Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel claims pole poistion in Abu Dhabi

Sebastian Vettel will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix just where he wants, on pole position after lapping his Red Bull in 1m 39.394s. But the most important qualifying session of the year was a major disappointment for team mate Mark Webber who managed only fifth place in 1m 39.925s and will be separated from Vettel by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Earlier, Hamilton had been fortunate to avoid contact with Felipe Massa when, after a big slide on his first lap in Q2, he’d had to back off the pace and resumed just as the Ferrari was alongside. The former champion walloped a camera pole, but his McLaren did not sustain any damage and he recovered his momentum brilliantly to lap second quickest before his time eventually left him fifth in that session.

Pacquiao vs. Margarito and F1 Finale: Two Sporting Events Hard to Miss this Weekend

Two important sporting events are happening this weekend.

The ever popular and the Hon. Manny Pacquiao, our Congressman in Sarangani Province will once again go up to the ring to fight the not so popular Antonio Margarito for the vacant World Boxing Council super welterweight division. Where else would this event be held? There's no other place to hold  a fight as huge as this than in the gambling capital of the US, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Racing fanatics on the other hand, will have to fasten their seat belts to watch the finale of the Formula 1 race in Abu Dhabi featuring four title contenders for the most coveted 2010 Formula 1 Champion.

Manny Pacquiao's fight against Margarito has already been labeled as lopsided and very predictable. Manny's coach Freddie Roach predicted "the fight will be short and sweet". Many people consider that if Manny is serious with pounding hard Margarito, the fight will be over in just one round. What can make this fight exciting and interesting for us Filipinos? Well, after Manny has boxed out Margarito, he will  claim  his 8th championship title never been done before by any professional boxer since its inception (really???). That's how great Manny is! He should be regarded then as the best pound for pound king following this fight, after Mayweather Jr. reclaimed this title earlier this year.

Formula 1: Hamilton took Singapore Grand Prix

After 61 punishing laps of the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday, the podium featured not one team or driver in the running for the 2009 championship. Instead it was McLaren, Toyota, and Renault celebrating.However, Jenson Button and Brawn left Singapore quietly satisfied, the former having extended his championship lead to 15 points, the latter having all but wrapped up the constructors’ crown with three rounds remaining…Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

Formula 1: Massa to miss Hungarian Grand Prix after undergoing surgery

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa will not race in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix following his high-speed qualifying crash at the Hungaroring, the team have confirmed. Massa was airlifted to AEK Hospital in Budapest, where he is in a stable condition.

Formula 1: Massa’s condition improving says official

Injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s condition is said to be improving, according to a Hungarian government official. Massa remains stable in a Budapest hospital following his high-speed crash at the Hungaroring on Saturday, in which his helmet was struck by a loose spring from the car of fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

Formula 1: Hamilton earns first victory in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton brought McLaren their first victory of the season after a surprise result in Hungary on Sunday afternoon, his dominant success also marking Martin Whitmarsh’s first as team principal and the first for a KERS-equipped car. Kimi Raikkonen was second for Ferrari, containing a challenge from Mark Webber’s Red Bull.

Formula 1: Webber and Vettel to get equal treatment

Following his German Grand Prix success, Mark Webber is closer than ever to Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel, both in terms of performance and world championship points. Webber is third in the standings on 45.5 to second-placed Vettel’s 47.

But while championship leader Jenson Button may hope to gain from the Red Bull duo taking points off each other, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insists the team won’t favour one driver unless a clear title favourite emerges.

“We will continue to support both drivers equally,” Horner told Red Bull’s official website. “There’s only a point and a half between them, so obviously they are both in contention for the drivers’ championship. There’s a long way to go to catch up with Jenson Button.

“If and when we reach a point where there is a significant gap, or it becomes mathematically impossible for one of them to challenge for the championship, then they are both team players and one of them will play a supporting role should it be required. Our intention is to see both of them catch the lead Brawn as quickly as possible."

Indeed, rather than worrying about how evenly matched his drivers are, Horner is proud of what he considers to be the best pairing on the current Formula One grid, especially now that Webber appears to have bounced back from the broken leg he sustained during a pre-season cycling accident.

“Our drivers are both at the top of their game at different stages in their career and they are pushing one another very hard,” he concluded. “I think we’ve got the best driver line-up in F1 at the moment. I think it’s only now we are seeing Mark at the level of fitness he was at prior to his injury and his recent results show he is absolutely on the form of his life.

“Sebastian is undoubtedly a star in the making. He shows remarkable maturity, given his lack of experience. He is a prodigious talent who will continue to get better. The best is yet to come from him. Both men are being treated with total fairness within the team and are supplied with identical equipment."

Webber and Vettel will be back in action for the team at next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, which will take place at Budapest’s Hungaroring from July 24-26.

Formula 1: Bourdais fired by Toro Rosso, threatens Toro Rosso

French driver Sebastien Bourdais was shocked at being fired by Toro Rosso on Thursday, then the four-time Champ Car series winner threatened legal action against the Formula One team.

Toro Rosso said it would announce a replacement for Bourdais ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, ending a disappointing brief stint in the series for the 30-year-old at just over the halfway point of his second season.

"I am very disappointed and shocked by the decision," Bourdais said in a statement. "I consider that, in doing so, Scuderia Toro Rosso has breached its contractual duties toward me."

Toro Rosso principal Franz Tost said that "the partnership has not met our expectations and therefore we have decided to replace him as from the next round of the world championship."

But Bourdais said his behavior had been professional and the Italian team had violated their contract.

"I have instructed my lawyers to review the situation including the possibility of issuing legal proceedings," Bourdais said.

The team's reserve driver, 19-year-old Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, was among the leading contenders to get the drive. If he does, he will be the youngest driver to start an F1 race.

In 2008, Bourdais was outshone by teammate Sebastian Vettel, with the talented German winning the Italian Grand Prix and earning a move this season to Red Bull, where he has emerged as a title contender.

This year, Bourdais was expected to be the senior driver alongside rookie Sebastien Buemi, but the young Swiss earned three points over the opening nine races of the season against two points for Bourdais. Buemi out-qualified Bourdais in seven of nine races.

"I am even more frustrated by the team's decision considering that the latter has been taken immediately before the Hungarian Grand Prix, where a new highly competitive racing package will be introduced," Bourdais said. "I am convinced that if I was given the chance to race with such new package I would have had the opportunity to achieve satisfactory results."

In all, Bourdais totaled six points from four points finishes across 27 races. He never bettered the effort of his debut in the 2008 Australian GP when he was running in fourth place and looked like making a podium finish but suffered an engine failure and was classified in seventh.

He suffered bad luck at the 2008 Italian GP, which Vettel went on to win. Having qualified fourth after a rain-soaked qualifying session, Bourdais had a strong chance for a career-best finish, but his car stalled on the grid and by the time he started, he was already a lap down.

Bourdais' removal was the first driver change in the 2009 season.

Formula 1: Button says Brawn to get back in Hungary

By Alan Baldwin

NUERBURGRING, Germany - Jenson Button has spelt out in blunt terms what his Brawn GP team need to do after allowing Red Bull to bite another chunk out of their championship lead.

"We've got to kick some arse in Hungary and that's what we are going to try and do," the Formula One leader told reporters after finishing fifth on Sunday at a German Grand Prix won by Australian Mark Webber.

"Let's pray that we are quick there because if we are not we've got a problem," added Button, who had thought a podium finish was within his reach at the Nuerburgring.

Button leads Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel by 21 points, with Webber a further 1.5 points adrift, in the standings with eight of the season's 17 races remaining.

After winning six of the first seven races, the Brawn driver has finished sixth and fifth in the last two.

Red Bull, with both drivers now clear contenders despite the gap, have taken 24 points off Brawn in the last three races. Sunday was their third one-two of the season, and second in a row.

"The problem we have is to get quicker," Brawn team principal Ross Brawn said.

"We are not quick enough and we have to respond. Because if we don't, we will throw the championship away."

Button, whose car can be expected to go much better in Hungary's hotter temperatures after a damp and cold weekend, was concerned about the situation but not about to panic.

STAY CALM

"We could shout at the team about improving things but they know what they've got to do. We've got to stay calm, put the improvements on the car and get every bit we can out of it," the 2006 Hungary winner said.

"You have to worry but I don't think its 'Oh shit, we're going to lose the championship'," he added. "Its 'Come on, let's make the difference'.

"We've got some new parts for Hungary. I'm looking forward to that. I think our car will be strong there. We don't know how strong. We'll have to wait and see."

Webber's first Formula One victory, after three second places this season, put another name firmly in the reckoning as the third driver to win in a season turned upside down by new regulations.

Button congratulated the Australian, a friend and former team mate from when he was at Benetton and Webber was the test driver, for finally making the breakthrough after 130 starts.

"It puts another person in the mix doesn't it? Sebastian, Mark myself and Rubens , they are all closing in on me," he said.

"There are a lot of races to go so we do need to worry a bit. These two circuits temperatures. If we are not quick on a hot track then we have got to really worry."

Button can take some consolation that while both Red Bull drivers have been evenly matched, they are also likely to take points off each other while he has beaten team mate Barrichello in eight of the nine races so far.

"We've still got a 21 point lead so it's not that bad but if we continue like this we are not going to keep that lead," Button said.

Formula 1: Honda won't rejoin F1

TOKYO, July 13 - Formula One's growing restrictions have made the sport less attractive and reduced Honda's incentive to rejoin a series it abandoned due to the global economic downturn, the company's new chief executive said on Monday. Honda withdrew backing for its under-performing team last December, only to see new owners Brawn turn the outfit into championship leaders, and Japan's second largest automaker said it would consider a return once it had recovered financially.

"It was a real shame that we had to leave Formula One," Takanobu Ito, who took over as chief executive last month, told a media gathering in Tokyo.

"On the other hand, F1 is becoming less of a medium in which companies can test their various strengths and more of an event with mounting restrictions.

"There's little room for us to challenge new fields, so bearing in mind the current state of series, I don't think we have the desire to return, even if the economy improves."

Ito added that he had not heard anything about whether the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit would be asked to host the Japanese Grand Prix after Toyota's Fuji International Speedway gave up its hosting rights for 2010 and beyond last week. [ID:nSP378727]

Fuji had been scheduled to alternate each year with Suzuka, which is to host the race this year and in 2011. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Formula 1: Webber joins title race

Mark Webber believes he is now firmly in the hunt for the Formula One title after finally breaking his victory duck.

The 32-year-old screamed with joy, and perhaps relief, in taking the chequered flag at the Nurburgring after the German Grand Prix.

Not even a drive-through penalty for playing dodgems with Rubens Barrichello off the line denied Webber his long-overdue moment in the sun at the 130th attempt.

German Grand Prix gallery
Watch the race highlights here

It secured him a place in the sport's record books as no driver with a win to their name has taken so long to get a maiden triumph under their belts.

Leading home a third Red Bull one-two of the season, with Sebastian Vettel second on this occasion, the duo are 22.5 and 21 points respectively behind Jenson Button who could only finish fifth.

Red Bull also slashed Brawn GP's lead in the constructors' title race to 19.5, with the balance of power having shifted the way of the Milton Keynes-based team in the last two grands prix.

"They are both still up for grabs, there is no question about it," said Webber of the championship fight.

"The guys have produced a special car. Brawn are leading because they deserve to be, but we are not giving up.

"Sebastian and I are on top of our game and pushing as best we can to be as consistent as possible at all venues.

"We love fighting against teams like Ferrari and McLaren, and this is what Formula One is all about.

"For Red Bull to take the fight to these big guys is a real credit to us. They will be back for sure, but it is a special time for our team."

It was undoubtedly a special day for Webber as he became the first Australian to win a race since Alan Jones in Las Vegas in October 1981.

Webber is due to meet with close friend, Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting tonight, an occasion which could have been even more special if his team had taken a 1-0 lead over England in the Ashes yesterday.

Instead, they were denied, but there was still no doubting the pride felt by Webber with regard to his feat.

"It was very, very important for me because not many Australian drivers have reached Formula One, and there are even fewer who have been successful," remarked Webber.

"It's a real message to the Australian people. I've always tried to represent my country as best as I can.

"We're a very proud sporting nation which has done well on bikes in the past with Mick (Doohan) and Casey (Stoner).

"Now this is a great day for me and Australia."

As for Button, it was a day of frustration, one which has left him pining for the heat of Budapest in a fortnight when his car should be competitive.

"We have to put it (yesterday) behind us and look forward," said Button.

"I just can't wait to get to Hungary where we will have new parts and hopefully warmer weather to take the fight to the Red Bulls."

As for Barrichello, he launched an astonishing attack on his team, accusing them of costing him the race.

"It was a good show from the team on how to lose a race today," slammed the Brazilian.

"They made me lose the race. If it is really what's going on, we're going to end up losing both championships."

Ferrari's Felipe Massa finished on the podium for the first time this year, with Nico Rosberg fourth in his Williams.

Renault's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen completed the top eight, but a first-corner puncture after being tapped by Webber resulted in Lewis Hamilton finishing 18th and last.

Formula 1: Button feeling heat from Red Bull

Jenson Button was left bristling with frustration following a day of struggle in Germany.

The world championship leader trailed home fifth behind another Red Bull Racing one-two, their third of the season, but this time with Mark Webber leading home Sebastian Vettel in the German Grand Prix.

Button's lead is now 21 points, with Vettel taking up second place in the drivers' standings just 1.5 points ahead of Webber and three ahead of Button's Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

After six wins from the first seven races, the balance of power has undoubtedly shifted the way of Red Bull in the past two grands prix at Silverstone and the Nurburgring.

"It was really frustrating, a difficult race for us in which nothing went right, as at Silverstone," assessed Button.

"In the first stint I was stuck behind (Heikki) Kovalainen and had nowhere to go. I couldn't get past him.

"Then the pace was okay, but in the third stint I was stuck behind Rubens after he had a problem with his fuel rig at his second stop.

"The fuel rig problem screwed his race and mine, so finishing fifth is disappointing because I think we could have got a podium.

"I now can't wait to get to Hungary in two weeks where we will have new parts and hopefully warmer weather to take the fight to the Red Bulls."

Button was at least humble enough to offer his congratulations to Webber following the Australian's first win in Formula One at the 130th attempt.

"It's fantastic," said Button.

"The guy has been close many times, so this is well deserved. He was very quick all weekend, superior, and then drove a great race."

It was another day of woe for fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton as hopes of a podium in a finally competitive McLaren were wrecked at the first corner.

A stunning start, aided by a push of the KERS button, saw Hamilton fly up the field from fifth on the grid, only to sustain a puncture to his right-rear tyre after being clipped by Webber.

Forced into a pit stop at the end of lap one, Hamilton eventually finished a wretched 18th, unable to compete due to suspected damage to the rear of the car, likely caused by the flailing rubber.

"My race was effectively over at turn one," said Hamilton, feeling as deflated as the tyre that caused his problems.

"I had quite a good launch into there, and I was braking when I felt a tap from the rear and went straight on.

"I think the flat tyre damaged the rear floor because it felt like I was out there driving on ice.

"I suggested to the team we save the engine and gearbox for the future because there's a lot more potential ahead of us than we'd anticipated before this weekend.

"But that's racing and we'll move on. The best thing about this weekend was that our updates were successful.

"The team has done a fantastic job over the last few weeks and I'm already looking forward to the next race."

Barrichello blames team for loss

Rubens Barrichello launched an astonishing attack on his own team in the wake of today's German Grand Prix.

The Brawn GP driver was left fuming at the Nurburgring, blaming team bosses for robbing him of victory.

Despite taking the lead on the run down to the first corner, and Mark Webber being handed a drivethrough penalty for bumping into the Brazilian at the start, Barrichello trailed home sixth.

That prompted outrage from the 37-year-old, and not for the first time this season as he was annoyed at tactics deployed during the Spanish Grand Prix, another race he felt he should have won.

When asked what went wrong, Barrichello pulled no punches as he said: "I guess the strategy in the pit lane...it was a good show from the team on how to lose a race today.

"I'm terribly upset with the way things have gone. I did all I had to do. I went first on the first corner, and then they made me lose the race.

"If it is really what's going on, we're going to end up losing both championships. I feel sorry for myself, the team.

"To be very honest, I wish I could get on the plane and go home. I don't want to talk to anyone in the team.

"It will be all 'blah, blah, blah' and I don't want to hear that."

Formula 1: Webber romps to victory in Germany

"Mark Webber you are a Grand Prix winner. Well done! Brilliant drive!" Those words, from Red Bull's engineers, told you all you needed to know about Sunday's German Grand Prix. No matter what they threw at the Australian, including a drive-through penalty for a brush off the startline with Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, Webber came through and delivered in devastating style.

After that brush he shadowed Barrichello as they stormed away while fast-starting Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren held up Brawn's Jenson Button, Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. And even with his penalty stop on Lap 14, when Barrichello refuelled, Webber kept the lead.

His second stop, five laps later, dropped him down to eighth, but he was back in the lead by Lap 33 when all of the main first pit stops had been made, and he controlled it easily from there. Barrichello lost time in his second stop with a refuelling rig problem, and later, like Button, struggled to warm his tyres. Both were on three-stop strategies, which dropped them from second and third places with 10 laps left.

Thus it was Sebastian Vettel who came through to grab second, in Red Bull's third one-two of the season, after a weekend in which his team mate completely eclipsed him. Massa was strong all day for Ferrari and took third ahead of Nico Rosberg, who drove superbly early on with a high fuel load and thoroughly deserved fourth for Williams.

The Brawns switched places in their final stops, as Button made his a lap later, and they finished fifth and sixth, hounded to the finish by Fernando Alonso's Renault, which set fastest lap. Behind them, Kovalainen clung on for the final point for McLaren, with Toyota's Timo Glock, BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella and Williams' Kazuki Nakajima in his wheeltracks.

It was, after all, a terrible day for Force India's Adrian Sutil, who ran as high as second before his first refuelling stop, but then lost it all through a clash with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as he exited the pits. He needed another stop for a new front wing and finished a tearful 15th, behind Renault's Nelson Piquet and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. Stewards looked into the Raikkonen incident, but decided no action was necessary.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli was delayed after a brush in traffic on the opening lap and finished 17th, behind Sebastien Buemi in the sole Toro Rosso to finish. And right at the back, the only lapped runner was McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. The world champion made a brilliant start, led fractionally on the outside at Turn One, but then got his right-rear tyre clipped by Webber and had to pit at the end of the lap with a puncture. That was all she wrote.

The day, however, belonged to Webber as Advance Australia Fair played at the end of a Grand Prix for the first time since Alan Jones won in Las Vegas back in 1981. It was superb victory in the most trying circumstances, and Webber thoroughly deserved his maiden success.

Button still leads the championship, with 68 points, but now Vettel is second with 47, Webber third with 45.5 and Barrichello drops to fourth on 44.

Qualifying - Webber scores maiden F1 pole in Germany

Mark Webber took his first pole position after changeable weather contributed to a gripping Q3 shootout at the Nurburgring on Saturday, which saw the Australian, Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel, the Brawns of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren all in contention for the top slot.

First it was Hamilton’s. Then Button’s, before Webber’s 1m 32.230s put him ahead. Vettel’s 1m 32.480s momentarily placed him second before Button’s 1m 32.473s earned him P2, but immediately Barrichello’s 1m 32.357s lap finally gave the Brazilian second place.

With Button third and Vettel fourth, Hamilton’s 1m 32.616s stood up for fifth, with team mate Heikki Kovalainen enjoying McLaren’s renaissance with sixth on 1m 33.859s.

Adrian Sutil staged a major surprise for Force India on his home ground with 1m 34.316s for seventh, ahead of the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen on 1m 34.574s and 1m 34.710s respectively. Nelson Piquet was Renault’s faster runner in 10th on 1m 34.803s.

Rain at the start of Q2 had thrown things into huge confusion as Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Massa went off the road on their slicks and everyone else came haring back in for Bridgestone’s intermediates. Kovalainen spun and clattered the wall in Turn Four, but was able to continue.

As the track dried out in places, Barrichello switched to slicks to set the pace with 1m 34.455s, while Button only jumped from 15th to fifth in the last seconds. Those who didn’t make it were BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld on 1m 42.310s, Renault’s Fernando Alonso on 1m 42.318s after an earlier spin had hurt his chances, Nakajima on 1m 42.500s, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli on 1m 42.771s, and Williams’ Nico Rosberg on 1m 42.859s.

Q1 had already weeded out BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica (1m 32.190s), Toro Rosso’s Sebsatien Buemi (1m 32.251s), Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella (1m 32.402s), Toyota’s Timo Glock (1m 32.423s) and Sebastien Bourdais in the second Toro Rosso (1m 33.559s).

Monaco race analysis - Ferrari rising to Brawn challenge

Brawn may still have had a decisive edge in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, but it was encouraging to see Ferrari take another step forward. Their improved form from Spain continued, this time with complete reliability. It gave them their best result - and first podium - of 2009. There was some scratching of heads at Red Bull, who dropped to third in the pecking order, despite the arrival of a double diffuser. And there was total frustration at Toyota and BMW Sauber, both former frontrunners left trailing. We take a team-by-team look at the Monte Carlo race…

Brawn
Jenson Button, P1
Rubens Barrichello, P2
This was yet another brilliant one-two for Brawn, their third of the season and, incidentally, the third win for the same Mercedes-Benz engine in Button’s car. They sprung a surprise on their rivals when they started the race on Bridgestone’s super-soft option tyre, a route pursued only by Vettel, Hamilton and Sutil. Where others struggled on them, the Brawns loved them. When Button’s began to go off very slightly, creating oversteer, he was called in early for his first pit stop on lap 17. Barrichello had overworked his rubber sliding about as he ran too close to Button, and that decided the gap between them. An early stop for him kept him ahead of Raikkonen. It was hardly a race-threatening development. By the flag Barrichello had cut a 12s gap to 7.5s as Button backed off, and had shaken off the Ferrari challenge. Brawn now have 86 points in the constructors’ championship compared to Red Bull’s 42.5, and Button is 16 points ahead of Barrichello and looking increasingly strong in the drivers’ table.

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P3
Felipe Massa, P4
This was Ferrari’s most convincing showing since Brazil last year. Raikkonen gave them their first front-row start of the season, and their first podium, and at one stage in the middle of the race the pair of them were flying on Bridgestone’s soft rubber. Crucially, they couldn’t use the super softs at the start, which Brawn could. That was what cost them their chance. That, and Raikkonen starting on the dirty side of the grid and not really being able to capitalise on his KERS, and Massa outfoxing himself in the chicane early on when fighting for fourth with Vettel, then having Rosberg muscle past for a while as he handed the place back to the Red Bull driver. 11 points were very welcome here.

Red Bull
Mark Webber, P5
Sebastian Vettel, Retired lap 15, accident
Vettel started on the super-soft option tyres, with his lightest of all fuel load - and soon became a mobile road block. He soon switched to softs, but dumped it at Ste devote on the 15th lap after braking too late. Webber did a great job in qualifying, made a strong start, and Red Bull’s strategy kept him in play, ahead of Rosberg, to the flag. In the closing stages he was right with Massa.

Williams
Nico Rosberg, P6
Kazuki Nakajima, Retired lap 77, accident
Rosberg looked strong and opportunistic all weekend and deserved better than his sixth place. But a late fuel stop dropped him back to seventh until Renault did the same with Alonso and restored the status quo. Nakajima kept his nose clean all weekend, until dumping his FW31 head-first into the tyre wall at Mirabeau with a lap to run. He said he was pushing too hard on the option tyre.

Renault
Fernando Alonso, P7
Nelson Piquet, Retired lap 11, accident with Buemi
Alonso said his R29 kept improving throughout the race, and that after starting ninth scoring two points for seventh was satisfying. Piquet was really disappointed to be bundled off at Ste Devote, especially as he was on a long first stint and felt confident of scoring some points.

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Bourdais, P8
Sebastien Buemi, Retired lap 10, accident with Piquet
Bourdais was chuffed with a point in what he considers his home race. He nursed his STR4 on both the prime and option tyres, until he was in a position to have a clear run home. Buemi ran ahead of him until his incident with Piquet, to whom he had lost a position at the start. He said was he was so close to Piquet, planning an attack, that he couldn’t duck round him when the Brazilian braked for the first corner. He apologised to Piquet later.

Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, P9
Adrian Sutil, P14
Fisichella was very pleased with his ninth place, especially as he was close to Bourdais at the finish and in contention for the final point. Sutil started on a one-stop strategy, which made it all the more curious why Force India ran him on the super-soft Bridgestones. These rapidly grained, dropping him down as he had to stop early, and ruining his chances of emulating his team mate.

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, P12
Heikki Kovalainen, Retired lap 52, accident
What a contrast this race was to the last two years’ for McLaren! Hamilton’s qualifying problem was exacerbated when he was given a five-place grid penalty as the impact with the wall at Mirabeau damaged the gearbox, so he had to start at the back. He made some progress early on, but had to pit after a brush when Heidfeld squeezed him at Ste Devote on lap 10. That damaged his front wing and generated understeer, and even a change of nose at his next stop did not effect a real cure. He drove hard, but had to be content with 12th. Kovalainen ran strongly early on, faded to seventh, then spun out and took his nose off in the Swimming Pool after 51 laps.

Toyota
Timo Glock, P10
Jarno Trulli, P13
Tenth and 13th were probably better results than Toyota expected. Glock started with so much fuel he was able to run to lap 57 on the soft Bridgestones. Trulli did a two-stopper, going soft, soft, super soft, and was unable to keep Hamilton at bay in the closing stages. Assuredly, this was a disaster for Toyota in which they threw all manner of set-ups at the TF109 during the weekend yet never seemed to make the slightest progress.

BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, P11
Robert Kubica, Retired lap 29, brakes
For Toyota, read BMW Sauber. They were in the same boat as their Japanese-German rival, which amounted to all at sea. Heidfeld ran soft and super soft to claim 11th place, and said his car was simply too slow. Kubica made a poor start, then suffered a right rear puncture. He was lapping well with a fuel-heavy car, but was forced to retire with brake problems. Like Toyota, BMW Sauber need to have a major rethink before Turkey.

Ferrari powerless to halt Button and Brawn in Monaco

Jenson Button had no peer in Monte Carlo on Sunday afternoon. The world championship points leader snatched another full score as he grabbed the lead at the start, eased quickly away from Brawn team mate Rubens Barrichello, and romped home to a comfortable and totally convincing victory.

"Great job! Fantastic job!" his engineers cried over the radio at the end, as the 29 year-old Englishman whooped and hollered with delight.

There was not a single moment when he ever looked like losing this one, as he stretched his points score to 51, and his lead to 16 over Barrichello. His only error came following the chequered flag when, in his jubilation, he parked his car in the wrong parc ferme area and had to jog all the way to the podium like the triathlon runner he is. It was a pluperfect performance.

Barrichello kept his end up and reduced Buttons 12s lead to 7.6s in the closing stages, and he in turn was well clear of the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen which he had beaten off the start line and stayed ahead of apart from during the pit stops. Felipe Massa made it a good day for the Scuderia by keeping his F60 ahead of hard-charging Mark Webber in the sole surviving Red Bull as they battled for fourth place a couple of seconds behind the Finn.

Nico Rosberg had a feisty run to sixth for Williams, ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso. Sebastien Bourdais took the final point for eighth place for Toro Rosso, just ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India after a race-long fight.

In Button's wake it was not a classic race. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel held fourth place early on until getting outfoxed by Massa and Rosberg, and after an early pit stop the German crashed at Ste Devote on Lap 15.

Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi blotted his copybook by running into the rear of Nelson Piquet's Renault there on Lap 11, both retiring. Heikki Kovalainen also crashed, dropping his McLaren in the Swimming Pool, in a very similar fashion to Massa in qualifying - only harder. It lost him seventh place on Lap 52. Late in the race Kazuki Nakajima lost tenth after nosing into the tyres at Mirabeau.

Timo Glock was thus tenth for Toyota, after a very long first stint which took him through to Lap 57 before he refuelled. He was followed by BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, who was hounded to the flag by an unhappy Lewis Hamilton, who had earlier damaged his McLaren in a brush with the German at Ste Devote on the tenth lap. Nothing could have been a greater contrast for Hamilton with the 2008 race, and likewise for Button.

Behind the McLaren came Toyota's Jarno Trulli, whom Hamilton passed on Lap 75, and Adrian Sutil's Force India. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica made a poor start, and was the first pit stopper before later retiring with mechanical gremlins.

"F1 politics" worries Hamilton

LONDON - Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has admitted the predominance of politics in Formula One has left him feeling disillusioned with the sport.Hamilton, 24, claimed his maiden world crown for McLaren in spectacular style last season, however the Englishman's blossoming career has already been blighted by controversy.

McLaren were fined a record 100 million dollars by the sport's world ruling body the FIA after they were found guilty of stealing secrets from Ferrari - an affair which came to be known as 'spy-gate'.

In another, more recent, affair which came to be known as 'liar-gate', Hamilton was found guilty of misleading stewards after the Australian Grand Prix in March - which led to the Briton making a dramatic public apology.

Hamilton says what happened in Australia "was wrong", but a few months down the line he admits those battles with officialdom have left him disillusioned with the sport he joined as a promising rookie driver in 2007.

"It's got to be a similar feeling to anyone who goes to jail but feels they shouldn't be behind bars," Hamilton told The Times on Friday.

"That is the feeling I have had, although I know what happened in Australia was wrong.
"I just feel knocked about by it all. I want to be a driver - I am not in the sport to be a politician.

"It hasn't affected my driving. I won't allow anything to affect my driving. But it affects your life, it affects the way you are. I used to enjoy Formula One and part of that has been taken away from me."

Hamilton currently sits seventh in the drivers standings on only nine points, 32 shy of championship-leading compatriot Jenson Button.

In the meantime some of the sport's biggest teams, including Ferrari and Renault, are battling the FIA's plans to introduce controversial budget caps of 40 million pounds (60.7 million dollars) for each of the teams as of the 2010 season.

The FIA laid down the new restrictions as a response to the global financial downturn which has ensured that F1 must rein in its expenditure.
Hamilton added: "I never imagined there would be so much politics when I came into Formula One. It definitely was a shock. There has been too much time taken up with it.

"Unfortunately, it is the way the Formula One world works for some reason. It's much nicer in the lower categories, where all the people are there just to race and the teams are there just to race."

Formula 1: US car might be on track on November

After announcing plans in February for a US-based entry to the 2010 championship, Formula One veterans Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson have been hard at work laying the foundations for their fledgling team.Although they must wait until June to discover whether their entry has been accepted, Windsor and Anderson’s preparations are well underway, with their car scheduled to debut in November.

“We are working very hard behind the scenes, and at the same time from a public point of view, are waiting for everything to be formalised by the FIA,” former Williams team manager Windsor told Formula1.com. “The car is well underway being designed and we start making parts in late June and should have our car on the ground by late September.

“We will torture test the car and the suspension in October/November. Depending on the engine, we will be run the car in the first week of January. But if all falls perfectly into place, we would like the car to be running in November/December.”

With such a short turnaround in mind for their team, Anderson and Windsor have already moved into their American base in Charlotte, North Carolina, and that they have started to hire key team members, ahead of a bigger recruitment push in the autumn.

“Right now (our headcount is) about 20,” explained former Ligier technical director Anderson. “We are setting up the infrastructure, the management and the design department. In June we will be hiring those who will do the manufacturing, so we are moving from design to manufacturing and towards the end of the year be will be setting up our European facility and will start hiring the people who will be working on the team.”

As well as their burgeoning workforce and stateside factory, which will have the benefit of a 100-percent scale wind tunnel, the pair is also considering plans to feature American driving talent in their team.

“We have a shortlist of guys that we are looking at,” said Windsor. “There are some Americans doing quite well right now in single-seater racing from Ryan Hunter-Reay, Jonathan Summerton, Danica Patrick, Graham Rahal and A.J. Allmendinger.

“And then the next generation looks really strong! You’ve got four guys there: Gaby Chavez who is winning a lot of BMW races right now, Alex Rossi who is American and was the World BMW champion last year, Conor Daly, the son of Derek Daly, and Josef Newgarden who is winning in England right now.”

Back at their February launch Anderson and Windsor promised to take advantage of the FIA’s cost-cutting initiatives to run a thrifty, cost-effective team. So news that Formula One racing’s governing body wants to introduce the option of a £40-million budget cap was welcomed.

“It’s not far from what our budget has been anyway, long before the cap discussion came up,” said Anderson. “We’ve been planning on starting from scratch, buying only what we need and having only the people that we need. It’s much easier to start from zero and work your way up, than to run on £300-400 million and work your way down.”

The official entry list for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship - expected to comprise 13 teams - will be published on 12 June, 2009.

Jenson Button makes 4th win in Sapnish Grand Prix

Brawn GP’s Jenson Button drove a pluperfect two-stop race to take his fourth victory in five races in Sunday afternoon’s Spanish Grand Prix, leading home early leader and three-stopping partner Rubens Barrichello by 13 seconds.It was a resounding success for Brawn, but Barrichello had Mark Webber right on his tail at the finish as the Australian headed a Red Bull 3-4. His team mate Sebastian Vettel had been trapped behind Felipe Massa’s fast-starting Ferrari from the outset, but finally slipped ahead in the closing stages as the Brazilian was ordered to back off to conserve fuel. On the final lap the red car fell victim to Fernando Alonso’s Renault, as poor Massa was obliged to slow down even further.

The result gives Button 41 points to Barrichello’s 27, Vettel’s 23 and Webber’s 15.5. In the constructors’ stakes, Brawn have 68 to Red Bull’s 38.5.

Nick Heidfeld drove a tough and defensive race to net two points for BMW Sauber with seventh place, and Nico Rosberg completed the points scorers with eighth for Williams.

An accident at the first corner influenced the race. Rosberg eased slow-starting Jarno Trulli off in the second, left-handed corner, and as the Italian’s Toyota spun out of the gravel and back on to the track it collected Adrian Sutil, who had just short-cut the corner over on the left-hand side. In the confusion the two Toro Rosso’s collided, resulting in retirement for all four and a five-lap safety car period.

Barrichello resumed the lead he had taken from Button off the grid when the racing restarted on lap six, but later fell behind his team mate as his three-stop strategy proved inferior.

Lewis Hamilton had a frustrating afternoon for McLaren, finishing ninth ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock, who ran well initially but fell back with an early refuelling stop. BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica led Renault’s Nelson Piquet home for 11th, with Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella rounding out the finishers.

The other retirements were Kimi Raikkonen, whose Ferrari ground to a halt with suspected electrical problems on lap 18, and fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen who fell victim to gearbox gremlins on his McLaren.