Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
dv
Topic Started: Apr 16 2014, 09:08 AM (7 Views)
ainimeng

urlurlSafety discussions are dominating Formula One as the series heads to the Italian Grand Prix after a scary near-miss over the weekend. Championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari nearly had his head clipped when Romain Grosjeans Lotus flew over him in a wild, multi-car accident at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. Grosjean went for a small gap and clipped Lewis Hamiltons McLaren. That sent both cars spinning and Grosjeans Lotus went airborne over Alonsos Ferrari, which then took out Sergio Perezs Sauber. "The risk was large and seeing another car flying over one of ours, just a few centimetres from his helmet, made us feel like our hearts were in our throats for a few dozen seconds," Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said. Grosjean was banned for one race and will be replaced by Jerome DAmbrosio at Lotus this weekend. Alonso said immediately afterward that he "felt a train coming with a big, big hit," while Hamilton briefly confronted Grosjean after the accident. Alonso said Tuesday that he felt no ill will toward Grosjean. "Weve spoken about it," Alonso said in an online chat with Ferrari fans. "I have a good relationship with him. We were teammates at Renault and after the accident he sent me an SMS saying he was sorry and that he hadnt calculated the distance well." Yet the close call has brought up a fresh round of chatter about safety in the open-cockpit series. Ideas being debated run from some sort of cage around drivers heads to adding rear-wheel bumpers to employing running starts. Others have called for a penalty system in which two warnings for reckless driving would bar drivers from the next race. There has not been a fatality in Formula One since Brazilian great Ayrton Senna died following a crash at San Marino in 1994, but safety concerns continue to come up. In 2009, Renault was suspended from the European Grand Prix after Alonsos right front wheel came off and bounced wildly down the track during the Hungarian GP. That same year, Felipe Massa of Ferrari was badly hurt after being struck in the helmet by a stray part from another car and slamming into a protective tire barrier at high speed during qualifying. Alonso said he is against running starts. "You would carry even more speed into the first corner and you would also lose one of the best moments in F1, where youve got to calculate the risk, be very alert and make decisions," the Spanish driver said. "Its too big a part of the show." For Alonso, the Italian GP represents a chance to bounce back and pad his 24-point lead over Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel. A year ago at Monza, Alonso shot up from fourth to first at the first chicane but he was soon overtaken by Vettel, who cruised to victory. This year is different, with no car thus far proving to be clearly the fastest. That could change at Monza, where average speeds are 250 kph (155 mph) and top speeds get up to 340 kph (210 mph), making it the fastest circuit on the calendar. McLaren-Mercedes Jenson Button led from start to finish in Spa and has finished second at Monza for the past three years. "I head to Monza absolutely full of motivation after a fantastic result in Spa," Button said. "It was the perfect weekend for me. Its not only put me back in contention for the drivers championship, but its shown that we have a car that can definitely fight for the constructors title." Button is sixth in the drivers standings, 63 points behind Alonso, and McLaren is second to Red Bull in the constructors standings, 54 points back. "Monza is one of the greatest circuits in the world and our car seems to be particularly well suited to high-speed circuits, so Im optimistic that well be competitive again this weekend," Button said. Built in 1922 in a royal park north of Milan, Monza is one of F1s iconic circuits. The Italian GP is one of only four races to have survived from the first year of F1 in 1950, and the crumbling banking that formed part of the original Monza layout was still adjacent to the modern track. "For me, theres something about Formula Ones older circuits thats very special," Hamilton said. "Despite each being very different, the newer tracks all seem to have the same character and the same sort of rhythm, but the older circuits are very different. "They feel like the land has shaped and influenced them rather than the other way around. I like that -- it means you never fall into any particular comfort zone and youre always pushing the car one way or the other to get the best from any lap." Alonso won with Ferrari at Monza in 2010, having taken his first victory at the track in 2007 with McLaren-Mercedes. "Its always special and the expectations are very high," Alonso said. "From a drivers point of view its a strange circuit, though. There are only five curves and two chicanes, which dont give you much of a chance to make an impact. Its not difficult for a driver but you need a very fast car on the straights." Meanwhile, Ma Qing Hua is slated to become the first Chinese driver to take part in an F1 weekend when he replaces Narain Karthikeyan at HRT for the first practice session. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . After spending the first 12 seasons of his career with the Texas Rangers, it was stay with the only team ever played with in the majors as a part-timer without a set position, or the seven-time All-Star could go to Philadelphia to be the everyday third baseman for another playoff-contending team. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .1 million) for 2013 in response to player concerns about compensation at Grand Slam tournaments. Tournament director Craig Tiley said the A$4 million ($4. http://www.xingfantrade.com/ . However, Sinclair was thoroughly disappointed to see that her coach, John Herdman, wasnt in the running either. "It didnt really affect me at all," Sinclair said of the womens award. cheap jerseys from china . Bahadurzada (21-4-1) made his UFC debut in April, knocking out Paulo Thiago in 42 seconds. The card, the UFCs first in Calgary, will take place at Scotiabank Saddledome. In other UFC injury news, Swedens Papy Abedi is replacing Rich Attonito against welterweight Rick (The Horror) Story on a June 22 televised card in Atlantic City. Cheap Jerseys . -- Mark Matthews had four goals and five assists Sunday as the Edmonton Rush defeated the Washington Stealth 18-10 in the National Lacrosse League. CONCORD, N.C. -- Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, leading the final 67 laps to give Penske Racing a winning start on auto racings biggest weekend. Keselowski raced to his first Nationwide victory of the year. Hell try to double up in Sprint Cups longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. In between comes the Indy 500, a race that owner Roger Penskes cars have won 15 times. Penske driver Ryan Briscoe will start from the pole there Sunday. Penske Racing has "three shots at winning races this weekend," Keselowski said. "Were one for one." Dont bet against more Penske wins this weekend. The teams other drivers in Indianapolis, Will Power and Helio Castroneves, start fifth and sixth. Power has won three times already this year, and Castroneves is a three-time Indy winner. "Im happy for" Penske, Keselowski said. "One way or another, the checkered flag at Penske Racing is going to fly this week. Keselowski led the way as Sprint Cup drivers took the top four spots. Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, last years Coca-Cola 600 champion. Nationwide points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had driveshaft problems and finished 26th. Danica Patrick started the race in third, yet slid to 13th. Shell also race Sunday night after spending her past seven Memorial Day weekends driving in Indianapolis. For a while, it looked as if Keselowski might relive the last-lap, out-of-gas experience that cost Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Coca-Cola 600 victory a year ago. Keselowski gassed up with 73 laps left, then chose to stay out during a caution period a few laps later instead of pitting like most of the field. That began a fuel mileage countdown that had Keselowski and his team guessing if they had enough to make it to the end, unlike Earnhardt, who went dry entering the final turn and was passed for the victory. "Its going to be either really good or really bad," Keselowsski said on his radio down the stretch.dddddddddddd Turns out, it was perfect as Keselowski picked up his first Nationwide Series race of the year. It was Keselowskis 18th win in the series and his second at Charlotte. Was Keselowski worried those final laps? No, he said, because he was confident in the call made by crew chief Jeremy Bullins. "If Jeremy says were going to make, then I believe it," the driver said, smiling. Keselowski broke free on the last restart 46 laps from the end. He was able to save so much fuel after building a large lead, Keselowski did a flashy victory burnout to celebrate. Busch was asked if he couldve lasted so long on a tank of gas. "No, theres no way our stuff wouldve done that," he said. Stenhouse had hoped to capitalize on a series win last Sunday in Iowa and extend his points lead. Those hopes ended when part of the cars driveshaft popped out from behind and forced him to the garage for a long stretch of the race. When he returned to action, he was 20 laps down and merely hoping to last until the end. "Right there under caution before I pulled in it felt like something broke. I started picking up a vibration and came down pit road and didnt see anything, but then I went back out and it broke. It was just a tough day for us." Elliott Sadler, second in points, finished fifth and moved 13 points behind Stenhouse in the standings. Patrick took third in morning qualifying and thought she was in good position for a strong finish. But she quickly fell backward on the hot, slippery track. Still, Patrick was running at the end and posted her third top 15-finish in her past four Nationwide events. The wildest day most likely belonged to X-Games standout Travis Pastrana. He spun out in qualifying, then spun twice more during the race. Pastrana apologized to his crew after the last slide, explaining, "I have no idea whats going on." Pastrana came home 24th, his second-best showing in four Nationwide Series races. ' ' '
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · General Discussion · Next Topic »
Add Reply