image credit: Lotus F1 Official Site

If you’ve been paying attention to anything involving Finns in sports lately, you’ll notice Angry Birds are EVERYWHERE. From Heikki’s helmet, to the IIHF World Championships’ mascot Hockey Bird, Rovio’s bird characters will be found.

A couple days ago, it was revealed that Rovio is making a Heikki version of Angry Birds. There’s not much known yet, but it will be released in about a month.

Don’t think the game makers were leaving out Kimi Raikkonen. Actually, the Ice Bird in the newest game, Angry Birds Space, was inspired by the world champion known as the Iceman.

But that’s not all, Rovio is sponsoring Raikkonen’s team, Lotus F1, for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. Lotus is celebrating their 500th Grand Prix, and Rovio is celebrating their 1 BILLIONTH game download. Angry Birds will be the team’s “official angry partner” for the iconic race, complete with the adorable branding above.

There will also be a Lotus F1 version of the game that can be reached through the team’s Facebook page beginning on Wednesday.

If you choose to watch this video, don’t have the sound up too loud. Definitely don’t have the sound up too loud if you’re sharing the room with some crazy birds who then go crazy for the noise.

photo credit: Flickr/Rich Jones

The cause of the fire in the Williams’ garage yesterday remains somewhat unknown. There are some reports that say the KERS unit from Bruno Senna’s car exploded, and the fuel in the area ignited. Spanish police are working with the team.

One crew member remains in the hospital with burns, but should be returning home to the UK to continue treatment soon. Two other crew members were released today after being treated for smoke inhalation.

Frank Williams says the response from personnel of other teams was overwhelming and showed a great spirit of cooperation in the paddock.

Then there’s the team that needs to really work on internal cooperation: McLaren. Martin Whitmarsh said today he regrets not telling Lewis Hamilton to abandon his pole position lap. Whitmarsh had known there wasn’t enough fuel in the car on that final lap, and instead of telling Hamilton to return to the garage, had him finish and stop on track.

Whitmarsh also said he did not expect such a harsh penalty, and that no matter how much fuel would have been left in the car, he was embarrassed by the entire situation.

Better luck next time, McLaren.

photo credit: Flickr/Mypoorbrain

Pastor Maldonado managed to pull off a win at Circuit de Catalunya today, despite Fernando Alonso’s best efforts to win his home Grand Prix. Alonso took the lead in the first corner, but was not able to hold on to it.

Maldonado is the first Venezuelan winner of a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and this is also Williams’ first win since 2004.

Sadly, it has not been that great of a day after all for Williams. About 90 minutes after the race ended, fuel exploded causing a fire, and several team members from Williams, Caterham, and Force India had to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation.

The race also did not go so well for Bruno Senna. Michael Schumacher crashed right into the back of him around turn 1. Senna had moved over in what looked like a block, but the stewards apparently didn’t find that to be the case. Schumacher has been given a five spot grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Kimi Raikkonen finished third, although he was right on Alonso’s tail at the end of the race. Romain Grosjean finished fourth, and Kamui Kobayashi stormed his way to fifth, which included a brilliant pass on Jenson Button.

Sebastian Vettel managed to finish sixth, despite being handed a drive-through penalty for failing to slow down for yellow flags near the Schumacher-Senna incident. Felipe Massa also received the penalty for failing to slow, but he only managed to finish 15th.

Lewis Hamilton, who had to start at the back of the grid after being excluded from qualifying, finished in the points in 8th, and one place ahead of his teammate.

Results
01. Pastor Maldonado, Williams
02. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
03. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
04. Romain Grosjean, Lotus
05. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
06. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
07. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
08. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
09. Jenson Button, McLaren
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India

» Continue reading “Pastor Maldonado Wins Spanish GP”

Should have waited just a little bit longer, apparently.

The stewards have decided to completely exclude Lewis Hamilton from qualifying. He loses his pole position, and has to start from the very back of the grid.

The reasoning? This is a breach of the technical regulation of not having enough fuel in the car. From Twitter, I’ve gathered that he had 1.3 liters left, and someone said 2 would probably be needed to get to parc ferme. The FIA was still able to get a sample.

This to me seems beyond harsh. If there’s a way to appeal it, I’d bet on McLaren doing so. It seemed a lot more reasonable to just take away pole position and say he had no Q3 time and start him 7th, but apparently not.

Kate Walker tweeted a photo of the FIA’s statement.

The FIA did not accept Sam Michael’s argument that a team member not adding enough fuel is considered force majeure. Not having enough fuel basically did give Hamilton an advantage. Still, this is pretty over the top considering all the other penalties given out this season alone, and considering Karthikeyan gets to race with that slow time.

And in any case, congratulations on the pole position, Pastor Maldonado. Weird way to get it, but still an honor!

photo credit: flickr/xn44

Seriously. Maldonado. P2.

He was P1 until Lewis set a blistering fast lap. He was also the fastest in the first two sessions of qualifying! Meanwhile his poor Williams teammate, Bruno Senna, could only manage P18 after a spin into the gravel in Q1.

Lewis Hamilton may not even actually start on pole for the third time this season. I’ve held off on writing this because it’s still on the stewards. His McLaren stopped on track and did not return to parc ferme under its own power as is required by the regulations.

A liter of fuel must also be on board for sampling purposes, and it is considered unacceptable for a driver to just stop in order to save the fuel. It could mean that Hamilton had less fuel on board than the other cars in Q3, and therefore he would have an advantage over them.

McLaren was previously penalized for stopping on track after qualifying to save fuel. A team must be able to prove there was actually a technical problem.

In Q1, Narain Karthikeyan failed to set a time within the 107% rule, but will be allowed to race because he set better times during practice.

I’ve already mentioned that Senna’s spin ended his hopes for getting out of Q1, and all the usual suspects were also knocked out.

Q2 was full of surprises. Starting 11th and 12th? Jenson Button and Mark Webber. Felipe Massa will start 17th. Both Toro Rosso and Force India cars were also knocked out.

Q3 featured a last minute battle for the top spot. Sebastian Vettel set the first top lap, but will only start 8th in the end. Although, according to the timing he didn’t set a time. Michael Schumacher will start behind him, alongside Kamui Kobayashi.

Entire grid (for now)
01. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
02. Pastor Maldonado, Williams
03. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
04. Romain Grosjean, Lotus
05. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
06. Sergio Perez, Sauber
07. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
08. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
09. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
10. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber

» Continue reading “Lewis Hamilton And Pastor Maldonado On Front Row For Spanish GP”

Circuit de Catalunya layout (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Friday May 11
First Practice Session: 4:00am
Second Practice Session: 8:00am

Saturday May 12
Final Practice Session: 5:00am
Qualifying: 8:00am

Sunday May 13
Race: 8:00am

SPEED will show a pre-race show beginning at 7:30am. Second practice is also live, and the others can be streamed on SPEEDtv.com. All times eastern.

Last year’s winner: Sebastian Vettel

What to expect: We’re back after a three week break, and that means it’s time for the European/Canada leg of the season for the summer.

Teams had testing time last week, which should mean many teams will be sporting aerodynamic upgrades. With the season still wide open for this fifth race of the year, it’s hard to tell who will come out on top. Will it be a fifth different driver? Will Mark Webber finish fourth for the fifth time? Hopefully practice gives us a general idea of what to expect, but for now it truly is wide open.

American Alexander Rossi will get his first chance to drive in the first practice session for Caterham. Dani Clos will be driving for HRT in the first session also.

Ross Brawn, team principal for Mercedes, will miss out on the race due to illness on doctor’s orders. Get well soon, Ross!

Weather: Perfect for racing or at least watching it, I’d say…this forecast looks like quintessential European spring weather. Highs in the mid 70s, partly cloudy skies, and low chances for rain.

Tires: Pirelli has decided to use the soft and hard tires. This is a bit of a different strategy than usual, since tire compounds are usually in consecutive hardness order (like soft/medium, medium/hard, etc). This should suit the circuit better. Except I guess if you’re Michael Schumacher, the tires are scrambled or hard boiled.

DRS: There will be a single DRS zone at the Circuit de Catalunya. The activation zone will be down the start/finish straight, with the detection zone between turns 15 and 16. The DRS zone is 750 meters long, so expect to see some good fights.

American driver Alexander Rossi will be making his Grand Prix debut for Caterham in Barcelona at next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. He will drive in the first Friday practice session in Heikki Kovalainen’s car.

Rossi will be the first American to drive during a GP weekend since Scott Speed raced for Toro Rosso in 2007. He drove in the Young Drivers Test for Caterham last year.

Of course, this practice session takes place at 4am eastern next Friday, but if you’re as excited as I am to see a legitimate American driver in Formula 1 once again, you’ll be able to stream the session online.

This week, teams had a three day in-season test at Mugello. It’s hard to judge anything based on the test because teams use it for different things, but hopefully everyone got something out of it.

Except apparently Christian Horner, who doesn’t think there is any value in it.

Vitaly Petrov spoke out yesterday on the last day, saying the Mugello circuit is too dangerous. Other drivers praised it. But it is beyond tacky to tell Petrov to “man up” or “grow a pair” because you don’t agree with him. He’s the one in the car.

I’m talking to you, Will Buxton.

The link in the top tweet there is a photo of a baby crying. Yes, Petrov does complain a bit. But that in no way makes him less of a man.

Of course, Buxton was not done yet.

Yep, only women crave dessert and white wine! And only men can have beer and burgers. So there you go. And if you think a track is dangerous, you deserve to be emasculated. And craving said sweet things also makes you less of a man so pop open that beer!

I’ve liked Buxton since SPEED brought him on. He has actually never said anything that rubbed me the wrong way until this. As a female fan, I’ve lost a lot of respect for him.

No surprise this is the sport that calls Maria de Villota testing a “publicity stunt” and has a commercial rights holder who hopes new Williams’ test driver Susie Wolff is “as quick in a car as she looks good out of a car.”

“I want to live fully, very intensely. I would never want to live partially, suffering from illness or injury. If I ever happen to have an accident that eventually costs my life, I hope it happens in one instant.”

It’s been eighteen years since the last driver fatality in Formula 1. On May 1, 1994, Ayrton Senna died after an accident at Imola.

His legacy to Formula 1 will surely never be forgotten. Motorsport lost a true legend that day, someone who will never ever be replaced.

If you have a chance, I highly recommend watching the documentary Senna (I know I say this a lot but really). I will definitely be doing so later today.

This clip from Top Gear was one of the first times I truly understood just how amazing Ayrton was. I was at the Tail of the Dragon with a bunch of car friends, and one friend showed me this. I couldn’t help but cry.

Sorry for the absolute lack of updating. Things have been rough. Thankfully I only have one exam left, but then I have summer classes. Gross.

photo credit: Flickr/Chuljae Lee

First up, Bernie says the French Grand Prix’s return in 2013 is a done deal. The contract is set for five races every other year, starting next year. It will be held at Paul Ricard circuit (and you’ll never guess why, right?) and obviously it has to alternate with another race in Europe.

The rumor is Spa, but that rumor is so terribly disgusting that it cannot possibly happen. Spa is quite possibly the greatest race to watch besides Monaco. Stop it.

Next week teams get a couple days of in-season testing at Mugello starting on May 1. HRT will not be there. Contrary to what you might immediately think (no money for it), the team is in the midst of moving their headquarters.

McLaren have opted not to send their two drivers there, but instead use their test driver lineup. Several teams, including Force India, look to include at least one reserve driver with their two drivers at the test.

This three week break into the European/Canadian leg of the season should help many teams with improvements. Many teams will probably use the Mugello test days to try out new upgrades to their cars. It will be interesting to see how everything turns out for the Spanish race!

photo credit: Flickr/eltham_mob

It turns out Force India was so rattled by what happened upon the team’s arrival in Bahrain, they briefly considered withdrawing from the race last night.

In return for them probably considering this and actually pulling out of second practice, the team’s cars were apparently very absent from live feeds throughout qualifying today.

Classy, FOM. When questioned, Bernie Ecclestone said nobody wants to see who is in tenth place.

Note: Fernando Alonso starts 9th. Kimi Raikkonen starts 11th. Does nobody care who is in 11th place?

Bernie also tried to blame the alcohol advertisements on the car, however, Red Bull has also kept theirs on the car. To add to the “try to get out of this one, jerk” fuel, Force India was given the okay to keep their sponsor’s ads on the car.

Other low level teams are worried about their safety as they have not been offered or do not have the funds for the level of security teams like McLaren and Red Bull can get.

A protester was found dead before the start of Saturday’s events. He was identified as Salah Abbas Habib Musa, and he had taken part in one of the peaceful protests that turned violent with police action.

Track protests are apparently planned for tomorrow. Hopefully everyone stays safe.

If you would like actual qualifying news, well, Sebastian Vettel is back on top. And it’s hard for me to take the high road about this whole thing because of it, but I could be far worse off.