Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place gird penalty at Suzuka, once the starting order for the race has been decided. Hamilton will have to change his gearbox before tomorrow’s delayed qualifying session, resulting in the penalty, meaning he will definitely start no higher than sixth.
Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix will not take place today after hours of heavy rain made it impossible for the session to be run. The session is now expected to take place at 10am local time tomorrow morning to set the grid for the race, which will start just four hours after the postponed … Continue reading Japanese GP qualifying postponed
The Korean Grand Prix organisers have begun laying the tarmac at the Korean International Circuit ahead of the much-delayed official inspection of the circuit by the FIA. Laying the tarmac this late may mean it does not have enough time to cure properly ahead of the race weekend. Charlie Whiting is due to visit the … Continue reading Tarmac laid at Korean F1 track (Pictures)
Jaime Alguersuari was fastest in final practice at Suzuka – but he was one of only two drivers to set a time in a very wet session. The only other car to post a lap time was Timo Glock’s Virgin. There are concerns that if this level of rain persists it might not be possible … Continue reading Little running in rain-hit final practice puts qualifying session in doubt
Final practice is coming up soon but if you’re quick you can still get your Japanese Grand Prix prediction in before it starts: Predict the Japanese GP winner here to win F1 DVD boxsets, T-shirts and more Here’s today’s round-up: Links Here comes the rain! (Renault F1 Team fan site) “As darkness falls around Suzuka … Continue reading F1 Fanatic round-up: 9/10/2010
Red Bull cars filled the top two places in both of today’s practice sessions at Japan, confirming pre-race expectations that the RB6 would be the car to beat around sinuous Suzuka. Rain has already begun to fall at the track and much more is expected tomorrow. Will Red Bull retain their advantage in more challenging … Continue reading Red Bull fastest in the dry but rain expected tomorrow (FP2 analysis)
Sebastian Vettel headed practice at Suzuka for the second time today as Red Bull extended their margin over their rivals. Mark Webber ended the second session fastest ahead of Robert Kubica, who survived a high-speed spin in his Renault. The two Ferrari drivers were fourth and fifth, but almost a full second slower than the … Continue reading Vettel stays on top in second practice
Who’s going to come out on top in this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix? Make your predictions below and you could win a Lotus DVD boxset or a pair of F1 T-shirts this weekend. The competition closes before final practice on Saturday so make your prediction now.
Sergio Perez, who will make his F1 debut for Sauber in 2011, has joined Ferrari’s young driver development programme. Perez will drive a Ferrari-powered Sauber on his arrival in F1 next year. He is the sixth member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, joining former GP2 rival Jules Bianchi along with Lance Stroll, Raffaele Marciello, Brandon … Continue reading Perez joins Ferrari Driver Academy
Red Bull are pulling out an advantage of half a second over their rivals in the first two sectors of the lap at Suzuka. But while Lewis Hamilton showed promising pace before his crash, Ferrari’s performance around Suzuka is surely better than 11th and 13th in first practice suggested. Meanwhile Suzuka specialist Sutil flattered his … Continue reading Red Bull dominate first two sectors but Ferrari’s pace is unknown (FP1 analysis)
Sebastian Vettel picked up where he left off after winning last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in first practice. But title rival Lewis Hamilton hit trouble when he crashed at Degner halfway through the session. He damaged the front-left corner of his McLaren and took no further part in the session.
Practice for the Japanese Grand Prix starts in two hours’ time so join us here soon for live comments. Here’s the round-up: Links Alonso says he is title favourite, Webber more guarded (BBC) “Asked if he was favourite, Alonso said: ‘If you see the last two races, then yes. We need to keep the momentum.’” … Continue reading F1 Fanatic round-up: 8/10/2010
The fourth GP2 Asia championship will be contested over just six races. It will be its shortest season yet, half the length of the calendar used two years ago. The next edition of the championship will take place entirely in 2011 – the previous two series were split across two years. As in the previous … Continue reading Six-race calendar for GP2 Asia in 2011
The Japanese Grand Prix takes place this weekend at one of the most exciting circuits on the F1 calendar. Have all the important information for this weekend’s race at your fingertips with the F1 Fanatic unofficial race programme including a video lap of the track:
Renault has added a new Russian sponsor to its roster for the second race in a row. Flagman vodka branding will appear on the tip of the R30’s nose and on the side pod vanes, as well as on Vitaly Petrov’s overalls. Vyborg Shipyard started sponsoring the team at the Singapore Grand Prix. Sauber also … Continue reading Another Russian sponsor joins Renault
After collisions that ended his race in the last two Grands Prix, Lewis Hamilton faced questions in today’s press conference about whether he needs to take fewer risks to ensure he finishes races and scores points. Here’s what he had to say: As drivers we are always on the ragged edge. We are always trying … Continue reading Hamilton: “Some drivers do less overtaking”
Monza was supposed to be an ideal circuit for McLaren – but Ferrari won. And Singapore was supposed to be an ideal circuit for Red Bull – but Ferrari won. No team has managed to win three races in a row this year – can Ferrari change that in Japan?
In the comments on a recent article on Twitter I was asked to do more withthe F1 Fanatic presence on Facebook. I have been updating it more regularly for the last few days so if you’re a Facebook user and you’ve not had a look at the F1 Fanatic Facebook Group for a while, head … Continue reading F1 Fanatic round-up: 7/10/2010
The Japanese Grand Prix weekend is expected to get off to a dry start on Friday – but that is set to change over the following days. Different forecasts give different views of this region’s often changeable weather, but several forecast heavy rain on Saturday, clearing up by Sunday. This raises the possibility of qualifying … Continue reading Rain forecast for Saturday at Suzuka
Luca di Montezemolo has said Felipe Massa needs to give “the performances of a number one driver” in the final races of 2010: Felipe is and will always stay a number one driver for Ferrari. I expect the performances of a number one driver from him – both in the next four races and, with … Continue reading Montezemolo: Massa “a number one driver”