Archive for June, 2009

Turkish Grand Prix 2009

• Posted in F1 2009 . F1 News

Turkish Grand Prix 2009
05 – 07 June 2009, Istanbul Park Circuit, Istanbul

Brawn’s Jenson Button coasted to a comfortable sixth win in seven races as he capitalised fully on Sebastian Vettel’s first-lap error in Turkey.

The championship leader got past pole-sitter Vettel when the Red Bull ran wide on the exit of Turn Nine and the Englishman dominated from then onwards.

Vettel led from pole but as team mate Rubens Barrichello made a terrible start from the clean side of the grid, Button held on to second place. When Vettel ran wide exiting Turn 10 the championship leader pounced mercilessly and thereafter did not relent in his punishment.

From there Button pulled away serenely, his only mild irritation coming in the middle phase of the race when Vettel moved onto a three-stop strategy and caught his two-stopping Brawn.

BBC: Brilliant Button on top in Turkey
ITV: Dominant Button strolls to Istanbul win
Official F1: Button halts Red Bull charge with victory in Istanbul

Kovalainen tops Turkish Grand Prix 2009 practice

• Posted in F1 News

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen topped the timesheets in Friday’s second practice session for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Kovalainen‘s one minute 28.841 second lap in the second session beat Fernando Alonso of Renault by just 0.006secs.

Championship leader Jenson Button was 12th in his Brawn – one place ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton, who said he was hoping to qualify in the top 10.

Williams’s Nico Rosberg was fastest in the morning as the day’s running gave little indication of form for the race.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, whose team are tipped for a strong showing, stopped on the track after just four laps of the second session with a suspected driveshaft failure.

The dusty conditions at the Istanbul Park track posed problems throughout the day.

Hamilton was one of several drivers to spin – the world champion losing control of his car twice in quick succession as he explored the limits of grip.

Renault’s Alonso, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima, who finished fourth fastest, were just three of 10 drivers to experience off-track moments in the second session.

There was better news for Robert Kubica whose revamped BMW Sauber, complete with new double-decker diffuser, was third fastest in the second session to give the Polish driver his best practice result of the season.

The morning’s first practice session was briefly brought to a halt by the red flag when the artificial turf at the front of the run off area at the exit to Turn One was damaged as several cars ran off line.

Sourse BBC

Turkish Grand Prix – team and driver preview quotes

• Posted in F1 News

The historic Monaco Grand Prix is a tough act to follow, but it’s clear that Istanbul Park, which will host next weekend’s Turkish race, is more than up to the challenge. State of the art, and featuring one of the most challenging corners on the calendar, the already legendary Turn Eight, it’s no wonder the drivers can’t wait to get started…

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying – 2nd, 2008 Race – 12th
“Turkey is all about Turn Eight – the high-speed, four-apex left-hander. On a good day in qualifying, it’s flat-out – and that’s a pretty good feeling when you get it right. It’s also very important to look after your tyres through Turn Eight – you put a lot of load through the tyres, particularly the fronts, so it’s a good idea to look after them during the race…

Nico Rosberg, Williams
2008 Qualifying – 11th, 2008 Race – 8th
“Turkey is usually a good track for us and we should be able to score points there. I like the circuit, and it’s a completely different proposition to where we’ve just come from. There are definitely some good overtaking opportunities around the lap as the track stretches to about 20m wide at one point and there are lots of large braking zones. We’ll have some upgrades for Turkey, so I really hope that maybe we can make a step forward and pick up points. It’s so difficult at the moment though. There are teams that have come from behind us and are now in front, like Ferrari, and then teams like Red Bull, Brawn and Toyota are still ahead of us…

Fernando Alonso, Renault
2008 Qualifying – 7th, 2008 Race – 6th
“Istanbul Park is a fun circuit with good overtaking opportunities, especially Turn 12 at the end of the back straight, which leads into the final complex of low-speed corners. There are also fast sections and some special corners like the long left-hander of Turn Eight, which is one of the most exciting of the year. The challenge of Istanbul Park is to find the right balance so that you have a responsive car that works well in the fast and slow sections. It’s clear that we need to take another step forward. We will have new developments for the car over the next few weeks and that should help, but I’m not expecting to jump to the front of the grid in Turkey…

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying – 9th, 2008 Race – 5th
“I hope our dismal performance in Monaco proves to be a glitch and that it was down to that particular circuit being unsuitable for our car. After all, there were signs of a forward trend at the previous race in Spain, and the next update is ready for Istanbul – also including a double diffuser.

Read all: www.formula1.com

Ferrari stay firm over budget cap

• Posted in F1 News

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali insists their decision to sign up conditionally for the 2010 Formula 1 season does not mean they will accept a budget cap.

Ferrari and the eight other members of Formula One Teams Association (Fota) have submitted a joint entry dependent on conditions being met by 12 June.

One condition is that they can operate under current technical regulations.

Domenicali said: “Making the 2009 regulations the starting point means there will be no budget cap.”

Ferrari had threatened to quit F1 after 60 unbroken years of competition if the International Automobile Federation (FIA) did not change the rules for the 2010 season which included an optional £40m budget cap.

But Ferrari’s decision to enter conditionally was seen as greatly reducing the likelihood of their departure from the sport.