Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result of the 2nd practice session from the GP of Italy :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:26.225
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:26.286 +0.061
3. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:26.331 +0.106
4. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:26.565 +0.340
5. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:26.758 +0.533
6. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:26.762 +0.537
7. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:26.762 +0.537
8. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:26.881 +0.656
9. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:26.935 +0.710
10. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:26.992 +0.767
11. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:27.079 +0.854
12. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:27.227 +1.002
13. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:27.476 +1.251
14. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:27.840 +1.615
15. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:27.929 +1.704
16. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:28.029 +1.804
17. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:28.659 +2.434
18. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:28.700 +2.475
19. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:28.786 +2.561
20. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:29.085 +2.860
21. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:29.178 +2.953
22. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:29.275 +3.050

Rosberg quickest, Hamilton delayed in practice 2 :
Nico Rosberg was the fastest man during second practice for the Italian Grand Prix after Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who ultimately recovered to complete a one-two, hit early technical trouble.Hamilton's Mercedes failed to fire up at the start of the session, a problem that was later linked to the electronics and cost him an hour of running. In the meantime, Rosberg worked his way down to a 1:26.225 on the Medium tyre, six hundredths up on Hamilton, who was baulked by Toro Rosso rival Jean-Éric Vergne through Parabolica on his best lap. Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso ended a positive opening day for Ferrari on the team's home soil, classifying third and fourth respectively. But of more encouragement to the Scuderia will be the fact that Räikkönen was just a tenth adrift of Rosberg's time. Importantly, Hamilton topped the overall Friday timesheets at Monza, courtesy of his Hard-tyre effort in FP1. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa broke into the top 10 for Williams after a low key first session, ending up fifth and ninth. Jenson Button, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel and Kevin Magnussen split the pair. McLaren drivers Button and Magnussen had shown strong pace on Primes, but dropped away on Options. After his morning practice issues, Daniel Ricciardo was final man to break the 1m26s barrier in 10th position. Force India's Sergio Pérez, making up for lost time in FP1, and Nico Hülkenberg followed in 11th and 12th, ahead of staggered Toro Rosso and Sauber drivers Daniil Kvyat, Esteban Gutiérrez, Vergne and Adrian Sutil. Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton sandwiched Pastor Maldonado's Lotus, while the latter's team-mate, Romain Grosjean, endured a particularly torrid session en route to 20th, running wide on numerous occasions. Caterham duo Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson completed a field covered by just over three seconds.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 1st practice session of the GP of Italy :

1 :Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes - 1m26.187s
2 : Jenson Button - McLaren/Mercedes - 1m26.810s + 0.623s
3 : Nico Rosberg - Mercedes - 1m26.995s + 0.808s
4 : Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1m27.169s + 0.982s
5 : Kevin Magnussen - McLaren/Mercedes - 1m27.228s + 1.041s
6 : Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull/Renault - 1m27.271s + 1.084s
7 : Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari - 1m27.493s + 1.306s
8 : Sergio Perez - Force India/Mercedes - 1m27.687s + 1.500s
9 : Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m27.741s + 1.554s
10 : Nico Hulkenberg - Force India/Mercedes - 1m28.112s + 1.925s
11 : Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m28.114s + 1.927s
12 : Valtteri Bottas - Williams/Mercedes - 1m28.148s + 1.961s
13 : Felipe Massa - Williams/Mercedes - 1m28.150s + 1.963s
14 : Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso/Renault - 1m28.300s + 2.113s
15 : Giedo van der Garde - Sauber/Ferrari - 1m28.429s + 2.242s
16 : Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull/Renault - 1m28.487s + 2.300s
17 : Daniel Juncadella - Force India/Mercedes - 1m29.192s + 3.005s
18 : Pastor Maldonado - Lotus/Renault - 1m29.512s + 3.325s
19 : Max Chilton - Marussia/Ferrari - 1m30.017s + 3.830s
20 : Jules Bianchi - Marussia/Ferrari - 1m30.081s + 3.894s
21 : Charles Pic - Lotus/Renault - 1m30.125s + 3.938s
22 : Roberto Merhi - Caterham/Renault - 1m30.704s + 4.517s
23 Marcus Ericsson - Caterham/Renault - 1m30.948s + 4.761s

Lewis Hamilton leads Jenson Button in first practice :
Lewis Hamilton was fastest in opening practice for Formula 1's 2014 Italian Grand Prix at Monza by 0.623 seconds from McLaren's Jenson Button, with Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg third. It was not a hotly contested session at the sharp end as the majority of the frontrunners swapped to race simulation runs after setting their quick laps. As is usual in practice one, there was a brief flurry of activity towards the end of the first half hour while teams took advantage of the extra set of tyres they are permitted to use before handing back to Pirelli at the 30-minute mark. Several drivers observed that the orange-striped hard-compound tyres were taking longer than expected to reach a working temperature. Max Chilton was the first to benefit from the Parabolica's controversially revised run-off area, running wide and brushing the astroturf 15 minutes into the session. Kevin Magnussen and Button provided demonstrated that the MP4-29 is not lacking straightline speed, setting the early pace on the hard-compound tyres before being overhauled by the 'works' Mercedes. Button then sliced three tenths of a second off his previous best during the course of his second run, but his tenure at the top of the timesheets lasted just eight minutes before Hamilton went top. McLaren did not attempt to respond, switching Button on to a used set of tyres to complete his programme. Fernando Alonso brought his Ferrari to within a second of the Mercedes with a late effort, lapping in 1m27.169s. Kimi Raikkonen was nearly four tenths off, having flirted with the Parabolica run-off on his flying lap. Sebastian Vettel was the fastest of the two Red Bulls in sixth, behind Magnussen, but Daniel Ricciardo completed just 12 laps and had to retire to his garage with a power unit issue with 30 minutes to go. Both Williams were outside the top 10 in spite of being among the quickest through the speed trap, and Valtteri Bottas was noticeably on the edge of the FW36's envelope in several places on the track. There was disappointment, too for Lotus; it took most of the session for Pastor Maldonado to summon a lap clean enough to overhaul both Marussias. A handful of teams ran test drivers in addition to or in place of their regulars: Daniel Juncadella sat in for Sergio Perez at Force India initially, Charles Pic for Romain Grosjean at Lotus, Giedo van der Garde for Adrian Sutil at Sauber, and Roberto Merhi for Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham. Perez took over from Juncadella with 20 minutes to go and was straight on the pace on his first run, slotting into the top 10 and outpacing Nico Hulkenberg by nearly half a second. He was also fastest of all through the speed trap. F1 debutant Merhi completed 29 laps to Caterham team-mate Marcus Ericsson's 16 and rounded out the session two tenths faster.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

The Italian Grand Prix - Autodromo di Monza 5/6/7 September 2014

Monza is a legendary circuit in the history of races(auto and also moto, for many years). The first Grand Prix was held here in 1922. The F1 championship began only in 1950 and Monza as Monaco and Spa already existed before. The Autodromo Nazionale of Monza has hosted the most number of F1 Grand Prix from 1950.
1 Monza 63 GP: (will be 64 in this week end)
2 Monaco 61 GP
3 Silverstone 48 GP
4 Spa Francorchamps 47 GP
These circuits are irreplaceable and invaluable for the history of the races.

Monza has always been a fast track and has the highest average lap speed of any other tracks on the calendar. There are long straight and some heavy braking zones. it is a very demanding track for tyres and requires a specific very low downforce kit
Pirelli has opted for the same compounds as last year. Will be used “medium tyres with white markings” and “hard tyres with orange markings”
winning strategy last year: 1 pit stop for the winner (only 4 pilots have made two pit stops, the others only one)

Vettel 2008: it was his first win and pole position in F1 at the wheel of Toro Rosso(Ferrari engine)
And was the first and only victory for a Ferrari engine in a customer chassis.
Until now 222 wins for Ferrari engine (221 times on a Ferrari car)

For the game in the last 10 years: 8 times the pole position man won the Grand Prix

A few weeks ago, the legendary Parabolica corner has been altered. The run off area was asphalted
In my opinion, run off zones have to be in gravel sand or grass so a mistake is penalised heavily.
A few years ago, they did the same disaster at Pouhon (Spa Francorchamps)

2011 Podium: Vettel (Red Bull) – 2° Button and 3° Alonso.
Fastest lap: Hamilton – pole position : Vettel (Red Bull) 1.22.275

2012 Podium: Hamilton(Mc Laren) – 2° Perez and 3° Alonso
Fastest lap: Rosberg – Pole position : Hamilton (Mc Laren) 1.24.010

2013 Podium: Vettel (Red Bull) – 2° Alonso and 3° Webber
Fastest lap: Hamilton – pole position : Vettel(Red Bull); 1.23.755

the winners
3 wins: Vettel (2008-2011-2013)
2 wins: Alonso (2007-2010)
1 win: Hamilton (2012)

pole position:
3 pole: Vettel (2008-2011-2013)
2 pole: Alonso (2007-2010)
2 pole: Hamilton (2009-2012)
1 pole: Raikkonen(2006)

Fastest lap
3: Raikkonen (2005-2006-2008);
2: Alonso (2007-2010);
2: Hamilton(2011-2013)
1: Rosberg(2012) and Sutil(2009)

Podium(winner+second+third) for current pilots at Monza
6 (2 win +2 second +2 third) Alonso
4 (0+3+1) Button
3 (3+0+0) Vettel
3 (0 +1 +2) Raikkonen
2 (1+1+0) Hamilton
1 (0+1+0) Perez
1 (0+0+1) Massa

best regards

a Fairytale ,, or ???

[hidden link - please register]



schubert

Similar to what happened in McLaren between Hamilton and Alonso some years ago, Rosberg and Hamilton are fighting for the Championship but obviously the team is not happy especially if Red Bull can take advantage of the situation.

Update :

Magnussen drops from sixth to twelfth after penalty :
Kevin Magnussen has been handed a 20-second post-race penalty following an incident with Fernando Alonso during the Belgian Grand Prix.The duo were fighting for fourth position with two laps to go when Magnussen forced Alonso off the track at the Les Combes corner. Alonso eventually dropped down to eighth place, but was elevated to seventh after Magnussen was found guilty of not leaving enough room for his Ferrari rival. "The driver of car 20 was defending his position on the straight between Turns 4 and 5 [Raidillon and Les Combes], a significant portion of car #14 was alongside car #20. The driver of car #20 did not leave enough space for car #14 and forced the car off the track," said an FIA statement. Alonso was relatively unflustered by the late-race incident, saying: "When you are fighting for lower positions, sixth or seventh or whatever, it's a little bit less important.
"You just try to have fun, with safety as well, but it was not a big deal." The penalty drops Magnussen from fifth to 12th and out of the points. Force India's Nico Hulkenberg moves up to 10th and gets the final point.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Italianfan wrote:High tension in Mercedes after the incident between Rosberg and Hamilton : "It's unacceptable" said team manager Toto Wolff
"we can't go on like that", also Niki Lauda agrees : "Toto is absolutely right, things like that can't happen after only 2 laps, Lewis is
calm but he can't understand what's going on : he was ahead, so Nico is responsible of the accident, it's clear".

There are several phrases that can explain what happens in Mercedes:
Too many cocks in the henhouse
Many captains and few sailors in boat

This had to happen sooner or later.

High tension in Mercedes after the incident between Rosberg and Hamilton : "It's unacceptable" said team manager Toto Wolff
"we can't go on like that", also Niki Lauda agrees : "Toto is absolutely right, things like that can't happen after only 2 laps, Lewis is
calm but he can't understand what's going on : he was ahead, so Nico is responsible of the accident, it's clear".

The result of the Belgian GP :

1. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:50.511 + 3.383
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams + 28.032
4. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari + 36.815
5. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing + 52.196
6. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren + 54.262
7. Jenson Button - McLaren + 54.580
8. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari + 1m01.162
9. Sergio Perez - Force India + 1m04.293
10. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso + 1m05.347
11. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India + 1m05.697
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso + 1m11.920
13. Felipe Massa - Williams + 1m15.975
14. Adrian Sutil - Sauber + 1m22.447
15. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber + 1m30.825
16. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team + 1 lap
17. Marcus Ericsson Caterham Geen tijd + 1 lap
Did Not Finish :
18. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team
19. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP
20. Romain Grosjean - Lotus
21. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus
22. Andre Lotterer - Caterham

Fastest lap : Nico Rosberg - 1:50.511
Pitstop Pastor Maldonado : DNF
Bat. 2 Teams : Daniel Ricciardo > Valtteri Bottas
Grid Pos. Jean-Eric Vergne : 12th place

Ricciardo wins as Mercedes' Hamilton/Rosberg collide :
Daniel Ricciardo recorded his second consecutive victory, as Formula 1 championship protagonists Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton collided in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. The Red Bull racer is making a habit of picking up the pieces when Mercedes trips up, and the Australian executed another flawless race to fend off the recovering Rosberg by just 3.3 seconds and record the third victory of his flourishing grand prix career. Rosberg extended his championship lead after a recovery drive to second, while Mercedes team-mate Hamilton posted his third retirement of the season. Kimi Raikkonen looked set to score his first podium of the season for Ferrari, but ultimately lost out to the Williams of Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages, while reigning F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel won a thrilling late battle for fifth with the McLarens of Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button, and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. The Mercedes drivers locked out the front row by some distance in wet qualifying, but collided on lap two of the race, as slow-starting poleman Rosberg attempted to re-pass Hamilton for the lead on the run to Les Combes. Rosberg had a look around the outside of his team-mate but clipped Hamilton's left rear tyre as he backed out of the move and tried to tuck back in.
Hamilton limped back to the pits with a puncture and floor damage from a brief excursion, and spent the rest of his race battling a lack of pace in his W05 - and pleading with his team to retire his car to save engine mileage. He eventually retired to the pits with five laps to run. Rosberg was told to stay out with a slightly damaged front wing after the incident. That made the championship leader vulnerable, but he retained the lead as the top six ran in a close train early on, before the German dived into the pits to begin the first round of stops on lap eight of 44 and took a new nose. That dropped him behind Raikkonen's Ferrari, which stopped on the same lap as Rosberg and leapt up from sixth to second as the first round of stops played out. The pit delay ultimately left Rosberg fourth, behind Vettel's Red Bull, while new leader Ricciardo (who crucially passed his Red Bull team-mate when the reigning Vettel saved a wild moment on the exit of Pouhon on lap five) eased away from Raikkonen at the front. Rosberg switched to an alternative three-stop strategy against the conventional two, and dived into the pits for an early second stop on lap 17, having failed to pass Vettel and fallen behind the Williams of Bottas. The Mercedes driver used his second set of medium Pirelli tyres to good effect, despite concerns over a front vibration, and rose back up to second when the other frontrunners made their final stops. Rosberg had to pit for a third time with 10 laps to go, which relieved the pressure on Ricciardo and dropped the Mercedes back to fourth, behind Raikkonen and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas, which slipstreamed past on the run to Les Combes. Rosberg was quickly back through to third on his fresh set of tyres, passing Bottas at Blanchimont and then nailing Raikkonen easily on the Kemmel straight on the following lap. The championship leader trailed Ricciardo by just under 20s with eight laps to run and needed to be around 2.5s per lap faster than the Australian to overhaul him, but he ultimately fell short by 3.3s at the finish. Bottas claimed his fourth podium of 2014 in third, while Raikkonen recorded the best result of his season in fourth. Vettel had been in podium contention, but had to come back through the pack after switching to a three-stop strategy. He took advantage of the battling between Magnussen, Alonso and Button to claim fifth, while Magnussen just held off McLaren team-mate Button for sixth. Alonso - who incurred a five-second penalty for his Ferrari mechanics being late away from the grid - damaged his Ferrari in the late battling, which included a three-abreast moment at Les Combes, and trailed home eighth after starting fourth. Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat rounded out the points scorers in ninth and 10th, with Kvyat just holding off Perez's Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg by 0.3s. The second Williams of Felipe Massa finished a disappointing 13th, behind the second Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 12 RACES :

1. Mercedes 411 points
2. Red Bull 254 points
3. Ferrari 158 points
4. Williams 150 points
5. McLaren 111 points
6. Force India 100 points
7. Toro Rosso 18 points
8. Lotus 8 points
9. Marussia 2 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 12 RACES :

1. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 220 points
2. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 191 points
3. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 156 points
4. F. Alonso ESP Ferrari 119 points
5. V. Bottas FIN Williams 110 points
6. S. Vettel GER Red Bull 98 points
7. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 69 points
8. J. Button GBR McLaren 66 points
9. K. Magnussen DEN McLaren 45 points
10. F. Massa BRA Williams 40 points
11. K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 39 points
12. S. Perez MEX Force India 31 points
13. J. E. Vergne FRA Toro Rosso 11 points
14. R. Grosjean FRA Lotus 8 points
15. D. Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso 7 points
16. J. Bianchi FRA Marussia 2 points

Result from the qualifying of the Belgian GP :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 2:05.591
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 2:05.819 +0.228
3. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 2:07.717 +2.126
4. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 2:07.786 +2.195
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 2:07.911 +2.320
6. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 2:08.049 +2.458
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 2:08.679 +3.088
8. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 2:08.780 +3.189
9. Felipe Massa - Williams - 2:09.178 +3.587
10. Jenson Button - McLaren - 2:09.776 +4.185
Q2
11. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 2:09.377 +3.786
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 2:09.805 +4.214
13. Sergio Perez - Force India - 2:10.084 +4.493
14. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 2:10.238 +4.647
15. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 2:11.087 +5.496
16. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 2:12.470 +6.879
Q1
17. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 2:11.261 +5.670
18. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 2:11.267 +5.676
19. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 2:12.566 +6.975
20. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 2:13.414 +7.823
21. Andre Lotterer - Caterham - 2:13.469 +7.878
22. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 2:14.438 +8.847

Qualifying Time : 2:05.591
Pole : Nico Rosberg
Team Battle : Fernando Alonso > Kimi Räikkönen
Grid Position Valtteri Bottas : 6th place


Rosberg on pole, Hamilton makes mistakes :
Qualifying for tomorrows Belgian Grand Prix got under way at the famous Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Rain fell before qualifying, which made the asphalt wet for when the green light started flashing at the end of the pitlane. Q1: The session started and some drivers came out on intermediate tyres and some on wet, just trying to find the most suitable tyre for the conditions. Drivers were finding it hard under braking for the bus-stop chicane and running wide onto the run-off area. Hamilton, Lotterer and Kvyat were just a few of the culprits. Esteban Gutierrez stopped at Curve Paul Frere and had to be pushed by the marshals behind the barriers. Double waved yellow flags were used, no red flag. Throughout the session, the drivers kept out because the track was slowly drying out and times where falling down. Maldonado spun at the bus-stop chicane after he turned in to the corner and the back end just stepped out and spun him round. Vettel was following a bit behind and had to take avoiding action. The cars that were eliminated at the end of Q1 were; Maldonado, Hulkenberg, Chilton, Gutierrez, Lotterer and Ericsson. Q2: The first few minutes of Q2 was ok but then the rain started to come down again and drivers tried to put a timed lap on the board with the inters on the car before it got to heavy. There were still many lock-ups going on and drivers running wide onto the run-off area. Hamilton had a moment at the top of Raidillon but was able to keep control of the car . Button came over the radio wanting to change his gloves due to the ones he was wearing being too wet. Kyvat was waving his hand in frustration, maybe to someone on the radio but whilst he was doing that, he lost the car and did a half spin between Les Combes and Malmedy. The drivers that were eliminated from Q2 were; Kyvat, Vergne, Perez, Sutil, Grosjean and Bianchi. Q3: Vettel and Hamilton were waiting at the end of the pitlane for the green light to shine and get Q3 under way. Hamilton on his first flying lap, went wide at the first corner after his front right brake was too cold and had already messed up his lap. The sun was belting down on the famous Belgium track in Q3, so typical Spa weather! On Hamilton's final lap, the Brit got the first corner a bit scruffy again but went quickest in the first sector. Ricciardo went wide coming out of Blanchimont, which cost the Aussie. He still went fourth but then got moved down to fifth after Alonso went fourth after him. Ricciardo would have been third if he hadn’t made the mistake. Nico Rosberg will start tomorrows Belgian Grand Prix from pole, with team-mate Hamilton second and Vettel in the Red Bull third. The rest of the top ten is as follows; Alonso, Ricciardo, Bottas, Magnussen, Raikkonen, Massa and Button.


Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

A short pitstop from my side to give you the result of the3rd practice session :

1. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:49.465
2. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:49.733 +0.268
3. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:49.739 +0.274
4. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:49.817 +0.352
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:49.817 +0.352
6. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:49.890 +0.425
7. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:49.893 +0.428
8. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:50.203 +0.738
9. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:50.423 +0.958
10. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:50.535 +1.070
11. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:50.592 +1.127
12. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:50.748 +1.283
13. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:50.814 +1.349
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:50.866 +1.401
15. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:50.962 +1.497
16. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:51.509 +2.044
17. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:51.610 +2.145
18. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:51.898 +2.433
19. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:52.457 +2.992
20. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:52.984 +3.519
21. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:54.294 +4.829
22. Andre Lotterer - Caterham - 1:55.008 +5.543

Valtteri Bottas tops final practice for Williams :
Valtteri Bottas went quickest for Williams in a frenzied final few minutes of third practice for Formula 1's 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, outpacing Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo by 0.268 seconds. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was the best of the title contenders in third.
Many drivers only had the opportunity to run one or two flying laps on the soft Pirelli tyre at the end of the session, and were thwarted by traffic. After overnight rain a dry line had already formed in some places, thanks to the preceding GP3 qualifying session, as the F1 cars took to the circuit for their installation laps. With the track temperature still hovering around the 16C mark and the surface still mostly wet, there was little activity for the first 30 minutes as most teams - apart from the tail-enders - elected not to risk their machinery. Thus Marussia annexed the top two positions for half the session as Jules Bianchi (2m01.823s), Max Chilton (2m05.120s) and Andre Lotterer (2m07.529s) each essayed a tentative lap before reporting back to the pits. Esteban Gutierrez was the first driver out on slick tyres, half an hour into the session. He instantly took 1.581s out of Bianchi's time, then improved again by over four seconds as his medium-compound Pirellis came up to temperature, and this provided the cue for others to join the fray.
The track evolved quickly over the final 20 minutes as increased activity broadened the dry line, and Ferrari fans will have been heartened by the sight of Kimi Raikkonen bolting on a set of soft tyres and briefly topping the timesheets with five minutes to go.
Bottas, Ricciardo and Rosberg then went faster using the same tyre choice, but Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were unable to eclipse their team-mates and finished fifth and sixth fastest. Sebastian Vettel finished the session outside the top 10 having done all his running on the medium compound. He has reverted to an older engine after an ignition problem in one cylinder set in motion a failure of his nominated power unit on Friday.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

And also 2nd practice result is here :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:49.189
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:49.793 +0.604
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:49.930 +0.741
4. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:50.327 +1.138
5. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:50.659 +1.470
6. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:50.677 +1.488
7. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:50.725 +1.536
8. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:50.977 +1.788
9. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:51.074 +1.885
10. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:51.077 +1.888
11. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:51.383 +2.194
12. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:51.450 +2.261
13. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:51.573 +2.384
14. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:52.196 +3.007
15. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:52.234 +3.045
16. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:52.776 +3.587
17. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:53.955 +4.766
18. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:54.040 +4.851
19. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:54.050 +4.861
20. Andre Lotterer - Caterham - 1:54.093 +4.904
21. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - no time
22. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - no time


Hamilton moves ahead in second practice :
Lewis Hamilton moved to the fore during second practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday afternoon. The Briton lapped six tenths faster than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg on Pirelli's Soft tyre compound, while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso again finished third. After the early phase of Medium tyre runs, interrupted by two red flags, Hamilton set a 1:49.189 when the switch to the softer rubber arrived. His attempt proved to be considerably faster than Rosberg, whose own best effort was tarnished by a wild moment coming out of Turn 7. Fernando Alonso was just over a tenth further back at the wheel of his F14 T and the last of the drivers to break into the 1m49s bracket. Both Williams machines featured high up the order at the end of the opening day in the Ardennes, with Felipe Massa fourth and Valtteri Bottas sixth – the pair were separated by lead McLaren driver Jenson Button. Toro Rosso rookie Daniil Kvyat followed in seventh position, a couple of tenths quicker than Daniel Ricciardo, who was the sole Red Bull driver in action after team-mate Sebastian Vettel failed to leave his garage. Vettel was forced out of the session after the exhaust problem he suffered in morning practice damaged the internals of his RB10, requiring an investigation and changes that could not be completed in time. McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen and Force India's Nico Hülkenberg rounded out the top 10 runners. Kimi Räikkönen ended the day a lowly 16th, failing to deliver a representative lap time on the Soft tyre after suffering a misfire and complaining of poor rear-end grip when he eventually headed back out for longer runs. Toro Rosso's Jean-Éric Vergne, Sauber's Adrian Sutil, Force India's Sergio Pérez – whose best time came on Mediums – and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean occupied the positions between Hülkenberg and Räikkönen. Jules Bianchi put his Marussia ahead of Sauber driver Esteban Gutiérrez after the Mexican brought out the second of the red flags for spinning at Blanchimont, an incident he quickly attributed to a gearbox problem. Despite being more than a second slower than team-mate Bianchi, Max Chilton – back in action after the early weekend confusion over his seat – was still able to outpace Caterham's Marcus Ericsson and André Lotterer.Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado – who sparked the first red flag period when he hit the barriers after clumsily running over the grass at the exit of Turn 9 – and the aforementioned Vettel brought up the rear.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi


Ps : The sound of the F1 cars is ........sh*t ...it's dammed awful . The GP2 & Porsche Cup cars sounds louder & better than the F1 cars !!!

Back home , so as promised is here the result of the 1st practice session of the Belgian GP

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:51.577
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:51.674 +0.097
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:51.805 +0.228
4. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:52.404 +0.827
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:52.818 +1.241
6. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:52.903 +1.326
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:52.922 +1.345
8. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:52.937 +1.360
9. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:52.972 +1.395
10. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:53.172 +1.595
11. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:53.369 +1.792
12. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:53.594 +2.017
13. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:53.597 +2.020
14. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:53.703 +2.126
15. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:53.968 +2.391
16. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:54.189 +2.612
17. Giedo van der Garde - Sauber - 1:54.335 +2.758
18. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:55.336 +3.759
19. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:55.782 +4.205
20. Alexander Rossi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:57.232 +5.655
21. Andre Lotterer - Caterham - 1:57.886 +6.309
22. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:57.977 +6.400

Rosberg on top as Spa weekend begins :
Nico Rosberg set the standard as the Formula 1 field returned to action during Friday morning's first practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. The Mercedes driver edged out team-mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton by 0.097s, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso the best of the rest. Continuing their fierce battle from the opening half of the season, the Silver Arrows duo traded fastest times throughout the session. But it was ultimately Rosberg who came out on top with a best effort of 1:51.577, experiencing a smoother run through the final chicane. Buoyed by its Hungaroring showing, Ferrari enjoyed a positive start to the weekend, with the aforementioned Alonso and team-mate Kimi Räikkönen sandwiching the McLaren of Jenson Button in third and fifth respectively. All three drivers suffered issues; Alonso stopped briefly at the side of Eau Rouge, Räikkönen spun coming out of the La Source hairpin before his ERS overheated and Button survived a scare when his DRS jammed open. Sergio Pérez took sixth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen's McLaren and Force India team-mate Nico Hülkenberg. Daniel Ricciardo ensured that Red Bull featured inside a top 10 completed by Williams driver Valtteri Bottas. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who first reported gearbox problems before his session came to a premature end as a result of a power unit problem, wound up 11th, while Felipe Massa finished back in 15th. The pair were split by Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Adrian Sutil. Sauber reserve Giedo van der Garde placed 17th on his sixth practice appearance of 2014, six tenths adrift of Sutil after power issues. Outgoing Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne put his car just ahead of the Dutchman. Lotus' Pastor Maldonado was the last of the midfield runners, more than a second down on van der Garde. At the back, Jules Bianchi comfortably outpaced fellow Marussia driver Alexander Rossi, who will no longer be making his F1 debut at Spa, while newcomer André Lotterer got the better of Marcus Ericsson at Caterham.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi