[COVERAGE] Formula One Spanish Grand Prix
May 19th, 2017 by Elusive MediaFormula One returns to Europe with an exciting amount of overtakes for first position. If you were seated in turn one, you got some to see some great overtakes and some unfortunate crashes that took out some favorite drivers. Right from the start, Sebastian Vettel who started from pole outpaced Lewis Hamilton to the first corner and takes the lead. Where as Valtteri Bottas touches Kimi Raikkonen going into turn one, which in return sends Raikkonen colliding into Max Verstappen. Kimi and Max are forced to retire. Felipe Massa gets a tire puncture going into the first corner and slides into the gravel; all this going into the first corner of the first lap! After a few laps things start to settle and drivers get into a rhythm. Lap 10, Vettel is 2 seconds head of Hamilton, but the race is far from over. After a pit stop by both drivers, Hamilton was able to switch to the softer compound, where Vettel had already used it earlier in the race. Hamilton is able to cut the gap in half from the pit stop and is now able to fight for the win. With the first attempt to overtake, both drivers make contact and Hamilton is push off course. But with only 20 laps remaining, Hamilton in his Mercedes is able to overtake Vettel. Sadly the German wasn’t able to keep the same pace as Hamilton and was able to secure his 2nd win this season! Ricciardo was able to take 3rd spot after Valtteri Bottas’s failed engine and and the collisions that happened at the start of the race. Its not the way Red Bull Racing wanted to take 3rd, as their recent upgrades showed little to no improvement against the other teams.
1st Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
2nd Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari
3rd Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull Racing
Date: May 12-14, 2016
Location: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
By: Erik
Gallery – Click Here
Ferrari Challenge – NJ Motorsport Park
October 1st, 2009 by Elusive Media
By: Erik
Gallery – Click here!!
Location: Millville, NJ
Length: 2.25-mile road course, 14 turns
“The Ferrari F430 Challenge is specifically designed for Ferrari owners who are not professional racers, but are looking to race the most exciting and technologically advanced purpose-built Ferrari racers while perfecting their skills in a friendly yet competitive environment.
Cars used in the F430 Challenge retain the same overall appearance and 490 horsepower engine as road-going Ferraris, while incorporating a number of significant track-oriented modifications and a host of new features not previously seen in Challenge cars.
All preparation and support is handled exclusively by authorized Ferrari dealer teams. Modifications are tightly restricted, and all engines are strictly stock and sealed to put the emphasis on driver capability.” – ferrarichallenge.com
Schumacher would consider return
July 28th, 2009 by Elusive Media
Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk
By Andrew Benson
Michael Schumacher is not ruling out the possibility of standing in for injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.
The Brazilian fractured his skull in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying and may be out for the rest of the year, while Schumacher, 40, is a Ferrari adviser.
“The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari. If they approach Michael, then he will consider it,” the seven-time champion’s spokeswoman told BBC Sport.
“But there is no reason for him to step into their discussion.”
Schumacher, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2006 season, told the BBC in an interview at the German Grand Prix two weeks ago that he was not interested in returning to F1.
However, his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said that was a reference to a permanent return.
“Usually, I would say he’s not interested because he’s fine with his life and he doesn’t miss anything but now the situation is so different – it’s very hypothetical – and Michael doesn’t want to step into that [discussion],” she stated.
She added that Schumacher still trained every day but that she did not know whether he was fit enough to race an F1 car again.
“Michael had a motorcycle accident in February when he had a neck problem – and I really can’t tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race,” she said.
“If Ferrari asked him whether he would consider driving, he would have it checked – and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too.”
Massa has had surgery on a fractured skull sustained when a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn hit him on the helmet at more than 160mph during qualifying in Hungary on Saturday.
He is in a “severe but not critical” condition, according to the hospital that is treating him in Budapest and there is also concern about damage to his left eye.
The surgeon treating him, Robert Veres, revealed it was “too early to say” whether Massa would be able to compete again.
But he will almost certainly not be able to drive at the next race, the European Grand Prix in Valencia in Spain on 23 August – and probably not for the rest of the year either.
That means Ferrari need to find a team-mate for Kimi Raikkonen for the Valencia race.
Schumacher, who won a record 91 grands prix in his career, is under contract to the team after taking on a consultancy role following his retirement.
The German is close to Massa, who was his team-mate in his final season, and has taken a close interest in the Brazilian’s career.
But he has not driven an F1 car since April 2008 and may consider that he has nothing to gain from a temporary return.
A number of other drivers have been mentioned as possible replacements for Massa.
Among them is Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who is expected to move to Ferrari in 2010 anyway – although the team have not confirmed that report and the Spaniard has denied it.
Renault have been banned from the Valencia race after allowing Alonso to return to the track with a loose wheel following a pit stop.
The wheel and its fairing both became detached from the car as he toured slowly back to the pits – an alarming sight only 24 hours after Massa’s accident.
Renault have appealed against the decision to suspend them and a hearing of the court of appeal of governing body the FIA is expected in the next couple of weeks.
It has been speculated that Alonso’s move to Ferrari may simply be brought forward – but that would leave Renault without a recognised top driver for the rest of the season.
The team were on the verge of sacking Alonso’s team-mate Nelson Piquet before the Hungarian race and while Alonso, a two-time world champion, qualified on pole in Hungary, Piquet qualified 15th and finished 12th in a similar car.
Ferrari have two reserve drivers, the Spaniard Marc Gene and the veteran Italian Luca Badoer.
Spaniard Gene – who raced intermittently for Williams as a stand-in during 2003/2004 and has competed in 36 races with a best result of sixth – is the more likely to be given the drive.
Badoer has been a test driver for Ferrari but has not raced since 1999 and has never scored a world championship point.
A number of other drivers have been mentioned as possible stand-ins.
The most qualified, Schumacher aside, is BBC F1 pundit David Coulthard, who won 13 grands prix before retiring at the end of last season. He is under contract to Red Bull, who would need to give him permission to race if Ferrari approached him.
Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, who was sacked by the Toro Rosso team before the Hungarian Grand Prix, has been mentioned as he has the same manager as Massa – Frenchman Nicolas Todt.
And last winter, Italian Formula Three champion Mirko Bortolotti reportedly impressed Ferrari in a test. The 19-year-old is racing in Formula Two this season.
Source - http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk
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