With Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso moving into the lead of the drivers’ standings following his win in Korea at the weekend, the mood at the Italian team’s Maranello factory couldn’t be better.
But amidst the traditional post-victory celebrations, President Luca di Montezemolo has urged everybody in the squad to remain fully focused on the season’s final two rounds…
One of only two Italian drivers on this year’s grid, Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi is certainly better placed to take advantage of a quick car at his home Grand Prix this weekend than fellow countryman, Lotus’s Jarno Trulli. It has been 44 long years since an Italian – Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 – won the Monza race and five since a local hero – Giancarlo Fisichella – even claimed a podium.
The question is can Liuzzi convert the VJM03′s latent pace into a real result? Sadly, recent form is not on his side. Although the car has certainly shown strong performance at recent rounds, and should do well at low-downforce Monza, the 2010 season hasn’t gone to plan for the man from Locorotondo. There have been some flashes of brilliance, but overall the Italian has struggled for results and, more importantly, struggled to match his team mate Adrian Sutil.
Lotus’s chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne is not your typical paddock personality. From his tattoos to his ‘Rottweiler’ nickname, Gascoyne is one of Formula One racing’s biggest characters. But after honing his skills during spells with Force India, McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault and Toyota, he’s also an ace in the design department. Here he discusses Lotus’s debut year, the team’s driver line-up and the 2011 season
Team principals: John Booth (Virgin), Ross Brawn (Mercedes), Mike Gascoyne (Lotus) and Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren).
Q: A question to you all. This time of the year some people tend to wind down on the development of the current car, perhaps work more on the 2011 car. Some people less so as they are still in the championship. Can I just hear what your team’s concentration is on for the rest of the season?
Mike Gascoyne: For us it is very clear that we are fully focused on next year’s car…
The Hungarian Grand Prix not only put a victorious Mark Webber firmly back in the championship race, it left fans with the tantalising prospect of a genuine five-way fight for the title over the season’s final seven rounds, with just 20 points covering the leading contenders.
Red Bull’s Budapest pace might suggest they’re favourites, but the RB6 is unlikely to be so perfectly suited to the remaining tracks…
With Red Bull more dominant than ever, and Ferrari taking a step forward, McLaren seem to have lost their way at recent rounds. The MP4-25 is certainly in the midst of a dip in form, and driver Jenson Button seems to have borne the brunt of its drop in pace in qualifying. Button hasn’t qualified higher than fourth all season and at the last round in Hungary failed to make it into the top-10 shootout. Speaking to his official website, Button reviews his Budapest race and the season so far
After a race that took three attempts to start, Venezuela’s Pastor Maldonado extended his GP2 Series lead for Rapax on Saturday with a crushing fifth victory of the season. He led home Racing Engineering’s Christian Vietoris and Barwa Addax’s Sergio Perez…
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on his tricky start from pole position; Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari on their first-lap collision; Lotus on their disappointing double DNF; and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa on their first one-two since the season opener in Bahrain. All 24 drivers, and senior team personnel, report back on Sunday’s race
Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg has grown in self confidence since his Silverstone podium couple of weeks back. It is obvious in the way he walks, the way he talks and the way he interacts with the media. Everything seems to say ‘I am well on the way to becoming a power in Formula One’. Having started the season in the shadow of team mate Michael Schumacher, Rosberg has quickly emerged as a force in his own right. He’s clearly enjoying it, even if that first win has so far eluded him. But that is surely just a matter of time
You will definitely know he is a Force India driver. You should know he’s German. You probably know he’s clinched 35 of his team’s 47 points this season. And if you’re a big fan you may even know he could have become a professional pianist.
But we bet there’s still plenty you don’t know about Adrian Sutil, including his fear of spiders, his obsession with perfection and his penchant for pens. Sutil reveals all in the latest instalment of our Secret Life series
