Formula 1 | seasonal f1 moan

My lifetime passion

Bahrain

Saturday, 25 April 2009 ‡ 13:40

Very interesting qualifying session with many teams at the top with different drivers, not knowing who will make it to pole until the very last car had made it across the line after the end of final session. Trulli looked strong through out the day, i did suspect it would be either a Brawn or Red Bull at the top, but i am glad it isn't, since this will hopefully make way for a very entertaining race, with hopefully plenty of battles, especially at the front.

The first lap was almost like a BTCC race, with cars side by side into corners, showing signs of being an exciting race, with a "normal" state of play; no rain, no safety car. Glock managed to take Trulli from the start and Hamilton managed to get up to third from fifth, Button and Vettel following, the lead pack settling down with everyone else fighting every corner for position behind them for a few laps, impressive Webber up from eighteenth to eleventh by lap 4. The BMW's and Williams not performing too well, McLaren, Ferrari and Renault following along ok, nothing too impressive. The first set of pitstops juggled the leading driver, but by the end of these, Button emerged at the front where he more or less remained for the remainder of the race. Vettel drove well, as did Hamilton and Trulli. I thought we may have been on for a well deserved battle between Hamilton in his McLaren and Trulli in his Toyota, which would have been great to see, but never happened.

Labels: bahrain, button, trulli, vettel

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China

Sunday, 19 April 2009 ‡ 07:10

The double decker diffuser has been ruled legal and therefore confirms Button's lead in the driver standings and Brawn GP lead in the constructors this season.

Fuel adjusted makes Barrichello fastest, but its Vettel's second career pole (Italy 2008 was his first) and Red Bull's first pole, Webber directly behind in 3rd, double world champion along side in 2nd, experienced Barrichello in 4th and Button starting 5th. Ferrari's and McLaren's at the tail end of the lead group. Kimi has suggested he will not be challenging for the drivers world championship this season! McLaren will quickly adapted to the legal double decker diffuser, whereas Ferrari will not have one until mid-season Spanish grand prix.

I expect Alonso will take the lead off the start, Trulli is also a dynamite starter with Barrichello and Button struggling to keep up with heavily fuelled cars.

Out goes my prediction for the start due to wet start behind the safety car. If it continues to rain I think the result of this race will be a combination of fearless driving and pot luck. After 8 laps the safety car withdrew. The Reb Bull's pulled away with Button taking Barrichello. Not long later Kubica tried to use Trulli's Toyota as a ramp, removing most of the Toyota's rear leading to another safety car stint. Hamilton made progress, then slipped off the road, then fought back, then flew off the road and then gained back the places and fell off the road, again, but still managed to finish sixth. Timo Glock used his car as a dogem several times, getting away with minor damage to finish seventh. There were places gained during the pits and places lost due to the tricky conditions, but overall most drivers did well. The Red Bull's stole the show with Button taking the third step.

Labels: chinese, red bull, vettel

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Malaysia

Sunday, 5 April 2009 ‡ 11:59

If Lewis has put the Australian GP issue to the back of his mind during qualifying, McLaren were definitely off the pace. Surprisingly Ferrari's over confidence leaves Massa at the back with Kimi just managing to secure a 7th spot. Trulli displayed some excellent pace in his Toyota but could not keep Button off his 2nd pole this season.

Button falls back behind Rosberg and Trulli at the start, but inherits the lead during the leaders pitstops. Brilliant battle between Glock and Alonso during the early part of the race, with Glock winning the position after several hard attempts. Amazingly Ferrari's Raikkonen gambled with fitting extreme wets while the track was bone dry several laps before it actually began raining, which i thought was too early, but timing would have been perfect had it been a few laps later. It really never did rain as hard as i expected.

Another brilliant battle between Hamilton and Webber during the earlier slippery rain period. I want to believe the rule changes really have made a difference, allowing more overtaking opportunities.

Glock, Hamilton and Rosberg are first to change on to Inters, with the rest of the grid following suit, probably finding their Extremes not giving them enough traction since it has not rained as heavy as expected. Moments later massive lightening and heavy rain negates the drivers choice for Inters a few laps earlier. Button visited the pits for Inters and then back in a lap later for Extremes. With about 25 laps to the end, the safety car is out due to Vittel spinning off and heavy rain, then a lap later red flagged with Button first, followed by the other points finsihers Heidfeld, Glock, Trulli, Barrichello, Webber, Hamilton and Rosberg.

Labels: brawn, button, malaysian, virgin

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