The Official Formula One Fantasy League

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This is the thread where you will find the latest positions in the Driver and Constructor's Championship.

The first race is in Australia on the 18th March, 3am.

Please don't spam on this thread

*All information on race day's will be taken from the Official Formula 1 Website.

Here are the TEAMS;

McLaren

potter3 & sheephead

Ferrari

Turtles-Head & Maybes

Renault

Red_Bull & Standupandsing

Honda

Manwell Pablo & Brummie-FOX

BMW Sauber

sparky & lildave3

Toyota

Matmcc & joeb

Red Bull

City_4_Life & Louis_Walsh

Williams

callglombarddirect & mat_j101

Toro Rosso

dandannieldanok & lcfc4theprem

Spyker

bigneville & Gooner-Fox

Super Aguri

Isle Of Wight Fox & bertfox

So your drivers are:

DANDANNIELDANOK - Toro Rosso (Driver 1) Driver still to be announced

BIGNEVILLE - Adrian Sutil

LCFC4THEPREM - Toro Rosso (Driver 2) Driver still to be announced

RED_BULL - Heikki Kovaleinen

GOONER-FOX - Christijan Albers

CALLGLOMBARDDIRECT - Alex Wurz

TURTLES-HEAD - Felipe Massa

CITY_4_LIFE - Mark Webber

LOUIS_WALSH - David Coulthard

ISLE OF WIGHT FOX - Anthony Davidson

POTTER3 - Lewis Hamilton

SHEEPHEAD - Fernando Alonso

STANDUPANDSING - Giancarlo Fisichella

MANWELL_PABLO - Rubens Barrichello

BRUMMIE-FOX - Jenson Button

SPARKY - Robert Kubica

MATMCC - Jarno Trulli

JOEB - Ralf Schumacher

MAT_J101 - Nico Rosberg

BERTFOX - Takuma Sato

LILDAVE3 - Nick Heidfeld

MAYBES - Kimi Raikkonen

Note: The drivers were picked out completely at random. I'm saying this as it's strange to see all the poor drivers picked out first, and then two drivers from the same team being picked out consecutively.

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Good news for dandannieldanok

Vitantonio Liuzzi is set to be Toro Rosso's driver for the new season.

Ahead of its 'launch' on Tuesday in Barcelona, Scuderia Toro Rosso have confirmed that Vitantonio Liuzzi will return for a second season, although question marks still exist over the future of 2006 team-mate Scott Speed.

Both drivers were expected to remain with the Red Bull owned squad into 2007 when last season drew to a close, but since then, speculation has grown that the team could be looking elsewhere - with those rumours reaching fever pitch when Champ Car title winner Sebastien Bourdais was brought in for a test at Jerez in December.

However, team co-owner Gerhard Berger has now confirmed that Liuzzi will be retained for 2007 with Speed in pole position for the second seat - although the American has yet to put pen to paper.

"Everything is fine with Tonio, he's in the car and he's going to drive," Berger told Reuters. "He's also our driver for this year. With Scott we still have some contractual issues to sort out. We are going to see later."

The Ferrari-powered STR2 is set to run for the first time in Barcelona on Tuesday, during the second day of the Formula One group test at Catalunya.

Link

For Joe.(lcfc4theprem), your driver is yet to be announced

So just to remind you, the drivers and teams are:

McLaren

potter3 & sheephead

Ferrari

Turtles-Head & Maybes

Renault

Red_Bull & Standupandsing

Honda

Manwell Pablo & Brummie-FOX

BMW Sauber

sparky & lildave3

Toyota

Matmcc & joeb

Red Bull

City_4_Life & Louis_Walsh

Williams

callglombarddirect & mat_j101

Toro Rosso

dandannieldanok & lcfc4theprem

Spyker

bigneville & Gooner-Fox

Super Aguri

Isle Of Wight Fox & bertfox

So your drivers are:

DANDANNIELDANOK - Toro Rosso (Driver 1) Driver still to be announced

BIGNEVILLE - Adrian Sutil

Joe. - Toro Rosso (Driver 2) Driver still to be announced

Heikki - Heikki Kovaleinen

GOONER-FOX - Christijan Albers

CALLGLOMBARDDIRECT - Alex Wurz

TURTLES-HEAD - Felipe Massa

CITY_4_LIFE - Mark Webber

LOUIS_WALSH - David Coulthard

ISLE OF WIGHT FOX - Anthony Davidson

POTTER3 - Lewis Hamilton

SHEEPHEAD - Fernando Alonso

STANDUPANDSING - Giancarlo Fisichella

MANWELL_PABLO - Rubens Barrichello

BRUMMIE-FOX - Jenson Button

SPARKY - Robert Kubica

MATMCC - Jarno Trulli

JOEB - Ralf Schumacher

MAT_J101 - Nico Rosberg

BERTFOX - Takuma Sato

LILDAVE3 - Nick Heidfeld

MAYBES - Kimi Raikkonen

Can you please let me know if you change your username

32 days 'till Melbourne

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Rules And Regulations 07

Practice And Qualifying

At each Grand Prix meeting all race drivers may participate in two one and a half-hour practice sessions on Friday (Thursday at Monaco), another one-hour session on Saturday morning and a qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. In practice, teams are limited to two cars per session. A nominated third driver or either race driver can use these cars in the session. While individual practice sessions are not compulsory, a driver must take part in at least one Saturday session to be eligible for the race.

Saturday’s one-hour qualifying session is split into three distinct parts, each with multiple drivers on track simultaneously, and each with the drivers running as many laps as they want:

Q1: All 22 cars may run laps at any time during the first 15 minutes of the hour. At the end of the first 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill the final six grid places.

Q2: After a seven-minute break, the times will be reset and the 16 remaining cars then will then run in a second 15-minute session - again they may complete as many laps as they want at any time during that period. At the end of the 15 minutes, the six slowest cars drop out and fill places 11 to 16 on the grid.

Q3: After a further eight-minute break, the times are reset and the final 15-minute session will feature a shootout between the remaining 10 cars to decide pole position and the starting order for the top 10 grid places. Again, these cars may run as many laps as they wish.

In the first two 15-minute sessions, cars may run any fuel load and drivers knocked out after those sessions may refuel ahead of the race. However, the top-ten drivers in the final 15-minute session may only replace the fuel they used during that session before the start of the race.

If a driver is deemed by the stewards to have stopped unnecessarily on the circuit or impeded another driver during any practice session, then they may drop the driver such number of grid positions that they consider appropriate.

Race Day

Prior to every Grand Prix the teams and drivers must adhere to a very strict starting procedure.

This gets underway 30 minutes before the formation lap when the pit lane is opened. Drivers are then free to complete a reconnaissance lap of the circuit before taking up their grid positions. If a driver wishes to complete additional reconnaissance laps he must pass through the pit lane each time in order to bypass the grid.

The pit lane closes 15 minutes prior to the formation lap. Any drivers still in the pit lane at this time will have to start the race from there.

Ten minutes before the start the grid must be cleared except for team technical staff, race officials and drivers. With three minutes to go all cars must have their wheels fitted (any car not complying will have to start from the back of the grid or the pit lane).

With a minute to go all cars must have their engines running. All personnel must then leave the grid at least 15 seconds before the green lights come on to signal the start of the formation lap.

Any driver who has a problem immediately prior to the green light must raise his arm to indicate this. Once the rest of the field has moved off marshals will be push the car into the pit lane. If the driver restarts the car while being pushed he may rejoin the formation lap.

During the formation lap no practice starts are allowed. Overtaking is also forbidden unless passing a car that has slowed due to a technical problem. Passed cars may in turn re-overtake in order to regain their grid position if the problem is resolved during the course of the formation lap.

However, any driver who is still on the grid when all other cars have moved off on the formation lap, but then subsequently gets away, may not re-pass cars to regain his grid position, but must instead start from the back.

Once all cars have safely taken up their grid positions at the end of the formation lap five red lights will appear in sequence at one-second intervals. These red lights are then extinguished to signal the start of the race.

If a driver has a problem on the grid immediately prior to the start he must raise his arm and the start will be aborted. A new formation lap, which will count towards the race distance, will then be completed.

The only exceptions to these start procedures are connected to the weather. If it starts to rain in the three minutes prior to the start then the abort lights will come on and the starting procedure will revert to the 10-minute point to allow teams to change to appropriate tyres.

If the weather is exceptionally bad the race director may choose to abort the start and resume the starting procedure only when conditions have improved. Alternatively, he may decide to start the race behind the safety car.

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The wait is almost over - the 2007 season is finally upon us. Or perhaps we should refer to it as 2007 PS - Post-Schumacher. For the first time since Belgium 1991 (barring the races he missed in 1999), the great German’s presence will no longer influence the outcome of races and world championships.

Think about that. The king is gone, and whenever that has happened in the past there has always been a period in which the next great begins to make his presence felt. This time it may be that Fernando Alonso has already done that, having beaten Schumacher these past two seasons. But even when he was doing so, Michael was always the man he had to beat. Now it is likely that the mantle will rest on the Spaniard’s shoulders initially, but with other changes throughout the paddock it may not stay that way.

Will Kimi Raikkonen finally find at Ferrari the key he has been seeking to success ever since he rattled the establishment with his driving of a Sauber Petronas back in 2001? Will Felipe Massa, for so long underrated by those who looked no further than the top teams, become Ferrari’s pacesetter? Will Giancarlo Fisichella rise to the occasion at last for Renault?

Will Honda finally produce a car that can win regularly for Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello? Can Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica surprise for BMW Sauber? Or will we see a rookie - either Lewis Hamilton at McLaren or Heikki Kovalainen at Renault - win a race in their first season in the big league? And what of Red Bull, and their Adrian Newey RB3 wonder car, on which so much rests? Will David Coulthard rise again? Will Mark Webber finally get the chance to define his quality?

This is always the time of year when anything is possible, which is all part of the fun. Formula One racing thrives on its annual period of rebirth, and what we have seen so far in 2007 does nothing to dissuade one from the view that we are in for a bumper season, in which several drivers could be in contention for victory and the world championship.

The real ‘New World’ lies a year hence, when customer cars, further regulation changes and a new Concorde Agreement arrive, but 2007, the first season for 15 years without Michael Schumacher, will begin to give shape to that bold future as the young tigers claw at the experienced veterans, and the rising marques slog it out wheel-to-wheel with the established giants of the sport.

So stay tuned - the fun is about to start. In the coming instalments of our season preview we will bring you an analysis of all 11 teams’ prospects, introduce you to three new drivers, and remind you of two more making long-awaited race returns. In the first part, however, we take a look at What’s New for 2007...

http://www.formula1.com/news/5739.html

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A number of changes to both the Sporting and Technical Regulations have been made by the FIA for the 2007 Formula One season.

Engines

Engines homologated and used during the last two races of 2006 must now be used during the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons. Although this move, designed to cut development costs, has been widely described as an 'engine freeze', some limited development work will be allowed. This will, however, be strictly controlled by the FIA.

The two-race engine rule will no longer apply to Friday practice sessions. This means any driver starting a meeting with a fresh engine will not be penalised for an early failure. It also means drivers may opt to use alternative engines on Fridays and save their race engines for the remainder of the weekend.

Weekend schedule

In a slight change to the Grand Prix weekend format, Friday's two practice sessions have been extended from 60 to 90 minutes each.

Tyres

With Bridgestone becoming Formula One racing's sole supplier for 2007, each team will receive only two specifications of tyre per event. However, they will get more sets - four per driver on the Friday and ten for the remainder of the weekend. Each driver must use both specifications during the race and special markings mean spectators will be able to easily distinguish which one a driver is using at any time.

Safety car

In 2007, safety car regulations have been modified to prevent drivers diving for the pits the minute the safety car comes onto the circuit, and to stop backmarkers interfering with the leaders during a race restart. No car is allowed to enter the pits until the field is bunched up behind the safety car and before the safety car returns to the pit any lapped car running between cars on the lead lap must overtake those cars and the safety car before taking up their correct position at the back.

Friday Practice

Third cars will no longer be allowed, but all teams are now permitted to run one alternative test driver in each Friday session. The alternative driver must be nominated beforehand and may use either of the team's race cars.

Safety

A GPS marshalling system, involving a cockpit light display of flag signals in each driver's car, is being introduced. This will allow Race Control to alert drivers to potential hazards more effectively.

All cars must also now be fitted with a medical warning light just ahead of the driver's cockpit. This is to provide rescue crews with an immediate indication of the severity of the accident and is connected to the FIA data logger.

The crash tests that Formula One cars must pass have been made more stringent. The velocity used in the frontal impact test has been increased from 14m/s to 15m/s, while the minimum size for the impact-absorbing structure has also been raised. In addition, the driver’s cockpit must now be clad in special anti-penetration panels made of Zylon. An additional five kilograms has been added to the car’s minimum weight requirement to offset the weight of the panels.

Car Livery:

Teams must run their two cars with essentially the same race livery throughout the season and must seek prior approval for any major changes.

In addition there are a number of requirements that apply to liveries for all cars and teams. Every car must carry its driver’s race number, which must be clearly visible from the front of the car, and the driver’s name must appear on the external bodywork of the car. The team’s name or emblem must also appear on the nose of the car.

To help distinguish between a team’s two cars, the onboard cameras which sit on top of the main rollover structure are coloured differently. On the first car it must be predominantly fluorescent red and on the second car it must be fluorescent yellow.

Classification:

A commonly asked question is how drivers can be given a placing in the official race results even though they retired before the end of the race. The explanation can be found within the FIA regulations regarding classification. These state that any driver who completed at least 90 per cent of the race distance will be classified, whether or not he was running when the winner took the chequered flag.

If a race is stopped before the full distance and a result is declared, the classification will reflect the race order at the end of the lap two laps prior to that on which the race was stopped (see ‘Suspending and resuming a race’). For example, if a race is stopped on lap 60, the classification will be as it was at the end of lap 58.

Driver Penalties:

Stewards have the power to impose various penalties on a driver if he commits an offence during a race. Offences may include jumping the start, causing an avoidable accident, unfairly blocking another driver, impeding another driver when being lapped, speeding in the pit lane etc.

The two most common types are the drive-through penalty and the ten-second time penalty. In the case of the former, the driver must enter the pits, drive through the pit lane at the pit-lane speed limit and rejoin the race without stopping. Depending on the length of the pit lane this can cost a driver a significant amount of time.

More severe is the ten-second time penalty (also commonly known as a stop-go penalty) where the driver must not only enter the pits, but must also stop for ten seconds at his pit before rejoining the race. During this time the driver’s team are not permitted to work on the car.

In extreme cases the stewards may choose to enforce a third type of penalty whereby they can force a driver to drop ten grid positions at the next Grand Prix. So even if the driver in question goes on to qualify in pole position, he will in fact start that race from 11th place.

In the case of the drive-through penalty and the ten-second time penalty, a driver has three laps, from the time his team is notified, to enter the pits (failure to do so may result in a black flag and the driver being excluded from the race).

The only exception is when the penalty is awarded during the final five laps of the race. In this case the driver may continue and complete the race. However, 25 seconds will be added to his total race time, which may drop him considerably in the final race standings.

Officials:

At every Grand Prix meeting there are six key race officials who monitor and control the activities of the stewards and marshals to ensure the smooth and safe running of the event in accordance with FIA regulations.

Four of the six officials are nominated by the FIA. These are the race director (currently Charlie Whiting), a permanent starter and two additional stewards, one of whom is nominated chairman. The additional stewards must be FIA Super Licence holders and must not be of the same nationality as the race organisers.

The other two key officials are nominated by the National Sporting Authority (ASN) of the country holding the race. These are the clerk of the course and an additional steward (who must be a national of the host nation). Both must be FIA Super Licence holders.

The clerk of the course works in consultation with the race director, who has overriding authority. The race director directs the clerk of the course on how to instruct the stewards during the various practice, qualifying and race sessions.

The race director and the clerk of the course, as well as the FIA technical delegate (currently Jo Bauer), must all be present at the event from 10am on Thursday (Wednesday in Monaco) onwards.

The race director, the clerk of the course and the chairman of the stewards must all be in radio contact while cars are on track. Furthermore, at these times the clerk of the course must be in the race-control headquarters and in radio contact with all of the marshal’s posts.

Parc Ferme:

Parc ferme is an enclosed and secure area in the paddock where the cars are weighed and any other checks deemed necessary by race officials are made. Teams must leave their cars here from 1830 on Saturday until 0830 on Sunday. However, the cars are deemed to be under parc ferme conditions for a much longer period - from the time they first exit the pits during qualifying until the start of the formation lap immediately prior to the race.

Under these conditions, the work teams may carry out on their cars is limited to strictly-specified routine procedures, which can only be performed under the watchful eye of the FIA Technical Delegate and race scrutineers. Fuel may be added to the cars (those eligible for the final period of qualifying may only replace what they used in that period), tyres changed and brakes bled. Minor front wing adjustments are also allowed, but little else. These controls mean that teams cannot make significant alterations to the set-up of a car between qualifying and the race.

The only exception to this is when there is a "change in climatic conditions", for example a dry qualifying session followed by a wet race, or vice versa. In this case the FIA will give the teams permission to make further appropriate changes to their cars.

Should a car require an engine change between qualifying and the race, then the driver concerned will be required to start from the back of the grid. Modifications to other parts or suspension set-up will require the driver to start from the pit lane.

Safety Car:

The safety car’s main function, as its name implies, is to assist in maintaining safe track conditions throughout the Grand Prix weekend. It is driven by an experienced circuit driver and carries an FIA observer who is in permanent radio contact with race control.

If an accident or incident occurs that is not severe enough to warrant suspending the race, but which cannot be dealt with under yellow flags, then the safety car will be called on to the circuit to slow the cars down.

It will come on to the circuit with its orange lights on and all drivers must form a queue behind it with no overtaking allowed. The safety car will signal backmarkers to pass by using its green light until the race leader is immediately behind it, followed by the rest of the field in race order. Any lapped car between cars running on the lead lap must pass those cars and the safety car before proceeding slowly around the track to take up their correct position at the back of the pack. No car is permitted to enter the pits until all cars are lined up behind the safety car in race order.

If the incident that brought out the safety car has blocked the pit straight, the clerk of the course may direct the safety car to lead the field through the pit lane. Cars are free to stop at their pit garage should this happen.

When the safety car is ready to leave the circuit it extinguishes its orange lights, indicating to the drivers that it will peel off into the pits at the end of the current lap. The drivers then continue in formation until they cross the start-finish line where green lights will indicate that they are free to race again.

In exceptional circumstances, such as in extremely poor weather, a race may begin behind the safety car, which will put its orange lights on at least a minute before the start to indicate this. When those lights switch to green the safety car will lead the field around the circuit in grid order.

Overtaking on this first lap is not allowed, unless a car has a problem. The safety car will peel into the pits at the end of the lap and drivers are free to race once they have crossed the line to commence the next lap.

All laps completed behind the safety car count as race laps.

Scrutineering and Weighing

A team of specially appointed scrutineers has the power to check cars at any point during a Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they fully comply with technical and safety regulations.

Every car is initially examined on the Thursday of a race meeting (Wednesday at Monaco) and a car cannot take part in the event until it has passed scrutineering. A car must be re-examined by scrutineers if any significant changes are made to it by the team or if it is involved in an accident.

In addition to scrutineering, cars are also weighed throughout the Grand Prix weekend to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (currently 600kg including driver, except during qualifying when it is 605kg). During practice and qualifying cars are called in at random to be weighed. After the race every car and driver is weighed.

Any competitor failing to meet the minimum weight may lose their qualifying times or be excluded from the race results unless this is due to the accidental loss of part of the car.

Spare Cars and Engines

FIA regulations state that drivers may have no more than three cars available for use at any one time. Usually a team will bring three or four cars to a race; a race car for each of its two drivers, and one or two spare cars for use by either driver. Use of those spare cars is subject to various restrictions.

If a driver switches car between qualifying and the race then he must start the race from the pit lane. A change of car is not allowed once the race has started.

There are also restrictions on engine use. Each driver may use no more than one engine for two consecutive Grand Prix meetings. If an engine change is required ahead of qualifying at either meeting, the driver will drop ten places on the grid for that event. If the change is made after qualifying, the driver goes to the back of the grid.

For the purposes of this engine regulation, the Grand Prix meeting comprises Saturday's practice and qualifying sessions, plus Sunday's race. During Friday's practice sessions, drivers may use alternative engines, with no penalty should such an engine fail.

If a driver fails to finish a race due to reasons beyond his or his team’s control, he may start the next meeting with a new engine without incurring a penalty.

Additional Drivers and Driver Changes

In each of Friday's two practice sessions, teams may run one additional driver, though each team is still limited to two cars. Any holder of a Super License may run as an additional driver.

Teams may use up to four race drivers during a season, all of whom may score points in the championship. A driver change may be made with the permission of the stewards any time before the start of qualifying. The new driver must use the engine and tyres allocated to the original driver.

Tyres

For 2007 onwards, Formula One racing features just one tyre supplier, with all teams using identical Bridgestone rubber. The aims of this move are to create closer racing and to reduce testing and development costs.

At each Grand Prix every team will be given access to two specifications of dry-weather tyre and each driver must make use of both specifications during the race (wet races excepted). Markings on one of those specifications will allow spectators to distinguish which a driver is using.

Over the race weekend, each driver has access to 14 sets of dry-weather tyres. Four of those sets (two sets of each specification) may be used on Friday, with the remaining 10 sets (five of each specification) available from Saturday morning onwards. Prior to qualifying each driver must surrender one set of each specification.

The dry-weather tyres have four grooves and the spacing and depth of these grooves must conform to strict specifications. Although there are currently no regulations on tyre wear during a race, the FIA reserve the right to introduce appropriate procedures if they feel teams are obtaining a performance gain from using very worn tyres.

Teams are free to use wet-weather tyres as they see fit during qualifying and the race. However, during the preceding practice sessions wet-weather tyres may only be used if the track has been declared wet by the race director. Bridgestone may bring different types of wet-weather tyre to cope with various conditions, but all must be pre-approved by the FIA.

All tyres are given a bar code at the start of the weekend so that the FIA can closely monitor their use and ensure that no team is breaking regulations.

Link

All this has been copied, so if there are any mistakes you know who to blame.

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Drivers participated in a Qualifying Session early this morning.

Grid For Australian Grand Prix

Pos Driver Team Time

1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.072

2 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.493

3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:26.556

4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.755

5 Robert Kubica BMW 1:27.347

6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:27.634

7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:27.934

8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:28.404

9 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:28.692

10 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:28.871

These Cars Dropped Out In The Second Qualifying Session

11 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:26.909

12 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:26.914

13 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:26.964

14 Jenson Button Honda 1:27.264

15 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:27.393

16 Felipe Massa Ferrari -

These Cars Dropped Out In The First Qualifying Session

17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:27.679

18 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:28.305

19 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:28.579

20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:29.267

21 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:29.339

22 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:31.932

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Due to people changing names, I think I should go through the drivers again. If I have made a mistake, PM me.

Teams :

Renault – Standupandsing & Heikki

McLaren – potter3 &sheephead

Ferrari – Maybes & Turtles-Head

BMW – lildave3 & sparky

Honda – Manwell_Pablo & Brummie-FOX

Toyota – isaidno & Lovejoy

Williams – callglombardirect & Mat_j101

Red Bull – City_4_Life & Flynny

Toro Rosso – dandannieldanok & Joe.

Spyker - bigneville & Gooner-Fox

Super Aguri – Bertfox & Isle Of Wight Fox

Drivers:

dandannieldanok - Vitantonio Liuzzi

bigneville - Adrian Sutil

Joe. – Scott Speed

Heikki - Heikki Kovaleinen

Gooner-Fox - Christijan Albers

callglombardirect - Alex Wurz

Turtles-Head - Felipe Massa

City_4_Life - Mark Webber

Flynny - David Coulthard

Isle Of Wight Fox - Anthony Davidson

potter3 - Lewis Hamilton

sheephead - Fernando Alonso

Standupandsing - Giancarlo Fisichella

Manwell_Pablo - Rubens Barrichello

Brummie-FOX - Jenson Button

sparky - Robert Kubica

isaidno - Jarno Trulli

Lovejoy - Ralf Schumacher

Mat_j101 - Nico Rosberg

bertfox - Takuma Sato

lildave3 - Nick Heidfeld

Maybes- Kimi Raikkonen

[Maybes]

Kimi has done me proud , gwon lad

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2007 Australian Grand Prix Result

1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari

2 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes

3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes

4 Nick Heidfeld BMW

5 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault

6 Felipe Massa Ferrari

7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota

8 Ralf Schumacher Toyota

9 Jarno Trulli Toyota

10 Heikki Kovalainen Renault

11 Rubens Barrichello Honda

12 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda

13 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault

14 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari

15 Jenson Button Honda

16 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda

17 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari

Ret Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota

Ret David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault

Ret Robert Kubica BMW

Ret Scott Speed STR-Ferrari

Ret Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari

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Malaysian Grand Prix Preview

Will Ferrari maintain their dominance at Sepang, or can McLaren and Renault catch up? If you were to look at the times from the recent test at the Malaysian circuit, you might form the view that virtually everyone has a chance, for most teams put in competitive lap times at one stage or another. The difficult thing is knowing who was running what set-up or configuration when those times were done. Put it another way, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault seem genuinely pleased about their performance, while BMW Sauber, Williams, Honda, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri and Toyota all believe they have made progress.

The fact that 10 of the teams tested here is likely to create the sort of situation we often see in Barcelona, where everyone has an early handle on set-up, and the true respective performances emerge as a result.

Kimi Raikkonen believes he is well placed to repeat his Melbourne performance, provided his Ferrari does not require an engine change following a water leak towards the end of that race. Team mate Felipe Massa will be going all-out to avoid the sort of problems he suffered in Australia, and to close the points gap to the Finn.

Will Ferrari maintain their dominance at Sepang, or can McLaren and Renault catch up? If you were to look at the times from the recent test at the Malaysian circuit, you might form the view that virtually everyone has a chance, for most teams put in competitive lap times at one stage or another. The difficult thing is knowing who was running what set-up or configuration when those times were done. Put it another way, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault seem genuinely pleased about their performance, while BMW Sauber, Williams, Honda, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri and Toyota all believe they have made progress.

The fact that 10 of the teams tested here is likely to create the sort of situation we often see in Barcelona, where everyone has an early handle on set-up, and the true respective performances emerge as a result.

Kimi Raikkonen believes he is well placed to repeat his Melbourne performance, provided his Ferrari does not require an engine change following a water leak towards the end of that race. Team mate Felipe Massa will be going all-out to avoid the sort of problems he suffered in Australia, and to close the points gap to the Finn.

If his McLaren is again unable quite to get on terms with the red cars, world champion Fernando Alonso is determined to maximize his points score so that he remains in play until the silver arrows can compete with the Ferraris, but the team will have some new parts for the race. Team mate Lewis Hamilton is also keen to repeat, perhaps even better, his extraordinary debut in Australia.

"I thought Sepang looked like a great circuit and I was not disappointed,†he said. “Its layout means you can build up a great rhythm, with all the corners running into each other. It is also really wide, which I imagine will lead to exciting racing. The four days of testing were really useful on two counts. We had a number of developments to the car that we ran and will now bring to the race, and I was able to learn the track prior to the event. I am now looking forward to competitive action here. As I said at the time, it was a dream start for me in Australia, but I am realistic that motorsport is unpredictable and things don’t always go so well. We have all been working to reduce the gap to Ferrari and I will do my best with Fernando and the team towards this in Malaysia."

Last year’s winner, Giancarlo Fisichella, admits that Renault weren’t fast enough in Australia, but says: “Without a doubt, this is the toughest race of the season - not just physically, but mentally too. The high temperatures and humidity make things very tough for the drivers and the cars too. For me personally, though, there are very good memories from my win last year, and I am prepared for the race this time round. I trained hard over the winter, I am in peak condition - and ready to go.â€

As one of the hottest races of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix will exact a heavy toll on drivers and machinery. Temperatures are expected to be around 34 degrees Celsius all weekend, and the humidity will take its own toll, making the cockpits feel like saunas. The most important thing for each driver will be to keep fully hydrated.

The tortuous circuit is tough on every element of the car. The high temperatures place heavy demands on cooling systems, brakes and tyres, and the mixture of corners makes it tricky to achieve an optimum set-up for the high and slow-speed corners. However, the temperature will be beneficial in one way since nobody should have any of the problems some experienced getting heat into their tyres in Melbourne. The weekend should thus paint a more accurate picture of precisely where everyone is in respect to each other.

Bridgestone will bring their medium and hard compounds (rather than the soft and medium used in Australia) and telling the difference between the two will be far easier than in Melbourne - on each of the medium tyres, one groove will be painted white, making it clearly visible whether the car is stationary or at speed.

Remember if you want to comment on stories etc, use the other thread.

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Drivers participated in a qualifying session earlier on this morning.

Grid for Mayalsian Grand Prix

2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

Pos Driver Team Time

1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.043

2 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.310

3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.479

4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.045

5 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:36.543

6 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:36.829

7 Robert Kubica BMW 1:36.896

8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:36.902

9 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:37.078

10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:37.345

11 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:35.630

12 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:35.706

13 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:35.766

14 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:35.945

15 Jenson Button Honda 1:36.088

16 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:36.145

17 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:36.578

18 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.816

19 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.827

20 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:37.326

21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.279

22 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:38.415

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2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

Results:

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 56 Winner 2 10

2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +17.5 secs 4 8

3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 +18.3 secs 3 6

4 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 56 +33.7 secs 5 5

5 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +36.7 secs 1 4

6 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 56 +65.6 secs 12 3

7 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 56 +70.1 secs 8 2

8 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 56 +72.0 secs 11 1

9 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 56 +89.9 secs 19

10 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 56 +93.5 secs 10

11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 55 +1 Lap 22

12 7 Jenson Button Honda 55 +1 Lap 15

13 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 55 +1 Lap 14

14 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 17

15 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 55 +1 Lap 9

16 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 55 +1 Lap 18

17 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 16

18 10 Robert Kubica BMW 55 +1 Lap 7

Ret 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 42 +14 Laps 6

Ret 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 36 +20 Laps 13

Ret 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 7 +49 Laps 20

Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 0 +56 laps 21

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Drivers participated in a qualifying session at midday

Bahrain Grand Prix

Pos Driver Team Time

1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:32.652

2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.935

3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.131

4 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.192

5 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:33.404

6 Robert Kubica BMW1:33.710

7 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:34.056

8 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:34.106

9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:34.154

10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:34.399

11 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:32.915

12 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:32.935

13 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:33.082

14 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:33.294

15 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:33.624

16 Jenson Button Honda 1:33.731

17 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:33.984

18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:34.024

19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:34.333

20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:35.280

21 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:35.341

22 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:35.533

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2007 Bahrain Grand Prix

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 Winner 1 10

2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 57 +2.3 secs 2 8

3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +10.8 secs 3 6

4 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 57 +13.8 secs 5 5

5 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 57 +14.4 secs 4 4

6 10 Robert Kubica BMW 57 +45.5 secs 6 3

7 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +81.3 secs 9 2

8 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 57 +81.7 secs 7 1

9 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 57 +89.4 secs 12

10 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 57 +89.9 secs 10

11 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 56 +1 Lap 11

12 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 56 +1 Lap 14

13 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 56 +1 Lap 15

14 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 55 +2 Laps 22

15 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 53 +4 Laps 20

16 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 51 +6 Laps 13

Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 41 +16 Laps 8

Ret 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 36 +21 Laps 21

Ret 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 34 +23 Laps 17

Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 26 +31 Laps 18

Ret 7 Jenson Button Honda 0 +57 Laps 16

Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 0 +57 Laps 19

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Spanish Grand Pre-view

This weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, just outside Barcelona, kicks off the first European leg of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. And it follows hard on the heels of prolonged testing by all of the teams there last week.

Generally, the view is that Ferrari made progress in the test, with Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest time. However, circuit conditions at the race weekend are usually quite different to those during tests, with the amount of rubber that goes down from all of the F1 activity plus the GP2 and other support races, and also wind and weather patterns exerting their effect. Testing times can thus sometimes be misleading, the more so because it is not always clear in what configuration teams were running their cars.

Last year Fernando Alonso took pole for Renault with 1m 14.648s and won the race from Michael Schumacher (who is expected to attend this weekend) and Giancarlo Fisichella. Felipe Massa set fastest lap for Ferrari in 1m 16.648s. Times last week were six to seven seconds slower than Alonso’s pole. However, modifications to the penultimate corner of the track have now turned the two final high-speed corners into a chicane. The final corner is now a flat-out run on to the long pit straight. While the lap times have been slowed, overtaking down the pit straight may be better.

Tyre performance will be less of an issue than it has been in recent years, with everybody running the same two choices of Bridgestone tyre. This particular weekend the options are the Japanese company’s hard and medium compounds. The latter will be distinguished by the white groove.

Kees van de Grint, who oversees Bridgestone’s track engineering, had some interesting observations on the tests. “In the past, the nature of this circuit has resulted in high degradation and graining, particularly on the front left tyres. However, this has become less of an issue now as the construction of the 2007 tyres provides a good balance for the cars and that, in combination with the track layout changes and the introduction of the chicane, which make speeds lower through the final turns, has resulted in a less severe circuit from a tyre manufacturer’s point of view.â€

The testing indicated that the medium compound is the more competitive, but van der Grint added: “We should keep in mind that track temperatures last week and in February were on the low side and we also had rain which meant we had quite a green track at times. Should we experience higher temperatures during the race weekend the hard compound tyre could well come into play. Last week’s test also enabled the teams to run both the wet and extreme wet weather tyres and, in our opinion, both performed well in each of their respective windows.â€

The Circuit de Catalunya places a premium on aerodynamic efficiency, and tends to highlight which teams have spent their wind tunnel time most effectively. All of the teams have spent the weeks since Bahrain working on revised aero packages. Ferrari seem to be in the pound seats thus far, and believe they have made further progress, but McLaren came away quietly satisfied with the runs by local heroes Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa. Renault believe they have made some much-needed progress with new parts on their R27s, and Red Bull also had their tail up after David Coulthard went quite quickly. The RB3s will have quickshift gearbox technology this weekend, but it remains to be seen if the Toro Rossos are similarly equipped.

Toyota seem quietly confident that changes to the TF107 will help raise their game, particularly for Ralf Schumacher, who has not found the car much to his liking thus far. And at Japanese rivals Honda, the pressure is on to finally get some 2007 points in the bag this weekend. Poor stability under braking has been among the RA107’s weaknesses to date and the team trialled a number of aero mods at the Barcelona test, among them the rather unusual-looking ‘elephant ear’ wings on the car’s nose.

With so many pre-race variables coming into play, it would be a brave person who tried to predict Sunday’s winner in Spain. One thing is almost certain, though - with three men - Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton - currently level at the top of the driver standings, we should come away with a new championship leader.

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Drivers participated in a Qualifying session earlier this afternoon.

Spanish Grand Prix

Pos Driver Team Time

1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:21.421

2 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.451

3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:21.723

4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.785

5 Robert Kubica BMW 1:22.253

6 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:22.324

7 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:22.389

8 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:22.568

9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:22.749

10 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:22.881

11 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.968

12 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:22.097

13 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda1:22.115

14 Jenson Button Honda 1:22.120

15 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:22.295

16 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:22.508

17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:22.666

18 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:22.769

19 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:23.398

20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:23.811

21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:23.990

22 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari No time

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2007 Spanish Grand Prix

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 65 Winner 1 10

2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 65 +6.7 secs 4 8

3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 65 +17.4 secs 2 6

4 10 Robert Kubica BMW 65 +31.6 secs 5 5

5 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 65 +58.3 secs 9 4

6 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 65 +59.5 secs 11 3

7 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 65 +62.1 secs 8 2

8 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 64 +1 Lap 13 1

9 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 64 +1 Lap 10

10 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 64 +1 Lap 12

11 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 64 +1 Lap 15

12 7 Jenson Button Honda 64 +1 Lap 14

13 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 63 +2 Laps 20

14 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 63 +2 Laps 21

Ret 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 46 Gearbox 7

Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 44 +21 Laps 17

Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 19 +46 Laps 16

Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 9 +56 Laps 22

Ret 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 9 +56 Laps 3

Ret 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 8 +57 Laps 6

Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 7 +58 Laps 19

Ret 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1 +64 Laps 18

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The Monaco Grand Preview

Hamilton's first win, or will a dark horse spring a surprise?

23 May 2007

Once upon a time the Monaco Grand Prix had a reputation for throwing up maverick results; remember Jean-Pierre Beltoise’s greatest day there in 1972? Or Olivier Panis’s in 1996?

There may be a chance of a repeat this year, if the forecast for showers on Saturday and Sunday proves accurate. Otherwise, the big question will be whether the longer wheelbase of the swift Ferrari F2007 will militate against it on this tight little track, giving the edge to the McLaren MP4-22s.

Certainly, series leader Lewis Hamilton is determined to score his first Grand Prix victory this weekend on a track where he has previously been dominant in both Formula Three and GP2. There is pressure on team leader Fernando Alonso to push himself back ahead of the upstart rookie and to stamp his authority on McLaren’s championship campaign, but equally there is pressure on Hamilton to win in order to justify his place at the head of the points table in front of the season’s three race victors.

"I am really looking forward to Monaco,†Hamilton says. “It is one of the tracks I have always dreamed of racing at in Formula One, particularly having competed there for the past two seasons in the F3 Euroseries and GP2. For me it is the best circuit of the year, there is nowhere like it for getting the adrenaline going, because the track is so tight and there are no run-off areas, you have to be incredibly precise, there is no room for error and as a driver that makes it all the more exciting.â€

The BMW Saubers could spring the surprise here that they have been threatening all season, and may be capable of qualifying on the front two rows of the grid. Renault believe they have a better chance here than on the tracks on which they have raced so far this season, and Williams come to the Principality with high hopes after Mark Webber’s brilliant run here last year, for the FW29 is certainly a much better car than the FW28 that he pushed up to second place at one stage.

Red Bull, too, had a decent race last year with David Coulthard finishing third, and the Scot will be hoping for a repeat as team mate Webber hopes for reliability and better fortune than he has enjoyed of late.

The Toyotas are dark horses and seem able to qualify well, which will be crucial here, while the Honda drivers are hoping for better things.

"Monaco is the most famous race of all, where all the glitz and glamour of Formula One is on display, and there is no question that it is a very special place over the race weekend,†says Monegasque resident Jenson Button. “It's a very different race from any other on the calendar with so much history and it means even more to me as I live here, so it is one of my home races. Yet ironically the qualities which make it so appealing also make it a frustrating weekend for the teams and drivers. It's unbelievably busy and getting around can be just impossible! When I'm not in the paddock, I'll be getting out of the Principality and up into the hills behind the action to relax and give myself some space.

"The circuit itself is very tight and twisty and you can really feel the speed of the car when the barriers are so close to you. The whole lap is one non-stop challenge and you just have to get your head down and keep focused. You have to keep the car out of the barriers but not worry too much about getting a few scrapes during the race. The absolute key to a really quick lap is being uninhibited and not letting the barriers intimidate you. This is a circuit that rewards precision like no other.

"Qualifying is crucial for getting the best grid position possible and then you have to make a good start in the race and do your overtaking there otherwise passing is almost impossible. You also need the right pit-stop strategy which can make all the difference to the outcome of your race. Good mechanical grip from the car is a fundamental requirement, coupled with as much downforce as possible."

Bearing that last point in mind, all of the teams tested revised maximum downforce configurations at Paul Ricard recently. Additionally, they have tuned their cars specifically for the track in other areas. Monaco’s streets are bumpy, sharply cambered and very slippery. This is especially true on any road markings, as Nigel Mansell discovered to his cost in the 1984 race. The surface also has relatively low grip, and though it continues to ‘rubber-in’ all the way through the weekend, right up until the last lap of the race, the debris of ‘marbles’ on either side of the racing line - rubber thrown from the tyres as the race continues - can be as slippery as ice for anyone who strays out of the groove.

Cars thus tend to run slightly higher ride heights and softer spring rates than usual, and have greater lock for the track’s infamously tight corners such as Loews and Rascasse.

Tyre performance is also crucial here and Bridgestone will introduce their super soft compound at this race following its successful debut over the first two days of the Paul Ricard test. This tyre will be particularly vital in qualifying, which frequently determines the race order on a track where overtaking is always so difficult.

“You need as much grip as possible and teams will run their cars with a maximum downforce set-up,†says Kees van de Grint, Bridgestone Motorsport’s head of track engineering operations. “Rear traction is crucial with acceleration out of so many corners, but you have to be careful as understeer is not desirable with so much Armco about. There is a very high demand on the tyres as they are very soft. We have also worked on minimising the wear rate as we want to allow the teams flexibility with their strategies.â€

“Monaco is gonna be a lottery,†double 2007 winner Felipe Massa said in Spain, “and hopefully we can be a little bit lucky in this lottery!â€

But Lewis Hamilton has other ideas. “I don’t see it as lottery,†he says. “It’s always been a very strong race for me. One day we’ll get him [Massa], and I think we’ll be very strong in Monaco. I’m looking forward to it, and for sure I’ll be going there for a win.â€

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Drivers participated in a qualifying session earlier this afternoon

2007 Monaco Grand Prix

Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3

1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.726

2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.905

3 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:15.967

4 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:16.285

5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:16.439

6 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:16.784

7 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:16.832

8 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:16.955

9 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:17.498

10 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:17.939

11 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:16.662

12 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:16.703

13 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:16.988

14 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:17.125

15 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari No time

16 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault Time deleted

17 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:18.250

18 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:18.390

19 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.418

20 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:18.539

21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:18.554

22 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari No time

Notes: Coulthard had his Q2 time of 1:16.319 deleted for impeding Kovalainen.

[Stinkenzo]

**David Coulthard now starts 13th

[Stinkenzo]

Monaco Grand Prix Result:

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 78 Winner 1 10

2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 78 +4.0 secs 2 8

3 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 78 +69.1 secs 3 6

4 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 77 +1 Lap 4 5

5 10 Robert Kubica BMW 77 +1 Lap 8 4

6 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 77 +1 Lap 7 3

7 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 77 +1 Lap 11 2

8 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 77 +1 Lap 16 1

9 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 77 +1 Lap 18

10 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 77 +1 Lap 9

11 7 Jenson Button Honda 77 +1 Lap 10

12 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 77 +1 Lap 5

13 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 76 +2 Lap 15

14 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 76 +2 Lap 13

15 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 76 +2 Lap 14

16 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 76 +2 Lap 20

17 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 76 +2 Lap 21

18 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 76 +2 Lap 17

19 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 70 +8 Lap 22

Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 53 +25 Laps 19

Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 17 +61 Laps 6

Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1 +77 Laps 12

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Canadian Grand PreView

This time last year Ferrari really began to make inroads into Renault’s technical advantage, though much of that was hidden by the fact that Michael Schumacher needed a late-race crash by Jacques Villeneuve to throw him the lifeline that put him back in contention with eventual winner Fernando Alonso.

This year Alonso is still the man to beat, for McLaren, and Ferrari are a lot more confident of reversing the result from Monaco the week before last. The F2007 should suit the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, a tightish track that demands excellent aerodynamics, a powerful engine, good traction and good stability under heavy braking. These are also characteristics of the McLaren MP4-22, so we can again look forward to another tough clash between the two major teams. It will be heightened by Lewis Hamilton’s increasing desire to get his first victory under his belt, something that he clearly believes he could - and should - have achieved in Monte Carlo.

“The result in Monaco was great for everyone in the team, it was a dream result considering it was my first year there in a Formula One car, and it means we are going to North America at the top of both championship tables,†Hamilton says. “I cannot wait to get back on track and continue to focus on racing. This will be my debut at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; because of the chances there are to pass, it looks like a great track to compete on. It has some very distinctive characteristics, such as the low grip, the long straights, hard braking and so on, so my initial laps will focus on understanding all these and how best to drive the track to get good times. I have completed preparation work with my engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre specific to Canada and the US, and it will be great to finally take to the track here in Montreal.â€

The track comprises several quick corners and long straights with a mixture of slow corners that demand heavy braking from more than 320 km/h four times during the lap. Complicating this issue is the fact that, unlike Monaco, the cars run in low-drag, low-to-medium downforce configuration, so the engineers also need to attain the right mechanical set-up in the suspension to give the drivers as much ‘feel’ as possible. Additionally, brake disc and pad wear can be a problem, the rear tyres take a beating, and this is a tough track for engines too, with full throttle for 65 percent of the lap. Small wonder so many engineers relish the challenge of Montreal.

Behind McLaren and Ferrari, BMW Sauber are keeping a wary eye on Renault, who have improved significantly in recent races as they chase after the Swiss-German team for third place overall. Toyota were buoyed by their testing form at Paul Ricard in preparation for this race, but Red Bull have also been making progress, Williams clearly have a pretty good car, and Honda are keeping their hopes up. A dark horse for strong midfield performance may be Toro Rosso, who will be running a new aero spec here for the first time, together with seamless-shift transmission, also for the first time.

Link

[Stinkenzo]

Drivers participated in a qualifying session earlier this evening.

2007 Canadian Grand Prix

Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3

1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.707

2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.163

3 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:16.266

4 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:16.411

5 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:16.570

6 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:16.913

7 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:16.919

8 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:16.993

9 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:17.229

10 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:17.747

11 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.743

12 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:16.760

13 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:17.116

14 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:17.304

15 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:17.541

16 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:17.571

17 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:17.542

18 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:17.634

19 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:17.806

20 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:18.089

21 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.536

22 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:19.196

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Engine penalty for Kovalainen

09 June 2007

Renault's Heikki Kovalainen will drop ten places on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix after a rare engine failure in Saturday's final practice.

Kovalainen's misfortune brought practice to a halt for over 15 minutes after oil dropped from his R27 covered a large section of Montreal's Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

The Finn now faces an uphill battle in qualifying if he is to achieve a grid slot sufficient to keep him in contention for points on Sunday afternoon.

Link

Therefore Kovalainen will start from the back of the grid.

[Stinkenzo]

2007 Canadian Grand Prix

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points

1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 Winner 1 10

2 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 70 +4.3 secs 3 8

3 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 70 +5.3 secs 19 6

4 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 70 +6.7 secs 22 5

5 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 70 +13.0 secs 4 4

6 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 70 +16.6 secs 11 3

7 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 70 +21.9 secs 2 2

8 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 70 +22.8 secs 18 1

9 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 70 +22.9 secs 6

10 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 70 +23.9 secs 7

11 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 70 +24.3 secs 17

12 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 70 +30.4 secs 13

Ret 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 58 +12 Laps 10

Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 54 +16 Laps 12

Ret 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 51 Black flagged 5

Ret 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 51 Black flagged 9

Ret 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 47 +23 Laps 21

Ret 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 36 +34 Laps 14

Ret 10 Robert Kubica BMW 26 Accident 8

Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 21 +49 Laps 20

Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 8 +62 Laps 16

Ret 7 Jenson Button Honda 0 +70 Laps 15