Alonso angry with Rosberg decision

Fernando Alonso said after the Grand Prix in Bahrain, that he was very angry with the way Mercedes´ Nico Rosberg behaved on the track during the race on Sunday.

Rosberg drew attention to his driving style, not once, but twice during the race. TRack stewards investigated both incidents after the race, which took several hours of deliberating and watching TV footage of the incidents, which saw Rosbrg move to the right of the track on the approach to Rrn 4, as he defended his position.

In both cases, Rosberg was deemed not to have swerved or blocked either Hamilton or Alonso, the ruling for the second incident is:

“1. The driver of car eight commenced his move to the right after the exit from turn three and moved to the right in a constant and continuous straight line manner, not making any sudden movements (as evidenced by telemetry and video evidence) and;
2. At the time he commenced his move, car five was behind him and no part of his car was alongside car eight and;
3. The driver of car eight made the move to the right prior to the driver of car five making the same move and;
4. For more than half of the distance travelled by car eight in moving in a straight line towards the right hand edge of the track, car five remained behind car eight and;
5. Because the delta speed between the two cars was quite significant it was difficult for car eight to detect the exact position of car five in relation to his own car;
6. No part of car five was alongside that of car eight.”

But Fernando Alonso is not at all happy with that decision, and speaking to Associated Press after the race, Alonso said:

“Instead of such a wide run -off area (if) there had been a wall, I’m not sure I’d be here now to talk about it.”

He later went on his official Twitter to write the following:

“I think you are going to have fun in future races!” Alonso wrote. “You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy!”

 

Bahrain FP3: Rosberg fastest again, but Vettel is close

It was once again Nico Rosberg who set the fastest time. The final practice session in Bahrain this time around, was yet again a un-eventful and un-dramatic session, but Red Bull looks like they are catching up. And catching up fast.

With a 1:33.254 as the fastest time of the session, Rosberg looks like a candidate for pole later this afternoon. But Sebastian Vettel, the double world champion, is not about to concede anything, and he set a very fast time for second palce, just 0.147 behind Rosberg. Team mate Mark Webber finished third, two and a half tenth behind Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton a further tenth behind Webber, and Michael Schumacher trailing Hamilton by just 0.014.

Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen in sixth and seventh places, Dani Clos for HRT came out of the blue and set eighth fastest time, followed by Romain Grosjean and Fernando Alonso in ninth and tenth.

Pastor Maldonado, who will receive a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change, managed 11th, followed by Jean-Eric Vergne and the Sauber duo of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi. Behind him was Paul di Resta and Felipe Massa, Bruno Senna, Heikki Kovalainein, Nico Hulkenberg, Vitaly Petrov, Charles Pic, Timo Glock and Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan the final runners.

From top to bottom, six seconds separate the times.

Bahrain FP2: Rosberg makes good on promise

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, followed up on his win last weekend in China, by securing the fastest laptime in the second free practice session in Bahrain on Friday afternoon.

Once again a rather un-eventful and ordinary session, teams and drivers were concentrating on what they came to do and it also revealed that Red Bull could be on the verge of breaking the code to their under-performance in the first three races of the season.

As mentioned, Nico Rosberg set the fastest time, 1:32.816, followed by Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Kamui Kobyashi, Fernando Alonso, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez finishing off the top ten. Webber finished 0.446 after Rosberg, while Vettel was 0.709 behind Rosberg.

Daniel Ricciardo 11th from Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Jean-Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado, Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen, then Bruno Senna, Timo Glock, Charles Pic, Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan. You might have noticed that Force India´s drivers Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg did not set any times in FP2, that´s because the team decided to pull out entirely from the session, in order to drive back to the hotel in daylight, trying to avoid a repetition of the events on Wednesday evening.

And this is just in: The Crown Prince will make a statement outside Red Bull shortly. Stay tuned.

Preparing for Bahrain

In recent weeks, the media has been stumbling over themselves to report about even the most minute detail regarding the situation in Bahrain. There are no doubt that there are skirmishes around the capital and other places, we hear daily that police and security forces have clashed with people demanding democratic reforms and much more.

But we cannot be 100% certain that what we hear and what we see is the Godalmighty truth. We have a tendency, at least in the Western world, to trust the media, no matter what. And when the media reports that they have seen this or that, we believe them. Same way as the media is used on the other side of the fence. When independent newspapers or websites claiming that police has killed this many or that many, we tend to believe them too, because afterall we are hoping that the people of Bahrain will soon be able to hold free democratic elections and establish even the most basic human rights.

So it is, that when the government of Bahrain is saying that the safety is in place, that they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the drivers, mechanics, team members, caterers, press and media people are safe, we also have a tendency to say “Oh yeah? Really?”

We could point fingers at China, the place where we just last week saw one of the best races in recent memory, won by Nico Rosberg, and with strong performances from a variety of drivers. They are well-known to be imprisoning dissidents or people with a different opinion than the ruling party. Human rights groups have gathered literally libraries after libraries of reports, clearly showing how the human rights in China are being ignored.

Or what about Good Ole US of A? A country that boasts they are the land of the free and home of the brave, where everyone is born equal, unless you have the wrong skin colour. Rascism is still very much pronounced there, and we could even turn our attention to the UK, where we last year saw riots, businesses and private homes burned down.

What I am trying to say is, that yes we should focus on how human rights are being violated in places like Bahrain. And in Syria, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo and about 50 other countries, if not more. We should interact with the people fighting, we should see things from a different angle and we should engage. But we should also remember to separate the events, when we need to. Formula One is not a political activist, it is not a body or ruling entity that should or could influence the politics of the countries they visit. F1 should focus on what F1 have been created to do; entertain the masses.

And now to the race.

With three different race winners from the first three races, we could see one of the closest championships in recent memory. And not only are the fight between Vettel, Hamilton and Button, or Alonso, Hamilton, Webber, new drivers are taking big points from the usual front runners, and the usual frontrunners are suddenly no longer automatically front runners.

With Rosberg´s win in China, Mercedes not only showed they have a blindingly fast car, they also showed that their faith in Rosberg and Schumacher, who unfortunately retired on lap 12, have been valid. Rosberg was always considered something of a wild card, he has the speed, did well in training sessions, but then on race day only managed decent places, sometimes even scraping for points. He has come of age now, and is showing a brand new attitude. Much like the Jenson Button post-Honda.

What do we know about Bahrain? Well, for one it´s the most boring and pointless track on the calendar. Secondly, it´s sandy and fecking hot. And thirdly, Fernando Alonso is the most winning driver on the circuit, which were inducted into the calendar in 2004. Despite Alonso winning in Malaysia, I don´t see how he can repeat that here. The track is much more suited the fast Mercedes engines, so a battle for pole between Hamilton, Button and Rosberg, Schumacher is a possibility.

Winning driver? Hamilton. He is back on track and is now absolutely committed to racing. He is smiling, he is waving he is…well, back. Button is also very fast and smooth and I predict a McLaren 1-2 for pole, with Hamilton winning. Button second.

I see Kimi Raikkonen in fourth place, so the last step on the podium could be Schumacher?

Let´s see what happens on Sunday!

China – The Day After

The 2012 Chinese Grand Prix was an eye-opener for the entire field of cars, as Mercedes managed to lock out the front, albeit due to Hamilton´s penalty, but there cannot be any doubt the fact, that Mercedes has found gold.

The season has started without the ‘usual’ win for Vettel, and the young double world champion is struggling to find the right pace. Frerrari is also not where they want to be, but Alonso´s 9th place is probably where the team should expect to be the next few races. Of course no one can dismiss the idea that Mercedes is aided by their controversial, but legal, W-duct system, but after three races we still cannot be absolutely sure that one driver is stronger than the other. At least not for the moment.

So to the awards:

Driver of the day: Nico Rosberg

Who else could be the driver of the day? Nico Rosberg wins his first race, a long time coming after debuting in 2006. He started by being impressively fast in his first race, and did show some very good performances over the next couple of seasons. But it has always been a question of being ‘almost there’, and ‘good-effort-but-you-need-a-little-bit-more’. I am not saying that Rosberg is now the man to beat, by no means, but he has certainly showed that Mercedes are in a lot better shape than they were last year. Well done to Rosberg, a huge congratulations are in order, and we are all looking forward to seeing more from the poplar driver.

The That´s Actually Not So Bad Award: Romain Grosjean

When Lotus announced that they had secured the services of Romain Grosjean, a lot of pundits and fans thought that the team had seriously lost it. After a tough half season for Renault back in 2009, replacing Nelson Piquet after the Singapore Sling Scandal, sorry but that´s what I call it, no one thought that he could do much. But the Lotus is fast, it looks like they are in good shape to take some points from the top teams and Grosjean seems to be coping a lot better with the tyres. He has also proved that he really has talent, and I for one, and tipping my hat to the young driver,

The Oh Come On Award: Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen was running in second at one time in China, but ver the course of two laps he lost ten positions and ended up well outside the points, in a lonely 14th place. I understand that He is coming back after a two year hiatus and he needs to learn about the new tyres. But so does Grosjean, and he is managing it much better. Lotus could well have pitted Kimi a few laps earlier, sent him back out and he could have scored fourth perhaps. The tyres simply ran out of performance in the last ten laps, and the Finn couldn´t help the many drivers overtake him. A tough result to cope with, but at least now Lotus knows how Kimi uses his tyres. Next time….

The Back To The Drawing Board Award: Toro Rosso

I could easily give this one to HRT, on account of them being the slowest team. But Toro Rosso seems to have been taking a few steps backwards this season. Six points in the first three races, none from China, is disappointing. I would have hoped to see Verge and Ricciardo a bit further up on the standings. Back to the drawing board, guys.

The Thank You For Not Whining Anymore Award: Red Bull

Red Bull pointed fingers at Mercedes because of the wing system that were subsequently deemed legal, but has been whining about almost anything and everything since the first race. And they then decided to sneak out the side door when Lotus lodged the official protest against the wing system, and left Lotus with the losing arguments. Still, I see a team that has now realised that they themselves can change the performance, and I am looking forward to seeing it.

Rosberg takes commanding victory in China

Nici Rosberg took his first race win of his career in China, as the German racer lead the race at Shanghai International Circuit from start to finish.

The lead was only briely interrupted by the usual pit stops, but Rosberg never looked to be having any trouble in staying ahead of the pack. The race also marked the first win for Mercedes since 1955, and Rosberg was extatic about the result.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Rosberg said. “Very cool, very happy, very excited, and it’s been a long time coming for me. And for the team also; the past two years and a bit and now it’s finally there so it’s just amazing. It’s just really nice to see also how quickly we are now progressing. I didn’t expect to be that fast today, I expected that we had a good chance to be in front but I’m very happy with the pace that I was able to go in the race.

“Big thanks to the whole team because all the engineers especially in the last few weeks have been working very hard also, as everybody else has. It’s just improving the setup because we really struggled in the first two races with the race pace and today it all came good which is great to see, again how quickly we’ve managed to progress it’s just fantastic.”

When the qualifying round was over on Saturday, it was clear that 2012 is going to be a very different season than expected. Rosberg on pole, ahead of team mate Michael Schumacher. With Kamui Kobayashi in third and Kimi Raikkonen in fourth, and most notably Sebastian Vettel down in 11th place, the grid promised an awesome race.

And awesome it was. Rosberg in front, but on lap 12 Schumacher had to retire due to a loose wheel from his pit stop. Button was now in second, with Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber following. Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa enjoyed brief visits at the front, but the many overtakings and close battles, meant that they could never really be a threat to the top positions.

There werea short period of time when Button lead Rosberg, the two drivers were on different pit stop strategies, but unfortunately for Button, the left rear wheel took five extra seconds, and Rosberg glided past on the track, never looking back.

The end results was a win for Nico Rosberg, a truly well-deserved victory for the popular German drivr, followed by Button 20 seconds behind and Lewis Hamilton in third, a further six seconds behind Button.

Red Bull was lucky to get away with fourth and fifth place for Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel respectively, especially considering that Vettel lingered in eleventh for a long time. Romain Grosjean finished in sixth pace, a very good result, considering team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who was in the top three at one point, found himself losing ten places in just two laps, due to old tyres. Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado for Williams, came seventh and eighth, with Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi ninth and tenth or Ferrari and Sauber.

Sergio Perez eleventh ahead of Paul di Resta, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg finished 15th ahead of the two Toro Rosso drivers, Vergne and Ricciardo, Petrov finished 18th for Caterham, while team mate Heikki Kovalainen ended his race deadlast. Timo Glock and Charles Pic for Marussia in 19 and 20, Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan 21 and 22.

Lewis Hamilton is now leading the championship with 45 points, ahead of Jenson Button, 43 points. Fernando Alonso has dropped to third with 37, Mark Webber a point behind with 36, and Sebastian Vettel has 28 points in fifth place.

Took you a while, kid:)

Nico Rosberg will start his 111th race on Sunday, and for the first time in his career, on pole.

An impressive run in the final shoot-out, where Rosberg shot from the box, made the fastest lap, climbed out and got weighed long before his colleagues where done trying to beat his time, the Mercedes driver commented, that his effort was ‘not bad’. Understatement of the year it seems. Mercedes has had their W-duct system deemed legal by the FIA on Friday, a device operated by the opening and closing of the DRS. Lotus filed a protest, but this was rejected by the stewards in China. The system reduces drag and increases top speed, and this could be a significant factor in Rosberg’s performance Saturday. On april 5, he said his season will kick off for real in China. Guess he’s right…

“I have good memories of the Chinese Grand Prix, as I was on the podium there in 2010 and led the race last year,” Rosberg said on Thursday. “For me, China is really the start of the season as the first two races have not gone to plan. “The track is quite different to the first two, as it demands more from the front tyres than the rears – in other words, what is termed a front-limited circuit. We know that we have a quick car, but we are looking to improve our long-run pace next weekend and to have a better race performance.”

Team mate Michael Schumacher will start second, an all-Mercedes lock out.

Rosberg grabs pole in China

In a rather surprising turn of events, Mercedes´ Nico Rosberg has secured his first ever pole position and making history while doing it.

Mercedes has not been on pole since Juan Manuel Fangio´s pole position at Monza in 1955, and the German racer set a blinding lap, by being more than half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton.

While Mark Webber was fastest on medium tyres for some time, but the soft tyres, which many other drivers opted for, was simply a lot faster. Eventually, Sergio Perez won the first of the three qualifying sessions, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean.

In Q2 Fernando Alonso redeemed himself quite a bit, after being 15th in the final practice this morning, the Spaniard was one of many drivers who pushed world champion Sebastian Vettel out of Q2, a rather surprising result. The lap times were very close in Q2, Webber´s fastest lap was 1:35.700 was just 0.331 faster than Vettel´s time, however the double world champion was not able to snek into the top. The session ended with Vettel in 11, Massa behind , then Maldonado in 13th, Senna, di Resta, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo.

The final shootout was where it all came together. Nico Rosberg set his fastest lap, went back to the pits, climbed out and didn´t feel the need to go back out. And rightfully so. It was up to the rest of the runners to do what they could to close the huge gap of half a second up to Rosberg, but the times stood.

So on pole we have Nico Rosberg for the first time, congratulations are in order, followed by Michael Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi, Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button,  Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton(P2, but received five place penalty), Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean.