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ChicaneF1.com - Formula 1 Results and Statistics Data from over 500 non-championship races, from 1945 to 1983, has been made available. It is hoped that this data will be found useful. However, this data is incomplete and may contain errors. Please notify me if you find any mistakes. (23 December 2008) The Official F1™ Website - Driver Press conference Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA Drivers - Pedro de la Rosa (HRT), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Sergio Perez (Sauber), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing), Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus). Q: Gentlemen, a question to you all to start with: what are your impressions of the circuit so far; your feelings about being back in America. What it’s like to be back here?
The Official F1™ Website- Team Interview Reproduced with kind permission from the FIA Team representatives - Cyril Abiteboul (Caterham), Norbert Haug (Mercedes), Eric Boullier (Lotus), Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren), Christian Horner (Red Bull Racing), Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari). Q: A question, first of all, to all of you: your overall impressions of the circuit and the challenge. What have you found?
The Official F1™ Website- Practice One Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel stamped his mark on proceedings as the first free practice session at the Circuit of The Americas drew to a close in the crisp morning air of Texas on Friday. Lewis Hamilton had set the pace throughout for McLaren, finding grip on a surface that was still very green, and seemed to have set the benchmark with a lap of 1m 39.543s, but then Vettel banged in a 1m 38.692s and followed that up immediately as the chequered flag fell with 1m 38.125s. It was a great start for the German, and for the new home of the US Grand Prix, which has drawn a sizable crowd for a Friday. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso chased Hamilton enthusiastically all morning, taking third place with 1m 40.337s from Jenson Button on 1m 40.528s in the other McLaren, Red Bull’s Mark Webber on 1m 40.650s and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on 1m 40.966s. As the track rubbers in, the times are certain to fall and close up in FP2.
The Official F1™ Website- Practice Two Sebastian Vettel continued Red Bull’s domination of practice for this weekend’s US round at the Circuit of The Americas on Friday afternoon, lapping seventh tenths of a second clear of team mate Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari and a whole second ahead of the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Vettel did his lap when conditions were at their best, which meant a track temperature of 30 degrees Celsius compared to only 18 during the morning session, and later on a deterioration saw times as much as two seconds off in the first sector alone, but it was nonetheless a worrying shot across everyone else’s bows, especially as the German spent a significant portion of the 90 minutes confined to the garage thanks to a water leak. Alonso’s best in the Ferrari was 1m 38.483s, which was promisingly close to Webber’s 1m 38.475s, but Vettel’s pace (1m 37.718s) had everyone open-mouthed. Caterham got back ahead in the new team stakes, but only just.
The Official F1™ Website- Q&A Vettel Based on Friday’s times in Austin, it is hard to see who could possibly beat Sebastian Vettel this weekend. Even after missing almost 50 minutes of FP2 he hammered in a time more than seven-tenths faster than Red Bull team mate Mark Webber and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Of course, Vettel is playing down his performance, but it’s clear that the Circuit of The Americas and the RB8 are a good fit… Q: What are your first impressions of the brand new Circuit of The Americas?Sebastian Vettel: Today the most important thing was to get to know the circuit. Grosjean Gearbox Penalty!!! Romain Grosjean is set to drop five places on the grid for Sunday’s 2012 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix after Lotus opted to change the gearbox on his car at Austin. Gearboxes are required to last five consecutive Grands Prix. Grosjean, currently ninth in the drivers’ championship on 90 points, finished final practice down in 17th on Saturday morning after missing the later stages of the session due to gearbox problems. The Frenchman is so far the only recipient of a penalty this weekend. Sauber’s Sergio Perez was called to the stewards’ room after FP3 following his collision with Marussia’s Charles Pic but no further action was taken against the Mexican.
Conclusions from the United States GP Alonso is still relying on snookers in Brazil Hamilton leaves McLaren as a leading lightSo that's why Lewis Hamilton is so widely regarded as being the fastest driver in F1 - and why it isn't just McLaren who should mourn his departure to Mercedes. The sport will rival Hamilton himself as the big loser from the transfer if, as seems disconcertingly and increasingly likely, Mercedes prove ill-fitting of his talents and the challenge he seeks turns out to be a dead-end street for his career. But let's not go there just yet, because the sight of Hamilton wringing every last drop of pace out of his MP4-27 as he defeated both Red Bulls around the wonderful Circuit of The Americas was one of the highlights of the season, his pursuit of Vettel an ultra-fast, slow-burning riveting demonstration of speed, precision and determination. Even in a race which did not feature a single incident requiring the intervention of the stewards, Hamilton and Vettel were a class above and a class apart.