The British Formula One Grand Prix qualifying was superb with my old team Williams taking seventh place on the start grid by Argentine driver Pastor Maldonado.

He finished 14th during an action-packed Grand Prix with a few errors made by the more experienced drivers like Michael Schumacher who was involved in another shunt, to the well trained pit crew of McLaren who failed to secure the right front wheel of Jenson Button’s car after a pit stop. His race was over at that moment.

At the top of the grid was Australian Mark Webber who, in the end, finished third with some controversy over team orders to ‘maintain the gap’ to his team mate so they didn’t collide one lap to the end of the race.

And at the bottom of the pack was Australian F1 debutant Daniel Ricciardo of Western Australia, driving his first ever Formula One Grand Prix. He finished 19th out of 24 cars in the HRTF1 and gained valuable experience for his F1 future.

Ferrari played their cards close to their chest and won the Grand Prix with Fernando Alonso with his team mate, Felipe Massa, battling it out with McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton for fifth on the last corner before the chequered flag.

There will be ongoing media coverage of the team orders from Red Bull to Webber with 1,6oo Facebook fans vetting their feelings online as the drivers walked up to the podium for their trophies. Some colourful words were written, majority not happy with the Red Bull management – fewer in defence of the outcome.

Nurburgring is next on 24 July, a place you should visit to drive a lap or two of the old circuit, 22.5kms of it, known as the Green Hell. From Wikipedia: “The original Nurburgring was meant to be a showcase for German automotive engineering and racing talent, and was built with both purposes in mind. Construction of the track, designed by the Eichler Architekturburo from Ravensburg (led by Architect Gustav Eichler), began in September 1925. A Nurburgring circuit map photo taken at German Grand Prix 1964; the legend advises “No driving in the Eifel (mountains) without a lap on the Nurburgring”.

Enjoy your week, try not to miss a social outing for you and the family when the Senna movie screenings open in July and August, check it out.

After leaving Montreal Canada the Formula One season returned to Europe in Valencia Spain.

The circuit has been designed around a docklands type area where yachts can berth parallel to the racing track and the apartment suites overlook the best part of the straight making great party atmosphere venues for this unique race.

The Red Bull team continue to dominate with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber qualifying on the front row of the racing grid for Sunday’s race just gone. A good start was had by all, with all 24 cars to finish a race. The young German taking the win with Mark Webber gambling on the use of the medium tyre losing second place to Ferrari rival Fernando Alonso on his last pit stop.

Mark was in third behind Alonso on his new medium tyres as Alonso stayed out longer on used soft tyres. Webber’s gearbox started playing up and Mark was short-shifting to keep the revs and pace up as his team informed him to stay safe, not push any harder, and try to finish the race. He held on to finish third.

Mercedes were perplexed with Nico Rosberg finishing seventh and his team mate, seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, one lap down, ended his race in 17th place.

Sebastian Vettel leads the world championship on 186 points, with Mark Webber and Jenson Button second with 109 points each.

The constructor’s championship is led by Red Bull Renault, then McLaren Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes, Sauber-Ferrari, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, Force India-Mercedes and Williams-Cosworth.

Latest news on my old team Williams is that they may re-enter a new agreement and change to Renault engine power for 2013, perhaps 2012.

Mugello hosts the next round of MotoGP on July 3 where Casey Stoner will look to increase his championship lead, also welcome his injured team mate Dani Pedrosa back after collar bone surgery.

No doubt Valentino Rossi who lives nearby, will be looking to improve his season ride on Ducati and perhaps go for a win.

Keep an eye on it at One.

Anything you need on F1 or MotoGP contact me at my website www.alanjones.com.au.

Enjoy the rest of your week and the weekend coming up.

Well the Formula One season has encountered one of its most historic events in Canada a fortnight ago with the race taking 4 hours to complete instead of the regulated 2 hours. The delays came from wet weather, plenty of accidents and errors by some top name drivers – one in particular, Lewis Hamilton who watched the second half of his race with Rihanna and some NFL legends at McLaren VIP team hospitality.

Jenson Button was given a drive through pit lane penalty for speeding in pit lane; pitted four times for new tyres; then from the back of the grid – chased leader at the time Sebastian Vettel down, to force an error two corners to the chequered flag and won the race.

As the rain bucketed down, spectators left after 30 mins hoping, in torrential rain, for a quick re-start that took longer than expected and for those who stayed it was another hour and three quarters before wheels turned again in race mode and they would witness one of the historic races ever seen.

The circuit brings back great memories for me as I won the 1980 world championship there with a great crowd in the stands and the party atmosphere outside never stops.

In 2012 we are taking a tour there as the following week, USA’s Austin Texas will host their first ever Formula One Grand Prix. So it’s an F1 FEST ‘back-to-back’ for two weeks and includes Canada and North America. More info contact me at www.alanjones.com.au or via www.thatsgold.net.

This weekend we are in Valencia, Spain with some ECU engine mapping changes made by the governing body FIA to ’spice-up the show’ as well as a new medium tyre introduced by Pirelli.

Valencia is a good looking venue though a relatively safe track for everyone so if you get a good run on the others the chances of winning are good, of course mistake-free is the key ingredient.

Casey Stoner continues to dominate MotoGP in Assen. Three races back we saw Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda break his other collarbone and Cal Crutchlow two weeks ago at Silverstone break his collarbone in five places to put his bike into 6th place for the Saturday race, a fanatical event on the MotoGP calendar for the Dutch fans.

Valentino Rossi ordered the 2012 chassis for Assen to try and grab back some points to recover in a season that may since 1996 be his worse one ever now riding the Italian Ducati. Rossi is the guy to count on who from any position always moves forward, the team of course hope he does it with points faster and faster before they get to the backend of their racing season together. Stoner won a world title on the Ducati so we are all sure at the moment the king on a Ducati is Stoner, who now races a Honda and again looks good for another world title.

The last two races in Formula One and one in MotoGP have revealed some new trends with both categories in 2011.

Pit stops have ramped up in Formula One with the speed to change a set of four wheels with tyres and their pressures preset is now 3.4 seconds. Let that be known to your tyre mart next time you visit for some new boots.

The guys in MotoGP are now using airbags inside their race leathers during their Grand Prix weekends to help keep them in one piece when they fall at speed, most on average doing 200 kmh plus when the fall happens on track. As we are taught at a younger age how to fall in sport, these guys practice the art of falling off a bike “in a gym” countless times to keep their bodies in one piece not ending in tears.

Mark Webber may have had a Chinese feng shui charm with him during the China Grand Prix where he started in 18th position to finish on the podium in 3rd place. Incredible result considering the place he started on the grid. In Turkey Webber returned with a second place, and now after 4 rounds, he has finished 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd so let’s hope next race in Spain he takes a win just like 2010.

Turkey was a race of pit stops and position changes all because of the new DRS and KERS fitted to the race cars. The DRS allows you to limit drag on a straight. The KERS will give you 80 BHP of extra power to pass another car. All from the driver’s cockpit, so these days the F1 driver is an engineer-type racer with so much available to them during a race to help improve their car and their overall result.

Last week the French Grand Prix saw Casey Stoner win and Dani Pedrosa break the other collar bone.

This week we are in Spain for the Formula One where Mark Webber will be looking for a win to improve his season before the glam event in Monaco the following weekend.

Italians bring an atmosphere like no other when you race in front of them and Monza is certainly the best place to do it in a Formula One car, especially if you have a Ferrari.

Of course to go on and win the race weekend in a Ferrari tops the list of things to do in motorsport. That’s what Fernando Alonso did last Sunday with his win as the team try harder every race to be victorious in their championship.

Mark Webber started better than the race before in Spa though his race strategy for the lead was diminishing as at one stage he was in ninth position. It was a concern for championship points until the McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton on lap one lost control after a shunt with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa in turn leaving Webber to make sure he improved his position to take back the overall lead in the world championship. Webber’s team mate Sebastian Vettel left his pit stop to the second last lap in order to return to the track on optimum tyres and finish fourth, ahead of Mark by two places at the finish.

The lead of the Formula One World Championship is back in Mark’s hands as we wish him well for the next race in a fortnight at night around the streets of Singapore where the car is suited to the track conditions.

Our Casey Stoner will tackle the Aragon circuit in MotoGP this weekend and take on Valentino Rossi off-track as the banter continues between them both over the Ducati performance so far this season. Stoner sees Rossi as one opponent who has his own team mate beating him week after week where Rossi sees Stoner as a poor bike developer and blames the season Ducati performance on the shoulders of Stoner, nobody else. In 2011 Rossi will change from Yamaha and race on Ducati to try and take them to a championship and Rossi’s tenth, Stoner remains with the 2007 season championship to his credit and will change to race on a Honda for 2011…..watch this space.

Don’t forget we have one place left for the 2010 Malaysian MotoGP tour, contact Patrick@gpshop.net or visit www.gpshop.net

Our two Aussies competed in the Indy 500 on the weekend, with Will Power coming home in 8th place, a DNF for Ryan Briscoe unfortunately.

In the world of Formula One, at the Istanbul Circuit yesterday, Mark Webber was on his way to a trifecta of victories only to have his team mate on lap 40 take control of what he only saw on the track, expecting Mark Webber to just move aside with no warning whatsoever. In these circumstances, you often hear over the radio by the chief or driver engineer, to move over, well prior with some notice to help keep both cars on the track. In this case, there was no reason for that directive, because both were racing to win on the day.

No doubt the other Red Bull driver, Sebastian Vettel was at fault considering the way he came through on Mark’s left and moved onto Mark’s side pod without reason. Vettel took himself out of the race and left Webber to try and grab third place after leading the race for the 40 laps prior.

Next weekend we are off to Mugello in Italy to see if Casey Stoner can win on his Ducati. Then we will see a few more Aussies competing in the annual Isle of Man TT Bike race before more Aussies compete in the 24 hours at Le Mans in France.

Mark Webber leads the Formula One World Championship by five points ahead of the McLarens with his team mate fifteen points back now fifth in the championship after starting the race equal first.

Over the last fortnight we saw two Aussies take a win in Monaco in Formula One and Formula Renault. Then in Le Mans France, again another Aussie doing well until an early fall in MotoGP.

First to Mark Webber, the winner of the 2010 Monaco Formula One Grand Prix who after surviving four safety cars won the race to eclipse his team mate Sebastian Vettel and take the lead in this year’s F1 world championship.

The race had a few shunts, with a large round water access lid coming loose from the road taking out one of my old teams’ cars, that was Ruben Barrichello. When Rubens jumped out of his car he threw his steering wheel a few metres from his car only to see another driver come racing through into Casino Square and run over it. That ended up being a 20000 euro trashed piece of F1 car.

Mark drove a superb race, with the last Aussie winner in Monaco being our own Sir Jack Brabham back in 1959, who I might add, went on to win the world championship that same year.

Another young Australian whom I had the privilege to work with briefly in A1GP, was Daniel Ricciardo. We had Daniel contracted to drive later that season with A1 Team Australia, the same time Red Bull Junior tested him. His Red Bull season started months earlier than ours, and when they saw his talent, asked us to let him sign with them. We would not want to hold any talent back, and the proof is in his results. He won his Monaco Formula Renault race and is now the reserve driver for the Red Bull F1 team.

Whilst in France we had Casey Stoner ready to chase down Valentino Rossi’s current points lead in MotoGP, as they raced in Le Mans. This is the Michelin official test track and early in the race, Casey’s left foot slipped off the foot pedal, his balance shifted to the right and the rear of his bike let go. That was the end of his race, leaving him in 11th place on the title leader board, quite a long shot at this year’s title.

Let’s hope we can see some better results for Casey and GO WEBBER!

If you are keen to attend the British Grand Prix in July contact Patrick Wedes on 0418 356 789 or go to www.gpshop.net and email him from The Motorsport Shop. We are looking at a special event there and would be happy to have a few people join us on a very special Formula One Tour into the UK.

I wish all of our Anzac diggers and all returned service men and women a great Anzac Day on Sunday, we thank you.

Formula One’s round 4 at Shanghai delivered as expected with mixed weather, good and bad.

The guys who were on the front row didn’t finish in the same place let me tell you, it was a classic race with multiple pit stops for wet then intermediate then wet then dry tyres. The drivers in fourth through to sixth took the podium away from Webber, Vettel and Ferrari’s Alonso.

It was almost a swap from qualifying to the race result except Mark Webber finished in eighth. Those drivers who failed to finish had a run of issues to deal with, like some hydraulics and clutch failures, engines expired and a few had accidents on track. Everyone is ok, just a few repair bills mounting up for teams like HRTF1, Lotus, Sauber and Toro Rosso.

The volcanic ash forced the FIM [MotoGP’s governing body] to defer Motegi from this Anzac weekend to be the first of three in a row starting the first weekend in October, where we go to Japan, then Malaysia and Australia. We have a tour going to Malaysia if you are keen to join us leaving Australia on 5 October for six nights staying in the city and at the rider’s hotel, returning to Australia on 12 October. For more details go to www.gpshop.net or email info@gpshop.net

Since the China GP all of the teams spent most of their weekend chasing down the best way home for their crew, the race gear and how best to get ready for the next race as the series returns to Europe. A big contingent took the Trans Siberian railway into Russia and then another rail link to London via Paris. One photographer made a journey to Malaysia, Egypt and then into southern Europe to get home. It took him three days instead of one, ended well after he paid three times the normal cost to get there. And he certainly was not on his own!

Qatar delivered another good night race though an 11pm start at night for the riders is a bit different to the normal schedule of a MotoGP rider.

On lap six Casey Stoner made an error and lost the bike to bring a close to his race far too early. That played into the golden gloves of Valentino Rossi who took victory with Casey’s Ducati team mate Nicky Hayden in fourth making it the first 1-2 for Yamaha to open their season of MotoGP.

There was talk of starting the race earlier after a lot of night dew fell on Saturday night prior to raceday, but a warmer day on Sunday kept the race organisers to their original time.

This weekend we are in Shanghai for the fourth round of Formula One where Mark Webber would like the victory to get back up towards the top of the points ladder. Red Bull F1 is quick and reliable team, THE target for Mercedes, McLaren Mercedes and Ferrari as they add a new step to their cars chasing valuable championship points.

Shanghai has several fast long straights that make passing quite difficult when the top three teams are close to each other on straight line speed. The driver taking a tow behind another lead car is always at risk right at the end of a straight when they break the tow and brake at the same time, anything can happen.

There is a lot of car development going on in Formula One at this time of the season as teams try to jump others with new design upgrades. The F-Duct that McLaren designed is now a design other teams are working to design and add to their cars. There is a valve inside the driver’s cockpit that he closes off on a straightline so it helps stall the rear wing, reducing drag on his car’s rear wing allowing him to go faster. Once the sport’s governing body the FIA rule on the legality of this design, if it’s given the approval, then teams watch and push their engineers and designers back at their factory to step up a design change so they can also go faster.

It’s written to sound easy, but in real life, it is hard work because you have to make sure it can be applied on your car design. This is where a big portion of the team financial budget is consumed. The teams strive for perfection and over time pass this on to improve normal road cars.

Enjoy your weekend, please remember The Motorsport Shop at www.gpshop.net can be contacted on 0418 356 789 if you are keen for one of my signed prints or a perfect replica 1980 helmet specially prepared and released for my 30th Anniversary of the 1980 Formula One World Championship.

We flew with Sir Jack and Lady Brabham to Bahrain for the opening round of the Formula One Grand Prix and happened to catch up with some of the older and more recent world champions. It was good to see Niki Lauda again, Emerson Fittipaldi, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Keke Rosberg, all of us as guests of the Crown Prince.

The gathering of cars from the sixties right through to the current day was a real spectacle for the fans and a few of the world champions drove their old cars for some exhibition laps before the main event.

The actual Formula One race start was exciting to see the cars all pushing their way into the first corner just as we saw a plume of smoke from Mark Webber’s car, at that point it looked like his race was over. Fortunately not and he continued on to finish in the points in 8th place with the two Ferrari of Alonso then Massa taking first and second. Michael Schumacher raced his new Mercedes to 6th place on his return from retirement back in 2006.

Round two in Melbourne was good being reunited with Williams F1 Engineering once again, reflecting back on my 1980 World Championship and this year being our 30th Anniversary when I won the world championship in 1980 in the Williams FW07. Sotheby’s will auction a 1980 Williams FW07 on April 18 so check the online updates for the latest memorabilia prices on Formula One cars.

We have released my full scale helmet replica as a limited edition, only to 30 individually and selling worldwide. Each helmet is signed and they come with a photo of me signing to accompany them for each one sold. Any more information contact The Motorsport Shop at www.gpshop.net or phone Patrick on 0418 356 789

Mark Webber was the focal point of the media and fans all weekend being at home. He was excellent all weekend with the amount of extra work he had to do over and above his racing duties. He managed to score points finishing 9th from a possible 6th after he pushed a little too hard on the second last lap and collide with Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button took victory in his McLaren with Renault’s Robert Kubica taking second place and Felipe Massa third for Ferrari.

A good crowd attended the event and next we go to Sepang Circuit in Malaysia over the Easter weekend and then Qatar for the Bikes.

In saying that, we wish you all a Happy and Safe Easter.