- Formula 1 ING Belgian Grand Prix - Spa-Francorchamps - between Spa and Francorchamps, Belgium - (12/17) - www.formula1.com
Spa! It's only Spa!! We all love Spa, and I think this weekend's grid proves why, not to mention the stunning scenery around the circuit as they cars thread their way through the trees. This a proper race track, not like the car park in Valencia or the Mickey Mouse run around in Hungary.
TV Guide: UK – LIVE on BBC One at 12.10pm BST Sunday USA – LIVE on SPEED at 7.30am ET Sunday
with GP2 Series, Formula Master, FBMW Europe, Porsche Supercup.
IRL IndyCar Series
- Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 - Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, Illinois, United States - (15/17) - www.indycar.com
With the aero updates introduced before Kentucky, mixed with the 'overtake assist', will we see a return to 2 and 3 wide at Chicagoland? I hope so! Unfortunately this race is on at 2am our time so I won't be watching live.
TV Guide: UK – DELAYED on Sky Sports 2 at 9am BST Sunday USA – LIVE on VERSUS at 9pm ET Saturday
with Indy Lights
MotoGP
- Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix - Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana, United States - (12/17) - www.motogp.com
Last year this event was affected by severe weather conditions as Hurricane Ike ran amok over Indy, the race had to be stopped because of it and the 250cc got cancelled, so in effect you could say this is the first 'real' running of MotoGP at Indy. I really hope the local populace will come out to support it, unfortunately there is an IndyCar race up in Chicago which isn't million miles away and will pull some of the potential audience away. I'm not sure there is a lot of crossover of fans but there must be some, right?
TV Guide: UK – LIVE on BBC THREE at 7.45pm BST Sunday USA – LIVE on FOX at ???pm ET Sunday
with 250cc, 125cc, etc
Other Events
American Le Mans Series
- Grand Prix of Mosport - Mosport - Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada - (8/10) - www.americanlemans.com
[Preface - Due to accountancy studies I fell behind with the editing of these posts. They were written during the live BBC coverage as usual, save for the race result and points. Anything in italics in square brackets was written during the edit, just like this paragraph.]
2009 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Location: Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England, UK Distance: 60 laps
Coverage: BBC One / BBC Radio 5 Live[*] Anchor: Jake Humphrey Analysts in the paddock: David Coulthard (DC) and Eddie Jordan (EJ)
R5 commentary[*]: David Croft (Crofty) and Anthony Davidson (Ant) R5 pitlane[*]: Holly Samos
Tyre selection (red):SS / S / M / H [*for many years the BBC has held the UK radio rights to F1. In '09 they also picked up the TV rights and they now offer an alternate feed on digital television, combining TV pics with radio commentary. I tend to use this feed.]
Coverage begins at 12.10pm.
Great intro highlighting Silverstone's journey from a wartime airfield alongside a farm into the circuit we know today. You can watch it right here, if it doesn't get pulled:
Pure class. Immediate cut to Jake on the grid, which is currently empty of cars but surrounded by stands full of fans with air horns!
Chatter with Jake, Eddie and DC. I usually ignore this bit and get a cup of tea and a bit of toast while they cover the points tables, and tell the casual fans about the news most of us diehards have read on blogs and websites...
Talking with Max and Bernie: [remember - this was during the FOTA / #MaxOut thing]
Max: Some teams want to take over the financial side from Bernie. He says some teams got near an agreement (FOTA), and "the others, what we call 'the loonies' tore it up". Says Flavio sees himself as the Bernie figure in the new arrangement.
Bernie: We have the Federation, we have the commercial side and we have the teams and that's how it should stay. People complain that Max.. we should get rid of Max. We can't rid of Max, he's the President of the FIA, there are 120 votes and they vote for what they want. He wanted to save money for the teams and there seems to be some objection to that.
Talk with John Howett of Toyota. [I'm bored of politics and since this was some time ago I'll chop short this section.]
Qualifying report with Ted
Lewis - "I gave it my all and there's not much more I could have got from it. I was miles off." Sutil crashed but is unhurt and fit to race. Button struggled with low grip - "quite a different car to the one I had in Turkey." Webber was blocked which ruined his lap. Vettel on pole - "the lap was very close to perfect, I'm very pleased."
Vettel, Barrichello, Webber, Trulli, Nakajima(!), Button, Rosberg, Glock, Raikkonen, Alonso, Massa, Kubica, Kovalainen, Piquet, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Bourdais, Hamilton(!), Buemi Pitlane: Sutil [big thanks to my BT Vision DVR for allowing me to catch that rapidly-scrolling list]
Lee is out in the stands with the fans with their airhorns! Talks about how the view hasn't changed for 60 years since the first race here - but we don't see the view, we see Lee sitting among the fans.
Feature - Hamilton takes Humphrey around Silverstone in a Mercedes SLR 722, in the wet, oversteer city! He does some donuts.. Then they let Jake loose with Lewis as passenger! He does surprisingly well for such a powerful car in low grip conditions, until the eventual spin comes... donuts but the pitwall... Lewis - "You're completely relaxed but unaware of the danger!"
(on the qualifying show, Jake drove Jenson Button around in a slightly lower spec Merc - Jenson was pretty tense and stand-offish, Lewis was egging him on and really at ease)
Live with Damon Hill talking about British GP 2010. Says they have great plans for Silverstone and he's hopeful for the future.
Live with Max.. [spin this on, out of date now and very boring even at the time, move on...]
Pit stop feature with Martin Brundle and Force India to a great Sigur Ros backing track. 26 men: lollipop man, 3 jacks, 2 starters, fireman, 2 fuellers, deadman, 4 wheelgunmen, 4 changers, 4 with new tyres, 2 spare fuellers...
I still don't get why the most advanced racing cars in the world still require manual jack-men instead of internally-carried jacks operated by hydraulics or air pressure.
Straight into Martin's Gridwalk - features coming thick and fast!
Her Majesty's Royal Marines Band from the commando training centre in Devon are at the front of the grid, standing ready. - Martin finds a race marshal, the unheralded heroes of the racetrack, unpaid volunteers doing it for the love of it, paying their own travel/accommodation costs to get up close and personal. This guy says he is a motor technician by day... - Martin walks behind a wall and waves to the crowd, they cheer!! - Back to the grid proper to find some 'names'.. - Lord March: "Festival of Speed, 2 weeks time, should be a great weekend." [it was, I was there!] - Victoria Pembleton, Olympic swimming medallist. Says she was invited by the Brawn team. Standing next to Richard Branson: Crossing his fingers for Button. - Mark Webber: "Bit of traffic with Kimi, all's not lost we're still 3rd on the grid. Need to get Rubens immediately to fight Sebastian. Need clear air, we can get 2nd eventually." - Kazuki Nakajima, 5th, best ever qualifying in F1: "Was a great qualifying yesterday, thanks to the team. Realistically we can grab points, need to push really hard." - Adrian Newey: "Hopefully we can get the break today." - FLAVIO: "I want to be in this business for a long time, if this makes me a loonie that's fine. We want F1 with Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, etc, etc, top drivers, this is Formula1 for us." - Bernie: "There will be a British Grand Prix for sure, depends if Donington get their act together, if not it'll be here. Don't worry." MB: "I am worried." - Vijay Mallya: "Brake problem caused Sutil's crash, it ruined Fisichella's fast timed lap as well, luck hasn't favoured us".
The Royal Marines play the national anthem while the Beeb merges clips of Silverstone's history. Cheers!
Ted with Rubens. Says Red Bull have done well here, says even though they are favourites he has a chance.
Fast and furious build-up show.. nearly there..
Fuel Strategy Summary Vettel was quickest in qual despite being heavier than anyone near him - ideal strategy. Webber should have been on pole, lighter, but was held up by Kimi. Button's target is 3rd. Kaz was quick, he's very light, 15 laps. Kovalainen is heaviest by far, 1-stopping, lap 32.
Engines fired. Formation Lap Gridded 1.2.3.4.5..GO!!
Vettel leads, Kimi is moving up. Button has fallen back!
Fisichella makes up two positions! Alonso and Heidfeld were fighting and went wide. Button has passed Massa and is now 8th. Replay: Massa ran wide at Copse.
Vettel is considerably faster than anyone else, up by almost 1sec over RB and MW, who are both half a second up on the rest of the field. Kimi onboard replay: lightning start
Heidfeld radio: Box Nick, front wing change. Nick: Stay out stay out. What he can't see is he's 2sec lap down on the cars ahead of him. [You can see this too if you watch the race live and load up the timing screen on f1.com]
Hamilton tries it on Kubica, not into Abbey, almost touch through Bridge! The Alonso vs Heidfeld battle has been raging since the start, Heidfeld may have a damaged wing but is managing to hold off Alonso.
Vettel is streaking away from the field despite being heavier - can he win this one?
Button radio: Massa going to lap 24.
Lap 9: Heidfeld is driving the perfect racing line and making Alonso work for it - great stuff!
L10: Hamilton radio: "Window is open. Kubica is much longer than us, you need to pass him."
L12: Vettel is now the length Hangar Straight AND Becketts corner ahead of Barrichello and Webber, who are running together.
L13: Vettel sets another FL! 1m20.821. Everyone else is running 1m22s laps.
L15: Massa: "Expect Button in 4-5 laps." Nakajima pits from fourth, slightly false position due to the weights.
Heidfeld has fallen a long way back, he needs that wing and doesn't seem to want to take it.
L17: Nakajima got out ahead of Heidfeld... and Kimi beat Kazuki to make up a position.
Rosberg, Trulli, Button are in. Button on the hard tyres and a longer stop compared to the others. He's on a long middle stint. Button out between Kimi and Kaz. Trulli and Rosberg ahead of them all.
On lap 18, Vettel has lapped Sutil.
Barrichello pits, as does Glock.
Longish stop for Webber - who beats Barrichello!! Excellent stop from Red Bull.
L20: Hamilton pits, now race leader Vettel stops.. takes soft tyres.
L21: Live timing shows Alonso is last, we don't know why. Just checking gaps... it looks like that was just the gap, everyone in the back half of the field is stuck behind Heidfeld so if you pit from there you're going to be last!
L23: Heidfeld stops, that group should get faster now. Massa pits.
Hamilton passes Heidfeld who is exiting the pits.
Holly in the pitlane: "Jenson has been complaining of understeer at high speed." He has had this problem all weekend.
L24: Vettel now has a lead of 21.5 seconds! Then there is a long train of cars fairly close together, right the way back to last place.
L28: Vettel has been told to look after his tyres. He has a big lead and doesn't need to fall off the track... as a result he has backed off by 6/10ths compared to Webber. Webber is pulling away from Barrichello.
Order on lap 30 - half distance: Vettel, Webber, Barrichello, Rosberg, Massa, Trulli, Raikkonen, Button, Nakajima, Fisichella, Glock, Piquet, Kubica, Kovalainen, Sutil, Alonso, Hamilton, Bourdais, Heidfeld, Buemi. The latter three are lapped and all 20 cars are running!
And as we go over the line Hamilton is alongside Alonso! He takes the position into Copse - now he has to let Vettel through to lap him, before immediately starting on Piquet.
A lap later he passes Piquet in an identical move into Copse, which we see from the onboard camera.
L33: Rosberg is told to pressure Rubens into a mistake.
L34: Kovalainen pits and comes out ahead of Hamilton, but lets Lewis through. Bourdais hits the back of Kovalainen!! Front wing destroyed. Kovy's rear tyre has been punctured, race ruined by Bourdais.
Ant Davidson on 5Live blames Kovy for changing his line too often
Is there debris on the track, will we need a Safety Car?
L38: Kovalainen pits the car to retire, race over. Vettel has lapped everybody up to and including Kubica in 12th position.
L39: Bourdais now retires. Rosberg radio - standard wing adjustment coming
Heikki with Holly: "Someone rammed into the back of me and punctured the tyre, and damaged the floor of the car so I couldn't continue. It was better not to fight with people because I needed to lose as little time as possible."
Raikkonen pits. Rosberg pits a lap later.
L44: Hamilton runs off course at Club! Vettel pits. Replay: Hamilton got his tyre on to the grass and spins into the middle.
L45 (15 to go): Massa is really catching Barrichello now - and pits. Webber currently leads due to the pit sequence.
L46: Webber pits now and Vettel retakes the lead. Barrichello is also in, from 3rd, will he beat Massa? Yes, easily with traffic in between.
L49: Button pits. He shouldn't need much fuel, only 11 laps remain. Button is back up to 6th which is where he started... but is a reasonable recovery after dropping to 9th at the start.
L51 - 9 to go: Top 3 are really strung out but there's a nice fight from Rubens back.. would be nice if we could see it though, instead of endless shots of Vettel.
Button in 6th is on soft tyres, while Massa and Rosberg in 4th and 5th are on hards and struggling with them. Jenson is 1sec per lap faster, will he have time to make a move?
Five laps remaining. Button is only 1.4 behind Rosberg and catching fast. Glock is working on Kimi.
3 to go: He's not close enough yet. Equally Glock isn't close enough to Kimi.
Okay, we are at Bridge with just over 2 go and now Jenson has caught Nico, within striking range.
Final Lap for the leader, but another 50 seconds before this group reaches the line. No other close action on track so rightly we focus on this.
Sebastien Vettel WINS!!
Webber makes it a 1-2 finish for Red Bull.
Barrichello 3rd, Massa 4th... does Nico beat Jenson for 5th? Yes! Trulli and Raikkonen complete the points finishers.
Vettel radio: "This is a dream coming true, we've won the British Grand Prix, thank you!!"
Donuts from Hamilton on the cooldown lap! He'll probably get a fine from the FIA because they don't like that sort of thing - but I doubt he cares! [amazingly, I don't think he got a fine or even a stern warning]
Multiple air horns celebrate the winner! Climbing the stairs to the podium to the applause of the Santander grid girls. Adrian Newey will be on the podium for Red Bull.
Podium
German anthem for Vettel. Austrian one for RBR - they get this stuff right at Silverstone, unlike in China where they played the British anthem for the Austrian-owned team, which is only headquartered here.
BIG trophies. Bob Constanduros on the circuit PA: "Champaaaaaaaaaagggnnnnneee!!!!!!!" Newey gets a drenching! Photo op on the top step.
Conference: Sebastian Vettel, winner:
The start was very important, I had to push for a gap. I was able to push, push, push more and more. Second stint wasn't easy at all, the team said to me be careful, I had a lot of traffic a lot of lapped cars. The last pitstop I was in clean air, the last ten laps I was counting everything down. You could argue the last ten laps were quite easy but for the rest it wasn't, I was pushing very hard. Fantastic. It shows we are on the right way. The car was fantastic, we did it, we proved both of us it it step in the right direction. I also want to thank Silverstone, every single one in the grandstands I want to thank, the atmosphere was amazing, just what I was hoping for when I saw Senna and Mansell here.
Mark Webber, second:
The race was lost in the first stint, there was no chance to bridge the gap it was too big. In the last stint it was a question of getting the car home. I want to echo Sebastian's words, the team, the guys have buried themselves in the factory, they have been led well and are responding to that. It's the best I could have done today. Congratulations to Sebastian, he did a good first stint and that laid the foundation. Silverstone.. we all love driving Formula 1 cars, that first sector. The British fans are fantastic.
Rubens Barrichello, third:
[I take] a lot of pride. After yesterday we were thinking 3rd was the best we could have. I'm very proud of the achievement i had. In turn one I was running off the track, it was difficult to know if the wind would hit you. I did what i had to do. My target is to close the gap on Jenson. I want to thank the doctors because I was in terrible back pain.
The BBC continued with a post-race debrief which I don't have the space to transcribe, and to be honest after a 50 minute lead-in plus a 1hr25m race my hands are too tired to continue.
Race Result
Pos
Driver
Gap
Pts
1
Vettel
60 laps
10
2
Webber
15.1sec
8
3
Barrichello
41.1sec
6
4
Massa
45.0sec
5
5
Rosberg
45.9sec
4
6
Button
46.2sec
3
7
Trulli
68.3sec
2
8
Räikkönen
69.6sec
1
9
Glock
69.8sec
10
Fisichella
71.5sec
11
Nakajima
74.0sec
12
Piquet
1 lap
13
Kubica
1 lap
14
Alonso
1 lap
15
Heidfeld
1 lap
16
Hamilton
1 lap
17
Sutil
1 lap
18
Buemi
1 lap
DNF
Bourdais
accident
DNF
Kovalainen
retired
Drivers' Championship
Driver
Prev.
GER
Total
1
Button
61
3
64
2
Barrichello
35
6
41
3
Vettel
29
10
39
4
Webber
27.5
8
35.5
5
Trulli
19.5
2
21.5
6
Massa
11
5
16
7
Rosberg
11.5
4
15.5
8
Glock
13
13
9
Alonso
11
11
10
Räikkönen
9
1
10
11
Hamilton
9
9
12
Heidfeld
6
6
13
Kovalainen
4
4
14
Buemi
3
3
15
Bourdais
2
2
16
Kubica
2
2
- Both Red Bulls make gains on Brawns. - Kimi into double-figures!
Constructors' Championship
Constructor
Prev.
Ger
Total
1
Brawn
96
9
105
2
Red Bull
50.5
18
68.5
3
Toyota
38.5
2
40.5
4
Ferrari
17
6
23
5
Williams
11.5
4
15.5
6
McLaren
13
13
7
Renault
11
11
8
BMW
8
8
9
Toro Rosso
5
5
10
Force India
0
0
- RBR score double Brawn's haul. - All of the top 5 score, nothing for McLaren or Renault.
The next race is the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. [notes will be up soon!]
Preface - This is the first in a regular series where I will write a few short paragraphs giving my general impressions of races I watch which are not F1 or IndyCar. As I am utterly obsessed with motorised combat I have been storing up masses amounts of racing on my DVR and elsewhere since the beginning of the year. I am only now beginning to work through them.
* * A couple of weeks ago I watched the A1GP races at Taupo, which were held in January. I forgot to take any kind of notes and I think this series of posts will be about impressions of events rather than going into detail. We'll see.
Taupo is a curious little circuit which got a makeover especially for the return of a big open-wheel single-seater series to New Zealand's shores after an absence of far, far too long. Unfortunately it is quite dusty and even after the makeover, narrow and has twisty bits. These don't help bigger open wheel cars and the two A1 races were very processional, the only racing really happening when someone messed up the last turns (which form a chicane) or got a wheel on to the dusty area on the edge of the track.
The cars had faults too, the engine management system was cutting in when drivers were trying to pull away from a standstill, such as a race start or a pit stop. Not good. It ruined several races and cost Ireland the double-victory. The series is still obsessed with PowerBoost.
The event was very well attended proving the appetite for a major open-wheel event in NZ. I am not convinced this is the right venue. There is a new circuit under construction and A1GP is rumoured to be heading there instead, so let's hope that works, and while the people at Taupo may be disappointed they can take heart from the fact their circuit upgrades are a legacy of A1GP's long-term aim of improving motorsport facilities around the world in places F1 can't or won't touch.
- Cardion AB Grand Prix Ceske Republiky - Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix - Automotodrom Brno - Brno, Czech Republic - (11/17) - www.motogp.com
I like Brno, it is a long fast and flowing circuit with a LOT of elevation change which is a challenge for rider and motorcycle alike.
TV Guide: UK – LIVE on BBC Two at 12.30pm BST Sunday USA – LIVE on SPEED at 6pm ET Sunday
Joined by 250cc, 125cc and the Red Bull Rookies.
Other Events
American Le Mans Series
- Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase - Road America - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA - (7/10) - www.americanlemans.com
Sportscars at Road America! Great track and these cars look fantastic on it. I sincerely hope that title is the name of the race weekend and not the actual ALMS race..
TV Guide: UK - TAPE DELAY and I can't be bothered to go hunting into next weekend to find it USA - LIVE on SPEED at 3pm Sunday You can also follow along at the official website and at Radio Le Mans.
FBMW Americas and the IMSA GT3 Cup join them.
NASCAR Sprint Cup
- Carfax 400 - Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, USA - www.nascar.com
TV Guide: UK – LIVE on Sky Sports Xtra at 7pm Sunday US - LIVE on ESPN at 1pm Sunday
NASCAR Nationwide Series
- Carfax 250 - Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, USA - www.nascar.com
- Trois-Rivieres - Quebec, Canada (with Star Mazda)
AMA Superbikes
- Virginia, USA
British F3 & GT
- Silverstone, England (with F.Ford)
* * That's about the size of it this week. I have rushed it a little because I'm late and need to do some other things, sorry if the formatting is wonky or if I've missed anything!
[Preface - Due to accountancy studies I fell behind with the editing of these posts which meant they couldn't be posted, however I still took the notes live in the usual way. The notes here were written, albeit in a very rough form, during the live BBC coverage save for the race result and points. I've edited for readability reasons only. Anything in italics in square brackets, just like this, I have written during the edit.]
2009 Formula 1 ING Turkish Grand Prix Circuit: Istanbul Park Location: Somewhere outside Istanbul, Turkey Distance: 58 laps
Coverage: BBC One / BBC Radio 5 Live[*] Anchor: Jake Humphrey Analysts in the paddock: David Coulthard (DC) and Eddie Jordan (EJ)
Race commentary: Jonathan Legard (Ledgy) and Martin Brundle Pit and paddock reports: Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie
Alternative commentary[*]: David Croft (Crofty) and Anthony Davidson (Ant) Alternative pitlane[*]: Holly Samos
Tyre selection (red):SS / S / M / H [*for many years the BBC has held the UK radio rights to F1. In '09 they also picked up the TV rights and they now offer an alternate feed on digital television, combining TV pics with radio commentary. I experimented with this for the Turkish GP because I was getting so irritated with Jonathan Legard on the main feed]
BBC coverage is a GO at 12.10pm BST (2.10pm Turkish local time) with 50 minutes until race start.
Montage... "everyone wants overtaking in F1, and Turkey always delivers"
Joining Jake live and he's walking and talking in the pitlane! Quick chat with EJ and DC in the McLaren pit. I'm not really paying attention - I'll do you a favour and skip these sections. Points recap: Button has a mega lead over team-mate Barrichello. Nobody else in with a shot. And the teams? Brawn have TWICE as many points as RBR in 2nd. The rest? Forget it.
///
Qualifying recap with Ted The Prodigy as the backing track! Spins from Renault, BMW happier because they have a Brawn-like diffuser now. Ted says the teams fighting for the win here are Red Bull and Brawn (no, you don't say!).
Rubens is 3rd but is ok with it: "I actually prefer 1st because it is on the clean side and ahead, but if I had between 2nd and 3rd I think 3rd is better."
Jenson, P2: "It's tough from P2, I've got Rubens in P3 which is a much cleaner line. There's only one race a year here, this weekend, the inside of the grid is dirty but we'll make the best of it."
Vettel, pole: "We have done a good job today with pole on the clean side of the track, that's an advantage. No KERS car behind us this time, it's all looking good."
I do love the little flavours of local colour and culture between segments. Just 10 or 15 seconds with a little backing track, but they add so much to your understanding of the host location.
Massa sit-down interview with Jake. - Disappointed with qualifying in Malaysia, says the track improved massively. - some stuff about supporting the team, usual racing driver stuff [err yeah, hindsight alert!] - Turn 8 is a big strain on the neck. - I think we are in the fight.
Stefano Domenicali talking about FOTA and other stuff. [I have removed this for brevity and because the politics was boring then and boring now]
I like Stefano. He's open and cooperative, this was quite a long chat with the BBC guys - all three of the guys.
Onboard lap. Martin Brundle voicing Vettel's lap and comparing his approach to Button's! Vettel is nailing every apex, Button is having to hesitate slightly.
Jakes says the pitlane is "very confusing" because the cars are going the other direction to previous races. Anti-clockwise track. Heading out to the track. Whoa, a BBC man grabs Jake and pulls him back JUST BEFORE a Toyota runs him over!
Some chatter before Martin joins them for his gridwalk.
///
Gridwalk with Martin and David
They are sat down on the front of the grid talking about how difficult turn 1 is here because you can't see it, the track dips down and the apex is out of sight. You spend the weekend hitting the 100m mark for practice, qualifying, and suddenly a race start you've got 20 cars aiming for the same place.
Horner: "52C track temperature, it's going to be interesting. The most important thing is to be quick and go." Button in a 'cool suit': "I've watched the GP2 and other races and position 2 seems okay, not too bad." Talks about the difficulties of turn 8. 3rd is a reasonable result, going for the win but he'd be happy with 3rd. Randomly, Naomi Campbell arrives and kisses Button on both cheeks, then DC who asks her who she's supporting: NC "I've very happy, England, hahaha" DC "You're going for Jenson then?" NC "I said England, haha" DC "Good stuff, enjoy" Apparently she also supports the freebie champagne... or something you injest nasally...
Zipping around the grid.. finds Vettel? Can you win your first dry GP? "Yep, sure." Strategy? "I have a stop immediately now, I need the toilet now. Hoping for a good start and defend it from there."
Massa: "Will be difficult. Webber is a possibility on race pace, I hope we can be strong in the race than we were in qualifying."
Turkish anthem rings out as we talk to Ross Brawn. Seems we aren't stopping for it this time. Brawn talking more on FOTA, politics, all that rubbish.
///
Strategy update: Button would be on pole after adjusting qual times for fuel load, he has 2 more laps than Red Bull. Alonso is the lightest and will stop on lap 14. Hamilton is very heavy.
Grid Reminder
Vettel (pole), Button Barrichello, Webber Trulli, Räikkönen Massa, Alonso Rosberg, Kubica Heidfeld, Nakajima Glock, Kovalainen Sutil, Hamilton Piquet, Buemi Fisichella, Bourdais
Engines running. Mechanics clear. Green lights. I'm switching to the alternative audio feed.
Formation Lap
GRID Button lines up funny. 1.2.3.4.5...GO!
Button leads! Rubens slow Trulli ahead of Webber! Rosberg passes Massa Kimi vs Alonso Trulli vs Webber Turn 8 at speed! Rubens takes Heidi
Kubica is chasing Alonso who has fallen back.
There is a nosecone waiting in the Ferrari pit, but Kimi doesn't need it. Kimi radio:
"I lost a little part of the front wing on the left hand side I think."
L3 Rubens tries it on Heikki but can't make it here.
Things have settled down so we are being shown replays of the start: A Williams touches a BMW in t1. Rubens very slow away.
L4 Fisi pits with a suspected brake problem.
L5 Positions: Button, Vettel, Webber, Trulli, Rosberg, Massa, Alonso, Kubica, Raikkonen, Nakajima, Kova, Barr, Glock, Hei, Sut, Piq, Ham, Bue, Bou. Fisichella has officially retired according the timing screen.
Barrichello passes Kovalainen at the last turn, but Heikki uses KERS to get an instant 80hp boost to retake the position on the main straight and into t1!
Rubens tries it again halfway around the lap and spins, he's now behind Glock, Heidfeld, Sutil, Piquet and Hamilton as well.
Holly: Rubens' anti-stall kicked in at the start.
L9 Rubens re-takes Hamilton.
L10 Tweet from @clubforce
"fisi in the garage at the moment with a brake problem. trying to get it out again for the rest of the race"
@clubforce is the Force India team official twitter feed and by far the most verbose of the F1 teams that tweet during the race (all two of them).
Piquet locks up his brakes and allows Rubens through.
L12 Rubens radio - he's lost 7th gear!
Fisi says he's out. Sutil and Barrichello touch, Rubens has damaged his front wing. Rubens is very frustrated right now and trying too hard.
L13 Rubens pits for a new wing. L14 Alonso pits, and Crofty says he was predicted to pit now. I'm shocked, a pit prediction is proven RIGHT!
L15 JB sets FL. Vettel pits and he's out in 6th. @clubforce tells us Fisi has retired from the race.
L16 Trulli pits and is out in 9th.
L17 Button and Massa pit. Button beats Vettel by some margin! Button has more fuel than Vettel too..
L18 Webber pits from his inherited lead, Rosberg follows him in. Long stop for Webber, he's out just behind Kubica. Raikkonen also pits. Lots of brake dust from Rosberg's car.
L19 Kovalainen pits from 8th. Kubica, Nakajima, Glock, Heidfeld, Sutil, Piquet and Hamilton are yet to stop.
L20 Kubica pits, so does Sutil.
L21 A fairly light Hamilton passes a recently-pitted Raikkonen. Kimi isn't looking quick right now.
L23 Top ten: Button, Vettel, Webber, Naka*, Rosberg, Trulli, Glock*, Massa, Heidfeld*, Kubica * not pitted
Speculation on 5Live that Vettel has switched to a 3-stop, if so Vettel is screwed because he's close behind Button and being held up.
L25 Vettel is RIGHT BEHIND Button! He's in the dirty air which is costing him, but he is faster than Jenson.
Replay of Glock passing Trulli for 6th. Glock has yet to pit. L26 Nakajima pits.
L28 Heidfeld pits for his first stop. Some people's second stops may be due soon.
L29 Vettel pits. He is on a three-stopper. Ant calls it as Webber finishing 2nd and Vettel 3rd because of this strategy. Vettel takes hard tyres.
Half distance
L30 Glock makes his first stop. Nice use of the map graphic for this race! We get a good idea of the time gap as it is on the road, between the top three cars, which is really useful when they aren't in the same TV shot.
31 laps gone and 27 remain, we're over halfway now and nobody has been lapped! Amazing!
L32 Hamilton pits and is out alongside Piquet, and passes him... for 17th!
Bourdais pits.
L33 Piquet alongside Hamilton!! They are side by side through the final complex and Piquet makes the pass! Holy cow who woke him up?! This is the GP2-spec Piquet of old who actually raced people! More of this please, Nelson.
L34 Button leads by 17.9sec from Webber who is 8.6 ahead of Vettel. Button is the fastest car on track. He's got the warp drive locked on, let's look elsewhere..
L37 Hamilton, Buemi and Bourdais have been lapped by Button now - and Buemi passes Hamilton. What is going on with Lewis?
L38 Barrichello pits from 14th, this is his scheduled stop. He was heavily delayed [not as much as these notes] with that start and then the new front wing.
Nico Rosberg is running 4th! He's faster than Vettel by 0.1s/lap and only 5.5sec behind. Ah - he's just pitted, he was setting fast in-laps. He kicks off the second round of stops for the 2-stoppers.
L41 Rubens' stop put him a lap behind, he should get that lap back when Jenson stops.
L42 Massa pits from 5th. L43 Button pits, so does Webber. Kovalainen and Buemi are in the pits as the leaders come in, they should exit ahead of the leaders to remain unlapped for now. Trulli in from 4th.
Vettel is up to 2nd again but he'll lose that to Webber on his third stop.
Trouble for Nakajima, Williams guys had trouble with the 'spinners' on his front tyre. I've never liked those things.
L48 Vettel pits for his final stop, just as Rubens Barrichello pits the car to retire.
L50 Vettel is now 2.5s behind Webber and closing fast. Glock is only 0.8s behind Kubica and gradually catching. These are the closest fights with only 8 laps to go.
L52 RBR lap times have stabilised, only a tenth difference now between cars.
4 to go: Vettel gets told by the team to save the car, Mark is faster. Timing says they are about the same but I think this is to make sure they don't take each other out!
3 to go: Vettel sets a purple sector 1! A message to Webber or the team?
Final lap. Hamilton gets lapped again - he unlapped himself earlier with his one-stop strategy.
Chequered Flag - Jenson Button wins!! Webber 2nd, Vettel 3rd
Vettel didn't say a word to the team on the radio when they were telling him how he got 'stuck behind Webber'.
Podium.
British national anthem for Button and Brawn.
Interesting trophies, they look heavy..
Vettel looks like he's forcing a smile. On pole, was fast in the race but only got 3rd.
[at some point here we go back to main feed]
Chat with Brawn:
"Looking forward to Britain, lots of fans. Problem with Rubens' gearbox, he would have had a great race for sure."
Conference
Jenson Button, Winner:
"I don't know if this sort of circuit suits our car more than others, but the car was fantastic today. Wish I could have all the boys on the podium. They all deserve to be there."
Peter Windsor, moderator:
"Well done, equalling Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher in winning the first six of seven races."
Mark Webber, P2:
"We managed to go a lap longer and save fuel, we knew the podium was taken just deciding between myself and Sebastian. I did enough damage in the middle stint to jump Sebastian, then we turned the engine down to the end."
Sebastian Vettel, P3
"It worked out okay at the start then nearly lost the car, my mistake, all race was difficult I think there was a little tailwind, it was quite tricky. Jenson was just too quick today so I don't think we could have held him anyway. I thought we were switching to 2 stop, we did not, then we were in traffic to Jenson because of his heavy fuel load. It turned out the 3 stop was not as quick as the 2 stop, I am not happy but we can be very satisfied to take 2nd and 3rd."
Wow, mega-long conference coverage, much appreciated! Back to the BBC guys. Replay of Lewis Hamilton's opening lap.
Lewis Hamilton (13th):
"I really enjoyed the race despite being all the way back, I pushed and pushed and pushed, that's why I'm smiling because I fulfilled my potential. This car isn't going to win but I'm going to keep pushing anyway, let's knuckle down and concentrate on bringing it back, especially for next year. Looking forward to see the fans (at Silverstone). I'm really, really happy for Jenson and wish him luck."
Trulli (4th):
"I'm really happy, we pusehd hard, we had a good setup. I am an experience driver and I never give up, I am always positive. I have to praise the team because they have worked really hard. The season is long and we have to keep pushing for updates every time."
Rosberg (5th):
"We pushed 100% through to try and beat Trulli, unfortunately it wasn't possible, (..) he was too fast for us. Still 5th place is good for us, beat both Ferraris, it's good. If we managed to keep up the development with the other teams and score one point and then another every race that'd be great!"
Race Result
Driver
Gap
Pts
1
Button
58 laps
10
2
Webber
6.7sec
8
3
Vettel
7.4sec
6
4
Trulli
27.8sec
5
5
Rosberg
31.5sec
4
6
Massa
39.9sec
3
7
Kubica
46.2sec
2
8
Glock
46.9sec
1
9
Räikkönen
50.2sec
10
Alonso
62.4sec
11
Heidfeld
64.3sec
12
Nakajima
66.3sec
13
Hamilton
80.4sec
14
Kovalainen
1 lap
15
Buemi
1 lap
16
Piquet
1 lap
17
Sutil
1 lap
18
Bourdais
1 lap
DNF
Barrichello
gearbox
DNF
Fisichella
brakes
Drivers Championship
Driver
Prior
TUR
Total
1
Button
51
+10
61
2
Barrichello
35
35
3
Vettel
23
+6
29
4
Webber
19.5
+8
27.5
5
Trulli
14.5
+5
19.5
6
Glock
12
+1
13
7
Rosberg
7.5
+4
11.5
8
Alonso
11
11
9
Massa
8
+3
11
10
Hamilton
9
9
11
Räikkönen
9
9
12
Heidfeld
6
6
13
Kovalainen
4
4
14
Buemi
3
3
15
Bourdais
2
2
16
Kubica
0
+2
2
Constructors Championship
Team
Prior
TUR
Total
1
Brawn
86
+10
96
2
Red Bull
36.5
+14
50.5
3
Toyota
32.5
+6
38.5
4
Ferrari
14
+3
17
5
McLaren
13
13
6
Williams
7.5
+4
11.5
7
Renault
11
11
8
BMW
6
+2
8
9
Toro Rosso
5
5
10
Force India
0
0
That's it from Turkey! See you soon for the next one. [I hope to sort out the next set of notes at the weekend to get as caught up as possible in time for Valencia]
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Hi, my name is Patrick, and I Watch Too Much Racing. I've been watching racing (mainly F1) for about 20 years and in full nerd mode for the last 12. My blog focusses on F1, looks at IndyCar and glances at GP2 and more.
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