Pole and victory for Vettel in India

Last weekend we saw the first Formula 1 race that was organized in India, and to be honest it was one of the most boring races I have seen in the last few years. Saturday during the qualifying session Vettel managed to grab the pole position for the inaugural Indian GP, even though that there were some speculations that he will try to “engineer” a win for his teammate Webber in his attempt to grab the victory.

With a time of 1m 24.178 seconds, Vettel secured his 13^th pole of the season and he was three tenths of a second faster than Hamilton, but Lewis started yesterday’s race from fifth because of a rule infringement during Friday’s practice session. Webber came in third, followed by Alonso, Button and Massa.

Here’s what happened in the qualifying session for the 2011 Indian Grand Prix:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 24.178s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.474s**
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 24.508s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 24.519s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 24.950s
6 Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 25.122s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 25.451s
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes no time Q3
9. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari no time Q3
10. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari no time Q3

11. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 26.319s*
12. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 36.337s
13. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 26.503s
14. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 26.537s
15. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault 1m 26.651s
16. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 27.247s
17. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 27.562s**

18. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 27.876s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 28.565s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 28.752s
21. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 30.216s*
22. Narain Karthikeyan India HRT-Cosworth 1m 30.238s*
23. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 30.866s
24. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 34.046s

After obtaining the pole position, Sunday’s race was a walk in the park for Sebastian Vettel who never lost the lead and won yet another race in this season which he dominated. Button grabbed the second place on the podium after passing Ferrari’s Alonso who had to settle for the third place. Mark Webber finished on the fourth position.

It was yet another incident between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa from which the latter had to suffer as the stewards considered him guilty of the incident and he was penalized with a drive-through. Later on, Massa retired from the race after destroying his suspension as he rumbled over a kerb.

Michael Schumacher came in fifth place, in front of his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Here are the results of the 2011 Indian GP:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 60 laps 1hr 30m 35.002s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 08.4s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 24.3s
4. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 25.5s
5. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 05.4s
6. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +01m 06.8s
7. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +01m 24.1s
8. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

11. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +1 lap
12. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault +1 lap
13. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault +2 laps
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +2 laps
16. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
17. Narain Karthikeyan India HRT-Cosworth +3 laps
18. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth +3 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault +5 laps

Rtd. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 32 laps completed
Rtd. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 24 laps completed
Rtd. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 12 laps completed
Rtd. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 0 laps completed

With only two races to go, here’s the situation in the drivers’ standings:

The standings in the constructors’ championship looks this way:

The last two races of the season will occur on the 11-13 November weekend in Abu Dhabi and on 25-27 November in Brazil.

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, indian gp, sebastian vettel, vettel

Pole For Hamilton, Win For Vettel In Korea

It has been almost a year since another driver besides Vettel or Webber from Red Bull claimed the pole position. Lewis Hamilton won yesterday’s qualifying session for the Korean Grand Prix, putting an end to a Red Bull domination that lasted 16 races. Here are the full results of the qualifying session:

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 35.820s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 36.042s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 36.126s
4. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 36.468s
5. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 36.831s
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 36.980s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 37.754s
8. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 38.124s
9. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes no time Q3
10. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes no time Q3

11. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 38.315s
12. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 38.354s
13. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 38.508s
14. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 38.775s
15. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault 1m 38.791s
16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 39.189s
17. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 39.443s

18. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 39.538s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 40.522s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 41.101s
21. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 42.091s
22 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 43.483s
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 1m 43.758s
22. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth no time

As for the race, it was yet another win for the double world champion Sebastian Vettel who started the race from the second position of the grid. He managed to overtake Hamilton on the first lap of the race and he didn’t lose the lead at all, crossing the finish line 12 seconds ahead of Lewis. After Hamilton came Jenson Button and Ferrari’s Alonso. This was the 10^th win of the season for Vettel which means that he still has chances of matching Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in one season.

These are the results of the 2011 F1 Korean Grand Prix:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 55 laps 1hr 38m 01.994s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 12.0s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 12.4s
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 14.6s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 15.6s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 25.1s
7. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 49.5s
8. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 54.0s
9. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 02.7s
10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +01m 08.6s

11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +01m 11.2s
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 33.0s
13. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault +1 lap
14. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault +1 lap
15. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
17. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +1 lap
19. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth +1 lap
20. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth +1 lap
21. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth +3 laps

Rtd Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 30 laps completed
Rtd Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 16 laps completed
Rtd Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 15 laps completed

There are going to be three more races in this year’s season of the F1 championship and the situation in the drivers’ standings so far looks this way:

With today’s win, Red Bull Racing has won its second consecutive title in the constructors’ championship:

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, korean gp, sebastian vettel

Button Wins At Suzuka, Vettel Becomes Youngest Double F1 Champion

Although he wanted to win, he had to settle for the third place after today’s Suzuka race, a third place which was enough for Sebastian Vettel to win his second consecutive championship tile, while Button won a very exciting race. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso tried very hard to overtake Button in the last laps of the race but in the end he grabbed the second place.

Sebastian Vettel has now joined a very exclusive club as he is only the ninth driver in the F1 history to win successive titles. The other drivers that managed to do this are Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher (five titles in a row), Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Jack Brabham, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari.

The former youngest driver to win two titles was Alonso who won his championships with Renault back in 2005 and 2006. At 24 years and 99 days, Vettel has managed to break that record, being about one year younger than the Spaniard.

There are 100 points left in the championship to win but Vettel has a 114 points lead over Button so nothing can happen as far as the first place is concerned in Korea next weekend and after that in India, Abu Dhabi and Brazil. The constructors’ title is still up for grabs but Red Bull has a huge lead over McLaren Mercedes and chances are slim that RBR could lose it.

The start of the race was pretty interesting as there was a fierce battle between Vettel and Button and although the German managed to stay in front, Sebastian lost the first place of the race on lap 19 when he decided to go and change tires. Jenson Button staid for one extra lap and he managed to win a few precious seconds that allowed him to get in front of Vettel.

Hamilton and Massa had an incident once again and the Brazilian lost the right front-wing endplate of his Ferrari. Needless to say, the race’s stewards announced an investigation of this incident, which was the fourth of the year, but no measures were taken. Hamilton eventually finished behind Webber and in front of Michael Schumacher and Massa.

Here are the full results of the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka:

1. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 53 laps 1hr 30m 53.427s
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 01.1s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault +00m 02.0s
4. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 08.0s
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 24.2s
6. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 27.1s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 28.2s
8. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari +00m 39.3s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +00m 42.6s
10. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari +00m 44.3s

11. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 54.4s
12. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +00m 62.3s
13. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +00m 63.7s
14. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +00m 64.1s
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +01m 06.6s
16. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault +01m 12.6s
17. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth +01m 14.1s
18. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault +01m 27.8s
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault +01m 36.1s
20. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
21. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
22. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth +3 laps

Rtd Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 9 laps completed

Here’s the situation in the drivers’ standings before the last four races of the season:

The title for the constructors’ championship is pretty much settled as Red Bull has a lead of 130 points:

Post tags: Tags: f1 world champion, formula-1, japan gp, sebastian vettel, suzuka

Vettel Grabs Pole Position At Suzuka

After tomorrow’s Japan F1 GP we’ll probably write that Sebastian Vettel has become the world champion for the second time in his career as he only needs one more point to grab his second consecutive title, which is going to make him the youngest Formula 1 driver that has won two trophies.

Anyway, in today’s qualifying session at Suzuka, the 24-year-old German managed to be faster than Jenson Button from McLaren Mercedes by only nine thousandths of a second in what was a very exciting session. From 15 races so far, Vettel won 12 pole positions and this is his fifth consecutive one and at the same time is Red Bull’s 16^th in a row if we count the end of last season.

Button was the fastest driver in all of the three practice sessions and he is probably the only one who could delay Vettel’s title. Lewis Hamilton will start from the 3^rd place of the grid after he did his fastest lap in 1m 30.446s. In fourth and fifth we’ll find Ferrari’s Massa and Alonso, respectively. They will be followed by Mark Webber and Schumacher.

Here are the full results of the qualifying session for the 2011 Japan Grand Prix:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 30.466s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 30.475s
3. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 30.617s
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.804s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.886s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 31.156s
7. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes no time Q3
8. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault no time Q3
9. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault no time Q3
10. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari no time Q3

11. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 32.463s
12. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 32.746s
13. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 33.079s
14. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 33.224s
15. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 33.227s
16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 33.427s
17. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari no time Q2

18. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 35.454s
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 35.514s
20 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 36.439s
21. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 36.507s
22. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 37.846s
23. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes no time
24 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth no time

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, japan grand prix, sebastian vettel, suzuka

Pole & Victory For Vettel At Singapore GP

It was a rather boring qualifying session and race last weekend in Singapore because Sebastian Vettel once again dominated.  It was his seventh pole position of the season and by winning the race he only needs one more point to become world champion for the second time in a row.

Here are the results of the qualifying session:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 44.381s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 44.732s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 44.804s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 44.809s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 44.874s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 45.800s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 46.013s
8. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes No time
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes No time
10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes No time

11. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 47.616s
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 48.082s
13. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 48.270s
14. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 48.634s
15. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault 1m 48.662s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 49.862s
17 Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari No time

18. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 49.835s
19 Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 50.948s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 51.012s
21. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 52.154s
22 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 52.363s
23. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 52.404s
24 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 1m 52.810s

And here are the results of the race:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 61 laps 1hr 59m 06.757s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 01.7s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault +00m 29.2s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 55.4s
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +01m 07.7s
6. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +01m 51.0s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
9. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
10. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap

11. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
12. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari +2 laps
15. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault +2 laps
16. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault +2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault +2 laps
18. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth +4 laps

In the drivers’ championship, the only real battle now is for the second place where Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber are separated by only three points.

As far as the constructors’ championship standings are concerned, things are pretty much settled, with Red Bull in first place, followed by McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari.

Singapore was the 14th race of the season and the next one will be in Japan at Suzuka on October 9th where Red Bull will probably take the win once again, killing the fun for all of F1 fans out there.

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, sebastian vettel, singapore

Pole And Victory For Vettel At Monza

It is safe to say right now that the battle for the F1 drivers’ championship is over as Sebastian Vettel managed to win yet another race this season, this time the Italian Grand Prix organized on the legendary Monza circuit.

Although some experts said that Red Bull is not a favorite to win this GP, Sebastian Vettel managed to grab the pole position on Saturday with his fastest lap that was done in 1m 22.275s, followed by Lewis Hamilton from McLaren Mercedes with a time of 1m 22.752s and his colleague Jenson Button that did his quickest lap in 1m 22.777s.

Here are the results of the qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix held at Monza:

Q3

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 22.275s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 22.725s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 22.777s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 22.841s
5. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 22.972s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 23.188s
7. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 23.530s
8. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 23.777s
9. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 24.477s
10. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault no time Q3

Q2

11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.163s
12. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 24.209s
13. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 24.648s
14. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 24.726s
15. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 24.845s
16. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.932s
17 Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 25.065s

Q1
18. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 25.334s
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 26.647s
20 Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 27.184s
21. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 27.591s
22 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 27.609s
23. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 28.054s
24 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 1m 28.231s

As for the race itself, Vettel only had a problem maintaining the lead of the race at the beginning when Alonso from Ferrari had an excellent start, overtaking three pilots on the first corner. Shortly after that, Vettel grabbed the first position and didn’t let it go until the end of the race. With this eight win, the Red Bull pilot can win the championship as early as the next race.

The highlight of the race was without any doubt the long and interesting battle between Hamilton and Schumacher. The seven times world champion managed to stay in front of the British driver for several laps while Hamilton was trying to pass in every possible place on the circuit. From this battle, Button benefited the most and he got in front of both drivers, later on overtaking Fernando Alonso as well, securing the 2^nd place of the race. As for Schumacher, he eventually had to let Hamilton take over his position.

There were lots of retired cars as both Saubers failed to finish the race, while Mark Webber had to abandon the race after an accident at the beginning of the race. Liuzzi from HRT Cosworth, Nico Rosberg from Mercedes and Petrov from Renault are some of the other drivers that didn’t make it to the finish line.

Here are the race results:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 53 laps 1hr 20m 46.172s
2. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 09.5s
3. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 16.9s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes +00m 17.4s
5. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 32.6s
6. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 42.9s
7. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
8. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
9. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault +1 lap
10. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap

11. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
12. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
13. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault +2 laps
14. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault +2 laps
15. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
16. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth +14 laps

Rtd. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 32 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 21 laps completed
Rtd. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 9 laps completed
Rtd. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 4 laps completed
Rtd. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1 lap completed
Rtd. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 0 laps completed
Rtd. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 0 laps completed
Rtd. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 0 laps completed

Here are the race results:

After 13 GPs so far, the drivers’ standings for the 2011 F1 championship are:

As for the manufacturers’ standings, the situation is pretty clear at the top:

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, monza, red bull, sebastian vettel

[press release] Sebastian Vettel To Unveil His Perfect Infiniti

ROLLE, Switzerland – Infiniti released the first image of its upcoming concept car, which makes its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 13th. It will be unveiled by reigning Formula One World Champion and Infiniti FX driver Sebastian Vettel, who helped design the concept vehicle.

About Infiniti
Infiniti offers a full-line of luxury performance automobiles that inspire at every turn, including the G Coupe, Sedan and Convertible, Infiniti M Sedan, EX and FX crossovers, and the QX full-size SUV. More information about Infiniti and its Total Ownership Experience can be found at www.InfinitiUSA.com.

Post tags: Tags: concept-car, frankfurt motor show, Infiniti, sebastian vettel

Vettel Wins Belgian Grand Prix

The current world champion Sebastian Vettel managed to win today’s Belgian Grand Prix organized at Spa-Francorchamps, although F1 experts were saying before this weekend that Ferrari will win. Not only did Vettel win, but in second place came his colleague, Mark Webber. This result probably marks the end of the battle for this year’s drivers’ championships but also the confrontation for the manufacturers’ championship where the situation is pretty clear.

Although Vettel had a slow start and he lost the first place, he made a smart move in lap 14 when he decided to make a pit stop when the Safety Car was on the circuit. After that, he managed to overtake Webber and Ferrari’s Alonso, en route to his seventh victory of the season. Towards the end of the race, Webber recovered some of the lost terrain, but he was still too far to beat Vettel and probably the team orders wouldn’t have permitted this move anyway. It was a great race for the Australian, who although had a disappointing start where he dropped to eight place, he managed to cross the finish line in second place.

The last spot on the podium was grabbed by Button who although started the race in 13th place, in the second part of the race he was very fast, managing to overtake Schumacher, Sutil, Massa and Rosberg in just five laps. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, wasn’t as lucky as he ended his race after only 14 laps. After his first pit stop he was fifth, right behind Kobayashi and he managed to overtake him. However, Kobayashi didn’t give up and there was a collision, from which Hamilton had to quit the race after serious damage to his car, which probably compromised his chances of hoping for the F1 title this year.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso had a rather disappointing race, finishing in fourth place, after being overtaken by Alonso, Webber and Button.

In my humble opinion, the best driver on the track today was Michael Schumacher, who managed to finish the race in fifth place, although he started it from the last position of the grid. This weekend marks 20 years since the multiple world champion joined the fabulous world of F1. Right behind him was his teammate Rosberg, who during the first five laps of the race he was in 1st place.

The next Grand Prix will be next weekend at the legendary Monza track, which will be the home of the Italian GP, where at least theoretically, Ferrari has the first chance to grab the victory. However, after seeing what Red Bull is capable of, it probably won’t be a surprise if Vettel or Webber will snatch the win once again.

Here are the full results of the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix held at Spa- Francorchamps:

Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1 Sebastian Vettel GER Red Bull
2 Mark Webber AUS Red Bull +3.7
3 Jenson Button GBR McLaren +9.6
4 Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari +13.0
5 Michael Schumacher GER Mercedes +47.4
6 Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes +48.6
7 Adrian Sutil GER Force India +59.7
8 Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari +66.0
9 Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault +71.9
10 Pastor Maldonado VEN Williams +77.6
11 Paul di Resta GBR Force India +83.9
12 Kamui Kobayashi JAP Sauber +91.9
13 Bruno Senna BRA Renault +92.9
14 Jarno Trulli ITA Lotus +1 lap
15 Heikki Kovalainen FIN Lotus +1 lap
16 Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams +1 lap
17 Jerome d’Ambrosio BEL Virgin +1 lap
18 Timo Glock GER Virgin +1 lap
19 Vitantonio Liuzzi ITA Hispania +1 lap
DNF Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren DNF
DNF Jaime Alguersuari ESP Toro Rosso DNF
DNF Sergio Perez MEX Sauber DNF
DNF Sébastien Buemi SUI Toro Rosso DNF
DNF Daniel Ricciardo AUS Hispania DNF

After 12 races so far, here are how things look in the drivers’ standings:

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Sebastian Vettel German RBR-Renault 259
2 Mark Webber Australian RBR-Renault 167
3 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 157
4 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 149
5 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 146
6 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 74
7 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 56
8 Michael Schumacher German Mercedes 42
9 Vitaly Petrov Russian Renault 34
10 Nick Heidfeld German Renault 34
11 Kamui Kobayashi Japanese Sauber-Ferrari 27
12 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Mercedes 24
13 Sebastien Buemi Swiss STR-Ferrari 12
14 Jaime Alguersuari Spanish STR-Ferrari 10
15 Sergio Perez Mexican Sauber-Ferrari 8
16 Paul di Resta British Force India-Mercedes 8
17 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Williams-Cosworth 4
18 Pastor Maldonado Venezuelan Williams-Cosworth 1
19 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish Sauber-Ferrari 0
20 Jarno Trulli Italian Lotus-Renault 0
21 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian HRT-Cosworth 0
22 Bruno Senna Brazilian Renault 0
23 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgian Virgin-Cosworth 0
24 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Lotus-Renault 0
25 Timo Glock German Virgin-Cosworth 0
26 Narain Karthikeyan Indian HRT-Cosworth 0
27 Daniel Ricciardo Australian HRT-Cosworth 0
28 Karun Chandhok Indian Lotus-Renault 0

And here’s the situation in the manufacturers’ standings:

Pos Team Points
1 RBR-Renault 426
2 McLaren-Mercedes 295
3 Ferrari 231
4 Mercedes 98
5 Renault 68
6 Sauber-Ferrari 35
7 Force India-Mercedes 32
8 STR-Ferrari 22
9 Williams-Cosworth 5
10 Lotus-Renault 0
11 HRT-Cosworth 0
12 Virgin-Cosworth 0

Post tags: Tags: belgian gp, belgian grand prix, belgium gp, belgium grand prix, formula-1, red bull, sebastian vettel, spa francorchamps

Vettel Grabs Last-Minute Pole At Spa

It was a very exciting Q3 this Saturday at Spa, where current world champion Sebastian Vettel managed to grab the pole position in the dying moments of the qualifying session, beating Lewis Hamilton’s time only by a little . Vettel did his fastest lap in 1m 48.298s while Hamilton came in second with 1m 48.730s, followed by Mark Webber that managed to complete a lap in 1m 49.376s.

The big surprise of this qualifying session was Felipe Massa how will start tomorrow at Spa from the fourth place of the grid, thanks to its fastest lap in Q3 of 1m 50.256s. In fifth place we shall see Nico Rosberg that did a lap in 1m 50.552s, while right behind him is Jaime Alguersuari with his time of 1m 50.773s.

On the 7th place of the grid tomorrow will start Bruno Senna who did a lap of the track in 1m 51.121s while Fernando Alonso from Ferrari only managed a very disappointing 8th place with a time of 1m 51.251s.

Here are the full results of the qualifying session for the Belgium Grand Prix held at Spa- Francorchamps:

POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT TIME
1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1:48.298
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:48.730
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:49.376
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:50.256
5. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes GP 1:50.552
6. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:50.773
7. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault 1:51.121
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari 1:51.251
9. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1:51.374
10. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault 1:52.303

Q2
11. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2:04.692
12. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 2:04.757
13. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2:05.150
14. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 2:07.349
15. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 2:07.777
16. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 2:08.106
17. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 2:08.354

Q1
18. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 2:07.758
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 2:08.773
20. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 2:09.566
21. Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 2:11.601
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 2:11.616
23. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 2:13.077
24. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes GP No Time

Post tags: Tags: belgium gp, belgium grand prix, formula one, formula-1, red bull, sebastian vettel, spa francorchamps

Vettel On Pole In Hungary

The current world champion Sebastian Vettel has managed to grab his eight pole this season, out of a total so far of eleven races. Today he was fast the fastest driver during the qualifying session and tomorrow we’ll be seeing him start from the first place of the Hungary GP organized at Hungaroring. RBR’s driver was faster than Lewis Hamilton and Jenson button who came into second and third place.

Tomorrow on the fourth position of the starting lineup we will see Ferrari’s Massa, followed by his teammate Fernando Alonso while Webber only obtained a very disappointing 6^th place. Behind him is Paul di Resta, Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, along with Kobayashi, Heidfeld, Barrichello and Alguersuari.

Here are the full results of today’s qualifying session for the Hungariang Grand Prix:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 19.815s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 19.978s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 20.024s
4. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 20.350s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 20.365s
6. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 20.474s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 21.098s
8. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 21.445s
9. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 21..907s
10. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari no time Q3

11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 1m 22.256s
12. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 22.284s
13 Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 22.435s
14. Nick Heidfeld Germany Renault-Renault 1m 22.470s
15. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 22.684s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 22.979s
17. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth no time Q2

18. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 24.070s
19 Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 24.362s
20 Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 24.534s
21. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 26.294s
22 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 1m 26.323s
23. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 26.479s
24 Jerome d’Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 26.510s

Post tags: Tags: f1, formula-1, hungaroring, red bull, sebastian vettel

Vettel Triumphs In Monaco GP

Last Sunday’s F1 GP was probably one of the most memorable races of the last decade. It had everything that you can imagine; from crashes, drive-through penalties, to safety cars and overtaking maneuvers, something very rare in this old street circuit where there is little to no room of getting in front of someone.

It was the sixth race of the season and the fifth victory for the current world champion, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who managed to increase his lead in the championship to a very relaxing 58 points.

20 laps before the end of the race Vettel was having a hard time keeping Alonso in the back, while Jenson Button was rapidly approaching the leading drivers. We were all expecting for a heavy battle between these three drivers, but the plans got mixed up when Adrian Sutil in his Force India car hit a barrier. Alguersuari crashed into Hamilton and Petrov, trying to avoid all the dangerous in front of him and put his car into the wall.

While there were only a few laps remaining, the safety car once again came out, exactly what Vettel needed as his rubbers were in a critical condition. Thanks to the safety car stop, the German had the opportunity to restart the race on brand new tires and he managed to complete the remaining 10 minutes of the race on the first position, achieving his 14^th overall win in F1.

Here are the complete results of the 2011 Monaco GP:

1. Vettel Red Bull 2h09:38.373
2. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138
3. Button McLaren + 2.378
4. Webber Red Bull + 23.100
5. Kobayashi Sauber + 26.900
6. Hamilton McLaren + 27.200
7. Sutil Force India + 1 lap
8. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
9. Barrichello Williams + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso + 1 lap
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India + 2 laps
13. Trulli Lotus + 2 laps
14. Kovalainen Lotus + 2 laps
15. D’Ambrosio Virgin + 2 laps
16. Liuzzi HRT + 3 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT + 3 laps
18. Maldonado Williams + 5 laps

Here are the drivers standings after six races so far in the 2011 F1 season:

And here’s how things look so far in the constructors’ standings:

Source: guardian.co.uk

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, monaco gp, sebastian vettel

Vettel Wins In Barcelona, Hamilton Comes Second

Yet another win this weekend for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel at the F1 2011 Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. The current world champion managed to win the race after starting behind his teammate Mark Webber. Vettel defended his position very well in front of Lewis Hamilton who tried to surpass him during the last part of the race but was unable to take the win.

The final place on the podium was obtained by Jenson Button who had a clever 3-stop strategy, followed by Mark Webber who had a rather disappointing race. Ferrari’s Alonso had a great start and after the first corner he was first, but in the end he had to settle for the fifth place. Behind Fernando finished Michael Schumacher and his colleague Nico Rosberg.

Nick Heidfeld had an impressive race as despite the fact that he started from the last position on the grid, he finished in an honorable eight place, followed by the Sauber duo consisting of Sergio Perez in ninth place and Kamui Kobayashi in tenth place.

Here are the full results of this year’s Spain GP:

01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:03.301
02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 0.630
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 35.697
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 47.966
05. Alonso Ferrari + 1 lap
06. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
13. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 2 laps
17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
20. D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
21. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps

Not classified/retirements:
Massa Ferrari 60
Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49
Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 29

After five races, here are the standings in the driver’s championship:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 118 points
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 77
3. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 67
4. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 61
5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 51
6. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP 26
7. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Renault 25
8. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 24
9. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 21
10. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes GP 14
11. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 9
12. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 6
13. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 2
14. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Sauber 2
15. Paul Di Resta (Britain) Force India 2
16. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 0
17. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 0
18. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 0
19. Jerome d’Ambrosio (Belgium) Virgin 0
20. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus 0
21. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 0
22. Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin 0
23. Narain Karthikeyan (India) HRT 0
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) HRT 0

And here are the standings in the manufacturer’s championship:

Photo: telegraph.co.uk

Post tags: Tags: barcelona, formula-1, sebastian vettel, spain gp

2011 Turkey GP: Vettel Grabs 4th Consecutive Pole

The fourth race of the 2011 F1 season, the fourth consecutive pole position for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, becoming the first driver since Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) to take the first poles of the season. After crashing on Friday’s practice session, Vettel had a good qualifying session, finished the Q3 with a time of 1:25.049.

Vettel was followed by Mark Webber (1:25.454) and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg (1:25.574). Lewis Hamilton grabbed the fourth place on the grid, followed by Ferrari’s Alonso. Felipe Massa only managed a rather disappointing 10^th place.

Here is the starting grid for the 2011 Formula 1 DHL Turkish Grand Prix:

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany/Red Bull-Renault)

2. Mark Webber (Australia/Red Bull-Renault)

3. Nico Rosberg (Germany/Mercedes)

4. Lewis Hamilton (GB/McLaren-Mercedes)

5. Fernando Alonso (Spain/Ferrari)

6. Jenson Button (GB/McLaren-Mercedes)

7. Vitaly Petrov (Russia/Lotus-Renault)

8. Michael Schumacher (Germany/Mercedes)

9. Nick Heidfeld (Germany/Lotus-Renault)

10. Felipe Massa (Brazil/Ferrari)

11. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil/Williams-Cosworth)

12. Adrian Sutil (Germany/Force India-Mercedes)

13. Paul di Resta (GB/Force India-Mercedes)

14. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela/Williams-Cosworth)

15. Sergio Perez (Mexico/Sauber-Ferrari)

16. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)

17. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain/Toro Rosso-Ferrari)

18. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland/Team Lotus)

19. Jarno Trulli (Italy/Team Lotus)

20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy/Hispania-Cosworth)

21. Timo Glock (Germany/Virgin-Cosworth)

22. Narain Karthikeyan (India/Hispania-Cosworth)

23. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan/Sauber-Ferrari)

24. Jerome d’Ambrosio (Belgium/Virgin-Cosworth)

Source: Formula1 | Photo: Telegraph.co.uk

Post tags: Tags: formula-1, red bull, sebastian vettel, turkey gp

Vettel Talks About KERS And The Adjustable Rear Wing

Current F1 champion and the winner of the inaugural race of this season, Sebastian Vettel, has taken to Youtube to explain what the addition of the famous KERS system and the adjustable rear wing means for drivers. Simply put, the KERS is good for an 80-hp boost and a six-second.
(more…)

Post tags: Tags: adjustable rear wing, formula-1, kers, sebastian vettel

Vettel Has Extended His Contract With Red Bull

There were plenty of rumors regarding a possible departure from RBR as far as Sebastian Vettel is concerned. Some said that he will move to Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz GP in the years to come, but now those rumors are dead, at least for a couple of years, as the current world champion has extended his contract with Red Bull until the end of 2014.

Sebastian Vettel is the youngest driver ever to win a F1 grand prix and he is also the youngest champion. He signed with Red Bull back in 1998 for his driver development program and in 2007 he got behind the wheel of the Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car, managing to win his first race a year later. In 2009 he moved up to the Red Bull starting line-up and grabbed the F1 title last year.

It seems that Adrian Newey, along with other senior personnel have had their contracts extended, but there is no word regarding Webber’s contract, which will end after the 2011 season.

Source: Red Bull Racing

Post tags: Tags: formula one, red bull, sebastian vettel