Archive for June, 2010
Vettel claims pole in Valencia
Jun 27th
Sebastian Vettal claims pole in Valencia. (Photo:AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Sebastian Vettel pipped Mark Webber in Valencia to claim pole in another all RedBull front row.
Leading up to the Gp at Valencia, RedBull said that they expected to struggle at the track. However closing out the front row of the grid seems to have put an end to that theory. They issue for RedBull however is whether they will have the race pace to claim victory on Sunday.
The team has used it’s F-Duct for the first time this season and it seam to be paying off on the straights. The RedBull appear to have a little bit more top speed due to the upgrade. This coul prove vital to staying ahead of McLaren who have very good top speed but lack the downforce the RedBUll have in the corners.
Lewis Hamilton was on a very quick lap in the dying stages of Q3, however due to a brake lockup into turn 12, he decided to abort his lap and would have to be content with 3rd place, although he looked set to top Mark’s if not Vettel’s time.
With RedBull and McLaren now locked in very tight fight for the championship, every half second counts and both team seem to be working hard on upgrades each GP. In the post race press conference Mark Webber said he was very happy that the team had locked out the front row and that they weren’t expecting to be as quick at Valencia. He said that if you had to pick a circuit to race your competitors, Valencia would not be it.
The big surprise of the day was that for the first time this year, neither Mercedes made it into the top 10. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher will be starting from P12 and P15 on the grid respectively.
It appears that RedBull again have the pace to stick with McLaren. Lewis Hamilton noted that the team was not confident during practice, knowing that teams like RedBull had brought vital upgrades to this round and the fact that they were off the pace in Practice, he is delighted to be started from the second row and remains confident that they could claim victory on Sunday.
Robert Kubica had tremendous pace in the Renault throughout the sessions and would have expected to do very well in Q3, however in the end he finished 6th behind the two Ferrari’s of Alonso and Massa. Jensen button was a fair way off the pace of his team mate. He will start the race from P7, just ahead of the two Williams who are both in the top 10 for the first time this season. Williams no doubt are delighted with the pace this weeked and having Hulkenberg in P8 and Rubins in P9 on the grid will be a welcome boost for the team who so far has struggled for pace this season. Petrov rounds out the top 10 who was a fair way off the pace of his Renault Team mate.
The detaild times of Qualifying are below:
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:38.324 1:38.015 1:37.587
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:38.549 1:38.041 1:37.662
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.697 1:38.158 1:37.969
4. Alonso Ferrari 1:38.472 1:38.179 1:38.075
5. Massa Ferrari 1:38.657 1:38.046 1:38.127
6. Kubica Renault 1:38.132 1:38.062 1:38.137
7. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.360 1:38.399 1:38.210
8. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:38.843 1:38.523 1:38.428
9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.449 1:38.326 1:38.428
10. Petrov Renault 1:39.004 1:38.552 1:38.523
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:39.096 1:38.586
12. Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.752 1:38.627
13. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:39.021 1:38.851
14. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:38.969 1:38.884
15. Schumacher Mercedes 1:38.994 1:39.234
16. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.003 1:39.264
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:39.128 1:39.458
18. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:39.343
19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:40.658
20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:40.882
21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:42.086
22. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:42.140
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:42.600
24. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:42.851
RedBull hope to be back on pace with new F-Duct
Jun 22nd
With McLaren now top of the driver and team standings, RedBull have to dig deep to find the pace this weekend in Spain. Valencia is a circuit that will suit the McLarens, with long straights and slow corners, the track will play into the hands of McLaren.
McLaren have been very busy in the leadup to recent races further developing their car and have constantly been bringing new ‘bits’ to the race. RedBull however have not done this for a couple of races now. Adrian Newey was not present at the Canadian GrandPrix, instead he opted to spend time at the factory perfecting the team’s new F-Duct system. RedBull planned on using the system earlier then now, but have decided they need more time in the factory perfecting it before fitting it to the RB6. Valencia will be the first race that the team uses their new F-Duct.
Whether or not the F-Duct will solve the lack of straight line speed the RB6 has is yet to be proved but with such a big upgrade, the RB6 is expected to be more on the pace this weekend then it has been in the last couple of races.
Sebastian Vettel seems confident that the F-Duct is a very important addition to the car for this weekends race. He briefly spoke to German sport publication, Bild about the upgrades.
“..with the F-duct system we are getting an important part on the car,” he said.
“Our technical chief Adrian Newey did not come to Canada in order to put the finishing touches on the new system at the factory,”
Christian Horner also added to Sebastians comments, stating: “The track [Valencia] has fast corners which should suit our car,” …” And if it [F-Duct] works, we will go even faster on the straights.”
It’s important to note that while Valencia has some quick corners it also has some very slow sections of the track at the end of long straights, in essence it has some elements that favour both the McLarens and the RedBulls, but if the RB6 can slightly improve its car this weekend we may see the team again being ahead of McLaren.
We are now at the pointy end of the season, with a bunch of solid European rounds coming up it is vital that the RB6 bounces back now in order to stay in the hunt for the title.
An Apology to readers
Jun 17th
Due to unforseen circumstances I have been un-able to blog here for around 3 weeks. The reasons for this I don’t need to go in to, however I apologise for the lack of coverage of the GP’s and posts.
However, I am back and as of this week the blog is back but with a difference.
I will still be blogging about all the events of each GP weekend, including posting timesheets etc. However the entries will be more of a personal viewpoint and opinion rather then a neautral news/sport report.
I will give my opinions and insight and whilst the blog will remain full of the facts, the stories will reflect my own take on the events. I am hoping this will add a new level of interest to my blog.
We are now only 8 days away from ValenciaFriday practice. If McLaren can stay on top, then the British GP 2 weeks later will be an absolute cracker!
I plan on brining you the latest as it breaks.
The new blog has begun!
- Regards
NBJ
