Hamilton out to finish 'unfinished business' in Valencia

As the driver in-form with arguably now the best car underneath him heading into the forthcoming European Grand Prix, F1 2010 World Championship leader Lewis Hamilton has warned his rivals that he has �some unfinished business� in Valencia � and that he plans to finish it off.
Hamilton has taken the chequered flag as runner-up around the harbourside streets of the Spanish city in both editions so far, even setting pole position in 2009 only to find himself pipped to the highest step on the podium by Brawn GP rival Rubens Barrichello.

Twelve months on, however, and nobody has been able to knock the 25-year-old down from his pedestal since the Turkish Grand Prix, with back-to-back triumphs in Istanbul and Montreal vaulting the 2008 F1 World Champion to the top of the title standings � and he makes it very clear that with his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 improving by the race and tipped to be in its element in Valencia, he is chasing both a hat-trick of victories and third time lucky this weekend.
�I�m really looking forward to racing in Valencia,� Hamilton confessed. �I had a great, attacking race there last year � but I�ve finished second for the past two seasons, so I feel like I have some unfinished business!????
�I also think it�s good for the championship to have a variety of circuits � we�ve just come from a fast, flowing road course in Canada, to a tight street track in Valencia, and next month we�ll be at Silverstone � one of the fastest tracks of the year, and a circuit with incredible history. As a driver, that sort of variety makes the racing exciting and unpredictable, which is all you can really ask for.

�The last few grands prix have had some fantastic racing � it would be great for all the Spanish fans if we can have a great race here too. It�s not a circuit where we�ve seen too much passing in the past, but I think this year could be different � the grid is so tight and there were battles all through the field in Montreal last week, so I think we could have a close and exciting race this year.�
Hamilton�s enthusiasm for what lies ahead is shared by team-mate and title-winning successor Jenson Button, who sits just three markers adrift of his countryman in the points table after finishing a close second to him in both Turkey and Canada. The Frome-born ace�s record in Valencia is on paper substantially less impressive � with a lowly and distant seventh place there last season the highlight � but now fully in possession of the tools to do the job, the 30-year-old expects to put up a strong fight this weekend.

�As a team, we�ve taken maximum points in the last two races and it feels like we�ve really gathered considerable momentum,� the nine-time grand prix-winner underlined. �The team really is functioning as a single unit, so I think we head into Valencia hopeful of being able to once again capitalise on that determination and ambition.

�Even though it�s a street circuit, it�s got quite a different feel to other street tracks like Monte Carlo or Singapore. For a start, it�s quite a bit faster � there are some low-speed corners with some fairly unforgiving walls at the apex, but there are also some high-speed changes of direction and some long straights, so it�s quite an interesting place set-up wise. It�s not as if you completely rely on downforce; there�s a trade-off, and that should suit our package.

�Valencia is also the final race before two important stop-offs in the UK � our home race at Silverstone and, before that, the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Both are events where the British fans will be out in-force, and as world champion, I�m looking forward to them. Silverstone will be an incredible experience, and I get to achieve a childhood dream of driving one of Alain Prost�s classic McLarens, the MP4/2C, at Goodwood. Sometimes, I can�t believe how lucky I am.�

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean (born April 17, 1986 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a racing driver. He races under the French flag in the GP2 series although he holds dual nationality from France and Switzerland. He was the 2007 Formula Three Euroseries drivers' champion and the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion.

Early racing career
Grosjean won all ten rounds of the 2003 Swiss Formula Renault 1.6 championship and moved to the French Formula Renault championship for 2004.
He was seventh in that first season with one win and champion in 2005 with ten victories. Grosjean also appeared in the Formula Renault Eurocup and finished on the podium twice in Valencia.
With his results and potential in the Formula Renault series, Romain joined the Renault Driver Development for the continuation of is career.

Formula Three
Grosjean made his F3 debut at the demanding Macau Guia circuit, standing in for Loic Duval at Signature-Plus. He qualified 19th and raced to ninth, beating team-mates Fabio Carbone and Guillaume Moreau.
He did a full season in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2006 but had a tough year, taking only one podium finish and ending the year 13th. But in a one-off appearance in the British Formula Three Championship he started on pole position for both races at Pau, won both and set fastest lap in each.
He stayed in the F3 Euroseries for 2007 but stepped up to ASM Formule 3, for which Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton, and Paul di Resta won the previous three titles. S�bastien Buemi led the championship in the early stages but Grosjean moved ahead with a victory in the ninth race of the season at Mugello. He maintained a lead in the standings from that point onwards and won the title at the final round of the year with one race in hand.
Grosjean took pole position for the prestigious Masters of F3 race at Zolder but finished 14th after stalling at the start.

GP2 Series

Grosjean drove for ART in the inaugural GP2 Asia Series season alongside Stephen Jelley, winning both races of the first round of the championship. He went on to win the championship with four race victories and sixty-one points overall.
He stayed with ART Grand Prix team for the 2008 GP2 Series season. His team-mates were Luca Filippi and Sakon Yamamoto
In the first round at the Circuit de Catalunya Grosjean started 11th after engine problems in qualifying. He rose through the field to finish fifth in the feature race, giving him fourth on the grid for the shorter sprint race. After a good start Grosjean was up to second and then passed Kobayashi for the lead. But Grosjean made a mistake on a late rolling restart and Kobayashi tried to pass him again for the lead. Grosjean moved across on Kobayashi to keep the position but the stewards decided his defensive move was illegal and gave him a drive-through penalty dropping him to 13th at the end of the race. Victory in the sprint race at Istanbul, the fourth round of the season, moved Grosjean into second place in the championship. Despite dropping back from this position, he finished the season fourth and achieved the distinction of being the highest-placed rookie in the championship.
2008 Formula Three Euroseries season champion Nicolas H�lkenberg joined Pastor Maldonado at ART for 2009, forcing Grosjean out of the team. Nonetheless, Renault placed him at 2008 team champions Campos Grand Prix for 2009, now known as Barwa Addax

Formula One

Grosjean was confirmed as Renault's test driver for 2008, replacing Nelson Piquet, Jr. who graduated to a race seat. He drove a Formula One car for the first time at the UK round of the 2008 World Series by Renault weekend at Silverstone on June 7 and June 8, 2008 where he gave a number of demonstrations of the previous year's R27 car. He initially continued in the test driver role at Renault for 2009, but will take over Piquet's seat from the European Grand Prix onwards.

Romain Grosjean to Drive for Renault F1 Team

Allez la France !!

Renault have confirmed that Romain Grosjean will replace Nelson Piquet Jr at the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
Grosjean has also been chosen as the team's second driver for the remaining races of the season after Piquet Jr failed to pick up a point in 10 races.
"I'm very proud and looking forward to helping the team get the best results," said the 23-year-old Frenchman.
"Romain is an impressive young talent and we expect him to show his skills," said Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.
Grosjean will race alongside two-time world champion Fernando Alonso for Renault in Valencia at the weekend after getting the green light to replace Piquet Jr.
"It is an honour to be Fernando's team-mate and to make my Formula 1 debut alongside a double world champion is especially motivating," said Grosjean.
Briatore thanked the Brazilian for his efforts in a team statement but said the switch was evidence that the team would "take an aggressive approach to the second half of the season".
Renault were reinstated on Monday for this weekend's race in Valencia after successfully appealing a one-race ban they were given at the Hungary Grand Prix.
The French team were punished after allowing Fernando Alonso to leave the pit lane with a loose wheel, which then came off, at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, Alonso will now be able to race at his home grand prix this weekend after the ban was overturned.
Motorsport's governing body (FIA) will instead fine Renault �30,000.
The decision to allow Alonso and his new Renault team-mate to race is likely to delight the Spanish crowd.
"The reason there are two races in Spain is largely because of Fernando's involvement," said Renault team manager Steve Nielsen.
"People in Spain were not so interested in F1 until he got involved, and now it's a big sport there."

Massa wins New Valencia GP street Circuit.

Felipe Massa has won the European Grand Prix in Valencia ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica.
Starting from pole position, the Ferrari driver led from start to finish through the harbourfront streets of the Spanish city, which was hosting a grand prix for the first time.
With team-mate and World Champion Kimi Raikkonen retiring with engine failure on lap 46, the result also moves Massa up to second place in the Drivers' Championship, six points behind Hamilton.
The victory, Massa's fourth of the season, remained provisional for a time after his second pit stop almost brought a collision with Force India driver Adrian Sutil.
Sutil was forced to dart left and scrape the pit wall as both drivers accelerated away out of the pit lane.
Race control then announced that Massa's car was being investigated for 'unsafe release from a pit stop' by stewards.
And, although it was then announced that any punishment for Massa would be meted out after the race, he eventually escaped with a reprimand and a fine of �10,000.
Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes team-mate Heikki Kovalainen finished fourth, ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.
Trulli's team-mate Timo Glock finished seventh, with Williams driver Nico Rosberg claiming the final Championship point.

Massa gave a dominant display in the heat of the Mediterranean summer, three weeks after an engine failure cruelly cost him victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
But Ferrari's afternoon was nevertheless a chaotic one, with Massa's pit lane infraction being followed by another incident which befell Raikkonen.
Disputing fourth place with Kovalainen, the two Finns pitted in tandem for the second time on lap 44.
However, Raikkonen's eagerness to get away saw him depart with the fuel hose still intact and also drag a mechanic to the ground.
As the mechanic was stretchered away to hospital - having suffered a foot injury ( broken Ankle) and back pains - Raikkonen fell to sixth place behind Trulli.
But his race was soon run - Raikkonen's Ferrari trailing a plume of smoke across the start-finish line much as Massa's had in Budapest.
After qualifying fourth around the 3.380-mile track, it has to be said that, before his retirement, Raikkonen had once again failed to shine.
Massa looks Ferrari's best bet of mounting a Championship challenge on current form, the opening stint alone seeing him build a lead over his team-mate roughly the equivalent of one pit stop.
But it was during the second stint that he really extended his lead over the second-placed Hamilton, with Massa setting successive fastest laps on laps 34, 35 and 36 as he went 10.2 seconds ahead of the lead McLaren.
The race had already lost its biggest draw when Fernando Alonso retired with rear wing and suspension damage after his Renault was hit from behind by Kazuki Nakajima's Williams on the opening lap.
Incident
And it wasn't until lap 37 and Massa's near-collision with Sutil that the processional affair that had developed produced any more genuine incident.
Elsewhere, Kovalainen passed Raikkonen off the line to take fourth, with the next change of track position in the top eight coming when Trulli leapt ahead of Vettel for sixth at the opening round of stops.
Given the newness of the track, teams also were feeling their way in terms of tactics and strategy.
Most drivers elected to make two stops but Glock was among the few to pit only once as he climbed from 13th on the grid to seventh at the chequered flag.
Despite his rather lonely race, Hamilton nevertheless sees his Championship lead increase by one point, with Massa now leading the pursuers.
Raikkonen drops to third place and now stands just two points ahead of Kubica.
In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren have closed the gap to 13 points on leaders Ferrari.
However, after another race for the Italian team not without its difficulties, they at least have the knowledge that they now head to a track - Spa-Francorchamps, venue for the Belgian Grand Prix in two weeks' time - on which they dominated 12 months ago.