Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

An excellent qualifying session ended with Hamilton on pole followed by Sutil. Sutil had a brilliant Q3 but was let down by a small wobble at Lesmo resulting Hamilton beating him by 0.2 seconds. The Ferrari of Kimi was behind them on row 2. So the Force India IS better than the Ferrari :)

On the two drivers on new cars, Liuzzi managed an impressive 7th place but Fisi could only get 14.

Here is how they all line up for tomorrow:

1. Hamilton (KERS)
2. Sutil
3. Kimi (KERS)
4. Heikki (KERS)
5. Rubens
6. Button
7. Liuzzi
8. Alonso (KERS)
9. Vettel
10. Webber
11. Trulli
12. Grosjean (KERS)
13. Kubica
14. Fisichella
15. Heidfeld
16. Glock
17. Nakajima
18. Rosberg
19. Beumi
20. Algesuari

An exciting race ahead with the KERS powered cars predicted to gain 15 metres right at the start. Sutil better watch out!

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The final practice of the Italian GP has brought about an amazing irony. Fisichella who left Force India to join the team that beat him to the finish line in Belgium is now last. And the team he left is still first.

Adrian Sutil has just set the fastest time in the final practice session followed by a late bloomer Jenson Button who managed to up his pace only in the last ten minutes. Fisichella was dead last but to be fair, he had also crashed out in the middle of the session. By comparison, Kimi was 12th fastest. However, not yet sure if the KERS powered cars did use KERS properly in the practice sessions.

Well, the Ferraris seem out of pace, but the Brawns are trying to fight back.

We shall see in less than two hours when the Qualifying session for the Italian GP starts off.

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In a move that was expected to take place for more than a week now, GF has finally moved to Ferrari for the rest of the 2009 season. He will replace Luca Badoer who had one of the most disappointing stint in F1 ever.

GF thanked Force India boss Dr. Vijay Mallya for letting him go and allowing him to drive for Ferrari for the rest of the season. Mallya said he had made the decision to release his driver for the good of Fisichella and of Formula One racing, and not in exchange for any financial settlement. He also hinted that the 36-year-old’s Ferrari deal extends beyond 2009, suggesting a possible testing role for the Roman next season. Wow Dr. Mallya! Very generous indeed. He added that a competitive Italian driver in a Ferrari for Monza is a positive story for Formula One, which can only help raise the sport's profile in these difficult times.

If only everyone was this altruistic and level headed! But this is a masterstroke by the Indian boss. There was nothing that anyone could do to stop GF from moving to Ferrari and the smartest thing to do was the make the most of the situation. For sure GF has helped Force India in more ways than we can imagine. But for this exact reason it would be so hard to part ways with him and see him in a rival car. The best thing he did was to not charge any settlement fee.

Force India is truly Indian!

The next question would be, who would drive the now vacant car number 21? My guess would be Vitantonio Liuzzi who is the test driver. Well, my guess is as good as yours.

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So I finally manage to post about something that the whole world knows and is talking about.

It was a great weekend at the best race track in tha calendar and the result was more in my favor than I could ask for. Not only did Kimi win the race in the Ferrari, but Fisichella in his Force India managed a second place without much sweat. In fact he was good for the win too if Kimi didnt have the KERS to keep him ahead.

I dont want to say much about the race and the result. Everyone already knows about it and has read reams of newsprint regarding it. All I want to say is: Thank You Dr. Mallya!

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Nobody can believe it! GF is on pole position for the Belgium GP!

This pole is the result of an extremely quick car which was evident throughout the qualifying session. He was quickest in Q1 which is not a fuel dependent run and also 4th quickest in Q2 before taking pole in the dying seconds of Q3.

I hope all of you will be watching Force India take what can be their first podium finish. I really want them to win, but considering that this is the first time they have done so well, I am counting out the nerves and butterflies they would have built up in the past 24 hours.

I am with the Force! Are you?

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As the topsy-turvy qualifying sessions continue, this time it was the silver McLarens which came out on top of everyone else once the dust settled. The Brawns needless to say are a close second.

However, the Brawns of RB (3rd) and JB (5th) are heavier than both the silver cars by almost ten Kgs. This means they can gain an advantage by pitting much later thanks to their heavier fuel load.

KR is the first of the Ferraris in 6th with his new teammate Luca Badoer (LB) down in last place.

The good news for Indian fans is that AS of Force India managed to reach Q2 and got a commendable 12th position for himself. His teammate GF is in 16th position.

Here is the final Qualifying result:

1. LH
2. HK
3. RB
4. SV
5. JB
6. KR
7. NR
8. FA
9. MW
10. RK
11. NH
12. AS
13. TG
14. Romain Grosjean (New Renault Drivier)
15. SB
16. GF
17. KN
18. JT
19. JA
20. LB

An exciting race ahead!

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Yes, it is true!

The Champ is here! He is making a return to the world of F1 to fill the seat vacated by the gravely injured FM. He will drive for the Italian team at the European GP in Valencia on 23rd August. He said that he will be driving for 'team loyalty reasons' at this unfortunate time.

MS last drove an F1 car in April 2008 and with the ban on in-season testing, he will not do so till 21st August for the Friday practice session.

Let us see what the greatest F1 driver of all time can do to this season's championship. :)

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Finally we got a result from yore!

A McLaren in first place and a Ferrai in Second. MW however takes third place with a brilliant NR in fourth.

So the final classification is:

1. LH
2. KR
3. MW
4. NR
5. HK
6. TG
7. JB
8. JT
9. KN
10. RB
11. NH
12. NP
13. RK
14. GF
15. JA
16. SB

SV, FA and AS did not finish the race.

It is the first time that a KERS car has won a GP. Not only that, the second place car was also a KERS powered Ferrari. A good race for Ferrari after the horrific crash of FM yesterday in qualifying.

A great race!

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MW loses out due to a bad pitstop.

LH still in the lead comfortably.

JB just pit in from 2nd place.

KR now in 3rd place with JT still to pit in 2nd place.

And will somebody tell me what happened to the Hungaroring? There are more overtaking maneuvers here than ever before! And this is just lap 25!

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FA pit in lap 12 as expected, but unexpectedly had a disastrous pit stop as he lost his right front wheel half way around the track. It seems the wheel was not fixed properly in the pits resulting in him crawling back to the pits. This is effectively race over for FA as he comes out a lap down on the race leaders.

Hero to Zero in 12 laps!

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