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  • Massa Makes His Mark on Day 1 of 2nd Test

    Massa Makes His Mark on Day 1 of 2nd Test

    Felipe Massa stamped his authority on day 1 of the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.

    The Brazilian, who not more that three months ago was enjoying retirement from the sport, set the fastest time of the day of 1:19.726 on the red-marked super soft compound tyres. Massa also put in the highest number of laps together with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Both completed 168 laps on the day which is just a little over two race distances.

    Vettel was 3rd fastest on the day behind Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull. Ricciardo’s fastest time of 1:19.900 came courtesy of a set of ultra soft tyres which put him 0.174s off the pace of Massa’s fastest time.

    But we all know that the times in testing don’t mean much.

    The Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas finished the day 4th and 5th fastest respectively. An issue with the floor on the W08 meant that Hamilton had limited running in the morning session. Bottas was able to get some decent running in the afternoon session and between the two totaled 135 laps of running.

    Esteban Ocon clocked up 142 laps for Force India with a 6th fastest time while former Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg was 7th fastest for Renault in the RS17. Hulkenberg was able to complete 58 laps for the day.

    Kevin Magnussen in the Haas was 8th fastest with a solid day of running for the Kanapolis based team. After a rocky first week in testing Daniil Kvyat got some solid running for Toro Rosso and completed 83 laps finishing 9th fastest.

    It was once again another slow start for McLaren. Honda had to change the engine due to an electrical issue. Despite the delay, Stoffel Vandoorne was out about and clocked up 80 laps. The delay is a major cause for concern to McLaren where they’re suffering with reliability so early in the season. Team Principal Eric Boullier had rather strong opinions on McLaren’s predicament.

    “The pressure is obviously huge,” said Boullier.

    “We put the maximum pressure on all of our relationship with Honda, and the same for them. We can’t put a step wrong – we need to be able to deliver the best car as well, so this is both sides.”

    “Obviously we would like more laps, but the correlation is good so we can take decisions. So not concerned yet. For the rest we need to make sure Honda investigate properly, address it properly – we have to rely on our partner.

    “The one thing is we are running the same spec as last week so obviously that doesn’t mean there are any changes in this block or any modifications done.

    “I think, the next spec will have addressed part of this problem, or most of this problem.”

    Back from sitting out a back injury after his crash at the Race of Champions, Pascal Wehrlein got his first chance at the wheel of the Sauber on Monday. The German finished the session 11th fastest ahead of his team mate Marcus Ericsson. Together the Sauber pair put 100 laps on the board.

    Renault were forced to change their power unit in the morning session which limited running for Jolyon Palmer who could only complete 15 laps on the day. The Briton finished 13th fastest.

     

  • 2017 Pre-Season Testing: Raikkonen Ends Week On Top for Ferrari

    2017 Pre-Season Testing: Raikkonen Ends Week On Top for Ferrari

    Kimi Raikkonen ended his week on top of the time sheets for Ferrari at the conclusion for the first pre-season test of 2017.

    The day was off to a wet start after the track was artificially dampened in the early hours of the morning to allow the teams to test the intermediate and wet weather tyres. But things didn’t really go according to plan. Although teams did complete some running with the wet and intermediate tyres non of the teams were particularly quick to start running. As soon as the track started drying out there was a flurry of activity on the track and teams were able to continue with their normal test program.

    Mercedes sat out almost the entire morning session after an electrical problem confined the W08 to the garage. The team were able to get the issue resolved and back out for an installation lap just before the lunch break.

     


    It wasnt smooth sailing for all the teams though. The Williams team did not run at all today because of damage sustained to the car after Lance Strolls crash on Day 3.

    Toro Rosso had a horrid final day of testing after they were forced to change the engine in the STR12. Daniil Kvyat was only able to complete an installation lap after the team discovered an issue with the engine. Toro Rosso were hoping to get the car fixed by the end of the lunch break but the STR12 not seen for the rest of the day.

    Max Verstappen, who held the top spot for a while, ended his day 2nd fastest ahead of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer.

    Romain Grosjean ended another good day for Haas completing 118-laps for the day. Team Principal Gunther Steiner praised Ferrari for the reliable power unit and credited their ability to their long runs to their engine supplier.

     

    Antonio Giovinazzi was in the cockpit of the Sauber C32 today. The Ferrari test driver completed 84-laps for the day and was 5th fastest for the day.

    Sergio Perez was at the wheel of the Force India and closed off a positive week for the Silverstone based team. He felt that he learnt quite a bit about the car in the week with his confidence growing in the car.

    Stoffel Vandoorne capped off a difficult week for McLaren finishing 7th fastest with his fastest time coming courtesy of a set of ultra soft tyres. McLaren have fallen behind after engine issues limited the team for the first two days of testing.

    Valtteri Bottas put a few laps on the board for Mercedes after the lunch break. They had to cut their session short after the team found data in the telemetry that they didn’t like.

    Nico Hulkenberg ended the day in 9th place after taking over driving duties after the lunch break.

     

  • 2017 Pre-Season Test Day 3: Mercedes On Top While Ferrari Impresses

    2017 Pre-Season Test Day 3: Mercedes On Top While Ferrari Impresses

    It was another good day for the Mercedes Formula One team on day three of the first pre-season test of 2017.

    Valtteri Bottas, for the Silver Arrows, set the fastest time of the day of 1:19.705 on Pirelli’s Ultra Soft Tyres. The time seemed impressive until Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari put in the second fastest time of the day crossing the line in 1:19.952 just 0.247s slower than Bottas on the yellow-marked soft compound tyres which are two shades harder than the ultra soft.

    “Braking is better, cornering is better, you’ve got more grip,” said Vettel at the end of the day.

    “Then in low-speed corners when arguably the downforce effect is less big, you have more grip from the tyres.”

    Vettel said that the 2017 cars fix everything. He wouldn’t make any predictions regarding the running order saying that it’s too early to tell at this stage. Although Ferrari were able to get some solid running during the past three days he does feel that they could have done more and says that Ferrari have a lot of work ahead of them.

     

    “It feels better than last year but I think everyone is saying that,” added Vettel summing up his feelings on the 2017 cars.

    “When you can go faster as a driver it’s always nice to be able to push harder.

    “I didn’t pay much attention to what the others are doing.

    “Everybody is looking at one lap time but it’s much more important what happens throughout the day and that’s difficult to read.”

    Daniel Ricciardo was able to get the 3rd fastest time of the day and added 70 laps to his name for the day. 4th Fastest for the day was Renault’s Jolyon Palmer who set his time in the morning session which stood for the rest of the day. His team mate, Nico Hulkenberg, took over in the afternoon session and finished 5th fastest a few tenths off Palmer’s time.

    Sauber had another good day of running clocking up 130 laps with Marcus Ericsson at the wheel of the C36. He managed to finish 6th fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton who took over from Bottas in the afternoon session. Hamilton’s program mostly consisted of long runs racking up and impressive 95-laps for just the afternoon session.

    On his first taste of 2017 machinery Romain Grosjean was at the seat of the Haas VF-17 for the day. His fastest time on the day of 1:22.118 earned him 8th fastest on the day. The Frenchman had a reasonable day of running and had a total lap tally of 56-laps by the close of the day.

    After crashing in the second day of testing, Canadian rookie Lance Stroll was at the wheel of the Williams Fw40 again today. Stroll enjoyed some good running adding 95-laps to his count but a crash at the exit of Turn 5 ended his day before lunch. The front end of the Williams was badly damaged and the team had no choice but to end the day early once again. This is two crashes for the rookie in as many days.

     

    Fernando Alonso had a good day for McLaren in the MCL32 putting in a decent number of laps for the day after two days of engine troubles.

    Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat were at the wheel of the STR12 for Toro Rosso. The finished the day 11th and 13 fastest with a total lap tally of 63 laps.

    Force India’s development driver Alfonso Celis ended his day 12th fastest with 71 laps to his name.

     

    “It was a busy day in which we managed to complete nearly everything in our plan,” said Celis.

    “These cars are completely different and I enjoyed my first experience of the new regulations – you can really feel the step up in performance. It took me a bit of time to get used to the car and the conditions, and the track had very low grip early on.

    “I did a lot of aero passes in the morning and then we focussed on understanding the tyres in the afternoon. The most important objective of the day was to give the team as much data as possible so these 71 laps will hopefully be very useful for better understanding this car.”

     

  • F1 2017: Official Testing Day 2 Wrap-Up

    F1 2017: Official Testing Day 2 Wrap-Up

    Official testing entered its second day ahead of the start of the 2017 Formula 1 season.

    Three time champion Lewis Hamilton set the early morning pace with a quickest time of 1:20:983 on the red-walled Supersoft Pirelli compound tyres. It was a another difficult day for McLaren as this time Stoffel Vandoorne saw his running curtailed by engine/power unit issues. The McLaren team was forced to change the engine which cost several hours. Vandoorne managed to get back out and completed 40 laps before calling it a day.

    Meanwhile, Canadian rookie Lance Stroll stepped into the cockpit of the Williams for his first official day of testing but binned the FW40 shortly afterwards. While the driver walked away unscathed from the relatively minor crash the team announced an early end to their day’s running as they had no spare parts for the car. Stroll completed a total of twelve laps.

     

    “It is still early days and I have only done a handful of laps,” said Stroll.

    “I am just getting to grips with the FW40, and there is still a lot of time ahead of us. It was good to finally get behind the wheel to just get a feel for it.

    “Like I said, it is still early days, so I need to do a lot more running before I know exactly where I am and where the car is at. I will have a much better picture once we have more laps under our belts, but it was good to break the ice and I am looking forward to some more running.”

    Elsewhere, Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen racked up a century of laps and a solid day of run for the American team. The dane ended the days running in fourth with a total of 118 laps under the belt. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed his running in third with 89 laps on the board.

    It was a slow start for Ferrari reserve driver Antonio Giovinazzi on his first outing for Sauber. He sat out most of the morning session with a power unit issue. The Sauber team were able to replace the engine and get him out for an installation lap just before the lunch break. He was back out after lunch and completed 67 laps in the Sauber C36.

     

    “It was a positive day for me, despite the issues we had in the morning,” said Giovinazzi.

    “In the afternoon I was able to get up to speed running a good amount of laps. I want to thank the Sauber F1 Team again for this opportunity. Now I am looking forward to being back in the car tomorrow.”

    Later in the afternoon Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the quickest lap of the day. His lap of 1:20:960 was set on the yellow-walled soft tyre. Reports were that Raikkonen was not feeling entirely healthy but the Finn nevertheless completed 108 laps for the day.

    Valtteri Bottas took over from teammate Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon and ran several race simulation stints in the W08. The Finnish driver clocked 102 laps by the end of the afternoon.

     

  • F1 2017: Russia Extends F1 Deal to 2025

    F1 2017: Russia Extends F1 Deal to 2025

    The organizers for the Russian grand prix have announced that a deal has been signed which will keep the circuit on the F1 calendar until 2025.

    The extension to the deal comes on the back of securing a title sponsor for the grand prix, VTB Group. This means that the Russian government will no longer be footing the bill for the promoters fees. Russian GP promoter Sergey Vorobyov said it was “a complex deal, which combines the promoter contract.

    “The important part is the title sponsorship contract for us, and there are a few other things that we are working on now with Chase [Carey, F1 chairman] and his team that I’m not ready to announce yet. Everything started with Bernie and is being concluded with Chase and his team.”

    The Sochi International circuit is still weighing the option of transforming the grand prix into a night race. The organizers are currently in the process of plotting the time and money that would be required for such an endeavour.

    The 2017 Russian grand is scheduled for the 30th of April.

  • F1 2017: Official Testing Day 1 Wrap-Up

    F1 2017: Official Testing Day 1 Wrap-Up

    The first official day of testing commenced at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya on Monday.

    The eagerly awaited first day of testing got off to an expected slow start as the new cars trickled out of their respective garages to set the first installations laps. First out on circuit was Renault’s RS17 but the rest quickly followed suit.

    The first red flag of the testing session was brought out by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who parked his brand-new RB13 at turn 3. Nevertheless, before the stoppage Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas had set a quickest time in the 1:24s with a set of Pirelli’s new medium compound tyre.

    This time was soon eclipsed by Sebastian Vettel who put the Ferrari on top of the timing sheets with a 1:23:560. The Ferrari and Mercedes teams easily set the most number of laps in the opening morning of testing. Meanwhile, gremlins struck in the McLaren garage as Fernando Alonso’s car developed an oil system problem. The team estimated a four to five hour period to get to the bottom of the issue.

    McLaren’s problems with their engine seem like a repeat of last years testing and was summed up by AutoSport’s Gary Anderson rather eloquently.

    “It’s not good news for McLaren-Honda to be sat in the garage chasing some kind of oil system problem. The engines coming to this test should all be test-bench run and where the engine connects up to the system of the car should be bulletproof. Using the excuse that this is testing and things will go wrong is rubbish because you only have eight days and you need to hit the ground running. Losing a big part of a day is time you will never recover, and by the time the McLaren runs again, most of its rivals will have built up a lot of mileage. We’ve seen a lot of finger problems for McLaren and Honda during the past few years, and maybe this is the same again. Not a good start to testing.”

     

    The second half of the day was more productive for the teams that were off to a slow start in the mornings.

    McLaren changed the engine in the MCL32 and sent Alonso out on track for a few laps and to catch on on some running he missed during the morning. Alonso ended his day with 14 laps on the board with a fastest time of 1:24.852.

     

    Ricciardo was the first one to emerge from the pits after the lunch break and Red Bull were able to get going with their testing program and managed to complete 50-laps before the end of the day. Ricciardo’s fastest lap put him 5th fastest on the day with a time of 1:22.926.

    Mercedes topped the time sheets at the end of the day and had the highest tally of completed laps on the day. Lewis Hamilton jumped into the car after lunch and set the fastest time of the day of 1:21.765. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the second fastest with a 1:21.878. Vettel completed 128 laps and will welcome a day’s rest when Kimi Raikkonen takes over testing duties on Tuesday.

     

    After a brief retirement, Felipe Massa completed 103 laps on his return. He set the 3rd fastest time of the day with a time of 1:22.706.

    With limited running, Sergio Perez completed 39 laps for Force India and finished the day 7th fastest ahead of Carlos Sainz who was 8th fastest on the day. ON his first outing for Renault, Nico Hulkenberg set the 9th fastest time of the day completing 57 laps around the Circuit de Catalunya.

    Compared to last year the times are already much quicker and are set to become faster as testing goes on. The times have almost no meaning at this point. The objective for the teams is to get as much mileage on the cars during these few days as possible and learn as much about the car as they can. Engineers will be pouring over the data and will be ready with new setup parameters tomorrow

     

  • Red Bull, Haas, and Toro Rosso Launch 2017 Challengers

    Red Bull, Haas, and Toro Rosso Launch 2017 Challengers

    No less than three Formula 1 teams launched their 2017 challengers on the 26th of February.

    On the eve of the commencement of official testing in Barcelona, Spain Red Bull Racing, Haas F1, and Scuderia Toro Rosso took the opportunity to launch their new-for-2017 F1 cars.

    Red Bull Racing’s RB13

    Red Bull was first out of the gate with a short and sweet pre-recorded clip released on several social media sites. The premise of Red Bull’s launch video centered on superstition as 2017 car is the 13th built by the Austrian team. The RB13 retains, mostly, the same livery as in 2016 with subtle changes including a bit more red than is normally present. Nevertheless, the matte finish, introduced, in 2016 has been maintained for the new season. Along with the launch of the RB13 the team touted a new hashtag playing up the connotations of the number 13.

    “We are like a swan on the surface and paddling furiously underneath but that is the same as every preseason so generally we are on target,” said Team Principal Christian Horner.

    Chief Engineering Officer Rob Marshall said: “The car is expected to be between three and five seconds a lap faster and most of that gain will come through cornering speeds where the increased downforce on the car will mean the car will go around the corners quicker.”

     

    Haas F1 Launches the VF-17

    VF17_RIGHT_FRONT_TQA day after filming day pictures were leaked on Twitter, the Haas Formula One team launched their 2017 contender the VF-17.

    In their second year in Formula 1 and their first rule change, the Haas F1 team had a monumental task ahead of them in developing their 2017 car.

    After starting very well in 2016 their season tapered off and although picking up some points they did not finish the 2016 season as strongly as they started.

    The 2017 car with some major changes seems promising for the Kanapolis based team in their mid field fight.

    “I think the pedal box is the same, but all the rest is very different from last year’s car,” said Guenther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas F1.

    “You always try to make a faster car, which is normally a lighter car. Now we can put on more ballast and get better weight distribution.

    “The aero is completely new, as are the tires, so we needed to have some built-in adjustability.

    “Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It’s lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car.”

     


    Scuderia Toro Rosso’s STR12

    Toro Rosso was the last team to launch their car for the 2017 season. The launch took place at the Circuit de Catalunya a day before the first day of the pre-season test.

    Toro Rosso unveiled their new car the STR12 with a striking new blue and chrome livery. We at F1Madness think that this is the best livery from all the teams.

    Speaking about the new car, Technical Director James Key says that the 2017 rule changes are the biggest changes he’s seen on a car that he can remember.

    “In my 20 years in F1 it’s the biggest chassis change I can remember,” said James Key.

    “In ’98 the narrow track had just arrived and there were various tweaks up to 2009, when a larger change occurred, but other than the front wing it was still based around principles that we knew. These rules however, include a track change, significantly different tyres and a new aero regulation as well.

    “From a chassis point of view it’s all encompassing with a lot of new things to learn.”

    Key believes that teams now have more aerodynamic freedom with car development this season.

    “It’s nice to have a bit more freedom. We probably haven’t had as many aerodynamic tools to play with since 2008, But then the rules tightened up in 2009 and even further in 2014. Now, some freedom has returned and that’s a great challenge for the aero department.”

    Toro Rosso are expecting more this year after switching to Renault Power Units and feel that after last years turn around they can finish higher in the points this season.

     

  • McLaren Launch the MCL32

    McLaren Launch the MCL32

    After many weeks of dropping hints and excitement building the McLaren MCL32 finally broke cover today at a launch event at it’s Woking headquarters.

    The car launch was streamed online with journalists and special golden ticket winners invited to attend the launch.

    McLaren have been building up the excitement over the past few weeks tweeting pictures of past McLaren cars featuring the orange colour scheme. The car was finally revealed today with a dynamic orange and black color scheme.

     

     

    Racing Director Eric Boullier

    “Within McLaren-Honda, there’s a tangible feeling of progress, of change.

    “This year’s rules reset is a valuable opportunity for us – it will allow us to make progress with what we feel is a well ordered and clearly defined chassis-engine package, and hopefully to narrow the delta between us and the front-running teams.

    “The chassis is incredibly well realised, the power unit has been significantly developed and, in Fernando and Stoffel, we have a hugely exciting driver pairing that’s already blending really well.”

    A highly motivated Zak Brown is looking forward to his first season in Formula 1 with the new car.

    “McLaren has always been the team in Formula 1 for me, and I’m massively motivated to be able to help re-establish the team where I firmly believe it belongs: at the very pinnacle of Formula 1,” said the Executive Director.

    Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Neal is under no illusions about the enormity of the challenge that lays ahead in 2017 and feels that McLaren can make some great strides in improving their overall package this year.

    Fernando_Alonso__Stoffel_Vandoorne_2017_1“It has been a challenging winter for us as a leadership team, but there’s a great sense of purpose and enthusiasm throughout the business this year, and that applies not only to the McLaren Technology Group but also to our power unit partner Honda.

    “Together, we’ve assembled a formidably capable team, but we still have work to do in order to fulfil our true potential.

    “Together with our staff, the Board of Directors, and with the guidance and support of our Executive Committee Principals, we’re working extremely hard as we continue to put the essential elements of future success in place.

    “The journey ahead isn’t going to be easy, and I’ve emphasised that to everyone. We’ve made progress in the past 12 months, but we’re not where we need to be and we expect on-track competition to be fierce.

    “To win in Formula 1 requires any competitor to be good at everything. Thoughtful but relentless pursuit of excellence is required.

    “So, do I believe we’ll be back at the front this year? Realistically, probably not quite yet, no. But do I think we’ll continue to make meaningful improvement as a team? Absolutely. And that’s our aim: to make progress by establishing the proper and correct, if sometimes difficult, changes that are needed to go forward.

    “We can’t predict where that will leave us – particularly on the eve of a new season of regulatory upheaval and uncertainty – but as a team we have many talented and driven individuals and we’re restless about continuing to do whatever is needed to make us competitive.”

  • F1 2017: Ferrari Launch SF-70H

    F1 2017: Ferrari Launch SF-70H

    The Ferrari Formula 1 team has launched its car for the 2017 Formula 1 season, the SF70-H.

    Ferrari is celebrating its 70th year which is commemorated in the naming of their latest Formula 1 challenger. The video, streamed live on Facebook and the team’s website, laster roughly five minutes. The start of the video depicted the assembly of the car at the team’s Marnello factory. Further, the video depicted every single seater racer car built by the Italian mark before lifting the garage door on the 2017 car at Fiorano. The livery reveals that Ferrari has chosen to return to all red livery in 2017.

    On hand at the presentation, decked out in the 2017 gear, were team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, chief technical officer Mattia Binotto, and race drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

    From the brief view of the car during the live stream, and the images released it appears as if Ferrari has opted to, initially, run with a type of thinner wing in front of the main rear wing. In addition, the Ferrari nose is also sporting a stub-nose design already seen on several other 2017 cars. Unlike Mercedes, Ferrari’s SF70-H has a prevalent shark-fin engine cover as well as narrow side pod air intakes.

    The car will hit the Fiorano circuit later today to complete a few laps as part of a filming day.

    The SF-70H: 

  • F1 2017: Mercedes Launch W08

    F1 2017: Mercedes Launch W08

    The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team has launched its 2017 challenger, the WO8, ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season.

    Ahead of the official online launch of Mercedes’ car its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas put the new car through its paces at the Silverstone racetrack. However, the event was not an official test but rather a filming day for publicity purposes.

    “The car feels wider, the front tires feel huge,” said Hamilton of his first impression. “It’s a big day for me. I’ve been waiting for this moment,” added new signing Valtteri Bottas.

    Immediately noticeable is the streamlined shark fin engine cover that the Merc is sporting. It is believed however that the team will run a larger version of the cover at official testing. Also noticeable are a pair of vents on the front of the car, ahead of the side pods. The nose of the car appears more rounded than its 2016 predecessor with the German team shying away from the snub-nose design already sported by Williams, Sauber, and Renault.

    There is also the addition of more turquoise into the livery of the car. Toto Wolff revealed that it is due to Mercedes’ new brand, Electric Intellegence, which will also be adapted to suit road cars.

    What’s more is that earlier in the day Mercedes customer team Force India’s technical director Andy Green believes that the Mercedes engine has moved even further ahead than it was last year. “Mercedes HPP [High Performance Powertrains] have done a fantastic job over the winter and made another unprecedented step. It is impressive.”

    Before the conclusion of the official online launch Toto Wolff had some words of wisdom for new driver Valtteri Bottas ahead of his first time in the cockpit of a Silver Arrow. “It has an aura, the car stands for a lot of history for Mercedes Benz,” he said.

    Testing officially starts at Spain’s circuit de Catalunya on the 27th of February.