GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned on 22 April, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced.
Ongoing political unrest, which included the death of anti-government protesters last year, had fueled speculation that the racing event may be cancelled. Opposition to the ruling royal family had called for the races to be put off.
The Formula 1 governing body released a statement Friday 13 April saying “The FIA must make rational decisions on the information provided to us by the Bahraini authorities and by the Commercial Rights Holders” and “it is satisfied that all the proper security measures are in place for the running” of the race.
Formula 1 president Bernie Ecclestone, commented, “I suppose the right thing to do is to stop speculating and wait and see, then we will deal with the matter when it arises”.
Links to other sources: BBC, The Guardian, International Business Times
TOKYO, JAPAN – Jenson Button won the Japanese Grand Prix for McLaren but it was not enough to stop Sebastian Vettel from retaining the world championship crown at the Japanese Grand Prix 9 October. Fernando Alonso was second in his Ferrari with Vettel’s Red Bull coming third, more than achieving the single point he needed to retain his title.
Vettel started in pole position but held it only thanks to some aggresssive driving on the first straight when he forced Button off the track.
The McLaren driver got his revenge later when he gained a second during the pit stops and took the lead, retaining it till the end.
Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi was last, being the only driver not to finish.
Vettel is the youngest driver to have won and then retained his title.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – WWF, the environmental group, and German Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel have reached an agreement on the new home he wants to build in Kemmental, canton Thurgau. The two have been at odds since the WWF announced in November 2010 that it would oppose planning permission for his home.
Local authorities had lifted a construction ban next to his house in the village of Ellighausen to make way for a swimming pool and tennis court, but the WWF and another group, SLP, had opposed it as well as his plans to build a 200-metre concrete wall to protect his privacy.
The racer and WWF 23 September announced that an agreement has been reached whereby Vettel is dropping his re-zoning request for the area next to his house and the wall will go ahead but only until 2020, at which point the hedge planted now will be high enough to replace the wall. In addition, Vettel has agreed to finance an environmental project to make up for damage done to a natural pond during excavation work.
International sports, Formula 1
Hungaroring, Hungary Jenson Button showed his mastery of wet conditions to take the Hungarian Grand Prix for Mclaren. Sebastian Vettel was second but increased his lead in the championship, Sunday 31 July. Fernando Alonso was third in his Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton lead for part of the race but was hampered by poor choice of tyres, multiple pit stops and a drive-through penalty: he could only manage fourth. Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi came in a creditable eighth from a 23rd place on the starting grid.
SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND – Fernando Alonso scored his first win of the season in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He drove a faultless race and took full advantage of the technical problems of both the Red Bull and McLaren teams. Mark Webber started in pole position, just ahead of Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel but the order of the top two was switched by the first turn. The race was complicated by the weather, with some parts of the track wet and others dry, making for interesting racing. Alonso passed Vettel when the Red Bull pit stop was messed up.
Jenson Button was later eliminated by a rather worse stop where he drove off before his rear wheel was properly fastened.
In the end Alonso won from Vettel, Webber and Lewis Hamilton. Felipé Massa was fifth. Vettel leads the championship race by 80 points.
Links to other sites: Formula 1, BBC, Guardian
Silverstone, England The Daily Telegraph, reports that Lewis Hamilton has been house hunting in Monaco, which is also the base of team-mate Jenson Button, 9 July. Apparently the Formula 1 driver finds life a bit dull in Zurich but might also be influenced by the prospect of higher taxes. Other commentators are more concened with Hamilton’s erratic performance this season. Felipé Massa, Nicki Lauda and even Stirling Moss have been critical of his aggressive driving style as he struggles to compete with the better performing cars of the Red Bull team and its star driver Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton has promised to put things right at this weekend’s British Grand prix at Silverstone.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It was a fine weekend for sports fans, with the best and the brightest putting on good shows:
Football – Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in a master class performance, with the Man United team and coach graciously afterwards that Barcelona is simply the best team in Europe. Details, The Guardian
Tennis – Roger Federer smoothly sailed past fellow Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. He now has his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final place. Details, Roland Garros
Formula 1 – Sebastian Vettel won in Monte Carlo, with Fernando Alonso second and Jenson Button in third. Details, Formula 1 de Monaco
International sports, Formula 1
Petronas, Malaysia (GenevaLunch) - Sebastian Vettel scored his fourth successive Grand Prix when he drove his Red Bull to victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix, 10 April. Jenson Button was second for McLaren in a dramatic race which featured more overtaking than normal, a spectacular crash and another clash between Lewis Hamilton and Alonso. Vettel was always in command with a magistral display despite losing his KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) accelaration in mid-race. Nick Heidfeld was third for Renault, followed by Mark Webber, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Michael Schumacher was 9th while Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi was out of the points in 13th.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - Australia and Sebastian Vettel combined to offer Formula 1 fans a season opener Sunday 27 March to whet the appetite for more. Red Bull’s Vettel set out in style to defend his world champion title, finishing 22.2s ahead of MacLaren’s Lewis Hamilton whose KERS-assisted rush in the pair’s drag race to the first corner was the only real challenge to Vettel. The German’s stellar performance contrasted with the German lineup for Mercedes, where Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg both had accidents and were out.
The F1 now moves on to Malaysia for the next race, 10 April.
Links to other sites: F1 season calendar, F1, Grand Prix Australia, how your team fared
Abu Dhabi (GenevaLunch) – Sebastian Vettel, 23-year-old German Formula 1 driver, made history Sunday 14 November by being the youngest ever winner of the F1 driver’s title. He ended the season with 10 wins for Red Bull to his name. Fernando Alonso and Ferrari went into the race needing to finish in the top four for Alonzo to take the title, but he finished in seventh place. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished second and Jenson Button third.
Red Bull also took the constructor’s title, earlier in the season in Brazil.
Links to other sites: BBC, F1, post-race interview with Vettel, rankings on F1
International sports, Formula 1
Sao Paulo, Brazil (GenevaLunch) - Red Bull scored another double to take the constructors’ championship for the first time and ensure that the drivers’ title would not be decided before the final race of the season. Sebastian Vettel started in second spot but took the lead by the first corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix and was never really challenged in the penultimate race of the season, 7 November. His teammate Mark Webber took second with championship leader Fernado Alonso in third place for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton was fourth and will need a few miracles to win the title, but Vettel and Webber are in with a chance of passing Alonso. 2009 champion Jenson Button came fifth but is now out of the running. Michael Schumacher was 7th while Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi was 13th.
Fernando Alonso will win the title if he finishes first or second in the final race in Abu Dhabi 14 November, or he can finish 4th if Webber rather than Vettel takes the race.
International sports, Formula 1
Singapore, (GenevaLunch) - Fernando Alonso won his second successive Grand Prix when he claimed the Singapore race for Ferrari, ahead of the Red Bulls driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Jenson Button was fourth while team-mate Lewis Hamilton once again did not finish after colliding with Webber. Alonso started in pole position and was rarely troubled by those behind him, except on the final lap as Vettel almost caught him.
There are five drivers within 25 points, the reward for a win, with Webber leading Alonso by 11 points and Hamilton, Vettel and Button taking the next places.
International sports, Formula 1, German Grand Prix
Update 26 July Hockenheim, Germany (GenevaLunch) - Ferrari took their first double for two years as Fernando Alonso and Felipé Massa took the top two places in the German Grand Prix, 25 July 2010. The win left a sour taste, however, as Massa allowed Alonso to pass despite the F1 rules against race fixing. Sebastian Vettel started in pole position with his Red Bull but was passed by the two Ferraris on the first straight and could only follow them to third place. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button took the next two spots for McLaren. Hamilton heads the standings for the season, 14 points ahead of Button while Mark Webber is another seven points back.
Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi retired after one lap.
Stewards later announced that Ferrari had been fined $100,000 for breaching the regulation: “Team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited.” It is also possible that the team will be punished by losing their points from the Grand Prix. The rule was introduced after outrage following the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix when Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello allowed team-mate Michael Schumacher to pass in the final straight.
News out of Russia today, 15 July: 1,200 people in Russia are reported to have drowned, most of them drunk at the time, while trying to escape from the heat, according to CNN: “Vadim Seryogin, a department head at Russia’s Emergencies Ministry, told reporters Wednesday that 49 people, including two children, had drowned in the last day. More than 1,200 total have drowned, 223 of them between July 5 and July 12. ‘The majority of those drowned were drunk,’ Seryogin said. “The children died because adults simply did not look after them.’”
Russian Formula 1 fans will turn their eyes on the Kremlin Sunday 18 July, when “Jensen Button and Russia’s first Formula One driver, Vitaly Petrov, speed around the Kremlin on Sunday at the Bavaria Moscow City Racing, now an annual race around the center of Moscow” reports the Moscow Times.
And Russians are warming up to the 25 July visit to Moscow by “beauty and mother of six” Angelina Jolie’s to promote her new movie “Salt” about a CIA agent accused of spying for Russia, timely given the talk about town in Moscow about Russians spying in the US, says Ria Novosti.
International sports, Formula 1, European Grand Prix
Valencia, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Red Bull brought Germany their first sporting glory of the day with an emphatic win at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, 27 June. Sebastian Vettel started in pole position and was never really threatened. Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button came in next for McLaren although Button’s third place might be lost to a steward’s enquiry after a group of drivers went too fast during while the safety car was on. Should that happen third place would go to the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi.The most exciting moment of the race was when the other Red Bull driver, Mark Webber, was involved in a spectacular crash after driving into the rear of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus.
International Sports, Formula 1
Istanbul, Turkey (GenevaLunch) - Red Bull spoiled their day when their two drivers collided while leading the race at the Turkish Grand Prix 30 May. The Mclaren team swept past them to win their own double, with Lewis Hamilton taking first place ahead of Jenson Button. The Red Bull smash-up came on the 40th lap when German Sebastian Vettel tried to pass his Australian teammate Mark Webber, veered to the right before he had completed the maneuver and crashed into the side of Webber’s car. Vettel was forced to stop while Webber had to pit and emerged in third place, just ahead of Michael Schumacher. The two McLaren drivers almost collided as Button swept past Hamilton, only to have Hamilton immediately do the same back.
Urgent messages from the mechanics prevented any more fun and the race ended peacefully. Mark Webber still heads the standings this season, ahead of Button and Hamilton. Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi had another bad day with a collision on the first lap: he finished 16th. Ferrari ended 7th and 8th.
International sports, Formula 1,
Monte Carlo Grand Prix (GenvaLunch) - Mark Webber led from start to finish to set up a one-two finish for Red Bull at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix 16 May. The Australian drove a controlled race and was never threatened. He now heads the standings with 78 points, equal to team-mate Sebastian Vettel who was second in the race. Lewis Hamilton came in fifth while Jenson Button was eliminated as his engine overheated. Michael Schumacher provided the one piece of controversy by passing Fernando Alonso on the final lap just after the fourth safety car had left the track on the final lap. The German veteran was given a 20 second penalty which moved him back from 6th to 12th place and allowed Swiss driver Sebastian Buemi to score his first point of the season for coming 10th.
International sports, Formula 1
Circuit de Catalunya, Spain (GenevaLunch) – Before the race began Mark Webber, the Australian Red Bull driver, was asked what he was hoping for: he replied that he wanted a boring race and that is what he delivered at the Spanish Grand Prix 9 May. In the first dry race of the season he lead from pole position to the end and was never challenged for the lead. Behind him it was more a question of the reliability of the cars than the skill of the drivers. Sebastian Vettel started second but fell back behind Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso as he had braking problems.
Hamilton crashed out with a puncture on the final lap when he was in second place. Alonso then took second for Ferrari, Vettel finished third. Michael Schumacher was fourth, his best finish since coming out of retirement. Jenson Button, the current champion, came fifth and retains a lead of three points from Alonso in the drivers’ championship.
Shanghai, China (GenevaLunch) - McLaren Mercedes drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton made it an English double as they took the top two places in the Chinese Grand Prix, 18 April. The championship winners from 2009 and 2008 mastered the changing weather conditions better than the Red Bull team that started at the front of the grid. Fernando Alonso passed the Red Bull team on the first straight but was sent back for a drive through penalty for having started early. Sebastian Vettel went down from pole to finish sixth, Mark Webber from second to eighth. Nico Rosberg finished third for Mercedes and Alonso was fourth for Ferrari. Felipe Massa was back in ninth place, followed by Michael Schumacher.
Four drivers were forced to retire on the first lap including Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi after a pile up. Buemi was also victim of a spectacular crash in qualifying. The race was one of the most fascinating of recent years as the rain and tyre changes made for competitive, sometimes chaotic, conditions. Button now heads the championship table by ten points from Nico Rosberg with Alonso and Hamilton another point back.
© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Sepang, Malaysia (GenevaLunch) – Red Bull dominated the Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday 4 April. Their two drivers started on the front row and ended first and second: the only change was that Sebastian Vettel passed Mark Webber on the way to the first bend and then stayed in front for the rest of the race.
Further back there was more action. Both Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes made a mess of the qualifying stages and started almost at the back of the grid.
Melbourne, Australia (GenevaLunch) - World Champion Jenson Button gave a master class in smooth driving to take the Australian Grand Prix for McLaren Mercedes Sunday 28 March (Swiss time). It was an exciting race full of incidents: changing weather, changing tires, engine failures, overtaking and collisions. The keys to the victory were Button’s decision to switch to slick tires, for dry conditions, before the other drivers and then his unmatched ability to preserve his tires.
Bahrain (GenevaLunch) - Fernando Alonso started his Ferrari career in the ideal way by leading the team to a one-two victory Sunday 14 March at the opening Grand Prix of the season on the newly designed Bahrain track. Sebastin Vettel started in pole position with Alonso and teammate Felipe Massa taking the next two spots on the starting grid, followed by Lewis Hamilton for McLaren. Michael Schumacher started his comeback race in seventh place.
Once the race was underway Vettel pulled into an early lead and held it for the first 35 laps until his car developed problems with its exhaust system.
Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (GenevaLunch) - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber grabbed the top two places in the final Grand Prix of the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi. It was the first race to take place on the track, and the first day-night Grand Prix race. Jenson Button, who had captured the championship in the previous Grand Prix, took third place after an unsuccessful fight to pass Webber in the final laps.
Tokyo, Japan (GenevaLunch) – Sebastian Vettel drove his Red Bull to a routine victory in the Japanese Grand Prix to preserve his chances of upsetting Jenson Button in the championship race.
The German driver lead from pole position and was never really threatened. Italian Jarno Trulli was second for Toyota with current champion Lewis Hamilton third in his McLaren. Button picked up one point for coming eighth but still has a 14-point lead over teammate Rubens Barrichello and is 16 points clear of Vettel with two races left.
Details: Guardian, UK
Singapore (GenevaLunch) – Lewis Hamilton predicted that the Singapore Grand Prix would be a pleasant evening drive and that turned out to be the case, at least for him. The British driver, current champion but well out of the running after a poor start to the season, started from pole position and was never in danger. Jenson Button, current championship leader came in fifth despite starting from 12th to pick up four points, extending his lead over Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello to 15 points, with three races to go. Timo Glock was second in his Toyota and Fernando Alonso third in his Renault. Sebastian Vettel was fourth for Red Bull, and is third in the championship, 25 points behind Button.
The next Grand Prix will be in Japan on Sunday, October 4, and could secure the title for Button.
Details: Formula 1.com
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Renault has announced that it will not fight charges it plotted to have one of its drivers, Nelson Piquet Jr, crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in order to let another teammate, Swis-based Fernando Alonso, to move ahead. The crash was reportedly planned to leave debris on the track, causing a “safety car” incident, and Piquet’s confession, available online, appears to provide evidence. Alonso, who was well down the field before the crash, went on to win.
Monza, Italy (GenevaLunch) - The Brawn GP team got back to their winning ways of earlier in the season as Rubens Barrichello won from team-mate Jenson Button in the Italian Grand Prix. The Brazilian reduced Buttton’s lead in the championship by two points but more significant was the failure of the Red Bull team, which saw Mark Webber eliminated and Sebastian Vettel back in eighth place.
Valencia, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Rubens Barrichello was the popular winner of the European GP in the streets of Valencia, his first win since 2004 with Ferrari. The Brawn GP driver started in third place behind Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren. In the first lap Kimi Raikkönen moved up from sixth to fourth while Championship leader Jenson Button went down from fifth to ninth.
Lewis Hamilton extended his lead through the opening laps.
Mugello, Italy (GenevaLunch) - Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula 1 Champion has abandoned his comeback as replacement driver for Felipe Massa in the Ferrari team for the European Grand Prix to be held in Valencia, Spain.
