It's time for the Hungarian Grand Prix. After this race, we have the summer break, so at least I won't be missing two races while I'm away! I'll try and get some time off on Wednesday to get home and watch the race on iPlayer. Hooray for the BBC!
Karun Chandhok, once again, was not in his car, giving it over to Yamamoto. Instead, he was with the BBC guys. He is incredibly knowledgeable about formula 1 facts, without having to look it up on the internet like me. I'm very impressed. Last week, his knowledge meant £50 went to charity from another commentator.
This time last year was a bad race for Ferrari thanks to the horrific accident suffered by Filipe Massa in qualifying. A metal coil hit his helmet, and he spun off into the wall. The tyre marks from that accident are still on display at the track, having not been removed by the rain. But Massa's performance over the last year shows that the accident didn't affect him too much, and he still has what it takes to (almost) win an F1 race.
Interesting comment from Christian Horner at Red Bull: in Istanbul this year, Red Bull faced a similar situation to Ferrari in Hockenheim. However, they let their drivers compete, and it ended up that MacLaren won. While it was not so good for Red Bull, it made for a much more exciting race.
It looks from Practice 1 and 2 that Petrov is going to be the surprise good driver this weekend, so keep an eye on him during the race. If he does well, he could retain his place at Renault next season. Also, Red Bull and Ferrari have been the two fastest teams, with Renault and MacLaren further behind. I don't usually make predictions, but barring accidents I'd say the competition will be between Webber, Vettel and Alonso.
Just a reminder: I will probably not be online for the next week. I might get to catch up with the race on Wednesday, and I'll post my thoughts then if I do. Otherwise, I'll be back for the start of the qualifying for Euro 2012. Yes, it really does start this early.
30/07/2010
27/07/2010
Appologies
Hi readers!
Unfortunately I'm away from this Saturday until a week on Sunday. Sucks, especially with a Grand Prix on. I might be able to get a post in about it midweek, and I'll definitely have a pre-race preview on the Friday. However, don't expect anything much next week.
Isla
Unfortunately I'm away from this Saturday until a week on Sunday. Sucks, especially with a Grand Prix on. I might be able to get a post in about it midweek, and I'll definitely have a pre-race preview on the Friday. However, don't expect anything much next week.
Isla
26/07/2010
FIA Regulations
I've been looking through the various FIA regulations – sporting and technical – to see what the regulations and penalties are with regards to the events in Germany. But there's some very interesting regulations within that I'd like to share as well:
1. Although most penalties given due to incidents in a race are pit lane drive-throughs, other penalties can also be given, including stopping for ten seconds at a driver's garage in the pits before continuing.
2. This is how the commentators tell the difference between the team cars: the first car has a florescent red on-board camera, and the second car has a florescent yellow one. I'd assume 'first car' means the one with the lowest number, so Jenson Button would have a red camera, and Lewis Hamilton would have a yellow one.
3. The control of the use of tyres in the race is very strict. In practice 1 (P1) and P2, only three sets of tyres are allocated, two of the 'prime' tyre and one of 'option'. After P1, one of the 'prime' sets is put out of use, and then after P2 the other two sets are put out of use. The other eight dry tyres that the drivers are allowed are then released to the teams, but they have to give one of each type back before P3. So drivers are left with three of each type of tyre for the race – which should be fine, as using six sets of tyres in a race is crazy! They also have four intermediate sets (damp) and three wet sets. The wet ones run out a lot more quickly, but I suppose if it was that wet, they'd stop the race.
4. Fortunately, the 'use the tyres you qualified on' rule only applies to dry weather tyres, and if it's still dry at the start of the race.
5. There are very specific times in which the three practice and three qualification periods are set out, so I'm not sure why Formula 1 show the next race timetable on their website all the time! Q2, for example, will almost always take place between 14.27 and 14.42 on the day before the race unless (as happened last weekend) there's an incident in Q1 requiring red flags.
6. The FIA are very concerned about press relations, and require up to five drivers to attend a press conference the day before P1. And they make sure the times of this fit will European schedules, with North/South American races having a morning press conference (otherwise, it's in the afternoon). They also have one at 16.00 on the first day of the event, with 3-6 randomly selected drivers. In fact, all drivers have to make themselves available to the press if they go out in Q1 or Q2, and after Q3 if they don't have to go to the 16.00 press conference. Similarly if they retire during the race. So note to everyone who wants to be in F1: you have to be prepared to talk to the press, because regulations mean you can't say no.
7. There are very strict regulations on what happens at different time periods before the race. For example: all tyres must be fitted by three minutes before the formation lap. If this is disobeyed, drivers will receive a ten second stop penalty in the pit lane.
8. Here's one Michael Schumacher should have read up on before Monaco: if the safety car is going round and comes in, drivers can overtake after they've crossed the first safety car line. However, if it's the last lap then this rule doesn't apply and cars have to pass the chequered flag without overtaking.
9. I can't find anything specifically relating to what happened between Massa and Alonso, but it was probably a breach of the FIA code in that it seems to come under “Any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally.” I'd appreciate an correction on this point if you can find it.
Remember, I did all this so you don't have to. And I'm not 11points, which is why there are only 9.
Correction: Article 39.1 of the FIA Sporting regulations says that team orders that interfere with a race result are prohibited. But Massa claims that he would have moved over anyway as he was struggling with the tyres. Ferrari, meanwhile, have received the largest possible fine for this action.
1. Although most penalties given due to incidents in a race are pit lane drive-throughs, other penalties can also be given, including stopping for ten seconds at a driver's garage in the pits before continuing.
2. This is how the commentators tell the difference between the team cars: the first car has a florescent red on-board camera, and the second car has a florescent yellow one. I'd assume 'first car' means the one with the lowest number, so Jenson Button would have a red camera, and Lewis Hamilton would have a yellow one.
3. The control of the use of tyres in the race is very strict. In practice 1 (P1) and P2, only three sets of tyres are allocated, two of the 'prime' tyre and one of 'option'. After P1, one of the 'prime' sets is put out of use, and then after P2 the other two sets are put out of use. The other eight dry tyres that the drivers are allowed are then released to the teams, but they have to give one of each type back before P3. So drivers are left with three of each type of tyre for the race – which should be fine, as using six sets of tyres in a race is crazy! They also have four intermediate sets (damp) and three wet sets. The wet ones run out a lot more quickly, but I suppose if it was that wet, they'd stop the race.
4. Fortunately, the 'use the tyres you qualified on' rule only applies to dry weather tyres, and if it's still dry at the start of the race.
5. There are very specific times in which the three practice and three qualification periods are set out, so I'm not sure why Formula 1 show the next race timetable on their website all the time! Q2, for example, will almost always take place between 14.27 and 14.42 on the day before the race unless (as happened last weekend) there's an incident in Q1 requiring red flags.
6. The FIA are very concerned about press relations, and require up to five drivers to attend a press conference the day before P1. And they make sure the times of this fit will European schedules, with North/South American races having a morning press conference (otherwise, it's in the afternoon). They also have one at 16.00 on the first day of the event, with 3-6 randomly selected drivers. In fact, all drivers have to make themselves available to the press if they go out in Q1 or Q2, and after Q3 if they don't have to go to the 16.00 press conference. Similarly if they retire during the race. So note to everyone who wants to be in F1: you have to be prepared to talk to the press, because regulations mean you can't say no.
7. There are very strict regulations on what happens at different time periods before the race. For example: all tyres must be fitted by three minutes before the formation lap. If this is disobeyed, drivers will receive a ten second stop penalty in the pit lane.
8. Here's one Michael Schumacher should have read up on before Monaco: if the safety car is going round and comes in, drivers can overtake after they've crossed the first safety car line. However, if it's the last lap then this rule doesn't apply and cars have to pass the chequered flag without overtaking.
9. I can't find anything specifically relating to what happened between Massa and Alonso, but it was probably a breach of the FIA code in that it seems to come under “Any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally.” I'd appreciate an correction on this point if you can find it.
Remember, I did all this so you don't have to. And I'm not 11points, which is why there are only 9.
Correction: Article 39.1 of the FIA Sporting regulations says that team orders that interfere with a race result are prohibited. But Massa claims that he would have moved over anyway as he was struggling with the tyres. Ferrari, meanwhile, have received the largest possible fine for this action.
25/07/2010
Formula 1 Race Eleven: Race
Front Runners
Today's race saw few retirements, and one big controversy: Ferrari. The two Ferraris qualified second and third, but as Vettel tried to force Alonso into the wall, he forgot about Massa and the Brazillian was able to come flying through. Alonso fell in behind Massa, and Vettel went third. Webber was fourth, and Button and Hamilton were fifth and sixth.
Vettel was first to pit, followed by Alonso, Webber and Hamilton. Button was last of the front runners to pit, gaining a reasonable lead that put him into the race ahead of his teammate – who was ahead of Webber.
For the most part, this formation didn't change for the rest of the race, except at the front. Massa was, at some points, going slower than Alonso, and eventually Alonso caught up with his teammate. This is where the controversy comes in. While everyone would have loved to see a battle between the two Ferraris, instead, engineer Rob Smedley was told to tell Massa that Alonso was faster than him – a 'coded' message that anyone could interpret: let Alonso overtake.
But in the end, they didn't finish so far apart, and it ruined a good race without any safety cars. It marred Alonso's victory, and will probably put a lot of tension within the team too. It is illegal to manipulate race standings in this way in the FIA regulations, and has been since Ferrari did the same thing in 2002. It remains to be seen what, if any, penalty will arise.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa, second-oldest man on track, had a great race at first. His team, BMW Sauber, seemed to be doing the same thing that they'd done for Kobayashi in Valencia. He did pit in lap 53, but a tap with Kovalainen near the end meant that he had to take a second stop. But Kovalainen didn't come off so well, being forced to retire in lap 63 – four laps before the end of the race.
Force India
Both Force India drivers had five place penalties because of unscheduled gearbox changes. Sutil started 19th, and Liuzzi started 23rd (Di Grassi was last for the same reason). They did well enough, but had some bad pit stops right at the start of the race after getting the two cars mixed up. Each driver was given tyres for the others' cars, which was against FIA regulations, so they had to stop again to get the right tyres. In the end, Sutil finished 17th because he had a third pit stop, and Liuzzi finished 16th.
New Teams
None of the new teams did fantastically – in fact, all six drivers came almost last, with only Buemi having a worse position thanks to losing his wing in the first lap. Trulli was next out with car problems, and although Lotus got him going again initially, he only made one more lap before retiring properly. Senna (Hispania) and Glock (Virgin) were the only two drivers from the new teams to finish.
The next race is in Hungary, in just one week's time. See you then!
Today's race saw few retirements, and one big controversy: Ferrari. The two Ferraris qualified second and third, but as Vettel tried to force Alonso into the wall, he forgot about Massa and the Brazillian was able to come flying through. Alonso fell in behind Massa, and Vettel went third. Webber was fourth, and Button and Hamilton were fifth and sixth.
Vettel was first to pit, followed by Alonso, Webber and Hamilton. Button was last of the front runners to pit, gaining a reasonable lead that put him into the race ahead of his teammate – who was ahead of Webber.
For the most part, this formation didn't change for the rest of the race, except at the front. Massa was, at some points, going slower than Alonso, and eventually Alonso caught up with his teammate. This is where the controversy comes in. While everyone would have loved to see a battle between the two Ferraris, instead, engineer Rob Smedley was told to tell Massa that Alonso was faster than him – a 'coded' message that anyone could interpret: let Alonso overtake.
But in the end, they didn't finish so far apart, and it ruined a good race without any safety cars. It marred Alonso's victory, and will probably put a lot of tension within the team too. It is illegal to manipulate race standings in this way in the FIA regulations, and has been since Ferrari did the same thing in 2002. It remains to be seen what, if any, penalty will arise.
De La Rosa
De La Rosa, second-oldest man on track, had a great race at first. His team, BMW Sauber, seemed to be doing the same thing that they'd done for Kobayashi in Valencia. He did pit in lap 53, but a tap with Kovalainen near the end meant that he had to take a second stop. But Kovalainen didn't come off so well, being forced to retire in lap 63 – four laps before the end of the race.
Force India
Both Force India drivers had five place penalties because of unscheduled gearbox changes. Sutil started 19th, and Liuzzi started 23rd (Di Grassi was last for the same reason). They did well enough, but had some bad pit stops right at the start of the race after getting the two cars mixed up. Each driver was given tyres for the others' cars, which was against FIA regulations, so they had to stop again to get the right tyres. In the end, Sutil finished 17th because he had a third pit stop, and Liuzzi finished 16th.
New Teams
None of the new teams did fantastically – in fact, all six drivers came almost last, with only Buemi having a worse position thanks to losing his wing in the first lap. Trulli was next out with car problems, and although Lotus got him going again initially, he only made one more lap before retiring properly. Senna (Hispania) and Glock (Virgin) were the only two drivers from the new teams to finish.
The next race is in Hungary, in just one week's time. See you then!
24/07/2010
Formula 1 Race Eleven: Qualifying
Several unscheduled changes to cars have resulted in five place drops for Sutil (gearbox) and Di Grassi (same). They had to try especially hard to make it as far as possible through the qualifying. Sutil's gearbox change comes after problems in practice 3, forcing him to spend most of the session in the pits, but after missing most of practice 2, Hamilton did well in practice 3.
With 14'30” left in qualifying 1, the session was red flagged after a terrible smash from Liuzzi on the home straight after going wide into a damp area of the track. He had already set a time, and seems to be fine, but his car front was completely smashed up. However, it benefited Timo Glock, whose car was still being worked on, giving Virgin more time to check things over and get him ready to set a time.
It seemed likely that Liuzzi and the three new teams would go out in Q1, unless something extraordinary happened. After yet another gearbox problem, Di Grassi failed to set a time at all, putting him at the back of the field. However, Sutil's problems seemed to be sorted as he did well and made it into Q2. In the end, only Hispania's Yamamoto failed to make Liuzzi's time set earlier in the race.
In Q2, Schumacher just failed to make it through to Q3 qualifying 11th, thanks to a great lap from Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, fastest-man-in-the-world Barrichello made it through along with Rosberg and Kubica, and Alonso set an incredibly fast time of 1.14.081. All through the practise and qualifying sessions he has been one of the fastest (and often the fastest) drivers, making up for his bad luck in the past three races. Sutil's five place drop from 14th to 19th boosts Kovalainen, Trulli, Buemi, Alguersuari and De La Rosa up a place each.
Q3 was Alonso's until the very end, when the drivers came out to take their final laps. In the end, Webber went wide on his flying lap, losing him time, but Vettel went first, placing Alonso second, but on the front of the grid for the first time this season. Vettel set a lap time of 1.13.791. Meanwhile, Massa was third and the other Red Bull in fourth. Button and Hamilton claim the third row.
With 14'30” left in qualifying 1, the session was red flagged after a terrible smash from Liuzzi on the home straight after going wide into a damp area of the track. He had already set a time, and seems to be fine, but his car front was completely smashed up. However, it benefited Timo Glock, whose car was still being worked on, giving Virgin more time to check things over and get him ready to set a time.
It seemed likely that Liuzzi and the three new teams would go out in Q1, unless something extraordinary happened. After yet another gearbox problem, Di Grassi failed to set a time at all, putting him at the back of the field. However, Sutil's problems seemed to be sorted as he did well and made it into Q2. In the end, only Hispania's Yamamoto failed to make Liuzzi's time set earlier in the race.
In Q2, Schumacher just failed to make it through to Q3 qualifying 11th, thanks to a great lap from Hulkenberg. Meanwhile, fastest-man-in-the-world Barrichello made it through along with Rosberg and Kubica, and Alonso set an incredibly fast time of 1.14.081. All through the practise and qualifying sessions he has been one of the fastest (and often the fastest) drivers, making up for his bad luck in the past three races. Sutil's five place drop from 14th to 19th boosts Kovalainen, Trulli, Buemi, Alguersuari and De La Rosa up a place each.
Q3 was Alonso's until the very end, when the drivers came out to take their final laps. In the end, Webber went wide on his flying lap, losing him time, but Vettel went first, placing Alonso second, but on the front of the grid for the first time this season. Vettel set a lap time of 1.13.791. Meanwhile, Massa was third and the other Red Bull in fourth. Button and Hamilton claim the third row.
23/07/2010
Formula 1 Race Eleven: Preview
It was wet in Germany today (Friday), so testing was not going well for the tyres. If it rains tomorrow as well, but doesn't on Sunday, we could see an interesting race. It also meant a lot of drivers were spinning out.
Chandhok was not racing for Hispania this weekend, instead being replaced by Sakon Yamamoto. The team will be switching their drivers around for the rest of the season to give them all a chance to race (source: BBC Commentary). Instead of racing, Karun Chandhok was up in the commentary box with the BBC boys for practice 1 and 2, showing off his knowledge of F1 past and present.
In the soaking wet practice 1, extreme wet tyres were tested, but the teams had to be careful – there's only three sets available for the weekend, and four sets of intermediates. The extreme wets degrade very quickly compared to other tyres as well.
It was dryer in practice 2, but after a crash in practice 1, Hamilton only had about ten minutes on the track to start testing his 'prime' (or harder) tyres. He still got in some reasonable times, however. Tomorrow he'll have to test the 'option' (softer) tyres, but weather-permitting he'll get that done and not have too many race troubles.
Alonso was just fastest in practice 2, ahead of Vettel, Massa and Webber. If Mercedes can pull it together, qualifying should be interesting tomorrow. I'm hoping to see Ferrari do well. It's at 1pm BST (8am EST if any F1-loving Americans are reading).
Also of note: Glock in his Virgin Racing car was very close to Alguersuari's time. I'm getting a lot better at spelling Alguersuari without checking too!
Chandhok was not racing for Hispania this weekend, instead being replaced by Sakon Yamamoto. The team will be switching their drivers around for the rest of the season to give them all a chance to race (source: BBC Commentary). Instead of racing, Karun Chandhok was up in the commentary box with the BBC boys for practice 1 and 2, showing off his knowledge of F1 past and present.
In the soaking wet practice 1, extreme wet tyres were tested, but the teams had to be careful – there's only three sets available for the weekend, and four sets of intermediates. The extreme wets degrade very quickly compared to other tyres as well.
It was dryer in practice 2, but after a crash in practice 1, Hamilton only had about ten minutes on the track to start testing his 'prime' (or harder) tyres. He still got in some reasonable times, however. Tomorrow he'll have to test the 'option' (softer) tyres, but weather-permitting he'll get that done and not have too many race troubles.
Alonso was just fastest in practice 2, ahead of Vettel, Massa and Webber. If Mercedes can pull it together, qualifying should be interesting tomorrow. I'm hoping to see Ferrari do well. It's at 1pm BST (8am EST if any F1-loving Americans are reading).
Also of note: Glock in his Virgin Racing car was very close to Alguersuari's time. I'm getting a lot better at spelling Alguersuari without checking too!
Let's Look At: Fernando Alonso
This week, I'm looking at my favourite F1 driver this season. He's had such a lot of bad luck, but at least Spain won for him in the football two weeks ago!
Name: Fernando Alonso Diaz
Date of Birth: 29th July 1981
Place of Birth: Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Sport: Formula 1 racing
Car number: 8
Team: Ferrari
Number of F1 races so far: 150
Best finish this season: 1st (Bahrain)
Worst finish this season: 14 (Silverstone)
Average finish this season: 6.3
Average qualifier this season: 7.9
Points this season (up to Silverstone): 98
Points in whole career: 675
Best career finish: 1st (2005 – 133pts, 2006 - 134pts)
Fernando Alonso began his F1 career with Minardi, and came 23rd in his first season, in 2001. In 2002, he was a test driver for Renault, then became one of their best drivers, coming 6th in 2003, 4th in 2004, then winning the championship for them in 2005 and 2006! In 2007 – his one season with Hamilton (that didn't go down so well), he came third to the young driver. He returned to Renault for two more years, before going into Ferrari this year.
Unfortunately, Ferrari have been plagued with problems since Bahrain. Either Massa, Alonso or both have done badly, although a cunning move with the safety car in Monaco brought Alonso up from starting in the pits, to finishing sixth. He's always been determined, but frustrations with other drivers and car problems have held him back.
However, despite all that, Alonso is one of very few drivers this season to not retire – the others are Lewis Hamilton, teammate Filipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and one-race driver Yamamoto. This means that although the Ferraris have had some problems, they haven't been bad enough for retirements yet, making them the most reliable cars in Formula 1. In fact, Ferrari are still the third team in the championship this season, and Alonso is fifth.
Name: Fernando Alonso Diaz
Date of Birth: 29th July 1981
Place of Birth: Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
Sport: Formula 1 racing
Car number: 8
Team: Ferrari
Number of F1 races so far: 150
Best finish this season: 1st (Bahrain)
Worst finish this season: 14 (Silverstone)
Average finish this season: 6.3
Average qualifier this season: 7.9
Points this season (up to Silverstone): 98
Points in whole career: 675
Best career finish: 1st (2005 – 133pts, 2006 - 134pts)
Fernando Alonso began his F1 career with Minardi, and came 23rd in his first season, in 2001. In 2002, he was a test driver for Renault, then became one of their best drivers, coming 6th in 2003, 4th in 2004, then winning the championship for them in 2005 and 2006! In 2007 – his one season with Hamilton (that didn't go down so well), he came third to the young driver. He returned to Renault for two more years, before going into Ferrari this year.
Unfortunately, Ferrari have been plagued with problems since Bahrain. Either Massa, Alonso or both have done badly, although a cunning move with the safety car in Monaco brought Alonso up from starting in the pits, to finishing sixth. He's always been determined, but frustrations with other drivers and car problems have held him back.
However, despite all that, Alonso is one of very few drivers this season to not retire – the others are Lewis Hamilton, teammate Filipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and one-race driver Yamamoto. This means that although the Ferraris have had some problems, they haven't been bad enough for retirements yet, making them the most reliable cars in Formula 1. In fact, Ferrari are still the third team in the championship this season, and Alonso is fifth.
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