AQSA'S PODIUM

Well I have fewer drivers to choose from for this feature so that should make my life slightly easier; thanks Romain! (Too soon to joke about it?)

3. Nico Hulkenberg

The Force India driver came fourth in Spa; a career best finish. Fourth! In a Force India! At Spa! I'm sure he feels great after that driver. He may not have won or got on to the podium but he was in a car that has been poor so far this season and although many contenders for that fourth spot were eliminated at the start of the race, Nico still beat a Red Bull, a Ferrari, both Mercedes and a Williams so he can definitely consider this as an achievement.

2. Jenson Button

Jenson won the race in a dominant fashion after dominating Qualifying the day before. He drove a great race but I've put him in second because he didn't exactly have too much to do during it as he'd done all the hard work the day before.

1. Sebastian Vettel

Vettel had a poor awful Saturday in Spa after he failed to make it through to Q3 but gained some solace from the fact that Spa is a track where you can overtake and gain positions. But with his main title rivals all ahead of him, things weren't looking overly promising. He started the race from 10th, due to a 5 place grid penalty for Mark Webber as he had to have a gearbox change, but slipped to 12th as he tried to avoid getting caught up in the T1 accident. He then fought his way through the pack, making some amazing overtakes in the process. This combined with a one-stop strategy allowed Vettel to come home in a very comfortable second position and one that he admitted "felt like a race win".

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 1, 2, 3)

SETTING THE SCENE.

It would be very easy for me to pick the image(s) I used here as my picks for this feature as well but that'd be too easy. So instead of saying that the crash at the start of the race in Spa sums up the race for me, I've chosen this;

Spa marked the comeback of Jenson Button. His dominant performance in Qualifying on Saturday carried through to the race and there was just no catching him. He'll be hoping that this form is here to stay, unlike after Australia when it disappeared suddenly after such a strong start. It was a very deserved win for the Brit and the perfect way to kick off his title resurgence; Jenson still believes he can win the title and if he continues to have races like he did last weekend then it is very possible!

Of course, Vettel and Kimi also did well to get the two remaining podium spots and, as they are two of the title contenders, this picture shows that this race could potentially have large repercussions for the title but we'll have to wait until Brazil before we can make that judgement!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #5

I don't even need to think about this! And I don't even need to elaborate on it very much as I wrote quite a lengthy paragraph on it in my race review. In fact, I bet you already know what it is...

They say a picture speaks a thousand words so I'll let the two above do all the talking. I think you know why this was the moment of the Grand Prix.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SPA; WE EXPECTED NOTHING LESS FROM YOU

Well, F1 certainly came back from the summer break with a bang! Yesterday's Grand Prix in Spa was an absolute pleasure to watch and left me feeling almost every single emotion it is possible to feel at some point during the race; shock, fear, relief, frustration, confusion, worry, happiness, joy and the list goes on... I'm also pretty sure that my heart rate was taken to levels it had never seen before and I have the likes of Vettel, Webber, Raikkonen and Schumacher to thank for that! More on that later...

The action from the race started before the lights had even gone out; yes, Pastor Maldonado that is directed to you! The ever controversial Venezuelan driver made a jump start at the beginning of the Grand Prix when he launched out of his grid spot a significant amount of time faster than anyone else. Race director Charlie Whiting's reaction said it all as he was seen shaking his head at Maldonado. As if that wasn't enough action for the beginning of a race, about 5 seconds later we would all have forgotten about what Maldonado had done and those of us that are too young to remember watching the start of Spa 1998 live were given the start of Spa 2012 to have with us forever. I'm sure you have all seen what happened by now so I won't describe the events as they happened but the fact that Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton; both of whom would have been very competitive in the race, were taken out is clearly something that will have significant title repercussions and we may look back on this race after Brazil as a real game-changer! 

As a result of these starting incidents the stewards were very busy after the race. Maldonado was given 2 5-place grid penalties, one for the jump start and one for colliding with Timo Glock after the T1 incident, and Grosjean was handed a one race ban; the first time we have seen this punishment for 18 years! That in itself shows the severity of the incident but, whilst I do think this is the appropriate punishment, the inconsistency constantly shown by the FIA when dealing with accidents is becoming more than slightly annoying! Is it too much to ask for everything to be dealt with appropriately and a clear rule book that gives clear punishments? You could say that the FIA are very consistent at being inconsistent...

Here is what Romain Grosjean had to say on his punishment and the incident;

“When your life is all about racing, not being allowed to attend an event is probably one of the worst experiences you can go through. That said, I do respect the verdict of the Stewards. I got a good start… and was heading into the first corner when the rear of my car made contact with the front of Lewis [Hamilton]’s. I honestly thought I was ahead of him and there was enough room for both cars; I didn’t deliberately try to squeeze him or anything like that. This first corner situation obviously isn’t what anyone would want to happen and thankfully no-one was hurt in the incident. I wish to apologise to the drivers who were involved and to their fans. I can only say that today is part of a process that will make me a better driver."

I completely commend Grosjean for accepting blame and apologising for what he caused. Many have said the incident was caused because of his immaturity as a driver but I think this shows that he is not immature and is looking at this as an experience that will make him a better driver. We can now ask of nothing more from him and hope that he can avoid incidents like this in the future; beginning with his next race in Singapore! 

Spa is famous for always allowing plenty of overtakes and boy did it deliver yesterday! Of course, the standout overtake from the Grand Prix was Kimi's overtake on Michael Schumacher up Eau Rouge. Oh that certainly got my heart rate rising and I can imagine Kimi would have had a little smile on his face as he carried all that speed out of the legendary corner and saw the German firmly behind him after the two had been battling it out for third place. 

Sebastian Vettel was also busy with overtaking yesterday and any critics of the reigning world champion's driving skills in traffic were firmly proved wrong as he went from 10th on the grid (to 12th after the accident at the start) to 2nd and picked up 18 points. One of the people Vettel had to overtake on his drive to 2nd was teammate Mark Webber. He overtook him, and many others, on the 'bus stop' chicane and both drivers showed the level of respect between them as a potentially race-ending overtake was completed smoothly and cleanly. Although, I did have to hold my breath as the two went into the chicane side by side. Vettel's 2nd place and Alonso's elimination from the race means that Vettel is now 24 points off the the championship lead.

There was also a lot of confusion at one point as Sebastian and Schumacher were involved in a bit of battle and as Vettel tried to overtake him at his favourite spot (the chicane) but Michael was planning on going into the pits. The layout of the circuit meant that Schumacher almost drove across the front of the Red Bull but luckily no damage was done! The incident was put under investigation by the stewards but no penalties were awarded. When asked about the incident afterwards Sebastian said this about Michael; "he is a wily fox and doesn’t give you a lot of space" but added that "that is the fun in fighting with him."

Nico Hulkenberg had a really great race at Spa and he achieved a career best finish of 4th! He lost out on the podium spot to Kimi Raikkonen but fourth is still an achievement in a Force India car. Naturally, Hulkenberg's fortune was partly thanks to many main contenders being eliminated from the race before it had really began but he still finished ahead of a Ferrari (Massa brought the only Ferrari in the race home in 5th) and the 6th-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber. Toro Rosso were also finally back in the points and Di Resta had to fight hard to take away 10th place and 1 point!

After all the excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Jenson Button won the race and proves he is officially back! The Brit showed that his form from Australia earlier this year has returned and he showed what he can do when he has a car he is comfortable with and has the right balance (he really overuses that word). Now that Button is back at the top we can expect him to be much more involved in battles for race wins, not that there was much of a battle for the win in Spa, and that just adds to the excitement of this season.

That race was incredible, amazing, magnificent and I just loved watching it! In fact, I'm just about to watch it for the fourth time, yes I really loved it! And it has certainly whet my appetite for the next 8 races that are all going to come by so fast; starting with Monza is only a few days time. *does celebratory dance*

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Full Vettel interview, Images) 

AQSA'S PODIUM

Pick my top 3 drivers of the Grand Prix? Easy! This one requires little to no thought for me so read through my choices and comment/ tweet me with whether or not you agree with who I've picked or the order I've put them in.

3. Bruno Senna

The Williams driver has been under some pressure lately but I can't really understand why. He may not have a race win or podium like his teammate Maldonado but he is able to drive clean races and his less aggressive driving style means he has now finished in the points more times than Pastor and has even outscored him on more occasions.

2. Lewis Hamilton

I told you in my 'Setting the Scene' post why this weekend was all about Lewis. That's why I've put him in at number 2. And now for the real winner in Hungary...

1. Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi didn't have a great Qualifying meaning he started the race from 5th on the grid compared to his teammate's front row start. He had to look after his tyres much better than others during the race if he was to improve on his Qualifying performance and with a car that we've become used to being kind to its tyres Kimi did just that. He was able to stay out longer than others during the second stint and built up a lead big enough to beat Grosjean and Vettel who were running in second and third at that time. This race was a really impressive one on Kimi's part and further underlines the fact that he can win a race this season. It's just a matter of when...

So Kimi is my driver of the day for the Hungarian Grand Prix and if that doesn't give him something to smile about, I don't know what will!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 1, 3)

F1 MOMENTS #4

I won't lie to you, the Grand Prix in Hungary could have been a lot more exciting and certainly needed to be to live up to the level we've become used to in 2012. Even Valencia provided a thrilling race when many had written it off and called for its removal from the calendar. Therefore, it's a bit difficult for me to think of just one moment that really stood out for me.

However, I gave it some thought and there was one stand-out moment. When Kimi Raikkonen came out of the pit lane after his second pit stop he emerged only slightly ahead of his Lotus teammate Romain Grosjean. It became apparent later on that Grosjean's engineer told him to really push on that lap when they knew Kimi would be coming out of the pit lane. Teams have lots of data to work on when planning their strategy to give them a rough idea of where their driver will emerge when they pit. How Lotus overlooked this is beyond me...

The two then came very, very close and race-ending contact between the pair could easily have occurred. That battle for second place was particularly tense but it was the 2007 world champion that won it and therefore took that podium place. All wasn't lost for Grosjean, except for what may have been a nice boost to his ego, as he took third to give Lotus another double podium; the first came in Bahrain.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

The weekend in Hungary was all about one man; the man who won pole on the Saturday and then took the victory on Sunday. At a track where overtaking is very difficult anyway Lewis didn't have much of a challenge on race day. However, he had to manage his tyres and stay calm whilst under pressure from the two Lotus boys. Don't forget either that, not including last weekend's race, the pole sitter has only won once out of the last seven races so Lewis does deserve a bit more credit for a rather plain-sailing victory. 

So that's why this picture is my pick: 

Lewis seems to be back to winning ways, obviously considering he won, but the fact that he has his family and support system around him suggests that this new, calmer, more relaxed Lewis we've become accustomed to seeing could be here to stay.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image)

LEW TAKES TWO IN HUNGARY

I'll begin by telling you that the race in Hungary today did not really live up to the high level of excitement we have come to expect in 2012. There were no overtakes during the race, even with the use of DRS, and the only way places were going to be gained were through pit lane action and strategy. In my opinion, it wasn't the best way for Formula 1 to go into the summer break and it was a shame to see fast cars and drivers unable to capitalise on their pace and strategies because passing was seemingly impossible. We saw Vettel stuck behind Button, Button behind Senna, Webber behind several people, Kimi and Grosjean behind Lewis and the list goes on... We can, however, discuss what did happen during the race and what this means going into the summer break.

Lewis used his stunning domination of yesterday's Qualifying session to convert pole into a race win. He may not have been faster than the Lotus pair but a great start and the difficult overtaking conditions meant that, no matter how close other drivers got, Hamilton was able to retain his lead. This means Lewis took his second win of the season; a feat only accomplished by Alonso and Webber so far and puts him firmly back in the hunt for the title. There was some overtaking this weekend as Lewis was able to leapfrog Raikkonen in the championship standings. The problem now is that Alonso is gaining consistent points finishes, he's not far off Schumacher's record of consecutive races finished in the points and I believe he needs two more to break it, whilst other drivers are taking points and wins away from each other. All he needs to do is focus on gaining points at every race and as long as no driver keeps winning, which is unlikely this season, it may be the case that no one gains the points needed to close the gap.

Lewis' teammate Jenson had a great start as he gained a place on Sebastian Vettel. The German had tried to move past Romain Grosjean but was squeezed off the track and Jenson just accelerated past him. What followed was endless laps of Sebastian trailing Jenson and it seemed that the podium would go on to be Hamilton, Grosjean, Button. Then McLaren, after much deliberation over team radio, switched to 'Plan B' and it was clear that Jenson would most likely be pitting three times, not two! Sebastian clearly had more pace than Button so when McLaren tried to perform an undercut at the end of the second stint it did not work for them. Vettel emerged ahead of him and the position was lost. their 3-stop strategy didn't work and they had hoped that it would benefit them towards the end of the race when others' tyres began to fall away. That wasn't to be and Jenson eventually finished sixth. He will probably be very disappointed to go into the break after a race like that and after his great performance in Germany but some time away after a fairly difficulty 2012 so far could also be exactly what Jenson needs.

Red Bull were fast today; Sebastian was much faster than Jenson and at the end of the race he consistently set fastest lap after fastest lap following his third pit stop. It was clear that he was getting extremely frustrated throughout the race because he knew his car had the pace to challenge at the front and win but the nature of the track meant that he couldn't even climb to third. He was heard telling his team to try something different with strategy but there was little the team could do with limited data and tight margins. Their strategy did eventually pay off in overtaking Jenson but there was nothing they could do about Romain Grosjean at the end. Grosjean was on a two-stopper and so Vettel had a lot of time to make up if he were to pass him. He cut a lot of that time down and amazingly finished just over a second behind Grosjean. Fourth is definitely not the position they would have expected coming into this weekend at a track where Red Bull were meant to be particularly strong but they can be confident that they have a strong car and package and a bit of development can deliver them more race wins.

There was a lot of talk that the weather will benefit Lotus and that could mean they take their first win of the 2012 season. With Romain Grosjean starting on the front row it all started to become a very real possibility. However, the benefit the track gave them weather and traction wise was negated by the fact that overtaking was fairly impossible. Both of their drivers were fast, both got close to Lewis Hamilton, both were stuck behind him. Nevertheless, a double podium for the Enstone boys, Kimi 2nd and Grosjean 3rd, isn't to be sniffed at. It is their second of the season and it is remarkable to think Red Bull only have one. The team are also now ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors' and so they are doing a great job of officially breaking into the top 3 teams and getting in on the fun at the front. Their aims over the summer break are clear; improve Qualifying performances!

I have already mentioned that Alonso doesn't necessarily need race wins to wrap up this championship. He had a fairly poor race but, crucially, a better one than his nearest rival Mark Webber. That means he extends his lead at the top of the standings and heads into the summer with the knowledge that it will take some doing to beat him now. Alonso finished in 5th and his teammate Massa finished 9th meaning Ferrari have taken a beating in the Constructors' and are now fourth; this just underlines how much things can still change as Ferrari were trying to chase down Red Bull just last week.

Pastor Maldonado had another incident with another driver today and this time it was a case of forcing someone else off the track when completing an overtake; Paul Di Resta was the Venezuelan's victim this time round. The stewards chose to give Maldonado a drive-through penalty; I do think this penalty was a bit too harsh and I believed, at the time, that the incident could just be classed as a 'racing incident'. However, it is no secret that Maldonado had form for getting involved in racing incidents and I'm sure there would have been pressure on the stewards to show that Maldonado won't be able to get away with his aggressive driving. Had they given him a reprimand it would have resulted in a 10-place grid penalty because he has two reprimands already and that grid-drop would definitely have been too harsh. He eventually finished 13th meaning that's another race out of the points. His teammate Bruno Senna has had a great weekend from FP2 onwards. A top 10 qualifying was followed up with a seventh-place finish; ahead of Mark Webber's Red Bull.

The Hungaroring may have slightly disappointed but it certainly livened things up in the championship. We can now say that Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen (the top 5) are now all in the hunt and we also see the Constructors' getting exciting and we realise that Red Bull aren't yet invincible. The first half of this season has been truly amazing and so great for fans and spectators. I will be doing a post on which of the races has been my favourite so far and I have other posts and opinion pieces planned for the summer break. I know 35 (approximately) days away from our favourite sport will be tough but stick with me and keep coming back regularly to see what's up on the blog.

I wish all the drivers, mechanics and team personnel a good break away from the F1 circus and hope that they can relax and refresh themselves to deliver us even better racing at the amazing tracks that await us! I hope you enjoy time away from F1 as well, if you are going away etc.


Now to find something else to do with my weekends...


Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images)

AQSA'S PODIUM

Ladies and gents, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived; I am about to announce my top 3 drivers for the German Grand Prix.

3. Fernando Alonso

Hold the front page, I've put the race winner third! Alonso did have a great race after starting from pole; wet conditions seem to favour the Ferrari in Qualifying. He also had to defend during the race against Vettel and Button (and even Hamilton) as they tried to take his lead with no avail.

2. Jenson Button

I don't want to jinx him but... JENSON'S BACK (for now). Let's all hope that the McLaren driver's worries are over because Germany proved how enjoyable it can be to see him challenging at the front.

1. Sergio Perez

Perez had a poor Qualifying that was worsened by a 5-place grid penalty. But he wasn't going to let that stop him... He eventually finished in sixth from seventeenth on the grid and enjoyed some great overtakes to get there. He may have finished behind his teammate Kamui Kobayashi but the young Mexican was still my driver of the day.

Do you agree with my choices? Comment below or tweet me with who your top 3 drivers were...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 3)

F1 MOMENTS #3

My chosen image for Setting the Scene; Germany could easily double as my pick for the best moment of the Grand Prix as well but it isn't. My choice does, however, involve both Vettel and Button.

In my opinion, that tense moment of the race when you near the edge of your seat, clench your fists and wait anxiously to find out what the outcome of a particular move will be had to be after Sebastian Vettel went into the pit lane for his second stop of the day. Jenson Button had already been closing in on him, Lewis had held him up whilst trying unlap himself and McLaren delivered a lightning-fast pit stop. Vettel came out of the pit lane and he and Jenson were neck and neck but Button had the momentum and he had gotten his tyres working so he was able to pass Vettel before they went into the next corner. That moment was crucial in the outcome of the race. These two would certainly have a battle for second and Alonso was able to pull away and go on to win the race. 

Depending on who you support your reaction to this moment would have been either jumping for joy and punching the air or squealing with anxiety at what may be lost. 

This has just been a short and sweet post as the moment of the race, for me, lasted almost a split second! Do you agree with my choice? What would yours be? You know what to do...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

This is the feature where I choose one picture to sum up the weekend's race so when I go about choosing I try to think about what stands out to me/ what immediately comes to mind when I think about the Grand Prix. Well there is one word that jumps out when I think of Germany; penalties! There were several after Qualifying and then one rather prominent one during the race.

Sebastian's overtake on Jenson and the subsequent penalty given to him were the biggest talking points after the race and I'm sure we'll still be talking about it when we get to Hungary.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

ALONSO ÜBER ALLES

Fernando Alonso followed up his pole position from Saturday to win the German Grand Prix; making it his third victory of the season and, critically, extending his lead in the world championship. I said before the race that this weekend would be crucial in the way the championship eventually plays out and Alonso made sure that his was the name we would all be choosing as the firm favourite. He now holds a 34-point lead over Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel is a further 10 behind.

Running the same strategy as his rivals this weekend, as opposed to Silverstone when Ferrari went a different way and Alonso lost the lead in the closing stages of the race, meant that he had a better chance of taking the win. His lead was threatened at times by Vettel and Jenson Button. Button challenging the leader; there's something we haven't seen in a while! Despite the attempts at snatching his lead, Alonso defended well and no one was able to pass him; not even with the use of DRS and around the hairpin, a place Jenson had already completed several overtakes to get himself up to 3rd. Alonso's experience in F1 is showing; he knows who his main rivals are and focuses strategy and his race around beating them! He has a comfortable lead in the standings, he has a car capable of pole and race wins, he's feeling confident; can anyone stop Alonso now?

The battle for the remaining two podium spots was full of drama! During the middle stint Jenson has been closing in on Vettel but didn't seem to be able to get close enough to make a pass or overtake. Their tyres were degrading at a similar rate and they were evenly matched in terms of speed. Jenson's lapped teammate then joined in with the fun as he tried to unlap himself by passing Vettel. Sebastian allowed him to do with relative ease around the hairpin but as he tried to make his way past the back marker, which Lewis was then, Hamilton drove defensively thus holding Vettel up and allowing Jenson to get very close. The McLaren driver then headed into the pits where his team completed a stunning 2.4 second pit stop... Something that certainly helped their chances of taking 2nd. When Vettel emerged from the pits a lap later, after an average 3.4 second stop, Jenson was able to cruise past the German and claim second place. He was undoubtedly helped by his teammate and everyone will have different opinions on whether what Lewis did was right or wrong. All I'll say is if that was a HRT/Caterham/Marussia or even Sebastian doing that move on Lewis I'm sure a few people's opinions would change...

Then on lap 66, the penultimate lap, Sebastian had closed Jenson's lead and was in the DRS zone. As he tried to overtake around the hairpin, where else?, Vettel ran wide and accelerated on the paint to pass Jenson and take the position. Again, there are differing opinions on this. The stewards were of the opinion that Vettel gained an unfair advantage and had this happened earlier in the race Vettel would have been given a drive-through penalty. They, therefore, added 20 seconds to his final time demoting him from 2nd to 5th. There is no doubt in my mind that this penalty was too harsh. A drive-through would have cost Vettel approximately 12 seconds which would have left him in 3rd place. Make of that what you will.

Sebastian's penalty not only helped Alonso, but also Raikkonen. He took the final podium spot as a result, and didn't have to go to the press conference which would make the Iceman happier, and is now sitting 4th in the championship, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, despite not yet winning a race this season. Kimi is looking stronger as the season progresses and it clearly hasn't taken him long to readjust to F1. A win is imminent in my opinion and even though many fans believe Romain Grosjean will be the first Lotus driver to take a win, Kimi is the more consistent one. He and the team should now focus on their single lap pace. If they can qualify higher up the grid Kimi can and will win a race!

Sauber had a great Sunday, even though their Qualifying wasn't very strong, and Kobayashi and Perez finished 4th, thanks to Vettel's penalty, and 6th respectively. Another high points finish for the team indicates that they are capable of taking a few more podiums this season and are set to beat Force India and Toro Rosso this year. Out of these three teams they have made the best progress that showed in Malaysia and Valencia when they took podium spots. For Kobayashi 4th is his best ever finish in F1 so he must be hoping that he can go at least one better at some point this season.

Nico Rosberg also did well to finish in the points after a poor Qualifying followed by a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change meant he started from 21st. He finished in 10th just behind his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg. Rosberg's teammate Schumacher finished in a disappointing seventh after starting from third and having a shot at Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race. That means we had four German drivers in the top 10 at the German Grand Prix and both Mercedes' were in the top 10 too. Mercedes are falling behind in the Constructors now whilst Lotus are taking massive strides to battle with the top 3 teams. They would have started this season as contenders for many podiums and race wins but have failed to live up to these expectations. We are only halfway through the season now so they still have time to develop and catch up to the other teams in terms of performance.

Elsewhere, Maldonado had a fairly clean race and didn't end anyone else's race. He was involved in a few overtakes, admittedly he was the one being overtaken, but there were no crashes or penalties. He could be happy with that but finishing 15th will be a disappointment after a strong Qualifying in the wet. He still beat teammate Senna who was 17th so perhaps it was just the car that wasn't up to the challenge in Hockenheim.

F1 has now reached its halfway point in the 2012 season and some consistency has taken hold of the results. We will no longer see a run of 7 consecutive winners but there is still the opportunity to see some first-time winners in Raikkonen and Grosjean and the other podium spots will also be hotly contested. The season will remain competitive and Alonso has even said that his growing lead in the championship "means nothing". I would probably disagree... Sure, a lot can happen in the next 10 races but with the way Alonso has been driving this season, his consistency, he has now finished in the points for 22 consecutive races, and his maturity I cannot see him making many mistakes. It will take a string of great results from the two Red Bull drivers and some bad luck to be thrown Alonso's way for his lead to be threatened. All we can do is merely sit back and enjoy as F1 2012 charges into the final 10 rounds. I have no doubt that they will be as thrilling as the 10 before them...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images 1&2, 3)

AQSA'S PODIUM

Now that we've had time to reflect on the weekend's action I've been able to think about who my top three drivers of the weekend were. I thought the majority of drivers performed well considering they didn't really know what to expect for the race after a wet, rain-disrupted Qualifying session. Nevertheless, hearts will be broken as I can only choose my top 3 for this feature...

3. Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi was involved in a few interesting on-track battles during the race, particularly when he overtook Vettel at the start of the race only to lose position a turn later. He made up a position on his Qualifying place, which is always good, and all his overtaking manoeuvres were clean but effective.

2. Romain Grosjean

Kimi's Lotus teammate comes in at number 2. He qualified in 10th and finished in 6th. Romain continue to impresses me this season and he is proving why he deserved his second chance in Formula 1. I expect great things to come for the young Frenchman.

1. Mark Webber

Mark, the winner of the Grand Prix, takes the number 1 spot on my list for the second week in a row. He was my pick as driver of the day for the European Grand Prix because he moved from 19th on the grid to finish 4th. This time round it's because he kept a cool head during the race and maintained his second place well. Then, when it mattered, he really attacked leader Fernando Alonso; timing everything perfectly. A well deserved win for the Aussie who finally confirmed where he will be driving next year. So congratulations to Mark for taking the top spot in Aqsa's Podium for two weeks running. I'm sure this is the best news he'll receive all week...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 1, 2, 3)

F1 MOMENTS #2

So this is the feature where I pick the best moment of the weekend's race. For the European Grand Prix I picked the Hamilton-Maldonado collision that ended Lewis' race. Last time out we were in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and so when I was thinking about what my absolute favourite moment of the weekend was I realised that I am going to have to cheat and choose a moment that doesn't actually have anything to do with the racing. Or any of the drivers...

My favourite moment from the British Grand Prix weekend took place on the Saturday, but it has nothing to do with Qualifying. Well not directly... Ok, I'll end the suspense now! My moment of the weekend had to be when Murray Walker, the man, the legend, appeared on the BBC's coverage of Qualifying to join commentators Ben Edwards and David Coulthard in the commentary box during the red flag period. Murray Walker was commentating on F1 before my time, well before I was old enough to actually understand and enjoy the commentary so I never got to experience everything he added to an F1 race. Nevertheless I, like any true F1 fan, have heard his commentary on certain classic races and understand why he is a legend for the sport. So to hear his classic '"GO, GO, GO!" live on TV was a truly special moment!

I know this isn't directly related to any of the great track action Silverstone treated us to but it was the best moment of the weekend, in my opinion!

So, what was your moment from the British Grand Prix weekend? Would you agree with my choice or were you watching with Sky/ do you live abroad meaning you didn't get to see it?

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

Silverstone was all about the 'local' team Red Bull, in my opinion. The Milton Keynes based team took home a double podium, astonishingly their first of the season, with Mark Webber winning the Grand Prix and Sebastian Vettel coming in a respectable 3rd position. The team have a great record at Silverstone and this just adds to it. It also cements their lead at the top of the Constructors' championship; they now have a 64 point lead over nearest challengers Ferrari. Therefore this is my choice as my 'Setting the Scene' picture:

The results from today also mean that Mark Webber has; cut the lead Fernando Alonso had in the Drivers' championship, increased the lead he has over teammate Vettel and become the second driver to take two wins this season. A successful weekend at the office! There have been questions about Webber's future and all he has confirmed so far is that he will be in Formula 1 next year; he has not specified with whom. He has now outqualified his teammate in 5 out of 9 races and has 2 wins to Vettel's 1; not bad for a number 2 driver.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

MARK MAKES IT TWO UNDER THE SILVERSTONE SUN

I'll begin with apologies for the late review; I was recovering from that Wimbledon match! I can't go into detail as I'll just get emotional.

So the rain defied expectations, stayed away and we had a dry race in Silverstone. This meant all teams were essentially venturing into the unknown in terms of strategy and how they compared to others. Consequently, we had different teams and drivers going for alternative tyre strategies so before the race had even begun we knew tyres and strategy would play a vital role. If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweet about how nothing quite excites me like alternative tyre strategy. This was not an exaggeration. As the drivers in the top 10 had qualified on the intermediates, they were able to choose what tyre they wanted to start on. Lewis Hamilton and pole-man Fernando Alonso notably decided to start on the  harder compound tyre whilst their rivals at Red Bull, and most others on the grid, chose the soft tyre to start the race. 

Anxious to not have a repeat of 2011 when Vettel overtook Mark, who was on pole, going into the first corner Fernando went defensive to retain his lead. Vettel got a bad start this year slipping behind Felipe Massa. After the race Vettel did say that the first stint and falling behind Massa and Schumacher hurt his chances of winning the race.

One of three British drivers at this weekend Paul Di Resta lost any hope of impressing in front of his home crowd just one corner into the Grand Prix. Contact with Romain Grosjean's Lotus led to a puncture on a rear tyre. Di Resta was able to make it to the pits for a change but in doing so sustained too much damage to the floor of the car and his race was over. I am sure Paul is feeling really disappointed with what happened and I don't know whether the fact that there was no one to blame helps that or not. There was another early retirement for one of the Caterhams. Vitaly Petrov's race was over before it had even begun. The team kindly tweeted me to confirm that it was an engine failure that caused the premature retirement but they will only know more once engine suppliers Renault "strip down the engine and find out what happened". It's fair to say that Renault have not had the best fortnight. Vettel and Grosjean retired due to problems with their alternators and now Petrov was unable to race.

During the first stint Alonso was able to maintain his lead to Webber, who also had a comfortable lead over Schumacher, Massa and Vettel. The latter two were all within the DRS zone to the man in front but only Massa was able to gain a place. Red Bull had to try the undercut and pit first to switch Vettel onto the harder tyre. They had to try a roll of the dice and were essentially the first team to blink. Luckily, it paid off. After Massa and Schumacher pitted they emerged behind Sebastian. Alonso stayed out longer than most, as he was on the harder tyre, but he did eventually pit and resume his place in front of Mark Webber. Hamilton didn't need to pit as soon as everyone else and so he enjoyed a brief period where he was leading the race; a real treat for the British fans!

Nevertheless, normality then resumed. Hamilton was shuffled down the pack and Alonso reclaimed the lead. It was all calm at the front, for a while...

Another race, another incident involving Pastor Maldonado. Whether you love him or hate him, there can be no denying that Maldonado had been involved in far too many collisions in his F1 career and, this season particularly, has cost his Williams team a lot of points. This time round he clashed with Sergio Perez and the young Mexican's race was ended. Looking at the collision I think it is something you would usually class as a racing incident and the stewards seem to agree by not awarding Maldonado with any grid-place penalties for the next race. However, Pastor is a driver with past form for getting involved in collisions that end others' races. Sergio Perez was damning in his verdict on Maldonado and even said that his dangerous driving is a concern amongst most drivers. Perhaps he does have some bad feeling towards him after the incident in Monaco a few races ago but his anger was clear. Maldonado has also been given a reprimand by the stewards and it is his second one so should he get one more it will be a grid-place penalty that awaits him.

Then followed the next rounds of pit stops. Those who had started on the soft tyre were following a strategy of soft, hard, hard. Those on the hard were mainly going for hard, hard, soft. Hamilton was an exception. He went for the soft tyre for the second stint and only used it for around 8 laps. It was strange strategy from McLaren but I think they knew that they would have to try something different if they were to challenge for the win. Qualifying, albeit the conditions were different, showed they didn't really match up in terms of pace.

By the time of the second round of pit stops Mark Webber had managed to reduce some of the lead Alonso had after Mark had pitted. He needed to reduce it by approximately a further four seconds but Alonso headed in, put on his soft tyres and emerged in front of Webber. Mark's Red Bull team told him to start cutting down the difference and to just be patient as Alonso's tyres would eventually fall away from him. Mark did as he was told and amazingly managed to but down a 6-second lead in a few number of laps. He then got incredibly close, tried to use DRS but had to settle for using it to reduce the gap rather than overtaking. When the time came Mark went round the outside of Alonso for a great overtake for the lead of the British Grand Prix. I do honestly think that if there were a few more laps of the race Sebastian Vettel could have had a go at Alonso as well...

Felipe Massa really impressed me during the race. He finished 4th; his best result of the season and I really hope that a podium is possible for him this season. It can't be easy for any driver to hear the rumours surrounding your future and hearing other drivers talk about the possibility of them having your seat next year. Despite what many say Massa is a good racing driver and he can overtake. His priority now must be to focus on Qualifying. Should he sort that out, I'm sure podiums await!

The race was really disappointing for the Brits on the grid. Paul had a DNF and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button finished 8th and 10th respectively. Clearly, this means that the car was just not up to it and, for once, it wasn't a problem with Button's balance and set-up. The issue didn't even seem to come from high tyre degradation, something Jenson had struggled with, and they were equal with other teams on making tyres last. McLaren did have upgrades for this race but Ferrari and Red Bull were still just out of reach for them. No doubt there will be some head-scratching at the MTC as the team try to pinpoint why they were so far off the pace and how they can recover some of that form in time for Hockenheim.

The British Grand Prix was a great one. Silverstone truly is one of the greatest circuits in the world, even if it doesn't traditionally throw up a lot of overtakes, and it was a pleasure to watch F1 come back to the UK. The weather forecast may have deceived us as the rain that was expected never came but all other promises were delivered. Silverstone lived up to the high standard of Formula 1 in 2012, in my opinion anyway, and it's a shame that we have to wait another year for it.

That's the end of my race recap and, I don't know how obvious this is, I have done it slightly differently to how I usually do. Let me know what you think about the review and the race itself and keep coming back as I have more post-race posts to add!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Images: Mail Online)

F1 MOMENTS #1

Time for a new regular feature on Aqsa's Formula and it's called F1 Moments. I'd just like to add that I know we are now much closer to the British Grand Prix now than we are to the European GP, and a preview to Silverstone will be posted tomorrow, so adding posts about the race in Valencia might seem a bit outdated now but this will be my last post on this race specifically.

Let me begin with explaining the new feature. It's just where I will pick my one favourite moment from the race. You know that 'OMG' moment when you jump out of your seat and you need a second to take in whether it really happened? Yeah, that moment! It will be hard to pick just one, my absolute favourite, but I will give it a go and sometimes there may be a tie between two but I'll try not to let that happen. This is different from 'Setting the Scene' as that is a feature when I pick one picture to sum up a whole race.

The European Grand Prix was an incredible race with many awe-inducing moments. There were quite a few shocking events and retirements that changed the entire outcome of the race but I have managed to pick just one; the Hamilton and Maldonado crash! It certainly took me a while to realise what had happened and I watched replay after replay trying to establish who was at fault and how two race winning drivers could allow an easily avoidable collision to occur towards the closing stages of a race. It was definitely the moment in the race that got the Twittersphere talking and heatedly debating.

Everyone had an opinion on it, as is always the case with such F1 Moments, and that is why it has to be my moment of the race. Lewis Hamilton was very mature about the incident after the race and Maldonado was clear that, as far as he was concerned, it was all Lewis' fault. The stewards disagreed and subsequently awarded Pastor with a 20-second time penalty meaning he lost the single point he won in the race. Considering it's been almost two weeks since the race and this collision is so vivid in my mind, there was no doubt that this had to be my pick as F1 Moment for the European Grand Prix.

What was yours?

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

AQSA'S PODIUM

It's time for a new regular feature on Aqsa's Formula and, as you've probably worked out, it's called Aqsa's Podium. This is something I will do after every Grand Prix and the idea behind it is quite simple; I'll choose my top 3 drivers of the day and rank them in order of who impressed me the most during the race. My podium will differ from the race's as I don't think you need to be on the podium in order to have had a great race.

So let's get the first ever Aqsa's Podium started for the European Grand Prix.

3. Fernando Alonso

I've put Alonso 3rd because he did drive a great race and pull off many great overtakes to climb to 1st place after starting 11th on the grid. The reason he isn't higher up is because he was definitely helped by the misfortunes of others, particularly Sebastian Vettel.

2. Kimi Raikkonen

Raikkonen did well to take his second 2nd place finish of the season. He'd qualified in 5th and so he too had to overtake in Valencia to get on the podium; the pass on Lewis Hamilton was very impressive. Raikkonen entertained during the race and a win for him this season is imminent, in my opinion.

1. Mark Webber

Qualified in 19th and finished in 4th. Need I say more?

Who were your top 3 drivers for the European Grand Prix?

Aqsa

(Image 1, 2, 3)

SETTING THE SCENE.

Now if you've read my 2 part review on the European Grand Prix you'll know how many different talking points there were. This means there were several images that I could choose from as my 'Setting the Scene' pick; this is both a blessing and a curse. However, when I thought about it, there was only ever one picture I could have possibly chosen.

The podium for Valencia 2012 was made up of Alonso, Raikkonen and Schumacher. Three world champions sharing the podium and probably not the ones you would have picked on Sunday morning. This is even more special because the last time this happened, in exactly the same order, was in 2005 at the French Grand Prix. This also shows how well F1 drivers age; not a lot has changed! This just made me smile and I hope it made you smile too.

Aqsa

P.S. I know I've technically chosen two pictures but they've been combined to make one so it's all fine!

MORE THOUGHTS ON VALENCIA...

In my race review of the European Grand Prix I promised to add more thoughts on the race to the blog. I didn't get a chance to look at Jenson Button's race in my review so that'd be a good place to start. 


Jenson finished the race in eighth place after qualifying in ninth. It is no secret that the 2009 world champion has been struggling as of late and his championship hopes have taken a bit of a bruising; he's won six points from the last five races. He hasn't been consistently finishing in the points; something that will be key in the outcome of this season. When he has finished in the points, he has been towards the lower end of the top 10. McLaren told us that they have understood what Jenson's problems with the car were and have taken steps to resolve it. Qualifying wasn't as hard for him as it has been for the last few races and he reached Q3 fairly comfortably. I'm sure 9th wasn't what he would have wanted but it may be a stepping stone to better Qualifying results. Jenson had a fairly uneventful race. He wasn't involved in any collisions etc... But it was clear that he still wasn't at one with the car. Tyre degradation was still a problem for him and he was also suffering from locking up. His position in the points was helped by the retirements of Hamilton, Vettel and Grosjean but I'm sure he thinks it's about time he had some luck.

The British Grand Prix is next up on the 2012 calendar and I'm sure it will be the one that means the most to Button. If his problems were to continue into this race his title hopes would be on some sort of metaphorical life support machine. Every driver wants to perform well and, at the very least, get on the podium at their home Grand Prix so Jenson's woes wouldn't be limited to his championship dreams. The fans will also be hoping there is a significant improvement in Button's performance. Can he and McLaren deliver the goods in a fortnight's time? They've had quite a few races to sort his problems out so Jenson may need a bit more luck.

Force India also stood out for me in this Grand Prix. Both of their drivers capitalised on their top 10 qualifying and won a good amount of points in Valencia. Most impressively, they gained more points than their rivals Williams and Sauber. Hulkenberg finished in 5th with Di Resta in 7th and the team will be aware that they must now bring the updates necessary to change this strong result into a podium in the near future. Both Sauber and Williams have finished on the podium so Force India will be eager to share some of that glory. Paul Di Resta said that he could have qualified higher up and felt he could have gotten a lot closer to the Lotus'. Had they succeeded with that, they may well have got a podium stop in such an eventful race. He is another driver who will want to impress at Silverstone and I'm sure he won't want to be beaten by his teammate again. The Force India drivers make a very interesting pair and I'm sure they will act as a motivation to each other as they are both young, ambitious and talented drivers who know that beating their teammate is their most important challenge. They're not exactly challenging for the Drivers' championship so the inter-team rivalry is what means the most to them.

That's the end of the brief extension to my European Grand Prix review and it just covered the two main points from the race results that I personally found interesting. They're also the most relevant for the British Grand Prix when Button and Di Resta, along with Hamilton, will be the main figures of attention.

My 'Setting the Scene' feature and thoughts on the penalties handed out after the race are still to come... I will also start adding new features to the blog, which is always exciting!

Aqsa

(Image)