Italian Grand Prix

Mercedes powered teams had a successful Italian Grand Prix last weekend. Brawn GP managed to secure 1st and 2nd with Rubens Barrichello leading home team mate and world championship leader Jenson Button. The Brawn GP duo were able to turn round a reasonably poor qualifying result (they qualified 5th and 6th respectively) into an impressive, and important result. After Jenson Button's poor finishing record of late the second place he earned settles his nerves and gives him increased confidence as he enters the last 4 races of the season. Meanwhile Barrichello has closed the gap to championship leader Button to 14 points. Brawn GP {link} now lead the team's championship by an impressive 40.5 points.

Force India {link} continued their highly impressive showing at high speed, low downforce circuits with Adrian Sutil claiming 4th overall from 2nd on the grid. This result helped counter the disappointment of seeing Antonio Liuzzi cost to a halt after 22 laps.

McLaren continue to show impressive pace but the race result proved to be quite frustrating. Lewis Hamilton lead the early stages of the Italian Grand Prix after starting on pole position and settled into a comfortable 3rd position once all the fuel stops had finished. Sadly, after giving his all in an attempt to catch and pass Jenson Button for 2nd a driver error resulted in a half spin which saw the MP4-24 slam into the barriers and instant retirement. Heikki Kovalainen qualified 4th and finished 6th which wasn't what he would have hoped for as he battles to justify his position in the McLaren {link} team.

BMW Sauber's fortunes continue to fluctuate and they enter the twilight of their F1 life. After a poor performance in qualifying (Robert Kubica qualified 13th two places in front of Nick Heidfeld) Kubica's race very short and action packed as he and Mark Webber came together and into retirement on the first lap. Heidfeld battled on and finally finished in the points in 7th overall. Neither BMW driver is in the top 10 of the world championship and BMW Sauber {link} are down in 7th in the team's championship, probably not the end the team would want to their Formula 1 experience.

Italian Grand Prix results:~

1. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
3. Raikkonen Ferrari
4. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
5. Alonso Renault
6. Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
8. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
9. Fisichella Ferrari
10. Nakajima Williams / Toyota
11. Glock Toyota
12. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
13. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
14. Trulli Toyota
15. Grosjean Renault
16. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
Retired Liuzzi Force India / Mercedes
Retired Alguersuari Toro Rosso / Ferrari
Retired Kubica BMW Sauber
Retired Webber Red Bull / Renault

Monaco Grand Prix

Jenson Button used Mercedes power to dominate the Monaco Grand Prix in his Brawn GP formula one car. Starting from pole Button claimed an impressive win adding his name to the list of great drivers who have won round the tight and twisty confines of the historic track. Team mate Rubens Barrichello followed Button home in second place capping an excellent race for Brawn GP.
Other Mercedes powered teams were less successful with the McLaren Mercedes team enduring a torrid race weekend which started when Lewis Hamilton crashed in qualifying and ended with Hamilton languishing down in 12th and Heikki Kovalainen retiring after a spin.
Force India enjoyed a more competitive race with Ginacarlo Fisichella just missing out on 8th overall and the important point that goes with it. Team mate Adrian Sutil showed bursts of speed on his way to 14th overall.
BMW had yet another awful weekend with neither car being competitive all weekend. The final result was that nick Heidfeld scrapped and struggled his way to 11th and Robert Kubica retired after just 31 laps ensuring that the German Swiss team were deeply disappointed. The messages of “Happy Birthday to the Mini” on the cars were all that was happy in the team!

1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
3. Raikkonen Ferrari
4. Massa Ferrari
5. Webber Red Bull / Renault
6. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
7. Alonso Renault
8. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
9. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
10. Glock Toyota
11. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
12. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
13. Trulli Toyota
14. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
15. Nakajima Williams / Toyota
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
Retired Kubica BMW Sauber
Retired Vettel Red Bull / Renault
Retired Piquet Renault
Retired Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari

Spanish Grand Prix.

The Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona hosted the latest round of the Formula 1 World Championship and saw a familiar driver and team combination standing atop the podium.

Once again Brawn GP, a Mercedes engine and Jenson Button took victory (making it 4 wins from 5 races this year), this time with the other Brawn driver, Rubens Barrichello, finishing second. The perfect result for Brawn GP {link} could have finished with either Button or Barrichello 1st overall but an issue with Barrichello's tyres saw him struggle to match Button's pace as the duo ran different pit strategies.

McLaren Mercedes {link} had yet another disappointing race weekend in 2009 with Heikki Kovalainen failing to finish and Lewis Hamilton finishing out of the championship points in a very uninspiring 9th overall.

Mercedes' last engine customer had an expensive weekend as Force India's Adrian Sutil became involved in the carnage of the first lap, resulting in considerable damage to his car and instant retirement. Giancarlo Fisichella, the other Force India driver, was the last classified finisher in 14th place.

At the last race the BMW Saubers were woeful eventually struggling round as the last two classified finishers. Barcelona saw a highly impressive transformation and a dramatic upturn in the teams fortunes. Both drivers proved to be competitive (although still lacking the outright pace of the Brawn GP cars) and the German / Swiss team {link} were rewarded by 7th (Nick Heidfeld) and 11th (Robert Kubica) at the end. Whilst these results are some way off the team's expected pace their are encouraging signs for the remainder of the season.

The teams now head off to Monaco {link} and the most famous and demanding Grand Prix of the year with Button holding a 34 point lead over team mate Barrichello in the driver's championship. Brawn GP are 29½ points clear in the team's championship.

Race results:~
1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
3. Webber Red Bull / Renault
4. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
5. Alonso Renault
6. Massa Ferrari
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
8. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
9. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
10. Glock Toyota
11. Kubica BMW Sauber
12. Piquet Renault
13. Nakajima Williams / Toyota
14. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
Retired Raikkonen Ferrari
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
Retired Trulli Toyota
Retired Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
Retired Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
Retired Sutil Force India/Mercedes

Bahrain Grand Prix.

Jenson Button and his Mercedes powered Brawn GP car were victorious for the 3rd time this season. Button dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix and took an impressive victory from the second row of the starting grid. The other Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello finished down in 5th place behind a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton in the ever improving McLaren Mercedes. These three drivers were the high points for the Stuttgart engine builders as Hamilton's Mclaren Mercedes team mate suffered a frustrating event finally crossing the line in a less than impressive 12th overall. The Force Indias of Fisichella and Sutil struggled in the hot and dry conditions and finished 15th and 16th.

BMW suffered an even worse fate and ended up with Nick Heidfeld the last car running (19th overall) and Robert Kubica circulating just in front of his team mate in 18th position. The Bavarian-Swiss team suffered a horrible weekend and are hoping that a return to European circuits will revitalise their waning fortunes!

1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
3. Trulli Toyota
4. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
5. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
6. Glock Toyota
7. Raikkonen Ferrari
8. Alonso Renault
9. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
10. Piquet Renault
11. Webber Red Bull / Renault
12. Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
14. Massa Ferrari
15. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
16. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
17. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
18. Kubica BMW Sauber
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota

Current Formula 1 standings.

Drivers Championship

1. Jenson Button Brawn GP / Mercedes 21
2. Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes 15
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull / Renault 10
4. Timo Glock Toyota 10
5. Mark Webber Red Bull / Renault 9½
6. Jarno Trulli Toyota 8½
7. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 4
8. Fernando Alonso Renault 4
9. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 4
10. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 4
11. Nico Rosberg Williams / Toyota 3½
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari 3
13. Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari 1
14. Adrian Sutil Force India / Mercedes 0
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari 0
16. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 0
17. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India / Mercedes 0
18. Kazuki Nakajima Williams / Toyota 0
19. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 0
20. Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 0

Teams Championship

1. Brawn GP / Mercedes 36
2. Red Bull / Renault 19½
3. Toyota 18½
4. McLaren / Mercedes 8
5. Toro Rosso / Ferrari 4
6. Renault 4
7. BMW Sauber 4
8. Williams-Toyota 3½
9. Force India-Mercedes 0
10. Ferrari 0

Chinese Grand Prix.

The second wet race of this year's Formula 1 World Championship saw the first non-Mercedes powered team to claim victory with Red Bull eclipsing Brawn GP and securing an impressive 1st and 2nd overall. Championship leader Jenson Button finished 3rd with Rubens Barrichello finishing 4th in the second Brawn GP car.

Mclaren Mercedes saw their fortunes improve with their drivers rounding out the top 6, Kovalainen taking 5th whilst a mistake-prone Hamilton finished 6th.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil had a very strong showing running as high a 6th before fate intervened and an aquaplaning moment threw his car nose first into the tyre wall. Sutil was unhurt but it was a big blow to the third team using Mercedes engines.

BMW had a trying race with neither car showing the performance expected from the Swiss / Bavarian racers. Heidfeld struggled home in 12th with Kubica finishing an eventful race in 13th overall. That Kubica finished at all was testament to how well BMW build their F1 cars, a coming together between the Pole and Toyota's Jarno Trulli saw Kubica launched skywards in a shower of shattered carbon fibre bodyparts.

Force India's Fisichella finished just behind Kubica in 14th place, a disappointing result after Sutil's excellent, yet unrewarded, drive.

1. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
2. Webber Red Bull / Renault
3. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
4. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
5. Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
6. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
7. Glock Toyota
8. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
9. Alonso Renault
10. Raikkonen Ferrari
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
13. Kubica BMW Sauber
14. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
15. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
16. Piquet Renault
17. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota
Retired Massa Ferrari
Retired Trulli Toyota

Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Malaysian Grand Prix was red-flagged because torrential rain made driving conditions excessively dangerous. After a long break the final results proved more than favourable for Mercedes and offered a ray of hope to BMW.

Once again the team showing all the speed were Brawn GP with their Mercedes engines, so it was no surprise to see Jenson Button on the top step of the podium after a commanding drive. Two wins from two races is a remarkable result from the team that didn't exist 2 months ago! Rubens Barrichello finished a disappointed 5th overall keeping Brawn GP on top of the manufacturer standings too.

Nick Heidfeld drove a canny and unremarkable race to finish second overall and offer his team encouragement after they saw Robert Kubica retire with engine failure after just one lap.

McLaren Mercedes continue to struggle and Lewis Hamilton was finally classified 7th overall after the heavens opened, his team mate Heikki Kovalainen retired on the first lap (just as he did in Australia).

Force India struggled with the varying conditions and heavy rain ultimately being the final classified finishers down in 17th and 18th positions.

1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
3. Glock Toyota
4. Trulli Toyota
5. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
6. Webber Red Bull / Renault
7. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
8. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
9. Massa Ferrari
10. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
11. Alonso Renault
12 Nakajima Williams / Toyota
13. Piquet Renault
14. Raikkonen Ferrari
15. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
16. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
17. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
18. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
Retired Kubica BMW Sauber
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes

Revised Australian Grand Prix result.

After a bit or rule breaking by McLaren and Lewis Hamilton the FIA have seen fit to disqualify Hamilton from last weekend's race. The revised results now read as follows:~

1. Button Brawn GP
2. Barrichello Brawn GP
3. Trulli Toyota
4. Glock Toyota
5. Alonso Renault
6. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
7. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
8. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
9. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
11. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
12. Webber Red Bull / Renault
13. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
14. Kubica BMW Sauber
15. Raikkonen Ferrari

Retired Massa Ferrari
Retired Piquet Renault
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes

Disqualified Hamilton McLaren Mercedes

Australian Grand Prix

The first round of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship {link} proved to be tremendous for Mercedes and disaterous for BMW.

Brawn GP scored a dramatic first and second overall in their maiden GP whilst a time penalty after the racing had finished promoted McLaren to 3rd overall.

The weekend was dominated by the new Brawn GP team with Jenson Button out performing Rubens Barrichello throughout the weekend and taking a deserved and impressive victory. Barrichello required a little bit of luck and fortune to recover from a poor start to claim second overall.

Lewis Hamilton benefited from a selection of crashes and bumps to claim fourth position on the road, this then became third once Jarno Trulli was penalised for overtaking when yellow flags were being shown.

Mercedes engines thus powered the top 3 cars in Australia which seemed exceptionally unlikely given that the McLarens quailified 14th and 15th and Force India (the other team using Mercedes engines) qualified 18th and 19th.

BMW's event ended with a poor showing in the final results but with encouraging signs of performance, especially from Robert Kubica who qualified 4th but was taken out of the race by a rampant Red Bull!

The teams now move on to Malaysia for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix {link} with Brawn GP and Mercedes hoping to continue their excellent form.

Formula 1 - practice 1 & 2

Combined times from sessions 1 & 2 result in a grid looking like this:~

1 Rosberg - Williams/Toyota
2 Nakajima - Williams/Toyota
3 Barrichello - Brawn/Mercedes
4 Raikkonen - Ferrari
5 Button - Brawn/Mercedes
6 Glock - Toyota
7 Trulli - Toyota
8 Massa - Ferrari
9 Sutil - Force India/Mercedes
10 Kovalainen - McLaren/Mercedes
11 Alonso - Renault
12 Webber - Red Bull/Renault
13 Heidfeld - BMW Sauber
14 Fisichella - Force India/Mercedes
15 Kubica - BMW Sauber
16 Hamilton - McLaren/Mercedes
17 Buemi - Toro Rosso/Ferrari
18 Bourdais - Toro Rosso/Ferrari
19 Piquet - Renault
20 Vettel - Red Bull/Renault

Tomorrow's qualifying session and Sunday's race are (naturally) when the true performance of each car and driver is fully shown but things are not looking very good for McLaren or BMW. The same can not be said about Brawn GP which has both cars in the top 5 - not bad for a new team! BMW had, arguably, a more shocking day than McLaren with neither car breaking into the top 10. Both team's drivers have been complaining about a general lack of grip, with tyre wear also (seemingly) being a concerning factor for virtually all teams at Melbourne.

Qualifying looks set to be very, very interesting and possibly quite frantic too!

Formula 1 2009

The 2009 Formula 1 championship starts this coming weekend in Australia. By Sunday afternoon the world will know if BMW are running a KERS system for the whole season, if McLaren's poor winter testing performances have been sandbagging or not, whether the combination of Mercedes power and a Ross Brawn chassis is really as fast as it seems.

Winter testing times imply that McLaren {link} have struggled to find speed in their MP4-24 with team boss Martin Whitmarsh publicly acknowledging the fact. Melbourne and the opening race will give a far more accurate picture to every team's performance and McLaren will have nowhere to hide. Their car will either prove to be as slow as some believe it to be or they will be challenging for outright victory as most expect.

Mercedes engines are powering 3 teams this year and dramatically it is not McLaren who have been the fastest of the 3. New team Brawn GP {link} have shocked the F1 world with their, frankly, stunning pace in winter testing. Whether they are able to carry this into the actual 2009 season remains to be seen but things are looking good for F1's newest team. One possible blot on the landscape for Brawn GP is controversy surrounding their diffuser, which some teams 9including Red Bull) deem to be too large. Expect this debate to rumble with protests being a possibility in Melbourne.....

The final team using Mercedes engines in Formula 1 are Force India {link}. Winter testing has been reasonably successful for the team although they have not had the impact that Brawn GP have. Force India's main focus is to challenge for mid-field places as they continue their development as a F1 team.

BMW Sauber {link} have had a very successful winter testing and are expected to seriously challenge not only for outright race wins but also for the championship too. One of the few teams that have really embraced the KERS idea it remains a little uncertain as to whether they will use a form of KERS in Melbourne. The benefits and drawbacks of KERS have yet to be fully seen in an actual F1 race meaning there will be even more interest in the Bavarian-Swiss team than normal.

Melbourne should prove to be a very interesting and action packed Formula 1 weekend, with so many questions to be answered the only safe bet is the old adage when the flag drops the BS stops!

Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss

As Limited Editions go the Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss is pretty spactacular! 200 kilos lighter than the SLR it is a special version of the Stirling Moss harks back to the era of the 300SLR and Sir Stirlings Mille Miglia victory. Whilst its appearance harks back to the golden age of road racing the technology is ery cutting edge. With the current SLR as a starting point there is now doubt that the owners of the 75 Sitrling Moss editions are going to benefit from breath taking performance:~ 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of over 210mph all with the wind rushing round and through the driver's hair.
The SLR Stirling Moss will start production once the current run of standrad SLRs is concluded in the second third of 2009, strictly limited to a production run of 75 it reamins to be seen whether the worldwide economic crisis will leave enough people with the finances avialble to pucrhcase this £600,000 plus supercar.

The 2008 Formula 1 World Championship has been won by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes powered McLaren. The tile was decided on the last corner of the last race in a season that has seen exciting racing and its fair share of controversy.

Mercedes weren't the only German manufacturer to taste the champagne this season, BMW managed their first F1 win as a manufacturer.

Final championship positions (top 10)

1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber
5 Fernando Alonso Renault
6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber
7 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes
8 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari
9 Jarno Trulli Toyota
10 Timo Glock Toyota

McLaren Mercedes MP4-22.

Launched at the Mercedes Museum {link}, home to many evocative and highly successful race cars, the MP4-23 is McLaren’s 2008 Formula 1 car. After a stunningly successful but ultimately unrewarding 2007 season the MP4-23 is a clear development of the last year’s car. The 2007 car had very few flaws and those there were have clearly been addressed by this year’s MP4-23.
The latest McLaren Mercedes {link} has a longer wheel base to improve high speed handling, it is also lighter allowing greater use of ballast to improve traction and also tyre wear. A new, longer carbonfibre and titanium gearbox is the most obvious mechanical change over last year’s car. Aerodynamically the MP4-23 benefits from subtle and clever alterations; a new nose and fish-like gills at the rear of the rollhoop being the most obvious.
The complete McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 package is designed at negating the few advantages Ferrari’s F1 challenger had over the team last year. In a quiet and tranquil museum in Stuttgart last week the job seemed to have been done very successfully. A loud, bustling Melbourne in 2 months will offer the real proof. Whether Ferrari or McLaren Mercedes have achieved the best 2008 car will only be seen when the red lights go out on race day. With BMW aiming to make it a trio at the top the MP4-23 has a lot riding on it, yet the drivers and team seem confident that they can, at least, repeat last year’s successful results on any given race day.

McLaren Mercedes in 2008.

The 2008 driver line up at McLaren Mercedes {link} for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship has been finalised. Heikki Kovalainen {link} is Lewis Hamilton’s {link} new team mate and both are looking forward to the challenges of the coming season. McLaren’s team looks like being one of the most exciting and quickest in 2008.

Mercedes McLaren SLR.

Spotted pounding round the ubiquitous Nurburgring Nordschleife {link} was a race prepared SLR. The Mercedes super car had the letters GT in large type along each flank. Thus has lead to speculation that the company are intending to produce a limited edition ‘über-version’ or that a motorsport debut for the SLR {link} is possible in 2008.