Tag: 2016

F1 2016: Mexico Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Hamilton Leads

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time for the first free practice session for Sunday’s Mexican grand prix.

The first one and a half hour session got underway in cool condition and with a dusty track surface. Nevertheless, as drivers became to find their way around the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it was Lewis Hamilton who set the quickest time of the session. In second overall was the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel only a half tenth slower than the Mercedes driver. However, Hamilton’s quickest time was set on the white-walled medium tyre as opposed to Vettel who used the yellow-walled soft tyre to set his fastest lap.

The session was briefly red flagged after a front-wing failure on Felipe Nasr’s Sauber littered the circuit with carbon fibre. The Brazilian driver appeared to straddle the kerb and thereafter loose the entire right side of his front wing. The team later announced that they suspected floor damage contributed to the failure of the front wing.

Kimi Raikkonen, local favourite Sergio Perez, and his Force India teammate Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top five. Meanwhile Valtteri Bottas showed a good turn of pace for Williams in sixth ahead of Nico Rosberg in seventh, Daniel Ricciardo in eighth, Felipe Massa in ninth, and Daniil Kyat in tenth.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

October 28, 2016
F1 2016: Mexican Gp Preview – All Eyes On Rosberg

The eyes of the racing world will be on Nico Rosberg this weekend as the Mercedes driver has his first chance to win the driver’s title.

It isn’t a straightforward chance though. For Rosberg to clinch his first title he’ll have to win the race and Lewis Hamilton will have to finish tenth or lower. While it’s certainly not impossible [insert image of painful Malaysian engine failure here] it does seem improbable. Many are waiting with bated breath to see how Rosberg will react to the situation he now finds himself in. There probably won’t be a reaction from Rosberg because one isn’t needed. He’s gotten himself to this point and this position with a method that has worked for him the entire season, why change that now? A smart person once said: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The reality is that Rosberg has to keep doing what he’s done since the end of the 2015 season. It’s up to Hamilton now to pull something out of his bag of tricks.

Rosberg’s first chance to take the crown comes at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez just south of Texas. If there is one thing that is true about Mexico it’s that they love Formula 1. A record-breaking crowd at last year electrified the grand prix. The final sector’s stadium section is likely one of the most visually stunning aspects of any circuit anywhere in the world. The hundreds of thousands of fans clambering for a glimpse of the heroes and raucous passion of all of them is truly something to behold.

It might have something to do with the fact that they have two Mexican drivers on the grid in the form of Sergio Perez at Force India and Esteban Gutierrez at Haas F1. “It’s a very special week for my whole career. It’s probably one of the best two weeks of my career because it represents so much to racing, to motorsports in Mexico in general, and to me,” says Gutierrez. “It’s a kind of connection where I can share my passion for racing and what I do with all Mexicans. I feel grateful for their support”.

Besides the second highest top speed, after Baku, the Mexican circuit provides several other challenges. “The primary feature of the circuit is its altitude which tests the turbo charger of the power unit, as well as the vehicle’s cooling systems. The altitude is not only a test for the car, but indeed the drivers and the whole pit crew,” says Williams’ Chief Technical Head, Pat Symonds. “Of particular note is the brake duty cycle, with this circuit now being one of the highest benchmarks we need to achieve. For the second time in a row, the teams also have to handle back-to-back race events as we continue through the busy final stint of the season.”

The circuit’s demand on power unit performance will be prevalent this weekend. Normally, this would mean that Ferrari should have the edge over Red Bull and their Tag Heuer branded Renault engine. However, it has been a season of decline for the Italian team and not just on car performance. If they are to get anything out of this weekend they’ll have to inch perfect.

Nico Rosberg stands on the cusp of realising his biggest dream – to become a Formula 1 World Champion. Despite this overwhelming prospect there is a feeling that Rosberg will continue to do what he’s done best this season and see how the chips land at the end of it. One thing is certain though he will not relent.

October 28, 2016
F1 2016: Texas Gp Review – America Brings Victory For Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has returned to winning ways with a measured drive to victory at the United States grand prix.

Lewis Hamilton ran perfectly controlled race to take his 50th career win and with it a fifth victory on American soil at the Circuit of the Americas. While the perception from the outside made it look like an easy afternoon for Hamilton the Mercedes driver admitted to being “petrified” that his car would suffer a reliability issue as it did in Malaysia earlier in the season. “I was just the whole race concerned the car was not going to make it,” said Hamilton. “Right up until the line, I was just in fear of the same thing, the same feeling I had, the sound I heard in Malaysia. So I was grateful the car made it across the line.”

Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was an ever-present second ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in third but he had to work for it. The German dropped behind Ricciardo at the start of the race and faced serious pressure from Max Verstappen after the first round of stops. Nevertheless, the rub of the green went Rosberg’s way and he emerged in second.

Aussie driver Ricciardo was on his way to the second step on the podium but the deployment of the virtual safety car afforded Rosberg a de facto free pitstop and, crucially, track position ahead of Ricciardo. As if to add insult to serious misfortune the virtual safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Red Bull of his teammate Max Verstappen who suffered a catastrophic gearbox failure.

There was a second high profile retirement in the form of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen as an embarrassing mistake from the pit crew at the Finn’s final stop meant he left the box with a loose wheel that eventually led to his retirement. As one side of the Ferrari garage suffered a costly self-inflicted blunder Sebastian Vettel was able to bring his Ferrari home in a lonely fourth in what was the best the team could have hoped to achieve regardless of the circumstances.

Fernando Alonso embraced the Texas spirit as he delivered a bigger and better performance than McLaren has seen in a while. The Spaniard’s feisty driving showed his fighting spirit as he battled his way into fifth while Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz finshed sixth ahead of Williams Felipe Massa in seventh. Force India driver Sergio Perez recovered brilliantly to eighth after a first corner incident while Jenson Button made up ten places to finish ninth in the McLaren. The Haas F1 Team became the first American team to score a point on home soil as Romain Grosjean collected tenth place.

The grand prix in the lone star state delivered good news all around for Mercedes. The team secured its fifth one-two victory of the season and Lewis Hamilton stemmed Rosberg’s momentum and sliced his championship lead to 26 points. The good news for Rosberg is that he delivered exactly what he needs with his second place finish.

Nico Rosberg’s lead in the championship has been sliced to 26 points with the Mexican grand prix just days away.

October 24, 2016
F1 2016: United States Gp Preview – Rosberg v Hamilton In Texas

The F1 paddock travels halfway around the world from Japan to the lone star state of Texas and the Circuit of the Americas for the 16th round of the season.

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA), designed by F1 architect Herman Tilke, hosted its first race in 2012. As one of the newest circuits on the calendar it doesn’t quite fit into the mold of a modern circuit. While it does have acres of run-off areas like its modern counterparts its in the layout where you can see a real throwback to old school circuit. The Esses section in Sector 1 is especially reminiscent of the Maggots-Becketts section at Silverstone with a hint of Suzuka bleeding into the combination.

“The track in Austin is sick, I love it. It has a lot of unique features like the wide apex at turn one, you could fit about four cars side by side through there. There are loads of opportunities to overtake and have fun throughout the whole track. It has fast flowing sections and hairpins, pretty much everything I like in a track,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

In 2015 a colossal level or rain mired the Texas grand prix weekend and severely impacted the level of spectators in the stands. However, the weather forecast for the 2016 race weekend is lot sunnier, literally and figuratively. Twelve months ago Lewis Hamilton arrived in Texas with one hand on the driver’s title but one year later it’s a much different story for the Mercedes driver. He trails teammate Nico Rosberg by 33 points with a maximum of 100 points still available.

This means that even if Hamilton wins all four of the remaining races it does not ensure that he will win the title. Even if this situation eventuates Rosberg would still need to finish third in at least one of the races for Hamilton to be champion.

But in the dominant era of Mercedes there has never been a better chance for Lewis Hamilton to show a real champion’s courage. Not ever has any driver or champion been revered for winning from the front but rather for how they respond when the odds are against them. Grand prix in the United States have been an enormously rewarding for Hamilton. As a rookie he won in North America at Indianapolis in 2007 and has won three of the four races held in Texas. It stands to reason, barring unreliability, that the reigning world champion will be difficult to beat in Texas.

Let’s not diminish the performance of Nico Rosberg in 2016. The metronomic way he has been inching his way to the title has been extraordinary. Few could argue that he wouldn’t deserve the title at the end of it. And he’s, mostly, aced it off the start line this season. The beauty of the fight between Hamilton and Rosberg, despite the latter’s points lead, is that it is impossible to predict. There still hasn’t been a true wheel-to-wheel race between the two either. Perhaps Texas is primed for just such a battle.

October 19, 2016
F1 2016: Japanese Gp Review – First Japanese Victory For Rosberg

Nico Rosberg continues to achieve firsts in this 2016 and has now added a first-time victory in Japan. The Mercedes driver, never troubled, strolled towards the chequered flag while teammate Lewis Hamilton dropped further behind in the race for the championship.

While Nico Rosberg charged off his pole starting position Lewis Hamilton was swamped by several cars off the line. The Brit ended up eighth after the first lap after he bogged down on the start with wheelspin. Through consistent driver, and a particularly strong second stint on the hard tyre, Hamilton was able to recover to third.

In second place Red Bull’s Max Verstappen faced significant pressure from Hamilton for the second step on the podium. Nevertheless, the 19 year old did not succumb and more than held his own against the superior Mercedes. The Mercedes team later lodged a protest against Verstappen’s defence into the final chicance on the penultimate lap but has subsequently withdrawn it, seemingly, at the request of Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen delivered solid drives for Ferrari despite several issues plaguing the team throughout the weekend. For more than three quarters of the race Vettel was well in contention for the podium but yet another strategic error from Ferrari made sure he didn’t get there. As he battled against Hamilton for the position the call to make his final stop of the race came too late and the position was surrendered to Hamilton. Although Raikkonen qualified third on the grid he was forced to drop to eighth due a gearbox box. The Finn ultimately recovered to fifth place.

Earlier in the weekend Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene made a point to sit down with a media outlet for an interview. He made very specific comments in this interview that include the statement that Vettel must earn his seat at Ferrari. There is nothing inherently wrong with this comment. No driver in Formula 1 is absolved from needing to earn their place in the sport. However, this comment and argument isn’t a one way street. For this reason the question must be asked: What is Ferrari doing to earn Vettel and Raikkonen?

The pendulum swung dramatically for last weeks race winner Daniel Ricciardo who could only manage a sixth place finish seven days later in Japan. The Force India pairing of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg came home in a solid seventh and eighth place respectively. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, in ninth and tenth, took the final points on offer for Williams. This result strengthens Force India’s fourth place in the constructor’s standings to ten points over Williams.

Mercedes secured the overall title of constructor’s champions with their Japanese Gp result. The German mark remains the only team and manufacturer to be champions in the hybrid era of the sport.

Effectively Mercedes has also won the driver’s title, as no other driver is mathematically possible of taking the crown. However, the question remains will be Rosberg or Hamilton who takes the ultimate prize. Rosberg’s win in the land of the rising sun gives him a 33-point gap over Hamilton whose title chances have dimmed slightly. However, with 100 points still up for grabs it’s far too soon to call this race.

October 10, 2016
F1 2016: Japanese Gp Free Practice 3 Report – Rosberg Leads The Way

Nico Rosberg set the quickest time in the third free practice session for the Japanese grand prix.

The one hour session was slow to get underway as the Suzuka circuit remained damp from an earlier rain shower. However, under overcast skies drivers began to venture out on intermediate tyres before soon switching to slicks.

Mercedes’ Rosberg set the quickest time of 1:32:092 ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo on a 1:32:394. Sebastian Vettel was third quickest for Ferrari but some 6 tenths adrift. Max Verstappen was fourth quickest despite hitting traffic on his quail simulation run. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen made a mistake on his first flying lap on the soft tyre and then encountered some traffic on his second go while Lewis Hamilton did not set a representative lap on the yellow-walled soft tyre.

Final Free Practice Three Standings:

October 8, 2016
F1 2016: Japanese Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Rosberg On Top

Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets at the end of the first free practice session for the Japanese grand prix.

The 90 minute session got underway in brilliant sunshine with a track temperature hovering in the low 30 degrees Celsius range. Championship leader Rosberg set a quickest time of 1:32:431 on the yellow-walled soft tyres as teammate Lewis Hamilton set a 1:32:646 some .292 off first place.

The two Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top four but a scruffy lap from Vettel left him one second off the front-running Mercedes pace. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were fifth and sixth quickest while the Force India pairing of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez ended in the session in seventh and eighth respectively. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top then.

Spaniard Alonso had an off early in the session when he lost the rear-end of his McLaren in the Spoon Curve. The former champion clouted the barrier on the outside of the corner quite hard with the rear of the car and required a rear-wing and floor change. The only other incident came in the form of Romain Grosjean who veered off the circuit at Degner two. The Haas F1 driver complained of brakes over the radio.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

October 7, 2016
F1 2016: Japanese Gp Preview – Dazzling Suzuka Awaits

At the 2015 Japanese grand prix the stories were all about Lewis Hamilton. In 2016 the headlines are still about the Mercedes driver but now has a far different context to them.

The triple world champion arrives in Japan 23 points adrift and a little sheepish after some emotionally charged comments after his retirement from the Malaysian grand prix one week ago. It’s an interesting place that Hamilton finds himself occupying. Bar his first championship win in 2008 he hasn’t found himself so far adrift of the championship in the last few seasons. Some will say that his comments suggest that he’s feeling the pressure and they may be right. But it’s only showing out of the car and not on track where it counts most.

Make no mistake despite Hamilton’s off track woe-is-me speech after his engine blow-up it wont have any affect on his driving in Japan or for the rest of the season. He’ll strap into the cockpit of that number 44 Mercedes and drive it fast as it will go. This is precisely the reason why the 2016 driver’s title is far from over. Of course unreliability or a clout from Sebastian Vettel could have an impact on proceedings but, as the illustrious ‘they’ like to say, that’s racing. The thrill for race fans is that we’ll now get to see how Hamilton responds and what Rosberg still has in the bank.

They get put on a show on one of the most challenging and inspiring circuits in the world. Japan’s Suzuka circuit commands respect and the utmost precision from the driver while throwing a technically challenging layout at the car. A firm crowd favourite in Japan Jenson Button explains his love for the famous circuit. “The Suzuka circuit is incredible – almost in a class of its own on the calendar. It’s as close to a ‘perfect’ track as you can get in terms of having all of the different elements you would want as a driver. It’s fast, technical, difficult, rewarding, and really fun to drive, so it’s up there among the best.

It’s not all about the Merc boys this weekend either. Red Bull’s one-two victory in Malaysia landed a big blow in the battle for second place in the constructor’s standings. Ferrari arrive in Japan far less competitive than they were in 2015 and with the layout of Suzuka will have a tough time beating the Red Bull around here. In fact, given their brilliantly performing chassis it’s not unlikely that Red Bull could push or even challenge Mercedes for the top step of the podium if they have track position. The run down the ultra quick first corner in Japan has often been quite spicy and both Mercs will surely approach it with a bit of caution, which could open the door for Red Bull to take advantage. The weather too looks set to play its part with rain forecast during qualifying and the race.

It is impossible to return to Japan without memories of Jules Bianchi drifting into the consciousness. Two years ago the young Frenchman crashed and sustained injuries that would later claim his life. However impossibly painful the lost must be to Jules’ family, friends, and fans at the very least his death was not in vain as Formula 1 and all motorsport continue to make strides in driver safety because of him.RIP Jules.

October 5, 2016
F1 2016: Malaysia Gp: Ricciardo Wins Amidst Drama

At the start of the Malaysian grand prix Mercedes were expected to dominate on a circuit tailor made to emphasize the best aspect of their racing car and they did. However, Formula 1 isn’t called the most unpredictable sport in the world without reason. For as dominant as Lewis Hamilton was from pole position on Sunday the unpredictability of the sport hit hard.

As Hamilton scampered off into the lead of the race disaster struck immediately off the line for his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. In a three-way battle for position into turn one Rosberg found himself pointing the wrong way down the track after being tagged by Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari driver’s race ended a corner later as he pulled over with a broken left-front suspension. For his too optimistic move Vettel has been given a three-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Japanese grand prix.

While Rosberg began to make his way through the back, with remarkably no damage, Lewis Hamilton was well in control of proceedings. Despite some initial pressure from Max Verstappen and his alternate strategy there was never a true threat on Hamilton’s lead. Such was the pace of the number 44 Mercedes that he could, seemingly at will, lap a second faster than anyone else.

Still, not even the all-dominant Mercedes can ensure a definite victory. On lap 40 Lewis Hamilton aspirations of winning the race literally went up in flames as her Mercedes engine spectacularly expired on the start/finish strait.

After his retirement he made some comments to the media, which certainly fanned the flames. Something or someone, he said, doesn’t want him to win the championship. The team and Hamilton later backpedalled on this comment by saying that the driver was referring to a “higher power.” While Hamilton was rightly devastated with the failure it is inconceivable, and frankly absurd, that he would be sabotaged in any way. If not for any other reason than the fact that Mercedes would never want the image of an engine on fire associated with its brand. But there are many other reasons why this conspiracy theory is baseless. How do engineers ensure that an essentially new engine expire on demand? Sometimes the stars, on this case the cylinders, just don’t align.

Though Hamilton has suffered a number of engine failures in 2016 they’ve all been confined to Friday or Saturday. While still impactful they haven’t hurt as much as this one which is likely what has amplified emotions. In fact Hamilton’s last retirement was eleven races ago in Spain after a collision with Rosberg. His last mechanical failure? The 2015 Singapore grand prix.

The show must go on and it did with a superb and popular victory for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie driver brilliantly held off his teammate Max Verstappen to take the fourth win of his career. Red Bull’s one-two finish is the first for the team since the 2013 Brazilian Gp and snaps a run of 10 victories for Mercedes. In a further show of his class Ricciardo dedicated his win to Jules Bianchi who sadly passed away last year after a horrible crash at the 2014 Japanese Gp.

Despite a ten second penalty for causing a collision with Kimi Raikkonen Nico Rosberg was able to recover to third and takes a 23-point lead to the Japanese Gp. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came home in fourth but was down on power for the majority of the race, which implies that the engine has some sort of damage. It could mean an engine penalty at some point perhaps this weekend in Japan or in Texas.

Valterri Bottas finished a solid fifth for Williams ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez. Fernando Alonso drove a brilliant race from last to finish seventh ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in eighth and teammate Jenson Button in ninth. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer scored the first point of his career with tenth.

A 23-point lead for Rosberg seems a big one but with five race remaining it isn’t a done deal. After the race in Baku he had a similar advantage and it took Hamilton three race to overcome it. If nothing else the Malaysian Gp proved that it’s never over until the chequered flag drops.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

October 3, 2016
F1 2016: Malaysia Gp Preview – Mercedes vs Ferrari?

Usually by this stage of a Formula 1 season the Malaysian grand prix had long since played its part in the championship as the second round of the year. However, in 2016 the dazzling challenge that is the Sepang International circuit hosts the 16^th round of the championship.

The grand prix circuit, just outside of the Kuala Lumpur city centre, was designed by F1’s favourite architect Herman Tilke and made its debut in 1999. Of the current crop of drivers Sebastian Vettel is the most prolific in Malaysia with four wins while Ferrari is the most successful constructor with seven victories.

The 5.5 kilometers of the Sepang circuit is one of the most technical on the calendar, which will highlight or expose aspect of a Formula 1 car. The long straits either side of the enormous main grandstand is a test for the combustion engine and presents genuine overtaking opportunities.

The flowing and twisting complex of corners in sector two will provide the biggest test on a car’s aerodynamic competence. In other words it’s a circuit tailor made to highlight the best of what Mercedes has to offer. Despite this, since the start of the Mercedes era they’ve taken only one victory, in 2014, and have, surprisingly, not dictated proceedings here.

However, in 2016 the Sepang International circuit could be a journey into the unknown. Since last year’s race the track has been significantly resurfaced. Most the work was done to improve drainage but several corners were also smoothed out to “make it easier to drive”. The result is that several of the corners cambers have been adjusted which could lead to a different racing line being adopted.

In 2015 Sebastian Vettel took his first win for Ferrari in Malaysia and underlined an incredible turnaround for the Italian team. 2016 hasn’t been an extension of last year however as the Italian team has failed to build on the solid foundation of 2015. Nevertheless, the team and its drivers have the potential to do deliver this weekend. Ferrari are expected to bring several new aerodynamic parts to Malaysia in the hope of improving on downforce and in the hope of challenging Mercedes this weekend.

The other team in the equation is Red Bull Racing but it is likely, at least initially, to be a weekend of damage limitation for Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. The Sepang circuit, with its long straits, is not a Red Bull friendly one but it isn’t only pace, which can determine the outcome of the race. The weather, although forecast to be hot, has a tendency to produce random thunderstorms which could impact the result.

Nico Rosberg has forced the momentum in the race for the driver’s title firmly towards himself with several stunning results including a victory two weeks ago in Singapore. In contrast, Lewis Hamilton looked decidedly off-colour in Singapore. For once it is Lewis Hamilton in the unaccustomed position of needing to deliver in order to inject some energy into his bid for a fourth world title.

September 29, 2016