Leclerc Tops Monaco Qualifying But Race Spot in Jeopardy After Crash

Photo Credit: FIA Pool/LAT Images/Pirelli

 

In the conclusion of the Spanish Grand Prix, there was a noteworthy statement made by Scuderia Ferrari’s team driver Charles Leclerc ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. He asserted that the group’s strength in the third section of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the Spanish Grand Prix was an indication that the Italian Formula 1 team would be strong on the Monte Carlo temporary street course.

Following Friday’s on-track action in Monaco, Leclerc's admittance was supported in spectacular fashion. In the second practice session the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished first and second fastest. Entering qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, there was a realistic chance the Ferrari team could capture their first pole position since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix. In the hands of the event’s home country favourite, the red car squad prevailed in qualifying although a major setback could remove the Ferrari race car from the top place on Sunday’s grid.

Posting a lap time of 1 minute, 10.346 seconds on the time chart of the Q3 session, Charles Leclerc’s #16 Ferrari clipped the turn 15 barrier in the late seconds of the final qualifying session and would crash. A red flag ended qualifying cementing the Monegasque driver as the fastest and provisional pole sitter for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc’s starting position is contingent to the extent of the damage to the Ferrari SF21 race car. At the time this qualifying recap has been written, the Ferrari team has stated there was no serious damage spotted to the #16 car’s gearbox but an additional inspection will take place prior to Sunday race. A change to the gearbox could require the incurrence of a five-grid place penalty.

 

Said to have mixed feeling regarding the pole effort, Charles Leclerc ended his post-race Ferrari statement saying “Whatever the outcome, I will give my all tomorrow. It feels great to be at home and to see all the fans around the track. It’s Monaco, it’s very unpredictable, and also challenging for us drivers, especially in the race with so many laps.”

Photo Credit: Foto Colombo Images/Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

If not for the wrecked car at the end of the qualifying session at Monaco, Scuderia Ferrari would have had a lot to celebrate. In addition to Charles Leclerc’s top time, Carlos Sainz Jr. delivered a solid performance on Saturday ultimately resulting in a fourth place starting spot on Sunday’s grid. The struggles of the 2020 Ferrari Formula 1 team are well-documented but the COVID-19 pandemic also changed the historic brand’s intentions to commemorate their 1,000^th grand prix start. Meant to take place at the 2020 Monaco race, the event’s cancellation and the reworked Formula 1 schedule caused for a race on Ferrari’s Mugello circuit to be the thousandth event for the team in the series.

Hampered from mounting a late session charge for the pole, Max Verstappen finished Monaco Grand Prix qualifying in the second place position. Along with Ferrari, Red Bull Racing team has displayed the most consistent front-running pace during this weekend on the 19-turn, 3.337-kilometer track. Verstappen was quickest in Saturday’s practice while teammate Sergio Perez posted the fastest time in the first practice session on Friday. Perez will start the Monaco Grand Prix in ninth place as the Mexican was unable to find the same pace as Verstappen throughout qualifying citing dropping track temperatures and traffic.

Photo Credit: Steven Tee/ LAT Images/ Pirelli

The often-dominating force of the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 Team showed a more temperate performance on the tight street of Monaco. Valtteri Bottas settled for third on the grid for Sunday’s 78-lap event citing the late red flag as costing him a chance to take pole. The winner from the last Formula 1 race in Spain, Lewis Hamilton has appeared out of regular form during this weekend through practice and qualifying. Though Hamilton progressed into Q3 in qualifying, he experienced a lack of grip in his #44 Mercedes-AMG race car mustering a seventh place starting spot for the race.

Running historic Gulf oil colouring for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, McLaren Racing had a qualifying outing that netted mixed results. Lando Norris will start Sunday’s main event from the fifth grid position but Daniel Ricciardo, 2018 winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, failed to post a top-10 time in Q2 and settling for 12^th place. The remainder of the top 10 starters is also the lone team entrants that broke into Q3. Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly will roll off the grid in 6^th place, 2011 and 2017 Monaco winner Sebastian Vettel will start 8^th for Aston Martin Racing and Antonio Giovinazzi scored an impressive 10^th place starting spot for Alfa Romeo Racing.

Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher crash in the final practice and was unable to post a time in Saturday’s qualifying at Monaco. The Formula 1 rookie will start at the rear for Sunday’s race.

Start time for the 78-lap, 2021 Monaco Grand Prix is set for 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Eastern time).

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2021 Formula 1 Season
Monaco Grand Prix
Qualifying Results
Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari	Ferrari
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	Honda
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
4	55	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari	Ferrari
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia AlphaTauri	Honda
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
9	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	Honda
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine F1 Team	Renault
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
13	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
14	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
15	63	George Russell	Williams Racing	Mercedes-Benz
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Scuderia AlphaTauri	Honda
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine F1 Team	Renault
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Racing	Mercedes-Benz
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	Ferrari
20	47	Mick Schumacher	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	Ferrari

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2021 Formula 1 Season: Portuguese Grand Prix Preview

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	Portuguese Grand Prix
Race Date	May 2, 2021
Location	Portimao, Algarve, Portugal
Track Name	Algarve International Circuit
Course Length	4.653-kilometer (2.891-mile)
Laps	66
2020 Pole Winner	Lewis Hamilton
2020 Pole Time	1:16.652
Past Five Grand Prix Winners
2020	Lewis Hamilton
Held at Circuito do Estoril
1996	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
1995	David Coulthard	Williams-Renault
1994	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault
1993	Michael Schumacher	Benneton-Ford

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1 Racing Mind 2015 Formula 1 Mid-season Report Card: Red Bull Racing

FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO X PIRELLI

Red Bull Racing

 

Team Score: C

 

Daniel Ricciardo: B-

Daniil Kvyat: C+

After four consecutive championships from 2010 to 2013, a new engine package appeared to have rattled the near-invincible Red Bull-Renault. Scoring three wins in 2014 season by Daniel Ricciardo, the overall performance as well as a winless season for the team's reigning championship driver Sebastian Vettel left many to consider the season as lackluster. If 2014 was considered lousy, 2015 would, for the most part, be called a disaster.

From watching the Red Bull Racing organization in the first 10 races of 2015, they're a far-cry from the team was the most-feared outfit on the grand prix circuit. The instrumental driver to Red Bull's success, Sebastian Vettel, left the team after the 2014 season for Ferrari resulting in the promotion of Russian Daniil Kvyat to the team from satellite organization Scuderia Toro Rosso. Kvyat joined Daniel Ricciardo who completed the same path to his Red Bull-Renault just one year prior. The efforts of Kvyat and Ricciardo has been exhaustive just attempting to keep their cars in point-paying positions. For the most part, the drivers succeeded resulting in five double-point finishes in the ten races this season. At the final race before the summer break for Formula 1 in 2015, Daniil Kvyat finished in a runner-up position while Daniel Ricciardo grabbed third. For Kvyat, the result could have been the Russian's most important finish in Formula 1

Much of the blame for Red Bull Racing's struggles has been directed towards the team's engine supplier Renault. Since Formula 1 adopted the latest hybrid powerplant format in 2014, concerns mounted whether the French manufacturer could compete on the same level as Mercedes-Benz. As the Red Bull Racing has been approaching the midway point in the 2015 season, rumours revolve around the team switching to Mercedes-Benz power in the future.

So far this season, the only saving grave for the Red Bull Racing team has come with two of the slowest tracks in Formula 1 at Monaco and the Hungaroring.

 

Ingredients for Second-Half of 2015: 

While Red Bull Racing's position of scoring points in almost every grand prix is envied by some Formula 1 outfits, the effort comes from a team that was regularly competing for podium results as early as last year. Some may consider the year for Red Bull Racing would be considered a disaster if the team cannot muster a single win before the end of the season. However, the 2015 season hasn't been an entire loss thanks to a solid driver line-up. Any possible performance improvements that could be obtained from the Renault powerplant would definitely be appreciated as Formula 1 approaches Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

The Best and Worst of Teammate Championship Battles in Formula 1

This weekend, the 2014 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship will be decided with the outcome of the final race of the tour's season; the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the dominant duo of 2014 wheeling the Mercedes-Benz F1 W05 Hybrid race cars for Mercedes AMG, stand 17 points apart heading into the race event. Though their collective efforts resulted in 15 victories in 18 races in 2014 providing the Mercedes AMG team with a constructors' title, Rosberg and Hamilton are left to duke out the outcome of the drivers' title.

Since 1950, the teammates have finished in the first and second place in the Formula 1 World Championship 17 times in past seasons (if you include the 1997 season Williams drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Herald Frentzen finished at the top after Michael Schumacher was excluded from the official results). For Mercedes-Benz, it is the second time their drivers will be placed in a one-two scenario in the points. Juan Manuel Fangio won the championship over Mercedes teammate Sterling Moss in 1955. The last time teammates finished at the top of the points occurred a decade ago when Michael Schumacher convincingly prevailed over teammate Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari.

Below are five examples of teammates who matched each other in neat identical equipment knowing, between the two drivers, only who could be proclaimed a champion.

1950: Alfa Romeo with Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio

In the first season of the Formula 1 tour, the young post-war racing scene of 1950 was immediately dominated by Alfa Romeo. The Italian automaker won all but one of the races involved in the 1950 Formula 1 schedule (the Indianapolis 500 was originally scored as a Formula 1 points race allowing a Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser driven by Johnnie Parsons to claim a victory on the schedule). For the inaugural world drivers' championship, it was Italian Giuseppe Farina and Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio in battle against each other. With only the best four of seven race finishes counting on the tour, Giuseppe Farina won the title thanks to wins at Silverstone, Monza and the Swiss Grand Prix at Circuit Bremgarten. Farina's one and only Formula 1 title, Fangio would win his first of five championships the following season. The two drivers are also recorded as the oldest competitors to be crowned Formula 1 champions.

1967: Brabham with Denny Hulme and Jack Brabham

An almost ridiculously impossible idea in modern Formula 1 racing, the recently-departed Sir Jack Brabham was a driver and team owner through the second-half of the 1960s. Not only was Brabham able to win races the with the same name, the Australian won a championship in 1966. For 1967, the Repco-engined Brabham race cars driven by Jack Brabham and teammate Denny Hulme faced Lotus and their all-new Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine. While the Lotus-Ford was powerful and quick, the Brabham-Repco proved more consistent over the course of the 1967 season. With 9 of 11 races being tallied for the drivers' title, the New Zealand driver Denny Hulme 2 wins and 8 podium finishes gave him a 5-point edge over his boss. Hulme moved to McLaren in 1968 while the Brabham team would perform poorly a season after winning the driver and constructor title.

1979: Ferrari with Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve 

The Ferrari team's long tenure in Formula 1 has resulted in 15 constructors' championships and four occasions where two team drivers finished one-two for the drivers' title. In 1979, teams hunting for a technological edge with ground effects and turbocharged engines contributed to a season plagued with front-running drivers claiming numerous race retirements. Ferrari team drivers Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve enjoyed a more reliable 1979 campaign with five DNFs combined (less than the total non-finishes of the third-place in points Alan Jones. With one fewer retirement, Scheckter was able to claim a four-point edge over the Canadian driver.

The title was a well-earned honour after much hard work for Scheckter as a veteran in Formula 1. The South African driver finished second in the championship in 1977 driving a Wolf-Ford owned by Austrian-born Canadian Walter Wolf. The 1979 Ferrari season produced Jody Scheckter's only championship and was the highest points placement in the career of Gilles Villeneuve.

1984: McLaren with Niki Lauda and Alain Prost

Frenchman Alain Prost would gain the status as a Formula 1 legend between a career that stretch from 1980 to 1993 consisting of 51 race victories within at time. While he would win four championships, Prost would finish second two consecutive times in the drivers' point before claiming his first. On the second occasion was in 1984 when Alain Prost returned to McLaren after three seasons with the Renault team. Competing in his 12th season in Formula 1 competition, returning McLaren driver Niki Lauda was aggressively challenged by the young Frenchman in the team's Porsche-powered race machine. Prost posted seven win in the 1984 compared to Lauda's five but the more veteran Formula 1 pilot's four second-place finishes kept him in the hunt. A rain-shortened Monaco Grand Prix ultimately cost Prost the championship. Instead of nine points for a win, the race being called prior to the half-way distance resulted in 4.5 points for Prost. Niki Lauda won the 1984 drivers' title by half a point becoming the closest season-ending championship result in the history of the open wheel racing tour.

The championship victory for Niki Lauda was his third and final Formula 1 title. Defending his title, Lauda retired from the sport after the 1985 season where Prost assumed champion honours.

1989: McLaren with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna

The 1989 Formula 1 season was a battle among two motorsport titans. Teammates at McLaren, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost rapidly shifted from having a generally cooperative relationship to being bitter rivals. Joining the team in 1988, Senna claimed his first championship with McLaren by overcoming Prost by three points thanks to eight race wins.

In 1989, the catalyst to what morphed into an outright poisonous relationship between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna was the second race of the year at San Marino. Acting against an pre-race agreement, Senna passed Prost on a restart to win the event. First and second in the championship with the top eleven finishes coming for the championship, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost headed into the second-to-last race in Suzuka, Japan. Failing to finish in five races, Senna required a good finish at the Japanese Grand Prix to contend against Prost. Both McLaren-Honda race cars started on the front row with Senna taking pole. During the race, Alain Prost gained the lead but Ayrton Senna was able to caught the other McLaren on lap 46. With a chance to pass Prost, Senna ran alongside his teammate intent to take the lead. The two cars fought their each other into a corner and made contact. Prost retired following the collision but Senna continued in his McLaren-Honda. Despite crossing the line first, Formula 1 stewards ruled Senna missed a chicane and disqualified the Brazilian driver effectively heading the 1989 world drivers' title to Alain Prost. A similar incident occurred the next season at Suzuka with Ayrton Senna remaining with McLaren and Prost joining Ferrari. That time, Senna came out as the victor for the 1990 championship.

The Senna/Prost battle for the 1989 championship is considered the ultimate inner-team fight some Formula 1 observers were expecting to see arise in 2014. An altercation during the Belgian Grand Prix saw a rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg erupt in a very public manner. However, after what seemed to be some stern words from team principal Toto Wolff, the relationship between the two championship contending teammate has appeared civil. The outcome of the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will conclude whether the fight between the Mercedes AMG drivers will be another storied one.

Crowd Sends Caterham Packing for Abu Dhabi F1 Finale

Photo Credit: Caterham F1 Team/ Charles Coates/LAT Photographic

While the likelihood of success for some of the habitually slower cars winning a grand prix race is slim, a deep Formula 1 field makes for a better spectacle. Through the recent visit to the Americas for the United States Grand Prix and Brazilian Grand Prix, there were two fewer teams part of the trek. Caterham F1 Team and Marussia F1 lost what was a struggle to keep their cars on the track for the full 19-race 2014 Formula 1 season. With the subtraction of 4 cars, events at the Circuit of the Americas and Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace consisted of  just 18 cars. Those two races had the fewest starters since the bizarre 2005 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis where only six cars started due to problems with tires supplied by Michelin. For what will be the final event of the 2014 season occurring November 21st to 23rd, one of the wayward Formula 1 teams will rejoin the grid.

The green machines fielded by Caterham F1 will be part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix thanks in large part to fan reaction to a crowdsourced financing method. Operated under the social media hashtag #RefuelCaterhamF1, Leafield stationed race team raised enough money for their symbolic single race effort by canvassing for online donations through Crowdcube. The current administrator of Caterham Sports Limited Finbarr O'Connell responded to the achievement saying, “We set ourselves a major challenge, but it’s definitely been worth it! In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible. We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it’s still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren’t enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible."

During the past week, financial contributors provided money to the team's crowdfunding campaign with an engaging twist. In exchange for the certain high-value pledges, Caterham F1 Team has provided a wide range of gifts. A rare chance to acquire race-used items and to have individuals place their names on a Formula 1 car enticed a large crowd. Race car components such as front nose sections along with brake discs were available from the start while driving suits belonging to past Caterham F1 pilots Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic were added later.

Falling short of their goal of £2,350,000 through the #RefuelCaterhamF1 crowdfunding campaign, the Caterham F1 announced their participation at the 2014 Formula 1 season finale anyways on Friday. Raising more than £1,000,000 by Monday, the Crowdcube campaign slowed during the week. Still, the #RefuelCaterhamF1 effort reached 53-percent of the financial goal by Wednesday. Since confirming they are competing at the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates, Caterham F1 Team extended their Crowdcube campaign to the date of the 2014 Formula 1 season ending race. The opportunity still remains to contribute to the team. As of the morning of November 16th, Caterham F1 has reached 81-percent of their financial goal. Formula 1 fans continue to have the chance to acquire unique memorabilia.

Spanish Dancer: Ferrari's Alonso Takes Home Grand Prix

Photo source: Ferrari North America

The first European race of the 2013 Formula 1 season, the Spanish Grand Prix takes place three weeks after Sebastian Vettel commandingly captured the last event in Bahrain. With the lead Red Bull Racing driver holding onto a tight early lead in the driver's standings following four grand prix races, Formula 1 could still be regarded as a wide-open fight between the drivers with four teams. Kimi Raikkonen with the Lotus F1 Team, Fernando Alonso driving for Scuderia Ferrari as well as the Mercedes AMG team cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg demonstrated podium-quality pace in the season.

In qualifying for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg registered the best lap allowing him to start from pole in his Mercedes AMG F1 W04 race car around the 4.655-mile race course in Barcelona. Lewis Hamilton joined his teammate for a front row dominated by the Mercedes-Benz factory Formula 1 team. When Sunday's 66-lap main event at the Circuit de Catalunya started, Rosberg showed the way early. Hamilton's start was troublesome as Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso both skated around the Mercedes AMG car by turn three on the opening lap. Vettel climbed from third on the starting grid to second but was unable challenge Nico Rosberg for the lead.




Photo source: Mercedes AMG

The Barcelona race track proved abrasive on the Pirelli medium and hard compound rubber competitors rode on for the afternoon. The race's first pit stops came between lap 7 and lap 10 for the leaders. Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber pitted on lap 7 following by the Ferrari cars of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso on later laps. Last of the leaders into the pit for new tires were Nico Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel. Coming into their stalls on lap 10, the pit stop proved momentous for Alonso and disappointing for Rosberg. Riding on warm Pirelli racing slick tires, Fernando Alonso was able to zoom by the Mercedes AMG car to assume the Spanish Grand Prix's lead.

Retirements from the Spanish Grand Prix was limited to three drivers. Thanks to a largely clean standing start on the Circuit de Catalunya, attrition in the event resulted through unfortunate component failures on race cars. Lotus-Renault driver Romain Grosjean incurred rear suspension failure early leading to the Frenchman finishing last. Giedo van der Garde was out of the race after 21 laps due to a rear wheel spinning off his Caterham-Renault. Also a recipient of issues with the rear portion of his Formula 1 car, Scuderia Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne would retire from the Spanish Grand Prix short 14 laps to the checkered flag.   

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Catching many people off-guard was the tire strategy for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. While Pirelli predicted a three-stop plan would be the course of the front-runners, a majority of competitors chose to make an extra stop. Red Bull Racing, Ferrari, Force India and the lone remaining Lotus-Renault fielding Kimi Raikkonen elected to make the Spanish Grand Prix a busy time for pit crews.

Since taking the lead, Fernando Alonso outran the entire field in his Ferrari to win the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Finishing 9.3 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus-Renault, Alonso stated in post-race, “Even if this is the third time I’ve won a home race, the emotion is still very strong, as if it had never happened before. It’s nice to be able to give the whole of Spain this win, especially at a time when the country is in crisis and for many people, it’s not possible to come here to bring their support." As a Spaniard, Alonso savoured winning his home grand prix for the first time since he accomplished the feat in 2006 with Renault. Fernando Alonso had also won the European Grand Prix in 2012 held on the Valencia street course.




Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Finishing in second place, the Lotus-Renault vehicle of Kimi Raikkonen was uncontested at the end owned a 16.7-second gap over the third place car. This runner-up position is the fourth podium for the Finnish driver in five 2013 Formula 1 events. In the third spot and the final podium position, Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa drove a race almost as masterful as the Spanish Grand Prix winner. Alonso climbed from fifth place on the start to win while Massa earned a third-place spot after a ninth place position on the starting grid.   

Following the impressive qualifying performance for the Mercedes AMG team, the 66-lap distance was a different experience for Rosberg and Hamilton. Both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton struggled to maintain the speed of Ferrari, Red Rull-Renault and Lotus-Renault race cars. Using the less common three-stop strategy, Nico Rosberg crossed the finish line in sixth place. Encountering a lack of tire grip throughout the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton adopted a four-stop plan that concluded with the #10 Mercedes AMG finishing 12th. The Spanish Grand Prix was the first race in 2013 where Hamilton failed to collect championship points.   

Taking fourth place in a mediocre outcome in his Red Bull-Renault, Sebastian Vettel continues to hold the lead in the Formula 1 driver's standings. However, Kimi Raikkonen draws within 4 points of Vettel. Scoring maximum points with the grand prix victory, Fernando Alonso gained on Sebastian Vettel but stands 17 points behind heading into the Monaco Grand Prix.

A historic race set for the streets of Monte Carlo, the Monaco Grand Prix will be the next event on the 2013 Formula 1 calendar for May 26th.



2013 Formula 1
Spanish Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
2	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	Renault
3	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Ferrari
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
7	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
8	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
9	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
10	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
11	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
12	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1	Renault
15	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Ferrari
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	Renault
18	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Cosworth
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	Cosworth
20	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
21	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Renault
22	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault

Pedro De la Rosa Acquaints with Test Driver Role at Ferrari

Photo credit: Ferrari North America

Driving a Ferrari on the road or competition is dream of any motorist. Turning 42 years old next month, Spanish Formula 1 driver Pedro De la Rosa has been adapting to a new position as a development pilot for the Scuderia Ferrari team.

A mainstay in the Formula 1 paddock since the late 1990s. A champion from auto racing series in Spain, Britain and Japan, De la Rosa first operated as a test driver for the Jordan Grand Prix team in 1998 before being drafted to pilot an Arrows Formula 1 car the following year. Pedro De la Rosa also has also been active in season-long stints with Jaguar Racing and the Sauber F1 team. However, much of the Spaniard's Formula 1 involvement has been on the testing and development side of the short-lived Prost Grand Prix and most significantly McLaren Mercedes.

The highlight of Pedro De la Rosa's Formula 1 career was a stint in 2006 with McLaren. Serving as the organization's test driver for several years, De la Rosa was promoted to active competition when a falling out occurred with the McLaren Mercedes team and their regular driver Juan Pablo Montoya. De la Rosa had previous stepped-up as a replacement driver for Montoya when the Columbian was injured in 2005.  Running the final eight events alongside Kimi Raikkonen, De la Rosa ran favourably finishing a career-best second in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite formidable runs, Pedro De la Rosa had never received a permanent competition spot in a top Formula 1 driving team. Last season, De la Rosa drove for the back-marker HRT F1 team. 

Pedro De la Rosa defined his career change at the “Beca Santander Jovenes Promesas” sponsor event as a chance to contribute substantially. “I’m starting a new phase of my life: for a driver it’s important to work with the big teams, especially because you can learn from the best engineers and professionals in this sport. I am proud that Ferrari had faith in me, especially as it means I will be able to help a Spanish champion, in the shape of Fernando Alonso.” said De la Rosa.

Having already seen Ferrari's new 2013 Formula 1 vehicle in the team's race shop, Pedro De la Rosa will be integral to the race preparation of the year's race car. When the new vehicle premieres at the Jerez circuit in February 8th, De la Rosa is slated to be the second person to drive the new Ferrari Formula 1 car after Felipe Massa christens it.

Mark Webber Takes First 2012 F1 Season Pole in Korea

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Running hot in the Formula 1 series thanks to wins in Singapore and Japan, Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull-Renault has made up 35 points on Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Entering the Korean Grand Prix, Vettel sits only 4 point back from the Spaniard Alonso creating meaningful 6-race run to the completion of the 2012 Formula 1 season.

The third time visiting the Korean International Circuit, race teams really only have one season of usable notes at the 5.615-kilometer track based on the inaugural grand prix being a rain-marred affair. It only only in the 2011 race that the Korean International Circuit high g corners and twisty characteristics gave the open wheel cars a true measure for competition. Still a bit of wild card for drivers and teams, the Korean Grand Prix could pose an interesting challenge with the narrowing world championship. Amusingly, the two previous winners of the Korean Formula 1 race is Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

Qualifying for the 2012 edition of the Korean Grand Prix take place at 22 degrees Celsius on a dry surface, Sebastian Vettel immediately asserted authority on the race course. Setting top time in the first and second round of time trials, the Q3 session allowed the two-time reigning Formula 1 champion to feel confident. As Vettel pegged a 1 minute, 37.316 second time on the scoreboard, the final instant of the 10-minute session would have the #1 Red Bull-Renault unseated from the top of the grid by the team car. Crossing the start-finish line with a 1 minute, 37.242 second lap, Mark Webber secured his first earned pole position in the 2012 Formula 1 season. Webber did start on pole at Monaco but only because fastest-driver in qualifying Michael Schumacher was demoted for a penalty.

With all Red Bull Racing front row, Lewis Hamilton grabbed the third spot for the start of the 55-lap Korean Grand Prix. Driving for McLaren-Mercedes through the end of the season, Hamilton and his teammate Jenson Button (starting 11th) are fighting for individual as well as team honours through the rest of 2012. In second place in the constructor's championship, McLaren F1 is 41 points behind Red Bull Racing and 20 points ahead of Ferrari. With a maximum of 43 points available in each of the remaining grand prix races, there is a lot of room for movement entering the Korean Grand Prix between the top teams.

Looking to be able to once again put distance on others in the driver's championship, Fernando Alonso starts 4th in the second row. The third row of Korean Grand Prix is occupied by the Lotus-Renault of Kimi Raikkonen alongside the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean for the Lotus F1 Team and Nico Hulkenberg driving the Force India-Mercedes will sit in the fourth row on the grid ahead of the Mercedes GP squad. Nico Rosberg leads Michael Schumacher in the Mercedes GP team as thry round out the top-10 on the Formaul 1 grid for the Korean Grand Prix.

Losing brakes before he was able to log a qualifying lap in Q1, Narain Karthikeyan has been granted permission to start the Korean Grand Prix with his HRT-Cosworth securing a full 24-car field.



Formula 1
Korean Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
4	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
6	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
8	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
9	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
10	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
11	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
12	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
13	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
14	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
15	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
16	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
19	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
20	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
21	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
22	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
23	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
24	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth