Sauber have been disqualified from the grand prix. The cars of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez did not comply with sporting regulations. The argument is about the top part of their rear wing. This means, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Buemi improve their position. It also puts the two Force India drivers in the points, meaning Paul DiResta won points on his debut grand prix. The rankings below have already been adjusted accordingly. Obviously, Sauber are appealing against the decision, so only time will tell if 1 - they are breaking regulations, and 2 - it was/or wasn't purposeful.
Stay tuned for more info.
Sunday 27 March 2011
Rankings - 27th March 2011
After the first race of the season in Australia, it is time to release the first rankings of the new season.
Rankings
Rank - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2768
2 - Mark Webber - 2263
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2145
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1905
5 - Jenson Button - 1678
6 - Felipe Massa - 1244
7 - Robert Kubica - 1000.5
8 - Rubens Barrichelo - 984
9 - Nico Rosberg - 905
10 - Kimi Raikkonen - 610.5
11 - Adrian Sutil - 527
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - 503.5
13 - Jarno Trulli - 499.5
14 - Nick Heidfeld - 436.5
15 - Michael Schumacher -423
16 - Timo Glock - 390.5
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 370
18 - Vitaly Petrov - 360
19 - Jaime Alguersuari - 342
20 - Nico Hulkeberg - 325
21 - Kamui Kobayashi - 265
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 207.5
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 172.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 132
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 123.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 112
28 - Lucas Di Grassi - 68
29 - Bruno Senna - 66
30 - David Coulthard - 61.5
31 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
32 - Romain Grosjean - 28
33 - Paul DiResta - 22
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 14
35 - Luca Badoer - 11
36 - Takuma Sato - 6
37 - Anthony Davidson - 2.5
38 - Christian Klien - 2
39 - Sergio Perez - 0
39 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0
39 - Pastor Maldonado - 0
Rankings
Rank - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2768
2 - Mark Webber - 2263
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2145
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1905
5 - Jenson Button - 1678
6 - Felipe Massa - 1244
7 - Robert Kubica - 1000.5
8 - Rubens Barrichelo - 984
9 - Nico Rosberg - 905
10 - Kimi Raikkonen - 610.5
11 - Adrian Sutil - 527
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - 503.5
13 - Jarno Trulli - 499.5
14 - Nick Heidfeld - 436.5
15 - Michael Schumacher -423
16 - Timo Glock - 390.5
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 370
18 - Vitaly Petrov - 360
19 - Jaime Alguersuari - 342
20 - Nico Hulkeberg - 325
21 - Kamui Kobayashi - 265
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 207.5
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 172.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 132
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 123.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 112
28 - Lucas Di Grassi - 68
29 - Bruno Senna - 66
30 - David Coulthard - 61.5
31 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
32 - Romain Grosjean - 28
33 - Paul DiResta - 22
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 14
35 - Luca Badoer - 11
36 - Takuma Sato - 6
37 - Anthony Davidson - 2.5
38 - Christian Klien - 2
39 - Sergio Perez - 0
39 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0
39 - Pastor Maldonado - 0
2011 Australian Grand Prix - Race
Sebastian Vettel stole the show again, with an easy victory at Melbourne, to take his first race win as World Champion. His victory was never in doubt. Lewis Hamilton posed little, if not, no threat to Vettel, as he cruised to his 11th victory in F1. The Red Bull driver easily lead through the first corner, but behind him there were several battles for position. Mark Webber momentarily took second, only for Lewis to outbreak him, and regain the place. Behind them though, Vitaly Petrov and Felipe Massa made big ground while Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso battled for position. Petrov and Massa took the inside line to take 4th and 5th. At the back, Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari collided, eventually ending the Germans race. Also, Rubens tried to find a short cut through the gravel trap, only for it to push him to the back.
At the front, positions stayed the same, with the DRS and KERS making little impact on the straights. Jenson Button was closing down Felipe Massa, but the Ferrari number two managed to make his car a mile wide. Eventually Button thought he had him going around the tight turns 11 and 12. JB ran out of run and cut the corner, thinking he had gained the position fairly. The stewards disagreed, and because Massa had also lost out to Fernando Alonso, Jenson had to take a driver through penalty.
Tyres were the main talking point of the afternoon. Posible suggestions of a five stopper never occurred, with teams either going for two or three stops. However, Sergio Perez tried to buck the trend, on his debut race, and pushed his tyres so he only had to pit once. His strategy worked, he earned not only a finish on his debut race, but points, and he he finished in front of teammate Kamui Kobayashi.
At the front, Vettel eased to victory. He did not have a stressful day, with pit stops going smoothly. Lewis Hamilton took second, even though the floor of his car was falling of at the end of the race. Vitaly Petrov managed to bring his Renault home in third. He only had tow stops, and he leapfrogged Mark Webber, who took three. Fernando Alonso also took Mark, mainly due to traffic issues on the Aussies inlap and outlap. The Saubers both came home in the points, behind Jenson Button. Felipe Massa, and Sebastian Buemi propped up the points scorers, meaning half of the cars in the top 10 were Ferrari powered.
So Sebastian Vettel takes a well deserved lead into Sepang, Malaysia. He will hope to extend his lead at the top, and make it four wins in a row for the young German.
Race Results
Pos Driver Team Rankings
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 2nd
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 1st
3 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 25th
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
5 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 6th
7 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
8 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 24th
9 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
10 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 18th
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Paul DiResta - Force India - New
13 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 22nd
14 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12th
15 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13th
16 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - New
R - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
R - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
R - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
R - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11th
R - Michael Schumacher - 19th
R - Pastor Maldonado - New
The New rankings will be released later today.
At the front, positions stayed the same, with the DRS and KERS making little impact on the straights. Jenson Button was closing down Felipe Massa, but the Ferrari number two managed to make his car a mile wide. Eventually Button thought he had him going around the tight turns 11 and 12. JB ran out of run and cut the corner, thinking he had gained the position fairly. The stewards disagreed, and because Massa had also lost out to Fernando Alonso, Jenson had to take a driver through penalty.
Tyres were the main talking point of the afternoon. Posible suggestions of a five stopper never occurred, with teams either going for two or three stops. However, Sergio Perez tried to buck the trend, on his debut race, and pushed his tyres so he only had to pit once. His strategy worked, he earned not only a finish on his debut race, but points, and he he finished in front of teammate Kamui Kobayashi.
At the front, Vettel eased to victory. He did not have a stressful day, with pit stops going smoothly. Lewis Hamilton took second, even though the floor of his car was falling of at the end of the race. Vitaly Petrov managed to bring his Renault home in third. He only had tow stops, and he leapfrogged Mark Webber, who took three. Fernando Alonso also took Mark, mainly due to traffic issues on the Aussies inlap and outlap. The Saubers both came home in the points, behind Jenson Button. Felipe Massa, and Sebastian Buemi propped up the points scorers, meaning half of the cars in the top 10 were Ferrari powered.
So Sebastian Vettel takes a well deserved lead into Sepang, Malaysia. He will hope to extend his lead at the top, and make it four wins in a row for the young German.
Race Results
Pos Driver Team Rankings
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 2nd
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 1st
3 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 25th
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
5 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 6th
7 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
8 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 24th
9 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
10 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 18th
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Paul DiResta - Force India - New
13 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 22nd
14 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12th
15 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13th
16 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - New
R - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
R - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
R - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
R - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11th
R - Michael Schumacher - 19th
R - Pastor Maldonado - New
The New rankings will be released later today.
Saturday 26 March 2011
2011 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying
What a start to the season! The grid wasn't as unpredictable as some people had hoped for, but many people could not have guessed the time gaps. Sebastian Vettel takes his first pole as World Champion, he beat Lewis Hamilton by 0.7 seconds. That sounds even better when at a press conference he mentioned that he did not use KERS. Like he did for most of last year, Sebastian dominated the session, taking first place in all three segments of qualifying. He left his teammate, and the McLarens miles behind him.
Lewis Hamilton managed to be "the best of the rest", by leapfrogging Mark Webber at the end of Q3. Jenson Button took fourth to make it a relatively successful days work for McLaren, considering their winter practice sessions. Ferrari will be disappointed with their pace, with Alonso taking 5th, and Felipe way back in 8th after spinning while coming out of the pits.
The surprise of the day was Vitaly Petrov. He out-qualified his more experienced teammate by 12 grid slots, taking 6th place. Nico Rosberg, Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastian Buemi completed the Top 10. Further down the grid, Rubens Barrichello made a silly mistake to be stuck in 17th, alongside the poor Nick Heidfeld. Right at the back, Hispania failed qualify with the 107% rule. Team's will be deciding soon their fate for tomorrow.
The Grid for tomorrows race.
1 - Sebastain Vettel (2nd)
2 - Lewis Hamilton (1st)
3 - Mark Webber (3rd)
4 - Jenson Button (6th)
5 - Fernando Alonso (4th)
6 - Vitaly Petrov (25th)
7 - Nico Rosberg (10th)
8 - Felipe Massa (5th)
9 - Kamui Kobayashi (24th)
10 - Sebastian Buemi (18th)
11 - Michael Schumacher (19th)
12 - Jaime Alguersuari (22nd)
13 - Sergio Perez (New)
14 - Paul DiResta (N)
15 - Pastor Maldonado (N)
16 - Adrian Sutil (15th)
17 - Rubens Barrichello (9th)
18 - Nick Heidfeld (12th)
19 - Heikki Kovalainen (11th)
20 - Jarno Trulli (13th)
21 - Timo Glock (14th)
22 - Jerome D'Amborsio (N)
DNQ - Vitantonio Liuzzi (26th)
DNQ - Narain Karthikeyan (N)
Lewis Hamilton managed to be "the best of the rest", by leapfrogging Mark Webber at the end of Q3. Jenson Button took fourth to make it a relatively successful days work for McLaren, considering their winter practice sessions. Ferrari will be disappointed with their pace, with Alonso taking 5th, and Felipe way back in 8th after spinning while coming out of the pits.
The surprise of the day was Vitaly Petrov. He out-qualified his more experienced teammate by 12 grid slots, taking 6th place. Nico Rosberg, Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastian Buemi completed the Top 10. Further down the grid, Rubens Barrichello made a silly mistake to be stuck in 17th, alongside the poor Nick Heidfeld. Right at the back, Hispania failed qualify with the 107% rule. Team's will be deciding soon their fate for tomorrow.
The Grid for tomorrows race.
1 - Sebastain Vettel (2nd)
2 - Lewis Hamilton (1st)
3 - Mark Webber (3rd)
4 - Jenson Button (6th)
5 - Fernando Alonso (4th)
6 - Vitaly Petrov (25th)
7 - Nico Rosberg (10th)
8 - Felipe Massa (5th)
9 - Kamui Kobayashi (24th)
10 - Sebastian Buemi (18th)
11 - Michael Schumacher (19th)
12 - Jaime Alguersuari (22nd)
13 - Sergio Perez (New)
14 - Paul DiResta (N)
15 - Pastor Maldonado (N)
16 - Adrian Sutil (15th)
17 - Rubens Barrichello (9th)
18 - Nick Heidfeld (12th)
19 - Heikki Kovalainen (11th)
20 - Jarno Trulli (13th)
21 - Timo Glock (14th)
22 - Jerome D'Amborsio (N)
DNQ - Vitantonio Liuzzi (26th)
DNQ - Narain Karthikeyan (N)
Wednesday 9 March 2011
2011 Season Preview
With 2010 being "the greatest season ever", can 2011 live up to its great expectations, and make 2010 look like an ordinary year!
This season, there will be five former world champions in the mix, plus there is the likes of Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld sniffing around for their first official drivers world championships. New teams will also be looking to push their way up the field, with Mercedes and Renault looking to catch up with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
There hasn't been a lot of driver changes this year, with the top four teams keeping the same drivers. Due to the nasty crash Robert Kubica was involved in, Nick Heidfeld will take his place for at least some of this season. Williams have a new rookie in Pastor Maldonado, who brings in youth, and vital sponsorship deals. At Force India, there is a new Brit with Paul DiResta. He becomes the third British driver on the grid, and will hope to push teammate Adrian Sutil all the way in 2011.
Sauber have gone for a youth driven line up, with Kamui Kobayashi taking the lead role, with Sergio Perez making his debut. Toro Rosso and Lotus keep their driver line ups the same. Both will be looking for vital point this season, as will Virgin. The British team keep Timo Glock, bit partner him with Jerome D'Ambrosio. At HRT, they have two new drivers in Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantionio Liuzzi. Narain will be looking forward to the first Indian GP, and Tonio will be hoping his experience will help this small team make big improvements in the coming season.
The 2011 calendar has had a small shake up as well. The Bahrain GP has been postponed this season, with the FIA trying to organise a gap that the grand prix can fit in. Meanwhile, the Australian GP will be the first race of the season, a season which will span 19 races, 18 countries, 5 continents, and to new horizons. The inaugural Indian Grand Prix will take place in October this year. India already has a team in F1, and with drivers like Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan breaking through, India is hoping to have a strong future in the sport. This season will climax at Sao Paulo, Brazil in November.
With 9 months of F1 excitement to look forward to, it is easy to forget their is an unofficial title for the drivers to fight for as well. Currently, Lewis Hamilton leads the way, but if Sebastian Vettel has a strong start to 2011, he should be odds on to taking the Number One spot for the first time. Mark Webber will also be looking to improve on 3rd, and there is still Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Jenson Button trying to catch up.
This season, there will be five former world champions in the mix, plus there is the likes of Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld sniffing around for their first official drivers world championships. New teams will also be looking to push their way up the field, with Mercedes and Renault looking to catch up with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.
There hasn't been a lot of driver changes this year, with the top four teams keeping the same drivers. Due to the nasty crash Robert Kubica was involved in, Nick Heidfeld will take his place for at least some of this season. Williams have a new rookie in Pastor Maldonado, who brings in youth, and vital sponsorship deals. At Force India, there is a new Brit with Paul DiResta. He becomes the third British driver on the grid, and will hope to push teammate Adrian Sutil all the way in 2011.
Sauber have gone for a youth driven line up, with Kamui Kobayashi taking the lead role, with Sergio Perez making his debut. Toro Rosso and Lotus keep their driver line ups the same. Both will be looking for vital point this season, as will Virgin. The British team keep Timo Glock, bit partner him with Jerome D'Ambrosio. At HRT, they have two new drivers in Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantionio Liuzzi. Narain will be looking forward to the first Indian GP, and Tonio will be hoping his experience will help this small team make big improvements in the coming season.
The 2011 calendar has had a small shake up as well. The Bahrain GP has been postponed this season, with the FIA trying to organise a gap that the grand prix can fit in. Meanwhile, the Australian GP will be the first race of the season, a season which will span 19 races, 18 countries, 5 continents, and to new horizons. The inaugural Indian Grand Prix will take place in October this year. India already has a team in F1, and with drivers like Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan breaking through, India is hoping to have a strong future in the sport. This season will climax at Sao Paulo, Brazil in November.
With 9 months of F1 excitement to look forward to, it is easy to forget their is an unofficial title for the drivers to fight for as well. Currently, Lewis Hamilton leads the way, but if Sebastian Vettel has a strong start to 2011, he should be odds on to taking the Number One spot for the first time. Mark Webber will also be looking to improve on 3rd, and there is still Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Jenson Button trying to catch up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)