Tag: fernando alonso

Mercedes Duo Top of the Time Sheets in First Free Practice in Brazil

The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the time sheets for the first free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg finished in P1 with a time of 1:24.781. His team mate Lewis Hamilton finished in P2 with a 1:25.230, 0.449s off the pace of his team mate. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished P3 with a time of 1:25.387 and McLaren’s Jenson Button in P4 with a time of 1:25.593. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso ended the session in P5.

With the track damp and slippery it made it nearly impossible for teams to test the new Pirelli tyre compounds for next season but that did not stop Vettel venturing out on track for two laps with them in order to obtain some data about them.

Young Daniil Kvyat was particularly impressive in the wet, finishing the session in P8 with the Toro Rosso in only his second outing for the Faenza based team.

Below is the full timing sheet for Practice 1 for the 2013 Formula 1 Petrobras Brazilian Grand Prix

November 22, 2013
F1 2013: Brazilian GP – The End Of An Era

Transformation and evolution are as much a part of every Formula 1 season as the champagne flavoured victories and those breathtaking flashes of brilliance. The 2013 Brazilian grand prix will be more than a race, it will be the end of an era.

The South American city of Sao Paulo has within its hills one of the most historic racing circuits in all of motorsport. Several world titles have been clinched on its hallowed ground including those of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and most recently Sebastian Vettel. The original circuit layout stretched to nearly eight kilometres with twenty-six turns with a lap record of 2:21.40 held by Jean-Pierre Jabouille. However, the circuit was streamlined in 1990 to the 4.3 km lap that is now familiar as the Interlagos circuit. Despite the shortened lap the anti-clockwise circuit is still a commanding venue with a distinctive challenge. The track is best known for its high speed sectors which are separated by twisty in-field section that requires good grip and stability from the car. The altitude of Interlagos additionally provides a unique challenge for the engines.

“Sao Paulo is around 800m above sea level, which has a big impact on the power of the engine. As the altitude increases the air pressure drops and the air is thinner with a lower oxygen content,” said Renault Sport F1 head of track operations Remi Taffin. “For every 100m the engine loses around 1 percent of its potential power output, meaning the RS27 will produce around 8 percent less power than at a sea-level race such as Korea.”

But Brazil is more than just the Interlagos circuit. The country’s list of motorsport greats runs from Emerson Fittippaldi to three time champion Nelson Piquet to the transcendent Ayrton Senna. More recently Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa has enjoyed the fervent support of the Brazilian fans. “The passion of the Brazilian fans is amazing and it’s fantastic to see their support over the weekend,” said Lewis Hamilton.

The weather around the Autodromo Carlos Pace has a tendency to dramatically veer to both ends of the extreme. Track temperatures of 63 degress Celcuis has been recorded here in the past and on the other end of the scale epic levels of rain is nothing spectators and drivers havent seen before. The forecast for this weekend is fickle at best with some rain predicted during the weekend. Given the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull several drivers will be hoping for the unknown weather element to shake up the pack. “The weather forecast for Interlagos looks interesting this weekend and if it does rain, that would be a good opportunity for us as our car is generally quick in the wet,” said Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

When the chequered flag falls after 71 laps of Sunday’s Brazilian grand prix it will bring with the end of an era. Twelve years ago an Aussie named Mark Webber started his first Formula 1 career behind the wheel of a Minardi. He scored points on debut at his home race but this was only to be cusp of what would become a great Formula 1 career. Webber joined Jaguar for the 2003 and 2004 season and qualified a career best second at the 2004 Malaysian grand prix. In 2005 Webber joined the Williams team with whom he would record several points finishes. The Red Bull partnership would commence in 2007 and be highlighted by several sublime victories. Webber’s first race victory at the 2009 German GP saw the Aussie deliver one of the most memorable drives of his career.

Webber has since won eight more races and through all of them he has been the straight-talking Aussie that many have to revere as one of the greatest racers Australia has produced. There aren’t many people who wouldn’t want to see Webber on the top step of the podium for the final time this weekend. Few people have raced and conducted themselves with more integrity than Mark Webber and whatever may happen AussieGrit and his tenacious character will be remembered in Formula 1 circles for some time to come.

Ferrari bid farewell to Felipe Massa this weekend after eight seasons. Eleven race victories and an achingly close championship battle in 2008 tells the story of a glittering Ferrari career for Felipe Massa. At some points there were few drivers could match the Brazilian in terms of pace and he all but owned the Bahrain and Turkish grand prix circuits; winning at Istanbul three consecutive times. The memorable moments of Massa’s career with Ferrari have been etched into Formula 1 history not least of all being his emotional victory at the 2006 Brazilian GP. Massa became the first Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna in 1993 to win at Interlagos. Felipe Massa repeated victory at his home race in 2008 as he came perilously close to becoming the Formula 1 world champion. But gracious in defeat to Lewis Hamilton Massa dedicated his victory to the fans. Massa starts the next chapter of his Formula 1 career as a Williams driver in 2014. He will unquestionably be a great asset to his new team.

The 2013 Brazilian grand prix will mark the end of the V8 engine era after eight seasons in Formula 1. Fernando Alonso became the first ever V8 champion in 2006. French engine manufacturer Renault will end the V8 era as the most successful manufacturer with five constructor’s and five driver’s world championship titles. The Renault engine annihilated the competition with 59 wins, 65 pole positions and 55 fastest laps.

The conclusion of the 2013 season brings with it the end of an era as we bid farewell to Mark Webber and the V8 engine. There is no more fitting place to do so than a magical racing circuit named Interlagos.

Photo credits:

lotusf1team.com

Daily Mail

November 21, 2013
F1 2013: Austin GP – Vettel Lone Star in Texas

In sporting terms the Oxford dictionary defines the word domination as playing better than your opponent in a game. However, this definition is just a few understated words contained in a book. A tangible example is more comprehensible and Sebastian Vettel’s eight grand prix victories in a row is the very definition of domination.

Sebastian Vettel led away from his 44^th career pole in Texas and remained untroubled for all 56 of the Austin grand prix race laps. A one stop tyre-strategy resulted in the German momentarily relinquishing the lead of the race to Lotus’ Romain Grosjean but it was apparent that the four time champ was well in control of proceedings.

The sister Red Bull of Mark Webber lost two places off the grid to Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton but before he could attempt to regain his position a collision between Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Williams’ Pastor Maldonado deployed the safety car. The first lap crash pitched the Force India into the barrier on the back straight of the Circuit of the Americas and out of the race with severe suspension damage. Sutil later commented that Maldonado was “on a planet of his own.” “I was staying straight with my steering wheel and to the left and right there was a lot of space. I don’t understand why someone then hits you. There’s like an emergency area around him, you have to give room for two cars, not just one,” said Sutil after the incident.

The race resumed with Vettel at the head of the back timing his re-start to a tee and leaving Grosjean in his wheeltracks. Mark Webber seized an opportunity to overtake Lewis Hamilton on lap thirteen and set off after second placed Grosjean. The Mercedes pitwall instructed Hamilton to look after his tyres and the Brit was into the pitlane on lap 25 ruling out a possible podium finish.

Behind the front four Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso resurrected their battle for fifth. Several brilliant overtaking moves between the two added some spice to an otherwise lacklustre grand prix. Alonso seemed set to snatch fourth from Hamilton but the Mercedes driver was able to withstand the initial onslaught after which the Ferrari’s tyres lost its edge. Hulkenberg in turn had a go at passing Alonso but had to settle for a solid sixth place finish.

Out of favour at McLaren Sergio Perez delivered a good enough drive for seventh place. However, the stand out driver of the weekend was Williams’ Valterri Bottas. The Finn set an amazing pace throughout the weekend which saw his advance to the top ten shootout in Saturday’s qualifying. Bottas, confirmed to be driving for Williams in 2014, was rewarded with an eighth place finish and the first points of his Formula 1 career. Nico Rosberg never truly recovered from starting 12^th on the grid and was only able to manage ninth on the day. The final points paying position went to Jenson Button who spent his afternoon embroiled in the mid-field. Despite the fact that the McLaren has been nowhere near the pace for the whole of the 2013 season Button admitted that, as a driver, he has to do some work as well. “It’s not just that [the car is uncompetitive],” he said. This weekend I just didn’t put it all together. I’ve got to sort myself out.”

Romain Grosjean delivered a solid drive for Lotus in the absence of Kimi Raikkonen but only narrowly kept alive the Enstone based team’s quest for second in the constructor’s title. Heikki Kovalainen, parachuted into the other Lotus at the last-minute, was struck by an on and off kers issue as well as an unfortunate problem with his front-wing. “The team found out there was something wrong with the front wing and I was losing more and more downforce so we had to come in and change the nose.”There is nothing physically wrong with the nose, so they suspect there is some rubber or something stuck somewhere,” said Kovalainen. Up until his unscheduled pitstop the Finn was running comfortably in the points.

Sebastian Vettel proved that Texas truly is the lone star State. From Belgium to Italy to Singapore, Korea, India, Japan, Abu Dhabi and Texas the German super-human now holds the record for the most consecutive wins in a season. However, it isn’t all elementary to Vettel. He declared himself speechless over the radio to his team and added “we have to remember these days. We can’t guarantee they will last for ever. Incredible team — I love you.” The rest of the field are certainly praying for this run to come to an end.

Vettel attempted to put his record-breaking run into some perspective after the race. “People tend to forget how much work there is behind all these this and how special it is. I remembered back in 2008 how happy I just was to, once in my life, to be on pole. I think you should never lose the passion and the joy,” he added, “and always remember the days when you were just dreaming of these things to happen.”

Photo credits:

@redbullracing

@Lotus_F1Team

November 18, 2013
Vettel and Webber make it a 1-2 in FP3 in America

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber made it a Red Bull 1-2 at the end of FP3 at the Circuit of Americas.

In a rather straight forward FP3, the two Red Bulls once again stamped their authority on the session with Vettel finishing off the session in P1 with a 1:36.733. Webber finished the session in P2, 0.203s off the pace of Vettel with a 1:36.936. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton slotted into P3 with a 1:37.064. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean were P4 and P5 respectively.

The woes for Ferrari continued this session with Fernando Alonso finishing off the session in P11 and Felipe Massa finishing off in P17. Those were the same two positions they held with the prime and the option tyre, showing that there was no improvement in pace from them throughout the session. It will be very hard for them to make Q3 and it will be a surprise if one of them do make it into Q3.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas showed very good pace throughout the session, with his race engineer telling him that they were going quicker and quicker throughout the session.

If the times of FP3 are anything to go by, we are in for a very interesting qualifying. We could see a few surprises.

Below is the full time sheet for FP3 for the 2013 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

November 16, 2013
Vettel Fastest in Free Practice 2 at the Circuit of the Americas

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel topped the time sheets at the end of Free Practice 2 for the American Grand Prix at the Circuit of Americas.

Vettel topped the table with a 1:37.305, his team mate Mark Webber finished the session P2 with a 1:37.420. The Mercedes cars of Nico Rosberg (1:37.785) and Lewis Hamilton(1:37.958) finished P3 and P4 respectively. Lotus stand in driver, Hekki Kovalainen, finished the session in an admirable P5 with a 1:38.073.

Red Bull once again showed that they are in a league of their own in long run pace with Vettel not even pushing with his race engineer, Rocky, telling him to manage his pace. Their pace combined with very low tyre degradation and the cars’ ability to manage the tyres so well, will make them unstoppable in the race.

It was another horrible afternoon for Ferrari with Fernando Alonso finishing the session in P10 and Felipe Massa finishing in P12. They were struggling with plenty of snap over steer in the first sector of the lap. They’re making it rather tough for themselves to keep hold onto third place in the championship.

McLaren’s Jenson Button had a three place grid penalty handed down to him for overtaking under red flag conditions in FP1. He finished the session in P9.

As it stands, Red Bull have outright pace over everyone.

Below is the full time sheet for Free Practice 2 for the 2013 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.

November 15, 2013
Alonso on top of Timsheets in FP1 for the United States Grand Prix

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished on top of the time sheets in a rather protracted first free practice session for the United States Grand Prix.

The session began by being delayed for 10 minutes due to dense fog and because the medical helicopter was not at the track. 40 Minutes after the scheduled start of FP1 the session began but was shortened to 1 hour. Drivers that were only running in FP1 were keen to get out on track and show what they can do. But 15 minutes into the session, the red flag was out again. Oddly enough, the medical helicopter had not yet arrived at the track.

After another long wait, the medical helicopter finally arrived at the track and the session was restarted. With just a little under 40 minutes of running all the drivers were out on track and setting times.

Alonso set a 1:38.343 to go quickest. McLaren’s Jenson Button finished the session in P2 with a 1:38.371, just 0.028s slower than Alonso. The surprise for the morning was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas who finished the session in P3 with a time of 1:38.388.

Hekki Kovalainen in his first outing for Lotus was 13th with a time of 1:39.487. His team mate, Romain Grosjean finished P11 with a 1:39.238, a gap of 0.105s to Kovalainene. Not too bad for his first time driving a Lotus.

Rookie Daniil Kyat, driving the Toro Rosso, finished the session in 17th, his team mate Daniel Ricciardo 16th. The gap between the two was just 0.2s. Not to bad for a rookie that just recently obtained his super licence.

Below is the full timing sheet for FP1 for the 2013 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix

November 15, 2013
F1 2013: Texas GP Preview – F1 Giddy’s Up For Austin

It seems appropriate that Texas is the second biggest state in America as it gears up to host the biggest motorsport series in the world.

Legendary racing tracks from Watkins Glen to Indianapolis have hosted the Formula 1 world championship and in total ten different circuits throughout the United States have featured on the F1 calendar. In 2012 Austin’s Circuit of the Americas joined this list as it welcomed the F1 paddock to the lone star state. The inaugural race in Texas was lauded by drivers and fans as highly successful. “It’s a real credit to everyone involved in organising the inaugural event (last year) that it passed so smoothly. And Austin is a great city, so I see no reason why F1 can’t gain a true foothold in the US at this venue,” said Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

The saying in racing is that you can’t win the race in the first corner. However, it can certainly be lost in the first corner and the Austin GP’s first corner is a mammoth climb with twenty-two Formula 1 cars heading for its blind apex. The remainder of the first sector is features a series of several high speed changes of direction similar to Korea’s Yeongam circuit.

The second sector of the lap includes the straight and medium to low speed turns requiring good traction and precision on throttle application. The long continuous curve from turns fifteen to seventeen highlights the final part of the 5.513 km lap.

Drivers are expected to make 59 gear changes every lap and run at an average speed of 200 kph. The circuit’s demand on engines is quite high with 63% of the lap spent at full throttle. Pirelli has made the white side-walled medium compound and orange side-walled hard compound tyre available for this weekend. Coincidentally, neither Pirelli’s green Cinturato Intermediate tyre nor its blue full wet tyre has been used in a race this season. This stat is unlikely to change for the 18th round of the season as the typical weather around these parts predict a warm & sunny weekend.

From a set-up point of view, drivers’ and engineers’ first priority will be to understand how the track surface has evolved in twelve months since F1’s last visit. “Last year we were all sliding quite a lot because the tarmac was still so new, especially on the tight and twisty bit towards the end. It was sometimes almost more rally style than Formula One, because it was so slippery! The section after the steep hill at the beginning is particularly challenging. Last year it took me quite a while to get my bearings and to position the car correctly,” said Sebastian Vettel.

Then McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural race in Texas by delivering a fine drive which included overtaking four time champ Sebastian Vettel on track. The Brit called it one of the best wins of his career and will unquestionably want to defend his victory this weekend. It is debatable however whether or not Hamilton’s Mercedes will be up to the task. Despite solid performances in Saturday’s qualifying sessions Hamilton has been, for most of the time, unable to translate the pace to race day. Nevertheless, the Brit may not be such a bad bet this weekend.

The fight of second place in the driver’s title will be contested without Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn will miss the final two races of the season to undergo back surgery in Salzburg on Thursday. The Finn’s manager Steve Robertson shared the news on Sunday morning and said the 2007 champion will need four weeks to recover; thereby ruling Raikkonen out of both the Austin and Brazilian GP. Lotus are expected to promote development driver Davide Valsecchi to the race seat for the final two rounds of the 2013 season.

The saying goes that everything is bigger and better in Texas and as Formula 1 finds a foothold in the States here’s hoping the on track racing takes this adage to heart. Giddy Up!

Photo credit: Lewis Hamilton at 2012 Austin GP via mclaren.com

November 11, 2013
Doubt over Fernando Alonso’s fitness for Austin GP

There is a possibility that Fernando Alonso will not travel to the US for the Austin Grand Prix this coming weekend.

Alonso needs to undergo another medical check today before being cleared to fly on Tuesday following the high G-force knock he took during the race in Abu Dhabi.

Despite passing medical tests following the race, and Ferrari reporting that he was fit to race in Austin, the 28G impact suffered means he will need to undergo another test today before a final decision can be made.

Highly respected correspondent for Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pino Allievi, said that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo “is not even remotely” contemplating the prospect of Alonso sitting out the race.

However, following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Alonso had reported some back pain and his manager, Luis Garcia Abad tweeted a rather alarming photo of Alonso strapped to a spinal board, covered in shock foil blankets during the post-race hospital check. Ferrari were not very happy about the picture being tweeted according to Allievi despite Alonso stating at the Thursday press conference that the relationship between himself and Ferrari “was perfect, is perfect, and will be perfect”.

Even if Alonso does travel to Austin on Tuesday, he would still need to pass the FIA’s own medical checks on Thursday before finally being cleared to race.

Allievi has also said that if Alonso should fail his medical check today, Ferrari would most likely draft in Jules Bianchi, who races with Marussia but is part of the Ferrari young driver programme. Marussia are bound by contract to release Bianchi, should the call come from Ferrari. Their second choice reportedly, is Pedro de la Rosa.

Word however from Spain and Maranello are that Alonso should be cleared fit to race.

We will keep you posted as news becomes available.

Photo credit: Photo tweeted by Alonso’s manager, Luis Garcia Abad on Twitter.

November 11, 2013
Ferrari and 15000 fans pay tribute to Felipe Massa

Over 15000 fans were at Mugello this weekend to pay tribute to Felipe Massa ahead of his final two races for the Scuderia before he is replaced next season by Kimi Raikkonen.

Massa who has been with Ferrari since 2006, partnering Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, has had 136 outings for the team which includes 11 race wins.

During the farewell event – held at the same track where Massa had his first F1 test with Sauber back in 2001, Massa was given a 1.2 metre trophy inscribed with each of his eleven race wins.

Speaking at the gala event, Massa said that he is truly going to miss the Ferrari family and the friends he has made over the years.

“I’ve been lucky, I have had a great career with Ferrari, longer than I had ever dreamed of at the start,” Massa said. “When I began racing in go-karts as a kid, I had a red Ferrari suit and it’s always been the team I supported. Even when Senna was at McLaren and Piquet at Williams, I was cheering for Ferrari!

“We began our relationship in 2001 and I have raced for them for eight seasons, which is a very important part of my life. I have so many friends at Ferrari and I will miss them, as I will also miss the nice days I spent at the factory in Maranello. I am happy with the way my time with the Prancing Horse turned out.”

Massa reminisced about the memories he will take away with him but said that the wins, particularly in Brazil when the title slipped through his fingers, will stay with him for the longest.

“These are memories that will stay with me always, just like so many other beautiful moments spent together, starting with the wins. For example, I think back to the wins at Interlagos, because for a Brazilian, to win your home race is something amazing. Sure, the dream just slipped out of my grasp, namely winning the world title in front of my home crowd, but that wasn’t the race where I lost the 2008 title: when you finish second by a point the key moment could have come at so many different places and I’m thinking of Singapore for example, or Budapest, or others still…”

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo spoke of Massa with great praise and thanks. “Felipe has been a true Ferrari man and he will always be part of our history,” he said. “For all the Grands Prix he drove for us, for the wins, the pole positions and for those few seconds when he was world champion that day in Brazil, before that overtaking move that always seemed a bit strange to me,” he continued. “We spent some great times together, while some others were more difficult, such as the accident in Budapest.

“These have been very busy years and today, I wanted to thank him publicly, having already done so privately, just the two of us,” he continued. “I think the decision to go our separate ways is the right one, both for us and for him. It’s time for a change and also to find new motivation. I wish Felipe every success, starting with the last two races of this championship. As for the rest of his Formula 1 career, I wish him the very best, but naturally, behind a Ferrari and anyway, I am sure we will get many chances to meet up again, because life is long and he will always be part of our family. When one has a mutually agreed separation, in the best interests of both parties, it can be done calmly in a friendly and constructive manner, and that has been the case this time.”

Photo credit: Massa photo by Ferrari

November 11, 2013
F1 2013: Abu Dhabi GP Review – Juggernaut Vettel Crushes Competition

It isn’t only Kimi Raikkonen who knows what he’s doing around the Yas Marina circuit. Sebastian Vettel delivered yet another dominant display to take victory by half a minute at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Mark Webber secured pole position with a stonker of a lap from Vettel on Saturday and if one driver had the ability to challenge the four time champ it was the Australian; or so it appeared. A controversial weekend for the Lotus team got significantly worse as Raikkonen, who qualified fifth overall, was relegated to the back of the starting grid. The Lotus failed a floor deflection test after the qualifying session.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton secured the second row of the grid in their quest for second overall in the constructor’s championship. Contrastingly, Fernando Alonso endured a difficult session in which he failed to advance to the third part of qualifying. Felipe Massa, supposedly on the verge of signing a 2014 deal with Williams, managed to squeak through to the top ten shoot-out.

Nevertheless, race day is the one that counts and seeing as Vettel has put together a near perfect season there was no reason to suspect he would not ace the start of this race either. He did exactly that as he swooped into the lead of the race as the red lights extinguished and never looked back. A Singapore-style domination ensued and Vettel was more than a minute ahead of sixth place by lap 35. Alonso was the sixth placed man.

There was to be no repeat of 2012 for Raikkonen as the Finn suffered damage to his steering in a collision with Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham in Turn One. Raikkonen was the only retirement in the race but insisted that he had no regrets about the decision not to start from the pitlane after his exclusion from qualifying. “I went to the inside and then somehow managed to touch with a Caterham,” Raikkonen explained. “We didn’t touch hard but I think the angle was very unlucky and it broke the steering.” It was also revealed that Raikkonen’s management and Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez had reached a provisional agreement to settle their financial issues. The agreement will see the Finn race at the final two races of the season.

Without a care in the world, Vettel was in a class of one with an untouchable pace of 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than anyone else. The most frightening thing was that Vettel was hardly pushing to the limit of what the Red Bull is capable of. The competition must shudder to think what the Red Bull would truly be able to pull out if it was under pressure.

As Vettel disappeared down the road quicker than the sun could set, the dice for second remained close all the way to the chequered flag. Rosberg ran second for the first quarter of the race ahead of Mark Webber who was suffering with a slight KERS issue. By the 20th lap however, AussieGrit was on it once more and took second place from Rosberg. Romain Grosjean kept both the Mercedes and Red Bull honest throughout the race but was unable to mount a challenge for the remaining steps of the podium.

Hamilton endured a difficult afternoon after qualifying on the second row of the grid. The Brit fell back into the field and admitted after the race that he had to do a better job to match teammate Rosberg. “Clearly with Nico’s result the car’s better than what I’m able to bring home with it,” said Hamilton. “Same old … different day. It’s the same every race. It can’t be other people’s fault. Nico’s been getting great points for the team. I just need to work harder to try to do the same.”

Several incidents throughout the race required the stewards’ attention but only Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was given a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release in the pitlane. Adrian Sutil and Pastor Maldonado were under investigation for exceeding the track limits as was Alonso. The incident involving Sutil and Maldonado was chalked up to a racing incident, but Alonso’s off track excursion was reserved for judgement after the race. The Spaniard switched to the soft compound tyres on lap 44 and rejoined the circuit alongside Jean-Eric Vergne. However, Alonso was outside of the track limits, as indicated by the white lines, when he made the pass on the Toro Rosso driver. Alonso was quoted post race as saying that Vergne should have given him more space. The stewards agreed with Alonso and no penalty was imposed.

As Vettel, Webber and Rosberg wrapped up the podium ahead of Grosjean, Alonso’s last dash on the soft compound tyres earned him the fastest lap and fifth overall. Paul di Resta resisted pressure from Hamilton in the closing stages of the race to finish sixth. Hamilton managed seventh place on the day as Felipe Massa, who enjoyed a long stint ahead of his teammate, brought his Ferrari home in eighth place. Sergio Perez snatched ninth place from Sutil on the final lap as they rounded out the points paying positions.

The untouchable Sebastian Vettel celebrated his seventh consecutive victory with several donuts. Vettel was fined 25 000 Euros in India for celebrating his fourth world title in the same manner but didn’t receive the same punishment this time as he returned the car to parc ferme.

Vettel’s race engineer, Rocky, instructed the German to bring the car back to the pits to which Vettel responded : “Let me quote: Yeah, yeah, yeah I know what I’m doing.” It seems he most certainly does.

November 3, 2013