2nd March 2010

Rally Mexico Preview - Citroën Junior Team set for Mexico debut

Following the wintery conditions of the Rally Sweden, the Citroën Junior Team now changes continent and surface to contest the first gravel round of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship season. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and Kimi Räikkönen/Kaj Lindström will drive the team’s two Citroën C4 WRCs.

Having appeared on the World Rally Championship for the first time in 2004, the León-based event features the most concentrated rally route on the calendar this year. In fact, a full 354.60 kilometres out of a total route length of only 884.58 kilometres are run competitively. Another peculiarity of Rally Mexico is that competitors will be driving at an altitude of almost 2800 metres at one point on the opening day (Ortega, SS2 and SS6). Citroën comes into the event fresh from three consecutive victories in Mexico, between 2006 and 2008. Nonetheless, the Rally Mexico will be an all-new experience for the Citroën Junior Team, which goes there for the first time.

Since making their World Rally Championship debut two years ago, Sébastien and Julien have climbed onto the overall podium (thanks to second place in Greece last year) and finished eighth in the 2009 World Rally Championship for drivers. In Sweden, their fifth place ensured that they beat several local Scandinavian specialists. So in Mexico, the French duo’s objective will be to at least equal that result.

Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindström will continue their learning curve on the gravel of Mexico. Following their first rally on the snowy tracks of Sweden in February, the Finnish crew now faces a new challenge on a very different surface.

“What I love about rallying is that you have to be competitive on all sorts of different surfaces,” said Kimi. “After my experience on snow, now I’m going to find out about driving on gravel. I really don’t know what to expect, but that is all part of our learning process. I’m very much looking to driving the Citroën C4 WRC in these challenging conditions and getting as many kilometres under my belt as I can, in order to add to my experience.”

Three questions to… Kimi Räikkönen

Looking back on it now, what conclusions can you draw from your first event in the World Rally Championship with the Citroën Junior Team C4 WRC?

“The really positive thing is that we managed to cover all the stages on the Rally Sweden and we learned a lot. We could have done better overall had it not been for some small mistakes but we managed to improve our stage times as the rally went on. That was our initial objective. The second run through the stages was better for us. I also felt a big difference once I became more confident with my pace notes. With more experience, things should get increasingly easier.”

Mexico will be the first time that you drive the Citroën C4 WRC on gravel. Do you think that you will find this surface easier than snow?

“I’m really looking forward to starting the Rally Mexico. My impression is that driving on gravel should be a little bit easier for us. Or at least that’s what Marcus Grönholm told me! I reckon that we will find a more consistent level of grip on gravel. But for the moment I’m still lacking experience. I just need to get more kilometres in the car in order to get used to the Citroën C4 WRC in particular and rallying in general.”

How are you going to approach the Rally Mexico?”

My plan had initially been to take part in a test session on gravel, in order to get to know the Citroën C4 WRC a bit better on a new surface for me. But unfortunately I experienced a bit of back pain that stopped me from driving. I’ve had some treatment now but I preferred to rest before leaving for Mexico. Of course I would have liked to test the car before going, but it was important to recuperate in order to start the second rally of the season in the best possible physical shape.”

Courtesy of Citroen Racing Communication.

Source - Kimi’s Official Website

Image (c) Craig Boon

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) used a hard – hard – soft tyre strategy to score his third race win of the season after a dominant performance in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Vettel finished over four seconds ahead of Panasonic Toyota Racing driver Jarno Trulli, who used the same tyre strategy, whilst Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton used soft – hard – soft to finish third.

Shoshi Arakawa - Bridgestone Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, says
“Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for his victory here at the Suzuka Circuit. The Japanese Grand Prix was held at Suzuka in beautiful weather today after a two year interval, and I believe the spectators thoroughly enjoyed the world’s top class battles of Formula One. We are proud that our tyres have helped to provide an impressive and exciting race. Bridgestone, as the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, will continue to support all of the teams and drivers with our full efforts for the season’s remaining two races.”

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Well done to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing for keeping the drivers’ championship alive with a thrilling win. Congratulations to Jarno Trulli for scoring Toyota’s second podium finish in as many races and also to the reigning champion Lewis Hamilton for his third place for McLaren. We were privileged to have many Bridgestone guests, staff and board members here to enjoy fantastic racing.”

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“From the beginning of the race the soft tyre worked well, however in the second two thirds of the race it really came alive and we saw very good race performance from this tyre. The high track temperature meant that the hard compound could be used at the start which would not be as advisable on a colder track due to longer warm-up requirements. This was a safe strategy for those concerned by any degradation from the soft, however those who did opt to use the soft at the start saw good performance.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber scored his first ever F1 race win after he used a two stop, super soft – medium – medium tyre strategy to win a fast-paced German Grand Prix in difficult conditions at Nurburgring. 



Despite being given a drive-through penalty for causing an avoidable collision at the start, Webber finished 9.2 seconds ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Felipe Massa taking third. Vettel used a super soft – medium – super soft strategy and Massa used a super soft – super soft - medium strategy for his first podium finish of the season. 



Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says 
“Congratulations to Mark Webber for taking his first ever Grand Prix win at the 130th attempt. This illustrates the Japanese proverb ‘continuing is the force’ and we are very happy that this win occurred using Bridgestone tyres. From a tyre analysis perspective this was a thrilling race. The conditions, such as temperature and track condition, meant that for most of the race it was very difficult to determine which was the better race tyre. This meant that drivers and strategists had to use a lot of brain power today and we saw a good variety of strategies through the field, even from drivers in the same team. 



“The track conditions started very green and this caused some competitors who started on the super soft tyre problems with graining and degradation. Some competitors used the medium compound very well, and Fernando Alonso was notable with his fastest lap on this tyre, however others struggled for grip and temperature with this tyre. This all added to the interest.” 


Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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01 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32.230
02 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:32.357
03 J. Button Brawn GP 1:32.473
04 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:32.480
05 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:32.616
06 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.859
07 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:34.316
08 F. Massa Ferrari 1:34.574
09 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:34.710
10 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:34.803
11 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.310
12 F. Alonso Renault 1:42.318
13 K. Nakajima Williams 1:42.500
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:42.771
15 N. Rosberg Williams 1:42.859
16 R. Kubica BMW 1:32.190
17 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:32.251
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:32.402
19 T. Glock Toyota 1:32.423
20 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.559

Post Qualifying car weights, sorted by qualifying position:

Pos  Driver                             Weight (kg)

 1.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault       661.0

 2.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes         647.0

 3.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes         644.0

 4.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault       661.0

 5.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes       654.5

 6.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes       664.0

 7.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes   678.5

 8.  Massa        Ferrari                673.5

 9.  Raikkonen    Ferrari                674.0

10.  Piquet       Renault                676.0

11.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber             681.0*

12.  Alonso       Renault                668.2*

13.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota        683.6*

14.  Trulli       Toyota                 683.7*

15.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota        689.6*

16.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber             673.5*

17.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari     674.5*

18.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes   662.5*

19.  Glock        Toyota                 662.3*

20.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     689.5*

* declared weight

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Bridgestone’s super soft tyre provided the grip for Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber to qualify on his first ever Formula One pole position for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix at Nurburgring.

Webber set a time of 1min 32.230secs, just over a tenth faster than Brawn GP Formula 1 Team driver Rubens Barrichello. Jenson Button (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) went third fastest. Notably, Adrian Sutil and Force India achieved their highest ever qualifying with seventh.

Bridgestone’s new intermediate tyre was used by a number of competitors during the qualifying session in Q2, when rainfall visited the circuit a number of times. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton used the super soft Bridgestone to go fastest in the morning session with a time of 1min 31.121secs.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today’s running?
“Today was very interesting and what an exciting way for Mark Webber to achieve his first ever pole position. The weather was cold, and then we had the additional difficulty for making tyre choice of the rain falling during parts of qualifying too. This was a difficult day for the drivers behind the wheel and the team strategists on the pit wall, but both Red Bull and Brawn achieved good results.”

What are the tyre strategy considerations for tomorrow’s race?
“Anyone who is at Nurburgring will tell you that the weather is going to be the primary consideration and a lot of time tomorrow will be spent looking at the sky and wondering what will happen next. Two years ago we had a very exciting race here with very variable weather, and tomorrow we might have something similar. If it is dry and cold, then the Bridgestone super soft could be the preferred race tyre. If it is wet, then competitors will have to match their tyre choices from the Bridgestone wet, intermediate and dry tyres to the track conditions at that time. This is a very difficult task if the weather is variable, but very exciting too.” 

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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So it wasn’t to be for Button or his expecting fans. Yet another Brit falls foul of the home GP jinx. Well not really Vettel went out and won it, with the help of its brilliant new motor! Not only did he win but he took some serious points from Jenson the championship leader, so maybe we will get that title fight after all. Thanks to a 1-2 finish Red Bull have closed the gap in the constructors title too.

Sadly another disappointing weekend for Kimi fans though. After a great Q2 - we all expected more than his final grid position of 9th. The Finn more than made up for that with a fantastic start, really widening the normal track width and almost taking to the run off - he put himself into 5th position after Copse corner.

Sadly it all went downhill from then on as his strategy meant a longer first stop, losing out to Trulli and then being stuck behind the train, with no chance to push. He was then passed during stops by his team mate Massa, Rosberg & Button. Still at least he got a point rather than nothing. The other two Brazilians had a great weekend too - with Piquet and Rubens also out doing their team mates fair and square.

Not the most classic GP but an amazing and dominant win from Vettel, he made it look easy. He spoilt the Brit party, with the majority of the fans leaving Silverstone disappointed. It wasn’t really Sebs fault though, as Button & Lewis could manage no better than 6th and 16th - which had nothing to do with the young German.

The next race in Germany is going to be an interesting one - with more developments for most teams and Button in particular out to ruin Vettel’s home GP win dream. Here’s hoping its a better race for Kimi - its awful to see him fighting for the final point.

Jemela Coventry

Gokimi Team

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1h22:49.328
 2.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    15.188
 3.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    41.175
 4.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    45.043
 5.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    45.915
 6.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +    46.285
 7.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +  1:08.307
 8.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +  1:09.622
 9.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +  1:09.823
10.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:11.522
11.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +  1:14.023
12.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap
17.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap
18.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:20.735

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    25
Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)    24

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Free Practice 1

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.400            20

 2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.682  + 0.282   19

 3.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.227  + 0.827   20

 4.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.242  + 0.842   29

 5.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:20.458  + 1.058   26

 6.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:20.471  + 1.071   23

 7.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:20.585  + 1.185   32

 8.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.650  + 1.250   26

 9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.815  + 1.415   32

10.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.838  + 1.438   25

11.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.913  + 1.513   22

12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:21.029  + 1.629   22

13.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:21.103  + 1.703   24

14.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:21.179  + 1.779   27

15.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.384  + 1.984   23

16.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:21.386  + 1.986   32

17.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:21.489  + 2.089   26

18.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:21.525  + 2.125   30

19.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.590  + 2.190   37

20.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:21.801  + 2.401   16

Free Practice 2

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.456            39

 2.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.597  + 0.141   35

 3.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:20.141  + 0.685   41

 4.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.209  + 0.753   36

 5.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:20.237  + 0.781   36

 6.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.244  + 0.788   26

 7.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.417  + 0.961   35

 8.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:20.458  + 1.002   40

 9.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:20.468  + 1.012   42

10.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:20.608  + 1.152   37

11.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:20.622  + 1.166   23

12.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:20.733  + 1.277   37

13.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:20.762  + 1.306   37

14.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:20.767  + 1.311   28

15.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:20.932  + 1.476   35

16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:20.945  + 1.489   36

17.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:21.005  + 1.549   37

18.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:21.132  + 1.676   38

19.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:21.413  + 1.957   40

20.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:21.668  + 2.212   37

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Well what a day of mixed fortunes.

Sadly for Kimi, his misfortune continued as he only managed 10th today when the chequered flag fell. I guess it was always going to be a disappointing day with a ‘double diffuserless’ and KERS free Ferrari not only struggling to maintain pace but it also has very unstable reliability. Kimi suffered from engine power issues and Massa was forced to retire with electrical problems. On the plus side both drivers did show good pace during some periods of the race. Massa was in 3rd when he ground to a holt and Raikkonen was matching the race leaders pace after his pit stop until he got stuck behind Nico. Maybe all is not lost but the upgrades due in Spain do seem to be make or break.

Lewis Hamilton however was on the other side of fortune. He certainly was very lucky to finish and in the points, after numerous adventures off the track. He admitted his race was awful, complaining  afterwards about the graining on his tires but wasn’t sure if it was the tires or his driving style to blame - so we’ll leave that decision up to you!

Luck didn’t come into it for Vettel though. His drive was flawless in treacherous conditions. For the last year or so press and pundits alike, have been calling Vettel the next big thing (or Baby Schumi). Surely he must have earned a place in the record books already after this win. After all he won Toro Rosso’s first victory last year and has now gone and on to claim Red Bull’s first ever win too!

The championship standings look awful for Kimi and Ferrari.  In fact never-mind it being the worst start for the team for 20 something years, it could have been even more embarrassing if Sutil hadn’t crashed out of the points as they’d have been the only team to not have scored a thing in 2009 so far. Lets hope Kimi can finally get some solid points on the board in Bahrain next week.

So 3 races in - Button and Brawn still top the tables but for how long. Vettel and Red Bull must have them worried in all honesty, as they scored a 1-2 without KERS or a ‘double decker’ in sight and with Newey working on an upgrade back at base. Looks like its going to be a long and exciting F1 season - here’s hoping!

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Chinese Grand Prix

Shanghai International Circuit, China;

56 laps; 305.066km;

Weather: Wet.

Classified:

Results
01 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:57:43.485
02 M. Webber Red Bull + 10.970
03 J. Button Brawn GP + 44.975
04 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 1:03.704
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 1:05.102
06 L. Hamilton McLaren + 1:11.866
07 T. Glock Toyota + 1:14.476
08 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1:16.439
09 F. Alonso Renault + 1:24.309
10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 1:31.750
11 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso + 1:34.156
12 N. Heidfeld BMW + 1:35.834
13 R. Kubica BMW + 1:46.853
14 G. Fisichella Force India F1 + 1 laps
15 N. Rosberg Williams + 1 laps
16 N. Piquet jr. Renault + 2 laps
Did not finish
17 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 6 laps
18 K. Nakajima Williams + 13 laps
19 F. Massa Ferrari + 35 laps
20 J. Trulli Toyota + 37 laps

All timing unofficial

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Bridgestone’s super soft tyre allowed driver Sebastian Vettel to set his second pole position, and Red Bull Racing’s first ever, with a lap of 1min 36.184secs at Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix. Vettel took pole by just under two tenths from ING Renault’s Fernando Alonso with Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) in third, meaning the top three fastest cars were all Renault powered.

Track conditions were improved from Friday, with more rubber down. AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg used the super soft tyre to go fastest in the morning practice session with a time of 1min 36.133secs.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What was significant about today’s running? 
“Today was very significant for Red Bull Racing scoring their first pole position so congratulations to them and Sebastian Vettel. Today we have seen that both tyres give good performance here in Shanghai. The difference in best lap time between the two tyres is not so big, at around 0.5 seconds. The super soft gives its best lap time on the first or second flying lap, whereas the medium takes longer to get into the best temperature operating range and delivers its best lap on its third or fourth flying lap. We are still seeing graining on the super soft tyre, however this is not matched by the same amount of tyre degradation that we saw in Australia so there should be more strategy options for tomorrow’s race.”

The weather has been quite variable in China, how could this affect the race? 
“Of course, this race is taking place at a different time of year from last season so we expected the weather to be different. It is also the first race of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit, so the track conditions are changed from those we saw last year too. Since we have been here the weather has been both quite cool and also quite warm, so it will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday. If it is cooler, the quicker warm-up of the super soft tyre should be useful, however if it is very cool we could see more graining. If it is hotter then the medium tyre will warm-up quicker. Of course, we have seen rain at Shanghai in the past, and we all know that makes for very interesting racing. Tomorrow we will keenly watch both strategy and the skies.”

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