Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Dynasty May Make Him Greatest Champion

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson joined his team on the crowded stage, hurriedly set up on the Homestead-Miami Speedway front stretch and, with confetti flying in the air, raised NASCAR's crown jewel, the Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time.

Only seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have more hardware. And as the humble, low-key Californian hugged his wife, kissed his infant daughter, embraced his dad and gazed out into the crowd, Johnson was struck by something that helped him realize he had finally made it.

"There was a fan standing right up front with an 'I Hate the 48' T-shirt and he gave me the thumbs-up and said, 'Congratulations,' '' the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet recalled with a laugh. "I have people tell me they hate me, but they respect me and that's always cool. If this takes it to the next level, then right on.''

So it is for the most dominant race car driver in NASCAR history. The more he wins, the more trophies he collects, the more people clamor for someone else to step up.

How about, instead, we honor this great accomplishment and appreciate the good fortune to be witnessing sports history.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/jimmie-johnsons-nascar-dynasty-may-make-him-greatest-champion/

Brian Scott BigSpot com Toyota Carl Long Willie Allen

Three Crew Chiefs Say What Their Drivers Must Do to Win Sprint Cup

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Denny Hamlin is said to be over his minor meltdown after the Phoenix race, and his crew chief, Mike Ford, is feeling good because they've had the best car and done the most winning down the stretch in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Kevin Harvick is bringing a new car to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend and as the third-place driver, will race flat out, crew chief Gil Martin said. But before Harvick goes for broke, the team is hanging out the "Gone Fishing" sign and headed to the Keys.

And Jimmie Johnson? Well, he's just a better driver than the other two, or so says crew chief Chad Knaus.

It may be that some of the things said Tuesday in a triple-header media conference featuring the three contending crew chiefs will - for motivational purposes - end up taped to one or another team's tool box in the garage at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Or it may be that it's just a lot of hot air that disappears into the air like so much exhaust smoke out of their engines.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/16/three-crew-chiefs-say-what-their-drivers-must-do-to-win-sprint-c/

Elliott Sadler GT Vodka Chevrolet Landon Cassill Morgan Shepherd

Canadian GP: Hamilton claims another 1-2 finish for McLaren

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBVNSxG4UGI/AAAAAAAAGVk/4LbsxZQ1vUQ/s1600/Hamilton+claims+another+1-2+finish+for+McLaren.jpg

June 13 '10

Lewis Hamilton won the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, the most exciting race of the season so far. It was Hamilton's second victory in three visits to Montreal.

"It's been a tremendous weekend; it's been fantastic," Hamilton said. "Things have just gone so well throughout the weekend...The team did an exceptional job. I think the race was one of the toughest races so far, but that's what you want, to have the hardest part that these guys did. Jenson did a great job, and it's another one-two finish for us. I'm very happy for the team."

Mark Webber started seventh on the grid after taking a five-place penalty due to a late gearbox change. Red Bulls thought that they had a race advantage by starting on the harder tyres compared to Hamilton who started the race on the softer tyre. But Hamilton's superb drive and McLaren's inabilty to destroy its tyres quickly, lead to a fine victory to Hamilton.

His team mate Jenson Button finished second. It was McLaren?s third 1-2 finish of the season promoting them to the top of the constructor's championship.

Fernando Alonso fought well with the McLarens and seemed like he was going to win the race. But eventually he finished third after Button overtook him for second with 15 laps remaining, when he was slowed down while trying to overtake a lapped car.

Michael Schumacher had an eventful race all the way to the chequered flag. "Michael was looking strong in the first phase of the race and was very well-placed," said Brawn. "Unfortunately the incident with Kubica punctured the right front tyre and coming in for the extra stop meant we were out of phase with where we wanted to be with the tyres.

Schumacher was running eighth until he started to struggle badly for grip late in the race, leaving him helpless to defend his position as he dropped out of the points. Sebastian Buemi overtook him for 8th place with 9 laps to go. Schumacher lost two more places at the end to the two Force Indias.

Vitantonio Liuzzi in his Force India enjoyed the best weekend of the season and had he not been involved in collision with Felipe Massa at the start of the race, he would have had a better result. Nonetheless, Force India scored a double points finish, their second this season.

Race incidents involving few cars are being investigated. Will update once the results are out.

Update:

  • The stewards decided not to take any action over the collision between Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in the closing stages of the race.
  • Massa was given a 20-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane (with a buckled front wing after his collision with Schumi).
  • Robert Kubica was reprimanded for weaving past Adrian Sutil at speed on his way into the pits.
  • Jaime Alguersuari was reprimanded for a collision with Rubens Barrichello, which caused Barrichello to pit for a new front wing.

Meanwhile, analyze the race lap-by-lap, thanks to Formula 1 broadcaster and journalist, James Allen's tweets below. (Hint : Read the tweets bottom-up!)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4TX80ivI/AAAAAAAAGVc/CCUHeN9bSSQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_5.PNG
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Six-SHI/AAAAAAAAGVU/Hu5aNrGOaes/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_4.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4R2p5QmI/AAAAAAAAGVM/bFpHdjW3zUw/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_3.PNGhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4QyR4cYI/AAAAAAAAGVE/0PztANdzT4M/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_2.PNGhttp://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBU4Pr2Wk3I/AAAAAAAAGU8/anu92RqJFiQ/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_1.PNG

Heading to Valencia in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton now leads the drivers championship with 109 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 106 points and Mark webber who was leading the championship until now drops to third with 103 points.


Canadian Grand Prix Race times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 1hr 33m 53.456s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +2.2s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +9.2s
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +37.8s
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +39.2s
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +56.0s
7. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault +57.3s
8. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1 lap

11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +1 lap
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +2 laps
18. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +4 laps
19. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth +5 laps

Rtd. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 laps completed
Rtd. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 42 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 30 laps completed
Rtd. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 13 laps completed
Rtd. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1 lap completed


Fastest lap:

Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 16.972s


Image(C) Daylife

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/dXU9osMjK-E/canadian-gp-hamilton-claims-another-1-2.html

Z Line Toyota Kyle Busch Parker Kligerman Dodge Dodge

Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Dynasty May Make Him Greatest Champion

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson joined his team on the crowded stage, hurriedly set up on the Homestead-Miami Speedway front stretch and, with confetti flying in the air, raised NASCAR's crown jewel, the Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time.

Only seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have more hardware. And as the humble, low-key Californian hugged his wife, kissed his infant daughter, embraced his dad and gazed out into the crowd, Johnson was struck by something that helped him realize he had finally made it.

"There was a fan standing right up front with an 'I Hate the 48' T-shirt and he gave me the thumbs-up and said, 'Congratulations,' '' the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet recalled with a laugh. "I have people tell me they hate me, but they respect me and that's always cool. If this takes it to the next level, then right on.''

So it is for the most dominant race car driver in NASCAR history. The more he wins, the more trophies he collects, the more people clamor for someone else to step up.

How about, instead, we honor this great accomplishment and appreciate the good fortune to be witnessing sports history.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/jimmie-johnsons-nascar-dynasty-may-make-him-greatest-champion/

Air Guard Ford Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet Casey Mears

My Brazilian Grand Prix review

Hello everyone, the Brazilian Grand Prix was not a great race, but it was a hugely significant one.

Congratulations to Red Bull for winning the constructors' championship, a new star is born in Williams's Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren seem to have lost the plot, and it's all set for a thrilling finale in Abu Dhabi.

I went to the Beaulieu Museum to film my thoughts on the race and you can watch it here.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THE UK, CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2010/11/my_brazilian_grand_prix_review.html

Zaxby Ford Morgan Shepherd Victory in Jesus Chevrolet Eric McClure

F1: Loeb: 2009 F1 chance was a one-off

Loeb: 2009 F1 chance was a one-off By Matt Beer Sunday, November 28th 2010, 12:05 GMT World Rally legend Sebastien Loeb believes he missed his only chance to try Formula 1 when 2009's bid to contest an end-of-season grand prix failed to come to fruition. Attempts were made last year to get Loeb into a Toro Rosso seat for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the Frenchman had impressed in what was originally an informal Red Bull F1 test the previous winter. Loeb went as far as testing a GP2 car in preparation, but was unable to get the required superlicence Related posts:
  1. OTHER: Loeb joins 2010 RoC line-up Loeb joins 2010 RoC line-up By Pablo Elizalde Monday, May...
  2. F1: Vergne: STR test a huge opportunity Vergne: STR test a huge opportunity By Matt Beer Wednesday,...
  3. F1: Toro Rosso to retain Buemi, Alguersuari Toro Rosso to retain Buemi, Alguersuari By Pablo Elizalde Thursday,...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/f1-loeb-2009-f1-chance-was-a-one-off/

Cash America Chevrolet Derrike Cope Carl Edwards Juan Pablo Montoya

OTHER: Albuquerque: RoC win no career boost

Albuquerque: RoC win no career boost By Matt Beer Monday, November 29th 2010, 10:27 GMT Surprise Race of Champions winner Filipe Albuquerque says he is not counting on his victory in the end-of-season event to revitalise his career, though he was pleased to show his capability by beating the likes of Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and seven-time World Rally title-winner Sebastien Loeb. Albuquerque won all of his RoC heats on Sunday, then knocked out Portuguese compatriot Alvaro Parente in the quarter finals and home crowd favourite Vettel in the semis. He then came up against three-time RoC winner Loeb in the final, and triumphed 2-1 in the best-of-three shoot-out. Related posts:
  1. OTHER: Albuquerque takes shock RoC win Albuquerque takes shock RoC win By Matt Beer Sunday, November...
  2. IRC: Meeke: Ogier will boost Peugeot Meeke: Ogier will boost Peugeot By David Evans Friday, June...
  3. WRC: Loeb set to retire after 2011 Loeb set to retire after 2011 Thursday, September 23rd 2010,...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/other-albuquerque-roc-win-no-career-boost/

Elliott Sadler GT Vodka Chevrolet Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota

NASCAR Tickets - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Off to a Strong Start

When racing owners Chip Ganassi and Teresa Earnhardt decided to join forces last November, the two NASCAR dynasties only hoped for the kind of success their combined teams have achieved thus far in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. struck a deal in November 2008, bringing drivers Martin Treux Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and Aric Almirola together as teammates under the unified name Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. These three drivers have spent the last few months testing together, and sponsorship and driver lineups have now been solidified as Earnhardt Ganassi moves forward early in the 2009 season.

Martin Truex Jr., the most experienced of the Earnhardt Ganassi crew, was carried over from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and has been a top competitor for the Sprint Cup Series since 2004, when he ran two races for DEI and finished 70th in points in the series. Truex has had three consecutive Top 20 finishes since 2006 and finished at number 15 in last year's Sprint Cup Series. His transition to the merged Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team has proven to be successful so far for No. 1, as he started the racing season with a pole win at the Daytona 500 and promises to be a fierce competitor for the rest of the year, as well.

Columbian racer Juan Pablo Montoya is similarly enjoying this new Ganassi/Earnhardt merger, as the three-year NASCAR veteran finally has a more experienced driver (Truex, Jr.) to partner with. Montoya came to the NASCAR circuit after competing with Formula One and even winning the Indy 500 in 2000, spending 2008 with other Ganassi drivers Reed Sorenson and Dario Franchitti. Montoya posted a 14th place finish at Daytona this year and followed the next week with a consistent 11th place finish at Fontana, expecting more success for the rest of the season.

When recently asked about his new teammates, Montoya said that he, Truex and Almirola are working together fantastically, saying, "A lot of times you go to teammates and they really don't want to help. Like in the [Daytona 500] if I saw Martin, I would try to help him. If he saw me he would try to help me. It worked really well and I'm really pumped up about it."

Another Earnhardt Ganssi driver, Aric Almirola, is also pumped up about the team's new camaraderie. Currently in his first full Sprint Cup season, Almirola is enjoying the benefits of the newly minted team, getting his feet on the ground as he braces for the '09 season. Although he has yet to post a finish past the top 30 in this year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Almirola got some early help from Montoya during Daytona, recalling an instance during the day when "we were toward the back and both of us had just pit and were on fresh tires. Juan pushed the ever-living daylights out of me for about three laps straight and we went from 27th to the top 15. We were flying. We were going to the front and it was cool to have his help."

Truex, Montoya and Almirola are posing a triple-threat on the scene of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series already this season, and everyone with NASCAR tickets has gotten to witness this blossoming team chemistry to its fullest. The Ganassi/Earnhardt merge was created in part because of financial necessity but also for drivers to improve on performance, and so far the deal has been nothing but successful for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. To watch these Earnhardt Ganassi drivers speed to the finish line of NASCAR races this season, get tickets to a Sprint Cup race online and prepare for a memorable day at the track!

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.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Off to a Strong Start

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/248656/nascar-tickets-earnhardt-ganassi-racing-off-to-a-strong-start

David Gilliland Tony Raines Bobby Labonte Terry Labonte

Pick your classic grand prix - race 19

Welcome to the final classic grand prix selection of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

We have an eclectic but hopefully fascinating mix of races with which to whet your appetites for the potentially explosive showdown between Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

In their way, our choices collectively sum up everything that is on the table at the Yas Marina circuit on Sunday - there is a title decider, a last race of a classic season, a twist in a battle between two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport and a showdown between two drivers in one of history's defining cars.

Your job is the same as ever - tell us which is your favourite and we will use the responses on this blog to help us choose from which race to show you the full 'Grand Prix' highlights programme broadcast on the BBC at the time, as well as the shorter highlights edits we cut for all the races.

We will also make available short and long highlights of last year's inaugural race at Abu Dhabi.

The classic races will be available on this website on Wednesday.

I'll run through the choices chronologically.

First is the 1979 United States Grand Prix East - the last race of a classic season.

It was won by Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve after a battle with Williams driver Alan Jones, the two fastest drivers of the season, both men overshadowing the new world champion, Villeneuve's team-mate Jody Scheckter, as they had all year.

Villeneuve underlined his status as the fastest driver in the world with a scarcely believable performance in practice at the demanding Watkins Glen track in upstate New York. On Friday, in the streaming rain, he had been fastest by a quite staggering margin - nearly nine seconds - from Scheckter.

In dry qualifying, though, the Ferrari, which lacked the downforce of the English-built cars, could manage only third in Villeneuve's hands, with Scheckter 16th. Jones and Brabham's Nelson Piquet were on the front row.

Gilles Villeneuve in the 1979 Ferrari 312T4

Villeneuve was the star of the 1979 season in the Ferrari 312T4. Photo: Getty

But the race started wet, giving Villeneuve his chance, and the great Canadian duly stormed into the lead from Jones.

Villeneuve built a five-second lead in two laps but after that the gap between the two varied. The Michelins on Villeneuve's Ferrari performed better when the rain was heavier, while the Goodyears on Jones's Williams were faster when it eased off.

As the circuit began to dry, Jones closed on Villeneuve and took the lead on lap 31. Three laps later, Villeneuve came in for dry-weather slick tyres, with Jones coming in after a further three laps. There were problems with the right rear but the Williams was waved out when the team manager thought the wheel was on firmly.

As Jones accelerated away, though, the mechanic fitting the wheel signalled frantically that he had not finished and the wheel came loose at the beginning of the back straight, leaving Jones ruing a lost opportunity.

A classic battle was over - and Villeneuve cruised to an ultimately comfortable win.

The next choice is the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix, our twist in what was to become the long-running battle between two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport - with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna taking the place of Alonso and Hamilton in our analogy.

This was a season utterly dominated by McLaren, who won 15 of the 16 races. Their drivers, Senna and Prost, locked out the front row, and Prost started the race knowing he absolutely needed to win after a devastating run of form through the summer by Senna.

Senna led off the start but Prost tracked him all the way around the first lap, and was clearly faster and in a position to try to pass as they entered the pit straight.

The Frenchman pulled out of Senna's slipstream to the right, but Senna moved violently over on him, forcing him almost into the pit wall - a move that found an echo in Michael Schumacher's controversial defence from Rubens Barrichello in Hungary this year.

Prost, though, was not to be intimidated. He kept his foot in it and passed the Brazilian into the first corner of the second lap.

Prost went on to a win that was less comfortable than it looked - the McLarens, with their Honda turbos, were very marginal on fuel and Prost had to manage his car carefully while holding off the challenge of the Adrian Newey-designed March of Ivan Capelli, which finished a superb second.

Things did not go so well for Senna. To add to his fuel consumption problems, Senna's digital fuel read-out was proving unreliable, and he slumped defencelessly to finish sixth, putting Prost back into the championship lead with three races to go.

The Mexican Grand Prix of 1991 is our next race, contested between two drivers in one of history's defining cars - the Williams-Renault FW14 representing the 2010 Red Bull-Renault RB6.

Senna, still at McLaren, had won the first four races of the season, but by the time of Mexico, the sixth race, it was clear that the Williams - designed, like the 1988 March and the 2010 Red Bull, by Newey - had moved F1 car design on to a new level.

Unexpectedly, though, it was Williams's unfancied second driver, Riccardo Patrese, who initially got the most from the car, rather than their returning leading star, Nigel Mansell, who was fresh from a difficult season being overshadowed at Ferrari by Prost.

Patrese took pole on the superb Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, from Mansell and Senna.

But the Italian made a poor start, dropping to fourth behind Mansell, Senna and Ferrari's Jean Alesi.

Patrese was soon past Alesi and Senna, and set off after Mansell, who he passed on lap 15, continuing on to a superb, unchallenged win. Only later in the season did Mansell get on top of his team-mate, and go on to push Senna hard for the title.

Finally, there is Portugal 1993 - our title decider.

It is a somewhat overlooked grand prix, which is odd, because in many ways it was a defining race in F1 history.

Prost clinched his fourth, and final, world title at Estoril that sunny Sunday in September, but the weekend -my first foreign grand prix as a reporter, as it happens - was rich with intrigue.

It was overshadowed by Prost's announcement on the Thursday that he was retiring at the end of the season, a decision forced upon him by his Williams team's decision to employ Senna for what turned out to be an apocalyptic 1994 season.

At the age of 38, Prost, whose contract included a clause which said he would not drive alongside Senna, had no stomach for another bitter battle with his arch-rival, and decided to call time on his wonderful career.

But that was not the only way in which the race marked the beginning of the end of one era and the start of another.

That feeling was enhanced by events at McLaren, who had dropped the struggling Michael Andretti after the previous race in Italy and drafted in their test driver, Mika Hakkinen - who proceeded to outqualify Senna and take third place on the grid. The great Brazilian was not amused!

The race, too, had more than a hint of the changing of the guard about it.

Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost on the podium at the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix

Schumacher, the race-winner, pours champagne over the new world champion, Alain Prost, at Estoril in 1993. Photo: Getty

Prost had unusually been outqualified by team-mate Damon Hill, who then proceeded to stall on the formation lap, forcing him to start at the back.

Prost would almost certainly have cruised to victory had he got a good start. But he had struggled all season with the clutch on the Williams, and he was swamped by the McLarens - with Senna passing Hakkinen at the start - and, particularly, Alesi's Ferrari, which took the lead.

The top six circulated together for the first part of the race, with Alesi leading Senna, Hakkinen, Prost, Michael Schumacher's Benetton and the second Ferrari of Gerhard Berger.

The race distilled down to a battle between Prost and Schumacher, the only two cars stopping only once.

After the stops, Schumacher was in the lead. Prost was right behind, and much faster, but second place was enough for him to clinch the title, even though Hill had now worked his way back up to third place.

Prost made a few attempts to pass, but Schumacher employed some of the tricks that were to become notorious in later years and, not wishing to risk an accident, Prost decided discretion was the better part of valour, and settled for second.

So there it is - what we hope is a great choice to end not only a great F1 season, but our second year of classic grand prix.

I look forward to reading your views.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/11/pick_your_classic_grand_prix_-_1.html

Jason Keller Coleman Pressley Mike Wallace Hermie Sadler III

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

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBR7Za671lI/AAAAAAAAGUs/2i2O0617Pwc/s1600/Hamilton+denies+Webber+of+pole,+pushes+car+home%21.jpg

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

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4oIvMdzI/AAAAAAAAGT8/IDFivCVO-00/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_1.PNG


@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

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBP4ohoS_TI/AAAAAAAAGUE/SZXREJ-AXOM/s1600/Jamesallenonf1_2.PNG


@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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