F1 2011 review - Sebastian's perfect season

THE 2010 Formula One season has gone down as one of the most special seasons ever and it ended with the youngest ever world champion.  Just what would 2011 deliver?  The new season began with new regulations, such as the introduction of DRS which was brought in to make overtaking more possible in races.  KERS made a return after its 2009 failure and Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli returned to the sport as the sole tyre supplier after a 20-year absence.  Uprisings in the Arab world forced the postponement and eventual cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix, so once again, the championship would begin in Melbourne.

     From the moment he arrived at the Australian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel set a benchmark which no-one could live with.  He was untouchable at Albert Park, controlling qualifying and dominating the race to win the first event.  It was Red Bull’s first Australian victory and a sign of things to come.  McLaren arrived with a car that looked miles off the pace from their winter testing figures.  They were the surprise of the first race, as Lewis Hamilton produced a fighting performance to come home second, underlining the team’s hard work.  Team-mate Jenson Button had a fierce dice with Felipe Massa in the early stages of the race and got a drive-through penalty for cutting a corner and gaining an advantage on the Brazilian.  It left Button down in sixth by the finish.  Vitaly Petrov drove stunningly to register his first ever podium finish for Renault, a brilliant boost for the team deprived of Robert Kubica’s services this season after the Pole sustained serious injuries in a pre-season rally accident.  Both Sauber’s were disqualified for technical infringements which robbed Sergio Perez of points on his F1 debut, but it did allow Scottish rookie Paul di Resta to get a point in his first race.

Vettel started how it meant to go by winning the first two events

     In the heat of Malaysia, a Red Bull weakness was identified.  The tight packaging of their chassis meant they were struggling to keep KERS reliable.  However, this didn’t stop Vettel who was in a class of his own again, looking after his tyres and an intermittent KERS issue and claimed his fifth victory in the last six events altogether.  Button launched his championship assault with a brilliant second place and Kubica’s stand-in at Renault, Nick Heidfeld was an outstanding third, benefiting from a flying start that had him second into the first corner.  Talking of flying, his team-mate Petrov took to the air in a spectacular exit from the race with three laps remaining.  Old rivals Hamilton and Fernando Alonso clashed again, when the Ferrari misjudged an overtaking move.  For a separate weaving incident, a frustrated Hamilton was penalised and wound up eighth, with Alonso in sixth.

     After running out of fresh tyres in Sepang, Hamilton played the strategy game in China and it worked with a brilliant victory.  He overcame a major oil leak in the garage before the race and saved an extra set of tyres in qualifying to use them in a race that went down in the history books as one of the greatest ever.  Vettel beat Button to pole, but made a poor start and looked tense all afternoon, but showed his championship might with second place.  More KERS problems left Mark Webber in a dismal 18^th on the grid, but he put in a sensational fightback to claim the final place on the podium.  Button was a dejected fourth and produced one of the blunders of the season.  Having led the early stages, he made a terrible mistake and stopped at the wrong pit!  A comical moment, but Jenson would make up for it later in the season.  Felipe Massa’s inferior strategy left him down in sixth, but beating Alonso by 15 seconds made it a solid and sweet performance.  Another man who impressed in China was Nico Rosberg.  He led a significant chunk of the race, but faded badly to fifth by the end.  It was the closest Mercedes GP would get to finishing on the podium this season.

     Another tremendous Grand Prix followed three weeks later in Istanbul.  Pirelli’s tyre mileage left us with a four stop strategy for most of the top runners and overtaking galore with the effective DRS.  Despite crashing in wet practice on Friday and losing a day of race setup, Vettel was a comfortable winner on what turned out to be F1’s last trip to Turkey.  Webber ensured Red Bull had their first 1-2 of the season, coming out on top in a feisty scrap with Alonso, who claimed Ferrari’s first rostrum after a difficult start to the campaign.  A sticky wheel nut at a routine pitstop left Hamilton over 40 seconds adrift in fourth place and Button’s gamble on one less pitstop didn’t work and left him behind Rosberg in sixth.  While Rosberg was picking up points for Mercedes, Michael Schumacher’s weekend was a disaster.  Unnecessary contact with Petrov in the early laps and losing out in many midfield battles left him admitting to feeling ‘no joy’ following his 12^th place finish. 

 

Next stop on the Sebastian Vettel crusade was Barcelona, which surprised many with an exciting duel.  Despite being beaten to pole position by team-mate Mark Webber, Vettel showed his superiority on raceday.  However, he was made to work very hard for his 13^th career victory.  Fernando Alonso’s adoring Spanish public witnessed an incredible start as their hero catapulted from fourth on the grid into the lead.  Sadly, dreadful tyre wear left him ending a lapped fifth.  Vettel led from lap 19 onwards, but Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren was the faster package and hunted him down.  The German’s brilliant defensive driving was enough to take victory again and the team rightly praised his driving, rather than his ‘Crazy Frog’ impression.  Having made an awful start and dropping to tenth on lap one; Jenson Button produced two cracking moves on Alonso and Webber to complete the podium.  Michael Schumacher responded to his critics with a solid run to sixth, ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg whilst Nick Heidfeld came from last after a fire in practice to eighth.

Perez's rookie season was put on hold after this crash in Monaco

     Any driver will claim that winning in Monaco will be the highlight of the season and Vettel added Monte Carlo to his ever increasing trophy cabinet on a turbulent weekend in the principality.  The weekend started with a sickening shunt for Sergio Perez in qualifying.  The Mexican crashed out of the tunnel in Q3 and suffered a bruised thigh and concussion, keeping him out for two races.  In the race, Vettel, Alonso and Button produced a supreme afternoon of driver skill.  Sebastian survived a bad pitstop on lap 16 and stayed out on weaker tyres to hold off the Ferrari and McLaren.  Hamilton had a nightmare weekend, which included a qualifying demotion, then two more drive-through penalties in the race for controversial clashes with Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado.  He attacked race stewards in an unsavoury post-race interview, beginning a dark period for the Brit.  Vitaly Petrov was admitted to hospital after being involved in a multiple crash with Adrian Sutil, Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari late on which caused a race stoppage.  Fortunately, the Russian escaped serious injury.   

      If anyone thought F1 2011 had been crazy so far, then the drama of the Canadian Grand Prix exceeded everything.  Five safety cars, a two hour stoppage for a torrential downpour and an amazing finish which had avid fans jumping up and around at 10.15pm in the evening!  Vettel drove brilliantly again and led through most of the chaos, until around the last lap, he ran wide and handed Jenson Button a sensational victory.  Button stormed back from 21^st and last at half-distance, following collisions with team-mate Hamilton and Alonso, which ended both of their races.  For once, Vettel showed he was human and still could crack under pressure.  Webber recovered from his own contact with Hamilton to make it two Red Bulls on the podium, just ahead of Schumacher, who ran as high as second and produced the best drive of his comeback.  Further back, a hard-fought eighth place from a pitlane start saved Jaime Alguersuari from the sack at Toro Rosso.

     After that Canadian excitement, the European Grand Prix disappointed with the usual lack of action in Valencia.  Vettel bounced back from his Montreal slip-up to dominate in trademark fashion.  He took pole position and won at a canter, whilst Alonso beat Webber in a straight fight to take an excellent second for Ferrari.  Hamilton had a very quiet run to fourth, followed by Massa and Button.  All 24 cars that started in Valencia made it to the finish; only the third time in history this has happened, after the 1962 Dutch GP and the 2005 Italian GP.

Alonso was in top form at Silverstone, taking his only win of 2011

An incident-packed British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw our fourth different winner of the season.  Alonso benefited from a poor Red Bull pitstop and Vettel being held up behind Hamilton’s slower McLaren in the middle part of the race to take Ferrari’s first victory since Korea last year.  Webber claimed pole position on Saturday, but dropped behind Vettel at the start and was forced by team boss Christian Horner to “maintain the gap,” in the closing stages.  There were time when memories of Turkey 2010 came flooding back, but a 2-3 result kept Red Bull comfortably clear in the constructors championship.  The Brits had a largely miserable day.  Paul di Resta made contact with Sebastian Buemi and had a dismal pitstop to wreck his hopes of points after qualifying a brilliant sixth, whilst a loose wheel nut ended Button’s grand prix prematurely.  Hamilton stirred the motions with fourth, holding off Massa in an exciting final corner duel, despite fuel management issues.

     Next was a trip to the chilly Eiffel Mountains and the Nurburgring, where Lewis Hamilton put a great weekend together to qualify on the front row behind Mark Webber and win the race.  He jumped the Australian at the start and used great strategy and daring overtaking moves on both Webber and Fernando Alonso to take the spoils.  Alonso was second and Webber back in third.  An off-colour Sebastian Vettel spun early on and seemed unhappy on home soil all weekend.  Nevertheless, smart pit work from Red Bull saw him leapfrog Felipe Massa on the last lap to salvage fourth place.  Once again, Jenson Button was out of luck, forced to retire with hydraulic problems, handing Adrian Sutil a best finish of the season for Force India in sixth place.  The pressure was growing on Nick Heidfeld at Renault after a clash with Sebastian Buemi put him out of the race and his seat in severe jeopardy.

      A week later and the McLaren summer renaissance continued at an unseasonably damp Budapest.  In a race decided by getting on the right tyres at the right time, Button mastered everything again to win in Hungary for the second time in his career.  The race was Hamilton’s for the taking, as he led the majority of it.  However, he was left to rue a missed opportunity when he spun into the path of Paul di Resta, forcing his countryman off the road.  Lewis got a drive-through and pitted six times, but still finished fourth.  Second place for Vettel increased his championship lead, with near rivals, Alonso and Webber finishing behind him in third and fifth respectively.  Heidfeld’s Renault career ended spectacularly when his engine air bottle exploded on pitlane exit, leaving his car in flames.  Fans also felt fiery, when news came through of a new TV deal in Hungary which sees Sky Sports receiving live coverage of every race next season and the BBC settling for partial coverage of ten live events.

Hamilton's crash in Belgium summed up a messy championship

After the summer break, Formula One returned at the end of August to Belgium and the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit.  Despite safety cars and serious concerns over blistered tyres after qualifying, Red Bull took a 1-2 finish.  Vettel handled it all with his usual panache and Webber recovered from a shocking start which saw him ninth into La Source to finish a very strong second.  Hamilton’s faint championship hopes ended when he had a silly collision with Kamui Kobayashi, which speared the McLaren into the barriers.  Team-mate Button started 13^th after a tactical mix-up in qualifying and had to pit early after first corner contact, but produced a stirring fightback to third.  Alonso was hindered by Ferrari’s decision to use one less set of dry tyres and without the grip levels of his rivals, the submissive Spaniard had to settle for fourth.  On the 20^th anniversary of making his F1 debut, Michael Schumacher stormed through from last on the grid after a wheel hub failure in qualifying to record a fabulous fifth place, narrowly ahead of team-mate Rosberg.  Pastor Maldonado scored his first and only point of the season, whilst Bruno Senna qualified a superb seventh on his Renault debut, but blotted his copybook by running into Jaime Alguersuari at the start of the race.

     The final European race of the season was as ever, at Monza and Ferrari country.  Red Bull feared they wouldn’t be very strong, due to the power disadvantage of their Renault engine, but Vettel blew the opposition away.  He produced a meteoric lap to take pole position by half a second on Saturday and despite Alonso beating him off the startline, made a brave and decisive pass on the grass to record another fantastic victory.  Button overwhelmed Alonso later in the race for second place, but despite poor traction from his Ferrari, Fernando still managed to make the podium to give the Tifosi something to shout about.  Michael Schumacher pushed the boundaries in a vigorous defence from Lewis Hamilton for half the race, with Hamilton eventually coming out on top for fourth place.  Massa was a distant sixth after contact early on with Mark Webber; the Australian having a pathetic off into the barriers on his way back to the pits with front wing damage.  Vitantonio Liuzzi produced his nomination for accident of the season, by trying to move his HRT into the points from the back row into turn one!  His ambition backfired, torpedoing Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg out of the race at the first chicane.

     The flyaway finish began under the lights in Singapore, where Sebastian Vettel eased to another victory and within one point of the title.  Jenson Button came second, which was enough to take the fight to Suzuka, but third and fourth place results ended any mathematical hopes for Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.  The weekend was dominated by two run-ins between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, with a fuming Massa angrily confronting his rival in the interview pen after the race.  Paul di Resta was a notable sixth to achieve his best finish of his 2011 rookie year, whilst Michael Schumacher escaped injury after a nasty looking accident, when he went airborne over Sergio Perez.

Three wins for Button, including an emotional success in Japan

     Sure enough, as expected, Vettel sealed the world championship title at Suzuka, to become the youngest back-to-back champion in the history of the sport and only the ninth driver to achieve such a feat.  Button drove brilliantly once again to take victory, ahead of a hard charging Alonso, but third place was easily enough for Vettel in a gripping Grand Prix.  Once again, Hamilton and Massa made contact during the race, which saw a piece of McLaren bodywork deployed on the racing line and forcing the Safety Car out.  By their 2011 standards, the incident was relatively minor, but it was another flashpoint in a dismal season for both.  Michael Schumacher managed to split Hamilton and Massa at the chequered flag, whilst flu-ridden Perez drove well in his Sauber to eighth, as did Nico Rosberg from 23^rd on the grid to tenth.  However, Suzuka 2011 will be remembered for the place that wrapped up Sebastian Vettel’s glory season.

The German wasn’t finished yet though, as he cruised to his tenth victory of the season in Korea.  Combined with a third place finish for Webber, it sealed the constructor’s championship for Red Bull.  Hamilton blasted to pole, the first non Red Bull pole position of the season, but he was subdued all weekend as he finished second, his split from Nicole Scherzinger seemed to weigh on his mind throughout.  Button, Alonso and Massa completed the top six, leaving slim pickings for the rest.

      F1 made its inaugural visit to India and the sport gave the country the tradition in 2011 of a Sebastian Vettel pole position and a Sebastian Vettel victory.  He led every lap and was simply untouchable.  His 11^th triumph of the season put him within two races of equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a season.  Once again, it was Button and Alonso who completed the podium positions which provided a great circuit, but sadly, very poor racing.  Massa and Hamilton became attracted again with their sixth collision of the season.  The Brit’s front wing was damaged and he limped home in seventh.  Massa was blamed this time by the race stewards and awarded a drive-through penalty, but it didn’t matter in the end, as he abused his Ferrari over the plastering kerbing and broke his front suspension.  Mercedes equalled their best result of the season, with Schumacher leading Rosberg home to fifth, as he did at Spa earlier in the season.

      However, Vettel’s hopes of equalling Schumacher’s wins in a season record ended on the second corner in Abu Dhabi.  A sudden deflation on the left-rear tyre sent the champion spinning out of the race.  Hamilton took full advantage and returned to form to secure a brilliant win in a very controlled and measured drive.  As so often the case this season, Alonso outperformed his equipment to take second place for Ferrari and despite a KERS failure, Button made it two McLarens on the podium. 

      Red Bull may have finished off the podium in Abu Dhabi, but they showed their class in the finale at Sao Paulo.  Webber finally ended his barren run by taking a magnificent victory in Brazil, although he was aided by a faulty gearbox problem for his team-mate.  Button wrapped up second in the drivers championship with a podium finish, but Hamilton was out of luck, finishing his largely desperate season off with gearbox failure.  At least he ended his public feud with Massa after the race.  Fourth place for Alonso wasn’t enough to hold off Webber for third place in the driver’s championship final positions.

Vettel and Red Bull were the class of the field in 2011

So, after 19 races in 18 countries and five different winners from three teams, the end has arrived for F1 2011.  Sometimes in the sport, you just have to appreciate greatness and we must hail Sebastian’s perfect season!

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sebastian Vettel 392, Jenson Button 270, Mark Webber 258, Fernando Alonso 257, Lewis Hamilton 227, Felipe Massa 118, Nico Rosberg 89, Michael Schumacher 76, Adrian Sutil 42, Vitaly Petrov 37, Nick Heidfeld 34, Kamui Kobayashi 30, Paul di Resta 27, Jaime Alguersuari 26, Sebastian Buemi 15, Sergio Perez 14, Rubens Barrichello 4, Bruno Senna 2, Pastor Maldonado 1

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP: Red Bull 650, McLaren 497, Ferrari 375, Mercedes GP 165, Renault 73, Force India 69, Sauber 44, Toro Rosso 41, Williams 5

2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Controlled Hamilton bounces back in style

SMILE: Lewis Hamilton was back on top form in Abu Dhabi

IN THE twilight of Abu Dhabi today, Lewis Hamilton reminded everyone just what a world class driver he really is.  He took full advantage of a rare bit of misfortune to strike the dominant Sebastian Vettel to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the United Arab Emirates.  It is the Brit’s third win of a troubled 2011 season, as he bounced back from recent traumas that have made his private life such a regular feature within the gossip columns of recent weeks.  Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the second McLaren of Jenson Button completed the podium on the Yas Marina island; the first rostrum without a Red Bull driver for 20 races.

      From the outset of practice on Friday, McLaren turned up in Abu Dhabi and looked very fast.  Vettel bounced back from a rare lapse which saw him crash on Friday to record another pole position in qualifying yesterday.  However, those who presumed it would be another Sunday stroll for the German were about to get the shock of the season so far.  

DEMISE: Vettel's tyre begins to deflate, ending his race very early

     He charged into the lead after a perfect start, but entering turn two, recognised a problem with the rear of his car.  A rear tyre suddenly deflated and sent Vettel spinning onto the grass.  Hamilton probably couldn’t believe his luck as he inherited the lead; a position with which he only relinquished during the pitstops.  Sebastian limped home with the flailing rubber doing sufficient damage to the rear bodywork and rear wishbone, therefore ending his race in the pits.  It is his first DNF since the cruel engine failure he suffered in Korea last October.  It also means that Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a season can now not be broken.  A bemused Vettel and the team tried to find out what caused the instant puncture, with suspicions of low tyre pressures or debris off the turn one kerb.  As I write this, the cause is still unknown but the champion took his disappointment on the chin and stayed on the pitwall for the remainder of the event to watch proceedings.

       With Vettel out, it gave Hamilton the chance to assert himself at the front of the field again and what a good feeling it must have been.  A charging Alonso overtook Button on the first lap for second and kept the sister McLaren honest throughout the race.  However, Hamilton had better pace and more luck in the traffic to keep a secure lead of between three to five seconds throughout the 55-lap race.  As darkness fell, Red Bull’s problems deepened.  A dreadful nine second pitstop for Mark Webber cost him a shot at the final podium spot.  He seemed very cautious under braking throughout; suggesting that all was not well with the Australian’s car either.  With Button having a major KERS failure from lap 12 until around mid-distance, a significant opportunity was missed for a frustrated Webber.  Felipe Massa briefly took up the challenge, but he faded badly in the final stint and a pathetic spin at turn one had race engineer Rob Smedley shaking his head at another basic error from his driver.  Massa’s mistake allowed Red Bull to do a three stop strategy and enable Webber to pit on the final lap and put the less favourable prime tyre on.  Like at the Nurburgring with Vettel in July, the plan worked and left Massa marooned in fifth place. 

       Back infront and Hamilton completed the distance with little trouble to record his first win since the German Grand Prix in the summer and move him within six points of Webber’s fourth place in the driver’s championship.  Having experienced tough times both in his family and the split from girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger in recent weeks, Hamilton has had to experience a lot this season and he will be delighted with this performance.  He paid special tribute to his mum, who was there this weekend and celebrating her birthday too, making it a very happy Lewis on the podium.  Both he and Button wore the British poppy with pride too in memory of our soldiers on remembrance weekend in the UK.  Alonso seemed pleased with second place which keeps him just ten points shy of Button’s second place in the driver’s battle.  Behind Webber and Massa, Nico Rosberg had one of his strongest events of the season to finish sixth for Mercedes GP.  Team-mate Michael Schumacher survived a late race puncture to come home in seventh ahead of Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta and Kamur Kobayashi.  Sutil and di Resta’s finishes came on different pit strategies and all but secures Force India a best ever sixth place in the constructor’s championship.  Koabyashi’s point was his first since the Nurburgring race eight races ago, but that is significant, as it moves Sauber back ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructors by a single point.  Sebastian Buemi was unfortunate not to beat all of them, as a suspension failure ended his day early.  There was also a notable effort from Rubens Barrichello, who came home 12^th from the back of the grid in an uncompetitive Williams, beating both Renault’s and Jaime Alguesuari’s Toro Rosso.

        Only one race remains now in the 2011 season, which is the Brazilian Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.  For Lewis Hamilton, this is the perfect tonic and he will be aiming for similar success at Interlagos; a happy hunting ground for both McLaren drivers in the past.  Hopefully, Sao Paulo can provide everyone with a special finale which this season ultimately deserves.  

2011 Indian Grand Prix: New event, same winner

NICE: Vettel tastes the champagne after another win

IT MAY have been a new event, but there was a lot of predictability yesterday about the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. World champion Sebastian Vettel crushed the field again, as he so often has in F1 2011 to register his 11th win of a record-breaking season. In a fairly processional debut race at the Buddah International Circuit, the German coasted home, having led every single lap of the event. In the process, he broke Nigel Mansell’s record of laps led in a season and now is just two wins away from equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a single season back in 2004.

     With both championships in the bag for Red Bull Racing, attention focused more on the setting and venue for this new event, rather than the race outcome. Before the race started, there was poignant reflection with a dignified one minute silence held on the grid for racers, Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli, both tragically killed in accidents over the past fortnight which has raised questions again about the safety levels in professional motorsport.

     Once his visor was down, Vettel’s focus was again on producing a dominant display from his customary pole position. Once he got to the first corner first, there was little doubt about who was going to end on the top step of the podium. Further back, Rubens Barrichello outbraked himself and hit the back of his Williams team-mate, Pastor Maldonado. Kamur Kobayashi had to take avoiding action, but was speared by the Virgin of Timo Glock. Two corners later, Daniel Ricciardo ran into the back of Jarno Trulli, spinning the Lotus around and destroying one of his rear tyres. Barrichello and Trulli made it back to the pits for repairs, but their afternoons were severely compromised. Both Kobayashi and Glock retired from the damage picked up in the turn one fracas.

     Behind Vettel, Mark Webber lost second to Jenson Button into turn four on the first lap. After some resolute defending in the early stages from the Brit, Webber began to drop back into the clutches of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. Although Button did set four consecutive fastest laps between laps 10-13, Vettel was looking after his tyres by this point and still never looked troubled.

     So, with little going on at the front, it was left to F1’s biggest conflict in 2011 to take centre stage. For the sixth time this season, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa collided. This incident happened on the 22nd lap, whilst fighting over fifth place. Fighting back from a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in Friday practice, Hamilton had the measure of the Ferrari and got within striking distance out of turn four. He slipstreamed the Brazilian and dived down the inside into turn five. Massa looked across no fewer than three times before choosing to turn in, when Hamilton was already into the corner. The resulting connection had both blaming the other again, but it was Massa who this time got the penalty from the race stewards for causing an avoidable collision. Lewis didn’t get off lightly, as he had to limp back to the pits for a new front wing. He resumed in ninth, then toured home in seventh; not the result he wanted after a tough period for the Brit personally, which has concluded in a well-publicised split from his long-term girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.

     It was worse for Massa, who had to pit soon after his drive-through to replace a front wing that was vibrating heavily on the track. Two laps later, he repeated his qualifying mistake by hitting the inside of the orange plastering kerbing at the turn eight chicane. The end result; a damaged front suspension and his race came to a premature and depressing end.

     Things went better for his team-mate Alonso, who managed to stay out longer than Webber to undercut him in the second round of pitstops. Out front, Vettel was so dominant, he was barely seen by the TV cameras. He cruised home to win his fifth race in the last six events. Button’s fine second place finish, combined with Massa’s DNF ensured McLaren will finish second in the constructors championship. The canny Alonso took another podium ahead of a disappointing Webber, who once again failed to maximise the opportunity of a promising grid slot.

     Michael Schumacher had an excellent afternoon to finish fifth, having started a lowly 11th on the grid. He beat team-mate Nico Rosberg to match Mercedes GP’s best team result of the campaign. Behind Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari collected more points for Toro Rosso in an impressive run to eighth place. Team-mate Sebastian Buemi suffered a rare Ferrari engine failure, which enabled Adrian Sutil and Sergio Perez to pick up the minor points in ninth and tenth. It was another difficult day for Renault, with both cars finishing out of the top ten and Paul di Resta’s risky tyre strategy didn’t work either, with the Scot coming across the line in a low-key 13th.

     With two races left in this season, the remaining question seems to be; can Sebastian Vettel break more records in this historic season. It is staggering to think that he is still only 24 years of age. He is in another zone to everyone else on the grid at the moment, so I would be very surprised if he didn’t win the final two races of what has been a vintage 2011 season for this incredible German. The twilight of Abu Dhabi awaits, in two weeks time.

The end of the road for Nicole and Lewis

THEY were one of the closest and famous partnerships in the world of showbiz, but after four years together, time has been called on the relationship between Nicole Scherzinger and Lewis Hamilton.

      McLaren Formula One ace Hamilton, 25, confirmed the frenzied speculation of the past week was true and that the pair had gone their separate ways.  Speaking to reporters in the build-up to this weekend’s inaugural Indian Grand Prix, he said; “We’re friends at least and we can move forward.  It’s never easy going through tough times.  These times are sent to try you, and it’s about how you pull through them.” 

      The Brit, who has had a tough season on the track, has spent some time away from the fast lane with his family and he seemed to be in more positive spirits on arrival at the Buddah International Circuit.  At the last event in Korea two weeks ago, he looked miserable and downbeat all weekend, which had already suggested that the relationship with his popstar princess had already, ran into trouble.  Despite the behind the scenes turmoil, Hamilton broke the Red Bull run of pole positions in South Korea last time out and finished second to reigning champion Sebastian Vettel in the race.  It will be interesting to see how the separation affects or benefits his driving.  He has won two races this season and is hoping to close up on the likes of Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber this weekend in the drivers’ championship.

OVER: Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger's relationship has hit the skids

     There were times when it looked like Hamilton and Scherzinger were the perfect match, despite the age gap between them.  The American singer is currently in London, preparing for a performance of her latest new single ‘Try with Me’ in Sunday night’s live results show of the X-Factor.  She is also booked in for an appearance on Alan Carr’s chatshow programme, Chatty Man on Channel 4, due to also be screened on Sunday.  Nicole has not commented on the spilt, with close friends just saying that the decision had been very amicable last week.  It is believed that the reason for the parting of ways was because of the long-distance working pressures between the pair.

      Scherzinger, 33, is currently judging on the US version of the X-Factor, with certain sources of the media suggesting that she is seeking comfort from Welsh presenter of the show, Steve Jones.  She has had immense success in the UK with her debut solo album ‘Killer Love,’ soaring to the top of the charts with hit singles such as ‘Right There,’ ‘Poison,’ and ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath.’  Her relationship with Hamilton has gone down rocky roads in the past, as they did have a brief separation in January 2010.  Her role in Lewis’s life has also been seen as a catalyst in the decline of the racing driver’s close relationship with his Dad, Anthony.  They first got together in Monaco in 2008, with the former Pussycat Doll cheering for her boyfriend when he sensationally won the 2008 F1 championship on the final corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix.  They were last seen together in public at a Grand Prix event back in Monaco in May.  During the summer, both denied a possible engagement through the social networking site, Twitter.

       It is a sad ending for one of the most well-known and well-liked celebrity couples.  Let’s hope both can put aside the difficult time in their private lives at the weekend and produce electric performances in London and India.  

2011 Korean Grand Prix - Red Bull seal double success in Asia

DOMINANT: Vettel produced another flawless performance

RED Bull Racing secured the constructors championship in clinical fashion this morning at the Korean Grand Prix.  Newly crowned double champion Sebastian Vettel claimed his tenth victory of the season and Mark Webber’s third spot made sure that the Milton Keynes based team scored more points than their only rivals for this championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

     For the first time since the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix, a Red Bull failed to qualify on pole position.  A rather subdued Lewis Hamilton produced a special lap to claim the top honours for McLaren.  However, Red Bull looked to be faster on raceday and from the moment Vettel charged into the lead on the fourth corner of the race, the outcome never really looked in doubt.  McLaren had looked seriously competitive again throughout the weekend, but both drivers lost out in a mad first lap.  Jenson Button was beaten up on the first circuit and got relegated from third on the grid to sixth at the end of it.  Button’s charge continued to be held back, when Mercedes GP managed to get Nico Rosberg briefly infront of the Brit in a pitstop race.

     In the early stages, Hamilton managed to hold onto Vettel, but the expected wear on the Pirelli tyres wasn’t as high as anticipated and once again, it was the Brit who wore out his tyres the most.  Not even a Safety Car period could halt Vettel’s charge after the first round of pitstops.  This was caused when Vitaly Petrov got into a fierce battle with Fernando Alonso down the longest straight in Formula One.  Both completely missed their braking point, but whilst Alonso realised trouble and took a wider route around the corner, Petrov clobbered straight into the back of the innocent Michael Schumacher.  Both cars were badly damaged and had to retire, with debris scattered across the circuit.  Petrov accepted responsibility for his misjudgement, but still incurs a five place grid penalty for the next race in India.

     As the race wore on, Webber became more of a factor in the reckoning.  He closed in on Hamilton and the pair had a couple of brilliant, clean dices.  Red Bull did miss a trick in pitting Webber at the same time as the McLaren, losing the opportunity to springboard Lewis via the ‘undercut.’  Although the leading cars were bunched together, no-one looked capable of pulling off an overtaking manoeuvre in frankly, a boring race that would have made anyone decide to go back to sleep for it’s early takeoff.  Fernando Alonso did produce the sound bite of the season, when he closed in on Button, but got a warning message about high fuel consumption.  He then said; “I give up, I give up.”  Perhaps it was a message of annoyance, having spent the first half of the race a forlorn figure, trapped behind the much slower Felipe Massa.

      Further back, Jaime Alguesuari passed Rosberg on the last lap to match his best ever career result of seventh place.  Sebastian Buemi brought his car home in ninth to secure some much-needed points for the Toro Rosso team, which sees them close up on Sauber in the championship.  Paul di Resta held off his team-mate Adrian Sutil to claim the final point for Force India.

     This season, it has belonged to one driver and one team.  Many congratulations to Red Bull Racing, the 2011 FIA Formula One Constructors Champions.

The Finishing Straight - Japan (by HappyDude88)

SO, IT is now all officially over.  Sebastian Vettel is world champion and becomes only the ninth driver in history to become a back-to-back title winner.  It’s a prestigious list he joins, with the likes of Fangio, Schumacher, Senna, Prost and Alonso among those to have achieved an incredible feat.  The emotion on his face when the BBC played back the wonderful montage of back-to-back champions was genuine and he is such a nice bloke too.  Sometimes in Formula One, you have to appreciate greatness rather than moan about domination.  Vettel totally deserves the title this season; he has been in a class of his own.  I will be doing a special blog about the back-to-back champion at a later date.

      However, Sebastian had to share the honours on Sunday with Jenson Button, who drove flawlessly again to record his first dry win in a McLaren.  His win was another example of stunning driving and he has totally proved those critics, including myself, who said he made a severe error of judgement in leaving Brawn GP for McLaren in 2009.  Button is now the defunct no.1 at McLaren and I hope he hangs onto second place in the championship.  Again, this win means a lot for Button – with his Japanese girlfriend, Jessica at his side, plus the seven seasons he spent driving for BAR/Honda.  He has a close affinity with Japan and is effectively a second home race.  Jenson is driving out of his skin at the moment and has the ability now to go on and potentially win a second championship.

     The talking point of the race was Vettel’s move on Button at the start of the race.  Having been pipped by 0.009secs in qualifying, Button was keen to get the lead from the start.  He made a slightly better start, but Sebastian gradually squeezed him out of space.  He left Button with a rather brutal choice; back off or risk a crash and sensibly, Jenson chose the former.  However, I’ve seen far worse moves at the start of the race and gone unpunished.  It deserved a closer look with the race stewards, but no more action was taken thankfully.  At last, a decision I agree with this season from the stewards, who sadly have gone back to the inconsistency of 2008.

     As Button continues to blossom, Lewis Hamilton continues to look like a lonely, depressed soul and he has a lot of soul-searching to do over the winter.  Whilst his team-mate has finished on the rostrum in the last five races, Hamilton has managed just four rostrums in 15 races; a sobering statistic for a driver of the highest calibre.  He finished an uneventful fifth at Suzuka and his race also included another run-in with Felipe Massa, AGAIN!  This time, it was a minor clash, which saw Massa come off worse on this occasion.  This time, Felipe attempted to make the most of it and Hamilton is completely blameless.  However, I do find it hard to believe him complaining about vision in his mirrors being impaired.  Come on Lewis, this isn’t the third race of the season, it’s the 15^th.  It is an issue that should have been dealt with by Shanghai at the latest, not at this late stage of the campaign.  These are the sort of issues that Sam Michael will need to address with his arrival next season.

     Having only scored four points in the last six races, Renault arrived in Japan under some sustained pressure from an ever-improving Force India outfit.  Vitaly Petrov stemmed their charge, with a fighting performance to ninth in Japan.  Bruno Senna wasn’t helped when he clipped Petrov in a scramble on the exit of turn two during the first lap.  With plenty of front downforce missing, his race was severely compromised.  It was interesting to see GP2 champion Romain Grosjean sitting on the pitwall, looking like a spare part.  Senna has done a good job in the four races he has competed so far for Renault, but Grosjean deserves a shot before the season’s conclusion, especially as there are continuing doubts about Robert Kubica’s pending return.  Renault’s strategy on tyres was dreadful; so it made Petrov’s drive even more impressive.  Fifth place now looks as good as secure for the team, who will want significant improvements next season.

     Force India now has some fresh investment in the team, from a major Indian company.  The future looks very rosy now for the Silverstone based outfit, but they will have to be disappointed with their Suzuka showing.  Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta both missed out on points, finishing 11^th and 12^th respectively.  Sutil produced the move of the race; on Sauber’s Kamur Kobayashi, which showed a lot of courage and bravery in 130R.  However, they struggled with tyre troubles like Renault and the timing of an unnecessary Safety Car severely hurt their hopes of a double points finishes.  Paul di Resta’s performance was quite admirable, considering as he looked awful all weekend, suffering from a flu bug.

     Also suffering from being under weather was Sergio Perez.  The Mexican looked incredibly pale when speaking to BBC’s David Coulthard on Saturday morning, he might have keeled over.  His non-show in Q2 gave me the thought that he might not participate in the race.  However, the Mexican surprised me, his team and probably himself with a fighting drive to eighth place, his first points since the seventh place result he achieved at Silverstone back in July.  His four points move Sauber, who’ve had a rocky mid-season, back onto Force India’s coattails.  Although Perez’s form has fluctuated over the course of the season, especially since that Monaco crash in May, he has produced enough to hint that he is Ferrari material in the long-term.  Kamur Kobayashi had a poor race and finished down in 13^th place, but qualified well and was supported stoutly by his home crowd.  Kobayashi has done so much to promote his country in the wake of the dreadful tsunami to have hit the country earlier this year and it was a shame he couldn’t bring his car home for points on Sunday.

     Having predicted that Toro Rosso might finish sixth in the constructors championship two races ago, it looks like I put a dark curse on the team.  They have failed to perform in the last two events and now look unlikely to improve on eighth in the championship.  Their cause will not be helped by their mechanics failing to tighten up their wheels in pitstops.  Jaime Alguesuari suffered in China from this and the same fates befall Sebastian Buemi at the weekend.  Had he not had this issue, Buemi might have been right in the mix for points when the chequered flag came out after 53 gruelling laps.    

      There is no doubt who was Driver of the Weekend and that was Jenson Button.  Fastest in every single session over the weekend, except the crucial Q3 session, he looked like he had a mission to accomplish over the three days in Suzuka and he achieved in with consummate ease.  However, Sergio Perez is my surprise nomination for Driver of the Day.  Considering that he looked barely 50 per cent fit, his performance on such a physical driver’s circuit such as Suzuka was very impressive.

      Although the constructor’s championship isn’t quite wrapped up, we can now go racing for fun in the final four races of the season.  Hopefully, F1 2011 can finish on a high and there are still plenty of questions to be asked.  Can Lewis Hamilton recapture his form?  Will Mercedes GP score a podium by the season’s end?  Has Mark Webber got the luck to win a Grand Prix this season?  However, we must salute Sebastian Vettel, a true modern racing legend.

F1 classic races - Japan

1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari)

SUZUKA 1994 began in truly awful conditions.  Michael Schumacher started on pole position, but nearly half the field fell off the road early on as aquaplaning took hold.  When Gianni Morbidelli and Martin Brundle went off heavily at the Degner complex; Brundle’s accident badly injuring a marshal, the race was eventually stopped.  Despite concern over a restart, the rain relented and the fans that stayed witnessed a battle of aggregate timing to decide the race between Schumacher and Damon Hill.  Hill’s one stop strategy gave him the time advantage, but on worn tyres, he was struggling against the fresher Benetton in fast diminishing light.  However, Damon held onto win by 3.3seconds and took the title showdown to that controversial finale in Adelaide.  Nigel Mansell had a similar exciting battle with Jean Alesi and passed the Frenchman into the chicane on the final lap.  However, on the timing rule, Alesi was the final driver on the podium.

1996

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes)

WITH a nine point lead over rookie team-mate Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill could only throw away the 1996 championship.  He qualified second, behind Villeneuve and people thought it would be a cautious drive.  However, he stormed into the lead from the start and despite an early vicious attack from Gerhard Berger, which left the Austrian needing to pit for damage, Damon was largely untroubled.  Villeneuve had a horrible start and dropped to sixth, struggling to keep up with Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine.  On lap 36, a rear wheel pitched off the Canadian’s car and sent him into the gravel trap.  Hill coasted home, ahead of outgoing champion Michael Schumacher and Hakkinen, leaving Murray Walker literally with a lump in his throat and the perfect way to end Grand Prix on the BBC chapter one!

1997

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

HE WAS under pressure to deliver after some suspect performances in Austria and at the Nurburgring, but Michael Schumacher once again produced a stirring drive at Suzuka to win and take the title lead with one race to go.  His rival for the championship, Jacques Villeneuve, had to race under appeal after he had been initially excluded from the meeting following his fourth yellow flag infringement of the season during Saturday morning practice.  On Sunday, Villeneuve’s only intention was to destroy Schumacher’s race, but his plan backfired.  Ferrari’s plan was to get Eddie Irvine into the lead and pull enough of a lead out, so Villeneuve could not slow everyone down.  Better pit work from Ferrari got Schumacher ahead of the desperate Canadian, before Irvine slowed down and let his team leader through.  Damon Hill’s Arrows badly held Schumacher up in the closing stages, which gave Heinz-Harald Frentzen the chance to attack.  However, Schumi held on and with Williams dropping their appeal after the event, Villeneuve lost his two points for Suzuka and went to Jerez a point behind.  At least Frentzen’s ability to overhaul Irvine for second place in the race did secure the constructor’s championship for Williams.

2000

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes) 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

THIS was a true battle between the modern greats of the sport; Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.  Schumacher took pole position after a fierce scrap in qualifying, but like in 1999, Hakkinen made the better start.  They traded fastest laps throughout, as they left the rest standing.  David Coulthard, who came third, finished over a minute behind.  A sprinkling rain shower saw McLaren pit Hakkinen a bit earlier for his second stop.  He got held up badly behind Pedro de la Rosa’s Arrows and this allowed Schumacher to set the quick times required to get out ahead of his only title rival.  Mika kept pushing to the end, but Michael held his nerve to win the 2000 event and the world championship for the third time; Ferrari’s first driver’s title since 1979.  At last, the Schumacher/Ferrari combination had delivered and it started a new era of utter domination in F1.

2005

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), 3^rd: Fernando Alonso (Renault)

PASS: Raikkonen is about to complete his epic drive in 2005

KIMI Raikkonen produced the finest win of his Grand Prix career, in a titanic 2005 race, one of the best ever in the history of the championship.  After wet qualifying, the likes of Raikkonen, new world champion Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya started near the back of the grid.  Montoya was eliminated on the first lap, crashing heavily out of the final corner while attempting an ambitious move around the outside of Jacques Villeneuve.  Alonso showed his determination, as he drove flat out around the outside of Schumacher’s Ferrari at 130R on lap 16 in a stunning move.  Gradually, Raikkonen hauled himself upto second place, but Giancarlo Fisichella still had a healthy 20 second cushion infront.  Alonso used more bravery to pass Mark Webber’s Williams on the grass with five laps remaining to snatch third, but Fisichella switched off and was powerless against the relentless Raikkonen.  Kimi charged upto his gearbox and then drove past him into the first corner around the outside of the Renault as they started the last lap.  This was a day when man and class in driver tolled over the usual combination of driver/machinery and kept the constructors championship battle alive to the finale in China.

2007 (Fuji Speedway)

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

UNDER pressure from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton delivered a masterful performance to win in terrible weather conditions at Fuji Speedway.  With Suzuka’s facilities needing an urgent update, Fuji staged the event for two seasons (2007 & 2008).  The race began behind the Safety Car, with Ferrari’s curious decision to start on intermediate tyres sending their drivers to the back of the field.  Hamilton pitted later than Alonso when racing got underway and cleared some important traffic, which Fernando couldn’t.  Despite a collision with Robert Kubica, Lewis continued to pull away at the front whilst Alonso ended up crashing out of the event.  After another Safety Car, which saw youngster Sebastian Vettel blot his copybook and crash into the back of a furious Mark Webber, Hamilton drove away again as he pleased to earn a vital win.  Kimi Raikkonen produced a similarly great drive against adversity to finish third behind Heikki Kovalainen.  Kubica ended up with a drive-through penalty for his clash with Hamilton, before losing a ferocious last lap dice over sixth with Felipe Massa’s Ferrari, which had echoes of Gilles Villeneuve/Rene Arnoux at Dijon in 1979.

F1 classic races - Singapore

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  As Singapore has only held three races before and not all of them have been classics, here is a varied selection of events from events no longer on the F1 calendar, plus one from the Singapore Grand Prix.  The races come from between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1993 – Portugal

LAST: Title for Prost came in Portugal 1993, before retirement

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THIS was the weekend which saw Alain Prost announce his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, paving the way for Ayrton Senna to join Williams for 1994.  Senna would have a new team-mate for this race, with flying Finn Mika Hakkinen promoted into the McLaren race team.  Hakkinen sensationally outqualified Senna and was racing well, when he crashed heavily out of the final corner, fortunately without any injury.  By that stage, Senna had already disappeared with engine trouble.  Ferrari had their most competitive weekend of the season, with Jean Alesi leading the first stint and Gerhard Berger making a dramatic exit into the barriers from leaving the pitlane!  In the end, the race turned into a tactical battle between Prost and Michael Schumacher for victory.  Schumacher abandoned his plans for a second tyre stop and showed his gritty determination to win his first Grand Prix of a frustrating season.  However, second place was good enough for Prost to seal his fourth world championship.  

1995 – Pacific

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: David Coulthard (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THE TI Aida circuit in Japan was never a favourite with the drivers, but the 1995 event, moved to a late season date following the Kobe earthquake earlier in the year became the setting for the championship decider.  David Coulthard started on pole and dominated for the majority for the race, but defending champion Michael Schumacher fought back from a poor start to snatch second place from the Ferrari’s of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.  He closed in on Coulthard and once again, the Benetton’s superior strategy came into force in overwhelming the Williams.  Schumacher won the race and wrapped up his second successive drivers title.  Damon Hill was a distant third and had to concede defeat to the class act of 1995.  Michael Schumacher did it his way!

1997 – Luxembourg

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault), 3^rd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault)

LITTLE did we know it at the time, but this would turn out to be Jacques Villeneuve’s final ever win in Formula One.  It put him nine points clear of Michael Schumacher with two races remaining and it owed to a huge slice of luck.  Held at the Nurburgring, Mika Hakkinen had taken pole position for the first time in his career and drove into the distance, backed up by David Coulthard.  Then, in two nightmare laps for McLaren, Coulthard stopped with an engine failure on the pit straight.  Moments later, Hakkinen was pulling onto the grass with the same problem, which meant his elusive first victory would have to wait.  Villeneuve led home Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Gerhard Berger to a Renault 1-2-3-4 Grand Slam.  Jacques cause was aided by Ralf Schumacher’s acrobatics at the first corner which took out his Jordan team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and his own brother.  Michael was less than amused!

2001 – USA

WINNER: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

JUST two weeks after the terrorist attacks on America, Formula One put a smile on the faces of the US people again in the first major sporting event to be held in the country since that fateful September 11 day.  McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen recovered from a grid penalty to take an excellent win in the penultimate race of his career.  On a two-stop strategy, Rubens Barrichello pushed Hakkinen all the way, until a rare Ferrari engine failure with four laps to go robbed him of a brilliant podium.  Despite being outfoxed by Hakkinen and brilliantly passed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher was second whilst Jordan’s Jarno Trulli won an FIA appeal against a technical disqualification a month later to get his fourth position back.  Both Williams BMW cars retired, with a dying engine ending Montoya’s hopes of back-to-back wins.  The 2001 US Grand Prix was also the final race commentated in F1 by the legendary Murray Walker, who hung up his mic for ITV in emotional fashion.  At least he left on a high from a wonderful event in the light of such tragedy.

2005 – San Marino

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Alexander Wurz (McLaren Mercedes)

WHEN Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole position and starting cruising away in the opening laps, it looked like Imola 2005 was going to be a typical procession.  However, McLaren’s reliability jinx struck again, as driveshaft failure on the ninth circuit ruled Raikkonen out of proceedings.  Fernando Alonso took the lead and built a significant cushion over the rest of the chasing pack, led by BAR’s Jenson Button.  In the midfield was Michael Schumacher, following a mistake in qualifying which left him 13^th on the grid.  When others infront pitted, the Ferrari was unleashed and started lapping two seconds faster than anyone else on the track.  He passed Button easily and hunted down Alonso.  Overtaking was incredibly difficult on the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari track and try as he might; Schumacher couldn’t find a way past Alonso, down to the Spaniard’s amazing defensive driving.  Alonso held on to take a significant victory, his third in a row.  Jenson Button finished third, but BAR were caught cheating with fuel being used as ballast discovered after the race.  The team lost their Imola points a fortnight later and got banned for two races for the indiscretion.  UK viewers complained in their droves after ITV took an ill-judged commercial break with three laps to go of the race, right at the heat of the Alonso/Schumacher battle.  Many believe this was the death knell in their F1 coverage, which ended three years later.

2010 – Singapore

CLASH: The shunt with Webber last year wrecked Hamilton's hopes

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 3^rd: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault)

LAST season, Fernando Alonso held off a charging Sebastian Vettel to take a brilliant victory on the night streets of Singapore.  Despite two Safety Car periods, the Spaniard held off Vettel all the way.  A minor brush with the barriers in qualifying cost Vettel the pole position and ultimately, the race.  Third place was enough for Mark Webber to retain his championship lead, whilst fourth spot kept Jenson Button in the race.  However, Lewis Hamilton’s title bid took a fatal blow, as he controversially clashed with Webber after a Safety Car period.  Despite minor contact, terminal damage was done to the McLaren and ended his race.  The most spectacular image of the season came when Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus blew up and caught fire on the pit straight, with the brave Finn having to double up as a temporary fire marshal to extinguish the rapidly increasing flames.

The Finishing Straight - Italy (by HappyDude88)

BEFORE I round-up the weekend’s events at the final European race of the season, I want to apologise for not producing any blogs of ‘The Finishing Straight,’ for the Hungarian and Belgian rounds of the 2011 FIA Formula One World championship.  I had a busy time in my own life and never found the required time to sum up my weekend’s feelings.  However, I’m back now with this kind of blog for the remainder of the 2011 season, although the competition for the title is now well and truly over.

     The hopeful purists were praying that Spa and Monza would show the weaknesses of the Red Bull Racing Renault package.  It didn’t, it just enhanced itself as one of the best ever cars to have graced Formula One.  In Sebastian Vettel, not only are we witnessing domination of the Schumacher Ferrari days (2001, 2002, 2004 spring to mind,) we are witnessing one of the ultimate legends in the sport.  There will always be comparisons with the likes of Senna, Prost, Fangio and Schumacher in his peak and it’s difficult to judge where you rank Vettel in the various categories.  However, he is the ultimate driver now and has been the class of the field for over a year now.  Anyone who says that he doesn’t deserve his second world championship needs to go and see a brain surgeon before it’s too late!  His win at Monza was so easy; it looked like he hadn’t broken a sweat in achieving it.  He had to make a crucial pass in the race to earn his win and the bravery he showed when Fernando Alonso stuck him on the grass like an animal on lap five was amazing.  Against Alonso, many would have backed off in this situation, but Vettel didn’t and reaped his rewards with the decisive overtake in this race.  Time and again, he has been criticised for his lack of racecraft, but he has pulled off race-winning passes on Felipe Massa in Malaysia, Jenson Button in Barcelona and Alonso again in Belgium, so there’s nothing wrong in this department.  In fact, Sebastian Vettel is for me, one of the top ten drivers to have ever sat in a racing car.  It couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke either.  Schumacher’s records could now be under severe threat when you consider Vettel’s age – maybe HMV should approach the champion-to-be for a job in a desperate boost to improve its failing record sales!

     While Vettel is coasting to the title, fellow compatriot Schumacher is starting to roll back the years, which I’m pleased to see.  He drove superbly to fifth from 24^th on the grid in Spa and repeated the result at Monza, with his strongest outing of the season.  The Mercedes GP chassis, which frankly has been a real letdown this season, looked much better in Italy and Schumacher comfortably had the measure of Nico Rosberg.  Some fantastic positioning combined with a few borderline movement directions saw MS keep a rather cautious Lewis Hamilton at bay for almost half the race.  Was Michael playing with the rules and regulations in his defending?  Well, the race stewards felt no action was required, despite a couple of irritable messages from Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn on the team radio.  I felt he was pushing his luck a bit, but Michael Schumacher has always done that.  That’s why he’s clever, cunning and a seven-time world champion.  You don’t achieve his feats by accident.  It’s nice to compliment Schumacher, rather than slam him for shocking events he has had in his comeback.  The nightmare of his Istanbul performance in May seems like a long time ago.

DESTROYED: Petrov, Rosberg and Barrichello were innocent victims

      Whilst Schumacher’s driving was legitimate, Vitantonio Liuzzi has some explaining to do, for causing mayhem in the first chicane.  Annoyed at being out-qualified by his team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo for the first time, he lost the plot completely and ruined many races.  He did make a great start, but with Liuzzi’s experience, he should know that you can’t win the race at the first corner.  He couldn’t control the car on the grass and yes, he did get an HRT into the top eight of a Grand Prix for the first time, but not in glorified fashion.  Vitaly Petrov’s fury as he got out of his destroyed Renault and Nico Rosberg’s comment of being ‘torpedoed’ said it all really.  Liuzzi took them out, ruined Rubens Barrichello’s race and scuppered the chances of points for Adrian Sutil and Kamur Kobayashi.  A five-place grid penalty for Singapore doesn’t do justice, especially as he will qualify last anyway.  Then, he has the cheek to blame Heikki Kovalainen for squeezing him on the grass!!  Nice try Tonio, but I think it’s time you find alternative motorsport employment before you destroy anyone else’s race chances.      

MOVING: Sam Michael will be in McLaren colours next season

     McLaren’s decision to appoint the outgoing Williams technical director Sam Michael, as sporting manager is a shrewd decision.  Michael, responsible for Williams best recent period, (2001-03) under Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher will bring some much-needed stability to the team that has been all too evident in missing this season.  Jenson Button is having his best season for a long while, even better than his 2009 championship winning campaign.  Michael will work closely with Hamilton too, which should be a good thing for Lewis, after what has been an erratic season to say the least for Hamilton.  If he can get results out of the likes of Montoya and Schumacher Jnr, who let’s be honest, were mediocre drivers, then I think McLaren are onto a real winner with this appointment.  At least the second and fourth places finishes at Monza all but guaranteed second place in the constructors’ championship for McLaren again.  However, in the words of Ron Dennis; ‘second is the first of the losers.’

      One team that has got their act together as the season has gone on is Scuderia Toro Rosso.  The upgrades they keep bringing have moved them right into the hunt for points on a regular basis.  Jaime Alguesuari’s stunning second-half of the season continues, with a career-best seventh place finish, despite being knocked out in the first part of qualifying.  Despite getting hit in the first corner, Sebastian Buemi was a solid tenth.  Six points finishes for Buemi and five for Alguesuari is really good going and they have closed right onto the tails of the Sauber/Force India squabble for sixth place in the constructors’ championship.  This is a battle I’m looking forward to in the final six flyaway races and I’ve got a feeling that Toro Rosso might sneak the position.  When Paul di Resta has a good weekend, Adrian Sutil doesn’t and vice versa, which is hurting Force India’s potential for double points finishes.  Sauber can’t seem to qualify very well and with Sergio Perez making a few too many mistakes, plus reliable Kamur Kobayashi going off the boil, I think it is Toro Rosso’s position for the taking.

     One team that won’t be featuring in this scrap is Williams.  Just five points all season is a dismal return for a team with such established pedigree in Formula One.  On a day when points were up for grabs, Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello missed out, in 11^th and 12^th place.  Ninth place will be the worst finish for the team since Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head came together to form Williams Engineering in 1978.  Maldonado has shown on his day that he is worthy of a place in the sport, but other times, drives like a total hooligan (Belgium qualifying incident with Hamilton in thought here!).  I’m afraid Rubens Barrichello is struggling and looks like a sorry figure in the paddock nowadays.  I don’t quite know what is keeping Rubens around because he doesn’t seem to be enjoying his racing anymore, despite his claims he is.  I’ve been very supportive of Barrichello’s career, particularly in the no.2 job he had to play at Ferrari, but his painful campaign is having echoes of Damon Hill’s pitiful final season in the sport in 1999.  Maybe it is time for Rubens to move aside and give youth a chance.  Romain Grosjean has won the GP2 Championship, is basically owned by Renault and unless Robert Kubica doesn’t return, will be frozen out.  Bruno Senna, Adrian Sutil, even a shock Nico Hulkenberg return have also been mentioned with Williams.  What would be their strongest team?  Probably Sutil/Senna would be good, but Maldonado/Grosjean is more likely, largely because of the millions that Pastor is bringing to the drive for sponsorship.  While I’m talking high sponsorship levels, I wonder what happened to ex-Forti, Sauber and Arrows driver Pedro Diniz.  Answers on a postcard please!

     Finally, there is no doubt who was the driver of the day and the driver of the weekend at Monza.  Solid mentions have to be given out to Bruno Senna, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button, but Sebastian Vettel was once again, supreme and in a class of one.

IMPERIOUS: Singapore would be ideal for Vettel's title

     So, six flyaway races remain in 2011.  The night spectacular in Singapore begins the long haul next weekend, followed by the classic Suzuka circuit in Japan.  A second visit to Korea beckons, before a new adventure for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi.  The twilight of Abu Dhabi stages the penultimate event, before we wrap up four weeks before Xmas in Brazil on November 27.

It’s no longer a question of if, but when the sensational Mr. Vettel wraps it all up and the setting of night racing in Singapore would be a fitting way to clinch it.