Singapore Grand Prix: Qualifying Results

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Final Classification
Pos/Driver	Team	Q1 Time	Q2 Time	Q3 Time
1. Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:44.519	1:44.014	1:44.801
2. Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:44.501	1:44.932	1:45.465
3. Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:44.282	1:44.232	1:45.617
4. Robert Kubica	BMW-Sauber	1:44.740	1:44.519	1:45.779
5. Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:44.311	1:44.207	1:45.873
6. Nick Heidfeld	BMW-Sauber	1:45.548	1:44.520	1:45.964
7. Sebastien Vettel	Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:45.042	1:44.261	1:46.244
8. Timo Glock	Toyota	1:45.184	1:44.441	1:46.328
9. Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:45.103	1:44.429	1:46.611
10. Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:45.127	1:44.826	1:47.547
Eliminated After Q2
11. Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:45.642	1:45.038
12. Jenson Button	Honda	1:45.660	1:45.133
13. Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:45.493	1:45.212
14. David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:46.028	1:45.298
15. Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:44.971	No Time
Eliminated After Q1
16. Nelson Piquet Jnr.	Renault	1:46.037
17. Sebastian Bourdais	Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari	1:46.389
18. Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:46.583
19. Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:47.940
20. Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	No Time

Singapore Grand Prix: Overtaking harder than Valencia?

Felipe Massa - Ferrari

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa believes it will be harder to overtake in Singapore than it was at the processional European Grand Prix at Valencia. The city-state is preparing to hold it’s first  Grand Prix this weekend under floodlights.

“Saturday will be very important. I’ve never driven on the Singapore track, but it’ll be even more difficult to overtake compared to Valencia, because the straights are even shorter.

“These days it is not very easy to overtake in Formula One. The cars have great aerodynamic downforce, [and] when you are behind a car you lose downforce.”

Street circuits, like Monaco and Valencia, are notriously difficult places to overtake, and even though a number of opportunities are expected to be presented by the challenge of the Marina Bay layout, combined with a strong possibility of monsoon-like rain in the evenings, safety is an issue for the drivers with no one being clear on the effect of reflections from puddles on track and rain drops will be.

This unique event will complicate drivers’ preparations further, with the stars flying out as late as possible, eating breakfast in the afternoon, dinner at midnight, and trying to sleep in the early hours of the morning.

Neal’s View: We are seeing more processional races, which is not good for the fans. As soon as we see some action, like at Spa, the FIA step in and clamp down on it. Hope I can find a television to watch it from though.

Hamilton: Cocky or Comedian? You Decide!

Below is part of a courtroom examination between McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari lawyer Nigel Tozzi:

Hamilton: Are you a racing driver? No! I have been a racing driver since I was eight years old and I know pretty much every single manoeuvre in the book, and that’s why I’m the best at my job. We are talking about a skilled driver under intense pressure making a split-second decision which no-one, not unless they are in Formula One, can comprehend.

Tozzi: Stop personalising the issue… [I am] under instruction from Ferrari who know as much about Formula One as you do!

Hamilton: With respect, I doubt it.

So, Lewis Hamilton; cocky or comedian – you decide! Click here

La Source-gate: Drivers Have Their Say

Felipe Massa:

“What happened is that he took an advantage by cutting the chicane.

“You can ask drivers how many overtaking moves you see there.

“None between the last corner and the first corner, because there is such a small straight there. That is my opinion and it doesn’t change.”

Sebastian Bourdais:

“I think it is very clear, the rules are clear. Maybe the penalty is very hard but he has made the same mistake twice, he did in Magny-Cours and he did it in Spa.

“I don’t really understand why there is such a mess around it, there is a rule book and everyone has to obey the same thing. The penalty is rough but it is up to you to give the position back.”

Nico Rosberg:

“He did have an advantage because he would not be so close if he had not cut the chicane but the penalty was a bit harsh as it did not have a big result in the end result. But it won’t stop us from trying to attack definitely.”

Jarno Trulli:

“I agree the penalty was quite big but I am not a steward. But it is also clear he got an advantage.

“The rules are very clear, if you cut the chicane you get the advantage you have to drop it and lose advantage, in Lewis’ case he should not attack in the first corner that is it.

“This last chicane, they have a lot of run off area they give you more chance to attack because in case of mistake you won’t end up in wall or gravel. We have more chance to overtake.”

Giancarlo Fisichella:

“I just seen pictures so difficult for me to say if it is right or not what happened. For sure maybe he took a small advantage that is why he had the possibility to overtake him again in braking for Turn One, but obviously 25 seconds penalty was quite a strong penalty.”

19,000+ Formula One Fans Sign Petition Against Penalty

Formula One fans have taken their disgust at the stewards decision at the recent Belgian Grand Prix, La Source-gate, to demote Lewis Hamilton to third by setting up an online petition to send to the FIA.

http://www.petitiononline.com/belgp08/petition.html

Formula One Blog cannot tell you which way to vote, but our readership seems to be singing from the same hymnsheet, with only one comment saying Hamilton got what he deserved.

UPDATE: 09/09/08 22:49 (BST): 27,982 signatures

UPDATE: 10/09/08 11:05 (BST): 32,226 signatures

Behind The Barriers: Ferrari International Assistance Rears It’s Ugly Head Once More

Ferrari fans, look away now! You will not like what I have to say.

Firstly, let me make it clear: I do not support any individual driver, nor any particular team. I support the sport – which descends in to a farce on days like these.

For those of you that did not see today’s race, towards the end, Raikkonen pushed Hamilton wide at the Bus Stop chicane, Hamilton subsequently had no option but to cut the corner, gaining the lead in the process. To avoid a penalty, Hamilton let Raikkonen reclaim the lead, before re-passing him at La Source. Fearing a penalty, Ron Dennis went to check with FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting as to whether the move was legitimate, and Whiting said it was. Although the stewards are independent of Whiting, he attends every race and knows what has happened in the past. Had Whiting declared the move illegal, McLaren would have let Raikkonen back through again. At the end of the race, Ferrari put in an official protest, although they deny this, and the stewards imposed a penalty of 25 seconds to Hamilton’s time. Due to the last few, torrential, laps squeezing the pack together, this was very costly as Hamilton was demoted from first, to third.

This is not the first time that McLaren have been harshly treated by the sport’s governing body, the FIA – or Ferrari International Assistance, as Paul Stoddart dubbed it. If we look back to last year when McLaren were thrown out of the Constructors’ Championship, during the ‘Spy Scandal’, for using Ferrari information on their car, not many people listened to what the two culprits, Mike Coughlan (McLaren) and Nigel Stepney (Ferrari), had to say. They revealed that the information passed was two-way, not one-way, meaning Ferrari were using McLaren’s intellectual property on their car. The FIA did not even investigate these claims.

That’s not all. At last season’s Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren were stripped of any Constructors’ Championship points they would have won after a squabble between Lewis Hamilton and then-teammate Fernando Alonso. In what was an internal dispute, the FIA had no right in interfering. But it did.

Suspicians are also raised by Ferrari’s Felipe Massa about this event. At 11pm, a journalist asked Massa: “It looks like nothing’s going to happen tomorrow?“, to which Massa replied: “No, no, no, no… Alonso’s been penalised and McLaren will score no Constructors’ points.” Remember, this was at 11pm, the official announcement was not made until 11.35pm – more than half an hour after Massa knew the outcome. It sounds suspicious to me!

Another example is the Italian Grand Prix, Monza 2006. Fernando Alonso had his pole position time taken away from him for ‘blocking’ Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. It did not matter to the stewards that Massa was not even in the same television camera shot. Telemetry showed Massa 1.6km down the track from Alonso. It also proved that Massa had lost no time because of Alonso. But the FIA stewards still punished the Renault man.

If we look back at the last race, Ferrari were penalised €10,000 for releasing Massa into the path of Adrian Sutil in the pit lane. Ferrari claimed that there was no sporting advantage, and the FIA accepted this as a good reason for a low penalty. Yet if we look at the regulations, Article 23.1 i states:

“It is the responsibility of thecompetitor to release his car after a pit stop only when it is safe to do so.”

There is no mention of whether a sporting advantage is gained or not. Only, whether it was safe of not. The stewards decision to delay the investigation until the end of the race was also unusual. That only usually happens if someone crashes out, or if it happens in the last 10 laps.

So I finish by asking the FIA, what on earth are you doing? You treat the fans like idiots! And we deserve better from you!

Belgian Grand Prix: McLaren to appeal against Hamilton penalty

It has been revealed tonight that McLaren-Mercedes have put in an appeal to the FIA over the stewards’ decision to penalise Lewis Hamilton. Here is the statement:

“We looked at all our data and also made it available to the FIA stewards. It showed that, having lifted, Lewis was 6km/h slower than Kimi as they crossed the start/finish line.

“Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned his car, moving across and behind Kimi to the right-hand line and then outbraked him into the hairpin. Based on this data, we have no option other than to register our intention to appeal.

“We are a racing team and now focus on Monza, with a view to extending our lead in the drivers’ world championship.”

Neal’s View: Hamilton’s penalty was grossly unfair – FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting said McLaren were in the clear, had he not done, Hamilton would have let Raikkonen through again. But I’d say it is odd-on that the appeal will be rejected without even being considered.

Belgian Grand Prix: Hamilton Penalised

McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has been penalised 25 seconds for an infringement in the closing stages of today’s Belgian Grand Prix, demoting him from first to third. The Briton was forced wide by race leader Kimi Raikkonen, and gained the lead. He allowed the Ferrari driver to go back in front to avoid a penalty before overtaking once more at the next corner.

Raikkonen failed to last much longer as he crashed his Ferrari in the rain-soaked final laps.

What will annoy McLaren supporters is that FIA Race Director, Charlie Whiting, had deemed that no punishment was needed.

Opinion on this will feature in this weekend’s feature column, to be published later tonight.

Belgian Grand Prix: Harsh Conditions Rob Bourdais of Podium

Vettel (l), Bourdais (r): Star Spa Performers

STR-Ferrari’s French driver Sebastian Bourdais can feel hard-done by the weather at today’s Belgian Grand Prix. With a few laps left to run, the weather changed as rain arrived at the circuit, and Bourdais started his final lap in third position, meaning a podium was barely four miles away. However, Bourdais followed Hamilton’s, and Massa’s lead by opting not to pit for intermediate tyres, and this proved costly. In the final lap, Bourdais dropped from third, to seventh, with Renault’s Fernando Alonso the main beneficiary, climbing up to fourth.

“On the last lap it was a lottery with the car getting away from you with every turn of the wheel. It’s a horrible situation, as everything had been under control up until then. But I am not in a situation where I can risk everything and at the end of the race I didn’t even know where I finished.

“It was so close to being a great result I felt I could almost touch it and so it was a very frustrating way to finish what was a great weekend up to that point. Such a shame, but nevertheless a very strong result for the team.”

Neal’s View: Bourdais drove a strong race, and STR-Ferrari will be happy with the results – but it could have been better. The pressure is still on Bourdais, but more performances like this and he should keep his seat for 2009.

Hamilton Running Light?

Lewis Hamilton at Spa

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis hinted that Lewis Hamilton may be a little lighter on fuel than team mate Kovalainen and the two Ferraris behind him, after the British driver stormed to pole by a large margin of 0.3s.

When asked whether McLaren should have put more fuel in Hamilton’s car, Dennis said:

“We don’t regret the margin, it’s so important to be on pole here and if we do have rain in the race it’s not the kind of place you want to be following other people around on so we’re very happy with our grid positions.

“We’ve brought improvements here and have a major package for Monza and the drivers did a great job,” he added. “We are getting the tyres to work better than some of our competitors, but overall it’s a good team effort.”

Neal’s View: At a wet Spa, having a clear track in front of you is the biggest advantage you can get. If Hamilton is to win today, he must stay ahead of Massa at the start and build up a sizeable lead by the first pit-stop.