Alvin's Formula One Blog

Re-published from www.f1technical.net . McLaren is pushing ahead with its car development, and this time has come up with a revised aerodynamics package around the exhausts. The change resembles much that of Renault or Ferrari early on in the season as they decided that it is better to let hot air out of the sidepod sooner rather than later. Hence McLaren did the same, as the exhausts are now part of a large air outlet opening, following which the car's shell is much more tight. Still, the system is assymetrical with the left side allowing more hot air to exit. Also marked it the revised engine cover which Hamilton already had at the Nürburgring. The previous version that was used without change in the first half of the season is now replaced by a more traditional layout with a straight slope towards the rear crash structure. The change effectively reduces the surface of the cover and is an opposite development of the extending shark fin covers.

Saturday 11th July 2009 Lewis Hamilton has welcomed McLaren's return to form and predicted that the team can challenge for a podium position in Germany as a result of their radical upgrade for this weekend's race. Hamilton will start the grand prix in fifth place, just ahead of team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, with the McLaren team enjoying their first truly competitive weekend of the season. It is a measure of the improvement reaped from the new parts introduced this weekend that not only does Hamilton believe that the team can fight at the front in Sunday's race but also that they will be benefit from dry conditions. "It's a great result for us," said Hamilton, who was actually top of the timesheets with just a few seconds of the session remaining. "The guys back at the factory have worked so hard and it has made a big difference. "We are definitely in a position to challenge for a ...

Saturday 11th July 2009 In a surprise revelation, car weights post qualifying have hinted that Brawn GP's rivals have not only caught them, but surpassed them. Brawn's two drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, qualified second and third for Sunday's German GP, a feat that one has come to expect from the duo this season. However, what wasn't expected was how light they are. Barrichello and Button are the lightest drivers on the grid, weighing in at 647 and 644kgs respectively, whereas pole sitter Mark Webber and his team-mate Sebastian Vettel are both coming in at 661kgs. Lewis Hamilton, who qualified in fifth place and has already said a podium finish could be on the cards for McLaren, is third lightest of the top ten, with his MP4-24 weighing 654kgs while his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is carrying 10kgs more fuel. One of the biggest surprises of qualifying, though, was Adrian Sutil's perfo...

Saturday 11th July 2009 What a difference a touch of rain makes to an F1 track, as Germany witnessed the best qualifying session of the season with Mark Webber claiming his first ever pole position. The rain started to fall lightly at the end of Q1, however, it was in Q2 that the action really started with drivers sliding off the track on their outlaps before returning in full force to the pits for intermediates. And although the rain stayed away for the final session it was no less exciting as the top five positions all changed after the chequered flag fell with Webber coming out tops with a 1:32.230. It was the Aussie's first ever pole position and a much-deserved one. Brawn GP was the team that yet again took the fight to Red Bull Racing with Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button finishing second and third, ahead of Sebastian Vettel. This means the top four drivers in the Championship race will also be the top four...

Friday 10th July 2009 Lewis Hamilton has downplayed his blistering pace in Friday's German practice while Ferrari have done exactly the same about their low-key start. Hamilton's weekend at the Nurburgring got off to a slow start as the McLaren driver finished 13th in the opening practice session. But a sharp turn around in form saw him conclude the day quickest overall, having posted a 1:32.149 during the afternoon running. The 24-year-old, though, has downplayed his pace, insisting McLaren are not yet on top of their early season problems. "We haven't fixed our problems," said the 2008 World Champion. "Not yet. We're working on it. "We've got some small upgrades which are definitely working in the right direction but we still have a long way to go. "The car is not perfect yet. But I think the guys at the factory have done a fantastic job." Asked for his goals for S...

Friday 10th July 2009 Lewis Hamilton stole Sebastian Vettel's thunder in Friday's second practice in Germany, beating the local favourite to the P1 slot. Hamilton, who has had a miserable season with McLaren to date, showed some signs of promise as he crossed the line with a 1:32.149, edging Vettel by 0.182s. Third place went to Brawn GP's Jenson Button, who wasn't far off the pace, just 0.2s behind his fellow Brit. Report: With the track temperature up to 20'C and thick cloud cover overhead, Sebastian Vettel got proceedings underway in the weekend's second practice session. The German, who stopped out on track due to a loose electrical connector in Practice One, led out a string of cars as the drivers set about covering their installation laps. Vettel, though, almost came together with Seb Bourdais as he dived down the inside, looking to start the first timed lap of the afternoon. Vettel cloc...

Friday 10th July 2009 The battle between Red Bull and Brawn GP resumed in Friday's opening practice for the German GP with Mark Webber setting the pace. The Australian driver, who Jenson Button believes is the favourite to win at the Nurburgring this weekend, clocked a 1:33.082 to outpace Button by 0.381s. Third place went to Felipe Massa as the Ferrari driver demonstrated the Scuderia's continuously improving pace. Report: With the track temperature sitting at just 14'C, Sebastian Vettel left the Red Bull garage to put in his installation lap in front of his home crowd. He was soon joined by another German driver as Adrian Sutil ventured out, followed by a train of drivers. Within ten minutes everyone barring Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock had completed their sighting lap. Sebastien Buemi set the first lap time of the weekend as a few spots of rain began to fall, a 1:43.315 for the Toro Rosso driver. Gian...

Thursday 9th July 2009 Actually there are THREE certainties in life - not just death and taxes. The three certainties are death, taxes and pre-grand prix F1 press releases. They are relentlessly the same. Coming up to a grand prix, teams are filled with unshakeable optimism about their impending performance at... (fill in the name of the grand prix here). Their drivers are always looking forward to competing at.... (ditto) for some reason or other. Those in the bottom half of the grid are aiming to get one or two points from the race; those in the mid-grid and above will be aiming at a podium. Two or three will set their sights on a win.They all think their latest updates to the car will see an increase in performance and move them up to the position they really ought to be, yada yada yada. It's difficult to know why they bother to peddle such umitigated tosh. Do they really think people read "Trulli Aims For Podiu...

Thursday 9th July 2009 Rain is forecast for much of the German Grand Prix weekend, with the worst expected during Sunday's race. According to the meteorologists, the F1 drivers and teams will face showery conditions as they conclude their preparations on Thursday with an ambient temperature of 15'C expected. And it won't be much better on Friday with light showers forecast and a high of only 14'C. The same conditions are expected on Saturday. Sunday's race, though, could see the worst of the weekend's weather as heavy rain is predicted throughout the day with a maximum temperature of 18'C. The weather could play havoc with Bridgestone's tyre allocation as the manufacturer has opted to bring the medium and super soft compounds to the Nurburgring. However, Hiroshi Yasukawa, the director of Bridgestone motorsport, says they are prepared for all conditions. "Last time we visited this c...

Thursday 9th July 2009 Lewis Hamilton is confident McLaren are learning as they go along even if at times it appears they are going backwards. 2009 has been nothing short of a disaster for McLaren. After the highs of winning last year's Drivers' title with Hamilton, this season they have found themselves lapping near the back of the field, often not even in a position to score a single World Championship point. But despite the trials and tribulations, Hamilton believes his team are learning valuable lessons, although concedes the ban on in-season testing has not helped their situation. "I'd say that from every race we learn more and more," the Brit said. "We're trying to focus on this year and understanding where the car's faults are and where we can make it better. "It would be good if we had testing, but we don't. The race weekends are our three day tests and we learn more a...

Saturday 4th July 2009 Lewis Hamilton concedes McLaren-Mercedes are facing a difficult home race in Germany as the team will not be introducing major upgrades to their under-performing MP4-24. This year's Championship has been anything but successful for McLaren and their defending World Champion as their 2009 challenger has sorely lacked speed, something the team has struggled to find even when adding updates to the car. As a result Hamilton and his team-mate Heikki Kovalainen haven't scored a single World Championship point in the last four races, leaving McLaren down in sixth place in the Constructors' standings, a marked difference to last year's achievements. And, unfortunately for McLaren fans, Hamilton isn't expecting any better at the next race in Germany. "While we aren't expecting any major upgrades for this weekend, I'm still looking forward to the race," he said. "...

Tuesday 23rd June 2009 Lewis Hamilton is hopeful for at least a small upturn in form at the Nurburgring after spending much of the British GP fighting at the back of the field. Hamilton's British GP was anything but a happy return to home ground for the Brit but he did at least put in some of the better racing on display as he fought with former nemesis Fernando Alonso - albeit over 16th place. Now, turning his attention to the next race in Germany, Hamilton is hoping that McLaren have learnt some lessons from Silverstone that can result in an upturn at engine partner Mercedes's home race. "It's still not going to be a night-and-day change that makes the difference, but I'm hoping that we can gain some advantage to help improve our results," he told his website. "I'm looking forward to the Nürburgring - the home race for Mercedes-Benz; I'm hoping that we will have some huge improv...