Chinese Grand Prix – 2009

April 24, 2009 · Posted in Rambles · Comment 

weber_vettel
Race three was held under rainy skies in Shanghai, China. The race was started under a yellow flag and a safety car to continue this season’s trend of not having a clean start to finish race. More yellow flags and another safety car appearance after a couple of crashes by Sutil and Trulli caused more delays during the race.

All of the careful race planning and strategy that went into the amazing finish at qualifying was pretty much destroyed. This race could have been won by anyone. However, this was finally Red Bull’s moment with Vettel and Webber taking the team to a one – two finish.

Race Results:

Pos. Driver Team Grid Points
1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1 10
2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 3 8
3 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 5 6
4 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 4 5
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 12 4
6 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 9 3
7 Timo Glock Toyota 19 2
8 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 10 1
9 Fernando Alonso Renault 2
10 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 8
11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 15
12 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 11
13 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 17
14 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 20
15 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 7
16 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 16
17 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 18
Ret Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 14
Ret Felipe Massa BMW Sauber 13
Ret Jarno Trulli Toyota 6

The only controversy that is left swirling around is whatever the outcome may be for the McLaren team after next Wednesday’s meeting with the World Motor Sport Council in Paris. Although, McLaren has apologized and fired the main people involved in the lying scandal, they may still face some serious penalties. They could be facing a hefty fine, suspension from Spain and Monaco, exclusion from the Championship or any combination of the three. Depending on what decision is made by the WMSC, McLaren could also face the possibility of having some of its major sponsors pullout. Personally, I think a fine with a one race suspension for Hamilton may be adequate punishment. I don’t feel that the entire team should suffer for a mistake made by a few players. It would be especially unfair for Heikki Kovalainen. That’s my two cents on the topic, anyway.

We are off to Bahrain for the next race. I’m fairly sure that we should be able to avoid the rain.

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Malaysian Grand Prix – 2009

April 10, 2009 · Posted in Formula 1 · Comment 

The second race in the 2009 Formula 1 season was held at the beautiful track in Sepang, Malaysia. I love this circuit:
Sepang Circuit
The race was run in the late afternoon in Malaysia to offer better television viewing for the European audience. This sounds like a good idea except for the fact that it usually rains in the late afternoon in Malaysia. And we aren’t talking about a little drizzle either. When the heavens open up over this tropical country expect a serious dowsing. Which is exactly what happened midway through the race. With visibility diminishing and the clock approaching the two hour cut-off time the decision was made to call the race. Jensen Button and Brawn along with their controversial diffuser managed to grab hold of P1 again. Due to the fact that only half of the race was run, drivers were awarded half the points.

Race results:

Pos. Driver Team Grid Points
1 Jensen Button Brawn – Mercedes 1 5
2 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 10 4
3 Timo Glock Toyota 3 3
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1 2.5
5 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 8 2
6 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 5 1.5
7 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 1
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 4 .5
9 Felipe Massa Ferrari 16
10 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 15
11 Fernando Alonso Renault 9
12 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 11
13 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 17
14 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 7
15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 13
16 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 20
Ret Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 19
17 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 18
Ret Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 6
Ret Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 14



Perhaps the best moment of the race occurred after the race was called. Rob Smedley calms down a freaking out Massa:

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Australian Grand Prix – 2009

April 1, 2009 · Posted in Formula 1 · Comment 

Australia The 2009 Formula 1 season has officially begun!

The first race was held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne. They call it a temporary track, although it has been the site of the Australian Grand Prix since 1996. It is also one of the handful of races that is run on a street circuit.

With all of the regulation and rule changes that came about over the break, I had a pretty good feeling that this race was going to be an interesting one. And it was. The rollercoaster that was Honda and is now Brawn dominated the qualifying by not only getting the pole position, but also claiming the number two spot. Brawn continued its domination finishing the race with a one – two punch. Unfortunately, due to a diffuser row, there is a possibility that these wins may be taken away from them. This would give Lewis Hamilton a first place win which would be absolutely horrible. Sorry, I am not a Hamilton fan. I am sticking with my Red Bull team with drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. The upset in this race was the collision between Vettel and Kubica battling it out for second position with only 3 laps remaining. Vettel has been penalized for the collision and will get a 10 place grid penalty in Malaysia.

Race Results:

Pos. Driver Team Grid Points
1 Jensen Button Brawn – Mercedes 1 10
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn – Mercedes 2 8
3 Jarno Trulli Toyota 20 6
4 Timo Glock Toyota 19 5
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 10 4
6 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 5 3
7 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 13 2
8 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 17 1
9 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 16
10 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 9
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 15
12 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 8
13 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 3
14 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 4
15 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 7
Ret Felipe Massa Ferrari 6
Ret Nelsinho Piquet Renault 14
Ret Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 11
Ret Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 12
DSQ Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 18

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