Showing posts with label sebastian vettel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sebastian vettel. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Webber to bring Vettel back to earth

Vettel has conquered all before him this season, winning six of the eight races thus far, a performance that has seen him open an 87-point gap on Webber and McLaren's Jenson Button.

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Webber admits that the place he finds himself in is a strange one.

"It is astonishing to be a little bit disappointed sitting second in the Drivers' Championship," he told the Daily Mail.

"It almost certainly hasn't gone completely as I would have liked but it is a fine line isn't it?

"Seb is obviously on a phenomenal run, which has made it solid for all the rest of us. There is only one guy that is really wrapped with his period up to now and that is Seb."

Despite Vettel's superior showing, Webber is still confident of clipping the German's wings, starting at this weekend's British GP where Webber triumphed last time out.

"He (Vettel) can be caught," insisted the resolute Australian.

"But he can also go on a roll again after he is caught. For somebody to outscore him by 80 points will be a phenomenal effort. So you have got to keep boxing and hang in there. Someone has got to get on a roll with some victories themselves."

Webber's future at Red Bull has been the subject of much discussion, with the 34-year-old's contract failing at the end of the season and a host of drivers connected to his position.

However, he isn't too worried that he doesn't yet have a deal in place for next year.

"Red Bull have been great and they are very keen to keep me, no query about it," said Webber.

"We are talking but there is no real importance from both sides. Timing is critical in anything in life. At the moment I am still getting some great results and I'm very, very close to getting some extraordinary results again," he added.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Webber urged to stay up good work

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner hopes Mark Webber's presentation at Valencia is a sign of things to come for the rest of the season.

Webber is second behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers' Championship, but he has struggled to give the reigning World Champion a run for his money this year. Vettel has won six out of eight grands prix and has ongoing ahead of Webber in seven of those races.


Webber, though, put up a much enhanced display at the European Grand Prix and he rated his third-place finish as "probably the best of the season".

Horner agrees with Webber's sentiments and is pleased that he is starting to bridge the gap to his team-mate.

"It was Mark's best race of the season in terms of his performance on those tyres," Horner is quoted by Reuters as saying. "It's the closest he has been to Sebastian all season. He drove well this weekend. Nobody is taking whatever thing for granted."

Horner is also hopeful that the Australian will continue to improve as he's finally coming to grips with the new Pirelli tyres.

"I hope he keeps building up the impetus from this weekend," he said.

"He's made no covert of the fact he's struggled more on these tyres than Sebastian. I think he's understanding them better now.

"If you look at the time dissimilarity between the guys during the race he was never more than four or five seconds away for 90 percent of the race, which is the best we've seen all year.

"He'll take a lot of self-assurance out of the weekend."

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lewis Hamilton: I'll get my season back on track in Valencia

Lewis Hamilton says he wants to get his season back on track and 'consolidate' in Valencia next weekend, after two concerned grand prix.
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The McLaren star's title bid has gone off the rails in recent weeks, starting with a disordered Monaco event that saw him twice penalised for colliding with rivals, and then making contentious comments about the race officials, for which he later apologised.

He hoped to make compensation with a great result in Canada, only to punt Mark Webber into a spin at the first bend, run wide while dicing with Michael Schumacher, and then retire with crash damage after a tangle with his team-mate Jenson Button - who went on to pull off a brilliant last-gasp victory.

Hamilton is therefore aiming for a calmer weekend in Spain to resolve things down again.

"For me, Valencia will be a weekend of consolidation after two disappointing results in Monaco and Canada," he said.

"Those two races were chiefly frustrating for me because we showed we had the pace to win both of them, yet I only came away with eight points."

He said the Spanish street track used for the European Grand Prix was one of his favourite venues, so would be the perfect place to mount a resurgence.

"I've always gone well at Valencia, finishing second there in every race, and I really enjoy offensive the track," said Hamilton.

"It's a hard circuit with no let-up, but that won't deter me as I'm really keen to get back on track and get back in the points.

"This race will be our third street circuit in a row, so expectantly it'll give me the chance to reverse the bad luck I've encountered in the previous two."

Hamilton added that he was now certain McLaren had the pace to beat Red Bull in a straight fight, after he hounded Sebastian Vettel to the flag in Spain, and given that Button came close to charming in Monaco and then pulled off his epic Montreal triumph.

"We've debatably had the fastest race car in the last three races, and that's really encouraging because I know that, when it's put to best use, I should be able to finish at the front," said Lewis.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Bahrain set to learn Grand Prix decision

The Gulf kingdom was planned to host the opening race of the 2011 season but it was called off amid civil unrest.

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have asked Formula 1's governing body to rearrange rather than cancel its race.

However, driver Mark Webber has voiced opposition, writing on Twitter: "When people in a country are being hurt, the issues are better than sport."

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Red Bulls' Webber, third in the driver standings, continued: "Let's hope the right choice is made."

Former world champion Damon Hill has also said that the race should not go ahead, although the president of the British Racing Drivers' Club stated that he was not talking in an official capacity.

"This crisis is an chance for Formula 1 to show it cares about all people and their human rights," said Hill.

"True peace has nothing to do with creating calm through the use of aggressive repression.

"Bahrain has restored order but the methods have been questioned by many dependable journalists and human rights organisations.

"If Formula agrees to race in Bahrain it will forever have the disfigurement of association with repressive methods to achieve order.

"True peace can only be achieved peacefully. The right thing to do, in my view, is to not race in Bahrain until these doubts have been detached."

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Sebastian Vettel triumphs after Monaco Grand Prix drama

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won his first Monaco Grand Prix and pulled additional ahead in the championship.
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Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button, who briefly led the race, had congested in on Vettel but a late safety car helped the German.

Alonso finished second for the first time in 2011, with Button third and Red Bull's Mark Webber fourth.

Lewis Hamilton became involved in a row over critical comments about stewards after finishing sixth.

The Englishman was called before officials for two separate incidents and, asked why he had been to see stewards five times in six races this year, he said, in fact in jest: "Maybe it's because I'm black. That's what Ali G says."

The race was poised for a exciting finish as Vettel, Alonso and Button were enclosed by less than a second and chasing each other hard. 

Monday, May 16, 2011

Red Bull take Formula One back to Austria

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The last Austrian Grand Prix took place in 2003 at the A1-Ring. On Sunday, Formula One cars returned to the famous Spielberg venue as, revamped and upgraded, it began a new life as the Red Bull Ring, as long as a new home for national and international motorsport.

Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were amongst those present at the special opening event, showcasing their F1 machinery, along with Toro Rosso stable mates Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

“I was 14-years-old the first time I was at Spielberg for a Formula Konig race and I watched the drivers there with great enthusiasm, counting the Austrian, Bernhard Auinger,” Vettel told Red Bull Racing’s official website. “At that time I was very new to the Red Bull family. A lot of time has passed since then and it has tainted a lot.”

Vettel took time out to add his hand and foot prints to a special plaque for the Red Bull Ring’s ‘winners’ road’, as well as completing the obligatory demonstration laps for a soaked, but highly grateful crowd.

“I like the new track very much, as the core of the circuit remains the same,” added the world champion. “The downhill sections with the curves, which are still lynching to the outside, are very tricky, especially because today the track was wet. It would be very nice to drive a race here and I would be very happy if Formula One should return to the Red Bull Ring - if possible during my career!”

The original circuit, then known as the Osterreichring, opened in 1969 and staged its first Grand Prix the following year, with local hero Jochen Rindt drawing enormous crowds. Austria’s other world champion, Niki Lauda, won his home event there in 1984 and he returned on Sunday to win again in a special ‘legends’ race from compatriot and fellow F1 veteran Dieter Quester.

“It's really impressive what's happened here,” said Lauda. “I am very happy that the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg has been revitalized - it's a huge asset to the racing scene in Austria. The basic route is the same, but the whole course is in perfect condition and has similar current facilities to those in Bahrain.”


Sunday, May 8, 2011

F1 leader Vettel wins Turkish Grand Prix

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in the Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, winning ahead of coworker Mark Webber to get bigger his lead in the Formula One standings.
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The F1 champion, who has three victories this year, was never in problem at Istanbul Park after starting from the pole for the fourth successive race and winning by a contented 8.8 seconds.

"Throughout this race we had this cushion and were able to act, quite than react," the 23-year-old Vettel said. "We never really had anybody close at the back, which would have been a different situation."

Vettel leads McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by 34 points and Webber by 38.

"I think the day you start to think you are invincible is the day you get beaten, for sure," Vettel said. "There is always someone, at some point, who teaches you a lesson, who gives you a hard time and beats you."

Vettel is even less likely to get approved away after four races, given the championship went down to the final day last year.

"We saw how quickly these things changed last year; it was very close," Vettel said.


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Webber ponders F1 future before Turkey

Mark Webber has not lined out finding a new Formula One team if Red Bull don't offer him a new agreement at the end of 2011.
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The 34-year-old was widely predictable to retire if no new deal was forthcoming from Red Bull but told Italian newspaper La Stampa on the eve of this weekend's race in Turkey he still has amazing to offer.

"I have my flaws, but I'm strong-minded," Webber said.

"Last year I fought for the title, and I want to go for it yet again When this season ends my agreement with Red Bull will expire.

"If the team doesn't want me anymore, I will have to react to a good question: to hang up the helmet, or to change teams? Let's see what happens."

The Australian will be hoping for a alike drive in Istanbul to his last outing in the Red Bull car when he came from 18th on the grid to finish third in China.

The Turkish grand prix was the scene for Webber's much publicised collision with coworker Sebastian Vettel last year.

Webber was foremost the race when the pair came together as Vettel tried to pass, allowing McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton to grasp a win while teammate Jenson Button came second.

Webber was able to direct his stricken car to a third-place finish but the incident forced Vettel to leave and began the rumour mill about a split in the Red Bull garage between the two drivers' camps which rumbled all year.

Despite that incident, Webber said he was looking onward to returning to Istanbul Park.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Vettel Rolls In Shanghai P1

Carrying the energy of wins in both of the season's first two races, Sebastian Vettel looked every bit as strong in gap practice Friday at Shanghai International Circuit.

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Vettel, chasing the rare feat of initial a season with three straight wins, posted a quick lap of 1:38:739 to easily beat out coworker Mark Webber in the sister Red Bull RB7.

Webber, at 1:39:394, was the only other driver to eclipse the one minute, 39 second fence as third-place Lewis Hamilton (1:40:845) was more than two full seconds back of Vettel.

Jenson Button, who reported throughout the practice that his KERS system wasn't working, and Nick Heidfeld finished the top five.

The 90-minute session didn't turn out to Heidfeld's liking, however, as the German stopped his Lotus Renault GP entry on a wet track below overcast, hazy skies.

Heidfeld went over the curbs at Turn 10 and lost power, damaging his car.

Rookies Pastor Maldonado and Paul di Resta also spun, in that order, at different times.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Webber fine with being the 'underdog'

Having clinched the crown last year, many are predicting Vettel will be the man to beat in 2011 while there are some nay-sayers who reckon last year's title brawl was Webber's one shot at achieving F1's ultimate prize.

The 34-year-old, though, is determined his detractors' comments won't get him down - rather, he says, they'll inspire him.

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"I do like to be the underdog to a degree. On the ropes a little bit. And of course there are plans you can use to fire yourself up. But you can only take that so far," said the Aussie.

"Don't worry; I'll be opposing this year again. Very, very hard. And sometimes that will be against Sebastian."

Webber urged Red Bull to bring out their 'A' game as several moments last season, such as their early dependability issues and the intra-team tension between himself and Vettel, played into their rivals' hands.

"There is every reason to suggest we can do well again," Webber told The Telegraph, "but we have learned to deal with convinced situations a little bit better so that we don't help our rivals."


Monday, March 14, 2011

Vettel to stay at Red Bull until 2014

Red Bull have announced on Monday that Sebastian Vettel will carry on to drive for the team until the end of the 2014 season. Last year, at just 23 years-old, Vettel became the sport’s youngest-ever world champion after scoring 10 pole positions, five victories and 256 points in the team’s RB6.

"The reason why I'll stay until 2014 with Red Bull Racing is that I feel very contented in the team," he told Red Bull's official website on Monday morning. "I am proud to be part of the team, and I am proud of what we have archived so far and will attain together in the future."

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The German has been supported by Red Bull since 1998 and is a divide up of the Red Bull Junior Team. After spells in Formula Three and Formula BMW, Vettel made his Formula One debut in 2007, standing in for an upset Robert Kubica at BMW Sauber, before securing a full-time Toro Rosso race seat later that season.

During his first full season with Toro Rosso in 2008 he became the sport's youngest winner with a dramatic victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The following year he switched to Red Bull's 'senior' RBR team for 2009. He took four wins that year to finish second in the drivers’ championship, before taking the title in 2010.

Vettel will once again team up with Australian driver Mark Webber in Red Bull's line-up for the 2011 season.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Alonso rates his F1 rivals

Alonso was asked by Spanish paper AS to give his view on his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa, current World Champion Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, McLaren duo Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton as well seven-time Champion Michael Schumacher.

Two-time Champion Alonso described Vettel as follows: "Very fast. Very fast and accurate. If he starts first in a race it is hard to stop him."

Mark Webber, who finished third in the Drivers' Championship last year is "experienced, calm and reliable. It is very difficult to see him fail."

Alonso believes his former McLaren team-mate Hamilton is "a great driver and one of the fastest of the present Formula One grid" while Button "has a great nature for difficult races in the rain or with the safety car in the dry".

As for Schumacher, Alonso says "he is the champion, we all respect him and he is a driver able of surprising".

And his views on his team-mate Massa?

"Very quickly, he knows the team, he ongoing with Sauber, but is now with Ferrari and very hungry to win."

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Webber targets maiden F1 title in 2011

Mark Webber has a maiden Formula One title in his sights to banish recollections of an unbearable end to his 2010 campaign.

The Australian led the crivers' championship for Red Bull for most of the period only to be pipped at the post by team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who secured the title in the final race at Abu Dhabi.

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Webber's year was conquered by controversy, as he accused his team of treating him as a "number two driver" and had a high-profile crash with Vettel in the Turkish Grand Prix which cost them both the chance of victory.

But in spite of missing out on the F1 crown, the 34-year-old says he has moved on from the disappointment of his near miss.

"I'm completely over it," he told the official Formula one website. "Life goes on and I don't feel any regret. It was fairly a season. It was an incredible year.

"I lost the championship in the last race and over the whole season no one had a one-race lead over the other guys fighting for the title. I still think I had the chance to be the champion, but I didn't do it because I didn't get the job done on the track.

"Every race was alive. Even if we'd had one more race after Abu Dhabi four guys could have still won the challenge. He (Vettel) did a great job and deserved the championship.

"There been a lot of great moments for me, but of course I didn't get the jackpot. But I am still very arrogant of what happened. I am definitely looking to improve this year."

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull rage back into the F1 limelight

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber stood next to each other and smiled at the same moment today, which was not forever the case for grand prix racing's new world champion and his team-mate last season, when both drivers went into the final race with a possibility of the title at the end of an internecine battle that had sometimes turned sour and was intended to finish in the young German's favour.

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A new season began with the ceremonial presentation of the successor to the Red Bull-Renault that gave the team a clean sweep of the drivers' and constructors' championships. Both men, at opposite ends of their careers, could feel a surge of optimism by what was revealed when they pulled the dust sheet off the descendant to the all-conquering RB6, and again when Vettel ended the day with the fastest time of the field, having hammered the car around 93 laps of the taut little circuit in the semi-industrialised scrubland west of Valencia.

Formula One's new champion dismissed the close-season rumours connecting him with a move to Ferrari. "It's not smart to put too much weight on those things," he said. "In the off-season there are no wheels rotating, unfortunately, but obviously there are still pages to be packed with ink. I said many times I am happy where I am. I feel very relaxed in the team."

Monday, December 27, 2010

'Ferrari want Vettel to replace Massa'

http://motogp-f1-races.blogspot.com/Vettel, who became F1's youngest World Champion with his title victory with Red Bull in 2010, has often been connected to Ferrari in the past.

Not only has the German admitted that racing for the Italian outfit would be "special" but now di Montezemolo has exposed he wants Vettel.

"Sebastian is fast, smart and young," he told Cologne tabloid Express. "Sooner or afterward he will be driving a red car."

The newspaper added that Ferrari are eager to have the German's services in 2012, teaming him up with Fernando Alonso as Felipe Massa's replacement.

Vettel, though, insists he is dedicated to Red Bull Racing: "I am a part of the Red Bull family."
However, even Red Bull team proprietor Dietrich Mateschitz admits his outfit could face a tough confront retaining the German in the face of the "dream" of racing for Ferrari.

"It's a once in a life-time dream to drive for Ferrari but we will make send-off a difficult decision for him," said Mateschitz.

"We have so far been also quick to agree. And he wants to win."

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Monday, December 6, 2010

Webber ended season with fractured shoulder

http://motogp-f1-races.blogspot.com/Red Bull’s Mark Webber drove the last four rounds of the 2010 season with a fractured shoulder, the Australian driver has revealed. Webber sustained the injury in a cycling accident prior to the October’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Webber chose not to divulge what had happened to the Red Bull team bosses and details have only just emerged in a new book published in the Australia. It was the first time he had been back on a mountain bike since breaking his leg in late 2008.

"I was riding with a great friend of mine,” explained Webber in ‘Mark Webber, Up Front’. “Suddenly, he crashed right in front of me and I had nowhere to go but straight through the ears of the horse! I suffered what they call a skier's fracture to my right shoulder.”

With the fracture too fine to be treated, Webber, who was leading the championship at the time, received pre-race injections to cope with the pain. Only his physio Roger Cleary and FIA medic Gary Harstein are believed to have known about the injury.

Webber narrowly lost the Japanese race to team mate Sebastian Vettel, after which his championship challenge faded, and many will now question whether the fracture effectively cost him the title, even if Webber himself disagrees.

He broke his right leg in November 2008 after being hit by a car while cycling in training for his Tasmania charity challenge. What wasn’t known by his team or the public at the time was that Webber also broke his shoulder in that incident.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Another big weekend for Sebastian Vettel

http://motogp-f1-races.blogspot.comTwo weeks on from winning his first F1 drivers’ championship in the Abu Dhabi, there is still little sign of Sebastian Vettel taking a rest. This weekend he demonstrated his Red Bull on the streets of the Berlin in his native Germany.

If that wasn’t enough, he then headed to Dusseldorf where he and Michael Schumacher clinched their fourth successive Nations Cup title at the annual Race of Champions (ROC) event.

Vettel’s Berlin run took place on Saturday on a temporary track constructed on June 17th Street, allowing Formula One’s youngest champion to drive an F1 car in front of the famous Brandenburg Gate. He then completed a driver’s parade along Yitzhak-Rabin Street, aboard the Red Bull tour bus.

Happy to be able to celebrate with his fans in the German capital, Vettel said: "It was a dream come true for me today and it was great that so many people were here, even in the cold weather. It’s something very special to drive in front of the Brandenburg Gate and to leave a signature of rubber written by my slicks! You don’t get such a chance very often in life - it was a great day.”

On Sunday, neither Vettel nor Schumacher made the finals in the individual ROC competition, but in combination they were again invincible in the Nations Cup. In a repeat of the last two finals, Team Germany lined up against Team GB, represented by touring car stars Andy Priaulx and Jason Plato. The two teams were extremely closely matched and needed a sudden-death shoot-out to decide the result, with Schumacher beating Priaulx by a fraction.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Qualifying - Vettel takes vital Yas Marina pole

Sebastian Vettel will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix just where he wants, on pole position after lapping his Red Bull in 1m 39.394s. But the most important qualifying session of the year was a major disappointment for the team mate Mark Webber who managed only fifth place in 1m 39.925s and will be separated from Vettel by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Earlier, Hamilton had been fortunate to avoid the contact with Felipe Massa when, after a big slide on his first lap in Q2, he’d had to back off the pace and resumed just as the Ferrari was alongside. The former champion walloped a camera pole, but his McLaren did not sustain any damage and he recovered his momentum brilliantly to lap second quickest before his time eventually left him fifth in that session.

He already held second place as Q3 drew to its close, but trimmed his time down to 1m 39.425s to demonstrate to Vettel that he may yet have a race on his hands on Sunday. Alonso’s late improvement was bad news for Webber. The Spaniard lapped in 1m 39.792s to jump to third, ahead of Button on 1m 39.823s.

Webber will share row three with Massa, who lapped his F10 in 1m 40.202s, while Williams’ Rubens Barrichello’s 1m 40.203s left him seventh ahead of the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg on 1m 40.516s and 1m 40.589s respectively. Like Massa, both suffered in late-session traffic. Vitaly Petrov was 10th for Renault, with 1m 40.901s.

Vettel redefined the ante in Q2 with the fastest lap of the weekend thus far in 1m 39.874s, ahead of the revitalised Button, Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton. Further back, Robert Kubica surprisingly failed to make Q3, taking 11th place behind team mate Petrov with 1m 40.780s in a Renault that still seemed not to be running as well as it did on Friday.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fernando Alonso has F1 title in his own hands

http://motogp-f1-races.blogspot.comFernando Alonso has the championship lead on his side as he aims to clinch the Formula One (F1) world title in a historic finale Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

But in a season of roller-coaster rides for all the stars, Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton are also in the frame.

It is the first time in F1 history that four drivers are in the title race ahead of the season-ender.

A simple engine failure in Alonso's Ferrari could for instance open the door for the others, he may be shunted off the track by another driver, make a mistake himself or have yet another negative experience with the safety car as has happened already three times this season.

However, Alonso has a third career title in his own hands as championship leader. He has amassed 246 points from 18 of 19 races, with Webber on 238, Vettel on 231 and Hamilton on 222.

Under the current system, the top 10 drivers get points in a 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 format.

Alonso has done his maths and says 'I just need to finish second. It does not matter who wins in Abu Dhabi if I finish second'.

The Spaniard can also afford third place if Webber does not win, and fourth or fifth if Webber and Vettel do not win.

Webber will secure the trophy if he wins and Alonso comes no better than third. A team order of sorts may be used if Vettel leads from Webber and Alonso in the final lap, as Ferrari also ordered Felipe Massa to let Alonso pass for victory at the German GP.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Jenson Button vows to fight on in F1 title defence

http://motogp-f1-races.blogspot.comMcLaren's Jenson Button says he would not forgive himself if he did not try to defend his Formula 1 crown at the next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Button, who clinched the 2009 title in the Brazil, trails Ferrari's championship leader Fernando Alonso by 42 points with only 50 points up for grabs.

"It is a long shot but I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I chose not to go for it," said Button.

"I've always said I'll fight until it's mathematically impossible for me."

Alonso, the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Button are all still in the title hunt with only two races to go in Brazil and Abu Dhabi on 14 November.

Button needs to finish at least second at Brazil's Interlagos circuit and hope other results go his way.

Two-time champion Alonso, who leads the standings by 11 points from Webber, is the only driver who can clinch the 2010 crown in Brazil.