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MERCEDES ON POLE IN MONACO

26. May 2013

Nico Rosberg has secured Mercedes' fourth consecutive pole after a mixed-conditions qualifying in Monaco. Rosberg, who ended up on top after a shootout between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, also made Monaco his third successive pole position. 'It could've been a lot easier out there today,' said Rosberg of the weather. 'The conditions were all over the place.' 'I'm really happy, everything went to plan. The last lap was okay. 'It's great to be on pole again ' especially in Monaco. If any track, here it really makes a difference.' However, despite the Silver Arrows being favourite for pole all weekend, Rosberg's ultimate lap time ' 1m 13:876s ' was just one-tenth faster than Vettel in P3, the two split by Hamilton in the second Mercedes. 'I've been struggling all weekend, my pace has been sucking,' said Hamilton. 'Just struggling with the car all weekend.'

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IT’S OFFICIAL HONDA/McLAREN BACK IN BUSINESS

16. May 2013

IT’S OFFICIAL HONDA/McLAREN BACK IN BUSINESS

It's official. Honda will return to Formula One with McLaren for the 2015 season. After months of speculation the official announcement will see the Japanese manufacturer back at the top level of motorsport after it quit the sport in 2008. Honda President and CEO Takanobu Ito, said that Honda was delighted to be back in F1. “Honda has a long history of advancing our technologies and nurturing our people by participating in the world’s most prestigious automobile racing series. The new F1 regulations with their significant environmental focus will inspire even greater development of our own advanced technologies and this is central to our participation in F1." he said. Mr Ito thanked both the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone for their support, indicating that the new engine regulations for F1 were a major influence in the companies decision to return.

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WIN TICKETS TO SENSATIONAL SANDOWN MAY 18 - 19

7. May 2013

To win tickets to the second round of the Victorian Circuit Racing Championships at Sandown Raceway on May 18 - 19 just go to the In Pit Lane Competition page and answer the very simple question. HINT: She was a recent guest on In Pit Lane. The In Pit Lane Competition Page

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VETTEL REIGNS SUPREME IN BAHRAIN

22. April 2013

VETTEL REIGNS SUPREME IN BAHRAIN

Sebastian Vettel has won back-to-back Bahrain Grand Prix in a display of renewed Red Bull dominance. Vettel was always in the box seat to capitalise on Mercedes' poor race pace from P2 on the grid, but his job was made easier by the neutralisation of Alonso's threat thanks to a DRS failure. "Fantastic race. A big thank you to the team today," said Vettel. "A faultless, seamless race from start to finish." "The pace we had today, we surely didn't expect that. But we managed the gaps and still had enough tyres to push to the end." While tyre strategy played a less significant role than it did in China, second place was secured by Kimi Raikkonen courtesy of a two-stop strategy - one of only two drivers to do so. While Raikkonen found solid pace during the race, Lotus must surely hypothesise what could've been if the Finn had delivered the goods during qualifying. "I think yesterday wasn't ideal, so we planned to do two stops because it felt okay," said Raikkonen.

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ROSBERG ON POLE FOR BAHRAIN

21. April 2013

Nico Rosberg has taken a surprise pole position in Bahrain, fending off Championship favourites Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Rosberg looked feisty in his Mercedes all weekend, but the half-second gap between him and teammate Lewis Hamilton was an unexpected, to say the least. "It's a fantastic result, it's great for tomorrow," said Rosberg. 'I think as a team we worked really last night to improve the car, as yesterday we were really struggling." "Tomorrow is going to be a tough race for sure, with rear tyre degradation especially." "We're not going to be as quick as we were in qualifying compared to everybody else. I think it'll be much closer tomorrow on race fuel - but you just have to wait."

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HAMILTON ON POLE IN CHINA

13. April 2013

Lewis Hamilton has secured his first pole position for Mercedes in Shanghai, the site of Mercedes' last win in Formula One. Hamilton set an untouchable time of 1m 34.484s, some three-tenths faster than closest rival Kimi Raikkonen in his Lotus. Qualifying proved to be a battle of attrition, with no teams appearing willing to risk burning through a set of the delicate soft tyre at the wrong moment. Sebastian Vettel was the only man out on track in the first seven minutes of Q3, banking some sector times in case of the very real possibility most of the top ten elected not to set a time. But eight of the other nine competitors leapt from their garages at once ' all but Hulkenberg ' to battle for pole. Raikkonen initially set the pace, while Rosberg threatened to topple him before a mistake on the last corner undid his timed lap.

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VETTEL WINS RACE, LOSES RESPECT

24. March 2013

VETTEL WINS RACE, LOSES RESPECT

Sebastian Vettel has fought tooth-and-nail to come home the victor of the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. In a race marred by internal team tension, Vettel supposedly broke team orders to hold station behind his teammate and challenged for the lead, forcing himself past Mark Webber. 'It was obviously very close,' said Vettel of his scrap with Webber. 'Wheel to wheel racing, there wasn't much room for either of us.' 'Maybe I was a little bit too keen too soon. For sure we both enjoyed that. I'm standing in the middle [of the podium] now, so I probably enjoyed it a little bit more.' As the fighting became increasingly tense, Vettel was implored to slow down, at one point being told by team principal Christian Horner his behaviour was 'silly'. On his warm down lap, Vettel was congratulated on his team radio before being told 'there'll be some explaining to do'.

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MELBOURNE: THE ICE MAN COMETH

17. March 2013

MELBOURNE: THE ICE MAN COMETH

Kimi Raikkonen has scythed up the grid to take the first win of the F1 season at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Raikkonen's Lotus was only thereabouts in qualifying, starting the race from seventh on the grid. A solid start put him into the top five, and he fought his way up from there. 'I was a bit disappointed this morning after qualifying,' explained the Finn. 'It was more about timing than maximum speed for all the cars, so not an ideal starting place [in seventh].' 'I knew that my car was quite good, it was feeling good all weekend. The secret to Raikkonen's controlled victory was the Lotus' supreme tyre use, which enabled him to run a two-stop strategy. 'In a way I was very confident, but of course you have to get through the start and the first lap, and it's the first race so you never know what's going to happen. 'We got it exactly right. We followed the plan and it worked out perfectly for us. It was one of the easiest races I've done, to win the race.'

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RED BULL FRONT ROW LOCKOUT AS VETTEL TAKES POLE

17. March 2013

RED BULL FRONT ROW LOCKOUT AS VETTEL TAKES POLE

Sebastian Vettel has taken the first pole position of the year at Albert Park after rain washed out yesterday's first session. Vettel made driving in the tricky damp conditions look effortless, despite the guessing game as to when the track would be ready for slick tyres. Hamilton and Rosberg looked threatening, and the Briton set the first quick time on intermediates. Vettel, predictably, had an answer to every challenge, and responded with increasingly unbelievable lap times. Button decided to sample the supersofts and it proved to be the tyre to be on, the 2012 Melbourne winner temporarily going faster. But once the rest of the field cottoned on, the McLaren was quickly outclassed.

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DROUGHT BREAKS FOR F1 QUALIFYING

16. March 2013

Qualifying for the 2013 Australian Grand Prix has been postponed until Sunday after rain lashed the track, making the circuit undriveable. While Q1 was run this afternoon Q2 and Q3 have been shifted to 11AM tomorrow morning, with the race to go ahead at 5PM. The weather bore down on Albert Park early in the afternoon, affecting mot of FP3, and continued to soak the circuit for the two hours before qualifying. For what was to be a highly anticipated session, Melbourne managed to keep the world in suspense for an extra thirty minutes while the FIA allowed the track to dry before giving qualifying the green light.

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