The qualification of the Grand Prix of Europe in Valencia gave one or the other team a surprise – it was a good or bad. Because compared to the last free practice session this morning there was held under ideal weather conditions Zeitenfahren some major shifts.

The pole position could be after a long losing streak of four races Sebastian Vettel. The German realized a personal best of 1:37.587 minutes. Secured second place team mate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton was third in the McLaren-Mercedes.
In the fourth place followed by Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica (Renault), Jenson Button (Team McLaren Mercedes), the two Williams drivers Nicolette Hülkenberg and Rubens Barrichello – identical with time – and Vitaly Petrov (Renault)

After the first qualifying part of the seven slowest pilots were ruled out: Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock (both Virgin), Karun Chandhok and Bruno Senna (both HRT).

After the second pass the Zeitenfahren for the following driver had run ahead of Sébastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) and Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso).

Before the race on the Ile Notre Dame in Montreal to face the teams on two main questions: Is it early in the race to a safety car period? Which tires should start the race? Sam Michael, Technical Director of the Williams team, explains his thoughts, which he makes in this regard before the clock start at 18 GMT.

“We have not yet decided whether we will start on the hard or soft compound,” said Michael. “There are two different approaches. If one assumes that there will be in the early stages of the race a Safety Car period, take the soft tires, to have used them and they runterzubekommen again.”
“If one does not believe that it is not the safety car comes out, you might want to be on the hard compound to be able to drive around for two long stints,” said Michael further. The Grand Prix of Canada would be one way or another for at least a two-stop race, because you could not possibly survive due to high tire wear, with only one tire change the distance of 70 laps.

Williams is with Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg the two best-placed driver who may choose their tires before the race, free. Michael would therefore not exclude that we could possibly send its pilots with different strategies in the race to be prepared for all eventualities.
But a look into the past leaving Michael to assume that safety car driver Bernd will turn out Mayländer with high probability during the race. “The likelihood of a safety car deployment is very high. It was always like that. We had been in 19 races Safety Car periods, sometimes up to four per race.”

There are many indications that this in this year’s race will hardly be otherwise. “Now we have six more cars on the grid and to two types of tires that will be hard to drive due to the strong graining – all of which increases the probability of safety car interventions,” said Michael concludes.

The qualification for the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal was a real thriller – in the end Lewis Hamilton was in a time of 1:15.105 minutes of the winners. The McLaren-Mercedes drivers succeeded thus became the first driver to finish the series pole position of Red Bull, which in all seven races were previously in front.

Mark Webber placed in the Red Bull – who put on hard tires – in second place ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel. Behind: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Jenson Button in the second McLaren-Mercedes, Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India, Felipe Massa in a Ferrari, Robert Kubica in a Renault, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Nico Rosberg in a Mercedes.
At the end of the first part of qualifying parted, as always the slowest seven drivers: Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Jarno Trulli (Lotus), Timo Glock (Virgin), Bruno Senna (HRT), Lucas Grassi (Virgin) and Karun Chandhok ( HRT).

After the second round were the following pilots watch: Rubens Barrichello, Nico Hulkenberg (both Williams), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Sebastien Buemi, Jaime Alguersuari (both Toro Rosso) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) .

Robert Kubica and Montreal – that’s a Hochschaubahn: 2007 pilot of the accident, the then BMW Sauber F1 Team at the hairpin difficult, but escaped miraculously with minor injuries. A year later he led a complete surprise double victory of his team ahead of Nick Heidfeld – it was the only win for the Bavarians in the premier class. Last year there was no race in Montreal – Kubica this year but returns to the Ile de Notre Dame. “The Grand Prix of Canada is something like my destiny race,” says the poles ‘Auto Bild motorsport’.

And so he feels: This year a sensation in the air – “with little luck.” Because: “The course our car will be. It’s fast on the straights and is as wonderfully out of slow corners. It is these properties are required in Montreal.” The strength in tight corners is based on the small wheel base of the Renault R30 – no current Formula 1 racing car can compete in this discipline with Kubica’s car. It showed the team had in Monaco, where the 25-year-old is the sharpest of the superior competitor Red Bull pilot was.

And although the Renault engine has a power deficit, Kubica and Vitaly Petrov scores are in the top speed is always at the front – reason is the low air resistance of the R30. Moreover, the French have for the Grand Prix of Canada, a secret weapon in the quiver: the first time is given to an in-house interpretation of the F-shaft system, which turned out on the long straights of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as a great advantage. Now the only question is whether the system works right away, or if you have it like Red Bull in Turkey to expand after the first test.

That will leave Robert Kubica after just one season, the team Renault is unlikely. After Felipe Massa contract extension with Ferrari in Maranello in 2012 the door is closed. Even if the pole for 2011 is not linked to Renault, there are few other enticing options. This Renault boss Eric Boullier had managed to retain its number-one pilots in 2011 and to his team. The Luxembourg wants to build the Renault racing team to head the Polish pilots around.

(MotorSportsTotal)

May 6 (GMM)  One of the innovations on the Mercedes car for the Spanish grand prix is the abolishment of the traditional ‘airbox’.

The airbox – an inlet for the normally-aspirated engines – has traditionally been part of the roll-hoop structure immediately behind and above the drivers’ head.

But the rollover structure of the revised W01 is now sharp as a knife, with air to now be fed to the 2.4 litre V8 engine via two symmetrical inlets on either side of the engine cover.

Also spotted in the Barcelona pitlane on Thursday was Christian Klien, having his moulded seat and settings fitted to the HRT car usually belonging to Karun Chandhok.

The team’s newly-appointed third driver will hand the F110 car back to Indian Chandhok ahead of Friday’s afternoon practice session.

Meanwhile, in the paddock, Virgin’s new double-storey motor home won the race as the most impressive of F1′s three new teams.

Sauber has taken over BMW’s imposing paddock structure of 2009, while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel walked behind the Circuit de Catalunya pits sporting a new haircut.

Also spotted on Thursday was Joan Villadelprat, who is hoping his Spanish Le Mans outfit Epsilon Euskadi will be given a green light to race in formula one next year.

May 6 (GMM)  Michael Schumacher admits he is more relaxed now but denies this new attitude explains his lack of performance after returning to formula one in 2010.

In an interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung, the seven time world champion said until his retirement in 2006 he was immersed in the “negative aspects” of formula one.

“It absolutely wore me down,” said Schumacher, who has struggled to match the pace of his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg so far this season.

He continued: “I believe people have noticed that how I was extremely dogged in the past I am now more calm, in a way that previously I was only able to be sometimes.”

But as the criticism mounts, particularly after China where Schumacher struggled notably, he insists: “I have not lost any focus or my determination.

“I am still taking it seriously and am still very hard on myself.  In that way nothing has changed,” said the record winner of 91 grands prix.

Schumacher admits his biggest problem with today’s formula one is the tyres.

“The narrower front tyres, both for the dry and for the rain, I don’t know from my past.  Each driver needs to learn how they behave and so my colleagues have a head-start.”

He explained that where previously he would be using practice sessions to work on fine-tuning for the race, he is now feeling uncertain on Fridays as to how the weekend will develop.

(GMM)  It is Lewis Hamilton’s existing “image” that has depicted him as an overly aggressive driver, according to FIA president Jean Todt.

Addressing Spanish media on Tuesday, the Frenchman was asked about the McLaren driver’s behaviour in the Shanghai pitlane two weeks ago, following several other incidents so far in 2010.

Hamilton is still very unpopular within Spain, and Todt noted that the 25-year-old “has an image that is perhaps more unfavourable than others due to his coexistence with Alonso” at McLaren in 2007.

The Frenchman then refused to answer when asked if Hamilton is treated preferentially by the FIA.

“In the (China) pitlane, it was not just Hamilton but Vettel was also there,” said Todt.  “I don’t know if you can say he is any different in terms of behaviour than the others, and it is the stewards who must decide.”

(GMM)  Nico Rosberg has hit back at suggestions that Mercedes’ heavily updated car for Barcelona could adversely affect his performance.

After teammate Michael Schumacher notably struggled at the wheel of the W01 during the first four races of his F1 comeback, the package has been significantly altered ahead of this weekend’s Spanish grand prix.

In particular, the longer wheelbase is touted to better suit the seven time world champion’s driving style, even though Rosberg – second in the world championship – was comfortable and competitive with the original specification.

Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary wrote last week that the changes could “upset Rosberg” and cost him “the chance to compete for the world title”.

But Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper quotes Rosberg as saying: “Why would the new car only be better for Michael?”

He denied that he enjoys a car with understeer and predicts that more front grip will “suit me as well”.

May 3 (GMM)  Speculation about Michael Schumacher’s mood continues to rise, but the seven time world champion insists he is “extremely motivated” ahead of the fifth race of his 2010 comeback.

After three years of retirement, the 41-year-old German has been consistently outpaced by his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg so far in 2010, but will have a car with a longer wheelbase in Spain that should better suit his driving style.

“When he has that (revised car) I think we will have to reassess the whole story,” commented former triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

“If he then doesn’t deliver, then I think he has a problem,” added the Scot.

70-year-old Stewart thinks part of Schumacher’s problem will be reassessing his desire to honour the full three years of his new contract.

“You know, I don’t think he should have retired when he did in 2006 because I don’t think it was out of his system,” he said.  “This might take it out of his system.”

Schumacher’s old title rival of the 90s, Damon Hill, is not ruling out that “the old Schumacher magic” could soon return.

“Is it still there?” he told the Daily Mail, whose headline accuses Mercedes of “wasting money” on Schumacher.

“I’m sure that’s a question Michael will be asking himself — and it’s one that is starting to become valid after four races,” added Hill.

In an official Mercedes press release, Schumacher played down the likely effect of the car upgrades for Barcelona but sounded bullish about his own outlook.

Team boss Ross Brawn also said the German is “determined to succeed” despite the setbacks so far.

Added Schumacher: “Our step forward in Barcelona will be bigger than you can make at each race during the flyaways but it would not be realistic to expect us to suddenly be competing right at the front,” he said.

“However the good news is that after three years away, I am feeling extremely motivated.  So I am clearly ready to take this challenge,” added the record winner of 91 grands prix.

May 3 (GMM)  Nico Rosberg will soon notch up the first victory of his formula one career, team boss Ross Brawn predicts.

The 24-year-old German finished on the podium just twice during his four-year tenure with Williams, but within four races has already finished in the top-3 twice at the wheel of a Mercedes.

“Nico is very close to winning a race,” Brawn told the Daily Star newspaper.

“Things just need to fall into place — but that will come.  I am sure he’ll do it.  Definitely,” he added.

Rosberg, whose Finnish father Keke won the world championship in 1982, finished third in both Malaysia and China, while his famous teammate Michael Schumacher’s last two finishes have been in tenth place.

“Nico has raised his game,” said former triple world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, who while a sponsor representative at Williams worked close up with Rosberg.

“The boy has extraordinary skills.  I think Michael has been taken aback by that.  It must be affecting him,” added the Scot.

Rosberg’s former boss Sir Frank Williams told the Daily Mail: “Nico is a very self-confident young man with a reasonable amount of justification for being so.

“He won’t be overawed in Michael’s presence.”

But a report in the Telegraph newspaper expressed concern that Mercedes’ decision to alter the wheelbase length of the W01 car could affect Rosberg’s momentum.

“Instead of helping Schumacher get back up to speed, could it just upset Rosberg, costing him the chance to compete for the world title?” wondered writer Tom Cary.

Apr.28 (GMM)  Spain’s motor racing federation is helping Pedro de la Rosa to secure some personal sponsorship.

Carlos Gracia, a friend and supporter of the Spanish driver and also president of the Real Federacion Espanola de Automoviliso (RFEDA), was responding to yet more speculation about the future of de la Rosa’s Sauber race seat.

After boss Peter Sauber expressed dismay with the time it is taking the 39-year-old to reacclimatise to racing, pay drivers including Pastor Maldonado and Luca Filippi have been linked with his job.

“Today there is no indication that he (de la Rosa) will not finish the season with them,” Gracia is quoted as saying by AS newspaper.

He added: “In Pedro’s contract he does not have to contribute money, but we are working on getting some sponsors.”

Apr.23 (GMM)  Speculation doubting the future of Pedro de la Rosa’s race seat at Sauber continues.

It was rumoured last week that, with Peter Sauber admittedly disappointed with the time it is taking the former McLaren tester to reacclimatise to racing, Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado – and his sponsors – could be drafted in to replace him.

Now, France’s Auto Hebdo said Luca Filippi is another possible replacement for 39-year-old de la Rosa, who had been signed to lead the development of the disappointing C29 car.

Italian Filippi, 24, is an experienced GP2 driver who has also had tests with the F1 teams Minardi, Honda and Super Aguri.

The French report on Thursday said he might become Kamui Kobayashi’s new Sauber teammate at the Turkish grand prix late next month.

“It would be a dream,” Filippi is quoted as saying, “but I prefer to concentrate on (new series) Auto GP.”

When linked with a Super Aguri seat some years ago, it was rumoured that Filippi’s sponsors were promising around 10 million euros in backing.

Apr.22 (GMM)  Peter Sauber has reassured a close supporter of Pedro de la Rosa that the Spanish veteran is not about to lose his race seat.

39-year-old de la Rosa, who returned to the F1 grid this year after a long stint as McLaren’s test driver, played down the rumours about his near future in China last week.

His boss Sauber had expressed doubts about the time it was taking the Spaniard to reacclimatise to racing, with de la Rosa insisted he is “driving well”.

At a media event this week ahead of the forthcoming F1 race in Barcelona, the head of the Spanish motor racing federation called on the press to support the Spanish drivers, especially de la Rosa.

A report in the Diario Sport newspaper added: “Carlos Gracia said Peter Sauber had assured him that he (de la Rosa) is not in doubt.”

Apr.20 (GMM) The reaction prior to Sunday’s Chinese grand prix was already not positive, so Michael Schumacher is advised to avoid the media in the wake of the Shanghai race.

After finishing a minute behind Nico Rosberg at the chequered flag, and seven tenths off his teammate’s pace in qualifying, the specialist Auto Motor und Sport said China was probably “the worst weekend in the record winner’s whole career”.

The German magazine gave 41-year-old Schumacher just 3 out of 10 for his performance at the wheel of the grey Mercedes.

One of his former Ferrari teammates, who did not want to be named, told the Independent: “After the beating he got on Sunday, in conditions in which the old Michael Schumacher excelled, I don’t think he’ll ever come back to his old level.”

The Cologne publication Express published a photo-shopped image of a snail with the seven time world champion’s head and cap, while France’s Auto Hebdo observed that in China “the former rain king seemed lost”.

Bild newspaper’s headline read: “Rain God? Schumi got flooded!”, while Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport asked of Schumacher’s return: “Why did he do it?”

The sports newspaper Tuttosport said Schumacher “is only a shadow of himself”, while another sports daily Corriere dello Sport called him “an old lion attacked by a group of young and hungry animals”.

The broadsheet La Stampa said: “F1 without overtaking? Just ask Schumacher, who was passed constantly”, while the major La Repubblica said the German “is no longer in the league of the best formula one drivers”.

Hamburg’s Abendblatt called Schumacher a “learner driver”, while the Frankfurter Rundschau blasted his “horrible performance” and Austria’s Kleine Zeitung said he had been “humiliated” in China.

Britain’s The Guardian recalled the moment in the post-race press conference when Lewis Hamilton was asked how it had felt to race wheel-to-wheel with his childhood hero.

Jenson Button leaned over and demanded Hamilton “tell the truth” before the pair both laughed, and the Guardian said the exchange “may have been the unkindest cut of all” for Schumacher.

“The way things look, it would be no surprise to see him bowing out with as much dignity as he can salvage before the formula one season is very much older,” added the newspaper.

Well that’s how it panned out as the reigning F1 World Champion delivered a well judged and much deserved drive to notch up his second victory of the season. Prior to the start of the Chinese Grand Prix, at Shanghai International Circuit, few would have predicted a Jenson Button win, fewer would have waged odds on a McLaren 1-2.

The race under heavy Shanghai skies had everything: a dry spell, a semi-wet phase, wet with rain fall, first lap mayhem, a jump start and generous doses of overtaking.

It was by no means plain sailing (excuse the pun) for Button who took the lead on lap 19 and controlled the race from that point on, well almost, as in the final laps he faced a relentless challenge from team mate Lewis Hamilton who again was the star of the show with a gritty drive to second place.

Nico Rosberg, again showed impressively, bringing his Mercedes GP home third making it an all Merc powered driver podium. Rosberg flew the flag for the Silver Arrows as his illustrious team mate Michael Schumacher could only manage 10th place in an afternoon in some high profile battles which alas saw him come out second best in just about all of them. Twice he was overtaken with remarkable ease by Hamilton, Vettel and Webber, lost a battle with a rookie late in the race and was taken by a Ferrari on the very last lap which relegated him to tenth.

Fernando Alonso brought his Ferrari home in fourth, which was an impressive feat considering that the Spaniard was given a drive through penalty for jumping the start. It was marginal but replays showed the scarlet car edging forward before the lights went off. Hence he led briefly from the start. Team mate Felipe Massa was nowhere near Alonso’s pace all weekend and scrapped his way to ninth, well and truly overshadowed.

Renault again were impressive with Robert Kubica taking fifth place in yet another strong drive for the team and crowning a good day with rookie Vitaly Petrov having an action packed day with a  number of excursions, but also a number of duels with some big names and seventh place was a just reward for the Russian who clearly revels adverse conditions.

Sebastian Vettel who started on pole in his Red Bull will be wondering where it all went wrong. A win in conditions that he thrives in was almost a foregone conclusion prior to the start. But it was not to be and sixth is scant reward for a race that somehow escaped the team. Mark Webber who shared the front row defied his experience with some silly mistakes which saw him come home eighth. There will be few smiles in their garages.

YF1