News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label British GP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British GP. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 July 2010
McLaren 'not behind' with development
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is adamant that his team has not fallen behind in the development race despite having to delay the introduction of the blown rear diffuser.
The British squad had a big update scheduled for the British Grand Prix, but was forced to remove the blown diffuser after hitting trouble with it during Friday's practice sessions.
Both qualifying and the race were dominated by Red Bull's drivers, with Mark Webber taking a commanding win ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Although the team has been unable to race with the diffuser, Whitmarsh says McLaren is still very much on par with its rivals in terms of development.
"I'm not sure we've been behind in the development race - I think we've had a car that's been capable of winning races," said Whitmarsh on Tuesday during a phone-in. "You need to be reliable and quick enough to win races.
"I think we've had both of those things generally. It's always nice to be quicker, it's always nice to be more reliable, but I think we're in a reasonable position - but we know that we've got to continue to development the car if we're going to win the championships this year."
Despite the problems at Silverstone, Whitmarsh is optimistic that the device will be raced this weekend in Germany.
"You can't be entirely confident, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said. "We've made some modifications in the light of that data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."
He also said that having one car with the diffuser and one without it was not possibility McLaren was considering at the moment.
"We're working at the moment on the premise that we'll have blown diffusers on both cars to start with," he added. "At Silverstone Lewis wanted to keep the blown diffuser on on Friday night, but we took the decision there to switch them both back to the older diffuser.
"If there was a preference from one side of the garage to the other - and if I can, we'll avoid that - we'll do it if we think it's the right way to perform during the course of that weekend.
"There are advantages, as you can imagine, to running one car in one configuration, one in the other - provided that in so doing, you don't end up, rightly or wrongly, accused of treating the two drivers differently."
Whitmarsh, whose team is leading both championships after the halfway point of the season, admitted it was still too early to write off teams like Ferrari from the championship fight, despite the lack of results from the Italian squad in recent races.
"I'd love to believe that, but experience has told me that you can't write them off. Ferrari are a strong team, they're technical capable, have fantastic resources and they've got one former world champion and one other top-flight driver and Mercedes-Benz similarly have got one former multiple world champion and a very good driver in Nico [Rosberg].
"So I think it's too early to write them off. We need to improve our car and do as good a job as we can do. Red Bull clearly are the principle challenge at the moment, but I don't dismiss the others."
Friday, 16 July 2010
McLaren: No room for complacency
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh insists his team cannot afford to be complacent despite the positive results of the last races.
Although McLaren has not had the quickest car of the field, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have consolidated their position at the top of the standings thanks to strong races in Valencia and Britain.
The team, however, was forced to remove its rear blown diffuser at Silverstone, something that was a hit to its chances of matching Red Bull.
And despite its strong championship situation, Whitmarsh reckons the team has made it clear it is not ready to rest on its laurels.
"We've come off an extremely successful run of recent races, but we're nonetheless under no illusions that we need to bring further performance to the MP4-25 if we are to remain at the forefront of this championship battle," said Whitmarsh in a team preview.
"I think Silverstone showed that we were in no mood to be complacent - either in our aggressive push to put upgrades on the car or our decision to remove them and put our faith in an older iteration of the car, despite a lack of running compared with our rivals."
Whitmarsh said the team has run extensive testing of the floor in the factory, but a decision on whether it will be used will only be taken after Friday practice at Hockenheim.
"Of course, that final validation will only come at the circuit," he said. "So we're looking at undertaking a major test programme on Friday at Hockenheim. This will involve both drivers running back-to-back evaluations with the T2 and T3 floors.
"And, if these prove positive, we'll then look at the deployment of the new floor for the remainder of the race weekend. But that's a decision we'll only make after a thorough analysis of the inherent risks and benefits."
World champion Button said he is aiming to raise his game in qualifying, after two difficult sessions in Valencia and Silverstone.
"After two disappointments in qualifying at Valencia and Silverstone, my aim for this weekend must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon, so that I can maximise my performance on Sunday without needing to play catch-up during the race," he said.
"This will be another busy weekend for all of us as we spend Friday working through the changes we've made to optimise the blown diffuser. Hopefully, we'll have a positive test and will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it."
Although McLaren has not had the quickest car of the field, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have consolidated their position at the top of the standings thanks to strong races in Valencia and Britain.
The team, however, was forced to remove its rear blown diffuser at Silverstone, something that was a hit to its chances of matching Red Bull.
And despite its strong championship situation, Whitmarsh reckons the team has made it clear it is not ready to rest on its laurels.
"We've come off an extremely successful run of recent races, but we're nonetheless under no illusions that we need to bring further performance to the MP4-25 if we are to remain at the forefront of this championship battle," said Whitmarsh in a team preview.
"I think Silverstone showed that we were in no mood to be complacent - either in our aggressive push to put upgrades on the car or our decision to remove them and put our faith in an older iteration of the car, despite a lack of running compared with our rivals."
Whitmarsh said the team has run extensive testing of the floor in the factory, but a decision on whether it will be used will only be taken after Friday practice at Hockenheim.
"Of course, that final validation will only come at the circuit," he said. "So we're looking at undertaking a major test programme on Friday at Hockenheim. This will involve both drivers running back-to-back evaluations with the T2 and T3 floors.
"And, if these prove positive, we'll then look at the deployment of the new floor for the remainder of the race weekend. But that's a decision we'll only make after a thorough analysis of the inherent risks and benefits."
World champion Button said he is aiming to raise his game in qualifying, after two difficult sessions in Valencia and Silverstone.
"After two disappointments in qualifying at Valencia and Silverstone, my aim for this weekend must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon, so that I can maximise my performance on Sunday without needing to play catch-up during the race," he said.
"This will be another busy weekend for all of us as we spend Friday working through the changes we've made to optimise the blown diffuser. Hopefully, we'll have a positive test and will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it."
Monday, 12 July 2010
McLaren optimistic over blown diffuser
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is optimistic that his team can get its blown diffuser working in time for it to be raced at the German Grand Prix.
The Woking-based team tried out its blown diffuser for the first time at Silverstone last weekend, but it was removed from the car on Friday night after the outfit struggled to find a good balance with it - and suffered from issues relating to the heat.
Work is now underway for another trial of the concept in practice at Hockenheim in a fortnight's time, and Whitmarsh hopes that the improvements will be good enough for it to remain on the car for the whole weekend.
"I'm quite optimistic now," he said. "Because of circumstance we took the blown diffuser off on Friday, and we got a free back-to-back because on Saturday we didn't have it.
"I was looking at the data and I think we now have some understanding of the issues, if not all, and we can devise some experiments. Hopefully we can make some progress on Friday in Hockenheim and then use it."
Whitmarsh admitted that it had been a bigger than expected task to get the blown diffuser on the car for the high-speed Silverstone circuit, but he thought the team had made the right decision with what it did.
"I think it was a big challenge," he said. "That could have been a mistake, but I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we took it off. I didn't feel like it on Friday night but now we have got a lot of good data."
He added: "Lewis will still say that he thought we should have raced it and, from the data, I think he's not wrong. Ultimately it was my decision and I think it was the right one.
"We were in a little bit of disarray on Friday, with a new circuit, gusty conditions and drivers uncomfortable. As a race team you take a decision like that, and to say: 'right, we are to concentrate on something different on each car', that would have confused us as well.
"I don't think we'd have had a much better result this weekend. We've got some good ideas now that will hopefully take us forward on Friday in Germany."
Webber says win made 'sweeter' by row
Mark Webber has admitted that his British Grand Prix victory tasted 'sweeter' because Red Bull Racing had moved to favour team-mate Sebastian Vettel with a new front wing.
Red Bull Racing controversially opted to take a new front wing design off Webber's car minutes before qualifying and put it on Vettel's machine - because his own had broken during the final free practice session.
Although team principal Christian Horner insisted that the differences between the two wing versions were minor, and only affected driving characteristics, sources have revealed that there was both a lap time and a weight difference between the two versions.
The move to change wings left Webber furious and, after his victory at Silverstone, he made it clear to the team that he would not have re-signed for 2010 if he knew that was how he was going to be treated.
Writing on his website on Monday, Webber said there was no way of proving that the differences between the wings cost him pole position - but he was aware of how better his win felt because of the perceived favouritism.
"Whether the gap between us in qualifying was the difference between the two front wings, I don't know," said Webber. "But it was a far from ideal situation and it definitely made my win taste even sweeter."
Webber dominated the race at Silverstone, after taking the lead from Vettel with an aggressive dive down the inside at the first corner.
And although his charge later on was hindered by a safety car period, he actually admitted that he was happy the field had bunched up.
"I was actually quite pleased to see the Safety Car because it closed up the field and meant I didn't have to worry about backmarkers. As the race leader, you always worry that that backmarkers haven't seen you coming and we saw in Valencia what can happen if a faster car stumbles over a slower one.
"Lewis was right on my gearbox at the re-start on lap 31, but I got a clean run out of the final corner and managed to put some daylight between us. On my first flying lap I set the fastest lap of the race, which sent a clear message to Lewis that it wasn't going to be his day."
Red Bull Racing controversially opted to take a new front wing design off Webber's car minutes before qualifying and put it on Vettel's machine - because his own had broken during the final free practice session.
Although team principal Christian Horner insisted that the differences between the two wing versions were minor, and only affected driving characteristics, sources have revealed that there was both a lap time and a weight difference between the two versions.
The move to change wings left Webber furious and, after his victory at Silverstone, he made it clear to the team that he would not have re-signed for 2010 if he knew that was how he was going to be treated.
Writing on his website on Monday, Webber said there was no way of proving that the differences between the wings cost him pole position - but he was aware of how better his win felt because of the perceived favouritism.
"Whether the gap between us in qualifying was the difference between the two front wings, I don't know," said Webber. "But it was a far from ideal situation and it definitely made my win taste even sweeter."
Webber dominated the race at Silverstone, after taking the lead from Vettel with an aggressive dive down the inside at the first corner.
And although his charge later on was hindered by a safety car period, he actually admitted that he was happy the field had bunched up.
"I was actually quite pleased to see the Safety Car because it closed up the field and meant I didn't have to worry about backmarkers. As the race leader, you always worry that that backmarkers haven't seen you coming and we saw in Valencia what can happen if a faster car stumbles over a slower one.
"Lewis was right on my gearbox at the re-start on lap 31, but I got a clean run out of the final corner and managed to put some daylight between us. On my first flying lap I set the fastest lap of the race, which sent a clear message to Lewis that it wasn't going to be his day."
McLaren not relying on Red Bull fallout
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says his team is not going to rely on Red Bull Racing getting ripped apart by its internal divisions - even though he thinks the favouritism row that has engulfed his title rivals is now an unwelcome distraction for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Red Bull Racing is facing a crunch few days to try and put a lid on the row that has erupted between Mark Webber and the team management over its decision to swap front wings on its cars before qualifying at the British Grand Prix.
That decision left Webber feeling he had been relegated to the number two driver position – and he claimed after his Silverstone victory that he would have never re-signed for the team for 2010 if he knew that was how he was going to be treated.
And with Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner insisting he has no regrets about the decisions he took at Silverstone – even though it has led to a huge backlash from the media and fans – rival teams have already suggested they can capitalise on the trouble.
Whitmarsh, whose team heads Red Bull Racing in both championships despite having not had the quickest car this year, said he hopes that the problems at Red Bull spiral out of control – but he made it clear he wasn't going to count on it.
"I don't know what's happening there," said Whitmarsh, after seeing Lewis Hamilton extend his lead in the world championship standings after the British Grand Prix.
"We have got to concentrate on our situation. A lot of people speculated on the relationship between our two drivers. And the fact is that it hasn't been a news story yet meant people tried to make it one.
"I hope there are cracks and divisions in all our competitors and they all fall apart, but I am not going to rely on it. We have got to make our car quicker and try and win the championships that way."
When asked if he felt that the internal problems at Red Bull Racing could prove to hurt the team's efforts on track, Whitmarsh said: "I think if your drivers aren't working together then it is one more distraction you could do without."
Whitmarsh reckoned that any decision that could leave one driver feeling as though he is being disadvantaged, such as the removal of parts to give to his team-mate, needed careful thought to consider the consequences.
"You have got to think carefully about decisions," he said. "Drivers are immensely competitive individuals. They wouldn't be doing that job otherwise, so if they perceive something that is not even-handed or fair, then you are going to have some trouble.
"There is always a potential tension with two drivers in the same team fighting for a championship. We've experienced that a few times, it's difficult, but I have to say that so far I think we are in reasonable shape in that regard."
Whitmarsh has close-hand experience of dealing with such driver tensions, when Fernando Alonso had a difficult time working with the outfit in 2007.
Looking back on the events of that season, which included the outfit getting dragged into a spy case, Whitmarsh openly admitted that the off-track situation cost it the world title.
"2007 was a tough year for all sorts of reasons," he said. "We had a competitive car, we were trying to win the world championship but ultimately we lost it by one point. Certainly the histrionics that went around, cost us that world championship, so we had to understand and respect that."
He added: "But I know the depth of this racing team. I think the combination of the drivers, a reasonable car and a strong team has enabled us to be leading both championships."
Vettel blames clutch for poor start
Sebastian Vettel was left lamenting his slow start in the British Grand Prix, something he reckons was down to having the wrong settings for the clutch.
"I think we were a little bit out of the window with the clutch," said Vettel, who lost the lead of the race to Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber at the first corner.
"I had a bad start, lots of wheelspin, so I lost the immediate pull-away. I think we tried probably a bit too hard [with start settings], but that's life - you try hard to get the optimum."
Vettel appeared to be hit by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton at the first corner, and the German suffered a puncture as a result of the contact.
He had to complete the lap slowly and pit, returning to the track at the back of the field.
"Into Turn 1 obviously I had to let Mark past and then I don't know if - I didn't feel anything – people said that Lewis touched me. As I said, I didn't feel anything," Vettel added.
"Probably he achieved this time what he [Hamilton] didn't achieve in Valencia. Surely it wasn't his intention to give me a puncture, if it was like that [contact with Hamilton], but with a puncture early on in the race it's a big minus.
"I had to come back slowly to the pits. Then I was on the same set of tyres for the rest of the race. Fortunately the safety car came out so I had a bit of entertaining the last couple of laps."
He added: "From my point of view he had a better start, so obviously I moved to the right trying to defend but he was already there – I knew that because I could see him in the mirror. I knew he didn't stall.
"Then he was there so there was no point in doing something stupid. The race is longer than just one corner. It's a shame I couldn't fight him then, but it's good for the team. I'm happy for the team."
Webber went on to win the race while Vettel recovered to seventh position.
The Australian, however, made it clear he was still angry with the team following its decision to give Vettel one of his front wings.
Vettel refused to comment on Webber's remarks, with the Australian saying on the radio that his performance was "not bad for a number two driver."
"Well, I obviously focus on myself and sort of see, I guess," said Vettel. "Especially after what happened in the past. People have different opinions, I have my opinion, I have made my experiences, sometimes good and bad, and you get to know people probably a bit better and see their true faces. I think I learned my lesson, and I focus on myself."
Webber still seething over wing decision
Mark Webber says he would not have signed a contract extension with Red Bull Racing had he believed he was going to be treated the way he was at Silverstone this weekend.
Red Bull has been surrounded by controversy since yesterday after the team decided to give one of Webber's front wings to team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
The decision left Webber clearly unhappy amid accusation of favouritism Red Bull has denied.
The Australian, starting from second position behind Vettel in today's race, went on to take a commanding win, and made it clear he was still angry by telling his team on the radio, "Not bad for a number two driver".
Webber hopes yesterday's situation was a one-off and he claimed he would not have signed a new contract with Red Bull if he had believed he would be treated that way.
"Yesterday was really a unique situation, and it was the first time we had one bit. I would never have signed a contract for next year if I believed that was the way going forward," said Webber after the race.
"I was disappointed. We will see how it goes in the future, I will keep doing what I am doing and I hope it is enough."
"I have had a few hurdles in my career, sometimes privately as well, so I think you can judge a person's character by how they come back from adversity. Some drivers have that, I've had a bit more than others.
"It can work but obviously it is not how long is a piece of string - you have to make sure it is not constantly happening because it can test you too much but if the balance is right it can put some fuel on the fire."
He said the team will sit down and talk things over tomorrow.
"Yesterday I wasn't happy, clearly, and I am sure we will have some pretty decent chats tomorrow. Today went well for me... and that is it," he said.
When asked if today's win was poetic justice, he replied: "An appointment with Karma? Yeah."
"I don't think it should happen, honestly. I wasn't massively in favour of the decision but that is the way it goes sometimes....some of the drivers offered me front wings on the parade lap from their cars but I said stick with what I've got. Seb didn't!
Red Bull has been surrounded by controversy since yesterday after the team decided to give one of Webber's front wings to team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
The decision left Webber clearly unhappy amid accusation of favouritism Red Bull has denied.
The Australian, starting from second position behind Vettel in today's race, went on to take a commanding win, and made it clear he was still angry by telling his team on the radio, "Not bad for a number two driver".
Webber hopes yesterday's situation was a one-off and he claimed he would not have signed a new contract with Red Bull if he had believed he would be treated that way.
"Yesterday was really a unique situation, and it was the first time we had one bit. I would never have signed a contract for next year if I believed that was the way going forward," said Webber after the race.
"I was disappointed. We will see how it goes in the future, I will keep doing what I am doing and I hope it is enough."
"I have had a few hurdles in my career, sometimes privately as well, so I think you can judge a person's character by how they come back from adversity. Some drivers have that, I've had a bit more than others.
"It can work but obviously it is not how long is a piece of string - you have to make sure it is not constantly happening because it can test you too much but if the balance is right it can put some fuel on the fire."
He said the team will sit down and talk things over tomorrow.
"Yesterday I wasn't happy, clearly, and I am sure we will have some pretty decent chats tomorrow. Today went well for me... and that is it," he said.
When asked if today's win was poetic justice, he replied: "An appointment with Karma? Yeah."
"I don't think it should happen, honestly. I wasn't massively in favour of the decision but that is the way it goes sometimes....some of the drivers offered me front wings on the parade lap from their cars but I said stick with what I've got. Seb didn't!
Alonso accepts British GP penalty
Fernando Alonso said he accepted the costly penalty he was given during the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Ferrari driver received a drive-through after overtaking Renault's Robert Kubica by going off the track.
The penalty ruined all his chances of a good result as he was forced to serve it after the safety car period, which meant he returned at the back of the field.
A calm Alonso, who had been angry in the previous race because of the safety car controversy, said that he accepted the penalty.
"I accept everything they do. They are the judges," Alonso told Spanish television after the race.
Ferrari made a reference to the European Grand Prix controversy in its official Twitter account, suggesting Lewis Hamilton should have been punished then like Alonso was today.
"You can just say one thing: if a penalty must be punishing it must be always like this," said the Italian team.
The result left Alonso 47 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton, but the Spaniard insisted the title is still within reach.
"This is just the halfway point of the season, so all the points that we have lost in this first half is because we haven't done things as well as the others," he said.
"So in the second half of the championship we are going to try to do better than the others and recover one point more than what they have now.
"The season is very long and we are not going to give up."
Alonso finished the race in 14th position on a dismal day for Ferrari, with team-mate Felipe Massa down in 15th.
The Ferrari driver received a drive-through after overtaking Renault's Robert Kubica by going off the track.
The penalty ruined all his chances of a good result as he was forced to serve it after the safety car period, which meant he returned at the back of the field.
A calm Alonso, who had been angry in the previous race because of the safety car controversy, said that he accepted the penalty.
"I accept everything they do. They are the judges," Alonso told Spanish television after the race.
Ferrari made a reference to the European Grand Prix controversy in its official Twitter account, suggesting Lewis Hamilton should have been punished then like Alonso was today.
"You can just say one thing: if a penalty must be punishing it must be always like this," said the Italian team.
The result left Alonso 47 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton, but the Spaniard insisted the title is still within reach.
"This is just the halfway point of the season, so all the points that we have lost in this first half is because we haven't done things as well as the others," he said.
"So in the second half of the championship we are going to try to do better than the others and recover one point more than what they have now.
"The season is very long and we are not going to give up."
Alonso finished the race in 14th position on a dismal day for Ferrari, with team-mate Felipe Massa down in 15th.
Webber takes commanding Britain win
Mark Webber responded to the Red Bull front wing controversy in the best way imaginable by taking a commanding British Grand Prix victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button.
Polesitter Sebastian Vettel's chances of victory were ruined by a first-lap puncture, although he recovered to seventh, and there was further controversy over stewarding decisions after a contentious penalty for Fernando Alonso left the Ferrari outside the points.
Webber made a much better start than his team-mate and reached Copse first, despite Vettel's best efforts to squeeze him. Vettel then lurched off the road at Becketts with a right rear puncture, potentially the result of a slight touch from Hamilton's McLaren at the first corner.
Felipe Massa was also trundling back to the pits with flailing rubber - he had been side by side with his slow-starting Ferrari team-mate Alonso through the first corner and wheel banging at Becketts left the Brazilian with a puncture as well.
Webber therefore led from Hamilton, with this pair rapidly dropping quick-starter Robert Kubica (Renault) in third, who had Rosberg's Mercedes and Alonso all over the back of him.
Pitting slightly earlier than Kubica did not work for Alonso, whereas running a little longer did the trick for Rosberg. Eager not to lose more time, Alonso went down the outside of Kubica into Vale on lap 17, and completed the pass by nipping over the kerbs and cutting the first apex of Club.
He then sprinted away after Rosberg, while Kubica was assured that Alonso would be ordered to let him back through. That became a moot point three laps later though, when Kubica retired with a differential problem.
The stewards therefore ruled that Alonso should take a drive-through penalty, a decision announced just before the safety car came out so that debris could be cleared following contact between Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) that left chunks of the latter's rear wing deposited on various straights. With Alonso having to take his penalty immediately after the restart, he tumbled straight to the midfield.
The safety car was a lifeline for Vettel, who had made little progress up to that point, but then started carving through the traffic with a string of spectacular passes, including one on Michael Schumacher. Sutil - who had also put a bold move on Schumacher after the restart - proved Vettel's toughest rival, and it took many laps of tough battling before the Red Bull driver finally muscled through to take seventh on the penultimate lap.
Far away from this excitement, Webber delivered a masterclass at the front of the field. Hamilton managed to tag along until the pitstops, but thereafter Webber was unstoppable, reeling off fastest laps whenever required and leading by 6s before easing off at the end.
Rosberg returned Mercedes to the podium with a strong run to third, despite losing a barge board when sweeping round the outside of the yet-to-stop Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso mid-race. The German finished just ahead of Button, who surged through from 14th to fourth thanks to a great first lap and staying out much longer than most before his tyre change.
Rubens Barrichello gave Williams its second straight top five finish, with Kamui Kobayashi following him home for Sauber's best result of the year.
By the time Vettel was clear of Sutil that pack was too far ahead to reach, so he had to settle for seventh, followed by countrymen Sutil, Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg.
Alonso's race got even worse when he sustained a puncture in a brush with Tonio Liuzzi's Force India, leaving him 14th, one place ahead of Massa, who needed a further set of new tyres after spinning on the exit of Luffield late on.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The British Grand Prix
Silverstone, Britain;
52 laps; 306.747km;
Weather: Sunny.
Polesitter Sebastian Vettel's chances of victory were ruined by a first-lap puncture, although he recovered to seventh, and there was further controversy over stewarding decisions after a contentious penalty for Fernando Alonso left the Ferrari outside the points.
Webber made a much better start than his team-mate and reached Copse first, despite Vettel's best efforts to squeeze him. Vettel then lurched off the road at Becketts with a right rear puncture, potentially the result of a slight touch from Hamilton's McLaren at the first corner.
Felipe Massa was also trundling back to the pits with flailing rubber - he had been side by side with his slow-starting Ferrari team-mate Alonso through the first corner and wheel banging at Becketts left the Brazilian with a puncture as well.
Webber therefore led from Hamilton, with this pair rapidly dropping quick-starter Robert Kubica (Renault) in third, who had Rosberg's Mercedes and Alonso all over the back of him.
Pitting slightly earlier than Kubica did not work for Alonso, whereas running a little longer did the trick for Rosberg. Eager not to lose more time, Alonso went down the outside of Kubica into Vale on lap 17, and completed the pass by nipping over the kerbs and cutting the first apex of Club.
He then sprinted away after Rosberg, while Kubica was assured that Alonso would be ordered to let him back through. That became a moot point three laps later though, when Kubica retired with a differential problem.
The stewards therefore ruled that Alonso should take a drive-through penalty, a decision announced just before the safety car came out so that debris could be cleared following contact between Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) that left chunks of the latter's rear wing deposited on various straights. With Alonso having to take his penalty immediately after the restart, he tumbled straight to the midfield.
The safety car was a lifeline for Vettel, who had made little progress up to that point, but then started carving through the traffic with a string of spectacular passes, including one on Michael Schumacher. Sutil - who had also put a bold move on Schumacher after the restart - proved Vettel's toughest rival, and it took many laps of tough battling before the Red Bull driver finally muscled through to take seventh on the penultimate lap.
Far away from this excitement, Webber delivered a masterclass at the front of the field. Hamilton managed to tag along until the pitstops, but thereafter Webber was unstoppable, reeling off fastest laps whenever required and leading by 6s before easing off at the end.
Rosberg returned Mercedes to the podium with a strong run to third, despite losing a barge board when sweeping round the outside of the yet-to-stop Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso mid-race. The German finished just ahead of Button, who surged through from 14th to fourth thanks to a great first lap and staying out much longer than most before his tyre change.
Rubens Barrichello gave Williams its second straight top five finish, with Kamui Kobayashi following him home for Sauber's best result of the year.
By the time Vettel was clear of Sutil that pack was too far ahead to reach, so he had to settle for seventh, followed by countrymen Sutil, Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg.
Alonso's race got even worse when he sustained a puncture in a brush with Tonio Liuzzi's Force India, leaving him 14th, one place ahead of Massa, who needed a further set of new tyres after spinning on the exit of Luffield late on.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The British Grand Prix
Silverstone, Britain;
52 laps; 306.747km;
Weather: Sunny.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Elated Hamilton hails 'best ever lap'
Lewis Hamilton says his final qualifying lap on Saturday was his best ever after securing a place on the second row of the grid for the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton and his McLaren team have been forced to remove their upgrade package from their car following yesterday's practice, and the team has struggled to match the pace of its main rivals.
The McLaren driver, however, put on a strong performance in Q3 and will start the race from fourth position, ten places ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.
A delighted Hamilton said it had been his best ever lap, and insisted the upgrade package just needs time before it works perfectly.
"Fourth is... I'm so happy with it, you can't believe it," said Hamilton. "I'm so proud of my team because we pushed so hard all year, but in the last couple of days they pushed longer and harder than ever to get this update package, which is an improvement, but we just were unable to work it.
"And unfortunately we had to take it off last night. We knew we were a long way off. The Red Bull is a second and a bit ahead and have three teams with the blown diffuser who were ahead of us, and it was really about getting the best last possible.
"I have to say for me this is the best lap I've ever had. And I think it's down to all the fans we have here. The support you have around this track is like nowhere else. British fans are the best by far."
And the Briton is adamant that a good result is still possible despite all of McLaren's problems during the weekend.
"I don't know how was I able to get so high up but I'm so, so happy," he added. "I think it's a great position for us.
"The race is not over. These guys are clearly faster than us but we can still get a great result tomorrow."
Hamilton and his McLaren team have been forced to remove their upgrade package from their car following yesterday's practice, and the team has struggled to match the pace of its main rivals.
The McLaren driver, however, put on a strong performance in Q3 and will start the race from fourth position, ten places ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.
A delighted Hamilton said it had been his best ever lap, and insisted the upgrade package just needs time before it works perfectly.
"Fourth is... I'm so happy with it, you can't believe it," said Hamilton. "I'm so proud of my team because we pushed so hard all year, but in the last couple of days they pushed longer and harder than ever to get this update package, which is an improvement, but we just were unable to work it.
"And unfortunately we had to take it off last night. We knew we were a long way off. The Red Bull is a second and a bit ahead and have three teams with the blown diffuser who were ahead of us, and it was really about getting the best last possible.
"I have to say for me this is the best lap I've ever had. And I think it's down to all the fans we have here. The support you have around this track is like nowhere else. British fans are the best by far."
And the Briton is adamant that a good result is still possible despite all of McLaren's problems during the weekend.
"I don't know how was I able to get so high up but I'm so, so happy," he added. "I think it's a great position for us.
"The race is not over. These guys are clearly faster than us but we can still get a great result tomorrow."
Vettel on pole as Red Bull crushes rivals
Red Bull continued its domination of the British Grand Prix weekend as Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber in a seemingly easy front row sweep.
And while Red Bull proved unstoppable, its main title rival McLaren had a very tough session - with Lewis Hamilton fourth and reigning champion Jenson Button a disastrous 14th.
The latter described his car as 'undriveable', and was a lost to explain why its grip had suddenly disappeared in Q2, leaving him on row seven.
Vettel and Webber had been first and second in Q1, swapped places in Q2, and then led their rivals by just over 0.7 seconds after their first Q3 runs put them comfortably first and second, Vettel just ahead.
That was how they stayed, as Webber could not quite improve on his 1m29.758s at the end, whereas Vettel found a little more time and got his pole mark down to 1m29.615s.
Fernando Alonso was best of the rest in third for Ferrari, despite being frustrated to be caught behind Rubens Barrichello's Williams on his last Q3 run. Nevertheless, he was still able to hold off Hamilton.
Mercedes got both cars back in the top ten, Nico Rosberg taking fifth place - 0.8s and five places ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher.
Renault's Robert Kubica will join Rosberg on row three, followed by Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari, Barrichello, and the impressive Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) - who produced the best qualifying form of his comeback so far.
Button aside, there were few surprises among the drivers failing to make the top ten, except perhaps Force India's second straight Q2 elimination. Adrian Sutil narrowly missed out in 11th, while Tonio Liuzzi was 15th - and may yet face questions over impeding 13th-place qualifier Nico Hulkenberg's Williams.
Liuzzi had earlier edged though to Q2 with his last lap having briefly looked set for a Q1 departure. His improvement pushed Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari outside the cut in 18th.
Lotus's Heikki Kovalainen and Virgin's Timo Glock had a close battle for the top spot among the new teams, eventually won by the Finn again - although the gap up to the established midfield was back up to 2s.
Returnee Sakon Yamamoto will unsurprisingly start last for Hispania, though he was within a respectable 0.4s of team-mate Karun Chandhok.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:30.841 1:30.480 1:29.615
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:30.858 1:30.114 1:29.758
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:30.997 1:30.700 1:30.426
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.297 1:31.118 1:30.556
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.626 1:31.085 1:30.625
6. Kubica Renault 1:31.680 1:31.344 1:31.040
7. Massa Ferrari 1:31.313 1:31.010 1:31.172
8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.424 1:31.126 1:31.175
9. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.533 1:31.327 1:31.274
10. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.058 1:31.022 1:31.430
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:31.109 1:31.399
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.851 1:31.421
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:32.144 1:31.635
14. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.435 1:31.699
15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:32.226 1:31.708
16. Petrov Renault 1:31.638 1:31.796
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:31.901 1:32.012
18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.430
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.405
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:34.775
21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.864
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.212
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:36.576
24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:36.968
And while Red Bull proved unstoppable, its main title rival McLaren had a very tough session - with Lewis Hamilton fourth and reigning champion Jenson Button a disastrous 14th.
The latter described his car as 'undriveable', and was a lost to explain why its grip had suddenly disappeared in Q2, leaving him on row seven.
Vettel and Webber had been first and second in Q1, swapped places in Q2, and then led their rivals by just over 0.7 seconds after their first Q3 runs put them comfortably first and second, Vettel just ahead.
That was how they stayed, as Webber could not quite improve on his 1m29.758s at the end, whereas Vettel found a little more time and got his pole mark down to 1m29.615s.
Fernando Alonso was best of the rest in third for Ferrari, despite being frustrated to be caught behind Rubens Barrichello's Williams on his last Q3 run. Nevertheless, he was still able to hold off Hamilton.
Mercedes got both cars back in the top ten, Nico Rosberg taking fifth place - 0.8s and five places ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher.
Renault's Robert Kubica will join Rosberg on row three, followed by Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari, Barrichello, and the impressive Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) - who produced the best qualifying form of his comeback so far.
Button aside, there were few surprises among the drivers failing to make the top ten, except perhaps Force India's second straight Q2 elimination. Adrian Sutil narrowly missed out in 11th, while Tonio Liuzzi was 15th - and may yet face questions over impeding 13th-place qualifier Nico Hulkenberg's Williams.
Liuzzi had earlier edged though to Q2 with his last lap having briefly looked set for a Q1 departure. His improvement pushed Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari outside the cut in 18th.
Lotus's Heikki Kovalainen and Virgin's Timo Glock had a close battle for the top spot among the new teams, eventually won by the Finn again - although the gap up to the established midfield was back up to 2s.
Returnee Sakon Yamamoto will unsurprisingly start last for Hispania, though he was within a respectable 0.4s of team-mate Karun Chandhok.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:30.841 1:30.480 1:29.615
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:30.858 1:30.114 1:29.758
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:30.997 1:30.700 1:30.426
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.297 1:31.118 1:30.556
5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.626 1:31.085 1:30.625
6. Kubica Renault 1:31.680 1:31.344 1:31.040
7. Massa Ferrari 1:31.313 1:31.010 1:31.172
8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.424 1:31.126 1:31.175
9. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.533 1:31.327 1:31.274
10. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.058 1:31.022 1:31.430
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:31.109 1:31.399
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.851 1:31.421
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:32.144 1:31.635
14. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.435 1:31.699
15. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:32.226 1:31.708
16. Petrov Renault 1:31.638 1:31.796
17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:31.901 1:32.012
18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.430
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.405
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:34.775
21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.864
22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.212
23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:36.576
24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:36.968
Vettel leads the way in final practice
Red Bull will go into British Grand Prix qualifying in excellent form having topped final practice at Silverstone in addition to leading both Friday sessions.
But the team also had a frightening moment when the nose section on pacesetter Sebastian Vettel's car came loose on his final run.
Vettel had already set a 1m30.958s lap to depose Fernando Alonso's Ferrari from the top spot, and was set to go even quicker when his car's nose box suddenly detached at the top and dropped down on the approach to Abbey, leaving the front wing scraping on the ground.
The German nursed the car back to the pits, and his time remained unbeaten.
Mark Webber completed a Red Bull one-two, 0.034 seconds behind Vettel, with Alonso third despite parking in the Ferrari garage with a problem in the closing minutes. He had been quickest until Red Bull's late surge.
Nico Rosberg showed encouraging form for Mercedes in fourth, ahead of Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa and mid-session leader Robert Kubica (Renault).
It was a low-key hour for McLaren after the removal of its exhaust-blown diffuser though, with local heroes Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button only seventh and 12th.
Michael Schumacher put the second Mercedes in the top ten in eighth, ahead of a strong run from Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa and Williams's Rubens Barrichello.
Other drivers hampered by issues included Adrian Sutil (whose Force India had a gearbox problem) and Jarno Trulli (Lotus), who lost more yet track time to hydraulic problems. Timo Glock managed the least mileage of all, a throttle glitch limiting his Virgin to just six laps.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:30.958 14
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:30.992 + 0.034 15
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:31.101 + 0.143 10
4. Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.188 + 0.230 15
5. Massa Ferrari 1:31.240 + 0.282 16
6. Kubica Renault 1:31.519 + 0.561 18
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.549 + 0.591 16
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1:31.555 + 0.597 14
9. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.559 + 0.601 18
10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.581 + 0.623 16
11. Petrov Renault 1:31.698 + 0.740 17
12. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.703 + 0.745 16
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:31.867 + 0.909 17
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.947 + 0.989 16
15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:31.994 + 1.036 13
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.235 + 1.277 18
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.331 + 1.373 20
18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:32.723 + 1.765 18
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.339 + 3.381 20
20. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.479 + 4.521 17
21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.098 + 5.140 11
22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:36.286 + 5.328 16
23. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.640 + 5.682 6
24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:37.178 + 6.220 18
But the team also had a frightening moment when the nose section on pacesetter Sebastian Vettel's car came loose on his final run.
Vettel had already set a 1m30.958s lap to depose Fernando Alonso's Ferrari from the top spot, and was set to go even quicker when his car's nose box suddenly detached at the top and dropped down on the approach to Abbey, leaving the front wing scraping on the ground.
The German nursed the car back to the pits, and his time remained unbeaten.
Mark Webber completed a Red Bull one-two, 0.034 seconds behind Vettel, with Alonso third despite parking in the Ferrari garage with a problem in the closing minutes. He had been quickest until Red Bull's late surge.
Nico Rosberg showed encouraging form for Mercedes in fourth, ahead of Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa and mid-session leader Robert Kubica (Renault).
It was a low-key hour for McLaren after the removal of its exhaust-blown diffuser though, with local heroes Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button only seventh and 12th.
Michael Schumacher put the second Mercedes in the top ten in eighth, ahead of a strong run from Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa and Williams's Rubens Barrichello.
Other drivers hampered by issues included Adrian Sutil (whose Force India had a gearbox problem) and Jarno Trulli (Lotus), who lost more yet track time to hydraulic problems. Timo Glock managed the least mileage of all, a throttle glitch limiting his Virgin to just six laps.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:30.958 14
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:30.992 + 0.034 15
3. Alonso Ferrari 1:31.101 + 0.143 10
4. Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.188 + 0.230 15
5. Massa Ferrari 1:31.240 + 0.282 16
6. Kubica Renault 1:31.519 + 0.561 18
7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.549 + 0.591 16
8. Schumacher Mercedes 1:31.555 + 0.597 14
9. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.559 + 0.601 18
10. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:31.581 + 0.623 16
11. Petrov Renault 1:31.698 + 0.740 17
12. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.703 + 0.745 16
13. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:31.867 + 0.909 17
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:31.947 + 0.989 16
15. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:31.994 + 1.036 13
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.235 + 1.277 18
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:32.331 + 1.373 20
18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:32.723 + 1.765 18
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:34.339 + 3.381 20
20. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:35.479 + 4.521 17
21. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:36.098 + 5.140 11
22. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:36.286 + 5.328 16
23. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:36.640 + 5.682 6
24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:37.178 + 6.220 18
Hamilton calm over McLaren updates
Lewis Hamilton is staying calm about the performance of his McLaren team despite a difficult first day of work ahead of the British Grand Prix.
McLaren has introduced a big upgrade package that it hopes will help close the gap to rival Red Bull in terms of performance.
However, Red Bull dominated today's practice sessions at Silverstone, with Hamilton finishing down in eighth, over 1.5 second off pace-setter Mark Webber.
The Briton said nonetheless that he felt the updates were a step forward and he is expecting things to be much closer on Saturday.
"I definitely feel we've made a step forward from Valencia," Hamilton said after practice. "This is a track a bit like Barcelona, where you'd see nearly a second gap between ourselves and Red Bull.
"I don't think we will be seeing that gap. I think tomorrow will be a lot closer. If we get the car set up right then we should have no problems."
He added: "We put on the new components and I was quite excited this morning and the feeling of the car was quite positive. I was actually surprised about the pace that we had this morning. We made some changes and set-up wise they didn't make the car better, but sometimes you find that's the case.
"So we are going to go back to the set-up we had before and start from there again and hopefully tomorrow the set-up will be better. But generally I think the performance of the car is good."
Team-mate Jenson Button admitted he was disappointed with his day after struggling with the handling of the car.
"Today's been a little bit trickier than expected in the car," said Button, 13th quickest. "First of all I couldn't get a set-up for the car with the new package, but it improved at the end of the day, but there's still a lot of work we need to do. We are not where we'd like to be. The car is very tricky in a few places around the circuit.
"We've definitely made some improvements in certain places, but we don't have the right balance yet. I haven't had a perfect day today, which is disappointing because even on a Friday it's good to see so many people out there."
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said the day had been hard for McLaren, but insisted the team needs time to make all the updates work.
"It was a difficult day for us," he said. "We're exploring the car. I wouldn't say that for a lot of the time the drivers were that comfortable today but we were learning and we will take that data and see what we can do with it this evening.
"The issue us, often when you are developing the car you are incrementally bringing downforce to the car so the balance of the car and the set-up characteristics don't change dramatically. With the changes that we are evolving on the cars, it requires perhaps a different approach, a different driving style, different setups.
"In the era when there is not much testing, that's quite difficult to nail with a limited number of tyres and laps to do it in. That's the modern era of F1 and we've got to take all of the data that we've got today, make some decision of what we've got to do and hopefully get it right.
"Parts were still arriving at 1:30 this morning. There are a lot of new components on the car and people have worked incredibly long hours day and night just to get those bits here. It's a big effort. We had a number of different parts on the car today and we've got to make sure that we've got the best package that we can provide to our drivers tomorrow."
McLaren has introduced a big upgrade package that it hopes will help close the gap to rival Red Bull in terms of performance.
However, Red Bull dominated today's practice sessions at Silverstone, with Hamilton finishing down in eighth, over 1.5 second off pace-setter Mark Webber.
The Briton said nonetheless that he felt the updates were a step forward and he is expecting things to be much closer on Saturday.
"I definitely feel we've made a step forward from Valencia," Hamilton said after practice. "This is a track a bit like Barcelona, where you'd see nearly a second gap between ourselves and Red Bull.
"I don't think we will be seeing that gap. I think tomorrow will be a lot closer. If we get the car set up right then we should have no problems."
He added: "We put on the new components and I was quite excited this morning and the feeling of the car was quite positive. I was actually surprised about the pace that we had this morning. We made some changes and set-up wise they didn't make the car better, but sometimes you find that's the case.
"So we are going to go back to the set-up we had before and start from there again and hopefully tomorrow the set-up will be better. But generally I think the performance of the car is good."
Team-mate Jenson Button admitted he was disappointed with his day after struggling with the handling of the car.
"Today's been a little bit trickier than expected in the car," said Button, 13th quickest. "First of all I couldn't get a set-up for the car with the new package, but it improved at the end of the day, but there's still a lot of work we need to do. We are not where we'd like to be. The car is very tricky in a few places around the circuit.
"We've definitely made some improvements in certain places, but we don't have the right balance yet. I haven't had a perfect day today, which is disappointing because even on a Friday it's good to see so many people out there."
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said the day had been hard for McLaren, but insisted the team needs time to make all the updates work.
"It was a difficult day for us," he said. "We're exploring the car. I wouldn't say that for a lot of the time the drivers were that comfortable today but we were learning and we will take that data and see what we can do with it this evening.
"The issue us, often when you are developing the car you are incrementally bringing downforce to the car so the balance of the car and the set-up characteristics don't change dramatically. With the changes that we are evolving on the cars, it requires perhaps a different approach, a different driving style, different setups.
"In the era when there is not much testing, that's quite difficult to nail with a limited number of tyres and laps to do it in. That's the modern era of F1 and we've got to take all of the data that we've got today, make some decision of what we've got to do and hopefully get it right.
"Parts were still arriving at 1:30 this morning. There are a lot of new components on the car and people have worked incredibly long hours day and night just to get those bits here. It's a big effort. We had a number of different parts on the car today and we've got to make sure that we've got the best package that we can provide to our drivers tomorrow."
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