British GP: Vettel takes pole as Red Bull dominate

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July 10 '10

Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole position for the second year in a row at Silverstone, as the Milton Keynes-based team secured its fifth front-row lockout of the season. Vettel beat his team mate Mark Webber by 0.143s. Fernando Alonso will start tomorrow's race on second row of the grid for Ferrari.

Jenson Button in his McLaren had a disastrous session. He will start his home grand prix from 14th place after missing the cut for the top-10 shootout.

In Q1

Heikki Kovalainen was the best of the new team drivers in 19th. His Lotus team mate Jarno Trulli will start from 21st position. Seems like the Virgins have made a step forward with the new updates as Timo Glock managed to split the two Lotuses.

Sakon Yamamoto who will take the place of Bruno Senna in HRT for the British Gran Prix, was last of all. He was half a second down on his team mate Karun Chandhok.

Driver from the established team unable to get into Q2 was Jaime Alguersuari who qualified 18th.

Drivers eliminated in Q1
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 32.430s
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 34.405s
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 34.775s
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 34.864s
22. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 35.212s
23. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1m 36.546s
24. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1m 36.968s


In Q2

Local hero, Jenson Button could only manage 14th fastest time in his McLaren. Button radioed in that he was struggling with low grip at the rear.

McLaren was on the back foot going into qualifying after having to shelve the exhaust-blown diffuser it tried in Friday practice, which it found upset the MP4-25?s balance. Thus the team abandoned the key element of its planned car upgrade and reverted to the old specification rear end on the MP4-25.

Somewhat bewildered by the sudden downturn in performance Button said, ?This morning the car felt really good. I personally think there?s something wrong, the car was undriveable. That?s it really. I don?t know if I?ve lost rear downforce since this morning, but it?s pretty undriveable. This weekend has been tricky, but that wasn?t normal.?

Also failing to make it beyond Q2 was Adrian Sutil who has for most part been a regular in the final Q3 shootout, but alas not at Silverstone on the doorstep of the Force India team?s headquarters. His team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi fared worse and will start from 15th on the grid.

Vettel was quicker in the first knockout session while Webber had the edge in Q2.

Drivers eliminated in Q2
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 31.399s
12. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 31.421s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m 31.635s
14. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 31.699s
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m 31.708s
16. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault 1m 31.796s
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 32.012s


In Q3

It was the battle of the Bulls for the top position and Vettel got the better of it. This result put Red Bull on pole for the ninth time out of ten Grands Prix this season.

Webber was the first to set a Q3 time and logged a 1m29.758s, easily the fastest lap of the new Silverstone layout up to that point ? but moments later Vettel stopped the clocks in 1m29.695s.

Webber was unable to respond on his second run so Vettel?s pole was secure, but that didn?t stop the young German shaving another few hundredths off his own benchmark just to emphasise who had the upper hand.

His final time of 1m29.615s represented an average speed of 147mph for the revised 3.7-mile circuit, almost identical to the average he recorded on the previous layout in last year?s low-fuel Q2 session.
-iTV


Fernando Alonso finished third for Ferrari and will share second row of the grid with his nemesis Lewis Hamilton.

Pedro de la Rosa qualified an excellent ninth, his first top-10 grid placing of his F1 comeback season. He qualified ahead of Mercedes' Michael Schumacher.

Only a mishap (such as a broken nosecone which Sebastian Vettel suffered in practice) is likely to prevent a Red Bull victory

Top ten drivers in Q3
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 29.615s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 29.758s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.426s
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 30.556s
5. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 30.625s
6. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 31.040s
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 31.172s
8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 31.175s
9. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 31.274s
10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 31.430s


Full Qualifying Times

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon Part of Hendrick Crew Chief Swap

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Hendrick Motorsports may have won its fifth-straight championship just last Sunday, but it took only a matter of days for the organization to make some of its biggest changes in years.

"This will improve us as an organization, across the board," team owner Rick Hendrick (right) said Tuesday.

Save for champion Jimmie Johnson, each of the three other drivers in the Hendrick stable will have new crew chiefs for the 2011 season.

Steve Letarte, the crew chief on Jeff Gordon's No. 24 since the end of the 2005 season, will now oversee Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 team. Meanwhile, Gordon will now have Alan Gustafson managing his team in Daytona.

Gustafson leaves the No. 5 team and driver Mark Martin, who will now have Lance McGrew in his ear for the 2011 season. McGrew has spent part of 2009 and all of 2010 as Earnhardt Jr.'s crew chief.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/23/earnhardt-gordon-part-of-major-hendrick-crew-chief-swap/

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Jimmie Johnson just may be the best NASCAR driver ever

The Dominance Of Jimmie Johnson Ed Hinton had seen it all in motorsports until he watched Jimmie Johnson make it five championships in a row Tags: NASCAR, SportsCenter, Chase, Jimmie Johnson, Ed HintonThe Dominance Of Jimmie Johnson VIDEO PLAYLIST The Dominance Of Jimmie Johnson The Dominance Of Jimmie Johnson Ed Hinton had seen it all in motorsports until he watched Jimmie Johnson make it five championships in a row Tags: NASCAR, SportsCenter, Chase, Jimmie Johnson, Ed Hinton Johnson Wins 5th In A Row Johnson Wins 5th In A Row Jimmie Johnson finishes 2nd in the race to claim his 5th Chase title in a row Tags: NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson, Homestead, Chase, Highlight, Carl Edwards Johnson Triumphs Johnson Triumphs It wasn't easy this time, but the four-time defending champion came through in the clutch. Jimmie Johnson made history again with his fifth championship in a row Related posts:
  1. Could defending four-time Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson be ESPN.com’s Driver of the Decade? AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais Jimmie Johnson got the red-carpet...
  2. NASCAR inspects cars Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick plan to use in season finale PHOENIX -- NASCAR has inspected the cars the three championship...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/jimmie-johnson-just-may-be-the-best-nascar-driver-ever/

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Join Us: Live Ford 400 Race Chat

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Denny Hamlin Homestead Garage Area 2010NASCAR's 36-race season culminates today at Homestead-Miami Speedway when Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick battle to take home the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

It's bound to be a thrilling finish of NASCAR's closest points battle in the Chase for the Championship era.

Join the FanHouse team as we keep you updated live on the race's progress. Don't miss out at 1 p.m./ET.


 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/21/join-us-live-ford-400-chat-at-1-p-m-et/

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GP2: Leimer still on top in GP2 testing

Leimer still on top in GP2 testing By Matt Beer Saturday, November 27th 2010, 14:19 GMT Fabio Leimer was quickest again as GP2 testing resumed in Abu Dhabi today. The Swiss driver is running with champion team Rapax for all four days of testing this week, and followed up his time-topping Wednesday performance by leading both the Saturday sessions as well Related posts:
  1. GP2: Leimer tops second day at Abu Dhabi Leimer tops second day at Abu Dhabi By Steven English...
  2. GP2: Jakes leads Abu Dhabi GP2 test Jakes leads Abu Dhabi GP2 test By Matt Beer Tuesday,...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/gp2-leimer-still-on-top-in-gp2-testing/

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WRC: Sordo waiting on Ford offer

Sordo waiting on Ford offer By David Evans Thursday, November 25th 2010, 14:48 GMT Dani Sordo says he will wait on word from Ford before responding to the offer he has from Mini for next season. The Spaniard has been approached by Mini to be part of its entry into the World Rally Championship, but is holding out for a possible Ford drive before committing. "I will wait a little bit for Ford, but not long," Sordo said. Related posts:
  1. WRC: Sordo in talks over Ford switch Sordo in talks over Ford switch By David Evans Tuesday,...
  2. WRC: Sordo positive after new Citroen test Sordo positive after new Citroen test By David Evans Tuesday,...
  3. WRC: Sordo retires with two stages to go Sordo retires with two stages to go By Matt Beer...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/wrc-sordo-waiting-on-ford-offer/

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NASCAR: Hendrick reshuffles crew chiefs

Hendrick reshuffles crew chiefs By Diego Mejia Wednesday, November 24th 2010, 10:03 GMT Hendrick Motorsports will change the crew chiefs for three of its drivers, with Jeff Gordon ending his long-term partnership with Steve Letarte - who will now work with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Related posts:
  1. Hendrick Motorsports signs crew chiefs Alan Gustafson, Chad Knaus to extensions RICHMOND, Va. -- Hendrick Motorsports locked crew chiefs Alan Gustafson...
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Source: http://doxcar.com/nascar-hendrick-reshuffles-crew-chiefs/

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NASCAR Boasts Closest Battle in Chase History With One To Go

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Half predicting, half declaring next week's NASCAR season finale will be "one hell of a show," Jimmie Johnson emerged from his fifth-place finishing No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet smiling and feeling good about his chances for an unprecedented fifth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

You'd have thought he won the race. He's not even leading the standings.

That designation belongs to the unhappiest of Sunday afternoon drivers, Denny Hamlin, who, after leading a race-best 190 laps, had to pit for fuel with 14 laps remaining at Phoenix International Raceway.

Hamlin heads to next week's final showdown at Homestead-Miami Speedway a scant 15 points ahead of Johnson in the closest championship fight since the Chase playoff format was installed in 2004. Third place Kevin Harvick is still very much in the thick of things, 46 points behind Hamlin.

The in-car television camera showed Hamlin yanking off his driving gloves and throwing them one by one against the dashboard of his 12th place No. 11 FedEx Toyota after the race's cool-down lap. Sitting on pit wall immediately after the race, he threw a water bottle and sullenly awaited his television interview.

"Yeah, it's pretty disappointing,'' Hamlin said, taking a long pause before answering questions. "We were in a good position there to look pretty good going into next week.

"It's tough to not be happy having a points lead going into the last race but. ... I was sitting pretty.''

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/11/14/nascar-boasts-closest-battle-in-chase-history-with-one-to-go/

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Send in F1 your questions

F1 commentating legend Murray Walker is waiting for your questions following the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

A Red Bull one-two, with Sebastian Vettel leading team-mate Mark Webber home, means the drivers' title race goes right down to the wire in next Sunday's final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi.

Should Vettel step aside if Webber has a better chance of preventing championship leader Fernando Alonso from claiming his third drivers' crown?

And how big an achievement is Red Bull's first-ever constructors' crown, which was secured by their success in Brazil?

Pose your questions by logging in to post a comment beneath this entry.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2010/11/send_in_f1_your_questions.html

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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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