The opening lap was full of incidents up and down the grid, the most contentious of which involved the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. As the lights went out Raikkonen got a good start and pulled ahead of Hamilton. Heikki Kovalainen also made a good start from third and held his line along the inside of the long run down to the first corner. As Hamilton attempted to make up ground and regain the lost position, he out-braked himself and locked the front-right wheel. As the McLaren went straight on at the corner Raikkonen was forced out wide to avoid contact and Kimi took to the run-off area and lost countless places.

As this was happening at the front, David Coulthard and Kazuki Nakajima had a coming together, and although Nakajima was able to continue, Coulthard’s Red Bull clouted a barrier and the Scot vacated the car. And by the time the front-runners had sorted themselves out from all the drama, BMW’s Robert Kubica found himself in the lead of the race.

The third big incident of the race-start involved Lewis Hamilton once again and championship rival Felipe Massa. Hamilton made a move on Massa and as the Ferrari pilot attempted to comeback at the McLaren, Massa ended up taking to the grass. As Felipe rejoined the track he clouted Hamilton, forcing the McLaren into a spin. To say it was a disastrous start for the Briton is an understatement. His over-exuberance had gifted Massa with an opportunity, but he blew it himself by being a little too bold as well.

Timo Glock retired his Toyota and was quickly joined by Adrian Sutil in the Force India. In the race, Raikkonen began to make up some places and passed the remaining Toyota of Jarno Trulli with relative ease. And on lap twelve, the stewards announced their investigations in Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen. Five laps later and the stewards returned a verdict of guilty of pushing a car off the track for Hamilton, handing him a drive-thru penalty, and a similar punishment for Massa for his avoidable accident with Lewis.

To make matters, just as the penalty information was being fed through to the teams and viewers, Heikki Kovalainen pulled off the track, smoke coming from the car. The Finn’s hydraulics apparently packed up, putting a premature end to the gearbox and then the engine. As Kovalainen walked back to the pitlane, Lewis Hamilton toured through to serve his penalty, Massa completed his a couple of laps later. Essentially, their races were ruined.

At the front, the lead changed a fair bit as the drivers each came in for their first pitstops. Alonso stopped on lap 18, handing the lead briefly to Jarno Trulli. On lap 22, Trulli pitted, allowing Bourdais to take the top-spot for a couple of laps before pitting himself. Amazingly, when Bourdais pitted he handed the lead to second Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. By lap 28, Piquet pitted himself though and the lead was handed back to Alonso.

At the halfway point, Massa and Hamilton were fighting their way through the slower cars, but as it was for position, the blue flags couldn’t help them. Although the title-contenders were back in twelfth and thirteenth, they each knew there was a point or two up for grabs. At the front, Alonso opened a margin over BMW driver Kubica, the Spaniard well-aware that his rival would be running longer in the middle stint and therefore potentially able to pass him in the pitstops.

Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello were locked in a heated battle, the Williams driver trying desperately trying to find a way by the Honda. Rosberg eventually passed Barrichello at the time when many were stopping for the second and final time. Once again, the lead changed hands but it looked as though Alonso had done enough to retain the premiere position. Another fastest lap helped Fernando’s cause and when the Spaniard rejoined the track after his final change of tyres, his net lead looked healthy.

Kubica pitted four laps later and it was clear that his worry was no longer the lead, but the challenging Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen who was setting a good pace behind. A fastest lap from Raikkonen put him in good stead with the BMW and after the Finn’s final stop he exited just behind Kubica. The pair were set up for a showdown finish.

Despite the race coming to a close though, it wasn’t the end of the dramas as Felipe Massa collided with Sebastien Bourdais as the French pilot exited the pitlane. Going into the first corner on the inside, Bourdais had no where to go when Massa came charging along. Massa turned into the corner, made contact with the Scuderia Toro Rosso and spun. Fortunately, both drivers were able to continue, although the incident would come under another investigation by the stewards. The result of which was Bourdais being given a 25s penalty.

Fernando Alonso extended his lead a little and Kimi Raikkonen attempted to force Kubica into an error. The Ferrari almost made it by the BMW on a couple of occasions, but the Polish driver defended his line well. The result of this battle allowed Nelson Piquet Jr to close up behind and soon the Renault was looking to have a go at Raikkonen. It didn’t happen and Piquet finished behind the Ferrari, but the battles showed good racing from all three.

In the closing stages Felipe Massa set a barn-storming fastest lap and managed to pass Nick Heidfeld for ninth place and on the penultimate lap, managed to squeeze by Mark Webber for eighth and one important championship point. Piquet finished in fourth place, ahead of Jarno Trulli and Sebastien Bourdais. The Champ Car champion finished ahead of his team mate Sebastian Vettel, and Scuderia Toro Rosso collected another healthy bundle of points, only to have some of them removed following Bourdais’s penalty. Lewis Hamilton finished in twelfth in the end, taking home nothing and letting Massa close the gap in the championship by a couple of points.

Ferrari regain the lead of the constructors’ title and BMW close in on McLaren. Any further mistakes from the Woking-based squad could see the Swiss-German team overhaul them, and Renault now look relatively comfortable in fourth place, 16 points ahead of Toyota. Kimi Raikkonen is now officially out of championship hunt, but Robert Kubica is hanging in, just 12 points behind Hamilton. Alonso has closed in on Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld, the three drivers on 48, 51 and 56 points respectively.

With just two races left, McLaren cannot afford to make any more mistakes and Felipe Massa needs to go into China and Brazil with the intent to win. However, despite being told to play it careful, Hamilton is still set on winning the final to events himself, and having admitted to his error at the start, stated that he intends to collect maximum points for the remainder of the season.

But today, all eyes were once again on Alonso as he took his second victory of the season in a car that started the Australian Grand Prix in March well off the pace. Although the double champion is yet to officially make up his mind for 2009, it is likely Fernando will stay with Renault and push the team to give him a decent car next year.

Image Copyright © Charles Coates/LAT.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Two Wins On The Trot For Fernando Alonso

Fuji 2008: Race Results

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Race Result

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Race Live Blog

The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix Grid

Inclusive of penalties given – none so far.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: The Grid

Q1

The first qualifying round was its usual predictable self, the drivers all resisting the urge to go out early and instead wait for the track to improve as the temperature rose. Rain had fallen overnight as well, meaning the surface was damp in places. One driver who started as he was meaning to go on was Toyota’s Timo Glock. The young German racer went fastest early on, but the time set was actually quite respectable. Although others would knock him off the top of the tables, Glock showed the paddock that Toyota meant business.

Last year I got into trouble for even suggesting that Toyota like to run corporate laps at the Japanese Grand Prix, but as the first twenty-minute session drew to a close Glock found himself at the top of the timing sheet again with an even faster time of 1m17.945s. Even eventual pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton couldn’t match Timo’s lap, setting a nearest time of 1m18.071s.

Both Force Indias were out of qualifying in Q1, Giancarlo Fisichella lapping some 0.8s shy of his team mate Adrian Sutil in the sister car. Both Hondas were also eliminated early on, Rubens Barrichello interestingly going faster than Jenson Button. And Nick Heidfeld found himself in trouble as well, only managing to set the sixteenth fastest time.

Q2

The second stage of deciding the grid saw Jarno Trulli come to terms with his team mate and the Italian closed up on Glock. Although there was to be no fastest lap in Q2 for the Toyota team, having both drivers together near the top shows improvement. In fact, all the times were close together in Fuji this afternoon, and Q2 was particularly tight. Hamilton went fastest with a 1m17.462s, and Nico Rosberg went slowest with a 1m18.672s. Just 1.2s separated the fastest from the slowest.

Leaving the show early in Q2 were both Williams, although Kazuki Nakajima was having a relatively good weekend until qualifying. The local hero has out-qualified his team mate and will line up in fourteenth position on the grid. Both Red Bulls are suffering as well, Mark Webber only qualifying in thirteenth and David Coulthard a little ahead in eleventh. Nelson Piquet Jr was the fifth and final casualty from the second part of qualifying, leaving it until the final moment before heading out and setting a lap that was only worthy of P12. He really shouldn’t have bothered.

Q3

The final ten-minute top-ten decider was actually closer to a six-minute decider as many drivers left it until quite late before venturing out on to the track. And when the drivers did finally make an appearance on-track, it was Raikkonen who all of a sudden looked ultra-sharp. Setting purple sectors the Finn quickly went to the top of the class with a lap that seemed to come from absolutely no where. Lewis Hamilton followed with a shoddy lap and could only reply with a P3 while both Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers kept out of the mix in ninth and tenth.

The final run was set up then and it was clear that Hamilton had the pace, but his McLaren was a little ragged in places. Felipe Massa should have been somewhere near the top but wasn’t enjoying his Saturday running and Heikki Kovalainen wasn’t too far behind, capitalising on Ferrari’s slight shake-up. Kimi Raikkonen went first and improved his time, compounding his pace and stretching the gauntlet further from Hamilton’s reach. Felipe Massa followed his team mate over the line and improved to second before falling down to fifth, but it was Lewis Hamilton who impressed the most with a final time that cleared the pole position by 0.24s.

Jarno Trulli corrected the order at Toyota by finally beating his team mate; the Italian lines up seventh while Glock is in eighth. Fernando Alonso set a great final lap and will start the race fourth, ahead of Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica.

And so the grid has been decided, and Ferrari need to find a way of getting Felipe Massa up towards the front. Kimi Raikkonen is pretty much out of title-contention – although the Finn can still mathematically win the title, it is highly unlikely – whereas Massa is just seven points behind Hamilton in the championship. With Kovalainen in grid-slot three though, the Scuderia have their work cut out. This could be a comeback race for Raikkonen and his reputation, where we once again see the champion give everybody a driving lesson. Or, Kimi could be light.

And just for the record, I do not believe the Toyotas were running particularly light in Q3, as their final times look fairly representative of their pace this weekend. So all in all, the race looks set to be a battle between Ferrari and McLaren although given the nature of the Fuji circuit, I’m cautious to say it’s going to be an exciting race.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Hamilton Storms To Japanese Pole Position

Fuji 2008: Qualifying Results

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Qualifying Result

Not only is Toyota a Japanese motor manufacturer, but the company also owns the very circuit Formula One is tearing up right now, so whether or not Timo’s lap was corporate remains a mystery, but let’s just say it isn’t the first time the squad have fuelled a car light in Japan to please the sponsors. Although, the team have clearly improved this season, and Glock has been driving superbly well recently.

That was a good day. This was the first time I have driven at the Fuji Speedway so I had to learn the track this morning. It didn’t take too long – two or three laps, but it’s not an easy circuit. It’s especially difficult to find the right compromise for the long high speed straight and the last sector which is very technical.

But we sorted out a lot of stuff and we brought everything together for the second practice, which went well. I had a nice lap near the beginning of the session and it’s great for the team to end up quickest on Friday here in Japan.

So far I’m happy and it would be nice to keep the position like this for the whole weekend. That will obviously be difficult but hopefully the local fans will give us an extra boost. Timo Glock.

Team mate Jarno Trulli also improved from his morning practice times, getting his TF108 into tenth. Fernando Alonso in the Renault was second by the close of play, the Singapore Grand Prix winner having bolted on a set of softs and narrowly missed out the top spot by running wide around a corner.

McLaren and Ferrari slipped down the tables, but I imagine this is of little concern to either team. Lewis Hamilton went third, Felipe Massa fourth, Kimi Raikkonen fifth and Heikki Kovalainen mixed it up on the midfield with ninth. Local hero Kazuki Nakajima improved on his morning time, ending his day in seventh and once again ahead of his more experienced team mate Nico Rosberg.

Adrian Sutil has enjoyed a good start to his weekend, the concert pianist finishing in eleventh before lunch, and sixteenth after. Giancarlo Fisichella, on the other hand, went from twentieth to eighteenth. David Coulthard improved, although it was only from nineteenth to seventeenth. Honda also remain towards the rear of the pack.

The difference between Glock’s fastest lap and Fisichella’s fastest lap was 1.616s, showing the field was closer together after lunch. In fact, Mark Webber and Kazuki Nakajima set exactly the same laptime, the Australian getting there first and therefore being awarded the higher position. It isn’t that unusual for two drivers in different teams to set the same time to within a thousandth of a second; qualifying for Jerez in 1997 saw three drivers equal on pace at the front of the grid.

The busiest driver of the afternoon was Jarno Trulli, setting 45 lap times, and least active was Sebastian Vettel, only completing 23 tours of Fuji Speedway. The drivers will reconvene for qualifying tomorrow.

Fuji 2008: Friday Free Practice Two

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Friday Afternoon Practice

The session saw no adverse weather and no real surprises, although David Coulthard found himself towards the bottom of the tables in nineteenth and just ahead of Force India pilot Giancarlo Fisichella. Conversely, Fisichella’s team mate Adrian Sutil ran well and found himself in eleventh after the ninety minutes were up. Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais enjoyed a good start to their weekend’s as well with Vettel getting into seventh and Bourdais in ninth.

All the cars were running the green-striped Bridgestone tyre, designed to promote environmental causes. Of course, they looked terrible on all but the Hondas, the subtle green on the Japanese cars managing to make the tyres look only just bearable. The busiest driver of the morning was Timo Glock, completing 37 laps in his Toyota. The least busiest was Heikki Kovalainen, only feeling the need to tour the Fuji Speedway 20 times.

The difference between the fastest and slowest laps was only 2.104s and the Japanese squads did not make a great impression; Honda in sixteenth and seventeenth and Toyota in fifteenth and eighteenth. Williams driver and local hero Kazuki Nakajima placed himself in tenth, powered by the Toyota engine.

Fuji 2008: Friday Free Practice One

Images Copyright © Williams and HondaF1.

Original article by BlogF1.

Fuji 2008: Friday Morning Practice