McLarens Jenson Button has credited Fernando Alonso for a "great job" at an incident-filled European Grand Prix last weekend, but does not understand the "arse-kissing" surrounding the Ferrari driver. In Valencia on June 24, Alonso became the first driver to win two races this season when he the lead from Red Bulls Sebastian Vettal, but Button reckoned it was Vettel who was "amazing".
"Been a lot of arse-kissing going on," the 32-year-old told The Express. "I don't know what's happening, it's quite strange. Most of the drivers in Formula One are immensely talented and many will challenge for Championships in the future. But Fernando is one of the stand-out drivers.
"He won his home grand prix, when everything fell into place. Sometimes when you make those moves, they don't work out. And you end up in the wall. Was his performance scary? No, he just did a great job, and so did his team with strategy....
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05:47 PM, Jul 02, 2012
Barcelona: Fernando Alonso's emotional comeback win at the European Grand Prix last Sunday has finally set one driver apart from the pack in the most tightly contested Formula One season in history. Alonso steered his Ferrari from an 11th-place start to a dramatic victory at Valencia to become the first driver to win two races this year, opening up a 20-point gap over his nearest challenger, Red Bull's Mark Webber....
02:14 PM, Jun 28, 2012
Valencia: Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated and fuming after another run-in with Pastor Maldonado knocked him out of the points on the penultimate lap of the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday. McLaren's 2008 world champion, who had started the day as championship leader, was fighting to hang on to third place when he and the Venezuelan Williams driver collided. The Briton, his car pitched into the wall, hammered...
08:59 AM, Jun 25, 2012
Valencia: Sahara Force India produced the season's best performance with their drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta finishing fifth and seventh respectively in the incident-filled European Formula One Grand Prix here on Sunday. The result was the best for Sahara Force India, who collected 16 points, surpassing their efforts at the Monaco Grand Prix where di Resta had finished seventh and Hulkenberg was eighth. Hulkenberg, who collected 10 points...
09:05 PM, Jun 24, 2012
Valencia: Fernando Alonso of Ferrari won an incident-filled European Grand Prix on Sunday to become the first driver to win two races this season, while Michael Schumacher earned a first podium finish since his comeback by coming third. Alonso jousted his way up from 11th on the starting grid to claim an emotional victory for the Spaniard in front of his home fans after pole sitter Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull...
07:27 PM, Jun 24, 2012
Valencia: German driver Timo Glock will miss Sunday's European Grand Prix in Valencia for health reasons, his Marussia Formula One team said. Glock missed Saturday's qualifying due to a stomach bug, and although race stewards had the discretion to allow him to race, the team accepted that was out of question. "The Marussia F1 Team can confirm that Timo is unable to compete in today's race," they said in a...
04:33 PM, Jun 24, 2012
Valencia: Sebastian Vettel claimed third straight pole position for Red Bull at the European Grand Prix qualifying here on Saturday, while Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta set the eighth and 10th fastest time. Vettel was fastest with 1:38.086 in a very competitive Q3, taking his third pole of the season. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton clocked 1:38.410 to pip Pastor Maldonado for the second place. The Venezuelan timed...
07:56 PM, Jun 23, 2012
Valencia: Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel will start from pole position at the European Grand Prix for the third straight year. The two-time defending Formula One champion, who has won the race the past two seasons, clocked the fastest lap of 1 minute, 38.086 seconds on Valencia's 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) street circuit. Lewis Hamilton of McLaren is also on the front row for Sunday's race, while Pastor Maldonado of Williams will...
07:47 PM, Jun 23, 2012
Valencia: Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton kept his spirits up after his McLaren team looked well off the pace at the European Grand Prix on Friday. "I'm about 95 per cent away from where I want to be with my car at the moment, but I'll get back 90 per cent overnight," the 2008 world champion told reporters after ending the day's second practice session in 14th place. "Today...
10:33 AM, Jun 23, 2012
Valencia: World champion Sebastian Vettel looked a good bet to end Formula One's record run of different winners and complete a Valencia hat-trick with the fastest time in European Grand Prix free practice on Friday. The 24-year-old Red Bull driver, winner at the Spanish street circuit for the past two years, lapped with a best time of one minute 39.334 seconds in the second session under cloudy skies. Fellow-German Nico...
08:57 PM, Jun 22, 2012
Valencia, Spain: Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, surprise winner in Spain last month, put his Williams team back on top of the timesheets in first free practice at the European Grand Prix on Friday. The 27-year-old lapped the Valencia street circuit with a best time of one minute 40.890 seconds on a gusty and overcast morning with temperatures cooler than they had been the previous day. Red Bull's double Formula One world...
03:49 PM, Jun 22, 2012
Montreal: Ferrari's Felipe Massa raised the possibility on Thursday that he could, against the odds, become Formula One's eighth different winner in a row. The Brazilian, eclipsed by Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso at the Italian glamour team, has not won a Grand Prix since 2008 and nor has he stood on any step of the podium since 2010. In this most unpredictable of seasons, with an unprecedented seven...
10:53 AM, Jun 22, 2012
Montreal: McLaren will try to drive a hard bargain but Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday he expects negotiations on a new Formula One contract to be straightforward in the end. The 2008 world champion is out of contract at the end of the season and McLaren chairman Ron Dennis has already said a new deal will have to reflect a changed global financial climate since the last one. Hamilton told...
10:40 AM, Jun 22, 2012
London: Red Bull's double world champion Sebastian Vettel can end Formula One's unprecedented streak of seven different winners in the first seven races by extending his own winning run in Valencia this weekend. The 24-year-old German, winner of the European Grand Prix in 2010 and 2011, is gunning for a hat-trick on the streets of the Spanish Mediterranean port city to become the first repeat winner of a season that...
11:56 AM, Jun 21, 2012
London: McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has said he will not take much from his victory at the Canadian Grand Prix unless he follows it up with success at this weekends European Grand Prix. The 27-year-old Briton became the seventh winner in the first seven races of the season in an unprecedented display of parity on the F1 circuit last Sunday, but has just a two-point lead over Ferraris Fernando Alonso....
01:10 PM, Jun 20, 2012
Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has said that results will determine his future with Red Bull Racing. Webber has also denied he has had any contact with Ferrari about filling Felipe Massa's seat next year, but his comments to Autosprint suggest that he is unsure over his Red Bull future. "The situation depends on the results I get this year," Webber said in an interview. "They've been very inconsistent...
01:04 PM, Jun 20, 2012
Ahead of the European Grand Prix, an out-of-sorts Williams team has set its sights on a repeat performance of their past visit to Spain where Pastor Maldonado emerge victorious. The Grove-based team has just one point to show from two disappointing Grand Prix outings, but Maldonado and Bruno Senna were hopeful of a swift return to form. "We're constantly developing the car and it is showing good long-run consistency at...
11:15 AM, Jun 19, 2012
Valencia: After struggling to be competitive in the first few races, Force India managed to get a decent result in Monaco when Adrian Sutil finished 7th. In Valencia this Sunday, Sutil again brought some cheer in the team by finishing 9th. In an exclusive interview with ibnlive.com, Force India deputy team principal Robert Fernley talks about the team's progress from the first race in Australia till now. Did you expect...
08:02 PM, Jun 29, 2011
Valencia: Narain Karthikeyan didn't have his best outing in qualifying. The Hispania Racing driver, who qualified 24th and last on the grid, told ibnlive.com that a combination of mechanical problems and weather had played a part in the car not being upto the pace on Saturday. "We had gearbox problems in free practice 2 on Friday. I just couldn't put enough laps. My run on Friday was cut short by...
02:32 PM, Jun 26, 2011
