Daily Update Formula1 News

Qualifying in Hungary saw Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen wrap up the first all-McLaren front row since Monza 2007, leaving Felipe Massa to take third for Ferrari and team mate Kimi Raikkonen a little breathless on the third row in sixth place.

Massa was the only man to trouble Hamilton throughout qualifying. The Englishman lapped in 1m 19.376s to dominate Q1, but was only third in Q2 where the Brazilian set the pace with 1m 19.068s.

Tyre choice proved crucial. Hamilton used the softer Bridgestone in Q2 and planned to run it in Q3, but Massa’s speed on the harder tyre in that second session prompted McLaren to switch to the prime tyre instead. On that, Hamilton proved dominant again with a lap of 1m 20.899s, which gave McLaren their eighth pole in Hungary, and him his 10th overall.

Kovalainen backed him strongly with 1m 21.140s, the difference in times most likely explained by fuel load. Massa was only fifth with seconds to go, but banged in a lap of 1m 21.191s at the end and is confident that Ferrari have the package to challenge McLaren on Sunday.

So who was between the two red cars? Robert Kubica gave all the visiting Poles something to cheer with fourth place for BMW Sauber in 1m 21.281s, while Timo Glock enjoyed his best-ever qualifying to take fifth for Toyota with 1m 21.326s. Raikkonen was thus left on the inside of row three on 1m 21.516s.

Both Renaults made it through to Q3, with Fernando Alonso seventh on 1m 21.698s and Nelson Piquet 10th on 1m 22.371s. Between them were Mark Webber in eighth for Red Bull on 1m 21.732s, and Jarno Trulli in the other Toyota on 1m 21.767s.

Sebastian Vettel recovered superbly from his lack of track time on Friday to claim 11th for Toro Rosso with 1m 20.144s. Jenson Button was 12th after a strong effort for Honda yielded 1m 20.332s, then came Red Bull’s David Coulthard (1m 20.502s), Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais (1m 20.963s) and Nico Rosberg, who had problems and did not actually run after making it through from Q1.

Button’s late burst speed in Q1 pushed BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld into oblivion, and the German was clearly inferring with a waved hand that he felt he had been impeded through the final corner by a car ahead of him. He had to be content with 1m 21.045s for only 16th place, leaving him a mountain to climb in Sunday’s race.

Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima could not improve on 1m 21.085s for 17th ahead of Honda’s Rubens Barrichello on 1m 21.332s, Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella on 1m 21.670s and team mate Adrian Sutil, the only man not to dip below 1m 22s, on 1m 22.113s.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.376 1:19.473 1:20.899 12
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.945 1:19.480 1:21.140 16
3. Massa Ferrari 1:19.578 1:19.068 1:21.191 16
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.053 1:19.776 1:21.281 19
5. Glock Toyota 1:19.980 1:19.246 1:21.326 24
6. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.006 1:19.546 1:21.516 19
7. Alonso Renault 1:20.229 1:19.816 1:21.698 15
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.073 1:20.046 1:21.732 18
9. Trulli Toyota 1:19.942 1:19.486 1:21.767 20
10. Piquet Renault 1:20.583 1:20.131 1:22.371 19
11. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.157 1:20.144 17
12. Button Honda 1:20.888 1:20.332 15
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:20.505 1:20.502 16
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.640 1:20.963 16
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:20.748 10
16. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.045 7
17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.085 9
18. Barrichello Honda 1:21.332 8
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.670 9
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:22.113 10

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PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
The German Grand Prix
Hockenheim, Germamy;
67 laps; 306.458km;
Weather: Sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1h31:20.874
2. Piquet Renault (B) + 5.586
3. Massa Ferrari (B) + 9.339
4. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 9.825
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 12.411
6. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 14.403
7. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 22.682
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 33.299
9. Trulli Toyota (B) + 37.158
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 37.625
11. Alonso Renault (B) + 38.600
12. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 39.111
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 54.971
14. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) + 59.093
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1:00.003
16. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) + 1:09.488
17. Button Honda (B) + 1 lap

Fastest lap: Heidfeld, 1:15.987

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Barrichello Honda (B) 52
Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 41
Glock Toyota (B) 37


World Championship standings, round 10:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Hamilton 58 1. Ferrari 105
2. Massa 54 2. BMW Sauber 89
3. Raikkonen 51 3. McLaren-Mercedes 86
4. Kubica 48 4. Toyota 25
5. Heidfeld 41 5. Red Bull-Renault 24
6. Kovalainen 28 6. Renault 23
7. Trulli 20 7. Williams-Toyota 16
8. Webber 18 8. Honda 14
9. Alonso 13 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8
10. Barrichello 11
11. Piquet 10
12. Rosberg 8
13. Nakajima 8
14. Vettel 6
15. Coulthard 6
16. Glock 5
17. Button 3
18. Bourdais 2

All timing unofficial
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Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.218 1:14.603 1:15.666 13
2. Massa Ferrari 1:14.921 1:14.747 1:15.859 16
3. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.476 1:14.855 1:16.143 17
4. Trulli Toyota 1:15.560 1:15.122 1:16.191 21
5. Alonso Renault 1:15.917 1:14.943 1:16.385 19
6. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:15.201 1:14.949 1:16.389 19
7. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:15.985 1:15.109 1:16.521 20
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:15.900 1:15.481 1:17.014 20
9. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:15.532 1:15.420 1:17.244 22
10. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:15.975 1:15.338 1:17.503 20
11. Glock Toyota 1:15.560 1:15.508 17
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:15.596 1:15.581 14
13. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:15.863 1:15.633 16
14. Button Honda 1:15.993 1:15.701 15
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:15.927 1:15.858 15
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:16.083 10
17. Piquet Renault 1:16.189 7
18. Barrichello Honda 1:16.246 10
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:16.657 10
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:16.963 10
ref[AS]

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 60 1:39:09.440 4 10
2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 60 +68.5 secs 5 8
3 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 60 +82.2 secs 16 6
4 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 3 5
5 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 59 +1 Lap 1 4
6 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 59 +1 Lap 6 3
7 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 59 +1 Lap 14 2
8 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 59 +1 Lap 15 1
9 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 59 +1 Lap 20
10 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 59 +1 Lap 2
11 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 13
12 12 Timo Glock Toyota 59 +1 Lap 12
13 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 +2 Laps 9
Ret 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 39 Spin 10
Ret 16 Jenson Button Honda 38 Spin 17
Ret 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 35 Spin 7
Ret 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 26 Spin 19
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 10 Spin 18
Ret 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 0 Spin 8
Ret 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 0 Spin 11

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton may have recorded a dominant win at the British Grand Prix on Sunday, but behind him drivers from another six teams scored points, emphasising just how competitive the 2008 season has become and how unpredictable the Silverstone race was.

Not only did BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld clinch his third second-place finish of the season but Honda were also celebrating, after enjoying their best result since Brazil 2006. For Ferrari, however, almost everything went wrong. We take a team-by-team look at the race…
ref[formula1.com]
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After playing second fiddle to McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton for much of 2008, Heikki Kovalainen has his best chance yet of a maiden Formula One win on Sunday, following his spectacular qualifying performance at Silverstone.
However, with changeable weather predicted, the grid for the British Grand Prix may yet prove academic. After three sessions of qualifying in which rain spots and heavy crosswinds played significant roles, this is how it was formed…
McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 21.049s, P1
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 21.835, P4
McLaren had the pace to get both cars on to the front row, but first and fourth places still make them statistically the team that starts with the strongest chances. Kovalainen reported his MP4-23 to be all over the place on his first run in Q3 thanks to the crosswind, but put a sweet lap together on his second run to take the first pole of his F1 career. Hamilton went off the road at Priory on his first run, and admitted that he was more cautious through there on his second try. Some of the gap between them may be explained by respective fuel loads, but the truth is that the Finn has been very hooked up all weekend. Will this be his big breakthrough?
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 21.554s, P2
David Coulthard, 1m 20.174s, P11
Everybody was surprised to see Webber plant his Red Bull RB4 second on the grid, even the Australian himself. This is almost certainly the car in the top four with the lightest fuel load, but it was still a good performance that bodes well for a strong race from this emergent team. Coulthard was disappointed with 11th, and blamed the engine oil leak that lost him valuable track time to finish setting up the car in the morning.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 21.706s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 23.305s, P9
Raikkonen was much happier with his Ferrari than he was on Friday, but still felt that it was not as good as it had been in the previous week’s test due to changes in the track conditions. He is one driver for sure desperate to know the fuel loads of his immediate rivals. Massa looked good all through practice, but suffered a problem with the right rear wheel nut on his Ferrari during his final tyre change, and never made it out for his second run.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 21.873s, P5
Robert Kubica, No time, P10
BMW Sauber were another team damned by ill fortune towards the end of Q3, when Kubica’s car suffered a mechanical problem at the rear which kept him in the pits when everyone else was doing their second runs. Heidfeld, however, was back to his old self with a strong run to fifth place, having run Kubica very close in Q2 when the F1.08s picked up a serious amount of pace.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 22.029s, P6
Nelson Piquet, 1m 22.491s, P7
Alonso said his sixth place was a satisfying result for Renault in the changing track conditions, and looks forward to a strong finish. Piquet was also pleased with his best qualifying performance in taking seventh, on his illustrious team mate’s tail. He was happy with his R28.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 23.251, P8
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 20.531s, P13
Vettel has looked good all weekend, and eighth on the grid showed that Toro Rosso are really getting to grips with their STR3. He was really happy with its balance and thus able to really lean on it in the fast stuff. Bourdais did a great job to leap to sixth place after the rain shower in Q1, and was relatively happy with the compromise set-up his crew arrived at on his car after struggling throughout practice. But he admitted that qualifying 13th was not satisfying.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 20.274s, P12
Jarno Trulli, 1m 20.601s, P14
After Magny-Cours, Toyota came down to earth with a bump at Silverstone. Glock said he was mystified why things didn’t work out better than 12th place for him, while Trulli continued to struggle to get his TF108 decently balanced.
Williams
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 21.112s, P15
Nico Rosberg, 1m 21.668s, P18
Williams were in trouble again on their home track. Nakajima got through to Q2 while struggling for grip, but Rosberg was a faller in Q1 as he blamed the way his FW30 jumped ‘around all over the place’ in the corners.
Honda
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 21.512s, P16
Jenson Button, 1m 21.631s, P17
Barrichello admitted honestly that 16th and 17th places were a reflection of Honda’s potential on such a quick track, and both he and Button were unfortunate that their final Q1 runs came just as the rain fell. Resultant lack of tyre temperature killed their slim chances of making it through to Q2.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 21.786s, P19
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 21.885s, P20
Sutil and Fisichella were encouraged by how close they got to the Hondas, but the former struggled with graining front tyres. Fisichella had a problem with his VJM01’s engine cover, and his chances of going quicker were frustrated when he spun in the complex on his final Q1 run.

David Tremayne
ref[formula1.com]

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Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.957 1:19.597 1:21.049 15
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.982 1:19.710 1:21.554 16
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.370 1:19.971 1:21.706 18
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.288 1:19.537 1:21.835 13
5. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.022 1:19.802 1:21.873 16
6. Alonso Renault 1:20.998 1:19.992 1:22.029 15
7. Piquet Renault 1:20.818 1:20.115 1:22.491 19
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.318 1:20.109 1:23.251 16
9. Massa Ferrari 1:20.676 1:20.086 1:23.305 16
10. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.444 1:19.788 12
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.224 1:20.174 14
12. Glock Toyota 1:20.893 1:20.274 14
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.584 1:20.531 16
14. Trulli Toyota 1:21.145 1:20.601 13
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.407 1:21.112 14
16. Barrichello Honda 1:21.512 9
17. Button Honda 1:21.631 11
18. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.668 6
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786 9
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885 8

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Tyre warmers will remain in Formula One next year, autosport.com can reveal, after the FIA agreed to scrap plans to impose a ban in 2009.
The governing body had been scheduled to scrap the use of tyre blankets to coincide with the return of slicks at the start of next season in a bid to improve the racing and cut costs.

But that move led to concern from drivers about safety implications, after they tried out slick rubber without warmers in winter testing.
With a big difference in laptimes between cars on cold tyres and those with warmed up rubber, drivers feared about the increased chance of accidents.
Bridgestone was adamant though that the rubber it planned to use would not cause any safety problems - and it told the FIA that it saw no reason to scrap the tyre warmer ban for this reason.
However, one way of guaranteeing tyre safety was for Bridgestone to impose a minimum tyre pressure limit – and this was something the teams could not find a satisfactory way of imposing or policing.
Honda Racing team principal Ross Brawn told autosport.com recently: "You can run tyres for sure without blankets, lot of formulae do, but we are a particularly competitive formula and if you don't run blankets with tyres you need to have a minimum pressure control.
"We haven't worked out how to do that and that was the big concern – how to introduce it fairly and effectively for all the teams? And how do you avoid the massive overhead of policing it?
"The TWG (Technical Working Group) said it wanted to keep tyre blankets because it could not see a solution to controlling minimum tyre pressure, and that was a big worry. So the option of having blankets was the easiest.
"And interestingly tyre blankets are not prohibited in testing, so for efficiency of testing we will almost certainly be using tyre blankets in testing. So we will have had them in testing and not racing."
The FIA agreed that the tyre pressure problem was insurmountable in the short term and, allied to the fact that there would be little reduction in costs because tyre blankets would still be used in testing, the governing body's World Council this week agreed to scrap the ban.
ref[AS]
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Felipe Massa benefited from an exhaust problem for his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen to take victory in the French Grand Prix and move into the world championship lead.

Ferrari's advantage was such that Raikkonen was able to retain second despite slowing his pace for half the race, while Jarno Trulli held off McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen to claim third and take Toyota's first podium finish since Melbourne 2006.

Lewis Hamilton was hit with a second penalty when he was awarded a drive-through for cutting the Nurburgring chicane while passing Sebastian Vettel on the first lap. The McLaren driver was only able to recover to 10th.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The French Grand Prix
Magny Cours, France;
70 laps; 308.586km;
Weather: Cloudy, then light rain.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1h31:50.245
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 17.984
3. Trulli Toyota (B) + 28.250
4. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 28.929
5. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 30.512
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 40.304
7. Piquet Renault (B) + 41.033
8. Alonso Renault (B) + 43.372
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 51.021
10. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 54.538
11. Glock Toyota (B) + 57.700
12. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 58.065
13. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 1:02.079
14. Barrichello Honda (B) + 1 lap
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1 lap
16. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 1 lap
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
18. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.630

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Button Honda (B) 17


World Championship standings, round 8:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Massa 48 1. Ferrari 91
2. Kubica 46 2. BMW Sauber 74
3. Raikkonen 43 3. McLaren-Mercedes 58
4. Hamilton 38 4. Red Bull-Renault 24
5. Heidfeld 28 5. Toyota 23
6. Kovalainen 20 6. Williams-Toyota 15
7. Trulli 18 7. Renault 12
8. Webber 18 8. Honda 8
9. Alonso 10 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 7
12. Coulthard 6
13. Barrichello 5
14. Glock 5
15. Vettel 5
16. Button 3
17. Piquet 2
18. Bourdais 2
ref[AS]

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Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari's 200th Formula One pole in French Grand Prix qualifying, leading teammate Felipe Massa in a front row sweep.

Lewis Hamilton was third fastest for McLaren, but will drop to 13th on the grid due to his penalty for hitting Raikkonen in the Montreal pits.

That will elevate Fernando Alonso (Renault) to third place, with Jarno Trulli joining him on row two after an impressive effort for Toyota.

Hamilton's McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen and championship leader Robert Kubica (BMW) will complete the leading three rows.

Although Massa had dominated Q1 and Q2, it was Raikkonen who took charge in Q3, claiming provisional pole on his first run.

When Massa then failed to improve sufficiently to demote his teammate, Raikkonen chose to abandon his second lap, rightly believing he was assured of pole.

Hamilton's eventual third place was a comparatively successful result after an error at the Nurburgring chicane on his first Q3 run had left him eighth - and facing a potential ninth row start. He managed to vault to third with his second flying lap and minimised the damage.

Behind Alonso, Trulli and Kovalainen, Kubica took sixth place despite struggling in the earlier parts of qualifying.

He went out for two runs in Q1 to be sure of making the cut, and then came close to being eliminated in Q2, only just hanging on to 10th at the end of the session.

The Red Bulls will start seventh and eighth, with Mark Webber ahead despite being slowed on his first Q3 lap when Trulli had a spin in his path at the 180 corner.

Timo Glock was the final Q3 qualifier in the second Toyota, and will start ninth.

Nick Heidfeld's qualifying difficulties continued, despite the BMW driver's pre-event optimism. The German was just 0.063 seconds slower than teammate Kubica in Q2, but that was the crucial difference between 10th and 12th places.

Despite topping final practice, Renault's Nelson Piquet was edged out of the Q3 positions when Coulthard made a last-gasp improvement at the end of Q2. That left Piquet back in 11th, as the Brazilian missed the Q3 cut by a scant 0.047 seconds.

Toro Rosso looked set to produce an upset after Sebastian Vettel's rapid practice times, but in qualifying the German was only able to take 13th, one place and 0.2 seconds better than teammate Sebastien Bourdais, who will start his first ever home GP from his best grid position yet.

Nico Rosberg could only manage 15th place for Williams, and will fall to the back when the penalty for his involvement in the Montreal pitlane crash is applied. His teammate Kazuki Nakajima was knocked out in Q1, where he was just 16th quickest.

The Hondas and Force Indias were slowest of all. Honda's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have lacked speed all weekend and will start 16th and 17th once Rosberg's penalty is applied, while the Force India duo trailed the field by some margin, with 19th fastest Giancarlo Fisichella over 0.6 seconds slower even than the struggling Hondas.

Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:15.133 1:15.161 1:16.449 16
2. Massa Ferrari 1:15.024 1:15.041 1:16.490 17
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.634 1:15.293 1:16.693 15
4. Alonso Renault 1:15.754 1:15.483 1:16.840 18
5. Trulli Toyota 1:15.521 1:15.362 1:16.920 19
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.965 1:15.639 1:16.944 18
7. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:15.687 1:15.723 1:17.037 19
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:16.020 1:15.488 1:17.233 18
9. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:15.802 1:15.654 1:17.426 19
10. Glock Toyota 1:15.727 1:15.558 1:17.596 24
11. Piquet Renault 1:15.848 1:15.770 12
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:16.006 1:15.786 14
13. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:15.918 1:15.816 17
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.072 1:16.045 17
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:16.085 1:16.235 12
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:16.243 9
17. Button Honda 1:16.306 9
18. Barrichello Honda 1:16.330 6
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:16.971 10
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:17.053 9


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