FORCDA 2010 Season

[Dan B]

(I'm gonna do 2 races here, since Las Vegas wasn't that long and there isn't a picture)
UAW-Chrysler 400 Results:
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Practice and Qualifying:
Whatever semblance of speed HisPaDrea Racing Formula came in was not present today unfortunately. Lavaggi struggled to get out of the bottom 35, and Yamamoto was again in 43rd, well off pace. McCarthy had numerous car problems, ranging from defective wheels to bent suspension arms. While the car was patched up for the race (and patched up cleanly and safely; the team had a NASCAR inspector with them), McCarthy was to start in 43rd position. Yamamoto was 41st, Lavaggi 39th. While qualifying looked bad, the team hoped for a decent finish.

Race:
That finish never occurred here. Lavaggi had a hard time getting above 30th, and finshed 28th. Yamamoto finished in 35th, ahead of Martin Truex Jr. III but 5 laps down. McCarthy posted another DNF. This time, it was attributed to the "car not feeling right" and it turns out that the suspension broke, though in a different area than where it broke in practice. HisPaDrea wasn't the only team to be suffering. Casey Mears' Chevrolet cut a tire that ruined the wheel bearing, forcing him out of the race. Brian Vickers of the Red Bull camp parked the car due to fumes entering the cockpit, and AJ Allmendinger was brought in by NASCAR officials for random drug screening, which he passed at the expense of not finishing the race. The final retirement was Dale Earnhardt Jr, whose Chevy blew a header. That said, some drivers had great drives. Marcos Ambrose finished in the Top 10 and might be a challenge for the championship despite 2 DNFs in the first two races. The Penske cars dominated the field, though they are being heavily monitored, and it looks more and more likely that the three car team will be thrown out, though when and where is yet to be determined.

Race Results:


Championship Standings:


Golden Corral 500 Results:
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Practice and Qualifying:
HisPaDrea Racing Formula did not want yet another Las Vegas type race. McCarthy got a new chassis after the old one was declared unsafe, and all 3 drivers received new engines. The goal of the day was to get all three cars to finish the race. The past 3 races had either McCarthy DNF and the other 2 finish or in the case of California, McCarthy getting the finish and Yamamoto and Lavaggi receiving DNFs. This did boost the team's morale, and in practice McCarthy posted the 8th fastest time of the day. Lavaggi did well in practice, placing around 20th, but Yamamoto still is off pace. While his forte might be in road courses, the first road course event (at Nogaro) isn't for a while, and there is talk that he might be replaced with Karun Chandhok, Christian Klien, or Esteban Tuero. Kolles though wants to keep Yamamoto; the money he is bringing in is beneficial to the team, plus, the ovals aren't indicative of what Yamamoto is capable of. Whether or not this was true, Yamamoto managed to qualify 43rd. Lavaggi started 30th, and McCarthy 37th.


McCarthy's luck runs out yet again, this time, being spun by Jeff Gordon and then clouted by ex-Williams and McLaren driver Juan-Pablo Montoya. NASCAR is looking into the incident.

Race:
The race was much like Daytona. Lavaggi had a great start, Yamamoto trundled at the back, and McCarthy got pushed by the 18 M&Ms Toyota of Kyle Busch, nearly sending him into the barrier and bringing out the full caution on lap 1, putting him in dead last when he reached the train of cars. However, all but 3 drivers pitted; Brad Keslowski, Robby Gordon, and Perry McCarthy, who snatched up third despite having worn tires. Even with the tire situation the team was ecstatic (to the point where Andrea Sasetti called McCarthy the next Richard Petty), and they hoped to at least finish in the top 15. Unfortunately, that did not last; the worn tires were simply too worn and McCarthy had to pit during the green flag. He then dropped back to 41st, ahead of David Reutimann who pitted on the parade lap and never exited, and Brian Vickers, who for whatever reason never started the race. Meanwhile, Kolles told McCarthy to not worry about the top 15 and just concentrate on getting the car home; if anything, he wanted to see all the HisPaDrea cars come home in one piece. In true HisPaDrea fashion though, this was not to be. While being lapped, McCarthy was tagged and pushed aside by Jeff Gordon, sending him into a spin and in the racing line, which was being occupied by Juan-Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, and others. Montoya slammed into the Andrea Moda Ford at considerable speed, and in the process collected Tony Stewart, Scott Speed, and Martin Truex Jr the Third (editor's note: Seriously? Martin Truex JUNIOR THE THIRD?). While none of the drivers were injured, the teams involved immediately started pointing fingers. Chip Ganassi claims that McCarthy did not move fast enough (which may or may not be true since McCarthy was hit in .25ths of a second when he finished spinning), while Kolles says that Hendrick's driver should not have pushed the Andrea Moda Ford in the first place. Hendrick retorted and said that McCarthy drove right in front of Gordon, who had no choice but to push McCarthy aside. Either way, NASCAR is looking into the incident. In other news, Lavaggi finished 23rd and Yamamoto 35th who was again, way off pace. In the end, the team gained some points, but lost yet another chassis, as the impact with Montoya crumpled the frame of the car.

Race Results:


Championship Standings:


Other news: Parmalat is still interested in helping the team field a 4th car, though the drivers are still yet to be determined.

[Phoenix]

Sack Coulthard from Red Bull, promote Jani and slot Liuzzi in Toro Rosso.

[dr-baker]

Pedro Diniz or Niki Lauda for the Pamalat car?

[Dan B]

Driver name: Perry McCarthy
F1R Forum name: Dan B
Software: Nascar Racing 2003 (Modded with COT Wing cars)
Hardware: PC
Career status: End of Food City 500
Sorry; no pictures this time. Forgot to take them (shame on me!)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway

Practice and Qualifying:
Coming out of Atlanta the team was mired in trouble. McCarthy DNFed again, though not of his own accord. Yamamoto is painfully slow, and even though Lavaggi likes the team a lot he is the only one that has been consistently quick. NASCAR is still reviewing the incident that happened in Atlanta and while the verdict won't be out until after Richmond, the general vibe around the paddock is that Gordon is going to be fined heavily, though not disqualified. However, Kolles and his motley crew decided to put that behind him, and he thought heavily about the upcoming races, which are to be held at short tracks. The past several races, which were mainly held at superspeedways (with the exception of Las Vegas), were not indicative of HisPaDrea's speed. So when the team showed up to Bristol Motor Speedway, a short oval with 30 degree banking on the turns, they thought that things just might go their way. And so it was, with McCarthy posting the fastest time in practice, a 17:794, which no one was able to touch. Lavaggi did well too, clocking in a time just enough to be inside the top 20. Yamamoto though...was off the pace again, though he wasn't dead last for once; that award was given to Massimiliano Papis, the Geico sponsored Toyota driver, who qualified 39th. That said, qualifying for HisPaDrea was simply magnificent. Lavaggi qualified 15th, and McCarthy an eye opening 6th. The team was beyond overjoyed, even with Yamamoto planting his car in 42nd (at least not last!). Colin Kolles said after the session that "the team was superb today. We might be able to win this race let alone finish inside the top 10."

Race:
It was a fairytale dream for the team, especially Perry McCarthy, who only finished one race. The order of the day was clear; drive cleanly, and don't get involved in incidents. While this might be easy at a larger course where there is space, in Bristol, that is easier said than done. Case in point where the inevitable first lap pile up occurred (taking out both Red Bull cars, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Sam Hornish Jr.), bringing out the caution flag and mass confusion onto where the cars were supposed to be. The outcome of this was after the accident was cleared, Yamamoto and Massimiliano Papis were mixed in the top 5 cars, including McCarthy. This turned to be a huge problem since Yamamoto did not budge above 40 miles an hour, the belief that even if a car is lapped, it can't be passed under caution, which is true, but he never caught up to the other 2 cars of Clint Boyer and Robby Gordon, making a huge gap and ruining any chance of McCarthy winning a race. On restart things got worse when Yamamoto refused to let any of the other cars through, since he was down a lap; this also included Perry McCarthy, which exasperated Kolles, Sasetti, and technical director Keith Wiggins. Eventually McCarthy got through, but not before he was being chased by a hard charging Brad Keslowski. Keslowski tried to pass under McCarthy rather opportunistically, with Keslowski going into McCarthy's line. Keslowski spun, and the yellow was brought out yet again. Things got worse on the restart. Handling gremlins started to affect McCarthy's car, brushed against the wall, and fell back to tenth before Keslowski again tried the same move, this time with McCarthy suffering and in the process taking Jeff Burton. When the mess cleared he luckily wound up back in 10th, though the car was battered. And then the tale came to an end. Rookie Robert Richardson bumped McCarthy and sent him into the wall, ending the race for him. Of course, Sasetti wanted to have Richardson penalized; this was the 2nd time the rookie had bumped a HisPaDrea car, but Keith Wiggins and Kolles shrugged it off as a race incident. In the end, Lavaggi finished 18th and Yamamoto 31st. Kolles said afterward, "Even with McCarthy's DNF it was a good day for the team. This race proves we have speed on short tracks, and we will try to expand our success to the larger ovals." However, all is not well. NASCAR is looking into the antics of Yamamoto for what he did after the first caution flag, after an investigation launched by Michael McDowell's team, who was running in 4nd place at the time.

Race Results:


Championship Standings:


The Parmalat situation is going to be interesting. Kolles says they can field a 4th car by Richmond, and it looks like Pedro Diniz will be taking the drive. However, this means he (and everyone else) will have to qualify just for a grid spot, unless the Penske cars are thrown out, and again, the verdict for that will be out by Richmond.

[Wizzie]

Pre-France:

Several important silly season reports to come out of the paddock. First was the sacking of Juan Pablo Montoya in light of his recent lack of performance and has been replaced by tester Pedro de la Rosa for the time being. Montoya then responded by announcing that he is considering offers from Toyota and Red Bull. Speaking of Red Bull and the merry-go-round continues as Scott Speed is the lastest to be rested for 3 rounds while Tonio Liuzzi returns in the Toro Rosso. Finally two announcements from the back of the grid. Firstly Tiago Monteiro has returned in the Midland while Super Aguri have announced that this might be Franck Montagny's last race.

Round 11: France

Qualifying:
Daniel Melrose has already beaten the record of most poles in a row at 10 as of the United States Grand Prix. He extended that record to 11 in a row with another one lap special which put him just under 2 tenths clear of the two Ferraris of Schumacher and Massa. Alonso was 4th in the first of the Renault while Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were driving for their seats in 5th and 6th. The McLarens were 7th and 8th on the grid while Mark Webber hauled his Williams into the top 10 yet again while Fisichella failed to do that yet again.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
3. F. Massa (Ferrari)
4. F. Alonso (Renault)
5. J. Trulli (Toyota)
6. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
7. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
8. P. de la Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
11. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
12. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
13. S. Jones (Honda)
14. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
15. V. Liuzzi (STR-Cosworth)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
17. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
18. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
19. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
20. J. Button (Honda)
21. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. F. Montagny (Super Aguri-Honda)

Race:
Daniel Melrose continued on his winning ways by scoring another victory and completing his second Grand Chelam of the season and the third of his career. Once Schumacher outbraked himself on the first lap it was Melrose's race to lose. And lose he didn't as by the end of the race he was nearly 40 seconds up the road from Massa in 2nd while Schumacher was an anonymous 3rd and was about 2 thousanths of a second away from being lapped at the end of the race. Alonso finished 4th while McLaren scored a double points finish with Raikkonen 5th and De La Rosa 7th. Trulli was the meat in a McLaren sandwich while Jenson Button scored Honda's first point in months after inheriting 8th place as Tonio Liuzzi found a wall whilst running in the points which may have just put him out of a job again. Kovaleinen, Ralf Schumacher and Heidfeld all retired while in points contention.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 29m 32.667
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): +37.445
3. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +1:16.423
4. F. Alonso (Renault): +1 LAP
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
6. J. Trulli (Toyota): +2 LAPS
7. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +2 LAPS
8. J. Button (Honda): +2 LAPS
9. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
10. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
12. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
13. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
14. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): +3 LAPS
15. F. Montagny (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
16. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +5 LAPS
DNF. V. Liuzzi (STR-Cosworth)
DNF. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
DNF. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
DNF. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
DNF. S. Jones (Honda)
DNF. N. Heidfeld (BMW)

Pole: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:15.170
Fastest Lap: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:14.754
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-70 (Total: 70)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 104 points (9 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 51 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 43 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. F. Alonso (Renault): 43 points (2 2nds, 1 3rd)
5. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 42 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
6. F. Massa (Ferrari): 41 points (3 2nds)
7. J. Button (Honda): 18 points (1 3rd)
8. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
9. S. Jones (Honda): 16 points (Best Result: 2 4ths)
10. J. Trulli (Toyota): 16 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 13 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
12. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
13. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 8 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
14. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
15. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
16. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)
17. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 112 points (9 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 92 points (1 win, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 85 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 54 points (2 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 34 points (1 3rd)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 29 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 21 points (1 2nd)
8. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)
9. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the German Grand Prix at the modified Hockenheimring

[ADx_Wales]

Back to my F1 2010 Career and I am kicking myself:

16th in qualifying for the German GP, it was unexpectedly raining heavily for the race, Full wets for the race, and managed to take many places at the start, up to 9th after several laps and then several spectacular moves on Button, Alonso and Massa.

Several spinners meant when I passed Massa I was 3rd, but then the team said I COULD come in for intermediates, which seemed like the right time to do so, the rain wasnt as torrential, however having switched to Inters the rain started coming down again, and the car was awful to handle, managed to keep hold of 18th place... the boss's suggested target.

Germany : Q 16th R 18th

And for Hungary, not the best either, I was somehow able to completely destroy my Option tyres at the start, even though I took the turns just as well as i did in practice and qually (I qualified 17th), they were getting destroyed, would decide to pit in for primes, which made the car even worse, not a good day at the office over the two weeks.

Hungary: Q 17th R 22nd

[MinardiFan95]

Dave Simpson’s F1 2010 Career (Expert difficulty with driving aids as I only have a controller)

After his performance in the F1RWRS, Dave Simpson was signed by Lotus as a test driver. Following a decision by Heikki Kovalainen to quit the team, Dave became second driver for the race at Spain.

Spain.
The team arrived with high expectations for Simpson, setting goals of 15th in qualy and 12th in the race. Sadly Simpson did not live up to these expectations, retiring after 1 lap.

Monaco.
The team had the same expectations for Monaco, and this being Simpson’s favourite track, he wanted to finish the race.

Qualifying was very interesting, starting off dry and ending wet. Lotus decided to send Simpson out early on the option tyres and the gamble paid off, with the rain bucketing down not long after he finished the lap. This meant he started 3rd behind Button and Alonso.

The race occurred in an absolute deluge, with standing water all across the track. There was even a huge puddle in the tunnel to top things off. Simpson, who was known to be one of the best in the rain back in GP2, got off to a blinder off the start, passing both front row occupants. Alonso drifted wide running into the Armco at the exit of Portier, knocking his front wing off. On lap 3 Schumacher spun from 3rd and took out 4th placed Massa for good measure. Lap 6 Button lost his front wing after spinning at the exit of Loews harpin. This handed 2nd to Vettel, who then proceeded to catch Vettel. Meanwhile, Hamilton had a lose and gave 3rd place to Buemi (!). The Trulli train returned when he was up to 8th place. Simpson maintained the lead, with Vettel catching until on lap 15 of 16 he pitted for no apparent reason. This promoted Buemi to second! Vettel came out in 4th behind Hamilton and that is how the positions stayed, Simpson taking his and Lotus’ first win since returning to the sport.

Positions.
1. Simpson
2. Buemi +23.4
3. Hamilton +24.8
4. Vettel +28.7
...
6. Trulli +37.5

Post race press conference
Interviewer (Holly Samos): How do you feel about today’s result?
Simpson: I’m ecstatic, it’s something I’ll never forget
Interviewer: Are you feeling emotional?
Simpson: Of course. Sorry, I can’t find the words right now.
Interviewer: Will your hard work be recognised?
Simpson: I feel the team are always aware of my efforts.

[Wizzie]

So if I do get to 2009/2010 I have to remember De Bock in a Toro Rosso, Simpson in a Lotus and Rees in a Hispania...

[the Masked Lapwing]

After his performance in the F1RWRS,

One win and no points finishes besides. Still, better than some *cough*Melrose.

[Wizzie]

After his performance in the F1RWRS,

One win and no points finishes besides. Still, better than some *cough*Melrose.

[Wizzie]

After much ramblings the results for France are now up.

[MinardiFan95]

I've been playing F1 2010 online a bit recently and the standards of driving are absolutely terrible. In fact they make Petrov's performance at Suzuka like a race win.

If anyone else here would be interested in some good clean online racing feel free to send me a friend request on PSN (username: thestig-13) with your F1 Rejects username in the message (so I don't think it is some random person who thinks F1 2010 is a demolition derby game).

[Enforcer]

My copy of F12010 finally arrived, some two weeks after I ordered it. (PC, so I can't race you though).

Only given it a quick go over so far, but it looks tidy. Biggest plus point is that the response to my steering wheel (which is no longer supported by new games) was beautiful straight out of the box even on hard difficulty, no rummaging through sub-menus trying to set up steering help/sensitivity just precisely like I had to do with NFS: Shift. It even properly recognises the POV pad I have on it so I can use it to look around. It does however, cut in the clutch when I'm changing down rapidly so I have to use auto gears.

Drove a few quick 3 lap races in a Lotus - last & disastrously slow at Bahrain because I didn't know the track. Finished 22nd from 21st on the grid at Australia which wasn't bad considering I was last after the first corner because I was trying to tip toe around it without hitting anyone and incurring a penalty. Before finishing 15th from 20th on the grid in Malayasia.

The AI doesn't seem outrageously quick though, reckon the only thing stopping me from sailing past half the field are my own errors which I should smooth out with some practice. I'm away this weekend, but after that it's career time.

Only problems so far are the penalties which are bit aggressive, the fact that I reckon the AI may prove a bit soft, and the limited choice of helmet designs Would it have killed them to allow you pick a pattern, and then assign colours to it?

[AndreaModa]

I gave F1 2010 a try out in the local HMV where it was on a PS3. After getting used to the controls (it was set up so you drove as Lewis Hamilton ) I gave it a few laps and I'll happily admit the graphics are superb. It certainly doesn't seem right playing it on a joypad though, give me my keyboard back anyday! And the penalties are simply pathetic, easily along with the screwed AI performances (why was Barrichello stuggling round with Di Grassi in 22nd and 23rd?!) are both the worst factors in the game. I can confirm I won't be buying it.

On a slightly different note however, I regularly mess around on a game boy emulator on my laptop, mostly playing the original pokemon games (re-living the childhood and all that ) and last night I decided to download all the old F1 roms that were kicking about. One of the was called F1 Pole Position and was from 1993. Absolute classic, you could set the car up, choose different engines (Judd, Yamaha or Porsche - true rejects!) and race your own team against all the names from what I presume was the '92 season. Just need to get it to work so I can actually race on it now, it crashes whenever I go to the track

[Wizzie]

Pre-Germany:

Several news items came out in the leadup to Germany. First was the announcement that Sakon Yamamoto has replaced Franck Montagny for the forseeable future but word has it that Anthony Davidson may get a run before the end of the season. Then there was rumour that Red Bull had told Tonio that his services won't be needed after binning his Toro Rosso at the previous round at Magny Cours while in a fairly safe 7th. Tonio responed by resigning with immediate effect forcing Toro Rosso to put Michael Ammermuller in the car for his home race as Scott Speed was unavaliable. There are also rumours that Midland may be bought out by a consortium lead by the Dutch manufacturer Spyker. Finally Super Aguri introduced the SA06 for the first time at the Hockenhiemring for Sato and Yamamoto to drive.

Round 12: Germany

Qualifying:

After the longest streak of poles in Formula 1 history Kimi Raikkonen broke Melrose's streak of 11 poles by putting in a simply awesome lap to put the McLaren on pole. In the end Melrose was also beaten by Felipe Massa in the Ferrari but he was still well in control of the championship as he had Jones and Kovaleinen between himself and Schumacher in 6th. There weren't that many surprises on the grid but the new Super Aguri helped Sato to 20th place while Yamamoto was impressively close to Albers in the sister car.

Grid:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2. F. Massa (Ferrari)
3. D. Melrose (BMW-Sauber)
4. S. Jones (Honda)
5. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. J. Button (Honda)
8. F. Alonso (Renault)
9. P. de la Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
10. R. Schuamcher (Toyota)
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
12. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
13. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
14. J. Trulli (Toyota)
15. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
17. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
18. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
19. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
20. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
21. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
22. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)

Race:
The German Grand Prix was only the second race of the season where Melrose was out of contention for the victory within the first 15 minutes. Infact both Melrose and Heidfeld had ill handling cars for the duration of the race but atleast Melrose was having a better time than the Spanish contingent of De La Rosa and Alonso. The only reason Melrose could salvage a decent haul of points in the first place was because of De La Rosa holding up the field at the rate of several seconds a lap which let Raikkonen, Massa and Melrose skip away. Once Schumacher got past the McLaren it became a 4 way dice between the top 4 for the lion's share of the points. For most of the race the effective order was Massa-Raikkonen-Schumacher-Melrose until Schumacher made a mistake with just under 20 laps to go, lost 15 or so seconds to Melrose and never got back on the podium. Alonso meanwhile was having a miserable day as he had spun on lap 2, collided with Webber early on while climbing back through the field, pitted for a new front wing and became a non-event from that point on. Neel Jani benefitted from DLR's lack of pace, Alonso's brain fade and Kovaleinen's anonymity to finish an excellent 5th in the Toro Rosson and in the process polevaulting Toro Rosso ahead of Red Bull in the standings. Kovaleinen was 6th in the Renault while Button and Coulthard rounded out the points.

Results:
1. F. Massa (Ferrari): 1h 26m 04.234
2. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +22.515
3. D. Melrose (BMW): +54.370
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +55.692
5. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
6. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1 LAP
7. J. Button (Honda): +1 LAP
8. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +1 LAP
9. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1 LAP
10. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
11. F. Alonso (Renault): +1 LAP
12. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +2 LAPS
13. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): +2 LAPS
14. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
15. S. Jones (Honda): +2 LAPS
16. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +2 LAPS
17. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota): +2 LAPS
18. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
19. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
20. F. Montagny (Super Aguri-Honda): +4 LAPS
DNF. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
DNF. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)

Pole: K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:14.563
Fastest Lap: F. Massa (Ferrari): 1:15.484
Leaders: K. Raikkonen: 1-18, 49-53 (Total: 24)
F. Massa: 19-20, 23-48, 54-67 (Total: 41)
M. Schumacher: 21 (Total: 1)
D. Melrose: 22-23 (Total: 2)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 110 points (9 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 56 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. F. Massa (Ferrari): 51 points (1 win, 3 2nds)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 51 points (3 2nds, 3 3rds)
5. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 45 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
6. F. Alonso (Renault): 43 points (2 2nds, 1 3rd)
7. J. Button (Honda): 20 points (1 3rd)
8. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
9. S. Jones (Honda): 16 points (Best Result: 2 4ths)
10. J. Trulli (Toyota): 16 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 13 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
12. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
13. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 8 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
14. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
15. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
16. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 118 points (9 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 107 points (2 wins, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 88 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 62 points (3 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 36 points (1 3rd)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 29 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 21 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)

The next race is the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest

[MinardiFan95]

Formula 1 2010 Season - Round 7 Turkey.

Qualifying: Monaco winner Dave Simpson was struggling with the #19 Lotus in the early part of the session when he hit a corner indicator pole and lost part of the front wing. Initially it was thought to be driver error but telemetry showed that it was caused by a delaminating tyre. The team fixed the damaged car in time to complete another flying lap which saw the Lotus driver take 12th on the grid, in between the two Mercedes'.

Race: An overcast start but no chance of rain meant the drivers could breathe a sigh of relief after the treacherous conditions at Monaco. Simpson was off to a flying start, passing Petrov, Liuzzi and Schumacher to get into 9th, later passing Kubica for 8th. Button took a ticket on the merry-go-round at the end of lap 2 when he spun his McLaren on the exit of the 2nd last corner. Lap 5 Rosberg had caught up to Simpson, attempting a pass at turn 6. Next lap he made the pass, only to lose the position at turn 8. Rosberg pitted on lap 7 and Simpson came in a lap later. It looked like the late stoppers lost out as they rejoined back in the pack. However the fresh tyres helped Simpson and he went on a run from 15th (on corrected order) up to 11th ahead of Rosberg. In the last lap Rosberg challenged for the position but didn't get it. Vettel won from Alonso and Webber.

Results: Qualy - 12th, Race 11th

ROTR: de la Rosa: Hopelessly slow all weekend, beaten by everyone except Senna.
IIDOTR: Chandhok: Can anyone tell me how anyone could drag that dog of a car that is called a HRT into 5th place?

Championship position: 8th (25 pts).


Wizzie could you please put my character Dave Simpson into a Toro Rosso, Midlands or Super Aguri (anyone of them will be fine) seat for the last few rounds of the 2006 season.

[Wizzie]

Wizzie could you please put my character Dave Simpson into a Toro Rosso, Midlands or Super Aguri (anyone of them will be fine) seat for the last few rounds of the 2006 season.

I might be able to slot you into a Midland for the final few races alongside Barrichello as a paydriver who is brought in as part of the Spyker buyout.

[WildZero]

Another one of these things to start up, from a long time lurker and first time poster. Unlike everyone else, since i'm a bit of a stickler for reality and having enjoyed the GP3 series quite a bit for the last year or so, instead of coming up with an entirely new driver, i've decided to give 2009 GP3 series runner up Christian Vietros of Germany the drive of the second HRT car. Wanky I know

Driver name: Christian Vietros
F1R Forum name: WildZero
Software: F1 2010
Hardware: 360
Career status: 1st season, 2nd race (Melbourne) – HRT

In his first race for the debut team, Vietros impressed, qualifying a solid 20th, a good second a half ahead of his much more hyped debutant teamate in Bruno Senna. In the race, Vietros recovered from a slow start to calmly pick off his rivals at the tail end of the field, taking advantage of the mid field runners tripping over each other to gain a few unexpected positions. And when Jarno Trulli spun off the road with 3 laps to go, it was the young German who suprised all by coming hom 15th and leader of the "newcomer" division.

Bahrain: Qual: 20 R: 15

Results:

1.Hamilton
2.Webber
3.Rosberg
4.Alonso
5.Kobayashi
6.Button
7.Kubica
8.Schumacher
9.Vettel
10.Hulkenberg
11.Liuzzi
12.Petrov
13.Buemi
14.Massa
15.Vietoris
16.Trulli
17.Glock
18.Alguesari
19.Sutil
20.Senna
21.Kovalainen
22.Di Grassi
DNF: De La Rosa
DNF: Barrichello

ROTR: Massa for throwing away a potential podium finish
IIDOTR: Kobayashi coming from 14th on the grid to 5th on debut for Sauber

[tommykl]

Don't you mean Christian Vietoris?

[WildZero]

Don't you mean Christian Vietoris?

Yep, sorry 'bout that. I should be in bed with the flu right now, so the proof reading is lacking now.

Completed rd 1 yesterday Sydney time, just knocked off Melbourne just a bit ago.

Once again outqualified Bruno but this time only by a tenth to end up 20th for the second race in sucession. The big story of qualifying was Rosberg failing to post a time and thus starting last. On race day made steady progress through the pack but a spin at the final corner dropped me back and that's where I stayed, with only an unscheduled stop for Rosberg promoting me any further.

Melbourne: Qual 20 R 18

Results:

1. Alonso
2. Hulkenberg
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Vettel
6. Massa
7. Liuzzi
8. Sutil
9. Schumacher
10. Barrichello
11. Webber
12. De La Rosa
13. Button
14. Petrov
15. Kobayashi
16. Buemi
17. Kovalainen
18. Vietoris
19, Alguesuari
20. Rosberg
21. Glock
22. Senna
23. Di Grassi
24. Trulli

ROTR: Co-winners are Webber and Button who tangled whilst fighting for the lead (and lapping me ) thus screwing their races.
IIDOTR: The Incredible Hulk lived up to his name by earning a podium on pace.

On a further note, after seeing the performance disparity between the established teams and the newcomers, the FIA has revived the concept of the Jim Clark Cup to be contested between the 3 new teams for the course of the season to give them something to fight for. The scoring for this will reflect the classic 90's point scoring system of 10-6-4-3-2-1.

Current Drivers points:

=1. Hamilton 37 (1 win)
=1. Alonso 37 (1 win)
=3. Kubica 21
=4. Hulkenberg 19
5. Webber 18
6. Rosberg 15
7. Vettel 12
8. Kobayashi 10
=9. Button 8
=9. Massa 8
=11. Schumacher 6
=11. Liuzzi 6
13. Sutil 4
14. Barrichello 1

Current Constructors points:

=1. Ferrari (1 win) 45
=1. Mclaren (1 win) 45
3. Red Bull 30
=4. Mercedes 21
=4. Renault 21
6. Williams 20
=7. Sauber 10
=7. Force India 10

Current Jim Clark Cup points:

1. Vietoris 16 (1 win)
2. Kovalainen 12 (1 win)
3. Glock 8
4. Trulli 7
5. Senna 6
6. Di Grassi 3

[WildZero]

Alas, my poor suffering 360 has cracked the shits and thus I have lost the game save and two gp's progress i'd made, thus i'll have to start again.

[ADx_Wales]

And so to Spa...

A Lot had happened in the week after the Hungary disaster, in the build-up in the Hungaroring paddock I had been touted to be replacing Pedro De La Rosa, who qualified last around the armco-less Monaco, but then roundly thrashed the opposition (and myself) to finish 10th.

I was put under the media microscope for Spa and had to prove myself, 9th in practice, things were looking good...

Saturday: 99% Chance of Rain.

Bugger, this makes all the difference, practicing to go quick in the dry meant the setup was out of whack for the utterly torrential Qualifying session, 16th is good for a HRT, but lately I'd been suprising everyone, Kolles wanted 15th out of me in qually once again, It didnt happen no matter how much I tried in the rain.

Sunday: Dry as Spa will ever get, and Sunnier than Bahrain will ever get.

Setting up the car to be better in the corners than anyone else pays off sometimes, Force India go looking for the speed, surely it helps to be quicker in braking areas aswell, and for the start of the race I was proving the theory correct, before my pitstop I was up to 9th, well to be exact I was up to 7th as I managed to out-brake 2 of the guys ahead of me, Rosberg was one of them, in all the excitement I forget who the other one was. However the team show my up by not letting me out of my pitbox until all the other cars behind me have got out ahead, you can stick this down to the fun-police ruining my well-earned position, now in 24th, I would have to re-earn it.

Obviously there were going to be people yet to stop, but I now had the less grippy tyres on, however, raising the front wing and favouring a more powerful mapping and hope that cosworth's 8 choirboys wouldnt let me down.

It became a case of one-piece-at-a-time, firstly, Felipe Massa, how he was in 23rd I'll never know, but had a cracking fight on the fast sweeping section leading up to the Final Chicane (what do you mean Bus-stop? it looks nothing like one now), and ahead I went, ahead of him, Buemi, after Eau Rouge I caught him, but had to wait until the braking area for Les Combes, and he defended the inside line, but as I discovered at the start of the race, I could easily take the opponoent around the outside of this corner, which I did, however on the 3rd part of Le Combes before the drop for Bruxelles (the hairpin, It had a turn name after all), Buemi went for a dive, however he ended up spinning and I didnt (?), Massa reacted to this by hitting into Buemi... however no time to wonder, I've got 12th place to chase after (thanks Kolles!!! ).

More pit stops by the guys ahead of me, and I was now in 14th, and chasing Webber, It seemed I would have to settle for a finishing place that HRTs would not really achieve (without me), however, there were slower people ahead of him, Including De La Rosa (!), foot down!..

Webber got by Pedro, at Pouhon, and I caught up to him on the exit to stavelot, but by Blanchimont I was ahead! This has been my best race by far, you can forget the 7th place at canada, all I had to do was stay in 7th, here I've had to work my way up to 12th and be ahead of De La Rosa by the end of the race, from 16th then 24th after the ludicrous pit-stop mess up (which we will forget after this), De Grassi was then ahead of me (!?!?) managed to get by him as if he wasnt there, was now behind webber on the last lap, who had difficulty getting by Barrichello, in 10th, and heading to the Final Chicane, Webber and Rubens tapped......had to get their bearings again, but too late, I WAS AHEAD...

10th Place!!! POINTS AGAIN!!!

Spa: Q 16th / R 10th

The Media decided to shut themselves up, Force India were impressed enough to put themselves into the rumour pot, or maybe someone else did it for them.

And so to Italy... home of the Anticlimax, watch out for me falling apart within 3 laps.

[ADx_Wales]

Another update on my career:

Italy: Qual 8th Race 10th
Singapore: Qual 14th Race 10th

HRT have offerd for me to stay on as Driver 1, Virgin and Lotus have also offerd a deal as their 1st driver aswell, Force India, Sauber and Toro Rosso are taking an interest but havent made an offer yet.

May stick with HRT for season 2. Dont know when the cutoff date is for deciding who to stick or twist with.

[ADx_Wales]

Down to earth with a bump in Suzuka and Korea

Japan: Qual 13th Race 20th
yes i know, utter utter utter.....

Korea: Qual 21st Race 19th

Decided to stick with HRT for 2011 after Suzuka qualifying and this is how they repay me.

The car had a tendency to go around the turns on 1 lap as if it was on rails, and then decide to do the following lap as if gravity had been switched off. Both Venues, utter 'mare. Cannot wait for the season to end.

[Wizzie]

Pre-Hungary:

The Red Bull merry-go-round rolled into Hungary with yet more changes. This time Scott Speed returned in place of Michael Ammermuller while Neel Jani was promoted to the A-Team in a straight swap with Robert Doornbos. There are also rumours that 2 Aussies in the form of F3000 driver Dave Simpson (Former teammate of Melrose back in the Precision Motorsport days) and former Touring Car driver Frank Zimmer are looking for drives with Midland and Super Aguri respectively. Finally Sammy Jones made the somewhat surprising announcement that he will be leaving the Honda team at the end of the season. Rumour has it that he may either go to Ferrari to replace Schumacher should he retire or to McLaren should Raikkonen go elsewhere.

Round 13: Hungary

Qualifying:

Reigning World Champion Daniel Melrose came into Hungary with one goal in mind. Finish on the podium to win the world championship. After Qualifying however he made his task harder as he ended up a disappointing 5th. However he was having a much better time then Schumacher and Alonso were having as they were trapped in the midfield. Their loss was Honda's big gain as Jenson Button put his Honda on pole and Jones wasn't far behind in 3rd with Massa splitting the pair. Raikkonen and De La Rosa were 4th and 6th in the McLarens while Webber hauled his crapbox of a car to an astounding 7th place on the grid.

Grid:
1. J. Button (Honda)
2. F. Massa (Ferrari)
3. S. Jones (Honda)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
5. D. Melrose (BMW)
6. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
7. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
8. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
9. J. Trulli (Toyota)
10. R. Schuamcher (Toyota)
11. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
13. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari)
14. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
15. F. Alonso (Renault)
16. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
17. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
18. R. Doornbos (STR-Ferrari)
19. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
20. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
21. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)

Race:
Just 18 months ago Sauber tester Daniel Melrose was announced as the replacement of Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari just weeks before the Australian Grand Prix. The neutral observers and skeptics were saying that Schumacher would steamroll Melrose and some were even saying that Melrose won't see the end of the 05 season. 18 months later and we're at the Hungaroring. Daniel Melrose was just one podium away from scoring a second world championship and silencing the critics once and for all. Will he do the job around a track he's never driven on before?

Race start and the front row makes a poor getaway. Jones, Raikkonen and De La Rosa all make brilliant starts but the McLarens are trapped by the slow starting Massa and the average starting Melrose respectively. Melrose then blasted down the inside of Raikkonen on the run to the first corner and was side by side with Massa all the way through turn 1. Melrose wasn't going to give way, Raikkonen stuck his nose down the insider on the exit of one for the outside line into 2 and Massa was hellbent on staying third. It nearly ended in tears as Massa ran over the edge of the exit kerb forcing Melrose to take evasive action as Massa oversteered across the track. In turn Melrose unwittingly shut the door on Raikkonen forcing the Finn to drop down to the back of the field.

Over the first 6 or so laps Jones skipped away at the rate of a second a lap from Button, Melrose, Massa and De La Rosa who were pulling away from Trulli and co at a similar rate. Massa got impatient in the cue though and blasted past Melrose on lap 7, dived down the inside of Button on lap 9 and immediatly set off after Jones. Melrose then drove around the outside of Button on lap 13 after the Brit got caught in traffic and immediatly started pulling away. De La Rosa got by Button at the first stops and once everything had settled down the order was Massa from Jones, Melrose and De La Rosa.

De La Rosa however wanted that third place from Melrose and was harassing the Australian throughout the second stint until he pitted first on lap 44. Melrose then pulled out 3 good laps, pitted and stayed in third. De La Rosa and Button collided the next lap putting Jenso out of the race and forcing Pedro into the pits for a new nose all but guaranteeing Melrose the third place he needed for the Championship. However Melrose on the new tyres was going like a rocketship. He put up several very quick laps which got him ahead of Jones. Sammy however didn't give up 2nd place easily as he hounded Melrose all the way to the finish.

In the end Massa won the race by over half a minute from Melrose who stole the day by becoming the youngest ever dual World Champion, the first World Champion to win a championship outside the "Big 4" teams since Nelson Piquet in 1983 and the first World Champion to win consecutive titles in 2 different teams since Juan Manuel Fangio. De La Rosa was 4th while Ralf Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld were a lap down in 5th and 6th respectively. Heikki Kovaleinen finished 7th in the Renault while Christijan Albers put in one of his best drives to score Midland's first world championship point. Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher all had miserable days as they only finished 10th, 13th and 18th respectively.

Results:
1. F. Massa (Ferrari): 1h 30m 33.684
2. D. Melrose (BMW): +37.698
3. S. Jones (Honda): +38.269
4. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +1:03.597
5. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1 LAP
6. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +1 LAP
7. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +2 LAPS
8. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): +2 LAPS
9. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
10. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +3 LAPS
11. J. Trulli (Toyota): +3 LAPS
12. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
13. F. Alonso (Renault): +3 LAPS
14. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
15. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
16. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari): +3 LAPS
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +4 LAPS
18. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +4 LAPS
19. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota): +4 LAPS
20. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +6 LAPS
21. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda): +6 LAPS
DNF. J. Button (Honda)

Pole: J. Button (Honda): 1:14.676
Fastest Lap: F. Massa (Ferrari): 1:15.025
Leaders: S. Jones: 1-20 (Total: 20)
F. Massa: 21-23, 26-70 (Total: 48)
J. Button: 24-25 (Total: 2)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 118 points (9 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 61 points (2 wins, 3 2nds)
3. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 56 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 51 points (3 2nds, 3 3rds)
5. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 47 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
6. F. Alonso (Renault): 43 points (2 2nds, 1 3rd)
7. S. Jones (Honda): 22 points (1 3rd)
8 J. Button (Honda): 20 points (1 3rd)
9. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
10. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 17 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
11. J. Trulli (Toyota): 16 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
12. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 11 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
14. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
18. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 129 points (9 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 117 points (3 wins, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 90 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 67 points (3 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 42 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 33 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 21 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
10. Midland F1 Racing Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul but first Daniel Melrose is now open for another round of questions.

[ADx_Wales]

And with the nightmare of the trip to Asia for a triumvirate of quasi-tragic performances, as the song goes, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again, In Brazil.

Made sure I was not going to screw up around the turns of Interlagos, high downforce setup, and did as many laps as i could on the option tyre, 12th in practice, 10th in Qually, however in the 20 minute race to claim your gridslot, I tried to go compromise by trying to get as close to 10th place as possible and hope that someone would be faster than me and knock me back to 11th, my gamble failed, would have to start from 10th on 10% worn option tyres...

...Which kind of messed my race up in a way, had a great start though, up to 8th on the first turn, bracing myself and slamming the brakes on. however became the leader of the Interlagos Conga for the rest of the field, until I pitted, and once again was held up by the guys who were behind me getting past because my Lollipop-man was too safety concious...the chicken.

Once everyone had their pitstops I was 19th...there were a number of spinners in the infield towards the end of the race, managed to get 16th as I crossed the line, my target for the race was once again, De La Rosa, he was 14th, however with my HRT deal for 2011 signed, Sauber didnt appear to have their eye on me.

18th in the standings with Abu Dhabi to go, I think I'm gonna stay there.

[AndreaModa]

Melrose, you've taken firstly Schumacher's own team, Ferrari and now the previously unsuccessful Sauber team now with BMW backing to world championships in consecutive years. I'm curious to know what it's like playing GP4 on 10% difficulty...

No, in all seriousness congratulations on a second title. Are there any plans to switch teams in the future and take another team to championship glory in such emphatic style?

[the Masked Lapwing]

Melrose, you've taken firstly Schumacher's own team, Ferrari and now the previously unsuccessful Sauber team now with BMW backing to world championships in consecutive years. I'm curious to know what it's like playing GP4 on 10% difficulty...

No, in all seriousness congratulations on a second title. Are there any plans to switch teams in the future and take another team to championship glory in such emphatic style?

Melrose to take HRT to glory in 2010?

[Wizzie]

No, in all seriousness congratulations on a second title. Are there any plans to switch teams in the future and take another team to championship glory in such emphatic style?

Thank you for the congratulations Mr Jones. You had a pretty good race yourself... If it wasn't for traffic you probably would have flown past me. Anyways my current plans are to stay put at BMW Sauber for the next few seasons but I've always wanted to drive for Williams since I was a kid back in my karting days.

[ADx_Wales]

Just about to start the final race of the 2010 season, 11th in qualifying at Abu Dhabi, Kolles wants to end on a high, and not in his house.

[ADx_Wales]

Live Update: With Hulkenberg Blocking Button, Adrian Rees is able to get past into 5th before Hulkenberg Pits, and with 6 laps to go Rees COULD unrejectify himself in this final round of the season!

EDIT: Live Update: Alonso and Webber pit late in the race, Rees up to 2nd!!!

Edit again: Another Live Update: With 2 laps to go, Rees VISIBLY closer to Hamilton in first place!

[ADx_Wales]

<insert commentator's name here>: Rees is ALLL OVER THE BACK OF HAMILTON as they pass underneath the hotel theres only 3 turns to go!!!

Hamilton brakes earlier into the final turn, THEYRE SIDE BY SIDE!!!!..........

[ADx_Wales]

....And Hamilton Wins!!!! WHOAH WHAT A CLOSE ONE!!! Rees will not feel dismayed by that one but McLaren will have to heap praise on Mercedes for getting them to the finish line ahead of what has essentially been a drive that not even Hollywood could make up...

Adrian Rees will be on the podium for the first time in his career, which will also mean that a certain website that has been keeping tabs on him will have to stop taking an interest, as he has clearly achieved all that was required for him to not become one of the rejected drivers of F1...

...theres Colin Kolles, in tears.....well its been hard work for the man, all season long, as it has been for the rest of the Hispania team, but I dont think even he was expecting a drive of this magnitude from Rees...

The HRT mechanics are jumping for joy, this is their best ever finish aswell, they did everything they could for their driver, especially on the pitstop, what a fantastic one it was too, for those that didnt blink you would have seen how good it was...

...back to the studio...

[WildZero]

After my career game crashed and wip[ed the first few gps i'd done for HRT, I cracked the shits and decided to a complete season through Grand Prix mode. The tough decision of who and which team to guide was decided when I picked Renault and Robert Kubica to give the Pole the GP win he has deserved so much in 2010.

Bahrain: Qual 2 R 2:

Had a great qualifying session, only missing the top spot by a tenth. On race day made a good start but got jumped by Webber and Alonso to be 4th and the end of lap one. By the stops had picked them both of and was closing on Vettel, before an average stop dropped me back behind them again. In the run to the flag I picked of both of them and closed down Vettel at quite a rate, but couldn't get ahead and trailed the Red Bull home by 3/10 of a second.

Results:

1. Vettel (Pole)
2. Kubica
3. Alonso
4. Webber
5. Hamilton
6. Button
7. Massa
8. Petrov
9. Hulkenberg
10. Kobayashi

Australia: Qual 9 R 4:

Couldn't get any speed out of it in Q3 and started 9th, a disappointment after Bahrain. But on race day a few tweaks saw the car a lot faster, clawing my way up to 3rd behind Webber and Massa at the stops. Average strategy saw me drop back to 5th in a 3 way fight whilst Vettel and Alonso stayed out and built a lead. Into the last made an ambitious move on Webber and spun off, taking Massa with me, I recovered but alas he ended up in the fence. Limped home 4th with a flat tyre and for the second straight race took the fastest lap.

Results:

1. Vettel
2. Alonso
3. Webber (Pole)
4. Kubica
5. Button
6. Hamilton
7. Kovalainen
8. Liuzzi
9. Barrichello
10. Kobayashi

Malaysia: Qual 9 R DNF

On one of my least fave circuits of the year, couldn't find any balance at all and only a desperate attack got me through to Q3, only to crash into Petrov and put him out of the session (and give him a 5 place penalty, whoops). On race day, drove like a nutter to keep near the front and stayed out wobbling round on option tyres, but when the rain came found a bit of pace and charged back up the leader board but made a nutter move on Button and ended the race on the side of the track.

Results:

1. Rosberg
2. Webber (Pole)
3. Alonso
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Liuzzi
7. Hulkenberg
8. Schumacher
9. Vettel
10. Buemi

China: Qual 20 R 2

Like Malaysia had no speed at all through practice and qualifying, starting a lowly 20th. But hurrah on race day it was raining with the weather predicting to clear late in the race, so I gambled on a full wet up. After a quick start I tore through the field, being 11th at the end of lap 1, 4th by lap 3 and second and all over Vettel by lap 6. After that spent the rest of the race in a 4 way battle with Vettel, Webber and Hamilton a long way ahead of the rest of the field. The first set of stops seperated the group a bit as Webber dropped back and on intermediates I was a lot quicker than Vettel but still couldn't get past. With 10 to go Vettel and pretty much the rest of the field dove into the pits for dry tyes I gambled and stayed out hoping the gap would be enough. For the first few laps of the stint I thought the gamble had paid off, but with 6 to go Vettel and Hamilton started closing at the rate of 3-4 seconds a lap, the Red Bull and McLaren doing fastest laps while I struggled on fading intermediates, going into the last lap with a small gap on Vettel I thought I was safe, but a locked brake saw Vettel get a run on the outside, going side by side we touched wheels and he spun onto the grass, allowing Hamilton to pass up both. But I wasn't going to let the elusive win go by without a fight and made a kamikaze attack on Hamilton into the final 2 turns and with a quicker run onto the pit straight to the finish lunged at the McLaren, but just fell short. The final result said the gap was 0.0 seconds.

Results:

1. Hamilton
2. Kubica
3. Vettel (Pole)
4. Alonso
5. Webber
6. Schumacher
7. Kobayashi
8. Petrov
9. Button
10. Massa

Drivers points after Round 4:

1. Vettel - 67 (2 wins)
2. Alonso - 60 (1 X 2nd)
= 3. Hamilton - 55 (1 win)
= 3. Webber - 55
5. Kubica - 48
6. Rosberg - 25 (1 win)
7. Button - 20
8. Massa - 17
= 9. Liuzzi - 12
= 9. Schumacher - 12
=11. Hulkenberg - 8
=11. Kobayashi - 8
=11. Petrov - 8
14. Kovalainen - 6
15. Barrichello - 2
16. Buemi - 1

Constructors points:

1. Red Bull - 122 (2 wins)
2. Ferrai - 77
3. McLaren - 75 (1 win)
4. Renault - 56
5. Mercedes - 37 (1 win)
6. Force India - 12
7. Williams - 10
8. Sauber - 8
9. Lotus - 6
10. Torro Rosso - 1

[MinardiFan95]

Round 8 - Canada

Dave Simpson was looking forward to the Canadian GP due to its tight and twisty layout that has been known to produce a few exciting races over the years.

Qualifying
Hamilton took pole position from Alonso and Massa. Simpson lined up in 6th.

Race:
Another decent start saw Simpson battling for a top 5 position into the first corner, passing Button for 5th and a few corener later passing Webber for 4th. On lap 3 Massa and Button pitted, a costly mistake for both of them. Alonso and Hamilton came in a lap later, leaving Simpson in the lead from Webber. Simpson then pitted, coming out in front of Alonso who was held up by Senna. Hamilton was also stuck behind a slower car, the Sauber of de la Rosa. Speaking of the Saubers, they were on very long runs on the prime tyres with de la Rosa coming in on lap 10 and Kobayashi coming in on the penultimate lap.
Button and Massa both had very worn tyres and had to pit again. Webber, who started on hard tyres leapfrogged both Hamilton and Simpson after pitting. Simpson passed Hamilton on lap 10 and stayed in 2nd until the finish.

Results. (Qualy 6th, Race 2nd)

1. Webber
2. Simpson
3. Hamilton
4 . Rosberg
...
23. Trulli

Points: 43 (7th)

Next up is Valencia, a track not exactly renowned for it's exciting racing.

[ADx_Wales]

Adrian Rees, 2010 Season in Review.

Total Points: 28 (15th in driver standins)
Hispania 10th in Constructor standings, ahead of Lotus and Virgin.

Round, (Qual), Race
Bahrain: (19) 16
Australia: (24) 23
Malaysia: (17) 24
China: (24) 20
Spain: (24) 24 ("Worst race of my season")
Monaco: (24) 22
Turkey: (17) 14
Canada: (7) 7 (6 Points)
Europe: (14) 10 (1 Point)
Britain: (21) 16
Germany: (16) 18 (Could have been 3rd if not pitted in rain)
Hungary: (17) 22
Belgium: (16) 10 (1 Point "Best race up to that point")
Italy: (8) 10 (1 Point)
Singapore: (14) 10 (1 Point)
Japan: (13) 20
Korea: (21) 19
Brazil: (10) 16
Abu Dhabi: (11) 2 (18 points, "Clearly the best race of the year for us")

Will be in the #20 car for 2011, Senna sticking around too. Kolles wants consistant points finishing next year.

[Wizzie]

Pre-Turkey:

The silly season kicked into Top Gear today with one of the biggest announcements of the decade. 7 time Formula One World Champion and one of the greats of the sport Michael Schumacher announced on Thursday that he is retiring from the sport at the end of this season. He made his decision of former teammate Melrose's championship win at the last round in Hungary and he said he aims to finish the year on a high note. Ferrari won't announce a replacement until after the Italian Grand Prix but the smart money is on Kimi Raikkonen filling the empty Ferrari seat while Englishman Sammy Jones is tipped to follow his countrymen Chris Dagnall and David Coulthard and fill the vacant seat at McLaren.

There was news out of Renault aswell that Giancarlo Fisichella of all people is on the shortlist of potential teammates to Kovaleinen next season. This shortlist also includes McLaren refugee Juan Pablo Montoya and 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve. Finally on Thursday night a news article out of Finland nearly pushed Schumacher off the front page. The article stated that Double World Champion Mika Hakkinen is planning to return for one last hurrah but for which team remains a mystery.

Round 14: Turkey

Qualifying:

Qualifying for the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix turned out to be one of the best qualifying sessions of the season as Michael Schumacher, Daniel Melrose and Fernando Alonso all duked it out for pole position. Initially Melrose set the benchmark which Alonso instantly better to go to the top with a 1:25.6. On his second flying lap of his first sting Melrose instantly bettered that mark with a 25.5 while Schumacher was down in the midfield. The action upfront died down until Alonso's third run put him on provisional pole with a 25.4 for about a minute before Schumacher came steaming round to lap the Ferrari in 1:25.2 Melrose went out for a third and final run in the BMW Sauber and went around in a 1:24.942 which put him in the box seat. Alonso's 4th and final run fell just short of the mark with a 25.120 but Michael Schumacher proved that the old magic is still there even though he's behind Massa in the standings by putting the Ferrari on pole with a lap record pace of 1:24.845. In the end Kovaleinen was 4th while Raikkonen and Massa were 5th and 6th which meant the top 6 in the standings were the top 6 on the grid. Further down the grid Neel Jani was over half a second faster than teammate David Coulthard while Mark Webber put his Williams in 10th place on the grid.

Grid:
1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2. D. Melrose (BMW)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
6. F. Massa (Ferrari)
7. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
8. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
9. J. Button (Honda)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
11. S. Jones (Honda)
12. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
13. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
14. C. Albers (Midland-Toyota)
15. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari)
16. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)
17. J. Trulli (Toyota)
18. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
19. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
20. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
21. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth)

Qualifying 2:

In a farce never seen before the FIA were inundated with complaints from the teams about the traffic during qualifying. The FIA had learnt from last year that Turkey is the most problematic track when it comes to traffic other than Monaco and the FIA faced a choice to either penalise 13 separate drivers including Daniel Melrose or not. In the end alot of political ramblings in the Pirahna Club led to a second qualifying session on Sunday morning. Daniel Melrose immediatly came firing out of the box with a banker time which was within 0.007 of his best the day before. Then came the surprise of the session when Felipe Massa did a 1:24.621 which wasn't to be beaten for the rest of the session. Saturday poleman Michael Schumacher was left behind in a disappointing 6th while Jarno Trulli and Neel Jani both benefitted greatly.

Grid:
1. F. Massa (Ferrari)
2. D. Melrose (BMW)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. J. Button (Honda)
8. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
9. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
10. J. Trulli (Toyota)
11. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari)
12. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
13. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
14. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
15. S. Jones (Honda)
16. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
17. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth)
18. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
19. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
20. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
21. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)


Race:
BMW's Daniel Melrose scored himself yet another win this season with a top-drawer drive in what was an inferior package to the Massa/Ferrari combo. Melrose lost the start yet again and immeditaly started doing what he needed to do to win the Grand Prix. For the entire first stint Melrose pinned the gap to Massa to under 3 seconds and by the time Melrose came in on lap 20 the gap was down to 1.4 seconds. Slick pitstop work and some brilliant out laps did the job for Melrose as once the first stops filtered themselves out he found himself a few seconds up the road from Massa which was how it remained until the end of the race. Fernando Alonso finished 3rd as he was the only driver capable of keeping up with Massa and Melrose. Kovaleinen scored more points in 4th while Button was the best of the rest in 5th. Ralf Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld and Sammy Jones rounded out the minor placings while Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli got together early putting both out of the race. McLaren were disappointing with De La Rosa stuck in 10th behind Webber's Williams after being in points contention for most of the race until a pit bungle near the end meant that DLR had to cue behind Kimi who had a shocker in 14th and 2 laps down. Raikkonen's race was so crap that Christijan Albers put a move on the Finn just before Raikkonen's second stop.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 24m 18.667
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): +8.336
3. F. Alonso (Renault): +22.892
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +50.397
5. J. Button (Honda): +1:06.549
6. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1 LAP
7. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +1 LAP
8. S. Jones (Honda): +1 LAP
9. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +1 LAP
10. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
11. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): +2 LAPS
12. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
13. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
14. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +2 LAPS
15. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
17. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
18. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth): +4 LAPS
19. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota): +4 LAPS
20. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +4 LAPS
DNF. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
DNF. J. Trulli (Toyota)

Pole: F. Massa (Ferrari): 1:24.621
Fastest Lap: F. Massa (Ferrari): 1:25.632
Leaders: F. Massa: 1-25, 41-43 (Total: 28)
F. Alonso: 26, 44 (Total: 2)
D. Melrose: 27-40, 45-58 (Total: 28)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 128 points (10 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 69 points (2 wins, 4 2nds)
3. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 56 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 52 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 51 points (3 2nds, 3 3rds)
6. F. Alonso (Renault): 49 points (2 2nds, 2 3rds)
7 J. Button (Honda): 24 points (1 3rd)
8. S. Jones (Honda): 23 points (1 3rd)
9. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 20 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
11. J. Trulli (Toyota): 16 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
12. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 13 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
14. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
18. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 141 points (10 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 125 points (3 wins, 6 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 101 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 67 points (3 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 47 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 36 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 21 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
10. Midland F1 Racing Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

The next race is at the historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza which plays host to the Italian Grand Prix where it'll be the party of the decade for Schumacher's last Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari.

[Wizzie]

Qualifying results now up

[Wizzie]

I've just discovered something... I've realised that a bug with GP4 has meant that the Turkish Grand Prix was given 44 laps (Which was the race distance for Spa which was the track it replaced) not 58 so I have to do qualifying AGAIN

I've already used up my one demon lap...

[Wizzie]

Race results for Istanbul not Constantinople now up.