Yesterday saw another typically exciting Grand Prix, this time in Hungary - the last race before the sport's summer break.
The weather once again played a key part in the race today, as did some stewards decisions, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton penalised for forcing the Force India of Paul di Resta off the track whilst attempting to recover from a spin.
A strong performance from di Resta saw him acheive his best ever Formula 1 result, and Sebastien Buemi drove an impressive race considering he started from the back row of the grid!
Ewan Marshall of GPFocus.com had the task of being this weekend's Guest Predictor. How would he manage in a race which was Jenson Button's 200th, Nico Rosberg's 100th, Toro Rosso's 100th and the 100th race since V8 engines were introduced?!
Provisional Race Results:
1. Jenson Button - McLaren - Ewan's (EM) Prediction 5th - F1RP Prediction 4th
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - EM 1st - F1RP 2nd
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - EM 2nd - F1RP 5th
4. Lewis Hamilton - McLaren - EM 3rd - F1RP 6th
5. Mark Webber - Red Bull Racing - EM 4th - F1RP 1st
6. Felipe Massa - Ferrari - EM 6th - F1RP 3rd
7. Paul di Resta - Force India - EM 14th - F1RP 18th
8. Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso - EM 17th - F1RP 14th
9. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - EM 8th - F1RP 10th
10. Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso - EM 15th - F1RP 15th
11. Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber - EM 12th - F1RP 8th
12. Vitaly Petrov - Renault - EM 7th - F1RP 7th
13. Rubens Barrichello - Williams - EM 16th - F1RP 13th
14. Adrian Sutil - Force India - EM 13th - F1RP 16th
15. Sergio Perez - Sauber - EM 9th - F1RP 11th
16. Pastor Maldonado - Williams - EM 18th - F1RP 17th
17. Timo Glock - Virgin - EM 21st - F1RP 20th
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Hispania - EM 24th - F1RP 23rd
19. Jerome D'Ambrosio - Virgin - EM 22nd - F1RP 24th
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi - Hispania - EM 23rd - F1RP 22nd
DNF Heikki Kovalainen - Team Lotus - EM 20th - F1RP 19th
DNF Michael Schumacher - Mercedes - EM 11th - F1RP 12th
DNF Nick Heidfeld - Renault - EM 10th - F1RP 9th
DNF Jarno Trulli - Team Lotus - EM 19th - F1RP 21st
Thank you to Ewan for participating this week. If Jenson Button hadn't finished the race, Ewan would have managed to get the top four correct!
However, as Button drove impressively to win, this was not to be.
Ewan managed one correct prediction, whereas the Formula 1 Results Predictor managed a double. Overall though, it looks like Ewan was closer!
A few weeks now until the next Grand Prix, with a compulsory two week closure for all team's factories, and of course for the F1RP.
The Top Driver in Hungary, based on our predictions, was Paul di Resta.
For more information on the race, visit www.formula1.com
Don't forget to visit GPFocus.com, and follow Ewan on Twitter @EwanMarshall
Attempting To Predict The Results Of Every Race Of The 2011 Formula 1 Season
Showing posts with label Paul di Resta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul di Resta. Show all posts
Monday, 1 August 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Monaco Circuit Damaged By Fire
A truck fire on Tuesday caused damage to the Ste. Devote corner at Monaco.
Fortunately, the organisers acted quickly and the asphalt was relaid at the first corner of the famous street circuit. However, there are concerns as to whether the track will cope as the cars set out for the first free practice session, just 36 hours after the repairs were made.
The circuit is also subjected to warm temperatures at this time of year, with track temperatures regularly exceeding 45 degrees during the day, which is not ideal conditions for the new tarmac to dry.
Force India driver Paul di Resta, however, isn't too concerned.
"I think they've done an amazing job, and it just shows you how efficient they are here."
Red Bull's Mark Webber, who won the Grand Prix here last year is also looking on the bright side.
"It's lucky it happened at Monaco though because they are not short of a few bob, so they can just get a truck down there and get on with it."
Practice begins tomorrow at 9am (British time).
To read more about this, visit www.autosport.com
Fortunately, the organisers acted quickly and the asphalt was relaid at the first corner of the famous street circuit. However, there are concerns as to whether the track will cope as the cars set out for the first free practice session, just 36 hours after the repairs were made.
The circuit is also subjected to warm temperatures at this time of year, with track temperatures regularly exceeding 45 degrees during the day, which is not ideal conditions for the new tarmac to dry.
Force India driver Paul di Resta, however, isn't too concerned.
"I think they've done an amazing job, and it just shows you how efficient they are here."
Red Bull's Mark Webber, who won the Grand Prix here last year is also looking on the bright side.
"It's lucky it happened at Monaco though because they are not short of a few bob, so they can just get a truck down there and get on with it."
Practice begins tomorrow at 9am (British time).
To read more about this, visit www.autosport.com
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Adrian Sutil - An Update
Force India have announced that they will stand by their driver Adrian Sutil for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
The German driver has been accused of causing harm to the CEO of the Genii group at a nightclub following the Shanghai Grand Prix.
The team's statement read that they are "fully committed to its driver line-up at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix."
However, does the fact that this specific Grand Prix is mentioned mean that they will reconsider their number one driver's position in the coming weeks? Sutil has struggled to keep pace with rookie team mate Paul di Resta, and with a highly respected reserve driver - Nico Hulkenberg - waiting eagerly for a race seat, Sutil may have his work cut out to keep his drive.
For more on this story, visit www.autosport.com
The German driver has been accused of causing harm to the CEO of the Genii group at a nightclub following the Shanghai Grand Prix.
The team's statement read that they are "fully committed to its driver line-up at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix."
However, does the fact that this specific Grand Prix is mentioned mean that they will reconsider their number one driver's position in the coming weeks? Sutil has struggled to keep pace with rookie team mate Paul di Resta, and with a highly respected reserve driver - Nico Hulkenberg - waiting eagerly for a race seat, Sutil may have his work cut out to keep his drive.
For more on this story, visit www.autosport.com
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
2011 Preview: The 'Bottom Half' Teams
Part two of our 2011 preview focuses on the bottom three of the established teams.
Admittedly all of these teams have only existed in their current guises for a few years, and have had much to learn in a short space of time, but all of them will be looking to improve and try and break into the top half of the table.
- - -
The first team to consider is Scuderia Toro Rosso. Classified ninth in 2010, this Ferrari-powered team are regarded as the feeder team for current World Champions, Red Bull Racing (Toro Rosso is Italian for Red Bull). The team have had success in the past - they were very quick in their first season, as they were the only team allowed to run V10 engines as part of an agreement made between the FIA and the struggling Minardi team, who Toro Rosso replaced.
The cars were initially designed by master Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, but legislation introduced for the 2010 season has meant that the teams must be separated, and Newey no longer has direct input into the building of the car.
It is worth remembering, however, that Toro Rosso acheived their first Grand Prix victory before Red Bull did, courtesy of a faultless Sebastian Vettel drive in Monza, 2008.
The team's number one is the young Swiss driver, Sebastien Buemi. Buemi acheived the team's highest position in 2010, eighth place in the Canadian Grand Prix, although as the season progressed, his performances began to be matched by his less experienced team mate, Alguersuari.
2010 was Jaime Alguersuari's first full season, after replacing Sebastien Bourdais part-way through 2009. The keen DJ (who is due to release a single later in the year) did not have the greatest introduction to Formula One, suffering several accidents - although this is not overly surprising, as due to the restrictions on mid-season testing, Alguersuari entered his first race weekend with virtually no prior experience of the car.
He showed visible signs of improvement in 2010 as the season progressed.
Both Buemi and Alguersuari must continue to improve during 2011, as the team have previously shown that they are not adverse to replacing drivers mid-season, with replacement Daniel Ricciardo having already proven in an earlier winter test that he is a very capable driver.
The 2011 car does look very competitive, with Lewis Hamilton commenting following one pre-season test "the Toro Rosso looks ridiculously fast".
- - -
The second team to assess is the Sauber F1 Team. Finishing eight last season, this team, like Toro Rosso, are also powered by Ferrari engines.
The team was branded as BMW Sauber for the 2009 season, but because BMW withdrew from the sport very shortly before the commencement of the 2010 season, it was too late for the team to formerly change their name. Therefore they also ran in 2010 as BMW Sauber Ferrari, despite BMW having nothing to do with the team.
Sauber's first driver is the very exciting Kamui Kobayashi. The young Japanese driver made his first appearance in a Formula One car as a replacement for Toyota's injured Timo Glock for the final few races of the 2009 season. Kobayashi quickly gained lots of attention due to his very aggressive driving style and apparent lack of fear, as he overtook several much more experience drivers and refused to yield to anyone! Kobayashi will be the least experienced number one driver on the grid this season, so he will have to support his rookie team mate whilst still learning himself.
Sergio Perez is the team's new recruit. The Mexican driver is known to have brought sponsorship with him from his home Country, including famous tequila brand Jose Cuervo, but Perez will want to show that he has the talent to establish a long career in the sport.
Sauber have confirmed that their cars in Australia will feature a message of support for the Japanese people, following the Country's devastating events of recent weeks.
- - -
Finally, Force India. Finishing seventh last season, eventually losing a hard-fought battle with the Williams team for sixth place, it is easy to forget that 2011 will be only the Mercedes-Benz engined team's fourth season in the sport.
The previous three seasons have seen mixed fortunes for the Silverstone-based team, with the highlight surely being Giancarlo Fisichella's magnificent pole position at Spa-Francorchamps in 2009.
The team will certainly be looking to improve and acheive a top six finish this season.
The team's number one driver, Adrian Sutil, has driven for the team in all of their seasons in Formula One. Rumours emerged during the 2010 season that the German driver was looking to move away from the team, but despite this he has been re-signed for 2011.
2010 also saw Sutil's relationship with team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi stretched, with the pair seemingly unable to see eye-to-eye on occassions, including near-misses and holding each other up on qualifying laps.
It will be interesting to see how Sutil copes with his new team mate, who has looked quick in pre-season testing.
Sutil, however, has admitted that the team seem to lack pace compared to some of their rivals, and may face a struggle at the beginning of the season.
Force India's second driver for the new season is another rookie, Scotland's Paul di Resta, who spent last season as a test driver for the team, but also participated in - and won - the DTM Championship.
Di Resta (cousin of star United States-based drivers Dario and Marino Franchitti) talks a good talk, and is happy to remind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel that he has beaten them both in the past in lower formulas. Whether this ability will be shown in 2011 will remain to be seen, but Di Resta's initial aim will be try to match the pace of his experienced team mate.
Like Toro Rosso, Force India have a proven test driver in the form of Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified on pole in the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix for Williams.
- - -
It will be interesting to see whether any of these teams can break into the top six this season. Especially considering the three new teams behind them look to be slowly reeling in the rest of the field.
Admittedly all of these teams have only existed in their current guises for a few years, and have had much to learn in a short space of time, but all of them will be looking to improve and try and break into the top half of the table.
- - -
The first team to consider is Scuderia Toro Rosso. Classified ninth in 2010, this Ferrari-powered team are regarded as the feeder team for current World Champions, Red Bull Racing (Toro Rosso is Italian for Red Bull). The team have had success in the past - they were very quick in their first season, as they were the only team allowed to run V10 engines as part of an agreement made between the FIA and the struggling Minardi team, who Toro Rosso replaced.
The cars were initially designed by master Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, but legislation introduced for the 2010 season has meant that the teams must be separated, and Newey no longer has direct input into the building of the car.
It is worth remembering, however, that Toro Rosso acheived their first Grand Prix victory before Red Bull did, courtesy of a faultless Sebastian Vettel drive in Monza, 2008.
The team's number one is the young Swiss driver, Sebastien Buemi. Buemi acheived the team's highest position in 2010, eighth place in the Canadian Grand Prix, although as the season progressed, his performances began to be matched by his less experienced team mate, Alguersuari.
2010 was Jaime Alguersuari's first full season, after replacing Sebastien Bourdais part-way through 2009. The keen DJ (who is due to release a single later in the year) did not have the greatest introduction to Formula One, suffering several accidents - although this is not overly surprising, as due to the restrictions on mid-season testing, Alguersuari entered his first race weekend with virtually no prior experience of the car.
He showed visible signs of improvement in 2010 as the season progressed.
Both Buemi and Alguersuari must continue to improve during 2011, as the team have previously shown that they are not adverse to replacing drivers mid-season, with replacement Daniel Ricciardo having already proven in an earlier winter test that he is a very capable driver.
The 2011 car does look very competitive, with Lewis Hamilton commenting following one pre-season test "the Toro Rosso looks ridiculously fast".
- - -
The second team to assess is the Sauber F1 Team. Finishing eight last season, this team, like Toro Rosso, are also powered by Ferrari engines.
The team was branded as BMW Sauber for the 2009 season, but because BMW withdrew from the sport very shortly before the commencement of the 2010 season, it was too late for the team to formerly change their name. Therefore they also ran in 2010 as BMW Sauber Ferrari, despite BMW having nothing to do with the team.
Sauber's first driver is the very exciting Kamui Kobayashi. The young Japanese driver made his first appearance in a Formula One car as a replacement for Toyota's injured Timo Glock for the final few races of the 2009 season. Kobayashi quickly gained lots of attention due to his very aggressive driving style and apparent lack of fear, as he overtook several much more experience drivers and refused to yield to anyone! Kobayashi will be the least experienced number one driver on the grid this season, so he will have to support his rookie team mate whilst still learning himself.
Sergio Perez is the team's new recruit. The Mexican driver is known to have brought sponsorship with him from his home Country, including famous tequila brand Jose Cuervo, but Perez will want to show that he has the talent to establish a long career in the sport.
Sauber have confirmed that their cars in Australia will feature a message of support for the Japanese people, following the Country's devastating events of recent weeks.
- - -
Finally, Force India. Finishing seventh last season, eventually losing a hard-fought battle with the Williams team for sixth place, it is easy to forget that 2011 will be only the Mercedes-Benz engined team's fourth season in the sport.
The previous three seasons have seen mixed fortunes for the Silverstone-based team, with the highlight surely being Giancarlo Fisichella's magnificent pole position at Spa-Francorchamps in 2009.
The team will certainly be looking to improve and acheive a top six finish this season.
The team's number one driver, Adrian Sutil, has driven for the team in all of their seasons in Formula One. Rumours emerged during the 2010 season that the German driver was looking to move away from the team, but despite this he has been re-signed for 2011.
2010 also saw Sutil's relationship with team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi stretched, with the pair seemingly unable to see eye-to-eye on occassions, including near-misses and holding each other up on qualifying laps.
It will be interesting to see how Sutil copes with his new team mate, who has looked quick in pre-season testing.
Sutil, however, has admitted that the team seem to lack pace compared to some of their rivals, and may face a struggle at the beginning of the season.
Force India's second driver for the new season is another rookie, Scotland's Paul di Resta, who spent last season as a test driver for the team, but also participated in - and won - the DTM Championship.
Di Resta (cousin of star United States-based drivers Dario and Marino Franchitti) talks a good talk, and is happy to remind Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel that he has beaten them both in the past in lower formulas. Whether this ability will be shown in 2011 will remain to be seen, but Di Resta's initial aim will be try to match the pace of his experienced team mate.
Like Toro Rosso, Force India have a proven test driver in the form of Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified on pole in the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix for Williams.
- - -
It will be interesting to see whether any of these teams can break into the top six this season. Especially considering the three new teams behind them look to be slowly reeling in the rest of the field.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Testing Analysis
Bernie Ecclestone has often talked about introducing an Olympic style medal system into Formula One, where the driver with the most gold medals at the end of the season would win!
This suggestion has not paricularly impressed drivers, teams or fans, however Ecclestone still believes it is an option.
Now that all the pre-season tests have been completed, we have assessed the results and present the results below in a format that Mr Ecclestone would appreciate!
The list is headed up by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who was the quickest driver on four occassions.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso falls fifth in the table, which is surprising, as he has looked comparable to the Red Bull's over the winter. However, the Spaniard has finished in the top three six times this year - more than anyone else.
Equally surprisingly, former World Champion Lewis Hamilton appears at the bottom of the list, having only been the third quickest driver on two occassions.
All three Force India drivers (Sutil, Di Resta and Hulkenberg) along with McLaren's Gary Paffett also finished in the top three earlier in the year, but have not been included as their times were set using the 2010 cars.
How much will the race results reflect the testing results? Just two weeks until we can find out!
This suggestion has not paricularly impressed drivers, teams or fans, however Ecclestone still believes it is an option.
Now that all the pre-season tests have been completed, we have assessed the results and present the results below in a format that Mr Ecclestone would appreciate!
The list is headed up by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who was the quickest driver on four occassions.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso falls fifth in the table, which is surprising, as he has looked comparable to the Red Bull's over the winter. However, the Spaniard has finished in the top three six times this year - more than anyone else.
Equally surprisingly, former World Champion Lewis Hamilton appears at the bottom of the list, having only been the third quickest driver on two occassions.
All three Force India drivers (Sutil, Di Resta and Hulkenberg) along with McLaren's Gary Paffett also finished in the top three earlier in the year, but have not been included as their times were set using the 2010 cars.
How much will the race results reflect the testing results? Just two weeks until we can find out!
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Hispania Confirm Driver Line-Up
It has been confirmed that Force India outcast Vitantonio Liuzzi is to fill the vacant Hispania Racing seat for the 2011 campaign.
The Italian driver previously stated that he did not want to pay for a drive, although Hispania suggested separately that the seat was available at a price.
Liuzzi received a pay-off from Force India, as they wanted to promote test driver Paul di Resta to replace him, although Liuzzi was still under contract.
It is not currently clear whether these funds were used to help secure the drive.
Liuzzi will drive alongside returning driver Narain Kartikeyan. The 2011 car is likely to appear at the Barcelona test for the first time later in the week.
Unfortunately, this announcement has rather ruined our first ever poll "Who Will Be Hispania Racing's Second Driver", but the good news is that all vacant race seats have now been filled, and predictions can now commence!
Thursday, 20 January 2011
di Resta To Get F1 Drive
Scot Paul di Resta appears to be closer than ever to get a drive with the Force India team for the coming season.
He impressed in practice sessions for the team last year, and it seems that the team are now favouring him over Italian Tonio Liuzzi.
However, Liuzzi is contracted for one more season, so some agreements will have to be reached before the finalised line-up is confirmed.
For the full story, visit www.bbc.co.uk/sport
He impressed in practice sessions for the team last year, and it seems that the team are now favouring him over Italian Tonio Liuzzi.
However, Liuzzi is contracted for one more season, so some agreements will have to be reached before the finalised line-up is confirmed.
For the full story, visit www.bbc.co.uk/sport
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Vettel Wants di Resta In F1
Sebastien Vettel hopes that his former F3 Euroseries teammate Paul di Resta will get a drive in Forumla One next year.
It is rumoured that di Resta may be promoted from test driver to race driver within the Force India team.
Vettel was beaten to the F3 Euroseries championship by di Resta in 2006.
Full story here www.planet-f1.com
It is rumoured that di Resta may be promoted from test driver to race driver within the Force India team.
Vettel was beaten to the F3 Euroseries championship by di Resta in 2006.
Full story here www.planet-f1.com
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