It was an action packed qualifying session, the traffic snarls at the venue were legendary with the snarls extending to late evening when I was passing by the track. Spotted a few team folks in various cars Team Lotus prefers the Renault Fluence to travel in style.

Sebastian Vettel grabbed another pole position showing the dominance of his Red Bull, he is just three wins shy of Michael Schumacher’s record of most wins in a formula one season and looks all set to equal that if he continues his current form.

“The car was fantastic since yesterday and throughout qualifying,” said Sebastian Vettel. “In the end there was a little bit left in the first sector.

“I’m extremely happy and it’s good to be here. It will be a very interesting race on a challenging circuit.

“You have to really make sure you stay on the line and the circuit here is not forgiving mistakes. It’s not easy but I enjoy what I do and I was excited when I came here.”

Lewis Hamilton was second fastest in qualifying however due to a penalty he was given on Friday, he got thrown back three places and will start fifth on the grid. Fernando Alonso who will start third on the grid and seemed pleased with Hamilton’s penalty :

“With Hamilton’s penalty, starting third will be even better,” The Spaniard said

Teammate Brazilian Felipe Massa could manage only sixth position in contrast. He has been quite a press favorite with certain Indian tabloids going gaga over his resemblance to his brother whatshisname Massa.

Meanwhile Narain Karthikeyan would have entered the bad books of Michael Schumacher. Narain impeded the German champion in his hot lap and was penalized five places. Needless to say that generally means Narain Karthikeyan would be starting last on the grid. However since Timo Glock is approved to race despite being too slow, Narain wont be last on the grid.

Adrian Sutil of Force India qualified in eight position impressing new boss Subrata Roy (in photo with Nico Hulkenberg). Force India fans will remember Sahara bought stake in the team rechristening it the Sahara Force India formula one team.

I write this post as the latest game in the series ‘F1 2011’ is launched and yes it includes the new Buddh International circuit at Noida. Its coded by codemasters and is marketed by Zapak in India.

The game has a number of new gameplay options, one of which is the much awaited co-op mode, you and your friend compete as formula one racing partners for a team. I have just got my review copy and cant wait to play it out. If you are looking for features, they are all listed here. You can also view the release trailer here, the graphics look simply awesome ! Am awaiting my Xbox copy to really see the HD graphics

The game is available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

F1 2011™ is the sequel to the BAFTA winning FORMULA ONE™ videogame from Codemasters®, the developer and publisher of award-winning racing games. Developed under Codemasters’ exclusive worldwide agreement with Formula One   World Championship Limited, F1 2011 will come complete with all the official drivers, teams and circuits featuring in the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE World Championship™. Zapak Games, the licensing & merchandising arm of Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd. will distribute the title in India.

Developed using Codemasters’ EGO Game Technology Platform F1 2011 will deliver an unrivalled FORMULA ONE experience that puts players into the heart of the world’s most exciting sport, powered by cutting edge graphics, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

· Go Compete!  F1 2011 builds extensively on the multiplayer options from F1 2010. Split-screen racing is included for the first time in a high-definition FORMULA ONE title. Competitive online racing is extended with 16 players going head-to-head in GRAND PRIX™ with up to 8 AI drivers added to simulate the full grid of 24 drivers. An innovative new co-op Championship enables two players to lead their favourite FORMULA ONE team to Driver and Constructor glory across the course of a FORMULA ONE season. These enhancements are complimented by additional quick fire modes including Time Attack.

· New Circuits for 2011. Two stunning new additions to the race calendar extend the number of circuits to feature in F1 2011 to 19. Players will be able to debut ahead of the drivers on the Buddh International Circuit, the home of the first FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA and players will be able to test themselves on the iconic Nürburging circuit for the first time in High Definition, as this legendary track returns for the 2011 season.

· Be the driver, live the life.  From the paddock to the track, F1 2011 takes players closer to the experience of being a FORMULA ONE driver than ever before. A new Parc Ferme area, an expanded and revamped Paddock, new Pit Lane, celebration and reaction cinematics and an enhanced media interaction system fully immerse players in the glamour, pressure and excitement of being a FORMULA ONE driver. Players progress from rookie to FIA FORMULA ONE DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPION in an extensive career mode where gamers fight to become priority driver and shape the development of the car by performing well in races and earning performance upgrades.

· All the cars, all the stars. Fully licensed, F1 2011 features all the drivers set to contest the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button. All 2011 teams are represented including Ferrari, Red Rull Racing, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Lotus Renault GP in their iconic black and gold livery.

· KERS, DRS and more! F1 2011 includes all the new rule changes set to make this year’s season the most exciting yet. F1 2011 debuts DRS (Drag Reduction System) – the new system which enables drivers to adjust the rear wing on the car to give a boost of up to 10km. KERS also returns, giving players an extra 80BHP for up to 6.67 seconds, enabling drivers to blast past rivals. Combined, these systems encourage close wheel-to-wheel racing with new options for both defence and attack. This season’s new Pirelli tyres are faithfully simulated in the game, and if players push their car too hard they may experience a range of authentic new damage failures.

· Full Day / Night Racing. The 2011 FORMULA 1 ETHIAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX comes alive with a full day/ night transition which recreates the special atmosphere at this unique track. Every one of the existing circuits from the 2010 roster has been given a complete visual overhaul. New atmospheric effects, including dynamic clouds, compliment a weather system which features an advanced rain model that affects on-track grip.  Powered by the EGO Game Technology Platforms, F1 2011 pushes forward the graphical standard of what can be achieved in a racing game.

· The world’s greatest cars, the most exciting racing. Building on the heritage of producing award-winning racing games for over a decade, Codemasters is uniquely placed to realise the spectacle and exhilaration of racing 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars for all fans. F1 2011 can be tuned for players from a wide range of skill levels, from the casual gamer to the hardcore simulation enthusiast and those in between, with a range of differing skill levels. A huge range of vehicle variables can be tuned to suit each player’s unique driving style, or drivers can entrust their Race Engineer to set their car up and head straight onto the track. F1 2011 will support a comprehensive range of racing wheels for the ultimate racing experience.

· Unprecedented authenticity. Codemasters has used its unprecedented access to the world of FORMULA ONE to connect the development team directly with FORMULA ONE teams and tyre manufacturers. Extensive consultancy has taken place with a range of FORMULA ONE professionals, including race engineers, mechanics and drivers. This has been combined with real world data including CAD and on-board telemetry to deliver a race experience complete with authentic handling, accurate circuits and precisely modelled racing cars.

· EGO powered FORMULA ONE. F1 2011 is being developed on the EGO Game Technology platform, evolved from the award winning EGO engine. Enabling Codemasters development talent to share tools and technology across Studios and Central Technology teams, the EGO Game Technology Platform empowers Codemasters game designers to realise their creative visions across multiple platforms featuring cutting edge graphics, powerful AI, advanced physics systems and integrated network play.

When the British media collectively goes up in arms, its either due to the fact that some celebrity was caught holidaying on a beach in the Bahamas or its just that it was a slow news day and they needed to cook up something. From what I understand half of the formula one races next season would be shown on free TV. This has got the British press and fans scared about the future of formula one.

BBC has made a deal with SKY in which Sky gets to show all the races whileBBC only gets some of them as Live, BBC has already taken Monaco, Silverstone and the last race in the 2012 formula one season. Now its going to be Russian Roulette style with BBC choosing 3 races then sky chooses three races and this will continue till no more races are left.

But wait, in India its always been on paid TV, Star Sports and ESPN who are known for their more than generous amount of subscription fee have been the sole owners of the F1 feed for quite some time now. I do remember some races being simulcast on Ten Sports a few years ago but without Chris Goodwin and Steve Slater, no one watched those. However despite paid TV and increases in fee by Start Sports and ESPN, formula one as a sport has only grown in India.  When I was in middle school, telling someone that you watched formula one in India was equivalent to social suicide, now it’s a cool thing. People sling Ferrari and Vodafone bags, sip from Red Bull sippers all over the place. The penetration of formula one has been awesome in India despite the paid TV thingy.

The only loser in this deal would be BBC in my opinion, no ones loves watching half the season on TV and no one would like to keep switching back and forth between Sky and BBC, so most will subscribe to Sky and would dump BBC anyway. Fans also lose out a little as a few of them would not be able to afford Sky and would only get to watch half the races. This number might be big as a percentage of Britain, but it would be interesting to see this number as a percentage of the world population.

As this was progressing a scandal has also emerged. Channel 4 apparently had agreed to match the bid by BSkyB but formula one bosses did not consider it in a move that many speculate was to prevent formula one from going to BBC’s terrestrial rival.

It remains to be seen what would be the impact of all of this, all we can do is wait and watch, or we can protest, if the Bahrain Grand Prix can be cancelled, surely this decision too can be reversed if there is enough consumer pressure.

· “So I chose to be the photographer. Jenson was happy with me being the photographer. He wanted to be the assistant because he probably thought he could be lazier but it turned out that he had to do everything. My role was having to direct where all the bits and pieces had to be, position the girls and get them to put on the expressions that I liked and then I had to get the shot done in a very short period of time. I did a pretty good job.” He Said

Jenson was quick to get to grips with the outfit selection, as well as the intricacies of lighting, composition and camera setups, while Lewis also tackled his role confidently. “I’ve done several photo shoots”, Lewis commented, “so I kind of see how photographers behave and act. And obviously I’ve seen Austin Powers so that’s where I really took my inspiration from!”

Check out the behind the scenes video and some exclusive photos :

Jenson Button filling in for the model.

The Alleged photographs by Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton set the timer for this one !

Generally fiddling around on the set for the photo shoot !

About Vodafone VIP :

The film is just one element of Vodafone VIP, which gives customers access to the best of British festival, fashion and Formula 1™ events. Whether it’s the 2011 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX, music festivals or exclusive front row seats at London Fashion Week shows, Vodafone will be supplying customers with the hottest tickets and money can’t buy experiences. All Vodafone customers can register for Vodafone VIP by going online.

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

Jenson Button is a loyal Brit, he has expressed his willingness and his inclination to continue with his stint at McLaren and to end his formula one career at McLaren only. The Brit has a contract with McLaren till 2012. Fresh from is title victory with Brawn GP, Jenson Button had joined the McLaren team in the 2010 formula one season.

Button said that he was very happy with McLaren and was enjoying his time spent with the McLaren formula one team.

Button was quoted as saying

“When I finish racing here, I won’t be racing in Formula 1 anymore. I’m very happy here. I want to enjoy my racing and I’m really enjoying my time here. I can’t see any reason to be anywhere else.”

“It’s a position that most drivers would love to be in and I’ve worked very hard for it. I might be around for three years, five years…I don’t know.”

McLaren Team principal Martin Whitmarsh seemed happy hearing reports of Jenson’s fondness for the team, he was quoted as saying :

“If Jenson says he is totally committed and wants to do x more years, then I suspect that we could quickly come to an agreement.

He’s a tremendous asset to the team and when we get around to that, I hope that it will be a quick and easy conversation.”

‘Where does Lewis Hamilton fit into all this ?’ is a good question though, is he also committed to the McLaren team or is he looking for a switch to one of the better teams at this stage (Redbull racing comes from the rumourville). I remember reading at a few places that Lewis Hamilton might decide to swtich to the faster Red Bull cars. Whether  or not there is any basis for the rumours, only time will be able to tell.

Martin Whitmarsh also talked about the plans for the Turkish Grand Prix :

Winning in China was a fantastic reward for all the hard effort that’s been undertaken both at the race track and at the McLaren Technology Centre to turn MP4-26 into a race winner.

“We’re excited and encouraged by the pace and consistency that both drivers have shown in the opening three flyaway races, but the return to Europe brings fresh challenges.

“We’re under no illusions that we need to improve our qualifying and race pace if we are to remain a threat at the front.

“Additionally, many teams will be readying significant upgrade packages for the Turkish Grand Prix – so nobody can afford to sit still. For this race, we’ll be evaluating a number of small modifications, which include some aerodynamic refinements to the bodywork, during Friday practice.

“Our pace of development is what can win us this championship — and we go into Turkey determined to ensure our upgrades deliver practical gains and are able to confer a useful margin to both drivers.

“Our one-two finish in Turkey last year was one of our most exciting races – and the memory of that result will doubtless spur on the whole team next weekend.”

Image: McLaren Media

Lewis Hamilton was on an unconventional three stop strategy and in the end that seemed to have made the difference with his McLaren outclassing the Red Bull of Vettel. The fresher tyres ensured he was able to overtake the Red Bull. It was nice to see strategy again playing a part in the races after the Red Bulls have truly shown technological dominance on the racetrack (Interpretation of Rules again ?, someone please enlighten !). Sebastien Vettel has already won the 1st 2 formula one races and does seem to be on-track for a successful title defense.

Mark Webber was third and Jenson Button took the 4th place. Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg outclassed Michael Schumacher once again and was 5th while the veteran German could manage only 8th. Questions are again being asked about the German’s comeback decision and whether it was a disastrous decision to make. Personally I am proud of him, it takes courage to put your legacy on the line like he has

Sorry for the short and intermittent updates, too much work these day ! But like all things , this too shall pass !

This is just a small article showcasing how the team looks for the 2011 season, the team calls its 2011 challenger the VJM04.

The team seems all charged up for the 2011 season, while poster boy Adrian Sutil was retained for the 2011 season as primary driver, Nico Hulkenberg will be the reserve driver and Brit blood (Scottish for some ) Paula Di Resta has come into the team as the secondary driver. Vitantonio Liuzzi is out of the team (surprised ? ).

Testing has been proceeding well for the team and Adrian Sutil seemed happy with the recently concluded testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Adrian’s comments after the test were :

Adrian Sutil
A very productive day in general for us. We made some good progress with the balance and we’ve now got a basic set-up that feels smooth and easy to drive. I also got a run on the supersoft tyres, which we didn’t manage to do yesterday. Of course we also put the KERS on the car. It ran reliably and allowed us to complete the full test programme: very promising for this point in testing. It’s still early days for the system but we have got ourselves into a good rhythm and can feed this back into the factory to get some more performance for the next test.

Dominic Harlow, circuit engineering director also added his thoughts :

A good final day’s testing concentrating on KERS set-up, reliability and also some aero tests that remained on our program. Adrian also looked at some ride height sweeps and a few procedural checks. It’s been a productive four days for the team and overall the car seems to be performing reliably and according to expectations in all the major areas.

The comments are very much in contrast with those of the McLaren pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. In other news, Martin Whitmarsh has issued a whip to the  various drivers taking gripes at the new F1 tyre suppliers Pirelli.

“Being a tire supplier is a thankless task,” Martin Whitmarsh said.

“The quick deterioration is a characteristic, requested by the teams and organization, to improve the show.”

Images : Force India F1 Media

After the high of last year it looks like its going to be a bumpy ride for the Brit team McLaren and their all Brit duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. After the recent rounds of testing completed , both drivers seemed skeptical of their car’s performance and acknowledged that the car needed to improve for them to have a chance in the championship.

Jenson Button was not happy about the setup work due to the short testing period that teams are getting. He commented that the improvement done to the car till now wont be enough once the formula one season starts.

“It’s tricky because we haven’t had enough testing in the car to do proper set-up work which is disappointing. It’s been bitty in testing. We have improved it but not enough.

“The next test is really important to us to see what this car can do and hopefully we will be ready for the first race. If we went racing now we wouldn’t be quite ready because we have not done enough testing.”

Lewis Hamilton was also disappointed about the small testing windows and the fact that McLaren is playing catch up to its rivals in testing.

“One day we did only 38 laps. That’s nothing major but we have had mechanical issues at the back of the car and that has really hampered us. In the last test we got 170 laps so we have picked up but we are behind on mileage and we can’t catch it up on the testing left. But hopefully it will not hinder us too much.”

In other news the Bahrain Grand Prix though cancelled due to democracy protests in the country and subsequent bloodshed could be back in the 2011 season itself at a later date. Keep reading for more. In an interview, Bernie Ecclestone said :

“I’m hoping upon hope that things settle peacefully in Bahrain and we can find a slot later on in the year,” said Ecclestone.

“I don’t know how likely there will be peace, but if there is then we will find a way.

“We will have a look and see what we can do, how we can swap things around a bit. Maybe we can change it with Brazil, or something like that.

“But forget August. It’s too hot for the public to sit in the grandstand at 40-odd degrees .”

Image : McLaren Media

McLaren today released their 2011 formula one challenger at Berlin, the MP4-26. The car was revealed in a unique style with McLaren fans assembling the chassis of the car.

The team has great expectations from the car. The MP4-26 features a new KERS system which is supposed to recycle the energy from braking for boost purposes.

The car also has the much talked about adjustable rear-wing system which was criticised by Ferrari drivers earlier this year for making the sport too complicated. The U-shape side pods for more air intake into the rear end of the car are also prominent on the car.

The McLaren team continues with the all Brit pair of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Martin Whitmarsh was pretty optimistic at the launch of the new challenger.

“I’m hopeful that Formula 1 stands poised on the cusp of an incredible new era.

“With Lewis and Jenson, we have two of the most exciting, charismatic and high-profile personalities in the sport, and the whole team feels a powerful sense of responsibility to provide them with the very best machinery with which to showcase their very evident talents to the world.

“The MP4-26 is the result of an incredible amount of hard work, innovative thinking and dynamic teamwork. Under the leadership of Paddy Lowe [technical director], Tim Goss [director of engineering] and Neil Oatley [director of design and development programmes], our design department is more integrated than ever: in fact, I’m particularly proud of the contributions made by our project engineers, many of whom have taken on leadership roles for the very first time and who have worked so well together to create this very striking and individual-looking car.

“While we’re all hopeful of once more adding to our tremendous record in Formula 1, this sport is so unpredictable and finely pitched at the moment that it’s impossible accurately to forecast the state of play until the season starts next month. That’s a tantalising prospect for Formula 1’s many millions of existing fans – and, I hope, something that will attract many millions more by the end of what looks set to be an absolutely fantastic year.”