RedBull's Sebastian Vettel will start from pole position for tomorrow's Japanese GrandPrix. The German will be joined on the front row by team-mate Mark Webber giving the Milton Keynes based team their first front row lockout of the season.
It was a frustrating session for Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus as the Iceman spun at the end of session and brought out the yellow flags. He qualified in 8th place however he will start from 7th place as Jenson Button received a five place grid penalty. following a gearbox change. meanwhile his team mate Lewis Hamilton will start the race from 9th on the grid following a 'horrendous' set up mistake.
It was a great session for the Sauber team as home favourite Kamui Kobayashi will start from a superb third place on the grid alongside the Lotus of Romain Grosjean who lines up fourth.
Fernando Alonso, who felt he was held up by Sebastian Vettel who received a reprimand from the Stewards will start the race from 6th on the grid. Mercedes had a very disappointing quali as Nico Rosberg will start from 13th on the grid while Michael Schumacher will start the race from the last row on the grid in 23rd place following a 10 place grid penalty following his crash in Singapore last time out.
In my opinion, we are in for an incredible race. the championship could be blown wide open at the conclusion of tomorrow's race. At the moment Fernando Alonso leads the championship by 29 points from Sebastian Vettel, and with Vettel on pole with team -mate Webber in second the RedBull team could call on Webber to back Vettel this weekend.
Likewise with with Lotus, Romain Grosjean who is starting from 4th place on the grid has already said that he will play number 2 to team mate Kimi Raikkonen who is the running for this year's championship. Meanwhile at McLaren, Jenson Button shouldn't in my opinion be asked to help Lewis Hamilton when Hamilton is leaving the Woking baed team for Mercedes at the end of the season and in my opinion, there is no way that McLaren would want the reigning world champion moving to a rival team and bringing the number 1 with him.
No matter what happens tomorrow, Fernando Alonso will leave Suzuka as the championship leader.
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Friday, 5 October 2012
Webber fastest as Raikkonen hit with problems
RedBull's Mark Webber set the fastest time in the second free practice for Sunday's Japanese GrandPrix. The Australian topped the time sheets in a very eventful session that saw Force India's Paul Di Resta crash, losing his front wing.
It was another frustrating session for the Mercedes team as for the second session in a row one of their car's was involved in a crash, this time however, it Michael Schumacher's turn as he had a heavy crash coming out of the spoon curve. I believe Michael Schumacher may be relieved that he has announced his decision to retie from Formula One at the end of the season.
Meanwhile it was a frustrating session for Kimi Raikkonen's side of the Lotus garage, while team mate Romain Grosjean finished the session in 6th place, Kimi had a KERS failure at the start of the session and when he eventually got out at the end of the session he could only manage the 14th fastest time.
In my opinion, Kimi appears to be getting frustrated with the lack of progress from Lotus in recent races and despite the fact that he has a contract in place with the team for next season he is waiting to see what happens in the last races before deciding his future as at the moment he is in contention for this years driver's title.
Lewis Hamilton, fresh from signing a deal with Mercedes AMG for next season was second fastest, splitting the two RedBull's, Vettel was third fastest, but the surprise of the session was Nico Hulkenborg who placed his Force India in 4th place ahead of Fernando Alosno.
I believe hat this was a great performance for a driver who has been linked to a drive alongside Alonso at Ferrari for 2013.
So heading into FP3 tomorrow, it is all still to play for in my opinion, watch out for the Lotus pair, particularly Kimi as he will be looking to bounce back from this morning's difficult session.
It was another frustrating session for the Mercedes team as for the second session in a row one of their car's was involved in a crash, this time however, it Michael Schumacher's turn as he had a heavy crash coming out of the spoon curve. I believe Michael Schumacher may be relieved that he has announced his decision to retie from Formula One at the end of the season.
Meanwhile it was a frustrating session for Kimi Raikkonen's side of the Lotus garage, while team mate Romain Grosjean finished the session in 6th place, Kimi had a KERS failure at the start of the session and when he eventually got out at the end of the session he could only manage the 14th fastest time.
In my opinion, Kimi appears to be getting frustrated with the lack of progress from Lotus in recent races and despite the fact that he has a contract in place with the team for next season he is waiting to see what happens in the last races before deciding his future as at the moment he is in contention for this years driver's title.
Lewis Hamilton, fresh from signing a deal with Mercedes AMG for next season was second fastest, splitting the two RedBull's, Vettel was third fastest, but the surprise of the session was Nico Hulkenborg who placed his Force India in 4th place ahead of Fernando Alosno.
I believe hat this was a great performance for a driver who has been linked to a drive alongside Alonso at Ferrari for 2013.
So heading into FP3 tomorrow, it is all still to play for in my opinion, watch out for the Lotus pair, particularly Kimi as he will be looking to bounce back from this morning's difficult session.
Button fastest in FP1 as Rosberg stops on track
McLaren's Jenson Button led a a team one - two in the first free practice session at the Suzuka circuit ahead of this weekend's Japanese GrandPrix. RedBull's Mark Webber was in third place while his team mate, reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was way down in 17th place. Michael Schumacher was fourth for Mercedes with team-mate Nico Rosberg finishing fifth despite stopping out on track with an suspected oil leak.
Meanwhile, the Lotus driver's of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were down in 13th and 14th place. Lotus have brought some new components to this weekend's race with a new DRS system on Kimi's car and a new front wing on both of the E20's.
Of course the first practice session never really shows the true pace of the team's as it is their first runs of the weekend. So we shall see what happens during Free Practice 2. In any case I believe it is going to be an extremely interesting weekend and could prove to be quiet decisive in the championship battle but we shall have to wait and see what happens.
Meanwhile, the Lotus driver's of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were down in 13th and 14th place. Lotus have brought some new components to this weekend's race with a new DRS system on Kimi's car and a new front wing on both of the E20's.
Of course the first practice session never really shows the true pace of the team's as it is their first runs of the weekend. So we shall see what happens during Free Practice 2. In any case I believe it is going to be an extremely interesting weekend and could prove to be quiet decisive in the championship battle but we shall have to wait and see what happens.
Thursday, 4 October 2012
RedBull could face major threat next season
So with the news last week that Lewis Hamilton is moving to Mercedes next season and Sergio Perez is moving to McLaren the big question that I want to ask is, Will RedBull's recent dominance of Formula One continue to be challenged? The reigning champions are under pressure this season and find themselves leading the Constructors championship by only 36 points with 6 races to go.
The team appear to have really struggled this season with defending champion Sebastian Vettel on picking up his second this season last time out in Singapore. Meanwhile team mate Mark Webber has also picked up two win's. Vettel currently finds himself in second in the championship 29 points behind leader Fernando Alonso and only 16 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who is in third place.
I believe that Sebastian Vettel will not be successful in defending his driver's championship this year and I believe that he and team mate Mark Webber could struggle next season as in my opinion five team's will be challenging for the championship. Lotus, Ferrari, RedBull, McLaren and Mercedes should all be in a position to challenge for the title in 2013.
You make think I am crazy to include Mercedes in that list but with the team landing Lewis Hamilton to partner Nico Rosberg I believe that the team potentially have the ingredients to possibly repeat the success of their championship winning Brawn in 2009. Don't discount Kimi Raikkonen too, as if the Finn fails to win a GrandPrix this season you can be sure that he will return Lotus to the top step of the podium next season.
It is going to be extremely interesting to see what happens next season especially with McLaren, because despite the fact the focus has been on Hamilton moving to Merc, it has in my opinion almost been glossed over the fact that he is being replaced by one of the most exciting driver's in Formula One at the moment in Sergio Perez. When I look at what Perez has been able to do with the Sauber car that has been punching above it's weight all season I can't wait to see what he will be able to do with a car that is expected to be challenging at the front of the grid from the start of the season.
The team appear to have really struggled this season with defending champion Sebastian Vettel on picking up his second this season last time out in Singapore. Meanwhile team mate Mark Webber has also picked up two win's. Vettel currently finds himself in second in the championship 29 points behind leader Fernando Alonso and only 16 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who is in third place.
I believe that Sebastian Vettel will not be successful in defending his driver's championship this year and I believe that he and team mate Mark Webber could struggle next season as in my opinion five team's will be challenging for the championship. Lotus, Ferrari, RedBull, McLaren and Mercedes should all be in a position to challenge for the title in 2013.
You make think I am crazy to include Mercedes in that list but with the team landing Lewis Hamilton to partner Nico Rosberg I believe that the team potentially have the ingredients to possibly repeat the success of their championship winning Brawn in 2009. Don't discount Kimi Raikkonen too, as if the Finn fails to win a GrandPrix this season you can be sure that he will return Lotus to the top step of the podium next season.
It is going to be extremely interesting to see what happens next season especially with McLaren, because despite the fact the focus has been on Hamilton moving to Merc, it has in my opinion almost been glossed over the fact that he is being replaced by one of the most exciting driver's in Formula One at the moment in Sergio Perez. When I look at what Perez has been able to do with the Sauber car that has been punching above it's weight all season I can't wait to see what he will be able to do with a car that is expected to be challenging at the front of the grid from the start of the season.
It's official: Schumacher retires for the second time.
So it's official despite being linked with a Sauber driver next season Michael Schumacher has announced his second retirement from Formula One. The seven times world champion who came out of retirement in 2010 to drive for the Mercedes Benz Formula One team called a press conference in Suzuka this morning to announce his retirement.
In his three year's in Formula One Schumacher has only been on the podium once and that came in Valencia this year when he finished in 3rd behind Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
However Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg has a GrandPrix this season when he dominated the Chinese GrandPrix.
I wasn't terribly impressed when Mercedes announced that they had signed Schumacher for three years because he gained a reputation for being a dirty driver during his first career in Formula One and even while racing this time around he caused a number of accidents, in fact he caused a big crash in Singapore and will receive a ten place grid penalty for this weekend's.
Schumacher confirmed that Mercedes announcement last Friday that they had signed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren to partner Nico Rosberg next season helped him make his decision. Schumacher is not doubt statistically the best Formula One driver in the world. I believe however that Ayrton Senna had a better race craft then Schumacher.
I am certainly not surprised that Schumacher has called it quits. It is the best decision for him however I believe that his career will be remembered for his second career in Formula One and not his time in the sport during the 1990's and early 2000's.
In his three year's in Formula One Schumacher has only been on the podium once and that came in Valencia this year when he finished in 3rd behind Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.
However Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg has a GrandPrix this season when he dominated the Chinese GrandPrix.
I wasn't terribly impressed when Mercedes announced that they had signed Schumacher for three years because he gained a reputation for being a dirty driver during his first career in Formula One and even while racing this time around he caused a number of accidents, in fact he caused a big crash in Singapore and will receive a ten place grid penalty for this weekend's.
Schumacher confirmed that Mercedes announcement last Friday that they had signed Lewis Hamilton from McLaren to partner Nico Rosberg next season helped him make his decision. Schumacher is not doubt statistically the best Formula One driver in the world. I believe however that Ayrton Senna had a better race craft then Schumacher.
I am certainly not surprised that Schumacher has called it quits. It is the best decision for him however I believe that his career will be remembered for his second career in Formula One and not his time in the sport during the 1990's and early 2000's.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Force India could hit crisis
The Sahara Force India team could potentially be in trouble with the news that it's owner Dr Vijay Mallya has had his airline Kingfisher Airlines grounded. According to the Wall Street Journal the company has declared a partial lock-out and has apparently stopped taking booking's for flight's until at least Thursday.
It is not yet known whether or not the problem's with the airline which is controlled by Mallya will have a knock on affect on his other business interests which include the Sahara Force India Formula One team. The team was owned by the Midland Group and was bought at the end of the 2006 Formula One season by Dr Mallya and rebranded Force India from the 2007 season onwards.
In October 2011, Force India sold a portion of the team to the Sahara Group. The team was rebranded as the Sahara Force India team
I believe that the team could be sold but they are doing very well at the moment in the 2012 F1 campaign. They currently lie in 7th place in the Constructors Champion on 75 points, however in the current economic climate, who would be wiling to buy a Formula One team? It will be very interesting to see what happens over the coming week's and months particularly as both the Force India driver's have been linked with Felipe Massa's seat at Ferrari with the BBC suggesting that Nico Hulkenborg has already signed to partner Fernando Alonso at the Marnello based squad next season.
It is not yet known whether or not the problem's with the airline which is controlled by Mallya will have a knock on affect on his other business interests which include the Sahara Force India Formula One team. The team was owned by the Midland Group and was bought at the end of the 2006 Formula One season by Dr Mallya and rebranded Force India from the 2007 season onwards.
In October 2011, Force India sold a portion of the team to the Sahara Group. The team was rebranded as the Sahara Force India team
I believe that the team could be sold but they are doing very well at the moment in the 2012 F1 campaign. They currently lie in 7th place in the Constructors Champion on 75 points, however in the current economic climate, who would be wiling to buy a Formula One team? It will be very interesting to see what happens over the coming week's and months particularly as both the Force India driver's have been linked with Felipe Massa's seat at Ferrari with the BBC suggesting that Nico Hulkenborg has already signed to partner Fernando Alonso at the Marnello based squad next season.
Interesting times ahead
So with the news last week that both Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez are on the move at the end of the season attention now focusses on firstly will Michael Schumacher call it quits? And secondly what are Ferrari's plans for Felipe Massa?
Michael Schumacher has said that he is still motivated and the fact that he is leaving Mercedes doesn't necessarily mean that he will be out of Formula One. The Sauber team have been extremely competitive this season. Sergio Perez, who is replacing Lewis at McLaren next season has so far scored three podium finishes for the Swiss team who currently lie in 6th in the Constructors championship 35 points behind Mercedes, So Schumacher could end up at Sauber as team owner Peter Sauber has said that he would be willing to offer the German a drive next season.
The team's CEO, Monisha Keltenborn has also said that it would be fantastic for a team like Sauber to have the seven time's world champion at the team.
Schumacher will be 44 in January before the new season start's and in my opinion his reaction time's have become impaired as he has failed to finish 50 percent of the races so far this season and in Singapore last weekend he had a massive accident and went out of the race. So as I have said previously if he intent on continuing driving F1 cars he should o what David Coulthard do demonstration runs for Sauber of Mercedes.
Everyone thought and myself included that when it was announced on Friday that Hamilton was replacing Schumacher that he would stay at the Brackley based team as a consultant of some sort however that would appear not to be the case.
So what are Ferrari going to do? Felipe Massa is out of contract at the end of the year and there have been major questions about the Brazilian's future. As I said last week Force India's Nico Hulkenberg has been linked with the team however no decision has been made. If Force India decide to keep both Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg Massa could receive a reprive from Ferrari bosses however he needs to desperately up his came over the final six race's of the season in order to persuade the Ferrari management that he deserves to keep his sit alongside Fernando Alonso next season, who it would appear is most likely to win this years championship.
Massa on the other hand, is currently in 10th in the standing's on 51 points and appears unlikely to be challenging for the podium at the moment. For his part Massa is not worried about his future and is concentrating on racing the best he can for the rest of the season.
However in my opinion he has to be a little concerned about the driver market, because should Schumacher move to Sauber and Ferrari decide to release Massa he could look at Force India provided the team are looking for a driver or he could follow his fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello to the IZOD IndyCar Series. The picture should become clearer later this week or indeed at the Japanese GrandPrix this weekend.
Michael Schumacher has said that he is still motivated and the fact that he is leaving Mercedes doesn't necessarily mean that he will be out of Formula One. The Sauber team have been extremely competitive this season. Sergio Perez, who is replacing Lewis at McLaren next season has so far scored three podium finishes for the Swiss team who currently lie in 6th in the Constructors championship 35 points behind Mercedes, So Schumacher could end up at Sauber as team owner Peter Sauber has said that he would be willing to offer the German a drive next season.
The team's CEO, Monisha Keltenborn has also said that it would be fantastic for a team like Sauber to have the seven time's world champion at the team.
Schumacher will be 44 in January before the new season start's and in my opinion his reaction time's have become impaired as he has failed to finish 50 percent of the races so far this season and in Singapore last weekend he had a massive accident and went out of the race. So as I have said previously if he intent on continuing driving F1 cars he should o what David Coulthard do demonstration runs for Sauber of Mercedes.
Everyone thought and myself included that when it was announced on Friday that Hamilton was replacing Schumacher that he would stay at the Brackley based team as a consultant of some sort however that would appear not to be the case.
So what are Ferrari going to do? Felipe Massa is out of contract at the end of the year and there have been major questions about the Brazilian's future. As I said last week Force India's Nico Hulkenberg has been linked with the team however no decision has been made. If Force India decide to keep both Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg Massa could receive a reprive from Ferrari bosses however he needs to desperately up his came over the final six race's of the season in order to persuade the Ferrari management that he deserves to keep his sit alongside Fernando Alonso next season, who it would appear is most likely to win this years championship.
Massa on the other hand, is currently in 10th in the standing's on 51 points and appears unlikely to be challenging for the podium at the moment. For his part Massa is not worried about his future and is concentrating on racing the best he can for the rest of the season.
However in my opinion he has to be a little concerned about the driver market, because should Schumacher move to Sauber and Ferrari decide to release Massa he could look at Force India provided the team are looking for a driver or he could follow his fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello to the IZOD IndyCar Series. The picture should become clearer later this week or indeed at the Japanese GrandPrix this weekend.
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