Sebastian Vettel wins the Driver Of The Month award for the second month in a row. He is the current number one in the Rankings, and is currently miles ahead in the Driver's Championship. The current reigning World Champion has really turned up the heat this year.
In May Sebastian managed to gain three victories out of three race. In Turkey he dominated, gaining pole on the Saturday, and he turned that in a dominating race win, leading all but one lap of the race. In Spain, he was finally caught on the Saturday, with Mark Webber taking pole. However, this would not stop him. He jumped Mark at the start, and with Hamilton all behind him in the closing laps, he kept Lewis at bay, and got another victory in the bag. Finally, at last weekends Monaco GP, he again took pole position with a great lap. Throughout the race, he then held of the competition of Alonso and Button, making his Pirelli tyres last 50-odd laps. His third victory from three, and fifth win of the season means he has a sizeable gap in both the rankings, and driver's world championship.
Monday 30 May 2011
2011 Monaco Grand Prix - Post Race
After the drama of Sunday's race, more drama was to come afterwards.
The incident between Pastor Maldonado and Lewis Hamilton was inspected by the judges. After the race, the FIA announced that Lewis was to be given a twenty-second penalty. Although this annoyed Hamilton, it did nothing to the results, with Adrian Sutil to far behind for the penalty to mean anything.
News from the hospital is that both Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov are OK. The Russian had a scan, revealing no broken bones, and was soon released from hospital. The Mexican is staying another day in hospital. He suffered from concussion, and had a bruised thigh. It is reported that Sergio will have a scan today to decide whether to stay another day in hospital, and whether is we will race in Canada.
The incident between Pastor Maldonado and Lewis Hamilton was inspected by the judges. After the race, the FIA announced that Lewis was to be given a twenty-second penalty. Although this annoyed Hamilton, it did nothing to the results, with Adrian Sutil to far behind for the penalty to mean anything.
News from the hospital is that both Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov are OK. The Russian had a scan, revealing no broken bones, and was soon released from hospital. The Mexican is staying another day in hospital. He suffered from concussion, and had a bruised thigh. It is reported that Sergio will have a scan today to decide whether to stay another day in hospital, and whether is we will race in Canada.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Rankings - 29th May
The new rankings after the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix.
Rank - Driver - Points - Pre Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 3155.5 - 1
2 - Mark Webber - 2377.5 - 2
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2285.5 - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1934 - 4
5 - Jenson Button - 1616.5 - 5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1077.5 - 6
7 - Nico Rosberg - 900 - 7
8 - Rubens Barrichello - 870.5 - 8
9 - Robert Kubica - 799 - 9
10 - Adrian Sutil - 540.5 - 10
11 - Nick Heidfeld - 518.5 - 11
12 - Michael Schumacher - 470 - 13
13 - Heikki Kovalinen - 464 - 14
14 - Kimi Raikkonen - 455 - 12
15 - Jarno Trulli - 422.5 - 15
16 - Sebastian Buemi - 421 - 17
17 - Vitaly Petrov - 408 - 16
18 - Kamui Kobayashi - 384 - 18
19 -Timo Glock - 329 - 19
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 325 - 20
21 - Nico Hulkenberg - 303 - 21
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 236 - 22
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 179.5 - 23
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 143.5 - 24
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123 - 25
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 104 - 26
27 - Paul Di Resta - 100 - 28
28 - Sebastian Bourdais - 81.5 - 27
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 59 - 29
30 - Bruno Senna - 56 - 30
31 - David Coulthard - 49.5 - 31
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36 - 32
33 - Pastor Maldonado - 32 - 34
33 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 32 - 36
35 - Romain Grosjean - 28 - 33
36 - Sergio Perez - 26 - 34
37 - Luca Badoer - 11 - 37
38 - Narain Karthikeyan - 8 - 39
39 - Christian Klien - 2 - 38
Rank - Driver - Points - Pre Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 3155.5 - 1
2 - Mark Webber - 2377.5 - 2
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2285.5 - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1934 - 4
5 - Jenson Button - 1616.5 - 5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1077.5 - 6
7 - Nico Rosberg - 900 - 7
8 - Rubens Barrichello - 870.5 - 8
9 - Robert Kubica - 799 - 9
10 - Adrian Sutil - 540.5 - 10
11 - Nick Heidfeld - 518.5 - 11
12 - Michael Schumacher - 470 - 13
13 - Heikki Kovalinen - 464 - 14
14 - Kimi Raikkonen - 455 - 12
15 - Jarno Trulli - 422.5 - 15
16 - Sebastian Buemi - 421 - 17
17 - Vitaly Petrov - 408 - 16
18 - Kamui Kobayashi - 384 - 18
19 -Timo Glock - 329 - 19
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 325 - 20
21 - Nico Hulkenberg - 303 - 21
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 236 - 22
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 179.5 - 23
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 143.5 - 24
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123 - 25
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 104 - 26
27 - Paul Di Resta - 100 - 28
28 - Sebastian Bourdais - 81.5 - 27
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 59 - 29
30 - Bruno Senna - 56 - 30
31 - David Coulthard - 49.5 - 31
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36 - 32
33 - Pastor Maldonado - 32 - 34
33 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 32 - 36
35 - Romain Grosjean - 28 - 33
36 - Sergio Perez - 26 - 34
37 - Luca Badoer - 11 - 37
38 - Narain Karthikeyan - 8 - 39
39 - Christian Klien - 2 - 38
2011 Monaco Grand Prix - Race
Sebastian Vettel won a thrilling Monaco Grand Prix, just beating of competition from Fernando Alonso, and Jenson Button.
The race started with Alonso being the main mover, taking Webber on the inside. Behind the front four, Schumacher, after a great Saturday, fell to tenth place, then into the first corner, he hit the back of Hamilton's car. They both continued, only for Schumacher to ease past a sleeping Hamilton. The front three began to pull away from the rest of the field, with about a four second gap between Vettel-Button and Button-Alonso.
By lap 10, Hamilton had finally used his DRS and KERS to good effect, and took Schumacher into the first corner. That was not the last of it for Michael, as two laps latter, former team mate Rubens Barrichello also took him at Mirabeau. Mercedes then took the decision to bring Michael into the pits. The other Mercedes was not faring well either, as Rosberg was soon taken by Massa down into Tabac.
Back at the front, the leaders had decided to pit, with Jenson in first. Both Red Bull's copied McLaren's decision. However, the pit crew didn't seem to be ready for Vettel, and took too long swapping tyres on both cars. The mistake let Button past Vettel, and hindered Webber badly as well. After Alonso pitted, and dropped in behind Vettel, Button had a 7 second gap over the young German.
By lap 22, it was time for Hamilton to pit, and as he came in, his mechanics were not ready at all, and were still in the garage. They rushed out, but the damage was already done, and Lewis lost time as well. By lap 30, Button, Vettel and Alonso had separated themselves from the rest of the field, and Button had over a ten second gap to Vettel. Behind them, Sutil and Kobayashi had managed to make hay with the mistakes in the Red Bull and McLaren garages, and sat in fourth and fifth. At the bottom of the points, Webber was ninth, with Massa and Hamilton fighting for tenth. The battling intensified, and then on lap 34, Hamilton tried to take Massa on the hairpin, but they just collide and go slowly round the corner. Then through the tunnel, Hamilton had the inside line, pushing Felipe onto the dirty side of the track. Massa then lost control of the car, and slide into the barriers. The accident, brung out the saftey car, the first of 2011.
Elsewhere, Button had pitted, and with the saftey car just being deployed, Schumacher pulled up at the entry of the pitlane with a possible over-heating problem. The safety car found the leader - Vettel - with Button in second, Alonso third and Sutil fourth. The incident between Massa and Hamilton was studied by the FIA, and Hamilton was soon given a drive through penalty. His team mate, meanwhile, was pushing Vettel, but could not find a way past. His only option seemed to be to jump him in the pits. Button pitted on lap 48, and filled in into third. Button then set about doing fastest lap after fastest lap. It was coming apparent that when Vettel pitted, he would slot in behind Button.
However, Sebastian never came into the pits, and neither did Alonso. They were both trying to push their tyres to the end of the race, meaning Vettel would try and do 60 odd laps on the same soft tyres. So with the finale coming to a climax, Alonso and Button both caught Vettel, and with Vettel, and Alonso, making their cars as wide as possible, both Fernando and Jenson tried to improve their position. However, neither prevailed, and soon their task was made more difficult.
The three were closing in on some backmarkers, namely - Sutil, Rosberg, Petrov, Hamilton, Alguersuari and Barrichello. All of which were fighting amongst themselves. As they came into the swimming pool chicane, Sutil had a puncture, so cut the chicane. Lewis slowed down a little, enough to force Alguersuari into a mistake, and hit the back of the McLaren. He went into the barriers, and was joined by Petrov. The rest of the large bunch, and the leading three, squeezed past the debris, and chaos. Nothing had changed for the front three, but the debris caused the saftey car to come out again. However, after two laps of the safety car, red flags came out. The remaining cars worked their way to the pit straight until they were told otherwise.
The red flags were for Vitaly Petrov. It was reported that Petrov fell unconscious after the accident, and when he came around, was complaining about a pain in his legs. He was soon removed from his Renault, and was put in the back of the ambulance, and taken to hospital. As I write, news is that Petrov is OK, and his hospital visit was for tests, and as a precaution.
During the red flag period, teams were allowed to do anything to their cars while they were on the pit straight. This first meant that McLaren could fix Hamilton's broken rear wing. It also came apparent that teams could change their driver's tyres. So, when the race resumed under the safety car, the front three drivers all had the softer tyres on. When the safety car re-entered the pits after a lap, the race resumed, with five laps remaining. With the front three now on similar tyres, their pace was pretty even, meaning they were unable to fight. The reaming action was to be found, again, with Lewis Hamilton. Lewis tried to take Pastor Maldonado into the first corner. However, they both got the corner wrong, Pastor turning early, and Lewis trying to make a gap that wasn't. The result was that Maldonado crashed out, hitting the barriers, but Hamilton continued unharmed.
In the remaining laps, little action occurred, so eventually, Sebastian Vettel came around the last corner to win the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. He had held of Alonso and Button, with Mark Webber eventually taking fourth of Kamui Kobayashi.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
3 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
5 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 18
6 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
7 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
8 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 11
9 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
10 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
11 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 7
12 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 34
13 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
14 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 14
15 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
16 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
17 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - 39
18 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 34
R - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
R - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
R - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
R - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 13
R - Timo Glock - Virgin - 19
DNS - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 34
The race started with Alonso being the main mover, taking Webber on the inside. Behind the front four, Schumacher, after a great Saturday, fell to tenth place, then into the first corner, he hit the back of Hamilton's car. They both continued, only for Schumacher to ease past a sleeping Hamilton. The front three began to pull away from the rest of the field, with about a four second gap between Vettel-Button and Button-Alonso.
By lap 10, Hamilton had finally used his DRS and KERS to good effect, and took Schumacher into the first corner. That was not the last of it for Michael, as two laps latter, former team mate Rubens Barrichello also took him at Mirabeau. Mercedes then took the decision to bring Michael into the pits. The other Mercedes was not faring well either, as Rosberg was soon taken by Massa down into Tabac.
Back at the front, the leaders had decided to pit, with Jenson in first. Both Red Bull's copied McLaren's decision. However, the pit crew didn't seem to be ready for Vettel, and took too long swapping tyres on both cars. The mistake let Button past Vettel, and hindered Webber badly as well. After Alonso pitted, and dropped in behind Vettel, Button had a 7 second gap over the young German.
By lap 22, it was time for Hamilton to pit, and as he came in, his mechanics were not ready at all, and were still in the garage. They rushed out, but the damage was already done, and Lewis lost time as well. By lap 30, Button, Vettel and Alonso had separated themselves from the rest of the field, and Button had over a ten second gap to Vettel. Behind them, Sutil and Kobayashi had managed to make hay with the mistakes in the Red Bull and McLaren garages, and sat in fourth and fifth. At the bottom of the points, Webber was ninth, with Massa and Hamilton fighting for tenth. The battling intensified, and then on lap 34, Hamilton tried to take Massa on the hairpin, but they just collide and go slowly round the corner. Then through the tunnel, Hamilton had the inside line, pushing Felipe onto the dirty side of the track. Massa then lost control of the car, and slide into the barriers. The accident, brung out the saftey car, the first of 2011.
Elsewhere, Button had pitted, and with the saftey car just being deployed, Schumacher pulled up at the entry of the pitlane with a possible over-heating problem. The safety car found the leader - Vettel - with Button in second, Alonso third and Sutil fourth. The incident between Massa and Hamilton was studied by the FIA, and Hamilton was soon given a drive through penalty. His team mate, meanwhile, was pushing Vettel, but could not find a way past. His only option seemed to be to jump him in the pits. Button pitted on lap 48, and filled in into third. Button then set about doing fastest lap after fastest lap. It was coming apparent that when Vettel pitted, he would slot in behind Button.
However, Sebastian never came into the pits, and neither did Alonso. They were both trying to push their tyres to the end of the race, meaning Vettel would try and do 60 odd laps on the same soft tyres. So with the finale coming to a climax, Alonso and Button both caught Vettel, and with Vettel, and Alonso, making their cars as wide as possible, both Fernando and Jenson tried to improve their position. However, neither prevailed, and soon their task was made more difficult.
The three were closing in on some backmarkers, namely - Sutil, Rosberg, Petrov, Hamilton, Alguersuari and Barrichello. All of which were fighting amongst themselves. As they came into the swimming pool chicane, Sutil had a puncture, so cut the chicane. Lewis slowed down a little, enough to force Alguersuari into a mistake, and hit the back of the McLaren. He went into the barriers, and was joined by Petrov. The rest of the large bunch, and the leading three, squeezed past the debris, and chaos. Nothing had changed for the front three, but the debris caused the saftey car to come out again. However, after two laps of the safety car, red flags came out. The remaining cars worked their way to the pit straight until they were told otherwise.
The red flags were for Vitaly Petrov. It was reported that Petrov fell unconscious after the accident, and when he came around, was complaining about a pain in his legs. He was soon removed from his Renault, and was put in the back of the ambulance, and taken to hospital. As I write, news is that Petrov is OK, and his hospital visit was for tests, and as a precaution.
During the red flag period, teams were allowed to do anything to their cars while they were on the pit straight. This first meant that McLaren could fix Hamilton's broken rear wing. It also came apparent that teams could change their driver's tyres. So, when the race resumed under the safety car, the front three drivers all had the softer tyres on. When the safety car re-entered the pits after a lap, the race resumed, with five laps remaining. With the front three now on similar tyres, their pace was pretty even, meaning they were unable to fight. The reaming action was to be found, again, with Lewis Hamilton. Lewis tried to take Pastor Maldonado into the first corner. However, they both got the corner wrong, Pastor turning early, and Lewis trying to make a gap that wasn't. The result was that Maldonado crashed out, hitting the barriers, but Hamilton continued unharmed.
In the remaining laps, little action occurred, so eventually, Sebastian Vettel came around the last corner to win the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. He had held of Alonso and Button, with Mark Webber eventually taking fourth of Kamui Kobayashi.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
3 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
5 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 18
6 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
7 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
8 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 11
9 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
10 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
11 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 7
12 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 34
13 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
14 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 14
15 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
16 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
17 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - 39
18 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 34
R - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
R - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
R - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
R - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 13
R - Timo Glock - Virgin - 19
DNS - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 34
Saturday 28 May 2011
2011 Monaco Grand Prix - Post Qualifying
After an eventful qualifying session in Monte-Carlo, the action did not stop after Q3.
First, news from the Sergio Perez and Sauber camp is that the young Mexican is OK. According to Sauber, Sergio suffered some concussion, and a bruised thigh, but no broken bones. It has also been said that he will not be racing tomorrow. All drivers commented saying that they wished Sergio well, and hoped to see him fit for Canada. Most have also commented that they are glad Charlie Whiting decided not to allow DRS through the tunnel, for the accident could have been a lot worse, with the possibility of more accidents.
Elsewhere, news from FIA is that Lewis Hamilton's fastest lap in Q3 has been deleted. This pushed the McLaren driver down to ninth on the grid, falling behind Rosberg and Maldonado. It appears that Lewis cut a chicane on his one and only fastest lap, meaning he did not have a second, slower lap to rely on.
Finally, at the back of the field, HRT have been allowed to start tomorrows race. Both Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan failed to set a time in Q1, so they will be placed 23rd and 24th on the grid. The FIA decided that laps set in the three Free Practice Sessions were good enough to allow them into the race.
First, news from the Sergio Perez and Sauber camp is that the young Mexican is OK. According to Sauber, Sergio suffered some concussion, and a bruised thigh, but no broken bones. It has also been said that he will not be racing tomorrow. All drivers commented saying that they wished Sergio well, and hoped to see him fit for Canada. Most have also commented that they are glad Charlie Whiting decided not to allow DRS through the tunnel, for the accident could have been a lot worse, with the possibility of more accidents.
Elsewhere, news from FIA is that Lewis Hamilton's fastest lap in Q3 has been deleted. This pushed the McLaren driver down to ninth on the grid, falling behind Rosberg and Maldonado. It appears that Lewis cut a chicane on his one and only fastest lap, meaning he did not have a second, slower lap to rely on.
Finally, at the back of the field, HRT have been allowed to start tomorrows race. Both Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan failed to set a time in Q1, so they will be placed 23rd and 24th on the grid. The FIA decided that laps set in the three Free Practice Sessions were good enough to allow them into the race.
2011 Monaco Grand Prix - Qualifying
Sebastian Vettel took pole position at the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, however, his lap was overshadowed by an awful crash by Sergio Perez.
Qualifying started with little drama. Before Q1 had started, people were talking about the slower teams possibly holding up the faster teams. There was also talk about Nico Rosberg not even making it into Q2. He had a big off in FP3, after the exit of the tunnel. However, with the Mercedes mechanics working at double time, they managed to get Nico's car together and safely into Q2. Their was less tension in the remainder of Q1, with the seven grid slots being taken by the two HRTs, two Virgins, Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso, and the two Lotus. Heikki and Jarno both, for a second Grand Prix in succession, out qualifying a midfield team.
In Q2, all attention was obviously was on 10th place. The Red Bulls, McLarens, Ferraris and Mercedes had put in a good enough time to get into Q3, so the last two places seemed to be anyone guess. Renault underperformed coming 11th and 16th, with Petrov again outqualifying Heidfeld. The Force India's again had poor qualifying pace, finishing 14th and 15th. Also dropping out of Q2 was Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastian Buemi and Rubens Barrichello. This meant Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado (for a second race in a row) made it into the final qualifying session.
Q3 started with most cars staying in the pits, intending to do just one flying lap. Of the driver's who went out first, Sebastian Vettel got preliminary pole, ahead of Jenson Button and Mark Webber. With about four minutes to go, everyone came out to either improve their time, or making their only flying lap count. With two and a half minutes left, Sergio Perez was exiting the tunnel, taking a different line. As he pulled himself onto the racing line, he caught a small bump on the road which span his car round into the barriers. His car, then out of Sergio's control, skipped the chicane, and went sideways into a barrier on the exit of the nouvelle chicane, at turn 11. The session had to be red flagged, so with 2 minutes 26 seconds remaining, the flags were out, and the remaining nine cars re-entered the pits.
Marshalls and medics spent nearly 45 minutes helping Perez out of the car, and into the back of the ambulance. At the time of writing, Sergio is said to not be in a serious condition, and has been talking to the medics. It is unlikely that Sergio will be racing tomorrow, but all of F1 will be wishing him the best, and will hope to see him at the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks time.
When Sergio was left in the back of the ambulance, Q3 did eventually resume, however only Nico Rosberg was able to improve on his time, and Lewis was the best of the one-flying-lappers, ending up in seventh. This ensured that Sebastian Vettel took pole at the Monaco GP, making it the sixth Red Bull podium out of six races of 2011. Button finished second, with Webber third, and Fernando Alonso in fourth.
Grid For Tomorrows Race
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
3 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
5 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 13
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
7 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 7
9 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 34
10 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 34
11 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
12 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
13 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 18
14 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 28
15 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
16 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 11
17 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
18 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 14
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 19
22 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
23* - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - 39
24* - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
(* Both HRT cars failed to put in a lap, so it us up to the FIA if they can enter tomorrows race)
Qualifying started with little drama. Before Q1 had started, people were talking about the slower teams possibly holding up the faster teams. There was also talk about Nico Rosberg not even making it into Q2. He had a big off in FP3, after the exit of the tunnel. However, with the Mercedes mechanics working at double time, they managed to get Nico's car together and safely into Q2. Their was less tension in the remainder of Q1, with the seven grid slots being taken by the two HRTs, two Virgins, Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso, and the two Lotus. Heikki and Jarno both, for a second Grand Prix in succession, out qualifying a midfield team.
In Q2, all attention was obviously was on 10th place. The Red Bulls, McLarens, Ferraris and Mercedes had put in a good enough time to get into Q3, so the last two places seemed to be anyone guess. Renault underperformed coming 11th and 16th, with Petrov again outqualifying Heidfeld. The Force India's again had poor qualifying pace, finishing 14th and 15th. Also dropping out of Q2 was Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastian Buemi and Rubens Barrichello. This meant Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado (for a second race in a row) made it into the final qualifying session.
Q3 started with most cars staying in the pits, intending to do just one flying lap. Of the driver's who went out first, Sebastian Vettel got preliminary pole, ahead of Jenson Button and Mark Webber. With about four minutes to go, everyone came out to either improve their time, or making their only flying lap count. With two and a half minutes left, Sergio Perez was exiting the tunnel, taking a different line. As he pulled himself onto the racing line, he caught a small bump on the road which span his car round into the barriers. His car, then out of Sergio's control, skipped the chicane, and went sideways into a barrier on the exit of the nouvelle chicane, at turn 11. The session had to be red flagged, so with 2 minutes 26 seconds remaining, the flags were out, and the remaining nine cars re-entered the pits.
Marshalls and medics spent nearly 45 minutes helping Perez out of the car, and into the back of the ambulance. At the time of writing, Sergio is said to not be in a serious condition, and has been talking to the medics. It is unlikely that Sergio will be racing tomorrow, but all of F1 will be wishing him the best, and will hope to see him at the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks time.
When Sergio was left in the back of the ambulance, Q3 did eventually resume, however only Nico Rosberg was able to improve on his time, and Lewis was the best of the one-flying-lappers, ending up in seventh. This ensured that Sebastian Vettel took pole at the Monaco GP, making it the sixth Red Bull podium out of six races of 2011. Button finished second, with Webber third, and Fernando Alonso in fourth.
Grid For Tomorrows Race
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
3 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
5 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 13
6 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
7 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
8 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 7
9 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 34
10 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 34
11 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
12 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
13 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 18
14 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 28
15 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
16 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 11
17 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
18 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 14
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 19
22 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 36
23* - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - 39
24* - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
(* Both HRT cars failed to put in a lap, so it us up to the FIA if they can enter tomorrows race)
Sunday 22 May 2011
Rankings - 22nd May
The new rankings after the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix
Rank - Driver - Points - Pre Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 3006.5 - 1
2 - Mark Webber - 2296 - 2
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2290 - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso -1876.5 - 4
5 - Jenson Button - 1580.5 - 5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1125 - 6
7 - Nico Rosberg - 887.5 - 8
8 - Rubens Barrichello - 874 - 7
9 - Robert Kubica - 814 - 9
10 - Adrian Sutil - 516 - 10
11 - Nick Heidfeld - 501 - 12
12 - Kimi Raikkonen - 498.5 - 11
13 - Michael Schumacher - 470 - 14
14 - Heikki Kovalainen - 459 - 13
15 - Jarno Trulli - 414.5 - 15
16 - Vitaly Petrov - 408 - 16
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 399 - 17
18 - Kamui Kobayashi - 350 - 19
19 - Timo Glock - 339 - 18
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 325 - 20
21 - Nico Hulkeberg - 303 - 21
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 226 - 22
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 185.5 - 23
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 153.5 - 24
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123 - 25
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 104 - 26
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 88 - 27
28 - Paul DiResta - 82 - 28
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 59 - 29
30 - Bruno Senna - 56 - 30
31 - David Coulthard - 49.5 - 31
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36 - 32
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28 - 33
34 - Pastor Maldonado - 26 - 35
34 - Sergio Perez - 26 - 37
36 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 20 - 34
37 - Luca Badoer - 11 - 36
38 - Christian Klien - 2 - 37
39 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0 - N
Rank - Driver - Points - Pre Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 3006.5 - 1
2 - Mark Webber - 2296 - 2
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2290 - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso -1876.5 - 4
5 - Jenson Button - 1580.5 - 5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1125 - 6
7 - Nico Rosberg - 887.5 - 8
8 - Rubens Barrichello - 874 - 7
9 - Robert Kubica - 814 - 9
10 - Adrian Sutil - 516 - 10
11 - Nick Heidfeld - 501 - 12
12 - Kimi Raikkonen - 498.5 - 11
13 - Michael Schumacher - 470 - 14
14 - Heikki Kovalainen - 459 - 13
15 - Jarno Trulli - 414.5 - 15
16 - Vitaly Petrov - 408 - 16
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 399 - 17
18 - Kamui Kobayashi - 350 - 19
19 - Timo Glock - 339 - 18
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 325 - 20
21 - Nico Hulkeberg - 303 - 21
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 226 - 22
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 185.5 - 23
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 153.5 - 24
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123 - 25
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 104 - 26
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 88 - 27
28 - Paul DiResta - 82 - 28
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 59 - 29
30 - Bruno Senna - 56 - 30
31 - David Coulthard - 49.5 - 31
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36 - 32
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28 - 33
34 - Pastor Maldonado - 26 - 35
34 - Sergio Perez - 26 - 37
36 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 20 - 34
37 - Luca Badoer - 11 - 36
38 - Christian Klien - 2 - 37
39 - Narain Karthikeyan - 0 - N
2011 Spanish Grand Prix - Race
Sebastian Vettel beat Lewis Hamilton to victory to regain the number one slot, and take a fourth win of the season, in only five races. The two comfortably beat of Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, who had to fight for third.
The race burst to life at the very start. With much attention being cast over the fact that Red Bull had experienced KERS problems. With Red Bull KERS-less for the start, the were obviously hounded by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who both started on the second row of the grid. However, it was the Spaniard Alonso, who had started on the dirty side of the track, who managed to find a Ferrari sized gap into the first corner, and take the lead. Behind Alonso, Vettel had managed to squeeze out Webber to take second, with Hamilton slotting in behind the leading three. Further down the points, Jenson Button had a poor start, simply being crowded out in the first corner, and was pushed down to tenth. Going the other way, Michael Schumacher maneged to push himself up the field to take sixth.
At the front though, the four drivers were pulling away from the rest of the field. Fernando Alonso lead the train for the first 19 laps. He then pitted on lap 19 to try and cover the pit stop of Sebastian Vettel on lap 18. Vettel, taking his second pit stop, managed to use the Red Bull's stunning one-lap pace to leapfrog Alonso. Behind, Lewis Hamilton stayed out longer, until he pitted on lap 23. He came out of the pits, just four seconds down on race leader Vettel, and easily taking Alonso and Webber. Fernado and Mark then entered a race of their own. It soon became obvious that they were fighting for third, alongside Jenson Button who was on a three stop strategy, instead of doing four stops. Mark was able to use the DRS down the straight, but did not seem to have KERS at his disposal. This meant that Fernando only had to deploy KERS down the pit straight to stay in front of Mark.
Eventually, Mark passed Fernando, but only through the pit stops. Alonso pitted a lot early than Webber, meaning the Aussie could go some flying laps, on open roads, to even give him a gap to Fernando Alonso. The fighting, though, between the two drivers meant that Jenson Button was able to catch them, and he soon has passed them both. Button, being on the softer tyres at the time, had no problem in catching them, or passing them. He then maneged to create a large enough gap to ensure he had breathing space before his stint on the harder tyres.
In the last ten or so laps, all eyes were on the front two runner of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Similar to the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this year, Lewis had slightly newer tyres, and was able to use his DRS down the pit straight. Sebastian was also having problems with his KERS, with his race engineer continually telling him to use different settings for his KERS. However, as the Red Bull and McLaren pit crews bit off their nails, Vettel managed to hold of Hamilton to take another victory this year. Jenson Button crossed the line in third, to put both McLaren's on the podium.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
3 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
6 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 14
7 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 8
8 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
9 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 37
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 19
11 - Viatly Petrov - Renault - 16
12 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 28
13 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
14 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
15 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 35
16 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
17 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 7
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
19 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 18
20 - Jerome D'Amborosio - Virgin - 34
21 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
R - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 13
R - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
The race burst to life at the very start. With much attention being cast over the fact that Red Bull had experienced KERS problems. With Red Bull KERS-less for the start, the were obviously hounded by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, who both started on the second row of the grid. However, it was the Spaniard Alonso, who had started on the dirty side of the track, who managed to find a Ferrari sized gap into the first corner, and take the lead. Behind Alonso, Vettel had managed to squeeze out Webber to take second, with Hamilton slotting in behind the leading three. Further down the points, Jenson Button had a poor start, simply being crowded out in the first corner, and was pushed down to tenth. Going the other way, Michael Schumacher maneged to push himself up the field to take sixth.
At the front though, the four drivers were pulling away from the rest of the field. Fernando Alonso lead the train for the first 19 laps. He then pitted on lap 19 to try and cover the pit stop of Sebastian Vettel on lap 18. Vettel, taking his second pit stop, managed to use the Red Bull's stunning one-lap pace to leapfrog Alonso. Behind, Lewis Hamilton stayed out longer, until he pitted on lap 23. He came out of the pits, just four seconds down on race leader Vettel, and easily taking Alonso and Webber. Fernado and Mark then entered a race of their own. It soon became obvious that they were fighting for third, alongside Jenson Button who was on a three stop strategy, instead of doing four stops. Mark was able to use the DRS down the straight, but did not seem to have KERS at his disposal. This meant that Fernando only had to deploy KERS down the pit straight to stay in front of Mark.
Eventually, Mark passed Fernando, but only through the pit stops. Alonso pitted a lot early than Webber, meaning the Aussie could go some flying laps, on open roads, to even give him a gap to Fernando Alonso. The fighting, though, between the two drivers meant that Jenson Button was able to catch them, and he soon has passed them both. Button, being on the softer tyres at the time, had no problem in catching them, or passing them. He then maneged to create a large enough gap to ensure he had breathing space before his stint on the harder tyres.
In the last ten or so laps, all eyes were on the front two runner of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. Similar to the Chinese Grand Prix earlier this year, Lewis had slightly newer tyres, and was able to use his DRS down the pit straight. Sebastian was also having problems with his KERS, with his race engineer continually telling him to use different settings for his KERS. However, as the Red Bull and McLaren pit crews bit off their nails, Vettel managed to hold of Hamilton to take another victory this year. Jenson Button crossed the line in third, to put both McLaren's on the podium.
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
3 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
4 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
6 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 14
7 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 8
8 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
9 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 37
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 19
11 - Viatly Petrov - Renault - 16
12 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 28
13 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
14 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
15 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 35
16 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
17 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 7
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
19 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 18
20 - Jerome D'Amborosio - Virgin - 34
21 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
R - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
R - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 13
R - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
Saturday 21 May 2011
2011 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying
Mark Webber surprised many as he beat teammate Sebastian Vettel to pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Red Bull's piped Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Q1 started with little drama. The main activity was in the Renault garage, around Nick Heidfeld's car. In Free Practice 3, Quick Nick's car caught fire, and the Renault mechanics had to rush to get his car ready for Q1. In the end, their efforts were for no reason, as the twenty minutes elapsed. This meant that there was one less position for the other 23 drivers to fight over. As suspected, the Virgin's and HRT's filled up the last four spaces, but ahead of them, Rubens Barrichello was struggling in his Williams, and with the Lotus car going fast on the soft tyres, the Brazilian was pushed out of Q1. Replacing him was Heikki Kovalainen, making it into Q2 for this first time in 2011.
Q2 started with even less action, as it took 2 minutes for a car to appear. Eventually the cars pored out, and the last 10 minute saw all the drivers fighting to be in Q3. There were no real surprises, bar Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan managed to easily out-qualify his teammate, and making it into Q3. Elsewhere, Kovalainen managed to beat the two Force India's who decided to only qualify on the harder tyres, saving a set of softs for the race. Joining them in exiting Q2, were the two Sauber drivers, and the two Toro Rosso drivers.
In Q3, all eyes were on the front. Could anyone out qualify the Red Bull's, or even Sebastian Vettel? The answer was Yes! As the McLarens and Red Bulls did their first flying laps, Mark Webber stole the show, easily beating the times set by Vettel, Hamilton and Button. Just like Turkey, Vettel and Webber believed this to be enough, and did not try to do another lap. It was a correct decision, and Mark took his first Pole Position since the 2010 Belgian GP.
Grid For Tomorrows Grand Prix
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
2 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
5 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
6 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
7 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 8
8 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
9 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 35
10 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 14
11 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
12 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 37
13 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
14 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 19
15 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 13
16 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 28
17 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
19 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 7
20 - TImo Glock - Virgin - 18
21 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
22 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
23 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 34
24 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
Q1 started with little drama. The main activity was in the Renault garage, around Nick Heidfeld's car. In Free Practice 3, Quick Nick's car caught fire, and the Renault mechanics had to rush to get his car ready for Q1. In the end, their efforts were for no reason, as the twenty minutes elapsed. This meant that there was one less position for the other 23 drivers to fight over. As suspected, the Virgin's and HRT's filled up the last four spaces, but ahead of them, Rubens Barrichello was struggling in his Williams, and with the Lotus car going fast on the soft tyres, the Brazilian was pushed out of Q1. Replacing him was Heikki Kovalainen, making it into Q2 for this first time in 2011.
Q2 started with even less action, as it took 2 minutes for a car to appear. Eventually the cars pored out, and the last 10 minute saw all the drivers fighting to be in Q3. There were no real surprises, bar Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan managed to easily out-qualify his teammate, and making it into Q3. Elsewhere, Kovalainen managed to beat the two Force India's who decided to only qualify on the harder tyres, saving a set of softs for the race. Joining them in exiting Q2, were the two Sauber drivers, and the two Toro Rosso drivers.
In Q3, all eyes were on the front. Could anyone out qualify the Red Bull's, or even Sebastian Vettel? The answer was Yes! As the McLarens and Red Bulls did their first flying laps, Mark Webber stole the show, easily beating the times set by Vettel, Hamilton and Button. Just like Turkey, Vettel and Webber believed this to be enough, and did not try to do another lap. It was a correct decision, and Mark took his first Pole Position since the 2010 Belgian GP.
Grid For Tomorrows Grand Prix
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
2 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
3 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 3
4 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
5 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
6 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 16
7 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 8
8 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
9 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - 35
10 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 14
11 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 17
12 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - 37
13 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 20
14 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 19
15 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 13
16 - Paul DiResta - Force India - 28
17 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 10
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 15
19 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 7
20 - TImo Glock - Virgin - 18
21 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 22
22 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
23 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 34
24 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
Sunday 8 May 2011
Rankings - 8th May
The new rankings after the Turkish Grand Prix.
Rank - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2996
2 - Mark Webber - 2375,5
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2250
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1898.5
5 - Jenson Button - 1592.5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1215
7 - Rubens Barrichello - 911.5
8 - Nico Rosberg - 894.5
9 - Robert Kubica - 882
10 - Adrian Sutil - 529.5
11 - Kimi Raikkonen - 523.5
12 - Nick Heidfeld - 490.5
13 - Heikki Kovalainen - 471
14 - Michael Schumacher - 469
15 - Jarno Trulli - 424
16 - Vitaly Petrov - 406
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 396
18 - Timo Glock - 347.5
19 - Kamui Kobayashi - 337
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 336
21 - Nico Hulkenberg - 308
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 189
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 157.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 111.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 88
28 - Paul Di Resta - 64
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 61
30 - Bruno Senna - 56
31 - David Coulthard - 55.5
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 18
35 - Pastor Maldonado - 14
36 - Luca Badoer - 11
37 - Christian Klien - 2
37 - Sergio Perez - 2
Rank - Driver - Points
1 - Sebastian Vettel - 2996
2 - Mark Webber - 2375,5
3 - Lewis Hamilton - 2250
4 - Fernando Alonso - 1898.5
5 - Jenson Button - 1592.5
6 - Felipe Massa - 1215
7 - Rubens Barrichello - 911.5
8 - Nico Rosberg - 894.5
9 - Robert Kubica - 882
10 - Adrian Sutil - 529.5
11 - Kimi Raikkonen - 523.5
12 - Nick Heidfeld - 490.5
13 - Heikki Kovalainen - 471
14 - Michael Schumacher - 469
15 - Jarno Trulli - 424
16 - Vitaly Petrov - 406
17 - Sebastian Buemi - 396
18 - Timo Glock - 347.5
19 - Kamui Kobayashi - 337
20 - Jaime Alguersuari - 336
21 - Nico Hulkenberg - 308
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - 244
23 - Giancarlo Fisichella - 189
24 - Kazuki Nakajima - 157.5
25 - Pedro De La Rosa - 123
26 - Nelson Piquet Jnr - 111.5
27 - Sebastian Bourdais - 88
28 - Paul Di Resta - 64
29 - Lucas Di Grassi - 61
30 - Bruno Senna - 56
31 - David Coulthard - 55.5
32 - Sakon Yamamoto - 36
33 - Romain Grosjean - 28
34 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - 18
35 - Pastor Maldonado - 14
36 - Luca Badoer - 11
37 - Christian Klien - 2
37 - Sergio Perez - 2
2011 Turkish Grand Prix - Race
Sebastian Vettel continued his dominance of F1 with a comanding victory at the Istanbul Park in Turkey.
Vettel made a great start, but behind him Rosberg brilliantly jumped Mark Webber. Behind the front two Hamilton and Webber were fighting, but Lewis went wide, letting past Webber, Fernando Alonso and his team mate Jenson Button. In the midfield, Vitaly Petrov tried to pass Schumacher on the inside in the last straight, went wide, and Michael hit him trying to get around the corner.
On lap 5, Webber, using his DRS out-dragged Nico Rosberg, easily re-taking second place. A lap later, Hamilton, again using his DRS, got onto the inside of Button, and after tussling through the last few corners, the main straight, and the first corner, Hamilton took Button. The McLaren drivers were not done, by the time they had got around to the next lap, Button closed the gap using his DRS, and with a better drive off the last corner, overtook him into the first corner.
Ahead of them, Fernando Alonso, again DRS-ing, eased past Nico Rosberg to take a great third place. During the McLarens fighting, Felipe Massa began to close in on them, and on lap nine, the Brazilian took Lewis. However, the two drivers went straight into the pits. Massa went in first, but left second, after the McLaren team produced a great pit stop to squeeze him ahead of the Ferrari driver. The two drivers drove side by side in the pitlane, with Massa eventually slipping behind Lewis. Other drivers and teams followed the McLarens and Ferraris into the pits, with Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg all pitting.
Further down the grid, the Renaults tried to battle each other in the final corners. Heidfeld had the inside line through the first corner, but Petrov, following Barrichello, tried to push him wide, nearly pushing the German into the pitlane. Just ahead of them, Rubens drove up behind Michael Schumacher, and eased through the inside. The German was not out of the wars yet, as Kamui Kobayashi and Adrian Sutil both jumped him after the DRS straight.
Back at the front, Button, after holding up Vettel, pitted several laps after the other front runners, looking at a three-stopper. Behind Vettel, Webber was second, closing on his teammate. Then, they were followed by Rosberg, Alonso, Hamilton, and Massa. Soon; however, Ferando and Lewis soon jumped Rosberg as the Mercedes seemed to lack race pace. By lap 21, Massa was still chasing. He momenterally lead him before the DRS zone, then while Rosberg used his DRS, he managed to regain his position over Massa. A lap later, Massa eased past Rosberg, on the DRS straight. Behind them, Button had cruised up to the back of the fight, and while Massa was taking Rosberg, Jenson followed went through the Ferrari sized gap, and held his position through the last chicane. With Jenson right behind Massa, it wasn't long until he was a able to use his DRS, and edge past him.
At the very front, Vettel had pumped in several very fast, important laps, meaning that when he pitted in lap 25 he had plenty of clean air when he rejoined the race track. Behind the leader, Alonso began to close the gap on Webber, and by lap 30, Fernando had managed to ease around the outside of the twelth corner, pushing the Spaniard upto second. This left the situation - First Vettel, Second Alonso Third Webber, Fourth Hamilton, Fifth Petrov, Sixth Massa, Seventh Button, Eight Rosberg, Ninth Heidfeld, Tenth Buemi.
The action continued on lap 35. Button, after several laps of trying, managed to use his DRS to overtake Massa. Button's teammate was having less luck. He pitted, but had a problem with the front right wheel nut. Then after waiting for valuable seconds, he had to wait for even longer while Massa entered his pit box.
By lap 47, it was time for more pitstops. Webber and Alonso started the trend, and was soon followed by everyone bar Jenson Button. This left Jenson in fourth behind the two Red Bulls with Alonso sandwiched in between them. Button was followed by Hamilton, Rosberg, Buemi, Petrov, Heidfeld and Kobayashi.
Behind the podium, Hamilton was closing in on a Button who had older tyres. On lap 50, Lewis easily caught him, and with little fight from Button, easily took his teammate. Next on Button's radar was Nico Rosberg who was easily drawing in Button.
With six laps remaining, Webber was closing in on Alonso on each lap. With the his DRS, Webber caught and passed Alonso, skillfully holding second through the final chicane, and down the pit straight.
With four laps left, the action was to be found out of the points in 11th-12th-13th. Around turn 12, Schumacher managed to push himself past Alguersuari for eleventh. Massa tried to pull himself alongside, making it three abrest around the last corner. Massa, getting a better line, managed to outgrip Alguersuari into twelth, then with a Schumacher slipstream, Massa squeezed through a Ferrari sized hole in the first corner to take eleventh. Just ahead of them, Nick Heidfeld had overtook Buemi to take seventh. Further ahead, Button's decision to do three stops was not looking better. Rosberg had easily gained on the Brit, and again in the DRS zone, he eased past Button. At the very front, Vettel's only trouble was traffic, as he easily pushed himself through the back markers. He soon however, had little trouble, and he eased to his third victory of the year. Webber made it a Red Bull one-two, and Alonso took an impressive third
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
3 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
4 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
5 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
7 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
8 - Viatly Petrov - Renault - 20
9 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso 16
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 23
11 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
12 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
13 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
14 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - N
15 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
16 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 21
17 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13
19 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
20 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 35
21 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
R - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 31
DNS - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
Vettel made a great start, but behind him Rosberg brilliantly jumped Mark Webber. Behind the front two Hamilton and Webber were fighting, but Lewis went wide, letting past Webber, Fernando Alonso and his team mate Jenson Button. In the midfield, Vitaly Petrov tried to pass Schumacher on the inside in the last straight, went wide, and Michael hit him trying to get around the corner.
On lap 5, Webber, using his DRS out-dragged Nico Rosberg, easily re-taking second place. A lap later, Hamilton, again using his DRS, got onto the inside of Button, and after tussling through the last few corners, the main straight, and the first corner, Hamilton took Button. The McLaren drivers were not done, by the time they had got around to the next lap, Button closed the gap using his DRS, and with a better drive off the last corner, overtook him into the first corner.
Ahead of them, Fernando Alonso, again DRS-ing, eased past Nico Rosberg to take a great third place. During the McLarens fighting, Felipe Massa began to close in on them, and on lap nine, the Brazilian took Lewis. However, the two drivers went straight into the pits. Massa went in first, but left second, after the McLaren team produced a great pit stop to squeeze him ahead of the Ferrari driver. The two drivers drove side by side in the pitlane, with Massa eventually slipping behind Lewis. Other drivers and teams followed the McLarens and Ferraris into the pits, with Vettel, Alonso and Rosberg all pitting.
Further down the grid, the Renaults tried to battle each other in the final corners. Heidfeld had the inside line through the first corner, but Petrov, following Barrichello, tried to push him wide, nearly pushing the German into the pitlane. Just ahead of them, Rubens drove up behind Michael Schumacher, and eased through the inside. The German was not out of the wars yet, as Kamui Kobayashi and Adrian Sutil both jumped him after the DRS straight.
Back at the front, Button, after holding up Vettel, pitted several laps after the other front runners, looking at a three-stopper. Behind Vettel, Webber was second, closing on his teammate. Then, they were followed by Rosberg, Alonso, Hamilton, and Massa. Soon; however, Ferando and Lewis soon jumped Rosberg as the Mercedes seemed to lack race pace. By lap 21, Massa was still chasing. He momenterally lead him before the DRS zone, then while Rosberg used his DRS, he managed to regain his position over Massa. A lap later, Massa eased past Rosberg, on the DRS straight. Behind them, Button had cruised up to the back of the fight, and while Massa was taking Rosberg, Jenson followed went through the Ferrari sized gap, and held his position through the last chicane. With Jenson right behind Massa, it wasn't long until he was a able to use his DRS, and edge past him.
At the very front, Vettel had pumped in several very fast, important laps, meaning that when he pitted in lap 25 he had plenty of clean air when he rejoined the race track. Behind the leader, Alonso began to close the gap on Webber, and by lap 30, Fernando had managed to ease around the outside of the twelth corner, pushing the Spaniard upto second. This left the situation - First Vettel, Second Alonso Third Webber, Fourth Hamilton, Fifth Petrov, Sixth Massa, Seventh Button, Eight Rosberg, Ninth Heidfeld, Tenth Buemi.
The action continued on lap 35. Button, after several laps of trying, managed to use his DRS to overtake Massa. Button's teammate was having less luck. He pitted, but had a problem with the front right wheel nut. Then after waiting for valuable seconds, he had to wait for even longer while Massa entered his pit box.
By lap 47, it was time for more pitstops. Webber and Alonso started the trend, and was soon followed by everyone bar Jenson Button. This left Jenson in fourth behind the two Red Bulls with Alonso sandwiched in between them. Button was followed by Hamilton, Rosberg, Buemi, Petrov, Heidfeld and Kobayashi.
Behind the podium, Hamilton was closing in on a Button who had older tyres. On lap 50, Lewis easily caught him, and with little fight from Button, easily took his teammate. Next on Button's radar was Nico Rosberg who was easily drawing in Button.
With six laps remaining, Webber was closing in on Alonso on each lap. With the his DRS, Webber caught and passed Alonso, skillfully holding second through the final chicane, and down the pit straight.
With four laps left, the action was to be found out of the points in 11th-12th-13th. Around turn 12, Schumacher managed to push himself past Alguersuari for eleventh. Massa tried to pull himself alongside, making it three abrest around the last corner. Massa, getting a better line, managed to outgrip Alguersuari into twelth, then with a Schumacher slipstream, Massa squeezed through a Ferrari sized hole in the first corner to take eleventh. Just ahead of them, Nick Heidfeld had overtook Buemi to take seventh. Further ahead, Button's decision to do three stops was not looking better. Rosberg had easily gained on the Brit, and again in the DRS zone, he eased past Button. At the very front, Vettel's only trouble was traffic, as he easily pushed himself through the back markers. He soon however, had little trouble, and he eased to his third victory of the year. Webber made it a Red Bull one-two, and Alonso took an impressive third
Race Results
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 2
3 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
4 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
5 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
7 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
8 - Viatly Petrov - Renault - 20
9 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso 16
10 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 23
11 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
12 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
13 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
14 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - N
15 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
16 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 21
17 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - N
18 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13
19 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
20 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 35
21 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
22 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
R - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 31
DNS - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
Saturday 7 May 2011
2011 Turkish Grand Prix - Qualifying
Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel regained their number one status by taking pole at the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix. Vettel beat his teammate by 0.4 seconds, with Nico Rosberg taking a great third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Q1 started with drama, as Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the first car out. However, while coming around the last series of corners, the Japanese driver's car died, and he tried to crawl into the pits using seventh gear. It was revealed that he had a fuel pump problem, which lead to him falling out of qualifying. He will start in 23rd place, due to Jerome D'Ambrosio having a five place penalty after an incident on FP3.
Q2 had slightly less drama, with the tension increasing into the last moments as drivers tried to squeeze into Q3. The top drivers had to use the softer tyres to get through, meaning it was even tighter for the smaller teams. Nick Heidfeld was the luckiest, he was the last driver to cross the line, put together with a time to push him into the next round, and stop Rubens Barrichello from progressing.
Q3 started off with only five cars going out immediately. Vettel easily stole the show, taking first by 0.4 seconds from Mark Webber. As the five drivers made their way into the pits for new tyres, the main decision to be made was from Red Bull. With such a big advantage ahead of their rivals, they decided to not go out again, a very brave decision from the top team. However, as the other drivers and teams tried to gain ground, the Red Bulls were never toppled, taking a one-two into the Turkish Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg was the best of the rest, pushing his Mercedes into a very impressive third, ahead of the disappointed Ferrari and McLaren drivers.
The Grid For Tomorrow's Race
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3
3 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10
4 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
7 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 20
8 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
9 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
10 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
11 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
12 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
13 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 31
14 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - New
15 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - N
16 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16
17 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 21
18 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13
20 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
22 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
23 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 23
24 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 35
Q1 started with drama, as Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi was the first car out. However, while coming around the last series of corners, the Japanese driver's car died, and he tried to crawl into the pits using seventh gear. It was revealed that he had a fuel pump problem, which lead to him falling out of qualifying. He will start in 23rd place, due to Jerome D'Ambrosio having a five place penalty after an incident on FP3.
Q2 had slightly less drama, with the tension increasing into the last moments as drivers tried to squeeze into Q3. The top drivers had to use the softer tyres to get through, meaning it was even tighter for the smaller teams. Nick Heidfeld was the luckiest, he was the last driver to cross the line, put together with a time to push him into the next round, and stop Rubens Barrichello from progressing.
Q3 started off with only five cars going out immediately. Vettel easily stole the show, taking first by 0.4 seconds from Mark Webber. As the five drivers made their way into the pits for new tyres, the main decision to be made was from Red Bull. With such a big advantage ahead of their rivals, they decided to not go out again, a very brave decision from the top team. However, as the other drivers and teams tried to gain ground, the Red Bulls were never toppled, taking a one-two into the Turkish Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg was the best of the rest, pushing his Mercedes into a very impressive third, ahead of the disappointed Ferrari and McLaren drivers.
The Grid For Tomorrow's Race
Pos - Driver - Team - Rank
1 - Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - 1
2 - Mark Webber - Red Bull - 3
3 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 10
4 - Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - 2
5 - Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 4
6 - Jenson Button - McLaren - 5
7 - Vitaly Petrov - Renault - 20
8 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - 17
9 - Nick Heidfeld - Renault - 12
10 - Felipe Massa - Ferrari - 6
11 - Rubens Barrichello - Williams - 8
12 - Adrian Sutil - Force India - 15
13 - Paul Di Resta - Force India - 31
14 - Pastor Maldonado - Williams - New
15 - Sergio Perez - Sauber - N
16 - Sebastian Buemi - Toro Rosso - 16
17 - Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - 21
18 - Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus - 11
19 - Jarno Trulli - Lotus - 13
20 - Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - 26
21 - Timo Glock - Virgin - 14
22 - Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - N
23 - Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - 23
24 - Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - 35
Monday 2 May 2011
Newbie Of The Month - Paul Di Resta
Force India driver - Paul Di Resta - takes the April Award for Newbie Of The Month. The young Scot beat off serious competition, and deservably takes the award. His consistency has been the most impressive. At Australia he finished 10th, at Malaysia he finished 10th, and at China he finished 11th. In the last two races he has beaten his promising team mate Adrian Sutil, and if he continues, he will be pushing him to be the team number one. Rankings wise, Paul has totted up 32 points, beating his fellow newbies by miles. The only other newbie to gain ranking points is Jerome D'Ambrosio, who has eight points. Fellow newbies Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado, and Narain Karthikeyan have not yet scored points, and will be looking to get their first points of the season, and close in on Paul Di Resta.
Climber Of The Month - Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov takes our second of the April Awards, winning the Climber Of The Month. After a poor debut season in Formula One, Vitaly has silenced some of the doubters with an impressive start to 2011. His season couldn't have started much better than it did in Australia. A third place, the Russian's first podium, paid back Renault's confidence in him. Vitaly had a poor Malaysian Grand Prix, but he came home a solid ninth in China. In two out of the three races he has beaten the much more experienced Nick Heidfeld, and getting the teams first podium this year put the pressure on the German. Vitaly will be hoping to improve on this great start, so he can keep his seat at Renault for next year, and continue to climb up the rankings.
Some of the biggest movers in April -
Pos - Driver - Move
1 - Vitaly Petrov - Up 4
2 - Kamui Kobayashi - Up 1
2 - Michael Schumacher - Up 1
2 - Nick Heidfeld - Up 1
2 - Adrian Sutil - Up 1
2 - Nico Rosberg - Up 1
Some of the biggest movers in April -
Pos - Driver - Move
1 - Vitaly Petrov - Up 4
2 - Kamui Kobayashi - Up 1
2 - Michael Schumacher - Up 1
2 - Nick Heidfeld - Up 1
2 - Adrian Sutil - Up 1
2 - Nico Rosberg - Up 1
Driver Of The Month(s) - Sebastian Vettel
What a surprise. Sebastian Vettel easily took the Driver Of The Month award, beating of competition in all the races. As Bahrain was cancelled, the March and April awards have been combined; and unsurprisingly, the young German came out on top. In all three races, he has stuck his Red Bull on pole. For Australia and Malaysia, he eased to victory. And a second place in China ensured him the Driver Of The Month award. On the rankings side, his has added 220 points to his rankings in the first three races, and most importantly, Sebastian overtook Lewis Hamilton after the Australian Grand Prix to take first in the Rankings. Unfortunately, for the rest of the field, Sebastian's (and Red Bull's) charge does not seem to be ending soon, and who will bet against him next month.
Here is a list of the top five point gainers in March and April -
Pos - Driver - Points Gained
1 - Sebastian Vettel - +283
2 - Lewis Hamilton - +144
3 - Vitaly Petrov - +84
4 - Mark Webber - +78
5 - Paul Di Resta - +64
Here is a list of the top five point gainers in March and April -
Pos - Driver - Points Gained
1 - Sebastian Vettel - +283
2 - Lewis Hamilton - +144
3 - Vitaly Petrov - +84
4 - Mark Webber - +78
5 - Paul Di Resta - +64
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