Analysis: Why Massa was penalised during Brazilian GP

Felipe Massa was penalised during the Brazilian Grand Prix because he contravened a track limits rule clarified in the build-up to the race. Interlagos's unusual pit entry has been a contentious topic for many years, as the racing line on the left-hand kink leading onto the pit straight crosses it. This has led to fears of an accident if a car flat-out on a flying lap came upon a car slowing for the pitlane speed limit. Just over an hour before Sunday's grand prix, FIA Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting issued a clarification of the rules regarding that section of track. An image sent to teams marked an area of the white line from parallel with the end of the left-hand-side Armco barrier to the start of the pitwall as the 'track edge', and ordered that cars could not cross it with all four wheels. It was this line that Massa was judged to have crossed illegally, prompting the drive-through penalty that dropped him from fourth to an eventual seventh in his Ferrari farewell. The proceeding section of white line leading up to 'point c' in the FIA image was labelled part of the pit entry and was fine to cross on a fast lap. Massa, in his final race for Ferrari before moving to Williams, admitted he had breached the rule, but argued that others had done the same and that the regulation had been created ad hoc. "Sure, I crossed the line a few times, but maybe I was not the only car that crossed there. and this rule is something they've invented now," he said. "If you really need to do that, then you should penalise everybody who passed it." Asked by AUTOSPORT if Ferrari had received a proper warning before the penalty, team boss Stefano Domencali said: "Yes, there was a warning but it was very harsh. "There was not really any safety aspect, there was not really any gain of any kind of advantage. "You see many times track limits not respected. But anyway, that decision was taken and it was very harsh considering the result."

Vettel wins again

Sebastian Vettel extended his lead in the drivers' world championship to more than 50 points when he drove to a polished victory for Red Bull in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old German, series leader and defending triple world champion, survived a torrid start and gearbox problems as he dominated an intriguing 53-laps race, the last of the European part of the Formula One season Vettel came home 5.4 seconds clear of Fernando Alonso, as the Ferrari driver thrilled the tifosi with a battling chase in pursuit ahead of third-placed Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and Brazilian Felipe Massa, fourth in the second Ferrari. On a warm, if overcast, afternoon, Vettel proved both his sublime talent and his fighting spirit - as both Red Bull men were told to nurse their cars home - to reel off his sixth win of the season and the 32nd of his career. It was his third win at Monza and helped Red Bull end a run of poor results at the circuit. His brilliance, however, was matched by that of Briton Lewis Hamilton, who started 12th, lost the use of his team radio and suffered a slow puncture, as he fought back twice to finish ninth. "A nightmare," he said. Red Bull team chief Christian Horner praised the winner: "Fantastic Seb, you've won the Italian Grand Prix again," he said. "Brilliant drive." Vettel replied with his characteristic scream and then added: "Very good boys, very good race. Sorry for the lock up into the first corner, made the first stint a bit tricky." German Nico Hulkenberg, who had qualified with a stunning third in his Ferrari-powered Sauber, came home an excellent fifth to endorse his claims as a possible successor to Massa next season. Compatriot Nico Rosberg finished sixth in the leading Mercedes ahead of Red Bull-bound Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Toro Rosso and Frenchman Romain Grosjean of Lotus. Hamilton did his utmost to pass Grosjean on the final lap, but in the end had to settle for ninth ahead of Briton Jenson Button of McLaren, who were this weekend celebrating their 50th anniversary as an F1 team. In the title race, with seven 'flyaway' races outside Europe remaining, Vettel leads with 222 points ahead of Alonso on 169 and Hamilton on 141. A brief shower shortly before the start caused some pre-race alarm, but not enough to cause a switch from slick tyres on a significantly cooler day at the Autodromo Nazionale. At the start, Vettel struggled to establish himself as leader from the 40th pole of his career, surviving a clattering challenge through the first chicane to emerge ahead of Massa's Ferrari, the Brazilian having surged past Webber. In a furious opening, Briton Paul Di Resta was forced to retire his Force India after locking up the front of his car and colliding with Romain Grosjean's Lotus. Hamilton, from 12th, rose to 10th before his problems began with the loss of radio contact. Running on the harder compound tyres, he then picked up a slow right front puncture and was forced - with the aid of old-school pit board signals -- to pit, rejoining 19th after 14 laps. By then, Vettel was more than six seconds clear of the field, Alonso having executed a brilliant pass on Webber and then glided past Massa to take second. Vettel was warned of front right tyre vibrations by his team, a problem created when he locked up at the first chicane at the start, and this began to slow his progress as Alonso chased hard. His lead was cut to 4.8 before he pitted after 23 laps, emerging third behind Alonso and Rosberg as the Spaniard responded to his team's call to push hard. Alonso gave the tifosi four laps to dream before he also pitted and rejoined second behind a reinvigorated Vettel and ahead of Webber, with no-one able to upset that order before the chequered flag. - See more at: http://motoring.iafrica.com/formulaone/878701.html?#sthash.xWdcnn69.dpuf

F1: Raikkonen Staying, Alonso To Lotus ?

Gerard Lopez has admitted Renault is involved in Lotus' push to keep Kimi Raikkonen at the team in 2014. It has been rumoured the Finn is pushing hard for a closer collaboration between Enstone based Lotus and Renault, who are reportedly looking for more exposure given world champion team Red Bull's ever-closer ties to Infiniti. Team owner Lopez on Sunday said Lotus has made "progress" regarding the talks with Raikkonen. "We understand what Kimi is waiting for," he is quoted by Russia's f1news.ru. Asked if he is talking about his unpaid salary, Lopez answered: "No, I mean the technical side. "He is interested in what our relationship will be with Renault next year, things like that. The chances that he will stay are very high. I really believe in it. "The financial side is not a problem. What we are discussing is options that will allow us to establish a closer collaboration with Renault. Nothing more, nothing less." Asked, however, if any deal between Lotus and Renault for 2014 exists already, Lopez admitted: "Not yet. "This is all part of the negotiation process. I think it will happen soon enough." Meanwhile, the latest wild rumour as the F1 paddock packed up at Spa late on Sunday was that Fernando Alonso could be poised to move his backing by the Spanish bank Santander from Ferrari to Lotus in 2014. Niki Lauda, however, urged the Spaniard to focus on the task at hand. "All his whining and complaining about the Ferrari just discourages the whole team," the triple world champion said on German television RTL on Sunday.

Formula 1 - Hamilton still believes in title tilt

Vettel extended his championship lead with a surprisingly dominant victory at Spa, as Hamilton's Mercedes team was left struggling to explain its loss of pace. Hamilton is under no illusions about how strong Vettel and his Red Bull are right now - but reckons that, with Mercedes having beaten its rival several times already this campaign, he can do it again. He now trails Vettel by 58 points with eight races left. When asked by AUTOSPORT if he felt it was now Vettel's title unless he hit trouble, Hamilton said: "It is going to be very, very tough undoubtedly. "He has had a phenomenal car for such a long time, and it is still phenomenally quick. He does the job, so it is the perfect package. "We have had some really strong races and been there or thereabouts competing, and finished ahead of him in the past. "So that doesn't mean we can't do that going forwards, although it is getting closer and closer to the point where we need to finish ahead of him each and every time." Hamilton's lack of pace in the Belgian GP was not down to the tyre issues that Mercedes had suffered from earlier in the campaign, but simply because the team's low downforce package had not worked. "We are trying to understand where we missed out," he said. "The guys will work out where we were slower, but Eau Rouge was particularly slow for us – as it was down the straight. "Maybe we will be able to unlock something before the next race, but if not I am hoping Singapore will be much stronger." Hamilton reiterated that he expected another tough time at the Italian GP, but was predicting stronger things at the end of season flyways. "They [from Singapore] are more windy circuits, more high downforce," he said. "Coming to these two circuits [Spa and Monza], you have the downforce package and you are kind of stuck with it. It either has or hasn't worked. "We may improve in the next race or be in the same position, but we won't be any worse. "After that we will have the high downforce package we had in previous races or improved again. Hopefully it will be improved again."

Belgian Grand Prix: Alonso: We can still win the title

Fernando Alonso says he feels Ferrari can still challenge for the 2014 title despite losing ground to Sebastian Vettel in Belgium Fernando Alonso insists that he can still challenge for the F1 title, despite losing ground to Sebastian Vettel again in Belgium. While the Ferrari man took second place at Spa, victory for Vettel allowed the German to extend his lead in the title race to 46 points. Issues for Kimi Raikkonen mean Alonso is now Vettel's closest rival in the race for the 2013 crown and the Spaniard said he wasn't giving up hope of beating him to the crown with the way in which last season panned out being an indication that anything that could still happen. However, the double champion also admitted that Ferrari still had to improve to keep pace with its rivals. “I'm happy with the feeling that I had this weekend,” he said. “I'm happy with the parts that we brought here, seems that they are working fine. We need to take things very carefully because, as you say, this is a very specific circuit and we are not first and second in any practice or any qualifying or any race. We are ninth and tenth in quali and now we are second and seventh in the race. At the moment it is still work to do. “We cannot forget that in the first five races we were a very competitive team. We won two of the five races and we were in a position to fight for the podium all the time. At that point, we were a very few points behind the leader. Then there were some races in the championship where we went backwards in terms of a step in the car and we lost direction a little bit. We understood the problem, we analysed everything and all the things that we are now bringing to the races are delivering what we expected, finally, so this gives us the possibility to get our good form back. “We still have to recover some of the gap, to fight for pole positions but the championship is very long, and as I said before, the example is what happened to us last year. If you have a competitive car and you win four or five consecutive races like Sebastian did last year, you recover very quickly. I was leading with 41 points ahead of Sebastian after the Monza race [last year] and I arrived in Texas 15 points behind, so things can change very quickly. Our hopes are to keep developing, to keep improving performance and try to repeat what happened last year the other way around.”

Boullier: Kimi loves Lotus

Eric Boullier is confident Lotus will retain Kimi Raikkonen for next season as the Finn "loves" the team. Although Raikkonen has been linked to a move away to Red Bull Racing, his manager Steve Robertson says that is definitely out as negotiations were "not successful and ended some time ago." However, Red Bull aren't the only team reportedly interested in the 2007 World Champion as there is some speculation that Ferrari are also chasing his signature. Boullier, though, believes that when all is said and done, Raikkonen will once again be racing for Lotus. "Yes I am," Boullier told Sky Sports when asked if he was confident of retaining Raikkonen for 2014. "He loves the team, he likes to be here, he likes the environment we have created for him. "Kimi is clearly an exceptional racer - his race pace is amazing and he can deliver from whatever position he is on the grid and work his way forward. "So this is mainly due to him, but also the strong ability of the car."

2013 Belgium GP: Ferrari Formula One F1 Race Recap

Fernando Alonso: "Today’s result shows that the outcome of qualifying bears little relation to the result on Sunday, although I think that even if I’d started from pole I would still have finished second, because Vettel was quicker. At the start we immediately made up some places and all in a rush, first passing Button, then Rosberg and Hamilton, so I found myself six seconds behind Vettel, but if one looks at the final gap of 16 seconds, we can but congratulate him and his team. The car worked well in all conditions, with a full fuel load at first and then with a lighter one at the end and, on top of that, the extra speed we had on the straight meant I could overtake without taking too many laps to do so. We know we have made a step forward and that we have recovered some of the competitiveness we had lost in recent races. In Monza and Singapore we will see the next steps in this process. The updates used in this race worked well and, even if they were aimed at this particular circuit, they are the results of work that goes on twenty four hours a day, at home and at the track. That makes us optimistic for the coming races, because our goal still remains the same, namely to fight for the title right to the end". Felipe Massa: "That was a difficult race for me right from the early stages, because after managing a good passing move at the start, I then had to slow and drop back four or five places, to avoid a collision with Grosjean at the exit of the first corner. From then on, things got complicated because for a few laps I had a problem on the steering wheel linked to the KERS operation and I wasn’t able to communicate well with the team. When everything was back to normal again, it wasn’t easy to catch up, because even if the decision to bring forward the first pit stop allowed me to get past several cars, the pace wasn’t good. In the final stint on the Hard tyres, the car was very competitive and I managed to gain some important places, with a nice passing move on Grosjean. I definitely can’t be pleased with seventh place, because today, our car deserved better, but the fact we’re more competitive than at the last few races makes me think we are working in the right direction and so we can hope to make progress throughout the second half of the season".

Greenpeace protest Shell at Belgian GP

A group scaled the main grandstand before the start, with some hanging off the roof on ropes to unfurl a 20 metre banner declaring "Arctic Oil? Shell no!" as teams readied their cars on the grid. Images of the protest, opposite the main VIP Paddock Club, were not shown on the live television feed which is provided by Formula One Management and watched by an audience of many millions around the world. Photographs were widely shared on social media, however, with two paragliders also seen flying over the circuit trailing banners. Greenpeace said in a statement to Formula One media that 35 activists had accessed different parts of the track with two arrested by police after climbing a large Shell billboard at the Raidillon corner. One of them had climbed the London Shard, Europe's tallest building, in a similar protest last month. The race, dominated by Red Bull's world champion Sebastian Vettel, started on time but there was more disruption afterwards when the top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies. Two remote-controlled banners, which Greenpeace said had been secretly installed several weeks ago in the floor of the podium, were unfurled before Vettel was handed his trophy. The environmental campaigners said two climbers also attempted to abseil down from a small roof above the podium, with one stopped by security while the other unveiled a banner to boos from the crowd. "We are a bit confused here because the crowd are booing and cheering and I'm not sure why," Vettel said in a podium interview. Shell cancelled its 2013 Arctic offshore drill season after numerous troubles there last year but plans to send ships to study sites around oil prospects in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, according to permit applications. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic may hold 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its gas. "This Grand Prix is Shell's biggest day of the year. They've spent millions of euros plastering their logo everywhere and entertaining scores of VIP guests, but the one thing they don't want to talk about is their plan for Arctic oil drilling," said activist Tony Martin in the Greenpeace statement. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant is also a long-standing partner of the Ferrari team.

Lewis Hamilton says after race

Lewis Hamilton I got everything that I could out of the car today but we just weren't as quick as Sebastian and Fernando. I made a nice start and it felt like the exit out of turn one was good, too. But Seb just caught me on the run out of Eau Rouge and there wasn't really much I could do to defend: I moved once, like we are allowed to, but then I just had to watch him glide by. From that point, it was very difficult to hold on to him, and the same thing happened with Fernando, too, later in the race. We have done a good job this weekend but Spa and Monza are always unique tracks because of the low-drag requirements and I expect we will be more competitive in Singapore again. It's still a great team result to finish third with Nico right behind me in fourth, so we will take the positives from this afternoon into the next races.

Red Bull boss Horner sings Sebastian Vettel's praises after Belgian GP win

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hailed Sebastian Vettel's dominant display in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix - and said it was a vital blow in their bid for a fourth consecutive title double. The softly-spoken Englishman said the key moment was the 28-year-old German's opening lap passing move on Briton Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. "It was a matter of getting the first corner OK and then Sebastian grabbed the opportunity at Eau Rouge," said Horner. "He had the momentum and he was able to go around Lewis and that was the decisive moment. "There's still a long way to go, but it was a dominant performance from Seb, a perfect display by the team with pit stops and strategy. "It was important for us to come back after the summer break and focus on the second half of the championship. "We've seen Lewis was pretty strong in qualifying. "This is not a track that suits us, but I'm delighted we got the win." Horner refused to be drawn again on making any comment on who will partner Vettel next year when Australian Mark Webber leaves the team to go to sportscar racing with Porsche. He said: "We are taking our time to think about this decision and we are under no pressure. It is not like the football transfer window or anything like that..." Webber earlier told Australia's Channel 10 that a decision had been made that is "good for Australia" - a clear suggestion that Red Bull had chosen fellow-Australian Daniel Ricciardo to succeed him. Vettel's win was the 31st of his career and lifted him 46 points clear of nearest rival two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari in the title race. In the teams' contest, Red Bull lead with 312ahead of Mercedes on 235.

Ferrari chief relieved after Fernando Alonso's runners-up spot at Belgian GP

Ferrari team chief Stefano Domenicali was all smiles after seeing Fernando Alonso take second place behind Sebastian Vettel in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. The Italian team boss, who had been under pressure following the team's disappointing run of July results, said he felt some relief but wanted to see a more positive reaction from the team. Alonso, without a win since his home Spanish Grand Prix in May, jumped from ninth on the grid to finish on the podium while team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa, in danger of losing his seat next year, came home seventh. Alonso's second placing in a race he has not won despite his 32 Grand Prix wins was Ferrari's first podium finish in the race since Kimi Raikkonen won for Ferrari in 2009. The result was also a relief for Alonso as it comes after he was rebuked publicly by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo after the Spaniard had joked following the last race the Hungarian Grand Prix he would like a more competitive car for his 32nd birthday. Domenicali said: "It was a great start by Fernando, he was very close to everyone, but he managed to use his driver's skill. "We have just come from a difficult month where we did not improve the car. We had to react to the situation. "The qualifying of yesterday was not the real performance and today we saw the car improve. Last year in Monza (the Italian Grand Prix is the next race in a fortnight) we were strong so the speed is there and we need to keep the gap. "I want to see the reaction of my people... Inside all is very clear. I'm totally focused and the drivers know what they have to do. "If they don't, they know where the door is.... I will be the happiest man if we're able to win and I push my people so we can do it"

Di Resta: It was silly

Paul di Resta reckons his retirement from the Belgian GP was "quite silly" as he was taken out by Pastor Maldonado. The Williams driver had been fighting Esteban Gutierrez for position when the Sauber driver managed to edge ahead. Attempting to retake the position, Maldonado ran wide at the Bus Stop chicane and rejoined in the path of Adrian Sutil. First tagging Sutil, Maldonado went on to hit di Resta who had been behind his team-mate with the Scot taking the brunt of the collision. "The traffic was the main event," di Resta told the BBC. "We got stuck in traffic and when we stopped for the third time we were behind the same traffic. "[The incident] was quite silly and took the rear corner of the car. "Maybe a point or two was up for grabs but we have to go to Monza and end this pointless run." Di Resta has not scored since he finished ninth at Silverstone. Maldonado was hit with a ten-second stop-go penalty for the accident and later stated that he was not aware of the Scot when he rejoined. "It was my lap to the pit, I did not see Di Resta, I tried to brake and avoid the incident but it was too late," said the Venezuelan. "Overall, it was a good start but we need to keep pushing just to improve. We pitted too late."

Alonso: It was a little bit boring

Fernando Alonso was happy to walk away with second place at the Belgian GP, but he admits the race was not really worth writing home about. After a disappointing qualifying session saw him start ninth on the grid, Alonso more than made up for it on race day as he was up to fifth place after the first lap. He continued to push hard and eventually finished second behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and ahead of pole sitter Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes. However, despite Spa-Francorchamps being one of the best circuits in F1, the race didn't really deliver as Vettel finished nearly 17s ahead of Alonso with Hamilton another 10.8s behind the Spaniard. "We had to recover some places, we were not okay yesterday," said Alonso. "But today it was a little bit boring, we get second place but no threat to Sebastian Vettel and had no threat from behind." Having finished fifth at the Hungarian GP before the summer break, it was great comeback from Ferrari and Alonso knows they need to improve even further ahead of the Italian GP. "It is important weekend for us and the team and we arrived full motivated and in Monza we would like to give some smiles to our fans," the double World Champion said. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali was delighted with the way the team bounced back after their struggles in Hungary. "It was a great start by Fernando, he was very close to everyone but he managed to use his driver's skill," the Italian said. "We have just come from a difficult month where we did not improve the car. We had to react to the situation. The qualifying of yesterday was not the real performance and today we saw the car improve. Last year in Monza we were strong so the speed is there and we need to keep the gap. "I want to see the reaction of my people, inside all is very clear. I'm totally focused and the drivers known what they have to do. If they don't, they know where the door is. I will be the happiest man if we're able to win and I push my people so we can do it."

Belgian GP: Sebastian Vettel scores routine win as weather stays dry

Sebastian Vettel took a routine victory for Red Bull in a totally dry Belgian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso was able to tiger through from ninth on the grid to second ahead of polesitter Lewis Hamilton, but fellow title contender Kimi Raikkonen's long finishing streak ended with a brake problem. It took less than half a lap for Vettel to claim control of the race. Hamilton's Mercedes had stayed ahead through an uneventful start, but Vettel attacked immediately and overtook on the run to Les Combes. That was the last Vettel's rivals saw of him, as the world champion alternated between cruising to protect his machinery and chucking in crushing fastest laps to prove how much he had in hand. Alonso's confidence in Ferrari's race pace proved well-founded as a muscular first lap took him straight up to fifth place. Jenson Button's McLaren and Nico Rosberg's Mercedes were overtaken soon afterwards. A later first pitstop brought Alonso right up behind Hamilton, who he then passed as the Mercedes slipped a touch wide at La Source. Hamilton retaliated with DRS on the Kemmel Straight, yet Alonso was able to fend him off despite a vicious twitch under braking. Button looked like he might have a say in the podium fight as he ran long and hinted at a one-stop strategy. In the end he had to follow the two-stop trend, dropping him behind Hamilton, Rosberg and the slow-starting Mark Webber. The Australian's Red Bull showed great late pace having used hard tyres in the middle stint and softs at the end, the opposite strategy to most rivals, but ran out of steam when he came up behind the Mercedes. Raikkonen looked set to finish adrift of this group even before a front brake issue forced him to retire his Lotus. Felipe Massa resisted Romain Grosjean, the only successful one-stopper in the points, for seventh place. Grosjean had an early brush with Sergio Perez in which the stewards judged that the Lotus had been forced off the road at Les Combes. That earned Perez a drive-through penalty, and that plus late tyre wear on a one-stop left him 11th at the flag. Qualifying sensation Paul di Resta faded from the start and was in a four-car battle outside the points when he was taken out at the Bus Stop by Pastor Maldonado. Force India still scored thanks to Adrian Sutil's ninth place. Daniel Ricciardo overcame Toro Rosso's qualifying miscue to come from 17th to 10th. PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium; 44 laps; 308.052km; Weather: Dry. Classified: Pos Driver Team 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Alonso Ferrari 3. Hamilton Mercedes 4. Rosberg Mercedes 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes 7. Massa Ferrari 8. Grosjean Lotus-Renault 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11. Perez McLaren-Mercedes 12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 13. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 14. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 15. Bottas Williams-Renault 16. van der Garde Caterham-Renault 17. Maldonado Williams-Renault 18. Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 19. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth Fastest lap: Not classified/retirements: Driver Team Di Resta Force India-Mercedes Raikkonen Lotus-Renault Pic Caterham-Renault World Championship standings, round 11: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 197 1. Red Bull-Renault 312 2. Alonso 151 2. Mercedes 235 3. Hamilton 139 3. Ferrari 218 4. Raikkonen 134 4. Lotus-Renault 187 5. Webber 115 5. McLaren-Mercedes 65 6. Rosberg 96 6. Force India-Mercedes 61 7. Massa 67 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 25 8. Grosjean 53 8. Sauber-Ferrari 7 9. Button 47 9. Williams-Renault 1 10. Di Resta 36 11. Sutil 25 12. Perez 18 13. Vergne 13 14. Ricciardo 12 15. Hulkenberg 7 16. Maldonado 1

Alonso rues ‘two unlucky moments in four races’

Fernando Alonso said he had been “very unlucky” for the second time this year in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Alonso finished eighth after his DRS failed and stuck open early in the race.

“It was very difficult,” said Alonso. “We stopped two times in two laps so you are at the back of the group and with no DRS to use to pass. So the race becomes very, very difficult.”

“It’s the way it went today, he added. “Very, very unlucky race again. So in four races two very unlucky moments.”

However Alonso expects his fortune will balance out over the course of the season: “It will come for the others and we will take the opportunity in that moment.”

Team principal Stefano Domencali admitted, “it’s a big disappointment because today we could have done a great race.”

“Obviously the pace was there,” he added. “Not a good day for us because also Felipe [Massa] obviously had contact at the beginning then two problems with the tyres that we need to understand.”

“Not a good day for us. Let’s move ahead, big shame but that’s racing.”

Jenson Button says Sergio Perez was too aggressive in Bahrain duel

Jenson Button believes his McLaren team-mate Sergio Perez was too aggressive in battling with him during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The two McLarens made contact on more than one occasion as they battled for points.

One of the incidents left Perez with a damaged front wing, as he clipped the rear of Button's car on the exit of Turn 4.

Button urged the team to make Perez 'calm down' over the radio, but the battle continued and more contact followed.

"I was very vocal on the radio, emotions were running high, but I would say exactly the same again," Button said.

"The racing was great out there. The only person that wasn't was Checo [Perez].

"He was too aggressive, I would say. At 300 km/h, you don't expect your team-mate to come alongside you and bang wheels with you.

"It was a bit of a surprise, and I'm probably not the only one that feels like that."

Perez felt Button had been just as uncompromising with him.

"I think I was as aggressive as he was with me," said the Mexican.

"It was probably too much. We could both have ended our races."

Perez ultimately finished sixth after his best performance for McLaren so far.

Button had to make a fourth pitstop and ended up 10th.

Bahrain Grand Prix 2013: Vettel wins for Red Bull

Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix after a dominant performance.

Vettel, who started from second, took the lead from pole sitter, Nico Rosberg on lap 3 and the then lead throughout, bar for when he briefly relinquished top spot after his first stop. The three-time F1 world Champion eventually won and took his 28th career victory by 9.1 seconds.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen meanwhile battled through from eighth on the grid and made his two-stop strategy work to claim the runners-up spot, with team-mate, Romain Grosjean third, the Frenchman passing the Force India of Paul di Resta and demoting the Scot to fourth in the latter stages.

Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five for Mercedes, with Sergio Perez sixth and Mark Webber seventh, the Aussie losing two places on the final lap. Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button complete the points' scorers.

Raikkonen on top for Lotus in second practice

Kimi Raikkonen was quickest for Lotus in second practice and seemed to have more performance in the car.

The Ferrari drivers picked up where they left off at the end of the first session, leading the times after the first runs.

Half an hour into the session the Red Bull drivers switched to the medium compound tyres andMark Webber took over the fastest time. Sebastian Vettel, who’d made a mistake at the final corner earlier in the session, crossed the line a tenth of a second slower than his team mate.

Fernando Alonso looked on course to beat the benchmark time but he caught Romain Grosjean’s Lotus in the middle of the lap, losing a few tenths of a second. His team mate was two tenths of a second slower and Paul di Resta inserted his Force India into the gap between the two.

That remained the order until halfway through the session when Raikkonen did his first run on mediums. He was substantially quicker through the first two sectors and despite understeering in the final two corners he took the quickest time, albeit by just three hundredths of a second.

Esteban Gutierrez, who already has a five-place penalty for this weekend after his crash in China, had another run-in with a rival during the session. Charles Pic moved wide to let him past at turn eight but the Sauber ran wide into the Caterham and Gutierrez hobbled back to the pits with a punctured front-left tyre.

Massa on top as Ferrari lead Bahrain GP practice

 Ferrari dominated Friday morning's opening free practice for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, with Brazilian Felipe Massa topping the times ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso of Spain.

In typically hot conditions, with a track temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and an air temperature of 34C at the Sakhir circuit, the Ferrari duo took command in the final half hour of the 90-minute session.

Less than a week after Alonso's commanding triumph in last Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, it was a clear demonstration of the Ferrari outfit's speed and strength as they seek to end Red Bull's run of world championship successes.

The main title contender teams delayed their entry into the fray at the dusty, sand-swept circuit 25km (15.5 miles) outside Manama until well into the session and Ferrari were the last team out to show their speed with an hour gone -- but they immediately rose to the top.

After Alonso had initially set the pace, Massa took over and clocked the fastest lap in 1min 34.487secs, his time beating Alonso by 0.077secs at the end of a session mostly devoted to testing tyres with high fuel loads.

German Nico Rosberg was third for Mercedes ahead of compatriot and defending triple world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, Briton Paul di Resta of Force India and Briton Jenson Button in the improving McLaren.

Australian Mark Webber was seventh for Red Bull ahead of German Adrian Sutil in the second Force India, Finn Kimi Raikkonen and his Lotus team-mate Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

Briton Lewis Hamilton, who took pole position last weekend in Shanghai, was down in 13th place in the second Mercedes, an unexpected spot but presumed to be due to his running a different programme in the session to his team-mate Rosberg.

Meanwhile Bahrain's Shiite opposition plans huge protests on Friday to coincide with the practice sessions in the run-up to Sunday's Grand Prix, in a bid to seize world attention for pro-reform demands.

On Thursday night, thousands demonstrated in several areas across Bahrain in yet another day of protests, witnesses said.

"No Formula on Bahrain's occupied land," chanted the protesters. "No, no blood Formula."

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades.

F1: Hamilton Happy With Third From Pole In China

Lewis Hamilton insisted that he was satisfied to secure third place in China, despite having started from pole.

Hamilton lost out to Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, but did at least just manage to hold off World Champion Sebastian Vettel, who ran a different strategy and was on the soft tires at the end.

“It was a good race for me, I’m quite happy with third,” said Hamilton. “Of course I would have liked to have won but congratulations to Fernando, he did a great job and so did Kimi. They were both a little bit too fast for us during the race. 

“I was seemingly able to apply a little bit of pressure to Kimi but not enough to get close to him and overtake. My tires were shot at the end and there was nothing I could do really to hold off Sebastian. A little bit unlucky with some traffic. Still, to get on the podium, I’m really happy, and really happy with the points as well.”

Asked where Mercedes needed to improve, Hamilton said: “I’m not really sure where we’re losing out. Today, overall pace was just not there and there’s definitely a couple of areas that we can focus on on the car. We’ve got to bring some more updates and keep on improving but the team is working on that. But at least, after this I will go and analyze a little bit and try to figure out whereabouts we’re losing the time and see if we can zone in on that and try to improve there.”

Fernando Alonso wins Formula One Chinese Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso's win at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday announced the Ferrari driver as a strong contender for the Formula One championship after a comfortable victory in which he claimed to have plenty to spare.

Alonso took the lead for good with 13 laps to go and won by 10 seconds from Lotus' Kimi Räikkönen, with pole sitter Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finishing third, just two tenths of a second ahead the hard-finishing Sebastian Vettel.

Red Bull's Vettel retains the championship lead after three of 19 races, but his advantage is now just three points over Räikkönen, with Alonso moving up to third, ahead of Hamilton.

So authoritative was Alonso's performance that his team was cautioning him in the closing stages not to push too hard, only for the Spaniard to reply that he wasn't. After the race he likely put a chill through his rivals by saying he won while retaining "some pace in the pocket."

"It was a fantastic race for us from the start," Alonso said. "There were no big problems and the tire degradation was better than expected.

"In the two races we've finished we have got second place and victory, so our start of the 2013 season is very good. We are very optimistic for the rest of the season."

The victory was Alonso's 31st career win, moving him equal with Nigel Mansell on the all-time list, behind only Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

In a race dominated by tire strategy, the front three runners all used their strong early pace on the softer tires to establish an early advantage and all pitted inside six laps.

While the likes of Vettel, McLaren's Jenson Button and Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg -- who all started on the harder tires -- profited initially by moving to the front of the field, the early leaders used fresher rubber to reclaim the advantage and fought out the latter half of the race.

Button finished fifth ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa. Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo put in a strong performance for a career-best seventh place, finishing ahead of Force India's Paul di Resta, Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Hulkenberg.

Raikkonen's effort in finishing second was made more creditable by the fact he drove most of the race with a damaged front nose and wing after crashing into the back of McLaren's Sergio Perez, who put the squeeze on the Finn, forcing him off the track, and then into the back of the Mexican's car.

"What the hell is he doing?" the furious Räikkönen shouted on his radio.

"That didn't help but luckily it didn't affect too much the handling," Raikkonen said after the race. "Without the damage I would have been quite a bit faster."

Hamilton carried little expectation of victory into the race despite his pole position because the Mercedes cars had quickly degraded their tires all weekend, so the Briton was thankful to finish on the podium.

"They were a little bit too fast for us," Hamilton said. "My tires were shot at the end."

The two main casualties of the race were last year's winner Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and the luckless Mark Webber of Red Bull.

Rosberg came into the pits four times and was forced to retire before reaching the halfway point of the race due to a problem with his rear anti-roll bar.

Webber, who started from the pitlane after his car ran out of fuel in qualifying, charged up to 11th before crashing into Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, pitting, then emerging with a poorly connected right rear wheel that came off before the lap was through.

Webber was penalized for causing the collision, with stewards relegating him three grid places at next weekend's Bahrain GP.

Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez received a five-place grid penalty for crashing into the back of Adrian Sutil's Force India on the fifth lap, ending the race for both drivers.

If not for a premature retirement in the Malaysian GP, Alonso would be the championship leader, but the Spaniard was not yet ready to claim he is the title favorite.

"It's a little bit too early to say," Alonso said. "We maybe need to wait 'till after the summer break to see the clear contenders.

"Lotus, Red Bull and Mercedes are in the same position as us -- I don't see anyone has an advantage."

F1 Chinese Grand Prix

Results of Sunday's Formula One Chinese Grand Prix at the 5.451-kilometer Shanghai International Circuit (with name, nationality, team, laps, race time).

1. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Ferrari, 56 laps, 1 hour, 36 minutes, 26.945 seconds.

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Lotus, 56, 1:36:37.113.

3. Lewis Hamilton, Britain, Mercedes, 56, 1:36:39.267.

4. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Red Bull, 56, 1:36:39.470.

5. Jenson Button, Britain, McLaren, 56, 1:37:02.230.

6. Felipe Massa, Brazil, Ferrari, 56, 1:37:07.772.

7. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Toro Rosso, 56, 1:37:09.636.

8. Paul di Resta, Britain, Force India, 56, 1:37:18.029.

9. Romain Grosjean, France, Lotus, 56, 1:37:20.368.

10. Nico Hulkenberg, Germany, Sauber, 56, 1:37:23.543.

11. Sergio Perez, Mexico, McLaren, 56, 1:37:30.805.

12. Jean-Eric Vergne, France, Toro Rosso, 56, 1:37:39.549.

13. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Williams, 56, 1:38:00.806.

14. Pastor Maldonado, Venezuela, Williams, 56, 1:38:02.398.

15. Jules Bianchi, France, Marussia, 55, 1:36:38.818.

16. Charles Pic, France, Caterham, 55, 1:36:40.872.

17. Max Chilton, Britain, Marussia, 55, 1:37:16.746.

18. Giedo van der Gaarde, Netherlands, Caterham, 1:37:47.991.

Did not finish

Nico Rosberg, Germany, Mercedes, 21.

Mark Webber, Australia, Red Bull, 15.

Adrian Sutil, Germany, Force India, 5.

Esteban Gutierrez, Mexico, Sauber, 4.

Drivers' championship

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 52 points.

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus, 49

3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 43

4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 40

5. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 30

6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 26

tie. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 12

tie. Jenson Button, McLaren, 12

9. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 11

10. Paul di Resta, Force India, 8

11. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 6

11. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 6

13. Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 5

14. Sergio Perez, McLaren, 2

15. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1.

Constructors' championship

1. Red Bull, 78

2. Ferrari, 73

3. Lotus, 60

4. Mercedes, 52

tie. McLaren, 14

tie. Force India, 14

7. Toro Rosso, 7

8. Sauber, 5

Chinese GP qualifying quotes: Ferrari

Fernando Alonso - 3rd: "To end qualifying with both cars in the top five is a result that fills me with hope for the race. The F138 has been competitive all weekend and that means we have made a step forward, which is down to the work of the team.

"Some of the updates we had here worked as we had expected, but others need further work. In terms of establishing what will be the best strategy, we will be in for a long night and that will be the case for everyone, given that almost all our main competitors will start on the softs.

"I'm not concerned about Red Bull's choice and Mercedes usually has a higher degradation than ours. I'm definitely expecting an interesting race in which the biggest threat could come from Raikkonen as the Lotus has shown it manages its tyres well."

Felipe Massa - 5th: "It was a good qualifying, with the car working well and being quick. To be honest, after my performance in the second and third free practice sessions, I expected to start in the top three, but it's very likely that our competitors were running with more fuel and it's also true that strategy counts a lot more than one or two places on the grid.

"Today's qualifying featured different choices: we preferred to use the soft tyre right from the first run in Q1, because it looked complicated getting through to the next part with the medium. That has allowed us to save them for tomorrow in a race that looks like being very closely contested and where as many as three stops might be necessary.

"Today, our main competitors probably did better than us, but the race is long and anything can happen. Tyre management and tactical choices will definitely be the key factors."

Pat Fry, chassis technical director: "It emerged from yesterday's free practice that the medium would be the best tyre for the race, both in terms of its consistency and its relative degradation.

"During qualifying, it wasn't a surprise to see how all the teams had decided to save this compound for the race, opting to use the softs in all three legs.

"In Q2, after our first run, it wasn't easy to understand what time would be needed to get into Q3 and we preferred not to take any risks, doing a second lap. After this proved to be the safest choice, attention turned to possible strategies for the race and therefore whether to go with the medium or to try for another quick lap on the soft tyre to be sure of getting a better grid position. The latter option seemed the most sensible and that was confirmed when most of the teams did the same thing.

"I am expecting an unpredictable race because the cars at the front will have to stop first due to the degradation and the traffic towards the back could prove to be dangerous.

"I am extremely pleased with the performance of Fernando and Felipe and I am also optimistic for tomorrow, even if I expect a difficult race in which strategy and tyre performance could play an even more important role than ever."

Chinese GP qualifying quotes: Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel - 9th: "We're obviously on a different strategy to the cars in front, whether that works or not we will see tomorrow, but I'm confident we did the right thing based on the facts we have.

"It was a different approach to normal in today's qualifying and it all came down to the last few minutes for everyone; it was very silent and then everyone left in a queue to start the lap at the same time – but not a problem. We have the advantage of choosing the tyres for tomorrow, so we'll see."


Mark Webber – 22nd: "It's very disappointing. Q1 went okay; I was comfortable with the car and we had a good plan for the rest of the session. In Q2 we lost fuel pressure so I had to turn the car off and couldn't get it back to the pits. I had to stop on the circuit, so qualifying was over before it started really.

"We need a bit of luck now; it's not the optimum starting position, but we still have to try to get something from there."


Christian Horner, team principal: "A frustrating qualifying session for the team and for Mark. Unfortunately in Q2 the amount of fuel that was required to be put into the car from the fuel rig was not fully delivered. This was due to an error with the fuel bowser that meant it under-delivered 3kg of fuel.

"Therefore on Mark's in-lap we saw large drop-outs in the fuel tank collector and the car unfortunately ran dry of fuel, which is obviously frustrating. The fuel bowser has been immediately quarantined for further investigation. It's a shame as he would obviously have made Q3 today and the tactic with both drivers was to adopt the same strategy.

"As we've seen this weekend the soft tyre has had very good one lap performance, but very limited durability so we took a tactical decision in Q3 to run the harder tyre. That means Sebastian will have freedom of choice to start on a new set of tyres for tomorrow's race, which should be very interesting due to the different strategies involved."


Thierry Salvi, Renault: "Today was a disappointing result all round but it happens. Unfortunately due to a problem with the fuel bowser on Mark's car, the correct level of fuel was not delivered to the car. Despite trying to save fuel on the way back we came up just short. We have a long race ahead of us tomorrow."

Chinese GP qualifying quotes: Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg - 10th: "I think it was a good and successful qualifying. If someone had told us before qualifying that we are going to finish P10, I would have not believed it. As we did not try to set a lap time in Q3, maybe there would have been more on the table. It was a good effort, a good lap in Q2. The updates the team has brought to the track worked pretty well and everything went smoothly for us in qualifying. I was reasonably happy with the balance of the car, so I look forward to tomorrow. We've done everything right with our approach in Q3 not to run and instead save our tyres, which now gives us the free choice of tyres to start with, which can be an advantage. Now we have got to make the right choice."

Esteban Gutierrez - 17th: "Well, it's quite a disappointing qualifying result. It was very challenging to put a first quick lap together with only one chance. It is very critical and I was trying to push a little too hard and ended up making a small mistake, which cost us a lot. I will improve on that side and make sure everything I am doing in the car is very precise. On top of that, it is very challenging with these tyres. I feel very sorry for the team, as we had the potential to easily make it into Q2 and then to fight to get into Q3. The speed which shows the potential of the car is motivating, but we still need to put everything together, and that includes from my side."

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: "We are very happy about this result. During all practice sessions the team worked in a very focused way. After the last race our engineers put into place measures on the car and their effects have been seen here. This is a very important step for the team and also significant in order to exploit the potential of the car. Nico put in an outstanding lap in Q2 and showed our progress on the track. For Esteban, we hope he will get some opportunities in the race and will be able to use them."

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: "It's nice to finally have a dry qualifying session to see where we stand compared to our competitors. We've been working very hard to improve the car since the start of the season. Nico put in an excellent lap in Q2. With regard to the race tomorrow, we elected to keep new tyres, and hopefully that will work out for us. Unfortunately, Esteban didn't make it through to Q2. It was very tight, and a small mistake ended up being very costly. But he will learn from that, and there are plenty opportunities for him tomorrow."

Chinese GP qualifying quotes: Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - 1st: Pole position is a great result for us today and to achieve it in my third race for the team is such a good feeling. I had to make sure the radio was off after my engineer told me I had pole because I was so excited! None of us expected this level of performance at this stage of the season and it's a real bonus. The guys have just been working away, pushing really hard, and I'm so pleased for everyone back at the factories and here at the track that I've been able to deliver my first pole in a Silver Arrow. It would be great to convert the position in the race tomorrow but it's going to be a challenge and we're realistic about how tough the race will be. The soft tyres don't last for very long, and with a couple of quick guys starting on the mediums, it'll be interesting to see how the race plays out. I'm looking forward to it and will give it my all.

Nico Rosberg - 4th: A very good team result today and P4 is a decent grid position for me. I wasn't able to do my qualifying simulation this morning due to the hydraulic problem which was a bit unfortunate. So I needed to catch up through the qualifying sessions and find my way. I took some settings from Lewis for the initial set-up which worked out well. I made a small mistake at the last corner on my lap in Q3 which cost maybe a tenth and a couple of places. But I'm in a good position for the race and we've worked a lot on the race performance this weekend so I hope we can gain some places tomorrow. It's going to be an interesting race with some of the guys starting on the medium tyres so let's see what happens.

Ross Brawn: A great qualifying session for us today and all credit to Lewis, Nico and the team for a strong performance. It's a nice reward for all the hard work both here at the track and back at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth over the winter and in the last few weeks as we continue to develop the car. However there are no points gained on a Saturday as they say and there is a tough job ahead of us tomorrow to convert our qualifying positions. It's going to be a fascinating race from a strategy and tyre perspective so we will wait and see how it plays out. Congratulations to Lewis today on his first pole position in a Silver Arrow, and to Nico for achieving fourth place and the second row despite losing his qualifying simulation this morning.

Toto Wolff: Congratulations to Lewis and Nico. We're really happy about our pole position today at the Chinese Grand Prix, which the team achieved for the second year in a row. Lewis's performance was excellent and Nico also did a great job to qualify in fourth place following a hydraulic problem which prevented him from completing his qualifying run in practice this morning. Today's results are a nice reward for everybody at the team who have worked so hard during the winter to develop the F1 W04 into a competitive car. However we will not get ahead of ourselves with this result as we expect an interesting race which will be decided by the different tyre strategies. A few competitors have chosen to qualify on prime tyres to run a longer first stint instead of the options which we and most of the runners used in Q3.