Lewis Hamilton praised the McLaren workforce's fighting spirit during a personal address the team's factory on Wednesday.
Hamilton, who visited the factory for a technical debrief following his Hungarian Grand Prix victory, described the win as "payback" for the hard work that has gone into making the McLaren MP4-24 into a winner.
"This has been an incredibly difficult season for all of us, but Sunday's result is payback for all your time, effort, energy and passion," said Hamilton. "I wanted to come here and thank you for that."
"At the start of the season, we were barely competitive, but the amount of work that every single one of you put into transforming our fortunes has been incredible.
"I've always said it: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is a team of winners. And the most amazing thing about this team is its fighting spirit: you never give up. So when I get into the car, I know all the effort that has gone into getting us to this point, and it makes me want to push even harder to repay you."
Hamilton added that the Hungarian victory was testament to the round-the-clock effort put in by the staff at McLaren's Woking headquarters.
"Winning on Sunday was our victory," he said. "The work that you've done this season has been incredible, I have never seen this place so intensely busy and productive.
"And the result in Hungary showed that there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel, and that makes the job easier and more satisfying for everyone. You have all been amazing and I hope you are as proud of this win as I am."
Thursday 30 July 2009
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Monday 27 July 2009
Hungary race analysis
The revised McLaren MP4-24 had looked threatening at the last round in Germany, and in Hungary it finally got to bare its teeth, as Lewis Hamilton stormed to his first win of 2009. Coupled with Heikki Kovalainen’s fifth place, it meant the team scored as many points in one race as they had in the previous nine combined. But as the men from Woking prospered, it was a tougher day for the key title contenders. Leaders Jenson Button and Brawn had to be content with two solitary points, while Red Bull got just one car home. We take a team-by-team look at Sunday’s events…
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P1
Heikki Kovalainen, P5
Hamilton thought he might have a chance of the podium this weekend, and that it depended on making a really good start. As it was, he lost second place in the first corner, but was able to grab it back from Webber on the fourth lap and then dumped everybody once Alonso had stopped for his early refuelling appointment. On this day and this circuit, the MP4-24 could do what it has not looked like doing anywhere else this season, and with Kovalainen bringing the sister car home fifth a 14-point haul brought the team up to fifth place in the constructors’ stakes, ahead of Williams. Of note, Hamilton’s 10th career win was the first for a KERS-equipped car.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P2
Felipe Massa, Did not start
Raikkonen was of course Ferrari’s sole runner after Massa’s accident on Saturday, and his second place was a strong boost for Ferrari as they took their best result of the season. At times he was as fast as Hamilton, but admitted that gradually the McLaren driver began to pull away. Ferrari continue to make progress, however, which is the encouragement they need after a tough weekend.
Red Bull
Mark Webber, P3
Sebastian Vettel Retired lap 29, suspension damage
It was a case of good and bad news for Red Bull. Good news that Webber was able to take a strong third place and set fastest lap, bad that Vettel was the victim of suspension damage inflicted by Raikkonen at the start. Good that Webber is now second to Button and that Red Bull are closer to Brawn, bad that McLaren and Ferrari are becoming stronger.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, P4
Kazuki Nakajima, P9
For the second race running Nico Rosberg did a great job to take fourth place, so it was thus disappointing for Williams to lose a place to McLaren in the constructors’ stakes. There was nothing he could do about the KERS cars at the start, and that really framed his race despite the speed to set the third fastest lap. His personal consolation was elevation to fifth in the drivers’ championship. Nakajima missed out on a point despite challenging Trulli hard in the closing stages; his downfall was being unable to stay ahead of Button in the early going and then having the Brawn driver dictate his pace thereafter.
Toyota
Timo Glock, P6
Jarno Trulli, P8
Toyota got their strategy all wrong in Bahrain, and all right in Hungary. Both Trulli and Glock ran long opening stints (28 and 32 laps respectively) on the option tyres, and that set them up for eighth and sixth place finishes which garnered some much-needed points as Ferrari overtook them by a point and a half for third place in the table.
Brawn
Jenson Button, P7
Rubens Barrichello, P10
Button was fuel-heavy from the start but was going quite well in eighth place until his rear tyres started graining badly. That prevented him from going fast enough to take advantage of his ability to run later than most before the first pit stop. After that it became a damage limitation job as he salvaged seventh place and two points in the team’s increasingly desperate efforts to shore up their fading points advantages. Where Button favoured the option Bridgestones, Barrichello used the prime for his first two stints but lost time after a collision at the start damaged his BGP001’s left-hand sidepod and dropped him to 18th place. He was doomed from then on.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, P11
Robert Kubica, P13
At times it seemed that BMW Sauber had made good progress in practice, but that didn’t translate into qualifying or the race. Heidfeld made places at the start and lost them round the lap after somebody ran into him. Thereafter he was pretty much stuck in the usual Hungaroring traffic. Kubica had a good opening lap, but later encountered ‘massive understeer’ that ate his front Bridgestones within 10 laps of each stint.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, Retired lap 13, fuel pump
Nelson Piquet, P12
Alonso sped into the distance at the start as he exploited his 20 kg fuel advantage from qualifying, but was being reeled in by Hamilton when he refuelled on lap 12. Then his right front wheel fell off after the team failed to secure it properly, leading to the one-race suspension that the stewards imposed post race. He retired with fuel pump issues soon after. Piquet ran quite strongly early on and made up places before encountering the inevitable traffic.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, P14
Adrian Sutil, Retired lap 1, overheating
After Nurburgring, Force India came down to earth with a bump. Fisichella struggled for grip in the first stint but said the balance improved in the second and third as he pushed hard to fight Barrichello and Kubica. Sutil retired on the opening lap with incurable overheating.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari, P15
Sebastien Buemi, P16
Rookie Jaime Alguersuari achieved his goal of finishing, and has still yet to spin an F1 car. He frequently lapped at Buemi’s pace at key points of the race, and made it home despite struggling physically for the last five laps. Buemi spun twice and admitted that he made a lot of errors. Overall, however, the team felt they made progress with the new Red Bull Silverstone update package.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P1
Heikki Kovalainen, P5
Hamilton thought he might have a chance of the podium this weekend, and that it depended on making a really good start. As it was, he lost second place in the first corner, but was able to grab it back from Webber on the fourth lap and then dumped everybody once Alonso had stopped for his early refuelling appointment. On this day and this circuit, the MP4-24 could do what it has not looked like doing anywhere else this season, and with Kovalainen bringing the sister car home fifth a 14-point haul brought the team up to fifth place in the constructors’ stakes, ahead of Williams. Of note, Hamilton’s 10th career win was the first for a KERS-equipped car.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P2
Felipe Massa, Did not start
Raikkonen was of course Ferrari’s sole runner after Massa’s accident on Saturday, and his second place was a strong boost for Ferrari as they took their best result of the season. At times he was as fast as Hamilton, but admitted that gradually the McLaren driver began to pull away. Ferrari continue to make progress, however, which is the encouragement they need after a tough weekend.
Red Bull
Mark Webber, P3
Sebastian Vettel Retired lap 29, suspension damage
It was a case of good and bad news for Red Bull. Good news that Webber was able to take a strong third place and set fastest lap, bad that Vettel was the victim of suspension damage inflicted by Raikkonen at the start. Good that Webber is now second to Button and that Red Bull are closer to Brawn, bad that McLaren and Ferrari are becoming stronger.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, P4
Kazuki Nakajima, P9
For the second race running Nico Rosberg did a great job to take fourth place, so it was thus disappointing for Williams to lose a place to McLaren in the constructors’ stakes. There was nothing he could do about the KERS cars at the start, and that really framed his race despite the speed to set the third fastest lap. His personal consolation was elevation to fifth in the drivers’ championship. Nakajima missed out on a point despite challenging Trulli hard in the closing stages; his downfall was being unable to stay ahead of Button in the early going and then having the Brawn driver dictate his pace thereafter.
Toyota
Timo Glock, P6
Jarno Trulli, P8
Toyota got their strategy all wrong in Bahrain, and all right in Hungary. Both Trulli and Glock ran long opening stints (28 and 32 laps respectively) on the option tyres, and that set them up for eighth and sixth place finishes which garnered some much-needed points as Ferrari overtook them by a point and a half for third place in the table.
Brawn
Jenson Button, P7
Rubens Barrichello, P10
Button was fuel-heavy from the start but was going quite well in eighth place until his rear tyres started graining badly. That prevented him from going fast enough to take advantage of his ability to run later than most before the first pit stop. After that it became a damage limitation job as he salvaged seventh place and two points in the team’s increasingly desperate efforts to shore up their fading points advantages. Where Button favoured the option Bridgestones, Barrichello used the prime for his first two stints but lost time after a collision at the start damaged his BGP001’s left-hand sidepod and dropped him to 18th place. He was doomed from then on.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, P11
Robert Kubica, P13
At times it seemed that BMW Sauber had made good progress in practice, but that didn’t translate into qualifying or the race. Heidfeld made places at the start and lost them round the lap after somebody ran into him. Thereafter he was pretty much stuck in the usual Hungaroring traffic. Kubica had a good opening lap, but later encountered ‘massive understeer’ that ate his front Bridgestones within 10 laps of each stint.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, Retired lap 13, fuel pump
Nelson Piquet, P12
Alonso sped into the distance at the start as he exploited his 20 kg fuel advantage from qualifying, but was being reeled in by Hamilton when he refuelled on lap 12. Then his right front wheel fell off after the team failed to secure it properly, leading to the one-race suspension that the stewards imposed post race. He retired with fuel pump issues soon after. Piquet ran quite strongly early on and made up places before encountering the inevitable traffic.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, P14
Adrian Sutil, Retired lap 1, overheating
After Nurburgring, Force India came down to earth with a bump. Fisichella struggled for grip in the first stint but said the balance improved in the second and third as he pushed hard to fight Barrichello and Kubica. Sutil retired on the opening lap with incurable overheating.
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari, P15
Sebastien Buemi, P16
Rookie Jaime Alguersuari achieved his goal of finishing, and has still yet to spin an F1 car. He frequently lapped at Buemi’s pace at key points of the race, and made it home despite struggling physically for the last five laps. Buemi spun twice and admitted that he made a lot of errors. Overall, however, the team felt they made progress with the new Red Bull Silverstone update package.
Sunday 26 July 2009
Hamilton and McLaren take shock win in Hungary
Lewis Hamilton brought McLaren their first victory of the season after a surprise result in Hungary on Sunday afternoon, his dominant success also marking Martin Whitmarsh’s first as team principal and the first for a KERS-equipped car. Kimi Raikkonen was second for Ferrari, containing a challenge from Mark Webber’s Red Bull.
Hamilton’s hopes of snatching P1 at the start were thwarted as lightweight Fernando Alonso blasted off the line from pole and quickly opened a lead in his Renault, and Mark Webber slotted his Red Bull back inside the McLaren in Turn One to regain second.
Hamilton stayed close to Webber, however, and slipped ahead around the outside of Turn Two on the fourth lap. After the first round of pits stops he really got the hammer down to build a seven-second lead over similarly fast-starting Raikkonen, the pair benefiting from their KERS systems.
The Finn, however, is under investigation for first corner brushes with Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and may yet lose what turned out to be a strong second place ahead of Webber. Raikkonen overtook Webber in their first stops on the 19th lap after what the Australian described as a moment of confusion as his car was refuelled.
It was a bad day for the other title contenders. Vettel went from second to seventh by the end of the first lap, lost time in traffic, and then slid a lap down after an unscheduled stop for a new nose proved the prelude to retirement with a suspected engine problem.
Jenson Button was unable to make real use of a long-run opening stint strategy in his Brawn but seventh place earned him two crucial points. He now leads with 70 from Webber on 51.5, Vettel on 47 and Rubens Barrichello on 44. Brawn continue to lead the constructors’ championship on 114, with Red Bull closer still on 98.5s.
There was a strong fourth place finish for Nico Rosberg and Williams, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen whose points brought further joy to McLaren. Timo Glock was sixth for Toyota after a very long opening stint, then came Button and a long gap before Toyota’s Jarno Trulli took the final point after holding off strong challenges from Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Barrichello to the flag.
Alonso’s opening dash came to nought after he lost the right front wheel following his early pit stop on Lap 12 and then had to retire because of associated damage. Besides Vettel, the other non-finisher was Force India's Adrian Sutil, the victim of a first-lap brush.
The BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kucica were 11th and 12th, sandwiching Nelson Piquet’s Renault, while Giancarlo Fisichella brought his Force India home a lapped 14th. Far from proving ‘dangerous’, as some had suggested, rookie Jaime Alguersuari did a great job to match lap times with Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Buemi, and to lead him home after the Swiss twice spun. The Spaniard never put a wheel wrong.
Hamilton’s hopes of snatching P1 at the start were thwarted as lightweight Fernando Alonso blasted off the line from pole and quickly opened a lead in his Renault, and Mark Webber slotted his Red Bull back inside the McLaren in Turn One to regain second.
Hamilton stayed close to Webber, however, and slipped ahead around the outside of Turn Two on the fourth lap. After the first round of pits stops he really got the hammer down to build a seven-second lead over similarly fast-starting Raikkonen, the pair benefiting from their KERS systems.
The Finn, however, is under investigation for first corner brushes with Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and may yet lose what turned out to be a strong second place ahead of Webber. Raikkonen overtook Webber in their first stops on the 19th lap after what the Australian described as a moment of confusion as his car was refuelled.
It was a bad day for the other title contenders. Vettel went from second to seventh by the end of the first lap, lost time in traffic, and then slid a lap down after an unscheduled stop for a new nose proved the prelude to retirement with a suspected engine problem.
Jenson Button was unable to make real use of a long-run opening stint strategy in his Brawn but seventh place earned him two crucial points. He now leads with 70 from Webber on 51.5, Vettel on 47 and Rubens Barrichello on 44. Brawn continue to lead the constructors’ championship on 114, with Red Bull closer still on 98.5s.
There was a strong fourth place finish for Nico Rosberg and Williams, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen whose points brought further joy to McLaren. Timo Glock was sixth for Toyota after a very long opening stint, then came Button and a long gap before Toyota’s Jarno Trulli took the final point after holding off strong challenges from Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Barrichello to the flag.
Alonso’s opening dash came to nought after he lost the right front wheel following his early pit stop on Lap 12 and then had to retire because of associated damage. Besides Vettel, the other non-finisher was Force India's Adrian Sutil, the victim of a first-lap brush.
The BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kucica were 11th and 12th, sandwiching Nelson Piquet’s Renault, while Giancarlo Fisichella brought his Force India home a lapped 14th. Far from proving ‘dangerous’, as some had suggested, rookie Jaime Alguersuari did a great job to match lap times with Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Buemi, and to lead him home after the Swiss twice spun. The Spaniard never put a wheel wrong.
Hamilton takes first 2009 win
Lewis Hamilton banished all the frustrations of miserable 2009 title defence by taking his and McLaren’s first victory of the season in emphatic fashion in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The world champion moved up from fourth on the grid to second within the first five laps and controlled the race after early leader Fernando Alonso pitted, pulling away from the field with apparent ease.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the Woking team, which just a few races ago was languishing embarrassingly in the lower midfield before making a breakthrough with the car upgrade it introduced in Germany two weeks ago.
Indeed having not scored a podium all season, and failed to even score points since Bahrain in April, Hamilton's 10th career victory more than doubles his points tally for the season.
Kimi Raikkonen made a lightning KERS-assisted start and capitalised on a slow first pit stop for Mark Webber to secure the runner-up spot, his and Ferrari’s best result of the season - a particularly poignant result given Felipe Massa's frightening qualifying accident.
On a day when Brawn was reduced to a bit part and Jenson Button scored just two points with seventh, Red Bull failed to take full advantage.
A problem disengaging the fuel hose at Webber’s first pit stop allowed Raikkonen through into second place and the Nurburgring winner had to settle for the lower rung of the podium.
But Webber still moved ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel into second place in the championship, 18.5 points adrift of Button, after the German was hit by Raikkonen at the first corner of the race and later retired with damaged front suspension.
Nico Rosberg chalked up his sixth consecutive points finish with another impressive drive to fourth place for Williams, while Heikki Kovalainen brought the second McLaren home in fifth.
At the start, Alonso made a textbook getaway from pole, but the Red Bull duo directly behind came under immediate attack from the fast starting KERS cars of Hamilton and Raikkonen.
With front-row starter Vettel not for the first time this season getting away sluggishly, the McLaren and Ferrari dived for the gap between the two RBRs and nearly met in the middle – Hamilton doing well to avoid Raikkonen as the Finn swung his F60 right.
Lewis didn’t let this deter him, however, and slung his down the inside of Webber into the first corner to move up to second, although this stay there was only brief as he ran slightly wide on exit which allowed the Red Bull to duck back inside him.
Indeed, with Raikkonen and the recovering Vettel the cars also eyeing second place the cars briefly ran four-abreast as they powered out of the right-hander - although the inevitable contact happened when the former got out of shape and hit Vettel’s front-left wheel.
Raikkonen was put under investigation by the stewards for the incident, although it was announced a decision would not be made until after the end of the race.
The contact pushed Vettel out towards the right-hand edge of the track and he lost more ground as Rosberg and Kovalainen swept past, meaning he dropped to seventh ahead of Kazuki Nakajima and title rival Button.
Alonso, meanwhile, quickly set about trying to open a lead over Webber and Hamilton on his significantly lighter fuel load – the Spaniard opening a 2.3s lead by lap two.
However, the Renault driver’s crucial first stint would soon become a lot tougher courtesy of old foe Hamilton.
Having lost his chance of capitalising on his MP4-24’s vastly improved form at the Nurburgring after Webber punctured his tyre at the first corner, Hamilton was clearly keen to maximise his opportunities this time and passed the Australian definitively on lap four with a beautifully-judged move at the first corner.
Going to the outside of the Red Bull under braking for the first corner, the world champion then switched back inside Webber on exit and through either great traction, or timely use of his KERS power boost, got fantastic drive out of the corner and swept past on the outside going into turn two.
Now Hamilton, potentially releasing all of the frustration from his miserable title defence, really got the bit between his teeth and hunted down Alonso.
Lapping considerably faster than his 2007 team-mate, the McLaren driver reeled the Renault over the following laps – Alonso’s problems exacerbated by a graining right rear-tyre and a developing fuel-pump issue.
By the time the race leader pitted for his expected first of three stops on lap 11, Hamilton was just one second back and as he swept round to take the lead, Alonso’s afternoon was about to seriously fall apart.
As the Renault rejoined the track following his seemingly routine stop, it soon became clear that there was a problem with his front-right wheel – the fairing beginning to work itself loose as he braked for the first corner.
Then after the wheel cover flew off half-way round the lap, the wheel detached itself completely at turn nine.
But thankfully, given the frightening recent events of debris hitting drivers, the wheel bounced towards the grass and outside barrier, with marshals quickly clearing up both pieces of debris.
For Alonso, however, it was a disaster for his race and while he dragged his R29 back to the pits on three wheels and Renault managed to properly fit a new tyre, the damage to his car was done and the next lap he pulled back into retirement.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had used the disappearance of Alonso to put the hammer down even more, stringing together a series of laps which were up to 0.7s faster than anything the closely-matched Webber and Raikkonen could manage behind.
His increasingly distant pursuers then pitted together on lap 18, although they would leave in a different order as Red Bull suffered the first of two pit-stop problems.
A problem disengaging the fuel hose on Webber’s car cost the Australian several crucial seconds and as Raikkonen came down the pit lane, RBR released its car back into the pit road which very nearly caused a collision.
In any case, the Ferrari driver saw it coming and kept his foot in to move up to second – which allowed the Finn to set his sights on trying to catch Hamilton, the leader completing a perfect fuel stop of his own a lap later to rejoin with a 7.3 lead.
Red Bull then encountered more dramas when it serviced Vettel’s car on lap 20, the team trying to jump Kovalainen and get its driver into fifth as the pair pitted together.
However, following the contact with Raikkonen on the first lap, the team experienced problems changing the car’s left-front tyre and couldn’t get Vettel back out in front.
However, it would make little difference to the German’s afternoon as just four laps later, after complaining over the radio that the car was now undriveable, he pulled into the pits again where mechanics changed the front nose and inspected the car in a bid to alleviate the problems.
But while he was sent back out onto the circuit, he was back in the pit lane soon after and this time pulled into his fourth retirement of the season – meaning he missed out on a golden opportunity to claw more points back on Button.
His two RBR title rivals’ problems would have come as welcome news to Button at this stage, the Briton in the middle of an increasingly fraught battle to score any points due to yet more problems with tyre wear.
While he had quickly re-passed Nakajima with a well-judged outbraking move at the start of the second lap after falling behind the Williams off the line, he quickly well off the back of Vettel on his heavier fuel load and into the clutches of the Japanese driver and the heavier-fuelled Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Meanwhile, back at the front Raikkonen began to show signs that he might be able to do something about Hamilton’s now comfortable-looking position at the front as the pair settled down for their second stints.
However, while the Ferrari driver initially closed to within 6.5s of the lead, Hamilton quickly responded and for the majority of their second stint they traded lap times within several tenths of a second of each other.
Having eventually increased his gap to 10.8 seconds as he wound up for his final pit stop, any potential Raikkonen challenge was permanently snuffed out on lap 44 when he lost more time as he struggled to find drive away from his pit stop.
So when McLaren completed another error-free service of Hamilton’s car a lap later, the world champion was now all-but home and dry and duly went on to claim an imperious victory over the Finn by 11.5s.
Having fallen back from Raikkonen in the second stint, Webber finished just 5s behind at the flag after shaking off challenges from Kovalainen and Rosberg in the middle phase of the race.
The second McLaren of Kovalainen used a short middle stint to move onto the tail of the Red Bull, with Rosberg also having moved within striking distance.
However, Kovalainen would lose out to the pair when he pitted early for his final stop – but the Finn's fifth place nevertheless ensured a hugely morale-boosting overall 14-point haul for McLaren.
Kovalainen had to withstand a late surge from Toyota’s Timo Glock, who once again used a long first stint and excellent race-long pace to haul himself up the leader board from 14th on the grid.
Button’s race-long struggle ended in a frustrating seventh, although given RBR’s less than perfect afternoon it could prove to be a handy two points in the final reckoning
Trulli completed a fine turnaround day for Toyota to take the final point, although Raikkonen’s second place still means the Cologne squad is overtaken by Ferrari for third in the constructors’ championship.
Hungarian Grand Prix result (70 laps)
1. HAMILTON McLaren
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +11.5s
3. WEBBER Red Bull +16.8s
4. ROSBERG Williams +26.9s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren +34.3s
6. GLOCK Toyota +35.2s
7. BUTTON Brawn +55.0s
8. TRULLI Toyota +68.1s
9. NAKAJIMA Williams +68.7s
10. BARRICHELLO Brawn +69.2s
11. HEIDFELD BMW +70.6s
12. PIQUET Renault +71.5s
13. KUBICA BMW +74.0s
14. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap
15. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +1 lap
16. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap
17. VETTEL Red Bull +41 laps
18. ALONSO Renault +55 laps
19. SUTIL Force India +69 laps
Fastest lap: WEBBER 1m21.931s (lap 65)
The world champion moved up from fourth on the grid to second within the first five laps and controlled the race after early leader Fernando Alonso pitted, pulling away from the field with apparent ease.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the Woking team, which just a few races ago was languishing embarrassingly in the lower midfield before making a breakthrough with the car upgrade it introduced in Germany two weeks ago.
Indeed having not scored a podium all season, and failed to even score points since Bahrain in April, Hamilton's 10th career victory more than doubles his points tally for the season.
Kimi Raikkonen made a lightning KERS-assisted start and capitalised on a slow first pit stop for Mark Webber to secure the runner-up spot, his and Ferrari’s best result of the season - a particularly poignant result given Felipe Massa's frightening qualifying accident.
On a day when Brawn was reduced to a bit part and Jenson Button scored just two points with seventh, Red Bull failed to take full advantage.
A problem disengaging the fuel hose at Webber’s first pit stop allowed Raikkonen through into second place and the Nurburgring winner had to settle for the lower rung of the podium.
But Webber still moved ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel into second place in the championship, 18.5 points adrift of Button, after the German was hit by Raikkonen at the first corner of the race and later retired with damaged front suspension.
Nico Rosberg chalked up his sixth consecutive points finish with another impressive drive to fourth place for Williams, while Heikki Kovalainen brought the second McLaren home in fifth.
At the start, Alonso made a textbook getaway from pole, but the Red Bull duo directly behind came under immediate attack from the fast starting KERS cars of Hamilton and Raikkonen.
With front-row starter Vettel not for the first time this season getting away sluggishly, the McLaren and Ferrari dived for the gap between the two RBRs and nearly met in the middle – Hamilton doing well to avoid Raikkonen as the Finn swung his F60 right.
Lewis didn’t let this deter him, however, and slung his down the inside of Webber into the first corner to move up to second, although this stay there was only brief as he ran slightly wide on exit which allowed the Red Bull to duck back inside him.
Indeed, with Raikkonen and the recovering Vettel the cars also eyeing second place the cars briefly ran four-abreast as they powered out of the right-hander - although the inevitable contact happened when the former got out of shape and hit Vettel’s front-left wheel.
Raikkonen was put under investigation by the stewards for the incident, although it was announced a decision would not be made until after the end of the race.
The contact pushed Vettel out towards the right-hand edge of the track and he lost more ground as Rosberg and Kovalainen swept past, meaning he dropped to seventh ahead of Kazuki Nakajima and title rival Button.
Alonso, meanwhile, quickly set about trying to open a lead over Webber and Hamilton on his significantly lighter fuel load – the Spaniard opening a 2.3s lead by lap two.
However, the Renault driver’s crucial first stint would soon become a lot tougher courtesy of old foe Hamilton.
Having lost his chance of capitalising on his MP4-24’s vastly improved form at the Nurburgring after Webber punctured his tyre at the first corner, Hamilton was clearly keen to maximise his opportunities this time and passed the Australian definitively on lap four with a beautifully-judged move at the first corner.
Going to the outside of the Red Bull under braking for the first corner, the world champion then switched back inside Webber on exit and through either great traction, or timely use of his KERS power boost, got fantastic drive out of the corner and swept past on the outside going into turn two.
Now Hamilton, potentially releasing all of the frustration from his miserable title defence, really got the bit between his teeth and hunted down Alonso.
Lapping considerably faster than his 2007 team-mate, the McLaren driver reeled the Renault over the following laps – Alonso’s problems exacerbated by a graining right rear-tyre and a developing fuel-pump issue.
By the time the race leader pitted for his expected first of three stops on lap 11, Hamilton was just one second back and as he swept round to take the lead, Alonso’s afternoon was about to seriously fall apart.
As the Renault rejoined the track following his seemingly routine stop, it soon became clear that there was a problem with his front-right wheel – the fairing beginning to work itself loose as he braked for the first corner.
Then after the wheel cover flew off half-way round the lap, the wheel detached itself completely at turn nine.
But thankfully, given the frightening recent events of debris hitting drivers, the wheel bounced towards the grass and outside barrier, with marshals quickly clearing up both pieces of debris.
For Alonso, however, it was a disaster for his race and while he dragged his R29 back to the pits on three wheels and Renault managed to properly fit a new tyre, the damage to his car was done and the next lap he pulled back into retirement.
Hamilton, meanwhile, had used the disappearance of Alonso to put the hammer down even more, stringing together a series of laps which were up to 0.7s faster than anything the closely-matched Webber and Raikkonen could manage behind.
His increasingly distant pursuers then pitted together on lap 18, although they would leave in a different order as Red Bull suffered the first of two pit-stop problems.
A problem disengaging the fuel hose on Webber’s car cost the Australian several crucial seconds and as Raikkonen came down the pit lane, RBR released its car back into the pit road which very nearly caused a collision.
In any case, the Ferrari driver saw it coming and kept his foot in to move up to second – which allowed the Finn to set his sights on trying to catch Hamilton, the leader completing a perfect fuel stop of his own a lap later to rejoin with a 7.3 lead.
Red Bull then encountered more dramas when it serviced Vettel’s car on lap 20, the team trying to jump Kovalainen and get its driver into fifth as the pair pitted together.
However, following the contact with Raikkonen on the first lap, the team experienced problems changing the car’s left-front tyre and couldn’t get Vettel back out in front.
However, it would make little difference to the German’s afternoon as just four laps later, after complaining over the radio that the car was now undriveable, he pulled into the pits again where mechanics changed the front nose and inspected the car in a bid to alleviate the problems.
But while he was sent back out onto the circuit, he was back in the pit lane soon after and this time pulled into his fourth retirement of the season – meaning he missed out on a golden opportunity to claw more points back on Button.
His two RBR title rivals’ problems would have come as welcome news to Button at this stage, the Briton in the middle of an increasingly fraught battle to score any points due to yet more problems with tyre wear.
While he had quickly re-passed Nakajima with a well-judged outbraking move at the start of the second lap after falling behind the Williams off the line, he quickly well off the back of Vettel on his heavier fuel load and into the clutches of the Japanese driver and the heavier-fuelled Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Meanwhile, back at the front Raikkonen began to show signs that he might be able to do something about Hamilton’s now comfortable-looking position at the front as the pair settled down for their second stints.
However, while the Ferrari driver initially closed to within 6.5s of the lead, Hamilton quickly responded and for the majority of their second stint they traded lap times within several tenths of a second of each other.
Having eventually increased his gap to 10.8 seconds as he wound up for his final pit stop, any potential Raikkonen challenge was permanently snuffed out on lap 44 when he lost more time as he struggled to find drive away from his pit stop.
So when McLaren completed another error-free service of Hamilton’s car a lap later, the world champion was now all-but home and dry and duly went on to claim an imperious victory over the Finn by 11.5s.
Having fallen back from Raikkonen in the second stint, Webber finished just 5s behind at the flag after shaking off challenges from Kovalainen and Rosberg in the middle phase of the race.
The second McLaren of Kovalainen used a short middle stint to move onto the tail of the Red Bull, with Rosberg also having moved within striking distance.
However, Kovalainen would lose out to the pair when he pitted early for his final stop – but the Finn's fifth place nevertheless ensured a hugely morale-boosting overall 14-point haul for McLaren.
Kovalainen had to withstand a late surge from Toyota’s Timo Glock, who once again used a long first stint and excellent race-long pace to haul himself up the leader board from 14th on the grid.
Button’s race-long struggle ended in a frustrating seventh, although given RBR’s less than perfect afternoon it could prove to be a handy two points in the final reckoning
Trulli completed a fine turnaround day for Toyota to take the final point, although Raikkonen’s second place still means the Cologne squad is overtaken by Ferrari for third in the constructors’ championship.
Hungarian Grand Prix result (70 laps)
1. HAMILTON McLaren
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +11.5s
3. WEBBER Red Bull +16.8s
4. ROSBERG Williams +26.9s
5. KOVALAINEN McLaren +34.3s
6. GLOCK Toyota +35.2s
7. BUTTON Brawn +55.0s
8. TRULLI Toyota +68.1s
9. NAKAJIMA Williams +68.7s
10. BARRICHELLO Brawn +69.2s
11. HEIDFELD BMW +70.6s
12. PIQUET Renault +71.5s
13. KUBICA BMW +74.0s
14. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap
15. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso +1 lap
16. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap
17. VETTEL Red Bull +41 laps
18. ALONSO Renault +55 laps
19. SUTIL Force India +69 laps
Fastest lap: WEBBER 1m21.931s (lap 65)
Hamilton takes first GP win of 2009
Lewis Hamilton completed a remarkable turnaround in McLaren's fortunes and claimed the first victory of his hitherto troubled championship defence in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In a return to the pecking order seen prior to this year's massive rule changes, Ferrari took second place with Kimi Raikkonen - a poignant result with the Finn's team-mate Felipe Massa still in an induced coma in a Budapest hospital.
Mark Webber made further inroads into Jenson Button's championship lead, as the Australian took third on a day when Button could only manage two points for seventh. That result made Webber Red Bull's leading contender in the championship, for his team-mate Sebastian Vettel retired with suspension damage, a legacy of a startline brush with Raikkonen.
As expected, the KERS cars surged forward off the line, with Hamilton squeezing past Webber into second behind pole-sitter Fernando Alonso, and Raikkonen jinking past the slow-starting Vettel to take fourth, making contact on the way past. The incident, which eventually forced Vettel to retire after he had limped through his first stint, will be investigated by the stewards after the race.
Webber managed to slip back ahead of Hamilton on the exit of Turn 1 as the McLaren went slightly wide, but the world champion returned the favour four laps later, using his KERS boost to get alongside the Red Bull into the first corner, forcing Webber to cut tight, and then accelerating past into Turn 2.
Hamilton then set off after Alonso, who had made an early break despite fuel pump problems, but was making his first of three stops on lap 12.
That stop proved to be the end of his race, for as he rejoined it immediately became obvious that his right front wheel was loose. The wheel completely detached itself as he nursed the car back to the pits, and the consequent damage eventually forced him out.
While that left Hamilton clear to dominate the rest of the race from the front, Webber found himself behind Raikkonen after a very close call in the pitlane - the Red Bull pulling out right alongside the Ferrari and having to jink aside. Webber was then further delayed when the yet to stop Timo Glock got between them on the out-lap.
The top three then stretched out, with Raikkonen falling away from Hamilton in the second stint and Webber similarly unable to keep up with the Ferrari.
Hamilton proceeded to clinch his second Hungarian GP win - an incredible result given that his McLaren was being eliminated in Q1 as recently as Silverstone, and that he had not scored at all since Bahrain.
Webber closed on Raikkonen after the final stops, but to no avail, and in the process pulled away from Nico Rosberg's Williams, which had looked like it might threaten for the final podium finish at times. While Webber had been unable to capitalise on Button's lack of pace with a win, he at least narrowed the championship deficit to 18.5 points.
Heikki Kovalainen brought the second McLaren home fifth, having hassled Webber during a short middle stint, with Timo Glock's extremely late first stop allowing him to run as high as second and come through from 13th on the grid to sixth for Toyota.
Button never had the pace to get near the top five, with his radio transmissions suggesting he was baffled by his car's lack of performance.
He at least managed to get ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota for seventh at the final stops, the Italian having also gained ground earlier by running long, leaving Trulli to fend off Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Rubens Barrichello (Brawn), the latter having been shuffled a long way down the order at the first corner.
Jaime Alguersuari completed an uneventful first grand prix in 15th, beating his Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Buemi after the Swiss driver lost time with a mid-race spin at Turn 2.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1h38:23.876
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 11.529
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 16.886
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 26.967
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 34.392
6. Glock Toyota (B) + 35.237
7. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 55.088
8. Trulli Toyota (B) + 1:08.172
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:08.774
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 1:09.256
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:10.612
12. Piquet Renault (B) + 1:11.512
13. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 1:14.046
14. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
Fastest lap: Webber, 1:21.931
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 30
Alonso Renault (B) 16
Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 2
Massa Ferrari (B) DNS
World Championship standings, round 10:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Button 70 1. Brawn-Mercedes 114
2. Webber 51.5 2. Red Bull-Renault 98.5
3. Vettel 47 3. Ferrari 40
4. Barrichello 44 4. Toyota 38.5
5. Rosberg 25.5 5. McLaren-Mercedes 28
6. Trulli 22.5 6. Williams-Toyota 25.5
7. Massa 22 7. Renault 13
8. Hamilton 19 8. BMW Sauber 8
9. Raikkonen 18 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 5
10. Glock 16
11. Alonso 13
12. Kovalainen 9
13. Heidfeld 6
14. Buemi 3
15. Bourdais 2
16. Kubica 2
In a return to the pecking order seen prior to this year's massive rule changes, Ferrari took second place with Kimi Raikkonen - a poignant result with the Finn's team-mate Felipe Massa still in an induced coma in a Budapest hospital.
Mark Webber made further inroads into Jenson Button's championship lead, as the Australian took third on a day when Button could only manage two points for seventh. That result made Webber Red Bull's leading contender in the championship, for his team-mate Sebastian Vettel retired with suspension damage, a legacy of a startline brush with Raikkonen.
As expected, the KERS cars surged forward off the line, with Hamilton squeezing past Webber into second behind pole-sitter Fernando Alonso, and Raikkonen jinking past the slow-starting Vettel to take fourth, making contact on the way past. The incident, which eventually forced Vettel to retire after he had limped through his first stint, will be investigated by the stewards after the race.
Webber managed to slip back ahead of Hamilton on the exit of Turn 1 as the McLaren went slightly wide, but the world champion returned the favour four laps later, using his KERS boost to get alongside the Red Bull into the first corner, forcing Webber to cut tight, and then accelerating past into Turn 2.
Hamilton then set off after Alonso, who had made an early break despite fuel pump problems, but was making his first of three stops on lap 12.
That stop proved to be the end of his race, for as he rejoined it immediately became obvious that his right front wheel was loose. The wheel completely detached itself as he nursed the car back to the pits, and the consequent damage eventually forced him out.
While that left Hamilton clear to dominate the rest of the race from the front, Webber found himself behind Raikkonen after a very close call in the pitlane - the Red Bull pulling out right alongside the Ferrari and having to jink aside. Webber was then further delayed when the yet to stop Timo Glock got between them on the out-lap.
The top three then stretched out, with Raikkonen falling away from Hamilton in the second stint and Webber similarly unable to keep up with the Ferrari.
Hamilton proceeded to clinch his second Hungarian GP win - an incredible result given that his McLaren was being eliminated in Q1 as recently as Silverstone, and that he had not scored at all since Bahrain.
Webber closed on Raikkonen after the final stops, but to no avail, and in the process pulled away from Nico Rosberg's Williams, which had looked like it might threaten for the final podium finish at times. While Webber had been unable to capitalise on Button's lack of pace with a win, he at least narrowed the championship deficit to 18.5 points.
Heikki Kovalainen brought the second McLaren home fifth, having hassled Webber during a short middle stint, with Timo Glock's extremely late first stop allowing him to run as high as second and come through from 13th on the grid to sixth for Toyota.
Button never had the pace to get near the top five, with his radio transmissions suggesting he was baffled by his car's lack of performance.
He at least managed to get ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota for seventh at the final stops, the Italian having also gained ground earlier by running long, leaving Trulli to fend off Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Rubens Barrichello (Brawn), the latter having been shuffled a long way down the order at the first corner.
Jaime Alguersuari completed an uneventful first grand prix in 15th, beating his Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Buemi after the Swiss driver lost time with a mid-race spin at Turn 2.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1h38:23.876
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 11.529
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 16.886
4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 26.967
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 34.392
6. Glock Toyota (B) + 35.237
7. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 55.088
8. Trulli Toyota (B) + 1:08.172
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:08.774
10. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) + 1:09.256
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:10.612
12. Piquet Renault (B) + 1:11.512
13. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 1:14.046
14. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
Fastest lap: Webber, 1:21.931
Not classified/retirements:
Driver Team On lap
Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 30
Alonso Renault (B) 16
Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 2
Massa Ferrari (B) DNS
World Championship standings, round 10:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Button 70 1. Brawn-Mercedes 114
2. Webber 51.5 2. Red Bull-Renault 98.5
3. Vettel 47 3. Ferrari 40
4. Barrichello 44 4. Toyota 38.5
5. Rosberg 25.5 5. McLaren-Mercedes 28
6. Trulli 22.5 6. Williams-Toyota 25.5
7. Massa 22 7. Renault 13
8. Hamilton 19 8. BMW Sauber 8
9. Raikkonen 18 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 5
10. Glock 16
11. Alonso 13
12. Kovalainen 9
13. Heidfeld 6
14. Buemi 3
15. Bourdais 2
16. Kubica 2
Hamilton hails McLaren's work
Lewis Hamilton said it was an incredible feeling to return to winning ways after a commanding first victory of 2009 at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Briton had scored just nine points up the Hungarian race this year, and he had not scored a race win since last year's Chinese Grand Prix.
But Hamilton completed McLaren's recovery in perfect fashion on Sunday, dominating the race at the Hungaroring circuit.
After such a difficult first half of the year, McLaren driver Hamilton was ecstatic with his team's turnaround in form.
"It is an incredible feeling to be back here after all," said Hamilton. "It feels such a long time away, such a struggle with me and the team but as I said on the in-lap I am so proud of the guys.
"I go to the factory and see how hard everyone pushing, they never gave up and it is something very rare to see in a large group of people.
"We didn't expect to win this weekend. It bit didn't feel we had pace to win but the car felt fantastic. It's incredibly special to be back up here, not just on the podium but just to get this win.
"The car was fantastic. The team asked me to look after tyres, and through experience I was able to do that, so thanks to the guys and fans, and my family."
Hamilton said, however, that McLaren must continue to push with the development of the car in order to win regularly.
"We have to take as much as we can from this weekend," he added. "We need to continue to push, it doesn't mean we can start slowing down.
"We will keep pushing, we have improvements to make and work to do to beat these guys on a regular basis. It's one huge leap for us, let's keep going."
The McLaren driver, who gave a KERS-equipped car its first win a Formula 1 race, also remembered Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, who missed today's race after his terrible crash on Saturday.
"I want to say yesterday was for all us drivers quite a sad day to see Felipe not here today and I speak on behalf of us all, we miss him and wish him a quick recovery."
The Briton had scored just nine points up the Hungarian race this year, and he had not scored a race win since last year's Chinese Grand Prix.
But Hamilton completed McLaren's recovery in perfect fashion on Sunday, dominating the race at the Hungaroring circuit.
After such a difficult first half of the year, McLaren driver Hamilton was ecstatic with his team's turnaround in form.
"It is an incredible feeling to be back here after all," said Hamilton. "It feels such a long time away, such a struggle with me and the team but as I said on the in-lap I am so proud of the guys.
"I go to the factory and see how hard everyone pushing, they never gave up and it is something very rare to see in a large group of people.
"We didn't expect to win this weekend. It bit didn't feel we had pace to win but the car felt fantastic. It's incredibly special to be back up here, not just on the podium but just to get this win.
"The car was fantastic. The team asked me to look after tyres, and through experience I was able to do that, so thanks to the guys and fans, and my family."
Hamilton said, however, that McLaren must continue to push with the development of the car in order to win regularly.
"We have to take as much as we can from this weekend," he added. "We need to continue to push, it doesn't mean we can start slowing down.
"We will keep pushing, we have improvements to make and work to do to beat these guys on a regular basis. It's one huge leap for us, let's keep going."
The McLaren driver, who gave a KERS-equipped car its first win a Formula 1 race, also remembered Ferrari driver Felipe Massa, who missed today's race after his terrible crash on Saturday.
"I want to say yesterday was for all us drivers quite a sad day to see Felipe not here today and I speak on behalf of us all, we miss him and wish him a quick recovery."
Friday 24 July 2009
Kovalainen on first practice pace
Heikki Kovalainen underlined McLaren’s return to form by setting the pace in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Now armed with the same aerodynamic upgrade that team-mate Lewis Hamilton used to good effect at the Nurburgring, Kovalainen vaulted to the top of the timing charts as the chequered flag flew on the 90-minute session.
Hamilton had briefly been fastest himself but was shuffled back to third by Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg in the Williams in the closing minutes after making a mistake on his final flying lap.
Mark Webber was the quickest of the championship contenders in fourth, but Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel wound up an unhappy 15th, complaining of spiralling tyre temperatures and a lack of grip.
Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota) completed the top six.
Full report to follow…
Hungarian Grand Prix free practice session one times
1. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.278s
2. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.337s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.554s
4. WEBBER Red Bull 1m22.615s
5. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m22.619s
6. TRULLI Toyota 1m22.705s
7. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m22.796s
8. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.855s
9. ALONSO Renault 1m23.001s
10. BUTTON Brawn 1m23.130s
11. KUBICA BMW 1m23.146s
12. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.154s
13. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m23.209s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m23.234s
15. VETTEL Red Bull 1m23.283s
16. FISICHELLA Force India 1m23.484s
17. PIQUET Renault 1m23.678s
18. SUTIL Force India 1m23.845s
19. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m23.998s
20. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m24.228s
Now armed with the same aerodynamic upgrade that team-mate Lewis Hamilton used to good effect at the Nurburgring, Kovalainen vaulted to the top of the timing charts as the chequered flag flew on the 90-minute session.
Hamilton had briefly been fastest himself but was shuffled back to third by Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg in the Williams in the closing minutes after making a mistake on his final flying lap.
Mark Webber was the quickest of the championship contenders in fourth, but Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel wound up an unhappy 15th, complaining of spiralling tyre temperatures and a lack of grip.
Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota) completed the top six.
Full report to follow…
Hungarian Grand Prix free practice session one times
1. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m22.278s
2. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.337s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.554s
4. WEBBER Red Bull 1m22.615s
5. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m22.619s
6. TRULLI Toyota 1m22.705s
7. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m22.796s
8. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.855s
9. ALONSO Renault 1m23.001s
10. BUTTON Brawn 1m23.130s
11. KUBICA BMW 1m23.146s
12. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.154s
13. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m23.209s
14. GLOCK Toyota 1m23.234s
15. VETTEL Red Bull 1m23.283s
16. FISICHELLA Force India 1m23.484s
17. PIQUET Renault 1m23.678s
18. SUTIL Force India 1m23.845s
19. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m23.998s
20. ALGUERSUARI Toro Rosso 1m24.228s
Thursday 23 July 2009
VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES GUIDE TO FORMULA 1
What is Formula 1?
The FIA Formula 1 World Championship is the pinnacle of global motorsport. It’s an annual competition that runs from March to November and pits the best drivers and the fastest cars in the world against one another.
The first World Championship race took place at Silverstone in the UK on 13th May 1950. Since then, the sport has grown from a largely European-based series into a truly global championship, with 18 races taking place on five continents in 2008.
More >>
World Championship points are awarded at each race according to finishing position - 10 points for a win, eight points for second, six for third and then down to one for eighth place – and the results from each race are combined to determine two World Champions at the end of each season: one for drivers, the other for constructors.
Formula 1 has two governing bodies. The Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) presides over the sporting and technical aspects, while Formula 1 Management (FOM) owns Formula 1’s commercial rights and shares a percentage of its profits among the teams.
The sport’s 10 two-car teams are bound together by a legally-binding document known as the Concorde Agreement. However, each team operates as an independent entity and organises its own sponsorship, engine deals and drivers contracts.
THE TEAMSOf the 10 teams contesting in 2008, six are based in England, one in Switzerland, one in Germany and two in Italy.
The core of each team is factory-based, working on the design, build and development of the cars. The bigger teams run wind tunnels 24 hours a day to optimise the aerodynamics of their cars and they manufacture more than 90 percent of their parts in-house.
Trackside operations are split between the race and the test teams. The race teams prepare and operate the two cars at grands prix; the test teams track-test development parts away from the limelight to ensure they can be raced reliably.
To be competitive, the teams have to invest constantly in new technology. While that makes the sport attractive to six global car manufacturers, it means the running costs of each team are high.
The teams raise most of the money they need to go racing through partnerships with suppliers and sponsorship deals.
THE CARSFormula 1 cars are the fastest and most technologically advanced racing cars in the world.
They can accelerate from 0-100mph (160kph) and return to 0 in just 4.8 seconds; they can slow from 124mph (200kph) to 0 in just 2.9 seconds and they are capable of creating lateral forces of 5g while cornering.
How do they achieve such a high level of performance?
Their 2.4-litre V8 engines produce approximately 750bhp and the cars generate their own weight - 600kilos - in aerodynamic downforce at 80mph (130kph), which increases to 2,500kg at 200mph. High-tech electronics ensure the gearboxes operate seamlessly - they have no loss of power between gear changes.
Such is the ingenuity of the teams' designers that the sport's governing body, the FIA, has had to impose restrictions on performance in an effort to cap cornering speeds. The most recent examples are a 30 percent reduction in downforce in 2005 and a reduction in engine capacity from 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s in '06.
For 2009, even more stringent aerodynamic restrictions are intended to simultaneously slow the car and increase overtaking.
THE REGULATIONSThe technical regulations are split into five sections (“Articles”): definitions, general principles, bodywork and dimensions, weight and engine. But, rather than being a closed book, they can be added to at any time - usually in the name of safety - when the teams introduce new technologies that dramatically increase speeds.
The sporting regulations provide definitions on how the sport is run, from the necessary licences required by a driver to race, to a minute-by-minute description of the start procedure and the podium ceremony.
Keep an eye on McLaren.com for the new 2009 regulations.
BEHIND-THE-SCENESWhile the Drivers' World Championship attracts the bulk of the media coverage, Formula 1 remains inherently a team sport. The two drivers from each team that do battle on the racetrack are only the tip of the iceberg.
Back at the factory up to 1,000 people are involved in the design, build and preparation of the cars. Such is the relentless pace of development in Formula 1 that teams run nightshifts in an effort to stay ahead of the opposition.
The Formula 1 calendar's gruelling schedule (18 races across five continents in eight months) means that many of the race team mechanics and race engineers are rested between races. A separate team - a test team – takes to the track between races to try out development parts and only once new parts have been signed off by them are they then used in a race.
Even the drivers have a group of people working with them behind-the-scenes, from personal assistants to personal trainers. No stone can be left unturned in Formula 1 - and it usually isn'
The FIA Formula 1 World Championship is the pinnacle of global motorsport. It’s an annual competition that runs from March to November and pits the best drivers and the fastest cars in the world against one another.
The first World Championship race took place at Silverstone in the UK on 13th May 1950. Since then, the sport has grown from a largely European-based series into a truly global championship, with 18 races taking place on five continents in 2008.
More >>
World Championship points are awarded at each race according to finishing position - 10 points for a win, eight points for second, six for third and then down to one for eighth place – and the results from each race are combined to determine two World Champions at the end of each season: one for drivers, the other for constructors.
Formula 1 has two governing bodies. The Federation Internationale de L’Automobile (FIA) presides over the sporting and technical aspects, while Formula 1 Management (FOM) owns Formula 1’s commercial rights and shares a percentage of its profits among the teams.
The sport’s 10 two-car teams are bound together by a legally-binding document known as the Concorde Agreement. However, each team operates as an independent entity and organises its own sponsorship, engine deals and drivers contracts.
THE TEAMSOf the 10 teams contesting in 2008, six are based in England, one in Switzerland, one in Germany and two in Italy.
The core of each team is factory-based, working on the design, build and development of the cars. The bigger teams run wind tunnels 24 hours a day to optimise the aerodynamics of their cars and they manufacture more than 90 percent of their parts in-house.
Trackside operations are split between the race and the test teams. The race teams prepare and operate the two cars at grands prix; the test teams track-test development parts away from the limelight to ensure they can be raced reliably.
To be competitive, the teams have to invest constantly in new technology. While that makes the sport attractive to six global car manufacturers, it means the running costs of each team are high.
The teams raise most of the money they need to go racing through partnerships with suppliers and sponsorship deals.
THE CARSFormula 1 cars are the fastest and most technologically advanced racing cars in the world.
They can accelerate from 0-100mph (160kph) and return to 0 in just 4.8 seconds; they can slow from 124mph (200kph) to 0 in just 2.9 seconds and they are capable of creating lateral forces of 5g while cornering.
How do they achieve such a high level of performance?
Their 2.4-litre V8 engines produce approximately 750bhp and the cars generate their own weight - 600kilos - in aerodynamic downforce at 80mph (130kph), which increases to 2,500kg at 200mph. High-tech electronics ensure the gearboxes operate seamlessly - they have no loss of power between gear changes.
Such is the ingenuity of the teams' designers that the sport's governing body, the FIA, has had to impose restrictions on performance in an effort to cap cornering speeds. The most recent examples are a 30 percent reduction in downforce in 2005 and a reduction in engine capacity from 3-litre V10s to 2.4-litre V8s in '06.
For 2009, even more stringent aerodynamic restrictions are intended to simultaneously slow the car and increase overtaking.
THE REGULATIONSThe technical regulations are split into five sections (“Articles”): definitions, general principles, bodywork and dimensions, weight and engine. But, rather than being a closed book, they can be added to at any time - usually in the name of safety - when the teams introduce new technologies that dramatically increase speeds.
The sporting regulations provide definitions on how the sport is run, from the necessary licences required by a driver to race, to a minute-by-minute description of the start procedure and the podium ceremony.
Keep an eye on McLaren.com for the new 2009 regulations.
BEHIND-THE-SCENESWhile the Drivers' World Championship attracts the bulk of the media coverage, Formula 1 remains inherently a team sport. The two drivers from each team that do battle on the racetrack are only the tip of the iceberg.
Back at the factory up to 1,000 people are involved in the design, build and preparation of the cars. Such is the relentless pace of development in Formula 1 that teams run nightshifts in an effort to stay ahead of the opposition.
The Formula 1 calendar's gruelling schedule (18 races across five continents in eight months) means that many of the race team mechanics and race engineers are rested between races. A separate team - a test team – takes to the track between races to try out development parts and only once new parts have been signed off by them are they then used in a race.
Even the drivers have a group of people working with them behind-the-scenes, from personal assistants to personal trainers. No stone can be left unturned in Formula 1 - and it usually isn'
Wednesday 22 July 2009
Monday 20 July 2009
Thursday 16 July 2009
RACE REPORT
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN MP4-24-03
Started: 6th
Finished: 8th
Fastest lap: 1m35.524s (17th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Pr)
2009 points: 5 (13th)
From sixth on the grid, Heikki made a great start, out-accelerating Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and then leapfrogging the delayed Lewis to hold third position for the opening stint. Some great defensive driving kept him ahead of Button, Felipe Massa and Vettel and he kept himself in the fight for the whole race, pitting on laps 15 and 40 to emerge eighth for his final stint. For the last 10 laps, he again drove with one eye on his rear-view mirrors to keep a busy train of cars at bay. Eighth position was a well-deserved result for a race driven on the car’s limit for the entire duration – particularly as he was not armed with the same aero upgrade package raced by Lewis this afternoon.
“If you’d told me on Friday that I would score points today, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Heikki said afterwards. “This weekend has been difficult – it’s been hard to get the tyres working and to find grip, but we kept pushing throughout every session and things started to turn around. Qualifying went well and our KERS hybrid helped me to move from sixth to third at the start.
“From that point on, it was all about defending: I pushed the whole time and it was a hard way to earn points but we can be satisfied about it. KERS made my race today, no doubt about it, and I’m now really looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix, when I’ll get my hands on the full aero upgrade package for the first time. It’s good for the whole team that we now seem to be moving forwards again.”
LEWIS HAMILTONMP4-24-04
Started: 5th
Finished: 18h
Fastest lap: 1m35.367s (15th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Op)
2009 points: 9 (11th)
Lewis made a good KERS-assisted start from fifth on the grid, quickly vaulted Sebastian Vettel and ran around the outside of duelling leaders, Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber. Turning into the first corner, he was snagged by Webber’s front wing, the contact puncturing his right-rear tyre and necessitating a first-lap pitstop.
Heavily fuelled and switched to a two-stint strategy, he was relegated to the back and drove a lonely race to 18th, unable to perform competitively owing to suspected damage to the rear – likely caused by the flailing rubber – which negatively affected handling and tyre-wear.
“My race was effectively over at Turn One,” Lewis said. “I had quite a good launch down to Turn One, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on. I think the flat tyre had damaged the rear floor and it felt like I was out there driving on ice. I suggested to the team that we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there’s a lot more potential ahead of us than we’d anticipated before this weekend.
“But that’s racing and we’ll move on. The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful. The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I’m already looking forward to the next race.”
MARTIN WHITMARSHTeam principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Lewis and Heikki both made great starts, assisted by KERS hybrid. In fact, Lewis could have taken the lead at the first corner if he hadn’t been hit by Mark, which collision resulted in a puncture. That was a great shame, because his car was competitive here and I’m therefore sure he would have been able to score well with it. More frustratingly still, after having to make an unscheduled pit stop as a result of that puncture, he emerged in the worst possible track position: at the front of the field. He therefore had to observe the blue flags and allow all the front-runners past, causing him to lose further time.
“Heikki showed great spirit throughout the weekend, performing consistently well despite not having access to all the aero upgrades enjoyed by Lewis, and ending up with a solid eighth-place finish and a useful world championship point. Now, though, we’re already looking forward to going to Budapest, where both our drivers will have the aero upgrades and we ought therefore to be able to put in a competitive showing with both cars.”
NORBERT HAUGVice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“The first few hundred metres looked promising when Lewis put his nose in front for the fraction of a second after starting from fifth place. He ran wide after being hit before the corner and got a puncture. Heikki showed a solid performance with the old-spec underfloor and brought home a point at least. We have to further improve – but this was a good first step.”
Pos Driver Constructor Race Time
1 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1h36m43.310
2 Sebastien Vettel Red Bull Racing + 9.252
3 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari + 15.906
4 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 + 21.099
5 Jenson Button Brawn GP + 23.609
6 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP + 24.468
7 Fernando Alonso Renault + 24.888
8 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes + 58.692
9 Timo Glock Toyota + 1m01.457
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 1m01.925
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India + 1m02.327
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams F1 + 1m02.876
13 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault + 1m08.328
14 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber + 1m09.555
15 Adrian Sutil Force India + 1m11.941
16 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso + 1m30.225
17 Jarno Trulli Toyota + 1:30.970
18 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes + 1 lap
Fastest Lap: F Alonso 1m33.365
Started: 6th
Finished: 8th
Fastest lap: 1m35.524s (17th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Pr)
2009 points: 5 (13th)
From sixth on the grid, Heikki made a great start, out-accelerating Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel into the first corner and then leapfrogging the delayed Lewis to hold third position for the opening stint. Some great defensive driving kept him ahead of Button, Felipe Massa and Vettel and he kept himself in the fight for the whole race, pitting on laps 15 and 40 to emerge eighth for his final stint. For the last 10 laps, he again drove with one eye on his rear-view mirrors to keep a busy train of cars at bay. Eighth position was a well-deserved result for a race driven on the car’s limit for the entire duration – particularly as he was not armed with the same aero upgrade package raced by Lewis this afternoon.
“If you’d told me on Friday that I would score points today, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Heikki said afterwards. “This weekend has been difficult – it’s been hard to get the tyres working and to find grip, but we kept pushing throughout every session and things started to turn around. Qualifying went well and our KERS hybrid helped me to move from sixth to third at the start.
“From that point on, it was all about defending: I pushed the whole time and it was a hard way to earn points but we can be satisfied about it. KERS made my race today, no doubt about it, and I’m now really looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix, when I’ll get my hands on the full aero upgrade package for the first time. It’s good for the whole team that we now seem to be moving forwards again.”
LEWIS HAMILTONMP4-24-04
Started: 5th
Finished: 18h
Fastest lap: 1m35.367s (15th)
Pitstops: two (Op-Pr-Op)
2009 points: 9 (11th)
Lewis made a good KERS-assisted start from fifth on the grid, quickly vaulted Sebastian Vettel and ran around the outside of duelling leaders, Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber. Turning into the first corner, he was snagged by Webber’s front wing, the contact puncturing his right-rear tyre and necessitating a first-lap pitstop.
Heavily fuelled and switched to a two-stint strategy, he was relegated to the back and drove a lonely race to 18th, unable to perform competitively owing to suspected damage to the rear – likely caused by the flailing rubber – which negatively affected handling and tyre-wear.
“My race was effectively over at Turn One,” Lewis said. “I had quite a good launch down to Turn One, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on. I think the flat tyre had damaged the rear floor and it felt like I was out there driving on ice. I suggested to the team that we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there’s a lot more potential ahead of us than we’d anticipated before this weekend.
“But that’s racing and we’ll move on. The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful. The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I’m already looking forward to the next race.”
MARTIN WHITMARSHTeam principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Lewis and Heikki both made great starts, assisted by KERS hybrid. In fact, Lewis could have taken the lead at the first corner if he hadn’t been hit by Mark, which collision resulted in a puncture. That was a great shame, because his car was competitive here and I’m therefore sure he would have been able to score well with it. More frustratingly still, after having to make an unscheduled pit stop as a result of that puncture, he emerged in the worst possible track position: at the front of the field. He therefore had to observe the blue flags and allow all the front-runners past, causing him to lose further time.
“Heikki showed great spirit throughout the weekend, performing consistently well despite not having access to all the aero upgrades enjoyed by Lewis, and ending up with a solid eighth-place finish and a useful world championship point. Now, though, we’re already looking forward to going to Budapest, where both our drivers will have the aero upgrades and we ought therefore to be able to put in a competitive showing with both cars.”
NORBERT HAUGVice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“The first few hundred metres looked promising when Lewis put his nose in front for the fraction of a second after starting from fifth place. He ran wide after being hit before the corner and got a puncture. Heikki showed a solid performance with the old-spec underfloor and brought home a point at least. We have to further improve – but this was a good first step.”
Pos Driver Constructor Race Time
1 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1h36m43.310
2 Sebastien Vettel Red Bull Racing + 9.252
3 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari + 15.906
4 Nico Rosberg Williams F1 + 21.099
5 Jenson Button Brawn GP + 23.609
6 Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP + 24.468
7 Fernando Alonso Renault + 24.888
8 Heikki Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes + 58.692
9 Timo Glock Toyota + 1m01.457
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber + 1m01.925
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India + 1m02.327
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams F1 + 1m02.876
13 Nelson Piquet Jr Renault + 1m08.328
14 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber + 1m09.555
15 Adrian Sutil Force India + 1m11.941
16 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso + 1m30.225
17 Jarno Trulli Toyota + 1:30.970
18 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes + 1 lap
Fastest Lap: F Alonso 1m33.365
Tuesday 14 July 2009
McLaren on the up
Lewis Hamilton’s German Grand Prix may have ended in disappointment, but it was clear that McLaren’s latest upgrades were working - the world champion finished top in two out of three practice sessions and qualified an impressive fifth fastest. An amazing start meant he also led the race briefly, before a rear puncture put paid to his chances. Speaking to his official website, Hamilton recounts the highs and lows of his Nurburgring weekend…
Q: A disappointing race - but there must be many positives to take away from the weekend?
Lewis Hamilton: It definitely wasn't the result we were hoping for before the race. We'd had such an encouraging practice and qualifying and I thought I could get a good result for myself and the team, but it just wasn't to be. It was just unfortunate and disappointing that I got a puncture at the first corner and as we now know that it subsequently damaged the upper floor and brake duct. That was my race basically over because I had a handling imbalance for the rest of the afternoon, there was no safety concern but we did lose downforce and made the car difficult to control.
Q: But you must go to Hungary feeling very encouraged?
LH: Absolutely, for sure. I know I said that I was disappointed after Sunday's race, but it is only natural and we have to look on the positive side: if we'd turned up at the Nurburgring and discovered that the upgrades we'd brought were a disappointment then it would have been a huge blow to everyone, but as far as we know, the upgrades made a huge difference to our performance last weekend and I'm hopeful we can carry that performance and more through to Hungary.
Q: Is it too early to call this a McLaren revival?
LH: It is not a revival, it is as I've said before a work-in-progress. The team has more improvements planned, and it would be great if we could further close the gap to the leaders and think about attacking at some of the races, but we are remaining realistic: Red Bull and Brawn have both got fantastic cars and it will be incredibly hard to just turn up and be able to compete with them.
At least we are now on the right track with our upgrades and the development process continues for both this year and the next - and while it's nice to think about race results and running at the front - as I've said before I now look at this year as a development year for all of us and one which will only make us stronger. I'm confident that we'll have some stronger showings in the next few races, and then we should have a clearer idea of just how we'll go at the end of the season.
Q: How important do you think the Nurburgring performance was for everybody's morale in the team?
LH: I believe everyone was encouraged, relieved, happy and positive that all the effort and hard work back at the factory was starting to deliver performance gains on the track. For the first time this year I actually felt that I had a race car under me that I could control instead of it controlling me. Unfortunately the team were only able to complete one set of upgrades, as they were originally intended for Hungary, and so Heikki (Kovalainen) had to run with some of the older parts, but he had a great race and result considering.
Q: Finally, how did you enjoy your drive around the old 14-mile Nordschleife earlier in the weekend?
LH: I just love driving the Nordschleife. I drove round it on Thursday morning in an AMG Mercedes-Benz - firstly with Bernd Schneider showing me the way and then in separate cars. It's such an amazing track - it is the most challenging car circuit in the world. Formula One would be great at the Nordschleife, only problem is the fans would probably only see you go round a handful of times as it takes over 10-15 mins to drive a lap! Some of my engineers ran a lap around the track on Saturday evening after qualifying, it took them about two hours!
Q: A disappointing race - but there must be many positives to take away from the weekend?
Lewis Hamilton: It definitely wasn't the result we were hoping for before the race. We'd had such an encouraging practice and qualifying and I thought I could get a good result for myself and the team, but it just wasn't to be. It was just unfortunate and disappointing that I got a puncture at the first corner and as we now know that it subsequently damaged the upper floor and brake duct. That was my race basically over because I had a handling imbalance for the rest of the afternoon, there was no safety concern but we did lose downforce and made the car difficult to control.
Q: But you must go to Hungary feeling very encouraged?
LH: Absolutely, for sure. I know I said that I was disappointed after Sunday's race, but it is only natural and we have to look on the positive side: if we'd turned up at the Nurburgring and discovered that the upgrades we'd brought were a disappointment then it would have been a huge blow to everyone, but as far as we know, the upgrades made a huge difference to our performance last weekend and I'm hopeful we can carry that performance and more through to Hungary.
Q: Is it too early to call this a McLaren revival?
LH: It is not a revival, it is as I've said before a work-in-progress. The team has more improvements planned, and it would be great if we could further close the gap to the leaders and think about attacking at some of the races, but we are remaining realistic: Red Bull and Brawn have both got fantastic cars and it will be incredibly hard to just turn up and be able to compete with them.
At least we are now on the right track with our upgrades and the development process continues for both this year and the next - and while it's nice to think about race results and running at the front - as I've said before I now look at this year as a development year for all of us and one which will only make us stronger. I'm confident that we'll have some stronger showings in the next few races, and then we should have a clearer idea of just how we'll go at the end of the season.
Q: How important do you think the Nurburgring performance was for everybody's morale in the team?
LH: I believe everyone was encouraged, relieved, happy and positive that all the effort and hard work back at the factory was starting to deliver performance gains on the track. For the first time this year I actually felt that I had a race car under me that I could control instead of it controlling me. Unfortunately the team were only able to complete one set of upgrades, as they were originally intended for Hungary, and so Heikki (Kovalainen) had to run with some of the older parts, but he had a great race and result considering.
Q: Finally, how did you enjoy your drive around the old 14-mile Nordschleife earlier in the weekend?
LH: I just love driving the Nordschleife. I drove round it on Thursday morning in an AMG Mercedes-Benz - firstly with Bernd Schneider showing me the way and then in separate cars. It's such an amazing track - it is the most challenging car circuit in the world. Formula One would be great at the Nordschleife, only problem is the fans would probably only see you go round a handful of times as it takes over 10-15 mins to drive a lap! Some of my engineers ran a lap around the track on Saturday evening after qualifying, it took them about two hours!
Saturday 11 July 2009
German Grand Prix qualifying
LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-24-04
P3 programme
1m31.121s (16 laps, 1st)
Lewis ran the morning session e quipped with a full upgrade package of new floor, top-body and FW5 front wing. He completed three runs, refining the overall balance of the car and assessing the two tyre compounds. After setting the fastest time of the morning, Lewis declared himself thrilled with the potential of the new package: “The car behaves really well,” he said. “It feels great to have a car that you can really push into the corners.
Qualifying
Q1 1m31.473s (4th)
Q2 1m39.149s (6th)
Q3 1m32.616s (5th overall)
An early Option-tyre run by Lewis in Q1 – before the shower affected track grip – secured his graduation to the second session with a 1m31.686s. Into Q2, he ran two slower laps on Intermediates before making a quick change to Options and recorded a 1m39.149s in the hectic dying seconds of the session. That placed him sixth. With the track steadily drying ahead of Q3, Lewis completed an early recce before bolting on another set of Options to set a 1m32.616s – finishing his run before the track reached its optimum. Nevertheless, he lines up fifth fastest for tomorrow’s race.
“I’m really happy to be in Q3,” said Lewis. “It’s a big difference for us this year, and the team has done a fantastic job. The conditions were up and down and they did brilliantly to make sure we were on the track with the right tyres at the right time. Also, the guys back at the factory have all worked extremely hard to get the parts to the track and they have made a big difference. Unfortunately, the track got a bit better after I set my fastest lap, when it was a bit greasy, but for Heikki and me to line up sixth and fifth tomorrow is a great result for us. We’re definitely in a position to fight for a podium, but trying to beat the Brawns and the Red Bulls will be difficult. The car is still a work-in-progress and there’s a way to go – but this is really encouraging. I don’t mind if it rains tomorrow but I’d just like a nice, smooth race!”
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03
P3 programme
1m32.742s (18 laps, 18th)
Two runs for Heikki in P3 – an eight-lap run on Primes and a five-lap stint on the Option. Equipped with a second FW5 front wing, but without the top-body and diffuser upgrades for Lewis, Heikki still found it difficult to find a comfortable balance in MP4-24 but pushed throughout the morning to refine the car to his liking.
Qualifying
Q1 1m31.881s (12th)
Q2 1m40.826s (8th)
Q3 1m33.859s (6th overall)
Heikki completed three early laps in Q1 before making a tyre-stop in the pits and completing another three laps, recording a 12th-fastest 1m31.881s. On a damp track in Q2, he spun on Inters at the exit of Turn Four but the car emerged unscathed and he was able to pit for Options, keep his head during a longer-than-anticipated stop and set a 1m40.826s – seeing him move into Q3 after a nail-biting session. For Q3, he completed two laps on the Option, finally setting a 1m33.859s to line up sixth – a fantastic effort and Heikki’s best qualifying position of the season.
Heikki said: “Today worked out better for me than expected: we can be very pleased with that. My tyre strategy worked really well this afternoon and I had the right tyres in Q2 when the conditions were at their trickiest. Thanks to the team for a superb job in a very tight situation. This result is very promising for everyone in the team and my car worked much better here than at previous races. The team has been working incredibly hard to make improvements to our car and, although I didn’t have the same upgrades as Lewis today, it’s really encouraging to see the step forward we’ve taken – we’re making excellent progress. Finally, it’s great to be able to produce our strongest qualifying result of the year at the home race of Mercedes-Benz – I think they’ve produced the best engine in Formula 1, and I hope they’re proud of their results today.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“First of all, congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for having five of their engines in the top seven – what a magnificent result. Obviously, we’ve made a step forward and having both cars on the third row is a fine achievement. Everybody in this team has worked incredibly hard to bring these performance upgrades to the car and it’s hugely gratifying for everyone that we can begin to see the results of all their efforts. Lewis and Heikki did a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances and Heikki’s pace, in particular, was outstanding. While a position on the front row was certainly possible, our cars were not running when the track was at its fastest. Nevertheless, we must be very pleased with today’s result and we look forward to tomorrow, when we feel we have the strategy to achieve another good result.”
NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“We had known since yesterday that a good result would be possible at our home race. Lewis and Heikki managed to put their cars on the third row – and even more could have been possible. The team and the drivers, including Pedro, have worked extremely hard since our disappointing performance at the last race at Silverstone and we have definitely made a step in the right direction. We should be in good shape for tomorrow’s race and hopefully our KERS hybrid will help us to overtake a couple of cars at the start
MP4-24-04
P3 programme
1m31.121s (16 laps, 1st)
Lewis ran the morning session e quipped with a full upgrade package of new floor, top-body and FW5 front wing. He completed three runs, refining the overall balance of the car and assessing the two tyre compounds. After setting the fastest time of the morning, Lewis declared himself thrilled with the potential of the new package: “The car behaves really well,” he said. “It feels great to have a car that you can really push into the corners.
Qualifying
Q1 1m31.473s (4th)
Q2 1m39.149s (6th)
Q3 1m32.616s (5th overall)
An early Option-tyre run by Lewis in Q1 – before the shower affected track grip – secured his graduation to the second session with a 1m31.686s. Into Q2, he ran two slower laps on Intermediates before making a quick change to Options and recorded a 1m39.149s in the hectic dying seconds of the session. That placed him sixth. With the track steadily drying ahead of Q3, Lewis completed an early recce before bolting on another set of Options to set a 1m32.616s – finishing his run before the track reached its optimum. Nevertheless, he lines up fifth fastest for tomorrow’s race.
“I’m really happy to be in Q3,” said Lewis. “It’s a big difference for us this year, and the team has done a fantastic job. The conditions were up and down and they did brilliantly to make sure we were on the track with the right tyres at the right time. Also, the guys back at the factory have all worked extremely hard to get the parts to the track and they have made a big difference. Unfortunately, the track got a bit better after I set my fastest lap, when it was a bit greasy, but for Heikki and me to line up sixth and fifth tomorrow is a great result for us. We’re definitely in a position to fight for a podium, but trying to beat the Brawns and the Red Bulls will be difficult. The car is still a work-in-progress and there’s a way to go – but this is really encouraging. I don’t mind if it rains tomorrow but I’d just like a nice, smooth race!”
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
MP4-24-03
P3 programme
1m32.742s (18 laps, 18th)
Two runs for Heikki in P3 – an eight-lap run on Primes and a five-lap stint on the Option. Equipped with a second FW5 front wing, but without the top-body and diffuser upgrades for Lewis, Heikki still found it difficult to find a comfortable balance in MP4-24 but pushed throughout the morning to refine the car to his liking.
Qualifying
Q1 1m31.881s (12th)
Q2 1m40.826s (8th)
Q3 1m33.859s (6th overall)
Heikki completed three early laps in Q1 before making a tyre-stop in the pits and completing another three laps, recording a 12th-fastest 1m31.881s. On a damp track in Q2, he spun on Inters at the exit of Turn Four but the car emerged unscathed and he was able to pit for Options, keep his head during a longer-than-anticipated stop and set a 1m40.826s – seeing him move into Q3 after a nail-biting session. For Q3, he completed two laps on the Option, finally setting a 1m33.859s to line up sixth – a fantastic effort and Heikki’s best qualifying position of the season.
Heikki said: “Today worked out better for me than expected: we can be very pleased with that. My tyre strategy worked really well this afternoon and I had the right tyres in Q2 when the conditions were at their trickiest. Thanks to the team for a superb job in a very tight situation. This result is very promising for everyone in the team and my car worked much better here than at previous races. The team has been working incredibly hard to make improvements to our car and, although I didn’t have the same upgrades as Lewis today, it’s really encouraging to see the step forward we’ve taken – we’re making excellent progress. Finally, it’s great to be able to produce our strongest qualifying result of the year at the home race of Mercedes-Benz – I think they’ve produced the best engine in Formula 1, and I hope they’re proud of their results today.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“First of all, congratulations to Mercedes-Benz for having five of their engines in the top seven – what a magnificent result. Obviously, we’ve made a step forward and having both cars on the third row is a fine achievement. Everybody in this team has worked incredibly hard to bring these performance upgrades to the car and it’s hugely gratifying for everyone that we can begin to see the results of all their efforts. Lewis and Heikki did a fantastic job in extremely difficult circumstances and Heikki’s pace, in particular, was outstanding. While a position on the front row was certainly possible, our cars were not running when the track was at its fastest. Nevertheless, we must be very pleased with today’s result and we look forward to tomorrow, when we feel we have the strategy to achieve another good result.”
NORBERT HAUG
Vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“We had known since yesterday that a good result would be possible at our home race. Lewis and Heikki managed to put their cars on the third row – and even more could have been possible. The team and the drivers, including Pedro, have worked extremely hard since our disappointing performance at the last race at Silverstone and we have definitely made a step in the right direction. We should be in good shape for tomorrow’s race and hopefully our KERS hybrid will help us to overtake a couple of cars at the start
Thursday 9 July 2009
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen
Who wrote the song ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’? When did team principal Martin Whitmarsh join McLaren? How many motorcycle world championships has Valentino Rossi won? And when did Finland's national ice hockey team, Leijonat, win a gold medal? These are just some of the questions we thought McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen would take in his stride after he agreed to be the latest participant in our personal trivia test, ‘Ask the Expert’...
Q: You are from Finnish town of Suomussalmi. Can you name two other famous names from Suomussalmi?
Heikki Kovalainen: Ilmari Kianto, he’s an author and is quite famous, and a former president from Finland - Stahlberg - is originally from Suomussalmi.
Correct - he could have also said composer Osmo Tapio Raihala or NHL player Janne Pesonen.
Q: One of your favourite Finnish groups is Nightwish. But who wrote their platinum-selling record ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’?
HK: Sorry, I don’t know who originally wrote it.
Incorrect - it was Gary Moore.
Q: Aside from his 2008 drivers’ title, your team mate Lewis Hamilton has taken three other championships in his career. Which series did he win?
HK: He won Formula Renault in 2003, then he won F3 (Euro) in 2005 and GP2 in 2006.
Correct
Q: In 2004 you won the World Series by Nissan title. Two F1 drivers, one current and one former, preceded and succeeded you as champion. Who were they?
HK: Franck Montagny won in 2003 and I finished second, and in 2005 it was Kubica.
Correct
Q: At the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix you took your first Formula One victory. Which driver scored a maiden F1 podium that day?
HK: It has to be Timo Glock.
Correct - Glock was second for Toyota.
Q: You have a new team principal this year, Martin Whitmarsh. In what year did Whitmarsh join McLaren?
HK: Let me think a little bit. Must be something around 20 years ago - more or less.
Correct - a good guess, it was 1989.
Q: Apart from yourself, seven Finnish drivers have tackled Formula One racing, and only five have scored points. Who were those lucky few?
HK: Kimi, Hakkinen, Salo, Rosberg and JJ Lehto.
Correct - Mika Hakkinen (420 points), JJ Lehto (10), Kimi Raikkonen (540), Keke Rosberg (159.5) and Mika Salo (33).
Q: You narrowly lost out to Williams’ Nico Rosberg for the 2005 GP2 series. Which former Formula One driver finished a distant third?
HK: Who was third? Let me think. A former F1 driver? Let me think! Speed?
Correct - it was indeed former Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed.
Q: McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa has been with the team since 2003. Which singer does De la Rosa prefer above all others?
HK: I have no idea!
Incorrect - it’s ‘The Boss’, Bruce Springsteen.
Q: Bruce McLaren scored his team’s first victory in 1968. Which manufacturer supplied the engine that took him across the finish line?
HK: Who was in F1 for long? A Ford? But that was only a guess not knowledge!
It must be the Finn’s lucky day - another correct guess!
Q: As a fan of ice hockey and coming from Finland, you are no doubt a fan of Finland's national ice hockey team, Leijonat. In what year did the lions win a gold medal at the world championships?
HK: 1995.
Correct
Q: You are a fan of Valentino Rossi. How many motorcycle world championships has he clinched?
HK: Eight! He was in the papers recently that’s why I know!
Correct
Q: You like watching James Bond films in your spare time. Which British secret service agency does 007 work for?
HK: MI6.
Correct - he is an officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6.
Q: We’ve already seen you’re a big fan of music, but do you know which Finnish musician you share a birthday with?
HK: No idea! Who? Sorvali? Have never heard of him.
Incorrect - Henri ‘Trollhorn’ Sorvali, guitarist and keyboard player with folk metal band Moonsorrow, was born on October 19, 1978.
Q: At your first outing at the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix in 2001 you enjoyed a pretty strong showing, finishing eighth. Can you remember which former Formula One driver took victory?
HK: Takuma Sato.
Correct
Q: You famously beat Michael Schumacher to the Race of Champions title in 2004. You lost out on the Nations Cup that day with Finnish partner Marcus Gronholm. How many world rally titles has Gronholm won in his career?
HK: He is a two time world champion. He won in 2000 and 2002.
Correct
Q: Finland has produced more world rally champions than any other country - how many?
HK: Vatanen is one, Salonen two, Kankkunen is three, Mikkola four, Makinen five, Gronholm six. I guess the correct number is seven but no name is coming to me right now.
Correct - and the missing name is (Markku) Alen
Q: One of your early F1 test drives was with the Minardi team in 2003 at Italy’s Vallelunga circuit. Which famous Italian sports car company, who briefly entered F1 in the early 1960s and 1970s, produced a car named the Vallelunga?
HK: No idea.
Incorrect - De Tomaso.
Q: You list golf among your interests. Which Finnish golfer has achieved the highest world ranking?
HK: I think it’s a bit of an older guy… Karjalainen.
Correct - Toni Karjalainen.
Q: Prior to joining McLaren, Renault were involved in virtually every stage of your single-seater motorsport career. Can you tell us how many Grands Prix Renault have won, to the nearest five?
HK: Maybe about 30 or 40?
Correct - it’s 35.
Final score: 24 points from a possible 28
Ask the Expert rating: 86%
Current leader board:
1. Heikki Kovalainen - 86%
2. Mark Webber - 84%
3. Sebastien Buemi - 72%
4. Robert Kubica - 70%
5. Jenson Button - 69%
6. Giancarlo Fisichella - 68%
7. Nico Rosberg - 66%
8= Sebastian Vettel - 64%
8= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
10. Jarno Trulli - 58%
11. Nick Heidfeld - 57%
Q: You are from Finnish town of Suomussalmi. Can you name two other famous names from Suomussalmi?
Heikki Kovalainen: Ilmari Kianto, he’s an author and is quite famous, and a former president from Finland - Stahlberg - is originally from Suomussalmi.
Correct - he could have also said composer Osmo Tapio Raihala or NHL player Janne Pesonen.
Q: One of your favourite Finnish groups is Nightwish. But who wrote their platinum-selling record ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’?
HK: Sorry, I don’t know who originally wrote it.
Incorrect - it was Gary Moore.
Q: Aside from his 2008 drivers’ title, your team mate Lewis Hamilton has taken three other championships in his career. Which series did he win?
HK: He won Formula Renault in 2003, then he won F3 (Euro) in 2005 and GP2 in 2006.
Correct
Q: In 2004 you won the World Series by Nissan title. Two F1 drivers, one current and one former, preceded and succeeded you as champion. Who were they?
HK: Franck Montagny won in 2003 and I finished second, and in 2005 it was Kubica.
Correct
Q: At the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix you took your first Formula One victory. Which driver scored a maiden F1 podium that day?
HK: It has to be Timo Glock.
Correct - Glock was second for Toyota.
Q: You have a new team principal this year, Martin Whitmarsh. In what year did Whitmarsh join McLaren?
HK: Let me think a little bit. Must be something around 20 years ago - more or less.
Correct - a good guess, it was 1989.
Q: Apart from yourself, seven Finnish drivers have tackled Formula One racing, and only five have scored points. Who were those lucky few?
HK: Kimi, Hakkinen, Salo, Rosberg and JJ Lehto.
Correct - Mika Hakkinen (420 points), JJ Lehto (10), Kimi Raikkonen (540), Keke Rosberg (159.5) and Mika Salo (33).
Q: You narrowly lost out to Williams’ Nico Rosberg for the 2005 GP2 series. Which former Formula One driver finished a distant third?
HK: Who was third? Let me think. A former F1 driver? Let me think! Speed?
Correct - it was indeed former Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed.
Q: McLaren tester Pedro de la Rosa has been with the team since 2003. Which singer does De la Rosa prefer above all others?
HK: I have no idea!
Incorrect - it’s ‘The Boss’, Bruce Springsteen.
Q: Bruce McLaren scored his team’s first victory in 1968. Which manufacturer supplied the engine that took him across the finish line?
HK: Who was in F1 for long? A Ford? But that was only a guess not knowledge!
It must be the Finn’s lucky day - another correct guess!
Q: As a fan of ice hockey and coming from Finland, you are no doubt a fan of Finland's national ice hockey team, Leijonat. In what year did the lions win a gold medal at the world championships?
HK: 1995.
Correct
Q: You are a fan of Valentino Rossi. How many motorcycle world championships has he clinched?
HK: Eight! He was in the papers recently that’s why I know!
Correct
Q: You like watching James Bond films in your spare time. Which British secret service agency does 007 work for?
HK: MI6.
Correct - he is an officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), more commonly known as MI6.
Q: We’ve already seen you’re a big fan of music, but do you know which Finnish musician you share a birthday with?
HK: No idea! Who? Sorvali? Have never heard of him.
Incorrect - Henri ‘Trollhorn’ Sorvali, guitarist and keyboard player with folk metal band Moonsorrow, was born on October 19, 1978.
Q: At your first outing at the Formula Three Macau Grand Prix in 2001 you enjoyed a pretty strong showing, finishing eighth. Can you remember which former Formula One driver took victory?
HK: Takuma Sato.
Correct
Q: You famously beat Michael Schumacher to the Race of Champions title in 2004. You lost out on the Nations Cup that day with Finnish partner Marcus Gronholm. How many world rally titles has Gronholm won in his career?
HK: He is a two time world champion. He won in 2000 and 2002.
Correct
Q: Finland has produced more world rally champions than any other country - how many?
HK: Vatanen is one, Salonen two, Kankkunen is three, Mikkola four, Makinen five, Gronholm six. I guess the correct number is seven but no name is coming to me right now.
Correct - and the missing name is (Markku) Alen
Q: One of your early F1 test drives was with the Minardi team in 2003 at Italy’s Vallelunga circuit. Which famous Italian sports car company, who briefly entered F1 in the early 1960s and 1970s, produced a car named the Vallelunga?
HK: No idea.
Incorrect - De Tomaso.
Q: You list golf among your interests. Which Finnish golfer has achieved the highest world ranking?
HK: I think it’s a bit of an older guy… Karjalainen.
Correct - Toni Karjalainen.
Q: Prior to joining McLaren, Renault were involved in virtually every stage of your single-seater motorsport career. Can you tell us how many Grands Prix Renault have won, to the nearest five?
HK: Maybe about 30 or 40?
Correct - it’s 35.
Final score: 24 points from a possible 28
Ask the Expert rating: 86%
Current leader board:
1. Heikki Kovalainen - 86%
2. Mark Webber - 84%
3. Sebastien Buemi - 72%
4. Robert Kubica - 70%
5. Jenson Button - 69%
6. Giancarlo Fisichella - 68%
7. Nico Rosberg - 66%
8= Sebastian Vettel - 64%
8= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
10. Jarno Trulli - 58%
11. Nick Heidfeld - 57%
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
