The F1 Christmas Selection Box

As the off season continues, here's some videos and pictures to hopefully amuse you through the winter break. Thanks to anyone who suggested or contributed content. Enjoy!

Suzuka: Step by Step

Having recovered from the all nighter which seen qualifying and the race take place on the same day, it's time to look back at what was a dramatic Japanese Grand Prix...

Crash, Bang, Wallop: It was chaos before turn 1 as the fast starting Vitaly Petrov swiped the front of the slow moving Nico Hulkenberg, putting both drivers out of the race. The Russian also landed himself a 5 place grid drop for the Korean Grand Prix, which was confirmed as going ahead yesterday. These errors keep coming from Petrov and he really needs to get some solid performances in to cement his 2011 seat. Team mate Robert Kubica was making noises about having an experienced driver beside him at the weekend. However it could yet be finances which helps the rookie keep his seat.

Meanwhile there was significant damage for Felipe Massa and Vitantonio Liuzzi as the Ferrari went across the grass and into the side of the Force India. The Brazilian has a contract for 2011 and Liuzzi claims to be secure but rumours still swirl about both men. I've been told by a Force India employee that Adrian Sutil is almost certain to stay with the team, though i would think he'd fancy the Renault seat if it comes free. However if true and with Paul di Resta expected to get a chance it would push the Italian out of the team. My gut feeling on Massa is that Ferrari won't move him out and that unless the Brazilian was to walk away, which i think is unlikely, he will be there in 2011. Fernando Alonso knows that Massa could yet be a foil to him in his own title aspirations.

Kubica unlucky but lucky: Robert Kubica threw himself into the mix of the championship challengers by qualifying on the second row and then moving up to second place at the start and looking good for a podium. Behind the safety car that was deployed for the lap 1 incidents he began to slow and then had his right rear tyre fly off, leading to his retirement. Having looked so good for a positive result which would have helped Renault closed the gap to Mercedes in the battle for 4th in the championship. However it was revealed afterwards that the French team had an issue with the wheel gun on the grid and that none of the Polish driver's tyres were fitted properly. So perhaps they will be thankful that there was a safety car or else it could have been an even more scary incident.

Mercedes have improved showing: It was a better weekend for Mercedes, though it only ended with 8 points after Nico Rosberg suffered a wheel failure late on through the Esses. He had a poor start and pitted behind the safety car. Meanwhile Schumacher made a good pass on Rubens Barrichello but when he was pitted he was going quicker than his team mate but emerged behind him and despite his best efforts he couldn't past. Mercedes have admitted that was an error on their part. Either they were concerned about other cars around them or wanted to ensure that Rosberg, who is close to Massa and Kubica in the championship, would score the extra points.

McLaren see margin grow: McLaren were unable to take the fight to Red Bull this weekend. Lewis Hamilton had a Friday crash and then McLaren took a chance on using his gearbox from Singapore but within three practice laps it had a problem so he got a five place grid penalty. He then lost third gear during the race so had to yield to Jenson Button and finished fifth. Button went for the hard tyre for Q3. I think it was worth the risk because McLaren did not have the raw pace and a safety car at a certain moments may have played into his hands. Both men are now more than a race win behind Webber. I think they needed a wet qualifying or race to act as a leveller and though Hamilton was catching Alonso before his gearbox issue its going to take some turnaround for the number 1 to remain on a McLaren next season.

Lotus increase grip on vital 10th position: It was a good day for Lotus Racing as they secured their best ever finish with Heikki Kovalainen 12th. He was followed home by Jarno Trulli in 13th. This means that Hispania and Virgin will need a top 11 finish to jump them and this will likely take a race of high attrition to acheive. Virgin had a poor day, Lucas di Grassi crashing before the race in spectacular fashion whilst Timo Glock was stuck behind Sakon Yamamoto for many laps. Lotus also have attention on 2011. It looks likely that Trulli and Kovalainen will be retained. The team will use the 2009 Red Bull gearbox and hydraulic system and an engine deal with Renault should be announced soon. This should help them take the fight to the likes of Toro Rosso and Sauber and ensure a much more competitive car.

Kobayashi thrills Japan and the world: There was a lot of hype around Kamui Kobayashi ahead of his home grand prix. Many feel he could be the star driver that Japan has been waiting for. On Friday he had looked ragged but i was hopeful he would score points and please his fans. The race would turn into an incredible drive, netting him a 7th place finish. He overtook several cars into the turn 10 hairpin, braking much later than his rivals yet managing to make every attempt stick. I know they talk about local knowledge around the figure of eight circuit but this really was astonishing! His first overtake on Jaime Alguersuari was a late lunge which he turned into an overtake with a bit of contact but the other moves were all clean. Even when he made a second move on the Spaniard, Alguersuari defended but still Kobayashi passed on the outside. The Toro Rosso driver was silly in turning into the Sauber several times, damaging his front wing and blowing the chance of a points finish.

How did the home hero pull off so many unexpected moves though? Part of this can be explained by strategy. Kobayashi had started on the hard tyre and then pitted late for the soft tyre. So he was able to attack late in the race. Also the characteristics of his car played a role. The Sauber has the longest wheelbase on the grid so the car is good through medium to high speed corners. This allowed Kobayashi to stay close to cars in front through the Degner corners preceding the hairpin. The Sauber is also kind to its tyres so usually performs better in races than in qualifying. Panasonic used to sponsor Toyota and are reported to be in discussions with Peter Sauber.

Red Bull win with something to spare: Qualifying and the first corner decide the Red Bull battle really and whilst Mark Webber was not far off, it was Sebastian Vettel who made it two out of two in Suzuka. The pair cruised it, even backing off when they caught up Button during the race who had yet to pit. There was still a bit of mind games between the duo when Webber pushed hard on the last lap to clock fastest lap and deny his German team mate a hattrick for the weekend. The Australian will know he may have to beat him on track at some stage. Three more Vettel victories and the championship is the German's. Fernando Alonso rolled in third which was the maximum possible, he will hope to challenge more in the remaining rounds

So the teams now head for South Korea which was confirmed on Tuesday. The pit straight isn't that long but turn 1 is tight and is followed by a massive straight, over a kilometre long so expect plenty of action down it. Sector 2 is a lot of medium speed corners and the final sector more twisty so it could be somewhere which plays to each teams strengths in certain parts. Rain is certainly a possibility in the region as well. Three races to go and still five can win it but McLaren surely need a strong result or the gap will be too much to claw back.

Monza moments

The start Jenson Button got a great launch and Fernando Alonso needn't have squeezed across as the McLaren already had the initiative. Alonso tagged the back of Button and then went wheel to wheel with team mate Felipe Massa. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton was now on their tails. Going into turn 4 he had a look up the inside. He tried to stay tight on the inside but couldn't take any more kerb and made contact. The first tap was ok but the second was terminal. Hamilton's mistake though a tad unlucky to be out on the spot. Hindsight shows that more caution was required. The McLaren has escaped in a few scrapes this season though and today he didn't get away with it.

Jaime Alguersuari The Spaniard lost a point in Spa after cutting a chicane and he was at it again on lap 1. The Toro Rosso passed both Force India's by doing so and was awarded a deserved drive through penalty for gaining an advantage. Getting outperformed by Sebastien Buemi and needs some good drives to finish the season strongly.

Red Bull face difficulties Mark Webber lost 2 places off the line but worse was to follow when he ended up wide into the gravel out of turn 5 and lost another 3 places. He recovered excellently, passing Schumacher, Kubica and Hulkenberg on his way to 6th position. That gave him the championship lead but he was still frustrated, probably partly because he could have built a bigger gap over team mate Sebastian Vettel and strengthening his position in the team.

Vettel recovered from a sticky brake pedal which cost him time and a position to Webber to run all the way to the final lap before making his 1 pitstop to finish in 4th.

Strategy decides the winner Alonso had got close to Button a few times but seem to be able to keep in touch whilst keeping his tyres in check. For race leader Button, it was either pit and go for a quick outlap on the hard tyres or stay out and deliver a good in lap on used soft tyres. McLaren felt pitting first was the best option but the world champion said he had poor grip initially and Alonso put the hammer down to just edge ahead when he exited from his pitstop. The Spaniard had a pitlane time that was almost a second quicker than Button and that was probably the difference between first and second.

Nico Hulkenberg The German rode his luck today after cutting chicanes 3 times which did not improve Mark Webber's mood who was stuck behind him for a while. The Williams rookie has been quietly impressive recently, always close to experienced team mate Rubens Barrichello and has been quite consistent. It hasn't been particularly flashy like Petrov and Kobayashi but that has been partly down to good qualifying performances, meaning he hasn't found himself on a recovery drive come Sunday.

So with 5 races to go, 5 drivers remain firmly in the title hunt. This race has seen a recovery to a certain extent for all 3 contenders who failed to score in Spa. Singapore will be a totally different challenge. There we will see what sort of effect the revised load tests have had on Red Bull. The streets and dust of Singapore provide a mental and physical test with a race that will run the two hour limit close. Brakes are under pressure and mistakes are punished, its a gruelling challenge and we've already seen what it can produce in the past 2 years. Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were both on the podium last year and they will be desperate to repeat that.

Alonso and Button set up for title revival

Fernando Alonso delighted the Ferrari fans, and indeed president, who had flocked to Monza with pole position today. It was only the second non Red Bull pole of the season. Jenson Button, running with the F-Duct on his McLaren, was second after putting in two strong laps in Q3. Felipe Massa was 3rd whilst title favourites Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton were 4th and 5th. A good result for the Australian after practice problems but frustration for championship leader Hamilton who ran a low downforce setup and complained about a lot of sliding in the corners. Sebastian Vettel was also unhappy after qualifying 6th, claiming his car wasn't working as well this afternoon than in practice.

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

Ferrari have had good starts recently and will be confident of maintaining the lead. A key factor could be the man not in the title race, Felipe Massa. If he can jump ahead of Button at the start, then he can control the pack and allow Alonso to pull out a gap. Button's setup makes him vulnerable on the straight though overtaking will not be easy, it won't simply be a case of breezing past the reigning world champion. Tyre wear shouldn't be a big issue but the advanatge for Button is he should keep his tyres very well, giving him the flexibility of running a long stint on the soft tyre or stopping early and running to the end on the hard tyre. I think a one stop will be the normal strategy though i wonder if Toro Rosso would try a two stopper. They are extremely quick on the straights so i feel they should try something different from 14th and 15th on the grid, an agressive approach and one that is viable with the straight line speed they have.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

For Webber, it was a case of maximising a tough weekend. He will probably feel that the top three are too quick for him and Red Bull tomorrow and will have the concerns of the poor starts that him and team mate Vettel have had recently as well as Hamilton attacking on the opening lap. Hamilton felt the setup choice was wrong after qualifying but he can still recover tomorrow. He seemed to stay close to Webber as he began his final lap. Perhaps he wanted to pick up some slipstream but a slide into turn 1 indicated he may have been affected by some turbulence. For Vettel, he may need some dramas ahead or he could well leave Italy 5th in the championship with 5 races to go

It could be a grand prix that sees the title battle squeezed back closer again. It should be another sunny and dry day and will hopefully be another fascinating grand prix. Race start is 1pm.

Race Rewind: Spa 1998

With crashes, controversy, rain and death threats, the 1998 Belgium Grand Prix was one of the most memorable in history...

The weekend began with Jacques Villeneuve having a huge accident at Eau Rouge on Friday before Mika Salo followed suit in Saturday practice. Despite this, both men were ok to race. Championship leader Mika Hakkinen took pole position. The Finn was having his best season to date and was up against two time champion Michael Schumacher who qualified 4th and also had a qualifying time deleted because he failed to slow under yellow flags. Damon Hill impressed with third position.

The Grid:

1 Mika Hakkinen
2 David Coulthard
3 Damon Hill
4 Michael Schumacher
5 Eddie Irvine
6 Jacques Villeneuve
7 Giancarlo Fisichella
8 Ralf Schumacher
9 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
10 Jean Alesi
11 Alexander Wurz
12 Johnny Herbert
13 Jarno Trulli
14 Rubens Barrichello
15 Olivier Panis
16 Pedro Diniz
17 Jos Verstappen
18 Mika Salo
19 Toranosuke Takagi
20 Ricardo Rosset
21 Shinji Nakano
22 Esteban Tuero

Race day dawned wet, cold and misty and it was not for shifting. Before the start the officials had to decide whether to start the race behind the safety car like in 1997 but they opted against this. The track was wet but the bigger issue was visibility. Pole sitter Hakkinen made a good start while Villeneuve swept around the outside of La Source into second. What followed was carnage.



David Coulthard dropped his car on the exit and slid across the track. He was hit several times before coming to rest back on the side of the track where he began to lose it. The Scottish driver later revealed that his accident was caused by hitting a metal grille. With so much spray cars behind didn't slow and just kept colliding at high speed, spreading debris far and high. It was such a lucky escape for drivers, spectators and marshalls. Only Rubens Barichello and Eddie Irvine suffered minor injuries.

The race was stopped and the clear up operation took nearly an hour. Some teams had both cars damaged and with only one spare car available, some people had to miss the restart. Barrichello, Salo, Rosset and Panis were now all out. For the other drivers it was a lengthy wait as they tried to remain focused and calm on the job ahead.

The second start saw Damon Hill make a brilliant start to lead. Hakkinen was squeezed to the inside and on the exit made slight contact with rival Schumacher before he was clouted by Johnny Herbert. Both men were out on the spot and the safety car deployed. When the race resumed, Hill was on the defensive from Schumacher. The German eventually made his move into the Bus Stop chicane and began to pull away. Behind cars were sliding off all over the place. Eddie Irvine lost his front wing at Les Combes while Jacques Villeneuve aquaplaned off approaching Kemmel straight as the rain got heavier. This seen the drivers take to the pits for the full wet tyres.

Schumacher now had a comfortable lead of almost 30 seconds but what really surprised me when watching the race back was how hard he continued to push. Lapping Pedro Diniz almost resulted in contact and as he approached the McLaren of Coulthard he was gesturing for him to get out of the way, a move you'd expect from someone struggling or battling for position rather than someone comfortably leading the race. As the drivers went downhill towards Pouhon Coulthard lifted but stayed on the racing line. Schumacher was caught out in the spray and smashed into the back of the McLaren.



Things didn't finish there. Both men dragged their damaged cars back to the pits. Schumacher was enraged at seeing a potential championship lead slip away and went to the McLaren garage to confront Coulthard. The German had to be dragged away by team personnel, including Jean Todt who had spoke to Ron Dennis seconds before the incident. Coulthard would later admit that he should have got off the racing line. More drama would follow when Giancarlo Fisichella had a huge impact into the rear of Shinji Nakano in a collision which brought out the safety car. Many drivers, including new race leader Hill took the opportunity to make their final stops.



Jordan were now 1-2 and looking set for a maiden victory in Formula 1. As the safety car pitted and the final phase of the race began there were only 8 cars running. Behind the Jordan cars were Jean Alesi, Heinz Harald Frentzen, Pedro Diniz and Jarno Trulli. Meanwhile Coulthard and Nakano had both got new rear wings and rejoined the track, albeit many laps down. Jordan had the pace to hold off Alesi but he was close behind and at this stage of the race it was Ralf Schumacher who was the faster Jordan. Hill recognised this and in a move that was revealed years after the race pleaded with Eddie Jordan to use team orders and tell Schumacher to hold station. The message was given to Ralf who was asked to reply. Only after several attempts did he finally conform to the teams instruction.



The pair stayed close. Meanwhile Trulli was limping home with a sick engine. His slow speed almost caught out Hill when he lapped the Prost coming through Eau Rouge. However the Englishman would go on to take what would prove to be his final win in the sport in what was arguably the finest moment in the history of the Jordan team. Ralf Schumacher took second place but was clearly frustrated at being held back from taking a first win. Alesi gave Sauber a joyful podium in third.

The championship battle would go to the wire but Mika Hakkinen would take his first title in Japan after Schumacher stalled on the grid before suffering a puncture. Jordan would build upon their strong finish to 1998 with two wins in 1999 courtesy of Frentzen who moved from Williams to the team. Hill would retire at the end of 1999.

Passion undiminished for Barrichello as he reaches landmark

When Rubens Barrichello lines up on the grid on Sunday afternoon in Belgium, he will become the first driver to compete in 300 races. 11 wins and 68 podiums are great achievements for the Brazilian but do not tell the tale of a career that started in South Africa in 1993 and continues 17 years on. To be competitive in Formula 1 is a massive challenge but to have the skill, energy, determination and passion to maintain that high level is very impressive.

It all began in 1993 when Barrichello joined the Jordan team and found himself up against the likes of Martin Brundle, Ricardo Patrese and Alain Prost. When i mention Donnington 1993 most F1 fans will instantly think of Ayrton Senna's stunning first lap and win in damp conditions and rightly so. However this was also the occasion when Barrichello would first show his ability. He started 12th but made several passes to be 4th by the end of the first lap. Mixing it with the Williams of Prost and Damon Hill he was set for a podium until a fuel pressure problem. Unreliability would be the story of his debut season but points were finally scored in Japan. 1994 dawned with points in his homeland and a podium in Aida but then a horrific accident on that black weekend in Imola saw him need life saving treatment after his tongue blocked his airways.



He survived and also had to deal with the loss of his hero Ayrton Senna. He would return and even take pole positon in a weather affected session at Spa. The highlight of 1995 would be second in Montreal though engine failure robbed him of a third place on the final lap in Budapest. 1996 seen 14 points collected but things with Eddie Jordan had soured and BarrichelLo decided to look for a new team

He joined a brand new outfit in the form of Stewart Grand Prix run by ex world champion Jackie Stewart. Only 3 finishes were recorded in 1997 but one of these was a memorable 2nd at a soaked Monte Carlo. 1998 was another year of poor results. This was a frustrating time for Barrichello. At this stage of his career he had established himself as a good driver and regularly defeated his team mates. 1999 was an improved showing for Stewart and there was 3 podiums to celebrate. Other highlights included leading in Brazil and pole position in France. This was a great display of Rubens experience and knowledge. The 60 minute session started wet and most teams were waiting for conditions to improve. Barrichello wanted to go out and get a lap in but his engineer refuted his request. Two cars set times and Barrichello demanded that he get out and do a flying lap. He took provisional pole and as the session continued the weather remained wet and his time stood unbeaten. Shrewd thinking had done the job.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons that Ferrari principal Jean Todt came knocking. The dream move was on and Barrichello was on his way to Maranello to partner Michael Schumacher. He was up against arguably the best driver in the field but now had the machinery to compete for victories. The glory moment came at Hockenheim when staying out on dry tyres in mixed conditions. The emotion of it all poured out on the slow down lap



He finished the season 4th and helped Ferrari to the constructors championship. However this role of support act within the team would play out in 2 successive races in Austria when he moved over for his team mate. Particularly controversial was the 2002 race. Barrichello had dominated practice and qualifying and held the edge over Schumacher, who had a comfortable lead in the championship, all weekend. On the final lap he was ordered to slow and let Schumacher through. Even recently, the Brazilian has insisted that he did not go to Ferrari with the agreement that he would be the number 2 driver in the team

The next two seasons yielded four more victories, including victory at Monza and a stunning drive at Silverstone though car problems robbed him of home glory in Sao Paulo. After a sluggish 2005 for him and the team in general he moved to Honda to partner Jenson Button. He struggled at the start of 2006 to get to grips with the car but eventually gained pace and had a best finish of 4th. The next 2 seasons were pretty miserable as 2007 seen his only pointless season and 2008 wasn't much better as 6th in Melbourne was wiped out by a disqualification though in the rain of Silverstone he scored a brilliant 3rd after switching to the extreme wet tyres.

Now you would think after a couple of years like that the passion for racing would be dwindling but Rubens was determined to retain his seat for 2009 and was open in expressing this desire. Then came the shock pullout by Honda. Rubens career was up in the air but after Ross Brawn saved the team he decided to plump for him over the inexperienced Bruno Senna. All of a sudden he had another season and a car capable of winning.

Race day in Budapest. Barrichello has his good friend Felipe Massa critically ill in a hospital. He has qualified down the order and finishes outside the points. Despite having the best car in the field, no races have been won and his championship hopes look faint. The head is hanging low. I'll be honest, i really felt on that afternoon that Rubens was demoralised and that he would hang his helmet up at the end of the season. I couldn't have got it more wrong!

He took a well acclaimed win at the next round in Valencia and followed it up with another victory in Monza. He couldn't wrestle the title from team mate Button but played his part in Brawn winning the constructors championship. Following the close of the season, Williams announced that Barrichello was joining them, meaning a 18th year in Formula 1. They struggled at first but things have improved and Williams have spoken very highly of Barrichello. Many felt rookie Nico Hulkenberg would finish off his career but Rubens has held his own and a contract renewal is seen as almost certain.

Rubens Barrichello is a skilled and fast driver. However what has impressed me is his passion. He loves Formula 1, he loves to get up and race. To carry that for so long is an inspiration and shows that drivers can have long careers like him. We have seen youth picked a lot recently in the likes of Jaime Alguersuari, Sebastian Vettel and Lucas di Grassi.



Barrichello though continues to deliver results and is driving as well as ever. His enthusiasm was shown on British TV recently when he appeared on Top Gear and beat the presenter 'The Stig' around the test track, a feat that Jenson Button, Mark Webber and other F1 stars have failed to acheive. When he wakes up on Sunday, he will be determined as ever to do the best he can, driving to the limit. I've mentioned his wet weather skills a few times and with the forecast for Belgium the way it is, you just don't know what magic Rubinho could conjure up for race 300 and beyond...

Vettel dominates as rookies shine

Red Bull were in their own battle for pole position today and Sebastian Vettel was supreme. He took pole position with ease with Mark Webber 4 tenths down in 2nd. The Australian was still three quarters of a second clear of Fernando Alonso. I think a good way of expressing the dominance Red Bull had is the reaction of BBC commentator during Q2 when he realised that Webber was upshifting through the challenging turn 11 whereas everybody else was downshifting. Felipe Massa was 4th and championship leader Lewis Hamilton was 5th. It was not so great for his team mate Jenson Button who went out in Q2 and will start 11th. He complained that he couldn't find a good balance in his car.

Pedro de la Rosa had a brilliant session, coming 8th on a twisty track with the longest wheelbase on the grid was a great effort from the Spaniard who had a personal best result of 2nd here in 2006. It was not such a good day for Kamui Kobayashi. He has showed glimpses of brilliance this season but a third Q1 exit of the season was not one of them. He was held up by Bruuno Senna on his last lap. Two other rookies though put in very impressive performances. Vitaly Petrov outqualified Robert Kubica as the two Eastern European drivers filled the 4th row. What the Russian nears to do is translate this excellent Saturday into good points tomorrow. Failure to do so puts his seat for 2011 in more jeopardy. Nico Hulkenberg pulled out a late flyer to make Q3 and qualify 10th, two places ahead of Rubens Barrichello.

McLaren and Mercedes asked for a clarification on the flexible front wings on the Red Bull and Ferrari cars after qualifying and the FIA have been examining them. They could deem them illegal but this is unlikely. What may happen is the tests applied to the wings are altered so that any loopholes being exposed are closed off. More information may emerge in the morning. The key really for the Red Bull drivers is the start. Vettel will want a smooth getaway after poor starts at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Webber will be concerned that on the dirty side of the grid he could be under threat from Alonso. If they can maintain a 1-2 then it should be comfortable for them. Their race pace isn't at the same level as their qualifying pace but they'll have more than enough to win. The Hungaroring can bite though, 70 laps int he heat could yet yield some unexpected drama. Just ask Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa from 2008. Race start is at 1pm BST

Race Rewind: Budapest 2006

It was a drama filled weekend in Budapest in 2006 with penalties, rain and a new winner in the sport...

The 2006 season had become a battle between two teams, Renault and Ferrari, and more potently a battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. The Spaniard had started the season the way he finished 2005 with early season wins and podiums to build a big championship lead but Schumacher had started to lead a Ferrari revival and he arrived at Hungary 11 points behind the reigning world champion.

The title battle would already begin to develop during Friday practice. Alonso was held up coming out of the final corner by Robert Doornbos, who was getting a run out in the Red Bull. He overtook down the straight and approaching turn 1 brake tested the Dutch driver, who only just avoided a collison. Alonso was called in to the stewards office and penalised him for this and for another incident where he overtook another car through a yellow flag zone. The stewards awarded an unusual penalty, a two second penalty which would be added to each time that the Spaniard set during qualifying.



On a track like the Hungaroring this was a massive blow to Alonso's chances of a big points haul. More pre-qualifying drama was to follow. A red flag on Saturday morning after an engine failure for Jenson Button, which would mean a ten place grid penalty, meant all the cars returned to the pits. Alonso was returning pretty slowly and had debutant Robert Kubica right behind him. Coming into the penultimate corner, Schumacher passed both. Alonso was straight on the radio, relaying what had happened and making a case for a penalty. The stewards agreed and Schumacher was also given a two second penalty for qualifying.



Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for McLaren and was joined on the front row by Felipe Massa. Schumacher and Alonso took 12th and 15th respectively

The Grid

1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Barrichello
4. de la Rosa
5. Webber
6. R Schumacher
7. Fisichella
8. Trulli
9. Kubica
10. Heidfeld
11. M Schumacher
12. Coulthard
13. Klien*
14. Button
15. Alonso
16. Monteiro
17. Liuzzi
18. Rosberg
19. Speed
20. Sato
21. Yamamoto
22. Albers

*Klien started from the pitlane

Raceday dawned wet and murky. Conditions were tricky and Pedro de la Rosa showed that by spinning on the parade lap. He did recover though. At the start Raikkonen held the lead while Barrichello took second, using a wide line through turn 1 which yielded more grip. Schumacher had an incredible start, exiting turn 1 in 6th but Alonso was also battling hard. Several moves on the opening laps took him to 6th and he then passed Schumacher around the outside of turn 5. The Renault was on Michelin tyres and they were working better in the conditions than the Bridgestone tyres which were on the Ferrari. Jenson Button was also making his way through the field and soon passed the struggling German. Meanwhile de la Rosa passed Barrichello to make it a McLaren 1-2

Things got worse for Schumacher when he slide into the rear of Giancarlo Fisichella and damaged the front wing. The Italian crashed out of the race soon after, along with Christian Klien and Robert Kubica, though the Polish driver recovered to the pits and changed the front nose of the car. A bigger crash would follow on lap 26 when Raikkonen ran into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi whilst trying to lap the Toro Rosso. It was a big impact and put both men out. The safety car was also deployed. In the restart, Schumacher had a spin while Alonso pulled out a big lead. Button started to pull back towards Alonso as the track started to dry. Button decided to short fuel at his stop and keep his tyres on. This was a good decision as it was too soon for dry tyres whilst dark clouds were still looming.



Alonso was now in for his final stop and put the dry tyres on. As he emerged back on track he struggled to slow down for the first corner. It seem he was just getting the tyres up to temperature but into the next corner a wheel nut bounced off the car and a driveshaft failure pitched him into the barriers. Button now had a commanding lead and Schumacher was now second as he had stayed out on his intermediate tyres whilst de la Rosa and Heidfeld were on dry tyres. The McLaren was all over Schumacher and after several attempts he finally squeezed through. Heidfeld was next and there was slight contact. Schumacher had damage to his right front suspension ansd with only three laps to go was out. It was a major missed opprtunity. Ross Brawn would admit after the season that in hindsight he should have advised the German to bag some points and take less risks.



It was a brilliant race for the top three. Button took his first victory for himself and Honda whilst de la Rosa took his best ever result. Heidfeld came 3rd and gave BMW-Sauber their first ever podium finish. Robert Kubica came 7th on his debut but was later disqualified as his car was two kilograms underweight, believed to be because he finished on extremely worn tyres. This promoted Schumacher to 8th as he was classified 9th after his late retirement and meant he gained one point on Alonso in the championship battle.

The two men would continue to battle hard in a championship that had many twists. Schumacher announced in Monza that he would be retiring and took the championship lead in China. However, engine failure in Japan meant Alonso only needed a point in Brazil and he took second position to take a second consecutive world championship

Looking back at team orders

Some people having been asking me about team orders that have occurred in the past so lets take a brief look back at some famous instances in the past...

San Marino 1982 - A boycott by some teams left the field depleted and after both Renault cars retired, Ferrari had a 1-2 with Giles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi and were well clear of the pack so Ferrari ordered their drivers to slow and take it easy. Villeneuve seen this as an order to hold station. Pironi though passed the Canadian but the lead soon changed hands again. Villeneuve thought that the Italian was putting on a show but when Pironi nipped by on the last lap and took the victory, Villeneuve was seething and was irate with his team mate. Tragically he would be killed two weeks later at Zolder.



Melbourne 1998 - McLaren arrived at the opening round of the 1998 season with a car that was much quicker than any other team. They locked out the front row on Saturday and the race was their own to lose. It was decided that whichever driver made the first corner first would be allowed to take the win unchallenged and that both Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard could run a controlled pace as the team feared unreliability would scupper their hopes if they pushed to the limit. Hakkinen maintained the lead from pole and looked set for a win. However on lap 36 he entered the pits after he misunderstood a radio message (which was later alleged to be interference from a third party) and lost the lead. Coulthard was made aware about the error and with 3 laps to go slowed and allowed the Finnish driver to take the win.



Singapore 2008 - After a poor season, Renault look to have good pace for the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix but a fuel pump issue in Q2 leaves Fernando Alonso in 15th position. Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet agree that the Brazilian will crash soon after an early stop for Alonso, taking advantage of the pitlane being closed when a safety car is deployed. Piquet crashed his car and Alonso took the victory before the scandal was exposed almost a year later after Piquet was sacked by Renault.

Ferrari under fire in switch furore

It was a grand prix that had one main talking point. Felipe Massa slowing out of turn 4 and allowing team mate Fernando Alonso to take the lead and ultimately the victory. It was a move that ignited a lot of anger amongst fans who felt that they had been robbed of a true battle for the race. Team orders have been banned in Formula 1 since 2002 when Rubens Barrichello was ordered to let Michael Schumacher through for the win which he did metres from the finishing line. Ferrari had to do this swap. Alonso title chances remain feasible whilst Massa is well out of the picture. In a sense his poor season, including no points before yesterday since Turkey, cost him the chance to take the victory.

It was a shame for the Brazilian, one year to the day since the life threatening incident in Budapest, that he could not have taken a victory which would have been such a happy moment for him and for F1 in general. He was a dejected figure behind and he now faces the prospect of being a support act to the Spaniard for this season and perhaps for the next two seasons. We have seen instances of drivers swapping in recent seasons. Heikki Kovalainen let Lewis Hamilton through by braking early into hairpins at Magny-Cours and Hockenheim in 2008 which certainly came across better. Massa himself benefited when Kimi Raikkonen lifted for him in Shanghai in the same season. This did not cause much uproar however as the Finnish driver had no chance of winning the title and Massa was locked in a close battle with Lewis Hamilton for the championship.



Ferrari did what was best for their interests but it was the way it was done which didn't help their cause. Of course with radio transmissions now open it can lead to more revealing conversations. Massa came out of the hairpin and basically didn't accelerate and Alonso was able to sail by. The Brazilian made sure that the switch was as clear as possible. Had Alonso passed him under braking into a corner it would have made it look like a realistic overtake.

Now we don't hear all the radio transmissions so the complete picture is not clear and perhaps we will hear more snippets from FOM later this week but lets analyse what was heard

First of all, we had Alonso on the radio soon after he had briefly passed Massa before he lost the position. He said 'This is ridiculous' Clearly he felt he was the faster driver and should be allowed to take the lead.

Soon after, Massa had pulled out a 3 second gap. Rob Smedley came on the radio and had a strong message for his driver 'You have to give this everything, concentrate, keep this going and you can win' This suggests that Smedley felt that the only way Massa could win the race was if he pulled out a big gap to his team mate or else he would have to give way

Alonso began to close in and then came the message which seem to decide the race. Smedley came back on the radio and said slowly and clearly to Massa 'Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm that you understood that message' There was no reply broadcast.

Two laps later and the move came. Soon after Smedley told Massa 'Ok mate, good lad, just stick with him now. Sorry' This wasn't Smedley's decision, it probably was Stefano Domenicali or Chris Dyer who made the call but the Englishman had to be the messenger and i'm sure that wasn't easy.

This is different to what occurred in Austria in a couple of ways. Firstly, 2002 was legal and 2010 wasn't. However, 2010 was a move that Ferrari had to do but 2002 wasn't. We weren't halfway through the season, Schumacher had a big lead and Barrichello was actually one of his main competitors. Once the Brazilian had to concede the win it was clear that competition at the front would be very minimal for that season. Perhaps now team orders will have to be allowed. It was brought in after the circumstances of the Schumacher years where he always had the number one status. Let us be thankful for some of the good inter team battles that have been witnessed this season.



The World Motorsport Council will meet to decide whether Ferrari should face further punishment and remember this is where McLaren nearly got expelled from the 2007 season so don't rule out heavy sanctions. I don't expect any worse than loss of team points or a suspended sentence. We'll not know to August at the earliest. Amongst the furore, Ferrari showed strong speed all the way through the weekend and Alonso is now in the championship battle and unlike his four other rivals, he is the only man in his team gunning for the title.

Vettel staves off improved Ferrari's

The German crowd were delighted this afternoon as Sebastian Vettel took his 3rd consecutive pole position. He had a big fight on his hand but it wasn't from usual suspect Mark Webber as the Australian had a poor Q3 with a scruffy first lap and then running wide at turn 1 on his final lap. He will start 4th. Instead it was Fernando Alonso who was just two thousandths of a second away from Ferrari's first pole position since the final race of 2008. Felipe Massa, who took that pole, will line up 3rd though he was half a second off his Spanish team mate. McLaren were not in the hunt, Jenson Button edging out Lewis Hamilton by a tenth and both men will occupy the third row of the grid. Robert Kubica was 7th, impressive as the Renault still has no F-Duct. Rubens Barrichello was 8th and is still beaming after his exploits on the TV show Top Gear. Nico Hulkenberg joins Nico Rosberg on row 5 with Michael Schumacher 11th after missing Q3 by 8 thousandths of a second

It was a bad day for Force India. After early promise this weekend, it was a Saturday that started badly and got worse. Adrian Sutil needed a new gearbox after a driveshaft problem in morning practice so was already on the backfoot with no qualifying setup work and a five place penalty. This showed as the local driver struggled with rear end stability and he will start 19th. Vitantonio Liuzzi didn't even make Q2 after a crash early on. He was wide out of the final corner and the astroturf was quite wet and he was spun across the track and into the pitwall. A strategic option open to the Italian tomorrow is to do what Fernando Alonso did in Monaco. Start on the soft tyre, hope there is an early safety car and pit for the harder tyre. He is considering the other main option though, which is do what Kamui Kobayashi did in Valencia. Start on the hard tyre and make one stop near the end and attack on fresh tyres.

This could work as the field may get rid of the soft tyres early. If Liuzzi can get good track position then the field spread could help him get in the points. A badly timed safety car could scupper this though. Strategy is interesting as the soft tyres are holding up better than expected and the lack of heat has meant the hard tyres are taking a few laps to get up to full performance. So i think the front drivers will want to stay on the soft tyres until they are really going quite badly off as the hard tyre may leave them vulnerable on their out lap. It could well be warmer tomorrow though with the chance of rain low. The top ten will also have put their tyres through at least 3 laps already. It's a short run to turn 1 so expect little change. Further back it could get messy. The McLarens will be a threat on the run to the hairpin as they were the fastest cars in a straight line today. Mark Webber may have to be on the defensive.

A word for Jarno Trulli today. The Italian has had so many car problems at Lotus this season but really shone today, qualifying within a second of Jaime Alguersuari. Bruno Senna was only two tenths from the Virgin of Timo Glock though he had gearbox issues and has taken a penalty for a new one. Still impressive when you consider that the HRT car has had only two updates all season. Lucas di Grassi failed to set a time in qualifying, also suffering with gearbox issues.

So it promises to be another fascinating race tomorrow. Red Bull have the pole position slot again but Ferrari and McLaren may well have the race pace to make it a real contest for the victory. Tyre management could be crucial and this is something that Alonso has been good at so he will be looking for a second victory of the season to boost his championship chances. We've seen many punctures recently from small contact so everyone will be desperate to avoid those as well. It's a good track though so we should see plenty of action. Look out for the Force India drivers making their way through the field. Race start is 1pm BST and i'll be tweeting my thoughts during the race. Who do you think will win? Vote or comment

Rainy Hockenheim set for intriguing weekend

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

Three hours of practice today in Germany proved to be an entertaining spectacle as we witnessed the drivers battling the differing conditions with all types of tyres. The morning dawned dark and wet and for the first hour of the opening session it was full wets on show before the switch to intermediates for the closing stages. The second session began with a dry line now showing and while spots of rain threatened, the heavy showers forecast did not arrive until half an hour after the chequered flag was waved. We had plenty of spins and offs for the drivers and the most notable of these was Lewis Hamilton who did substantial damage to his McLaren at turn 3. The English driver said that upshifting from 3rd to 4th gear had caused unusually big wheelspin and the car snapped away from him. Th front took the impact which then pitched the rear into the barriers. A costly impact as he only got 12 minutes of running in the second session.

Adrian Sutil again showed his wet weather capabilities by topping the first session but it was Fernando ALonso who finished the day quickest. The other Ferrari of Felipe Massa also had good pace, though the Brazilian had many trips across run off areas and gravel traps. Ferrari believe that they have had a car capable of competing at the front for since Valencia but things have conspired against them. They really need to have a good weekend or else Alonso will start to see his championship hopes fade. The Italian team may try and use the retarded ignition tomorrow in Q3 that Red Bull have been using in order to compete for pole position. Red Bull did quite a bit of running in the wet conditions and looked competitive in all conditions, always amongst the front runners. Sebastian Vettel had a narrow miss with the barriers after a trip wide at turn 12 but there were no other major drama's.

Image courtesy of www.renaultf1.com

Jenson Button seem unhappy with the setup of his car in the morning and had unspectacular pace through the afternoon. There can't be too much read into the times because the session had such mixed conditions and the track will be washed clean again this evening so it will be another slippery day in prospect tomorrow. Rain is certainly possible, it is quite a fluid situation and one that will need to be watched closely. This is just one of many elements that could give us a fantastic race on Sunday. The rain means that the track will not have much rubber and so tyre degradation will be higher than usual. The tyre compounds will make strategy difficult. In theory the soft tyre will be the one needed for the qualifying time but will drop off early in the race. However the hard tyre is taking 3-4 laps to get up to full performance so getting a quick outlap will be difficult and you could be vulnerable to attack. However this tyre will likely be able to do the whole race.

A more aggressive strategy is feasible at this circuit as overtaking is very possible into the low speed hairpin so we may see a fair of variation, similar to what occurred in Montreal. Another factor is the short lap time. The fastest lap today was under 77 seconds so backmarkers could also have an influence. All these variants really could give us another thriller in this fantastic season. Williams and Force India could be best placed to threaten the top four teams. Renault may struggle more this weekend without a F-Duct. The French team plan to have one on their car for the Belgian Grand Prix

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

The forecasts are mixed for tomorrow, certainly the chance of rain is there. It is a matter of timing and a big challenge for the teams. They have 4 sets of intermediates and 3 sets of wet tyres available and all will have used up 1 set of each already so managing this could yet be key. Malaysia showed how even the best teams can be caught out so we could get an action packed session. Red Bull will be favourites but Fernando Alonso will be looking to re-ignite his championship hopes.

Webber takes win but friction remains

It was another enertaining Sunday afternoon in the 2010 F1 season as Mark Webber struck back from his Valencia flip and component controversy of yesterday to take a 3rd win of the season. He passed Sebastian Vettel off the line as both he and Fernando Alonso had poor starts, surprisingly so as they were starting on the clean side of the grid. Lewis Hmailton repeated his 2008 launch and going into Copse had the slightest bit of contact with Vettel. The German was fighting to get back at Webber but the Australian made sure he wasn't coming through and Vettel took to the run off area. He started to fight his car and the puncture sent him flying off the road into Becketts. Meanwhile Felipe Massa was getting rather over zealous with Fernando Alonso as he hit him and then stuck him onto the grass coming onto the Hangar straight. Massa had a puncture and limped back to the pits. Jenson Button made places through the lap and jumped to 8th.

Webber was pulling away bit by bit from Hamilton while another quick starter, Robert Kubica, was holding the field up. Another surprise though was the tyres. Usually it is a case of pitting and getting a quick lap in but perhaps with the slower pace the tyres were retaining performance. Nico Rosberg and Button were especially able to stay out and make progress. Ferrari's day then got worse as Alonso made a move on Kubica into Vale. Alonso took to the run off and cut the corner but maintained position. Both drivers pleaded their respective cases on the radio and Charlie Whiting ordered Alonso to let Kubica back through. However the Polish driver had a differential problem so was slowing towards retirement. Instead of losing the position and a few seconds, Alonso had a drive through penalty. The negative effect of this was compounded when the safety car was deployed soon after.

Adrian Sutil tagged the back of Pedro de la Rosa down the main straight in attempting to overtake. The Sauber lost pieces there and down Hangar straight. This threw Vettel a lifeline. It appeared he was driving conservatively early on. Perhaps the thinking was that they weren't going to score and should save the car for a situation like this. On the resumption of racing he was on the attack and made several moves, including on Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Michael Schumacher and eventually on Adrian Sutil by barging past his fellow countryman which left the Force India driver unimpressed.

A miserable and pointless weekend for Ferrari was completed by a spin for Massa and a puncture for Alonso from contact with Vitantonio Liuzzi. I felt Massa was a bit wild on the opening lap. I think Alonso was unlucky the way the penalty situation played out. By staying ahead of Kubica, he took a calculated risk that he would get away with the overtake. He should have let the Renault back in front as he only got passed by cuting the corner. In a way this shows the pressure that the Spaniard is under and perhaps his decision making was affected by this. We seen something similiar in the French grand prix 2 years ago when Hamilton after a DNF and starting near the back performed a similiar move on Vettel and ended up losing out more than if he had yielded earlier.

Webber had a great turn of pace as the fuel levels dropped and he cruised home to take victory. The post race antics were perhaps more interesting as he told Christian Horner that he hadn't done 'bad for a number 2 driver'. He then said afterwards in the press conference that he wouldn't have signed his contract extension if he knew that a situation like yesterday had occurred and wants talks with the management tomorrow. The media love this kind of thing and making the most of it but Red Bull brought it on themselves with the front wing decision.

So we move onto a double header in 2 weeks and i'm really looking forward to Germany, a track which is really well designed and usually produces plenty of overtaking and action so it should produce more good racing. The Silverstone layout produced more action than i thought it would, particularly Brooklands which i thought would be too quick but the long straight really helped so that was good. Red Bull have their internal issues, McLaren need the new package working quickly and Ferrari need to produce their best. Can Alonso show the spirit and fight of 2006? Roll on 2 weeks

Beyond the Bars: What's Next for Marlboro's Sponsorship of Ferrari?

This article is by Doug Pierce from RaceFansTV and he looks at the recent controversy surrounding Marlboro and Ferrari
  
F1 sponsorship as a promotional tool for tobacco companies was thought to have come to the end of the road. Since the 2007 season, no teams have explicitly shown tobacco advertising – including cars, apparel, equipment, and track signage. With the EU-wide ban on tobacco advertising in effect, many tobacco sponsors withdrew as they figured they would not get their money worth with the limited exposure their sponsorship now provides. One company, Philip Morris International, however, entered into a $1 billion relationship for 2005-2011 with Ferrari, now the last team left with a sponsorship contract from a tobacco company.
 
Like all other teams, Ferrari ceased putting a tobacco sponsor’s logo on its car and elsewhere. The official team name, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, and the color red would remain. To replace the spot where the Marlboro logo once was, a tripartite red-and-black barcode adorned the team.
 
By 2010, anti-tobacco activists were in a furor at what they saw was subliminal advertising. They claimed the team's barcode and color red evoked the sponsor – Marlboro – in everything but actual type. Leading doctors demanded an immediate government inquiry into the matter. Could a barcode really induce people to smoke?
 
In May 2010, while still maintaining such claims as "groundless allegations", Ferrari gave in to public pressure and scrubbed clean the barcode. Far from ending the relationship – the team had been sponsored by Marlboro since 1984 and as title sponsor beginning in 1997 – Marlboro told reporters it plans on renewing its contract.
 
The truth is that the Marlboro brand association with Ferrari is so strong, so enduring in the minds of those that even not involved in the motorsports community, that with or without a logo people will still associate the aura of the team and car with Marlboro cigarettes. It doesn't matter what Marlboro does next, as just seeing a red Ferrari car brings that association to mind. The reason Marlboro continues its sponsorship is because it gets right of first refusal to block other advertisers from moving in on its empty red space and building their own associations. Martin Lindstrom, a neuro-marketing expert who conducted a multimillion-dollar research project that exposed 2,000 consumers to branding materials while scanning their brains, explains, "Even though [tobacco] sponsorship is no longer legal, we carried out experiments just showing a Formula One car, and people immediately craved cigarettes

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Red Bull remain fast but fragile

It was 7 out of 7 for Red Bull this afternoon in Turkey as Mark Webber took his 3rd consecutive pole position. Lewis Hamilton was 2nd in a strong showing with Sebastian Vettel 3rd after problems in Q3. Jenson Button was just behind the German and was 1 of several drivers who abandoned their last laps after Michael Schumacher spun at turn 8 on his last lap. The Mercedes driver wrecked his tyres but as he set his fastest lap on another set of tyres he will be able to use them for the first stint tomorrow. He starts 5th alongside Nico Rosberg. Felipe Massa is in a Renault sandwich in 8th while Kamui Kobayashi impressed in getting tenth though he was limited in Q3 as he only had 1 new set of soft tyres left to use. It was a bad day for Ferrari with Fernando Alonso only qualifying 12th. He had a spin on the first flying lap of his final run and was slightly up on his final attempt but with the track temperature in the 40's the tyres were giving up in the twisty final section and he lost time. Ferrari will need a better day tomorrow in their 800th grand prix.

The casualty of Q1 was, not for the first time this season, Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian ran with the teams new F-Duct device unlike team mate Adrian Sutil who was not comfortable with it after limited running in practice. Liuzzi had a shocker though, way off the pace and going out with a wimper. He complained of having little rear end grip but the team were not happy with this performance and the pressure is on with Paul Di Resta an available option to the team. Vijay Mallya has put a lot of trust in Liuzzi who has been with the team since it's beginnings but patience could begin to wear thin if this form continues. Lotus were leading the way in the B-class with Jarno Trulli just 1.4 seconds off the Force India. Timo Glock wasn't far behind but team mate Lucas Di Grassi was beaten by Bruno Senna in the HRT. The Brazilian was almost a second clear of Karun Chandhok. The Indian put the big difference down to straight line speed issues and staying on the hard tyres.

It was certainly eventful for Red Bull, on and off the track. After deciding not to run their new F-Duct system for the remainder of the weekend, the team ran a different wing on Vettel's car. However, Webbers only arrived on Turkish soil 30 minutes before the start of Q1. A quick drive to the track and the wing was fitted on in time for Webber. Vettel cruised through the first 2 sessions and was set to take provisional pole in his first run but locked up at turn 12 and ran wide at turn 14. He was 0.5secs slower than Webber in S3. In his final run, he ran wide at turn 1. The problem has been identified by Red Bull as a failed anti-roll bar at the rear of the car. After Webber's engine failure on Friday and throttle linkage problems in morning practice, it shows that Red Bull's title aspirations could be hindered by unreliabilty. Vettel probably would have been on pole if it hadn't been for the problem and he seem very frustrated in the press conference. We also had a little insight into the team when Mark Webber commented that he went out before Vettel at the end when he should have been the last to go. Perhaps this was because they were assessing Vettels car. It turned out well for Webber as he avoided the yellow flags for Schumachers spin.

Things certainly didn't go to plan for Ferrari as they qualified 8th and 12th. Fernando Alonso reported no problems, syaing that the spin he had made no difference and that the car was on the limit. The gaps were small but even so Massa was not near the battle for pole position on a track he goes well on. Alonso has a free choice of tyres tomorrow so he can either go on softs and try to make early progress or go for the harder compound and try and run a long first stint. A safety car period is not improbable but unlikely. The Ferrari is kind to its tyres and the team usually run better in race trim than in qualifying. If we get hot conditions like Friday for the race then this could be to the benefit of Massa and Alonso.

So is Mark Webber on for another victory or can Lewis Hamilton get in on the winning act? The run to turn 1 is relatively short and we've seen incidents in the past. Hamilton is on the dirty side of the grid so it may be difficult for him. However in the GP2 race earlier, the person starting 2nd was first into turn 1. In terms of the on track battle the strength for McLaren is its speed down the back straight whereas the Red Bull is supreme through turn 8. Jenson Button said that he was running a low ride height so it may be tricky for him early in the race on full tanks. If the McLarens want to get past they need to be close coming out of turn 10 but that will be difficult with the advantage the Bulls have in turn 8. McLaren best chance may be toward the end of the race though whether they're in a position to attack at that stage remains to be seen. Tyre strategy is expected to be the normal 1 stopper though this is a stressful track for the tyres so those who switch early may struggle in the closing stages. A 2 stopper is an option but will need track position and probably overtaking to make it happen. Could Hamilton try it? Perhaps as he is the quickest man in a straight line this weekend, it would certainly be fascinating to see but i still expect the 1 stop option to be the choice for the majority of the field.

It should be a good race as Hamilton looks for his first win of the season and Vettel aims to bounce back from his recent difficulties. Will Renault turn a strong qualifying into a double points finish and can Fernando Alonso haul his prancing horse up the order in Ferrari's 800th Grand Prix. The race starts at 1pm BST with dry conditions expected. Check out my twitter page throughout the race for updates and views as the 58 laps unfold.

Schumacher's pass: Legal or not?

The major talking point to arise from Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix was an incident right at the final corner of the final lap when Michael Schumacher dived up the inisde of Fernando Alonso to take 6th position. This was after the safety car had been deployed but pulled in on the final lap. 3 hours after the race the stewards decided to penalise the German 20 seconds, dropping him out of the points.

The fact that the decision took that long is an indicator in itself of how difficult interpreting the regulations are and the case that both sides had. Lets look at the key regulations involved.

40) SAFETY CAR
40.4 When the order is given to deploy the safety car the message "SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED" will be displayed on the timing monitors and all marshal's posts will display waved yellow flags and "SC" boards for the duration of the intervention.

40.11 When the clerk of the course decides it is safe to call in the safety car the message "SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP" will be displayed on the timing monitors and the car's orange lights will be extinguished This will be the signal to the teams and drivers that it will be entering the pit lane at the end of that lap.

As the safety car is approaching the pit entry the yellow flags and SC boards will be withdrawn and replaced by waved green flags with green lights at the Line. These will be displayed until the last car crosses the Line.

40.13 If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.

This season, racing can begin from the first safety car line which is usually around the pit entry area. Ferrari, as well as the other teams active in the race, did not think however that there would be overtaking on the last lap as they believed that 40.13 was in effect. There interpretation of the rules were that as the safety car had began the final lap on track, this meant that 40.13 was now in effect. Ross Brawn felt that because the safety car had been called in, that meant that the race was back on from the first safety car line to the finish.



The other issue in this is the green flags that were waving as well as the electronic boards flashing green after the first safety car line. These are usually used to indicate the track is clear and prohibitions under previous yellow flags are now gone. If 40.13 was in force, as the stewards decided it was, should we have had yellow flags and SC boards out until the end of the race. This was the case when the 2009 Australain Grand Prix finished under similiar conditions. However in the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, green flags are waving after the safety car pulls in but before the finish line which used to be the point where racing resumed so there is certainly an area of inconsistency. An important point however is that Schumacher did not suddenly start racing when he saw the green flags. He was already on the lookout for any opportunities before they came into play.

This is something i've found hard to call myself. At the time of watching the race I didn't even know about 40.13 and felt that Schumacher's overtake was legit. I can see how Ross Brawn is seing the situation in terms of the safety car being pulled in. I believe that this was just a procedural move by Race Control. The 40.13 article really can only apply if the safety car starts the final lap as it will never pull off the track at halfway, it will always pull off at the pit entry. It could have been a bit clearer and Schumacher was unfortunate to lose all his points. However i feel article 40.13 intercedes against the other key articles and therefore no overtaking should be allowed and the decision to penalise Schuamcher was correct. Hopefully there will now be at least more clarity to the issue surrounding safety car restarts.

There was inconsistency though. If safety car conditions applied then I feel we should have remained with yellow flags and safety car boards. We could have had a message from race control saying no overtaking to the line but they would argue its the responsibilty of the teams to know the regualtions. Mercedes are appealing the decision but can't appeal the actual penalty. Through all of this, Alonso and Schumacher had good drives. The German has improved at the European races. For Alonso, he is still firmly in the championship hunt

Barcelona Qualifying: Red Bull emphatically take front row

Saturday's qualifying session in Cataluyna was simply dominated this afternoon by Red Bull Racing with Mark Webber taking pole by a tenth of a second from Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton was third for Mclaren, over three quarters of a second behind Webber. Fernando Alonso beat the other McLaren of Jenson Button to 4th while the other world champion on the grid Michael Schumacher came in 6th, outqualifying Nico Rosberg, who was 8th, for the first time this season. Robert Kubica impressively sandwiched the Silver Arrows as well as beating Felipe Massa, the man he is rumoured to be replacing at Ferrari in 2011. Kamui Kobayashi was 10th, impressing in getting his Sauber into Q3.

The Red Bull one lap pace was mega, both drivers cruised through the first 2 sessions on the hard compound tyre and nothing much changed in Q3 when the soft compound, which everyone in Q3 used, was fitted. With Webber showing strong pace on a long stint on Friday, the Red Bull is clearly the fastest car on the grid at this present time. The start may well determine the outcome, barring the intervention of rain, as the agreement is that the man in front has first call on pit strategy. McLaren seem to be Red Bull's main challengers. Lewis Hamilton's only hope in dry conditions tomorrow is likely to be the start where if he can get past at least one of the Red Bulls would be able to maintain track position due to McLarens straight line speed advantage.

Fernando Alonso cheered the home crowd with 4th, making use of the cars F-Duct and convincingly beating team mate Massa. The Brazilian seemed downbeat with his performance, concerned that he had been unable to find the right balanace with the F10. Alonso had an eventful qualifying with much focus on him working in the cockpit, where he used the back of his left hand to operate the F-Duct in addition to using his right hand to adjust the brake bias. There was also drama early in Q3 when he drove out of the garage and nearly collided with Nico Rosberg who was unhappy with the incident. Ferrari were fined $20,000 for an unsafe release. Rosberg has been slower than Michael Schumacher all weekend and seemed slightly frustrated by the changes to the Mercedes saying he felt they were a step back. He vented frustration at the near miss with Alonso over the team radio and seem to be expressing his views with Schumacher after the session.

Robert Kubica impressed again for Renault with an excellent 7th and Sauber's improvements were displayed with Kamui Kobayashi's impressive 10th. However it was a bad day for Williams with Rubens Barichello going out in Q1 and declaring that the teams upgrades had not worked. Vitaly Petrov will start 19th after taking a gearbox penalty. The Russian caught a wet kerb at turn 4 in morning practice and spun off into the barrier causing significant damage. Both Virgin drivers will take penalties after the team failed to inform the FIA of it's gear ratio selections in time. Karun Chandok beat Bruno Senna in the HRT battle but will also take a gearbox penalty. Senna's lap time was only 6 tenths of a second quicker than the pole time set in the GP2 series on Friday.

The latest weather updates is showing rain moving in across the afternoon. The radar images would seem to show that the chance of rain is still small and if it does arrive it will likely be light. However, both McLaren and Red Bull believe there will be rain in the second half of the race tomorrow. Wet conditions could well be the only thing to hamper Red Bull's victory chances tomorrow. Check my Twitter in the morning for an update on the weather as well as live updates and views throughout the race with post-race analaysis here on the blog. Feel free to comment and offer your views on tomorrows race as well. Start time is 1300 BST

Friday in Barcelona: Vettel is fast, wary and warned

A mixture of sunshine and clouds greeted the drivers during running today at the Circuit de Cataluyna as both 90 minute sessions were run in dry conditions. A 1-2 for McLaren in the first session was followed by Red Bull domination in the second session with Sebastian Vettel on top of the timesheets.

Red Bull and McLaren seem to be the two teams most likely to be battling for the front row tomorrow. Behind them was the most fascinating points of the day as Mercedes raft of changes seem to bring benefit to Michael Schumacher who was 3rd in both sessions and Ferrari, who spent a lot of time concentrating on evaluating their cars running with and without the F-Duct system. Of course, for Mercedes and Schumacher the acid test of their pace will come tomorrow but certainly Schumacher seemed more at ease with the car and that should breed both confidence and speed. Ferrari seem reasonably happy with their F-Duct and looks set to use it for the whole weekend. The car looked a bit loose at times and they will want to nail the balance of the car before the start of qualifying tomorrow.

It was a bad day for Nico Hulkenberg who dropped the car on the exit of turn 9, heading across the track and into the barrier. This caused a delay though for Williams it is only Rubens Barichello with an updated car this weekend. Jaime Alguersuari stopped near the end of the second session. Sauber had gearbox problems with Pedro De La Rosa but they were pleased with the progress they had made with their F-Duct. They have Burger King as a new sponsor. Jarno Trulli was delighted with the improvements Lotus had made and said there was more to come. Christian Klien got his superlicense 10 minutes before first practice and drove Karun Chandok's car, lapping half a second faster than Bruno Senna. Virgin had their new car in the hands of Timo Glock and despite his slow pace, Nick Wirth is confident that there is much more to come from the new chassis.

There were other stories doing the rounds today. These included Pirelli making an offer to be sole tyre supplier from 2011. Michelin and Avon have also expressed an interest with the French manufacturer seemingly favourite to take over the role though it prefers being joined by another company in suppling tyres. There hasn't been a tyre war in F1 since 2006. The teams have been told that any one off changes to the qualifying format for Monaco can only be made with the agreement of them all. There are fears that traffic could be a major problem in the principality next weekend. Apparently Charlie Whiting made it clear in Fridays drivers briefing that he was unimpressed with Sebastian Vettel's squeezing of Lewis Hamilton in the pitlane in Shanghai and that anyone repeating it would face more than a reprimand. He said that cars side by side in the pitlane would be fine providing the track was wide enough and both drivers gave space to each other

Tomorrow could well be the crunch day with grid position being so particularly important in Barcelona. Rain is forecast overnight, hence washing the track clean and though Practice tomorrow may be in damp conditions, it should be a dry qualifying session which Red Bull will enter as strong favourites although Vettel remains wary of McLaren's true pace. The current weather situation for Sunday is for rain to arrive at 4pm local time which would be after the race. Its been 14 years since a wet Spanish Grand Prix. For UK readers, the BBC's coverage will be only on BBCi and online for the first 30 minutes before BBC1 starts its coverage 15 minutes before the start of the qualifying session. Follow the blog and my Twitter for updates throughout the weekend