Author Topic: 2012 Grand Prix season (Read 88648 times)

TBWG · « **Reply #105 on:** July 21, 2012, 05:14:23 PM »

Das wetter is wetter
by Joe Saward

Much of the third free practice session at Hockenheim took place in the dry, after a miserable Friday, but with a few minutes to go at the end of the hour the clouds opened up and dumped bucket-loads of water on the Hockenheim circuit. Old rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had set the pace before the rainfall. the pair separated by a smidgen of a second, ahead of Sergio Perez, Kimi Raikkonen and the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastien Vettel. The top 10 was completed by Pastor Maldonado, Felipe Massa, Kamui Kobayashi and Bruno Senna.

Further back we had Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg, Paul di Resta, Daniel Ricciardo, Michael Schumacher, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Rosberg, the two Caterhams, various Marussias and HRTs and Jenson Button at the back.

So we go into qualifying not really sure of who is where in the pecking order, and even less sure what the weather will do.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #106 on:** July 21, 2012, 08:20:14 PM »

Fernando Alonso grabs pole at wet Hockenheim ahead of German Grand Prix
Saturday, July 21st 2012,

Fernando Alonso secured his second straight pole position as German Grand Prix qualifying at Hockenheim became a last-minute scramble on a wet track.

The 10 drivers in the pole shoot-out were all delivering quicker and quicker times as they acclimatised to the circuit conditions in the final moments, and it was Alonso who handled it best, putting in a 1m40.621s to take pole for Ferrari.

World champion and local hero Sebastian Vettel was Alonso's nearest challenger, lapping 0.4 seconds slower than the current points leader as he took second ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, who will drop five places due to a penalty for a gearbox change.

That will move Michael Schumacher into the top three on the grid on home ground. The German legend was on provisional pole for a while before ending up fourth quickest for Mercedes.

Three of the top four places on the grid will go to German drivers, as Force India's Nico Hulkenberg delivered a spectacular fifth-fastest time to give himself a Formula 1 career-best starting spot on row two. His team-mate Paul di Resta also reached Q3 and was ninth.

Pastor Maldonado completed the top six in his Williams, ahead of the two McLarens. Jenson Button was quicker than Lewis Hamilton, as the 2009 champion delivered his best qualifying performance since Bahrain in April.

Kimi Raikkonen was the final Q3 qualifier and rounds off the top 10 for Lotus.

The rain had arrived just before Q2 began, leading to a scramble to get a quick time in on the one or two laps that were always going to be the fastest of the segment. Among those who missed out were two of the men with five-place gearbox change penalties: Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes). They were 15th and 17th respectively.

Felipe Massa slithered off the road on his first Q2 lap and rejoined in Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso's path. Being blocked did not stop Alonso reaching Q3, but Massa's error consigned him to 14th.

Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo almost made it into the top 10 as the rain he wanted arrived, missing the Q3 cut by just 0.06s. Also out in the middle segment were the two Saubers and Bruno Senna's Williams.

Q1 was fully dry and relatively predictable, although Schumacher, Button and Webber all cut it a little fine in either timing or pace terms. In the event, the eliminated midfielder was Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, for the sixth time in his nine grands prix.

Heikki Kovalainen was nearly a second quicker than Caterham team-mate Vitaly Petrov, while Timo Glock found himself outqualified on home ground by Marussia stablemate Charles Pic, despite the rookie's lack of practice mileage.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.621s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m41.026s + 0.405
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m41.496s + 1.838 ***
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.459s + 2.880
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.501s + 3.329
6. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m43.950s + 3.492
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.113s + 3.565
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.186s + 0.875
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.889s + 4.268
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.811s + 5.190
Q2 cut-off time: 1m39.729s Gap **
11. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.789s + 2.424
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.933s + 2.568
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.985s + 2.620
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.212s + 2.847
15. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.574s + 3.209 ***
16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.752s + 3.387
17. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.551s + 4.186 ***
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.686s Gap *
18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.741s + 1.048
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.620s + 1.927
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m18.531s + 2.838
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.220s + 3.527
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.291s + 3.598
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.912s + 4.219
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.230s + 4.537

*** 5 place grid penalty (gearbox change)

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #107 on:** July 21, 2012, 11:30:02 PM »

Sergio Perez handed penalty for impeding during qualifying for the German Grand Prix
By Matt Beer Saturday, July 21st 2012,

Sauber's Sergio Perez will be demoted five places on the German Grand Prix after stewards ruled that he had impeded other cars in qualifying.

The Mexican had qualified 12th, but was found guilty of blocking both Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso in Q2.

A statement from the stewards said the penalty was "imposed due to the driver being involved in two similar offences in the same session."

Perez is the fourth driver to be given a grid penalty for the Hockenheim race. Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg are already facing five-place drops for unscheduled gearbox changes on their cars.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #108 on:** July 22, 2012, 03:55:54 AM »

In the wake of qualifying a fourth penalty was handed down as Sergio Perez, who was P12, was slapped

with a five place drop for impeding Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso in Q2.

Revised Grid
01 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
02 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
03 Michael Schumacher Mercedes
04 Nico Hulkenberg Force India
05 Pastor Maldonado Williams
06 Jenson Button McLaren
07 Lewis Hamilton McLaren
08 Mark Webber Red Bull *
09 Paul di Resta Force India
10 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus
11 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso
12 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber
13 Felipe Massa Ferrari
14 Bruno Senna Williams
15 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
16 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham
17 Sergio Perez Sauber **
18 Vitaly Petrov Caterham
19 Charles Pic Marussia
20 Romain Grosjean Lotus *
21 Timo Glock Marussia
22 Nico Rosberg Mercedes *
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT

* Five-place penalty for gearbox change
** Five-place penalty for impeding

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #109 on:** July 22, 2012, 09:42:16 PM »

Fernando Alonso holds off Vettel and Button to take third win of 2012 in the German GP
By Matt Beer Sunday, July 22nd 2012,

Fernando Alonso extended his Formula 1 world championship lead by fending off Sebastian Vettel and a resurgent Jenson Button to win the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

Alonso never had a huge lead in his Ferrari, but did enough to keep the chasing Red Bull and McLaren at bay. In the end he was helped by Vettel and Button battling to the finish, their dice finally settled by a penultimate-lap pass from the Red Bull.

The result stretched Alonso's championship cushion to 34 points, as Silverstone winner Mark Webber finished a muted eighth.

In a similar scenario to the previous race in Britain, Alonso spent the grand prix under increasing pressure. The Ferrari established a slight cushion over Vettel's Red Bull in the opening stint on soft tyres, then came under greater threat once they changed to medium Pirellis at the first pitstops.

By that time Button was also in the fight. The Briton overtook Michael Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg early on, then closed in on the top two, gaining some ground when his team-mate Lewis Hamilton - who had been delayed with an early puncture - unlapped himself from Vettel.

Stopping a lap earlier than the champion at the final tyre changes then allowed Button to sweep into second place. He resisted Vettel's attempted retaliation at the hairpin, and then set off after Alonso.

But in the closing laps it was Button who was under pressure as Vettel attacked. The Red Bull went down the outside into the hairpin with a lap to go and used the run-off area on the exit to complete a pass then did not impress Button, although the Briton still claimed his first podium since April's Chinese GP. The stewards are investigating the move.

Kimi Raikkonen took an ultimately lonely fourth for Lotus, as the Saubers showed great race pace and tyre life - Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez coming through to fifth and sixth from their midfield grid slots.

Perez held on amid late pressure from Schumacher's Mercedes, which was running a three-stop strategy and charging back on fresh soft tyres.

Webber never featured near the front and took eighth, just ahead of Hulkenberg. The Force India driver drifted down the order as the race progressed, with his team-mate Paul di Resta ending up behind Nico Rosberg's Mercedes in 11th. Rosberg also pitted three times and managed to make up ground well after his practice and qualifying dramas.

Hamilton was one of several drivers delayed in first-lap incidents in which either contact or debris caused damage. The McLaren eventually retired, while fellow early pit visitors Felipe Massa, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean kept racing and got back to 12th, 17th and 18th respectively. Also in trouble was Senna's Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado, who appeared to be suffering high tyre wear as he slumped to 15th.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The German Grand Prix
Hockenheimring, Germany;
67 laps; 306.458km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Alonso Ferrari 1h31:05.862
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.732
3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 6.949
4. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 16.409
5. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 21.925
6. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 27.896
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 28.960
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 46.900
9. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 48.162
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.889
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 59.227
12. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.428
13. Massa Ferrari + 1:16.829
14. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:16.965
15. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. Senna Williams-Renault + 1 lap
18. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 2 laps
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
22. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 3 laps
23. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Fastest lap: Schumacher, 1:18.275

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58

World Championship standings, round 10:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Alonso 154 1. Red Bull-Renault 238
2. Webber 120 2. Ferrari 177
3. Vettel 118 3. McLaren-Mercedes 157
4. Raikkonen 95 4. Lotus-Renault 156
5. Hamilton 92 5. Mercedes 105
6. Rosberg 76 6. Sauber-Ferrari 78
7. Button 65 7. Williams-Renault 47
8. Grosjean 61 8. Force India-Mercedes 46
9. Perez 47 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
10. Kobayashi 31
11. Maldonado 29
12. Schumacher 29
13. Di Resta 27
14. Massa 23
15. Hulkenberg 19
16. Senna 18
17. Vergne 4
18. Ricciardo 2

All timing unofficial

TBWG · « **Reply #110 on:** July 22, 2012, 10:39:22 PM »

Vettel penalised for Button pass, drops from second to fifth in the German Grand Prix
By Pablo Elizalde Sunday, July 22nd 2012,

Sebastian Vettel has been handed a penalty for his overtaking move on Jenson Button in the German Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver passed his McLaren rival for second with less than two laps to go by running off track at the exit of the hairpin.

Vettel's move was illegal, according to the stewards, who imposed a post-race drive-through penalty on the German, meaning 20 seconds have been added to his finishing time.

The German drops from second to fifth, promoting Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen to third.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #111 on:** July 25, 2012, 07:37:05 PM »

Ferrari reveal Alonso title push Massa role

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #112 on:** July 27, 2012, 05:02:01 PM »

Lewis guns it

July 27, 2012 by Joe Saward

Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Hungary on Friday morning, a tenth aheda of his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, and half a second clear of the rest, led on this occasion by World Championship leader Fernando Alonso. Nico Rosberg was fourth fastest ahead of Romain Grosjean, Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and the impressive Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas. Sergio Perez was 10th in his Sauber.

Pastor Maldonado was 11th in the second Williams, ahead of Kamui Kobayashi, Mark Webber, Paul de Resta and Sebastian Vettel. Then came the two Toro Rossos with Daniel Ricciardo ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, Jules Bianchi in the second Force India, Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen in the two Caterhams were split by Charles Pic’s Marussia, while Timo Glock was behind but still ahead of the HRTs of Pedro de la Rosa and test driver Dani Clos.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #113 on:** July 27, 2012, 08:53:25 PM »

Lewis Hamilton on top in rain-hit second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix
By Matt Beer Friday, July 27th 2012,

Lewis Hamilton repeated his morning performance to set the fastest time again in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, in a session disrupted by a heavy rain shower.

The dry running was compressed into the first half of the afternoon, as although the rain was relatively brief and the temperatures remained hot, the track received too heavy a soaking for slicks to be viable thereafter.

Conditions had been hot and sunny at the start of the session, but with rain looming on the radar, teams hurried to get on track, leading to a busy start. Kimi Raikkonen was fastest for a spell in his Lotus, before the Ferraris moved ahead - Felipe Massa slightly quicker than Fernando Alonso.

The rain-conscious frontrunners then switched to the soft tyres shortly after the half-hour mark, leading to a busy period in which Jenson Button (McLaren), Alonso and then Raikkonen swapped the top spot between them.

Hamilton had to abandon one quick lap when he came across Charles Pic's Marussia in the final sector, but just before the rain began, he was able to show his speed with a 1m21.995s.

That put him 0.185 seconds clear of Raikkonen, while Bruno Senna thrust his Williams into third place, ahead of the Ferraris and Button.

Behind seventh and eighth-placed Paul di Resta (Force India) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), the top 10 was completed by two drivers who met the barriers during the afternoon. Romain Grosjean had an early incident when he ran wide on the exit of the chicane and spun back across the track, taking the front wing off his Lotus on the inside barrier. He was able to get back to the pits and quickly rejoin under repairs.

Michael Schumacher was less fortunate. For the second Friday in succession, he crashed in the wet, locking up on intermediate tyres and sliding straight on into the tyres at the Turn 11 right-hander at the end of the penultimate straight.

The Mercedes driver's incident was a warning to the other drivers who were getting some wet mileage, but it did not deter many of the field from coming out on intermediates in the final half-hour, as much of the circuit dried completely while other sections remained sodden..

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.995 20
2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m22.180s + 0.185 20
3. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m22.253s + 0.258 33
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.417s + 0.422 28
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.582s + 0.587 22
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.747s + 0.752 17
7. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m22.794s + 0.799 23
8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.824s + 0.829 18
9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m22.922s + 0.927 12
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m23.160s + 1.165 19
11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.164s + 1.169 28
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m23.337s + 1.342 26
13. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m23.713s + 1.718 25
14. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.814s + 1.819 17
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m23.841s + 1.846 28
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.328s + 2.333 23
17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.345s + 2.350 27
18. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.623s + 2.628 22
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m24.823s + 2.828 28
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m25.220s + 3.225 28
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.104s + 5.109 27
22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m27.106s + 5.111 18
23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.185s + 5.190 22
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m27.822s + 5.827 20

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #114 on:** July 28, 2012, 05:14:29 PM »

Mark’s, no sparks!

July 28, 2012 by Joe Saward

Mark Webber set the pace in the Saturday practice session on Saturday morning in Hungary, beating Lewis Hamilton to the fastest time by just 0.093s. There were 15 drivers within a second of the fastest time, which meant a few surprises in the established pecking order. Bruno Senna was third in his Williams, ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus. Romain Grosjean was right behind his team-mate, with Felipe Massa next, ahead of Paul di Resta, Jenson Button and Pastor Maldonado. Kamui Kobayashi was next followed by Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, the Caterhams, the Marussias and the HRTS.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #115 on:** July 28, 2012, 08:13:54 PM »

Woking woken

July 28, 2012 by Joe Saward

McLaren signalled a return to form in Budapest with Lewis Hamilton taking pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, four-tenths of a second ahead of Lotus’s Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman bumped Sebastian Vettel down to third, but he was still ahead of Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen. The Ferraris were sixth and seventh, with Fernando Alonso just ahead of Felipe Massa with the two Williamses eighth and ninth, with Pastor Maldonado ahead of Bruno Senna. Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.

Hamilton secures Mclarens 150th pole position!

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.953s
2. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m21.366s + 0.413
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m21.416s + 0.463
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.583s + 0.630
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m21.730s + 0.777
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.844s + 0.891
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m21.900s + 0.947
8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m21.939s + 0.986
9. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m22.343s + 1.390
10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m22.847s + 1.894
Q2 cut-off time: 1m21.697s Gap *
11. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m21.715s + 0.655
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m21.813s + 0.753
13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.895s + 0.835
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.895s + 0.835
15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.300s + 1.240
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m22.380s + 1.320
17. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.723s + 1.663
Q1 cut-off time: 1m22.948s Gap *
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.250s + 1.456
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m23.576s + 1.782
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m24.167s + 2.373
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m25.244s + 3.450
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m25.476s + 3.682
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m25.916s + 4.122
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m26.178s + 4.384

107% time: 1m27.519s

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #116 on:** July 29, 2012, 09:08:20 PM »

Hamilton holds off Raikkonen to win the Hungarian Grand Prix

By Matt Beer Sunday, July 29th 2012,

Lewis Hamilton fended off Kimi Raikkonen to claim victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix and revitalise a title campaign that had begun to drift since McLaren's last win in Canada.

Hamilton led the majority of the race, but had a Lotus on his tail nearly all of the way.

Initially it was Romain Grosjean, who dismissed a strong challenge from Sebastian Vettel at the first corner, which allowed Jenson Button to then demote the Red Bull to fourth through Turns 2 and 3.

Button (McLaren) could not match Hamilton and Grosjean's early pace, so the McLaren and Lotus pulled away in a two-car lead fight.

Hamilton had it under control, although Grosjean did ramp up the pressure for a while in the middle stint of their two-stop strategies when he was on softs and the Briton had medium Pirellis.

When Button made an early second of three stops, Vettel was free to start catching the leaders too, but in the end it was Raikkonen who emerged almost from nowhere to become Hamilton's main challenger.

Raikkonen had been sixth in the opening stint, then passed Fernando Alonso's Ferrari in the first stops. His strong late-stint pace on a long run on softs in his next stint then allowed him to lead for a spell and vault from fifth to second, firmly resisting team-mate Grosjean as he emerged from his final stop.

Hamilton and Raikkonen were then tied together until the flag, but there was nothing the Lotus could do to pass the McLaren.

Grosjean held on to third ahead of Vettel, who made a third pitstop without losing a place and charged back to attack the Lotus on fresh softs, to no avail.

Alonso calmly protected his championship lead on a tough day for Ferrari, finishing fifth. For a while it looked like main title rival Mark Webber would trim a little from Alonso's cushion. The Australian jumped from 11th to seventh on lap one, then got ahead of Alonso at the second stops. But making a third tyre stop cost Webber and he fell to eighth.

Button's three-stop plan was also unsuccessful, as his second stop left him trapped behind Bruno Senna for a spell. He got back in front of the Brazilian in the final tyre changes then chased Alonso home in sixth.

Senna resisted Webber for seventh, delivering one of his best drives of the season on a day when his Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado lost ground at the start then received a drive-through penalty for barging Paul di Resta's Force India aside in one of the race's few concerted passing attempts.

Felipe Massa was ninth - four places but just a few seconds behind team-mate Alonso. Nico Rosberg salvaged a point for Mercedes as his team-mate Michael Schumacher endured one of his most depressing races in Formula 1. The seven-time champion was left on the grid in an aborted initial start, joined the race from the pits, received a pitlane speeding penalty, then retired from 18th late on.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.630km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h41:05.503
2. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 1.032
3. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 10.518
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 11.614
5. Alonso Ferrari + 26.653
6. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 30.243
7. Senna Williams-Renault + 33.899
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 34.458
9. Massa Ferrari + 38.300
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 51.200
11. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 57.200
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:02.800
13. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1:03.6
14. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:04.4
15. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
18. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps
19. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 2 laps
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 3 laps
22. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:24.136

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 63
Schumacher Mercedes 61

World Championship standings, round 11:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Alonso 164 1. Red Bull-Renault 246
2. Webber 124 2. McLaren-Mercedes 193
3. Vettel 122 3. Lotus-Renault 192
4. Hamilton 117 4. Ferrari 189
5. Raikkonen 116 5. Mercedes 106
6. Rosberg 77 6. Sauber-Ferrari 80
7. Grosjean 76 7. Williams-Renault 53
8. Button 76 8. Force India-Mercedes 46
9. Perez 47 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
10. Kobayashi 33
11. Maldonado 29
12. Schumacher 29
13. Di Resta 27
14. Massa 25
15. Senna 24
16. Hulkenberg 19
17. Vergne 4
18. Ricciardo 2

All timing unofficial

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #117 on:** August 31, 2012, 07:30:12 PM »

Well folks the hols are over and before we depart for a rain sodden Spa Kimi would like to enlighten you on how he spent his break!

Kimi Raikkonen’s F1 comeback is actually a sabbatical from the Finn’s real job of doing fu*k all.

The 2007 World Champion returned to Formula 1 after an intense 2 year commitment to bumming around the forests in a big hat drinking cider and crashing into trees.

And now the Finn has revealed he’d like to return to his first love of titting about just as soon as he’s got this pinnacle of motorsport thing out of his system once and for all.

“Ever since I was a little boy growing up in the cold snowy wastes of Northern Finland I’ve dreamed of sitting on my arse pissing my life away,” he told Auto-Geburstag-und-eines-Hartgecochtesei-mit-das-Schoeneste-Semf magazine.

“It’s everybody’s dream: vegetating away your existence in a cold stupor of alcohol and X-Box. Though – weirdly – I’ve also quite wanted to compete in motorsport at the highest level.”

“But once I’ve scratched that itch it’s back to the log cabin and masturbating to old episodes of Going For Gold for me,” he said.

Despite not winning a race, the 2012 season has been a success for the 32 year old thanks to a competitive Lotus E20 coupled with a strategy of hanging about letting everyone who appears to give a shit dicking it up.

The Finn currently stands 5th in the World Championship therefore and stands as good a chance as anybody who can’t really be arsed to win himself yet another World Driver’s title.

“I guess it would be weird to win again. It would be my second wouldn’t it?” Kimi continued.

“I can’t really recall the first one. It was very hot then I was standing on a box holding this big shiny thing. I think I was wearing a red hat.”

“Sorry; I’ve seen photos but all I can remember is trying to complete Medal of Honour whilst drinking my own weight in Absolut that weekend,” he added.

Well having got that out of the system details of first practice non event!!!

Kamui leads the way
August 31, 2012 by Joe Saward

Kamui Kobayashi set the pace in a rain-soaked first session at Spa on Friday, with a lap that was half a second ahead of Pastor Maldonado with the Toro Rossos of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne third and fourth. Mark Webber was next ahead of Sergio Perez, Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Paul di Resta, Timo Glock, Nico Hulkenberg, Vitaly Petrov, Lewis Hamilton, Jneson Button, Charles Pic, Heikki Kovalainen, Pedro de la Rosa and Dani Clos (HRT), with Romain Grsojean, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa doing only in and out laps. There were a few minors offs and Massa suffered an apparent engine failure at the end of the session. The times should not be considered very significant.

Stay tuned for more riveting updates

TBWG sawadiburiram_united

TBWG · « **Reply #118 on:** August 31, 2012, 08:41:08 PM »

A damp squib but ~~~
Pic nicks it

by Joe Saward

It took 48 minutes before any of the F1 drivers ventured out at Spa on Friday afternoon. After that there were only a few in and out laps with the rain on the circuit causing the cars to aquaplane on all the straights. At the end of the session a majority of the drivers ventured out but no serious lap times were set.

The first lap time came three minutes after the chequered flag when there were a rush of lap times, ending up with Charles Pic taking the fastest time ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso, Paul di Resta, Pastor Maldonado, Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi, Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.

TBWG

TBWG · « **Reply #119 on:** September 01, 2012, 05:22:58 PM »

Eau no, it’s Fernando
September 1, 2012 by Joe Saward
After a miserable Friday the rains lifted at Spa on Saturday morning and the mood in F1 picked up with Fernando Alonso setting the pace in FP3, beating Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus by a tenth of a second. The two Saubers of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi and Jenson Button’s McLaren. Felipe Massa was next in the second Ferrari, ahead of Mark Webber’s Red Bull, the Australian now facing a five-place grid penalty because of a gearbox change. Romain Grosjean next, followed by Sebastian Vettel and Paul di Resta, with Pastor Maldonado, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg in hot pursuit. Jean-Eric Vergne was next, beating his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and then Bruno Senna. Heikki Kovalainen was in his inevitable 18th ahead of Charles Pic and Timo Glock and Vitaly Petrov in the second Caterham. The two HRTs were next with Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan while Nico Rosberg brought up the rear because of a gearbox problem.

TBWG

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