Drinking in victory, Maldonado celebrates winning in Barcelona
Final lap: he’s been cursed on the final laps twice this season…can
Maldonado hold on? YES HE DOES!
Lap 65 Rosberg has been knocked off 6th place by Vettel! Sudden influx
of speed from this Red Bull! Raikkonen gaining more and more ground on
Alonso and 10 laps ago it seemed unimaginable but now, there’s an actual
possibility that he could take second. What a finish.
Lap 64 Further forward Raikkonen continues to gain time and he is just
six seconds behind Alonso in second place. Only problem for the Williams car
is that he is coming into traffic.
Lap 63 Maldonado over two seconds a head now and is driving
fantastically on those tyres to be holding off the threat from Ferrari. And
Second time lucky Vettel’s taken the place from Hamilton and they went wheel
to wheel on the straight!
Lap 62 Hamilton warned the cars behind him are coming at him with more
pace, the McLaren running on much older tyres than the car in his rear
mirror – and that’s Vettel. The German makes a move in the DRS zone but
Hamilton holds position (7th).
Lap 60-61 Raikkonen now just 12 seconds behind the leader pushing his
car to its limits. If you’re wondering where Schumacher is, he retired early
on and has been joined on that list by Senna, Pic, Perez and Karthikeyan.
And wonderful drive from Kobayashi who just overtook Rosberg for 4th place.
the Sauber driver’s shown fantastic patience and persistence this afternoon.
Lap 59 Raikkonen told pace is good and there is a chance he can catch
them by the end of the race….ANYTHING could happen here. What race and
what a finish this stands to be! Vettel makes another move on Button and
he’s taken the position! Red Bull now chasing Hamilton.
Lap 57 Just cannot see how on earth this is going to finish! Maldonado
coping so well with the pressure at the moment and what a day it would be,
Williams’ first win since 2004 and the Venezuelan’s first ever.
Lap 56 well look who is creeping up on Alonso, Raikkonen’s gained
another second on the Ferrari, 10 laps to go but 17 seconds separate them,
maybe just settle for third and second consecutive podium finish.
Lap 54 Maldonado 1.2 seconds ahead of Alonso now but the Spaniard is
dropping bnack from that dirty air. A lap time of 1:26:2 from
Grosjean…he’s just pitted and is flying in 4th place chasing Raikkonen.
Here’s a thought from Lance Berc in San Fran:
“Is Hamilton a pushover? Looks like Hamilton can’t make up ground on
Kobyashi, Button is in his mirrors, and he loses eight places if he pits
again. Will frustration lead to a shunt?
Lap 52 turn three, 10 and 11 maldonado is tol dis where he is doing the
most damage to his tyres and so there are concerns from Williams.
Lap 51 Raikkonen (4th) clocking the fastest lap of this race with a
1:26:9. Further back Rosberg is ahead of Kobayahi in 5th with Hamilton and
Button 7th and 8th, Vettel 9th with team-mate Webber 11th.
Lap 49 Raikkonen flying around the circuit and that pit may well prove
a winning formula for him. It’s all coming down to these tyres obviously and
at the moment Maldonado is trying to look after his while Alonso is pushing
for all his have.
Lap 48 and he does it in the DRS zone and Alonso is second and chasing
Maldonado for the lead. Both driver advised to slow down in a bid to
preserve tyres.Fantastic, one driver gunning for first ever win the other
wanting to win in front of his home crowd. Raikkonen in the pits, big job
for him to do after this.
Lap 47 Maldonado has overtaken Raikkonen and is back in front but
Alonso is dangerously close to the Williams car. Great battle for the final
phase of this race! Alonso now preparing to overtake Raikkonen.
Lap 45 just over two seconds between Maldonado and Alonso, of course
Raikkonen still out there and in front, he may well spoil Williams’ day if
he slows him down for much longer. Grosjean and Rosberg complete the top
five. Hamilton and Button are in 7th and 8th.
Lap 44 Alonso currently 15 seconds head of Maldonado then so his bid
for a maiden race win all depends on the final pit from Ferrari…Williams
looking good for the win as things stand…then again anything can happen
there are still 22 laps to go. Ferrari out now and it’s a good stop for
their No 1 driver. Raikkonen leads.
Lap 42 so that should be Maldonado’s final stop and Alonso still has
one to go. Raikkonen currently sitting between them in second. Ferrari’s
timing on their final stop will be crucial here. vettel in from 5th and he’s
getting a new nose.
Lap 41 good driving from massa back in 11th, he took Di Resta and
Button followed suit and the Mclaren has now overtaken the Ferrari. Maldonado
pits from the front and it is a terrible stop!
Lap 39 Button in the pits and emerges in 15th just ahead of Massa.
Hamilton right in the middle of a great tussle between the Toro Rossos and
has taken position fro them both. Excellent driving, very brave from the
McLaren. Disastrous pit-stop meanwhile for Kobayashi and it just got worse
for Sauber as Sergio Perez retires.
Lap 38 beautiful move from vettel there on Button, used the DRS and
took the McLaren on the left to go7th. Further up front Alonso is gaining
ground on Maldonado, the lead is cut to five seconds now.
Lap 37 confirmed then McLaren are still going for a two stop race…HOW
will that work? I believe we have another retirement and it’s Chalres Pic in
the pits.
Lap 35 Hamilton is in the pits again and it’s about time as he was
losing so much pace…be interesting to see what that does to McLaren’s
plans…there’s no way he’ll do 30 laps on one set. Maldonado reassured he
is doing a good enough job to look after his tyres, he is still 6.1 seconds
ahead of Alonso.
1-10 Maldonado, Alonso, Raikkonebn, Grojean, Hamilton, Rosberg, Kobayashi,
Button, Vettel, Hulkenberg
Lap 34 Hamilton on the radio saying tyres are struggling but he is on a
differen strategy to everyone else.
Lap 33 contact between Kobayashi and Button, the Mclaren yields to
avoid any serious damage though loses position, great move by the Sauber.
Lap 31-32 Malsonado told to “look afer the rear tyres”.
Jenson Button trying desperately to overtake Rosberg for 6th. Unreal from
hailton, he’s climbed 19 places from the start of this race and is now 5th.
Lap 30 Vettel handed drive trhough penalty for earlier investigation.
Maldonado’s speed continues and he’s pulling out further in front and lead
by just over seven seconds. Webber’s race improving a little he is up to
11th and it’s getting a little worse for Massa who is back in 16th.
Lap 27 confirmed then Karthikeyan the third car to retire, he follows
Schumacher and Senna. Great battle between Vergne and Di Resta there and
it’s the Briton who comes out better off after the Frenchman pushed for an
over take and pays the price going wide left and off the track.
Lap 26 Button is in the pits for the second time and it’s worked well
for him, slower than they would want but faster than they have done of late.
I’ll stop with the digs now. Karthikeyan’s car has stopped, not 100% if he
has retired just yet. Alonso has pitted, they’ve taken longer than normal
and Maldonado is leading the race.
Michael Schumacher:
I watched the video and you can see he moves right to defend his potion then
moves back left. I try to avoid and it’s too late because it’s in the
breaking stage. It’s frustrating and I’m very annoyed. The lap before he had
a get together with Grosjean. he wasn’t in a contending position but it’s
frustrating.
Lap 24: Maldonado getting closer and closer against too Alonso and at
the same time pulling further away from Raikkonen. Hamilton’s made a move on
Massa, goes wide and comes so close! Massa holds but I don’t think it will
be long until the McLaren is in front and I would imagine there will be some
form of contact when it happens.
Lap 23 Hamilton told the cars immediately in front will be working on a
three stop strategy. Great battle for 9th going on there with Di Resta,
Hamilton, Massa and Vergne. Vettel and Massa under investigation for
ignoring yellow flags.
Schumacher’s collision with Senna, not sure why he called him an idiot,
replays suggest it was the German’s fault but i may be wrong…
1-10 Alonso, Maldonado Raikkonen Grosjean Rosberg, Vettel, Button,
Kobayashi, Di Resta, Vergne
Lap 20 Maldonado is making ground on Alonso here, the Williams showing
fantastic speed. Safe to say if he takes the lead he will be the least
popular man among the fans at the Circuit de Catalunya. Massa will be
looking in his mirrors with dread if last season’s anything to go by,
Hamilton is closing in and we all know what happens when those two come
close.
Lap 19 all seems very spread out at the front Two seconds between 1 and
2 and then five seconds from Maldonado to Raikkonen in 3rd. Button told
McLaren are “moving to plan B”…
Lap 17 back to the race then, Webber is having problems and he looks
like he needs a new nose, and he’s just radio-ed in to confirm this, little
chance of points for him. Alonso is still flying at the front of this race,
Maldonado holding in second for Williams, Raikkonen third and Grosjean 4th,
Vettel 5th.
Hamilton: did I hit something?
Answer: we think you hit a tyre but eveything is ok
Here’s what happened in that pit-stop…left side bounces having caught
wheel.
Lap 15 changes in the McLaren pit-crew…done nothing to improve things
for Hamilton anyway. He’s dropped behind Hulkenberg. He’s caught the
rear-wheel on his way out there.
Mercedes radio: “Michael we’ll have to look into this, I’m sorry
about that”
Lap 13 a shake of the head from Schumacher that is becoming an all too
familiar sight this season…it was already the worst start to a season in
his entire career….now it just got worse. Yellow flag being waved.
Lap 12: Hamilton told they will work on a different strategy given his
fourth place. Maldonado 3.4 second behind Alonso…Ferrari showing fantastic
speed today. Contact between the aforementioned drivers showed debris off
the Lotus.
RETIREMENTS: Schumacher and Senna is out of the race
Lap 11 Maldonado pits as does Raikkonen, top three have all stopped now
and Alonso is back at the front of this race. CONTACT with Grosjean and
Senna.
Lap 10 Alonso pits and Maldonado leads the race, Ferrari pull off
pit-stop to perfection. Grosjean and Schumacher have also pitted. All those
stops put Hamilton in 4th! Vettel is 11 Button 12 and Webber 14 in front of
Paul Di Resta.
Lap 9 Hamilton up to 11th having gone past Hulkenberg. Lotus and
Mclaren garages ready to bring the cars in. Button is in. Hurrah! McLaren
manage a decent pit stop! Haven’t seen that for a while!
Lap 7-8 Vettel has also come into the pits and will also continue on
the hard tyres. He should emerge in 18th but ahead of Webber. Webber very
nearly caught out there, he’s following an HRT and I don’t think he quite
realised just how early that team brakes going into corners! Alonso and
Maldonado setting, and maintaining more importantly, a good race pace.
Lap 6 fantastic driving here from Hamilton he’s gained another place
and is up to 16th, Button in 8th. Frustration I think for the Red Bulls,
Webber has pitted, he is being put on the hard tyre, VERY early for him to
stop. Alonso’s left front and rear degrading…
Lap 4-5 Perez running a second faster than race leader Alosno on the
hard tyre, he has clocked a 1:29:5. Massa told “get past this car in
front and you’re in the points, come on”, that car in front is
Jean-Eric Vergne.
Lap 3 Hamilton’s gained another place and what a move on the left to
take Senna for 17th. Charles Pic lucky to still be in this race having spun
out, lucky in that not one hit him and he doesn’t appear to have done his
tyres any damage.
Tom Cary, in Barcelona
Great atmosphere on the grid, with no one very sure of what to expect from
today’s race. Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, has a better idea
than most and he reckons Kimi Raikkonen is worth backing. I trotted down to
the far end of the grid to have a look at Lewis Hamilton’s starting
position. It is a long, long way to the front. His start is going to be
fascinating. Will he rein in his aggressive instincts or go for it?
Lap 2 Lewis Hamilton is climbing and is up to 18th, cracking start from
Felipe Massa who has gone from 17th to 11th. Perez has switched to the prime
tyre.
1-5 Alonso, Maldonado, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Grosjean
Lap 1: Alonso flying out front, fantastic start from him having seen
the replay, maldonado is holeding on to second. Grosjean locked on a corner,
Schumacher couldn’t get past there for 5th. Perez in for replacement on rear
left.
First corner Alonso goes wheel to wheel with Maldonado and takes the
lead! Perez has been hit and is punctured just as he over took Raikkonen for
third. Vettel’s climbing, Hamilton in 19th. Crowd have gone nuts as their
man Alonso leads.
1pm Drivers on their formation laps every driver on the option tyre. So
here we go then, round five of the season, it’s Barcelona and Pastor
Maldonado is the second driver this season to be on pole for the first time
in his career….
Maldonado on pole
12:55 almost race time so it’s prediction time. Been umming and ahhing
about it but I think we might just see something special from Kimi Raikkonen
today and I think he’ll be joined by Alonso and Vettel on the podium. Think
Hamilton will break into top 10. What do you think? Where would you put your
money today?
How they start:
- 1. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams.
- 2. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari.
- 3. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus.
- 4. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Lotus.
- 5. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Sauber.
- 6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes.
- 7. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull.
- 8. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes.
- 9. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber.
- 10. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren.
- 11. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull.
- 12. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India.
- 13. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Force India.
- 14. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso.
- 15. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Toro Rosso.
- 16. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari.
- 17. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Williams.
- 18. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Caterham.
- 19. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Caterham.
- 20. Charles Pic, France, Marussia.
- 21. Timo Glock, Germany, Marussia.
- 22. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, HRT.
- 23. Narain Karthikeyan, India, HRT.
- 24. x- Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren. x
- x-dropped from pole position to last place following rules breach
12:52: looking relatively bright and sunny in Barcelona though weather
reports suggesting there could be rain during the race, currently 23
degrees.
Via Tom Cary…Seems there’s a new driver making his debut today
Lewis driven in by the opposition team this morning!
Chritstan Horner
I think having looked at where he [Webber] is with his tyres his mood improved
a lot. Tyre usage is critical so hopefully we will have a good run today. We
think we’re all right, this year is 10 degrees cooler and there’s wind. The
drivers are happy with the car so hopefully with the right calls we’ll make
some progress.”
Lewis Hamilton’s statement following yesterday’s ruling by the stewards:
This is such a disappointment. Today’s qualifying session was one of the best
I’ve ever driven – the whole car was just rolling so smoothly – it felt
fantastic. But, on my slowing-down lap, my engineers told me to stop on the
track, and I didn’t know why. Later, to hear that I’d been excluded from
qualifying, was of course extremely disappointing. Looking ahead to
tomorrow, I think it’s clear that it’s going to be an incredibly tough race
for us. Even so, as always, I’ll never give up and I’ll give it everything
I’ve got. It would mean so much to me to get a good result here in Spain. As
I always say, and as I always do, whatever grid position I start a Grand
Prix from, I’ll always race my heart out.”
Eddie Jordan says it was “ludicrous” to relegate Hamilton to the
back and that the error warranted him starting from 10th at the worst. Have
to say I am inclined to agree with the big man…What do you think?
12:40: most teams likely to be out on a four-stop strategy today,
here’s the Circuit de Catalunya in numbers:
- Circuit length: 4.655km/2.892 miles
- Laps: 66
- Race distance: 307.104km/190.825miles
- Lap record: 1min 21.670secs (Kimi Raikkonen, 2008)
- 2011 winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
- 2011 pole position: Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:20.981
- 2011 fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1min 26.727secs
- Number of corners: 16 (7 left/9 right)
- Tyre compounds to be used: hard/soft
- Overtaking chance: low
Here’s Telegraph Sport’s F1 correspondent Tom Cary’s view on McLaren’s
error yesterday:
While Hamilton can feel hard done by, McLaren’s mistake was horrendous and is
bound to lead to renewed speculation regarding Hamilton’s future. The 27
year-old is in the final year of his five-year contract and there was much
speculation last season that he might seek a move away from the team who
recruited him as a 13-year-old. Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Mercedes’ Michael
Schumacher and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa are all in the final year of their
contracts as well, increasing the potential for a big transfer. The
speculation had died down this year with McLaren having built a
front-running car, but Hamilton’s strong performances have not translated
into race wins, often through no fault of his own.
Familiar faces from football strolling around the garages at today’s race,
Cesc Fabregas has popped in to see Mercedes
Jenson Button:
We had a good run on high fuel on Friday, we should have a good race but you
never know until the lights go out. There are quick guys at the front but
Red Bulls are in a similar boat to what we are. It’s a very mixed up season
so far so point in every race is important. Lewis deserved to be on pole
position. I have to think of myself though and get as many points as I can.
It’s very unusual to see Maldonado on pole but well done to him but I think
we’ll have a different result at the end of the race.”
12:28 Eddie Jordan says it was “ludicrous” to relegate
Hamilton to the back and that the error warranted him starting from 10th at
the worst. Have to say I am inclined to agree with the big man…What do you
think?
Telegraph Sport columnist David Coulthard has said it’s not just
McLaren who are under pressure this weekend…watch out Ferrari:
“Apart from McLaren’s pit crew — under pressure this weekend following
costly errors in China and Bahrain — I will be watching Ferrari closely. We
said throughout the first four flyaways that Barcelona would be a crucial
race for them; the first opportunity to bolt on a big upgrade. Barcelona is
a real proving ground for the cars as they do so much testing here and if
Ferrari are still miles off the pace this weekend it would not be looking
good for their title hopes. Incidentally, the final sector here is a good
indicator for how the cars will perform in Monaco in two weeks so watch out
for that.”
Here’s the moment Lewis Hamilton was forced to get out of his car and
as such surrendered pole position.
12:10 Maldonado claims first pole position, albeit by default but after
his efforts in the first four races of the season, especially the heart ache
of Australia and Malaysia, he really deserves to be leading the pack out.
The Venezuelan is joined up front by Fernando Alonso and while it is simply
wonderful to see a Sauber and both Lotus cars in the rows behind, I never
imagined the front three rows of a grid without a McLaren or Red Bull.
Sebastian Vettel gave the “best “ performance of the aforementioned teams
after Hamilton’s penalty was dished out, he starts 7th with team-mate Mark
Webber who I foolishly tipped for pole is back in 11th. Jenson Button is on
front of him in 10th.
As a footnote to Weber’s position, Red Bull were, as he put it, “caught
with their pants down”. The Australian claims he was told by his team
that his time in Q2 was enough to get him through…it wasn’t. Vettel
meanwhile opted not to set a time in Q3 to preserve tyres.
12pm Good morning/afternoon/evening depending on where in the world you
are joining me from for today’s race, the fifth instalment of the 2012
season. Quite a 24 hours it’s been after yesterday’s qualifying sessions and
yet again the headlines are leading on McLaren and another blow to their
championship hopes. If you saw Q3 yesterday you will have seen Lewis
Hamilton beat Maldonado by 0.6 seconds to claim his first pole in Spain and
McLaren’s 150th…but it was not to be.
After his final run, Hamilton was told by his team to stop on the track as
there wasn’t enough fuel to allow the car to return to the pits under its
own power and provide the required one-litre sample for post-qualifying
testing.
The McLaren team blamed the car’s need to stop on conditions that were out of
its control, so-called force majeure. And after a lengthy discussion with
stewards, Hamilton was penalised and told
he will race from the back of the grid today. Harsh but them’s the
rules.
How they start:
- 1. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams.
- 2. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari.
- 3. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus.
- 4. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Lotus.
- 5. Sergio Perez, Mexico, Sauber.
- 6. Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes.
- 7. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull.
- 8. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Mercedes.
- 9. Kamui Kobayashi, Japan, Sauber.
- 10. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren.
- 11. Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull.
- 12. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India.
- 13. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Force India.
- 14. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso.
- 15. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Toro Rosso.
- 16. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari.
- 17. Bruno Senna, Brazil, Williams.
- 18. Vitaly Petrov, Russia, Caterham.
- 19. Heikki Kovalainen, Finland, Caterham.
- 20. Charles Pic, France, Marussia.
- 21. Timo Glock, Germany, Marussia.
- 22. Pedro de la Rosa, Spain, HRT.
- 23. Narain Karthikeyan, India, HRT.
- 24. x- Lewis Hamilton, Britain, McLaren. x
- x-dropped from pole position to last place following rules breach