Hunt for Glory: Nathan Mckane's 2nd Season

[RealRacingRoots]

Last tweet before the race:

"Hoping to make something out of nothing."

Race Report:

With the wash-out yesterday, everybody got to start on fresh tires. It was nice to not have dead tires by the end of the first stint. The start was ok, didn't lose any spots on the run to turn 1, and I gained 4 or 5 spots at T1, and 4 more in the rest of sector one. The guys ahead were gradually getting away from me and many guys were wanting to have a go at me at the back straight. It was a fight to keep them all behind as the DRS zone gave more speed then it did in China. The main guys who were behind me were both Renaults and Alonso. Alonso pitted at the same time as me, entering behind but exiting ahead as i had a slower stop. He was able to get a better run on track and he began to drive away. The circulation finished and I had dropped a few spots, and was holding on to a points place. A Renault using DRS didn't move back on line after I made my one blocking move and lost his front wing. The main battle I had for the duration of the race was with Rosberg for various positions during the second and third stints. Alguersuari did the same thing as the Renault after I made my block on Rosberg, he came out of nowhere trying to use the Mercedes as a pick. Other cars in the second stint fray were Di Resta, Sutil and Maldonado. Mid-way through the stint, I went wide on the corner right after the long straight and spun out right in front of the group who was following. Alguersuari had nowhere to go, and he lost another wing and Sutil was the only car to get past while I was recovering. My next stopped happened without fault, and I had dropped out of the points by the end of the circulation, because i just didn't have the pace to keep up with other cars i was racing with. As soon as I left, I got blue flags for a Red Bull wanting to get past. While slowing down to let him past, I was put into the clutches of a Renault who was behind me position wise. I got a gap on him as he slowed down considerably with blue flags from a McLaren getting past. I got more blue flags from another Red Bull, but it was at T8 and I couldn't slow down without threatening a big spin. A Williams was also getting blue flags, I made it past him and was was scrambling to slowdown and spun into the outside rail as the back straight began, the Red Bull slowed down with the spin and I re-got the blue flags after Turn 1. My pace compared to Rosberg, who was ahead was better because I had lost less time with slowing down to let the lead cars past. More blue flags and I got back to behind Rosberg as he was faster on his fresh Options. On the penultimate lap, I had re-caught up with Rosberg but was getting Blue Flags from Hamilton. I didn't want to lose time because I could gain a position with his worn Options. Hamilton complained to over the radio that he was being held up even though there was no chance that was in contention to gain places considering the gap there was to the cars ahead of him. I got a 20 second penalty from his moaning to the stewards. I got the DRS to pop and made it past Rosberg under braking at the long straight and we had a good battle for the rest of the race..... until I spun before the back straight losing my spot to Rosberg and a Renault from the spin and a Williams when trying to get back in gear to finish the lap. While i was P15 on the road, the penalty put me P19. This was my worst race in my F1 career; the car wasn't as fast as it was in China by a lot, the pit crew let me down, the stewards failed to see the context of a situation, and this track has awful elevation changes. Retiring from the Hungarian GP last year felt like paradise compared to today, and I hope to be able to bounce back with precision in Spain.

Race Results:
1st Vettel
2nd Webber +0.673
3rd Button +6.011
...
18th Kobayashi +1 Lap
19th McKane +1 Lap (+20 Seconds)
20th Glock +1 Lap
...
23rd D'Ambrosio +2 Laps
24th Liuzzi +2 Laps

Post Race:

I parked the car in parc-ferme, got weighted and talked to Charlie Whiting about my penalty. He didn't take my case and shrugged it off. I was livid with his reaction and went back to the Hospitality area, Andy (my engineer) and Colin Kolles to my sides and a flurry of Media trying to get to me to ask me questions. I didn't take off my helmet that whole time, I was ready to hit something, anything to let out my anger. Before I closed the door to the hospitality area, I flipped up my visor and gave the media who followed a glare and waved them off and closed the door with a slam. The three of us were in meeting for hours talking about how the weekend had gone so wrong.

Post Race Tweets:

(There were none until the Wednesday after the race)

Nathan will not be available for questioning.

[RealRacingRoots]

Video is Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Rvm5ZTbu0

WDC Standings:
1st Vettel 55
2nd Webber 53
3rd Hamilton 49
4th Alonso 43
5th Schumacher 32
6th Kobayashi 27
7th McKane, Massa 26
9th Petrov 22
10th Heidfeld 20
11th Button 17
12th Barrichello 15
13th Perez 8
14th Di Resta 4
15th Rosberg, Maldonado 2
17th Sutil, Alguersuari, Buemi 1
Liuzzi, Glock, Trulli, D'Ambrosio and Kovalainen all with 0

WCC Standings:
1st Red Bull 108
2nd Ferrari 69
3rd McLaren 66
4th Renault 42
5th Sauber 35
6th Mercedes 34
7th HRT 26
8th Williams 17
9th Force India 5
10th Toro Rosso 2
Virgin and Lotus both with 0

Turkish Grand Prix Post-Weekend Quote:
Nathan McKane (19th)
"This weekend was one where the team and I wanted to capitalize on what we had gained in Malaysia and China, but the result was not one we expected. Our car wasn't on the pace in Istanbul, and that limited what we could do in the race. I had a good start but could do little to solidify a chance at points. I did all I could, but it wasn't to be enough. Even in the wet where I knew i had a good shot at a higher grid spot then expected our pace was slower in the wet then in the dry compared to the leaders.The penalty I got is one I still wish to discuss further with the stewards, which I will do next race weekend in Spain. This next race will prove to be important; to see if we can bounce back from my worst weekend in F1 back to a fighting position and it is the home race for the team and it's owners."

Post Weekend Tweets:

"Got a lot of blind hate-tweets after the race."

"Didn't bother to look here until today." (Wednesday)

"I got one thing to say:"

"Don't boo me, you should be booing yourself."

[RealRacingRoots]

In-Game Press Clippings from Turkey:

Magnificent Win For Vettel at Istanbul
Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel took the chequered flag at Istanbul with a sublime driver. After the race the driver stated that the car had been perfect to drive all weekend.

Spain Preview Quote:
Nathan McKane, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 11th, Race - 6th
"This weekend is the team's home race. We really began to show our momentum beginning with this round last season, we slowly began the crawl to the front. Flashforward one year and we are picking up the pieces after an undesired result. We have more parts this weekend, as this is when the European leg begins for the factories. This track is a real test of consistency in the driver and overall pace in the car, and it is a good benchmark to see where all the teams are in the balance of power. I am keen to get back to the front, and do it in a big way for the home team this weekend."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Pre-Practice Tweet:

"Partly cloudy all weekend? Yawn."

A bug in the game meant that if i said return to paddock after a practice where i did a R&D test, i wouldn't get the new parts. So i have no upgrades on the car and didn't get a test this session.

Practice Report:
Now it was time to buckle down and get the job done; focus on the job at hand. Get data, work on setup, ????, profit was the plan. 2 Prime runs then one on the options at the end. The first run early on was good, although I didn't get the best time with the current state the car. The car was a little skittish in getting the power down, especially after the first turn. There was also a bit of understeer in the car, which was predictable with the base-lines. On the last lap of the run, the car got extra skittish right before i activated the DRS, I had no time to change my decision so the car went for a spin puncturing the right-rear tire. After a slow,slow lap to not damage the car i made it back to the pits. We scoured over the data and went out on a new set of primes half way through the session. We had improved the car and the times, which is good. Time for more subtle tunings before the option run. The changes made did help, but it is hard to get that great lap here. While we did get good data and still got work to do, the car is wanting to give more and I feel the lap time which was the final time isn't representative of what the car can do. We ended up 17th, but we could have been 13th-ish.

Practice Results:
1st Vettel 1:21.913
2nd Button +0.036
3rd Webber +0.053
...
16th Barrichello +1.574
17th McKane +1.635
18th Maldonado +1.739
19th Sutil +2.136
20th Liuzzi +3.629
21st D'Ambrosio +4.763

Post Practice Tweets:

"Home team do good at home race, hoping to show it 'morrow."

Got song ideas for future videos that I don't already got ideas for? Send replies with what song and what race?

[RealRacingRoots]

Got bored. Made Nathan's F1RejectsAltHistory Wiki page.

http://f1alternate.wikkii.com/wiki/Nathan_McKane#Complete_Formula_One_Grand_Prix_results

[Wizzie]

Got bored. Made Nathan's F1RejectsAltHistory Wiki page.

http://f1alternate.wikkii.com/wiki/Nathan_McKane#Complete_Formula_One_Grand_Prix_results

Could you please fix up your results table on the bottom of the page so only races which you scored pole position are in bold and italics for fastest lap?

[Ferrim]

Notes:

This race shows one of the biggest flaws with current F1 games; the fact that the faster teams are crazily faster via more horsepower. They do have a little bit more aero grip, but the speed trap difference between the HRT and the McLarens is really nuts. And the DRS makes it extra ludicrous. The video will take more time, as I recorded most of the replay also (didn't get the end as the replay system in-game didn't record it )

And that is why GP4 is better than just about any F1 game Codemasters can create

Well, GP4 did it in pretty much the same way. The only differential factors were horsepower and drivers ability.

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Qualifying:

"Lots of local press at hospitality area. Most since Valencia last year."

Qualifying Report:
While I was relaxed for this session, I had to get a good starting position so I can get a good run to the first corner. The first run was on a scrubbed set of options which still had some cool runnings in them. A Ferrari exited in front of me on his out lap. I had caught up to him ans tried to get past on the run to turn 7, but he moved over as there was Vettel behind me on a fast lap to too let him through. He ran into me, spinning me into the inside sand trap, and him losing a bit of his front wing. Massa was given a ten place grid penalty for that incident.I managed to get a respectable lap with the worn tires, which was good for a baseline to see if we needed to make any changes between runs. We made the changes and it improved the car's setup and feel on that second run. The car felt good, although the car's straight line speed at the end of the front straight was abit low without a draft. We ended up P12, P11 after Massa's penalty,which puts us in a great position to get into the points tomorrow.

Qualifying Results:
1st Alonso 1:21.466
2nd Vettel +0.070
3rd Webber +0.800
4th Massa +0.804 (10 Grid Place Penalty)
...
11th Rosberg +1.562
12th McKane +1.567
13th Sutil +1.811
...
21st Trulli +4.149
22nd Liuzzi +4.321
23td D'Ambrosio +6.071

Post Qualifying Tweets:

"Updates to Liuzzi's car have done a lot, far ahead of Jarome."

"Lots of local fans out in home made HRT gear, cool stuff."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweets Before the Race:

"Many fans are cheered when Alonso came round in driver's parade."

"They are hoping for the best for their heroes (him and I)."

Race Report:

The atmosphere at the track was one of the most electric I've seen in a long time with Alonso on pole. While it was more cloudy then it has been all weekend, meaning it was a little cooler, there was no chance for rain in the Catalan. While the start was ok, with a Toro Rosso behind me getting a better run off the line, I made it up to P7 from my starting spot of eleventh after the first corner. By the end of the first lap, I was fourth behind Alonso and the Red Bulls in second and third. Hamilton and Kobayashi got the better of me on the front straight, but i braked later then them and made it back before turn 1. They were able to be put at bay until I got the last corner wide at the end of lap 3, Hamilton got the DRS pop and was way into the distance at the end of the front straight. I stayed P5 until my first stop for prime tires, which I did a lap earlier then predicted so I can get some clean air. The gamble could have gone better as my out-lap on the cold primes was sloppy, which lost me a few seconds. Kobayashi and Schumacher exited in front of me and a Toro Rosso behind me the next lap. Before T5, Schumacher's Mercedes engine let go giving out a plume of smoke in front of Kobayashi and I. We both slowed down, and I was able to use the opportunity to get past the Sauber. The lap after, the Safety Car was deployed because Schumacher's car needed to be moved off track and to clean up oil and debris. Most cars had already pitted before the SC was deployed, so no one pitted when the SC was deployed. With me pitting the earliest, I was probably the biggest loser with the SC coming out when it did, I was P8 when the SC came in after 2 laps out on track. Early on in that run, Rosberg got by when he and Kobayashi took me three wide on the front straight, I was able to out brake Kobayashi but couldn't pass Rosberg. While I was able to use the DRS for the next few laps because I was close enough to the Mercedes driver in Sector three, he got to use the DRS as well which meant I wasn't able to close the gap. Later on in the run fighting off Kobayashi and Massa, a Red Bull also expired but was off track by the time I passed it. Most cars who I were battling with pitted before I did, with me going for a new set of Primes. Early on in this run, the DRS malfunctioned in a similar fashion to when it did in practice at Shanghai, and it was fixed within a few laps. During that time, a McLaren also retired with a mechanical failure. After the DRS fixed itself, the group of 5 slower cars were to be lapped by us in the lower points. I made it past Liuzzi and the Marussia-Virgin with ease, but the Lotus didn't give me room on the run to La Caxia and ran me wide into the kitty litter past the escape road. I was livid and thought that he should get a penalty because he gave me no room to pass and he was getting blue flags, I told Andy to talk to Charlie about the incident but no actions were taken which shows how much Kool-Aid is being drank by the stewards. I was P12 after the contact and was pushing hard in the last few laps to get back into the points. I made it past the lap cars, raising a fist to the Lotus as I went by on the front straight. Some cars made their pit stop onto the options which brought me back into the points in tenth. In the final laps trying to maintain tenth, the tires let go and i oversteered into the grass at turn 5, losing three spots in the process. Those spots I couldn't get back with the Primes hitting their drop-off point. While we could have had a points position, it was a good bounce-back result and I hope to use it as a launch pad for the midpoint of the season where we picked it up in a big way last year.

Race Results:
1st Webber
2nd Alonso +5.272
3rd Hamilton +10.528
...
12th Sutil +45.864
13th McKane +51.710
14th Alguersuari +1:11.613
...
17th Glock +1 Lap
18th Kovalainen +1 Lap
19th Liuzzi +1 Lap

Not Classified:
Button - Hydralics
Di Resta - Accident Damage
Kobayashi - Accident
Vettel - Gearbox
Schumacher - Engine

Post Race Tweets:

"Talked to Kovalainen, he apologized for not moving over."

"Looking forward to Monaco, we could do well there."

[RealRacingRoots]

Video is Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT823jxqZ4I

WDC Standings:
1st Webber 78
2nd Hamilton 64
3rd Alonso 61
4th Vettel 55
5th Petrov 34
6th Schumacher, Massa 32
8th Kobayashi 27
9th McKane 26
10th Heidfeld 20
11th Perez 18
12th Button 17
13th Button 17
14th Rosberg 10
15th Maldonado 6
16th Di Resta 4
17th Buemi 3
18th Sutil, Alguersuari 1
D'Ambrosio, Trulli, Glock, Liuzzi and Kovalainen all with 0

WCC Standings:
1st Red Bull 133
2nd Ferrari 93
3rd McLaren 81
4th Renault 54
5th Sauber 45
6th Mercedes 42
7th HRT 26
8th Williams 22
9th Force India 5
10th Toro Rosso 4
Virgin and Lotus both with 0

Spanish GP Post Weekend Quote:
Nathan McKane (13th)
"After Turkey, the team and I were keen to bounce back in a big way at the team's home race in Spain. While we aimed for some points, we can leave happy with out pace even though luck has eluded us. We had the potential for a great bounceback result today, but the Safety Car happened too late, and our incident with Kovalainen meant we finished lower then we could have based on merit of the car and myself. We could have used the retirements to our advantage and get a position that was higher then was predicted. The race otherwise was a good one, and the battles were good. The team and I are content with the result and we hope to get back into the points in Monaco. Our lower straight line performance won't matter as much there so we hope to be closer to the front like we were in China."

[RealRacingRoots]

In Game Press Clippings from Spain:

1st Place for Webber at Catalunya
For fans a Formula One race weekend is always an exciting prospect, and the race at Cataluyna was no exception. In a hotly contested race, Mark Webber was able to make use of good strategy and take the chequered flag.

Tweets from Between Race Weekends:

"Always enjoy driving on the mountain roads above Monaco."

"Liuzzi's helmet for this weekend looks really slick."

"Drove around Paul Ricard in a GT3 Merc SLS, awesome car."

Monaco Preview Quote:
Nathan McKane, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 7th, Race - 5th
"The concrete jungle that is Monaco is a weekending that I always enjoy. While the glamor is a nice distraction from the stress of a race weekend, the track is a lot of fun because the driver can make all the difference here. The walls are mighty close here, so one mistake could mean the end of a session of race for us. It is unlike most tracks, in that sense, as there isn't a whole lot of room for error like there is in Singapore or Valencia. Like other teams, we have a high downforce package ready to go for this weekend. Getting the balance here will be key; the roadway bumps are hard on these cars and there has to be a lot of Mechanical grip to make it through a lot of the track. This weekend was where we began to pick up a lot of momentum in a big way last year, we are hoping to do the same here."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet before Practice:

"Team brought new brake parts here. Better for late braking shenanigans the team says. I'm looking forward to using them. =D"

Practice Report:
Not crashing, it's a good idea for practice in Monaco. The track changes a lot in a weekend, and it's best to keep it clean because losing time here means you lose that much more data. We got new brake components and new aero parts this weekend, with Monaco-Spec parts as well. Our initial run to get parts data at the partly cloudy Monaco circuit felt good. We had a nice baseline from last year, so it was good to have somewhere nice to start. On the sixth lap of the run i got the transition to Casino wrong and spun out, with no damage taken. The tires for this weekend have a good wear rate, they still gave confidence when they were getting more and more worn. The race will be a lot of fun with the Pirelli tires. While we were about four tenths from first sector best, we were the fastest in sector 2 and a tenth off the top in sector 3. By the end of the first half of the session, we were fourth and only 4 tenths off the best time, from Massa. We looked over the data, made a few changes and went out for the second run of the session. I exited behind a Lotus, and couldn't get past for my first 2 laps. So I took a cool down lap and made some space for the rest of the run. We dd improve by a few tenths with the changes and the track rubbering in, which is a good sign. Many of the lower teams were going for an option run with about 20 minutes to go. We decided to go out on our option run with five minutes to go in the session, right as a few cars were coming in to their garage area. On the last lap, the car got unstable at the 13/14 complex and spun into the inside rail similar to Kovalainen in 2009. Which was a shame, as we had the pace to be P1 in that session since none of the front runners went out on a Option run. The gap between the primes and the option is much less then it has been at other races, which will make for interesting strategy for the race.

Practice Results:
1st Alonso 1:14.775
2nd Massa +0.103
3rd Hamilton +0.161
4th Button +0.265
5th McKane +0.291
6th Vettel +0.306
...
23rd D'Ambrosio +4.276
24th Liuzzi +4.509

Post Practice Tweets:

"The SuperCup guys amaze me when they come here. I think WTCC should race here if they can."

"Had a great chat with Richard Hammond at Vijay's Yacht. Talked about his experience in the F1 Renault.'

"No, I do not own a home in Monaco, to those who are asking."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet before Qualifying:

"We could be in store for a great pole battle here. I hope to be a part of it."

Qualifying Report:
The sun was shining bright over the principality on quali day. It was going to be a test to get a good lap before traffic strikes. I was second to go out, behind a Ferrari which meant i had a lot of room to get my first run in. The first run was only three laps, but we were on the pole by a third of a second ahead of Webber. I waited until it I had moved down the table and there were few cars on track to make a second run, if it was needed. If we were only to do the one run, that would give us a lot of freedom strategy wise for the race, which would be a big help since it takes a bit of luck to get past other cars here since it is so narrow. Almost everybody was out for there second run with about ten minutes to go in the session. The track was mighty busy, with a few packs of cars out there. It would be hard to get a fast lap right now. With five minutes to go, the order hasn't changed, aside from Kobayashi going to P7. It was obvious from the times that no one was going to go faster because of traffic problems. Which left me with the pole from my first lap on track. I was with the guys in the garage watching the live timing and the TV feed and once time ran out they all swarmed me in congratulations. It was my first pole since the wet German GP last year, and it felt great to be battling at the front on merit.

Qualifying Results:
1st McKane 1:14.662
2nd Webber +0.263
3rd Vettel +0.308
...
19th Di Resta +2.830
20th Liuzzi +4.194 (Good bounceback after being last in practice)
21st Trulli +4.891

Post practice tweets:

"Thanks for all the support, that was one of my best laps ever in F1!!"

"Used only one set of Options in qualy, looks like we could have fun with strategy."

"The midfield will be a mess tomorrow, wouldn't be surprised if there will be a SC."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before the Race:

"EJ expects a win out of me after talking with him on the BBC Pre-Race Show. I expect the same."

Race Report:
The whole of Monaco was buzzing today after my pole yesterday. Everyone wanted a word with me and there was a mass anticipation for the fun to the first corner. At the end of the start formation, I aimed the car a little to the right so I can get the quick block on Webber before he made it too close to me. The ploy worked, as I closed the door as soon as the race began but Vettel got a good start and was trying to get the lead. He tried to get the lead before braking for turn 1 but I moved back over for braking and he slowed down because he was too far to the inside. I was in the lead after the initial battle. After the first turn, Vettel was in second and Alonso third. In the first few laps, I was the fastest car on track with the clean air and being able to use the options when they had life. The plan for everyone was for three stop strategies. During the second lap, I was slow at the exit of Casino and Vettel tried to take advantage but I closed the door by being on the normal line for the run to the next corner. Vettel and Alonso kept me honest during the first stint, but none of them was able to get a good enough exit to try a pass. The exit after the nouvelle chicane was a corner in particular where i opened the gap out. Later on in the stint, Vettel had a moment before Portier which left him out of contention for a good position. The options that I started on had passed their drop-off point the lap before we were to pit, so I stayed that extra lap even though the car was a handful that last lap. I stopped from the lead with Alonso following. We exited in that order which was a big boost to my confidence. We both got a new set of options and went out for the next stint. That lap we both passed the abandoned Red Bull that was Vettel's before Mirabeau, the car was undamaged which meant he had a mechanical failure. Both of us pounded in the laps, and returned back to the top two places after the other leaders went on the Primes for their firsts stop. The Ferrari driver and I were in close proximity for the duration of that stint, until we hit the first go around of lap traffic from the newer teams. Although it is narrower here then it is in Spain, they were more generous in being back markers, since none of them made me spin out or lose any real time. They did make Alonso lose a lot of time, which game me some good breathing room before the next stop. The next stop did come, with a new set of Primes, and I exited behind Hamilton and Petrov who assumed the lead. The both of them still had to make their second stop since they changed to Primes with their first stop. My first chance to try and pass Hamilton was underbraking at the Nouvelle chicane, which didn't work because I wasn't close enough. After getting mighty close to Hamilton after the swimming pool, I took a huge gamble and tried to pass on the inside at La Rascase, I made it to his side and made the pass stick at Anthony Noghes. The next lap we hit the traffic that I had before my stop, and Petrov was trying to get past the first of the traffic under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane, but little did he know that the gap he made between him and the Lotus, I took the opportunity and got past under braking even though I bumped Petrov when trying to clear the lapped Lotus. The same lap i took La Rascase wide and knocked the outside barrier, damaging the front wing. While the damage was mainly superficial, it meant that we were going to lose a little bit of time during the last pitstop. I had a bunch of breathing room with Petrov losing more time with the traffic. Hamtilon pitted, and Petrov retired with a mechanical failure which meant that Hamilton was second and Alonso third. I made my third stop for scrubbed primes, they were used in my install lap, and converged behind some lap traffic and the cars in first and second.

Nathan McKane got a brilliant exit out of Portier and is now right on the gearbox of Alonso. The three leaders are within a second of each other as they go through the tunnel- McKane takes to the outside as they enter the light and- HE GETS PAST BOTH HAMILTON AND ALONSO TO THE LEAD! What a move from the HRT driver under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane to take the lead back that he has had for the duration of the grand prix. My goodness, only he would try that move and be able to make that stick.

The HRT garage was as loud as a music concert when I made the pass. They all knew that I had made an incredible pass for the lead. For the remaining laps, I had to nail a consistent pace so that they don't get back to the rear of my HRT. I responded to this by putting in the fastest lap of the race, which I already had from the stint before. I had to work through some of the lower midfield in the last few laps. But it was no matter as I passed the chequered to take a great victory in Monaco! This was the kind of weekend that began our title attack last year, we were at the front the whole weekend and we had great race pace and kept our nose mostly clean, outside of a few contacts with the wall and the altercation with Petrov. The team is mighty proud of this result, we bouncedback from two underperformed grand prixs and cemented our legitimacy for a second title. Colin Kolles called it the most mature drive I have had in these first two seasons.

Race Results:
1st McKane (Fastest Lap of the Race 1:14.823)
2nd Alonso +14.021
3rd Hamilton +48.549
...
14th Buemi +1 Lap
15th Liuzzi +2 Laps
16th Trulli +2 Laps

Not Classified:
Petrov - Suspension
Massa - Accident
Webber - Accident
Button - Accident Damage (Made contact with Vettel from Vettel's early spin, retired when damage became terminal)
Vettel - Gearbox

Post Race Tweets:

"What a special feeling that podium was, meeting the Prince was so cool!"

"Did a backflip Pastrana-esque into the water with Tonio and Andy, what a way to celebrate." Link for reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=L5N7R9Wbe_E#t=93s

"At BBC F1 Forum, EJ and co are trying to figure out how I made pass for lead stick."

[RealRacingRoots]

Video is Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1Iu6w3aAY

WDC Standings:
1st Alonso, Hamilton, 79
3rd Webber 78
4th Vettel 55
5th McKane 51
6th Schumacher 44
7th Petrov 34
8th Massa 32
9th Perez 28
10th Kobayashi 27
11th Heidfeld 26
12th Rosberg 18
13th Button 17
14th Barrichello 16
15th Di Resta 8
16th Maldonado 7
17th Alguersuari, Buemi 3
19th Sutil 1
Liuzzi, D'Ambrosio, Trulli, Glock and Kovalainen all have 0

WCC Standings:
1st Red Bull 133
2nd Ferrari 111
3rd McLaren 96
4th Mercedes 62
5th Renault 60
6th Sauber 55
7th HRT 51
8th Williams 23
9th Force India 9
10th Toro Rosso 6
Virgin and Lotus both have 0

Monaco GP Post-Weekend Quote:
Nathan McKane (1st)
"It was a weekend like this one which began our stellar run that we had in the middle of last season which put us right in the middle of the championship battle. The car was stellar around the streets of Monaco, giving me the opportunity to shine. It is always hard to make a overtake here, but when you are able to pull one off it makes our work all the more worth it. The pass on Alonso and Hamilton during the last stint is my favorite moment on the season so far. Being able to do something like that at Monaco was a tall task, but all the press and the fans went wild when I made it stick. It was a team effort getting the car to feel right. They did a mighty job after Turkey and Spain where luck just wasn't on our side. This weekend was a team effort, and I look forward to returning to Canada where we shocked the world one year ago."

[RealRacingRoots]

In Game Press Clippings from Monaco:
(Uhh, there weren't any... awkward. I guess I'll make one up?)


McKane Returns to the Front With Victory in Monaco
Current World Champion Nathan McKane took his second victory of the season after starting from the Pole. The HRT driver dove a great race, also taking the fastest lap of the race. He was quoted to say during the post race press conference that, "...this is one of my best races in F1."

Tweets From Between Race Weekends:

"In Boston watching Stanley Cup final. Wishes hockey was bigger in UK."

"Will be missing Le Mans again. Raced in 2009 with Creation. NCd, but enjoyed it."

"Looking at old newspapers which had stories on last years Canadian GP."

Canada Preview Quote:
Nathan McKane, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 1st, Race - 1st
"Before Canada last year, we had begun to get some decent points and were beginning to show some potential. Once we arrived in Montreal, the unthinkable happen and we were fastest the whole weekend. The F1 world stood up and took notice as one of the new teams took Victory in Montreal. It felt surreal to win my first F1 race in my rookie year. Little did I know at the time that it was only the beginning of a title hunt that would end in success. The circuit here is a lot of fun and it takes a good setup that will work in all three sectors. The double DRS will be interesting as braking into turn one is a great spot for passing here. I am looking to use what we learned in Monaco to the fullest in Montreal. And I hope to continue our surge of momentum we gained with our victory in the last round."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Practice:

"Low Drag and DRS key here. It'll be hard to get DRS activation points right for Qualy"

Practice Report:
This weekend we must stabilize our upswings and our downswings. We have had great success here last year, but the addition of DRS will make it very interesting. Before practice I had a meeting with Andy and the other engineers and we agreed that I should act very gingerly with the DRS activation because the exits of corners still have a lot of turning input to them. With the track being used for racing only twice or so a year and cold prime tires, it was very easy to spin out early on in the session with the green track.With that in mind, we made the first runs under race conditions only, with the DRS being activated at the allotted zones. Even when the tires warmed up, it was easy to light up the rears at the exits with the way the track is and the green-ness of it. The first run was nine laps, and while the car felt good, it was hard to push with the track being green. I also lost a bit of the front wing when I took a curb a bit wrong and bounced the car up. But, like Monaco, the curbs must be attacked a lot here in order to extract as much out of a lap as possible. While today will be important, tomorrow will be extra important as some Rain is predicted for the race on Sunday. We made some changes, did a systems check and went out for a run on a new set of primes. We still did the session in Race conditions, and will do the option run at the end in qualifying conditions. In the second run, the changes we made didn't help the car as the car was now prone to spinning in the transition of turn 6 to turn 7. With less than 15 minutes left in the session, it was time for the final run. On the last lap of that run, everything came together and we slotted ourselves in second with a blistering time. We had the pace in sector one and three, one on merit and three with great exits and attacking curbs, but we lose a bunch of time in the second sector. It is a great start to the weekend, and we will see how tomorrow goes with what we've learned today.

Practice Results:
1st Button 1:13.005
2nd McKane +0.303
3rd Hamilton +0.425
...
6th Kobayashi +0.761 (Kob is really doing well this year)
...
20th D'Ambrosio +2.600
21st Liuzzi +2.712
22nd Trulli +2.903

Post Practice Tweets:

"Audi really pushing hard this year, I like the chances for them."

"We got a slow top speed here, but our corner speed has been compensating. =D"

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Qualifying:

"Want to start out front so rain doesn't cause concertina effect."

Qualifying Report:
The last consistent try running of the weekend was upon us and it was qualifying. Today was important, although there will be a lot of shuffling of places early on depending on how wet it is tomorrow. We went out for our first run after one minute had elapsed and went for a three lap run. If the run went well, that would be it, but if we needed to get a better position we would go out for that second run. That first run went very well, with us getting provisional pole by less then half a thousandth of a second ahead of Petrov, with Heidfeld behind him. Due to the short length of the track, traffic once again played a role in the session in trying to get a lap when there was no one else around, or getting traffic on the back straight where you will get a toe from the car ahead. Five minutes left in the session and there weren't any major changes at the front of the field. Tried as they might, no one could improve and an improbable top 5 was set for tomorrow's grand prix, with some teams putting a wet setup on their cars. Being on Pole again in Canada will always feel special, after getting my first pole here a year ago. The team and I are looking to repeat what we did last year!

Qualifying Results:
1st McKane 1:13.090
2nd Petrov +0.042
3rd Heidfeld +0.512
4th Alonso +0.514
5th Di Resta +0.596
...
11th Button +1.266
...
13th Vettel +1.619
...
20th Glock +3.043
21st Liuzzi +4.417
22nd D'Ambrosio +4.472

Post Qualifying Tweets:

"Wow the Oreca Pug was slow in qualifying, shocking after Sebring."

"Clouds begun to roll in 2 hours after qualifying ended, beginning to rain now."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before the Race:

"Rain will lessen late in race, gamble when time for inters."

Race Report:
The track crews were working hard for hours trying to get as much of the standing water off track and into the grass. Before the race while all the teams were on the grid, Charlie Whiting was a passenger in the Medical car as it did a lap around the track to check if a standing start was doable. Five minutes before the parade lap, race control said that the race will stand under normal conditions and all cars must start on the Wet Tires. The start was good and I was able to maintain the lead after the first corner. Visibility was poor with the high amount of rainfall, but it was best to keep out front so I can see where I am going. The goal from then on out was to maintain a gap so when everyone pits I will have a good barrier if the stop isn't as fast as it could be. The fastest guy in that first run was Hamilton, as he stormed to the top three after a mediocre grid place. Heidfeld maintained second and had a few chances to get me when he had a few fast laps in relation to me. He was able to get past on the back straight, but I got past under braking and at the chicane before the front straight. Hamilton soon got past and had the best chances at me with his high speed, but I had to work the over-under the first time to get the position back. The first pit stop cycle came around and most of the leaders pitted on lap 11. I was content with my pace and stayed out an extra lap if they couldn't get their tires up to temp. The ploy just worked, as I was at pit exit Heidfeld was behind me which meant I kept my lead. Hamilton had a slower stop and surged back to the front. He made a pass for the lead a second time, but I took the inside for the pass. My tires locked up and Hamilton and I collided and went through the inside escape area with no effect. We both stumbled to get the power back on, but I was able to get back in front before the finish line. Afterwards, the Good Ship New Teams showed up, steady as she goes. I got past them with little issue, which allowed for the gap to stretch out a little bit as the second breakaway was slower in getting past. I pit for another set of Wets, the rain had begin lessened and a dry line was beginning to show. At this time, there was no chance to pit for inters at this time. I exited second with a decent gap to Alonso who was third. I was able to build a gap in the latter part of that run so that I was only a few seconds behind Heidfeld when he pitted the lap after I did. This meant i had a large gap in that next run, our pace and luck was in our favor. Early on in that run, the rain had stopped and teams were beginning to consider the change into inters. I was getting close to the new teams again but the first of them pitted for inters and let me past with ease. A few laps later, Webber took the fastest lap of the race and it was time to put on Inters. I kept the lead, but in that last run Hamilton and the second breakaway began to crawl back the gap that was after everyone stopped. Hamilton closed the gap to about two seconds at it's smallest. Those last laps felt like they were taking hours, but I managed to keep it clean and take the second win in a row. One year on winning in Canada will always feel special. I managed to control my pace and be consistent when it mattered. It was a strong drive in changeable conditions, and it puts us square in the title battle.

Race Results:
1st McKane
2nd Hamilton +1.975
3rd Heidfeld +5.960
...
20th Glock +2 Laps
21st Liuzzi +2 Laps
22nd Trulli +2 Laps

Not Classified:
Vettel - Spun Off

Post Race Tweets:

"Congrats to Audi for taking it home after two scary crashes."

"Team and I signing and dancing in the rain with trophies in the middle."

[RealRacingRoots]

Video is up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esK4Ms0iirQ

The replay system hasn't been showing all of the race for the last few rounds, which is extra disappointing. The replay system sucks a lot, nonetheless.

WDC Standings:
1st Hamilton 97
2nd Alonso 91
3rd Webber 84
4th McKane 76
5th Vettel 55
6th Schumacher 46
7th Petrov
8th Heidfeld 41
9th Massa 40
10th Kobayashi, Perez 28
12th Rosberg 22
13th Button 17
14th Barrichello 16
15th Di Resta 8
16th Maldonado 7
17th Buemi, Alguersuari 3
19th Sutil 1
Liuzzi, D'Ambrosio, Trulli, Glock and Kovalainen all with 0

WCC Standings:
1st Red Bull 139
2nd Ferrari 131
3rd McLaren 114
4th Renault 85
5th HRT 76
6th Mercedes 68
7th Sauber 56
8th Williams 23
9th Force India 9
10th Toro Rosso 6
Virgin and Lotus both with 0

Canadian Grand Prix Post-Weekend Quote
Nathan McKane (1st)
"While we continued with out great pace that we had in Monaco here on Friday and Saturday, the wet weather of Sunday proved to be a interesting challenge. All the teams have had limited time using the Pirelli wet tires and they proved to do their job very well. It was very wet in the early part of the race and visibility was low for everybody. The track crews did a great job before the race to clean up the track as much as they can, they helped made the development of the race a lot of fun. We were able to maintain a stable pace out in front and control the race, which is akin to the great job everyone in the team is doing right now. As much as it is me behind the wheel, these guys helped me get the first win of my career one year ago, and they give me the same support that they did when I was a rookie. This was a great weekend and I hope we can continue this momentum going into the rest of the European leg of the season."

[RealRacingRoots]

In Game Press Clippings From Canada

Two In A Row For Nathan McKane
With his second win in a row Nathan McKane showed why Hispania chose to retain the world champion after leading the way in Montreal.

Tweets From Between Race Weekends:

"The Valencia heat is nice, should come here for vacation."

"Tonio and I were given a tour around a Container Ship, so many products."

"Track is a drag, but the last sector is fun-ish."

"Wonder how much the DRS will really do..."

Valencia Preview Quote:
Nathan McKane, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 11th, Race - 7th
"The team's second home grand prix takes us to Valencia. We have a lot of momentum riding on our backs after winning two in a row. We began a similar streak one year ago, but didn't get the right balance here and wasn't as near to the front as we would have liked in 2010. It is a tricky track to find the right balance for all three sectors, given the track has a pair of long straights and a lot of mid to low speed corners in it. With the dry weather for the whole weekend, all teams got to be on top of their games as we are now in the long haul before the summer break. This is where a lot of points can be earned or lost, and it is time to make every session count."

[Shizuka]

1 - Both Renaults fighting for victory. WHAT. Blasphemy!
2 - Winning animation EXACTLY THE SAME like in Monaco. WHAT. Laziness @ Codemasters?

[RealRacingRoots]

1 - Both Renaults fighting for victory. WHAT. Blasphemy!
2 - Winning animation EXACTLY THE SAME like in Monaco. WHAT. Laziness @ Codemasters?

1.They got a good setup that weekend, and some of the top runners from Friday didn't have the best qualifying day. Heidfeld had great pace all race. I believe Petrov finished fourth or fifth too.

2. There are only a few animations for that sequence, i think there is a different one for winning the WDC and for finishing second and third. There are others depending on what happens in the race, too.

Did my first time trial session at Valencia for my warm up before doing practice in a few days. My gosh is the track horrible. In particular, turn 10 is a farce because of how tight it is which makes it hard to get the power down or you will go wide. And turn 19 and 20 sees to not be nice with the Aero/Mechanical grip in-balance that the game has. And the turn in for turn 2 is dumb, and turn 5 is too narrow.

And I need song requests, because unless I get an idea out of no where, I got nothing.

Races that still need songs:
Europe:
Britain:
Germany:
Hungary:
Korea:
India:

[Wizzie]

Five for Fighting - Chances (I'm not sure which race it'ld suit but I'm thinking Hungary for some reason)
Alistair Griffin - Just Drive (I think it'ld work best for GB)

[RealRacingRoots]

Britain and Korea have been filled. Wizzie is 2 for 3. Brolius Caesar is a bro name of a friend of mine, mine is Vitanbronio Liuzzi for reference. Is there anyone out there not Wizzie who has ideas?

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Practice:

"Car looks to be handful here, lots of balance work to be done."

Practice Report:
The sun was shining brightly over the Spanish coastal city as all of us got ready for practice. This was a track where we felt we struggled at last year, as we felt that there was more in the car but it just wouldn't give that extra pace that we needed. Getting the balance here is key, as a car that is able to turn in and attack the corners is needed with how turn-in is for most corners of this track. Once again three runs were scheduled for today, two prime and a option run at the end. The track was very dusty in the beginning, and still will be offline tomorrow, with these roads only being used for racing twice in the year albeit within a week of each other. The prime tire runs were to be without DRS in any zone, so under Lap 1-3 of the race conditions, with DRS being using in the Option run at the end. On the last lap of that run, I put the power on at the Exit of Turn 17 too early and aggressively, spun the car into the inside barrier and lost the front wing. I drove the car slowly to the pit where the team spent time getting a new wing on after doing a check to see if any other part of the car were damaged or not. The second lap on that run put us in P2 early on in the session, less then two tenths off of Schumacher. The lap was a great one, with the track being so dirty early on. While doing our checks, Massa went faster and put a half a second gap to Schumacher; with our best laps being done on the prime tires. We made some changes to the car, and when few cars were on track we went out for our second run. On one of the later runs of that stint, I had the power too high at the mid and exit of Turn 5 and spun out harmlessly. The changes that were made didn't make much of a difference, but the car still felt nice-ish. There was some turn-in issues which could come from not braking enough or not setting up for the corner right. We returned to the pits with about 15 minutes to go, we were satisfied with the work we had done with the car and called the session over for our side of the HRT garage as we wanted to save that extra set of options for qualifying. While many other front funners found their pace late in the session which dropped us down the field a little, we were happy with what we had. Button did improve over Massa's time from earlier, and was fastest this session. While we could have been faster if we used the DRS at all, we chose to work on race pace first, qualifying pace second.

Practice Results:
1st Button 1:39.286
2nd Massa +0.201
3rd Hamilton +0.356
...
7th Vettel +0.776
8th McKane +0.814 (No DRS used)
9th Rosberg +0.946
...
22nd Kovalainen +6.256
23rd Liuzzi +6.331
24th D'Ambrosio +6.438 (Half a second faster then 107%)

Post Practice Tweets:

"Wonder how much faster we will be with DRS..."

"Took a tour of the spectator area with the hot-tubs, weird."

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Qualifying:

"I wonder how much faster with DRS on we will be...

Qualifying Report:
The crowds had amassed for a really important day in this grand prix weekend: qualifying. With it being quite tricky to pass on this track, with DRS or not, it was crucial to get a good result as first lap heroics can only get you so far here. The plan was for two runs, but like last time that could be flexible if the DRS made us fast enough to qualify near the front. We were among the first five to go out for our first run. Three flyers were to be done this run. The first lap was marred by people on their out laps, which meant that I had to be hesitant under acceleration and turn in. The second lap I got no traffic and nailed home a lap which put me on provisional pole by two tenths of a second up on Alonso in his second home race. Behind the provisional front row, there was a gap of more then a second to the third place driver Vettel, which stumped everyone up and down the paddock. Did Alonso and I put in absolute blinder of laps? With five minutes to go, Button became P3 with a lap which put him within a second of my time. My lap was so good, in fact, that the only driver from the new teams that was within 107% was Kovalainen, all the others were out of that range with Trulli being 109% of my time! The main reason that most of the others were off Alonso and myself time was because of our pace in the second and third sectors. Hamilton went Purple in the first sector on his final lap, but he didn't do enough to move up the standings with enough vigor. The team had taken a pole at it's home race, José Ramón Carabante and the other executives of the team were ecstatic with the result, and are hoping for a win. The home crowds were pleased as the Home Team and the Home hero were on the front row.

Qualifying Results:
1st McKane 1:39.067
2nd Alonso +0.155
3rd Button +0.968
4th Vettel +1.078
5th Hamilton +1.285
...
20th Kovalainen +5.882
107% Time: 1:46.002
21st Liuzzi +7.407
22nd Glock +8.297
23rd D'Ambrosio +8.471
24th Trulli +9.504

Post Qualifying Tweets:

"How did I do that lap. I don't think anybody knows."

"Media have been flooding me for hours trying to get a question or two."

"It will be tomorrow that matters now, unlike what the media thinks."

[Shizuka]

So, the DRS gave you about 7-8 tenths, with the remaining time probably being driver skills?

[RealRacingRoots]

I had a similar situation show up when I was doing some testing in Time Trial mode. I was able to consistently put in laps of around the same pace, but out of no where I find six tenths of a second and I was dumbfounded at how fast that lap was. I've tried to do laps as fast as it but just can't. The Ai probably had huge traffic problems, it wouldn't surprise me, because Alonso could have taken pole with the pace that he showed.

[RealRacingRoots]

(Press Release I've Made Up)

Stewards allow Drivers to race

Early on Sunday, it was confirmed by race director Charlie Whiting that the four drivers who weren't within the 107% barrier in qualifying are allow to race in the European Grand Prix. HRT's Tonio Liuzzi, Team Lotus' Jarno Trulli and Marussia-Virgin drivers Timo Glock and Jarome D'Ambrosio were all outside of the 107% by the end of Qualifying. While the slowest of the four drivers, Team Lotus' Jarno Trulli, was two seconds from reaching the 107% barrier, he was within that pace during Practice and Charlie and the fellow Stewards also took into account that if it weren't for pole sitter Nathan McKane and Fernando Alonso's lap times, Liuzzi, Glock and D'Ambrosio would have been within the 107% barrier with the lap that third place driver Jenson Button did.

"It's an interesting situation," Charlie was quoted to say in a press release, "the pace that Fernando [Alonso] and Nathan [McKane] showed during qualifying was a lot faster then was to be expected. We believe that their pace wont be as dramatically faster in the race as it was in qualifying compared to the other front runners, so we were inclined to allow who wasn't within 107% to race."

---

Doing race tonight, video probably will be edited and uploaded tomorrow or tonight.

[RealRacingRoots]

Last Tweet Before Race:

"Looking to make Home Team Fans proud. Looking to make it three in a row."

Race Report:
Three stopping has been the flavor of the month for the last few rounds. The wear rate as been higher at the last few tracks, and it gives a lot more freedom for strategists, which leads to more fun for us behind the wheel. The sun was shining with not a cloud in sight for the start. I had a good start and was able to get to the outside to shut the door on Alonso. After the second corner, Button took second as he had more momentum on the run to turn 2. Button was keen to get back on the right path after having a dismal start to the season, with only seventeen points so far. He was within DRS range and was able to get past multiple times on the run to turn 12, but I was able to outbrake him and take back the lead. On the last lap of that first run, I over turned-in at the tight turn 10, my right rear tire tapped the inside barrier and I spun in front of the field. I kept the throttle floored to not stall the car and no one was able to get past, luckily. I pit alongside Vettel and Hamilton with Alonso and Button electing to stay out another lap. The undercut worked, and I remained in the lead, but Hamilton lost out as Alonso got out ahead of him with Vettel in second. Everyone near the front took Options tires for their second stint. Vettel tried to make the DRS pass stick on the straight past turn 10, numerous times it didn't work as I was able to get past under braking for turn 12. On an attempt late in the run, he strayed too close to me on my right, clipped my car and lost his front wing. Alonso was watching behind and had to slow down in order to dodge the debris and get past Vettel in the final sector. It meant that I now had some breathing room before the next stint. I pit for options for the third stint, the other contenders went on the Primes for this run leaving the race in my hands. I responded to the call putting in the fastest lap in the race. I got some lap traffic on the run, but only a few cars because I got to them on the laps that they were to pit. I pit for the final time for Primes, exiting P4 behind Rosberg, Webber and Button who had assumed the lead and was looking to bounce back. Slowly I was beginning to grind back to the front with being on newer tires. I got within a few seconds of Rosberg when he pitted for options. Webber was exiting and was past before turn two to take second, Button had not pit. On that lap, I went past a stopped McLaren and my gap delta changed to a Plus from a Minus which meant that he was out with a mechanical failure. It was reported that his front brakes had completely worn out and a disk had imploded under braking, leaving him with no choice to retire. From there on out, it was smooth sailing from there on out, as I had a healthy gap to Hamilton, who took second when Rosberg pitted. I took the chequered flag in front of the Spanish fans to take the first win for HRT on home soil. While I didn't get as loud of a roar as Alonso took third place on the podium, but I felt proud that we can share the Spanish glory with their favored son. It was a great day for Spanish Auto-Racing.

Race Results:
1st McKane (Fastest Lap: 1:39.749)
2nd Hamilton +7.481
3rd Alonso +8.913
...
21st Glock +2 Laps
22nd Trulli +2 Laps
23rd Liuzzi +2 Laps
Not Classified
Button - Brakes

Post Race Tweets:

"The straights aren't straight, which didn't help DRS here."

"Oh well, Fans are happy HRT and Alonso on podium."

"Problem with the Spanish press - I don't speak Spanish. lol"

[RealRacingRoots]

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLkY2YQtBuU

WDC Standings:
1st Hamilton 115
2nd Alonso 106
3rd McKane 101
4th Webber 94
5th Vettel 61
6th Heidfeld 49
7th Schumacher, Petrov 46
9th Massa 40
10th Rosberg 34
11th Perez 32
12th Kobayashi 29
13th Button 17
14th Barrichello 16
15th Di Resta 8
16th Maldonado 7
17th Buemi, Alguersuari 3
19th Sutil 1
D'Ambrosio, Liuzzi, Trulli, Glock and Kovalainen all have 0

WCC Standings:
1st Red Bull 155
2nd Ferrari 146
3rd McLaren 132
4th HRT 101
5th Renault 95
6th Mercedes 80
7th Sauber 61
8th Williams 23
9th Force India 9
10th Toro Rosso 6
Virgin and Lotus both have 0

European Grand Prix Post-Weekend Quote:
Nathan McKane (1st)
"This grand prix weekend can be called one of the best for the team. While we were anticipating to be in the bottom of the top ten on pace considering how we did last year, the car proved to had great pace under qualifying and race conditions. I was able to get a great start and was able hold on to the lead as Button and Vettel took shots at me while they used the DRS. When our strategy alternated from everyone else, the race was on and we saw some of the best laps of the weekend, and it was a lot of fun in that last stint before we put on the Prime tires. The team got it's first win on Spanish soil, which left everyone with smiles on their faces after the race. We have finally arrived in Spain, and we hope to stay in the spotlight after this win."

[RealRacingRoots]

(Official Team Press Release, Copy Pasta'd from HRT Website)

Thesan Capital acquire a significant shareholding in Spanish Formula 1 team Hispania Racing


• The Spanish firm becomes the main shareholder of Grupo Inversor Hispania, current owner of the Formula 1 team.

• The objective of Thesan Capital is, maintaining the current team, to develop its strategy to grow in a market with a lot of potential for the upcoming years.


Thesan Capital has reached an agreement by which it has acquired a majority shareholding in Grupo Inversor Hispania from José Ramón Carabante. Grupo Inversor Hispania is the main shareholder of Hispania Racing, owner of the sole Formula 1 license in Spain, under which Hispania Racing races. Thesan Capital thus becomes the controlling shareholder of the Spanish Formula 1 team.

The Spanish investment group will lead the development of Hispania Racing in the upcoming years, maintaining the current team and directors, which is one of the main assets of the company, and will try to develop and search for opportunities to optimize and improve the performance of the team in the upcoming seasons, alongside progressively making the team more Spanish and definitively settling the team in Spain.

The Thesan Capital team, who consider the acquisition of Hispania Racing as an opportunity to enter a sector with great prospects of growing, will work with the aim of strengthening the strategic management of the group.

(Will post thoughts on Major News later today after I sleep.)

[RealRacingRoots]

Nathan McKane's thoughts on Thesan Capital (incl. related topics)

Jose Ramon Carabante, Colin Kolles and myself have been in many meetings since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. We really wanted to make the team as stable as possible for the seasons to come, whether I was there or not. Kolles did an amazing job when I entered the team to get it ready for Bahrain that year because that ownership change was a last minute job to say the least. We managed to stay afloat during that season, the goal was just to survive although I went above and beyond and won the WDC. While winning was good and all, we had to make sure the team would still be for next season. With the Dallara deal ending midway through last season, we had to have big changes in terms of infrastructure so that we can design and manufacture the car. The reorganization process took a lot of time out of the off season for us, which really made me worried if we would be on the grid for Melbourne or not this year. While we got the car ready to be displayed at the last test, it was a huge blow to my morale that we couldn't test it then. A bunch of new guys had to be hired so that we would make the trip to Australia, and their inexperience showed. Kolles did a great job to get everything back in order after Australia and got everything ready as possible for Malaysia. Jose wasn't pleased with the team's mis-organization, to say the least; and he was looking to sell the team off if we couldn't solve issues in the team so that the day-to-day operations can be stable. My antics on track would never be enough for him to stay on board if the team wouldn't work off track and there wasn't enough cash coming in.

Gigawave became a personal sponsor for me mid-way through last season but they give peanuts compared to what the team needed to keep afloat (even with the P6 WCC money we got last season). So the updates stopped after two rounds and Thesan began the buyout process. I was nervous and very stressed out off track (it showed at Istanbul); I never knew of any of the firms who wanted to take over ownership which left me to believe that the team would go belly up faster then it already was. I had a meeting with Thesan representatives the day after the deal was done and they discussed their plans for the team. They are really eager to move the team from Kolles' facilities in Germany to a base in Spain. They also want to get the development program restarted as they want the transition to be as smooth as possible. They give me faith in the face of doubt, although I really wonder if they will be in for the long haul considering that no one knew of them before the buy out process began. If they remain on board with my title defense at hand, we shall see. All I know, is that they like what they see, and they want to improve on what we got.

[RealRacingRoots]

Song for India Chosen, just Hungary and Germany left.

In Game Press Clippings From Valencia

Great Form Continues For Nathan McKane

Nathan McKane's impressive form continues with a third consecutive win at Valencia. People are now asking the question, could Nathan McKane repeat as the World Driver's Champion?

Tweets From Between Race Weekends:

"Did a demo run in downtown Valencia, many fans in attendance."

"At Dunsfold for a very special interview!!"

"This Stig person, I swear I've raced against him in the Le Mans Series..."

England Preview Quote:
Nathan McKane, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 5th, Race - 3rd
"After a myriad of races away from central Europe, we are back for the long haul to the Summer break starting with my home race at Silverstone. I really like the changes they made to the track for last year, and we get to see the full change complete including the new start/finish straight. Last year our surge up the driver's standings was in full swing and I was full of confidence with what the team gave me. With the ownership change, we are beginning to restart the development program that was halted before the new owners came in. With them, they return the program into full swing and we got new parts for this weekend. I am really looking forward to this weekend, and I hope we can continue our successes from here on out."

[Peter]

RealRacingRoots and I have started a F1 2011 Co-op Chmapionship, with Minardi, or their current incarnation, Torro Rosso, with me playing the role as HENSNBM, and him being Luca Badoer. So far so good, after both of us being handed grid spot penalties for the race. I got a 30 grid spot penalty for simply pausing the game for a few seconds! He got a 10 grid spot for dangerous driving.

We did well enough in the race, he was en route for points, until e spun and threw it away, and I made a brilliant drive to 2nd. We are driving on Expert difficulty, with Legandary AI, and all the other rules set for maximum realism.

[Wizzie]

I got a 30 grid spot penalty for simply pausing the game for a few seconds!

How the bathplug is that even possible?

[Peter]

I got a 30 grid spot penalty for simply pausing the game for a few seconds!

How the bathplug is that even possible?

I don't know I remember just pausing to tell Crashbroke about something through chat, and next thing I know, I see that i'm disqualified from the session, thne in qualifying, I see that after it, there was a +30POS next to my name

[RealRacingRoots]

Upgrades for Silverstone:
Package: Reduce Engine Wear by 10%
Minor: Increase Front Downforce by 5%

Last Tweet Before Practice:

"New pit complex looks cool, will miss the character of the old one."

Practice Report:
We were able to do so well in the last few rounds with upgrades that stopped after the second part of the program arrived for Monaco. Now with new owners on board, we can focus on sustaining our pace and improving the car, starting here in Silverstone. We got new front aero bits to test out in the first run. Weather reports are predicting that some light rain will develop around the half way mark in the session. At the end of the first run, we were in the bottom part of the top ten, but we weren't able to get as good of a time as we could out of the car since once we got the car up to speed, the prime tires were worn out. We made some changes, put on a new set of primes and went out for run two with 35 minutes left in the session. Some cloud cover had began to crawl over the circuit when we were in the garage and it looked like it was going to rain in the next few laps. The rain did indeed begin to fall early on in that run, which made it impossible to improve my lap time from earlier in the session. A lot of the cars were still doing laps on dry tires which mean an obvious dry line was being formed even though the rain was beginning to pick up. We made a gamble and put on the option tires for that run. The rain had picked up a lot and visibility had dropped like a rock. There was no chance I was going to get a good lap in these conditions. Intermediates wouldn't do the job now, extreme wets were the only option in my mind even though others went out on intermediates. It was a nightmare out on track. Aquaplaning everywhere offline. But I soldiered on, although I spun and damaged the front wing early on. Later on, the car aquaplaned at turn one into a huge spin into the gravel trap. I was beached with no way to get out. Session over. We ended up way down in the standings because we weren't able to get the option run in when it was dry out. We did get enough good data from the first prime run, but tomorrow will prove to be tricky to get back on track.

Practice Results:
1st Alonso 1:31.072
2nd Rosberg +0.533
3rd Webber +1.242
...
17th Petrov +2.763
18th McKane +2.806
19th Sutil +2.993
20th D'Ambrosio +4.118
21st Liuzzi +4.157
22nd Glock +4.795

Post Practice Tweets:

"Traditional English Summer Weather, should have predicted this would happen."

"At least the rest of the weekend will be dry."

[Shizuka]

I got a 30 grid spot penalty for simply pausing the game for a few seconds!

Only in a game...
Seriously, how is that possible? What was Codemasters smoking?