Dani Clos To Get Fifth Practice Outing At Spa

HRT’s reserve driver, Dani Clos, will get his fifth practice outing with the Spanish outfit when the Formula 1 fraternity reconvenes at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit next weekend, with the Spaniard once again replacing Narain Karthikeyan during the opening practice session.

Dani Clos has fond memories of racing around Spa, as the Spaniard took his first international single-seater victory of his career at the circuit. Clos last raced around Spa last season in the GP2 Series, finishing 6th on both occasions throughout the weekend. This will be the Spaniard’s fourth outing in succession for HRT, after Clos carried out the same practice duties at the German and Hungarian Grands Prix. He is understandably eager to return to the cockpit of the F112, and continue his role within the team alongside team-mates Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan.

“Once again I have a chance to step into the car and work for the team and that fills me with satisfaction.” Explained Dani Clos, “Especially after having run in the events leading up to the summer break, for me it is really important to stay active and be able to continue growing alongside my teammates Pedro and Narain. Spa is a circuit where I have great memories. I won my first international one-seater race there, that’s something you never forget and it makes me have special feelings for this circuit.”

HRT are eager to continue their momentum once the season continues next weekend, with the Spanish outfit deciding to run a medium downforce setup similar to that used at Montreal throughout the weekend. Although Spa plays host to many high speed corners, such as Eau Rouge and the fast-flowing Blanchimont section, both drivers are confident ahead of the weekend.

“We’re going to use the same medium downforce that worked so well in Canada so we hope to perform well despite the large amount of high speed corners.” Said Pedro de la Rosa, “We’ve all returned full of energy from the holidays and I personally arrive in my best physical condition of the season and really looking forward to taking on the second half of the championship”.

HRT have still yet to score their first World Championship points, as they enter the latter stages of their third Formula 1 season. The team have undoubtedly shown potential in the face of adversity this season, and will remain positive that those elusive points can be scored this season.

Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team

Michael Schumacher Not Loosing Faith In Mercedes

Michael Schumacher suffered yet another unlucky race at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, where the German retired for a third race in succession due to a hydraulic issue with the DRS. Amazingly the 7-time World Champion has only scored 2 World Championship points, in comparison to his team-mate Nico Rosberg’s 67 points.

However, Michael Schumacher has insisted that his faith in Mercedes has not faltered due to the recent misfortune that has plagued the German. Whereas Schumacher has retired from five of the last seven races, Nico Rosberg has successfully finished every race so far and has even stormed to his maiden Grand Prix victory in China.

“I wanted to emphasize once again that Formula 1 cars are prototype vehicles and hundreds of components are made specially for them.” Explained the 7-time World Champion on his personal website. “For me, it’s completely understandable that things can go wrong from time to time. Of course it was a disappointing outcome in Montreal. But I won’t lose my nerve or my faith in the team. I still believe that we will achieve something special together with Mercedes.”

After the race on Sunday, in which Michael Schumacher retired from with yet another technical issue on the car, the German driver immediately sat down with his engineers to try and resolve these issues in preparation for the next race in Valencia.

“There is no reason to blame anyone – unfortunate circumstances like these are part of motor racing.” Continued Schumacher, “Indeed, I’m certain it’s even tougher for the guys in the team. That’s why I sat down with my race engineers immediately after my retirement, to discuss how we should approach the time before the next race and to make sure we stay in close contact over the coming days.”

Since making his return to the sport, Michael Schumacher has yet to step onto the podium with Mercedes. After enjoying such a dominant career with Benetton and Ferrari, his current career with Mercedes seems to be a far-cry to those dominant years. However, Schumacher remains confident that success can be found this year, and that a victory is still not out of the questions in the races to come.

Nico Rosberg: “It Was Really A Roller-Coaster Race For Me”

Nico Rosberg has described his Canadian Grand Prix as a roller-coaster of a race, as the German driver started the race from 5th position and only managed to finish 6th. The Mercedes driver insisted that he could have done better, but the tyre dominated race failed to work out for the German team.

Since taking is maiden victory at the Chinese Grand Prix back in April, Nico Rosberg has had a tough time in the hunt for his second victory. With Michael Schumacher retiring with a misfortunate hydraulic DRS failure, Mercedes only took 8 points from the Canadian Grand Prix.

“It was really a roller-coaster race for me.” Explained Nico Rosberg after the race, “There were good times and bad times and in the end it was all over the place. I am sure that I could have done better today – definitely. But at the same time it could have been worse. So overall sixth place is okay and it means good points for the Championship. It was again a tyre race.”

At the start of the race, Nico Rosberg was locked in a battle with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa before the Force India of Paul di Resta breezed past the German. With Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean smoother on their tyres, a podium was unfortunately out of reach for the German star.

“In the first couple of laps I had a problem finding the rhythm.” Said Rosberg, “I didn’t feel comfortable on the brakes and I would say that my seventh gear was a bit too short and that was at the beginning. Then came laps where I felt very much at home. Of course it could have worked out better.”

Whilst Nico Rosberg struggled and eventually finished 6th, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton stormed to his first victory of the season. After the race, the British driver said that the season is very random and that anybody has the ability to be victorious. However, Nico Rosberg disagrees with the McLaren driver.

“No, that is not true.” Stated the German driver, “This is not an equal opportunity society where anybody can win but different cars work with the tyres in different ways under different conditions. You have to try as a team to have a car that works with the tyres in all conditions. And then it is not random anymore and that is when you win more than one race.”

With Red Bull’s Helmut Marko tipping Nico Rosberg to be amongst the five drivers who could decide the title, the German driver will undeniably have to start winning more races as the season progresses. Niki Lauda once said that your first win in Formula 1 is the hardest, however it’s the second win that seems to harder to find for Nico Rosberg.

 

Lewis Hamilton Describes Victory As A Phenomenal Feeling

After storming to his first victory of the 2012 season, Lewis Hamilton has described it as a phenomenal feeling to have finally returned to his winning ways with his first win since the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The British driver completed a two-stop strategy, and was forced to overtake both Vettel and Alonso along the way to victory.

Lewis Hamilton was forced to overcome several hurdles to take his 18th career victory, firstly after being leap-frogged by Fernando Alonso in the opening round of pit-stops and then suffering a slightly delayed pit-stop second time around. However, with the assistance of fresh Pirelli tyres and the DRS overtaking device, Lewis Hamilton was able to catch and pass two former World Champions of the sport on his way to victory.

“It is a phenomenal feeling to be back here again,” explained Lewis Hamilton. “To go out and have a performance like that and when coming back seeing the team in our special tops – that was awesome. It was the place of my first win and to win here today brought back a lot of fantastic memories. And believe me, today it felt just as good as back in 2007.”

Since his first Formula 1 victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has continued to be competitive around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. The Briton won for a second time in Montreal in 2010, and yesterday made it a hat-trick of victories on Canadian soil.

McLaren’s 2012 season has so far been a difficult journey of mixed emotions, with pit-stop issues plaguing the teams ability the have competitive races. Both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have been on the receiving end of bad pit-stops, and once again in Canada yesterday the two pits-stops for Hamilton weren’t the smoothest of the day.

“Well the first pit stop was good,” Said Hamilton, when asked about the two stops. “Just the launch was not that great as the clutch slipped – and the second was a bit slower on the rear, but it was still a huge improvement compared to previous times, so all was good.”

As the F1 fraternity now gears up for the next round the World Championship at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, where the temperatures could well be even hotter, Lewis Hamilton believes the unpredictability could well continue and that an eighth different driver could win the race.

“I think that the Championship is still so unpredictable that we very likely could see an eighth winner there.” Said the Brit, who has never won the race at Valencia. “All I hope is that I am there in the fight and having the chance to be among the possible winners again.”

Lewis Hamilton heads to the European Grand Prix leading the Drivers’ Championship, yet the 2008 World Champion has admitted he is in no way in control at the top. With the competitive nature of the 2012 season set to continue, Hamilton will have a tough time protecting his lead at the top of the Championship.

F1 Video Game Makes Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve A Favorite For Grosjean

Romain Grosjean has stated how Formula 1 video games on the PlayStation and Xbox attributed to the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve becoming a personal favorite of the Frenchman. The Lotus driver secured his second podium finish of his career in Sunday’s race, after starting 7th on the grid.

The reigning GP2 Champion had never raced on the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve prior this years race weekend, and learned the track whilst playing on a Formula 1 video game on the Xbox. With the GP2 Series never racing around the Montreal circuit, Grosjean had no first hand experience of the characteristics of the track.

“I think I should say Xbox or Microsoft.” Said Romain Grosjean, when asked if the PlayStation assisted in his strong performance during the race. “It’s true that on a video game it’s my favorite track and looking at it, it’s quite interesting. It’s more bumpy than on [the] Xbox sitting on a sofa, but it’s pretty interesting and when you have a good result in a race, normally you quite like it and so I’m pretty happy about today.”

The highly realistic F1 2011 developed by Codemasters
Picture Copyright © GameSpot Image

With 2012 being Romain Grosjean’s first full season in Formula 1, after making his debut throughout the 2009 season with Renault, the Frenchman has been learning the majority of the non-European circuits such as Albert Park (Australia), Shanghai (China) and Sakhir (Bahrain) throughout 2012. Romain Grosjean now sits 7th in the Drivers Championship, with 53 points already scored this season.

The new Formula 1 game, F1 2012, is set to be released in September this year. Once again, the game will be developed by Codemasters and will feature all the drivers, teams and circuits of the current 2012 season including the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Lewis Hamilton Never Doubted The Possibility Of Victory

After taking his first victory of the 2012 season at the Canadian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton stated how he never doubted the possibility of taking victory throughout the duration of the race. The British driver endured a tough race for victory, muscling his way past both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to take a memorable win.

Lewis Hamilton started the Canadian Grand Prix from 2nd on the grid, alongside reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel. After jumping the German driver throughout the first round of pit-stops and passing Alonso for the lead on track, Hamilton sat comfortably in the lead prior to his second and final pit-stop of the race.

After this second stop, it became apparent that both Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel were attempting a one-stop strategy, which therefore meant Lewis Hamilton would have to pass the two drivers on the track. With the assistance of fresher tyres and DRS, Hamilton made short work of the both drivers and stormed to his first victory of 2012.

“I never had a doubt in my mind that there wasn’t a possibility to win,” Explained Lewis Hamilton after the race. “But I was thinking that these guys are falling quite far behind so I assumed they are doing a one-stop but I don’t think I’m going to be able to do a one-stop so I’m going to keep on pushing, increase the gap. Yeah, I had a couple of problems pulling away. It might have been my fault, I don’t know. But otherwise the pit stops were great and finally we’ve got some good pit stops and of course we can keep on improving in every area.”

Lewis Hamilton now heads to the European Grand Prix around the Valencia Street Circuit leading the Drivers Championship, and undoubtedly eager to continue winning. With Lewis Hamilton becoming the seventh different winner out of seven races in 2012, could an eight different driver be victorious in two weeks time?

Timo Glock Frustrated After First DNF Of 2012

Timo Glock endured a frustratingly disappointing Canadian Grand Prix earlier today, as the German driver failed to finish for the first time this season. The 30-year-old made his debut around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve for Jordan back in 2004, however during this years race he suffered from brake issues which forced him to retire on lap 56.

Whilst Timo Glock unfortunately retired, his rookie team-mate Charles Pic was able to reach the checkered flag and finish 20th and last. The Frenchman completed a one-stop strategy, on what was his first race around the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

“Not a great race for me.” Admitted Timo Glock, “In general the first stint was quite okay I think until I suddenly lost power for some reason; I think the engine temperature went quite high. After 14 laps I was suffering quite badly with rear tyre degradation and the combination of the two issues was quite difficult to manage. But at the end I suffered so much with the brakes; they were getting longer and longer on pressure and it was too dangerous to continue, so I had to retire. This was my first DNF and in general Canada has not been that great for us this year, which is a shame because it’s a track I love. Now though I’m looking forward to Valencia and to seeing what we can do to improve there.”

With this result, Marussia remain behind Caterham in the Constructors Championship. Although both Caterham, Marussia and HRT have both failed to score points so far this season, their positions in the Championship are determined by their highest finishing result. For Marussia, that is so far only 14th at the Australian and Monaco Grands Prix. Heikki Kovalainen finished 13th for Caterham in Monaco, meaning the Hingham-based outfit are currently the best of the non-points scoring teams.

Picture Copyright © Marussia F1 Team

HRT Disappointed After Double DNF

The Canadian Grand Prix was a race to forget for the HRT Formula 1 team, after both drivers failed to make it to the checkered flag. Both Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan retired due to brake issues, after what had been a relatively positive race weekend beforehand.

After only 22 laps, Narain Karthikeyan was forced into retirement as high amounts of brake and tyre wear ended the Indian’s race. Several laps later, the same issues began to plague Pedro de la Rosa’s car, and the HRT team opted to retire the Spaniard on safety reasons. Regardless of the disappointing race day, HRT have visibly shown improvements throughout the weekend and will be eager to carry the momentum in the next race at Valencia.

“The truth is I can’t deny I’m disappointed because it’s the first race we haven’t finished with either car.” Explained HRT’s team principal, Luis Perez-Sala. “It’s a shame because we were going well, but we had a temperature issue with the brakes on both cars which impeded us from finishing. On the other hand, I’m happy for the race Pedro and Narain we’re doing. Now we must resolve the problems we’ve detected and think about Valencia. What better place to turn things around than at home.”

As HRT now prepare to head back to Europe for what will be their second home race of the season, the Spanish outfit will undoubtedly be eager to continue progressing and reeling in their nearest competitors Marussia. Although HRT suffered a dreadful start to the season, this is their first double DNF of the season.

Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton Secures Victory In Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has finally secured his first Grand Prix victory of the 2012 season at the Canadian Grand Prix, after a late surge from 3rd saw the Brit overtake both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso who suffered from tyre degradation towards the end of the race. With Alonso and Vettel falling away, this allowed Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively.

At the start Sebastian Vettel stormed away at the front after a superlative getaway, as Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg became locked in a grueling battle for 5th. However, Rosberg soon began to fall away as Paul di Resta made this way around the German. Felipe Massa made a huge error heading into turn 2, and spun his Ferrari which saw him loose several places.

On lap 13, Felipe Massa became the first driver to pit before di Resta and Schumacher followed suit a lap later. Whilst other drivers also began making their pit-stops, Lewis Hamilton began reeling in leader Vettel. By lap 16, Vettel pitted handing the lead down to Hamilton. His lead was short lived as the Brit also pitted a lap later, as Fernando Alonso assumed the lead. The Spaniard remained in the lead for several laps, until he too eventually pitted on lap 19 handing the lead down Grosjean. Upon exiting the pit-lane, Alonso rejoined just in front of Lewis Hamilton.

However, Alonso failed to keep the faster Hamilton behind him for too long as Hamilton stormed past the Spaniard with the assistance of the DRS. Whilst all this excitement was going on at the front, both HRTs of Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan retired with separate issues.

Jenson Button’s torrid race weekend continued during the race, as the Brit soon found himself dropping back amongst the midfield teams. Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen stayed out through the first round of pit-stops, the two obviously attempting a one-stop strategy. It wasn’t until lap 41 and 42 respectively that both Raikkonen and Perez finally made their one and only stops of the race.

Michael Schumacher’s bad luck continued during the race, when the 7-time World Champion was forced to retire after his DRS-flap stuck open. To avoid being issued the black and orange flag, the Mercedes driver eventually took to the pits only to retire for the fifth time this season. With only two points scored so far, this has been the German’s most uncompetitive start to a Formula 1 season.

By lap 50, Lewis Hamilton was forced to pit from the lead as the Brit’s tyres began to wear. This handed the lead back to Fernando Alonso, as Hamilton dropped back down to 3rd place. After initially thinking both Alonso and Vettel would also pit a second time, McLaren began urging Hamilton forward after it became apparent the leading duo of would not pit again.

This meant Lewis Hamilton would have to pass both Vettel and Alonso if he was to have any hope of winning his first race in 2012. With Hamilton on much newer tyres in comparison to the leaders, it was no surprise that the Brit stormed past first Vettel and then Alonso with ease with the assistance of DRS down the back straight.

As Lewis Hamilton stormed into the lead, leaving Alonso trailing in his wake, Sebastian Vettel opted to pit for some fresh tyres. With Alonso stubbornly staying out on track with badly worn tyres, Romain Grosjean and then Sergio Perez quickly caught up with the Ferrari driver and subsequently found their way past. Sebastian Vettel, now on fresher rubber, also made his way past the Spaniard whose hopes of a second victory faded away in the closing laps of the race.

After their recent run of bad luck, McLaren finally returned to the top step of the podium as Lewis Hamilton stormed across the line to become the record breaking seventh different winner in the opening seven races of 2012. Behind the British star Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez completed the podium after a magnificent performance by the Lotus and Sauber drivers.

With Lewis Hamilton taking victory in Canada, this now means the British driver has taken the lead in the Drivers’ Championship as the F1 fraternity now pack up and head back to Europe for the European Grand Prix around the Valencia Street Circuit.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Canadian Grand Prix Montreal, Canada; 70 laps; 305.270km; Weather: Sunny. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time
 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           1h32:29.586
 2.  Grosjean      Lotus-Renault              +     2.513
 3.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     5.260
 4.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     7.295
 5.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    13.411
 6.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    13.842
 7.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    15.085
 8.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault              +    15.567
 9.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +    24.432
10.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    25.272
11.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +    37.693
12.  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes       +    46.236
13.  Maldonado     Williams-Renault           +    47.052
14.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +  1:04.475
15.  Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
16.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +     1 lap
17.  Senna         Williams-Renault           +     1 lap
18.  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
19.  Petrov        Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
20.  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:15.752

Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
Glock         Marussia-Cosworth            57
Schumacher    Mercedes                     34
De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth                 25
Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth                 23

Picture Copyright © AP

Pastor Maldonado Receives 5-Place Grid Penalty

Pastor Maldonado has been forced to endure a 5-place grid penalty ahead of this afternoon’s Canadian Grand Prix, after his Williams mechanics were forced to change his gearbox. After an explosive end to qualifying, the Venezuelan driver was set to start the race from only 17th on the grid, after failing to progress to Q3.

Following the gearbox change and the subsequent penalty that followed, Maldonado will now line-up 22nd on the grid for the race. After a relatively uncompetitive season since his illustrious victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, Maldonado looks set to have another tough afternoon ahead of him.

Pastor Maldonado’s team-mate Bruno Senna will start the Canadian Grand Prix in 16th, as the team search for further World Championship points this weekend.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team