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.
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.
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.
Might soon be time to trade in your old Ferrari California (image ©2009 Ferrari/Geneva Motor Show)
Ferrari 458, sleek, aerodynamic
Milan, Italy (GenevaLunch) – The Italia 458 Ferrari, due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in Germany 15 September, is the Italian carmaker’s bid to beat the worldwide economic slump by facing it head on. The Italia is a completely new car, aided by crucial design input from Gland, Switzerland-based world racing champion, Michael Schumacher, a former Ferrari racer.
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Seven-times world champion racing driver Michael Schumacher announced he would stand in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa in the upcoming race in Valencia, Spain 23 August. Schumacher, 40, who lives on the shores of Lake Geneva, retired from Formula 1 racing in 2006 but continued as a team advisor for the Ferrari team where he won five of his seven championships.
Schumacher home in Gland
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Formula 1′s former champion Michael Schumacher, had grandiose ideas about the dock he wants to install at his new lakefront estate on the shores of Lake Geneva in Gland, according to the Tribune de Geneve, quoting Michel Cosendai of the Vaud cantonal water service. The final solution, posted for public consultation until mid-August, will allow docking space two motor boats and the option of an offshore anchor for a sailboat. One group that is likely to oppose the new construction is the Association Rives Publiques, which has been fighting for open public access to the shores of Lake Geneva. According to the Tribune, the group plans to file its opposition.
Schumacher's new home in Gland (©E Wallace 2009)
The race driver's old home, now for rent (image: GetImage/Immostreet.ch)
Vufflens-le-Chateau, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Formula 1 superstar Michael Schumacher has put his house in the Vaud hills above Morges up for rent for a cool CHF29,000, which even in the Swiss housing market is on the high end. And that doesn’t include les charges, such as electricity, for which the amount is not given.
Here’s what you can rent for this price in Vaud:
Istanbul, Turkey (GenevaLunch) – Jenson Button drove his Brawn GP car to his fourth consecutive Formula 1 victory. He has now won six of the seven races this season. He then thanked the team for producing a “monster of a car.” Only four other drivers have won six of the first seven, Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher (twice).
