***The Official Australian GP Race Weekend Banter Thread [SPOILERS]***
#1411
03-29-2009, 10:41 AM
''Maybe I should have said let him go'' - Vettel
Contrary to earlier news, it has emerged that Sebastian Vettel was indeed penalised for his Australian Grand Prix crash with Robert Kubica.
We reported that the German was actually handed his ten-grid penalty for the forthcoming Malaysian round, and a $50,000 fine, for failing to promptly pull his heavily damaged Red Bull to the side of the track.
In fact, the Sepang grid penalty was for his crash with BMW's Kubica with three laps to go, when stewards ruled that Vettel caused the incident, a somewhat harsh decision.
"Should I have let him go? You always want to fight. Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life," said Vettel, who had been fighting with Pole Kubica for second place.
The $50,000 fine, meanwhile, was levied because Red Bull officials instructed the 21-year-old by radio to continue to race his three-wheeled car rather than pull it to the side of the Melbourne layout.
E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
We reported that the German was actually handed his ten-grid penalty for the forthcoming Malaysian round, and a $50,000 fine, for failing to promptly pull his heavily damaged Red Bull to the side of the track.
In fact, the Sepang grid penalty was for his crash with BMW's Kubica with three laps to go, when stewards ruled that Vettel caused the incident, a somewhat harsh decision.
"Should I have let him go? You always want to fight. Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life," said Vettel, who had been fighting with Pole Kubica for second place.
The $50,000 fine, meanwhile, was levied because Red Bull officials instructed the 21-year-old by radio to continue to race his three-wheeled car rather than pull it to the side of the Melbourne layout.
E.A, Source: GMM
© CAPSIS International
#1412
03-29-2009, 10:43 AM
Disapointed Toyota file an appeal
Toyota started the 2009 Formula One season with a trip to the podium and a double points finish in an exciting Australian Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started from the pit lane but battling opening laps saw both fight their way up the order. Trulli started on the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres and made an early pit stop for mediums while Timo was initially on the mediums, preferring a longer first stint.
With plenty of incident elsewhere on the track, the two Toyotas made their way into the top ten, passing several cars on the way before a breath-taking final few laps.
Trulli's long final stint saw him move into the points when other cars made their final pit stops and he showed great pace to come within sight of the podium, which became a reality after a late accident for two rivals lifted him to third.
Glock chose to finish the race on the super soft tyres and passed several cars in a short final stint to take fifth as the race finished behind the safety car. Race stewards subsequently handed Jarno a 25s penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions, but the team has filed an appeal within the proscribed time period.
Jarno Trulli
"I can't say how disappointed I am to finish third but have the result questioned. When the safety car came out towards the end of the race Lewis Hamilton passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. I thought he had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do. I would still like to say thank you to the team who have made a huge effort. The fact we were able to fight for the podium despite starting from the pit lane is down to them."
Timo Glock
"I am happy to finish fourth but obviously it is really disappointing for Jarno. For us to be fighting at the front like that after we started from the pit lane really shows the strong performance we have. This is proof that our car has real pace. It was a good race for me and I have to say thanks to the team for their hard work in achieving this. The race was pretty exciting but I was stuck behind the Renault of Alonso for quite a while and it was difficult to overtake. My car felt good but I couldn't find a way past, however when I was in clear air I was able to go about a second faster so the performance is definitely there. I said before the weekend that we looked strong judging by our winter performance and it's great to show that in race conditions."
Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal
"This is an extremely frustrating way to finish a challenging weekend. Already we were disappointed to be starting from the pit lane after we were informed yesterday about the problem with our rear wing. We responded to that in a fantastic way and we showed that our car has genuine performance. I would like to thank everyone who is part of our team, not just the guys at the track but also everyone at the factory, our partners and our fans. It's sad that this result has been questioned but we have filed an appeal to give us more time to study the data and the situation."
E.A. © CAPSIS International
Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock started from the pit lane but battling opening laps saw both fight their way up the order. Trulli started on the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres and made an early pit stop for mediums while Timo was initially on the mediums, preferring a longer first stint.
With plenty of incident elsewhere on the track, the two Toyotas made their way into the top ten, passing several cars on the way before a breath-taking final few laps.
Trulli's long final stint saw him move into the points when other cars made their final pit stops and he showed great pace to come within sight of the podium, which became a reality after a late accident for two rivals lifted him to third.
Glock chose to finish the race on the super soft tyres and passed several cars in a short final stint to take fifth as the race finished behind the safety car. Race stewards subsequently handed Jarno a 25s penalty for overtaking under safety car conditions, but the team has filed an appeal within the proscribed time period.
Jarno Trulli
"I can't say how disappointed I am to finish third but have the result questioned. When the safety car came out towards the end of the race Lewis Hamilton passed me but soon after he suddenly slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. I thought he had a problem so I overtook him as there was nothing else I could do. I would still like to say thank you to the team who have made a huge effort. The fact we were able to fight for the podium despite starting from the pit lane is down to them."
Timo Glock
"I am happy to finish fourth but obviously it is really disappointing for Jarno. For us to be fighting at the front like that after we started from the pit lane really shows the strong performance we have. This is proof that our car has real pace. It was a good race for me and I have to say thanks to the team for their hard work in achieving this. The race was pretty exciting but I was stuck behind the Renault of Alonso for quite a while and it was difficult to overtake. My car felt good but I couldn't find a way past, however when I was in clear air I was able to go about a second faster so the performance is definitely there. I said before the weekend that we looked strong judging by our winter performance and it's great to show that in race conditions."
Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal
"This is an extremely frustrating way to finish a challenging weekend. Already we were disappointed to be starting from the pit lane after we were informed yesterday about the problem with our rear wing. We responded to that in a fantastic way and we showed that our car has genuine performance. I would like to thank everyone who is part of our team, not just the guys at the track but also everyone at the factory, our partners and our fans. It's sad that this result has been questioned but we have filed an appeal to give us more time to study the data and the situation."
E.A. © CAPSIS International
#1413
03-29-2009, 10:49 AM
Hamilton inherits third
A storming race from defending champion Lewis Hamilton saw the McLaren Mercedes driver to charge from 18th on the grid to third at the finish of the Australian Grand Prix.
Always on the attack, Hamilton profited from the opening-lap melee and an aggressive first stint on low fuel and option tyres to slot into the top ten by lap five. He made his first stop on lap 11 (12.0s), where he was long-fuelled and switched to primes. A relentless middle stint saw him surge to fifth: evidence of his push was evident, with several opposite-locking moments clearly visible on successive laps out of turn nine.
A second stop (7.8s) on lap 43 and an adjustment to the front-wing settings dropped him to tenth, allowing him to remain ahead of Sebastien Buemi. Pitting cars pushed him back to seventh, after which he really got his head down, catching and passing Nico Rosberg for sixth. The Vettel-Kubica shunt elevated him to fourth and a mistake by Trulli, when behind the Safety Car, vaulted him into the top three.
Heikki Kovalainen got a good start but was an innocent victim in the first-corner accident, touching wheels with a spinning Mark Webber – contact that punctured his left-front tyre and damaged his suspension.
Lewis Hamilton
“We scored way more points than we could have realistically expected. I was looking to try and get one point, so to get six is a great achievement. We’ve definitely not forgotten how to win: our strategy was perfect and the team did a fantastic job. Considering the package we’ve got, I wrung every last ounce of pace out of the car, drove one of my best ever races and absolutely raced my heart out – I’m so satisfied. Also, my heartfelt congratulations to Jenson – he’s driven brilliantly all weekend and both he and his team really deserve this success.”
E.A. © CAPSIS International
Always on the attack, Hamilton profited from the opening-lap melee and an aggressive first stint on low fuel and option tyres to slot into the top ten by lap five. He made his first stop on lap 11 (12.0s), where he was long-fuelled and switched to primes. A relentless middle stint saw him surge to fifth: evidence of his push was evident, with several opposite-locking moments clearly visible on successive laps out of turn nine.
A second stop (7.8s) on lap 43 and an adjustment to the front-wing settings dropped him to tenth, allowing him to remain ahead of Sebastien Buemi. Pitting cars pushed him back to seventh, after which he really got his head down, catching and passing Nico Rosberg for sixth. The Vettel-Kubica shunt elevated him to fourth and a mistake by Trulli, when behind the Safety Car, vaulted him into the top three.
Heikki Kovalainen got a good start but was an innocent victim in the first-corner accident, touching wheels with a spinning Mark Webber – contact that punctured his left-front tyre and damaged his suspension.
Lewis Hamilton
“We scored way more points than we could have realistically expected. I was looking to try and get one point, so to get six is a great achievement. We’ve definitely not forgotten how to win: our strategy was perfect and the team did a fantastic job. Considering the package we’ve got, I wrung every last ounce of pace out of the car, drove one of my best ever races and absolutely raced my heart out – I’m so satisfied. Also, my heartfelt congratulations to Jenson – he’s driven brilliantly all weekend and both he and his team really deserve this success.”
E.A. © CAPSIS International
#1414
03-29-2009, 10:56 AM
Bravo Brawn!
Jenson Button led the Brawn GP team to victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix today, achieving his second Grand Prix win and capping a stunning debut race weekend for the British-based team. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello brought his BGP 001 car home in second position to achieve the first one-two finish for a new team since Mercedes Benz in 1954.
The two Brawn Mercedes cars started from the front row of the grid after dominating Saturday’s qualifying session. Button had a good start, maintaining his advantage into the first corner and establishing a strong lead over the field. From there he controlled the race, responding well to the first safety car period and recovering from a slow second stop which reduced his lead over Vettel to 1.5 seconds, before taking the chequered flag for a well-deserved victory at the end of the 58-lap race.
Rubens Barrichello had a somewhat more dramatic race with a difficult start off the line dropping him a few places and he subsequently sustained damage to his front wing and nose in a first corner collision with Mark Webber.
He battled with the damage for the first stint, survived a further collision with Kimi Raikkonen, and passed Nico Rosberg on track to be up to fourth by lap 53.
Barrichello took his podium finish when an incident between Vettel and Kubica put both cars out of the race with three laps to go promoting the Brazilian to second and bringing out the safety car which brought the field home.
Jenson Button
“What an amazing day! This is just a fairytale ending to the first race of our career together at Brawn GP. It may have looked like an easy victory but it really wasn’t easy at all out there today but we brought the car home and that’s all that matters. This win is for me, my family and my team. It’s been a traumatic few months and I want to say a massive thank you to them all for being so strong and never losing belief. This weekend we have achieved everything that we deserve for all of our hard work over the past few months. And what’s so exciting is that there is so much more to come from myself and from this team. I can’t wait to get to Malaysia!”
Rubens Barrichello
“Well you could say that I had an eventful afternoon! I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race and honestly I am so delighted to have achieved second. It was really tough for me at the start as the anti-stall kicked in which cost me a few places off the line and then I was hit heavily from behind going into the first corner and thought my race was over. Thankfully the car survived and I was able to battle my way up to fourth and be in the position to take advantage of the accident between Vettel and Kubica. It just goes to show that you should never give up! Congratulations to Jenson for a fantastic win today and my heartfelt thanks to the team for providing us with such a good car. This is the start of a very exciting journey for us.”
Ross Brawn
“We have worked incredibly hard for this victory today and to see the dedication, commitment and sheer hard work come to fruition with Jenson and Rubens bringing home a one-two finish for Brawn GP at the first race of the season is immensely rewarding. After everything that our team has been through over the past four months, this is quite simply a sensational result. It is just the beginning for us and it wasn’t a perfect race by any means so we will learn from today and continue to improve. We have to keep developing the car throughout the season if we want to challenge for further wins and the championship."
"I would like to express our sincere thanks to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines who have been so supportive over the past few months and have worked closely with the team to ensure we were in a position to go racing this year. Thanks also to Virgin, Henri Lloyd and all our team partners for having the vision to see what the team could do before today and wanting to be a part of it. It’s difficult to put into words what this win means to our team but I’m sure that I speak for every single one of them, here at the track and back at the factory in Brackley, when I say it has been a wonderful weekend.”
E.A. © CAPSIS International
The two Brawn Mercedes cars started from the front row of the grid after dominating Saturday’s qualifying session. Button had a good start, maintaining his advantage into the first corner and establishing a strong lead over the field. From there he controlled the race, responding well to the first safety car period and recovering from a slow second stop which reduced his lead over Vettel to 1.5 seconds, before taking the chequered flag for a well-deserved victory at the end of the 58-lap race.
Rubens Barrichello had a somewhat more dramatic race with a difficult start off the line dropping him a few places and he subsequently sustained damage to his front wing and nose in a first corner collision with Mark Webber.
He battled with the damage for the first stint, survived a further collision with Kimi Raikkonen, and passed Nico Rosberg on track to be up to fourth by lap 53.
Barrichello took his podium finish when an incident between Vettel and Kubica put both cars out of the race with three laps to go promoting the Brazilian to second and bringing out the safety car which brought the field home.
Jenson Button
“What an amazing day! This is just a fairytale ending to the first race of our career together at Brawn GP. It may have looked like an easy victory but it really wasn’t easy at all out there today but we brought the car home and that’s all that matters. This win is for me, my family and my team. It’s been a traumatic few months and I want to say a massive thank you to them all for being so strong and never losing belief. This weekend we have achieved everything that we deserve for all of our hard work over the past few months. And what’s so exciting is that there is so much more to come from myself and from this team. I can’t wait to get to Malaysia!”
Rubens Barrichello
“Well you could say that I had an eventful afternoon! I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race and honestly I am so delighted to have achieved second. It was really tough for me at the start as the anti-stall kicked in which cost me a few places off the line and then I was hit heavily from behind going into the first corner and thought my race was over. Thankfully the car survived and I was able to battle my way up to fourth and be in the position to take advantage of the accident between Vettel and Kubica. It just goes to show that you should never give up! Congratulations to Jenson for a fantastic win today and my heartfelt thanks to the team for providing us with such a good car. This is the start of a very exciting journey for us.”
Ross Brawn
“We have worked incredibly hard for this victory today and to see the dedication, commitment and sheer hard work come to fruition with Jenson and Rubens bringing home a one-two finish for Brawn GP at the first race of the season is immensely rewarding. After everything that our team has been through over the past four months, this is quite simply a sensational result. It is just the beginning for us and it wasn’t a perfect race by any means so we will learn from today and continue to improve. We have to keep developing the car throughout the season if we want to challenge for further wins and the championship."
"I would like to express our sincere thanks to Norbert Haug and Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines who have been so supportive over the past few months and have worked closely with the team to ensure we were in a position to go racing this year. Thanks also to Virgin, Henri Lloyd and all our team partners for having the vision to see what the team could do before today and wanting to be a part of it. It’s difficult to put into words what this win means to our team but I’m sure that I speak for every single one of them, here at the track and back at the factory in Brackley, when I say it has been a wonderful weekend.”
E.A. © CAPSIS International
#1415
03-29-2009, 11:17 AM
#1416
03-29-2009, 11:20 AM
Ferrari Day To Forget
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has deemed the team's performance in the Australian Grand Prix as being unworthy of their reputation.
The defending Constructors' Champions experienced their worst start to a season in 17 years when a risky tyre gamble backfired in Melbourne.
Kimi Raikkonen retired after clipping a wall three laps from the end while team-mate Felipe Massa retired 13 laps from the finish with a broken front wing.
They therefore failed to earn a point at the opening race of a Formula One season for the first time since the 1992 South African Grand Prix.
"This was definitely not a start worthy of Ferrari," Domenicali said. "To sum up, it was a day to forget."
With Massa and Raikkonen respectively starting sixth and seventh on the Albert Park grid, the team knew they did not have the outright pace of some of their rivals, particularly Brawn GP.
Instead, the decided to pin their hopes on strategy, with both drivers starting the race on soft tyres in the hope that they could gain an early advantage over those using the harder compound allowed - one which takes longer to heat up.
However, their tyres started to wear after just five laps and, when they came in to the pits early to change, they got stuck behind the safety car.
"I got off to a great start but the soft tyres were a problem," Massa said.
"We had to come in much earlier than we were supposed to...and then it completely destroyed my strategy when the safety car came out straight away.
"It was a very bad to start the season."
Raikkonen said he experienced trouble with the grip on his F60 after switching to hard tyres but admitted he was to blame for his late spin.
"I hit the wall quite hard," the Finn said. "I just suddenly lost the rear end. It is tricky with those tyres but it was probably my mistake."
SOURCE: SKY SPORTS
The defending Constructors' Champions experienced their worst start to a season in 17 years when a risky tyre gamble backfired in Melbourne.
Kimi Raikkonen retired after clipping a wall three laps from the end while team-mate Felipe Massa retired 13 laps from the finish with a broken front wing.
They therefore failed to earn a point at the opening race of a Formula One season for the first time since the 1992 South African Grand Prix.
"This was definitely not a start worthy of Ferrari," Domenicali said. "To sum up, it was a day to forget."
With Massa and Raikkonen respectively starting sixth and seventh on the Albert Park grid, the team knew they did not have the outright pace of some of their rivals, particularly Brawn GP.
Instead, the decided to pin their hopes on strategy, with both drivers starting the race on soft tyres in the hope that they could gain an early advantage over those using the harder compound allowed - one which takes longer to heat up.
However, their tyres started to wear after just five laps and, when they came in to the pits early to change, they got stuck behind the safety car.
"I got off to a great start but the soft tyres were a problem," Massa said.
"We had to come in much earlier than we were supposed to...and then it completely destroyed my strategy when the safety car came out straight away.
"It was a very bad to start the season."
Raikkonen said he experienced trouble with the grip on his F60 after switching to hard tyres but admitted he was to blame for his late spin.
"I hit the wall quite hard," the Finn said. "I just suddenly lost the rear end. It is tricky with those tyres but it was probably my mistake."
SOURCE: SKY SPORTS
#1417
03-29-2009, 11:34 AM
Kubica was trying to cross him in a stupid way, i would say its harsh to put the whole blame on Vittel...
my heart just broke when he crashed, ouch that sorry is still echoing in my head
my heart just broke when he crashed, ouch that sorry is still echoing in my head
#1420
03-29-2009, 11:41 AM
Vettel penalised and fined for Kubica collision
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix following an incident in Sunday’s Australian race. Vettel collided with BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica during the latter stages in Melbourne as the Polish driver attempted to overtake him.
Following a post-race investigation, stewards decided to penalise the young German for 'causing a collision and forcing a driver off the track’. He had been racing in second, behind eventual race victor Jenson Button, with Kubica running a close third.
“We were in second and a strong position, but then, a couple of laps from the end, I had a stupid racing accident with Robert,” explained Vettel. “At the time I turned in I was ahead, but I couldn't keep up speed in the corner and Robert was on a harder tyre, so was much quicker. At the time we collided he was in front, but I had no where to go, I couldn't stop the car, or turn to the right and my tyres were gone.
“Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life. I tried to defend and, up to the mid-corner, I had reason, but then I had no grip to avoid a collision. I'm sorry to the team and also to Robert, as it didn't just mean the end of my race, but also his.”
Both Vettel's and Kubica's cars sustained substantial front-end damage in the collision. But while the BMW Sauber driver spun off and hit a wall soon after, Vettel continued to drive his stricken RB5 with its left front wheel hanging off as the safety car emerged following the incident.
As a result the stewards have additionally fined him - and Red Bull Racing - US$50,000 for continuing to drive a damaged car.
Following a post-race investigation, stewards decided to penalise the young German for 'causing a collision and forcing a driver off the track’. He had been racing in second, behind eventual race victor Jenson Button, with Kubica running a close third.
“We were in second and a strong position, but then, a couple of laps from the end, I had a stupid racing accident with Robert,” explained Vettel. “At the time I turned in I was ahead, but I couldn't keep up speed in the corner and Robert was on a harder tyre, so was much quicker. At the time we collided he was in front, but I had no where to go, I couldn't stop the car, or turn to the right and my tyres were gone.
“Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life. I tried to defend and, up to the mid-corner, I had reason, but then I had no grip to avoid a collision. I'm sorry to the team and also to Robert, as it didn't just mean the end of my race, but also his.”
Both Vettel's and Kubica's cars sustained substantial front-end damage in the collision. But while the BMW Sauber driver spun off and hit a wall soon after, Vettel continued to drive his stricken RB5 with its left front wheel hanging off as the safety car emerged following the incident.
As a result the stewards have additionally fined him - and Red Bull Racing - US$50,000 for continuing to drive a damaged car.