Formula 1 Jam

The videos are all over the net so how can we be behind

Rough Translation(from the net, I cant speak the language for nuts ):

Alonso: You did it intentionally, as in Barcelona.
Massa: No, I did not.
Alonso: You broke my sidepod there - go and have a look at it!
Massa: Go f**k yourself!. You won and you say something like this.
Alonso: Mate, it can’t break itself.
Alonso: I have fought with Heidfeld, with everybody, what you did with three laps to go can’t be done.
Massa: He wins and says that. You must learn.
Alonso: It is you who has to learn. I have fought with everybody and with three laps to go, we touch!
Massa: (Sarcastic) Bravo.
Alonso: Bravo you!
Massa: You say that I did it on purpose, like I did that on purpose in Barcelona?. You were remained behind.
(As this point Ron Dennis steps in)
Dennis: Boys calm down.
Massa: Tell him to!

That is what I call a heated exchange

In one of the most fantastic races of the year, the formula 1 race at Nürburgring, Germany was a topsy turvy race. It all started in lap 3 when it started raining, nay, pouring cats and dogs. As a result, almost all cars (with the exception of rookie Winklehock who had changed to wet weather tyres ahead of the race start) were caught out and started slipping and sliding with 5 cars aquaplaning at the same spot and getting “beached” out on the gravel.

By lap 3, the situation was quite dangerous that the safety car had to be deployed. Further, by lap 4 the race was in such a disarray and the mass of slipping forced the stewards to red flag and suspend the race for about 10 minutes.Just before the safety car was out, Hamilton who was also beached on the gravel got a lucky helpful lift out of the gravel onto the track where he resumed the race a lap down to the leaders.

The race soon restarted behind the safety car with Kimi Raikkonen, who missed the entry to the pit lane after slipping out of the pit lane entry, being the biggest loser going down to seventh position and the rookie Winklehock leading the race in his debut grand prix. Winklehock was followed by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

The race completely restarts on the 7th lap with Winklehock leading and quite a few drivers taking the opportunity to pit. Massa soon retook the lead with Alonso close behind him followed by Coulthard, Kovalainen and Kimi.

Hamilton who had just changed to dry weather tyres as the race restarted lost significant amount of time since the quickly drying track was not dry enough for the slicks on his car.

By lap 13, the track was dry enough to allow the drivers to switch to the slicks causing a traffic jam in the pit lane as most drivers trooped in to change tyres and take on fuel. In this middle stint, Hamilton drove a brilliant race passing multiple cars and setting 5 consecutive fastest laps matching the pace of Massa who was blazing away from Alonso and Kimi in 3rd.

On lap 36, disaster struck Kimi as his car slows down and finally drowns at the start of the pit lane due to possible mechanical failure.

With less than 12 laps to the end, the meteorologists predicted rain in 10 minutes which was slightly off because the rain came earlier. And by lap 52, it was starting to pour again on some parts of the track causing the drivers to make another bee-line into the pit lane.

The rain turned out to be a bad turn for Massa who seemed to have lost the edge he enjoyed in the middle stint with Alonso closing up right on his tail and overtaking him on lap 56 and then pulling away.

Alonso finally won the see sawing race followed by Felipe Massa and a brilliantly deserving Mark Webber taking the final podium position. Lewis Hamilton made a final lunge for the points but ran out of laps and had to settle for 9th.

This was a must watch race, one of the best in recent years.

If you have been watching the 2007 season of Formula One you might have heard his name being mentioned once or twice… Lewis Hamilton is currently the toast of the town. The Briton’s amazing first few races of his rookie season has clearly been a treat to watch.

There has been little mention about the Rookie in this site for more reasons than one. Firstly the hype was already too much that we felt it was better we did not add fuel to fire. The British media tabloids started most of the hype and feeling vindicated the rest of the F1 world responded.

Following is superb North American campaign, it seems only fair to talk about this lad… Continue Reading »

Lewis Hamilton became the first ever rookie to win 2 back to back races in his rookie season with an inch perfect display at Indianapolis. The Briton was pushed to the finish by his two time world champion teammate, who crossed the chequered flag just 1.5s adrift.

The race was probably won and lost in Q3 in qualification. Hamilton’s perfect lap saw him displace Alonso from the top position and paved way for an all Mc Laren front row. The start saw the two drivers slug it out in corners 1,2 and 3 but Lewis kept his nose ahead and surged forward. Kimi in the Ferrari had a poor start probably something to do with his choice of starting with hard tyres. The choice would comeback to pay dividends later when he made up most in his third stint.

Heikki in the Renault used the opportunity to sneak past Kimi along with Nick Heidfeld. The Finn would drive a consistent race to finish in 5th. Nick on the other hand ran out of luck with a few laps to go.

McLaren chose to call in their drivers a few laps ahead of schedule fearing a safety car. The gap was enough for Lewis to drop in and out of the pits ahead of the Spaniard, a status quo that would stay till the end. There was one notable incident in lap 38 with Alonso lining up Lewis but the Briton held onto his nerves and got the job done.

In the back field, Fisichella spun early and was demoted to the back. The Italian fought hard driving a heavy car and still managed to produce some of the best overtaking at Indy. Liuzzi in the Torro Rosso was a chicane at #11 for most of the race until his retirement at lap 68.

In other retirements Ralf Schumacher ended his race at the first corner after outbreaking himself, Coulthard and Barrichello paid for the accident as it took them out of the race too. Sato spun himself into the kitty litter and beached his car out of the race, but not before he was investigated for overtaking under yellow flags. The Japanese driver will now lose 10 grid positions in France. Rosberg rounded up the unfortunate non finishers after his engine let go with just 4 laps remaining.

The ending part of the race beamed with a brilliant contest between the two Ferrari drivers. Massa held his position to finish ahead of Kimi who had a clear advantage thanks to the tyres. Unfortunately it was too close to the finish and Kimi later revealed that he did not want to stress both his and Massa’s engine before France with an unwarranted move.

Lewis now leads the World Championship with 10 points from his teammate. McLaren are a clear 35pts ahead of Ferrari. This season looks like its shaping up just right for a fight to the finish towards the end…

Race Results

Is there no end to Alonso’s whining? If he does not drive well, or if he makes mistakes, they are somehow his teams fault because the team shares the same nationality with his team mate who beat Alonso with a superbly flawless drive.

Alonso’s latest quote whine:

He said: “From the first moment, I wasn’t completely comfortable. I am in an English team, with an English team-mate, who is doing brilliantly.

“We knew all the support and help would go his way. It is something I understand and I’m not complaining.”

Honestly Alonso, you are starting to leave a very sour taste in my mouth. Can you just do your racing and stop blaming everything else including the air we breathe for your mistakes or for things not going your way. You are starting to sound like a spoilt child always ready to throw a tantrum.

Complete whine via BBC 

Lewis Hamilton made history by winning only his sixth Grand Prix race at the Canadian Grand Prix. The incident packed race saw 4 safety cars, 10 retirements, 6 accidents, one horrific crash, 2 black flags, 2 stop go penalties, one hilarious pitstop and loads of confusion.

Canadian Grand Prix made up for every boring race in the past 2 years simply based on the incidents that marred it. Right at the start Alonso dove into first corner alongside Lewis but right on the marbles giving him a free trip thru the grass costing him one place. The race was going downhill from there for the double world champ. Hiedfeld took advantage and was chasing Lewis to the flag.

Lewis had not much contention after the first corner. The Briton simply had to keep on track and do his pitstops fine to pick up a well deserved win. His only challenger was unfortunate to run out of fuel in the safety car period and pitted, costing him a 10 second stop go penalty. Robert Kubica was another casualty of the rule but his day was going to go from bad to worse as an airborne high impact crash left almost nothing remaining in the car.

The first safety car would have multiple casualties, this time it was Massa and Fisichella’s turn. Both entered the pits fighting for position when the pit lane was open but unfortuantely the exit was not open! Both received black flags for their negligence.

Lewis used the safety cars well to pull away at restarts without any problem. The Briton looked like a winner from the word go. Alonso in the other Mc Laren ran off as many as 4 times at corner 1… a rare sight from the flawless Spaniard. To add to his trouble he came out on 15th after the penalty… The next few laps showed some of the best overtaking from the Spaniard who rose to 8th overtaking cars right and left. He showed the true pace of his Mc Laren punching in the fastest lap on lap 46 and demolishing a 10+ sec deficit from Kimi Raikkonen in under 5 laps! But the effort was not going to be worth it another overtaking attempt pushed him onto the marbles and saw him lose places again. The champ finished the race in 7th.

Alex Wruz and Hiekki were the story of the day, starting from 19th and 22nd they fought amazing odds to pull off a one stop strategy and end up 3rd and 4th. The misfortune of the top drives helped them extremely but it was their controlled drive that clearly made them the drivers of the day.

Next big winner was Sato who did impossible overtaking both Alonso and Kimi in the very same race… A feat that will probably never be repeated. Interestingly both the maneuvers were when the top drivers were struggling for grip but none the less it was a moment for the Super Aguri driver to cherish.

It doesn’t take much to inspire rumors in the Formula one business. This latest one by far takes the cake…

DailyF1News.com is reporting that, there are rumors about Ferrari and Hamlinton might be cutting a deal after the Monaco Grand Prix. It was clear that Hamlinton did not enjoy following the World Champion home but could it inspire a team switch?

Hamlinton has a long contract till 2011 with Mc Laren, lets not forget that its Ron Dennis that put his faith in Lewis and got him a drive… Would he be contemplating a switch so early in his career?

On the other side could Ferrari be even considering replacing Kimi after just 2 failures? Ferrari fans have been showing their displeasure for the past few weeks on the unfortunate Finn but is that a similar situation inside the camp.

What does seem interesting is the price tag. A Whooping 80x rise in salary to the Briton is speculated($500,000 to $40 Million)

Original Story

Domination is probably a subtle word to describe the incidents at the Monaco Grand Prix for 2007. Alonso and Lewis finished a predictable one-two for Mc Laren but the way the did it was far from predictable. Alonso led the race from the start only challenged by his rookie team mate who for the first time finished lesser than first in a race at Monte Carlo. Massa drove home third in a race which he clearly had no chance of getting a better result. The Brazilian drove mostly a race of his own hardly ever bother by anyone.

Fisichella was my drive of the day. Giancarlo’s super drive saw Renault’s fight back and a hint that in the coming races they could clearly challenge the top two teams. Kubica and Heidfeld came in following the Italian, the German struggling in the earlier stage of the race with super soft tyres and holding up the pack for most of the stint.

Wruz and Kimi made up the last of the point scorers. The Finn having a tough race after the disappointing qualification and then being held up clearly by slower cars in a track that was impossible to overtake on. Still Ferrari and Kimi have to try and get their act together else the top 3 drivers will just run away at this pace.

The expected rain never arrived at the track and devoid the race of any possible action. Even the pitlane poker was pretty flat at the end of the day. Hopefully in Canada we will get to see a much more action packed race…

Mc Laren stamped its domination over the Monaco Grand Prix qualification by sealing first and second. Alonso sealed his first pole of the season in dramatic fashion after an impressive Lewis Hamlinton’s final attempt was disrupted by a slowing car.

The biggest incident of the evening was Kimi Raikonnen crashing out of Q2. The Finn brushed the wall at Rascasse and nearly caused a major shunt when Massa who was following him almost tagged him from behind. The contact damaged his steering and ended his qualification session.

The session resolved to less of a lottery after the rain seen in Saturday practice moved away. Q1 was run mostly on a green track and early in the session pole changed multiple hands until the top cars came out. Mc Laren and Ferrari stood out as the class of the field in a session which saw Albers, Sato, Ralf, Sutil, Speed and Davidson eliminated. Heartbreak for Super Aguri which looked very good in recent races.

Q2 had loads of drama, it started by the Kimi’s unfortunate incident and later a charged up Heikki was blocked by David Coulthard. Heikki who was fighting to make it the final session looked like he had almost managed it untill the Scot who was on a warmup lap refused to move over. David was later penalised by the stewards who demoted him to the bottom of Q2. The drivers who failed to make the final cut were Coulthard, Kimi, Heikki, Trulli, Liuzzi and Wurz.

Q3 saw the comeback of Renault of sorts. The World Champions finally looked like they were fighting with the best as Fisichella held third for almost the length of the session. Fisichella’s performance in the past few races has raised quiet a few eyebrows, the Italian was once again impressive here challenging the Ferrari of Massa. But it would be the Brazillian who would seal third ahead of the Italian. Followed closely by Rosberg and Webber. Heidfeld, Kubica, Barrichello and Button made up the rest of the top ten.

Honda finally look like they have got their act together but we need to see the fact that Button would have not made it to Q3 if not for Coulthard’s unfortunate demotion.

So everything looks set for an impressive Monaco Grand Prix. The rain and the jumbled grid has truly made this race a spectacle to be looked forward to.

Apologies for the pun but Massa literally did almost get burnt when his car caught fire. But more on that later.

The Spanish Grand Prix of 2007 was one of the best races in the past few years with incidents, excitement and disappointments all through the race and across the teams. Starting from a first corner contact between Massa and Alonso causing the latter to lose his second place, falling to fourth, there were incidents all through the race up and down the race track.

After that incident at the first corner, Massa takes a comfortable lead, pulling away from Hamilton who along with Kimi capitalized on the off track excursion by Alonso. Alonso tried to pass Kimi but was held off by the stronger Ferrari of Kimi who maintains his third place till lap 9 when the Ferrari engine cut out all power and Kimi barely manages to crawl downhill to the pits, his race sadly over for the day.

By lap 13, 4 cars had already retired - Wurz (involved in an accident), Webber (sadly continued hydraulics problem), Trulli (fuel pressure problem) and Kimi (Engine failure)

Massa pitted for his first stop on lap 18. As he tried to get away, some of the fuel vapors from the fuel pump leaked out and caught fire for a brief moment. As Massa sped up, the flames thankfully died down but it must have been a scary moment for him and the team. Thankfully the fire caused no lasting damage to his concentration or the car.

Soon after, Alonso and Hamilton pitted retaining their positions at third and second respectively.

On lap 22, Button makes his pit stop, exiting from which, he makes contact with his team mate, Barrichello, losing his front wing in the process. A couple of laps later, Heidfeld’s pit stop goes haywire as a wheel nut on his front right is not fixed in place and hence he has to return to the pits immediately. This causes him to drop to the back of the grid and eventually causes enough damage to his car making him retire from the race itself.

The second stint of the race is quite incident free with most drivers consolidating their positions in the front though the mid-runners did have some racing and overtaking moves. The second round of pit stops goes through around lap 42 to lap 48. Around lap 46, Ralf retired his Toyota ending the team’s race in Spain.

Felipe Massa easily won his second race in succession with Lewis Hamilton coming in second and Fernando Alonso third. They were followed by Robert Kubica in a fine fourth, David Coulthard, and to my joy, Nico Rosberg in sixth. And for the first time in their history, Super Aguri scored a championship point as Takuma Sato secured the eight and final championship point behind Heikke Kovalainen and ahead of a charging Fisichella and Rubens Barichello.

The rest of the finishers were Anthony Davidson, Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil and Christian Albers in that order.

With the second place secured by Hamilton today, he has created history by being the first rookie to lead the formula 1 championship at 30 points followed by Alonso on 28 and Felipe Massa on 27. The formula 1 season for 2007 looks very exciting indeed.