Toyota's Timo Glock to miss Brazil's F1 Grand Prix with cracked vertebra
COLOGNE, Germany --- Toyota's Timo Glock will miss next Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix because of a vertebra he cracked in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Formula One team announced on Sunday that Glock will be replaced by reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi at Interlagos - the penultimate race of the 2009 season.
Glock crashed heavily in Japan and missed the Oct. 4 race, with Toyota only fielding one car at Suzuka.
While the German driver said at the time that it was stitches in his left calf that would prevent him driving in the race, the team said subsequent scans had revealed the back injury.
The team was uncertain whether Glock would be able to drive in the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1.
(c) 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Japanese Grand Prix: The End of Gravel Traps?
The various accidents over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Suzuka -- especially those suffered by Timo Glock in qualifying and Jaime Alguersuari in the race -- are likely to cause the debate about run-off areas to be re-opened.
It is one of the criticisms often levelled at the new Hermann Tilke "Tilke-drome" circuits (and those older tracks that have been ''improved'') that the huge swathes of high grip tarmac that act as run off areas detract something from the challenge of driving a race car round a track fast. There is no (or very little) punishment for running off track.
A driver can simply carry on, maybe flicking down a gear and losing some track position, but carrying on with he and his car none the worse for wear. F1 should be difficult, and gravel traps make it more so, and that's before you consider that more gravel traps would render the chicane cutting dilemmas null and void.
As you may be able to tell I normally count myself squarely in the group who support the use of gravel traps and walls to stop cars and punish mistakes with retirement.
But the events at Suzuka may have changed that.
The Japanese track has been improved massively since its previous F1 races, new paddock buildings, massive resurfacing, and the addition of concrete run off areas.
In commentary for the practice sessions for the race at Suzuka, former (and probably future) F1 driver Anthony Davidson described how Spoon Curve used to have a vast gravel trap to its outside, that any mistake would send you skipping over at pretty high speed.
A daunting experience.
However, in these days of personal injury lawyers and litigation, ''daunting'' is not a word people like, along with ''risky'', and that gravel trap has given way to another sea of tarmac.
But unlike the new Tilke-dromes, Suzuka has split its run-offs between tarmac and gravel. The turn one gravel where Senna and Prost once came to a halt is gone, the outside of 130R is similarly tarmacked over.
But grass and tyre walls still flank the esses, the Degner curves and the final bend -- a location not unknown for big accidents even before Glock's impact.
But Glock and Alguersuari put a massive dent in any argument for gravel traps.
In both cases the gravel traps did not stop the car. No matter if we want drivers punished for their mistakes, we don't want them injured.
Even more worrying was the manor in which both cars, most noticeably Alguersuari, were sent airborne by skipping over the gravel or the change in running on grass to gravel. There are all too many accidents where an airborne car hitting the barrier has terrible consequences. Put simply you can design barriers to cope with ''conventional'' impacts where a car hits at the base of walls, but put a car airborne, even slightly, with all the potential pitching and yawing, and (no pun intended) everything is up in the air.
Now, if you still support gravel traps you can argue that the traps that both drivers encountered were narrow, meaning there was very little room between the track and the barrier. You can also argue that Alguersuari's crash was an odd place on the track.
And it was.
But perhaps this fluke has shown us that gravel just isn't the best way to stop a F1 car. Perhaps they are just too fast, and too light, and with the skid plate, tend to skim over the traps like a flat stone over a lake.
Whatever the technical reasons the fact remains that if there was no grass and gravel then the four wheels retain contact with road.
And higher grip levels mean more chance to scrub off speed, or steer way from the worst of the impact, which means fewer injured drivers.
Which we can all agree is good.
(c) 2009 Bleacher Report, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
F1 hopeful Loeb to test GP2 car
Rumours linking Sebastien Loeb with a Formula One race foray continued on Monday.
The Le Parisien newspaper reports that the multiple world rally champion is scheduled to test the GP2 car of the David Price Racing team after this weekend's Catalunya rally.
It has been rumoured this year that Loeb, 35, wants to race in November's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his sponsor Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso.
All F1 testing during the championship season is banned, except promotional days and some straight-line aerodynamic running.
Loeb's rally team boss Olivier Quesnel said earlier this month that "if someone makes a proposal (for Abu Dhabi) to Sebastien, Citroen Racing will authorise him (to race)".
(c) 1994-2009 Motorsport.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
South Korea to stage 2010 F1 grand prix
(CNN) -- South Korea will stage its first Formula One grand prix in 2010, motorsport's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), announced on Monday.
The 19-race season will open in Bahrain on March 14 and the final race will take place in Brazil.
After missing out on staging a grand prix in 2009, Canada will return to the circuit in 2010 with a June 13 date if agreement could be reached with Formula One Management which holds the sport's commercial rights.
If that is not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved back one week to the June 6 slot.
South Korea is spending millions of dollars on a track in Yeongam county and officials are confident the Korean Grand Prix, set for October 17, will quickly make its mark.
Work is in progress at the 5.6km site, 320km south of Seoul, where seating to accommodate 135,000 spectators is being built.
Organizers say the main circuit will include Asia's longest straight stretch of 1.2km which will allow speeds of up to 320km per hour.
Seoul has hosted the Olympic Games, the Asian Games and a football World Cup, but never a Formula One race, despite a major domestic auto industry.
The 19-race schedule for the 2010 Formula One championship which gets under way in Bahrain on March 14:
March 14, Bahrain Grand Prix
March 28, Australian Grand Prix
April 4, Malaysian Grand Prix
April 18, Chinese Grand Prix
May 9, Spanish Grand Prix
May 23, Monaco Grand Prix
May 30, Turkish Grand Prix
June 13, Canadian Grand Prix **
June 27, European Grand Prix at Valencia, Spain
July 11, British Grand Prix
July 25, German Grand Prix
August 1, Hungarian Grand Prix
August 29, Belgian Grand Prix
September 12, Italian Grand Prix
September 26, Singapore Grand Prix
October 3, Japanese Grand Prix
October 17, South Korean Grand Prix
October 31, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
November 14, Brazilian Grand Prix
*** Subject to the completion of contract negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to June 6.
(c) 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Barrichello Wins Italian Grand Prix As Webber Title Hopes Fade
BRAWN GP'S Rubens Barrichello has claimed his second win of the season as Australian star Mark Webber suffered a near mortal blow to his title hopes in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Starting from tenth on the grid, Webber made a solid start, navigating Monza's notorious first chicane successfully before advancing on team mate Sebastian Vettel.
However, his race ended moments later as he became entangled with BMW's Robert Kubica approaching the second chicane, with the Pole clipping Webber's left rear tyre, sending the German GP winner into the sand trap and out of the race.
With only four races remaining, Webber only has a mathematical chance of overhauling Jenson Button's points total, sitting 28.5 points adrift from the Brawn GP driver.
Webber was disappointed by the circumstances of his retirement, stating the car suffered no damage in the incident.
He said: ''We had contact which flicked the car into the air a little bit, then nosed it into the guard rail. The car was undamaged, but I couldn't get it out and back onto the track. I couldn't have done anything differently.
''It's frustrating to retire through such a small incident, especially when all the guys have put so much effort into preparing the car. It's not great for the Drivers' Championship, but this is my first DNF of the year. We will bounce back from this and do what we can in the final races.''
BRAWN GP'S Rubens Barrichello has claimed his second win of the season as Australian star Mark Webber suffered a near mortal blow to his title hopes in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Starting from tenth on the grid, Webber made a solid start, navigating Monza's notorious first chicane successfully before advancing on team mate Sebastian Vettel.
However, his race ended moments later as he became entangled with BMW's Robert Kubica approaching the second chicane, with the Pole clipping Webber's left rear tyre, sending the German GP winner into the sand trap and out of the race.
With only four races remaining, Webber only has a mathematical chance of overhauling Jenson Button's points total, sitting 28.5 points adrift from the Brawn GP driver.
Webber was disappointed by the circumstances of his retirement, stating the car suffered no damage in the incident.
He said: ''We had contact which flicked the car into the air a little bit, then nosed it into the guard rail. The car was undamaged, but I couldn't get it out and back onto the track. I couldn't have done anything differently.
''It's frustrating to retire through such a small incident, especially when all the guys have put so much effort into preparing the car. It's not great for the Drivers' Championship, but this is my first DNF of the year. We will bounce back from this and do what we can in the final races.''
Barrichello meanwhile continued his charge towards a maiden world crown with a dominant performance, surging past his rivals during the pit stops to record his third win on Italian soil.
''My pace was there. My brakes were. It was pretty much like Valencia. The car was there all the time. It felt great and I have no big words for that. I just feel really good to see all this public. Obviously they are more in red than white but it still feels great,'' Barrichello said.
The Brazilian led home team-mate Button and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who profited from a last lap guff by Lewis Hamilton to clinch the last spot on the podium.
Force India's Adrian Sutil came home fourth in a strong display, although the German arguably underperformed if his outright speed was any indication as he set the fastest lap of the race on route to his first ever F1 points finish.
Sutil has twice previously been poised to finish in the points only to be curtailed by an incident with Raikkonen, so it was perhaps quite poignant he was denied a debut podium by the Finn, despite harassing him incessantly for the race's duration.
Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalainen, Nick Heidfeld and Sebastian Vettel rounded off the top eight.
(c) The Motor Report Pty. Ltd. 2007-2009. All rights reserved.
McLaren Mercedes chief predicts more surprises in Italian GP
SUNDAY'S Italian Grand Prix could spring further surprises, according to one of Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton's bosses.
Norbert Haug, the vice-president of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, feels the Monza race will once again show that the gap between the top teams and the sport's lesser lights is narrowing.
While Herts race ace Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix in July and was runner-up in the European showdown in Valencia, Giancarlo Fisichella bagged pole position at Spa for Force India and then finished second in the Belgian GP proper.
"During the forthcoming race, we will possibly see the closest field in Formula 1 history," said Haug.
"Spa has shown that the current Formula 1 is good for big surprises, and Monza will possibly underline this again.
"Our target is to continue our upward trend there.
"However, after Lewis's win and second place at Budapest and Valencia, we have not been where we wanted to be, even after Heikki [Kovalainen] managed to come home sixth from 15th on the grid."
Despite not doing as well as expected at Spa, McLaren Mercedes have enjoyed a significant improvement in recent months, as Haug was quick to point out.
"Although Lewis had an accident and therefore already retired on lap one, which was not his own fault, no other team has scored more points during the last four races than Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.
"In the remaining five races we will build on this with a healthy ambition - without seeing us being the favourites for Monza.
"There will be at least a handful of them, which is first class for the sport."
McLaren have won two of the last four Italian GPs, with Juan Pablo Montoya taking the chequered flag in 2005 and Fernando Alonso two years ago.
Hamilton's McLaren colleague Kovalainen was also second in Italy last season.
(c) 2009 Archant Regional Limited. All rights reserved.
Raikkonen wins F1's Belgian GP for 4th time
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium --- Kimi Raikkonen held off Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella to win Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, the Ferrari driver's fourth triumph at the high-speed track in the past five years.
The former world champion, who started sixth, immediately overtook pole sitter Fisichella after the safety car came in following accidents on the opening lap -- including one involving overall F1 leader Jenson Button -- and held for a 0.9-second victory.
"It's a proper circuit, an old-style circuit," said Raikkonen, who clinched Ferrari's fifth win in seven races at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. "It's just been good to me."
Championship contender Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, who had retired with engine failures in the last two races, finished third to gain on Button.
Button failed to finish in the points for the first time this season, and Rubens Barrichello moved within 16 points of his Brawn GP teammate after finishing seventh despite an oil leak with two laps to go. Barrichello's car caught fire as he rolled into pit lane.
Button leads the drivers' standings with 72 points, followed by Barrichello with 56 and Vettel with 53. Mark Webber of Red Bull, who finished ninth after a drive-through penalty, trails by 20.5 points.
"This championship is a little crazy to be honest," Vettel said. "It's up and down. (But) we're still in reach."
Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, picked up his first win since last year's Spanish GP in a season made unpredictable by rule changes. The Finn is the sixth straight different winner of an F1 race.
A day after earning the Indian team its first pole, Fisichella managed to secure the former Spyker team's first points after 30 races.
"I'm a little bit sad for that because I was keeping (Kimi's) pace and exactly same strategy race," Fisichella said. "It's great for second. But actually we could have won the race."
Although rain didn't complicate the start, several accidents on the opening lap did -- including Button's.
Fisichella held pole into the high-speed Eau Rouge corner as Raikkonen passed the slow starting Barrichello to the outside to sit behind Robert Kubica, who had cut inside, for third.
Several cars touched in the opening corner, with Barrichello and Jarno Trulli having to pit for repairs, but Trulli eventually retired after starting second.
Romain Grosjean of Renault then ran into Button, who went spinning into the wall at Les Combes. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso also exited at the same turn after the young Spanish driver hit the defending F1 champion and sent them both into the wall.
"I didn't know what happened, but I got hit from behind," Button said. "It didn't matter anyway because we weren't competitive here."
FIA said that both accidents would be investigated.
Raikkonen passed Fisichella for the lead immediately after the safety car pitted as the two entered Kemmel Straight, and he held after the first round of pit stops when both pitted at same time.
Fernando Alonso, who was running third on a one-pit strategy, pitted after 24 laps in good shape but a problem removing his front left wheel -- which had touched against Adrian Sutil in the opening corner -- eventually forced him to retire.
Raikkonen and Fisichella both pitted with 13 laps to go, with the Ferrari nursing a 1-second advantage, but Raikkonen managed to pull out quicker and held to join Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark as the only drivers to triumph at Spa on at least four occasions.
Ferrari goes to the upcoming Italian GP -- another high speed, low downforce circuit -- with hopes of a win, while Fisichella continued to beat back questions of whether he would replace Luca Badoer, who finished last again for Ferrari, at Monza.
(c) 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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