Sebastian Vettel Takes Dominant Australian Grand Prix Win

Sebastian Vettel won the inagural race of the 2011 F1 season after a dominating performance in Melbourne. The German driver made full use of his pole-position and lead the race from start to finish, taking his 11th Formula 1 win. Vettel adopted a two-stop pit strategy and finished with a 22.2-second advantage over second ranked Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who had to race with a detached floor after running wide on lap 33.

Third place went to Russian Vitaly Petrov, the big surprise of the Australian GP, who got off to an excellent start. The Renault driver went from sixth to fourth immediately after the green light, taking advantage of Button and Alonso both running wide in the first corner. Petrov gained another position after the first round of pitstops and kept it until the end of the race, scoring his first ever Formula 1 podium finish.

Fourth-placed Fernando Alonso had a tougher time on the track, with the Spaniard having to deal with a three-stop strategy and a poor start that sent him from fifth to ninth before the first corner of the race. The Ferrari driver then quickly started recovering lost positions, managing to finish fourth. Mark Webber and Jenson Button finished the race fifth and sixth respectively, while Ferrari's Massa had to settle for ninth, behind the Ferrari-powered Saubers of Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi.

However, the two Sauber drivers were disqualified after the race for rear-wing infringements, so Massa got seventh place eventually.

Mercedes GP had a poor race, as both Schumacher and Rosberg failing to finish the Australian GP. The former quit on lap 19 for technical reasons, after suffering a puncture on lap 1, while the latter had to stop after being hit by Barrichello on lap 22. Overall, it was an enjoyable race to watch, although significant rule changes like the Drag Reduction System (DRS) and the reintroduction of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) didn't seem to have a decisive effect on overtaking.

By Dan Miahalascu

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2011 Formula One Season is On: Vettel to Start Australian GP from Pole Position

Red Bull and McLaren dominated the first qualifying session of the year, with the two teams getting the top four pole positions for Sunday's Melbourne race. 2010 title winner Sebastian Vettel started the new F1 season in style, dominating comfortably all three qualifying stages and sealing pole-position with a 1m23.529s lap, 0.78 seconds quicker than the second fastest driver, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

"We have worked hard to get the RB7 where it is and that's down to the factory. It was a pleasure today but at the moment we have zero points like everyone else. The size of the margin is a surprise. We had a good feeling coming here but we didn't know for sure where we would be," said Vettel.

Red Bull was very close to put both its cars on the front row, but Aussie favorite Mark Webber was denied second place by Hamilton, who managed to post a better time before qualifying ended. Webber had to settle for third place, with Jenson Button right behind him on the second row of the grid.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished, but the Spaniard was almost 1.5 seconds off the leader's pace, while Felipe Massa only posted the eighth best time, a sign that the Prancing Horse doesn't yet have the speed to challenge the Red Bulls. The biggest surprise of the day however was Vitaly Petrov qualifying its Renault in sixth place, with his teammate Nick Heidfeld taking 18th place. Under these circumstances, one can't help but wonder where would the injured Kubica have put the Renault on the starting grid.

Mercedes GP's best-placed driver was Nico Rosberg, in seventh place, while Michael Schumacher only managed 11th place, missing the final round. Judging by the pace shown in qualifying, Mercedes doesn't seem to have improved much over the last season.

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Grandprix

2011 Australian GP - Saturday - Qualifying Times

McLaren Combines Forces with SPC to Create Venge Aero Road Bike

McLaren, a pioneer of carbon-fiber technology, which it successfully uses in Formula 1 and on its MP4-12C road car, has teamed up with U.S.-based Specialized Bicycle Components [SPC] for an unusual project: building the ultimate road bike.

Called the Venge, the race bicycle has an ultra-lightweight carbon-fiber frame made by McLaren Applied Technologies (MAT). Its engineers optimized the way the carbon was cut and applied, and improved efficiency by 10-15 percent by choosing the most suitable plies. As a result, the frame weighs less than 950 grams (2.09 lbs).

According to McLaren, this improvement is “more than anything previously seen in the cycling world,” with the Venge being “the fastest complete-performance bike in the world.”

“The S-Specialized + McLaren Venge project is unique. We paid no attention to the typical limiting factors and focused solely on producing the most advanced bike possible – Formula 1-style!” said Brad Paquin, composite design engineer for Specialized Bicycle Components.

The Venge will debut in the classic Milan-San Remo race this Saturday with Mark Cavendish, the 2009 Tour de France winner, sitting in

Find out more about the project by watching the video below.

By Dan Mihalascu

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McLaren's MP4-12C GT3 Racer Completes First Tests [with Video]

After a photo preview at the end of last year, the racing version of McLaren's all-new supercar has been revealed in England, where the car undertook its first shakedown tests. Built by McLaren GT, a new company set up by the McLaren Group and CRS Racing, the MP4-12C GT3 had its debut test outings at the MIRA proving ground facility and the Silverstone Circuit.

Based on the standard MP4-12C, the GT3 version uses the same one-piece carbon MonoCell chassis, which weighs just 75 kilograms (165.3 lbs). Spectacular race spec composite body panels and a fixed rear wing have been added to the MP4-12C GT3, while the new aerodynamics package includes a new front splitter, door blade, rear wing, diffuser and louvres in the front fenders.

“The car is around 100mm wider than the standard production car and features a new suspension system which we have tested in the McLaren Simulator. Having now experienced this new set-up in the 12C GT3 car, I’m delighted with the progress we are making,” said Andrew Kirkaldy, McLaren GT project manager. The MP4-12 C GT3 uses the same 3.8-liter twin turbo V8 engine from the road car, tuned to race specification. The unit is linked to an all-new racing gearbox developed by Ricardo and fitted with paddle-shift system.

The tests were a good occasion for McLaren to introduce its newest test driver, 26-year-old Alvaro Parente, with the company planning to have a team of six test drivers by mid-2011. The shakedown will be followed by comprehensive tests scheduled throughout March and April at a number of FIA certified circuits across Europe. Details about the driver line-up and race programme for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 will be revealed after these tests. Starting next year, McLaren GT will also supply and support a limited number of FIA GT3-compliant racing cars for privateers.

By Dan Mihalascu

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Head Banger Videos of the Day: Dan Picks up McLaren F1 with his Wife

It would probably take more words than you’d be willing to read if we were to write down all the memorable quotes heard in the first two videos of Dan Kennedy and his wife picking up and then driving their McLaren F1, but here’s a taster:

“Honey, what happened to the steering wheel?”; “Where does the luggage go?”; “Ms. Kennedy: What are you trying to do me? Mr. Kennedy: Do you like that? Ms. Kennedy: I like it, it was really fun! Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh!”

The story has it that the first videos were shot in 2001 (but uploaded on the net much later), with Dan selling the McLaren in 2004. It also noted that he had the car repainted from its original silver finish to “a wild candy orange” by the factory in Woking. The third video is from a program that aired on the Discovery Channel called "Million Dollar Motors" and featured Dan’s F1. For more details on the story check out the links after the jump.

Source: Luxury4play via Vwvortex

VIDEOS

VIDEO: New McLaren MP4-12C Beats the Snot Out of Ferrari 458 Italia and Porsche 911 Turbo in Drag Race

Even before McLaren released the final specifications on the brand-new MP4-12C, we knew that the British firm's supercar was fast, but if we are to believe this video that mysteriously popped up on Youtube, then the MP4-12C has a serious speed edge over some of its most famed rivals - at least in a straight line race. The video shows the McLaren MP4-12C clearly beating both the Ferrari 458 Italia and the Porsche 911 Turbo MkII [997] in a drag race believed to have taken place at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal. You can watch the short clip along with a couple more fresh videos released by McLaren right after the jump.

Via: GTspirit & McLaren

McLaren MP4-12C Final figures [Official]

• 0 - 200kph in 9.1s (8.9s on optional Corsa tyres)
• CO₂ emissions of 279g/km (equating to 24.2 EU mpg combined)
• 0 - 100kph in 3.3s (3.1s with optional Corsa tyres)
• top speed: 330kph (205mph)
• 100 - 0 kph in 30.5 m (100 ft)
• ¼ mile: 10.9s @ 135 mph
• dry weight (with lightweight options): 1301kgs / 2868 lbs
• carbon MonoCell chassis weight: 75kgs / 165 lbs
• power: weight (lightweight options): 461PS / 455bhp per tonne.
• power: 600PS (592bhp) at 7,000 rpm
• torque: 600Nm between 3,000 – 7,000 rpm

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McLaren MP4-12C Enters Production, 1,000 Cars to be Built this Year [with Video]

McLaren Automotive's brand new MP4-12C has reached another milestone with the start of production at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, England. The British sports car maker said it plans to build up to 1,000 examples of the MP4-12Cs this year, with most cars to be manufactured in a bespoke new £40m McLaren Production Centre, which is due for completion in May on a site neighboring the MTC facility.

The MP4-12C was first presented to the public at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in southern England in July 2010, ahead of a North American debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August of the same year.

It is powered by a mid-mounted 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 600HP and 443 lb-ft, developed in-house by McLaren, and can complete the standard 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint in under 3.0 seconds and the quarter mile in around 11 seconds, while reaching a top speed in excess of 200mph or 322km.

Prices for the MP4-12C start at around €200,000 in mainland Europe, £168,500 in the UK and at $229,000 in the US.

Today, McLaren also released a new short film called 'Best of 2010', which features appearances from F1 racing stars Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, visitors’ reactions to the 12C at its debut events as well as new footage of the car winter testing at Dunsfold Aerodrome. Scroll down to watch it.

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