F1 Madness

Latest

  • Sainz Released From Hospital, Team Shed Some Light on Crash

    Sainz Released From Hospital, Team Shed Some Light on Crash

    After a horror crash in Free Practice 3, Toro Rosso Driver Carlos Sainz has been released from hospital while his team shed some light on what may have went wrong in the build up to the crash.

    Although Sainz is out of the hospital, he will still need to undergo a check by the FIA medical delegate to consider him fit to race on Sunday.

    He says that he’s ready to race, but it all depends on how he feels on Sunday morning.

    “I’m OK, I’m fine,” said Sainz in a video message posted on Twitter posted by his team.

    “Just a bit sore from the accident on my back and on my neck,” the Spaniard continued.

    “But I’m totally ready to see what ever happens. Hopefully, tomorrow, I can wake up in good shape and maybe try to race.

    “This is the intention, but we need to be cautious obviously.”

    Meanwhile, back at the track, Toro Rosso have been investigating the cause of the accident.

    Team Principal Franz Tost thinks that it may have been a combination of the prime tyre with a change in brake balance.

    “Prior to the accident, Carlos had completed a long-run on the option tyre, before changing to the prime to do two further laps,” he said.

    “On primes the grip level is lower. In addition he had changed the brake shape on the steering wheel, which meant he had more braking rearwards.

    “A combination of these two factors might have been the cause of the rears locking, which made the car uncontrollable.”

    Replays of the crash seem to confirm what Tost is saying as the Sainz brakes, the rear of the car steps out and as he corrects the slide, he hits the nearside barrier which sent him straight into the tech-pro barriers at the end of the run off area.

    The final findings of the crash will be revealed by the team at a later stage.

     

    Photo credit: Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 

  • F1 2015: Russian GP Qualifying Report – Rosberg Sets The Pace

    F1 2015: Russian GP Qualifying Report – Rosberg Sets The Pace

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has taken pole position for the 2015 Russian grand prix.

    The first part of qualifying went the usual route as both Manor F1 cars were eliminated from the running. Jenson Button, newly re-signed with McLaren for 2016, advanced ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso to the second part of the session.

    Quali two caught out Williams driver Felipe Massa would was not able to overcome traffic on circuit to set a quick enough time to advance. Teammate Valtteri Bottas easily advanced the top ten shoot out with both Mercedes’ and Ferraris’ well in the mix. Local hero Dannil Kvyat was not able to drag his Red Bull in the final part of the session much to the disappointment of his home crowd.

    The top session turned out be a bit of an anti-climax as Nico Rosberg’s first run, some three tenths quicker than Hamilton, was enough to secure pole long before the chequered flag came out. Hamilton, slightly out of sorts around the Sochi Autodrom, did have a second go at snatching pole but a mistake meant he abandoned the lap and his chance of securing a 50th pole position start.

    Williams’ Valtteri Bottas set the third quickest time whilst Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will start Sunday’s Russian grand prix in fourth and fifth respectively.

  • 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix; Thursday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix; Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

    Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

    Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso)

    Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    Felipe MASSA (Williams)

    Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Daniil, can we start with you. Your home race, obviously. Last year you had a great qualifying performance in fifth and this year you’ve finished six of the last seven races in a higher position than you started, so with the soft and supersoft combination of tyres we saw in Singapore, do you feel this should be another chance for a podium?
    Daniil KVYAT: Well, first of all, I think it’s nice to be home in Russia and it’s great to have a home grand prix I think, so we can feel the support from the local fans. Talking about our chances, I think obviously it’s not the easiest track for us, probably it’s not suiting us as good as Singapore or Hungary, but I still think that as has been proven you always have to keep pushing and things can come towards us. There are a few long straights here, which probably don’t suit us so well, however we will keep pushing; we will try to maximise our potential, find the right compromise and who knows what can happen in the race.

    You’re now the most successful Russian driver in Formula One history but the future of Red Bull’s teams is hanging in the balance. Have you been given any assurances for 2016?
    DK: Well, you know, I think there have been some rumours in the media and stuff like that. Obviously not the nicest things to hear about your own team, but you know, my job is to try to drive the car that I have as fast as I can and that’s what I want to focus on first of all and the other things that are hanging in the air, as you said, I think they are up to other people in our team and I trust them 100 per cent, on what they are doing and I rely on them for these kind of questions, 100 per cent.

    Thank you very much. Fernando, coming to you: celebrating your 250th grand prix entry this weekend, congratulations for that. You started 12th in the last two races, the team’s best of the season. What are you going to be working on this weekend and at the remaining events this season?
    Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think it’s going to be more or less the same at the remaining races: trying to get some more information about the car and more philosophies on the car to set up for next year as well. So, some interesting things that we would like to test in these races and keep helping also Honda in terms developing the power unit: the driveability, reliability as well, that we had some up and downs during the season. But as you said the last two races were probably the most competitive ones for us, Singapore and Japan, so hopefully keep going in the same direction, just better. It’s not too difficult as we start quite low, but it seems we are making some good progress, so we need to keep going like that.

    Obviously the big talking point were the radio messages during the race in Japan. Did you think they were going to remain private and what kind of reaction have you had from Honda?
    FA: Yeah, of course. Obviously we have been all season very positive, about the team and about the car, we faced some difficult times, some tough times, all the team and what you talk on the radio should remain private because you are talking with your team not publically. I think publically, as I said, we have been very, very positive all the time. You know sometimes it’s normal and understandable, talking to the team, you know the level of frustration and the level of commitment that I have for racing and Jenson has for racing as well, when you are battling and you cannot hold anyone behind and you are losing positions is normal. But as I said, this is a very unique sport, that we have a microphone in our helmet and it goes live on television. Imagine in NBA or football players or something like that what we can find. This is normal and it’s just talking to the team, it’s understandable the frustration with the car.

    Thanks very much. Coming to you Nico: Constructors’ Championship within Mercedes’ grasp here. Second year in a row you can clinch the Constructors’ this weekend here in Sochi. What are your thoughts on that?
    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it is one of the aims of this weekend, to try to clinch that. Special to be able to do it again in such a manner, such a dominating manner. Really awesome job by the team. And again to have the chance to close it down so early. But, of course Ferrari has been strong recently, very, very strong even, so we need to be cautious, we still need to work hard, get the best out of it but of course we’re optimistic.

    Now, last year this race on a new track didn’t turn out as people expected in terms of how the way the track performed with the tyres etc – you did almost the whole race on one set of tyres. With the tyres that have brought along this year what kind of race weekend can we expect? Can you give us your analysis of what lies ahead?
    NR: Yeah, it is quite particular, because the asphalt is very special here. It is quite different. Therefore there are some new challenges you need to handle. Also the tyres being softer is going to different again to last year, because last year there was hardly any degradation, I did the whole race without any pit stop, or with one on the first lap, and it’s going to be quite different. Again we need to adapt to the new situation, so it could be an interesting one.

    Q: Romain, coming to you, obviously since Suzuka you’ve been announced as a Haas driver for 2016. What does the next three years look like for you?
    Romain GROSJEAN: Hopefully pretty successful! It was a great opportunity I had to join Haas. As I’ve said, leaving Enstone is going to be, from an emotional point of view, quite hard because I’ve spent ten years there. I think Fernando knows how it is in this team: very, very strong group of people. On the other hand, from a sporting point of view, I think the way Haas is coming to Formula One is very, very clever. He’s been successful in his business, he’s been successful in NASCAR. Coming alongside Ferrari – which is probably the biggest team in Formula One – makes sense, and for me to have a new experience with an American team can be very, very nice.

    Q: You’ve qualified in the top ten at the last five races. Obviously we know of the problems going on in the background with your team at the same time all the other teams are still developing etcetera, etcetera. How have you and the team managed to do that, given the relative circumstances?
    RG: I think, as I say, Enstone is quite a particular team in a way, the people stayed united and very strong together. I think the funniest part was not having any hospitality in Japan. It didn’t matter at the end because what we want to do at the end is to do our performance, we want to race, we want to race hard and go for it and that’s what we do. Just focussing on what you can do, what you can change and forgetting the outside part of it is the key. We have done it pretty well, with some fun and hopefully, with five races remaining, we can do some good stuff.

    Q: Felipe, last year here in Sochi, a very good race for Williams if not for you personally – but I guess this ought to be another strong one, and clearly the target for you personally this weekend would be another podium, right?
    Felipe MASSA: Yeah. I think it’s a good track for us so I really believe our car can be competitive on this track, which it was last year. I had a problem on the engine in the qualifying, so I had to start last but we’re looking forward for the race – so I really hope we can be competitive, strong and finish with both cars in very, very good positions here.

    Q: And where are you at with the thinking as a team? Are you still developing this car right through to the final race in Abu Dhabi, or are you focussing now very firmly on 2016, trying to bridge that gap to Ferrari and Mercedes?
    FM: We had some new parts of the car in the last races. Even this race we have some little bits but I think we are already thinking about next year since a little bit of time. We understand it’s very important to finish at least where we are in the Constructors’ Championship but we really understand that next year is really, really important and, as soon as you start, the better it is, so definitely we’re really concentrating on next year.

    Q: Carlos, Suzuka another race where the result didn’t match up to the qualifying and the performance that preceded it. What are you working on to try and reverse this pattern?
    Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, it’s been a difficult weekend in Suzuka with a lot of positives to take – but the P10 I think didn’t show the good weekend that we had done until then. Obviously we had this problem in qualifying and then I did the mistake in the race after doing some good free practices in the wet. So, we just need a clean weekend without any mistake from my side, without any reliability problems on the team side and I’m sure we can put a very good result together because we saw that the performance is really there.

    Q: And the same question I guess to you as I put to Daniil at the beginning. Dietrich Mateschitz has said a decision will be made on his teams by the end of this month. What assurances – and, indeed, alternatives – do you have?
    CS: To be honest, I don’t know and I’m not really taking care of that matter too much. As Dany said, I think we’re here to drive and our job is to extract the maximum performance of our car. I just know that the team obviously  is working hard, and now more than ever, to find something for next year. Obviously it starts to be a bit late and we need to design all the rear part of the car. When you don’t have something at the rear at this stage of the year, it’s a bit tricky – but I have full trust that they will come to a solution. To an agreement. I think Red Bull more than anyone deserves… they have done a lot for this sport, a lot for Formula One and they will end up having a decent engine, a decent package for next year.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Fernando, you put out a few tweets after the last race which weren’t 100 per cent clear. So, just for the sake of clarity, to make it much easier, yes or no, will you be racing for McLaren in 2016?
    FA: You didn’t read the tweets.

    I read them but they weren’t totally clear…
    FA: Of course I’m not English, my mother language is Spanish. In Spanish they were a little bit clear.

    How about now, from my question, yes or no?
    FA: The same. Yes. Of course.

    100 per cent you’ll be with McLaren, 2016 on the grid?
    FA: And ’17.

    And 17
    FA: Yes.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi, La Gazzetta dello Sport): Question for Nico, after the grand prix in Suzuka, Lauda said “we came back but we have to be cautious that the next race could be different again because it’s different asphalt.” Is it a worry – because last year Mercedes dominated the grand prix with five cars in the top six positions? It’s really a problem with the soft and supersoft and the characteristics of the layout – or not?
    NR: No, it’s very unique this race, with the asphalt, with supersoft, soft compared to last year, soft, medium. So, it will be a particular challenge and we did show weaknesses on the soft, supersoft in Singapore. Big weaknesses. We have learned from that but, again, here is not Singapore so we need to do a really good job and it’s not going to be as simple as maybe Suzuka was in terms of preparation.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, while the results have not been as good as you have been expecting, how much does that take away from the maximum enjoyment you could get from racing?
    NR: It’s always an enjoyment but of course winning races increases that enjoyment further. It would be great to get back to winning ways very soon.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Fernando, you’ve been asked about the radio messages. Obviously you are aware that some radio messages do get played out and I’m sure that behind the scenes the team is also aware of your frustrations regarding the lack of power, with Honda’s reliability etc. So what are your intentions when you go onto the radio and you’re saying ‘this is a GP2 engine’? What’s the end game there for you when you’re saying that?
    FA: I told you before, it’s the frustration of battling hard and being a competitive sportsman. When you are in a car, in a race and you try to give it all and you are fighting lap after lap and you keep losing positions easily on the straight, even before the braking point, you get some frustration out there on the radio. I’m happy it was only broadcast in Suzuka because if you hear all the races, all the radio messages from me or from Jenson or whatever, you will be even more surprised.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Sorry to go back to those radio messages again, Fernando, but whether they were heard by the fans and broadcasters alike or whether they were just heard internally, Honda were always going to hear that message. Do you think that maybe, given the struggles you’ve had with McLaren and Honda this year, your messages were a little bit ill-timed, ill-conceived and not exactly helpful for the future of the partnership?
    FA: Well, I think the most important part of the Suzuka weekend was on Wednesday when I visited the Sakura factory and I saw the engine programme for next year, when we had very long meetings and we went through all the difficulties that we are facing right now and all the possible solutions that we want for next year, so that was the most important part of the weekend and the messages that I think were important in the weekend, and those were very very clear and were much more clear than Sunday. On Sunday, it was just the frustration of – as I said – racing and just the competition against the others. Nothing new, because we know where we are lacking and we then define what are the problems. The important thing is to go forward and to be positive for next year and as I said, the meetings in the week before Suzuka were the ones that for the Honda guys is if it’s the question or if you concern what the Honda people thought in Suzuka on Sunday, I think on Wednesday it was much more important than Sunday.

    Q: (James Ellingworth – Associated Press) Nico, we’re now at the point in the championship where – as I understand it – even if you were to win the remaining five races, that wouldn’t necessarily guarantee the championship, you’d have to rely – in that case – on some mistakes from Lewis. How does that affect your approach to the remaining races? Is there any part of you that is maybe looking forward to a possible mistake from Lewis?
    NR: I don’t really think about it in that much detail. I see the gap, I see that it’s quite big considering there’s just a couple of races left and just go for it, go for it. I need to try to win the races, that’s what I’m focussing on, winning the races and then the rest… I’ll just see how it goes.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Daniil and Carlos: I appreciate that you’ve already been asked about the future of Red Bull and Toro Rosso, but sitting here right now, knowing the situation and how very close Red Bull are to going out of the sport as they lack an engine for next year, first of all do you have any concerns whatsoever that you will not be in Formula One in 2016 and secondly, knowing that, appreciating that, have you been exploring other options outside of F1?
    DK: Well, like I said before, it’s not great to hear these rumours and stuff like that of course but on the other side, if you look at it, what can I change? I can drive the car, I can try to put ourselves as high as possible at the finish of a race and then you have to be patient. Formula One is a rough world, you have to be patient, you have to consider it’s a honeymoon at some point. The beginning of the year was very tough for us and then we started to climb, slowly but surely and we’ve been quite competitive in the last races, I think, so I think everyone has to be patient in the team and I think the right decisions will be taken in the future from our bosses. I’m sure… like I said I rely on them fully.
    CS: Yeah, not much to add to be honest. We just need to wait, be patient as Dany is saying and trust that Red Bull is going to take the right decision and they’re going to do the best, obviously, for the brand, for the team, for both teams and there is nothing that we can do. We are just sitting here, waiting but having 100 percent confidence in them and as I said before, Red Bull has done a lot for F1 and I’m sure F1 will end up giving them back a bit of what they have done for them. With all this, I’m pretty sure, hopefully that next year we can be here.

  • Weather Report for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    Weather Report for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    The Sochi Autodrom situated within the Sochi Olympic park plays host to the Russian Grand Prix and round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship.

    The track which was built within the Olympic Park is 5.848km long which makes it the third longest on the F1 calendar. The circuit has a good mix of corners which should put the tyres through their paces. With the track surface last year, teams could stop once in the race as the degradation was very low. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg managed 52 laps on his set of medium compound tyres after he stopped on lap 1 after locking up heavily into Turn 2.

    Pirelli say the track surface is much the same as it was last year despite a very harsh winter. This could be one of the reasons Pirelli have decided to go one step softer on the tyres bringing the super soft(option) and soft(prime) compound tyres. This is to also increase the number of pit stops in the race.

    The tyres will have to work particularly hard in the final sector where there are a series of 90-degree turns which require mechanical grip from the tyres.

    The weather for Sochi this weekend is clear with some scattered clouds around. The crowd can look forward to a perfect autumn afternoon during qualifying and the race. It will be partly cloudy on Friday. The weather will clear up for Saturday and Sunday. We can expect temperatures between 17-19 degrees Celsius.

    Russia 2015_weather



  • Honda Engine Upgrade Will Drop Alonso Down The Grid

    Honda Engine Upgrade Will Drop Alonso Down The Grid

    Honda have spent their remaining tokens for the seasons on upgrades to their power unit ahead of the Russian Grand Prix.

    Because of time constraints, Honda were only able to bring one upgraded engine which will be fitted to Fernando Alonso’s car. This will mean the Spaniard will more that likely start from the back of the grid for the race on Sunday.

    Alonso will run a new internal combustion engine, a new turbo, a new MGU-H, a new energy store, and a new set of control electronics. So far this season, Alonso has used 9 internal combustion engines, 8 turbo chargers, 8 MGU-H’s, 4 energy stores and 5 control electronics.

    Honda plan to run the upgrades during free practice as a test before changing back to the previous engine which was used at the Japanese Grand Prix.

    Jenson Button will run with the old engine and will have an upgraded unit at the next race in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix.

  • Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    After a two week break the Formula 1 circus heads into Sochi, Russia for round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Russian Grand Prix.

    The 5.848km circuit is situated withing the Sochi Olympic Park which was built to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and is the 3rd longest circuit on the F1 Calendar. There are 18 corners around the Sochi Autodrom that provide a good balance of high speed cornering with some very slow corners. The final sector is the slowest sector on the track with a series of 90 degree bends. Because of the flowing nature of some of the corners where the exit of one corner becomes the entry to another corner, drivers can be penalized quite heavily if they get their lines wrong.

    The cars are set up for high down force because of the slow nature of the track and because of the smooth surface which is expected to be weathered this year, the drivers have to be very careful on the throttle out of the slow corners not to spin up the rears. The degradation is expected to be low despite the degradation of the circuit surface over the past year and with Pirelli going one step softer on tyre choice.

    Coming into the race, Mercedes find themselves on the cusp of another constructors championship. They need to outscore Ferrari by three points this weekend and the title is theirs. Barring some reliability catastrophe, Mercedes should comfortably outscore Ferrari this weekend and walk away with the 2015 Constructors title. Mercedes have said that they’re weary of the fact that the soft and super soft compound tyres, which Pirelli have nominated this year for the race weekend, may see them in a similar situation which seen them struggling behind Ferrari and Red Bull.

    It should be business as usual this weekend with Mercedes out in front. The battle, will once again, be behind the Silver Arrows.

    Broadcast times this weekend are back to normal albeit slightly earlier with the traditional morning practice sessions and afternoon qualifying and race.

    All times are GMT+2

    Free Practice 1: Friday 09:00

    Free Practice 2: Friday 13:00

    Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

    Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

    Race: Sunday 13:00

  • F1 2015: Russian GP Preview – Second Chance For Sochi

    F1 2015: Russian GP Preview – Second Chance For Sochi

    There are a couple of circuits on the Formula 1 calendar that can be depended on to deliver a cracking race. Brazil’s Interlagos circuit delivers something dramatic and breathtaking almost every year. Then there are those that are as dull as mud such as Bahrain but the Sakhir circuit has transformed over the last couple of years thanks to its new night race status.

    The F1 paddock has only been to Russia’s Sochi circuit for the Russian GP once and although it’s slightly unfair to judge it on the one race it’s had so far, we will. The super smooth circuit delivered a bore fest of epic proportions in 2014. So ‘grippy’ was the circuit asphalt that Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was able to run a set of tyres for 52 of the 53 racing laps without even a suggestion of an issue.

    Pirelli isn’t exactly our favourite tyre supplier at the moment; see previous rants for evidence, but what happened at the 2014 Russian GP wasn’t entirely their fault. Despite the thousands of terabytes of data at their disposal they were not able to predict how the track would behave. Afterall, circuits are living things influenced by a bevy of variables that can only be calculated with factual data collected by cars running, consistently, on it.  In 2015, Pirelli has some tangible data and can therefore make a better informed choice. As a result the Italian tyre manufacturer is rolling out the red side-walled supersoft tyre for the Russian GP weekend.

    Russian_flagThe Sochi Autodrom, thanks to its variety of corners, provides a technical challenge to the drivers. It’s quite a long lap and a reasonably technical one too. “If you make a small mistake in one corner, you are punished for the rest of the lap,” says Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado. “If you’re off line for one corner, it might not be until one of the straights that you can recover. Off-line is very slippery too so you’re doubly punished!”

    The circuit, situated inside the Olympic Park, holds special memories for the Mercedes team who clinched the constructor’s championship here last year. There are some fears that the street-style circuit and the presence of the supersoft tyre may combine for a repeat of the Singapore grand prix but nature of the Sochi Autodrom and the cooler temperature will play in the favour of Mercedes. The German team must outscore nearest rivals Ferrari by three points on Sunday to secure back-to-back constructor’s titles.

    Lewis HamiltonAt the beginning of 2015 Nico Rosberg would have believed himself a match for Lewis Hamilton. Last year he bested his teammate in the qualifying battle and occasionally looked the part of true championship contender.  But twelve months later this theory has been de-bunked. Mind you, the 2015 season isn’t over yet and much could still transpire between the Russian GP and the season finale.

    All sorts of factors could conspire to stop Hamilton from claiming a third title. But there isn’t a genuine feeling that Rosberg could be one of these factors. There isn’t a bona fide threat that he is suddenly going to turn in to a Hamilton-beater and there never has been this season.  Rosberg must respond at the Russian GP with an emphatic, straight-out, victory against Hamilton and show that he isn’t just a good driver in a great car.

  • My Singapore Grand Prix Experience

    My Singapore Grand Prix Experience

    One of our contributors took a trip this year to the Singapore Grand Prix in September and wrote about his experience. We realise this is a bit late but he’s had quite a busy schedule since he’s been back.

    Please note that the views expressed in this piece do not reflect the views of F1 Madness and are the personal views of our contributor.

     

    So it all started way back in April when I was looking for a Grand Prix to attend. Admittedly, Singapore was not my first choice but it was on my list behind Monza and Spa. In the end it was more of a financial decision to attend the Singapore Grand Prix.

    Flight tickets, Grand Prix tickets and hotel all confirmed for my first Grand Prix. Now came the wait. It was agonising. The excitement was building as each day grew closer and finally, it was time.

    The flight was scheduled to land on Friday which meant I missed out on the Thursday pit lane walk. My flight landed in the morning. I still had the whole day to wait to get to the track. I could not contain my excitement. Although I could not sleep on the flight, my excitement and the anticipation carried me through.

    Walking into the track area I could hear the Porsche Cup cars in their practice session. All I wanted to hear was the sound of the F1 cars as they screamed passed me. I made my way to the Bay Grand Stand and took my place and took it all in.

    ritesh-singapore-DSC_0164Free Practice – I watched on the big screen as the cars made their way on to the track and I waited for them to come around. I could hear the cars brake for turn 16, then a short burst for Turn 17 and then straight across from where I was seated. It was so quick, but it’s something you don’t forget.

    You hear the engine roar passed you and you realise that its much louder than on the television. I soaked it all up. In a very short time you’re able to listen for the slight variations in engine tone.

    It’s truly amazing to experience it.

    During practice on Friday I took a walk along the track and stood between Turn 14 and Turn 16 to get closer to the cars. I picked a spot in the braking zone for T16 and enjoyed the view and the sound. When you’re that close you hear the different ways the drivers gear down before approaching corners. For instance, Hamilton does gears down before he gets to the turn while Ricciardo on a few occasions geared down as he turned in. If you watch really closely you can see the tiny differences as each driver takes a corner.

    Saturday came and I was at the track early waiting for Free Practice 3. It was much of the same from the Friday Practice sessions but there is a sense of urgency from the teams and drivers. Mercedes were struggling to find their pace while Ferrari had a good rhythm going. Then came qualifying.

    While watching live you do miss some of the action. The big screens and track commentary do help to an extent though.ritesh-singapore-DSC_0324

    Race day was something different.

    Walking to the track you can sense the excitement in the air. As I was walking to the grand stand I was greeted by a rather enthusiastic fellow Tifosi member who high-fived me as I walked passed him. We both shouted “Vettel!” at the same time. It was rather interesting for the three Red Bull supporters walking behind me fully clad in their Red Bull kit.

    I’ve always got some nervousness at the start of a race, even when I’m at home. This was just that much more. It was a good feeling though. After the start we followed the cars on the big screen until they filed passed us. By then Vettel already had a substantial lead. I could not believe how quickly he had done it. After that it was fairly routine apart from the time when Button and Maldonado had a carbon fibre fighting match in front of us.

    The crowd were on their feet and a collective “oooooohhhh” could be head when parts of Button’s wing went flying. The fun part was watching the marshals that were cleaning the pieces of carbon fibre off the track. It all looks very clumsy and disorganised. It was fun to watch though.

    The race itself wasn’t the most exciting race around except for the small safety car periods. Vettel took the win and it was over as quickly as it started. I was expecting more of a party atmosphere but there wasn’t much. Most of the crowd just stood up and left.

    I made my way down to walk on the track. We were finally allowed on the track at Turn 18/19 and the first thought that came to mind was, “wow this is narrower than I was expecting.” It was extraordinary. And to think the drivers go through there at speeds that boggle the mind. And then I wondered how on earth Max Verstappen got his car to fit down the inside of T18. That kid has zero fear.

    There is one thing that I think would improve things and maybe get fans closer to the action while still doing it in a safe way. Everywhere I went I saw people struggling to get a perfect shot of the action. Now I realise that we cannot all be photographers, but for a small extra fee, organisers could sell amateur photographer tickets that give you access to certain spots on the circuit to capture great moments.

    For my first time attending a Grand Prix, it is something I’m never going to forget. It’s just a shame that I took so long. I should’ve done it much sooner. But better late than never. Every fan should attend at least one race in their lifetime. Will I attend another race? Yes. Definitely! Will I go to the Singapore Grand Prix again? Well, maybe.

    Don’t get me wrong. The entertainment was fantastic. The atmosphere, the spectacle of it all was great. But it’s just not one of the classic F1 races. Although the Singapore Grand Prix has been with us since 2008, there’s no history attached to the venue, there’s no soul. The passion from the fans is lacking. Maybe it was just where I was sitting?

    Next on the list for me is Silverstone or Monza (if the manage to hang on to it long enough).

  • Manor Confirm Mercedes Power Units from 2016

    Manor Confirm Mercedes Power Units from 2016

    Mercedes and Manor have confirmed the signing of a multi year power unit supply agreement which will see Mercedes power units in the Manor cars from 2016.

    The Manor F1 will be supplied with Mercedes Power Units from  Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) based in Brixworth, UK. Technolody partner Petronas will supply the fuel.

    Under the agreement, Manor will be supplied with current year power units throughout the term.

    “I am delighted to announce our new Power Unit partnership with Mercedes-Benz for the 2016 season and beyond,” announced the Team Principal of Manor, John Booth.

    “Although there were many factors governing our selection of an engine partner to help power us towards our long-term ambitions, ultimately the strength of the Mercedes-Benz package speaks for itself.

    Booth said that 2015 was about rebuilding the team and now that they have a good foundation, together with Mercedes Power Units, they expect greater progress in the 2016 season.

    Booth also thanked Ferrari for their support and added that were it not for them, they would not have been able to take part in the 2015 season.

    “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Scuderia Ferrari for their support for our team over the past two seasons.

    “In 2015 Ferrari supported us to a degree that was above and beyond the requirements of our partnership agreement. Quite simply, we could not have returned to the grid without them pushing extremely hard to support the MR03B, at the same time as focusing on their own 2015 package.”

    In addition to the Mercedes Power Unit deal, Manor will resume their technical partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering. This partnership sees Williams Advanced Engineering supplying the transmission and suspension components to the team.

    “I am also pleased to announce that we will resume our prior technical partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering, from whom we will receive the supply of transmission and suspension components.

    Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP, Andy Cowell had this to say about the announcement:

    “It is a great pleasure to welcome the Manor Marussia F1 Team to our stable of customers at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains.

    “They are a team of real racers with great spirit and impressive determination to succeed.

    “We enjoy strong relationships with all our customer teams, and take pride in delivering a standard of hardware and service that reflects the high standards that Mercedes-Benz stands for.

    “Furthermore, this new agreement should enable us to keep our supply roster at three customer teams for 2016, which is our ideal level in terms of technical and logistical capacity.

    We will be targeting gains in both performance and reliability for the 2016 Power Unit and look forward to delivering those to our new customers at Manor Marussia F1 Team.”

     

    Photo credit: Manor Formula 1 Team

  • McLaren Confirm Jenson Button for 2016

    McLaren Confirm Jenson Button for 2016

    McLaren have confirmed that they will retain long serving Briton, Jenson Button for 2016.

    It was no secret that Button(35) was weighing his options on whether to stay in F1 and after the Singapore Grand Prix he made his feelings clear saying that the joy of racing is not there for him. He was expected to announce his retirement from the sport a week later at the Japanese Grand Prix.

    But what a difference a week makes in F1. It seemed as though Button had a change of mind and was not giving anything away about his future saying that he was in “good talks” with the team.

    Button had this to say about staying at McLaren for 2016:

    “Over the past month or so I have done quite a lot of thinking, and it is no secret that I was at one point in two minds about my future.

    “But I have been a McLaren driver for six seasons now [2010-2015], and in that time I have got to know Ron very well.

    “He and I have had some very good chats these past few weeks, and during those chats it has become clear to me that Ron is both utterly determined and uniquely equipped to lead our team through its current difficulties to great successes in the future.

    “That gives me great confidence, and it is for that reason that, together, he and I have decided to continue our partnership; and, as soon as I had made that decision, straight away I realised it was the correct one.”

    Button acknowledged that 2015 has not beed smooth sailing for the team. But he is still committed to working with Honda to ensure that 2016 is better than 2015.

    “Okay, granted, this year has not been an easy one for us,” Button said.

    “But we know what we need to do to improve things and, in collaboration with Honda, we will work extremely hard over the next weeks and months in order to make sure that 2016 will be a much better season than 2015 has been.

    “I can’t wait!”

    Ron Dennis, speaking to Sky Sports after the Japanese Grand Prix, admitted that he should’ve informed Button of McLaren’s intentions to retain him for 2016 much sooner. Dennis was adamant in the interview that both Button and Fernando Alonso will be retained for the 2016 season.

    “Jenson and I have been discussing his plans in private for the past few weeks,” said Dennis.

    “And the fact that our talks have led to today’s announcement is very pleasing to both of us and will delight and motivate all at McLaren-Honda,” he added.

    “As I have made clear whenever I have been asked about the subject, Jenson’s current contract is of two years’ duration [2015 and 2016]. There is a ‘terminate after year one’ option that McLaren could have triggered if we had wished to do so.

    “But, once it became clear from my many conversations with Jenson that he remained as enthusiastic and as committed and as focused as ever, that option immediately became an irrelevance.

    Dennis says that the terms of the contract that were entered into in 2014 have not changed for Button.

    “That being the case, Jenson will race for McLaren-Honda next year, under the terms and conditions as set out in the two-year contract that both parties entered into a year ago.”

    This brings some kind of stability for McLaren. There is some doubt over Alonso’s future at the team even though he is contracted till the end of 2017. His latest outbursts at the Japanese Grand Prix, in front of the Honda management could not have gone down well with the team. But despite that, he says he is committed to McLaren. Time will tell

     

    Photo credit: McLaren-Honda Formula One Team