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!

Ferrari Should Give Up 2011 Title Chase

Flavio Briatore, the former head of the Renault Formula One team, has called on Ferrari to give up on chasing the 2011 title after only one race, suggesting they should instead focus their energy on the 2012 season.

"Ferrari, of course, have all the engineering skills and resources that you need, but the half-second difference to Red Bull is an eternity," the Italian, who also manages Ferrari's number one Fernando Alonso, is quoted as saying.

Ferrari are investigating why their cars were so off far off the pace in the opening Grand Prix in Australia last weekend, despite showing strong performances in pre-season testing.
Alonso's best Q3 qualifying time was well over a second behind pole setter Sebastian Vettel's, and the Spaniard finished over half a minute behind Vettel, the reigning World Champion, in the race on Sunday.

Gerhard Berger, who previously drove for Ferrari, has echoed Briatore's comments, stating that just because the Italian marque have updates planned for their car, doesn't mean that this will give them a great advantage. "All the same people will all keep working, so I don't foresee a turning point."

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

Red Bull Will Need KERS

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton believes that Red Bull will need to fully utilise the KERS system if they want to stay ahead of the field.

Although Sebastian Vettel comfortably won in the opening Grand Prix in Australia, despite not using KERS at all, it is expected that the next race in Malaysia will provide a greater need for the boost ability the system can bring.

Hamilton's team mate Jenson Button, however, believes that despite a few more changes that McLaren should be able to bring to the next Grand Prix, they will still be off the pace of the reigning World Champions.

For more on this, visit www.autosport.com

Australian Grand Prix - 27 March 2011

The first race of the 2011 season took place this morning and just like in qualifying yesterday, the reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel was untouchable.

Starting from pole, the German took a comfortable lead whilst those behind him scrapped for position. This seems all the more impressive, as Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has confirmed that neither Red Bull actually had the KERS system on their cars. (For more on this, visit www.autosport.com)

Fernando Alonso was forced wide at the first corner losing several positions, whilst Vitaly Petrov moved his Lotus-Renault up to fourth.

Barrichello ran through the same gravel trap which ended his qualifying session and dropped him down to the back of the field. As the race progressed he moved back through the field well, but lunged into a poorly executed overtaking attempt on Nico Rosberg, which sent Barrichello spinning and Rosberg was forced to retire as smoke poured from the back of the Silver Arrow following the contact with the Williams. Barrichello received a drive-through penalty for his efforts, but retired later on with transmission damage, just as his team mate Pastor Maldonado had done earlier in the race.

Rosberg's team mate did not fare much better, Jaime Alguersuari touched the rear of Michael Schumacher's car on the exit to the first corner, puncturing his right-rear tyre. Although the former World Champion was able to return to the pits to replace the shredded tyre, he later retired from the race, believing the puncture had caused suspension damage.

A drive-through penalty was also awarded to McLaren's Jenson Button, who was deemed to have cut a corner whilst challenging Felipe Massa for position. The two Ferrari's of Massa and Alonso quickly switched positions behind Button, meaning he was unable to return the position to Massa without letting both scarlet cars pass.

Most drivers opted to use three sets of the new Pirelli tyre's pitting twice, but some - including Mark Webber - seemed to struggle with the compounds and pitted an extra time.
Sauber's Sergio Perez, however, only felt the need to stop once.

It was a great performance from the Sauber drivers, with Perez crossing the line seventh on his debut race, one place ahead of his team mate Kamui Kobayashi. However, the Sauber team were deemed to have infringed a technical ruling regarding to the rear wing, and both drivers have been disqualified. Sauber are believed to be contesting this decision.

The disqualification moved both Force India drivers into the points, with Paul di Resta finishing just behind team mate Adrian Sutil, so a successful debut for the young Scot.

Provisional race results:

1. Sebastian Vettel - RBR - Prediction 9th
2. Lewis Hamilton - MCL - Prediction 8th
3. Vitaly Petrov - REN - Prediction 17th
4. Fernando Alonso - FER - Prediction 2nd
5. Mark Webber - RBR - Prediction 6th
6. Jenson Button - MCL - Prediction 1st
7. Felipe Massa - FER - Prediction 5th
8. Sebastien Buemi - STR - Prediction 16th
9. Adrian Sutil - FOR - Prediction 12th
10. Paul di Resta - FOR - Prediction 10th
11. Jaime Alguersuari - STR - Prediction 14th
12. Nick Heidfeld - REN - Prediction 7th
13. Jarno Trulli - LOT - Prediction 18th
14. Jerome D'Ambrosio - VIR - Prediction 23rd
DNF Timo Glock - VIR - Prediction 22nd
DNF Rubens Barrichello - WIL - Prediction 4th
DNF Nico Rosberg - MER - Prediction 3rd
DNF Heikki Kovalainen - LOT - Prediction 20th
DNF Michael Schumacher - MER - Prediction 11th
DNF Pastor Maldonado - WIL - Prediction 13th
DSQ Sergio Perez - SAU - Prediction 21st
DSQ Kamui Kobayashi - SAU - Prediction 19th
DNQ Vitantonio Liuzzi - HRT - Prediction 15th
DNQ Narain Karthikeyan - HRT - Prediction 24th

Not a great first attempt by the Formula One Results Predictor. Hopefully with this new data, the next race will see an improvement!

For more information regarding the race, visit www.autosport.com

Australian Grand Prix Qualifying - 26 March 2011

The first qualifying session of 2011 took place in the early hours of this morning (UK time).

Vettel easily set the fastest time of the session, almost a second quicker than anyone else, and then went out again, setting another lap which was almost as quick again!

Second quickest was Lewis Hamilton, who just edged out Mark Webber - the Australian not being able to benefit from the support from fans at his home Grand Prix.

Interestingly, both drivers on the front row claimed they were without KERS for their quickest laps due to technical issues.

Further down the order, Nick Heidfeld fell at the first hurdle, failing to progress beyond Q1. His team mate Vitaly Petrov will line up alongside Fernando Alonso on the grid in sixth.

Rubens Barrichello spun on his first timed lap of Q2. Unable to drive out of the gravel trap, his afternoon was cut short, qualifying 17th.

It was a fairly successful day for the British drivers, with Jenson Button lining up directly behind team mate Hamilton in fourth place.
New boy Paul di Resta will line up 14th for Force India, two places ahead of his experienced team mate Adrian Sutil.

Sutil dramatically spun on the last corner of what would likely have been his fastest lap.
This will raise concerns over the DRS system (adjustable rear wing), as when the German opened his wing through the last corner, he lost the rear end and spun - but did well to keep his car away from the wall.

In tomorrow's race, the DRS will be available on the penultimate straight, the final corner and then down the start/finish straight.

For full qualifying results, visit www.bbc.co.uk/sport

2011 Predictions - Round 01, Australia

Ladies and Gentlemen!

It has been a long winter, but this weekend will see the delayed beginning of the 2011 Formula One World Championship.

Therefore, it is now time for us to provide our first ever predictions, for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix.

So, without further ado:

- - -

2011 PREDICTIONS - Round 01, Australia

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

- - -

Oddly, Red Bull are missing from the podium. Despite strong pre-season tests, the Formula One Results Predictor has decided that they will not finish higher than sixth!

Also interesting are strong performances from Nick Heidfeld and Vitantonio Liuzzi, who will both be making their first race appearances for their new teams.

Feel free to provide your race predictions by commenting on this post. Otherwise, watch the race, and see how accurate the Formula One Results Predictor actually is!

Barcelona Testing - Final Day

Felipe Massa finished on top at the completion of the final Barcelona test (for a few weeks anyway), showing that Ferrari will surely be a force to contend with at the commencement of the new season.

Second quickest was Mark Webber but he was almost a second slower than the Brazilian.

Sebastien Buemi continued Toro Rosso's good form with the third quickest time of the day.

The teams are likely to return to Barcelona instead of Bahrain for the final pre-season test, before the season begins in Australia.

For more, see www.autosport.com

Bahrain Grand Prix Off

It has been confirmed that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been canceled by the race organisers.

It is unclear yet whether the race can be held later in the year due to the busy schedule.

It is suggested that the final test session will be held at Barcelona, instead of the increasingly unstable Bahrain.

The first race of the season will now be held in Australia, as it has been in the past.

For more, see www.autosport.com