Tag: 2010

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Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Australian GP in pictures

2010 Australian Grand Prix

It’s safe to say that the final result in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix is not on the majority of Australian F1 fans were hoping for. Local boy Mark Webber had his best chance yet to win his home race. He qualified on the front row, alongside pole sitter and teammate Sebastien Vettel.

However, through a combination of poor tyre strategy and some over exuberance on his own part, Webber’s race ended in tears after a coming together with Lewis Hamilton with two laps to go while fighting for minor placings. Finally, Webber regathered himself to stumble home in ninth place.

Just as in Bahrain, Vettel looked like he was just out for a lazy Sunday drive. He held a comfortable lead until his front left brake rotor exploded and sent him crashing out.

This left Button in the lead after he put his fortunes in the hands of an early switch to slick tyres on lap six. A move that eventually took the reigning champ from zero to hero. From then on it was a case of managing tyres and through a combination of cooler weather and a smooth driving style Button was able to complete the race on the softer compound tyres.

So, then, it has taken Button just two races to get the better of Hamilton. And do you think the 2008 World Champion was happy about that fact? Not on your life. It had Hamilton blowing smoke of a different kind with stern questions asked of his team and the tyre strategy his team employed. Apparently he deserved better.

Well, that’s enough commentary, let’s look at some pics. After the jump you can feast your eyes on over 50 of the best images from the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Teams featured include Red Bull Racing, Renault, Ferrari, MercedesGP, Williams, Lotus and Virgin Racing. See a pic you like, then simply click on it to load a 2000px super image.

Next weekend it all starts again, with the Malaysian Grand Prix from Sepang. Can Red Bull Racing finally find some luck and land a win that their current early season pace would indicate they deserve?

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Formula 1

Red Bull claims front row for Australian Grand Prix

Sebastien Vettel

Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber will start tomorrow’s Australian Formula One Grand Prix on the front row after posting the fastest ever times recorded at the Albert Park track.

Webber desperately wanted to claim pole position but it was his younger German teammate that claimed the prize with a blistering lap time of 1:23.919. Vettel was the first, and to date, only driver to break the 1:24 barrier at Albert Park. However, local hopes remain high for Webber who was at the pointy end of the field all day. He was quickest in Free Practice 3, and qualified second with a time of 1:24.035.

Both Red Bull men were under Michael Schumacher’s previous lap record at the Melbourne street circuit of 1:24.125 set in 2004.

Tomorrow represents Mark Webber’s best chance yet to win his home Grand Prix and speaking after qualifying he was disappointed not to have claimed pole, “I would love to be on pole, it is good for the team both of us are up there, but there is always a bit where you can get a bit more out of it, overall it would be nice to be one place further up,” he said.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will be the first of the non-Red Bull challengers, followed by McLaren’s Jenson Button and second Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

[Pic: Getty Images]

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Formula 1 News Red Bull Racing

Queanbeyan honours Mark Webber

Mark Webber, Queanbeyan, March 2010

Earlier today Queanbeyan City Council honoured Australian Formula One driver, and local lad made good, Mark Webber with a civic reception. I made the short journey across the border to join in the fun.

Proceedings begun with a parade down Queanbeyan’s main street, where hundreds of people, including lots of school kids, were able to cheer Webber on and offer best wishes for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Once the parade was over Webber was greeted by Queanbeyan Mayor, Cr Tim Overall, before he became a pied piper of sorts on his way into the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre. It was a short walk but with every step Webber happily signed autographs for F1 fans of all ages.

The usual speeches were presented including a great precis of Webber’s career from an old family friend. You could see from the smile on Mark’s face that he enjoyed the snapshot offered, and that the effort made was very much appreciated.

Webber then took the stand, accepted a plaque from Cr Overall and spoke of his fond memories from growing up in Queanbeyan. He also made special mention for two other local boys done good, namely David Campese and David Furner.

During Webber’s F3 days he was facing a financial crossroad and he needed money for his motorsport career to survive. Former Wallaby David Campese came to the fore providing $100,000 which allowed Mark to carry on. Webber quipped that he has since paid back the loan and acknowledged his gratitude to Campese who took a huge risk to support what was then a fledgling career.

David Furner, NRL premiership player and current Canberra Raiders coach, also earned praise from Webber who recalled his days growing up when he would walk his dog and see Furner out practicing alone. Mark commented that when he first arrived in Europe he thought he was doing pretty well, but he soon realised all the other young hopefuls from countries far and wide wanted to achieve the same thing he did, a Formula One career. He remembered Furner’s discipline and willingness to train that little bit harder and soon followed a similar methodology. Mark mentioned he likes training on Christmas Day and News Year’s Day as he reckons this gives him two extra days on his competitors.

Webber spoke well and his enthusiasm for friends, family and all in attendance was clear to see. He appears to have a humility that many of his peers would do well to imitate. He also has the support of Australian F1 fans and I’m sure all wish him great success, including a strong result this weekend.

More pics and a few sound bites from Webber’s speech can be seen after the jump.

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Lexus Motorsports

Lexus LF-A returns for Nürburgring 24 hour race

Lexus LF-A

Lexus, in partnership with Gazoo Racing, will return to the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year (13–16 May) with production versions of the LF-A supercar.

The cars will be driven by a mix of Japanese and German drivers, including Toyota master test driver Hiromu Naruse, Takayuki Kinoshita, Akira Ida, Juichi Wakisaka, Armin Hahne, Jochen Krumbach and Andre Lotterer. The driving talent has a great mix of GT racing and proven experience at the N24.

Powered by a 552hp V10 the LF-A certainly isn’t lacking for performance. Indeed, in road-going trim Lexus claim their supercar can reach 100km/h in 3.7 seconds, and is able to exceed 200mph (320km/h+).

Last year Gazoo Racing entered two pre-production models in the 24 hour enduro. They’ll be hoping for better success in 2010 with encouraging, if not spectacular, results achieved in the 2009 race. Only one of the LF-As finished the event, placing fourth in class (from five finishers) and 14th overall, some 41 laps behind the winning Manthey Racing Porsche 911 RSR. The second LF-A managed to complete 106 laps and almost 22 and a half hours of competition before withdrawing from the event.

More after the break.

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Formula 1 McLaren

McLaren F1 launches new website

McLaren launches new website

McLaren have just launched their new website for the 2010 Formula One season. As you would expect there’s lots of bells and whistles, perfectly placed logos and a general order about the way things are done.

There’s some good info on the team’s 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, as well as the drivers, reigning World Champion Jenson Button and former champ Lewis Hamilton.

One item really worth checking out during the year is the McLaren Race 1.0b feature that will provide fans with live GPS-supported coverage of qualifying and races. Telemetry and commentary will also be available. Sounds very much worth a look when the F1 circus hits the track in Bahrain. Not long to go now!

[Source: mclaren.com]

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Formula 1 Renault

17 men, three and a half seconds

Renault F1 pit crew

According to the Renault F1 team 3.5 seconds is all it will take to service an F1 car in 2010. That is, with the newly introduced ban on refuelling, their target time for changing a full set of tyres is under four seconds.

Renault F1 Team Sporting Director Steve Nielsen explains, “Three and a half seconds will be a decent stop, which has halved the time available for the crew to service the car compared to last year.”

If those numbers don’t confuddle your mind enough, then consider this, the Renault F1 website states the team has endured five hours of tyre change practice and that they have already managed to complete a number of stops in under three seconds. One, two, three, done. Amazing!

[Source: Renault F1]

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Formula 1

1950: The Formula One World Championship begins

1950 Silverstone F1 GP

There’s now just a few sleeps until the first Grand Prix of the 2010 season starts in Bahrain. This year the sport celebrates the 60th anniversary of the World Championship era. An era that began at Silverstone back in 1950, Saturday 13 May to be precise.

The first race of the new world order was won by Italian Giuseppe Farina at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo 158. In fact, Alfa 158s filled the first ever World Championship podium. Points were awarded to the first five drivers, and a pair of French Talbot-Lagos claimed the remaining points positions.

As we look ahead to what should be a fascinating new season, why don’t you take some time to look back and enjoy some highlights of that first race. Take the jump and witness a much simpler, more carefree era of Formula One.

[via rf1paddockpass]

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Audi Motorsports

Audi updates R8 GT3 racer for 2010

2010 Audi R8 LMS 'Evolution'

Back in 2008 Audi launched the race-going R8 LMS. The car was prepped for the 2009 season ready to race in GT3 categories across the globe.

Indeed, the four-pronged R8 attack on the 2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race almost ended Porsche’s recent domination of the event. The #99 Phoenix Racing entry held the lead for 17 hours until a drive shaft problem cost valuable time. In the end it was the #97 Abt Sportline car that finished in second place, highlighting the impressive debut by the R8. As well as that, the R8 LMS went on to secure three championships and 23 race wins during 2009.

For the 2010 season Audi have made some changes to their go fast machines to ensure they remain capable of leading the field. The ‘Evolution’ updates include revisions to the chassis, suspension and cooling systems. While on-board electronics and the race-tuned exhaust system have been further enhanced.

Customer deliveries of the 2010 spec cars have started, with the US-British alliance of United Autosports being the first in line. If you would like to join them and you have a spare €300K+ burning a hole in your pocket, well, I’m sorry, but you’re out of luck. The 2010 production run has sold out and all customer cars will be delivered before the end of April. If you’re still keen you’ll need to try your luck with the ‘Race Experience’ program or get your name on the list for the 2011 production run.

Owners of 2009 spec R8 LMS cars are able to make the same changes to the 2010 models to ensure they can now race with the latest specification.

Australian race fans will get their chance to see the 2009-spec R8 LMS up close next weekend at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. Mark Eddy, 2008 Australian GT Champion, is the first private buyer outside of Europe to get his hands on the purpose-built GT3 racer. Find out more on the Australian GT website.

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Audi Motor Shows

Geneva: Audi R8 Spyder V10

Audi R8 Spyder V10

As part of their Geneva Motor Show program Audi have released some new press images of their stunning R8 Spyder V10 5.2 FSI. It’s a pretty nice looking car, so let’s take a look at what they’ve got to show.

You can check them out after the jump, remember all images are available in wallpaper-friendly 2000px super image sizing by simply clicking on the pic you like. For more detail on this 386kW velvet sledgehammer, take a look back at the info posted when the R8 Spyder was launched at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

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Formula 1

Final 2010 Formula One entry list

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

The FIA have released the final entry list for the 2010 Formula One season. Most of the news we already know, but we can now confirm that US F1 will not partake in the upcoming season and nor will Stefan GP. The Serbian based used Toyota outfit had been hoping they could fill the breach left by US F1, but the FIA have said no deal.

There is also one seat still available, in the newly renamed Campos Meta team. Bruno Senna is still looking for a teammate in the team now known as HRT F1. No, it’s not a new direction for the Holden Racing Team.

After four weeks of pre-season testing we now only have 10 days to go until the first race starts in Bahrain. Fasten your seatbelts folks, this season will be one hell of a ride!

Full entry list available below, as well as a statement from the FIA on US F1’s withdrawal. Further detail on the US F1 story, including Ken Anderson’s thoughts, has been published over at Autopsort.com.

UPDATE 5 March: Indian driver Karun Chandhok has claimed the last seat for the 2010 F1 season, signing with HRT F1 (via Autosport.com).

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Motorsports Volkswagen

Geneva: Volkswagen CrossGolf

Volkswagen CrossGolf

Volkswagen claim the Golf is “the most successful vehicle concept of all times”. Presumably they have reached this conclusion based on total sales. So, is it any wonder that they are milking the platform with the CrossGolf, the sixth model line in the Golf range.

Essentially what you see is what you get. A body based on the GolfPlus, including an extra 20mm ride height, a few exterior plastic bits and some model specific interior trim. Voila, a new model.

It is unlikely we will ever see the CrossGolf in Australia. Which is a shame. A real shame. Just wait until you see the new Subaru Impreza XV, which will be here mid-year. Somebody really needs to tell Subaru’s designers to stop the madness!

I digress, more pics and details of the comparatively attractive, but probably quite pointless CrossGolf can be seen after the jump.

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MINI

Geneva: Countryman stars in MINIWOOD

MINI Countryman - MINIWOOD

MINI have proved yet again they have one of the best marketing teams of any automotive brand with their latest publicity stunt to promote their new four-door Countryman model. Bringing a little bit of Hollywood to Geneva, they have projected the word “MINIWOOD” in letters 30 metres high and over 190 metres wide onto Mont Salève over the French border. Like Hollywood itself, this stunt all looks a little bit plastic, but it makes a good story nonetheless.

Back to the car, then, you can see a clip of the Countryman’s Geneva Motor Show debut after the break. Along with a few other goodies.

Australian readers may be interested to know the Countryman is scheduled to go on sale locally in the first quarter of next year.

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