Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

[rhysyboy]

LEWIS HAMILTON - THE RETURN TO THE TOP

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

TEAMS AND DRIVERS - THE SEASON PREVIEW

RED BULL RACING


Sebastian Vettel (GER)
Mark Webber (AUS)

Red Bull will hope to repeat their success of last season, where they won their first ever Constructors Championship and first and third in the Drivers Championship with Vettel and Webber respectively. Another season of success is expected with their improved car.

McLAREN


Lewis Hamilton (GBR)
Jenson Button (GBR)

Powered by the 2008 and 2009 Drivers Champions, McLaren will hope to go one better than their second place in the Constructors last season and take a first Championship since 1998.

FERRARI


Fernando Alonso (ESP)
Felipe Massa (BRA)

Ferrari have had numerous disappointments in recent years, their last Drivers Championship in 2007 and last year's team orders scandal. Getting a top 2 finish in Drivers and Constructors will be a realistic target.

MERCEDES


Nico Rosberg (GER)
Michael Schumacher

The all-German line-up of young and old is an effective one for Mercedes, with fast consistent Nico Rosberg and 7-time champion Michael Schumacher. Mercedes hope for their first win since their 2010 return.

LOTUS-RENAULT


Nick Heidfeld (GER)
Vitaly Petrov (RUS)

The Lotus-Renault team, competing under their new title this year, hope to make an impression with Russian youngster Petrov and experienced German Nick Heidfeld.

WILLIAMS


Rubens Barrichello (BRA)
Pastor Maldonado (VEN)

Veteran Rubens Barrichello is taking part in his final season on the Formula 1 circuit, hoping for 1 last hurrah. Echoes of ex-Williams driver Hurst come through in Pastor Maldonado, the controversial Venezuelan prone to taking out half of the field.

FORCE INDIA


Adrian Sutil (GER)
Paul di Resta (GBR)

Adrian Sutil is the Force India regular, but a new British driver in the form of Scottish Paul di Resta hopes to make an impression in his debut season at the wheel.

SAUBER


Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)
Sergio Perez (MEX)

Sauber are back again this year, with their exciting young line-up in the form of Kamui Kobayashi, the fearless overtaker and Mexican Sergio Perez, the promising driver tipped for Ferrari.

TORO ROSSO


Sebastian Buemi (SUI)
Jaime Algersuari (ESP)

The sister team of Red Bull, Toro Rosso have become regular points scorers in recent years, and their drivers this year are arguably their strongest ever. They hope to make a big impression this year.

LOTUS


Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)
Jarno Trulli (ITA)

Lotus failed to pick up a point in their return season of 2010, but they hope to get a first top 10 finish this year with 2 experienced, capable drivers in Kovalainen and Trulli.

HISPANIA RACING TEAM


Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA)
Naruin Karthikeyan (IND)

HRT also failed to pick up points in their debut season, and however hard they try, beating Virgin and Lotus would be seen as an achievement.

VIRGIN RACING


Timo Glock (GER)
Jerome d'Ambrosio (BEL)

Virgin also failed to take any points last year, but are stronger than HRT and will hope to take some credible performances.

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

SEASON SCHEDULE
Australia
Malaysia
China
Turkey
Spain
Monaco
Canada
Europe
Britain
Germany
Hungary
Belgium
Italy
Singapore
Japan
Korea
India
Abu Dhabi
Brazil

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Circuit length: 3.925 miles
Turns: 16
Lap Record: 1:24.125 - Michael Schumacher (2004)

FORECAST: Practice - Qualifying - Race -

FRIDAY PRACTICE SESSION

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets of the Friday practice when he produced a fine backs-to-the-wall 1:27.844 lap in Melbourne. He went top early on in the session with a high 1:28 time, but was knocked down by both Redbulls and Ferraris. He rejoined the track midway through the session, and was on course for a session best time when he span off the kerb and hit the wall, taking off the front wing and ending his out session. He did one final stint, and made it stick going 0.463 seconds faster than Alonso to seal the bragging rights of fastest lap in the first session. Vitaly Petrov surprised by going 6th fastest.

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:27.844
2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:28.327
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:28.358
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:28.427
5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:28.514
6. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) 1:28.717
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:28.765
8. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 1:28.865
9. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:28.927
10. Nick Heidfeld (Lotus-Renault) 1:28.952
11. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:29.170
12. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:29.200
13. Jaime Algersuari (Toro Rosso) 1:29.485
14. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:29.936
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:29.811
16. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) 1:29.949
17. Sergio Perez (Sauber) 1:29.984
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1:30.324
19. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin) 1:32.435
20. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:32.494
21. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) 1:32.519
22. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 1:32.528
23. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) 1:32.589
24. Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT) 1:32.592

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

McLaren grabbed an impressive 1-2 start to the season in the rain at Melbourne. Hamilton went out early on, and span in the rain and did well to prevent himself burying the car in the wall. On his first hotlap, he span off into the gravel trap, forcing him back into the pits. Nick Heidfeld was also involved in the incident, as he span off, resulting in him failing to post a lap time. On the second stint, Hamilton came out with Button on pole. With a great lap that he even had time to go wide in sector 2 on, Hamilton pulled out all the stops to go 1.7 seconds faster than Button. Hamilton came back in and watched the rest of the drivers go by, and tried to set one lap quickly at the end but ran out of time on his outlap. McLaren were celebrating at the end of the session, as they look good for success this opening weekend. Defending champion Sebastian Vettel, well-renowned for being a qualifying master and a rain-master, endured a horror session to qualify 11th.

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:34.470
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:34.625
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:34.646
4. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:34.995
5. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) 1:35.135
6. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:35.219
7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:35.310
8. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 1:35.416
9. Jaime Algersuari (Toro Rosso) 1:35.453
10. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:35.585
11. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:35.751
12. Sergio Perez (Sauber) 1:35.908
13. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) 1:36.234
14. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:36.400
15. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:36.672
16. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1:36.783
17. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:37.432
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT) 1:38.772
19. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin) 1:40.049
20. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 1:40.382
21. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) 1:40.378
22. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:40.484
23. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) 1:40.490
24. Nick Heidfeld (Lotus-Renault) ---

[JMagic93]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

What difficulty are you playing on and any assists?

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

What difficulty are you playing on and any assists?

Intermediate CPU, all rules and tyre wear realistic, all assists on except for braking. I've not had the game long, so I'm still getting used to it.

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2011

Lewis Hamilton ended up finishing a close second in a thrilling Australian Grand Prix that ended with a chase-down onto the final corner. The entire race came down to pit strategy and ultimately, a few spins.
Off the start line, Hamilton's pace was electric as he shot off into the distance, leaving the rest of the pack behind. Alonso overtook Button behind him, while Massa was involved in an incident that ruined his race. Hamilton raced to a total of 21 seconds clear, before on lap 4 he span off coming out of turn 11, shearing off his front wing and leaving him going into the pits 3 laps early on his 2 stop strategy.
He came out 11th, just behind Sergio Perez' Sauber, and hunted him down to overtake him before the end of the lap. The first round of pitters left Hamilton 6th, and as he kept setting the pace on fresh tyres, got himself to second behind Algersuari after the second round of pitters. Algersuari was pitting a lap later, but couldn't hold his lead as Hamilton brilliantly dived around the outside of the straight leading into turn 11 to restore his lead. He then shot off with another 20 second lead, overtaking the straggling Massa, and left his scheduled pitstop at lap 14. This was his downfall, as Lap 13 was all that his tyres could manage. He span off twice on lap 14, and came out of the pits on fresh tyres, but in third place.
On lap 15, on his return, he made up the 3 second gap on 2nd placed Vitaly Petrov to overtake him around turn 14. He was left 9 seconds behind leader Alonso, with 6 backmarkers to overtake, but on much better tyres. He was lapping far quicker, and chewed the gap down to 7 seconds over 2 sectors. At the end of the lap, he was seperated from Alonso by 2 backmarkers and 5 seconds. By the end of sector 1, he overtook the backmarkers and had Alonso within his sights. Hamilton was far quicker, but ultimately ran out of time as Alonso held him off to win the first race of 2011.
Elsewhere on the field, defending champion Vettel had a horror show finishing 9th, while Vitaly Petrov's great weekend ended with his highest ever finish of 3rd.

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 26:16:757
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) +2.396
3. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) +12.663
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) + 21.228
5. Jenson Button (McLaren) +22.514
6. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) +22.704
7. Jaime Algersuari (Toro Rosso) +28.262
8. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) +28.784
9. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) +29.783
10. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) +30.901
11. Sergio Perez (Sauber) +32.381
12. Nick Heidfeld (Lotus-Renault) +45.407
13. Paul di Resta (Force India) +45.867
14. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) +49.977
15. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) +51.445
16. Adrian Sutil (Force India) +52.852
17. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) +53.917
18. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +1:10.589
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) +1 LAP
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT) +1 LAP
21. Timo Glock (Virgin) +1 LAP
22. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin) +1 LAP
23. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) +1 LAP
24. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) +1 LAP

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

DRIVERS STANDINGS:

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) - 25
2. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 18
3. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) - 15
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 12
5. Jenson Button (McLaren) - 10
6. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) - 8
7. Jaime Algersuari (Toro Rosso) - 6
8. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - 4
9. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - 2
10. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) - 1
(All other drivers on 0 points)

CONSTRUCTORS STANDINGS:

1. McLaren - 28
2. Ferrari - 25
3. Lotus-Renault - 15
4= Red Bull - 14
4= Toro Rosso - 14
6. Mercedes - 5
(All other teams on 0 points)

[rhysyboy]

Re: Lewis Hamilton - Return to the Top (F1 2011)

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX PREVIEW

Circuit length: 3.444 miles
Turns: 15
Lap Record: 1:34.223 - Juan Pablo Montoya (2004)

FORECAST: Practice - Qualifying - Race -

FRIDAY PRACTICE SESSION

Lewis Hamilton took the session by the finest of margins in the wet weather that we've become so accustomed to in Sepang. The majority of the field ran the stint on Intermediate tyres, but on Hamilton's first run he was spinning and struggling for grip. He failed to set a time, although Jenson Button went fastest. The second stint, Hamilton told his team to put on Wet tyres, and it paid off as he went clearly fastest. He came in once again as conditions worsened, and watched the final 20 minutes of the session from the pits. Vettel clawed back the nearest time, but Hamilton's judgement got him the quickest time.

1. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 1:43.456
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:43.524
3. Nick Heidfeld (Lotus-Renault) 1:43.599
4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 1:43.728
5. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:43.884
6. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:43.971
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:43.984
8. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:44.089
9. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 1:44.751
10. Sergio Perez (Sauber) 1:44.492
11. Sebastian Buemi (Toro Rosso) 1:44.640
12. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 1:44.695
13. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) 1:44.720
14. Jaime Algersuari (Toro Rosso) 1:44.828
15. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1:45.289
16. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) 1:45.314
17. Adrian Sutil (Force India) 1:45.553
18. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:45.549
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi (HRT) 1:48.621
20. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 1:48.666
21. Timo Glock (Virgin) 1:48.838
22. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) 1:49.051
23. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) 1:49.057
24. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Virgin) 1:49.118