Toro Rosso celebrates double points finish

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Toro Rosso celebrates "perfect strategy" as Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi finish in the points for the first time in 2011.

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Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

STR delighted with double points finish (Autosport)

"Toro Rosso secured a double points finish for the first time in 2011 as a bold pre-race strategy switch paid dividends for them at the Canadian Grand Prix."

"’I am very happy because to finish eighth having started last from the pit lane is a really good result for us,’ [Jaime Alguersuari] said after the race. ‘The team did a good job and we also made the most of every opportunity that came our way, some of them down to the bad luck of other teams.’"

Webber: Hamilton’s move ‘clumsy’ (Autosport)

"Mark Webber felt Lewis Hamilton’s move on him at the original start of the Canadian Grand Prix was ‘clumsy’, though the Australian was delighted that he was able to make up all the positions the incident cost him by the end of the epic, rain-interrupted race."

Red Bull frustrated as FIA clamps down on blown diffusers (Adam Cooper)

"The FIA is pushing ahead with its clampdown on ‘extreme’ blown diffusers, commencing with the British GP next month. On Saturday the FIA wrote to the teams to confirm that the ban on engine mapping influencing aerodynamics – which was put on hold after a previous attempt before the Spanish GP – would go ahead. It cites cost implications of a development race as the main reason."

F1, Sarkozy and General Electric (Joe Saward)

"The paddock was buzzing on Saturday morning in Montreal with a few juicy rumours knocking about, including stories about attempts to revive the French Grand Prix. The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has asked for a meeting with Renault F1 boss Eric Boullier following some fairly trenchant remarks about President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government’s failure to support France’s motorsport industry."

Rally star Block to sample Formula One car (Formula1.com)

"Tyre manufacturers Pirelli have announced ‘Gymkhana’ legend and World Rally Championship star Ken Block is to be given the chance to drive their Formula One test car. Block will get behind the wheel on August 5 for a one-off drive at the famed Monza circuit in Italy."

Heikki Kovalainen (via Twitter)

"Well done Button. Amazing race. Congratulations, well deserved… Not much in the pocket for us this weekend – drive shaft failure.

"’Do you think JB will lose the win via the stewards?’ Shouldn’t lose in my opinion."

Lewis Hamilton : I’ll never be dirty like Michael Schumacher (The Mirror)

"Lewis Hamilton has vowed never to stoop to the bad-boy tactics used by brutal racers like German legend Michael Schumacher."

Lauda: Hamilton should be punished (Autosport)

"Niki Lauda has called on the FIA to hand Lewis Hamilton sanctions for what he believes is dangerous driving, warning that if there is no reaction to his latest collisions then someone could get killed."

Ugly saga of Bahrain race exposes F1’s web of tangled morals (The Guardian)

"When the final decision came on the fate of the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, it was certainly the right one. And although it may have been reached for all the wrong reasons, including logistical inconvenience and sheer embarrassment, it yielded an unexpected bonus: a couple of weeks in which the world could take a close look at the tangled moral universe of Formula One."

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Comment of the day

What did you think of the Canadian Grand Prix? Mole says:

The greatest sportsmen win on a bad day.

That’s the single most important lesson I’ve learnt from sport. Vettel drives immaculate races, he really does, and that takes skill – however that’s what a computer can do, pick the most optimal path and take it.

The human element to F1 is something we don’t see so much nowadays, but Button went through a great trial today. In football, this was akin to Manchester United winning 1-0 after being a man down to Bolton. It took grit, determination and experience for Button to win today. His tyres were older than Vettel’s, yet he was a huge amount faster per lap – the driver clearly making the difference.

I know Vettel may win the season rather easily, but this win today impresses me so much more than an easy championship. Congratulations Button, you may treat us fans rough with your qualifying results, but you make up for it with these breathtaking races!
Mole

From the forum

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix Awards

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Scunnyman!

On this day in F1

Jacky Ickx won the Jochen Rindt Memorial Race on the Hockenheimring on this day 40 years ago.

The race was held in honour of the reigning world champion, who had lost his life at Monza the previous year.

Ickx was fastest in qualifying but the first grid slot was left vacant as a mark of respect.

He dominated the 35-lap non-championship race, finishing 53 seconds ahead of Ronnie Peterson’s March, with John Surtees third in his own car.

Author information

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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74 comments on “Toro Rosso celebrates double points finish”

  1. I couldn’t agree more with the COTD. Excellently and lucidly put.

    1. Aw shucks. I may have got a bit carried away in the moment!

    2. I think it was more like Manchester United winning the Champions League after being 0-1 down to Bayern Munich personally!

      1. Or Liverpool beating Ac Milan after being 0-3 down in half time.

    3. Agreed. And the fact that Jenson won despite everything that happened makes it more impressive for me. He didn’t even get a single lucky break! Marvellous.

    1. The stewards have just proven they are being hard on the drivers, but not plain stupid!

      Great result.

    2. I’m amazed that people are remotely surprised Button wasn’t penalised. It was nothing other than a racing incident there’s no way either would have been punished.

      1. Considering Paul di Resta was punished for breaking his own front wing again, it’s no wonder.

        1. While I’m glad he go away with it, I still have no idea how he got away with it – it’s not to keep the championship close that’s a given, because Hamilton – who had been the closest Vettel challenger until the end of today’s race, picked up Penalties in Monaco and the stewards were determined to punish him again today – 3 investigations in about as many laps proved that, and the fact the Webber one was dropped as soon as he DNFd suggests it was going to be “Drive through for car number 3.”

          I think Di Resta got a raw deal today with his drive through.

          1. Fortunately, it seems the FIA has seen reason, and we can now read why for ourselves in clear words of the stewards http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_media/Documents/can-document-46.pdf
            Really, not joking the FIA has released the reasoning behind this desision.

            Novelty, hooray!

        2. Di Resta move was wrong though despite not hurting the other driver.

        3. Di Resta’s move was plain clumsy though wasn’t it?

          His nose shouldn’t have been there…. on the other hand, Neither Hamtilton nor Button actually made a “mistake”…. It just kinda didn’t work out!

      2. I did think that he would have got punished for it, it was very very similar to the Lewis / Maldonado incident at Monaco in terms of contact.

        Having said that, and as a Ferrari fan i would like to add, I am pleased Jenson didnt get a penalty for it.

        1. Yeah it would have been a shame to see him penalised after the race, like that farce three years ago. And I like Schumi, Vettel and Ferrari rather than Mclaren.

      3. Actually I think he was to blame for the crash with Hamilton, certainly not for the one with Alonso.

  2. Happy birthday Scunnyman, I hope you enjoyed the weekend as a bit of pre party fun so far!

  3. Love the quotes in that Webber interview. Some real pearls from Webber again!

  4. anyone else still feel a little bit like… “what?!?! wow?!?! erm, who am i?!?”

    1. +1 !!!! yes!

  5. Lewis Hamilton : I’ll never be dirty like Michael Schumacher

    Good jok- oh, wait, you’re serious. Let me laugh even harder.

    1. I love the way he has resorted to insulting others to make himself feel better.

      1. It’s true, Schumacher seldom leaves enough space for an attacking driver (Hungary 2010) but Hamilton is aggressive when he attacks, not when he defends.

    2. The ironic thing though is that Schumacher was probably the cleanest and most impressive overtaker/driver today. As Webber said, Hamilton’s just been a tad clumsy of late.

      1. That is a beautiful irony isn’t it?

      2. Yeah, it seems Hamilton needs a lot to learn, but Schu has moved on to great driving by now!

    3. “Never in my whole career have I ever, on purpose, tried to ruin someone’s race or crash into them.”

      Seems a reasonable enough statement to me.

      Once again a journo hypes up the story. Hamilton isn’t saying Schumacher is a terrible person, just that he had this aspect to his driving and he doesn’t agree with it. Of course the haters are jumping all over it as usual.

      I bet if Alonso said it there wouldn’t be half as much fuss.

      1. Icthyes, agree, Hamilton doesn’t really say things that are that controversial, people just want to have a go.

        On the other hand, if Alonso said it, I can’t imagine the fuss.

        1. Well, I think we would see only half the fuss from the same people. Alonso of course has his own detractors, though not as many I suspect.

    4. We had a similar story around the Monaco Grand Prix last year:

      Lewis Hamilton doesn’t want Michael Schumacher’s “tainted” legacy

      1. I think its a bit too convenient for some drivers who may perhaps never have chance to leave a legacy like schumi to just “taint” it…
        For fans like me thats absolutely not the legacy that Schumi left or will leave…

        1. It is a shame to read so not classy words of an F1 Champion about another. Especially when the other is a widely acknowledged living legend who has foreseen Hamilton’s success and publicly praised him even before he reached F1.
          http://www.atlasf1.com/news/2001/oct/report.php/id/5969/.html

          Being F1 Champ should not be about only getting the opportunity to collect most points. You are at the top of world motorsports. Show some class.

          1. You don’t need to be like Schumacher neither can you be you are you,spoil kid.

  6. I think that was the greatest race I’ve ever watched, certainly the most emotional:

    It’s the first time I have ever watched a race in full with my dad, we’ve never been too close apart from with football, but it was great to enjoy an F1 race with him, me explaining DRS, Inters, and ‘in the zone’ with him giving constant updates on the progress of Di Resta, the cheers in unison when Button got the jump on Vettel were something else!

    Top stuff!

    1. I just wish this race doesn’t overtake the 2008 Brazilian GP in the most exciting races, because that race has a particular meaning to me, even if the ending was not what I would have liked.

      1. I think the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix already has

  7. GreeenWolf (@)
    13th June 2011, 0:28

    I remember seeing Ken Block on Top Gear a good while back, amazing how committed and confident he is when he throws his car around corners. If you’re not familiar with him it’s well worth looking him up on YouTube!

    Keith, I’ve noticed a lot of people giving their “+1” to comments as of late – would it be possible to add a YouTube style “thumb up / down” system for comments? I appreciate that often a fully explained comment goes a long way, but I for one don’t have the time to get involved in a big discussion and would love another way to express my opinion :D

    1. The Last Pope
      13th June 2011, 1:48

      Thumb up :)

    2. ‘Like’

  8. i think Lauda was out of line a bit, today was understeer that i agree was a bit childish, and a racing incident with bad luck, nothing like monaco, but i dont think ive ever heard him praise hamilton….

    1. Yeah I agree with you. The comment seems a bit extreme from Lauda, both incidents today were racing incidents, the one with his team mate was more buttons fault than hamiltons. You’re right, if he was making these comments after Monaco than he may have some justification. However today it just sounds like a lot of hot air

    2. Oh yeah, Niki Lauda has praised Hamilton also, especially in 2008.

  9. I would never put myself in the same sentence as Schumacher

    And he’s damn right not to. I wouldn’t put Hamilton in the same sentence as Senna, Prost, Clark, Fangio, Stewart, Ascari, Lauda, either. :P

    1. I agree.

      Seriously, what is he thinking? Is he trying to get every driver on the grid against him?

      1. He was probably asked the question directly. look at the quote:

        Critics slammed Hamilton as “the new Schumacher” after he collided with Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa over two disastrous days in Monte Carlo.

        I agree though, Hamilton should stop giving his opinion and expanded answers because we have this every time. In a way, it’s a compliment to the guy that that many people care one way or the other, considering half of F1 must probably hold the same opinion of Schumacher.

  10. If there is one gripe I have about the Grand Prix, its going to have to be the safety car – specifically the age spent restarting the race. Now, I realise the Safety Car can only be pulled in when racing conditions are safe, but since when was a wet track unsafe?

    Under normal circumstances, track conditions warranting cars to have the full wet tyres on are considered safe. So why wasnt the the SC pulled in at least a couple of laps earlier? By this point, cars were falling over themselves to stick the intermediates on – which by common knowledge only seem to work on dryyer conditions than the Bridgestones.

    Surely this proves that the race could – and should have re-started a good few laps earlier?

    1. Yeah i agree. If wet conditions in general are unsafe then why does a wet tyre even exist?
      The safety car just stayed there until it was time for intermediates.

      1. I think it isn’t so much that racing is unsafe, more so that a restart is unsafe. Keep in mind a restart will always have cars doing odd things to make a place.

    2. The Last Pope
      13th June 2011, 1:53

      Specialy harsh on D’ambrosio getting a drive though for pitting onto the right tyres for those conditions. That was weird, but I guess its the rules so oh well.

      1. Got me miffed a bit as well, there was me thinking its the Virgins finally outsmarting the field! Shame ist not allowed then

      2. I thought the restart was when the SC drove off, not when the SC pitted.

  11. @ Mole’s COTD: I don’t really get the comparison to Vettel and a computer. If he was a robot like you say, he wouldn’t have made that mistake to let Button through. The human element came into play with that Red Bull too.

    1. Exactly. And I’d like to point out the “computer” took grit and determination to win in Monaco, when the “human” Button didn’t pass him or Alonso despite having fresher rubber. And Monaco was always considered as one of the circuits where the driver makes a difference.

      1. Agreed. Nothing taken away from Button, but it was clear that Vettel’s car was losing pace in the last laps and when we had the close shots of Button chasing him down you could see how much more of track Vettel was using to try and eke out every last bit of speed he could. I’m no fan of an early championship either, but both deserve oodles of credit. At the same time, compare Button’s race with Hamilton’s in Monaco – both drove bumper car races… maybe if Hamilton had won in Monaco after his bumps we would all have been praising his grit, determination and experience.

      2. David, it took grit detirminaition, and a massive amount of luck to get a free ride for the last and most important laps at the end of Monaco. Lets not kid ourselves here.

        Monaco is considered a driver circuit, and Vettel has always been good and driving the fastest car on track round in circuits very quickly. Monaco may be a driver circuit but the fastest cars are generally out front.

        1. It was lucky, but Button/Alonso had plenty of time to pass, and shouldn’t have banked on doing in the final 6 laps rather than asap when safety cars are so common in Monaco.

          As rfs said, Vettel’s driving being compared to a computer is nonsense, when he’s just made a mistake that has proven him human.

  12. Wow. As fun as the Canadian Grand Prix was (again), I’m glad I only do this twice a year. My brain is almost completely fried from having spent almost twenty-seven hours in a caffeine-induced state of lucidity.

    It looks like I’ve got a bit of a dilemma next year sicne the United States is returning to the calendar and the number of races between why-the-hell-am-I-still-awake and please-God-just-let-me-sleep increases to three. Especially since Austin is just one week after Montreal. So unless I manage to get a class timetable with Mondays off, I’m going to have to start deciding which races I want to watch. Which is hard because both Montreal and Interlagos are great circuits, and even if the Circuit of the Americas is the worst circuit since Caesar’s Palace, I’m always excited for a new circuit.

    I need a DVR. Or at least access to digital television so I can watch the replay of the race.

    1. I would say the digital, just in case it gets into a race like this!

      Good think I did get some sleep, not much though. Up late on friday for FP2 analyses (1 o clock).
      Got up at 5 to secure expedition of some emergency shipment to a customer, then had a nice morning until it got going with LeMans, FP3, Qualli. Planned on getting into bed, but then that 2nd Audi accident. Went to bed well after midnight again. Up before 7 for LeMans morning, then race preparations and well, it went on and on. The race, WOW thrilling finish to that, but I just had to wait to see what the stewards would decide about Button. Relieved to get in bed at 1.30.
      Up at 5.25 for another emergency here. Thrilling but tiring weekend for certain! But well worth it, I think.

      Good luck with the assignment as well (forum post) PM.

    2. You could subscribe to a UK proxy VPN and watch the BBC coverage and replays.

  13. Brilliant result from STR and perhaps a bit of a life line for Alguersuari?

    I don’t think we can put the McLaren coming together down to anything but a racing incident. Seems The Sun are all over Lauda’s comments, tragic really.

  14. Apparently Hamilton had a private meeting with Horner. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92327

    Hamilton – Vettel 2012 Red bull ?

    1. History repeating…? This feels a lot like Senna moving from McLaren to Williams.

      Although would be nice to see Kobayashi in a McLaren seat.

      1. Scary isn’t it when you see Lauda’s opinion that he will end u killing himself with his desire to overtake…

    2. Hamilton – Vettel 2012 Red bull ?

      No. The article makes it quite clear that Hamilton is under contract through 2012. But whatever was said, I think people are reading far too much into it since the meeting lasted just fifteen minutes. You don’t have a scoop, if that’s what you’re angling for.

      1. Hamilton – Vettel 2012 Red bull ?

        No.

        Agree.

    3. A mistake if Lewis joins Red Bull, how long will they really be in F1 after all? A good chance it won’t be as long as McLaren. Right now Red Bull is the team to drive for, not sure that will be the case in 5 years.

  15. Strange COTD, really. Pick the most optimal path and take it? Of course that’s what Vettel’s meant to do, it’s what they’re ALL meant to do, he just happens to be doing it better than anyone else at the moment.

    1. “His tyres were older than Vettel’s, yet he was a huge amount faster per lap – the driver clearly making the difference.”

      It could have been the car was working better with those conditions. Vettel was 2 seconds a lap slower because Button is a better driver? Come on.

      1. “…than an easy championship.”

        And this bit? When has winning the World Championship ever been ‘easy?’

        Vettel is a superb driver and for some reason he doesn’t seem to be getting the credit he deserves this seasons IMHO.

        1. I think it might be because his wins aren’t as ‘exciting’ as they could be. He never seems to fight wheel to wheel for it (for the most part), he often just races out from pole and wins. As skilful as that is, and he’s obviously a fantastic driver, it doesn’t make very exciting racing, and I think that’s why some fans begudge some of his wins.

    2. Yeah but what he means is that he rarely has problems, and when he does, he doesn’t recover as well from them as we saw from Button yesterday. We’ve seen him win many Pole to flag races, but how many charges through the field have we seen him win? Even the race at silverstone last when he had a puncture and fought back up to 6th (?) he simply barged through a few of them, and benefitted from the fact that it happened right at the start, giving him more time to recover.

      So what Mole’s trying to say is that he wins from the optimum path, yeah, but he seems to struggle when he can’t.

  16. I just read an article on the Daily Mail’s website and it made me realise just how terrible some journalists are, and, by turns, how good you are Keith. There’s no sensationalist melodrama, no contradiction, no nonsense in what you write.

  17. Looking forward to see what remains of the car after Block’s been in it!

Comments are closed.