Current World Champion Jenson Button raced to victory in Melbourne in a race that kept fans gripped to the very end. Polish star Robert Kubica and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa were 2nd and 3rd. After the procession in the opening race in Bahrain, Australia was just what the sport of F1 needed. This was a race packed with thrills and spills, when rain before the race forced everyone to start on intermediate tyres. A brave call from Button to come into the pits and change to slicks, when conditions were still damp, looked like it may have been the wrong decision when he slid off into the gravel. The McLaren then continued and picked up the pace, recording times six seconds quicker than his opposition. After the rest of the field had pitted for new tyres, he had jumped up to second place behind Sebastian Vettel who later retired with brake failure.
This was only Button’s second race for McLaren, so was an emotional and well deserved victory for the likeable man from Somerset. Button said, "I just want to run around and scream because this is the most amazing experience. For this moment in my career, it is very special and hopefully this is something we can build on for this year. The team has done a great job this weekend, we've made some good steps forward, but we are still not quick enough. We still want to be quicker than we are, but this is a great result and to win here with what we have is spectacular - and we have to keep building on this."
Many had questioned Button’s decision to jump ship from Brawn into the McLaren team which was so seemingly dominated around Lewis Hamilton. In Bahrain, Hamilton had the edge over his team-mate, so for Button to fight back and pick up 25 points, he has already established himself within the team in early stages of the season. The McLaren team actually thought Button had made a mistake on the decision to come in the pits so early to change to the slick tyre. Some may say it was a lucky call from Button, but its decisions like that which makes the difference between winning a championship. Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal at McLaren declared, “Jenson's was a drive truly worthy of a world champion. First, he showed extreme tactical acuity and supreme strategic responsibility by personally electing to make the early call from intermediate to dry tyres, a move that moved him ahead of the pack and laid the foundation for this victory.”
Suffering contrasting fortunes, Vettel must have crossed many black cats recently as on lap 26 whilst leading from the start of the race, he retired with brake failure and ended the race in the gravel. Two races lost this season when in a position to score 25 points. It’s clear the Red Bull in the hands of the young German seems to have the quickest pace of everyone but reliability issues have cost him a chance to have 50 points in the bag. Vettel said, “I had huge vibrations building up and as soon as I touched the brakes, I had some sort of failure going in to Turn 13 and ended up in the gravel. There was nothing I could have done, I lost the car and that was it. It's a shame as I think we had the race in total control at every stage, even though the conditions were difficult. But to win you have to finish. It breaks my balls not to get the win, but there's still a long way to go in this Championship. We're working hard to get on top the reliability issues and we hope to have a solid race and see the chequered flag in Malaysia."
The start of the race proved chaotic when there was a “racing incident” between Button and championship leader Fernando Alonso, which also hampered Michael Schumacher. Alonso was left in last pace after facing the wrong way after a spin and having to allow the whole field past, whilst Schumacher was forced into the pits for a new front wing.
A spectacular crash involving Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi on lap one was frightening to watch after he had lost his front wing and veered across the track into the path of Niko Hulkenberg and Sebastien Buemi ending the races for all involved. They were all lucky to be able to walk away without injury.
Kubica in the Renault drove a superb race to pick up 18 points after making up places at the start due to the mayhem that surrounded him. He drove a faultless race and withstood immense pressure from the quicker cars of Hamilton and Massa.
Alonso produced a stunning race after he made a sluggish start and then must have believed his race was over after the contact with Button and Schumacher. The Spaniard was lucky to avoid any damage from the oncoming cars while he had to sit patiently and fall to last place. A true champions’ drive followed which showed the gritty, determined side of the Ferrari driver, which kept him busy in the early stages, progressing through the pack.
Alonso said, “I am extremely happy - especially how the race developed. Being last at the first corner, and then the reward at the end of the race has been much better than I expected. I was not convinced that I could recover the positions to get into the points," he added. "The first laps with the intermediate tyres, if you see the times I was like two seconds quicker than anyone because I was not caring too much. I thought maybe I will crash or maybe I will recover my position – so it was maximum attack. I was very, very happy and very confident with the car. I enjoyed it – and I prefer to start first and be bored until the end of the race, but it was an interesting race in terms of overtaking and in terms of battles."
When Alonso caught his team-mate, Massa, he appeared to be much quicker and have better handling of his Ferrari, but was unable to pass the Brazilian. Many may say it would have been in Ferrari’s best interests to “allow” Alonso to pass Massa to see if he would have been able to challenge Kubica for 2nd place. Perhaps with it only being the second race in the championship and for harmony to be kept in the Maranello camp, it was decided that they would let the drivers fight it out on the track and Massa took three points out of Alonso’s advantage in the championship. Alonso claimed, "I don't think at that time that I could do any more than that. I was more concentrating on Hamilton and Webber – who were coming behind, than attacking Felipe and Robert. I was super happy with fourth, so I stayed there."
It was not one of Massa’s finest weekends at a track he openly admits to struggling on. His previous best finish at Albert Park was a 6th place. He was clearly out performed in qualifying but after beating Alonso at the start and driving a smart race, a podium finish was a fine result for Massa giving him the best start ever to a F1 season.
Home town favourite, Mark Webber, was not Mr Popular after the race after running into the back of Hamilton with two laps left of the race. Webber had already tapped Hamilton earlier in the race and been driving very aggressively. He was in 6th place after he and Hamilton were chasing down the two Ferrari’s after their second pit stop. Whilst Hamilton went around the outside of Alonso’s car, Webber was caught out and crashed into the back of him and had to limp back to the pits for a replacement nose cone. Webber was later reprimanded for the incident. Webber explained, “At the end of the race we caught the leading guys, but then we had the incident. I apologise to Lewis about that. I lost all down-force in the front of the car when I got close to them, the car lifted and I slid into the back of him. Unfortunately it had looked like a good finish, but it's still very difficult to follow in these cars. I went down fighting.”
Hamilton was left seething not only with Webber for costing him a potential shot at 4th place, but also with his team for what he was claming over the radio was a “terrible idea” for him to be have called in for new tyres. Ultimately, Hamilton and Webber’s rostrum chances were wrecked by the decisions from their team to come in for new tyres. They caught the trio of Kubica, Massa and Alonso quickly with fresh tyres but once there, could do nothing about the defensive Alonso. A frustrated Hamilton revealed, “This was probably one of the drives of my life. Okay, it's possible that the decision to make a second tyre stop wasn't the right one, but my team are a brilliant bunch of guys and they usually get it spot-on. I think I deserved better though. I guess things can't always pan out right every time, but that's motor racing."
Other notable performances were Tonio Liuzzi in the Force India with a fantastic 7th place finish, scoring 6 points. Karun Chandhok must have also been one of the happiest drivers after completing the race in the Hispania Racing car after barely having any time in the cockpit in Bahrain. It was a wonderful finish from the Indian and for the rookie who must be relieved to have reached the finish and got some vital laps under his belt for himself and the team.
The drivers’ championship is already hotting up after just two races. Alonso still leads Massa, but the gap is now only 4 points. Button, after his win, is now only 6 points behind the leader. Malaysia is only a week away, will Vettel be third time lucky or will a new winner join the exciting battle to be a contender for this years Championship?
Race Results, Round 2, Melbourne - Australia.
1. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps 1hr 33m 36.531s
2. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault +00m 12.0s
3. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 14.4s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.3s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 16.6s
6. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 29.8s
7. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 59.8s
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 00.5s
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +01m 07.3s
10. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 09.3s
11. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 11.3s
12. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 14.0s
13. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
14. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth +5 laps
Drivers Championship after 2 Races:
1. Alonso 37 pts
2. Massa 33 pts
3. Button 31 pts
4. Hamilton 23 pts
5. Rosberg 20 pts
6. Kubica 18 pts
7. Vettel 12 pts
8. Schumacher 9 pts
9. Liuzzi 8pts
10.Webber 6pts
How did the team-mates fare? After 2 races.
Hamilton 1-1 Button, Massa 1-1 Alonso, Vettel 2-0 Webber, Rosberg 2-0 Schumacher, Kubica 2-0 Petrov, Barrichello 2 -0 Hulkenberg, Sutil 2 –0 Liuzzi, De La Rosa 2-0 Kobayashi, Buemi 2-0 Alguersuari, Glock 2-0 Di Grassi, Trulli 1-1 Kovalainen, Senna 2 – 0 Chandhok
Posted by Leandra Graves
Monday 29 March 2010
Sunday 14 March 2010
ALONSO WINS IN DREAM DEBUT FOR FERRARI!
Double world champion Fernando Alonso made his dream debut in the prancing horse with a win in the first race of the season in Bahrain. However, it was pole sitter Vettel, who was super unlucky after leading the majority of the race and suffering exhaust gremlins which cost him victory. It was a Ferrari 1-2 with Massa taking second ahead of McLaren’s Hamilton in 3rd.
Vettel drove an impressive race especially in his first stint. A clear get-away at the start and he seemed to be comfortably maintaining the gap between him and the chasing Ferraris'. After the tyre changes, Alonso seemed to be able to reel the young German in and it was certainly much closer. With 15 laps to go, the Red Bull started to slow quite dramatically and Alonso saw his opportunity to snatch the season opener. Massa followed in quick succession. It must have been heart-breaking for Vettlel to watch his points slipping away after such a dominant drive. After a faultless race from Vettel, it was only reliability issues that cost Red Bull the chance of picking up where they had finished their 2009 campaign. Vettel was clearly a gutted man after the frustrating race. "It's a pity but what can you do. All in all it's been positive all weekend apart from the failure. Everything was running smoothly, but I lost power with about 20 laps to go, we are not sure what it was yet, but it wasn't good. Luckily I could continue and finish fourth but we should have won really."
Alonso seized the opportunity and had been a continuous threat for the race win. With Vettel’s technical difficulties, it cost fans the chance to see whether there would have been a wheel to battle between the Spaniard and the German, as it did appear Alonso had been keeping something in reserve. However, both Ferrari’s were cautious with over-heating after both having to replace an engine Sunday morning and once Alonso was in the dirty air of Vettel, it became apparent that he could not follow him so closely. Would Alonso have taken the gamble and gone for the win or settled with the second place? He said, "I would have attacked, it wouldn't have been easy. it would have been very difficult and almost no chance, but I would have attacked."
He also spoke of his pride for winning his first race with such a legendary team. "It is a very special day for me. Coming back to the top of the podium is special but it is even more special with Ferrari, with all the history behind the team and the expectation the driver has. There is no better way to start the relationship. I'm at the best team in the world. First and second is the result that all the guys deserve."
It was an emotional return for Massa, his first race since the horrendous injury he sustained in Hungary. He was beaten into second place by Alonso at the start of the race, though he maintained good pressure on the eventual winner. Massa was relieved to be back racing, he said, "It's just fantastic to be here. Thanks to God that I am fine. I didn't have a good start and I lost position to Fernando but then after that it was great. It was not an easy race but a fantastic result for the team, we have pushed very hard for the last year. It is my best start to a season so I am delighted."
By the end of the race, Alonso showed magnificent pace and finished sixteen seconds ahead of Massa, an ominous warning to Massa and the rest of the F1 world.
The tifosi must already be welcoming Alonso into open arms and be expecting to hear the Italian anthem on many more occasions this season. It was a welcome sight to see ex-Ferrari F1 driver, Jean Alesi, as a guest of the boys from Maranello and congratulating the team. A previous driver with such raw emotion and really capturing the heart of the fans, perhaps Alonso is ready to step up to that mantle.
Current world champ Jenson Button didn’t set the world on fire in his debut in the McLaren. 7th place was the best he could manage and he must have been disappointed with his own performance compared to Hamilton making the rostrum. Jenson's thoughts, "Set-up wise the car was OK but there are a few things I need to look at to make it more my style but I am reasonably happy with that as a first race."
Everyone was watching to see what Michael Schumacher could do on his long-awaited return to F1 and he ended up in 6th position, one place behind his younger team-mate Rosberg. It wasn’t the most mind-blowing return and by his own exceptionally high standards, 6th place wouldn’t be good enough for a 7 time world champion. Afterwards he said, "It is as good as it could have been. Overtaking here is impossible and that is the action we are going to have with this environment of race strategy. It was good fun. We have to work forward to catch up with what is in front of us."
Rosberg made a great start in the Mercedes by overtaking Hamilton but was caught out by the new regulations in the pits. Rosberg’s team were not allowed to let him leave his pit area as Button was comong past him and this cost him a place to Hamilton. This could be a regular feature to watch in future races, due to the strict new rules in force, a race can be won or lost in the pits as Rosberg found out through no fault of his own.
There was controversy at the start when Webber’s Red Bull poured out tons of smoke causing an incident between Kubica’s Renault and Force India’s Sutil. This pushed them both to the rear of the field and cost them both a good chance of points. Kubica drove a storming race to finish 11th but must have been rueing the opportunity to have got some significant points on board through the mistake of Sutil.
Lotus won the battle of the new boys and what a weekend with the team with so much history. Kovalainen finished the race in 15th place and Trulli was classified in 17th place despite failing to cross the finishing line due to a hydraulic fault. Lotus showed glimpses of their potential with stunning lap times during the end of the race, perhaps Lotus will be grabbing some points and surprising a lot of people.
It was no fairytale ending for Chandhok with the Hispania Racing Team, after the most difficult weekend imaginable to make your debut into the crazy world of F1, Chandhok retired on lap 2 after a crash. Senna, too was unlucky and made it to lap 18, but what a remarkable effort to even make it into the race. Virgin Racing failed to bring home their two drivers, proving how incredibly tough it is to compete with the current contenders in F1 but once again should be applauded for their efforts after such little time and barely any adequate testing time.
So Alonso is the man to catch! He was pre-season favourite and with the new points system in place, Alonso has 25 points on the board and already a seven point gap to his Ferrari-team mate. Proving that this year it’s even more vital to go for the win to increase your championship chances. It may not have been the most scintillating F1 race, with limited over-taking and concerns over whether the new tyre regulations and pit stops have made this even more boring. It was certainly no dull race for Alonso’s start to his Ferrari career, he may have only had the taste of fizzy water on the top step of the podium but he will be welcoming the chance of champagne in Australia in two weeks time!
Race Results 14th March 2010
1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 49 laps 1hr 39m 20.396s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.0s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 23.1s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 38.7s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 40.2s
6. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 44.1s
7. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 45.2s
8. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 46.3s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 53.0s
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 02.4s
Championship Scores after Race 1, Bahrain 2010.
1. Alonso 25 pts
2. Massa 18 pts
3. Hamilton 15 pts
4. Vettel 12 pts
5. Rosberg 10 pts
6. Schumacher 8 pts
7. Button 6 pts
8. Webber 4 pts
9. Liuzzi 2 pts
10. Barrichello 1 pt
Vettel drove an impressive race especially in his first stint. A clear get-away at the start and he seemed to be comfortably maintaining the gap between him and the chasing Ferraris'. After the tyre changes, Alonso seemed to be able to reel the young German in and it was certainly much closer. With 15 laps to go, the Red Bull started to slow quite dramatically and Alonso saw his opportunity to snatch the season opener. Massa followed in quick succession. It must have been heart-breaking for Vettlel to watch his points slipping away after such a dominant drive. After a faultless race from Vettel, it was only reliability issues that cost Red Bull the chance of picking up where they had finished their 2009 campaign. Vettel was clearly a gutted man after the frustrating race. "It's a pity but what can you do. All in all it's been positive all weekend apart from the failure. Everything was running smoothly, but I lost power with about 20 laps to go, we are not sure what it was yet, but it wasn't good. Luckily I could continue and finish fourth but we should have won really."
Alonso seized the opportunity and had been a continuous threat for the race win. With Vettel’s technical difficulties, it cost fans the chance to see whether there would have been a wheel to battle between the Spaniard and the German, as it did appear Alonso had been keeping something in reserve. However, both Ferrari’s were cautious with over-heating after both having to replace an engine Sunday morning and once Alonso was in the dirty air of Vettel, it became apparent that he could not follow him so closely. Would Alonso have taken the gamble and gone for the win or settled with the second place? He said, "I would have attacked, it wouldn't have been easy. it would have been very difficult and almost no chance, but I would have attacked."
He also spoke of his pride for winning his first race with such a legendary team. "It is a very special day for me. Coming back to the top of the podium is special but it is even more special with Ferrari, with all the history behind the team and the expectation the driver has. There is no better way to start the relationship. I'm at the best team in the world. First and second is the result that all the guys deserve."
It was an emotional return for Massa, his first race since the horrendous injury he sustained in Hungary. He was beaten into second place by Alonso at the start of the race, though he maintained good pressure on the eventual winner. Massa was relieved to be back racing, he said, "It's just fantastic to be here. Thanks to God that I am fine. I didn't have a good start and I lost position to Fernando but then after that it was great. It was not an easy race but a fantastic result for the team, we have pushed very hard for the last year. It is my best start to a season so I am delighted."
By the end of the race, Alonso showed magnificent pace and finished sixteen seconds ahead of Massa, an ominous warning to Massa and the rest of the F1 world.
The tifosi must already be welcoming Alonso into open arms and be expecting to hear the Italian anthem on many more occasions this season. It was a welcome sight to see ex-Ferrari F1 driver, Jean Alesi, as a guest of the boys from Maranello and congratulating the team. A previous driver with such raw emotion and really capturing the heart of the fans, perhaps Alonso is ready to step up to that mantle.
Current world champ Jenson Button didn’t set the world on fire in his debut in the McLaren. 7th place was the best he could manage and he must have been disappointed with his own performance compared to Hamilton making the rostrum. Jenson's thoughts, "Set-up wise the car was OK but there are a few things I need to look at to make it more my style but I am reasonably happy with that as a first race."
Everyone was watching to see what Michael Schumacher could do on his long-awaited return to F1 and he ended up in 6th position, one place behind his younger team-mate Rosberg. It wasn’t the most mind-blowing return and by his own exceptionally high standards, 6th place wouldn’t be good enough for a 7 time world champion. Afterwards he said, "It is as good as it could have been. Overtaking here is impossible and that is the action we are going to have with this environment of race strategy. It was good fun. We have to work forward to catch up with what is in front of us."
Rosberg made a great start in the Mercedes by overtaking Hamilton but was caught out by the new regulations in the pits. Rosberg’s team were not allowed to let him leave his pit area as Button was comong past him and this cost him a place to Hamilton. This could be a regular feature to watch in future races, due to the strict new rules in force, a race can be won or lost in the pits as Rosberg found out through no fault of his own.
There was controversy at the start when Webber’s Red Bull poured out tons of smoke causing an incident between Kubica’s Renault and Force India’s Sutil. This pushed them both to the rear of the field and cost them both a good chance of points. Kubica drove a storming race to finish 11th but must have been rueing the opportunity to have got some significant points on board through the mistake of Sutil.
Lotus won the battle of the new boys and what a weekend with the team with so much history. Kovalainen finished the race in 15th place and Trulli was classified in 17th place despite failing to cross the finishing line due to a hydraulic fault. Lotus showed glimpses of their potential with stunning lap times during the end of the race, perhaps Lotus will be grabbing some points and surprising a lot of people.
It was no fairytale ending for Chandhok with the Hispania Racing Team, after the most difficult weekend imaginable to make your debut into the crazy world of F1, Chandhok retired on lap 2 after a crash. Senna, too was unlucky and made it to lap 18, but what a remarkable effort to even make it into the race. Virgin Racing failed to bring home their two drivers, proving how incredibly tough it is to compete with the current contenders in F1 but once again should be applauded for their efforts after such little time and barely any adequate testing time.
So Alonso is the man to catch! He was pre-season favourite and with the new points system in place, Alonso has 25 points on the board and already a seven point gap to his Ferrari-team mate. Proving that this year it’s even more vital to go for the win to increase your championship chances. It may not have been the most scintillating F1 race, with limited over-taking and concerns over whether the new tyre regulations and pit stops have made this even more boring. It was certainly no dull race for Alonso’s start to his Ferrari career, he may have only had the taste of fizzy water on the top step of the podium but he will be welcoming the chance of champagne in Australia in two weeks time!
Race Results 14th March 2010
1. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 49 laps 1hr 39m 20.396s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.0s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 23.1s
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 38.7s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 40.2s
6. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 44.1s
7. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 45.2s
8. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 46.3s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes +00m 53.0s
10. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 02.4s
Championship Scores after Race 1, Bahrain 2010.
1. Alonso 25 pts
2. Massa 18 pts
3. Hamilton 15 pts
4. Vettel 12 pts
5. Rosberg 10 pts
6. Schumacher 8 pts
7. Button 6 pts
8. Webber 4 pts
9. Liuzzi 2 pts
10. Barrichello 1 pt
Saturday 13 March 2010
SUPER SEBASTIAN RACES TO POLE IN BAHRAIN
It was a German driver on pole for the opener to this F1 season but it was 22 year old Vettel stealing all the headlines. After consistently being near the top of the timesheets in all three qualifying sessions, he produced a memorable lap to secure the first pole position of 2010. Behind him were the fast charging Ferrari’s but the surprise was that it was Massa who got the edge on Alonso.
In a season where there is a massive focus on the performance between team-mates, Massa took first blood over the Spaniard which must have been of some annoyance to Alonso. The double world champion had been faster than Massa in each session and looked favourite to win the battle to take the first position on the grid. However, Vettel’s Red Bull chose to spoil his plans and his lap time of 1:54.101 perhaps came as a small surprise to some people. Has the performance of Vettel and Red Bull been over looked in favour of all the hype concerning Ferrari, McLaren and Michael Schumacher?
Vettel spoke of his delight after claiming top spot in the all important first qualifying session of the year. “It is a big surprise, it was clear that there are four teams close to each other. Yesterday was tough and it was another long night, especially for the mechanics, but everybody was keen this morning. I knew we had a great car but you have to get it together. I am very happy to be on pole thanks to the team, it's a nice feeling to be on top."
The other Red Bull of Aussie Mark Webber could only manage 6th and will be wanting a much better race performance if he doesn’t want to let his team-mate take the early upper-hand in the team for 2010.
As part of the new regulations for this year, refuelling has gone, so the results of this qualifying session were a genuine reflection of speed. No more low fuelling to earn yourselves higher places on the grid, now what you see is what to expect in race conditions tomorrow.
How did the current world champion fare? Button struggled with the McLaren and was edged out by Hamilton who managed a respectable 4th on the grid. Button found himself lucky to squeeze into Q3 and finished 4 tenths behind his team mate with 8th place for the start of tomorrow’s race. Button said, "It was getting better every run but I did struggle with front locking this afternoon. Something felt wrong through qualifying so we are going to have a look at that."
Hamilton had his problems too, after a cooling duct issue in the morning practice, which limited his running time, he still managed to hold it together for a second row start. This was an important factor as previous winners of this race have only ever started in the top 4 positions.
The hype was all about how would 7 time world champion Schumacher perform on his return to F1 after a three year break from the sport. As a very proud man, 7th place on the grid was surely not the result he would have been hoping for, especially considering his compatriot and team-mate was 2 places higher up the grid than him. Schumi was not looking very comfortable with his car, tentative by his previous standards. Rosberg was 0.5 seconds quicker than Schumi and on that he said, “That is a bit too much for my standards. I've got to raise my game a bit and I'm sure I'm able to. "I certainly feel a little bit rusty, certainly on the one-lap issue I can do better.”
However, the old Schumi we all loved to hate was out in force after qualifying was over. In parc ferme he was checking out his competition and having a sneaky look at the McLaren car. Not much has changed there then!
Polish star Kubica was one of the stars of qualifying, managing to make it into the top 10 shoot out with his yellow and black Renault. Force India’s Adrian Sutil rounded out the top ten and showed that the performances in the tail end of 2009 are likely to be repeated again this year, with chances to fight for good points. No more running at the back of the grid for the Dr Vijay Mallya’s team.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello may be the man to watch tomorrow as he starts 11th on the grid but is the first runner not to be starting with the soft tyres. He will have an advantage that he will have the fresh tyres for the first stint so could be a sneaky tIp for a good points score. When asked if what he thought about his ex-team-mate Schumi being ahead of him on the grid, Barrichello laughed and said “I have new tyres” with a smile, so he clearly feels he can cause some trouble amongst the front runners.
It was not all about the fight at the front of course. Three new teams took part in this qualifying in the super hot conditions of Bahrain. Who won the battle of best newcomers? Virgin Racing took that award with Timo Glock in 19th and Lucas di Grassi in 22nd. This was a particularly rewarding result after the problems they were suffering with a tyre flying off in an earlier practice. It was lovely to hear the famous “Senna” name back in with F1 too with Aytron Senna’s nephew taking his place with the Hispania Racing Team qualifying 23rd.
One of the most astonishing stories of the day must belong to India’s Karun Chandhok. He entered qualifying without even turning a single lap of the Bahrain track. Due to technical difficulties, he was forced to be incredibly patient and hope he would get a chance to appear on track. The FIA agreed that as long as he could make it at least into the pitlane during qualifying, he could take part in the race tomorrow. He did that and completed seven laps of the circuit and finished 1.7 seconds off his team-mate. It was certainly not the easiest debut on track for the seemingly calm 26 year old. Afterwards he said, “"I didn't want to get in anyone's way and got a lot of pickup on the tyres trying to keep out of the way. We're not here to upset anyone; we're just here to be respectable and do the best job that we can."
Results of Qualifying for the Bahrain Race, Round 1.
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 54.101s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 54.242s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 54.608s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 55.217s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 55.241s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 55.284s
7. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 55.524s
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 55.672s
9. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 55.885s
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 56.309s
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 55.330s
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 55.653s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 55.857s
14. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 56.237s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 56.265s
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 56.270s
17. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 56.619s
18. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 57.071s
19. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 59.728s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 1m 59.852s
21. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 2m 00.313s
22. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 2m 00.587s
23. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 2m 03.240s
24. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 2m 04.904s
How did the team-mates fare?
Hamilton 1-0 Button, Massa 1-0 Alonso, Vettel 1-0 Webber, Rosberg 1-0 Schumacher, Kubica 1-0 Petrov, Barrichello 1 -0 Hulkenberg, Sutil 1 –0 Liuzzi, De La Rosa 1-0 Kobayashi, Buemi 1-0 Alguersuari, Glock 1-0 Di Grassi, Trulli 1-0 Kovalainen, Senna 1 – 0 Chandhok.
In a season where there is a massive focus on the performance between team-mates, Massa took first blood over the Spaniard which must have been of some annoyance to Alonso. The double world champion had been faster than Massa in each session and looked favourite to win the battle to take the first position on the grid. However, Vettel’s Red Bull chose to spoil his plans and his lap time of 1:54.101 perhaps came as a small surprise to some people. Has the performance of Vettel and Red Bull been over looked in favour of all the hype concerning Ferrari, McLaren and Michael Schumacher?
Vettel spoke of his delight after claiming top spot in the all important first qualifying session of the year. “It is a big surprise, it was clear that there are four teams close to each other. Yesterday was tough and it was another long night, especially for the mechanics, but everybody was keen this morning. I knew we had a great car but you have to get it together. I am very happy to be on pole thanks to the team, it's a nice feeling to be on top."
The other Red Bull of Aussie Mark Webber could only manage 6th and will be wanting a much better race performance if he doesn’t want to let his team-mate take the early upper-hand in the team for 2010.
As part of the new regulations for this year, refuelling has gone, so the results of this qualifying session were a genuine reflection of speed. No more low fuelling to earn yourselves higher places on the grid, now what you see is what to expect in race conditions tomorrow.
How did the current world champion fare? Button struggled with the McLaren and was edged out by Hamilton who managed a respectable 4th on the grid. Button found himself lucky to squeeze into Q3 and finished 4 tenths behind his team mate with 8th place for the start of tomorrow’s race. Button said, "It was getting better every run but I did struggle with front locking this afternoon. Something felt wrong through qualifying so we are going to have a look at that."
Hamilton had his problems too, after a cooling duct issue in the morning practice, which limited his running time, he still managed to hold it together for a second row start. This was an important factor as previous winners of this race have only ever started in the top 4 positions.
The hype was all about how would 7 time world champion Schumacher perform on his return to F1 after a three year break from the sport. As a very proud man, 7th place on the grid was surely not the result he would have been hoping for, especially considering his compatriot and team-mate was 2 places higher up the grid than him. Schumi was not looking very comfortable with his car, tentative by his previous standards. Rosberg was 0.5 seconds quicker than Schumi and on that he said, “That is a bit too much for my standards. I've got to raise my game a bit and I'm sure I'm able to. "I certainly feel a little bit rusty, certainly on the one-lap issue I can do better.”
However, the old Schumi we all loved to hate was out in force after qualifying was over. In parc ferme he was checking out his competition and having a sneaky look at the McLaren car. Not much has changed there then!
Polish star Kubica was one of the stars of qualifying, managing to make it into the top 10 shoot out with his yellow and black Renault. Force India’s Adrian Sutil rounded out the top ten and showed that the performances in the tail end of 2009 are likely to be repeated again this year, with chances to fight for good points. No more running at the back of the grid for the Dr Vijay Mallya’s team.
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello may be the man to watch tomorrow as he starts 11th on the grid but is the first runner not to be starting with the soft tyres. He will have an advantage that he will have the fresh tyres for the first stint so could be a sneaky tIp for a good points score. When asked if what he thought about his ex-team-mate Schumi being ahead of him on the grid, Barrichello laughed and said “I have new tyres” with a smile, so he clearly feels he can cause some trouble amongst the front runners.
It was not all about the fight at the front of course. Three new teams took part in this qualifying in the super hot conditions of Bahrain. Who won the battle of best newcomers? Virgin Racing took that award with Timo Glock in 19th and Lucas di Grassi in 22nd. This was a particularly rewarding result after the problems they were suffering with a tyre flying off in an earlier practice. It was lovely to hear the famous “Senna” name back in with F1 too with Aytron Senna’s nephew taking his place with the Hispania Racing Team qualifying 23rd.
One of the most astonishing stories of the day must belong to India’s Karun Chandhok. He entered qualifying without even turning a single lap of the Bahrain track. Due to technical difficulties, he was forced to be incredibly patient and hope he would get a chance to appear on track. The FIA agreed that as long as he could make it at least into the pitlane during qualifying, he could take part in the race tomorrow. He did that and completed seven laps of the circuit and finished 1.7 seconds off his team-mate. It was certainly not the easiest debut on track for the seemingly calm 26 year old. Afterwards he said, “"I didn't want to get in anyone's way and got a lot of pickup on the tyres trying to keep out of the way. We're not here to upset anyone; we're just here to be respectable and do the best job that we can."
Results of Qualifying for the Bahrain Race, Round 1.
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 54.101s
2. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 54.242s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 54.608s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 55.217s
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 55.241s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 55.284s
7. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 55.524s
8. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 55.672s
9. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 55.885s
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 56.309s
11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 55.330s
12. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 55.653s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 55.857s
14. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 56.237s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 56.265s
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 56.270s
17. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 56.619s
18. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 57.071s
19. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 59.728s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 1m 59.852s
21. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 2m 00.313s
22. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 2m 00.587s
23. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 2m 03.240s
24. Karun Chandhok India HRT-Cosworth 2m 04.904s
How did the team-mates fare?
Hamilton 1-0 Button, Massa 1-0 Alonso, Vettel 1-0 Webber, Rosberg 1-0 Schumacher, Kubica 1-0 Petrov, Barrichello 1 -0 Hulkenberg, Sutil 1 –0 Liuzzi, De La Rosa 1-0 Kobayashi, Buemi 1-0 Alguersuari, Glock 1-0 Di Grassi, Trulli 1-0 Kovalainen, Senna 1 – 0 Chandhok.
F1 Title Protaganists 2010
F1 is back! At last! It has been an agonising winter of anticipation about what could be the closest ever F1 championship in years. There are so many talking points. The return of the legend Michael Schumacher. Button jumping ship at Brawn and joining Hamilton at McLaren. Team Germany of Mercedes taking on Team Great Britain of McLaren. Alonso in the Ferrari and the challenge he and Massa face. To add to that, no refuelling in races and three new teams including Lotus! The real question on everyone’s lips though, is who is going to be the main challengers to the F1 crown and who is going to be celebrating after the last race in Abu Dhabi. The drivers below are who I think will be the serious contenders…
1. Fernando Alonso: Double world champion in 2005 and 2006, and most people’s favourite to claim honours for this season in the F1 paddock. Alonso has had a tough few years with the disappointing Renault and of course the dramas at McLaren with Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis. Alonso has had a few character building years and has become stronger both as a driver and person. He has always had amazing natural talent and has shown himself as very reliable and consistent in races and seemingly able to bring out the best performance of even a struggling car. A sign of a true world champion when times are hard, the enthusiasm and desire is still there to want to deliver.
This year he gets the chance to shine in his dream car, the prancing horse of Ferrari. At last a competitive race car and a realistic chance to be fighting for the championship again. A team with such great history over the years and really the icon of F1. This team and their fans expects the very best for any driver getting into the seat of their beloved Ferrari, any in house rivalry is second to none, Ferrari comes first. Alonso seemingly fits in at home with the passionate and fiery team and has been the perfect replacement for the Ice Man Kimi Raikkonen.
Alonso is still only 28 years old and must believe he can collect many more titles in his career. The dominance he showed with Renault after Michael Schumacher’s reign shows his true abilities as a leader within a team. This season sees his most difficult challenge with three other world champions in the field and of course his own team mate Felipe Massa. The Brazilian has been established at Ferrari for four years and it may be hard for Alonso to establish himself at a team where Massa is truly loved.
If Alonso can make sure there are no repeats of the troubles he sustained back in 2007 with alleged unfair treatment within the team, it will be interesting to see if Alonso can be on the brink of a third world title and send his Spanish fans wild.
2.Felipe Massa: A massive season ahead for the runner up to the title in 2008. After his horrific injury he received to his eye after a spring from the Brawn car of Barrichello hit him at speed at qualifying in last years Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, he missed the rest of the season whilst his eye healed and he regained his sight and confidence. Massa returned to karting in Brazil to get some much needed practise and after testing in Spain in the lead up to the first race weekend, it appears his eye sight is causing him no issue. The Ferrari team were very emotional at the loss of their prodigal son after the serious accident. Massa now has the team built around him and there is a strong bond between him and his mechanics. Some may some he may receive the upper hand in the team and at least of the start of the season he should be have a slight advantage over Alonso. This is where Massa needs to grab his opportunity with both hands and try to get the early points on the board. Massa is one of only a few drivers who is settled within a championship winning team so is a major contender for the 2010 title. Could this be the year Felipe baby breaks his duck and secures his first drivers championship after so narrowly missing out in the heartbreak of Interlagos? This may be his best chance to do so and if he can beat his super fast team Alonso, he could be onto a winner.
3.Lewis Hamilton: After an excruciating start to 2009 in a very poor McLaren, new developments saw Hamilton and his team dominating the second half of the championship and maybe teasing us with what to expect for this upcoming season. Becoming world champion in only his second year in F1, life was seemingly easy for the youngster but what difference a few months makes when he had to be content with scrapping over the odd point and barely making it to Q3 in final qualifying. This was all part of the learning curve for Hamilton and he had to help rebuild himself and the team mentally. I believe this may have made him more of a mature driver for the future. To keep the morale and the motivation when everyone around you is predicting an easy second world title, it would have been incredibly easy to make silly mistakes and become petulant when it was apparent this wouldn’t not be the case. He showed reserve and reminded people of the awesome natural talent he has. This season he gets to live out one of his childhood dreams of fighting against seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher. He wants to be able to say he has beaten the very best and now he has the opportunity to race wheel to wheel against someone who could only watch on television. He also has the added incentive that his new team mate is not only British but took his drivers crown away from him. Any success story involves firstly beating your team mate and to be beating the current world champion, is a great place to start. Hamilton, like Massa already has the familiarity of the team around him and not being the new boy trying to fit in. Surely a slight edge to his chances at the start of the year whilst Button settles in. The intense rivalry he had with Alonso may rear its ugly head of course again this year and it I am sure will make for compelling viewing.
4.Jenson Button: World Champion 2009. Does that make him a clear favourite though? Button has shown balls by making the move that shocked many fans and team insiders. Do you play safe with the team that helped you achieve your ultimate dream after a very rocky road, or do you look for the new challenge and take a risk? Button made the choice to take a massive gamble and hooks up with his fellow compatriot Hamilton. After the well publicised problems between such two successful drivers back in 2007, it does take a brave man to link up with the young man from Stevenage. Will it take Button long to get up to speed in the McLaren? After what Button went through in the winter of 2008 of hearing he was facing no F1 drive and seeing his career possibly ending all too soon, he was given the wonderful lifeline and was rewarded with a true gem of a car that saw him win 6 of the first 7 races. It was a performance that surprised many paddock people and some were sceptical of his overall performance last season when the Brawn was no longer the car to beat. He reminded people of his sheer grit and determination with a drive in Brazil that showed spectacular over taking. He too like Hamilton, has matured as a driver and person and after the taste of champagne last season, I can imagine he wants to prove to the public that last year was no whim, he’s back to keep his hands on that driver’s trophy and take on the very best.
5.Sebastian Vettel – the young German with an amazing future predicted. We saw glimpses of the raw speed Vettel and the Red Bull had and he had a serious chance to take his first championship. The 22 year old fought to the bitter end and gave a great account of himself in a car that couldn’t not match the might Brawn at least for some of the season. At times he still makes small errors reminding those of his age and inexperience compared to those around him fighting for the honours. There is seemingly so much more to come from this five time race winner and a lot must depend on how competitive the Red Bull car is going to be this season. Vettel is tipped to be world champion for 2010 from none other than the main man, Bernie Ecclestone. High praise indeed. Does Bernie know something we all don’t? Vettel must be relishing the prospect of racing against Schumacher and will no doubt want to show him that he’s now the one everyone in Germany should be supporting and tipping for success. Vettel has comfortably out shadowed his more experienced team mate in Mark Webber and after being bitterly disappointed by missing out on his chance of becoming the 2009 championship winner, will this season see Vettel step it up another gear? He’s certainly capable; he is exciting to watch and more unpredictable than others around him. Will his car outshine all the others? Vettel and Redbull are perhaps more seen as underdogs compared to the big two of Ferrari and McLaren but maybe the German and the competitive package of Red Bull can surprise us all.
6.Michael Schumacher: Need I say more? One of undoubtedly the best ever F1 drivers and he’s back to take on the youngsters! The stir that was caused when Schumacher returned to the cockpit last season to replace the injured Massa and help out his team Ferrari was massive. The anticipation of seeing him race again was sent the media and fans into a frenzy and then for it not to happen due to a neck injury he was suffering from at the time, was unbelievably disappointing. Clearly Schumacher felt the same as we all did and took the shock decision to sign with Mercedes Benz join his old sparring partner, Ross Brawn, A dream partnership. At 41 years old it’s very brave to return after incredible success in F1. Finishing his career at the top of his game and becoming a family man, he achieved his ultimate goals and had a career that may never be matched. In a world that’s so dangerous, was it a sensible call by Schumacher to want to risk potential serious injury or even death? Can he still race at the same level at the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Button? Does he still have the nerve and the self belief? Schumacher was always renowned for his arrogance and for his clever, some may say dodgy tricks, will he still have this or will we see a meek version of the wonderful driver that he was. It would be sad sight to see Schumacher trailing around at the back. Surely though for his own reputation, he would only sign a deal where he knew he had a serious chance of fighting for a championship. This is a man with pride and with a stunning record. Could we be about to witness one of sports most remarkable comebacks? Schumacher was Germany’s hero at the time of his superb dominance in F1 but in the recent years has been replaced with his young protégé Vettel. Will Schumi show us some of his old magic and show us what tricks he has up his sleeves? It’s going to be mouth watering to see the 7 time world champion reliving some battles against his old rivals Alonso and Massa and of course to see him take on the new boys.
It all start's this weekend in the desert of Bahrain...I can't wait to see what happens!
All opinions expressed by Leandra Graves.
12th March 2010.
1. Fernando Alonso: Double world champion in 2005 and 2006, and most people’s favourite to claim honours for this season in the F1 paddock. Alonso has had a tough few years with the disappointing Renault and of course the dramas at McLaren with Lewis Hamilton and Ron Dennis. Alonso has had a few character building years and has become stronger both as a driver and person. He has always had amazing natural talent and has shown himself as very reliable and consistent in races and seemingly able to bring out the best performance of even a struggling car. A sign of a true world champion when times are hard, the enthusiasm and desire is still there to want to deliver.
This year he gets the chance to shine in his dream car, the prancing horse of Ferrari. At last a competitive race car and a realistic chance to be fighting for the championship again. A team with such great history over the years and really the icon of F1. This team and their fans expects the very best for any driver getting into the seat of their beloved Ferrari, any in house rivalry is second to none, Ferrari comes first. Alonso seemingly fits in at home with the passionate and fiery team and has been the perfect replacement for the Ice Man Kimi Raikkonen.
Alonso is still only 28 years old and must believe he can collect many more titles in his career. The dominance he showed with Renault after Michael Schumacher’s reign shows his true abilities as a leader within a team. This season sees his most difficult challenge with three other world champions in the field and of course his own team mate Felipe Massa. The Brazilian has been established at Ferrari for four years and it may be hard for Alonso to establish himself at a team where Massa is truly loved.
If Alonso can make sure there are no repeats of the troubles he sustained back in 2007 with alleged unfair treatment within the team, it will be interesting to see if Alonso can be on the brink of a third world title and send his Spanish fans wild.
2.Felipe Massa: A massive season ahead for the runner up to the title in 2008. After his horrific injury he received to his eye after a spring from the Brawn car of Barrichello hit him at speed at qualifying in last years Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, he missed the rest of the season whilst his eye healed and he regained his sight and confidence. Massa returned to karting in Brazil to get some much needed practise and after testing in Spain in the lead up to the first race weekend, it appears his eye sight is causing him no issue. The Ferrari team were very emotional at the loss of their prodigal son after the serious accident. Massa now has the team built around him and there is a strong bond between him and his mechanics. Some may some he may receive the upper hand in the team and at least of the start of the season he should be have a slight advantage over Alonso. This is where Massa needs to grab his opportunity with both hands and try to get the early points on the board. Massa is one of only a few drivers who is settled within a championship winning team so is a major contender for the 2010 title. Could this be the year Felipe baby breaks his duck and secures his first drivers championship after so narrowly missing out in the heartbreak of Interlagos? This may be his best chance to do so and if he can beat his super fast team Alonso, he could be onto a winner.
3.Lewis Hamilton: After an excruciating start to 2009 in a very poor McLaren, new developments saw Hamilton and his team dominating the second half of the championship and maybe teasing us with what to expect for this upcoming season. Becoming world champion in only his second year in F1, life was seemingly easy for the youngster but what difference a few months makes when he had to be content with scrapping over the odd point and barely making it to Q3 in final qualifying. This was all part of the learning curve for Hamilton and he had to help rebuild himself and the team mentally. I believe this may have made him more of a mature driver for the future. To keep the morale and the motivation when everyone around you is predicting an easy second world title, it would have been incredibly easy to make silly mistakes and become petulant when it was apparent this wouldn’t not be the case. He showed reserve and reminded people of the awesome natural talent he has. This season he gets to live out one of his childhood dreams of fighting against seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher. He wants to be able to say he has beaten the very best and now he has the opportunity to race wheel to wheel against someone who could only watch on television. He also has the added incentive that his new team mate is not only British but took his drivers crown away from him. Any success story involves firstly beating your team mate and to be beating the current world champion, is a great place to start. Hamilton, like Massa already has the familiarity of the team around him and not being the new boy trying to fit in. Surely a slight edge to his chances at the start of the year whilst Button settles in. The intense rivalry he had with Alonso may rear its ugly head of course again this year and it I am sure will make for compelling viewing.
4.Jenson Button: World Champion 2009. Does that make him a clear favourite though? Button has shown balls by making the move that shocked many fans and team insiders. Do you play safe with the team that helped you achieve your ultimate dream after a very rocky road, or do you look for the new challenge and take a risk? Button made the choice to take a massive gamble and hooks up with his fellow compatriot Hamilton. After the well publicised problems between such two successful drivers back in 2007, it does take a brave man to link up with the young man from Stevenage. Will it take Button long to get up to speed in the McLaren? After what Button went through in the winter of 2008 of hearing he was facing no F1 drive and seeing his career possibly ending all too soon, he was given the wonderful lifeline and was rewarded with a true gem of a car that saw him win 6 of the first 7 races. It was a performance that surprised many paddock people and some were sceptical of his overall performance last season when the Brawn was no longer the car to beat. He reminded people of his sheer grit and determination with a drive in Brazil that showed spectacular over taking. He too like Hamilton, has matured as a driver and person and after the taste of champagne last season, I can imagine he wants to prove to the public that last year was no whim, he’s back to keep his hands on that driver’s trophy and take on the very best.
5.Sebastian Vettel – the young German with an amazing future predicted. We saw glimpses of the raw speed Vettel and the Red Bull had and he had a serious chance to take his first championship. The 22 year old fought to the bitter end and gave a great account of himself in a car that couldn’t not match the might Brawn at least for some of the season. At times he still makes small errors reminding those of his age and inexperience compared to those around him fighting for the honours. There is seemingly so much more to come from this five time race winner and a lot must depend on how competitive the Red Bull car is going to be this season. Vettel is tipped to be world champion for 2010 from none other than the main man, Bernie Ecclestone. High praise indeed. Does Bernie know something we all don’t? Vettel must be relishing the prospect of racing against Schumacher and will no doubt want to show him that he’s now the one everyone in Germany should be supporting and tipping for success. Vettel has comfortably out shadowed his more experienced team mate in Mark Webber and after being bitterly disappointed by missing out on his chance of becoming the 2009 championship winner, will this season see Vettel step it up another gear? He’s certainly capable; he is exciting to watch and more unpredictable than others around him. Will his car outshine all the others? Vettel and Redbull are perhaps more seen as underdogs compared to the big two of Ferrari and McLaren but maybe the German and the competitive package of Red Bull can surprise us all.
6.Michael Schumacher: Need I say more? One of undoubtedly the best ever F1 drivers and he’s back to take on the youngsters! The stir that was caused when Schumacher returned to the cockpit last season to replace the injured Massa and help out his team Ferrari was massive. The anticipation of seeing him race again was sent the media and fans into a frenzy and then for it not to happen due to a neck injury he was suffering from at the time, was unbelievably disappointing. Clearly Schumacher felt the same as we all did and took the shock decision to sign with Mercedes Benz join his old sparring partner, Ross Brawn, A dream partnership. At 41 years old it’s very brave to return after incredible success in F1. Finishing his career at the top of his game and becoming a family man, he achieved his ultimate goals and had a career that may never be matched. In a world that’s so dangerous, was it a sensible call by Schumacher to want to risk potential serious injury or even death? Can he still race at the same level at the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Button? Does he still have the nerve and the self belief? Schumacher was always renowned for his arrogance and for his clever, some may say dodgy tricks, will he still have this or will we see a meek version of the wonderful driver that he was. It would be sad sight to see Schumacher trailing around at the back. Surely though for his own reputation, he would only sign a deal where he knew he had a serious chance of fighting for a championship. This is a man with pride and with a stunning record. Could we be about to witness one of sports most remarkable comebacks? Schumacher was Germany’s hero at the time of his superb dominance in F1 but in the recent years has been replaced with his young protégé Vettel. Will Schumi show us some of his old magic and show us what tricks he has up his sleeves? It’s going to be mouth watering to see the 7 time world champion reliving some battles against his old rivals Alonso and Massa and of course to see him take on the new boys.
It all start's this weekend in the desert of Bahrain...I can't wait to see what happens!
All opinions expressed by Leandra Graves.
12th March 2010.
Saturday 6 March 2010
CHEEKY CHECA GRABS SURPRISE WIN IN OZ!
37 year old Carlos Checa was a surprise winner of Race 2 in the World Superbikes in Phillip Island! After starting 4th on the grid and a 7th place in race 1, Checa produced a masterful ride to take the 25 points on offer in a blustery, eventful race in Australia.
On the final lap, Checa made a brave pass on Haslam to secure his 3rd WSBK win. This surely was his best performance yet. After moving to the newly formed Althea Ducati squad and racing what effectively is a 2008 British Superbike bike, he clawed his way into contention with the leaders and made it a thrilling ending to the race.
Checa, after a steady start to the race seemed to come alive with 11 laps of the race left when he bridged a substantial gap to the top 4 of the two Suzuki’s of Haslam and Guintoli and the Ducati riders of Fabrizio and Haga. With nine laps left, Checa dispatched of Haga to join the fight for the rostrum. The likeable Spaniard then made it into 2nd place when he passed Guintoli with three laps to go. It seemed unlikely that Checa could take on the challenge of beating race 1 winner Haslam with little time left in the race, but he left his best until last and must have taken Haslam by surprise when he went underneath him at MG and took the lead with half a lap left.
Checa said after his impressive win, “At the time I caught the top group, that was my target. When I saw the others were struggling with their tyres and traction, I took the opportunity to pass them, I think where I did the pass, it was the perfect place, it was my best race as I came from the back. It was unbelieveable.”
2010 sees Checa’s third year in this championship. After being the pace setter in testing here in Australia, he has proved he and the bike are clearly no fluke and can be competing at the highest level.
Haslam had a tough fight in this race at the hands of his French team mate Sylvain Guintoli. It appeared to be a straight battle between the two Suzuki and Ducati boys until Spaniard Checa joined the group. Guintoli and Haslam seemed to hinder each other in the fight for victory as they ended up swapping positions frequently, leaving the other stuck on the outside on the dirty line, letting riders behind take advantage of the fierce rivalry between the 2 Alstare Suzukis.
It was close and exciting racing throughout including a long, hard fight which included Crutchlow and Toseland. This time both the Yamaha’s managed to finish but it was Crutchlow, the current World Supersport Champion, who edged out ex Moto GP rider, Toseland on the final lap.
After a long winter of waiting to see what surprises the WSBK circus would bring, Phillip Island once again delivered two very exciting races with two winners that maybe the experts weren’t predicting. There are seven Brits in the championship but Haslam is the one who has produced the goods looking very confident and relaxed on the factory Suzuki. He leads the championship over Fabrizio and Checa.
Next race is back on European soil in Portimao, Portugal, can Haslam continue his rich vein of form and be the Brit to beat or will we see some new contenders?
Result of Race 2:
1. Carlos Checa
2. Leon Haslam
3. Michele Fabrizio
4. Sylvain Guintoli
5. Noriyuki Haga
6. Jonathan Rea
7. Troy Corser
8. Max Biaggi
9. Cal Crutchlow
10. James Toseland
World Championship scores so far (after 2 races).
1. Haslam 45
2. Fabrizio 36
3. Checa 34
4. Haga 27
5. Guintoli 23
On the final lap, Checa made a brave pass on Haslam to secure his 3rd WSBK win. This surely was his best performance yet. After moving to the newly formed Althea Ducati squad and racing what effectively is a 2008 British Superbike bike, he clawed his way into contention with the leaders and made it a thrilling ending to the race.
Checa, after a steady start to the race seemed to come alive with 11 laps of the race left when he bridged a substantial gap to the top 4 of the two Suzuki’s of Haslam and Guintoli and the Ducati riders of Fabrizio and Haga. With nine laps left, Checa dispatched of Haga to join the fight for the rostrum. The likeable Spaniard then made it into 2nd place when he passed Guintoli with three laps to go. It seemed unlikely that Checa could take on the challenge of beating race 1 winner Haslam with little time left in the race, but he left his best until last and must have taken Haslam by surprise when he went underneath him at MG and took the lead with half a lap left.
Checa said after his impressive win, “At the time I caught the top group, that was my target. When I saw the others were struggling with their tyres and traction, I took the opportunity to pass them, I think where I did the pass, it was the perfect place, it was my best race as I came from the back. It was unbelieveable.”
2010 sees Checa’s third year in this championship. After being the pace setter in testing here in Australia, he has proved he and the bike are clearly no fluke and can be competing at the highest level.
Haslam had a tough fight in this race at the hands of his French team mate Sylvain Guintoli. It appeared to be a straight battle between the two Suzuki and Ducati boys until Spaniard Checa joined the group. Guintoli and Haslam seemed to hinder each other in the fight for victory as they ended up swapping positions frequently, leaving the other stuck on the outside on the dirty line, letting riders behind take advantage of the fierce rivalry between the 2 Alstare Suzukis.
It was close and exciting racing throughout including a long, hard fight which included Crutchlow and Toseland. This time both the Yamaha’s managed to finish but it was Crutchlow, the current World Supersport Champion, who edged out ex Moto GP rider, Toseland on the final lap.
After a long winter of waiting to see what surprises the WSBK circus would bring, Phillip Island once again delivered two very exciting races with two winners that maybe the experts weren’t predicting. There are seven Brits in the championship but Haslam is the one who has produced the goods looking very confident and relaxed on the factory Suzuki. He leads the championship over Fabrizio and Checa.
Next race is back on European soil in Portimao, Portugal, can Haslam continue his rich vein of form and be the Brit to beat or will we see some new contenders?
Result of Race 2:
1. Carlos Checa
2. Leon Haslam
3. Michele Fabrizio
4. Sylvain Guintoli
5. Noriyuki Haga
6. Jonathan Rea
7. Troy Corser
8. Max Biaggi
9. Cal Crutchlow
10. James Toseland
World Championship scores so far (after 2 races).
1. Haslam 45
2. Fabrizio 36
3. Checa 34
4. Haga 27
5. Guintoli 23
HASLAM RACES TO EMOTIONAL MAIDEN WSBK VICTORY!
Leon Haslam on the Alstare Suzuki roared to his first WSBK win in Australia in Race 1 of the championship. Leading from start to finish, it was a stunning opener from the young Brit. Controlling the race impeccably, he narrowly fought off the Italian Michele Fabrizio in a photo finish at the end of the race. Noriyuki Haga joined them on the rostrum.
It was a close call to decide the race winner, as Fabrizio was in the slipstream of Haslam’s Ducati on the finishing straight and finished 0.004 seconds behind the no 91 bike. It led to massive confusion though as the timing screens declared Fabrizio had won the race and then a moment later, it had been corrected to Haslam! It was a
mix of emotions for the winner to go through. Utter disappointment to unrivalled joy to secure his first victory in this class.
Fans witnessed a dominant performance from Haslam under pressure from the more experienced Ducati boys on the daunting Phillip Island race track. This showed that Haslam appears to have what it takes to fight for the championship.
This win was particularly fitting since the owner of the Alstare Suzuki, Francis Batta, his partner had just lost her mum this weekend so this result was much needed to lighten the spirits in the team and the office.
Haslam previously was riding on the privateer bike with his best result a podium finish. This season, his first on a full factory bike and he took the opportunity and exceeded all expectations.
Behind the top 3, there was much excitement with close racing between Rea, Checa, Biaggi and Guintoli. Positions changed frequently with Rea getting the best of them and taking 4th place.
Things did not run so smoothly however for fellow Brit, James Toseland. After a crash on Friday which caused significant injury to Toseland’s wrist, he was fighting for 7th in the race but on lap 5 he crashed at Lukey Heights, with an awkward landing on the damaged wrist. The former double WSBK champion’s first race back in the series had not gone to plan.
His Yamaha teamate, Cal Crutchlow, sufferered similar fate with a crash whilst in 5th place ending his chances of a good points finish.
Ex Moto GP Chris Vermuelen fared no better on the Kawasaki with a crash early on in the race putting an end to his hopes of scoring well in home GP.
Haga who had been down in 12th on the grid made a stunning start to be 3rd after the first few corners and was in close contention for the win in the final three laps of the race.
The first race belonged to the Pocket Rocket from Derbyshire. Could he deliver the double in Race 2...
Results for Race 1:
1. Leon Haslam
2. Michele Fabrizio
3. Noriyuki Haga
4. Jonathan Rea
5. Max Biaggi
6. Sylvain Guintoli
7. Carlos Checa
8. Jakub Smrz
9. Troy Corser
10. Lorenzo Lanzi
It was a close call to decide the race winner, as Fabrizio was in the slipstream of Haslam’s Ducati on the finishing straight and finished 0.004 seconds behind the no 91 bike. It led to massive confusion though as the timing screens declared Fabrizio had won the race and then a moment later, it had been corrected to Haslam! It was a
mix of emotions for the winner to go through. Utter disappointment to unrivalled joy to secure his first victory in this class.
Fans witnessed a dominant performance from Haslam under pressure from the more experienced Ducati boys on the daunting Phillip Island race track. This showed that Haslam appears to have what it takes to fight for the championship.
This win was particularly fitting since the owner of the Alstare Suzuki, Francis Batta, his partner had just lost her mum this weekend so this result was much needed to lighten the spirits in the team and the office.
Haslam previously was riding on the privateer bike with his best result a podium finish. This season, his first on a full factory bike and he took the opportunity and exceeded all expectations.
Behind the top 3, there was much excitement with close racing between Rea, Checa, Biaggi and Guintoli. Positions changed frequently with Rea getting the best of them and taking 4th place.
Things did not run so smoothly however for fellow Brit, James Toseland. After a crash on Friday which caused significant injury to Toseland’s wrist, he was fighting for 7th in the race but on lap 5 he crashed at Lukey Heights, with an awkward landing on the damaged wrist. The former double WSBK champion’s first race back in the series had not gone to plan.
His Yamaha teamate, Cal Crutchlow, sufferered similar fate with a crash whilst in 5th place ending his chances of a good points finish.
Ex Moto GP Chris Vermuelen fared no better on the Kawasaki with a crash early on in the race putting an end to his hopes of scoring well in home GP.
Haga who had been down in 12th on the grid made a stunning start to be 3rd after the first few corners and was in close contention for the win in the final three laps of the race.
The first race belonged to the Pocket Rocket from Derbyshire. Could he deliver the double in Race 2...
Results for Race 1:
1. Leon Haslam
2. Michele Fabrizio
3. Noriyuki Haga
4. Jonathan Rea
5. Max Biaggi
6. Sylvain Guintoli
7. Carlos Checa
8. Jakub Smrz
9. Troy Corser
10. Lorenzo Lanzi
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