MISSING IN MONZA.

This is just a quick post to apologise for being MIA this weekend! I didn't do a race preview, practice review or Qualifying review and for that, I am sorry! I have been very busy this week because I am going to university in exactly one week's time so I've had to get myself prepared for that. I wanted to keep up with the blog despite this but just haven't found the time to dedicate myself to writing a good post worthy of your readership. I really do mean that.

I even missed Qualifying today and had to shut myself off from the world to avoid finding out the result. I watched the BBC highlights and was blown away by what a good session it was. A McLaren 1-2, Vettel 5th despite Red Bull's problems that left Webber 11th and Massa 3rd; ahead of Alonso who was a contender for pole! The race in Monza will, as always, be spectacular and I can't wait to sit, watch and enjoy! I will definitely try and do a race review so I'll see you tomorrow!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

ÜBUNG MACHT DEN MEISTER.

So, my title is apparently the German version of 'practice makes perfect' which is what I usually call my review of Friday's practice session; in case you were wondering!

You've probably seen the headlines about Jenson Button setting the fastest time in FP1 by now but because the track was constantly changing; there were short bouts of rain and the track was wet and then dry etc, the time isn't really an indication as to where he and McLaren will be this weekend with respect to their main competitors. McLaren have brought a major upgrade package to Hockenheim and have made significant aerodynamic changes to the sidepod in a bid to increase downforce. The upgrades were desperately needed at McLaren and they will be hoping that they are now matched with Red Bull, and even Ferrari, in terms of performance. They need to put Silverstone behind them as a weekend to forget but also learn from. Qualifying conditions tomorrow may be similar to what they were like in Silverstone and we all know that McLaren were below par in those conditions. I do find it strange that McLaren choose to bring major upgrades to races all at once and are then happy to leave the car for a few more races. It would make a lot more sense to constantly evolve the car and add upgrade by upgrade, which is what Red Bull do. Nevertheless, the upgrades are finally here but we will still have to wait and see whether their developments mean they can put their woes behind them. Jenson's time was good but set at a time when the track was dry and no-one else really benefited from that. He does, however, seem to have some of that balance back!

FP2 have us a better indication of teams' abilities but again conditions were changing and the time you set your lap was crucial. The start of the session was hampered by rain and so no running took place; Jenson Button even took the opportunity to have a cup of tea! Then brave Bruno Senna went out on the wet tyres and others followed suit. As the track dried up, the intermediate tyres came on and the lap times flew. The order was constantly changing as drivers got tyres at their optimum and the track continued to dry. Enjoying stints at the top were; Button, Vettel, Rosberg, Grosjean, Hamilton and more... Maldonado then set the fastest lap just as the rain returned. Before that there was even some talk about switching on to the slicks but that was merely a passing thought and the weather had other plans.

Michael Schumacher then brought the session to an end as he crashed his Mercedes by the Mercedes grandstand with approximately 4 minutes to go. It wasn't a big disruption as not much running was taking place and teams weren't that concerned with data collection at that point.

There's not really a lot to learn from these practice sessions but we do know that Qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday won't fail to deliver some more exciting racing. There seem to be several contenders for pole as Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Williams all have fast cars that we know are capable of bringing a challenge. We don't yet know what the conditions will be like for the Qualifying sessions and timing and tyres will be crucial in setting the fastest time, not necessarily who has the fastest car!

I am missing the session, but will be recording and watching late in the evening, meaning I won't be able to post a review. So, enjoy the session and I will see you back here on Sunday, which feels like a lifetime away at the moment, to discuss all things German Grand Prix-related!

Bis Sonntag,

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

The Silverstone weekend is well and truly under way! FP1 and FP2 took place today, obviously, but both sessions were affected by rain meaning we can't really learn too much from the final standings at the end of the sessions. Then again, it looks like Qualifying and the race will be rain-hit as well so maybe there was something to gain from the sessions.

Fernando Alonso would probably disagree. He only went out towards the end of FP1 and if you were watching the session on TV you would have seen him sitting very comfortably in his chair; and not the one in his Ferrari! As a result his time wasn't that fast in FP1 or 2. Like I said previously, I don't think we can learn a lot from these times. Alonso is fast and his Ferrari is capable of performing in the rain. The last race that was really affected by rain was in Malaysia; which, as you know, Fernando went on to win. I'm sure some teams were using the sessions to gain a better understanding of what their car can do in the rain at this circuit. Massa fared slightly better than Alonso in FP1 but did a lot more running; he ultimately finished in fifth. FP2 results for Alonso and Massa were 10th and 15th respectively. Ferrari and Alonso know what is at stake this weekend. Their decision to go for limited running does therefore seem slightly strange. We will find out the exact reasons, I'm sure, sooner or later and we will discover Ferrari's true form tomorrow in Qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton was the man topping the timesheets at the end of FP2 and a strong display in FP1 when he finished 3rd indicates that he may have a strong weekend at his home Grand Prix; which he is making everyone aware of with his helmet choice! Many have already started to talk of another win in the wet for Hamilton in Britain; his first was in his championship winning year 2008. These predictions may be a little premature as this weekend still has a long way to go. Setting the fastest time in FP2 does not mean you will have a strong Qualifying; think Vettel in Barcelona, and with ever-changing conditions, fuel loads and set-ups for cars nothing is set in stone. Nevertheless, this is a positive start to the weekend for the Brit and it certainly gave fans something to cheer about.

There was little to no running for almost an hour which, as Sebastian Vettel pointed out, was a real shame for the thousands of fans who endured hours of traffic and the pouring rain to watch some Formula 1 action. The rain was really heavy, something I hope does not continue for the weekend! I would hate to see Qualifying or the race disrupted by the rain; for fans at home, in the grandstands or those crazy, unfortunate few who are camping.

Speaking of Vettel, he also said that he thinks Red Bull have managed to save tyres by not running; tyre consumption is turning into a bit of a worry this weekend with only a limited set of intermediate tyres available. He admitted that he and team did not manage to learn a lot and with some new upgrades for the RB8 this may be a concern for Red Bull. Mark Webber did not even set a timed lap in FP2 and Vettel finished in 11th so they will be eager and hopeful of getting some running before Qualifying tomorrow. I also wanted tell you about the ESPYS, just quickly. The ESPYS are sports awards, run by ESPN, and include categories on all sorts of sports. 'Best Driver' is one category and Sebastian Vettel is nominated. He is the only F1 driver nominated. If you want to show some support and vote for him, click here. You can vote in the other categories as well, if you want to!

Sauber looked strong in both practice sessions today with both drivers finishing in the top 10 for both sessions. Malaysia saw Perez take his first ever F1 podium. Sauber clearly like the rain... This season they have been known for great tyre management and things are looking up for them this weekend. If they can manage the tyres better than those they qualify near they have a strong chance of yet another podium. With Kobayashi looking strong this weekend as well, they can pick up a nice batch of points for the Constructors' championship. I expect them to be qualifying near Force India and Jenson Button so we'll see how my prediction turns out.

I've already told you that we cannot gain a lot from these practice sessions. Even if the race is full of rain and the conditions are similar to today teams didn't get to run a lot or as much as they would have liked. This means they themselves don't really know what will happen, let alone us bystanders! One thing we do know is that we are in for a cracking weekend. Qualifying will be intense, as it has always been this season, but the weather makes it so much more unpredictable. In normal conditions I would have picked Vettel but I have no idea who will be on the front row tomorrow. It may not even matter that much with heavy rain often meaning safety cars and possibly even a red flag.

Kimi Raikkonen, as ever, summed up what we learnt from these sessions perfectly; "It was wet."


Aqsa, @aqsasformula

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Before I start talking about the day's action in Valencia I'd just like to say "I'm baaaack!" It feels like I've been away from the blog for a very long time and I hope you haven't felt neglected. As I mentioned in my last post, I have had my A-Level exams for the past fortnight but I am finished now and excited to be able to devote myself to my blog. So expect more regular posts and new features as well, not just race reviews and F1 news.

Now let's get down to business...

The Friday of a race weekend (usually) means we have 2 practice sessions to enjoy and today it was the turn of Valencia to host FP1 and FP2 as it is the European Grand Prix this weekend, of course! As has been the case all too often this season the practice sessions don't really give us much of an indication as to what will happen during Qualifying and even less so for the race. Teams' form doesn't only vary between Grands Prix; it can even change within the space of a couple of days. As we don't know what programmes teams are running during the sessions it is difficult to determine where their strengths lie. However, I think it's safe to assume that most teams will, at least, try to set a few fast, timed laps so that they know what to expect from Qualifying. That being said I doubt they even know what may happen...

I'll begin with looking at this Grand Prix's reigning champions Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. The two-time Valencia winner, 2010 and 2011, went 2nd fastest in FP1 and fastest of all in FP2. Teammate Mark Webber was 3rd and 9th in FP1 and FP2 respectively. Judging by these positions it is clear that Red Bull will be strong this weekend. FP2 was very mixed up, which I'll get to later, but, despite this, it seems that Red Bull's updates have been successful ones. They have made modifications to their car for this race that are designed to increase the downforce at the rear of the car; something the team used to maximum advantage in 2010 and 2011 with their exhaust-blown diffuser. As this has been banned for 2012 the team have struggled with recapturing the same level of dominance and race wins they previously enjoyed. Could the new updates mean that the Red Bull team we are used to seeing is back? They have still performed well so far this season and during a lot of unpredictability and instability they still lead in the Constructors' championship. Vettel stated, after practice, that the team had a strict programme which they stuck to and that lap times are not yet allowing them to make any conclusions regrading their "new bits". 

Now let me get back to how crazy FP2 was, which I mentioned above. First of all, Force India's Nico Hulkenberg was second fastest in the session but I highly doubt that we'll see a Force India so high up in the rankings in Qualifying tomorrow. Paul di Resta was sixth and both Force India drivers have already proven that they can get in to Q3. They are just more used to being in the lower part of the top 10. The car clearly has pace so I think we can expect to see them in Q3 tomorrow. They will face stiff competition from fellow midfield runners Sauber. 

Out of all the midfield teams it is safe to say that Lotus and Sauber have definitely made the most progress. With 2 podiums already under their belt this season, Sauber will be looking for more of the same this weekend in Valencia. Kobayashi was 3rd in FP2. Lotus may be looking to go a step higher than Sauber and take a race win. They have looked likely to do so for a few races now but the highest they've ever managed is 2nd place. The higher temperatures in Valencia will favour Lotus. They have performed well in these conditions before because they are so easy on their tyres. Should they pull off the win, we will have 8 different winners from 8 races after Lewis became the 7th man to win a race last time out. I'm getting a little ahead of myself now, we have Qualifying to deal with first and Valencia is a track, unlike Montreal, where pole position is very important for eventually taking the win so Lotus will have to pull some pace out of the bag and grab their first pole of the 2012 season to increase their chances of a race win. Grosjean and Raikkonen were only eighth and eleventh fastest in the afternoon session but as I said, FP2 was very mixed up so I wouldn't look at these results as realistic expectations for Qualifying. The team know that they can make up a lot more positions for both drivers. 

McLaren will probably share these beliefs. A more than disappointing FP2 led to their drivers finishing 12th and 14th with Jenson Button ahead of Canadian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton. In the morning Button and Hamilton were fourth and eighth respectively. Button's struggles for the past three or four races have been well-documented but he was looking much more comfortable today. With getting through to Q3 being Button's main priority as of late, whilst Hamilton has a shot at pole, Jenson will be hoping he doesn't have it quite as hard tomorrow and McLaren have said that they understand what his problems were and have tried to solve them. Only time will tell whether they have been successful but, with the way this season is going, we will probably see him leading the championship at the end of the weekend...

So Qualifying tomorrow will be a very exciting one and there will be a lot to look out for. Have Button and McLaren ironed out their issues? Can Lotus present a strong challenge for pole position? Which of the midfield teams can make it to Q3? I should mention that Pastor Maldonado was the man who beat Vettel in FP1. Williams clearly like driving in Spain, so can they pull off another shock pole position? With the Qualifying position in Valencia being notoriously important for the eventual race outcome, everyone will be giving it their all tomorrow. I don't want to put a downer on the race already, especially as I've been looking forward to it as the light at the end of my metaphorical exam tunnel, but I have a feeling that Qualifying will be more exciting than the actual race. That being said, I can't wait for this entire weekend to kick off so bring on the European Grand Prix weekend! Oh and England vs. Italy in Euro 2012; what a great time to be a sports fan! Even if you don't like football I think you can appreciate the significance of this match! Anyway, I digress... 

I'll see you back here tomorrow afternoon, after Qualifying, to digest everything that happens!

Aqsa

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

As I write, FP3 for the Canadian Grand Prix is underway meaning we've already had 2 sessions over in Canada to try and learn something about what may happen this weekend. Lewis Hamilton  topped the timesheets in both sessions showing that he will be a definite pole contender for Qualifying in a few hours time. The McLaren driver showed impressive speed and is certainly the favourite for pole. He's already been on pole twice, three times if you're a McLaren fan, this season and he can add to his tally today. However, he will still face a challenge. In FP2 the top 3 cars were covered by just 0.151 seconds.

Behind Hamilton were the two Ferraris; Alonso and Massa were 2nd and 3rd respectively. Ferrari seem to have put their early season woes behind them and, they too, were impressive in practice. Despite the car seemingly much better in the race than in Qualfying a few races ago, the team demonstrated in Monaco that they are now fast enough on Saturday too. To get both of their cars in the top 3 in FP2 was no mean feat but the vital thing will be to replicate this form in Qualifying. However, as has been the case many times this season, the practice sessions can be misleading. So we will have to wait for Qualifying in Montreal to be over before we can pass judgement on the progress Ferrari seem to have made.

Red Bull had a satisfactory Friday and it does not look like having to change their floor has had much of an impact on their car's performance. Sebastian Vettel finished 2nd and then 4th but Mark Webber finished 5th and 11th in FP1 and FP2 in Canada. Following a great drive and win in Monaco for Mark and Red Bull after starting from pole position, we know that he can put the RB8 at the very front, or close to the very front, of the grid. However, the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal is a different beast altogether and we will have to wait and see what Red Bull can do this weekend. Will Sebastian Vettel, once again, not run in Q3? He seems to be fast, judging from the practice sessions, but that can all change in Qualifying if he can not optimise tyre performance. Running on the super-softs in FP1 and finishing 2nd indicates that he may have a shot at pole position.

Mercedes are also thought to be pole position contenders today. Many have speculated that they have not shown their true form during practice and with their 'super-DRS' they are capable of doing well in Canada. Michael Schumacher was declared to be 'back' after going fastest on Saturday in Monaco; can he make it 2 in a row? Or will his teammate Nico Rosberg take his second pole of the season? His first came a few races ago in China.

So I have focused on the frontrunners' performance in practice in this review but there's so much chopping and changing of pecking orders that the top 10 shoot-out will be one of the most exciting yet. Not only is it all "very close" in the words of Mr. Vettel but Canada offers a circuit that always manages to throw up a surprise or two. Of course, whilst the person who is favourite for pole always changes, so do the cars that make up the rest of the top 10 once the usual favourites go through. Can Force India improve on their strong performance in Monaco? Will Williams be able to challenge for the top spot again?

Qualifying in Canada will most certainly be thrilling and there is a lot to look out for as well. Not only will we be thinking about who gets pole or which cars from the 'midfield' make it through to Q3, we will want to look out for who actually runs in Q3, whether or not Jenson can make it out of Q2 (will it even matter to him? We know what he is capable of here!), and whether the man who gets pole position gets to stay there without being subjected to a penalty.

I can not wait for Qualifying to get started so, whether you're watching it in a few hours or waiting for BBC highlights later in the evening, make sure you're back here for my Qualifying review...

Aqsa

(Images)


UPDATE: FP3 is over and Vettel topped the results by, wait for it, six-thousandths of a second. My oh my, it really is so close. He was ahead of Alonso and Hamilton. Now tell me that hasn't made you a hundred times more excited for Qualifying... You can't, can you? Oh, and the top 16 were covered by ONE second!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

If you're feeling a little disorientated today and think that tomorrow marks the beginning of an F1 race weekend then you're not alone, my friend! It's because today the practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix took place instead of an a Friday like they usually do. So I'm just going to talk about them now and I'll begin by telling/reminding you that Jenson Button went fastest in FP2. After saying his McLaren car wasn't suited to this track, the Englishman went fastest from Lotus' Romain Grosjean. However, it is worth noting that he was one of a few number of drivers who managed to set times on the faster of the two tyre choices before rain disrupted the second session.

Running was fairly limited for drivers today. As mentioned above, the second session was hampered by rain and the first ended seven minutes early due to the engine in Heikki Kovaleinen's Caterham blowing up in the tunnel. This means teams will go in to FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday without some of the information they would probably like. However, there is a very strong chance of rain for the Qualifying session which means it is definitely going to be another one where no one has a clue as to what may happen.

It must be repeated that the Lotus duo look strong and they are definite contenders for pole or the race win. You might even say they're the 'favourites' although I wouldn't be placing any bets if I were you; anything can happen on the day! Kimi Raikkonen didn't have a brilliant practice session. He failed to set a time in FP1 due to problems with his steering rack and the rain didn't allow him to compete with teammate Grosjean's lap. Despite these problems, I can definitely foresee a strong performance from the pair and it's not like Kimi has a lack of experience at this circuit. An all-Lotus front row could be a very real possibility...

Overall there isn't a lot to be said about this practice session. And just like all the other FP1s and FP2s before it, it doesn't tell us much about what will happen during the race weekend. I wasn't able to watch the sessions (because of the immensely wonderful sunshine and heat in the UK right now) but my eyes will be firmly glued to the television for Qualifying on Saturday. I'm a bit disappointed that FP1 and 2 are on a Thursday because it makes the wait for the weekend feel so much more longer. It's a bit depressing, isn't it?

So, who do you think will get pole? Kimi or Romain? Could Lewis reclaim his place at the top? Or could Sebastian Vettel repeat what was a great pole lap last year? Don't bother asking me who I'm picking, I have not yet this season been right...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

The Spanish Grand Prix weekend is officially underway, people! Teams and drivers completed FP1 and FP2 in Barcelona today and once again we have some varied results. The three week break that separated Bahrain and Spain, with a little in-season test thrown in between, allowed the teams to update their cars and add improvements to their pace and aerodynamics.

Let's begin with looking at our frontrunners. Jenson Button and McLaren topped the timesheets after second practice followed by Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull. Both of them were significantly faster than their team mates but Mark Webber believes that was due to them setting a flying lap on the soft, 'option' tyre. Hamilton finished in fourth, which is still a promising position, but Webber was much lower down in the pack; he finished 7th overall. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg also had a positive session by finishing third fastest. These three teams are your usual contenders for pole on Saturday but which one of these drivers will take it? Only Lewis, Sebastian and Nico have sat on pole so far this season but I'm sure Jenson will be hungry for that grid position as well. It has been a long time since he's experienced life at the very front of the starting grid.
'Who do I think will get pole?' I hear you ask... I'm going to go with Sebastian!

One of the teams who brought much needed updates to firstly Mugello and now to Spain is Ferrari. No one expected Ferrari to be challenging the likes of Red Bull and McLaren this early on in the season but we had hoped to see them with increased pace, particularly in qualifying. They had mixed fortunes in practice today finishing fastest in the first session but eleventh in the second. Of course, we will have to wait for qualifying tomorrow to how much of an impact their updates have had to their underlying pace but I do think it will be a struggle for them to reach Q3. Hopefully, they are on an upward learning curve and can improve further as the season continues. But for now they have a qualifying session to deal with and Fernando Alonso will be eager to give the home fans something to cheer about at his home Grand Prix.

This has been a fairly brief summary of the practice sessions but the most interesting thing to look out for tomorrow will, of course, be the battle for pole position; as far as I am concerned anyway. Last year it was far more exciting to look at how the grid lines up behind Vettel but this year the excitement in the top-10 shootout has been restored and it is quite hard to call it. Look out for the McLarens, Red Bulls, Mercedes' and Lotuses and keep an eye out for what Ferrari and Alonso can manage.

Let me know who you're backing for pole position, I've told you my prediction above, by commenting or tweeting me! I'll see you back here tomorrow for a run-down on Qualifying and what we can expect from the race.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images: dailymail.co.uk)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Two practice sessions took place over in Bahrain earlier today and the standings after them make for very interesting reading.

In second practice Nico Rosberg was fastest overall showing that his form has carried over into this race weekend and only a fool would write him off as a pole contender. Understandably high after his maiden race win in China, Nico has a great chance at making it two in a row...

The big surprise of the day for me was the fact that the Red Bulls of Mark and Sebastian were 2nd and 3rd respectively. The double world champion has switched to the newer car that Mark was running with last week after saying he preferred the older design. The results from China, in qualifying and in the race, showed that the newer package was faster and Vettel can't afford to carry on being beaten by his team mate. The Bulls showed they had pace and were capable of matching or even beating McLaren but remember that in practice in Shanghai, Red Bull weren't too far off the pace but we all know that qualifying certainly didn't go to plan for them.

Speaking of McLaren, I can't imagine they're totally happy with how practice went as they were beaten by Red Bull in second practice; Lewis finished fourth after Vettel. Button was "feeling massively no grip" and it seems that his poor qualifying performance in China may be repeated tomorrow. However the fact that Lewis went fastest in first practice once again underlines just how unpredictable this season promises to be, let alone tomorrow's qualifying.

There were no other major surprises amongst the teams with Ferrari finishing in eighth with Alonso; a position they're definitely getting used to particularly on Fridays and Saturdays.

I don't think anyone knows what is going to happen tomorrow and I'm sure that qualifying in Bahrain will leave us with plenty of talking points just as Saturday sessions have done all year so far.

Of course the race isn't the only thing that will get the world watching and F1 will have a lot more attention placed on it this weekend due to the political conditions in Bahrain. Whether the race goes ahead or not (it's unlikely to be cancelled anyway) is not in the hands of F1 fans so let's just enjoy the on-track action as much as we can whilst not forgetting what the innocent people of Bahrain are fighting for and praying that everyone (teams, drivers, fans and protesters) stays safe.

So will Vettel make it to Q3 or finally beat his team mate? Will Nico take pole position again? Or will Hamilton rain on his parade? Unfortunately I can't answer any of these and you'll just have to watch qualifying to find out, won't you? Then you can join me right here so we can talk about it all. See you then...

Aqsa

P.S. My laptop has gone off for repairs (I somehow cracked the screen) so I may not be able to post/tweet as regularly as I would like to next week but I'll try my best. I'm sure my sister won't mind me stealing borrowing hers.

(All images: dailymail.co.uk)

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

With FP1 AND FP2 completed over in China we can see how hard teams have worked since Malaysia to improve their packages but what have we actually learnt?

It seems to me that McLaren are still the frontrunners with their cars- particularly Lewis'- posting times right at the top of the leader board. Lewis was second fastest overall but Jenson experienced a slightly different practice session. He complained of "way too much understeer" and said he was struggling with his tyres whilst trying to find a good set-up. So Lewis may go faster on Saturday but due to his grid-place penalty may not start in front of Button on the grid.

Also fast were Mercedes and Michael Schumacher went fastest overall. Their controversial DRS-activated W-duct (/F-duct/whatever we're now calling it) no doubt helps them with flying lap pace but Mercedes have struggled on race day despite positive qualifying sessions. Nico Rosberg only managed fifth fastest so it will be interesting to see whether he can close the gap to Michael tomorrow.

(Image taken from automobilsport.com)

Red Bull have certainly made improvements to their car and Vettel and Webber were running on different exhaust systems for both practice sessions. Vettel feels "a bit more comfortable" driving his exhaust package so maybe some of the problems he was encountering at the start of the season have been addressed. We can only find out tomorrow as it was mainly qualifying where Red Bull looked to be seriously behind both Mercedes and McLaren.

Elsewhere, Ferrari could only manage tenth fastest with Alonso but remember that despite never having qualified higher than eighth, Alonso is still leading the world championship. Ferrari are in a strange position and even though Alonso won in Malaysia I'd say that was more due to the man and the conditions rather than the car. It won't be until the beginning of the European leg that we can think of the Ferrari as a big contender in qualifying.

(Image taken from ca.sports.yahoo.com)

Another point of interest; Kamui Kobayashi was faster than Perez but the young Mexican will be the centre of a lot of attention this week after claiming his first podium three weeks ago. A confident driver and a confident Sauber team will certainly be fancying their chances at another one in a couple of days time.

(Image taken from riotengine.in)

I can not wait for qualifying, I think I might enjoy it more than the race itself. Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration but it's always exciting and even more so now that the man sitting on pole is not a safe bet. However, if I was a betting person, I'd go with Lewis fastest in Q3 but Schumacher starting at the front. There is also the Red Bull battle to look out for as Vettel has been out-qualified by Mark both times this season.

It will definitely be worth the early start, so enjoy it and expect a little piece from me tomorrow on what the grid positions may mean for the race...

Aqsa