Sunday, March 23, 2008

Malaysia 2008 : Raikkonen storms to victory in Malaysia

It was a weekend in Malaysia for Ferrari to bounce back after a dismal outing in Australia with Kimi Raikkonen taking the Malaysian Grand Prix with relative ease. Second Place belonged to Robert Kubica in a fast improving BMW-Sauber F1.08 and Heikki Kovalainen in third place.

Jarno Trulli in the Toyota showed that Toyota have good pace this year with an impressive 4th place finish just ahead of a charging Lewis Hamilton who, if not for one poor pit stop would have placed higher.

The race began with Felipe Massa on pole and after turn one, Massa kept the lead ahead of Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Nick Heidfeld and Jarno Trulli came together lightly, but enough to send Heidfeld down to 10th place. Heidfeld would have a difficult time making up ground the rest of the race from there. First lap bumper cars was limited to just Sebastein Bourdais spinning off into the gravel trap and beaching his car for the day.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Malaysian F1 GP 2008 - Qualifying :Malaysia Mighty Massa heads Ferrari front row at Sepang

Today in the Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying, it was Ferrari’s turn to shine in qualifying as they claimed the first row of the grid. It was Felipe Massa who grabbed pole with a 1:35.748 and Kimi Raikkonen behind.

Heikki Kovalainen out qualified Lewis Hamilton for the 3rd spot with Hamilton grabbing 4th on the grid. So an all Ferrari front row, and an all McLaren Mercedes second row is what will start the Malaysian Grand Prix.

During Q3, and after flying laps, both McLaren drivers were ordered to slow down on their way back to the pits to conserve fuel. While doing this, Both Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso, on flying laps seemed to be impeded by the slow MP4-23s. In particular you could easily see Nick Heidfeld having to weave through them because they remained on the racing line.

Nick Heidfeld described the McLarens as:
“cruising on the racing line”.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Malaysia F1 GP 2008 - Testing


After both Ferrari’s made it to the top of the time charts in Friday’s 1st practice session, it was Lewis Hamilton who topped the 2nd practice session in fine form.

Jenson Button had a good outing posting the 4th fastest time. Even though these sessions are much like in testing with times not really telling too much of a story, Honda really have made some improvements that are beginning to show.

It was Sebastien Bourdais, after very nearly taking out Nick Heidfeld exiting his pit who paid a coincidental price with a transmition failure soon after. A little more luck for Bourdais is all he needs to show what he is really made of.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The slip between the cup and the lip

This season is undoubtedly about Standard ECU i.e. no traction control and engine braking. It was so apparent at this past weekend Australian Grand Prix that saw numerous crashes and spins caused by driver error.

What after Massa claiming that this regulation is a step back in terms of safety. Practice, qualifying, and the race were so exciting to watch, seeing car after car after car sliding their way through corners and the drivers using their own skill to get through rather than relying on the car to do it for them.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Barrichello disqualified, Raikkonen gains point


Honda’s Rubens Barrichello has been disqualified from sixth place in the Australian Grand Prix. Barrichello was penalised by stewards for exiting the pits under a red light. It means Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen moves up to eighth place and hence scores a point.

The penalty brought a sad end to what had been an eventful afternoon for Barrichello. After putting in a performance far stronger than anyone had predicted in the RA108, the Brazilian fell victim to unlucky timing when he was forced to pit for fuel under the safety car.

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Australia 2008: Hamilton Wins, Disaster For Ferrari

The first race of the season is over and the best script-writers on the planet couldn’t have done a better job. In what can only be described as the first day back at school for most drivers, we saw spins, coming-togethers, random retirements and even swearing on live TV. The 2008 Australian Grand Prix made for a fascinating race and the true pace of all the cars is now much clearer.

The first lap saw the first safety car of the season, and it wouldn’t be the last for the race. An incident at the first corner saw Giancarlo Fisichella and Timo Glock come together, the Italian retiring on the spot. One hope lost for the Vijay Malya outfit - Force India. In the melee was Felipe Massa who damaged his nose and had to pit, Anthony Davidson who retired and Jenson Button and Mark Webber both suffered as well Sebastian Vettel also retired after his stunning qualifying effort yesterday and spent the remainder of the race on the pitwall.

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Australian F1 GP 2008 - Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position for the season opening Australian Grand Prix, while reigning champion Kimi Raikkonen will begin his title defence from a disastrous 16th on the grid after suffering from fuel pressure problems in the first part of qualifying. The Finn's Ferrari slowed dramatically after its first flying lap of the session, and although Raikkonen tried to keep it rolling as far as the team's garage, it came to a halt at the start of the pitlane entry. The Ferrari crew pushed the car back to their pit, but Raikkonen could take no further part in the session.

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Australian F1 GP 2008 - Testing


Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton renewed their rivalry at the top of the timesheets in practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Ferrari’s Raikkonen, limbering up for his first race as world champion, laid down an early marker for Sunday’s grand prix with a one minute 26.461 second lap that topped the morning timesheets at Albert Park.
But the Finn was less happy with his car’s set-up in the afternoon, when Hamilton was quickest.
“I’m not very happy with the way practice went,” he said.
“This morning we found some good settings for the car but in the afternoon we struggled and our lap times reflect that.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

F1 2008 Preview / Australian Grand Prix Preview


Now that the driver lineups have been determined, the new cars have been launched (the ones that matter, anyway), and with Winter testing complete, the Formula 1 season is ready to begin! I, for one, am looking forward to it. I began watching/paying attention to F1 just after the first GP in 2004, when Schumacher was at his prime and Barrichello was still @ Ferrari and the time when people called Montoya crazy.First, let us tackle the new season. Will Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen win back-to-back constructor and driver's championships? How will McLaren rebound from their controversy filled (on and off the track) 2007 season? Can BMW join the elite and compete for podium finish and victories regularly. How will Renault fair with the return of two time World Champion Fernando Alonso?

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