Andrew Benson blog

[jorvermo]

Totalmente de acuerdo contigo en todo aunque yo sigo teniendo la esperanza de ver ganar a Fernando varios mundiales mas a pesar de todas las zancadillas que van a seguir poniéndole para impedirlo.

[maripi]

Canadian GP: Ferrari's Fernando Alonso optimistic for win


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Montreal
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso believes he is in a position to potentially win the Canadian Grand Prix despite starting in sixth place on the grid.
Alonso said he needs to beat Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who is 29 points ahead in the championship and on pole.
"We start in a position that gives us all the chances to win the race if we are quick enough," Alonso said.
"We need to get it back on the right way and score many points and show the potential in the car."

Alonso's Ferrari was the quickest car in the dry in second practice on Friday, both over one lap and on the race-simulation runs, but the car is less competitive in the damp conditions that prevailed in qualifying.
More mixed weather is predicted for the race on Sunday, although the temperature is expected to be warmer than Saturday's 16C.
Alonso said: "We don't know what the conditions will be in the race, but this year we saw Monaco and here again that we are not super-competitive in intermediate tyre conditions.
"And in cold conditions also when we put on the dry tyres it's even worse. Same for Lotus as well. We saw they were struggling."
Alonso was 1.079 seconds slower than Vettel in qualifying and 0.296secs slower than the German's team-mate Mark Webber, who was fifth.
The Ferrari's low tyre wear means the car struggles to generate tyre temperature in cool and damp conditions, so beating the Red Bulls and Mercedes - whose drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are second and fourth on the grid - was always going to be difficult.
The surprise of qualifying was Finn Valtteri Bottas taking third for struggling Williams.
Alonso said: "There are some teams that are able to make the tyre get up to temperature very quickly and then they struggle in the race because they destroy the tyres, and it is the opposite for Lotus and us.
"Difficult to understand the reason because sometimes you don't know why this happens. But we are happy with our car.

Canadian Grand Prix
"Today we didn't maximise it. We didn't put the lap together at the perfect time that I think was around the middle of qualifying three.
"At the end it was more wet and no-one improved so much. When we were in the pits changing tyres it was the perfect time in terms of conditions."
Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, who is second in the championship eight points ahead of Alonso, qualified ninth, although he will start 10th after being given a penalty for not starting in the 'fast lane' of the pit lane at one stage in qualifying.
Raikkonen said: "This kind of weather has never been good for us. We don't really get the tyres working as well as we should probably and it makes it very difficult, but it is what it is.
"We have to see how the weather is tomorrow because some weather forecasts say it should be dry, some that it is damp. If it is dry it is going to be easier for us and then we see what we can do."
Alonso said Ferrari had made a mistake in doing only one lap on the first of his two runs in final qualifying rather than two - and admitted he had made errors as well.
"People did two plus two," Alonso said. "We did one plus two and I think we missed a little bit of lap time there and when I put new tyres for the second attempt I locked up in Turn 10 and lost a lot of time, so a little bit of mixed mistakes."
CANADIAN GRAND PRIX, DAY THREE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22830869

[maripi]

Canadian GP: The truth hurts for Alonso & Hamilton over Vettel win

Comments (32)
On the last lap of the Canadian Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel cruising to the most dominant victory so far this season, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was watching the numbers on the timing screens next to his driver's name.
The one indicating the time for the first sector of the lap went purple - indicating the fastest time any driver has recorded in a race up to that point - and Horner knew immediately what Vettel was up to.
The 25-year-old German loves his statistics and the way they put him up with the great names in the sport's history. So, as well as the dizzying number of wins and pole positions he is racking up, Vettel likes his name against the fastest laps as well.
It has become a running joke at Red Bull, where as much as they indulge their star, they get frustrated by what they see as him taking unnecessary risks in this way.
And on a day on which he had already brushed the wall and gone off at Turn One while pushing to the limit in a car he described as "incredible", this was one risk they were determined he should not take. Horner got on the radio to Vettel's engineer Guillaume Roquelin.



"Some things don't surprise us," Horner said, "like the fastest lap thing that for sure he was going for. I said to Rocky, 'Get him under control.'
"So he said to Sebastian after he went purple on the first sector, 'Monaco '88. Senna', (a reference to the famous race when the legendary Brazilian crashed out after losing concentration while in a huge lead). And I thought: 'That might work.'
"Sebastian came back on the radio and said: 'All right, all right, I'm only joking.' Another purple sector. Then he backed off."
Vettel was attempting something that became familiar through many of his dominant wins during his last three title-winning years, but has not been possible so far this year.
Like so many of those previous 28 victories, this was a crushing performance from Vettel, and a demoralising one for his rivals, especially Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
Despite a typically combative and clincial fight up from sixth on the grid to finish second, the Spaniard was helpless in preventing Vettel extend his advantage in the championship to a daunting 36 points.
All year, there have been complaints from Red Bull that their car has been held back by the deliberately fragile Pirelli tyres and Canada was the proof of it, as if one was needed.
It was the first race all year in which the drivers were clearly able to push their cars to the limit pretty much throughout. And it was no accident that Vettel should, in those circumstances, dominate as he did.
From the moment it mattered in Montreal, Vettel looked in a class of his own - unbeatable in the damp conditions of qualifying on Saturday; crushing in his superiority on Sunday.
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali said after the race that he felt Alonso would have given him a run for his money had he started closer to Vettel at the front, as had looked possible in the dry running on Friday.
Canadian GP stats
Track temperature: 30C
Air temperature: 24C
Ave wind speed: 3.8 metres per second
Humidity: 32%
Fastest lap: M Webber (lap 69) 1 min 16.182 secs
Fastest speeds:
Sector 1: M Webber, A Sutil, F Massa, 256kph (159mph)
Sector 2: M Webber, A Sutil 288kph (178mph)
Sector 3: F Massa 299kph (185mph)
Speed Trap: Hulkenberg, Gutierez, Di Resta, Perez, Button, Raikkonen 321kph (199mph)
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Certainly there were laps as Alonso chased down Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the final part of the race where it suggested he might have kept Vettel honest, but it is impossible to know for sure how much Vettel had in hand at that point.
Domenicali admitted after the race that it was a matter of urgency for Ferrari to improve their qualifying performance, but he also admitted that it was "easy to say and difficult to do".
The proviso in Domenicali's statement is one that has plagued Ferrari for the last few years. They are more competitive in the race than in qualifying, their more gentle tyre usage over-rising the lack of downforce compared to the Red Bull that holds them back in qualifying.
It is, as Alonso pointed out, more than two and a half years since Ferrari's last pole in dry conditions, in Singapore in September 2010, so it is hardly likely to be sorted in the three weeks before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Alonso's best hope there is that the problems Red Bull encountered last month in Spain, where the demands on the tyres of the long fast corners restricted Vettel to fourth place, will resurface around the similarly demanding layout in Northamptonshire. But you would not bet on it after Montreal.
The final podium place in Canada went to Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, beating team-mate Nico Rosberg on both qualifying and race pace for the first time since China four races ago.
Hamilton had the edge on Rosberg all weekend in Canada, despite still saying he was unhappy with the braking feel of his car.
The 2008 world champion drove impressively well to hang on to third place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, while Rosberg faded to fifth a half-minute or so behind. And Hamilton's fighting spirit was apparent in his late battle with Alonso, who he held off for several laps and, once he had been passed, had a decent stab at re-passing, too.
Alonso paid tribute to his old rival after the race, in what amounted also to a veiled criticism of McLaren's Sergio Perez, whose driving has angered senior rivals in recent races.
"With Lewis," Alonso said, "we were really very close on pace and there were some moments going out of Turn Eight to see who had the DRS detection point and then in Turn 10 the same thing, at the last chicane, so there was some action there.
Play media

Vettel delight at 'great' win
"But it was nice to have these battles, particularly this race with so talented drivers, so intelligent drivers, that, you know, you fight wheel-to-wheel at 315km/h and you feel safe.
"You feel you are racing and you are competing. It can go your way or it can go the other way, but this is real racing. So, very happy to see this back after Monaco. It's a little bit different."
It was indeed a real race - the polar opposite of the procession of Monaco, where Mercedes controlled the pace to their own advantage.
In that sense, the Canadian Grand Prix was refreshing. What was on show in Montreal was F1 in the traditional sense, flat-out racing between the best drivers in the best cars in the world.
It was, then, a representation of the real competitive picture in F1, a clear demonstration of the capabilities of the fastest car in the field in the hands of a formidable talent.
Another victory for Vettel might not be what the season needed in terms of the show. But then truth does not always make for comfortable viewing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22837189

[German Sanchez]

Esta carrera, querido Andrew, confirma lo que decías hace una semana, el claro declive de Fernando Alonso.......figura.

[Alfaster-F1]

Como una espada de Damocles permanecerá este conjuro de nuestro amigo Andrew.

[maripi]

Fernando Alonso says Pirelli's tyre changes are not bad for Ferrari


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari will not be adversely affected by the decision to change the tyres following the crisis at the British Grand Prix.
Alonso was one of six drivers to suffer failures at Silverstone last Sunday.
"We should be not too worried, because the tyres should be good for us or not worse than on any other car," he said.
"Performance is the second priority. What we need are tyres that last the race and don't endanger anyone and you are able to go home on Sunday night."
Play media

F1: Dramatic tyre failures hit British Grand Prix
Alonso heads into Sunday's race in Germany in second place in the championship, 21 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.
As well as his own failure, Alonso narrowly avoided running into the back of Sergio Perez's McLaren at 180mph when the Mexican suffered his second tyre failure of the weekend.
"It was a dangerous situation," Alonso said. "I didn't think anything special [of it], I was just trying to overtake people six laps from the end, so concentrating on performance.
"I committed to overtake Sergio on the left. I was lucky because maybe if I chose the right everything will hit my helmet.
"There are pieces of steel coming at 300km/h so it would be like a bullet or a knife so probably it will enter in the helmet and hit the outside of the helmet so it is not nice.
"Pirelli made some changes, we trust them, we think they have solved the problem.
Play media


"They probably know how to sort it. We will hopefully not have any more of these problems that are not any good for the sport."
Ferrari could potentially be adversely affected by the decision to change the tyres because their car has had trouble heating them up sufficiently for optimum performance in qualifying - and the new tyres run cooler than the previous ones.
But Alonso said: "We need to wait and see. This is the third or fourth change in the season already, some were hurting us and some were good for us.
"This is a question mark we need to see about. They changed only the rear tyres, which is less problematic for us. Normally we suffer with the front so maybe it is not affecting us so much."
Alonso said Ferrari had tried to work out why they were so far off the pace at Silverstone - he could qualify only 10th, although he recovered to finish third in the race.
"We went very deep in the analysis of Silverstone," he said, "knowing that we were not competitive and we saw some issues with the car in terms of aerodynamic characteristics in Silverstone, in set-up, maybe things that we can do better, so we will try to improve here.
Anyway I think here and Hungary [at the end of the month] will be dominated by how the tyres perform on each car.
"With the set-up we win one or two tenths, with the characteristics of aerodynamics and tyres you can lose seconds, so we need to adapt to the tyres quicker than the other teams and we will put a lot of effort into that."
Kimi Raikkonen, third in the championship, said he was hopeful his Lotus team would not be affected by the tyres.
"They have to do some changes and that's what has been decided. If it's a similar tyre to what we tried in Canada [in free practice] it actually felt better," the Finn said. "I have no concerns."

[maripi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23811924

Red Bull: Kimi Raikkonen & Daniel Ricciardo not only potential recruits


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Spa
Red Bull are not considering only Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo for 2014, says team boss Christian Horner.
With Mark Webber leaving, Horner has a seat to fill, and told BBC Sport: "Kimi has a big chance to go to Ferrari. He is not the only other option."
He added: "There are onlw a few top grade drivers you'd be interested in."
He declined to say whether that meant Red Bull were contemplating Ferrari's Fernando Alonso but said Jenson Button was committed to McLaren for 2014.
Alonso, 32, and Button, 33, are the only other drivers who might fit Horner's description, along with Lewis Hamilton, though he is only in the first season of a three-year contract at Mercedes.
Ricciardo's stats and facts
Team: Toro Rosso
Team-mate: Jean-Eric Vergne
Nationality: Australian
Born: 01/07/89, Perth
Grand prix debut: British Grand Prix 2011
Alonso is contracted to Ferrari until the end of 2016, but there have been tensions between him and the team. The Spaniard was publicly rebuked by president Luca Di Montezemolo in an extraordinary public statement following the last race in Hungary.
Montezemolo's intervention has been interpreted as a message to Alonso, who is increasingly powerful within Ferrari, that he does not run the team.
Alonso said on Thursday he would be staying at Ferrari in 2014 but the team say they are not yet in a position to make a decision on who will partner the Spaniard next season.
McLaren have an option on Button for next season, which they are expected to take up.
Red Bull have a signed contract with 24-year-old Ricciardo, who drives for their feeder team Toro Rosso, as they look for a new partner for three-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
That was finalised in a few days' intense work shortly after the Hungarian Grand Prix last month but since then there has been no further activity and Red Bull have not yet exercised their option on the Australian.
Sources close to the deal say there is no other explanation for that other than Lotus driver Raikkonen, at least, still being an option for Red Bull.
"I had no answer from them," Raikkonen told reporters in the paddock on Friday. "We will see what happens.
"You have to ask them what they will do. I don't know any better than you guys.
"We never heard anything for a while, which is not the ideal situation, but that's how it is."


But Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson said earlier this week the 33-year-old Finn would not be driving for Red Bull next year.
Robertson told BBC Sport: "Talks broke down. We haven't spoken for a little while and it's clear Kimi won't be driving for Red Bull in 2014.
"Kimi's a free agent. He still has options out there."
Asked why Robertson would say that if Raikkonen was still an option for Red Bull, Horner said: "You'd have to ask him."
Horner denied there had been any disagreements with Raikkonen over the terms of a potential contract between the driver and Red Bull.
Red Bull motorsport chief Helmut Marko added they wanted the "two best drivers for the team".
Australian Webber, 36, announced in June he was leaving Formula 1 to join Porsche's new sportscar programme.

[maripi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24010070

Ferrari's Massa hopes to stay as Raikkonen & Hulkenberg in frame


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
Felipe Massa says he still has a chance of staying at Ferrari next year after a strong result at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian, who has had an inconsistent season, finished fourth at Monza after Ferrari made it clear they were on the point of deciding on their 2014 line-up.
Massa is one of three drivers in the running to partner Fernando Alonso, along with Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Massa said: "This race was important, not just for my contract but also to show the other teams what I'm able to do."

The 32-year-old, who has driven for Ferrari since 2006, said he was "still discussing" his future with the team.
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo said that the team would make their decision over the coming days.
"Listen, we have Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, [Paul] Di Resta. I have seen so many names [in the media]," Di Montezemolo told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview with F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan.
"Now we will think very, very carefully, because we don't have a gun here [pointing at is head] to decide tomorrow or after tomorrow, but after Monza this will be something I want to decide."
Montezemolo has the final decision and has in the past championed Massa, but insiders say the team would prefer to re-employ Raikkonen.
The Finn won the title for them in 2007 but was paid off a year before the end of his contract at the end of 2009, when Alonso joined Ferrari.
At the time, Ferrari felt Raikkonen was not a strong enough character out of the car to lead the team, but some senior figures now believe he and the forceful Alonso would be the ideal line-up.
Raikkonen is also considering staying at Lotus if they can give him the reassurances he feels he needs that the team have the technical and financial strength to compete at the front next season.

If Hulkenberg is not taken by Ferrari, the German has a strong chance of going to Lotus, whether or not Raikkonen leaves the team.
Hulkenberg said after finishing in a season's best fifth place for Sauber at Monza: "For weeks there has been speculation - my name, Kimi's name.
"At some point the decision has to be made and the talk has to stop and we see what happens."
Alonso insisted he had "no preference" who won the drive, but said he would be "only happy" if Massa was retained.
"It is a team decision, all the names for me are the same," he said. "I have a huge respect for Felipe. He is a great professional driver working hard in the simulator and with the team."[/b]

[maripi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24010070

Ferrari's Massa hopes to stay as Raikkonen & Hulkenberg in frame


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
Felipe Massa says he still has a chance of staying at Ferrari next year after a strong result at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian, who has had an inconsistent season, finished fourth at Monza after Ferrari made it clear they were on the point of deciding on their 2014 line-up.
Massa is one of three drivers in the running to partner Fernando Alonso, along with Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Massa said: "This race was important, not just for my contract but also to show the other teams what I'm able to do."

The 32-year-old, who has driven for Ferrari since 2006, said he was "still discussing" his future with the team.
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo said that the team would make their decision over the coming days.
"Listen, we have Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, [Paul] Di Resta. I have seen so many names [in the media]," Di Montezemolo told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview with F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan.
"Now we will think very, very carefully, because we don't have a gun here [pointing at is head] to decide tomorrow or after tomorrow, but after Monza this will be something I want to decide."
Montezemolo has the final decision and has in the past championed Massa, but insiders say the team would prefer to re-employ Raikkonen.
The Finn won the title for them in 2007 but was paid off a year before the end of his contract at the end of 2009, when Alonso joined Ferrari.
At the time, Ferrari felt Raikkonen was not a strong enough character out of the car to lead the team, but some senior figures now believe he and the forceful Alonso would be the ideal line-up.
Raikkonen is also considering staying at Lotus if they can give him the reassurances he feels he needs that the team have the technical and financial strength to compete at the front next season.

If Hulkenberg is not taken by Ferrari, the German has a strong chance of going to Lotus, whether or not Raikkonen leaves the team.
Hulkenberg said after finishing in a season's best fifth place for Sauber at Monza: "For weeks there has been speculation - my name, Kimi's name.
"At some point the decision has to be made and the talk has to stop and we see what happens."
Alonso insisted he had "no preference" who won the drive, but said he would be "only happy" if Massa was retained.
"It is a team decision, all the names for me are the same," he said. "I have a huge respect for Felipe. He is a great professional driver working hard in the simulator and with the team."[/b]

[maripi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24010070

Ferrari's Massa hopes to stay as Raikkonen & Hulkenberg in frame


By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
Felipe Massa says he still has a chance of staying at Ferrari next year after a strong result at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian, who has had an inconsistent season, finished fourth at Monza after Ferrari made it clear they were on the point of deciding on their 2014 line-up.
Massa is one of three drivers in the running to partner Fernando Alonso, along with Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg.
Massa said: "This race was important, not just for my contract but also to show the other teams what I'm able to do."

The 32-year-old, who has driven for Ferrari since 2006, said he was "still discussing" his future with the team.
Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo said that the team would make their decision over the coming days.
"Listen, we have Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, [Paul] Di Resta. I have seen so many names [in the media]," Di Montezemolo told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview with F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan.
"Now we will think very, very carefully, because we don't have a gun here [pointing at is head] to decide tomorrow or after tomorrow, but after Monza this will be something I want to decide."
Montezemolo has the final decision and has in the past championed Massa, but insiders say the team would prefer to re-employ Raikkonen.
The Finn won the title for them in 2007 but was paid off a year before the end of his contract at the end of 2009, when Alonso joined Ferrari.
At the time, Ferrari felt Raikkonen was not a strong enough character out of the car to lead the team, but some senior figures now believe he and the forceful Alonso would be the ideal line-up.
Raikkonen is also considering staying at Lotus if they can give him the reassurances he feels he needs that the team have the technical and financial strength to compete at the front next season.

If Hulkenberg is not taken by Ferrari, the German has a strong chance of going to Lotus, whether or not Raikkonen leaves the team.
Hulkenberg said after finishing in a season's best fifth place for Sauber at Monza: "For weeks there has been speculation - my name, Kimi's name.
"At some point the decision has to be made and the talk has to stop and we see what happens."
Alonso insisted he had "no preference" who won the drive, but said he would be "only happy" if Massa was retained.
"It is a team decision, all the names for me are the same," he said. "I have a huge respect for Felipe. He is a great professional driver working hard in the simulator and with the team."[/b]