Having just taken his fourth pole position in a row, there is no doubting Sebastian Vettel’s one-lap performance. While it’s true that he’s found it more difficult to convert those front-row starts into race wins, Vettel is confident that should all change in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Considering the lead he had on Saturday over his team mate Mark Webber and the two Ferraris, few would disagree
Sebastian Vettel Q&A: A perfect lap – now I need a perfect start!
August 2nd, 2010Qualifying analysis – relentless Red Bull unbeatable in Budapest?
August 2nd, 2010Nobody could hold a candle to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on Saturday in Hungary – not even team mate Mark Webber, who took a distant second to the German’s dominant pole time. Together the duo look pretty invincible for Sunday’s race, but there’s no doubt Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in third and fourth, and fifth-placed McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton will do all they can to stop Red Bull having it all their own way in Budapest. We take a team-by-team look at the pre-race form
FIA post-qualifying press conference – Hungary
August 2nd, 2010Drivers: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1m 18.773s; 2. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1m 19.184s; 3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1m 19.987s
Q: Sebastian, 100th Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing. A front row lock-out and a commanding performance from yourself in qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, it was a very good day for us. All weekend here we felt very comfortable, from the first practice session onwards with the car. I think we were able to improve it again another bit overnight. I said on the radio to the boys ‘this is your moment.’ Mark and myself
Five-place grid penalty for Kobayashi
August 2nd, 2010BMW Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi has been handed a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix by the Budapest race stewards, after he failed to enter the FIA garage to be weighed during qualifying on Saturday.
During practice and qualifying cars are called in at random to be weighed to ensure that they comply with minimum weight requirements (620kg).
Qualifying – selected team and driver quotes
August 2nd, 2010Virgin’s Timo Glock on setting the pace for the new teams after qualifying 19th; reigning world champion Jenson Button on failing to make it through to Q3 for McLaren; and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on clinching his fourth consecutive pole position. All 24 drivers, and senior team personnel, review Saturday’s action at the Hungaroring
Schumacher ’sorry’ for manoeuvre
August 2nd, 2010Michael Schumacher says he is “sorry” if Rubens Barrichello felt he was put in danger by his blocking move at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lorenzo secures US Grand Prix win
August 2nd, 2010Jorge Lorenzo extends his lead at the top of the championship standings by winning the US Grand Prix as Dani Pedrosa crashes out.
Formula One News – Mclaren sign young Nyck de Vries
January 22nd, 2010As with all teams McLaren are always on the look out for fresh talent and are keen to nurture the up and coming potentials to hopefully one day race in Formula One. On thursday they announced that they signed Dutch karting star Nyck de Vries to their young driver development programme. Lewis Hamilton’s father, and their HamiltonManagement Group will act as manager for 14 year old Nyck De Vries and will be with him as he makes his way though the ranks in motor racing.
McLaren said that they have a long-held commitment to assisting young talent - they believe it’s part of the responsibility of the motor racing community to encourage and nurture junior racers. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said “Nyck appears to be a very exciting prospect, and we are looking forward to assisting his junior career, providing him with the support and training he requires to succeed.”
Anthony Hamilton commented that “Nyck is an extremely promising youngster. His father Hendrik has been fantastically supportive of Nyck’s career, and has been instrumental in raising him up to not just be a great young racing driver, but also a fine young man. Together, we both believe that, with the right level of support, we can take his career to the highest level”.
They will be working very closely with Dino Chiesa, who will be managing Nyck in Italy this year. Dino also previously managed Lewis and Nico Rosberg in Team MBM, so he knows everything about nurturing and developing young talent. This will definelty be a very exciting partnership.
Upon visiting the Mclaren Technology Center Nyck De Vries said that it was a fantastic experience and was very grateful and honoured for the support the Mclaren team have showin him in helping him develop his career. They obviously have a lot of resources to throw at the youngster which proves they beleive him and and will go a long way in furthering his skills, fitness and experience.
Formula One News – BMW announce Pedro de la Rosa as new driver
January 20th, 2010BMW Sauber announced on Tuesday that Pedro de la Rosa will race for the Swiss-based team this season. De la Rosa, who will pair up with new team mate Kamui Kobayashi, has 71 Grands Prix starts under his belt and has worked with McLaren as a test and reserve driver for the last seven years.
“Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level,” said team principal Peter Sauber. The BMW Sauber team are said to be excited to learn from de la Rosa’s experience as well as from their newest driver Kamui. The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one.
I wouldn’t expect either of them to disappoint in 2010, but of course results can only be got with a strong car, so its also down to the rest of the team to make sure they are a sucess.
Pedro De la Rosa, 38, said that he always thought he would be given another chance as a team driver as opposed to a reserve and is excited to drive with a team which has been featured in Formula One since 1993.
De la Rosa began karting at the relatively late age of 17, but was immediately discovered and sponsored by the Spanish Automobile Federation. A year later he had already progressed to a single-seater racing car and went on to win the Formula Fiat Uno series. After successful stints in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and British Formula Three, 1997 saw him win the Japanese Formula 3000 and GT championship.
In 1998 he made his debut as a Formula One test driver for the Jordan team. He contested his first Grand Prix in Australia in 1999 for Arrows, taking his inferior car straight into the points with a sixth-placed finish. He remained with Arrows in 1999 and 2000, moving to Jaguar for the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
From 2003 through to 2009 he worked for McLaren as a reserve driver. Called upon to race for the team in nine Grands Prix, he capitalised on these opportunities. In 2005 he finished fifth in Bahrain and claimed the fastest race lap. 2006 saw him stepping into the breach again and over eight races he managed to pick up 19 world championship points and take a second place in Hungary.
Formula One News – Maclaren confirm January launch for 2010 car
January 20th, 2010McLaren are now the latest team to announce that they will reveal their brand new 2010 car at the end of January. They have not released the location but it will be the 29th – only 9 days away.
2009 saw a very hard start for the Maclaren team but soon began to pick up the pace with victories in Hungary and Singapore. They eventually ended the season third in the standings, albeit over 100 points adrift of champions Brawn.
With two world champions, Lewis Hamilton and (former Brawn driver) Jenson Button, in their line-up, the team are hoping their new machine will see them once again challenging for titles. The Mercedes-engined car will be called the MP4-25.