German Car Zone

Hamilton: Consistency will be key


Lewis Hamilton, refreshed after a holiday, hopes to produce consistent results in the second half of the Formula One season and win the drivers' title.
The 23-year-old Briton, who leads this year's championship, said on Friday he had enjoyed the three-week August break and felt revitalised for the final run-in starting at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 24.
"It has given me a chance to recharge my batteries," Hamilton said.
"Looking back at the season so far, it feels like a different championship compared to last year: 2007 was very intense and consistency was incredibly important.
"This year, everybody's results have been more varied and every driver who has won a race has also failed to score on at least two other occasions. That's made getting strong results even more important but I think we'll see consistency becoming crucial as we head towards the end of the season."
Hamilton became the first driver this year to win two successive races when he triumphed at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix and at the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.
The McLaren driver was unable to complete a rare hat-trick in Hungary where he had a puncture and was out-raced by Brazilian Felipe Massa in a Ferrari.
Hamilton finished fourth after recovering while Massa suffered an engine failure.
In a team preview, looking ahead to the race in Spain on Valencia's new street circuit, Hamilton added: "I'm wary of making predictions. The race in Hungary showed just how unpredictable Formula One can be and that's one of the reasons why it's such a fascinating sport.
"Clearly, though, I am still in a good position to challenge for the world championship and that remains my aim. We still feel confident about our chances -- we know our rivals will be strong but we've worked hard to improve the car and we are confident we'll be competitive.
"The most important thing is to finish consistently in the points."
Reuters

Kubica hopes problems behind BMW

Robert Kubica hopes BMW Sauber have put the problems they experienced in Hungary behind them heading into this weekend's European Grand Prix.
Kubica could only finish eighth at the Hungaroring, while teammate Nick Heidfeld was tenth. The race was the third in a row that Kubica has finished outside the top six, and he knows the team need to rectify that if they're to compete with McLaren and Ferrari.
He says he was surprised that the car was so far off the pace in Hungary and can only hope they don't find the same problems on the Valencia street circuit this weekend.
"A few laps after the start, the car became very difficult to drive and my feeling was that the pressure of the tyres was too high," he told Formula1.com. "In those circumstances you simply have to slow down, since the grip and the traction become very poor. After the first pit stop I realised that the massive lack of grip was still there.
"In the last two races, we've scored only eight points and clearly that is not enough. This trend brings us back to the 2007 season conditions, which clearly is not the team's goal.
"I hope that Hungary is the turning point since this situation puts me in the position to fight for points rather than for podiums. Let's see if we can get back to where we are supposed to be in Valencia."

http://www.mclaren.com/f1season/2008/europe/index.php?utm_source=NL&utm_medium=NL20080820& amp;utm_campaign=RacePreview

PREVIEW2008 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

The Formula 1 circus re-groups after its three-week summer break to visit the first all-new venue on the 2008 calendar - the impressive street circuit in the Spanish port city of Valencia.

European Grand Prix organisers have created a unique and demanding 25-corner circuit that winds around the Juan Carlos I marina, home to the 32nd America’s Cup yacht race. However, unlike traditional Formula 1 street circuits, whose tight and twisting configurations place a premium on qualifying at the front, the Valencia track is fast, sweeping and wide, and offers several potential opportunities for passing.

Official simulations have estimated a top speed of 200mph at the end of the main straight and an estimated laptime around the 1m 37s bracket. With an estimated average speed of 125mph, Valencia should be on a par with a venue such as Bahrain (average speed of 128mph) and far higher than Monte Carlo (94mph).

The Spanish venue will mark the fifth home for the European Grand Prix, which has been held at Brands Hatch, the Nürburgring, Donington Park and Jerez since its inception in 1983.

Heikki KovalainenWhat did you do after celebrating your maiden Formula 1 victory in Hungary?

"I had very much a working holiday: I spent some time in Woking with my engineers preparing for this weekend and I also spent some time back in Finland, at my home town of Suomussalmi, where I help organise an annual karting event in the town. Obviously, having just won the most recent grand prix made it a fantastic event for everybody. It was my first time back in Finland for quite a long time, too, so it was great to turn up as a grand prix winner!"

Lol, FIA are strict. Hamilton was fined €5 000 for turning up 90 seconds late for the press conference.

FP1
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:40.496 29
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:40.654 + 0.158 27
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:40.822 + 0.326 14
4. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:41.099 + 0.603 31
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:41.163 + 0.667 23
6. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:41.281 + 0.785 24
7. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:41.317 + 0.821 27
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:41.329 + 0.833 26
9. Alonso Renault (B) 1:41.385 + 0.889 31
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:41.706 + 1.210 22
11. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:41.830 + 1.334 27
12. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:41.930 + 1.434 27
13. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:41.951 + 1.455 23
14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:42.036 + 1.540 27
15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:42.107 + 1.611 32
16. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:42.453 + 1.957 23
17. Button Honda (B) 1:42.460 + 1.964 29
19. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:43.075 + 2.579 25
19. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:43.312 + 2.816 23
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:43.524 + 3.028 24

FP2
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:39.477 30
2. Alonso Renault (B) 1:39.497 + 0.020 39
3. Button Honda (B) 1:39.546 + 0.069 35
4. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:39.678 + 0.201 31
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:39.712 + 0.235 31
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:39.954 + 0.477 30
7. Glock Toyota (B) 1:39.967 + 0.490 32
8. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:40.149 + 0.672 35
9. Piquet Renault (B) 1:40.439 + 0.962 32
10. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:40.500 + 1.023 23
11. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:40.585 + 1.108 24
12. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:40.607 + 1.130 34
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:40.696 + 1.219 23
14. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:40.742 + 1.265 34
15. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:40.877 + 1.400 32
16. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:40.982 + 1.505 36
17. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:40.999 + 1.522 32
18. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:41.084 + 1.607 35
19. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:41.246 + 1.769 38
20. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:41.377 + 1.900 31

Massa Takes pole.
Qualifying live standing


P. Driver Team Time
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:38.989
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 0:00.771
3 Robert Kubica BMW 0:00.964
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 0:01.060
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 0:01.823
6 Sebastian Vettel Toro Rosso 0:01.714
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0:01.881
8 Nick Heidfeld BMW 0:02.203
9 Nico Rosberg Williams 0:02.293
10 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 0:02.322
11 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 0:00.000
12 Fernando Alonso Renault 0:00.007
13 Timo Glock Toyota 0:00.071
14 Mark Webber Red Bull 0:00.087
15 Nelson Piquet Renault 0:00.316
16 Jenson Button Honda 0:00.452
17 David Coulthard Red Bull 0:00.807
18 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 0:00.840
19 Rubens Barrichello Honda 0:01.383
20 Adrian Sutil Force India 0:01.515

I really wouldn't mind BMW's driver line up next year looking like this:



Heidfeld did so good in Q2 and then vanished in Q3 damn it. I think he is pretty much spent and has done all he can for BMW. Kubica did a tremendous job as usual.

For the past few races, I've actually been rooting for Ferrari... this is UNHEARD of.

Good to see Kubica in top form in a good car again!

Did BMW do upgrades for this race?

Considering the GP2 feature race, don't expect much overtaking..the only passes I've seen were from B. Senna on the opening lap.
And these are cars with ground effect aero and slick.