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As qualifying closed on the Valencia urban circuit in Spain, it was Felipe Massa who took pole position and will lead the field off the grid for tomorrow’s race. The session saw a little rain at the end of the Q1 but it didn’t trouble the drivers too much. One of the bigest surprises is that both Scuderia Toro Rossos got into the final part of qualifying, Sebastian Vettel finishing in sixth and Bourdais in tenth. A full report will follow later this evening. Continue Reading

During the first qualifying session for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastien Bourdais appeared to baulk Nick Heidfeld on a fast lap. As a result of Heidfeld’s complaint and poor qualifying run, the marshals at the Hungaroring investigated the matter, the result of which is a five grid-slot penalty for the French driver. This penalty puts Bourdais back in nineteenth, promoting Giancarlo Fischella, Rubens Barrichello, Kazuki Nakajima, Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg up one place each. Continue Reading

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix, charging his McLaren around the Hungaroring in style and beating his team mate by 0.241s. Heikki Kovalainen locked out the front row for the Woking team with impressive style. McLaren appear to beack on pace now and Ferrari are struggling slightly. Felipe Massa managed to get third and didn’t look too off-pace, but Kimi Raikkonen once again had a troubled qualifying and only managed sixth in his F2008. Continue Reading

Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen have locked-out the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The pair appear to very fast around the twisty Hungaroring and while McLaren are quick, Ferrari are struggling slightly. Felipe Massa could only manage third while Kimi Raikkonen is back in sixth. Toyota are looking improved and contuning their pace from the two most recent races and BMW are mixed with Robert Kubica in fourth and Nick Heidfeld in sixteenth. Continue Reading

The French Grand Prix grid is looking a little confusing right now, so I thought I’d attempt to clarify a few things as best I can. In Canada both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton received ten grid slot penalties for their incidents in the pit lane. The penalty was a ten grid-slot demotion each, which means that Hamilton who qualified in third will actually start in thirteenth. Rosberg, who got the same penalty for doing pretty much the same thing in Montreal, qualified fifteenth so he goes to the back of the grid. Heikki Kovalainen received a five grid-slot penalty for impeding Mark Webber during qualifying, so he goes from sixth, to fifth (penalties are applied in order of achievement) and finally to tenth. Continue Reading

In the second qualifying session at Monaco earlier today, David Coulthard lost control of his Red Bull and after clouting the barrier once, skidded down the escape road at the Harbour Chicane and thumped the wall for a second time. Unfortunately, the television cameras only picked up a stray wheel initially, but having seen a replay of the first part of the accident, it is understandable why Coulthard considers himself lucky to have not been seriously injured. Continue Reading

Having won the fight for pole position and race victory in the 2006 and 2007 Turkish Grands Prix, Felipe has made it a hat-trick for qualifying, and is looking strong for a third race win at Istanbul Park. However, it won’t be easy for the Brazilian driver to run and hide as McLaren are looking much faster than before, slotting into second and third and demoting 2005 Turkish race winner Kimi Raikkonen to fourth. Interestingly, it was Heikki Kovalainen who out-qualified Lewis Hamilton, showing no signs of hesitation as the Finn returns to the monocoque after his big accident a fortnight ago. Continue Reading

The Turkish Grand Prix grid was decided earlier, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa hoping to make three wins from three races at Istanbul. His chances are looking good with the Brazilian on pole position. However, the McLaren’s have pulled something out of the bag and aren’t too far behind, Heikki Kovalainen getting the better of Lewis Hamilton in second. The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen will start in fourth. A full report will be posted later today, although I’m currently having connectivity issues, so it may be a little late. Continue Reading

Kimi Raikkonen may have claimed his first pole position of the year, but all the talk in the Spanish paddock is of local hero Fernando Alonso. The double world champion has been enduring a tough year so far in the under-performing Renault R28, but in front of his adoring home crowds, Alonso slapped his car on provisional pole for a few moments, before Raikkonen demoted him to second where he remained. With the fans erupting in joy and applauding Fernando, his position may not last all that long in tomorrow’s race. Speaking to ITV after the session, Pat Symonds stated that it is clear Alonso and his team mate are not on the same strategy. Continue Reading

Qualifying for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix has been wrapped up, the pole position going to Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. Team mate Felipa Massa ended his afternoon in third. Hoping to be the cat among the pigeons though is local hero Fernando Alonso who managed to claim second, although it is expected for the Renault driver to be one of the first on the pits tomorrow. The sister Renault of Nelson Piquet Jr managed to get into Q3 as well, highlighting the improvements made to the R27. The McLaren’s appear to be on their back foot so far, but speaking to Louise Goodman after the session, Lewis Hamilton didn’t appear to be overly concerned with his fifth place grid slot. A full report will be posted shortly. Continue Reading