Hamilton still 'trying to find balance'

Lewis Hamilton had only minor complaints about his first day of running in Canada, confident he can get his MP4-26 dialled in ahead of qualifying

Hamilton finished fourth quickest in Friday's second practice, clocking a 1:15.977, which put him just 0.870s behind Fernando Alonso.

However, it wasn't a perfect day for the McLaren driver, who suffered a puncture and also struggled to his car dialled in.

But despite those small issues, Hamilton is confident McLaren have the race-pace needed to fight at the front of the pack in Montreal.

"It was a very good session and a positive day for me. In P2, I think some debris from one of the incidents must have caused my puncture because I'd only just left the pits when I suddenly felt the rear sliding about," said the 26-year-old

"Nevertheless, we got through a lot of test components. I'm still trying to find the exact balance I need, and I'm not quite sure which direction I want to follow with my car, so I'll sit down with my engineers to analyse the data this evening.

"Our long-run pace is pretty good; the speed is there. It looks very close once again between Red Bull, Ferrari and ourselves, so we'll work on qualifying, get the car nicely dialled in and then I'll keep my fingers crossed."

Friday's running was marred by four accidents, three of which resulted in red flags. However, as Hamilton put it, that's the nature of Montreal, it leaves no room for error.

"It's surprising to see so many incidents here, but it's such a demanding and slippery circuit that I guess some people just got caught out today. We're all testing the limits of our cars and you can't blame people for trying.

"There's no room for mistakes around a place like this and, unfortunately, some people paid the price today - but they'll bounce back tomorrow."

Source: Planet-F1

Bahrain GP cancellation decision imminent

Formula 1 looking increasingly unlikely to take place in Bahrain this year

The FIA seemed ready on Thursday to overturn its decision to take Formula 1 back to Bahrain in late October, in effect paving the way for Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to put an end to the saga which has already embarrassed the sport.
Following the withdrawal of Ecclestone’s support for the Bahrain Grand Prix rescheduling, F1′s governing body published correspondence between the FIA and the teams association FOTA which suggests that the opposition is such that a decision to cancel will probably be announced this weekend in Canada.

FOTA’s letter, addressed to Todt, Ecclestone and Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed Alzayani, stated that the new calendar was “unrealistic” for logistical and insurance reasons. The letter was signed by chairmen Martin Whitmarsh and Eric Boullier.

The letter also said F1 should only return to Bahrain “once the security conditions have been fully re-established”.

FIA president Jean Todt responded by writing that it is the responsibility of F1′s commercial rights holder, represented by Ecclestone, to “set the calendar and submit it to the FIA for approval”.

“The FIA always has at heart the smooth running of the championship and the interests of the teams, and is always prepared to address any issues, however difficult,” added the Frenchman.

“I have listened to your last-minute objections and have asked the commercial rights holder (Ecclestone) to re-examine his calendar proposal, and if necessary, to resubmit a revised proposal to the World Council,” wrote Todt.

Source: YallaF1

Vettel recalls Canada ’sex club’ memory

Sebastian Vettel has revealed a few of his biggest memories of Canada after returning to Montreal for this weekend’s grand prix.

In 2007, then a teenager, he was in the pits when Robert Kubica crashed heavily in the BMW-Sauber, leading to his grand prix debut in the US a week later.

Four years on, German Vettel has won 15 of his 68 grands prix, sat on pole 20 times and is the youngest champion in F1 history, and in 2011 is back in Canada as the runaway title leader.

But the next chapter was a catering strike during his first-class flight from Switzerland this week, meaning he had to eat his own home-made sandwiches.

"I’m not a fan of airplane food," laughed Vettel.

To Blick newspaper, he recalls the eve of his last-minute debut in Kubica’s BMW in 2007.

"Yeah, the Sauber mechanics one night dragged me into one of these famous sex clubs (in Montreal)," revealed Vettel.

"When two girls got busy with each other right before my eyes, it was too much and I left!"

And he said that last year in Canada, someone stole his credit card.

"By the time I noticed and cancelled the card, the stranger had already had a $600 dinner with wine at my expense," laughed Vettel.

Source: Nextgen

Canadian GP - Alonso: “I see a positive response in the factory”

After attending a Shell event in downtown Montreal, a city that always reserves a special welcome for the Prancing Horse team, Fernando Alonso met the media at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro hospitality unit, backing onto the Olympic Rowing Basin at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

Looking at the coming weekend, the Spaniard clearly wants to wait until he has completed some laps before making predictions. “I don’t know how competitive we can be here and we must wait and see once we get out on track,” he began. “It should be a better track for us, in the same way that Monaco was, because when we run on the softer tyres it seems we perform a little better. Secondly, aerodynamics is less important here, because there are not many high speed corners and that helps as we know that, aerodynamically, we are a bit behind our rivals. Therefore, we can maybe expect to be a little bit closer here. However, we must not forget that Red Bull has been quick at all types of circuit and McLaren has been fast at tracks with opposing characteristics, like Barcelona and Monaco. I think we can be closer to them here and have a chance of fighting to be on the podium, but it will be very tough, as indeed it has been throughout the season so far.”

Pirelli might be bringing the same tyres here as they did in the Principality, but the track conditions are much tougher on rubber in Montreal. “I expect more difficulties than in Monaco as far as the tyres are concerned,” confirmed Fernando. “Already there, a one stop was not the fastest strategy, but it was the best one because it is impossible to overtake there. Here it is very easy to overtake and if you tried to adopt the strategy of running to the end, like Vettel did in Monaco, you would find yourself down in eighth place. Even two stops could be difficult here so I expect a good number of stops on Sunday.”

For the first time this season, the DRS (Downforce Reduction System) will be used at two points rather than just one around the track. “It will mean we can adopt a different approach for this race, in terms of the number of pit stops and doing an extra one is not a problem as you can overtake easily and making more pit stops will seem more realistic,” maintained the Ferrari man. “However, let’s not forget that there is rain forecast for Sunday, in which case use of DRS will not be allowed. In a dry race with double DRS, we will see a lot of overtaking which will be a good show for the fans. If it does rain, then because of our situation – we are a long way behind in the championship in terms of points and we are not yet quite as quick as our opponents – the wet for us is not such a problem, because at the moment, we would not win a straightforward race in the dry. So, any strange factors can maybe help us, but wet races are also a lottery in which you need to gamble and you need to win.” Finally, Alonso was asked if he could sense a benefit to the restructuring of the technical department, announced a fortnight ago in Monaco. “I see a positive response back in the factory and a good atmosphere within the team, where everyone is prepared to work hard to apply all the new methods involved in this change.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Lewis Hamilton eyes strong result

Lewis Hamilton is relishing being amongst friends this weekend as he escapes the animosity that followed his on-and-off-track Monaco madness

Hamilton was forced to make a handful of apologies in the wake of his contentious sixth-placed finish in the principality 10 days ago.

Initially Hamilton "made peace" with the four-man panel of stewards after suggesting, via an apparent joke that badly backfired, that his skin colour lay at the heart of their decision making.

The 26-year-old vented his frustration against the stewards after being penalised three times over the course of the weekend, and five times in six races this year.

Hamilton was given drive-through penalties - one retrospectively - for causing a collision with first Felipe Massa in his Ferrari and then Williams' Pastor Maldonado, the latter at a time when he was on course to score his first points for the team.

The McLaren star described the Brazilian and Venezuelan as "ridiculous" during his post-race outburst, later apologising to both men via his Twitter account on which he had also been abused in the aftermath of what unfolded.

Hamilton has already made it clear a victory in one of his favourite races, the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, will help put the stigma of what happened in and after Monte Carlo behind him.

Aiming for a third win in five races at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton said: "Montreal is a very special place for me.

"It's where I took my first Formula One pole position and won my first race. I also won there last year from pole.

"I've always got on really well with the track as the layout seems to suit my driving style.

"Perhaps even more importantly the fans in Montreal, and everyone in North America who makes the trip to the city, are some of the best in the world.

"They are so positive, supportive and friendly. My trips to the city have been some of my favourite experiences in Formula One.

"I'm massively looking forward to arriving in Montreal to a friendly welcome."

With Hamilton currently 58 points adrift of reigning Champion and current leader Sebastian Vettel, he knows a third Canadian win is a must this weekend.

"Our car should be well suited to this track," said Hamilton, who led a McLaren one-two with Jenson Button a year ago.

"We have a great engine, the best KERS (power boost) system in the sport and excellent traction out of slow corners.

"All in all it's set to be another good weekend for us. I'll be looking for a strong result on Sunday."

Source: Planet-F1

Kimi Räikkönen: F1 Misses the Iceman

As Mika Hakkinen’s illustrious career was coming to an end, another Flying Finn was ready to take his place on the grid and in the McLaren F1 team. Kimi Raikkonen of Finland had completed a mere 23 races apart from go-karting before he was drafted by Peter Sauber in his Formula 1 team. The FIA reluctantly granted this unknown Finn a super license to compete in the 2001 season.

Despite being numerically outperformed by his team mate Nick Heidfeld, his cool head behind the wheel was not unnoticed. Much to the annoyance of the German, Kimi was chosen over him to replace the ‘on sabbatical’ Hakkinen in the McLaren hot seat.

McLaren

2002 was Kimi’s first season in McLaren and it was another year of Schumacher-Ferrari domination. The ‘Iceman’ almost won his first race in the French GP, only to slip on a patch of oil on the track and let Schumacher pass him for first. Someone like a Hamilton or Vettel may have wallowed at the Podium or press conference, but Kimi was poker-faced and monotonous as usual.

In his frustrating stint with the Woking team, Raikkonen mounted credible title challenges in 2003 and 2005. The first of these was a three way battle between himself, Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher. Eventually, Schumi edged the young Kimi by 2 points. Reliability cost Raikkonen the title in 2005, where he actually won the same number of races (7) as the eventual champion Alonso. On two occasions, his McLaren let him down while he was in the lead and on both occasions, Alonso took advantage to win the race.

Twice in the 2005 season, Raikkonen started the race dead last (due to engine failures in Qualifying) and finished on the podium. In one of the most memorable races of his career, Raikkonen starting from 17th place, won the Grand Prix in Suzuka Japan. He hunted down his rivals one by one, stormed past the likes of Alonso, Schumacher and passed the race leader Giancarlo Fisichella on the last lap of the race! It is doubtful if the modern day punks like Hamilton and Vettel can match that.

Ferrari

Sadly, Kimi’s McLaren was much too fragile to win him World Championships and he made the switch to Scuderia Ferrari in 2007 to fill the boots of Michael Schumacher. It can be an intimadting task for anyone to replace a legend of the sport. It didn’t seem to affect Raikkonen. He was notably absent in a media event where Schumi would ‘hand over’ his place to Kimi. When asked about it, Kimi replied in his typical monotonous tone – “I had gone to take a s***”. He never gives any, that’s for sure.

In Ferrari, he won his first race and made a strong start to the season. The 2007 season was a four way tussle between Kimi, Massa, Hamilton and Alonso. Massa fell away and it came down to the other three in the last race of the season. As things stood, Hamilton had 107 points, Alonso 103 and Kimi 100. So, for Raikkonen to win the Championship, he had to win AND hope that Alonso finishes 3rd or below AND Hamilton finishes 7th or below.

Kimi qualified 3rd behind teammate Massa with Hamilton in 2nd place. In a clever opening move, Massa pulled ahead of Lewis Hamilton and slowed down, allowing Kimi to pass both of them on the first corner. Hamilton then lost his bearings and though he will never admit it, accidentally pressed the Pit Lane speed limiter button. When he finally realized it, he was in last place. Hamilton could only finish 7th, and the Ferraris finished one-two. Thus, Kimi became World Champion in the most dramatic fashion, finishing a mere 1 point ahead of Alonso and Hamilton.

Driving Style

Kimi liked adventure in his driving. He never fussed much about the car setup with his mechanics and engineers, choosing to simply drive what he got. His only preference was to have a slight understeer, which enabled him to make a wide swinging turn out of the corners. Perhaps he got a kick out of the extra acceleration. Naturally, he enjoyed the ups, downs and twists of Belgium Spa Francorchamps the most, and was rightly called the ‘Spa Master’.

Apart from this, Kimi was a smooth driver, easy on the tires, brakes and good at overtaking (Fisichella can testify). He was as brief and monotonous on the car radio as he was in press conferences and as cool as ever. This sometimes led to criticism over his motivation levels by some commentators. But of course, he never gave a s**t.

Personality and Legacy

In 2009, Raikkonen left Ferrari and F1 itself to join rally car racing. With a solitary championship to his name, he wont be considered one of the ‘greats’, but he will never be forgotten either. Raikkonen was a man who thoroughly enjoyed racing and didnt care about the rest. While drivers like Schumacher and Hamilton obsess about rivals, car setup and so on, Raikkonen simply turned up, set the track on fire and left in the evening without a fuss.

Behind his ice-cold face and monotonous voice, was a colorful personality. No wonder he entered a snowmobile race under the pseudonym “James Hunt”, a party loving personality from the 70s. While many of the drivers nowadays are PR stuntmen, Kimi lived his life for himself. He celebrated his championship by getting drunk, being thrown out of the bar and sleeping on a public bench with an inflatable dolphin. He also once, fell headfirst in a yacht while being drunk.

He never apologized for any of it, he didn’t have to. Kimi never kept any pretenses, preferring to speak little, let his driving do the talking and enjoy himself off the track. With his retirement (doesn’t look like he will be back), F1 has possibly seen the end of an era.

Source: Sportskeeda
Courtesy: Sleenster

Webber: F1 isn't above social responsibility

Despite the FIA reinstating the Bahrain GP, Mark Webber says he'll be "highly surprised" if the race actually goes ahead

On Friday, the FIA's World Motor Sport Council opted to put the Bahrain GP back on the calendar with the race now scheduled for October 30th.

But while the FIA were holding their meeting, a funeral was being held for a woman who was killed by tear gas in the island kingdom as protesters returned to the streets.

"My opinion is unchanged since I was first asked about this in late February. Even though a decision has been made, I'll be highly surprised if the Bahrain Grand Prix goes ahead this year," Webber told his website.

"In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in hope of being able to re-schedule it in 2011.

"It would have sent a very clear message about F1's position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.

"It's obvious that the parties involved have struggled to reach a decision but sadly I feel that they still haven't made the right one.

"Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn't above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn't the right time.

"As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country. I don't understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that."

Source: Planet-F1

USA's elite motorsport cherishes traditions and makes money

Turun Sanomat made a pioneer trip to Nascar-races during Charlotte All Star -weekend. There we also saw Kimi Räikkönen for the first time in Camping World Truck -class.

The reporter and photographer arrived early on Friday morning in order to avoid traffic. The castle-like Motor Speedway -complex is a mighty entity surrounded by camping-areas. Yet the traffic was almost non-existing in the morning and the audiences were all empty although the practice sessions were about to begin.

Where is the audience when you expect over 100.000 spectators for the weekend?

– It's Friday, people are still at work. The race is in the evening, that's when the local people's freetime begins and the audiences are filled. Don’t worry, ESPN -channel's longtime motorsport reporter Lewis Franck told the Finns.

Each oval is different

We got to experience what it's like to drive on this 1,5 mile oval first hand when we got a ride with the pace car. It really has nothing to do with an European track race. On top of that each oval is different although they look similar. Their lenghts wary from half a mile to 2,5 mile.

Charlotte track's inclinations are 24 degrees in the corners and 5 degrees on the straight.

– The track has only one ideal driving line which is faster than the others. Since everybody can't take it they have to take the 2nd fastest line and those behind again the next best driving line. It takes time to learn how to manage on an oval when several cars go flatout side by side, the pace car driver explained to us.

Then the practice begins. There are more people than usual in the media center and every interesting driver is interviewed by the media one by one. The atmosphere is very open all the time like when old buddies meet each other. Even Räikkönen who trembled in practice talks on and on and he is remarkably laidback.

After Jim Clark, Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve, Räikkönen brings breath of fresh air from F1-champion -level. It is revealed that he isn't even the serie's first Iceman.

When Räikkönen started karting as a little boy, a driver called Terry Labonte who had an exceptionally cool attitude was driving on Nascar-tracks, he was the one and only Nascar-Iceman.

The evening comes. Drivers are presented to the audience one by one on an estrade built in front of the main stand. A male choir sings USA's anthem, which the locals listen to holding their right hand on their heart.

Easy to supervise easy rules

Nascar is a package that functions well. There has been no need to change rules every year like in F1.

– The more simple rules, the easier it is to supervise them. That's why the rules haven't much been changed since the beginning. And because the pits and cars are so out in the open everyone sees immediately if the neighbor is trying to cheat in some way, reporter colleague Franck emphasizes.

When a Finnish world champion competes somewhere around the world, you usually see automatically supporters waving Finland's flag.

In Nascar you had to search and search in order to find Finland's flag. There were two of them. The duo from Hyvinkää carried their flag on the track-area and the other one was in the stand.

Columbian reporter Diego Mejia reminds that you don't really see Columbia's flags either.

– When Juan Pablo Montoya drove in the Indy-serie hundreds of Columbian fans with flags travelled to the spot. When Juan drove in F1 you could see Columbia's flags all over the world. Then when he came to Nascar in 2006 you didn't see the flags anymore. They have started to come back slowly, Meija tells.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

FIA announce 21-race 2012 calendar

While most of the focus was on Bahrain, the World Motor Sport Council gave the go-ahead to a 21-race calendar for the 2012 season

Next year's Championship will kick off in Bahrain despite the island kingdom's 2011 race only taking place on October 30th.

Added to that, Korea has been moved up the order to April while the United States GP will slot in after Canada and Turkey is subjec to a new contract being signed.

The season will end with the Brazilian GP on November 25th.

There are also seven times during the Championship when F1 will host back-to-back race weekends.

2012 Calendar
11 Mar Bahrain
18 Mar Australia
01 Apr Malaysia
08 Apr China
22 Apr Korea
06 May Turkey *
20 May Spain
27 May Monaco
10 Jun Canada
17 Jun USA United States
01 Jul Valencia, Spain
15 Jul Great Britain
29 Jul Germany
05 Aug Hungary
02 Sept Belgium
09 Sept Italy
30 Sept Singapore
14 Oct Japan
28 Oct India
11 Nov Abu Dhabi
25 Nov Brazil

* Subject to confirmation

Source: Planet-F1

It's Official: Bahrain Is Back On Oct 30th

The FIA have officially confirmed that Bahrain is back on the calendar after Jean Todt visited the country to assess the situation

Bahrain was postponed earlier this season when political unrest dogged the island kingdom. However, after much debate and consideration, the FIA have opted to reinstate the grand prix.

"Following a fact-finding mission undertaken at the request of FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Vice President Carlos Gracia visited Bahrain on 31 May 2011 to assess the situation in the country," said a FIA statement.

"Meetings were conducted with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain International Circuit, as well as other national and international organisations including Mr. Tariq Al Saffar at the National Institute of Human Rights.

"It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process.

"After considering all the factors and taking into consideration all stakeholders' concerns, the WMSC unanimously agreed to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship."

The FIA added that they believe the decision will play a crucial role in helping to unite the people of Bahrain in the wake of the recent crisis.

"This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country.

"The WMSC feels that reinstating the grand prix is a means of helping to unite people as the country looks to move forward, and also recognises the commitment made by the Formula One teams, their employees and families, and personnel associated with the Championship including the local team of volunteers who are so vital to the event."

The race will take place on October 30th with the inaugural Indian GP moving back to the very end of the calendar.

"The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on 30 October, replacing the Indian Grand Prix, which will now become the final round of the 2011 Championship, combined with the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize-Giving Gala."

Source: Planet-F1

Massa's Blog: A Brazilian break

Given that the next race is in Canada, I’ve made the most of that to head home to Brazil, to spend a few days there with my family. The last few weeks were very busy, with three races crammed into the month of May and now a bit of a break is in order. Before flying off to Sao Paolo, I spent a day in Italy, in Parma, where I played alongside Fernando and Giancarlo in a three-way charity football tournament. Me and the other Ferrari guys were playing as part of the Telethon team, the association that raises funds for research into rare and genetic illness.

Those three races in May did not go well for me. I failed to pick up points and my biggest regret came in the last of the three, in Monaco. As Fernando showed, by fighting at the front right to the end, we had a very good potential there and I think I could have finished the race in fourth place. Unfortunately, there was the accident with Hamilton, which put me out of the running: a real shame, but there’s little point in going over it again. I said what I wanted to about the incident after the race and now it’s not worth wasting more time over it, so it’s better to look ahead.

For the spectators – and unfortunately I was one of them – the second part of the race was very exciting. It’s a shame that the red flag pretty much ended the three way battle at the front of the field ahead of schedule. The rules in this case allow tyres to be changed if the race is suspended and so the final laps lost their significance, because both Fernando and Sebastian were on reasonably fresh tyres and, in these circumstances, overtaking at Monaco is still practically impossible, even with KERS and DRS.

The weekend was marked by several accidents, the most serious being those that involved Rosberg and Perez. Nico was lucky, as he did not hit the wall at the chicane after the tunnel, but Sergio hit it hard: I am happy he is out of hospital and I hope we can see him back in action in Montreal already. It’s true that Monaco, by its very nature, will always have an element of risk attached and that particular barrier is probably the most critical point if you lose control of the car or if something breaks. We have often spoken about it in the past, because it has been the scene of several accidents and I hope a solution can be found to improve the position of the barrier at that particular point on the circuit.

There was at least one positive aspect to the weekend and that is the fact our car was much more competitive than we had seen it at the previous race. Finally, we could fight all the way to the end, even if circumstances meant that only applied to one of us. Our pace was very good and I hope that will also be the case in Canada and Valencia. We should have some new technical updates there, which along with the softer tyres, should be a help, on paper at least and then we will see what the actual situation is, starting on Friday in Montreal.

Source: Ferrari.com

Video: Making Of our new TV commercial starring Jenson Button for TAG Heuer

Source: TAGHeuerOnline

Alonso's Blog: I tried to the very end

I arrived in Maranello late this morning and in the afternoon, I was involved in some PR activities. I also got the chance to meet two of our young FDA drivers, Raffaele Marciello and Brandon Maisano, who were at Fiorano for a Formula 3 test. Then, I headed off for Parma where tonight I am playing in the “Partita del Cuore” (game of the heart) a three-way football tournament which is raising funds for the Telethon charity.

Over twenty four hours have passed since the end of the Monaco Grand Prix and I certainly haven’t changed my mind. Yesterday we had a real chance of taking our first win of the season and the interruption following the accident with Petrov and Alguersuari robbed us of the chance of trying to the very end. In the second part of the race, after the pit stop, I tried to save the tyres specifically to be prepared for the closing laps, when I hoped I’d be able to make the most of it if Sebastian had any difficulties with his tyres, given he’d been on the same set for many laps. Unfortunately, that plan went out the window, but you have to accept it, because we know that situations like the one we saw in Monaco yesterday happen quite often.

Immediately after the race, I said the fight for the title was getting ever more difficult, not to say impossible. Sure, if Vettel ends up winning a race in which we felt there was a chance of victory, then you get a feeling of disappointment, but that does not mean will not continue working hard at the track and back home on developing the car. Clearly the gap in the championship is widening all the time: we can do the maths, but neither myself nor the team are used to throwing in the towel. Already today, I’ve been talking to the engineers about the new parts we will have in Montreal, but above all, of the steps forward we must take for Silverstone, when we will back at a track which requires a lot of aerodynamic downforce. That’s where we will really see how our season is going to pan out. Up until then, we want to and we must believe in ourselves.

I am pleased to hear that Sergio Perez has already left the Monaco hospital this afternoon. He had a truly horrible accident and the fact he came out of it almost unscathed is a clear indication of the progress made in terms of Formula 1 car safety. You can never do away with the risks completely, but they can be significantly reduced for the drivers and for all those who work at the track.

Source: Ferrari.com

Räikkönen at wild party at Monaco GP 2011

Kimi Räikkönen made his NASCAR Nationwide debut on Saturday, but showed up already the next day at the Monaco Grand Prix. He hosted there a wild party for the "Finnish Jackass" The Dudesons.

So we can almost say that Kimi was with his performance even faster than Monaco GP winner Sebastian Vettel...

Räikkönen did not miss any speed and dangerous moments when hosting his guests. Jukka from The Dudesons made everybody laugh by dressing in Kimi's NASCAR-overall:



Source: RacingNewsFlash

Seb Vettel Is The New King Of Monaco

Sebastian Vettel claimed his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win, but for the second time in two days his performance was overshadowed after a fellow driver was injured in a heavy shunt

On Saturday, a serious accident involving Sergio Perez's led to qualifying to be delayed while on Sunday Vitaly Petrov was involved in a crash that saw him being taken away by ambulance after picking up a leg injury.

The race was red flagged, but restarted after an 11-minute stop and Vettel - who had fresh rubber fitted to his car during the break - eased his Red Bull home with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button closely behind.

Earlier, Vettel made a clean start alongside Button and Alonso. From then on it turned into a battle of the strategies.

McLaren looked like they had one over their rivals when they pitted Button earlier than usual for supersofts and got him out in clean air. However, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton's crash with Felipe Massa probably cost Button a potential win after the Safety Car was deployed.

That allowed the field to bunch up and with Button forced to stop for a third time, he lost valuable time to the top two, but Red Bull and Ferrari's decision not to pit their drivers again gave the McLaren driver an opportunity to attack on fresher rubber.

The trio found themselves tail-to-tail for the best part of 15 laps, but more drama was to follow with eight laps to go after Adrian Sutil, Petrov and Hamilton got tangled up during their scrap for sixth place together with backmarker Jaime Alguersuari. Petrov and Alguersuari both crashed out and the Safety Car was deployed. The race was then red-flagged as the medical team was called to tend to Petrov.

Once the track was cleared, the race was restarted under the Safety Car and turned into a five-lap shoot-out. Vettel, Alonso and Button held station, but there was one final incident when Hamilton tried to squeeze past Pastor Maldonado in sixth place. The duo made contact and the Williams driver came off second best.

The McLaren driver finished sixth while Mark Webber fourth and Kamui Kobayashi was fifth.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h09:38.373
02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.378
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 23.100
05. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 26.900
06. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 27.200
07. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps
13. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 5 aps

Retirements
Petrov Renault 68
Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68
Massa Ferrari 33
Schumacher Mercedes 33
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Monaco GP: Ferrari quicker than we showed today - Fernando Alonso

After finishing fourth in Saturday's qualifying, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso predicts pit strategy rather than overtaking will determine the result of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix



Source: FiftyBuckss

Monaco GP: Webber still eyeing victory

Mark Webber will once again start behind his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, the fifth time in six races

Mark Webber said he was still aiming for victory in the Monaco Grand Prix despite only qualifying on the second row.

Having taken a lights-to-flag victory around the streets last year, Webber knows the importance of qualifying on pole position at a track that is notoriously difficult to overtake at. Despite being outqualified by his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Jenson Button, Webber still said it was possible to win, especially with the 2011 regulations leading to more exciting races.

"The races are more mixed up this year compared to the last few years, and tomorrow is no exception," Webber said. "It's possible to win from P3 but, that said, qualifying is crucial here and pole is certainly a nice benefit to have. Seb did a great lap and deserved pole and JB [Button] did too."

Webber also said that Sergio Perez's crash had resulted in a "messy" qualifying session, but that the most important thing was that lessons were learned from the incident.

"It was a messy session for all of us - you never anticipate not getting a second go, but that's the way it fell today and bigger priorities took over when one of our colleagues, Sergio, had a crash.

"All our thoughts are with him; he's in great hands and he's talking and is conscious, which is good news; he'll bounce back I'm sure. We can learn from this in terms of safety here and it's probably an area that we need to look at improving for the future. Jenson was lucky and Karl Wendlinger back in the nineties - so there are a few places around here we need to keep an eye on."

Source: ESPNF1

Monaco GP : Vettel takes pole, Perez crashes

Sergio Perez's massive accident in qualifying for the Monaco GP overshadowed Sebastian Vettel's first Monaco pole position

Q3 was halted for almost 40 minutes after Perez suffered a huge accident, hitting the dividing barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane after losing control of his car over the bumps at the exit to the tunnel.

The medical staff and marshals were quickly on hand to assist the Sauber driver, who was taken directly to the local hospital in an ambulance. he was conscious and talking.

With the session resuming with just three minutes left on the clock, many expected a mad flying lap dash for pole position. However, it wasn't to be.

Instead the session came to a low-key end with Vettel on pole thanks to his earlier 1:13.556.Jenson Button will join him on the front row, having qualified ahead of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.556s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.997s + 0.441
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.019s + 0.463
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.483s + 0.927
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.682s + 1.126
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m14.877s + 1.321
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.280s + 1.724
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.766s + 2.210
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.528s + 2.972
10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari No time
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m15.815s + 1.540
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m15.826s + 1.551
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.973s + 1.698
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.118s + 1.843
15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.121s + 1.846
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.214s + 1.939
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.300s + 2.025
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m17.343s + 2.136
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m17.381s + 2.174
20. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.820s + 2.613
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m17.914s + 2.707
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m18.736s + 3.529
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth No time
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth No time

Source: Planet-F1

Monaco GP – Domenicali: “It was a decision taken for the good of the team”

The Friday of the Monaco Grand Prix is always a strange day. Officially it’s a day of rest yet the paddock and the pit lane are a frenzy of activity until the evening. With so much time available, the engineers make the most of it to study the data they’ve collected in the three hours of yesterday’s free practice to the tiniest detail. They also meet with the drivers and give the latest information to the mechanics who have to prepare the cars for the rest of the weekend.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro also followed this programme, with meetings that began at 11am and didn’t finish until after 7pm. Felipe and Fernando joined in with some of these briefings but they were also involved in PR activities, among them an autograph session organised by the grand prix promoter and cocktails with a group of Ferrari clients. For Felipe there was a special end to the day with his participation as a model at the Monaco Charity Fashion Show, which earned the most applause of the evening.

But Ferrari’s day was summed up above all by this afternoon’s briefing by Team Principal Stefano Domenicali for the press from Italy and the rest of the world. The hottest topic – and it couldn’t have been anything else – was the reorganisation of the technical division of the Scuderia that was announced last Tuesday.

“It was a decision that was taken for the good of the team, in order to improve,” explained Domenicali. “It was a rational decision, not an emotional one: a change that brings stability for the future.” It was certainly the hardest decision of Domenicali’s career, which will total twenty years at Ferrari a few days from now. “I don’t want to go into the details out of my respect for Aldo, a person who is a friend who I admire. We aren’t here to make things personal. Over the years there have been changes for various reasons: some have asked to have certain responsibilities taken away, such as Chris Dyer who had a problem of authority after the outcome of the race in Abu Dhabi. Now this decision was difficult because I’ve worked together with Aldo for so many years. But in my position you have to take the most rational decisions possible for the good of the team, even when they are hard.”

For those who made objections about timing, Domenicali replied: “These are structured timings that can’t be linked to the racing calendar. We want to keep competing for this world championship but we are obviously also working on the car for 2012, which is starting to take shape at this time. The decision was welcomed by the team, which reacted by immediately putting its foot on the accelerator. Clearly you can’t expect something to change in two days. It’s a question of changing working methods and trying to improve them, otherwise there’s no point in changing. We will try to establish different priorities in the car’s development.”

Domenicali didn’t play down his own responsibilities and he refused to see the reorganisation as a defeat for the Italian side of the team. “I know well that I am also under the microscope. It’s always like that and those are the rules of the game. It’s true that there is an Englishman, Pat Fry, in Costa’s place but when it comes to Italians there are also Marmorini and Lanzone alongside myself. Tombazis? Nikolas remains in charge of planning the car and he will have to concentrate on developing the aerodynamic side, the area where we concentrate the most effort. Perhaps the culture of aerodynamics doesn’t play a big part among the talents of Italy and we ought to make some important interventions to improve that situation.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Video: BBC Monaco GP - Team restructure will boost Ferrari - Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso says he has full confidence in Stefano Domenicali's choices after Ferrari restructured their technical team following a disappointing start to the Formula 1 season



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