Canadian GP: Vettel fastest in second practice as tyre degrade

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June 11 '10

Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets for Red Bull at the second practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso set the second fastest time for Ferrari after managing only 7th in the morning session. His team mate Felipe Massa finished a strong fifth after setting 12th fastest time in the first practice session.

Mercedes showed superb pace as Nico Rosberg set the third fastest time, while Michael Schumacher was second in the morning session.

Some drivers improved their lap times on the super-soft tyres, but had trouble making the super-soft tyres last. Most of the drivers struggled with the super-soft tyres, which seemed to grain a lot faster. Comments on F1Fanatic suggest that the option tyres were graining too badly.

[f1fanatic_co_uk:]
Just under five minutes to go. Slow-mo shows lots of graining on Vettel's front-left tyre. #F1

[Comment From ADELAIDE F1ADELAIDE F1: ]
Excellent slow-mo on Webber's car shows massive graining... bits even flying off in chunks.

[Comment From PeterPeter: ]
look at ham he has massive graining and is about 10sec per lap slower for the last couple of laps...

[@adamcooperf1:]
Hamilton on team radio about his option tyre graining: "I'm about to crash this car!"

The tyres available for the weekend are medium (prime) and super-soft (option). Because of serious tyre graining, qualifying and race could be bit more interesting, with the top ten qualifiers having to start the race with the same set of tyres which they qualified on.

McLaren reserve driver Gary Paffet observed, ?With all the tyre graining issues people are having, we might see our first two-stop race of the season on Sunday.?

Once again Heikki Kovalainen in the Lotus was the fastest of the new team drivers in 19th and Hispania?s Karun Chandhok continued his impressive run to finish 20th, ahead of his team mate Bruno Senna and the Virgins of Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi. Jarno Trulli could only manage to complete 11 laps due to electrical problems on his Lotus.

Canadian Grand Prix free practice 2 times

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 16.877s
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 16.963s
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 17.151s
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 17.273s
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 17.401s
6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 17.415s
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 17.522s
8. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 17.529s
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 17.688s
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m 17.903s
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 17.903s
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 18.385s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m 18.447s
14. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault 1m 18.582s
15. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 18.658s
16. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 19.142s
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 19.168s
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 19.274s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 19.969s
20. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1m 20.879s
21. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 21.097s
22. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 21.346s
23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 21.488s
24. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 21.577s


Image(C) f1aldia

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/tPXTeAxQbXk/canadian-gp-vettel-fastest-in-second.html

Great Clips Toyota Parker Kligerman Steve Wallace 5 hour Energy Toyota

Eighteen Sprint Cup Teams Set for Tire Test at Repaved Daytona

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The fresh asphalt laid at NASCAR's Mecca -- all 50,000 tons of it -- will get its first big workout next week.

At least 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are scheduled to test the new surface of the high banks of the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway Dec. 15 and 16 as part of a Goodyear tire test, the track said Wednesday.

It will mark the first time NASCAR drivers will have driven on a new surface at the Florida superspeedway since the last time it was repaved in 1978.

"This place is going to have a totally new look to the drivers and the teams," two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart said in October. "We're going to fill every square inch of the race track because the surface is so even now."

Goodyear will utilize the test to develop appropriate tire compounds for the preseason Sprint Cup Series test to be held in the middle of January.

The track was faced with repaving after a pot hole opened up in turn two during this year's Daytona 500, forcing substantial, hours-long delays to the race. Essentially, the force of the cars began to tear an ever-widening gouge into the typically smooth surface.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/08/eighteen-sprint-cup-teams-set-for-tire-test-at-repaved-daytona/

Bruce Johnstone Alan Jones Tom Jones Juan Jover

New Book Tackles NASCAR's Greatest Debates

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EDITORS NOTE: When you start talking about Richard Petty's rightful place in NASCAR history vs. Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon, you're going to get in an argument.

In his first book, Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates, recently published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski tackles these questions and provides his unique viewpoint. Prior to joining FanHouse over a year ago as an editor, Jerry Bonkowski was National NASCAR Columnist for Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.com and wrote for USA Today.

Here are several excerpts from Bonkowski's book, which is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders and other book stores, as well as online at Amazon.com.

WHO'S THE GREATEST NASCAR DRIVER EVER?

This debate always gets passionate fans going, with typically mild-mannered individuals turning into raving, obsessed fanatics if someone dares to challenge the superiority of the guy they so proudly call "their" driver. Think of a 140-pound, Woody Allen-looking dweeb who lives and breathes Kasey Kahne suddenly getting a surge of testosterone, puffing out his chest while forgetting common sense, and stupidly trying to take on a hulking, 300-pound redneck who takes great offense if you say anything bad about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Then watch the punched-out Woody Allen-esque fan suddenly wind up doing a frightening, almost cartoonlike barrel roll through the air like the great Rusty Wallace did more than a few times during his career at places like Talladega Superspeedway.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/12/06/new-book-tackles-nascars-greatest-debates/

Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori Paul Hawkins

How To Find Great NASCAR Collectibles And Memorabilia Online

NASCAR is a fast paced sport to enjoy, it is the National Association for Stock Car Racing. Racing has gotten more popular in recent years and NASCAR is at the top of racing news. So it should be no surprise that collecting NASCAR memorabilia is a favorite pastime of many.

Whether shopping for a loved one or for you there are plenty of the popular merchandise to choose from. If you are trying to find the perfect gift for someone else that loves the sport, you can begin a search on the Internet.

Online you can find almost anything. If you want to order tickets to game or even set up a complete vacation revolving around NASCAR, researching prices online at least will save you some money.

If you are looking for NASCAR clothing you will find plenty online. You can also find books about the sport, personalized gifts for fans and replica cars. Getting an autographed picture or shirt is one way to let that special fan in your life know you care.

If you are looking for collectibles for yourself, you may find an array of ideas online. NASCAR pictures are a great search and find item on the Internet. There are so many different ones posted on a variety of sites. With little effort you can find some pictures that not everyone has right now. They may not be quite originals but it is fun to find pictures that are different than the ones in all the stores.
When you do find those uncommon pictures you can use your computer to make calendars, mouse pads, iron on for shirts and hats. You can customize your own clothes and gear.

Looking online you can also get ready for all the races with all the racing schedules. You can also find plenty of history about how the sport began and where it is going now.

Most fans have at least one favorite racecar driver and online you can read the bibliographies of all the drivers. You can also get stats and information on up and coming drivers before the races. Finding out about the latest changes and updates to NASCAR is easy since it is readily available online.

Most websites are free or the charge is minimal to print pictures and read about favorite drivers and races. If you happen to miss a race on television a lot of sites will allow you to watch clips and some even allow complete video segments for viewing online.
If you are looking for a biography about a particular driver, looking online is the best play to start your search. Some of the sport's drivers are into writing their own books and they are readily available online also.

Rare collectible NASCAR items are also worth searching online for. As more and more people connect to the Internet you will be able to buy sell or trade with other fans easily no matter where they are located.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as sports collectibles at http://www.sportscollectiblesandmemorabilia.com

Article Source: How To Find Great NASCAR Collectibles And Memorabilia Online

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/4130/how-to-find-great-nascar-collectibles-and-memorabilia-online

Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous

Turkish GP: Hamilton gains victory by Red Bull collision

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May 30 '10

Lewis Hamilton won today's Turkish Grand Prix with a bit of a luck from the collision of the Red Bull mates, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton's first win of the season. His team mate Jenson Button finished second and Mark Webber who was leading the race before the incident, finished third.

The McLaren duo of Hamilton and Button, who were running first and second after the incident between the Red Bull drivers, were racing against each other despite warnings from their crew about ?critical? fuel shortages.

According to F1Fanatic, The McLaren drivers could scarcely believe their fortune but Button, now up to second, fancied his chances of a third win. He drew alongside his team mate on the outside of turn 12 and scrambled past.

That left Button on the outside of the last corner and Hamilton used his momentum to get back alongside. The pair touched wheels as they dived into turn one side-by-side and Hamilton seized the lead back."

Details of the race below, thanks to the Formula 1 broadcaster and journalist, James Allen's tweets.

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Video of the incident between Webber and Vettel

According to iTV, "Winning this race would be about seizing the precious moment. Vettel felt his had come when he got a run on Webber exiting ?Faux Rouge?, the right-hand kink in the back straight.

It was a squeeze but he got alongside and had the inside line for turn 12. He was slightly ahead too, and clearly felt he had earned the right to drift over for a slightly less compromised line.

Webber didn?t see it that way. Perhaps hoping to pinch his team-mate in order to get a run on him through the second part or even the exit of the left-right-left combination, he held his line.

The Red Bulls touched and Vettel spun down the road, almost collecting Webber in the run-off area before marching away from his wreck while giving the universally accepted hand signal for ?crazy?."

Michael Schumacher finished a strong fourth in his Mercedes ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg in fifth. Kamui Kobayashi scored his first points of the season and also his team's. Both the Saubers finished the race for the first time this season.

Hamilton?s first win of the season moves him up to third place in the driver's standings (84 pts), Webber retains the lead (93 pts). Button moves to second (88 pts). Vettel, who jointly led the championship heading into this race, falls to fifth (78 pts). McLaren lead the constructor's championship, ahead of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Turkish Grand Prix Race times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 laps 1hr 28m 47.620s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +00m 02.6s
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +00m 24.2s
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 31.1s
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +00m 32.2s
6. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault +00m 32.8s
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 36.6s
8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +00m 46.5s
9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +00m 49.0s
10. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 05.6s

11. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari +01m 05.9s
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +01m 07.8s
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +1 lap
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
17. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
19 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +3 laps
20. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +6 laps

Rtd Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 46 laps completed
Rtd Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 39 laps completed
Rtd Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 33 laps completed
Rtd Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 32 laps completed


Fastest lap:

Vitaly Petrov Renault -Renault 1m 29.165s lap 57

Images (C) Daylife, F1Fanatic

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/ro5uN5uROP0/turkish-gp-hamilton-gains-victory-by.html

Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin Piercarlo Ghinzani

Di Resta and Hulkenberg fight for Force India seat

As the winter nights have shortened so too have the prospects of finding a Formula 1 drive for two of the sport's brightest prospects.

Nico Hulkenberg - rated as the best rookie of 2010 - and Paul di Resta - Britain's third driver in Formula 1 alongside Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button - find themselves fighting for a drive.

At the end of the season, Williams released Hulkenberg in favour of cash-rich GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado.

Hulkenberg's sudden unemployment has complicated matters for Di Resta as the German is now closing in on the Force India seat the Scot has been warming all season as the team's reserve.

To add to the dilemma, Force India's incumbent drivers, Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Luizzi, still have ties to the team with Italian Liuzzi contracted for 2011 and German Sutil sitting on a one-year option to continue.

Formula 1 insiders believe the hearts and minds of Force India are with Di Resta and the team want to give him one of the two seats that are listed as 'TBA' on the official entry list.

After joining the Silverstone-based team as a reserve for 2010, the Scot drove capably in eight first practice sessions on grand prix weekends.

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The auburn-haired Di Resta, a laidback and likeable addition to the paddock, quietly impressed the team with his technical feedback and commitment.

At the same time, the 24-year-old proved he was a winner by clinching the German Touring Car championship (DTM) for Mercedes on his weekends away from F1.

His manager Anthony Hamilton - father of McLaren driver Lewis - says: "There hasn't been one bit of negative information from the team about Paul.

"He has done a great job, the team love him. He's a champion and a leader. Nothing has changed; he is still a contender for a race seat. We are very positive."

Hulkenberg, however, is also an intriguing prospect for any F1 team.

The 23-year-old stole the headlines in the midst of the dramatic championship battle by snatching a blistering pole at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Yes, Hulkenberg had benefited from some tactical groundwork by team-mate Rubens Barrichello on his previous qualifying lap but the German's feat was still far beyond that of any of the other four F1 newcomers.

Humorous and straight-talking, Hulkenberg came into F1 on the back of a glittering junior career - where he won titles in karting, Formula BMW, Formula Three and the 2009 GP2 Series - and is now a highly-rated F1 prospect

Both Hulkenberg and Di Resta are gifted drivers - but in F1 money often talks louder than talent.

Despite being impressed by Hulkenberg's "exceptional" skills, Sir Frank Williams let him go in favour of Maldonado simply because he could bring in a reputed 10m euros - largely from Venezuela's state oil company - at a time when the Williams team had lost several key business partners.

When it comes to securing their own future, the problem for both Hulkenberg and Di Resta is that they don't bring any cash to the table.

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Hulkenberg himself says: "It has become much, much harder to open doors if your application does not come with a serious sponsor package and you really only rely on your talent as the sole 'sales argument'."

The complex situation at Force India means the team need to find the cash to buy Liuzzi out of his existing contract - so contributions from a replacement would be welcome.

And of all those in the frame only Sutil, who is understood to have bought around 2m euros to the team in 2010, has the immediate funds to strike that deal.

Force India's engine partner Mercedes-Benz could also influence the team's decision.

What if its own-brand Mercedes Grand Prix team wanted to scout out potential replacements for Michael Schumacher or Nico Rosberg by paying to place a driver in another team?

Di Resta is already well-connected and well-liked by Mercedes, especially after his DTM win, but Hulkenberg, as a rising German star, could be a perfect future fit for the Silver Arrows.

For now, Di Resta and Hulkenberg are playing the waiting game.

Hulkenberg's management company, whose founder Willi Weber also plotted Schumacher's career, opened talks at the final race in Abu Dhabi and said they had expected Force India to have made their decision by now.

Di Resta is sitting down with the team this week to discuss his future role.

Although nine cockpits are still to be filled on the 2011 grid, options elsewhere remain squeezed.

Hulkenberg's team have already approached Toro Rosso and Renault but found no room at the inn.

Toro Rosso will stick with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, with newly-signed third driver Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. The renamed Lotus Renault team are widely expected to retain Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov alongside star driver Robert Kubica.

Timo Glock has confirmed he is staying at Marussia Virgin, with Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and Belgian Jerome D'Ambrosio - both of whom come with sponsorship - the favourites to join him. Back-of-the-grid Hispania first need to find someone to build their 2011 car before confirming drivers.

Di Resta already has a contract to continue as Force India's third driver in 2011, while Hulkenberg has been linked to the same role at Mercedes and Ferrari.

In the fickle world of Formula 1, it is never a bad idea to have a Plan B.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2010/12/as_the_winter_nights_have.html

Naoki Hattori Paul Hawkins Mike Hawthorn Boy Hayje

Ferrari adopts Red Bull-style exhaust for Valencia

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June 20 '10

Ferrari's B version of the F10 will reportedly feature a Red Bull-style exhaust system at Valencia. The information appeared in Spain's AS newspaper, whose reporters believe ? from Ferrari sources ? that the heavily restyled car will be from 0.3 to 0.4 seconds quicker per lap as compared to the recent races in Turkey and Canada.

According to the same report, the updated Ferrari challenger will feature a modified rear suspension as well, in order to better integrate the new exhausts. The new layout is expected to open a bigger channel of air ?to double the downforce generated by the diffuser,? as reported by the GMM news agency, quoting AS.

[redbull_exhaust.jpg]
Here is a picture of the Red Bull during the pre-season testing. The exhaust vents to the outer side of the gearbox below the bottom suspension wishbone, channelling the hot air around the rear suspension and out the top side of the floor. The Red arrow shows Red Bull's attempt to mislead rival teams by placing a sticker of an exhaust pipe on the upper bodywork below the upper wishbone, where one would expect to see it!

Ferrari have been preparing for the Valencia update for quite some time now, having lost a lot of time developing the F-duct system until now. This was actually the main reason why their car has become less competitive as compared to the championship front-runners, as argued by team boss Stefano Domenicali himself.

?For Valencia, the focus has been on other areas of the car apart from the (F-duct) rear wing,? said the Ferrari principal, according to Brazil's Globo. His comment was strengthened by Alonso's outspoken belief that the revised package for Valencia will set the base for a whole new perspective for Ferrari for the rest of the 2010 season.

?The most important improvement in Valencia is not what we achieve there, but the way it opens us developments to be stronger for the remainder of the season,? said Alonso.

At Ferrari?s own Fiorano test circuit on Friday (18th June), Fernando Alonso drove the F10 for the ?promotional and filming? reasons as permitted by the test ban.

But, as confirmed by Italian media sources, the 2010 car was in its full Valencia specification, including Red Bull-style low exhausts, designed to channel more air to the double-diffuser.

?You have to make the most of any opportunity in this era of the testing ban,? the Italian team said.

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A 14 seconds video below, with Alonso testing the F10b in Fiorano was leaked on Youtube and f1around.files.wordpress.com compiled the image and compared it beautifully with that of Ferrari F10 and Red Bull RB6 as seen above.


Credit : Autoevolution, F1Aldia. Images(C) Google, F1Around, F1Aldia

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/fWhqo7nqqJI/ferrari-adopts-red-bull-style-exhaust.html

Hans Heyer Damon Hill Graham Hill Phil Hill

Canadian GP: Hamilton denies Webber of pole, pushes car home!

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June 12 '10

Lewis Hamilton will begin tomorrow's race on pole position, beating the Red Bulls, who for the first time this season didn't qualify on pole.

Hamilton's final attempt to set the fastest time was when he crossed the line to start the lap with eight seconds remaining. This is his third pole in as many visits to Montreal.

Mark Webber yet again out qualified his Red Bull mate Sebastian Vettel. They both start second and third on the grid respectively.

In Q1

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@Jamesallenonf1

Dropping out of Q1 were the usual suspects, the six drivers of the three new teams. A gearbox change on the HRT of Karun Chandhok limited him to just one run in Q1 and costing him a five-place grid penalty.

Heikki Kovalainen was the fastest of the new team drivers. He out-qualified his Lotus team mate Jarno Trulli by more than four-tenths of a second. Kovalainen's impressive performance put him in 19th position.

Also failing to make it into Q2 was Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi who had impressed us by reaching Q3 in Turkey couple of weeks back. He narrowly beat Kovalainen by just two-tenths of a second. At the end of Q1, Hamilton was quickest from Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg, Kubica, Button, Webber, Sutil, Petrov and Schumacher.

Drivers eliminated in Q1
18. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 18.019s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 18.237s
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 18.698s
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 18.941s
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 19.484s
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.675s
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1m 27.757s


In Q2

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@Jamesallenonf1

Michael Schumacher failed to make the cut. He struggled for grip throughout the session and then when he came under pressure to clock a fast lap, he made a mistake at the final chicane and had to skip the corner altogether.

During the dying moments of the Q2 session, Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi improved on their lap times and pushed Jenson Button onto the relegation zone. Liuzzi had improved ahead of Schumi and when Button improved on his lap time, Schumacher got dropped into the relegation zone.

"I am obviously disappointed after today's qualifying," he said. "We simply did not have the balance or grip and overall we had a lot of problems with braking and handling. The car was just not performing as we expected. We had similar issues yesterday afternoon and we made some changes after second practice. This morning, the changes seemed to have made sense as our position was reasonable but this afternoon, I was facing similar issues again. It's difficult to understand the reasons at the moment but we will look deeply into it now and find a good strategy for the race tomorrow."

Up at the front it was as close as can be, one second separating the top 13 drivers. At the end of Q2 it was Hamilton again on top of the timing screens followed by Vettel, Alonso, Kubica, Webber, Button, Rosberg, Liuzzi and Sutil.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 16.434s
12. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 16.438s
13. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.492s
14. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 16.844s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 16.928s
16. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.029s
17. Pedro de la Rosa Spain BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.384s


In Q3

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@Jamesallenonf1

Hamilton was at the top of the timing screens for majority of the session, until Fernando Alonso claimed it using super-soft tyres. Not far behind was Mark Webber who beat Alonso using the harder of the tyre and his team mate Sebastian Vettel claimed second, leaving Alonso in third. With eight seconds remaining, Hamilton began his final lap which eventually resulted in a spectacular pole, some two-tenths of a second faster than Webber.

But on his way back to the pits on a slowing-down lap, Hamilton's team radioed him to turn off his engine and save fuel as he had no sufficient fuel left in the tank for a mandatory fuel sample.

He unbuckled his belts and sat on the side of his cockpit as the car slowly rolled forward. He then jumped out of the rolling car and proceeded to push the car home along the back straight! His efforts were interrupted by the track marshalls and a medical car dropped him back to the pit lane.

BBC commentator Martin Brundle said, ?The FIA don?t take kindly to you not having enough fuel to get into the pits at the end of the lap ? they?ll be taking a look at that.?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBR5vpKG5TI/AAAAAAAAGUk/rwaAJWpF29E/s1600/002_small.jpg
Hamilton pushes his car home along the back straight

Whether or not Hamilton will be penalized will have to be seen. Assuming that he wont receive a penalty, Hamilton would still be vulnerable as he starts the race with the softest of the 2 compounds that Bridgestone have provided for the weekend. Super-soft tyres seem to grain a lot quicker at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as we saw during the second practice session. Red Bulls seem to be in a stronger position having qualified using the harder of the two compound tyres and starting the race from first and second row of the grid.

Said Vettel: ?Looking at the strategy, obviously, McLaren hopes for a safety car. We don?t know. There?s no guarantee, but we?ll see (Sunday). It?s a long race.?

Hamilton, for his part, said he didn?t think his team?s approach amounted to a particularly big gamble.

?Every race you?re taking gambles,? said Hamilton. ?It?s definitely interesting to see the two different strategies. It?ll be interesting to see how they pan out (Sunday) . . . I feel we?re in the best situation we can possibly be.?

Update:
Hamilton will keep his pole position. The FIA have issued a $10,000 fine for exceeding the maximum time allowed to return to the pits and given Hamilton an official reprimand.


Top ten drivers in Q3

1. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.105s
2. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.373s
3. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.420s
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.435s
5. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.520s
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 15.648s
7. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.688s
8. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 15.715s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 15.881s
10. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.071s


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NASCAR Tickets - Talladega Brings Crashes, Leaves Seven Fans Wounded

The Talladega Superspeedway is known for its tight track and close races, and last weekend's Aaron's 499 at Talladega proved this to be true once again. Wrecks were the name of the game in Sunday's 'Dega race, as restrictor-plate racing gave way to multiple accidents in yet another intense race at the speedway. Three big accidents took out many of the Cup Series' top contenders, as a 13-car buildup early in the race on Lap 7 would set the tone for the day. A 10-car accident also ensued toward the end of the day with nine laps to go, and finally on the sprint to the finish Carl Edwards made Talladega's grand finale with a fiery crash that sent his car soaring through some fencing against the grandstands, injuring seven fans while sparking an unreleased medical condition with an eighth.

While Talladega's two multi-car pileups were ample cause for riled-up excitement in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (as they took out Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and several more top-runners,) it is Edwards' crowd-injuring crash that is likely to be remembered from the speedway. In the last lap of the 'Dega race, the battle for first place came down to a four-car struggle between Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr., with Edwards and Keselowski in a locked-in battle that ultimately led to Edwards' disastrous crash.

Keselowski nudged Edwards into first place with one lap to go in yesterday's intense race, but when Keselowski attempted to pass him, Edwards blocked the pass and inevitably caused contact that sent his car in a spiral, landing in a frontstretch fence and just barely missing contact with the grandstands. Debris went flying and ultimately injured seven race fans (though none seriously) becoming cause for evaluation by NASCAR officials to tighten safety features for upcoming races.

Carl Edwards made a statement following the race that while he wasn't pegging the crash on any one driver, he was upset that the accident had such a disastrous result. "I'm glad the car didn't go into the grandstands," he told the media. "I saw some fencing at one point and that made me a little bit nervous. I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands." About the current rules on restrictor-plate racing at Talladega, Edwards said, "We'll race like this until we kill somebody, then [NASCAR] will change it."

This type of restrictor-plate racing that is in place at 'Dega also applies at Daytona, attempting to limit the high speeds at the two racetracks. Inevitably, this use of restrictor plates leads to a tightly-packed field on the track, and crashes are typically in high numbers at both speedways where they're in place. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke of this subject following Sunday's Talladega race, saying, "For years, we've had wrecks like this every time we've come to Talladega, ever since the plate got here. And for years it was celebrated. The media celebrated it, the networks celebrated it, calling it 'The Big One,' just trying to attract attention."

If these drivers sound like they're upset about the way things ran at Talladega, perhaps they are. Several drivers were out of luck yesterday following the two massive buildups during the race, and after the damage was done (including for those in the grandstands) reevaluation of the track and race will most likely be in question. Ryan Newman, who snagged a third-place finish at 'Dega, summed things up by saying, "Talladega is short for 'We're going to crash, we just don't know when.' We saw [an airborne car] two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the car down on the ground."

Indeed, some changes are unavoidable concerning safety at the track, but in the meantime the Cup Series will go on. Last weekend, Jeff Gordon lost his first-place standing for the first time since NASCAR season started, as Kurt Busch is now in first place after Talladega, and the excitement is just now getting started. Several more races are still to come this season, and NASCAR tickets are still available online in the meantime!

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

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