McLaren and Williams, two of the great marquees of modern Formula 1, yet two names not often said in the same breath over the past few years. Qualifying for the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix bracketed the two perfectly, however, Lewis Hamilton taking poll for McLaren while Pastor Maldonado drove his Williams to P2. Hamilton’s run was consistent with his recent performances, including both poll and the victory at the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Maldonado’s stood out a little bit mor...
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Photo: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren vs. Ferrari. It is one of the greatest continuous rivalries in sport, right up there with Yankess vs. Dodgers, Michigan vs. Ohio State, or any of the other greats. Monza, site of the Italian Grand Prix, is Ferrari’s home circuit. But that didn’t stop Lewis Hamilton from taking pole, with his McLaren teammate Jenson Button joining him on the front row in P2. Right behind them on the starting grid was the first Ferrari, piloted not by...
Photo: Lotus F1 Team www.formula1.com reports: Lotus’s Romain Grosjean has been given a one-race ban after the stewards at Spa-Francorchamps judged him to be responsible for causing the first-corner accident at the start of Sunday’s 2012 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix. The ban means Grosjean will miss next weekend’s Italian event, which takes place at Monza from September 7-9. He has also been fined 50,000 Euros. “The stewards regard this incident as an ex...
The Formula 1 series moved from Germany to Hungary, running on back-to-back weekends heading into its month-long summer break. Practice and qualifying in Hockenheim was marked by rain, with the race occurring in dry weather. This situation was reversed in Budapest, with dust making the track slippery during qualifying and a 100% chance of rain forecast for the race. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) snagged the pole, with Romain Grosjean (Lotus) qualifying on the front row for the first time in P2 and S...
Photo: Red Bull/Getty Images It was a sloppy weekend at Silverstone, site of the 2012 British Grand Prix. Friday practice was wet. Rain also interrupted qualifying, but after more than 3 hr a starting grid was established featuring Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) at P1, Mark Webber (Red Bull) at P2, and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) continuing his resurgence at P3. Other qualifying notables included Pastor Maldonado (Williams) at P7, Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) at P9, and Jenson Button (McLaren) fa...
Qualifying on the street circuit in Valencia, Spain, for Round 8 of the 2012 Formula 1 season kept nearly all of the hallmarks of the year intact, offering both the expected and the not-so-much in equal measure. On the expected side was a front row of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren). Vettel has won both the pole and the race in Valencia the past 2 years as well as the last two polls in succession. This particular run to the top of the time charts tied him for third on th...
Red Bull Racing looked increasingly ready to take the 2012 season by the horns heading into the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Mark Webber’s victory in Monaco made the team the first two-time winner of the year (Sebastian Vettel, Bahrain), and Vettel followed up this performance by taking the pole in Montreal. Vettel’s pole, his 32nd, also tied him with Nigel Mansell at fifth on the all-time career list. Webber doubled down on the Red Bull might by qualifying P4. That said, Red Bul...
Photo: LAT Images And the 2012 count continues; five races and five winners from five teams, Williams’ Pastor Maldonado being the most recent following his triumph in Spain. An eventful qualifying in Monaco set up the distinct possibility of a sixth new winner. Michael Schumacher took his first pole since 2006, but had to surrender it due to a 5 grid-spot penalty stemming from a collision in Spain with Maldonado’s Williams teammate Bruno Senna, leaving Mark Webber (Red Bull) in th...
Four races, four winners, four constructors. That’s the 2012 Formula 1 season heading in the Spanish Grand Prix. And though lots of hand-wringing is starting to emerge regarding whether tires and their management are playing too large a role in making the field as competitive as it is, there can be little doubt that a year like this is more exciting than a beginning-to-end championship run by a single car. You don’t hear the NFL or NASCAR, perhaps the two most successful spectator sp...
The political tumult of Bahrain aside, competition got back to ‘normal’ this week with a front-three on the grid of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), season points-leader Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), and Mark Webber (Red Bull). Look just a tiny bit further beneath the surface, however, and some of the variety that has made 2012 such an exciting season is easy to see, with both Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (Sauber) within striking distance of the top spot and Daniel Ricciardo (Tor...