Author: Natalie

F1 2014: All Change At Sauber

The Sauber F1 team has announced the signing of both Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr for the 2015 season.

The Swede, Ericsson, was the first driver announced by the mid-field team and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn believes that the 24-year-old has shown enough during the season to warrant his signing.

“He did not have an easy rookie season this year in Formula 1, however, he kept calm and improved continuously, mainly in the last races. We are convinced that signing Marcus can give the team a fresh impetus,” said Kaltenborn.

Ericsson’s future in the sport was in doubt as his Caterham team were placed under administration and faced the threat of not returning to the Formula 1 grid. “Fresh from a very turbulent week, I was suddenly given my best early Christmas present ever,” he said.”It will be a great challenge. I will give my very best to develop both as a driver, and to be part of the challenge to put Sauber back closer to the front where it belongs.”

Brazilian GP2 driver Felipe Nasr will join Sauber as Ericsson’s teammate for 2015.

“We have been following Felipe’s career path for some time now. He fully deserves his position in Formula 1 having had a very successful career in the junior categories. We are happy that he will be driving for our team next year. This means that Brazil will have one more young and talented driver in the sport,” explained Kaltenborn

In addition to racing successfully in the GP2 series Nasr has spent the 2014 season as the reserve and test driver for the Williams Martini team.

“This is an unforgettable moment that I owe to all of those who have supported me,” he said. “I had a wonderful year at Williams, where I learned a lot and prepared myself to be a race driver in Formula 1.””Today the dream has come true. Sauber was responsible for the arrival in F1 of great names such Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. I am proud now to also be part of this racing family.”

Meanwhile, current Sauber driver Adrian Sutil has said that expected to be retained by the team for next season. The German was quoted in Austin as saying that he was committed to the team and was looking forward to improving its performance and position in the field.

November 6, 2014
F1 2014: US GP Review – Hammer-time In Texas

In general terms a conundrum is defined as a difficult and confusing problem. In Nico Rosberg terms the conundrum is Lewis Hamilton. The latest win in Texas gives Hamilton five consecutive race victories and leaves Rosberg without any answers.

As the weekend started to take shape it was Rosberg who stepped up to the qualifying plate. The German got the better of Hamilton by a hefty four tenths which Hamilton would later chalk up to “brake issues.” Nevertheless, at the first hurdle it was Nico Rosberg who pulled it off.

The first stint of the race too was all Rosberg as he controlled the initial laps. The sting was taken out of the start of the grand prix as a collision between Force India’s Sergio Perez and Sauber’s Adrian Sutil brought out the safety car on lap one. Both drivers’ race was ended by the coming together and Perez has been given a seven place grid penalty for the Brazilian GP.

The two Williams drivers, very much embroiled in a constructor’s fight with Ferrari, shadowed the Mercedes duo for the first stint of the race without ever being able to launch a serious threat on any of the first two positions. For the most part Felipe Massa looked set for the final step of the podium but Red Bull’s plucky Aussie once again lived up to his billing. Daniel Ricciardo snatched third from the Brazilian in yet another afternoon of mighty fine wheel-to-wheel racing.

By lap 24 Hamilton has eroded the two-and-a-half second gap that Rosberg had steadily built and flung his car down the inside of Turn 12 and into the lead of the race. It wasn’t a swashbuckling, throw caution to the wind kind of move either from Hamilton. It was calculated and infused with an ominous hunger. Five straight race wins sends quite an imposing message to the other side of the garage.

For once Valterri Bottas finished second to teammate Massa in a quiet fifth place. Fernando Alonso dragged a reluctant Ferrari up to sixth and managed to hold off a late charge from Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver’s didn’t look sharp after a pitlane start but a late stop for fresh rubber breathed some life into his afternoon. Kevin Magnussen brought his McLaren home in eighth ahead of Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado. The Lotus turned out to be the surprise package of the weekend and ran competitively in the points for most of the afternoon.

Jean-Eric Vergne was stripped of ninth place after incurring a penalty for a collision with Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman ultimately finished tenth. The mid-field battle for points was responsible for some spicy wheel-to-wheel battles as several drivers duked it out. Both Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen finished outside the points and a lap down on the leaders.

Besides the mega quick Lewis Hamilton-shaped conundrum that Nico Rosberg has he faces an even bigger dilemma. Rosberg’s problem isn’t that he can’t win it; it’s that he doesn’t know how to win it. He hasn’t had to deal with an unrelenting teammate before certainly not while at the same time being the focus of so much attention. Hamilton’s move to take the lead of the race came from pretty far back and it was Rosberg’s caution that consigned him to second best. This isn’t a call to throw all rationality out of the window but through all of this sport’s history it has been courage that has made and defined its champions. As impressive and consistent as Rosberg has been this season he just doesn’t seem to have the uncontained hunger to win it.

It is far from over and Brazil’s legendary Autodromo Carlos Pace has always been the wildcard in the Formula 1 calendar. Here, the unpredictability seems to ratchet up a notch or two and it tends delivers some of the most astounding results. Rosberg faces a deficit of twenty-four points and call to unleash all he has on a near unbeatable teammate.

November 3, 2014
F1 2014: US Gp Qualifying Report – Rosberg Bests Hamilton

Nico Rosberg has taken pole position for the 2014 US grand prix.

The front of the grid for the Sunday’s grand prix around the Circuit of the Americas has a familiar feel to it as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton secured yet another one-two for the Mercedes team.

Rosberg, seventeen points adrift in the driver’s standings, bested teammate Hamilton by nearly four tenths of a second to ensure that he starts Sunday’s race in prime position. The ever-dependable Valterri Bottas will line up third and shares the second row of the grid with his Williams teammate Felipe Massa.

Daniel Ricciardo put his Red Bull Racing car in fifth position while teammate Sebastian Vettel will start from the pitlane after fitting a sixth power unit of the season to his car. In sixth place is Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso with the McLaren of Jenson Button in seventh; however Button will drop five places on the grid for a gearbox penalty. Kevin Magnussen and Kimi Raikkonen set the eighth and ninth fastest times in the third part of qualifying.

Sauber’s Adrian Sutil delivered a stellar performance to qualify with the tenth fastest time. Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus nearly gained a position in the top ten shoot-out but had to settle for eleventh while teammate Romain Grosjean set the slowest time of the session in eighteenth place.

Here is your provisional grid for tomorrows race:

November 1, 2014
F1 2014: US GP Preview – Formula 1 Goes Country

Judging by the harmonious blend of NASCAR and beer the Americans have a pretty good idea on how to spend most of their weekends. More recently they struck on another golden combination by bringing the world’s premier racing serious to the lone star state of Texas.

Dubbed the Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, Formula 1’s return to the US was celebrated with a rowdy return in 2012. This circuit too was designed by Herman Tilke but unlike his other occasionally tedious attempts at modern circuit design COTA has been lauded by drivers and fans. “Hand on heart, this is probably the date on the calendar I look forward to the most,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “The Circuit of The Americas, in my opinion, is the best of the new breed of circuits. The nature of the corners is interesting. It’s also a very busy track where you don’t get much respite. The first sector is very special and that first turn, blind up the big hill is like nothing else in Formula 1. It’s also a good example of the excitement a late apex can create: you can have a really good lunge there. They’ve done a very good job.”

A storm is brewing towards the back of the Formula 1 grid as two teams in particular are having a difficult time in coping with the new turbo-charged-money-pit-era of the sport. It has led to the announcement that neither Caterham nor the Marussia team will be taking part in Texas this weekend. The great hopes once held for Caterham now lay in shards as administrators Smith and Williamson, who now own the team, set out to look for a possible buyer. Its debut in 2010 and the following season for Caterham seemed to suggest a lot of potential. They were the team most likely to be snapping at the heels of the mid-field and possibly score a point or two, such was their progression. However, in the last two seasons the team seems to have hit a brick wall and was overtaken by main rivals Marussia. Caterham’s absence, with permission from Bernie Ecclestone, will also include the team missing the Brazilian GP. At Marussia financial woes have meant that team cannot run either.

This should make for an interesting qualifying session. Along with the four cars already missing from the line-up Red Bull has already announced that Sebastian Vettel will not take part in the qualifying session. Vettel has chosen not partake as he will incur a ten-place grid penalty for using a sixth power unit, one more than is allotted for a season.

Not that long ago the announcement that Formula 1 would transform to hybrid, turbo-charged cars for 2014 was met with serious speculation as to the cost involved. Several teams, some of the big-wigs too, had genuine fears about the financial implication of such an imposing transformation. With two teams not making the trip to Texas or Brazil; a few others like Lotus and Sauber are in quite a fight to keep their head above water; and with Vettel missing in action from quali you have to wonder if those who pushed for the comprehensive rule changes are still as boisterously confident as before.

Formula 1 is a sport of extremes and over on the other side of the grid Mercedes is making merry and raking in the prize money. The circuit in Austin, Texas isn’t as power-hungry as Russia’s Sochi track but this will do little to eat into the colossal competitive advantage that Mercedes wields.

America – the land of opportunity so goes the famous saying. With three consecutive victories Lewis Hamilton has been making the most of his and now sits seventeen points clear of teammate Nico Rosberg. What can Rosberg do to break the ominous momentum of his champion teammate, more importantly; does he have the mental fortitude to beat an extremely confident and ridiculously comfortable Lewis Hamilton on an equal playing-field? There isn’t a doubt that Rosberg is a quick driver with some savvy skills. As this championship draws to a climax he’ll need to call on all of it to prove that he has what it takes to be the 2014 world champion. How deep can Nico Rosberg truly dig?

October 29, 2014
F1 2014: FIA Institutes Accident Panel

A few weeks after the crash that severely injured Marussia driver Jules Bianchi the FIA has instituted an accident panel.

The panel will be tasked with investigating Bianchi’s crash at the Japanese grand prix. Their investigation is expected to culminate in the proposal of potential changes at the next World Motor Sport Council meeting slated for December. The FIA has called on several experienced former members of the of the Formula 1 paddock to form part of the panel. Former Mercedes boss Ross Brawn, former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicalli and Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi are among those included.

The full panel line-up is as follows:

Presidency

Peter Wright, President of the Safety Commission

Members

Ross Brawn, former Team Principal of Mercedes, Brawn Grand Prix and former Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari

Stefano Domenicali, former Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari

Gerd Ennser, Chief Stewards’ representative

Emerson Fittipaldi, President of the FIA Drivers’ Commission, F1 Steward

Eduardo de Freitas, World Endurance Championship Race Director

Roger Peart, President of the Circuits Commission, President of the ASN of Canada, F1 Steward

Antonio Rigozzi, Advocate, Judge at the International Court of Appeal of the FIA co-opted by the teams

Gérard Saillant, President of the FIA Institute and President of the Medical Commission

Alex Wurz, President of the GPDA, drivers’ representative

October 21, 2014
F1 2014: Sochi Success For Hamilton

The most exciting thing about the first ever Russian Grand Prix was … nothing. If truth be told the only moment that induced any sort of eyebrow-raising was a 60 meter lock-up by Nico Rosberg as he tried to steal the lead of the race from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Other than Rosberg’s rather frantic attempt at getting ahead, the Sochi Autodrom turned out to be a bit of damp squib. The layout, once again designed by Hermann Tilke, provided a technical challenge to drivers when it came to stringing a perfect lap together but as far as the track surface is concerned it most definitely did not want to play ball with Formula 1. Pirelli had the difficult task of predicting what the track surface would offer up and based their decision on how other new tracks had performed. While keeping this in mind it is difficult to blame the Italian tyre manufacturer for bringing tyres to Russia which are almost literally bulletproof.

So indestructible were the Pirelli’s that Nico Rosberg, forced to pit on lap 1 with severely flat-spotted tyres, was able to run a 52 lap stint on one set of tyres. It wasn’t a gigantic risk nor was Rosberg, at any point, required to tip-toe around and nurse his tyres. No, he was able to push and for most of the stint set a pace comparable, and sometimes even quicker, than the race leader.

We commend thee Pirelli for producing the world’s first everlasting F1 tyre. But we implore you to chalk this up to a frightening one-off incident that should never again be repeated.

Saturday’s qualifying certainly provided more entertainment as Williams’ star Finn Valtteri Bottas nearly snatched pole position from Lewis Hamilton’s grasp. It wasn’t to be for the Williams driver but he put himself in the best position possible to fight for a podium finish.

The early part of the race and the Finn’s pace suggested that he could perhaps have a go at the leading Mercedes. But this too fizzled out towards the middle part of race as Hamilton started steadily building the gap to the Williams. Bottas eventually finished third and set the fastest lap of the race.

Jenson Button followed through on the pace McLaren had promised in the free practice sessions with a fine fourth place finish. It was a lonely drive for the Brit who ran as high as third during the opening stint of the race. The second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen recovering from a five place grid penalty induced by a gearbox change,

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished an uninspired sixth and remained as coy as ever as to his future in the sport. Many have already plopped the Spaniard into a McLaren seat for 2015 but Sky’s Ted Kravitz hinted, post-race, that the double champ could be off to Lotus.

Daniel Ricciardo did his level best to get past the Ferrari of Alonso but ultimately could do nothing about it and finished ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel in seventh.

Kimi Raikkonen spent most of the 53 laps embroiled in scrap with the two Toro Rosso drivers but eventually got the better of them and finished a distant ninth. Sergio Perez nearly cut it too close on fuel consumption but held on to bring the Force India home in tenth.

Felipe Massa attempted an aggressive two-stop strategy but never quite recovered from a technical issue in qualifying; the Brazilian finished eleventh.Only Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi and Marussia’s Max Chilton failed to see the chequered flag. As a sign of respect to Jules Bianchi the Marussia team chose to run only one car this weekend.

The Russian Grand Prix most probably didn’t even register a blip on the thrill meter. But it did give us another bit of insight into the title fight. Now that Mercedes has been crowned worthy Constructor’s champions it leaves a straight-up fight for the driver’s crown. Rosberg’s crack at snatching the lead was a tad anxious. Still the German has not beaten Hamilton on a level playing field. We’ve talked a lot about the psychological battle between these two. Is it now finally starting to tell on Nico Rosberg?

October 13, 2014
F1 2014: Qualifying Report – Mercedes Lead The Way In Russia

Lewis Hamilton has secured the first ever pole position for the Russian grand prix.

The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg locked on the front row of the Sochi Autdrom but it wasn’t without pressure from behind. Williams driver Valterri Bottas nearly pulled a rabbit out of the proverbial hat but a slide into the final corner meant the Finn had to settle for third overall.

Jenson Button delivered on the form promised in practice to secure his best starting position of the season in fourth. Daniil Kvyat, undoubtedly the rookie of the year, secured a stunning fifth on the grid for the Toro Rosso team. Jean-Eric Vergne will start tenth in the sister Toro Rosso.

Daniel Ricciardo set the sixth fastest time in the final part of qualifying while teammate Sebastian Vettel failed to advance to the top ten shoot-out. Fernando Alonso was the best of the Ferrari drivers in seventh only half a tenth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Kevin Magnussen set the sixth fastest time in his McLaren but a gearbox change will drop him five places on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Felipe Massa ran into engine troubles in the first part of qualifying which meant the Brazilian failed to advance past 18th on the grid. A difficult day for Force India translated into 12th and 17th for Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg respectively.

Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson continued his good run of form by getting the better of the Marussia/Caterham battle towards the lower end of the field.

October 11, 2014
F1 2014: Details of Bianchi Crash Revealed

The FIA has revealed more details about Jules Bianchi’s crash during the Japanese grand prix.

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting went through CCTV footage taken a handful of minutes before the Marussia driver’s crash.

“There is a dryish line. As the rain has intensified, a little bit of water creeps on to the drier line, and as cars go a little bit wide there, you see that Adrian got onto that and lost control,” Whiting explained.

“He touches that slightly wetter bit of track, and he is behind Jules at this point. When he hits that slightly wetter bit of track, he loses control and spins. A lap later, with double waved yellow flags being displayed, Bianchi hits the same bit of water.”

Whiting noted that Bianchi had tried to correct the slide and in so doing over-corrected his car and hurtled off the circuit.

“You can see Jules doing something similar [to Sutil]. He hits the same bit of water, but there is a slight difference – he does not spin like Adrian did. He corrects and goes off at a slightly different trajectory.”

Whiting further confirmed that mechanical failure was ruled out a possible cause for the crash and stipulated that it was not yet possible to determine the speed on impact.

October 10, 2014
F1 2014: FIA To Propose Yellow Flag Speed Limit

Formula 1 teams will come together this weekend to discuss the possible implementation of a specified yellow flag speed limit.

The FIA and race director Charlie Whiting has called for a meeting to discuss the possibility of limiting the speed of cars in the yellow flag zones. The meeting comes as a result of Jules Bianchi’s crash during the Japanese Gp in which he sustained a severe head injury.

“There are some things to learn and we want to engage with all teams and drivers to make sure we come up with good, sound and well thought through ideas,” said Whiting.

“One of the most important things for us to learn here is that it is probably better to take the decision to slow down away from drivers. It is better to try to put in place a system where it is much clearer to everybody how much we think cars should slow down in similar circumstances.”

“That is what we are working on, starting tomorrow morning, with a meeting with all the teams to discuss exactly that.

“We want a way of trying to impose a speed limit – it probably won’t be a speed limit as such, but there will be a way of controlling speed with complete certainty and complete clarity.”

Whiting also confirmed that extreme caution would be exercised in the use of recovery vehicles.

October 10, 2014
F1 2014: Friday Practice Round-up – Mercedes Lead The Way

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finished the first two practice session at Russia’s Sochi Autodrom on top of the timing sheets.

For the first time in its illustrious history Formula 1 commenced an official F1 race weekend in Russia. The circuit, 5.8 km in length and designed by Herman Tilke, was praised by several drivers. “It’s got a really nice flow to it, it’s not too bumpy, the corners are challenging – if you can get the lines just perfect you can put together really nice sectors,” said Lewis Hamilton.

The new track surface also delivered a substantial amount of grip considering that it has never before been used. Set in the undoubtedly inspiring setting of the Olympic Park is providing some challenge for the drivers. “It is more technical and difficult than it looked on paper,” said Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “It seemed quite hard to get the lap together and has quite a few off camber corners, which isn’t always fun for a driver, but it does make it challenging.”

Spain’s Robert Merhi ran in the first of today’s two free practice sessions for Caterham. Elsewhere, Russia’s Sergey Sirotkin made his debut for the Sauber team in place of Esteban Gutierrez. Sirotkin finished the session only four tenths off the sister car of Adrian Sutil.

According to Daniel Ricciardo the Red Bull team are bracing for a difficult weekend. The Australian’s car broke down during the closing stages of the second free practice session. The three-time grand prix winner described that the weekend would be an exercise in “damage limitation.”

Reports from the McLaren garage were decidedly more upbeat. A closer analysis of the long-run simulations in free practice two revealed that Jenson Button’s laptimes were comparable to that of the Mercedes drivers. JB was especially heartened by the pace he was able to deliver on Friday.

“We were very quick from the word go on the prime tyre. On the option tyre and with low fuel I didn’t really have the balance, so hopefully we can improve that tomorrow.,” said Button. “We are obviously behind the Mercedes, but we have a chance to fight everyone else this weekend.”

October 10, 2014