Alonso’s Win Delights Italy

Alonso gives Ferrari their first Italian Grand Prix win since 2006.

FERNANDO ALONSO won last Sunday’s (12 September) Italian Grand Prix at the legendary high-speed Monza circuit, giving the Ferrari Tifosi the win they wanted. The Spaniard won the 53 lap event in a time of 1:16:24.572 (149.651 mph). The reigning World Champion, Jenson Button (McLaren) came home in second place just under three seconds behind Alonso, whose Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa finished third just behind Button. Alonso also set the fastest lap of the race with a lap time of 1:24.139 (154.031 mph). This was the first Hat-Trick (a driver taking: pole position, fastest lap and the win) of the season.

Alonso lost his pole advantage at the start. He got a bad getaway and Button took the lead going into the first chicane – the Variante del Rettifilo. Alonso struck the back wing of Button’s McLaren causing a piece of it to fly off, affecting his aerodynamics for the rest of the race. Mark Webber (Red Bull) lost many places due being too cautious at the first corner. However, championship leader Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) had the worst start of anybody (apart from Kobayashi (Sauber) whose gearbox broke). Hamilton got a flying start and was up into fourth place when he tried to dive up Massa’s inside at the Variante della Roggia. But Massa didn’t realise he was there and the two cars banged wheels. Hamilton’s steering arm was broken as a result, and his race ended in the gravel trap at the next corner (the First Lesmo). This crash was Hamilton’s bad. He should have pulled out and tried to get a run on Massa later in the lap.

Button, Alonso and Massa led the way at the end of lap one and began to pull away to form their own race within a race. Mark Webber overtook Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) into the Rettifilo chicane but the seven-times World Champion came back at him through the Curva Grande. Webber had the inside line however for the Roggia chicane and kept the place.

The cars continued to pound their way around the track without much drama until lap 21. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) was heard screaming over his radio about his engine losing power. This allowed his team-mate Webber to pass him. To add insult to injury, Vettel’s Renault engine soon burst into life again and he was back on the pace.

McLaren decided to bring Button into pit on the end of lap 36. Ferrari then pitted Alonso on the next lap. As the Ferrari driver exited the pits, Button was charging down the front straight. But to the delight of the Tifosi it was Alonso who made it into the first corner first. Sakon Yamamoto (HRT) had to take evasive action so as not to block the pair. I can’t help but wonder if he wasn’t in front of Button when he was gunning it down the straight, the McLaren may just have beaten the Ferrari to the Rettifilo. Anyway, Massa pitted soon afterwards and exited the pits in third, right behind Alonso and Button.

While all this was going on, Nico Hülkenberg (Williams) was making life a challenge for some of the other drivers. When he exited the pits after his stop he came back on track right in front of Robert Kubica’s Renault. The Polish driver had to brake hard and lost enough speed to allow Mark Webber to pass him as they went around the Curva Grande. Later on in the race, Webber became angry with young Hülkenberg for continually cutting the chicanes, but the Stewards didn’t take any action against the Williams driver. Justice was done in my opinion on lap 50, when Webber finally past Hülkenberg.

Learning from what Sauber did with Kobayashi in Valencia, Red Bull didn’t pit Vettel until the very last lap of the race in order to gain track position. This worked out brilliantly for the Austrian team, as the German exited the pits ahead of: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Webber, Hülkenberg and Kubica to gain 12 vital points for finishing fourth.

But it was Alonso who took the full 25 points for the race win. I don’t like seeing a Ferrari win at all, and at Monza is even worse, but Alonso stuck with Button all the way to the pit stops and deserved his win this time.

This was also Alonso’s 24^th Grand Prix victory. He is now equal eight on the all-time list of Grand Prix wins with the legendary five-times Champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

We now jet off to Singapore for F1’s third night race. Nick Heidfeld will take part in his first race of the 2010 season, having replaced Pedro de la Rosa at his old team, Sauber.

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS (14/19 GPs)
Pos	Driver	Constructor(s)	Points	Gap From 1st
1	Mark WEBBER (AUS)	Red Bull	187	–
2	Lewis HAMILTON (ENG)	McLaren	182	5
3	Fernando ALONSO (ESP)	Ferrari	166	21
4	Jenson BUTTON (ENG)	McLaren	165	22
5	Sebastian VETTEL (GER)	Red Bull	163	24
6	Felipe MASSA (BRA)	Ferrari	124	63
7	Nico ROSBERG (GER)	Mercedes	112	75
8	Robert KUBICA (POL)	Renault	108	79
9	Michael SCHUMACHER (GER)	Mercedes	46	141*
10	Adrian SUTIL (GER)	Force India	45	142*

 *Can’t win title.

There are 125 points still available 

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS (14/19 GPs)
Pos	Constructor	Engine	Points	Gap From 1st
1	RED BULL (AUT)	Renault	350	–
2	MCLAREN (ENG)	Mercedes	347	3
3	FERRARI (ITA)	Ferrari	290	60
4	MERCEDES (GER)	Mercedes	158	192
5	RENAULT (FRA)	Renault	127	223*
6	FORCE INDIA (IND)	Mercedes	58	292*
7	WILLIAMS (ENG)	Cosworth	47	303*
8	SAUBER (SUI)	Ferrari	27	323*
9	TORO ROSSO (ITA)	Ferrari	10	340*
Yet to Score	LOTUS (MAL), HRT (ESP), VIRGIN (ENG)	Cosworth (All)	0	350*

 *Can’t win title.

There are 215 points still available

Alonso puts Ferrari on pole at Monza

FERNANDO ALONSO secured Ferrari’s first pole position since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix ahead of the team’s home race tomorrow.

The 2005 and 2006 World Champion’s fastest Q3 time around the legendary Italian track was 1:21.962, an average speed of 158.122 mph. Reigning World Champion Jenson Button (McLaren) will line up second on the grid, making this the first race since Italy 2009 that a Red Bull will be off of the front row of the grid. Alonso’s team-mate and rear gunner Felipe Massa will start the race from third.

The rest of the top ten from fourth to tenth are: Webber (Red Bull), Hamilton (McLaren), Vettel (Red Bull), Rosberg (Mercedes), Hülkenberg (Williams), Kubica (Renault) and Barrichello (Williams).

Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) once again failed to make it into Q3, ending up 12^th on the grid.

Timo Glock (Virgin) has been given a five-place grid bump for having his gearbox changed, and Vitaly Petrov (Renault) was given a five-place bump for impeding Glock in Q1.

I was surprised to see Button and Hamilton where they are on the grid. Surly with the different set ups they were running they should be in each other’s grid slots?

Naturally I will be cheering the two McLarens on during tomorrow’s race, but Alonso looks like he has got the bit between his teeth and seems the most likely to win Ferrari’s first Italian Grand Prix since Schumacher won in 2006.

Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix – Title race now a two horse affair?

The McLaren team’s battle cry before they chase Sebastian Vettel deep into the Ardennes forest.

LEWIS HAMILTON won last Sundays Belgian Grand Prix (29 August) at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, which as usual saw highly unpredictable weather. The McLaren driver won the 44 lap race in a time of 1:29:04.268, an average speed of 128.941 mph. The 2008 World Champion also set the fastest lap of the race with a tour of 1:49.069 (143.645 mph) and led every lap of the race. Mark Webber (Red Bull) finished second and Robert Kubica (Renault) came home in third. 

Webber did start the race on pole, but when the lights went green his anti-stall system kicked in. The championship leader going into this race found: Hamilton, Kubica, Jenson Button (McLaren), his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa ahead of him at the first corner – La Source. 

But things became very interesting for the drivers very quickly. Halfway around the first lap it started to drizzle with rain, making it hard for the drivers to judge their breaking distances. Virtually all of the leaders overshot the final corner (The Bus Stop chicane). Rubens Barrichello (Williams) locked his wheels and crashed straight into Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and out of his 300^th Grand Prix. 😦 Alonso decided to gamble and put on rain tyres and pray for heavy rain. How he was even still in the race after Barrichello hit him I’ll never know. 

Because of the damage Barrichello had caused, the Safety Car was deployed. It came into the pits at the end of lap four. The order now was: Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Kubica, Webber, Massa, Sutil (Force India) and Hülkenberg (Williams). Alonso came darting back into the pits in order to change his tyres. The rain hadn’t come. 

Hamilton instantly started to pull away from his team-mate Button who had his hands full with Vettel. Further down the track on lap 11, Vitaly Petrov (Renault) threw himself past Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes at Les Combes. Rosberg’s team-mate Michael Schumacher saw that he was off line and passed him as well, but not without making slight contact with him. This was a lucky escape for the Mercedes team. 

But potentially championship deciding drama unfolded on the end of lap 16. Sebastian Vettel had gotten himself right up behind Button in the ultra fast Blanchimont sweep and looked to pass the defending World Champion up the inside at the Bus Stop. But Vettel changed his direction at the very last moment, and on a damp track, swerved and crashed into Button’s McLaren, destroying his sidepod and radiator. Vettel kept going and dived into the pits for a new nose cone, but Jenson Button was out of the race. 

Having thought this incident over (apart from thinking that it looked like Istanbul all over again), I believe that Vettel misjudged his closing speed on Button’s car. He realised too late that he was going to hit the back of the McLaren and tried his best to avoid hitting it. But he doesn’t quite have the skill yet to be able to pull this kind of manoeuvre off. If he had been patient he could have taken Button later on the next lap. 

For his actions Vettel was given his second Drive-Through Penalty in as many races. As he drove down the pit lane he was watched by angry McLaren mechanics that were standing in their pit box with their arms folded. 

Vettel continued not to win any new friends on lap 25 when he took Vitantonio Liuzzi’s front wing off his Force India when he pasted him at the Bus Stop. But justice was instantly done. Vettel had given himself a left-rear puncture and had to drive the whole 4.3 mile lap extremely slowly. By the time he rejoined the race with a fixed car he was off the lead lap and down in 20^th place with no chance of scoring any points. 

More drama followed on lap 35. The rain which had been expected had arrived, but it wasn’t heavy enough for the intermediate tyres to be 100% effective and the teams were keeping their drivers out on track on slick tyres. Race leader Lewis Hamilton then showed the world that inters would be a good idea. As he turned into the right-hander of Bruxelles he slid off the track and almost into the barrier. But he kept the car running and the lead with it. The pit lane was now a hive of activity as everyone charged into the pits to put the inters on. Alonso and Vettel almost came together in the pit lane, and were wheel to wheel at one point. 

The three leaders: Hamilton, Kubica and Webber came into the pits after the other drivers had already been in. Hamilton and Webber’s stop went smoothly, but Kubica overshot his pit box and knocked over one of his mechanics (who was OK). The Polish driver lost time and second place to Webber in the process. 

Two laps later another championship contender was out of the race. Fernando Alonso had gone off and crashed his Ferrari on the exit of Les Combes and ended up blocking two-thirds of the race track. This brought out another Safety Car and bunched the whole filed right up again. 

The cars were back up to racing speeds at the end of lap 40 with Hamilton just needing to keep his car on the black stuff to win. Nico Rosberg returned the favour to his team-mate Michael Schumacher by passing him at Les Combes for sixth place. 

That was the last real action of the race, and Hamilton finally won what was an extremely intense Belgian Grand Prix. 

The F1 circus now moves from one classic track to another, Monza, for the 81^st Italian Grand Prix. But before all that, we have Ferrari’s World Motorsport Council’s hearing about their team orders in the German GP. 

In the mean time, McLaren and Red Bull should start to decide sooner or later which one of their two drivers are going to challenge for the title. 

PS: Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa has now gone over his eight-engine limit.

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS (13/19 GPs)
Pos	Driver	Constructor(s)	Points	Gap From 1st
1	Lewis HAMILTON (ENG)	McLaren	182	–
2	Mark WEBBER (AUS)	Red Bull	179	3
3	Sebastian VETEL (GER)	Red Bull	151	31
4	Jenson BUTTON (ENG)	McLaren	147	35
5	Fernando ALONSO (ESP)	Ferrari	141	41
6	Felipe MASSA (BRA)	Ferrari	109	73
7	Robert KUBICA (POL)	Renault	104	78
8	Nico ROSBERG (GER)	Mercedes	102	80
9	Adrian SUTIL (GER)	Force India	45	137
10	Michael SCHUMACHER (GER)	Mercedes	44	138

There are 150 points still available

 

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS (13/19 GPs)
Pos	Constructor	Engine	Points	Gap From 1st
1	RED BULL (AUT)	Renault	330	–
2	MCLAREN (ENG)	Mercedes	329	1
3	FERRARI (ITA)	Ferrari	250	80
4	MERCEDES (GER)	Mercedes	146	184
5	RENAULT (FRA)	Renault	123	207
6	FORCE INDIA (IND)	Mercedes	58	272*
7	WILLIAMS (ENG)	Cosworth	40	290*
8	SAUBER (SUI)	Ferrari	27	303*
9	TORO ROSSO (ITA)	Ferrari	10	320*
Yet to Score	LOTUS (MAL), HRT (ESP), VIRGIN (ENG)	Cosworth (All)	0	330*

  *Can’t win title.

There are 258 points still available

Webber pips Hamilton to Belgium Pole

MARK WEBBER secured Red Bull’s 12^th pole position in 13 races this season with a lap of 1:45.778 (148.114 mph) in Q3. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton will start the race alongside Webber, having set a time just 0.085 seconds slower. Renault’s Robert Kubica will start the race from third place on the grid.

The rest of the top ten from fourth to tenth are: Vettel (Red Bull), Button (McLaren), Massa (Ferrari), Barrichello – who is celebrating his 300^th Grand Prix – (Williams), Sutil (Force India), Hülkenberg (Williams) and Alonso (Ferrari).

Q1 saw rain effect almost all of the drivers as they all went out on track early in order to get a fast lap on the board in the dry. Vitaly Petrov crashed his Renault without setting a time and will start last, and Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa (both Sauber) also crashed and will start 17^th and 22^nd respectively.

This meant that the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen and the Virgin of Timo Glock made it into Q2, a great result for both teams, but after qualifying Virgin wouldn’t be smiling at all.

Many drivers have either been given grid penalties or carried them over from the last race, creating a rather unusual grid. Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) has been dropped three places to 16^th for blocking Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), who in turn has been bumped five places to 14^th for having his gearbox changed. Timo Glock was also given a five-place grid drop for blocking Sakon Yamamoto (HRT) and will start 20^th. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) will start from 21^st place after being handed a ten-place grid penalty for his move against Barrichello in Hungary. This all means is that Kovalainen will start the race from 13^th on the grid!

Now, if we have a totally dry race I believe that Lewis Hamilton will win this race. The McLaren has better straight-line speed than the Red Bull, and if Hamilton can get a tow from Webber on the run down to Eau Rouge and on the Kemmel Straight, you can bet that he will try to pass Webber going into Les Combes. However, if it rains the race is literally anybodies to win.

Webber Wins in Hungary

Is it me or does it look as if Webber has stolen Vettel’s Red Bull?

MARK WEBBER of Red Bull won this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix (1 August) which was held at the Hungaroring near Budapest. With this victory (his forth of the season), Webber now leads the drivers’ championship and Red Bull the constructors’ championship as F1 goes on its summer holiday. I’m also on my summer holiday, which is why this post is so late.

The Australian won the 70 lap event in a time of 1:41:05.571; an average speed of 113.094 mph. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished the race in second place, with Webber’s Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel close behind him in third. Vettel set the fastest lap of the race with a lap of 1:22.362 (118.890 mph).

Vettel started the race from pole with Webber alongside him, but as the lights went green Alonso took Webber’s second place and challenged Vettel for the lead. The German just did enough to keep the Spaniard behind him. Elsewhere, Russian driver Vitaly Petrov (Renault) took fifth place from Lewis Hamilton (McLaren). Defending World Champion Jenson Button (McLaren) who started 11^th had a poor start and found himself down in 15^th place.

Hamilton took fifth place back from Petrov on the second lap. The Renault driver struggled to get traction out of turns one and two, meaning that the 2008 World Champion and twice Hungarian GP winner Hamilton could pass him around the outside of turn three.

By lap ten Vettel’s lead over Alonso was just over 8.5 seconds. Nothing looked like stopping Vettel in the race, but fate had other ideas.

On lap 15 Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi lost a part of his front wing in turn 11. No marshal could safely run onto the track and pick it up, so race control had no choice but to deploy the Safety Car.

Practically the entire field poured into the pits on lap 16 to do their pit stop. Then chaos took over F1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) lost his right-rear wheel as he drove down the pit lane causing him to retire from the race. The wheel sped through the pit lane and then took to the air, striking a Williams mechanic. Said mechanic was unhurt save for a couple of bruises. Seconds later the Renault lollipop man released Robert Kubica straight into the path of Force India’s Adrian Sutil who was just about to make his stop. Sutil was forced to retire from the race and Kubica was given a ten second stop-go penalty. I didn’t know you could still get those. Kubica had to retire later in the race because of the damage his car received during the crash with Sutil. Because of their pit lane antics, both Renault and Mercedes were fined $50,000.

F1 thanks its lucky star yet again.

The SC came into the pits at the end of lap 17. Mark Webber – who didn’t stop – was now in the lead with Vettel in second. But Vettel was hanging well back from Webber near the end of the lap as he tried to hold up Alonso.

Meanwhile, on lap 24 Lewis Hamilton was forced out of the race when his transmission kicked the bucket. This duck in Hungary for Hamilton would dramatically affect both championships at the end of the race.

One lap later Vettel was declared to be under investigation for violating Article 40.9 of the regulations. The young German had failed to keep within ten car lengths of the car in front of him during the SC period. He was soon afterwards hit with a drive-through penalty, and at the end of lap 31 a visibly angry Vettel served his punishment. He rejoined the race in third behind Alonso, and with victory out of reach he tried his upmost to catch and pass Alonso for second for the rest of the race. He caught Alonso, but couldn’t pass him.

Webber pitted at the end of lap 42 and rejoined the race still in the lead. He kept going in the lead until the end of the race to add his sixth winners’ trophy to his cabinet.

But the biggest talking point of the race came just before the end, and once against proved that Michael Schumacher is not the greatest driver in the history of the sport.

Rubens Barrichello (Williams) didn’t pit during the SC either, and waited until the closing laps of the race to make his stop. He came out in 11^th place, just out of the points scoring positions. In tenth place and then scoring one point was his old Ferrari team-mate, Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)…and he was in the Brazilian’s sight.

The world watched on the edge of its seat. Despite being team-mates for years at Ferrari they were never allowed to race each other. But now they could. And they were racing each other. Barrichello tried to pass Schumacher but to no avail. It seemed as if Schumacher was closing the door just a little bit too late. But the world knows that that’s how Schumacher used to race. But what the world didn’t see coming came just a few laps from the end.

Schumacher exited the final corner poorly, allowing Barrichello to pull right up behind the Mercedes. Rubens went up Schumacher’s inside and was pulling alongside his former team-mate. Schumacher then pulled right, trying to pin Barrichello against the concrete pit wall. With just millimetres to spear, Barrichello took the place from Schumacher. He was later heard screaming over his radio that Schumacher should be black flagged.

If this makes you cringe...

I’d hate to think what seeing this does to you.

Former driver and race steward Derek Warwick later said that if the race had more laps left to run, Schumacher would have been disqualified. Triple World Champions Sir Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda both publically condemned Schumacher for his actions, and he has been given a ten-place grid drop for the next race in Belgium.

Personally, I say he should have been banned from the Belgium GP (29 August). If Barrichello had panicked, or Schumacher had squeezed him a tiny bit more, we would have witnessed a massive accident (both cars were doing over 175 mph at the very least) and possibly even a death.

Barrichello told the BBC after the race that this had been the most dangerous moment in his Grand Prix career, which is by far the longest in history. I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw a picture of his wife and two young boys flash across his eyes.

PS:  Congratulations to Vitaly Petrov, Nico Hülkenberg (Williams) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) for finishing: fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. These are there best results of the season.

We must now wait until the end of the month for one the races on calendar. The Belgian Grand Prix from the legendary Spa-Francorchamps.

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS (12/19 GPs)
Pos	Driver	Constructor(s)	Points
1	Mark WEBBER (AUS)	Red Bull	161
2	Lewis HAMILTON (ENG)	McLaren	157
3	Sebastian VETEL (GER)	Red Bull	151
4	Jenson BUTTON (ENG)	McLaren	147
5	Fernando ALONSO (ESP)	Ferrari	141
6	Felipe MASSA (BRA)	Ferrari	97
7	Nico ROSBERG (GER)	Mercedes	94
8	Robert KUBICA (POL)	Renault	89
9	Michael SCHUMACHER (GER)	Mercedes	38
10	Adrian SUTIL (GER)	Force India	35

 

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS (12/19 GPs)
Pos	Constructor	Engine	Points
1	RED BULL (AUT)	Renault	312
2	MCLAREN (ENG)	Mercedes	304
3	FERRARI (ITA)	Ferrari	238
4	MERCEDES (GER)	Mercedes	132
5	RENAULT (FRA)	Renault	106
6	FORCE INDIA (IND)	Mercedes	47
7	WILLIAMS (ENG)	Cosworth	40
8	SAUBER (SUI)	Ferrari	23
9	TORO ROSSO (ITA)	Ferrari	10
Yet to Score	LOTUS (MAL), HRT (ESP), VIRGIN (ENG)	Cosworth (All)	0

Vettel takes fourth consecutive pole in Hungary

SEBASTIAN VETTEL of Red Bull took his fourth pole in a row for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

Vettel’s fastest lap in Q3 was 1:18.773, lapping the course at an average speed of 124.307 mph. His Red Bull team-mate, Mark Webber, will line up alongside him in yet another all Red Bull front row after setting a time of 1:19.184. German GP winner Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) will start third after recording a best lap of 1:19.987. Basically, the Red Bull’s are just driving fast for fun. Although theirs and Ferrari’s front wing just may have something to do with their speed.

The rest of the top ten on the grid are, from fourth to tenth: Massa (Ferrari), Hamilton (McLaren), Rosberg (Mercedes), Petrov & Kubica (Petrov out qualifies his Renault team-mate for the first time this year), de la Rosa (Sauber) and Hülkenberg (Williams).

Reigning World Champion Jenson Button (McLaren) could only manage to qualify in 11^th place and missed the cut for Q3. He has been struggling for most of the weekend for pace, but this still came as a shock to me. What didn’t come as a shock to me was Michael Schumacher only qualifying down in 14^th, yet again failing to make it into the top ten.

We will have an all Japanese back row with Sakon Yamamoto (HRT) and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi. Yamamoto was just slow (if the 107% rule was in place both he and team-mate Bruno Senna would have failed to qualify). But Kobayashi would have started 18^th if he hadn’t of missed the weighbridge when he was coming into the pits after being knocked-out in Q1. This earned him a five-place grid drop.

It is hard to see any car other than a Red Bull winning this race. There pace can only be described as terrifying. But remember Turkey, there is still hope for the rest of the field.

PS: This is my 150th blog. 😀

Alonso wins in Germany, but Ferrari return to the bad old days

Alonso’s first win since Bahrain this year, and most controversial since Singapore 2008.

FERNANDO ALONSO of Ferrari took his second win of the season at last Sunday’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. The 2005 and 2006 World Champion won the 67 lap event in a time of 1:27:38.684, at an average speed of 130.367 mph. However he only won the race because Ferrari ordered his team-mate Felipe Massa to move out of his way, just as they had done to Rubens Barrichello in Austria in 2002 (Barrichello was ordered to move over on the last lap and let Michael Schumacher win). Massa ended up finishing second – a year to the day after nearly being killed in Hungary – and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (who was one of six Germans in the race) came home in third. Vettel also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:15.824 (134.934 mph) tour.

Vettel started the race from pole, but when the lights went out he immediately moved across the track and tried to squeeze Alonso into the pit wall. This gave Massa (who started third) a clear run into the first corner and took the lead. Alonso stood up to Vettel and snuck through on the inside meaning that the Ferraris were first and second. On the run down to the best overtaking place on the track – the turn four ‘Hairpin’ – Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) passed Mark Webber (Red Bull) to take fourth place. Nearer the back of the field both of the Toro Rosso’s made contact. Jamie Alguersuari broke too late and knocked off Sébastien Buemi’s rear wing, causing him to retired. Oops!

The top five of: Massa, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Webber began to pull away from sixth place man Jenson Button (McLaren) and at the end of lap 12 Vettel made his pit stop. He came back out in sixth place and more importantly, into clean air. The rest of the leaders came in soon afterwards giving Button the lead, with the only real looser being Mark Webber who came out in traffic.

Lap 16 saw Alonso try and pass Massa at the Hairpin but the Brazilian held his position. Alonso’s next big move came on lap 21 when he and Massa were lapping backmarkers. One got in the way of Massa on the exit of turn three and Alonso got into Massa’s slipstream as they tore down the straight before the Hairpin. Alonso pulled out from behind Massa and got about a quarter of a car length ahead. But Massa had the better entry position for the corner and kept the place again. Alonso almost had the pair off when he had a look on the entry to turn five but correctly decided not to risk a massive crash. While all this was going on Sebastian Vettel was right behind the two Ferraris and worrying Alonso. A few laps later Button pitted and Massa led from Alonso and Vettel.

The race chugged along for the next 25 laps or so, as the watching millions wondered when Alonso would try and make his move on Massa.

Then on lap 48, Formula 1 was taken back to a time that I personally wish to forget. Felipe Massa’s loyal race engineer Rob Smedley told Massa: “Fernando, is, faster, than, you. Can you confirm you understood that message?” Smedley sounded like he was talking and holding back rage at the same time. Those who knew what Ferrari did in the past knew what was about to come next.

Sure enough, on the very next lap as they exited the Hairpin, Massa slowed down and Alonso blew past him and into the lead. On the next lap the watching millions heard Smedley again talk to Massa, but this time to simply tell his driver and friend: “OK mate good lad, stick with him now…sorry.”

The race continued, with the only real incident being Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) and Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) making contact with each other and the Finn retiring as a result.

On the podium it was very clear to see that Massa was fuming as he stood next to Alonso (who as you can see from the above picture had a smile a mile wide). Ferrari team boss, Stefano Domenicali, brought both drivers back out onto the podium for a group hug in front of the press. This only just rubbed it in. It was like they didn’t even care.

By making Massa give way to Alonso Ferrari broke the rules. Article 39.1 states that: “Team orders that directly affect the result of the race are prohibited.” They were fined $100,000 and will face the World Motor Sport Council later in the year to face charges of manipulating the outcome of a race…again.

Cheated – Rubens Barr… (sorry) Felipe Massa (right).

In my opinion, Ferrari have gotten off too lightly. It was because of their actions in Austria and America in 2002 that Article 39.1 was brought in to the rules, banning team orders that affect the outcome of a race like this. Even my mum (a casual F1 fan) said after the race that: “They spoil it when they do that.”

My dad (lifelong F1 fan) said that Ferrari should be banned for three races for bringing the sport into disrepute again. This would see them miss: Hungary, Belgium and worst of all for them, Italy.

I wouldn’t be that harsh, but what I would have done is leave the race result alone but take away the points scored by Alonso and Massa.

What would you have done?

PS: I know Hungary qualifying is tomorrow but I just haven’t wanted to write this blog because I felt so reluctant to watch any highlights of it because of what Ferrari did.

DRIVERS’ STANDINGS (11/19 GPs)
Pos	Driver	Constructor(s)	Points
1	Lewis HAMILTON (ENG)	McLaren	157
2	Jenson BUTTON (ENG)	McLaren	143
3	Mark WEBBER (AUS)	Red Bull	136
4	Sebastian VETTEL (GER)	Red Bull	136
5	Fernando ALONSO (ESP)	Ferrari	123
6	Nico ROSBERG (GER)	Mercedes	94
7	Robert KUBICA (POL)	Renault	89
8	Felipe MASSA (BRA)	Ferrari	85
9	Michael SCHUMACHER (GER)	Mercedes	38
10	Adrian SUTIL (GER)	Force India	35

CONSTRUCTORS’ STANDINGS (11/19 GPs)
Pos	Constructor	Engine	Points
1	MCLAREN (ENG)	Mercedes	300
2	RED BULL (AUT)	Renault	272
3	FERRARI (ITA)	Ferrari	208
4	MERCEDES (GER)	Mercedes	132
5	RENAULT (FRA)	Renault	96
6	FORCE INDIA (IND)	Mercedes	47
7	WILLIAMS (ENG)	Cosworth	31
8	SAUBER (SUI)	Ferrari	15
9	TORO ROSSO (ITA)	Ferrari	10

Vettel pips Alonso for Germany pole

RED BULL’S Sebastian Vettel took pole for his home Grand Prix yesterday by an incredibly small margin.

The German’s Q3 time was a 1:13.791, lapping the Hockenheim circuit at 138.651 mph. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will line up alongside Vettel, after setting a time that was just 0.002 seconds slower. Alonso’s Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa will start the race from third.

The rest of the top ten from fourth to tenth are: Webber (Red Bull), Button & Hamilton (McLaren), Kubica (Renault), Barrichello (Williams), Rosberg (Mercedes) and Hülkenberg (Williams).

Michael Schumacher again failed to make it into Q3, this time missing out but only 0.008 seconds. It’s true; F1 is a sport of fractions.

Force India didn’t have a great qualifying by any stretch of the imagination. Firstly Adrian Sutil will start down in 19^th place after being bumped five places for having his gearbox changed. But the real pain for the team came when Vitantonio Liuzzi put his left-rear tyre on a damp patch exiting the last corner, lost control of his car and crashed into the pit wall. The front end of his car was destroyed and one of his wheels bounced across the track, causing Virgin’s Timo Glock to take evasive action in order a avoid it. The red flag stopped the session while the marshals cleared the debris away. Nobody was hurt.

Glock himself will start last after receiving two five place grid penalties. One of these was for having his gearbox changed; the other for having a seventh-gear ratio put on his car that wasn’t declared on Friday.

I believe that Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will win this race. Ferrari have been building towards this race for many weeks now, and given that they have felt hard done by in the last two races, it seems that the prancing horse is bucking.

Webber Wins British Grand Prix

Red Bull...it does this to you.

MARK WEBBER of Red Bull stormed to victory in last weekend’s British Grand Prix at the new look Silverstone circuit. The Australian won the 52 lap race in a time of 1:24:38.200; at an average speed of 135.122 mph (the fastest race of the season so far). McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished second in his home race just over a second behind Webber. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) finished third less than a second in front of home-boy Jenson Button (McLaren) who drove brilliantly from his 14^th place grid slot. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:30.874 (145.269 mph) lap.

The first lap saw both the Red Bull drivers of Webber and Sebastian Vettel’s rivalry at its most intense since Turkey. Vettel started from pole but it was Webber who made the better start. The young German (Vettel) tried to squeeze his team-mate against the pit wall but in fact gave Webber the better line going into Copse corner. Lewis Hamilton stuck his car right up Vettel’s inside and his front wing just brushed Vettel’s right rear tyre. This caused the tyre to deflate and Vettel lost control of his car and went off the track as he followed Webber into the Maggotts-Becketts complex. The first lap also saw both of the Ferrari’s of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso touch. Massa suffered the same misfortune that Vettel did and their races were ruined. When Massa and Vettel rejoined the race after changing their tyres they were 23^rd and 24^th respectively.

Webber and Hamilton in the meantime raced off into the distance, and by lap ten were over 13 seconds clear of third place man Robert Kubica (Renault).

Lap 17 was eventful to say the least. Hamilton pitted and rejoined the race just ahead of his team-mate Button, but further round the lap was where the real action took place.  Alonso pulled out to pass Kubica was they approached Vale. Kubica defended the inside line and Alonso cut the corner to avoid hitting the Pole. In doing this he gained the position and should have given it back to Kubica there and then, but instead the Spaniard drove away from Kubica.

Two laps later Alonso had a great view of Nico Rosberg passing Toro Rosso’s Jamie Alguersuari. Kubica retired with a driveshaft problem on the next lap.

Jenson Button left his pit stop until lap 22 and rejoined in sixth. There’s nothing like making the best of a bad situation.

On lap 27 Fernando Alonso was issued with a Drive-Through Penalty for not letting the now retired Kubica pass him after he illegally overtook him. Ferrari and Alonso felt hard done by as another decision went against them for the second race running, but if Alonso had just let Kubica pass him he would have been fine.

However, Alonso couldn’t serve his penalty just yet because the Safety Car was out on track. A couple of laps earlier, Force India’s Adrian Sutil touched the back of Pedro de la Rosa’s  Sauber on the pit straight, causing bits of the Sauber’s rear wing and diffuser to come off the car. More bits exploded off the Sauber on the high-speed Hangar Straight. The marshals were unable to safely remove the debris so the SC had to come out and bunch the pack up again (much to a certain Sebastian Vettel’s delight).

The race was restarted at the end of lap 30 and Webber tore away from the field with Hamilton again keeping him honest.

Vettel was now in a position to be able to fight for some good points and passed William’s Nico Hülkenberg on lap 39. The Red Bull driver took on his hero (Michael Schumacher (Mercedes)) on the next lap. As the two Germans sped down the new Wellington Straight, Vettel pulled out to Schumacher’s left so he could have the inside line for the new look Brooklands corner. But Schumacher pulled across the track and almost forced Vettel onto the grass. Young Sebastian held his nerve and pulled off the pass.

But the drama wasn’t over yet. On the very last lap Vettel barged his way past Adrian Sutil’s Force India as they raced around the new Arena section for the final time. So from starting on pole then going down to last, Vettel had driven his way (with the help of the SC) to seventh place and six points.

But the day and the race belonged to his team-mate Mark Webber, who had his front wing taken away from him and given to Vettel just before qualifying the day before and was very angry with his team. As he waved to the crowd on his lap of honour we heard the Australian say the quote of the season so far: “Not bad for a number two driver, eh?”

Webber showed his delight on the podium (see above) but I felt a lump in my throat when the legendary Sir Stirling Moss gave Lewis Hamilton his second place trophy. Sir Stirling had a nasty fall at his home earlier this year, but has now made a full recovery. 🙂

Moss and Hamilton earned the biggest cheer from the Silverstone crowd.

We are now into the second half of the 2010 season, and I predict that we will see more spectacular racing in what is turning out to be one of the best seasons in many years. The next race is in Germany at the nowhere-near-as-good-as-it-was-and-please-make-it-what-it-was-again Hockenheimring.

HRT, who replaced Bruno Senna with Sakon Yamamoto for Silverstone have dropped Karun Chandhok for Yamamoto for next weekend’s race. The team have also told young Senna that he will have a seat for the rest of the season.

Vettel takes pole at Silverstone

SEBASTIAN VETTEL of Red Bull will start on pole for today’s British Grand Prix at the new look Silverstone.

The German’s Q3 time was 1:29.615, that’s an average speed of 147.310 mph. His Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber will start alongside him after recording a time of 1:29.758. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will start third after he recorded a time of 1:30.426. Yes, the Red Bulls really are that much faster than everybody else.

The rest of the top ten are, from fourth to tenth: Hamilton (McLaren), Rosberg (Mercedes), Kubica (Renault), Massa (Ferrari), Barrichello (Williams), de la Rosa (Sauber) and Schumacher (Mercedes).

World Champion Jenson Button could only manage 14^th on the grid and failed to get out of Q2. The McLaren driver in his home Grand Prix had a dyer qualifying, and looks as though he will struggle in the race today.

Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi has been given a five place grid drop after blocking William’s Nico Hülkenberg.

Bruno Senna’s one race HRT stand-in – Japan’s Sakon Yamamoto – will start from dead last on the grid with a fastest time of 1:36.968. His last race was the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix and it shows. His body is not used to being in an F1 car and I doubt that he will last the race.

Who will win? Well I can only see a Red Bull winning this race. The rest of the field are just nowhere in terms of pace. But look at what happened in Turkey. Could the same happen today?