Vettel fastest as Alonso hits trouble

Brazilian Grand Prix first practice

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Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Interlagos, 2010

Sebastian Vettel was the fastest driver in the first practice session at Interlagos, lapping almost half a second faster than anyone else.

But championship rival Fernando Alonso’s session came to an early end when his Ferrari stopped on the track.

Before the failure Ferrari said they were planning to change Alonso’s engine ahead of the second session anyway. Afterwards they said the engine had expired earlier than expected.

Because the cars are not under parc ferme conditions Alonso will not incur a penalty for the engine change.

Mark Webber made it a Red Bull one-two ahead of the two McLarens.

Robert Kubica set the fifth fastest time but team mate Vitaly Petrov hit trouble once again. He spun at Ferradura and crashed heavily into the barriers.

Another driver to hit trouble at the fast right-hand corner was Kamui Kobayashi, but he didn’t make such heavy contact with the barriers after spinning off.

One driver who had a very quiet session was Timo Glock, who didn’t set a time until the final 20 minutes. He ended up second-fastest of the new teams.

The sixth-fastest time went to Nico Rosberg and it was reported during the session that Mercedes were using the track time to test a 2011-style diffuser.

Pos.CarDriverCarBest lapGap
15Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’12.32823
26Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’12.8100.48228
32Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’12.8450.51724
41Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’13.2670.93924
511Robert KubicaRenault1’13.3701.04224
64Nico RosbergMercedes1’13.5161.18826
79Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’13.5461.21826
83Michael SchumacherMercedes1’13.6431.31525
914Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’13.9181.59026
1022Nick HeidfeldSauber-Ferrari1’14.0001.67223
1123Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’14.0041.67623
1210Nico HulkenbergWilliams-Cosworth1’14.1551.82729
138Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’14.2461.91820
1412Vitaly PetrovRenault1’14.3702.04223
157Felipe MassaFerrari1’14.3952.06726
1615Vitantonio LiuzziForce India-Mercedes1’14.4872.15926
1717Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.6182.29030
1816Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’14.7342.40629
1918Jarno TrulliLotus-Cosworth1’15.6033.27525
2024Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’15.8603.53220
2119Heikki KovalainenLotus-Cosworth1’16.0573.72926
2225Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’16.7074.37928
2320Christian KlienHRT-Cosworth1’16.8394.51118
2421Bruno SennaHRT-Cosworth1’17.3605.03230

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    82 comments on “Vettel fastest as Alonso hits trouble”

    1. reddevilandy10
      5th November 2010, 13:39

      Wow…

      When is that rain expected exactly? Practice 2? The rest of the weekend?

      1. Friday night into Saturday.

        1. reddevilandy10
          5th November 2010, 13:57

          Thanks Keith.

          This weekend is shaping up nicely.

    2. Maybe all their remaining engines are prone to expiring early. Oh well… one can only hope….preferably one race early. :)

      1. A whole two laps earlier than expected :P

        1. 10 laps too early did it for Alonso in Korea ;)

        2. Lap 69, then? ;)

      2. No, expire in the middle of the race, giving him a DNF. And then force him to take a grid penalty in Abu Dhabi. That’s the way it should happen.

        1. No it shouldn’t.

        2. Jelle van der Meer
          5th November 2010, 14:18

          Better to have it happen during qualifying and the new engine blown during the race

    3. Alonso has no problems. Ferrari was going to change his engine anyways for practice 2. And will change it yet again for quali

      1. What does that tell you about them when they have to change engines ahead of every session?

        1. If they are this close on engines, they must be pinning everything on wrapping up the championship this weekend.

          Not going to be many engines left for the next race.

          1. Don’t they have practically new engine1 being held back till Abu Dhabi, that will run the full weekend if necessary.

            This weekend they’re simply optimising engine use, I suspect the team are quite relaxed about any P1/2 failure and confident with their race engine choice. This situation has been managed since the beginning of the season and no surprise to the team or Alonso, Watch P2 to see them bounce back.

        2. It tells me they plan on saving his good engine until it’s needed.

        3. Either they’re being very, very cautious, OR they have a biiiig engine problem!!

    4. Interesting about Mercedes testing their diffusor ideas for next year. It might help them for next year to have a pretty well developed car to start with.

      During the session I listenedto the 5Live commentary, where Davidson was pretty much speaking up for Vitaly, with the amount of pressure put on him racing in a top team with a world class teammate.

    5. Alonso will not incur a penalty

      Do you mean he will now take a 9th engine and not get a penalty. Or that he won’t get a penalty if he goes back to one of his used engines.

      1. If he uses a ninth engine he will regardless of what happens but Ferrari haven’t said he will. They won’t be using a race-mileage engine on Friday, as they admitted.

        These rules are a bit of a headache, though!

      2. Because the cars are not under parc ferme conditions Alonso will not incur a penalty for the engine change

        That applies to transmissions not engines. Alonso would get a penalty if were to use a 9th engine at any time .

        1. CarsVsChildren
          5th November 2010, 13:52

          Not if he re-uses an old engine.

          The 8 allowed engines can be used at any time throughout the season, with penalties only dished out if they are changed in parc ferme conditions.

          Therefore if they were using a high mileage older engine this morning, they could change to a lower mileage engine any time before qualifying without any problems.

        2. and if remember correctly the transmission penalty includes Saturday morning practice as well, not just parc ferme.

        3. Good point – I’ve scratched the parc ferme bit.

          1. There is no penalty for changing an engine for a previously used one under parc ferme conditions except that

            Sporting Regs
            28.4 e) If an engine is changed in accordance with Article 34.1 the engine which was replaced may not be
            used during any future qualifying session or race with the exception of the last Event of the Championship.

            34.1…
            Any work not listed above may only be undertaken with the approval of the FIA technical delegate following a written request from the team concerned. It must be clear that any replacement part a team wishes to fit is similar in mass, inertia and function to the original. Any parts removed will be retained by the FIA.
            However, if a team wishes to change a part during the qualifying session and/or on the grid before the start of the race, this may be done without first seeking the permission of the technical delegate, provided it is reasonable for the relevant team to believe permission would be given if there was time to ask and the broken or damaged part remains in full view of the scrutineer assigned to the car at all times.

            Liuzzi at Monza and Kovaleinen at Korea were able to change their engines after Qualifying for previously used ones without penalty. However PDLR at Spa and Massa at Singapore changed theirs after Qualifying and received 10 place grid drops because they both changed to their 9th engines.

            1. There is no penalty for changing an engine for a previously used one under parc ferme conditions except that

              On reflection I should have said that there is no penalty for changing to any of their allotment of 8 engines even under Parc Ferme. Remember that Ferrari changed both Alonso’s and Massa’s engines for new ones after Qualifying for Bahrain without incurring any grid penalty.

    6. Yes, thats the best you can hope for, when he is driving so much better than others.

      1. He deserves some bad luck as the others also.

        1. He has had his fair share of bad luck mate. More than most. Only recently has things been going his way.

          1. Bad luck….Alonso? He is the luckiest barsteward on the grid! He is the most scandalous driver in existance. Even more than Schumacher.

            1. My 2 cents…I think Alonso is in for some bad karma come Sunday and today’s FP1 incident is just the beginning…considering what the team did to Massa in Germany…for Goodness sake a win there would have meant so much to Massa in terms of his confidence…you don’t take that away from someone and expect smooth sailing. I’d love the championship to go down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. Some bad luck for Alonso at Interlagos would equalize everything then its every driver for himself come next weekend.

    7. The engine that broke was the last engine? And now Alonso can use the leftover engines from the previous races?

      1. I think they were using one of the older engines from earlier in the season just to test the set-up. It was an engine they were expecting to die quickly and it did, just a bit quicker that they expected.

        1. Mach1 right. Butr how many of them can still work?

    8. If its true that Mercedes were trying out a 2011 style defuser that’s a very clever way round the limited testing/testing ban. Some good thinking there I’d say..

      1. That the Ross Brawn, Michael Schumacher teamwork for you.

      2. but double deck diffuser will be banned in 2011! if they’re testing ordinary diffuser, it would be great! theoretically it should produce lower down force than double one but if they don’t lose performance much, it means they’re making great car for the next year.

    9. Yes,this was probably on of the high mileage ones. He’ll be using the monza engine for quali and race.

      1. The Monza engine should be well worn out as it is a high revving circuit….hopefully!

        1. Dont they recondition the engines between races?

          1. Not Allowed, if they could rebuild them there would be no point to limiting them to only 8 for the season.

        2. Soumya Banerjee
          5th November 2010, 15:02

          Why the word “hopefully”?

        3. But still, the engine he used in Monza ran for 300+ km only out of a possible 2000-2400km (average engine life).

          Whether this will be the right choice or not, we’ll have to wait and see!! Others are using the engines used in Monaco and Singapore (Webber among them I think) which are the lowest 2 circuits to use full throttle in.

      2. If I understand the rules correctly, they can use any of the previous engines in the FPs, but need to use the current engine in Q and Race except for the last race where they can use any engine.

        1. They can use any of their allotment of 8 engines without penalty in Qualy and the Race except as I eplain in my reply on the next page:

          https://www.racefans.net/2010/11/05/vettel-fastest-as-alonso-hits-trouble/comment-page-2/#comment-468298

    10. CarsVsChildren
      5th November 2010, 13:49

      Surely that is the end of Petrov’s time at Renault…

      Why don’t they ship him off to Air Asia X (formerly known as Lotus) let him get his bearings, while maintaining the Renault link to the Russian market.

      If he does well they could bring him back in time for the Russian GP…

    11. Maybe I’m reading this wrong, but I wasn’t impressed at all at the reaction of the Renault mechanics when Petrov went off. It was like “what a stupid plonker” as if he was a figure of fun or a rival driver. I suppose all you can do with Petrov is laugh, though.

      1. And afterwards Kobayashi did pretty much exactly the same mistake at the same place, showing it is probably more to do with a lack of experience with the corner taking it a bit wrong.

        1. Kobayashi’s tyre blew on turn in. Not his fault.

          1. And now they’re saying Petrov’s incident is due to an F-duct failure.

      2. The funny thing about Petrov, is my girlfriend normally sits with me whilst im watching the F1, and whenever she sees a car go off, she asks is it Petrov?! She doesn’t even like F1 but still knows its likely to be him in the gravel!

        1. Funny…when Petrov went off in FP1 I instantly thought of the similarly error prone Nakajima flying into the wall at the same track last year..I think the 2010 season is the last we’ll be seeing of Vitaly…sad especially since I believe he has soo much potential.

          1. You know what the problem is?? The more Russian sponsors appear on that Renault, the more accidents we see from Petrov!! :D

        2. Sounds like you need a new girlfriend. !!

          1. Why, the one he has sits & watches F1 with him. That’s a pretty good start right there!

    12. Yes.. Looking forward to the race. Hope Alonso’s engine blows on Lap 1.. Haha. Massa is useless, and so that leaves Webber and Vettel who will take each off at the first corner.

      Viva Lewis!!!

      1. That’s what i’m hoping for too.

        Go Lewis

    13. If Hamilton does not win the Championship I hope Webber does, then he leaves to join Renault & Kubica as WDC. Renault would be happy, afer all he would have won the championship using their engines.

      1. And if this was to happen who would you want to pair up with Vettel at RBR? Petrov? lol I joke.. I joke..

        But maybe someone like Kimi? despite ruling himself out?

        1. I think Kimi would jump at the chance of a competitive car for his return.

        2. Schumacher! Ultimate comparision for the boy whom so desperately wants everyone to think of him as the new Wunderkind!

    14. Alonso?

      In trouble?

      Oh, be still my heart!

      1. it could mean battle for WDC is like 50/50 to Web and Alo now :)

    15. Ferrari anticipated somehow engine problems. They were using an old engine wich already had high mileage and they were going to replace it in FP2 anyway

      1. That’s breaking news!

      2. thanks. interesting news

    16. Ferrari.
      Smoke, Mirrors, Sandbagging.
      Hope not. We need a failure.

    17. Hay everyone, I’m looking forward to seeing the F1 qualifying tomorrow on BBC One HD, It will be upscaled to 1080i. Berni is too mean to buy HD Cameras for F1 as it will reduce his profit margin. I read somewhere that he intends to replace one camera per year for HD, as the old ones wear out!

      1. Up-scaling means nothing. It’s just a waste of pixels & bandwidth.

        My TV up-scales an SD signal to my 1080 screen already, absolutely no benefit whatsoever.

    18. Why did vettel have intermediate on in the end?

      1. Sometimes the mechanics use wet weather tyres when they do practise pit stops, I think that was the case here.

        1. Yea that was the case for every race this year.. Saw Mclarens doing the same too

    19. Does anyone understand the clause in the rules regarding engine usage in the final race of the season? Not sure if I have that correct but I have seen it mentioned before and I have never fully understood what it meant.

      1. If an engine is changed under parc ferme conditions (after they leave the pits for the 1st time in qualtfying until the start of the race) the one that has been replaced cannot be used again in Qualifying or a Race (it can be used in FP1, FP2 or FP3) until the last Qualy and Race of the year.

        1. Thanks for that DeadMan. So this would only occur if a team has decided to swap a working engine for another working engine under parc ferme conditions, with the engine they took out frozen from use until the final round.

          Has anyone actually done this, seems like an odd thing to do when you are facing a grid penalty for the swap?

          1. There is no grid penalty for the swap as long as you stay within your allotment of 8 engines. See my reply on the previous page:

            https://www.racefans.net/2010/11/05/vettel-fastest-as-alonso-hits-trouble/comment-page-1/#comment-468267

    20. All teams use an old engine for FP1 and 2.FP 1 and 2 are not classed as part of the event.
      For FP3 they use the race engine and it is only if they replace that engine with a new one they receive a penalty.

    21. can somebody enlighten me a bit on how the FIA polices the engine to see if anybody cheats on it i.e. dis-assemble the engine to change the inside stuffs then re-seal it using the same engine cover? can it be done without being detected?

      1. http://argent.fia.com/web/fia-public.nsf/65EE8F15945D0941C12576C7005308AE/$FILE/1-2010%20SPORTING%20REGULATIONS%2023-06-2010.pdf

        FIA Sporting regulations
        28.4 c) After consultation with the relevant engine supplier the FIA will attach seals to each engine prior to it being used for the first time at an Event in order to ensure that no significant moving parts can be rebuilt or replaced.
        Within two hours of the end of the post race parc fermé exhaust blanking plates (with one 10mm diameter inspection hole per cylinder) and further seals will be applied to all used engines in order to ensure that these engines cannot be run between Events. Upon request to the FIA these additional seals will be removed after the start of initial scrutineering at the next Event at which the engines are required. All such engines must remain within the team’s designated garage area when not fitted to a car and may not be started at any time during an Event other than when fitted to a car eligible to participate in the Event.
        d) If any of the FIA seals are damaged or removed from an engine after it has been used for the first time that engine may not be used again unless they were removed under FIA supervision.

        1. this is great…thanks mate

        2. I really got to take my hat off to you, keep trying to educate people about the rules, it seems a large majority on here can’t read or understand the regulations, and run off at the mouth at what they think it should be.

          Best of luck with it, I gave up some time ago.

          1. Wellll, they have more important things on their minds like Vettel’s Finger or Alonso’s Eyebrows. :D

    22. christein destroyed senna there with less laps

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