Mark Webber - Classic F1

Red Bull's Mark Webber is the latest driver to pick his five favourite all-time races for BBC Sport's classic Formula 1 series.

Unlike some of his rivals, our columnist was a fan of F1 before he started racing in it and has a good knowledge of the sport's history.

So it is no surprise that his selection is an aficionado's list of five all-time great races.

In his 10 years in the sport, Webber has been involved in plenty of classic races himself - but he has not picked any of his six wins, nor great moments such as his pass of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso at Eau Rouge at Spa this year, a move that will go down in the annals as one of the best and bravest there has been.

Instead, the sole race among his five choices in which he took part is one in which he played only a cameo role - albeit an important one. But we will come on to that later.

Webber's first choice is one he remembers watching as a child in Queanbeyan, New South Wales, the 1986 Australian Grand Prix. It is the race that brought to a climax what some have called the greatest F1 season in history.

Held on the Adelaide street circuit, it is famous for the tyre blow-out that robbed Williams driver Nigel Mansell of the title and for McLaren driver Alain Prost's unexpected - if thoroughly deserved - second title, won against great odds. As Webber says: "It was a big battle for the championship and obviously Nigel Mansell had the tyre failure. It was a grand prix packed with great drama."

The 1992 Belgian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher took his maiden F1 victory on this damp day at Spa-Francorchamps, on the first anniversary of his debut. Schumacher's win actually hinged on an error. He ran off the track and lost a place to Benetton team-mate Martin Brundle. On rejoining, Schumacher noticed that the Englishman's rear tyres were 'graining' so he decided to pit for new ones. The decision won him the race.

There were also starring roles for those two giants of the era, McLaren's Ayrton Senna and Mansell. Webber recalls: "Senna tried to make the slicks work in an inferior car while Schumacher got the tactics right although Brundle was just as quick. As was often the case, Michael made a mistake and ran off the track but managed to get back on to notch up his first race win."

The 1993 European Grand Prix

A favourite of F1 drivers this year - arguably Ayrton Senna's defining performance in the rain at Donington Park. As Webber says: "The original yellow helmet. Say no more!"

The 2000 Japanese Grand Prix

The race Schumacher has said was his best ever - it won him his first title for Ferrari after a flat-out race-long battle with his most respected rival, McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, in which both men operated on a separate level from their rivals at Suzuka, one of the most demanding circuits in the world.

Webber says: "This was Hakkinen and Schumacher at their best. It's only after you've driven this track and competed there in F1 that you appreciate what a great grand prix those two contested."

The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

"Which is a race I competed in," Webber says - and one, it should be added, that is arguably the greatest F1 race in history. It featured two of the best overtaking moves there have ever been, and it was won by McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen from 17th on the grid, the Finn overtaking Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella for the lead at the start of the last lap.

It might well have been won by Fisichella's team-mate Fernando Alonso, who led Raikkonen in the early laps. But the Spaniard was delayed by a controversial intervention by the stewards, which impacted on his strategy. And when he might have been battling for the lead, he was fighting to pass Webber's Williams for third place.

Alonso finally forced his way past the Australian in a brave move that involved putting two wheels on the grass halfway down the pit straight. But that pass was nothing compared to the one he pulled on Schumacher at the high-speed 130R corner earlier on in the race. Alonso took Schumacher around the outside of the corner, knowing that if they touched their lives would be in danger. Astonishingly, his apex speed as he passed the Ferrari was 207mph.

Webber says: "After a mixed up qualifying, we had some pretty fast guys in the best cars at the back. I enjoyed the race, driving a Williams car that was good in the corners but very, very inefficient aerodynamically and so I had no top speed. I fought for a podium late in the race with Fernando."

We have chosen Webber as our driver this week because he had selected this race, which is a fitting scene-setter for this weekend's action in Japan.

Highlights of the 2005 grand prix at Suzuka are embedded below, while underneath them are short and extended highlights of last year's Japanese race. It was dominated by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, with Webber right in his wheel tracks for the entire grand prix, but unable to get past.

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CLICK HERE FOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

Webber's classic races will be available on the BBC red button on satellite and cable television in the UK from 1500 BST on Wednesday 5 October until 0155 BST on Friday 7 October. Freeview viewers will be able to watch them between Friday's first and second practice sessions, from 0340 to 0550 on Friday.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/mark_webber_-_classic_f1.html

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HRT F111 unveiled in Barcelona (photos)

After confirming Vitantonio Liuzzi as their second starter for the 2011 campaign, and therefore completing their lineup for the new season, the Spanish team unveiled their F111 challenger in front of reporters on Friday (11th of March), in the penultimate day of testing this off-season.

(Ctrl+Click on the images for enlarged view)

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Nascar Makes Finding Online Discounts Easy

Many Nascar fans would pay anything to gain an edge on any type of Nascar information. The information they get online might be about their favorite driver or it could be an interesting tidbit about the next racing season. Some racing fans are so keen on the motor sport that they will do some amazing things to be privy to something about Nascar that their friends do not know.

If the fans learned about a new raceway online that would be built near their hometown, then they are liable to get a jumpstart on reserving certain seats for their entire family to sit in and enjoy Nascar action at its finest. Nascar makes it easy to purchase tickets online, and will generally take reservations for tracks that are about to be finished.

A Nascar fan might even consider buying extra seats through the online ticket outlets so that they can turn around and offer those premium seats to their buddies at a premium price. The competitive nature of Nascar is not limited to the race track area only and some people enjoy the competitive sale of tickets to latecomers at the raceway for a regularly scheduled race.

Some people might not know how to go about purchasing Nascar tickets online. Nascar makes it very easy for fans to buy the number of seats that they want at any raceway that is listed on the racing schedule. Fans can review the racing schedule online and see which races that they want Nascar tickets for that will cover the entire year. The discounts for Nascar tickets could be found through other ticket retailers online because some people have extra tickets that they can not use.

There are many Nascar discounts available online that will allow fans to go to the track dressed in style. Every Nascar driver has a sponsor and a large assortment of gear that is fashioned after the drivers colors. Fans can find coolers, ball caps and plenty of tee shirts through online retailers and the discounts placed through the online outlets are sometimes lower than what is offered at the Nascar track.

There are inexpensive memorabilia for Nascar that is perfect for all age groups. Some people have large collections of Nascar gear that they purchased at a discount through a retailer that has set up their business on the internet framework. Many fans love showing their guests just how devoted they are to their driver and will create marvelous wall displays that are adorned with posters that were autographed at the track where the fans went to enjoy a race.

James Brown writes about http://www.teamlogoandgear.com

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NASCAR Tickets - Talladega Brings Crashes, Leaves Seven Fans Wounded

The Talladega Superspeedway is known for its tight track and close races, and last weekend's Aaron's 499 at Talladega proved this to be true once again. Wrecks were the name of the game in Sunday's 'Dega race, as restrictor-plate racing gave way to multiple accidents in yet another intense race at the speedway. Three big accidents took out many of the Cup Series' top contenders, as a 13-car buildup early in the race on Lap 7 would set the tone for the day. A 10-car accident also ensued toward the end of the day with nine laps to go, and finally on the sprint to the finish Carl Edwards made Talladega's grand finale with a fiery crash that sent his car soaring through some fencing against the grandstands, injuring seven fans while sparking an unreleased medical condition with an eighth.

While Talladega's two multi-car pileups were ample cause for riled-up excitement in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race (as they took out Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and several more top-runners,) it is Edwards' crowd-injuring crash that is likely to be remembered from the speedway. In the last lap of the 'Dega race, the battle for first place came down to a four-car struggle between Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr., with Edwards and Keselowski in a locked-in battle that ultimately led to Edwards' disastrous crash.

Keselowski nudged Edwards into first place with one lap to go in yesterday's intense race, but when Keselowski attempted to pass him, Edwards blocked the pass and inevitably caused contact that sent his car in a spiral, landing in a frontstretch fence and just barely missing contact with the grandstands. Debris went flying and ultimately injured seven race fans (though none seriously) becoming cause for evaluation by NASCAR officials to tighten safety features for upcoming races.

Carl Edwards made a statement following the race that while he wasn't pegging the crash on any one driver, he was upset that the accident had such a disastrous result. "I'm glad the car didn't go into the grandstands," he told the media. "I saw some fencing at one point and that made me a little bit nervous. I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands." About the current rules on restrictor-plate racing at Talladega, Edwards said, "We'll race like this until we kill somebody, then [NASCAR] will change it."

This type of restrictor-plate racing that is in place at 'Dega also applies at Daytona, attempting to limit the high speeds at the two racetracks. Inevitably, this use of restrictor plates leads to a tightly-packed field on the track, and crashes are typically in high numbers at both speedways where they're in place. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke of this subject following Sunday's Talladega race, saying, "For years, we've had wrecks like this every time we've come to Talladega, ever since the plate got here. And for years it was celebrated. The media celebrated it, the networks celebrated it, calling it 'The Big One,' just trying to attract attention."

If these drivers sound like they're upset about the way things ran at Talladega, perhaps they are. Several drivers were out of luck yesterday following the two massive buildups during the race, and after the damage was done (including for those in the grandstands) reevaluation of the track and race will most likely be in question. Ryan Newman, who snagged a third-place finish at 'Dega, summed things up by saying, "Talladega is short for 'We're going to crash, we just don't know when.' We saw [an airborne car] two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the car down on the ground."

Indeed, some changes are unavoidable concerning safety at the track, but in the meantime the Cup Series will go on. Last weekend, Jeff Gordon lost his first-place standing for the first time since NASCAR season started, as Kurt Busch is now in first place after Talladega, and the excitement is just now getting started. Several more races are still to come this season, and NASCAR tickets are still available online in the meantime!

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Talladega Brings Crashes, Leaves Seven Fans Wounded

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NASCAR Tickets - Danica Patrick Jumping Ships to NASCAR?

A year ago, Danica Patrick was in Japan, recording the first victory by a woman in an Indy Racing League event. This weekend, she will be outside of Los Angeles, driving in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Her contract with Andretti Green is about to expire and many American's are often scratching their heads, wondering where the beautiful woman will be in a year from now? Many will recall Patrick turned the esteemed Indianapolis 500 upside down in 2005, by leading the race for 19 laps and finishing in fourth place. It was the first time a woman had accomplished such a feat and to do so at the age of 23 was remarkable. Get NASCAR tickets and see Patrick burning rubber on the tracks.

Since then, she has been one of the most recognizable faces for the I.R.L. But many are wondering if she will remain in the open-wheel world of I.R.L. or will the young lady change her scenery and move on to NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series? Moving to NASCAR certainly sounds interesting, especially since a woman has never won a cup race. No woman has ever completed a full season. Humpy Wheeler, the chairman of the Wheeler Company consulting firm and former president of Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina believes Patrick would have a huge impact on the sport. The Chairman added that since sixty percent of the NASCAR crowd is male and once they find out a pretty woman owns the track, she will be a ticket-selling machine.

Can you picture Patrick zooming alongside NASCAR superstars Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.? That alone would increase the sport's popularity by a wide margin. That combined with the fact that she is well known and well liked would certainly provide the sport with a deep level of marketing impact. If Danica decides to pursues NASCAR there is no question that it will be one of the biggest stories of the year, producing a ton of media coverage, which will generate consumer and fan engagement as well as corporate attention. However, appeal does not guarantee success. Juan Pablo, Sam Hornish, and Dario Franchitti were top drivers in the I.R.L. who struggled once they made the move to NASCAR.

There are plenty of fans who believe Danica would be best served taking the best I.R.L. deal. Eddie Gossage, the president of Texas Motor Speedway, which hosts NASCAR and I.R.L. events expressed concern over Patrick moving to NASCAR. He added that he would love to hand her the winner's trophy at an I.R.L. race. Gossage believes she is arguably one of the two or three best-known female athletes in the world. So what does Danica want? She has reported to the media that business considerations would play a part in where she drives in 2010. The driver also ruled out Formula One as an unlikely option for her since she doesn't want to travel the world. The one main concern about going to NASCAR that worries her is that the Sprint Cup schedule is a grueling 36 races while the I.R.L.'s is only 18.

This article was sponsored by StubHub. StubHub sells NASCAR tickets, as well as many other kinds of sports tickets, concert tickets, special events tickets and theater tickets.

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On pole but not smiling. Troubles still weigh on Hamilton

In Yeongam

It has been a while since Formula 1 has seen Lewis Hamilton smile, so it was a surprise that even after taking a significant pole position for McLaren in Korea his trademark, happy grin was still missing.

The 26-year-old stared into the middle distance as he stood alongside Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who has been beaten just four times in qualifying this year, and his own team-mate Jenson Button.

For the record books Hamilton's pole position represented an end to Red Bull's dominance over one lap this season. For the 2008 world champion, it meant a glimmer of redemption.

When asked directly why he wasn't smiling, Hamilton answered: "I don't feel I deserve it.

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"I've had some tough races in the second half of the season but tomorrow and the rest of the races are what count, avoiding penalties and all those different things.

"[The pole] is one of the first positives. I've had some difficult races in the past and we'll try to redeem ourselves tomorrow."

Hamilton also revealed why he did not respond on McLaren's pit-to-car radio when the team congratulated him on his pole position.

"I wasn't on the radio," he said. "I hadn't heard that in a long time so it was good to hear. It was just a comforting feeling. It was satisfying to hear the guys in the background cheering so that makes me happy."

A traumatic season has seen Hamilton mix errors on track, including nearly taking out his team-mate in Canada, with off-track spats, most controversially his criticism of the stewards in Monaco.

The run of bad results have been in contrast to Button, who has soared in the second half of the season, winning two of the last five races to climb to second in the championship.

Hamilton's troubles have been played out under intense scrutiny and there have been suggestions that he lacks support as he deals with a new management company, in place of his Dad Anthony, and the stresses of a long-distance relationship with pop-star girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger.

There was no escape from further scrutiny in Korea.

When he sat alongside Vettel in the first media conference of the weekend, Hamilton was asked more questions than the man who had become the sport's youngest world champion just four days earlier.

As he spoke to the media, Hamilton admitted that it would take a long time to recover.

A solitary pole may not be enough to complete the process but it could the catalyst for the start of a personal comeback, as well as proving he is back in the groove behind the wheel.

"This is just a very small step but in the right direction," Hamilton reflected. "It was important we got [pole] today and it made a significant difference."

It had been 16 months since Hamilton has been on pole and on race days he has not been on the podium since winning the German Grand Prix in July.

"Hamilton has been flying this weekend," said BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle. "Every time he's sat in the car he's look good.

"He's got the thing alive and we haven't seen that for a while from Lewis Hamilton."

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Hamilton's most immediate challenge is to convert pole into a third victory of the season at Yeongam.

McLaren have had the pace all weekend and Hamilton finished a strong second here in last year's rain-delayed race.

His chances of scoring a pole-to-flag victory could hang on tyre wear and Red Bull have opted for an opposite strategy to rivals McLaren by saving three new sets of the more durable 'soft' tyres for the race.

While Button managed his tyres to win the last race in Japan, Hamilton had to pit early when his tyres degraded badly after just eight laps and he finished a distant fifth.

But he is more optimistic that a change to his car's set-up, which he described as stiff in Suzuka, will help him nurse his tyres through the Korean race.

"The set-up that I have will definitely be easier on the tyres," Hamilton added. "The one I went to in Japan wasn't good for consecutive laps.

"I've come in a different direction which hopefully will be more beneficial in the race."

Whether Hamilton wins or not on Sunday, the embattled 26-year-old has to take this pole position as not only an opportunity to put his rivals behind him, but his troubles too.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sarahholt/2011/10/post_3.html

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Williams FW33 2011 Livery pictures (24th of February)

Williams F1 Team on Thursday, revealed the livery for its 2011 car, the FW33 during an event broadcasted online. Their interim livery had made its debut at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, on 1 February.

The Williams FW33 2011 livery was released on 24 February, adding white, silver and red to the existing dark blue in a design directly inspired by the Rothmans livery used from 1994 to 1997.

Reigning GP2 champion and rookie driver Pastor Maldonado joined Sam Michael at the event. Maldonado's co-driver, veteran Rubens Barrichello was not present at the event as he was celebrating his 14th wedding anniversary with wife Silvana.

The most visible name on the car is that of energy company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which joined the Williams F1 boat after the British squad signed Pastor Maldonado for the 2011 season. In addition, the new livery also comprises the name of temporary employment company Randstad.

Williams has also announced a new partnership for the 2011 season of Formula 1 with one of Britain's most acclaimed chefs Michael Caines (who will join the team with responsibilities in the hospitality area).

The British chef, who received 2 Michelin stars some 12 years ago and has retained them ever since, said,

"I am thrilled to be involved with the AT&T Williams team as an official partner and to help them develop their already high standards of hospitality.

(...) It is a prestigious relationship and something we are very excited about and proud of. I am a petrolhead at heart and I?m passionate about Formula One. I have followed Williams over many years so for me this involvement is just brilliant"

A touch of nostalgia!

Williams FW33					Williams FW18 Renault

Links

Williams unveil definitive 2011 race livery (The Official F1)
"Williams? technical director Sam Michael was in attendance at the unveiling and spoke to the assembled media about the theory behind the technicalities of the car?s design. Michael drew particular attention to the compact nature of the FW33?s rear end."


Williams FW33 2011 Livery pictures

Sponsor logos on the Williams FW33

Photos � Williams/LAT

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