Hamilton supreme in Chinese classic

Another thrilling race in Shanghai as Lewis Hamilton ended Sebastian Vettel's winning run with a late race charge...

Hamilton soars as Button loses out: Jenson Button had a good start and was holding the lead ok in the first stint. Of course with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel close behind the timing of the first pitstop was key. McLaren ended up running a 3 stop strategy on both cars but the initial plan was to 2 stop. The team came out for Button on lap 14 but he didn't come in until the next lap. He then made a terrible error by pulling into the Red Bull box. That cost both him and Vettel time. One possible theory (and this is simply guesswork!) is that Button was trying to stay out for as long as possible to make a 2 stop work better but that the team, having seen others behind pit, were reacting to the pace of the likes of Rosberg and changing to a 3 stopper because of the speed of other cars. So perhaps there was quite a bit of radio conversation and who knows amidst the busy nature of racing in 2011 maybe Jenson got distracted at the key moment in the pitlane. His pace was subdued after that and he would eventually get outdone by Hamilton.

Indeed Hamilton had been compromised because he had to wait an extra lap to pit and fell back on worn tyres, being overtaken by Vettel and Felipe Massa in consecutive laps. However his second stint was better, aided by a fresh set of options he had saved. It was interesting that a week on from Malaysia he had made such an effort to do so and it was clear after qualifying that tyres were on his mind and that he had deliberately plotted a strategy designed to maximise his race performance. Going for the extra stop really played better into his more attacking style and into the final stint he was back in the hunt and did a clean job of taking the cars ahead for a great victory.

Vettel's streak broken as Webber fights back: Red Bull ended up with 2 cars on the podium yet the fact that disappointment was felt by the team shows how far they've come. Vettel got a poor start but recovered positions at the first stop to find himself behind Nico Rosberg. Red Bull went for a 2 stop strategy and although it turned out to be the wrong decision there wasn't much in it. Having done 15 laps in the race in his qualifying tyres, he only managed a 17 lap stint in the middle of the race. That left him 24 laps on the primes and it proved to be slightly too much to hold off Hamilton. One mistake i did feel Red Bull made was sending the German out for a second run in Q3 when it was pretty clear that pole position was in the bag. Easy to say with hindsight but Vettel's first run was a good one and he would have not eeked out much more time even if it had been needed. In previous seasons this would not have been a big deal but it seems that putting a heat cycle into these Pirelli tyres really does take some life out of them if they are then reused. Expect quieter qualifying sessions with the current circumstances.

On Saturday evening i was pondering the future of Mark Webber. Out in Q1, the 2 junior Red Bull drivers doing brilliantly in making the top 10 and a bit of pressure was building even at this early stage of 2011. Would he let his head drop or fight back? Sunday showed it was the latter as he come from 18th to take a superb podium. Qualifying was a poor show, he only used the prime tyres and the car seem fine. If it had not been surely they would have given him some options. Why they didn't give him more laps at least was bizarre from the team. Anyway his pace on Sunday was mighty and showed that the RB7 is still the quickest out there. There were some conflicting reports about whether he had his KERS working or not. The actual details were that it worked until lap 24. He actually could have remarkably beaten Vettel because he had an off early in the race which cost him around 4 seconds so without that he probably would have caught his team mate late on. We also seen from his race that using the prime tyre early could be a good tactic this year. If we get an early safety car at some races i can envisage drivers pitting to get rid of it or even pitting for it and pitting again a lap later just so they can get it out of the way.

Felipe finds some form: Felipe Massa was unhappy after the race. This is good though because rather than the mentality of "i beat Fernando, that'll do" it was a case of him wanting more from the afternoon. His pace was good for a 2 stopper and i felt that was the right approach from Ferrari because they didn't have the pace to the teams in front so it was worthwhile trying something different. Unfortunately for the Brazilian track position is not as important this year and he was caught by a few drivers late on. Still it was nice to see him in the mix and battling with the drivers at the front Not much to say on Alonso's race, the Spaniard didn't seem quick throughout and limped home a frustrated 7th.

F1 changes a roaring success: It really was a tremendous race and credit to Pirelli who seem have got it right with the tyres. The DRS system is making for much more close action. Some say it has made passing too easy. My response to that is that some of the overtakes are indeed 'simple' but for those few easy passes you get lots of good one's and good battles. It also created moves in other places. For example Hamilton was able to get close to Button with DRS which allowed him a chance of passing into turn 1. In my opinion we are much better with racing like this than than what we have witnessed in some other seasons. Remember we were at a circuit which has seen little overtaking in dry races. It also helps more variable strategies become viable. On Sunday we got over 80 overtakes and the whole race was absorbing and thrilling. A peak audience of 5 million in the UK says a lot as well.

There is some talk that in Turkey we could have 2 DRS zones, perhaps with just 1 activation zone. So say we had zone's on the back and pit straights. There would be an activation point before the first one and if you are within a second of another car you can then use your DRS in the 2 zones for that particular lap. Now i think that would be too much and is unneeded unless it is a case of having the zones made shorter. So rather than one big (800 metre) gain in the lap you could make two smaller (400 metre) gains. This could eliminate the 'easy' overtakes but still allow cars to get close. The FIA may trial this in Istanbul. Another way could be giving the drivers a finite amount to use it during the race but this doesn't seem to be in the pipeline for now anyway. i think it is feasible and certainly feel it would be a great way to make the KERS more tactical at least.

McLaren under pressure to deliver

In the past 10 years, McLaren have had many great drivers of the 21st century driving their cars. Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have all passed through the doors of the Technology Centre in Woking, a superb factory with excellent facilities. Built through the strength of McLaren's history and their brand value which today sees them placed as one of the biggest names in Formula 1 with sponsorship from the likes of Vodafone. Yet in this past decade they have seen a drinks company win twice as many championships as them, Ferrari cement their place as the sport's most successful team and only have Lewis Hamilton's 2008 drivers title as a show of achievement.

A sensationalised opening paragraph but one designed to trigger some thinking over what McLaren have done in recent seasons. We almost expect the silver and rocket red cars to be in the mix come the season opener yet for all the might they have possessed they have actually underachieved. With two world champions in the cockpits at present they have drivers capable of winning and certainly hungry to do so. Yet 2010 seen a promising opening half of the season eventually fade away as they found themselves out-developed by Red Bull and Ferrari.



Jenson Button is a very relaxed man these days after taking the title in 2009 but remains determined. However he is now into his thirties and seems very happy in the McLaren environment and may well be content to finish his career with the team. It's well known that Lewis Hamilton has been with McLaren for most of his life, let alone his career. However he is a man used to winning throughout that career and since the drama of Interlagos in 2008 he has rarely had a race winning car at his disposal. When he has had the opportunity to win he has usually taken it. Hamilton has shown in these past 2 years that his raw speed and ability to drive a car to the limit is clear.

Would he really leave McLaren? It seems hard to imagine in the colours of any other team on the grid. Without his Father at his side trackside this year Lewis became more independent in race weekends and certainly showed plenty of frustration in the heat of the moment such as Melbourne and Monaco when he disagreed with the tactics of his team. The Finnish website Turun Sanomat, well known for good connections within the McLaren team, even went as far to suggesting that Hamilton was on the brink of walking out on the team. I find that a bit far fetched to believe, they say things boiled up after the summer break but of course Lewis had a great win at Spa and the gesture of taking his whole team out bowling in Japan does not seem to suggest a driver totally at odds with his team.



However should 2011 not involve race wins the picture could change. McLaren have taken a radical approach to their 2011 car, something which was needed because the MP4-25 struggled on many tracks. Testing has seen many reliability issues and whilst times are hard to read it has been said by many watching in the cars in Spain that the car looks hard work to drive. Early days but for now Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be more solid and quicker with their evolutionary cars. Hamilton is contracted to the end of 2012 but whether the potential of an open seat at either of those 2 teams would tempt the British driver remains to be seen.

McLaren really need to get things together though. The resources are there and so are the drivers. It's a fierce battle between the teams but McLaren need to deliver a machine because if they do they have 2 men who can produce the goods and a pitwall which showed many times that it is one of the best when it comes to the operational side of things as well as strategy, something which could be key. Button has shown this trait as well and his smooth driving style could pay dividends with the Pirelli tyres. Hamilton could revel in the more flexible strategies with his overtaking skills and showed how to put KERS to good use in 2009. A big year lies ahead for the Woking team...

Images courtesy of www.mclaren.com

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!

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.

What to watch out for on Raceday

The Weather: We'll start with the obvious. After all 4 sessions being affected by rain, the teams will have to be on high alert with their rain radars and the sky above as they try and keep tabs on any showers which may break out during the race. Tyre choice will be critical and a lot of tyre have been used up already.

La Source: 23 cars scrambling towards this tight corner should provide much activity and with all the drivers warned about taking to the run off area on the outside it may well get too tight for some...

Overtaking: Once the first corner drama has passed and depending on the order, get your eyes set to see who takes Eau Rouge well. Mark Webber is in a car which weakness is straight line speed and running on a full tank of fuel. Lewis Hamilton will want to utilise his F-Duct and make a move on the Australian. Robert Kubica is also flying on the straights and will be on the attack. Sebastian Vettel may need to beaware of Jenson Button as well.

Setups: It appears that Fernando Alonso's sluggish ace today was due to opting for a wet setup. A risk certainly if rain fails to materalise. We seen how this tactic can pay dividends in Brazil last year so Alonso, along with the Toro Rosso drivers will hope to wake up and hear the rain in the morning.

Drivers on a mission: Vitaly Petrov's qualifying lasted less than a la and was a mistake which could prove costly as his future remains in the balance. He desperately needs a strong drive tomorrow. He is helped that he can start from the pits and have free reign on setup and tyres as well as the F-Duct so watch put for him moving through the field. The Saubers and Mercedes will also be looking for progress as they find themselves behind the likes of the Lotus team.

It was a thrilling qualifying and should be an enjoyable race. Start time is 1PM UK time. Check out http://twitter.com/cmckinleyF1 for updates and views during the race

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.

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

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.

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.

Vettel wings pole position

Red Bull did what most expected them to do and took another crushing Saturday victory as Sebastian Vettel took pole position with Mark Webber again pipped into 2nd. The Australian was unhappy afterwards after it turned out that the new front wing on his car was given to his team mate after Vettel had problems in practice. Coming into Abbey the wing on the German's car came loose. Red Bull only had 2 with them so decided, based on practice times and championship standings which Vettel has the edge in both, to give the Valencia race winner the remaining new front wing. This will do little to dispel the feelings amongst some that Vettel is the favoured driver within the team. Fernando Alonso was 3rd but over half a second off pole while Lewis Hamilton declared himself delighted to have hauled his McLaren to 4th after a difficult day. Nico Rosberg was an impressive 5th, well ahead of Michael Schumacher who was 10th. Robert Kubica put his Renault 6th ahead of Felipe Massa. Rubens Barrichello continued the Williams improvement in 8th and Pedro de La Rosa was a surprise 9th.

It was a terrible qualifying for reigning world champion who ended up 14th and described his car as undrivable after feeling good in the morning. Conditions and particularly the wind was quite changable. Add in the lack of setup time and disruptive changes McLaren have had this weekend and it is perhaps not surprisng that Button, who is certainly somebody who really needs the car working to get the best out of his package, struggled to make a positive impression. He will need to pull something special off to get a good result tomorrow and it may well be a case of damage limitation.

Another man to watch out for early on is Vitantonio Liuzzi who qualified 15th but will start 20th after being penalised for what was a clear block of Nico Hulkenberg in the Becketts section. Toro Rosso were fined for a unsafe release when Jaime Alguersuari came out in front of another car. He was the main victim of Q1 while Lotus were still best of the new teams though Virgin's updates have brought them closer. HRT take up the back row with Sakon Yamamoto 4 tenths off Karun Chandhok. Will he be able to see the 52 laps out tomorrow?

Red Bull look set for a dominating display but it has looked that way before and they have failed to deliver. On a track like this, they really need to maximise the opprtunity before them. They did dominate Barcelona qualifying and Hamilton kept in Vettel's wheel tracks on raceday. Fernando Alonso will really want to get the jump on Webber at the start and the Australian will not want a repeat of his Valencia nightmare where he lost 7 positions on the opening lap. Everybody is on the soft tyre in the top ten so expect the usual early stop when there is a gap to drop into. This may differ with a safety car but they are pretty rare for Silverstone though not improbable. It could be a key swing in the championship. Can Sebastian Vettel make it 2 wins in a row. Will Jenson Button be able to charge through the field? What colour of trousers will Eddie Jordan wear on the BBC tomorrow? All will be revealed tomorrow, race start is 1pm BST

Silverstone sizzles as Senna sits on the sidelines

A sun drenched day in Northamptonshire saw an incredible 85,000 people take to the revamped Silverstone venue. McLaren had much of the support in the stands but were left with many issues as they struggled to optimise their new package while Red Bull looked strongest on a track that should be ideal for the RB6. Mark Webber ended the day on top after Sebastian Vettel led the first session. It wasn't all perfect for the Australian though as he suffered an electrical problem late in the afternoon. McLaren were off the pace and Lewis Hamilton had many trips off the circuit. He struggled particularly at the new Abbey corner, which was quite bumpy and there were lots of drivers going wide there as well as the slow speed loop section. This should be easier as the track, which started dusty, improves but the Abbey bump will remain and nailing it in Q3 will be key in the battle for pole position tomorrow.

Breaking news tonight is that McLaren will not run their new exhaust system for the rest of the weekend and that the previous spec version will be on their car for the remainder of the weekend. It a real hit to threir hopes of home glory this weekend. It looks like it should be a Red Bull domination if we have a 'normal' race. Ferrari will have blown exhausts and F-Ducts on their cars and will hope they can show the strong pace that they believe they had in Valencia but were unable to display. Mercedes had a decent run aswell though they have tended to run well on Fridays before slipping down the order. Force India seem to benefit from their SRW, especially Adrian Sutil and Williams also looked strong as they look to built on their great result in Valencia. Vitaly Petrov will be keen to be in the fight for Q3 as rumours that Kimi Raikkonen, who had a big crash in the WRC today, could replace him next year.

Virgin and Lotus both had good days with major new developments for their cars. Lotus had reliabilty issues throughout the day though, including engine and power steering problems. A lot of attention was on HRT. They dropped Bruno Senna on Thursday evening and replaced him with Sakon Yamamoto who has raced 14 times in F1 with Super Aguri and Spkyer. It seem that it was a money issue but the team announced that Senna was still part of the team. It is a bit of a mystery and a real shame for the Brazilian. He seemed unaware as the news was breaking, tweeting about going around the track with Karun Chandhok. His F1 future is certainly under some doubt for now.

So it looks set to be another Vettel/Webber battle for pole. With rain unlikely for Saturday or Sunday, the Red Bull team will feel confident of a 1-2. However this season has produced enough twists and turns to make assumptions foolish. Ferrari and McLaren will want to get amongst the action and the modfield battle will be fierce. The new layout is testing for the drivers so producing when it counts will be vital. Qualifying starts at 1pm tomorrow.

Hamilton takes pole with skill and luck

A thrilling qualifying session in Montreal seen Lewis Hamilton break the Red Bull strangehold and take pole position. His last gasp effort beat off the team who had taken all the previous poles this year as well as Fernando Alonso. However the Briton was told to stop on his in lap as he was running out of fuel and needed a litre left in the car so the stewards would have enough for a sample. Since Malaysia 2008 where Hamilton was 1 of a numer of cars to drive extremely slowly back to the pits to conserve fuel, there is a time laid down in the Friday briefing which the drivers must be within so nobody impedes other drivers or back in the days of carrying race fuel saved more fuel than their competitors. Drivers have been slower than this time in the past but got away with a reprimand and that is what Hamilton got along with a $10,000 fine. A lot of people in the paddock are frustrated with this because Hamilton effectively gained an advanatge by setting a lap on less fuel than other cars, hence being able to go quicker. I'm pretty sure this was not planned by McLaren. Hamilton did one flying lap on the soft tyres in his first run and seem set to do the same in run 2 but didn't improve. He crossed the line with seconds to spare

and continued on to do the lap which leaves him at the front for the start tomorrow.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

They key thing tomorrow is the tyres. We have the exciting prospect of splits in the tyre choices at the front with the potential for multiple stop strategies. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel will head to turn 1 on the harder compound tyres along with Robert Kubica in 8th. They could run for over half the race while the rest of the top ten may hit trouble inside the first ten laps. However the trio will have to face the soft tyre at some stage unless rain intervenes, which seems unlikely at the preesent time. Unless the track really ramps up a 2 stopper seems likely for the majority of the field. Somebody who trys to hang on with worn tyres will likely be a sitting duck out of the hairpin onto the back straight. Safety car deployments could dictate the timing of stops as even if pitting is not in the ideal window, retaining track position will be more important. Red Bull really should get it early on but then they need the gap to make it work and hang on at the end on the soft tyre. They need as short a stint as possible on those. A Saftey car could also mean the Red Bull's having to stack in the pits so Vettel will want to get ahead though without the consequences of Turkey.

I posted earlier in the week about Vitantonio Liuzzi's need to get a good result this weekend and he is well on his way after a brilliant 6th for Force India who again showed their liking for the low downforce tracks. The Italian had a new chassis and the post qualifying press release certainly showed the teams pleasure at Liuzzi finding the speed to get a career best Saturday result. Team mate Adrian Sutil was 9th. His fellow countrymen at Mercedes at an awful Saturday. Nico Rosberg was only tenth after little running in the morning with a clutch issue while Michael Schumacher was a dismal 13th. The 7 time world champion blamed a lack of grip for his surprising Q2 exit. Kamui Kobayashi was the main Q1 casualty, way off making it through and only beating Heikki Kovalainen by 2 tenths as the Finn again excelled in the Lotus.

Image courtesy of www.forceindiaf1.com

So the rain threat may be low but the Canadian Grand Prix doesn't need rain to provide a good show. Lewis Hmailton on pole, 2 Red Bull's behind who have no qualms about racing each other, Fernando Alonso looking to make the podium and Jenson Button who has alway proved this season to be the calm man amongst F1's most stormy races. It's going to be unpredictable, we could have pitstops on lap 1, people hanging on at the end and perhaps going into the now famous fuel saving mode and if a 3rd Mercedes appears? Well that'll just bunch them all up again. Lovely

Drivers fight against the grain

The opening 2 practice sessions in Montreal were a sluggish affair with a track lacking grip and hurting tyres meant that the running order was difficult to assess. Sebastian Vettel ended the day on top of the timesheets but the main talking point was the graining suffered by the teams, especially with the rear tyres. Lewis Hamilton described conditions like driving on an ice rink, Karun Chandhok said it was slippier than Monaco and Heikki Kovalainen compared the circuit to a rally stage in his native Finland. Graining is when the small bits of rubber and marbles build up on the surface of the tyre. This means less mechancial grip and more sliding.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

The issue was especially apparent on the softer tyres and this is probably going to be the best tyre for qualifying so the top ten have the problem of coping on these tyres in the early stages of the race. McLaren looked the best of the pack despite only coming 7th and 11th in the final standings. They seemed to run more wing than other teams and this meant more downforce in the corners while their F-Duct kept them on par in the straight line speed stakes. This could be a vital factor if it is wet on Sunday. Setup compromise's could be needed between a potentially dry qualifying and wet race.

Image courtesy of http://www.mercedes-gp.com/

Many drivers had off's, especially taking a trip across the grass at turn 8 but nobody hit any walls, though Hamilton and Vettel gave them a close run. Saturday and Sunday shouuld be fascinating dry or wet, there are so many challenges facing the teams and pulling a win off here will be a major coup for one driver. Ferrari could be back in with their ability to look after the tyres but with the cool temperatures in Montreal it may be hard to get working for the one lap blast of tomorrow. Strategy will be key with the potential of people going for a 2 stopper or trying to run as little as possible on the soft tyre. Tomorrow however, the big issue is getting the lap that will give you the best chance of victory. Final practice is at 3pm BST with qualifying starting at 6pm with coverage in Britain on BBC2 and BBCi. It is currently an unclear picture, we await clearer signs tomorrow.

How the battles within are building

The aftermath of the Turkish grand prix has seen the spotlight firmly on the key personnel of Red Bull as well as the tactics and messages that were being discussed on the McLaren pitwall last Sunday. Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber collided on lap 40 before Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton banged wheels fighting for first in the closing stages. Red Bull and McLaren were clearly the fastest 2 teams in Istanbul but both of them have no clear number 1 driver with all 4 determined to take this years title.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

It's been a week of conflicting messages from Red Bull. Post race on Sunday many fans felt that Sebastian Vettel was at fault for the incident which ended his race and cost Webber a potential win. However, Christian Horner pinned blame on both drivers while advisor Helmut Marko made it clear that he felt Mark Webber had been at fault, a response that has provoked much anger and made some question whether there is favouritism towards Vettel in the team. Ex-driver Marko is good friends with Dietrich Mateschitz and looks after the Red Bull young driver programme which Vettel is the main product of. Christian Horner then issued a statement which said that things had be cleared up and that both drivers should have played things better but that the team was now looking ahead to Canada. More allegations were to come out though. What we do know is that Vettel had saved more fuel than Webber earlier in the race and Webber on lap 40 had gone into a fuel saving mode. What this means is that the engine is using a leaner mixture of fuel so using less at the expense of less performance. We also know that as Vettel moved in on Webber, he used his 'overtake' button. This isn't a push to pass button like KERS last season but rather means that Vettel would have maximum revs at his expense to aid his challenge. The teams don't run the engines at full power throughout the race but rather try to take some strain off them while optimizing power at the important moments of the race.

Webber had asked the team to back Vettel off but they couldn't do this as both Hamilton and Button were close behind. It rumoured that Horner ordered Webber's engineer to tell him to let Vettel through but this message wasn't passed on to the Australian. On paper it could be argued that Red Bull would prefer Vettel to triumph over Webber. However Webber has had the upper hand recently while Vettel's challenge has been blighted by car issues. Will his RB6 survive the Montreal mayhem next weekend? Little things have seemingly been against Webber in the pecking order like pitstop order and runs in qualifying. All could be down to circumstances, indeed i believe Vettel pitting first last Sunday put Hamilton in a catch 22 situation and forced him to cover the German, hence reducing his chances of jumping Webber. This is the biggest challenge of Horner's career in managing 2 men determined to take their best chance yet of winning the championship. Even David Coulthard refers to the importance of controlling the team rivalry before the race on the Red Bull Racing podcast. Three years ago seen the Alonso/Hamilton begin to get feisty, Red Bull can't afford their title ambitions to be ripped apart by a driver feud.

It was mostly smiles at McLaren on Sunday, as you would expect after a 1-2 but race winner Lewis Hamilton was pretty subdued. Was he trying to maintain calm with 12 races still left or was he miffed at having to fend off his team mate in the final laps? Hamilton was in fuel saving mode but his only competitor was Button who was also needing to save fuel. The teams are pushing the boundaries more in regards to how much fuel they are putting in the cars and the fierce pace in the early laps coupled with no safety car periods meant that McLaren had little margin and needed to turn the wick down. Hamilton put his dropping back to Button down to a miscommunication. Hamilton confusion and annoyance however becomes clearer after FOM released the race edit video for Turkey on the Formula 1 website. In it, a radio conversation is broadcast between Hamilton and the team before Button makes his pass. Here is what was discussed:

Team - Lewis we need you to save fuel. Both cars doing the same.

Lewis - Jenson's closing in on me you guys.

Team - Understood Lewis

Lewis - If I back off is Jenson going to pass me or not?

Team - No Lewis... No

So Hamilton clearly and rightly expected no challenge. What we don't know is what Button was told. It was Lewis who asked about Button so i would take a guess that Button had no orders to hold station and seeing the opportunity tried to take advantage. He almost did and had he made it stick, then McLaren may have had a bigger issue on their hands. They know very well what division amongst the team can do and Martin Whitmarsh needs to ensure the battles remain relatively clean like the one in Turkey.

Image courtesy of www.mclaren.com

Button leads the McLaren challenge for the time being and has confounded critics who felt he would struggle to live with Hamilton. He has greatly impressed me this season in his clever driving as well as his sheer determination in trying to win another championship. This is most definitely a man not resting on his laurels. In a way, an improving McLaren could favour him more than Hamilton. At tracks where McLaren have been off the pace this season, Hamilton has tended to fare better, more capable of driving around car issues. Yet when the McLaren is hooked up, Button is more confident and able to match the 2008 world champion. Amidst the drama of Istanbul, what we seen was a McLaren much closer to Red Bulls raw pace and if developments keep coming then the probablity of another British world champion is a good one. It is a fantastic rivalry that is building and one that is making for compelling viewing.

Hamilton victorious as Bulls go mental

Lewis Hamilton became the 5th different this season with victory at Istanbul Park. Team mate Jenson Button was 2nd giving McLaren their second 1-2 of the season. For part of the race it looked like it would be Red Bull celebrating a 1-2 but it all went wrong when on lap 40 when Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber collided on the approach to turn 12. Vettel retired on the spot while Webber had to pit for a new front wing but still made the podium. It was a thrilling 4 way battle at the front and they were well clear of the cars behind as Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg came 4th and 5th. Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa were close throughout, rubbing tyres on lap 1 and the Renault just managing to stay ahead when both drivers pitted on the same lap. Fernando Alonso's progress through the field was limited, the Spaniard started on the soft tyre but remained 12th before moving to tenth at the stops. He was on Vitaly Petrov's tail but the Russian drove a great race and was unfortunate that contact with Alonso late on gave him a puncture and put him out of the points. Adrian Sutil was 9th for Force India while Kamui Kobayashi got Sauber on the scoreboard, even trying to race Sebastien Buemi towards the end who was a lap down after a first lap puncture and was going quickly on fresh tyres.

Both McLarens suffered from starting on the dirty side of the grid but fought back on the opening lap with their F-Ducts. Hamilton made a brilliant move on Vettel into turn 3, making it stick around the outside. Meanwhile Button was all over the gearbox of Schumacher and made a clean move on the outside of turn 12. The top 4 pulled away and Hamilton was all over Webber, coming close to making a move on several laps. At Red Bull it's usually the driver in front who gets the preference on pitting but it was Vettel who pitted first. This may have been a strategic move though as it meant Hamilton had to pit on the following lap to cover Vettel so couldn't jump Webber without beating him in a straight fight between the pit crews. Hamilton had a slow stop after an issue with the left rear tyre. It's not known if it was a similiar nut issue as both cars had in Barcelona. Hamilton soon had a go at passing Vettel but went too deep into the hairpin. Hamilton described Vettel's tactics as dangerous. Then the unexpected threat of rain came into the mix. Radars showed showers were incoming and reports from nearby areas indicated it. There were some light spots but with the track temperature still at 35 degrees, it was not causing major grip issues.



With 20 laps to go, Vettel was starting to close on Webber while the McLarens were still well in touch. It was already proving to be a fantastic race but then came the major drama. Vettel came out of turn 10 and down the back straight caught his team mate. Webber left him the width of a RB6 on the inside which Vettel took. The German was moving ahead but was on the dirty side as they approache turn 12. Vettel moved right but wasn't fully ahead of the Australian who maintained his line. They touched and Vettel went spinning with a damaged right rear tyre as Webber went deep into turn 12. The cars almost collided again in the run off area as Vettel gestured furiously. He also made the mental sign when out of the car. So what was going on amongst the madness? Well firstly, on the same lap Webber had went into a fuel safe mode so that would have lost him some performance. Vettel had more fuel than his team mate at this point. On the actual overtaking attempt it was Vettel's fault. He turned into Webber and caused the collision. Webber gave him just enough space, it was hard but fair racing. The argument against Webber could be that as he was battling his team mate who was already in prime position to take the lead, he should have made the overtake easier for Vettel, thus reducing the risk of it going wrong. Vettel was ahead but will have wanted to get across the track as braking offline may have lost him the position. Senior figures in the team, including Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, seemed to side with Vettel, making the point that their drivers were racing too close. Neither Webber or Vettel apologised for the incident.

It was a dream ticket for McLaren as they took first and second but they had their own partypiece to display. Both drivers had been told to save fuel but suddenly Button closed in on Hamilton. He made a move on the outside of turn 12 and took the lead through turn 13 but going too deep compromised the World Champion into the last corner. Hamilton fought back and dived down the inside at turn 1 with slight contact and just about made it through. It was a superb battle with both drivers showing great skill. The battle cooled after that but Hamilton seemed downbeat afterwards, saying he was surprised at Button's move. Hamilton seem to think that the battle was off and that they were holding station. It was a huge result for the Woking team and the important thing here is through the drama of the day, McLaren were on Red Bull's pace. It seems they have taken a big step forward with their car. They were able to run a low ride height on Saturday yet it didn't spoil their speed on full tanks so have they been able to work out the best way of optimising the ride height of their car, as many suspected Red Bull had at the start of the season. They ran the car very stiff and this may be not possible at Montreal though it is a track they and Hamilton in particular have excelled in the past.



The championship is turning into a thriller and with Canada next, we could have another cracker on our hands. The spice is increasing also with the Webber and Vettel relationship at high tension while Button continues to show his capability against Hamilton. Ferrari had a poor weekend but Fernando Alonso says wait till Valencia and see us then. It's believed a big update for the F10 could include a rear end and exhaust system similiar to the RB6. Mercedes are solid but not quick enough to be in the championship hunt while Renault's development has been spectacular with Eric Boullier praisng Robert Kubica as a strong racer who makes no mistakes. Kubica won the last race in Canada in 2008 but Hamilton, Alonso and Schumacher also know the winning feeling there. Will Red Bull add a winner to that list? Well they need to overcome mechancial and mental fragility

Anticipation builds for Istanbul weekend

Friday at the Turkish Grand Prix saw McLaren top the timesheets in both free practice sessions which were held in blazing heat. Lewis Hamilton was quickest in the morning before Jenson Button headed the times in the afternoon, just pipping Mark Webber. The Australian pulled off before the end of the session with an engine failure. Sebastian Vettel tried out the new F-Duct device on his Red Bull and declared himself happy with his new chassis which he has named Randy Mandy. Fernando Alonso wasn't far off the front running pace in 5th but team mate Felipe Massa had issues, running wide several times at turn 8 before spinning into the gravel at the corner on his only set of soft tyres. The Brazilian got his car back to the pits but his tyres were badly damaged and he only managed 10th position. Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were less than a tenth apart in 6th and 7th with Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov 8th and 9th for Renault.

Massa was not the only driver having problems through the quadruple apex turn 8, with several drivers taking to the vast run off area on the outside of the corner. Most recovered back onto the race track but Adrain Sutil found the barriers in the closing moments of the first session. The German lost it on the third apex of the corner and did signficant damage to the front right corner of his car. He did get back out on track in second practice. Force India also tested out a F-Duct device today which is called a Switchable Rear Wing (SRW). At the back end of the field, Lotus continued to show promising pace with Heikki Kovalainen just 0.7secs off Jaime Alguersuari in the Torro Rosso. Lucas Di Grassi ran for the first time with the updated Virgin. Meanwhile at HRT, Sakon Yamamoto had his first outing for the team, taking over from Bruno Senna in the first session.

Red Bull ran the F-Duct on Sebastian Vettel's car in the first session. He operated it by using his left hand, similiar to how Ferrari used their device in Barcelona. However they have adjusted it so that the driver can now use his knee to operate it like the McLaren drivers. In the speed trap, Vettel was only going 1kph faster than Webber which would suggest that Vettel was not getting much performance from using it. Team principal Christian Horner was also unsure that the device would offer a big gain but praised the team for how quickly they had got the device onto the car. However after analysing the data the team has decided not to use it for the remainder of the weekend. Webber's engine problem cost him some running time but the lost engine only had 50km's of life left so not a major headache for the team. The Renault is not the strongest engine for overall power but tends to maintain performance over use better, is usually very reliable and has the best fuel efficiency in the field.

McLaren seem confident of a good result after strong pace today. The combination of fast corners and being able to run the MP4-25 stiff seems to bring the best out of the car. Of course, the test on this track is turn 8 and one of the challenges is that the setup required for the corner differs from what is needed on the other 13 turns. This means that engineers, as well as drivers, face a difficult challenge in getting the right compromise for car setup. Another problem for McLaren is getting one lap pace in the crucial Q3 session. This season we have seen cars do more than 1 flying lap on a run in order to get the best out of the tyres. Qualifying tomorrow may be a different challenge. If we have a repeat of the 50C track temperatures then it may be a case of getting 1 lap out of the soft tyre. We have seen people in the past lose the best of the tyres in the final sector so the balance between getting the tyres switched on but conserving enough in hand for a full lap will be a key factor tomorrow, particularly as sector 3 is the most dependant on mechancial grip.

There has been plenty of news floating about the paddock these past couple of days. The Pirelli deal which i said was done on Twitter on Tuesday is likely to be announced this weekend, with 3 compounds of dry tyres being supplied as well as an intermediate and wet choice. The speculation about the driver market had the brakes applied yesterday as Stefano Domenicalli said that Felipe Massa would probably be retained for 2011 alongside Fernando Alonso. Red Bull are hopeful of getting a new deal sorted for Mark Webber soon and insist Kimi Raikkonen is not an option. Ross Brawn says he would be happy to have the same drivers for next season and McLaren are unhappy to change their all english lineup so it looks like it could be a fairly stable market next season. In other news, Cosworth terminated their engine supply deal with USF1. I'm sure most people were confident of this fact considering the Americian outfit never made it to the grid!

So 1 more hour of practice at 9am BST followed by qualifying at 12 noon. Note that qualifying is held an hour earlier in Istanbul than the other European venues on the calendar. I expect Red Bull to show their full hand tomorrow and take another pole despite no F-Duct but can McLaren finally nail it when it matters or can Ferrari surprise in their 800th grand prix? We will find out tomorrow.

The State of Play after Round 4 (Part 1)

A 3 week break may not be welcomed by F1 fans but it will certainly be appreciated by the teams, many of whom have not been home since before Bahrain and after the disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud. The Spanish Grand Prix has become a traditional key moment in the season where we see teams upgrade their cars and try and move up the order. So who's looking good and who is in danger? Let's analyse...

Red Bull - The RB6 has generally been the fastest car so far this season. 6 front row starts have only been converted into 2 podiums however, and Red Bull may rue not taking advantage of this pace later in the season. Reliabilty failures and poor decision making on the pitwall have cost the team many points. In clean air, the car is brilliant but the lack of straightline speed has made it difficult for Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to race in the pack. Introducing a F-Duct could help this, but with the chassis now homologated it is tricky to implement to the same extent as McLaren have done. The team put a lot of resources into the 2009 campaign and they'll push hard again but the pressure will be on. Perhaps a dull Barcelona weekend is what they require.

McLaren - Fresh from a 1-2 in Shanghai, McLaren will be thrilled to be topping both championships. Martin Whitmarsh is demanding more from his troops at Woking but to have been slightly off the pace and have acheived the results they have will be encouraging. The resources Mclaren have should mean that they will, like last season, be strong in the development race. Of course in 2009 McLaren were quite a bit behind and thus had more potential to gain but nevertheless i'm explaining the team to at least be in the mix for pole at Barcelona. The F-Duct is providing a key advantage in allowing Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to overtake and this could perhaps help down the long straight at the Circuit de Catalunya. Lewis Hamilton was strong in China but overdid the tyres on his outlap in Q3 and this hindered him in taking on the Red Bull's so he will hope for a solution to this in the coming rounds.

Ferrari - The prancing horse has had a mixed start to the season, with the high of a 1-2 in Bahrain with the lows of engine failures and Q1 elimination in Malaysia. Fernando Alonso has been having eventful races but seem content for the time being to at least be a geniune championship contender again. Felipe Massa has been outpaced at times but has a decent start considering his past record at tracks like Melbourne and Shanghai. Ferrari are apparently having to put the most fuel in at the start of the races so tend to come better pacewise towards the end of races and this coupled with Alonso's tyre preservation will be a big element in how successful a season it will be for the Scuderia. As well as upgrades, Ferrari will be analysing closely the engine problems that have been plaguing them and this will be vital because too many retirements will kill off any championship chances.

Mercedes - This is the team that intrigues me the most. Ross Brawn seem to play things very shrewdly in 2009, keeping enough of an advantage to get both championships but diverting resources to the 2010 car. However when the new car was launched it certainly followed the Red Bull trend, most visually with the dip in the front nose. Michael Schumacher has had a low key return whilst Nico Rosberg has impressed with 2 podiums but the raw pace is not there and changes are afoot. The wheelbase is being increased whilst the weight distribution is being recalculated. A big factor in this is the narrower front tyres for 2010. This means less front end mechancial grip and means understeer is more likely and this has been a particular problem for Schumacher. The main executives at Mercedes expect results and Brawn will want to deliver soon or else it could be a case of changing focus to 2011. The next few races will be fascinating seeing the Silver Arrows progress