All the action of (after) the Italian Grand Prix

The Italian Grand Prix is always a bit special with a huge number of Ferrari fans in attendance. Everywhere you look, you will see the famous prancing horse and a sea of red flags but this year there was a slightly different shade of red on show. It's known as rocket red and it's the winning colour of McLaren. So why, when they haven't won a single race this year, was it so prominent? Quite simply, it was because this September marks the 50th anniversary since founder Bruce McLaren gave his name to this multi-championship winning team.

On race day it was the Red Bulls and Ferraris that dominated the front of the pack with Sebastian Vettel leading from pole to take yet another dominating win during his campaign to win a forth consecutive world title. After the opening stint in which Paul di Resta crashed his Force India at the second chicane ending his race prematurely, for the second time in a row, and Kimi Raikkonen pitting his Lotus for a new nose cone, after running into the back of Sergio Perez's McLaren at the first chicane. The Grand Prix was a pretty hum drum affair. It wasn't until the last ten or so laps that it began to get exciting again with Lewis Hamilton, having lost radio communication with the Mercedes team early on, and Raikkonen battling with team mates Jenson Button and Perez for the last points paying positions. Ultimately, it was Kimi and Checo that lost out, with Hamilton and Button crossing the line in 9th and 10th respectively. Vettel stood on the top step of the podium after the GP flanked by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team mate Mark Webber. Driver of the day has to be Sauber driver, Nico Hulkenberg who qualified in a very respectable 3rd place and went on to finish in 5th, after only being passed by the two Ferraris at the start of the race.

Two days after the Italian Grand Prix, 4th place finisher, Felipe Massa announced via Twitter that he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season. At the time of writing it is unconfirmed who would be taking his place but rumours abound that Kimi Raikkonen is most likely to be partnering Alonso next year. Me, I have my doubts, but I'm betting it won't be long before Ferrari reveal their 2014 driver line up.

UPDATE: Three days after the Italian Grand Prix and I thought I'd better have a peek on Twitter before posting to my blog. Just as well that I did as Ferrari have announced that Kimi Raikkonen WILL be Fernando's team mate next year. Shows what I know!

R u watching f1?

Five laps into the start of the German Grand Prix and I get a text. I thought I'd share the rest with you...

R u watching f1?

For sure

Can u keep me updated i'm working




Lewis overtook Webber at the start :))
Ham, web, vet, alo, ros, mas by lap 6

Fab. Ta

Possibility of rain at some point...

Lap 8, alo passes vet

Bloody ferraris are dangerous

Lap 9, perez pits

Lap 10 vet spins off track, keeps 4th

Lap 11 heid flies into gravel trying to pass buemi

Lap 12 mas takes ros for 5th.

Web & ham fighting for 1st v exciting. Alo closing them down. What a great race

Lap 14 web in pits

Lap 16 but fighting pet for 8th

But been a real disappointment this weekend

Lap 17 mas web ham alo pit action craziness going on mas still needs to pit




Mas pits

Lap 18 spots of rain on car camera lens

Very close top 3 web ham alo

How did web get in front?

During ham's pitstop. When he came out there were cars everywhere!

Lap 23 both mercs pass petrov for 7&8th

Lap 24 shumi spins into 11th

Web ham alo but mas vet ros sut...

Ur doing a great job its like watching it

Lap 25 but pits all wheels stay on ;)

Lmao

But in 8th

Lap 26 vet pit radio may have probs with brakes

Omg pls pls

Rubens out engine failure

Lap 29 but hunting sutil for 7th rain may be 30 mins away

Lap 31 web pits

Web rejoins in 3rd. Chandok spins off

Ham pits alo leads

Ham bullies Web for 2nd coming out of pits




Lap 33 alo pits...

Yeeeeeeessssss

Ham kills alo for 1st!!!!!!

Yahoo

Ham alo web mass vet ros but sut sut st shu kob

Lap 35 but passes ros for 6th at the 1st corner

Lap 36 button retires with hydrolics problem :(

Shame the germans r having such a shit day. Found a telly with the race on

Lap 37 ros pits

Hang on. Are you watching this now?

...Lap 39 ros fighting bob for 7th

Lap 40 ros passes kob

Liuzzi out

Lol. Yes 5 texts ago but dont stop ur analysis is better than the professionals

Ok :)

Lap 42 mas pits from 4th into 4th again

Vet v close behind

Lap 44 cold track temp affecting tyres and brakes

Ham alo web mas vet sut ros kob pet shu

Lap 46 shu & pet fighting for 9th

Untidy at final chicane

Lap 47 pet pits from 10th rejoins in 11th crucial tyre choice

Lap 49 vet fastest closing in on mas for 4th

Lap 51 ham alo web mad vet ros sut msc dir kob pet

Where did diresta come from?

Ham pits rejoins in 3rd

Lap 52 Ferrari in pits for alo

Alo doesn't pit

Lap 53 alo pits Crucial time for tyres

Ham passes alo. Web still needs to pit

Web can't get past mas. Gonna ruin his race

Sorry. I mean vet (not web)

So much going on can't keep up!

5 laps remaining web still has to pit

Lap 57 web pits. Ham leads from alo

Lap 58 ham Alo web mas vet sut ros msc kob pet per

Penultimate lap 59 mas & vet gonna have a pit stop race for 4th place

End of lap holding my breath...

And it's vet in the lead

Lap 60 ham cruises to victory yasaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!




Ham alo web vet mas sut everyone else was lapped or out

Web gives alo a ride back to the pits. Look familiar?




Thanks 4 that didnt get to see it to the end. Ur a champ

You're very welcome. It was quite hard to keep up at times. But fun ;)


Bear in mind, I'm doing my best to text while trying to enjoy the race so you will find a few mistakes. On the whole though, I'd have to say it was 98% accurate.

Spain again

So, Formula 1 returns to Spain for a second time, three seasons running, since 2009.




Valencia is a new track to F1, created primarily in response to double world champion, Fernando Alonso's popularity in his home country.




I never really liked the circuit much. That was until I bought the most recent F1 PS3 game. Now, having seen it from the driver's eye view, I have a newfound respect for Spain's second Grand Prix.




With Sebastian Vettel on pole and team mate, Mark Webber alongside, it looks as though it'll be another Red Bull whitewash. Only the McLarens and Ferraris stand a chance of spoiling the party. Keep your fingers crossed.

Another fine mess

My memories of the Canadian GP are a fragmented mess. A bit like the race.


I liked seeing the teams all sharing a cuppa and a biscuit on the grid under umberellas ellas ellas...

Drive of the day goes to Nick Heidfeld who managed to steer his badly damaged car into a run-off area at turn 3 before flicking it around safely behind a safety barrier. Class.

It's such a mess because I was recording it to watch after my little one had gone to bed.

After 25 laps, most of which were held under the safety car, the race was red flagged. By the time they got going again, the GP was being broadcast on BBC2. So, 20 minutes of racing lost before I press record on the correct channel.

Did I mention that it was raining?


Suddenly fast forward and the track is drying on the racing line. Lots of pitstops. In fact, because of the rain coming and going like it did, drivers were coming in left, right and centre. And then going.

Jenson did a pretty good job of unintentionally dispatching two rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

And then, because the race over-ran the TV schedule (again), my recorder stopped recording (again, again). I didn't notice until I'd missed another dozen laps.

Considering all this and that more time was spent under safety car conditions than was actually spent racing, I didn't get to enjoy the Canadian Grand Prix. Pity, because it looked like a fantastic win for Jenson Button.

F1 title showdown

The 2010 Formula 1 drivers championship went down to the last race in Abu Dhabi. Going into the race, four drivers were in with a chance of walking away with motorsports greatest prize:
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, was ahead on points, followed by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, and Lewis Hamilton, McLaren.
It looked like it was Alonso's title to lose and that's exactly what he did. Both he with Webber pitted early, shortly after a safety car period that was brought out to deal with a first lap accident between Michael Schumacher and Tonio Liuzzi, and that strategy effectively ruined their race as they got stuck behind a few cars that had already pitted under the safety car. This led to some very exciting racing and many bold passing attempts, succesful and otherwise. Meanwhile, Vettel and Hamilton, who would need a miracle to be world champion a second time, kept their heads, in first and second position, and got on with the serious business of trying to win the race. Jenson Button crept into third to take the final place on the podium and as the four contenders crossed the finishing line, scoring their respective points, Formula 1 gained a new world champion, Sebastian Vettel.