F1Break

After reading the comment from 'me' about Sidepodcast possibly introducing a newspaper review, I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at what is being said about Formula One, around the world. With the sport being so international, I didn't come across any earth-shattering news that hadn't been picked up by the English language press. There were a few interesting little snippets, though.

It is quite refreshing to see the way Formula One is covered elsewhere. With so many in the English language media having formed an obsession with one particular driver, it's good to be able to take in a little diversity.

Trawling through the net looking for these little snippets is very time consuming, mind. Many media outlets don't send their own staff to Grand Prix, and just rely on Reuters, AFP or the AP. All three news agencies employ some good journalists, and their race reports shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Heavily syndicated news articles wasn't what I went in search of, however.

[Read more]

The start of Q1 was reasonably slow, but came alive just after the half way mark. By the last few minutes it was pretty hectic with Button, Vettel, Rosberg and Webber dangerously close to the droop zone. I was on the edge of my seat hoping that Button would make it through! However by the end of Q1 dropping out were Sato, Davidson, Sutil, Fisichella, Vettel and Coulthard, with Button just scrapping through. I'm sure we all expected the Super Aguris to be in last place given their money problems and lack of pace. The Force India's were looking good yesterday in Free Practice 2 and were strangely topping the timesheets for the majority of the practice so it surprised me they were not doing a bit better. But by far the largest surprise to come out of Q1 was Coulthard, who was eliminated after Trulli put in a great lap to reach 2nd before being pushed back to 3rd by Hamilton. Coulthard had been doing well throughout the free practices, actually leading the one at one point. Webber his team mate was 11th. Q1 was also disappointing for Vettel who was out qualified by an amazing drive from Bourdais.

The start of Q2 showed no signs of activity and it was a long five minutes until any cars hit the track. Once it got started Q2 was also exciting, with drivers constantly jostling for position. By the end of a manic session, where P1 changed several times, out were Barrichello, Nakajima, Button, Glock, Rosberg, and Bourdais. So that was both of the Hondas and Willaims out. I was expecting more from Rosberg today. I seriously thought he would be in the top ten. As for the Hondas, well, I'm and Honda fan and rather gullibly believed that they would be placed firmly in the top ten after their recent aero update. However I still have faith in them! They are just outside the top ten so they have the advantage of being able to choose their fuel strategy tomorrow. So I will keep my fingers crossed that they both manage to get through the immanent first corner/ first lap carnage.

For Q3, as for Q2, it took a few minutes until cars were out on the track. The usual held pole for some time with both Hamilton and Massa looking pretty quick each grabbing pole respectively. However for me it was the dying moments that made my day. Alonso had been quick throughout qualifying but his final stella lap was amazing and in the R28 grabbed provisional pole, much to the delight of his hundreds of fans. However Raikkonen snatched pole seconds later leaving Alonso in 2nd. It was an amazing performance by Renault who are in the top 3 for the first time since 2006! I'm not particularly an Alonso fan, but I'm so happy for Renault. Okay they were running pretty light, but 2nd on the grid is 2nd on the grid, right? It's all good publicity, and it's always nice to see another team at the front. Mclaren had a particularly tough time today with Hamilton and Kovalainen only managing 5th and 6th respectively. Its also worth mentioning that Trulli has again qualified well in 8th, out qualifying his team mate Glock in 14th. Not what I had expected from Heidfeld though who is down in 9th, his team mate Kubica in 4th. Webber also doing well in 7th reiterating the disappointing qualifying for Coulthard.

[Read more]

Unlike Royal Mail, Fernando Alonso is capable of delivering on the big occasion. Yesterday, the Spaniard secured his 28th career front row start. That's a hugely impressive record of qualifying at the sharp end in 26% of the Grand Prix he's competed in. Not bad for a man who spent his first season in the sport racing for Minardi.

There have been many who've pointed out that Alonso's second place on the grid was achieved by running light. And more than likely they're correct. It's also true that Renault have made improvement's to the R28 in time for the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the fact still remains that in four events, Alonso has failed to make the top ten shoot-out only once. Team-mate Nelson Piquet, on the other hand, secured a place in the final stage of qualifying for the first time this weekend.

The most astonishing thing isn't Alonso's record in qualifying, over the course of his career, it's his ability to bring the car home in a good position on race day. Out of the 27 times he's started Grand Prix from the front row, he's gone on to finish in the top three on 24 occasions. This includes podiums in three races during 2003-04, when taking on drivers who were making use of much faster machinery. So maybe, just maybe, Sunday evening will see a few bottles of Cruzcampo drank in celebration of a good result for the Asturian, in his home Grand Prix.