Archive for August, 2009
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
2. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India-Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
4. Robert Kubica, BMW
5. Nick Heidfeld, BMW
6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes
7. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes
8. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota
9. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault
10. Timo Glock, Toyota
11. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes
12. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota
14. Luca Badoer, Ferrari
Did not finish
Fernando Alonso, Renault – 26 laps
Jarno Trulli, Toyota – 21 laps
Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes – 0 laps
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 0 laps
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes – 0 laps
Romain Grosjean, Renault – 0 laps
By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
Jenson Button faces a threat to his championship lead after being eliminated in a crash at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Button’s race ended in the barriers at Les Combes along with Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari.
The crash was triggered by contact between Grosjean and Button, which tipped the Brawn driver into a spin.
As they headed for the barriers, Hamilton backed off to avoid the mayhem and was hit by Alguersuari.
Button rued afterwards that his poor qualifying position – 14th – left him vulnerable to this kind of accident. It ends his run of scoring points in every race this year, and the full cost to his championship lead will be counted at the end of the race.
The stewards announced they will investigate the crash after the Grand Prix. Do you think anyone should be penalised? Or was it just a racing incident?
By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
Review the Belgian Grand Prix live blog below.
Live F1 video FAQ | Live F1 timing | UK radio commentary | Track map
Belgian Grand Prix – F1 Fanatic Live Blog
Use this button on the Live Blog panel to turn off auto scrolling so you can read earlier messages.
Please remember this is a live blog not live chat – comments are moderated before going live and not every comment is published because we get so many! If you’re looking for information about the session such as where to find video or what the weather is at the track, you may find what you’re looking for by reading earlier parts of the live blog.
Launch the F1 Fanatic Live blog in a new window by clicking here
Read more
By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
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For those at F1B who enjoy the technical side of the race, we provide the FIA’s official race information.
2009 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
From : The FIA Formula One Technical Delegate Document : 05
To : The Stewards of the Meeting Date : 27 August 2009
Time : 15:08
Technical Delegate’s…
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By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
Courtesy Mark Hallam
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has frozen his story in the history of F1 with his 4th win at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit today for the Belgium Grand Prix. This victory was made all the more incredible in that he took the lead from Force India driver Giancarlo…
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By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:55am
Under Racing
The ghost of Jr Jr just might haunt Renault for longer than we thought.
Autosport has a story up that the FIA may investigate the circumstances of Fernando Alonso’s victory at the inaugural Singapore GP last year. Apparently, the rumors started during the Spa coverage by Brazilian TV station…
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By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 04:50am
Under Racing
F1B’s Executive Editor- Europe, Mark Hallam, bids farewell with his closing thoughts on a furious weekend of racing and belgium waffles. Be sure to catch his commentary on one interesting weekend of racing by subscribing to our podcasts on iTunes. also, enjoy these snaps from the…
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By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 03:18am
Under Racing
Here’s a round-up of F1 news and other interesting links I’ve found today.
If you’ve spotted a hot news story, interesting new website or just something funny from the world of F1, please share your links in the comments below.
Giancarlo Fisichella on red alert for Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella's manager Enrico Zanarini: “I repeat, nobody has been in touch. And to tell you the truth, we find ourselves in a fantastic team with a great car for Monza because, if the car is good here, it is good there.”
Kimi Raikkonen will take pay-cut to race for Brawn next season
"Kimi Raikkonen has offered to take a £10million pay cut to be Jenson Button's team-mate at Brawn next season."
Massa creates new category to train pilots in Brazil
Google translation of Portuguese article,
Mercedes to sort engine plans by Monza
"F1's regulations stipulate that any manufacturer supplying more than two teams in F1 needs special dispensation from the FIA. Haug confirmed that his company had received such approval to supply four teams."
Tyre issues are back, says Brawn
Ross Brawn: "The middle period, which will almost certainly be on the hard tyre, he will be very strong. The start and the middle part of the race will be crucial."
Vatanen meets with FOTA in Spa
Ari Vatanen: "They have lived in fear without knowing what the future holds, and that's no way to run a sport. I can't see why different members of the same family cannot work together without one side or another wanting to dominate the other."
Herbert goes back to his roots after horror crash
"Today's debut comes at a happier hunting ground, Silverstone, where he won the British Grand Prix in 1995. But even that moment – which he describes as the best of his career – was tainted by the accident. 'For the last 12 laps I was screaming in the car when I was braking,' says Herbert, who was struggling to brake with his left, more damaged foot in order to give the right a rest. 'The toes got sliced at the top and there's a lot of callous – it was that part that was hurting' he says. 'When I got out of the car I could not tell anyone because I would have been chucked out of the sport!'"
Button fears for championship lead
Jenson Button: "We have a couple of weeks before Monza and hopefully we can find out the reasons. The car doesn't feel to me like it did earlier in the season. We had a couple of cold races but since it has been warmer, I still can't find a good balance."
Teams set to discuss third car concept
Frank Williams doesn't want three car teams: "Three cars? I would block it. It is not necessary today. [...] I am sure it is the case for other people too and if you were Ferrari you could get 1-2-3 in every race, with more testing. It is obvious."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
By Mikel
August 31st, 2009 at 01:50am
Under Racing
Looking through the press releases after the Belgian Grand Prix I found a few interesting quotes.
Romain Grosjean didn’t last long in his second Grand Prix. And he’s surely only person who thinks Jenson Button was responsible for their tangle on the first lap:
I made a very good start, moving up to thirteenth place and I was keeping a good pace but then Button took me out at turn five and it was the end for me.
A watching Nelson Piquet Jnr was entertained by Grosjean’s demise. As for the bombshell that dropped about the FIA’s investigation of Renault’s win in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Renault made no mention of it.
Mark Webber is ticked off after his penalty for an unsafe release in the pits, which he thinks cost him a podium finish:
I had done all the hard work on the first lap and picked off both Heidfeld and Vettel and was pulling away from them. I laid the foundations for what could have been a great result and a good haul of points. It [the release] was a costly misjudgement and of course it hurts me a lot – it’s something we won’t get back.
He’s not the only driver with pit stop woes. Timo Glock reveals how a faulty refuelling rig ruined his race:
I made a pretty strong start and was running fourth when the safety car came out so we had a good chance of points. But at my first pit stop we had trouble with the fuel rig which cost me time and positions. The crew did well to quickly change to the back-up rig but nevertheless we lost time. Clearly there was a problem with the fuel rig and we have to analyse what happened and prevent any similar problems in the future. I did my best and the car was quite quick but it wasn’t to be.
Giancarlo Fisichella’s joy at finishing second is tempered by his disappointment at not winning:
It’s been another great day and it was an amazing result today. Before coming to Spa if you had asked all the team if we would have been happy to finish eighth we would have said it was a fantastic result but second is a dream, just great. Actually if I can be honest I am a little disappointed as I felt we could have won the race. I was unlucky with the safety car when Kimi came past me at the restart and overtook me with the KERS. Actually behind him I was quicker but with the KERS I couldn’t get past as it was impossible to be quick on the long straight. But we can’t take it away from the fantastic result, both at the track and in the factory to get this result. After yesterday I was pretty confident to score points, it’s positive for the championship and for the coming races. A big thank you to everyone.
Joy at Ferrari too – and Kimi Raikkonen shared a little insight into how he kept Fisichella behind:
At the first pit stop, maybe it would have been better to stay with the softer tyre but that’s easy to say afterwards. In the final part, when it seemed I might not be able to fight off Giancarlo, I slightly changed the way I used the KERS so as to defend myself on the straight at Stavelot and so I managed to stay in front.
Ferrari’s first win in 2009 was particularly well-timed:
Over the last four Grands Prix, starting with the Nürbugring, we have always been on the podium. Today Kimi drove an excellent race, demonstrating his talent on the most beautiful track of the Championship. They really made me a nice present for my birthday.
Luca di Montezemolo
Di Montezemolo celebrates his 62nd birthday tomorrow.
But it’s not a happy story on the other side of the Ferrari garage. Despite finishing more than three-quarters of a minute behind everyone else, Luca Badoer feels he’s improved and wants to race at Monza:
Today I did my best. Unfortunately, at the first corner after the start, I flat-spotted the front tyres and so I always had strong vibrations throughout the first stint. Once the tyres were changed, the situation improved, but the performance of the harder compound was not as good as the soft one. I have upped my performance level yet again and I really want to race at Monza, one of the tracks I know best, along with Fiorano and Mugello.
But his hope of racing at home for Ferrari in two weeks’ time is surely a forlorn one.
Have you spotted any interesting quotes from other drivers or team members after the race? If so, share them in the comments.
2009 Belgian Grand Prix
By Mikel
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