Hamilton: Not normal Spanish weather

Lewis Hamilton concedes it was not a very productive final day at Barcelona as heavy rain led to severe aquaplaning

With constant heavy downpour, the Brit was the sole driver to set a time during the morning session while by the end of Saturday's play, only two others names had been added to the timesheets.

It was a disappointing end to the final day of pre-season testing, which McLaren focus on a handful of lower-speed runs to evaluate engine maps.

However, it did give the teams an opportunity to see how their new Pirelli tyres handle in extreme wet conditions.

"We tested a couple of things during some shorter runs, but it was very dangerous out there: very slippery and lots of aquaplaning. This definitely isn't normal Spanish weather!" said Hamilton.

"We learnt a bit about the Pirelli intermediates and extremes, but there was so much aquaplaning that it was a bit too risky to do longer runs.

"As for the World Championship, I'm excited - we've got a long season ahead of us. We've got a lot of work to do, but we have more updates coming for Melbourne.

"The Championship is open, and we don't know what to expect. Our whole team will be pushing very, very hard."

Source: Planet-F1

Wet weather possible for Korea F1 event

There is a chance of another rain-affected Grand Prix event this weekend

The forecast for the city of Mokpo - the closest to the Yeongam venue in Korea's Jeollanam-do province - is not predicting the kind of extreme conditions that caused qualifying for the recent Japanese Grand Prix to be postponed.

But the skies above the Korean International Circuit will be cool, cloudy and breezy for much of the weekend, with the chance of showers increasing late on Saturday and into the small hours of Sunday.

And some reports are forecasting a definitely wet day in Mokpo on Monday, the after the inaugural South Korean event, with the accuracy of that prediction clouded by the super-typhoon 'Megi' off China.

"I think we have a very interesting weekend ahead," said Virgin team boss John Booth.

Local reports say as few as 60,000 tickets have been sold for the three-day event so far, with the Yeongam venue still essentially under construction and the F1 event lacking a naming sponsor.

"Frankly, we have not been prepared well for our F1 debut," said Yoon Keun-Sang, the PR director for the race organiser.

"If we host this year's event successfully, the situation will be far different next year," he is quoted by the Bangkok Post.

Source: Motorsport.com

Qualifying: Webber conquers Spa weather

Mark Webber celebrated his birthday weekend in style by claiming pole position for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix



The Championship leader, who turned 34 on Friday, not only survived but thrived in the ever-changing weather conditions at Spa, clocking a 1:45.778 to take pole position.



Lewis Hamilton will line-up second on the grid, missing out on the coveted grid slot by 0.085s in what was a much-improved qualifying session for the former World Champion and his McLaren team.



Robert Kubica was another driver relishing the conditions as he put his Renault into third place ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button.



Felipe Massa was the best-placed Ferrari driver in sixth place, qualifying ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Adrian Sutil.



Q3 took place in relative dry conditions, however, the same cannot be said of Q1.



There was a great deal of drama when the first of the sessions was red flagged for five minutes when Vitaly Petrov crashed at the 'Corner With No Name', after putting his Renault onto the wet kerbs and spinning across the track.



However, that wasn't the only incident in Q1, as the drivers fought for track position resulting in a few spins and a stewards investigation into an incident between Jarno Trulli and Lucas di Grassi.



Times:



01 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:45.778

02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:45.863



03 Robert Kubica Renault 1:46.100

04 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:46.127



05 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:46.206

06 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:46.314



07 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:46.602

08 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:46.659



09 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:47.053

10 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:47.441



11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:47.874

12 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:47.885



13 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:48.267

14 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:48.680



15 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:49.209

16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:50.980



17 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:52.049

18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 2:01.491



19 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2:02.284

20 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 2:03.612



21 Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 2:03.941

22 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 2:05.294



23 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 2:18.754

24 Vitaly Petrov Renault No time



Source: Planet-F1

Weather leaves Rosberg frustrated

Nico Rosberg finished both sessions behind Michael Schumacher

Nico Rosberg admitted Friday's practice for the Belgian Grand Prix had been frustrating for Mercedes as it struggled to get a number updates to work.

The team has had problems with its F-duct specifically since its introduction earlier this season and Rosberg said the mixed weather had made it even more difficult to iron out the issues. He ended the day 13th fastest after finishing behind team-mate Michael Schumacher in both sessions.

"It's been a difficult day for us as we have been trying to get our revised parts for the car to work," Rosberg said. "The weather conditions have complicated our programme and whilst we've tried a lot of different things, it's been tough to get any consistent feedback.

"I've suffered with understeer all day and really struggled with the balance on the wet tyres. The inters were better and it's difficult to say for the slicks really. I was quite far off with my car balance with the dry tyres so that didn't help. So a tricky start to the weekend for us and we need to sit down overnight and try to solve the problems."

Ross Brawn added that the problems with Rosberg's car would be sorted in time for qualifying.

"It was a very challenging day but then these types of changeable conditions may provide the opportunities that we can take advantage of this weekend. Nico's day was hindered by a few car issues which will be resolved by tomorrow."

Schumacher fared slightly better but said it would be an uphill battle from now on, as he faces a 10-place grid penalty after qualifying for his move on Rubens Barrichello in Hungary.

"It's obviously a beautiful feeling to be back on this track which is still great to drive," he said of Spa Francorchamps. "It's also beautiful because I have a lot of good memories linked to Spa. But this doesn't help a great deal with the situation that we are facing here and having a ten place penalty makes it difficult to go into the weekend with big hopes for a good result. The weather might help a little by mixing up the field and so I hope it does not change too much over the race weekend."

Source: ESPN F1

Monsoonal thunderstorm strikes Sepang

With the F1 circus bustling around the Sepang paddock late on Thursday afternoon, the skies opened.

There was thunder, lightening, and reams of driving rain, and similar conditions - rain in the late afternoon after a hot and humid day - have been observed in and around Kuala Lumpur for the past few days.

Moreover, local forecasts say the weather is staying put for the remainder of the week and the weekend, with a particularly high chance of rain around 4pm -- precisely the same time scheduled for qualifying and the race.

"The rain is expected to start around 4pm and normally lasts two hours," said a spokesman of the Malaysian Meteorological Department.

Source: Motorsport.com