Tag: MercedesGP

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2010 Chinese Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Chinese GP

Rain in Shanghai ensured qualifying form was tipped upside down at yesterday’s 2010 Chinese Grand Prix. Jenson Button furthered his reputation as a rain master by winning his second wet race of the year. Teammate Lewis Hamilton was close behind as they crossed the line. MercedesGP driver Nico Rosberg continued his dominance over Michael Schumahcer to finish on the podium for the second race in succession.

Red Bull Racing have had a driver start from pole position every race this year. Unfortunately for them it hasn’t led to a race win for the pole man. Shanghai was no different, with both Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso getting past Sebastien Vettel off the line. Although, Alonso did jump the start and was forced to pit for a stop-go penalty. It was strategy and tyre choice, though, that undid Red Bull’s qualifying supremacy. Both drivers finished well below expectations—Vettel unable to follow his Malaysian GP victory with a podium and he finished in sixth, Webber further behind in eighth.

Four races in to the 2010 Formula One season and what do we make of Michael Schumacher’s comeback? It’s not gone to script, has it. Rosberg is to be commended for leading the way for MercedesGP so far in 2010. And while Schumacher has shown moments of raw pace, he is yet to string together the consistency required to see him challenging for a podium finish. Rosberg out qualified Schumi here in China, which means, for the first time, Schumacher has been out qualified by his teammate for four races in succession.

Quotes from drivers and team principals are now available on Formula1.com. You can also enjoy a total of 50 images from the Chinese GP here on AUSmotive, check them out below.

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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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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Renault

Formula One pre-season – Valencia photo gallery

F1 testing @ Valencia

There’s only a couple of days until Formula One pre-season testing resumes at Jerez (10-13 February). To help get you in the mood here is a 50-strong gallery of images featuring pics from Ferrari, MercedesGP, Renault and Williams. As usual you can click on your favourite images to load 2000px wallpaper-friendly sizing.

At the completion of the Valencia testing Ferrari was showing the rest of the field a clean pair of heels, with Fernando Alonso posting the quickest time (1:11.470), just three tenths ahead of teammate Felipe Massa (1:11.722).

Alonso, in front of over 35,000 parochial Spanish fans, was pleased with his time behind the wheel of the new F10, “The car went well and it was fast; it had a good set up, too, which is positive.”

He continued, “It’s absolutely impossible to say where we stand compared to the others. To be competitive you need a reliable car and we’re on the right track. The technicians have lots of data now to prepare us the best possible way for the next tests.”

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Michael Schumacher returns to F1 at Valencia

MercedesGP - Valencia day 1

Michael Schumacher is back! His eagerly anticipated return to Formula One with MercedesGP took its first step overnight with the season’s first test session, held at Valenicia.

Speaking at the end of the day Schumacher, who set the third fastest time, said “It was a perfect rollout for the new car today. I felt totally comfortable and really had a feeling that everything was very natural. It felt just like at the very beginning of my career in 1991 when on the first lap, I thought ‘wow that was really fast’ and then on the second lap, I was just extremely excited. I feel like a young boy again and really enjoyed myself out there.

“We did a good job today, just making a few control checks, and the most important thing was that the car ran reliably. With Nico and I covering 79 laps between us, it was a superb job by the team.”

A full list of times from day 1 can be seen here (there were only 8 runners). There are two more days remaining on the Valencia testing schedule. Nico Rosberg will be the only MercedesGP driver to take to the track tomorrow, while Schumacher will return on day 3.

After the jump you will find more pics of Schumacher on track and in pit lane, along with statements from teammate Nico Rosberg and Team Principal Ross Brawn.

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