Japanese Grand Prix

Japanese Grand Prix
Sunday 12 September 2008

In one of the most exciting race without rain this year, Fernando Alonso reminded us just how he came to be a double world champion by coaxing his Renault to an overall victory at the Fuji Speedway in Japan.

Grid leader Hamilton got away to a slow start, allowing Kimi Raikkonen to get ahead. As they approached turn 1, Hamilton braked late and, according to the stewards, forced Raikkonen off the track. Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso (who started sixth and fourth) saw their chance and stole away into the lead.
Hamilton fought back but, approaching the chicane on lap 2, Felipe Massa’s wheel hit the McLaren, spinning it around. Hamilton re-joined the race but, with a drive –through penalty from the first lap still to do, his chances were not good. The only consolation came when Massa was awarded a similar penalty for their collission. Meanwhile, team mate Heikki Kovaleinen was hanging on to third place, ahead of Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen until lap16 when smoke appeared from the McLaren engine and he was out of the race. Alonso pitted behind Kubica and took on less fuel to get out ahead. He then put in some dazzling laps to ensure that when he pitted again with 23 laps to go, Kubica was firmly in second place. Raikkonen tried everything to get past the Polish driver but had to watch out for Nelsinho Piquet in the second Renault who was closing fast in the final laps.

Felipe Massa’s penalty had relegated him to 14th, but he had worked his way back up to tenth when he collided with Sebastian Bourdais, who had just rejoined the race after pitting. Massa spun, but still managed to finish eighth. Stewards later gave Bourdais, who had finished sixth, a 25 second penalty which dropped him to 10th and gave Massa an extra point.

Since McLaren failed to gain any points, Ferrari move back to lead the constructors’ table.

With just two races to go, Hamilton will be working hard to control those racing instincts that got him into so much trouble today. Next week, the F1 Show moves to Shanghai, China for Race 17.

The top eight finishers were:
1 Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2 Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW)
3 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari)
4 Nelsinho Piquet (Renault)
5 Jarno Trulli (Toyota)
6 Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)
7 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
8 Mark Webber (Red Bull)

After 16 races, the leader board looks like this:
Drivers:
1 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 84
2 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 79
3 Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW) 72
4 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 63
5 Nick Heidfeld (Sauber BMW) 56
6 Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 51
7 Fernando Alonso (Renault) 48
8Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 30
8 Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) 30
10 Mark Webber (Red Bull) 21

Teams:
1 Ferrari 142
2 McLaren 135
3 BMW Sauber 128
4 Renault 66R
5 Toyota 50Mc

Mike O’Neill

Formula 1 Night Race - Singapore

Singapore Grand Prix
Sunday 28 September 2008

Track: 5.067 km

Laps: 61

Qualifying:
With just one point separating the world championship leaders, today’s practise on a new street track was always going to be tense. This tension was increased by having to qualify under floodlights. The Singapore circuit will see the first ever Formula 1 night race, which gets under way at 20.00 local time.

Felipe Massa gained a psychological advantage by qualifying over half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton but this may have been achieved with a significantly lighter fuel load. This will make Ferrari’s pit stop strategy even more critical than usual. Massa later said: “The track is very difficult and requires total concentration lap after lap because there is no room for error: it's much harder here than in Monaco”. Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari qualified third, with Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW) fourth. Heikki Kovaleinen (McLaren) finds himself sandwiched between the two Sauber BMWs, having Nick Heidfeld behind him in sixth place. Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), who won his first Grand Prix at Monza earlier this month, starts seventh with Timo Glock (Toyota) eighth. The two Williams drivers are ninth and tenth, giving Kazuki Nakajima his first ever top ten start.

Fernando Alonso failed to get into the top 10 after several promising runs in practice. His Renault engine cut out during the second qualifying session, which means he will start in 15th place.

The forecast? Thundery rain is expected but when and how much is still undecided. The race starts at 14.00 (or 20.00 if you happen to be in Singapore!)

The grid line-up:
1 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
2 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
3 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari)
4 Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW)
5 Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
6 Nick Heidfeld (Sauber BMW)
7 Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso)
8 Timo Glock (Toyota)
9 Nico Rosberg (Williams)
10 Kazuki Nakajima (Williams)

Top six after 14 races:
1 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 78
2 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 77
3 Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW) 64
4 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 57
5 Nick Heidfeld (Sauber BMW) 53
6 Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 51

Valencia European Grand Prix

The first grand prix in Valencia got off to a cracking start with Felipe Massa stamping his authority on the field from pole position.
Lewis Hamilton held onto his second position despite suffering from flu-like symptoms and neck spasms before the race. Robert Kubica started from third and, after an incident with a plastic bag which lodged under his car during an early lap, added another good result to his scorecard this season. Current champion Kimi Raikkonen had an awful day. Starting fourth on the grid, he was quickly passed by Heikki Kovaleinen, still buoyant from his win in Hungary. Raikkonen fought back but, during his second pit stop, pulled away before the fuel hose had been removed and knocked over one of the pit crew. While the crew member was being treated for injured ribs and a damaged foot, Raikkonen’s engine blew up in a cloud of smoke, putting the Finn out of the race.

Renault driver Fernando Alonso had another bad day when Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) ran into the back of him on lap one, damaging the rear foil and forcing the Spaniard to retire.

Despite early predictions that this would be a good track for overtaking, there was no real evidence of this. The pace was such that few drivers were tempted into passing manoeuvres after the first lap.

The day clearly belonged to Felipe Massa as the Brazilian celebrated his 100th grand prix race with a convincing win, spoilt only by a 10,000 Euro penalty for the Ferrari Team when they released Massa alongside Adrian Sutil’s Force India after his second pit stop.

The top eight finishers were:
1 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 
2 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
3 Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)
4 Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
5 Jarno Trulli (Toyota)
6 Sebastian Vettel (STR-Ferrrari)
7 Timo Glock (BMW Sauber)
8 Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota)

After 12 races, the leader board looks like this:
Drivers:
1 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 70
2 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 64
3 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 57
4 Robert Kubica (Sauber BMW) 55
5 Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) 43
6 Nick Heidfeld (Sauber BMW) 41
7 Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 26
8 Fernando Alonso (Renault) 18
9 Mark Webber (Red Bull) 18
10 Timo Glock (Toyota) 15

Teams:
1 Ferrari 121
2 McLaren 113
3 BMW Sauber 96
4 Toyota 41
5 Renault 31

ps Is it me, or did the Ferrari crew ignore Raikkonen when he returned to the pits after his engine blew? I hope the fuel guy recovers soon.

Mike O’Neill