Brainy Posted 17 June 2007 Author Posted 17 June 2007 Made a mistake with constructors last time, added 12 instead of 20 to McLarens total. Constructors Championship Standings: McLaren 120 pts Ferrari 66 BMW 31 Renault 22 Williams 3 Toyota -2 Super Aguri -3 Honda - 7 Red Bull -14 Spyker -17 Toro Rosso -21 I still think ive done something wrong - 58 + 48 + 8 (4 1-2 finishes) = 144 Doubt it'd make much difference as McLaren have already got the constructors trophy in the bag.
Brainy Posted 28 June 2007 Author Posted 28 June 2007 French Grand Preview Can McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton keep his world championship aspirations rolling with a third consecutive victory, in what may be the last French Grand Prix for at least a couple of years? Or will his team mate Fernando Alonso make good on his promise to start winning as the title campaign moves to the first of four tracks he claims as his favourite hunting grounds? Or will Ferrari get back on a par with McLaren as the series moves back to Europe? There is no shortage of key questions as the championship approaches its mid-point and a spate of three races in four weeks. Testing at Silverstone last week indicated that Ferrari and Toyota were fully on song, while McLaren described the test as ‘the most intensive’ of their season. Testing results are not always reflected at races, however, and it is likely that the fight in France will be between McLaren and Ferrari as usual, with BMW Sauber close at hand and Renault desperate to do well on their home turf. “The French round of the GP2 championship last year was not my best weekend,†Hamilton admits. “I had a coming together in the first race and therefore started race two in 19th. I did make my way up through the field to fifth to score some points, so it is possible to overtake here.†Meanwhile, Alonso says: “I have always liked racing at this track, when you hear people talk about circuits that are technical, Magny-Cours is definitely one of them. It is important to have good speed in the slow corners as they tend to lead on to long straights. You have to have good mechanical set-up for the corners and the same with traction for the exits. My favourite sections of the track are the two high-speed chicanes at the back of the circuit. We go through them at speeds of up to 200 km/h, which is very fast for a chicane; very special to drive through and unique in Formula One.†Over at Ferrari, Chairman Luca di Montezemolo has made subtle hints to Kimi Raikkonen that he expects him to be the man others fear, while Felipe Massa is his usual bubbly self. “I’m not sure what to expect at Magny-Cours, to be honest,†the Brazilian said, “but we will be pushing hard, if not for the win, then certainly to score good points again.†BMW Sauber and Renault are now fully engaged in battle for third place overall, and both will bring aerodynamic improvements to France. Renault believe they are making strong progress, and that they are now on a par with their immediate rival. Elsewhere, Honda signed off on some new mechanical and aero parts during their recent test in Jerez and hope for a ‘small improvement’ here. Toro Rosso will finally have the new seamless transmission already used by Red Bull Racing, and it showed well in last week’s test at Silverstone. “It is worth up to four-tenths of a second a lap, so we are very keen to see how it goes in qualifying,†Tonio Liuzzi says. And Spyker hope to have a significant aero revision ready for both cars. Magny-Cours has a very smooth surface and places a heavy premium on aerodynamic performance with its mix of very high-speed corners, fast chicanes and frequent sharp changes of direction. It also requires good brake performance and stability going into the chicane, and can be hard on tyres because the track temperature is often high. Bridgestone will be bringing its medium and soft compounds, and making the latter last each race stint will require a good chassis set-up. In general, the rear tyres take a beating accelerating out of the slower turns, while the fronts work hard during the directional changes. Overall, given the general similarity between Monaco and Magny-Cours - both are medium to high downforce tracks with some tight corners - it will be fascinating to see if McLaren have it all their own way this weekend, or whether Ferrari can fight back. Link
Brainy Posted 30 June 2007 Author Posted 30 June 2007 Drivers participated in a qualifying session earlier this afternoon. Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps 1 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:15.303 1:14.822 1:15.034 2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.805 1:14.795 1:15.104 3 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:14.872 1:14.828 1:15.257 4 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:15.778 1:15.066 1:15.493 5 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:16.047 1:15.227 1:15.674 6 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:15.524 1:15.272 1:15.826 7 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:15.783 1:15.149 1:15.900 8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:16.118 1:15.379 1:15.935 9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:16.092 1:15.331 1:16.328 10 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.322 1:15.084 11 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:15.760 1:15.534 12 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:16.113 1:15.584 13 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:16.140 1:15.761 14 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:15.746 1:15.806 15 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:15.980 1:16.049 16 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:15.915 17 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:16.142 18 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:16.241 19 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.244 20 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.366 21 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:17.826 22 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:17.915
Brainy Posted 1 July 2007 Author Posted 1 July 2007 French Grand Prix Result Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts 1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari Winner 2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari +2.4 secs 3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +32.1 secs 4 10 Robert Kubica BMW +41.7 secs 5 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW +48.8 secs 6 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault +52.2 secs 7 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes +56.5 secs 8 7 Jenson Button Honda +58.8 secs 9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota +68.5 secs 10 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota +1 Lap 11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda +1 Lap 12 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +1 Lap 13 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault +1 Lap 14 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota +1 Lap 15 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault +1 Lap 16 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda +2 Lap 17 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari +2 Lap Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari +15 Lap Ret 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari +42 Laps Ret 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda +69 Laps Ret 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota +69 Laps Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari + secs
Brainy Posted 1 July 2007 Author Posted 1 July 2007 Drivers Championship Standings potter3 64 pts Tommeh 50 Turtles-Head 44 Maybes 40 lildave3 26 sparky 13 Standupandsing 13 Walkers 12 callglombardirect 2 mat_j101 1 isaidno -1 Bertfox -1 Manwell_Pablo -2 Joeb -3 Brummie-FOX -4 City_4_Life -5 Isle Of Wight Fox -5 Flynny -8 bigneville -9 Sergio -11 Joe. -13 dandannieldanok -13
Brainy Posted 1 July 2007 Author Posted 1 July 2007 Constructors Championship Standings: McLaren 128 pts Ferrari 86 BMW 40 Renault 25 Williams 3 Toyota -5 Super Aguri -6 Honda -6 Red Bull -14 Toro Rosso -22 Spyker -24
dandannieldanok Posted 1 July 2007 Posted 1 July 2007 And to think he's better than his team mate. True, to be fair the crash was not his fault today, stupid Davidson
Brainy Posted 6 July 2007 Author Posted 6 July 2007 British Grand Preview cLaren's Lewis Hamilton firmly believes that he can win this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone - the first time he will ever race a Formula One car in front of his fellow countrymen. That is despite Ferrari’s speed here in recent testing and sudden return to form in Magny-Cours - and in spite of all the scandal that has blown up following allegations that a senior McLaren engineer received stolen intellectual property from Ferrari and the ensuing suspension of that engineer. Both of these factors will add to any pressure Hamilton feels racing at home, but he is convinced that he can join a long list of Britons who have won the British Grand Prix: Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks, Peter Collins, Jim Clark, David Coulthard, Sir Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell, John Watson, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert. “You can’t win every race, and the most important thing is to be consistent, which I think we are,†he said after finishing third at Magny-Cours. “Both the Ferrari drivers said they made a good step forward, but when you are behind people, as we were in Magny-Cours, it’s a lot harder to show your true pace. I don’t think they were as quick, as much faster than us, as it looked today. Traffic and strategy had a lot to do with that, so I still think we can bounce back at Silverstone, without a doubt. “I don’t think Ferrari’s sudden speed is worrying. It just shows they’ve made a great step forward and had a slightly better strategy than us. We were always on a three-stop strategy but what happened at the start affected that. After I had made my third pit stop I was a long way behind Felipe so there was no point in me wrenching the neck out of the engine trying to catch him. Throughout the race we were quite consistent on speed, but we need a little more. I am sure that we will make another improvement before Silverstone. “To be honest, in France I was not disappointed. I don’t like to be overtaken, but that’s the same for everyone. But I was on the podium again and we are the most consistent team and I think we are doing a better job. I have extended my lead in the World Championship, so I couldn’t be happier. “It is a great feeling to go to Silverstone as the World Championship leader. To do so certainly seemed unimaginable at the start of the season. I’m very, very happy with the job I’ve done and the team have done and I go into my first British GP with the team I always wanted to drive for, and that’s one of the greatest feelings a driver can have.†After scoring his (and Honda’s) first point of the season, Jenson Button is also feeling a little more upbeat ahead of his home race. “Silverstone will be fun because I have a lot of friends and family coming and the fans treat you the same way even when things are tough. The fans at Silverstone have always been fantastic and there are four Brits to cheer on, so the lead-up will be hectic.†David Coulthard and Anthony Davidson (in his first British Grand Prix) are both seeking points finishes for Red Bull and Super Aguri respectively, while BMW Sauber and Renault will re-engage their battle for third place overall as Williams look to do well on home ground, Toyota hope to reproduce the speed Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher displaced in the test here in June, and Toro Rosso hope their seamless shift gearbox will translate into Red Bull-matching lap times. With their factory just over the road from the circuit, Spyker would also like to take something good home from this one. On paper, however, Ferrari are looking very strong. “We are back where we expect to be. You could feel the improvement in the car everywhere, really. In every corner,†Raikkonen said after his second win of the season, which brought the score to two apiece for the four leading contenders. One thing that may well bring in a degree of uncertainty to the overall equation is the weather, with rain forecast for each day. link
Brainy Posted 7 July 2007 Author Posted 7 July 2007 2007 FORMULA 1™ Santander British Grand Prix 1 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.885 1:19.400 1:19.997 2 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:19.753 1:19.252 1:20.099 3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.330 1:19.152 1:20.147 4 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:19.790 1:19.421 1:20.265 5 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:20.294 1:20.054 1:20.401 6 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:20.513 1:19.860 1:20.516 7 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:20.570 1:20.077 1:20.721 8 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:20.842 1:20.042 1:20.775 9 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:20.534 1:20.178 1:20.894 10 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:21.150 1:20.133 1:21.240 11 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.583 1:20.235 12 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.154 1:20.329 13 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:20.830 1:20.350 14 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:21.169 1:20.364 15 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:20.834 1:20.515 16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:21.160 1:20.823 17 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.219 18 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:21.335 19 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:21.448 20 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:22.019 21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:22.045 22 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:22.589
Brainy Posted 8 July 2007 Author Posted 8 July 2007 British Grand Prix Result: os No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts 1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 59 Winner 2 10 2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 59 +2.4 secs 3 8 3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 59 +39.3 secs 1 6 4 10 Robert Kubica BMW 59 +53.3 secs 5 5 5 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 59 +54.0 secs 4 4 6 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 59 +56.3 secs 9 3 7 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 58 +1 Lap 7 2 8 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 58 +1 Lap 8 1 9 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 58 +1 Lap 14 10 7 Jenson Button Honda 58 +1 Lap 18 11 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 58 +1 Lap 12 12 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +1 Lap 17 13 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 58 +1 Lap 13 14 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 57 +2 Laps 21 15 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 57 +2 Laps 22 16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 53 +6 Laps 16 Ret 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 43 +16 Laps 10 Ret 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 35 +24 Laps 19 Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 29 +30 Laps 15 Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 22 +37 Laps 6 Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 16 +43 Laps 20 Ret 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 8 +51 Laps 11
Brainy Posted 8 July 2007 Author Posted 8 July 2007 Drivers Championship Standings: potter3 70 pts Tommeh 58 Maybes 50 Turtles-Head 48 lildave3 29 sparky 18 Walkers 14 Standupandsing 14 callglombarddirect 2 Mat_j101 1 Bert -1 Manwell_Pablo -2 isaidno -3 Brummie-FOX -4 Joeb -5 City_4_Life -7 Isle Of Wight Fox -7 Flynny - 8 bigneville -11 Sergio -11 dandannieldanok -15 Joe. -16
Brainy Posted 8 July 2007 Author Posted 8 July 2007 Constructors Championship Standings: McLaren 142 pts Ferrari 100 BMW 48 Renault 28 Williams 3 Honda -6 Super Aguri -8 Toyota -10 Red Bull -16 Spyker -26 Toro Rosso -27
Brainy Posted 20 July 2007 Author Posted 20 July 2007 The European Grand Preview Following two excellent victories, Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari start as clear favourites for this weekend’s European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Since Silverstone, Ferrari have tested strongly at Spa-Francorchamps and come to Germany with their tail up and on the hunt for more points to reduce the gap to McLaren. The latter, however, believe that they made improvements to their MP4-22 at Spa, where Lewis Hamilton was fastest on the only day that he ran. “Despite having a mixed weekend at Silverstone, we still came away from the track with a good haul of points and I am now really looking forward to getting back to the Nurburgring,†Hamilton said. “I had a great weekend there last year, taking my first double win of the year, and I enjoy driving the track. In 2005, I also won one race there in F3; my team ASM was powered by Mercedes-Benz, and as a result the support from the crowd was fantastic. “It will be great to race in front of them again, this time in the McLaren. I am sure the grandstands are going to be packed. The track has a very mixed layout, probably with more slow corners than anything else, so you need good traction for the acceleration on the exit. Through the first sector of the track you can really make up time, the corners are very slow so with good balance and under braking you can find the time.†The new Nurburgring is a relatively high downforce track, and there is plenty of grip from the surface itself. As a result, Bridgestone are bringing medium and soft compound tyres for the weekend. Besides being their home race, Mercedes-Benz also have another reason to celebrate here, as it is the 80th anniversary of their first win at Nurburgring. Considerations of racing at home also make this an important weekend for both BMW Sauber, fighting hard with Renault to stay clear in third place overall in the constructors’ world championship, and Toyota, who are based in Cologne. It is also going to be crucial to the career of young German Markus Winkelhock, who will be bringing a famous name back to Formula One racing this weekend as he joins fellow countryman Adrian Sutil at Spyker. The son of former Formula One and sportscar racer, the late Manfred, Winkelhock replaces the departed Christijan Albers in the team. “Obviously it's a dream come true,†the 27-year-old from Stuttgart said. “I haven't had much time in the car this year but I'm physically and mentally prepared. It's a one-off opportunity at the moment and I will make the most of it.†Team principal Colin Kolles said: “I am pleased to be able to reward Markus for his patience and loyalty to the team over the last 18 months with his F1 debut at the Nurburgring. It's very much a one-off race at the moment as we need some more time to decide who will be Adrian's partner for the rest of the year.†Though the race is taking place two months later than usual, it is unlikely that it will experience better weather than is the norm in May; the weather forecast suggests there will be showers in the region each day. Link
Brainy Posted 21 July 2007 Author Posted 21 July 2007 2007 FORMULA 1™ Grand Prix of Europe 1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:31.522 1:31.237 1:31.450 2 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.074 1:30.983 1:31.741 3 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:31.447 1:30.912 1:31.778 4 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:31.889 1:31.652 1:31.840 5 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:31.961 1:31.444 1:32.123 6 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:32.629 1:31.661 1:32.476 7 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:32.594 1:31.783 1:32.478 8 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:32.381 1:31.859 1:32.501 9 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:32.446 1:31.843 1:32.570 10 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.587 1:31.185 1:33.833 11 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:32.117 1:31.978 12 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:32.173 1:31.996 13 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:32.378 1:32.010 14 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:32.674 1:32.221 15 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:32.793 1:32.451 16 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:32.678 1:32.838 17 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:32.983 18 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:33.038 19 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:33.148 20 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:33.151 21 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:34.500 22 21 Markus Winkelhock Spyker-Ferrari 1:35.940
Brainy Posted 22 July 2007 Author Posted 22 July 2007 European Grand Prix Result 1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 60 2:06:26.358 2 10 2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 60 +8.1 secs 3 8 3 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 60 +65.6 secs 6 6 4 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 60 +65.9 secs 12 5 5 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 60 +73.6 secs 20 4 6 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 60 +80.2 secs 4 3 7 10 Robert Kubica BMW 60 +82.4 secs 5 2 8 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 59 +1 Lap 7 1 9 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 10 10 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 59 +1 Lap 13 11 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 59 +1 Lap 14 12 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 59 +1 Lap 15 13 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 59 +1 Lap 8 Ret 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 34 Hydraulics 1 Ret 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 19 Hydraulics 16 Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 18 Accident 9 Ret 21 Markus Winkelhock Spyker-Ferrari 13 Hydraulics 22 Ret 7 Jenson Button Honda 2 Spin 17 Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 2 Spin 21 Ret 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 2 Spin 11 Ret 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 2 Spin 18 Ret 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 2 Spin 19
Brainy Posted 22 July 2007 Author Posted 22 July 2007 Drivers Championship Standings: European Grand Prix Result potter3 70 pts Tommeh 68 Turtles-Head 56 Maybes 48 lildave3 32 sparky 20 Walkers 15 Standupandsing 14 callglombarddirect 7 City_4_Life -1 Mat_j101 -2 Manwell_Pablo -2 Bert -3 isaidno -3 Flynny -4 Brummie-FOX -7 Isle Of Wight Fox -7 Joeb -8 Sergio -8 bigneville -14 dandannieldanok -18 Joe. -19
Brainy Posted 22 July 2007 Author Posted 22 July 2007 Constructors Championship Standings: McLaren 152 pts Ferrari 106 BMW 53 Renault 29 Williams 5 Red Bull -6 Honda -9 Super Aguri -10 Toyota -13 Spyker -31 Toro Rosso -32
Brainy Posted 2 August 2007 Author Posted 2 August 2007 The Hungarian Grand Preview Don’t expect a happy atmosphere between Ferrari and McLaren in Hungary this weekend as the two top teams go head-to-head again on the track after doing so recently in official hearings. As Formula One racing returns to a high-downforce circuit, McLaren are hoping that they will be able to enjoy the performance advantage they had in Monaco; Ferrari, however, believe they have made significant improvements to their F2007 since then. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is confident that he can defend his world championship lead this weekend. “We had a productive test in Jerez,†he reported. “I was there for a day and spent the time focusing on set-up and development work for Hungary, in the hot and dusty conditions. Following a mistake on my out lap in qualifying, I started at the back of the grid in GP2 here last year. “It was not a great start to the weekend, but I managed to work my way back up through the field, which was a good learning experience of the track - how to drive it and where it is possible to pass, which is notoriously difficult. I quite like the circuit; it is quite quick considering how tight it is. You have gradient changes, some high and low speed corners and a good chicane up the back. There is one bump right at the back, which is so easy to catch you out, that is what happened to me in qualifying last year. “We have as good a chance as anyone at the race. We have a great car and it is important that I go with a clear mind and the same approach as normal, but there is no reason why we can’t go there and win.†Since there is really only one overtaking place at the Hungaroring - the entry to the first corner - qualifying is always very important here, even at the expense of ideal race strategy, so expect even more of a shoot-out in all three sessions. Ferrari and McLaren will vie for the first two rows barring problems, with BMW Sauber again challenged by Renault and, on recent form, possibly Toyota and Williams, for row three. Renault in particular are still smarting after some self-confessed mistakes early in the race at Nurburgring, which they feel cost them strong points finishes, and further work at Jerez is believed to have honed the car around the new front wing with which they were very pleased in Germany. Red Bull have their tail up after strong performances from Mark Webber and David Coulthard at the European race, so it will be very tough in the midfield. Over at Honda, Jenson Button’s best chance of repeating his 2006 breakthrough victory is if race conditions are affected by the weather. Among the smaller teams, BMW Sauber have released their reserve and test driver Sebastian Vettel, and he now replaces Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed alongside Tonio Liuzzi. Vettel is contracted in the long-term to Red Bull. BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen said: “As our test and reserve driver, Sebastian has carried out sterling work for us. When he stood in for Robert Kubica in the US Grand Prix he made history by becoming the youngest debutant to earn a world championship point. However, the current testing rules mean that he barely gets a chance to drive for us. Now he has been offered the opportunity to get inside a Toro Rosso cockpit. We have sponsored and coached Sebastian over a number of years. To place obstacles in his career path now would go against our concept of talent promotion.†Meanwhile, at Spyker, Markus Winkelhock’s tenure of Christijan Albers’s old seat is over as former Jordan and Super Aguri driver Sakon Yamamoto will be back in harness. Team principal Colin Kolles said: “Sakon is a very good all-round package. We were very clear that the driver we chose needed to bring a certain financial benefit, but needed to have good, relevant experience too. Sakon has both covered. He has driven on all of the circuits we are going to in the second half of the season, except for Spa, which will be an advantage to the team as we move forward.†Besides the fact that overtaking is so difficult, the Hungaroring poses other problems for the teams. The track is usually very ‘green’ on Friday, and won’t really have rubbered-in fully until Saturday afternoon. Thus, they will have to be very precise with their set-ups to avoid graining problems with Bridgestone’s softer tyre in the low-grip conditions. The Japanese company will be bringing the same soft and super-soft compounds that were used in Monaco and Canada. link
Brainy Posted 4 August 2007 Author Posted 4 August 2007 Drivers participated in a qualifying session earlier this afternoon. 1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.425 1:19.661 1:19.674 17 2 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.570 1:19.301 1:19.781 17 3 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:20.751 1:20.322 1:20.259 22 4 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:20.435 1:20.107 1:20.410 19 5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:20.547 1:20.188 1:20.632 22 6 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:20.449 1:20.455 1:20.714 24 7 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:20.366 1:20.703 1:20.876 23 8 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:21.645 1:20.590 1:21.079 25 9 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:20.481 1:19.951 1:21.206 20 10 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.794 1:20.439 1:21.256 22 11 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.291 1:20.718 12 12 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:20.285 1:20.779 12 13 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:21.243 1:20.865 18 14 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.408 1:21.021 9 15 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:21.018 1:21.127 12 16 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:21.730 1:21.993 16 17 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:21.737 6 18 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:21.877 6 19 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:22.143 6 20 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:22.177 7 21 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:22.737 9 22 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:23.774 7
Brainy Posted 5 August 2007 Author Posted 5 August 2007 Hamilton inherits pole as Alonso and McLaren penalized Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix from first on the grid after original polesitter, McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso, was deemed to have impeded the Englishman during qualifying. Alonso has been demoted to sixth by the stewards, who decided he had unnecessarily delayed Hamilton during their final Q3 pitstops. McLaren were also punished for the incident and will not be eligible for constructors’ points in the race, though the team are to appeal this decision. Hamilton missed out on the chance of a final flying lap in qualifying after he was forced to wait for Alonso to leave his pit. McLaren told stewards that they had ordered the champion to hold for 20 seconds to gain track position. However, he then remained stationary for a further 10 seconds. Alonso claimed the additional delay was because he was asking whether the correct set of tyres had been fitted to his car. He said he was unable to ask this in the prior 20 seconds, as radio communication was impossible due to his engineer giving him the countdown to leave. “The explanation given by Alonso as to why at the expiration of the 20 second period he remained in his pit stop position for a further 10 seconds is not accepted,†said officials. “The Stewards find that he unnecessarily impeded another driver, Hamilton, and as a result he will be penalised by a loss of 5 grid positions.†Neither did the stewards accept McLaren’s explanation concerning the original 20-second delay: “Reference to the circuit map shows that at the time Alonso was told he would be held for 20 seconds there were but 4 cars on the circuit, his own and those of Fisichella, Hamilton and Raikkonen. All but Raikkonen entered the pits such that there can have been no necessity to keep Alonso in the pits for 20 seconds waiting for a convenient gap in traffic in which to leave.†The stewards’ statement continued: “The actions of the team in the final minutes of Qualifying are considered prejudicial to the interests of the competition and to the interests of motor sport generally. The penalty to be applied is that such points (if any) in the 2007 Formula One Constructors Championship as accrue to the team as a result of their participation in the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix will be withdrawn.†McLaren will now race under appeal, with any constructors’ points they score in Hungary remaining provisional until that appeal is heard at a later date. Alonso has no right of appeal over his penalty. In a separate incident, Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella was also demoted five places on the grid after he was deemed to have impeded Spyker's Sakon Yamamoto on track during Q1. Fisichella drops from eighth to 13th in the starting order.
lildave3 Posted 5 August 2007 Posted 5 August 2007 Yes Scott Speed! He's trying bless him. Hasn't he left now?
Brainy Posted 5 August 2007 Author Posted 5 August 2007 Yeah he has. Joe, your new driver is Sebastian Vettel. Sergio's new driver is Sakon Yamamoto.
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