Mistakes mounting up for Hamilton

After his worst run of results in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton came to Suzuka looking for a strong start to a weekend that could make or break his challenge for the world championship.

If you think that sounds a touch melodramatic, then bear in mind the words of one McLaren leading official who told me on Thursday evening: "If he fails to score here, it's game over."

Having failed to finish three of his last four races and watched Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso overtake him in the standings, the last thing the 2008 champion needed was an early accident in practice.

But halfway through the first session, on his first proper run of the day, that's exactly what happened.

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He locked up his front right wheel heading into the second right-hander at Degner,thought he could catch the car but ended up bumping along the tyre wall and ripping off his front left wheel as well as damaging the McLaren's new rear wing.

Hamilton emerged unscathed but his distress was evident as he leaned back in the shadows under the bridge below the 130R corner. After looking steadfastly ahead, his helmet then slumped forward as if he was consumed by disappointment and disbelief.

He managed to avoid the television cameras and photographers awaiting his return in the paddock by taking a back entrance but you could see he had a face like thunder when he eventually appeared and marched into the back of the garage.

The big concern was that the chassis would need replacing, which would have ruled him out of the entire second session.

As it was, the repairs were so extensive - new gearbox, floor, and front and rear wings - and took so long that Hamilton was able to complete just four timed laps on the track in the dry.

That was crucial for race set-up because heavy rain is expected throughout Saturday, which would throw a whole set of variables into final practice and qualifying.

Hamilton is aware that could level the playing field and, depending on how severe the conditions are, the lost time could be rendered irrelevant, at least in terms of grid position.

But his reluctant, smiling admission after practice that he was "probably pushing too hard" en route to his crash will be seized on by his critics as another example of his excessive aggression behind the wheel costing him his title chances.

Indeed, that opinion was already being voiced in the paddock. "I see Hamilton and McLaren are throwing it away again under pressure," said a rival technical director.

Collisions in Monza and Singapore, and this latest incident certainly don't help his cause.

With only four races remaining, now is the wrong time for Hamilton to start making mistakes like Alonso, Webber and Sebastian Vettel have done earlier in the season.

Unlike in Melbourne, Valencia and Spa - when Hamilton found trouble but came through it - he's currently being punished for the sort of bold moves that make you look a hero when they work, and a novice when they don't.

Had he backed off and played the percentage game, say his critics, he would still be leading the championship. Understandably, Hamilton doesn't accept that view, and will continue driving as only he knows how.

"The fact is I'm not going to drive around in the position I was in and hope to finish the race. That's never been in me," he said in a BBC interview to be broadcast during the BBC One qualifying show.

"I want to fight for a win and I hope people respect that. Sometimes it is too aggressive and that's why it catches you out."

"Every now and then, you try to pull it back a bit and hope it works. Fingers crossed this weekend will be an improvement to say the least."

So far, not so good.

At a demanding track where he has raced just once - in 2009 - he has hardly scratched the surface of the programme that he and his engineers hoped to complete.

But his performance last year, finishing third, was one of his finest drives and is reason for optimism within the team.

"He likes it here, loves the track and will be competitive," said one engineer. "You can't take away what makes him the champion that he is."

Hamilton also received support from a rival team principal involved in the title battle.

"You must try to get your drivers as calm as possible, but it in the end it doesn't matter what you say to them because as soon as they get on the track, it all goes out of their heads," he said.

Another criticism levelled at Hamilton is that he's missing a management figure in a role previously filled by his father.

One team manager told me that Hamilton would benefit from having an independent sounding board outside the team environment, somebody on hand with advice on when to push and when to take it calmly.

McLaren's team principal Martin Whitmarsh would dispute that.

He made a point of sitting down with Hamilton after Monza and Singapore to discuss both incidents. And he did the same again after Friday's crash.

It's a point picked up by one last year's title contenders, Rubens Barrichello.

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"The mental preparation is so important, more important at this stage than the driving," Barrichello said.

"He's clearly got the team support in a good way. But I'm not sure he has the car."

And there's the rub for Hamilton.

He acknowledges that the team are working flat out to improve the car. Another new rear wing is arriving overnight in time for qualifying, with engineers happy that the upgrade added performance.

But he knows, just like McLaren know, that Red Bull remains the fastest car. Ferrari have been quicker too.

So if he's to achieve a second world title, he needs something special from within himself to make up for a lack of performance.

"We've been over-delivering for a long period of time during the year," he said.

"We've not been at the front where we've been absolutely faster than everybody else. We've just done generally better jobs than other teams."

"Clearly now it's down to pace as well as no mistakes, and hoping that we're edging ourselves closer to the others."

Suzuka has decided some classic title contests. Hamilton has to believe - and demonstrate - that he's not about to be counted out this weekend.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jonathanlegard/2010/10/post.html

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British GP: "Number Two" driver, Webber takes perfect win

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July 11 '10

Mark Webber won his first British Grand Prix in style. ?Not bad for a number two driver? radioed Webber to his race engineer after the end of the race.

Lewis Hamilton finished second for Mclaren in front of his home crowd, while Mercedes' Nico Rosberg bagged third.

The Race in brief
Webber overtook his teammate Sebastian Vettel at the start, with the latter experiencing a tyre puncture only seconds later. While the German had to make a short trip to the pits for a new set of tyres, Webber increased his lead from Lewis Hamilton in front of the pack.

Ferrari?s Fernando Alonso had another start to forget, losing 2 spots and dropping to 5th place after the first few corners. He slightly touched his teammate Felipe Massa?s car while trying to defend his position, causing the Brazilian's right rear tyre to burst. Massa then visited the pits and returned to the track in 23rd place.

Although only a couple of seconds separated Webber and Hamilton in front, the trailing group, headed by Renault?s Robert Kubica, dropped no less than 20 seconds to the leading duo until the first round of pit stops. After each driver went to the pits to get new tyres, Webber emerged once again in front of the field, ahead of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (who passed Kubica thanks to a great team work in the pit lane).

Alonso tried to pass the Pole himself in order not to lose contact with the Top 3 positions, but shortcut a chicane while pushed by Kubica out of bounds ? and passing the Renault driver ? which later got him a drive-through penalty from the stewards. Just when he was about to make his drive-though run, the safety car was deployed due to debris coming out of Pedro de la Rosa?s car. His rear wing practically disintegrated in the start/finish straight, as there was a slight contact between him and Adrian Sutil on the pit straight.

The Spaniard was forced to make his pit lane run when the SC went in, which dropped him to 16 overall.

In front of the field, Webber had no problem maintaining his 1st place in front of Hamilton, while Rosberg did the same in front of the second McLaren driver Jenson Button. The reigning world champion had a wonderful start and climbed all the way to 7th place (from 14th on the grid) after a few laps, which he later turned into 4th place after a good pit stop strategy (added Alonso?s penalty).

Webber the ?Number Two? Driver
Prior to the Saturday qualifying, the Austrian team decided to take the front wing of Webber?s RB6 and hand it to Vettel, resulting in the German driving to pole position in Q3. While obviously furious with the decision, Webber kept his cool and decided to deliver the response on track, winning his first British GP in career and becoming the winningest F1 driver this season (to date).

?Not bad for a number two driver,? Webber told his race engineer via radio at the end of the race, hinting that what happened in Silverstone will still haunt him from now on.

At the press conference after the race, Webber continued to voice his frustrations, insisting that he would have never signed a one-year extension with Red Bull had he known he will be treated the way he was in the UK.

?Yesterday was really a unique situation, and it was the first time we had one bit. I would never have signed a contract for next year if I believed that was the way going forward. I was disappointed. We will see how it goes in the future, I will keep doing what I am doing and I hope it is enough.?

?I have had a few hurdles in my career, sometimes privately as well, so I think you can judge a person's character by how they come back from adversity. Some drivers have that, I've had a bit more than others. It can work but obviously it is not how long is a piece of string - you have to make sure it is not constantly happening because it can test you too much but if the balance is right it can put some fuel on the fire,? added Webber.

The Race as it happened via James Allen
Heading to Hockenheim in two weeks time, Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers championship with 145 points. His team mate Jenson Button is second in the standings with 133 points and Mark Webber climbs to third with 128 points.

British Grand Prix Race times

1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 52 laps 1hr 24m 38.200s
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +1.3s
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes +21.3s
4. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +21.9s
5. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +31.4s
6. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari +32.1s
7. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault +36.7s
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +40.9s
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes +41.5s
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth +42.0s

11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +42.4s
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari +47.6s
13. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault +59.3s
14. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari +62.3s
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari +67.4s
16. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth +1 lap
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +2 laps
19. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth +2 laps
20. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth +2 laps

Rtd. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 44 laps completed
Rtd. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 29 laps completed
Rtd. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 19 laps completed
Rtd. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 9 laps completed


Fastest lap:
Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 30.874s lap 52



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The Nascar Points Rating System

Nascar uses a points and rating system of rules to award its drivers. Now the prize money is not the only thing that matters. The points also count. Let's now take a gander at the history of the Nascar points system. From 1949, when Nascar began, to 1951, Nascar awarded points on the base of the position in the race. The 1st position got 10 points, the second got 9 points, and so on. These points were increased by the 0.05 race purse. Then, from here until 1967, the winners were awarded points on a linear scale.

From 1949 to 1971, Nascar tried six different point and rating systems before they reached the current rating system. In 1972, Nascar inaugurated a new points system. Then, three various systems were tried for three various years. The systems were strange in some of the cases. Some counted mileage; some counted the finishing position as well as the mileage. There were complaints coming in from fans. The points system was not favorable. There was a Nascar champion that had won just one race in his career. The bigger races had more points. Those who won the bigger races eventually scored more points than their counterparts who had won more races.

The Current System Comes Into Existence -
It was in 1975 that the current points system was developed. Two forms of this system were again tried from 1982 to 1998. In this system, the points were awarded according to the final position and the number of laps covered during the race. There are three scales again for the number of points that a person can receive according to his finishing position. In the current system, the winner receives 180 points, the 2nd place gets 170, and so on, with 10 points separating the winner from the next position. Then, after the 2nd position, the first scale starts. In this scale, 5 points separate one position from another. This scale lasts from the 2nd to the 6th position. Then, from the 7th to the 11th position, the second scale comes into effect. Four points separate one position from another, and in the last scale 3 points separate one position from another.

Other Points -
There are other points also that come into the picture. For every lap that is completed, a racer gets 5 points. There is also an additional 5 points awarded for the most number of laps based on lap leadership. Driver points are also counted. If a driver is replaced during the race, then the points earned by the replacement driver still count toward the original driver's tally.

Owner points are also given to the owner of a car. For every car that qualifies for the race, the owner points given are the same as driver points.

This author is a HUGE fan of NASCAR licensed merchandise

Article Source: The Nascar Points Rating System

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/111187/the-nascar-points-rating-system

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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


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Darrell Waltrip's Hall of Fame Exclusion Hurts More Than Any Defeat

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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Darrell Waltrip, winner of 84 races and three championships on the track, lost a popularity contest among his peers that stung more than any other defeat in his illustrious career.

Snubbed by the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee in his campaign to be included in the second class, Waltrip was clearly hurt by his exclusion. The color drained from his face as he watched the five names called -- David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett and Bud Moore -- and although he gamely spun his chair away from the podium and toward the cameras to work an hour-long, live television program, he was wounded.

Waltrip took to Twitter immediately after leaving Wednesday's announcement -- "just having a small pity party right now," he posted -- and was still smarting a day later. Instead of celebrating his selection Thursday, he played golf with younger brother Michael.

"My feelings are hurt," Waltrip told The Associated Press in a candid conversation Thursday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"Do I take it personal? No. I can't. I couldn't live in this community if I did. I take it as that group of people that voted on those five guys had a stronger connection to their past and to those five guys than they did to me and what I did."

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/10/14/darrell-waltrips-hall-of-fame-exclusion-hurts-more-than-any-def/

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Canadian Grand Prix 2010 Race gallery


A superb tyre gamble by McLaren saw Lewis Hamilton claim his second victory in Montreal at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix. His second win in three visits to Montreal. His team mate Jenson Button claimed a strong second position, making it a McLaren 1-2 in as many races so far this season. Fernando Alonso had a fine race to finish third for Ferrari after a disappointing Turkish Grand Prixhttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TBYXktBug1I/AAAAAAAAGVw/xd9Kyvkgs-Y/s1600/Canadian+Grand+Prix+2010+Race+gallery.jpg


Credit : Daylife, F1Fanatic

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Jimmie Johnson's Third Place Increases His Championship Lead

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Jimmie JohnsonCONCORD, N.C. -- It may have been a familiar car up front in Saturday's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it was hardly just another hum-drum NASCAR championship effort.

Jimmie Johnson finished third behind winner Jamie McMurray and the night's most dominant driver, Kyle Busch, and still extended his NASCAR Sprint Cup championship lead to 41 points over second place Denny Hamlin. Most disconcerting to his competition is the fact the four-time defending series champ scored the finish despite an early race spin, pit road collision and uncharacteristic pit stop bobble.

"Ah, Superman; he woke up,'' Busch said at one point midway through the race while exchanging the lead with Johnson, who had just overcome a series of early race setbacks.

With five races remaining in NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs, Johnson has clearly established himself as the odds-on favorite, man-to-beat for an unprecedented and unthinkable fifth consecutive title.

"We've had a little more drama in this situation than we would have wanted to,'' Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus offered Saturday night. Yet somehow, even nights like this haven't derailed his title hopes in the least.

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/10/17/jimmie-johnson-rallies-for-third-place-finish-increases-champion/

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Hamilton's hopes take a hit

In one sense, the Singapore Grand Prix changed nothing; in reality, it changed everything.

Mark Webber still leads the world championship and the five contenders are still covered by the points awarded for a win. But Fernando Alonso's victory in the first of the five deciding races of the season has fundamentally altered the dynamics of the title battle.

The biggest winner and biggest loser were the two men regarded by so many as the finest racing drivers in the world - Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Earlier this year, Alonso's fellow drivers voted him the best in F1 and he showed exactly why with a copybook victory for Ferrari in Singapore - superb in qualifying and flawless in the race under the most intense pressure from Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull.

The Spaniard's second consecutive victory not only brought him level with Webber on four wins this year but also moved him up to second in the championship, just 11 points behind the Australian. Alonso, it is clear, is now a very serious contender to win a third world title.

Hamilton, by contrast, was understandably downcast after his second non-finish in a row demoted him to third in the championship. Hamilton travelled to Singapore in second place only five points behind Webber. He is now 20 points off the lead and only one ahead of Vettel and five ahead of Jenson Button.

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"I'm in a bit of a daze," Hamilton said after a collision with Webber while trying to pass the Red Bull put him out of the race.

"I'm not really sure what happened. He was in my blind spot, I didn't see him alongside me, the next thing I know is my tyre's blown and that's it. I couldn't have had a worse two races at this time of year."

So this amazing season takes another dramatic twist.

Two races ago, after Hamilton's superb victory in Belgium - where Alonso, Vettel and Jenson Button all failed to score - it looked as if he and Webber were beginning to break away from the pack and emerge as the two men who would contest the championship.

At that point, there was no doubt Hamilton was the driver of the season among the five title contenders - he was the only one not to have made a major mistake.

A month later, with only four races to go, he has been involved in collisions in two consecutive races and finished neither.

The run-in with Ferrari's Felipe Massa that put Hamilton out in Italy two weeks ago was undoubtedly the McLaren driver's fault.

The one with Webber on Sunday was more of a 50-50 - what they call in F1 "a racing incident".

Hamilton, who had a run on Webber after the Red Bull was held up behind a backmarker, was within his rights to try to pass where he did; Webber was within his rights to defend.

Hamilton was ahead, on the outside, going into Turn Seven, but he was not ahead by a big enough margin to claim the corner as definitively his, so Webber could legitimately stay on the inside and not cede the corner.

Webber had nearly half his car over the kerb on the inside trying to avoid contact, but still Hamilton's left rear tyre clipped Webber's front right.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh was right to say that Hamilton was unlucky to be out of the race and Webber lucky to stay in it. But equally the stewards were correct not to take any further action.

It is easy to see why Hamilton was so down immediately after his retirement. He knows that, on paper, he is likely to lose more ground at the next race, the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

Suzuka could have been made for the Red Bull. Its combination of long medium- and high-speed corners is expected to play to the car's strengths, just as Barcelona, Silverstone and Hungary did. In theory, it should be a slam-dunk one-two for Vettel and Webber, in whatever order.

Just as worrying for Hamilton, though, is that the Ferrari - at least in Alonso's hands - is clearly the second fastest car on the grid, and may also be more suited to Suzuka than the McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton looks downcast as he talks to the media about his retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix

Hamilton knows his retirement in Singapore is a big blow to his title hopes. Photo: Getty Images

Button said after the Singapore race that McLaren have a major upgrade for Japan. That might change the competitive landscape. But if he and Hamilton lose more ground there, as they well might, then the championship will indeed be looking like a long shot with only three races to go - or perhaps just two, given the continuing doubts over South Korea.

It will be no consolation at all for Hamilton that he lost 'only' the points for third place - he could have done nothing about Alonso and Vettel, who were on another planet in Singapore, leaving everyone else for dead.

Alonso has not had his greatest season; he has made too many mistakes, particularly early in the season, but also as recently as Spa, when he crashed out of eighth place in the closing stages.

But now F1 has arrived at the business end of the season, he is looking every inch the formidable contender everyone knows him to be.

As Martin Brundle put it after the race: "Alonso has been brilliant, absolutely brilliant, all weekend."

Indeed he was. He took pole position in the second fastest car, going quick enough to pressure Vettel into mistakes on both of his qualifying laps when the German really should have taken pole himself.

The two of them were sensational on Sunday, pulling out more than 20 seconds on Hamilton in third place before the pit stops as they went at it hammer and tongs, swapping fastest laps at the front of the field.

Both drove superbly, but Alonso very rarely makes mistakes once he's in the lead and always looked in control, even though it was clear Vettel was in the fastest car. Now the Spaniard has the wind in his sails and the scent of another title in his nostrils, he can be expected to be formidable.

The Ferrari may not be the out-and-out quickest car, but as Alonso himself put it in Singapore: "We will be 90% at a lot of the tracks. We don't have any disadvantage in any track so we can benefit from this consistency."

Webber - in the championship lead, the fastest car and with a still-substantial advantage over his team-mate - remains the favourite, though.

After a difficult weekend, when he was never on terms with Vettel, Webber drove well to salvage third in the race, a result he will consider the best he could have expected.

Alonso and Ferrari, meanwhile, over-performed, winning a race in which they should have finished only second.

The Spaniard is Webber's closest friend among the drivers, but there will be no favours from either, or any of the other title contenders, as this stunning season comes to its dynamic climax.

But it does mean that Webber, of all people, knows exactly what he is up against.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/09/hamiltons_hopes_take_a_hit.html

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Danica Patrick Confirms Partial NASCAR Schedule for 2011

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CONCORD, N.C. -- Danica Patrick made it official Friday afternoon here at Charlotte Motor Speedway that she will again run a partial NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule along with her full-time job competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

While all the specifics have yet to be worked out, she could run up to 14 Nationwide Series races that wouldn't conflict with the IndyCar schedule or other contractual obligations.

Her JR Motorsports team did confirm she will compete in first four races of the 2011 season -- at Daytona, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol, Tenn., where she will compete for the first time on the challenging half-mile track.

Until the IndyCar Series confirms its final race of the season, JR Motorsports team isn't ready to release her exact stock car schedule in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

"It's a very similar framework to this year based on my contract and what's available (on the schedule),'' Patrick said before heading out to the 1.5-mile Charlotte oval to qualify for Friday night's Nationwide race.

"I'm really excited.''

 

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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/10/15/danica-patrick-confirms-14-race-nascar-schedule-for-2011/

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