Here’s a video of Mark Webber giving explanation while driving on the simulator at Budapest Hungaroring.
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Author: Ong Chi Hang
Currently a student.
Interested in computers, electronics, IT, games, photography, automobile, aviation and F1.
Big fan of Sony PlayStation.
The 10th grand prix in 2012 Formula 1 will be coming to Germany at the Hockenheimring. As everybody knows, Nürburgring and Hockenheimring will host the German Grand Prix each year alternatively. This year, we have come to Hockenheimring where it was known to be redesigned due to disagreements from the drivers.
The track will be a whopping 306.458 km race distance of 67 laps with a famous hairpin design from Hermann Tilke. Lap record is currently held by Kimi Raikkonen in 2004 at 1:13.780. Lotus cars are suitable in the hot temperatures in Hockenheimring and the tyres won’t go off easily. Maybe we’ll see his first win here after he has been on so many podiums this year? Another focus in German Grand Prix is Michael Schumacher where he will be racing in his home country. We have seen him improving his pace since his comeback in 2010. With almost all the supporters on the grandstands supporting him, can he grab the win in his own country?
During the Friday practise sessions, a new hard compound tyre will be tested in Hockenheimring provided that the weather is fine. Two sets of the new compound will be available for every team for evaluation. According to Pirelli, the new tyres are designed to have a slightly wider working range, which is easier to get the tyres up to temperature and maintain them in the optimum operating window.
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I’ve been with Red Bull Racing since 2007 and have achieved nine grand prix wins during that time. I’m high on confidence at the moment and firing on all cylinders. I know the Team well and I’m very comfortable here; we have grown together over the years and it feels like absolutely the right thing to stay with Red Bull for another season. The Team is constantly working hard to improve in all areas and we have shown that together we can win races. It’s great to be able to make this announcement off the back of the win in Silverstone at the weekend and I’m looking forward to competing on the edge and pushing myself in every race again next season.
Red Bull Racing has confirmed that Mark Webber will be signing them for 2013, after winning the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
According to Mark Webber, it is an easy decision to sign with Red Bull Racing for 2013. Although there were discussions with Ferrari, he still prefer to stay at Red Bull Racing. He enjoys working together with the team and teammate Sebastian Vettel. He knows everybody’s names and position and it feels like a home.
For the full Q&A please view the post from Red Bull Racing through the link here.
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It’s 3 months more to the fifth Formula 1 night race in history, Singapore Grand Prix on 21-23 September 2012. Here are some photos of the street circuit under construction.
You can click here to view the photos of Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit on normal days.
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Michael Schumacher had a superb qualifying form in Monaco which the track condition is almost similar to the upcoming race in Valencia Street Circuit. Will he become the 8th different winner this season?
The 2012 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe will be held on 22, 23 and 24 June 2012 at Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia. The circuit length is 5.419 km with a total number of 57 laps which make a race distance of 308.883 km. The circuit is a street circuit designed by Hermann Tilke in a harbour side location like in Monaco and Singapore, winding around the city’s harbour and industrial port. The famous section of the circuit is the 140 metre long swing bridge spanning Valencia’s canal, located between Turn 9 and Turn 10 on the temporary part of the circuit. Just like any typical street circuit, overtaking opportunity in Valencia Street Circuit is considered very few, there were only 4 recorded overtakes since the first race in 2008. Teams have to focus more on qualifying pace to get a good starting position on the grid that can convert into championship points.
The nature of Valencia Street Circuit is analogous to the usual characteristics of a street circuit – tight, twisty and bumpy. There is a total of 25 turns – 14 left-handers and 11 right-handers, which will test the drivers ultimate skills. There are no high speed corners in the circuit and a good straight line speed is vital for the long straights, so a low downforce set up like in Montreal is preferable. The braking demand is quite high like in Bahrain where the cars have to brake from over 300 km/h leading into tight corners. Brake cooling is important so that the brakes can perform under optimum temperature. Drivers also have to avoid locking up tyres under heavy braking at the end of the long straights. P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres will be used here and given the high temperature and speed of the circuit, drivers are able to turn on the tyres quickly.
The new 2012 Pirelli tyres have bring excitement to this F1 season. Currently, we have Lewis Hamilton as the 6th different winner in Montreal. Pirelli expects the teams had made big strides in understanding tyres and will see consistent battle between them. Hamilton thinks that consistency will be the key to winning this world championship while Button is optimistic about having a great weekend and picking up the momentum again in the title fight. Raikkonen will be targeting for winning in Valencia. Schumacher will be heading to Valencia in an optimistic mood.
Lap Record : 1:38.683 – Timo Glock (2009)
Click here to vote on our poll (Will There Be The 8th Different Winner in Valencia This Season).
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F1 season this year has been unpredictable with 7 different winners for 7 races, unlike previous F1 seasons. The new 2012 Pirelli tyres is the main contributing factor to this exciting season where almost every driver has a chance to be on the podium.
The next race will bring us to Valencia Street Circuit which is famous of its lack of overtaking opportunities like in Monaco except that Valencia Street Circuit is not so tight compared to Circuit de Monaco with quite a number of run off areas. Since the inaugural race in 2008, there were only 4 recorded overtakes overall with no overtakes in 2009. So, qualifying pace has a more important role in the race. The teams have to come up with the right race strategy to get the maximum championship points.
P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tyres will be used in Valencia. The teams are able to work on the tyres easier given that the circuit’s high temperature and high speed nature. However, most of the teams are still unable to crack down the mystery of the new tyres after 7 races and control the degradation. The performance of the teams are still not consistent and there is a possibility that the 8th different winner will be on the podium in Valencia.
Mercedes has prioritized to solve Schumacher’s reliability problems. He managed to complete only 2 races out of 7 races, which 5 of the races is due to technical failure. We have seen his solid performance in Monaco’s Q3 and if his car does not suffer any technical problems in Valencia, he might make his comeback next weekend.
Here are the results for the previous races this season.
So, what do you think? Vote in the poll and make some comments below.
Click here to read our analysis on the new 2012 Pirelli tyres.
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The official Singapore GP app is now available to download from Google Play (Android 2.2 or above) and iTunes App Store (iOS 4.0 or later). The app allows you to get the latest news on the only night race in F1 from race promoter Singapore GP and also the latest F1 World Championship results and driver standings. Besides, you can also take part in the contests and purchase 2012 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix tickets using the app. The gallery section features a wide gallery of exclusive photos, videos and wallpapers for download. In 21, 22, 23 September 2012, you can use this app to get tips on how to enhance your experience at the Circuit Park, get the latest entertainment event schedule, plan your day around the Circuit Park and obtain information on navigating in and out of the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
You can view the photos of Singapore Marina Bay Street Circuit on normal days here.
For more information, you can visit the iTunes App Store and Google Play links, Singapore Grand Prix official website, Facebook page, Twitter page or Pinterest site.
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This F1 season is currently in uncharted territory with different winners for all 6 races. Will the season continue to have different winners with Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher possible to become the 7th winner in 2012?
The 2012 Canadian Grand Prix will be held on 8, 9 and 10 June 2012 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The circuit length is 4.361 km with a total number of 70 laps which make a race distance of 305.27 km. The circuit was renamed after Canadian racing driver Gilles Villeneuve who died in 1982 after an accident during the final qualifying session of Belgian Grand Prix. One of the famous part of the circuit is the final corner (Turn 13) known as the “Wall of Champions” where many former World Champions had crashed here. The circuit is a stop-start, temporary circuit with long straights and some slow corners which depend a lot on brakes and tyres traction. P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red super-soft tyres had been allocated for this circuit and they are the same tyre compounds used in Monaco last month.
As of the technical aspects, the circuit can be considered to have no high speed corners. The main focus is to gain a high straight line speed by reducing aerodynamic drag. So, a low downforce set up will be suitable here. However, given that it is one of the most demanding circuit in terms of braking, a low downforce car will be less stable under heavy braking. Besides, the braking energies are very high due to braking events from about 300 km/h causing the brake wear to be very high in this circuit. The circuit is also very bumpy and is difficult for the cars to find traction, stressing the rear tyres the most, easily causing wheelspin which is a main factor of tyre wear. At the final corner, tyres take serious punishment due to the impact with the kerbs at about 130 km/h. Engines are running at full throttle for 60% of the circuit with the longest full throttle section for 14 seconds. This will put a lot of stress on the engines’ reliability.
Mercedes primary priority is to give Michael Schumacher a problem-free weekend in Montreal. Mercedes car is expected to suit the nature of the circuit. McLaren is going for a win on the race weekend. Button will be focusing to fix his qualifying problems while Hamilton will be focusing on another clean weekend to score more consistent world championship points. Sauber will bring in a new rear wing for the medium downforce requirement and some minor modifications on the cars. Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus car is competitive and is confident that he will have a good weekend in Montreal. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery says : “Tyres have traditionally played a very important role in this race, especially if it rains. We saw how being on the right tyre at the right time enabled Jenson Button to win the Canadian Grand Prix last year even after six visits to the pit lane. We’ve not yet had experience of running the supersoft in Canada under normal conditions. The practice sessions will be vital for the teams to understand how exactly it works on full tanks in particular. We think we will see several different strategies at work, with teams likely to split their strategies in order to cover every possibility.”
Lap Record : 1:13.622 – Rubens Barrichello (2004)
Click here to view the current drivers and constructors standings after Monaco.
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There are 5 different winners for 5 races this season. Will there be the 6th?
Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held on 24, 26, 27 May 2012 at Circuit De Monaco, the most demanding circuit in Formula 1 racing. The circuit is laid out in the narrow streets of Monaco, with tight corners, elevation changes and the famous tunnel section. It is considered the ultimate testing ground for F1 drivers. Nelson Piquet described racing in Monaco as “riding a bicycle around your living room”. Michael Schumacher also said that if it were not already an existing Grand Prix, it would not be permitted on the Formula 1 schedule due to safety reasons. The circuit is 3.340 km in length, drivers have to race for 78 laps which made up a total race distance of 260.52 km. It is the only Grand Prix that does not meet the FIA’s minimum race distance requirement of 305 km.
Similar to a typical street circuit, Circuit De Monaco is tight and twisty, besides being surrounded by many landmarks. Overtaking is also limited because of the narrow track. Race results tend to be decided by drivers’ skill, race strategy and grid positions rather than the performance of the F1 cars. Super-soft and soft tyres will be used in this circuit this year. With the new 2012 Pirelli tyres with heavier degradation, race strategy will once again play a more important role in this circuit. One of the famous section of the circuit is the Fairmont Hairpin which is the slowest, tightest corner in the season, taken at about 46 km/h. The steering systems and suspensions of the cars have to be redesigned to cope with the hairpin. Another popular section is the tunnel below the Fairmont Hotel. DRS is banned in this tunnel because the cars can lose 20–30% of downforce due to the aerodynamic properties of the tunnel. The tunnel is also difficult to cope with because the eyes cannot switch from light to dark and then to light quickly. Just after the tunnel is a tight left-right chicane, the only place where overtaking can be done. Sergio Pérez had involved in an accident here in 2011 which caused him to miss Monaco and Montreal Grand Prix. The third last corner (La Rascasse) is a tight 180 degree right hander which again requires full steering lock.
The setups for the cars is different in Monaco in comparison to other circuits. High downforce is required although the speed of the corners are relatively slow. It helps to keep the cars stable during acceleration and reduce braking durations. Another issue is keeping the brakes up to optimum temperature. The only heavy braking point is at the left-right chicane after the tunnel. Another concern is cooling the cars’ engines because F1 cars rely solely on moving air to remove the heat from radiators and the speed of the circuit is slow. Teams will also adopt gears with a closer ratio since there are less long straights so acceleration is the main priority.
There have been a lot of possibilities this season with 5 different winners for all 5 races. Last year, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were tightly engaged in a battle for victory on different race strategies. All drivers agreed that the circuit is both physically and mentally demanding. Button is optimistic of getting on top of the balance issues that have affected him for the past two races. Hamilton believes consistency is the best way to tackle the world championship. Raikkonen will be focusing on qualifying since overtaking in Monaco is difficult. Schumacher is quite confident although he will lose 5 positions on the grid. Maldonado is full of high hopes of getting another strong result for the team. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery is expecting the teams to have a wide variety of tactics to produce another interesting race.
Lap Record : 1:14.439 – Michael Schumacher (2004)
Click here to view the current drivers and constructors standings after Barcelona.
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