Saturday 30 July 2011

Sky In F1 Swoop

It was announced yesterday that from 2012 the BBC will share television broadcasts of Formula 1 with Sky Sports.

The move will see the BAFTA award winning BBC showing just ten live races, the remainder are likely to still be broadcast on BBC, but later in the day.

This announcement has been met with anger by many fans, as the cost of Sky Sports in HD for a year can reach £600.

F1Predict's opinion of the announcement is that it cannot be in the best interests of fans or the sport in the long term.

Let us know your opinions by commenting below.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Virgin Yet To Announce Second Driver

It was announced prior to the German Grand Prix that Timo Glock has agreed a new deal, which will keep him with the Marussia Virgin team until 2014.

However, upon completing his qualifying laps at the Nurburgring on Saturday, Glock was heard apparently criticising his mechanics on the radio "You make my life difficult in the last two races - the car is just so difficult to drive at the moment". Comments which he later claimed were made in jest.

The Virgin team however have not yet made a decision regarding his team mate for 2012. The team's CEO, Graeme Lowdon, said that now Glock has signed there is no need to rush the decision on a second driver. A decision will probably be made once the season has finished.

Virgin's current number two, Jerome D'Ambrosio, has clearly impressed the team so far this year. However in 2010, Lucas di Grassi outperformed Glock in several races and actually finished higher in the Championship standings than the experienced German, yet despite this he was not retained for a second year.
D'Ambrosio, however, is believed to have brought sponsorship with him. Whether this funding will continue for a second year remains to be seen.

For more on this story, visit www.autosport.com

2011 Predictions - Round 11, Hungary

Just one week since the German Grand Prix which signalled the half way point in the 2011 season, Formula 1 visits the Hungaroring circuit in Budapest, Hungary.

Germany didn't prove very fruitful for the Formula 1 Results Predictor, which did not manage one correct prediction! Considering that it only acheived one prediction at Silverstone, a definite improvement will be required this weekend! To see for yourself how badly the F1RP did last time, click here.


For this race, we are pleased to introduce as our Guest Predictor, Ewan Marshall. Ewan writes for GPFocus.com, and has appeared as a guest writer for FinalSector Magazine. I have reliably been informed that Ewan is no relation to Gary Marshall, who was our Guest Predictor a couple of weeks ago!

GPFocus.com is a site with news, blogs and information - and they also run their own podcast!

You can also follow Ewan on Twitter @EwanMarshall

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Guest Predictions - Round 11, Hungary

1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing
2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
3. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
4. Mark Webber - Red Bull Racing
5. Jenson Button - McLaren
6. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
7. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
8. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
9. Sergio Perez - Sauber
10. Nick Heidfeld - Renault
11. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
12. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
13. Adrian Sutil - Force India
14. Paul di Resta - Force India
15. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
16. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
17. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
18. Pastor Maldonado - Williams
19. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus
20. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
21. Timo Glock - Virgin
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania
24. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania

Ewan has suggested that we may once again see three different teams on the podium. He is also expecting a return to form of the Renault team.

- - -

F1RP Prediction - Round 11, Hungary

1. Mark Webber - Red Bull Racing
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing
3. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
4. Jenson Button - McLaren
5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
6. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
7. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
8. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
9. Nick Heidfeld - Renault
10. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
11. Sergio Perez - Sauber
12. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
13. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
14. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
15. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
16. Adrian Sutil - Force India
17. Pastor Maldonado - Williams
18. Paul di Resta - Force India
19. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
20. Timo Glock - Virgin
21. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania
23. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin

Although Red Bull seemed to struggle last weekend, the Formula 1 Results Predictor is expecting this to just be a small blip. It is also expecting strong performances from Felipe Massa and the Renault team.

Both Ewan and the F1RP agree on the positioning of Vitaly Petrov (7th) and Jaime Alguersuari (15th).

If you would like to make some predictions, feel free to do so by commenting below!

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Button Approaching Milestone Race

Jenson Button is looking forward to starting his 200th Grand Prix at Hungary on Sunday, at the track where he won his first race back in 2006.

Coming off the back of two consecutive DNFs, the McLaren man will be looking for a strong result this weekend.

Button doesn't expect it to be easy though: "The hot weather conditions make this one of the most gruelling races of the year for the drivers. Cockpit temperatures regularly exceed 50 degrees and we're always pulling g-force in the car because there are so many corners. It's tough, but this is definitely a circuit when all the training pays dividends."

Admitting that his Championship is now as good as over, falling 25 points behind team mate Lewis Hamilton, and 107 points behind Championship leader Sebastian Vettel after retiring from the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, it will be interesting to see what the Briton can do. Could team orders may affect any strong finishes?

For more information, visit www.jensonbutton.com

The Flying Lap

The Flying Lap is a podcast created and hosted by Peter Windsor, a man who is a Formula 1 journalist, manager and broadcaster, all rolled into one.

Despite having been involved with Formula 1 for decades, he is one of only a small handful of jornalists who seem to fully appreciate the affect of new media - such as podcasts, Facebook and Twitter - and the new opportunities this presents for fans to get much closer to the sport they love.

Each Wednesday, Peter presents the show which can be viewed online, and can then be downloaded as either a video or audio pocast.
The show involves lots of audience participation, and viewers are encouraged to pose questions to Peter and his guests.

The Flying Lap has at least one guest each week. Recently, these have included former commentators; Maurice Hamilton and James Allen; people involved directly in the sport, Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi, Renault engineer James Allison and Pirelli boss Paul Hembrey; as well as online journalists Craig 'Scarbs' Scarborough and Keith Collantine of F1Fanatic.co.uk

Here is a preview of tomorrow's show:



To watch the show live, vist www.smibs.tv/live
To ask a question to Peter, visit his FaceBook page here
Visit Peter's blog www.theracedriver.com
And follow Peter on Twitter @peterdwindsor
To download the podcast, click here

Renault To Switch Drivers

Renault have confirmed that test driver Bruno Senna will participate in the Friday practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Rumours have started to circulate that Nick Heidfeld may not maintain his race seat for much longer, following a string of poor results, including a number of uncharacteristic 'DNFs' for the man who holds the record for the most consecutive race finishes.

However, it is not Senna who is expected to replace the German - who himself is standing in for the injured Robert Kubica - instead, it is Renault's other reserve driver, Romain Grosjean, due to get the call up.

Current GP2 Championship leader Grosjean is not entirely new to the Formula 1 scene, having replaced Nelson Piquet Jr for the second half of the 2008 season.

If this change is made, it will be interesting to see how the Swiss-French driver does given a second opportunity.

For more information about the drivers, visit www.lotusrenaultgp.com

Monday 25 July 2011

German Grand Prix - 25 July 2011

Yesterday saw a very exciting (although unexpectedly dry) Grand Prix take place at the legendary Nurburgring circuit in Germany.

Several rare mistakes were made during the race, including spins for Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, and several drivers struggled to keep their cars on the tarmac at the treacherous first corner - a hair-pin which also features significant camber towards the inside.

It must be said that Hamilton drove a superb race, starting from second after an impressive display in qualifying, the McLaren man was leading by the first corner. A few laps later, Mark Webber passed Hamilton in the last corner, but Hamilton had regained the lead by the end of the start/finish straight.
Later, Webber again tried to pass Hamilton, this time on the outside of the second corner, but the Briton held his nerve (and the racing line) forcing the Australian wide and back into second place.
Amusingly, just a couple of laps later, Alonso - who had taken the lead due to a clever Ferrari pit strategy - was overtaken by Hamilton around the outside of turn two, just as Webber had attempted previously. The Australian could only watch as Hamilton showed how it was done.

A big deciding factor in the race appeared to be the weather. The cool conditions meant the Pirelli tyres didn't heat up as quickly as had been seen in previous races. This meant that the first driver to pit for tyres (in the case of the front runners - Mark Webber) lost time, and therefore could be leap-frogged by rivals.

The battle for fourth place was interesting, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa trying to keep Vettel - unusually in the thick of the action for once - at bay. Both drivers entered the penultimate lap having used only the option (soft) tyres, but were required to use both option and prime (harder) tyres during the race. Both drivers pitted at the last possible opportunity, but Vettel was able to jump his rival, with the Red Bull team having a significantly quicker pit stop.

After the race, the FIA decided that Sebastien Buemi, who had started the race in last due to a fuel discrepancy (click here for story) caused an accident with Renault's Nick Heidfeld, and will therefore receive a five place grid penalty for the next Grand Prix in Hungary.


Our Guest Predictor for this race, Matt from FinalSector, had the difficult job of following our last two Guests who both correctly predicted the podium! (Click here for our British Grand Prix results).

Cleverly, Matt's predictions matched the first four qualifying positions for the Grand Prix. This means that in order to continue the podium predicting streak, we would probably need a fairly unexciting race, but Matt assured us he would rather fail and have an exciting race than a procession!


Provisional Race Results:

1. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - Matt's (FS) Prediction 2nd - F1RP Prediction 8th
2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - FS 4th - F1RP 5th
3. Mark Webber - Red Bull - FS 1st - F1RP 2nd
4. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - FS 3rd - F1RP 1st
5. Felipe Massa - Ferrari - FS 6th - F1RP 4th
6. Adrian Sutil - Force India - FS 14th - F1RP 16th
7. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - FS 9th - F1RP 6th
8. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - FS 8th - F1RP 11th
9. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - FS 7th - F1RP 10th
10. Vitaly Petrov - Renault - FS 17th - F1RP 9th
11. Sergio Perez – Sauber – FS 10th – F1RP 13th
12. Jaime Alguersuari – Toro Rosso – FS 13th – F1RP 15th
13. Paul di Resta – Force India – FS 12th – F1RP 19th
14. Pastor Maldonado – Williams – FS 11th – F1RP 20th
15. Sebastien Buemi – Toro Rosso – FS 16th – F1RP 14th
16. Heikki Kovalainen – Team Lotus – FS 21st – F1RP 17th
17. Timo Glock – Virgin – FS 22nd – F1RP 18th
18. Jerome D’Ambrosio – FS 20th – F1RP 24th
19. Daniel Ricciardo – FS 23rd – F1RP 23rd
20. Karun Chandhok – FS 19th – F1RP 21st
DNF Vitantonio Liuzzi - FS 24th - F1RP 22nd
DNF Jenson Button - FS 5th - F1RP 3rd
DNF Rubens Barrichello - FS 15th - F1RP 12th
DNF Nick Heidfeld - FS 18th - F1RP 7th

Thanks go to Matt for participating this week.

Unusually both Matt and the Formula 1 Results Predictor struggled this week, with Matt picking up the only correct prediction - Schumacher's 8th place.
Both were close on quite a few, but the just the one on the nose!

We will be looking to improve on this result next week in Hungary!

The Top Driver for this race based on our predictions, was certainly Adrian Sutil who put in an excellent performance.

For more information on the race, visit www.formula1.com

Visit Matt's website, FinalSector.co.uk and follow them on Twitter @FinalSector

Saturday 23 July 2011

Ecclestone Facing Bribery Charge

Formula 1 top man Bernie Ecclestone has admitted paying $44 million to a former bank executive in relation to a previous sale of the sport, five years ago.

Ecclestone, however, denies any wrong doing claiming he was blackmailed by the banker, saying he would cause the 80-year-old Briton trouble with the Inland Revenue.

Ecclestone said that his lawyers advised him to pay the demand, as alternative investigations by HMRC would take years and likely end up costing more.

Giving his side of the story, he explained: "You know it's a very strange system here. If someone wants to prosecute you, the prosecutor comes out and says what he thinks you've done. He then gives it to a court. The court will look at it and say, 'this is a load of --------' or they will say, 'now we charge you'. They haven't charged me."

For more on this story, visit www.telegraph.co.uk

Buemi's Qualifying Times Void

Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi has been disqualified from Saturday's qualifying session due to a fuel irregularity.

Buemi, who had qualified 16th, one place ahead of his team mate Jaime Alguersuari, was disqualified from the session following standard post-race checks.

The Swiss driver will be able to compete in Sunday's Grand Prix, but will start from the back of the grid.

An FIA statement read: "The stewards, having received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate that the fuel sample taken after Qualifying from Car 18 showed an increase in one given GC (gas chromatography) Peak Area of an absolute amount greater than 0.1 per cent for the component present at a concentration below 0.8 per cent, and having heard from the FIA Formula One Analytical Chemist and the Team Representatives and examined the fuel test graphs, determine this to be a breach of Article 19.8.3 of the 2011 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations and decide to impose a penalty of exclusion of Car 18 from the results of Qualifying."

Toro Rosso confirmed that Buemi had been struggling with fuel pump issues all weekend: "During Friday's FP1, Buemi's car had a fuel pressure problem, which then got worse at the start of FP2 which is why he did not do a timed lap in that session," Toro Rosso said in a statement on Saturday evening.

"After FP2 the entire fuel system on his car was changed. When the fuel sample was taken from his car after qualifying, it did not match the one provided to the FIA prior to the start of the season.

"The team believes that some part of the new fuel system contained a chemical that contaminated the fuel and caused the non-conformity."


For more details on this story, visit www.autosport.com

Thursday 21 July 2011

Trulli Dropped For Germany

Team Lotus have confirmed that reserve driver Karun Chandhok will take Jarno Trulli's place for the German Grand Prix this weekend.

The switch is only expected to be for the German Grand Prix, yet it would not be surprising if it was to happen again at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, which Chandhok and his family have been  heavily involved with.

It is not clear whether this is simply a contract 'bonus' for Chandhok, who is believed to bring a small sponsorship deal to the team.

Either way, it is clear that Trulli hasn't been having the best time recently, struggling with power-steering issues, and being openly critical of his season so far. He was quoted as saying that he would rather leave the sport than continue as he currently is.

Trulli fans needn't fear too much though, as team boss Tony Fernandes has confirmed that they are currently in negotiations with the veteran Italian over a possible contract extension. Whether this new contract will see Trulli continue as a driver, or perhaps switch to an advisory role remains to be seen.
Indian Chandhok is a popular character in the F1 paddock and occasional BBC 5Live commentator. He drove for the Hispania team for much of last season.
Chandhok would be a logical replacement for Trulli in the team, which is keen on promoting Formula 1 in Asia.

F1 journalist and "The Flying Lap" presenter Peter Windsor is not surprised by this switch, explaining that "it is a waste of Jarno's talent to have him in the car at present", as it does not suit his driving style.

Annoyingly for both the Formula 1 Results Predictor, and our Guest Predictor, Matt from FinalSector - this 11th hour announcement came after our predictions were published!

For more on this story, visit www.autosport.com
Or follow Peter on Twitter, @peterdwindsor

FIA Publish 2014 Regulations

The FIA have now published the technical guidelines for the 2014 season - nice and early it has to be said!

Some of the major changes include:

> The introduction of self starting motors - so that the driver can start the engine without the need for an army of mechanics.

> Cars may only use electric power in the pitlane - although this electric power will come from both an increased KERS ability, and the conversion of exhaust gasses.

> The minimum weight of the cars will be increased slightly, along with a reduction to maximum front wing widths.

> An introduction of an eighth forward gear.

To read the full FIA guidelines, visit www.fia.com

Also, read more about the key changes at www.f1fanatic.co.uk

2011 Predictions - Round 10, Germany

This weekend will see the Formula 1 teams descend on Germany, the Country with the most current F1 drivers. This year, the race will be held at the famous Nurburgring circuit, rather than Hockenheim as per recent seasons.

On it's last attempt, at the British Grand Prix, the Formula 1 Results Predictor managed just one correct prediction. It will definitely be looking to improve on this result this weekend! To see how we got on last time, click here.


This week, our Guest Predictor is Matt from FinalSector. Matt has a difficult task this weekend, as both our previous two Guests have correctly predicted the podium! Can he continue this streak?

FinalSector.co.uk is a Formula 1 news and information website, and they also publish a very smart online magazine.

Read the German Grand Prix Preview edition of the FinalSector magazine here.

Follow Matt and the team on Twitter @FinalSector

- - -

Guest Predictions - Round 10, Germany

1. Mark Webber - Red Bull
2. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
3. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
4. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
5. Jenson Button - McLaren
6. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
7. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
8. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
9. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
10. Sergio Perez - Sauber
11. Pastor Maldonado - Williams
12. Paul di Resta - Force India
13. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
14. Adrian Sutil - Force India
15. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
16. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
17. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
18. Nick Heidfeld - Renault
19. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin
21. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
22. Timo Glock - Virgin
23. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania

Matt has suggested that the first time that current Championship leader Sebastian Vettel doesn't finish in the top two may be on his home soil.
He is also expecting the Renault and Toro Rosso teams to struggle this weekend.

- - -

F1RP Prediction - Round 10, Germany

1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
2. Mark Webber - Red Bull
3. Jenson Button - McLaren
4. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
6. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
7. Nick Heidfeld - Renault
8. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
9. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
10. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
11. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
12. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
13. Sergio Perez - Sauber
14. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
15. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
16. Adrian Sutil - Force India
17. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
18. Timo Glock - Virgin
19. Paul di Resta - Force India
20. Pastor Maldonado - Williams
21. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania
23. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin

The Formula 1 Results Predictor is not expecting this weekend to mark the end of Red Bull's dominance.
However, it is suggesting that Lewis Hamilton may struggle, whilst the Team Lotus and Virgin outfits may start to close the gap to the midfield.

The only prediction that Matt and the F1RP share in common is Daniel Ricciardo in 23rd place.

If you would like to suggest some results for Sunday, please use the comments field below!

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Were Red Bull Right To Give Team Orders?

In the aftermath of the British Grand Prix, which saw one of the most exciting finishes to a Grand Prix for a while (since Canada at least), it emerged that Mark Webber had ignored at least two team orders, instructing him to "maintain the gap" to his team mate Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel, as now appears customary, led most of the Grand Prix. In the closing stages the Australian's pace was much quicker than his team mate's, and was catching him considerably each lap.

A radio message from Red Bull boss Christian Horner to Webber was braodcast during the final laps. "Maintain the gap, Mark" was played for all TV audiences to hear, but all radio messages are delayed before being broadcast. It was immediately clear that Webber had either not received, or was deliberately ignoring the instruction, as he continued to gain on his younger team mate.

Webber attempted an overtaking manoeuver on Vettel on the former start/finish straight, but Vettel defended well and prevented the pass.

Webber defended his decision to disobey his team in the post-race press conference, and again on his column on the BBC website, saying that he knew that provided he acted sensibly and didn't collide with his team mate, then he would be able to sleep easily, which he wouldn't have been able to do if he obeyed his team and maintained the gap.

Were Red Bull right to give this instruction?

Sebastian Vettel is so far ahead in the Championship race (80 points ahead) he could afford to miss the next three races and he would still be leading.
If the two drivers had collided and they had both retired from the race, Vettel's lead would have been reduced to 71 points, and Mark Webber would have fallen from second in the Championship to fourth, with Hamilton benefiting the most - overtaking Webber and Alonso to move second.

Arguably, the team orders - if they were to be used - should perhaps have been given to Vettel, instructing him to let his faster team mate through. If this would have happenend, Vettel's lead would be reduced to 74 points, with Webber still second, Alonso third and Hamilton fourth.

However, it must be said that Red Bull should perhaps not have used team orders at all.

In Germany last year, Ferrari caused an uproar amongst fans and rival teams by instructing Felipe Massa to let his team mate Fernando Alonso through. As team orders were outlawed in 2010, Ferrari were fined for bringing the sport into disrepute.
For this season, the team order ban has been dropped, and therefore Red Bull were within their rights to instruct their drivers as they did in Silverstone.

Despite the two Red Bull drivers colliding in spectacular style in the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, the team insisted that they would not use team orders, and the drivers would be free to race each other for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Horner explained the reasons for this decision: "was it wrong to allow the drivers to race each other? I don't think it was. If we wanted processions we would tell the drivers after the start to hold positions. But that is not what Red Bull is about, and that is not what our beliefs of what grand prix racing should be about."

Red Bull managed to win both the 2010 Drivers and Constructors World Championships in the final race of the 2010 season, despite keeping true to their no team orders promise, and it looking like Alonso would win the title, leading the Championship into the final race.

Red Bull again promised that their drivers would be free to race in 2011, and yet, despite Vettel appearing to have the title already wrapped up, they have chosen to apply the orders at their home Grand Prix, where in 2010 Webber said of his hard fought victory "Not bad for a number two driver".

Read Red Bull's 2010 comments at www.planetf1.com

Hamilton Engaged?

The Daily Mail has reported that Lewis Hamilton and girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger are engaged after dating for four years.

In an interview with the Pussycat Dolls singer's father, it is revealed that Hamilton - who he referred to as his future son-in-law - recently proposed to the new US X Factor judge.

Hamilton's spokesman denied the engagement.

For more, visit www.dailymail.co.uk

Massa To Stay With Ferrari

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has confirmed that Felipe Massa will stay on at the team in 2012, saying that "the drivers are not a problem".

Several drivers have been rumoured to replace Massa after this season, with Mark Webber and Jenson Button (separate story here) suggested as favourites. However, the Italian marque look set to remain with their current line-up.

Brazilian Massa narrowly missed out on the World Championship in 2008, being pipped to the post by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in a dramatic climax to the season. Massa was relegated to a clear number two driver by the arrival of double World Champion Fernando Alonso, emphasised by the team orders controversy in 2010 when Massa was instructed to let the Spaniard pass.

For more on Montezemolo's statement, visit www.autosport.com

Sunday 10 July 2011

Teams Unite Against Diffuser Ban - Even Hispania

It has been reported that the Formula 1 teams have agreed to revert back to the pre-Silverstone car set-ups with regards to the ban proposed by the FIA on exhaust blown diffusers.

The FIA would only withdraw the ban if all 12 teams were in agreement, which is believed now to be case. It was reported that Ferrari and (Ferrari-powered) Sauber were the teams hesitant on making a decision.

However, it seems unusual that Hispania were apparently happy to sign the agreement. As we reported prior to the Monaco Grand Prix (click here) the team were considering appealing the use of the blown diffusers, which they described as "illegal".

It would be interesting to see how much politics comes into a decision like this, as it is Red Bull who look to lose out the most if the ban remained in place, and it is Red Bull of course, who have loaned their brightest young driver Daniel Ricciardo, to the Hispania team. Coincidence?

Read more about the ban at www.autosport.com

British Grand Prix - 10 July 2011

The European Grand Prix two weeks ago saw the Formula 1 Results Predictor correctly predict six finishing positions, and our first ever Guest Predictor managed to correctly predict the podium! Surely we weren't going to improve on that this week? Click here to see our results from the last race.

An unusual race took place at Silverstone today. The cars lined up on the bone dry grid, yet on the opposite side of the track, there was lots of standing water. Sauber's Sergio Perez almost became an early casualty of the weather, aquaplaning through a puddle and ending up bouncing through the gravel - and that was only on the warm-up lap!
In light of Perez's adventures, all teams decided to fit their cars with intermediate tyres, which could cope easily with the wet track, but would overheat quickly in the dry.

Due to the typically British weather conditions, the race became quite an exciting affair, particularly in comparison to the last race in Valencia.

Lots of drivers were affected by problems in the pit lane. Sebastian Vettel lost the lead due to a dodgy wheel nut, Jenson Button's race was ended after he didn't receive a wheel nut, and Paul di Resta's race was hampered by his Force India team bringing his team mate's tyres to the pit box instead of his own.

So taking all this into consideration, how did this affect our predictions? Our Guest Predictor for Silverstone was Gary Marshall who runs the Formula 1 blog Marshall GP.

Provisional Race Results:

1. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - Gary's (GM) Prediction 1st - F1RP Prediction 13th
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull - GM 2nd - F1RP 2nd
3. Mark Webber - Red Bull - GM 3rd - F1RP 1st
4. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - GM 4th - F1RP 5th
5. Felipe Massa - Ferrari - GM 20th - F1RP 7th
6. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - GM 7th - F1RP 4th
7. Sergio Perez - Sauber - GM 14th - F1RP 9th
8. Nick Heidfeld - Renault - GM 21st - F1RP 10th
9. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - GM 13th - F1RP 12th
10. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - GM 15th - F1RP 14th
11. Adrian Sutil - Force India - GM 12th - F1RP 17th
12. Vitaly Petrov - Renault - GM 5th - F1RP 11th
13. Rubens Barrichello - Williams - GM 10th - F1RP 8th
14. Pastor Maldonado - Williams - GM 23rd - F1RP 18th
15. Paul di Resta - Force India - GM 11th - F1RP 16th
16. Timo Glock - Virgin - GM 22nd - F1RP - 21st
17. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - GM 18th - F1RP 24th
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania - GM 17th - F1RP 22nd
19. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania - GM 19th - F1RP 23rd
DNF Jenson Button - McLaren - GM 6th - F1RP 3rd
DNF Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso - GM 8th - F1RP 15th
DNF Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - GM 9th - F1RP 6th
DNF Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus - GM 24th - F1RP 19th
DNF Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus - GM 16th - F1RP 20th

Many thanks to Gary for being the Guest Predictor this week.

Not as many thanks though for showing the Formula 1 Results Predictor up, and correctly predicting five places, in comparison to our single correct prediction!

Also, once again, our Guest Predictor has managed to correctly predict the podium (well, top four actually) - very impressive!

This week's Top Driver, based on our predictions, goes to Felipe Massa.

For more information on the race, visit www.formula1.com

Visit Gary's website marshallgp.wordpress.com and follow him on Twitter @marshallgp

Saturday 9 July 2011

FIA In U-Turns Galore

In a rapidly changing series of events (so much so that this will probably be out of date by the time you read it), the exhaust blown diffusers - used by most teams - have been banned, allowed, and now the position appears undecided.

The whole debacle has annoyed many associated with the sport, and the disagreement reached a very public boiling point during the press conference on Friday afternoon where a very heated debate took place between Red Bull's Christian Horner, and McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh.

However, things seemed calmer by the evening, as the FIA announced they had agreed more lenient terms with the two main protagonists, Renault (Red Bull) and Mercedes (McLaren).

Saturday morning, things had changed again. The FIA decided that they would not be able to be as lenient with the Really powered cars as they had hoped on Friday.
This clearly angered Horner and chief Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, yet their two cars managed to acheive 1-2 in qualifying.
After qualifying, the FIA performed a further U-turn, confirming that if all teams are in agreement, they rules can revert back to how thet were pre-Silverstone.

It's a rather complicated issue even for the teams and drivers tofor anyone to understand, let alone fans - something which Mark Webber referred to in the post qualifying press conference.
The best person to explain it in detail is everyone's favourite technical guru, Scarbs. Visit scarbsf1.wordpress.com for more!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Skoda Recreate Kubica Accident

As part of a road safety campaign, Skoda have recreated the horrific rally accident which has ruled Renault's number one driver Robert Kubica, out of most, if not all of the 2011 Formula 1 season.



It is not clear yet how soon Kubica will be able to return, but updates will be given on this site, and on www.lotusrenaultgp.com

F1 Bosses Happy With V6 Engines

Recently Bernie Ecclestone has expressed concerns that the new, smaller, V6 engines which will be introduced from the 2014 season will disinterest fans, which would be very costly to the sport.

However, Renault's Rob White and Williams' Adam Parr have jumped to the defence of the new power plants, claiming that the concerns raised are misplaced.

White told Autosport that the future of F1 is not going to be "like shopping cars" explaining that "a single turbo will join together the six exhaust outlets and have a single tailpipe from the back, so that would tend to make the frequency of the engine note much higher than the frequency note from either a four-cylinder engine or from a V6 with separate exhausts."
He also added "These engines are going to be very loud. They are going to be very high-revving engines."

Parr told of the other benefits the smaller units bring to the sport "we will be having the most energy efficient power unit ever created – and that is what really matters. I am thrilled that all the car makers have reached a common situation."

Of course, fans are not likely to be able to hear the new sounds of F1 for themselves until testing begins for the 2014 season, due to the secrecy which all teams enjoy operating under! At least now fans can sleep easy, knowing that the sport will remain just as much of a spectacle as it currently is.

For more on this, visit www.autosport.com

2011 Predictions - Round 9, Britain

This weekend will see the Formula 1 World Championship return to Silverstone. Home Grand Prix to three drivers, and the majority of the teams.

This is the first Grand Prix at the Northamptonshire circuit since the opening of the new paddock complex, and now with the introduction of much talked about rookie Daniel Ricciardo, it will be the first Grand Prix for several decades that two Australian drivers lined up on the grid together.

The European Grand Prix last time out was rather successful for the Formula 1 Results Predictor. We managed to make six correct predictions, and our guest predictor got the podium correct! Read about Valencia here.


This weekend, we are pleased to introduce as guest predictor, popular F1 blogger Gary Marshall.

Gary runs his own blog, Marshall GP, giving his views on all the goings on in the World of Formula 1.

Visit marshallgp.wordpress.com or folow Gary on Twitter @MarshallGP

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Guest Predictions - Round 9, Britain

1. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
3. Mark Webber - Red Bull
4. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
5. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
6. Jenson Button - McLaren
7. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
8. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
9. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
10. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
11. Paul di Resta - Force India
12. Adrian Sutil - Force India
13. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
14. Sergio Perez - Sauber
15. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
16. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania
18. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin
19. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania
DNF Felipe Massa - Ferrari
DNF Nick Heidfeld - Renault
DNF Timo Glock - Virgin
DNF Pastor Maldonado - Williams
DNF Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus

Once again, our guest predictor has also tried to predict which drivers will fail to finish! This didn't work out too well at the last race, as all drivers were classified. Surely this can't happen in consecutive races?!

Gary has suggested that a return to form may be on the cards for Fernando Alonso, but it is not expected to be too great a race for the British trio.

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F1RP Prediction - Round 9, Britain

1. Mark Webber - Red Bull
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
3. Jenson Button - McLaren
4. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
5. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren
6. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber
7. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
8. Rubens Barrichello - Williams
9. Sergio Perez - Sauber
10. Nick Heidfeld - Renault
11. Vitaly Petrov - Renault
12. Michael Schumacher - Mercedes
13. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
14. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso
15. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso
16. Paul di Resta - Force India
17. Adrian Sutil - Force India
18. Pastor Maldonado - Williams
19. Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus
20. Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus
21. Timo Glock - Virgin
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania
23. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania
24. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin

Interestingly, the Formula 1 Results Predictor has offered a very different idea of where Alonso may finish. Gary has suggested a race win, whilst the F1RP doesn't think the Spaniard will even score points!
The only matching prediction is second place for reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Both sets of predictions also expect Rubens Barrichello and Kamui Kobayashi to score points on Sunday.

If you would like to attempt to predict the results for the Grand Prix, please use the comments section below!

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Pirelli - A Different Perspective

Pirelli came into Formula 1 at the Australian Grand Prix, just a few months ago, and immediately caused a commotion!

The tyres degrade considerably during the race, so much so that at some tracks, the preferred strategy may be to use four of five sets of tyres of the duration of the race.
The degradation of the tyres is obvious, not only on lap times, but pieces of rubber known as 'marbles' are clearly visible on the track, off the racing line. These can be disastorous for a driver running wide, either in error or when overtaking.

Now combine this new tyre design with the DRS and KERS, and never in living memory has so many overtakes taken place, race after race, and the excitement is attracting many new fans to the sport.

This is great for spectators, and great for the future of Formula 1 - even those who claim that the racing has become artificial are becoming quieter. Either they are growing to like the new concept, or they are too greatly outnumbered.

However, although this is not taking anything away from Pirelli, they were instructed to design a tyre which degrades quickly - which they certainly have done!
Bridgestone, the 2010 tyre manufacturer, were not set this target. Therefore their longer lasting tyres were perfectly adequate for the task they had been set.

Also, in this day-and-age, where everyone is trying to save energy, and the sport is trying to promote itself as having a greener image, is it right that it takes the best part of 400 tyres to get two-dozen cars to do 60 laps of a circuit?

The important thing is to enjoy the great racing that we are seeing this year, whilst it lasts!

Monday 4 July 2011

Virgin Join Forces With McLaren

The Virgin team have announced the introduction of a technical partnership with McLaren, which will see the young team which first joined the Formula 1 field in 2010, given access to McLaren facilities including simulators and wind tunnel.

Virgin were the only team in the field to not use wind tunnels to some degree, instead opting to use only CFD (computational fluid dynamics), but the team decided that significant changes were required if they were to acheive the targets they had set themselves.

The team parted ways with designer Nick Wirth, but purchased the Wirth Racing Technologies business to use as an operational base.

The team are expected to continue using Cosworth engines, despite Williams' announcement that they are to move to Renault motors from next year.

A partnership such as this is not unheard of in the sport, with McLaren currently assisting the Force India team, in a move which moved the Silverstone-based squad from perpetual back-markers to regular points contenders in a short space of time.
Whether the same can be acheived with Virgin remains to be seen, but the commitment from both parties is surely positive.

For more on this, visit www.virginracing.com

Hispania Gets New Owners

Spanish investment company Thesan Capital has taken a controlling share in the Hispania Formula 1 team.

The company has bought José Ramón Carabante's majority stake in Grupo Invesor Hispania, which in turn is the majority shareholder in the team, now in it's second year in the sport.

It is not yet clear whether Thesan Capital will use it's branding on the car, which so far this season has mostly lacked sponsor logos, instead featuring such slogans as "This Is A Cool Spot" in an attempt to attract new advertisers.

For more on this, visit www.hispaniaracing.com

Williams Reunited With Renault

The Williams team confirmed today that from 2012 onwards, they will switch to using Renault engines, as opposed to their current Cosworth powerplants.

This will be considered great news by many nostalgic fans of the team, as the British outfit won several World Championships as Williams Renault, from 1989-1997. This fruitful period included Drivers Championship crowns for Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, who were all present at the Williams HQ when the news was announced.

Team boss Frank Williams warned that this was a statement of future intent from the team who will "not allow ourselves to dwell too much on the past."

This news means that - as it currently stands - Renault will provide the most engines to Formula 1 teams next season (five), whilst Cosworth will now only provide engines to the two smallest teams, Virgin and Hispania.

For more on this, visit www.williamsf1.com

Friday 1 July 2011

Ricciardo To Get F1 Drive

It was been confirmed on Thursday that Formula 1 hot prospect Daniel Ricciardo is to race for the Hispania team, starting at the British Grand Prix next weekend.

The Australian, who is part of the Red Bull young driver programme, and Toro Rosso's current reserve driver, is expected to take Narain Karthikeyan's position for the remainder of the season.

Karthikeyan, who has funded his own drive with the team in it's second Formula 1 season, may still drive for them in his home Indian Grand Prix, later in the season.

Hispania have recently made some internal restructuring changes, and it is rumoured that team principal Colin Kolles may be replaced as the outfit aim to improve their poor start to the season.


For more information, visit www.hispaniaracing.com