Formula 1 News

[Benkurd]

Lotus leave Valencia in positive mood 04 Feb 2011

With their 11 rivals wrapping up their test sessions on Thursday, Lotus had the Valencia track all to themselves on Friday. The team, who arrived in Spain a day later than the rest, managed to cover 810 kilometres, with race drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, and rookie tester Ricardo Teixeira all spending time at the wheel.

After a frustrating Thursday, which saw Trulli cover just 38 laps due to a lack of power steering, the team were grateful to rack up so much mileage in their new T128.

"An extremely productive day,” said chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne. “It was good to get the power steering fixed and back on the car for today so well done to everyone at the factory for turning that around so quickly. We completed 91 laps today with no real problems and both drivers managed to get a good feel for the car and the tyres. We weren’t able to do any set up work - that will wait for Jerez, but it was an excellent day and we achieved the main goal of completing a decent mileage today.”

In the morning the team completed some promotional filming runs, with Formula Two driver Teixeira in the cockpit. The 26 year-old was thrilled to be given the opportunity, saying: ““I want to thank Team Lotus for giving me the chance to drive the T128 today. I am really pleased I could help out with the filming this morning and after my first taste of an F1 car I can't wait to have another go.”

Filming completed, the team’s serious work began with Kovalainen carrying out five runs of system checks. “Valencia was an excellent test for me,” he said. “Even though we had some issues with the power steering on the first couple of days you have to remember we weren’t even at the first two tests last year.

“We have been able to start looking at the balance of the car in much more detail and I’ve had the same feeling that I did on day one - I think we have a good car for this year and as we continue to work on it here and at the other pre-season tests we can put some proper mileage on it without the reliability worries we had last year.

“Now, I can turn in without having to constantly correct oversteer or understeer and as the whole rear end has been designed with the Renault engine and Red Bull gearbox in mind, it is aerodynamically much more efficient. It’s basically a very good platform for us to develop, and to be able to feel that immediately is a very positive sign for me and the whole team for the season ahead.”

After another run for Teixeira, Trulli took charge of the T128. The Italian ran 38 laps. “It was a great day for the whole team,” he said. “We completed 91 laps with basically no problems and we’ve been able to start to get a feel for the car which was really what this test was about.

"I agree with Heikki about the balance - it feels like we have a good car to work on in the next few tests and I think that we can pretty quickly get it to a point where it will give us a chance to fight with the teams ahead. The next test is only a few days away but I think there will be a lot more to come there in performance terms, and it will be good to get back in the car in Jerez and get more mileage under our belts.”

Lotus will resume testing alongside their rivals at the Spanish circuit of Jerez from February 10-13.

 

[Benkurd]

Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica 'injured' in rally



Robert Kubica
Kubica is one of the drivers for Renault

Formula 1 star Robert Kubica has suffered "serious injuries" while taking part in a rally in Italy, an official news agency has reported.

According to reports, the 26-year-old Pole crashed into a wall and was air-lifted to a nearby hospital.

There has been no official confirmation on his injuries but it is believed he is suffering from "multiple trauma".

The Renault driver has been preparing for the new Formula 1 season which starts in Bahrain on 13 March

The extent of Kubica's injuries are still to be confirmed but it is believed his co-driver Jakub Gerber was unhurt in the crash.

Kubica regularly competes in rallies and was driving on Sunday a week after testing the new Lotus-backed Renault in Valencia ahead of the opening Formula 1 race in Bahrain.

He was an impressive performer last season to finish in eighth position in the drivers' table, securing second at Melbourne and a third in Monaco and Belgium.

Robert Kubica's Formula 1 career is under threat after his right hand was partially severed in a high-speed rally crash in Italy on Sunday.

He also suffered arm and leg fractures after his car hit a church wall.

Kubica who drives for the British-based Renault F1 team, had seven hours of surgery after he was airlifted to a hospital near Genoa.

The 26-year-old Pole looks at least likely to miss the entire 2011 season, which starts in Bahrain on 13 March.

Initial reports suggested he was in danger of losing his hand, although those fears were later played down.

However, Professor Mario Igor Rossello, a specialist surgeon involved in the lengthy operation, said that it was too early to accurately assess the long-term implications of his injuries.

Rossello told reporters he was "moderately satisfied" with the operation to rebuild the hand, but said that it would be several days before doctors could determine whether the hand would be "able to return to full function".

He added: "The danger is, in five-seven days you can have vascular problems, and we could do surgery again to solve these problems."

When asked what the best prognosis for recovery would be, Rossello replied: "One year. One year is the best provision."

The doctor said he expected the driver to recover "enough functionality for him to resume his activity."

Robert Kubica's Formula 1 career is under threat after his right hand was partially severed in a high-speed rally crash in Italy on Sunday.

He also suffered arm and leg fractures after his car hit a church wall.

Kubica who drives for the British-based Renault F1 team, had seven hours of surgery after he was airlifted to a hospital near Genoa.

The 26-year-old Pole looks at least likely to miss the entire 2011 season, which starts in Bahrain on 13 March.

Initial reports suggested he was in danger of losing his hand, although those fears were later played down.

However, Professor Mario Igor Rossello, a specialist surgeon involved in the lengthy operation, said that it was too early to accurately assess the long-term implications of his injuries.

Rossello told reporters he was "moderately satisfied" with the operation to rebuild the hand, but said that it would be several days before doctors could determine whether the hand would be "able to return to full function".

He added: "The danger is, in five-seven days you can have vascular problems, and we could do surgery again to solve these problems."

When asked what the best prognosis for recovery would be, Rossello replied: "One year. One year is the best provision."

The doctor said he expected the driver to recover "enough functionality for him to resume his activity."

 

[sarahmic]

BUTTON WINS RAIN-HIT CANADIAN GP

Jenson Button secured arguably the greatest win of his Formula One career at the end of an epic Canadian Grand Prix.

It was a rain-hit race that had everything, but it boiled down to the last lap just as the clock had also hit the two-hour limit.

Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was hounded into making an error by Button, sliding wide at one stage to open the door, with the 31-year-old needing no second invitation.

Button then made it to the line for a sensational victory, the 10th of his career, and first since last year's Chinese Grand Prix now 14 months ago.

There could yet be a sting in the tail, however, as Button is under investigation by the stewards for a collision with Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari that resulted in the double world champion retiring.

How Button managed such a win is a remarkable story as he pitted six times in total, five occasions for tyres and once for a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car.

In particular, though, he was also involved in an accident with McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton, resulting in his retirement.

Button was naturally emotional given what had transpired over the preceding few hours as the race also involved a two-hour delay for torrential rain.

"I really don't know what to say, it's been an emotional three hours," said Button.

"Regarding the incident with Lewis I didn't see him and I've apologised to him. We both agree it was one of those things.

"For me it was a fantastic race. Even if I hadn't won I would have enjoyed this race immensely, but it's a win, definitely my best.

"I'm definitely going to be celebrating. I'll have a good night and enjoy what I achieved. A big thank you to the team for what they've done."

Vettel, who led for the majority of the race through all the chaos, said: "Of course I'm disappointed.

"I was probably too conservative at the last safety car and I did not open up enough of a gap.

"Then when it came down to the fight at the end the mistake was down to me, I locked up the rear. When there is only one line I ended up in the wet

"It is still a good day as many mistakes were made and cars did not finish, yet we've picked up good points."

Vettel, who has opened up a 60-point lead to Button, added: "When you've got it in your hands and you give it away, it's not the sweetest of feelings."

Button's race was in stark contrast to that of Hamilton who came to grief on lap eight.

After being given two drive-through penalties in Monaco for causing collisions with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado, you would have thought Hamilton might have learned his lesson.

But not a bit of it as he went gung-ho at the start after the safety car had pulled in following the opening four laps due to a wet track, and ultimately paid the highest of penalties.

Through the opening corners on lap five Hamilton first dived up the inside of Red Bull's Mark Webber, resulting in contact, sending the Australian into a spin.

Hamilton lost two places, dropping from fifth to seventh, however Webber plunged towards the rear, and it came as no surprise when the stewards announced an investigation into the incident.

Within minutes, though, it was cancelled as Hamilton had crashed out of the race, committing the cardinal sin of motor racing in colliding with his team-mate.

Having passed Button once, he was forced to try and do it all over again after running wide at the hairpin in attempting to take Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes.

Lining up Button down the start/finish straight, Hamilton pulled out to pass, at which point the former had started to drift across onto the racing line.

It resulted in Button squeezing his team-mate against the pitwall, the left-rear wheel of Hamilton's McLaren hitting the concrete and sustaining a puncture.

Although Hamilton tried to continue, it was apparent the damage was too severe, forcing him to pull over soon after, resulting in the deployment of the safety car.

It resulted in Button screaming over the radio: "What was he doing?", with the incident forcing him into the pits for a tyre change.

From his position, Hamilton said: "Jenson made a mistake into the corner and I got the run on him.

"I felt I was halfway up the outside, but he kept moving across. Whether or not he saw me I don't know, but then I was in the wall."

Three-times world champion Niki Lauda, however, has described Hamilton as "completely mad".

In his commentary for German television station RTL, Lauda added: "You cannot drive like this as it will result in someone getting killed."

The stewards have made it clear they are to investigate the matter after the race, which could result in a sanction against Hamilton as it will be his sixth visit in seven races to the four-man panel.

As the early part of the race unfolded it was not long before it had to be halted as the rain hit, resulting in a two-hour wait.

When the racing resumed the incidents continued, not least with the incident involving Button and Alonso which is also being looked at by the stewards.

Button sustained a puncture dropping him towards the rear, yet he clawed his way through the field, in particular as a dry line began to appear.

A crash involving Renault's Nick Heidfeld on lap 56 of 70 brought out the safety car for a fifth time.

It bunched up the field and led to a fight to the finish between Vettel, Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes, Webber and Button, who was running fourth.

A mistake from Webber, cutting a chicane, allowed Button to claim third before he then made a move on Schumacher to take second.

At that stage there were five laps or five minutes to run, and the drama continued until the dying seconds courtesy of Vettel's error.

Webber netted third ahead of Schumacher, with Renault's Vitaly Petrov fifth, whilst Felipe Massa in his Ferrari stunningly pipped Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi on the line for sixth.

 

[sarahmic]

VETTEL TOPS FINAL PRACTICE

Sebastian Vettel set himself up for another dominant qualifying performance by posting the fastest time seen at a European Grand Prix weekend.

In the final hour-long practice session at the Valencia Street Circuit it initially appeared as if Red Bull could be struggling, with Vettel languishing down in sixth place.

But then with minutes remaining, Vettel turned up the wick and posted the fastest time in each sector over the 5.419km, 25-turn track that winds its way through the port.

It resulted in the quickest lap witnessed at this venue since it made its way on to the calendar in 2008, including all previous practice and qualifying sessions.

Vettel posted a time of one minute 37.258 seconds, finishing 0.420secs quicker than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, with team-mate Felipe Massa third, 0.582 adrift.

Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber was the only other driver to finish within a second of the 23-year-old German, winding up 0.810 behind.

McLaren appear to be struggling with their set-up, as mentioned by both Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton yesterday, with the British duo down in fifth and seventh places respectively.

Button was just over a second down, whilst Hamilton was 1.5 seconds off the pace, although a hot lap was ruined in the final sector by a sideways Michael Schumacher in his Mercedes.

Compatriot and team-mate Nico Rosberg sandwiched the McLaren pair, with the seven-times champion eighth, marginally behind Hamilton who has finished second in each of the three races here to date.

The Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld completed the top 10, with the Force India pair of Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta 11th and 13th either side of Sauber's Sergio Perez.

For Di Resta, the session was all about getting vital laps under his belt after yesterday proved to be a frustrating affair.

Initially making way for reserve Nico Hulkenberg in FP1, the German then crashed Di Resta's car that required a gearbox and driveshaft change.

The 25-year-old Scot finally made it out onto the track with just 11 minutes remaining of the second session, completing seven laps and with only three of them timed.

In managing 18 laps today, Di Resta managed to finish just 0.4secs behind Sutil, and was 2.5 down on Vettel.

Narain Karthikeyan again brought up the rear, the Indian 7.3secs adrift in his Hispania, which could leave him struggling to qualify for the race.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.258 15 laps
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.678 + 0.420s 16 laps
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.840 + 0.582s 17 laps
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.068 + 0.810s 13 laps
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.326 + 1.068s 13 laps
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.580 + 1.322s 15 laps
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.741 + 1.483s 13 laps
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.799 + 1.541s 14 laps
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.822 + 1.564s 17 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m39.113 + 1.855s 15 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m39.411 + 2.153s 19 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.778 + 2.520s 18 laps
13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.823 + 2.565s 18 laps
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.848 + 2.590s 18 laps
15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.888 + 2.630s 17 laps
16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.987 + 2.729s 18 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m40.004 + 2.746s 16 laps
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.239 + 2.981s 20 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m41.267 + 4.009s 15 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m41.690 + 4.432s 18 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.557 + 5.299s 18 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.243 + 5.985s 17 laps
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.309 + 6.051s 18 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m44.630 + 7.372s 19 laps

 

[sarahmic]

VALENCIA VICTORY FOR SEBASTIAN VETTEL

The European Grand Prix proved to be a stroll in the Spanish sunshine for Sebastian Vettel as he claimed his sixth win from eight races this season to strengthen his stranglehold on the Formula One world championship.

The 23-year-old's march towards back-to-back titles is relentless, and unlike in Canada a fortnight ago when he offered his rivals a glimmer of hope with a last-lap mistake, on this occasion he was faultless.

In completing successive wins at the Valencia Street Circuit, Vettel brought home his Red Bull 10.8 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari, who at least gave his Spanish fans something to cheer, with Mark Webber completing the podium in his Red Bull.

After finishing second in each of the three previous races at this venue, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was a distant fourth, 46secs behind Vettel.

The German is now 77 points clear - virtually the equivalent of three race wins - of Webber and Jenson Button, who was a minute down in sixth in his McLaren.

After all the drama and excitement of a fortnight ago with what many observers and pundits hailed as one of F1's greatest races, this was the complete opposite.

Since its introduction on the calendar in 2008, this circuit has never been conducive to close, enthralling racing, and so it proved again.

Even with the 25-turn track operating two DRS overtaking zones, the number of passes involving the frontrunners could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

From wacky in the wet in Canada, we had a snooze in the sun in Valencia such was the lack of overall entertainment.

The race had its moments, not least the start that proved to be a disaster for both Hamilton and Button, the latter of whom believed there would be no runaway win for Red Bull. How wrong he was.

Whether four accidents in the last two races played on the mind of Hamilton, only he can say, but there appeared to be an element of caution from the 26-year-old once the five red lights disappeared.

From third on the grid Hamilton was swallowed up by the Ferraris, initially from fifth-placed Felipe Massa and then Alonso who had started fourth.

The Spaniard then swiftly attacked his team-mate to claim third, and so began his pursuit of the Red Bulls.

As for Hamilton, there were flashes of inspiration after changing tyres, but it was another of his failings in being unable to look after his rubber that ultimately led to him not keeping pace with the leaders.

After setting the fastest laps on 26 and 27 following his second stop, he was told to look after his tyres, in particular the rears, only to respond he could not go any slower.

Hamilton promptly set another fastest lap on 28, but after that he dropped away like a stone falling off a cliff.

Out in front, Alonso briefly raised the hopes of his Spanish fans when he passed Webber for second after enabling his DRS into 12 on lap 21.

At that stage there was the possibility he could push Vettel for the win, only for Webber to reclaim second spot as the second round of stops unfolded.

Ferrari hit back in round three with the double world champion leapfrogging Webber to reclaim, and ultimately hold onto, second.

As for Vettel, he was never troubled, and there is a real danger of his championship finishing exceptionally early, with a number of records potentially falling en route too.

Behind the leading quartet, Massa grabbed fifth ahead of Button, who lost sixth spot off the line to Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, only to reclaim it several laps later with a fine move into turn two.

Rosberg came home seventh ahead of Jaime Alguersuari in his Toro Rosso, Force India's Adrian Sutil and Renault's Nick Heidfeld, with Paul di Resta 14th in his Force India in a race in which all 24 cars finished.

After his 16th career win, which put him level with Stirling Moss in F1's all-time standings, Vettel said: "It looked like a boring race, but I enjoyed it so much.

"For every single lap it was just me and the car. The team have done a phenomenal job preparing the car.

"We managed to put everything together and I'm very happy with the result."

Alonso was naturally smiling after his second-place finish as he said: "It was an interesting race for the fans and the people watching on TV to see my fight with Webber.

"The car performed really well and we took him in the final stop.

"Second place is the maximum we can have these days, so it's very good to be sitting between the two Red Bulls.

"With both cars in the top five it's very good result, but we have to hope we make a step forward in the next race."

Webber, meanwhile, held his hands up for only finishing third when he felt he should have claimed second.

"It was probably my best race of the year up until the last pit stop," he said.

"That was my fault because I lost out. Fernando stayed out for a few more laps and I got stuck in traffic."

 

[sarahmic]

BRITISH GRAND PRIX RESULT

1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1hr 28mins 41.196secs

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:28:57.707

3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:28:58.143

4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:29:10.182

5 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:29:10.206

6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:29:41.861

7 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:29:46.786

8 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault 1:29:56.738

9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:29:59.108

10 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:30:00.304

11 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:30:00.908

12 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:30:01.877

13 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams at 1 Lap

14 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams at 1 Lap

15 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India at 1 Lap

16 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing at 2 Laps

17 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing at 2 Laps

18 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT-F1 at 2 Laps

19 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT-F1 at 3 Laps

Not Classified:

20 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 39 Laps completed

21 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 25 Laps completed

22 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 23 Laps completed

23 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus F1 10 Laps completed

24 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus F1 2 Laps completed

 

[2010dz]

Formula 1 gossip and rumours from international media

-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has shown no interest in a buy-out of the sport since announcing in May that it was looking at forming "a consortium with a view to formulating a long-term plan for the development of Formula 1."
Full story: London Loves Business

-Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel will go all out for victory at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix as he bids to become the youngest ever double world champion.
Fully story: the Sun

-Team Lotus Heikki Kovalainen has landed safely in Singapore but the same cannot be said for his belongings. "So frustrating I've lost all my luggage and clubs BA lost them somewhere so got nothing here in Singapore now with me..."
Full story: Heikki Kovalainen on Twitter

-Renault have received planning permission to build a new simulation centre on land behind their factory at Enstone.


-German driver Adrian Sutil believes the downforce nature of the Singapore street circuit should suit Force India as the team looks to defend sixth place in the constructors' championship from Sauber.

 

[2010dz]

McLaren 'not downbeat' about season

McLaren has not been subdued by its struggles to compete with Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel this season, and will continue to fight over the next six races.
McLaren Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain looks on at the end of the second practice session of the Hungarian F1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring circuit near Budapest July 29, 2011 - 0
McLaren has not been subdued by its struggles to compete with Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel this season and aims to continue the fight over the next six races.

Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton lie 117 and 126 points respectively off Vettel in the drivers' championship, while McLaren trails Red Bull by 126 points in the constructors'.

Both drivers have taken two wins apiece, but have suffered their share of mistakes and misfortune, handing Vettel the chance to take his second consecutive world championship crown as early as Singapore this weekend.

Managing director Jonathan Neale says that while the team is dissatisfied with that situation, it is far too early to stop development of the 2011 car and says the next six races present six more 'opportunities to win.'

"We sit here having amassed a number of race wins, having put up at times a very creditable fight and we continue to do that until the end of the season," Neale explained during a Vodafone phone-in.

"Of course we would very much like to be where Vettel finds himself at the moment, and we look to ourselves to do a better job, because we are not satisfied which coming runners-up.

"We are not in any way disheartened, downbeat or anything other than determined to win races before now and next year, however.

"We're looking at it as six more races though, and six more opportunities to win. Winning is why we are here, races as well as championships, and its too early for us to bail out completely."

With Ferrari saying its 2011 struggles meant resources were almost exclusively being switched to 2012, Neale said McLaren would also switch some resources, but would continue to work on the 2011 challenger in the belief it would also prove beneficial for next year.

"We're determined to start next year with a car that's quick and reliable from the outset," he said.

"Of course the emphasis in the team is starting to move out of necessity: with a long race season that goes until the end of November it is just not possible to put 100% of your resource onto the programme for this year without doing something for next year.

"Its also possible, and I'm sure despite what Ferrari has said, that much of the development on this year's car is carry over know-how for next year. Its an evolutionary set of rules - its still very possible to get performance on this year's car and generate know-how for next year."
AutoSport

 

[2010dz]

Horner: Even stronger in 2012

Christian Horner is confident Red Bull can build on their 2011 success when they tackle next year's Championship and the prospect of a third double.

Although reigning Champs Red Bull have yet to secure this year's titles it's a matter of when and not if.

Sebastian Vettel stands on the brink of his second successive Drivers' crown and could wrap it up in Singapore this weekend while Red Bull's 126 point lead over McLaren in the Constructors' race means only an absolute disaster can halt their charge.

Horner puts Red Bull's dominant performance this season, which has seen Vettel win eight of 13 grands prix, down to the team's strength in all departments.

"The thing that has been extremely pleasing so far this year is we have delivered in all areas," Horner told Autosport.

"When we've not had the quickest car we've still won because operationally we've been strong, and when we have had the quickest car we've capitalised on that and made it pay.

"So to have won eight of the 13 races and the consistency with which we've achieved that, from Monaco to Monza, has been phenomenal.

"The team learned a lot of lessons from last year, and has grown stronger as a unit, in strength in depth, at trackside, back at the factory, including the drivers.

"The lessons we've learned this year will apply next year. We're a strong unit, and as we gain experience and with continuity, we'll continue to build on that."

As for this weekend's Singapore GP, the team boss says Red Bull and Vettel will come out fighting even though they could still wrap up the titles by just racing for points.

"Sebastian's in good shape. He's had a good preparation for this race. Both drivers came in reasonably late to keep on the night- shift time zone.

"But for us we are going about this race like any other this year, we'll attack the weekend and try and ensure we maximise the performance over the course of it.

"You've seen the last two races. We haven't gone into a cruise-and -collect mode. We've attacked the two grands prix that historically have been very tough for us. Monza was a phenomenal result for the whole team, and it would be great to go one better here.

"Mathematically Sebastian is in great shape in the Championship, but nothing is done, and we take absolutely nothing for granted. We're just focused on extracting the best out of the cars and out of the weekend."

 

[2010dz]

Sebastian Vettel wins in Singapore but title must wait

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel took a dominant victory in an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix to move to the brink of the world title.

The German's ninth victory in 14 races means he needs just a point from the remaining five races to seal the title.

The only man who can mathematically beat him is Jenson Button, who finished second ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fourth from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who recovered from a drive-through penalty

Force India's Paul di Resta drove superbly on his debut at one of the toughest races on the calendar and the Scot took an impressive sixth place.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won a breathless battle for seventh place in the closing laps from Force India's Adrian Sutil, who just held off Ferrari's Felipe Massa after the Brazilian passed Sauber's Sergio Perez for ninth at the start of the last lap.

Vettel's victory has put him 124 points ahead of Button with only 125 still available in a season in which he has finished first or second in every race except one - and he was fourth in that.

 

[2010dz]

Morocco says 7 killed in Western Sahara soccer clash

The death toll from clashes at the weekend after a soccer match in Western Sahara has reached 7, Morocco's MAP official news agency reported on Tuesday.

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, and since then it has been the subject of a dispute between Morocco's government and an independence movement backed by neighbouring Algeria.

Moroccan officials had initially said the violence after Sunday's match had killed one person, and the following day raised the death toll to two.

The match was between Western Sahara side Mouloudia Dakhla and Chabab Mohammadia, a team from a city near Casablanca. An official source in Western Sahara told Reuters two public order officials were among the seven killed.

Moroccan officials said the clashes broke out when supporters leaving the stadium started throwing stones at the opposing team's supporters.

They said people with criminal records then joined in, attacking passers-by with sticks and knives.

Several people were killed in November last year when Moroccan security forces dismantled a protest camp in Western Sahara, where thousands of residents had gathered to demand better living conditions.

Western Sahara is a sparsely populated tract of desert about the size of Britain. Morocco says the territory should come under its sovereignty, while the exiled Polisario Front says Western Sahara is an independent state.

The Polisario Front waged a guerrilla war against Moroccan forces until the United Nations brokered a cease-fire in 1991. Since then, several rounds of talks have failed to produce a deal on Western Sahara's status.

 

[sarahmic]

JENSON BUTTON SETS THE PACE

Jenson Button was quickest but two practice sessions for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix provided few clues as to who will take the chequered flag on Sunday.

The Formula One fraternity was none the wiser after three hours of on-track activity at Melbourne's Albert Park where rain added to the uncertainty of the first weekend of the campaign.

Following a damp start to the first 90-minute session, it ended with a dry track and under predominantly blue skies and McLaren scoring a one-two with British drivers Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Button's time of one minute 27.560 seconds remained the best of the day, however, as torrential rain 30 minutes ahead of the second session threw a spanner in the works.

A number of drivers opted to try out Pirelli's wet-weather tyres early on, given there had been precious little experimentation on them in pre-season testing.

A dry line did eventually appear as clouds lifted and the skies lightened, but it was never going to be enough to allow them to challenge Button's early effort, despite a late frenzy of laps.

Seven-times champion Michael Schumacher led the way right at the death, but with a time that was 1.6secs adrift of Button's best earlier in the day.

And the only problem with the Briton's time is that it is 0.7secs slower than Mark Webber's best in FP1 a year ago.

To appreciate how much is likely left in the locker, and just why so many questions remain unanswered, Sebastian Vettel's pole time in Australia last season was a 1:23.529.

Hamilton finished 0.245secs adrift of his team-mate in FP1, with the duo comfortably clear of the remainder of the field that was led by Schumacher.

The German manufacturing giant's car, in particular, looks solid and planted, assisted by a new radical wing system deemed legal by the FIA.

The technical head of motor sport's governing body, Charlie Whiting, claims the device is "completely passive", with no moving parts that otherwise would have led to it being banned.

Operating in a similar way as to the F-duct of two years ago, the rear wing is stalled, which in turn allows greater straightline speed.

It proved to be a German one-two in FP2 as Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India finished 0.109secs down, with Sauber's Sergio Perez in third, but almost a further second behind.

Mexican Perez was fortunate to avoid contact with a wall after losing control of his car at the top of the start-finish straight and engaging in a spin late on.

Despite the conditions, that was only one of two notable incidents as Ferrari's Felipe Massa slid into a gravel trap in FP1.

To underline the nature of the times in FP2, Red Bull duo Vettel and Webber were down in 10th and 11th respectively, three seconds down.

As for Button and Hamilton, they languished in 15th and 16th and four seconds off the pace in the second session, while Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen was 18th, five seconds down.

After their troubles in FP1, HRT finally put some laps on their car as Narain Karthikeyan managed 16, albeit finishing 13.5secs adrift of Schumacher.

Karthikeyan's engine stopped on his first quick lap in FP1 and he never made it out again, while team-mate Pedro de la Rosa sat in the garage as the team attempted to finish a car that only passed scrutineering at the 11th hour.

The veteran Spaniard then managed only one installation lap in FP2 as his problems continued.

First practice times: 1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 1min 27.560secs, 2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.805, 3 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:28.235, 4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:28.360, 5 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:28.467, 6 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:28.683, 7 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.908, 8 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Renault 1:29.415, 9 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:29.565, 10 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1:29.722, 11 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1:29.790, 12 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 1:29.865, 13 Paul Di Resta (Gbr) Force India-Mercedes 1:29.881, 14 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams-Renault 1:29.953, 15 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber 1:30.124, 16 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus 1:30.515, 17 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham 1:30.586, 18 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:30.743, 19 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:31.178, 20 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham 1:31.983, 21 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia 1:34.730, 22 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia 1:40.256, 23 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-Cosworth no time, 24 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-Cosworth no time

Second practice times: 1 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1min 29.183secs, 2 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India-Mercedes 1:29.292, 3 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber 1:30.199, 4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:30.341, 5 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1:30.709, 6 Paul Di Resta (Gbr) Force India-Mercedes 1:31.466, 7 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:31.505, 8 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham-Renault 1:31.932, 9 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:32.184, 10 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 1:32.194, 11 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 1:32.296, 12 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia-Cosworth 1:32.632, 13 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham-Renault 1:32.767, 14 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus-Renault 1:32.822, 15 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.039, 16 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.252, 17 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams-Renault 1:34.108, 18 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus-Renault 1:34.275, 19 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams-Renault 1:34.312, 20 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.485, 21 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:34.604, 22 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia-Cosworth 1:34.770, 23 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-Cosworth 1:42.627, 24 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-Cosworth no time

 

[sarahmic]

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button locked out the front row of the Australian Grand Prix grid to give McLaren the perfect start to the new Formula One season.

After all the smoke and mirrors of pre-season testing it is McLaren who have thrown down the gauntlet to their rivals, with Hamilton grabbing the 20th pole of his career to edge out his fellow Briton.

The 27-year-old, on pole at Melbourne's Albert Park in 2008, the year he won the title, set a lap of one minute 24.992secs, with Button 0.152secs adrift.

Hamilton said: "It's an incredible feeling to be back up here, mine and Jenson's first one-two for the first time.

"A massive thanks to all the team who have worked incredibly hard over the winter.

"The race is now going to be incredibly tough and very intense, but the team now need to be on point, as do Jenson and I.

"Tomorrow is the most important day, but there's a lot to look forward to."

Button was equally as delighted for the team given the work put in as he said: "Congratulations to Lewis and the whole team.

"We've done a very good job, but this is only the beginning, although it's looking like it's going to be a very exciting season."

Reigning champions Red Bull did not even make the second row as it is the unusual combination of Lotus' Romain Grosjean and the Mercedes of seven-times champion Michael Schumacher.

However, a protest over Mercedes' new vent device on the side of the rear-wing endplates appears to be on the cards.

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has confirmed he will protest the system that allows the rear wing to stall when the DRS is activated, and it now remains to be seen if others will join him.

That is despite the fact FIA technical director Charlie Whiting has already declared it legal as it is "completely passive" in that it does not move nor is it operated by the driver.

On the third row it is the Red Bulls, with Mark Webber edging out Vettel who starts sixth, his lowest grid slot since the Italian GP of 2010.

Nico Rosberg lines up seventh in his Mercedes, followed by Pastor Maldonado for Williams, the Venezuelan conjuring a superb effort for the team that endured a miserable 2011.

Then come Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India and Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo, who did not set a time.

Q2 proved to be a disaster for Ferrari, initially sparked when Fernando Alonso put his left tyre on to the grass on entry into turn one, sending him spinning into the gravel.

It means for the first time since the Turkish Grand Prix in 2010, a run of 31 races, Alonso failed to make Q3. He will start 12th behind Toro Rosso rookie Jean-Eric Vergne.

As for team-mate Felipe Massa, he underlined the fact this year's Ferrari appears to be a dog of a car, as was sensed by observers throughout pre-season testing.

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi, Bruno Senna in his Williams and Paul di Resta all finished ahead of Massa in 13th, 14th and 15th, leaving the Brazilian down in 16th ahead of the second Sauber of Sergio Perez who did not set a time.

For Di Resta, his pace was remarkably slower than that of team- mate Hulkenberg who finished 0.7secs quicker in Q2 than the Scot.

As for returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, it was not the start to his comeback he would have expected as he dropped out at the end of the opening 20-minute Q1.

The Finn made a mess of his last flying lap, running wide onto a grass verge and coming within inches of hitting a wall, leaving him down in 18th on the grid.

To underline what should have been achieved, team-mate Grosjean finished the session third fastest and with a time 1.3secs ahead of Raikkonen.

Admitting to "a bad start", Raikkonen said: "I slowed because we were supposed to have time for one more lap. I guess we didn't.

"Nobody told me when I slowed that I had to hurry up. There's no point blaming anyone. Everyone is as disappointed as me."

As has been primarily the case in F1 since the three new teams entered the sport two years ago, the six drivers associated with them also exited Q1.

Caterham have closed the gap to the midfield to a second, whereas here last year it was two seconds, with Heikki Kovalainen ahead of new team-mate Vitaly Petrov by just over 0.3secs.

Marussia's Timo Glock finished almost two seconds down on Petrov and will start 21st, with rookie team-mate Charles Pic 22nd and almost three quarters of a second behind the German.

As for HRT, neither Pedro de la Rosa nor Narain Karthikeyan were within the 107 per cent time, so should not start, as was the case here last year when they did the same thing.

 

[sarahmic]

JENSON BUTTON WINS AUSTRALIAN GP

Jenson Button rekindled memories of his title-winning campaign of 2009 with a season-opening victory in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.

Button took the chequered flag that year in Melbourne, then with Brawn GP, and went on to claim his maiden crown in glorious fashion.

Three years on and Button was again triumphant in Melbourne for McLaren, romping to his third success Down Under in the past four years and the 13th win of his Formula One career.

Despite a safety car event two thirds of the way through the 58-lap race, Button was relatively untroubled, finishing 2.2 seconds clear of reigning double world champion Sebastian Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton third.

Five of the past six winners of this race have gone on to win the world title.

Savouring his latest success Button said: "As we all know every win means a lot, and for us as a team it shows how important the winter is

"We've had a atrong winter, so it's nice to come away with a victory. The guys back in the factory in Woking have done a fantastic job.

"This will help them push harder so a big thank you to everyone. It's a fantastic day."

Vettel appreciated the safety car probably aided his cause as he said: "We would have had a good shot at it anyway even wthout that, but surely it did help a little.

"Congratulations to Jenson, he drove a fantastic race, he was unbeatable today.

"But I'm very happy with second, it's good points and a lot of people would not have throught this possible after yesterday."

Hamilton naturally looked downcast as he said: "Congratulations to Jenson and McLaren.

"But we've plenty more races ahead, so I'll just have to keep my head down.

"This was a tough race, but quite a positive to come here with good pace, and we can build on that."

 

[sarahmic]

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS

1 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1hr 34mins 09.565secs

2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:34:11.704

3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:34:13.640

4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:34:14.112

5 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:34:31.130

6 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:34:46.331

7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:34:47.579

8 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:34:49.023

9 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:34:49.121

10 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:34:49.302

11 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:34:49.413

12 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:35:07.207

13 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams at 1 Lap

14 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia at 1 Lap

15 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia at 5 Laps

Not Classified:

16 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams 52 Laps completed

17 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 46 Laps completed

18 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham 38 Laps completed

19 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham 34 Laps completed

20 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 10 Laps completed

21 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus F1 Team 1 Laps completed

22 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 0 Laps completed

 

[sarahmic]

BUTTON CONFIDENT OF REPEAT WIN


Jenson Button sees no reason why McLaren will not deliver in the humid heat of Malaysia after enjoying success in the cool climes of Melbourne.

Button scored his 13th victory in Formula One on Sunday when he triumphed for the third time in four years around the temporary 'street' circuit of Albert Park.

As a platform on which to launch a world title bid this year, the 32-year-old could not have wished for a more solid beginning.

For once at the start of a season McLaren have come flying out of the blocks, with Lewis Hamilton underpinning their success with pole on Saturday, but forced to settle for third in the race.

However, in F1 it might not necessarily follow that just because the Woking-based team were so successful Down Under they will go on to light up the Sepang circuit on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur this weekend.

Button, though, is confident the fears expressed by many of their rivals so far that McLaren are the team to beat should hold true over the course of the weekend.

"Within the team we've talked about Malaysia, and obviously it's a very different place than Melbourne," said Button.

"I think a lot of people had problems warming up their tyres in Melbourne, whereas we won't have that problem in Malaysia due to the heat.

"So it's finding a good set-up for that circuit and consistency is going to be tricky. It's something really to work on for us.

"But I can't see any reason why we can't get this car working in the heat as well as the cool, as was the case at the weekend when the sun was going down.

"We've a very good understanding of the car, and there's still more to come, but we've only driven it in cool conditions.

"It might completely change when we get to Malaysia, and I'm sure it will, so we've got to be thinking ahead of the game.

"We can't turn up there and think 'we'll just send it out and see what happens'. We'll hopefully be ready for it."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has already insisted that will be the case, and has even gone as far as to suggest Button can enjoy a "proper title run" this year.

Button, whilst firmly believing the signs are so far good, is aware of the calibre of the opposition eager to turn the tables.

"There are a few cars that maybe didn't get the best out of what they had at the weekend," added Button

"I'm sure Red Bull are going to be massively quick this race. I don't think qualifying went very well for them, and Seb (Vettel) put his car in the gravel in practice.

"But they were quick in the race, so they're going to be there.

"It's developing what you have and getting the best out of what you have, and they haven't yet, but then I'm not sure we have either.

"Then you have teams like Mercedes, who I don't think have also got the best out of their package, and Lotus, we don't know how good they would have been.

"So I wouldn't write off any of those teams at the moment. I think for the next few races they are going to be very strong.

"It's not just McLaren at the front, we have a lot of competition and that's exciting for us."

As Red Bull team principal Christian Horner remarked this week, the season is poised to become a development race such is the seemingly close-knit nature of the field.

Whitmarsh does not disagree, although is convinced either of his drivers can become champion if McLaren stay ahead of their rivals in the engineering stakes.

"We've two fantastic drivers and a strong team and now it is up to us," said Whitmarsh.

"We can win this if we improve the car at a quick enough rate, so that is clearly what we are going to set out to do."

 

[sarahmic]

LEWIS HAMILTON SETS MALAYSIA PACE

Lewis Hamilton completed a practice hat-trick as Mercedes power locked out the first four positions in Friday's second session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Hamilton's time of one minute 38.021secs posted in the initial 90 -minute outing at the Sepang International Circuit remained good enough to lead the way.

Hamilton was only marginally slower in the afternoon by 0.151secs as the teams opted for longer runs rather than going for outright pace.

But it is now three in a row for Hamilton in his McLaren as he was also quickest in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix last weekend prior to grabbing pole for that event at Melbourne's Albert Park.

It was not all plain sailing for the Briton, however, as he aims to rebound from the disappointment he so publicly displayed on Sunday when he could only finish third behind team-mate Jenson Button and reigning double world champion Sebastian Vettel.

There were a couple of minor offs, but arguably only as Hamilton found the limits of the track in tandem with becoming accustomed to the Pirelli tyres as a number of drivers complained of a lack of grip in the afternoon compared to the morning.

Ominously for the rest of the field, though, the Mercedes engine appears strong as the 27-year-old was followed by Michael Schumacher for the works team, the seven-times champion trailing by 0.361secs.

Button, who suffered a KERS failure that curtailed his running in the morning to just 15 laps, finished third, just two thousandths of a second behind Schumacher, whilst Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was fourth on the timesheet, just over half a second off Hamilton.

The best of the rest was Daniel Ricciardo for Toro Rosso, whilst with a new and seemingly improved front wing, Fernando Alonso elevated his Ferrari up to sixth, 0.719secs off the pace.

As for the Red Bulls, they appear to be struggling as Mark Webber was down in seventh and Vettel 10th, the latter 1.230secs down.

However, as with any practice running on a Friday we are yet to see the best of the cars and drivers, albeit in tough conditions with temperatures hitting 30 degrees centigrade and with humidity at 62 per cent.

Sandwiching the Red Bull duo were Jean-Eric Vergne in his Toro Rosso and Lotus' Romain Grosjean, with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen 15th, 1.5secs down.

It proved to be a wretched afternoon for Paul di Resta in his Force India as he twice spun off track as he clearly struggled with the tyres.

The Scot ultimately finished 13th, just behind team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, and 1.453secs down, whilst Ferrari's Felipe Massa was a miserable 16th and two seconds behind, doing little to ease talk regarding his tenuous future with the team.

Again at the rear were the HRT duo of Narain Karthikeyan and Pedro de la Rosa, both around 5.5secs slower than Hamilton, and again on course to miss the 107 per cent time in qualifying.

Times
01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:38.172 28 laps
02 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:38.533 0.361 34 laps
03 Jenson Button McLaren 1:38.535 0.363 30 laps
04 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.696 0.524 34 laps
05 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:38.853 0.681 33 laps
06 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:38.891 0.719 27 laps
07 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:39.133 0.961 29 laps
08 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:39.297 1.125 33 laps
09 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:39.311 1.139 22 laps
10 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:39.402 1.230 25 laps
11 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:39.444 1.272 35 laps
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:39.464 1.292 26 laps
13 Paul di Resta Force India 1:39.625 1.453 20 laps
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:39.687 1.515 16 laps
15 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:39.696 1.524 29 laps
16 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:40.271 2.099 28 laps
17 Bruno Senna Williams 1:40.678 2.506 34 laps
18 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:40.947 2.775 33 laps
19 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:41.464 3.292 25 laps
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:41.681 3.509 20 laps
21 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:42.594 4.422 18 laps
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:42.874 4.702 24 laps
23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:43.658 5.486 18 laps
24 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:43.823 5.651 22 laps

 

[sarahmic]

HAMILTON LEADS ANOTHER McLAREN ONE-TWO

Lewis Hamilton again spearheaded an all-McLaren front row on the day Michael Schumacher secured his best grid position for five and a half years.

After securing pole last week in Australia, Hamilton made it two in a row for the first time since September 2009 by grabbing top spot for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old finished 0.149secs ahead of team-mate Jenson Button as they repeated their one-two from Melbourne's Albert Park, Hamilton clocking a lap of one minute 36.219secs.

Lining up directly behind them, though, is seven-times champion Schumacher in third in his Mercedes as the 43-year-old rolled back the years

 

[sarahmic]

Lewis Hamilton again spearheaded an all-McLaren front row on the day Michael Schumacher secured his best grid position for five-and-a-half years.

After securing pole last week in Australia, Hamilton made it two in a row for the first time since September 2009 by grabbing top spot for Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix.

The 27-year-old finished 0.149secs ahead of team-mate Jenson Button as they repeated their one-two from Melbourne's Albert Park, Hamilton clocking a lap of one minute 36.219secs.

Lining up directly behind them, though, is seven-times champion Schumacher in third in his Mercedes as the 43-year-old rolled back the years.

The last time Schumacher was so high on the grid was during his final days of his first Formula One career with Ferrari when he qualified second in the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2006.

Mark Webber grabbed fourth in his Red Bull, again finishing ahead of team-mate and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel as the 24-year-old repeated his sixth place from Melbourne.

Vettel, however, will move up to fifth as Kimi Raikkonen will drop five places to 10th after the gearbox in his Lotus was changed overnight.

Team-mate Romain Grosjean now starts sixth, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg seventh and Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari eighth, with Sauber's Sergio Perez ninth.

Williams' Pastor Maldonado starts 11th ahead of Felipe Massa who, for the second successive race, missed out on a place in the top 10, this time by a quarter of a second.

Bruno Senna lines up 13th in his Williams, followed by Paul di Resta for Force India, the Scot just 13 thousandths of a second ahead of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in 16th.

Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo finds himself sandwiched between the Force India pair in 15th, with Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi down in 17th and comprehensively thrashed by team-mate Perez.

After qualifying a superb 11th on his debut for Toro Rosso a week ago in Australia, it was back down to earth with a bump for Jean- Eric Vergne.

On this occasion the Frenchman failed to make it out of Q1 and will start 18th, finishing a considerable distance of almost 0.6secs off a spot in the second session.

Although Heikki Kovalainen qualified 19th, the Finn will drop to the back of the grid courtesy of a five-place penalty.

That was imposed after last Sunday's race at Melbourne's Albert Park for overtaking Vettel during the safety car period.

Caterham team-mate Vitaly Petrov will now occupy 19th, followed by the Marussia duo of Timo Glock and Charles Pic.

After failing to qualify last week, HRT pair Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan both fell within the 107% rule - the latter by 0.391secs - and so will start Sunday's race.

After claiming the 21st pole of his career, and his first in Malaysia, Hamilton said: "We've had a good weekend so far.

"It's been a tough day with the change in weather conditions and the temperatures climbing.

"But we made some changes to the car and we managed to do some good times."

As for the race, and with Sepang boasting the second longest run down to turn one of the current F1 tracks, Hamilton was mindful of the fact he was beaten off the line last week by Button.

"I don't know if I'm in the best place," he added.

"It's a long haul down to turn one, but hopefully we'll have a car in a much better position for the race tomorrow."

Button is anticipating "an exciting start", but is wary of Schumacher behind him who made up more places on the opening laps of races last season than any other driver.

Button said: "The Mercedes is renowned for its starts, especially Michael, so we are going to have to be careful."

Although missing out on pole again to Hamilton, Button added: "Qualifying has been pretty good for me last two races, so I can't complain too much

"It's a one-two, although obviously I would want it the other way around."

Schumacher believes he achieved "the maximum available" and would not have got on to the front row after being knocked off in the dying stages.

Schumacher said: "We have managed to work the car well over the whole weekend so far.

"We're third here, which shows it's a very tight business, but we can be more than happy with what we've achieved."

 

[sarahmic]

Qualifying Times

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1mins 36.219secs
2 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:36.368
3 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:36.391
4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:36.461
5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus F1 Team 1:36.461*
6 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:36.634
7 Romain Grosjean (Swi) Lotus F1 Team 1:36.658
8 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:36.664
9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:37.566
10 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.698
11 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:37.589
12 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:37.731
13 Bruno Senna (Bra) Williams 1:37.841
14 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:37.877
15 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.883
16 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Force India 1:37.890
17 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber-Ferrari 1:38.069
18 Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.077
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham 1:39.306*
20 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Caterham 1:39.567
21 Timo Glock (Ger) Marussia 1:40.903
22 Charles Pic (Fra) Marussia 1:41.250
23 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) HRT-F1 1:42.914
24 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) HRT-F1 1:43.655

* Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen have both received five-place grid penalties, Raikkonen for an unscheduled gearbox change and Kovalainen for a rule infringement at the Australian Grand Prix. They will start 10th and 24th respectively.