Massa takes pole, Alonso compromised

Felipe Massa pipped Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the French Grand Prix today much to the delight of a rejuvenated Ferrari squad. Fernando Alonso’s chances of taking the top spot were severely compromised after a gearbox problem put an end to his qualifying session – he will start the race from 10th on the grid.

Disaster for Alonso. Mclaren have had such fantastic reliability this year so it came as something of a shock to see the Fernando sit out the qualifying session. Thank goodness he didn’t have to change his engine and take a grid penalty.

On the one hand it is slightly disappointing not to have both Ferrari and Mclaren battling it out on the top. However, Alonso is by no means out of the picture. Tenth position isn’t too far back and the Adelaide hairpin does provide some opportunity for overtaking. I’m looking forward to see him battle his way through the traffic. Watch out for that first lap though, I’m expecting chaos down to that hairpin.

Once again Massa sprung a surprise to take pole. A member of my family described the Brazilian has a “crafty little monkey”. Indeed, I was expecting Raikkonen to take the top spot today. Both Ferrari looked pretty evenly matched in qualifying two so I wouldn’t be surprised if Raikkonen is carrying a heavier fuel load. And if Hamilton’s body language in the press conference is anything to go by he too could be running a few laps longer.

It is mighty close between those top three. Hamilton looked awesome through the last sector and perhaps has a tiny bit more time in hand given that he had a scruffy first sector.

I’m slightly worried about the start. I wouldn’t be surprised if Massa and Hamilton have a coming together. Massa has something to prove against Hamilton after their shenanigans at Sepang. And if Hamilton goes for one of his first corner lunges up the inside don’t expect Massa to leave the door open. Indeed, I think the fact that he came out on top after Alonso tried his hand at the first corner of the Spanish Grand Prix will have given him something of a confidence booster in startline combat.

Further down the grid we have got the Renaults of Fissichella and Kovalainen looking in pretty good shape at their team’s home track. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in the battle between BMW Sauber and Renault.

BMW to some extents have flat lined. They have never really looked as though they could take the fight to the Ferrari’s and Mclarens. Excellent job by Kubica though. ITV Sport’s Mark Blundell was commenting how drivers simply dust themselves off and get on with the job after a big accident. But there is no way that you are going to convince me that an impact like Kubica’s doesn’t have any effect on a driver. So I thought his performance today was pretty special.

After performing strongly in practice a notable absence from the top ten are the Adrian Newey designed cars. Reliability problems yet again prevented David Coulthard from making the top ten. Meanwhile Mark Webber simply didn’t get it together. As far as I know he didn’t suffer from any traffic problems so he really only has himself to blame. The pace was there as he demonstrated in the first session by going sixth fastest.

Honda have showed some signs of improvement with Button and Barrichello lining up 12th and 13th. Their new B-spec car doesn’t seem to have lifted them radically up the grid though.

And finally poor Alexander Wurz still doesn’t look as though he has got to grips with the qualifying format.

Qualifying Times:

1.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m15.034s 
2.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m15.104s
3.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m15.257s
4.  KUBICA       BMW           1m15.493s
5.  FISICHELLA   Renault       1m15.674s
6.  KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m15.826s
7.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m15.900s
8.  TRULLI       Toyota        1m15.935s
9.  ROSBERG      Williams      1m16.328s
10. ALONSO       McLaren       no time
11. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m15.534s
12. BUTTON       Honda         1m15.584s
13. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m15.761s
14. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m15.806s
15. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m16.049s
16. COULTHARD    Red Bull      no time
17. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m16.142s
18. WURZ         Williams      1m16.241s
19. SATO         Super Aguri   1m16.244s
20. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m16.366s
21. ALBERS       Spyker        1m17.826s
22. SUTIL        Spyker        1m17.915s

Picture: BBC Sport

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Ferrari close the gap

It looks as though Ferrari are back in the hunt. Fantastic. If the 2007 season needs anything it’s a renewed fight for the constructors title.

Mclaren have been dominating for too many races. Regardless of whether or not they have been using team-orders we have certainly been robbed of a duel – both tactical and on-track – between the red and silver cars.

Ferrari seem to be sporting just about a new everything at France: new front and rear wings, new bodywork and new airbox. And it seems to be paying dividends if Friday’s practice times are anything to go by.

The team’s three tenth-of-a-second advantage over Mclaren by no means indicates a Ferrari revival. Indeed, both Raikkonen and Massa, I’m informed set their quick times on new rubber suggesting that Mclaren (who didn’t) might have some time in the bag. But it is certainly a massive improvement if you think where they were at Indianapolis.

And how about those Torro Rossos? Glory hunting on qualifying fuel levels or legitimate pace from their new seamless shift gear box? A little of both I suspect.

But a strong showing in practice from David Coulthard suggests that the Adrian Newey designed cars are generally well suited to the super smooth characteristics of Magny-Cours.

It seems that Torro Rossos practice pace has yet to radically influence the betting market (see HERE) with at least one bookmaker offering odds of 25/1 on Luizzi scoring a points finish.

It’s Mclaren who are favourites to take the win at France. Once again the F1 community will be asking which one. Can Hamilton make it a hat-trick or is it his time for a mistake?

Practice Session 2

1.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m15.453s
2.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m15.488s
3.  SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m15.773s
4.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m15.780s
5.  LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m15.952s
6.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m15.958s
7.  ROSBERG      Williams      1m16.003s
8.  ALONSO       McLaren       1m16.049s
9.  DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m16.162s
10. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m16.184s
11. FISICHELLA   Renault       1m16.205s
12. KUBICA       BMW           1m16.236s
13. WURZ         Williams      1m16.260s
14. TRULLI       Toyota        1m16.285s
15. BUTTON       Honda         1m16.395s
16. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m16.562s
17. KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m16.735s
18. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m16.950s
19. HEIDFELD     BMW           1m16.968s
20. SATO         Super Aguri   1m17.165s
21. SUTIL        Spyker        1m18.213s
22. ALBERS       Spyker        1m18.708s

Practice session 1:

1.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m15.392s
2.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m15.447s
3.  ALONSO       Mclaren       1m16.154s
4.  ROSBERG      Williams      1m16.214s
5.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m16.268s
6.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m16.277s
7.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m16.388s
8.  WURZ         Williams      1m16.407s
9.  KUBICA       BMW           1m16.441s
10. TRULLI       Toyota        1m16.603s
11. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m16.895s
12. SATO         Super Aguri   1m16.967s
13. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m16.990s
14. BUTTON       Honda         1m17.047s
15. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m17.103s
16. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m17.166s
17. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m17.168s
18. FISICHELLA   Renault       1m17.226s
19. KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m17.348s
20. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m17.435s
21. ALBERS       Spyker        1m18.178s
22. SUTIL        Spyker        1m18.419s

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Just how fast is the new Honda?

It seems Honda have discovered a performance advantage over their B-team Super Aguri. There have been mixed reports about the size of the gap however.

Following an extensive test at Jerez which saw the introduction of Honda’s B-spec RA107 technical director Shuhei Nakamoto said:

“We made some good progress at the three-day test in Jerez this week where the excellent weather allowed us to fully complete our planned programme.

“We were therefore able to sign off various new mechanical parts and an aerodynamic upgrade for the RA107 as well as further improvement to the stability under breaking.”

There are rumours that the RA107 is around a second a lap faster than the Super Aguri cars.

However none of the F1 news services have cited their sources for this information.

Publicly, Nakamoto has predicted only a “small improvement in performance in both qualifying and the race next weekend.”

And engineering director Jacky Eeckelaert anticipated a “small step forward.”

If the more optimistic rumours are true then this would be massive progress for the Japanese team.

In Qualifying two at Indianapolis Antony Davidson went sixteenth fastest with a time of 1m 13.259. A time of 1m 12.259 would have put the Honda right in the mix just behind the Ferrari’s and BMW of Nick Heidfeld.

Of course you would have to factor in the gains that other teams have made over the two week break. Nevertheless Jenson Button will be praying that the one second rumours are true.

Predictions anyone? I don’t think Honda are going to radically haul themselves up the grid. A bad design is a bad design however many amendments you make. In my view Honda should be pooling all there resources into next year’s car. This was the approach taken by Red Bull and it seems to be paying dividends.

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2007 Safety Car Rules

The new safety car regulations raise a lot of questions. Primarily do the benefits outweigh the costs? In my opinion the regulations were introduced without consideration being given to the consequences.

I was glad to see that Chris has raised the issues surrounding the new safety car regulations.

When I first hear about this new regulations, I was slightly confused. I couldn’t understand the logic. I now understand the basis rational – primarily to stop cars rushing back to the pits, once a safety car has been deployed, under potentially hazards, yellow flag conditions.

But it seems ridiculous that drivers are being penalised for pitting whilst the pit lane’s closed, when the alternative is running out of fuel. It sounds like the regulations were introduced without proper consideration of the consequences.

But how can the FIA cure the unfortunate symptom, without reverting back to the old ruling. If you only permit cars that genuinely require fuel to come into the pits, whilst the pit lane is closed, every team will claim they ‘needed fuel’, in order to seek an advantage.

A solution might be that teams are required to disclose to the FIA how much fuel their cars are carrying at the start of each race, and to provide a record of how much fuel actually enters each car during every pit stop. From this data an official can surely assess whether a specific car required fuel or not. Sever penalties should be imposed for a breach of the rules.

But that might result in Sunday races being decided in a dark room after the race, rather than on the race track.

I have to admit that I have always been a fan of the old safety car re-shuffle – so I am slightly biased. I have been a Formula One fan for many years, and have always taken great enjoyment watching the chaos that a safety car deployment causes. Nobody can deny that a safety car deployment shuffles the deck.

I’m going off on a slight tangent – but I have a point. For years, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher dominated Formula One. The Ferrari was so fast and reliable, if M. Schumacher was leading after the first corner, you pretty much knew he would win the race. This level of predictability made fans off, and branded the sport, “boring”. As a fan, I always hoped for rain or a safety car, since it brought unpredictably. Nobody really knew who would be the winners and the losers. Many could argue that that’s meddling. A race should be contested on the track.

Like any professional sport, Formula One is a form of entertainment. Ultimately if the sport becomes ‘boring’, people will stop watching, sponsors will withdraw their cash, and Formula One will shut up shop. The new regulations restrict the level of unpredictability that a safety car deployment can deliver, and therefore reduces the potential entertainment value (for me at least).

I know what many readers might be thinking. The sport can have unpredictability without the likes of a safety car. I would totally agree. The FIA should focus more attention on designing tracks and cars that encourage overtaking. But that in itself is meddling!

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Should the 2007 safety car rules be changed?

TTS's ‘Exposing the Hamilton Myths’ post yesterday raised an interesting question over the 2007 safety car rules: do they encourage teams to bring their cars in earlier than expected?

At Monaco, Canada and Indianapolis, Mclaren have felt the need to factor in the safety car in their strategies, bringing their cars in early to avoid a safety car situation. Arguably, this has prevented a straight fight between Alonso and Hamilton making the true performance difference between the two drivers very difficult to assess.

To recap, on the deployment of the safety car the pitlane is declared closed while the cars line-up behind it. Backmarkers will be allowed to unlap themselves by overtaking the safety car (when signalled to do so by its green light) and slowly make their way around the track. Under the safety car no cars are allowed to enter the pits for refuelling until all the cars are lined up behind the safety car in race order (at which point the pitlane is declared open). Doing so will result in a ten second penalty – as Alonso and Rosberg discovered to their detriment at Canada.

The new system has its advantages. It generally makes things fairer. Under the old rules, on deployment of the safety car, whether drivers could make a pit-stop and get out unaffected pretty much depended on chance, i.e. where drivers were on the track and whether or not they been got picked by the car. Indeed some drivers could make huge gains by simply being in the right place at the right time.

Another product of the old system was the inevitable mixing up of front-runners with backmarkers which complicated restarts. Personally I think this is one of the good things about the new rules. It’s great that we now have a proper drag race once the safety car peels off.

However the main weakness to the new rules is the ten second penalty for entering the pitlane even if the driver is forced to stop because he is at risk of running out of fuel.

This combined with the fact that drivers can no longer make a pit stop on the same lap that the safety car is deployed acts as a major incentive to anticipate the safety car and pit a couple of laps early as Mclaren have done.

Of course, Mclaren are in the position where they can afford to bring their cars in early. They haven’t been in a position where they are racing another team and need to utilise the advantage that comes with a light fuel load. But it does seem to contradict the idea that they are genuinely letting their drivers race.

In short, the new safety car rules could promote a culture where pre-empting the deployment of the safety car becomes a norm for Mclaren (or any other team), robbing fans of an honest fight between their drivers. So should the rules be changed in anyway?

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Exposing the myths

I thought I would post this interesting and welcomed criticism from my friend – an avid Coulthard supporter – in a bid to counter the Hamilton bias that pervades this blog. In this post he explores the issue of driver favouritism at Mclaren, assess the true impact of the ‘Hamilton effect’ and looks at the use of team tactics at the US GP.

Alonso vs. Hamilton

You made reference to the fact that Alonso feels that the McLaren team is giving Hamilton preferential treatment (HERE and HERE). You went onto to claim that Alonso’s got a chip on his shoulder (HERE). I argue that Alonso’s claims are justified. [Cont...]

Hamilton has had an association with McLaren for over seven years. He has grown up and is known within the team. It’s only natural for the benefactor and mentor (Dennis) to want to see his investment succeed. Alonso will never be able to replicate that relationship. It’s very similar to the relationship between Ron Dennis and Mika Hakkinen. Mika Hakkinen’s near death experience in the red and white McLaren created a bond that could never be replicated by David Coulthard, even though neither drivers (at the beginning of a season at least) were shown ‘preferential treatment’.

We shouldn’t loose sight of the fact that very few rookies start their career in the ‘best’ car. Alonso started his career in a Minardi. Kimi Raikkonen started his career in a Sauber. Even the great Michael Schumacher started his career in a Jordan. Although he is an amazing driver, he wouldn’t he breaking records if he wasn’t driving the best car. If you want to measure a driver’s success, you should compare him against his teammate. F1 racing recently published an article comparing Hamilton and Alonso’s qualifying times, after factoring in their fuel load. Alonso out qualified Hamilton in the first five races. You won’t have known it given the media coverage. I don’t deny that Hamilton has produced excellent performances, some in which he clearly out performed his two-time world champion teammate. But he’s doing thing with absolutely no pressure. Yes, expectations are not being formed, but he still has relatively little pressure on his shoulder, compared with Alonso. When you are the reigning champion, you are considered to be the best. That brings a mountain of pressure. So I argue that the ‘chip’ on Alonso’s shoulder is actually pressure.

The Hamilton Effect

I refuse to be drawn into this media run hysteria, which has been labelled the ‘Hamilton effect’. Some may say that perception is reality. Well let me roll out a couple of facts:

(1) After the Canadian GP, the ITV website published a pole asking fans to vote for their ‘Driver of the Day’. You’d think Hamilton would have a landslide win, given that he’s just won his first grand prix. But he didn’t. Sato won the pole quite comfortably, because of his unexpected overtaking manoeuvre on Alonso. The ITV published a similar pole after the US grand prix, again asking fans to vote for their Driver of the Day. During the grand prix, Hamilton resisted Alonso and went onto to win his second grand prix. So you’d think he’d win the pole comfortably. You may be surprise to discover that Alonso was voted the Driver of Day.

(2) You’d think Silverstone would be sold out, given the rise of the next British hopeful. Tickets are still available. This may be due to extortionate ticket prices, but there has been a price freeze this year. And the event was sold out last year.

(3) UK viewing figures for the first three races were down ten percent on last year’s figure (an article in F1 Racing). That absolutely amazes me.

All of this paints a very different impression on the effect Hamilton is actually having. Hamilton is great for F1, there is no denying that, but Hamilton is not mustering up the type of support that the media would suggest.

United States Grand Prix

You commented on how Hamilton ‘nailed’ Alonso fair and square (HERE). Really??!! Before the race it was widely thought that Alonso had enough fuel to run three or four laps further than Hamilton. Alonso couldn’t exploit this, after the team called both drivers in just in case a safety car deployed. Have you every heard anything so ridiculous. Why didn’t any of the other teams have the same concerns? You don’t see the Ferrari calling their cars into the pits to put wet weather tyres, because they ‘feel’ it is about to rain. It could be argued that this restricted Alonso, and prevented him from exploiting his fuel strategy that would have seen him pass Hamilton.

You went on to comment how the drag race on Lap 38 was as a result of Alonso exploiting back markers. You wrote it in such a negative sense, as if Alonso drivers shouldn’t exploit every opportunity.

If we are going to identify negatives, one of Hamilton’s major failing has been his ability to negotiate traffic. It can’t have helped him to call back markers ‘monkeys’. If a white driver had made that remark it would have been regarded as racist. And this comment shows his lack of knowledge of what it’s like to be in a ‘middle of the pack’ team. Hamilton did show a lot of maturity and composure as he resisted Alonso’s challenge. But Alonso showed maturity, by seeing the bigger picture. A person with a chip on his shoulder might have taken both cars out of race in pursuit of the lead. But he didn’t.

You commented on how Alonso is used to ‘relying on team-play at Renault to support him’. That’s a very misleading comment. Alonso was regularly two or three positions ahead of Fisichella’s car, which ruled out any team assistance.

I think you were getting quite excited when you wrote, ‘Wake up Alonso.’ I think McLaren do have a preference who comes first and second. That comes from the seven-year relationship and the amazing journey that Hamilton’s currently on. So that comment could be reversed to say, ‘Wake up Chris!’

Some additional comments about Sunday’s race:

I couldn’t believe Ralf Schumacher had the nerve to claim that Coulthard got in his way on the first corner. That’s completely ridiculous.
I’d be very surprise to see Ralf in F1 next year. He has been under-performing at every race.

I can’t get over the record producer/rapper, Martin Brundle interviewed during his grid walk. I couldn’t believe how much crap came out of one person’s mouth. Only in America!

I also shook my head when I watched his reaction in the McLaren pit, after Hamilton maintained position after the first corner. Anthony Hamilton looked very uncomfortable.

I am very impressed with Vettel. You were quite negative about him during one of your blogs. You can’t compare him to Hamilton. The BMW is not the McLaren. A BMW driver has to deal with a lot more challenging issues in the mid field, than a car at the front does. He did a good job and was closer to Heidfeld than you suggested. He didn’t have much time to prepare for his debut. It’s great to see so many young drivers into the sport.

More has to be said about Heidfeld. He was challenging Kimi in the driver’s championship. He is doing an amazing job for BMW. Arguably has been the driver of the season so far, based on the equipment he has.

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Hamilton does it again

Lewis Hamilton stormed to his second career win at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday after a merciless duel with team-mate Fernando Alonso.

“It just keeps getting better and better – what an amazing week this has been. I can’t believe that I have won and am so incredibly grateful to the team who have worked to hard to continue the development which has seen us taking one-two here today,” said Hamilton.

“It’s been a long and hot day, but I have really enjoyed myself and the support from the fans,” he added.

The English language is fast becoming exhausted of superlatives for describing rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton. What an absolutely stunning drive from the 22-year-old. If you thought his victory at Montreal a week ago was special think again. [Cont…]

The challenge this time came not from an intense demand for clear headedness in the face of chaos but from a fired up double world champion with a chip on his shoulders.

And I think this is what will make the victory sweeter for Hamilton. This time he nailed Alonso fair and square.

And boy was it impressive to watch. Lap 38 – in which Alonso, aided by back-markers, got close enough to the gearbox of Hamilton to get in his slipstream and pull up alongside him on the main straight – was breathtaking and instantly invoked that classic image of Mansell and Senna duelling it out on the pit straight at Barcelona.

This was pistols at dawn F1 style. All the sparring in the media this week climaxed at this single pivotal moment. Who would dare to break later?

That Hamilton drove a faultless defence did not seem please Alonso. We still don’t know exactly what he was playing at in the next lap when he swerved towards the pit lane. Some have suggested it was a message to the team along the lines of “I’m quicker let me through.”

But Alonso maintained that he was simply trying to get some fresh air: “I followed the other car for so many laps and my overalls and everything were so black because the carbon breaks were coming into me every breaking point,” he said.

You would have to say that Alonso looked rattled. It is too coincidental that he chose that particular lap, just after he had failed to get past Hamilton, to clean his brakes.

It is complacency pure and simple. He is too used to his experiences at Renault where a) his championship rival was in another team, b) he was faster than his team-mate and c) he could readily rely on team-play to support him.

But he must realise by now that there is no way Mclaren are going to order Hamilton to simply get out of the way for him.

Okay so he was lighter? So what? He must have had a say in the strategy. It was a tactical mistake to put less fuel at the first round of pit-stops on the grounds that Mclaren would simply order Hamilton to get out of the way.

If it had been any other driver he would have still had to pass him on the track to make the strategy work. Indeed, this would have probably influenced him and his mechanics to put more fuel not less at the first stop.

It’s time to wake up Alonso. The team doesn’t care which of its drivers come first and second.

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Comparisons?

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Hamilton seals Indy pole

Lewis Hamilton grabbed pole position for the second time running this afternoon after he edged out team-mate Fernando Alonso by just under two tenths of a second. Once again Mclaren got the better of rivals Ferrari with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen making up the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s US Grand Prix.

How about that then? Huge psychological blow to Alonso; he really needed to send out a message to Hamilton today reinstating himself as the team’s number one. I have to admit that I thought Hamilton would be lucky to get on the front row of the grid let alone take the front spot. But then maybe I read too much into practice. [Cont...]

Let’s wait until the fuel loads are revealed but Mclaren will be pleased to have pulled one over Ferrari again especially at Indianapolis where a strong showing has been something of a given for the Italian team.

BMW were looking particularly strong with Nick Heidfeld eventually finishing in fifth position – a mistake in the final sector prevented him splitting the Mclarens and Ferraris – and debutant Sebastian Vettel lining up seventh. Past form hints at a possible one stop strategy for the BMW cars which would be no bad thing at Indianapolis with its long pit lane. And who knows, another safety car situation could see the blue and white cars come away with a podium.

Vettel was impressive but not mind blowing. The problem is that Hamilton has set a new benchmark as Vettel himself acknowledged:

“Lewis set the bar high so all the beginners have to do something to get close to him,” he told ITV Sport.

But the young German will have to get closer to Heidfeld than seven tenths of a second if he is to show he deserves a full time race seat at BMW.

Mechanics will be scratching their heads at Maranello. Ferrari have made a number of aerodynamic changes since Spain where they last enjoyed a performance advantage over Mclaren. Most notably a new ‘double curved’ rear wing that was introduced to suit the medium to low downforce demands of Canada and Indianapolis. The changes clearly haven’t been as effective as Mclaren’s for the medium downforce tracks. Rob Jones suggests HERE that Ferrari’s problems may also have something to do with getting to grips with the now standardised Bridgestone tyres.

I think there is another factor to consider: driver competition. It is something that is prevalent at both Mclaren and BMW in abundance. There is no doubt in my mind that the rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton is pushing the team forward with both drivers finding that crucial extra tenth on driving resource alone.

At BMW Nick Heidfeld has been under pressure to retain his seat since last year. And he is a different driver because of it, no question. Would he have achieved the same results as this year if Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel hadn’t come into the scene? I doubt it.

With Ferrari though there just doesn’t seem to be that same sense of rivalry and infighting. I don’t understand what is going on in Raikkonen’s mind at the moment. I still think on a clear day he is quicker than Massa he just needs some kind of hurry up. Maybe he should start accusing Ferrari of favouring the Brazilian.

But perhaps I’m jumping the gun. Ferrari could well be one-stopping which could enable them to mount a challenge on Mclaren. If not it’s going to be seventy three laps of Alonso vs. Hamilton. Game on.

Further down the grid it will be interesting to see if Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard can make their way through the pack. And can Webber and Trulli finally shake off their ‘qualifying only’ images?

Qualifying times

1.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m12.331s 
2.  ALONSO       McLaren       1m12.500s
3.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m12.703s
4.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m12.839s
5.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m12.847s
6.  KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m13.308s
7.  VETTEL       BMW           1m13.513s
8.  TRULLI       Toyota        1m13.789s
9.  WEBBER       Red Bull      1m13.871s
10. FISICHELLA   Renault       1m13.953s
11. COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m12.873s
12. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m12.920s
13. BUTTON       Honda         1m12.998s
14. ROSBERG      Williams      1m13.060s
15. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m13.201s
16. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m13.259s
17. WURZ         Williams      1m13.441s
18. SATO         Super Aguri   1m13.477s
19. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m13.484s
20. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m13.712s
21. SUTIL        Spyker        1m14.122s
22. ALBERS       Spyker        1m14.597s

Picture Source: BBC Sport

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Vettel shines in practice 3

Sebastien Vettel, the stand in for BMW’s Robert Kubica, put in a strong performance in final practice this afternoon ending the session in second place just over a tenth of a second behind Fernando Alonso.

No time for any analysis I’m afraid but here are the times. [Cont...]

1.  ALONSO       McLaren       1m12.150s
2.  VETTEL       BMW           1m12.321s
3.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m12.378s
4.  KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m12.574s
5.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m12.646s
6.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m12.692s
7.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m12.709s
8.  FISICHELLA   Renault       1m12.710s
9.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m12.940s
10. ROSBERG      Williams      1m13.031s
11. TRULLI       Toyota        1m13.057s
12. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m13.061s
13. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m13.069s
14. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m13.289s
15. BUTTON       Honda         1m13.318s
16. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m13.415s
17. SATO         Super Aguri   1m13.476s
18. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m13.573s
19. WURZ         Williams      1m13.626s
20. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m13.979s
21. SUTIL        Spyker        1m14.142s
22. ALBERS       Spyker        1m14.402s

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Domencicali: Michael is part of our team

What is Michael Schumacher’s role at Ferrari? How much does he get paid? Is he having F1 withdrawl symptoms or is he just lonley?

Stefano Domencicali fuelled further speculation about the seven world champion’s purpose in life with these comments in today's press conference:

"Michael is part of our team. You have seen sometimes that he is at the races but that is not the main role and the main activity that he has. He's working with us and mainly with us and with our engineers in order to give his advice, his contribution to the way that he knows how to work around the car. This is something connected to F1 but he has also an important role on the other side of the factory on the road cars. His experience is very important in tuning up the cars for our customers."
[ENDS]

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Alonso on top after Indy practice

We’ve got a real race on our hands this weekend at Indianapolis if today’s practice times are anything to go by.

Once again its advantage Mclaren after Fernando Alonso finished both sessions at the top of the timesheets closely followed by Lewis Hamilton in second practice.

But the gap over Ferrari was much less than it was at Monaco and Canada. Felipe Massa went third quickest in P2, less than three tenths of a second shy of Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen followed his Brazilian team-mate a further tenth behind. [Cont...]

You can really look at this in two ways: either Ferrari have made progress and closed the gap to Mclaren since Canada; or the tendency for the team’s cars to go well at the speedway circuit is simply masking a bigger performance gap.

However your glass is filled we are in for a close battle come race day on more than one front.

First we have this fantastic rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton. Alonso will desperately want to re-establish himself in the team and in the championship after a very public row – instigated by both drivers it has to be said – over perceived favouritism at Mclaren. And Hamilton just wants to win again, pure and simple.

For either driver to do achieve this at what is a traditional Ferrari hunting ground would be a huge coup for them and Mclaren.

Ferrari are currently some twenty points adrift in the constructor’s championship and simply have to win on Sunday at all costs. Both Massa and Raikkonen are seriously out of touch in the driver’s championship, fifteen and twenty one points respectively behind the leader.

If Ferrari are going to make any inroads in the driver’s championship they may be forced to start putting their resources behind one driver. So there is an even greater onus on Kimi Raikkoenen to get the measure of his Brazilian team-mate on Sunday.

Practice 2 session times

1.  ALONSO       McLaren       1m12.156s 
2.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m12.309s
3.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m12.435s
4.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m12.587s
5.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m13.026s
6.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m13.042s
7.  ROSBERG      Williams      1m13.057s
8.  KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m13.110s
9.  BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m13.144s
10. BUTTON       Honda         1m13.202s
11. VETTEL       BMW           1m13.217s
12. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m13.263s
13. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m13.332s
14. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m13.364s
15. FISICHELLA   Renault       1m13.394s
16. WURZ         Williams      1m13.539s
17. TRULLI       Toyota        1m13.692s
18. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m13.712s
19. SATO         Super Aguri   1m13.753s
20. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m13.765s
21. ALBERS       Spyker        1m14.225s
22. SUTIL        Spyker        1m14.513s

Practice 1 session times:

1.  ALONSO       McLaren       1m11.925s 
2.  HEIDFELD     BMW           1m12.391s
3.  HAMILTON     McLaren       1m12.628s
4.  VETTEL       BMW           1m12.869s
5.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m12.966s
6.  ROSBERG      Williams      1m13.020s
7.  MASSA        Ferrari       1m13.040s
8.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m13.159s
9.  BUTTON       Honda         1m13.597s
10. WEBBER       Red Bull      1m13.682s
11. TRULLI       Toyota        1m13.777s
12. NAKAJIMA     Williams      1m13.786s
13. SCHUMACHER   Toyota        1m13.819s
14. LIUZZI       Toro Rosso    1m13.907s
15. SPEED        Toro Rosso    1m13.990s
16. FISICHELLA   Renault       1m14.000s
17. SATO         Super Aguri   1m14.037s
18. BARRICHELLO  Honda         1m14.052s
19. KOVALAINEN   Renault       1m14.189s
20. DAVIDSON     Super Aguri   1m14.632s
21. ALBERS       Spyker        1m14.636s
22. SUTIL        Spyker        1m14.810s

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Hamilton – bookies’ Indy favourite

Lewis Hamilton heads to Indianapolis this weekend as the favourite to win the US Grand Prix following his spectacular victory at Montreal.

Bookmakers are offering odds no longer than 19/10 for while Fernando Alonso has been priced at 2/1.

The Mclarens are followed in the market by the Ferrari’s of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen who can be found priced - somewhat generously given Ferrari’s form at the speedway - at 5/1 and 11/2 (StanJames.com bookmakers) respectively.

Source: Bettingzone Oddschecker
[ENDS]

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Hamilton to keep Montreal trophy

In a further twist over the row about Mclaren favouritism it has emerged that Lewis Hamilton will become the first Mclaren driver to keep an original trophy following his maiden win at Montreal last week.

As part of a Mclaren tradition that even the likes of Senna and Prost had to adhere to, drivers are contractually obliged to give up their podium trophies so that the originals can be displayed at the Mclaren Technology Centre.

But after the Canadian Grand Prix Ron Dennis hinted that Hamilton would not be asked to relinquish his winner’s cup. [Continued…]

“That wouldn’t be right, would it?” Dennis said with a smile to the German broadcaster Premiere.

The historic trophy, marking Hamilton’s first career win, will be one of only two missing from Mclaren’s infamous display cabinet at Woking.

The only other piece of silver wear to escape the clutches of Ron Dennis is the 1989 constructors trophy that was awarded to him at the Italian Grand Prix following Alain Prost’s victory.

At the podium ceremony Dennis, angered by comments Prost had made earlier in the weekend accusing Mclaren of favouring Senna, tossed the cup down at Prost’s feet in disgust. After which the Frenchman, at the bequest of a chanting tifosi, lowered the cup into the crowds.

Someone ran off with the trophy and it has never been seen since.

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An apology

I owe Fernando Alonso an apology I think. Reflecting my post HERE I think I was a bit too harsh in my analysis of his comments to the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

Ron Dennis has since moved to diffuse the row over perceived favouritism at Mclaren after the Spanish press seized on Alonso’s comments. Dennis said:

“It is completely understandable that the results of each Grand Prix are going to provide both the British and Spanish media with an opportunity to hang on every word that the drivers say. And sometimes quotes are taken out of context which can put a completely different spin on an innocent remark. [Continued...]

“The Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes team is made up by extremely passionate and competitive people and there is a healthy competition between the teams working on each car - this is inevitable and there is no issue with that.

“However I can categorically state, once again, that both drivers have equal equipment, equal support and equal opportunity to win within the team and both Fernando and Lewis know and support this.

“Fernando’s comments when read carefully are correct - he has not been with the team long and the relationship can only continue to develop. The team is not going to do anything to jeopardise this positive and growing partnership.”

I still don’t understand what Alonso was hoping to achieve with his comments and I think there is some truth to Kevin Garside’s comments in today’s Daily Telegraph: “Alonso is a clever fellow. He has a surgeon’s precision with language. Only productive incisions are made. He was not misquoted, as has sometimes been the case.”

Misquoted he may not have been but Ron Dennis is absolutely right when he talks about the danger of taking words out of context. Indeed, I think in the heat of the moment I made this fatal error in my post yesterday. In the crunch quote – “I am with a British teammate in a British team – and everyone knows that all of their support and help is for him” – Alonso could well be referring to general support, advice and care rather than technical or mechanical assistance. This is understandable given that Hamilton is a rookie.

I would be interested to look at the whole transcript of the Cadena Ser interview.

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Sidepodcast.com: Canada GP

I just sat down to listen to Sidepodcast.com's Canada Episode and to my amazement they gave me a free plug. I couldn't let this go without returning the favour so please go and listen to their excellent and very funny take on all things Formula One at Sidepodcast.com.

Episode 21 which covers the Canadian Grand Prix can be found HERE. I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet but I'm informed that it will include Marmots.

ENDS

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Alonso uncomfortable at Mclaren

So much for Mclaren’s communications clamp down. Fernando Alonso has gone on record this week with comments that effectively accuse the Woking-based outfit of favouring Lewis Hamilton.

“I am with a British teammate in a British team – and everyone knows that all of their support and their help is for him,” he told the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

“But I have always understood this and I do not complain about it,” he added.

Complete trite. Continued…

There is no way you are going to convince me that Alonso joined Mclaren and went into this season believing that he would be anything other than the team’s leader and main championship contender.

I don’t know quite what Alonso is trying to achieve with these comments but it is completely ludicrous – and even insulting to the mechanics – to suggest that Mclaren have been favouring Hamilton, especially after Monaco.

It smacks of the Prost outbursts in the early 90s over favouritism from Mclaren and Honda to Ayrton Senna, when in fact he was just slower than the Brazilian.

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Wurz

And the award for accurately summing the Canadian Grand Prix in the fewest words possible goes to Alexander Wurz:

"It was hell."

ENDS

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Hamilton keeps his cool to win chaotic Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton kept a clear head to take his first ever F1 victory today in a bizarre Canadian Grand Prix which saw the safety car deployed no fewer than four times, including in response to a horrific accident involving BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica.
It’s a bit too late to do a news write up covering all of today’s drama (see HERE and HERE for comprehensive race overviews) but here are some of my thoughts on today’s race. Continued...

If you’d told me just how manic today’s race was going to be I would have put my money on Alonso taking the win. Yet it was Hamilton who kept his cool today while the Spaniard seriously struggled in the face of pressure. Alonso was rattled by his rookie team-mate today. No question about it. We saw it in qualifying yesterday when he made that costly mistake into the final chicane. And again in today’s race; I lost count of the number of times he lost it into turn one. I don’t know why but it reminded me of Australia 1998 when a normally cool calm and collected Mika Hakkinen suddenly turned wild after he was wrongly brought in for his pitstop.

Alonso was unlucky to be caught out by the closure of the pit lane after the first safety car incident and there’s no doubt that his ten second penalty was also playing on his mind.

But Hamilton was simply too good today. I was particularly impressed by the way he defended his position at the start and didn’t feel the need to try and outbreak Alonso which would have undoubtedly ruined both of the Mclarens’ races.

Robert Kubica’s crash on lap 26 was huge and I was seriously concerned for his safety for a while. I hope something is done to prevent that kind of accident again in the future. If he had flown over that barrier god knows what could have happened. Incidentally, invert the track there and the incident, in terms of impact angle, and quite probably speed as well, wasn’t dissimilar to Roland Ratzenberger’s fatal collision at Imola 1994.

The main winners of the safety car deployments were Wurz, who looked chuffed to bits with his third place, and Kovalainen who must have been surprised to finish fourth given his miserable weekend.

Another driver that I think is worth a mention is Nico Rosberg. Despite the fact that he failed to score a point after a ten second penalty and an invisible tangle with Jarno Trulli, I was impressed with the way that he was able to hold on to the pace of the Ferrari’s in the early part of the race. He has looked just as quick as Lewis Hamilton this year I think. And what with the probable promotion of Sebastian Vettel to a race seat following Kubica’s accident, we are certainly going to have an interesting ‘battle of the rookies’ on our hands in coming races.

Sato too has looked good all weekend. Okay so he got a bit lucky with the way the safety cars worked out but stunning overtaking manoeuvres on Schumacher and Alonso in the dying stages of the race reiterated just why he can be so exciting to watch at times.

In terms of the championship, Alonso could end up having nightmares about this race. His seventh place has seriously compromised him putting him eight points adrift of Hamilton.

But it is undoubtedly Ferrari that leave Montreal the biggest losers. Outrageously off the pace all weekend, a disqualification for Massa – he ignored the red light leaving the pit lane under the safety car – and a fifth place for Raikkonen leave the Scuderia 28 points behind Mclaren. I suggested HERE that Kimi Raikkonen would be out of the title hunt if he left Indianapolis 19 points adrift of the championship leader; the deficit is currently 21 points.

There are going to be a lot of drivers with Hamilton on their hit list at Indy. Roll on the brickyard.

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Time to snap up Heidfeld, Mario

When are BMW going to get their act together and sign up Nick Heidfeld for 2008? Its madness. How much more convincing do they need?

Yesterday’s qualifying performance from ‘quick Nick’ – he went third quickest – was absolutely sensational.

His effort in Q2 was particularly special. Having had his hot lap deleted due to cutting the final chicane the German was under serious pressure in the dying stages of the session. He could have easily settled for a conservative lap but instead hanged it all out – no more so at the final chicane where he brushed the wall on the exit – to go third quickest. Continued...

“It was all or nothing. He managed this in an impressive way,” Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber’s technical director explained.

BMW only need six more points to equal their entire 2006 total and Heidfeld has been the main points collector so far.

The threat of losing his seat to BMW’s third driver, the up and coming Sebastian Vettel, has clearly played a role in Heidfeld’s rejuvenation, but surely now is the time to secure his services for next year.

Mario Theissen, BMW Sauber’s team principle has refused to comment on Heidfeld’s future:

“This will be an internal topic for the next weeks and months. It is simply not our first priority, because I see our driver situation as steady,” he has said.

“I can assure you that if we make any decisions, we will make an announcement about it.”

Unfortunately Heidfeld is in a bit of a grim situation because he clearly wants to stay at BMW Sauber, and realistically it his most competitive option for 2008. Had there been potential interest (and space) from the other top teams he might be in a position to use this as a bargaining tool.

And you can’t help but feel Theissen is exploiting this situation somewhat by delaying the decision to renew his contract and keeping the German on his toes. He surely would have snapped his key driver up by now had there Mclaren or Ferrari expressed an interest.

After the Spanish grand prix Theissen publicly announced that no one in the team would be fired after a bodged pit stop cost Heidfeld a possible podium place. Perhaps it’s time to extend this courtesy to your own drivers, Mario.

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