It seemed to be straight out of a Hollywood movie depicting India, after the embarrassment with Rubens Barrichello’s press conference which was marred by a power cut. Practice today was delayed by a stray dog incident wherein practice had to be delayed due to a stray dog entering on the track. It was chased out by a safety car. There are also reports of a bat entering the media room which newspapers reported being chased out by a man with a broom .

In racing related news, Lewis Hamilton was fastest in P1. Sebatien Vettel was second while Mark Webber finished the top 3 in the practice session. But needless to say, that wasn’t the highlight of the day with the dog taking the honours.

The World Motor Sport council voted to get the Bahrain Grand Prix re-instated in a move that was praised by Bahrain’s prince but met with sharp criticism elsewhere.

The Bahrain Grand Prix now pushes the Inaugural Indian Grand Prix to the end of the season. The Indian Grand Prix will now be held in December andd Bahrain Grand Prix takes the 30th October slot.

The Bahrain Crown prince praised the move :

“Having the race back in Bahrain has, indeed, significantly unified the people of Bahrain in this period,” Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said

“Their love for their country and caring for its interest has motivated them in supporting efforts to bring the race back to Bahrain this year,” he added.

This is ofcourse in stark contrast to what the rest of the world feels. We had recently reported on the democracy protests in Bahrain, what we didn’t report (as we aren’t a political blog) was how the protests were crushed and citizens detained in the kingdom state. Its no wonder that the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix has people up in anger all over the Internet.

Former FIA president Max Mosely was vocal of his criticism and hoped that the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix would be reversed. In a piece for the Daily Telegraph, he wrote :

“Surely the line has to be drawn when a sporting event is not mere entertainment in a less-than-perfect country, but is being used by an oppressive regime to camouflage its actions” Max Mosley wrote.

“If a sport accepts this role, it becomes a tool of government. If Formula 1 allows itself to be used in this way in Bahrain, it will share the regime’s guilt as surely as if it went out and helped brutalize unarmed protesters.”

“Having carried out these horrific acts, the Bahrain government wants to clean up its image. That’s where the grand prix comes in. By running the race they hope to show the world the troubles were just a small, temporary difficulty and everything is now back to normal.

“By agreeing to race there, Formula 1 becomes complicit in what has happened. It becomes one of the Bahrain government’s instruments of repression. The decision to hold the race is a mistake which will not be forgotten and, if not reversed, will eventually cost Formula 1 dear.”

Red Bull driver Mark Webber was also critical and till now one of the only f1 drivers who seems to have come out openly against the decision, He wrote on his website :

“In my personal opinion, the sport should have taken a much firmer stance earlier this year rather than constantly delaying its decision in the hope of being able to reschedule it in 2011.

“It would have sent a very clear message about F1′s position on something as fundamental as human rights and how it deals with moral issues.”

“Like it or not, F1 and sport in general isn’t above having a social responsibility and conscience. I hope F1 is able to return to Bahrain eventually but now isn’t the right time.

“As a competitor I do not feel at all comfortable going there to compete in an event when, despite reassurances to the contrary, it seems inevitable that it will cause more tension for the people of that country.

“I don’t understand why my sport wishes to place itself in a position to be a catalyst for that.”

For better or for worse, formula one is motivated by money,  of course we overlook that 30% of the McLaren formula one team is owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain.

However its (commercial interests) working in the other way also, countless petitions have been started to pressurize Red Bull and other consumer dependent companies to pull out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

FOTA is another key player in this mess, however FOTA’s current president is from the McLaren team who are owned partially by Kingdom of Bahrain, so expectations are low from them.

At this point, it does not seem like we have seen the last of this matter. Its likely to snowball into something huge in the coming days.

Photo : Soman, under CC Attribution/Share Alike 2.5

The Bahrain Grand Prix was meant to be the grand opening F1 race to the 2011 formula one season.However pro democracy protests (much less publicized than those of Egypt) seem to be set to derail the 2011 season opener.

The unrest finally reached F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Ecclestone has put the ball in the Crown Prince’s court saying that his decision would be final on the Bahrain Grand Prix

‘I haven’t spoken to the Crown Prince this morning so I don’t know what’s happened there. If anybody’s going to sort it out he’s the guy to do it. ‘He would decide whether or not it’s safe for us to be there.

‘Let’s wait until Tuesday and see if this one’s going to take place before we decide what to do. Maybe we could postpone Bahrain or run it later in the year.’

Meanwhile noises became more and more clear that all the F1 teams are in unison against the Bahrain Grand Prix going through. Apparent safety concerns have made the teams wary of coming to Bahrain. Mercedes’s Norbert Haug was quoted as saying: ‘The safety of our employees is more important than anything else’

Mark Webber was more vocal about the situation commenting on the loss of lives in the protests :

“When you hear of people losing their lives, this is a tragedy.

“It’s probably not the best time to go there for a sporting event. They have bigger things, bigger priorities.”  Mark Webber said

Photo : Soman, under CC Attribution/Share Alike 2.5

November 14th is celebrated as Children’s Day in India in memory of Jawaharlal Nehru who was the 1st PM of India, what an apt day for Formula One to get its toungest even formula one champion. Sebastien Vettel drove an almost perfect race to clinch the F1 title beating closest rival Fernando Alonso by just 4 points. Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag at the Yas Marina circuit to win the Abu Dhabi grand prix ahead of all his championship rivals.

The situation that Sebastian Vettel was in was similar to what Kimi Raikkonen was in a few years ago when he had pipped Lewis Hamilton to take the crown despite having the odds stacked against him. After the race Vettel acknowledged that the same was in the back of his head.

One also has to spare a thought for the Spaniard Fernando Alonso who fought valiantly in his Ferrari but couldn’t match the straight line speed of the Renaults in the end. He slipped and slid all over the track but still couldn’t pass the Russian Vikaly Petrov’s Renault.

Fernando Alonso wasn’t the only person to be heartbroken by the result, Vettel also dealt a blow to his teammate Mark Webber’s plans of celebrating his maiden F1 title. Webber finished the race behind Alonso in 8th place and the championship behind Alonso with 242 points losing out on the title by 14 points in the end.

Lewis Hamilton too wasn’t spared by Sebastian Vettel who smashed his record of being the youngest ever formula one champion at the age of 23.

Concluding, We would like to write that this young champion has heart and this surely isn’t the last we hear of him  . This surely was a fitting end for the season.

In other news AT&T Williams F1 have confirmed Rubens Barrichello for 2011. More on that later.

Red Bull’s Sebastien Vettel has won the battle for the pole position this Saturday at the Yas Marina Circuit to start ahead of the pack during the final formula one race of the 2010 season , the Abu Dhabi grand prix. He will start ahead of Lewis Hamilton (who is also in contention, but almost out of the race).

Fernando Alonso the man most favoured to win the championship will start in third place from the second row. He will be joined by Briton Jenson Button.

Mark Webber , the other major contender for the formula one crown starts from fifth place severely denting his chances tomorrow, but these Red Bull cars have got some real speed, so counting them out would be foolish.

So lets get set for the super race tomorrow !

Image courtesy : Yas Marina Circuit Media Center

Red Bull may have clinched the constructor’s championship at the race in Bahrain but the race for the driver’s title is still hot, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso heads into the final race of the season with a 8 point lead. Red Bull’s Mark Webber trails Alonso’s 246 with 238 points closely followed by teammate Sebastien Vettel on 231 points and Lewis Hamilton with his 222 points is a distant fourth but is still in contention for the championship.

Now to move onto the math :

The following is what each person gets in the final race :

Fernando Alonso – 246

Now let us imagine that Mark Webber comes 1st , even then Alonso can clinch the championship by coming second. So essentially for Alonso its all about taking that second place and he gets the driver’s championship. But the Spaniard’s job would be made tuff by the roaring Red Bull of Sebastien Vettel who would be aiming for the championship himself.

He would want Alonso to be at best in 6th place and himself to win the race to get the crown. This also brings in the question of team orders. The Red Bull team brushed aside concerns with team principal Horner saying that the drivers will know whats best for the team.

‘We will back both drivers equally. I am sure they will do whatever is right for the team, I have zero doubt about that. There will be no team orders, and I don’t think there are any difficult decisions to be made,’ said Red Bull team principal Horner.

‘If they find themselves in a situation where one, because he can’t win, needs to help the other then I can only imagine that they will do that. It will have to be a driver decision.’

Don’t know about you but sounds like tacit agreement on team orders to me, of course Red Bull will deny that.

The chances for Lewis Hamilton are very bleak, I don’t really think he will get the championship.

Whatever be the case , the final race at Abu Dhabi promises to be a thriller and you all should go to a sports bar to watch it

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button also came close to colliding at last week’s Turkish Grand Prix, however their incident was thoroughly overshadowed by the one involving the two Red Bulls of Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber.

As Red Bull PR went into damage control by releasing what seem like canned and cooked up interviews, the McLaren PR seems to have gone into lets take advantage mode. McLaren PR again came out with quotes in which Lewis Hamilton professes his love for Jenson Button. This could also be damage control for a radio conversation that came out on formula 1’s official website.

The conversation goes something like :

After Lewis Hamilton was asked to conserve fuel

Lewis Hamilton says “Jenson’s closing on me you guys”

and asks his team “If I back off , is Jenson going to pass me or not?”

The voice from McLaren replies “No Lewis, no”.

Its another matter than Jenson Button did overtake Lewis Hamilton, Hamilton later regained the lead.

==

Read ahead for the quotes :

“Jenson and I both want to win, but not in an aggressive manner. The fighting won’t happen with me and Jenson,”Lewis Hamilton  was quoted

“We got a one-two in Turkey and it was a professional drive from two team-mates. You couldn’t ask for more from a partnership. We are both world champions, we’re both professionals and we both have a huge amount of respect for each other,” he added.

“When I win he is happy for me and vice-versa. Jenson is a great bloke, a very supportive team-mate and he is doing a solid job. It works both ways. I have no doubts that the rest of the season will be the exactly the same,” Lewis Hamilton added

What a mutual admiration society , I can already predict similar quotes from Jenson Button within the next month.

The Red Bull cars are fast, very fast and while that’s why they are ahead, their drivers are mediocre and that mediocrity was fully showcased at the Istanbul circuit. I am posting a video of the collision, take your shot at whose fault it is. I just recalled Vettel making cuckoo signs about Webber after the crash. A few times before removing his helmet and a few times after it.

In what is good news for formula one and Michael Schumacher fans all around the world, the German seemed to be on pace in the practice session of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. We have been following this story all week right from the press stories against Michael Schumacher to the Mercedes GP change of the chassis of Michael Schumacher’s car in order to make the car more suitable for him. But the joy could be shortlived as teams could be testing different experimental combinations before the actual race.

Lewis Hamilton was fastest during the session while Jenson Button was second fastest in the session. Mark Webber for the Red Bull team was fourth ahead of his teammate Sebastien Vettel. Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher’s teammate was sixth in the practice session.

Fernando Alonso was eighth in the session while teammate Felipe Massa was twelfth in the other Ferrari car.

Apologies for no photo of the winning driver, apparently Red Bull’s media department is not approving our application to use their photos for editorial purposes.

Red Bull really did give Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber wings with the duo grabbing a 1-2 at the 2010 formula one Malaysian Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg was third for the Mercedes GP formula one team (erstwhile Brawn GP) while his teammate Michael Schumacher was unlucky yet again as a nut came off his car’s wheel and he was forced to retire. Before that Michael Schumacher in a strong start had made up 2 places.

Sebastien Vettel proved that if you are good enough and if you drive good enough, victory will come and luck factor will diminish. After 2 unlucky races, Malaysia proved to be third time lucky.

Lewis Hamilton was another the start performer of the day though, the Briton made his way up from 20th on the grid to sixth place. His teammate Jenson Button was 8th at the finish line.

Meanwhile Spaniard and Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso called the Malaysian Grand Prix the toughest race of his life. He suffered a gearbox problem and apparently no clutch in the race.

“Right from the start things went wrong. On the formation lap, my gearbox broke, and I had no clutch during the race,” Fernando Alonso said.

“So I had to brake in a weird way. I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.

“So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner.

Final Classification of the Malaysian Grand Prix 2010

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts

1 5 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 56 1:33:48.412 3 25

2 6 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 56 +4.8 secs 1 18

3 4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 56 +13.5 secs 2 15

4 11 Robert Kubica Renault 56 +18.5 secs 6 12

5 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 56 +21.0 secs 4 10

6 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +23.4 secs 20 8

7 7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 56 +27.0 secs 21 6

8 1 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 56 +37.9 secs 17 4

9 17 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 56 +70.6 secs 14 2

10 10 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 56 +73.3 secs 5 1

11 16 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 56 +78.9 secs 13

12 9 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 55 +1 Lap 7

13 8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 54 +2 Laps 19

14 25 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 53 +3 Laps 24

15 20 Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 53 +3 Laps 22

16 21 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 52 +4 Laps 23

17 18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 51 +5 Laps 18

Ret 19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 46 +10 Laps 15

Ret 12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 32 +24 Laps 11

Ret 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 12 +44 Laps 10

Ret 3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 9 +47 Laps 8

Ret 23 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 8 +48 Laps 9

Ret 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2 +54 Laps 16

DNS 22 Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 0 +56 Laps 12