The New Rankings after the eventful Chinese Grand Prix.
Rank - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2941
2 - Mark Webber - 2307
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2280
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1906
5 - Jenson Button - 1660
6 - Felipe Massa - 1230.5
7 - Rubens Barrichello - 939.5
8 - Robert Kubica - 917
9 - Nico Rosberg - 879.5
10 - Kimi Raikkonen - 586.5
11 - Adrian Sutil - 528
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - 487
13 - Nick Heidfeld - 474
14 - Jarno Trulli - 462
14 - Michael Schumacher - 462
16 - Vitaly Petrov - 394
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 380.5
18 - Timo Glock - 374
19 - Jaime Alguersuari - 334
20 - Kamui Kobayashi - 315
21 - Nico Hulkenberg - 314
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 201
24 - Kazuki Nakajma - 164.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 119.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 97
28 - Paul DiResta - 64
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 61
29 - Bruno Senna - 61
31 - David Coulthard - 60
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 16
35 - Luca Badoer - 11
36 - Pastor Maldonado - 6
37 - Takuma Sato - 4
38 - Christian Klien - 2
39 - Sergio Perez - 0
39 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0
Sunday 17 April 2011
2011 Chinese Grand Prix - Race
Lewis Hamilton broke the Red Bull strangle hold on Formula One, with a fantastic drive to win the Chinese Grand Prix. He took the top step, and was followed by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Lewis made a great start to the grand prix, as did team mate Jenson Button. The two McLaren drivers eased past Sebastian Vettel, making it a one-two going into the first corner. The top three then slowly started to form a gap to the followers. They were followed by Nico Rosberg, who was holding up Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso. At the front, Jenson ensured he had at least a second gap to Lewis, making sure he could not use the DRS. Meanwhile, Sebastian was told to wait for his turn to get past Hamilton.
At the back of the grid, Mark Webber was having a torrid time. He had hoped to jump most of the field, but in the first few laps he had jumped to as high as 15th. His afternoon got worse when Sergio Perez passed him. Due to starting on the harder tyres, his pace was not great, so as expected, he was one of the first drivers to pit. He was joined by Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari. The young Spanish driver wouldn't last long though. One of the wheels had not been put on properly, and round turn one, it flew off, making Jaime the first and only retirement of the day.
When Mark came out on the soft tyres, he started setting the fastest laps. This caught the attention of the leading teams and drivers. The first to pit were Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel. When Jenson pitted however, he was distracted and pulled in, momentarily. into the Red Bull Pit Box. This weird error cost him the place to Sebastian Vettel, and looking back, possibly the race victory!
When the dust had settled after the pit stops, it was obvious that being the first to pit was the advantage. The leader at the time was Nico Rosberg - who was the first driver to pit. He lead from Vettel, then Button and Massa. Further down, Michael Schumacher had leapfrogged Fernando Alonso in the pits. After several laps of trying to outbreak him, the Spaniard beat the seven-time World Champion using his DRS. By that time though, they had both lost a lot of time. The leaders again capitalized on the gap by pitting again, with the McLaren drivers and Nico Rosberg all going for a three-stopper.
At this time, the Red Bull and Ferrari team looked to have made the correct decision in only stopping the twice. However, the tide was about to change. Nico Rosberg began to set fast times, and had soon overtaken Alonso to take third. Lewis Hamilton was also posting fastest lap times, and catching his team mate. By the time the Ferrari and Red Bull's had had their second stop, the McLaren's and Rosberg had jumped them. Lewis then made a great move on Buton to take second place.
For the driver's on a three-stopper, it was again a game of who blinks first. The driver to blink first was Button, followed by Hamilton the Rosberg. By the time Rosberg had pitted, he came out right in from of a charging Lewis Hamilton. At the time, Vettel lead Massa, with Rosberg 3rd, Hamilton 4th, Button 5th. Webber had also had a great middle stint to push him up to P6!
With fresh tyres on, not much was going to get in the way of the charging McLarens. It did not take long for Lewis to pass Rosberg, and he was quickly on the back of Felipe Massa. Lewis soon made a great pass on Felipe, leaving only Sebastian Vettel, who he was catching at a rate of one second a lap. Also making moves up the field was Mark Webber. The Australian on fresh tyres was setting fastest laps nearly every lap, and had already pushed himself up to seventh.
There was also fighting for the final podium position. Nico Rosberg tried to charge past Massa, only to overcook the maneuver, and let past Button and Massa. With six laps to go, Button eventually took Massa for third, and looked relatively comfortable. At the front, Hamilton was still closing on Vettel, and with jut four laps to go, the Brit eased past the World Champion.
The driver to watch in the closing laps was Mark Webber. After storming through the midfield in second stint, his next target was the front runners. On lap 52 out of 56, Mark took Felipe, who had ageing tyres on his car. Two laps latter, the storming Red Bull driver then took fourth position away from Nico Rosberg. Mark's last target was Jenson Button in third. Mark cruised up to the back of Button, and on the penultimate corner of the penultimate lap, Webber took Jenson with a lovely move to make it a great day for the Aussie. He had started to day back in 18th place, and managed to get a podium place with a fantastic drive up the field.
Right at the front, Lewis had no trouble, and still pulled away from the Vettel, even in coasting mode. Hamilton's victory stopped Vettel's and Red Bull's chance of five straight victories. Lewis' victory also means that the Red Bulls are beatable, and that the championship is far from over.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
2 - Sebastain Vettel - Red Bull - 1
3 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3
4 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
5 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes -10
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
7 - Fernado Alonso - Ferrari - 4
8 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
9 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 21
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 24
11 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 32
12 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13
13 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
14 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16
15 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
16 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
17 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
18 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 12
20 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
23 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
Lewis made a great start to the grand prix, as did team mate Jenson Button. The two McLaren drivers eased past Sebastian Vettel, making it a one-two going into the first corner. The top three then slowly started to form a gap to the followers. They were followed by Nico Rosberg, who was holding up Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso. At the front, Jenson ensured he had at least a second gap to Lewis, making sure he could not use the DRS. Meanwhile, Sebastian was told to wait for his turn to get past Hamilton.
At the back of the grid, Mark Webber was having a torrid time. He had hoped to jump most of the field, but in the first few laps he had jumped to as high as 15th. His afternoon got worse when Sergio Perez passed him. Due to starting on the harder tyres, his pace was not great, so as expected, he was one of the first drivers to pit. He was joined by Michael Schumacher and Jaime Alguersuari. The young Spanish driver wouldn't last long though. One of the wheels had not been put on properly, and round turn one, it flew off, making Jaime the first and only retirement of the day.
When Mark came out on the soft tyres, he started setting the fastest laps. This caught the attention of the leading teams and drivers. The first to pit were Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel. When Jenson pitted however, he was distracted and pulled in, momentarily. into the Red Bull Pit Box. This weird error cost him the place to Sebastian Vettel, and looking back, possibly the race victory!
When the dust had settled after the pit stops, it was obvious that being the first to pit was the advantage. The leader at the time was Nico Rosberg - who was the first driver to pit. He lead from Vettel, then Button and Massa. Further down, Michael Schumacher had leapfrogged Fernando Alonso in the pits. After several laps of trying to outbreak him, the Spaniard beat the seven-time World Champion using his DRS. By that time though, they had both lost a lot of time. The leaders again capitalized on the gap by pitting again, with the McLaren drivers and Nico Rosberg all going for a three-stopper.
At this time, the Red Bull and Ferrari team looked to have made the correct decision in only stopping the twice. However, the tide was about to change. Nico Rosberg began to set fast times, and had soon overtaken Alonso to take third. Lewis Hamilton was also posting fastest lap times, and catching his team mate. By the time the Ferrari and Red Bull's had had their second stop, the McLaren's and Rosberg had jumped them. Lewis then made a great move on Buton to take second place.
For the driver's on a three-stopper, it was again a game of who blinks first. The driver to blink first was Button, followed by Hamilton the Rosberg. By the time Rosberg had pitted, he came out right in from of a charging Lewis Hamilton. At the time, Vettel lead Massa, with Rosberg 3rd, Hamilton 4th, Button 5th. Webber had also had a great middle stint to push him up to P6!
With fresh tyres on, not much was going to get in the way of the charging McLarens. It did not take long for Lewis to pass Rosberg, and he was quickly on the back of Felipe Massa. Lewis soon made a great pass on Felipe, leaving only Sebastian Vettel, who he was catching at a rate of one second a lap. Also making moves up the field was Mark Webber. The Australian on fresh tyres was setting fastest laps nearly every lap, and had already pushed himself up to seventh.
There was also fighting for the final podium position. Nico Rosberg tried to charge past Massa, only to overcook the maneuver, and let past Button and Massa. With six laps to go, Button eventually took Massa for third, and looked relatively comfortable. At the front, Hamilton was still closing on Vettel, and with jut four laps to go, the Brit eased past the World Champion.
The driver to watch in the closing laps was Mark Webber. After storming through the midfield in second stint, his next target was the front runners. On lap 52 out of 56, Mark took Felipe, who had ageing tyres on his car. Two laps latter, the storming Red Bull driver then took fourth position away from Nico Rosberg. Mark's last target was Jenson Button in third. Mark cruised up to the back of Button, and on the penultimate corner of the penultimate lap, Webber took Jenson with a lovely move to make it a great day for the Aussie. He had started to day back in 18th place, and managed to get a podium place with a fantastic drive up the field.
Right at the front, Lewis had no trouble, and still pulled away from the Vettel, even in coasting mode. Hamilton's victory stopped Vettel's and Red Bull's chance of five straight victories. Lewis' victory also means that the Red Bulls are beatable, and that the championship is far from over.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
2 - Sebastain Vettel - Red Bull - 1
3 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3
4 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
5 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes -10
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
7 - Fernado Alonso - Ferrari - 4
8 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
9 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 21
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 24
11 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 32
12 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13
13 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
14 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16
15 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
16 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
17 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
18 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 12
20 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
23 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
Saturday 16 April 2011
2011 Chinese Grand Prix - Qualifying
Sebastian Vettel eased to another pole position, as he continues his dominance of Formula One in 2011. The current World Champion, and Number 1 Ranked Driver, took pole by 0.7 seconds, ahead of the McLaren's of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. The German made sure he made it 3 poles, out of 3, and will be hoping to turn this in to a victory for a third time this season.
Q1, unusually, had its twists and turns. The usual suspects fell, with the HRT's, Virgin's, and the two Lotus drivers taking the back six grid positions. However, falling into 17th is Mark Webber. A team decision to keep the Australian on the hard tyres cost him, with Mark eventually being pushed back by Pastor Maldonado.
Q2 kept up with the topsy turvy Q1, mainly due to a red flag with 2 minutes remaining in the session. The Renault of Vitaly Petrov stopped out on track, bringing out the flags. When qualifying resumed, chaos ensued. With cars fighting for position, it was more like Sunday than Saturday. When the dust had settled on Q2, the surprises were from Toro Rosso, with both cars making it through to Q1. They were joined by Paul DiResta, and Vitaly Petrov.
The main contenders woke up in Q3, after the McLaren's and Sebastian Vettel posting times to just get through to the sessions. Button made the benchmark, which was soon to be obliterated by the young German. Vettel beat Jenson by 0.7 seconds to ease to pole. Jenson's primary time was enough to keep him in second, and Lewis Hamilton slotted into third. Nico Rosberg managed to beat the Ferrari's, who had a very poor Qualifying.
The Grid For Tomorrow's Race -
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1st
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5th
3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2nd
4 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
7 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20th
8 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 34th
9 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16th
10 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 22nd
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Sergio Perez -Sauber - New
13 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 25th
14 - Michael Shumacher - Mercedes - 19th
15 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
16 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13th
17 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
18 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
19 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11th
20 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 12th
21 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36th
22 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26th
24 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
Q1, unusually, had its twists and turns. The usual suspects fell, with the HRT's, Virgin's, and the two Lotus drivers taking the back six grid positions. However, falling into 17th is Mark Webber. A team decision to keep the Australian on the hard tyres cost him, with Mark eventually being pushed back by Pastor Maldonado.
Q2 kept up with the topsy turvy Q1, mainly due to a red flag with 2 minutes remaining in the session. The Renault of Vitaly Petrov stopped out on track, bringing out the flags. When qualifying resumed, chaos ensued. With cars fighting for position, it was more like Sunday than Saturday. When the dust had settled on Q2, the surprises were from Toro Rosso, with both cars making it through to Q1. They were joined by Paul DiResta, and Vitaly Petrov.
The main contenders woke up in Q3, after the McLaren's and Sebastian Vettel posting times to just get through to the sessions. Button made the benchmark, which was soon to be obliterated by the young German. Vettel beat Jenson by 0.7 seconds to ease to pole. Jenson's primary time was enough to keep him in second, and Lewis Hamilton slotted into third. Nico Rosberg managed to beat the Ferrari's, who had a very poor Qualifying.
The Grid For Tomorrow's Race -
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1st
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5th
3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2nd
4 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
7 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20th
8 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 34th
9 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16th
10 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 22nd
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Sergio Perez -Sauber - New
13 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 25th
14 - Michael Shumacher - Mercedes - 19th
15 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
16 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13th
17 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
18 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
19 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11th
20 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 12th
21 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36th
22 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
23 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26th
24 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
Sunday 10 April 2011
Rankings - 10th April 2011
After races in Australia and Malaysia, it is time to release the new rankings.
Rankings
Pos - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2821
2 - Mark Webber - 2217
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2160
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1878
5 - Jenson Button - 1590
6 - Felipe Massa - 1200.5
7 - Rubens Barrichello - 923.5
8 - Robert Kubica - 917
9 - Nico Rosberg -835.5
10 - Kimi Raikkonen - 586.5
11 - Adrian Sutil - 516
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - 477
13 - Jarno Trulli - 458
14 - Nick Heidfeld - 456
15 - Michael Schumacher - 436
16 - Timo Glock - 374
17 - Vitaly Petrov - 370
18 - Sebastian Buemi - 366.5
19 - Jaime Alguersuari - 334
20 - Nico Hulkenberg - 314
21 - Kamui Kobayashi - 293
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 201
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 164.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 119.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 97
28 - Lucas Di Grassi - 61
28 - Bruno Senna - 61
30 - David Coulthard - 60
31 - Paul Di Resta - 44
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 14
35 - Luca Badoer - 11
36 - Takuma Sato - 4
37 - Christian Klien - 2
38 - Sergio Perez - 0
38 - Pastor Maldonado - 0
38 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0
Rankings
Pos - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2821
2 - Mark Webber - 2217
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2160
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1878
5 - Jenson Button - 1590
6 - Felipe Massa - 1200.5
7 - Rubens Barrichello - 923.5
8 - Robert Kubica - 917
9 - Nico Rosberg -835.5
10 - Kimi Raikkonen - 586.5
11 - Adrian Sutil - 516
12 - Heikki Kovalainen - 477
13 - Jarno Trulli - 458
14 - Nick Heidfeld - 456
15 - Michael Schumacher - 436
16 - Timo Glock - 374
17 - Vitaly Petrov - 370
18 - Sebastian Buemi - 366.5
19 - Jaime Alguersuari - 334
20 - Nico Hulkenberg - 314
21 - Kamui Kobayashi - 293
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 201
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 164.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 119.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 97
28 - Lucas Di Grassi - 61
28 - Bruno Senna - 61
30 - David Coulthard - 60
31 - Paul Di Resta - 44
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 14
35 - Luca Badoer - 11
36 - Takuma Sato - 4
37 - Christian Klien - 2
38 - Sergio Perez - 0
38 - Pastor Maldonado - 0
38 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0
2011 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull made it two out two with a great drive at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The World Champion was joined on the podium by McLaren's Jenson Button, and fellow German Nick Heidfeld.
Vettel, again, eased through the first corner, as chaos ensued behind him. The Renaults had made a fantastic start, and Nick Heidfeld had soon stolen second from Lewis, and Vitaly Petrov and taken fifth. Mark Webber had found a fault with his KERS during the warm up. This loss pushed Mark down to the field, until he was way down in 10th, after starting in third.
Rain was the word on most people's mouths all weekend, and race day was no different. Roughly 10 laps in, specs of rain did start to fall on the track. Driver's informed their team, but no one dared pit first. The worst of the rain never came, and with just a few drops hitting the track, no driver put on the wet tyres, and eventually the rain left, having no impact.
With the Malaysian heat, the tyres were not doing well. Pit stops were very common all afternoon, with three stops seeming to be the norm. Very little changed in position, except though pit stops. However, unlike at Melbourne, DRS seemed to be a great advantage to the drivers. The long straight, and KERS aided the system, ensuring that there were a few overtakes. Battles ensued between Kamui Kobayashi and Mark Webber, Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The latter resulting in pieces.
Fernando was catching Lewis, who had older tyres on. Coming down the pit lane, Lewis had to swerve repeatedly to ensure Fernando stayed behind. On the next lap, Fernando tried again with the DRS. He seemed to gain an advantage, only for him to mess up the ending. He drove straight into Lewis' left rear tyre, and broke his front wing. Fernando pitted immediately, but Lewis stayed out, with no obvious damage. However, his lap times started to fall, and drivers began to gain. First Nick Heidfeld brilliantly took Lewis , using the KERS and DRS to their maximum. Then with Hamilton losing grip, he momenterally dropped off the track letting through Mark Webber. McLaren quickly pitted Lewis, resulting in him being dumped back in eight behind the two Ferrari's and Vitaly Petrov. He quickly gained seventh back, and Petrov's steering seemed to break forcing him off the track, then as Vitaly tried to get it back on, he flew over a chicane, forcing the Renault into the air, and ending his race.
The race ended with Sebastian, who had been untouched all day, leading Jenson home. The last few laps saw Mark Webber try to pass Nick Heidfeld. Mark, still without KERS, could not pass Nick as hard as he tried. Nick's determination ensured Renault got a second podium in two races. Further down, Massa kept Alonso at bay, with the Ferrari guys followed by Hamilton, Kobayashi, Schumacher, and Paul DiResta getting points for a second time.
Following the race, Alonso and Hamilton were summoned to the stewards room after their incident. They were both given twenty second penalties. This left Alonso in sixth, but pushed Lewis behind Kamui Kobayashi into eighth.
Race Results
Rank - Driver - Team - Rankings
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1st
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 6th
3 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13th
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
5 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
6 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
7 - Kamui Kobaysahi - Sauber - 25th
8 - Lews Hamilton - McLaren - 2nd
9 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 19th
10 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 34th
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
13 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16th
14 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20th
15 - Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus - 11th
16 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
17 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 22nd
R - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26th
R - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36th
R - Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus - 12th
R - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
R - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
R - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
Vettel, again, eased through the first corner, as chaos ensued behind him. The Renaults had made a fantastic start, and Nick Heidfeld had soon stolen second from Lewis, and Vitaly Petrov and taken fifth. Mark Webber had found a fault with his KERS during the warm up. This loss pushed Mark down to the field, until he was way down in 10th, after starting in third.
Rain was the word on most people's mouths all weekend, and race day was no different. Roughly 10 laps in, specs of rain did start to fall on the track. Driver's informed their team, but no one dared pit first. The worst of the rain never came, and with just a few drops hitting the track, no driver put on the wet tyres, and eventually the rain left, having no impact.
With the Malaysian heat, the tyres were not doing well. Pit stops were very common all afternoon, with three stops seeming to be the norm. Very little changed in position, except though pit stops. However, unlike at Melbourne, DRS seemed to be a great advantage to the drivers. The long straight, and KERS aided the system, ensuring that there were a few overtakes. Battles ensued between Kamui Kobayashi and Mark Webber, Kamui Kobayashi and Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The latter resulting in pieces.
Fernando was catching Lewis, who had older tyres on. Coming down the pit lane, Lewis had to swerve repeatedly to ensure Fernando stayed behind. On the next lap, Fernando tried again with the DRS. He seemed to gain an advantage, only for him to mess up the ending. He drove straight into Lewis' left rear tyre, and broke his front wing. Fernando pitted immediately, but Lewis stayed out, with no obvious damage. However, his lap times started to fall, and drivers began to gain. First Nick Heidfeld brilliantly took Lewis , using the KERS and DRS to their maximum. Then with Hamilton losing grip, he momenterally dropped off the track letting through Mark Webber. McLaren quickly pitted Lewis, resulting in him being dumped back in eight behind the two Ferrari's and Vitaly Petrov. He quickly gained seventh back, and Petrov's steering seemed to break forcing him off the track, then as Vitaly tried to get it back on, he flew over a chicane, forcing the Renault into the air, and ending his race.
The race ended with Sebastian, who had been untouched all day, leading Jenson home. The last few laps saw Mark Webber try to pass Nick Heidfeld. Mark, still without KERS, could not pass Nick as hard as he tried. Nick's determination ensured Renault got a second podium in two races. Further down, Massa kept Alonso at bay, with the Ferrari guys followed by Hamilton, Kobayashi, Schumacher, and Paul DiResta getting points for a second time.
Following the race, Alonso and Hamilton were summoned to the stewards room after their incident. They were both given twenty second penalties. This left Alonso in sixth, but pushed Lewis behind Kamui Kobayashi into eighth.
Race Results
Rank - Driver - Team - Rankings
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1st
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 6th
3 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 13th
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3rd
5 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 5th
6 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4th
7 - Kamui Kobaysahi - Sauber - 25th
8 - Lews Hamilton - McLaren - 2nd
9 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 19th
10 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 34th
11 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15th
12 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10th
13 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16th
14 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20th
15 - Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus - 11th
16 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14th
17 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 22nd
R - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26th
R - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36th
R - Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus - 12th
R - Sergio Perez - Sauber - New
R - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 9th
R - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
Wednesday 6 April 2011
1953 End Of Year Rankings
Ferrari continued their dominance in 1952 into 1953, with seven victories in the nine races. Alberto Ascari won his second Official World Championships, beating the legend - Juan Manuel Fangio.
1953 saw the first race away from Europe and USA. with Argentina entering the competition, and Ascari winning abroad. However, the 1953 Argentinian Grand Prix will only be remembered for the accident involving Nino Farina. The Italian crashed out, and due to no protection, nine spectators died. These were the first deaths in F1.
Alberto Ascari, for a second year running, had little to worry about through the year. He won three of the first four, and only failed to finish in the points twice - Germany and Italy. He was on a run of nine straight grand prix victories; however, his run was stopped by team-mate Mike Hawthorn. The English driver winning his first F1 victory at Reim, France. Bill Vuckovich won the Indianapolis that year, and other winners were Juan Manuel Fangio, and Nino Farina. Fangio was Ascari's main competitor; however, the Argentinian's poor Maserati let him down, with three DNF in the first four races.
With taking his second World Driver's Championship, Alberto Ascari also increased his lead in the F1 Rankings. Fangio regained ground he had lost in the previous year.
The Top 10 at the end of 1953 -
1953 saw the first race away from Europe and USA. with Argentina entering the competition, and Ascari winning abroad. However, the 1953 Argentinian Grand Prix will only be remembered for the accident involving Nino Farina. The Italian crashed out, and due to no protection, nine spectators died. These were the first deaths in F1.
Alberto Ascari, for a second year running, had little to worry about through the year. He won three of the first four, and only failed to finish in the points twice - Germany and Italy. He was on a run of nine straight grand prix victories; however, his run was stopped by team-mate Mike Hawthorn. The English driver winning his first F1 victory at Reim, France. Bill Vuckovich won the Indianapolis that year, and other winners were Juan Manuel Fangio, and Nino Farina. Fangio was Ascari's main competitor; however, the Argentinian's poor Maserati let him down, with three DNF in the first four races.
With taking his second World Driver's Championship, Alberto Ascari also increased his lead in the F1 Rankings. Fangio regained ground he had lost in the previous year.
The Top 10 at the end of 1953 -
- Alberto Ascari - 1873.5
- Juan Manuel Fangio - 906
- Nino Farina - 880
- Mike Hawthorn - 499
- Luigi Villoresi - 486
- Jose Froilan Gonzalez - 462.5
- Umberto Maglioli - 262
- Felice Bonetto - 238
- Piero Taruffi - 227.5
- Bill Vukovich - 224
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