Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1 McLaren

Check out Jenson’s blocked sidepod

Jenson Button

Jenson Button’s Monaco Grand Prix came to an abrupt end on his second lap due to a blocked radiator air intake on his car’s left sidepod. The offending item has a small hole in the middle and is normally used in conjunction with a blower to help cool the car when stationary either in pit lane or when forming up on the starting grid. However the hole is not large enough to allow the car to operate at optimum condition at full race pace and this caused Button’s engine to overheat and fail.

Thanks to some sharp work by Ross Harper you can see an image of Jenson’s car showing the blocked sidepod by following this link to Flickr.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Sir Frank says, “No bull, I was wrong about Webber”

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Thanks to dominant wins in Spain and Monaco, Australia’s Mark Webber is riding a the crest of Formula One’s wave right now. It’s a fickle place to be, certainly, but when the plaudits come in this sport you take them. Sir Frank Williams has endured a few disappointing years, and there are no signs of real improvement. Sir Frank has recently reflected that he may have got his assessment of Mark Webber wrong. He also reckons Webber is now the real deal.

Mark drove for Williams in 2005 and 2006, at the time it was seen as a great career move. Unfortunately for Sir Frank and Mark, as well, the results didn’t come. Webber achieved a single podium in his first year (third at Monaco) and he could only muster a miserable seven points in the entire 2006 season. Williams was happy to let Mark go believing the Australian was part of the problem. Now, he’s not so sure.

“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,” Williams said.

Sir Frank also senses that Mark has matured as a driver, “He always used to put himself under too much pressure, but now I don’t see any evidence of that at all. He looks pretty calm in himself and what you’re seeing is real.”

Does Williams think Webber has the pace to beat highly fancied teammate Sebastien Vettel over the entire year? Well, he’s sitting on the fence there, “The end of the year will show it, they’ve got equal cars. Mark’s obviously on top form, and assuming Vettel is on top form, it’s pretty even stevens.”

[Source: ITV]

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Monaco Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Monaco Grand Prix

No doubt Mark Webber is still beaming after his Monaco Grand Prix victory. A win in Monte Carlo is something all Formula One drivers cherish and to see an Australian dominate the race made for one very welcome procession.

Webber clearly places this win very highly, “It’s a special day, the greatest day of my life I suppose. As a Formula One driver you really hope that you win races and if you have a choice then the blue riband event is very, very special for any driver. To join Ayrton Senna and the likes round here is a very special thing.”

More quotes from Webber, as well as podium drivers Sebastien Vettel and Robert Kubica, can be read at Formula1.com.

The Aussie currently sits atop the World Championship leaderboard, thanks to two successive wins, but he’s not getting ahead of himself just yet, “To get 50 points from the last two races is awesome, but there is a long, long way still to go. We’ve got so many different conditions and tracks coming up – there are many exciting times to come; I’m looking forward to it.”

The one-two result now puts Red Bull Racing in the lead of the constructors’ title race, as well.Red Bull now has 156 points, 20 ahead of Ferrari and 27 clear of McLaren.

A gallery of Red Bull Racing photos can be seen after the jump. More pics from the other teams to follow.

UPDATE 18 May: Images from Renault, Ferrari, Mercedes GP, Force India, Lotus, Williams, Virgin Racing and Sauber now available below.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber wins Monaco GP

Mark Webber wins 2010 Monaco GP

Mark Webber has driven a masterful race at Monaco to win his second Formula One Grand Prix in as many weekends. After clutching pole position at the death during qualifying he was able to keep his Red Bull machine out of trouble from the start and take the chequered flag unchallenged. This is the first Australian win at Monaco since Sir Jack Brabham’s 1959 breakthrough victory

Several Safety Car periods ensured Mark had to keep his wits about him, but after each green flag he was able to simply drive away with apparent ease. In fact the race almost finished behind the safety car after an incident between Jarno Trulli and Karun Chandok. The tangled mess happened right in front of Webber. The Australian kept his cool and was able to avoid the incident and maintain his lead.

As it was the Safety Car pulled in at the last corner to allow Webber to cross the line at full noise to claim his fourth career victory. Amazingly, Webber now leads the World Championship. Sebastien Vettel finished the race second and joins Webber on 78 points. However, Webber is classified as Championship leader on account of winning two races to Vettel’s one. Pleasingly for Red Bull they are turning their qualifying dominance into race wins.

Robert Kubica finished third in a great result for Renault. Of course, the Red Bull RB6 is powered by Renault engines, thus giving the French company a clean sweep of the podium.

Speaking after the race Webber with a beaming smile declared it was “the greatest day of my life today.” The significance of a Monaco Grand Prix victory on his CV was not lost on Mark who said, “it was a very, very rewarding win, and (I’m) just absolutely elated. To join Aytron Senna and those guys around here, it’s real blue riband event.”

In further good news for Australian motorsport young gun, and Red Bull test driver, Daniel Ricciardo won the Formula Renault 3.5 race at Monaco earlier today.

[Pics: via OneHD]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Renault

Mark Webber claims pole for Monaco Grand Prix

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drove a scintillating closing lap in his Red Bull RB6 to claim pole position at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. Webber’s time of 1:13.826 was 0.294 seconds ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica. Sebastien Vettel qualified in third, 0.401 seconds behind his Australian teammate.

Webber thanked his Red Bull Racing team and said, “the car was again was a pleasure … pole at Monaco is a nice feeling.” This result follows Mark’s pole position from last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix and he said he is ready to “give it a good crack” in tomorrow’s race.

Can history repeat itself? First, can Mark repeat his Spanish GP success and convert pole into another race win? Second, back in 1959 Australian motor racing legend Sir Jack Brabham qualified on pole at Monaco before going on to win the race. Here’s hoping they are two very good signs for Mark Webber tomorrow.

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Formula 1

Hurtling into this black hole, that’s all you see

Graham Hill, 1968 Monaco GP

In the days before jazzy simulators one had to sit a chap down and talk through a lap of a Grand Prix circuit, man to man. In 1968 Graham Hill was jolly kind enough to do just that and you can watch his interview right here after the jump.

As an extra special treat there’s another video with highlights of the 1982 Monaco GP. Clive James provides the commentary and I’ll be well surprised if you don’t enjoy his summary. Funny thing is, the climax to the race was just as laughable.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Monaco

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

The latest in the Red Bull Racing simulator series sees Mark Webber enjoying the sights of the French Riviera ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. When in Monte Carlo Mark is impressed by all the big boats, apparently. Here’s to Webber finishing at the head of the field once again—an Aussie win on the famous Monte Carlo streets would be epic!

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Spanish Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Spanish Grand Prix

Still got a big grin on your face after Mark Webber’s win last night? I know I do. These pics will help relive the moment. It’s great to see an Aussie dominate the F1 field like Webber did in Barcelona. Hopefully it won’t be too long until we see fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo join Webber on the grid, too.

A gallery of 55 images from Red Bull Racing is available below.

UPDATE 11 May: Over 40 new images from Ferrari, Force India, McLaren, Mercedes GP, Renault and Williams have now been added.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber wins Spanish GP

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber has capped off a totally dominant weekend in the most perfect way by winning the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix in Barcelona. The Australian posted the quickest times in all three qualifying sessions yesterday to claim pole position and he had no equal during today’s race, leading from start to finish.

Webber set numerous fastest laps during the Grand Prix and won by 24 seconds over Fernando Alonso. Webber’s Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastien Vettel suffered braking issues late in the race and was forced to drive conservatively to nurse his car across the finish line. Vettel managed to hold on for third place more than 50 seconds behind Webber.

There was drama late in the race when second placed Lewis Hamilton suffered a left front puncture with less than two laps to go. On the previous lap Hamilton had set the fastest time for the race (1:24.357), but the incident forced him off the track and into a tyre barrier. The parochial Spanish crowd cheered mightily as Alonso inherited his  former teammate’s second place position.

Speaking after the race Webber acknowledged the efforts of his team, “The team have just been incredible the week. Collectively, Renault and Red Bull, everyone just put a huge effort in—the driver did a little bit of his work as well—in the end it was a fantastic result and I’m absolutely thrilled.”

Webber’s third career GP victory and his first for 2010 moves him into fourth place in the title race. He now has 53 points, 17 behind current leader and defending champion Jenson Button.

The F1 circus back up immediately for next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and if Webber and Red Bull can continue their qualifying supremacy they should be well placed to register consecutive Grand Prix victories.

Stay tuned for a picture gallery of the Spanish Grand Prix to be added in the next 24 hours.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber claims pole for Spanish Grand Prix

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber has set pole position for tomorrow’s Formula One Grand Prix in Spain after he steered his Red Bull Racing RB6 to a scintillating time of 1:19.995. He was the only driver to break the 1 minute 20 second barrier in the final session of qualifying. It is Webber’s third career pole, following the Malaysian Grand Prix in April and last year’s German Grand Prix.

Teammate Sebastien Vettel will start the race alongside Webber after setting the second fastest time, some 0.106 seconds behind the Australian. There was a big gap of 0.728 seconds back to Lewis Hamilton, who qualified his McLaren in P3.

Webber topped the times in all three qualifying segments and speaking after claiming pole he told he is enjoying Red Bull’s current good form, “Christian Horner (Red Bull team boss) told me before the session ‘you probably won’t get to drive a car like this around this track very often – so go and enjoy it!’

“Well, I did. It was a sensational quali session for me. Now I just have to go and complete the job. It has been a terrific effort by the whole team on both sides of the garage.”

The omens for a race win are good for Webber. The previous nine winners of the Spanish Grand Prix have all started from pole position. Conversely, this is the third 1-2 qualifying result for Red Bull Racing in 2010 and in all three of those races the pole sitter failed to win. Here’s to Mark putting that record right tomorrow night.

A complete list of qualifying results for the Spanish Grand Prix can be seen at Formula1.com.

[Pics: Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

VIDEO: SLS AMG Gullwing – F1 Safety Car

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing

MercedesBenzTV have just released a new video on their SLS AMG Gullwing F1 Safety Car. Bernd Mäylander, official Safety Car driver, tells us what all the buttons do. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg also pop in for a chat to tell us what a great car the Gullwing is. Remember, if you take $464K from under your bed you can have a Gullwing all of your own.

Check the clip in full below.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Barcelona

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber is back in his fancy Red Bull Racing computer game thingy. This time he’s giving us a preview of what to expect from this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Well, apart from lots of fans for Fernando and a tough race for car and driver.

You can see the video below after the break.

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