Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.894s 30 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.217s + 0.323 24 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.268s + 0.374 27 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.681s + 0.787 23 5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.996s + 1.102 18 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.628s + 1.734 22 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.787s + 1.893 33 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.832s + 1.938 27 9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m33.858s + 1.964 26 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.863s + 1.969 31 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m34.094s + 2.200 22 12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.115s + 3.221 23 13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.371s + 3.477 20 14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m35.389s + 3.495 24 15. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m35.444s + 3.550 22 16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.371s + 4.477 22 17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m36.392s + 4.498 29 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m36.842s + 4.948 29 19. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.882s + 4.988 27 20. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m38.504s + 6.610 22 21. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m38.765s + 6.871 19 22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m39.279s + 7.385 24 23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m40.109s + 8.215 23 24. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m40.428s + 8.534 22
Bernard Ecclestone is Formula One's CEO (F1). Bernard is not everyone's favorite. When you have the power that he has, you're not going to have a lot of friends.
A trawlerman's son, the former motorcycle and parts salesman has done well for himself, growing up with essentially nothing and becoming a billionaire and maybe the most powerful man in motorsports.
Bernard has had some health issues in the past but stated early this year: "I'm working till I drop." He may have more than health issues to be concerned about.
Rumors have surfaced in the past regarding shady dealings in and around Bernard. Now, another report from two German newspapers have come out stating Bernard Ecclestone paid a $50 million bribe regarding the sale of F1's commercial rights five years ago. This story first popped up at the beginning of the year.
Earlier this month, a German banker (Gerhard Gribkowsky) - who was formerly the head of the F1 holding company - was arrested on suspicion of corruption, tax fraud, bribery and breach of trust after "two consultancy contracts totaling $50 million" appeared in two of his accounts in Austria. At this point, according to German law, a tribunal will now decide whether he will stand trial. Gribkowsky could face up to 10 years in jail.
The newspapers, Stern and Suddeutsche Zeitung, refer to 'concrete evidence' to corroborate the claims that Bernie bribed the bank.
CVC Capital Partners - who owns majority interest in F1 - is detaching themselves from the allegations saying: "CVC confirms that it has no knowledge of, nor any involvement in any payment to Mr. Gribkowsky or anyone connected with him in relation to CVC's acquisition of F1."
Bernard, who continues to deny any involvement, says the prosecutors and newspapers have it all wrong concerning the accusations stating: "It's absolute nonsense; I don't even know why I would have given him money."
So is Bernard in trouble? That's a good question. The German prosecutors say that Bernard remains under investigation. But it remains to be seen and I'm not sure if he'll actually be involved in the legal proceedings; therefore, it would seem that Bernard could dodge another bullet.
Bernard didn't become as powerful as he has without knowing more than most. When the proverbial s*** hits the fan, he always comes out smelling like a rose.
There's been talk of CVC looking into the possibilities of selling F1 and controversies like this may hasten the process.
Maybe Bernard will call it quits and take the money and run … figuratively, if not literally. On the other hand, Bernard said a week or so ago that if the price was right, he might buy back F1.Yes, he really said it. All of this still makes you wonder.
Bernard Ecclestone has said that he would likely approach Channel 5 first if the BBC elects not to extend its deal to cover Formula 1.
The BBC's current contract to broadcast grand prix racing finishes at the end of 2012, and there has been speculation that budget cuts at the company could make it unable to commit beyond then - or even exit its contract a year early.
Ecclestone told The Sunday Telegraph that he hoped the BBC would choose to continue covering the sport - but admitted there were other options if it did not happen.
"We have got no problem with the Beeb," he said. "I can't see how the BBC could cancel [its contract early]. We could probably sue them."
Speaking about other contenders to keep F1 on free-to-air television, Ecclestone suggested that he would approach Channel 5 owner Richard Desmond.
"Let's wait and see about the BBC because at the moment they want to make a noise," he said. "[I would] talk to Richard, obviously."
He added: "It isn't possible that F1 could go on to pay TV, we wouldn't want to do that."
Q. This issue arose shortly before the Spanish Grand Prix. Was it initiated by the FIA or did it come from an F1 team?
A: The matter was initiated by the FIA when facts concerning some quite extreme, and hitherto unseen, engine mapping began to emerge. We were concerned that exhaust tailpipes were being positioned and engine maps created with the primary objective of improving in the aerodynamic performance of the car. Prior to that it had been assumed that any aerodynamic benefits were incidental to the primary purpose of the engine and its exhausts, i.e. that of generating torque.
Q. Why did you decide to act?
A: We decided to act as, not only did we consider such extreme mapping to be arguably illegal, but also if such freedom was left unchecked it would result in the teams incurring significant further development costs during the season.
Q. Is the off-throttle blown diffuser illegal under the 2011 technical regulations?
A: We certainly consider them to be questionable, however, the key is whether or not we consider any particular engine map to have been created for any other reason than the generation of engine torque.
Q. Is its illegality an unforeseen side-effect of the rule to ban F-Ducts?
A: No, the two are unconnected.
Q. Why was it not possible to simple introduce blanket limits on hot and cold-blowing and apply them equally to every car?
A: This is precisely what we attempted to do in the first communication to the teams on 12 May. However, it soon became apparent that the matter was more complex than initially thought. The main problem was the difficulty of ensuring that teams were not prevented from using existing legitimate strategies whilst ensuring that the extreme mapping was no longer possible. This is why we postponed the introduction of the measures until the British Grand Prix.
There are also a number of other mechanical factors to take into account such as the architecture of the engine throttles themselves (butterfly or barrel operation).
Q. What were the measures that were introduced for the European Grand Prix in Valencia?
A: Whilst examining the engine maps from several teams it became clear that extreme solutions were being used for short times in qualifying and then being changed for more durable solutions for the race. The felt that this was certainly against the spirit of the parc ferme regulations but, more importantly, the relevant regulations simply do not allow changes to be made whilst the cars were being held under parc ferme conditions, connections to the car may be made and electronic units freely accessed, however, no changes to the set-up of the car can be made.
We therefore informed the teams on 14 June that we would take these measures in Valencia, this was done and cars run accordingly with very few difficulties.
Q. Why was the matter still being discussed over the weekend of the British Grand Prix, and why did the clarification change from Friday to Saturday?
A: The matter was still being discussed because one engine manufacturer (Renault Sport) was reluctant to run with the settings we had imposed and continued to try and convince us that they would require alternative settings in order to maintain their perfect reliability record. At the last minute additional information was provided to us which we felt would be hard to refuse having already made a small concession to another manufacturer (Mercedes Benz HPE).
However, further discussions on Friday evening and Saturday morning resulted in us deciding that we had conceded too much and, to be fair to the manufacturers who had presented cars in what we considered the correct configuration, we should revert to the specification we had specified in our note to the teams on 20 June. This is how all teams then ran on Saturday and Sunday in Silverstone.
Q. What was the purpose of holding two Technical Working Group meetings in Silverstone?
A: Following the events of Friday the FIA President felt that it would be useful to have an open discussion in order to see if consensus could be reached. Following these two meetings there was unanimous agreement among the teams to revert to the engine mapping regime used in Valencia, i.e. freedom on settings but no changes to the maps between qualifying and race.
This was felt to be the most sensible solution to a very complicated matter as the possibility of finding an alternative solution, which would be fair to all engine manufacturers, was becoming increasingly unlikely.
Q. If the FIA had not acted, would there have been a protest?
A: As all the teams had reached consensus there would have been no point in doing so.
Q. Has the matter now been settled?
A: Yes, and all cars will run under 'Valencia' conditions for the remainder of the season.
Q. Are there likely to be any protests now that this matter seems to have been settled?
A: We are optimistic that there will be no protests over any engine mapping and exhaust tailpipe issues this season. In addition to the main part of the agreement reached in the TWG meetings it was also agreed that no team would raise a protest against another on these matters for the rest of the season.
Q. What will happen in 2012 and beyond?
A: The teams have already agreed to strict constraints on exhaust tailpipe position which will result in them exiting the bodywork much higher up and no longer in the vicinity of the diffuser. Therefore, any aerodynamic benefit from exhaust gas flow over bodywork will be kept to an absolute minimum.
Engine mapping will remain free (within the existing constraints of the FIA SECU) as, with the exhaust tailpipes in this new position, it is felt that any aerodynamic benefit will now be incidental to their primary purpose.
Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. Alonso Ferrari 1h28:41.194
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 16.511
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 16.947
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 28.986
5. Massa Ferrari + 29.010
6. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:00.665
7. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.590
8. Heidfeld Renault + 1:15.542
9. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:17.912
10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:19.108
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:19.712
12. Petrov Renault + 1:20.600
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
18. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:34.908 Not classified: Driver Team Gap Button McLaren-Mercedes 11 Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 26 Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 28 Trulli Lotus-Renault 41 Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49 World Championship standings, round 9: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 204 1. Red Bull-Renault 328 2. Webber 124 2. McLaren-Mercedes 218 3. Alonso 112 3. Ferrari 164 4. Hamilton 109 4. Mercedes 68 5. Button 109 5. Renault 65 6. Massa 52 6. Sauber-Ferrari 33 7. Rosberg 40 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17 8. Heidfeld 34 8. Force India-Mercedes 12 9. Petrov 31 9. Williams-Cosworth 4 10. Schumacher 28 11. Kobayashi 25 12. Sutil 10 13. Alguersuari 9 14. Buemi 8 15. Perez 8 16. Barrichello 4 17. Di Resta 2
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m30.399s 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.431s + 0.032 3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m30.516s + 0.117 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m31.124s + 0.725 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.989s + 1.590 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m31.929s + 1.530 7. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m31.933s + 1.534 8. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.128s + 1.729 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.209s + 1.810 10. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.376s + 1.977 Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.588s Gap ** 11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m32.617s + 0.977 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.624s + 0.984 13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.656s + 1.016 14. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m32.734s + 1.094 15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.119s + 1.479 16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m33.805s + 2.165 17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m34.821s + 3.181 Q1 cut-off time: 1m35.132s Gap * 18. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.245s + 2.575 19. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m35.749s + 3.079 20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m36.203s + 3.533 21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m36.456s + 3.786 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.154s + 4.484 23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m37.484s + 4.814 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m38.059s + 5.389 107% time: 1m39.156s
* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m31.401s 17 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m31.464s + 0.063s 20 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.829s + 0.428s 12 4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.169s + 0.768s 20 5. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m32.496s + 1.095s 20 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.956s + 1.555s 18 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.014s + 1.613s 20 8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m33.044s + 1.643s 23 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.264s + 1.863s 21 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.423s + 2.022s 22 11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.551s + 2.150s 11 12. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.660s + 2.259s 22 13. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m33.842s + 2.441s 16 14. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m33.905s + 2.504s 21 15. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m34.042s + 2.641s 22 16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.329s + 2.928s 20 17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m34.799s + 3.398s 20 18. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m34.822s + 3.421s 21 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m35.225s + 3.824s 21 20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m36.905s + 5.504s 21 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.614s + 6.213s 18 22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m38.068s + 6.667s 20 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m38.289s + 6.888s 19 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m38.568s + 7.167s 17
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.967s 9 2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m50.744s + 0.777 16 3. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.395s + 1.428 16 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.438s + 1.471 6 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m51.518s + 1.551 6 6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m51.738s + 1.771 18 7. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m51.781s + 1.814 7 8. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m51.992s + 2.025 13 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m52.169s + 2.202 12 10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m52.189s + 2.222 21 11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m52.198s + 2.231 9 12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m52.325s + 2.358 12 13. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m52.578s + 2.611 16 14. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m52.587s + 2.620 6 15. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m52.869s + 2.902 8 16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m54.023s + 4.056 8 17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m54.274s + 4.307 16 18. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m54.545s + 4.578 4 19. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m54.714s + 4.747 13 20. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m55.155s + 5.188 8 21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m55.155s + 5.188 12 22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m55.549s + 5.582 10 23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m55.828s + 5.861 10 24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m56.037s + 6.070 6
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m46.603s 19 2. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m47.263s + 0.660 20 3. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m47.347s + 0.744 23 4. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m47.422s + 0.819 22 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m47.562s + 0.959 13 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m47.758s + 1.155 23 7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.161s + 1.558 16 8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.549s + 1.946 21 9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m48.598s + 1.995 19 10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.678s + 2.075 22 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m48.730s + 2.127 18 12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.778s + 2.175 18 13. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m48.794s + 2.191 21 14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m48.809s + 2.206 17 15. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m48.841s + 2.238 23 16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m48.941s + 2.338 20 17. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m49.603s + 3.000 15 18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m50.133s + 3.530 17 19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m50.222s + 3.619 14 20. Karun Chandhok Lotus-Renault 1m51.119s + 4.516 17 21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m52.470s + 5.867 17 22. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m53.143s + 6.540 20 23. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m53.469s + 6.866 26 24. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m54.334s + 7.731 24
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:36.169
2. Alonso Ferrari + 10.891
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 27.255
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 46.190
5. Massa Ferrari + 51.705
6. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1:00.000
7. Rosberg Mercedes + 1:38.000
8. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
10. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
15. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
17. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
20. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
22. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
23. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
24. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Vettel, 1:41.852
Not classified:
Driver Team On lap
World Championship standings, round 8:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Vettel 186 1. Red Bull-Renault 295
2. Webber 109 2. McLaren-Mercedes 206
3. Button 109 3. Ferrari 129
4. Hamilton 97 4. Renault 61
5. Alonso 87 5. Mercedes 58
6. Massa 42 6. Sauber-Ferrari 27
7. Rosberg 32 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 16
8. Petrov 31 8. Force India-Mercedes 12
9. Heidfeld 30 9. Williams-Cosworth 4
10. Schumacher 26
11. Kobayashi 25
12. Sutil 10
13. Alguersuari 8
14. Buemi 8
15. Barrichello 4
16. Perez 2
17. Di Resta 2
