FORCDA 2010 Season

[ADx_Wales]

And so we begin again...

Its now a warm friday evening in Bahrain and I've upset the applecart, 5th in first practice 6th in second, calls from certain "tabloid" journalists claiming that the other two brits L and J are not trying, how the hell did they turn up?

Last season I paraded the Union Flag on my high-speed hard-hat, this season I've been sent special designs for each race, crazy deals popped up since my success last season, For this round I'm displaying the flag of Bahrain in some vain attempt by the National government to promote me as their "Home" driver, conspiracy theorists can stand up but have probably got bigger things to stand up against.

The Second generation Dallara F1 car is standing me in good stead for qualifying, however, despite CK's calls for me to be 12th or higher in Qually, If i get into the top-ten I will not do a single lap, If I'm on the option I KNOW that I will destroy them within 2 laps, fingers crossed.

The Bahrain Layout hasnt changed, its unnessasary appendage looks to bore the bits off anyone who dare look at that section. I keep getting told by my engineer that we "need to be a little quicker in sector 3" failing to realise we arent in the fastest car on the track. But we're getting gradually closer every race.

(by the way, they better come up with an update pack for the 2011 season, New Silverstone starting position, The Nurburgring, and the re-shortening of the Bahrain layout, maybe even new car liveries)

[Wizzie]

Pre-Italy:

The silly season has been incredibly active over the past few weeks with Schumacher's retirment and the implications throughout the field. In the lead up to Italy Kimi Raikkonen was offically confirmed as the "anointed one" as the successor of Michael at Ferrari while McLaren have announced that the competition for the second seat alongside Alonso is down to a head-to-head between Lewis Hamilton and Sammy Jones. Meanwhile Williams have issued a statement saying that they have penned a 3 year deal with Nico Rosberg which means he'll be driving a Williams until the end of 2009 atleast. Then came the news that Midland had been sold to a consortium led by the Dutch car manufacturer Spyker. Finally BMW Sauber have done the deal with Robert Kubica which means he'll be Melrose's teammate until the end of 2008 when both their contracts are set to expire.

Round 15: Italy

Qualifying:

On a day where Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and even Pedro De La Rosa had the equipment to take pole, World Champion Daniel Melrose showed them all the way by taking pole in a car that was inferior to the Mercedes and Schumacher in a straightline but capable of holding its own. Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld were 5th and 6th confirming that German and Italian engines were the ones to have. A team that was having a torrid time though was Renault as Kovaleinen was a disappointing 9th while Alonso was shockingly last. Giancarlo Fisichella hauled his crapbox of a Williams to 10th place on the grid while Mark Webber continues his hate-hate relationship with Monza by plonking his Williams in a lowly 17th.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
3. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
5. F. Massa (Ferrari)
6. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
7. S. Jones (Honda)
8. J. Button (Honda)
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
10. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
11. J. Trulli (Toyota)
12. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Ferrari)
13. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
14. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari)
15. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth)
16. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)
17. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
18. C. Albers (Spyker-Toyota)
19. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
20. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
21. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. F. Alonso (Renault)

Race:
The Ferrari party was ruined by one man in the space of 5 minutes in the most dramatic way possible. That man was Daniel Melrose. First Michael Schumacher and Melrose were battling for the lead during the first stint until Schumacher tried to make a move around the outside of the Australian on the run to the Parabolica when he entered Melrose's blind spot. The two touched sending Schumacher into a terrifying series of barrelrolls which put him out of the race. The incident was investigated by the stewards but they didn't take any further action against Melrose. They did exactly the same thing when Massa tried to go around the outside of Melrose into the Ascari chicane and was side by side with Melrose at corner entry until Melrose understeered wide into the Ferrari putting himself in the grass and Felipe in a spin. Schumacher himself wasn't innocent either as he had tapped Pedro De La Rosa into a spin on lap 5 while they were battling for second. Amid all the chaos Kimi Raikkonen made a one stop stratagy work giving himself and McLaren their first win of the season. BMW scored a double podium with Melrose 2nd and Heidfeld 3rd to help BMW's constructors championship bid. Honda scored more points while Webber and Trulli rounded out the points.

Results:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1h 13m 45.094
2. D. Melrose (BMW): +31.193
3. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +51.139
4. F. Massa (Ferrari): +51.796
5. S. Jones (Honda): +1:08.559
6. J. Button (Honda): +1:19.655
7. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +1 LAP
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1 LAP
10. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
11. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota): +1 LAP
12. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
13. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Ferrari): +1 LAP
14. C. Albers (Spyker-Toyota): +1 LAP
15. N. Jani (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
16. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +2 LAPS
17. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
18. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
DNF. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
DNF. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
DNF. F. Alonso (Renault)
DNF. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)

Pole: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:21.516
Fastest Lap: K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:21.532
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-10, 12-14, 16-18, 26-36 (Total: 27)
M. Schumacher: 11 (Total: 1)
F. Massa: 15 (Total: 1)
K. Raikkonen: 19-25, 37-53 (Total: 24)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 136 points (10 wins, 3 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 74 points (2 wins, 4 2nds)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 61 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 56 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
5. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 52 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
6. F. Alonso (Renault): 49 points (2 2nds, 2 3rds)
7. S. Jones (Honda): 27 points (1 3rd)
8. J. Button (Honda): 27 points (1 3rd)
9. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 20 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 19 points (1 2nd)
11. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 19 points (1 3rd)
12. J. Trulli (Toyota): 17 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
14. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
18. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 155 points (10 wins, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 130 points (3 wins, 6 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 101 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 77 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 54 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 37 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 23 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 2 points (Best Result: 2 8ths)
10. Midland F1 Racing Toyota/Spyker MF1 Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the first of the 3 flyaways to close the season at Shanghai, China.

[Wizzie]

Race results for Italy now up

[tommykl]

It's funny how Jones and Button have exactly the same total...

[the Masked Lapwing]

Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-10, 12-14, 16-18, 26-36 (Total: 27)
M. Schumacher: 11 (Total: 1)
F. Massa: 15 (Total: 1)
K. Raikkonen: 19-25, 37-53 (Total: 24)
D. Melrose: 27-40, 45-58 (Total: 28)

Now that can't be right...

[ADx_Wales]

Saturday, and P3 saw me 6th fastest, I dont know about you lot but I'm looking at a great season ahead.

And for qualifying, even though I'd done my duty of getting into the top 12 for CK, and more importantly got into the top-ten qualifying session, I decided to stick the primes on for 1 lap, not set a time, just lightly scrubbed my tyres for the race, if thats the way the rules are set.

10th on the grid for Sunday...

[AndreaModa]

It's funny how Jones and Button have exactly the same total...

FINALLY ahead of Button in the WDC!! It's been a long time coming

[ADx_Wales]

Sunday:

Discovered though not doing a full lap in q3 and being 10th on the grid, means I can choose any compound I like to begin the race upon, Options at the start, made it up to 3rd before pitstops, made it back to 3rd on the Primes, Stuck behind Webber for the last few laps, closed up on the twistier section but was outdone by the Renault power on the fast stuff, Podium finish again, and should set the tone for the rest of the year...

Bahrain: Qual 10th, Race 3rd.
15 Points (3rd)
Hispania 4th in constructors.

[ADx_Wales]

2 Minor technical issues.

Theres an achievement on xbox live called "practise makes perfect" and can be awarded to those who take part in the "full weekend" of all 3 practice sessions all 3 qualifying rounds and the race, compared to the "short weekend" of 1 hour practice, 20 minute qualifying and the race...

...Have decided to do the "long weekend" for the first time since sepang last season, and completed all practice, and have not got this achievement unlocked :-S.

Also, The suggestion by the engineer that if my teammate is faster than me I can copy his setup...
Still no sign of that either, even though I was 5 seconds a lap quicker than him througout Bahrain.

Another (minor) issue is, when leaving the pits, you do not incur a penalty for crossing the white line on pit exit.

[ADx_Wales]

Managed to get the practice makes perfect achievement, finally. Dont know why it took so long even though I did all 3 practice sessions a few times before...

In Practice was getting blocked, while going for my fastest lap of the session, by webber on one occasion, then Kovalainen, and the same thing with Hamilton, was not impressed, 5th in 2 of the sessions, maybe fate was telling me I could not go faster if I tried.

Qualifying and again got into the top 10, and with "heavy rain reported for sunday" I still did not want to risk wearing out a set of racing tyres, a scrub lap on primes, no time set, 10th on the grid for the "wet" race on sunday.

Race, Overcast, so I was right to doubt, starting on options, dropped to 12th at the start but made that back through several overtakes in the penultimate corner on seperate laps, got up to 7th before pitting, and when everyone was done, I was 5th, and again, it was where I stayed for the last laps of the race, could not catch up to Hamilton, Webber won on his home ground...

25 Points, 4th in the standings, and with Alonso not finishing in Bahrain, and Massa strugging to get by his countryman, and more importantly, my team mate, Bruno Senna, at Melbourne. Hispania have got more points than Ferrari in the constructors standings, which is probably the last time we can celebrate that little bit of trivia as the season takes off to Malaysia, and again will be wearing the Malaysian flag on my helmet for that race, could they not just bring Alex Yoong out of "retirement", or is it cheaper this way?

Australia: Qual 10th, Race 5th

[Ide]

Completely forgot to keep updating this as I finished my season in the Hispania.
I managed wins at Montréal, Spa and Monza. And they say this is "expert mode"?
Came 4th in the championship, behind Hamilton, Webber and Vettel. HRT came 5th in the constructors (219 points) with points shared 202-17 between Bruno and I.
I'll try to remember to write up my second season as lead driver at Toro Rosso. I had offers from Force India and Williams but they disappeared after a crap race in Korea...

[Wizzie]

Completely forgot to keep updating this as I finished my season in the Hispania.
I managed wins at Montréal, Spa and Monza. And they say this is "expert mode"?
Came 4th in the championship, behind Hamilton, Webber and Vettel. HRT came 5th in the constructors (219 points) with points shared 202-17 between Bruno and I.
I'll try to remember to write up my second season as lead driver at Toro Rosso. I had offers from Force India and Williams but they disappeared after a crap race in Korea...

Congrats on finishing 4th but may I ask how many podiums, poles and fastest laps you scored for the sake of the database?

[Wizzie]

Pre-China:

First thing first and Neel Jani has signed a contract with Toro Rosso for 2007 which means that Doornbos and Jani swap yet again for the final 3 races while Michael Ammermuller will be in the other car as he'll get a proper run in a straight fight between himself and Speed for the second seat. Down Spyker's way and Rubens Barrichello will replace Christijan Albers for the final 3 races while Spyker are interested in two pay drivers in the form of German Adrian Sutil and Australian Dave Simpson for next year. Finally news from Williams and they will be using Toyota engines next season as they've signed on Kazuki Nakajima as a test driver alongside Alexander Wurz.

Round 16: China

Qualifying:
There's something about the Shanghai circuit that brings out the best out of Renault as for the second year in a row they locked out the front of the grid. BMW locked out row two while Honda secured 5th and 6th with Jones and of Button when Raikkonen was Disqualified for missing scruineering. The grid was decided on everyone's first or second runs as the weather got steadily worse so we had some major surprises like Red Bull 11th and 12th, Barrichello 13th and Toyota being simply abmysal. However the hero of the day had to be Neel Jani who pulled out the lap of the season to haul the Toro Rosso to 7th on the grid.

Grid:
1. F. Alonso (Renault)
2. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
3. D. Melrose (BMW)
4. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
5. S. Jones (Honda)
6. J. Button (Honda)
7. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
8. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
9. F. Massa (Ferrari)
10. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
11. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
12. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Ferrari)
13. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
14. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
15. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
17. J. Trulli (Toyota)
18. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
19. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
20. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
21. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)

Qualifying 2:

Grid:
1. F. Alonso (Renault)
2. D. Melrose (BMW)
3. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
4. S. Jones (Honda)
5. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
8. J. Button (Honda)
9. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
10. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
11. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Ferrari)
12. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
13. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
14. F. Massa (Ferrari)
15. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
16. J. Trulli (Toyota)
17. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
18. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
19. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
20. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
21. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
22. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)

Race:
The start of the Chinese Grand Prix was a rather damp affair as inters were the order of the day. Immediatly Renault got the jump on Melrose as the Australian and Sammy Jones duked it out for third into turn one before Melrose and Jones collided sending Jones to the back of the field. Meanwhile Jani fell down the field faster than a brick until he found himself in the backmarker zone from which he never recovered from. Alonso pulled away at the rate of 3 seconds a lap and that was as far as his race was concerned. However behind him Melrose, Kovaleinen, De La Rosa, Heidfeld, Button and Coutlhard were all duking it out for the positions behind the Spaniad. In the end Melrose won the battle after Kovaleinen pitted one lap too early for slicks which meant that Melrose, De La Rosa and Button all got the jump in the few tricky laps with the slick tyres on a drying track. In the end Alonso won by over a lap from Melrose, De La Rosa, Heidfeld, Button, Michael Schumacher, Massa and Coulthard.

1. F. Alonso (Renault): 1h 34m 39.622
2. D. Melrose (BMW): +1 LAP
3. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
4. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +1 LAP
5. J. Button (Honda): +1 LAP
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +1 LAP
7. F. Massa (Ferrari): +1 LAP
8. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +1 LAP
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1 LAP
10. S. Jones (Honda): +2 LAPS
11. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
12. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
13. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +2 LAPS
14. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
15. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +2 LAPS
16. J. Trulli (Toyota): +2 LAPS
17. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
18. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
19. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
20. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota): +3 LAPS
21. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota): +3 LAPS
DNF. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)

Pole: F. Alonso (Renault): 1:34.746
Fastest Lap: F. Alonso (Renault): 1:35.928
Leaders: F. Alonso: 1-56 (Total: 56)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 144 points (10 wins, 4 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 76 points (2 wins, 4 2nds)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 61 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
=4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 59 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
=4. F. Alonso (Renault): 59 points (1, win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds) (Will find out who's ahead on tiebreaker later)
6. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 52 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
7. J. Button (Honda): 31 points (1 3rd)
8. S. Jones (Honda): 27 points (1 3rd)
9. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 24 points (1 3rd)
10. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 20 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
11. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 19 points (1 2nd)
12. J. Trulli (Toyota): 17 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 13 points (1 3rd)
14. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
18. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 168 points (10 wins, 4 2nds, 3 3rds)
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 135 points (3 wins, 6 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 111 points (2 wins, 2 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 83 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 58 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 37 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 23 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
10. Midland F1 Racing Toyota/Spyker MF1 Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the trip across the Strait to Japan for the Japanese Grand Prix

[ADx_Wales]

A tense weekend at Sepang, culminating in a well earned 2nd place.

5th fastest in 1st practice, struggling with a setup from then on, being blocked while on hot laps and nothing getting done about it by the stewards.

Qualifying was fun however, dry Q1, then an utter washout Q2, in which I was fastest, and then not doing a timed lap in Q3, if i was doing full distance (which i havent been since starting this career) I would have been doing a lap or two, but I do not want to risk ruining my tyres early and losing places at the end of the race.

Race gets underway from 10th on the grid, better starts from lower placed drivers, but recoverd my spot after the first lap, getting up to 3rd before pitting, a massive help from Bruno Senna blocking Massa (for position) and making me able to get past Felipe, of many places gained on the prime set of tyres, capable of getting 2nd place when everyone pitted, however...

...Liuzzi won the race , the Force India cars had been on form all weekend, getting grouped in with the other Merc powerd cars, however with my 2nd place and none of the front runners finishing where they need to, I'm now...

...the JOINT LEADER!, on 43 points, with Mark Webber.
HRT still 4th in the constructors standings, still ahead of Ferrari.

[Wizzie]

GP4 ate through all 4 savefiles I had for Shanghai over the weekend (Yes I made 4 attempts at the Grand Prix to try and figure out what the problem was to no avail) so I have to do it all again

[Wizzie]

Race results for China now up and we don't have another Melrose victory for once

[AndreaModa]

before Melrose and Jones collided sending Jones to the back of the field.

I'll be having words with the stewards Melrose!

[the Masked Lapwing]

before Melrose and Jones collided sending Jones to the back of the field.

I'll be having words with the stewards Melrose!

Everyone seems to be angering Jones. Great work Melrose!

[AndreaModa]

before Melrose and Jones collided sending Jones to the back of the field.

I'll be having words with the stewards Melrose!

Everyone seems to be angering Jones. Great work Melrose!

I tell you if my upcoming race in Germany doesn't get me a race finish, my laptop's structural rigidity will be in great danger...!

[Phoenix]

I tell you if my upcoming race in Germany doesn't get me a race finish, my laptop's structural rigidity will be in great danger...!

Use teddy bears. They come cheaper.

[Wizzie]

Pre-Japan:

Several major news items made their way to the headlines in the leadup to Japan. The first was Toyota tearing up Ralf Schumacher's contract a year early and replacing him with Juan Pablo Montoya for next season. Meanwhile Williams have confirmed that Nick Heidfeld has signed a one year deal with the team to partner rookie Nico Rosberg for 2007. Then came the news out of Honda that Rubens Barrichello has been signed on to replace the departing Sammy Jones who is still widely tipped to beat Lewis Hamilton to the second McLaren seat. Finally news out of Renault and they say it's a 50-50 contest between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher for the vacant seat at the team.

Round 17: Japan

Qualifying:

It's hard to believe that this will be Michael Schumacher's penultimate race as his career winds up to a close. He pulled out the lap of his career to snatch pole from Daniel Melrose's nose by just under a tenth of a second. Melrose was on red hot form as he immediately "hooked up" to the Suzuka track where he won his historic first championship last season. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa filled row two while the Toyotas were in formation right behind with Ralf Schumacher ahead of Trulli. Jones continued his good run of form this season in 7th while Nick Heidfeld continues his strong close to the season in 8th. Major disappointments were McLaren in 12th and 13th and Red Bull being the best part of 0.6-1.1 seconds slower than Jani in the B-Team.

Grid:
1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2. D. Melrose (BMW)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. F. Massa (Ferrari)
5. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
6. J. Trulli (Toyota)
7. S. Jones (Honda)
8. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
10. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
11. J. Button (Honda)
12. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
13. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
14. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
16. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
17. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
18. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
19. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
20. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
21. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
22. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)

Race:
The Japanese Grand Prix has always been a favourite of both the drivers and the fans. Not only is it one of the fastest and most exhilerating tracks on the calender but it also provides sheer madness regardless of the weather. Daniel Melrose reigned Supreme as he took his 11th win of the season breaking Schumacher's points record set in 2004 in the process. Fernando Alonso finished 2nd but was lucky to finish on the podium as polesitter Michael Schumacher and Toyota self destructed. Amist the choas Felipe Massa completed the podium with Nick Heidfeld finished 4th securing BMW Sauber the constructors crown. Celebrations at the end of pitlane though as Takuma Sato finished FIFTH in the Super Aguri while Mark Webber was 6th after pitting early in the race with brake problems. Heikki Kovaleinen was the last runner after getting caught up in a pileup which elimiated De La Rosa, Jani and Coulthard on lap 2.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 21m 31.142
2. F. Alonso (Renault): +5.910
3. F. Massa (Ferrari): +1:03.305
4. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +1:25.588
5. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +1 LAP
6. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +1 LAP
7. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +6 LAPS
DNF. J. Trulli (Toyota)
DNF. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
DNF. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
DNF. J. Button (Honda)
DNF. S. Jones (Honda)
DNF. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
DNF. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
DNF. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
DNF. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
DNF. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
DNF. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
DNF. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
DNF. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
DNF. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
DNF. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)

Pole: M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 1:29.188
Fastest Lap: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:30.183
Leaders: M. Schumacher: 1-4 (Total: 4)
D. Melrose: 5-53 (Total: 49)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 154 points (11 wins, 4 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 80 points (2 wins, 4 2nds, 1 3rd)
3. F. Alonso (Renault): 67 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 61 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 59 points (1 win, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
6. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 56 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
7. J. Button (Honda): 31 points (1 3rd)
8. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 29 points (1 3rd)
9. S. Jones (Honda): 27 points (1 3rd)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 22 points (1 2nd)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 20 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
12. J. Trulli (Toyota): 17 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 13 points (1 3rd)
14. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
18. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
19. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 183 points (11 wins, 4 2nds, 3 3rds) World Champions
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 141 points (3 wins, 6 2nds, 3 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 121 points (2 wins, 3 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 83 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 58 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 37 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 26 points (1 2nd)
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Super Aguri F1 Team Honda: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
11. Midland F1 Racing Toyota/Spyker MF1 Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the final race of the season at Brazil

[MinardiFan95]

Round 9 - Valencia

Dave Simpson headed to Spain with lower expectations than for the past race at Canada as he had never raced at this track. It showed in qualifying with him qualifying a lowly 21st. Senna was the star performer scoring 15th on the grid.

The first corner was action packed with Alguersuari running wide in turn two, ending his race. This promoted the Lotuses into 16th and 17th. Simpson lost half of his wing on a desperate attempt to pass Sutil. The wing change was completed in the tyre stop, after Simpson had made his way to 12th thanks to some early stoppers. On lap 5 he exited the pits in front of Kobayashi, who at the exact same spot as where Webber flipped, he hit the rear of the Lotus and ran along the wall into the run-off area. Late stopping Glock spun Simpson when being passed. Simpson didn't lose track position but then had a vibration in the car for the rest of the race. It was an all Silver podium with the two McLarens being followed by Rosberg.

1. Hamilton
2. Button + 2.9
3. Rosberg + 5.5
....
12. Simpson +60.3

[ADx_Wales]

Adrian Rees, Hispana-Cosworth Lead Driver, found himself back on the podium again in Shanghai, round 4 of the Chinese Grand Prix, despite "struggling" in practice and qualifying.

Rees was using his 3rd engine from the now "works" Cosworth manufacturer, and was experimenting with reduced engine mapping to conserve the engine for the race, in the three practice sessions, his position dropped each time, 8th in P1, 9th in P2 and 10th in P3, also keen on conserving the engine for the race Adrian went on to scrape into Q2 with 15th, but making sure of hitting the target set by Colin Kolles, achieved 12th, but Hispania's #1 said he could have done better.

And so to the race, with constant showers at the start of the race, and on intermediate tyres, Rees was able to move up the field from 12th to 3rd within 3 laps, and was able to keep a steady distance ahead of Jenson Button in 4th before the pitstops took place on a drying track, with the two Red Bulls of Vettel in 1st and Webber in 2nd pitting ahead of the welshman, Rees led for only one lap until he himself stopped to change.

However, taking the gamble of putting a fresh set of intermediates with the track still damp enough for his tyre selection to cope with, Rees was soon back to the front of the field, Vettel however was too far ahead for Adrian to attempt a race win, but Mark Webber was on slicks, and with 3 laps to go he caught Rees up and on the last lap was able to get by as Adrian made an error on tyres that could not deal with the track surface compared to the hard charging Australian, which left a Red Bull 1-2 when the checquered flag came down.

Rees remained upbeat after the race despite being knocked out of a shared lead in the F1 title, he is now in Second place, 3 points behind Mark Webber, Hispania still 4th in the constructors championship, Rees their only points scorer, ahead of Force India and Ferrari.

[Ide]

Completely forgot to keep updating this as I finished my season in the Hispania.
I managed wins at Montréal, Spa and Monza. And they say this is "expert mode"?
Came 4th in the championship, behind Hamilton, Webber and Vettel. HRT came 5th in the constructors (219 points) with points shared 202-17 between Bruno and I.
I'll try to remember to write up my second season as lead driver at Toro Rosso. I had offers from Force India and Williams but they disappeared after a crap race in Korea...

Congrats on finishing 4th but may I ask how many podiums, poles and fastest laps you scored for the sake of the database?

Ah, I scored 6 podiums, 1 pole and 2 fastest laps I believe.

[Wizzie]

Race results for Japan now up which includes a 2 season old record broken, a new constructors champion, unmittigated chaos and a dream come true for one of the backmarkers on the grid.

[the Masked Lapwing]

7 finishers? What is this, Crash-Fest?

[Wizzie]

7 finishers? What is this, Crash-Fest?

Basically the error count at Suzuka is about twice as high as anywhere else so I always seem to get races of high attrition at Suzuka... not that I'm complaining.

[Wizzie]

Pre-Brazil:

There were 3 major bits of news to digest before Brazil. First was the announcement that former touring car driver Frank Zimmer (Who allegedly has sponsorship dollars running into the millions) has signed a deal to drive the second Super Aguri car alongside Takuma Sato next season. Next up was the announcement that Spyker will have an all-new lineup next season with rookies Adrian Sutil and Dave Simpson at the helm of the two Ferrari lookalikes. Finally there was the not totally unexpected news that Sammy Jones has done the deal with McLaren and will be Fernando Alonso's teammate next season.

Round 18: Brazil

Qualifying:

Daniel Melrose has been simply special around Interlagos all weekend as on his first qualifying lap was half a second faster than the rest of the field. The second lap of his stint was even more special as he found another two tenths to put pole beyond doubt. Local hero Felipe Massa will share the front row while Toyota's upturn in pace continues as Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher filled row 2. Riakkonen was 5th while Sammy Jones utterly destroyed Jenson Button in qualifying yet again by hauling his Honda to 6th on the grid. Rubens Barrichello was a disappointment in 18th as his wealth of experience was expected to haul Spyker further up the grid.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. F. Massa (Ferrari)
3. J. Trulli (Toyota)
4. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
6. S. Jones (Honda)
7. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
8. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
9. F. Alonso (Renault)
10. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
11. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
12. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
13. J. Button (Honda)
14. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
15. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
16. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
17. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
18. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
19. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
20. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)
21. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
22. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)

Qualifying 2:
Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. F. Massa (Ferrari)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
5. F. Alonso (Renault)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. J. Trulli (Toyota)
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
9. S. Jones (Honda)
10. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
11. J. Button (Honda)
12. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
13. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
14. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth)
16. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota)
17. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)
18. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
19. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda)
20. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
21. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
22. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth)

Race:
Once it became clear after the first 2 laps that Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovaleinen had no answer to the pace that Melrose was producing it turned into a farily straightforward win for the young Australian as Michael Schumacher in his final Grand Prix simply took far too long to pass Massa, Kovaleinen and Raikkonen to make it an exciting race for the win. Massa was 3rd but was 40 seconds behind his teamamte while Kovaleinen was the last of the runners on the lead lap in 4th. Jenson Button and Sammy Jones scored a double points finish for Honda in 5th and 8th while Kimi Raikkonen was 6th. Sakon Yamamoto put in the drive of his career to put his Super Aguri into 7th by the race finish after making THE start of the season helping Super Aguri leapfrog Toro Rosso to 8th in the constructors championship. It was a disappointing day for Toyota as they were 13th (Jarno) and 14th (Ralf) and 2 laps down by the end of the race. Fernando Alonso, Takuma Sato and Tiago Monteiro were all eliminated in a nasty pileup on the start finish straight mid-race as Alonso chopped across Monteiro to enter the pitlane and collected the Portugese driver. Sato slammed into the wall trying to avoid the carnage while Ralf Schumacher lost a front wing on debris.

1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 28m 18.975
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +19.337
3. F. Massa (Ferrari): +59.412
4. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1:01.285
5. J. Button (Honda): +1 LAP
6. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
7. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda): +1 LAP
8. S. Jones (Honda): +1 LAP
9. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
10. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
11. N. Heidfeld (BMW): +2 LAPS
12. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
13. J. Trulli (Toyota): +2 LAPS
14. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +2 LAPS
15. R. Barrichello (Spyker-Toyota): +3 LAPS
16. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +3 LAPS
DNF. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
DNF. F. Alonso (Williams-Cosworth)
DNF. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
DNF. T. Monteiro (Spyker-Toyota)
DNF. R. Doornbos (RBR-Ferrari)

Pole: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:11.659
Fastest Lap: M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 1:12.956
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-24, 28-48, 51-71 (Total: 66)
M. Schumacher: 25-26, 49-50 (Total: 4)
F. Massa: 27 (Total: 1)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 164 points (12 wins, 4 2nds, 2 3rds) World Champion
2. F. Massa (Ferrari): 86 points (2 wins, 4 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 67 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. F. Alonso (Renault): 67 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 64 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
6. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 61 points (1 win, 2 3rds)
7. J. Button (Honda): 35 points (1 3rd)
8. N. Heidfeld (BMW): 29 points (1 3rd)
9. S. Jones (Honda): 28 points (1 3rd)
10. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 22 points (1 2nd)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 20 points (Best Result: 2 5ths)
12. J. Trulli (Toyota): 17 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
13. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 13 points (1 3rd)
14. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (1 3rd)
15. N. Jani (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 4 point (Best Result: 1 7th)
18. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
19. S. Yamamoto (Super Aguri-Honda): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
20. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)
21. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth): 0 points (Best Result: 1 9th)
22. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Ferrari/STR-Cosworth): 0 points (Best Result: 1 9th)
23. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth/RBR-Ferrari): 0 points (Best Result: 5 10ths)
24. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 0 points (Best Result: 2 11ths)
25. M. Ammermuller (STR-Cosworth): 0 points (Best Result: 1 12th)
26. F. Montagny (Super Aguri-Honda): 0 points (Best Result: 1 12th)
27. R. Barrichello (MF1-Toyota/Spyker-Toyota): 0 points (Best Result: 1 15th)
28. Y. Ide (Super Aguri-Honda): 0 Point (Best Result: 1 17th)

Constructors:
1. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 193 points (12 wins, 4 2nds, 3 3rds) World Champions
2. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 155 points (3 wins, 7 2nds, 4 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 126 points (2 wins, 3 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Team McLaren Mercedes: 86 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 63 points (2 3rds)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 37 points (Best Result: 3 5ths)
7. WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth: 26 points (1 2nd)
8. Super Aguri F1 Team Honda: 6 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
9. Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Red Bull Racing Ferrari: 3 points (Best Result: 3 8ths)
11. Midland F1 Racing Toyota/Spyker MF1 Toyota: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

As the 2006 season has drawn to a close the silly season is far from over as we still have several empty seats, some team/engine combinations to sort out and the mouth-watering prospect of a return by Mika Hakkinen.

[the Masked Lapwing]

First was the announcement that former touring car driver Frank Zimmer (Who allegedly has sponsorship dollars running into the millions) has signed a deal to drive the second Super Aguri car alongside Takuma Sato next season.

Millions now? Wow... Maybe I can pull off some sort of mega-fluke.

[ADx_Wales]

Rees plays down Spanish hopes in front of HRT's "Home" Ground.

Adrian Rees, HRT's lead driver, and currently second in the 2011 F1 Championship had to calm the hopes of the handful of spanish journalists who are expectant of a win for the first Spanish F1 team, the Welshman is hardly confident of a good finish around the Circuit de Catalunya, having finished last in the 2010 edition, and his testing form around the same track was not acceptable in his opinion, "I have no confidence in myself whatsoever around this course, not with the worst chicane in the known universe as its final turn, you saw how bad I was around here last year, if I dont spin at least once in the race, I've done well, If I dont end up a lap down, I've done well, If I end up finishing last again I may boycott this round in the future, sorry Spain, sorry Spanish press, If you want a win from something spanish, look to Fernando, If you want a good race, get rid of that final chicane, in fact, move the race to Valencia, to Jerez, ANYWHERE is better than this layout."

There has yet been no response from the race organisers in regards to Rees' comments, who have still got a long-term contract to host the Spanish Grand Prix.

Rees goes into the Spanish Grand Prix being 2nd in the standings after the first four "Flyaway" rounds.

[Wizzie]

The same error from Turkey has popped up (Which meant the Brazilian GP would only have had 58 laps, not 71) so I had to do qualfiying again.

[Wizzie]

Race results for Brazil now up.

[Wizzie]

2007 Season Preview:

Petronas BMW Sauber F1 Team
#1. D. Melrose
#2. R. Kubica
T/D: T. Glock/H. Tung

If Pre-Season testing is anything to go by then Daniel Melrose will have a hard job keeping his crown. He has been quick in qualifying simulations but he's been complaining about a general lack of pace in race trim such that he's ending up in the 4th-7th range in the times. If BMW were to have another championship tilt then it would come in the form of Pole Robert Kubica who has been the best part of half a second a lap faster than Melrose and mixing it with the Ferraris and McLarens.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
#3. F. Massa
#4. K. Raikkonen
T/D. L. Badoer/M. Gene

Ferrari have come out with all guns blazing and them along with McLaren and BMW are the favourites for the championship. However what is surprising was at Silverstone and Barcelona Felipe Massa has had a distinct speed advantage over the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen. However both are safe for the long term.

ING Renault F1 Team
#5. H. Kovaleinen
#6. R. Schumacher
T/D. J. Villeneuve/N. Piquet Jr

One of the major surprises of the off-season was Ralf Schumacher being chosen over Jacques Villeneuve at Renault to replace the departing Alonso. What's even more surprising is thus far Schumacher has been faster than Kovaleinen. Not that it matters since Renault are only on the fringes of the top 10 at best.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
#7. F. Alonso
#8. S. Jones
T/D. L. Hamilton/P. de la Rosa

Not many surprises here in terms of performance but the pressure is on Sammy Jones to perform since Lewis Hamilton has been promised a race drive next season at McLaren. Fernando Alonso has been taking it to the Ferraris after splitting the pair at Barcelona with Jones the slowest of the leading quartet (Or quintet if you include Kubica)

Honda Racing F1 Team
#9. J. Button
#10. R. Barrichello
T/D. C. Klien/A. Davidson

Sammy Jones must be thanking his lucky stars right now because the Honda RA107 has not only proved to be ghastly to look at thanks to the paintjob but painfully slow aswell. On the bright side for Jenson Button he has proved to be the faster of the two drivers by quite some margin.

Panasonic Toyota Racing
#11. J. Trulli
#12. J. Pablo Montoya
T/D. K. Kobayashi/F. Montagny

Rumour has it that Juan Pablo Montoya is being paid upwards of 20 million a year to drive that Toyota. And so far he hasn't proved to be worth is despite topping the times at the Silverstone test. Jarno Trulli has proved to be a much better benchmark which shows that Toyota should be aiming for minor points.

AT&T Williams Toyota
#14. N. Heidfeld
#15. N. Rosberg
T/D. K. Nakajima/N. Karthikeyan

After Williams were anonymous midfielders for the majority of last year Williams have shown in testing that they are going to be... anonymous midfields. What's even more worrying for Sir Frank though is that Nick Heidfeld, demoralised from the thrashing Melrose gave him last year is being outpaced by rookie and Williams protege Nico Rosberg.

NAB Super Aguri F1 Honda
#16. T. Sato
#17. F. Zimmer
T/D. S. Yamamoto/J. Rossiter

Last year's feelgood story has inherited the fast and reliable Honda RA106 from last season has left the team with a real chance of fighting amongst the midfield on a constistant basis. Takuma Sato is driving as well as ever while Frank Zimmer has proved to be a pleasent surprise and even outpaced his teammate at Barcelona.

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
#18. N. Jani
#19. S. Speed
T/D. S. Vettel/M. Ammermuller

Michael Ammermuller wasn't quick enough in the race-off against Scott Speed which meant that Speed got the second race seat for 2007. Not that it made much difference since Speed is the best part of a second slower than Jani who's in the midfield fight.

Red Bull Racing Renault
#20. D. Coulthard
#21. M. Webber
T/D. R. Doornbos

Red Bull acquired Renault engines in the off season which coupled with the Newey-designed RB3 has proven to be fast but incredibly fragile. Points are to be expected from Mark Webber if the car stays in one piece.

Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team Ferrari
#22. A. Sutil
#23. D. Simpson
T/D. C. Albers/M. Winkelhock

Sure they got Ferrari customer engines but don't expect much from the team as they're destined to be backmarkers this season but Sutil has been constistantly faster than his Australian teammate Dave Simpson.

[Phoenix]

If Pre-Season testing is anything to go by then Daniel Melrose will have a hard job keeping his crown. He has been quick in qualifying simulations but he's been complaining about a general lack of pace in race trim such that he's ending up in the 4th-7th range in the times.

Have you turned AI difficulty up to 25%?
By the way, can I ask a race drive for Phoenix McAllister next year? I don't care about the team.

[AndreaModa]

If Pre-Season testing is anything to go by then Daniel Melrose will have a hard job keeping his crown. He has been quick in qualifying simulations but he's been complaining about a general lack of pace in race trim such that he's ending up in the 4th-7th range in the times.

Have you turned AI difficulty up to 25%?
By the way, can I ask a race drive for Phoenix McAllister next year? I don't care about the team.

It's not just me making the digs now!

[Wizzie]

2007:

Round 1: Australia

Qualifying:

It may have been the updates BMW Sauber brought before the Season Opener. It may have been the rain that forced the competitors onto the wet tyres which never let up. It may have also been the 100 000 strong home crowd and the millions of viewers at home cheering him on but for whatever reason Daniel Melrose came to Australia as a man on a mission to stamp his authority on the grid after the problems in pre-season testing. And that he did as he was a tenth and a half faster than Raikkonen in 2nd, 1.4 seconds faster than Alonso in 3rd and a whopping 2.5 seconds faster than Ralf Schumacher in 4th on the grid. Sammy Jones was behind Robert Kubica in 6th while Massa was an anonymous 12th. However his problems were nothing compared to those that befell Heikki Kovaleinen as he was stranded in 14th amongst the frankly embarrasing Hondas (Who were soundly thrashed by the Super Aguries of Sato and Zimmer) and Williams.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. K. Raikkone (Ferrari)
3. F. Alonso (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. R. Schumacher (Renault)
5. R. Kubica (BMW)
6. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes)
7. M. Webber (RBR-Renault)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota)
9. J. Pablo Montoya (Toyota)
10. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
11. F. Zimmer (Super Aguri-Honda)
12. F. Massa (Ferrari)
13. J. Button (Honda)
14. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
15. N. Heidfeld (Williams-Toyota)
16. R. Barrichello (Honda)
17. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota)
18. A. Sutil (Spyker-Ferrari)
19. N. Jani (STR-Ferrari)
20. D. Coulthard (RBR-Renault)
21. S. Speed (STR-Ferrari)
22. D. Simpson (Spyker-Ferrari)

Race:
The BMW F1.07 was suffering from cronic understeer throughout the test sessions at the hands of Daniel Melrose. However in Australia a different setup philosophy led to the problem going away and Melrose cruised to an easy win with Raikkonen and Alonso completing the podium. Ralf Schumacher was brilliant in the Renault in 4th holding the frankly disappointing Sammy Jones to a 5th placed finish in the other McLaren. Kubica was 6th while Nico Rosberg scored a fantastic 7th place in his Formula 1 debut while putting teammate Nick Heidfeld back in his place in the process. The other debutants didn't do so well though as Frank Zimmer was relegated to a lowly 19th place finish after being punted off by the works Honda Barrichello on lap 2. Infact Lap 2 turned out to be a shoddy lap for Aguri's merry men as Takuma Sato was punted off by the other Honda of Jenson Button securing the Honda team the Reject of the Race award after what was a fairly crap weekend. Down Spyker's way and they were simply slow as their new drivers Adrian Sutil and Dave Simpson powered their way to 21st and 22nd. Surprisingly all 22 starters made it to the finish and even the fragile Red Bull scored a point in the hands of Webber.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 25m 22.883
2. K. Raikkonen (Ferrari): +36.367
3. F. Alonso (McLaren-Mercedes): +56.982
4. R. Schumacher (Renault): +1:22.080
5. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes): +1:23.153
6. R. Kubica (BMW): +1 LAP
7. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota): +1 LAP
8. M. Webber (RBR-Renault): +1 LAP
9. F. Massa (Ferrari): +1 LAP
10. J. Pablo Montoya (Toyota): +1 LAP
11. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1 LAP
12. R. Barrichello (Honda): +2 LAPS
13. J. Trulli (Toyota): +2 LAPS
14. N. Jani (STR-Ferrari): +2 LAPS
15. N. Heidfeld (Williams-Toyota): +2 LAPS
16. J. Button (Honda): +2 LAPS
17. D. Coulthard (RBR-Renault): +2 LAPS
18. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +2 LAPS
19. F. Zimmer (Super Aguri-Honda): +2 LAPS
20. S. Speed (STR-Ferrari): +3 LAPS
21. A. Sutil (Spyker-Ferrari): +3 LAPS
22. D. Simpson (Spyker-Ferrari): +3 LAPS

Pole: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:38.592
Fastest Lap: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:26.324
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-20, 23-58 (Total: 56)
K. Raikkonen: 21-22 (Total: 2)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 10 points (1 win)
2. K. Raikkonen (Ferrari): 8 points (1 2nd)
3. F. Alosno (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
4. R. Schumacher (Renault): 5 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
5. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
6. R. Kubica (BMW): 3 points (Best Result: 1 6th)
7. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
8. M. Webber (RBR-Renault): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. Petronas BMW Sauber F1 Team: 13 points (1 win)
2. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: 10 points (1 3rd)
3. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 8 points (1 2nd)
4. ING Renault F1 Team: 5 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
5. AT&T Williams Toyota: 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
6. Red Bull Racing Renault: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit.

[Wizzie]

Race Results for Australia now up.

[Wizzie]

Round 2: Malaysia

Sepang was always going to be much more of a concern for the BMW team than Melbourne as the understeer Melrose was suffering from was primarily in high speed corners. However some setup work cured more of it and Melrose found most of the time he was struggling to find in the pre-season tests. However it wasn't enough as Raikkonen scored pole despite being slower than Melrose in sectors 1 and 3 as the fast and flowing sector 2 at the Sepang track maid all the difference. Fernando Alonso pipped Felipe Massa to 3rd on the grid while Sammy Jones in the other McLaren was 5th but a whopping 1.2 seconds off pole. Montoya and Trulli led a Toyota mini revival in 6th and 7th while Kubica was a disappointing 8th. Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg rounded out the top 10 while Renault were disappointing in 11th and 12th. However their problems were nothing compared to the issues Honda were having as they were a dismal 16th and 17th while Takuma Sato was 14th in the Super Aguri to rub salt into Honda's wounds.

Grid:
1. K. Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2. D. Melrose (BMW)
3. F. Alonso (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. F. Massa (Ferrari)
5. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes)
6. J. Pablo Montoya (Toyota)
7. J. Trulli (Toyota)
8. R. Kubia (BMW)
9. M. Webber (RBR-Renault)
10. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota)
11. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
12. R. Schumacher (Renault)
13. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Renault)
14. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
15. N. Jani (STR-Ferrari)
16. J. Button (Honda)
17. R. Barrichello (Honda)
18. S. Speed (STR-Ferrari)
19. F. Zimmer (Super Aguri-Honda)
20. N. Heidfeld (Williams-Toyota)
21. D. Simpson (Spyker-Ferrari)
22. A. Sutil (Spyker-Ferrari)

Race:
Daniel Melrose's BMW may not have the ultimate 1 lap pace around Sepang but it had brilliant race pace. He got a good start, barged down the inside of Raikkonen in turn 2 and led for the entire first stint. Once Raikkonen pitted two laps earlier than Melrose it was game, set and match to the Australian as Raikkonen came out behind the one stopping McLarens and Melrose came out ahead of them. Alonso finished 2nd while Raikkonen salvaged a podium position. Jones and Massa completed the top 5 as the remaining car of the top 3 teams in Robert Kubica's BMW was nowhere in 14th after being one of the first to stop at both pitstops. Kovaleinen and Ralf Schumacher were 6th and 8th in the Renaults with Trulli being the meat in the Toyota sandwich in 7th. Rosberg was on track to finish 9th but ran out of road with a few laps to go so his teammate Nick Heidfeld inherited 9th place after passing Barrichello with a few laps to go.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 30m 08.925
2. F. Alonso (McLaren-Mercedes): +19.138
3. K. Raikkonen (Ferrari): +19.265
4. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes): +20.793
5. F. Massa (Ferrari): +34.400
6. H. Kovalainen (Renault): +1:06.758
7. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1:11.996
8. R. Schumacher (Renault): +1:20.380
9. N. Heidfeld (Williams-Toyota): +1:30.419
10. R. Barrichello (Honda): +1:34.547
11. D. Coutlhard (RBR-Renault): +1 LAP
12. J. Button (Honda): +1 LAP
13. M. Webber (RBR-Renault): +1 LAP
14. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota): +1 LAP
15. R. Kubica (BMW): +1 LAP
16. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +1 LAP
17. N. Jani (STR-Ferrari): +1 LAP
18. J. Pablo Montoya (Toyota): +1 LAP
19. F. Zimmer (Super Aguri-Honda): +1 LAP
20. S. Speed (STR-Ferrari): +1 LAP
21. D. Simpson (Spyker-Ferrari): +5 LAPS*
DNF. A. Sutil (Spyker-Ferrari)

*Didn't finish but completed 90% race distance

Pole: K. Raikkonen (Ferrari): 1:33.617
Fastest Lap: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:34.637
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-19, 21-38, 48-56 (Total: 46)
F. Massa: 20 (Total: 1)
K. Raikkonen: 39-47 (Total: 9)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 20 points (2 wins)
=2. K. Raikkonen (Ferrari): 14 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
=2. F. Alonso (McLaren-Mercedes): 14 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
4. S. Jones (McLaren-Mercedes): 9 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
5. R. Schumacher (Renault): 6 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
6. F. Massa (Ferrari): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
7. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 3 point (Best Result: 1 6th)
8. R. Kubica (BMW): 3 points (Best Result: 1 6th)
9. J. Trulli (Toyota): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
10. N. Rosberg (Williams-Toyota): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
11. M. Webber (RBR-Renault): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. Petronas BMW Sauber F1 Team: 23 points (2 wins)
2. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: 23 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 18 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
4. ING Renault F1 Team: 9 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
5. AT&T Williams Toyota: 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
7. Red Bull Racing Renault: 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Next up is a trip to the Middle East of the Bahrain Grand Prix

[Wizzie]

Race results for Malaysia now up.

[Phoenix]

Mr. Melrose, I have a question: is it true that it was more difficult than it first seemed?