Vettel Gets Grid Demotion

Toro Rosso driver, Sebastian Vettel, will be demoted five places down the grid for next weekend’s Monte Carlo GP.

Toro Rosso will be using their new STR3 car, which uses a different gearbox to the car that Vettel and team-mate Sebastien Bourdais have been running so far this season. FIA regulations mean that if a gearbox doesn’t last the required four races, this will result in a five-place grid demotion.

Bourdais is exempt from the grid penalty as he failed to finish the race in Istanbul.

Paul Ricard Testing: Day 3

Jarno Trulli (Toyota) topped the timesheets on a rain-affected third day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit today.

He was followed by Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault), Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren) and Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso). Felipe Massa (Ferrari) ended the day in fifth, ahead of Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Sebastien Buemi (Red Bull), Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India), Jenson Button (Honda), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Nico Hulkenberg (Williams).

The full list of testing times were:

1. TRULLI           Toyota                      1:31.360               

2. PIQUET JR.      Renault                     1:31.634  

            
3. DE LA ROSA    McLaren-Mercedes   1:32.143
4. VETTEL           Toro Rosso                1:32.480
5. MASSA             Ferrari                       1:33.246

6. HEIDFELD         BMW Sauber-BMW     1:33.371

7. BUEMI                Red Bull-Renault      1:34.064
8. FISICHELLA        Force India-Ferrari   1:34.071
9. BUTTON             Honda                      1:36.501
10. SUTIL               Force India-Ferrari   1:43.877
11. HULKENBERG   Williams-Toyota       1:44.741

Sato To Race For Renault?

If today’s rumours have any truth to them, Takuma Sato might be on his way to Renault next season as a replacement for Nelson Piquet Jr, who French magazine Autohebdo (the origins of the rumour) imply is out of favour after his less than fantastic start to the season.

They suggest that Renault are interested in conducting a summer shoot-out to decide who will partner Fernando Alonso. As well Sato and Piquet Jr, test driver Romain Grosjean is also a potential contender for the race seat.

Sato recently lost his race seat with Super Aguri when the team were forced to surrender to their financial troubles.

Monaco Royals Will Snub Mosley

Shamed FIA president Max Mosley will make a public appearance at next weekend’s Monte Carlo GP (his first since the now infamous Nazi sex scandal hit the headlines), but he shouldn’t expect any support from the Monaco Royal Family.

The crunch meeting to decide Mosley’s FIA fate is now only a matter of weeks away.

Paul Ricard Testing: Day 2

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:05.381. This was two tenths faster than Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark time from yesterday. The Ferrari driver continued experimenting with aerodynamic set-ups ahead of next weekend’s Monaco GP.

Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) set the second best time, ahead of Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), David Coulthard (Red Bull), Jenson Button (Honda), Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India).

Tomorrow, the teams will revert to a longer run, so the test doubles as a partial preparation for the Canadian GP.

The full list of testing times were:

1.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       1m05.381s

2.  KOVALAINEN   McLaren       1m05.471s

3.  KUBICA       BMW           1m05.905s

4.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      1m06.001s

5.  BUTTON       Honda         1m06.091s

6.  BOURDAIS     Toro Rosso    1m06.125s

7.  TRULLI       Toyota        1m06.205s

8.  PIQUET       Renault       1m06.355s

9.  NAKAJIMA     Williams      1m07.080s

10. SUTIL        Force India   1m07.104s

11. FISICHELLA   Force India   1m07.123s

 

 

Whitmarsh: Puncture Cost Kovalainen Win

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh has said that Heikki Kovalainen’s puncture denied him the chance to claim his first victory.

The Finn was involved in an accident with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen on the opening lap of the Turkish GP. The unscheduled pit stop messed up his pit strategy, leaving him to finish out of the points.

Whitmarsh said: “I think both our drivers did a fantastic job but, from a strategic point of view, Heikki was in the strongest position to win this race. I think he would have won had he not banged wheels with Raikkonen at the start.”

Paul Ricard Testing: Day 1

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1:05.600, which was good enough to see off Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber).

It’s difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from the first day of testing, as most of the teams were testing different components. Raikkonen was testing new aerodynamic components on his Ferrari ahead of the upcoming Monaco GP in Monte Carlo. Williams were also experimenting with aerodynamic set-ups. Kubica didn’t complete the full morning session as his BMW suffered an oil leak. His engine was changed, and he returned to testing new aerodynamic and suspension component. Red Bull were experimenting with the tyre compounds that will be used in Monte Carlo. Sebastian Vettel was testing the STR3 for Toro Rosso. The new car makes its official debut next week.

The full list of times were:

1.  HAMILTON      McLaren     1m05.600s

2.  RAIKKONEN     Ferrari     1m06.098s

3.  KUBICA        BMW         1m06.177s

4.  WEBBER        Red Bull    1m06.348s

5.  VETTEL        Toro Rosso  1m06.372s

6.  ROSBERG       Williams    1m06.571s

7.  WURZ          Honda       1m06.681s

8.  GLOCK         Toyota      1m06.936s

9.  LIUZZI        Force India 1m07.346s

10. DI GRASSI     Renault     1m07.430s

Massa Ignites Championship Battle

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa claimed his third successive win in Istanbul, catapulting himself into joint second place in the World Championship. The Brazilian was briefly passed by Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), but regained control of the race with a bit of help from the Briton’s three-stop pit strategy.  

Massa is level on points with Hamilton, but takes the second spot on countback (he has two wins to Hamilton’s one). Team-mate and defending champion, Kimi Raikkonen, is seven points clear at the top of the table after finishing in third.

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica was fourth, ahead of team-mate Nick Heidfeld, Fernando Alonso (Renault), Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Nico Rosberg (Williams).

The safety car was deployed after the opening lap following an incident between Giancarlo Fisichella and Kazuki Nakajima. The first lap also saw Adrian Sutil and Sebastian Vettel come to blows. Sutil needed a new front wing, while Vettel picked up a puncture. Fisichella has since denied that he was to blame for the accident, instead choosing to blame the Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais. In a separate incident, Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) was forced to pit for a puncture after making contact with Kimi Raikkonen.

For the new championship standings, click here.

The full race results were:

1.  MASSA        Ferrari       
2.  HAMILTON     McLaren       +3.7s
3.  RAIKKONEN    Ferrari       +4.2s
4.  KUBICA       BMW           +21.6s
5.  HEIDFELD     BMW           +38.7s
6.  ALONSO       Renault       +53.7s
7.  WEBBER       Red Bull      +64.2s
8.  ROSBERG      Williams      +71.4s
9.  COULTHARD    Red Bull      +75.2s
10. TRULLI       Toyota        +76.3s
11. BUTTON       Honda         +1 lap
12. KOVALAINEN   McLaren       +1 lap
13. GLOCK        Toyota        +1 lap
14. BARRICHELLO  Honda         +1 lap
15. PIQUET       Renault       +1 lap
16. SUTIL        Force India   +1 lap
17. VETTEL       Toro Rosso    +1 lap

Massa Storms To Pole In Turkey

Felipe Massa (Ferrari) put team-mate Kimi Raikkonen firmly in the shade en route to pole in Istanbul earlier today.

World Champion Raikkonen had to settle for fourth place, behind the McLarens of Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) slotted into fifth. Mark Webber (Red Bull) was an impressive sixth, while team-mate David Coulthard also made it into the top ten shoot-out in tenth. The rest of the top ten was rounded out by Fernando Alonso (Renault), Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber).

The full list of qualifying times were:

1.  MASSA         Ferrari     

2.  KOVALAINEN    McLaren        

3.  HAMILTON      McLaren        

4.  RAIKKONEN     Ferrari    

5.  KUBICA        BMW

6.  WEBBER        Red Bull

7.  ALONSO        Renault

8.  TRULLI        Toyota

9.  HEIDFELD      BMW

10. COULTHARD     Red Bull       

11. ROSBERG       Williams     

12. BARRICHELLO   Honda        

13. BUTTON        Honda        

14. VETTEL        Toro Rosso    

15. GLOCK         Toyota       

16. NAKAJIMA      Williams      
17. PIQUET        Renault      
18. BOURDAIS      Toro Rosso    
19. SUTIL         Force India

20. FISICHELLA    Force India* (three place grid penalty)

Kovalainen To Race In Turkey

McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen has been cleared to race at this weekend’s Turkish GP in Istanbul following his horror crash in Barcelona.

According to an FIA statement, “Following a medical examination this morning by the FIA Medical Delegate, Professor Jean-Charles Piette, and the Chief Medical Officer of the event, Dr. Cem Boneval, Heikki Kovalainen was cleared to race in the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix.”