F1 2007 French Grand Prix

[Bartek S.]

French GP - Kubica confident of Magny-Cours return


French GP - Robert Kubica believes a last-minute check-up ahead of the French Grand Prix will be nothing more than a formality as he bids to get back behind the wheel of his BMW Sauber...

Article: French GP - Kubica confident of Magny-Cours return - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 

[Bartek S.]

Hamilton: My tactics won't change.


Lewis Hamilton has revealed he has no plans to alter his tactics for the French Grand Prix next weekend, despite his back-to-back victories in Montreal and Indianapolis.

Hamilton is currently the 'man of the moment' and thanks to an unbelievable start to the season, his first at the pinnacle of the sport, he leads the drivers' championship, 10 points up on his McLaren-Mercedes team-mate, Fernando Alonso.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed though, he added that all he wants to do now is get back out on track and do some more racing.

"After the results in Canada and the United States it was great to come home and see my family and friends," he noted. "I will also have the opportunity to go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend; I expect the atmosphere will be incredible and it should be great to drive the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car up the hill in front of the British fans.

"For the past week I have been spending time at the McLaren Technology Centre working with the engineering team and catching up on some training and I participated in an event for Vodafone in London on Thursday.

"Now though I just want to get back out on track [and do the French GP]. My aims remain the same, to take it race-by-race and keep focused on scoring good points for myself - and the team."

Unlike the last two events however, Magny-Cours will be familiar territory for the Brit and while his outing last year didn't exactly go to plan in GP2, it should help him a bit. "The French round of the GP2 championship last year was not my best weekend, I had a coming together in the first race and therefore started race two in 19th. I did make my way up through the field to 5th to score some points, so it is possible to overtake here," he added.

Article: Hamilton: My tactics won't change. - Yahoo! Sport UK

 

[wltsm]

I hope Lewis wins again, and increases his points lead of the championship!

 

[Zonda]

His experience of overtaking there will definitely help. But he'll probobly start from pole.

But I have my money on Alonso to get the pole, but I hope Hamilton gets by him in the race. I think he'll give him a very hard time at least.

 

[450SEL6.9]

But I have my money on Alonso to get the pole, but I hope Hamilton gets by him in the race. I think he'll give him a very hard time at least.

Since Ferrari are off the pace and probably still 0.2-0.3 seconds slower per lap, it's pointless to expect good things from the boys from Maranello. Having said that, I hope to see an Alonso vs. Hamilton race. This time I want to see the roles at Indy reversed. I want to see Alonso in the lead and Lewis try to pass him. If that happens, I think you'll see one car in the pits needing a front wing change and another on the back of a flatbed.

 

[Bartek S.]

Hamilton chasing records.
The 22-year-old F1 rookie arrives at Magny-Course with a 10-point lead over
Fernando Alonso in the World Drivers' Championship.
Here's what the McLaren man can achieve on Sunday:
- If he wins, he will become the first Briton to win three successive Grand Prix since Damon Hill with Williams in 1996.
- If he wins, he will become the first Briton to win at Magny-Course since David Coultard in 2000.
- If he finishes on the podium, he will become the first Briton to rack up eight successive podium finishes since Jim Clark in 1963.
- If he leads at any point, he will stretch an unprecedented streak in which he has led every race he has started.
Here's a resume of the last five races at Magny-Course:
2006 (M. Schumacher, Ferrari)
Schumacher, on pole position, became the first driver to win the same grand prix eight times. It was also his 150th career appearance on the podium.
2005 (F. Alonso, Renault)
Alonso's fifth win in 10 races, the Spaniard leading from pole position to chequered flag and lapping all but McLaren's second-placed K. Raikkonen and Ferrari's Schumacher.
2004 (Schumacher, Ferrari)
Schumacher chalked up his ninth win in 10 races and seventh in France. Alonso started on pole but lost out with his three-stop strategy after Schumacher stopped four times.
2003 (R. Schumacher, Williams)
Ralf led a Williams one-two for his second win in a row as people started talking about him as a title favourite. The race had few thrills and little overtaking.
2002 (Schumacher, Ferrari)
M. Schumacher claimed his fifth world title with six races to spare. McLaren's K. Raikkonen was heading for his first win until he skidded on oil with five laps to go.
Hamilton chasing records - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

 

[PanterroR]

As always, i hope for BMW to finish in top 5, let alone a podium. It would be good if Kimi would have a DNF or such that Heidfeld gets closer. But top 5 and i'm satisfied, both...

Oh and go Hamilton of course!

 

[chonkoa]

I hope the Ferraris will have a better performance here.

 

[siko]

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica fit to race in France

Less than three weeks after his high-speed collision in Montreal, BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica has been given the go ahead to race again. Kubica will compete at this weekend’s French Grand Prix, after successfully passing an FIA medical examination at Magny-Cours.

Although the Pole only sprained his ankle and suffered slight concussion during the Canadian Grand Prix accident, he was advised to sit out the next race in Indianapolis as a precaution. BMW Sauber’s 19 year-old third driver Sebastian Vettel took his place at the United States event, scoring a point on his debut with an eighth-place finish.

“The reason why I wasn't allowed to drive at Indianapolis had nothing to do with how I felt; the problem was the risk involved in suffering a second accident within such a short space of time,” explained Kubica. “I've used the time to focus intensively on preparing for the next race. I can't wait to get back into the car.”

Kubica is currently seventh in the drivers’ standings, tied with Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen on 12 points.

Source: Formula1.com

 

[PanterroR]

BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica fit to race in France

Very nice! I'm really glad for him!

 

[wltsm]

Free Practice 1 results:

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:15.382
2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:15.447 0.065
3 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.154 0.772
4 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:16.214 0.832
5 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:16.268 0.886
6 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.277 0.895
7 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:16.338 0.956
8 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:16.407 1.025
9 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:16.441 1.059
10 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:16.603 1.221
11 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:16.895 1.513
12 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:16.967 1.585
13 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:16.990 1.608
14 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:17.047 1.665
15 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:17.103 1.721
16 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:17.166 1.784
17 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:17.168 1.786
18 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:17.226 1.844
19 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:17.348 1.966
20 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:17.435 2.053
21 21 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.178 2.796
22 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:18.419 3.037

 

[wltsm]

Free Practice 2 results:

Felipe Massa turned the tables on his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in the second free practice session for the French Grand Prix as the Brazilian ended Friday fastest of all at Magny-Cours.

Ferrari appears to have rediscovered its form in France, and after a dominant performance in the morning session, where Raikkonen was fastest, Massa and the Finn continued the second session in a similar vein.

Lewis Hamilton got a full afternoon's work in this time and managed to go fourth fastest, just 0.32s behind the red cars but nearly 0.3s faster than team-mate Fernando Alonso (eighth).

The stars of the session were undoubtedly those driving Adrian Newey-designed cars however.

The Scuderia Toro Rosso team, which has promised on occasion in recent races, obliterated the form book with Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi third and fifth.

David Coulthard in the Renault-powered Red Bull version of the machine was sixth fastest. Team-mate Mark Webber might have been in the mix as well, but the Aussie was forced to pull of the track halfway through the session.

 

[Zonda]

McLaren will show their true pace in quali. I never take practice results seriously.

 

[450SEL6.9]

It's even more difficult to take these results seriously when the STRs are so fast. I think rain is forecast on the weekend and we know Massa is not exactly Senna-esque on wet tracks.

Also, what's wrong with Alonso? Is he deliberately driving slowly so Hamy cannot get his setup info and telemetry data? I wouldn't put it past him. I'm sure Alonso knows he can be fast on Saturday, but perhaps he wants Hamilton to struggle to find his own setup. I wonder if Mclaren will order Alonso's engineer to share telemetry.

Wow, two Chuck Norris-inspired signatures in back-to-back posts!

 

[Zonda]

Chuck Norris is king

Wil change my Chuck Norris thingy now..

 

[C.Charles]

Chuck Norris is as much of an idiot as Alonso... As for F1, Mclaren are holding back, give Ferrari conferdence, then kill them in quali...

 

[chonkoa]

McLaren will show their true pace in quali. I never take practice results seriously.

Practice results are not be taken seriously like Montreal and Indy.

 

[Remy Zero]

i expect Ferrari will pick their pace this weekend. it'll be like a ping pong match between Massa and Kimster for the pole. however, the rain will surely give us something to think about..

 

[Imhotep Evil]

Saturday Free Practise times

1: Hamilton (1:14.843)
2: Massa (1:14.906)
3: Raikkonen (1:15.276)
4: Kovalinen (1:15.404)
5: Fisichella (1:15.489)
6: Kubica (1:15.535)
7: Rosberg (1:15.735)
8: Alonso (1:15.742) Not sure why yet, but he only completed 1 flying lap
9: Trulli (1:15.801)
10: Coulthard (1:15.802)
11: Liuzzi (1:15.872)
12: Button (1:15.902)
13: Davidson (1:15.925)
14: R.Schumacher (1:15.944)
15: Heidfeld (1:16.060)
16: Barrichello (1:16.102)
17: Wurz (1:16.104)
18: Speed (1:16.161)
19: Sato (1:16.221)
20: Webber (1:16.573)
21: Sutil (1:17.517)
22: Albers (1:17.705)

 

[Mr. M]

Ferrari has a good chance to take the cake this time. I hope.