Sebastian Vettel claims pole at Round 17! One more track adds to the F1 calender, the Yeongam Circuit, Korea. Still under construction, the partly street circuit, is truly a drivers' delight. The track is the longest straight of 1.2 out of an overall length 5.615kms. It has an interesting set of technical corners which are the icing on the cake. They sure will be a delight for bikers too. I know its a blog solely dedicated to F1, I couldn't resist the temptation of this mention being a corner carver! The track has some issues like dust due to the construction sites near the track. Wind problems are witnessed to due to the sea nearby. The crowd support is good too with an estimated 60000 today and 100000 tomorrow!

At the end of the third qualifying which was a real cracker by the end of the 1st minute of the 10 minutes, Sebastian Vettel claims pole at 1:35:585 with his teammate Mark Webber at 1:35:659 followed by the Spaniard Fernando Alonso takes third position at 1:35:766.
The race will be a great entertainer given the line up with Red Bull 1,2 and rains are predicted too. Race telecast starts at 11:20 am IST

Korean GP 2010 Race Pack

KOREA 2010

A new track- a new challenge. Korea will become the seventh Asian country to have hosted a Formula 1 GP this weekend. After months of speculation the race circuit was finally given a go ahead by the FIA on the 11^th of October this year. There were widespread rumours that the race will not be held in 2010, but F1 supreme Bernie Ecclestone declared that we will have a race and when Bernie says it’s a race, it always is. The Korean International Circuit is a circuit new to all, thus we can expect some new challenges here. It has been designed by Hermann Tilke- the German architect who has designed many circuits across the globe including the Yas Marinas in Abu Dhabi, the Petronas Circuit in Malaysia and many more. He is also the person responsible for the designing of the Jaypee Group Circuit in Noida, India. This might just be the race in which the title challenge turns into a three-horse affair with the Mclarens being more than 25 points behind Webber at the start of this race.

Track Map.-

Driverwatch.-

1.    Mark Webber (220 points)

Last five races.-

HUN BEL  ITA SIN JPN

 1^st    2^nd   6^th  3^rd   2^nd

Mark Webber kept his top spot with a 2^nd placed finish in Japan. He has stepped on the podium four times in the last five races thus showing a high potential to win the title this year. As Korea is a new track we cannot say how he will do here.

2.    Fernando Alonso (206 points)

Last five races.-

HUN BEL  ITA SIN JPN

 2^nd  Ret  1^st   1^st     3^rd

Although the Spaniard wasn’t able to manage three in a row he did step on the podium at Suzuka. A string of good performances has brought him back into the title race.

3.    Sebastian Vettel (206 points)

Last five races.-

HUN BEL  ITA SIN JPN

 3^rd    15^th  4^th  2^nd  1^st

A non-points finish in Belgium was enough to put daylight between the two Red Bulls. However, Vettel has climbed up the table rapidly as of late. A win in Japan shows that he will fight till the end. Level on points with Alonso it will be interesting to see who blinks first.

         

Teamwatch.-

     Similar to the Drivers' Championship, the competition for the Constructors' Championship also gets tighter and more intense as each race passes and the difference between points is at a bare minimum especially in the top 3 teams:

Position                     Team Name                  Points                                   

1.                              Red-Bull Renault            426

2.                              Mclaren-Mercedes          381

3.                              Ferrari                            334

Red-Bull Renault.- 

Red-Bull Renault has been a prolific performer through out the season with the drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber giving the team another (3rd of the season) 1-2 finish at the Japanese GP recently. Sebastian Vettel also held the Pole Position at the start of the race while Mark Webber recorded the fastest lap. Mark Webber is currently the 1st while Sebastian Vettel the 3rd in the Drivers' Standings.

Their chances are at getting the Constructors' Championship seem very high indeed if the driver's continue to perform consistently enough. If they manage to stay put and get podium finishes, their Constructors' Championship is almost confirmed while getting 2 out of the top 3 spots in the Drivers' standings also seems to be a not-so-distant dream.

Mclaren-Mercedes.-

Mclaren-Mercedes has been a steady and consistent performer this year with Jenson Button finishing 4th and Lewis Hamilton finishing 5th at the Japanese GP. Between them, they have only one +10 finish but with their fair share of NRs(No Results).Jenson Button, the Defending Champion at the 5th position may not have a clear chance at the Drivers' Championship but the difference between him and leader Webber being 31 points, you never know what this veteran driver might pull off. Hamilton is currently at the 4th position with 192 points but doesn’t seem to be a strong contender on an individual level with differences with the team management. All in all, a top 3 finish in the Drivers' Championship for either driver will need nothing short of a miracle or two and some amazing driving. Problems aside, Mclaren-Mercedes has a more than fair chance at the Constructors' Championship.

Ferrari.-  

Ferrari at 334 points has been at the epicenter of controversies towards the end of the season with claims of tampering with the result of the German GP, retaining their 1-2 finish but asking Massa to let Alonso pass him and win the race to strengthen his place in the Drivers' Championship where Alonso is currently in the 2nd and a very strong contender for the title with two 1st place and one 3rd place finishes in his last 3 races. Ferrari's chances at the Constructors' Championship seem to have vanished as the difference of points seems more and more insurmountable with each race but their 3rd place in the Constructors' Championship is fixed. Massa is currently at 6th position in the Drivers' points-a commendable achievement considering he has just come back from a grievous injury.

What about Force India?

While the Vodafone Mclaren-Mercedes team continues to shine, the same cannot be said about their colleagues at Force-India Mercedes. It is currently at 6th place with 60 points in the Constructors' Championship with, to be frank, no hopes at the Constructors' Title whatsoever but it is a very good progress as a team since last year when they finished second last at 9th place and also that this year not 10 but 12 teams participated so Force-India's percentile increased from 10% to 50%-a commendable change. So as the team Force India-Mercedes continues to achieve glory as far as the personal record goes, a lot of work needs to be done to ensure better results next year as far as the result in the Standings, both Drivers' and Constructors' goes.

    What’s special in Korea?

·        Some spectacular racing is expected due to the low grip nature of the track.

TV Listings.-

Qualifying.-

Saturday 23rd October 

14:00 Race Local Time

10:30 IST LIVE On Star Sports

Main Race.-

Sunday 24th October 

15:00 Race Local Time

11:30 IST LIVE On Star Sports

Japanese Grand Prix 2010

JAPAN 2010

This weekend the F1 championship stays in Asia with Japan hosting the sixteenth round of the F1 World Championship 2010. The race will be held at the Suzuka circuit, owned by a subsidiary of the Honda Motor Corp. The Japanese Grand Prix has many times played the role of the title deciding Grand Prix and looking at the cut throat competition in the Drivers’ Championship this year we hope that we will be in for a thriller on Sunday. Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most number of wins by a driver (6) while Mclaren holds the record for the most wins by a constructor (8) at this GP.

Track Map.-

Last winners.-

Year	Driver	Constructor
2009	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
2008	Fernando Alonso	Renault
2007	Lewis Hamilton	Mclaren-Mercedes
2006	Fernando Alonso	Renault
2005	Kimi Raikkonen	Mclaren-Mercedes
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2003	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
2002	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari

Driverwatch.-

1.    Mark Webber (202 points)

Last five races.-

GER HUN BEL  ITA SIN

  6^th    1^st    2^nd  6^th  3^rd 

Mark Webber was third time lucky at Singapore this year as he completed the Singapore GP for the first time. A podium finish was the icing on the cake. The 15 points helped him maintain his place at the top of the pack with 202 points. He must keep up the good work and at the same time keep an eye out Fernando Alonso. Webber finished 19^th in the 2009 Japanese GP after starting the race from the pit lane.

2.    Fernando Alonso (191 points)

Last five races.-

GER HUN BEL  ITA SIN

 1^st     2^nd  Ret  1^st   1^st

An accident at Spa meaning an unfinished race for the Spanish driver made many people think that he was done for the year. But two consecutive wins later he is truly back in the race for the crown. Looking at his current form the 11 point difference between him and Mark Webber seems easily coverable for the two time world champion. The 2009 race in Japan wasn’t a memorable one for Alonso as he finished the race out of the points in the 10^th position.

3.    Lewis Hamilton (182 points)

Last five races.-

GER HUN BEL  ITA SIN

   4^th  Ret   1^st  Ret Ret

Two races ago Hamilton was at the top of the lot with a healthy lead over Mark Webber. But since then things haven’t gone well for the Brit. In spite of qualifying 3^rd in Singapore and 5^th in Italy he has had collisions in both races and hence has remained on the same points. He must try hard to get a good position in Japan or it will be too late for him to win the Championship again.

Japan has been a good place for him as he has stepped on the podium twice in his three F1 races here.

Teamwatch.-

1.    Red Bull Racing (383 points)

It was certainly a good race for the Red Bull team at Singapore as both of their drivers managed to get to the podium, 33 points in the bag and the team couldn’t have asked for more. They will be heading to Japan with high hopes of getting a good finish.

2.    Mclaren-Mercedes (359 points)

Hamilton’s woes continued at Singapore but again, Button made sure that the team does not go out of contention of the Constructors’ Championship by getting a well deserved 4^th place.

3.    Ferrari (319 points)

With Fernando Alonso flying high Ferrari are on a roll. Massa got a decent 8^th place finish which ensured that the title is still open for the Prancing Horse. In spite of Raikkonen finishing on the podium twice for Ferrari, Ferrari has not had a winner in Japan since the days Michael Schumacher.

What about Force India?

It was a mixed result for Force India at Singapore as Liuzzi was unable to finish the race but Sutil showed great determination by finishing 9^th after starting 16^th. The Indian outfit is yet to get their first points in Japan. Let’s hope this is the first time.

    What’s special at Suzuka?

·        The Suzuka circuit is one of the rare circuits in which cars have to pass over the track on an overpass.

TV Listings.-

          Qualifying.-

14:00 Race local Time

10:30 IST LIVE on Star Sports   

Main Race.-

15:00 Race Local Time

11:30 IST LIVE on Star Sports

Alonso it is again!

The race started seeing Jaime Alguersuari starting from the pit lane and no great action was witnessed as the five lights illuminated for the Singapore GP 2010. Vitantonio Luizzi retired from the race in the second lap due to suspension failure. The safety car set in right away. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa took an early pit stop in the race. Red Bull driver Mark Webber pulled in the slow pit lane too to switch to hard tires. Felipe Massa dominated the tail end of the line up by grabbing the 14th position in the 15th lap. Right in the 16th lap, Juarno Trulli entered the pit lane entered the pit lane after a tire puncture and retired from the race when it was a quarter way through. Nico Rosberg collided in the 16th lap which resulted into a yellow lap board for the viewers. He ended up damaging the rear suspension of his car. Race leaders, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel were trading fastest lap times which were a delight as they clocked fastest than their counterpart every alternate lap. The team radio of the Red Bull team was heard that Vettel’s car had braking problems which were heating abnormally. In spite of that, Little Schumi responded to his engineer that he wasn’t “pushing!” Now that was quite some astonishing racing from the championship contender of this season. The track saw a lot of debris flying which painted our lap boards yellow again. This waved yellow flag was a boon to all the drivers who were running on option tires as the tires cooled down from their first heat cycle which eventually increased the life of the Bridgestone rubber during lap 16. The race carried on and in the laps, 29 to 33, the pit lane was busier than the track as most of the line up pulled in. this helped the race as it reset and set out on a new pace, filled with energy. Mark Webber gained in the race due to his early pit stop strategy. Lap 32 saw Brunno Senna crash into Kamui Kobayashi which again made our lap board yellow. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton go into some wheel to wheel action out of which the former came out victorious. Hamilton being run wide tried to get back in the racing line but crashed out of the race. There were high expectations from the one time world champion as he had crashed out of Monza too in the first lap. Michael Schumacher landed in trouble when he collided into Nick Heidfeld  and damaged the front wing of the car and entered in the not-so-fast pit lane again in lap 38. Back into F1 racing after being the test driver for Pirelli tires, Nick Heidfeld crashed and retired. Lap 46 saw Robert Kubica retire from the race as he had damaged the right rear tire. Timo Glock also retired from the race at lap 52. There was great wheel to wheel action for the 7th position in the race. The stewards worried about the 10:00p.m deadline so the race could have been called off without completing 61 laps but that was not the case. The 60th lap ended in disaster for Lotus Cosworth driver Heikki Kovalainen’s car’s bodywork caught fire due to the heat off the exhaust pipes. This event immediately saw the yellow flag being waved. The last lap gave a last chance to Sebastian Vettel to overtake Fernando Alonso who was trailing by only 0.233 seconds thanks to the yellow flag in the earlier lap. Fernando Alonso finished the lap in first place leaving the crowd delighted and celebrated his victory as soon as he got out of the cockpit. He finished the race in 1:57:53:579seconds.
                      All in all, indeed the race was a real cracker except for some monotony in bits and pieces, here and there. A bumpy race and loads and loads of yellow flags accompanied by the blue flag was Singapore GP 2010. It was real bad to see the flying carbon fiber components of the tummies of the car for all the enthusiasts. (Trust me, it sure was!). All the podium finishers showed tremendous fatigue post the race due to the immense heat. That proves how these drivers push themselves at every race.   Fernando Alonso’s triumph, Lewis Hamilton’s crash reset the driver’s champion. It sure is heating up!

Starting Grid For Singapore 2010

Grid	Driver	Constructor
1	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
2	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mclaren-Mercedes
4	Jenson Button	Mclaren-Mercedes
5	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
6	Rubens Barrichello	Williams
7	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
8	Robert Kubica	Renault
9	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
10	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber
11	Jamie Alguersuari	Toro Rosso
12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault
13	Sebastien Buemi	Toro Rosso
14	Nick Heidfield	Sauber
15	Adrian Sutil	Force India
16	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India
17	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams
18	Timo Glock	Virgin
19	Heiki Kovalainen	Lotus
20	Lucas Di Grasi	Virgin
21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus
22	Christian Klein	HRT
23	Bruno Senna	HRT
24	Felipe Massa	Ferrari

Nico Hulkenberg recieved a 5 place penalty for changing his gearbox after the Italian GP.
Felipe Massa falied to set a lap time after stopping on the middle of the circuit in round 1.