Jenson Button has been defending his confidence to the media, after losing out to Hamilton in the opening round of the season. Button finished 8th and over 20 seconds behind his teammate, but says whilst his qualifying pace could use some improvement, he’s not too worried about it yet.
Credit: www.mclaren.com
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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 16th March 2010.
The reaction continues to pour forth regarding F1’s first race of the year, with Webber going into more detail than his initial tweet. He said: “I spent 48 laps staring at the gearboxes of first Schumacher and the Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them.” He added: “I was quicker than him but I was unable to find a way through. He didn’t make a mistake and if I’d tried to force the issue, it would have ended in a crash.”
Coulthard has joined in the call for mandatory pitstops, suggesting that as it is now, it’s all about reliability rather than racing.
Bernie Ecclestone has warned that the sport shouldn’t over-react though. He said: “There is no panic, no crisis for F1. I think there is nothing we can do immediately and we should not just knee-jerk into changes… The first race with new regulations was always going to be a learning curve for them all. Now they know they can make improvements and be a bit bolder and we will get more action.”
Let’s hope!
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
The MERCEDES GP PETRONAS cars of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher and team-mate Nico Rosberg will carry the Laureus logo throughout the 2010 Formula One World Championship.
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation uses sport to improve the lives of young people around the world.
The logo made its debut on the cars in Bahrain and will be carried throughout the season which will end on 14 November in Abu Dhabi, the city which hosted the 2010 Laureus World Sports Awards. Michael Schumacher was honoured with the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award in 2002 and 2004.
Boris Becker, Vice-Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy said: “I am a big fan of motorsport and especially of Mercedes-Benz. I think it is great that Laureus and MERCEDES GP PETRONAS will be working together. This is a good signal that will be recognised worldwide and I sincerely hope that this will make even more people want to find out about the work that Laureus is doing to support children through the use of sport.”
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation uses the power of sport to address social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports-related community development initiatives. Currently Laureus supports 78 projects around the world which have helped to improve the lives of over one million young people.
Boris Becker and Mika Hakkinen, both Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, were present at the Bahrain Grand Prix today to support the initiative.
A double points-finish for the team in hot and dusty BahrainLEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25A-02
Started: 4th
Finished: 3rd
Fastest lap: 1m59.560s (4th)
Pitstops: one, lap 15, 4.9s (Op-Pr)
2010 points: 15 (3rd)
“Third place was a very strong result for us today. I feel that we did a good job: our reliability was great and the pace today was pretty good, but we still need to push very hard to close the gap to the cars in front.
“My race was decided on the first lap when I locked up at Turn Four, ran a bit wide, got in a bad position and Nico [Rosberg] got past me. After that, I spent the whole first stint close behind him, but just couldn’t get close enough to pass him.
“After the pitstop, the guys were able to get me out ahead of Nico – which was a fantastic job, thanks guys – and I had some clear air and was able to make up quite a bit of ground to Felipe [Massa]. If I hadn’t been sitting behind Nico, I think I might have been able to challenge Felipe for second place.
“I had a slight vibration towards the end of the race, but I think it was just the result of a locked front wheel. When you’re pushing to close the gap, you lock the tyres just once and it takes several laps to get over the flat-spot. But it wasn’t a big problem.
“It’s going to be difficult for us to close the performance gap immediately, but I think I’ll go back to the factory and give them the biggest push. I know they’re all pushing flat-out as it is, but we need to get some upgrades, and we need to bring as many of them forward as we possibly can.”
JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25A-03
Started: 8th
Finished: 7th
Fastest lap: 1m59.970s (9th)
Pitstops: one: lap 16, 4.9s (Op-Pr)
2010 points: 6 (7th)
“At the start of the race, I didn’t know what was going to happen to my tyres so I took it a little easy. I was a bit disappointed that we pitted when we did, because I’d probably looked after the tyres a little too much – because, in the last five laps of the stint, I was able to push to catch Mark [Webber] and Michael [Schumacher].
At the stop, I jumped Mark, which was great. It was a really good pitstop from the guys – both for Lewis and myself actually, because we each jumped the car in front.
“I then paced myself on the tyres until there were about 20 laps to go. I caught up with Michael, but didn’t have enough pace through the middle sector to stay with him and have a go at him in the last sector, which was disappointing. But it was fun all the same.
“Overall, I think our car is pretty good at looking after its tyres, but there’s always room for improvement and I think everybody in the team wants more speed and more downforce.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Both Lewis and Jenson raced very well here in Bahrain this afternoon. After the disappointment of our qualifying performance yesterday, the fact that our race pace was strong today was extremely encouraging. In fact, in the last part of the race, Lewis’s was the fastest car on the track.
“However, like Jenson, who got stuck in a queue of traffic early on, Lewis was a little delayed by Nico in the first few laps. As a result, neither of our drivers was able to show their true race pace until after their pitstops.
“Happily, both our drivers benefited from excellent pit stops – Lewis got ahead of Nico and Jenson got ahead of Mark – so I want to take this opportunity to say ‘Well played’ to the team for calling both pitstops at the right time and executing them so efficiently.
“Overall, then, we’re pretty happy with our haul of 21 world championship points today, and will now continue to develop our car on the back of this very promising first outing. Our aim is to be fully competitive in Australia.
“Last but not least, the seventh Bahrain Grand Prix was, as expected, an impressively organised event. This year is the second time it has been the first grand prix of the year, and I’m sure that all who either took part in it or watched it will agree that it was a very worthy season-opener.”
LEWIS HAMILTON, MP4-25A-02, P3 programme, 1m55.860s (+1.761s) 8 laps (12th)
Qualifying: Q1 1m55.341s (on Primes, 6th), Q2 1m54.707s (on Options, 6th), Q3 1m55.217s (on Options, 4th overall)
“I’m surprised by this afternoon’s result: while we didn’t have the pace of the faster cars, I definitely wasn’t expecting to be fourth quickest.”
“But it’s a good starting point and tomorrow I hope to keep the position or gain at least one more. I don’t think a win is going to be on the cards – but we’ll be giving it the best we can.
We’ve struggled in the middle sector – we’re lacking a bit of downforce – but I know the guys back in the factory will be pushing as hard as they can. And this is a much, much better position to start the season in than the one we found ourselves in last year.
“Managing the tyres tomorrow is going to be very tricky. I don’t think people perhaps understand how tough it is to look after them in these conditions – it’s unbelievable how quickly they drop off. We’ll take the race one step at a time.”
JENSON BUTTON, MP4-25A-03, P3 programme, 1m55.000s (+0.901s) 14 laps (7th)
Qualifying: Q1 1m55.715s (on Primes, 11th), Q2 1m55.168s (on Options, 10th), Q3 1m55.672s (on Options, 8th overall)
“I really struggled with front locking this afternoon – but we cured that problem throughout the sessions. I was getting happier with the car throughout each stint, but in Q3 something didn’t feel quite right. The engineers are looking at the data to see what it was.
It’s been a surprise to us to see the pace of the quickest cars. Today, we saw which cars are fast over one lap; tomorrow maybe we’ll see a slightly different picture because these cars work very differently on higher fuel-loads. Besides, your strategy isn’t decided on the Saturday any more – we’ll need to see what the others are doing in the race.
“There’ll be a lot of heavy cars going into Turn One tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll pick a nice line and get through cleanly. I’m looking forward to the challenge and it’s going to be a very different one to what everybody has been used to. It’ll be a long race tomorrow.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“We had a few issues with grip and ride in qualifying today – especially in the middle sector of the lap over the bumps. That being the case, both our drivers did a fantastic job – and as a result Lewis will start tomorrow’s race from the second row and Jenson from the fourth row. It’ll be a hot and tiring Sunday afternoon for all 24 drivers, but Jenson’s and Lewis’s fitness and determination will benefit them throughout the 49 laps.”
A ten-part F1 Big Picture series celebrating the return of F1 in Bahrain. Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel compare notes as they make their way through the paddock in Bahrain. Button finished ahead of Vettel in both sessions, but the pair were only four tenths apart by the end of the day. Vettel is slightly concerned about the lack of running he got in the afternoon, a brake problem meant he completed ten laps less than Button.
Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
LEWIS HAMILTON
MP4-25-02
P1 programme
19 laps
1m57.163s (+.580s) 6th
P2 programme
22 laps
1m55.854s (+.445s) 2nd
“Out on track, it’s been very hot so tyre degradation of both compounds has been pretty high. But I think the degradation is something we can handle; you build it into your driving style and moderate the approach to each lap. Still, it’s difficult to know what laptime to target when you’re on a long run. The less you push at the beginning of a stint, the more there is left to push at the end. But it’s difficult to know exactly, and we’re still trying to understand that.
“The new section of track seems to be very bumpy and tricky – but everyone’s in the same boat. Equally, our car feels very heavy with a high fuel-load – it doesn’t want to stop under braking – but through the high-speed corners it feels quite well balanced. It’s just getting the car stopped that’s tricky: it doesn’t stop as well as when it’s on low tanks.
“Overall, today didn’t feel too bad. We still don’t really have a full understanding of where all the teams are because everyone was running different fuel-loads. As a result, the positions on today’s timesheets don’t really reflect overall pace too much yet.”
JENSON BUTTON
MP4-25-03
P1 programme
19 laps
1m57.068s (+.485s) 5th
P2 programme
28 laps
1m56.076s (+.667s) 4th
“Today’s shown us that looking after the rear tyres is very difficult here, especially on the softer compound. So you find yourself driving with a lot of oversteer through most of the stint.
“The new section of track is very bumpy. Turns Six and Seven are particularly tough because you’re trying to brake as late as you can, and, if you do that, the car hits the ground, you bounce all over the place and it’s very difficult to see where you’re going. So you have to brake earlier, and more gently, so the front doesn’t dip through that part of the corner – and that positions you better for the next turn.
“We’re still working on our set-up – and that’s not something you can really do in the second session because you’re working on a tyre back-to-back programme and the track’s so busy. We know where the car is now and we know where we want it to be, so there’s work to be done this evening to improve things overnight.
“I think we did an okay job today. We can be reasonably happy with the performance of the car, although we know there are areas we still need to work on. The basic car is working well, but we’re not quite there with the balance yet.”
MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“After a long and incredibly busy winter, it’s fantastic to be back competing at a racetrack with all our competitors – particularly here in Bahrain, where our hosts always do so much to make every team feel so welcome. It’s a fantastic venue and the perfect place to kick off the world championship.
“Of course, today was very much about establishing a benchmark for the rest of the weekend. With the track still very green and dusty and, in some places, quite bumpy, we concentrated on establishing a solid base set-up for both drivers before moving on to evaluate the two tyre compounds over the course of several longer stints.
“As you’d expect, the larger fuel-loads still make accurate comparison of the teams difficult, but we’re optimistic that our pace relative to our closest rivals appears to be competitive.
“This afternoon, Lewis had a small issue when the nosebox camera detached itself during a run – but it caused no damage and he was able to continue.
“Our focus now turns towards understanding each tyre’s behaviour and finessing the car’s balance for tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying session. We feel we’ve made a solid start to our weekend.”
The Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony took place today at the stunning Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. Reigning Formula One Constructors’ World Champions Brawn GP (now MERCEDES GP PETRONAS) won the Laureus Team of the Year Award, and former Brawn GP driver Jenson Button, the reigning Formula One World Champion, won in the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year category.
During the three-day period leading up to the Awards ceremony, Mercedes-Benz DTM drivers Susie Stoddart and Bruno Spengler have been taking specially invited visitors on ‘taxi rides’ around the new Abu Dhabi GP circuit in two Mercedes-Benz DTM racing cars. Their illustrious passengers included the German film star Mario Adorf and his wife, England football manager Fabio Capello, world champion surfer Robby Naish, TV presenter Sabine Christiansen and multiple tennis Grand Slam winner Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
Amongst the guests at the Laureus Awards ceremony were motorcycling legend Giacomo Agostini, Olympic and World Championship winning pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka, former Formula One world champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Mika Häkkinen, Wimbledon ace Boris Becker, former world champion boxer Henry Maske and ex-McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver David Coulthard.
Nick Fry, Chief Executive Officer at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS, attended the event at the Emirates Palace this evening and collected the Team of Year Award on behalf of the former Brawn GP team.
The Laureus World Sports Awards, which have been handed out annually since 2000, rank amongst the most prestigious sporting accolades in the world. A Laureus has the cachet of a sports Oscar.
Amongst the former winners are Michael Schumacher (now driving for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS), Vodafone McLaren Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton, football colossus Franz Beckenbauer, boxing world champion Vitaly Klitschko, tennis ace Roger Federer, Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and golf pro Tiger Woods.
The 2010 Formula 1 season is only just beginning, but Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson Button already has plenty to celebrate after picking up a Laureus World Sports Award in Abu Dhabi last night.
Jenson joined the ranks of legendary sports stars such as Lance Armstrong, Usain Bolt, Roger Federer and Mika Häkkinen in an emotional ceremony at the Emirates Palace.
Jenson won the Breakthrough of the Year Award, which recognised his achievement in taking his first world championship against considerable odds. Other nominees included multiple Tour de France stage winner Mark Cavendish, diver Tom Daley, US Open tennis winner Juan Martin del Potro, South Korean golfer Ji Yai Shin and the German football team VFL Wolfsburg.
“Last year was eventful but I have many happy memories,” says Jenson. “At the time I wasn’t thinking about the rewards, I was just tackling each challenge as it came. I’m honoured to have been given this award, and it comes at a very appropriate time as I face the fresh challenges of a new F1 season.”
X-Trade Brokers, a Warsaw-based brokerage house specialising in foreign exchange (FOREX), commodity and stock market investments, has today announced an historic partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team.
X-Trade Brokers becomes the first Polish company to sign a partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, and its logo (‘XTB’) will appear on the overalls of reigning World Champion Jenson Button and 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, as well as on the upper engine cover of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Formula 1 car.
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is one of the most successful teams competing in Formula 1, having won 20 World Championships since it entered Formula 1 in 1966, and in 2010 it will become the first Formula 1 team ever to field a driver line-up consisting of the two most recent World Champions: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
“X-Trade Brokers stands for success, prestige and being the best. Therefore, it’s only right that we’ve chosen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to showcase our company to the world: success is the foundation of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the two companies therefore make a very natural fit,” said Jakub Zablocki, Chief Executive Officer of X-Trade Brokers.
“When looking for a sponsorship property, we pondered at length which sport and which team would best reflect our own benchmarks of professionalism, high technology and need for speed. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes meets all those criteria as well as bringing with it attractive opportunities for X-Trade Brokers to increase its global brand footprint and awareness. Our partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes marks a new stage of dynamic development and expansion for X-Trade Brokers. It’s also a great day for Poland.” Zablocki continued.
“Adding X-Trade Brokers to our already world-class group of partners is a testament to the unique and enduring appeal of Formula 1 and of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,” said Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of McLaren Racing, who attended today’s announcement in Warsaw.
“As a truly international Formula 1 team, we’re proud that that we’re in partnership with companies from a wide variety of nations across a diverse spread of industry sectors; now, we’re delighted to be able to add Poland to that roster. Not only is the arrival of X-Trade Brokers excellent news for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – it’s also a very exciting development for Poland and Polish business generally, as Poland further extends its footprint into Formula 1.
“We at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes always make great efforts to ensure that our partners gain unbeatable returns on their investments, and that our partnership is just that: a mutually beneficial meeting of minds and aims, the result of which is an exciting blend of sporting triumph and commercial success,” Neale concluded.
This year X-Trade Brokers plans further development and international expansion as throughout 2010 operations will open in four new European countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Hungary. At the same time, XTB is concentrating on the acquisition of brokerage houses in Asia and South America which will see the beginnings of developing distribution networks beyond the EU.
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