Yamamoto in for Senna at Silverstone

HRT race driver Bruno Senna will be replaced by test driver Sakon Yamamoto for the British Grand Prix weekend, the team revealed on Thursday evening. The reason for the last-minute change has not been confirmed.


Senna has driven his - and HRT’s - first nine Grands Prix this season alongside fellow newcomer Karun Chandhok. Yamamoto, a veteran of 14 Grand Prix starts with Super Aguri and Spyker (now Force India), joined the Spanish team in April.

HRT are expected to issue a press release on the matter on Friday morning.

Renault confirmed Robert Kubica to stay till 2012

Robert Kubica Will drive for Renault for the next two season.

It was a straightforward decision for me to continue with a team where I feel at home.

What’s important for me is to be in the right atmosphere, with a good group of people, where everybody is pulling in the same direction. This is what we have tried to build from the beginning of my time with Renault.

Robert Kubica
 
There have been many rumours surrounding his future in recent weeks, which were a tribute to how well he has driven this year, and we are very happy to have agreed a multi-year deal.

Our clear goal is to become title contenders over the next two years. To do so, we need a driver of Robert’s calibre: somebody who is fast, totally committed and doesn’t make mistakes. His performances during the first half of the 2010 season were flawless, and we hope to achieve great things together in the future.

Team principal Eric Boullier

Silverstone Grand Prix Preview (Red Bull's Race to lose)

The start of the second half of the season is very important especially with very tight championship like the one we have this year.


Round ten of the FIA Formula1 World Championship takes place in Silverstone one of the greatest tracks on the calendar, and the home of all motorsport activities the track was changed and got a new surface, but the track’s characteristics did not changed with its high speed corners and long straights.

Ever since the Red Bull RB6 hit the road at the season pretest every body knew it was going to be untouchable in Silverstone, And their great pace last year prove this, with F-DUCT working pretty well for the RB6 it would be a surprise to someone else rather than the Red Bulls in the front row.

McLaren were pleased with result in Valencia without the blowing diffuser and they have big expectations for their home race with their Blown Diffuser Exhaust and Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button want to do something in front of the British fans:

Silverstone really is like no other circuit on the calendar - the fans are not only so passionate, but also incredibly dedicated and knowledgeable. There’s always a unique atmosphere there, and I’m really looking forward to it.

Jenson Button

Ferrari had a very frustrating race in Valencia as they had a good pace in the race than in Qualifying but they could not show their pace because they got stuck in traffic, and Ferrari have always gone fast in Silverstone and they must close the gap to the Leaders in both championship, Ferrari had a bad luck in the last few races and they have to get right in this one.

Ferrari are bringing more upgrades for the F10 for the British Grand Prix and have further steps planned for the next two races.


A new front wing and revised rear wing will be run at Silverstone, two weeks after they introduced their exhaust driven diffuser in Valencia.

In the video above Stefano Domenicali confirms further packages are planned for the German and Hungarian Grands Prix.

Fernando Alonso said he expects racing at Silverstone for a non-British team – the first time he’s done so since driving for Minardi in 2001 – will be like playing an away match in football:

Silverstone will be a nice Grand Prix. It’s always nice to race in England, I think the people understand about Formula 1 and there’s a big culture of Formula 1 there as well. It’s a nice event.

I’ve been racing with some British teams there and it was a nice feeling. This year it will be like playing away in a match but I think we can do well. There’s a new layout on the circuit so there’a a big challenge for drivers and engineers to be ready for the new Silverstone.

Fernando Alonso

The battle between Mercedes and Renault is very interesting as Mercedes started the season ahead of Renault but now the have fallen behind Renault and may fall behind Force India as well with the Indian team to put the Blown Diffuser Exhaust that Mercedes and Renault both raced in Valencia.

Williams made a great performance on Valencia can they keep the momentum and make into Q3.

In the back Lotus have been the quickest new team so far this season but they don’t have a reliable car in the race.

RB6 Qualifying speed is revealed

A secret of Red Bull's superior pace in the decisive Q3 phase of qualifying may have been revealed.

Autosprint's auto.it website reports that the team has a special electronic setting for the Renault engine that maintains a constant exhaust gas pressure.

When the setting is selected, the stream of gases flow constantly from the exhaust through the double diffuser, even when the driver of the RB6 is not pressing the throttle.
This would increase downforce at slow speeds.

The setting, revealed initially on the blog of the British journalist James Allen, is reportedly used sparingly - for example only in Q3 - because it is damaging to the engine.

The RB6 has been on pole position at 8 of the 9 grands prix so far this season.

Rear wing idea 'highly dangerous' - Glock

Timo Glock has joined a group of F1 drivers who think the 'proximity' wing idea is a bad one.


FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh has admitted that the proposal, with chasing drivers able to press a button and boost straightline speed next season, might not see the light of day.

"I think it's highly dangerous," Glock is quoted as saying by the website of the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell.

"From the viewpoint of safety, I think it's a wrong decision."

The speed difference between the Lotus and Red Bull cars was arguably the cause of last Sunday's huge crash at Valencia involving Mark Webber.

"We've seen what can happen if the guy behind has significantly more speed," Virgin driver Glock said.

"Mark was just lucky that there was enough run-off and he could just run into the tyre barrier," added the German, suggesting that the return of KERS in 2011 could boost the speed differences even more.
"The drivers all have the same opinion; it is clearly too dangerous," said Glock of the adjustable rear wing idea.

"Perhaps the (GPDA) drivers' union can do something. It should definitely be talked about."

Kimi Raikkonen Formula1 Comeback rumors

WRC driver and former Formula1 champion Kimi Raikkonen could make a comeback to Formula1 in 2011 or maybe in 2010 as Pirelli wants Raikkonen to test their tyres.


Pirelli will be the sole tyre supplier in 2011, Mercedes test driver Nick Heidfeld was expected to do the tests but they he might give Mercedes an unfair advantage.

Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen is linked with a move to Renault as Robert Kubica's teammate in 2011,so he might have to think about it .

But 30-year-old Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson reportedly denied that even exploratory talks with Renault have been held.

Raikkonen who left Ferrari with one year still in the contract and now is Driving in the World rally championship.

FOTA plans F1 emissions cut

The Formula One Teams’ Association expects to reduce carbon emissions in the sport by 12.4% by 2012.


A FOTA-commissioned report into the environmental impact of Formula found that each team produces an average of 215,558 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Of that, 0.29% comes from the burning of fuel by F1 cars in testing and races.
Over half an F1 teams’ emissions are produced in producing parts and electricity consumption accounts for another 30%.

FOTA chairman and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said:

The FIA and FOTA are already working together to tailor the 2013 technical regulations to ensuring that all engines and powertrains used in Formula One by that date will showcase, and provide a platform for the ongoing development of, technologies designed to enhance fuel efficiency.

Martin Whitmarsh

Valancia Grand Prix Analysis:Hamilton Naughty boy

As all the teams brought new parts to this race and the track that is very hard to overtake .Qualifying was very important and we saw yesterday how tight the field is .

One of the big tames that was in need for a good result Ferrari and this weekend was very important for them as they put a big upgrade on their car and it proved to made the team faster,The Qualifying did not went the way Ferrari wants but they still managed fourth and fifth.

In the race the start was very critical as the track is very hard to overtake Lewis Hamilton made a great start from third on the grid as he passed Webber and was side by side with Vettel at the first corner.

With Mark Webber back to ninth after the first lap his race ruined and he was trying his best to bring home points.

The race was decided on lap ten where the safety car came out as the cars that passed the pit lane where Hamilton Alonso And Massa Hamilton passed the safety car illegaly and he pit and came out behind leader Sebastian Vettel ,Both Ferraris have to stay behind the safety car and when they pitted they came out 10th and 15th and they finished 8th and 11th (after the stewards panelties) While Hamilton who passed the safety car and was given a drive through penalty finished in second position that’s racing!!

Micheal Shumacher pitted from third but when he was going out the red light was on and he had to wait but for what I don't know ??

One man who had a different strategy was Kamui Kobayashi who stayed out and was on the harder tyre he did more than 50 laps on the hard tyres and pitted seven laps before the end from third position and came out just behind Alonso who was trying to pass Buemi but then got passed by Kamui Kobayashi and at the Final corner Buemi made a mistake and ran wide to let Kobayashi through.

This race should make the FIA look at the rules In a different way as if the Stewards gave Hamilton the Penalty right after the safety car he wouldn't finish second.
Valancia Grand Prix Pictures

Valancia Race:Vettel wins as Webber Crash (Result updated)

Sebastian Vettel wins the in Valancia as teammate Mark Webber had a big accident, Vettel finished ahead of Mclarens Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Buttonbut the result remain not sure as the FIA is investigation the cars from 3-8 but Kobayashi .


The race started with Sebastian Vettel on pole and he remain in that position but teammate Webber had a bad start and fell from 2nd to 9th by the end of the first lap.

The race began very booring until Webber hits Kovalainen and the safety car is deployed ,the biggest loser of the safety car were both Ferraris with Alonso back to 10th and Massa back to 15th .

Lewis Hamilton was investigated by the stewerds and got a drive through panelty ,but he came in and out in the same position.

The race continued in the rout with Vettel leading Hamilton and Kobayashi not pitting hr pitted on lap 55 and came behind Alonso but when Alonso was trying to pass Buemi Kobayashi was able to pass him and pass Buemi at the final corner.

Full Result:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	57	1:40:29.571	1	25
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+5.0 secs	3	18
3	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+12.6 secs	7	15
4	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	57	+25.6 secs	9	12
5	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	57	+27.1 secs	6	10
6	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	57	+30.1 secs	13	8
7	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	57	+30.9 secs	18	6
8	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	+32.8 secs	4	4
9	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	57	+36.2 secs	11	2
10	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	57	+44.3 secs	12	1
11	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	+46.6 secs	5
12	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	57	+47.4 secs	16
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	57	+48.2 secs	17
14	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	57	+48.2 secs	10
15	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	57	+48.8 secs	15
16	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	57	+50.8 secs	14
17	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	56	+1 Lap	21
18	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	55	+2 Laps	23
19	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	55	+2 Laps	22
20	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	55	+2 Laps	24
21	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	53	+4 Laps	19
Ret	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	49	Exhaust	8
Ret	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	8	Accident damage	20
Ret	6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	8	Accident	2

Valancia Qualifying Analysis:Red Bull back on top

With almost all the teams bringing new parts to this as race as it’s stands for the season half way,with Ferrari, Renault ,Williams and Mercedes trying Red Bull’s ‘’blown diffuser’’exhaust it seems it worked well for Ferrari And Renault but what happened with Mercedes remains to be the biggest question.

With Micheal Shumacher down on 15th on the grid and teammate Rosberg on 12th and Micheal Shumacher was six tenth slower than his teammate,Micheal is driving for the first time on this track and Mercedes are bringing new parts to the race which could disturb Shumacher’s performance ,As for the first time this season Ross Brawn criticized him for his performance:

‘’Obviously I am disappointed with my position today and it is certainly not where I want to be. I had to fight with two things. Firstly, as in Canada we have a general problem with the tyres and we can't get them to work in qualifying. Secondly, I had some difficulties with the brakes and I was locking the front right all the time. This made things extra difficult and is something we need to understand’’

Micheal Shumacher

It’s still a question if Mercedes will keep developing this years car or switch their resources to next year and give Micheal Shumacher and Nico Rosberg a good car to fight for the championship.

One of teams that made a great step forward is Williams as they got both cars into Q3 and that will help them with their fight with Force India in the championship as it seems they jumped both Mercedes and Force India .Rubens Barrichello won in Valancia last year and is optimistic for the race tomorrow.

“It was a good qualifying session for the team. Ninth is a strong position to be starting from, but I could have done better than that if it weren’t for a problem with brake warm up in Q3. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and certainly feel we can achieve a top sixth finish as the car is looking competitive’’

Rubens Barrichello

Mclaren looking strong for the championship as they thought they would struggle here because they were late to adapt Red Bull’s ‘’blown diffuser’’exhaust but they will put it on the MP4_25 in Silverstone in two weeks time as it should be worth half a second .

Can Hamilton stop Red Bull from taking one-two finish tomorrow ,will Alonso make it to the podium ,if Red Bull finished one-two they will sail a way in the championship as the track should not suit their car,where in Silverstone with high speed corners .

Who will win in Valancia tomorrow ,have your say in the Comments?

Valancia Qualifying:Red Bull lock out the front row

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel And Mark Webber lock out the front row for the Valancia Grand Prix followed by Mclaren Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton .
Qualifying was very tight between the teams in Q2 with less than a second covering the top 16 cars.
Q1
Every thing went as usual in Q1 with the buttom teams fighting for the last seven positions with HRT's drivers in 23th and 24th with Chandhok and Senna the Virgin cars took 22th and 21th with Di Grassi and Glock the Lutos Cars were the quickest again with Jarno Trulli And Heikki Kovalainen and as usual Kamui Kobayashi took the 18th spot.
Q2
In Q2 thing got very tight and the gsp from first to tenth is just over half a second with Sebastian Vettel leading teammate Mark Webber and Robert kubica And Massa with just a tenth the biggest surprise was the Williams drivers who both made into Q3 ahead of both Mercedes And Force India with Nico Rosberg 12th and Micheal Shumacher 15th.
Q3
All Red Bulls,Renaults,Ferraris,Mclarens and Williams made it into Q3 ,Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to get bellow 1:38 and got an early pole Webber did a good lap and was a tenth faster than Hamilton then Sebastian Vettel made a perfect lap to get pole with 1:37.587 Webber did another lap and was less than a tenth of Vettel's lap,the improved Ferraris could only manage fourth and fifth With Alonso And Massa,Kubica lined up sixth ahead of Mclaren's Jenson Button with Nico Hulkenberg ahead of last year Winner Rubens Barrichello with Vitaly Petrov in thenth.
Full Result:

2010 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:38.324	1:38.015	1:37.587	18
2	6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:38.549	1:38.041	1:37.662	21
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:38.697	1:38.158	1:37.969	17
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:38.472	1:38.179	1:38.075	23
5	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:38.657	1:38.046	1:38.127	22
6	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:38.132	1:38.062	1:38.137	18
7	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:38.360	1:38.399	1:38.210	22
8	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1:38.843	1:38.523	1:38.428	23
9	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1:38.449	1:38.326	1:38.428	23
10	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:39.004	1:38.552	1:38.523	21
11	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:39.096	1:38.586		15
12	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	1:38.752	1:38.627		12
13	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:39.021	1:38.851		14
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1:38.969	1:38.884
15	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	1:38.994	1:39.234
16	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:39.003	1:39.264
17	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	1:39.128	1:39.458
18	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:39.343
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	1:40.658
20	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	1:40.882
21	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	1:42.086
22	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	1:42.140
23	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	1:42.600
24	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1:42.851

Valancia Practice Three:every thing is set for a great Qualifying

2010 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:38.052		14
2	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:38.154	0.102	17
3	6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:38.313	0.261	13
4	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:38.500	0.448	17
5	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:38.513	0.461	18
6	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1:38.623	0.571	15
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1:38.676	0.624	17
8	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:38.686	0.634	16
9	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:38.769	0.717	16
10	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:38.816	0.764	15
11	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	1:38.822	0.770	15
12	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:39.050	0.998	16
13	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1:39.105	1.053	15
14	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:39.113	1.061	16
15	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	1:39.222	1.170	14
16	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	1:39.392	1.340	18
17	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:39.527	1.475
18	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:39.699	1.647
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	1:41.303	3.251
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	1:41.428	3.376
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	1:41.955	3.903
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	1:42.354	4.302
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1:42.611	4.559
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	1:42.622	4.570

Valancia Friday Analysis:Ferrari looking Strong

Ferrari looked strong on both friday sessions and the team think hte car is good on hugh fuel and low fuel loads with their good one lap performance they have a good pace to challenge for the top spots on qualifying.
Mclaren are not far from Fernando Alonso's pace with Lewis Hamilton very close even though he lost time behind Micheal Shumacher later in hte session.

Lewis Hamilton feels Ferrari have an advantage with their version of Red Bull’s ‘blown diffuser’ as they put it on the F10 before Mclaren.

It was always going to be interesting to see how quickly the blown-diffuser cars could get up to speed – and they looked very competitive this afternoon, particularly over a single lap. And the grip they appear to have through the high-speed stuff could make them difficult for us to touch.

          Lewis Hamilton


Red Bull were very quick as expected in the final sector were there is high speed corners and with their F-DUCT it's remain to be seen if they will use it tomorrow or not but it seems they got it working good for them.

Mercedes were again fast with Nico Rosberg but as always that does not give as a clear vesion of their true pace,Shumacher spent both sessions learning the track as it's his first visit to the track and he reported he hasn't find it's rhythm yet.

"It was exciting to drive the track for the first time today, probably even to a bigger extent than I had anticipated yesterday after checking it. So this morning for me was mostly about getting a feeling for the track. You need to get used to it but I found it quite comfortable to drive even if some of the corners are blind. However it's demanding to get the real rhythm which I have not totally found over one lap yet. The long runs went okay and all in all it was not too bad today, depending on the fuel loads obviously which we need to look into more deeply now. Regarding Lewis, I must apologise as I did not see him and was not informed that he was there. As I was planning my lap at that moment and looking ahead, I was unfortunately in his way."

Micheal Shumacher
 
We re going to see a great battle tomorrow in Q3 and the other thing is we are going to see a lot of surprises with big names failing to make it to Q3 as the battle in the midfield is very close.

Valancia Practice Two:Alonso Put Ferrari on top

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso set the fastest time in Valancia's afternoon session ,Alonso was the fastest driver for almost all the session ,Teammate Felipe Massa has a spin at turn 4&5 and his car stoped on the circut but he was able to complete his programe.
Full Result:

2010 FORMULA 1 TELEFÓNICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:39.283
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:39.339	0.056
3	6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:39.427	0.144
4	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	1:39.650	0.367
5	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:39.749	0.466
6	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:39.880	0.597
7	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:39.947	0.664
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	1:40.020	0.737
9	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:40.029	0.746
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1:40.174	0.891
11	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	1:40.287	1.004
12	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1:40.387	1.104
13	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:40.618	1.335
14	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:40.906	1.623
15	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:40.945	1.662
16	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:41.115	1.832
17	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1:41.371	2.088
18	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	1:41.457	2.174
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	1:42.467	3.184
20	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	1:42.993	3.710
21	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	1:43.811	4.528
22	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	1:43.854	4.571
23	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1:44.095	4.812
24	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT-Cosworth	1:44.566	5.283

Valancia Practice one :Rosberg And Mercedes on top

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Gap	Laps
1	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP	1:41.175		16
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:41.339	0.164	19
3	1	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:41.383	0.208	21
4	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	1:41.715	0.540	20
5	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:42.182	1.007	21
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	1:42.216	1.041	24
7	6	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	1:42.275	1.100	17
8	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP	1:42.312	1.137	18
9	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:42.421	1.246	22
10	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams-Cosworth	1:42.463	1.288	21
11	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams-Cosworth	1:42.707	1.532	23
12	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	1:42.962	1.787	17
13	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	1:43.310	2.135	23
14	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	1:43.380	2.205	19
15	22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:43.397	2.222	21
16	14	Paul di Resta	Force India-Mercedes	1:43.437	2.262	18
17	23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber-Ferrari	1:43.729	2.554	21
18	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	1:44.183	3.008	21
19	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus-Cosworth	1:44.491	3.316	21
20	24	Timo Glock	Virgin-Cosworth	1:45.653	4.478	23
21	21	Bruno Senna	HRT-Cosworth	1:47.123	5.948	17
22	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus-Cosworth	1:47.285	6.110	18
23	20	Christian Klien	HRT-Cosworth	1:47.343	6.168	14
24	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin-Cosworth	1:47.356	6.181	24

Will the upgraded Ferrari have the Edge (European GP preview)

With their bad performance in Turkey Ferrari bounced back in Montreal but the track suited their F10 ,And in Valancia the F10 should be fast and with Red Bull's RB6 style exhaust they should be very quick and the question is will Ferrari have the edge around the street circuit of Valancia.

Ferrari tested their upgraded car as some media call it 'F10b' in Vairano with test driver Mark Gene ,And Fernando Alonso drove the car in Fiorano for ‘filming purposes’.

Mclaren will introduce few parts here but the big upgrade with Red Bull's RB6 style exhaust will be debuted in Silverstone.

Red Bull will bring their version of Mclaren's F-DUCT system back after failing to put the system in Montreal as they said it affects the overall downforce,Red Bull could fall behind Mclaren and Ferrari this weekend so they should make the F-Duct working good for them as Christian Horner claim their Renault V8 is 25-30 horse power short than Mercedes.

Renault has been making a great development on their car and their now ahead of Mercedes and they should be strong in Valancia with Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov.

Felipe Massa should make a good race in Valancia if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive and reduce the gap to teammate Fernando Alonso and Championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

Micheal Shumacher will be driving in Valancia's street circuit for the first time he will have a busy Friday .

Can Lotus close the gap to BMW-sauber and maybe make it to Q2 for the first time this season with Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.

Have your say in the comments .

adjustable rear wings to be introduced in 2011 and 107% Qualifying rule back

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has agreed a number of significant changes to the Formula One regulations.aerodynamic revisions designed to boost overtaking, a ban on F-ducts, and the return of a 107% qualifying rule.

Under new moveable bodywork regulations for next season, drivers will be able to adjust the rear wing from the cockpit as soon as they are two laps into the race. However, the system’s availability will be electronically controlled and it will only be activated when a driver is less than one second behind another at pre-determined points on the track. The system will then be deactivated once the driver brakes. It will be available at all times throughout practice and qualifying.


In a move that could frighten one or two of the new teams, next year any driver not setting a qualifying time within 107% of the fastest Q1 lap will not be permitted to race. Stewards, however, will have the power to grant exceptions in extenuating circumstances, such as where a driver has recorded a suitable time in a previous practice session.


Several other measures have been brought in with immediate effect. Following the late-race confusion at Monaco, where Michael Schumacher passed Fernando Alonso, the safety-car rules have been clarified. No overtaking is allowed if the safety car is on track on the final lap.


And following the spectacle of Lewis Hamilton pushing his fuel-light McLaren back to the pits at the end of Montreal qualifying, new rules state that cars required to give a post-session fuel sample must arrive back in pit lane under their own power.
Wednesday's World Motor Sport Council decisions in full:
Tyres
Pirelli has been selected as the single tyre supplier for the FIA Formula One World Championship for a period of three years, commencing in 2011. The sole supplier will undertake to strictly respect the sporting and technical regulations implemented by the FIA.
“Competitor’s staff” FIA Licence
A proposal relating to specific licences for members of staff of competitors entered in the FIA World Championships has been submitted to the Formula One Commission. This is under consideration for implementation in the FIA Formula One World Championship from the start of 2011, with a view to inclusion in other FIA World Championships in the future.
Safety Car
With immediate effect, no car may overtake until it has passed the first safety car line for the first time when the safety car is returning to the pits. However, if the safety car is still deployed at the beginning of the last lap, or is deployed during the last lap, it will enter the pit lane at the end of the lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.
General safety
With immediate effect, any car being driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically, or which is deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers, will be reported to the stewards. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.
In order to ensure cars are not driven unnecessarily slowly on in-laps during qualifying or reconnaissance laps when the pit exit is opened for the race, drivers must stay below the maximum time set by the FIA between the safety car line after the pit exit and safety car line before the pit entry. The maximum time will be determined by the race director at each event prior to the first day of practice, but may be amended during the event if necessary.
The grid
From 2011, any driver whose best qualifying lap exceeds 107% of the fastest Q1 qualifying time will not be allowed to take part in the race. Under exceptional circumstances, however, which may include setting a suitable lap time in a free practice session, the stewards may permit the car to start the race. Should there be more than one driver accepted in this manner, the grid order will be determined by the stewards.
Driver adjustable bodywork
From 2011, adjustable bodywork may be activated by the driver at any time prior to the start of the race and, for the sole purpose of improving overtaking opportunities during the race, after the driver has completed two laps. The driver may only activate the adjustable bodywork in the race when he has been notified via the control electronics that it is enabled. It will only be enabled if the driver is less than one second behind another at any of the pre-determined positions around each circuit. The system will be disabled the first time the driver uses the brakes after the system has been activated. The FIA may, after consulting all the competitors, adjust the time proximity in order to ensure the purpose of the adjustable bodywork is met.
Aerodynamic influence
With the exception of the parts necessary for the driver adjustable bodywork, any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited from 2011.
Weight
From 2011, the minimum weight of the car must not be less than 640 kg at all times during the event.
Fuel draining
With immediate effect, if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power.
Licences
Based on his career résumé and comparative F1 testing times, the World Council has approved the granting of a four-race probationary super license to Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung.

Pirelli to supply Tyres For Formula1 in 2011

Pirelli have beaten off competition from Michelin to become the official F1 tyre supplier from 2011.

The FIA confirmed Pirelli have a three-year contract to supply tyres to Formula 1:

Pirelli has been selected as the single tyre supplier for the FIA Formula One World Championship for a period of three years, commencing in 2011. The sole supplier will undertake to strictly respect the sporting and technical regulations implemented by the FIA.

The Italian tyre manufacturer last supplied F1 teams in 1991. Tyrrell, Brabham, Dallara and Benetton used its products while the rest of the field were supplied by Goodyear.

Nelson Piquet scored the last win for a car on Pirelli tyres in the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix. He inherited the win when Nigel Mansell’s Williams broke down on the last lap.
Prior to that, Pirelli had gone five years without a win. But the company was a dominant force in the first years of Formula 1, with several drivers winning world championships on their tyres in the 1950s.

2010 Valancia grand prix drivers preview

Valancia has been in the calender for two years and it didn't host an entertaining racing ,The Drivers think it's too simple and wide with so much straights and it gets a lot of grip in the Qualifying and the race so the drivers have different opinions about the track.
Jarno Trulli will be looking forward to Valancia:

"I’m really looking forward to Valencia. It’s a circuit I like, and I enjoy the race there - It’s always warm, and it’s a beautiful city. I’m in the new chassis (T127-04) from this race, and hopefully that will bring me some better luck over the race weekend - in Canada I was really flying until the retirement, so I hope I can carry that through to this weekend and see the chequered flag. That’s obviously important, but this weekend is also all about the 500th race for Lotus. It’ll be very special to help take that famous name to such a milestone, and I’m very honoured to be part of it. I met Hazel Chapman on Sunday at the Classic Team Lotus Festival, and that was very special for me, particularly as I had the chance to drive Elio De Angelis’ T91 in front of the crowds, and that felt great.”

Adrian Sutil think the track is easy and simple to drive:

“Valencia is not my favourite circuit as there's not so much of a challenge for the driver. Even though it's classed as a street circuit, it doesn't really feel like it as there's no challenging corners: it's just braking into hairpins, then flat out. You just don't get the thrill you have on a standard street circuit like Monaco or Singapore. The last complex is a little bit more challenging as there's a left-right chicane taken at high speed followed by another right hander. Then it's just flat out with a few corners into the last turn, which is actually one of the trickiest as we're braking while turning in so it's easy to overshoot the corner and lose it in the exit. Grip levels can be quite low, particularly off line, so you have to judge any overtaking manoeuvre pretty carefully. That said, the track is also very wide with a lot of run off areas so you're not worried about touching a barrier. Over one lap it's not a classic but the racing there can be quite tight and with the cars being so close this year it could produce a good race. Valencia needs a medium to low downforce aero configuration and we've shown that we can perform well on this type of track. We were strong in Canada and I believe we can be quite good in Valencia as well. We've also got some new parts coming for this race that should further improve our performance, including a new front wing and some smaller bodywork changes, plus a few minor suspension component developments. I think it looks promising. We've not had the best luck in Valencia in the past but I hope that the good basic foundations of the car, plus the solid developments we've had over the past races and leading into this one will put us in good shape to get some more points on the board and close the gap to Renault.”

Lewis Hamilton likes the circut a little bit :
Felipe Massa Likes the circut having won in his first and only attempt:

I think it’s good for the championship to have a variety of circuits – we’ve just come from a fast, flowing road course in Canada, to a tight street track in Valencia. And, next month, we’ll be at Silverstone – one of the fastest tracks of the year, and a circuit with incredible history. As a driver, that sort of variety makes the racing exciting and unpredictable, which is all you can really ask for.



[Valencia] is not a circuit where we’ve seen too much passing in the past, but I think this year could be different – the grid is so tight, there were battles all through the field in Montreal last week, so I think we could have a close and exciting race this year.

The street circuit there is not so different in terms of its characteristics to the Montreal track and on top of that, we expect to have some more updates for the F10 to make it even more competitive with those ahead of us in the championship. Valencia has not produced very exciting races so far, but I enjoy the track, as the only time I have raced there, in 2008 – it was one of the races I missed last year after my accident – I won.

Ferrari confirms McLaren's Pat Fry joining team

Ferrari on Tuesday confirmed reports that Pat Fry is joining the famous Italian team.


It emerged at the weekend that the 46-year-old Briton, who until recently was heading McLaren's 2011 car project as long-time joint chief engineer, was linked with a move to the Maranello based squad.

Italian reports had said Fry, although currently on compulsory 'gardening leave', will be able to have an impact on Ferrari's next car.
A team statement on Tuesday confirmed that Fry will begin his new role as assistant technical director, reporting to Aldo Costa, on 1 July.

Ferrari said the "structure of the technical department remains (otherwise) unchanged".
Fry joined McLaren from Benetton in 1993.
"I think it was probably good for him, the right decision for him to take a bit of a break, take a breather," McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said last month.