FORMULA 1 2009

[MIKA27]

Hill: Silverstone could yet retain British GP

Discussions have been held over the possibility of keeping the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, according to British Racing Drivers' Club president Damon Hill.

The BRDC own the Northamptonshire circuit, which will host its final scheduled Formula One grand prix this summer after losing the rights to Donington from 2010.

However, doubts have emerged about the viability of the east midlands track as a venue after owner Tom Wheatcroft started proceedings against Simon Gillett's company, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, who have a 150-year lease of the track.

Wheatcroft is seeking £2.47million in rent arrears from DVLL, as well as forfeiture of the track lease.

Formula One rights holder Bernie Ecclestone sanctioned the move to Donington and has been a vocal critic of Silverstone, and insisted on Thursday: "There is no question of us going back. They have had enough chances and have not delivered what they promised."

But Hill, a former World Champion, today claimed the BRDC have not given up hope of saving the country's most prestigious motorsport event.

"We've had communications. There's always been an open line of communication between ourselves and Bernie," he told BBC Radio Five Live.

"We're very keen on Formula One and Silverstone has a long history with Formula One, so we've always tried to keep the door open."

Ecclestone also branded the British Government "a disgrace" yesterday for failing to invest in Formula One at a time when several of the races on the calendar are largely state-funded.

But Hill insists that if Ecclestone is intent on operating the sport as a true "free market", and offering grands prix to the highest bidders, he should not necessarily expect the government to step in.

"The issue is whether Formula One is the kind of event which merits government and tax-payers' money," Hill said.

"Some countries are very happy to pay as a national government for a Formula One event because they believe it provides benefits for their country and economy.

"In a free market, if you're arguing there's a market out there for grand prix and that his (Ecclestone's) job is to get the best price he possibly can, therefore if he's doing his job properly, he would take the highest bidder - and therefore that's the criteria for getting grands prix.

"On the other hand, if it's a proper free market then the business should run on proper free-market principles which would not require it to receive government investment."

MIKA: Maybe Bernie could open his wallet for a change and help out the British GP at Silverstone. I'd imagine alot of Brits as well as fans world wide would be up in arms in that Bernie doesn't seem to care if such a traditional circuit such as Silverstone is scrapped and all this little man seems to care about is getting his wallet fatter and selling to the highest bidder.

[MIKA27]

Go Webber that's what I think .he deserves his first win

OZ, I believe Webber is only a few races away from winning his first GP mate.

If anyone deserves to win 'a' GP, it would be MW.

[MIKA27]

'Red Bull could swap from Renault to Merc'

Despite claiming their maiden grand prix win with Renault power, Red Bull could consider a swap to Mercedes engines for next year's Championship.

Red Bull opted to use Renault engines at the start of the 2007 season and the partnership finally paid dividends last Sunday when Sebastian Vettel claimed the team's first-ever grand prix win at the Chinese GP.

But despite having success with the French manufacturer, Red Bull boss Christian Horner says there is a possibility his team could look at taking on Mercedes engines for next year's Championship.

"It's way too early to be talking about engines for next year," he told Autosport.

"Hopefully Renault will still be around. The engine is performing well and, having been permitted the equalisation adjustments at the end of last year, I think it is comparable with the other engines in F1.

"You've probably still got Mercedes as the strongest engine, but I don't think the Renault gives anything away to its rivals."

Horner, though, is in no rush to make a decision. "As Ross Brawn has proved, you can change engines at the last minute - they're such simplistic blocks these days," he added.

But with Mercedes already saying they will not supply more than three teams, Red Bull could be left out in the cold as the manufacturer already provides engines for McLaren, Force India and Brawn GP.

MIKA: I have to agree there.... Mercedes only supply to 3 teams and I highly doubt that would change. The Renault powerplant is an amazing piece of machinery, if you're on a good thing, stick to it I say.

But, if RBR switches to Merc engines, at least Flavio can then boast he's F1's are the fastest Renaults on the track!

[MIKA27]

Webber: My race is screwed

Mark Webber is not expecting a repeat of his Chinese GP podium after his Bahrain race "was screwed" when Adrian Sutil held him during qualifying.

In the final few minutes of Saturday's Q1, Webber was blocked by Sutil at the final corner of the Sakhir track, costing him the possibility of progressing in qualifying.

Webber qualified down in 19th place but has subsequently been promoted one position as Sutil was penalised by the stewards after the race, dropping him to 19th place.

"Traffic. I had traffic on the last corner and therefore wasn't quick enough to go through," Webber said.

"I don't usually get caught out with that problem and that was the worst place to get nailed, as it wrecked both my flying laps.

"I had nowhere to go in the last corner of my first lap and then Sutil slip-streamed past me for the start of my second, so it was a disaster.

"Q1 is the worst session to have had that problem, as now we're at the back for tomorrow - my race is screwed."

MIKA; If he has that kind of attitude, he will never succeed.... I've seen many drivers over the years fall to the very last position, Schumacher, Hamilton, Raikonnen to name a few, he still managed to get back to P1 and win.

[MIKA27]

Qualy: An all Toyota front row for Bahrain

Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock locked out the front row of the grid for the Bahrain GP while for only the second time this season both Ferraris made it into the top ten.

Jarno Trulli put in a flying 1:33.431 to take pole position away from his team-mate Timo Glock as the Toyota duo dominated the afternoon session under the blazing Bahrain sun.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel continued his run of top-three grid slots as the Red Bull racer claimed his fourth of the season, edging out the Brawn GP of Jenson Button.

Lewis Hamilton was next in line ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Fernando Alonso with Felipe Massa finally registering in the top ten for the first time since Australia as he claimed eighth place on the grid.

Qualifying 1

The sun was beating down on the Sakhir circuit as Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India got the first 20-minute session underway. The ambient temperature was at 38C with the track at a scorching 51C.

Fisichella set P1 at 1:35.931, Heikki Kovalainen, out unusually early for McLaren on what was a dusty circuit, hardly went faster at 1:35.542, Nelson Piquet edged ahead with a 1:35.455. Bourdais took almost a second off that with a 1:34.514 while Jarno Trulli then claimed it for Toyota with two timed laps and a 1:34.117 on the second.

Trulli's lap had been set on the harder tyre, but the Ferraris came out with the green-walled super-softs and Kimi Raikkonen took P1 with a 1:33.648 which was bettered by Felipe Massa with a 1:33.512. McLaren had the same idea for Lewis Hamilton who duly took P1 with a 1:33.290

Going into the final three minutes the danger positions were: 12.Vettel, 13.Button, 14.Trulli, 15.Barrichello, 16.Fisichella, 17.Alonso, 18.Bourdais, 19.Webber, 20.Glock

There were a lot of people out of position thanks to running the harder tyre first time round and trying to get away without running a set of new super-softs. They had to accept the inevitable or face the drop. Such was the rapid rate of improvement that even P1 Lewis Hamilton went out again.

The two Toyotas looked quickest of all and Glock took P1 with a 1:33.165 while Jarno Trulli dipped into the 1:32 second lap time with a 1:32.779.

Behind him Vettel came across the line in P2, Barrichello P3, Button P3 and then Sebastien Vettel's second timed lap took the P1 place off Trulli with a 1:32.680.

Buemi could only manage P13, Rosberg P10, Alonso a worrying P13, Sutil an endangered P15, which Nakajima instantly converted to P16 by leapfrogging him up the grid to P8.

Mark Webber had been looking to follow up his P2 gridslot in China but was blocked by Adrian Sutil coming into the final corner after the German mistook his lap for an outlap. Webber got past but lost so much time he couldn't improve. Sutil was suitably contrite afterwards although the Force India team should have kept him informed.

So out went:

16.Sutil

17.Buemi

18.Fisichella

19.Webber

20.Bourdais

Qualifying 2

Yet again it was Heikki Kovalainen out on track early in the session and he set a P1 time of 1:33.273 which Rubens Barrichello only just undercut with a 1:33.250.

With teams mindful of keeping a set of new super-soft tyres for Q3 there was a mixture of new and scrubbed sets hitting the 51C track. Jenson Button took P1 down to 1:33.109, Trulli reduced it to 1:32.911 and then Kimi Raikkonen grabbed the P1 slot with a 1:32.827.

Lewis Hamilton's first lap had been good enough for only P7 at the time following a disastrous middle sector. Vettel then grabbed a decisive P1 again with a 1:32.474 thatw ould mean he would not have to go out again.

As we hit the three minute mark, the danger positions were: 8.Barrichello, 9.Kovalainen, 10.Nakajima, 11.Hamilton, 12.Massa, 13.Kubica, 14.Heidfeld, 15.Piquet.

Kovalainen, out of sequence with the rest, jumped to a less-than-convincing P8, Massa crossed the line in P5, Barrichello edged past into P3, Button took P4, Hamilton made himself safe in P6, while the two Toyotas took P2 in close succession, Glock being marginally quicker this time round.

Kubica stayed in P13, Heidfeld remained in P14 and Piquet never looked like threatening the top 10.

So out went:

11.Kovalainen

12.Nakajima

13.Kubica

14.Heidfeld

15.Piquet

The continuing under-performance of the BMW cars at the circuit they tested on over winter was the big story of Q2. Their winter testing had been done at 20C; now with the air almost at 40C it was 7% less dense, making the grip of the back end significantly worse than they'd enjoyed in January.

Qualifying 3

Ferrari were back with a shout and both cars into Q3 at the track they always do well at. Timo Glock set the first provisional pole time with a 1:34.366, while team-mate Jarno Trulli immediately stole his thunder with a 1:34.297.

Button could only manage P3 on his first run with an encouraging P4 from Hamilton which was taken off him by Sebastian Vettel.

After the first runs, the order was: Trulli, Glock, Button, Vettel, Barrichello, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen and Rosberg. Both Ferraris looked to have loaded up with fuel and were a long way off the pace of the cars in front of them.

Into the second runs and Jenson Button cranked up the pressure on the Toyota team with a 1:34.044, followed home by Lewis Hamilton on a new set of super-softs this time for P2.

Timo Glock soon disavowed any notion of an all-British front row with a significantly quicker P1 at 1:33.712, Sebastian Vettel took P2 and then Jarno Trulli set the timing screens to purple with a sensational pole time of 1:33.431. It was almost too big a margin.

For a top 10 that is covered by 0.6 of second with the same fuel level, to be 0.3 in front of your team-mate and 0.6 ahead of the third and fourth-placed men shows that the Toyota team could have stuck a couple of extra laps of fuel in the tank. No surprise to learn that the Toyota top brass are visiting this weekend and a positive qualifying result was required - their best since 2005.

Given their potential race pace Timo Glock could win his debut race, but Vettel and Button are handily placed. The Brawn GP driver will be starting from the dusty side of the grid and doesn't expect to be P4 heading into Turn 1 given that he is sitting alongside the KERS-equipped Lewis Hamilton.

It could be an interesting first-lap shake-out in Bahrain with all those on the inside of the grid likely to be slow away, with Vettel not the greatest starter in the world, a nervous Jarno Trulli and a combative Lewis Hamilton in P5.

Times

01 J. Trulli Toyota 1:33.431

02 T. Glock Toyota 1:33.712

03 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:34.045

04 J. Button Brawn GP 1:34.044

05 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:34.196

06 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:34.239

07 F. Alonso Renault 1:34.578

08 F. Massa Ferrari 1:34.818

09 N. Rosberg Williams 1:35.134

10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.380

11 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.242

12 K. Nakajima Williams 1:33.348

13 R. Kubica BMW 1:33.487

14 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:33.562

15 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:33.941

16 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:33.722

17 S. Buemi Toro Rosso 1:33.753

18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.910

19 M. Webber Red Bull 1:34.038

20 S. Bourdais Toro Rosso 1:34.159

[OZCUBAN]

Its good to see that not one team is overly dominating. Poor old Mark i guess thats the risk you take when you don't have a "Banker" Lap in the books its alright to be good enough to go out and have a Flyer just hope you don't get held up or a caution flag.

If i was mark i would fill her to the brim and extend the pit stop window you never know your luck

Enjoy the Race

OZ

[OZCUBAN]

Hey Mika you should be on ONE (Ten)

Very well written where do you find the time

Cheers Oz

[MIKA27]

Hey Mika you should be on ONE (Ten)

Very well written where do you find the time

Cheers Oz

Hi OZ.

Thanks mate, glad you like the information.

I quite often get snipets here and there from various sources along with my own info added.

Sometimes I get news in its entirety and post it here too.

It's hard to get the time with an 8 month old son but I make it because I love this site and I love F1 so I'm sharing the love.

Enjoy the race my friend.

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen hits back at Coulthard

Kimi Raikkonen has hit back at David Coulthard after the former F1 driver stated that Ferrari will not be able to develop their car with the Finn at the wheel.

Ferrari have struggled so far this season, failing to score a single in any of the opening three races of the Championship. And although Coulthard believes Ferrari will come good, he reckons they will only make a significant step forward when Raikkonen steps aside for Renault's Fernando Alonso.

"Raikkonen is a former team-mate of mine and the Finn has never shown me he can lead a car's development," Coulthard told The Telegraph. "Sure, he has blistering natural speed, but I suspect Ferrari will improve dramatically if and when Fernando Alonso arrives."

Raikkonen, though, isn't at all happy with Coulthard's opinion of him and has taken a swipe at the Scot.

"I don't know any driver who develops the cars. I think it's pretty funny to hear comments like that from people who never really achieved anything. It's none of my business, what a guy," he told MTV3 channel in Finland.

MIKA; I'm one of the biggest Kimi fans around BUT I must stress one point that DC made and it is so true.... Kimi doesn't have the team behind him with development because Kimi makes himself scarce when it comes to 'feedback' with regards to a cars development.

It comes down to Kimi's personality and that unfortunately is that he is not a very social person, not with fans, not with the press nor with his team...

He has to understand that without either people, he wouldn't be where he is.

He left McLaren because he believed he wasn't supported by the team, I wonder why!?

Kimi ran to a dominating team like Ferrari which was what it was because of Michael Schumacher, the 'complete' driver in my opinion. MS was a great driver, tactician, team player, and loved and respected the media. You need all those traits to succeed in this era.

It is not always the car that makes the driver and Kimi fails here which is a huge shame because he has the best potential.

I for one am a fan and it's from me, a fan of his that I say that because there is always hope that he would wake up and smell the Cubans!

[IceChant]

I don't like the dirt part of F1 but it's like that in many sports, what makes them humans.

We'll see in two hours if Kimi will reply in the race as he really should.

[MIKA27]

I don't like the dirt part of F1 but it's like that in many sports, what makes them humans.

We'll see in two hours if Kimi will reply in the race as he really should.

I agree and hope that Ferrari can be amongst the points scorers if not the podium.

[Padrino]

I don't like the dirt part of F1 but it's like that in many sports, what makes them humans.

This modern day F1 is a glorified soap opera catering for men. I feel sorry for newer fans who only know this current over-marketed junk being peddled today is a form of "racing". My god these cars look like snow-plows with those ridiculous front wings.

As a kid I still remember walking through the pits at the old Kyalami being only feet away from the great Gilles Villeneuve, years later taking a pic of a very young Ayrton Senna when he was at Lotus, years before he would ruin the sport and create the "new wave" of ugly sportsmanship by running off Prost (or vice versa).

Those were days when you could camp at the track, the mechanics would play football in the pits. Now you're expected to pay 200 Euro plus to see cars a hundred yards away from you while standing there waving a flag and wearing an overpriced baseball cap.

"rant over" (i just miss the old days)

[OZCUBAN]

Button takes masterful Bahrain win

Jenson Button reasserted his grip on the 2009 world championship with a brilliant victory in searing desert heat in Bahrain – his third win in four races extending his championship lead to 12 points.

The Briton and his Brawn team turned around the form book from qualifying to beat pre-race favourites Sebastian Vettel and Jarno Trulli thanks to a superior strategy and inch-perfect driving, the Red Bull and Toyota drivers finishing second and third respectively

Button had expressed optimism that his BGP 001 remained a force to be reckoned with over a race distance after only qualifying fourth and after jumping the front-row Toyotas during the first pit-stop phase, a strong middle stint ensured he wouldn’t be caught at the front.

Toyota’s hopes of finally scoring its maiden Formula 1 victory faded after both its drivers made early pit stops, allowing Chinese GP winner Vettel to vault ahead of pole-sitter Trulli into second place.

Lewis Hamilton completed McLaren’s best weekend of the season so far to take a morale-boosting fourth, ahead of the second Brawn of Rubens Barrichello who now slips more than a win behind team-mate Button in the title race.

Meanwhile, Ferrari managed to avoid the worst start to a Formula 1 season in its history by finally getting on the scoreboard at the fourth attempt, Kimi Raikkonen racing hard to sixth place.

As had been the case all weekend at Sakhir, teams were faced with sweltering race-day conditions and as the 20 cars lined up on the grid under the beating sun the track temperatures nudged 50 degrees.

At the lights, the significantly lighter-fuelled Glock outdragged pole-sitting team-mate Trulli off the line to take the lead into the tight first corner.

And while this may have been a pre-planned arrangement given Glock’s inferior fuel strategy, Trulli came under attack for real by a predictably fast-starting Hamilton – the world champion’s KERS system's power boost having helped him catapult past Button and Vettel off the line from fifth.

Hamilton then put his KERS to good effect again on the long uphill straight betweens turns three and four to speed past Trulli.

But the world champion didn’t stay here for long, running wide under braking and allowing the Toyota to re-gain the position.

Hamilton was then demoted to fourth on the next lap by Button, the Brawn driver judging an out-braking move to perfection down the inside of the first turn.

The move turned out to be crucial as it ensured he could keep the Toyotas in sight over the first stint.

Glock, meanwhile, had immediately opened up a one second advantage by the end of the opening lap, but despite his lighter fuel load he never shook Trulli off by more than two seconds.

Indeed by the time he dived into the pit lane at the end of lap 10, his lead was only 1.8s and, after the published fuel loads suggested Trulli would be carrying on for several more laps, his team-mate now seemed set to take the race by the throat.

Surprisingly however the Italian headed for service himself at the end of the very next tour, Toyota seemingly bringing its driver’s planned stop forwards.

Whatever the reason for the change of strategy, it changed the complexion of Trulli’s afternoon and gave Button – who had remained just 1.5s adrift of the Italian – the chance he needed to flex his BGP 001’s muscles.

For Trulli, while he exited the pit lane ahead of Glock – the German going on to endure a mysterious slide down the order after switching to the medium tyres – he encountered problems in the shape of Fernando Alonso’s KERS-equipped Renault.

Having held off his old team-mate on rejoining the track, Alonso quickly showed he was in no mood to have his crucial laps before his own pit stop spoiled by a heavier-fuelled Toyota by muscling his way around the outside of the Italian at turn four.

In truth as things played out, this made little difference to Trulli’s hopes of staying ahead of Button, the Briton using his extra four laps-worth of fuel to leapfrog the Toyota driver.

This was also the stage of the race when Vettel turned around his afternoon following a difficult-looking first stint spent behind Hamilton in fifth.

Carrying the most fuel of the leading runners, the German’s RB5 had looked less balanced than it had done when he sped to the fastest time in low-fuel Q2 on Saturday but, as his fuel burned off, he began to push on as the cars ahead of him peeled into the pits.

By the time he eventually pitted from the lead by lap 18 – promoting Button to the head of the field – he had done enough to not only jump Hamilton, but get himself tagged onto the back of Trulli.

However, the re-appearance of the notorious ‘Trulli Train’ scuppered his hopes of taking the fight to Button on the super-soft tyres.

While Trulli was lapping up to a second slower on the medium compound, frustrating for Vettel all he could do was follow the Toyota around the 3.3-mile track again, again and again – the German and Hamilton running under a second behind the Italian for most of the next 18 laps.

This was a god-send for Button, who had no similar road-block preventing him exploiting the full potential of the soft tyres and he duly scampered away into the distance.

The championship leader’s advantage was 16.8s when he pitted for the second and final time on lap 36, the Brawn driver exiting the pit just as Trulli and Hamilton entered for their own respective final stops.

With Vettel again pitting later than his respective rivals, the Red Bull star almost inevitably was going to move up to second and his three extra laps on track were indeed enough to allow him to stop and then rejoin ahead of Trulli.

The situation was now reversed, however, with the Toyota driver now the one on the super-soft rubber.

Trulli duly made a renewed charge and closed onto Vettel’s gearbox, but it was too little and too late and the pole-sitter had to settle for the lowest rung of the podium.

As long as the now faster Toyota remained tucked up behind the RBR, Button was always going to cruise to the flag and ultimately clocked off the final laps to take the chequered flag 7.1s ahead of Vettel and Trulli.

Hamilton struggled on the harder tyres in the closing stages but nevertheless finished a comfortable fourth, with Barrichello fifth after his gamble on a three-stop strategy never paid dividends despite some impressive overtaking moves.

Early leader Glock eventually came home right behind Raikkonen in seventh, thus maintaining his 100% points-scoring record at each 2009 race, but he and Toyota will be seeking answers as to how his race unravelled in the middle stint so badly.

Alonso may have taken the honours for ‘overtaking move of the race’ with his move on Trulli earlier in the day, but a single point was not what the Spaniard or Renault would have been hoping for this weekend after making big progress last week in China.

Felipe Massa, however, is still waiting for his first points of the season after last year’s championship runner-up finished a lap down in 14th after having to change a nose-cone early in the race and then appearing to suffer problems with KERS.

But while his Ferrari team can take comfort from Raikkonen’s result, rival BMW will want to forget its Bahrain weekend as quickly as possible after its most uncompetitive race showing as an F1 team owner.

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finished last of the classified runners after both picking up damage to their F1.09s on the opening lap, requiring early pit stops for both.

Bahrain Grand Prix result (57 laps)

1. BUTTON Brawn

2. VETTEL Red Bull +7.1s

3. TRULLI Toyota +9.1s

4. HAMILTON McLaren +22.0s

5. BARRICHELLO Brawn +37.7s

6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +42.0s

7. GLOCK Toyota +42.8s

8. ALONSO Renault +52.7s

9. ROSBERG Williams +58.1s

10. PIQUET Renault +1m05.1s

11. WEBBER Red Bull +1m07.6s

12. KOVALAINEN McLaren +1m17.8s

13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +1m18.8s

14. MASSA Ferrari +1 lap

15. FISICHELLA Force India +1 lap

16. SUTIL Force India +1 lap

17. BUEMI Toro Rosso +1 lap

18. KUBICA BMW +1 lap

19. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap

20. NAKAJIMA Williams +9 laps

Fastest lap: TRULLI 1m34.556s

Well done Jenson and brawn GP

OZ

[patman24]

The most rewarding and satisfying win for the Brawn team! Well done and hope they keep it going!

[MIKA27]

What a great post OZ!!

You beat me to it and saved me a heap of time mate.

What a great race it was and great to see Button at the top.

[MIKA27]

This modern day F1 is a glorified soap opera catering for men. I feel sorry for newer fans who only know this current over-marketed junk being peddled today is a form of "racing". My god these cars look like snow-plows with those ridiculous front wings.

As a kid I still remember walking through the pits at the old Kyalami being only feet away from the great Gilles Villeneuve, years later taking a pic of a very young Ayrton Senna when he was at Lotus, years before he would ruin the sport and create the "new wave" of ugly sportsmanship by running off Prost (or vice versa).

Those were days when you could camp at the track, the mechanics would play football in the pits. Now you're expected to pay 200 Euro plus to see cars a hundred yards away from you while standing there waving a flag and wearing an overpriced baseball cap.

"rant over" (i just miss the old days)

It is a great shame in that alot of politics are involved with F1 (As well as many other things) and all the fans want to see is a great race.

I am sure the drivers themselves would just like to drive and not get embroiled in ranting and raving but with some teams, the management just like to cause a stir and complain about everything they can such as Ferrari and Renault.

[OZCUBAN]

What a great post OZ!!

You beat me to it and saved me a heap of time mate.

What a great race it was and great to see Button at the top.

No worries mate we will share the load hey!

Have a good day mate

Oz

[MIKA27]

No worries mate we will share the load hey!

Have a good day mate

Oz

Absolutely bud.

I'll have a better day once I leave the office, get home and have a stogie for my Birthday.

[OZCUBAN]

Absolutely bud.

I'll have a better day once I leave the office, get home and have a stogie for my Birthday.

It's a public holiday here no work for me till 430 tomorrow morning but its only a two day week for me

Oz

[MIKA27]

Button: Best win as we've finally been caught

Jenson Button has hailed his Bahrain victory as the "best" of the season considering his team lacked the pace shown in previous race weekends.

Starting the grand prix from fourth place, behind two Toyotas and a Red Bull, Button feared his BGP001 didn't have the pace required to chase down the victory. But the Englishman battled back to claim a hard-fought win, with his move past Lewis Hamilton on the second lap of the race ultimately proving the critical moment of the weekend.

"He (Hamilton) is very difficult to overtake, but on the first lap he made a few mistakes I dived down the inside and on the straight I thought I could get alongside him," Button said.

"I did but he pushed his button and got ahead, but I got him into first corner. That move made the race for us.

"This win was the best of the lot. We didn't have that competitive edge. It is the fourth flyaway, we have a lot of bits that need to be changed and getting a bit aged, so to come away from this race is great and we are now looking at improving the car.

"This weekend we've not had the pace of the first few races for whatever reason. I guess these guys (Red Bull and Toyota) have caught us. It was very, very tough. To get this win is amazing."

The Brawn driver's victory saw him extend his lead in the Drivers' standings to 12 points over team-mate Rubens Barrichello, which Button says is down to the hard work of his team, who were initially concerned that their car would not survive the Bahrain heat.

"For us it is very difficult because of the heat, but this is one of the circuits that isn't really that physical, the engine was a little bit of a worry because the temperature has been very high in qualifying," he said.

"The team has worked so hard. We have had to work doubly hard to get the job done. I am extremely proud of all of them."

MIKA: A very well deserved win which should shut Button's crittics mouths once and for all....Flavio!

Button has been in F1 for a time now and it's all looking good for him finally. He has been patient all these years, was loyal to Honda even though they couldn't give him as good a car as they hoped. I'm really happy for team Braun to have given the ride to 2 great drivers.

[OZCUBAN]

Nothing to add here

In reply to your P.M here is the Press I run the F-1 of sheet-fed printing presses

Cheers Mate

Steve

Oz

[OZCUBAN]

New F-1 Game by Codemasters due soon

Codemasters reveal next generation of official F1 games

A new generation of Formula One video games featuring all the drivers, teams and circuits from the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship was announced on Friday by Codemasters, the developer and publisher of award-winning racing video games, under its exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One Administration Limited.

The first title in the series, F1 2009™, will debut on Wii™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system this autumn. F1 2009 will deliver an authentic and accessible recreation of the current Formula One season, including, for the first time in a Formula One title, the stunning Singapore night race. A trailer video is now live at www.formula1-game.com, Codemasters’ new online destination for the game.

Extending the Formula One experience to further gaming formats, it was also announced that F1 2010™ is in development at Codemasters Studios and coming mid 2010 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Games For Windows®. F1 2010 is being created using Codemasters’ EGO™ Engine technology, which most recently powered the BAFTA award-winning Race Driver: GRID™.

Talking about the partnership with Codemasters, Bernie Ecclestone, CEO Formula One Management Limited, commented: “Codemasters has a great heritage when it comes to racing games and their reputation is second to none. We’re working very closely together on the upcoming Formula One titles and are very impressed with what we have seen.”

Rod Cousens, CEO, Codemasters, said: “Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport. For many, it embraces a lifestyle and its audience is far reaching and growing. We are producing a series of games that will deliver the passion, glamour and exhilaration that fans deserve and we know how to do that. F1 2009 is the start of something very special for Codemasters and will set the standard for the high definition versions that will follow in mid 2010.”

“Our studios are working extremely closely with Formula One Management Limited and the teams to produce the most authentic and thrilling experience possible. We are delighted with the level of support and access afforded to us so far, enabling us to get as close to the sport as possible. It is this level of support, understanding and working in partnership that enables to deliver superb Formula One games for whichever platform players choose to race.”

In addition to bringing Formula One to Wii for the first time, F1 2009 marks Lewis Hamilton’s debut in a videogame and will enable players to take to the wheel of his McLaren MP4-24 and battle to retain his drivers’ championship crown. The new 2009 season promises to be one of the most exciting and closely fought, thanks to new regulations on aerodynamics, slick tyres and the introduction of the KERS boost system, which is designed to aid overtaking. The rule changes, including KERS, will be reflected in F1 2009 to deliver a truly enthralling racing experience.

“I know Codemasters is going to make a great Formula One game and I'm really looking forward to racing my virtual Red Bull RB5 around my favourite tracks such as Spa and Monaco,” said Chinese Grand Prix winner, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

"Formula One computer games and circuit simulations can be invaluable for racing drivers so it's great news that our fans will also be able to experience the BGP 001 through this game," added championship leader, Brawn GP's Jenson Button.

Both the Wii and PSP editions of F1 2009 have been exclusively designed to deliver the ultimate racing package for each individual format and its audience. Setting new standards for immersion and authenticity on Wii, F1 2009 will offer a variety of race modes, including a full Formula One season and individual arcade-style challenges. Customisable driver aids will be offered to individual players, so both novice and expert drivers will be able to keep their car on track. In the game’s multiplayer mode, driver aids will enable friends and families of different abilities to play together in wheel-to-wheel split screen co-operative and competitive multiplayer races.

The PSP edition of F1 2009 will have players racing against each other wirelessly in addition to engaging and challenging single player modes exclusively tuned for portable play, including competing in full championships.

As Formula One enters its most exciting season yet, F1 2009 will take Wii and PSP players as close as possible to racing in the world’s most spectacular motorsport when it launches this autumn; F1 2010 will follow for PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360 and Games For Windows in 2010. For the trailer video, race over to www.formula1-game.com.

Cheers

Oz

[MIKA27]

Great posts OZ.

Those presses are huge.

As for the game, I dont mind chilling out at home on the XBOX360 on occasion, looking forward to F1 2010 on the 360 as the '09 version will not be released on next gen consoles due to lack of time to develop at such short notice.

[MIKA27]

Theissen: BMW will remain in F1 for now

Team boss Mario Theissen admits his BMW team needs to taste Formula One success if the German carmaker is to remain in the sport.

After a fantastic Championship in 2008, during which Robert Kubica claimed the team's breakthrough race win and fought for the World title, BMW's form has suffered an alarming slump this season.

Four races into the season, Kubica has yet to score a single World Championship point while team-mate Nick Heidfeld has only scored on only one occasions, his second placed finish (for half points) in Malaysia. Added to that they have also struggled in qualifying with neither driver making it through to the qualifying shoot-out in the last two races.

This has raised some questions about whether BMW will remain in F1 but Theissen says that, for now at least, they are here to stay.

"Formula 1 (for BMW) is valuable,"Theissen he told RTL. "Before the season the project was evaluated again in detail and the financial situation was part of the analysis. But in the long-term we also need success."

Theissen revealed that BMW will be introducing major upgrades at the upcoming Spanish GP.

"Partly due to not exploiting the potential of the car in qualifying and partly due to development steps of the other teams," he told Autosport with regards to his team's faltering performances.

"We decided before the start of the season to combine a bigger development package for Barcelona and I can only hope that this will pay off.

"Today, it looks like we are behind but if the package is good the picture can change within two weeks.

"What we have seen now is quite surprising, with new regulations it's a close field. In the fourth race, we have seen the third team which has completely dominated qualifying which is unusual.

"That shows, together with small gaps, that it can change again within a few races.

"The car was very good in Melbourne. Robert could have won that race, although we were not the quickest, but was still quite competitive.

"Apparently other teams made an improvement on a race-by-race basis whereas we are preparing a comprehensive package for Barcelona and I can only hope that we will make a step forward there.

"We will have a sequence of improvements throughout the season but this is the first major one so I have some hopes about it."

MIKA: I believe Robert Kubica is over rated whilst Nick Heidfeld is consistantly out pacing RC and scoring points. Look at last season, Nick won a great deal of points (60 points and 4 podiums) for the team whilst Kubica was all over the joint. Sure, Kubica scored approximately 15 points more in '08 overall, but considering the hype........?

[OZCUBAN]

Jenson Button has won three races but wants more speed

Brawn 'can match rivals' development'

Tuesday, 28 April 2009 12:52

The Brawn team is confident that it has the resources to stay ahead in the development race as the likes of McLaren and Ferrari try to fight back.

Although the Brawn GP BGP001 was designed and developed with the full might of Honda behind it, the team - now owned by Ross Brawn - has become much smaller since it was sold off by the Japanese manufacturer.

Jenson Button has been concerned that the pack has rapidly caught Brawn up after its dominant start to 2009, but the team's chief executive Nick Fry said Brawn could withstand whatever the established big guns threw at it.

"I think our team has got all the resources,” Fry told the Times newspaper.

“We have got a reasonable upgrade package for Barcelona.

"Whether it will be as big as some others, we don't know.

"Do we have the resources to develop for the rest of the year?"

"Yes, we do.”

Ross Brawn admitted that there had been a pause in the arrival of new parts due to the winter of uncertainty that the team endured after Honda pulled the plug, but said development had now been ramped up again.

"From the time that Honda announced they were stopping at the end of November, the budget was limited, the developments weren't coming,” he said.

"But they are coming now, so we can get the ball rolling again in terms of improving the car.”

OZ: I think brawn are on a roll as are Red Bull This season the days of 1 to 2 teams dominating are gone

Cheers OZ