-Formula 1 - Season 2012 -

[m_waqas]

:eek: damn,.. un-f**kin-believable :S

courtesy Sladex

has HAM been photo-chopped in this pic to appear drastically shorter :S ,.. looks like HAM's face has been pasted on some kid's body :S

.

[m_waqas]

Kung Fu Vettel: "Drive of the Dragon" campaign for Infiniti featuring Seb with Chinese actress and martial artist Celina Jade.

courtesy Sladex

[m_waqas]

courtesy Sladex

[m_waqas]

Ecclestone insists Bahrain Grand Prix is on unless local authorities withdraw it

hahaha,.. bernie, would do anything in his power to make it happen :S ,..

Lewis Hamilton hit by grid penalty in the Chinese Grand Prix

may be he'll win when he's not on pole.. already lost two races after starting from pole position..

[genius83]

Human Rights Watch warns Formula 1 over Bahrain Grand Prix
Human Rights Watch has warned Formula 1 that by holding next week's Bahrain Grand Prix, it will be endorsing the kingdom's regime despite claims that sport and politics don't mix.

FIA insists Bahrain Grand Prix will go head next weekend
The Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead as planned, the FIA announced on Friday, after promising that security in the Gulf state has been assured.

[genius83]

Hamilton penalty not an automatic bonus for Button in China
Jenson Button does not believe that Lewis Hamilton's grid penalty is automatically a good thing for him.

Lewis Hamilton sets the pace in Chinese Grand Prix first practice
Lewis Hamilton topped the rain-hit opening free practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='Gray'>Chinese GP</font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>Practice Session 1</font>
[/U]</font><font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos  Driver                Team                  Time        Gap     Laps</font>
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m37.106              7
 2.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m38.116s  + 1.010   14
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m38.316s  + 1.210   14
 4.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m38.584s  + 1.478   13
 5.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m38.911s  + 1.805   12
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m38.977s  + 1.871   15
 7.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m39.198s  + 2.092   12
 8.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m39.199s  + 2.093    6
 9.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m39.748s  + 2.642   16
10.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m39.768s  + 2.662   14
11.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m40.056s  + 2.950   14
12.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m40.153s  + 3.047   14
13.  Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault      1m40.298s  + 3.192    8
14.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m40.328s  + 3.222   13
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m40.540s  + 3.434   12
16.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m41.071s  + 3.965   14
17.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m41.204s  + 4.098   14
18.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.330s  + 5.224   14
19.  Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault      1m42.521s  + 5.415   11
20.  Jules Bianchi         Force India-Mercedes  1m44.118s  + 7.012    8
21.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m44.227s  + 7.121   10
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m44.500s  + 7.394   15
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m47.204s  + 10.098  12
24.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m50.465s  + 13.359  11

Hamashima: Ferrari must widen its tyre operating window
Ferrari needs to widen the operating window of its F2012 because it is only delivering its peak performance in selected conditions, says its tyre guru Hirohide Hamashima.

Sauber focused on points finishes rather than podiums in spite of Malaysia charge
Sauber's sights remain set on consistent points finishes rather than podium finishes despite Sergio Perez's near-victory in last month's Malaysian Grand Prix.

Mercedes unconcerned over Rosberg qualifying errors in first two GPs
Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn says there are no concerns about Nico Rosberg's qualifying performances this year - despite the German making errors on his quickest qualifying runs in Australia and Malaysia.

Bernie Ecclestone calls for Bahrain GP speculation to stop as he confirms event will go ahead
Bernie Ecclestone thinks it is now time to stop speculation about the Bahrain Grand Prix, after he reassured Formula 1 team bosses on Friday that the event would be totally safe.

F1 teams happy for Bahrain Grand Prix to go ahead
Formula 1 teams say they are happy for the Bahrain Grand Prix to go ahead, after receiving reassurances from Bernie Ecclestone in China on Friday.

[genius83]

Michael Schumacher quickest in second practice for the Chinese Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher ended the first day of practice for the Chinese Grand Prix on top of the timesheets.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='Gray'>Chinese GP</font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>Practice Session 2</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos  Driver                Team                   Time        Gap     Laps</font>
 1.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m35.973             32
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m36.145s  + 0.172   29
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m36.160s  + 0.187   26
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m36.433s  + 0.460   23
 5.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m36.617s  + 0.644   30
 6.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m36.711s  + 0.738   27
 7.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m36.956s  + 0.983   28
 8.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m36.966s  + 0.993   30
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes   1m37.191s  + 1.218   30
10.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m37.316s  + 1.343   32
11.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m37.417s  + 1.444   22
12.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m37.616s  + 1.643   33
13.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault          1m37.836s  + 1.863   30
14.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m37.930s  + 1.957   31
15.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault          1m37.972s  + 1.999   25
16.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m38.176s  + 2.203   34
17.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m38.293s  + 2.320   30
18.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault       1m38.783s  + 2.810   37
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault       1m38.990s  + 3.017   36
20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault       1m39.346s  + 3.373   19
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth      1m39.651s  + 3.678   15
22.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth           1m40.343s  + 4.370   24
23.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth      1m40.753s  + 4.780   30
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth           1m41.125s  + 5.162   26

Vettel more comfortable with Red Bull's RB8 after Friday practice in China
Sebastian Vettel found the Red Bull RB8 more comfortable to drive during Friday practice for the Chinese Grand Prix after switching to the exhaust design used during pre-season testing.

Van der Garde feels he did his best in first outing with Caterham in China
Giedo van der Garde felt he delivered the maximum he could for Caterham in his first appearance in a grand prix weekend practice session at Shanghai on Friday.

Perez struggles with brake issues
Sergio Perez says he struggled with brake issues during second practice for the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday.

Bahrain welcomes FIA decision to keep grand prix
The Bahrain International Circuit has welcomed the FIA's announcement of this morning confirming that the kingdom's grand prix will go ahead next week.

Ferrari says Chinese Grand Prix upgrades a step forward
Ferrari technical director Pat Fry says the upgrades the team has brought to Shanghai are a step forward - but that this will not be apparent in the Chinese Grand Prix as the circuit characteristics do not suit the F2012.

Hamilton upbeat about McLaren's long-run pace after Chinese GP practice
Lewis Hamilton is upbeat about the long-run pace of his McLaren, which he hopes will make him a contender for victory in China despite a five-place grid penalty.

Marussia investigating front wing issue following Timo Glock's accident
Marussia is still investigating the cause of Timo Glock's accident in practice to work out if his front wing failed before he went off the track.

Nico Rosberg expects more tyre issues for Mercedes in the Chinese Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg says it could take several weeks for the Mercedes to be competitive in race conditions.

March, Reynard and BAR engineering guru Bill Stone dies aged 72
Bill Stone, a key figure in the histories of racing car constructors March and Reynard, died earlier this week at the age of 72.

Damon Hill now fully behind FIA's Bahrain Grand Prix decision
Damon Hill says he is now 100 per cent behind the decision by the FIA to let the Bahrain Grand Prix go ahead.

Mercedes focused on race pace
Ross Brawn confirmed that Mercedes had spent most of Friday practice focusing on race pace despite setting the fastest time of the day.

'Trouble-free day' for Schumacher
Michael Schumacher was encouraged by a "trouble-free day" for Mercedes after setting the fastest time of Friday practice for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Massa blames Glock for time
Felipe Massa said that his 17th place in the FP2 classification was a result of Timo Glock going off at turn one.

Button struggling to extract pace
Jenson Button admitted that he was struggling to extract the pace from his McLaren during Friday practice at Shanghai.

Raikkonen eyes strong race despite Friday struggle
Kimi Raikkonen is confident Lotus can score its best result of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend despite a poor showing in Friday practice.

Red Bull learning quickly - Webber
Mark Webber is confident Red Bull gathered plenty of data during Friday practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, after the two RB8s ran different exhaust layouts.

Amnesty International says Bahrain crisis no better than when 2011 Formula 1 grand prix was cancelled
Amnesty International claims the situation in Bahrain has not improved since the 2011 grand prix was cancelled - and says Formula 1 risks being used as a political tool by allowing next weekend's race to go ahead.

[genius83]

[genius83]

[U]Mark Webber

Narain Karthikeyan

Jean Eric Vergne

Kimi Raikkonen

Nico Rosberg

Sebastian Vettel

Giedo Van Der Garde

Jules Bianchi

Nico Hulkenberg

Kamui Kobayashi

Felipe Massa

Heikki Kovalainen

Valtteri Bottas

Pedro De La Rosa

Timo Glock

Sergio Perez

Michal Schumacher

[/U]

[genius83]

[U]Jenson Button

Lewis Hamilton

Fernando Alonso

Timo Glock's Accident

Romain Grosjean

Paul Di Resta

Bruno Senna

[/U]

[genius83]

[U]Charles Pic

Vitaly Petrov

Dani Clos (HRT) and Geido Van Der Garde (Caterham)

Kimi Raikkonen and Jerome D'Ambrosio

Pastor Maldonado

[/U]

[genius83]

[U]

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[genius83]

[U]Daniel Ricciardo

[/U]

[genius83]

[U]

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[genius83]

[U]

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[Blackeye117]

Yayyyyy Finger Boy Out In Q2 Take That You Vet ComeOn Kimi GO go Go go :d

[genius83]

Lotus evaluating DRS-activated front wing after FIA rejected protest against Mercedes device
Lotus is evaluating the idea of developing its own version of the Mercedes DRS-activated front wing stalling concept that it lodged an unsuccessful protest against on Thursday at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton heads McLaren 1-2 in final Chinese Grand Prix practice at Shanghai
Lewis Hamilton set himself up perfectly for a strong qualifying run at the Chinese Grand Prix by topping the final free practice session at Shanghai.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='Gray'>Chinese GP</font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>Practice Session 3</font>
[/U]</font><font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos  Driver                Team                   Time       Gap      Laps</font>
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes       1m35.940s            13
 2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes       1m36.093s  + 0.123   12
 3.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes               1m36.389s  + 0.449   16
 4.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes               1m36.512s  + 0.572   17
 5.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault       1m36.635s  + 0.695   16
 6.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault       1m36.765s  + 0.825   17
 7.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari         1m36.781s  + 0.841   19
 8.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari         1m36.880s  + 0.940   17
 9.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault       1m37.039s  + 1.099   15
10.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault          1m37.061s  + 1.121   17
11.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes   1m37.237s  + 1.297   16
12.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault          1m37.274s  + 1.334   19
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes   1m37.288s  + 1.348   16
14.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault       1m37.425s  + 1.485   14
15.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari                1m37.465s  + 1.525   12
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m37.493s  + 1.553   13
17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m37.628s  + 1.688   14
18.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari                1m37.831s  + 1.891   14
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault       1m38.701s  + 2.761   19
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault       1m39.198s  + 3.258   19
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth      1m39.796s  + 3.856   18
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth      1m40.048s  + 4.108   17
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth           1m41.263s  + 5.323   14
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth           1m41.499s  + 5.559   18

Nico Rosberg flies to maiden F1 pole in the Chinese Grand Prix
Nico Rosberg claimed a maiden Formula 1 pole position for himself and the current version of the Mercedes team with a commanding performance in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying at Shanghai.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font color='Gray'>Chinese GP</font>
<font color='SandyBrown'>Qualifying Session</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   </font>
 1.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m35.121s         
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m35.626s  + 0.505
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m35.691s  + 0.570
 4.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m35.784s  + 0.663
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m35.898s  + 0.777
 6.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m36.191s  + 1.070
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m36.290s  + 1.169
 8.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m36.524s  + 1.403
 9.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m36.622s  + 1.501
10.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        No time
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Q2 cut-off time: 1m35.831s                                   Gap **</font>
11.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m36.031s  + 0.331
12.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m36.255s  + 0.555
13.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m36.283s  + 0.583
14.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m36.289s  + 0.589
15.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m36.317s  + 0.617
16.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m36.745s  + 1.045
17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m36.956s  + 1.256
<font color='DarkOrchid'>Q1 cut-off time: 1m36.933s                                    Gap *</font>
18.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m37.714s  + 1.516
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m38.463s  + 2.265
20.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m38.677s  + 2.479
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m39.282s  + 3.084
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m39.717s  + 3.519
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m40.411s  + 4.213
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m41.000s  + 4.802
<font color='SeaGreen'>107% time: 1m42.931s
* Gap to quickest in Q1     ** Gap to quickest in Q2</font>

Mercedes aware race may not be easy despite Rosberg's pole position
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn said celebrations over the squad's front row sweep for the Chinese Grand Prix would be tempered by an awareness that it had to deliver better race form on Sunday.

Heikki Kovalainen believes Pastor Maldonado should get blocking penalty after Chinese Grand Prix qualifying
Heikki Kovalainen expects Pastor Maldonado to be penalised for blocking during the opening part of Chinese Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton 'proud' of Rosberg after maiden pole position in China
Lewis Hamilton has congratulated long-time rival Nico Rosberg on taking a maiden pole position in Formula 1.

Sebastian Vettel has no regrets over sticking with old exhaust after qualifying 11th for Chinese GP
Sebastian Vettel said he has no regrets about his decision to stick with Red Bull's old exhaust design, despite going out in Q2 for the first time in 43 races.

Nico Rosberg celebrates 'fantastic' first Formula 1 pole position
Nico Rosberg described taking his first Formula 1 pole position at his 111th attempt as 'fantastic'.

Kamui Kobayashi not dreaming of Chinese GP win as Sauber excels again
Kamui Kobayashi insists that he is not dreaming of fighting for victory in the Chinese Grand Prix, and says his goal remains to score as many points as possible.

Fernando Alonso says title thoughts far away as Ferrari struggles again in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying
Fernando Alonso is under no illusions that Ferrari will have to improve its car drastically in order to stay in contention for the championship.

Button wary of Kobayashi threat
Jenson Button has highlighted Kamui Kobayashi as the biggest threat of the cars head of him in tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix.

Webber over-drives Q3 lap
Mark Webber believes he may have over-driven his lap in Q3 as he looked for more time in qualifying at Shanghai.

Schumacher surprised by gap to Rosberg
Michael Schumacher admitted he was surprised by the pace of Nico Rosberg during qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, but was keen to congratulate his Mercedes team-mate on securing pole position.

[UncleKracker]

First pole for Rosberg, first of many to come:D First pole for Mercedes Benz since Fangio, 1955, Italian GP. The last time a Rosberg was on pole, 1986 German GP, Hockenhiem.

Has anyone heard from Steve, anyone has his phone number? Not that he has taken the news badly:-# Modern day Fangio (LOL) failed to get into Q3 and Nico Rosberg took pole with a sensational lap, not a good day so far for our Steve. Here is hopping for his quick and fast recovery;)

Mercedes don't really have the pace on long runs to match Mclaren, Webber and Raikkonen. Interestingly Kimi Raikkonen is in pole position to win the race tomorrow. Lotus, or whatever it actually is, showed good pace yesterday on the long runs. If Kimi can make a good get away, he just might be able to win the third race upon his return to the sport. The danger to all of them comes from P3 in the form of Kobayashi. He can cause carnage at turn 1.

Mclaren in general and Hamilton in particular look good and he should come sailing through the pack to win the race if it's held in normal conditions. Button has been having problems with getting heat into his tires.

@m_waqas and Eddie the drug dealer on ' special ' assignment

Congratulations. Okay maybe a little premature but looks like Kimi will be standing on the top step of the podium tomorrow.

Btw Paula, the consignment can be picked from that place.

Edit: Steve is alive and well, no need to worry anyone. He was busy posting while i was writing that stuff.

[genius83]

@UK
Funny!!! I have posted first before you and I am happy because there is a chance of Michal's podium or an outside chance of a win. Even better is Kobayashi on 3rd, if Sauber have the same pace that they have in Malaysia and as they are more gentle on tyres they could very well be looking for a win here too. Kimi can be a threat if Lotus, doesnot do anything stupid in the strategy.

Vettel could be on podium and if he could then it will be better then a win from pole, as it will answers the critics about his driving through the pack ability. Hamilton could again run into trouble and Button is already having problems.

[Getafix]

Awesome, i really shop Schumi can pull off a podium finish or possibly a win! This is turning out to be a very interesting season! At least it's not boring and one sided like previous years.