Schumi: Race wins, not the World title

Michael Schumacher concedes that while his Mercedes GP W02 may win a race in 2011, the car is not up to challenging for the World title

The first half of pre-season testing has produced varying form from Merc GP's W02, which is proving to be rather inconsistent.

While the car has shown moments of pace, resulting in Schumi finishing the Jerez test with the week's second fastest lap time, on most days the team has finished outside the top half of the timesheets.

Reliability has also proven to be a bit of a worry, although the bulk of the gremlins have befallen Rosberg.

And with half of pre-season testing already completed, Schumacher fears his W02 is not a Championship-winning car.

"The target is still the same as we said weeks ago: to hopefully be, with this car, on the podium and maybe, if things go very well, to win a race this year," said the 42-year-old

"That's probably the maximum we can talk about, but it is very difficult to judge our performance at the moment against the others because obviously we will improve the car a little bit further to the Bahrain race.

"But, how much compared to the others, that's the question mark."

Source: Planet-F1

Kubica chasing race wins

Having finished on the podium three times during his maiden season with Renault, Robert Kubica is confident he will secure his first race win with the team this year

The Pole has one race victory to his name, having triumphed at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2008 while driving for the BMW-Sauber outfit and he's now looking to add another one to his resume with the Enstone-based team.

After a tumultuous time behind the scenes at the end of 2009, Renault impressed many with their strong showing in 2010 which saw Kubica finish eighth on the Drivers' standings.

The 26-year-old is now looking to press on from the foundations laid last year, and believes that the team are well placed to do so.

"I am confident that 2011 will be a good season because during this winter the team were able to work with a more stable financial and management situation, compared to one year ago," Kubica told the official Formula One website.

"[Team principal] Eric Boullier said that he wants our car to win races this year - he expressed exactly what I feel!"

Kubica's assertion that the team is in a stable position may seem strange considering their ongoing legal wrangle with Tony Ferndanes' Team Lotus outfit, but Kubica insists that this does not affect the inner workings of the team.

"Well, I didn't drive for Renault in 2009 and all the changes happened during the winter, before I really started to work with my new team," he explained.

"There was an important reshuffle of shareholders, but the core of the team remained almost unchanged. This is what I have been told is happening again now."

Former Renault Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds, agrees that the team are looking impressive heading into the new season.

"I think we'll see the same old protagonists fighting it out at the front, but Renault are in a good position," Symonds told crash.net.

"I have my biases having worked there for a long while, but they're a great group of guys and they took a very bold step last year in updating their wind tunnel over the winter. That's not something where you just wake up one morning and say 'I'm going to do it' - you have to plan it a long way in advance, and of course they put in a huge CFD facility prior to that so under the resource restrictions they could switch their work from the wind tunnel to CFD while the wind tunnel was being improved.

"I know that the wind tunnel is a huge improvement, and I think that was shown in the progress they made through the year - but with Mercedes, I'm not so sure. It's a very downsized team from the team that made the Brawn. I think the jury is still out, but I would probably favour Renault going in front of Mercedes," he added.

Source: Planet-F1

Report: Vettel Wins Race And World Title

He may not have led the standings the entire season, however, Sebastian Vettel is the new World Champ after a faultless drive to victory in Abu Dhabi



Vettel, starting from pole position, pulled away off the line with Hamilton right behind as Jenson Button took third place off Alonso, who had his main title rival Webber right behind him. However, the racing was soon called off as the Safety Car came out a the result of a huge accident involving Michael Schumacher and Tonio Liuzzi. And while six drivers, including Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov, pitted under the Safety Car, most did not, including the title four.



Lap 12 saw the first of the top four pitting with Webber coming in, dropping all the way down to 16th place. Four laps later, Alonso came in as Ferrari matched Red Bull's strategy and although the Spaniard got out ahead of Webber, he had to make his way through the traffic as he attempted to work his way into the points.



However, that charge came to a halt when he came across Petrov and lap after lap, unable to overtake the Renault driver, Alonso and Webber could do nothing but watch as their title hopes disipated.



Meanwhile, at at the front, Vettel and Hamilton both took their stops on lap 25 and 24 respectively, both remaining in the top five as they watched their title hopes boosted as lap after lap Alonso and Webber were trapped behind Petrov.



And as others pitted, they soon returned to the P1 and P2 slots with Vettel ahead of Hamilton. And although those pitters elevated Alonso and Webber up the order, the time spent behind Petrov meant Robert Kubica was able to get back out after his stop ahead of Alonso - and those two Renaults were the two places Alonso needed to win the World title.



The race ended with Vettel crossing the line in first place ahead of Hamilton, clinching the season finale, the Drivers' Championship title and setting a new record as F1's youngest-ever World Champ. Congratulations!



Results



01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault

02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 10.1s

03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 11.0s

04. Rosberg Mercedes + 30.7s

05. Kubica Renault + 39.0s

06. Petrov Renault + 43.5s

07. Alonso Ferrari + 43.7s

08. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 44.2s

09. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 50.2s

10. Massa Ferrari + 50.8s

11. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari + 51.5s

12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 57.6s

13. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 58.3s

14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 59.5s

15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m03.1s

16. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1m04.7s

17. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap

18. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps

19. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

20. Klien HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 4 laps



Did Not Finish

Glock Virgin-Cosworth 44

Schumacher Mercedes 1

Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1



Source: Planet-F1

Korean GP: Alonso Wins Chaotic Race

Fernando Alonso claimed the inaugural Korean GP win and the lead in the title race, helped in part by Red Bull's first double DNF of the season



The start of the race was delayed by ten minutes due to heavy rain and once under way only three laps took place before the Safety Car before it was red flagged. 45 minutes later, the race resumed, again behind the Safety Car, where 13 laps were spent rubbing off the water as some drivers grew more and more impatient.



The race finally got underway proper on lap 18 with Vettel leading his team-mate Mark Webber. But two laps later, the Aussie's race was over as he crashed out after touching the dirty, muddy side of the track, taking out Nico Rosberg in the process.



Webber's crash left it to his title rivals to fight for the victory and the much-needed 25 points with Vettel storming away from the chasing Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. And although Hamilton did get the jump on Alonso in the battle for second place when the Ferrari driver had a slow pit stop, a mistake from Hamilton at one of the many re-starts after a Safety Car allowed the Spaniard back up into second.



Vettel maintained his lead all the way through to lap 46 when disaster struck as his Renault engine blew putting an end to his race. Alonso and Hamilton took over at the front with the Ferrari driver holding a two second advantage over the McLaren.



Alonso went on to win the grand prix, taking the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 231 points while



Hamilton's P2 finish ensured he stayed in the hunt for the World title. He is now third in the standings behind Webber, 21 points behind the new Championship leader.



Felipe Massa claimed third place in the grand prix, finishing ahead of Michael Schumacher, Robert Kubica, Tonio Liuzzi, Rubens Barrichello and Kamui Kobayashi.



As for Jenson Button, the fifth driver in the title race, his bid is all but over after a P12 finish saw him drop to 42 points behind Alonso.



Results

01. Alonso Ferrari 2h48:20.810

02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 14.999

03. Massa Ferrari + 30.868

04. Schumacher Mercedes + 39.688

05. Kubica Renault + 47.734

06. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes + 53.571

07. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1:09.257

08. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:17.889

09. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari + 1:20.107

10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:20.851

11. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:24.146

12. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:29.939

13. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 1 lap

14. Senna HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

15. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps



Did Not Finish



Sutil Force India-Mercedes 63

Vettel Red Bull-Renault 62

Petrov Renault 56

Glock Virgin-Cosworth 48

Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 47

Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 42

Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 42

Webber Red Bull-Renault 35

Rosberg Mercedes 35



Source: Planet-F1

Singapore GP: Alonso Holds Off Charging Vettel

Fernando Alonso held off a charging Sebastian Vettel to take his second Singapore GP victory while Lewis Hamilton was the only title contender not to score

The title five of Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton, Jenson Button and Mark Webber led off the start line. Webber was the first of those to pit, coming in on lap 4 after the Safety Car was deployed to clear Tonio Liuzzi's stricken car. That move dropped him to P11, however, it wasn't long before he was working his way back up the order.

But as the race progressed it soon looked as if Singapore was in a for a two-horse race as Alonso and Vettel pulled away from the chasing McLarens and Webber discovered it's not that easy to overtake on a street circuit - especially as his harder option tyres could not match the pace of the softer rubber.

Hamilton, losing three second a lap to the leaders, pitted on lap 29 but his tardy pace meant he lost ground to Webber, falling behind the Aussie. Alonso and Vettel then pitted from first and second and emerged first and sector while Button, who came in a lap later, came out behind Hamilton.

The immediate aftermath of the pit stops saw Vettel close right up on Alonso but his charge was halted when Kamui Kobayashi crashed into the barriers and Bruno Senna hit the stricken Sauber, bringing out the Safety Car. With the race back in action on lap 36, it took only one lap before Hamilton tried a move on Webber. The Aussie had the line but Hamilton was ahead and they touched. Broken suspension for Hamilton and it was game over.

Back at the front, Alonso held off a charging Vettel as the Red Bull racer closed up only to lose ground the next lap and so it, even exchanging fastest sector times between the two, much as they did in the final moments of qualifying. And although it appeared as if a Safety Car would come out for the final lap after Heikki Kovalainen's car caught fire, it was left to the two to race it out. And they did in style with Vettel on Alonso's tail as they fought through backmarkers. But it wasn't enough to help Vettel take the win.

25 points to Alonso, 18 to Vettel, 15 to Webber and 12 to Button. None for Hamilton.

Results:
01. Alonso Ferrari 1h57:53.579
02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 0.293
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 29.141
04. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 30.384
05. Rosberg Mercedes + 49.394
06. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 56.101
07. Kubica Renault + 1:26.559
08. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:52.416
09. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth + 1:52.791
10. Massa Ferrari + 1:53.297
11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
15. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth + 3 laps

Did Not Finish
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 51
Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 35
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 34
Klien HRT-Cosworth 30
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 29
Senna HRT-Cosworth 28
Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 26
Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1

Source: Planet-F1