Vettel will start tomorrow’s British GP and will be going all out to win to close the championship gap. Kimi Raikkonen made it through to Q3 but sadly could do no better than nineth. Home favourites Jenson and Lewis will start from 6th and 19th on the grid. It should be an exciting race with the title favourite starting off the front two rows.

Qualifying Times

Pos  Driver       Team                       Q1        Q2        Q3

 1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:18.685  1:18.119  1:19.509

 2.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:19.325  1:18.335  1:19.856

 3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:18.674  1:18.209  1:19.868

 4.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:18.886  1:18.240  1:20.091

 5.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:18.530  1:18.575  1:20.216

 6.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:18.957  1:18.663  1:20.289

 7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:19.228  1:18.591  1:20.361

 8.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:19.198  1:18.791  1:20.490

 9.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:19.010  1:18.566  1:20.715

10.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:19.167  1:18.761  1:20.741

11.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:19.148  1:18.927

12.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:19.730  1:19.308

13.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:19.732  1:19.353

14.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:19.555  1:19.392

15.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:19.559  1:19.448

16.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:19.802

17.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:19.898

18.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:19.909

19.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:19.917

20.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:20.236

All Timing Unofficial

Post-qualifying car weights

Pos  Driver                Weight (kg)

 1.  Sebastian Vettel       666.5

 2.  Rubens Barrichello     657.5

 3.  Mark Webber            659.5

 4.  Jarno Trulli           658.0

 5.  Kazuki Nakajima        652.5

 6.  Jenson Button          657.5

 7.  Nico Rosberg           661.5

 8.  Timo Glock             660.0

 9.  Kimi Raikkonen         654.0

10.  Fernando Alonso        654.0

11.  Felipe Massa           675.0 *

12.  Robert Kubica          689.5 *

13.  Heikki Kovalainen      695.5 *

14.  Nelson Piquet          682.5 *

15.  Nick Heidfeld          665.5 *

16.  Giancarlo Fisichella   668.0 *

17.  Sebastien Bourdais     687.5 *

18.  Adrian Sutil           692.0 *

19.  Lewis Hamilton         666.0 *

20.  Sebastien Buemi        672.5 *

* declared weight

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Fuel report to follow later…

Pos  Driver       Team                               Q1          Q2                Q3

 1. Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)      1:27.330   1:27.016   1:28.316

 2. Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:27.355    1:27.230   1:28.421

 3. Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes     (B)  1:27.371   1:27.418   1:28.579

 4. Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:27.466   1:27.416   1:28.613

 5. Trulli       Toyota                (B)                1:27.529  1:27.195    1:28.666

 6. Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)         1:27.556  1:27.387  1:28.815

 7. Massa        Ferrari               (B)             1:27.508  1:27.349  1:28.858

 8. Alonso       Renault               (B)           1:27.988  1:27.473  1:29.075

 9. Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:27.517  1:27.418  1:29.191

10. Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)   1:27.788  1:27.455  1:29.357

11. Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)   1:27.795  1:27.521

12. Nakajima     Williams-Toyota   (B)  1:27.691  1:27.629

13. Glock        Toyota                  (B)           1:28.160  1:27.795

14. Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes   (B)  1:28.199  1:28.207

15. Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:28.278  1:28.391

16. Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:28.318

17. Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:28.582

18. Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:28.708

19. Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:28.717

20. Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:28.918

All Timing Unofficial

Fuel Loads and First Pit Stop Predictions

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

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

Join the forum discussion on this post - (5) Posts

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.”

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

As the full loads below show, Vettel and Alonso were pretty light. However no one can take this amazing pole position from Vettel, he is KERS and double decker diffuser free after all. If he goes on to win tomorrow, surely that should be some kind of record as he would have won both Torro Rosso and Red Bull’s maiden GP wins?

Kimi was indeed heavy so its no surprise he was 8th overall. It was a solid result for the Finn though considering the way the weekend has gone so far for Ferrari, although it does worry me how he’ll fair at the start without KERS (especially as Lewis in P9 along side him has KERS and a new diffuser!

Driver Full Loads
Below is the weight of each car following qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, sorted by qualifying position.

Pos. Driver Car weight
1. Vettel 644.0kg
2. Alonso 637.0kg
3. Webber 646.5kg
4. Barrichello 661.0kg
5. Button 659.0kg
6. Trulli 664.5kg
7. Rosberg 650.5kg
8. Raikkonen 673.5kg
9. Hamilton 679.0kg
10. Buemi 673.0kg
11. Heidfeld 679.0kg
12. Kovalainen 697.0kg
13. Massa 690.0kg
14. Glock 652.0kg
15. Nakajima 682.7kg
16. Bourdais 690.0kg
17. Piquet 697.9kg
18. Kubica 659.0kg
19. Sutil 648.0kg
20. Fisichella 679.5kg

Qualifying Results
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:36.565 1:35.130 1:36.184 11
2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:36.443 1:35.803 1:36.381 21
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:35.751 1:35.173 1:36.466 19
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.701 1:35.503 1:36.493 21
5. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:35.533 1:35.556 1:36.532 19
6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:36.308 1:35.645 1:36.835 21
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:35.941 1:35.809 1:37.397 23
8. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:36.137 1:35.856 1:38.089 19
9. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:35.776 1:35.740 1:38.595 17
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.284 1:35.965 1:39.321 21
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.525 1:35.975 14
12. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:36.646 1:36.032 10
13. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:36.178 1:36.033 11
14. Glock* Toyota (B) 1:36.364 1:36.066 14
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:36.673 1:36.193 13
16. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:36.906 10
17. Piquet Renault (B) 1:36.908 10
18. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:36.966 8
19. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.669 10
20. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:37.672 10

All Timing Unofficial

*Glock will take a penalty though for his gearbox change, so that puts him in 19th position tomorrow.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (5) Posts