Archive for June, 2009

Hamilton sees McLaren improvement

• Posted in F1 News

Lewis Hamilton says he can see “light at the end of the tunnel” after a hugely frustrating start to the season.

The reigning world champion has won just nine points this campaign, with his McLaren car struggling to keep pace with the likes of Brawn and Red Bull.

But Hamilton, who finished 16th at the British Grand Prix, still harbours some optimism for the rest of the season.

“I’m hoping we will have some huge improvements for the next race… (and) for our end-of-season push,” he said.

“While the result didn’t look so good for us again, I think we can take some positives away from this weekend because we genuinely learnt a lot about our car.

“It’s still not going to be a day-and-night change that makes the difference, but I’m hoping we can gain some advantage to help improve our results.”

Hamilton’s best result of the season, after he was stripped of third place at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, has been his fourth place in Bahrain back in April.

from bbc

British Grand Prix 2009

• Posted in F1 2009 . F1 News

British Grand Prix 2009
19 – 21 June, Silverstone, England

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel scored a crushing victory in the British Grand Prix as championship leader Jenson Button’s Brawn struggled to sixth.

Vettel took advantage of his team-mate Mark Webber being caught behind Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello to build a decisive lead in the first stint of the race.

Having blown his chances of a victory two weeks ago in Turkey after making an error on the opening lap from pole-position, the 21-year-old German made no mistake this time and capitalised on RBR’s new-found superiority to disappear into the distance to end Jenson Button and Brawn’s winning streak.

BBC: Vettel romps to Silverstone win
ITV: Vettel crushes Silverstone opposition
Official F1: Qualifying – Vettel storms to Silverstone pole

Silverstone 2009 British Grand Prix Qualifying Results

• Posted in F1 News

BBC: Vettel grabs pole for British GP

Sebastian Vettel secured pole for the British Grand Prix in his updated Red Bull car as Brawn’s championship leader Jenson Button struggled to land sixth.

Vettel edged Button’s team-mate Rubens Barrichello into second and his own team-mate Mark Webber into third with a time of one minute 19.509 seconds.

Toyota’s Jarno Trulii will start Sunday’s Silverstone race in fourth ahead of Williams’s Kazuki Nakajimi.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is 19th, the worst qualifying result of his career.

ITV: Vettel surges to Silverstone pole

Sebastian Vettel took his third pole position of the season at Silverstone on Saturday, overcoming a stern challenge from Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello and his own Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber.

The 21-year-old German played second fiddle to Webber in the first part of Q3, but turned the tables with a superb on-the-limit final flier.

Home hero Jenson Button could only manage sixth after struggling with a lack of grip, while 2008 Silverstone winner Lewis Hamilton was sidelined in Q1 and will start on the back row of the grid.

Formula 1: British Grand Prix qualifying results

F1 row inches towards resolution

• Posted in F1 News

Formula One appears to be closing in on an agreement that will end the civil war between the teams and the sport’s governing body (FIA).

The teams’ umbrella group (Fota) and the FIA are in talks aimed at reaching a compromise over the disagreement.

The two parties have been in dispute over plans for a budget cap and the future of the sport.

Sources say negotiations are at a “delicate stage” but both sides are hopeful of reaching an agreement.

Fota have responded to a letter from FIA president Max Mosley after he urged them to this week submit an unconditional entry for next year.

Mosley made it clear if they did so, he would sit down with all the confirmed entrants and listen to their proposals with regard to the shaping of the regulations for 2010.

An FIA spokesman said: “The FIA has received a letter and various attachments from Fota, the contents of which are not entirely negative, and we are currently examining the details.”

However, it is not the first time that an end has looked in sight – the teams and the FIA staged meetings around the Monaco Grand Prix but failed to come to an agreement.

A meeting then took place between drivers and team principals representing eight members of Fota at the Turkish Grand Prix.

From BBC

F1 teams granted entry for 2010

• Posted in F1 News

All 10 current Formula 1 teams have been included on the list of entrants for the 2010 season, though five of those are on a conditional basis.

Brawn GP, McLaren, Renault, Toyota and BMW Sauber have until 17 June to submit an unconditional entry for the season.

And Ferrari are still adamant they will not race under the planned rules as the teams and the governing body continue to row over the future of F1.

Campos Grand Prix, Manor and US F1 have been accepted as new teams next season.

However, it is still unclear which teams will be joining them on the grid as the teams and the FIA are still at odds over new budgetary and technical regulations.

Eight of the current F1 teams applied to be on the grid for the next campaign on the basis that plans to implement a £40m budget cap were altered or waved, unlike Williams and Force India, whose applications were unconditional.

The teams, though committed to reducing costs in the sport, feel the budget constraint is too harsh and too soon and say the FIA’s plan to reward those teams who operate within the £40m budget with relaxed technical restraints would create a two-tier championship.

The Fota teams show no sign of backing down on this issue, and are expected to pursue more negotiations with the FIA aimed at ending the impasse, after 11th-hour negotiations on Thursday proved unsuccessful.

Fota also want the published 2010 regulations to be rewritten, while accepting the principle of a slower ‘glide-path’ down to FIA president Max Mosley’s budget cap figure over the next couple of years.

from bbc