Category: Previews

F1 2016: Canadian Gp Preview – Montreal Test For Mercedes

The St. Lawrence Seaway is transformed this weekend into the seventh round of the 2016 F1 season as it hosts the famed Canadian grand prix.

Named after one of the greatest drivers in F1 history the circuit Gilles Villeneuve has a distinct street-like feel thanks to the close proximity of the barriers. It’s long straights, with a top speed of 330 kph, makes it a highly power sensitive circuit with a heavy focus on braking performance. “The track is quite special as it has a lot of long straights and then slow corners with low grip so we have to find the right balance with our setup. You’re very close to the walls so there is a special feeling to drive there,” says Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.

The track surface, rarely used throughout the year, is relatively green but grip ramps up exponentially as the weekend progresses. Coupled with variable weather conditions, which often tend to the cooler end of the spectrum, it makes getting the tyres to their prime operating temperature tricky. In terms of tyre strategy Pirelli has made the soft, supersoft, and ultrasoft compound available. In particular the Renault and Haas F1 Team will be worth keeping an eye on as neither pair of drivers has chosen a single set of the red-walled supersoft tyre.

Occasionally the lack of proper overtaking opportunity can turn the race in a procession. However, it has delivered several dramatic and memorable races over the years. As if perfectly scripted the first race in 1978 was won by Gilles Villeneuve in a Ferrari. Throughout the years that followed Ferrari’s love affair with the Montreal circuit deepened. With seven victories Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most Canadian Gp victories while Ferrari and McLaren boast thirteen wins each as constructors.

In 2015 Lewis Hamilton led home teammate Nico Rosberg for a Mercedes one-two. However, it wasn’t a straightforward victory for the championship winning team. Twelve months ago sky-high brake temperatures plagued the pair throughout the race and required drastic management. In 2014 the failure of the brake-by-wire system forced Hamilton into retirement and Rosberg on to the defensive, which allowed Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to take his first grand prix win.

This year the competition appears a bit closer to the Silver Arrows. In Spain and Monaco, circuits that share several similarities with Canada, Red Bull showed their competitiveness. Add to the fact that the Renault upgrade should come into its own around this track and Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen should be more than a nuisance to Mercedes this weekend.

It isn’t just Red Bull snapping at Mercedes’ heels either. Ferrari will be the first to admit that their season hasn’t quite gone to plan. Mistakes and unreliability has cost the Italian team a slew of points in the first few races of 2016 but they’re not letting up any time soon. This weekend Ferrari is expected to run a new rear suspension in the hopes of improving downforce as well as other aerodynamic upgrades. They are also introducing a new Shell fuel and a new turbo, which is expected to yield more hybrid power and improve reliability.

Mercedes are far from sitting ducks and will, just like the others, continue to push ahead. But they’re under a bit more pressure than what they’re used to.

June 8, 2016

Broadcast Times for the 2016 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

What can be said about the Monaco Grand Prix that has not already been said before. It’s the one event that sums up the glamorous life of F1 in the early days. Things have moved on since then but it still remains the Jewel in the Crown of Formula 1.

The Monaco Grand Prix is run on the 3.337km Circuit de Monaco. The track has undergone 5 changes to the layout we currently race on. Ask any driver and he’ll tell you that it takes extreme levels of concentration around the track for an entire race. With little run off areas and with tyre’s sometimes millimeters away from the barriers one can easily see that a split second lapse in concentration can put you out of the race.

The safety car is guaranteed at the race. If not at the start for Turn 1, there will be something happening in the middle of the race. Overtaking is usually limited at the circuit with a few overtaking chances around the circuit. But that does not stop the drivers from trying.

The new ultra soft tyre will make its debut for the 2016 season together with the super soft and the soft tyre. Teams’s tyre choices have leaned towards the ultra soft tyres. The circuit. with slow corners and low degradation, is very kind to the tyres and it is expected that a one stop race will be the best strategy.

Teams will run as much down force as their setups allow. The slow corners make the circuit a rear limited track which means the drivers will depend heavily on mechanical grip from the tyres out of the corners.

	CDT	GMT+2	GMT	Local
Free Practice 1	Thursday 05:00	Thursday 10:00	Thursday 08:00	Thursday 10:00
Free Practice 2	Thusday 09:00	Thursday 14:00	Thursday 12:00	Thursday 14:00
Free Practice 3	Saturday 06:00	Saturday 11:00	Saturday 09:00	Saturday 11:00
Qualifying	Saturday 09:00	Saturday 14:00	Saturday 12:00	Saturday 14:00
Race	Sunday 09:00	Sunday 14:00	Sunday 12:00	Sunday 14:00

May 25, 2016

F1 2016: Monaco GP Preview – Can Merc Be Toppled in Monaco?

In one way or another the famous streets of Monte Carlo have featured in every one of Formula 1’s 66-year history. The scale and prestige of the Monaco grand prix is no less as it hosts the 6^th round of the 2016 season.

Several street tracks have come and gone in Formula 1 and some, like Singapore, has come to be well liked by drivers and fans. But there’s nothing quite as unique as the race on the sun-kissed streets of Monte Carlo.

In truth racing cars having been threading themselves through the tight Monaco streets since 1929. In 1950 the Monaco grand prix became part of the newly formed F1 world championship. Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio won his first championship race in an Alfa Romeo and would later become a five-time world champion.

It comes as no surprise that the most prolific winners around the famous streets are also the drivers who brilliantly conquered and defined their eras in the sport. Ayrton Senna leads the pack with seven wins while Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill have each taken five Monaco Gp victories.

Across its 78 laps the 3.337 kilometer Anthony Noghes circuit presents the most extreme challenge of concentration and skill seen at any time during a Formula 1 season. The blind rise up the hill after Ste Devote, Casino Square, Portier and the tunnel. The ultra quick left-right chicane just after Tabac at the entry to the swimming pool – all of it lined by barriers which leaves zero margin for error,” says Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. “I believe street circuits like Monaco bring out the best in a driver. It’s visible to the spectators who is running the fine line between risk and reward.”

Pirelli’s purple side-walled ultrasoft tyre compound will make its debut this weekend. Mercedes and Red Bull have chosen an aggressive strategy by selecting ten sets of the ultrasoft compound for the weekend. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have chosen nine sets each of the purple side-walled tyre.

But even the most shrewd tyre strategy could mean nothing as the tight, barrier-lined streets means that overtaking is at an absolute premium. Thus it makes qualifying more critical than at any other race. A mistake or problem in Saturday qualifying carries severe penalty and an unlikely chance of recovery on Sunday.

It is here, in qualifying, that Mercedes still holds a sizeable advantage. However, following the two days of testing at Catalunya, after the Spanish Gp, Sebastian Vettel is convinced that he fight for victory in Monaco where Ferrari last claimed victory in 2001. “I think Monaco should be a strong track for us, last year we were very competitive there,” he said. “Now we have improved the car in the areas you need for that Grand Prix so I think it should help.

But there is more than one team ready to challenge the Ferrari’s. McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier believes his team has a chance at out-pacing Ferrari around the twisty circuit. While the Honda power unit still lacks power the characteristics of Monaco means it will not be as big a deficit.

A more realistic threat is likely to come from Red Bull. The team ran an ungraded Renault power unit at the two-day Spanish test and the result was positive enough to fast track the introduction of it. Originally scheduled for the Canadian grand prix the power unit will be introduced in Monaco. However, Renault is able to provide only one engine for Red Bull and one for Renault.

Will Ferrari, Red Bull or even McLaren be able to end Mercedes’ domination?

May 25, 2016
Weather Report for the 2016 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix

Round 5 of the Formula 1 World Championship brings us to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

The circuit has hosted F1 races since it was completed in 1991. The layout of the circuit is a good blend of slow, fast and medium speed corners. Car setup together with tyre choice is crucial.

Pirelli have supplied the orange hard, white medium, and yellow soft compound tyres. They have a good amount of 2016 data to base their choice of tyres for this weekend as there was quite a bit of running in this years winter test.

The rough surface puts degradation on the high side. The high speed corners put enormous amounts of forces through the tyres. Most notably the long, fast right handed turn three which is taken at full throttle during qualifying.

The weather for the weekend will be mostly clear on Saturday and Sunday. There’s a chance for spots of rain on Friday but it does not look like it will affect any of the practice sessions.

May 12, 2016

Broadcast Times for the 2016 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix

Formula 1 begins its European season and Round 5 of the Championship in Spain at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Traditionally in F1 the European season also sees the teams’ spectacular motor homes making an appearance in the paddock but more importantly teams see the first European race of the season as a chance to bring the first round of major updates to their cars. This weekend is no exception.

Almost all the teams are expected to bring some kind of major update to their cars this weekend. Force India Boss says that with the new updates their car will look different this weekend.

The circuit is one that is well known to the teams and the drivers. Both rounds of winter testing took place there and Pirelli tested their tyres there as well. The rough surface of the track contributes to the high wear rate on the tyres and will the current 2016 test data available Pirelli have supplied the orange hard, white medium and yellow soft compound tyres. The aggressive drivers’ tyre choices suggest that it could turn into a three stop race.

	CDT	GMT+2	GMT	Local
Free Practice 1: Friday	03:00	10:00	08:00	10:00
Free Practice 2: Friday	07:00	14:00	12:00	14:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday	04:00	11:00	09:00	11:00
Qualifying: Saturday	07:00	14:00	12:00	14:00
Race: Sunday	07:00	14:00	12:00	14:00

May 12, 2016

F1 2016: Spanish GP Preview – All eyes on Spain

Traditionally the first European race of the F1 season sees a raft of updates made to the cars. It’s no different in 2016 as teams look to take a crucial step forward at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya.

Red Bull Racing dropped the bombshell a few days after the Russian grand prix that Dannil Kvyat and Max Verstappen would swop seats. Ostensibly, the move appears to have been made following Kvyat’s attempt at playing bumper cars with Sebastian Vettel in Russia but there’s a fair bit more at play than that.

For one, Russian driver Kvyat hasn’t been that impressive in the Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo. Then, there’s that incident with the Ferrari in Russia. However, neither of these two things are enough to warrant a demotion to the junior team. Drivers go through indifferent patches and make mistakes but they aren’t dropped at the first sign of strife, usually. Romain Grosjean’s troublesome season at Lotus and Pastor Maldonado’s F1 career is testament to the fact that teams usually stick it out. But not in Kvyat’s case.

The incident in Russia is nothing more than an excuse to promote Verstappen from Toro Rosso into the senior team. While the teenaged Dutch driver may be singing Red Bull’s praises and swearing that he’s never looked elsewhere for a drive we know better. Despite being in only his second F1 season it’s obvious that Verstappen has enormous potential. This makes him a hot commodity for other teams and there’s no better way to keep him close than to move him to the senior team. Well played Red Bull.

What a difference twelve months can make. In 2015 Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg arrived at the Spanish grand prix under pressure to perform. This time around he arrives at the fifth round of the season with four race wins under the belt and a dominant lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Now the questions shifts from can Nico do it to can he keep doing it? The German is convinced that Hamilton will hit back soon and he’s likely right. However, it’s also a great mental space Rosberg to operate in – take it one race and one lap at a time and don’t take it for granted.

Besides a bit of brooding on the Russian Gp podium Hamilton has appeared decidedly chilled, even apathetic, to his dreadful run so far in 2016. But don’t be fooled by his supposedly indifferent approach. The reigning champ more than has the skill to hit back hard and just needs to find the sweet-spot for it to be unleashed.

From the Ferrari garage the hope is that the performance deficit in the last race was specific to the circuit. It could’ve been given that the Russian circuit is power dominant. But though they may be closer in Spain it will extremely tough to beat the Silver Arrows around Catalunya.

McLaren, already vastly improved in 2016, is planning to introduce a significant upgrade to their car this weekend. They hope that a new floor, wings, and various bits of other bodywork will be enough to propel them into the top ten in qualifying and a solid points score with both cars.

The Haas F1 Team will run the upgraded Ferrari engine, introduced in Russia, in Spain. The Renault team will run an updated version of their front and rear wings in the hopes of upping their game in a tight mid-field battle.

Seven drivers on the current grid have won the Spanish grand prix and thanks to its status as a test venue everyone knows their way around these parts. But as familiar as they are with the Circuit de Catalunya it doesn’t do anything to lessen the challenge.

May 11, 2016
F1 2016: Russian GP Preview – Russian Showdown

When you think of motorsport Russia isn’t the first place that comes to mind. In fact, it’s probably not even in your top five. However, this weekend the Formula 1 paddock puts Russia front and center as it heads to the Sochi Autodrom for the fourth round of the 2016 season.

The Sochi circuit hosted its first grand prix race in 2014 and is the first purpose-built Formula 1 site in Russia. The 5.8 kilometer track was built under the watchful eye of F1’s favoured designer Herman Tilke and has a capacity of 55 000. The most striking feature of the circuit is its integration to the Olympic Park that hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The circuit, second in length only to Spa and Silverstone, requires compromise in terms of car setup. The start and end of the lap demands good traction and braking performance while the middle sector requires a more technical approach to master the flow of the corners.

“It’s a very modern track with a few corners that look quite similar by they are never as easy as they might look, because you have to try and driver the car in the limit each time you turn,” says Russian driver Daniil Kvyat.

In the two races it’s put on the Sochi Autodrom has shown little tyre wear. So little in fact that in 2014 Nico Rosberg was able to complete a stint of 52 laps on one set of tyres. But the introduction of a third compound choice in 2016 means that we’re unlikely to see a repeat of what happened here two years ago.

The Red Bull and Haas F1 Team have opted for an aggressive tyre strategy by selecting ten sets of supersofts, two sets of softs, and one set of the medium compound tyre. It’s an expected choice for these two teams who have been able to make the supersoft tyre last longer than their closest rivals. The Red Bull drivers, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, may not have a straight forward shot at the podium but will be ready to pounce should either of the Merc or Ferrari drivers have an issue during the Russian GP on Sunday.

There is a marked difference between Mercedes and Ferrari’s Russian GP tyre choices too. While all four drivers have only one set of mediums on the shelf Hamilton and Rosberg have opted for eight sets of supersofts, and four sets of the yellow-walled soft tyres. In contrast, Raikkonen and Vettel have chosen six sets each of the soft and supersoft compound.

The thinking behind Ferrari’s tyre choice could be to do one less stop than Mercedes in the race by running the more durable soft tyre for a longer stint. As the supersoft is generally the quicker tyre to run on much will depend on how big a time deficit there is between it and the more durable soft tyre.

The run down to the first corner is a long one, which dramatically tightens into turn one. Ferrari will be extra vigilant after Sebastian Vettel got into the side of Kimi Raikkonen in China. In every round so far Ferrari has faced some issues whether through their own making or uncontrollable reliability problems. If the Italian team is to mount a serious challenge for the top step of the Russian GP podium, which it seems likely they can, the first order of business will be to have a clean race.

The last time we visited Russia, Mercedes were on the brink on clinching a constructor’s title and Lewis Hamilton had been outperforming teammate Nico Rosberg by a considerable margin. In 2016, the story so far reads much differently. Now it’s up to Lewis Hamilton to show what being a three time world champion really means.

April 28, 2016

Broadcast Times for the 2016 F1 Russian Grand Prix

The Russian Grand Prix was moved up in 2016 and it’s now Round 4 of the Formula 1 World Championship. The Sochi Autodrom is a semi permanent facility that was built as part of the Winter Olympics park. Built on the shores of the warm waters of the Black Sea the popular seaside area is being called the Russian Rivera.

The circuit hosts its third F1 Russian Grand Prix race in as many years. No major changes have been made to the layout of circuit and the low degradation characteristic of the asphalt seems to have remained over the years. The super soft, soft and medium compound tyre should throw up a few surprises although we may not see that many pit stops due to the low degradation levels.

With Nico Roaberg’s championship lead at 36 points, his team mate Lewis Hamilton will need to put in a strong performance this weekend to show some intent. Red Bull put in a strong performance in China and would’ve had two cars on the podium had Daniel Ricciardo not suffered his puncture.

Ferrari will be looking over their shoulder a bit more after China while focusing their efforts chasing their first victory for 2016. Ferrari have pushed their engine development and are expected to debut their upgraded engine at the Russian Grand Prix weekend together with a new front wing in the hopes that it may bring the Scuderia their first win of the season.

Herewith your broadcast times for the 2016 Russian Grand Prix weekend:

	CDT	GMT+2	GMT	Local
Free Practice 1	04:00 (Fri)	09:00 (Fri)	07:00 (Fri)	10:00 (Fri)
Free Practice 2	08:00 (Fri)	13:00 (Fri)	11:00 (Fri)	14:00 (Fri)
Free Practice 3	06:00 (Sat)	11:00 (Sat)	09:00 (Sat)	12:00 (Sat)
Qualifying	09:00 (Sat)	14:00 (Sat)	12:00 (Sat)	15:00 (Sat)
Race	09:00 (Sun)	14:00 (Sun)	12:00 (Sun)	15:00 (Sun)

April 27, 2016

F1 2016: Chinese GP Preview – Tyre strategy name of the game in China

From the desert circuit of Bahrain the Formula 1 paddock travels to mainland China and the Shanghai International circuit for the third round of the 2016 season.

Good news is abounding before the weekend of racing even gets underway. A unanimous front by the eleven Formula 1 teams has force fed the FIA enough sanity to compel a reversion to the 2015 qualifying format for the remainder of the season. It wasn’t through lack of trying from the FIA though. The governing body, not wanting to accept defeat, tried one last time to impose itself by putting an aggregate-style qualifying on the table. Thankfully this too was unanimously shown the door.

Besides the fact that it restores the much preferred 2015 version of qualifying, this decision sets a precedent for future decisions. Teams have now shown that if they stick together and push hard enough they can affect some change. And though the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone will try to spin this decision into something that makes them look a bit rosier it just isn’t true. The reality is that it wasn’t a decision by the FIA but rather a bending under the pressure from teams and fans.

Because of this you’d hope that it’s significant also where the fans are concerned. Along with the teams’ unanimous front the fans’ disapproval on social media played its part too. The FIA and Ecclestone have been reluctant in the past to grant social media any clout. Hopefully they’re opinion has been informed enough to start moving the sport towards embracing social media more.

The best news is that now the focus can return to the most important thing – racing. In 2015 Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen brilliantly pulled off several overtaking manoeuvres into the extremely tight turn fourteen which follows on the kilometre long back-strait. Besides being one of the most unique first corners on the calendar the fast changes of direction in the middle sector will test just how good a chassis various teams have built for 2016.

F1 first visited China’s Shanghai International circuit back in 2004 and has marked several landmark victories for drivers and teams. It was here in 2012 that Nico Rosberg won his first race and arrives in 2016 on the back of five consecutive victories and a good-looking lead in the driver’s standings. The best thing about Rosberg’s recent form is that it adds a new dimension to the championship. It’s put Lewis Hamilton into a position not known to him in the last two years, the hunter rather than the hunted.

But we’re talking about Merc as if they’re not facing a determined threat from Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have a good enough car to push Mercedes all the way to the chequered flag. But they don’t have good enough car to out-qualify Rosberg and Hamilton with. Therefore, tyre strategy becomes vital.

Raikkonen and Vettel have chosen an alternative tyre strategy to Merc for the Chinese GP. Both Ferrari drivers have chosen six sets of supersoft tyres while Rosberg and Hamilton have only five sets of the red-walled tyre. Should Mercedes run into rear tyre wear issues in China, as has been the case in the past, they won’t be able to run the supersoft tyre for as long. Whereas Ferrari, who has traditionally been able to get more out of the supersoft tyre, will hold a strategic advantage of being able to run on the quicker tyre for longer.

These permutations are only for the sharp-end of the grid. There is still an all-mighty battle in the mid-field which will undoubtedly rage throughout every one of Sunday’s 56 laps.

April 14, 2016

Broadcast Times for the 2016 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix

Round three of the Formula 1 World Championship is already upon us and this weekend we are in Shanghai China for the 13th iteration of the Chinese Grand Prix.

With it’s inaugural race in 2004 which saw over 250 000 people fill the grand stands, the Shanghai International Circuit has been a yearly feature on the F1 calendar every since. The track layout was inspired by the Chinese character Shang(上) and was designed by Herman Tilke. It features a classic Tilke trademark of a long straight followed by a hairpin.

Being a front limited circuit it puts emphasis on front end grip and with the super soft, soft and medium compound tyres made available by Pirelli we can expect quite a few different strategies. Some teams have gone quite aggressive in their tyre selection choosing more super soft compound tyres.

Coming off the back of a victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix where he made it five wins in a row, Nico Rosberg will want to keep that going to take 6 wins on the trot and further consolidate his lead in the championship. His Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton will be at a slight disadvantage from the start after he was handed a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

Ferrari are looking for a good result following their race of mixed feelings after Bahrain. The battle in the midfield is heating up and we’re only three races into the season. The big surprise is Haas F1 who have secured two solid points finishes in two races. A fairy tale start for the team from Kannapolis.

With the race in China we have a mixed set of times this weekend with late nights and early mornings on the cards.

	US Central	GMT+2	GMT	Local
Free Practice 1	21:00 (Thur)	04:00 (Fri)	02:00 (Fri)	10:00 (Fri)
Free Practice 2	01:00 (Fri)	08:00 (Fri)	06:00 (Fri)	14:00 (Fri)
Free Practice 3	23:00 (Fri)	06:00 (Sat)	04:00 (Sat)	12:00 (Sat)
Qualifying	02:00 (Sat)	09:00 (Sat)	07:00 (Sat)	15:00 (Sat)
Race	01:00 (Sun)	08:00 (Sun)	06:00 (Sun)	14:00 (Sun)

April 14, 2016