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The waiting is finally over and the F1 season starts today with the first race being in Bahrain. It promises to be an electric season with the return of 7 times world champ Schumacher.
Another major change for 2010 is no refueling. Cars only pit for tyres so the race should get faster as it draws to a conclusion..
Qualifying starts today at 11am and is televised by BBC1.
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
Formula 1
Another major change for 2010 is no refueling. Cars only pit for tyres so the race should get faster as it draws to a conclusion..
Qualifying starts today at 11am and is televised by BBC1.
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
Formula 1
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Bahrain Grand Prix
QualifyingLast updated: 13 Mar 2010 13:09 UK
PositionCountryDriverQualifying Time
1 Germany S Vettel1:54.101
2 Brazil Link Removed1:54.242
3 Spain F Alonso1:54.608
4 Great britain L Hamilton1:55.217
5 Germany N Rosberg1:55.241
6 Australia M Webber1:55.284
7 Germany M Schumacher1:55.524
8 Great britain J Button1:55.672
9 Poland R Kubica1:55.885
10 Germany A Sutil1:56.309
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will start the first race of 2010 from pole after edging the Ferraris in Bahrain.
Vettel's final qualifying lap of one minute 54.101 seconds beat Felipe Massa by 0.141secs, with the second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in third.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was fourth with Nico Rosberg fifth, two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher in his comeback race.
World champion Jenson Button placed down in eighth in the second McLaren.
Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber was sixth, with Renault's Robert Kubica ninth and Adrian Sutil 10th for Force India.
Schumacher is racing for the first time in three years after deciding to return with the Mercedes team, who won last year's world titles in their previous guise as Brawn.
But it has been apparent in Bahrain that he is lagging a little behind Rosberg on one-lap pace - the German legend admitted after practice on Friday that he was "rusty".
However, team insiders expect him to be competitive in the race - an impression backed up by an analysis of lap times in practice.
"It's a little bit different for me," said Schumacher.
"The time I had available to get onto the peak of what the car can do was not very big, but we are working well together and the season is a long one."
Rosberg said he was "not quite happy" with his performance, adding: "I was hoping for pole, I was convinced I could do that.
"But it was so difficult out there with the tyres. One mistake and your tyres were gone."
The relative lack of pace of the McLaren was a major surprise.
The car had looked quick throughout pre-season testing, and in practice on Friday, and it has been criticised by rival teams for employing a design feature that some believe is illegal.
But Hamilton and Button were off the pace in qualifying - Hamilton finishing 1.116secs behind Vettel in the final session.
Hamilton said: "I was surprised with that result. We don't have the same pace as Red Bull and Ferrari, so I am overwhelmed with fourth and there are a lot of quick guys behind me.
"It's a great starting point. Hopefully we can keep the position on Sunday and maybe even make up another place."
Asked where McLaren were struggling, Hamilton said: "It's downforce - we are weak in the middle section where we lose about a second.
"The guys are working on that back in the factory, though."
Button added: "It was getting better every run but I did struggle with front locking this afternoon.
Schumacher was outclassed by junior team-mate Rosberg in qualifying
"Something felt wrong through qualifying so we are going to have a look at that."
The Red Bull has looked quick in low-fuel qualifying trim all weekend, but it is believed the team are less competitive over a race distance.
Red Bull have been struggling with tyre wear, whereas the Ferrari drivers have been very impressive during the race simulation run.
Vettel said: "We don't know what will happen tomorrow. It could be very exciting, could be very boring.
"You need to take care of your tyres and the question mark is what you do with your strategy."
Massa's second place was a surprise after Alonso seemed to have the edge on the Brazilian all weekend.
But the Brazilian beat the double world champion by more than 0.3 seconds when it mattered.
Alonso said his lap was "not perfect" and team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed that he had made a mistake on his final lap.
Alonso added: "With such a long lap and the conditions we are facing, it is very difficult to complete a lap with no mistakes, or no problems.
"The times are really related to how good the lap is, as well as the competitiveness of the car."
Massa is driving in his first race since suffering a fractured skull in a crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last July.
He said: "It is very nice to be back here, competitive and with a good direction.
"I feel really happy to be back after such a difficult time."
Eleventh-placed Williams driver Rubens Barrichello has a potential advantage over some of the drivers in the top 10, who must start the race on the tyres with which they set their qualifying time.
Barrichello and all those behind him, by contrast, can choose their starting tyres and may plump for the harder tyre, which is less effective over one lap but more durable over a race stint.
Sutil was the only driver in the top 10 to use the harder of the two tyre options.
The Sauber team did not live up to the pace they showed in pre-season testing, with Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi lining up 14th and 16th.
As expected, the new teams were a long way off the pace, although the Virgin and Lotus teams were closely matched.
Virgin driver Timo Glock narrowly won that private battle with a lap 0.124secs quicker than his former Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli in the Lotus.
Trulli's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was nearly half a second behind the Italian. Brazilian rookie Lucas di Grassi was 0.8secs slower than team-mate Glock.
The Hispania team, whose car had not turned a wheel before arriving in Bahrain, brought up the rear.
Bruno Senna was 3.5secs slower than Glock - and more than eight behind first session pace-setter Alonso.
The Brazilian's team-mate, Karun Chandhok finally got some running after being forced to sit out all three practice sessions because of car problems.
The Indian managed a creditable time, 1.7secs behind his team-mate.
BBC Sport - F1 - Sebastian Vettel beats Ferraris to Bahrain pole
QualifyingLast updated: 13 Mar 2010 13:09 UK
PositionCountryDriverQualifying Time
1 Germany S Vettel1:54.101
2 Brazil Link Removed1:54.242
3 Spain F Alonso1:54.608
4 Great britain L Hamilton1:55.217
5 Germany N Rosberg1:55.241
6 Australia M Webber1:55.284
7 Germany M Schumacher1:55.524
8 Great britain J Button1:55.672
9 Poland R Kubica1:55.885
10 Germany A Sutil1:56.309
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel will start the first race of 2010 from pole after edging the Ferraris in Bahrain.
Vettel's final qualifying lap of one minute 54.101 seconds beat Felipe Massa by 0.141secs, with the second Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in third.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was fourth with Nico Rosberg fifth, two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher in his comeback race.
World champion Jenson Button placed down in eighth in the second McLaren.
Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber was sixth, with Renault's Robert Kubica ninth and Adrian Sutil 10th for Force India.
Schumacher is racing for the first time in three years after deciding to return with the Mercedes team, who won last year's world titles in their previous guise as Brawn.
But it has been apparent in Bahrain that he is lagging a little behind Rosberg on one-lap pace - the German legend admitted after practice on Friday that he was "rusty".
However, team insiders expect him to be competitive in the race - an impression backed up by an analysis of lap times in practice.
"It's a little bit different for me," said Schumacher.
"The time I had available to get onto the peak of what the car can do was not very big, but we are working well together and the season is a long one."
Rosberg said he was "not quite happy" with his performance, adding: "I was hoping for pole, I was convinced I could do that.
"But it was so difficult out there with the tyres. One mistake and your tyres were gone."
The relative lack of pace of the McLaren was a major surprise.
The car had looked quick throughout pre-season testing, and in practice on Friday, and it has been criticised by rival teams for employing a design feature that some believe is illegal.
But Hamilton and Button were off the pace in qualifying - Hamilton finishing 1.116secs behind Vettel in the final session.
Hamilton said: "I was surprised with that result. We don't have the same pace as Red Bull and Ferrari, so I am overwhelmed with fourth and there are a lot of quick guys behind me.
"It's a great starting point. Hopefully we can keep the position on Sunday and maybe even make up another place."
Asked where McLaren were struggling, Hamilton said: "It's downforce - we are weak in the middle section where we lose about a second.
"The guys are working on that back in the factory, though."
Button added: "It was getting better every run but I did struggle with front locking this afternoon.
Schumacher was outclassed by junior team-mate Rosberg in qualifying
"Something felt wrong through qualifying so we are going to have a look at that."
The Red Bull has looked quick in low-fuel qualifying trim all weekend, but it is believed the team are less competitive over a race distance.
Red Bull have been struggling with tyre wear, whereas the Ferrari drivers have been very impressive during the race simulation run.
Vettel said: "We don't know what will happen tomorrow. It could be very exciting, could be very boring.
"You need to take care of your tyres and the question mark is what you do with your strategy."
Massa's second place was a surprise after Alonso seemed to have the edge on the Brazilian all weekend.
But the Brazilian beat the double world champion by more than 0.3 seconds when it mattered.
Alonso said his lap was "not perfect" and team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed that he had made a mistake on his final lap.
Alonso added: "With such a long lap and the conditions we are facing, it is very difficult to complete a lap with no mistakes, or no problems.
"The times are really related to how good the lap is, as well as the competitiveness of the car."
Massa is driving in his first race since suffering a fractured skull in a crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last July.
He said: "It is very nice to be back here, competitive and with a good direction.
"I feel really happy to be back after such a difficult time."
Eleventh-placed Williams driver Rubens Barrichello has a potential advantage over some of the drivers in the top 10, who must start the race on the tyres with which they set their qualifying time.
Barrichello and all those behind him, by contrast, can choose their starting tyres and may plump for the harder tyre, which is less effective over one lap but more durable over a race stint.
Sutil was the only driver in the top 10 to use the harder of the two tyre options.
The Sauber team did not live up to the pace they showed in pre-season testing, with Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi lining up 14th and 16th.
As expected, the new teams were a long way off the pace, although the Virgin and Lotus teams were closely matched.
Virgin driver Timo Glock narrowly won that private battle with a lap 0.124secs quicker than his former Toyota team-mate Jarno Trulli in the Lotus.
Trulli's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen was nearly half a second behind the Italian. Brazilian rookie Lucas di Grassi was 0.8secs slower than team-mate Glock.
The Hispania team, whose car had not turned a wheel before arriving in Bahrain, brought up the rear.
Bruno Senna was 3.5secs slower than Glock - and more than eight behind first session pace-setter Alonso.
The Brazilian's team-mate, Karun Chandhok finally got some running after being forced to sit out all three practice sessions because of car problems.
The Indian managed a creditable time, 1.7secs behind his team-mate.
BBC Sport - F1 - Sebastian Vettel beats Ferraris to Bahrain pole
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Jenson Button won an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix after the leading Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel slid out of the race with brake failure. An early swap to dry-weather slick tyres proved crucial in a race dominated by changing weather, crashes and breathtaking racing.
Vettel's lead looked secure until his mid-race problem allowed Button in.
A stubborn Robert Kubica claimed second for Renault, holding off the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.
Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was challenging Alonso for fourth in the closing stages but finished up sixth after a collision with the Red Bull of Mark Webber.
The Australian clattered into the back of Hamilton's car when he misjudged his braking as Hamilton pulled out of an attempt to pass the Ferrari.
Hamilton was fighting back after a decision by McLaren to bring him in mid-race to fit new tyres.
It made Hamilton much faster than those in front of him, who were still on the tyres they had fitted in the early laps as the track dried following a wet start. But he was frustrated in his attempts to pass and blamed his team for making a mistake on strategy.
"It was one drives of my life," Hamilton said. "Unfortunately due to the strategy I got put back and then I drove my heart out today and I think I deserved better. Everyone else in front of me did one stop and I did two."
In a sign of the drama to come, positions at the front of the pack were immediately jumbled into the first corner, with Massa making the biggest gain as he took advantage of the dry side of the track to pick his way up from seventh from second.
Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso made a slow start from third on the grid and tangled with Button at the first corner, while Hamilton moved up to seventh from 11th and Vettel kept clear of the raging battle behind him.
BMW Sauber's Kamui Koybayashi slid across the track without his front wing to take out Williams Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi, further depleting the field and prompting an early appearance from the safety car.
Michael Schumacher took the chance to scurry back down the pits with sparks trailing from his front wing, damaged in the incident between Alonso and Button, but the race's crucial strategic decision was soon to follow from Button.
The defending world champion had seen Hamilton sweep past and into sixth but more than made back the ground by stopping for dry-weather tyres on lap six.
Despite slipping off the track as he emerged from the pits, Button's decision was vindicated as he took more than two seconds off previous fastest lap by Vettel and moved into second as the rest of the field pulled into the pits a lap later.
As Button chased up on Vettel, team-mate Hamilton was unable to take such an advantage due to pit-lane traffic and was drawn into an engrossing four-way battle for fifth.
The 2008 world champion saw Webber slide wide in front of him, before stalking down Massa and slipping past Rosberg with a daring move on the turn 11 of lap 23.
Vettel's failure to convert pole position in the season-opener in Bahrain recurred as he ploughed straight into the gravel after a brake failure on turn 13 and, with clear track in front of him, Button soon prised open a 12-second lead over Robert Kubica in second.
Hamilton fell to fifth as he took new tyres on lap 34 and, like Button, it appeared the decision may pay off as he closed in on Alonso towards the end.
The Ferrari driver had seen his rival looming after a sustained period, toiling behind team-mate Massa as the Brazilian struggled to get close enough to launch a strike at Kubica.
But Hamilton was ultimately fortunate to finish the race after his aborted pass was swiftly followed by a significant shunt from Webber
BBC Sport - F1 - Jenson Button wins dramatic Australian Grand Prix
Vettel's lead looked secure until his mid-race problem allowed Button in.
A stubborn Robert Kubica claimed second for Renault, holding off the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.
Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton was challenging Alonso for fourth in the closing stages but finished up sixth after a collision with the Red Bull of Mark Webber.
The Australian clattered into the back of Hamilton's car when he misjudged his braking as Hamilton pulled out of an attempt to pass the Ferrari.
Hamilton was fighting back after a decision by McLaren to bring him in mid-race to fit new tyres.
It made Hamilton much faster than those in front of him, who were still on the tyres they had fitted in the early laps as the track dried following a wet start. But he was frustrated in his attempts to pass and blamed his team for making a mistake on strategy.
"It was one drives of my life," Hamilton said. "Unfortunately due to the strategy I got put back and then I drove my heart out today and I think I deserved better. Everyone else in front of me did one stop and I did two."
In a sign of the drama to come, positions at the front of the pack were immediately jumbled into the first corner, with Massa making the biggest gain as he took advantage of the dry side of the track to pick his way up from seventh from second.
Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso made a slow start from third on the grid and tangled with Button at the first corner, while Hamilton moved up to seventh from 11th and Vettel kept clear of the raging battle behind him.
BMW Sauber's Kamui Koybayashi slid across the track without his front wing to take out Williams Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi, further depleting the field and prompting an early appearance from the safety car.
Michael Schumacher took the chance to scurry back down the pits with sparks trailing from his front wing, damaged in the incident between Alonso and Button, but the race's crucial strategic decision was soon to follow from Button.
The defending world champion had seen Hamilton sweep past and into sixth but more than made back the ground by stopping for dry-weather tyres on lap six.
Despite slipping off the track as he emerged from the pits, Button's decision was vindicated as he took more than two seconds off previous fastest lap by Vettel and moved into second as the rest of the field pulled into the pits a lap later.
As Button chased up on Vettel, team-mate Hamilton was unable to take such an advantage due to pit-lane traffic and was drawn into an engrossing four-way battle for fifth.
The 2008 world champion saw Webber slide wide in front of him, before stalking down Massa and slipping past Rosberg with a daring move on the turn 11 of lap 23.
Vettel's failure to convert pole position in the season-opener in Bahrain recurred as he ploughed straight into the gravel after a brake failure on turn 13 and, with clear track in front of him, Button soon prised open a 12-second lead over Robert Kubica in second.
Hamilton fell to fifth as he took new tyres on lap 34 and, like Button, it appeared the decision may pay off as he closed in on Alonso towards the end.
The Ferrari driver had seen his rival looming after a sustained period, toiling behind team-mate Massa as the Brazilian struggled to get close enough to launch a strike at Kubica.
But Hamilton was ultimately fortunate to finish the race after his aborted pass was swiftly followed by a significant shunt from Webber
BBC Sport - F1 - Jenson Button wins dramatic Australian Grand Prix
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Qualifying - Webber weathers Sepang storm
Link Removed Link Removed Link Removed Link Removed Link Removed
A heavy shower just before qualifying set the scene for a very jumbled grid for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, eliminating both Ferraris and, effectively, both McLarens in Q1. In the end it was Red Bull’s Mark Webber who went some way towards making amends for his incident-laden race in Australia by taking pole position by 1.3s from Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg, after the Q3 session had been delayed because of heavy rain.
Webber gambled on intermediate Bridgestone tyres and lapped in 1m 49.327s to throw the position well beyond doubt, as Rosberg’s best lap on full-wet tyres was 1m 50.673s. Behind him, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel lined up third with 1m 50.789s, also on full-wets, with Adrian Sutil a strong fourth for Force India on the same rubber with 1m 50.914s.
There were some large gaps between drivers in the same teams in Q3, suggesting that some teams may have opted for different set-ups to hedge their bets against wet or dry conditions on Sunday.
Fifth place fell to Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg, who went round in 1m 51.001s ahead of Robert Kubica in the Renault on 1m 51.051s. Rubens Barrichello made it a good day for Williams with the seventh best time of 1m 51.511s, with Michael Schumacher eighth on 1m 51.717s in the second Mercedes. Kamui Kobayashi gave BMW Sauber something to cheer with ninth fastest time of 1m 51.767s, and Vitantonio Liuzzi made it two Force Indias in the top 10 with 1m 52.254s. Webber was the only driver not on full wets.
Vettel had set the pace with 1m 46.828s in Q2, where drivers started out on wets but then switched to inters. The final sector resolutely refused to dry out, however, making life very difficult.
Vitaly Petrov showed well initially for Renault, at one stage setting the fastest time, but his 1m 48.760s ultimately left him 11th. Then came BMW Sauber spinner Pedro de la Rosa on 1m 48.771s, the Toro Rossos of Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari on 1m 49.207s and 1m 49.464s respectively, Heikki Kovalainen on 1m 52.270s and Timo Glock on 1m 52.520s. Thus Lotus won the new teams’ qualifying battle to take their best position so far of 15th, with Virgin taking theirs with 16th.
Button will start 17th, but he did not take part in the session after spinning off in Q1, so relies on the 1m 52.211s lap from that session.
The big news of Q1 was the fall of McLaren and Ferrari, and Glock and Kovalainen getting through for Virgin and Lotus. The two big teams simply left it too late to get their drivers out before the rain worsened. Kubica had set the pace with 1m 46.283s before the rain increased, and suddenly there were the two McLarens spinning and the Ferraris struggling, all of them on intermediates. Mercedes led the switch to full wets, but by the time McLaren followed suit with Hamilton, Button had already beached his MP4-25 in the treacherous Turn Six gravel. Hamilton pared down to 1m 53.050s, but Fernando Alonso had done a 1m 53.044s to pip him despite two lurid 180-degree spins.
In the end it was Lotus’s Jarno Trulli who was the first to miss the cut, with 1m 52.884s, then Alonso and Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who was stranded on 1m 53.283s after spinning in the first sector. HRT lost a big opportunity too. Karun Chandhok was 22nd on 1m 56.299s ahead of team mate Bruno Senna who went off for good in Turn Six after recording 1m 57.269s. Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi was last, with 1m 59.977s.
It was, as Vettel said, a chaotic session, but with so many quick runners down the back, and the prospect of rain at some stage on Sunday, an exciting Grand Prix is highly likely.
Link Removed due to 404 Error
Race starts 9.00am Sunday. Coverage starts 8.00am BBC1 or to watch online visit: BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
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A heavy shower just before qualifying set the scene for a very jumbled grid for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, eliminating both Ferraris and, effectively, both McLarens in Q1. In the end it was Red Bull’s Mark Webber who went some way towards making amends for his incident-laden race in Australia by taking pole position by 1.3s from Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg, after the Q3 session had been delayed because of heavy rain.
Webber gambled on intermediate Bridgestone tyres and lapped in 1m 49.327s to throw the position well beyond doubt, as Rosberg’s best lap on full-wet tyres was 1m 50.673s. Behind him, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel lined up third with 1m 50.789s, also on full-wets, with Adrian Sutil a strong fourth for Force India on the same rubber with 1m 50.914s.
There were some large gaps between drivers in the same teams in Q3, suggesting that some teams may have opted for different set-ups to hedge their bets against wet or dry conditions on Sunday.
Fifth place fell to Williams rookie Nico Hulkenberg, who went round in 1m 51.001s ahead of Robert Kubica in the Renault on 1m 51.051s. Rubens Barrichello made it a good day for Williams with the seventh best time of 1m 51.511s, with Michael Schumacher eighth on 1m 51.717s in the second Mercedes. Kamui Kobayashi gave BMW Sauber something to cheer with ninth fastest time of 1m 51.767s, and Vitantonio Liuzzi made it two Force Indias in the top 10 with 1m 52.254s. Webber was the only driver not on full wets.
Vettel had set the pace with 1m 46.828s in Q2, where drivers started out on wets but then switched to inters. The final sector resolutely refused to dry out, however, making life very difficult.
Vitaly Petrov showed well initially for Renault, at one stage setting the fastest time, but his 1m 48.760s ultimately left him 11th. Then came BMW Sauber spinner Pedro de la Rosa on 1m 48.771s, the Toro Rossos of Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari on 1m 49.207s and 1m 49.464s respectively, Heikki Kovalainen on 1m 52.270s and Timo Glock on 1m 52.520s. Thus Lotus won the new teams’ qualifying battle to take their best position so far of 15th, with Virgin taking theirs with 16th.
Button will start 17th, but he did not take part in the session after spinning off in Q1, so relies on the 1m 52.211s lap from that session.
The big news of Q1 was the fall of McLaren and Ferrari, and Glock and Kovalainen getting through for Virgin and Lotus. The two big teams simply left it too late to get their drivers out before the rain worsened. Kubica had set the pace with 1m 46.283s before the rain increased, and suddenly there were the two McLarens spinning and the Ferraris struggling, all of them on intermediates. Mercedes led the switch to full wets, but by the time McLaren followed suit with Hamilton, Button had already beached his MP4-25 in the treacherous Turn Six gravel. Hamilton pared down to 1m 53.050s, but Fernando Alonso had done a 1m 53.044s to pip him despite two lurid 180-degree spins.
In the end it was Lotus’s Jarno Trulli who was the first to miss the cut, with 1m 52.884s, then Alonso and Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who was stranded on 1m 53.283s after spinning in the first sector. HRT lost a big opportunity too. Karun Chandhok was 22nd on 1m 56.299s ahead of team mate Bruno Senna who went off for good in Turn Six after recording 1m 57.269s. Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi was last, with 1m 59.977s.
It was, as Vettel said, a chaotic session, but with so many quick runners down the back, and the prospect of rain at some stage on Sunday, an exciting Grand Prix is highly likely.
Link Removed due to 404 Error
Race starts 9.00am Sunday. Coverage starts 8.00am BBC1 or to watch online visit: BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
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1 germanyS Vettel1:33:48.412
2 australiaM Webber1:33:53.261
3 germanyN Rosberg1:34:01.916
4 polandR Kubica1:34:07.001
5 germanyA Sutil1:34:09.471
6 great britainL Hamilton1:34:11.883
7 brazilLink Removed1:34:15.480
8 great britainJ Button1:34:26.330
9 spainJ Alguersuari1:34:59.014
10 germanyN Hulkenberg1:35:01.811
Above are the results from yesterdays race. To see a 90 second version of the race go here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
2 australiaM Webber1:33:53.261
3 germanyN Rosberg1:34:01.916
4 polandR Kubica1:34:07.001
5 germanyA Sutil1:34:09.471
6 great britainL Hamilton1:34:11.883
7 brazilLink Removed1:34:15.480
8 great britainJ Button1:34:26.330
9 spainJ Alguersuari1:34:59.014
10 germanyN Hulkenberg1:35:01.811
Above are the results from yesterdays race. To see a 90 second version of the race go here:
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This weekend see's the return to Europe for the F1 teams with many cars receiving new updates..
Qualifying, as usual, will be held today and further info, as well as coverage, can be found here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
I'll post the results later...
Go Button Go!
Qualifying, as usual, will be held today and further info, as well as coverage, can be found here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
I'll post the results later...
Go Button Go!
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Mark Webber took a dominant victory for Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix as McLaren's Lewis Hamilton lost second place in a dramatic finish. Webber led from pole to flag, but Hamilton had out-raced Sebastian Vettel in the other Red Bull before a puncture forced the Englishman out.
That promoted Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to second, ahead of Vettel, who also hit trouble in the closing stages.
Mercedes's Michael Schumacher was fourth from Jenson Button's McLaren.
Vettel looked to have lost third place when he ran into problems in the closing laps.
The German came into the pits after running off the track with 12 laps to go following a brake failure, and when he rejoined, he was warned by his team that the problem was "critical" and that he needed to nurse his car to the finish.
"The lap after [the pit stop] I got the call to come in and retire and I said is there no way to continue?" said the 22-year-old.
"I wanted to stay out and try to get some points, I was thinking two or three, but in the end I finished on the podium, so I think, like it or not, it was a very lucky day."
Felipe Massa's Ferrari took sixth, just over a second behind Button, while Force India's Adrian Sutil held off the Renault of Robert Kubica for seventh.
Rubens Barrichello was ninth for Williams after driving a superb first lap to jump up from 17th on the grid to 12th, with Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari promoted to 10th by Hamilton's misfortune.
The result has tightened an already close championship battle.
Button retains his lead, but it has been cut to just three points by Alonso, who jumps from third to second.
Vettel is 10 points adrift of Button in third place, and a further seven ahead of Webber.
Hamilton, who would have been just a point behind Button if he had finished second, is sixth, 21 points off the lead.
McLaren said after the race that they thought his left-front puncture had been caused by debris on the track first damaging the wheel.
Webber was untouchable after a few nervous moments at the start, when had to fight off challenges from Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso into the first corner.
Hamilton and Alonso used their wing-stalling aerodynamic devices to close up on the Red Bulls into the first corner, but they were unable to gain any positions, and they slotted into third and fourth places for the first stage of the race.
Webber settled down to make the race his own, able to pump out fastest laps at will before easing off to ensure there were no problems with his car.
"I'm absolutely rapt," said the Australian. "We knew it was a long run to the first corner here.
"It was a very important part of the race to get out of Turn One still in the lead, it was pretty tight, and then just settle into a rhythm. We just controlled the gap really."
Vettel was unable to match his team-mate's pace. He was four seconds behind Webber when he made his pit stop on lap 16, a lap before the Australian and Hamilton.
Usually, stopping earlier is an advantage, as it gives a driver an extra lap on quicker, new tyres.
But Vettel was delayed by a problem with a front wheel nut and Hamilton, who had been 2.5secs behind Vettel when he stopped, actually came out of the pits as Vettel was coming down the pit straight.
They headed into the first corner side-by-side, with Hamilton inside Vettel, but still having to go around the outside of the Virgin of Lucas di Grassi, who was trying to stay out of the way.
As Vettel was forced to take to the run-off area, Hamilton swooped around him into second place.
Given Webber's pace, and the close-to-one-second advantage the Red Bulls had in qualifying, Vettel might have been expected to challenge Hamilton.
But the Englishman was able to build a lead of a couple of seconds and maintain it.
Vettel said: "A lot of things went wrong. I was not quick enough. I struggled a lot with the balance of the car.
"Then I think we came in too early, probably expecting Lewis to come in on the same lap but it didn't work out that way.
"It was very close with Lewis, there was no way to avoid contact and I went wide.
"Then surprisingly I had a brake failure and went off in Turn Seven, and was just lucky in the end to bring the car home."
The pit stops were also costly for Button, who ran fifth in the early laps. and a problem with his left-front wheel dropped him behind Schumacher.
The veteran German was considerably slower than Button but, try as he might, the world champion was unable to find a way by, despite his straight-line speed advantage, as the two were dropped by the top four by as much as a second a lap.
After several laps of Button applying intense pressure, and Schumacher using all his guile to hold the Englishman back, the seven-time champion was able to squeeze out a small advantage and secure his position.
Spaniard Alonso said: "It was a fantastic weekend for us, some unexpected positions. But we saw we need to improve the car.
"Sometimes we will be third, sometimes we will be fifth, sometimes we will be first. As long as we do 100% each time we can be satisfied, so we have to be happy with this race."
BBC Sport - F1 - Mark Webber wins in Spain but Lewis Hamilton crashes out
That promoted Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to second, ahead of Vettel, who also hit trouble in the closing stages.
Mercedes's Michael Schumacher was fourth from Jenson Button's McLaren.
Vettel looked to have lost third place when he ran into problems in the closing laps.
The German came into the pits after running off the track with 12 laps to go following a brake failure, and when he rejoined, he was warned by his team that the problem was "critical" and that he needed to nurse his car to the finish.
"The lap after [the pit stop] I got the call to come in and retire and I said is there no way to continue?" said the 22-year-old.
"I wanted to stay out and try to get some points, I was thinking two or three, but in the end I finished on the podium, so I think, like it or not, it was a very lucky day."
Felipe Massa's Ferrari took sixth, just over a second behind Button, while Force India's Adrian Sutil held off the Renault of Robert Kubica for seventh.
Rubens Barrichello was ninth for Williams after driving a superb first lap to jump up from 17th on the grid to 12th, with Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari promoted to 10th by Hamilton's misfortune.
The result has tightened an already close championship battle.
Button retains his lead, but it has been cut to just three points by Alonso, who jumps from third to second.
Vettel is 10 points adrift of Button in third place, and a further seven ahead of Webber.
Hamilton, who would have been just a point behind Button if he had finished second, is sixth, 21 points off the lead.
McLaren said after the race that they thought his left-front puncture had been caused by debris on the track first damaging the wheel.
Webber was untouchable after a few nervous moments at the start, when had to fight off challenges from Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso into the first corner.
Hamilton and Alonso used their wing-stalling aerodynamic devices to close up on the Red Bulls into the first corner, but they were unable to gain any positions, and they slotted into third and fourth places for the first stage of the race.
Webber settled down to make the race his own, able to pump out fastest laps at will before easing off to ensure there were no problems with his car.
"I'm absolutely rapt," said the Australian. "We knew it was a long run to the first corner here.
"It was a very important part of the race to get out of Turn One still in the lead, it was pretty tight, and then just settle into a rhythm. We just controlled the gap really."
Vettel was unable to match his team-mate's pace. He was four seconds behind Webber when he made his pit stop on lap 16, a lap before the Australian and Hamilton.
Usually, stopping earlier is an advantage, as it gives a driver an extra lap on quicker, new tyres.
But Vettel was delayed by a problem with a front wheel nut and Hamilton, who had been 2.5secs behind Vettel when he stopped, actually came out of the pits as Vettel was coming down the pit straight.
They headed into the first corner side-by-side, with Hamilton inside Vettel, but still having to go around the outside of the Virgin of Lucas di Grassi, who was trying to stay out of the way.
As Vettel was forced to take to the run-off area, Hamilton swooped around him into second place.
Given Webber's pace, and the close-to-one-second advantage the Red Bulls had in qualifying, Vettel might have been expected to challenge Hamilton.
But the Englishman was able to build a lead of a couple of seconds and maintain it.
Vettel said: "A lot of things went wrong. I was not quick enough. I struggled a lot with the balance of the car.
"Then I think we came in too early, probably expecting Lewis to come in on the same lap but it didn't work out that way.
"It was very close with Lewis, there was no way to avoid contact and I went wide.
"Then surprisingly I had a brake failure and went off in Turn Seven, and was just lucky in the end to bring the car home."
The pit stops were also costly for Button, who ran fifth in the early laps. and a problem with his left-front wheel dropped him behind Schumacher.
The veteran German was considerably slower than Button but, try as he might, the world champion was unable to find a way by, despite his straight-line speed advantage, as the two were dropped by the top four by as much as a second a lap.
After several laps of Button applying intense pressure, and Schumacher using all his guile to hold the Englishman back, the seven-time champion was able to squeeze out a small advantage and secure his position.
Spaniard Alonso said: "It was a fantastic weekend for us, some unexpected positions. But we saw we need to improve the car.
"Sometimes we will be third, sometimes we will be fifth, sometimes we will be first. As long as we do 100% each time we can be satisfied, so we have to be happy with this race."
BBC Sport - F1 - Mark Webber wins in Spain but Lewis Hamilton crashes out
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Red Bull's Mark Webber produced a superb display in qualifying to snatch pole position from Renault's Robert Kubica in Monaco. The Australian's time of one minute 13.826 seconds edged out Kubica, who had earlier set an impressive 1:14.104.
Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third, just ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
Nico Rosberg claimed sixth place on the grid, ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher, with Jenson Button eighth.
Williams' Rubens Barrichello and Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi rounded out the top 10.
One notable absentee from qualifying was Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who crashed into the barriers at Massenet during final practice on Saturday morning, causing such severe damage to his chassis that he was unable to take part and will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid in the spare car.
In his team-mate's absence Felipe Massa produced one of his strongest qualifying displays of the season, setting the initial pace in the first part of qualifying before ultimately taking fourth with a time of 1:14.283.
Once again, though, Red Bull have come out on top, continuing their record of being on pole for every one of this season's six races, with Webber taking his third.
"It was a bit of a blur to be honest," said the 33-year-old. "I told the team it was all about lap three and four.
"It all came together in that lap, the car was a pleasure to drive and I am delighted because the guys have worked really hard.
"To get pole at Monaco is obviously a great feeling so I am really pleased."
Kubica had been fastest in Saturday morning's final practice and his performance in qualifying was comfortably his best of the season, improving on his previous best of sixth at Malaysia.
In the space of two flying laps he firstly recorded a time of 1:14.284 and then improving it by 0.280secs to seemingly claim only his second pole, after Bahrain in 2008. But Webber then pipped him in the final two minutes of the session with two laps that were good enough for pole.
"If the same car [Red Bull] was half a second quicker at Barcelona, there was no reason why we should have qualified in front of them," said the 25-year-old.
"I was very surprised with our pace in practice and qualifying, but miracles don't happen from one day to the next.
"All in all when you are so close, you have to be realistic, and it was a great day for Renault.
"So I'm not disappointed. For myself and the team, it's a great day, a great achievement."
Vettel, with three poles himself this season recorded a fastest lap time of 1:14.227 to take his place in the second row.
Monaco's short, tight circuit ensured that many of the drivers in the third part of qualifying remained competitive and Hamilton (1:14.432), Rosberg (1:14.544) and Schumacher (1:14.590) all posted good times.
However, they, like many of the drivers suffered from traffic, which contributed to clear moments of frustration even if they were not as calamitous as had been feared before the race.
While the talk in the build-up had been all about the new teams' cars blocking the top drivers in the first session, the biggest complaints came after the top-10 shoot-out.
The most notable involved Button and Massa, with the latter slowing down into Anthony Noghes and disrupting the reigning Monaco champions flying lap.
"I don't know what Massa was thinking during Q3," said Button.
"There are only 10 cars out there so it should be easy to stay out of each others way but he was clearly blocking me."
Massa played down the incident, saying: "It was at the beginning of the run, there was a car in front of me that backed off, so I backed off. It's like I lost my last run. These things can happen. Nothing you can do."
Button only just scraped into third qualifying but rallied to post a fastest time of 1:14.637.
"In Q1, the car felt good on harder tyres but we didn't run them in Q3 which might have been a better option. I struggled a lot of movement at high speed in the rear and at the front on the apex," said Button.
Liuzzi was the only real surprise, recording a time of 1:15.170 to match his 10th place start in China.
The Italian narrowly edged out Williams Nico Hulkenburg by 0.217secs, who himself was just 0.001secs ahead of Force India's Adrian Sutil.
Toro Rosso pair Sebastien Buemi (1:15.413) and Jaime Alguesari (1:16.176) will start 13th and 17th.
Kubica's team-mate Vitaly Petrov (1:15.576) is 14th, while Sauber duo Pedro de la Rosa (1:15.692) and Kamui Kobayashi (1:15.992) are 16th and 17th.
With a proposal to split qualifying due to the potential for traffic caused by the pace differential between teams having been ruled out last week, 23 cars flooded the track for the first 20 minutes.
Early on, both Rosberg and Kubica were victims as fast sector one and two times were tarnished with traffic in sector three but there was little to justify the earlier concern.
As expected, the six cars of the three rookie teams, Hispania, Virgin and Lotus were first qualifying's victims, joining Alonso in comprising the bottom seven places on the grid.
Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen was the fastest driver out of the new teams in 18th place.
The Finn spun twice on his final lap, but explained that he was going for broke. He said he already knew he would top the private new teams' battle and was simply chancing his arm in an attempt to bridge the 0.9-second gap to Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber in 17th.
Kovalainen's team-mate Jarno Trulli was 19th, ahead of Virgin pair Timo Glock and Luca di Grassi and Hispania duo Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok.
BBC Sport - F1 - Mark Webber pips Robert Kubica to pole in Monaco
Race starts 12.10 BST and is covered here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel was third, just ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
Nico Rosberg claimed sixth place on the grid, ahead of team-mate Michael Schumacher, with Jenson Button eighth.
Williams' Rubens Barrichello and Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi rounded out the top 10.
One notable absentee from qualifying was Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who crashed into the barriers at Massenet during final practice on Saturday morning, causing such severe damage to his chassis that he was unable to take part and will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid in the spare car.
In his team-mate's absence Felipe Massa produced one of his strongest qualifying displays of the season, setting the initial pace in the first part of qualifying before ultimately taking fourth with a time of 1:14.283.
Once again, though, Red Bull have come out on top, continuing their record of being on pole for every one of this season's six races, with Webber taking his third.
"It was a bit of a blur to be honest," said the 33-year-old. "I told the team it was all about lap three and four.
"It all came together in that lap, the car was a pleasure to drive and I am delighted because the guys have worked really hard.
"To get pole at Monaco is obviously a great feeling so I am really pleased."
Kubica had been fastest in Saturday morning's final practice and his performance in qualifying was comfortably his best of the season, improving on his previous best of sixth at Malaysia.
In the space of two flying laps he firstly recorded a time of 1:14.284 and then improving it by 0.280secs to seemingly claim only his second pole, after Bahrain in 2008. But Webber then pipped him in the final two minutes of the session with two laps that were good enough for pole.
"If the same car [Red Bull] was half a second quicker at Barcelona, there was no reason why we should have qualified in front of them," said the 25-year-old.
"I was very surprised with our pace in practice and qualifying, but miracles don't happen from one day to the next.
"All in all when you are so close, you have to be realistic, and it was a great day for Renault.
"So I'm not disappointed. For myself and the team, it's a great day, a great achievement."
Vettel, with three poles himself this season recorded a fastest lap time of 1:14.227 to take his place in the second row.
Monaco's short, tight circuit ensured that many of the drivers in the third part of qualifying remained competitive and Hamilton (1:14.432), Rosberg (1:14.544) and Schumacher (1:14.590) all posted good times.
However, they, like many of the drivers suffered from traffic, which contributed to clear moments of frustration even if they were not as calamitous as had been feared before the race.
While the talk in the build-up had been all about the new teams' cars blocking the top drivers in the first session, the biggest complaints came after the top-10 shoot-out.
The most notable involved Button and Massa, with the latter slowing down into Anthony Noghes and disrupting the reigning Monaco champions flying lap.
"I don't know what Massa was thinking during Q3," said Button.
"There are only 10 cars out there so it should be easy to stay out of each others way but he was clearly blocking me."
Massa played down the incident, saying: "It was at the beginning of the run, there was a car in front of me that backed off, so I backed off. It's like I lost my last run. These things can happen. Nothing you can do."
Button only just scraped into third qualifying but rallied to post a fastest time of 1:14.637.
"In Q1, the car felt good on harder tyres but we didn't run them in Q3 which might have been a better option. I struggled a lot of movement at high speed in the rear and at the front on the apex," said Button.
Liuzzi was the only real surprise, recording a time of 1:15.170 to match his 10th place start in China.
The Italian narrowly edged out Williams Nico Hulkenburg by 0.217secs, who himself was just 0.001secs ahead of Force India's Adrian Sutil.
Toro Rosso pair Sebastien Buemi (1:15.413) and Jaime Alguesari (1:16.176) will start 13th and 17th.
Kubica's team-mate Vitaly Petrov (1:15.576) is 14th, while Sauber duo Pedro de la Rosa (1:15.692) and Kamui Kobayashi (1:15.992) are 16th and 17th.
With a proposal to split qualifying due to the potential for traffic caused by the pace differential between teams having been ruled out last week, 23 cars flooded the track for the first 20 minutes.
Early on, both Rosberg and Kubica were victims as fast sector one and two times were tarnished with traffic in sector three but there was little to justify the earlier concern.
As expected, the six cars of the three rookie teams, Hispania, Virgin and Lotus were first qualifying's victims, joining Alonso in comprising the bottom seven places on the grid.
Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen was the fastest driver out of the new teams in 18th place.
The Finn spun twice on his final lap, but explained that he was going for broke. He said he already knew he would top the private new teams' battle and was simply chancing his arm in an attempt to bridge the 0.9-second gap to Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber in 17th.
Kovalainen's team-mate Jarno Trulli was 19th, ahead of Virgin pair Timo Glock and Luca di Grassi and Hispania duo Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok.
BBC Sport - F1 - Mark Webber pips Robert Kubica to pole in Monaco
Race starts 12.10 BST and is covered here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
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Monaco GP
Results.. BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
1australiaM Webber1:50:13.355
2germanyS Vettel1:50:1
3.8033polandR Kubica1:50:15.030
4brazilLink Removed1:50:16.021
5great britainL Hamilton1:50:17.718
6spainF Alonso1:50:19.696
7germanyN Rosberg1:50:20.006
8germanyA Sutil1:50:20.325
9italyV Liuzzi1:50:20.66010
Results.. BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
1australiaM Webber1:50:13.355
2germanyS Vettel1:50:1
3.8033polandR Kubica1:50:15.030
4brazilLink Removed1:50:16.021
5great britainL Hamilton1:50:17.718
6spainF Alonso1:50:19.696
7germanyN Rosberg1:50:20.006
8germanyA Sutil1:50:20.325
9italyV Liuzzi1:50:20.66010
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Grub
Well-Known Member
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Let's hope schumi can at least have a penalty free race this time.... Tut tut.
Ha ha ha!
Go Webber.
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Hehe... 
Racing practice can be seen today.. well in about an hours time.. On the site here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
In the second practice Button pipped webber to finish first.. Today is qualifying so results later..
Racing practice can be seen today.. well in about an hours time.. On the site here:
BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
In the second practice Button pipped webber to finish first.. Today is qualifying so results later..
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For qualifying results see here: BBC SPORT | Motorsport | Formula 1
