Hungarian GP Qualifying: Vettel storms to pole position

RichardsF1    F1 2010, Results     Red Bull Racing, Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has secured his seventh pole position of the season with a blistering display to take the coveted ‘P1’ grid slot for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix. It was another Red Bull lock-out of the front row, with team-mate Mark Webber shadowing his team-mate and will start from second place.

Vettel vaulted to the top of the timesheets midway through the final stage of qualifying with a 1:18.773 lap time, and was the sole driver to break into the 1:18 range. The German was never headed en route to securing his fourth pole position in a row, with Webber some 0.419s behind.

A lurid slide wide at Turn 15 on his final hot lap was enough to ensure that Webber would be unable to break Vettel’s monopoly on pole position – Vettel has picked up seven this season to-date.

read more

WTCC Brno: Preview

RichardsF1    News, WTCC    

The thirteenth and fourteenth races of the 2010 World Touring Car Championship season will take place this weekend at the Czech Republic’s Brno circuit, and we at Richard’s F1 will provide you with all of the latest news and highlights of the best touring car championship in the world as it takes centre stage this weekend!

Brno’s Masaryk Circuit has very much been a traditional meeting ground for the World Touring Car Championship, with the circuit hosting rounds of the European Touring Car Championship between 2002 and 2004, and it has continued to play host to the WTCC since 2006.

read more

Virgin, Glock fail to see the funny side of di Grassi prank

RichardsF1    Catfights, Formula 1, Mishaps     Lucas di Grassi, Media, Timo Glock, Virgin Racing

Lucas di Grassi has survived an awkward gaffe within the Virgin Racing team, in which a prank played by the young Brazilian backfired.

Following the Hockenheim race – in which di Grassi retired after clobbering a kerb and team-mate Timo Glock finished in 18th place – the team’s press officer, Tracy Novak, reportedly presented each driver with proposed official quotes for the regular press release from the team.

The usual practice is that the drivers propose any changes and sign off on the release before its issued to the media.

Motorsport-total.com has reported that – while probably meant as no more than a prank – it is believed that di Grassi edited his team-mate’s official comment!

read more

De la Rosa: Team orders scandal is “nonsense”

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Kamui Kobayashi, Pedro de la Rosa, Sauber

Sauber driver Pedro de la Rosa has urged the F1 fraternity and media to “turn the page” in the wake of the team orders scandal that engulfed Ferrari after the German Grand Prix.

Journalists and photographers literally hounded Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa during their walks through the Budapest paddock on Thursday, mere days after switching positions for Alonso to win the Hockenheim race.

A week later, the scandal is still the headline act in Formula 1, but de la Rosa – who is a fellow Spaniard and drives a Ferrari-powered Sauber, we will add – sided with a ban on team orders.

read more

STR drivers aiming for points at Hungary

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastien Buemi, Technical, Toro Rosso

The Toro Rosso driver pairing of Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi are hoping for a return to the points’ positions at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

When asked about their prospects for this weekend, both felt confident that the high-downforce circuit would better suit the handling of the Ferrari-powered STR5 chassis, which seemed down on pace at the Hockenheim.

“We are bringing a new floor and some new stuff,” Buemi told reporters. “It’s always difficult to get the maximum out of it on the first day but I am expecting it to be a better race.”

read more

Hungarian GP: Thursday Press Conference

RichardsF1    Formula 1     Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Heikki Kovalainen, Hispania Racing, Renault, Robert Kubica, Rubens Barrichello, Sakon Yamamoto, Team Lotus, Williams

DRIVERS:
Rubens BARRICHELLO (Williams)
Heikki KOVALAINEN (Lotus)
Robert KUBICA (Renault)
Felipe MASSA (Ferrari)
Sakon YAMAMOTO (HRT).

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Robert, you regard this as your home race, don’t you?

Robert KUBICA: Yeah, it is the closest race to Poland. Many fans are coming here. As there will not be a Polish Grand Prix I think Hungary we can call it my home race.

Q. There are a lot of Poles here?

RK: For now, not, but expecting quite a lot. I think the biggest part of fans in Hungary are Polish and Finns, so I think there will be quite a lot of Polish fans.

read more

Wet weather expected to hit Hungarian GP

RichardsF1    Formula 1    

Hopefully this will liven up proceedings at the Hungaroring!

Weather forecasts are pointing towards the possibility of wet weather affecting the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

With rain interrupting several practice sessions during last weekend’s German Grand Prix, similar conditions are expected to hit Budapest this weekend, which is hosting its 25th consecutive Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s official weather forecasts are pointing towards rain on Friday, thunderstorms on Saturday and a possibly dry race on Sunday.

Hungary’s sole wet-weather race occurred in 2006 (pictured), where Jenson Button won a topsy-turvy Grand Prix – the first win of his career and for BAR-Honda – that was widely considered to be among the best of the season.

[Original image via The Cahier Archive]

Hungarian GP: Preview

RichardsF1    F1 2010, Previews, Race Previews    

The Formula 1 teams head into the third back-to-back race weekend of the season, and will have little time to recover from the German Grand Prix last weekend as they set up shop in Hungary for this weekend’s Grand Prix.

A surprisingly dull race last weekend was made only more interesting by the team orders scandal that broke out in the wake of Ferrari’s place-switching antics, and it might actually be the only thing to liven up his weekend’s proceedings if the Hungaroring’s reputation as a snooze-fest continues.

read more

Warwick to joins stewards’ panel for Hungary

RichardsF1    Former F1 Figures, Formula 1     Derek Warwick, FIA, Rules

Former Grand Prix driver Derek Warwick will join the stewards’ panel for the Hungarian Grand Prix, marking the second time this season that he has fulfilled the role brought in by the FIA to improve consistency in decision-making of on-track incidents.

The Briton first made an appearance on the stewards’ panel at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Warwick competed in Formula 1 between 1981 and 1993 for the likes of Toleman, Brabham, Lotus, Arrows and Renault, with whom he came very close to winning the 1984 British Grand Prix.

Warwick also won the 1992 Le Mans 24 Hours race and competed successfully in the British Touring Car Championship as both a driver, and later co-founder of the Triple 8 BTCC team.

[Original image via Sutton Images]

Wheel tethers to be strengthened for 2011

RichardsF1    Formula 1     FIA, Rules, Sebastien Buemi, Technical, Vitantonio Liuzzi

A year on from the death of Formula 2 driver Henry Surtees – who died in a freak accident at a race in Brands Hatch when struck on the head by a flying wheel that had come off a competitor’s car – the FIA has announced that the number of wheel tethers used in Formula 1 will double from next year.

This move is in a bid to reduce the risk of wheels detaching in the event of a heavy accident, with the 2010 season already featuring several accidents where wheels have detached from their cars.

read more