Sunday night lights! We bring you another mega-gallery of images from the world of Formula 1, this time from under the lights of the Singapore Grand Prix. For the third race in a row Sebastian Vettel dominated the weekend and further tightened the screws on securing a fourth straight championship.
Mark Webber has taken to twitter to share his views on being reprimanded for his post-race taxi ride at the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s fair to say he doesn’t agree with the ruling.
Earlier today Autosport reported: “Not only did Webber not have permission from the marshals to enter the track at Turn 7, but he was in fact explicitly told by track officials not to do so.”
However, Webber refutes that allegation in his tweets, which you can read after the break. Mark also shared a photo of Derek Warwick, one of the stewards for the Singapore race, hitching a ride aboard Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari.
According to the official report Mark was reprimanded for failing to have permission to enter the track. Alonso was reprimanded for stopping in an unsafe place. And it’d be hard to argue the middle of Turn 7, partially obscured on entry, was not an unsafe place to stop.
That’s to say the taxi ride itself was not subject of the stewards’ inquiry. Anyway, in true F1 fashion a mountain is being made out of a molehill. While having sympathy for Mark—it did make great television—it’s his accumulation of three reprimands that has unfortunately dictated the penalty he has been handed down.
It’s probably best for everyone if they just move on.
The lights have been turned off at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the mammoth task of dismantling the huge displays has begun. To recap what you may have missed here’s a selection of 120+ pics reminding you what was on show.
Following his frustrating final lap retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix, Mark Webber hitched a ride back to pitlane on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. At times he looked a little precarious on the F138’s sidepod and it was a sight race stewards were not too happy with.
Officially both Webber and Alonso were reprimanded for the incident, but as this was Mark’s third official talking to for the year he will have a 10-place grid penalty kicks for the next race, the Korean Grand Prix.
Mark was actually charged with entering the track on foot without permission from marshals. Pedantic, or a good reminder in track safety for Mark? Video of the incident, available here, shows it was probably the latter.
[Source: Formula1.com | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
UPDATE: Video and a few relevant tweets from F1 journos added below.
UPDATE #2: CCTV from the Marina Bay circuit showing Mark running onto the track can be viewed after the break.
After winning the Singapore Grand Prix with ease Sebastian Vettel faced many questions about his lead in the championship and was once again asked if he dislikes being booed.
Fernando Alonso was praised for his never say die attitude and Kimi Raikkonen’s sore back became a pain in the neck, such was the amount of questioning he suffered.
As we know the two Australian drivers had races they’d rather forget. Daniel Ricciardo crashed out before half-way and Mark Webber’s engine failed on the final lap.
“I think I did pretty much everything I could today,” Mark said. “We had pace in the car when we needed, we managed the tyres and made a very good undercut on Nico, I was really happy with that lap. Then six laps from the end, the guys were getting worried about the car.
“So, yeah, it’s annoying but someone’s had a tougher day than me somewhere and that’s the way it goes. I was having to short shift, but then, unlike Monza, we started to lose a lot of power. We were just trying to get home at that point but then on the last lap we caught fire.”
Daniel wasn’t looking for excuses to his early race exit. “The crash was my error, trying to make up for lost ground,” he said. “At the start, my car just seemed to sit there without moving off the line. It was very frustrating to lose so many places right away. I think I went down five places from ninth on the grid to fourteenth.
“In the second stint, my engineer came on the radio and said ‘the pace is good, keep pushing.’ I was aware that for the pace we had, we were not doing too badly and maybe at the end I was just trying to get too much out of it and made that mistake. It’s a delicate corner with not much run-off and I went too deep into the apex. I then braked a bit harder, locked a wheel and went into the wall. It’s not a mistake I’m used to making. I will learn from this.“
The full transcript of the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Here you can see a pair of LaFerraris take to the Fiorano test track. Maranello’s hybrid hypercar is powered by a 588kW 6.3 litre V12 complemented by an extra 120kW of electric power. The combined HY-KERS power output is 708kW (963CV). Torque is a very handy 900Nm as well. Put all that on a track and we reckon the blokes behind the wheel were having fun!
Former Ferrari sporting director (1989–91) Cesare Fiorio has shared his views on the return of Kimi Raikkonen to the Scuderia. And it’s fair to say he’s not happy.
“I’m not a fan of the new hiring,” Fiorio told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I admire his talent, but I don’t agree with his lifestyle and his technical approach. I wouldn’t have gone for him.
“In my opinion it’s a conservative choice. I would have gone for an emerging driver rather than one at the tail end of his career.
“He doesn’t live like an athlete and to be champion in F1 talent is not enough. You need physical, technical and psychological effort and, from what I know and have seen, he’s the type of guy who takes his bag and leaves shortly after the sessions.
“I don’t know how much technical contribution he can bring.”
Regarding the relationship between Kimi and current number one driver Fernando Alonso, Fiorio doesn’t think there’ll be any dramas. “In my opinion Alonso is happy: his worth will grow by beating him [Raikkonen],” Fiorio added.
And while he was on a roll Fiorio took the opportunity to lay the slipper into Felipe Massa, as well.
“I think that it’s better to have two champions and having to deal with a rivalry problem three or even ten times a year, in the knowledge that both are able to win races and championships, than having a useless number two race driver,” he said.
When asked to expand on his views of Massa, Fioro replied: “I’m just saying that in the last four years Massa has waned a lot.
“His only strength was the single lap, but he has no race quality, has no rhythm, and he often fades in the races.”
[Source: Autosport | Pic: Ferrari]
Here’s your photo reminder of the Italian Grand Prix. The many goings on at the Frankfurt Motor Show mean you’ve had to wait a few extra days, which is why we’ve assembled over 110 photos for you to enjoy.
We liked the pics of McLaren’s 50th anniversary celebrations. And we’d have loved to score an invite to hear Mark Webber talking about his last European grand prix too.
In the wake of Kimi Raikkonen’s return to the Scuderia, Ferrari has taken time to reflect on the achievements of Felipe Massa. The 32-year-old Brazilian has long been the whipping boy in the red garage, certainly since 2010 and the arrival of Fernando Alonso anyway.
And yet, Massa’s longevity with Ferrari affords him some enviable records. His 11 GP wins places him fourth on Ferrari’s all time winners’ list, behind Schumacher (72), Lauda (23) and Ascari (13). His 15 pole positions puts him third in Ferrari’s record books, behind Schumacher (58) and Lauda (23).
Due to the change in F1 points scoring system in 2010 it’s impossible to compare him with generations past, but his 756 points achieved in red are going to take some time to be reeled in by any other Ferrari driver.
And with seven races to go this year, the man who was world champion for a few seconds, has the opportunity to add to his list of achievements.
Oh, isn’t that nice, a lovely family snap to usher in the return of Ferrari’s most recent world champion. The body language is superb, too.
As expected Ferrari has announced it has signed Kimi Raikkonen for next year. Slightly against expectations he is signed on a firm two-year contract. “Scuderia Ferrari announces that it has reached an agreement with Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn will join Fernando Alonso in the driver line-up for the next two racing seasons,” a short statement on the Ferrari website confirmed.
After the break you’ll see three brief statements from Kimi, his teammate in waiting Fernando Alonso and Team Principal Stefano Domenicali. Make sure you play the reading between the lines game with Fernando’s quotes.
All are very polite at the moment and we cannot wait for the fireworks to commence next year. Our tantrumeter has been set to extreme!
If you can only afford to buy one Ferrari 458, this Speciale version is the one you should get. We got a preview of the car last month, so we already know it’s powered by Ferrari’s most powerful V8 ever. But this latest addition to the 458 range has more tricks than a simple power upgrade.
Mostly, those tricks centre around the Speciale’s aerodynamics package. Ferrari’s boffins have had a field day with this car adorning it with active front and rear flaps, little fins and creases all adding up to provide excellent downforce.
Back to the engine and its performance for a moment. The 4.5 litre V8 now has 445kW, up 20kW on the 458 Italia. It has a dry weight of 1290kg and when it’s all fired up and angry the Speciale will spit out 100km/h in 3.0 seconds and 200km/h in 9.1 seconds. It will knock-off the standing quarter mile in 10.7 seconds and in 19.4 seconds a full kilomtere will have whizzed by.
But it’s not just all party time going forwards, the 458 Speciale has carbon ceramic brakes as standard equipment. From 100km/h the brakes will pull you up to a complete standstill in only 31 metres.
When you put all that together the 458 Speciale can lap Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in 1:23.5. That’s faster than a 599 GTO and just half a second off the pace of an F12 berlinetta. It’s fair to say we’d like one very much!
After the break you can learn so much more about the 458 Speciale thanks to a series of videos and a couple of press releases for those who prefer the written word.
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the… http://t.co/ubhtiS79EE
— Felipe Massa (@MassaFelipe19) September 10, 2013
With those words from Felipe Massa, a Ferrari driver since 2006, the path for Kimi Raikkonen to join Ferrari has been cleared.
The BBC is reporting Kimi has signed a one year deal for him to join Fernando Alonso next year, with a one year option for 2015. It’s expected Ferrari will announce the signing of the 33-year-old Finn very soon, perhaps in the next 24 hours. Anticipation of Kimi’s return to Ferrari grew after last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. Raikkonen left McLaren to drive with Ferrari from 2007–09 and won his world championship with the team in 2007.
It would appear Ferrari has shifted its philosophy of having a clear number one driver and one wouldn’t be at all surprised if Fernando Alonso is unimpressed with the arrival of his new teammate. Certainly the relationship between Raikkonen and Alonso in 2014 will be one of the stories to follow next season.
Massa, who’s best result with Ferrari was a desperately close second-placed finish in the 2008 world championship, wants to carry on. He added, “For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective!”
[Source: BBC | Pic: Ferrari]