Pirelli tyres show dramatic flaws

With the planned start to the season less than 2 months ahead, it now has become evidently clear that the new sole tyre supplier, Pirelli, might have some dramatic flaws in the designs of their new Formula 1 tyres. With some heavy testing during the winter months inside sources claim the tyres are weak in longer stints and show some very big wear and sometimes even explode on heavier loads. The sources also claim that FIA have given Pirelli a big warning and some even claim Bridgestone might be the supplier for the first half of the season while Pirelli get their equipment back together. Nothing has been confirmed though but the F1 world wait in anticipation of the FIA decision in this question.

Paul Hembery took the time to answer some of the questions, and according to the Brit no one needs to worry, but a slight nervousness could be heard in his voice.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli chief designer

We have a good understanding of the tyres and are working towards the goals set by the governing body for this years F1 tyres. We have been working very hard to have the tyres get the performance and characteristics it has to have. We are well on the way to deliver the tyres so that the teams might get their first feel of them, we are not worried about the season start, but for sure a design path always meets some bumps and right now we need to correct some of them.

If the season start needs to be postponed or even an old tyre supplier re-entering it is unprecedented and something which has never before happened in the sports history. But seeing as safety is the key word in F1 we should not be surprised if this season turns into something quite else than we are used to.

Published 2012-01-26 by Kris Locksey | Edit

2011 Formula One Season Review, Part 3

With the bulk of the European Tour part of the championship over, Kristoffer Holm was still in the lead of the driver's championship, this time with main rival Locksey seven points adrift. Locksey had continued to mix brilliant performances with zero points races, and the same was true for Holm. Behind the top duo, Adrian Holm, Bohlin and Andersson still had a fight going, and even further down, Ekroth held on to sixth place ahead of Lill. The constructor's championship was also wide open with Red Bull only 25 points ahead of Ferrari. Renault had lost out a little to Red Bull and Ferrari but was still within a reasonable distance. The rest of the teams were fairly tightly packed, but none of them had passed the 100 points mark.

With only the Italian GP at Monza left of the European Tour, it was soon time to return to Asia for a night race in Singapore and the inaugural Korean Grand Prix as two of the highlights. A visit to Brazil and the season finale at the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit were also upcoming attractions, and along the line, a new world champion would be crowned. If it was Holm, Locksey, or someone else was still written in the stars though.

Part 3, Italy to Abu Dhabi

Italy

A little over a week into the month of September it was time to visit the classic Monza Circuit for the Italian Grand Prix. FP1 saw Holkedahl top the time sheets ahead of Teeorg in the Sauber. The Virgin car looked exceptionally strong in low downforce spec, and Holkedahl kept the grip in FP2 where he once again went quickest. This time considerably slower than during FP1 though. Sadly for Holkedahl, he injured himself after FP2 and was not able to take part in the rest of the weekend. Instead, qualifying once again became a fight between the two giant teams. Holm took pole ahead of his brother Adrian, with Bohlin in P3 ahead of Locksey. Best of the rest in Q3 was Ekroth, ahead of Walter, Andersson, Grönqvist, Teeorg and Kaseväli.

The race became another battle between Holm and Locksey, after an excellent start from the Brit. Red Bull and Ferrari were in a league of their own this day, and would have locked out the first four places if it wasn't for an unfortunate incident between Adrian Holm and Ekroth. Going into the Ascari chicane, a place which had jinxed Ekroth on several occasions in the past, Adrian attempted to pass the Renault on the inside but there was not enough room and the two collided with damage as a result. Particularly the Renault took a hit, resulting in a catch-up game for Ekroth during the rest of the race. Adrian also dropped a few positions during his pit visit. Instead, Bohlin inherited third place, which he kept to the finish line. Holm won the race with a mere 0,2 second marging to Locksey, an epic battle where the Brit never found a way past the Red Bull despite some frantic efforts. Vilis in the Lotus was best of the rest, ahead of Adrian Holm, Andersson and Walter.

Singapore

Two weeks after Italy, Formula One had moved out of Europe and into Singapore in time for the Singapore GP, a calendar highlight with its city scape background and the intense night lighting. FP1 was a huge disappointment for the crowds though, as only six cars were officially timed. Brevitz in the Sauber was quickest, followed by Locksey and Ekroth. FP2 was topped by Reiko Lill, who had become somewhat of a city circuit specialist. He took his McLaren around the dusty circuit almost 1,4 seconds quicker than anyone else. Renault were seen hard at work on Ekroth's car all the way through FP2 but finally fixed the electical issue in time for Q1. Waltgård in his Mercedes was the only car knocked out before Q3, the other cars proceeded to Q3 where it became a three way battle for pole. Holm grabbed pole position after a brilliant lap, ahead of his main rival Locksey, who pipped Lill to the front row by four thousands of a second. After the top three, there was a 1,7 second gap down to Teeorg in P4.

The race saw a pile of incidents, the first ones as early as on the first lap. Karlsson in the Toro Rosso did a great start and was running P4 when he lost the car and hit the wall at turn 19. Ekroth could not avoid the STR which bounced out into the racing line and the two collided. On the next lap, Teeorg hit the curbs too hard in turn 12, right before the Anderson bridge, crashed hard into the barriers, and was out of the race. Race leader Kristoffer Holm fell victim of the severe curbs at turn 10 as he was airborne for a short moment and hit the concrete wall with severe damage as a result. Holm was able to continue, but it took two visits to the pits before his car was drivable. Brevitz and Karlsson also took fatal hits from the barriers as they had to abort their races after crashes.

In the end, Locksey came out victorious after a pretty much spotless race, ahead of Lill in the McLaren. Andersson drove a great race from the back of the grid and finished P3, ahead of Bohlin, who had to resort to making a very late pit stop due to a heavier tyre degradation than the team had anticipated. Holm eventually finished P5 after a good comeback.

Japan

The legendary Suzuka circuit in Japan was once again host to the Japanese Grand Prix, a circuit hailed by the drivers as one of the best in the sport. FP1 saw Holkedahl back in action as he crushed the competition in FP1, going over a second quicker than anyone else. FP2 however, was a bit upside down with Holkedahl focusing on longer runs. Instead, Andersson topped the time sheets with Kaseväli and Ekroth following close behind. Technical issues for Laanela and Lill prevented them from making more than the installation laps. Qualifying became a tighter story than usual as no less than six cars were separated by less than half a second. Bohlin took pole ahead of Holkedahl, with Holm and Lill in second row. The two Ferraris were in third row with Adrian Holm ahead of Locksey.

The race saw Locksey charge furiously from his P6 grid position, and it took only twelve laps before the Brit had taken the lead. After that, he never looked back and left the competitors dead in the water. However, with only two laps to go, disaster struck when the Ferrari engine failed massively with a plume of fire and smoke. Instead, Bohlin inherited first place and won the race ahead of Adrian Holm, followed by Kristoffer Holm in third. Holkedahl drove a good race until he aborted after 33 laps, seemingly for no reason other than losing places to Lill and Holm due to some minor driver mistakes. Andersson, who finished P4, complained after the race about being on a tight margin for the tyres. He did however succeed at keeping a heavily charging Lill at bay, finishing less than a second ahead of the Estonian.

Korea

Yeongam in South Korea welcomed Formula One to the first ever Korean Grand Prix. The new Tilke-designed circuit was received with mixed emotions, with some drivers complaining loudly about the layout. FP1 was topped by Kristoffer Holm, an unusual sight, as the Red Bull team up to that point had usually concentrated on long stints during FP1. The session also saw the return of old time ace Hans Mörtsjö, who had taken a long timeout from the sport due to personal reasons. FP2 was topped by Ekroth in the Renault, just ahead of Holm and Andersson.

Qualifying saw Kristoffer Holm being quickest in all three sessions, grabbing pole position by a clear margin ahead of Locksey. Andersson was the man of the day as he defeated both Adrian Holm and Bohlin, making it to the second row on the grid, the Brazilian's best qualifying for a long time. The surprise of the day was Sten Teeorg, who went to extreme lengths and aborted his whole F1 career after an outburst once Q1 was over, not so much due to the circuit as out of frustration with the Sauber car and its lack of handling.

The race saw several accidents, the earliest one involving Ekroth, who spun and hit the concrete wall already during the formation lap. Walter was the second victim as he lost his car after being in contact with Karlsson's Toro Rosso and putting his rear wheel onto the grass. Holkedahl also lost his car and spun into a concrete wall after riding a curb too aggressively in turn 8. Adrian Holm was the last victim after driving a good race up to the point where he put two wheels onto the grass and hit hit the same wall as Ekroth faced on the formation lap. He made it back into racing after extensive repairs but had to abort after crashing a second time. Locksey was able to take the lead early and did not let go of it even though he faced heavy pressure from Holm in the final part of the race. Bohlin finished P3, ahead of Andersson.

Brazil

Almost a month after Korea, it was time to visit Brazil and Interlagos for the penultimate race of the season. Holm continued Red Bull's revised way to work in FP1 by going quickest, tightly followed by Andersson and surprise man of the day, Hans Mörtsjö, who made a late season comeback after his earlier FP1 shakedown in Korea. The Swede topped the time sheets for a while but was passed by Holm and Andersson late in the session. Still, the Mercedes looked surprisingly good. FP2 saw championship contender Locksey going quickest, followed by Ekroth and Mörtsjö, who again looked convincing in the Mercedes car. On the noteworthy side, Bohlin had to sit out both of the sessions due to car issues, which ultimately lead to the lack of his participation in the qualifying sessions. Holm made up for that by going fastest in Q1, and when Q3 came on, he crushed the competition by securing pole position with more than four tenths of a second to Locksey. Adrian Holm and Andersson made it to the second row, followed by Walter and Ekroth in third. Mörtsjö continued his great performance by finishing P7, his best Q3 qualifying since Japan 2009.

Come race day, the Swede had to abort the race after 32 laps however, complaining about numbness in one of his arms. Nonetheless, a solid comeback from the old time ace. The race became a tight story for second place, but no one could touch Kristoffer Holm that day. Runner-up Locksey was challenged heavily from behind by home hero Andersson, but to the crowd's disappointment, the Renault did not have the edge it took to make it past the Ferrari. Still a fantastic performance by Andersson though, finishing more than 25 seconds ahead of Bohlin. By the victory, Red Bull had secured the constructor's championship, but the driver's championship was still wide open, delaying the WDC crowning ceremony to the final race in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi

With two weeks since Brazil, Formula One had reached its final stop of 2011, the spectacular Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. The excitement had been gradually built up over the season, and now time had come to crown a driver's world champion. Kristoffer Holm had the upper hand on Locksey, as it was not enough for Locksey to win the race, he needed to have someone else ahead of Kristoffer to be victorious. That fate natually fell, somewhat ironically, on Adrian Holm, Kristoffer's younger brother and Locksey's team mate. FP1 saw Locksey go quickest around the tricky circuit, followed by Holm and Andersson. Returning hero Mörtsjö made his 2011 goodbye appearance in FP1 as he would not be able to participate in the rest of the weekend. Renault looked surprisingly strong, something that was confirmed when Ekroth was quickest during FP2, ahead of Locksey and Bohlin. Olofsson, another comeback driver, made a great show and lapped his Lotus quick enough to end fourth fastest.

Qualifying became another Red Bull vs. Ferrari battle, this time with Bohlin on pole, ahead of championship challenger Locksey, with Adrian Holm in P3, a crucial result for Ferrari and Locksey. Behind the top four, Walter qualified P5 followed by Andersson and Ekroth, turning the race into a potential Williams vs. Renault battle for fifth place. Olofsson performed well in the qualifying but crashed late in Q2. Despite advancing to Q3, Olofsson was not able to participate, locking him to 10th place on the grid. Holkedahl advanced to Q2 but decided to abort after Q1, complaining loudly about the layout of the circuit.

The race quickly became a one man show as Locksey grabbed the lead early and then simply vanished into the Arabian night. The Brit was driving on steroids, but was at the same time stuck with his fate in the hands of other drivers. Adrian Holm had made it into the ever so vital second place early in the race, only to see Kristoffer pass him again. The Norwegian fought hard but never managed to get past his brother again. Instead he was challenged by Bohlin late in the race, and with only a lap to go, the Ferrari engine gave up, a fate that seems to have put a spell on the Italian team in Abu Dhabi. Instead, Bohlin inherited third place, which he kept to the checkered flag. Locksey won the race in style, more than forty seconds ahead of the Red Bulls, but it still wasn't enough to win the championship. Instead, Kristoffer became the 2011 driver's champion, winning the title by a single point.

Behind Bohlin, Andersson drove another great race and was less than a second after the Red Bull. P5 was Walter, who had a great fight with Ekroth during the race, but the Renault had to make two stops to make the tyres last, thus losing the fight. All in all the race had been as dramatic as you could expect from a title decider, and Red Bull had come out on top in both of the championships, a fantastic comeback after a disappointing 2010 season. As the circuit floodlights went out, the party lights came on as the teams celebrated the end of a long and intense season.

With only four months to the 2012 premiere, the rest will not last for a long time though. Who will race for what team, who will be quick and who will not in 2012? Will Locksey finally grab the title he so much deserves? Do not miss next year when the excitement continues! Until then, have a good and relaxing holiday season, and see you all in 2012.

Published 2011-12-28 by Jörgen Ekroth | Edit

2011 Formula One Season Review, Part 2

With one third of the season down, Red Bull driver Kristoffer Holm had gotten a slight grip of the championship. Two second places in Malaysia and China followed by a win in Turkey had boosted the Swede to a three points lead in the driver's championship, ahead of younger brother Adrian Holm in Ferrari. Another thirteen points behind was last year's world champion, Peter Bohlin. Just one point behind Peter we found Jonas Andersson with a six point buffer to Kris Locksey. Locksey had started the season in style with a win in Bahrain and a second place in Australia, but after that, trouble had set in with bad shows in both Malaysia, Turkey and Spain, the last one being a no show for the Brit.

Jörgen Ekroth and Reiko Lill were sixth and seventh followed by this year's surprise, Mattias Holkedahl, who had a dismal 2010 season but who had gotten off to a really good start this year with a fifth place in Malaysia and a second place in Spain. Close behind Holkedahl was McLaren driver Tynkkynen, followed by Spain winner Berglind, Palmre, Waltgård, Nilsson, Grönqvist, and Brevitz, ending the two digit point haulers. Walter, Swiegers, Mörtsjö, Widén, Laanela and Dadley were also in the points, meaning that as many as twenty drivers had scored points in the first third of the season alone, obviously much to the new points system, but still a very pleasant surprise.

With the European tour kicked off in Spain, the question was whether or not Holm would be able to fend off the competition like in the good old days, and if Locksey would be able to turn things around in his favour again. With Monaco around the corner, last year's winner Reiko Lill looked like another hot driver waiting to grab a bite of the available points.

Part 2, Monaco to Belgium

Monaco

When Formula One took to the streets of Monte Carlo, Red Bull looked eager to continue their push. Bohlin took first blood by going fastest in FP1, but only with a very narrow margin to Adrian Holm in the Ferrari. Kristoffer Holm and Jonas Andersson were close behind while the rest of the field struggled a bit. FP2 was a completely different story as McLaren shot to the top with Tynkkynen setting a blistering 1:13.5. Again, Adrian Holm went second quickest, but was distanced with almost four tenths. Qualifying was very different for the McLaren team though, as both drivers failed to proceed to Q2. Locksey had an abysmal day as his Ferrari never made it out of the garage, so it was up to Adrian Holm to defend the red colors, and what a show the youngster put on. Fastest in Q2 and only one of three cars to make a 1:13 round, but when Q3 came on, there was only one man on the track, Kristoffer Holm. He literally crushed the opponents by beating them with over half a second, an eternity in F1 terms. Adrian Holm still made it to the first row, ahead of Holkedahl and Bohlin.

The race proved to be a tough one, as always. As many as twelve cars retired after mechanical failures or accidents, and another, with newcomer Justin Amundrud behind the wheel, due to exiting the pits under red lights. Among the few who made it to the checkered flag, Reiko Lill long looked like the race winner. After shooting through the whole field and grabbing the lead, the Estonian drove like a champion until a little over two laps remained. With Adrian Holm pushing hard behind, Lill made an ever so crucial mistake and clipped the right hand side barrier at the swimming pool and crashed heavily into the armco on the opposite side. Adrian Holm raced past and carried on to win the race with the two Red Bull cars second and third, and Andersson in fourth. Lill eventually ended fifth, ahead of Tynkkynen. Championship contender Locksey had to abort on lap 50 after an accident, yet another blow to the Brit's championship campaign.

Canada

Two weeks after the Monaco GP, Formula One jumped across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Montreal. The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit at Isle de Notre Dame has always been known for its toughness on the material, particularly the engines, but the tyres have also been know to cause issues. FP1 saw an unexpected team and driver at the top of the time sheets when Erki Kaseväli took his VJM02 around the slippery track just below the 1:15 mark. The rest of the field was pretty tightly packed this time, which was a nice change from the usual. FP2 saw the return of Kris Locksey as he went quickest during the qualifying simulation part of the session, a hair quicker than Tynkkynen in his McLaren. Swiegers split the two Renaults, showing that Kaseväli's speed from the day before was not a fluke. As usual though, when qualifying came on, Red Bull showed its true pace, and Kristoffer Holm took pole with a huge margin again, much similar to Monaco. Half a second separated the Swede from his competitors, where Reiko Lill finished slightly ahead of Locksey and Bohlin. On the noteworthy side, Ekroth missed his first Q3 in a long time after not finding the proper car balance.

Come race day, it turned out to become an epic battle between Holm and Locksey, where Holm drew the longest straw and was able to keep a wildly pushing Locksey at bay throughout the race. Behind the two, another exciting battle was between Bohlin and Tynkkynen, where the latter pushed his McLaren to the limit but never found a way past the Italian in his Red Bull. Still, it was the Finn's best effort to date, and a confidence boost for the McLaren team. Surprisingly few cars had to retire with brake issues, an otherwise common problem on the Canadian circuit.

Europe

Only a week after Canada, Formula One was back in Europe and the European Grand Prix in sunny Valencia. Locksey immediately set the pace in FP1. Only Waltgård in his Mercedes was within a reasonable distance. FP2 was a similar story where Locksey improved on his FP1 lap time, this time with Tynkkynen as his closest rival. Q3 proved to be a tight story between Red Bull and Ferrari, where less than 0,3 seconds separated the four cars. Peter Bohlin grabbed pole ahead of Holm, with Adrian Holm and Locksey in P3 and P4. P5 through P9 was also a tight affair. Unfortunately, Tynkkynen failed to get a good lap in Q3 and ended P10 after looking so good in FP2.

The race saw Jonas Andersson knock off his front wing on the formation lap, so he had to resort to playing catch-up throughout the race. Holm was even more unfortunate and had to abort after hitting a wall hard, also on the formation lap, and his team mate was equally jinxed, hitting the very same wall at almost the same place. Ferrari kindly accepted the gift and when the red lights went out, the two red cars simply vanished in the distance. Locksey won the race with a three second buffer to Adrian Holm. Over a minute behind, Walter finished P3 ahead of a charging Ekroth. The Renault driver could not catch the Williams though, as he ran out of laps. As many as seven cars had to abort the race, but very few due to brake issues, a problem that hit most of the cars the year before.

Britain

Silverstone hosted the final race before the summer break, and this year the circuit had been extended, featuring a stadium section in the center regions. FP1 saw Force India take first blood as South African star Swiegers took his VJM02 around the circuit quick enough to top the time sheets. Home hero Locksey reclaimed the command during FP2 though, with Swiegers and Andersson not far behind. Qualifying turned things around a bit, proving that the new layout was tricky to get a clean lap on. In the end, Bohlin took pole ahead of Adrian Holm, with Kristoffer Holm and Swiegers in second row. Locksey disappointed slightly and only mustered P5, but the biggest disappointment was Ekroth, who failed to proceed to Q3 and complained wildly about massive understeer after the Q2 session.

On race day, Locksey came through massively and won his home Grand Prix after some great passing moves on the two Red Bulls. Adrian Holm was on his way to making it a Ferrari 1/2 when he gambled and tried to pass Kristoffer on the inside through Copse corner, but the two touched and the Ferrari ended up in the barrier with a lost front wing and heavy damage as a result. Instead, Bohlin was able to climb past his team mate and finish P2, ahead of Kristoffer. Adrian Holm eventually finished P7, with Andersson, Vilis and Ekroth ahead. Noteworthy was also that Sweigers failed to make it to the grid since the pit lights had turned red before the team got his car running. Fuel line problems turned out to be the culprit, a shame for the quick South African who had made his best qualifying this season.

Germany

After a long and relaxing summer break, it was once again time for Formula One to take to the tracks, this time at Hockenheim in Germany. Force India were eager to make a great show after their debacle at Silverstone, and with Swiegers topping the time sheets during FP1, things were looking great. The South African continued to dominate as he once again went fastest around the track in FP2. Brevitz in the Sauber followed suit, as did the two Renaults with Andersson and Ekroth. Qualifying saw another great run from Force India, with Kaseväli in P2 and Sweigers in P4, but no one could beat Adrian Holm to the pole position. The Norwegian was close to being quickest in all three sessions, and proved hot for the win. Bohlin ended up P3, and Walter in the Williams did a great job qualifying P6.

The race turned out to be very exciting all the way down to the finish line. Adrian Holm was slow at first but had great top speed, so he kept fending off the challengers until his fuel level was low enough to outpace the competition. Behind Adrian, Bohlin and Andersson had a good fight, and so did Vilis, Ekroth and Walter. When everyone though Adrian Holm had the victory in his pocket, the Ferrari engine decided to give up after 46 laps. After that, it became a three contender battle between Bohlin, Andersson and Ekroth, and close to the end when Bohlin looked like he would be able to pull away, the safety car was brought out due to a crash between Kristoffer Holm and Rickard Widén. During the safety car period, Walter accidentally hit Vilis from behind, leading to a retirement from the Lithuanian. At the restart, Bohlin was able to keep the lead, but Ekroth and Andersson were right on his tail and refused to let go. A few minutes later, another safety car was triggered as Rickard Widén went off and crashed. After the restart, the two Renaults traded places as Ekroth let a quicker Andersson by. The move was a success as Andersson was able to make a beautiful passing move on Bohlin going into the Stadium section. At the same time, Ekroth fended off a charging Teeorg in the Sauber, so the end result was a huge success for the Renault Team with Andersson winning the race ahead of Bohlin, and Ekroth in third place. Force India had a dark day however, as Erki Kaseväli never started due to illness, and Swiegers had to retire after an off-track moment.

Hungary

As usual, Budapest offered hot and balmy weather as Formula One visited Hungary. With only a week since Germany, the question was if Renault would be able to keep its momentum going and challenge the big teams once again. Things looked great already in FP1 as Andersson topped the time sheets ahead of Locksey. FP2 was a repeat of FP1 as Andersson yet again went quickest, this time ahead of team mate Ekroth and Lill on third. As usual though, the big guns came out blazing on all cylinders as soon as qualifying was on, with Adrian Holm going quickest around the tricky track, ahead of team mate Locksey and Kristoffer Holm. Renault only mustered P4 and P7 this time, Andersson being the quickest of the two, split by Lill and Vilis. Sadly for Andersson, he caught a bad cold in the afternoon and was unable to participate in the race.

Race Day brought out echoes from the past as the race panned out to be a duel between Kristoffer Holm and Kris Locksey, very similar to their epic battle around the Hungaroring in 2006. Pole sitter Adrian Holm got off to a good start though, but put a wheel outside the track in the exit of turn 3 and slid into the barrier, knocking off the front wing which flew over the track and punctured Ekroth's left front wheel. Both Ekroth and Adrian Holm had to limp back to the pits and start a catch up game, something they both did really well. With only two laps to go, Kristoffer Holm had started to look like a winner as Locksey never found a way past the seemingly slower Red Bull. Fate had other things in mind though, as the two collided after turn 6 when Holm made a slight mistake and had to lift in order not to go off while Locksey never had time to react, hitting the Red Bull from behind. Holm had to retire while Locksey was able to continue after some repairs. Instead, Lill found himself winning the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Locksey, with Adrian Holm in third and Ekroth in P4. Locksey was devastated after the incident and took full blame even though the stewards judged it as a race incident.

Belgium

Spa Francorchamps welcomed Formula One with cloudy and cool weather, but the ever so common rain never hit the circuit. FP1 was topped by Holkedahl in his Virgin, a bit of a surprise to some, but a welcome boost for the team. Vilis in his Lotus looked really quick too, less than 0,3 seconds behind. FP2 proved that it wasn't luck as the Lithuanian went fastest by well over half a second, ahead of Brevitz and Ekroth. Qualifying quickly turned into a Red Bull party though, with Holm topping Q1 ahead of Bohlin while they traded places in Q2. Q3 was the other way around again with Holm on pole ahead of Bohlin. The two crushed the competition completely, being almost 0,8 seconds quicker than Locksey who finished third.

The race was a hard one for Ferrari as both Locksey and Adrian Holm lost places due to mishappenings early in the race. Instead, Kristoffer Holm broke the spell that had haunted him in Belgium for several years and pushed his Red Bull quicker than anyone else around the long circuit, resulting in a much wanted victory. Vilis ended in second place after a very solid race. Locksey eventually ended third after playing catch-up for a good part of the race. In Renault, Ekroth finished ahead of team mate Andersson for the first time in a long time, but only due to a misfortune when Andersson went off and lost his front wing late in the race. Estonian star Reiko Lill was running P5 when he went off in Rivage and damaged his McLaren enough to result in a premature end to his race.

Summing Up

WDC standings after the Belgian GP

WCC standings after the Spanish GP

Published 2011-12-23 by Jörgen Ekroth | Edit

2011 Formula One Season Review, Part 1

Formula One fans all over the world had desperately been looking forward to the 2011 season, ever since the exciting season finale in Abu Dhabi saw Peter Bohlin take the checkered flag as the 2010 Formula One driver's champion. The sight that stuck the firmest on people's retinas however, was probably the moment when Kris Locksey's Ferrari engine decided to call it quits with only 12 laps to go. Locksey was close to winning the WDC in 2009 when he suddenly left the sport, and 2010 brought him even closer to that coveted title. One of the questions ahead of 2011 was if Locksey would be able to muster enough motivation to aim for another title. The fact that he would yet again team up for Ferrari, this time alongside Adrian Holm, definitely hinted about a strong season coming. Adrian had a great championship during 2010 but the last part of the season was riddled with bad luck and several zero points races, which saw him drop out of contention for the driver's championship.

Brawn GP had announced its aquisition by Mercedes late in 2010, a move that saw both Adrian Holm and Pascal Kreischer leave the team in frustration. During the driver recruitment period, the Mercedes team managed to sign both Christian Waltgård and Hans Mörtsjö from the Williams team, another ground shaking move during the silly season carousel.

Four times WDC Kristoffer Holm had a very unlucky season in 2010 with many mechanical failures. The final part of the 2010 season did however reward the Swede with two consecutive victories. Red Bull set their sights on a much better season in 2011 though, and recruiting the new driver's champion Peter Bohlin as Kristoffer's team mate was a definite step towards fame and glory.

Kristoffer's former team mate Jörgen Ekroth had to drop out from Red Bull and decided to join Renault, alongside the hard fighting Brazilian ace Jonas Andersson. Jonas had been fighting alone most of the 2010 season but got some late company by South African rookie Henderson Sweigers, who did not choose to continue with Renault after the season though. Renault had been hoping for a return to the 2009 form, and with Andersson and Ekroth on board, things were looking promising.

McLaren had made a pretty average season in 2010 but decided to continue the work with experienced drivers once more as Tynkkynen and Grönqvist retained their driver seats. This did not come as a surprise to most people as the Finnish duo had earlier proved themselves as solid race drivers as well as having plenty of car development experience.

Williams lost both its drivers to Mercedes and had to look hard for new talents. After some negotiations, the team managed to secure contracts with both drivers from the former Panasonic Toyota Racing team, the Germans Markus Walter and Falko Riemer. Both had been performing really well during the end of the 2010 season and would most likely give the Williams team a competitive boost.

Scuderia Toro Rosso announced its first driver signing to be Kent Asplund, extending his contract from 2010, and alongside him for another year, growing star Rickard Widén also extended his deal with the Faenza based outfit. Close to the end of the silly season process, the team also signed Anders Karlsson as test driver.

Force India set their sight on ex Renault driver Henderson Sweigers relatively early in the negotiation process and signed him after a series of talks. The South African had mixed real speed with rookie mistakes at Renault, but his raw speed definitely made him an excellent resource to the Indian challenger team. Alongside Henderson, newcomer Anders Karlsson decided to step up to the challenge of making an impression in Formula 1, after doing a really good job in the Race07 feeder series during 2010.

Lotus Racing, the first of the new teams for 2011, signed Stefan Olofsson early in the process. Stefan did a good job for BMW in 2010 but decided to take on the monumental challenge of helping a new team make a mark in the sport. Alongside Olofsson, Baril Ignatius decided to join the outfit.

Hispania Racing Team was another new contender for 2011, and to secure some experience on the driver side, the team signed Linus Klevebäck. Alongside Linus, a new name in the sport, Erki Kaseväli was signed. Erki came directly from the Estonian racing series, and while being an untested resource, he showed both enthusiasm and dedication right from the start.

Sauber F1 was formed when Peter Sauber decided to purchase the BMW F1 Team at the end of the 2010 season. The hunt for drivers resulted in signing Estonian star Reiko Lill, alongside Thomas Brevitz. The latter had made a good impression in the Race07 feeder series, while Lill was a newcomer who's skills were relatively untested.

Virgin Racing, the last of the new teams, was formed as an ambition by Richard Branson to make an impression in Formula 1. The team signed Mattias Holkedahl as its first driver. Mattias had been extremely unlucky during 2010 with many crashes, but had shown his impressive speed, something the Virgin team decided to base its outfit around. Roger Thellbro was later signed as the team's second race driver, also an aspiring name from the Race07 feeder series.

Part 1, Bahrain to Spain

Bahrain

After much commotion due to political riots, the FIA still decided to go ahead with the 2011 Bahrain Grand Prix, which would be the first real test for the teams. The Sakhir track was extended this year and lap times were close to the 2 minute mark. The driver reactions to the new part of the track were not overly positive though, where some of them even called it a joke. During the free practice sessions, Mercedes were looking surprisingly strong, as did the Sauber with Lill behind the wheel. Qualifying however, brought out the big guns in Red Bull and Ferrari. Bohlin took the inaugural 2011 pole position ahead of Lill and Andreas Nilsson in HRT. The race would however be Red Bull's worst performance for the whole season as both cars broke down with electronics failures. Instead it became an all Ferrari show with a 1/2 finish for the Italian outfit, ahead of Lill in the Sauber. Best of the rest was Renault's Jonas Andersson in P4. Both Mercedes cars were in the points, showing that the free practice speed was not a fluke. Noteworthy was that Ekroth in the second Renault missed out on his first race since Brazil 2008 due to car electronic issues.

Australia

Two weeks after the premiere in Bahrain, it was time for the sport to visit Australia and Albert Park, the traditional season opener location which this year had been replaced by the middle eastern venue. Lill proved yet again that the speed his Sauber had shown in Bahrain was not a one time luck shot. He topped the time sheets in FP1, and scored his and the team's first ever pole position ahead of the race. Ferrari and Red Bull were close contenders for pole too, with Bohlin securing P2. Noteworthy was also that Jonas Andersson in Renault was eliminated as early as in Q1 while Ekroth was back in shape and made it into Q3, splitting the two McLarens. Lill continued his brilliant momentum in the race as he took his Sauber to the team's first ever victory, just ahead of Locksey in the Ferrari and Bohlin in Red Bull. P4 and last of the cars on the lead lap was Nilsson in HRT. Mercedes lost its momentum from Bahrain due to reliability issues as both cars broke down. Rookie Kalle Palmre scored points in his second consecutive race, this time for Sauber, making this weekend the best in a really long time for the Swiss outfit.

Malaysia

While Lill's victory in Melbourne had sent shockwaves through the F1 world, Ferrari had been lurking close behind, eager for a victory again. Adrian Holm took to the top of the time sheets during FP1 while it was Locksey's turn to shine in FP2. Come qualifying, Red Bull blazed on all cylinders though, locking out the front row, partly thanks to Bohlin's second pole position for the season. The race became quite the opposite of a Ferrari dominance as the Red Bull cars simply vanished into the distance. With Locksey and Lill down for a count after a shunt with each other, it was Adrian Holm who defended the Ferrari colors with a P3 finish, behind race winner Bohlin and runner up Kristoffer Holm. Only 0,6 seconds separated the two RB6 cars after an epic final stint. Best of the rest was yet again Renault's Jonas Andersson, while team mate Ekroth hauled a P6 after enduring a really long second stint, just enough to keep Grönqvist's McLaren at bay. Holkedahl in the Virgin finished a fine P5, his best result since Brazil 2009, much to the joy of his team.

China

Shanghai greeted Formula One with near perfect conditions, and Red Bull quickly rose to the top on day one with Kristoffer Holm topping the time sheets during FP1. Lill was back with a vengeance in FP2 though, slashing the competition to pieces as he went three quarters of a second faster than anyone else. Ferrari and Red Bull were lurking around though, and came on fire in the qualifying. Only Lill's Sauber mustered enough power to split them, but he still ended up behind pole sitter Adrian Holm. Bohlin, Holm and Locksey followed suite, and in the Renault team, Ekroth surprisingly out-qualified Andersson for the second time this season. The race was almost a carbon copy of Malaysia with the two Red Bull cars fighting it out at the end. Bohlin drew the longest straw and took his second victory of the season, with Holm only 0,1 seconds behind this time. The two Ferraris followed suit with Adrian Holm in P3 and Locksey in P4. Lill's Sauber did not quite stand up to the job this time as the Estonian had to pull into the pits and retire after a little less than half the distance. Force India made its best race of the season as Sweigers finished P6, just ahead of a massively charging Andersson in the Renault.

Turkey

Istanbul became the return of McLaren as veteran Markus Tynkkynen went quickest during FP1. Both of the Toro Rosso cars seemed on fire too, for a change. Tynkkynen kept his momentum and topped the time sheets yet again during FP2, this time with team mate Grönqvist in P4. Come qualifying, the McLaren power did not quite make it all the way though, but the duo still finished P5 and P7. Instead it was Adrian Holm who stole the show and grabbed pole position, ahead of Bohlin and Holm in the Red Bull cars. Race day saw the Holm brothers fighting it out for victory as Bohlin never made it to the grid. Kristoffer scored his first win of the season after a brilliant performance, ahead of Adrian Holm in the Ferrari. P3 was the man of the day though, Jonas Andersson, who climbed through the entire field and finished a little over seven seconds ahead of team mate Ekroth, Renault's best performance so far this year. Unfortunately, McLaren's great form did not last throughout the race after a tactical mistake that saw Tynkkynen suffer from a puncture due to staying out too long, but the team still continued its points haul. Toro Rosso's Rickard Widén scored his first four points for the season after a fine race. The biggest disappointment was probably Locksey, as his Ferrari proved to be a handling disaster, a result of no track time during FP1 and FP2 due to huge electronics problems.

Spain

The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona marked the end of the first third of the season, and it saw a return of a giant in the sport, Fredrik Berglind. He immediately left a mark in FP1 when he went fastest ahead of Brevitz in the Sauber. During FP2, Tynkkynen was back in shape and just pipped Berglind for the fastest time. Qualifying however, was a different story. Kristoffer Holm grabbed pole position with a big margin to Lill, who by now had left Sauber for Mercedes. Holkedahl in the Virgin made it all the way to P3, a remarkable job in his Virgin car. The Virgin car proved to be at its best during race day too, with Holkedahl leading the race for the majority of the laps. In the end, Berglind proved to be too quick though, and won his comeback race after a long absence, truly a magical performance. Jonas Andersson in the Renault scored his second podium of the year after a great race, ahead of the Holm brothers who battled it out to the finish line with only 0,1 seconds separating Adrian in P4 from Kristoffer in P5. The race was a success story for HRT this time, as both its cars finished in the points with Palmre in P9 and Laanela in P10.

Summing Up

WDC standings after the Spanish GP

WCC standings after the Spanish GP

Published 2011-12-03 by Jörgen Ekroth | Edit

Abu Dhabi GP: Post-race press conference

Please welcome the podium of the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In third for Red Bull Racing, Peter Bohlin. Second also for Red Bull Racing, the new world champion Kristoffer Holm. And winning the race for Scuderia Ferrari, Kris Locksey.

Kris, a comfortable win for you today but it wasn't enough today, tell us about your feelings about the season as a whole?

Kris Locksey: Emotional day for sure. I look back on the last three seasons and realize I could have been triple world champion if some very small margins were on my side instead of on my rivals side. But honestly I can't say I'm hugely upset about not winning this year either. This has perhaps been my overall best season if counting out 2009 and I won the most races over the year. So in all a lot of positives and in the end that's all that matters. I love doing this and I will always race as fast as I can. If another driver gets more points in the end he have for sure done the better job over a year. Obviously it has never been this close at the end of a season and when counting we changed points system this year it is even more astounding it eventually came down to just a single point. It has been a pleasure driving, a pleasure competing and I will be back next year doing the very same thing all over again.

You got a good start and then just pulled away into the horizon?

KL: Winning was all that mattered today. I gave it all I could and the car was immensely fun to drive. It did exactly what I wanted it to do and I just need to thank the entire team for the support and hard work they have put down into this fantastic car this year. Can't really say much else about the race. Some scary moments lapping other drivers but that was all pretty much. The most intense thing for me was when both Luca, Rob and Stefano gave me the information that Adrian was catching Kristoffer. I knew it would be difficult but I think I sent all my energy to Adrian during that time. And he gave it all he had, he even sacrficed his own race in the end to help me so all I can say is a huge thank you to him. He has been a tremendous team mate and it has been a lot of fun working with him this year.

2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and now champion again in 2011, tell us about your feelings right now Kristoffer?

Kristoffer Holm: It is absolutely amazing! I have had such a good feeling the last couple of month! Both in the car and with the team. This becomes a way of saying thank you to everyone who I worked with. Peter and I taking the WCC for Red Bull and now this .. It's hard to describe ..

Overall it was a quite calm race for you in second but you had to fight in the beginning and after the first round of stops, talk us through that?

KH: I got an average start and saw that the Ferrari guys flew past Peter into the first corner. Knew that I had a little advantage in top speed, so it was important to be close on the first lap. Peter did not resist at all and I think he dropped more than just me. Adrian and I was close throughout the first lap and I could benefit from my straight line speed and overtook him on the straight When I could quit checking the rearview mirror Kris was already far away and it became a race against the score. Adrian was close to me again after my only stop, but I was pretty sure he had to change tires again. So with half the race left, it was just about to take the car to finish..

Starting from pole Peter, but it didn't last for too long?

Peter Bohlin: Hehe, really no, I think the initial launch was quite good but the Ferraris were really quick in the next acceleration phase and could pass me on both sides. Had a little go on Adrian through Turn 1 but messed up the exit and stepped out the rear a bit and lost momentum. Approaching Turn 2 I saw that Kristoffer was fairly close on the outside so I lifted to allow him through to take the fight to the Ferraris but doing so I also lost out to Walter.

And so you had to fight you way to get here?

PB: Yeah, totally true. Initially it was very difficult to follow the four ahead of me as they kicked up a lot of dust and I wasn't used to that as I missed out on FP1 and didn't have so much running behind cars in FP2 and qual. After some laps however I got close to Markus but he defended well, on lap 5 or 6 I could finally pull through on the outside of Turn 11. Tried to close the gap to Adrian but he was quick and we only got close after he rejoined behind me after out last stops. He then quickly overtook my on fresh rubber but didn't seem to pull away in the same way he had reeled me in so I thought that he maybe was short on fuel or engine life after pushing Kristoffer hard earlier in the race, we traded position a couple of times in the last 10 laps and then on the final lap his engine went so I could just go by to take 3rd.

So what are the plans for next year guys?

KL: We will give something definite soon. But lets just say that my future might be the least interesting to follow this silly season haha. But no matter what happens I can just say that driving with Ferrari is living in a legend. Everything just oozes this atmosphere left by Enzo. I love the country, the fans, the team. Coming to Maranello, having some espresso with the guys at the factory before evaluating new body parts etc, I just love it. Hopefully Ferrari can take back both the constructors and drivers crown next year.

KH: I must be loyal to the Red Bull. They have given me a great car all year. We work well as a group and there is no doubt that there would be no difference next year. Too bad the new rules means that Peter can not remain in the team. Peter has been a great asset this year and he is really professional. We have had quite a rough race between us but it has always been with the greatest respect between us.

PB: I've had a great time with Red Bull and I'm glad to have been a part in their quest for their first titles, unfortunately the rules don't allow us to keep going like this so I have to sit down and see what the possibilities are and then decide what I want to be doing for next year, we'll see.

Published 2011-11-30 by Peter Bohlin | Edit