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“It’s Sh*t” – Vettel

That’s how four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel described the sound of the 2014 Formula 1 cars.

Talking to AutoSport, Vettel had remarked that the new cars sounded sh*t and that the cars were less noisy than being inside a bar.

“I think for the fans it is not good,” he added “I think F1 has to be spectacular – and the sound is one of the most important things.”

Vettel’s team mate, Daniel Ricciardo was a bit more diplomatic in his answer about what he thinks about the sound of the 2014 cars. “It’s OK,” he said. “It’s not special like it used to be, but it’s a lot of power, so it’s special in other ways.”

McLaren’s Jenson Button suggested that if drivers are not happy with the sound they should go race in another category. “Go and race something else if you are not happy,” said Button. “As drivers we don’t have an opinion of where the cars are in terms of sound and feel. When you cross the finish line first you have won a grand prix. You don’t care what it sounds like or what it looks like.”

Meanwhile Williams’ Felipe Massa says that fans must accept the sound of the cars and that it’s too late to do anything about it now.

There are mixed feelings about the sound of the new cars all throughout the paddock for driver and fans alike. Many do agree though, that it is good for the sport and that it is a way forward.

Coming off the back of a win at the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg feels that the new rules have changed the pecking order and that all the changes that were made are good for the sport. “It was the same guy winning last year so it needed change. The cars are great to drive, which is fine, so I think it is all good,” said Rosberg.

Alonso took a more measured approach by saying that more time is needed to judge the season and the new cars and that he felt “uncomfortable” discussing whether the new regulations are good for the sport or not.

March 28, 2014
F1 2014: Free Practice 1 – Hamilton Tops In Malaysia

The first free practice session for the Malaysian GP was headed by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Sweltering weather conditions greeted the Formula 1 paddock as the first practice session for round two of the 2014 season kicked off. Teams were allocated an extra set of tyres by Pirelli for the first thirty minutes of the session during which track temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius.

Fernando Alonso was the first driver to take to the track in his Ferrari for the all important installation lap. The 2014 cars are still very much a journey of discovery for the engineers, especially in the Malaysian heat. Australian GP race winner Nico Rosberg completed an installation and reported a “problem” with his car. However, the rest of the session seemed to run smoothly for the German with no sign of the aforementioned issues.

The McLaren team has made a noteworthy change to the appearance of their car. A change in the design of the nose now has the MP4-29 looking more akin to the Toro Rosso. The team have said that they are hoping that this design will find them half a second worth of pace. McLaren also sported the ESSO logo on their sidepods; not a title sponsor but a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil. Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen completed the one and a half hour session 4th and 5th fastest.

The tough times continued for Lotus as neither driver was able to set a time. Romain Grosjean first journey onto circuit ended abruptly as the E22 grinded to halt. Pastor Maldonado remained in the pitlane for the majority of the session and his appearance on track was also cut short as smoke billowed out of the back of his black and gold Lotus. Force India’s Sergio Perez also failed to set a flying lap; in fact, he didn’t manage to make it out of his garage at all.

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in his Mercedes but less than two tenths off his pace was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

March 28, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham)

Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Valtteri, we’ll start with you. Quite a race in Australia, 15^th to sixth, hit the wall, back down to 15^th, back up to sixth again, very eventful. But what do you think was possible that day?

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really eventful. If we look at it as a whole race we need to be happy. With the result we have more points, double the points than last year. So it’s a good beginning for us but it could have been better. We could have definitely, without my mistake, been fighting for the podium.

Tell us a little bit about what these cars are like to drive. Obviously less rear end stability, more of a handful into and out of the corners. How are you finding it so far?

VB: Yeah, the cars have quite a bit less downforce than last year so you’re sliding a bit more, with more engine power also it makes it a bit more tricky, but I like it. I really think the cars are good fun to drive. I hope it looked good from outside I think we made an exciting race with the new cars, new engines, so I think it’s good.

Coming to you Daniil. Obviously the youngest ever points scorer with that result in Australia at the age of 19. How do you feel about that and the start you’ve made?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a good race, also eventful for us. It was everything new for me, so obviously many things to learn during the qualifying, the race, so it was good. P10 is an OK result but we always want some more. In the end, we would always like to get some more points in the future and the more we get the better it is.

I wonder if you could talk about the step up [to Formula One]. Prior to this the longest race you’ve ever done is 35 or 40 minutes, before you raced in Australia and then of course, the challenge of this weekend in particular so soon [into your F1 career]?

DK: Yeah, you’re right, it was a very long race but I found a good rhythm and it wasn’t looking so long anymore. Here it’s going to be a bit different because it’s much, much warmer. Let’s see how this challenge will be done. It’s hard for me to say now but for the moment it’s looking pretty hot but it shouldn’t be a big problem in the end.

Coming to Kamui. Welcome back to Formula One. How does it feel to be back?

Kamui KOBAYASHI: Hi, first of all I think I have to say it’s great to be back in Formula One. I think after one break doing like GT… I think definitely I enjoyed GT but Formula One is one of the top categories and I also think I was missing the development and of course racing with the top drivers, which I think is one of the most exciting times, so I’m very happy to be back.

Obviously, quite a tough opening weekend for you in Australia. What has the team learned, first of all about what happened at the start and also about the general problems you suffered at the weekend, and how much have you been able to put right?

KK: Well, first of all, unfortunately I think that in 2014 the first crash is myself is not really good! But it’s not really fault, it’s coming from the system. I do anything without the rear brake and that was the first proper braking. I mean, at this point I felt straight away, I felt panic, I was a little bit crazy because my car doesn’t stop and I can’t avoid… I feel very sorry for Felipe, just… I don’t want to crash of course like that and I don’t want to end up like that. That’s what happened, a racing accident, so I think we have to find what is really the problem, but we have to find out that it never happens the next time. I think through the week, I’d say it was a very difficult week for us because we missed the complete Friday and we went to FP3. Unfortunately we had not much time to change any settings between practice and qualifying. So, I think we went to Q2, which is very happy but I think we have to look at more potential from what we have. Still we didn’t bring any potential from the car. S I’m quite excited, looking forwards to this weekend. This week is our home race, so it’s very important to having a great result and of course I think a lot of Malaysian fans are excited about Formula One, so hopefully we can achieve something.

Q: Pastor, obviously, like Kamui, it was a tough weekend for you in Australia. Not too many laps on the board. How much has the team been able to do in the time since then?

Pastor MALDONADO: The pre-season, it was quite tough for us. We’ve been working very hard and trying to push to solve all of the problems. These kind of problems, when you get at the bottom of the problem, you see that they are not huge problems: easy to fix but it took so much time from the test. In the first race again. So I think we miss free practice, even on Saturday, quali, so we’ve not been able to do proper long runs and to see our real potential of the car because of this kind of issues we’ve had. And now I hope to have a better weekend. We’ve been working hard again to try to improve. We improve quite a lot for the race. We had never been able to run for more than 10 laps together and during the race we did more than 30 laps with both cars – which is a step forward. Now we are fully focussed on finishing the race and I think if we finish the race we will be in a good position to fight for good places.

Q: From the running that you have done, what’s the car telling you? What does it feel like? Are you optimistic about the potential of this car?

PM: It is very difficult to say, just because everything is new for us. We will need some more time in the car, especially to explore the potential of the car. It’s very difficult to say. The feeling is not bad but against the other teams we need some more time in the track and try to do our best to catch them. I think it’s going to be a very tough beginning of the season but again things are changing quickly in Formula One. We’ve been working very hard, the team is quite good on reacting and hopefully this race will be much better for us.

Q: Kimi, seventh in Australia and a bulletin from the Ferrari team since then with some quotes from you saying that one of the problems was the brake-by-wire system in particular. Would you give us a bit more detail on that?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: ah, I don’t know where that came from. It’s not the issue. There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked me after the race and I said ‘it’s not that’ – because they kind of said ‘is there some issue?’ It’s not true. But just mainly setup to get the car as I like it, as I wanted to have it and I’m sure once… we’re making some stuff for me, so hopefully once we get those it will get a bit more easy to get a bit more feeling in the front end. But it will take a little while. Obviously not the ideal start for the year, for the team, not what we obviously want to achieve. We want to do much better results but after all the difficulties over the weekend and how difficult it was, how many areas, just the small things. At least we got something out and it’s going to be a long year, so hopefully we can now build on it. We have plenty of good people and they’re working flat out as a group to improve things. So, we still have things to do but I’m sure we can keep progressing.

Q: With the nature of this particular circuit, do you think that you and we will be able to see more of what this Ferrari car is capable of this weekend, perhaps than we did in Australia?

KR: I don’t know. Every circuit is different. Obviously it is very hot, humid here, slightly different tyres here I think, so I have no idea. Even from the past years it was very difficult to say from race to race and especially with this new year with new rules. It will be hard but hopefully we get a bit better feeling and overall have a bit more experience and all the things run the weekend through a little bit more cleanly and hopefully get the better results.

Q: Nico, obviously the winner in Australia, your fourth career win. What’s the reaction been like? What’s the feedback been like? How have you spent the last ten days or so? Has it been more special than the other wins?

Nico ROSBERG: Well it’s been a fantastic start to the season, definitely, yes. I think the whole team has done a great job with these new regulations, with the car and engine and powertrain that they’ve built and yes, it’s been great to win the first race, for sure, fantastic. But now… went on holiday after that, so obviously the holiday was a little bit better, thanks to the win but now back to just fully focussed on getting the most out of this race.

Q: Obviously it’s well-chronically that it was an eventful race for you here last year, particularly towards the end. Do you expect it to be another tight, close in-house battle this weekend?

NR: That would be a great thing. The chances are… yes, that we will be right at the front because it seems that we have a bit of an advantage over the other people. Of course Melbourne is not a benchmark, as a race, so we need to be a bit cautious with that but I think we’re looking good, so for sure it will be possible to do a great result again here.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) For all of you: we’ve heard quite a lot of negative headlines, negative news reports about the new formula. I’d like to get some positive feedback from you on what these new cars are like to drive and how much fun they are to race.

DK: Well, it’s quite popular to criticise Formula One nowadays, I think, and there is always some new technology coming and it has happened for me to debut in a new Formula One, let’s say. It’s quite interesting, I would say. The standard, with the new technology, has to change at some point and I think it’s quite interesting. It’s still fast, it’s going to be faster all the time and we will see at the end of the year how much better it is or not, so it’s early days.

KK: I think I definitely enjoy driving them because of course it’s definitely not easy at the beginning but I remember there were quite similar headlines before, but after a few years or a few months everybody forgot, so I don’t think it’s a big problem. But for us we’re still enjoying driving. It’s more challenging to drive in dry races, so I’m pretty happy.

NR: I think it’s been all good for F1. It’s changed around the pecking order which is definitely good for everybody because the same guy winning last year… we needed a bit of a change to that, so that’s been good. The cars are great to drive, that’s fine, so I think it’s all good.

KR: I don’t think it’s awfully different as a driver, to compare last year’s cars to this year’s. Obviously there are some small detailed issues but it’s the bigger issues that make a difference for me, just to be in a different team. Every team feels a bit different, different cars. It doesn’t really change an awful lot as a driver.

PM: To be honest, I don’t have much to say, because I’ve not spent a lot of time in the car at the moment. It’s quite early, but it doesn’t feel a lot different to what we had in the past. For sure, it’s a more complicated car, especially for the technicians, for the engineers in the paddock. For us, it’s a bit easier on the steering wheel. It’s a bit more complicated but it’s what we have at the moment. It’s the same for everyone.

Q: (Elmar Dreher – DPA) Nico, with a win here, you can equalise the five wins by your father. What does that mean for you, and how confident are you to win here?

NR: I understand that it’s interesting to make comparisons and that, and even I find it interesting. After Australia, I read that he also won the first time… at the first Australian GP, 29 years ago. It’s fun to read those things but I really don’t think about that. I don’t compare. I’m proud of what my father achieved but I’m just focused on my job and getting the most out of it and definitely, yes, I’m optimistic for the weekend and there is a possibility to win.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agencia EFE) Kimi, how has your relationship with Fernando Alonso developed if it has, in any direction, since you guys have become teammates?

KR: It’s good, it always been good. Now, obviously, it’s early days but there was a lot of talk in the media from you guys, different people saying different things, but it’s been good. But the team has been trying to improve things and get the team to where we want to be.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did you have any temptation to go to drive the simulator to get better settings for you?

KR: No.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can we say that Ferrari will be more able to attack Mercedes and the other teams here?

KR: Like I said before, we don’t know how it’s going to be here. I would say it’s a different circuit, it will be very hard for the cars, the heat. We have to wait and see how we can do. Obviously we learned quite a bit on things from the last race but then it’s the same for every team. Hopefully we can be a bit more happy and see where we end up.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) To all of you: now that the first race is out of the way, do you have a fair idea of who stands where in the pecking order? Or given that Albert Park is a unique circuit, is it still very much a step into the unknown?

VB: I think we have some kind of idea where every team is. Of course, like Nico said before, Melbourne is maybe not the best benchmark, a little bit different track than most of the others. We will see here, and of course, all the teams are going to improve so much race by race, especially when we get to Europe. Some kind of idea but it can change.

Q: So where do you think you are? Second? Third fastest car?

VB: Somewhere there, hopefully. It’s been a good start for us, hopefully we can maintain it because everyone is going to improve a lot, so I would definitely see no reason why we couldn’t find four top six positions.

KR: I think we are more or less where we finished.

NR: I think we look to be the quickest at the moment which is fantastic but we need to be careful with that and the opposition is not asleep, they’re pushing like crazy.

Q: Daniil, Toro Rosso got two cars into the top ten in qualifying and the race in Australia which they didn’t do the whole of last year, so where does that put you in the pecking order at the moment?

DK: Well, I hope in the points quite consistently. It would be good for us. If then we can use the conditions to our best, then hopefully we can go as high as possible, it’s always what we are fighting for and the higher the better.

Q: Pastor, hard to say?

PM: Yeah. No.

KK: Same. Sorry.

March 27, 2014
Broadcast Times for the 2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

After a two week pause Formula 1 is back for round two of the Formula 1 World Championship. We are in Malaysia where humidity, hot weather and torrential downpours are the order of the day.

If the weather forecast is to be believed we are in for quite an exciting race weekend. That, together with the unpredictability of the power units and the cars it has the makings to be one very good weekend.

The broadcast times for this weekend will, again be quite early for some, but not as early as they were in Australia.

Below is the full broadcast schedule for the 2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix (All times are GMT+2):

Free Practice 1: Friday 04:00

Free Practice 2: Friday 08:00

Free Practice 3: Saturday 07:00

Qualifying: Saturday 10:00

Race: Sunday 10:00

We will bring you live updates from our Twitter account (@F1_Madness) of Qualifying and the Race.

March 26, 2014
F1 2014 – Malaysia GP Preview: F1 2014’s Acid Test

Roughly a year ago Red Bull’s biggest worry was the unrest between its two drivers. In a ruthless move Sebastian Vettel ignored the now infamous ‘multi-21’call to hold position and pinched victory from Mark Webber.

Twelve months later the second round of the championship again brings Red Bull and the paddock to Malaysia. The reigning champions arrive at the Sepang International circuit with no points on the board and lingering questions about reliability. Despite having nothing to show for the Australian GP definite progress had been made. The RB10 looked settled and quick with a good aerodynamic base. Their issues have been confined, mainly, the Renault power unit and Christian Horner believes that “massive progress” can be made if the French manufacturer gets on top of its problems.

The tropical climate of Kuala Lumpur requires a unique approach from drivers and teams. Unlike in Melbourne the Sepang International circuit, with a length of 5.542 km and a total of 56 laps, will test the mettle of the 2014 F1 cars. Several high speed corners will put aerodynamics under the microscope while a taxing 65% of the lap is spent on full throttle. The Malaysian GP is additionally notorious for its stiflingly hot and humid conditions which puts serious physical demands on the driver.

Pirelli has brought its medium and hard compound tyres to combat the relatively abrasive track surface. Tyre degradation hasn’t featured yet in 2014 but Malaysia presents, as the first permanent race track of the year, a substantial demand on tyre performance. When the weather pendulum has tended towards extreme heat track temperatures have reached as high as 52 degrees Celsius. Issues with overheating will be a key area of focus, especially during the long-runs.

The demands on the hybrid power unit are no less stressful. Twelve seconds is spent on full throttle during the 920 meter long back straight and with only four slow corners Sepang was built with one thing in mind – speed. Several teams were down on power and straight-line speed in the season opener and if those issues have not been solved for this weekend they’ll be nothing more than mobile chicanes.

Mercedes have the speed, reliability, performance and the drivers. The Silver Arrows team start the weekend as overwhelming favourites but under a veil of mystery. Lewis Hamilton was set fair with pole position and the fastest car on the grid in Australia. But one vital element was missing – reliability. Reliability is a word that fans will grow weary of in the initial part of the season but it is the most important commodity in the sport. With it, it ensures the capacity for consistency and crucial points. Without it, success is unattainable.

Ironically, a lot of noise has been made about the new sound of Formula 1. No longer does the V8 engine scream down the straights and rattle the fillings in your teeth and it’s a shame. It’s a shame because for countless years Formula 1 has been synonymous with bone jarring racket so loud it could cause permanent ear damage. It’s a shame but it isn’t as dreadful as some would suggest. Sound isn’t what makes this Formula 1. Mika Hakkinen’s inspired simultaneous pass on Michael Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta at the 2000 Belgium GP, Schumi’s unbelievable 4 pit-stop strategy at the 2004 French GP, Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational drive through the field of the 2005 Japanese GP – these and many more moments and races are what define the soul of this gut-wrenchingly passionate sport. They are revered because of the brilliance of men, in the cockpits and in the factories. While the distinctive sound of Formula 1 may have gone it is true still that the absurd talent and passion never will.

March 26, 2014
Weather Report for the 2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

Round 2 of the Formula 1 World Championship brings us to Sepang in Malaysia.

You can always count on the Malaysian Grand Prix to bring some unpredictability to F1. Not that we dont need any more that we have currently. The weather at the Malaysian Grand Prix is about as unpredictable as the current Renault engines with sudden downpours followed by immediate sunshine and 100% humidity.

This weekends Grand Prix is no different. The weather for Friday is predicted to be hot and sunny with thundershowers expected for the afternoon session. The forecast is very similar for Saturday with a possibility of a wet qualifying. The same can be said for the Sunday forecast. Despite the possibility of thunderstorms temperatures will hover in the mid-to-low 30s.

March 26, 2014
Q&A With Force India’s Vijay Mallya

How would you sum up the first race in Melbourne?

“Australia was definitely a respectable start, without a doubt, and probably the best start we’ve had since I took over the team. We went into the race feeling good and confident. We were concerned initially about reliability, but I think the number of laps we were able to put in during Bahrain testing gave us the confidence that we were on top most issues. The fact that both the cars finished the race is a good way to start the season.”

Are you pleased with the performance of the car?

“Clearly the VJM07 is competitive: Nico finished sixth with a strong drive and I dare say Checo would have been higher up had he not had a first lap puncture. The fact that he finished where he did after three stops speaks for itself. Obviously there are reasons to be pleased, but we still realise that we need to find a bit more performance if we want to challenge for podiums. That’s what we are focussing on right now.”

How is the team coping with the steep learning curve of the new technology?

“Whenever I spoke with the engineering team over the winter, it became clear the biggest unknown was the complexity of the car and consequently the reliability. It wasn’t as if the designers and engineers were working with a familiar car that they already knew how to upgrade and tweak. Here everything was new. For example, nobody really knew what cooling was required and optimising that was a major job during testing. I think we have gone up the learning curve successfully and we have a good understanding of the car and all the new technology that’s gone into it.”

What’s your overall view on the new formula?

“The change to the 1.6-litre V6 with the ERS has had its fair share of debate. Yes, it’s complicated; it’s very sophisticated and it’s unknown territory, which led to a lot of speculation. In the Bahrain tests, when some of the bigger teams completed limited mileage, it simply fuelled this speculation. So to see so many cars finish the race surprised a lot of people. It shows that teams have got on top of their game and the uncertainties have been reduced to a large extent. Now it’s a question of really concentrating on trying to find the competitive advantage.”

What can we expect this weekend in Malaysia?

“The weather in Melbourne was relatively cool so I’d like to see what impact the warmer climates of Malaysia and Bahrain will have on performance and competitiveness. Effective cooling will be a priority this weekend. If we can reproduce the performance level we showed in Melbourne that will be a good starting point.”

March 24, 2014
Kimi Raikkonen ahead of the 2014 Australian GP

Kimi Raikkonen with his race engineer before the start of the 2014 Australian grand prix.

March 17, 2014
F1 2014: Australia GP Review – Rosberg Romps To Melbourne Victory

It was at the completion of the 2013 Abu Dhabi grand prix when Sebastian Vettel, on his way to a nine race winning streak, reminded his team to savour their victorious memories. How spot-on he was.

The free practice session made it quite clear that Mercedes’ favourites tag was no gaffe. For the 35^th time Lewis Hamilton ensured that he would start in the best position possible on Sunday while Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo split the Silver Arrows for his first front row start.

It was somewhat surprising that Hamilton didn’t appear more enthused by his pole position. Somewhere in the back of his mind the fear about reliability must still have been lingering. It wasn’t unfounded as the 2008 champion was forced to retire on lap three after dropping a cylinder.

It was apparent that Red Bull Racing had made tremendous strides in Australia as Daniel Ricciardo easily maintained second place throughout the race. However, disaster struck the Milton Keyes based team with the retirement of Sebastian Vettel. The four time champion struggled throughout the weekend with software issues which proved his ultimate demise in the race. After three laps the German reported a lack of power which spelled the end of his Australian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo became the first Australian driver to occupy a step on the podium of an Australian GP. However his joy was short lived as the Red Bull team were called into the stewards’ office as celebrations were no doubt in full swing. The outcome was exclusion from the final standings for Daniel Ricciardo as a result of the fuel flow rate on his car being too high during the race. The fuel flow rate for 2014 is set at 100 kgs per hour. What’s more, during the race, a technical representative from the FIA warned the team that the flow rate was too high. However, Red Bull elected not to change the flow rate. The team has stated their intention to appeal the disqualification. It seems unlikely that the decision will be overturned given that Red Bull chose to ignore the FIA’s helping hand during the race.

Bad news for Red Bull meant an even better day at the office for McLaren. Kevin Magnussen’s drive belied the fact that the Danish youngster was in his first grand prix. It serves as the perfect example of a 21^st century rookie – light years removed from being thrown in the deep-end of a cutthroat motor racing series and having to fend for yourself. ‘Young drivers’ who form part of a team’s driving program are groomed to the hilt with exposure to the team long before they become, officially, a part of it. Just like Kevin Magnussen. But mixing it in the deep-end still requires great composure and skill both of which K-Mag seems to have in abundance.

McLaren will leave Australian shores as the happiest team in the paddock. After suffering their worst season ever in 2013, the Woking based team has delivered immediate results. Not only does Magnussen become the first Dane on the podium but the ever-smooth Jenson Button’s third place secures McLaren the lead of the constructors’ championship after round one.

A total of fourteen cars crossed the finish line in Australia implying that reliability didn’t appear to be as catastrophic as initially predicted. However, several teams will have been working quite hard to mask or manage a range of issues.

Ferrari was such a team. It was a far from spectacular day at the office but both cars saw the chequered flag. It was confirmed that neither of the two Ferrari were able to run at ultimate power due to electrical problem believed to be related to the energy recovery system. Both drivers suffered with graining on their Pirelli tyres and spent most of the afternoon tucked up in traffic. A combination of these issues had a significant impact on their pace. Fernando Alonso finished in his qualifying position of fifth, which later became fourth, while Raikkonen finished seventh overall. However, both drivers appeared frustrated with their F14T Ferrari. A short clip has been making the rounds online in which the usually unemotional Kimi Raikkonen can be heard informing his engineer to tell the team that “it doesn’t work, so ask them to change it.”

As the red lights extinguished, Nico Rosberg grabbed the lead of the race and was never challenged on his way to victory. Rosberg cleared off from the head of pack at the blistering pace that Mercedes had promised throughout the winter testing season. Despite it only being the first round of the season Mercedes has proven to be the team to beat in terms of pace. Where reliability is concerned the Brackley based team are still facing the same questions as most other throughout the field.

It was a memorable day for Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat too. Many doubted his readiness for Formula 1 and questioned whether he deserved a place in the sport. It wasn’t very long ago that the Russian driver obtained his superlicence either and with it he has already broken a record. By finishing ninth overall Kvyat becomes the youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history. He snatches the record from SebastianVettel by a mere 27 days.

In reality, the first race of the 2014 season was far more intriguing than exciting. It is hardly surprising that neither Lotus made the end of the race nor that teams are still striving to understand exactly how their cars work. It will take some time to get on top of this new era of fully hybrid Formula 1. But already the status quo seems to have been thrown out the window.

March 17, 2014
Red Bull adamant Ricciardo fuel flow rate was within regulations, will appeal

Red Bull Team Principal, Christan Horner, remains adamant that the team complied fully with regulations governing the flue flow rate following Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion from the Australian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo, who finished the race in second place, becoming the first Australian to win a podium at the Australian Grand Prix, was excluded from the race results following a decision by the stewards after the FIA deemed his car had exceeded the 100kg/h flow limit. They have released a detailed explanation on their ruling, which you can read in full here.

Team boss Christian Horner is confident however that Red Bull will win the appeal against the ruling saying that there was “zero variance” from the 100kg/h limit on Red Bull’s own calibrated equipment which the team relies on since they do not trust the FIA’s own sensor following previous faults with it.

“These fuel-flow sensors that are provided by the FIA to measure fuel have proved problematic down the pitlane since their introduction in testing,” Horner said shortly after news broke of Ricciardo’s disqualification from second place.

“There have been discrepancies and they have been unreliable – indeed some cars may well have run without them in the race itself or failed in the race itself. We had a fuel-flow sensor that was fitted to the car that we believed had an error. Based on our calculation on the fuel that the injectors are providing to the engine, which is a calibrated piece of equipment and is consistently standard across the pitlane, there is zero variance.”

Red Bull are appealing the decision and expect that it will be overturned. “We wouldn’t be appealing if we didn’t think that we had a defendable case,” he said.

March 16, 2014