Tampilkan postingan dengan label Chinese GP. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Chinese GP. Tampilkan semua postingan
Minggu, 24 April 2011
Selasa, 19 April 2011
Massa's Blog: I hope I continue to fight at a higher level
A couple of days have passed since the Chinese Grand Prix and I am still in Shanghai attending various events in a city which I find I enjoy more every time I come here. I had a very good race on Sunday, running strongly and getting involved in a lot of fights. The result should have been a bit better than my eventual sixth place, but I was very happy with how it went and I hope I can continue to fight at a higher level for the coming races.
For sure, we need to qualify better so we can start further forward on the grid which helps in the race, even with the talk of grid position being less important this year. In China actually my grid position, sixth, was not too bad and then I gained one place immediately after the start which moved me up to fifth. Most importantly though, if you look at the pace of the car, it was good enough to allow us to fight with the leaders. That meant I had a very interesting race, being able to make up several places because effectively, the car we had in the race was completely different to the one we had the day before in qualifying. It definitely worked well, because I even led the race for a short while at one point and I held a genuine second place for quite some time. Unfortunately, those who were three stopping for tyre changes caught us up much faster than we had expected in the closing stages and, on tyres that were in much better shape than mine, they were able to get past.
It’s easy to say, having seen how the race evolved, that I should have been on a three stop rather than a two stop strategy, but in fact, I am not completely sure this would have been correct, because the main problem I had was much poorer performance than the other cars experienced on the hard Pirellis, which meant that, when these tyres were fitted, the car had a pace more similar to what we had seen in qualifying and we definitely had more problems than the others. Up until then, the car was quite competitive. People have pointed out that Webber drove a fantastic race, which involved three pit stops, but you have to accept that, because he failed to get further than Q1 on Saturday, he had plenty of new tyres: everyone would want to be in that position, but you must remember he has a very good car, the quickest of the year so far. Nevertheless, we are always learning at this stage of the season and we should analyse everything very carefully to see if we should adopt a different approach, maybe modify our qualifying strategy to have some fresher tyres for the race. But after three Grands Prix it is still too early to say what is the best way to work with all these new rules, because in China at the weekend, you saw many different combinations of strategies and tyre useage and many of them seemed to work well. Nothing is one hundred percent clear yet and at Ferrari, we have to work out what is best for our car. It is possible that we could see very different strategies in the next few races, depending on the characteristics of the circuits.
In Shanghai, it was good for the sport of Formula 1 that Lewis won the race, so we don’t have the same car winning every time. However, we must not forget that Sebastian still finished second which is a very good result, which still keeps him in a good position for the championship. We have three weeks now during which everyone at Ferrari has to push hard to try and arrive at the next race, or more specifically the next qualifying, in a stronger position, so we can continue to take the fight to these guys. After Shanghai, we must also consider Mercedes as being part of the fight for the top places. They definitely have a quicker car than us for qualifying, but it’s not yet a match for Red Bull. But it is also true that the Red Bulls suffer more than most in a performance drop off from qualifying to the race, so this could see Mercedes continuing to be very competitive now in the races.
I am now preparing to leave Shanghai for home in Monaco. On Monday, I attended an event for a personal sponsor, Richard Mille who manufacture watches and in the evening I was at a dinner for Ferrari owners. Then before flying home, on Tuesday morning I was at the Shanghai Motor Show, making an appearance on the Ferrari stand, doing some press interviews and unveiling the Ferrari FF, the recently launched four wheel drive car, seen for the first time now in China. I am looking forward to this slightly longer than usual break at home before heading for Istanbul and I will be following very carefully the work going on at Maranello during this period.
Source: Ferrari.com
Minggu, 17 April 2011
Hamilton: That was one of the best
Lewis Hamilton has hailed the Chinese GP as "one of the best races I've experienced" after claiming his first victory of 2011
What maked the win sweeter for Hamilton and McLaren is the fact that it put an end to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's early-season dominance after the German won in Australia and Malaysia.
Starting P3 on the grid, Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button both beat Vettel off the line.
The defending World Champion hit back in the first two rounds of pit stops to reclaim the lead, but Hamilton had the last laugh as the decision to pit for a third time paid dividends when his fresher rubber allowed him to pass Vettel with four laps to go.
Hamilton says everything fell into place once the race got underway.
"I am absolutely overwhelmed," said the McLaren driver. "It feels like a long time since I was sitting here. I am proud and grateful for all the hard work I have put in.
"I will continue to push and looking forward to many more like this."
He added: "I think today the strategy that we came up with definitely helped
"My new option tyres seemed to last longer. The pit stops were fantastic. The car felt great and I was trying to nurse my tyres while picking up pace.
"It was one of the best races I've experienced. It feels amazing to be able to bring home a victory for the guys in the factory."
The 26-year-old nearly failed to make it to his P3 slot on the grid after a fuel line came loose before the start of the race. That resulted in a mad scramble to fix the problem. Even though he was able to line up in position on the grid, his mechanics were still working on the car moments before the formation lap.
Hamilton, though, insists he was never worried.
"I don't think worried was coming into my thoughts," he said. "I'm not sure what went on, but we took a lot of bodywork off. We knew there was six minutes to go and then with two minutes fortunately everything came together very quickly.
"But of course for me it is important to stay as calm as possible as that reflects on the guys in the garage. They got the car out which is the most important thing."
Now that McLaren have managed to overhaul Red Bull during a race, the next target will be to catch up with Vettel in qualifying.
"I think obviously we still have a long road ahead of us," Hamilton said.
"We are working very hard to close the gap. In race pace we are quite similar, but in qualifying we still have a lot of work to do."
Source: Planet-F1
What maked the win sweeter for Hamilton and McLaren is the fact that it put an end to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's early-season dominance after the German won in Australia and Malaysia. Starting P3 on the grid, Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button both beat Vettel off the line.
The defending World Champion hit back in the first two rounds of pit stops to reclaim the lead, but Hamilton had the last laugh as the decision to pit for a third time paid dividends when his fresher rubber allowed him to pass Vettel with four laps to go.
Hamilton says everything fell into place once the race got underway.
"I am absolutely overwhelmed," said the McLaren driver. "It feels like a long time since I was sitting here. I am proud and grateful for all the hard work I have put in.
"I will continue to push and looking forward to many more like this."
He added: "I think today the strategy that we came up with definitely helped
"My new option tyres seemed to last longer. The pit stops were fantastic. The car felt great and I was trying to nurse my tyres while picking up pace.
"It was one of the best races I've experienced. It feels amazing to be able to bring home a victory for the guys in the factory."
The 26-year-old nearly failed to make it to his P3 slot on the grid after a fuel line came loose before the start of the race. That resulted in a mad scramble to fix the problem. Even though he was able to line up in position on the grid, his mechanics were still working on the car moments before the formation lap.
Hamilton, though, insists he was never worried.
"I don't think worried was coming into my thoughts," he said. "I'm not sure what went on, but we took a lot of bodywork off. We knew there was six minutes to go and then with two minutes fortunately everything came together very quickly.
"But of course for me it is important to stay as calm as possible as that reflects on the guys in the garage. They got the car out which is the most important thing."
Now that McLaren have managed to overhaul Red Bull during a race, the next target will be to catch up with Vettel in qualifying.
"I think obviously we still have a long road ahead of us," Hamilton said.
"We are working very hard to close the gap. In race pace we are quite similar, but in qualifying we still have a lot of work to do."
Source: Planet-F1
Alonso: Car is just too slow
Fernando Alonso insists he wasn't undone by his strategy in China. Rather, he was undone by his slow car
The Spaniard started the Chinese GP fifth on the grid but lost out to his team-mate Felipe Massa off the line. And by the end of the 56 laps, during which Ferrari deployed a two-stop strategy for both drivers, he was down in P7, one place behind his team-mate.
However, the Spaniard says it wasn't Ferrari's decision to go with a two-stopper, when a three-stop proved to be the better option, that cost him.
"We'll see now which one was the best," he told Autosport.
"It's very easy to choose the strategy when you have the fastest car and it's very hard when you are slow. (Mark) Webber today showed qualifying is not very important.
"The most important thing is to have a good tyre degradation and a good strategy, and this year we can overtake. As I say, the easiest thing is to have a quick car, like Red Bull, you pit three, two, one times and you end up on the podium.
"We need to improve the car above everything. I don't think it would have changed much. We were much slower than the cars we had in front so we would ended up with a similar result."
The double World Champ also denied that he had a problem with his car in the closing stages of the race, saying once again the only problem is that the car is too slow.
"No, we didn't have any particular problems. We just weren't fast at any point during the race and we kept on losing positions little by little.
"Then we opted to go for two stops so it looked like we were in a good position during some points of the race and others where they were flying like bullets from behind. We had to try to hold on and finish the race in whatever position."
Source: Planet-F1
The Spaniard started the Chinese GP fifth on the grid but lost out to his team-mate Felipe Massa off the line. And by the end of the 56 laps, during which Ferrari deployed a two-stop strategy for both drivers, he was down in P7, one place behind his team-mate. However, the Spaniard says it wasn't Ferrari's decision to go with a two-stopper, when a three-stop proved to be the better option, that cost him.
"We'll see now which one was the best," he told Autosport.
"It's very easy to choose the strategy when you have the fastest car and it's very hard when you are slow. (Mark) Webber today showed qualifying is not very important.
"The most important thing is to have a good tyre degradation and a good strategy, and this year we can overtake. As I say, the easiest thing is to have a quick car, like Red Bull, you pit three, two, one times and you end up on the podium.
"We need to improve the car above everything. I don't think it would have changed much. We were much slower than the cars we had in front so we would ended up with a similar result."
The double World Champ also denied that he had a problem with his car in the closing stages of the race, saying once again the only problem is that the car is too slow.
"No, we didn't have any particular problems. We just weren't fast at any point during the race and we kept on losing positions little by little.
"Then we opted to go for two stops so it looked like we were in a good position during some points of the race and others where they were flying like bullets from behind. We had to try to hold on and finish the race in whatever position."
Source: Planet-F1
Video: Mixed emotions for Sebastian Vettel after Chinese GP 2011
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel remains happy despite not winning for the first time in 2011 after finishing second in China and talks about his first pit stop when McLaren's Jenson Button stopped in his box
Source: FiftyBuckss
Source: FiftyBuckss
Photos: Lewis Hamilton the winner of Chinese GP 2011
Lewis Hamilton in his first victory in the 2011 season at Chinese Grand Prix
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Webber relishing Vettel's loss
Mark Webber may not have won the Chinese GP, however, he was one of the happiest guys around as his team-mate Sebastian Vettel also didn't win
Vettel claimed dominant wins in Australia and Malaysia prompting some to question whether F1 should just gift him the title right now.
After taking pole in China, it appeared as if it was going to be another Vettel victory.
However, the German lost out to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who used his fresher rubber to pass the reigning World Champ on lap 52, taking the win.
Surprisingly, the man who was happy to see Vettel lose was his own Red Bull team-mate.
"Congratulations to Lewis. It was good that someone finally... of course Seb is in the same team, but he's been on a phenomenal run and we're all here together fighting for victories," said the Aussie.
"Shame McLaren won in a way, but also we can't let Seb get too far away. It was a good day for the racing, I think, and a good day for us in terms of points for the team."
As for his own grand prix, Webber fought back from a dismal P18 in qualifying to finish on the podium, slicing past the Ferraris, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button in the final ten laps thanks to his newer tyres.
"It was an interesting GP, we decided to start on the prime hard tyre. We know it was not the more desired tyre. We got that out of the way, and it was quite tricky. It was not easy to come back with those guys.
"But I got the car back and we really started from there. To still see P17 on board after 15 laps [was hard], then I felt comfortable with car, and I had a few sets of tyres left after qualifying - so maybe the best bet is not to take part in qualifying and go from there!
"Jokes aside, great job this weekend, the guys haven't given up - it is a drive for everyone at the factory."
Source: Planet-F1
Vettel claimed dominant wins in Australia and Malaysia prompting some to question whether F1 should just gift him the title right now. After taking pole in China, it appeared as if it was going to be another Vettel victory.
However, the German lost out to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who used his fresher rubber to pass the reigning World Champ on lap 52, taking the win.
Surprisingly, the man who was happy to see Vettel lose was his own Red Bull team-mate.
"Congratulations to Lewis. It was good that someone finally... of course Seb is in the same team, but he's been on a phenomenal run and we're all here together fighting for victories," said the Aussie.
"Shame McLaren won in a way, but also we can't let Seb get too far away. It was a good day for the racing, I think, and a good day for us in terms of points for the team."
As for his own grand prix, Webber fought back from a dismal P18 in qualifying to finish on the podium, slicing past the Ferraris, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button in the final ten laps thanks to his newer tyres.
"It was an interesting GP, we decided to start on the prime hard tyre. We know it was not the more desired tyre. We got that out of the way, and it was quite tricky. It was not easy to come back with those guys.
"But I got the car back and we really started from there. To still see P17 on board after 15 laps [was hard], then I felt comfortable with car, and I had a few sets of tyres left after qualifying - so maybe the best bet is not to take part in qualifying and go from there!
"Jokes aside, great job this weekend, the guys haven't given up - it is a drive for everyone at the factory."
Source: Planet-F1
Vettel: Nothing I could do to stop Lewis
Sebastian Vettel says Red Bull must learn from the Chinese GP after they were out-strategised by McLaren for the victory
Having lost out to both McLarens off the start-line, Red Bull opted to run Vettel on a two-stop strategy, which, given that he was leading with ten laps remaining, appeared to be the right call.
However, with fresher tyres thanks to his three-stopper, Lewis Hamilton came charging towards Vettel and easily took first place and the race victory off the German.
"We probably tried too hard staying on two stops," Vettel later admitted.
"The middle stint should have been longer, but then you find yourself on the hard tyre and I saw Lewis coming closer and closer. There was no point, I tried to defend as much as I could without losing too much time.
"We made a couple of mistakes and we had some problems, but still we finished second so I am very happy for that.
"Congratulations to Lewis and McLaren - it shows that one race when you try something a bit different, you make mistakes. It is natural and there is someone else to beat you.
"We learned a lot today. I am the only one on two stops here (on the podium) so surely something to look into tonight."
Vettel was joined on the podium by his team-mate Mark Webber, who put his fresher tyres to good use to overtake the second McLaren of Jenson Button.
However, Button did offer the one comical moment of the grand prix when he mistakenly pulled into Vettel's pit box when he came in to change tyres.
"It was quite a surprise - Jenson in front of me went into my garage," Vettel said. "We had something similar with STR, I don't know what attracts people to stop in our garage... The guys kept their heads cool, we came out in the lead."
Source: Planet-F1
Having lost out to both McLarens off the start-line, Red Bull opted to run Vettel on a two-stop strategy, which, given that he was leading with ten laps remaining, appeared to be the right call. However, with fresher tyres thanks to his three-stopper, Lewis Hamilton came charging towards Vettel and easily took first place and the race victory off the German.
"We probably tried too hard staying on two stops," Vettel later admitted.
"The middle stint should have been longer, but then you find yourself on the hard tyre and I saw Lewis coming closer and closer. There was no point, I tried to defend as much as I could without losing too much time.
"We made a couple of mistakes and we had some problems, but still we finished second so I am very happy for that.
"Congratulations to Lewis and McLaren - it shows that one race when you try something a bit different, you make mistakes. It is natural and there is someone else to beat you.
"We learned a lot today. I am the only one on two stops here (on the podium) so surely something to look into tonight."
Vettel was joined on the podium by his team-mate Mark Webber, who put his fresher tyres to good use to overtake the second McLaren of Jenson Button.
However, Button did offer the one comical moment of the grand prix when he mistakenly pulled into Vettel's pit box when he came in to change tyres.
"It was quite a surprise - Jenson in front of me went into my garage," Vettel said. "We had something similar with STR, I don't know what attracts people to stop in our garage... The guys kept their heads cool, we came out in the lead."
Source: Planet-F1
Chinese GP: Lewis Ends Seb's Dominance
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren overcame a pre-race wobble to end Sebastian Vettel's dominance with a superb Chinese Grand Prix victory
Hamilton's mechanics were frantically repairing a fuel leak on his car before the start of the race, but their hard work paid off as he finished ahead of Vettel.
The German's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber put in a sensational performance to claim the final podium position.
The Woking-based team made the dream start as both their drivers overtook Vettel at the first corner. Vettel hit back in the middle stages of the race, but ultimately the pit stop strategy cost him dearly.
The two McLaren drivers, Vettel, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg all led the race at one stage, but Red Bull's decision to put Vettel on a two-stopper saw him drop to P2 as Hamilton on a fresher set of rubbers overtook him on lap 52.
Webber, who started 18th on the grid, charged up the field pretty much the whole afternoon and he was rewarded with a P3 after overtaking Button on the penultimate lap.
Mercedes claimed their best result of the weekend as Rosberg hung onto P5 with Massa and Fernando Alonso fifth and sixth.
Results
01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:36:58.226
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull +5.198
03. Mark Webber Red Bull +7.555
04. Jenson Button McLaren +10.000
05. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix +13.448
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari +15.840
07. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +30.622
08. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix +31.026
09. Vitaly Petrov Renault +57.404
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber +1:03.273
11. Paul di Resta Force India +1:08.757
12. Nick Heidfeld Renault +1:12.739
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams +1:30.189
14. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso +1:30.671
15. Adrian Sutil Force India +1 Lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus +1 Lap
17. Sergio Perez Sauber +1 Lap
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 Lap
19. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus +1 Lap
20. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing +2 Laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin Racing +2 Laps
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team +2 Laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team +2 Laps
Did not finish
24. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso +47 Laps
Source: Planet-F1
Hamilton's mechanics were frantically repairing a fuel leak on his car before the start of the race, but their hard work paid off as he finished ahead of Vettel. The German's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber put in a sensational performance to claim the final podium position.
The Woking-based team made the dream start as both their drivers overtook Vettel at the first corner. Vettel hit back in the middle stages of the race, but ultimately the pit stop strategy cost him dearly.
The two McLaren drivers, Vettel, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg all led the race at one stage, but Red Bull's decision to put Vettel on a two-stopper saw him drop to P2 as Hamilton on a fresher set of rubbers overtook him on lap 52.
Webber, who started 18th on the grid, charged up the field pretty much the whole afternoon and he was rewarded with a P3 after overtaking Button on the penultimate lap.
Mercedes claimed their best result of the weekend as Rosberg hung onto P5 with Massa and Fernando Alonso fifth and sixth.
Results
01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:36:58.226
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull +5.198
03. Mark Webber Red Bull +7.555
04. Jenson Button McLaren +10.000
05. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix +13.448
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari +15.840
07. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +30.622
08. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix +31.026
09. Vitaly Petrov Renault +57.404
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber +1:03.273
11. Paul di Resta Force India +1:08.757
12. Nick Heidfeld Renault +1:12.739
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams +1:30.189
14. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso +1:30.671
15. Adrian Sutil Force India +1 Lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus +1 Lap
17. Sergio Perez Sauber +1 Lap
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 Lap
19. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus +1 Lap
20. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing +2 Laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin Racing +2 Laps
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team +2 Laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team +2 Laps
Did not finish
24. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso +47 Laps
Source: Planet-F1
Sabtu, 16 April 2011
Video: Chinese Grand Prix could be 'crazy', says Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel admits he was surprised to be comfortably ahead of the McLaren's as he qualifies on pole for the Chinese Grand Prix, but is not getting carried away as he believes the Shanghai circuit is a "crazy place for crazy races."
Source: FiftyBuckss
Source: FiftyBuckss
Vettel: Pole is still only eight metres on the track...
Despite having commandingly claimed his sixth pole position from the last seven races and the 18th of his F1 career, still Sebastian Vettel is keeping his expectations firmly in-check ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai
Early-season F1 2011 World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was refusing to let himself get carried away after fairly demolishing his rivals for pole position ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix – his third in Shanghai in swift succession and his sixth from the last seven races full-stop – stressing that in reality, it's still only worth 'eight metres on the track tomorrow'.
Despite pacing all three practice sessions around the Shanghai International Circuit – where two years ago he led Red Bull Racing to its breakthrough F1 victory ahead of team-mate Mark Webber – there was still some doubt heading into qualifying as to whether Vettel would ultimately have the legs of the fast-improving McLaren-Mercedes' of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. On only his first run in Q3, he wasted little time in demonstrating that he did.
Laying down a commanding marker a staggering seven tenths of a second clear of Button, Hamilton's sole effort later on would make no indent either, and when the former failed to improve on his second flying lap, Vettel aborted his, safe in the knowledge that the 18th pole of his grand prix career was comfortably in the bag.
“We have done it again, but every single time is tough,” the 23-year-old underlined. “Today wasn't as straightforward as we planned, especially in Q2 – I made a bit of a mistake on the run I did then – but in Q3, I was confident that we would be able to improve quite a lot.
“Obviously, today we did a good job, but it's just eight metres on the track tomorrow. It will be a long race, but I think we can be happy with the car. We did some good long runs on Friday, so we have a reason to feel good, but it's also a threat to feel too good – and I pay attention that doesn't happen.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner similarly hailed his young protégé's performance, pointing out that having canned his second 'flyer' in the top ten shoot-out, Vettel will now have an extra set of soft tyres available to him on race day compared to fellow front row-sitter Button.
“A third consecutive pole for Sebastian and, as he wasn't required to complete his second run in Q3, he was able to conserve his tyres for tomorrow,” reflected the Englishman. “[It was] an excellent performance from him today – a really fantastic first lap. We weren't sure what Lewis' pace was going to be, which is why we ran again – but in the end, it turned out that we didn't need to.”
“An impressive display from Sebastian again,” concurred Cyril Dumont, from RBR engine partner Renault. “What pace – three races and three pole positions – so congratulations to him!”
Source: Crash.net
Early-season F1 2011 World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was refusing to let himself get carried away after fairly demolishing his rivals for pole position ahead of Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix – his third in Shanghai in swift succession and his sixth from the last seven races full-stop – stressing that in reality, it's still only worth 'eight metres on the track tomorrow'. Despite pacing all three practice sessions around the Shanghai International Circuit – where two years ago he led Red Bull Racing to its breakthrough F1 victory ahead of team-mate Mark Webber – there was still some doubt heading into qualifying as to whether Vettel would ultimately have the legs of the fast-improving McLaren-Mercedes' of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. On only his first run in Q3, he wasted little time in demonstrating that he did.
Laying down a commanding marker a staggering seven tenths of a second clear of Button, Hamilton's sole effort later on would make no indent either, and when the former failed to improve on his second flying lap, Vettel aborted his, safe in the knowledge that the 18th pole of his grand prix career was comfortably in the bag.
“We have done it again, but every single time is tough,” the 23-year-old underlined. “Today wasn't as straightforward as we planned, especially in Q2 – I made a bit of a mistake on the run I did then – but in Q3, I was confident that we would be able to improve quite a lot.
“Obviously, today we did a good job, but it's just eight metres on the track tomorrow. It will be a long race, but I think we can be happy with the car. We did some good long runs on Friday, so we have a reason to feel good, but it's also a threat to feel too good – and I pay attention that doesn't happen.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner similarly hailed his young protégé's performance, pointing out that having canned his second 'flyer' in the top ten shoot-out, Vettel will now have an extra set of soft tyres available to him on race day compared to fellow front row-sitter Button.
“A third consecutive pole for Sebastian and, as he wasn't required to complete his second run in Q3, he was able to conserve his tyres for tomorrow,” reflected the Englishman. “[It was] an excellent performance from him today – a really fantastic first lap. We weren't sure what Lewis' pace was going to be, which is why we ran again – but in the end, it turned out that we didn't need to.”
“An impressive display from Sebastian again,” concurred Cyril Dumont, from RBR engine partner Renault. “What pace – three races and three pole positions – so congratulations to him!”
Source: Crash.net
Webber: We snookered ourselves
Mark Webber, arguably the most outspoken driver in F1, has refused to heap scorn on his team after dropping out in Q1 in China
The Aussie qualified down in 18th place for the Shanghai race as he team did not send him out on the soft option tyres despite him being in danger of being knocked out.
But, instead of lambasting the team for the decision, Webber appears to have taken it in his stride.
"When any top team goes out in Q1 we can all put the hindsight goggles on go yeah, we should have done this. In the end for sure options would have made life easier, that's completely obvious," he said.
"We could have made that decision, but we didn't, as a team.
"We all thought we were going to get enough laps in on the prime to get the two timed in, but we were a bit late going out, and they were the wrong tyre as well.
"The timing was the problem, not the tyre."
But it wasn't only in qualifying that Webber ran into problems as he also suffered an electrical issue during the final practice, which meant he went into qualifying with just five laps under his belt on Saturday - and only one of those was a flying lap.
"One lap in P3, that doesn't help. We were a little bit on the back foot.
"Obviously the guys did a phenomenal job, we just got the car together minutes before qualifying.
"We went out and my first run was probably half a second shy of where we needed to be, with obviously KERS as well added on top of that.
"We were on the bubble and decided to go for another run on the prime to have a few laps on it, but we never got out quick enough, so we only had one timed lap, and added to that the tyres weren't up to temp. So that second set was a bit more difficult to get the job done.
"I was pretty cool with it, but obviously we all started to panic a bit at the end when we knew we weren't going to get in two laps. The tyre should have been enough, but on one lap it wasn't enough.
"That's where we got squeezed. We snookered ourselves really."
Source: Planet-F1
The Aussie qualified down in 18th place for the Shanghai race as he team did not send him out on the soft option tyres despite him being in danger of being knocked out. But, instead of lambasting the team for the decision, Webber appears to have taken it in his stride.
"When any top team goes out in Q1 we can all put the hindsight goggles on go yeah, we should have done this. In the end for sure options would have made life easier, that's completely obvious," he said.
"We could have made that decision, but we didn't, as a team.
"We all thought we were going to get enough laps in on the prime to get the two timed in, but we were a bit late going out, and they were the wrong tyre as well.
"The timing was the problem, not the tyre."
But it wasn't only in qualifying that Webber ran into problems as he also suffered an electrical issue during the final practice, which meant he went into qualifying with just five laps under his belt on Saturday - and only one of those was a flying lap.
"One lap in P3, that doesn't help. We were a little bit on the back foot.
"Obviously the guys did a phenomenal job, we just got the car together minutes before qualifying.
"We went out and my first run was probably half a second shy of where we needed to be, with obviously KERS as well added on top of that.
"We were on the bubble and decided to go for another run on the prime to have a few laps on it, but we never got out quick enough, so we only had one timed lap, and added to that the tyres weren't up to temp. So that second set was a bit more difficult to get the job done.
"I was pretty cool with it, but obviously we all started to panic a bit at the end when we knew we weren't going to get in two laps. The tyre should have been enough, but on one lap it wasn't enough.
"That's where we got squeezed. We snookered ourselves really."
Source: Planet-F1
Video: Fernando Alonso says Ferrari cannot win Chinese Grand Prix
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who qualifies in fifth for the Chinese Grand Prix, says the team is not quick enough to aim for victory in the race on Sunday
Source: FiftyBuckss
Source: FiftyBuckss
Videos: Interviews with Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button after Qualifying at Chinese GP 2011
Lewis Hamilton says it's going to be "a serious battle" going into Turn One of the Chinese Grand Prix as he qualifies in third place behind McLaren team-mate Jenson Button and Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel
McLaren's Jenson Button says his team "have done well to wring the best out" of his car as he qualifies second behind Sebastian Vettel for the Chinese Grand Prix, and plays down the fact he has used one more set of tyres than team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third insisting he his happy with his choice of strategy
Source: FiftyBuckss
McLaren's Jenson Button says his team "have done well to wring the best out" of his car as he qualifies second behind Sebastian Vettel for the Chinese Grand Prix, and plays down the fact he has used one more set of tyres than team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third insisting he his happy with his choice of strategy
Source: FiftyBuckss
Hamilton: One run was a strategic call
Lewis Hamilton is confident McLaren's decision to send him out for just one run in Q3 will play into his hands in Sunday's Chinese GP
While team-mate Jenson Button edged ahead of Hamilton in qualifying by 0.042s having opted for two flying lap stints, Hamilton chose to put in just one late in the session.
But, despite having all the pressure on his shoulders to make it count, the 2008 World Champ still crossed the line with a 1:34.463, which was good enough to put him third on the grid.
And, it has left the McLaren driver with a fresh set of soft tyres for Sunday's grand prix.
"We made some really positive set-up changes on Friday evening and I was much happier with our car today," he said.
"In qualifying, Jenson and I were very close and we're both up there. Jenson did a fantastic job to put his car ahead of me, but I sacrificed a bit of my own pace to enable me to have a fresh set of Options for the race.
"We took the decision to complete just a single run in Q3. Of course, that was a compromise, but it means I'll have a fresh set of tyres for one of the stints tomorrow. And last week's race in Malaysia showed us how important it is to have fresh tyres for the race.
"Today's strategy should increase my chances in the race. It's always good to have a fresh set of tyres in the bag, and I wanted to make sure I had options to cover everything.
"To be able to put on a new tyre at the end of tomorrow's race will be a great positive and will help the longevity of the tyres."
Source: Planet-F1
While team-mate Jenson Button edged ahead of Hamilton in qualifying by 0.042s having opted for two flying lap stints, Hamilton chose to put in just one late in the session. But, despite having all the pressure on his shoulders to make it count, the 2008 World Champ still crossed the line with a 1:34.463, which was good enough to put him third on the grid.
And, it has left the McLaren driver with a fresh set of soft tyres for Sunday's grand prix.
"We made some really positive set-up changes on Friday evening and I was much happier with our car today," he said.
"In qualifying, Jenson and I were very close and we're both up there. Jenson did a fantastic job to put his car ahead of me, but I sacrificed a bit of my own pace to enable me to have a fresh set of Options for the race.
"We took the decision to complete just a single run in Q3. Of course, that was a compromise, but it means I'll have a fresh set of tyres for one of the stints tomorrow. And last week's race in Malaysia showed us how important it is to have fresh tyres for the race.
"Today's strategy should increase my chances in the race. It's always good to have a fresh set of tyres in the bag, and I wanted to make sure I had options to cover everything.
"To be able to put on a new tyre at the end of tomorrow's race will be a great positive and will help the longevity of the tyres."
Source: Planet-F1
Qualifying: Vettel's reign continues
There really is no stopping Sebastian Vettel at the moment as the reigning World Champ claimed his third pole of the season in China
Vettel will line up in P1 for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix, followed by McLaren's Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg in fourth.
All the drama of the session occured in Q1 with Mark Webber going out and Q2 which eliminated Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld and limited Vitaly Petrov's ambitions after he stopped out on track.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:33.706 14 laps
02. Jenson Button McLaren 01:34.421 13 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:34.463 11 laps
04. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 01:34.670 19 laps
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:35.119 18 laps
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:35.145 18 laps
07. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 01:36.158 18 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India 01:36.190 17 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 01:36.203 16 laps
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault no time 11 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India 01:35.874 14 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:36.053 16 laps
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:36.236 11 laps
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 01:36.457 16 laps
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:36.465 15 laps
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:36.611 11 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:36.956 17 laps
18. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:36.468 8 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:37.894 7 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 01:38.318 10 laps
21. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing 01:39.119 8 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:39.708 8 laps
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 01:40.212 9 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 01:40.445 9 laps
Source: Planet-F1
Vettel will line up in P1 for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix, followed by McLaren's Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg in fourth. All the drama of the session occured in Q1 with Mark Webber going out and Q2 which eliminated Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld and limited Vitaly Petrov's ambitions after he stopped out on track.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:33.706 14 laps
02. Jenson Button McLaren 01:34.421 13 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:34.463 11 laps
04. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 01:34.670 19 laps
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:35.119 18 laps
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:35.145 18 laps
07. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 01:36.158 18 laps
08. Paul di Resta Force India 01:36.190 17 laps
09. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 01:36.203 16 laps
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault no time 11 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India 01:35.874 14 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:36.053 16 laps
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:36.236 11 laps
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 01:36.457 16 laps
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:36.465 15 laps
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:36.611 11 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:36.956 17 laps
18. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:36.468 8 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:37.894 7 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 01:38.318 10 laps
21. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing 01:39.119 8 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:39.708 8 laps
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 01:40.212 9 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 01:40.445 9 laps
Source: Planet-F1
Jumat, 15 April 2011
Lewis Hamilton buys Prince's gold guitar for $100,000
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has bought musician Prince's famous Fender Stratocaster gold guitar at an auction for $100,000 [£61,100]
Discussing the auction, held to raise funds for art, education and the environment, Prince told US TV host, George Lopez: "We got $100,000 for that, brother Lewis Hamilton, the racing car driver. It will be hard to part with."
Hamilton's purchase comes just days before he looks to make amends for his nightmare race in Malaysia last weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
Having driven second behind Sebastian Vettel in the early stages of the race Hamilton finished a lowly seventh and was subsequently relegated to eighth after being handed a 20 seconds penalty for defending his position with more than one change of direction in a battle with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Despite the misfortune, Hamilton is nonetheless confident of McLaren’s chances in Shanghai and moreover that the team have what it takes to catch the Red Bulls.
“We've got some upgrades that we're trying to get to work, so hopefully they'll help us to fight. I definitely plan to be at the front this weekend," he said.
"We're knocking on their [Red Bull’s] doors, but from track to track it's going to change quite a bit," the 26-year-old Briton, a former world champion, warned ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend in Shanghai.
"In the last race, it looked like they stepped back – I don't think we improved or were closer.
"But I definitely feel we're right there in the chase. They do have a slight advantage, but I'm hoping we can find some performance this weekend so we can compete for the pole position."
Hamilton's team-mate Button shared his confidence ahead of the race in Shanghai insisting he has the pace to thwart Vettel's bid to become the first ever two-time winner on the circuit.
This weekend the young German is gunning for the dual honour of registering five wins on the spin while also becoming the only man to win twice in Shanghai since the race's inception in 2004.
But Button – also part of that merry band of Shanghai winners alongside Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen – believes he can tear up the form book and deny Vettel his little moment of history come Sunday.
"If we get a nice clean race start, we could have a fun race and I think the pace [between McLaren and Red Bull] will be reasonably similar," Button said.
"I finished three seconds behind him [in Malaysia] but he definitely slowed down at the end of the race, but I don't think he did on every lap. Our pace was quite similar."
Source: The Telegraph
Discussing the auction, held to raise funds for art, education and the environment, Prince told US TV host, George Lopez: "We got $100,000 for that, brother Lewis Hamilton, the racing car driver. It will be hard to part with." Hamilton's purchase comes just days before he looks to make amends for his nightmare race in Malaysia last weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.
Having driven second behind Sebastian Vettel in the early stages of the race Hamilton finished a lowly seventh and was subsequently relegated to eighth after being handed a 20 seconds penalty for defending his position with more than one change of direction in a battle with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Despite the misfortune, Hamilton is nonetheless confident of McLaren’s chances in Shanghai and moreover that the team have what it takes to catch the Red Bulls.
“We've got some upgrades that we're trying to get to work, so hopefully they'll help us to fight. I definitely plan to be at the front this weekend," he said.
"We're knocking on their [Red Bull’s] doors, but from track to track it's going to change quite a bit," the 26-year-old Briton, a former world champion, warned ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend in Shanghai.
"In the last race, it looked like they stepped back – I don't think we improved or were closer.
"But I definitely feel we're right there in the chase. They do have a slight advantage, but I'm hoping we can find some performance this weekend so we can compete for the pole position."
Hamilton's team-mate Button shared his confidence ahead of the race in Shanghai insisting he has the pace to thwart Vettel's bid to become the first ever two-time winner on the circuit.
This weekend the young German is gunning for the dual honour of registering five wins on the spin while also becoming the only man to win twice in Shanghai since the race's inception in 2004.
But Button – also part of that merry band of Shanghai winners alongside Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen – believes he can tear up the form book and deny Vettel his little moment of history come Sunday.
"If we get a nice clean race start, we could have a fun race and I think the pace [between McLaren and Red Bull] will be reasonably similar," Button said.
"I finished three seconds behind him [in Malaysia] but he definitely slowed down at the end of the race, but I don't think he did on every lap. Our pace was quite similar."
Source: The Telegraph
Sebastian Vettel blog: 'My Chinese learning curve'
He may have a 100% record so far this year but F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel is not about to take his foot off the gas as he prepares for the Chinese Grand Prix...
by Sebastian Vettel on Apr 15, 2011
'I can't believe how fast time passes. Just a few days ago we were celebrating victory in Malaysia and now we are in China.
I have to confess that I haven’t really expanded my Chinese vocabulary over the last year… I'm still no further than "Thank you" (Xiéxie) and "Bye" (Xiàcìjiàn) but I promise to try harder for 2012.
Looking ahead to the weekend I’m very optimistic, especially after our victories in Melbourne and Sepang. I think that this track will suit the RB7, and I think it will also suit KERS.
I know that, as a team, we had some difficulties with the system last weekend and had to deactivate it on my car for a short time, but it worked on my car for most of the race. The team will work very hard to make sure it will be fully functioning throughout the weekend.
And as always, we need to stay focused and do our best. I know we are winning now and people are already speculating about the title but we can't even think about that right now.
We have only won two races so far and we all know how fast things can change in F1. So there we won’t lie back and relax now.'
Source: Red Bull
by Sebastian Vettel on Apr 15, 2011
'I can't believe how fast time passes. Just a few days ago we were celebrating victory in Malaysia and now we are in China.
I have to confess that I haven’t really expanded my Chinese vocabulary over the last year… I'm still no further than "Thank you" (Xiéxie) and "Bye" (Xiàcìjiàn) but I promise to try harder for 2012.
Looking ahead to the weekend I’m very optimistic, especially after our victories in Melbourne and Sepang. I think that this track will suit the RB7, and I think it will also suit KERS.
I know that, as a team, we had some difficulties with the system last weekend and had to deactivate it on my car for a short time, but it worked on my car for most of the race. The team will work very hard to make sure it will be fully functioning throughout the weekend.
And as always, we need to stay focused and do our best. I know we are winning now and people are already speculating about the title but we can't even think about that right now.
We have only won two races so far and we all know how fast things can change in F1. So there we won’t lie back and relax now.'
Source: Red Bull
Rabu, 13 April 2011
Chinese GP Press Conference schedule
Championship pacesetter Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher will be among five drivers fielding questions at Thursday's press conference in Shanghai
Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT)
Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
Friday, April 15 - 16h00:
Aldo Costa (Ferrari)
James Key (Sauber)
Paddy Lowe (McLaren)
Naoki Takunaga (Renault)
Geoff Willis (HRT)
Saturday, April 16 - post qualifying:
Three fastest drivers from qualifying.
Sunday, April 17 - post race:
First three finishing drivers.
Thursday, April 14 - 15h00:
Rubens Barrichello (Williams)
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT)
Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
Friday, April 15 - 16h00:
Aldo Costa (Ferrari)
James Key (Sauber)
Paddy Lowe (McLaren)
Naoki Takunaga (Renault)
Geoff Willis (HRT)
Saturday, April 16 - post qualifying:
Three fastest drivers from qualifying.
Sunday, April 17 - post race:
First three finishing drivers.
Source: Planet-F1
Jumat, 07 Mei 2010
Hamilton frowns on Alonso's pit entry passing
A new war of words between former bitter McLaren teammates Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton is threatening to break out.
It is three years since the pair clashed so memorably at the British team, and two years since the ugly racist incident during winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya.
It is at Barcelona that Hamilton, 25, has chosen to respond to local hero Alonso's claim that the 2008 world champion is now on the verge of receiving penalties by the stewards.
The Spaniard said last week that some of Hamilton's driving this year has been "punishable", adding that "if he does something in the next race, however little, there will be penalties".
Hamilton has responded by pointing to Alonso's move three weeks ago in China, when his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa ended up on the grass in the Shanghai pitlane.
"I've never done that, and it's definitely not in my nature to do what he did," the Briton told PA Sport.
"That could have turned out really badly for Felipe. He could have been out of the race."
The ill feeling towards Hamilton was back on display in Barcelona this weekend, with a poster of the Briton slashed across the face in a circuit access tunnel.
"People say I'm aggressive, but I don't know why. I just drive with the most passion. I'm more passionate than aggressive," he said.
Source: Motosport.com
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