Tag: 2015

F1 2016: Australian GP Review – Rosberg Wins Frenetic Season-opener

After Saturday’s new qualifying format was unilaterally panned as farcical and anti-climatic F1 needed to bounce back quickly. It did so with an action packed Australian grand prix.

Naturally, before the start of any race several scenarios run through your mind, all them which include some situation that will spice up the race from the get go. The catalyst was an extra formation lap after Dannil Kvyat’s Red Bull was stranded at the back of the grid.

The exhilaration is delivered by the two Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen who blast past Nico Rosberg and Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton and first and second place. Behind the two Ferraris Rosberg fights to maintain his position and squeezes Hamilton to the edge of the circuit which causes the Brit to fall down to seventh place.

Immediately Vettel is able to open a two second gap over teammate Raikkonen who in turn keeps the Mercedes of Rosberg at bay. It’s a dream start for the Italian team who is more than able to match the race pace of Mercedes.

On lap sixteen the race changes. The race is red flagged for a crash between Haas F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez and Fernando Alonso’s McLaren. The Spaniard’s McLaren clipped the left-rear of the Haas, flipped through the air and came to rest, on its side, against a barrier. The damage to Alonso’s car looked horrific but he exited the car and walked away without injury. There is no question that had this accident happened in any other era of the sport it would’ve had a far different outcome. Once more, this proves that the advancement of safety in F1 should never be taken for granted nor rejected because it may not be visually appealing.

This red flag is where the race changed for Ferrari. As the cars stood in the pitlane teams were able to make changes including which tyre compound to restart the race on. Ferrari opted for the red-walled supersoft tyre while Mercedes fitted the medium compound. It was evident that the Silver Arrow’s aim was to get to the end of the race without another stop.

For Raikkonen it didn’t make much difference as he was forced into retirement a few laps after the re-start. With fire and smoke pouring out the Ferrari it looked ominously like the engine had let go however the team later confirmed that it was a turbo failure.

Ferrari still had Vettel in the lead of the race but the tyre choice meant that the former champion had to pit again. It was a strategic error by Ferrari and it cost them a definite shot at winning the race. The possible reasoning for why Ferrari didn’t go with the medium tyre could be because of a lack of confidence that they could get the tyre up to working temperature in the cooler conditions. Vettel nearly recovered to second place but a slight error at the end sealed his fate in third behind Hamilton and Rosberg, respectively.

Sebastian Vettel said after the race that he feels that Ferrari can challenge for the title this year and given that he’s not the type to say things just for the sake of talking, it’s a great omen for the rest of the season.

Nico Rosberg may have taken the big prize but the Haas F1 Team owns the performance of the day. A sixth place finish for Romain Grosjean on the team’s debut is what Formula 1 dreams are made of. Coming into Formula 1 has always been a monumental task and this team is doing it with a staff of only about 170 people. It’s as great debut as we’ve seen in at least three decades.

If you were to look only at the result of this race another Mercedes 1-2 would make you think it’s pretty much the same story, different season. But they really had to work for it. An overheating right-front brake caliper and critical tyre wear on Rosberg’s car is indicative of just how hard they had to push. Twenty races remain in this F1 season and we may just have ourselves a real championship.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

March 21, 2016
F1 2015: Year In Review

As the year draws to its conclusion it and the 2015 Formula 1 season will soon be consigned to the history books. As ever the season’s intriguing battles were never solely consigned to the race track.

The engine debate

Engines have been the subject of heated debate for the entire season. From the cost of manufacturing to performance levels to how it affects the sustainability of the sport; all of it has been questioned and picked apart throughout 2015.

After months of wrangling Renault and Red Bull have reached an agreement on power unit supply. The public quarrel between the two ended in what we thought was a messy divorce. However, when neither Ferrari nor Mercedes and not even Honda wanted to supply a potential rival the team had to slink back to Renault. After smoothing over some sizeable differences the Red Bull team will run the French engine but it will branded as TAG Heuer.

Red Bull won’t have Renault’s undivided attention though as the French manufacturer has purchased the Lotus F1 Team. It’s a saving grace for Lotus who has been in financial strife for a number of years. The most public example of this was the failure of the team to pay then driver Kimi Raikkonen’s salary. Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado will be partnered by English rookie Jolyon Palmer in 2016.

At McLaren the debacle that was Honda’s season will soon want to be forgotten. In the end Fernando Alonso used twelve engines in the back of his McLaren – that’s three times more than he was allotted. Issue of after issue dogged both drivers throughout the season as Honda, and McLaren fell miserably short of its expectations. The up-side is that 2016 can hardly be any worse than Honda’s first year back in the top echelon of racing.

Mighty Mercedes and a Ferrari revival

Early on in the season it was clear that Mercedes had maintained its pace advantage. For anyone it would be too difficult to consistently beat the mighty Silver Arrows. The highly billed duel between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton never reached the heights or intensity of 2014. This time around Hamilton summarily outperformed Rosberg to the point where when the German driver finally pitched up the championship was already won by his British teammate.

In Texas Lewis Hamilton was crowned a three time world champion and luck had very little to do with it. Three years ago he made a move to Mercedes that was met with a great deal of apprehension. From a team with championship pedigree in McLaren he went to Mercedes who were seemingly condemn to the mid-field. It didn’t suddenly turn around in 2014 either. Rather it was the culmination of years of work put in by those behind the scenes of this team. It is never about one year in isolation and so to winning world titles for any driver is a culmination of years of work and dedication.

A complete reshuffle of personnel at Ferrari resulted in a stunning turn-around for the Italian team. Three dazzling victories and slew of podiums resulted as they continue to push towards the front of the grid. The arrival of Sebastian Vettel and the relationship between himself and teammate Kimi Raikkonen brought a harmony to the team. In 2015 Ferrari admitted that this driver-pairing and their ability to work together has been a relief for the team; something that was sorely lacking in 2014.

Rookie sensation

Drivers that enter F1 for the first time hardly make as big a splash as Max Verstappen has. Not even Lewis Hamilton’s first year, back in 2007, was met with such unilateral hype. The teenaged Dutch driver, Verstappen, burst onto the scene with audacious overtaking manoeuvres and a clear-as-day hunger to go racing no matter what he has to driver. Even the staunchest of critics have to submit that Verstappen has huge potential. While one season does not make a driver it is indisputable that if Verstappen can keep it all together we are all in for a quite a ride.

There was much more than mentioned here which made up the 2015 season. And in less than 100 days it resumes with dynamism that no other sport in the world can match.

December 15, 2015
F1 2015: Sauber Pursuing Aggressive 2016 Car

To move up the field in 2016 the Sauber team is following an aggressive design concept for its new Formula 1 car.

“The car we had this year and last year looked pretty much the same on the concept side but next year we are being a little bit more aggressive,” said Nasr, who scored three-times the number of points of team-mate Marcus Ericsson.”The concept looks very different. We know the areas we have to improve and we have to give it a try. We need to try something.”

Brazilian driver Felipe Nasr doesn’t see this strategy as a risk. “If we keep developing the one we have, it’s little steps. That’s why we’re taking this approach for 2016.”

Sauber scored 36 points in 2015 and finished eighth in the constructors standings.

December 14, 2015
F1 2015: Wehrlein And Manor F1

Mercedes F1 reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein will have to wait until 2016 to find out his racing fate.

The 21 year old driver is tipped to join the Manor F1 team in 2016 thanks to an engine supply deal between the team and his current Mercedes employers. However, no deal on his future will be announced this year. The German driver made history in 2015 when he became the youngest ever DTM champion.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff did confirm that talks are being held with Manor F1 and a potential seat for Wehrlein.

“He definitely has the ability to be in Formula 1, to be one of the very successful ones, but it needs to be the right place for the right value,” Wolff told Autosport.

“If we can’t make it happen for ’16, then we’ll give him lots of mileage in an F1 car, be it with us or another team in the form of a testing programme, and then we will see what opens up for 2017.”

December 14, 2015
F1 2015: Mercedes To Sue Engineer

Mercedes is to institute legal action against an engineer who will be joining the Ferrari team in 2016.

Benjamin Hoyle, the engineer in question, is accused of having stolen confidential data and information. He is scheduled to join the Ferrari team at the beginning of 2016. However, Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP), where Hoyle was employed in December 2012, is asking that the engineer only be allowed to join the team at the conclusion of the 2016 season.

HPP claims that Hoyle removed hard copy documents containing confidential F1 information and also conducted a computer search for further information which he saved on a laptop. It is believed that amongst the data is files related to the compressor performance of HPP’s F1 engines and detailed reports on engine performance.

It also being alleged that Hoyle also saved the information on his personal mobile phone, a micro SD card, a tablet, and an external hard drive. Further, Hoyle is accused of concealing his action by deleting files. HPP further claims that Hoyle’s action has given both him and Ferrari “an unlawful advantage”.

Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Ltd has confirmed that legal action is underway.

December 8, 2015
F1 2015: Season Finale Review – Abu Dhabi, that’s a wrap

As far as thrillers go the Abu Dhabi grand prix isn’t quite going to make the list of most memorable races. Though visually spectacular the Yas Marina circuit has brought the 2015 season to a close in fairly mundane manner but still provided several talking points.

In only the second time in its seven year history the Abu Dhabi grand prix was won from pole position. First place on the starting grid belonged to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg which he easily translated into the race lead as the sun began to set over the Yas Marina circuit. On the track it didn’t turn out to be a wheel-to-wheel battle between Rosberg and teammate Hamilton but rather a tactical fight through pit stop strategy.

In the first round of pitstops Hamilton followed his race leading teammate into the pitlane only a lap later, effectively mirroring his strategy. However, with the constructor’s and driver’s title in the bag the Mercedes team allowed its drivers some leeway in strategy calls and racing up to the chequered flag. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the rare freedom to extend his second stint on the yellow side-walled soft tyres. At one point Hamilton even considered running a one stop strategy and going to the end on his tyres. This strategy was quickly dismissed as impossible by his race engineer and Hamilton pitted to fit a set of the soft Pirelli tyres.

This strategy left Hamilton nearly twelve seconds behind race leader Rosberg. Although the three time champion was able to run with the fresher tyres in the closing stint of the race, he was only able to halve the pace to the leading car. The race concluded with Rosberg leading Hamilton home with a comfortable gap of just over eight seconds. This latest one-two finish Rosberg and Hamilton makes it the twelfth of the year for Mercedes.

Not too far behind the Mercedes pair Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen delivered a strong drive to finish third. The Finn turned a good pace but never enough to challenge for victory. While some will make a note that he finished the season in fourth place on the driver’s standings Raikkonen couldn’t care less of his ultimate position in the championship unless it’s position number one. Never one to sugar-coat reality Raikkonen, by his own admission, has labelled his season as distinctly “average.”

After a strategic error in qualifying Sebastian Vettel was forced to start in fifteenth. The German was able to recover to take fourth place for Ferrari. Sergio Perez, who started on the second row of the grid in fourth, brought his Force India home in fifth ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Nico Hulkenberg was seventh in the other Force India while Felipe Massa struggled to an eighth place finish for the Williams team. In his final race with Lotus before heading off the American Haas team was Romain Grosjean who made the best of his supersoft tyres in the closing stages. Daniil Kvyat secured tenth and the final point on offer for the Red Bull Racing team.

It wasn’t a race blighted by too many incidents however Fernando Alonso incurred a drive-through penalty for hitting the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado into turn one as the race got underway. In the pitlane Valtteri Bottas clipped the back of Jenson Button’s McLaren after an unsafe release by the Williams pitcrew. It resulted in a damaged front-wing for Bottas and five second penalty. The Finn eventually finished a lap down in thirteenth.

Dutchman and rookie driver Max Verstappen showed up to the race as his ever-aggressive self and set about overtaking as many drivers as possible. However, his spirited overtaking proved a bit too much as race stewards penalised him with gaining an advantage after going off the circuit in a pass on Jenson Button. As the penalty was imposed after the race it dropped the teenage sensation to sixteenth place.

In Brazil Hamilton was the quicker of the two Mercedes in the race but couldn’t find a way to overtake Rosberg. But here in Abu Dhabi Hamilton has been shaded, in terms of pace, for the entire weekend. For Nico Rosberg the season couldn’t have ended any better. Six pole positions and a hat trick of victories is an incredible run of form. It begs the question as to where this prodigious form has been the entire season. Is it as a result of a release of pressure or has Rosberg at long last found something that Hamilton has no answer for?

(Images courtesy of Mercedes AMG F1 Team & Pirelli Motorsport).

November 30, 2015
F1 2015: Abu Dhabi Qualifying Report – Rosberg Storms To Pole

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has secured his sixth straight pole position ahead of the 2015 Abu Dhabi grand prix.

The first session of the qualifying hour was highlighted by miscalculation of Sebastian Vettel’s side of the Ferrari garage. It meant that the German missed out on advancing to the next stage of the session and will, as it stands, start Sunday’s race in sixteenth position.

There were problems too for Romain Grosjean who parked his Lotus on the side of the track. The Frenchman will start in fifteenth. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso potential to advance beyond the top sixteen was scuppered by a puncture which leaves the Spaniard in seventeenth on the grid.

In the battle for qualifying honours between the Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz has bested his highly-rated teammate Max Verstappen. Sainz will line up tenth while Verstappen will be in eleventh.

The final session of the qualifying hour was an expected duel between the Mercedes drivers upon which Rosberg’s stunning lap was enough to secure pole position by nearly four tenths of a second over Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen salvaged the day for Ferrari and will start Sunday’s race in third. The stand-out performance of the session was unquestionably the Force India driver Sergio Perez. The Mexican threatened third place on the grid but ultimately had to settle for starting a still impressive fourth.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will start fifth and share the third of the grid with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas (6th). Nico Hulkenberg is seventh in the other Force India while Felipe Massa is eighth in the second Williams. Russian driver Daniil Kvyat is ninth with Carlos Sainz completing the top ten in his Toro Rosso.

November 28, 2015
F1 2015: Abu Dhabi Friday Practice Round-up

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets for Mercedes in the first and second free practice sessions for the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

The first of the one-and-a-half hour sessions started under bright sunlight and was topped by the number 44 Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. The reigning champion set a quickest time of 1:43:754 which was roughly one-and-a-half tenths quicker than teammate Nico Rosberg. The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen followed in third albeit a further six tenths back. Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was fourth fastest ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari.

Jolyon Palmer, who has secured a race seat for 2016, was out for the Lotus team but experienced a water leak and missed most of the session. Alexander Rossi has vacated the Manor Marussia seat to focus on the GP2 finale. Roberto Merhi has rejoined the team for the final race weekend of the season. In the inter-team battle at McLaren Jenson Button edged teammate Fernando Alonso for 13th place on the timing sheets.

As the sun set over the Yas Marina circuit the second free practice session got underway with considerably more running by the teams. This session is more representative of conditions that will be experienced in qualifying and the race, hence the increased work rate for the drivers.

Ultimately, Nico Rosberg’s 1:41:983 was the quickest time of the session on the red-walled supersoft tyre. It left the German a tenth-and-a-half clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton. Force India’s Sergio Perez finished the session in a surprising third place but did so twenty minutes early thanks to a brake issue.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth quickest ahead of Sebastian Vettel (5th), Daniil Kvyat (6th) and Kimi Raikkonen (7th). The second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg, the McLaren of Fernando Alonso, and the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top ten.

In the long runs the pace comparison between Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg was especially noteworthy. Although there is no indication of fuel or engine modes run during the session the pace difference between the two drivers was, on average, a tenth of a second. A further interesting point was that Raikkonen was able to maintain a consistent pace for longer on the supersoft tyre than any other driver.

While Ferrari appear to have a competitive, perhaps even equal, race pace to Mercedes its qualifying pace still adrift of the Silver Arrows.

November 27, 2015
F1 2015: Red Bull Confirms Engine Deal

Red Bull Racing has finally confirmed that it has finalised a 2016 power unit supply deal.

After months of negotiating the Red Bull Racing F1 team has finally put pen to paper on a power unit for the 2016 season. After spectacularly falling out with Renault mid way through the season the team went shopping at Ferrari and Mercedes only to come up empty handed. A rumoured attempt at securing Honda power even made the rounds but eventually a reconciliation with Renault was the team’s only option.

Despite not confirming that the soon to be announced deal is with Renault the French manufacturer is the only plausible supplier at this late stage.

“Next year will be a transitional year,” Red Bull principal Christian Horner told Autosport. “We have an agreement with an engine [supplier] for next year which hopefully will be confirmed in the coming days.”It will have a development path, which ironically, in a way, is what we were trying to achieve 12 months ago, and we’ll see how that goes.”

November 27, 2015
F1 2015: Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Abu Dhabi Ready To Dazzle

From Australia to seventeen different cities and circuit Formula 1 makes its final stop of 2015 at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit.

The first race around the visually stunning circuit was held in 2009. It remains unique to the F1 calendar for its twilight start and in its six grand prix has delivered dramatic outcomes and significant duels that are hard to forget.

In its first year on the calendar Jenson Button arrived already crowned as champion after a dominant season in his blindingly quick Brawn. While Sebastian Vettel was up the road and on his way to victory a late race scrap between Button and then Red Bull driver Mark Webber is what truly ignited the first-ever season finale in Abu Dhabi. Not far out from the chequered flag Button pitted for a new set of tyres and proceeded to close down second-placed Webber at a blinding pace. The newly-crowned champion gave it his all to overtake the Aussie and though it wasn’t to be it still produced an exhilarating and memorable wheel-to-wheel battle. “I was giving everything to take second place from Mark,” said Button, “but I couldn’t quite make the moves stick. He’s a very difficult guy to overtake but it was a good clean fight and we were really on the edge.

Since this 2009 duel the Abu Dhabi circuit has crowned Sebastian Vettel champion on two occasions in 2010 and 2013. In between Kimi Raikkonen won a memorable race for the Lotus team which is remembered for the now famous radio message of “leave me alone, I know what I’m doing.” Coincidentally, Raikkonen’s famous victory was the only time a driver has won this grand prix after not starting on the front row of the grid.

Sebastian Vettel isn’t the only world champion that has been crowned at the season-ending race either. In 2014 Lewis Hamilton was crowned with his second driver’s title after a season at the wheel of the absurdly dominant Mercedes. “Last year, this place brought probably the most intense weekend of my life,” recalls Hamilton.

Twelve month on Hamilton arrives in Abu Dhabi a triple world champion but still with something to play for. A 50^th pole position is in the offing if the Brit can recover his qualifying mojo. Recently, teammate Nico Rosberg has well and truly had the beating of Hamilton on Saturday and stands on the cusp of joining quite an elite group. Should the German secure a sixth consecutive pole position he will join a list of only four drivers who has achieved this feat in the sport.

As far as the Yas Marina circuit layout goes it isn’t the most technically challenging on the calendar. Instead, the layout is mostly dominated by medium speed corners and long straights. “The first sector is generally medium speed with a couple of high speed corners and not too technically challenging; a reasonable level of downforce works fine here. The second sector is more power hungry with two good straights and two low speed corners – a low speed hairpin and a low speed chicane so it’s important to manage these well. The final sector is quite technical with a number of low and medium speed corners where the car needs to be well balanced and work well to achieve a good lap time,” explains Lotus technical director Nick Chester. “Putting all that together is key – you need a car that works well in low speed corners and be good in the long straights.”

In 2015 the United Arab Emirates is celebrating its 44^th national day. It is a day which marks the unification of the seven emirates and the founding of the country. It could be just per chance that it matches Lewis Hamilton’s number 44. Or is it a sign that the three-time champ is set to light up the Abu Dhabi grand prix?

November 26, 2015