01-Nov-08: Massa Takes Pole Position for Home Grand Prix
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 1st November 2008.
Saturday in Brazil turned out a bit cloudy in the morning for Free Practice 3 but the sun was shining by the time qualifying got going. Alonso had repeated his Friday feat of jumping to the top of the timesheets at the very last minute and we were expecting more of the same.
The first session was not out of the ordinary, except that neither Williams driver got out of the bottom five. Button was also out in Q1, and suffered his car running out of fuel on the way back to the pit lane.
Quali 2 was more interesting, as both Red Bull drivers were out, Coulthard quite disappointed on his final Saturday, and Kubica stuck between them.
On to Q3, and Massa put in the first early benchmark. He was clearly lighter than Hamilton and managed to retain pole position throughout the session, whilst Hamilton posted second, only to be pushed down by Raikkonen and Trulli as well! Kovalainen qualified behind Hamilton but Alonso lines up behind him on the grid. It’s going to be a fascinating first corner.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
31-Oct-08: Massa and Alonso Take First Honours at Brazil
It’s the 31st October 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
Massa topped the timesheets in Free Practice 1, today, as the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend got underway. Hamilton wasn’t too far behind though, sandwiched between his title rival and Raikkonen. It was a quiet session, with just a few drops of rain here and there to make things a bit slippery. Kimi had a spin shortly after coming out of the garage for the first time, but there was no harm done.
FP2 was similar, although this time Hamilton was further back during the session, ultimately finishing 9th to Massa’s 2nd. Trulli put in an impressive lap to end the day in 3rd, particularly because he was excused from all duties on Thursday due to a bout of flu. Alonso spent a lot of the afternoon at the bottom of the timesheets and then with just over a minute to go, he popped up to the top.
Lastly today, Coulthard has admitted that the emotions of leaving the sport have finally hit him. He said when he got to the airport he suddenly realised he’d be leaving as an F1 driver and returning as an ex-driver.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
18-Oct-08: Hamilton Takes Pole Position for Chinese Grand Prix
It’s the 18th October 2008 and this is F1 Minute.
Hamilton has taken pole position in China, with both Ferraris behind him, and Kovalainen back in fifth. Webber suffered from a grid penalty, after his engine blew up in Free Practice 3. He qualified sixth but starts down in 16th. That bumped Heidfeld up to sixth, but he’s also received a penalty. In the first Free Practice session, he impeded David Coulthard’s hot lap. The Red Bull team complained to the stewards and Heidfeld received a three place grid drop seeing him start in 9th.
With Hamilton first and Massa third, Kubica will be ruing his performance which sees him start in 11th. He appeared to struggle with the same tyre issues that Heidfeld had last week, and he concedes his title chances are now supremely slim.
Finally, Force India have confirmed they will be keeping both Sutil and Fisichella on for next year, whilst Toyota have announced the launch date for their 2009 car – January 16th. Seems such a long time away.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
17-Oct-08: Hamilton Leads the Way in Free Practice
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 17th October 2008.
Lewis Hamilton got his weekend off to a good start by leading both Free Practice 1 and 2 at the Shanghai International Circuit. There were very few incidents of note, although Bourdais did get stuck in the gravel at Turn 1 during the second session, and Piquet imitated Hamilton’s gravel trap pit entrance incident, although managed to make it out safely.
Aside from that, the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s look as though they will be dominating the weekend, although Alonso did score the second fastest time in Free Practice 2, with Piquet just behind him.
Elsewhere today, the FIA have opened the tender process for a standard engine in F1 for the 2010 season and beyond. The statement from the governing body said the chosen third party would supply either a ready manufactured engine or the standard designs for teams to build their own. This doesn’t appear to be a popular decision already, but Bernie Ecclestone says he doesn’t think the manufacturers will stage a mass walkout because they’re simply trying to reduce costs.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
11-Oct-08: Hamilton Takes Pole Position in Japan
Today is the 11th October 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Free Practice 3 was declared wet on Saturday morning in Japan, although the rain had stopped and the track dried throughout. We saw a mixed up session, with Kubica, Glock and Piquet ending up the fastest three.
For qualifying, the rain had well and truly gone, and the sun came out. Hamilton took pole position by two tenths of a second. Raikkonen managed to improve on his recent qualifying performances by lining up second on the grid. Meanwhile Massa posted the third fastest time, but was pushed down by both Kovalainen and Alonso, and so lines up fifth.
Both Toro Rossos and both Toyotas are in the top ten, whilst Heidfeld was the surprise of the day, failing to get through the first session. BMW left him on the harder tyre during the first stint to try and save rubber for later on in qualifying, but unfortunately it was the wrong decision, and there was no later on in qualifying for him. Kubica, meanwhile, starts sixth. The other disappointment was from Williams who had been looking strong but start 14th and 15th.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
10-Oct-08: Hamilton and Glock Set the Times at Fuji
This is F1 Minute and it’s the 10th October 2008.
The action kicked off in Japan today, with Hamilton leading Free Practice 1. It was bright and sunny, a vast difference to the state of the track this time last year. There were barely any incidents, bar a few wide corners, and we spent most of the session trying to distinguish between the soft and hard tyres with the lovely green stripes.
Free Practice 2 saw much more action, although still few incidents, and several drivers led the timesheets at one stage or another. Timo Glock ended the day as the fastest man, giving Toyota a much needed boost at their home race weekend. Alonso was close behind in second, whilst early pace-setter Hamilton settled for third.
Elsewhere, the Montreal government have said they will meet with Bernie Ecclestone to try and get the Canadian Grand Prix reinstated. Mayor Gerald Tremblay said he wants to understand the economic state of the race first, as the disagreement with Bernie is worth between $10 and $20 million.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
26-Sep-08: Hamilton and Alonso Top Free Practice Timesheets
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 26th September 2008.
We saw our first Singapore track action today and it was unbelievably beautiful. The lighting seemed to work according to plan, and it was down to the drivers to get to grips with the circuit. Free Practice 1 saw Mark Webber crash into the barriers, and Rubens Barrichello suffer the same fate. Trulli spun round on the main straight, and decided it was safer to travel several car lengths the wrong way and u-turn into the pits, rather than swing round on the straight. The stewards disagreed, though, and after the event reprimanded him and fined him 10,000 Euros.
Hamilton led the first session and much of the second, until Alonso pipped him at the very last moment. FP2 was a quieter affair, with Glock knocking his front wing off against the wall, and a near miss between Bourdais coming out of the pits and Heidfeld on a flying lap. Webber missed a lot of the running but did get some laps in, whilst Fisichella retired halfway through with a gearbox problem.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
13-Sep-08: Vettel Lands Toro Rosso’s First Pole in Italy
Welome to F1 Minute, it’s the 13th September.
Free Practice 3 was wet, and very little meaningful running took place, although Hamilton and a few brave drivers did take to the track. When qualifying began, it was still raining, but the first session looked like things were going to plan, as both Honda’s, Nakajima and Sutil were all knocked out. Finally, after proclaiming it their target all year, Force India got through to the second session with Fisichella at the wheel. McLaren appeared to make a bad decision in Q2, sending Hamilton out for one lap on intermediate tyres. He returned to the pits for extreme wets, but couldn’t get a lap time together, and finished that session at the back, starting 15th on the grid, just behind Raikkonen.
In Q3, Massa and Kovalainen were the soul representatives of the top two teams, but it was Toro Rosso who made it work. Vettel took an early lead, when conditions were less wet, and as it began to rain once more, no one could beat it. The Italian squad start their home race from their first pole position.
That’s it for today, join me again tomorrow with all the info from what’s bound to be an incredible race.
12-Sep-08: Raikkonen and Sutil Lead Wet Friday in Italy
This is F1 Minute for the 12th September 2008.
Free Practice got underway in Monza today, with Sutil leading the first session, and Raikkonen the second. Yes, you head me right. Both sessions were declared wet, but FP1 saw torrential rain, that meant organisers red-flagged the session with just five minutes remaining. The Force India driver’s time was set earlier in less treacherous conditions. Man of the morning, Sutil, let himself down slightly by missing the pit entrance once the second session was over, and he had to complete an extra lap.
Also today, a couple of important announcements were made. Red Bull confirmed they are using their freebie engine on Mark Webber’s car, as both a precautionary measure, and to get him on a better engine cycle for the upcoming races. Ferrari announced that Raikkonen had extended his contract with the team until 2010, which means Alonso won’t be moving there anytime soon. And finally, the date of the Belgium penalty hearing has been set as 22nd September, just before the Singapore Grand Prix.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
05-Sep-08: Massa and Alonso Make a Good Start
You’re listening to F1 Minute and it’s the 5th September 2008.
The Belgian Grand Prix weekend got underway today with two free practice sessions, one led by Massa and the other by Alonso.
Free Practice 1, Massa was fastest ahead of Raikkonen and then Hamilton. It stayed dry for most of the session, although the track started out wet after overnight showers. There were no major incidents but Trulli had some electronic problems and Kubica moaned to his team for pretty much the entire morning.
Free Practice 2 saw some rain, and some incidents. Webber, Fisichella, Raikkonen, and Piquet all came off track, with the first two unable to continue. Alonso was fastest ahead of Massa and Kovalainen.
After both sessions, drivers were allowed to practice starts from the grid. In FP1, Bourdais couldn’t take part because his car came to a stop at the end of the pitlane, and in FP2 Kubica couldn’t take part because he stalled it. How embarrassing.
That’s everything for today. Join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.