Formula One, abbreviated to F1 and also known as Grand Prix racing, is the highest class of single-seat open-wheel formula auto racing. It consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held on purpose-built circuits or closed city streets, whose results determine two annual World Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors. The cars race at speeds often in excess of 300 km/h (185 mph) with engines that produce, as of 2005, around 950 bhp at just over 19000 rpm.
The 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix may have been the race where Red Bull won the season’s Constructor’s Championship, but the weekend was also marred by a number of scary incidents involving armed attacks directed at some Formula One personalities, including reigning World Champion and McLaren driver Jenson Button.
According to the Press Association, Button, along with his father, trainer, and manager were headed back to their hotel after the qualifying session on Saturday when six armed attackers with machine guns attacked the armored vehicle. Button didn’t say anything about shots being fired at the car, but fortunately, their driver possessed extensive training in avoidance driving, which proved to be extremely useful during the incident as he was able to drive away from the scene by, according to Button, ‘bouncing off about five cars’.
Later on, it was also learned that three engineers from Sauber Motorsports were also given an unfortunate reality check on the rampant number of crimes in Sao Paulo after it was reported that they were robbed after leaving the Interlagos circuit after the qualifying session. This time around, the group was driving in a minivan when, during a stop light, the vehicle was surrounded by five robbers, with one of them wielding an automatic weapon. The robbers ended up stealing a number of items from the Sauber engineers, including two backpacks that had one of the engineer’s passports in it.
Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing teammate, Mark Webber, came one-two in this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix to save off Fernando Alonso’s world championship celebration.
Alonso managed third palace, but he is now only eight points ahead of Webber in the championship race.
Lewis Hamilton came fourth, all but ending his title hopes, as it would now take some sort of miracle for him to win his second championship. Mind you, at least he has some hope, as his McLaren teammate Jenson Button is now completely out of the running.
"It was an incredible day, not easy to start with. I was on the dirty side but got a good start and I saw Nico [Hulkenberg] had wheelspin. He didn’t give me a lot of room but then it was OK. I could cruise into the distance and control the pace. It’s an incredible effort from the team. It has not been an easy season, but this was the perfect answer after what happened in Korea,” Vettel said to the BBC.
With so many people stating that Fernando Alonso doesn’t deserve the 2010 Formula One driver’s championship, Emerson Fittipaldi has come out in defense of the Spaniard.
Alonso is leading the championship by 11 points heading into Brazil, but many see seven of those points as undeserved due to the Hockenheim team orders incident.
Yet, Fittipaldi thinks otherwise, as he feels that Alonso will deserve the title if he manages to lock it up either this weekend or in Abu Dhabi.
"If he wins it will be because he is the best," the 63-year-old said at Interlagos.
"There have always been team games that are played," he told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca.
"I see Alonso as the best driver of the day; with the best temperament and the best able to react to problems. He will be a great triple champion in his own right," added Fittipaldi.
While most of us have let the incident in Germany between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa die off, some are still sour over the event. Today, Nick Heidfeld said that it would be a shame if the team orders incident influenced the outcome of the F1 Championship.
Currently, Alonso sits on top of the driver’s table by 11 points and seven of those points were earned at Hockenheim, where Massa was told to move aside to let Alonso pass.
"If Alonso wins the championship with a margin less than the 7 points, it would devalue the championship — that’s a personal view," said former FIA president Max Mosley.
Mosley isn’t the only one who feels this way, as the Red Bull team boss agrees, stating that it would be frustrating if the Spanish driver took the title.
Ferrari has already fined $100,000 for the move, as team orders in F1 are banned at the moment.
About a month ago, word leaked out that Volkswagen was looking into entering the world of Formula One in the future, possibly as early as 2013. The company even put some legs to this report when Volkswagen motor racing chief, Kris Nissen, remarked that one of Volkswagen’s brands could make its way to Formula One. "Within the group, for sure, it could be Audi, it could be Porsche and might also be Volkswagen," he said. Talks even escalated to the point that the company held a meeting to discuss the likelihood of Volkswagen entering Formula One.
Now it looks like those meetings are done and those optimistically hoping for VW to find its way into the most glamorous racing series in the world will be disappointed to know that the German auto giant has scuttled all plans of entering Formula One. Turns out, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the decision to drop the F1 plans came from the company chairman himself, Ferdinand Piech.
We don’t know what prompted Volkswagen to drop their F1 plans, especially since their entry would have generated a ton of interest both from casual fans and die-hards alike. As soon as we find more information, we’ll be sure to let all of you know.
Trouble is brewing in Austin, Texas after reports came out regarding scheduling difficulties as it relates to the construction of the race track that’s going to host the 2012 US Grand Prix.
While we already know that construction for the race track is scheduled to start in December, the Austin Business Journal obtained a document showing that the estimated build time for the whole track would take around 24 months. Following that timeline, there’s serious doubt that the circuit would be finished in time for the US GP.
A Formula One spokesman, however, tried to pour water over the issue saying that the 24-month time frame included the planning and development stage and not exclusively on the track build. But even if the timetable has been set up like this, the timeframe is still cutting it a little too close to the race date and leaves absolutely no margin of error for the construction.
F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has made it clear that if the race does not take place as scheduled, severe penalties would be slapped to race organizers. While we’re holding up hope that the race track just east of the Austin-Begstrom International Airport will be finished in time for the race in 2012, the fact that the build is going to start this late leaves some doubt as to whether or not it’s going to be completed on time.
The truth has finally come out from McLaren, as they have just admitted that they might reconsider their decision to support both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button during the course of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The team had stated that they would support Button, despite the fact that the driver is just about out of the contention for the championship. Hamilton is in much better shape at the moment and the team may need Button to help him out during the race.
"We’ll see what the situation is during the race," said boss Martin Whitmarsh to the BBC.
At the moment, Hamilton is only 21 points back of Fernando Alonso, while Button is 42 points back with only 50 points up for grabs, so it would make sense to give Hamilton everything he needs to help run down the Ferrari.
"We’ll see what happens over the course of the weekend," added Whitmarsh. "There’s a good relationship between the two drivers. I’m sure they are going to co-operate with each other.”
The penultimate race of the 2010 Formula One season is going to be this weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After that, the 2010 season concludes in Abu Dhabi the week after (November 12-14) at the Yas Marina racing circuit.
With both championships – Driver’s and Constructor’s – still to be decided, these last two races are shaping up to be one of the most hotly-anticipated races in recent Formula One history. Four drivers – Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel - and three teams – Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari – are all still in the fight for F1 supremacy, and the Brazilian GP and the Abu Dhabi GP will play hosts to a fittingly thrilling end to the 2010 F1 season.
That being said, Red Bull ace Mark Webber took to the team’s ever-reliable racing simulator to give the Yas Marina circuit a proper shakedown before the final race of the season. Given the magnitude of that race – and Brazil, for that matter – all the contenders have to be at their absolute best if they have any plans of being proclaimed the 2010 Driver’s champion. From the looks of things, the Red Bull driver – currently second to Alonso in the standings – looks ready to rumble in Abu Dhabi.
Williams have agreed to supply transmissions for the Hispania Racing Team next season, as they hope to climb out of the cellar with some help from a former champion.
Hispania have not had much success this season and have yet to score a point finish. Due to their lack of success, many have wondered if the team will be around for the 2011 campaign. This new partnership is key to that future.
If there is one area that links these two teams, it’s the fact that both Williams and Hispania have their engines supplied by Cosworth, making it a bit easier to adapt the gearboxes for the Hispania cars.
As far as the competition goes, Lotus have signed a deal with Red Bull Technology for their gearboxes in 2011, but Virgin have yet to make any major deals. Like the other 2010 newcomers, Lotus and Virgin Racing, Hispania started the season using Xtrac gearboxes.
McLaren’s Jenson Button feels like his title hopes are all but gone, after he finished 12th in the Korean Grand Prix.
Button is now 42 points behind the leader, Fernando Alonso, with only 50 points still on the table. Despite this, Button has vowed to keep fighting, despite his belief that everyone will need to have failures in order to get back into title contention.
His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, remains confident in his chances and feels that the new updates that are going for his car will help McLaren remain competitive with the Ferrari and Red Bull machines.
"We can still do this," said Hamilton to the BBC. "We have some stuff coming on the car which should enable us to fight with Red Bull in Brazil and Abu Dhabi."
Hamilton is currently 21 points behind Alonso, but drivers now get 25 points for winning a race. If Hamilton can take the last two races, he might have a great shot at taking his second career championship.
