Formula 1 News

sky star 2 · Aug 17, 2009

HAMILTON MAKES CASE FOR DEFENCE

Lewis Hamilton has defended himself for "slipping-up" at the Australian Grand Prix earlier in the season.

Defending world champion Hamilton has had a difficult 2009 season both on and off the track.

His year got off to a nightmare start when he was disqualified from the Australian GP classification for giving "misleading evidence" to race stewards.

With the dust finally settling over the issue, Hamilton says he made a "mistake".

"All I can say is, no one's perfect," he told the Daily Mail.

"I am a human being. I'm not a... you race to be a superstar, and you're looked at as a god or something silly. I'm not. I've got no superpowers, I'm a normal human being who's made it from nowhere. And I've got to somewhere. It just so happens that when I make a mistake, it's all over the tabloids.

"Every sportsman, every film actor, every great person that's doing well and achieving something, it's like, hype, hype, hype, and as soon as they make one slip-up, it's 'Wow'. It's one slip-up."

While Hamilton has struggled this year, his compatriot Jenson Button has been setting the world alight.

The Brawn GP driver is leading the world championship by 18.5 points with seven races still to go.

Button's turn of fortunes has led to many British fans switching their allegiances from the McLaren ace to the Brawn driver. Hamilton, though, isn't too upset.

"It doesn't bother me," he says. "It's the way the world works. People love winners. Some people love to support the team that's winning, like in football."

Many fans perceive Hamilton as "another arrogant, over-rich playboy driver", but the Brit insists he doesn't have an over-the-top lifestyle.

"The thing is that it's what they read that makes them think that," he adds. "It's like people say I've got a boat - I've never thought of buying a boat. I've rented a boat.

"I don't spend money. I don't waste money. I have, on occasions, taken my girlfriend on a trip somewhere, and I can afford a better trip than some other people, but I don't live an extravagant lifestyle."

sky star 2 · Aug 18, 2009

RENAULT WIN BAN APPEAL

Renault and Fernando Alonso have won an appeal against a one-race ban, clearing them to take part in Sunday's European Grand Prix.

The French team were punished after allowing Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel at last month's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The wheel came off and bounced across the track at the July 26 race, with race stewards subsequently ruling that the team's pit crew knew the wheel was not properly secured and failed to tell the driver.

Renault were hopeful the team's suspension would be lifted - and on Monday motorsport's governing body the FIA overturned the ban and instead decided to fine the team just over £30,000.

A statement on the FIA's official website read: "Renault admitted to the court that they breached the sporting regulations, in that they failed to ensure that (the) car complied with the conditions for safety throughout practice and the race, and that they released the car after a pit stop when it was unsafe to do so.

"However, it requested the court to reconsider the severity of the sanction imposed by the stewards.

"Having heard the arguments of the parties, the court have decided as follows:

1) To allow the appeal and overturn the sanction imposed by the Stewards in the contested decision.

2) To issue a reprimand and impose a fine of US$50,000 (£30,600) upon Renault.

"The reasons for this decision will be published in a full judgment in the coming days."

With the ban overturned Alonso will now race at his home grand prix in Valencia, which is likely to prove highly popular with the Spanish crowd.

The incident happened the day after Felipe Massa was involved in an horrific incident which left him with life-threatening injuries.

The Ferrari driver needed surgery on his skull after being struck by an object dislodged from the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello during qualifying at the Hungaroring.

The previous week, 18-year-old Formula Two driver Henry Surtees - the son of 1964 F1 champion John Surtees - died after being struck on the head by a wheel and tyre while travelling at 120mph at Brands Hatch.

sky star 2 · Aug 18, 2009

MASSA GRATEFUL TO HUNGARIAN HOSPITAL

Felipe Massa has expressed his gratitude to Budapest's AEK hospital, which treated him after his accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"I am convinced that the speed and the quality of the treatment I received at the AEK hospital was fundamental to reducing the duration of my convalescence," the 28-year-old, who is now recovering in Brazil, wrote in an e-mail read out at a ceremony in Budapest on Monday.

A representative from the Brazilian sports ministry, Ricardo Leyser Goncalves, also thanked Hungary for the "attentive and professional" care that Massa had received in Budapest.

"Thanks to the professional excellence and the kindness (of the staff), this story has had a good ending," Goncalves said at the event, noting the shock felt in Brazil after the fatal accident of Ayrton Senna in 1994.

"All of Brazil could relax that Felipe Massa was in good hands," he added.

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone also expressed his gratitude for the "super hospital" in an e-mail, remarking that "if I have an accident, I want to be taken to AEK."

Massa suffered severe head injuries when he was struck at around 250 km/h by a spring that flew off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 25.

The driver underwent surgery on his fractured skull and was flown to Brazil after nine days of convalescence at the AEK hospital.

sky star 2 · Aug 18, 2009

TOST: I DIDN'T FIRE BOURDAIS VIA TEXT

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has denied that he fired Sebastien Bourdais via a text message.

Bourdais claimed that his former employers had not told him in a face-to-face meeting that his services were no longer required, but rather did so through a text message.

"Dietrich Mateschitz was at the Nürburgring but he did not speak with me. He did not call me. Everything was done by SMS, which to me has no style," the 30-year-old told French magazine Auto Hébdo.

However, Tost has categorically denied the Frenchman's claims.

"I told Monsieur Bourdais personally that he is not going to drive any more and did not write any SMS," Tost told Sport Bild.

"I can understand that he is disappointed, but his performances were simply not what we expected. We wanted an increase in speed from him in his second year and it did not happen."

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

HAMILTON EYES MORE GLORY

Lewis Hamilton is confident his first victory of the season at last month's Hungarian Grand Prix was no flash in the pan and is bullish over his prospects of a repeat this weekend in Valencia.

The European Grand Prix signals the end of Formula One's month-long summer break, during which a two-week factory shut-down observed by all teams restricted the development of the cars, although Hamilton's McLaren team managed to shoehorn in further revisions to the MP4-24 during what little time they had.

McLaren's endeavours in the factory will have been made less arduous by the knowledge they now have a race-winning car on their hands, and Hamilton believes the characteristics of the tight Valencia street circuit - which provided a rather dour, processional race on its F1 debut last season - could be to his advantage at the wheel of the revised package this weekend.

"It's great to be getting back to business after the four-week break," said the reigning world champion, who finished second behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa in Valencia 12 months ago.

"I'm still buzzing from the win in Hungary and I'm hopeful of being able to carry that pace into the Valencia weekend - particularly with our new upgrades to the car.

"It's a very demanding circuit, the kind of place that punishes any mistakes hard. It's quite tight and relatively slow, so it should suit our package. It's also very difficult to overtake, as we discovered last year."

Victory in Hungary was Martin Whitmarsh's first as McLaren team principal and he expects Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen to be challenging at the sharp end from the very first session.

"While the summer break has meant we've had four weeks to enjoy Lewis' victory in Budapest, it's very important that we are able to maintain that winning momentum into this weekend's race," said Whitmarsh.

"Fortunately, we have made a structured effort to bring further improvements to the car in Spain and the whole team has been buoyed by that win and is really looking forward to another strong set of results this weekend. I've no doubts that we'll certainly hit the ground running on Friday."

Raking over the coals of Hamilton's 10th career victory might have been all grand prix fans thought they would have to dwell on during the recent break, but, not altogether unsurprisingly, the sport managed to keep itself well in the limelight with a clutch of headline-grabbing stories.

Michael Schumacher's return to F1 with Ferrari in place of the convalescing Massa threatened to be one of the biggest stories in the sport's history until a neck injury ruled the seven-time champion out of the reckoning. Massa's drive will instead go to unfancied Italian Luca Badoer, who in a 48-race grand prix career with Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti between 1993 and 1999 failed to score a single point.

While not the box-office draw that Schumacher would have been for the Valencia organisers, Badoer's elevation from test driver to racer will be an interesting one for the purists who will no doubt be eager to see how he fares at the wheel of truly competitive machinery.

Better news for Valencia's race organisers arrived this week when Renault won their appeal against a one-race ban for a pit lane infringement in Hungary which threatened to rule the team's lead driver Fernando Alonso out of his home event.

Alonso had started on pole for the race at the Hungaroring but his race quickly unravelled after his team failed to fit a wheel correctly during a routine pit stop. That error, compounded by the team's failure to alert the driver to the problem, culminated in a ban for the team, but with that threat now gone the Spaniard is keen to put on show for the home fans this weekend.

"Our performance in Hungary was encouraging as the car was quick and we managed to get pole, which was actually a bit of a surprise," he said. "To retire from the race was disappointing, but I'm looking on the bright side because I think that the car can be just as competitive in Valencia."

Alonso will be partnered by a new team-mate this weekend after Renault team boss Flavio Briatore's patience finally ran out with the underperforming Nelson Piquet, meaning 23-year-old Frenchman Romain Grosjean gets the nod for the second seat this weekend and for the remainder of the season.

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

RETURNING BADOER AIMING TO FINISH

Luca Badoer is refusing to set himself any lofty targets for his comeback race at this weekend's European Grand Prix at Valencia.

The 38-year-old Italian will realise a dream in Friday's first practice session at the street circuit when he gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari as a race driver for the first time.

Badoer's chance to impress came in the wake of the fractured skull suffered by Felipe Massa in qualifying for last month's Hungarian Grand Prix, and Michael Schumacher's subsequent withdrawal as the Brazilian's replacement due to a neck injury.

While Badoer has only been confirmed as Massa's replacement for this weekend's race, it stands to reason that should he bring the car home well up the order come Sunday afternoon, he could well retain the seat for the rest of the campaign.

Two days behind the wheel of Ferrari's F60 for promotional purposes earlier this week was sufficient to whet Badoer's appetite ahead of his first grand prix since Suzuka 1999.

On the grid 10 years ago were the likes of Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Jean Alesi and Mika Hakkinen, and Badoer is now ready to mix it with a new generation of grand prix stars.

"These 200 kilometres were absolutely insignificant from a technical point of view, but they allowed me to get to know the car again," Badoer said of the two-day session at Ferrari's private test facility at Fiorano.

"I have a good impression and it's obvious that there's a difficult task waiting for me at Valencia: the first race will help me to get back into the rhythm of a Formula 1 weekend. I haven't set myself any goals, just to end the race."

While Schumacher will not be driving this weekend, he will be with Ferrari in his usual consultancy capacity, and Badoer is looking forward to picking the brains of the seven-time champion, with whom he has formed a strong bond during 12 year's as the Scuderia's test driver.

"I'm glad that Michael will be with the team, I'm sure he can give me some important tips," Badoer continued.

"Over the last days we've spoken very often and we even trained together when he was still trying to get ready to race.

"I was really sad, because I know how much he would have liked it. Although I am now able to make my dream come true, I am his friend, his admirer and his fan."

Badoer, who lost out to Mika Salo when it came to Ferrari selecting their replacement for Schumacher after the German suffered a broken leg in the 1999 season, is also confident of working well alongside regular driver Kimi Raikkonen.

Badoer said: "We've got an excellent relationship and I'm sure that we'll work very well together as team-mates.

"He's got his character, but that's nothing new. I feel very good when we're together."

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

BUTTON HOPING TO TURN UP THE HEAT

Do not be surprised to see Jenson Button looking to the skies in Valencia this weekend, willing the sweltering Spanish sun to do its bit to aid his title bid.

Feeling the heat is normally the last thing a world championship leader wants with seven races remaining, but for Button, the temperature gauge just cannot go high enough right now.

The way things are going, if the Brawn GP driver hopes to covert his stunning early-season form into a maiden world title, the elements are going to have to turn markedly in his favour.

Winning six of seven races at the start of 2009 briefly elevated Button to the elite group of men for whom winning became such a habit that it prompted mutterings of disquiet from some uncharitable souls who felt the show was being spoiled by one man's dominance.

How suddenly all that has changed.

No wins and a total of just nine points has been Button's haul from the last three grands prix, underlining once again the truly unpredictable nature of the 2009 season.

Button was at the peak of his powers when the F1 show arrived at Silverstone for his home grand prix in June, and it was there, ironically, that the chinks in Brawn GP's armoury started to show.

The BGP 001 clearly was unhappy in cooler temperatures, highlighted by a typically underwhelming summer day in rural Northamptonshire, while the same pattern emerged at the next race at the Nurburgring, cooler track conditions again counting against the Brawns as Button again finished off the podium.

Brawn's problem is tyre temperature - or a lack of it.

Unlike many of their rivals, the Brawn's optimum tyre performance zone is within a very high temperature range.

When it's cool, the tyres struggle to work at their best. The statistics do not lie.

At every race bar one this season, Button has claimed victory when the track temperature has been above 30 degrees Celsius.

Only the last race at the Hungaroring bucked that trend, although the team's performance that weekend was skewed by the spring failure on Rubens Barrichello's car which affected the qualifying sessions of both drivers - and had significantly worse consequences for the unfortunate Felipe Massa.

Tyre problems nevertheless were an issue for the Brawns come race day, but the poor qualifying effort had already as good as ruined the chances of both drivers.

Better should therefore be expected in steamy Valencia. With the air temperature set to be above 30 degrees all weekend, track temperatures should soar.

Allowing for trouble-free practice and qualifying sessions, this weekend could well see a return to form for Button just at the point his title lead is beginning to look fragile. Button's dip in form has coincided with a spike for the Red Bull team, for whom Mark Webber has overhauled team-mate Sebastian Vettel to become the 'point man' in the battle to catch the Briton.

In the same period that Button has scored those nine points, Webber has amassed 24 - six more than his team-mate - to close to within 18.5 points of the championship leader.

The facts of the matter are not lost on Button, who recently conceded that if Webber maintains the current rate at which he is eating into his lead, the Red Bull man will have overhauled him by the time the teams leave Singapore on September 27.

A solution to Brawn's woes could yet be found by the technical department, which wheeled out a series of revisions to the car for the last round in Hungary. Their struggles with tyre wear in that race could be down to these changes, and it is a guarantee that wily team principal Ross Brawn - a man too long in the tooth in F1 terms to stay baffled by a handling problem for too long - will have used the four-week break since the last round to get to the bottom of the problem.

A two-week factory shutdown in the middle of the summer break will have been an unwelcome hindrance to Brawn's bid to return to the front, but Button revealed the there has been no let up in their efforts, saying: "There's been a lot of work going on at the factory following our shutdown and with the cars at the front being so close at the moment, it will be an interesting weekend."

But, more importantly, will it be a hot one, Jenson?

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

BMW DUO STUNNED BY WITHDRAWAL

BMW Sauber drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica have spoken of their shock at the company's decision to leave Formula One at the end of the season.

This weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia will be the first since the German manufacturer made the announcement last month, citing "current developments in motorsport" for its decision.

The impending exit has left the future of the team's drivers and hundreds of employees at bases in Hinwil and Munich up in the air, and Kubica, who claimed BMW's maiden victory in Canada last year, admitted the news had come out of the blue.

"It was a shock decision, an unexpected one," said Kubica, who revealed he read about the withdrawal online before having it confirmed to him by the team.

"I was never expecting such a big decision."

It is hoped a rescue bid will see the existing operation taken over - as was the case when Honda's withdrawal over the winter gave way to Brawn GP - but a deal to safeguard jobs remains a some way off.

"Everybody's still a bit worried about their future," Kubica continued. "I hope they will find a good way out of it and we will continue.

"We have a lot of good people and they deserve a better situation than we have now."

After challenging for podiums and victories over the past two seasons, 2009 has been a nightmare year for BMW, with just a total of eight points won after 10 rounds.

It is all a far cry from a year ago when Kubica emerged as an outsider for the drivers' title, and the Pole believes the decision might not have been taken had the team still been at the sharp end of the grid.

"I think it would have been a completely different situation," he admitted.

"I assume if we were first in the championship, or second, fighting for wins, we would not have this kind of problem."

Kubica also questioned the timing of the announcement, saying: "It is strange as there are still seven races to go and I assume that motivation might be difficult to get.

"Normally you would try to keep your team as smooth as possible without any problems in the season, and now we have this big topic which is not ideal."

Heidfeld, meanwhile, felt BMW had been guilty of making a snap decision based solely on the bad results of recent times.

"The feeling and feedback I always had was that we were safe and secure for the future, that's why it was a surprise," he said.

"I think it was quite a short-term decision.

"BMW pulling out is a bad decision for everybody involved at Hinwil and Munich."

However, he added the team are committed to bowing in style and revealed upgrades to the car would be rolled out for this weekend's race and again in Singapore next month.

"BMW wants to leave on a high," he continued. "They want to turn things around and not leave with the season we have had so far.

"We want to show what we are capable of."

While Kubica is expected to be snapped up by an established team next season - with Renault reportedly in the frame - the future of 32-year-old Heidfeld is less certain, although the man himself is adamant he will stick around for an 11th season at the top level.

"I feel as confident as before," he revealed. "It was not certain that I would be with BMW next year, so I was already in talks with other teams before the decision was made public."

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

LEWIS: NO LUCKY SEVEN FOR BUTTON

Lewis Hamilton insists his aspirations for the final seven races of the Formula One season do not include helping fellow Briton Jenson Button to a maiden world title.

The McLaren driver returned to form in stunning fashion in Hungary last time out after a season spent in the doldrums, winning comfortably from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as the old order was restored at the head of grand prix racing.

The return to form of both McLaren and Ferrari could play into the hands of Brawn GP driver Button, who is protecting an 18.5-point lead over Red Bull's Mark Webber in the drivers' championship.

Speculation in the Valencia paddock ahead of this weekend's European Grand Prix indicated Hamilton could be motivated by the prospect of helping Button maintain his advantage at the summit, but the reigning champion flatly rejected that theory.

He said: "I'm not really looking to do that. I'm looking to win races for us as a team and for us to be as successful as we can be.

"If that happens to help Jenson win the championship, then that would be fantastic for me and for all British fans.

"I really hope he does it, but he's not my team-mate and I'm not here to help him win - we're here to win races ourselves.

"The greatest thing I think is if I was to be very competitive at this last bunch of races. It's great for people to see that we still have it and that I'm still a worthy world champion."

Hamilton's Hungaroring triumph - his 10th career victory - marked the culmination of a dedicated recovery effort by the Woking-based McLaren team, whose cars had previously been labouring at the back of the pack.

Hamilton finished 12th, 13th, 16th and 18th in the four races prior to his Hungarian win, and the 24-year-old admits the upturn in his fortunes has been remarkable.

"It's so special," he said. "I've never seen anyone come from finishing last to suddenly slingshot past everyone else. "The week after [the win], Monday felt fantastic, Tuesday felt fantastic ... it was just great to know that we'd had another win.

"We've learned a huge amount as a team in this past year, in terms of how we move forward, how we develop, how we analyse. I really hope that next year's car is good from the get-go.

"Without doubt we are the best team and we have the capability to win every year, but things change, things happen. "But for me, I can always arrive at a race and be competitive and at the front. I'm able to do that if I have the team behind me pushing me. And I know the team I'm in are able to achieve that."

Pressed on his chances of claiming a second victory on the bounce in Valencia come Sunday, Hamilton replied: "I hope so. We are going to do the best job we can.

"We know we've got a lot of competitive teams around us who will continue to improve during the season, but it's just a great feeling for us to know that we have that competitiveness back in the car."

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

BUTTON: WE'VE MADE STEPS FORWARD

World championship leader Jenson Button is guardedly optimistic his recent dip in form will be set to rights at this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Six wins from the first seven races of the season put Button firmly in the driving seat for the title, but doubts have crept in over the last three rounds as the Brawn GP cars have struggled for grip.

A return of nine points from those three events - in Britain, Germany and Hungary - has seen Button's lead whittled down to 18.5 points by the in-form Mark Webber, who has racked up 24 points in the same period for Red Bull.

Brawn's woes have been attributed to the car's failure to sufficiently heat its tyres in cooler temperatures, leading to a drop off in outright pace.

An upgrade to the Brawn for the last round in Hungary failed to cure the problems, although in theory those changes - including a new front wing and sidepods - should have improved the package.

Team principal Ross Brawn and his engineers have been working hard at their Brackley base to iron out the problems, and Button, while electing not to go into specifics, revealed some of those changes are set to be reversed in a bid to return the car to its former performance level.

"I think we understand the car much better than we did won or two races ago," he said. "It looks positive. I hope that when we go on the circuit tomorrow it feels positive.

"We've made some steps forward since the last race. We've had a look at some of the areas we thought we improved in over the last couple of races, and we looked at the possibility of going back on those changes.

"We can be strong again - this car is not bad. I think that we went just slightly in the wrong direction, but we'll pick up our pace again.

"The changes with the car that we've made, some are definitely positive, some maybe aren't so.

"We think we know where we went wrong, but you never know 100% until you get out on the circuit.

"At the end of tomorrow we might put our hands up and go 'we really don't know why we still can't get the tyres working', but I'm positive we know the reasons and we can get back to where it was."

Button concedes the first priority is to get back on the podium after finishing sixth, fifth and seventh at the last three rounds.

He said: "We need to get some good results. We can't finish off the podium; we need to be on the podium as often as possible."

That will be easier said than done for the Briton, who is all too aware that the party at the front of the grid has been gatecrashed by the previously underperforming McLarens and Ferraris.

Victory for McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and a racy second place for Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the Hungaroring was a sharp reminder of those two teams' former glories - and perhaps an indication of the threat they could yet pose for the remainder of this season.

"It's very competitive," Button continued. "You haven't just got the Red Bulls who are strong, you've got the McLarens, the Ferraris, the Renaults and even the Williams.

"We need to get back on top of it. I've got an 18.5-point lead, but that could disappear very quickly."

Button is grateful, at least, that in Red Bull he is taking on a team with two competitive drivers capable of taking points of one another.

Red Bull protege Sebastian Vettel appeared to be the biggest threat to Button earlier in the campaign, but Webber's mid-season charge has seen him emerge as the bigger threat.

"The Red Bulls have been very competitive, especially the last few races," said Button. "The only positive that I can take out of that is that there's two of them and not just one.

"You'd say at the start of the season that Vettel was quicker and Mark was more consistent maybe, but Mark has upped his game, and at the last couple of races he's been very strong.

"He's got the advantage over Vettel, but Vettel's not going to settle in for third in the championship - he's still fighting."

sky star 2 · Aug 22, 2009

GROSJEAN BOOSTED BY ALONSO PAIRING

Renault new boy Romain Grosjean insists being paired alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso at the French team will be a help rather than a hindrance to his Formula One career.

The 23-year-old Frenchman has been given the nod to make his grand prix debut as the replacement for Nelson Piquet, who has been axed after failing to score a point after 10 rounds of the 2009 season.

Grosjean is sure to be tested to the full at the tricky, 25-turn Valencia street circuit which hosts the European Grand Prix this weekend, but is adamant the influence of Alonso can be a positive one as he gets to grips with the R29.

"There is two sides," he said. "There is the side that maybe Fernando is the best driver on the grid, so trying to beat him will be very difficult. "But on the other side I think Fernando is such a good driver that working with him is a really good experience for me, and is maybe the best team-mate for me to start with."

Grosjean, with two victories to his name in the GP2 series this season, is keyed up for his grand prix debut but is refusing to make any predictions ahead of qualifying and the race. "At the moment I'm more excited than nervous - I'm trying to take it with a lot of pleasure," he continued.

"It's a new challenge, so I come here with no objective for the race weekend. "I won't say I want to finish in the top 10 or whatever, I think it would be idiotic to say anything like this.

"I will just try not to do any big mistakes and take a lot of pleasure in the car.

"If I can get close to Fernando, normally I should be not far from the points.

"I want to write a good story with Renault. We both want to get to the top." Spaniard Alonso has meanwhile revealed that he and his team were never in any doubt they would be cleared to race this weekend.

Renault were originally banned from the event after their mechanics allowed Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but victory in a subsequent appeal ensured the team would be present in Valencia after all.

"I thought the penalty was too hard on us so I was confident that at the end everything [would be] clear for us. I think the team was optimistic on that," said Alonso. "In our heads we were 100% racing in Valencia."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

BARRICHELLO LEADS THE WAY

Rubens Barrichello set the pace in the opening practice session for this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

The Brawn GP driver set a best time of one minute 42.460 seconds to head the pack by almost two tenths from McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.

Lewis Hamilton, bidding for a repeat of his victory in Hungary last month, was third, as McLaren again underlined their return to form following a run of miserable results.

Championship leader Jenson Button finished six tenths of a second down on team-mate Barrichello having set the same number of laps, but generally the signs were good for Brawn, who are bidding to overcome a problem with tyre warming that has plagued them at the last three races.

Temperatures should not be a problem in sunny Valencia, however, with this morning's session ending with a track temperature approaching 40 degrees Celsius.

Button did complain of both understeer and oversteer during the 90-minute session and will be working hard to fine-tune the car this afternoon, while Barrichello suffered late drama when his car got stuck in gear, although the problem was not thought to be serious.

The title-chasing Red Bull pair of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were fifth and eighth respectively, while Adrian Sutil did his bit to remind everyone the Force India car is now a package to be reckoned with in the midfield as he finished sixth.

It was a low-key session for grand prix returnee Luca Badoer, who finished 20th and last, 3.380secs off the pace of Barrichello and almost 2.5secs down on Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who finished in 10th.

Badoer, 38, revealed yesterday he expects to be in the second Ferrari for the remainder of the season as the replacement for the convalescing Felipe Massa, but better will be needed if he is to convince his bosses at Maranello of his worth.

It was a marginally better session for Renault new boy Romain Grosjean, whose first competitive outing at the wheel of the R29 ended with a solid 17th place.

Another relative newcomer, Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, who made his grand prix debut last month in Hungary, enjoyed a morale-boosting session, coming home in 13th, two places behind his equally impressive team-mate, Sebastien Buemi.

Kazuki Nakajima enjoyed a rare victory over Williams team-mate and Friday practice specialist Nico Rosberg, the Japanese driver taking seventh place while Rosberg could manage only 14th.

Elsewhere, Renault's Fernando Alonso claimed sixth place in front of his adoring home crowd, while BMW Sauber's latest round of revisions to the F109 failed to deliver anything better than 12th place for Robert Kubica and 15th for Nick Heidfeld.

But the picture looks even more bleak for Toyota, who, with their back-row qualifying performance in Monaco still fresh in the mind, again looked out of sorts on a street circuit, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock finishing 18th and 19th respectively.

Times
01 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:42.460 19 laps
02 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:42.636 16 laps
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:42.654 18 laps
4 J. Button Brawn GP 1:43.074 19 laps
05 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:43.088 17 laps
06 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:43.209 13 laps
07 K. Nakajima Williams 1:43.225 25 laps
08 M. Webber Red Bull 1:43.243 19 laps
09 F. Alonso Renault 1:43.345 18 laps
10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:43.384 23 laps
11 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.389 30 laps
12 R. Kubica BMW 1:43.419 20 laps
13 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.637 30 laps
14 N. Rosberg Williams 1:43.746 22 laps
15 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:44.040 23 laps
16 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:44.126 17 laps
17 R. Grosjean Renault 1:44.356 23 laps
18 J. Trulli Toyota 1:44.638 26 laps
19 T. Glock Toyota 1:44.732 28 laps
20 L. Badoer Ferrari 1:45.840 25 laps

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

BRAWN FLEX THEIR MUSCLES IN VALENCIA

Brawn GP fired a warning shot in the 2009 title race with a strong display in Friday's second practice for the European Grand Prix in Valencia, which was topped by home favourite Fernando Alonso.

After three below-par races during which the Brawns have struggled for grip, a number of revisions made to the BGP 001 for this weekend appear to have had the desired effect, with championship leader Jenson Button taking second and Rubens Barrichello third.

The Brawns were in fact switching between two different set-ups in their effort to rediscover their early-season form, which saw Button win six of the first seven races.

The team began the session running the car in the form it contested the Spanish Grand Prix in May, and ended it in the specification used in Hungary last time out.

More crucially for Brawn, their nearest challengers in both the drivers' and constructors' championship - Red Bull - had a miserable session.

Mark Webber, second in the championship to Button, finished down in 14th while Sebastian Vettel, who on Friday morning signed a new contract extension with the team, claimed ninth.

With the track temperature around 10 degrees up on this morning and the dust having largely cleared from the winding street circuit, times were significantly improved.

Alonso's best was a scorching one minute 39.404 seconds, three seconds better than Barrichello's pace-setter this morning, and seven tenths faster than Button's quickest effort this afternoon.

Alonso's session hit the skids in spectacular fashion with just over 15 minutes remaining, the Renault driver missing his braking point and slamming into the side of the BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld, pitching the German's car into the air in the final corner.

It was a wild moment which raised a chuckle from the watching Michael Schumacher on the Ferrari pit wall, but Heidfeld was less amused, calling the incident "plain stupid" on the pit-to-car radio.

Williams continued to impress in the Valencia sunshine, Friday practice specialist Nico Rosberg taking fourth ahead of team-mate Kazuki Nakajima, while Force India's Adrian Sutil did a sterling job to replicate his sixth place from this morning.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton sat out the bulk of the session following an early spin which left him with damaged front wing supports, although the problem is expected to be resolved for qualifying tomorrow.

Stand-in Ferrari driver Luca Badoer again looked far from convincing as he finished down in 18th place, better only than Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari and the stricken Hamilton.

Badoer, 38, is preparing for his first grand prix in a decade after getting called up by the Scuderia following Felipe Massa's qualifying accident in Hungary.

Another new boy, Renault's Romain Grosjean, fared somewhat better than Badoer, finishing 13th, albeit over 1.3 seconds down on team-mate Alonso.

Times
01 F. Alonso Renault 1:39.404 33 laps
02 J. Button Brawn GP 1:40.178 33 laps
03 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:40.209 34 laps
04 N. Rosberg Williams 1:40.385 39 laps
05 K. Nakajima Williams 1:40.503 35 laps
06 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:40.596 23 laps
07 R. Kubica BMW 1:40.643 34 laps
08 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:40.681 31 laps
09 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:40.723 33 laps
10 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:40.738 31 laps
11 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:40.739 39 laps
12 J. Trulli Toyota 1:40.770 32 laps
13 R. Grosjean Renault 1:40.787 35 laps
14 M. Webber Red Bull 1:40.956 37 laps
15 T. Glock Toyota 1:40.985 30 laps
16 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.156 34 laps
17 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:41.350 29 laps
18 L. Badoer Ferrari 1:42.017 37 laps
19 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.089 34 laps
20 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:43.214 3 laps

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

F1 RETURN IS THE PITS FOR BADOER

Ferrari stand-in driver Luca Badoer quickly found himself on the wrong side of the race stewards as his return to Formula One racing got off to an inauspicious start in Valencia on Friday.

Back in action at a race meeting for the first time in a decade, Badoer had clearly forgotten how to operate the speed-limiter button on his steering wheel as he racked up four separate penalties for driving too fast in the pit lane during today's practice sessions for Sunday's European Grand Prix.

The 38-year-old Italian was hit with fines totalling 5,400 euros and issued with a reprimand for his repeated offending, which soured a day long dreamt of by the veteran Ferrari test driver.

Badoer's got the nod for the second Ferrari seat in the wake of the fractured skull suffered by Felipe Massa in Hungary last month, and Michael Schumacher's subsequent withdrawal as the Brazilian's replacement due to a neck injury.

His efforts on the track on Friday were not nearly as rapid as his pit-lane exploits, 18th place in the quicker second session his reward at the end of a day spent trying to get to grips with Ferrari's F60, which he has not driven for several months due to the in-season testing ban.

Badoer, who contested 48 grands prix between 1993 and 1999 without scoring a point, ended today 1.3 seconds off the pace of his world champion team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, but declared himself satisfied with the result after so long away.

"I am happy with the way things went today," said Badoer, who revealed on Thursday he has been told he will continue in his stand-in role until Massa is ready to return.

"I expected a difficult day and so it was. It was vital that I did not make any serious mistakes so that I could get through the programme we had established.

"Now we can begin work on the car set-up to try and adapt it to my driving style.

"The team have not set me any specific goal for this weekend and I am pleased about that consideration because it is important I return to having full confidence in the car and with the world of the grand prix weekend."

He added: "We have to improve a lot and we have to work a lot, but considering the situation - without driving for eight months and it is the first time for me on this track - I am very happy."

Badoer also revealed that the dream of being an F1 driver with Ferrari had now been replaced by the reality of his situation.

"Until yesterday night I was dreaming and flying and I was very happy, but this morning I went down to the floor," he said.

"Now, I'm here to work. So I was very concentrated, I worked a lot with my engineer and this is the future now.

"The dream is finished - now we need the results."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

ALONSO: WE NEED HELP

Fernando Alonso concedes Renault remain some way from winning a grand prix on pace alone despite topping the timesheets in Friday's practice session for the European Grand Prix.

The two-time world champion set the pace in front of his home crowd in Valencia but has no doubt the only way he will take a victory this season will be as a result of mistakes by his rivals.

"I think we need some help from the others," he said.

"It is the same as last year in Singapore, where there was some help from the safety car. There was a lucky moment and I took the benefit.

"And then in Fuji, at the start, the first four cars went off the track at turn one, so without those things I could not win any races also last year.

"This year is more or less the same. We still need couple of tenths to be able to win a grand prix - maybe three or four tenths, to be competitive enough to win.

"But we are just behind that first group, so if they make mistakes, maybe we can to take the opportunity."

Alonso's day in the scorching Valencia sunshine did not run altogether smoothly, however, a heavy accident with BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld in the second session blotting his copy book.

The Spaniard missed his braking point and slammed into Heidfeld in the final corner, pitching the German's car into the air.

It was a wild moment which Heidfeld branded "plain stupid" on the team radio, but Alonso, who avoided punishment after being summoned by the stewards to explain himself, felt it was just a normal tangle.

When asked whether he had discussed the accident with Heidfeld, Alonso replied: "We met each other in the stewards' room. He was coming in and we shook hands and we talked.

"It was a racing incident. This is motorsport."

Despite his indiscretion, Alonso was happy to reflect on a job well done and played down allegations his pace was the result of a light fuel load.

"Sometimes you drop fuel at the end or whatever and you put in a nice lap at the end, but this was a bit better than that," he said.

"We were always in the top three, top two, in any condition, any tyre, any fuel load. So this was the best thing for us - the car seems competitive in all conditions."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

WEBBER PREPARED FOR BATTLE

Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber has vowed to "fight like hell" in Sunday's European Grand Prix after struggling for pace in Saturday's qualifying session in Valencia.

The Australian will line up ninth on the starting grid after failing to dial his car in to the tricky 25-turn Spanish street circuit.

Webber's disappointment will be all the more keenly felt with team-mate Sebastian Vettel taking fourth on the grid, while title rival Jenson Button, who Webber trails by 18.5 points in the drivers' standings - will line up fifth.

"We expected to have a tough qualifying session today and it turned out to be the case," Webber admitted.

"We thought we would be top six or top eight, so it's not been the best day for us. It's one of our worst qualifying sessions in a long time, but let's see how we go on from here.

"We'll fight like hell as normal, Red Bull knows how to do that.

"It was always going to be damage limitation."

Webber nevertheless believes that even given a perfect lap he could only have fared marginally better given his fuel load for the race.

"I would like to be, given the fuel load I have, only one row further up - there's a tenth of a second there," he said.

"We knew it was going to be tough to be really competitive in Q3 so I elected to put a bit of fuel in and we'll see what we can get for the back end of the race tomorrow.

"It's not Spa, it's not Silverstone and it's not Barcelona - it's a different type of track, it's proving to be a difficult one for us.

"We have long straights but there's no fast corners."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner conceded it was frustrating for Webber to be starting so far back but shared the 32-year-old's optimism for the race.

He said: "One tenth of a second for Mark would have made a big difference to his grid position - it would have been the difference between sixth and ninth - but with a bit more fuel in hopefully he can have a good run from there tomorrow."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

FERRARI PLAY DOWN BADOER STRUGGLES

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has indicated Luca Badoer will be given time to prove himself despite the Italian's underwhelming efforts in Valencia this weekend.

Italian veteran Badoer, the Scuderia's test driver for the past 12 years, has been elevated to the race team for the European Grand Prix but finished dead last in Saturday's qualifying session.

A gap of 1.5 seconds to the next slowest driver, Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, starkly underlined the gulf between Badoer - who has not driven an F1 car in anger for several months due to the in-season testing ban - and the rest of the pack.

Badoer, standing in for the injured Felipe Massa, also finished 2.5 seconds slower than team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn went on to rub salt in Badoer's wounds in the top-10 shoot-out when he posted a time 1.3 seconds better than the Italian's quickest of the day despite carrying enough fuel to complete his first stint in Sunday's race.

Contesting his first grand prix weekend since 1999, Badoer was not expected to pull up any trees this weekend, but the sheer size of the gap between himself and the rest has many in the F1 paddock asking whether Ferrari will swiftly seek an alternative.

The Maranello management are adamant, however, that Badoer retains their full support.

"Luca's last place was widely predicted," said team principal Domenicali.

"Returning to racing after so much time, furthermore on a track not known to him and one that is difficult to get to grips with, is a daunting task for him.

"Tomorrow our race will be divided into two: on one side we will be aiming for a positive result to defend our third place in the constructors' classification, while with Luca we will try and finish the race, to obtain sufficient experience to tackle the forthcoming rounds in a different fashion."

Despite playing down expectations ahead of his comeback this weekend, 38-year-old Badoer conceded his performance had been inadequate.

He said: "Obviously, I'm very disappointed as it's never nice to be last in any situation, but I always knew it would be tough.

"Tomorrow it will be important to finish the race and that will be my target. I feel good physically and I have no problems on that score.

"For sure, if I'd had two days' testing under my belt, it would have been a different story."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

BUTTON HAPPY TO BE BACK ON THE PACE

Brawn GP's Jenson Button concedes he has the weather to thank for his improved performance ahead of Sunday's European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Championship leader Button has struggled to find his best form at the last three rounds due to tyre-heating issues, but in the baking Spanish sunshine this weekend, the Briton has got back to something approaching his best.

Button will line up fifth for the race, two places behind team-mate Rubens Barrichello, after a weekend of tinkering with the set-up of the BGP 001.

The two drivers ran two markedly different set-ups in practice on Friday to get to the root of the grip problems which have seen Button's title lead shrink to 18.5 points over the last three rounds, but the 29-year-old admitted the comparisons did not indicate any discernible difference in performance.

"It's changed nothing," he said. "The comparisons we did, they all came out with the same lap time.

"It's not that we've gone back to an old set-up and the car's good, it's just that the car's good here and the weather's hot."

Button and Barrichello looked strong in the early part of Saturday's qualifying hour, the Briton finishing top in Q1 and the Brazilian emulating that in Q2.

Pole ultimately went to the revitalised Lewis Hamilton, who headed a McLaren front-row lock-out alongside Heikki Kovalainen, while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel split the Brawns by taking fourth.

Encouragingly for Button, his nearest title challenger, Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber, finished down in ninth, and the Brawn driver believes question marks remain over the ultimate pace of the Red Bulls despite Vettel's time.

"Their car seems to be quick on one lap but their long-run pace has not been good," he said. "It's going to be a tough race for them I think.

"This is a race where our car is working well. It might be the other way around at Spa [next weekend], so we have to do our best to get a good result here.

"We need to really finish in front of the Red Bulls, that's the key. Webber's down in ninth, which is good, but obviously I have Sebastian in front of me."

Despite starting behind both Barrichello and Vettel - two men who still have designs on catching him at the top of the standings - Button was satisfied with the display, and feels the fuel loads of the cars around him will be key to the outcome.

"I just hope that's we've got more fuel in the tank than the cars in front," he continued. "I know Rubens is on the same lap as me if not one lap longer, Sebastian I don't know, and the McLarens are - I'm hoping - a couple of laps shorter."

He added: "It's frustrating not to get the perfect lap in qualifying but the car feels much better and I think we can do a lot with this tomorrow.

"I'm not looking at finishing in my grid position. I'm looking at finishing a lot further up."

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

HAMILTON CLAIMS VALENCIA POLE

Lewis Hamilton's 2009 renaissance continued on Saturday as he powered to his first pole position of the season in Valencia.

The McLaren driver took top spot for Sunday's European Grand Prix with a blistering lap just four minutes into the top-10 qualifying shoot-out, his time of one minute 39.498 seconds enough to see off the last-ditch efforts of his rivals.

Heikki Kovalainen ensured McLaren celebrated their first one-two start since Hungary last year as he completed the second row ahead of Brawn GP's Ruben Barrichello. Championship leader Jenson Button will start fifth in the other Brawn.

Hamilton, unlike so many occasions this year, breezed through Q1 and Q2 with single-lap efforts, thus preserving his tyres for what is set to be a hot and punishing afternoon's racing in the eastern Spanish port city tomorrow.

"We haven't seen this level of performance for a long time," Hamilton said.

"Last year, I was able to do only one run in easy qualifying session but, this year, we've had to use every second of the sessions to get through.

"My pole position lap was good, but there should be a little more time in the car, and hopefully we can extract that tomorrow."

Hamilton's pace was all the more impressive bearing in mind he missed almost all of Friday's second practice session with a damaged front wing, but the arrival of parts from the team's factory overnight paved the way for the 24-year-old to claim his first pole since China last year.

"I missed a whole session, a good hour and 20 minutes, so in terms of dialling in the car I had a lot of pressure on me this morning," he continued.

"Fortunately we did quite a good job, it wasn't perfect, but there's still always improvements you can make."

The under-pressure Kovalainen capped a perfect afternoon for McLaren by posting a lap less than a tenth off the pace of Hamilton to snatch second.

"Congratulations to Heikki, he did a fantastic job - it's been very close between us all weekend, so this is great to see," Hamilton added.

"We've got the front row to ourselves - and that's something we've all wanted for a very long time."

For his part, Kovalainen was a relieved man after delivering far and away his strongest qualifying display of the season.

The Finn's coveted seat is believed to be under threat for 2010 after failing to impress since arriving from Renault last season, and this result was the shot in the arm his campaign desperately needed.

"It's a long time since I've been in this kind of position," Kovalainen said.

"It's been a tough beginning to the season.

"We've been focusing very hard on understanding all the problems, moving forwards, and the team has done a fantastic job to improve our car to the point where we can compete for pole."

It might have been better for Kovalainen had he not pushed a little too hard on his final run, a slight error in the final sector of the lap seeing him fail to beat Hamilton's time by a fraction.

McLaren's joy came very much at the expense of the title-chasing Brawn drivers, who performed well in the searing Valencia heat.

Button was the quickest driver in Q1 and Barrichello led the way in Q2, but both lost out to the McLarens when it really mattered.

Nevertheless, Barrichello was happy with his afternoon's work.

"It was an excellent job from the team," said the Brazilian. "The tyres are working. In Hungary they were not, but here they are working quite well. The car is in good shape."

Button, who is protecting an 18.5-point lead over Red Bull's Mark Webber in the drivers' standings with seven races remaining, was less happy, admitting an error on his best lap had cost him time.

"As I exited turn five over the kerb, I shifted for third gear but shifted to there and straight to fourth as well, I shifted two gears," he said.

"It cost me quite a bit of time, about two and a half tenths, so that was a little bit frustrating."

Elsewhere, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel salvaged fourth after bouncing back from a blown engine in practice earlier in the morning, although team-mate Webber could manage only ninth.

Ferrari stand-in driver Luca Badoer continued to struggle at the wrong end of the grid as he qualified 20th and last, while Renault new boy Romain Grosjean continued to impress by taking 14th.

sky star 2 · Aug 23, 2009

SUZUKA TO HOST 2010 JAPANESE GP

The Japanese Grand Prix will be held at Suzuka for the next three years after F1's commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone signed a new contract with the circuit's owners in Valencia on Sunday.

The deal will see Suzuka fill the gap left by Fuji Speedway's withdrawal from the 2010 calendar while continuing to honour its existing agreement to stage the event both this season and in 2011.

A spokesman for Hiroshi Oshima, president of the Mobilityland Corporation which operates the Suzuka circuit, told reporters in Valencia: "Mr Oshima and Mr Ecclestone have successfully concluded a contract for 2010.

"That means of course that because of the pre-arrangement, Suzuka will have [the race for] three years in a row to 2011."

Oshima added: "We are delighted that the Suzuka Circuit will now safeguard one of the most important national sporting events by playing host to the Japanese Grand prix for the next three years."

The Honda-owned Suzuka track staged the Japanese GP for 20 years from 1987 to 2006 after which the race moved to the Toyota-backed Fuji Speedway for 2007 and 2008.

Bosses of the two circuits subsequently agreed to alternate the race on an annual basis from this season but Fuji pulled out of the deal earlier this year, Toyota citing the global financial crisis for its decision.

Ecclestone added: "I have done, and will continue to do, everything to make the Japanese Grand Prix successful."