Kimi Raikkonen rubs his friends down with lotion as they set sail aboard a luxury yacht

On Sunday Formula One star Kimi Raikkonen was left disheartened after he failed to finish first at the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

But not letting the fact he missed out on the title get to him, Raikkonen was spotted as he set sail on a luxury yacht in Ibiza.

The 32-year-old race driver was pictured relaxing aboard the grand vessel as he soaked up the sun alongside some of his friends.

Kimi who wore a sunhat with a pair of glasses, and checked beach shorts, looked to be in good spirits as he took in the views of the gorgeous sea and joked about with his chums.

And it appears that the sportsman's wife, model and former Miss Scandinavia, Jenni Dahlman sat this short break out as she wasn't pictured on the boat.

After finishing in second place behind Fernando Alonso on Sunday, Kimi admitted he was disappointed but didn't feel he would win the race.

He said: 'In the end second place is okay, but not what we wanted.'

During the action packed competition Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the penultimate lap while running in third after a run-in with Pastor Maldonado, and Michael Schumacher placed third.

Source: Dailymail more pics!

Räikkönen's qualification was already in that direction

Kimi Räikkönen had two new sets of Pirelli's soft tyres in the qualification. The advantage didn't however offer a full advantage to him.


– The first set was bad. Although it was a new tyre it pushed forward. At least the second set worked properly. The qualification was in that direction, but by improving with a tenth we would had been in the front row. Sebastian Vettel was ahead of the others but the rest of the gang was even, Räikkönen summed up.


– This was one of our best qualifications so far. We were 5th in Malaysia, but there we got higher due to a penalty. Now it feels good to be 5th in the grid.


The 5th grid is on the clean side of the track, which is a clear advantage in the starting grid.


Overtaking isn't easy in Valencia. The start is very important.


– When it's hot, someone ahead of us can get in trouble with the tyres and then we have a chance to overtake. Our car has been good in the tyre-department and hopefully it continues in the race also.


– We have to take the same soft tyres from the qualification to the start. On Friday they worked reasonably during long stints, Räikkönen reminded.


We can expect two-stop strategies, since the tyre consumption is tough in hot weather.


Räikkönen has been struggling with the Lotus-car's steering during the spring. Now the situation is better.


– Small things have made it a little better and more precise. Due to that it was easier in qualification. It has always been good enough in races.


Permane trusting


Alan Permane was smiling to the tasty scenery of getting both drivers on the podium.


– We have gone up much higher from behind 4th and 5th grid. We have a strong belief in the race. Overtaking is tricky even in the DRS-area and we are certainly not expecting any easy race for us.


– The hot weather will put a strain on the tyres, but we trust that we can cope under these circumstances. In strategy we have open one, two or three -stop strategies. Lets see what happens, Permane said.


Grosjean will strike from the 2nd row


Romain Grosjean beat his team mate for the 6th time in qualification. The difference was however only 0,008 seconds.


– I have been 8 times in qualification and this is my 2nd best result after Australia. We really have a great opportunity to succeed in this race. The strategy will be in the key role.


Grosjean knows that one can't crash in the start.


– I've started to know all the drivers around me and how they behave. It's going to be tough in the three first corners and if getting through the first corner without crashing, there's a good chance to do a top result, Grosjean planned.


Turun Sanomat


HEIKKI KULTA


Courtesy: Nevercrywolf

Webber blames himself for missing second

Mark Webber blames himself for missing second in the European Grand Prix

Mark Webber insisted he was to blame for missing out a second place finish in the European Grand Prix in Valencia.

Webber had been dicing for position with Fernando Alonso's Ferrari throughout the race before electing to make his final stop to swap onto the medium compound tyre before the Spaniard also pitted for the final time.

Alonso was able to go three laps longer on his final set of soft tyres before pitting himself and it proved to be the crucial decision as he rejoined ahead of the Australian in second.

Although he was then forced to back off in the closing laps due to a gearbox issue, Webber admitted he should have beaten Alonso to the flag to secure a 1-2 finish for Red Bull and blamed himself for only finishing on the bottom step of the podium.

“I think we should have finished second today,” he said. “It was a good race with Fernando, I think it was my best race of the year to be honest until the last pit stop. It was quite close with all three of us, obviously we were trying to go as fast as possible and manage the tyres at the same time.

“I was very happy with how the race was going until the last stop and it was my fault basically. I was worried about Fernando getting the undercut and it was not really known how the medium tyre would behave on the out lap, but it was a risk I decided to take. I lost out to Fernando, he drove a good race.

“We had a gearbox problem at the end, so we backed right off, but we had a massive gap to McLaren, so we could cruise to the end and look after the gearbox.”

Source: Crash.net

Video: BBC - European GP - Fernando Alonso enjoys 'great fight' with Mark Webber

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso says his performance in finishing second in the European Grand Prix in Valencia was a good display for the Spanish fans.

Alonso is also encouraged by how he was able to keep pace with the Red Bulls, finishing in between winner Sebastian vettel and third-placed Mark Webber



Source: YouTube

Vettel: Still a long way to go

Sebastian Vettel is not getting ahead of himself despite extending his lead in the Drivers' Championship to 77 points

The reigning World Champ has proven to be almost unbeatable this season, only losing out on victory on two occasions. Both were to McLaren drivers - and one of those losses, Canada, was through a mistake of his own.

With six victories to his credit, the latest which he achieved in Valencia on Sunday afternoon, the Red Bull driver is holding a commanding 77-point lead over Jenson Button and his own team-mate Mark Webber.

Vettel, though, is refusing to get carried away, urging his team to "stay hungry."

"I'm not looking at the gap. Obviously the title is the target but we'll take it step by step," he said.

"If we have the chance to win, we'll take it because the day might come when we struggle, when we are only good enough for third.

"It's still a long way to go.

"We have to keep doing what we do, stay hungry, wanting to win the races and become better."

As for his victory around the Valencia street circuit on Sunday, the German says that while it may have appeared a boring race to those watching, for him it was an exciting 57 laps.

"I enjoyed it very much. Every single lap its between you and the car," he said.

""For some reason I enjoy this track, even though we maybe think it doesn't suit our car because there are no 100 percent fast corner.

"I'm very happy."

Meanwhile, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner insisted the race was a lot closer than it looked.

"Sebastian really enjoyed his afternoon, it was a fantastic race - he got it right from start to finish.

"It was tight with Alonso throughout. It wasn't as easy as it looked."

Source: Planet-F1

Vettel Wins Lacklustre European GP 2011

Sebastian Vettel strolled to his sixth win of the campaign in the European GP where the fight was a lot closer than it was exciting

No matter how many DRS zones you put in, how much power the KERS gives a driver, or what you ban on the cars, it truly seems as if nothing will ever make the Valencia street circuit an exciting venue for Formula One racing.

With the top three, both Red Bulls and Alonso, all runningsimilar strategies and putting on soft tyres in their first two stops, the race appeared as if it would be decided by who could get the most out of their medium compound Pirellis in the final stint.

Webber pitted for his on lap 43, Alonso on lap 45 and Vettel on lap 47. The German, having witnessed his team-mate's times fall on the medium tyres, was the last of leading trio in and therefore only had ten laps on the harder - and slower - compound.

This move just allowed him to cement his victory, although it never appeared as if Alonso, who was second, or Webber, who completed the podium, were a threat to his sixth win of the season.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth over the line as he kept his nose clean in Valencia, finishing ahead of Felipe Massa and Jenson Button.

All 24 drivers completed the grand prix, only the third time in F1 history that there was not a single retirement in the race.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:36.169
02. Alonso Ferrari + 10.891
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.255
04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 46.190
05. Massa Ferrari + 51.705
06. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:00.000
07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:38.000
08. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
09. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
15. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
24. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Qualifying: It's Another Pole For Vettel

Sebastian Vettel claimed his seventh pole position of the season at the European GP as Red Bull locked out the front row

Although the team were expected to suffer in light of the FIA's ban on changing engine maps in parc ferme, Vettel proved that it is not the secret of their success.

The reigning World Champ crossed the line with a 1:36.975, beating his team-mate Mark Webber to pole position by 0.188s. Lewis Hamilton qualified in third place with Fernando Alonso starting from P4.

Qualifying 1
It was warm and windy as the cars took to the the track in bright Valencia sunshine, the ambient temperature of 26C with the track at 44C.

There were no problems left over from a fairly uneventful morning practice and it was Nick Heidfeld's Renault setting the first P1 time at 1:41.897. All the top runners would try and get through this opening session using only the Medium (Prime) tyre and saving their Soft (Option) tyre for Q2 and beyond.

To get the medium tyres working, and up to temperature, the teams embarked on multi-lap runs. Mark Webber took the P1 time down to 1:40.429, team-mate Sebastian Vettel beat that with a 1:39.965, while Jenson Button edged that down a 1:39.605.

Vettel took over at the front again with a 1:39.356 and then Lewis Hamilton grabbed the spot with a 1:39.244. Not for long, Sebastain Vettel lowered the time to 1:39.116. It was already clear, though, that the McLarens were more than a match for the Red Bulls on the Prime tyre.

The Ferrari team had gone two ways on front-wing set-up with Felipe Massa sporting a double-element front wing and Fernando Alonso going for a triple. Alonso was using his to better effect.

Running into the last four minutes, the mid-grid teams had been forced to go for the soft tyres. Heikki Kovalainen had put his Lotus up into P15 using the soft tyres and so the others had to react. At this stage the main contenders for the unexpected exit were: 16.Barrichello, 17.DiResta, 18.Kobayashi with Williams' Pastor Maldonado yet to set a time.

Maldonado came out and delivered P6, Paul DiResta (after limited running on Friday thanks to Nico Hulkenberg damaging his car) jumped to P9, Rubens Barrichello disappeared off to P11.

These improvements started to push Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa towards the late 'teens. Rosberg jumped up to P4 on his set of softs which pushed Mark Webber to a perilous P17 (still sticking to his medium compound).

As the session reached its conclusion there were 20 drivers out on track with Massa opting to bolt on a set of soft tyres to make certain of his inclusion. That produced a lap time of 1:38.413, the fastest of Q1. And safety of course. It hadn't been too cautious an approach, he had been in P17...

Mark Webber managed to jump to P14 and when Kamui Kobyashi improved hhis position from P18 to P16, that left Jaime Alguersuari stuck in P18 with no laps left.

And so out went: 18. Alguersuari, 19.Kovalainen, 20.Trullim 21.Glock, 22.Liuzzi, 23.D'Ambrosio, 24.Karthikeyan.

Trulli managed to spin in the final corner to wreck his chance of beating Kovalainen in qualifying again, Mark Webber ended up an uncomfortable P16, but it was Alguersuari who was the big loser, having gone out in P18 in the last three races.

Qualifying 2
It was straight onto the soft tyres for the front runners now. Massa continued using his set from Q1 and produced a 1:38.566, Mark Webber beat it with a 1:38.058, Fernando Alonso edged ahead of that with a 1:37.930 and then Sebastian Vettel booked his place in Q3 with a 1:37.305.

Behind Vettel, Button slotted into P2 and then Lewis Hamilton took P2 off him. Just as the Ferrari team were thinking about making their times a little better, Pastor Maldonado slowed to an unexpected halt in a tricky position just off the racing line and had to be retrieved by crane. It brought the red flag out with 7.59 of the session still to run.

Vitaly Petrov and Sebastien Buemi had yet to set a time.

When the Williams car was cleared, there was no great rush out of the pits to complete a lap. With four minutes left to run the danger position were: 7.Massa, 8.Schumacher, 9.Heidfeld, 10.Sutil, 11.DiResta, 12.Barrichello, 13.Maldonado, 14.Perez, 15.Kobayashi, 16.Petrov (no time), 17.Buemi (no time).

Kobayashi improved to P13, Barrichello could only stay P12. Petrov overtook his team-mate to grab P9, Buemi stayed a disappointing P17, Michael Schumacher made himself safe with P6. Nick Heidfeld jumped back in front of his Renault team-mate to hold P9.

The symmetry of 2 Red Bulls, McLarens, Ferraris, Renaults and Mercedes getting into Q3 was then ruined by Adrian Sutil who slotted his Force India into P10 demoting Vitaly Petrov to P11.

So out went: 11.Petrov, 12.DiResta, 13.Barrichello, 14.Kobayashi, 15.Maldonado, 16.Perez, 17.Buemi.

Qualifying 3With engine maps having to be carried through from qualifying to the race it was all eyes on Red Bull to see if they could sustain their advantage at the front.

It didn't take long to realise that an upset was unlikely to be the case. Alonso set provisional pole with a 1:37.454, Lewis Hamilton took it from him with a 1:37.380 and then Sebastian Vettel went four tenths of a second faster with a 1:36.975.

The top six after the first runs lined up: Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso, Webber, Button, Massa. Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld and Michael Schumacher didn't go out at first and Nico Rosberg had the circuit to himself in the middle for his timed run.

Rosberg set P7 before the final flurry. Michael's one run put him a whisker shy of Rosberg in P8, Heidfeld didn't complete a whole lap and Adrian Sutil didn't bother going out at all.

Thus it was the front runners who were going to provide the action and Mark Webber showed that he can get within 0.2 of his team-mate by moving up to P2.

Behind him, though, it was mostly anti-climax. Alonso realised he was slower and came into the pits, Hamilton realised he was slower and came into the pits, Button was slower and didn't improve and got overtaken by Felipe Massa who squeezed up into P5.

Realising that he now had pole, Vettel didn't need to put in another lap and also came into the pits. Thus Vettel achieved his seventh pole out of seven for the year without major drama. Given the closeness of McLaren on the medium tyre and two DRS zones to overtake in, the race will be a lot tougher to dominate.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m36.975
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.163 + 0.188
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.380 + 0.405
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.454 + 0.479
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.535 + 0.560
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.645 + 0.670
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.231 + 1.256
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.240 + 1.265
9. Nick Heidfeld Renault No time
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes No time
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m39.068s + 1.763
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.422s + 2.117
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.489s + 2.184
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.525s + 2.220
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m39.645s + 2.340
16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.657s + 2.352
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.711s + 2.406
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.232 + 1.819
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m41.664 + 3.251
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m42.234 + 3.821
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.553 + 4.140
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.584 + 5.171
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.735 + 5.322
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m44.363 + 5.950

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Three: Vettel back on top

It didn't take long for Sebastian Vettel to stamp his authority on the European GP weekend, posting the fastest time in final practice

Despite falling behind the Ferraris on Friday, the reigning World Champ came back strong in Practice Three, making his mark ahead of qualifying.

Vettel crossed the line with a 1:37.258 to finish 0.420s up on Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Felipe Massa was third quickest, a further 0.162s off the pace, while Mark Webber finished in fourth place.

Jenson Button was the faster of the two McLaren drivers, claiming fifth place ahead of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Report: Track temperature was sitting at 34'C as the final practice for the European GP got underway under blue skies. Jaime Alguersuari was the first man out on track, leading out the field for their installation laps. Jarno Trulli set the early pace ahead of Timo Glock before Sergio Perez and then Alguersuari moved ahead of them.

Nick Heidfeld was the next to lead the way with a 1:41.903 before lowering the benchmark time to by eight-tenths. However, his reign was short-lived as Fernando Alonso hit the front with a 1:39.743 while Nico Rosberg took second place. Felipe Massa was fourth ahead of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Adrian Sutil.

Massa improved his time, slotting in behind his team-mate while Jenson Button took third place, just half a second adrift of Alonso's best. Meanwhile, neither Sebastian Vettel nor Mark Webber had posted a lap time despite half the session having already past.

Vettel finally headed out, immediately hitting the front with a 1:38.999. His team-mate Webber claimed fourth place behind Alonso and Button. Ferrari continued playing around with their front wings, still undecided as to which route they wanted to go ahead of qualifying.

Vettel coninued lapping, lowering the benchmark time as Webber improved to second before losing out to Schumacher, who was just 0.105s behind Vettel. Sergio Perez, on the softer tyres, moved up to sixth place. Rosberg overhauled Vettel before Massa, despite a bit of a scruffy lap, went quicker still.

Alonso put in fastest times through all three sectors on his way to a 1:37.678, six-tenths up on Massa's best. Button joined the Ferraris at the front as Massa closed up on his team-mate but still fell a tenth short. Webber took third behind the Ferraris, however, it was all-change as Vettel put in fastest times in all three sectors to take the P1 slot with a 1:37.258 despite behind held up by a Lotus.

The session ended with Vettel quickest ahead of Alonso and Massa and Kamui Kobayashi putting in a massive slide that ended with his front wing in the barriers.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.258 15 laps
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.678 + 0.420s 16 laps
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.840 + 0.582s 17 laps
4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m38.068 + 0.810s 13 laps
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.326 + 1.068s 13 laps
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.580 + 1.322s 15 laps
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.741 + 1.483s 13 laps
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.799 + 1.541s 14 laps
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m38.822 + 1.564s 17 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m39.113 + 1.855s 15 laps
11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m39.411 + 2.153s 19 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.778 + 2.520s 18 laps
13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m39.823 + 2.565s 18 laps
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.848 + 2.590s 18 laps
15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.888 + 2.630s 17 laps
16. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m39.987 + 2.729s 18 laps
17. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m40.004 + 2.746s 16 laps
18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.239 + 2.981s 20 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m41.267 + 4.009s 15 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m41.690 + 4.432s 18 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m42.557 + 5.299s 18 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m43.243 + 5.985s 17 laps
23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m43.309 + 6.051s 18 laps
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m44.630 + 7.372s 19 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Sebastian Vettel F1 Blog: Driver bullish ahead of European Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel tells us about some Spanish traditions ahead of the European Grand Prix in Valencia and how he prefers one type of bull to another...

by Sebastian Vettel on Jun 24, 2011

¡Olé!

Don't worry! I won't start my first blog from Spain by going through the whole of my Spanish vocabulary but yesterday I learned the traditional call of the local bull fighters.

I met one yesterday who taught me all about this Spanish tradition. It’s a lot harder than it looks! I’d always thought it was the colour of the cloth that made the bull react, but actually it’s all about the moves the matador makes, which look a lot like dancing.

I'm a lot more confident in my Red Bull than I would ever be in front of an actual bull - not that I ever plan to be! But I sure needed a day to calm down after my last-minute mistake in Canada. Everything's fine again now as I'm not really the kind of guy who spends a lot of time thinking about past mistakes, because it doesn't help.

'I'm not really the kind of guy who spends a lot of time thinking about past mistakes'

Mistakes happen and it's important to pick yourself up again and make sure you don't do the same again.

That's also why I’m so happy being back in Valencia and able to start a bit over again – I just love this track. It’s a beautiful track because it’s so close to the water – we have that part where we race over the bridge – but it's also a tough race.

It's kind of a mix between Montreal and Monaco, with long straights on the one side and a few slow turns on the other. Despite that challenge, I'm quite optimistic about this weekend and I’m sure we’ll do well here.

I also want to say a few words about the rule changes from the last weeks. I think it gets harder and harder to know what is actually allowed and what isn’t, but we will continue to rise to the challenge and I'm positive that my team will as usual find the perfect way to deal with the upcoming changes.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Sebastian

Source: Red Bull

Massa happy with competitive Ferrari

Felipe Massa says he is hopeful that Ferrari will be able to challenge for pole position in the European Grand Prix just as it did in Canada.

Ferrari enjoyed its best qualifying performance of the season in Montreal when Fernando Alonso was second ahead of Massa in third, just 0.2s behind pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel. Massa said that it had been another encouraging day of practice, and that he expected to have a similarly competitive car this weekend.

"I'd say it was a good day, better than many other Fridays this season," Massa said. "From what we could understand after three hours of free practice, the car is pretty competitive and I don't expect the situation to be that different to the one we saw two weeks ago in Canada. It's true it is only Friday, but at least it's a positive start!"

Massa also said that the car was working on the medium compound tyre, but that with such a difference in performance between the two types of available tyre, the balance was proving difficult to perfect.

"The tyres worked well: both the Prime and the Option delivered more grip than we had been expecting going into the weekend. Sure, there's a big difference between the two compounds, but the Medium, with higher temperatures than we saw in Canada, did not do badly. Now we must make the right decision regarding set-up on the car for the next two days. The car balance is not yet perfect - for example we are still locking the fronts too often under braking - but we are working in the right direction. Let's hope we can put up a fight in qualifying, just as we did in Canada."

Source: ESPNF1

Vettel: Bulls won't suffer more than others

Sebastian Vettel is expecting a tight fight for Sunday's European GP victory after Friday's practice saw the top seven separated by just over half a second

Vettel finished Friday's second session in third place with a 1:38.265, just 0.297s down on pace-setter Fernando Alonso.

However, it was a marked improvement on his pace from Practice One when the German, reportedly running without the off-throttle exhaust in preparation for its upcoming ban, was over 2.5s behind team-mate Mark Webber.

That, though, is not the only ban facing the teams as from this weekend's European GP onwards they are no longer permitted to change their engine mapping after qualifying and before the grand prix.

This new ban is expected to hit Red Bull hard as the team are believed to run extreme engine mapping in qualifying before lowering it to safer levels ahead of the grand prix.

"To be honest I can understand that this is news to everyone, and everyone wants to get some information," Vettel told journalists in Valencia on Friday afternoon.

"I can only say that it will affect everyone, when the rules change, but I don't see us suffering more than other people, to be honest.

"Maybe we will be surprised, maybe not. What I can judge now I think we have nothing to be afraid of."

As for his run on Friday morning, reportedly without the off-throttle exhaust, Vettel refused to confirm the reports but did concede to the fact that his programme was "different" to what his rivals were doing.

"Sometimes you try different things. If you're not in the top five or the top 10, clearly you're running a different programme from the others, so that was this morning.

"In the afternoon we were more or less on the same pages as the rest. As you've seen, it's very tight. I had a good feeling, to be honest, it was much better than in the morning.

"It is a Friday, and it's always difficult to see what other people do. The important thing is we are there or thereabouts. It is tight here.

"Last year obviously we had a very good race, but there were a couple of people, Lewis and Fernando in particular, who were very close to us. The race unfolded a bit differently so we had a nice time at the front.

"It changes circuit by circuit. You can't really say that's team A, team B, team C. Sometimes the gaps are bigger, sometimes they are much closer.

"I give you the perfect example - we go to Australia, we are quite a bit quicker than the rest, we come to Malaysia, and we really had to push hard to qualify on pole. That's two weeks, nothing was changed on the cars, it was just a different track.

"That's how it goes. That's why here as we expected it will be very tight."

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - European GP - McLaren in the fight for pole - Lewis Hamilton

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton admits the prime tyres proved difficult to "switch on" but feels he is close to matching the top pace of Ferrari and Red Bull at the European Grand Prix



Source: YouTube

Alonso: Friday's times don't mean much

Fernando Alonso is not putting too much stock in Friday's lap times, insisting that Red Bull are still the favourites to take pole in Valencia

The double World Champ, who has never finished on the podium at the Valencia street circuit, set the pace on Friday afternoon, clocking a 1:37.968.

And although he was quickest by two-tenths ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, the Ferrari driver insists it's too early to say how his 150° Italia will perform as the weekend progresses.

"Overall, a positive start to this Valencia weekend, my second home race," said the Spaniard.

"We got through all our planned programme, working mainly on tyres, where the chief element at this grand prix is the first appearance of the Medium.

"It was important that we were able to do so many laps, because on a circuit like this one, getting a lot of kilometres under your belt helps you gain confidence in the car, looking for the limits and thereby improving performance.

"The track characteristics are well suited to our car, but it is too early to say where we are compared to the others.

"Already, in the past, we have gone well on the first day only to see ourselves losing out by a second in qualifying, therefore I don't even want to consider today's time sheet.

"In FP1 and FP2 you try so many things and the track changes very quickly - even more so on a street circuit like this one - so it is really impossible to make predictions."

The one prediction he is making is that Red Bull, despite the new ban on changing engine mapping after qualifying and ahead of Sunday's race, will still be the team to beat in qualifying.

However, he reckons Ferrari can put up a challenge of their own.

"The car seems to handle well, therefore we can tackle qualifying with confidence, aware that we are up against very strong rivals: it's not by chance that Red Bull have always taken pole in the first seven races of the year and clearly they are still the favourites.

"Overtaking here will be easier than in Monaco, but grid position will nevertheless be important."

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Webber tops the charts at European GP 2011

Mark Webber proved to be the man to beat in Friday's first practice for the European GP, easily outpacing Vitaly Petrov

The Red Bull driver posted a 1:40.403 around the Valencia street circuit, 0.824s up on Petrov while Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was a further 0.012s off the pace.

Lewis Hamilton was fourth quickest, ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa.

As for reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel, he was down in 16th place, 2.538s off the pace.

Reports claim the German's lack of pace was due to him running without the off-throttle exhaust, which will be banned from the next race in Britain.

Report: Track temperature was 28'C as Friday's first practice got underway in Valencia with Sebastian Vettel leading out the field for their installation laps. Nico Rosberg set the first lap time of the session, a 2:06.412 for the Mercedes GP driver. Force India reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg joined the action with a 1:47.942.

He continued lapping, improving his time before his session came to a premature end as the German lost the rear end of his VJM04 - actually Paul di Resta's - under braking, hitting the concrete barriers at Turn 12.

30 minutes in the the session only six drivers, Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado, Jaime Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, had set lap times while the others waited for the street circuit to be cleaned and grip to improve.

Maldonado continued running, taking the P1 slot with a 1:43.455. Schumacher overhauled him with a 1:43.050 as Ricciardo took second place. Adrian Sutil jumped to fourth while the two Ferraris were eighth and ninth with Fernando Alonso ahead of Felipe Massa. Both were over a second off the pace.

Massa was the next to lead the way with a 1:42.530 while Nick Heidfeld put his Renault up into second place before he lost out to Sutil. Alonso took over from Massa at the top, 0.847s up on his team-mate's best time. Lewis Hamilton went sixth on his first run with Jenson Button, who won the previous grand prix in Canada, P7.

Problems for Karun Chandhok, who is touring slowly in his Lotus and reporting a problem with his second gear. The Lotus test driver, who is taking Jarno Trulli's drive for this session, headed back into the pits. Sutil climbed to second place, splitting the two Ferraris. Mark Webber joined the action, taking sixth place. The Red Bull driver improved to second on his next lap. Button climbed to fourth.

Webber took over at the top, setting the fastest first and third sector time, on his way to a 1:40.597. His team-mate Vettel was down in 18th place, over three seconds off the pace, with reports claiming he is running without the off-throttle exhaust as it will be banned from the next race in Britain.

With 30 minutes remaining, Webber was leading the way ahead of Alonso, Massa, Button, Sutil, Hamilton, Heidfeld and Rosberg. Problems for Vitaly Petrov, who Renault report has burnt his back in his overheating R30.

Webber upped his pace, shaving tenths off his time while Petrov was finally back in the car, moving up from 11th to fourth place. The Russian took over six-tenths off his time to climb to second place behind Webber and ahead of Alonso. Hamilton put in a better lap, taking fourth place. However, the McLaren driver was still over a second off the pace.

Practice One ended with Webber in the P1 slot with a 1:40.403, 0.824s ahead of Petrov and a further 0.012 up on Alonso.

Times
01. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.403 22 laps
02. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m41.227 + 0.824 20 laps
03. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.239 + 0.836 22 laps
04. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.510 + 1.107 23 laps
05. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m41.580 + 1.177 24 laps
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.758 + 1.355 23 laps
07. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.926 + 1.523 14 laps
08. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m41.955 + 1.552 20 laps
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m42.043 + 1.640 22 laps
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.216 + 1.813 29 laps
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.270 + 1.867 26 laps
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.412 + 2.009 27 laps
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.704 + 2.301 23 laps
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.738 + 2.335 20 laps
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m42.841 + 2.438 28 laps
16. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.941 + 2.538 21 laps
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m43.201 + 2.798 18 laps
18. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.769 + 3.366 7 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m44.136 + 3.733 17 laps
20. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.026 + 4.623 17 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.221 + 4.818 19 laps
22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m45.494 + 5.091 24 laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m46.926 + 6.523 27 laps
24. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 2 laps

Source: Planet-F1

European GP Press Conference schedule

Spaniards Fernando Alonso and Jaime Alguersuari will give a local flavour to Thursday's FIA press conference in Valencia

All times are local (Spain is GMT+2)

Thursday, June 23- 15h00:
Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso)
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT)
Mark Webber (Red Bull)

Friday, June 24 - 16h00:
Ross Brawn (Mercedes)
Mike Gascoyne (Team Lotus)
James Key (Sauber)
Geoff Willis (HRT)
Franz Tost (Toro Rosso)

Saturday, June 25 - post qualifying:
Three fastest drivers from qualifying.

Sunday, June 26 - post race:
First three finishing drivers.

Source: Planet-F1

Hamilton excuses passionate Alonso's outburst

Lewis Hamilton has moved to end a new war of words with his former sparring partner Fernando Alonso.

In the wake of Alonso's post-Valencia outburst, suggesting "even a child" knows the safety car cannot be overtaken, Hamilton hit back by reportedly accusing the Spaniard of "sour grapes".

But at a paintballing session with his McLaren teammate Jenson Button and the British media, the 25-year-old insisted he is not concerned about Alonso's claim that stewards "manipulated" his European GP victory.

"It doesn't worry me," newspapers quote Hamilton as saying. "I'll just keep focused on my job."

The 2008 world champion, and current championship leader, said recently that the 2010 title might mean more than ever to the winner because of the competitiveness of the field.

"We're all feeling the pressure," continued Hamilton, still referring to Alonso's outbursts.

"It's the most intense season so far for all of us. You've seen even with me this year; when you put your whole heart and passion into it you are not always correct with what you say.

"I had that experience in Australia, you know, so we all do it."

Source: Motorsport.com

Alonso's Blog: “Anger transformed into a desire to fight back"

Posted by Fernando Alonso

It wasn’t the Sunday we were expecting, that’s for sure. The Safety Car appeared at the worst possible moment for us and completely ruined our race. On Sunday evening, I was very angry about everything that happened, but now that anger has been transformed into positive energy driving a desire to fight back. Right from yesterday morning, my mind was already focussed on the next Grand Prix at Silverstone, where we will try and channel all that accumulated energy into the car to try and make up for what escaped us, for one reason or another, in Valencia, even if we know that, in theory, Silverstone is not a track that suits the characteristics of our car.

We were particularly unlucky in terms of the timing of when the safety car appeared on track. It would have only needed a few seconds more or less to totally change our race. It does not achieve much going over the events that followed on. Obviously, in the clear light of day, I am much calmer than I was in the moments immediately following the race. At the time, I reacted emotionally and in that situation, it is all too easy to adopt a tone and say things that can be interpreted wrongly, giving rise to suspicions, something which I had no intention of doing. Sure, I understand that the stewards have a difficult job to do and they have to take decisions that are not easy. What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty. And I am not referring to any of the drivers in particular: it’s a general matter and I think we should talk about it together in a calm way, to ensure that things like this do not happen again. I was pleased to hear that the FIA has reacted promptly, calling an extraordinary meeting of the Sporting Working Group and I am confident, certain even, that all the points up for discussion will be cleared up in a comprehensive fashion.

Even if the Valencia result was not what we wanted, it has not done irreparable damage. It’s true that the gap to the leader has now jumped to 29 points, but we have not even reached the halfway point of the season. We trail by just over one win, so the situation is still very open. The updates we brought to Spain saw us make a step forward and get closer to the front runners. I am satisfied with that, but also aware that we must continue to push on with the development of the F10, because we need to have a car capable of fighting for pole and to give us the edge over our rivals as soon as possible. If we are now 29 points off the championship leader, it means that in the next ten races, we have to score at least 30 more than whoever is in the lead at any one time.

One of the most important aspects of everything that happened on Sunday is the fact that Mark Webber emerged almost completely unhurt from an accident that was as spectacular as it was frightening. It proves once again that the work led by the FIA in terms of safety is absolutely vital and it is clear that one should never get complacent about this element of the sport.

This evening, I will be in front of the television to watch my home team, Spain playing for a place in the quarter finals of the World Cup, against Portugal. It’s a very tough fixture: I reckon there will not be many goals and I just hope the decisive one will be scored by a Spaniard! As for Cristiano Ronaldo, I really hope he saves his goal scoring for next season with Real Madrid.

Source: Alonso's Blog - Ferrari.com

Hamilton should have been disqualified, says Briatore

Former Renault F1 Managing Director Flavio Briatore believes that Lewis Hamilton should have been removed from the results of the European Grand Prix after the Englishman overtook the Safety Car in Valencia.

With the Safety Car having been deployed on Sunday for Mark Webber’s accident, both television and amateur video footage do confirm that Hamilton narrowly passed the Safety Car as it made its way on to track – something for which he was handed a drive-through penalty later in the race.

However, Briatore – who was present in Spain but is barred from working in the sport until 2013 for his part in last year’s ‘Crashgate’ race-fixing scandal – believes the Englishman got off lightly.

“The rules are not precise,” the 60-year-old explained to Italy’s Sky Italia.

“They (FIA stewards) shouldn't have penalised Hamilton after 20 laps – it should have been after two or three laps and passing the Safety Car should gain you a black flag.

"Hamilton is lucky - everything he does ends up turning out well.”

Source: GP Update

Fernando Alonso interview after the race - European GP 2010

Source: keexx2

Ferrari outburst 'angers FIA officials'

Ferrari's may yet find themselves in hot water with the FIA following their extraordinary outburst after the European Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso and the rest of his team are seething after Lewis Hamilton managed to finish second in Valencia despite being receiving a drive-through penalty for passing the Safety Car.
The Italian marque feel the punishment did not fit the crime as it didn't affect the McLaren driver's position.

Alonso claimed it was a "manipulated race" while Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo says the team "paid a price that was too high for respecting the rules"

Initial reports suggested that the FIA was unlikely to punish Alonso or Ferrari for questioning the integrity of race director Charlie Whiting and his stewards.

However, the Guardian says the comments from the Scuderia have not gone down well with motor sport's governing body.

According to the paper, 'Ferrari could face action from the FIA following their claims'.

The report adds: 'A number of officials from the sport's governing body are known to be angered by the Scuderia's intemperate response after the penalty drive-through awarded against Lewis Hamilton for overtaking the safety car did not prevent the British driver from finishing second in Spain and doubling his lead in the title race to six points.'

Source: Planet-F1