuka)    05 - 07 Oct
16    Korea (Yeongam)    12 - 14 Oct
17    India (New Delhi)    26 - 28 Oct
18    Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina Circuit)    02 - 04 Nov
19    United States (Austin)    16 - 18 Nov
20    Brazil (Sao Paulo)    23 - 25 Nov


TBWG

[TBWG]

Hi F1 fans  ~~~ Singapore GP

Lewis Hamilton tops shortened first practice for the Singapore Grand Prix
By Matt Beer    Friday, September 23rd

Lewis Hamilton was quickest for McLaren in a truncated opening practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Issues with the kerbing on the exit of Turns 3 and 14 developed during support race session, and led to an half-hour delay while the kerbs were removed before the session could get underway.

With only a two-hour gap between Friday practice sessions in Singapore, practice one was reduced to just 60 minutes to keep the timetable on schedule, although a further problem with the kerbing - this time at Turn 7 - brought the red flags out eight minutes from the end. Quick work by marshals saw the offending kerb section removed within five minutes so a little more running could take place.

When the session had initially got underway, Ferrari's Felipe Massa was the early pacesetter, sitting atop the times with a 1m52.043s lap for a long while.

It was only as twilight became darkness in the final 20 minutes that things began to hot up at the front. McLaren had completed little running in the first half of the session, but Jenson Button deposed Massa with a 1m50.952s when he did get going.

That was comfortably beaten by a 1m50.082s from Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull two minutes later, with the championship leader finding another 0.4s next time around.

Lewis Hamilton then had a brief turn in front with 12 minutes to go, edging a tenth ahead of Vettel. The German soon fought back and delivered a lap half a second quicker than the McLaren's - but Hamilton had more speed to come as well, putting in a 1m48.599s to reclaim the top spot by 0.406s.

The second kerb problem prevented any further changes at the front, with most of the field braving the traffic jam at the pit exit but only a handful of drivers improving in the three minutes of running that followed the green light.

Vettel retained second, with team-mate Mark Webber third.

Aero work early in the session meant Fernando Alonso only had a few flying laps in his Ferrari. He took fourth, ahead of Button and Massa.

A strong session for Force India saw Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta seventh and ninth, split by Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg 10th in the sister silver car.

In his first appearance since Nurburgring practice in July, Narain Karthikeyan was 23rd fastest, ahead of HRT team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. The Indian was given Tonio Liuzzi's car for this session as a warm-up for his racing return at his inaugural home grand prix next month.

In addition to the kerb issues, there was another a brief red flag interruption at the session's halfway point when Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus came to a halt with its front brakes on fire. Unlike last year, when the Finn famously had to put out a blaze on his Lotus himself in the race, Kovalainen was able to summon marshals to extinguish the fires, though he still assisted with pushing the car off the circuit.

The session's other main incident was a collision between Webber and Timo Glock. Contact was made as the Red Bull tried to pass the Virgin into the penultimate corner, smashing a chunk from Webber's front wing and leaving Glock with a puncture.


Pos               Driver                Team                  Time               Laps
 1. Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m48.599s +         10
 2. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m49.005s + 0.406   15
 3. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m50.066s + 1.467   16
 4. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m50.596s + 1.997   11
 5. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m50.952s + 2.353   12
 6. Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m52.043s + 3.444   14
 7. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m52.251s + 3.652   13
 8. Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m52.416s + 3.817   12
 9. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m52.435s + 3.836   13
10. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m52.815s + 4.216   13
11. Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1m52.991s + 4.392   17
12. Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m53.050s + 4.451   17
13. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1m53.399s + 4.800   18
14. Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m53.703s + 5.104   19
15. Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m53.749s + 5.150   12
16. Bruno Senna            Renault              1m53.765s + 5.166   17
17. Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m53.785s + 5.186   16
18. Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1m54.736s + 6.137    8
19. Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1m54.821s + 6.222    9
20. Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1m56.198s + 7.599    8
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1m57.798s + 9.199   13
22. Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1m58.792s + 10.193   6
23. Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1m59.169s + 10.570  17
24. Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m59.214s + 10.615  18



   
Sebastian Vettel fastest in second Singapore Grand Prix practice
By Matt Beer    F

Sebastian Vettel was quickest in second practice in Singapore, completing a strong start to the weekend that could see him crowned world champion for the second straight year.

The Red Bull driver set the early practice two pace with a 1m47.375s lap - 0.7 seconds ahead of team-mate Mark Webber as the champion squad dominated the initial running.

Those times stood until drivers began switching to super-soft tyres in the second half of the session. Ferrari's Felipe Massa was the first of the frontrunners to do so and clocked a 1m47.120s to go quickest with 41 minutes to go. His team-mate Fernando Alonso then beat that time by 0.6s 10 minutes later to hit the front.

Vettel backed off on his first super-soft lap when he encountered Timo Glock's Virgin, but his second attempt resulted in a 1m46.374s, putting him on top by 0.201s over Alonso. With the top teams all switching to long runs thereafter, Vettel's position was secure.

Lewis Hamilton took third for McLaren, while his team-mate Jenson Button's evening ended very early when he slid straight on at Turn 14 just before the session's halfway point. Although Button stopped without hitting the barriers, he was unable to make his car reverse back on course, so had to abandon the McLaren. He tumbled to 10th in the times as a result.

Massa was pushed back to fourth in the end, just ahead of Mark Webber in the second Red Bull.

Michael Schumacher's strong recent run continued with sixth place for Mercedes, followed by Adrian Sutil's Force India and the Saubers of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi. The latter enlivened the evening with a wild misjudging of the Turn 10 chicane that resulted in the Sauber flying through the air over the middle kerb.

A tough night for Toro Rosso saw Jaime Alguersuari sidelined in the garage with a mechanical issue after 14 laps, though his time before then was still good enough for 11th, and Sebastien Buemi derange his suspension when he made firm contact with the wall at the penultimate corner.

Schumacher also hit the barriers, in his case at Turn 3, as he almost spun the Mercedes on an early run. But the wall nudged the car back onto the correct line and Schumacher continued without damage.

Paul di Resta spent most of the session in the pits while Force India attended to a time-consuming issue on his car. He got back out with a few minutes to go, and was able to lift himself from 17th to 13th.


Pos  Driver                Team                    Time                Laps
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m46.374s            33
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m46.575s  + 0.201   28
 3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m47.115s  + 0.741   22
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m47.120s  + 0.746   23
 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m47.265s  + 0.891   28
 6.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m48.418s  + 2.044   27
 7.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes    1m48.866s  + 2.492   32
 8.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m49.578s  + 3.204   27
 9.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m49.730s  + 3.356   29
10.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m49.751s  + 3.377   10
11.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m49.792s  + 3.418   14
12.  Bruno Senna            Renault                1m50.241s  + 3.867   31
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m50.345s  + 3.971    8
14.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                 1m50.399s  + 4.025   29
15.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m50.790s  + 4.416   28
16.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1m50.897s  + 4.523   24
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m50.937s  + 4.563   30
18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault           1m51.950s  + 5.576   26
19.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m52.257s  + 5.883   15
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault           1m52.489s  + 6.115   25
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m53.579s  + 7.205   25
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth         1m54.649s  + 8.275   25
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth            1m54.754s  + 8.380   29
24.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth            1m55.198s  + 8.824   26

All Timing Unofficial


TBWG

[TBWG]

   
FP3: Webber fastest
joesaward | September 24, 2011 at 12:06

Mark Webber set the fastest time of the Saturday free practice session in Singapore, lapping just a fraction faster than Jenson Button's McLaren. The pair were two-tenths of a second ahead of Sebastian Vettel, with Fernando Alonso right behind him and then a gap to Lewis Hamilton, who had a troubled session, going up an escape road at one point. There was then nearly a second gap back to Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, who were separated by a tiny margin and then Felipa Massa in the second Ferrari. Kamui Kobayashi was next with Adrian Sutil splitting him from Sergio Perez and then Sebastien Buemi, Paul di Resta and the two Williamses, with Pastor Maldonado ahead of Rubens Barrichello. The two Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna and then Jaime Alguersuari. At the back Heikki Kovalianen was ahead of the Virgin of Jerome d'Ambrosio, the HRt of Daniel Ricciardo, Jarno Trulli, Tomo Glock and Tonio Liuzzi.

[TBWG]

    Red Bull sponsored by Singha & 7-11 tie up front row!!!


Vettel flies to 11th pole of 2011 in Singapore By Matt Beer    

Sebastian Vettel edged a step closer to the 2011 world championship title as he delivered his 11th pole position of the season in Singapore, leading an all-Red Bull front row to keep the team's 100 per cent pole record for the year intact.

Having topped both Q1 and Q2 by half a second, Vettel carried the same margin through to the first runs of Q3, as he started the pole shoot-out with a 1m44.381s - while the McLarens and Ferraris were almost tripping over each other looking for clear space.

Vettel did not improve on his final run, but his team-mate Mark Webber could only get within 0.4s, so the German's pole was safe.

Jenson Button took third for McLaren, 0.005s ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who had picked up a puncture later in Q2 and only did one early run in Q3.

The best Ferrari could manage was fifth and sixth, ahead of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes, with Fernando Alonso a second quicker than Felipe Massa.

Force India got both cars into Q3 but chose not to run in the final segment, so fill row five. Michael Schumacher did not set a time either and starts eighth for Mercedes.

Renault's prediction of a very tough weekend came true as its drivers ended up fighting to escape from Q1. Bruno Senna was in the drop-zone before a mighty last lap got him up to 15th (where he would stay in Q2), but knocked his team-mate Vitaly Petrov down to an eliminated 18th, the Russian's time nearly a second slower than Senna's.

The Force Indias' last Q2 laps denied Sergio Perez a Q3 place and left him 11th. His Sauber team-mate Kamui Kobayashi caused a Q2 red flag when the aggressive approach he had taken to the Turn 10 chicane all weekend became rather too wild and he launched his car into the wall.

The Williams will start 12th and 13th, while the Toro Rossos qualified either side of Senna in 14th and 16th.

Heikki Kovalainen's initial Q3 run saw his Lotus ahead of Petrov and within a tenth of Buemi,though the Finn was cut adrift when he failed to improve on his last lap.

It was a similar story for HRT, which had both cars ahead of the Virgins going into the final Q1 runs, but ended up on the back row again as Timo Glock and Jerome D'Ambrosio improved. Tonio Liuzzi's five-place grid penalty for causing the Monza start mayhem will have no effect whatsoever as the Italian qualified slowest of all, 0.4s behind his Singapore debutant team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

Pos              Driver                Team                 Time            Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m44.381s
 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m44.732s   + 0.351
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m44.804s   + 0.423
 4.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m44.809s   + 0.428
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m44.874s   + 0.493
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m45.800s   + 1.419
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m46.013s   + 1.632
 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             no time
 9.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes no time
10.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m47.486s                                  Gap **
11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m47.616s   + 2.685
12.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m48.082s   + 3.151
13.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m48.270s   + 3.339
14.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m48.634s   + 3.703
15.  Bruno Senna           Renault              1m48.662s   + 3.731
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m49.862s   + 4.931
17.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m49.588s                                    Gap *
18.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m49.835s   + 3.438
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m50.948s   + 4.551
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m51.012s   + 4.615
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m52.154s   + 5.757
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m52.363s   + 5.966
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m52.404s   + 6.007
24.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m52.810s   + 6.413

107% time: 1m53.844s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2


TBWG

[downtime]

Now TBWG
Posting and pasting other reporter's correspondence is not good enough.
We pay you good encouragement and kind thoughts to bring us up to the moment track side reports
The bottom line was that the finger made pole as he has a Superior car
Button was right up there!!
And the Maclaren team let Hamilton down for holding him in the garage for too long and not allowing him the time to get out there for his last lap which could have been the fastest lap of the Q3

I rest my case

See you soon David

Please stop calling me Steve  (You have me mixed up with someone else)

All the best F1 fans

[TBWG]

Hi DT alias Ray aka Steve! (to me anyway)

Being a lazy bugger I find it much easier to plagiarise other peoples work rather than put in any effort of my own.
However I do give them the credit for their work.

But feeling admonished, I have decided at great expense to go to the upcoming inaugural Indian GP so that I can supply a first hand report for the benefit of forum members. As a cash strapped citizen of now bankrupt UK any contributions towards my entertainment, wining and dining expenses incurred on this task and undertaken for the benefit of forum members would be appreciated!  Well a bottle of Archa will do!

Re Singapore GP ~~~~ Let's hope anyone but "The Finger" wins!


TBWG

[TBWG]

 
Report of Singapore GP expropriated from Autosport site!

    
Vettel on brink of title after Singapore Grand Prix victory
By Matt Beer    Sunday, September 25th 2011,

Sebastian Vettel moved to the brink of a second title by winning the Singapore Grand Prix, but Jenson Button's runner-up finish meant the German was one point shy of the championship lead he required to wrap things up for 2011.

Vettel utterly dominated the majority of the race. The Red Bull man was a second per lap faster than his pursuers at first, and though the pack closed up with a mid-race safety car after Michael Schumacher clipped Sergio Perez and was launched into a violent accident - from which he emerged unhurt - Vettel had a cushion of backmarkers behind him at the restart and was eight seconds clear again after just one lap.

McLaren driver Button started closing in with some very rapid late laps, but Vettel always appeared to have everything under control as he clinched his ninth win of the season.

Button had claimed second with a quick start, while Vettel's front row partner team-mate Mark Webber got away slowly. Lewis Hamilton challenged Webber down the inside in the second McLaren but ran out of space and fell as low as eighth, while Fernando Alonso took his Ferrari around the outside of everyone to grab third from fifth on the grid.

Webber twice passed Alonso on the road, having to get back ahead after the Ferrari reclaimed third in the first pitstops following an on-track exchange. But a bold dive into the Turn 10 chicane amid traffic on the restart lap secured Webber's third place and he pulled away thereafter.

Hamilton had a highly eventful run to fifth. He quickly recovered from being wrong-footed on the first lap but then clipped Felipe Massa while racing with the Ferrari immediately after the first stops. The McLaren picked up both wing damage and a penalty, while Massa was left with a puncture.

A fightback charge from Hamilton took him from a post-drive-through 15th to fifth in the end, helped by the safety car closing him onto the lead pack again. A string of DRS passes got him back into the top five, though having to pit for another set of tyres while those behind him did not meant Hamilton had to make a lot of his moves twice before his top five finish was secure.

Paul di Resta secured the best result of his Formula 1 career so far in sixth for Force India. A very long first stint and the ability to make his second and final stop just as the safety car came out got him ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and the second Force India of Adrian Sutil.

Massa fell to 20th following the clash with Hamilton, before clawing his way back through to salvage some points in ninth.

Perez's Sauber was undamaged in the incident with Schumacher, which happened when the Mercedes was coming back through after a pitstop, and he finished 10th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Singapore Grand Prix
Singapore, Singapore;
61 laps; 309.087km;
Weather: Dry.

Classified:

Pos     Driver              Team                       Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           1h59:06.537
 2.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +     1.737
 3.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    29.279
 4.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    55.449
 5.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +  1:07.766
 6.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +  1:51.067
 7.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
 8.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 9.  Massa         Ferrari                    +     1 lap
10.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
11.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
12.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +     1 lap
14.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
15.  Senna         Renault                    +    2 laps
16.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +    2 laps
17.  Petrov        Renault                    +    2 laps
18.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
19.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
21.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Button, 1:48.454

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                48
Schumacher    Mercedes                     29
Glock         Virgin-Cosworth              10


World Championship standings, round 14:               

        Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       309        1.  Red Bull-Renault          491
 2.  Button       185        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          353
 3.  Alonso       184        3.  Ferrari                   268
 4.  Webber       182        4.  Mercedes                  114
 5.  Hamilton     168        5.  Renault                    70
 6.  Massa         84        6.  Force India-Mercedes       48
 7.  Rosberg       62        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             36
 8.  Schumacher    52        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         29
 9.  Heidfeld      34        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5
10.  Petrov        34       
11.  Sutil         28       
12.  Kobayashi     27       
13.  Di Resta      20       
14.  Alguersuari   16       
15.  Buemi         13       
16.  Perez          9       
17.  Barrichello    4       
18.  Senna          2       
19.  Maldonado      1       
       
All timing unofficial

On To Japan



TBWG 

[downtime]

Excellent work TBWG
I have put an Archer behind the bar at Paddy's to help cover your expense's to get you to India for the next track side report.
Best regards

[TBWG]

Well Folks it's Japanese GP weekend 

Bearing in mind that I am still stuck in the UK and being a lazy bugger it is extremely unlikely that I will get up at 2.00 am in the morning to watch the practice, so if you want up to date info on this one you are on your own!

Still  to wet your check this out!

http://sweetf1.blogspot.com/2011/10/spanish-girl-makes-astonishing-f1.html

and this

http://sports.break.com/f1-guitar-guy.html

TBWG

[TBWG]

Well just got up in a cold grey UK ~~~ so here is info on 1st & 2nd practice.

McLaren 1-2 in Suzuka P1

October 7, 2011 by joesaward

The first practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix saw a McLaren 1-2, with Jenson Button outpacing Lewis Hamilton by just under a tenth of a second. The pair were four-tenths ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who ended the session in a sand trap, having gone wide at Degner Curve. Fernando Alonso was fourth ahead of Mark Webber, Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso, Felipe Massa and the second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Buemi. Michael Schumacher was ninth, ahead of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna in the Renaults, Nico Hulkenberg in the faster of the Force Indias, Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber and Paul di Resta. Fifteenth was Sergio Perez ahead of a rather slow Nico Rosberg, the two Williamses of Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado, the Lotuses of Jarno Trulli and Karun Chandhok, the Virgins of Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio and the HRTs of Daniel Ricciardo and Narain Karthikeyan. There were a few minor offs, in addition to Vettel, but no major damage was done.

Pos            Driver                Team                    Time                Laps
 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes        1m33.634s            20
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes        1m33.725s  + 0.091   18
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault        1m34.090s  + 0.456   22
 4.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                 1m34.372s  + 0.738   24
 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault        1m34.426s  + 0.792   25
 6.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m34.937s  + 1.303   23
 7.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                 1m35.585s  + 1.951   27
 8.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari      1m35.590s  + 1.956   25
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes                1m36.033s  + 2.399   22
10.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault                 1m36.370s  + 2.736   18
11.  Bruno Senna           Renault                 1m36.487s  + 2.853   18
12.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes    1m36.700s  + 3.066   21
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari          1m36.948s  + 3.314   24
14.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes    1m36.949s  + 3.315   22
15.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari          1m37.103s  + 3.469   29
16.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes                1m38.197s  + 4.563   18
17.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth       1m38.331s  + 4.697   11
18.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth       1m38.446s  + 4.812    8
19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault           1m39.168s  + 5.534   10
20.  Karun Chandhok        Lotus-Renault           1m39.946s  + 6.312   22
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth         1m40.872s  + 7.238   13
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth         1m41.019s  + 7.385   24
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth            1m41.106s  + 7.472   25
24.  Narian Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth            1m41.775s  + 8.141   25


Jenson Button goes fastest in FP2 as Red Bull hints at ominous long-run pace
By Simon Strang    Friday, October 7th 2011,

Jenson Button once again set the pace in the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on Friday.

The McLaren man's best time of 1m31.901s was 0.174s quicker than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were only third and fourth fastest, but the duo's long-run pace on the softer option Pirelli tyres suggested that they may have an advantage when things get serious later in the weekend.

McLaren's drivers set the initial pace in the 90-minute session, following on from the team's strong showing in FP1, Button and Hamilton trading times at the top of the order. That dispute was settled in favour of Hamilton who set a 1m34.529s.

But that mark was only good until Alonso eclipsed it with a 1m33.848s lap, which itself got bumped when Webber set a new pace of 1m33.782s. Alonso then responded swiftly with a 1m33.503s.

That remained the benchmark for quite a while, with Red Bull's Webber 0.155s behind, as all the teams continued to work through their prime tyre programmes.

During this period Kamui Kobayashi had more than one small moment; Bruno Senna had a lucky moment when a spin resulted in no damage at Turn One; and Rubens Barrichello had more than a mere moment - instead thumping the barriers heavily at Degner One after getting on the grass on entry. The Brazilian climbed from his broken car unscathed.

Just before the hour mark, Barrichello's Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado also parked his car at Degner One - but this time with a technical issue. That resultant yellow flag period scuppered several drivers' first soft tyre runs.

By that stage though Alonso had already improved his best to 1m32.075s. Webber had also gone quicker to keep the Ferrari man honest - just 0.072s between them - and also Jenson Button had got a lap in on the softs...

In fact not only had he done that, but his 1m31.901s was the fastest anyone would manage on those tyres as he once again went fastest.

No sooner had the yellows dispersed from Maldonado's problems and Jarno Trulli's trundling Lotus, than Kobayashi had yet another scare. This time it was a big one when he got completely sideways in the middle of 130R. The Japanese saved it, but it was close.

Back up to speed again and with 20 minutes to go Vettel improved to third ahead of team-mate Webber, making it four drivers covered by 0.25s at the time.

The front-runners all stuck on those tyres as they begun their soft tyre evaluations and it became clear that while McLaren and Ferrari were quick on the one-laps, the Red Bulls were cruising along in the high 1m37s often a second faster than the opposition. Ominous.

Behind the top four Felipe Massa was half a second off the pace ahead of Michael Schumacher in the quicker Mercedes. The seven-time champion was the last man within a second of Button.

Nico Rosberg in the other Mercedes was seventh with Hamilton, Vitaly Petrov and Sebastien Buemi completing the top ten.


Pos            Driver                Team                  Time              Laps
 1.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m31.901s            32
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m32.075s  + 0.174  33
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m32.095s  + 0.194  35
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m32.147s  + 0.246  28
 5.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m32.448s  + 0.547  34
 6.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m32.710s  + 0.809  26
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m32.982s  + 1.081  27
 8.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m33.245s  + 1.344  26
 9.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1m33.446s  + 1.545  36
10.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m33.681s  + 1.780  33
11.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m33.705s  + 1.804  25
12.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m33.790s  + 1.889  36
13.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m34.393s  + 2.492  35
14.  Bruno Senna           Renault               1m34.557s  + 2.656  27
15.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m34.601s  + 2.700  33
16.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m36.038s  + 4.137  33
17.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1m36.225s  + 4.324  35
18.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1m37.123s  + 5.222  14
19.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1m37.440s  + 5.539  30
20.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1m38.093s  + 6.192  30
21.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1m38.387s  + 6.486  16
22.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1m38.763s  + 6.862  36
23.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1m39.800s  + 7.899  24
24.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1m42.480s  + 10.579  4

All Timing Unofficial


TBWG

[TBWG]

October 8, 2011 by joesaward

L

Button still shiny

October 8, 2011 by joesaward

Jenson Button continued his domination of practice for the Japanese GP on Saturday morning at Suzuka, with a lap that was half a second faster than team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel was third fastest , three-tenths behind Hamilton. Fernando Alono was next for Ferrari, ahead of Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Vitaly Petrov and Adrian Sutil. They were followed by the two Toro Rossos with Sebastien Buemi ahead of Jaime Alguersuari. Next up were the two Saubers with Kamui Kobayashi ahead of Sergio Perez. Paul di Resta was 15th ahead of Pastor Maldonado, while Bruno Senna was back in 17th, having caused a red flag when he crashed his Renault at the exit of the Spoon Curve. The shunt ripped the left front wheel off his car. Rubens Barrichello was 18th in his Williams, ahead of the two Lotuses of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, the two Virgins of Jerome d’Ambrosio and Timo Glock and the two HRTs of Daniel Ricciardo and Tonio Liuzzi, the Italian stopping out on the track with apparent mechanical trouble.


                                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McLaren gifts pole to Vettel?

October 8, 2011 by joesaward

Sebastian Vettel took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, but only after Lewis Hamilton missed the start of his final qualifying lap by a couple of seconds when the chequered flag came out. It was an expensive miscalculation for the McLaren team as Hamilton had looked the most likely to grab pole position after an impressive job in Q2. The McLarens were clearly very competitive but Vettel starts the race on Sunday at an advantage. Jenson Button finished up second on the grid, just a fraction slower than Vettel, while Hamilton had to settle for third from his first flying lap. Felipe Massa was fourth after Fernando Alonso messed up his first run with an off at Spoon. Mark Webber was a disappointing sixth while the botton four drivers did not run at all, a rather disappointing situation for the fans at Suzuka. This meant that Michael Schumacher will start seventh with Bruno Senna eighth, Vitaly Petrov ninth and Kamui Kobayashi 10th.


Pos             Driver                Team                 Time         Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m30.466s
 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m30.475s   + 0.009
 3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m30.617s   + 0.151
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m30.804s   + 0.338
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m30.886s   + 0.420
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m31.156s   + 0.690
 7.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             No time
 8.  Bruno Senna           Renault              No time
 9.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              No time
10.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.380s                                   Gap **
11.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m32.463s   + 1.997
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m32.746s   + 2.280
13.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m33.079s   + 2.613
14.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m33.224s   + 2.758
15.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m33.227s   + 2.761
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m33.427s   + 2.961
17.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m35.111s                                   Gap *
18.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m35.454s   + 2.828
19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m35.514s   + 2.888
20.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m36.439s   + 3.813
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m36.507s   + 3.881
22.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m37.846s   + 5.220
23.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             No time
24.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         No time

107% time: 1m39.109s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2


Like to think this one has a McLarens name on it!  Time will tell


TBWG

[TBWG]

Kobayashi to start seventh

October 8, 2011 by joesaward

Kamui Kobayashi was promoted to seventh on the grid in Japan after deliberation over how grid positions seven to 10 should be configured for the Japanese GP.


Michael Schumacher, Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov and Kobayashi all failed to set a time in Q3 session, deciding that there was more to be gained by not running in qualifying and saving the tyres for the race. The initial classification listed the four cars in number order but the rules state that any driver who starts a flying lap should be classified ahead of those who do not run and so Kobayashi was given seventh because he crossed the line and then went into the pits at the end of the lap. Schumacher, Senna and Petrov all failed to get to the line before the chequered flag came out, so Kobayashi jumped ahead of them.

The start order will therefore be Kobayashi (7th), Schumacher (8th), Senna (9th) and Petrov (10th).

TBWG

[TBWG]

Vettel clinches second F1 title as Button wins the Japanese Grand Prix
By Matt Beer    Sunday, October 9th 2011, 07:38 GMT

Sebastian Vettel clinched the 2011 Formula 1 world championship with third place in the Japanese Grand Prix, as Jenson Button took victory for McLaren ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.

The result was Button's first win for McLaren in a totally dry race, and while Vettel's Suzuka winning streak ended, the Red Bull man's podium finish was still more than adequate to make him the champion for a second consecutive year.

Vettel clearly would have preferred to clinch his title with a win - underlining his determination by very firmly defending his lead against the faster starting Button off the line. The McLaren had to flirt with the grass in the close call, prompting Button to enquire over the radio whether Vettel ought to get a penalty. The incident was investigated, but no action was taken.

As Button lost momentum, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton swept around the outside of him into second, where he would stay until signs of a right rear puncture forced him to slow abruptly and make a slightly early pitstop at the end of lap seven. This would drop Hamilton to fourth once the first stops were completed, behind Alonso - who had passed his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa into the first corner early on.

Button was keeping his tyres in better shape than Vettel, and closed right in on the Red Bull at the end of the stint. Vettel pitted a lap earlier and stayed ahead in the first stops - but not in the second stops on laps 19 and 20, where Button's superb in-lap pace and a great McLaren stop got the Briton out in the lead.

The safety car came out shortly afterwards to clear some debris, including a chunk of Massa's Ferrari bodywork deposited at the chicane when he made contact with Hamilton  while trying to go around the outside of the McLaren for fourth. This clash was also investigated, but no action was taken.

With the pack bunched up by the yellow, Vettel found himself back in traffic when he made an early third stop to switch to medium tyres on lap 33.

Button ran three laps longer and extended his lead, with Alonso staying out a further lap still and emerging just ahead of the frustrated Vettel.

The soon-to-be-champion was all over Alonso for a while, until Red Bull suggested now was not the time to take any risks. Alonso then shot off after leader Button, closing to within a second before the McLaren raised its pace in response.

Mark Webber jumped Massa and Hamilton with an early second stop and secured fourth, while having lost out to Massa in the same pit sequence just after their clash, Hamilton overtook the Ferrari again into the first corner on lap 37.

Michael Schumacher took sixth, staying out very late before his third and final stop and therefore leading a grand prix for the first time in his F1 comeback. That strategy also allowed the Mercedes driver to beat Massa to sixth.

Two-stop strategies worked brilliantly for Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Vitaly Petrov (Renault) as they took eighth and ninth. Nico Rosberg charged from the back row to take the final point for Mercedes.

Home hero Kamui Kobayashi's hopes of a great race were ruined by a poor start that left him in traffic all afternoon. He could only finish 13th for Sauber, behind the two Force Indias.

Bruno Senna also lost out on lap one, getting away slightly slowly, then running wide. That and a slow first stop left his Renault only 16th.

The only retirement of the race was Sebastien Buemi, whose Toro Rosso left its first stop with its right front wheel dangling off.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, Japan;
53 laps; 307.573km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos        Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h30:53.427
 2.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +     1.160
 3.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     2.006
 4.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +     8.071
 5.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    24.268
 6.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    27.120
 7.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    28.240
 8.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    39.377
 9.  Petrov        Renault                    +    42.607
10.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    44.322
11.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    54.447
12.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +  1:02.326
13.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +  1:03.705
14.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +  1:04.194
15.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +  1:06.623
16.  Senna         Renault                    +  1:12.628
17.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +  1:14.191
18.  Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault              +  1:27.824
19.  Trulli        Lotus-Renault              +  1:36.140
20.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
21.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    2 laps
22.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps
23.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Button, 1:36.568

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari           35


World Championship standings, round 15:               

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       324        1.  Red Bull-Renault          518
 2.  Button       210        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          388
 3.  Alonso       202        3.  Ferrari                   292
 4.  Webber       194        4.  Mercedes                  123
 5.  Hamilton     178        5.  Renault                    72
 6.  Massa         90        6.  Force India-Mercedes       48
 7.  Rosberg       63        7.  Sauber-Ferrari             40
 8.  Schumacher    60        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         29
 9.  Petrov        36        9.  Williams-Cosworth           5
10.  Heidfeld      34       
11.  Sutil         28       
12.  Kobayashi     27       
13.  Di Resta      20       
14.  Alguersuari   16       
15.  Buemi         13       
16.  Perez         13       
17.  Barrichello    4       
18.  Senna          2       
19.  Maldonado      1       
       
All timing unofficial

TBWG

[TBWG]

Hi Bums

Check this out  ~~~ different huh!

http://www.zigwheels.com/news-features/news/red-bull-f1-car-goes-sky-high-at-khardung-la/9896/1


TBWG