Button robbed in Monaco

Another exciting race with some unexpected outcomes. Vettel took to his standard game plan by pushing hard from ppole. Alonso got of to a good start with Button, meanwhile respective teammates massa and Hamilton did less well and Massa's afternoon was brought to am end shortly after Hamilton made an impossible move at the hairpin.
This incident also put an end to what was looking like a sure win for Button.
Result: Vettel 1st Alonso 2nd Button 3rd.

Monaco Preview

It is a rest day in Monaco today and as the driver contemplate how to navigate the tight and demanding seaside streets the strategists are scratching their heads trying to work out how to get the cars to the end on the least number of stops.
The problem is that their is little or no overtaking and a good grid slot and one stop is the best option. The new Italian rubber wears down fast and is untested on this tarmac. Any teams that may have thought they had a model to predict the wear were still none the wiser as a new supersoft tyre was introduced yesterday for practice.
Alonso showed he was king of the road and early signs are he is looking good for saturday. Red Bull are still in the mix, but their car handles less well on the winding roads of Monaco.

Red Bull Wins, But Mclaren Are Closing Fast

This was quite possibly the most exciting race of the season so far. Alonso got off to a blinding start and dummied both Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber to take the lead out of turn on the first lap.

Button was hoping for a better start on the clean side of the track, but it was not to be as he slipped back. His was however a tactical race and he needed to preserve tyres, which earned him a third place podium finish after only three stops.

Alonso’s race meanwhile was ruined by a period of defending which ruined his tyres. Ferrari responded to the Red Bull’s Pit stops which gave Alonso track position, but hurt his race in the longer term as it meant that he had not necessarily got the full use out of his tyres. By the end of the race he was nursing a set of tyres and a fifth place finish was all he could manage.

Webber’s initial promise shown in qualifying seemed to also slip away but finished fourth. However, the race of the day was Hamilton Verses Vettel. Vettel saw off Alonso and team-mate Webber, but Hamilton had the benefit of a smoother race and let the others ruin their tyres before cruising up behind Vettel and challenging him for the lead over the last 10 laps.

It was not clear if Vettel had full use of KERs, but he was able to maintain track position always managing to get good traction out of the last turn which was enough to see of the advantage Hamilton had when the DRS activated over the start/finish line.
The DRS did not really come into play this weekend. Whilst this was the longest DRS sector this year, the distance from the last turn to the start/finish line seemed to negate its advantage

Spainish F1 Preview

The FIA have anounced a delay to the ban on using exhausts to create downforce. The ban planned for this weekend now comes into effect after Monaco.
The news after both practice sessions is that Mclaren remain on terms with red bull and are happy with the new upgrades brought to Spain. Meanwhile Webber was putting down a marker as he posted the fastest overall time for both sessions. Look out for lotus as they look to build on the last race result with an upgrade package.

A Comfortable Win for Red Bull in Turkey

Another classic F1 race. The tyres KERs and DRS have come together to give us the overtaking we have missed over the last few years.

It was a race of two strategies with some drivers able to make three stops whilst most of the drivers had to go for four. Hamilton got off to a poor start which put him back with team-mate Button. The Mclaren had some anxious moments as once again the pair duelled for three laps before Hamilton had to stop for his first new set of tyres. Schumacher was in all the wrong places as he fought to stay ahead of a succession of cars. Team-mate Rosberg faired better, whilst out in front Vettel was able to protect his tyres. There was a lot of very exiting close racing all through the pack in the middle section of the race and then towards the end Button was again neck and neck with Hamilton as he was able to stick with a three stop strategy. Unfortunately he was unable to protect his position against the newer tyres of Hamilton. Meanwhile even Vettel dived in the pit for an unplanned forth stop to ensure his tyres were fresh to defend any late push from Webber and Alonso. Webber looked in trouble towards the end of the race but after securing second place overall it was clear that he was protecting fuel and tyres.

So Red Bull now have a fully working KERs system get a well deserved win with Vettel proving our point that if you can get a comfortable lead on lap one you can protect tyres and fuel. Webber also made good use of the spare set of tyres to finish second with Alonso in third after having a brilliant race. Hamilton did well to finish forth and the team did well on what seemed to be a changed strategy. Team principal Martin Whitmarsh was slightly disappointed to not have done better and felt that Button was compromised in running a three stop strategy.

The fans are the real winners in Turkey, with more overtaking than I can remember for a long time. We must however make a mention of designers Hermann Tilke who designed the circuit, opened in 2005 and of course Adrian Newey the designer of the Red Bull Cars.

Countdown To TURKEY

The tyres will come into play again at this fast challenging circuit. Red Bull report upgrades to their KERs system
Which has had issues on every race this season. Look out for Mercedes who have shown better form recently. Also keep a close eye on who saves tyres during qualifying.

UPDATE: Friday pm
Mclaren have come good after P2 with Mercedes ahead of Red Bull. P1 was affected by rain which resulted in an off for Vettel that kept him in the pits for P2.