Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Lewis Hamilton (1st)
Even though both Vettel and Rosberg put pressure on him at different points during the Grand Prix, you got the feeling that Hamilton was driving at nine-10ths the whole way through. He had time to have a quick chat with his pitcrew and to reboot his KERS early on by pressing ‘Default X 3 0’, whatever that meant. All this while negotiating a street circuit in 30-degree heat; a quite superb and dominant win. 10/10

Timo Glock (2nd)
“This was a podium in the right moment for us,” said Glock during the post-race press conference. Oh, and how right he is. The Toyota Formula 1 team desperately needed a good result to show the board of directors that the programme is worthwhile. Although he gained a place when Webber let him through the car was good, but Glock produced the drive of the day. I suggest his career prospects have brightened somewhat. 10/10

Fernando Alonso (3rd)
His team-mate might not have helped him this time, but the Spaniard needed little aid in getting to the podium. If Rosberg and Vettel hadn’t had their penalties then he wouldn’t have finished there, but as they say, that’s racing. ‘Mr (self-proclaimed) Consistent’ once again produced a result, which is exactly what Renault need at this moment in time. 8/10

Sebastian Vettel (4th)
Vettel must be pondering what could’ve been after receiving a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He was up there with Hamilton before his car started to fall to pieces. Running wide over a kerb stripped some of the diffuser from his Red Bull, while a vibration took one of his mirrors. His championship prospects aren’t dead, but they’re not looking too healthy either. 8/10

Jenson Button (5th)
A disastrous qualifying lap in Q2 meant he didn’t even make it to Q3, so in view of that he did a great job in the race. His laps during the second bout of pitstops were worthy of a World Champion, but once again the Brit was let off the hook somewhat. Finishing one place ahead of team-mate and chief title rival Barrichello and one behind Vettel left him a very happy man. Phew. 7/10

Rubens Barrichello (6th)
He may have crashed in qualifying, but Barrichello looked on the pace. It wasn’t until Button produced his Schumacher-style laps over the second phase of pitstops that he lost his edge. It could have been worse, although championship-wise he now needs to rely on his team-mate having a couple of DNFs, which is never a great situation to be in. Not that Button has looked unshakeable under pressure… (6.5/10)

Heikki Kovalainen (7th)
At Monza the Finn went some way to ensuring that the team won’t sign him for next season. He was stronger in this race, but his team-mate won and never looked like being caught – something that won’t have gone unnoticed by McLaren’s management. It’s sad that Kovalainen probably won’t be with the team in 2010, as he has shown glimpses of blistering speed this season. But that’s not enough to keep you in this sport. 6/10

Robert Kubica (8th)
So BMW is pulling out due to financial reasons, but it’s still spending money on developing the car until the end of the season? Yes, it’s a weird situation, I’m sure you’ll agree, but Kubica won’t be complaining – anything that helps him score a World Championship point will be more than welcome. A solid race from the Pole, and oh how we’d like to see him in a competitive car. 7/10

Kazuki Nakajima (9th)
Another good performance from Nakajima, but again – much like Kovalainen – it has to be viewed in terms of his team-mate being up at the front (initially). One has to wonder where his future lies if Williams decides not to continue with Toyota next year. Still, the Japanese driver is not renowned for keeping it on the black stuff, so he did well to have a clean race at a track as unforgiving as Singapore. 5/10

Kimi Räikkönen (10th)
Ferrari’s lack of development is finally hurting the Finn with 10th place ending his recent run of strong results. He didn’t make a great start despite his KERS advantage and failed to do anything particularly special during the race. He didn’t do anything wrong, however, and stayed clear of the walls unlike last year. I fear the high-grip circuits are going to hurt the Scuderia in the last part of this season. 6/10

Nico Rosberg (11th)
If Vettel is asking himself what could’ve been, then Rosberg must be screaming it. He looked like a real challenger for Hamilton, before running wide over the white line on the exit of the pitlane and ruining his race. The fact that he took his drive-through penalty just after a safety car period meant he dropped to the back of the field. He didn’t stop racing though, which was a delight to see. 8/10

Jarno Trulli (12th)
The fact that he hasn’t got a drive with Toyota for next year could well be sapping the Italian of some motivation. He never looked like matching his team-mate’s pace throughout the race. It was a fairly quiet hour and 56 minutes for Trulli, and fairly disappointing at that. Qualifying 15th and finishing 12th in view of the various retirements will no doubt leave him with a sour taste in his mouth – more of a Singapore flunk than a Singapore Sling. 5/10

Giancarlo Fisichella (13th)
Fisichella may well be having second thoughts about his decision to move to Ferrari, as I doubt he realised just how different a KERS-equipped car would be to drive. This coupled with a circuit surrounded by walls was a harsh ‘welcome to the real world’ after his Monza debut. Still, it could be worse – Badoer could still be in the car. 4/10

Vitantonio Liuzzi (14th)
It was more of the same from Liuzzi, who impressed so much at Monza. He admitted before this race that his Italian form would be hard to carry over to the streets of Singapore. But he kept his nose clean, which is more than can be said for his team-mate… 5/10

Jaime Alguersuari (15th – RET)
He was sliding about so much that it looked like he was running on Historic Dunlops for most of the race, but hats off to him for not sliding off. He blotted his copybook, however, when he exited his pit with the fuel hosestill attached. The lollipop hadn’t even moved, so there was no one to blame but himself. Eventually retired with brake problems. 3/1

Sebastien Buemi (16th – RET)
Buemi looked quick at the start of the weekend and was even bold enough to say “it’s good to be back in the top 10”. But after qualifying in 14th, he had little chance to impress in the race. Running wide to let Räikkönen through preceded several trips to the pits to refuel (due to a faulty second fuel rig – his team-mate having comprehensively damaged the first one) and he finally retired with gearbox problems. A weekend to forget for everyone at Toro Rosso. 4/10

Mark Webber (17th – RET)
Never really on the pace all weekend, and then his brakes decided to pack up and go home early, leaving him in a tyre barrier, which was a fairly good effort considering 99 per cent of the circuit is surrounded by walls. His team might not have such a big repair job on its hands, but both he and Red Bull will be disappointed that his title hopes are gone. 6/10

Adrian Sutil (18th – RET)
Ran well until a spin, in which his car was undamaged. However he then collided with Heidfeld while trying to get going again. Sutil was able to get back to the pits, but retired soon after. 3/10

Nick Heidfeld (19th – RET)
See above… Heidfeld had a solid race but his hopes for a good result were dashed by Sutil. He received a 15-place grid penalty after his car was found to be short of ballast, so he did well to work his way up the field on a track where overtaking is nigh-on impossible. 6/10

Romain Grosjean (20th – RET)
Brake problems ended Grosjean’s race after only three laps. He summed it up better than I ever could with a very French shrug. 2/10

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Another Grand Prix and another win for Button. He may have lost a place to team-mate Barrichello at the start, but the Brit got his head down and gave us another remarkable display of driving and getting the most out of the car and tyres. A large shunt at the beginning finished Trulli’s, Fisichella’s, Sutil’s, Bourdais’ and Buemi’s race but the other talking point of the afternoon was just how wrong it all went for Ferrari. Again.

Here’s how they all stacked up…

Jenson Button (1^st)
On finishing the race, just before going onto the podium Button asks “sorry, where do I go”? A sign of just how many times the Brit has visited the podium in Barcelona. Another great day, even though he lost first place to Barrichello at the start, he proved that when a driver is at the top of their game nothing can stop them. Or indeed go wrong – he crossed the start/finish line 1.6secs before the end of the Q3 session to start his flying lap that got him pole. Changing to a two-stop strategy in the race (rather than three) certainly helped. 9.5/10

Rubens Barrichello (2^nd)
“I don’t know how I lost that race man.” He was quicker than Button throughout the weekend (bar Button’s stunning qualifying lap) and humbled the Brit at the start. However, he couldn’t get his tyres to work in the second and third stints meaning that almost certain victory slipped through his hands. A good sign for Brawn though when one of their drivers is disappointed with second. If he can’t pin Button back in the next few GPs it’ll be like Ferrari all over again where he had to play second fiddle to Schumacher for so long. 7/10

Mark Webber (3^rd)
He’s so far been outclassed by his team-mate Vettel this year and this weekend looked to be going along the same depressing lines for the Australian. As soon as he tussled with Alonso in the opening stint though we knew we were watching a man on a mission. A great drive and one which heralded receiving the ‘Drive of the Day’ award from Coulthard. Anyone else notice how he always backs the Red Bull drivers? Funny old world… 9/10

Sebastian Vettel (4^th)
Tipped by Coulthard to win the race. The German’s afternoon effectively ended when Massa ‘KERSed’ him off the line. If Red Bull need any information on the Ferrari rear-end though, I’m sure Vettel will be able to tell them exactly what it looks like after staring at it for an hour and a half. 6/10

Fernando Alonso (5^th)
All he had to do was overtake a back marker and the crowd would erupt. Which is exactly what they did when he fortuitously took fifth in the dying laps when Massa had to slow because of a lack of fuel. Probably would have won if he was being powered by the support for him during the weekend. As luck would have it, he was in a Renault and was lucky just to get points. Solid drive. But that’s the least we expect from him… 7/10

Felipe Massa (6^th)
Ferrari has certainly improved ­– the car that is rather than their general running of the team – but I suggest Massa flattered them somewhat today. A catastrophic error in the final pitstop meant that he didn’t have enough fuel to finish the race, so had to give up fourth to Vettel and then fifth to Alonso. Only managed to keep Vettel behind him for that long though thanks to KERS. At least his car didn’t come to a grinding halt. Ah, of course it did, it ran out of fuel just before the end. 7/10

Nick Heidfeld (7^th)
A pretty quiet race for Heidfeld although he did well to keep Räikkönen behind him in the opening stages. The BMW is faster, but definitely not fast enough. Had the measure of Kubica though. When you drive reasonably well, only 14 cars finish, you’re in a car that was fighting for the World Championship up until the last few races the season before and you don’t even get a point you’ve got to struggle to see the point of it all. 6/10

Nico Rosberg (8^th)
Continues to excel in Friday practice, but that doesn’t really help a team get points on the board. Could be worse, he could have a team-mate who pushed him more… Good, long first stint though after punting Trulli off on the first lap. 6/10

Lewis Hamilton (9^th)
“What did you feel when Jenson Button lapped you near the end of the Grand Prix?” Hamilton, deadpan face: “nothing”. I very much doubt that Mr Hamilton. It must have felt like one last kick in the tender area after another weekend of having no grip whatsoever. This season is going to feel as long as 2008 was exciting for the current World Champion. 5.5/10

Timo Glock (10^th)
Qualified well but just slipped further and further back in the race. He out-drove Trulli, but only because his team-mate’s race ended on the first lap. An afternoon Glock will want to forget. If Hamilton is as unhappy as he is with ninth then Glock in a Toyota – which, lest we forget, is supposed to be one of the fastest cars in 2009 ­– finishing behind him must be as painful as being stuck with a Toyota Prius as a courtesy road car (I’m sure he has something a lot more interesting). 4.5/10

Robert Kubica (11^th)
He’s never sought out the limelight and even when he was battling for the World Championship last year he was quiet. Now though, he looks positively rock star noisy last year compared to how he is now. We know he’s one of the most naturally quick drivers on the grid, but you might as well put him in a soapbox at the moment judging by how fast the BMW is. An improvement, but an improvement to 11^th can’t put his mind too much at ease. 5/10

Nelson Piquet (12^th)
Crasher Piquet didn’t crash, and drove a solid – if uninspiring race – to finish where he did. However, it does look as though he’s happy to just coast round the track, but with Alonso – one of the most exciting and aggressive F1 drivers around – as team-mate, he isn’t going to look like Senna is he? The last two races haven’t been bad, but his likely replacement, Romain Grosjean, only went and took pole, a race victory and a second place in the GP2 round this weekend. News about as welcome as a kick to the head you feel. 5/10

Kazuki Nakajima (13^th)
‘Copy’ and ‘paste’ first sentence of Piquet’s report here. Pitted early after contact at the start, rejoined at the back, but drove a long, solid second stint to move up the order. End of the day though, he finished in 13^th. With only 14 runners at the end of the race. 4/10

Giancarlo Fisichella (14^th)
Qualified last, and was last in the race (out of the finishers). The Force India is not the fastest car out on the track at the moment – quite the opposite in fact – but you have to ask yourself whether the Italian is the right man to push this team forward. Personally, I think this is his last season. Here’s hoping he can go out with a bang. I.e. points, not an explosion. 3/10

Kimi Räikkönen (15^th – RET)
Some say he lacks motivation, but how can you have any motivation when your team doesn’t persuade you to set another time in Q1, to make sure you make it into Q2? Out he went in Q1, and then started the race complaining that his KERS wasn’t working. He seemed to be all the better for it though after making up six places in the opening racing laps. Oh, and he also couldn’t see the lights at the start because the new rear wings are so big. All this then his car came to a grinding halt on lap 18. You could argue that he should have made the call to go back out in Q1 but when you have this much bad luck on race day it doesn’t really matter at all. A sentiment I am sure Raikkonen shares. 6/10 (for making up places at the start) 1/10 (Ferrari’s management of the Finn) 10/10 (for bad luck)

Heikki Kovalainen (16^th – RET)
It wasn’t a day for the Finns was it? A lacklustre qualifying performance followed by gearbox failure. He seems very relaxed for a man that has been completely outperformed by his team-mate this season, even if he has admittedly only finished two races thanks to a healthy dose of bad luck. 3/10

Jarno Trulli (17^th – RET)
Nudged off by Rosberg at the start and then rejoined the track, facing sideways. Cue a pile up that took out all the drivers below. A racing incident but not what Toyota need. 1/10

Sébastien Buemi (18^th – RET)
Taken out on lap one. 1/10

Sébastien Bourdais (19^th – RET)
Taken out on lap one. 1/10 (Level of anguish at Toro Rosso after both cars need collecting on a truck after not even completing one lap? 10/10)

Adrian Sutil (20^th – RET)
Went wide at turn one, only to rejoin the track at turn two, into Trulli. Not really his fault but when you don’t even make it round one turn successfully… 0/10

On an unrelated note, did anyone notice that the podium looked quite, umm, ‘old’ this weekend? Button, Barrichello, Webber… A combined age of 97 must be some sort of a record in recent years.

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The Chinese Grand Prix was another soaking affair, yet this weekend it wasn’t Brawn GP scoring a one-two but Red Bull. Sebastian Vettel, who proved his prowess in the wet at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, once again drove faultlessly to score a maiden victory for the team.

1st: Sebastian Vettel
Having put his car on pole the German managed to keep the Brawns at bay and, despite atrocious conditions and safety cars, he drove brilliantly to his second career win. Escaped serious damage after Toro Rosso’s Buemi drove into the back of him, which goes to show just how much luck can play a part when it’s that wet. 9/10

2nd: Mark Webber
A career best for Webber who, although he was outdriven by his team-mate, managed to keep his car on the track – most of the time – and battled well with Button’s Brawn. 8/10

3rd: Jenson Button
Complained of severe grip problems after not getting any heat into the tyres, which meant that at some points he was weaving down the straight. Another solid race for Button, whose smooth style is just what’s needed when it’s this wet. A few mistakes, but overall a good weekend. 8/10

4th: Rubens Barrichello
Even though he has yet to outclass his team-mate in a Grand Prix this season Barrichello drove a solid, if a little uneventful, race. 7/10

5th: Heikki Kovalainen
Unlike Hamilton, Kovalainen drove a mature race and kept his car on the black stuff. Even if he didn’t have the speed that his team-mate showed on occasion, he will be satisfied with completing more than one lap of a Grand Prix, something that must have been starting to worry him a little. 7/10

6th: Lewis Hamilton
Got his car into Q3 for the first time this season and started well from ninth, storming through the field to fifth, only to spin off. He stormed through the field again, and then span off again… While he showed blistering pace his driving style means he doesn’t always conserve his tyres well. He complained of losing all grip on his front left after five laps, but he must accept some of the blame for that. Well done for pushing hard though – he had nothing to lose after all… 5/10

7th: Timo Glock
After starting 19th on the grid Glock drove smartly up the field, only for a clash with Heidfeld on lap 13 to delay him. He recovered well and despite meandering off course on a few occasions – something that you have to forgive drivers in weather like this – he clawed his way back up again. Although he is yet to do something spectacular, something tells me that he has a bright future ahead. 7/10

8th: Sebastien Buemi
The only rookie on the grid had a brilliant race, challenging Vettel for the drive of the day. He was lucky to escape after hitting the back of Vettel (who had slowed under yellow to avoid passing the car in front, which he thought was Barrichello but was in fact Trulli) but recovered well to another points-scoring finish. 8/10

9th: Fernando Alonso
Having put his car second on the grid with a light fuel load, the team decided to pull him in early after only seven laps – when the safety car was still out. He rejoined at the very back and with a full tank of fuel and zero visibility he struggled to work his way through the field. The Renault, however, was hardly the car of the day. Eventually made up ground, but a spin late meant he missed out on points when he was starting to show some real pace. 7/10

10th: Kimi Räikkönen
The Finn had real problems finding any grip at all and seemed to be going backwards at times. His team-mate had no such problems, but Räikkönen’s lack of speed was such that Hamilton overtook him on numerous occasions before spinning off again. Although he was classed fourth at one point he never worked his way back up the field after pitting. 5/10

11th: Sébastien Bourdais
His rookie team-mate showed that the Toro Rosso was one of the cars to have in the wet conditions, but Bourdais never looked like setting the world alight and spun so often that he never kept position. 5/10

12th: Nick Heidfeld
After a good start Heidfeld took over Webber’s mantel of the ‘unluckiest man of the day’, aquaplaning off the track, colliding with Glock on lap 13 and then being hit by one of Sutil’s wheels from the wreckage of his crash and losing four places as a result. 6/10

13th: Robert Kubica
Trulli was going so slowly it was inevitable that someone would drive into the back of him, and that someone was Kubica. The replacement wing fitted after that clash eventually worked loose, so he lost even more time pitting again. Kubica is a great driver but has had little to shout about so far this season – I suspect BMW will struggle to hold onto him if it can’t start to find some extra pace somewhere. 6/10

14th: Giancarlo Fisichella
Fisichella spent much of his time finding his way back onto the track and suffered severe graining problems with his tyres. Another sedate race for a man who can’t afford to keep being outdriven by his team-mate. 4/10

15th: Nico Rosberg
A day to forget for Rosberg who complained of severe visibility problems – something I would have thought most of the grid was suffering with… He did drive well, when he could see, but never really looked set to challenge. A late gamble on intermediates was a real long shot, but you’ve got to admire him for a least taking a punt. 5/10

16th: Nelsinho Piquet
Another dreadful day for Piquet. Again hugely outclassed by Alonso in qualifying and the race. He had to stop twice for a new nose after two huge spins and really doesn’t seem to have any positives to take away from the weekend. Another few races like this and his seat may not be safe for the rest of this season, let alone in 2010. 2/10

17th: Adrian Sutil
A good performance from the German, who was looking at a points finish until a spin and a big impact ended his race on lap 51. Another very disappointing outcome following a good strategy by the Force India team and a good drive. 6/10

18th: Kazuki Nakajima
Although he was unlucky to retire with transmission problems, he didn’t exactly make a huge impact when he was ‘on’ the track. Numerous spins and off-track excursions meant this was another weekend to forget. 4/10

19th: Felipe Massa
If Räikkönen’s speed was any measure of how fast the Ferrari was in these conditions, then Massa drove an absolute blinder. The Brazilian – often criticised for only being able to drive a good race from pole, or for not being able to drive in the wet (please see Silverstone 2008) – proved his critics wrong. A real shame that an electrical problem robbed him of his first points in 2009. 8/10

20th: Jarno Trulli
The Italian really struggled in the wet, complaining that he couldn’t get any grip and only lasted 13 laps before Kubica ploughed into the back of him. 5/10

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The F1 season is finally under way… After a winter of wondering whether Honda would be saved, whether McLaren could carry on its 2008 form and whether Piquet could turn things around and keep his Renault on the Tarmac, some of our questions have finally been answered.

So who started the season well? And who needs to up their game? I’ve gone through each driver and here’s what I think. Remember… it’s just a viewpoint!

Jenson Button (1st)
His car was the quickest on the grid, but he produced the goods when needed. He drove a solid race and only went a little awry during his second pitstop. A dream start for the man from Frome. 9/10

Rubens Barrichello (2nd)
After overshadowing his team-mate last season and in testing, the Brazilian faltered in the race and seemed to think his car was indestructible – luckily for him, on this occasion it was. Recovered well from a bad start, which the team was keen to point out was a mechanical problem, but ultimately wouldn’t have been on the podium if it weren’t for Masters Kubica and Vettel playing demolition derby in the final 10 minutes. 6/10

Lewis Hamilton (3rd)
Despite having one of the worst cars on the grid, Hamilton drove a quite brilliant race after starting from the back – thanks to a gearbox problem in qualifying – and stormed through the field. For me, the drive of the day. 9.5/10

Timo Glock (4th)
The German drove a mature race to finish fourth. Of course if it weren’t for the retirements of Vettel, Kubica and the demotion of team-mate Trulli, he wouldn’t have finished with so many points. However, you’d be hard pressed to argue that it wasn’t a successful day after starting from the pitlane and ending up with five points. 7/10

Fernando Alonso (5th)
Once again showed why he’s one of the most sought-after drivers on the grid by scoring points when his car really wasn’t worthy. Even if he did run wide in turn one, dropping him to the back… 8/10

Nico Rosberg (6th)
Pulled off the ‘manoeuvre of the afternoon’ on Räikkönen and posted fastest lap of the race. Struggled with the super soft compound tyre though. 8.5/10

Sébastien Buemi (7th)
A great first race for the only rookie on the grid. Stayed out of trouble and importantly beat his team-mate. 8/10

Sébastien Bourdais (8th)
The Frenchman had a disappointing afternoon, which he put down to his car “handling like a caravan”. Needs to dominate Buemi this season to keep his seat. 5/10

Adrian Sutil (9th)
Another strong performance, again outperforming his team-mate. Had to pit after an opening-lap collision but maintained a cool head to almost finish in the points. 6/10

Nick Heidfeld (10th)
Made a strong start (along with all the other KERS users) but had to pit for new tyres and wing after lap-one collision. Car just didn’t have the pace afterwards. 6/10

Giancarlo Fisichella (11th)
An embarrassing moment when he overshot his pit, which cost him a lot of time. Not one of the Italian’s finest hours. 5/10

Jarno Trulli (12th)
Almost a great race. Started in the pitlane and finished third, only to be told that he illegally overtook Hamilton under yellow. He will no doubt be back on the podium soon. 7.5/10

Mark Webber (13th)
Once again, the unluckiest man on the grid. Taken out of the reckoning in the first corner by Barrichello and struggled with the car thereafter. 6/10

Sebastian Vettel (14th)
A great performance up until the red mist came down and he tried to defend his place from Kubica. Admittedly the Pole didn’t give him much room. 7/10

Robert Kubica (15th)
Outdrove his team-mate and could possibly have robbed Button of victory at the end if it wasn’t for his collision with Vettel, which he should take equal blame for. 7/10

Kimi Räikkönen (16th)
In line for a second place if he hadn’t ended up embedded in the wall. A disappointing end after a good, if unexciting, race. 6/10

Felipe Massa (17th)
Lost a lot of ground with the super-soft tyres after the opening laps, pitted at the wrong time and then forced to retire. You could say he’s almost as lucky as Webber. 7/10

Nelsinho Piquet (18th)
Drove a strong race and looked set to finish in the points. However, a combination of cold tyres and brakes (and over-optimism) meant that he went straight on at turn one after the restart. 4/10

Kazuki Nakajima (19th)
Showed good pace up until he went wide at turn four and lost control, ending his race in the wall. He must stop making mistakes. 5/10

Heikki Kovalainen (20th)
Taken out at the first corner. Made a reasonable start though… 2/10

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The Formula 1 circus has come to Monaco and so far, apart from a few gentle brushes with the walls, the whole grid has managed to complete the opening two practice sessions.

The forecast is for rain and what better race to have it at than Monaco, when none of the drivers have raced without traction control in the wet yet. If the promised rain does arrive, the race – I fear – will be won by the most level headed and cautious driver on the day.

Hamilton seems to love the circuit through the Principality and spent much of the day at the top of the sheets. Raikkonen did respond with a flurry of quick laps at the end of the first session and nudged the Brit from 1st place; however, Hamilton was even quicker in the next session and was only briefly knocked off the top of the sheets by Rosberg, who seems to be in great form in the Williams.

Piquet still seems to be struggling with the Renault – Alonso was 1.5 seconds quicker in P1 and then a second quicker in P2. Last year Briatore was very publicly vocal about Kovalainen taking time to get up to speed yet remains silent on Piquet’s pace. I doubt he is as relaxed as he looks but I suspect it is only a matter of time before the pressure of needing to perform further hampers the young Brazilian.

The McLarens do have the measure of the Ferraris for the time being, but as speculated the Scuderia is certainly not as far back as last year. As for the race – well, thanks to the overtaking possibilities in Monaco, much of the result depends on how the drivers do in qualifying. I would have thought, bar a problem or a mistake, Hamilton will take pole, with either one of the Ferraris or Kovalainen lining up alongside him.

However, with the likes of Rosberg showing the pace he is at the moment and the BMWs going well, I will no doubt be completely wrong. (When Hamilton does get pole I’ll delete this last sentence).
Practice 1

Practice 2

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So here we are in Istanbul, Turkey. The sun isn’t quite shining, but it certainly looks like we’ll be in for a good race on Sunday – this being one of the Formula 1 tracks where it is actually possible to overtake.

As expected the Ferraris seem to be roughly half a second quicker than the McLarens. Although the times are much closer than that, the long runs suggest that the Scuderia’s cars do hold a clear advantage. As for Hamilton‘s time in P2, well… he went out right at the end and completed just the one flying lap so who knows how much fuel he had in.

The Renaults showed that their pace in Barcelona wasn’t a one-off with two strong sessions from Alonso and it’s good to see Red Bull up in the top 5. Webber clipped the grass early on in the second session which sent his car spinning into the barrier. The Australian was unhurt but the armco certainly did a pretty good job of short-wheel basing the car.

As for the rest, Kovalainen seemed to have left his sense of self-preservation in the hospital, as he was straight back on the pace. A quite remarkable feat considering he suffered a 26G crash less than two weeks ago. The BMWs don’t seem to be as close to McLaren as they have been promising but, as I said before, the practice times can be a little misleading.

So predictions for the Grand Prix on Sunday? Short of a breakdown or moment of madness from Raikkonen or Massa, the Ferraris look as though they could take another 1-2. As for the last place on the podium, I would have thought that both Hamilton and Kovalainen have the pace to take it.

Having bad mouthed the ITV F1 live feed the other week, I am pleased to say that it is vastly improved. Last time I watched something on there I spent an hour and a half staring at a frozen screen with snippets of flying laps sped up a hundred times so that the ‘feed’ could catch up again. However, its gremlins seem to be cured and you can now sit back and soak up the sound of the V8s. Whether this was down to me and my blog, I very much doubt, but it is now a pretty good place to catch the practice sessions.

Practice 1

Practice 2

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So the European season has begun. Almost all 22 cars completed the two Friday practices without incident and the Ferraris look like they are the pace setters at the moment. The Scuderia occupied the top two spots in the opening practice and were just under half a second quicker than Hamilton. Massa managed (after I had said that his ‘moments’ would become less frequent from Bahrain onwards) to spin twice, once at the chicane on his flying lap and then on the exit of turn 8 later on in the first practice.

The most interesting part of the two opening practice sessions? Well in the first, a second covered the first 4 cars and in the second, it covered a quite remarkable 12 cars. Indeed, if you ignore the Super Aguris, all the cars were within two seconds of Räikkönen’s fastest time. It may surprise you even more that in the second Friday practice in the French Grand Prix last year, the top 15 cars set times within 1 second of each other. And they say Formula 1 isn’t interesting…

On the subject of Super Aguris, it is great to see them on track as up until today they were still in talks with Honda over whether or not they could actually compete this weekend. With the rule changes next year, the Japanese manufacturer has made it quite clear that they aren’t prepared to keep shelling out inordinate amounts of money to keep Aguri Suzuki afloat. After one possible backer dropped out at the last minute the team is again looking for a sponsor. Let’s hope that they find one otherwise this may well be one of the last times we see them on the Grand Prix circuit.

I was actually quite surprised to see them leave the garage this morning as competing over a race weekend amounts to what us mere mortals would consider a cash bonfire. Of course, they don’t want to miss out on the money they receive for competing in a Grand Prix.

As for the rest… The Renaults certainly looked quick in the second session but watching the onboard footage it looked as though both drivers were pushing pretty hard. Whether they can keep that sort of pace up over the whole weekend, I doubt. Force India, after saying mid-week that they are ready to get into Q3, have taken another step forward with strong finishes in the second session.

Whether all the teams were actually trying to set quick times, I am not convinced. I suggest that the Ferraris are going to be hard to beat come Sunday and the McLarens seem to have the edge over the BMWs for the time being.

The good news for all of you is that Nigel Roebuck is getting ready to write his first www.motorsportmagazine.co.uk Grand Prix Report and will share his views with us, here, after the race on Sunday. For a far more insightful and interesting read… log back on, Sunday evening and go via the ‘Grand Prix Reports’ link on the homepage to read it.

Practice 1

Practice 2

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Many people have recently been doing the time-honoured British press ritual of slamming one of our sporting heroes when he puts a foot wrong. Lewis Hamilton had an absolute shocker in Bahrain; there is no arguing that, but does he really deserve the press he’s been getting?.

The fact that he had a bad race doesn’t mean that he is on the brink of a mental collapse. Yes, Kovalainen is going about his business and perhaps Hamilton didn’t think he would be quite so consistent, quite so quickly. Yes, the McLaren is suddenly not such a force to be reckoned with. But are we not forgetting that these drivers have spent the whole of their lives dealing with such situations?

As Massa showed in Bahrain, however much pressure is put onto their shoulders; most Formula 1 drivers have the mental and physical ability to block out all the nonsense and get on and do what they do best – driving fast.

Hamilton was never going to walk the 2008 Championship. That much was clear near the end of last year when the Ferraris got quicker and quicker. And indeed when the BMWs revealed their true pace in Australia. So why are we all so worried that Hamilton is 5 points behind at the moment? Taken out of context, for a man in his second Formula 1 season, that’s not bad.

I can’t talk too much as I did also ask a few weeks ago whether Massa was up to the job. Of course, he went on to win the next race. But that has at least made me think – these guys spend their whole life training for this type of pressure. OK, Hamilton has a tendency to make bad situations worse when things start to go wrong but I definitely wouldn’t count him out yet.

I wouldn’t have thought that anyone at McLaren would be happy being shown up by both Ferrari and BMW and they’ll be doing everything in their power to gain an extra edge. As will Hamilton. Is Hamilton up to the task? I certainly think so. The season is just beginning.

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Well, Massa needed a win, or at the very least a strong performance with all four wheels staying firmly on the Tarmac, and he delivered. From when the red lights went out he dominated a fairly uneventful race for the two Ferrari cars and finished over three seconds ahead of his Finnish team-mate.

He has a good record in Bahrain, having won there last year ahead of Hamilton and Raikkonen, but the fact that he managed to drive such a dominant race after so much criticism was a testament to his mental and driving ability. I am not saying he is cured of his moments – but if he can drive like this for the rest of the reason, they will be forgotten by many.

As for the McLarens, Hamilton had yet another disastrous race. He was extremely slow off the line, his car looking as though he tried to draw away in 3rd, and dropped back to 10th place. He then slammed into the back of Alonso and consequently had to pit for a new nose cone. With the rest of his race hampered by a heavy fuel load and traffic he came home a disappointing 13th.

His team-mate, however, drove an undramatic race to finish 5th. It is obvious that the BMWs are quicker than the McLarens now (or at least in Bahrain) and hopefully for the Woking-based squad they will have found more speed from somewhere, come the European season. If not, they will be the ‘BMWs of 2008′ – the team that is relying on others not to finish in order to score good points and finish on the podium. Something that none of them would accept.
But well done Kovalainen, he may not have the raw pace of Hamilton but his lows are much higher than Hamilton’s when things go wrong. Something that, come Australia, may well count towards beating his team-mate in the Championship standings.

The BMWs both looked strong with Kubica finishing 3rd, and Heidfeld only three and a half seconds behind him. They have had a remarkable start to the season – lets hope they can continue competing for the podium. They certainly have one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid.

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Massa looked very much the strongest driver all weekend until Robert Kubica took the first pole of his career in Q3. Whether he was carrying a much lighter fuel load or not, we won’t know until tomorrow. If this is the case or not – he drove a remarkably good lap.

At the front of the grid, it was business as usual. The Ferraris still seem to have the measure of the McLarens and, as predicted, Hamilton managed to qualify ahead of Raikkonen, (I have to point this out as all my other predictions are so far off I have promised myself never to bet on Formula 1).

Again, the ‘Don’ of one lap pace – Trulli – finished well in 7th and for the first time this season Button made it into the third session. Having been bold enough to say that the Toyotas just don’t have the race pace to finish in the points earlier this season, I stand corrected. Having been the only team that started with a clean sheet of paper for their 2008 car they seem to be consistently capable of scoring points. Add to that the fact that they are one of only two teams to test in Bahrain – expect more of the same tomorrow.

It was good to see Button finish the day 9th on the grid. The Honda is improving and I suggest it will continue to do so. Brawn has made it clear that he has the ability to make on-the-spot decisions which before had to go through days of committees. With the capacity to move forward unhindered by delays (in the right direction) they really should be scoring points sooner rather than later.

However, if there was one driver with ‘less luck’ than Webber – you’d probably have to say Button was up there with the ‘best’ of them. Lets just hope that’s not the case on race day.

Predictions for tomorrow? Well, if Massa stays on the track and his Ferrari engine doesn’t decide to pack-up then I am sure he will finish on the podium. Whether he can keep Raikkonen behind him or whether Kubica has the pace to challenge the Scuderia over a long distance I am not sure, but the Pole is certainly in the right position to fight for his best finish yet. I don’t think the McLarens have the speed to trouble the two teams on the front row so I doubt whether they’ll be on the podium. Who knows… knowing my predictions, the podium will consist of McLarens and Red Bulls.

Qualifying

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For the first time I decided to watch the two practice sessions on the ITV site with their ‘live feed’. This was, without a doubt, my worst Formula 1 viewing session ever. The fact that there isn’t any commentary is brilliant. An hour and a half of unrelenting, unmolested noise is wonderful.

However, as soon as it lulls you into a V8-induced slumber the sound is taken over by what can only be described as ET on speed. The picture then decides to pack up its bags and go home, leaving you in a suspended state, watching… well… nothing. Everyone in the office thought that I had finally lost the plot and was lost in a photo of the F1 ITV logo.

At first I thought it was something our end but with the latest Macs, this is utter rubbish. I understand that a ‘live stream’ is never going to be perfect but this was an utter waste of time. Raikkonen lost it at one point, and someone else did but I can’t for the life of me tell you who. They were using Bridgestones though. That was what the screen decided to freeze on anyway.

There is something quite eerie about the Bahrain circuit. There are no landmarks to speak of on track and the tarmac is so wide it looks like the cars have all been bought by Corgi. A fascinating place as Rob Widdows will tell you in the next issue of the magazine.

As for the racing, the Ferraris look like the ones to beat with Massa finishing the second practice nearly a second quicker than his team-mate Raikkonen. However, the Ferrari garage isn’t all sunshine and smiles as Raikkonen lost it in both practice sessions, needing to return to the pits in the first to get sand removed from his car. The dusty nature of the circuit does seem to be causing problems as many drivers were struggling for grip in the opening laps of the first session. If Massa can keep his pace throughout the weekend and stay on track it will certainly silence a few of his critics.

Hamilton ran well but lost it at turn 7 late in the second practice sending him sideways into the barrier. His car is badly damaged but we have heard that he is fine. As he said on Top Gear, he does occasionally enjoy a “good shunt”.

The Williams are back on form after Malaysia and the McLarens are biting at the heals of the Ferraris. What will happen in qualifying? Well, as long as everything goes according to plan, I suggest Massa will get pole, with Raikkonen making up the front row. Hamilton may well be able to beat Raikkonen to it but looking at the speed of the Scuderia’s cars he will have to carry much less fuel. Time will tell.

The rest? Well, the Toyotas don’t seem to be as fast here as they were in Malaysia. And five teams have finished with times that put their drivers next to each other on the time sheets. You may well ask; how much difference does the driver make? Quite a bit I think and that’s why I am sure that Kimi is going to push Massa all the way, even if his time sheet does look as good as the Brazilian’s so far.

Practice 1

Practice 2

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The second round of the World Championship saw Ferrari take a dominant victory, with Raikkonen crossing the line some 20 seconds ahead of BMW’s Kubica.

Massa, who took pole yesterday, was leap-frogged by his Finnish team-mate during the first round of pit stops and later spun off. It isn’t clear as to why he lost the back end but I suspect there was a slight driver error, something that Massa isn’t new to.

As for the McLarens, well, both of the cars were penalised 5 grid places yesterday for holding up Nick Heidfeld, and in my opinion rightly so. As I mentioned in the Qualifying report, the speeds which they were doing their fuel saving in lap at were lethal considering the BMW was closing at 170mph. So having started from 8^th and 9^th, Hamilton got a great start and come the end of lap one was up to 5^th. Kovalainen did well, but didn’t manage to get higher than 7^th in the opening stages.

It was during Hamilton’s first pit stop that his hopes of a podium were dashed as there was so much brake dust on his front right that the pit crew couldn’t get the wheel off. The stop took some 20 seconds meaning that a final position of 5^th was about all he could hope for.

The real surprise for the day was that Trulli managed to keep his qualifying pace and ended the race in 4^th position. After two dreadful seasons it seems that Toyota have finally made a more competitive car. Indeed they were one of the only teams to start with a blank piece of paper for their 2008 car, most teams being content to revise their 2007 cars considering the rule changes coming in to place next year.

Coulthard, having been openly critical of Massa’s move in the Australian Grand Prix which took him out of the race, has since changed the mirrors on his Red Bull – perhaps not the best advert for being innocent?

Although Ferrari can leave the weekend with a well-deserved win it will be playing on their minds that, after losing three cars to engine failures last weekend (Raikkonen, Massa and a Toro Rosso which uses a Ferrari engine), Adrian Sutil’s engine (another Ferrari customer) failed on Friday. It is rare for even one engine to fail during a weekend’s racing, let alone an average of 2 every Grand Prix.

The Australian Grand Prix it wasn’t; there were certainly less accidents for a start, but Sepang’s final results were a remarkably fair reflection on all the drivers’ and cars’ pace. The BMWs were the second quickest cars out there, behind the Ferraris. While the McLarens, even though they started down in 8^th and 9^th, really didn’t have the pace to have fought for a win.

Well done Kimi for another typically relaxed win.

Constructors Championship

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An all Ferrari front row and an all McLaren second row; the British outfit is saying that Ferrari must be carrying more fuel, Ferrari are saying that Massa did a particularly good Q3 lap and Nick Heidfeld is quite rightly complaining about cars being in the way on his flying lap. Oh and both ‘number 2s’ out qualified their team-mates.

The Ferraris are definitely carrying more fuel than the McLarens but the gap is too big for that to be the only reason why they are struggling round the Malaysian circuit. McLaren will be running longer in the first stint but whether it is long enough, I doubt it. Ferrari have got their act together since Australia and we will see a much better reflection on just how much they have progressed over the winter months.

It was really down to Nick Heidfeld’s driving that prevented what could have been a monumental accident during his final flying lap as many of the other cars on the track were cruising round, saving fuel, having already completed their fast lap. There is nothing strange in that but many of them were sitting on the racing line, meaning that Heidfeld, who was still at race speed, had to weave in and out of them losing perhaps two hundredths of a second. This would have pushed him up to P3 ahead of Kovalainen.

As to why the other cars were on the racing line is unclear, although I wouldn’t have thought that they had seen Heidfeld approaching, such was his closing speed. Something desperately needs to be done – whether the cars have to complete the lap in a minimum time or have a minimum speed (off the racing line) I am not sure but it is only a matter of time before we see a rear-end of huge proportions.

As for the rest of the field, Trulli qualified well putting the Toyota on the third row and another strong showing from Webber put him in 8^th position. I suspect the Toyota will slip down the order in the race and the two Williams’, which qualified down in 16^th and 18^th, may well be more competitive in the race. Time will tell.

The new qualifying set-up makes such a difference – I wonder if anyone else has been surprised to find themselves on the edge of their seat at the end of Q3? I certainly was. I will no doubt be clean off it come tomorrow and the red lights going out.

Qualifying

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The Formula 1 World Championship certainly got off to an action-packed start – 9 cars taken out of contention by accidents, 5 breakdowns, a disqualification and only 7 finishers.

Hamilton avoided the carnage that unravelled behind him and romped home to take the top spot on the podium. The British driver could hardly relax as his lead was constantly cut by safety car interventions, however, he kept his cool and never put a foot wrong.

As always he congratulated the team on how well the car was running and dropped a small line about the difference to last year’s McLaren, “the car was phenomenal, a complete dream to drive compared to last year.” Whether this was a loaded comment or not – it certainly made it clear that Hamilton backs himself without the ‘help’ of Alonso’s experience in car setup and development.

The real action though, took place behind the leading McLaren. The Ferraris had a dreadful day with both cars spinning and then eventually retiring with engine failures. Massa was quick to say that Ferraris shouldn’t have such problems but if I am not mistaken it was exactly this that gave Alonso a second title in 2006, when Schumacher’s car drifted to a halt.

The Scuderia will no doubt be quick to sort the problem but it must be playing on their minds having come away from a Grand Prix weekend with only 1 point. Nowadays it is rare for even a single car to break down, unless of course you were driving a Red Bull last year, so for both to come to grinding halt… well it will be about as easy to stomach as their arch rival cruising to an easy victory, especially with their record at Albert Park.

Kovalainen was one of the unlucky, fortunate drivers of the day. Fortunate because he managed to avoid the various impacts happening around him but unlucky because a third safety car period meant that his pit stop left him well down the order. Ron Dennis was clearly pleased when the Finn overtook Alonso near the end but sadly Kovalainen accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter button while removing a tear-off from his visor, letting Alonso cruise past with 1 lap remaining. The fact that he got the fastest lap of the race will be small consolation. Still, his debut for McLaren was certainly more successful than his opening race for Renault.

Alonso showed just what a class act he is while carving through the field and pulling off great manoeuver after great manoeuver. Although the Renault was clearly off the pace, he managed to bring the car home 4th. Piquet’s debut was similar to Kovalainen’s first few races last season – the Brazilian spent much of the race running at the back and was eventually taken out of contention when his car was involved in an accident.

Honda had a similarly bad day as Button was involved in an accident at turn one on the opening lap and Barrichello, having finished in 6th was later disqualified for leaving the pit lane on a red light, giving Raikkonen the point.

Rosberg got his first podium with a solid third position and rightly so; he drove a good race and proved that this will be the first of many now that the car is competitive enough to occasionally trouble the McLarens, Ferraris, and BMWs. Heidfeld took second place and it was a shame that Kubica, after such a good qualifying, was involved in an accident which ended his race just over ten laps from the end.

I can’t believe that every Formula 1 race this season will be as chaotic as Albert Park – but it just may be that banning traction control was the sport’s best move in recent history. To see the likes of Raikkonen pushing it hard enough to spin while attempting to overtake someone was a reminder of just how difficult these cars are to keep on the straight and narrow when on the limit. The Finn shrugged off his erratic driving in typical fashion by merely saying that he “was a bit too optimistic.”

It was the unlikely face of Nakajima that summed the day up though, after bringing the second Williams home in 6th place, he concluded that “to get to the end today was great.” How right he was, and long may unpredictable Formula 1 continue.

Manufacturer standings

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The 2008 Formula 1 season is being hailed by many as possibly the most exciting in recent history. F1 Racing went as far as to say that it is “the hottest title fight since Senna and Prost”. The Alonso vs Räikkönen vs Hamilton battle is certainly of interest but I just don’t see Renault being able to make up all the ground they lost last year with their R27 and being serious challengers for the title.

Ferrari are looking ominously fast in testing – Räikkönen taking almost 2 seconds of last year’s lap time in Bahrain and Massa not far off. The McLarens also look as though they have made a positive step forward since 2007’s nightmare.

If you find yourself flicking through the pages of Ladbrokes.com in the near future you’ll see that they have tipped Kimi to win the Championship on 11/8 while Hamilton is at 2/1. Other interesting odds to win the title… Massa 9/2, Alonso 7/1, Kovalainen 10/1, Button 80/1. Alonso to leave Renault? Apparently that’s a safe bet at evens.

Although I don’t completely agree I do think that Massa has more of a chance to win his first World Championship than Alonso does of taking home his third.
What many people seem to have overlooked is the Kovalainen/Hamilton battle. Lewis has been at McLaren for years, is settled, fast, determined and the only thing he has going against him is that there is more pressure than last year. Heikki on the other hand, has little to no pressure and is seemingly just as quick if not quicker – in recent tests he has frequently gone up to 1.5 seconds faster than his British team-mate. Obviously times in testing can be very misleading and as everyone is saying, you can’t tell how fast anyone is until the Australian Grand Prix.

Now the real difference between McLaren and Ferrari won’t be seen until that first qualifying session but if the Woking-based manufacturer is on the pace, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kovalainen was challenging for the title. He had a rocky start in 2007 but he has apparently changed his training schedule to make sure he is au point, come Melbourne. If I had less sense I may just be tempted putting a tenner on the Fin to win.

Sadly I was also the person that thought Scotland were the dark horses in the Six Nations and now we are 2 matches and 2 embarrassing losses in, I feel like a bit of an idiot. Never before (perhaps apart from Honda) have I seen a team remain so positive in the face of such mediocrity. Although they do have an alarming ability to lose the ball in any breakdown situation, they just don’t have the confidence to really threaten any other nation.

If Kovalainen shares the same fate as beloved Scotland, consider this blog deleted.

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