Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result of the Italian GP :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:28.004
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP + 3.1
3. Felipe Massa - Williams + 25.0
4. Valtteri Bottas - Williams + 40.7
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing + 50.3
6. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing + 59.9
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren + 1m02.5
8. Sergio Perez - Force India + 1m03.0
9. Jenson Button - McLaren + 1m03.5
10. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari + 1m06.1
11. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso + 1m11.1
12. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India + 1m12.6
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso + 1m13.0
14. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus + 1 lap
15. Adrian Sutil - Sauber + 1 lap
16. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham + 1 lap
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus Geen tijd + 1 lap
18. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team Geen tijd + 1 lap
19. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber Geen tijd + 2 laps
20. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham Geen tijd + 2 laps
Did Not Finish :
21. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
22. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team

Fastest lap : Lewis Hamitlon - 1:28.004
Pitstop Lewis Hamilton : 1
Bat.2 Teams : Vettel > Alonso
Grid Pos. K .Kobayashi : 17th place


Hamilton claims victory following Rosberg mistake, Massa finishes on podium :
start of the Italian Grand Prix, with the two Mercedes locking out the front row and Hamilton spearheading the field, followed by the two Williams' of Bottas and Massa. It was set to be a difficult race for Marcus Ericsson of Caterham as he would start from the pit-lane, as well as Kvyat who suffered a ten-place grid penalty and would start in 21st on the grid. Pirelli were expectant of a one-stop strategy to be favoured thanks to low degradation from the Medium compound of tyres, so it would be a case of who could manage them best and therefore go longer into their stint, thus spending less time on their second set of tyres. Roserbg got away from the start well, whilst Hamilton struggled and ended up 4th by Turn 1, with Magnussen following him in 2nd, Massa 3rd and Vettel was 5th. Alonso also got away poorly and got past Hulkenberg for 6th into Ascari. Another poor starter was Bottas who was down in 11th by the end of the first lap, meaning that the newly re-signed Williams driver would have work to do to have a strong finish by the end of the race. The start of Lap 3 saw Massa beginning to harrass Magnussen for 3rd, whilst Hamilton, who was complaining of an ERS fault got ever closer to the pair. Rosberg meanwhile was storming away from the rest of the field and had a 1.5 second gap over the second-placed McLaren as they began the fourth lap. The Magnussen/Massa battle began to intensify as the Brazilian Williams driver stormed past the Dane through the Curva Grande, with Hamilton following suit into the first Lesmo, meaning that the rookie lost two places in three corners, dropping him to 4th. Valtterri Bottas was also making progress by getting past Hulkenberg for 10th on Lap 6. Lap 6 was good for some, but not for Max Chilton who got too deep into the second chicane, flew over the kerb and collided with the barrier, ending the reliable Britons race early. Onwards to Lap 9 and Rosberg went straight on at the Rettifilio chicane, and lost 1.8 seconds of his lead over Massa and Hamilton meaning that the German would have to push to increase the gap. Meanwhile, Hamilton on the following lap got past Massa with a superb move up the outside into the first chicane, where Rosberg had struggled previously. Lap 14 saw Bottas making further progress through the field and up into 8th place past Perez after slipstreaming the Mexican's Force India down the main straight. He ten passed Alonso's Ferrari for 7th with an almost identical move on Lap 16. The fast Finn then passed Button for 6th at the start of Lap 18, with the Williams driver overtaking more cars than anyone else at that point during the race. Hamilton was just 1.1 seconds behind Rosberg on Lap 19, with the 2008 World Champion having decimated his German team-mates lead, with it being expected that his tyres were going off. The pit-window was well and truly in force by now with Vettel making the first move, although his approach speed to the pit-lane was questionable, he was then followed by Perez and surprisingly, Hulkenberg, who started on the more durable Prime tyre. Bottas's ever impressive race continued as he sliced past Magnussen for 4th in his favourite overtaking spot, whilst Raikkonen pitted from 7th for Ferrari.
Alonso pitted on Lap 21, and ended up behind Magnussen and Vettel once he re-joined the race. Behind Magnussen was Perez, with the two being under a second apart on a track. Button pitted for Primes on Lap 22 and resumed in 11th, also behind Magnussen and Vettel, as well as Perez, but just ahead of Alonso. Rosberg finally pitted on Lap 24 and came out of the pit-lane in 2nd place, with a 2.8 second stop. Bottas followed and was overtaken but Vettel, Magnussen and Perez all got past into the first chicane, undoing the Finnish drivers hard work. Hamilton pitted two laps after Rosberg and came out behind his team-mate once more, whilst Bottas then set about getting past those in front, quickly disposing of Perez for Force India. Meanwhile Ricciardo, who was up to 3rd having not pitted, finally came into the box on Lap 27 and re-joined the Grand Prix in 12th, with the Australian's somewhat miserable race continuing. There was less than a second separating five drivers, from 5th down to 9th, with the running order being Vettel, Magnussen, Bottas, Perez and Button. The start of Lap 29 saw Hamilton, who had rapidly decreased the gap to Rosberg, get past the German and take the lead out of Turn 1 after the Championship leader went deep into the corner for the second time during the race. It was heartbreak for all of the Italian Ferrari supporters attending the race after Alonso retired at the first chicane following a suspected Power Unit failure. It would be the first time that the Spaniard had failed to finish on the podium since he joined the marque in 2010. The earlier battle for 5th became the battle for 4th following Alonso's retirement, and the battle between Bottas and Magnussen hotted up at the Finnish Williams drivers' favourite passing place, as he tried to get past around the outside. His efforts seemed to be in vain though as Magnussen forced him wide after maintaining the racing line. The duo continued to duel and eventually got past into the Rettifilio chicane at the start of Lap 37. Magnussen's defensive efforts came back to bite him as he received a 5 second stop/go penalty for forcing another driver (Bottas) off the track, scuppering the Danish rookies impressive race so far. Three laps later saw Perez and Button going wheel-to-wheel for 7th place, with the two exchanging places through the second chicane, where the Mexican driver was forced wide and lined up a superb move through the two Lesmos. Button then lost another place to Ricciardo down the main-straight, and was 9th by the end of the lap. The overtaker of the race, Bottas, got past Vettel for 4th, whilst Ricciardo drove up the inside of Perez through the second chicane of Lap 42, with the Australian being on far fresher tyres. Button and Perez continued their epic duel with the Briton firstly making a move at the first chicane, before his former team-mate got back past with an almost identical move out of the second chicane after Button went in deep. The action further back was far more active than that compared to the front, and this was confirmed with Ricciardo getting past Magnussen for 6th, with the Danish driver electing to have the penalty added to his total race time. Further back, Kvyat, who had started the race in last place was up to 12th place by Lap 45 and was harassing Hulkenberg for 11th with his team-mate just under a second behind, he eventually got past two laps later. The two sister Red Bulls were also locked in a battle at the start of Lap 47 with Ricciardo succeeding to pass Vettel for 5th place. As the race began the closing stages, it had been a good one for the Williams team with Massa maintaining 3rd position throughout, with Bottas storming through the field to 4th. The penultimate lap saw Perez harassing Magnussen, the Force India's far fresher tyres proving to be beneficial in the latter part of the Grand Prix, with brake dust pouring from the front left of the VJM-07. There were two major incidents towards the end, one between Gutierrez and Maldonado with the two making contact down the main-straight, resulting in a puncture and debris on-track, ruining the Mexicans disappointing race, perhaps a reflection on his season so far. The other was for Daniil Kvyat who just avoided Kimi Raikkonen following brake failure on the second-to-last lap, he just limped round to finish the race. But it was Hamilton who crossed the line to win the Italian Grand Prix, followed by Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa for Williams. Bottas maintained 4th with Ricciardo claiming 5th, team-mate Vettel was 6th. The dice for 7th saw Magnussen just hold on to take the place, then it was Perez, Button and Raikkonen rounding out the final points position. The race saw Bottas move up to 4th in the Constructors Championship, with Williams leapfrogging Ferrari at their home race. The gap between Rosberg and Hamilton was now down to 22 points, with six rounds remaining, and of course the double points finale at Abu Dhabi.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 13 RACES :

1. Mercedes 454 points
2. Red Bull 272 points
3. Williams 177 points
4. Ferrari 162 points
5. McLaren 110 points
6. Force India 109 points
7. Toro Rosso 19 points
8. Lotus 8 points
9. Marussia 2 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 13 RACES :

1. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 238 points
2. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 216 points
3. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 166 points
4. F. Alonso ESP Ferrari 122 points
5. S. Vettel GER Red Bull 106 points
7. J. Button GBR McLaren 72 points
8. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 70 points
9. F. Massa BRA Williams 55 points
10. K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 41 points
11. S. Perez MEX Force India 39 points
12. K. Magnussen DEN McLaren 38 points
13. J. E. Vergne FRA Lotus & D. Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso 8 points
14. J. Bianchi FRA Marussia 2 points

Williams Martini Racing announced today that Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas are confirmed as official
drivers for next season; "Here I feel good and I' m happy I can continue another year" said Massa "this year we are
beginning to show all our potential"

Result of the qualifying :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:24.109
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:24.383 +0.274
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:24.697 +0.588
4. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:24.865 +0.756
5. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:25.314 +1.205
6. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:25.379 +1.270
7. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:25.430 +1.321
8. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:25.436 +1.327
9. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:25.709 +1.600
10. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:25.944 +1.835
Q2
11. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:26.070 +1.961
12. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:26.110 +2.001
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:26.157 +2.048
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:26.279 +2.170
15. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:26.588 +2.479
16. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:26.692 +2.583
Q1
17. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:27.520 +3.411
18. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:27.632 +3.523
19. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:27.671 +3.562
20. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:27.738 +3.629
21. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:28.247 +4.138
22. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:28.562 +4.453

Qualifying Time : 1:24.109
Pole : Lewis Hamilton
Team Bat. : Valtteri Bottas > Felipe Massa
Grid Pos : Pastor Maldonado


Hamilton on pole, Williams lock out second row :
Qualifying for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix took place at Monza with the Tifosi out in force and echoes of the Mercedes Spa incident still on a lot of people minds. Nine of the last eleven races have been won from pole, so getting that all important front row position will be coveted. Kvyat has been given a 10 grid penalty for the use of a sixth Renault power unit. Grojean's Lotus had a fluid leak before qualifying started. Q1: Both Marussia's were the first cars out with the Caterham of Kobayashi following them just behind. Kobayashi sets the first timed lap at 1:28.299 and both Force India's set lap times splitting both the Caterhams. Kvyat set the first competitive pace of 1:26.734 . Alonso then set a time taking the top spot briefly before Rosberg crossed the line with a 1:25.862. A lap later Hamilton went quicker. Massa then split the two Mercedes being only 0.032 off Hamilton. Kvyat had a big lock up into turn one pushing the limit of how late he could break. At the half way stage of Q1 nineteen cars were out on track and times were dropping. Mercedes and Williams set the pace with only 0.400 between 1st and 4th. Massa then went fastest by 0.043 but Rosberg then improved and did a 1:25.493. Hamilton gave it his all and goes top. Grosjean headed out on track after having a fluid leaking problem at the start of the session and went out on track with only 5 minutes remaining of Q1. A lot of the cars were pushing the track limits at Parabolica trying to get the best line to finish off their laps. Lotus are still finding it hard to find a good pace. Mercedes toped the time sheets with Williams, McLaren & Ferrari close behind. The cars eliminated from Q1 were Maldonardo, Grosjean, Kobayashi, Bianchi, Chilton and Ericcson. Q2: All the cars went out on the medium compound tyre to get the most out of the cars. The Force India of Hulkenburg was the first car out and took advantage of the empty track. Rosberg then set the fastest lap so far, with a 1:24.682. Bottas was closely following the German. Hamilton then crossed the line a tenth quicker taking the top spot. Alonso had a bit of moment on Parabolica with some under steer but the Spaniard had it under control. Raikkonen ran off a little at the second chicane and had to back out of his lap, which cost the Finn as he qualified 11th. The cars eliminated from Q2 were Kvyat, Raikkonen, Vergne, Hulkenburg, Sutil and Gutierrez. Q3: Perez was the first car out on track and went onto set the first timed lap of Q3 with a 1:26.230. Soon after both Mercedes' and Bottas went out to complete a timed lap. Rosberg put a new set of medium compound tyres on and set the fastest time. Hamilton then knocked four tenths off his team-mate's time soon after. Rosberg made a last ditch attempt to take pole from Hamilton but crossed the line two tenth behind. Hamilton takes pole with 1:24.109 in Monza closely followed by Rosberg in second and Bottas in third. The rest of grid is; Massa, Magnussen, Button, Alonso, Vettel, Ricciardo and Perez.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 3rd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:25.519
2. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:25.931 +0.412
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:26.090 +0.571
4. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:26.114 +0.595
5. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:26.242 +0.723
6. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:26.290 +0.771
7. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:26.327 +0.808
8. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:26.437 +0.918
9. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:26.482 +0.963
10. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:26.608 +1.089
11. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:26.829 +1.310
12. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:27.207 +1.688
13. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:27.312 +1.793
14. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:27.479 +1.960
15. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:27.498 +1.979
16. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:28.025 +2.506
17. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:28.137 +2.618
18. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:28.265 +2.746
19. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:28.459 +2.940
20. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:28.579 +3.060
21. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:29.251 +3.732
22. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - no time set

Hamilton on top as Rosberg hits trouble :
Lewis Hamilton returned to the top of the order during final practice for the Italian Grand Prix, while Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg this time suffered technical trouble in the form of a gearbox gremlin. Hamilton, delayed on Friday afternoon by an electrical fault, comfortably set the pace on the Hard tyre runs, before working his way down to a 1:25.519 on Mediums, which yielded less gains than anticipated. This all came despite the Briton's repeated radio complaints about his brakes and claims that his DRS device was not working correctly. Rosberg, meanwhile, was the only driver unable to post a time, with his session-ending shifting problem striking after just three laps. Ferrari again finished closest to Mercedes, this time in the form of Fernando Alonso, who was four tenths adrift. Williams duo Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa followed in third and fourth respectively, ahead of McLaren's Jenson Button and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, unhappy with a "misbehaving" MGU-K. Having been best of the rest on Friday, Kimi Räikkönen wound up seventh after an error at Parabolica. Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, set to drop 10 places on the grid after becoming the first driver to install a sixth power unit element, Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo and Force India's Nico Hülkenberg completed the top 10. Whilst Hamilton was comfortably clear at the front, positions two to 10 were covered by just 0.677 seconds. Kevin Magnussen struggled with brake balance en route to 11th, ahead of Mexicans Esteban Gutiérrez and Sergio Pérez, the latter losing a sizeable amount of track time after his Force India stopped at Curva Grande. Jean-Éric Vergne was over a second down on team-mate Kvyat in 14th position, while Adrian Sutil recovered from an early hydraulics issue to place 15th, three tenths slower than the sister machine of Gutiérrez. Jules Bianchi again put Marussia ahead of Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean, who were split by Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi, while Max Chilton and Marcus Ericsson were the last of the timed runners.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

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 ???

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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