Vettel on pole for F1 2011 Monaco GP

Sebastian Vettel will start the F1 2011 Monaco Grand Prix from pole after he put in a scintillating single lap during the final ten minutes of qualifying, but the entire session was overshadowed by a violent accident for Sauber rookie Sergio Perez.

The Mexican had yet to set a flying lap in Q3 when he exited the tunnel off-line and was pitched into the right-hand barrier in much the same way as Nico Rosberg had been during morning practice. Unlike the German, however, Perez was unlucky in that his stricken car slammed broadside into the TecPro barrier protecting the area between circuit and run-off area. A lengthy delay ensued while he was assessed by medical teams and then extracted from the shattered remains of his C30.

The entire right-hand side of the car was demolished, but the cockpit section appeared largely undamaged, and the rookie was reported to be conscious and talking as he was taken to the medical centre.

Vettel held top spot at the time of the red flag stoppage, which came with just over two minutes remaining in the session and lasted for more than quarter of an hour, and while the session did re-start, no-one was able to make any major moves.

That left Jenson Button second on the grid, albeit four tenths shy of the Red Bull, while Button's team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, who had been quickest in both Q1 and Q2, had to settle for seventh. Hamilton appeared to be distracted by Felipe Massa at the start of his first flying lap and while he tried to have another go after Q3 was re-started, he could only gain one spot.

Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso meanwhile will start on row two, ahead of Michael Schumacher and Massa, with Pastor Maldonado claiming the ninth spot for Williams, just behind Nico Rosberg, who did well to get P8, especially given his off in FP3. Perez is provisionally tenth on the grid, although his participation in tomorrow's race is doubtful after his big crash.

Vitaly Petrov was just on the wrong side of the cut-off in Q2 and failed to progress to the top-ten shoot-out. He will start 11th. It was the Lotus Renault GP team's worst qualifying performance of the season, as Nick Heidfeld also went out in the sister car and his lap was good enough only for 16th.

Rubens Barrichello was the other driver not to make the cut and who looked close, but he was bumped late on by his Williams team-mate Maldonado, who made the shoot-out for the second race in a row. Kamui Kobayashi was next up and 13th for Sauber, ahead of the two Force Indias of Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil, while Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi was the slowest runner in the second session and will start 17th.

Toro Rosso had a tough time, as Jaime Alguersuari went out in Q1, joining the 'usual suspects' after a collision with Kobayashi that damaged the STR6's front wing. Both were summoned to the stewards after. It remains to be confirmed if they will get any sort of penalty.

Heikki Kovalainen led the expected casualties in Q1 for Team Lotus ahead of his team-mate, Jarno Trulli and then the Virgins of Timo Glock and Jerome d'Ambrosio. Neither of the Hispanias set a time, Vitantonio Liuzzi forced to sit out proceedings after crashing in FP3, while Narain Karthikeyan had a rear suspension issue. The stewards have yet to announce if the HRTs will be allowed to race.

Formula One Fantasy - Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel

If you’re being paid to travel the globe whilst racing some of the world’s most technologically-advanced cars many would say you are living the dream. But if you’re already an F1 driver, and have firsthand experience of the glitz, glamour and glory, what would you spend your time daydreaming about? Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel reveals his Formula One fantasies, which include battling team mate Jochen Rindt around the Nurburgring’s Nordschleife in a McLaren MP4-5…

Q: You must choose a city for a new Formula One street circuit - which city, anywhere in the world, do you choose, and why?
Sebastian Vettel: Very clearly and 100 percent New York. There have been rumours lately and I think that it would be the ultimate city to race in. Everybody knows New York and it would be awesome to be part of such a race. The paddock in Central Park and racing along Fifth Avenue, all the way down to Washington Square. Manhattan is not that big so we could have a circuit passing all the important landmarks. Awesome!

Q: If you could choose one former world champion as your team mate, who would you choose and why?
SV: Jochen Rindt, very clearly! For me he had something that was very inspiring. He was a cool guy and it would be an honour to race against him in the same team. In that way you could get all the secrets of his exceptional personality, and of course it would be a big challenge.

Q: Formula One innovations of the past - ground effect, active suspension, turbocharging, six wheels, the list goes on. If you could bring back one past innovation, what would it be and why?
SV: I’d put big V12 engines in the car! Put lots of downforce on because this is it what gives us the feeling and sensation. I definitely would go for a lot of power, a nice sound - some brutal machinery so that you have to rise above yourself every time you jump back into the car.

Q: What innovations would you like to see in the future?
SV: Nothing really new - just making it possible to overtake. That would be fantastic for the drivers and obviously help the show. Everybody knows that it is almost impossible in Formula One to overtake so if you manage to do it you know that you’ve achieved something. Overtaking is something that separates the men from the boys. On the other hand I think that overtaking should never be artificial. And that is partly what I feel we are facing with this moveable rear wing and I am just hoping that it is not becoming too artificial. Obviously it is really hard to find a mode that allows the fastest man to find his way through. I think that what is important is to have a sizzling atmosphere around the track - to have a 100,000 excited people. Such an atmosphere would be very special and thank God we have a lot of races where the atmosphere is fantastic. You always really look forward to these races.

Q: You can only drive at one circuit for the rest of your life - which circuit, past or present from anywhere in the world, do you choose?
SV: It would either be Suzuka, Spa or Nurburgring Nordschleife. Obviously we would have to discuss the run-off areas here and there, but at these tracks you would never get bored.

Q: Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Tyrrell, March are just some of the teams that have departed the sport. Which former team would you most liked to have raced with and why?
SV: Clearly Lotus from the old days. The Colin Chapman outfit. I think the drivers didn’t have an easy time there but it was iconic. And of course it was a big challenge to have Chapman as your team principal.

Q: You have to design a new Formula One circuit, combining all your favourite corners from other tracks around the world. Which three corners are top of your list and why?
SV: Sector one of Suzuka, sector two of Spa and some parts of the street circuits of Singapore and Monaco.

Q: You can travel back in time and compete in any decade of Formula One racing, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Which decade would you choose and why?
SV: The 1970s. With the safety standards of today! The atmosphere must have been very special and being part of that must have been quite some experience. I guess even being there made you some kind of hero. Formula One was obviously very special in that decade but of course from a pure instinct of survival you would always choose today. From an emotional point of view the ‘70s must have been fantastic. How pure the racing was, the camaraderie among the drivers - that’s what’s missing a bit today.

Q: What current Formula One regulation would you most like to change and why?
SV: I would put a V12 engine in the car - (I’m) against all the four-cylinder advocacy. I would take KERS off the car and put a V12 into the car. That would be ‘greener’ than what we have now!

Q: If you could pick two Formula One greats of the past (from different eras) to watch race against each other, whom would you pick?
SV: Senna and - yeah Prost. It happened but today I would understand much more about their ‘battles’. When it happened I was too young to understand and of course I was too far away from the action to get a real idea. They were both so completely different in their personalities. Today I would like to witness that.

Q: If you were a team boss, which current driver would you pick first for your team (excluding yourself and your current team mate)?
SV: Nobody of today. I once again would aim for Senna and Prost. I would probably have to take some sort of course to learn how to handle them.

Q: Just 20 of the world’s motor racing circuits feature on the current F1 calendar. You can add one more. Which circuit do you pick and why?
SV: Kyalami, South Africa or Buenos Aires or the Nordschleife!

Q: You are having a dinner party and can invite four people from the world of motorsport, past or present. Who do you invite?
SV: Bernie (Ecclestone), Jochen Rindt, Fangio and Senna.

Q: You are given the chance to drive any legendary Formula One car of the past (excluding those made by your own team). Which car would you choose?
SV: I think the McLaren from 1990. The MP4-5.

Q: Rooftop swimming pool, bowling alley, revolving sushi bar - just some of the features most F1 motorhomes don’t possess. If you could add one thing to your team’s motorhome, what would it be?
SV: A good gym with a sauna. My Finnish trainer would be very happy then. And you wouldn’t struggle to find all the other Finnish guys in the paddock. Just go to where the sauna is!

Q: You have just won the world title. Where do you go for your celebratory meal and what do you choose from the menu?
SV: Wienerschnitzel with Pommes (breaded veal escalope with sliced potatoes).

Sebastian Vettel streets ahead in Melbourne

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap of the final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix as Red Bull finally showed its hand.

Vettel set a time of 1:24.507 on the soft tyres, which was eight tenths quicker than team-mate Mark Webber as the world champions confirmed the outright pace of the RB7. In doing so, the German set the fastest three sector times of the session.

There was still some encouragement for McLaren as Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button finished the session third and fourth fastest respectively, albeit a second off Vettel's pace. Vitaly Petrov impressed for Renault with the fifth fastest time as many drivers did qualifying simulations, ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi.

Plenty of drivers were pushing hard in the hour-long session as they tried to understand the full characteristics of the Pirelli tyres ahead of qualifying, which led to a lot of mistakes. Button ran off the track at turn three, while Vitaly Petrov went wide at high speed exiting turn twn. Pastor Maldonado also went off in to the gravel after taking too much speed in to turn six, and his car had to be recovered after stopping just before the wall.

Mercedes will be slightly worried at being two seconds behind Vettel, although times in practice are still not completely representative of outright pace. It was a bad morning for Williams as there was little running for Rubens Barrichello, who suffered a gearbox oil leak and only managed seven laps. Sergio Perez didn't reach double figures either after he toured back to the pits midway through the session.

It was a bittersweet session for HRT, who managed to get Tonio Liuzzi on track early in the session only to have the engine cut out after three corners. They did get Narain Karthikeyan's car running though, and he completed five laps to set a time 17 seconds off the pace, although the team will have been carrying out system checks.

There were problems for Virgin too, as Timo Glock became the first driver to be forced to make an engine change after a loose bolt dropped in to a trumpet inlet. However, the team will have been heartened by being within half a second of Lotus.

Sebastian Vettel: My F1 car has a 'sexy butt', just like Kylie Minogue Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/859147-sebastian-vettel-my-f1-car-has-a-sexy-butt-just-like-kylie-minogue#ixzz1HhLaBweu

Reigning Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel is so happy with the rear-end of his new Red Bull he has decided to name the car after Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue

Vettel could hardly contain himself as he described his new RB7 to reporters ahead of this weekend's season opening Melbourne Grand Prix.
'It has a tight butt, is supple and is good to look at,' the 23-year-old petrol-head said.
'Hopefully, it will be quick as well.'
The Red Bull driver also revealed a history of naming his cars after good looking women who catch his eye.
Apparently there was a Randy Mandy (Moore perhaps?) and Luscious Liz (maybe Hurley?), but perhaps the ladies in question are of the fraulein variety.
But while Vettel had time to joke as the first practice session got underway, McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton set off to work registering the quickest two lap times of the session.
The pair had been left worried that their cars wouldn't compete after winter testing, but the team appear to have ironed out design problems.
'For the first time this year nothing has gone wrong, which is great, and now we have to build on that.' said Button.
'We have reliability, which is something we haven't had all winter, so to finally have a car in which we can do as many laps as we want is great.'
'The feeling is so much better, the car feels a lot more complete, one that we can really make some progress with.'