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Brazilian Grand Prix Results

2009-10-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 71 Winner 2 10
2 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 71 +7.6 secs 8 8
3 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 71 +18.9 secs 17 6
4 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 71 +19.6 secs 15 5
5 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 71 +29.0 secs 14 4
6 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 +33.3 secs 5 3
7 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 71 +35.9 secs 6 2
8 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 71 +45.4 secs 1 1
9 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 71 +48.4 secs 16
10 10 Kamui Kobayashi Toyota 71 +63.3 secs 11
11 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Ferrari 71 +70.6 secs 19
12 21 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 71 +71.3 secs 20
13 8 Romain Grosjean Renault 70 +1 Lap 13
14 11 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 12
Ret 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 30 Accident 9
Ret 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 27 +44 Laps 7
Ret 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 21 +50 Laps 18
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 0 Accident 3
Ret 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0 Accident 4
Ret 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 0 Accident 10

Monaco Grand Prix Results With Details!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	78	Winner	1	10
2	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	78	+7.6 secs	3	8
3	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	78	+13.4 secs	2	6
4	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	78	+15.1 secs	5	5
5	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	78	+15.7 secs	8	4
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	78	+33.5 secs	6	3
7	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	78	+37.8 secs	9	2
8	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	78	+63.1 secs	14	1
9	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	78	+65.0 secs	13
10	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	77	+1 Lap	19
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	77	+1 Lap	16
12	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	77	+1 Lap	20
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	77	+1 Lap	18
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	77	+1 Lap	15
15	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	76	+2 Laps	10
Ret	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	51	+27 Laps	7
Ret	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	28	+50 Laps	17
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	15	+63 Laps	4
Ret	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	10	+68 Laps	12
Ret	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	10	+68 Laps	11

Monaco Grand Prix Winner!!!!!

2009-05-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the difficult race to drive and to overtake. And again Jenson Button is the Winner!!!!

It is becoming boring these days that Brawn GP has no competition at all this season. This is again a one two finish for Brawn GP with Rubens Barrichello finishing second.

Ferrari seem to have bounced back with Kimi and Felipe finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.

Overall an amazing race as always. Monaco Grand Prix always has some excitement with a great track along the side of water. Amazing corners and a great street circuit.

Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying Results

2009-05-24T07:06:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
2	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
3	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
8	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
9	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
11	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
12	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
13	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes
14	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
15	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
16	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
19	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
20	10	Timo Glock	Toyota

Monaco Saturday Practice

2009-05-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
2	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
3	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
6	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
7	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
8	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
10	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
11	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
12	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
13	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes
15	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
16	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
17	10	Timo Glock	Toyota
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
19	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
20	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota

Monaco Thursday Practice 2

2009-05-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
2	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
3	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
4	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
5	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
6	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
8	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
9	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
10	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
11	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
12	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
13	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
14	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
15	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
16	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
18	10	Timo Glock	Toyota
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes
20	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber

Monaco Thursday Practice 1

2009-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
2	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
3	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
4	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
5	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
6	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
8	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
9	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
10	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
11	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
12	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
13	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
14	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
15	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes
16	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
17	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
19	10	Timo Glock	Toyota
20	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota

Final Proposal to FIA

2009-05-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

F1 team bosses are handing FIA president Max Mosley their final proposal in a bid to resolve the row rocking the sport.

Confirming common ground had been reached amongst all 10 teams, it would appear to represent the last hope of any compromise between FOTA and motor sport's world governing body.

Ferrari Files Suit

2009-05-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ferrari have filed legal proceedings for an injunction of the 2010 regulations with the French court and their case will be heard next Tuesday. Max Mosley says that he doesn’t think there is a crisis but does suggest that when one party files suit, it makes it hard to negotiate with them.

Briatore: Brawn Is A Winner!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

Flavio Briatore has dismissed Renault’s chances of winning the F1 Championship this season, saying Brawn GP is unstoppable.

Briton Jenson Button holds a 14-point advantage over his team-mate Rubens Barrichello while the team is 29.5 points ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' championship. Renault, meanwhile, are 59 points adrift.

Briatore believes Brawn GP cannot be caught. He said in Formula One nearly everything is possible, but I believe it is very difficult another team can win the title.

Formula 1 In Rome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-16T18:01:00.000-07:00

A Formula One race could be staged in Rome by as early as 2012.

A preliminary document has been presented to Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno and he is hoping the sport will come to the Italian capital in the near future.

Last year saw Singapore and Valencia stage their first Formula One races.

To have a Formula One race in Rome was one of the dreams of Enzo Ferrari, founder of the motor sport giants.

The circuit is planned for Rome's financial district EUR and the length of the track would be 4.66 kilometres.

Italy has Monza in the annual Formula One calendar but the San Marino Grand Prix was excluded in 2006.

Hamilton feels He is a Prisoner

2009-05-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton claims he has become disillusioned with Formula One and compared the current political to wrongful imprisonment.

The 24-year-old has had a turbulent start to his career since his rookie season in 2007, and this year he has been embroiled in the "lie-gate" affair after being accused of misleading stewards following the Australian Grand Prix.

To compound Hamilton's woes, McLaren are off the pace this term, and the world champion was heavily critical of his car during the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona last weekend.

Hamilton, whose hopes of defending his world champion title this season are extremely slim, added: It hasn't affected my driving. I won't allow anything to affect my driving. But it affects your life, it affects the way you are.

Lola Entering Formula 1

2009-05-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

British race car makers Lola have announced they will be lodging an entry for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship after completing their evaluation of the technical regulations for cost-capped teams announced by the FIA last month.

Lola, who last participated in Formula One racing in the late 1990s.

Whilst several existing teams have objected to the fact that cost-capped entrants will be given more technical freedom, Lola believe it to be essential if new entrants are to have a chance of competing with their more experienced rivals.

Entries for the 2010 championship must be lodged between May 22 and 29. A list of the 13 successful teams will be published on June 12.

Mclaren Mercedes Away From Revolt!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

Mercedes Motorsport boss Norbert Haug is refusing to join his Formula One rivals in their stance against the FIA.

Renault yesterday joined Ferrari in threatening to withdraw from Formula One unless fundamental changes are made to the recently-announced regulations for next year.

Team boss Flavio Briatore and president Bernard Rey both denounced the FIA over their plans to introduce a £40million budget cap that would in turn result in a two-tier F1.

Yet whilst Ferrari, Toyota, Renault, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso - the latter two teams through owner Dietrich Mateschitz - have all voiced their opposition, Mercedes have so far remained silent.

The view is Mercedes do not want to be heard speaking against the FIA after the organisation took a lenient view on McLaren over the 'spy-gate' saga last month.

We will try to help to find a solution. All the teams are agreed that there cannot be two regulations in one series.

The FIA see their system as simple: you either choose not to accept the cap and race under the current regulations, or abide by the cap and enjoy a degree of technical freedom.

However, those cars would have a considerable performance advantage via greater engine and KERS power, as well as aerodynamic aids.

But it is Mosley's governance of the sport that has enraged so many, and the fact he unilaterally acted without consulting the teams, who also fear the way the cap would be policed.

Blaming Kimi!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen has blamed costly mistakes for his team's less than impressive start to the F1 season.

The Finn has not rediscovered his form like last season and his best finish this year has been sixth at Bahrain.

When you are winning it is always easy, you can always be safe with certain things. For sure we could have done many things better this year but we are learning from all the things and I am sure we can get back at that level.

We know what we need to do, and like I said at some point we will get it back and be where we want to be.

Raikkonen has plenty of work to do if he is to challenge for the world title - he currently sits a massive 38 points behind leader Jenson Button.

The Finn failed to finish in Barcelona but still managed to draw some positives from the performance of his Ferrari.

Apart from that it was a difficult weekend for us but hopefully we'll get some better races. We have not been very lucky with many things lately but at some point it will turn and we will be back.

Mclaren Can Turn the Corner

2009-05-14T05:21:00.001-07:00

Lewis Hamilton has declared that McLaren will unlock the hidden the potential that their MP4-24 car has for the rest of the season.

The McLaren car has not been able to match Brawn or even Red Bull in the first five races of the season.

Although Hamilton has admitted that the current car cannot win the title, he stressed that the team were working hard to make improvements.

He also said he thought the car was not fundamentally flawed, meaning that the team could yet unlock its potential.

While stressing that McLaren were not expecting a great deal from their car in Spain, Hamilton expressed his hope that the team could take a step forward once again in Monaco next week.

There is a great feeling of solidarity and optimism in the team at the moment, we'll never give up.

Renault Plans To Quit Too!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Renault have joined Ferrari by wanting to withdraw from F1 next season unless recently-adopted rules are revised.

The proposed £40million budget cap would introduce a two-tier F1, sparking outrage, with five teams now confirming their intention not to compete from next year.

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore said: "Our aim is to reduce costs while maintaining the high standards that make Formula One one of the most prestigious brands on the market.

We want to achieve this in a co-ordinated manner with the regulatory and commercial bodies, and we refuse to accept unilateral governance handed out by the FIA.

Renault, like Ferrari, have also voiced their disgust at what they see as the FIA's failure to discuss the rule changes with all the teams.

Renault also believes it is paramount that the governance of the sport is co-ordinated with a spirit of consultation with all parties (FIA, FOM, FOTA) in order to achieve a better balance between the costs and the revenues.

Friday's meeting between Mosley and the teams would now appear to represent a critical juncture for the future of Formula One.

Ferrari Quitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Ferrari have confirmed their intention to pull out of F1 from next season as the battle over the FIA's proposed new rules escalates.

We confirm our opposition to the new technical regulations adopted by the FIA and do not intend entering our cars in the 2010 F1 Championship
Ferrari are among several teams to have been angered by the FIA's plans to impose a £40million budget cap on teams from next year.
Ferrari are the only team to have contested every season of the world championship since the modern format was introduced in 1950.
The decision to threaten to pull out of the 2010 championship came at a meeting of the Ferrari board of directors in Maranello.

Ferrari believe the FIA's new regulations would lead to an unacceptable two-tiered F1 championship, which they consider would be "based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters".

If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari do not intend to enter our cars in the next Formula 1 World Championship.

Ross Brawn: Barrichello Has Fighting Spirit

2009-05-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

Ross Brawn believes Rubens Barrichello's bitterness following his latest defeat by team-mate Jenson Button is a healthy sign.

Barrichello was left surprised at the team's decision to switch Button from a three-stop strategy to two stops just a lap prior to his first trip into the pits whilst he remained unchanged.

The 36-year-old was clearly unhappy at missing out on a victory he felt should have been his after passing pole-sitter Button on the run down to the first corner.

Brawn, though, is delighted Barrichello is displaying the kind of fighting spirit he was unable to show during his years at Ferrari when he basically served as Michael Schumacher's stooge.

Rubens' unhappiness is natural, said Ross Brawn Brawn.

Despite the fact Button has now won four of this year's five grands prix to lead Barrichello by 14 points in the championship, Brawn is delighted with the job the veteran has done so far.

Ferrari Debating About F1 Future

2009-05-12T04:41:00.000-07:00

In what could be seen as an attempt to put pressure on Max Mosley, Ferrari have announced that their board of directors will meet on Tuesday to debate their continued participation in F1.

While the efforts to cut costs in the sport have been welcomed, the FIA's plan to give those adhering to the cap unlimited technical freedoms has been met with opposition by F1's manufacturer outfits who foresee it resulting in a two-tier Championship.

Ferrari and FIA President Mosley have already clashed over the cap with the Scuderia's president Luca di Montezemolo warning that F1 is not a never-ending story for the Italian outfit.

Mosley responded by saying that the sport could survive without Ferrari, prompting F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to join the fray, stating that F1 and Ferrari are a marriage made in heaven, one of those super things that work well.

Ferrari are not stupid, he repeated yesterday. They don't want to leave Formula One and we don't want to lose them, so we'll get to grips with it.

Rubens Barrichello Threatens Ross Brawn

2009-05-12T04:35:00.000-07:00

Brawn GP’s Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello, has threatened to quit Ross Brawn’s team if he finds out that the team is favoring his team-mate Jenson Button, winner of the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix thanks to a switch in the Brazilian’s pit stop strategy.

If I get the slightest sniff that the team are favoring Jenson, I’ll hang up my helmet tomorrow,” stated Barrichello

Ross asked me to drive for him and he knows that I want to compete fairly with Jenson

Team orders are a highly sensitive issue for Barrichello, who back in 2005 left Ferrari after being instructed not to compete against his team-mate Michael Schumacher.

BMW Back In Business!!!!

2009-05-12T01:45:00.000-07:00

BMW Sauber may have only scored two points in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, but team principal Mario Theissen is convinced that the team have made significant progress with the revised car they introduced in Barcelona.

We know one thing for definite: the modifications have improved the BMW Sauber F1.09,” he told the team’s website following Nick Heidfeld’s seventh-place finish.

Rather than introducing incremental changes at previous races, BMW Sauber chose to concentrate on a major upgrade package for Spain.

Our goal is to use both a modified KERS and a multi-level diffuser in Istanbul.

BMW Sauber lie sixth in the constructors’ table, level with Ferrari on six points.

Max Mosley's Son Found Dead!!!!!!!!

2009-05-12T01:36:00.000-07:00

A son of world auto racing boss Max Mosley has been found dead in his London home, police and the racing federation said Wednesday.

The body of 39-year-old Alexander Mosley was found in his west London apartment Tuesday afternoon.

This is very sad news and I really feel very bad for Mr. Mosley :(((

He died of a suspected drug overdose, a London police official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the force was not authorized to disclose details.

Max Mosley has been the president of the FIA, the international automobile federation which governs Formula One racing, since 1993.

Mosley called off plans to travel to this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Max Mosley and his wife, Jean, have another son, 37-year-old Patrick.

Is Brawn favoring Button!!!!!!!

2009-05-12T00:39:00.000-07:00

Much has been said since yesterday about Brawn GP changing Button to a 2-stop strategy, which eventually won him the race, and left his team mate, who had been leading for most of the first half of the race, in second.

Barrichello was visibly disappointed, when he was pipped to pole by not only Vettel, but his team mate Button, who he had been quicker than all weekend.

It was at the point when the strategy calls in Brawn GP became pivotal; Button was switched from the planned 3-stop strategy to a 2-stop, in fear that he would have been stuck behind Rosberg, who was fuelled long. Something which was proved, when Barrichello, came out on track less than a second ahead of the Williams.

So why didn’t Brawn GP switch Barrichello to a 2-stop?

Ross Brawn after the race stated a 3-stop strategy was a quicker option, and Barrichello’s times in the first half of the race go to prove that, however what ever happened to Barrichello in the second half of the race was his downfall, and whether it was just a case of Barrichello not pushing hard enough, or him having as issue with his car, it seems clear that the 3-stopper was a quicker strategy. Essentially they put Button on the slightly compromised strategy to make sure he was held up, potentially costing the team a 1-2

Ross also stated that the strategy used was essentially going to let Barrichello win, it just didn’t happen that way on track.

No Entry to two tier F1

2009-05-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

Following Toyota Motorsport president John Howett’s comments from the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend about not wanting to participate in a two-tier Formula One, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has also added his concerns to the growing number of outfits.

As discussed in the previous post regarding Toyota, the teams are not happy with the current budget cap proposals, intending to limit teams who volunteer to the scheme to £40m per season.

Also concerning the manufacturers and Mateschitz’s two teams, Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso, are the way the FIA have introduced this rule and intend to introduce others in the future. Currently, if the teams agree unanimously, a rule change can be dropped, adjusted or implemented.

While at times relations between the two bodies have appeared constructive and cooperative, this latest controversy has the potential to escalate very easily. However, FOTA Chairman Luca di Montezemolo is expected to meet with Max Mosley prior to the Monaco Grand Prix in a fortnight to discuss the concerns of the teams.

Long Term Deal For Sebastien Vettel

2009-05-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

Red Bull is keen to secure the services of Sebastian Vettel for a long time, team boss Christian Horner has admitted.

The Austrian squad's contract with the 21-year-old German, the only driver apart from Jenson Button to have won a race this year, runs out at the end of 2010.

Alonso says they were lucky

2009-05-12T00:11:00.000-07:00

Fernando Alonso realizes that luck can play a part of any F1 race but he is also keen enough to hunt for that luck. As was the situation in Today’s Spanish Grand Prix. Felipe Massa a serious lack of fuel that left him limping home on fumes and Fernando capitalized on that slow pace to reach and pass Massa for a coveted 5th place for Renault.

Alonso said, We were a bit lucky, and the car was good during the whole race so we could.

In the end we saw that we weren’t so light. he Brawns stopped ahead of us and the Toyotas too, so the strategy worked well.

He said, I only had a problem, which was a puncture. I was scheduled to stop on lap 45 but had to stop on lap 41, but I managed to stay ahead of Rosberg and nothing changed much.

MArtin Whitmarsh is Grateful to Lewis Hamilton

2009-05-12T00:00:00.000-07:00

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has again been left thanking his lucky stars he has Lewis Hamilton on his side.

Hamilton may have finished a lap down on race winner Jenson Button, but that was harsh on the world champion as his efforts in a woeful McLaren went unnoticed.

No wonder Whitmarsh was effusive in his praise for the 24-year-old who has been left frustrated by his team's failure to give him a car with which to defend his title.

Whitmarsh is confident that at Monaco in 13 days' time, McLaren and Hamilton will prove the race in Barcelona was a blip on an upward curve following a disastrous start to the year.

It's a circuit that will suit us and we've great drivers - Lewis is mega there - so we just have to make sure we keep pushing and developing the car.

Racism in Formula One

2009-05-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

F1 is dogged by racism again after a fan with a blacked-up face in imitation of Lewis Hamilton.

The pictures show a man with a blacked-up face, arms and hands, wearing a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes t-shirt and holding a Formula One style steering wheel.

An FIA spokesperson said: We are aware of it and we are looking into it.
Speaking about the incident, 13-times Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, now working for the BBC, said it was not a good thing to see.

Former team boss Eddie Jordan added it was totally and absolutely unacceptable.

The incident 15 months ago - when a group of people with their faces painted black, wearing curly wigs and t-shirts adorned with the words Hamilton's family, caused outrage - prompted the FIA to launch an anti-racism initiative, EveryRace.

Circuit bosses in Barcelona were warned they risked losing their place on the calendar should there be a repeat.

Raikkonen: Silly Mistake!!!!

2009-05-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen shouldered the majority of the blame for a silly mistake in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. He foolishy chose to rest in the pit lane after he set a time in the initial 20 minutes of the qualifying at the spanish grand prix.

But as Raikkonen sat in the garage after only completing five laps, his name slowly slipped down the timing screens until settling at 16, his worst grid slot since last year's Australian Grand Prix.

Explaining himself, the 2007 world champion who ended Ferrari's points drought with sixth in Bahrain a fortnight ago, said: I thought we were going to get through.

It was a silly mistake because the car was much better here than before. But that's how it goes.

The media can blame me if they want, I don't mind, added the 29-year-old in preparation for the criticism likely to come his way.

Lewis Admits He cant win until Silverstone!!!

2009-05-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton does not believe he will win a race until he races in Silverstone in front of his home crowd.

It is a startling admission from the world champion. The British Grand Prix on June 21 is the eighth of the 17 rounds of this season's championship, by which time the gap to whoever leads the way could be too difficult to bridge.
He said for Moaco, we've a better upgrade coming, and hopefully that will make a bigger difference than we've seen here.

Asked if it would be the end of his championship chances, Hamilton added: It's difficult to say.

Spansih Grand Prix Results!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-10T07:08:00.001-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	66	Winner	1	10
2	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	66	+13.0 secs	3	8
3	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	66	+13.9 secs	5	6
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	66	+18.9 secs	2	5
5	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	66	+43.1 secs	8	4
6	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	66	+50.8 secs	4	3
7	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	66	+52.3 secs	13	2
8	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	66	+65.2 secs	9	1
9	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	14
10	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	65	+1 Lap	6
11	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	65	+1 Lap	10
12	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	65	+1 Lap	12
13	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	65	+1 Lap	11
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	20
Ret	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	17	+49 Laps	16
Ret	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	7	Gearbox	18
Ret	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	0	Accident	7
Ret	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	0	Accident	15
Ret	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	0	Accident	17
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	0	Accident	19

Spanish Grand Prix Results : Winner Jenson Button

2009-05-10T06:45:00.000-07:00

The Spanish Grand Prix was the first race European Race of the Formula 1 2009 Season. And what an end to the race.

The race Winner is Jenson Button. Second place goes to Mark Webber and 3rd place to Rubens Barrichello!!!!!!!!!!!

Fourth is Sebastien Vettel with Fernanando Alonso on 5th.

The race started with a great accident at turn 2. The accident started with Trulli spinning out of the track and coming inside the track again and Adrian Sutil banged into him. The 2 Torro Rossos also banged into them and all the four of them went out of the race at turn two.

This brought the safety car out and the drivers had to do some laps behind the safety lap because the marshals had to clear the debris on the track

Rubens Barrichello was leading the race from Jenson Button and Mssa was on 3rd position. But it all changed after the first pitstop.

Bad days for Mclaren Mercedes continued with Lew Hamilton falling at the back of the pack at turn 2 mishap and Heikki had a gear box issue and slowed down at the long straight and finally retired into the pits.

Kimi Raikkonen was running a good race but he had problems with his KERS at the start of the race or maybe during qualifying. But he too retired due hydraulics problem.

So it was on Massa to finish into points and he was looking strong.

Rubens Barrichello was on a 3 stop strategy and it was a strange one, because all the drivers were on a 2 stop strategy. But Rubens did some great laps and that brought him ahead of Felipe Massa into 3rd place.

Mark Webber who was driving his own race all this while took the second place after the last round of pitstops. A very clever move by the Red Bull team.

Sebastien Vettel had a hard day because he was chasing the Ferrari of Felipe Massa for the whole race distance and he was down on 5th place.

But it all changed at the final 4 laps of the race. The Ferrari engineers told Massa to conserve fuel because they had less fuel in his car and were not sure if Massa could end the race.

Felipe Massa was driving a very conservative race and this Vettel and advantage to push Massa.

And finally Ferrai told Massa to let Vettel pass him because they thought Alonso was 16 seconds behind Massa and Ferrari can finish in 5th place.

But Fernando Alonso knew the problems of Ferrari and he kpt on pushing and took nearly 4.6 seconds every lap and brought the gap down to Felipe Massa. He came very clsoe to Massa and overtook him from the outside on the fnal lap of the race. Felipe Massa could not do anything about it.

The Spanish Fans were very excited seeing this move and were cheering Alosno as if he has won the race.

So an amazing race and a great start to the European Season of the Formula One 2009 Season.

Full Race Results of the Spanish Grand Prix will follow soon..........

Button the Winner At the Spanish Grand Prix!!!!!!!!

2009-05-10T06:32:00.000-07:00

Jenson Button does it again. He has won the Spanish Grand Prix. Rubens Barrichello takes the 2nd position and Mark Webber takes the 3rd position.

So again a 1-2 finish for the Brawn GP Team. What an amazing race. It was really a topsy turvy race.

Live Race Stats of the Spanish Grand Prix!!!!!

2009-05-10T06:14:00.002-07:00

The race is below 10 laps now and Jenson Button has a comfortable gap. His team mate Rubens Barrichello is on 2nd place with a fantastic 3 stop strategy. But Mark Webber is closing on Barrichello and can give him a tough fight for the second position. Felipe Massa is on 4th position and I just heard the Ferrari team radio asking Massa to conserve fuel. Vettel is hustling Massa for the 4th position. Alosno the home hero is comfortable sitting on 6th position.

Lewis Hamilton another bad day for Mclaren Mercedes is on 10th position.

Spanish Grand Prix Live Race Stats

2009-05-10T06:14:00.001-07:00

The 5h Round of the Formula 1 2009 Season is taking place at Spain at the Circuit De Catalunya.
The race is still going on. Jenson Button is leading the race. Felipe Massa is currently second with Vettel following him at 3rd place. Rubens Barrichello is on 3 stop strategy and is currently on 4th position. It seems Brawn GP is going to win the race. And finally we are going to see a Ferrari driver on podium this year after a disastrous first four races.

Fernando Alsonso is the home hero and currently on 7th position and there was a small fight with Hamilton when Alonso came out of the pit lane.

Spanish Grand Prix Fuel Weights

2009-05-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

Name	Weight	Fuel (kg)
Jenson Button	646	41
Sebastian Vettel	651.5	46.5
Rubens Barrichello	649.5	44.5
Felipe Massa	655	50
Mark Webber	651.5	46.5
Timo Glock	646.5	41.5
Jarno Trulli	655.5	50.5
Fernando Alonso	645	40
Nico Rosberg	668	63
Robert Kubica	660	55
Kazuki Nakajima	676.6	71.6
Nelson Piquet Jnr	677.4	72.4
Nick Heidfeld	676.3	71.3
Lewis Hamilton	683	78
Sebastien Buemi	678	73
Kimi Raikkonen	673	68
Sebastien Bourdais	669	64
Heikki Kovalainen	657	52
Adrian Sutil	675	70
Giancarlo Fisichella	656	51

2010 FIA Rules

2009-05-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

A lot of mixing and matching approach has been used by the FIA to come up with the 2010 formula one rules. One of the most biting issues, the budget caps has been confirmed by the FIA but with a twist.

Refuelling is again banned in formula one, last time it was so in the 1993 season after which to break the supremacy of the Williams F1 team, refuelling was introduced.

In the 2010 formula one season, teams shall be allowed to refuel their cars after the third qualifying. Also Tyre Warmers will be banned.

The FIA has increased the list of cars on the grid to 26, which translates to 13 teams. Probably Prodrive and USGP will launch their respective teams in the 2010 season. Bernie Ecclestone had told BBC Radio that he has a lot of people confirmed for next season.

The minimum weight for formula one cars will now be 620 kg from the 2010 Formula One season.

Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
2	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
3	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
4	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
5	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
6	10	Timo Glock	Toyota
7	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
10	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
11	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
12	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault
13	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
14	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
15	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
16	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
17	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari
18	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
20	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes

Jenson Button Another Pole Position

2009-05-09T06:07:00.000-07:00

The 5th round of the Formula One 2009 Season is held at the Circuit De Catalunya in Spain. The Qualifying Session for Spanish Grand Prix just ended and its again Jenson Button who sits on Pole Position!!!!!!!!!! Brawn GP Has Done It Again!!!!!!

Felipe Massa was leading the Q1 session with Barrichello leading in the Q2 session. But in the Q3 session it looked like Vettel would take the pole, but Jenson Button did a flying qualifying lap and took the pole.

Ross Brawn has some magical power I guess because he manages his drivers to take pole positions and has some great pit strategies for the race.

Jenson Button just made to start his final qualifying lap, because as he crossed the line the flags turned red and that marks the end of the Qualifying Session. So Jenson Button was lucky to make before the Qualifying ended and got a pole position!!!!!!!!!

Way To Go Jenson Button and Brawn GP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will be uploading the full results for the Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Soon!!!!

Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Q3 Results!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-09T05:44:00.001-07:00

The Q3 Session has just ended and what an amazing Qualifying session it was. It looked as if Barrchello would be on pole, but Vettel did and outstanding lap and got the pole position. But in the final moments Button from nowhere took the pole and is leading the Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying.

The top 5 for the Q3 and the final Qualifying Session are Button, Vettel, Barrichello, Massa and Webber.

Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Q2 Results!!!!

2009-05-09T05:44:00.000-07:00

Te Q2 Session has just come to an end and the Ferrari dominance seem to slip down a little bit. Rubens Barrichello heads the time sheets for Q2. It was Felipe Massa who was leading in Q1 but now its again the Brawn GP.

The bad times for Mclaren Mercedes still continue with Lewis Hamilton not making through the Q3 and he is down to 14 on the grid. His team mate Heikki did not go through to Q2 and is at the very back of the grid.

The top 5 for Q2 are Barrichello, Glock, Webber, Massa and button.

The Q3 session has just begun and will update the results soon. I personally feel it will be Barrichello who will take the pole in the Spanish Grand Prix!!!!!!

Spanish Qualifying Q1 Results.

2009-05-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

The Spanish Grand Prix is the first race in the European leg of the Formula 1 2009 Season.
The Q1 Session just got over and to a surprise Ferrari is back on top with Felipe Massa leading the time sheets. But on the other hand Kimi Raikkonen did not make into Q2 which is very strange. Mclaren Mercedes are still struggling with Hamilton on 10th in Q1 and Heikki not making through Q2. Fernando Alonso the Home Hero was not in a position to make through Q2 but finally he made the cut and is in Q2 now.

The top 5 are Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Sebastien Vettel and Nico Rosberg.

The Q2 results will be uploaded soon.

Spanish Grand Prix Saturday Practice Results!!!

2009-05-09T04:07:00.000-07:00

Pos	Driver
1	Felipe Massa
2	Kimi Räikkönen
3	Jenson Button
4	Rubens Barrichello
5	Robert Kubica
6	Jarno Trulli
7	Lewis Hamilton
8	Timo Glock
9	Sebastien Buemi
10	Fernando Alonso
11	Heikki Kovalainen
12	Nico Rosberg
13	Mark Webber
14	Sebastien Bourdais
15	Nelsinho Piquet
16	Sebastian Vettel
17	Giancarlo Fisichella
18	Kazuki Nakajima
19	Adrian Sutil
20	Nick Heidfeld

Spanish Grand Prix Friday Practice 2 Results

2009-05-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

Pos No Driver Team
1 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota
2 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota
3 7 Fernando Alonso Renault
4 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes
5 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault
6 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
7 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault
8 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault
9 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
10 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
11 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari
12 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes
13 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
14 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
15 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari
16 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
17 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber
18 10 Timo Glock Toyota
19 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota
20 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes

Spanish Grand Prix Friday Practice 1 Results

2009-05-08T11:56:00.001-07:00

Pos No Driver Team
1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
2 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota
3 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
4 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber
5 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota
6 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota
7 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault
8 10 Timo Glock Toyota
9 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari
10 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes
11 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
12 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault
13 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault
14 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
15 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari
16 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes
17 7 Fernando Alonso Renault
18 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
19 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
20 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes

Drivers Not Happy with Mosley's Remarks

2009-05-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Nick Heidfeld has reminded the FIA of their obligation to the fans following president Max Mosley's shock attack on Ferrari.

BMW Sauber's Heidfeld was the most pointed, referencing the fact the FIA had only recently conducted a worldwide survey of a broad cross-section of the public as to how F1 could be more attractive.

It was a bit strange hearing that.
I thought people were looking and listening to the fans worldwide, and Ferrari is obviously the biggest name in F1 with many fans.

World champion Lewis Hamilton admitted he "couldn't imagine it", whilst two-time champion Fernando Alonso added: "No, impossible."

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, currently with Force India, pointed out that "Without Ferrari, I don't think it would be Formula One any more".

As for one of Ferrari's current stars, Felipe Massa, he admits to being thoroughly dismayed by the politics that surround the sport.

Alosno Speaks For Hamilton

2009-05-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton has received advice from an unlikely source as he looks to repair the damage by the 'lie-gate' scandal.

At a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, McLaren were handed a suspended three-race ban which would only be enforced should they err again or further evidence into the case be discovered.

We had good competition that helped each other to find our limits, and I can say I miss that competition in a way because it was fun to push and find new limits for ourselves," remarked the Renault driver.

The problems I had there (at McLaren) were with the big bosses and the philosophy of the team, which is why I decided to move on from that period of my career.

He fought for the world championship in his first season in Formula One, and won it in the second season.

Spain Weather Update

2009-05-07T23:11:00.001-07:00

This is the start of the European leg of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race will be held at Circuit de Catalunya. This is the Round 5 for the Formula 2009 Season.

The weather will be again feature partial cloud and an ambient temperature of 18 degrees Celsius on Friday, dropping to 17 on Saturday and rising to 18 again for race day. Some forecasts suggest there could be showers in the region on Sunday.

The 4.655-kilometre circuit has an asphalt run-off area now in Turn Three, and modified kerbs in Turns Five, 11 and 15.

The race will run over 66 laps or 307.104 kilometres (190.825 miles) as usual, and will start at 1400 hours local time, which is two hours ahead of GMT.

Spanish Grand Prix Preview Quotes

2009-05-07T01:05:00.000-07:00

Although most teams tested in Barcelona during the season build-up, after four flyaway races nobody quite knows where their cars will now stand compared to their rivals as they head back to Europe and the Circuit de Catalunya.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
2008 Qualifying - 1st, 2008 Race - 1st

“It’s a bit more than a year ago that I won my last Formula One race. At Barcelona in 2008 I had my best weekend with Ferrari: pole position, victory and fastest race lap.

Aerodynamic efficiency is crucial at the Circuit de Catalunya for a good lap time. It’s a very demanding track from a technical point of view and you need a good car to be competitive.

Adrian Sutil, Force India
2008 Qualifying - 20th, 2008 Race - DNF

Barcelona is a track we all know really well from the laps we do over the winter. This year I did nearly 1,000km there! This means you can go to the circuit with a set-up that's pretty much ready to go.

Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India
2008 Qualifying - 19th, 2008 Race - 10th

I enjoy going to Barcelona as it's good to get back to Europe, with the tracks we know very well. I also posted two fastest race laps there in 1997 and 2005, so I feel comfortable on the circuit. Barcelona is itself a nice track.

Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal

I was very pleased to see the clear improvement we demonstrated in Bahrain as a result of the new diffuser and aero upgrades. To get both cars fitted with the modified floor in such a short time was a major undertaking, particularly from a team with such a limited workforce and budget as Force India.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

track surface that is the middle range in terms of abrasion and roughness but durability and driver requirements mean our harder allocation combination is used. The front left tyre has a lot of work to do at this circuit and equally, teams and drivers will have a big challenge trying to gain an advantage here as they know this track so well.

Fernando Alonso, Renault
2008 Qualifying - 2nd, 2008 Race - DNF

It's always very special to race in Spain and I'm lucky to have two races at home this year in Barcelona and Valencia. Seeing the support of the fans always gives me a boost and I just hope that I can make them happy and have a strong weekend.

Nelson Piquet, Renault
2008 Qualifying - 10th, 2008 Race - DNF

The circuit that I know the best, but it's not one of my favourites because it's not especially challenging for the drivers. It's all about having a good aero package and a well balanced car to cope with the high-speed corners. It's therefore difficult to overtake.

Pat Symonds, Renault Executive Director of Engineering

The whole team is still pushing hard with development and the diffuser and floor that we brought to China was very much a first attempt and over the course of the year we will see several more versions, the first of which we hope to have in Barcelona.

Jenson Button, Brawn GP
2008 Qualifying - 13th, 2008 Race - 6th

Although the team only completed four days of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in March this year, I know the track inside out and it feels very familiar to be heading back there for the start of the European season this weekend. You need to have a car with good downforce for a really quick lap there and we are fortunate that our car behaves so predictably which enables you to feel completely confident when committing to high speed corners.

Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP
2008 Qualifying - 11th, 2008 Race - DNF

The Circuit de Catalunya feels like a home circuit for the drivers with so much of our pre-season testing taking place here over the winter. Although the track has lost some of the high speed challenge that it once had, it is still an interesting and physical lap to drive.

Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal

The short break which we have enjoyed since returning from Bahrain has enabled the whole team to regroup at our factory in Brackley and spend a little time reflecting upon our first four races. Jenson, Rubens and the team delivered a first class job to win the Bahrain Grand Prix which is the level of performance that we must sustain if we are to seriously challenge for the championships this year.

Jarno Trulli, Toyota
2008 Qualifying - 8th, 2008 Race - 8th

It's good to be coming back to Europe again after the long-haul races as this makes things a little easier for everyone. The opening races of the season have shown the potential we have in our new car; to get pole position and the fastest race lap in Bahrain was a good achievement which gives us great encouragement.

Timo Glock, Toyota
2008 Qualifying - 14th, 2008 Race - 11th

Barcelona is one of the tracks I know best after all the testing and racing I've done there over the years and I'm feeling optimistic going into the Spanish Grand Prix. I have scored points in all the races so far - only two other drivers have done that - and I certainly expect to continue that run this weekend. But I hope to score a few more than in Bahrain; it was disappointing only to finish seventh after starting from the front row however the potential of the car is clear for everyone to see.

John Howett, Toyota team President

We have made a successful start to our season but there is no doubt we want more; we feel we are close to our first victory and this is our clear target for the remainder of the year.

Kazuki Nakajima, Williams
2008 Qualifying - 12th, 2008 Race - 7th

It’s been a tough start to the season for me. I’ve had three DNFs out of four races and I don’t want anymore. I’m going to put them behind me now though and concentrate on the work ahead. There’s still 12 more races to go and I’m determined to get some good results for myself and for the team.

I didn’t have the new parts on my car in Bahrain so I’m looking forward to trying those out in Spain and to see how the other new bits go.

Nico Rosberg, Williams
2008 Qualifying - 15th, 2008 Race - DNF

It’s been a bit of a frustrating start to the season. We should be going into Europe with more than 3.5 points from the first four races.

As we spend quite a lot of time testing at Barcelona, it’s a circuit we all know well. Last year was going really well for me and I was looking good for sixth place, but then a technical problem put me out of the race.

Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 4th, 2008 Race - 4th

I am looking forward to the race in Barcelona. After a block of four overseas races Formula One comes back to Europe, which I am happy about. As all Formula One teams have tested in Barcelona, I expect the pack to be very close together - even closer than up to now. We will bring a new aero package and we hope to improve significantly compared to our recent performance.

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 9th, 2008 Race - 9th

We know the Barcelona track like the back of our hands, as we used to test here a lot. I've been to the circuit so many times. As recently as last year we had 16 days of testing in Barcelona. This year we had four days in March, two for each driver, and there will not be any more. Barcelona is a tricky track to drive because it presents a variety of challenges and the circuit is very sensitive to changes in temperature.

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director

The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona signals the start of the European season after four races overseas. Traditionally this represents something of a second start to the season.
ve way and are working intensively in Munich and Hinwil to get back to our old form. We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive aerodynamics-focused development package.

Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering

Although the teams know the Barcelona track extremely well from all the testing they've done there in the past, this circuit frequently presents a new challenge. The problem is the track conditions can change very quickly here and the wind has a big impact on the cars' handling through corners.
We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive development package for the F1.09.

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 5th, 2008 Race - 3rd

The schedule for the first four races was very tough for everyone, so going back to Europe almost feels like a fresh start. After such a positive performance in Bahrain, we're fully aware that the characteristics of the Barcelona track won't suit our car so well.

The engineers are optimistic that our new diffuser and front wing will once again help us to make progress towards the front of the grid.

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 6th, 2008 Race - DNF

Going back to the scene of last year's accident doesn't change anything for me: I really enjoy this track - I had a great race to fifth here in 2007 and I love the high-speed corners, where you've got to push hard to get the maximum from the car. It's also a circuit where you need to find the perfect balance to look after the tyres.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal

Our decision to introduce performance updates at each race rather than concentrate all our developments into a single upgrade package has helped us score some reasonable points in the opening flyaway races.
And while the high-downforce nature of the Circuit de Catalunya may show up some of MP4-24's shortcomings, everyone within the team remains confident and motivated that we can sustain the momentum we have gathered to push and close the gap to the front this weekend.

Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President

The first four flyaway races within only five weeks have been turbulent and downright demanding for everyone in Formula One, and particularly for us. The field has moved closer together than ever before in Formula One history.

Our team is working extremely hard to achieve more significant improvements in aerodynamics and particularly in downforce, but to do so we still need more time.

Chocolate-Fueled Race Car!

2009-05-07T00:10:00.000-07:00

Scientists unveiled on Tuesday what they hope will be one of the world's fastest biofuel vehicles, powered by waste from chocolate factories and made partly from plant fibers.

Its makers hope the racer will go 145 mph and give manufacturers ideas about how to build more ecologically friendly vehicles.

The car runs on vegetable oils and chocolate waste that has been turned into biofuel. The steering wheel is made out of plant-based fibers derived from carrots and other root vegetables, and the seat is built of flax fibre and soybean oil foam. The body is also made of plant fibers.

The car, named the "WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car," will go on display at several races including the European Grand Prix and Britain's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

No KERS for BMW in Spain

2009-05-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld's BMW-Sauber cars will not be equipped with KERS in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Heidfeld used KERS during the first four races of the season.

Kubica's car was equipped with the system during the Malaysian Grand Prix.

BMW is planning to introduce an extensive aerodynamics-focused development package in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Force India Plan New Diffuser

2009-05-04T23:38:00.000-07:00

Force India are to introduce an improved version of the interim diffuser. Team chairman Vijay Mallya also said that some further aero upgrades will also be introduced in the Spanish Grand Prix.

They had introduced a new interim diffuser in Bahrain Grand Prix and it showed some improvement on both Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil.

Force India will also bring some new aero upgrades for the Spnish Grand Prix in May.

Vijay Mallya said that their team is a smaller team and have limited resources but still he thinks the guys in his team are highly motivated and focused on their job.

Hope they earn a championship point this Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Mosely says F1 Can Survive Without Ferrari!!!!

2009-05-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Max Mosley has claimed that Formula One could survive the loss of the Ferrari team if necessary. This comment was in response to the criticism from Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo labelled the £40m budget cap for teams from 2010 as unfair.

Mosley said that Ferrari should abide the rules or leave the sport.

FIA's Decision

2009-05-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has released full details of Wednesday’s World Motor Sport Council decision.

World Motor Sport Council - Decision

The World Motor Sport Council (“WMSC”) met on 29th April 2009 to consider a charge that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (“McLaren”), a competitor in the FIA Formula One World Championship, had breached Article 151(c) of the International Sporting Code (“ISC”), which prohibits "any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally".

1 Background

1.1 During the closing laps of the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, an incident occurred which required that the safety car be deployed. At the time of deployment, driver No. 1 Lewis Hamilton (for McLaren) was placed fourth and driver No. 9 Jarno Trulli (for Panasonic Toyota Racing (“Toyota”)) was placed third.

1.2 While running behind the safety car, Trulli left the track and Hamilton passed to take third place.

1.3 Article 40.7 of the 2009 Formula One Sporting Regulations sets out the rules governing overtaking while running behind the safety car. Article 40.7 reads, in relevant part, as follows: “All competing cars must […] reduce speed and form up in line behind the safety car.

1.4 In light of Article 40.7 and the fact that Hamilton and Trulli had passed each other while running behind the safety car, the matter was referred to the Stewards of the Meeting (“Stewards”) by the FIA Race Director.

1.5 At the 29th March Hearing, the Stewards and the Race Director asked questions regarding Trulli’s passing of Hamilton. Trulli stated that Hamilton had moved off the racing line to the right of the track and had begun to travel very slowly.

1.6 Hamilton was asked by the Stewards why he had moved off his line and whether there was a problem with his car. He informed the Stewards that there were no problems with his car and that he had drifted right because he was checking his lap time and was concerned that his tyres were cold.

1.7 The Stewards considered the evidence, including the McLaren representatives’ statements, and issued a decision, penalising Trulli for overtaking while behind the safety car in breach of Article 40.7 and imposing a drive-through penalty.

1.8 From the release of the aforementioned decision until the reconvening of the Stewards in Malaysia on 2nd April 2009, no McLaren representative contacted the FIA, its Race Director or the Stewards in relation to that decision.

1.9 Late on Sunday evening, after the official result had been published, it came to the attention of the Chairman of the Stewards and the FIA Race Director that there existed a press interview given by Hamilton in which he stated that he had been told by McLaren to let Trulli pass.

1.10 Hamilton responded: “OK.”

1.11 Having listened to the press interview and the pit-to-car radio exchanges, the Stewards reconvened on Thursday 2nd April 2009 in Malaysia (“2nd April Hearing”) where Hamilton and Trulli and their respective team managers were interviewed again.

1.12 Hamilton and his Team Manager were played recordings of the press interview and the pit-to-car radio exchanges evidencing that Hamilton had been instructed to let Trulli pass and had done so.

1.13 The Stewards found McLaren’s explanations inadequate and concluded that – at the 29th March Hearing – there had been a deliberate and successful attempt to mislead the Stewards.

1.14 The Stewards therefore issued new decisions – Decisions Nos. 76 and 77 – respectively excluding Hamilton and McLaren from the race classification for the Australian Grand Prix and reinstating Trulli and Toyota in third place.

1.15 In comments to the press immediately after the release of Decisions Nos. 76 and 77, the McLaren Team Principal stated that McLaren stood by the representations made to the Stewards by Hamilton and his Team Manager.

1.16 Hamilton held a press conference on 3rd April 2009 at the Malaysia Grand Prix. In that press conference, Hamilton reversed the position he had taken at the 29th March Hearing and the 2nd April Hearing, apologised to the Stewards, the FIA and the public for having provided misleading information to the Stewards.

1.17 The FIA Observer presented to the FIA President on 7th April 2009 a report titled: “Report of the Hamilton/Trulli incident during the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix and subsequent issues” (“FIA Observer’s Report”), outlining the above facts.

1.18 In response, the FIA decided to summon McLaren before the WMSC to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151(c) ISC, it:

(a) on 29th March 2009, told the Stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to pass.

(b) procured its driver Hamilton, the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the Stewards;

c) although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the Stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised.

d) on 2nd April 2009, before the Stewards of the Australian Grand Prix (meeting in Malaysia), made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29th March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true.

(e) on 2nd April 2009, before the Stewards, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the Stewards.

1.19 In its written response to these charges, McLaren accepted that, both at and between the 29th March Hearing and the 2nd April Hearing, McLaren had acted in breach of Article 151(c) ISC.

1.20 At the WMSC meeting on 29th April 2009, the McLaren Team Principal again admitted that McLaren had been in breach of Article 151(c) ISC and offered representations for the purposes of mitigation.

2 WMSC’s Assessment

2.1 The WMSC has carefully considered the FIA Observer’s Report, McLaren’s written submissions of 14th April 2009 and its representations in mitigation at the WMSC meeting on 29th April 2009.

2.2 Under Article 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the WMSC: “may, upon the proposal and report of the FIA observer.

2.3 The WMSC considers that McLaren’s course of conduct as set out in section 1 of this Decision amounted to a serious breach of Article 151(c). By making deliberately misleading representations to the Stewards.

2.4 In addition, by its course of conduct, McLaren has brought the sport into disrepute.

2.5 In light of the foregoing, the WMSC considers that pursuant to Article 151(c) and 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the Stewards’ Decision No. 76, which excluded Hamilton and McLaren from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.

2.6 In short, the WMSC considers that the penalty must be of a magnitude that reflects accurately the severity of the offence and effectively deters McLaren.

2.7 In determining the sanction to be imposed on McLaren, the WMSC considered a number of factors presented by McLaren in mitigation.

These factors (together, “Mitigating Factors”) included the following:

(a) that the McLaren Team Principal admitted all material facts, including the making of deliberately misleading statements to the Stewards.

(b) that the McLaren Team Principal accepted in written submissions that McLaren’s course of conduct in the matter had been unacceptable and offered an unreserved apology both personally, and on behalf of McLaren, to all affected parties.

c) that the McLaren Team Principal has assured members of the WMSC that there has been a change in culture within McLaren.

(d) that, on realising his mistakes, Hamilton held a press conference at which he apologised for his actions.

(e) that McLaren promptly suspended, and subsequently terminated the employment of, its Team Manager.

2.8 However, in addition to considering the existence of Mitigating Factors, the WMSC also considered whether there were aggravating factors suggesting that the level of any penalty should be increased.

2.9 Recidivism is a strong indicator that the sanction previously imposed was not sufficiently deterrent and recidivism is thus a circumstance which may justify an increase in the severity of the penalty which might otherwise be imposed.

3 Decision

3.1 The WMSC finds Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in breach of Article 151(c) ISC in relation to each of the five counts identified in the FIA’s summons to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

3.2 Pursuant to Article 151(c) ISC and 152 ISC, seventh paragraph, the WMSC therefore replaces the sanction imposed by Decision No. 76 of the Stewards with the following:

(a)the exclusion of the driver Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.

(b) the suspension of the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes from three rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

3.3 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is reminded of its right of appeal. In the event that an appeal is lodged with the FIA International Court of Appeal.

Dave Richards Planning a Come Back!!!

2009-05-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

Dave Richards is holding fire on confirming his entry into Formula One for next year.

The chairman of Aston Martin and Prodrive last week announced the possibility of a return to the sport having previously been team principal with BAR.

Thursday's increase in the budget cap by £10million to £40million has far from dissuaded Richards that competing in F1 is viable.

Richards said, the new regulations announced by the FIA are very much in line with what we were expecting.

Remembering Senna

2009-05-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Friday marks the 15th anniversary of the death of one of Formula One racing's greats, Ayrton Senna. He passed away in a racing crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994. This left millions of fans around the world mourning. It was a great shock for everyone who loves Formula 1. Ayrton Senna was a driver of such high caliber in Formula 1.

A film based on Ayrton Senna's life will start its shooting later this month. Hi Vital stats in Formula 1:

World Championships	3
Grand Prix Starts	162
Grand Prix Wins	41
Pole Positions	65
Nationality	Brazilian

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born on March 21, 1960, into a wealthy Brazilian family. At 13 he raced a kart for the first time and immediately won. Eight years later he went single-seater racing in Britain. He won 5 championships in 3 years there. He made his debut in Formula 1 with Toleman in 1984.

Ayrton Senna moved to Lotus in in 1985 from Toleman. In 3 seasons he started from 16 pole positions. He also won 6 races.

Then Senna decided to joing Mclaren in 1988. He stayed with Mclaren for 6 seasons. He won 3 World Championships and 35 Races. In 1988, when McLaren-Honda won 15 of the 16 races.

He then moved to Williams for the ill-fated 1994 season.

On May 1, 1994 in the San Marino, his race-leading Williams inexplicably speared off the Imola track and hit the concrete wall at Tamburello corner. This was a shocking moment to all the Formula 1 Fans around the world who watched this incident on television :(

Ayrton Senna was the Greatest Driver in the History of Formula 1.

Formula 1 Expanding!!!!

2009-04-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

from next season Formula One is to become a 26-car championship. A £40million budget cap has been imposed.

Following Wednesday's meeting of the World Motor Sports Council in Paris, it was agreed the maximum number of cars permitted to enter would be increased to 26, two for each team.

After announcing a £30million cap in mid-March, the WMSC has now increased that figure by a further £10million.

The £40million figure will cover all team expenditure except:

* Marketing and hospitality

* Remuneration for test or race drivers, including any young driver programmes

* Fines or penalties imposed by the FIA

* Engine costs (for 2010 only, and specifically designed to retain the current manufacturers within the sport).

* Any expenditure the team can demonstrate has no influence on its performance in the championship

* Dividends paid from profits relating to participation in the championship.

The WMSC have also confirmed the ban on refuelling during races, to save on costs of transporting refuelling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy, and on tyre warmers.

New Budget By Max Mosley

2009-04-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

FIA president Max Mosley will unveil a revised budget cap. He announced a voluntary cap of £30million would be introduced from next season. The option would be a freedom to spend, but only operate within the existing technical constraints, or work with the budget, but with the prospect of being technically innovative.

Mosley is convinced all teams will agree to the new cap figure.

Mclaren Mercedes Suspended

2009-04-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Mclaren Mercedes had a meeting with the World Motor Sport council on Wednesday for the lie-gate scandal which had taken place in Australia. The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has handed McLaren a three race ban. This ban has been brought because FIA feels Mclaren Mercedes has brought the sport into disrepute.

Martin Whitmarsh said, “I was also pleased to be able to assure the FIA World Motor Sport Council members that we had taken appropriate action with a view to ensuring that such mistakes do not occur again."

Mclaren Try To Please FIA

2009-04-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is trying to please FIA by adopting a pro-active philosophy. McLaren were seen to be making all the right moves and noises in Bahrain over the weekend. They have a meeting with World Motor Sport Council in Paris this Wednesday over the lie-gate scandal in Australia. Richard Lapthorne will officially take up the role of McLaren Group chairman from Ron Dennis from 1st June.

Whitmarsh, who has already thrown himself on the mercy of the World Council by writing a letter of unreserved apology for his team's deceit.

Timothy Murnane, Mclaren's company lawyer, will accompany Whitmarsh although he is only acting in an observational capacity.

McLaren are still in breach of article 151c of the International Sporting Code, relating to fraudulent conduct or act prejudicial to the sport.

Well I really dont know if luck will favor the Mclaren Mercedes Team. And there is also a possibility that the team will be disqualified from the Formula 1 2009 Season. Lets hope for the best of the team because it would be very shameful is a top team in the Formula 1 getsinto trouble with the FIA.

Ross Brawn believes Button can rule

2009-04-27T23:56:00.000-07:00

Ross Brawn believes Jenson Button has proven he has the ability to be a world champion. Three victories from the opening four grands prix of this season.

Jenson Button has a 12 points lead over team mate Rubens Barrichello.

The Brawn has so far proven bullet-proof, with both cars finishing the opening four races in the points. Brawn, though, concedes his car is now tired and stale and in need of the fresh developments that will come in Spain.

BMW confident about luck change

2009-04-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen is adamant his team will bounce back. Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix was also the team's most abject performance.

With just four points on the board from Heidfeld's second place in the rain-shortened race in Malaysia, Theissen is hoping - perhaps now praying - such plans reap rewards.

We decided before the start of the season on a big development package for Barcelona.

Bridgestone Plan New Set Of Intermediate Tyres

2009-04-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

Bridgestone the tyre supplier for all the teams in the Formula 1 Season is planning to introduce a new set of intermediate wet weather tyres at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. The new softer compound has been designed to counter some of the lost aerodynamic grip in wet conditions.

These tyres will be used for the rest of the season. The tyres are made up of new softer compound and will allow more mechanical grip. But the lower downforce rules for the Formula 2009 Season will still create a challenge in the we weather.

Bridgestone keep on collecting data from every team and they will be updaating their compounds according for the upcoming races in the formula 2009 Season.

Below are the tyre allocations announced by Bridgestone for the formula 1 2009 season:

Australia - super soft, medium
Malaysia - soft, hard
China - super soft, medium
Bahrain - super soft, medium
Spain - soft, hard
Monaco - super soft, soft
Turkey - soft, hard
Britain - soft, hard
Germany - super soft, medium

Bahrain Grand Prix Race Results!!!!!!!!

2009-04-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

A fantastic Bahrain Grand Prix and here are the results:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Grid	Pts
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	4	10
2	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	3	8
3	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1	6
4	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	5	5
5	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	6	4
6	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	10	3
7	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	2	2
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	7	1
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	9
10	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	15
11	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	18
12	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	11
13	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	20
14	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	8
15	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	17
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	19
17	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	16
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
19	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
Ret	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota

Jenson Button In Brawn GP Winner Again!!!!!

2009-04-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Jenson Button is the winner for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Well Toyotas were the leaders in the qualifying yesterday but today they dropped down at the start of the race. Hamilton did a great move at the first corner and was in third place. But the Mclaren is not a competitive car yet so he dropped back. Brawn GP's Ross Brawn played a great strategy with Jenson Button and got him ahead of Trulli with the pit strategy and then Jenson Button never looked back. He increased his advatange over Trulli who was strugglin with the option tyres (Hard Compound Tyres) and was not able to match the pace.

Vettel on the other hand came second with a sensible pit strategy. Glock completely lost it and was at the end of championship points. Barrichello had interesting 3 pit-stop strategy which was not looking that good but in then end it put him ahead of Raikkonen and in the 5th place. Way to go Ross Brawn.

Overall a very interesting and very very hot race. And luckily there was no sandstorm and none of the teams had reliability issues. Felipe Massa's badluck still continues and he was outside the points.

But Kimi Raikkonen finally gave Ferrari their first championship points this season. This will definitely be a moral booster for the World Champion Team!!!!

The top five for the Baharain Grand Prix are Jenson Button, Sebastien Vettel, Jarno Trulli, Lewis Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello respectively.

The complete race results will be updated soon.

Bravo!!!!! Brawn GP!!!!!

Weights of the cars for the Bahrain Grand Prix

2009-04-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

1. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 648.5 kg
2. Timo Glock, Toyota, 643 kg
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 659 kg
4. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 652.5 kg
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 652.5 kg
6. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 649 kg
7. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 650.5 kg
8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 664.5 kg
9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 670.5 kg
10. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 671.5 kg
11. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 678.5 kg
12. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 680.9 kg
13. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 698.6 kg
14. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 696.3 kg
15. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 677.6 kg
16. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 678.5 kg
17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 652 kg
18. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 656 kg
19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 679 kg
20. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 667.5 kg

Adrian Sutil Penalised

2009-04-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

Adrian Sutil has been handed a three-place penalty for blocking Mark Webber during qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The scene yesterday was amazing. It felt as if these 2 guys were racing for position in a race. But someone has to suffer for such a behaviour.

Sandstorm Possible on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-26T01:27:00.000-07:00

The round 4 for the Formula 2009 season will be held at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain. This circuit is built in the middle of the desert. The air and track temperatures are very high. Most of the teams will struggle to get the balance of the car right because it has many long straights and slow corners. Due to lesser downpours this season building a perfect car for the race is difficult.

And also there are reports that is a possibility of sandstorms in the region. If this happens then the race will be very difficult.

The circuit is 5.412 kilometre (3.363 mile). The race will be of 57 laps or 308.238 kilometres (191.539 miles).

Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying Results!!!!

2009-04-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

Below are the results for the Qualifying Session for Bahrain Grand Prix. It was an amazing qualifying session with Toyota dominating it in the end.

Pos	No	Driver	Team
1	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota
2	10	Timo Glock	Toyota
3	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault
4	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes
5	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes
6	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes
7	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault
8	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota
10	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari
11	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes
12	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota
13	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber
14	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber
15	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes
17	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes
19	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault
20	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari

Saturday Qualifying Q3 Session (Bahrain)

2009-04-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

The Q3 Session came to an end and the results were astonishing. Toyota are on pole position. Toyota are one two for the Bahrain Grand Prix. It will be a really interesting and hot race tomorrow.

The top 5 for the Q3 and Final Qualifying Session are Trulli, Glock, Vettel, Button and Hamilton respectively.

Saturday Qualifying Q2 Session (Bahrain)

2009-04-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

The interesting Q2 session came to an end. It was a very fast Q2 session since the fuel loads of the cars are very low.

The top 5 of the Qualifying Q2 session are Vettel, Glock, Trulli, Raikkonen and Barrichello respectively.

Results of the Q3 session will follow soon.

Saturday Qualifying Q1 Session (Bahrain)

2009-04-25T04:23:00.002-07:00

The start of the Qualifying Session for the round 4 of the 2009 Formula Season was a blaster.

In the Q1 session the top 5 are Vettel, Trulli, Hamilton, Button and Barrichello respectively. There was also some interesting racing between Force India and Red Bull in the Qualifying Q1 Session.

Results of Q2 will follow soon.

Saturday Practice Results

2009-04-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

Heikki Kovalainen had an issue with his Mclaren Mercedes. It was stalled in the pit lane.

Below are the results of the Saturday Practice Session:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps
1	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	16
2	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	20
3	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	18
4	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	16
5	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	18
6	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	19
7	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	13
8	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	17
9	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	19
10	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	14
11	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	16
12	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	12
13	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	13
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	17
15	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	17
16	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	17
17	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	15
18	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	14
19	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	15
20	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	7

Bahrain Friday Practice 2 Results

2009-04-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps
1	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	36
2	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	25
3	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	37
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	29
5	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	32
6	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	35
7	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	30
8	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	37
9	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	30
10	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	36
11	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	30
12	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	23
13	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	37
14	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	26
15	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	29
16	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	34
17	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	31
18	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	28
19	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	35
20	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	33

Bahrain Friday Practice 1 Results

2009-04-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps
1	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	19
2	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	17
3	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	17
4	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	24
5	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	15
6	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	24
7	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	18
8	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	17
9	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	21
10	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	19
11	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	24
12	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	21
13	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	21
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	18
15	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	22
16	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	16
17	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	20
18	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	24
19	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	22
20	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	15

New Formula 1 Game

2009-04-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

A new generation of Formula One video games featuring all the drivers, teams and circuits from the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was announced on Friday by Codemasters. It will be debut on PSP and WII this autumn. It will be a detailed game about the Formula 1 and will also have the Singapore night race track. Codemasters also said that F1 2010 is also under development and will be ready by mid 2010.

GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

2009-04-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

The 4th race of the 2009 Formula 1 season will be held at the Grand Prix circuit at Bahrain. Since Bahrain is a middle east country the air as well as track temperatures will be high. So there will be a chance of reliability issues for many teams.

Circuit Length is 5.412 km

Race Distance is 308.238 km.

Number of laps will be 57.

Overall an interesting circuit in the middle of the desert with very good chances of overtaking moves.

Lewis Hamilton expects progress in Bahrain

2009-04-22T23:34:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton is counting on another monumental effort from within McLaren propelling hime closer to the top runners. They had made some improvements in Lewis Hamilton's car for the Chinese Grand Prix and that showed a considerable performance boost for the team. Heikki and Lewis finished 5th and 6th respectively in the Chinese Grand Prix.

McLaren are also planning to roll out another series of upgrades as they look to further close the gap to the leaders.

Martin Whitmarsh believes the team's efforts in China show they are all pulling in the same direction.

Norbert Haug, boss of engine suppliers Mercedes, knows nothing less than round-the-clock commitment will see the team back at the top.

Mclaren Mercedes will also be facing the World Motor Sport Council in Paris next Wednesday.

Force India has new upgrades for Bahrain

2009-04-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

Force India are making major revisions to their car. They are planning to introduce a significant aerodynamic upgrade. The new parts we have coming through for this race should keep us close to the others said Sutil. Fisichella says the Force India package is basically sound and hopes the latest revisions to the car will help address its one major failing - an overall lack of downforce.

Plans For New Red Bull

2009-04-22T00:36:00.000-07:00

Adrian Newey is planning to design a new Red Bull car. He has started working on the concept at their Milton Keynes factory. Newey, who designed cars during the 1990s in which Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen all became champions, has at least been able to savour a "special" win these past two days.

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT F1 RACE CAR !!!

2009-04-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

F1 car is made up of 80,000 components, if it were assembled 99.9% correctly, it would still start the race with 80 things wrong!

When an F1 driver hits the brakes on his car he experiences retardation or deceleration comparable to a regular car driving through a BRICK wall at 300kmph!!!

F1 car can go from 0 to 160 kph AND back to 0 in FOUR seconds!!!!!!!

F1 car engines last only for about 2 hours of racing mostly before blowing up on the other hand we expect our engines to last us for a decent 20yrs on an average and they quite faithfully DO....thats the extent to which the engines r pushed to perform....

An average F1 driver looses about 4kgs of weight after just one race due to the prolonged exposure to high G forces and temperatures for little over an hour (Yeah thats right!!!)

At 550kg a F1 car is less than half the weight of a Mini.

To give you an idea of just how important aerodynamic design and added down force can be, small planes can take off at slower speeds than F1 cars travel on the track.

Without aerodynamic down force, high-performance racing cars have sufficient power to produce wheel spin and loss of control at 160 kph. They usually race at over 300 kph.

In a street course race like the Monaco grand prix, the down force provides enough suction to lift manhole covers. Before the race all of the manhole covers on the streets have to be welded down to prevent this from happening!

The refuelers used in F1 can supply 12 liters of fuel per second. This means it would take just 4 seconds to fill the tank of an average 50 liter family car. They use the same refueling rigs used on US military helicopters today.

TOP F1 pit crews can refuel and change tyres in around 3 seconds. It took me 8 sec to read above point
During the race the tyres lose weight! Each tyre loses about 0.5 kg in weight due to wear.

Normal tyres last 60 000 - 100 000 km. Racing tyres are designed to last 90 - 120 km.

A dry-weather F1 tyre reaches peak operating performance (best 20grip) when tread temperature is between 900C and 1200C.(Water boils at 100C remember) At top speed, F1 tyres rotate 50 times a second.

And that's not Magic.... Its only the Power of Human Imagination ....

Brawn Gp had pace issues

2009-04-19T23:55:00.000-07:00

The championship leader went into the race hoping to complete a hat-trick of race wins. His hopes were dealt a blow when clouds gathered for the first time this weekend. Vettel managed to stay ahead for the majority of the race. Mark Webber and Button vying for second but the Australian came out on top.
Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button struggled in the rain because they have not tested their car in the rain before the season started.

Chinese Grand Prix Race Results!!!!!!

2009-04-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

An amazing Chinese Grand Prix finally came to an end. he 3rd round of Formula 2009 season held at Shanghai International Circuit. The Qualifying took place in dry conditions but today there was a surprise and the race started in heavy rainfall under the safety car.

Below are the final results for the Chinese Grand Prix:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Grid	Pts
1	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	56	1	10
2	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	56	3	8
3	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	56	5	6
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	56	4	5
5	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	56	12	4
6	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	56	9	3
7	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	56	19	2
8	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	56	10	1
9	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	56	2
10	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	8
11	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	56	15
12	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	11
13	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	56	17
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	55	20
15	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	55	7
16	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	53	16
17	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	50	18
Ret	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	43	14
Ret	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	20	13
Ret	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	18	6

Vettel The Winner!!!

2009-04-19T02:05:00.000-07:00

Sebastien Vettel has won the Chinese Grand Prix. The young German was the fastest in qualifying and today in the rainy conditions too he drove a fantastic race. The race started under the safety car, due to the heavy rainfall. The conditions were very difficult to drive, but Vettel was an awsome driver today. Mark Webber was in second place at the end of the race. So the Red Bull Racing Team had a one two for the race.

Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were 3rd and 4th respectively with the Mclarens of Keikki and Lewis 5th and 6th.

Ferrari again had a very bad weekend, with Massa retiring and Kimi finishing 12 way out of the points. Glock was 7th and Buemi got the final Championship Point finishing 8th.

Adrian Sutil was in the point scoring place but the accident lost him the points. Force India came close to scoring points but lost them. So their badluck continues.

Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Results!!!!

2009-04-18T00:54:00.001-07:00

An interesting qualifying session ended with smiles for some teams and disappointments for some.

Here are the final results for the qualifying session of the Chinese Grand Prix held at Shanghai.

Jarno Trulli will drop down the order for the race tomorrow due to a penalty for gear box change.

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:36.565	1:35.130	1:36.184	11
2	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:36.443	1:35.803	1:36.381	21
3	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:35.751	1:35.173	1:36.466	19
4	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	1:35.701	1:35.503	1:36.493	21
5	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	1:35.533	1:35.556	1:36.532	19
6	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:36.308	1:35.645	1:36.835	21
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:35.941	1:35.809	1:37.397	23
8	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.137	1:35.856	1:38.089	19
9	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.776	1:35.740	1:38.595	17
10	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:36.284	1:35.965	1:39.321	21
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:36.525	1:35.975		14
12	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.646	1:36.032		10
13	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:36.178	1:36.033		11
14	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:36.364	1:36.066		14
15	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:36.673	1:36.193		13
16	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:36.906			10
17	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	1:36.908			10
18	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:36.966			8
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:37.669			10
20	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	1:37.672			10

Vettel On Pole

2009-04-18T00:38:00.001-07:00

It was a great qualifying session at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. The qualifying was topsy turvy with many drivers coming on pole in the Q1 and Q2 sessions. Ferrari had again some bad luck with Felipe Massa not going through Q3. Kimi Raikkonen was on 9th position.

But in the end Sebastien Vettel took the pole position. And to a surprise Fernando Alonso was on 2nd position.

A great and interesting race to watch tomorrow.

Saturday Practice Results

2009-04-17T22:26:00.000-07:00

Round 3 of the Formula 2009 season is held in China at the circuit located at Shanghai.

Below are the results for the Saturday Final Practice Session.

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	01:36.1		17
2	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	01:36.3	0.139	22
3	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	01:36.3	0.197	17
4	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	01:36.5	0.33	16
5	8	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	01:36.5	0.331	16
6	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	01:36.5	0.395	18
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	01:36.5	0.414	13
8	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	01:36.6	0.427	17
9	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	01:36.6	0.435	17
10	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	01:36.6	0.509	17
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	01:36.7	0.569	14
12	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	01:36.7	0.609	14
13	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	01:36.7	0.609	16
14	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	01:36.8	0.701	17
15	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	01:37.3	1.197	8
16	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	01:37.3	1.216	7
17	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	01:37.5	1.401	17
18	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes	01:37.7	1.599	18
19	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	01:38.0	1.87	6
20	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	01:39.1	2.977	6

Nico Rosberg Fastest

2009-04-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Williams' Nico Rosberg was quickest in the final practice at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. His lap time was 1:36.133s. Jarno Trulli was 0.139s behind Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton was 3rd fastest with a lap time of 1:36.330.

Flavio Briatore and Jenson Button

2009-04-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Jenson Button has hit back at Flavio Briatore. The Renault Boss had questioned Button on his racing talent. Jenson Button's Brawn GP had double decker diffuser system which gave the team a very advantage over the other teams. It was thought illegal but the FIa has finally passed this kind of diffuser system as legal.

Briatore gave an interview to an Italian Newspaper saying our drivers (Renault, Mclraen, Ferrari) are or have been world champions.

He said on the other hand there is the Brawn GP team which has one driver who was almost retired and the second driver fighting for the championship.

Jenson Button found these words annoying and calld them bitter. Jenson Button said Flavio Briatore is obviously a very angry man after the diffuser issues and is very disappointed they have not produced a car that is as competitive as ours.

Lewis Hamilton Surprised Over Ron Dennis' Decision

2009-04-17T21:50:00.002-07:00

Ron Dennis has decided to step down as the CEO of Mclaren Racing. He has given all his responsibilities to Martin Whitmarsh. The 61-year-old Ron Dennis is to focus on the automotive side of the company.

Dennis mentored Hamilton from his karting days through to becoming the 2008 world champion. It was a disappointing end to his 28-year reign at McLaren with the team struggling to compete this season.

Lewis Hamilton said he was not disappointed, but was surprised. I hadn't heard about it, I was just as surprised as the rest of the team.

Hamilton's future at McLaren has been subjected to scrutiny since Melbourne

Interesting Formula 1 2009 Season

2009-04-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

The Australian GP confirmed the belief that the new technical regulations will work like a charm. Bernie Ecclestone and his wild theories about the sport are not always right. the double-decker diffuser made Jenson Button's BGP001 appear turbocharged. On the other hand it kept Ferrari, Red Bull, Renault and BMW worried. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren kept the powers busy by all the controversies. Two FIA hearings in the month of April were earmarked to decide the fate of the season. The first one, duly completed earlier on 14th, ruled the rear of the Brawns, Toyotas and Williams legal. Renault are constructing their own double diffuser system.

Second FIA hearing on April 29, McLaren will have to wait a bit longer to see where their season is headed. Some penalty will be given to the team.

Jenson Button Top In Friday Practice.

2009-04-17T03:09:00.000-07:00

Jenson Button was again on top in the Friday practices session. Button lapped his Brawn in 1m 35.679s. Nico Rosberg lapped in 1m 35.704s. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were fourth and fifth for Red Bull on 1m 36.105s and 1m 36.167s.

Jarno Trulli on 1m 36.217s.
Kazuki Nakajima on 1m 36.377s. Timo Glock on 1m 36.548s. Heikki Kovalainen on 1m 36.674s. Sebastien Bourdais lapped in 1m 36.800s. Adrian Sutil lapped in 1m 36.829s. Felipe Massa lapped in 1m 36.847s. Lewis Hamilton lapped in 1m 36.941s.

Kimi Raikkonen had an off-road moment. He lapped in 1m 37.054s. Sebastien Buemi lapped in 1m 37.219s. Nelson Piquet lapped in 1m 37.273s. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld lapped in 1m 37.491s and 1m 37.544s respectively. Fernando Alonso lapped in 1m 37.638s.

Giancarlo Fisichella lapped in 1m 37.750s.

Felipe Massa is all prepared for tough times!!!!

2009-04-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

Felipe Massa was a former driver for the Sauber Team. He had very tough times with Sauber and feels those tough times have helped him go through the tough times with Ferrari. Felipe Massa has not scored any championship points till now in the Formula 2009 Season.
The team's woes were compounded by Wednesday's International Court of Appeal ruling declaring the 'double-decker' diffuser of Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams legal.
After a disastrous race in Malaysia 11 days ago when a number of critical mistakes were made, an inquest was rightly conducted.
But felipe Massa is very confident that Ferrari will bounce back in the coming races.

Lets Hope For The Best!!!!!

Jarno Trulli Happy With FIA Decision

2009-04-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

Jarno Trulli has applauded the FIA for their decision. The team face the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on April 29. This is for the charges of disrepute for the incident at Australian Grand Prix.

As for Toyota driver Trulli, he believes motor sport's world governing body deserve credit for the stance taken.

Chinese Grand Prix Weather

2009-04-15T22:58:00.000-07:00

The 3rd round of Formula 2009 season will be held at Shanghai International Circuit in China. The race earlier this season compared to last season.
It will be showery on Thursday. The temperature will be 18 degrees Celsius and it will rise to 19 degrees Celsius on Friday. It will be around 24 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 25 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

The race is of 56 laps. The lap kilometer is 5.451(3.387miles) or 305.066 kilometers (189.568miles).

FIA favors Brawn GP, Toyota, Williams!!!!!

2009-04-15T04:08:00.000-07:00

FIA International Court pf Appeal has said that Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams comply with the applicable regulations.
During an eight-hour hearing on Tuesday, Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and BMW Sauber challenged the three teams in front of five ICA judges, attempting to overturn the FIA's initial ruling that the design of the diffuser used by Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams was legal.
The ruling means the teams keep the points they have won in the two races.
Although Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and BMW Sauber argued fervently against the design, the judges have sided with the FIA and the stewards who had already determined the part was legal.

Now the other teams have to work accordingly so that they can challenge these strong teams.
Well this will definitely bring some excitement in the Formula 2009 season.
Lets see what more excitement and controversies lie in the future of Formula1.

Ross Brawn says they are innovators and not cheats!!!

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ross Brawn is described as a person of supreme arrogance. He has come under fire at the International Court of Appeal in Paris. The diifuser- an aerodynamic part of the body is in question for the hearing. Central to a 'double-decker' design are two apertures that assist airflow, so increasing downforce, which in turn results in greater speed.

A verdict is due tomorrow, although their full findings are not due to be revealed until either later this week or early next. At stake are the race results in Melbourne and Sepang as the judges have the power to overturn them, although such an eventuality is not expected.

Ferrari Team Shuffle

2009-04-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

Ferrari are in serious trouble at the opening 2 races of the Formula 2009 season. They have not scored a single championship point in the first 2 opening races. Ferrari has restructured their technical line-up and they feel that this would help improve their performance for the Chinese Grand Prix.

as per the change technical director Aldo Costa will head Ferrari's Maranello base. He will examine the F60's performance and will try to find ways to improve it. Team manager would be Luca Baldisserri and Aldo Costa would be working with him. Chris Dyer will take Baldisserri’s trackside responsibilities.

Ferrari have also planned to bring several updates for the car for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Ross Brawn Optimistic

2009-04-13T23:41:00.000-07:00

Ross Brawn is confident that they will win the diffuser case which is due this Tuesday in Paris. his case with International Court of Appeal (ICA). The diffuser design used by some teams gives them advantage over the other teams which are not using it.

If the court does not favor Ross Brawn then Brawn GP will have to build a new diffuser for the Chinese Grand Prix which is within a weeks time.