Formula 1 - Archive Thread

[Iceman]

**** button the pile of ****

[Iceman]

will update this in a bit, im no mood to count things and try figure it out....

[pinkmichk]

against it personally dont think it needs it

[pinkmichk]

i agree with you (woah theres a first over racing ;) ) but my reasons for not liking him are different to yours but we on same wave length schumi did good until button with his after safety car thing i was glad at last to see some racing between lewis and schumi

[Iceman]

I was cheering Lewis on today, really hoped he'd get it in last couple of laps. Schumi did good with a bad car setup and not on rain setup either...made some great pit calls.....hopefully Europe will be better (if they ever get there, blasted volcano)

[pinkmichk]

i just saw apparently mclaren at least have sorted something for getting back here also lewis and seb have been reprimarnded but no penalties ferrari also been spoken to about massa and alonso on pit lane but no penalties :)
for once the team called right for lewis' tyre makes a change cos they have messed it up for him

[Iceman]

thats good it would have been harsh to penalise any of them in my opinion, they raced great races today....would have tainted it...

[pinkmichk]

yeah penalties were not needed apart from buttons little stunt which wasnt even considered

[Iceman]

that was so stupid of him but i think it bordered on legal.

[pinkmichk]

not what walking talking rule book martin (i think was saying) when he read rules and they showed him def slowing

[pinkmichk]

just seen this on twitter so looks like barcerlona will happen just gotta take a very round trip there @JAIMEALGUERSUAR: Increible! Shangai- beijing, beijing- new york, new york- madrid, madrid- barcelona! Thank you iceland!!

[Iceman]

haha amazing.....still happy its going ahead...china didnt suit the Mercedes..

[Iceman]

Qualifying Points
Sebastian Vettel - 6 Points
Mark Webber - 4 Points
Fernando Alonso - 2 Points

Race Points
Jenson Button - 20 Points
Lewis Hamilton - 18 Points
Nico Rosberg - 16 Points
Fernando Alonso - 14 Points
Robert Kubica - 12 Points
Sebastian Vettel - 10 Points
Vitaly Petrov - 8 Points
Mark Webber - 6 Points
Felipe Massa - 4 Points
Michael Schumacher - 2 Points

Fastest Lap Points
Lewis Hamilton - 8 Points

[Iceman]

Standings After Race 4

Gemmer-X & Mark Webber - 66 Points
Andy & Sebastian Vettel - 66 Points
Mark & Fernando Alonso - 64 Points
MissKitty & Lewis Hamilton - 64 Points
Nathan & Nico Rosberg - 56 Points
James & Jenson Button - 56 Points
Ben & Felipe Massa - 52 Points
Remy & Robert Kubica - 46 Points
PinkmichK & Rubens Barrichello - 16 Points
Eoin & Michael Schumacher - 16 Points
Andyman & Vital Petrov - 8 Points
TheBeast & Nico Hulkenburg - 6 Points
Jayson & Jarno Trulli - 0 Points
Claymores & Kamui Kobayashi - 0 Points

[MissKittyFantastico]

Nah don't redo the draw Eoin.


Wooop great result for me and Lewis at the weekend! It's tight at the top!

[Iceman]

just wait until europe all gonna change...my moneys on Kubica and Remy getting to the top for a bit!

[Beastie]

Schumacher.. please can you bump the world cup sweepstake thread? Are you going to draw names out of a hat of which country we are supporting any time soon? Not long until the World Cup now!

[Iceman]

yeah i will do it soon. dont worry i havent forgot.....when league is over ill do it. :thumbs:

[Beastie]

yeah i will do it soon. dont worry i havent forgot.....when league is over ill do it. :thumbs:

When is the league over?

[Iceman]

2 weeks and it should be done. don't worry im on top of this :) thanks for reminder and showing intrest though.

[Iceman]

Fri 07 May 2010
Practice 1 09:00 - 10:30
Practice 2 13:00 - 14:30

Sat 08 May 2010
Practice 3 10:00 - 11:00
Qualifying 13:00

Sun 09 May 2010
Race 13:00


woop for normal time to watch, early mornings were getting to me!

[pinkmichk]

this makes me happy able to enjoy the racing without having to get up at stupid o clock

[Iceman]

Yeah I know, i can wake up at a reasonable time and have breakfast without still being asleep! Loads of Updates for the cars might try and do a list of whos doing what etc...

[pinkmichk]

i love the race being that time cos means i can sit down and eat my dinner while i watch
i wonder how many cars will have mclarens vent thing and how many will have red bulls height thing

[MissKittyFantastico]

Oh thank god, same as you Mich, I like to sit down and watch it eating my sunday dinner.

This is where it's going to get really interesting I reckon!

[Iceman]

yeah it is, all the updates should give us a sign of wholl be challenging for title towards end of season.

[Iceman]

One is the architect of modern Formula One racing, the other a paddock stalwart of over 15 years, who has recently led Mercedes’ return to works-team status for the first time since 1955. So who better to discuss manufacturer teams, Michael Schumacher’s comeback and the sport’s highs and lows than Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug? In a candid interview held at the Malaysian Grand Prix both were keen to chat…

Q: Bernie, why should a car manufacturer like Mercedes be involved in Formula One racing?
Bernie Ecclestone: Because it is by far the best platform for a manufacturer.

Q: But…
BE: Well, yes, Honda, BMW and Toyota withdrew. But why do you think they walked away?

Q: Because they lacked success?
BE: Absolutely!
Norbert Haug: Those who have been successful and have won titles are still part of Formula One - Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. I can only say that our investment in the purchase of Brawn GP paid off. No other team had more exposure over the winter than the rebirth of the real Silver Arrows.

Q: Bernie, if you were the chairman of Mercedes, would you have purchased a Formula One team in times like these?
BE: To be honest it was always my opinion that Mercedes should have taken over McLaren years ago. So what they’ve done now is absolutely sound. Now it’s theirs to call the shots.
NH: The beauty of this purchase also has a very positive financial aspect - because Brawn GP won the championship last season we get substantial funding from the rights holder, and we have partnered with great sponsors. These two aspects are funding the team and not Mercedes. We contribute with the engine and a small group of people in key areas - and that’s it. It’s a very efficient system, and I am sure Bernie would agree when I say that how we’ve done it could be a role model for when other manufacturers join Formula One. Of course our board members are racers, but they only gave the nod because we can promote our products on the most important motorsport platform in the world - and demonstrate our willingness to compete, which has been part of the Mercedes spirit since the beginning - the first Mercedes car was a racing car.
BE: In the future Mercedes should pay for their participation in the F1 world championship, considering how much publicity they’ve received lately. (Laughs). But let’s be serious, manufacturers are all there for different reasons. Mercedes are racers. They’ve been racing for a 100 years. They’ve always been there. The other people come and go. BMW came with us when I had Brabham - we won the world championship with them - and they left. Toyota have been more or less rally people in the past and turned to Formula One. I probably shouldn’t say what I’m going to say, but I think the team was mismanaged, and my guess is that if they had been managed properly they would still be with us.

Q: How valuable is the combination of Michael Schumacher and Mercedes?
BE: Michael’s Mercedes comeback has a touch of magic. I don’t know any other combination that on the one hand is so fascinating and on the other has a huge potential to be extremely successful. Maybe the only other that springs to my mind is Fernando Alonso and Ferrari. Michael is an asset to every team - and Mercedes can save a lot of money because they can get rid of the team manager, as Michael has already been the team manager at Benetton and Ferrari! (Laughs)

Q: How would you judge Schumacher’s first four races?
BE: I am sure Norbert would be the first to admit that Michael’s results are not purely down to Michael, but they have to do with the fact that Mercedes is not performing on the same level as Red Bull and McLaren.
NH: At the moment we don’t have the best performing car on the grid. We have known that fact since the first day of testing, but we are in good shape for the future. Other teams are still working with double the headcount that we do. This should not sound like an excuse but rather an explanation. We will definitely be fighting for victories soon.

Q: What makes you so convinced?
NH: Ross Brawn knows how to execute, so does Michael, and Nico (Rosberg) is enormously talented and already hugely experienced for someone so young. I have been in Formula One since 1994 and have had my own experiences. Our engines failed at times in the past, which caused McLaren-Mercedes to lose three championships. But today the Mercedes engine is one of the most reliable and strongest on the grid. I know that we will succeed with Mercedes GP.
BE: Sometimes it is necessary to lose in order to learn how to win!

Q: If you say that you must have some experience of losing… probably with Brabham?
BE: What do you mean? We won a couple of championships.

Q: Two to be exact.
BE: And what has Mercedes won?
NH: Three - in the new age. Fifty percent more! (Laughs)

Q: Schumacher is already being criticised…
BE: Anybody who criticizes Michael is wrong. He deserves better.
NH: No, for sure he doesn’t deserve that. He stimulates everybody, including Nico. To work together with him and to profit from his experience can only be positive. Who can match Michael Schumacher’s benchmark? He is truly one of the best.

Q: At the moment Nico is outperforming Michael. Why?
BE: Nico is very talented and Michael was on holiday for three years. Ask me the same question after another two races. At the moment I would say, don’t underestimate Michael. Give him time to adapt to the new car and the new tyres. At the moment he’s something of a newbie who has to get accustomed to the trade again.
NH: We all know that Michael would be his first and foremost critic if he realized that this job is not for him anymore. But that’s not the case. Within the team, Michael is extremely constructive. I think at the moment he’s realizing how much he has missed all that. If you are a rock ’n’ roll star you want to be on stage and not contemplating life from your sofa. This enthusiasm is firing up the whole team.
BE: Michael would have never returned had he not been convinced that he can do the job. He is not a tourist in the paddock - he’s here to win. And he will win again.

Q: Is Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel still your title favourite?
BE: Yes. I’ll stick with what I’ve said.
NH: Bernie will change his opinion over the course of the season. (Laughs) But let’s be serious, I am also impressed by Sebastian. He is a fabulous lad. How he has developed into a sharp, highly concentrated and yet very relaxed young man is intriguing, and Red Bull is doing a great job. That they’ve cultivated such a talent - hats off! Of course we also would have loved Sebastian to join us, but for the moment it is Red Bull deservedly earning the laurels.

[Iceman]

Im shocked i completely agree with Bernie for once, everythign he said about schumacher is true.....i couldnt say it better myself.

ANY DOUBTERS PLEASE READ ABOVE.

[pinkmichk]

yeah its rare i agree with something that little gremlin of a man says but for once i do haters/doubters def need to read that

[Iceman]

Lotus Upgrades

All the teams will have upgrades for Barcelona, but we’re hoping that ours is even more significant than our rivals because we received our entry so late and had to freeze the initial specification of the car very early in the design process. We do expect it to be reasonably significant - we have an aero package with revised sidepods, front wings and brake ducts, and a number of mechanical changes, but obviously we’ll have to wait and see what step forward our rivals will also make.

Williams Upgrades

We will have some aero updates for the car in Barcelona, including a new front wing, sidepod and revised wing mirrors. We will also be running additional test parts in order to further develop the blown rear wing that we had limited time with in Shanghai.

BMW Sauber Updates

We have some updates for Barcelona, as most of the teams will have. We are trying to push our F-Duct design a step further. This is obviously a technology that will eventually appear all the way down the grid during the year, but our team has some experience of it from the first events. Additionally we have a package of updates on the car, which are particularly on the front end and the diffuser. It's a decent package, which will hopefully allow us to find some more performance. Obviously a lot depends on how tough the competition is. Some of the steps address the issues the team has identified in terms of the aero characteristics, so it should make the car a little bit better purely through changing the way it behaves.

Mercedes Updates

The start of the European season is the first opportunity to make significant changes to the car and the Spanish Grand Prix will see the first step in our development programme for the MGP W01. In addition to a major aerodynamic and bodywork package, we have made changes to the wheelbase of the car which will help the overall handling and weight distribution. Michael will use a different chassis for Barcelona as we take the opportunity of having the cars back at the factory after the flyaway races to repair some damage to his original chassis. He will switch to our first chassis which was previously used during the pre-season tests. Everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth has worked extremely hard to ensure that the cars and our new developments are ready for Barcelona following the delayed return from China and we look forward to evaluating the impact on our pace whilst remaining conscious that this is very much a first step in improving our competitiveness.

HRT Updates

We reached our next goal with our two cars making it to the finish again in China on our fourth ever race weekend. We have used the time since China to work on the car and to introduce new parts. We hope to understand the car better and need to improve the performance as well as hit a new target and finish again with both cars.

Ferrari Updates

As the rest of Italy celebrated May Day on Saturday, Ferrari were busy carrying out straight-line aero testing at Vairano. The team debuted their version of McLaren’s ‘F-duct’ system, whereby the driver can stall the rear wing at high speed in order to cut drag and boost top speed.

Ferrari trialled a ‘passive’ blown rear wing at the recent Chinese Grand Prix, but Saturday’s test, with Giancarlo Fisichella at the wheel, saw it coupled with a management system for the first time.

The F10 was also fitted with the aero configuration Ferrari plan to use during next Friday's practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Changes include a new position for the rear view mirrors, which must now be located on the chassis.

Track data from Fisichella’s running will be analysed by Ferrari over the next few days and once Friday’s sessions are complete, a decision will be taken on which updates the Italian team will use for qualifying and the race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Ferrari’s Vairano test was part of the four days of aerodynamic testing allowed in the testing agreement, as defined by the 12 Formula One teams.

[Iceman]

will do more when i find some more info on them

[Iceman]

Red Bull's Mark Webber says Michael Schumacher's return should not be judged until after the next two races.

Schumacher, 41, has been off the pace of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in all four races so far after returning to F1 after a three-year retirement.

"After Monaco we'll know how his form really is," Webber told BBC Sport.

"He knows he's not going to just jump back in and start blowing people away. He knows he was going to have to get used to it. He's not that naive."

Schumacher begins the European leg of the 19-race season at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on 9 May with an upgraded car in an attempt to get him on level terms with Rosberg, who is second in the drivers' championship.

Mercedes have introduced aerodynamic upgrades, fitted the chassis Schumacher used during pre-season testing and lengthened the wheelbase to improve weight distribution.

Monaco is the sort of place where you just plug Michael in and off he goes. If he's not going to be doing that this year, you can say he might be having problems coming to grips with the car
Mark Webber

Schumacher has won the Spanish race six times and Monaco five times, and Webber believes that the German legend's feel for the Princpality's street track will give him a chance to demonstrate his full potential.

"He'll feel a bit more at home at Barcelona and Monaco," Webber said.

"They're the sort of places, particularly Monaco, where you just plug Michael in and off he goes.

"If he's not going to be doing that this year, you can say he might be having problems coming to grips with the car.

"These cars change every two or three weeks let alone every four years, so he's coming back to such a totally different environment.

"The cars are totally different, the tyres, the aerodynamics, all of which he's had to get used to.

"He's going to have to work at it - and that's what he's doing right now.

"But as I always said, you have to take your hat off to him, it was a very brave call to come back and test himself again at the highest level. He's an incredible competitor and he always has been."

Schumacher has scored just 10 points this season and had his worst showing of the season at the last race in China, but he is hoping the changes to the car for Barcelona will help him up his game.

"Our step forward in Barcelona will be bigger than you can make at each race during the fly-aways but it would not be realistic to expect us to suddenly be competing right at the front," Schumacher said.

"I am hoping for a better race in Barcelona than I had in China and of course I would not mind having had better results so far.

"However, the good news is that after three years away, I am feeling extremely motivated."

[pinkmichk]

virgin have done 1 car updates for glock di grassi will drive the older version

[Iceman]

Yeah i was reading that, think they got a new aero package too.

who you think will benefit most?

[pinkmichk]

are they only doing the 1 car (obviously for number 1 driver with glock getting it) cos of money?
what across all the updates? i think lotus and mercades are gonna really have chances of being up there with the big boys of mclaren red bull and ferrari

[Iceman]

Andy your bloody leading this and you probably dont know lol

[Iceman]

I think it was becuase of the time it took to get back becuase of volcano.....

In other news Christian Klein gets a test and reserve seat for HRT

[Iceman]

http://ca.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idCATRE64401820100505?pageNumber=4&virtualBrandChannel=0

really great article....id copy and paste but its 4 pages long.....

Outlines:

Rosberg is being caught by Schumacher
The New car is built around Michael, if he doesnt perform its his fault and not the cars.
Some has been racers give their 2 cents becuase theyve nothing better to do.
yeah so basically watch out for Michael this weekend.

[Iceman]

Practice 1 is on tomorrow morning just a little reminder....

lets see how Schumis completely redisgned car helps....im putting money on him winning race....

[Iceman]

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2010/5/10728.html

starting to like this Lewis Hamilton bloke......sticking up for Schumacher -Top Man!

[Iceman]

"Next time I am up on the podium I'm sure that the same people will be very enthusiastic again. That's our life, it's emotion and we live for those emotions."

that would be the most damning statement ive heard Schumacher say in a long long time.....this ***** ready to go.....

[Iceman]

Hamilton, Button, Schumacher in that order in P1 so far 25 mins to go...

[Iceman]

Current Top 10

Hamilton
Button
Schumacher
Webber
vettel
Rosberg
Kubica
Alonso
Petrov
Kobayashi

[Iceman]

end of session 1 and it stays the same as above....

Only Lewis, Jenson and Michael managed to get into the 1 minute 21's

[Iceman]

Practice 1 - Complete Results



1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:21.134
2 Jenson Button McLaren 1:21.672
3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:21.716
4 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:22.011
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:22.026
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.070
7 Robert Kubica Renault 1:22.202
8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:22.258
9 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.397
10 Kamui Kobayashi BMW-Sauber 1:22.492
11 Sebastien Buemi Torro Rosso 1:22.588
12 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.975
13 Paul di Resta Force India 1:23.030
14 Jaime Alguersuari Torro Rosso 1:23.110
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India 1:23.284
16 Rubens Barrichello Williams 1:23.312
17 Nico Hulkenberg Williams 1:23.471
18 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1:25.329
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus 1:26.244
20 Timo Glock Virgin 1:26.340
21 Lucas di Grassi Virgin 1:26.694
22 Christian Klien HRT 1:27.250
23 Bruno Senna HRT 1:27.752
24 Pedro de la Rosa BMW-Sauber No time

[pinkmichk]

exciting free practise 1 def the true start of schumi season gonna be a interesting weekend

[Iceman]

I know im well happy, lets hope an improvement to 2nd in P2.....save going top for Qualifying ;)

[Iceman]

Parctice 2 on now, one hour to go

[Iceman]

Schumachers on fire.....

[pinkmichk]

happy lewis faster than jenson but not happy that vettel just suddenly found a whole ton of pace he werent that fast in fp1 schumi still did good 3rd on timings

[Iceman]

Practice 2 is over!
Vettel first, Webber Second and Schumacher third.......remember F1 is all about consistency.......

[Iceman]

Red Bull took control in Friday afternoon's second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, dominating the session in much the same way McLaren did the morning's, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber first and second.

A revitalised Michael Schumacher was again third, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

more soon.....

[Iceman]

Red Bull took control in Friday afternoon's second practice for the Spanish Grand Prix, dominating the session in much the same way McLaren did the morning's, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber first and second.

A revitalised Michael Schumacher was again third, ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

more soon.....

[Iceman]

Michael Schumacher was back up to speed for Mercedes on Friday in a first free-practice session dominated by McLaren's world champions Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Hamilton, the 2008 champion beaten into second place by his fellow-Briton at the last race in China, lapped the Circuit de Catalunya in 1min 21.134sec.

Button, overall leader after winning two of the first four races of the season, was 0.538sec slower but still second quickest on an overcast morning in the hills north of Barcelona.

Next came the 41-year-old Schumacher, the sport's most successful driver who has struggled to match his young German team-mate Nico Rosberg in his comeback season after three years out.

Reverting to the chassis that he had used in pre-season testing, and armed with a longer wheelbase and new aerodynamic parts, Schumacher appeared to find the changes very much to his liking at a circuit on which he secured six of his 91 wins.

The seven-times champion was 0.582sec off Hamilton's pace, and ahead of the Red Bulls of the Australian Mark Webber and Germany's Sebastian Vettel. Sixth was Rosberg, who has been on the podium in his last two races while Schumacher retired in Malaysia and laboured home 10th in China.

Fernando Alonso, the double world champion preparing for his first home grand prix as a Ferrari driver, was eighth fastest in the 90-minute session.

While Friday practice provides a morale boost, Saturday's qualifying will be crucial: for nine years in a row at Barcelona, the driver who has taken pole position has gone on to win the race.

[Iceman]

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in action during the morning session at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, whilst Red Bull ruled the roost in the afternoon. The leading teams and their rivals reflect on their early progress in Spain…

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P1 - 1:22.026, 5th; P2 - 1:19.965, 1st
"We've got a few changes on our car, but I don't think anything as significant perhaps some of the other teams have. There's a little bit everywhere on ours and I think we've proved today that our changes work. I think the lap times are irrelevant from a Friday. It's good to be fast, but I think the McLarens are quick here - I don't think they were pushing hard this afternoon and I think it will be much closer tomorrow."

Mark Webber, P1 - 1:22.011, 4th; P2 - 1:20.175, 2nd
"That was a good day for us - we had a smooth run, a nice P1 and P2 with no interruption from the weather or things like that. The guys worked faultlessly in the garage, the driver did a little bit as well and it was a good day. Don't read too much into the times. McLaren probably weren't showing everything today. It was a very late night for the team last night, but a positive day today and hopefully we're well prepared for tomorrow."

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P1 - 1:21.134, 1st; P2 - 1:21.191, 5th
“It was quite windy today, so, despite running right through our programme, we struggled a little bit, particularly at the end when we changed to the Option tyre and encountered a bit of traffic. The new parts have definitely given us a step forward, but we don’t yet know how big that step is compared to our rivals. Generally, however, the car doesn’t feel too bad. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make some further set-up changes overnight, too. Tomorrow we’ll just be focusing on our programme, pushing the envelope, and analysing everything we can to make sure we’re as competitive as we can possibly be.”

Jenson Button, P1 - 1:21.672, 2nd; P2 - 1:21.364, 9th
“I think we’ve still got a little bit of work to do, to be honest. I didn’t get as much running done this morning as I would have liked because I hit something coming out of the pits – probably a small part of a car, which damaged one of my car’s bargeboards. This afternoon we embarked on some set-up changes that we thought were headed in the right direction, but I’m not sure if they were. So there’s a lot of work still to be done on both tyres – some of it is possibly set-up, and some of it is getting the tyres in their correct working range. This afternoon was a very tricky session. A few teams were already getting their cars to work well, so we should be able to get there too. But there’s a lot to be done this evening to figure out exactly why our car didn’t feel as we expected it to. I don’t think it’s an issue of the new components working or not, I think it’s more about not turning the tyres on properly, or not working them in the correct way. We’ve got a lot of data to go through, but I’m certain we can make some improvements and come back with a stronger car for tomorrow.”

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“We certainly come away from today’s two sessions armed with a considerable amount of data to sift through ahead of third practice and qualifying tomorrow. Today’s uncharacteristically chilly weather, and the resultant difficulties we encountered in adapting the set-up to best suit the conditions, meant that neither Jenson nor Lewis felt entirely happy with their cars by the end of second practice. As a result, we’ll place even greater emphasis on an examination of the data before tomorrow. We’re confident that our car has the potential to be well suited to this circuit, and that this afternoon’s pace was not fully representative of our expected race performance. Finally, it was a very proud moment to see the Circuit de Catalunya and the people of Spain commemorating Jenson’s world title by inducting him into their Champions’ Avenue parade this afternoon. We’ve got some extremely happy memories of racing here, and we think both Jenson and Lewis are doing the very best possible job to ensure that we’re in the hunt for both 2010 world championships.”

Renault
Robert Kubica, P1 - 1:22.202, 7th; P2 - 1:21.202, 6th
“We had a couple of small issues on the car this morning, so we weren’t able to collect much data. That meant we ran much more during the afternoon in order to evaluate the tyres and also try some set-up changes. At the moment, the balance is still a bit towards oversteer, so we will do some work overnight and try to improve things in the morning. But we have to see how the track evolves, too. Overall, from the times, it looked like a pretty normal Friday.”

Vitaly Petrov, P1 - 1:22.397, 9th; P2 - 1:22.435, 16th
“It was a normal day of practice for me and we worked through our usual programme of tyre evaluation and set-up work. In the afternoon, the weather changed and it was very windy, which had a big impact on the balance of the car and made it difficult to evaluate the set-up changes. I also suffered with quite a bit of oversteer in the second session. So there are still some things we need to work on tomorrow morning during the final practice session when I will concentrate on getting ready for qualifying.”

Alan Permane, Renault chief race engineer
“The track is used quite regularly so it was in a reasonable condition for the start of the session, although, like any track, it evolved during the day and picked up grip. In the afternoon, the wind picked up and there was a strong headwind on the main straight, which made it more difficult to assess things.It’s difficult to make a judgement until we’ve been over all the data, and, of course, we don’t know the fuel loads the other teams are running. My feeling is that we should be in our normal position so I don’t think the order of the teams has changed significantly. We’ve done short and long runs on both the prime (hard) and option (soft) tyres, and these are two tyres we are starting to know quite well because we have used them at the previous three races. The track is tough on tyres, especially the front left, but we still need to look over the wear figures to see how we’re doing. Robert complained of a bit of oversteer in the afternoon, which is unusual for the R30 because the car balance generally tends more towards understeer. A few changes have helped that, but we still have some more work to do tomorrow. For Vitaly, he struggled for grip today, especially on the option tyre, so there will be more work to do overnight to try and get him back to his normal position.”

Force India
Adrian Sutil, P1 - n/a; P2 - 1:21.518, 10th
“Today was a pretty good day. I sat out the earlier practice session but we got all the data we needed from the afternoon to be able to understand the tyre performance and how the new aero parts we have brought to the track affect our performance. Overall everything seems to be working well. We could do extended runs on both the hard and soft tyre compounds and I was quite happy with the balance on both. The soft tyres take a couple of laps to come in but when they do they seem to work quite well. I think we're in good shape for tomorrow's qualifying - I think we should be where we were in China or even higher.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi, P1 - 1:23.284, 15th; P2 - 1:21.904, 12th
“Overall today was good. In the morning we had a bit of a problem as I got a flat spot on my front right tyre on my first run. As we only use one set of tyres in this session, it affected the second run as it changed the balance of the car and we couldn't really set a representative time or test too many things. In the afternoon though we did some good work on each of the runs with a few different settings with different fuel levels, so the way we need to go is quite clear. We are suffering a little with understeer so we have some changes to make for tomorrow but in general it's not too bad. I think we will perform well in qualifying tomorrow.”

Paul di Resta, P1 - 1:23.030, 13th; P2 - n/a
“Having had the experience of the first three races and having got more familiar with Adrian's car, I think I started where I left off in China. I feel this time it didn't take too long to get up to speed and we got some productive running, particularly in the early part of the session, which is when the track was slightly quicker. I got a better impression of the circuit and we ran through the schedule as planned, which included some baseline work and tyre comparisons: it was a good morning session.”

Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer
“This weekend will be about qualifying position and the way the weather turns out to be on Sunday. Today's programmes with Paul, Tonio and Adrian were trouble-free, and apart from relatively low grip levels we have had no significant problems. We tested some developments for future events together with the updates we have brought here, and once we've completed our usual analysis will carry this forward to tomorrow.”

BMW Sauber
Pedro de la Rosa, P1 - No time, 24th; P2 - 1:21.672, 11th
"I had a good second session today. The mechanics did a great job and we recovered from the gear box problem we had this morning. In the afternoon we went through our programme. It was only one session but still enough to confirm the wind tunnel results. We took a step forward with the new aero package and the F-Duct. It is all going in the right direction now."

Kamui Kobayashi, P1 - 1:22.492, 10th; P2 - 1:21.931, 13th
"Overall I'm quite happy. We had no troubles with my car today and I could see it improving over the course of the day. We have definitely found a new way to work over the last three weeks. Obviously we have to work on the set-up, but there is no big issue, nothing we can't solve."

James Key, BMW Sauber technical director
"We came here with several additions to the car which we were going to test today. Therefore we went out early in the session. Unfortunately Pedro suffered a problem with the gearbox, which is under investigation. It's not clear whether it's a hardware problem or one of the control systems. It meant he spun and had to stop his session after just a few laps. Kamui carried on and went through the programme very well. We had several new parts on the car which we wanted to test. The F-Duct system has taken a very good step forward, so we are pleased with the work we have done there. The aero components, which were new on the car, didn't give us any surprises so we are happy with the work there as well. We found some useful directions for the set-up which added a lot to our database for understanding the car and the tyres. In the afternoon both drivers carried out similar programmes. Pedro obviously needed to get the laps in, so getting a feel for the car. I think the comments from both drivers are positive concerning the changes we made to the car, which are both set-up and aerodynamic updates. So we can be happy we made the step which we expected. It looks like the pace is reasonable, certainly on the long runs."

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, P1 - 1:22.588, 11th; P2 - 1:22.184, 14th
“We ran trouble-free all day, with no issues on the car, which meant I was able to complete a lot of laps which is a positive start to the weekend. However, I am not completely happy in terms of performance, as we seem to be a bit further back than where we were at the last race in China. We need to understand why, but on the plus side, we now have plenty of data to study from today’s runs in both high and lower fuel configuration. The tyre comparison seemed straightforward with the option being faster of course, although the situation was not quite so clear over the long run.”

Jaime Alguersuari, P1 - 1:23.110, 14th; P2 - 1:22.449, 17th
“The day went quite well, but there is more potential to come from the car, which we will be trying to get out of it tomorrow. I am happy with the work done so far, as we tested a lot of things, including a good race simulation and we know where we can improve. Both tyres worked well with not much sign of degradation, but we will have to see how they go tomorrow as, at this track, things can change from one day to the next. In lower fuel configuration we were lacking a bit of speed, but I think we can make a step forward tomorrow. It was enjoyable to finally be at a track that I know well, which meant I was able to push hard right from the start of practice. At the moment, we have not identified the cause of the problem that stopped me on track a couple of minutes before the end of the session.”

Lotus
Jarno Trulli, P1 - 1:26.244, 19th; P2 - 1:24.209, 19th
“First day back in the car in Europe and I’m really happy with how we have progressed with the car. Obviously it’s still too early to assess it properly, but as soon as I got out on track I could feel that we had taken a major step forward. We have solved a number of the issues we had and we’re definitely in the right direction, so I’m really pleased for everyone in the team as they’ve put in a great effort to get us here. This afternoon we continued with the program and everything went really smoothly, on both the hard and the soft tyres. I must admit that I’ve been really pleased with the speed gain we’ve seen in the car and, again, that’s down to the work the team have put in with the car - all I need now is a little bit of luck, and a trouble free weekend!”

Heikki Kovalainen, P1 - 1:25.329, 18th; P2 - 1:24.894, 20th
“I’ve been really looking forward to being back in Europe and particularly here in Barcelona. It’s been great to see the grandstands already busy, and I’ve seen a load of Finnish flags out there. On track, this morning was a really good session and I’m very encouraged by the updates - they’re immediately working like we’d hoped. The car feels better to drive, the high-speed stability especially is better, and that’s what you get when the aerodynamics of the car improve. In the afternoon session it again went pretty well. There’s a couple of things we need to have a look at, but it felt good on both tyres and I think the upgrades have worked so we can be very happy about where we are.”

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
“Basically it was a good day’s work. The drivers have been very happy with the updates and we’ve been making adjustment to the improvements on the cars throughout the day to help us fine tune the updates. There’s a fair bit more time to come from the new package, and everyone in the team has worked very hard to get us to this point, so it’s great to hear such positive feedback from the drivers. Now we’re looking forward to building on this performance tomorrow and seeing where we are in qualifying.”

Virgin
Lucas di Grassi, P1 - 1:26.694, 21st; P2 - 1:25.066, 21st
“Basically it was a good Friday. We had no mechanical problems and no hydraulic issues with my car. It was a good first session and a good second session and we were able to evaluate a lot of the upgrades we have on the car. I’m very happy with the work that has been done and I’m looking forward to carrying on the progress tomorrow”

Timo Glock, P1 - 1:26.340, 20th; P2 - 1:26.596, 24th
“Not a perfect start to the weekend as we had a few problems in both free practice sessions. In general I think we just have to understand a bit more about the new car with the longer wheelbase, so there are still things we need to resolve for tomorrow. Hopefully we will get it right in time for qualifying.”

Nick Wirth, Virgin technical director
“I was very encouraged by the reliability today, particularly the work done with the fuel systems, which seems to have been very productive. On the performance side there is still some work to do although the signs are good. This was the first time out with the longer car and perhaps it does react slightly differently; it may take a few more sessions to get to grips with it. We also had a couple of issues, for example where we lost a piece of bodywork which affected downforce levels. It will just take a bit of time before we find the sweet-spot of the new chassis.”

More to follow.

[pinkmichk]

watching free practise 3 now
2 cars in as many minutes in gravel now red flagged

[pinkmichk]

wet kerb is reason both went off lucky they went in different directions in the trap or that coulda been nasty

[Iceman]

Hmm what to say about Qualifying????

oh yes i remember now Schumacher came back........gonna be a great race tomorrow!

[Iceman]

Williams’ Rubens Barrichello on just missing the cut for Q2; Renault’s Vitaly Petrov on how he made it to qualifying despite his big accident during morning practice; and Red Bull’s Mark Webber on clinching his second pole position of the year. All 24 drivers, and senior team personnel, review Saturday’s action in Barcelona…

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (3rd, Q3 - 1m 20.829s)
“We’ve been very competitive this weekend, and we’ve brought a strong package out here with us; but, clearly, Red Bull has made a very good step forward too, and it looks like their car is slightly more aerodynamically efficient than ours is. I’m still very motivated for tomorrow though. As ever, Sunday is a different story, and we generally enjoy better pace in the race than we do in qualifying. And let’s hope our reliability can top theirs tomorrow, too. Anyway, third on the grid is almost as good as pole position here, if not a little bit better: it’s a long way down to the first corner, and you can get a good draft and pass people. So I’m hoping to get a decent start, make good progress early on, and then drive a strong but straightforward race in which I’m able to do something good and get up near the front. Looking further ahead, we’ve got a fantastic team behind us, and we know that the car has a great deal of potential. We just need to try and close that gap as quickly as possible.”

Jenson Button (5th, Q3 - 1m 20.991s)
“We struggled a bit this morning, and yesterday we didn’t think we’d be where we are right now, so, all in all, this afternoon wasn’t too bad. On my final lap in Q3, I ran over one of the green sections of Astroturf; there wasn’t much grip there, so I got wheelspin and hit the rev limiter, which lost me a bit of time. Even so, I’m fifth and I’m satisfied with that. Okay, I’d rather be a bit further up, and I think I probably could have been, but it’s not a bad place to start. I still I think the Red Bulls are going to be pretty tough to beat tomorrow, though. We came here hoping to close the gap, but instead it’s gone slightly in the other direction, which is surprising. So we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I know that everyone in the team will be digging as deep as they possibly can to make that extra effort, and that we’ll get there. For tomorrow, if we’re good off the line, we might be able to pass some cars into Turn One. It’s a bit more difficult for me, but there’s definitely a possibility for Lewis. And our race pace is usually better than our qualifying speed, so I’m still extremely hopeful for another good showing tomorrow. If all goes well, I hope to be able to maintain my position at the head of the drivers’ world championship points standings – and hopefully Lewis and I will score heavily enough to keep Vodafone McLaren Mercedes at the top of the constructors’ world championship table, too.”

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“Both Lewis and Jenson drove really well in qualifying here in Barcelona, and the result was an uneventful session for us. Ideally, we’d been aiming to sew up the second row, but in the end we narrowly failed to achieve that, finishing up third and fifth. Even so, we’re in a strong position from which to launch an ambitious race effort tomorrow. We expect to be closer to the Red Bulls on race pace than we were today – and, spearheaded by the proven ability of our two world champion drivers to deliver superbly gritty race performances under pressure, we’ll be pushing as hard as ever to bag as many world championship points as possible tomorrow.”

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso (4th, Q3 - 1m 20.937s)
“I am pleased with this result. We knew the Red Bulls would be untouchable, so to be fourth is more or less what we expected. As usual, tomorrow’s race will be long and we must try and get the most out of what we have to work with. Something unexpected can always happen, as was the case for me this morning when I got a puncture coming out of the garage for my first run. I don’t think we lost any valuable time, concentrating on the development of the blown rear wing: here and in China, we had so many other new components that we have been able to gain a few tenths in performance terms, without which we would be much further back on the grid, because the others are also working very hard. We are moving in the right direction and we have to continue like this. Tomorrow, it will be very important to get a good start: recently they have not gone so well for me and so this would be just the right moment to get one!”

Felipe Massa (9th, Q3 - 1m 21.585s)
“In qualifying I had a lot of trouble finding the right grip level, especially in the second and third sectors, which contain the slowest corners on the track: I felt as though I was rally driving, always understeering. Already yesterday, I realised this would not be an easy weekend and so I was not surprised at what happened today. We worked on different set-ups for the car and chose the best one, but it was not enough: we have to work out why, but without panicking, but by calmly analysing the situation. Maybe I didn’t put together the best possible lap, but even so I don’t think I would have been in the fight for the top places. The Red Bulls are much quicker than everyone else here and we will have to do our best to try and get a good finishing position.”

Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal
“First and foremost I want to congratulate Fernando. He drove a really fantastic lap, getting every last thousandth of a second of performance out of the package he had today. Felipe never managed to find the right feeling for the car this weekend and today he did the best he could: we have to analyse the reasons that led to this situation. On this track, so far one team has been untouchable, while the other top three teams are all very close. We will see if this will still be the case in tomorrow’s race, especially in terms of tyre performance. Points are handed out on Sunday and before jumping to conclusions, it’s best to wait for the chequered flag.”

Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer
“We cannot be happy to find ourselves almost a second off pole position, that’s for sure. Both Felipe and Fernando have struggled all weekend, especially in terms of grip levels. On his last qualifying lap, Fernando produced an exceptional lap and getting the car at least onto the second row was down to his talent. Tomorrow, it will be vital to manage to get a good start, given that, on this track, overtaking is very difficult. One unknown factor is tyre behaviour: from what we have seen so far, there might be some surprises over the long runs.”

Mercedes GP
Michael Schumacher (6th, Q3 - 1m 21.294s)
"Today's qualifying was straightforward in my view. We had a good car yesterday meaning that conditions were quite ideal for us in terms of balance and so on. Today admittedly, the car was not as perfect. It is little things that can trigger that change one way or the other, and whatever happened today just triggered us to fall over the edge towards the downside a little. Nevertheless, I feel a lot more comfortable driving the car that I have in my hands now. But there is a maximum that you can get out of it and that is what we have achieved today."

Nico Rosberg (8th, Q3 - 1m 21.408s)
"It's been a difficult weekend for me and we need to look into the reasons for this and understand why. The changes that we have made with the car are obviously good and we have made a step forward but I haven't really been able to use the improvements so far. Considering that I have found the car difficult to drive and haven't had the best of set-ups, our performance today was acceptable but it's not where I wanted to be fighting this weekend."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes GP team principal
"I am pleased with the performance of our drivers today with Michael and Nico doing a good job. Michael has continued the progress that we saw in the first three races whilst Nico hasn't been completely happy with the car this weekend and that reflects in his position. I am comfortable that we have made progress but other teams have also moved forward so we have further work to do. I'm not happy with the overall performance, but I am confident that if we hadn't done all of the work that we have, we would have been much further back. It's evident that this has happened to the teams who have not made progress since the last race. There are some positive signs but we need to be faster."

Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"We have certainly improved our car considerably since the beginning of the season but other teams have improved as well and the third and fourth rows are not where we hoped to start this important first race of the European season. Michael has done a very good job since the first lap here in Barcelona with Nico closing the gap to his team-mate from half a second yesterday to just over a tenth today. But of course sixth and eight places are not where we want to start a race from and we will be working very hard to improve that position as soon as possible."

Renault
Robert Kubica (7th, Q3 - 1m 21.353s)
“Overall it was a good qualifying session for me. Seventh is a strong place to start and I think I got the maximum from the car. We don’t have a big package of updates for this race so it’s encouraging to be ahead of one Ferrari and one Mercedes, which is not what I was expecting. I know that it will be a tough race tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how the soft tyres cope with the heavy fuel load in the opening laps. I think our race pace will be similar to our qualifying pace so I’m hopeful of a strong race and scoring some good points tomorrow.”

Vitaly Petrov (14th, Q2 - 1m 22.139s)
“It was a very close session today and I only missed out on Q3 by three tenths, which shows that we have improved again this weekend - both myself and the team. To begin with it wasn’t certain that I would make qualifying after my accident this morning when I ran wide onto the kerb and hit some standing water on the approach to turn four. So I have to say a big thank you to my mechanics because they did an excellent job to repair the car in time. I know the race tomorrow will be difficult because it’s not easy to overtake here, but anything can happen in the race and I will try my best to move forward.”

Eric Boullier, Renault team principal
“Robert did an excellent job to qualify in seventh and if somebody had told us before the weekend that we would qualify ahead of a Ferrari and a Mercedes, we would have been very happy. Obviously our expectations are changing with every race and we are now aiming even higher up the grid compared to the start of the season. Vitaly was unlucky to get caught out with his accident this morning, which affected this preparation for qualifying. Even so he only missed out on Q3 by three tenths and without losing the track time I’m sure he could have made it into the top ten. So it’s encouraging to know that both cars have the potential to make it into Q3. Again I want to say a big thanks to the team for their hard work to get Vitaly’s car ready in time for the start of Q1.”

Alan Permane, Renault chief race engineer
“A lot of the teams have brought updates to this race, but overall our relative position remains similar to the first four races. Robert is in seventh, ahead of one of the Mercedes, which is good to see because we thought they might move away from us this weekend. Vitaly had an accident in final practice this morning, but the crew put in a tremendous effort to get the car ready for the start of qualifying and Vitaly was very close on pace with cars around him in Q2. For the race tomorrow we don’t have any particular concerns with the car in terms of tyres or brake wear, so we’re looking forward to a strong performance and hopefully scoring another good haul of points.”

BMW Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi (10th, Q3 - 1m 21.984s)
"I already knew from the morning session that my pace here was good enough for Q3. The team did a really good job - not only in qualifying, but also over the last three weeks. We have changed the direction for the car's development and as a reward we made it for the second time this season to Q3. The performance of the car is a lot better. We have aero updates and also an engine upgrade for reliability. I won't set myself targets for tomorrow. I just hope to finish the race and everything else, I believe, will be okay then."

Pedro de la Rosa (12th, Q2 - 1m 22.026s)
"I'm not happy. In Q2 I was sixth and it obviously was possible to get into Q3. I don't really understand what went wrong. I had a bit of understeer here and there and out of Turn Two I was sliding. However, the positive thing is we have made a big step forward since the Chinese Grand Prix, and we are a lot more competitive."

Peter Sauber, BMW Sauber team principal
"If you want to move forward on the grid, you have to take two steps, because the competition is not standing still. And that's exactly what we achieved. A great compliment and thank you to the whole team. We can be happy with what we achieved today."

James Key, BMW Sauber technical director
"That was an excellent qualifying result for our team, along with a genuine pace from both drivers, which was very encouraging. We weren't sure how far we could push forward in qualifying, but I think after Q1 we realised we had a good chance of doing well, and I think in Q2 that proved to be the case. Pedro was just a few tenths of a second shy of Q3, but Kamui put an excellent single lap together to get through. We didn't have any new tyres for Q3, but we decided nevertheless to give it a go. A great performance from both drivers, and a well deserved result for the team. The updates worked, which was very much a team effort, and we can be proud of the step we made. Now we have to keep it going."

Force India
Adrian Sutil (11th, Q2 - 1m 21.985s)
“It was still a good qualifying for us. Force India has done a great job all year, we have brought some updates to this circuit that work really well and we're very consistent. I believe we have a top 10 car and I think we could have got through to Q3 again today, but you need to have a perfect lap and I got a bit of traffic with a Renault in the last sector and lost a couple of tenths, which was all we needed for Q3. I'm not really disappointed but obviously it could have been better. Eleventh is good for the start though as from there we can still have a good race tomorrow.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi (17th, Q2 - 1m 22.854s)
“For me it was a really difficult day as we lost 90% of the earlier free practice session with a throttle problem so we couldn't improve our set-up. Then we jumped straight into qualifying with a lot of expectations, but we couldn't get the right balance and struggled a bit with overall grip, which is why we are where we are. It was a shame as we expected a lot from Barcelona, it's an important race at the start of the European season. There's still a lot we can do from where we are though and if we get a wet race, which we could do, there's still everything to aim for.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
“I think the positions we are in today don't really represent our true form and pace here. The updates we have brought to the track are performing as expected and we have been consistent over the longer runs in practice. Tonio has had a hard day in the office and couldn't get the most out of the session after he struggled to find a balance following his earlier practice problems. Adrian was unlucky to get caught in traffic on his fastest lap, which would have given us enough to make Q3 for the fifth consecutive race. From where we are points are definitely still possible and we'll look to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way to get them.”

Williams
Nico Hulkenberg (13th, Q2 - 1m 22.131s)
“Personally, I’m happy with my qualifying laps. We are of course aiming higher than P13, but that is where our performance is at the moment. I went off in Q1 which caused some minor damage to the car but the mechanics fixed it really quickly, and thanks to everyone at the factory who worked so hard to get the updates out in time for my qualifying session.”

Rubens Barrichello (18th, Q1 - 1m 23.125s)
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have a clear run during any of my outings; I just kept getting caught out by traffic. It’s going to happen to everyone at some stage this season; it was obviously just my turn today. It’s disappointing because I thought we had a shot at Q3 this afternoon. I was also carrying some car damage from stones thrown up by other cars which we will have to fix tonight.”

Sam Michael, Williams technical director
“Overall, that wasn’t a good qualifying performance for the team. Rubens failed to make it out of Q3 after issues with traffic, while we were unable to convert Nico’s pace in Q1 to take him through Q2 and into the top ten. We'll look at the data to understand why and work on further improvements.”

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi (15th, Q2 - 1m 22.191s)
“I expected to get a better grid position than this, as we could have got more out of the car, but I had a lot of traffic, including one incident with Rosberg on my very last lap. It was very close with myself and the three cars that qualified ahead of me all in about one tenth of a second. So, in general, I am not very satisfied with my performance. However, now we must just focus on tomorrow, when we can expect a long tough race. My first aim is to finish the race without any crashes, as has happened to me so often this season and then my next goal is to bring home some points.”

Jaime Alguersuari (16th, Q2 - 1m 22.207s)
“We have to be happy with this position, as we knew some of the other teams would have upgrades for this race and we had to be realistic in terms of what we could achieve. This is a long season and we know we too will get upgrades at some point. I did my best and at the end of Q2 I tried for just a single lap run and got a good time, maybe good enough to get me into the points tomorrow as our race simulation in free practice on Friday went well. So I am confident for tomorrow and hope the weather stays dry.”

Giorgio Ascanelli, Toro Rosso technical director
“We can be quite happy with this result. It was to be expected that we would struggle a bit here, as we have not brought a major update, because we currently do not have the capacity to do so. However, in some ways, we did better than expected, even if it’s a shame that Sebastien was unable to produce a clean lap in Q2 as both of them were affected by traffic: while with Rosberg it was simply unfortunate, with Petrov it seemed to me to be deliberate on the part of his team. Having said that, traffic is the same problem for everybody. As for Jaime, he did a good job.”

Lotus
Jarno Trulli (19th, Q1 - 1m 24.674s)
“A pretty good qualifying session today. The result itself hasn’t changed, but we have significantly reduced the gap to the cars in front. Yesterday I had better pace, so I’m not that happy with my performance today, but we now have a good gap to our direct competitors, and can start thinking about taking on those in front, which is thanks to the guys in the team. We still have a lot of work to do, and I think there’s even more to come from the car, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.”

Heikki Kovalainen (13th, Q1 - 1m 24.748s)
“I think it was a good session today and I’m happy. We achieved all the targets we set ourselves and we can see the gaps growing in the right direction - nearer those in front, and further away from the other new teams. We won't have these kind of upgrades every weekend, but I think the car will get quicker and quicker and we'll keep improving all the time. For the race tomorrow I think we can do well and I'm looking forward to being out there and seeing what we’re like on a long run.”

Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal
“I’m really very happy. We’ve talked a lot about Barcelona, so turning that talk into results has been important and we have clearly made a big step forward. I think we’re about a second and a half away from the established teams, and obviously pulling away from the other new boys, so hopefully that speed, with consistent reliability, will see us able to challenge higher up the grid. It’s obviously good to see the results of the efforts that have been put in, and when you think where we’ve come from, about nine seconds off the pace when we first went out on track in testing in Jerez, it’s a huge accomplishment to the whole Lotus Racing team.

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
“It was an excellent session for the team today, and a very good job by both drivers. Jarno has been a bit less happy with the balance of his car today than in practice yesterday, but still put in a great performance, whereas Heikki felt the balance had improved. Overall, our times today show how the package we’ve brought to Barcelona has helped us move ahead, so we can all be very pleased. Now we’re all looking to close the gap to the teams ahead, and take the race to them.”

More to follow

[pinkmichk]

good qualies there was no doubt red bull would lock out the front row unless they have some kinda failure or crash out pretty sure it'll be a red bull 1-2 on the podium too
very happy with 3rd for lewis hoping he can make some good space so alonso isnt all over his arse and i'm hoping schumi sticks it to button so button is eating his dust
i'd like to say lewis 3rd but with so many huge drivers in those top 6 positions it could be anyone

[Iceman]

prediction:

Lewis
Alonso
Schumacher
Kubica
Massa

i reckon red bulls gonna have reliability issues.

[pinkmichk]

1 can hope thats the case

[Iceman]

haha ill be saying my prayers to Jebus tonight!!! :P

[Iceman]

VirginRacing @Eoin_l_ thanks eoin, we appreciate everyone's support! Retweeted by you less than 20 seconds ago

wahey for a shout out!!!

[Iceman]

"Judge me after four races" was how Michael Schumacher courted the world on his Formula 1 comeback.

The verdict after his latest 10th-place finish in China left him 40 points shy of team-mate Nico Rosberg was inevitably and hugely critical.

Even the seven-time champion admitted immense disappointment at his inability to make progress in the type of changeable, wet conditions where he had once reigned supreme.

Little wonder, then, that one of the jokes doing the rounds in Shanghai was that the Mercedes upgrade for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix should be Nick Heidfeld - the promotion of the reserve driver to a race seat.

That was never going to happen. But something else has - and it is turning heads in the Barcelona pit lane as much as the striking new look of Mercedes upgraded car, with its airbox split either side of a fin running down over the engine cover.

For the first time since his return, Schumacher has been quicker than Rosberg in both Friday practice sessions. And more significantly, he has talked of having confidence to drive the car how he used to.

"The car goes where I want it, and I don't have to wait too long to go to this point," he said after his most productive Friday of the season, which he finished more than half a second quicker than his team-mate.

Part of the improvement is down to Rosberg's struggle for the right set-up for this highly sensitive aerodynamic track, whereas Schumacher nailed his balance more quickly on similar fuel loads. But not all.

The team have been hugely impressed by the 41-year-old's performance through the high-speed corners. "I've never seen anything like it," was how one team member put it. "Today was a genuine performance."

I'm also told that Schumacher is reaping the reward of a new chassis which he used in the pre-season test here.

One engineer estimated that the previous one, which he damaged over the kerbs in Bahrain and Melbourne, had been costing him around 0.3 seconds per lap ever since, despite the team making running repairs.

Some have seized on this upturn in performance as further proof that Schumacher is forcing the team to dance to his tune, which is out of step with Rosberg's preferences.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it, harking back to the accusations of favouritism during his champion days at Ferrari?

But sources at Mercedes are adamant that this is not the case.

I'm told that Rosberg was in full agreement with the decision to alter the weight distribution within a longer wheelbase, which is what is behind the car's change in behaviour.

One source at the team's factory in Brackley said that this design change had been put into action pretty much after the first morning of the car's very first test in Valencia in February, when the team had their worst fears over the W01's weight distribution confirmed.

"Michael's not had the front grip he was used to. The balance has never been right, and he's never had to go down this development path before," the source told me.

"He's still learning about the narrower front tyres [that were introduced for 2010]. Hopefully he can now drive the car as he always intended, and there are more upgrades to come before Silverstone."

The team believe they've drawn level with McLaren and Ferrari, with Red Bull still in front, particularly in qualifying.

It's not a complete renaissance, however. I'm told that Schumacher is still struggling to get the best out of his tyres in the wet.

But if the weekend remains dry, and the forecast seems to vary depending on which team you talk to, Mercedes believe Schumacher could be quick enough for a place on the second row of the grid.

Before practice, I'd been warned by one source that, while Schumacher wouldn't admit it, he was determined to finish ahead of Rosberg on a Friday.

Job done. Now for the real business of the weekend.

Barcelona's most successful performer may have been out-qualified by his younger, less celebrated team-mate at all four races in 2010, but there are signs that, far from losing it, Schumacher is finding his way as only he can.


Bang On Right

[pinkmichk]

yay for the shoutout
hahahaha did you just just into arista?
i'll be praying too not just for that but for button to crash out (evil yes do i care no)

[Iceman]

Schumacher will be on fire today i seriously see him doing very well today...

[Iceman]

1 hour to go.......

[James]

Not sure this is going to be the most exciting race, but we'll see. :p

[James]

Here's a bit of a scrap between Button and Schu mind you. Hamilton ahead of Vettel now.

[James]

Hamilton out with lap to go. :s

[Iceman]

Re****ingsult schumacher 4th....ill gladly take that!

[pinkmichk]

*walks in head hung low with a sadface on*
was a good race until that puncture :(

[Iceman]

was a good race until the puncture, was a great race after it!! :P (im sorry)

[pinkmichk]

:( only thing i'm happy bout is schumi holding off button that kinda helps but otherwise meh 2 redbulls including 1 that really shoulda been pulled in for being dangerous and bloody alonso on podium

[Iceman]

Im quite happy, if schumacher had a fast car he'd be going well.....hopefully he get into top 3 in qualifying next week.

[Iceman]

Qualifying Points
Mark Webber - 6 Points
Sebastian Vettel - 4 Points
Lewis Hamilton - 2 Points

Race Points
Mark Webber - 20 Points
Fernando Alonso - 18 Points
Sebastian Vettel - 16 Points
Michael Schumacher - 14 Points
Jenson Button - 12 Points
Felipe Massa - 10 Points
Adrian Sutil - No Pair
Robert Kubica - 8 Points
Rubens Barichello - 6 Points
Jamie Alguersuari - No Pair
Vitaly Petrov - 4 Points
Kamui Kobayashi - 2 Points

Fastest Lap Points
Lewis Hamilton - 8 Points

[Iceman]

Standings After Race 5

Gemmer-X & Mark Webber - 92 Points
Andy & Sebastian Vettel - 86 Points
Mark & Fernando Alonso - 82 Points
MissKitty & Lewis Hamilton - 74 Points
James & Jenson Button - 68 Points
Ben & Felipe Massa - 62 Points
Nathan & Nico Rosberg - 56 Points
Remy & Robert Kubica - 54 Points
Eoin & Michael Schumacher - 30 Points
PinkmichK & Rubens Barrichello - 22 Points
Andyman & Vital Petrov - 12 Points
TheBeast & Nico Hulkenburg - 6 Points
Claymores & Kamui Kobayashi - 2 Points
Jayson & Jarno Trulli - 0 Points

[Wildcat!]

Too bad for Lewis once again. String of bad luck, but I am sure he will be OK if he doesnt get discouraged. He is still the best driver out there!

As for Mercedes, I think its BS the changes they have made. Obviously they gave michael Schumacher a bit more pace, but how much more/ barely anything, and at the detriment of their best Driver at the moment, who they have completely set back. They arent gonna contend for the title anymore. At least Nico was contending before this weekend. Obviously these changes arent tailor made for him. Oh well, if the are satisfied with 5 or 6th place, that s fine, but its all theyre gonna get, if they dont think about Rosberg on their updates .

[ange7]

Re****ingsult schumacher 4th....ill gladly take that!
if he wins more will you change your name back to "schumacher ".

[Iceman]

Too bad for Lewis once again. String of bad luck, but I am sure he will be OK if he doesnt get discouraged. He is still the best driver out there!

As for Mercedes, I think its BS the changes they have made. Obviously they gave michael Schumacher a bit more pace, but how much more/ barely anything, and at the detriment of their best Driver at the moment, who they have completely set back. They arent gonna contend for the title anymore. At least Nico was contending before this weekend. Obviously these changes arent tailor made for him. Oh well, if the are satisfied with 5 or 6th place, that s fine, but its all theyre gonna get, if they dont think about Rosberg on their updates .

why the hell would they be giving a car to Rosberg??? they have the most successful driver in the world in theur team, it's quite obvious to me that they'll be winning races soon, they need some more upgrades and they will be able to attack and not just defend.

[Iceman]

if he wins more will you change your name back to "schumacher ".

No i'm not allowed :(

[Iceman]

Thu 13 May 2010
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 15 May 2010
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 16 May 2010
Race 14:00

[ange7]

Too bad for Lewis once again. String of bad luck, but I am sure he will be OK if he doesnt get discouraged. He is still the best driver out there!

As for Mercedes, I think its BS the changes they have made. Obviously they gave michael Schumacher a bit more pace, but how much more/ barely anything, and at the detriment of their best Driver at the moment, who they have completely set back. They arent gonna contend for the title anymore. At least Nico was contending before this weekend. Obviously these changes arent tailor made for him. Oh well, if the are satisfied with 5 or 6th place, that s fine, but its all theyre gonna get, if they dont think about Rosberg on their updates .
All the changes they made were OKed by Schumacher AND Nico given both have similar styles I don't see how mercedes are favoring schui or have screwed Nico. Those bbc commentators love trash talking schui

[ange7]

WEBBER!!!!
it don't happen often so ...
woooo hooooo
He was a machine today ... but the drive of 2nd and 3rd were impressive. Alonso is single handedly propping up Ferrari and vettel's job at scraping out a 3rd place was amazing..

[ange7]

No i'm not allowed :(
you changed your name back to iceman because schui was failing. Dude...cold :P
ps do you understand that these names (iceman and Schumacher) are already taken... ie by them!
hey...if you became a born again christian I bet you'd change your name to jesus!

[pinkmichk]

i've calmed down a bit now still not happy but moving on
i dont agree that they given better upgrades to schumi over nico i said before this race this will be his turning point in the season he drove good he happy being in the car now he settled back down into driving again (and you all know i aint a schumi fan)

[pinkmichk]

one of my fav races in the season cant wait although will miss qualies will have to follow those on my phone as out on saturday

[Iceman]

hopefully i will have phone back by then so ill be able to keep ya up to date!!!

[Wildcat!]

All the changes they made were OKed by Schumacher AND Nico given both have similar styles I don't see how mercedes are favoring schui or have screwed Nico. Those bbc commentators love trash talking schui


Of course Nico is gonna approve it. He doesnt have the credentials Schumacher has, but BBC or anyone dont have to tell me anything to see the obvous. He's been faster than Michael all season, and all of a sudden, he is not anymore. Its not some freaky coincidence. Each Driver has a certain afinity to a certain type of design and set up! My point is, they arent gonna START BEATING rED buLL mCLAREN or Ferrari this year, with a pro Michael car, which it obviously is. Rosberg, was contending for the title. Michael Schumacher is not and will not, not this year at least.

[Iceman]

Of course Nico is gonna approve it. He doesnt have the credentials Schumacher has, but BBC or anyone dont have to tell me anything to see the obvous. He's been faster than Michael all season, and all of a sudden, he is not anymore. Its not some freaky coincidence. Each Driver has a certain afinity to a certain type of design and set up! My point is, they arent gonna START BEATING rED buLL mCLAREN or Ferrari this year, with a pro Michael car, which it obviously is. Rosberg, was contending for the title. Michael Schumacher is not and will not, not this year at least.

Rosberg ****ed up settings on his car on Friday and Saturday Practices, hence why he was all over the place this weekend. Schumacher has bridged the gap to them by 2 tenths....your clearly anti-Schumacher.

[Wildcat!]

i've calmed down a bit now still not happy but moving on
i dont agree that they given better upgrades to schumi over nico i said before this race this will be his turning point in the season he drove good he happy being in the car now he settled back down into driving again (and you all know i aint a schumi fan)


Of course they did! Itds not even about upgrades, the redesigned their car for Schumacher, everyne knows that! They use to do it at Ferrari all the time, but that was understandable, because he was obviously the best and dominating. But in this case he is not, and the races have clearly shown it so. HE's got a long way to get back to the level of the top drivers, so this year, they c ouldve tried to turn Rosberg loose instead, and let Schumacher settle in slowly!

[Iceman]

Of course they did! Itds not even about upgrades, the redesigned their car for Schumacher, everyne knows that! They use to do it at Ferrari all the time, but that was understandable, because he was obviously the best and dominating. But in this case he is not, and the races have clearly shown it so. HE's got a long way to get back to the level of the top drivers, so this year, they c ouldve tried to turn Rosberg loose instead, and let Schumacher settle in slowly!

Oh im sorry i could have sworn i saw him hold of the reigning world champion for about 40 laps......really a sign of someone who isnt contending.........:rolleyes:

[Wildcat!]

Rosberg ****ed up settings on his car on Friday and Saturday Practices, hence why he was all over the place this weekend. Schumacher has bridged the gap to them by 2 tenths....your clearly anti-Schumacher.

Anti Schumacher? If you only knew how stupid that sounds!!!!Schumacher is not in contention, I dont really give a damn about him this season.
He aint bridged nothging, all he did this race was hold up half the field behind him!! Because he was so damn slow.
I only feel bad for Rosberg.

[Wildcat!]

Oh im sorry i could have sworn i saw him hold of the reigning world champion for about 40 laps......really a sign of someone who isnt contending.........:rolleyes:

Hold off Jenson Button!!!?? hahahahaha!!!!! Is this really his big accomplishmewnt? Kobayashi can hold off button!! LMFAO!!!! :laugh:

Give me a break!!! And wwaaaaww actuasllyu giving accolades to button, calling him the world champion!!! Hmmmm...all of a sudden respect for Button! GO figure, no, youre not biased at all.

[Iceman]

But you clearly are, he did a great job today and was a much needed answer for the critics. So what if the cars been made to suit him better, he's a 7 time champion, if Rosberg thinks he's gonna be number 1 then he might aswell leave the team and we can have Beardface back...........also some of the defensive moves today were stunning by him.....maybe you watched a different race....?????

[Iceman]

Hold off Jenson Button!!!?? hahahahaha!!!!! Is this really his big accomplishmewnt? Kobayashi can hold off button!! LMFAO!!!! :laugh:

Give me a break!!! And wwaaaaww actuasllyu giving accolades to button, calling him the world champion!!! Hmmmm...all of a sudden respect for Button! GO figure, no, youre not biased at all.

I have respect for Button go read the thread from last eyar start of season.....it was a great thing to see for half the season then he got cocky and his approach changed...i still hate him but look at what they did last year, he DESERVED it.

[Wildcat!]

Hahahaha!!!!! :laugh: LMAO! Enough said!!!! So now they did make the car to suit Schumacher, its not they didnt anymore!! OK! As long as we all understand that.

[Gemmer-x]

waheyyy. Bless jayson with no points :laugh:

[Iceman]

LOL Claymores will be happy he's finally off the mark!!

[Claymores]

LOL Claymores will be happy he's finally off the mark!!

Unhappy - I was going for the perfect 0 season!

Gimmie New Zealand in world cup draw please gods of luck!

[Iceman]

hehe Kamui did great today considering he had bad start....he'll be fighting for 6-8 soon

[Iceman]

Of all the races on the Formula One calendar, Monaco can surely claim the most historic and glamorous reputation. Here the drivers and senior team personnel explain what makes the Monte Carlo event so special and reveal how they think they may fare over the coming weekend…

Pedro de la Rosa
2009 Qualifying - n/a, 2009 Race - n/a
"My last race in Monte Carlo was in 2002 and I finished tenth in the Jaguar. For me this is the most difficult circuit of the season, as it is very challenging. You have to really concentrate in order to avoid the slightest mistake. To have maximum track time in the practice sessions and find a good rhythm is very important. You need a lot of downforce and a good car for the narrow, slow corners. I'm afraid we may struggle a bit in Monaco, so I don't expect an easy weekend for us. Off the track I understand why people love coming to Monaco, although it is absolutely not my sort of lifestyle. They are on a party mission, while we have a different schedule and tasks. As a racing driver I find it a rather chaotic weekend, from a fan's perspective it must be great fun."

Kamui Kobayashi
2009 Qualifying - n/a, 2009 Race - n/a
"It will be my first Formula One race in Monaco, but I have some experience from GP2 - although not the best ones. Both races turned out to be short for me when I was involved in accidents. It wasn't my fault and it can easily happen in Monaco. Driving there in a Formula One car must be fantastic. I'm really excited and looking forward to it, especially as I can see us improving as there is a positive trend. But I know it will be difficult to continue this in Monaco, as I don't think our car is ideal for slow corners. Of course Monaco is very challenging also for a driver. I'm well aware I have room for improvement, so I will push hard and do my best."

James Key, BMW Sauber technical director
"It will be a very different event, as it is the first very high-downforce circuit of the season. It will be interesting to see how these longer wheelbase, high fuel level cars work there because it's something we haven't experienced before. But obviously a very exciting event. Tyres will be very soft, so we have to see how we manage those. And, of course, we have to be extremely careful how we time our qualifying runs with so many cars now on the track. We have some small developments on the car specifically for Monaco. We have to work hard on the mechanical set-up to make sure that we can cope with the bumps, but also keep the aerodynamics strong as well, then it could be reasonable for us. But it's a very different event from the first five races, so it will be interesting to see how that shuffles the pack."

More to follow.

[Iceman]

Their qualifying speed, fine weather, and the difficulty of passing in Barcelona meant the odds were heavily stacked in favour of a dominant Red Bull one-two in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. It wasn’t to be. Their race pace was not as quick as expected, and although polesitter Mark Webber won as he pleased, technical gremlins again struck the RB6, meaning Sebastian Vettel had to rely on others’ misfortune for his podium finish. We take a team-by-team look at Sunday afternoon’s events…

Red Bull
Mark Webber, P1
Sebastian Vettel, P3
The result looked good for Red Bull, with Webber an excellent first after a superb race, and Vettel third. But while the Australian enjoyed a trouble-free Grand Prix that he controlled at will, the German said his RB6 had poor balance throughout. Then on the 54th lap failure of the left front brake put him off course in the esses, and a pit stop for fresh rubber and a quick visual checkover did not help him to regain lost pace. He was lucky that Hamilton crashed out with two laps to go.

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P2
Felipe Massa, P6
Ferrari lacked real pace, and Alonso admitted that he was very fortunate that both Vettel and Hamilton struck trouble late in the race, promoting him from fourth to second. Massa said his F10 still lacked rear-end grip in sector three, and could not pass either Schumacher or Button. His cause wasn’t helped when he clobbered Chandhok while lapping him, generating understeer after damaging the left-hand endplate on the front wing.

Mercedes GP
Michael Schumacher, P4
Nico Rosberg, P13
The race proved that Mercedes are not fast enough, but Schumacher looked his tough and resolute old self as he robustly defended against Button on his way to a lucky fourth place. Rosberg got bundled down the order at the start when Kubica would not give way and he found himself on the grass, and later his pit stop was botched when he had to be pushed back to have the right front wheel nut retightened. His run of points-scoring finishes was ended by a 13th place.

McLaren
Jenson Button, P5
Lewis Hamilton, retired lap 54, accident
McLaren still lead the constructors’ title chase, but they would have been further ahead had Hamilton not suffered that tyre problem. He drove brilliantly to split the Red Bulls, and set fastest lap, but crashed out in Turn Three on lap 64 when, the team suspected, he suffered a similar incident to Kovalainen here in 2008: it is thought that a stone jammed between the left front upright and the wheel, machining through the rim so that the tyre exploded as the wheel collapsed. Button ran right behind Alonso initially, but lost his dashboard display early on. That meant he had to judge gearshifts, and could not activate the launch control system in his pit stop, resultant in clutch drag and delaying wheelspin. That put him behind Schumacher, and he could not find a way past thereafter. Nevertheless, he still leads the championship for drivers.

Force India
Adrian Sutil, P7
Tonio Liuzzi, retired lap 66, power loss
Sutil made a great start and was always in the hunt for points, and did a great job to stay ahead of hard-charging Kubica without making any mistakes. Seventh was just reward. Liuzzi struggled with his car on the soft Bridgestone rubber and was the first to switch to the harder primes, after which his car became good enough to match his team mate’s lap times. Right at the end, however, he stopped out on the track when his engine suffered power loss, but it did not affect his finishing position.

Renault
Robert Kubica, P8
Vitaly Petrov, P11
Renault had a rough opening lap, with Kubica coming together with Kobayashi and losing two places, and Petrov being too cautious. While the Pole then spent most of his race chasing Sutil, en route to eighth, the Russian hounded Kobayashi to finish 12th. Interestingly, they set near-identical best lap times in 1m 25.466s and 1m 25.470s respectively.

Williams
Rubens Barrichello, P9
Nico Hulkenberg, P16
Initially the two Williams ran nose to tail in team order, but whereas Barrichello was able to convert 17th place on the grid to a solid ninth place result, Hulkenberg lost pace and ground after an off-road moment following his pit stop robbed his FW32 of downforce.

Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari, P10
Sebastien Buemi, Retired lap 43, hydraulics
Alguersuari had a messy race, running right behind Sutil and ahead of Kubica early on before a sticking front left wheel nut lost him a lot of ground in the first pit stop. Later he carved up Chandhok when he misjudged a lapping move, and got a drive-through penalty for his troubles. A point on home ground was thus welcome, but he was disappointed that he could not convert good race pace into something better. Buemi walloped De la Rosa on the opening lap and needed a new nose at the end of it, later got a drive-through for an unsafe release into Trulli’s path, and then retired with hydraulic problems.

BMW Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, P12
Pedro de la Rosa, retired lap 18, collision damage
Both drivers were involved in first-lap incidents, Kobayashi with Kubica, and De la Rosa with Buemi. The Japanese driver lost ground, and the chance for points; the bitterly disappointed Spaniard had to pit to have a shredded left rear tyre replaced, and retired soon afterwards with undertray damage which could not be repaired.

Lotus
Jarno Trulli, P17
Heikki Kovalainen, did not start, gearbox software
Lotus lost Kovalainen as his car was fired up on the grid and a software glitch promptly selected two gears at once. But Trulli drove a strong race, albeit it in a car that he said did not have the same edge that it did in practice, to finish best of the new teams just ahead of Glock’s Virgin.

Virgin
Timo Glock, P18
Lucas di Grassi, P19
Virgin got both cars home, and Glock really charged after Trulli’s Lotus and kept the Italian honest throughout the race. They finished just 1.4s apart. Di Grassi showed great presence of mind to keep out of the way of Hamilton and Vettel in Turn One on the 18th lap.

HRT
Karun Chandhok, retired lap 28, collision damage
Bruno Senna, retired lap 1, accident
Senna’s undertray had been repaired after damage was discovered that had lost him downforce all through practice and qualifying, but he got caught out in Turn Four on the opening lap after a spectacular start, and crashed out. Chandhok started at the back after a gearbox replacement, but made good progress until he was assaulted by Alguersuari and had to pit for a replacement nose. Soon after, further damage sustained in the incident forced him out.

[Iceman]

Although it was not the best weekend for Mercedes in general, who slipped further behind the other three big teams – Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari – in terms of raw pace, Schumacher beat team-mate Nico Rosberg for the first time this season and showed characteristic ruthlessness in passing Button following the latter's pit-stop on lap 16. The McLaren driver had lost time in the pits with a clutch problem, and as he arrived at turn one Schumacher swept around the outside of him to gain fifth place.

"I didn't really know where Michael was on the outside of me," Button said. "He turned in and if I didn't back out of it we would have crashed. So he didn't really give me a lot of room there. There you go, you'd think with his experience he would know. It wasn't really the right move."

No doubt Schumacher will take such comments – routine during his former years – as another promising sign that he is recovering his form. And Button conceded that having passed him, there was nothing he could do to reclaim his spot, despite having the faster car.

"It's tough to overtake here, and Michael's not silly," the Briton said. "He knows where to put his car, so on a track like this you're not going to overtake him.

"He was putting it on the inside, and I couldn't pass on the outside because he just pushed me wide every time. He didn't make a mistake, so it was very frustrating.

"Fifth place is OK, but it's frustrating because the car was quick here. That's a positive and a negative, because I didn't get to use the speed."

Schumacher described the skirmish as "interesting" but said he was still not happy with Mercedes' pace.

"All we could do was to hope for reliability problems of others in order to make up positions and that's not really what you want to do," the 41 year-old said. "In the end the gap to the front was just too big to be happy after this race. For Monaco, we hope that the characteristics of the track will suit our car better."

Local favourite Fernando Alonso, who delighted the estimated 92,000 crowd by claiming second spot thanks to Lewis Hamilton's late retirement and Sebastian Vettel's brake problems, was also of the view that his team needed to work harder to catch Red Bull.

"I feel extremely happy after the result today and when you gain two positions in the last part of race, unexpected positions, it feels great," said the Spaniard, who climbed to second in the championship as a result, just three points behind Button.

"But we need to improve. We worked again to maximise our potential. We know sometimes we will be third, sometimes fifth, sometimes first hopefully."

[Iceman]

McLaren’s Jenson Button and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa are among the five drivers answering questions on Wednesday, while Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Lotus’s Tony Fernandes face the media alongside two other team principals on Thursday. The line-up in full…

Wednesday, May 12, 1500 hours local time (1300 GMT):
Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Timo Glock (Virgin), Robert Kubica (Renault) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).

Thursday, May 13, 1600 hours local time (1400 GMT):
John Booth (Virgin), Tony Fernandes (Lotus), Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren).

The qualifying and post-race conferences with the top three drivers will take place immediately after the respective sessions.

Formula1.com will bring you full transcripts.

[pinkmichk]

we are now going to a party sunday but its looking to be after the race but if not i may sit with my ipod on listening to radio coverage
any ideas what weather is gonna be doing?
and since we said bout it on twitter eoin i cant shift that horrid feeling bout it

[Iceman]

sorry about that, i just think that theyve pushed their luck at onaco for too long now....

eh weather is just cloudy according to F1.com but they always wrong....

[pinkmichk]

i'm hoping to be proved wrong but after what i saw on twitter of a heikki quote its just scared me even more cos he said he has a job to do and even as 1 of backmarkers wont be moving over for noone o.O i understand he is gonna wanna drive well but surely thats lacking in common sense somewhat for somewhere like monaco

[Iceman]

yeah and the likes of chandhock who should never be allowed to drive an F1 car in any normal circumstances is going to be the big problem....i want him gone he's too dangerous, he thinks just becuase he's in F1 he's good, he clearly isn't and has no experience......

[pinkmichk]

yeah i agree bout him his trouble is he is too nice nice guys dont make good racing drivers imo plus i know he a rookie and not in the best of cars but jeez he is crap

[Iceman]

the whole alguesuari incident was his fault in my opinion.....there was at least 3 other times where me and my bro were shouting at tv saying chandhock what the fook are you doing....

[pinkmichk]

he just reminds me of a sunday driver yeah i know races are on sundays but i mean like those oblivous oaps who poodle along in their own little world

[Iceman]

yeah know exactly what you mean, just sent him a twitter message there...bit mean but whatever! lol

[Iceman]

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Drivers: Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Timo Glock (Virgin), Robert Kubica (Renault), Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

Q: A question to you all. Just look back at last weekend and look ahead to this weekend. What do you think of this circuit? What are your chances? Sebastien, perhaps we can start with you.
Sebastien Buemi: Barcelona was a new start to the season with all the new updates. I think we didn’t do too bad considering we are a small team, so I am expecting to have a good car here in Monaco. We were quite competitive last year and we have some new bits coming for here, so it should not be too bad. We should be near Q3, 10th space, 11th space, so that will be our objective and to score points.

Q: You have had a lot of bad luck so far this year. How can you get rid of that as this is not the best place to get rid of bad luck is it?
SB: Exactly. It has been a very difficult start to the season for me with all the incidents and we had a lot of technical problems, so I am hoping to have a clean weekend. That is most important. I am pretty sure we can do it as my team-mate seemed to have a consistent car until the end of the race, so I am hoping to have the same for this race but we will see.

Q: Do you think you made a jump forward with the updates from last weekend?
SB: I think we stayed more or less where we were. Our updates seemed to be working a bit better than expected as we seem to be ahead of Williams and near to Force India at the same level, so this is good for us. Now we need to see on this circuit how it reacts but I think we have a decent car for this kind of circuit.

Q: Robert, your thoughts of last weekend and this coming weekend?
Robert Kubica: Barcelona on our side was a good weekend for us performance wise. We were a bit surprised about our performance in qualifying. We did not bring a big upgrade to Barcelona, so we were expecting to maybe lose some ground. Actually we did lose some ground to Red Bull but to the others cars like Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes we were quite close, so good performance. But, unfortunately, not so good first lap and then all race with a damaged front wing, so it was not easy but I managed to finish eighth. We know Barcelona is very difficult for overtaking, so it has been quite a tough race, but anyway quite a good weekend. For here, Monaco is quite a different grand prix to what we have raced this year, so it will be interesting to see how our car will be performing here. Unfortunately, from our side, we don’t have a specific downforce level for here. Normally from the past I was used to having some different wings with more downforce. Drag and efficiency is not so important here in Monaco, but we will be using practically the same wings as all year, so we will have to see if our downforce level is good for here.

Q: But you like kart tracks and this is like a big kart track, isn’t it?
RK: I like street circuits. I used to always make quite good results here and overall on street circuits, so I enjoy driving and I am looking forward to that.

Q: You are in a new team. How is the relationship going? Do you feel you are building the team around you?
RK: So far so good. When you are joining a new team or when you are working you try to create a good atmosphere with the engineers, the mechanics in the workshop and on the race track, so I think it is normal you are trying to do the best atmosphere you can to work well. Especially when you have problems then it helps when you have a good relationship and respect with each other. This is what we are doing, so from this point of view there is nothing we can improve. All is going quite well.

Q: Timo, tell us about last weekend, this weekend?
Timo Glock: Last weekend was good for the whole team to bring both cars through the race without problems. I was quite happy that at least the changes we made worked out. For here I think it will be a difficult one for us. The track will be quite hard for our car. We struggle a bit especially in low and medium speed corners with general downforce, so it will be a bit of a struggle. But we will work as hard as possible and be close again to Lotus. We had a good pace in the race in Barcelona against Lotus. We struggled a bit in qualifying. That is our target to be closer to them again.

Q: Is it going to be really difficult with 24 cars out on the circuit, particularly in qualifying?
TG: Yeah, qualifying will be difficult. For us we have to find a way to get two runs in with a clean lap. But the race is another point. We had a lot of blue flags coming up in Barcelona and Barcelona is a really easy track to have a look at your mirrors and see and judge where the others are. That will be a bit more challenging here. But the team is doing a really good job on that and try to inform me as much as possible. We will see how we get around it.

Q: One of the new drivers said he had 15 laps without blue flags last weekend out of 66. That has got to be so difficult?
TG: Yeah, definitely. I think my stint was only until the first pit stop without any blue flags. Then I came out of the pits and it started to be from that lap on to the end with blue flags and here it will be really difficult.

Q: Jenson, last weekend, this weekend?´
Jenson Button: Last weekend was a bit frustrating. The pace of the car in qualifying wasn’t where we hoped it would be. The Red Bulls had a big gap at the front. I think it was almost one second, so that was disappointing but in the race the cars seemed to be working well. The pace of the car was pretty good. I wasn’t able to unlock that for most of the race as I was stuck behind Michael (Schumacher). But it was a pretty tricky race for me as I lost my dash I think on lap three, so I had no lights or anything. You learn where to shift but when you are in tow some lap and not others you are hitting the limiter a lot, so it was pretty tricky. Also on my pit stop I came in in second gear instead of first and I had no lights or anything for the launch, so it wasn’t the best situation. I think we dealt with it pretty well and got some good points but there were a lot more points out there for us. I think the pace of the car was good and if we had got everything right it would have been much better. But I still came away from there with 10 points, so not too bad but looking forward to this weekend and really put it right and have a good race here and get the best out of the car. It is a very unique race Monaco. I don’t think and I hope Red Bull don’t have the advantage they had in Barcelona. If it is dry I think we can have a good race here. We won’t really know until tomorrow if the car is performing well here but there is no reason it won’t be. McLaren have a very good record here and if it is wet it will throw it up in the air. It will be pretty crazy for all of us. But it is a race we all look forward to. It is unique and to get a good result here means a lot.

Q: Two things about last year. First of all you parked in the wrong place having just won the race and also you said at the press conference after the race that you tried to downplay in your mind the importance of what a fantastic race it would be to win and of course you went on to win it. How do you treat it this year?
JB: It is a little bit different as I won the race last year. You come into this race a lot more relaxed and I am really looking forward to it. I am excited about the challenge. I would prefer if it was dry this weekend. It is an exciting race in the dry and is exciting enough. If it is wet it is going to be pretty crazy for us out there especially with so many cars. In qualifying with 24 cars out there it will be pretty mad in the dry, but in the wet pretty impossible to get a clear lap. But I am excited about the weekend. It is a fun weekend and for Formula One it is the most glamorous weekend we have on the calendar. For us we are heads down and doing our work but for the people and the fans of Formula One it is a lot of fun and we will hopefully put on a good show.

Q: Felipe, last weekend, this weekend?
Felipe Massa: Last weekend was not really great for me, especially in qualifying, looking at the difference. Red Bull was in front of most of the other teams. I was struggling a lot to find the good grip level on the tyres and in the race, starting ninth and finishing sixth was not so bad. I did a good start and then the race was quite boring as Jenson said. Difficult to overtake, almost impossible, and struggling a lot with the grip level as well. I did most of the race behind them and I just had no grip to try anything. It was not a very nice race to do, so I hope we can do a better job this weekend and also the different tyres which on our car were working quite well in Bahrain. We will see how it is going to be. Also, Monaco is always Monaco but I hope we can do a better job here.

Q: And the driver can make the difference here as well?
FM: Yeah. It is always a difficult track and you can lose time very easily in whatever corner you go here, so the driver is always important to do a little bit better on some of the little details. We will see how the weather is going to be as if it is raining here it is always a lottery but I am looking forwards to doing a good job here.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC Sport) Jenson and Felipe and anyone else if they would like to comment. Do you think the Red Bulls will be as far ahead as they were in Barcelona here or do you think that the different nature of this track means there is an opportunity to close the gap a little bit?
JB: It is a very difficult question to answer as we haven’t been around the circuit and we haven’t done a single lap yet. But if you look at every race this season the Red Bulls have qualified on pole whatever the conditions and whatever the type of circuit. They are going to be quick but I am hoping the gap is not quite what it was in Barcelona. If they get it a little bit wrong in qualifying there might be another team that can fight them for the pole which is exciting. I don’t think we expected that after Friday in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. But here I think it will be a bit more mixed up and I hope so as they were quite a bit in front in qualifying in Barcelona. But this is a very different circuit to Barcelona, a lot of very low speed corners here and you need good mechanical grip and I think we are all doing our best to make sure it is an exciting race for ourselves and for you guys. We don’t want the Red Bulls walking off with it into the distance.
FM: Red Bull has always been the best car in qualifying this season. I think they have a very good car which works very well on new tyres in qualifying. In many races we have seen them very strong in qualifying but then their race pace was a little bit different than how it was in qualifying. Maybe they can again be very strong in qualifying, but we need to try to be closer, or even better would be to be in front, because I think the races are always a little different. Qualifying is very important as Red Bull have shown. Until now, they have been the best in qualifying, so it’s something that we need to understand, how to prepare the best for one timed lap, or even two timed laps, depending on Q1, Q2 or Q3.

Q: (Andrew Frankl - Forza) To Jenson and Felipe, the FIA is trying to promote safe driving. How can you promote safe driving if some of you guys are doing 190 mph with one hand on the steering wheel?
RK: Good question.
JB: Always a great question to try and answer. We’re in a controlled environment, this is very different from driving on the road. We are professionals, this is what we’ve grown up doing and we are supposed to be the best in the world at what we do. I think it’s wrong to compare it to driving on the road. I think the way that we drive on the road is very different to the way we work on the circuit and the way that we drive on the circuit. I’m a little bit surprised that you try to make out that they are the same.

Q: (Andrew Frankl - Forza) As an example to millions of young people, who are trying to imitate what you are doing and I just think it’s a bad example. I’m not suggesting that you are the guilty party. I’m just asking.
JB: I think youngsters are probably more intelligent than you’re letting on. I think that they understand that driving on the road is very different than driving in a racing car. It hasn’t changed for the last 50 years. There have been professionals in motor sport and there have been kids growing up and driving on the roads. That’s not changed. I think kids these days understand the difference between what we do and also driving on the M25 around London, for example.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) There was a suggestion that they might split qualifying but that seems to have been shot down. Wouldn’t you have preferred to have the top teams running in a separate qualifying and the slow backmarkers on their own, because you are going to get held up?
FM: When you are qualifying and you cannot do your lap it’s always not nice. Here it is the worst track for that. I think we’ve done a good job until now in qualifying: Q1, Q2 and Q3 but here will be a big problem, I think, especially in Q1. It would be nice to have a little bit different qualifying. At least you can make it more real, to give the possibility for every driver to do his best. I think to find a free lap here will not be easy. But anyway, the decision has been made and so we need to try to do our best.
TG: The point is that we all signed up for that and the situation is as it is and we can’t change it. The point is that in GP2 they have 24 or 26 cars and they manage it as well. It’s difficult. I had the same situation in 2007 when I never found a clear lap but that’s Monaco. Monaco is different and we all have to manage it.
JB: There’s obviously a bigger time difference between the cars in F1 than in GP2 but it’s going to be tricky for all of us. Normally, if you’re on a flying lap and you find traffic you want to back out of it and try and find space for the next lap but I think we’ve got to just keep hammering it around. I don’t think we can back off. We’ve got to just try and stay on it, because that might be the quickest lap we do. I think it’s going to be pretty tricky in Q1 but we’ll cope, I’m sure. A few of us will be angry at the end of Q1 and not happy but we’ve all got to deal with the same situation.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) Did you not vote for it to happen?
JB: It’s not down to us, it was down to the teams to make a decision, wasn’t it?

Q: (Joris Fioriti - AFP) Jenson, are you happy with the Red Bulls’ lack of reliability this year because otherwise they would be in the same situation that you were in with the best car in many ways last year?
JB: Yeah. At the last race they had a second advantage over pretty much anyone. I don’t think we’ve seen that in Formula One for many years. So yeah, they do have a good advantage in qualifying and they’re also quite fast in the race. F1 is never straightforward and obviously they’ve had their issues and haven’t been able to come away with five victories out of five, which is great for us because at the moment we’re all playing a little bit of catch-up when it comes to qualifying pace anyway. We’re all working hard to catch them. So yes, we are in a good position and maybe they haven’t made the best out of some of the situations they’ve found themselves in.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Question to Kubica: the car here is a little less important than on other tracks and you like to drive on street circuits. What do you predict for yourself this weekend?
RK: The car is still very important. I finished second in 2008 and I was starting second last in 2009, so it shows that the car is still important, and that’s why it’s very, very difficult to predict. There are two options: either our car will be very good or our car will not be so good. Of course we are trying hard to improve the car and we hope that Monaco will be a good track for us.

Q: (Joris Fioriti - AFP) Sebastian, when do you think your bad luck is going to end?
SB: I hope this weekend. Obviously it’s not all through bad luck, but we try to fix our problems and to understand why they happen, so I hope it will be fine for this weekend.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, Ferrari won’t be using the F-duct here and you didn’t seem to be very happy about it last weekend. How will the situation be in the future? Is it possible that Fernando can use it and you not, for example, in Turkey and other races?
FM: No, because we’re not using it for a reason. It depends on the track when we use it and it depends on the track when we don’t use it. We always prepare the best for every track we go to, so if we don’t have the F-duct on this track it’s because it’s better without it. But for sure we’re going to use it in other races.

Q: (Carlos Miquel - Diario AS) Question for all of you: how proud are you to compete in Formula One? Tomorrow is Formula One’s birthday. When you see Formula One’s history, are you proud to be in this competition?
JB: Yeah, this is where we wanted to be years ago, well, for me anyway. I’m 30 now, getting on, but when I was eight years old I used to watch racing between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna when they were both at McLaren. I was very passionate about racing then. My dream was obviously to be in Formula One and to fight against the best drivers in the world. It’s a real privilege to be racing against the best drivers in the world and also to be in one of the most successful teams in the world. Yes, I’ve been in it for ten years now. This is my eleventh year in Formula One, so to be here for so long does mean a lot to me.
FM: Yeah, it’s the same. I think Formula One is a dream for every driver. To become a Formula One driver means you are at the top of motor sport. You are doing what you always dreamed of, especially when you get to Formula One and then you have the possibility to improve and to grow inside the category, to go to good teams. We are doing what we love to do. We have a great life. When you’re working in an area which you love, I think you do so with a lot of pleasure and passion. That’s why time goes by too quickly, because we’re doing what we like to do. It’s really a big pleasure for all of us.
SB: I think Felipe and Jenson summed it up quite well. Maybe ten years ago when I was driving in karting I was just dreaming of one day being in Formula One and now I’m there, it’s my second season, so for sure, you do what you love to do, so you just try to do your best and I hope it’s going to continue like that for many years and for sure, you are so proud because you can fight against the best people and against the best teams. You’re part of it and you just want to grow inside it and have good success.
RK: Same. There’s not a lot to add.
TG: As everyone already said, when you start in go-karting you just look up to Formula One and you have your heroes. Jenson has been here for ten years. It’s my third year and I was watching him sometimes on TV. It’s great to be in Formula One and to achieve that target as a driver, just a big pleasure to be here and fight against all the top guys.

Q: (Marco Evangelisti - Corriere dello Sport) Felipe, how much did the car efficiency let you down in the five races so far? Did you expect, at the beginning of the season, to have a better car or did you expect a little bit more from yourself in terms of fitting to the F10?
FM: All during the winter tests I was 110 percent happy with the car and then we went to the first race and the car was great, everything was working perfectly as I wanted and then when we changed the tyres I was always struggling a little bit more to get used to the car, to get used to the grip level, so that was the biggest problem, the biggest issue that I felt in the last races. There are some issues that I felt this year but I’m working very hard and I’m going to solve the problem. We know it’s an issue that has cost me a few points in the last races, but it’s something that I know I’m going to solve.

Q: (Anne Giuntini - L’Equipe) Felipe, why, precisely, were you not happy with the F-duct? Was it the way you have to use it which is not comfortable, or is it in its own efficiency?
FM: I never said I was not happy with the F-duct.

Q: (Anne Giuntini - L’Equipe) It’s just the previous remark, it’s not the question that you’re not unhappy with it.
FM: As I said, I had some races where I was struggling with the grip level of the car and we didn’t have the F-duct, so it’s not really with the F-duct that I have a problem.

Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC Sport) Felipe, it’s a similar question really. After Barcelona, Stefano said the guys back at the factory were going to look into some potential problems with your car because you hadn’t felt comfortable with that. Have they found anything that might improve things for this weekend?
FM: Yeah, we have so many ideas, looking around Barcelona, so let’s try to use these ideas to see if they’re going to work but for sure we have a group inside the factory and myself as well working very hard to solve all the problems I had.

[Iceman]

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Drivers: Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Timo Glock (Virgin), Robert Kubica (Renault), Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

Q: A question to you all. Just look back at last weekend and look ahead to this weekend. What do you think of this circuit? What are your chances? Sebastien, perhaps we can start with you.
Sebastien Buemi: Barcelona was a new start to the season with all the new updates. I think we didn’t do too bad considering we are a small team, so I am expecting to have a good car here in Monaco. We were quite competitive last year and we have some new bits coming for here, so it should not be too bad. We should be near Q3, 10th space, 11th space, so that will be our objective and to score points.

Q: You have had a lot of bad luck so far this year. How can you get rid of that as this is not the best place to get rid of bad luck is it?
SB: Exactly. It has been a very difficult start to the season for me with all the incidents and we had a lot of technical problems, so I am hoping to have a clean weekend. That is most important. I am pretty sure we can do it as my team-mate seemed to have a consistent car until the end of the race, so I am hoping to have the same for this race but we will see.

Q: Do you think you made a jump forward with the updates from last weekend?
SB: I think we stayed more or less where we were. Our updates seemed to be working a bit better than expected as we seem to be ahead of Williams and near to Force India at the same level, so this is good for us. Now we need to see on this circuit how it reacts but I think we have a decent car for this kind of circuit.

Q: Robert, your thoughts of last weekend and this coming weekend?
Robert Kubica: Barcelona on our side was a good weekend for us performance wise. We were a bit surprised about our performance in qualifying. We did not bring a big upgrade to Barcelona, so we were expecting to maybe lose some ground. Actually we did lose some ground to Red Bull but to the others cars like Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes we were quite close, so good performance. But, unfortunately, not so good first lap and then all race with a damaged front wing, so it was not easy but I managed to finish eighth. We know Barcelona is very difficult for overtaking, so it has been quite a tough race, but anyway quite a good weekend. For here, Monaco is quite a different grand prix to what we have raced this year, so it will be interesting to see how our car will be performing here. Unfortunately, from our side, we don’t have a specific downforce level for here. Normally from the past I was used to having some different wings with more downforce. Drag and efficiency is not so important here in Monaco, but we will be using practically the same wings as all year, so we will have to see if our downforce level is good for here.

Q: But you like kart tracks and this is like a big kart track, isn’t it?
RK: I like street circuits. I used to always make quite good results here and overall on street circuits, so I enjoy driving and I am looking forward to that.

Q: You are in a new team. How is the relationship going? Do you feel you are building the team around you?
RK: So far so good. When you are joining a new team or when you are working you try to create a good atmosphere with the engineers, the mechanics in the workshop and on the race track, so I think it is normal you are trying to do the best atmosphere you can to work well. Especially when you have problems then it helps when you have a good relationship and respect with each other. This is what we are doing, so from this point of view there is nothing we can improve. All is going quite well.

Q: Timo, tell us about last weekend, this weekend?
Timo Glock: Last weekend was good for the whole team to bring both cars through the race without problems. I was quite happy that at least the changes we made worked out. For here I think it will be a difficult one for us. The track will be quite hard for our car. We struggle a bit especially in low and medium speed corners with general downforce, so it will be a bit of a struggle. But we will work as hard as possible and be close again to Lotus. We had a good pace in the race in Barcelona against Lotus. We struggled a bit in qualifying. That is our target to be closer to them again.

Q: Is it going to be really difficult with 24 cars out on the circuit, particularly in qualifying?
TG: Yeah, qualifying will be difficult. For us we have to find a way to get two runs in with a clean lap. But the race is another point. We had a lot of blue flags coming up in Barcelona and Barcelona is a really easy track to have a look at your mirrors and see and judge where the others are. That will be a bit more challenging here. But the team is doing a really good job on that and try to inform me as much as possible. We will see how we get around it.

Q: One of the new drivers said he had 15 laps without blue flags last weekend out of 66. That has got to be so difficult?
TG: Yeah, definitely. I think my stint was only until the first pit stop without any blue flags. Then I came out of the pits and it started to be from that lap on to the end with blue flags and here it will be really difficult.

Q: Jenson, last weekend, this weekend?´
Jenson Button: Last weekend was a bit frustrating. The pace of the car in qualifying wasn’t where we hoped it would be. The Red Bulls had a big gap at the front. I think it was almost one second, so that was disappointing but in the race the cars seemed to be working well. The pace of the car was pretty good. I wasn’t able to unlock that for most of the race as I was stuck behind Michael (Schumacher). But it was a pretty tricky race for me as I lost my dash I think on lap three, so I had no lights or anything. You learn where to shift but when you are in tow some lap and not others you are hitting the limiter a lot, so it was pretty tricky. Also on my pit stop I came in in second gear instead of first and I had no lights or anything for the launch, so it wasn’t the best situation. I think we dealt with it pretty well and got some good points but there were a lot more points out there for us. I think the pace of the car was good and if we had got everything right it would have been much better. But I still came away from there with 10 points, so not too bad but looking forward to this weekend and really put it right and have a good race here and get the best out of the car. It is a very unique race Monaco. I don’t think and I hope Red Bull don’t have the advantage they had in Barcelona. If it is dry I think we can have a good race here. We won’t really know until tomorrow if the car is performing well here but there is no reason it won’t be. McLaren have a very good record here and if it is wet it will throw it up in the air. It will be pretty crazy for all of us. But it is a race we all look forward to. It is unique and to get a good result here means a lot.

Q: Two things about last year. First of all you parked in the wrong place having just won the race and also you said at the press conference after the race that you tried to downplay in your mind the importance of what a fantastic race it would be to win and of course you went on to win it. How do you treat it this year?
JB: It is a little bit different as I won the race last year. You come into this race a lot more relaxed and I am really looking forward to it. I am excited about the challenge. I would prefer if it was dry this weekend. It is an exciting race in the dry and is exciting enough. If it is wet it is going to be pretty crazy for us out there especially with so many cars. In qualifying with 24 cars out there it will be pretty mad in the dry, but in the wet pretty impossible to get a clear lap. But I am excited about the weekend. It is a fun weekend and for Formula One it is the most glamorous weekend we have on the calendar. For us we are heads down and doing our work but for the people and the fans of Formula One it is a lot of fun and we will hopefully put on a good show.

Q: Felipe, last weekend, this weekend?
Felipe Massa: Last weekend was not really great for me, especially in qualifying, looking at the difference. Red Bull was in front of most of the other teams. I was struggling a lot to find the good grip level on the tyres and in the race, starting ninth and finishing sixth was not so bad. I did a good start and then the race was quite boring as Jenson said. Difficult to overtake, almost impossible, and struggling a lot with the grip level as well. I did most of the race behind them and I just had no grip to try anything. It was not a very nice race to do, so I hope we can do a better job this weekend and also the different tyres which on our car were working quite well in Bahrain. We will see how it is going to be. Also, Monaco is always Monaco but I hope we can do a better job here.

Q: And the driver can make the difference here as well?
FM: Yeah. It is always a difficult track and you can lose time very easily in whatever corner you go here, so the driver is always important to do a little bit better on some of the little details. We will see how the weather is going to be as if it is raining here it is always a lottery but I am looking forwards to doing a good job here.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC Sport) Jenson and Felipe and anyone else if they would like to comment. Do you think the Red Bulls will be as far ahead as they were in Barcelona here or do you think that the different nature of this track means there is an opportunity to close the gap a little bit?
JB: It is a very difficult question to answer as we haven’t been around the circuit and we haven’t done a single lap yet. But if you look at every race this season the Red Bulls have qualified on pole whatever the conditions and whatever the type of circuit. They are going to be quick but I am hoping the gap is not quite what it was in Barcelona. If they get it a little bit wrong in qualifying there might be another team that can fight them for the pole which is exciting. I don’t think we expected that after Friday in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. But here I think it will be a bit more mixed up and I hope so as they were quite a bit in front in qualifying in Barcelona. But this is a very different circuit to Barcelona, a lot of very low speed corners here and you need good mechanical grip and I think we are all doing our best to make sure it is an exciting race for ourselves and for you guys. We don’t want the Red Bulls walking off with it into the distance.
FM: Red Bull has always been the best car in qualifying this season. I think they have a very good car which works very well on new tyres in qualifying. In many races we have seen them very strong in qualifying but then their race pace was a little bit different than how it was in qualifying. Maybe they can again be very strong in qualifying, but we need to try to be closer, or even better would be to be in front, because I think the races are always a little different. Qualifying is very important as Red Bull have shown. Until now, they have been the best in qualifying, so it’s something that we need to understand, how to prepare the best for one timed lap, or even two timed laps, depending on Q1, Q2 or Q3.

Q: (Andrew Frankl - Forza) To Jenson and Felipe, the FIA is trying to promote safe driving. How can you promote safe driving if some of you guys are doing 190 mph with one hand on the steering wheel?
RK: Good question.
JB: Always a great question to try and answer. We’re in a controlled environment, this is very different from driving on the road. We are professionals, this is what we’ve grown up doing and we are supposed to be the best in the world at what we do. I think it’s wrong to compare it to driving on the road. I think the way that we drive on the road is very different to the way we work on the circuit and the way that we drive on the circuit. I’m a little bit surprised that you try to make out that they are the same.

Q: (Andrew Frankl - Forza) As an example to millions of young people, who are trying to imitate what you are doing and I just think it’s a bad example. I’m not suggesting that you are the guilty party. I’m just asking.
JB: I think youngsters are probably more intelligent than you’re letting on. I think that they understand that driving on the road is very different than driving in a racing car. It hasn’t changed for the last 50 years. There have been professionals in motor sport and there have been kids growing up and driving on the roads. That’s not changed. I think kids these days understand the difference between what we do and also driving on the M25 around London, for example.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) There was a suggestion that they might split qualifying but that seems to have been shot down. Wouldn’t you have preferred to have the top teams running in a separate qualifying and the slow backmarkers on their own, because you are going to get held up?
FM: When you are qualifying and you cannot do your lap it’s always not nice. Here it is the worst track for that. I think we’ve done a good job until now in qualifying: Q1, Q2 and Q3 but here will be a big problem, I think, especially in Q1. It would be nice to have a little bit different qualifying. At least you can make it more real, to give the possibility for every driver to do his best. I think to find a free lap here will not be easy. But anyway, the decision has been made and so we need to try to do our best.
TG: The point is that we all signed up for that and the situation is as it is and we can’t change it. The point is that in GP2 they have 24 or 26 cars and they manage it as well. It’s difficult. I had the same situation in 2007 when I never found a clear lap but that’s Monaco. Monaco is different and we all have to manage it.
JB: There’s obviously a bigger time difference between the cars in F1 than in GP2 but it’s going to be tricky for all of us. Normally, if you’re on a flying lap and you find traffic you want to back out of it and try and find space for the next lap but I think we’ve got to just keep hammering it around. I don’t think we can back off. We’ve got to just try and stay on it, because that might be the quickest lap we do. I think it’s going to be pretty tricky in Q1 but we’ll cope, I’m sure. A few of us will be angry at the end of Q1 and not happy but we’ve all got to deal with the same situation.

Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) Did you not vote for it to happen?
JB: It’s not down to us, it was down to the teams to make a decision, wasn’t it?

Q: (Joris Fioriti - AFP) Jenson, are you happy with the Red Bulls’ lack of reliability this year because otherwise they would be in the same situation that you were in with the best car in many ways last year?
JB: Yeah. At the last race they had a second advantage over pretty much anyone. I don’t think we’ve seen that in Formula One for many years. So yeah, they do have a good advantage in qualifying and they’re also quite fast in the race. F1 is never straightforward and obviously they’ve had their issues and haven’t been able to come away with five victories out of five, which is great for us because at the moment we’re all playing a little bit of catch-up when it comes to qualifying pace anyway. We’re all working hard to catch them. So yes, we are in a good position and maybe they haven’t made the best out of some of the situations they’ve found themselves in.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado de Sao Paulo) Question to Kubica: the car here is a little less important than on other tracks and you like to drive on street circuits. What do you predict for yourself this weekend?
RK: The car is still very important. I finished second in 2008 and I was starting second last in 2009, so it shows that the car is still important, and that’s why it’s very, very difficult to predict. There are two options: either our car will be very good or our car will not be so good. Of course we are trying hard to improve the car and we hope that Monaco will be a good track for us.

Q: (Joris Fioriti - AFP) Sebastian, when do you think your bad luck is going to end?
SB: I hope this weekend. Obviously it’s not all through bad luck, but we try to fix our problems and to understand why they happen, so I hope it will be fine for this weekend.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, Ferrari won’t be using the F-duct here and you didn’t seem to be very happy about it last weekend. How will the situation be in the future? Is it possible that Fernando can use it and you not, for example, in Turkey and other races?
FM: No, because we’re not using it for a reason. It depends on the track when we use it and it depends on the track when we don’t use it. We always prepare the best for every track we go to, so if we don’t have the F-duct on this track it’s because it’s better without it. But for sure we’re going to use it in other races.

Q: (Carlos Miquel - Diario AS) Question for all of you: how proud are you to compete in Formula One? Tomorrow is Formula One’s birthday. When you see Formula One’s history, are you proud to be in this competition?
JB: Yeah, this is where we wanted to be years ago, well, for me anyway. I’m 30 now, getting on, but when I was eight years old I used to watch racing between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna when they were both at McLaren. I was very passionate about racing then. My dream was obviously to be in Formula One and to fight against the best drivers in the world. It’s a real privilege to be racing against the best drivers in the world and also to be in one of the most successful teams in the world. Yes, I’ve been in it for ten years now. This is my eleventh year in Formula One, so to be here for so long does mean a lot to me.
FM: Yeah, it’s the same. I think Formula One is a dream for every driver. To become a Formula One driver means you are at the top of motor sport. You are doing what you always dreamed of, especially when you get to Formula One and then you have the possibility to improve and to grow inside the category, to go to good teams. We are doing what we love to do. We have a great life. When you’re working in an area which you love, I think you do so with a lot of pleasure and passion. That’s why time goes by too quickly, because we’re doing what we like to do. It’s really a big pleasure for all of us.
SB: I think Felipe and Jenson summed it up quite well. Maybe ten years ago when I was driving in karting I was just dreaming of one day being in Formula One and now I’m there, it’s my second season, so for sure, you do what you love to do, so you just try to do your best and I hope it’s going to continue like that for many years and for sure, you are so proud because you can fight against the best people and against the best teams. You’re part of it and you just want to grow inside it and have good success.
RK: Same. There’s not a lot to add.
TG: As everyone already said, when you start in go-karting you just look up to Formula One and you have your heroes. Jenson has been here for ten years. It’s my third year and I was watching him sometimes on TV. It’s great to be in Formula One and to achieve that target as a driver, just a big pleasure to be here and fight against all the top guys.

Q: (Marco Evangelisti - Corriere dello Sport) Felipe, how much did the car efficiency let you down in the five races so far? Did you expect, at the beginning of the season, to have a better car or did you expect a little bit more from yourself in terms of fitting to the F10?
FM: All during the winter tests I was 110 percent happy with the car and then we went to the first race and the car was great, everything was working perfectly as I wanted and then when we changed the tyres I was always struggling a little bit more to get used to the car, to get used to the grip level, so that was the biggest problem, the biggest issue that I felt in the last races. There are some issues that I felt this year but I’m working very hard and I’m going to solve the problem. We know it’s an issue that has cost me a few points in the last races, but it’s something that I know I’m going to solve.

Q: (Anne Giuntini - L’Equipe) Felipe, why, precisely, were you not happy with the F-duct? Was it the way you have to use it which is not comfortable, or is it in its own efficiency?
FM: I never said I was not happy with the F-duct.

Q: (Anne Giuntini - L’Equipe) It’s just the previous remark, it’s not the question that you’re not unhappy with it.
FM: As I said, I had some races where I was struggling with the grip level of the car and we didn’t have the F-duct, so it’s not really with the F-duct that I have a problem.

Q: (Sarah Holt - BBC Sport) Felipe, it’s a similar question really. After Barcelona, Stefano said the guys back at the factory were going to look into some potential problems with your car because you hadn’t felt comfortable with that. Have they found anything that might improve things for this weekend?
FM: Yeah, we have so many ideas, looking around Barcelona, so let’s try to use these ideas to see if they’re going to work but for sure we have a group inside the factory and myself as well working very hard to solve all the problems I had.

[pinkmichk]

LMFAO at your tweet to him
reading that 1 driver had 15 laps out of 66 not with blue flag at barcalona its gonna be carnage at monaco

[Iceman]

oh jeez its just not a track that you can overtake on anymore, schumi did it coulthard did it, hamilton did it to an extent but now its just crazy to try

[pinkmichk]

i cant shift this feeling its gonna be a bad weekend and the more i see and hear the more its playing on my mind :( i love this track seriously but i'm gonna end up watching through my fingers at this rate
just seen these tweets from adam cooper
@adamcooperf1: The yellow bit is new and hitting that will hurt... http://twitpic.com/1n90gx

@adamcooperf1 Asked Charlie Whiting about it tonight & he says it's a deterrent and people have the option to go left miss it & slow down

@adamcooperf1 People crashed there every yr even with the old kerb so its sure to be a problem especially for the Renault 3.5 & GP2 guys

[Iceman]

holy crap the cars wont clear that??? surely something has to be done......sorry if i planted a seed just after last few races seeing how slow new teams are i got a bad feeling.

[pinkmichk]

he said in a earlier tweet before the pic its basically a ski-jump :-O you get some of the big boys who admitedly love the kerbs like lewis seb alonso etc hitting that at their pace & without even factoring in a slow backer being in the mix too they are literally gonna be flying
tis ok i had been kinda thinking it too cos like i said bout monaco i love it but its one of those that scares me anyway like after that kimi/sutil incident there just is basically no room for error

[Iceman]

fingers crossed for this weekend that they all make it round safely though, but im doubtful i reckon crash in Q1 and then again at start of race.

[pinkmichk]

yeah reckon there gonna be at least 1 red flag which is a horrid thing to say really cos i just want to watch good racing but i just dunno if reality will live up to that this weekend

[Iceman]

yeah and with them cars being so off the pace its easy to see why a red flag is almost inevitable.....really dont see why they didnt just let them 6 or 8 have their own qualifying session.

[Iceman]

They say that Formula One is a fast-moving business. No sooner than 45 minutes after Mark Webber's super victory at the Circuit de Catalunya were the F1 Paddock dismantling their sumptuous motorhomes and gigantic freight-carrying trucks to head down the A19 motorway north towards Monte Carlo.

Volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland meant that yet again, travel plans had been disrupted and many team personnel would have to forego a trip home before heading out to the small principality.

Hispania Racing team mates Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok took it upon themselves to hire a car and race down to the Riviera, whereas many of the other journalists and team members also chose the motorway as their method of travel.

However, as we push on into the fast-approaching Monaco Grand Prix weekend, it is Mark Webber and Red Bull who are still out ahead. The pace in hand from the Australian during yesterday's race was frightening, after his admission that he was taking it easy after half distance.

Despite Vettel's problems, he was also untouchable through qualifying and the first part of the race, albeit in a slightly less untouchable mood than his team mate who truly was in a different race. With no big updates forecast from any of the front-running teams, the running order should remain untouched with Dietrich Materschitz's team heading the grid.

The usual suspects will be in close attendance, with Mclaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all providing a sustained challenge after falling short in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton will be eager to compensate for his lack of points and smart money should be put on him to be very quick around the streets of Monte Carlo, having won once and finished second to a slower Fernando Alonso in 2007. Hamilton also showed signs of promise in 2009 despite the poor pace of the Mclaren last year, before putting it in the barriers in Q1.

Joining Mclaren in the fight for top honours will be Ferrari, who will be pleasantly surprised with Fernando Alonso's somewhat fortunate second position in Spain.

The Scuderia disappointed many initially with their relative lack of pace in relation to Red Bull and Mclaren, as there is no discernible reason for their lack of development. Similarly, Mercedes had brought a raft of updates to Barcelona only to see themselves finish over a minute behind eventual winner Mark Webber.

Michael Schumacher appears to be happier with the revised MGP-01, which will please the sponsors. However, Nico Rosberg's public displeasure with his car will raise a few eyebrows, especially from those who weren't particularly affectionate towards Ferrari during the Schumacher era.

Something to watch out for this weekend is the pace of the Renault. The car was faster than expected at Barcelona according to Robert Kubica, who suffered a damaged front wing in a first-lap collision which handicapped him for the remainder of the race.

The good levels of downforce on the Renault allied with it's excellent levels of traction will mean that they could spring a surprise on Sunday, and it isn't out of the question that they will join the battle at the front with the established teams for this one-off Grand Prix.

At the back of the grid, life goes on. Williams slipped dangerously close to the pace of the also-rans in Barcelona, before Rubens Barrichello made up for his poor qualifying performance to finish a creditable 9th, albeit with help from mistakes and retirements in front of him.

There is a 3 team scrap in the midfield with Toro Rosso and Force India also joining the party, it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top in the development race in that particular battle. With the rate of development exhibited last year, Force India will feel that they are underperforming and remain favourites to break free of the midfield scrap as we head into the summer.

No change at HRT, Lotus and Virgin, with the order unchanged since the beginning of the season. Around Monaco, expect shares in carbon fibre manufacturers to rocket.

Despite victory at his sole GP2 Monaco race meeting, Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok and Lucas di Grassi have never sampled F1 around the tight confines of the circuit and could find themselves in trouble in such underperforming machinery.

Yet again, changeable weather conditions are forecast in Monte Carlo throughout the week. Saturday's qualifying is especially forecast to be a complete washout, which will play absolute havoc with 24 cars on track all trying to set a fast time.

The Q1 session promises to be the biggest spectacle of the weekend and it's more than likely that a number of big names could fall at the first hurdle. Thursday also marks the 60th anniversary of Formula One, let us hope that with such a fascinating championship battle unfolding before us, Monte Carlo provides us with the magic that only it can provide.

http://www.jamesrossionf1.com

http://www.yallaf1.com


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Paul Kirk 298656 Default-user-icon-comment posted about 17 hours ago 1273641955 2262104 Paul

Rossi, it's not the 60th year of F1. As I understand it, it was originally called Grand Prix racing, and then named F1. I can't remember exactly when, but I'm guessing the 60s or 70s.
PK.
Rossi, it's not the 60th year of F1. As I understand it, it was originally called Grand Prix racing, and then named F1. I can't remember exactly when, but I'm guessing the 60s or 70s. PK.

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James Rossi 105037 Sign_monza_comment posted about 16 hours ago 1273647281 2262347 2262104 James

"As you understand", which isn't a lot, the Formula 1 name was incepted in 1950 (specifically at the British Grand Prix, with the birth of the World Drivers' Championship), not the 60s or 70s as you "guessed".

Beforehand, there was no strict name aside from the European Grand Prix "scene" which began in the 1920s. Previously there had been loose "Grand Prix" meetings, mostly in France, one of the first being the Paris-Rouen Trials of 1874.

There's a commemorative function that I was invited to on behalf of YallaF1 in Monaco celebrating 60 years of FORMULA ONE on Thursday. I wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't so.

I appreciate all comments. However, if you're going to adopt such a tone, at least have a slight idea of what you're talking about. Thanks.
"As you understand", which isn't a lot, the Formula 1 name was incepted in 1950 (specifically at the British Grand Prix, with the birth of the World Drivers' Championship), not the 60s or 70s as you "guessed". Beforehand, there was no strict name aside from the European Grand Prix "scene" which began in the 1920s. Previously there had been loose "Grand Prix" meetings, mostly in France, one of the first being the Paris-Rouen Trials of 1874. There's a commemorative function that I was invited to on behalf of YallaF1 in Monaco celebrating 60 years of FORMULA ONE on Thursday. I wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't so. I appreciate all comments. However, if you're going to adopt such a tone, at least have a slight idea of what you're talking about. Thanks.

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Paul Kirk 298656 Default-user-icon-comment posted 5 minutes ago 1273699169 2265149 2262347 Paul

Good on you, Rossi, I gratiously accept your correction to my reply and straightening me out on the F1 60 year point. I must admit it's been bugging me for quite some time when journalists refered to "F1" from the early days, (when I was a boy) when I thought the term "F1" came later. My mistake, and now I won't be "bugged" any more.
Thank's
Regards,
PK.
Good on you, Rossi, I gratiously accept your correction to my reply and straightening me out on the F1 60 year point. I must admit it's been bugging me for quite some time when journalists refered to "F1" from the early days, (when I was a boy) when I thought the term "F1" came later. My mistake, and now I won't be "bugged" any more. Thank's Regards, PK.

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Paul Kirk 298656 Default-user-icon-comment posted 3 minutes ago 1273699267 2265157 2262347 Paul

@Paul: Boy, time flys when we're having fun!!!
PK.
Boy, time flys when we're having fun!!! PK.

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Formula 1 We're going to send you the most entertaining Formula 1 articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
Bleacher Report publishes the best Formula 1 newsletter on the internet.
Formula 1 We're going to send you the most entertaining Formula 1 articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.

[Iceman]

They say that Formula One is a fast-moving business. No sooner than 45 minutes after Mark Webber's super victory at the Circuit de Catalunya were the F1 Paddock dismantling their sumptuous motorhomes and gigantic freight-carrying trucks to head down the A19 motorway north towards Monte Carlo.

Volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland meant that yet again, travel plans had been disrupted and many team personnel would have to forego a trip home before heading out to the small principality.

Hispania Racing team mates Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok took it upon themselves to hire a car and race down to the Riviera, whereas many of the other journalists and team members also chose the motorway as their method of travel.

However, as we push on into the fast-approaching Monaco Grand Prix weekend, it is Mark Webber and Red Bull who are still out ahead. The pace in hand from the Australian during yesterday's race was frightening, after his admission that he was taking it easy after half distance.

Despite Vettel's problems, he was also untouchable through qualifying and the first part of the race, albeit in a slightly less untouchable mood than his team mate who truly was in a different race. With no big updates forecast from any of the front-running teams, the running order should remain untouched with Dietrich Materschitz's team heading the grid.

The usual suspects will be in close attendance, with Mclaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all providing a sustained challenge after falling short in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton will be eager to compensate for his lack of points and smart money should be put on him to be very quick around the streets of Monte Carlo, having won once and finished second to a slower Fernando Alonso in 2007. Hamilton also showed signs of promise in 2009 despite the poor pace of the Mclaren last year, before putting it in the barriers in Q1.

Joining Mclaren in the fight for top honours will be Ferrari, who will be pleasantly surprised with Fernando Alonso's somewhat fortunate second position in Spain.

The Scuderia disappointed many initially with their relative lack of pace in relation to Red Bull and Mclaren, as there is no discernible reason for their lack of development. Similarly, Mercedes had brought a raft of updates to Barcelona only to see themselves finish over a minute behind eventual winner Mark Webber.

Michael Schumacher appears to be happier with the revised MGP-01, which will please the sponsors. However, Nico Rosberg's public displeasure with his car will raise a few eyebrows, especially from those who weren't particularly affectionate towards Ferrari during the Schumacher era.

Something to watch out for this weekend is the pace of the Renault. The car was faster than expected at Barcelona according to Robert Kubica, who suffered a damaged front wing in a first-lap collision which handicapped him for the remainder of the race.

The good levels of downforce on the Renault allied with it's excellent levels of traction will mean that they could spring a surprise on Sunday, and it isn't out of the question that they will join the battle at the front with the established teams for this one-off Grand Prix.

At the back of the grid, life goes on. Williams slipped dangerously close to the pace of the also-rans in Barcelona, before Rubens Barrichello made up for his poor qualifying performance to finish a creditable 9th, albeit with help from mistakes and retirements in front of him.

There is a 3 team scrap in the midfield with Toro Rosso and Force India also joining the party, it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top in the development race in that particular battle. With the rate of development exhibited last year, Force India will feel that they are underperforming and remain favourites to break free of the midfield scrap as we head into the summer.

No change at HRT, Lotus and Virgin, with the order unchanged since the beginning of the season. Around Monaco, expect shares in carbon fibre manufacturers to rocket.

Despite victory at his sole GP2 Monaco race meeting, Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok and Lucas di Grassi have never sampled F1 around the tight confines of the circuit and could find themselves in trouble in such underperforming machinery.

Yet again, changeable weather conditions are forecast in Monte Carlo throughout the week. Saturday's qualifying is especially forecast to be a complete washout, which will play absolute havoc with 24 cars on track all trying to set a fast time.

The Q1 session promises to be the biggest spectacle of the weekend and it's more than likely that a number of big names could fall at the first hurdle. Thursday also marks the 60th anniversary of Formula One, let us hope that with such a fascinating championship battle unfolding before us, Monte Carlo provides us with the magic that only it can provide.

http://www.jamesrossionf1.com

http://www.yallaf1.com

[Iceman]

This coming Thursday marks the exact date, 60 years ago, that the first World Drivers' Championship race was completed.

This will be marked by a special commemorative event in Monte Carlo on Thursday evening by Total and Mumm Champagne, and what better Grand Prix for the anniversary to fall on, the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

If anything, all Formula 1 fans can thank Adolf Hitler for being the catalyst of what we now call Formula 1 motor racing. The Second World War, if it achieved anything at all, drove great technological innovation to lengths that had not previously been seen.

Light, efficient power units came into being during the terrible times of World War Two which would later go on to influence automotive engine design in the years after the war.

It was initially the French who gave the world competitive motor racing, with the first known "race" being the Paris-Rouen Trial of 1894, a formally organised event that took up the reins of Benz and Daimler's foray into petrol-engined motor vehicles and turned it into a grand spectacle.

Yet it took until 1950, five years after the end of the Second World War, to first initiate a formal, global world championship that would encompass drivers and manufacturers from all over the world.

After the regulatory free-for-all of the late 1920s, when a certain apathy had grown over the motor racing community in Europe, the French institution that facilitated early Grand Prix racing (AIACR) decided that if this was considered to be a sport, then strict rules and regulations would be needed.

With a technical framework in place, 1950 was heralded as the first year of Formula One motor racing.

Giuseppe Farina was the winner of the 1950 British Grand Prix held at a vastly different Silverstone circuit, in a year when British and Italian manufacturers dominated the championship. Alfa Romeo won the title with Farina by three points from a young man named Juan Manuel Fangio, who would go on to become the second most successful driver in history in terms of championship wins.

Underlying this first worldwide concept of motor racing was the fact that it was Great Britain and Italy that led the way.

Powerhouses of European manufacturing, it was the likes of Alfa Romeo, Maserati, ERA, Vanwall, Cooper and later the German Mercedes marque that initially dominated the Grand Prix scene. In a sense, this is still the case today.

Tradition is the order of the day in Formula One, it is what underpins the customary things that we are used to such as the Monaco Grand Prix, the podium ceremony, and the contribution of Great Britain, Italy and Germany to Formula One.

There have been an abundance of changes to the look of our beloved sport since 1950, from the playboy and carefree participants of the 1960s and 1970s such as Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, and the monarchical Lord Hesketh to those who uphold the fundamental tenets of sportsmanship such as Stirling Moss.

Teams have come and gone, circuits have been utilised and dropped. It is heartening to see that throughout the decades as the sport has grown and adapted, the fundamental pillars of Formula One, the traditions and the customs, have been maintained.

It must touch the heart of all motor racing enthusiasts to see a Ferrari triumph at Monza, or a British driver storming to victory in Great Britain. Names have been deified and ruined in the blink of an eye.

The intense nature of Senna, to the calculating mind of Prost, to the flamboyancy of Hunt; Formula One is the amalgamation of emotions perpetrated by the aforementioned traditions and customs, aligned with the technological innovation and bodily limits that are pushed to the limit every race, every year. Long live Formula One!

[pinkmichk]

chandhok ending up backwards is exactly why i'm nervous

[pinkmichk]

and another through fingers moment with kobayashi into the barriers

[Iceman]

just saw the results happy with that. All the people complaining about Rosberg can suck my balls.............did he not just cope with this "schumi tailored" car brilliantly or what?

[pinkmichk]

i think schumi did good and i think it were crofty who said that schumi will be faster both last race and here cos the tracks really suit him
lewis was 7th not too fussed cos i reckon he'll have more pace in qualies

[Iceman]

yeah weird how we'll have no F1 coverage tomorrow, not sure i like thursday practices....

[Iceman]

This week marks the 60th anniversary of the very first round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at Silverstone on May 13, 1950. The British Grand Prix, which also had the title of 'Grand Prix d'Europe' bestowed upon it that year, was the first event in a seven-race season, which also featured rounds in Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy, plus the Indianapolis 500.

The Silverstone of 1950 was a far cry from the modern circuit we know today and there was little to disguise its airfield origins, with hay bales for barriers and scaffolding for stands. It may not have been glamorous, but that didnt stop motor racings international elite turning out. The event also had the royal seal of approval, with King George VI becoming the first reigning English monarch to attend the Grand Prix.

The powerhouse in the paddock was Alfa Romeo, who brought their all-conquering 158 cars and the formidable 'Three Fs' to pilot them - Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio and Italians Nino Farina and Luigi Fagioli. Alfa were also kind enough to provide a fourth car for British ace Reg Parnell, who thus became the 100,000 crowds best hope of a home win.

The 44 year-old Farina, a protege of the great pre-war driver Tazio Nuvolari, dominated Thursday's and Friday's practice sessions, lapping the then 4.65-kilometre circuit at over 150 km/h in his 1.5 litre supercharged, straight-eight machine. His team mates were close behind, hence it was no surprise that Alfa Romeo went on to fill the grids four-car front row.

Best of the rest in practice, in what was very much a 'second division' behind the Alfas, was the Eton and Cambridge-educated Prince Bira of Siam for Maserati. Then came the first of the cars with normally-aspirated 4.5 litre power (the second of the two engine configurations allowed under the F1 regulations of the time), the French factory Talbot-Lagos of YG Cabantous and Eugene Martin.

The two other manufacturers present were English Racing Automobiles, better known as ERA, and another home contender, Alta. Between them they helped fill out an impressive 21-car grid, with Farina at the front and the Talbot-Lago of Johnny Claes at the rear, the British-raised Belgian's best time a full 18 seconds off pole.

Race morning - Saturday - started with a now unimaginable concept, as Alfa Romeo mechanics drove the teams four 158s the 20-odd kilometres by road from their Banbury base to Silverstone. The cherry-red machines proved an equally impressive spectacle on the track, dominating the Grand Prix from the outset, with Farina, Fagioli and Fangio playfully taking turns to lead in the opening laps as the rest of the field tried and failed to stay in touch.

Unable to keep up with the three flying Fs, Parnell maintained a comfortable fourth place, despite a collision with one of Silverstones infamous hares. Behind him the competition quite literally began to fall apart, with the ERAs of Leslie Johnson and Peter Walker the first casualties, followed by Martin's Talbot-Lago, all retiring with mechanical maladies.

After smooth pit stops for all four Alfas - smooth in 1950 meant 30 seconds or less - the race gradually developed into a showdown between team stalwart Farina and upstart Fangio, who had been signed for the 1950 season on the back of his spectacular (non-championship) F1 form the previous year. This early sign of what would ultimately become an intense rivalry ended when Fangio briefly lost control and broke an oil line, putting him out after 62 of the 70 laps.

His only real threat removed, Farina was able to ease off in the closing laps and, after almost two and three-quarter hours of racing, the Italian took the chequered flag 2.8s ahead of veteran compatriot Fagioli. Parnell was a popular third, albeit almost a minute down, followed by the Talbot-Lagos of Cabantous and Louis Rosier, both two laps off the lead.

Farina's win not only guaranteed him a place in the F1 history books, it also set the tone for a season which would see him go on to become the sport's first world champion, beating Fangio to the crown by three points, each driver having taken three victories.

That first Silverstone race may not have been a classic in the traditional sense, but its significance was immeasurable. Of those who competed that day, few probably imagined that the FIA Formula One World Championship would even exist six decades later, let alone become the world's most watched annual sporting series. Heres to the next 60 years...

[Iceman]

Two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso is no stranger to success in Monte Carlo, and on Thursday he took the top honours in both practice sessions. Alonso, his rivals, and senior team personnel reflect on their early progress in the Principality…

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P1 - 1:15.927, 1st; P2 - 1:14.904, 1st
“It’s only Thursday, so the main aim was to understand how the tyres work and get confident with the circuit. On this track a major set up change might give you half a tenth, but trusting your driving can see you gain half a second. We therefore worked on finding the right feeling with the car and on making it easy to drive. There is still a lot of work to do and quite a margin for improvement. The track conditions will get better by Saturday, given that so many cars from the different categories will be running over the next couple of days. I hope that in two days time I will again find a well balanced car. I can understand that there could be a level of pessimism after the show of strength from Red Bull in Barcelona qualifying, but we know that here, having the right set-up can make more of a difference than pure aerodynamic downforce and we already have a good baseline, given that last year, Kimi (Raikkonen) nearly took pole with a car that was far off the F10 in terms of its potential.”

Felipe Massa, P1 - 1:16.517, 5th; P2 - 1:15.120, 4th
“The situation is definitely very different to Barcelona. From one week to the next I have found a much more stable car which is easy to drive and has much more grip. I have to say I can only be happy with the F10 and the way things went today. Having said that, there is still a lot to do to be done to be as well prepared as possible for the rest of the weekend. The traffic could be a problem, especially in Q1 and we will have to try and manage the situation as well as possible. Here it is always difficult to get a perfect lap: there are so many slow corners where you can lose a lot of time, which you never get back. However, getting it right is really especially satisfying.”

Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal
“This weekend has got off to a positive start for us, but we are well aware that the result of free practice does not tell you much and that, especially on an untypical track like this, the situation can change rapidly. There is still a lot of work to do to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race, but we can be reasonably confident in affirming that we will be in the hunt. Now we have over a day and a half ahead of us to fine tune every detail in order to get out every last bit of potential from the package we have at our disposal.”

Chris Dyer, Ferrari chief engineer
“I would say this was a good day. First of all, it’s always positive to be able to complete three hours of free practice around the Monaco track without doing any damage to the cars, which meant both drivers were able to work through their entire planned programme: we just had to shorten the time on some elements in the afternoon, because of the approaching rain. Both Felipe and Fernando said they were pleased with the handling of the car and managed to get both types of tyre brought here by Bridgestone to work well. Clearly, without knowing the fuel loads in the cars of our closest rivals, it’s hard to know exactly where we are compared to them, but I think I can safely say we should be able to fight for the top places on the starting grid.”

Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg, P1 - 1:17.149, 11th; P2 - 1:15.013, 2nd
"Monaco is a very special and challenging circuit and we had a positive start to our weekend here today. We made good progress this afternoon after losing some time in the morning with a pushrod problem that we had to fix. The lap times looked quite promising in the second session and I felt very comfortable in the car. We were able to improve the set-up continuously and get the tyres working better as the session went on. So everything looks promising after the first day and I'm looking forward to getting on with qualifying on Saturday."

Michael Schumacher, P1 - 1:16.589, 6th; P2 - 1:15.143, 5th
"Today's practice was a lot of fun. You clearly have to say that Monaco is a very special place to drive and I really enjoyed it. I got back into the rhythm of the track, especially on the long runs, and I think we can be quite confident for tomorrow as the car is definitely quite reasonable to handle. The other teams who have a certain top speed advantage on other tracks at the moment do not have this advantage here, so the whole field comes a bit closer together which will make it a very interesting qualifying in my view. I am looking forward to it."

Ross Brawn, Mercedes GP team principal
"As always at Monaco, the track conditions evolved rapidly today and it was important to make full use of the available practice time. We lost some running with Nico this morning but he did well to come back and find reasonable solutions for the set-up. We followed our usual practice programme of set-up, fuel load and tyre comparisons today. Our low fuel pace seems reasonable but we have more work to do on high fuel before Sunday. Overall a reasonable start to the weekend and we are enjoying the unique challenge and working environment that Monaco provides."

Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"Quite a promising start to the weekend for us today and certainly a different picture from what we saw last Sunday in Barcelona. Nico and Michael's lap times on both types of tyres with lesser fuel as well as during race simulation runs looked not bad at all. There is definitely more work to do before Saturday but so far so good."

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P1 - 1:16.000, 2nd; P2 - 1:15.099, 3rd
“We did a lot of laps today, which is good as that’s important in Monaco. The car feels alright, but if you look at the times it’s difficult to judge where we are. One thing that’s clear it will be very, very tight over the weekend. The top four teams are split by a couple of tenths and fuel loads are not as important here, so it’s close. It looks challenging. Qualifying has been good for us at the last races and I hope it continues on Saturday.”

Mark Webber, P1 - 1:16.382, 4th; P2 - 1:15.620, 10th
“It was a pretty good day today - we went a bit early with the options to beat the weather and we’ve got a bit of work to do with the balance, but in general it was good. We’ve made progress in the low-speed stuff since last year. We saw indications of it in Singapore and Abu Dhabi and what we learned with the RB5 has rolled into the RB6. It will be tighter here than it was in Spain, it’s a special track - we know that. Saturday will be an exciting qualifying session for definite.”

Renault
Robert Kubica, P1 - 1:16.016, 3rd; P2 - 1:15.192, 6th
“I’m a big fan of street circuits so it was good fun driving around Monaco today, and things went pretty well for me during both sessions. We still have a couple of issues to work on with the balance of the car so it’s good that we have a free day tomorrow when we can look over the data. Hopefully we can improve the car a bit more before qualifying.”

Vitaly Petrov, P1 - 1:17.718, 14th; P2 - 1:15.746, 11th
“I enjoyed my first experience of Monaco in an F1 car. We spent the day working on the set-up and we changed a lot between the morning and the afternoon, which made the car much better. It’s a difficult track because you need to push hard all the time, the walls are very close and you have to concentrate hard to make sure you don’t make any mistakes. At the moment the balance is not too bad, but we still need to work on some things to improve the car before qualifying on Saturday.”

Alan Permane, Renault chief race engineer
“It’s been a very positive day for us with both drivers completing good mileage. Robert was the quickest car on the medium compound (prime) tyre, although he didn’t have such a good run on the super-soft, but we’ve no major concerns. As for Vitaly, this was his first time at Monaco in an F1 car and he did a very good job during both sessions, and has ended the day close to Robert in terms of pace. Today’s conditions were typical Monaco: dirty, dusty and constantly evolving throughout the day. There was some light rain towards the end of the afternoon session, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday suggests that more rain is unlikely. The car is working very well, but it’s still not 100 percent and we’ve got to dial out some oversteer. Fortunately we have a free day tomorrow to look over the data to try and cure that.”

Force India
Adrian Sutil, P1 - 1:16.805, 9th; P2 - 1:15.460, 8th
“It was a very good day for me. I'm very happy with my performance and with the car. The set-up was really good and we didn't have to make any major changes over the day, which means there is not so much work for tomorrow and Saturday's final practice. The car is going very consistently and I could set good lap times so the end classification looks promising, but we can also be very satisfied about the pace of the long runs. We didn't have many problems with the tyre compounds here, just a bit of graining on the soft one, but it's under control and nothing to worry about. Overall I think we look pretty strong for a practice day and can be confident going into qualifying.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi, P1 - 1:17.704, 13th; P2 - 1:16.528, 15th
“It was a difficult Friday due to the traffic, as can be expected round here. It was tough with 24 cars in the field but you just need to have sensible driving from the others, particularly given the time differences between cars. But this isn't going to change - Monaco is always like this and it is always a bit of a gamble but we have to throw our lot in as well. Even though the final position is not optimum, overall we can be pretty happy as the car is very good on a high fuel load. We need to improve the balance on the low fuel runs as we still struggled a little with the rear end grip but in general I think we are in a better shape compared to the last race. We have quite a lot of data we can work on tomorrow to try to improve everything for Saturday.”

Dominic Harlow, Force India chief race engineer
“Our programme for today looked to concentrate on the super soft tyre long run performance after last year's race where the tyre suffered quite high degradation in the early stages. We were also looking at cooling and brake set-up for the race here, both of which will be important on Sunday. Because of the light rain arriving at the end of FP2, things were accelerated slightly, with us running the super soft tyre slightly earlier to ensure that we got the data we needed. The drivers made full use of the laps they had to get comfortable on the circuit and the areas of new surface seem to have improved the grip level slightly. If we handle the busy track correctly on Saturday we can look forward to a competitive qualifying performance.”

Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
“Today we were very satisfied with the pace of our longer runs and the positions in both sessions were encouraging. However what we have seen is that the speed difference between the cars - sometimes up to five seconds - will make qualifying a lottery. We believe we have the potential to be right up there fighting for Q3 but we'll have to see how it goes in on Saturday. The right ingredients are there, we just need them to mix together in the right way.”

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, P1 - 1:16.857, 10th; P2 - 1:16.276, 12th
“It went well and I am quite happy with what we achieved in the two sessions. We had no technical issues at all, which is very good, as it meant I did a lot of laps. The new parts we have put on the car here seem to be working well. There is a big difference in behaviour between the two types of tyre: at the moment, the option seemed to develop quite a bit of degradation, although it might be less by the time we run again. It means we have quite a clear picture therefore of how to manage the tyres in the race. Anyway, here we have plenty of time to analyse what we need to do before Saturday, even if the rain at the end of the session meant it was harder to assess everything properly.”

Jaime Alguersuari, P1 - 1:17.991, 15th; P2 - 1:17.023, 18th
“It certainly felt different to last year, when I raced here in the World Series! It was a good testing day and even though I was stopped a bit before the end of my long stint in FP2 with a technical issue, I was able to complete a substantial number of laps. I think we know in what direction we must go to improve the car a bit more before qualifying and I should also pick up speed as I get more experience on the track. Both types of tyre suffered with degradation, but we have an idea what we can do on the car set-up side to deal with this.”

BMW Sauber
Pedro de la Rosa, P1 - 1:18.434, 17th; P2 - 1:16.599, 16th
"We covered all the mileage we wanted to, and made a lot of changes between the two sessions. We are heading in the right direction and have more ideas for Saturday. We can still make the car quicker, but we lose too much in the slow corners. Personally I started the first session quite carefully. The last time I was here was in 2002, so for me it was like learning a new track and I needed to get to know it again. For the second session I felt a lot more confident."

Kamui Kobayashi, P1 - 1:18.547, 18th; P2 - 1:16.818, 17th
"It is really difficult to drive here and I had a few moments. I think we had a reasonable set up from the beginning, but still it was difficult to find grip in the slow corners, which is our main problem. We will work and try to improve the set up."

James Key, BMW Sauber technical director
"Like any first day at Monaco, the track was obviously slippery at the beginning and tricky, so we just allowed the drivers to do their laps and get a feel for the car and the tyres. We did some set-up work in the morning and suffered a little bit from the grip level, but everyone had the same problem in that respect. In the afternoon we consolidated on what we found in the morning. We went through another programme on the prime tyres and then tried the option tyres, which worked pretty well by the time we ran them, because the track was in better condition. We then went on to some race simulation work. The race pace looked quite reasonable, however, there is work to do on our qualifying pace. That's what we will look at in detail for Saturday."

Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen, P1 - 1:19.606, 20th; P2 - 1:18.184, 19th
“Overall it was a very good Thursday on track. We completed both sessions without any problems and managed to complete all our programs. As soon as I got in the car on Thursday morning it felt good and throughout the day we've been able to improve it step by step, so we’re definitely going in the right direction. We tried both compounds of tyres and they're both working fine, and the long run with the soft tyres went without any problems, so that’s also pretty encouraging. We ended up pretty close to the car in front and anything can happen here so I’m looking forward to qualifying and the race. I'm really pleased with today’s performance and I think everyone in the team can be very happy with the job we're doing.”

Jarno Trulli, P1 - 1:19.902, 21st; P2 - 1:18.667, 21st
“It was a bit frustrating today as I lost time in the garage this afternoon, and didn’t really get the chance to push as I’d have liked on track. The times were coming down but unfortunately in Monaco every single minute you lose being on track is going to cost you a little bit throughout the weekend. Obviously I'm experienced, so on the driver's side it won't affect me but with the car we still need to find the right setup and the right balance. Despite this it's good to be here and to see Lotus Racing on track, as I know how much that means to a lot of the fans, and also to see that we continue to improve the car every time we get out on track.”

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
“Today was a reasonably good day. Jarno's program this afternoon was cut short with an engine problem, although the engine in question was a high-mileage unit that reached the end of the line today. Heikki had no problems completing the planned program, with a good long run at the end, so overall the team had a good day. The cars are in good shape, and we’re pretty confident there’s more to come for Saturday.”

Jody Egginton, Lotus chief race engineer
“I think the session went quite well today. Heikki obviously put in a good performance, putting in some good times at the end and I think with the changing weather conditions we did a good job. Jarno was a little bit unlucky unfortunately with an engine issue which prevented him from completing the program but we completed a good deal of work and I think we're now looking ok for Saturday.”

HRT
Karun Chandhok, P1 - 1:21.853, 24th; P2 - 1:20.313, 23rd
“It felt really good to be back and drive an F1 car around the streets of Monaco. I really enjoy driving on this circuit. We managed to go through our program today quite successfully on both tyres. I managed to get up to speed quite quickly and maintained that through the sessions. There is still a gap to the other new teams so we have to work on that. We are lucky that we have the whole day off tomorrow so will be sitting with my engineers working hard to find the right balance for qualifying on Saturday.”

Bruno Senna, P1 - 1:21.688, 23rd; P2 - 1:22.148, 24th
“I have been looking forward to driving here in Monaco again since my GP2 win a couple of years ago and here we are finally. Today we have been working very hard to make the car work as well as possible around this bumpy street circuit. It’s not easy to be honest. The areas of car development needed on the 'normal' circuits we have raced on so far are magnified here in Monaco and the team has to work harder than ever to make the best of what we have got. I plan to get back on target on Saturday.”

Colin Kolles, HRT team principal
“Our drivers paid a high price for a small mistake. But they will improve on Saturday. We did some good preparation work for the race, but we could not find the right balance to make the most of the tyres and achieve an optimal lap time. We have a good basis to build on ahead of qualifying.”

Bridgestone
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development
"Today we had good weather conditions in the morning and at the start of the afternoon practice session, however after that it became cooler and light rain fell on the track. In the morning the warm-up of the medium compound was quite good for this circuit and the track was showing good improvement before the rain started falling. I am happy that we were able to show that the allocation of the medium and super soft gave very reasonable performance today. Iis a challenge to predict the track condition as there is no F1 running tomorrow and we don't know what the weather will do. Initial conclusions from the data is that the super soft tyre should be able to last a reasonable distance if used at the start of the race, and the medium compound will deliver strong performance once it is warmed up. However, the track condition and weather have been very variable so far this week so we really face many unknowns."

More to follow.

[pinkmichk]

i dont like the thursday practise then wait til saturday it just seems so wrong

[Iceman]

yeah im sure it annoys drivers to escpecially with double race weekends.

[Iceman]

Qualifying Starts in half an hour!

[Iceman]

Alonso out of qualifying after broken chassis in P3

[Iceman]

webber on pole, then kubica then vettel, schumi 7th behind rosberg

[pinkmichk]

was there any drama apart from alonso? where did lewis qualify?

[Chels]

ah look it's gerrard butler ;D

[Scarlett.]

Quite an exciting race today, I feel bad for Jensen though D:

[Iceman]

Schumacher what a move....better get to keep the place, leave eyebrows in 7th! also i jumped and cheered when jensons engine went, one of the highlights of the race for me.

[Wildcat!]

Damn that race was boring. one of the worst monaco gp i have ever seen. I am really not sure about these new rules anymore. The fuelling, does add another dimension to sstrategy! Oh well, I hope it goes back next year.

[pinkmichk]

right i'm here i watched the race round a friends and now just watching the bbc3 coverage
not bothered by jenson retiring. hulkenberg and chandhoks respective crashes are exactly why the race terrified me i am glad those accidents werent more serious but bloody scary to watch all the same but i do still think monaco is on borrowed time in terms of drivers walking away from a crash there
wasnt in the slightest bit suprised at 4 safety cars
not happy that the red bulls were up there again but i'm happy with lewis finishing in 5th
i thought it were a good race although i did spend a lot watching through my fingers

[pinkmichk]

Fri 28 May 2010
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Sat 29 May 2010
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00
Sun 30 May 2010
Race 15:00

[pinkmichk]

schumi has lost the place
Schumacher penalised for Alonso safety-car passMercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher has been penalised by the Monte Carlo race stewards for his overtaking manoeuvre on Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the dying moments of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Schumacher was handed a drive-through penalty, which is converted after the race into a 20-second time penalty, dropping him from sixth to 12th in the results.

Schumacher passed Alonso just as the safety car pulled in at the end of Lap 78. The FIA stewards, which included his old sparring partner Damon Hill, have deemed the German breached Article 40.13 of the Sporting Regulations, which states that “if the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking."

Mercedes will appeal the stewards' decision and a date for that appeal will be set in due course by the FIA. Schumacher’s demotion moves Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who had finished in 11th, into the points in tenth place.

[Wildcat!]

YEah I knew that about Schumi, and it was pretty obvious anyways!

And youre right, LOL! Monaco is scary, that circuit is so narrow, and the turns so sharp! If you ever play a F1 video game, you will know how bad that circuit is. Hard to go a few laps without crashing. I remember one race where less than 10 cars finished!

[pinkmichk]

i love it and hate it in equal measures its such a awesome track but i cant help but having bad feeling bout it
i've played on it not on a f1 game but something different and found it real hard so certainly wouldnt want to be doing it at 200mph lol

[Scarlett.]

YEah I knew that about Schumi, and it was pretty obvious anyways!

And youre right, LOL! Monaco is scary, that circuit is so narrow, and the turns so sharp! If you ever play a F1 video game, you will know how bad that circuit is. Hard to go a few laps without crashing. I remember one race where less than 10 cars finished!

I've played it on Gran Turismo once, and I hit every wall :joker:

[Wildcat!]

I've played it on Gran Turismo once, and I hit every wall :joker:

Hahaha!! LOL! Its a very difficult track. :) ON F1 race games, you get a chance to practice before qualifying and races, so you can practice until you get all the turns and braking right. But then the race with all the other cars, is super hard, you have to concentrate like crazy!
I love it though. :)

[pinkmichk]

ahhh thats what i played it on couldnt remember name

[Iceman]

most teams now backing schumacher because race stewards put the green light on. confusion with this rule. i agree it was a sneaky move but without clarification it was worth the shot. hopefully during next week it'll be sorted one way or another

[Iceman]

bitch robbed my thread :P

love the turkish track! then we're back in Canada aren't we?

[Wildcat!]

Schumacher did do what he was su[pposed to do! So I think its the stewards fault, because its in the rule, he shuldnt have given the drivers a green flag.
So imo, he should get to keep his 7th place, and not be relegated to 12th!

[Iceman]

^^we agree for once.

i think they should let it stand as it did today and clearly outline the rule for thr future!

[pinkmichk]

i agree also there should be no issue light was green which we all know means go racing again i hope the penalty is overturned cos it isnt justified

[Iceman]

i wont complain if not i just wont watch F1 again.....gp2 race today was much more exciting, they have brill cars and drivers....

[Iceman]

Over a decade after his retirement from Formula One racing, Damon Hill has walked straight back into controversy by handing his former nemesis, Michael Schumacher, a ridiculous penalty in the wake of an otherwise forgettable Monaco Grand Prix.

Hill, the man who ended his career by pathetically retiring his fully functioning car because he was “so far down the field, there was little point in me carrying on” in his farewell race. Hill, the man who was denied his first world championship by the win-at-all-costs ruthlessness of Schumacher. Hill, the steward?

To be fair, Hill was only a quarter of the panel that decided if a breach had occurred and the penalty to be applied, but we have seen that the former drivers have added a moderating influence to the normally draconian stewards panel.

Reprimands have been the penalty of choice so far this year, and while it can be argued that these penalties have, at times, been far too lenient, this decision seems like a return the insane days of 2008, where every transgression was a metaphorical hanging offence.

So, what’s different?

Overtaking under safety car conditions is dangerous and unforgivable, but so is driving side by side down pit lane and that only received a slap on the wrist for the drivers involved. That was a clear breach of the rules, this one isn't quite so clear.

There are many examinations of the rules and their implications in this case, but it seems quite simple. The stewards point to the fact that section 40.13 applies and that “If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.”

In reality, however, section 40.11 applies “When the clerk of the course decides it is safe to call in the safety car the message "SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP" will be displayed on the timing monitors and the car's orange lights will be extinguished.” This is exactly what happened in Monaco.

From this point on, the following applies “As the safety car is approaching the pit entry the yellow flags and SC boards will be withdrawn and replaced by waved green flags with green lights at the Line. These will be displayed until the last car crosses the Line.” The cars were racing; the race did not end under safety car conditions.

If we are to believe Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali, the Ferrari drivers were told that the race was finishing under safety car conditions and they couldn’t be overtaken. Why then, did Fernando Alonso accelerate so hard that he lost control of his car? Surely, if he was cruising to the flag, there was no need for such acceleration.

Everything at the track pointed to the race having restarted. The SC boards were in, green flags were being waved and all of the drivers were looking for that final opportunity to pass. Schumacher alone was successful.

If this penalty is not overturned, there will be a huge outcry from fans of the sport the world over and yet another example for the conspiracy theorists to argue that FIA stands for Ferrari International Assistance.

If nothing else, it’s added an element of drama to a race that was yet another formation procession, interrupted occasionally by a Williams throwing itself at a wall or moment of madness from Jarno Trulli.

I suppose we should be thankful that we have something to talk about.


when i was a ferrari fan i would have point blank denied that......just saying.....

[Iceman]

doing something intresting for this race and for all the next ones...keep an eye out ;)

[pinkmichk]

talk on twitter that rubens crash was caused by a different loose drain cover to the supposed 1 that brought out safety car (a little before it on the road)
also chandhok took rubens wheel half a lap round track

[Iceman]

kind of pissed off merc didnt appeal, reckon they had a strong chance.....

ooohhh would make sense about the drain just looked like a freak crash....

[pinkmichk]

yep we are
i wont be watching race as we're off drag racing on race day so will have to watch the highlights in evening

[pinkmichk]

looking forward to practice tomorrow hoping its mclarens weekend

[Iceman]

schumacher third, lewis first.....i do believe i predicted that.

[Iceman]

http://www.openzine.com/aspx/PublisherZine.aspx?ID=22482&IssueID=9969

[Iceman]

qualifying on now...

[Iceman]

Ferrari have there 800th race tomorrow.....also they have won 1/4 of all there races......big congrats to my old favourite team.

[Iceman]

great qualifying session....

1. Webber
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel
4. Button
5. Schumacher
6. Rosberg

dont know the rest....

schumi had a run off on last lap, he was going good aswell....watch out for him overtaling at first corner tomorrow.....alsonso didnt make Q3.....

[Iceman]

shout out from Stirling Moss:

Eoin_l_

@StirlingMossCom do what @MikeGascoyne and @VirginRacing do, get on twitter and post pics and tell US - the fans, whats going on 12 minutes ago via web in reply to StirlingMossCom Retweeted by StirlingMossCom and 2 others

[Iceman]

reply from stirling moss:

StirlingMossCom

@Eoin_l_ I @MyLotusRacing and the drivers will be at Snet on 20th June with most ever Lotus F1 cars made running on track 6 minutes ago via web in reply to Eoin_l_

[James]

Webber out in front.

[James]

LH reeling in Webber now.

[James]

:o Red Bulls run into each other.

[Scarlett.]

Hammy :D

[Iceman]

Vettel is an idiot.

Rule 1 of being an F1 Driver - DO NOT CRASH WITH YOUR TEAM MATE.

Button being crazy aswell a few laps later....delighted for lewis (yeah never thought i'd say that either)

Schumacher best of rest...needs a faster car ASAP 4th though isnt bad

[Iceman]

will do races now...kind of forgot last time LOL

[Iceman]

Qualifying Points
Mark Webber - 6 Points
Robert Kubica - 4 Points
Sebastian Vettel - 2 Points

Race Points
Mark Webber - 20 Points
Sebastian Vettel - 18 Points
Robert Kubical - 16 Points
Felipe Massa - 14 Points
Lewis Hamilton - 12 Points
Fernando Alonso - 10 Points
Nico Rosberg - 8 - Points
Adrian Sutil - No Pair
Vitantonio Liuzzi - No Pair
Sebastian Buemi - No Pair
Vitaly Petrov - No Pair
Jaime Alguersuari - No Pair
Michael Schumacher - 6 Points
Vitaly Petrov - 4 Points
Karun Chandhock - No Pair
Jarno Trulli - 2 Points

Fastest Lap Points
Sebastian Vettel - 8 Points

[James]

I didn't think Vettel was to blame - I thought he had a good run on Webber. I agreed with Eddie Jordan on that one. :shocked:

[Iceman]

I didn't think Vettel was to blame - I thought he had a good run on Webber. I agreed with Eddie Jordan on that one. :shocked:

bleach your mouth out - you should never agree with him, next youll be fake tanning and wearing shirts from the 70's!

[James]

bleach your mouth out - you should never agree with him, next youll be fake tanning and wearing shirts from the 70's!

:laugh2:

[Iceman]

:laugh2:

laugh now....but thats the 3 steps to jordanism.......you DONT wanna be going there.

anyway i do think the race was good.....outcome was good for me as a Schumacher fan i just hope they get faster cause Ferrari will catch up soon

[Wildcat!]

LMAO at the red bulls today ! :laugh:
Honestly, has there ever been a team that dominates so much in qualifying, and most of the time, find a way not to win! I mean Jeez, they have had pole in every race, and neither is leading the championships! LOL!

[Iceman]

LMAO at the red bulls today ! :laugh:
Honestly, has there ever been a team that dominates so much in qualifying, and most of the time, find a way not to win! I mean Jeez, they have had pole in every race, and neither is leading the championships! LOL!

Webber is still leading the drivers! Mclraren have overtaken in consryctors though! :)

[pinkmichk]

trying to catch up race now iplayer is being naff though :(

[Iceman]

This weekend, race starts at 5pm on sunday.

Qualifying is on at 4pm maybe? LOL

[Iceman]

P1 on in about 3 hours i think red button!

[pinkmichk]

i'll miss most of it then clashes with school run really looking forward to this race still say lewis 1st schumi 2nd

[Iceman]

1st Button
2nd Schumacher
3rd Hamilton


wahey

[Iceman]

P2 10 mins

[pinkmichk]

what the hell happened with fp2 the times seemed scrambled from fp1 norm you get a bit of consistancy at least in the practices

[Iceman]

Looks like dry qualifying and wet start to race tomorrow.

dont forget BBC2 tonight not 1 theres some football thing on or something.....

[pinkmichk]

fp3 in 45 minutes
oh yeah i heard there were something ball like on

[James]

Qualifying is on shortly, it looks like.

Le Mans 24 hour race is today/tomorrow also. I had forgot about that.

[pinkmichk]

wow that last lap from lewis was amazing proper edge of seat heart in mouth type def want more of that tomorrow. in case you not seen he got fine and reprimand but has kept his pole mclaren were also given a fine for not getting back to pits in allotted time

[Iceman]

Qualifying is on shortly, it looks like.

Le Mans 24 hour race is today/tomorrow also. I had forgot about that.

did you watch it? some race!

[Iceman]

Race on now in 25 mins Lewis crash firt corner.........Schumi up to 6th. mark my words

[James]

Good race, even though I missed the start again. :s

Race on now in 25 mins Lewis crash firt corner.........Schumi up to 6th. mark my words

Not quite. :tongue:

[James]

did you watch it? some race!

Watched some of it. Bit disappointed for Peuguot (never know how to spell that. :p)

[Iceman]

Good race, even though I missed the start again.



Not quite. :tongue:

maybe if i start saying schumi finish 16th he might win, must remember that for next race LOL

In fairness Schumi drove terribly today and too aggresively.....bad wkend altogether.

Liuzzi is my driver of day...

[osbaldwick]

Nice one Lewis. You can't help but get the feeling that he's finally getting it together

[Iceman]

Nice one Lewis. You can't help but get the feeling that he's finally getting it together

yeah he done good past 2 races picking up on others misfortune, reckon it'll be a different story at next race....

[pinkmichk]

:) :) :) :) :) that is all

[Iceman]

:) :) :) :) :) that is all

thats 2 good race days in a row........cant be having too many more of them:hugesmile:

[pinkmichk]

ahhhh shush dont rain on my parade :)

[Iceman]

Next Week

[pinkmichk]

yay bring on the continued mclaren/lewis wins

[Iceman]

Not gonna happen, watch out for Alonso he's gonna rule Valencia.......

[pinkmichk]

free practices tomorrow
qualies and race on at 12.10 but the race is on bbc2

[James]

Here's Q on now.

[James]

Schu just makes it into Q2.

[James]

Pole for Seb Vettel.

[pinkmichk]

hope lewis gets a good start and the result is a mclaren 1-2

[pinkmichk]

omg webbers smash worst f1 crash i have seen amazing he just got out the car and walked away think it happened at around 190mph that onboard footage was something else

[GiRTh]

Do the have to keep showing Nicole Sherzinger? Its getting boring now.

[Iceman]

good race, webbers a lucky boy.......

drive of the day Kobayashi......showing what he was like in last 2 races of 2009 season......

[pinkmichk]

completely agree bout kobayashi amazing drive esp when he made that move on alonso

[Iceman]

completely agree bout kobayashi amazing drive esp when he made that move on alonso

yeah and the cheeky one on Buemi aswell last corner...... i thought he had blown his chances at start of season but i think he'll remain in top 10 now....(probably bad for schumi LOL)

[James]

What happened with the 'bingo numbers' investigation about speeding during the Safety Car that was happening after the race? I assume they were all cleared?

[Iceman]

What happened with the 'bingo numbers' investigation about speeding during the Safety Car that was happening after the race? I assume they were all cleared?

they all got a 5 second penalty....alonso moved up 1 place and buemi down one...think that was all the changes....

[pinkmichk]

apart from glock he got 20 second penalty for ignoring the blue flag

[Iceman]

oh ye forgot about glock....

[Iceman]

Next Week.

I'm gonna miss it because of Oxegen so im relying on you guys to have some decent info on here

im looking at you three......James, Mich and Wildcat:hugesmile:

[pinkmichk]

lol i'll do my best for you on twitter i cant wait would truly love a mclaren 1-2 headed by lewis that would be insanely sweet

[Iceman]

new name thread, all will become clear

[pinkmichk]

*SCREAM* argh still not come down just found out they are tickets for vale grandstand for all 3 days could apply so many redbull like jokes to how i feel still shaking like mad omg trackside for a gp but not just any the home gp epic doesnt even cover it (thanks for title eoin :) )

[pinkmichk]

update going with my dad :) cant wait i need to find my back the brits top out and get a england flag (should be nice and cheap now ;) ) to put hamilton on have just about calmed down although not sure how i will sleep
we're staying at my aunts who lives bout 10 minutes from track

[pinkmichk]

rumour has it senna is being replaced and isnt racing the person its come from is a very well known respected journalist who has never got a f1 call wrong but will keep checking twitter etc for updates
http://the-f1-insider.mfbiz.com/

[James]

Here's qualifying...

[James]

Red Bull looking good in Q1. Alg out in Q1.

[James]

Button 14th. It's gonna be a Red Bull 1-2 here.

[pinkmichk]

the race was amazing the mclarens drove a amazing drive button was my driver of the day really happy with 2nd and 4th plus the fact it did no harm to the championship
pics here if you wanted a look
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=459957&id=754900439&l=d5df9e2b11

[Gandalf]

Excellent race today.

Thought Lewis and Jensen drove tremendously, but fair play to Vettel for coming back so well.

[James]

Those are good pictures. :thumbs: Red Bull keep shooting themselves in the foot, somewhat. They obviously have the best car by quite a long way, they should be ahead in the title race.

[pinkmichk]

i give red bull a couple more races before the rift blows the team apart i said webber would regret re signing with them and thats def the case but i'm not complaining (1 cos i not alonso ;) ) and 2 cos lewis and jenson are at top of championship

thanks for pictures comment bit hard to capture properly beens they so fast lol plus was so excited i kept forgetting to take pics

right my review of weekend now i'm not so tired
we got into silverstone and in vale just in time for fp3 starting qualies was hard to watch as a mclaren fan really felt for jenson cos really struggled was pretty happy with lewis' position. i did say i hoped alonso took out the bulls in first corner shame it didnt happen that way
for race day the atmosphere was amazing like nowt i have ever experienced
the start was incredible we didnt see lewis coming together with vettel but the cheer lewis got when he went into 2nd was mega then when he passed us on first lap the whole stand just erupted into clapping cheering etc it was actually a bigger reception than robbie got when he came on stage at milton keynes bowl in 06. there may have also been some laughing and cheering when seb limped past us on way to pits ;)
also in vale everyone was rather amused alonso had a crap race prob cos it was near enough all brit boy supporters in the stand (karma is a wonderful thing :) )
jensons drive was just amazing seriously he deserved that 4th place there was a lot of jenson love in the stand (even from me and i'm not exactly a jenson fan)
the safety car was good apart from in terms of vettels drive through pack lewis had a pretty good re start and at 1 point lewis and jenson were running 2nd and 3rd what a sight to see the 2 mclarens together
rosberg had a pretty good race schumi struggled although at 1 point he was proper holding up jenson
all in all was a really good race

[ange7]

i give red bull a couple more races before the rift blows the team apart i said webber would regret re signing with them and thats def the case but i'm not complaining (1 cos i not alonso ;) ) and 2 cos lewis and jenson are at top of championship

thanks for pictures comment bit hard to capture properly beens they so fast lol plus was so excited i kept forgetting to take pics

right my review of weekend now i'm not so tired
we got into silverstone and in vale just in time for fp3 starting qualies was hard to watch as a mclaren fan really felt for jenson cos really struggled was pretty happy with lewis' position. i did say i hoped alonso took out the bulls in first corner shame it didnt happen that way
for race day the atmosphere was amazing like nowt i have ever experienced
the start was incredible we didnt see lewis coming together with vettel but the cheer lewis got when he went into 2nd was mega then when he passed us on first lap the whole stand just erupted into clapping cheering etc it was actually a bigger reception than robbie got when he came on stage at milton keynes bowl in 06. there may have also been some laughing and cheering when seb limped past us on way to pits ;)
also in vale everyone was rather amused alonso had a crap race prob cos it was near enough all brit boy supporters in the stand (karma is a wonderful thing :) )
jensons drive was just amazing seriously he deserved that 4th place there was a lot of jenson love in the stand (even from me and i'm not exactly a jenson fan)
the safety car was good apart from in terms of vettels drive through pack lewis had a pretty good re start and at 1 point lewis and jenson were running 2nd and 3rd what a sight to see the 2 mclarens together
rosberg had a pretty good race schumi struggled although at 1 point he was proper holding up jenson
all in all was a really good race
cheers for the pic.
"webber would regret re signing with them and thats def the case but i'm not complaining (1 cos i not alonso ;) )"

Are you saying you think webber is going to Ferrari?

[pinkmichk]

no although i wouldnt be suprised to see him elsewhere maybe in the other renault with kubica
na i'm refering more to the fact alonso continues moaning about everything during and after a race cos it dont go his way :joker:

[Iceman]

Due to popular demand here is the thread for the german GP next weekend!

Race is at 1 i think i couldnt be arsed checking

[pinkmichk]

LOL popular demand ;)
i reckon the redbulls are gonna continue ruining their championship bid

[Iceman]

I think they'll do an amazing job, i think nico will get a good race aswell and schuey maybe 13th or somewhere

[pinkmichk]

they better not or i may end up throwing things at the tv come on mclarens 1-2 schumi 3rd

[Iceman]

ive resigned to the fact that schuey aint going anywhere fast this year literally. im pinnin my hopes on 2011 if he stays.

Reckon Jenson and Lewis will get involved in crashes...

[pinkmichk]

noooooo they best not do unless of course its a repeat of silverstone with lewis/vettel

[Iceman]

i just have one of them feelings you know?? i just dont see them on podium??

[pinkmichk]

well i'm ignoring your feeling ;) cos remember we were both wrong where monaco was concerned (thank god)

[Iceman]

oh god yeah, i still think thats unsafe there, they need to move on leave it be and let it have its history!

[pinkmichk]

agree completely
did you see the news bout chandhok?

[Iceman]

Yeah Yamamoto is replacing him and Senna is back????? i like him so dont mind im just glad that idiot is off the road now, too dangerous

[pinkmichk]

yep & looks like he possibly wont be back for rest of season

[Iceman]

well he clearly couldnt cut it, i blame the lackof testing, rookies should have a few days more, it just aint fair on them