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2012 FORMULA ONE > NICO ROSBERG CLAIMED HIS MAIDEN F1 RACE VICTORY

April 15, 2012 6:17 pm / Leave a Comment /

Nico Rosberg took a perfectly-judged maiden victory at an enthralling Chinese GP that was dominated by tyre strategy.The result made Rosberg the first new winner since Mark Webber took victory in the 2009 German Grand Prix. Read the full news by Matt Beer fro Autosport below. Photo credit to Mercedes AMG Petronas FB.

NICO ROSBERG TAKES COMMANDING MAIDEN F1 WIN IN THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX

Nico Rosberg finally claimed his maiden Formula 1 race victory, and a first win for the modern incarnation of the factory Mercedes team, with a commanding drive in a thrilling Chinese Grand Prix.

The result made Rosberg the first new winner since Mark Webber took victory in the 2009 German Grand Prix. The last triumph for a works Mercedes was back in the 1955 Italian GP with Juan Manuel Fangio.

McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

At a track where he had led only to fade in each of the last two years, Rosberg ensured he stayed at the head of an absorbing race in which myriad tyre strategies played out through a lead pack that sometimes grew to a dozen cars.

Not only did drivers vary between two and three pitstops, but there were huge differences in stint length. Despite Mercedes’ tyre difficulties in the opening two 2012 races, this time the team handled the rubber perfectly – allowing Rosberg to deploy a textbook two-stop strategy and keep himself ahead of most of the action.

The German pulled away from his team-mate Michael Schumacher in the opening laps, soon establishing a four-second lead. Schumacher’s chance to feature in the lead battle then ended when he retired with an incorrectly fitted right-front wheel immediately after his first pitstop.

Button was Rosberg’s main threat thereafter. A great start immediately took him to third, and he was catching Rosberg on a three-stop plan for a while, only for Rosberg’s pace immediately after his final stop to secure his victory even before Button’s lost several seconds with a left rear wheel issue at his final pitstop.

Kimi Raikkonen’s two-stopping Lotus held second going into the closing stages, but trying to do half the race on his third set of tyres proved too optimistic, and he tumbled from second to 14th in just a handful of laps.

Vettel, following a similar strategy, was first to pass Raikkonen, and looked like he might salvage second from his qualifying disaster. He could not hold off the McLarens or Webber with their fresher tyres from a three-stop strategy, with Button getting through five laps from the end and Hamilton and Webber doing likewise amid a thrilling tussle over the last two laps. Webber took fourth despite his first pitstop coming as early as lap six, and two trips off the road – one of which featured a wild flight over the Turn 13 kerbs.

While Raikkonen fell back, his team-mate Romain Grosjean did a two-stop plan with a very long middle stint and was able to battle to sixth, ahead of Williams duo Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado.

Erstwhile championship leader Fernando Alonso was ninth for Ferrari, having lost a little ground running off-track trying to pass Maldonado.

Sauber was a factor in this pack but could not repeat its Malaysian heroics. Kamui Kobayashi fell back with a poor start and finished 10th, just ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez, who led for a while on a two-stop plan. Paul di Resta (Force India) and Felipe Massa – who also led for a spell in his Ferrari – followed them home.

Information credit to Autosport.

Posted in: ! Motorsport, Auto News, Formula 1, Mercedes Benz / Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

LOTUS F1 ENDS TITLE SPONSORSHIP DEAL

April 7, 2012 7:45 pm / 1 Comment /

Lotus F1 Team has terminated its title sponsorship deal with Group Lotus, but remains committed to keeping the Lotus name in F1, despite no longer having ties with the company behind it. Read the full news by Jonathan Noble from Autosport below.Photo credit to EPA.

LOTUS F1 TEAM COMMITTED TO NAME DESPITE END OF TITLE SPONSOR DEAL

Lotus has terminated its title sponsorship deal with sportscar manufacturer Group Lotus, AUTOSPORT can reveal, but remains wholly committed to keeping the famous name in Formula 1 for the future.

On the back of financial uncertainties for Group Lotus, which was recently sold by Proton to Malaysian automotive conglomerate DRB-Hicom, Lotus F1′s team owner Genii Capital has ended its formal relationship with the marque.

AUTOSPORT understands that Genii owner Gerard Lopez recently agreed a deal for the title sponsorship deal, which was originally put together in 2010, to be cancelled, as well as an old option that Proton had to buy 50% of the team annulled.

Speaking about the situation, Lopez told AUTOSPORT: “The sponsorship agreement and the obligations of Lotus have been terminated. There is no option from Group Lotus to buy into F1 now – that option was taken over by us. There was one, but we have taken it over now.”

Although the end of the Group Lotus sponsorship tie-up means a change of plans for the team, Lopez says that he remains committed to the Lotus name.

“We are happy to carry the Lotus name as we believe it is a good name for F1,” he explained. “We funded the team last year and the year before for whatever delta was missing. We would prefer to have sponsors up to the full amount – but if we have to fund it then we will fund it.

“When we changed the name from Lotus Renault to Lotus [for this year], it opened up the door for a title sponsor. So if you take into account the fact we signed Unilever, probably the biggest sponsorship agreement this year in F1, and we signed Microsoft, which is huge news as it is a brand that has never been in F1 before, we have a wide space for sponsorship.

“If we sign a title sponsor now, we will end up with a better cash flow situation than this team ever had before.”

Lopez has previously been linked with a potential takeover of Group Lotus, having held talks with Proton before it was recently sold, but he says the situation for him at present is unclear in light of the DRB-Hicom deal.

When asked if he would be interested in buying Group Lotus, Lopez said: “We don’t know yet, because we really do not know what the new owner wants to do with it.”

Posted in: Auto News, Formula 1, Lotus, PROTON / Tagged: , , , , , ,

2012 FORMULA ONE > AUSTRALIAN GP – RACE REPORT BY LOTUS F1 TEAM

March 19, 2012 7:01 pm / Leave a Comment /

Kimi Raikkonen mounted a superb comeback charge, slicing through the field from his P18 grid slot to finish well inside the points in 7th. While Romain retired at turn 13. Romain’s retirement was caused by a collision with Pastor Maldonado at turn 13, where the Williams driver made contact with his right front wheel, breaking the steering.Read more news from Lotus F1 Team report below.Photo credit to Lotus F1 Team FB – Charles Coates/LAT Photographic.

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX – RACE REPORT

Lotus F1 Team kicked off the 2012 Formula 1 season with a day of mixed emotions in Melbourne, as Kimi mounted a superb comeback charge and Romain’s fairytale weekend came to a cruel and premature end.

Despite a few clouds lingering over the Albert Park circuit, the downpours that affected Friday’s running were nowhere to be seen as the paddock was blessed with ideal weather for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

After a difficult day on Saturday, in which a combination of driving and communication errors confined him to a lowly P18 on the grid, Kimi came slicing through the field to finish well inside the points in 7th. The Finn got a good start but was immediately hindered by an accident at the first turn, which forced him to slow almost to a stop and take to the grass in avoidance.

It seemed like this was not to be Kimi’s weekend, as he now faced an uphill battle to recover the places he had gained off the start line once more. In typical fashion, the 2007 World Champion kept his cool and made rapid progress through the field, breaking into the top 10 (pit stop adjusted) by lap 19, and climbing from P10 to P7 on the final lap of the race.

Having started on the yellow marked soft compound tyres Kimi made two pit stops, opting for a soft-soft-medium strategy. The final stop was made during a safety car period, which proved to be another hindrance to his progress – a frustration that just about summed up the Finn’s weekend. Nonetheless, Kimi can be proud of what was a composed, consistent, and highly encouraging return to the sport.

Romain’s weekend on the other hand unfortunately took the opposite turn to that of his team-mate. Having mastered his E20 to an impressive 3rd place grid slot on Saturday on his first visit to the Albert Park circuit, the Frenchman’s race came to an abrupt end just 3 laps into proceedings, after contact with Pastor Maldonado’s Williams at turn 13 forced him to retire with broken steering.

Romain was understandably disappointed to have his dream weekend ended in such an unjust manner, but remained upbeat after a highly promising start to his first full season in Formula 1. The Frenchman was quick to praise the efforts of the team and look ahead to the next race in Malaysia.

Round 2 of the World Championship takes us to Kuala Lumpur next weekend, March 23-25 where the team will be looking to build on the potential shown here in Australia this weekend.

Posted in: ! Motorsport, Auto News, Formula 1, Lotus / Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

2012 FORMULA ONE > JENSON BUTTON WINS AUSTRALIAN GP

March 18, 2012 8:29 pm / Leave a Comment /

McLaren’s Jenson Button took his first victory at the 2012 season-opening Australian Grand Prix ahead of a tight battle between Sebastian Vettel in second and Lewis Hamilton in third.Crucially, Button led into the first corner ahead of McLaren team-mate Hamilton and from that point onwards he never looked like relinquishing his lead.Read the full news from Autosport below.Photo credit to sportinglife.aol.

JENSON BUTTON STORMS TO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX VICTORY

Jenson Button opened the 2012 Formula 1 world championship with a commanding victory for McLaren in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

World champion Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) managed to get up to second from sixth on the grid, fending off pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren and the second Red Bull of Mark Webber.

Fernando Alonso salvaged fifth place from Ferrari’s difficult weekend, having proved much more competitive in the race.

Button claimed the lead at the start with a better getaway than his pole-sitting team-mate, and then quickly established a lead of three seconds, which stayed stable through the opening stint.

The two Mercedes occupied third and fourth initially, but Vettel overtook Nico Rosberg on the second lap, and Michael Schumacher’s run in third lasted only until lap 10, when he retired with a gearbox problem. That elevated Vettel into third, but the champion was 12 seconds down on the McLarens by then and could make little impression.

Third-place qualifier Romain Grosjean (Lotus) dropped to sixth off the line, and was another early retirement when he clashed with Williams’s Pastor Maldonado on lap two. Maldonado would lose ground with a trip through the Turn 6 gravel three laps later, but rejoined in ninth.

The gap between the McLarens grew to 10s at the first stops when Hamilton emerged behind Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Sergio Perez (Sauber), who were running extremely long first stints.

That allowed a train of cars to develop for second, as Vettel gained and brought Alonso – who made a great start then jumped Rosberg in the first pitstops – with him, and Rosberg, Webber and the recovering Maldonado closed in too. Webber had initially fallen back with a poor start and a first corner clash with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, who had to retire.

The lead order remained static until Vitaly Petrov’s Caterham brought out a safety car by stopping on the pits straight with a steering problem in the middle of the final pitstop sequence.

The McLarens had both just stopped, whereas Vettel had not, and the Red Bull was able to get in for its tyre change under the safety car and get back out between Button and Hamilton.

Vettel was still no threat to Button, though, as the 2009 champion confidently pulled away from his successor at the restart and left the Red Bull to fend off Hamilton through the final stint.

Webber also benefited from pitting under the safety car to get in front of Alonso at the last stops. The Ferrari could not keep up with the Red Bull thereafter, and as Webber chased Vettel and Hamilton home, Alonso had to focus on successfully defending fifth from Maldonado – who made the task easier when he crashed heavily on the very last lap.

Behind, a huge battle between the Saubers of one-stopper Perez and Kamui Kobayashi, Rosberg’s Mercedes – which fell back with tyre wear and early pitstops – and Raikkonen also ended in last-lap drama, as Kobayashi emerged with sixth ahead of Raikkonen and Perez, while Rosberg’s Mercedes tumbled to 12th.

The final-lap chaos ahead allowed Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo to pick up his first F1 points at home with ninth place, despite having lost ground in a first-corner clash with Bruno Senna (Williams), which also sent Jean-Eric Vergne off the road in the sister Toro Rosso. Paul di Resta completed the top 10 for Force India.

Felipe Massa briefly made it into the top 10 in the second Ferrari, but struggled with poor pace and high tyre wear, making three stops and falling back to 13th before retiring with damage following a collision with Senna.

Credit to Autosport.

Posted in: ! Motorsport, Auto News, Formula 1 / Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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