Saturday is always a busy day for Teams. Activity starts early in the morning with the Team Pit-Stop Practice. Setting up the Car for Qualifying is also very important. Any problems or niggles have to be ironed out so that the Drivers can have unhindered sessions.

I missed the Pit-Stop Practice in Germany so an early start allowed me to be in the thick of action.

En route to the Circuit :

The FIA Weigh-Bridge ( would see a lot of activity on Saturday ) :

Mercedes AMG - Petronas getting ready for their Pit-Stop Practice :

Francois and Oliver are all smiles as they welcome the Team Guests on Saturday :

The Car ready for Practice :

As the Boys were getting ready for practice, I grabbed the opportunity of sharing screen space with Alan Permane ( Lotus F1 Trackside Operations Director ), Ciaron Pilbeam ( Lotus F1 Chief Race Engineer ), Paul Seaby ( Lotus F1 Team Manager ) & Ayao Komatsu ( Romain Grosjean's Race Engineer ). 

Ciaron was fantastic and very welcoming. He was loving the challenge of pushing Lotus up the Grid, just like his stint at Red Bull Racing until last season.

The Mechanics busy practising :


Video Link :




More shots from the Garage :


Now that is a nice welcome ;)


The Paddock Area abuzz with Activity. Photographers waiting for Drivers to walk in :


Saturday Practice would see Teams run Race Simulations but the main agenda was to have Qualifying Simulations done.

Lotus F1 had run the Long Wheelbase Version for Kimi on Friday but as the difference was marginal, he switched back to the Standard Version for Saturday.

Some Shots from FP3 :



Lotus F1 Team in Action!!


Sebastien Vettel was the Fastest, Kimi and Romain 10th and 14th Respectively.


We were soon joined by Sir Jackie Stewart. The Triple World Champion talked about the Team's Performance so far this season. He talked about the changes brought into F1 down the years. He also stressed on the importance of Sponsorships for the teams.



Moments with the Legend himself !!


You cannot neglect nutrition in all this and I don't like missing lunch at the Paddock Club :)

A Quick Lunch and it was time to head down for the Pit-Lane Walk!

Oliver had a surprise for me. I had 20 minutes to scurry around the Paddock and meet whoever I could! Fantastic!


The Paddock - Ground Zero!!



The SKY PAD - Best tool for Analysis!!

The Man who mans the Sky Pad - Anthony Davidson. Great Guy. The Waistline Difference is appalling!


Uh, wrong place Ma'am :P

With Romain Grosjean's Car :


It was now time for Qualifying! The Sessions that would decide the Grid for Sunday!

Q1 saw the slowest 6 being eliminated.

Shots from Q1 :



Lotus F1 Team in Q1 :

Sebastien Vettel topped Q1, Kimi was 11th and Romain 8th.

Gutierrez ( Sauber-Ferrari ), Bottas ( Williams-Renault ), Van Der Garde ( Caterham-Renault ), Pic ( Caterham-Renault ), Bianchi ( Marussia-Cosworth ) and Chilton ( Marussia-Cosworth ) were eliminated.



Times were reset after Q1. The Slowest 6 drivers from the remaining 16 would be eliminated in Q2.


Shots from Q2 :

Lotus F1 Team in Q2 :


Monza was never a Great Track for Lotus F1 and the lack of pace from the Renault Engine meant that both the Lotuses were Eliminated in Q2.

Sebastien Vettel Topped Q2. Kimi missed Q3 by a tenth of a second ( whisker ) while Romain was about 3 tenths slower than the 10th place Vergne.

Lewis Hamilton too was eliminated but it was later revealed that Adrian Sutil impeded him on his flying lap. Sutil received a 3 place Grid Penalty.

Raikkonen ( Lotus-Renault ), Hamilton ( Mercedes ), Grosjean ( Lotus-Renault ), Sutil ( Force India-Mercedes ), Maldonado ( Williams-Renault ) and Di Resta ( Force India-Mercedes ) were eliminated from Q2.

A disappointing Qualifying Session but we were optimistic about the Race. The Lap Times were too close and the Lotus is confident in Race Trim, so all was not lost. A Free Tyre choice also meant that strategies could be different from the front runners.


The Times were Reset and it was time for the Top - 10 Shootout!! Q3 would see some really close battles!!

Shots from Q3 :


Sebastien Vettel dominated all three sessions and bagged Pole Position! Mark Webber ensured that the Red Bulls lock out the front row. Nico Hulkenberg sprung a surprise for Sauber-Ferrari and qualified 3rd on the Grid. The Team did well in 2012 too and now had a platform to score big on Sunday.


An Ecstatic Sauber Pit-Wall and Manisha Kaltenborn!


The Ferraris could only manage 4th and 5th for the Ferrari Faithful, Massa out-qualifying his more consistent team-mate Alonso.

Rosberg ( Mercedes ), Ricciardo ( STR-Ferrari ), Perez ( McLaren-Mercedes ), Button ( McLaren-Mercedes ) and Vergne ( STR-Ferrari ) completed the top 10.


Monza has always favoured cars with better powertrains and the presence of only two Renault-powered cars in the top 10 was testimony to this fact. Red Bull came out on top due to the cars' aerodynamic efficiency ( Thanks to Adrian Newey ) and still lacked the raw pace compared to their Ferrari and Mercedes Powered Competitors.

Only the Red-Bulls cracked the 1min 23 secs barrier and only half a sec separated 3rd from 9th. It would be an intriguing race on Sunday!!


Dessert to douse the disappointment :


Romain Grosjean visited the Suite an hour later and talked about his season so far. He was optimistic about Sunday and was sure about the team scoring points.


With the Frenchman : ( What did I make him sign? I shall reveal in due time )

It was now time to leave the Paddock Club. A Disappointing day in terms of the Result but an enjoyable day nonetheless!

I got to meet a host of people in the Paddock for which I am really really thankful to Oliver Anderson. Thank you Oli for your kindness!


The Journey Back :

Once again, a Big Thank You to the Lotus F1 Team for all the hospitality. Thank you to Anne-Charlotte Remy and Oliver Anderson for all the logistical help.

How can I forget Anita Nyers, Fleur Foster,  Luca Mazzocco, Francois Puentes, Frederic Garcia & Veronica Sassella for hosting me and ensuring that I enjoy the Saturday.

Day 3 not too long now.. Patience :)