Formula-1 2010

[MasterDon]

Qualifying - a R*D B*LL front row in Melbourne

http://www.formula1.com/news

R*D B*LL annexed the front row of the starting grid for Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, courtesy of poleman Sebastian Vettel and local hero Mark Webber. The German set the fastest time of the weekend on his first runs in Q3, with 1m 23.919s. Webber’s best was 1m 24.035s. Neither improved on their second runs.

Fernando Alonso put Ferrari a lot closer than they had been in Bahrain with third fastest time of 1m 24.111s, then there was a gap to Jenson Button’s second-run best of 1m 24.675s for McLaren. Felipe Massa challenged that for Ferrari on his second run, but came up short with 1m 24.837s for fifth.

Nico Rosberg once again outqualified Mercedes partner Michael Schumacher, with 1m 24.884s, but the multiple champion was a lot closer than of late with 1m 24.927s. Rubens Barrichello put Williams eighth in the line-up with 1m 25.217s ahead of Robert Kubica for Renault with 1m 25.372s, while the faster Force India of Adrian Sutil completed the top 10 with 1m 26.036s.

The surprise of Q2 was Lewis Hamilton’s failure to get through to Q3. The Briton’s McLaren was clearly not au point when he lapped it in 1m 28.586s on his first run, and though he was able to get out towards the end, 1m 25.184s missed out on Q3 by 0.064s.

Behind the 2008 world champion, the times were incredibly close. Sebastien Buemi was 12th for Toro Rosso with 1m 25.638s ahead of Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi on 1m 25.743s, BMW Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa on 1m 25.747s, Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg on 1m 25.748s and Kamui Kobayashi, who had a great catch as his BMW Sauber oversteered viciously through the final turn, on 1m 25.777s. Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari was 17th on 1m 26.089s.

Out in the first session went Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, whose 1m 26.471s left him 17th. Once again Heikki Kovalainen led the new teams, with 1m 28.797s for Lotus. Team mate Jarno Trulli backed him with 1m 29.111s, just ahead of Virgin’s Timo Glock on 1m 29.592s and his team mate Lucas Di Grassi on 1m 30.185s.

Both HRTs kept running and weren’t far off Virgin’s pace, with Bruno Senna taking 23rd ahead of Karun Chandhok, 1m 30.526s to 1m 30.613s.

[esdeez]

Source: Speedtv.com

Jenson Button won the second round of the Formula One world championship in a dramatic Australian Grand Prix Sunday.

Button inherited the lead when pole sitter Sebastian Vettel suffered mechanical problems for the second race in a row losing a left front brake on lap 26.

The drama began prior to the race when rain began to fall. Teams started on the intermediate wet tires and the action began at the start when Button, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher collided in the first corner, with the McLaren spinning the Ferrari into the Mercedes.

On the second lap Sebastian Buemi, Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi were all involved in a crash at Turn 5 that started when, for the third time of the weekend, Kobayashi’s machine lost the front wing. The safety car was deployed until lap 5.

Button’s team gambled and dove in first to change to soft slick tires on lap 6 as soon as the field went green. That appeared at first to be the wrong move as Button slid on the drying track and went off momentarily at turn 3. A few laps later the rest of the field was forced to pit and change to slicks. After being handed the lead, Button managed over 50 laps with the tires while most, including his teammate Hamilton, saw theirs go away. The defending world champion would go on to score his first victory for McLaren and score the first repeat win on the same track in his career.

Robert Kubica ran a brilliant race bringing the Renault home in second after charging from ninth on the opening lap. Alonso was third followed by teammate Felipe Massa in fourth. Nico Rosberg rounded out the top five.

During the second half of the race, a furious battle ensued for fourth through sixth as Massa held off Alonso who in turn had his hands full with Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton meanwhile was forced to hold off Mark Webber. With three laps to go Hamilton finally got to Alonso, but as Hamilton was trying to pass the Ferrari on the outside he was hit and turned by Webber. Both cars suffered heavy damage but were able to continue; Hamilton finished sixth and Webber ninth with Tonio Liuzzi in seventh and Rubens Barrichello eighth.

Schumacher damaged his front wing during the first incident and was forced in for repairs. He was never able to fight his way back through the field and fought with Jamie Alguersuari nearly the entire race finally passing him in the final laps and taking the final points paying spot in tenth.

A total of 10 cars retired before the race was over, with Heikki Kovalainen and Karun Chandhok the only drivers of the four new teams for 2010 to finish the race under power.

Awesome race imo. Much better than Bahrain...

[isurujosh]

i feel sorry for the driver that i hate most, "hamilton". but i am beginning to like the competetive racer inside him.

[MasterDon]

yeah i dont like hamilton too,but he is a great driver no doubt..props for button too for making those tyres last for 50 laps...but the real talent at oz was alonso,the way he fought back to finish fourth after the first lap incident was amazing.

all in all a much better race than boring bahrain.

Btw MADZ was at the aussie gp i think...hope he'll upload some pics here soon...

[esdeez]

I agree. Although I have reservations against hamilton he no doubt drove a good race.

The real casualty in my opinion was vettel as this is the 2nd time his car has let him down whilst leading.

Its nice to see strategy prevailing again despite no refueling, and button really nailed it with that brave move to pit so early.

[GTAm]

yeah i dont like hamilton too,but he is a great driver no doubt..props for button too for making those tyres last for 50 laps...but the real talent at oz was alonso,the way he fought back to finish fourth after the first lap incident was amazing.

all in all a much better race than boring bahrain.

Btw MADZ was at the aussie gp i think...hope he'll upload some pics here soon...

Yes Alonso showed that he's real champ material. reminded me of the old MS charges from the rear. Talking of MS looks like his come back isn't the greatest career move.

Sad for Vettel though. That R*D B*LL does have wings but they keep falling off.

[MADZ]

hay guys check this out...!!

The full collection is available at Autolanka Gallery

[miniace]

Great and rare pics! Thanks Madz for sharing! BTW Im so jealous

MINIACE

[isurujosh]

Its nice to see strategy prevailing again despite no refueling, and button really nailed it with that brave move to pit so early.

he had no other choice.

Edited March 31, 2010 by isurujosh

[MADZ]

Great and rare pics! Thanks Madz for sharing! BTW Im so jealous

MINIACE

thanks miniace ! haha dont be jealous now machan wait till next year...i 'might' get a chance to go inside the pits & talk with drivers and the crew..

[miniace]

what a water battle at Sepang Qualifying.Finally Webber's Bridgestone intermediate gambled paid really well.Its going to be another great race on Sunday!

MINIACE

[esdeez]

Definitely, With both Ferraris and the mclarens at the back it should be good. Qualifying was unusually action packed, i hope the race is just as good if not better.

[isurujosh]

again hamilton showed his racing spirit and talent. button was diminished to the cry baby that he is. weldone alonso for keeping a faulty car going strong for so long but u r no match for hamilton when it comes to overtaking.

this season has proved that adrian newey is the real deal out there.

oh and also, michael must be starting to get worried now.

[esdeez]

Buton still did a good job of making his tyres last, just bad strategy again...

I really wasnt impressed with lewis' double weaving though.... But bar that, an awesome and yes competitive drive displayed.

Lets not forget the force india of adrian sutil finishing respectively high up the order...

Full credit to rbr, finally the result they deserved for along time.

Edited April 4, 2010 by esdeez

[KLM]

again hamilton showed his racing spirit and talent. button was diminished to the cry baby that he is. weldone alonso for keeping a faulty car going strong for so long but u r no match for hamilton when it comes to overtaking.

this season has proved that adrian newey is the real deal out there.

oh and also, michael must be starting to get worried now.

Lewis was lucky to not get a drive through penalty for the atrocious weaving across the track. You're allowed 1 move in defense of a position and he made about 4. He got the black/white flag for dangerous driving but many of his peers seem to think that it wasn't enough. Even Michael at his worst never did anything as stupid as that. I didn't see Button crying or whining at all, he did a reasonable job like the professional that he is.

I don't think Adrian Newey has anything to prove in F1 after designing so many title-winning cars with Williams and McLaren. Michael is still only a couple of tenths off Rosberg, so I'm hopeful that his rustiness wears off soon.

Sadly, with the way the soft tire is refusing to degrade, we are in for some boring races in unless it rains in qualifying.

[Elvis_Pil]

Adrian Newey was responsible for the creation of the Williams car of 1992 and its successor of 93 and 94- all three pulled off the Constructors championships with ease. The 92 car was an utter domination of a machine- with Mansell pulling off the Drivers title so early in the season that it was a record at the time. The car also hit the record for the most number of pole positions in a single season!!!The FW14's were hailed as among the most technologically advanced cars ever to grace F1. He also influenced William's success in 96 and 97. And was behind Mclaren's late 90's championships with Mika Hakkinen. He's a legend in his own right- real deal or not

Just like Newey- Shumi has nothing to prove or be 'worried about'- Sure Rosberg is doing well- which should not come as a surprise, based on his previous season. the old man has nothing to be worried about.. he's achieved all there is to.

LH: I don't think weaving like that qualifies for any 'racing spirit'- just went to show how insecure he was against a rookie in a less competitive car

LH better than Alonso at overtaking? Remains to be seen IMO, only a die-hard LH, newer F1 fan would say that I guess. But LH does not have a move anywhere near Nando's 130R maneuver on Shumi in '05

Edited April 5, 2010 by Elvis_Pil

[miniace]

Heard Hamilton was only warned for his excessive weaving on the pit straight and no futher action was taken by FIA.Guess that unfair. Vitaly Petrov in the Renault really enjoyed some spirited racing with Hamilton and showed his kinda racing to the former world champion.

Vettel was third time lucky for RB.Very well deserve win for him.Not impressed with MS' performace..guess he still plays a cautious and too much into gentleman F1 driving.

MINIACE

[isurujosh]

Heard Hamilton was only warned for his excessive weaving on the pit straight and no futher action was taken by FIA.Guess that unfair. Vitaly Petrov in the Renault really enjoyed some spirited racing with Hamilton and showed his kinda racing to the former world champion.

Vettel was third time lucky for RB.Very well deserve win for him.Not impressed with MS' performace..guess he still plays a cautious and too much into gentleman F1 driving.

MINIACE

gentleman driving by schumi???

[esdeez]

Perhaps in hamiltons defense the racing got the better of him. Sure its easy to say he should be more disciplined, but lets not forget the controversial moves schumi made back in the day.... And even ayrton senna had more than his fair share of 'unfair driving style' remarks. The really sad part is the FIA, who imo should have penalised him, or else how is he or any other young driver going to learn and take it to heart?

[GTAm]

LH is proving to be more of a DH (Dick Head) this season. The only good thing about him this season is his DDH (Daddy Dick Head) does not show up anymore!

Anyway full marks to Petrov. I had my doubts about him but it was a great move briefly taking back the place from DH. Oh I mean LH.

Really bad luck for Alonso but I thought he did the right thing in making that risky (for the car) move on Jenson.

[isurujosh]

schumi has nothing to prove??? if his come back goes as it is now then i wonder how many people who used to call him "the greatest" will still call him that. no doubt, he will still be "one of the greatest" even if his come back goes very wrong. but then not many will call him "the greatest". i think schumi has now put him self in a position where he has to prove again that he's the greatest.

you hamilton haters especially ferrari fanatics, learn to live with imperfect decisions and on the margin foul play. have you not known schumacher? even a very nice bloke like kimi in ferrari has made questionable moves and gone scot-free. case and point spa 2009, cutting turns to gain an advantage, i think against a bmw.

oh speaking of nando... how about nando keeping spy-gate a secret until he started fighting with ron dennis? oh and don't tell me he knew nothing of crash-gate!!! if hamilton is a dick head so is nando your lead-driver.

[Supra_Natural]

schumi has nothing to prove??? if his come back goes as it is now then i wonder how many people who used to call him "the greatest" will still call him that. no doubt, he will still be "one of the greatest" even if his come back goes very wrong. but then not many will call him "the greatest". i think schumi has now put him self in a position where he has to prove again that he's the greatest.

you hamilton haters especially ferrari fanatics, learn to live with imperfect decisions and on the margin foul play. have you not known schumacher? even a very nice bloke like kimi in ferrari has made questionable moves and gone scot-free. case and point spa 2009, cutting turns to gain an advantage, i think against a bmw.

oh speaking of nando... how about nando keeping spy-gate a secret until he started fighting with ron dennis? oh and don't tell me he knew nothing of crash-gate!!! if hamilton is a dick head so is nando your lead-driver.

Whats with the hamilton love? he certainly aint no saint, just a talented bloke who made his F1 debut with one of the top teams (Something not very many drivers can do) and therefore managed to put up a great performance straight off the bat. His behaviour over the last couple of seasons has been markedly DH-ish. He certainly does seem to have a sense of entitlement at the very least.

As for schumi, I dont think he reallyhas anything left to prove. Even if this come back goes badly for him, his record does the talking. By most objective standards the man is the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time.

[Pericles]

As for schumi, I dont think he reallyhas anything left to prove. Even if this come back goes badly for him, his record does the talking. By most objective standards the man is the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time.

Shades of Jordan's second comeback with the Wizards?

[isurujosh]

Whats with the hamilton love? he certainly aint no saint, just a talented bloke who made his F1 debut with one of the top teams (Something not very many drivers can do) and therefore managed to put up a great performance straight off the bat. His behaviour over the last couple of seasons has been markedly DH-ish. He certainly does seem to have a sense of entitlement at the very least.

As for schumi, I dont think he reallyhas anything left to prove. Even if this come back goes badly for him, his record does the talking. By most objective standards the man is the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time.

of course hamilton is no saint. he has a big ego and an urge to win at any cost and i like that in a racer. i like the drama that he creates. f1 without him will be lot more boring.

of course itz just my opinion. no one is righteous.

but i gotta make a comment about dick head's rookie season. look no further than (nico hulkenberg vs. rubens) and (hamilton vs. nando) comprisions to put hamiltons rookie season into perspective.

Edited April 7, 2010 by isurujosh

[GTAm]

but i gotta make a comment about dick head's rookie season. look no further than (nico hulkenberg vs. rubens) and (hamilton vs. nando) comprisions to put hamiltons rookie season into perspective.

.............When one has Saint Ronald Dennis, the whole of minute particle free McLaren, the whole English speaking British earth molly coddling, pampering and singing ones praises before one can even get into ones' racing underpants, all the while conveniently ignoring ones' double world champion team-mate totally and all other such foreign bodies on the rest of the grid, How on earth can one such rookie fail?