BlogF1

In an extraordinary qualifying session at the rain-soaked Monza circuit in Northern Italy, Sebastian Vettel has taken his very first pole position in his career, also giving his Scuderia Toro Rosso team their highest ever qualifying position. Vettel’s team mate Sebastien Bourdais underlines the pace in the car during the difficult conditions by clocking the fourth quickest time, only being demoted by Mark Webber in the dying seconds of the session. Heikki Kovalainen starts second as Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were knocked out of the running in Q2. Continue Reading

Despite not officially becoming a member of the Red Bull race team until his duties with Scuderia Toro Rosso are completed at the end of the season, the young German who has already signed an RBR contract will test for the team later in the month at Jerez. The news of Vettel’s test has heightened speculation that David Coulthard could be dropped prior to the end of the season, allowing both teams to get a jump start on familiarising themselves with their new drivers. Continue Reading

After Bruno Senna rubbished the rumour that he has already signed for Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2009, the Austro/Italian team have stated that they will be evaluating Red Bull test driver Sébastien Buemi at the Jerez test in September. Sébastien was announced as Red Bull’s test driver for this season back in January, and although the testing limits have meant the Swiss driver has seen little serious action in the car, Buemi has been busy doing PR stunts for the team as well as competing in the GP2 series. Continue Reading

The Formula One drivers finally got to drive around the new Valencia circuit earlier this morning as the free practice session got underway for Sunday’s race. Being a new track on the calendar, the tables look a little different as some drivers managed to get a great set-up from the word go while others started a little slower. And at the very top is Sebastian Vettel, charging around the streets in his Ferrari-powered Scuderia Toro Rosso. Continue Reading

Scuderia Toro Rosso co-owner, Gerhard Berger, has gone on the offensive today by stating that his team is only interested in speaking to a manufacturer as a new partner after Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz sells his share of the Austro-Italia squad. The team had apparently been in talk with current Formula Three outfit Ultimate Motorsport, but Berger has said that none of the so-far rumoured parties have held serious talks with either himself or Mateschitz. Continue Reading

The forty-sixth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. I have a separate folder on my computer into which I put all the potential caption contest images, and I noticed the other day that it is filled predominantly with Red Bull related photos. Perhaps the RBR and STR guys and gals are just funnier than the other teams, but whatever the reason, I’ll try to mix it up better from next week onwards. Anyway, here’s another shot of Sebastien Bourdais, this time receiving bubble-blowing lessons from an incognito expert. Continue Reading

It was only a few months ago that Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz announced that he will be selling his Scuderia Toro Rosso team before the rules change out of his favour in 2010. At the time, Mateschitz said that he wouldn’t be looking for a buyer this season, but would be taking offers in 2009. However, today it has emerged that Ultimate Motorsport - a Formula Three operation - could be close to a deal that would see the outfit progress to Formula One. Continue Reading

The forty-second photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. This week we join Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Bourdais and his boss Gerhard Berger in conversation during Thursday’s Free Practice in Monaco last week. Continue Reading

Born in 1987, Sebastian Vettel is among the youngest of all the Formula One drivers, the wiry built German having progressed to the sport’s highest echelon during the 2007 season with BMW. Vettel holds many records centred around his age, but he also holds the record for being the quickest driver to receive a fine, occurring only nine seconds into his career as he sped down the pit lane beyond the mandatory speed limit. Since starting with BMW and later, STR in 2007, he has gained a mixed reputation from fans and critics alike. Continue Reading

Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais will enjoy the privilege of racing the brand new STR3 at this upcoming Monaco Grand Prix, the team having finally been able to build and test enough cars after the French half of the driving duo trashed the first one while testing. But unfortunately for Vettel, running the new car will also be rewarded with a five-grid slot penalty, thanks to the new four-race gearbox rules. Continue Reading