Hungary 2011, Sunday Race Day. (Summary of Felipe's race and weekend)

  Two years ago Felipe had an accident here that could of taken his career or even his sight. Many people forget how badly injured he was after the high speed incident. And I think it's so important to remember this and how in 2008 Massa was a point away from winning the championship. It's very difficult at times to forget those drivers that make that competition that we love to see on our screens. 

  Hungary holds a lot of significance to Massa, who writes in his blog on the ferrari website: 'Clearly, after what happened two years ago, Budapest and the Hungarian people are an important part of my personal history and once again I plan to meet the people who helped me through that difficult time, both at the track and the hospital.' 

  So, for Massa to manage to out qualify his teammate for the first time the season, at the track which probably springs up the most amount of emotion was an absolute breakthrough. You have to commend him on that one. Every fraction of a second counts. It can be the difference between winning a championship and loosing it.

  But after such a successful Saturday session, Sunday didn't look like it wanted to go that way... Massa got a poor start, as wet weather reduced traction from off of the line and he saw himself being beaten into the first corner by his teammate, the amazing-Alonso. Felipe had a lot of catching up to do as the two MercedesGP's of Schumacher and Rosberg had managed to nip past him into first corner, meaning he needed to overtake them, and fast! Wet conditions meant we saw even the best of the drivers sliding off and around the track (Button, Vettel and Alonso, who where at the end, those on the podium.) Felipe tried to react to going off track (due to just touching the white line) which caused him to spin around and hit his rear wing on the tyre wall, causing it to be damaged, significantly so, but this can be argued to actually not affecting the times very much at all, to costing him the race and a better finish. 

  Pitstops were a bit slow, but naturally, one could say Felipe could have made up such time due to being on a fresh set of tyres, so from his first pitstop, Felipe rejoined the pack at about P14, putting him in traffic and causing him to do those things called overtakes that certain races this season have been said to have lacked... (Well this race cannot be argued for lacking in exciting overtakes!)

  Later on in the race, we saw Massa regain P4 as Hamilton had his pitstop after being on the wrong tyre for the conditions (the intermediates)  and serving a drive through penalty for causing Paul Di Resta to take a move rallying across the track to avoid Hamilton who was recovering from a spin. But, with still a lot of laps to go, Massa caved in to let the Red Bull of Mark Webber and then the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton pass him. They were right on his tail, and throughout the weekend we were shown that the Red Bull and The McLaren were faster (see qualifying and the race result- ie the podium.) 

  So in one case we can say it was a disappointing race weekend for the Brazilian, finishing behind his teammate. But, let's not forget. Felipe made some smooth overtakes, he proved that he can be faster than Fernando. He proved that when the pitstops are slow and go slightly wrong, he can make up on lost time. Going into the summer break we can say that there is lots for him to work upon, but for Felipe to come back to the track that holds so many memories and make something from it, is something to commend. Ferrari should be proud that they have such a likable, fast and cheeky, young Brazilian, who has been compared to the likes of Senna. Who is arguably the best driver that has ever turned a corner in Formula One. So lets give Felipe a pat on the back for once, not insulting him for any mistakes he has made- after all every driver makes mistakes, even Vettel!

Ever wondered why @theFakeVettel is so fast?! well, it's... on Twitpic

Ever wondered why @theFakeVettel is so fast?! well, it's... on Twitpic

Hungry? Tough luck. This only feeds a certain Sebastian Vettel

@redbullracing follow @FakeVivian, but does she make Vettel m... on Twitpic

@redbullracing follow @FakeVivian, but does she make Vettel m... on Twitpic

Vettel doesn't really need extra luck, so he must have invented clones!

I like reading.... Especially when it's about F1!!! on Twitpic

I like reading.... Especially when it's about F1!!! on Twitpic

rambling on again...

If you need something to cheer you up and make you laugh, simply look through my twitpics, the comedy of Vettel always makes you giggle!

http://twitpic.com/photos/notRafaelaMassa

Formula One's 60th Anniversary - BBC FOUR

  Once you watch F1, then you watch it continually. The sport is more than just about money, it's about sheer talent, risks, the audience, the love and the passion. Formula One is a key component of my life. So as soon as I tuned into watching Formula One's 60th Anniversary on BBC FOUR, an instant onset of nostalgia hit me. Memories of previous championships, previous champions who have made the sport what it is today. Memories of the all time greats, who for me I instantly think of as drivers who created those dynamics in F1 that we see now.

  But of course, something that is most important of all is the team behind the drivers. Without a car and a team behind them, drivers wouldn't be winning these championships today.

  Of course though, the most important component of all are the fans. We make the sport what it is. We feed the driver's needs for wins, we push on the teams through the hard times, we provide the journalists and media the demand to write about our favourite parts of the sport. Without the spectators Formula One wouldn't create that feeling of nostalgia and memories.

  Through F1 games, to track days, to simulators, to guest passes within teams, to even simply sitting down in front of the TV watching, we all experience that love for the sport. All that can happen in a sport like this with such elite athletes if for it to progress and develop, creating even more amazing memories. Scandals like crash gate, team orders, number two drivers, spygate and even the return of the most successful driver ever, means we cannot argue that Formula One has become so much more than just a sport. The past is incredible. The danger the drivers put themselves in, in some cases drivers had a 2 in 3 chance of dying whilst driving. It's absurd. Our sport has changed so much, and we owe it to those who make it up. Now the future can be more than just incredible.

F1 2011 SEASON PREVIEW

Preview of the 2011 Season

The 2010 Formula One season is a tough one to follow. But with the addition of KERS this year, teams will not just be looking for raw speed. New tyres, that are meant to degrade quicker, to encourage more pit stops have been introduced, F-ducts and diffusers are banned, minimum weight of the car is increased, extra wheel tethers are added to strengthen wheels in the event of a crash, gearboxes must now last for 5 races, team orders are banned, the FIA are going to become more severe on penalties and punishments, adjustable rear wings are permitted, more team curfews shall be introduced and so much more. The rulebook has drastically changed from last year. Red Bull have seemed to top winter testing, showing that with chief technical officer Adrian Newey on board they certainly have found pace that other teams cannot for a second season running. The so called ‘back markers’ of the sport who were slated last year have to try and be within the 107% rule, and again we see through testing that Lotus have the advantage of this group, edging even closer to being with the midfield. But without further wait lets examine each team.

RED BULL RACING- Red Bull

@redbullf1spy

Team owner: Dietrich Mateschitz

Team principal: Christian Horner

Consultant: Helmut Marko

Chief technical officer: Adrian Newey

Head of aerodynamics: Peter Prodromou

Chassis: Red Bull RB7

Engine: Renault RS27-2011

Car 1: Sebastian Vettel                      Race engineer: Guillaume Rocquelin (Rocky)

Car 2: Mark Webber                  Race engineer: Ciaron Pilbeam

Many people describe this set up as the ‘dream team’ and last year it certainly deserved that name; gathering the constructors and the drivers championship. Vettel is known as the pole man and has always had raw speed and is able to get the limits from the car. Having won the drivers championship last year, he is full of maturity and eagerness to win his next title. Being partnered with Webber is a hard pairing as both are talented drivers, and what one lacks in youth, the other lacks in age. Webber has been close to winning the championship and has shown some great speed too, but he seems a terribly unlucky driver, who fate doesn’t seem to favour. The team gets along well and is a very strong contender for both titles this season.

VODAFONE MCLAREN MERCEDES- McLaren

@TheFithDriver

Team principal: Martin Whitmarsh

Managing director: Jonathan Neale

Technical director: Paddy Lowe

Director of engineering: Tim Goss

Operations director: Simon Roberts

Chassis: McLaren MP4-36

Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108Y

Car 3: Lewis Hamilton                                Race engineer: Andy Latham

Car 4: Jenson Button                    Race engineer: Dave Robson

Never underestimate McLaren. I may not be a big fan myself, but the team has the ability to save a season due to two fantastic British drivers. The team are roughly 45 years old so have lots of experience and have won 12 drivers titles and 8 constructors titles in the past, and are hoping to make many more. Winter testing has shown the car to be lacking on speed, which could be improved through more testing and wind tunnel work. Hamilton and Button showed good strategy and raw pace with a car that could have been better in 2010, both being competitive for the titles. This year they are even more eager to impress and have the perfect team balance within which to do so. Looks like a good season a tough season ahead for these boys.

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO- Ferrari

@InsideFerrari

President: Luca Di Montezemolo

Team principal: Stefano Domenicali

Technical director: Aldo Costa

Chief designer: Nikolas Tombazis

Head of race track engineering: Pat Fry

Chassis: Ferrari F150th Italia

Engine: Ferrari 056

Car 5: Fernando Alonso                   Race engineer: Andrea Stella

Car 6: Felipe Massa                    Race engineer: Rob Smedley                

Through winter testing Ferrari have shown great pace, looking to be the number 2 team for 2011. Last year was a tough year for Ferrari as Alonso was deprived of the driver’s title, spending most of the grand prix unable to overtake Petrov. But for sure he is not willing for that to happen again. Having won 2 drivers titles already he is desperate to take yet another. Last year Ferrari was part of the controversy with team orders, but this year that rule has been scraped out of the rulebook. There is of course Massa to consider who may be considering his last season at Ferrari if he cannot find raw pace. The Brazilian has showed exceptional talent previously, with his 2008 season, beating his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen. The team is hoping for great results this year considering their great track record and globally famous name.

MERCEDES GP PETRONAS F1 TEAM- Mercedes

@OfficialMGP

Team principal: Ross Brawn

Chief executive officer: Nick Fry

Vice president: Norbert Haug

Chief engineer: Andrew Shovlin

Sporting director: Ron Meadows

Chassis: Mercedes MGP W02

Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108Y

Car 7: Michael Schumacher                Race engineer: Mark Slade

Car 8: Nico Rosberg                 Race engineer: Tony Ross

Last year proved a tough season for the all-German Mercedes GP. The return of the phenomenon Schumacher last year took lots of publicity from the ‘other’ driver, Rosberg, who seemed to thrive on the lack of pressure and put the seven times world champion to shame. Rosberg showed skill and great pace last season, and the same is expected of him this season. Luckily for Schumacher winter testing has shown vast improvement in lap times and even he himself says that last year was his year to adjust and this year he will be competitive. However the car itself has not shown great pace, but with the management of Brawn the team looks set to work hard again.

LOTUS RENAULT GP- Renault

@OfficialLRGP

Chairman: Gerard López

Team principal: Eric Boullier

Chief operating officer: Patrick Louis

Technical director: James Allison

Chief designer: Tim Densham

Chassis: Renault R31

Engine: Renault RS27-2011

Car 9: Nick Heidfeld                 Race engineer: Simon Rennie

Car 10: Vitaly Petrov                    Race engineer: Ayao Komatsu

One thing that winter testing has shown is that this car has speed. The forward-facing front exhausts on the R31 looked unusual but seem to be getting positive results. In 2010 the star driver of Renault was Kubica, but during a rally race the Pole suffered serious injuries to his right arm, shoulder and leg. It is highly unlikely for him to take part in this season. The team decided to take on the experienced ‘quick Nick’ who has shown some solid pace through testing. Petrov showed talent in the last race of the season, stopping Alonso from passing him most of the race. But the Russian has been criticised regularly for careless driving. The team has a good car, but overall Kubica will be thoroughly missed by team, as he could of pushed the car so hard that it could of won the championship.

AT&T WILLIAMS- Williams

@WilliamsF1Team

Team principal: Sir Frank Williams

Director of engineering: Patrick Head

Chairman: Adam Parr

Chief executive officer: Alex Burns

Technical director: Sam Michael

Chassis: Williams FW33

Engine: Cosworth 2011k

Car 11: Rubens Barrichello                Race engineer: Tom McCullough

Car 12: Pastor Maldonado                           Race engineer: Xevi Pujolar

Williams have yet again let another popular driver go. Hulkenberg managed in 2010 to put his Williams on pole in Brazil, the first time it had been managed for the team since 2005. But this rookie who impressed us last year has been dropped for Maldonado, who brings in sponsorship from PDVSA (Venezuelan state oil company.) Barrichello’s experience has proved to be a great benefit to the team with set-up of the car. Development of the 2010 car was hindered by the use of the Cosworth engine and how the preparation for the season had to be spent increasing the fuel capacity as the refuelling ban took place. The team hopes for better progress this year, but have opted to use a battery run KERS and not their own version. Maldonado needs to prove himself as being a good driver and show that no longer having Hulkenberg wasn’t a mistake after all.

FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM- Force India

@clubforce

Team principal: Dr Vijay Mallya

Chief operating officer: Otmar Szafnauer

Team director: Bob Fernley

Technical director: Andrew Green

Team manager: Andy Stevenson

Chassis: Force India VJM04

Engine: Mercedes-Benz FO 108Y

Car 14: Adrian Sutil                        Race engineer: Bradley Joyce

Car 15: Paul Di Resta                      Race engineer: Gianpiero Lambiase

This year hold the first ever Indian Grand Prix and considering Force India are an Indian team this boasts a great development in F1 in this country. In 2010 Force India claimed their best finish in the constructors championship yet and Sutil produced the most overtakes compared to the rest of the drivers; a successful year. But this year the team heads for finishing 5^th in the constructor’s championship with the help of the British driver Di Resta. He seems fast and has showed talent in the DTM series last year. The choice of not to have an Indian driver seems odd, but the two drivers chosen are good to help guide the team from the midfield to competitors.

SAUBER F1 TEAM- Sauber

Sauberf1team.com

Team principal: Peter Sauber

Chief executive officer: Monisha Kaltenborn

Technical director: James Key

Chief designer: Christoph Zimmermann

Head of aerodynamics: Seamus Mullarkey

Chassis: Sauber C30

Engine: Ferrari 056

Car 16: Kamui Kobayashi                             Race engineer: Francesco Nenci

Car 17: Sergio Pérez                       Race engineer: Marco Schüpbach

Sauber have been provided with a rookie line up. Last year we all watched in awe of Kobayashi; with his daring overtakes and rugged driving style. Since then he was generated many fans, and has caused much publicity. The youngster, Perez has brought much-needed sponsors to the team and becomes the 5^th Mexican to start an F1 race. This year the team aims for podiums. Last year reliability hindered the team from further development, so they started work on their 2011 car soon. Hopefully reliability issues will not hinder the car any longer and the two drivers will give us an interesting season.

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO- Toro Rosso

@ToroRossoSpy

 Team principal: Franz Tost

Technical Director: Giorgio Ascanelli

Team manager: Gianfranco Fantuzzi

Chassis: Toro Rosso STR6

Engine: Ferrari 056

Car 18: Sébastien Buemi                     Race engineer: Riccardo Adami

Car 19: Jamie Alguersuari                           Race engineer: Andrea Landi

Toro Rosso has been referred to as Red Bulls ‘sister team.’ It filters talent and good drivers into F1 like Vettel, who claimed his first win with them at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. But since this time, the team has struggled to find great talent. The current drivers, Buemi and Alguersuari show similar pace, but it was not good enough in 2010, probably down to a lack of testing. For them to keep their seats, these two need to show some sheer talent to win over the favour of Helmut Marko to stop him from replacing them with someone else from his young driver program.

TEAM LOTUS- Lotus

@MyTeamLotus

Team principal: Tony Fernandes

Deputy team principal: SM Nasarudin

Chief executive officer: Riad Asmat

Chief technical officer: Mike Gascoyne

Chief operating officer: Keith Saunt

Chassis: Lotus T128

Engine: Renault RS27-2011

Car 20: Jarno Trulli                       Race engineer: Gianluca Pisanello                                               

Car 21: Heikki Kovalainen                Race engineer: Juan Ramirez

Last year Team Lotus filled their brief of being the best of the new teams. This year they want bigger things. Last year showed unreliability, so miles couldn’t be clocked up that were needed for development. The car was far off the midfield pace, even at the end of the season. But, they have aims to compete with the likes of Renault, Toro Rosso and Sauber by the end of the year. They have signed a new engine deal with Renault and are hoping with the experience of their two good drivers to bag some decent points this year.

HRT F1 TEAM- Hispania

@HispaniaRacing

President: José Ramón Carabante

Team principal: Dr Colin Kolles

Technical director: Geoff Willis

Head of operations: Boris Bermes

Chassis: HRT F111

Engine: Cosworth CA2011

Car 22: Narain Karthikeyan                Race engineer: Ángel Baena

Car 23: Vitantonio Liuzzi                      Race engineer: Richard Connell

One of the main goals for Hispania this season is to qualify within the 107% rule. Last year the F110 chassis was put together very much at the last minute and lack of testing meant that Hispania were always going to be stuck at the back of the field. But they did well to pull of more finishes compared to Virgin who had better resources and more funding. Luizzi had the most crashes out of anyone in 2010, maybe this year he’ll be a bit more careful. The team have taken on Karthikeyan who will bring in lots of publicity for the Indian GP if the car manages to make it to the finish. Lets hope that this new team will progress and not leave the sport anytime soon as it’s teams like this that develop and become the front runners.

MARUSSIA VIRGIN RACING- Virgin

@VirginRacing

Chairman: Sir Richard Branson

Team principal: John Booth

Technical director: Nick Wirth

Chassis: Marussia Virgin MVR-02                

Engine: Cosworth CA2011

Car 24: Timo Glock                      Race engineer: Michael Harre                     

Car 25: Jérôme d’Ambrosio                Race engineer: Mark Hutcheson

In 2010 they finished last in the championship standings. Is the same going to happen this year? Unprepared is definitely a word you could use to describe Virgin, as they arrived in Bahrain last year knowing full well that their car wouldn’t make it to the end of the race with a fuel tank that didn’t hold enough fuel. Down force lacked in the car, as the team only used CFD to develop down force, not using wind tunnels. But this year sponsorship should help car development. Di Grassi has been replaced by Belgian driver d’Ambrosio and Glock remains; giving the team a man with good experience. The 107% rule is a key goal for this team, and perhaps this year they can manage to get enough fuel in the car for it to finish.