Latest

Hamilton Signs New Three Year Deal With Mercedes

After months of speculation and delays, the Mercedes Formula 1 Team announced on Wednesday that World Champion Lewis Hamilton has signed a new three year deal with the Silver Arrows that will see him stay on till 2018.

Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2013, and in 2014 took victory 11 times on his way to his 2nd World Champion title and his first with Mercedes. He is currently leading the championship ahead of championship rival and team mate, Nico Rosberg.

“Mercedes is my home and I couldn’t be happier to be staying here for another three years,” said Hamilton.

“This is a company filled with real passionate racers, from the board room to the factory floor, and an incredible hunger to win,” he added.

“Even after the success of last year, that hunger is greater than ever – and it’s the same for me, too.

“The Mercedes car I am driving right now is the best I have ever had in my career; it’s just so much fun to be out there every weekend, on the limit and fighting to win at every track.”

Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff continued: “Continuity is one of the key factors for delivering success in Formula One and we now have that in place.

“Lewis enjoyed an historic World Championship season with Mercedes-Benz last year and it was a priority for this season to renew his contract for the next term.

“We have taken the right amount of time with the process and not rushed ourselves. The result is a strong agreement that will enhance Lewis’ association with the Mercedes-Benz brand, and that recognizes and respects the market value of Lewis and of Mercedes in Formula One.

“Lewis’ sporting track record speaks for itself and he is a great personality for the company. Personally, I am looking forward to continuing to race with the strongest driver pairing in Formula One and to more historic achievements together.”

May 20, 2015
F1 2015: Monaco Grand Prix Preview – Magical Monaco Is Back

Often words are used to describe things and situations and just as often the true meaning of these over-used words are lost. But if you have ever looked for a true definition of opulence, then look no further than Monte Carlo.

The Monaco grand prix weekend is arguably the most looked forward to race on the F1 calendar. It’s the visual representation of what Formula 1 can and should be. It’s glamorous, drenched in money and diamonds, daringly fast and dramatically out-of-place.

The history of the famous Monte Carlo race alone is enough of a tale to weave the most majestic of Formula 1 stories. For around these famous streets the definitive legends of the sport artfully plied their trade. So rapt was the great Ayrton Senna with the Anthony Noghes circuit that he described it as the most extreme out of body experience he ever had behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, as if it was a sixth sense driving him around the narrow streets, centimetres from the barriers.

Even in the year 2015 this venue and circuit has lost none of its magnificent charm and remains the jewel in the Formula 1 crown. This means too that qualifying for the Monaco grand prix is as important as ever. It could spell the end before the weekend has even begun considering the definite advantage that Mercedes hold over one lap.

But don’t consign anyone else’s chances to the scrapheap just yet. In 2009, Jenson Button all-dominant Brawn secured the Monaco Grand Prix pole position by a few thousandths of a second over the lacklustre attempt of a car Ferrari slapped together that year.

Then there is the potential undercut on new Pirelli rubber. The supersoft is a choice this weekend and the performance advantage of this particular compound has been nearly two seconds in some circumstances. It has been the case so far this season that Ferrari are lot kinder to their tyres than Mercedes and they will undoubtedly be looking to exploit such an advantage this weekend. However, Ferrari’s advantage isn’t quite as clear-cut as that. Much will depend on the temperatures and it will have to err on the sizzling side of things for Ferrari to have a genuine leg up on Mercedes. Alas, if no one else can stem the Silver Arrows’ dominance this weekend at least the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg should be quite intense.

Last year’s Monaco grand prix was shrouded in controversy thanks mostly to Nico Rosberg’s “mistake” in qualifying. It cost Lewis Hamilton the chance of snapping up the coveted pole position and put the fraying tension between the two on display for the world to see.

In 2015 the story reads a bit differently. Although Hamilton starts the weekend in the lead of the drivers’ championship for the first time this season, he is the one who will have to make the running around these famous streets. Consider Rosberg’s dominant win in Spain and add to the equation that he has quite an affinity for Monaco grand prix and has won on the last two visits to the Principality then it certainly looks like a leg up on his teammate.

The Monaco grand prix is literally the most regal event on the F1 calendar given that the trophies at the end of the race are presented by the Monegasque Royal family. Now all we need to know is who will be crowned maestro of the Monaco streets.

May 20, 2015
F1 Video: Monaco memories – Alonso vs Raikkonen 2005 pole fight

Ah, Monaco memories from the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying session! Enjoy the screaming engine and the sheer speed of the last ever low fuel V10 Formula One engine qualifying session! It was Fernando Alonso (racing for Renault) and Kimi Raikkonen (for McLaren) to the end. A classic battle for pole position ahead of the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco never fails to deliver and 2005 was a stunning example of that! Martin Brundle calls Kimi Raikkonen’s 2005 Monaco GP qualifying lap, “the lap of the year!”. Enjoy this epic Monaco GP qualifying battle. Be sure to turn your volume all the way up!

May 19, 2015
F1 Video: 2014 Monaco GP Race Edit

Relive the thrill and action of the 2014 Monaco GP with the official F1 Monaco GP race edit from FOM.

The Monaco GP is always one of the favourite races of the F1 race calendar and the 2014 Monaco GP was no different. Accidents, safety cars and drivers having trouble with their vision are just a few of the highlights. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg led home a Mercedes 1-2 to take a four-point lead in the drivers’ championship from team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Monaco GP race edit as provided by Formula One Management.

May 19, 2015
Broadcast Times for the Formula 1 Grand Prix De Monaco 2015

Round 6 of the Formula 1 World Championship brings us to one of the most anticipated races of the season. The Monaco Grand Prix.

The 3.340 km street circuit with 19 corners, winds its way around the principality of Monaco through famous landmarks such as the Fairmont hairpin, the tunnel and the swimming pool section. The circuit is tough on the drivers both mentally and physically. Concentration levels need to be kept at maximum levels throughout the race as there is no room for error around the Circuit de Monaco. The awaiting barriers will punish any driver that has the slightest lapse in concentration or even puts a wheel wrong.

With the narrow streets, overtaking is a very rare commodity at the circuit. Although not impossible, there is a reduced amount of overtaking that goes on. The two most common overtaking spots are Sainte Devote(Turn 1) and the Nouvelle Chicane coming out of the tunnel. The Fairmont hairpin has also become quite a popular overtaking spot in the past few years.

After winning the Spanish Grand Prix in rather dominating fashion with a 1-2 finish, Mercedes are once again the firm favorites for this weekend. However, teams see the Monaco Grand Prix as a bit of an equalizer as aerodynamics do not play as big of a role as it would on any other circuit. Monaco is mostly about mechanical rear grip and teams that were struggling feel that they may have half a chance around Monaco.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso thinks that points are possible in Sunday’s race and he feels confident that he can get McLaren’s first points since switching to Honda power units.

After finishing more than half a minute down the road from Mercedes at the previous race in Spain, Ferrari are hoping that their rear grip issues have been sorted out. Williams on the other hand are making steady progress with every race and seem to be closing the gap to Ferrari.

Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado feels that they will be able to challenge Red Bull this weekend and says that they are not too far off the pace.

After getting some good mileage in testing, Red Bull are hoping to put their reliability issues behind them and will want to challenge for a higher points finish.

Things happen a bit different during the Monaco Grand Prix. Free Practice 1 and 2 will take place on Thursday with Friday being a rest day. The action resumes as normal on Saturday for FP3 and Qualifying with the race on Sunday. Below are the broadcast times for the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2015(Times are GMT+2).

Free Practice 1: Thursday 10:00

Free Practice 2: Thursday 14:00

Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

Race: Sunday 14:00

May 18, 2015
Video: Brembo Brake Facts Round 06 – 2015 Monaco Grand Prix

Grand Prix of Monaco

The hardest braking point on the Circuit de Monaco lies ahead of Nouvelle Chicane. After the tunnel the F1 driver has to brake hard, slowing by 224 km/h over just 139 metres. 1,810 kW of power are released in the process. Up to 4.6 G pull at the driver, who pushes with 142 kg onto the brake.

May 18, 2015
Alonso eyeing points in Monaco

Fernando Alonso is eyeing to score his first points for the season at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and is optimistic that McLaren can challenge for points.

McLaren has had a dismal start to their season and is yet to score a point since reuniting with Honda at the start of 2015. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Alonso progressed through to Q2 during qualifying but retired from the race when a visor tear-off strip caused a brake failure. His team mate Jenson Button also had a very difficult run, labeling the car as being “scary to drive” and finished in 16th position.

Alonso however is hopeful that McLaren-Honda can compete for a top 10 postition around the streets of Monte Carlo.

“Monaco is one of those circuits that’s in its own league,” Alonso said. “Although it’s almost impossible to overtake there, it still produces one of the most impressive and exciting shows on the Formula 1 calendar.

“As a circuit and as a place, it’s completely unique, and this is what makes it so special. There are three areas you have to focus on for this Grand Prix – qualifying, concentration, and strategy.

“Saturday is where you can increase your chances of getting a good result from the weekend, so this will be our first objective, and I’m hopeful we can continue to strengthen our qualifying performance and improve our starting position.

“On Sunday, the most important thing is concentration – the streets are so narrow and twisty that there is no margin for error – so if you can do this and also maximise your strategy, you have the best chance of moving up the order by the end of the race.

“My home race in Barcelona was obviously a frustrating weekend for the whole team; we were unlucky with how my race ended and we firmly believed we could’ve achieved a positive result there.

“Our fighting spirit is still strong though, and we’re determined to take that to Monaco and see how much progress we can make there. I’m hopeful our car will perform better there than in Spain, and we’ll be pushing again to get into the points.”

Fernando Alonso Photo Credit: McLaren F1

May 18, 2015
Honda finalising development plan: We need more horsepower

Honda plan to spend some of their nine allocated development tokens on boosting maximum horsepower by looking into different concepts around combustion in the next few months.

The engine manufacturer – who only supply McLaren – only entered the sport this season and therefore have less engine tokens compared to their rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault. Planning how to spend these tokens will be key to improvement throughout the season but Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai believes they have established the key areas where there are weaknesses and tokens can be well spent on improving.

“We don’t have the complete plan yet as to how to use the tokens, which areas and when,” said Arai.

“We have already confirmed which areas are the most effective, and I know we are making a plan to apply race-by-race how many tokens we spend.

“One area where we are weak is horsepower – we need more horsepower.

“So one area to use the tokens is combustion, and the MGU-K and MGU-H because energy is a very important part.

“Combustion and energy recovery systems are very important.”

When asked what Honda needed to change to achieve their goal, Arai said: “Maybe we need to change the combustion concept, or the turbocharger, or the camshaft, those kind of parts.

“We should try to change the combustion concept because maybe the other power-unit suppliers are always thinking about better combustion characteristics.

“Every day, on the research and development side they are thinking about it, working on or testing a new combustion concept to get more horsepower to immediately apply that.

“Maybe that’s the area to use the tokens.”

The Barcelona in-season test following a very difficult Spanish Grand Prix was quite successful for McLaren and Honda. Jenson Button had described his car has being ‘scary to drive’ during the race but he managed to complete 100 laps without any problems during the test.

Arai also confirmed that Button and his team mate Fernando Alonso should find that they’ll experience “more controlled driveability” from the Honda engine for the upcoming races in Monaco and Canada.

May 18, 2015
Pirelli focused on safety after proposed tyre rule change

Official Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli says that it remains focused on safety following the FIA Strategy Groups’s announcement about proposed 2016 ‘free choice’ tyre rules.

The FIA revealed on Friday that the Strategy Group – which is made up of six F1 teams, FIA President Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone – were proposing a series of changes aimed at spicing up the F1 show. The changes include the return of refuelling in 2017, higher noise levels and aerodynamic rule changes, amongst others.

Also included is a proposed change that will allow F1 teams free choice to select any two of the four dry weather compound Pirelli tyres – the Hard, Medium, Soft and Super Soft – ahead of each race on the F1 calendar.

Under the current regulations, Pirelli is responsible for selecting two tyre compounds per race, based on relevant data and analysis by the tyre supplier.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery was very critical of the proposal saying that it came as a surprise and was concerned about teams being reckless in their decision-making.

“If you start opening up choices this is what will happen: firstly, the top teams will centralise around the same choices because they use the same ideas and data we would be using,” Hembery said following the announcement.

“Then there would be some people that would want to risk a little more, and then there would be some people who would want to be a little reckless.

“That means they would be taking a product into a situation that would create a safety problem, and if there is a safety problem then we cannot accept that risk, so it is impossible.

“That is even before we get into the logistical problems and extreme cost it would involve to do such a thing.

“It’s more important to look at ‘why would you want to do something like that’ and ‘what are you trying to solve’ rather than suggesting a change without analysing what you are trying to achieve.”

Hembery did however state that Pirelli will remain focused on safety and developing a safe solution. “As ever, Pirelli will work with the teams and the FIA to find solutions to problems that are safe, and deliver the required results,” he said.

May 18, 2015
Danica Patrick Linked to F1 Drive

Gene Haas is not ruling out the possibility of seeing Danica Patrick behind the wheel of an F1 car.

The American motorsport mogul is set to launch his Formula 1 team in ten months and has not ruled out Danica Patrick as a potential driver choice.

“Danica Patrick is highly marketable, and if anything we’re very lucky GoDaddy is giving us enough time to find a sponsor that she’ll fit with because she can sell anything,” Haas told AUTOSPORT. “She has as much attention at the race track as any of the drivers, so she’s a very valuable person.”

Danica Patrick, currently a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, spent much of her early racing career in Europe with the main aim of reaching Formula 1. Patrick opted for American racing series instead and her star rose dramatically as she became the first female driver to lead a lap of the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 while driving the number 7 car in the IRL series (Indy Racing League). Three years later, in 2008, she made further history by becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race when she took victory at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.

Patrick’s time in NASCAR has been lacklustre by her loftystandards with only a handful of top ten finishes and a Daytona pole to show for it.

Haas went on to say that a decision on a driver line-up will not be made until mid-summer.

May 17, 2015