By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Monday, August 31st 2009, 10:32 GMT
Red Bull Racing's team principal Christian Horner says Jenson Button cannot afford to continue with his streak of poor results if he is to win the championship this year.
The British driver won six of the first seven races of the season but has not been on the podium in the last five and retired for the first time at the Belgian Grand Prix last Sunday.
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello is now 16 points behind, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel 19 adrift.
Both drivers have been stronger than Button in recent races, as the Briton has struggled to show competitive pace with his Brawn car.
Horner reckons Button will need to find his form soon if he wants to stay on top of the championship table.
"Rubens has taken 10 points out of him in the last two races and Sebastian six points here, and he's not had a good weekend since Istanbul in early June," Horner said.
"He can't continue to have race weekends like he's had without being punished points wise in the next couple of events.
"It's still a four-horse race between now and the end of the championship."
Horner is adamant that both Vettel and Mark Webber are still very much in the hunt for the title.
"It's all left to play for, and I think there's going to be another twist in the championship between now and the end of the year," he added.
"Sebastian has moved to within 19 points, and although Mark didn't score, both still have a real chance of overhauling over him."
The Red Bull boss made it clear, however, that the team has no plans to support just one of its drivers yet.
"With one-and-a-half-points between the drivers it would be wrong at this stage to back one over the other. We'll continue to do what we've done all year and support both of them with equal priority."
Monday 31 August 2009
Saturday 29 August 2009
Vettel happy to miss first practice
Sebastian Vettel said he was actually happy to be unable to run in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull Racing driver has only two new engines available until the end of the season before he gets a penalty for using a ninth power unit, having lost two at the European Grand Prix last weekend.
His situation means Red Bull will limit his mileage in practice.
But with the first session at Spa being hit by rain, Vettel felt there was not much to lose by not going out.
"We didn't have so much running time today, especially in the morning, but that was actually quite good for us," said Vettel, who 25 laps in the afternoon.
"We knew we would face a difficult Friday as we have that much mileage available because of my engine situation, so it was a little lucky to have the rain this morning.
"In the afternoon, I felt comfortable with the car, we didn't have any problems and I'm quite happy with the performance. We need see exactly where we are tomorrow, but think it's been a good start to the weekend. I love this circuit, it has excellent corners and is a lot of fun."
Team-mate Mark Webber, fourth quickest, felt the team had extracted the maximum from the day.
"I think that's the most we could have hoped for during today's session," he said. "You always expect to lose a session in Spa to the changeable weather conditions and that was the case this morning. We had pretty productive afternoon with plenty go through.
"We didn't always move in the right direction, but that's not always a bad thing as we learn from it. So, that's today and now we'll put it all in focus for tomorrow - not a bad start for us."
The Red Bull Racing driver has only two new engines available until the end of the season before he gets a penalty for using a ninth power unit, having lost two at the European Grand Prix last weekend.
His situation means Red Bull will limit his mileage in practice.
But with the first session at Spa being hit by rain, Vettel felt there was not much to lose by not going out.
"We didn't have so much running time today, especially in the morning, but that was actually quite good for us," said Vettel, who 25 laps in the afternoon.
"We knew we would face a difficult Friday as we have that much mileage available because of my engine situation, so it was a little lucky to have the rain this morning.
"In the afternoon, I felt comfortable with the car, we didn't have any problems and I'm quite happy with the performance. We need see exactly where we are tomorrow, but think it's been a good start to the weekend. I love this circuit, it has excellent corners and is a lot of fun."
Team-mate Mark Webber, fourth quickest, felt the team had extracted the maximum from the day.
"I think that's the most we could have hoped for during today's session," he said. "You always expect to lose a session in Spa to the changeable weather conditions and that was the case this morning. We had pretty productive afternoon with plenty go through.
"We didn't always move in the right direction, but that's not always a bad thing as we learn from it. So, that's today and now we'll put it all in focus for tomorrow - not a bad start for us."
Friday 28 August 2009
Red Bull driver in engine trouble
Sebastian Vettel's two Renault engine failures at Valencia last weekend means he will have to ease back on practice mileage for the rest of his 2009 championship challenge.
"The last thing I want is a penalty," the Red Bull driver is quoted as saying on Thursday from Spa-Francorchamps.
"That means I will drive less on Friday in practice," said Vettel according to the German news agency SID.
"Naturally that's not an advantage, but it's better to sit and drink some coffee (by not running much in practice) than have to start ten places behind," he explained.
It is believed that, in addition to the fresh V8 unit that will be in his car for Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, the German has just one more fresh Renault engine in the bag for the remainder of the season - meaning each must last an average of three races.
"For sure from now onwards we cannot have any mistakes or failures again," Vettel commented. "That's for sure."
"The last thing I want is a penalty," the Red Bull driver is quoted as saying on Thursday from Spa-Francorchamps.
"That means I will drive less on Friday in practice," said Vettel according to the German news agency SID.
"Naturally that's not an advantage, but it's better to sit and drink some coffee (by not running much in practice) than have to start ten places behind," he explained.
It is believed that, in addition to the fresh V8 unit that will be in his car for Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, the German has just one more fresh Renault engine in the bag for the remainder of the season - meaning each must last an average of three races.
"For sure from now onwards we cannot have any mistakes or failures again," Vettel commented. "That's for sure."
Thursday 27 August 2009
Belgian Grand Prix preview
The 2009 title chase took another twist at Valencia, with the advantage swinging back towards Brawn GP after its recent dip in form, and Rubens Barrichello scoring an emotional first Formula 1 victory in nearly five years.
But as the F1 circus moves from the rather characterless portside circuit to the classic Spa-Francorchamps venue this weekend, there are plenty of reasons to suppose the balance of power may change again.
Red Bull Racing’s desultory Valencia showing has left it with a mountain to climb over the remaining six races if it to haul in Brawn in the constructors’ championship and (particularly) Jenson Button in the drivers’ contest – so it must make substantial inroads this weekend, preferably with a one-two finish.
If everything goes according to plan for the Milton Keynes-based squad, such a result should be eminently achievable, for Spa’s flowing layout and abundance of medium- and high-speed corners could have been tailor-made for Red Bull’s RB5 chassis.
The last time F1 visited a similar high-speed circuit, at Silverstone in June, the RB5 was in a league of its own, and Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber annihilated the opposition.
A second factor favouring Red Bull is the likelihood that the ambient, track and therefore tyre temperatures will be much lower than they were in Valencia.
Chilly conditions stymied Brawn’s BGP 001 at Silverstone and the Nurburgring in particular, and Ross Brawn admitted last weekend that he was unsure whether the team had got on top of this problem since the sweltering Valencia heat made it hard to gauge.
Cool temperatures actively suit the RB5, which has shown a disturbing propensity for eating up its rear tyres in hot conditions – so the effect of any change in temperatures on the Brawn/Red Bull state of play is amplified.
Ironically there was a heatwave in Belgium’s Hautes Fagnes region last week, but ambient temperatures are back on their way down and forecast to drop below 20C over the weekend.
Often the fickle Ardennes weather plays a rather larger role than merely affecting tyre temperatures, of course, as we saw with the shower that triggered a dramatic conclusion to last year’s race.
At the time of writing, showers are predicted for Friday and Saturday, with race day expected to be dry – but Spa has a micro-climate all of its own and even short-range weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable.
The Red Bulls were mighty in monsoon conditions in Shanghai back in April, and two of Vettel’s three grand prix victories have come in the wet.
But given that it RBR expected to have a car advantage anyway, and that wet races always increase the risk of spins and carnage, you’d have to think the team fancies its chances without the help of Mother Nature.
On paper, then, Red Bull is the best bet to win at Spa – but lurking over the team is the spectre of reliability problems.
The RB5 has been more fragile than the Brawn all season, and after two engine failures in Valencia Vettel has now used up six of his eight Renault units allocated for the year.
If the eighth engine lets go before the end of the season, Vettel will have to accept a 10-place grid penalty for making use of a ninth power plant – a scenario team boss Christian Horner has admitted is “almost inevitable”.
That may happen sooner rather than later since the next two races, Spa and Monza, are the toughest on engines on the whole calendar.
With Eau Rouge taken comfortably flat-out, the section from La Source to Les Combes is now the longest continuous full-throttle stretch in F1, much of it uphill.
The big question is how much the engine concern will hamper Vettel’s approach to the remaining six grands prix, and whether the team will conclude that it makes Webber its only realistic title contender.
At least for this weekend – with such a strong chance of a Red Bull victory – it would make sense for Vettel to continue to race flat-out, and hope for the best; but in subsequent races the team may feel the need to detune the engine to prolong its life.
From Brawn’s perspective, Barrichello’s Valencia victory was both good and bad news since it made him Button’s closest rival in the points standings once again, ensuring that the Brazilian will fancy a title shot of his own and will not be amenable to playing a supporting role any time soon.
Although he actually extended his points lead over the Red Bull drivers, Button was thoroughly dissatisfied with his seventh place in Spain – and rightly so, since Barrichello showed Brawn had a car capable of winning.
What this weekend should reveal is whether Brawn’s improved form was largely down to the hot temperatures, or whether it has made underlying performance gains that will enable it to fight for victory at most of the remaining races.
While the fortunes of the two title-contending teams have ebbed and flowed in recent weeks, McLaren has transformed its performance in the most impressive fashion, with Lewis Hamilton dominating in Hungary and only narrowly missing out on a second consecutive win in Valencia.
The Woking team doesn’t expect to be quite as competitive at Spa, since high-speed corners are still not the MP4-24’s forte.
But the car has gained so much downforce with recent updates, particularly an improved twin-diffuser design, that it is sure to contend for points and possibly a podium.
Both Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen love the circuit, but the Finn really needs to deliver a convincing race performance to boost his chances of retaining his drive for 2010.
Ferrari should not be discounted either.
Kimi Raikkonen has the best Spa record of anyone on the current grid, having won here with McLaren in 2004 and ’05 and then with Ferrari in ’07.
The laconic Finn seems to have found some good form at the moment, having finished second at the Nurburgring and third at Valencia, but reckons the team can forget about challenging for its first win of the year since it has stopped developing the F60 and moved its focus onto the 2010 car.
After struggling mightily in Valencia, Felipe Massa’s stand-in Luca Badoer has been given one more race to show he is worthy of a Ferrari drive.
Now that he has a full race weekend under his belt and is returning to a familiar circuit, the 38-year-old Italian feels sure he can make a big step forward; he certainly needs to, as Ferrari does not enjoy qualifying and finishing at the back of the grid, whatever the circumstances.
Renault’s new recruit Romain Grosjean did a solid job on his debut in Spain, and impressively set a (marginally) faster race lap than his double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.
That, plus the fact that he won last year’s GP2 feature race at Spa, should allow the young Frenchman to attack his second F1 weekend with confidence.
But as the F1 circus moves from the rather characterless portside circuit to the classic Spa-Francorchamps venue this weekend, there are plenty of reasons to suppose the balance of power may change again.
Red Bull Racing’s desultory Valencia showing has left it with a mountain to climb over the remaining six races if it to haul in Brawn in the constructors’ championship and (particularly) Jenson Button in the drivers’ contest – so it must make substantial inroads this weekend, preferably with a one-two finish.
If everything goes according to plan for the Milton Keynes-based squad, such a result should be eminently achievable, for Spa’s flowing layout and abundance of medium- and high-speed corners could have been tailor-made for Red Bull’s RB5 chassis.
The last time F1 visited a similar high-speed circuit, at Silverstone in June, the RB5 was in a league of its own, and Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber annihilated the opposition.
A second factor favouring Red Bull is the likelihood that the ambient, track and therefore tyre temperatures will be much lower than they were in Valencia.
Chilly conditions stymied Brawn’s BGP 001 at Silverstone and the Nurburgring in particular, and Ross Brawn admitted last weekend that he was unsure whether the team had got on top of this problem since the sweltering Valencia heat made it hard to gauge.
Cool temperatures actively suit the RB5, which has shown a disturbing propensity for eating up its rear tyres in hot conditions – so the effect of any change in temperatures on the Brawn/Red Bull state of play is amplified.
Ironically there was a heatwave in Belgium’s Hautes Fagnes region last week, but ambient temperatures are back on their way down and forecast to drop below 20C over the weekend.
Often the fickle Ardennes weather plays a rather larger role than merely affecting tyre temperatures, of course, as we saw with the shower that triggered a dramatic conclusion to last year’s race.
At the time of writing, showers are predicted for Friday and Saturday, with race day expected to be dry – but Spa has a micro-climate all of its own and even short-range weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable.
The Red Bulls were mighty in monsoon conditions in Shanghai back in April, and two of Vettel’s three grand prix victories have come in the wet.
But given that it RBR expected to have a car advantage anyway, and that wet races always increase the risk of spins and carnage, you’d have to think the team fancies its chances without the help of Mother Nature.
On paper, then, Red Bull is the best bet to win at Spa – but lurking over the team is the spectre of reliability problems.
The RB5 has been more fragile than the Brawn all season, and after two engine failures in Valencia Vettel has now used up six of his eight Renault units allocated for the year.
If the eighth engine lets go before the end of the season, Vettel will have to accept a 10-place grid penalty for making use of a ninth power plant – a scenario team boss Christian Horner has admitted is “almost inevitable”.
That may happen sooner rather than later since the next two races, Spa and Monza, are the toughest on engines on the whole calendar.
With Eau Rouge taken comfortably flat-out, the section from La Source to Les Combes is now the longest continuous full-throttle stretch in F1, much of it uphill.
The big question is how much the engine concern will hamper Vettel’s approach to the remaining six grands prix, and whether the team will conclude that it makes Webber its only realistic title contender.
At least for this weekend – with such a strong chance of a Red Bull victory – it would make sense for Vettel to continue to race flat-out, and hope for the best; but in subsequent races the team may feel the need to detune the engine to prolong its life.
From Brawn’s perspective, Barrichello’s Valencia victory was both good and bad news since it made him Button’s closest rival in the points standings once again, ensuring that the Brazilian will fancy a title shot of his own and will not be amenable to playing a supporting role any time soon.
Although he actually extended his points lead over the Red Bull drivers, Button was thoroughly dissatisfied with his seventh place in Spain – and rightly so, since Barrichello showed Brawn had a car capable of winning.
What this weekend should reveal is whether Brawn’s improved form was largely down to the hot temperatures, or whether it has made underlying performance gains that will enable it to fight for victory at most of the remaining races.
While the fortunes of the two title-contending teams have ebbed and flowed in recent weeks, McLaren has transformed its performance in the most impressive fashion, with Lewis Hamilton dominating in Hungary and only narrowly missing out on a second consecutive win in Valencia.
The Woking team doesn’t expect to be quite as competitive at Spa, since high-speed corners are still not the MP4-24’s forte.
But the car has gained so much downforce with recent updates, particularly an improved twin-diffuser design, that it is sure to contend for points and possibly a podium.
Both Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen love the circuit, but the Finn really needs to deliver a convincing race performance to boost his chances of retaining his drive for 2010.
Ferrari should not be discounted either.
Kimi Raikkonen has the best Spa record of anyone on the current grid, having won here with McLaren in 2004 and ’05 and then with Ferrari in ’07.
The laconic Finn seems to have found some good form at the moment, having finished second at the Nurburgring and third at Valencia, but reckons the team can forget about challenging for its first win of the year since it has stopped developing the F60 and moved its focus onto the 2010 car.
After struggling mightily in Valencia, Felipe Massa’s stand-in Luca Badoer has been given one more race to show he is worthy of a Ferrari drive.
Now that he has a full race weekend under his belt and is returning to a familiar circuit, the 38-year-old Italian feels sure he can make a big step forward; he certainly needs to, as Ferrari does not enjoy qualifying and finishing at the back of the grid, whatever the circumstances.
Renault’s new recruit Romain Grosjean did a solid job on his debut in Spain, and impressively set a (marginally) faster race lap than his double world champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.
That, plus the fact that he won last year’s GP2 feature race at Spa, should allow the young Frenchman to attack his second F1 weekend with confidence.
Wednesday 26 August 2009
David Coulthard's Red Bull guide to Spa
We asked Mr Coulthard what it was like driving a Formula One car through Eau Rouge, one of the most famous sections of track on the calendar, and what he liked about the track and its surroundings...
“I would say that at least 90% of the drivers would put Spa forward as their favourite grand prix circuit. It is the unique challenge of the track which involves a lot of climbs - most famously Eau Rouge - and a lot of dips on the back of those climbs like Pouhon in the middle of the lap.
“The start of the lap is a fairly straight forward hairpin La Source. Out of La Source you're immediately thinking about the daunting, flat-out in sixth gear Eau Rouge corner, which, although easier today than it was several seasons ago because of the improvements in the cars is still an awesome feeling. The feeling of the car being compressed into the tarmac and the lateral load and the sidewalls of the tyres literally stretching on the side of the wheels is just incredible and just to top it off when you come up over the top of Eau Rouge you have got no visibility, no knowledge of, at 170 miles an hour, what lies above and you rely completly on the flag marshals if there is an incident.
“Eau Rouge still lives up to its billing, no question. You drive a car at that speed through that level of compression and elevation, then that's a rush, that's a roller coaster ride. You know that if the car fails at that point it's going to be a huge accident, so I don't care what any driver says, you don't go through there making adjustments on your steering wheel. Both hands are on the grips and you're fully focused.
“That really gets your adrenaline pumping for the rest of the lap.
“The next area of significance is the drop down through Turn Ten, a double apex fifth gear very fast left-hander where you feel as if your neck has been pulled from your shoulders. Then you get the fast chicane through 12 and 13, 13 where Schumacher famously spun across the kerbs in 1994 and was disqualified for his plank being too thin.
“The end of the lap is signified by the exit of turn 14 which dictates your speed all the way through flat-out Turns 15, 16 and 17 and it's a long section flat-out until you get to the big stop at the old Bus Stop chicane.
“Unfortunately this was changed a couple of years ago and it's definitely nowhere near as good a corner as it used to be, but it brings you back down to a very low speed before you exit on to the start-finish line and hopefully deliver a good lap time. It's a long lap at very high speeds and there's always a high possibility of wet weather.
“It's a beautiful region, but it's countryside, so it doesn't have the glitz and glamour of a Monte Carlo but it's been on the grand prix calendar for decades and it deserves that billing. It's a nice track and it's nice to go to all these different regions, you don't want them all to be sweat boxes.”
“I would say that at least 90% of the drivers would put Spa forward as their favourite grand prix circuit. It is the unique challenge of the track which involves a lot of climbs - most famously Eau Rouge - and a lot of dips on the back of those climbs like Pouhon in the middle of the lap.
“The start of the lap is a fairly straight forward hairpin La Source. Out of La Source you're immediately thinking about the daunting, flat-out in sixth gear Eau Rouge corner, which, although easier today than it was several seasons ago because of the improvements in the cars is still an awesome feeling. The feeling of the car being compressed into the tarmac and the lateral load and the sidewalls of the tyres literally stretching on the side of the wheels is just incredible and just to top it off when you come up over the top of Eau Rouge you have got no visibility, no knowledge of, at 170 miles an hour, what lies above and you rely completly on the flag marshals if there is an incident.
“Eau Rouge still lives up to its billing, no question. You drive a car at that speed through that level of compression and elevation, then that's a rush, that's a roller coaster ride. You know that if the car fails at that point it's going to be a huge accident, so I don't care what any driver says, you don't go through there making adjustments on your steering wheel. Both hands are on the grips and you're fully focused.
“That really gets your adrenaline pumping for the rest of the lap.
“The next area of significance is the drop down through Turn Ten, a double apex fifth gear very fast left-hander where you feel as if your neck has been pulled from your shoulders. Then you get the fast chicane through 12 and 13, 13 where Schumacher famously spun across the kerbs in 1994 and was disqualified for his plank being too thin.
“The end of the lap is signified by the exit of turn 14 which dictates your speed all the way through flat-out Turns 15, 16 and 17 and it's a long section flat-out until you get to the big stop at the old Bus Stop chicane.
“Unfortunately this was changed a couple of years ago and it's definitely nowhere near as good a corner as it used to be, but it brings you back down to a very low speed before you exit on to the start-finish line and hopefully deliver a good lap time. It's a long lap at very high speeds and there's always a high possibility of wet weather.
“It's a beautiful region, but it's countryside, so it doesn't have the glitz and glamour of a Monte Carlo but it's been on the grand prix calendar for decades and it deserves that billing. It's a nice track and it's nice to go to all these different regions, you don't want them all to be sweat boxes.”
Monday 24 August 2009
Red Bull rules out KERS for Belgian GP
Red Bull Racing has ruled out introducing its KERS system at this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, although the team is yet to decide if it will use it in other races.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit revealed over the European Grand Prix weekend that it was evaluating the possibility of using KERS for the first time at Spa in order to boost it chances in the championship.
But team boss Christian Horner admitted that racing KERS at Spa could prove distracting, although he claimed Red Bull will still consider using it at the Italian Grand Prix.
"Spa is not so different to Silverstone and we had a strong car there, so to introduce KERS at this stage could only be disruptive," said Horner.
"We will make a decision for Monza after Spa. It would be the Renault/Red Bull KERS one that was developed at the beginning of the season. We will continue to look at it."
Ross Brawn, whose team is leading the championship ahead of Red Bull, believes introducing KERS at this point of the season could prove very good if things go right, but a disaster if they don't.
"It could be a fantastic decision, or it could be a disaster," said Brawn. "One or the other. You've got to admire the effort they are making. I would not like to tackle a KERS system mid-season with no testing, but they have had the benefit of some experience with it, we've had no experience.
"We had some in the early days, and I guess it is a Renault system and that was raced for at least a few races early on this year."
Brawn admitted running KERS was not a possibility for his team, despite Mercedes-Benz having offered the system.
"It is not an option for us. Mercedes and McLaren very kindly offered it to us, but in installing the engine at such a late stage we put quite a lot of weight on the car because we had to modify the chassis and modify the gearboxes.
"The cooling is not optimised, there is too much oil cooling and not enough water cooling. We don't have enough ballast on the car to run a KERS system. The McLaren-Mercedes system is probably the lightest but we don't have enough ballast to take off the car and run to the weight limit, so for us it is not really an option."
The Milton Keynes-based outfit revealed over the European Grand Prix weekend that it was evaluating the possibility of using KERS for the first time at Spa in order to boost it chances in the championship.
But team boss Christian Horner admitted that racing KERS at Spa could prove distracting, although he claimed Red Bull will still consider using it at the Italian Grand Prix.
"Spa is not so different to Silverstone and we had a strong car there, so to introduce KERS at this stage could only be disruptive," said Horner.
"We will make a decision for Monza after Spa. It would be the Renault/Red Bull KERS one that was developed at the beginning of the season. We will continue to look at it."
Ross Brawn, whose team is leading the championship ahead of Red Bull, believes introducing KERS at this point of the season could prove very good if things go right, but a disaster if they don't.
"It could be a fantastic decision, or it could be a disaster," said Brawn. "One or the other. You've got to admire the effort they are making. I would not like to tackle a KERS system mid-season with no testing, but they have had the benefit of some experience with it, we've had no experience.
"We had some in the early days, and I guess it is a Renault system and that was raced for at least a few races early on this year."
Brawn admitted running KERS was not a possibility for his team, despite Mercedes-Benz having offered the system.
"It is not an option for us. Mercedes and McLaren very kindly offered it to us, but in installing the engine at such a late stage we put quite a lot of weight on the car because we had to modify the chassis and modify the gearboxes.
"The cooling is not optimised, there is too much oil cooling and not enough water cooling. We don't have enough ballast on the car to run a KERS system. The McLaren-Mercedes system is probably the lightest but we don't have enough ballast to take off the car and run to the weight limit, so for us it is not really an option."
Sunday 23 August 2009
Christian Horner Q and A
Red Bull simply weren’t quick enough It was not a glorious weekend for Red Bull. Two engines failures for Sebastian Vettel, leaving him with only two fresh V8s for the six remaining races, and Mark Webber missing a points-scoring position by one place. The only good news for team principal Christian Horner, was that Rubens Barrichello, not standings leader Jenson Button, won the race. But that is pretty cold comfort for a team aiming for both championships...
Q: Christian, was what happened this weekend the worst case scenario?
Christian Horner: Yes, it doesn’t get much worse than losing another engine and going back home with no points for either driver. It is really disappointing for Sebastian, who had two engine failures over the weekend - the fourth now in total - which makes it quite difficult with the engines for the rest of the year. And Mark basically struggled all weekend to find pace in the car. We simply were not quick enough this weekend.
Q: Regarding Sebastian’s engine failure, do you know what exactly happened?
CH: Right now we don’t know exactly what happened, but the fact is the failure is terminal.
Q: Four engines failures leaves a lot of questions. You are in the middle of talks about an engine contract for next season. Will you stay with Renault or change supplier? CH: I think it is still a long way to go in this championship and obviously our options are open. But you cannot make a decision based on one weekend, you have to look at the whole season and Renault so far has given us a great service and support. It was really unfortunate to have two engine failures in one weekend.
Q: Was this weekend the end of your championships dreams?
CH: I don’t think so, if you look at the amount of points that Jenson scored today - he only took another two points. It’s true it doesn’t make it any easier to catch him, but it is far from a disaster.
Q: What will the strategy for Sebastian be now that he has only two new engines left?
CH: It’s almost inevitable that we will have an engine penalty at some point because yes, we’re running out of engines. We need now to analyze the mileage that we’ve left on the engines that we have and look at which engine we will use at what circuits.
Q: Two engine failures in one weekend is a very unusual occurrence these days…
CH: It’s obviously an expensive failure.
Q: What happened to Mark? He fell back from seventh to ninth place…
CH: Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough. Jenson was very quick on his out-lap and we had a slow final stop, again precautionary with the fuel rig that has been somewhat temperamental today. And that cost him ultimately.
Q: Mark and Sebastian scored zero points this weekend. Does that mean that there is still equal treatment of both drivers?
CH: Absolutely. Rubens is back in the drivers’ championship again so the only positive aspect of this weekend is that Jenson didn’t score too many points. If he had scored a further ten points, the damage would have been significantly greater. We will be back in one week in Spa and hopefully we can have a better weekend there and forget this one very quickly.
Q: So the only good thing that you take home from this weekend is that it was Rubens who won and not Jenson…
CH: Yes, Jenson is eight points away from a potential maximum score. Adding only two points to his total is less damaging, but yes, we’ve missed a chance to reduce the gap to him. But on the other hand this result today doesn’t help us in the constructors’ championship. If I think it over, there hasn’t been any good news this weekend.
Q: Obviously your hopes for a better result in Spa are based on the fact that the track should suit the RB5 and that the temperatures are not as high there as they have been here…
CH: Yes, it could be. The weather is always a factor there. It can be a lottery sometimes. The Brawns were very quick today - by the way congratulations to Rubens, he did a fantastic job - but there are hopefully some circuits coming up that will play back to our strengths.
Q: There have been rumours that you might run KERS in Spa. Is that under consideration?
CH: Ha, we might use KERS but have no engines left, because that’s the only thing we have! Sure, we are looking at KERS on a race-by-race basis but I would say that it is unlikely.
Q: Christian, was what happened this weekend the worst case scenario?
Christian Horner: Yes, it doesn’t get much worse than losing another engine and going back home with no points for either driver. It is really disappointing for Sebastian, who had two engine failures over the weekend - the fourth now in total - which makes it quite difficult with the engines for the rest of the year. And Mark basically struggled all weekend to find pace in the car. We simply were not quick enough this weekend.
Q: Regarding Sebastian’s engine failure, do you know what exactly happened?
CH: Right now we don’t know exactly what happened, but the fact is the failure is terminal.
Q: Four engines failures leaves a lot of questions. You are in the middle of talks about an engine contract for next season. Will you stay with Renault or change supplier? CH: I think it is still a long way to go in this championship and obviously our options are open. But you cannot make a decision based on one weekend, you have to look at the whole season and Renault so far has given us a great service and support. It was really unfortunate to have two engine failures in one weekend.
Q: Was this weekend the end of your championships dreams?
CH: I don’t think so, if you look at the amount of points that Jenson scored today - he only took another two points. It’s true it doesn’t make it any easier to catch him, but it is far from a disaster.
Q: What will the strategy for Sebastian be now that he has only two new engines left?
CH: It’s almost inevitable that we will have an engine penalty at some point because yes, we’re running out of engines. We need now to analyze the mileage that we’ve left on the engines that we have and look at which engine we will use at what circuits.
Q: Two engine failures in one weekend is a very unusual occurrence these days…
CH: It’s obviously an expensive failure.
Q: What happened to Mark? He fell back from seventh to ninth place…
CH: Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough. Jenson was very quick on his out-lap and we had a slow final stop, again precautionary with the fuel rig that has been somewhat temperamental today. And that cost him ultimately.
Q: Mark and Sebastian scored zero points this weekend. Does that mean that there is still equal treatment of both drivers?
CH: Absolutely. Rubens is back in the drivers’ championship again so the only positive aspect of this weekend is that Jenson didn’t score too many points. If he had scored a further ten points, the damage would have been significantly greater. We will be back in one week in Spa and hopefully we can have a better weekend there and forget this one very quickly.
Q: So the only good thing that you take home from this weekend is that it was Rubens who won and not Jenson…
CH: Yes, Jenson is eight points away from a potential maximum score. Adding only two points to his total is less damaging, but yes, we’ve missed a chance to reduce the gap to him. But on the other hand this result today doesn’t help us in the constructors’ championship. If I think it over, there hasn’t been any good news this weekend.
Q: Obviously your hopes for a better result in Spa are based on the fact that the track should suit the RB5 and that the temperatures are not as high there as they have been here…
CH: Yes, it could be. The weather is always a factor there. It can be a lottery sometimes. The Brawns were very quick today - by the way congratulations to Rubens, he did a fantastic job - but there are hopefully some circuits coming up that will play back to our strengths.
Q: There have been rumours that you might run KERS in Spa. Is that under consideration?
CH: Ha, we might use KERS but have no engines left, because that’s the only thing we have! Sure, we are looking at KERS on a race-by-race basis but I would say that it is unlikely.
Sebastian Vettel Q and A
I am still in the race for the title The word ‘surrender’ does not figure in the vocabulary of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. So this weekend’s race, and his early retirement from it, must be considered a setback, not the end of his title challenge. After two engine failures this weekend, the only thing looming heavily over his championship ambitions is having enough engines left to compete for the crown, and unfortunately that is out of his hands…
Q: Sebastian, have you overcome the disappointment of the race?
Sebastian Vettel: The disappointment still lingers, that’s for sure. When I recap the race I have to say that the start was quite good. Kimi (Raikkonen) got me but I was able to find my place in the field and by the end of my first stint I was able to regain ground on him and had a comfortable edge on Nico (Rosberg). When I pitted to refuel there was no indication that something was going wrong, but when I left the pit I was surprised how well the tyres worked, and I found it a bit strange that the car was not laying lower. When I was braking I discovered perfect grip and the last thing that would have come to my mind was that I had effectively no fuel on board. After half a lap I was told about that fact and that I had to pit again to refuel. At that point that was the end of the race I had in mind. But then to discover some laps later that this was not the end of the story - my engine blew, for the umpteenth time this year.
Q: This weekend saw you suffer two engine failures. Do you have any explanation?
SV: No, not at all - and also not for the question of why my car had two failures and not another car.
Q: Could it be your driving style?
SV: I already said jokingly that probably I don’t accelerate enough. But honestly there’s no explanation, though we know that it was a different defect to the one on Saturday morning. That’s it.
Q: Aside from the engine it didn’t seem that the RB5 ran well on this track with its slow corners. We are heading for Spa next week, a high-speed circuit. Can you attack again there?
SV: I like Spa very much, it’s a fantastic track. The driver who doesn’t like Spa must be doing something wrong. I am really excited to go there. Here the whole weekend was difficult. We’ve not been fast enough, there was a big gap to the front, but on the Saturday morning session we pulled all our strengths together and were able to trim the car in the right direction so that qualifying for me was not too bad. So my idea was to have a good race. What then happened in the race was definitely not on in my plans, and unfortunately we’ve had a number of races so far that didn’t work out as anticipated. Things were going wrong, and somebody who wants to fight for the championship cannot afford such mistakes.
Q: It seems to be the same old story again here - the RB5 prefers cooler temperatures. With Spa things could look better - are you hoping for rain?
SV: I don’t mind if it rains, but generally I think that this track should suit our car better.
Q: Have you given up all hope of the championship after today?
SV: I still think that I am in the race for the title. And be sure, I will not give up fighting for it. True, it isn’t ideal - not finishing five out of 11 races cannot be considered ideal - but I still believe in my chances.
Q: Sebastian, have you overcome the disappointment of the race?
Sebastian Vettel: The disappointment still lingers, that’s for sure. When I recap the race I have to say that the start was quite good. Kimi (Raikkonen) got me but I was able to find my place in the field and by the end of my first stint I was able to regain ground on him and had a comfortable edge on Nico (Rosberg). When I pitted to refuel there was no indication that something was going wrong, but when I left the pit I was surprised how well the tyres worked, and I found it a bit strange that the car was not laying lower. When I was braking I discovered perfect grip and the last thing that would have come to my mind was that I had effectively no fuel on board. After half a lap I was told about that fact and that I had to pit again to refuel. At that point that was the end of the race I had in mind. But then to discover some laps later that this was not the end of the story - my engine blew, for the umpteenth time this year.
Q: This weekend saw you suffer two engine failures. Do you have any explanation?
SV: No, not at all - and also not for the question of why my car had two failures and not another car.
Q: Could it be your driving style?
SV: I already said jokingly that probably I don’t accelerate enough. But honestly there’s no explanation, though we know that it was a different defect to the one on Saturday morning. That’s it.
Q: Aside from the engine it didn’t seem that the RB5 ran well on this track with its slow corners. We are heading for Spa next week, a high-speed circuit. Can you attack again there?
SV: I like Spa very much, it’s a fantastic track. The driver who doesn’t like Spa must be doing something wrong. I am really excited to go there. Here the whole weekend was difficult. We’ve not been fast enough, there was a big gap to the front, but on the Saturday morning session we pulled all our strengths together and were able to trim the car in the right direction so that qualifying for me was not too bad. So my idea was to have a good race. What then happened in the race was definitely not on in my plans, and unfortunately we’ve had a number of races so far that didn’t work out as anticipated. Things were going wrong, and somebody who wants to fight for the championship cannot afford such mistakes.
Q: It seems to be the same old story again here - the RB5 prefers cooler temperatures. With Spa things could look better - are you hoping for rain?
SV: I don’t mind if it rains, but generally I think that this track should suit our car better.
Q: Have you given up all hope of the championship after today?
SV: I still think that I am in the race for the title. And be sure, I will not give up fighting for it. True, it isn’t ideal - not finishing five out of 11 races cannot be considered ideal - but I still believe in my chances.
Saturday 22 August 2009
Red Bull considering KERS for Spa
Red Bull Racing is considering introducing KERS from the Belgian Grand Prix in a bid to boost its world championship ambitions, AUTOSPORT can reveal.
With the Milton Keynes-based outfit locked in a close fight with Brawn GP for the title, the team is now undergoing a detailed investigation into whether fast-tracking KERS onto the car for next weekend's race at Spa-Francorchamps will give it an advantage.
Although earlier this season it appeared that F1 was shying away from KERS, the role the regenerative energy devices played in Lewis Hamilton's recent Hungarian GP victory has forced a rethink.
And Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner has confirmed to AUTOSPORT that a decision will be made in the next few days about what to do for Spa - where KERS is expected to produce a considerable benefit.
"We continue to evaluate KERS on an ongoing basis," he explained. "Obviously KERS' performance at the last race and probably here are making an obvious benefit, so it is something we have not abandoned for this year.
"We have the system there and are evaluating the system on a race-by-race basis."
When asked what the chances were of Red Bull giving KERS the green light for a shock introduction in Belgium, Horner said: "We will evaluate it after this weekend."
AUTOSPORT understands that Red Bull Racing is the only team that is transporting its cars back to its factory in between the European Grand Prix and Belgium next weekend.
Should Red Bull Racing give the green light to KERS then it could swing the world championship momentum in its favour – as Brawn GP has ruled out being able to run the technology this year.
Team principal Ross Brawn told AUTOSPORT: "Due to the modifications we had to do to the car to fit the engine, we piled a lot of weight into it and we do not have the weight capacity to run KERS. So unfortunately it is not an option for us."
When asked how decisive the KERS factor could be, especially with tracks like Spa and Monza coming up on the calendar, he said: "If it catches fire it could be completely bad for them. It is quite a challenge to introduce it in the middle of the season with no testing."
With the Milton Keynes-based outfit locked in a close fight with Brawn GP for the title, the team is now undergoing a detailed investigation into whether fast-tracking KERS onto the car for next weekend's race at Spa-Francorchamps will give it an advantage.
Although earlier this season it appeared that F1 was shying away from KERS, the role the regenerative energy devices played in Lewis Hamilton's recent Hungarian GP victory has forced a rethink.
And Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner has confirmed to AUTOSPORT that a decision will be made in the next few days about what to do for Spa - where KERS is expected to produce a considerable benefit.
"We continue to evaluate KERS on an ongoing basis," he explained. "Obviously KERS' performance at the last race and probably here are making an obvious benefit, so it is something we have not abandoned for this year.
"We have the system there and are evaluating the system on a race-by-race basis."
When asked what the chances were of Red Bull giving KERS the green light for a shock introduction in Belgium, Horner said: "We will evaluate it after this weekend."
AUTOSPORT understands that Red Bull Racing is the only team that is transporting its cars back to its factory in between the European Grand Prix and Belgium next weekend.
Should Red Bull Racing give the green light to KERS then it could swing the world championship momentum in its favour – as Brawn GP has ruled out being able to run the technology this year.
Team principal Ross Brawn told AUTOSPORT: "Due to the modifications we had to do to the car to fit the engine, we piled a lot of weight into it and we do not have the weight capacity to run KERS. So unfortunately it is not an option for us."
When asked how decisive the KERS factor could be, especially with tracks like Spa and Monza coming up on the calendar, he said: "If it catches fire it could be completely bad for them. It is quite a challenge to introduce it in the middle of the season with no testing."
Friday 21 August 2009
Vettel extends contract with Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel has committed his long term future to Red Bull Racing, after extending his deal with the team until 2012.
The German, who joined the team at the start of this season on a two-year deal, has impressed after taking two wins and is battling with his team-mate Mark Webber and Jenson Button for the world championship.
Vettel's form, and the promise shown by Red Bull, has convinced the two parties to extend their deal further - with his new contract running until 2011. There is also an option on him for 2012.
The Vettel announcement comes a few weeks after Red Bull Racing also extended Webber's deal until the end of next year.
Vettel, who has been supported by Red Bull's young drivers programme since the age of 12, is the youngest winner in F1 history, having taken a shock triumph for Scuderia Toro Rosso in last year's rain-hit Italian Grand Prix.
He entered F1 as a test driver for BMW Sauber and competed in one race for the team, as a stand-in for Robert Kubica at the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
A deal was then agreed to move him across to Scuderia Toro Rosso from that year's Hungarian Grand Prix, and he stayed with the Faenza-based outfit until the end of last season.
The German, who joined the team at the start of this season on a two-year deal, has impressed after taking two wins and is battling with his team-mate Mark Webber and Jenson Button for the world championship.
Vettel's form, and the promise shown by Red Bull, has convinced the two parties to extend their deal further - with his new contract running until 2011. There is also an option on him for 2012.
The Vettel announcement comes a few weeks after Red Bull Racing also extended Webber's deal until the end of next year.
Vettel, who has been supported by Red Bull's young drivers programme since the age of 12, is the youngest winner in F1 history, having taken a shock triumph for Scuderia Toro Rosso in last year's rain-hit Italian Grand Prix.
He entered F1 as a test driver for BMW Sauber and competed in one race for the team, as a stand-in for Robert Kubica at the 2007 United States Grand Prix.
A deal was then agreed to move him across to Scuderia Toro Rosso from that year's Hungarian Grand Prix, and he stayed with the Faenza-based outfit until the end of last season.
Friday 14 August 2009
Lauda: Brawn favourites, but Red Bull pairing is stronger
If back in March you had tried to predict August’s championship standings, it’s virtually guaranteed that you’d have got it dramatically wrong. Both the team and driver rankings are topsy-turvy, with backmarkers and midfielders from 2008 leading the way, as the traditional frontrunners fight to close the gap.
Was Niki Lauda surprised by the reversal in fortunes? And how does he think the rest of the year will pan out? We spoke to the three-time world champion…
Q: Ross Brawn’s rise from Honda technical director to Brawn GP owner has taken the team to a shock lead in both championships. Did this story surprise you? And do you think they’ll run out of momentum in the hunt for the title?
Niki Lauda: Believe me, their success caught me with the same surprise as everybody else. They have managed to come up with a fantastic package that has to be beaten first. But since the start of the season all the others have caught up, especially Red Bull Racing with their new aero package, and to my surprise McLaren, with their win (the first for a KERS car) in Budapest. Ross has to keep up with his development speed, but clearly at the moment they are the favourites for both championships.
Q: You’ve already mentioned the performance of Red Bull Racing. It seems that magical Adrian Newey touch has finally come to the fore again. What do you think they can achieve? The championship?
NL: You cannot trust anybody to win the championship. All you can do is observe how they perform. And so far they have come very close to the Brawns and on some occasions have beaten them. I predict that it will be a nip-and-tuck race between the two with the championship totally open. That’s why we are enjoying such a fantastic season!
Q: Of course, the ability to win both titles is linked to the drivers. Which is the more promising driver pairing in your eyes: Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello or Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber?
NL: Vettel and Webber is the better pairing.
Q: What is going on at Ferrari and McLaren? How do you explain their performances in comparison to their dominance in 2008? They are getting better, but their 2009 championship dreams are well and truly over …
NL: Of course both teams will develop their car come hell or high water and at the moment McLaren seem to be on a more promising path, as we saw in Budapest. I expect them to raise their game massively for the upcoming races.
Q: BMW have announced their withdrawal from Formula One racing. What do you believe is the reasoning behind this decision? Is it all to do with their poor performance this year?
NL: For sure their weak performance might have been an issue, but it was no different for them as it was for all the KERS cars. They have all underestimated the aerodynamic disadvantage they would have. That’s why all the KERS teams were in the doldrums, and as I just said, McLaren is the first team to come out of it. The internal reasons for BMW to withdraw I don’t know about, and really don’t want to know. But if a company makes such a move you have to accept it.
Q: Peter Sauber or anyone else taking over the team would be looking to repeat the success of Brawn GP. Can it be copied?
NL: Why not. All it takes is a sponsor willing to take over and start again.
Q: Toyota started the season well but their form has been very up and down. What’s going wrong in Cologne?
NL: I have no idea what’s going wrong again.
Q: Williams have showed good practice and qualifying performances, but they haven’t quite managed to translate this into podium results. Where do they hit issues?
NL: It’s true, they have been very competitive in practice and qualifying, but my impression is that their competitors have a little bit more up their sleeves in the race than Williams. But overall their performance is promising.
Q: Renault’s poor performance must be hard to swallow for former world champion Fernando Alonso…
NL: Yes, Alonso is the best driver on the grid, and he knows exactly where Renault has its Achilles heel. And whenever, due to track or climate, his car supports his skills and he is able to show that, he’s in a league of his own. There are always rumours that link him with a team with a distinctively different colour code. He will know what to do.
Q: Toro Rosso recently sent their experienced driver Sebastien Bourdais packing and took on the talents of another rookie. What’s been your impression of both Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari?
NL: Bourdais never performed and so the decision of Toro Rosso to try another rookie was absolutely correct. I think they have a very promising pairing and we will have to wait and see how those two youngsters develop.
Q: What about Force India?
NL: They have their ups and downs and sometimes Sutil enjoys some very good performances in qualifying. Unfortunately he has not been able to transform it into race results yet. My guess is that the team still has to find its way and has to stabilise before making a step forward.
Q: You now boast over 40 years of Formula One experience and have seen many teams come and go. We are expecting three new ones next season. Will they see success in 2010?
NL: I have no idea. There are so many components that play a role. A Formula One team doesn’t come up just like that. But for sure it would be desirable to see new blood in the paddock.
Was Niki Lauda surprised by the reversal in fortunes? And how does he think the rest of the year will pan out? We spoke to the three-time world champion…
Q: Ross Brawn’s rise from Honda technical director to Brawn GP owner has taken the team to a shock lead in both championships. Did this story surprise you? And do you think they’ll run out of momentum in the hunt for the title?
Niki Lauda: Believe me, their success caught me with the same surprise as everybody else. They have managed to come up with a fantastic package that has to be beaten first. But since the start of the season all the others have caught up, especially Red Bull Racing with their new aero package, and to my surprise McLaren, with their win (the first for a KERS car) in Budapest. Ross has to keep up with his development speed, but clearly at the moment they are the favourites for both championships.
Q: You’ve already mentioned the performance of Red Bull Racing. It seems that magical Adrian Newey touch has finally come to the fore again. What do you think they can achieve? The championship?
NL: You cannot trust anybody to win the championship. All you can do is observe how they perform. And so far they have come very close to the Brawns and on some occasions have beaten them. I predict that it will be a nip-and-tuck race between the two with the championship totally open. That’s why we are enjoying such a fantastic season!
Q: Of course, the ability to win both titles is linked to the drivers. Which is the more promising driver pairing in your eyes: Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello or Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber?
NL: Vettel and Webber is the better pairing.
Q: What is going on at Ferrari and McLaren? How do you explain their performances in comparison to their dominance in 2008? They are getting better, but their 2009 championship dreams are well and truly over …
NL: Of course both teams will develop their car come hell or high water and at the moment McLaren seem to be on a more promising path, as we saw in Budapest. I expect them to raise their game massively for the upcoming races.
Q: BMW have announced their withdrawal from Formula One racing. What do you believe is the reasoning behind this decision? Is it all to do with their poor performance this year?
NL: For sure their weak performance might have been an issue, but it was no different for them as it was for all the KERS cars. They have all underestimated the aerodynamic disadvantage they would have. That’s why all the KERS teams were in the doldrums, and as I just said, McLaren is the first team to come out of it. The internal reasons for BMW to withdraw I don’t know about, and really don’t want to know. But if a company makes such a move you have to accept it.
Q: Peter Sauber or anyone else taking over the team would be looking to repeat the success of Brawn GP. Can it be copied?
NL: Why not. All it takes is a sponsor willing to take over and start again.
Q: Toyota started the season well but their form has been very up and down. What’s going wrong in Cologne?
NL: I have no idea what’s going wrong again.
Q: Williams have showed good practice and qualifying performances, but they haven’t quite managed to translate this into podium results. Where do they hit issues?
NL: It’s true, they have been very competitive in practice and qualifying, but my impression is that their competitors have a little bit more up their sleeves in the race than Williams. But overall their performance is promising.
Q: Renault’s poor performance must be hard to swallow for former world champion Fernando Alonso…
NL: Yes, Alonso is the best driver on the grid, and he knows exactly where Renault has its Achilles heel. And whenever, due to track or climate, his car supports his skills and he is able to show that, he’s in a league of his own. There are always rumours that link him with a team with a distinctively different colour code. He will know what to do.
Q: Toro Rosso recently sent their experienced driver Sebastien Bourdais packing and took on the talents of another rookie. What’s been your impression of both Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari?
NL: Bourdais never performed and so the decision of Toro Rosso to try another rookie was absolutely correct. I think they have a very promising pairing and we will have to wait and see how those two youngsters develop.
Q: What about Force India?
NL: They have their ups and downs and sometimes Sutil enjoys some very good performances in qualifying. Unfortunately he has not been able to transform it into race results yet. My guess is that the team still has to find its way and has to stabilise before making a step forward.
Q: You now boast over 40 years of Formula One experience and have seen many teams come and go. We are expecting three new ones next season. Will they see success in 2010?
NL: I have no idea. There are so many components that play a role. A Formula One team doesn’t come up just like that. But for sure it would be desirable to see new blood in the paddock.
Tuesday 11 August 2009
Monday 10 August 2009
DC’s Guide to The European Grand Prix in Valencia
David Coulthard takes us around a track which he got to know in its inaugural race last year. So, did Valencia live up to the hype?
“There was much excitement going to the new track and on the whole they had done a very good job of making an urban racetrack have a fairly regular feel, by that I mean you don’t have the Armco as close as you have on a Monaco-type street circuit.
“Turn 1 is an easy, flat turn which runs into the first real corner of the track which is Turn 2, a second-gear, tight right-hander, a short blast out of that up through 3 into what is quite a tricky chicane through 4 and 5. Tricky in that if you get off line a little bit you lose a lot of performance on the long run through 6 and 7 before the big stop into 8 which takes you over one of the unique features of the track.
“The off the bridge into an incredibly tight turn 10 which leads to the longest straight on the track, and one of the better overtaking opportunities, down into turn 12 through 13/14 that’s a fairly straight forward, third gear left-hander, right-hander and then down the next section is twisty but flat-out.
“You then arrive into one of the big stops of the track which is the Turn 17 hairpin. Out of that, one of the feelings you have as a driver is that the car’s just building speed, building speed all the way through 18-19. Turn 20 you’re flat so it’s quite an exciting section, you then run down through 24, the next significant corner, and as you come through that entry flat you’re then hard on the brakes trying to keep the car positioned for the last corner which is a hairpin bend on to the start-finish straight and the end of what is a technically interesting circuit, but certainly not the best on the calendar.
“Personally I thought the venue was over-rated. There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the Valencian Grand Prix and expectation was simply too high for it to deliver. The street circuit is Monaco; everything is always going to be a disappointment in comparison, so it’s a hard sell. I don’t think it’s a classic grand prix track because it’s going to be a compromise between what’s available within the streets and what they actually lay down as fresh tarmac.
“As far as car set-up is concerned, it’s not a Monaco track that particularly favours mechanically stable cars - and obviously to have a mechanically stable car you need an aerodynamically stable car - but Monaco is a particular track. This is less particular in terms of its demand on the car. I see the status quo remaining: whatever we see at the end of play in Budapest would will carry over to Valencia.”
“There was much excitement going to the new track and on the whole they had done a very good job of making an urban racetrack have a fairly regular feel, by that I mean you don’t have the Armco as close as you have on a Monaco-type street circuit.
“Turn 1 is an easy, flat turn which runs into the first real corner of the track which is Turn 2, a second-gear, tight right-hander, a short blast out of that up through 3 into what is quite a tricky chicane through 4 and 5. Tricky in that if you get off line a little bit you lose a lot of performance on the long run through 6 and 7 before the big stop into 8 which takes you over one of the unique features of the track.
“The off the bridge into an incredibly tight turn 10 which leads to the longest straight on the track, and one of the better overtaking opportunities, down into turn 12 through 13/14 that’s a fairly straight forward, third gear left-hander, right-hander and then down the next section is twisty but flat-out.
“You then arrive into one of the big stops of the track which is the Turn 17 hairpin. Out of that, one of the feelings you have as a driver is that the car’s just building speed, building speed all the way through 18-19. Turn 20 you’re flat so it’s quite an exciting section, you then run down through 24, the next significant corner, and as you come through that entry flat you’re then hard on the brakes trying to keep the car positioned for the last corner which is a hairpin bend on to the start-finish straight and the end of what is a technically interesting circuit, but certainly not the best on the calendar.
“Personally I thought the venue was over-rated. There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the Valencian Grand Prix and expectation was simply too high for it to deliver. The street circuit is Monaco; everything is always going to be a disappointment in comparison, so it’s a hard sell. I don’t think it’s a classic grand prix track because it’s going to be a compromise between what’s available within the streets and what they actually lay down as fresh tarmac.
“As far as car set-up is concerned, it’s not a Monaco track that particularly favours mechanically stable cars - and obviously to have a mechanically stable car you need an aerodynamically stable car - but Monaco is a particular track. This is less particular in terms of its demand on the car. I see the status quo remaining: whatever we see at the end of play in Budapest would will carry over to Valencia.”
Friday 7 August 2009
From the Red Bull website
Just fifteen and a half points now separate us from series leaders, Brawn GP, thanks to Mark Webber finishing third in the Hungarian Grand Prix, standing on the podium today for the sixth time this season.
When you take part in a sport with two racers per team, you can’t always end up with smile all round and unfortunately, Sebastian Vettel failed to finish the 70 lap race, retiring after just 29 laps, with damaged suspension, the result of a first lap collision with Raikkonen’s Ferrari. It means that Mark sneaks past Seb in the title race, to go second in the championship for the first time this year.
With leader Jenson Button having a tough day on his way to seventh place and two points, our Aussie is now just under two race wins behind in terms of points. We now have to wait four weeks to resume battle in Valencia and for two of those, the Formula One World Championship takes its first ever official holiday in its 59-year history. It’s going to be frustrating for the designers and engineers champing on the bit to carry on moving forward with the development of RB5, but at least their kids might recognise them now and their pets might not growl when they walk in the front door at home!
You’ll never guess who won? Lewis Hamilton. Yes, really, the reigning world champion produced a typically aggressive and faultless performance, making the most of his KERS at the start to go from fourth on the grid to second immediately after the start, behind pole man Alonso and Mark, who predictably got ahead of his team-mate, who was on the dirty side of the track. It was the Englishman’s and McLaren’s first victory of the year.
You can’t win all the time, even if we had been hoping for a hat-trick of victories after Silverstone and Nurburgring. But did you see the winner’s trophy? Looked a bit naff to be honest, so we won’t miss it too much in our Milton Keynes Trophy Cabinet.
When you take part in a sport with two racers per team, you can’t always end up with smile all round and unfortunately, Sebastian Vettel failed to finish the 70 lap race, retiring after just 29 laps, with damaged suspension, the result of a first lap collision with Raikkonen’s Ferrari. It means that Mark sneaks past Seb in the title race, to go second in the championship for the first time this year.
With leader Jenson Button having a tough day on his way to seventh place and two points, our Aussie is now just under two race wins behind in terms of points. We now have to wait four weeks to resume battle in Valencia and for two of those, the Formula One World Championship takes its first ever official holiday in its 59-year history. It’s going to be frustrating for the designers and engineers champing on the bit to carry on moving forward with the development of RB5, but at least their kids might recognise them now and their pets might not growl when they walk in the front door at home!
You’ll never guess who won? Lewis Hamilton. Yes, really, the reigning world champion produced a typically aggressive and faultless performance, making the most of his KERS at the start to go from fourth on the grid to second immediately after the start, behind pole man Alonso and Mark, who predictably got ahead of his team-mate, who was on the dirty side of the track. It was the Englishman’s and McLaren’s first victory of the year.
You can’t win all the time, even if we had been hoping for a hat-trick of victories after Silverstone and Nurburgring. But did you see the winner’s trophy? Looked a bit naff to be honest, so we won’t miss it too much in our Milton Keynes Trophy Cabinet.
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