Paul’s Formula 1 Page To Go On Hiatus In 2009

I’m sorry to say that pressure of work and, it has to be said, a certain lack of enthusiasm for recent events in and around the sport have led me to decide to sit out the 2009 season.

I would like to thank all of my readers for the past dozen or so years, especially those that contacted me with questions, tips and opinions.

I hope that we will all get to enjoy some exciting and safe races this year and look forward to returning in the future.

Best regards,

-Paul

Posted: Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Felipe Massa Wins 2008 Brazilian GP – Lewis Hamilton Takes World Championship

Felipe Massa won today’s Brazilian Grand Prix and did everything that he could to chase the World Championship but Lewis Hamilton squeaked in by a single point, exactly his losing margin last year.

A downpour just minutes before the start and another in the closing laps made things interesting… when everyone else was changing to intermediate wet weather tyres Toyota’s Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli stayed out on their dry rubber and, with half a lap to go, Hamilton was in sixth place which would have put him level with Massa on points and Massa held the tie-breaker having won more races. With the crowd on their feet, cheering their local boy home Glock ran wide on the last corner and Hamilton slipped by to take fifth place and the title.

Fernando Alonso drove another excellent race to finish second and, if he can put together a whole season like the second half of this one, he could be challenging for another title next year.

Although Massa didn’t win the title, Ferrari can console themselves with another Constructors’ Championship.

Complete GP of Brazil results.

Posted: Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

Lewis Hamilton Wins 2008 Chinese GP

Lewis Hamilton won today’s Chinese Grand Prix and increased his lead over Felipe Massa to seven points going into the final event of the year in two weeks time.

Truth be told it was an incredibly dull event with very little overtaking. The most interesting part of the race was the speculation around how and when Kimi Raikkonen would let Massa pass so that he could maximize his points. In the end Raikkonen slowed going into the hairpin on the 50th lap and Massa drove smoothly past him.

As we wait for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix it’s worth remembering that Hamilton went into the race with a seven point lead last year as well only to fail to finish and lose the championship by a single point. Will history repeat itself or will Hamilton succeed this time? Either way, let’s hope it’s more interesting than today’s event.

Complete GP of China results.

Posted: Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Fernando Alonso Wins 2008 Japanese GP

It’s two in a row for Fernando Alonso as he wins today’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Renault obviously had a good weekend as their number two driver Nelson Piquet finished fourth but it certainly didn’t hurt their chances that Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa both earned drive-through penalties for incidents on the first corner of the first lap. Hamilton also spun after his contact with Massa putting him even further back in the pack.

Heikki Kovalainen retired in a cloud of smoke early in the race to complete another dismal weekend for McLaren as both of their drivers failed to score any points.

Although Massa was only able to take two points out of Hamilton’s lead in the drivers’ championship, this and Kimi Raikkonen’s third place finish was enough to move Ferrari past McLaren and back into the lead in the constructors’ title chase.

Complete GP of Japan results.

Posted: Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Fernando Alonso Wins 2008 Singapore GP

Fernando Alonso won today’s inaugural Grand Prix of Singapore and unleashed a cavalcade of firsts: the first Formula 1 race in Singapore, the first ever Formula 1 race to be held under lights at night and the first win for Alonso and Renault this year.

Alonso was fortunate to pit just before his teammate Nelson Piquet crashed into the wall, bringing out the safety car and closing the pits. When the pits reopened the rest of the field either had to pit or serve a penalty for pitting while the pits were closed and Alonso collected the lead. While Alonso’s win was unexpected it was not entirely down to luck as the Renaults were fast all weekend and Alonso thought they had a good chance of victory before he was let down by an engine problem during qualifying.

Unlike the street race in Valencia this event was quite entertaining and the lighting really showed off the paint schemes on the cars. Some of the drivers complained about the height of the curbs and some bumpy patches but the crowd seemed to have a great time and no doubt much money was spent by all.

Lewis Hamilton finished third but was probably not too upset as neither of the Ferraris scored any points at all. He now has a seven point lead with just three races to go. McLaren passed Ferrari to take a single point lead in the constructors’ championship.

Kimi Raikkonen finished 15th after hitting the wall while running in fifth place with three laps to go. Felipe Massa finished just two places ahead of him after a disastrous pit stop… first he drove away with the fuel hose still attached, ripping it from its connection and knocking a crewman to the ground. Then he had to wait at the end of pit lane until his mechanics could reach him to remove the hose and send him on his way. To add to his problems he almost hit Adrian Sutil (again!) when he left his pit and so he received a drive-through penalty.

The instant-replay showed that Massa had been released by his team and so it wasn’t his fault. While Ferrari’s automated traffic-light pit release system is innovative, it apparently doesn’t work very well as this is the second such mistake and they really should either get it right or go back to the old lollipop system before someone is seriously hurt.

Complete GP of Singapore results.

Posted: Sunday, September 28th, 2008

Sebastian Vettel Wins 2008 Italian GP

Yesterday Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel became the youngest pole winner in Formula One history. Today he topped this remarkable achievement by winning the Italian Grand Prix and becoming Formula One’s youngest ever race winner.

Like the qualifying sessions, it rained for most of today’s race but Vettel drove like a far more experienced driver in atrocious conditions with a wet track and little visibility.

Lewis Hamilton salvaged a couple of points after a bad tyre choice in qualifying doomed him to starting from 15th place on the grid. He now leads Felipe Massa by a single point in the championship race.

Complete GP of Italy results.

Posted: Sunday, September 14th, 2008

Felipe Massa Inherits 2008 Belgium GP

In complete contrast to the parade in Valencia two weeks ago, today’s Belgian Grand Prix at historic Spa Francorchamps was a great race on a great racetrack. Kimi Raikkonen drove like his old self and pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton was breathing down his neck for almost the entire race.

When it started to rain with just a couple of laps to go the leaders knew that that they would have to tough it out on their dry-weather tyres as there was no time to stop for wets.

Hamilton short-cut the chicane and took the lead but then seemed to slow slightly to give the position back to Raikkonen. Falling in right behind him he was back on the power and banging wheels. Both cars went wide on a corner and then Hamilton spun giving the lead to Raikkonen. Seconds later Raikkonen lost control and drove into the wall. Tilt. Game over.

Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso both stopped for intermediate tyres and made up three places in the final laps, passing Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel who were in third and fourth places before the rain. This would have been Bourdais’ first F1 podium and an amazing result for the Red Bull B-team but it wasn’t to be.

Several hours later Hamilton was given a 25 second penalty for cutting the chicane which dropped him from first to third. Timo Glock also received a similar penalty which dropped him out of the points.

Let the appeals and arguments commence.

Complete GP of Belgium results.

Posted: Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Felipe Massa Wins 2008 European GP

Another great start and a solid drive from pole-sitter Felipe Massa. This time it was his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s engine that blew up and not his and so Massa went on to win the inaugural European Grand Prix through the streets of Valencia in convincing style.

Although Valencia is a very pretty city, the same cannot yet be said for this new course. While it has a few interesting sections, like the run up to and across a swing bridge over the channel out of the yacht harbour, most of the circuit is run between featureless white concrete barriers. It is too narrow to expect much passing and there aren’t many run-off areas to save those who get it wrong.

Unbelievably Kazuki Nakajima slammed into the back of local hero Fernando Alonso on the very first lap, breaking his rear wing. Alonso limped his Renault back to the pits and his day was done without completing a single lap.

While it was undoubtably the Ferrari team’s fault and not his, Massa was lucky to avoid a penalty when he was released from his second pit-stop while Force India’s Adrian Sutil was driving by on the pit lane. Massa had to brake to avoid hitting either Sutil or the oncoming pit wall and had the gall to criticize Sutil for not yielding the lane to him as he was in the lead in the race and would soon pass him once they returned to the track.

A couple of laps before Raikkonen’s smoky departure from the race he started to leave his pit before the fuel hose was disengaged, knocking one of his engineers to the ground and sideswiping him with his rear tyre. The crewman was taken away on a stretcher but after the race the team said that his injuries were not too serious.

The rest of the field finished in virtually the same order that they had qualified. Without Alonso to cheer for or the cloudbursts that we have seen in recent races to liven things up, overall this wasn’t a very interesting event and many of the grandstand seats were empty long before it finally finished.

Complete GP of Europe results.

Posted: Sunday, August 24th, 2008

Heikki Kovalainen Wins 2008 Hungarian GP

Felipe Massa made a great start in today’s Hungarian Grand Prix, passing pole sitter Lewis Hamilton on the outside of the first corner and taking the lead. Setting one fast lap after another he had a safe lead and was looking for another win… until his engine gave out in a cloud of smoke on the main straight with just three laps to go. At least he didn’t have a long walk back to his pits!

Lewis Hamilton could possibly have made it three in a row but a puncture just past half way dropped him from second to tenth. Despite a strong drive he ended up in fifth after rejoining the race.

For once Heikki Kovalainen had some good luck and he was in the right place at the right time to inherit his first Grand Prix victory.

A superb result for Timo Glock who was second — only two weeks after his big crash at Hockenheim — was well deserved. Both of the Toyotas had looked strong all weekend and Jarno Trulli also finished in the points.

Kimi Raikkonen looked more like his old self than we have seen in quite a while and was the fastest man on the track in the closing laps. Raikkonen has had plenty of bad luck and poor results this year but so have everyone else and he’s still only five points out of first place.

With seven races left in the season the competition is closer than it’s been in years and the championship is still wide open with four or five drivers looking like they might take the title. Another couple of races like this one and a few more drivers could also be in with a shot.

Complete GP of Hungary results.

Posted: Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Lewis Hamilton Wins 2008 German GP

Another excellent drive from pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton saw him win today’s German Grand Prix with ease. Even though he missed making a pit stop while the safety car was out, he had soon built up enough of a gap to pit and stay in the lead.

The dark clouds looked threatening but the rain stayed away and so the results were a little more predictable than in recent events. Both McLarens, Ferraris and BMWs finished in the points with a great result for Nelson Piquet in second and a single point for Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel.

Complete GP of Germany results.

Posted: Sunday, July 20th, 2008