Nico Rosberg leads a Mercedes 1-2 after final practice in Malaysia
Nico Rosberg has ended the third and final practice session fastest for Mercedes, leading a 1-2 for the German marque with Lewis Hamilton a close 2nd. Kimi Raikkonen ended the session best of the rest for Ferrari in 3rd, over a second behind the fearsome pace of the Mercedes duo with Sebastian Vettel 4th for Red Bull.
The third and final practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix got underway in slightly overcast weather conditions, with dark clouds looming ominously overhead as Marcus Ericsson became the first of many drivers to take to the Sepang International Circuit once the session officially got underway. The Swedish rookie was eventually followed by almost the entire field, except the Red Bulls, with many eager to finalise their preparations ahead of qualifying later in the day. Despite the sudden flurry of track activity, only installation laps were initially completed before the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado completed the first timed lap of the session with a 01:49.882.
As Pastor Maldonado made up for his lack of track time during the first two practice sessions on the Friday, with the Venezuelan ace eventually working his way down to a 01:44.622, many other drivers returned to the track in a bid to begin their own timed laps. This naturally saw the benchmark at the top tumble, as the likes of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen rose to the sharp end of the order with the latter producing a 01:41.835 for the Scuderia. After such a competitive debut for McLaren, Kevin Magnussen’s Malaysian Grand Prix woes continued during the final practice session, with the Danish rookie complaining of a lack of power as Lewis Hamilton asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:41.246.
Despite the ever-present threat of rain the third and final practice session continued in dry yet humid weather conditions, as Nico Rosberg bettered his team-mate’s time with a 01:40.946 as Lewis Hamilton began pushing beyond the limit and ran wide at Turn 4. With Kevin Magnussen yet to set a timed lap in the session, fellow McLaren driver Jenson Button was also struggling, as the 2009 World Champion produced a woeful 02:05.555 with the Briton complaining of a lack of rear grip on his Mercedes-powered machine. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton returned to the top for Mercedes with a 01:40.552, as Pastor Maldonado became the first driver to elect for Pirelli’s medium tyre compound before running extremely wide at Turn 1.
With the majority of the field also deciding to switch from Pirelli’s hard compound to the medium compound, the benchmark at the top took another tumble as Kimi Raikkonen and then Nico Rosberg stormed to the top with the latter producing a dominant 01:39.008 to keep the German marque at the top of the order. As the final minutes of the session ticked away Rosberg’s time at the top remained unchallenged, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton slotting neatly into 2nd position to strengthen the German marque’s reign at the top. During the final minutes of the session Romain Grosjean ran extensively wide at Turn 11, with the Frenchman eventually ending the session 15th after a relatively incident free hour.
The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen ended the session 3rd fastest behind the incredibly dominant ‘Silver Arrows’ of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, with reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel 4th fastest in the Red Bull albeit over one second off of the pace set by Rosberg. With all three practice sessions now over, the teams and drivers will return to the Sepang International Circuit later in the day for the all-important qualifying hour to determine the grid for the 56-lap Malaysian Grand Prix.
Picture Copyright © Mercedes AMG Petronas
Lewis Hamilton denies Sebastian Vettel pole in thrilling qualifying at Budapest
Lewis Hamilton has denied Sebastian Vettel the luxury of securing pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, after a thrilling qualifying session around the Hungaroring which saw the Briton eventually secure his third successive pole for Mercedes. The second row will consist of Romain Grosjean and Nico Rosberg.
The all-important qualifying hour got underway in intense summer heat around the Hungaroring, with Esteban Gutierrez unsurprisingly becoming the first driver to take to the track after recovering from his earlier engine woes and subsequent engine change. The Mexican rookie proceeded to produce the first timed lap of the session with a 01:23.998, as the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg completed an installation lap reminiscent of the earlier practice sessions.
As the majority of the front runners remained in the cool confines of the pit-lane, Paul di Resta stormed to the top of the timing sheets with a 01:23.484, before the Williams of Valtteri Bottas obliterated the opposition with a 01:21.532. Daniel Ricciardo soon lowered the benchmark even further, with the majority of the drivers still opting to remain in the pits. Eventually Fernando Alonso stormed to the top for Ferrari with a 01:20.652, before Romain Grosjean continued to impress many up and down the paddock with a 01:20.447. Sergio Perez finally managed to take to the circuit, with his McLaren mechanics masterfully repairing his car in time to produce a lap after his earlier incident.
The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton rose the German marque to the top as the opening segment drew to a close, with the former producing a 01:20.350 ahead of his British team-mate. Further down the order the usual Q1 freneticism ensued, with Esteban Gutierrez, Paul di Resta, Charles Pic, Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton eventually being eliminated from proceedings.
Kimi Raikkonen became the first driver to take to the track as Q2 got underway, with the Finn eventually producing the first timed lap in the process with a 01:20.987. Mark Webber’s severe lack of pace in relation to team-mate Sebastian Vettel was confirmed as a KERS-related issue on his RB9, as Romain Grosjean returned to the top with a 01:20.442 with Adrian Sutil 2nd. Lewis Hamilton continued to lower the benchmark as the session progressed with a 01:20.303, before reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel finally asserted his authority over proceedings with a sensational 01:19.992.
Despite the German’s sudden surge of pace, the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton continued to deny the Red Bull driver at the top with the former producing a terrific 01:19.778, in what was shaping up to be a thrilling top ten shootout. Although McLaren had visibly improved throughout practice earlier in the weekend, Jenson Button still failed to progress to the top ten shootout. The 2009 World Champion was joined by Adrian Sutil, Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas in elimination after Q2.
Once again the stage was set for a climactic conclusion to qualifying ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, with Red Bull’s authority clearly being questioned by the likes of Mercedes and Lotus. Mark Webber became the first driver to take to the track as the final ten minutes got underway, and was followed out by potential 2014 replacement Daniel Ricciardo. The duo proceeded to return to the pits after only completing installation laps, as Sergio Perez and then Kimi Raikkonen rose to the top for their respective outfits. Mercedes then showed their hand with at the top, as Nico Rosberg and then Lewis Hamilton rose to the top with the latter producing a 01:20.324.
However, Sebastian Vettel blitzed the opposition on new soft Pirelli tyres, with the German producing a 01:19.506 to propel himself into provisional pole position. In traditional top ten shootout fashion the entire field gradually returned to the pits for new tyres, before then reconvening the battle for supremacy. Mark Webber was the only driver left in the pits as the field retook to the circuit, with the Australian ace succumbing to his ongoing KERS issue on his RB9.
As the checkered flag emerged the times up and down the order were set, with Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean each rising into 2nd position and failing to question Sebastian Vettel’s dominance. Lewis Hamilton then rounded the final corner and utterly obliterated the German’s benchmark with a 01:19.338, securing his hat-trick of pole positions for the German marque.
Despite the 2008 World Champion’s impressive qualifying performance, it is well known within the paddock that Mercedes’s race pace could well prove to be their achilles-heel during tomorrow’s 70-lap race. Sebastian Vettel will be aiming to produce a start reminiscent of Germany last time out, when he stormed into a commanding lead at Turn 1. However, the Lotus of Romain Grosjean will be eager to pick up the pieces of any shenanigans into Turn 1, in what will surely be another thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m19.388s 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m19.426s +0.038s 3. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m19.595s +0.207s 4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m19.720s +0.332s 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m19.791s +0.403s 6. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m19.851s +0.463s 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m19.929s +0.541s 8. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m20.641s +1.253s 9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.398s +3.010s 10. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault no time set Q2 cut-off time: 1m20.545s Gap ** 11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m20.569s +0.791s 12. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m20.580s +0.802s 13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m20.777s +0.999s 14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.029s +1.251s 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m21.133s +1.355s 16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m21.219s +1.441s Q1 cut-off time: 1m21.612s Gap * 17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.724s +1.374s 18. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m22.043s +1.693s 19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m23.007s +2.657s 20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m23.333s +2.983s 21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m23.787s +3.437s 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m23.997s +3.647s 107% time: 1m25.974s
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Sebastian Vettel fastest after practice one in the heat at Hungary
Sebastian Vettel has continued to assert his authority over proceedings after the first practice session of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, with the reigning Champion finishing several tenths ahead of team-mate Mark Webber. The Red Bull duo were followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus, with Fernando Alonso 4th.
After yet another three-week gap since the last race weekend, the Formula 1 fraternity reconvened once again in the heat of Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix. For the opening practice session of the weekend, Marussia reserve driver Rodolfo Gonzalez once again replaced Max Chilton alongside Jules Bianchi, as Daniel Ricciardo eventually became the first driver to take to the Hungaroring once the session began. The Australian driver was quickly joined by Jules Bianchi and Romain Grosjean, as the entire field carried out their usual installation laps.
Upon returning to the pits, Daniel Ricciardo explained over his team radio how the Hungaroring was extremely dusty, as was evident when Sergio Perez completed one of his many installation laps and kicked up plumes of dust. Eventually reserve driver Rodolfo Gonzalez produced the first timed lap of the day with a 01:39.688, a time which he was able to improve upon shortly afterwards with a 01:37.942. Despite the slow lap times, more drivers soon braved the dust to produce their first timed laps of the day, with Nico Rosberg rising to the top with a 01:29.998.
As the opening session of the weekend continued, McLaren’s Sergio Perez stormed to the top with a 01:25.476, before improving with a 01:24.920 a lap later. Kimi Raikkonen momentarily rose to the top for Lotus, working his way down to a 01:24.056 before Sergio Perez returned to the top with the Mercedes-powered McLaren showing impressive pace in comparison to previous races. Fernando Alonso soon asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:23.503, before Romain Grosjean and then Jenson Button disposed of the Spaniard. However, the two-time World Champion quickly bounced back producing a 01:23.099 to remain at the top of the timing sheets.
Despite a relatively competitive opening practice session, Pastor Maldonado ran wide at Turn 12 as the session progressed. As the Venezuelan ace composed himself after his minor error, Mark Webber shot to the top of the timing sheets for Red Bull with a 01:22.982, with Kimi Raikkonen slotting into 2nd position behind the Australian. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel soon asserted his authority over proceedings, rising to the top with a 01:22.723 as Jean-Eric Vergne suffered a big spin at Turn 4. Lewis Hamilton also made several minor errors as the session drew to a conclusion, as Kimi Raikkonen suffered from a slow puncture on his Lotus and was forced to crawl back to the pits.
Eventually the checkered flag emerged, signaling the end of the opening practice session. Sebastian Vettel remained fastest ahead of his Red Bull team-mate, with the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen a close 3rd. Fernando Alonso ended the session 4th fastest, ahead of Romain Grosjean in 5th. The teams’ and drivers’ will return to the Hungaroring later in the day, for the second practice session ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.723s 19 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.982s +0.259s 24 3. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m23.010s +0.287s 20 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m23.099s +0.376s 22 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m23.111s +0.388s 20 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.370s +0.647s 26 7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m23.390s +0.667s 20 8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.531s +0.808s 28 9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.591s +0.868s 26 10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m23.911s +1.188s 21 11. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.119s +1.396s 21 12. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m24.150s +1.427s 27 13. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m24.157s +1.434s 28 14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.204s +1.481s 15 15. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m24.299s +1.576s 19 16. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.314s +1.591s 23 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.383s +1.660s 24 18. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.608s +1.885s 21 19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m25.827s +3.104s 24 20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m26.808s +4.085s 25 21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.617s +4.894s 20 22. Rodolfo Gonzalez Marussia-Cosworth 1m28.927s +6.204s 25
Picture Copyright © Pirelli
Lewis Hamilton Secures First Mercedes Pole In Germany Since 1954
Lewis Hamilton has stormed to his 29th career pole and the first for Mercedes on home soil since 1954, after a throughly entertaining qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s 60-lap race. The Briton will start the race alongside the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.
The all-important qualifying hour began in glorious sunshine over the iconic Nurburgring, with Force India’s Paul di Resta eventually becoming the first driver to take to the circuit as the session got underway. After recovering from his illness yesterday, the Marussia of Jules Bianchi set the initial benchmark with a 01:34.056, which was quickly bettered by Paul di Resta with a 01:32.911. The times at the top continued to tumble as the opening segment progressed, with the likes of Pastor Maldonado and Daniel Ricciardo rising to the top, with the latter producing a 01:31.081 ahead of the Mercedes’ duo.
Fernando Alonso soon opted for Pirelli’s softer tyre compound, thus enabling the Spaniard to shoot to the top with a 01:30.709. Kimi Raikkonen managed to dispose of the Ferrari driver with a 01:30.676, before former team-mate Felipe Massa shone in the Ferrari by producing a 01:30.547. Further down the order the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado were frustratingly eliminated in qualifying for their 600th race, along with the usual suspects of Charles Pic, Jules Bianchi, Giedo van der Garde and Max Chilton.
Jean-Eric Vergne was quick to get proceedings underway in Q2, as the Frenchman immediately took to the track in his Toro Rosso. Naturally Vergne produced the first timed lap of the segment with a 01:31.285, before Paul di Resta lowered the benchmark with a 01:31.258. Once again the times quickly began to tumble, as Kimi Raikkonen and then Lewis Hamilton momentarily rose to the top before local hero Sebastian Vettel returned to the top with a 01:29.992. Despite the German’s impressive lap time, the Ferrari’s managed to improve with Felipe Massa eventually producing a 01:29.825 after an impressive performance from the Brazilian.
As the Ferrari duo ended the session in dominant fashion, Nico Rosberg was surprisingly eliminated from proceedings after a monumental error by Mercedes. The German remained in the pits as the times continued to tumble, and was eventually eliminated along with Paul di Resta, Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Adrian Sutil and Jean-Eric Vergne. This error from Mercedes left all of the pressure on the shoulders of Lewis Hamilton for a home pole for the German outfit.
The all-important top ten shootout began with Daniel Ricciardo becoming the first driver to take to the track for Toro Rosso, with the Australian immediately joined by the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. With Daniel Ricciardo and the Ferrari drivers’ pitting after completing installation laps, Kimi Raikkonen produced the first timed lap of the segment with a 01:29.970, which was instantly thwarted by the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel with a 01:29.622. The local favorite’s reign was short-lived, as Lewis Hamilton rose Mercedes to the top with a stunning 01:29.540.
In traditional top ten shootout fashion the top drivers immediately returned to the pits for new tyres, before returning to the circuit to try and improve on their times. With the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa thinking ahead to the race and qualifying on the medium tyres, the shootout for pole was realistically between the Red Bull duo and Lewis Hamilton. First blood went to the reigning Champion, who produced a 01:29.501 before Lewis Hamilton fully asserted his authority over the Nurburgring with a sensational 01:29.398 to secure his 29th career pole.
The 2008 World Champion will start tomorrow’s 60-lap race alongside local hero Sebastian Vettel, in what will unquestionably be an enthralling run down to Turn 1 at the start. The second row will consist of Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen, with Nico Rosberg qualifying a lowly and frustrating 11th. Sebastian Vettel has never won race on home soil in Formula 1, let alone a race in July. Will the superstitions get the better of him during the race, or will the reigning Champion deny Lewis Hamilton his elusive maiden win for Mercedes?
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m29.398s 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m29.501s +0.103s 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m29.608s +0.210s 4. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m29.892s +0.494s 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m29.959s +0.561s 6. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m30.528s +1.130s 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.126s +1.728s 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.209s +1.811s 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes No time set 10. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari No time set Q2 cut-off time: 1m30.269s Gap ** 11. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m30.326s +0.501s 12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m30.697s +0.872s 13. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m30.933s +1.108s 14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m31.010s +1.185s 15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m31.010s +1.185s 16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m31.104s +1.279s Q1 cut-off time: 1m31.681s Gap * 17. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m31.693s +1.146s 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m31.707s +1.160s 19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m32.937s +2.390s 20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m33.063s +2.516s 21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m33.734s +3.187s 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m34.098s +3.551s 107% time: 1m36.885s
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Mark Webber Fastest In Shortened Final Practice Session At Canada
Mark Webber has ended a shortened third and final practice session fastest overall for Red Bull, in drying conditions around Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The Australian ace produced the time in the dying seconds of the session, and was followed by Adrian Sutil in 2nd and Lewis Hamilton in 3rd.
Once again the teams and drivers were greeted with damp weather conditions around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the start of the third and final practice session, which was frustratingly delayed for 30 minutes due to repairs being carried out on the barriers at Turn 11. This was due to a heavy incident earlier in the day during the Ferrari Challenge support event, and required a lengthy delay as repairs were carried out.
Eventually it was confirmed that the session would begin at 10:30 local time, and would last only for 30 minutes. This led to a hectic final practice session, as the entire field instantly took to the track on both the intermediate and full wet tyres in a bid to finalize their preparations for the weekend ahead. The Caterham duo were the first to take to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Giedo van der Garde in particular setting the initial benchmark with a 01:30.873. The times naturally tumbled drastically as the session progressed, with Esteban Gutierrez and then Sergio Perez rising to the top with the latter producing a 01:27.984.
Adrian Sutil then rose to the top for Force India, before former Canadian Grand Prix winner Jenson Button continued to lower the benchmark with an impressive 01:26.340. Esteban Gutierrez, Nico Hulkenberg and then Valtteri Bottas rose to the top, with the latter producing a 01:25.126 before team-mate Pastor Maldonado disposed of his rookie team-mate. However, Valtteri Bottas immediately bounced back with a 01:24.314.
Although the track conditions continued to improve, many drivers were unwilling to switch to Pirelli’s P Zero range of tyres as wet patches continued to linger around the circuit. Giedo van der Garde ran extensively wide at Turns 3 and 4, skipping across the grass and narrowly avoiding the tyre barriers. Nico Hulkenberg then rose to the top for Sauber, with the Hinwil-based outfit continuing to search for improvements after a disappointing day yesterday.
Felipe Massa and then Esteban Gutierrez rose to the top, before the entire field switched to Pirelli’s P Zero dry tyres for the final few minutes of the final practice session. Sergio Perez was the first man to do so on the medium tyres, however he soon switch to the super-soft compound as did the entire field. Felipe Massa produced the first fastest dry lap of the session for Ferrari with a 01:22.482, before Kimi Raikkonen, Pastor Maldonado and then Jenson Button continued to lower the benchmark on slick rubber with the latter producing a 01:20.520.
As the checkered flag emerged, the times continued to tumble drastically with Paul di Resta, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Adrian Sutil and then Mark Webber all rising to the top. However, it was the Australian sensation who eventually ended the session fastest overall for Red Bull, after producing a 01:17.895 in the dying seconds of the session. Although the session ended in drying conditions, uncertainty still surrounds the weather forecast for the all-important qualifying hour later in the afternoon.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.895s 7 2. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m18.248s + 0.353s 8 3. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m18.732s + 0.837s 7 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m18.977s + 1.082s 10 5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m19.131s + 1.236s 6 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m19.457s + 1.562s 7 7. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m19.496s + 1.601s 6 8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m19.750s + 1.855s 9 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m19.790s + 1.895s 9 10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m20.316s + 2.421s 8 11. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m20.596s + 2.701s 9 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m21.035s + 3.140s 12 13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.364s + 3.469s 7 14. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m21.652s + 3.757s 9 15. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.021s + 4.126s 14 16. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.720s + 4.825s 15 17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.058s + 5.163s 7 18. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m23.132s + 5.237s 14 19. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.309s + 5.414s 8 20. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m23.620s + 5.725s 12 21. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m24.317s + 6.422s 12 22. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m26.195s + 8.300s 9
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Nico Rosberg Shines In Damp Conditions At Monaco To Secure Pole
Nico Rosberg has continued to shine for Mercedes after securing his third consecutive pole position for the German marque, after a damp qualifying hour around Monaco’s Monte-Carlo street circuit. The German will start the race alongside team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with the Red Bull duo starting on the second row.
After three practice sessions run in glorious sunshine around the Monte-Carlo street circuit, many were surprised when the all-important qualifying hour began in wet weather conditions. This forced the entire field to rush out onto the street circuit sporting the intermediate tyre, in treacherous and unknown weather conditions. The Caterham duo led out the entire field, as Jules Bianchi’s session was brought to an immediate and premature conclusion when a mechanical issue struck his Marussia.
The Caterham duo of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde naturally set the initial pace at the top, however the benchmark unsurprisingly plummeted as many drivers all improved in the tricky weather conditions. Lewis Hamilton and then Jenson Button rose to the top, before Mark Webber, Paul di Resta, Fernando Alonso and Jean-Eric Vergne both continued to lower the benchmark. Lewis Hamilton then returned to the top for Mercedes with a 01:32.920, before reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:31.431.
As the conditions began to gradually improve, so did the times as Monaco expert Pastor Maldonado rose to the top for Williams with a 01:30.126. Lewis Hamilton, Paul di Resta and then Mark Webber both momentarily returned to the top, before Sebastian Vettel continued to keep Red Bull at the top with 01:25.352. As the opening segment of qualifying drew to a close, Nico Rosberg and then Lewis Hamilton traded fastest times at the top, before Jenson Button rose McLaren to the front.
After his incident at the end of the final practice session earlier in the day, Romain Grosjean only just managed to take to the track as the session drew to a close. With only a handful of laps for the Frenchman to set a time, he stormed around the Monte-Carlo street circuit to produce a mesmerizing 01:23.738 to go fastest.
In the final minutes, Pastor Maldonado returned to the top for Williams with a 01:23.452, as the Caterham of Giedo van der Garde managed to progress through to Q2 for the first time in his career. As Q1 drew to a close, Paul Di Resta, Charles Pic, Esteban Gutierrez, Max Chilton, Jules Bianchi and Felipe Massa were eventually eliminated with the latter unable to partake in the session after his earlier incident in practice.
The rain continued to lightly fall over the Monte-Carlo street circuit as Q2 got underway, with Jean-Eric Vergne and Nico Rosberg becoming the first two drivers to take to the track. Once again the benchmark was instantly lowered as the first timed laps were completed, with Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and then Mark Webber rising to the top. With the track conditions still perilous in the damp conditions, Jenson Button, Sergio Perez, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean all momentarily rose to the top in a frenetic session.
Kimi Raikkonen and then Jenson Button set the pace once again at the front, before Nico Rosberg produced a 01:22.119. With the conditions continuing to improve, Giedo van der Garde became the first driver to opt for he super-soft tyres, which then led to the entire field joining the Dutchman on slick tyres. This naturally saw the times continue to plummet, as the first dry lap times of the session were completed. Mark Webber instantly rose to the top for Red Bull, before Sebastian Vettel silenced the opposition with a 01:15.988.
After a frenetic end to the second segment of qualifying, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Valtteri Bottas, Giedo van der Garde and Pastor Maldonado were all eliminated from proceedings. This left a mouth-watering spectacle for the top ten shootout, with the usual suspects joined by the likes of Jean-Eric Vergne who managed to rise to the top ten shootout for the first time in his career.
In drying weather conditions, Kimi Raikkonen became the first driver to take to the track on the super-soft tyre compound. The Finn naturally set the first timed lap of the segment, however Lewis Hamilton and then Mark Webber quickly disposed of the Finn with the latter setting a 01:15.134. The trend of the times tumbling continued as the session progressed, with no-one certain as to who would eventually secure the pivotal pole position. Sebastian Vettel set a superb time late in the session with a 01:14.333, however the Mercedes duo simply obliterated the remainder of the field with Nico Rosberg leading Lewis Hamilton after producing a 01:13.876.
The Mercedes ace has now secured pole position for the third consecutive race weekend, and will be striving to convert such a positive result into a race victory tomorrow. The Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will line-up on row two behind the Silver Arrows, in what will surely be a fascinating 78-lap race. Last year the Silver Arrows would have started from pole with Michael Schumacher, however a penalty from the previous race denied such a luxury. The German marque will be out to redeem themselves this weekend, with a 1-2 finish in their sights.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.876s 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m13.967s + 0.091s 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.980s + 0.104s 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.181s + 0.305s 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m14.822s + 0.946s 6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.824s + 0.948s 7. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.138s + 1.262s 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m15.383s + 1.507s 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.647s + 1.771s 10. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.703s + 1.827s Q2 cut-off time: 1m17.748s Gap ** 11. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m18.331s + 2.343s 12. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.344s + 2.356s 13. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m18.603s + 2.615s 14. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m19.077s + 3.089s 15. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m19.408s + 3.420s 16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m21.688s + 5.700s Q1 cut-off time: 1m26.095s Gap * 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m26.322s + 2.870s 18. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m26.633s + 3.181s 19. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m26.917s + 3.465s 20. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.303s + 3.851s 21. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 22. Felipe Massa Ferrari 107% time: 1m29.293s
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Giedo van der Garde To Make Way For Reserve Drivers During Practice
It has been confirmed that Dutch Formula 1 rookie Giedo van der Garde will make way for Caterham’s two reserve drivers in four upcoming practice sessions this season, as Ma Qing Hua and Alexander Rossi aim to gather further valuable mileage in Formula 1 machinery. The first scheduled absence of the Dutchman is for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Last season Giedo van der Garde took part in numerous Friday practice sessions for the Leafield outfit, each time replacing either Heikki Kovalainen or Vitaly Petrov. This season the 27-year-old Dutchman is set to miss four Friday practice sessions to allow the team’s reserve drivers, Ma Qing Hua and Alexander Rossi, to continue gaining knowledge of Formula 1 machinery. Next time out at the Chinese Grand Prix, Charles Pic is scheduled to miss the opening practice session of the weekend to allow local driver Ma Qing Hua 90 minutes of track action.
The following weekend Giedo van der Garde is expected to miss the opening practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, as American sensation Alexander Rossi makes his first official Formula 1 appearance since the Spanish Grand Prix last season. Although Giedo van der Garde would naturally prefer to be on the track during these vital opening 90 minutes of track action during a Grand Prix weekend, it is written within his contract that he must cede his seat to the team’s reserve drivers.
“As it stands I will lose four Friday sessions,” explained Giedo van der Garde to GPUpdate.net. “The first one I won’t be driving is Bahrain. I would have rather be driving these sessions myself and get as much track time as possible, but this is in the contract and I’m sure it will be good experience for these guys. I had that same role with the team last year and because of the work I did then, I earned this race seat.”
Caterham have been out-performed by arch-rivals Marussia during both of the opening two race weekend’s of the new season, with Jules Bianchi in particular thwarting the Leafield-based during his first two races of his career. The outfit understand that scoring points this season is unlikely, and will therefore be striving to beat Marussia to 10th in the Constructors’ Championship for the second year running.
Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team
Heikki Kovalainen Believes Q2 Was Possible At Brazil
Heikki Kovalainen believes he and Caterham had a chance to progress to Q2 during the wet/dry qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix, which saw he Finn become one of the first drivers to tip-toe around the still relatively wet Interlagos circuit at the start of the session.
Throughout the final sector of the lap, the track conditions were exceedingly treacherous as the majority of the field slid their way around the Interlagos circuit on Pirelli’s dry tyre compound. On his first timed lap, Heikki Kovalainen came perilously close to colliding with the Marussia of Timo Glock, as the two jostled for track position. With Marussia currently ahead of Caterham in the Constructors’ Championship, grid position for the 71-lap race was extra imperative. However, Kovalainen believes Q2 was possible during qualifying, despite eventually qualifying for the race 20th.
“At the start of qualifying it was quite tricky as there was some standing water on track in the first couple of laps and even though the grip levels improved there was still less grip than in FP3.” Explained Heikki Kovalainen, “In the end the times kept coming down and maybe we had a chance to get into Q2, but we can be reasonably happy with how it finished. On my final lap I made a couple of small mistakes, but apart from that I was close to getting as much as I could out of the car so now we move on to tomorrow.”
With the Finn’s future in Formula 1 looking severely bleak after this season, especially with the signing of Frenchman Charles Pic, Heikki Kovalainen will unquestionably be striving for a competitive result as he and the team aim to thwart Marussia. With tomorrow’s weather forecast predicting rain for the race, a competitive result could well be on the cards as the season draws to a conclusion.
Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton Heads A McLaren Front-Row Lock-Out At The Brazilian GP
Lewis Hamilton has kept McLaren on top at the Brazilian Grand Prix, as the Briton stormed to his 26th career pole. The Mercedes-bound driver will start tomorrow’s race alongside team-mate Jenson Button, with the second row consisting of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso will start a distant 8th for Ferrari.
After a light rain shower prior to the start of Q1, the track was extremely greasy as the drivers took to the Interlagos circuit. Heikki Kovalainen once again became the first driver to take to the track, opting for dry weather tyres as he led out a procession of awaiting drivers. The track was exceedingly wet throughout the final two corners, as the drivers struggled for grip on the dry tyres. This saw the Marussia of Timo Glock almost collided with the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen. The German set the initial pace, however the times quickly improved as the opening session wore on.
Kamui Kobayashi and Jean-Eric Vergne began trading fastest times at the top as the session continued, with the Frenchman eventually thwarting the Sauber’s time at the top. However, once the big boys emerged from the pits, the fastest time changed nearly every second as the likes of Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Nico Rosberg and Paul di Resta each momentarily set the fastest time throughout the session.
Lewis Hamilton finally set a 01:16.147, as Romain Grosjean made slight contact with the HRT of Pedro de la Rosa during the final sweeping curve. The Frenchman lost his front wing in the ensuing collision, however the duo were extremely lucky that the incident was not heavier. As Grosjean limped back to the pits without a front wing, local hero Bruno Senna rose to the top with a 01:15.955. Lewis Hamilton once again returned to the top, as the battle between the bottom seven drivers intensified as the usual suspects strove to improve up the order.
Eventually the usual suspects of the two Caterhams, Marussias and HRTs were joined by a dispirited Romain Grosjean, who was unable to set a fast enough time after his misfortunate collision with the HRT of Pedro de la Rosa.
As Q2 got underway at the Interlagos circuit, the track conditions had basically returned to normal, as the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne became the first to return to the track. After the unknown entity which was Q1, largely due to the slightly adverse track conditions, Q2 was a return to normality for the teams and drivers as Nico Hulkenberg set the initial pace with a 01:14.810. Fernando Alonso instantly thwarted the German’s advantage, as the Championship contender strove for a decent qualifying position after initially struggling throughout practice.
Lewis Hamilton then asserted his authority over proceedings, as the Briton set a 01:13.398, as McLaren once again showed their scintillating pace around the Interlagos circuit. However, Sebastian Vettel was close at hand and immediately raised the bar as he stormed across the line to set a 01:13.209 to go fastest. The Ferraris once again struggled towards the end of the session, as both Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso only just managed to progress to the top ten shootout. Both Paul di Resta, Bruno Senna, Sergio Perez, Michael Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne were eliminated after Q2.
The all-important top ten shootout got underway as Nico Rosberg decided to become the first driver to take to the track. The Mercedes driver proceeded to set the initial pace around the Interlagos circuit, however his time was not entirely representative of the team’s true pace with a 01:22.398. Lewis Hamilton completely blitzed that time with a tremendously quick 01:12.850, as the majority of the field decided to pit for a fresh set of tyres for their final qualifying runs. Sebastian Vettel made a crucial error whilst negotiating the exit of Turn 4, and had only one lap to produce the goods for Red Bull.
As the final laps were set, first blood went to Mark Webber who set a 01:12.581, however Lewis Hamilton kept McLaren on top with an absolutely superlative 01:12.458. Jenson Button slotted into 2nd position to secure McLaren’s 62nd front-row lock-out, as Mark Webber qualified 3rd with Championship leader Sebastian Vettel 4th. Fernando Alonso could only manage a distant 8th, once again being out-qualified by team-mate Felipe Massa.
Despite the possibility of rain decreasing slightly for tomorrow’s 71-lap Brazilian Grand Prix, the prospect for another intense title showdown is on the cards as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso aim to thwart one another in what is still believed to be a wet season finale!
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.458s 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m12.513s + 0.055 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m12.581s + 0.123 4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m12.760s + 0.302 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m12.987s + 0.529 6. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m13.174s + 0.716 7. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m13.206s + 0.748 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m13.253s + 0.795 9. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m13.298s + 0.840 10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m13.489s + 1.031 Q2 cut-off time: 1m14.048s Gap ** 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m14.121s + 0.912 12. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m14.219s + 1.010 13. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.234s + 1.025 14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.334s + 1.125 15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m14.380s + 1.171 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m14.574s + 1.365 17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m14.619s + 1.410 Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.744s Gap * 18. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m16.967s + 1.892 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.073s + 1.998 20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.086s + 2.011 21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m17.508s + 2.433 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.104s + 3.029 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.576s + 4.501 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.699s + 4.624 107% time: 1m20.330s
Picture Copyright © McLaren F1 Team
Bruno Senna: “It Was Quite A Tough Session Today”
Bruno Senna has explained how the opening day of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was quite tough for both the local driver and Williams, as they ran Pirelli’s 2013 prototype tyre and worked upon aero evaluations throughout the opening two 90 minute sessions. However, the outfit remains confident for the remainder of the weekend.
With Pirelli’s prototype tyres added to the teams usual preparations for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team struggled to make progress throughout the two sessions largely due to the vast amount of objectives being carried out. During the opening session, the team ran aero evaluations as well as the 2013 prototype Pirelli tyres, which the majority of the field ran throughout the due course of the two sessions.
Bruno Senna, who made way for reserve driver Valtteri Bottas in the opening practice session, in particular struggled throughout the second practice session. During this session, the team began working upon longer runs, as well as tyre and set-up work for the remainder of the weekend. The team as a whole struggled to find a decent balance in the second session, and are hopeful that they can improve ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
“It was quite a tough session today as we didn’t get as much information as we would have liked for tomorrow.” Admitted Bruno Senna, “We’ve got some work to do to understand how we can do things better to make sure we’re competitive for tomorrow, as the grid is very close here. It’s very hot today but it was great to see all my home fans out there, even with sweat in my eyes!”
The weather for the remainder of the weekend is forecast to steadily worsen, with 100% rain forecast for race day. If such inclement weather strikes the Interlagos circuit on Sunday, both Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna will be eager to capitalize on the mayhem which will undoubtedly ensue. With Senna still unconfirmed for next season, he will be striving particularly harder for a competitive result with an aim of being retained for 2013.
Picture Copyright © Getty Images
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