Round Six: Monaco Review

Greetings Internet,

Well, well, well - where do I begin to start off with this one then - Monaco was always going to throw up some madness and delivered some mayhem in spades. Sure we have had more safety cars, and collisions on the streets before, but there was a fair few penalties dished out, some still undecided, and a red flag stoppage after some more carnage.

Out front the same story played out but there was some very fortunate developments for Vettel to maintain the domination, in terms of some pit lane confusions and and well timed crashes. Some brilliant strategic performances played out and some other drivers had a rather appalling day so here goes the review of the 2011 Monaco GP.

Source: F1 fanatic.co.uk

The Race


With the grid truncated after one-stop Perez under observation in hospital things were set for an epic race on the city streets of Monaco. Off the line the front pairing made an equal launch in the short run to St Devote Vettel had an unchallenged run through the first corner, Fernando replicated his outstanding start from Spain and caught Webber and came close to Button but had to lift to avoid contact. Further back Grandpa Schumacher's car dipped into anti-stall mode and he got a really slow start dropping several places with Hamilton-grumpy face sneaking in front but took some light contact from the German.

Everyone settled into to their respective positions through the first few corners remaining single file after the re-arranging around Schumacher at the start. But Michael was the first to make a lunge - recovering one of the positions he had lost off the line, he threw the Mercedes down the inside of Hamilton grumpy face into Loews and Lewis conceded the position to avoid contact. He was saving up the violence for later...

This early phase of the race broke down into three main groups with both Mercedes cars accumulating their own personal crowd of drivers behind them. The top four had some space as they started ahead of Schumacher and were unaffected by the shuffling of postion. Rosberg was in 5th and his collection of followers included Massa, Maldonado and Petrov - who would turn out to be a an ill-fated group of drivers. The third pack was headed by Grandpa Schumacher who was plodding along like a pensioner on a motorway, backing up an increasingly angry Hamilton into Barrichello and Kobayashi with Force India not too far behind.

Both second place cars in the second two groups were looking at every possible gap to escape their Mercedes roadblocks - Hamilton was first to break the oppression diving past Michael into turn one in a display that DRS might just have a purpose. Rubens was next in line to have a go at his former teammate and not exactly best friend pulling a pass out of nowhere into Mirabeau. He would have been rather pleased to put one over on his former oppressor at Ferrari.

With clear air in front of him Hamilton easily closed up to the back of the next Mercedes led train queuing behind Petrov. Massa at the front of the chasing line behind Rosberg got a good run out of Nouvelle Chicane and passed the German into Tabac - Maldonado saw the opening and also worked his was past into the entry to the swimming pool. Putting Vitaly and Hamilton trapped behind Nico before the first round of stops commenced

It was time for the lead group of cars to make their stops - Vettel turned up to his stall to find 6 tyres waiting for him after the team misread a call and brought out the option tyres but ended up putting the prime tyres on the car with only two of the right wheels ready. Then Webber filed in to find no tyres because the primes that were ordered went to Vettel and they hadn't prepared Marks tyres at all. But that paled in comparison to Hamilton's stop when he turned up there were no mechanics never mind tyres as the team buzzed around carrying tyres to get some rubber on the car.

On the track things were also getting more animated - Paul Di Resta was opening his parts account on an attack on STR's Alguersuari. Trying to lever the Torro Rosso off the racing line in the Loews Hairpin with his front wing earning himself a drive through penalty, and ruining his front wing in the process and shedding other aero parts. After this bought of contact things began to settle down while drivers caught up behind cars on differing strategies with Rubens running up in 7th ahead of Hamilton and Massa. The first retirement of the race fell to Timo Glock in the virgin after running over the chicane a couple of time - the repeated shortcut damaged the suspension which failed on the exit of Tabac, Button fearing a safety car intervention made for pit lane but no intervention appeared.

Civility was short lived and step forward the getting even grumpier Lewis Hamilton who had latched onto the back of Massa who in turn was behind Webber and Maldonado in a slow moving queue. Lewis had grown sick of being trapped behind other cars and Massa was to bear the brunt the Lewis' violence - receiving a Di Resta type shove in the loews hairpin. Which according to Lewis couldn't have possibly been his fault - but he wasn't done with the Ferrari quite yet - deciding the tunnel is the perfect place to make a pass. This effort forced Massa onto the marbles in the tunnel which had only one inevitable conclusion - straight into the wall, bringing out the first safety car of the season.

Bernd Maylander brought the SLS out for it's first laps while Massa's car was carried off and several drivers dove to pit lane some for their only visit in the opportune time of the caution period. Sutil and Kobayashi made the biggest gain under the yellow re-appearing in 4th and 5th without needing to pit again just in front of Mark Webber in 6th. Schumacher tried to bring his car in but suffered a fire in the airbox bringing the Mercedes to a halt just on the entry to pit lane his day was done.

On the restart Vettel got a good jump on Alonso in 2rd with Button a little further down in 3rd, behind them was a series of lapped cars between Button and Sutil in 4th with a queue building behind them. Grumpier face Hamilton was issued with a deserved drive through penalty for his robust assault of the Massa in loews, and trundled down the pit lane dropping down to ninth behind Petrov and Barrichello.

An interesting development was occurring out front Vettel had a decent lead but was on the same set of tyres he received on lap 17 so was losing time to Alonso who in turn was losing time to Button in 3rd who had lost the early lead as as result of the SC intervention. Over a series of laps all three of the top contenders had drafted up to behind each other, to a point when all three were within a single second. This became increasingly complex when the lead trio were catching cars to lap.

A monolithic train was accumulating behind Sutil - including both lead lap and lapped cars stretching from 4th to 12th bunched up by the full course yellow. Kamui was the first bottled up behind the force India and had enough of being stuck behind the orange car and got all crossed up into Mirabeau making light contact with Adrian easing him wide and claiming the position - followed within the lap but out of camera view by webber. This dropped Sutil in front of Maldonado, Petrov and a rather angry Hamilton, followed by both STR cars and Nico.

That angry swarm of cars was being caught by the lead trio and just as Vettel came into view of the last car in the train Rosberg spied the leaders and allowed them through in the first part of the tunnel. At the other end of the train they lined up two by two into tabac, Maldonado inside Sutil and grumpy face Hamilton inside Petrov. On the exit of the corner Sutil hit the barrier with the rear causing a puncture placing a limping car ahead of 7 charging vehicles into the swimming pool - Hamilton backed off to avoid Sutil but Algersuari didn't and went over the top of Lewis. Petrov dodged to the outside of the Torro Rosso but Jaimie was going into the wall and Vitaly was coming with him clattering into the outside armco.

Welcome back onto the track the safety car - again - but not for long as it transpired what initially appeared as a general collision has caused some pain for Petrov in his ankle after the impact. This resulted in a longer extraction time for Vitaly so the officials threw the red flag to get the ambulance on track for a precautionary run to the hospital.

Under the red, it appeared the teams could replace the tyres, the circles of rubber which was making the battle for the field so interesting. But a reset on the wheels neutralised that battle and consigned the race to a forgone conclusion where no change would take effect on the restart, McLaren were also hurriedly working on Lewis rear wing after alguersuari ran over it en route to the wall.

The green waved with 5 laps to go and the top three once again split from everyone else by some lapped cars  and on equal tyres were locked into position. Further back Grumpy Hamilton determined he hadn't finished being a prat and nerfed Maldonado into the barrier at St Devote on the restart, which along with everything else this season wasn't his fault....The only other change for position was Webber on Kobayashi down into Nouvelle chicane which corrected the early damage done by the poor pit visit moving him back up to the place he occupied in turn one lap one.

After a race of madness, grumpy driving, safety cars and a red flag - Vettel remains on the top step of the podium gifted the win through an accidental tyre stop and very convenient saftety car interventions scuppered the strategy of Button. With Alonso and Button rounding off the top three.

The Bonus Points Championship points winners


In amongst the carnage, collisions and interventions points are about to be awarded to those who succeeded in the melee.

10pts - Kobayashi: For making a great strategy work from outside the top ten to 5th, the best of the drivers outside the top three teams
8pts - Sutil: The other driver on the great strategy and still scored points desite a puncture causing the red flag crash
6pts - Maldonado: For a very strong performance showing his Monaco speciality until being binned by Lewis
5pts - Button: If it wasn't for some unfortunate strategy he would have been the first car to beat Red Bull during the race instead of a tyre effected final stint
4pts - Alonso: A well crafted race and another very strong start
3pts - Red Bull: For throwing a hilarious party and putting Eddie Jordan in the pool several times after the race, and also dunking D.C.
2pts - Vettel: For being the luckiest driver today catching all the breaks and holding off Alonso before the race suspension
1pt - Monaco - For providing the maddest race of the season - Canada beat that!

The Also Official Penalties Championship

With madness and contact brings with it penalties and punishments and here were this weeks offenders.

Paul Di Resta: Drive through, attacking alguersuari
Lewis Hamilton: Drive through, attacking Massa
Lewis Hamilton (again): 20 time penalty - attacking Massa

No official penalty was handed to Kobayashi for the contact on Sutil but was told off and don't do it again

The No Less Official Dodgy Dealings Championship


Well aside from the punishments the race stewards dished out there were those other moments that deserve penalty points

Lewis Hamilton: For being a moron and deciding that everything is someone else's fault and how now the FIA also dislike him apparently be cause he is black in the words of some guy called Ali G whoever one of them is. On top of that a second penalty point for effectively putting Massa into the wall in the tunnel, passing through there is idiotic and a wreck was inevitable.

The Regulations: For allowing tyres to be changed under red flag conditions, it should be parc ferme conditions allowing for force majure to deal with damage or weather related issues. It compromised a great fight for the lead in the final three laps.

Looking to Canada


With a two week gap between one crazy race and a circuit which also is usually filled with some more insanity immense tyre wear and probably a safety car or two. It will be very interesting how the Pirellis cope in Montreal as they were designed to create the madness of Canada everywhere else - how are they going to perform there?

The gap will give Hamilton Grumpiest face to realise his moronic outburst and make up for it, the rest of the grid came awfully close to beating Vettel in Monaco - only saved by some luck and the accidents, will Canada see a change at the top of the grid. Will that unassailable lead in the regular championship which is not really recognised here be cut down across the pond.

Monaco: Pre-race

Greetings Internet,

The most important qualifying session of the season has been completed somewhat dramatically so - and reports on one-stop Perez condition are slowly filing in with a general positive trend showing now broken bones but the a concussion which rules him out of the race tomorrow. Which is a real shame because I'd loved to have seen whether the Sauber could do the race on the fabled one stop strategy and if there was anyone to manage such a feat one stop Perez would be the ideal nomination.

Aside from the obvious accident the grid lined up roughly to form of the previous few races but the red flag did scupper some late place changes which hurt Hamilton the most who was on a run when things unfolded. Some of the form demonstrated in the practice sessions failed to carry forward into the actual qualifying session itself - Red Bull were clearly hiding some pace from everyone else and released it this afternoon although the gap isn't as large.

Sourced from F1Fanatic.co.uk

Qualifying 

The session kicked off with two cars sitting in the garage - firstly Nico Rosberg who was another to pay a visit to the barrier on the exit of the tunnel before Nouvelle Chicane in the final practice session in the morning. The rear stepped out over the bump and was a passenger from then on - luckily missing the central divider between the two lanes on the chicane run-off space. So the Mercedes team were piecing together the right side suspension in time for qualifying and were able to fix the damage and allow Rosberg to set a time. The second of the morning's accident victims was the Hispania of Liuzzi, he got wide in St. Devote hitting the tyrewall with the rear corner. The impact caused a disproportionate amount of damage vs impact speed showing that the HRT car is actually made out of paper mache, cardboard and duct tape.... I'm saying nothing

But HRT were less energetic in their efforts to join the action and pretty much left the car stripped to it's chassis in the garage during the session - the second of the team cars also failed to leave the pit lane. Narain had a suspension failure in the garage... more PVA glue needed in Team Blue Peter who didn't have one they'd prepared earlier.

However on the circuit Jerome D'Ambrosio was the first car to hit the streets for Q1 quickly joined by the other 20 cars that were fixed and running. Early pace was set by Petrov of the Renault Squadron on the basis that he was one of the first to set a time, Vitaly was soon usurped by the Mercedes of Grandpa Schumacher who was belying his age once again this way. Within moments the faster competitors took to the timesheets moving the goalpost considerably.

Then can the point where the teams had to decide whether they were safe enough to stay in, or go out again on the option tyres to stay in the game, as normal Red Bull and at this point the faster McLarens were comfortable along with Ferrari. Rosberg came out in his freshly repaired car and posted a safe time ahead of Grandpa Schumacher on his first flying lap without the need for the softer rubber. Things were starting to get congested as expected with everyone searching for room to set a time, the queue at the Rascasse saw a Williams backing off the car in front which held Kobayashi who was pitting in - and in turn Alguersuari hit the Sauber, just a little but both drivers were taken to the stewards for a talking to. Alguersuari so the commentary said was removed from his garage to attend the stewards interrogation - as of yet no notice of penalties has been given.

When everything was all said and done the usual suspects were in the relegation zone - all three bottom teams with Team Blue Peter not sending either car out and is it undecided whether they will start the race due to lack of pace - and supplies of cello-tape. The additional place in the knock-out collection was the STR of Alguersuari who didn't make a reappearance after the contact - probably being shouted at by the sometimes excessive Monaco stewards

On to Q2, and things were closing up at the front of the timings, Hamilton still posted the fastest time in the session fairly early on but was in very close company with the dominant presence of Sebastien Vettel only two thousandths behind. But things were more interesting at the back of the top ten where competition was fierce to make it into Q3. Renault Squadron rather under performing on a track they normally do rather well - although last year they had Kubica at their disposal who was always brilliant at street type circuits to the lack of Robert really was showing this weekend. This opened the door for some different drivers making it into the top 10 shootout.

It was Williams who locked out the final row in the progression zone in 9th and 10th, but that was all to change, Rosberg and Petrov set strong times to dispose of Williams machines. But the Sauber of one-stop Perez put himself back into the Q3 zone by knocking Petrov down to 10th and on the very cusp of qualification. Then stepped forward Pastor Maldonado a Monaco specialist who has won on the streets in any lower formula that has supported the main event including last year on his way to the GP2 title ahead of one-stop Perez. The Venezuelan had managed 4th in the first segment of qualifying and wan't going to settle for being relegated in Q2, and dutifully whipped up a time to sneak into the top ten relegating Petrov to 11th to join the other Renault Squadron car in relegation. Along with both Force India cars, Buemi and Kobayashi.

And then there was ten heading into the last session of the day - as normal there was an initial group of cars taking to the track - the Red Bull team, Ferrari, Button and Schumacher.  Massa set the initial benchmark time but didn't stay top for long as Jenson decimated his effort plunging into the 1:13s, Webber was next over the line followed by Alonso but both slotted in behind the McLaren. Michael was also unsuccessful falling in line behind Fernando, but Button wasn't safe out front for much longer as Vettel was going rather quickly and placed his car on the top of the time sheets .4 clear of Jenson.

The second set of cars - those opting for a single run at the end of the session took to the track headed by one-stop Perez with Hamilton and Maldonado in behind, joined by grandpa Schumacher starting his second run. This single run plan is aimed at saving tyres for the race whilst still gaining a good time when the track is at it's optimum condition. However the plan does rather fall apart if an on track incident brings out a yellow or even a red flag majorly compromising their runs and threatening their session....step forward one-stop Perez.

One-stop Perez's accident.


There are times in a season when a fairly large accident occurs and you sit there and listen very closely to the tone of the Brundle and this year D.C.'s voices trying to judge how severe they think it is. I have been watching F1 for 14 years exactly (since Monaco 97) and in that time seen a lot of accidents and can judge fairly well but the commentary team know far better given their experience in and outside the cockpit.

The camera first cut to the car from an inboard shot shy of a tyre and stationary and wasn't clear initially where it had taken place. But an external shot made it abundantly clear where the car was stopped, at the bottom of the hill in the lane dividing barrier in Nouvelle Chicane. When you see a car against the barrier my mind assesses the damage in an effort to conjure up the possible series of events that came to fruition.

A large crowd of marshals and emergency vehicles descended upon the crash site, swarming into action from their posts in the area with the impeccable speed with which the Monaco staff are famed. While the replays were displayed on the screen - the video showed an accident virtually identical to that of Rosbergs in the morning session and Petrov on Thursday.

Sergio exited the tunnel on a strangely wide line heading into the breaking area for the chicane, as he crested the hill and applied the brakes over the bumps the car appeared to bottom out. This took the weight off the rear wheels which in turn made it very easy for them to lock - combined with the lower pressure of tyres on their first lap. On the bump the rears locked pitching the Sauber into the inside guardrail - distorting the amrco leaving a bigger dent than Nico managed earlier in the morning.

With the right side of the car devoid of usable wheels, Perez had no control over the car as it continued it's slide rotating to face the seafront before colliding with the very effective collision dissipation barriers guarding the steel barrier. It's a releif the barriers had been there as contact at that velocity with the actual metal fence would have been more painful.

Current reports say that one stop Perez is in a stable condition without any fractures but had sustained concussion as a result of the final impact with the wall - and is highly unlikely to start the race because of that. But should be back in the car for the next race in Canada.

...Anyway back to Q3


If any of you readers are still here well done - it has gone on for a fair while I appreciate that. Now with the damage cleared up and barriers put back in to place things got back going again with all nine remaining drivers heading out lead by Hamilton. None of the drivers were able to make any progress with Lewis only moving up to 7th ahead of Nico and Maldonado everyone else stayed put with Vettel on pole ahead of Button and Webber.

But the with the session over the grid wasn't yet settled - as it was determined, within the past few minutes (good thing I had a lunch break and this took so long that the details have come forward since I started) that Hamilton cut a chicane not sure which one - either in the swimming pool or at Nouvelle. Lewis back to being grumpy face after shouting at Massa earlier on and being dismayed at a Torro Rosso as well, was had his lap cancelled out and dropped to 10th - which works out at 9th with one-stop Perez not cleared to start at the moment and won't be taking his 9th place starting position.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


In a day when there was a lack of outstanding performances as everyone was driving at the max just to stand still it is difficult to pick out the top five points winners - and Vettel doesn't get a point because I'm bored of him winning all the time it is becoming a little Schumacher esque.

• One-stop Perez - was awarded a point before his accident for being the most sideways through the swimming pool section, on his fast lap in Q1 - but also for not being broken
• Mercedes - For managing to put together Rosbergs car after he rather broke is in the final practice
• Button - For being the closest to Vettel and being considerably better Hamilton Grumpy face who was usual tipped for grandeur 
• Rosberg - For taking a freshly repaired car and on his first lap after missing almost all of the morning practice gave Grandpa Schumacher a good beating
• Barriers at Nouvelle - For doing a tremendous job in limiting the damage done to sergio and preventing a more serious injury.

Looking ahead to tomorrow.

Well this is Monaco so anything can happen and usually does on the maddening streets, Vettel is ideally placed to hold the lead and run off into the distance. But there is something else to factor into the equation - safety car which could easily make it's first appearance in the race throwing all sorts of strategies into the blender. 

And when strategies are thrown to the four winds all sorts of unlikely drivers can spring up into unusual places - and being able to hold onto them because Monaco is notoriously difficult make any form of overtaking manoeuvre on. Tyres in race conditions will prove to be the most interesting points of development - will the severe disparity in tyre conditions over compensate for the nature of the circuit. And can Kobayashi take over where team-mate is now unable to do and throw a one-stop strategy into the carnage.

Whatever takes place - even if it is a processional event - F1 at Monaco is always a massive spectacle, so tune in for 78 laps of greatness.  

Round Six: Monaco Preview

Greetings Internet,

That time of year has cycled around again and we have one of the greatest weekends on the motorsport calendar featuring two of the 'big three' races - The Monaco GP and the Indy 500 - with the Le Mans 24hrs not too far away as well coinciding with the Canadian race. But that is a post for another day, now I am here to introduce a race which really needs no introduction but I'm going to do it anyway.

Nestled on the Mediterranean coastline Monaco offers 2.1 miles of steel lined processional mayhem, but then there is the other element - the posh people. Every year the race is plagued by all sorts of pseudo celebrities turning up just to flog whatever multi-Oscar nominated abomination at any available opportunity. The location epitomises excess and overspending - stupid fashion and jewellery exploit the race to get their crap on television even to the point where they are glueing pointless shiny rocks to the driver's helmets.

Somewhere underneath all the layers of shameless marketing and everyone who appeared in a film at some point creeping out from their gold encrusted rocks of self importance it is hard to notice that there is a race going on. Well several races but the support package will just be a series of accidents broken up by the safetycar. But looking at the second practice session the sheer spectacle of if all does make you forget they're racing through a city of people you'd just love to slap.

source: FIA Trackmap

The track


Something completely different from anything they've faced this season and until Singapore will not face again, and aside from the other things going on at the track is one of the greatest spectacular sights of the season. Winding through the streets of the principality in a layout that has remained roughly unchanged since it's inception - sure a few corners have been re-profiled some for the better others less so.

This year sees no modifications with the exception of the first turn being re-surfaced but the corners remain the same since the last update which took away some barriers and corrupted La Rascasse at the end of the lap. And after seeing FP2 earlier looks as fantastic as ever, as the cars flashed between the barriers at speeds exacerbated by the close confines of the armco.

It is a track where a driver can overcome a car's weaknesses as unlike in Spain last week speed is not limited by the car's performance as much placing it more into the hands of the biological mass behind the wheel. And for the first time in a few races qualifying will actually mean something because no amount of fresher tyres is getting you through the field where passing is harder than getting out of jail after punching a 'celebrity'. Getting in front of another driver does require a quantity of luck and co-operation with a little bit of contact to pry open the door.

But all this writing doesn't really help picture it, but this week I do apologise for the video quality as the model of Monaco I have is a little outdated. On top of that my computer is not exactly that grand at rendering street layouts with all those buildings and the like so the quality is visually a little down but never the less here is this weeks Alternative Track Guide from the streets of Monte Carlo - which now is available in HD not that it'll make a difference.

This time driving a much older car I can't really make a lap time comparison but in the normal car I was looking at a 1:25 - as a result of having less mechanical grip than the F1 grid - so outside the 107% rule I'd imagine.

What to expect


In a word pretty much anything especially on race day, where Monaco grands prix tend to fall into two categories either processional and dull or completely mad with carnage and safety cars and all sorts of probabilities. It is a circuit where having the best car is not necessarily a key to a sure fire victory as Red Bull have shown so far this year.

Monaco represents one of the best opportunities for cars from lower down the grid to score a good result by out-driving the car and because they can't be passed in the race holding position. Drivers on the fringe of the top ten - the likes of Sauber and Williams could pull something out of the bag as maximum aero efficiency doesn't pay as well as as faster tracks - mechanical grip is more important.

Up at the sharp end Red Bull will likely be still very strong but will be more vulnerable to the chasing pack this weekend - drivers like Hamilton and Alonso could make significant advances on the leading pair with the Ferrari looking good in the second session earlier on. Mercedes are showing good low fuel pace again with Rosberg high up the leaderboard but Michael lost time after testing the St Devote barrier in first practice.

It's a weekend that could be quite profitable for the small teams at the far end of the grid especially for Lotus who showed they can escape Q3 last time and there is a chance of repeating it. Given the importance of qualifying here a decent grid position could well lead to their best finish of the year.

KERs and DRS

Well both facilities are available to the drivers but will likely be completely useless outside of qualifying for some extra speed. Their function as overtaking devices will be almost totally neutered by the nature of the circuit where passing is an event so rare it should be photographed and framed for posterity. KERs will be used on the three vaguely straight segments of the track - the pit straight, the run to Massinet and from the Tunnel into Nouvelle Chicane.

DRS however is open to the drivers in the qualifying session on the length of the track with the exception of the tunnel where DRS is banned - it does make sense really, the curve in there may be possible with DRS open but should anything go wrong the magnitude of accident which could occur is monumental. Being one of the fastest parts of the track - it is the last place you'd want to be hurtling backwards into a concrete wall, not there are any good times to hit a concrete wall. Before cascading in whatever mess you've ended up down the  hill into Nouvelle Chicane where more barriers await - ones that eliminated Button from the 2006 event through injury.

What is going to be more important than any of those devices this weekend are the tyres, the two softest compounds have been brought to the track which being set on regular street tarmac, combined with the lower speeds has lower wear. Early data shows that we will be seeing lower amounts of pit stops than we have seen all season with the opportunity for a one stop race - one-stop Perez will not doubt be rubbing his hands with glee at the thought. As Sauber have proven that their car is much easier on those rubber circles which could make their strategy interesting but depends on traffic and relative car-speed.

Monaco is one of those races of the season that is a must see, the chance of madness is too high to give it a miss the combination of extremely fast cars on a tiny narrow track is always a recipe of all sorts of mayhem and entertainment. Throw in some strategy into the mix and drape a blanket of opportunism over those challengers looking to steal a good result out of the uncertainty of a street race and we're in for some fun, a whole lot of fun indeed. We may even see the first safety car of the year and as the Americans always say "cautions breed cautions" so Bernd Maylander may have something to do aside from chaperoning the GP2 drivers who like a good accident

Round Five: Spain Review

Greetings Internet

Another chequered flag has fallen on calling the Spanish GP to a close with an all to familiar result at the top of the podium as with the rest of they year so far - with the exception of China but that too was following the generic patten barring tyre wear rates. Everyone is now packing up and stewards investigations pending on four cars, three of which on the top four drivers, decisions I hope will be completed before I get to the end of the review so we have the full picture. And we still await whether HRT will protest the exhaust system everyone else is running.

It was a race of varying fortunes, where some drivers turned strong grid positions into a mediocre or rather dismal race performances and there were others who turned unfortunate qualifying or opening phases into a strong performance. And with the huge differential in tyre compounds there were a wide variety of strategies and approaches all sorts of cars were caught in positions they would rather not be.

Sourced from F1Fanatic.co.uk

The Race

After looking back at the last review that did go on for eternity - could of stuck a cover on it and sold it as a multi-volume novel so today I shall try and be a little more concise and not ramble on too much.

So onto the start - Red Bull managed to turn a front row lockout into 2nd and 3rd into the first corner, reversing the order of the blue machines. Vettel had gained a position round the outside and was looking at the lead but Fernando had something against that idea and out-launched them all and stole the lead with a great launch. Grandpa Schumacher was belaying his advanced years and gained a bunch of spots running running three wide on the outside of turn three a-la-talledega with Petrov and Rosberg.

Elsewhere Kobayashi encountered a puncture either from contact or from running off the track on the opening lap and pitted for a new set - dropping him to the back. The rest of the field remained stable running up until the first round of pit lane action around the lap 10 marker when the grid wanted to shed their opening set of wheels.

After Vettel's stop he dropped in after the train building behind Schumacher but on the new soft tyres he Scythed past a slow starting button and then Struggling massa in quick succession on the out lap - this was followed by Rosberg on the pit straight. Alonso had pitted but came out behind Vettel releasing the RBR driver with Hamilton out front.

It was at this point after the stops Webber found himself stuck behind Alonso who wasn't on the same pace as qualifying showed but had enough top speed to out power the Webber's DRS charges on the main straight showing the Renault engine is a little down on power. The front two were building a significant gap as Fernando was slowing Mark up - and Button on an alternate strategy was closing in on fresher softer tyres.

Outside the front of the grid Mercedes were taking over Squadron duties this weekend from Renault by running in formation from the beginning all the way to the end of the race both passing Petrov on strategy. Heidfeld after a steady start was beginning the Weber-esque charge catching and passing all sorts of drivers including surpassing his team-mate. Something which must have been rather embarrassing for the Russian starting 18 places in front and then caught and beaten by the mid stage of the race.

While the Alonso/Webber battle was raging on the harder tyres Button drafted up to the back of the pair and easily dispatched both of them finally working out how to complete a three strategy without being crippled for the final phase. Other movers in the pack were the Sauber team who were catching up to and passing Buemi and Di Resta - one stop Perez heading Kobayashi for a change but Kamui was recovering very well from a early puncture dropped him to last.

The final round of stops had been completed and with the drivers finding there was still close to 20 laps left on the so by virtue of the soft tyre life being so minimal most of them were forced onto the harder tyre just to get to the end. In this round of tyre changes Webber had finally got clear of the Ferrari who had found a whole new dimension of lack of speed and was falling back. Attrition had only mysteriously claimed HRT's Liuzzi as he vanished from the timesheets.

An extra name was added to the list of retirements when Heikki Kovalainen had converted his 15th grid position into an investigation into the turn four barrier re-arranging the front suspension of the Lotus and knocking off the front wing. It was the resulting yellow flag under which both McLarens, Webber and Alguersuari were going a little too quickly and have been reprimanded but no penalties given.

Massa was fading even worse than his team-mate but was being rather rubbish all weekend to start off but less rubbish than Maldonado who had returned to the default place at the end of the mid-field. Felippe was caught and passed by one stop Perez and then Heidfeld before the car gave up and pulled off and died. Nick then passed one-stop Perez and was chasing after Rosberg in 7th but didn't have enough laps left and finished three tenths behind.

Back out front Vettel was having yet more KERs issues and had a very fast charging Hamilton in very close attention but didn't have the downforce in the faster corners to close up coming into the DRS zone making it easy for the German to stay out front. Lewis was unable to make any effect on Vettel but the pair were lapping fast enough to place everyone outside the top four a lap down including both Mercedes and a Struggling Alonso.

Vettel managed to maintain the lead as he crossed over the line to claim yet another win with McLarens finishing the podium and Webber the only other car on the lead lap. Alonso headed the two Mercedes cars and the only points scoring member of the Renault Squadron in the form of the charging Heidfeld. The final scores went to one stop Perez and a resurgent Kobayashi.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


This race saw a lot of rather disappointing performances from the likes of Massa, Maldonado and Petrov who were much slower then the pace they are capable of this weekend. But amongst what was a sea of mediocrity there were some driving worth points in the Bonus Points Championship

10pts - Nick Heidfeld - For doing a Webber better than Webber did gaining 16 places in the race compared to the 15 Mark managed in China
8pts - McLaren - For not letting Red Bull vanish into the horizon making a race out of what was looking like a walk over
6pts - Hamilton - For being 0.6 behind Vettel and not being dropped during the race by the German
5pts - Schumacher - For out racing Rosberg and for what was an impressive opening sector on the outside of turn three
4pts Kobayashi - For turning a first lap puncture delay into a points scoring finish
3pts Perez - For a strong race and and overturning the seemingly declining pace of the Sauber team
2pts  Alonso - For a brilliant start but not too many points as the rest of the race was rather mediocre
1pt - Vettel - For winning again, and for headbutting a camera post race

The Also Official Penalties Championship


Whilst the stewards were handing out penalties to everyone and their mothers in the GP3 races the main game drivers were being all to sensible even the instigation into the four drivers for speeding under yellow finished with only a light telling off but no actual action. So as a result the standings in this championship remain unchanged

The No Less Official Dodgy Dealings Championship 


Well the weekend wasn't a wash with any suspicious activity on race-day anyway but there are going to be some penalty points dished out but less than in Turkey

• Schumacher - gets on both scoreboards today, but I have decided he is going to get a penalty point for his dubious qualifying actions yesterday doing only an outlap
• Barcelona - For a track which is designed specifically to stop overtaking - even in the support races so gets a penalty point for that
• DRS - For being rather useless this weekend in race trim which is also the track's fault but I've already given it a penalty point

Looking on to Monaco

With only a week to the most prestigious race of the season, where all the posh folk climb out from under their gold plated rocks for some television exposure to flog whatever crap made them that famous. All sorts of expensive shiny things get glued to driver's helmets for no apparent reason other than marketing and other irritating nonsense. But underneath all that showy silliness there will be a race going on and on the streets of Monte Carlo nothing is certain, anything can and will happen. 

We may even see the almost extinct creation that is the safety car if it wasn't for the support series drivers having an interesting habit of running into each other Bernd Maylander would have nothing to do in the Mercedes SLS. And with the upcoming weekend also containing the epic Indy 500 we are heading for one of the greatest race weekends of the year when madness will likely ensue... and madness is always good for bonus points.

Spain: Pre-race

Greetings Internet, 

Qualifying for another week has come to a conclusion and although I can't see them the GP2 and GP3 cars will be taking to the circuit to take care of the weekend's quota of destruction and safety cars. But will catch up with the first GP2 race later when Eurosport deciding that 10pm is close enough to being live some seven hours later, and GP3 nearly a day behind schedule - apparently Tennis and Cycling are more important pah. 

The fifth session of the season followed pretty much an identical pattern as the rest of the Qualifying sessions we've seen. However away from the front of the grid there were a couple of changes within what is now a rather devalued phase of the weekend. More drivers than normal have been electing to sacrifice speed in qualifying to conserve in tyres which did rather dilute Q3 and puts so much more focus on the main event tomorrow.

Sourced from F1Fanatic.co.uk

Changes since Turkey

Quite a lot has remained the same since we last saw the cars in the Eastern reaches of Europe on the other side of the Bosphorus, the same set of teams and drivers occupy the front zone of the grid and dominating all of the timesheets. Red Bull have illustrated their complete anhilation of the grid being able to easy claim the front row and without any pressure from anyone else, building a second lead from the rest of the teams.

McLaren remain the closest competitor albeit a week behind a the paring of Webber and Vettel everyone else is virtually in GP2 by comparison. Ferrari have shown that the pace they showed in Turkey wasn't a fluke performance well at least in the context of Alonso's car - Massa is not exactly getting the full potential out of the car and being comprehensively beaten by the Spaniard. 

In the mid pack the greatest improvement has to come from Williams and even more surprisingly in the hands of the usually rather rubbish Pastor Maldonado who has spent a lot of the season's practice sessions crashing and using up the teams supply of front wings. But this session bringing the car into Q1 while Rubens was beset with technical difficulties. Sauber and Force India have gone the other way seeing the shadow of the points scoring positions fading into the distance.

Things have been shuffling down at the back of the grid too, Lotus a have made major gains with Heikki defeating both Force Indias and Rubens ailing Williams. Also both of the usually back row pairing in the HRT garage were faster then Virgin's D'Ambrosio... on pace which is not a good sign for the Belgian being 1.2s behind Glock. 

Qualifying

The first session was to take place one car down as a result of Nick Heidfeld from the Renault Sqaudron had a rather incendiary dilemma in the morning's final practice session and the charred car couldn't be repaired in time to join the party. This filled the remaining spot that is usually assigned for an established driver... or that's what we thought.

Q3 was easy for most of the field - and the top four cars being able to secure progression without using up some of the hallowed softer tyres whereas everyone else felt the need to eat into their supply to remain safe. Which was overly cautious for Mercedes (even though it gifted the fastest time to Grandpa Schumacher) and Alonso - but kept Massa out of the drop-zone. Rubens was not so lucky, defeated by gearbox problems he couldn't reach the same speed as his team mate and was beaten by both Lotus cars and Heikki escaped into Q2 a remarkable achievement. 

A similar story in the next segment - the top teams had no problems securing a place in the final session with Red Bull beginning to show what the were really capable of. pulling a half second gap. Force India at the other end of the timesheets elected not to bother having a go on the soft tyres and wrote off their qualifying with a view of having a better race than the Lotus in front. 

Sauber were encountered a lack of pace in the session moving from challenging for a top 10 to battling with STR but 2s ahead of Heikki. Massa was still having difficulties barely managing get through to the next session  just over a tenth ahead of Buemi. With the two orange cars at the bottom of the timings with Di Resta again beating Sutil the Criminal behind Kovalainen

Then things moved onto Q1 and for a while nothing happened - the remaining ten which included a surprisingly fast Maldonado who filled the space vacated by Heidfeld after warming his car a little too much this morning. Red Bull and Mclaren were the first cars to leave the garage to set the early pace - Vettel was first and buried the car deep into the low 1:21's considerably faster than anyone else had been..... so far. Webber had decided that the German had won too many pole positions this year and took two tenths out of him to move into the 1:20's. 

No-one else could come close both McLarens were hundredths shy of a second behind and within three hundredths of each other. That was their runs over and done with - Red Bull didn't need to do anything and McLaren were powerless to compete, attention shifted to the remaining drivers who had taken to the track. Alonso was the fastest of the second group managing to get between the two British drivers behind his best friend Hamilton. 

Schumacher was up to something - leaving the pit lane on the hard tyres to entice others to follow suit but drove round and pitted again setting no time, I'm not really sure what he was trying to achieve but all that he did do was save some tyres for tomorrow. There was a good showing for Petrov who beat Rosberg in a car which has been losing pace to the Mercedes, with Massa who is not having a great weekend and Maldonado rounding off the cars that set times.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners. 

Qualifying may have lost some of the importance as a result of tyres and the new devices the teams get to play with, but the Bonus Point Championship is still in effect on Saturday so points do get awarded still for their efforts. 

• Heikki Kovalainen - Getting into Q2 and beating the whole Force India Team even though they were on hard tyres
• Maldonado - For not being rubbish this time and making the top ten 
• Alonso - For maximising the speed of the Ferrari and well beating Massa in the same car - and for finally not being 5th 
• Webber - For being on pole and not being Vettel
• HRT - For not being last

Dubious Dealings entries

• Grandpa Schumacher - I'm not sure whether he is getting penalty points yet but his Q3 outing was rather suspicious 

Looking to Tomorrow

Well all is now set for 66 laps of the Spanish GP on Sunday afternoon - but we are not expecting one of the most exiting rounds of the season. It is rather probable that Red Bull will sail off into the distance very much in the same vein of the Schumacher domination era before old age set in. 

Behind McLaren and Alonso will be competing for the remaining podium place with everyone else arguing over the rest of the points. But one of the most interesting things to keep an eye on over the race is the progress of Nick Heidfeld from the back row of the grid - as like we saw with Kobayashi and Webber in previous races he has fresh tyres. It's is Nick's turn to do a Webber as it is now called after China - aiming for points in a car which is as Petrov showed top 10 material so I can foresee some bonus points coming his way if he manages a good run.

So things may be fairly stagnant for the front of the race but with the longest DRS zone of the year and the biggest tyre disparity could change that fate who knows what will unfold. So I would love to proven wrong and for have the race to be an epic showing so I shall hope for some racing to compete with the inevitable madness of the lower formula support races.

Round Five: Spain Preview

Greetings all,

After a spate of modern sanitised racing circuits the teams set down on the first 'traditional' circuit on the calender and the first time we encounter corners that have names not just numbers on a map. Barcelona should see the second wave of important updates, where teams are implementing the second stage of the design modifications before the madness of Monaco next week. Some teams like Mercedes and Force India will be looking to get new parts on the car after not bringing too many to the track in Turkey.

Spain now does hog a larger amount of the F1 process, not just with holding two GPs since the introduction of the 'street' track in Valencia, but also dominating the pre-season testing. Three locations in the country are used for the preparations in Jerez, the permanent track in Valencia and of course the track the competitors will be visiting this weekend in Calatunya.

Source FIA.com

The Track

Finally the world is free from the pain of a Tilke abomination - although Turkey was a far better effort by the designer but that may not be on the calender next year through low attendance. Here, or more accurately there I not being here not there - may not be the most entertaining of layouts and because of it's flowing and often long corners overtaking is a rare occurrence. 

Changes have been made to the circuit in recent years starting off with the sharpening of La Caixa at the end of the back straight - and has been the most effective change to the layout. In 2007 a new rather daft chicane was placed before the final corner, now I like a good chicane as much as the next guy sometimes a little more. But this one is not one of the good efforts it may be fit for touring cars or low class GTs but doesn't work too well with big powerful Formula One machinery. 

Tyres are going to be very important this weekend, because the nature of the track is very hard on tyres because of the long fast corners which induce understeer and the acts like a cheese grater especially on the left-front. The same tyre we saw fail on the McLaren of former grumpy face Hamilton and Kovalainen in 2008, so with much less durability available this year things will be more of a problem. 

Overtaking opportunities are also down to a minimum as as result of the format, only two decent zones are present around the 2.9 miles of twisting tarmac. The most accessible is la Caixa after it was re-profiled but staying close enough through Campsa does lower the possibility, the other possibility is after the front straight down into turn one. Barcelona previously held the longest straight on the calender before a global game of oneup-manship began first with Bahrain and China then Abu-Dhabi claimed the title before being pipped by South Korea last year. This time with KERS and DRS in effect and with the tyres degrading the race could be quite different. 

The new Blogmobile - with soft 'reds' tyres fitted

Now it comes to the point where I get to unveil my latest attempt at making a video to demonstrate the lap as it currently exists - with a little difference from the three previous outings. This weekend the car that I shall be using to complete the lap is a little different - a car from the American Champcar World Series from 2006. A vehicle that is a little older than the 2010 Indycar previous used for the videos - the change offers a lot more speed for a more representative lap time. The lap would have qualified my 21st on the grid for the 2010 Spanish GP and other laps not recorded brought me within 0.2 of the two lotus cars and a 18th place grid slot.

What to expect

This weekend should throw up some different results than two weeks ago in eastern realm of Turkey - the flowing layout will favour the cars with the greatest level of downforce which will be of greatest benefit in sector one with the fast turn three. Looking at this you'd expect things to play once again into the hand of the Red Bull pairing who could still have a powerful advantage. With McLaren being the closest challengers and if Turkey's form is reproduced Ferrari not much further back. 

It is highly likely to see the final session of qualifying locked out by the top five teams as is was in Turkey with Mercedes showing their qualifying pace far exceeds the early race speed with full fuel. Where they could fall victim to the Renault Squadron as Schumacher found out in Turkey dropping out the points after starting inside the top ten.

The mid-pack which has now firmly engulfed the two Saubers will be the most hotly contested section of the grid but with a five team breakaway in qualifying, breeching the final session will not be easy placing more pressure on the group. There will be a lot of fighting to be the head of the mid-field to capitalise if anything goes wrong with the top five, and with the gaps being so small from the tail of the lead group to the middle there could well be some interlopers if they put in a good run. 

Then there is the final three teams, the newcomers from last year - Lotus have easily claimed the title of being better then their fellow tail-enders and are making significant inroads into the cars in front closing the deficit to under a second. This pretty much moves Lotus into their own special division ahead of Virgin/HRT and behind everyone else. The other remaining two teams have been drifting closer to each other which is nice for HRT because then they won't be so lonely at the back of the grid - giving Narain and Vitantonio another two people to play with. 

DRS and KERS

As like last time in Turkey (may have something to do with actually doing some research) the FIA have released the zone information for the DRS this weekend and I have found it through the powerful weapon that is google, turning up the following diagram.

The map shows that the detection line lies between that stupid chicane and the neutered final corner - as cars will likely be bunched up by the preceding chicane being in the 1s window could be easier but does raise a problem. If a driver runs wide at the chicane - something which is inevitable across the weekend they could easily find themselves close behind the car in front. This does open up some possibilities for some dubious driving and penalty points for anyone abusing the system.

Once the driver is in that range the DRS becomes active at the start/finish line and is open for the longest stint of the season. After we saw the system making overtaking unstoppable in Turkey extending that zone does sort of suggest we are in for some more of the same diluted racing. The consolation is that the run up to the zone isn't as fast as in Turkey so that may counteract the speed differential and make passing less of a formality.

As for KERs there are a few areas on the layout where applying the button or a magic paddle for those folk in the Mercedes team whatever that really does. It can be combined with the DRS for yet more power on the main straight but also could be applied to good effect on the back straight into La Caixa where passes have been made before mainly in the support series' but they've shown it can be done. There is also a small KERs chance on the exit of three on the short straight running into Repsol corner which does present a chance for a lunge if the driver in front makes a complete mess of things.

So how is the outlook for the Spanish GP of 2011, I wouldn't hold your hopes up for masses of excitement and close racing - you'd have to look to GP2 and GP3 for plenty of that if Turkey was anything to go by with three wide racing and cars sailing through the air. Maybe this weekend Louis Razia won't be landing upside down again - but I digress. Back to the main game and I'd expect the race to be a foregone conclusion with an almost certain Red Bull victory and a McLaren filling up the podium - but of course anything can happen and in the words of Murray Walker "it usually does" so the prospects for the race may not to be rosy but I'd happily be proved wrong. So I'm still looking forward to the race of course, but the support package will be more entertaining. 

Round Four: Turkey Review

Greetings Internet

The fourth outing on the wondrous motor-racing journey that is this years season has been brought to a conclusion albeit a rather inevitable conclusion out at the front of the grid, but plenty of intrigue. And as with the last round out in the Far East when I come to sit down to type these words the same problem seems to have arisen it is impossible to trace every car's strategic solutions but having some practice after Shanghai it seemed a lot easier to follow.

I've yet to catch up on the support race package - they are currently sitting on my video tape in the VCR machine - and of course I appreciate the irony of documenting the most technologically advanced sport in the world with an obsolete grey box as my support device. At least this computer is fairly up to date - it's not the fastest device in the world but it is a couple of years ahead of hamster powered technology.

But quibbles about the rudimentary gizmos in my living room - though I could do with KERS and DRS on my laptop - it is time to look back on the 58 laps of the Turkish GP 2011.

The Renault Squadron (source:http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk)

A sense of deja vu was encountered before the lights went out - while the cars were heading out to the grid to be mobbed by the crowds of mechanics, ambling 'vips' and the presence of Martin Brundle. We were short a full compliment of vehicles on the pit straight one was missing, this time there was no threat of a garage inferno - we've had enough fire in the V8 Supercars when Karl Reindler's car exploded. The problem was further down the pit lane in the Marussia Virgin garage instead of in Hamilton's awning, where Glock had a gearbox failure on an installation lap and the team couldn't swap out the parts in time.

One car down the grid formed up headed by the Red Bull pairing and rounded up by Kobayashi and D'Ambrosio after their difficulties across the weekend - with Kamui's technical problem and Jerome's penalty.  But the formation was soon to be disturbed as the lights were illuminated and then shut off releasing the now 23 cars for the first of the many laps ahead of them.

The cars on the outside of the grid made a better initial launch with Vettel leading safely into the first corner away from the line - Rosberg followed in behind capitalising on the better side of the track to jump past Webber into the first bend.  Hamilton also got away faster then Webber in front but couldn't make the pass in T1 and went for a second stab at the Australian round the outside of turn three but entered the corner with too much speed and slid wide losing places to Alonso and Button. The rest of the field were - as is becoming a pattern this year very sensible with no wings lost in the opening lap.

While the field sorted themselves out on lap one, Michael had moved himself ahead of the Renault squadron and almost took the spot from Hamilton when he was out of position. And Kamui had begun the charge through the pack picking off the HRT cars and D'Ambrosio on the opening lap, placing him in 20th behind the Lotus cars. His teammate one-stop Perez had certainly made up for not making many stops in Australia by making more visits to the pit lane since, was having more of a difficulty - returning to the pit lane with the front wing positioned underneath the front left suspension. One-stop Perez's new design change was one that wasn't considered on the Sauber factory floor and needed to be corrected with a new wing.

Once the first two laps had been completed the first part of the Renault Squadron occupied by Vitaly Petrov decided to launch an attack on the grumpy German in the form of Michael Schumacher. Sitting in the draft of the Mercedes on the exit of the 9-10 chicane and drawing closer through 11 before making a move to the inside. Michael not being particularly new to racing tactics spotted Vitaly's move and moved across to squeeze the Russian but Petrov was already in the gap and down the inside. Schumacher having a bit of a brain fade closed the door when the Renault was already in front and collided crumpling his front wing and forcing a pit stop.

With the DRS well in effect now cars were sailing past each other with ease - Rosberg was a repeat victim, being passed by Webber without any difficulty in the zone running into turn 12, the Mercedes had no reply to the Red Bull as it flew down the outside. The problems didn't end there for Rosberg as more cars closed in on the German, Alonso in the Ferrari was on the way with the McLaren pair in close formation not too far behind. While Fernando effortlessly drafted past Nico within the DRS zone - the two sliver machines behind engaged combat.

The battle started with Hamilton diving to past Button into 12 and holding the position through the niggly complex at the end of the lap - in a repeat of the in team fight in 2010. Button determined not to lose the position cut back under lewis on entry to the pit straight and was repassed into the first corner. The positioned remained stable for a lap before Button made another overtaking advance into turn one sliding down the inside of the other McLaren before pulling away in pursuit of Alonso. The battle had dropped Hamilton into the clutches of Felipe Massa who entered into the DRS zone within the required 1s window and given how easy the system made passing this race breezed past.

With the lap counter sliding into double figures many drivers were becoming tired of their rubber and wanted some more - Petrov was first to stop in the early section of the pit window as a precaution of tyre damage from the collision with grumpy Michael Schumacher on lap 2. Hamilton and Massa pitted together immediately after the Ferrari overhauled the McLaren - but some very efficient pit work by Hamilton's crew reversed the positions in the pit lane. Felipe was released as Lewis glided past in the lane and ran two wide with the McLaren before conceding the position and pulling into line. Stops for the Red Bull drivers were straight forward switching to some new option tyres, Webber gained three seconds on his team-mate as a result of Vettel having to process Button before the Brit pitted.

Now the stops were taking effect several cars were dropped into traffic - Hamilton and Massa were dropped behind Maldonado in the Willams and just in front of Alguersuari and Kovalainien who was doing well for Lotus. One car that hadn't stopped was the Sauber of Kobayashi who at this point was running in 5th position from the final row of the grid - in what had been a mammoth opening segment of the race but his tyres were wearing thin and had to change.

Mercedes were having difficulties with the car when it is heavy with fuel - Michael was trapped with the Force  India cars and was now joined by Kobayashi. On the other side of the garage Rosberg was also gaining a following Massa and the three stopping Button had closed in on the German who had a few few people pass him already in the race was going to add a few more to the account. Massa didn't round up Nico as easy as other drivers had done in the early stages as Rosberg's car was getting lighter and more competitive - it just wan't fast enough yet.  Felipe managed to make the manoeuvre after a good run out of the mighty turn 8, passing at the DRS activation line - as they ran two wide through 11 Button got a double tow and tried to follow the Ferrari through. Jenson looked round the outside at 12 and the inside at 13 but finally managed to skate round the outside of 14. Nico anticipated Button cutting to the inside so hovered on the apex only for the McLaren to see an opportunity to the outside.

Formation flying was still the order of the day down with the Renault Squadron who have been running in formation all season very similar the Force India team who also seem to have a permanent tether between the cars. But the two black and gold machines were running the formation a little too close in the final complex which is where everything outside the GP2/GP3 races was taking place. Heidlfeld was up the inside of Petrov in 12 only for the Russian to hold station into 13 and a little more than gently ease the fellow squadron member wide into the pit-lane entry. Both drivers waved their arms in gesticulation of the collision even thought it was Vitaly's doing giving Nick a nudge out wide and claiming the position, fortunately both squadron members survived the contact without damage and could continue un-abated.

Grumpy Michael was encountering more problems in his off-pace Mercedes with the charging Kobayashi followed by a pair of Force Indias, Schumacher once again seemed to forget how wide the track is as he eased across again - this time relegating Kamui to the grass on the exit of 11. This plan was futile against the Sauber as Kobayashi kept going with two wheels off the edge of the track and threw it down the inside at turn 12. With Schumey eased wide Adrian Sutil in the closest of the orange machines dove into the Sauber sized space inside the Mercedes and with a little bump took the position, shedding some carbon fibre in the process.

There was a little lull in proceedings while drivers took the next round of stops, there was still a raft of DRS passes into turn 12, with Button on Massa who locked his front wheels under breaking and had to pit straight after the flatspot. Hamilton's visit to pit lane wasn't as smooth as his first visit - as the right front wheel nut cross threaded and needed to be replaced - costing many seconds, and then to add insult to injury Lewis had to wait a little longer to allow the Ferrari to pit ahead of him. On track positions had become stable with Vettel remaining out front from Webber and Alsono, but the Ferrari was keen on altering the order and using the power of the DRS found a way past the Red Bull into second.

Shifting into the final phase of the race Vettel was clear in the lead but the advantage Alonso held over the second Red Bull was running out - as the better condition tyres on Webber's car were paying off reeling in the Ferrari before reclaiming the position. With the fuel loads burning off the Mercedes' were gaining speed, which improved Rosberg's race allowing him to catch and pass Massa who needed to pit again for more tyres. The extra performance didn't help Michael who after a wing change early on and more contact later was languishing outside the points and was to be joined be Massa after a poor pit stop.

Button's three stop strategy was beginning to come undone as he was on the last set of tyres for too long and was hemorrhaging pace and dropping back from Alonso in 3rd. He was easy pickings for a recovering Lewis Hamilton who made the pass easily and without any resistance within the default passing zone of the race into turn 12. The pain didn't end there as the ailing McLaren was met with a resurgent Rosberg with an improving car and Button had no defence against the Mercedes attack. A three stop strategy had also been employed by Sebastien Buemi who had through strategy moved up into 7th, albeit a long way behind Button in 6th.

After some unknown mid-race setback Kobayashi who was also on the less favourable three stop strategy had driven the car up from 23rd on the grid into the points in 10th - making the greatest gains on the alternate strategy with a comfortable gap back to the troubled pair of Michael and Felipe. The Renault Squadron had closed in on a slowing Buemi with ageing tyres - Petrov heading Heidfeld as they began the assault out of camera shot the Squadron reversed positions when Heidfeld assumed the lead of the pair before bearing down on the Torro Rosso. With the weaker compound condition the second Sebastien couldn't hold of the Renault Squadron and was passed by the pair in sequence and dropped back to 9th but safely enough in front of Kobayashi.

The order was now fixed within the points but the race of perfect reliability became unstuck when Paul Di Resta's Force India gave up on running and pulled off at the inside of turn one. The second of the Mercedes powered orange machines was engrossed an a tight battle with the many stopping one-stop Perez who was desperately trying to shake of his new title and Adrian Sutil. The pair were ahead of the Williams of Rubens who showed some promise early on but had fallen back since the early stages - their battle was caught by the leader Vettel who had to lap them on the penultimate lap.

He stayed out front and the order was static till the end of the race concluding the race with the first Red Bull 1-2 of the season ahead of a resurgent Fernando Alonso who out-drove the speed of the car to make the podium with Hamilton and Rosberg completing the top 5. The points were filled by Button, the Renault Squadron, Buemi and Kobayashi completing an epic Webber style comeback from the back row of the grid.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


After sitting down with the notebook through out the race picking out the points winners was not exactly easy as there were a lot of generic performances and the all to easy DRS overtaking did dilute the racing a fair bit making passing effortless. The improvements were down mainly to strategy and the occasional proper overtaking manoeuvre, but points will be given and here are the winners from the Turkish GP 2011.

10pts - Fernando Alonso: For out-driving the power of the car and finally showing where Ferrari should be, as much as they usually up to dodgy goings on it is still nice to see them up front.
8pts - Kamui Kobayashi: A very strong comeback drive, almost made the top score but points from the back is a very commendable achievement in a mid-field car
6pts - Jenson Button: A combination score on two fronts - for making a clever opportunistic move round the outside of Rosberg, and battling and initially beating the formerly grumpy Hamilton. And topped off by some obscure appreciation of Eddie Jordan's shirt.
5pts - Red Bull: They get 5 points for scoring a strong 1-2 finished and consistent domination across the weekend despite Vettel messing up a car in Friday practice.
4pts - Renault Squadron: For some unnatural team consistency with both cars running competitively and in close company - a little too  close once but strong performance.
3pts - Sebastien Buemi: For only being a few laps away from holding off the Squadron for 7th on a three stop strategy after a poor qualifying session.
2pts Jarno Trulli: For the first time out-racing and finishing ahead of the traditionally faster Heikki Kovalainen who did so well in China
1pt - Sebastien Vettel: Well ok I'll give him a point for winning - though he is doing a little too much of that recently and it become a little repetitive.

The Also Official Penalty Championship


Over the course of the weekend only two penalties were dispatched to the field - one for Jerome D'Ambrosio  after ignoring yellows in Saturday practice which resulted in a 5 place grid drop. The second one handed to Pastor Maldonado for pit lane speeding.

The No Less Official Dodgy Dealings Championship


After the wing issue with Fernando Alonso was cleared up over the break I will have to remove his penalty point from the table as it turns out he wasn't up to anything dodgy.... this time. But there are some nominations for this race to fit into the table.

Firstly Michael Schumacher - for as we've seen in previous races last year Canada, Hungary and Singapore being good examples he exhibited some alternative racing skills. Colliding with Petrov for no apparent reason when it was obvious he would slide out wide which would have allowed Michael back through again - but opting for some contact. Then forcing Kobayashi to the grass on the exit of 11 when struggling for pace and tyres. So Schumey  definitely gets a penalty point for today's race

Next up in the sin bin is the DRS system which made the concept of overtaking rather a formality today of course it is preferential to see cars passing each other but it becomes silly when we have cars driving past in a straight line before even reaching a corner. The extreme speed differential removed the necessity for out-breaking or setting up an attack when the DRS makes the pass easy. It is an experimental technology and will need some fine tuning but today it gets a penalty point for being too effortless, the support races showed how passing and racing should be done.

The third of the gripes over not only the race but the weekend is over the Prime Compound tyres which seem to have absolutely no use whatsoever. The idea of a harder tyre is that it is supposed to last longer than the soft in exchange for lower performance, allowing for varying stint lengths during the race to make them worth having. Bringing in the concept of running longer or running faster but the prime tyres are as feeble as the softs and just perform worse which ruins their usefulness, making them a penalty rather than a strategic tool - it's like having to spend a mandatory stint with no wings -  an unnecessary handicap when so much more can be made of it.  So one penalty point gets awarded to the Prime tyre compound.

Onward to Spain


The two week break before the next race allows teams to ready what will likely be the biggest updates packages to the cars as they reach the F1 testing grounds where every team (except HRT has ran many many laps in pre-season) It's a track traditionally at the head of the European season but bumped into second by Turkey and is often an indication of a the grid's relative speeds where the cars should be at their maximum pace.

Also Spain - in the form of the this Internet ranting will be the debut for the new Blogmobile a 2006 Champcar Lola which is a couple of seconds slower than the bottom of the F1 grid, and in Turkey would have held the fastest lap until lap 19 on a 1:32.9.

Overall it's two weeks of anticipation with a shortage of interim racing as Indycar and BTCC are on a break but there will always be something going on in the week off as we wait for the Grand Prix of Barcelona.

Turkey: Pre-race

Greetings Internet,

The first qualifying session in Europe has been completed and the the first support races of the season are underway but Eurosport won't be showing them till tomorrow morning - or much later when I'll be watching Doctor Who. So the idea of a GP2 mini-feature has been rather scrubbed perhaps till the final report or a separate posting considering I'll be waffling on for a while about the race to start off with, so the support package may be a different segment.

But all that aside today was a day for qualifying and to prove that all the updates designed over the three week break were worthwhile. But with first practice compromised by the rain and Vettel binning his car into the barrier bringing out the red flags, the lowered amount of relevant track time will have hampered preparations for the session. However despite the weekend's complications so far things played out roughly as expected.

Source www.F1fanatic.co.uk 

Changes since China


The raft of updates has brought some changes to the complexion of the grid, even with most teams making modifications and developments the order has encountered some re-formatting. At the very front of the field things have remained the same with the two Red Bull cars making the front row theirs - with Vettel still in another dimension in terms of pace - albeit a tightening dimension over Webber and the rest of the field.

Here is where the similarities end - at least at this side of the grid. Mercedes have made a significant improvement and moved up several places from their earlier form. They've moved from battling to be the fourth best team with Renault, to jumping ahead of them and Ferrari and competing with McLaren - at least in Rosberg's hands. The second Mercedes driver - the previously rather successful Michael Schumacher had taken over the position of grumpy face from Hamilton who after winning in China has been a little less grumpy.

On the other end of the spectrum Renault have been losing ground since China and now have fallen into 5th place on the fringes of the midfield where things too have been shaken up. Williams have made a recovery from the very poor early season results with Rubens coming within a few tenths of making the top ten. Even the off pace Maldonado was only 0.5s further back.

Sauber and Torro Rosso have been the big losers after the spring break - shifting from being fighting for points to falling easily in Q2 and with the field being so tight in the middle then a loss of a couple of tenths makes a huge difference. Force India have pretty much stayed where they were in terms of relative pace but have ended up with different rivals this weekend in terms of the recovering Williams team.

At the back end of the grid change was afoot too, HRT managed to pull themselves off the final row the grid - with Liuzzi managing to pass Glock in qualifying pace but whether that transfers into race speed is another matter. Lotus were making more strides coming ever closer to the tail of the estabilshed teams only 0.7 seconds off Alguersuari in the Torro Rosso. So we could be seeing one of the newer cars in the second qualifying segment.

Qualifying 

The time had come for the drivers to escape their monstrous motorhomes in the paddock of excess - a long way from the tents and awnings you get in many other racing series across the planet, including some major championships. The lights had changed to green and the first car to take to the Turkish circuit was the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi - but things were not going entirely to plan. As the Japanese driver crowned the brown on the exit of turn 11 his fuel pump failed cutting flow to the engine and killing the power. He crawled down to  the pit lane entry putting an end to Kamui's qualifying efforts and securing a back row grid slot.

The rest of the opening segment was initially dominated by Red Bull, who opted to only use the harder tyres and with one Sauber out the remaining drop zone places would almost certainly be occupied by the six new cars from last season. Lotus tried their best to upset the form by holding station in the top 16 with Kovalainen, but late times from Di Resta and Renault saving their runs to the end of the session relegated them. For some reason towards the end of the segment Massa felt the need to go out on the softer tyres despite seeming safe at the time and produced a time to top the first session

And then there was 16 heading into Q2, as in the first part the main teams decided to run a few laps as possible to save tyres and set them up for the race tomorrow. Red Bull remained the fastest cars and planted both entries at the front with Vettel being the top runner. Mercedes were beginning to show their form with Rosberg splitting the Red Bull pairing and Michael not too far behind at this stage after a call from the pits regarding a 'Magic Panel'. Renault were still playing the waiting game - hanging on until the last possible moment, while the top ten was temporarily occupied by a Williams with Rubens Barrichello at the wheel.

Buemi was flirting with the fringes of the relegation zone before Force India shuffled both drivers ahead of the Torro Rosso, and was later usurped by the second Williams of Maldonado. Pastor has had another interesting weekend shredding another front wing in practice and trying to drift round turn 8, but adding a top ten to that list was not on the menu. After finally deciding to leave the pit lane Renault decided it was time to take part in the session and book their places in the next session. Both Petrov and Heidfeld stuck a new set of soft tyres on and rose to the challenge. Vitaly was first to complete a lap and knocked Di Resta out, Nick was a few seconds down the road and narrowly managed to secure the final place dropping Rubens into relegation.

For the first time this year, the entire top ten was filled by both cars from the top five teams without any interlopers from the mid-pack. But the grid wasn't going to be set in two-by-two fashion outside the front row, the Red Bulls were among the first group to head to the track. Vettel opened his Q1 account with a 1:25.05 with Webber half a second back, following these times Red Bull decided that was enough and headed back to the garage. Everyone else threw all they could at the blue cars but to no avail - Hamilton lead the early charge but was pipped by Rosberg to 3rd.

Alonso was the lead Ferrari and managed to separate the McLaren pairing less than a tenth ahead of Button but a long way behind Vettel out front. The second of the red machines didn't make an appearance in the final session choosing to conserve tyres perhaps in an effort to 'do a Webber' and make a massive gain on a tyre advantage. The Renaults looked set for the bottom two places in the final session but were joined by a uncommonly slow Michael Schumacher who was not matching the potential of the Mercedes as demonstrated by Rosberg. This lack of pace showed through in his disposition post session - as he claimed the title of grumpy face for the weekend. Red Bull were able to sit back while all this unfolded claiming a front row lockout with Vettel three tenths of Montoya's lap record.

The Official Bonus Points Championship points winners


So after the first qualifying session in Europe completed and here are the bonus points awarded

• Vitantonio Liuzzi - For getting an HRT car, which didn't even qualify in Australia, ahead of another team car on pace
• Kovalainen - For being closer to entering Q2 than before and comprehensively beating teammate Trulli
• Rosberg - Great qualifying result and giving Michael a thorough beating 
• Magic Paddle - A paddle of unknown mystical powers which gifted Schumacher 4th in Q2
• Red Bull - For being able to chill in the garage after only one run knowing they'd claimed the front row.

Looking to Tomorrow

Well the race itself with the new tyre as demonstrated in China is very much an unknown quantity - I expect the Red Bulls to lead of the start and build a gap over the rest of the pack. Rosberg whilst having strong qualifying pace could fall victim to the McLarens in the early stages with Alonso in the mix.

It is further into the race when strategy starts to raise it's head do things become interesting, with Massa being out of sequence with a reasonably quick car - with the right tyre strategy could make significant inroads into the major points positions. Another car to make a special look out for is Kamui Kobayashi who will be starting from 23rd with lots of fresh tyres - combined with strong passing initiative Kamui could prove even more entertaining to watch - with points a possibility. 

The likes of Renault, Williams and Force India could end up in the points as they are in the same group of cars on the grid and when tyre degredation and strategy overpowers raw carspeed then expect several cars and strategies to come together at the end of the race and things will get very interesting. The same could be said of the cars at the front of the field where alternate routes to the flag for Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren could cause problems for Red Bull - especially if their KERS fails again.

Overall tomorrows Turkish Grand Prix will be very exciting - mixing the strategy of China with a more entertaining and challenging track. With attendance figures dwindling in Istanbul and threat of removal from future calenders could the 2011 race be Turkey's swansong and bow out with a spectacular event.

Round Four: Turkey Preview

Greetings Internet,

After a long spring break at the end of the Austral-asian races the teams will be setting up back in Europe for the main phase of the season where teams will be closer to their factories and closer to a influx of new updated parts. This season things are a little different as the field isn't setting up camp in Barcelona as is the traditional norm for the first European race. The testing grounds are shuffled into second place on the Euro calender which could cause a two stage update process this year both at Turkey and at the next race in Spain.

Source: F1-Fansite.com

The Track

This is the third consecutive Tilke designed circuit on the calender but fortunately does have less of the drawbacks of the last two. The Istanbul park circuit was designed to promote overtaking and offer a challenge in an era when the standard of cars was making some of the older corners on traditional courses too easy. It can be said that the plan of making it challenging didn't pan out too well only one corner presents any degree of intrigue is the now infamous turn 8. Which is an quadruple apexed high speed monster of a corner, but last years red bull was able to take it flat which was an illustration of the advantage they had. 

Aside from the imaginatively named turn 8, the track does offer some overtaking opportunities, most obviously at the end of the back straight heading into the final complex. Which I'm guessing when Tilke came to the end of the layout he decided he hadn't used enough corners and stuck a fiddly little complex on the end of the lap which is slow and clumsy in an F1 car. The excuse for this combination of daft corners is that it allows a driver to pass into the first part but be re-passed into the second phase with the final position up for grabs in the last turn. But in reality it just results in slow stupid accidents when cars fail to allow racing room and decide to take each other out.

But now for the moment you haven't been waiting for, where instead of writing about the layout and where the corners are I get to show you - as I drive around the circuit rather badly and in a time that would be beaten be continental drift. But so far I am maintaining an average of being 10s off the pace of an HRT car - I have no reference point, as the indycars haven't visited the tracks on the F1 calender so no-one will ever know how far off the pace I actually am. Though later in the year there will likely be an alternate Blogmobile making an appearance. 

What to expect


Well things could be very different this weekend because after the spring break many teams will be bringing substantial updates to the cars to optimise performance and improve their position within the field. This will have the greatest effect in the mid-field where the gaps are so small and so many teams are battling for the same section of the grid.

The likes of Mercedes and Renault will be looking to jump clear of the rest of the mid-field in an effort to close on Ferrari and Mclaren at the top end of the tree. Ferrari themselves will be hoping to put an end to the early season poor form to try and pull away from the two teams behind them and catch the lead cars. Red-Bull will be looking to extend their advantage and keep McLaren in check who in turn will want to reverse the balance of power.

The likely situation is that at the front the status-quo will be maintained as the main teams will be making the same gains and the relative position will remain the same. Things will shuffle about more mid-pack with Williams and Force India wanting to overturn previous form and haul in Torro Rosso and Sauber in front - the closing up of this section of the grid will make the second session of qualifying very close and unpredictable. But as demonstrated in China by Webber qualifying isn't that important any more as long as you have carspeed and fresh tyres clawing through the field becomes easy.

One zone of upset that may come into play is the possible improvement of Team Lotus as they have made marked progress so far - beating an established car on merit in Shanghai. With the updates in Istanbul Williams could start to look over their shoulder as the green cars start edging up on the established teams. HRT will also be looking to get off the final row of the grid as times in China were creeping closer to the back of the Virgin Racing cars, as the field as a whole begins to compress.

Overall things should remain roughly the same but there is a high chance of some surprise performances at all ends of the grid, with all sorts of different approaches to be taken into account after seeing the dramatic strategic decisions taken in China. This now makes qualifying and the race two very distance sessions with it's own strategy and permutations.

DRS and KERS 


How will the array of gadgets be brought into the equation this weekend, the track does have a variety of options to use KERS to gain an advantage on a car in front to make an overtaking manoeuvreKERS and varying tyre condition will allow for an exciting race.

    The diagram show where the DRS zones will be for the weekend, or at least where they will be starting on Friday for free practice, in China the zones were moved across the weekend to trim 200m out of the zones. In Turkey the zones are in roughly where I'd guessed in the video - eventually I'll get one of them right but not quite this time. The detection line will be placed before turning into the 9/10 chicane (I guessed the exit of the chicane but close enough).

What is most interesting is where the DRS Activation line has been positioned - as the diagram shows it will be a distance after the exit of the chicane -  into the long straight heading down to the hairpin at 12. But what is most interesting is that the DRS zone contains the slight curve at turn 11. Because whether a car can negotiate turn 11 with the wing open is unknown because rear downforce will be minimal resulting in instability throw in a high speed corner into the zone and things could get very interesting indeed. It's a good thing the amount of run-off space on the exit of 11 is big enough to declare independence from Europe because we could see some cars investigating it - especially teams with lower downforce designs to start off with.

So how is the weekend panning out, it's becoming an intriguing cauldron of strategy a whole range of updates for assuming all of the teams and now a DRS zone which is noticeably long and contains a fast full speed corner. Tyres will be very important as the conditions will likely be very warm so degradation could be higher resulting in a very China-esque race on Sunday. Will any one deliberately drop out of qualifying to take advantage of faster tyres in the race to imitate Webber's run last time out. There are so many variables and so much unknown in terms of new performance upgrades. This may be one of the poorest attended races on the calender with it existence threatened to be replaced by new races in Russia and USA on the horizon, but this years Turkish GP could be one of the most exiting so far.