FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

i was quite interested in the monaco race, not just because webber won it but because when i was stuck there with the volcano, would walk a lot of the track most days. formula one doesn't really interest me (how is it sport when it seems to depend more on who has the fastest machine than anything else?) unless there are crashes but i can see how a circuit like monte carlo would appeal.

Thanks for posting Ken, welcome to the thread.

I understand what you mean and can see how you can not understand how F1 is a sport. Many assume its just a matter of 'a' driver sitting in 'a' vehicle and driving around a circuit but perhaps the following can be of some assistance to you in better understanding what is required. Feel free to click on the links should you require an in depth over view.

Formula 1 is an individual sport as much as it is a team sport. Many of the luxuries and more importantly, the safety aspects of most modern day vehicles can thank Formula 1 for their development.

I too can relate to certain tracks such as yourself with Monaco seeing you were only just there not so long ago (Lucky bugger!)

I've been to the Hungarian, German and Belgium Grand Prix when I traveled Europe. To this day, Spa Francomchamps (Belgium GP) is my most favorite.

The Vehicle: Aerodynamics

A modern Formula One car has almost as much in common with a jet fighter as it does with an ordinary road car. Aerodynamics have become key to success in the sport and teams spend tens of millions of dollars on research and development in the field each year.

Driver fitness

Formula One drivers are some of the most highly conditioned athletes on earth, their bodies specifically adapted to the very exacting requirements of top-flight single-seater motor racing.

All drivers who enter Formula One need to undergo a period of conditioning to the physical demands of the sport: no other race series on earth requires so much of its drivers in terms of stamina and endurance. The vast loadings that Formula One cars are capable of creating, anything up to a sustained 3.5 g of cornering force, for example, means drivers have to be enormously strong to be able to last for full race distances. The extreme heat found in a Formula One cockpit, especially at the hotter rounds of the championship, also puts vast strain on the body: drivers can sweat off anything up to 3kg of their body weight during the course of a race.

Race strategy

Part science, part magic - a decent strategy is essential to the business of winning races. Or, indeed, losing them. The basic variables of the equation are simple enough: fuel load and tyre wear. But from then on, it gets vastly more complicated.

Need more information (Probably not) but if so, please check out the below link for a complete overview.

FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

'Formula One too elitist'

Formula One has been branded as "too elitist" by former Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina.

The Japanese manufacturer withdrew from F1 at the end of the 2009 season following eight years in the sport, citing the global economic crisis as the main reason for its decision.

According to Yamashina, it is unlikely that Toyota will return to the sport.

"There is a big gap between Formula 1 and Toyota's actual car users," he told Automotive News. "F1 remains the pinnacle of auto racing, but its image grew too elitist.

"At races such as Nurburgring [24 Hours], fans can get right into [the] pitlane, mingle with the teams and touch the cars. They can soak up the atmosphere and feel part of the event. By contrast, average fans have no hope of strolling the paddock at an F1 race. For the fortunate few who can afford to do that, it's fine.

"I think the best kind of races are those in which people can get in close to the race."

MIKA: What races are those? Most teams will not let anyone enter pit lane and touch cars. Every year I get a pass that allows me through pit lane on a Thursday but as for touching cars, never been allowed to even go near them.

Seems Toyota are a little bitter in that they never succeeded in comparison to other teams. They also had a bigger budget than Ferrari!

The statistics speak for themselves: 2002 - 2009

Races competed: 140

Constructors Championship: 0

Drivers Championships: 0

Race Victories: 0

Podiums: 13

Pole positions: 3

Fastest laps: 3

... and so, the fox, seeing that she could not reach the grapes walked away murmuring "Oh I don't really want them, as they are too sour for my refined taste"

[MIKA27]

Liuzzi shrugs off Di Resta rumours

Tonio Liuzzi has shrugged off reports that he is close to losing his Force India race seat to reserve driver Paul di Resta.

Liuzzi, who was handed a Force India drive at the end of the 2009 season following Giancarlo Fisichella's departure to Ferrari, was back in the points in Monaco after three disappointing races. Although he has accumulated a respectable 10 points so far this year he is still a further 10 points off his team-mate Adrian Sutil's tally.

Tester di Resta has already made several appearances for the team during practice this year, and there have been suggestions that he could replace Liuzzi.

The Italian, though, says he is not worried about the rumours as Force India still "believes in him".

"There has been speculation that Force India's reserve driver Paul di Resta is in competition for my seat," he wrote in his ESPN blog. "I am not worried about these rumours; speculation is always at the door and all over the papers.

"I have a contract for two years with Force India and they believe in me and I believe in them, so our relationship is very good. They know exactly the problems I was having in China and Spain and they know that it was not due to anything else.

"Also I scored points at the first two races and again in Monaco, so they can see that I'm very much fighting for the team to meet its targets. It really doesn't worry me that this sort of stuff is printed and it's quite normal that you get this kind of speculation when you are competing at the highest level."

[MIKA27]

Symonds linked with Williams

Former Renault chief engineer Pat Symonds is being linked with Williams while Pat Fry, who recently left McLaren, is wanted by a host of teams.

According to Italy's Autosprint magazine, Symonds is being lined up for a consultancy role with Williams following his out of court settlement with the FIA.

Even though his agreement with motor sport's governing body states that he is banned from having a direct operational role in F1 until 2013, he is allowed to act as a consultant and the Grove-based team are keen to make use of his expertise for the design of the FW33 for 2011.

Another man who is on the move is former McLaren chief engineer Fry.

The 46-year-old Fry, who was with McLaren for almost 20 years before quitting recently, is reportedly a wanted man.

Autosprint says he is set to team up with Ross Brawn at Mercedes GP while Finland's Turun Sanomat claims Force India, Red Bull and Toro Rosso are all interested in his services.

[MIKA27]

McLaren mechanic 'devastated' by error

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh says the mechanic responsible for Jenson Button's early exit from the Monaco Grand Prix is "devastated" by his mistake.

Button's defence of his Monaco GP crown lasted barely two laps after the unnamed mechanic left a transport cap over his left radiator inlet at the start of the race and caused his engine to overheat.

"I think it's disappointing for everyone in the team, and devastating for the person responsible," Whitmarsh told Speedtv.com. "I know these things happen, but it's just hard to accept when it happens.

"Anyone who's involved with a team like this, when you're trying to do your best and you make a mistake and it contributes to something like that, it's devastating for them."

Whitmarsh admits Button never stood a chance once the airflow into his car was blocked.

"It was something that's used in transport or the garage," he said. "It's a cooling cover, a water one, and it was left in. So the car went to the grid with no air flow. So the car was cooked. You do what you can after, but you can't recover it. On a circuit like this, and with Safety Car as well, you really can't recover from that sort of thing.

"These cars don't have fans - they rely on airflow - so if you deny the airflow, you're not going to live very long. An F1 engine dissipates 200kW of heat energy, and if you don't take the measures to do something about that, then it's over very quickly, unfortunately. You don't know what's going to fail, but we knew we were over temperature, and there's not much you can do at that point.

"Obviously people are monitoring temperatures, and at a race like this it's particularly critical anyway. Other parts under the engine cover would have been very, very hot, and it was a secondary failure rather than a primary failure of the engine."

[MIKA27]

Stewards 'too busy' to investigate Rubens

Rubens Barrichello got away with murder at the Monaco Grand Prix because stewards were too busy concentrating on the "other" major incident of the race.

After crashing at Turn 3, the Williams driver tossed his steering wheel onto the track. The expensive piece of equipment - which has been valued at €20,000 - was then dragged further down the road by Karun Chandhok before it was run over for a second time by the Hispania driver's team-mate Bruno Senna.

Barrichello, though, wasn't punished after the race and he got away with it because Michael Schumacher's opportunistic overtaking move on Fernando Alonso grabbed everyone's attention, including the stewards.

Paul Gutjahr, one of the FIA race stewards on the panel in Monaco, told Blich. Barrichello got lucky.

"I actually had Barrichello on my list but in the rush to [sort out] the Schumacher case the incident fell by the wayside. Luck was on Mr Barrichello's side."

Barrichello claims he "threw the steering wheel because I wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible".

Maybe he should send a thank you note to his former team-mate.

MIKA: Regardless of the amound of possible incidents, they should all be investigated and punishments given to all who dont follow the rules. Thats why they have several Stewards not just the one.

[MIKA27]

Sir Frank holds his hand up over Webber

Sir Frank Williams has been quick to hold his hand up over Mark Webber, saying the team misjudged the Australian's potential when he drove for them.

The Red Bull driver is in the form of his life and is leading the Constructors' Championship with team-mate Sebastian Vettel following back-to-back race victories in Barcelona and Monaco.

Webber joined the Williams team in 2005, but he was let go at the end of the following season after a dismal campaign during which he scored just 10 points.

Sir Frank says Williams thought Webber was part of the problem back then, but recent results show they got it wrong.

"I can honestly say, no bulls***, I'm delighted," Sir Frank is quoted on the ITV website.

"He's worked very hard, he's as straight as they come. I've seen him in airports and when people stop him he has all the time for them. Very impressive.

"When we had him obviously our car was a disappointment and we felt he was part of the problem. He probably wasn't actually, with hindsight. The major point was that the car had problems.

"But he's developed himself, believed in himself, he's probably charmed everyone around him at Red Bull."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton looking forward to faster tracks

Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to the faster tracks on the calendar, such as Turkey, Canada, Silverstone and Suzuka, where he is confident his MP4-25 will perform well.

The McLaren driver has been a little unlucky so far this season, having encountered qualifying errors, strategy problems and reliability issues.

In Spain he dropped 18 points after retiring from second place due to a wheel rim failure on the penultimate lap. Despite this, he remains upbeat with his performances having overtaken more cars than any other driver this season.

"I know that I’ve raced to the best of my ability on every single lap of every single race, and that I got the maximum out of the car, so I’m satisfied with my performance, even if I’ve been a bit unlucky," he told the official F1 website.

"It would be nice to have more points, yes, but I don’t think it’s something we should be too concerned about right now - there are plenty more races, and we have lots of opportunities to close the gap."

A development race has begun as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes look to end Red Bull's dominance. Hamilton revealed that the Woking based team have some ideas as to what they need to do to catch RBR.

"It’s more important that we plan to break the stranglehold at the front than look back at what might have been. And that’s exactly what this team has always done, and what we’re doing now.

"We’re confident that we know what needs to be done to get back to the front," explained Hamilton. "We’ve got some developments in the pipeline.

"In any case, we’re a lot more confident about what our pace will be like at tracks like Istanbul, Canada and Silverstone - we think our package will be a lot more competitive at those places, particularly in race pace, which has always been our strength."

[MIKA27]

Organisers promise cheap tickets for Indian GP

Mark Hughes, vice-president of JPSK Sports, a subsidiary of the Jaypee Group which has been tasked to build the Indian GP circuit, has promised affordable tickets and tight security for the race which is set to take place in 2011.

Hughes team has been conducting market research by looking at similar 'big' sporting events in the country and assessing their ticket prices.

"We are looking at the range of tickets for the high end of cricket games, the international test matches, the IPL games," he told The Times of India. "We are looking at the ticketing for the Commonwealth Games and we are also looking at the other races and trying to find a balance.

He promises a similar system to that of Malaysia which has a generous amount of reasonably priced general admission tickets for locals which start at £18 (€22, $26).

"There will be a reasonably affordable general admission and there will probably be about 25,000 general tickets. I'd like to think that we can make it affordable in the same way that Malaysia did - Malaysia have a very good, affordable entry ticket price."

Extra security will also be introduced for the event to tackle any terror threats, or even stray dogs: "We will have things like built-in underground scanners, so when a car drives in every vehicle will get scanned," said Hughes. "At the same time, we will look at how we integrate that with the CCTV systems.

He continued: "We will have a reasonably sophisticated ticketing system that will be very difficult to forge. There will be a turnstile system at every entrance, every ticket will be electronic. Security will be ramped up, it has to be."

[MIKA27]

Renault looking to supply more teams in 2011

Renault are ready to supply three or even four customer team's with engines according to the head of the engine programme, Remi Taffin.

The team already supply Red Bull as well as their own team with engines, however they are looking to expand their presence on the grid, much like Mercedes who supply their own team, McLaren and Force India.

"We don't know which teams we will be supplying next year," Taffin told Autosport. "We certainly have got the capacity to supply more than the two teams we have been doing this year, it's not a big problem for us.

"Obviously we have to produce a few more engines and get some more people to do the job. As far as getting an engine ready and supplying two teams, it's then not a big problem to do so for three or four teams with an extra effort."

The engines have been criticised as unreliable and down on power, although the FIA allowed them to upgrade their engines to improve reliability which has helped power Red Bull to every pole position of the season, as well as a 1-2-3 in Monaco.

The engines real advantage is its fuel consumption which is thought to be the lowest on the grid, allowing teams to run lighter cars.

Williams and Lotus have been linked with a switch to the unit, both currently use the Cosworth engine which was re-introduced this season.

MIKA: Williams really need to move away from Cosworth engines and get a Renault engine for sure.

[MIKA27]

Prost to make Race of Champions debut

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost will take part in the Race of Champions for the first time this year.

The 55-year-old Frenchman will join the field for the end-of-season all-star multi-discipline shootout, which this year will be held at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, on November 27-28.

The annual RoC pits top names from Formula 1, rallying and other motorsport disciplines against each other in head to head knock-out contests in miscellaneous vehicles each winter.

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and 2010 title contender Sebastian Vettel have already confirmed their participation in the event.

Prost retired from single-seater competition following his final world championship victory in 1993, but has competed in the Andros Trophy ice racing series in recent years, winning the 2007 and 2008 titles.

“I'm very happy to be able to participate in the Race of Champions at last,” he said.

“In the past the date has always clashed with other commitments like the Andros Trophy ice racing championship, but this year it finally works.

“It will be an absolute pleasure to race with great drivers from different disciplines and different generations. I'm really looking forward to the experience.”

RoC organiser Fredrik Johnsson said: “We're thrilled that Alain will make his debut at the Race of Champions in November.

“He is one of the all-time legends of motor racing so this first appearance at the event is eagerly anticipated and long overdue.”

[MIKA27]

Virgin hopes it can focus on performance

Virgin team principal John Booth is hopeful the squad can start tipping the balance of work on its car more towards performance aspects from next week’s Turkish Grand Prix.

The new 2010 entrant has been forced to spend much of its season so far resolving reliability issues with its VR-01 car, the team having seen the chequered flag on just three occasions so far – two of which came at Barcelona earlier this month.

Virgin also had to revise the VR-01’s chassis following the embarrassing revelation that the car’s original fuel tank wasn’t big enough for it to complete race distances at full speed.

Speaking in Monaco last weekend, Booth admitted the team’s first two-car finish had been too long in coming but expressed cautious optimism that, with that hurdle finally cleared, it can soon start to focus more of its efforts on improving the car’s pace.

“Barcelona was massive for us,” Booth said.

“The first time we got two cars to the finish in the fifth race.

“Not good enough and disappointing the previous four but a big relief for Barcelona.”

He added: “Ninety-nine per cent of our effort is on reliability but hopefully from this race forward we can start adding performance to it.”

After having a slight edge over chief rival Lotus on pure pace in the season’s early rounds, Virgin slipped adrift of its fellow new team when Lotus introduced a big package of upgrades onto its T127 for Spain.

Speaking after Sunday’s Monaco round, in which both Virgins again retired for mechanical reasons, technical chief Nick Wirth also looked ahead with more optimism for Istanbul when the team will run with two revised chassis’ for the first time after only Timo Glock ran it at the last two rounds.

“We're all very disappointed with our first Monaco Grand Prix but I'm sure we can address these issues quickly and look forward to the debut of the second revised VR-01 in Turkey," Wirth said.

[MIKA27]

What's up with Williams?

The last fortnight has not been kind to the Grove based outfit. A myriad of upgrades has netted just two points from two races, and has left the two cars coming back in a box of old bits from Monte-Carlo. Unfortunately for Williams, this is looking at things positively.

Below the surface, cracks are starting to form. Just from observation on TV, one can sense the immense frustration and divides in the team. From Sam Michael sparring with a lollipop man, to Rubens Barrichello lobbing his steering wheel in the path of Karun Chandhok, all is not well.

They came into this season high on hopes. A strong car in 2009 had been held back, it was believed, by Nakajima's lack of pace, Rosberg's lack of focus and Toyota's lack of grunt. By adding the experience of Barrichello, the raw talent of Hulkenburg and the powerful Cosworth V8 engine, what could possibly go wrong? A strong display in pre-season left the squad with hopes they could put up a solid front to be 'best of the rest' and pinch a few podiums if some of the big boys struggled.

This rosy image, however, was shattered in Bahrain. Williams just could not keep up with the pace of the Force Indias, and Kubica's surprising pace has left them to scoop up 9th and 10th places when others fail. The high point for Williams has to be the moment when the new points system was ratified into the Formula 1 rule book, for they would have a mere single point otherwise, compared to 8 points this time last year.

So where has it all gone wrong?

It's easy, and possibly valid, to point the finger at the drivers. Hulkenburg has dissapointed, no doubt about it. He came into F1 being hailed as the next Lewis Hamilton, yet has racked up a single, paltry point. The reason he doesn't have any more are largely his own doing - he's had enough offs this season to fill his own short highlight reel and has flattered to deceive in qualifying. Even in Monaco, his crash in the tunnel was courtesy of running into the back of a HRT in turn one. The pressure to improve is not only telling on him, but also of his side of the garage.

Barrichello must have joined Williams thinking he could rejuvinate the team and give himself one last championship shot. Now, his time there looks like it's paying for Rubens' early retirement fund. You can understand his frustration; how much must he be regretting letting his golden championship opportunity slip? Button is living the dream at McLaren (well, almost) and Rubens gets to wrestle a Williams. But that's no excuse for the display in Monaco.

In the technical department, Sam Michael might well be under more pressure than Hulkeburg to improve. Since Michael took over in 2004, the team has started a steady decline downhill. It would be east to blame the lack of BMW support, but there's no denying that under current regulations, the most optimised, aerodynamically efficient car wins the titles, regardless of engine. The Williams is anything but, and on evidence of the upgrades, is moving in the wrong direction.

Williams are a team in free-fall. Disgruntled drivers, ineffective technical team and worst of all, a bad car. If they wish to avoid the stagnating environment of the midfield, the team need a culture change; not just an injection of cash, but new personnel. As much as I deeply admire Frank Williams and Patrick Head, one wonders if it's time for them to step aside from day-to-day running and allow fresh team of people to manage the team on a daily basis. For the good of the team, Frank, bring in fresh blood. For whatever reason, the current set-up is not working.

[MIKA27]

Lotus already concentrating on 2011

We may only be six races into the 2010 season, but Lotus have already shifted their development focus to next year's car.

Mike Gascoyne, Lotus' technical chief, says although the T127 will have updates at the British Grand Prix in July, they are already concentration on 2011.

"We still have stuff coming through and there will probably be a package for Silverstone, but now we are very much concentrating on 2011," he told Autosport. "The 2011 model is going in the wind tunnel soon.

"This year we were always going to play catch up. Next year, with the big rule changes, it levels the playing field and we need to put our resources into that. So we want to keep pushing, but we want to look at next year as well."

Lotus have been the best of the 2010 rookies so far this season, but Gascoyne believes it is unlikely that they will finish higher than any of the establish teams.

"We want to get 10th [in the Constructors' Championship] and realistically, even if we made the car better, would we get ninth or eighth? Probably not.

"Therefore is it worth putting resources into that, or switching them to next year? There is also the commercial aspect you want to be seen moving forward this year, but we want to take some people by surprise next year."

[MIKA27]

Button hoping for some Red Bull mistakes

Jenson Button is hoping Red Bull Racing again prove fallible - otherwise he fears they could prove unstoppable in their charge for Formula One glory.

Reigning World Champion Button relinquished the lead of this year's world title race to Red Bull's Mark Webber following his Monaco Grand Prix victory on Sunday, the Australian's second successive triumph in the space of eight days.

It was a race in which Button suffered his first failure with McLaren this season as the 30-year-old retired after two laps following a mistake that should have been avoided.

That was when one member of the team left a cooling cover on a sidepod over the radiator, resulting in the engine overheating.

Coming the week after Hamilton crashed on the penultimate lap in Barcelona with a wheel-rim failure, the last two races have hardly cast McLaren in the best light.

Button, who now trails Webber by eight points in the standings, knows the situation has to improve, and believes it will, starting in Turkey in 10 days' time.

"This team have the resources, the manpower and the passion to succeed and to chase, and this is what they will do," Button said at a promotional event for Vodafone's World of Difference campaign.

"Last year was a difficult season for this team, but they still won two races, and where they came from at the start of the year to where they ended up was extraordinary.

"So we're hoping we're going to see big improvements over the next few races.

"We've had a couple of issues in the last two races with reliability and mistakes, but we have to put those behind us now and focus on the next race in Turkey.

"We've got to come with a stronger car, and we can't make any mistakes."

McLaren have to show the kind of improvement as displayed by Red Bull in the last two races after problems dogged them in three of the first four grands prix when they should have won them all after starting from pole.

If not, then Button knows not just McLaren will have trouble trying to close the gap.

"They are going to be so hard to catch," added Button.

"It's a big lead they had in Barcelona, especially with a second in qualifying, but no-one is going to give up chasing them, especially not our team. We're going to do everything we can."

Otherwise it is a case of keeping fingers crossed they again suffer reliability issues.

"I hope they do fall by the wayside," said Button.

"As we saw at the start of the year, they didn't have the perfect start to the season, and hopefully we're going to see them make some more mistakes.

"That's what we need at this point in the season. We need to have the best race we possibly can and get the maximum out of our package, and hopefully they don't."

[MIKA27]

'Red Bull ordered to alter diffuser in Monaco'

Red Bull were apparently forced to make minor changes to their rear diffuser in Monaco following a complaint from McLaren.

Despite the Milton Keynes team's best effort to "hide" developments on their car from the "spies", McLaren's technical chief Paddy Lowe managed to pick up the discrepancy on the starting grid in Barcelona.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently admitted that they have about "bodyguards" on the grid to make it difficult for others to see updates.

"Obviously the cars on the grid is the closest that the various technical directors get to view the competition, and the fact that our guys chose to queue up and happen to be standing at the back of their car might merely be coincidence, but obviously the back of the cars are so sensitive now we try and make it as difficult for others to see as possible."

However, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport Lowe somehow managed to spot something suspect and the FIA asked Red Bull to make changes to a 'a small wing on the outside of the diffusers' as it did not conform to the rules regarding "infinite precision" which falls under Article 3 of the technical laws.

The changes, though, didn't have much of an impact on the Red Bull as they made a clean sweep by picking up the pole position, winning the race and setting the fastest lap.

[MIKA27]

'Alonso was asleep'

Fernando Alonso may claim he was ready to attack Lewis Hamilton on the final corner in Monaco, but Michael Schumacher firmly believes the Ferrari driver was "asleep".

Alonso revealed after the race that he was prepared to make a move on Hamilton once the Safety Car returned to the pits on the last lap but his team forbid him.

However, according to BBC pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz, the German - who was slapped with a 20-second penalty for the overtaking move - told his Mercedes team that the Spaniard was caught napping.

'I'm reliably informed Michael was on the radio on the slowing down lap telling the team how Alonso was asleep, a phrase team principal Ross Brawn repeated later in our interview at the end of the BBC One show,' Kravitz wrote on his BBC blog.

Despite his penalty in Monaco, Kravitz also believes Schumacher will happy that he proved he still has "that edge".

'While Schumacher will be annoyed at the FIA's interpretation of the confusing rule 40.13, which they have now said needs to be re-written, he will be happy to sit back this week and know that he's still got that edge, and it's getting sharper every race.'

MIKA: If the FIA believe the rule now needs to change, they are admitting that rule 40.13 is confusing. As such, they should revoke the penalty imposed!?

[MIKA27]

Schumi's move forces FIA's hand

The FIA have admitted that rules regarding overtaking behind the Safety Car need to be amended following the final lap confusion in Monaco.

Michael Schumacher was slapped with a 20-second post-race penalty for passing Fernando Alonso shortly after the Safety Car returned to the pits on the final corner.

However, the German and his Mercedes team insist they were not in the wrong as race control messages of 'Track Clear' and the green flags and lights shown by the marshals meant drivers were free to race.

Although the team opted not to appeal against the punishment, they asked the FIA to include article 40.13 on the agenda of the next Sporting Working Group meeting.

The FIA have heeded their request and the matter will be discussed in Geneva next month.

A statement from motor sport's governing body read: 'The problems identified during the final lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, counting for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, showed a lack of clarity in the application of the rule prohibiting overtaking behind the Safety Car.

'Adjustments to the regulations are necessary to clarify the procedure that cars must meet when the last lap is controlled by the Safety Car whilst also ensuring that the signaling for teams and drivers is made more clear.

'These adjustments will help to avoid the problem which occurred during the Monaco Grand Prix from happening in the future.

'The Formula One Commission, upon a proposal of the F1 Sporting Working Group will submit an amendment to the Sporting Regulations to address this issue. These amendments will be considered by the World Motor Sport Council at its next meeting in Geneva on June 23.'

[MIKA27]

Vettel to get new chassis for Turkey

Sebastian Vettel is to be given a new chassis for the Turkish Grand Prix after his Red Bull Racing team discovered a fault on the car he had used in Monaco.

The German has been beaten by team-mate Mark Webber in the last two races, and in Monaco he had no response for his team-mate's pace throughout the weekend.

After the cars returned to the Red Bull Racing factory earlier this week, the team conducted a detailed investigation into the car Vettel has used all season (chassis number 3), and discovered a fault - although it has not specified exactly what it is.

With the outfit determined to give both its drivers an equal chance of battling for the championship, however, it has decided to give Vettel a replacement chassis for the next race of the season in Istanbul.

When asked by AUTOSPORT to clarify the chassis situation, team principal Christian Horner said: "Sebastian Vettel experienced some handling peculiarities with his current chassis during the Monaco GP. Upon further investigation a small defect was found on his chassis, which will be replaced for the next race in Turkey."

Webber used chassis number 2 for the season opener in Bahrain, but switched to chassis 4 after that.

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Williams calls for 2011 tyres test

Formula 1 teams should be granted a special post-grand prix test session after one of this season's races to help them get an understanding of next year's tyres.

That is the view of Williams technical director Sam Michael, who thinks that the best solution for helping teams better understand tyre characteristics for their 2011 car designs is to give them a day's running with the new tyre supplier.

F1 teams are hoping to finalise whether they want Pirelli or Michelin for next year before the Turkish Grand Prix - although teams already have to get on with their 2011 designs without knowing who will supply tyres.

Michael believes that even with full data from F1's new tyre supplier it will be hard for teams to fully understand how the rubber will behave.

"We have to just crack on with the design, assuming the tyres are similar to what we have got now because we don't have any other data," Michael told AUTOSPORT.

"We haven't decided on the tyre supplier, and even when you get the data it will be hard to ascertain the differences between Bridgestone and whoever it is without running the car on track. Hopefully we will have some sort of test.

"I think the ideal thing would be to stay back after one or two grands prix, maybe stay back on the Monday after Monza or Abu Dhabi, and do two one-hour practice sessions with a couple of sets of the new tyres if they can be produced that quickly."

Abu Dhabi is already in talks with F1 teams about holding a test immediately after the season finale, possibly for the young driver running that is currently allowed in the regulations.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton cool on championship situation

Lewis Hamilton says he is remaining cool about his championship chances despite lying down in seventh position after six races.

The McLaren driver is 19 points behind championship leader Mark Webber, having scored only two podiums finishes in the first six events.

But Hamilton says he has been satisfied with his performances so far, and is adamant that it's still early days and that he will have plenty of chances to move up the ranks.

"I think you can look at it two ways, you could say that we had some good opportunities in some of the early races and that we maybe didn't make the best of those chances," Hamilton said on his website.

"You could also say we've done a good job overall, got a great deal of performance out of the car and possibly exceeded the expectation of what the car was ultimately capable of.

"I think the reality lies somewhere between those two areas: maybe I should have scored more points, but I know that I've raced to the best of my ability on every single lap of every single race, and that I got the maximum out of the car, so I'm satisfied with my performance, even if I've been a bit unlucky.

"It would be nice to have more points, yes, but I don't think it's something we should be too concerned about right now - there are plenty more races, and we have lots of opportunities to close the gap. It's more important that we plan to break the stranglehold at the front than look back at what might have been.

"And that's exactly what this team has always done, and what we're doing now. We're confident that we know what needs to be done to get back to the front."

The 2008 world champion is also confident that McLaren will take a step forward soon and will be closer to the leading Red Bull team.

"We've got some developments in the pipeline – they won't be immediate, but we think we know what we need to do to close the gap to the leaders," he added.

"In any case, we're a lot more confident about what our pace will be like at tracks like Istanbul, Canada and Silverstone – we think our package will be a lot more competitive at those places, particularly in race pace, which has always been our strength.

"The important thing is to stay focused – one of the greatest strengths of the team is our ability to keep developing and refining our car during the season, and I'm confident that we're heading in the right direction."

[MIKA27]

Alonso: I could have won Monaco

Fernando Alonso believes he could have challenged for victory in the Monaco Grand Prix had he not crashed in final practice and missed the qualifying session.

Alonso was quickest in the first two practice sessions of the weekend, but damaged his Ferrari F10 severely when he crashed at Massenet 20 minutes into Saturday's final practice. The team was unable to repair the car in time for qualifying and the Spaniard started the race from the pitlane.

He made an early pitstop and raced through to sixth place - which he kept after Michael Schumacher was penalised for overtaking him at the final corner of the last lap as the safety car returned to the pits - but despite rescuing points from the race, Alonso remained frustrated and believes he could have won the race.

"On Saturday morning, you all know what happened - and sixth place on Sunday therefore had a very different flavour to it," Alonso said in his blog on Ferrari's website. "This result should make the team proud of all they did in difficult circumstances.

"It's never happened to me before, not to be able to take part in qualifying. It can happen that you go out in the early stages, because of a mistake or a technical problem, but to find yourself having to watch the screen right from the start, that was really cruel.

"Sunday was very satisfying. We were aware that if we wanted to finish in the points, everything had to be perfect: the car, strategy, overtaking and tyres. And that was indeed the case. The first laps were very hectic, with six overtaking moves and then I had to try and make the most of the strategy, waiting for others to pit.

"[but] the Monaco Grand Prix was bittersweet for me. Clearly, in terms of the points I picked up, it was not good enough - especially as we were in the right shape to fight for the win."

Alonso added that he didn't attempt to defend from Schumacher because the team had told him overtaking was not allowed at the final restart.

"At the end came the incident with Michael: the pit wall had told me that, as the race was still under the safety car on the last lap, overtaking was not allowed and so I was calm - and that was later confirmed by the stewards, who put things right," he added.

[MIKA27]

Monaco GP data file

In the latest instalment of a new feature for 2010 here is a driver-by-driver rundown of how the 24-man field fared over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

From Mark Webber's flawless victory and Robert Kubica's heroics, to McLaren and Mercedes' frustrations, here is how everyone's weekends unfolded.

Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes

Practice: 8th / 9th / 10th

Total practice laps: 90

Qualifying: 10th / 10th / 8th

Pit stop laps:

Result: Retired (DNF), overheating, 2 laps

Summary: Struggling for pace all weekend, Button only qualified eighth, fell to 11th at the start, then retired within two laps because a cooling cover left on his sidepod by accident on the way to the grid had caused the car to overheat and catch fire slightly.

Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes

Practice: 7th / 7th / 4th

Total practice laps: 89

Qualifying: 12th / 4th / 5th

Pit stop laps: 17

Result: 5th

Summary: McLaren just wasn't quite quick enough in Monaco, though Hamilton at least managed to salvage some good points by finishing fifth - the same position he had qualified.

Michael Schumacher - Mercedes

Practice: 6th / 5th / 6th

Total practice laps: 81

Qualifying: 11th / 7th / 7th

Pit stop laps: 19

Result: 12th (penalty)

Summary: Pipped to sixth on the grid by Rosberg, Schumacher turned the tables at the start but lost out to Barrichello at the same time. His pit crew jumped him past the Williams, but Alonso's strategy put the Ferrari in front of both. Schumacher then surged past Alonso with an opportunistic last-corner pass as the safety car came in, only to find it wasn't permitted, resulting in a 20s penalty and a demotion to 12th in the results.

Nico Rosberg - Mercedes

Practice: 11th / 2nd / 7th

Total practice laps: 75

Qualifying: 5th / 1st / 6th

Pit stop laps: 28

Result: 7th

Summary: Happier with the car in Monaco, Rosberg was hugely frustrated that he only qualified sixth, as he felt he had the package to challenge for pole. Lost two places at the start but tried to make amends with a very long first stint. That got him past Barrichello but couldn't get him ahead of Schumacher or Alonso, so he rejoined eighth and stayed there till his team-mate's post-race penalty moved him up a spot.

Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull-Renault

Practice: 2nd / 3rd / 5th

Total practice laps: 101

Qualifying: 4th / 6th / 3rd

Pit stop laps: 22

Result: 2nd

Summary: Not quite on Webber's pace this weekend, Vettel qualified third but grabbed second from Kubica at the start. Unable to keep up with his dominant team-mate, he at least fended off the Renault for the runner-up spot.

Mark Webber - Red Bull-Renault

Practice: 4th / 10th / 3rd

Total practice laps: 78

Qualifying: 1st / 1st / 1st

Pit stop laps: 17

Result: 1st

Summary: A week after dominating in Spain, Webber did the same ago in Monaco. He was quite low key in practice, but devastating from Q3 onwards - taking pole with a clear 0.3s margin then blitzing all opposition in the race.

Felipe Massa - Ferrari

Practice: 5th / 4th / 2nd

Total practice laps: 97

Qualifying: 1st / 2nd / 4th

Pit stop laps: 19

Result: 4th

Summary: After recent poor races, Massa felt the car and tyres suited him better in Monaco. Fourth on the grid meant fourth in the race though, as he lacked the pace to challenge the top three.

Fernando Alonso - Ferrari

Practice: 1st / 1st / 16th

Total practice laps: 74

Qualifying: -

Pit stop laps: 1

Result: 6th

Summary: A win that got away? Alonso was fastest in both Thursday practice sessions and was leading the way on Saturday morning too when he crashed heavily at Massenet. That damaged his chassis, so he had to watch qualifying and start from the pit lane. Changing tyres under the safety car on the first lap, and then hacking swiftly through the new team traffic helped him jump to sixth, which he briefly lost to Schumacher on the last lap then regained thanks to the stewards.

Rubens Barrichello - Williams-Cosworth

Practice: 12th / 14th / 14th

Total practice laps: 87

Qualifying: 9th / 9th / 9th

Pit stop laps: 19

Result: Retired (DNF), mechanical failure and crash, 30 laps

Summary: Pleased with Williams' latest upgrades, Barrichello returned to the top ten with ninth on the grid then jumped to sixth with a great start. Strange feelings in the car's steering caused his pace to fade after his pit stop though, and a breakage at the rear of the car then caused him to crash heavily at the top of the Beau Rivage.BR.

Nico Hulkenberg - Williams-Cosworth

Practice: 16th / 13th / 13th

Total practice laps: 111

Qualifying: 16th / 11th

Pit stop laps:

Result: Retired (DNF), front wing problem and crash, 0 laps

Summary: Eleventh on the grid was a good effort on Hulkenberg's Monaco F1 debut. But a clutch problem dropped him to last at the start and then a front wing issue caused him to demolish his car in the tunnel half a lap later.

Robert Kubica - Renault

Practice: 3rd / 6th / 1st

Total practice laps: 93

Qualifying: 3rd / 5th / 2nd

Pit stop laps: 16

Result: 3rd

Summary: Outstanding all weekend, Kubica grabbed a brilliant second on the grid, and though he lost out to Vettel off the line, he hassled the Red Bull all race to take his second podium of the year in third.

Vitaly Petrov - Renault

Practice: 14th / 11th / 15th

Total practice laps: 110

Qualifying: 8th / 14th

Pit stop laps: 21, 30 (repairs)

Result: classified 13th, retired brakes

Summary: Petrov hoped he might start his first Monaco GP from inside the top ten, but a crash at Sainte Devote in Q2 left him 14th on the grid. He was running just outside the top ten when delayed by a puncture, and eventually parked with brake problems a few laps from home.

Adrian Sutil - Force India-Mercedes

Practice: 9th / 8th / 9th

Total practice laps: 79

Qualifying: 7th / 12th

Pit stop laps: 22

Result: 8th

Summary: Sutil damaged his rear wing on Thursday with a quick spin towards the barriers, then was frustrated to only qualify 12th. But a long first stint and great race pace helped him up to ninth, which became eighth once Schumacher was penalised.

Tonio Liuzzi - Force India-Mercedes

Practice: 13th / 15th / 11th

Total practice laps: 88

Qualifying: 6th / 8th / 10th

Pit stop laps: 19

Result: 9th

Summary: Recent qualifying disasters were forgotten with Liuzzi's excellent run to ninth on the grid, ahead of Q2 departure Sutil. But they swapped places in the race as running longer worked better for Sutil. Schumacher's penalty still meant Liuzzi took ninth.

Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Practice: 10th / 12th / 8th

Total practice laps: 99

Qualifying: 14th / 13th

Pit stop laps: 20

Result: 10th

Summary: A rather uneventful run, but Buemi needed that after recent mayhem. He qualified 13th and ran well in the race to take what became 10th when Schumacher was put back to 12th, having chased the Force Indias all afternoon.

Jaime Alguersuari - Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Practice: 15th / 18th / 12th

Total practice laps: 92

Qualifying: 15th / 17th

Pit stop laps: 21

Result: 11th

Summary: Although Alguersuari had learned Monaco in Formula Renault 3.5, he took a while to master it in an F1 car and was way back in 17th on the grid. Explored the Sainte Devote escape road in the race but was able to get back on team-mate Buemi's tail thanks to the safety cars.

Jarno Trulli - Lotus-Cosworth

Practice: 21st / 21st / 20th

Total practice laps: 70

Qualifying: 19th

Pit stop laps: 26

Result: classified 15th, retired, 70 laps, collision

Summary: Kovalainen's pace meant Trulli was out-qualified by a team-mate in Monaco for the first time. He was delayed by wheelgun problems in his pit stop so ended up chasing Chandhok - whose car he then vaulted in a bungled late passing move.

Heikki Kovalainen - Lotus-Cosworth

Practice: 20th / 19th / 19th

Total practice laps: 98

Qualifying: 18th

Pit stop laps: 28

Result: Retired (DNF), 58 laps, gearbox

Summary: The unsung hero of the weekend, Kovalainen had a good go at reaching Q2, two spins at the end of Q1 showing how hard he was trying. He had to settle for 18th, but was running well in the race, not far behind Petrov, until his gearbox broke near the end.

Karun Chandhok - Hispania-Cosworth

Practice: 24th / 23rd / 23rd

Total practice laps: 63

Qualifying: 23rd

Pit stop laps: 19

Result: Classified 14th, retired (DNF), 70 laps, collision

Summary: Chandhok was the first man to ding the barriers in Thursday practice, and felt he had a differential problem as he struggled to the slowest time in qualifying. But his race pace was better and as others retired, he became 'new team class' leader until Trulli landed on his head four laps from the finish.

Bruno Senna - Hispania-Cosworth

Practice: 23rd / 24th / 22nd

Total practice laps: 64

Qualifying: 22nd

Pit stop laps: 2

Result: Retired (DNF), hydraulics, 58 laps

Summary: A less than glorious return of the Senna name to Monaco. Bruno had the measure of Chandhok for much of the weekend but was running off the pace of everyone else until a hydraulic failure took him out.

Pedro de la Rosa - Sauber-Ferrari

Practice: 17th / 16th / 18th

Total practice laps: 97

Qualifying: 13th / 15th

Pit stop laps:

Result: Retired (DNF), 21 laps, hydraulics

Summary: Neither de la Rosa nor Sauber enjoyed Monaco very much. Back on row eight of the grid, he was an early retirement with yet more hydraulic problems.

Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari

Practice: 18th / 17th / 17th

Total practice laps: 104

Qualifying: 17th / 16th

Pit stop laps:

Result: Retired (DNF), gearbox, 26 laps

Summary: After qualifying back in 16th, Kobayashi tried a long first stint on hard tyres to make progress in the race. That saw him running sixth and potentially in place to jump some midfield rivals when he finally pitted - but a gearbox failure meant he never got far enough to find out.

Timo Glock - Virgin-Cosworth

Practice: 19th / 22nd / 24th

Total practice laps: 69

Qualifying: 20th

Pit stop laps: 21

Result: Retired (DNF), suspension, 22 laps

Summary: Glock was the nearest threat to the Lotus duo in the backmarker pack, despite losing all of Saturday morning to mechanical problems, but retired early with broken rear suspension.

Lucas di Grassi - Virgin-Cosworth

Practice: 22nd / 20th / 21st

Total practice laps: 81

Qualifying: 21st

Pit stop laps: 25

Result: Retired (DNF), wheel problem, 25 laps

Summary: In his last race before getting the new Virgin, di Grassi provided some excitement by fighting Alonso harder than anyone else during the Ferrari's recovery drive. But a wheel problem meant he was on the sidelines long before half distance.

[MIKA27]

Hi all.

My apologies for not posting of late however I have been unwell, was struck down with food poisoning and couldn't manage to do anything really these past 4 days or so.

Anyway, I'm back and will continue posting as usual.

Regards,

Mika.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton charged over 'burnout'

Lewis Hamilton has been charged with "intentional loss of control of a motor vehicle" following an incident on the eve of the Australian Grand Prix in March.

The 2008 Formula One World Champion was departing the Albert Park circuit after practice for the Melbourne race when he performed stunts in his loaned Mercedes.

Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, the incident was in full view of a police patrol vehicle, which resulted in Hamilton promptly being pulled over and escorted back to his hotel with his Mercedes impounded.

A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said: "A 25-year-old Swiss resident has had a summons served on his solicitor on Monday, 17 May.

"He has been charged with intentional loss control of the motor vehicle.

"The court date is 24 August at Melbourne Magistrates Court."

Whether Hamilton will appear in court himself is open to question given the Belgian Grand Prix will take place on Sunday August 29 with first practice two days earlier.

MIKA: I doubt Hamilton will front.

Whats the worst they can do, fine him?