Tag: 2016

F1 2016: Belgium Gp Free Practice 2 Report – Verstappen Quickest

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the quickest time in the second free practice session for the Belgian grand prix.

The second free practice session ran in pristine sunshine during which Dutch driver Verstappen set a quickest time of 1:48:085 ahead of his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg set the third fastest time ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and the sister Force India of Sergio Perez.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton ended the session sixth and thirteenth quickest on the timing sheets. Neither Mercedes driver ran the quickest supersoft tyre. The number 7 Ferrari of Raikkonen was seventh quickest without a clear run on the red-walled supersoft tyre while Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean was eighth overall. McLaren’s Jenson Button and Esteban Gutierrez in the Haas rounded out the top ten. The Williams duo endured a tough session as Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa ended 16th and 17th overall.

The long runs revealed a comparable pace on the yellow-walled soft tyre between the two Red Bull teammates with Vettel a few tenths adrift in the Ferrari. Hamilton, who will start the race from the back of the grid due to penalties, ran a long stint on the medium compound tyres which consistently hovered in the mid 1:55 bracket.

Final Standings Free Practice 2:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Time	Gap	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:48.085	–	27
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:48.341	+0.256	27
3	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:48.657	+0.572	30
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:49.023	+0.938	27
5	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:49.100	+1.015	27
6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:49.161	+1.076	33
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:49.244	+1.159	30
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:49.419	+1.334	20
9	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:49.419	+1.334	23
10	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:49.648	+1.563	23
11	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:49.716	+1.631	31
12	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:49.772	+1.687	30
13	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:49.782	+1.697	33
14	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:49.916	+1.831	25
15	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:50.083	+1.998	27
16	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:50.151	+2.066	19
17	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:50.157	+2.072	29
18	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:50.194	+2.109	25
19	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:50.375	+2.290	34
20	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:50.562	+2.477	32
21	Esteban Ocon	Manor	1:50.659	+2.574	25
22	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:50.719	+2.634	24

August 26, 2016

F1 2016: Belgium Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Rosberg On Top

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheet at the end of the first free practice session for the 2016 Belgian grand prix.

The Formula 1 season resumed after its summer break with the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit bathed in glorious sunshine. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of the 90 minute session with a time of 1:48:348 ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton who set a time of 1:49:078. Both Mercedes drivers set their quickest time of the session on the red-walled supersoft tyre.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the third quickest time at a 1:49:147 but only ran the yellow-walled soft tyre. Sergio Perez was fourth for Force India as the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top five.

Several drivers including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo ran the Halo head protection system in an installation lap as further development ahead of the introduction of the system. Pirelli further offered teams two prototype set of tyres to test in preparation for 2017. The test tyres were focused on the construction of the tyre as opposed to outright performance.

Renault’s Jolyon Palmer lost the last twenty minutes of the session with a technical issue. However, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso failed to set a lap time as his car suffered a water leak early in the session. It has been confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will incur a 15 place grid penalty after changing two elements his power unit.

Final Standings Free Practice 1:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Time	Gap	Lap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:48.348s	–	27
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:49.078s	0.730	25
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:49.147s	0.799	24
4	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:49.274s	0.926	23
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:49.768s	1.420	19
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:49.782s	1.434	24
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:49.865s	1.517	24
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:50.088s	1.740	21
9	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:50.394s	2.046	31
10	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:50.583s	2.235	21
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:50.899s	2.551	18
12	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:51.122s	2.774	28
13	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:51.125s	2.777	16
14	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:51.424s	3.076	17
15	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:51.768s	3.420	19
16	Esteban Ocon	Manor	1:51.787s	3.439	26
17	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:52.308s	3.960	19
18	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:52.407s	4.059	18
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:52.837s	4.489	23
20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:53.053s	4.705	20
21	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:53.089s	4.741	20
–	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	–	–	3

August 26, 2016

F1 2016: Belgium GP Preview – Spa, Unparalleled Greatness

It is almost as if it’s scripted that Formula 1 returns after it’s summer break to the greatest circuit in the world. Belgium’s majestic Spa-Francorchamps is set in all of its famed glory to host the 13^th round of the 2016 season.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Spa is often rated as the most popular races by fans. The circuit, 7.004 km in length, boasts several overtaking opportunities, significant elevations changes, and a bevy of challenging corners. It provides an equally stern test to the cars as it demands an efficient aero package through its high-speed corners, and good power out put and delivery for its long straights and climbs.

It’s not just a great circuit on paper either. Since it’s first race in 1950 Spa has delivered victors, moments, and memories that will last forever. From Mika Hakkinen’s stunning pass, for the lead, on Michael Schumacher and backmarker Ricardo Zonta in 2000, to Kimi Raikkonen’s 2004 win from tenth on the grid, to Mark Webber’s spine-tingling 2011 overtake of Fernando Alonso around the outside into Eau Rouge.

In 2016 another chapter is ready to be written into the glorious history of this mythical circuit. Mercedes start the weekend as favourites but it’s not a given that they’ll dominate the 44 laps on Sunday.

The tyres selected by the sharp end of the grid have revealed quite a big disparity between the front running teams. Mercedes has chosen the conservative route on tyre selection, as each of their drivers will have only four sets of the red-walled supersoft tyre. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Vettel and Raikkonen have opted for seven sets a piece of the supersoft tyre. Ferrari has shown a preference for the supersoft tyre throughout the first half of the season, which could have factored into their decision making. The cooler temperatures and difficulty in heating the tyre to their operating temperatures would have been another consideration for Ferrari.

As fascinating as the tyre strategy could turn out this weekend it may not play out at all. This circuit, situated in the foothills of the Ardennes Mountains, is notorious for its changeable and unpredictable weather. Add to this the vastness of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and it often results in rain at one end of the track while sunshine dominates the other half.

There is also the question of spotty reliability of Lewis Hamilton’s side of the garage. The unreliability that dogged his early season means that Hamilton, already on his fifth engine element, is close to incurring a grid penalty. A sixth engine would mean a painful ten place grid penalty however it has been confirmed that Hamilton will take the ten place knock at the Italian grand prix.

Ferrari hasn’t had the season that they and most expected them to have. Nevertheless, team principal Maurizio Arrivebene has confirmed that there will be another engine upgrade but has not confirmed whether it will be forthcoming in Belgium or Italy. They do have Raikkonen in their arsenal who has been dubbed The King of Spa. But before the summer break they had clearly fallen behind Red Bull.

This next round of the 2016 F1 season has everything going for it. The best drivers in the world sweeping through Eau Rouge, Pouhon, and Blanchimont on the greatest circuit ever built is surely a match made in Formula 1 heaven.

August 24, 2016
F1 2016: Mid-season Review

Formula 1 is two weeks into its mid-season break, which provides the perfect occasion to reflect on the first half of 2016.

Mercedes brilliant but not without bruises

The reigning champions rocketed out of the starting gate in 2016 and haven’t faced a consistently noteworthy challenge from anyone. Nico Rosberg obliterated the competition with four victories in a row and built a commanding lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the driver’s standings.

It appeared that Rosberg had finally mastered his mental demons and would make a serious bid for championship glory. But Lewis Hamilton was calm the face of Rosberg’s domination and sometimes even a bit detached from his points deficit. Nearly a decade and several clutch moments in the sport provided Hamilton with an abundance of experience and the knowledge that the championship was far from out of reach.

He not only closed the gap but also took over the lead on the driver’s table going into the break. The nagging question about Rosberg’s psychological toughness has roared back to life especially after that controversial collision with Hamilton in Spain and Austria.

While Rosberg and Hamilton rub carbon fibre instead of wheels Toto Wolff and co has threatened to enforce team-orders. But this is unlikely to happen, as neither driver will accept it. The championship is far from over but it’s clear that right now Hamilton has the edge on form and crucially in mentality.

Red Bull storm back into contention

The team started the season with Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat in the cockpit of a car seriously lacking in grunt. Two vital changes turned the season around for the Austrian team. First, Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in favour of Max Verstappen. The young Dutchmen immediately repaid the faith but winning the Spanish grand prix.

The second big change came in the form of a power unit upgrade from Renault. It not only catapulted Red Bull past Ferrari on pace but summarily halved the gap to Mercedes. Yes, there is still work to be done for Red Bull to be serious competition for Mercedes but the manner in which they’ve recovered their 2016 season is an impressive feat.

Ferrari stutter

In pre-season testing the Italian team looked set to challenge for victories and perhaps even a championship title if thing well, it didn’t. In Australia the wrong strategy call kept Sebastian Vettel from victory. Several dubious and costly strategy calls would follow throughout the first half of the season.

With that several gearbox penalties dogged particularly Vettel as he started race after the race down the grid. Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene finally admitted that their aggressive approach might have cost them points on reliability.

But the biggest blow came with the departure of chief technical director James Alison. Whatever the reason for Alison leaving the team it’s never a good sign when a senior member leaves a team midway through a season. Rumours are abounding that Ferrari are trying to bring Paddy Lowe and James Key into the stable. However, while both these men as exceptional at their respective jobs bringing them in at this point is unlikely to have a significant impact.

Ferrari is flailing in a manner that is unbecoming to its history and the only reason why it’s not being called catastrophic is because of their two drivers who somehow wring results out of their car.

McLaren moving forward

Honda has slowly but surely started to claw its way up the grid. Both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button making regular appearance in the top 10 of qualifying and scoring the odd handful of points.

Though it’s still not where either of these champions want to be the Japanese manufacturer is doing just enough to keep Alonso and Button satisfied and believing that 2017 may be their year.

Haas’ good start fades

The American Haas team started the F1 season in spectacular fashion with Romain Grosjean. Several solid point scoring races and brilliant strategy calls belied the fact that this was a new team in Formula 1.

However, as the season progressed so the good times were consigned to the past. As other mid-field teams like Force India began to move forward and evolve their cars Haas seemed to stumble. Gone were the regular points scores to be replaced by a confused and frustrated Frenchman over the radio.

The good news for Haas is that Esteban Gutierrez’ performances have improved from the start of the season. There also isn’t an impression of negativity from the pitwall or the team boss. They are well aware that trying to hack it as a new team in F1 is a difficult prospect. They’re keeping their eye firmly on the ball and that’s what matters.

Force India resurgence

The season started rather mundanely for Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. But a genuine improvement has allowed the team to close the gap to Williams in the constructor’s championship.

While Sergio Perez has scored two podiums Hulkenberg has none. Some would be surprised at this stat as Hulkenberg is so highly regarded in the paddock. If the team can keep the car competitive in the mid-field the fights between its two drivers should develop into one worth keeping an eye on.

The F1 season returns 26 August with the Belgium grand prix.

August 15, 2016
F1 2016: German Gp Review – Hamilton Surges, Rosberg Falters

After the Saturday qualifying session Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was on top of the world after delivering a stunning lap, for pole, under extreme pressure.

But the German’s euphoria on home soil was short lived as teammate Lewis Hamilton rocketed into the lead of the race. Hamilton went on to taste the sweet success of victory at the German grand prix while teammate Rosberg stumbled at home.

Not only did Rosberg fall behind his teammate but also both Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. For several fleeting moments it appeared that Rosberg would have the pace to recover to second place. But the afternoon went horribly pear-shaped for the Merc driver. In an attempt to overtake Verstappen he tried an Austria-esque move, which, again, didn’t pan out. It resulted in a 5-second penalty and despite being in the cockpit of the most dominant car on the grid Rosberg slunk home in fourth place.

After the Russian grand prix Rosberg had a 43-point lead over Hamilton. But now we’ve seen a 62-point swing in Hamilton’s favour. There’s only so many times you can accept losing points to a teammate before it becomes awkward. Yes, there is still half a season to go but this dramatic swing in points will do nothing to quell the questions Rosberg’s psychological make-up.

Red Bull Racing completed a satisfactory day at the office with their first double podium since the 2015 Hungarian Gp. Ricciardo led home teammate Verstappen and ensured that Red Bull head into the month-long break ahead of Ferrari in the constructors standings.

With 5^th and 6^th for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari have big concerns heading into the summer break and are now behind Red Bull not only on points but also in terms of raw pace.

Nico Hulkenberg delivered the best Force India could hope for with seventh place while drive of the day belongs to McLaren driver Jenson Button in eighth. The Brit summarily out-performed his highly acclaimed teammate Fernando Alonso who finished twelfth.

It was easy to discern the great spirit of the two McLaren drivers from the radio comms between them and their pitwall. It hasn’t been easy for these two champions to endure this car but it does reveal a great deal of their passion for racing for still being as spirited as ever behind the wheel.

Hamilton now leads the driver’s standings by 19 points. There is no doubt that Rosberg is a talented driver but the questions and doubts about his mental strength will be raised once more.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

August 1, 2016
F1 2016: Free Practice 2 Report German Gp – Rosberg Tops Timing Sheet

Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheet at the end of the second free practice session for the German grand prix.

The Mercedes driver out-paced teammate Hamilton by four tenths of a second to end the 90 minute practice session with a quickest time of :1:15:614. Lewis Hamilton, 0.394 adrift, finished the session in second overall ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Max Verstappen slotted his Red Bull into fourth ahead of Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo in fifth and Kimi Raikkonen in sixth. Nico Hulkenberg was seventh quickest in the Force India ahead of Jenson Button, Sergio Perez, and Fernando Alonso.

The long runs suggest an advantage for Mercedes especially on the red-walled supersoft tyre but the Red Bull of Max Verstappen was able to turn laptimes on the yellow-walled soft tyre not far off the Mercedes pace. At the end of Friday Ferrari is currently the third best team behind Mercedes and Red Bull. However, their pace should improve on Saturday as they bolt in some fresher engines.

McLaren’s Jenson Button made a trip to the hospital after complaining for an eye irritation but the visit is believed to only a pre-cautionary matter.

The issue of track limits was shoved into the spotlight as the stewards warned that they would clampdown on anyone who ran over the white line on the exit of turn 2 more than three times.

July 29, 2016
F1 2016: German GP Preview – Hockenheimring Returns!

The last time the F1 paddock visited Germany’s Hockenheimring was in 2014. Back then Mercedes’ dominance was just getting into its stride and Sebastian Vettel was still a Red Bull driver.

Given the amount of things that have changed it feels impossible that the race around the Hockenheimring was just two years ago. In 2016 Lewis Hamilton is a triple world champion, Sebastian Vettel has settled into life as a Ferrari driver, and there was no American team on the grid.

What remains unchanged is the mystic and attraction of the Hockenheimring. They will all be fighting it out on a German circuit that varies quite a bit from what was seen two weeks ago in Hungary. The layout includes just two high speed corners as the rest of the lap is comprised of medium speed corners. This requires stability under braking and conversely good traction out of the slower speed corners.

Overtaking here is easier than at the Hungaroring but Red Bull and Ferrari are unlikely to have enough to challenge Mercedes. For Red Bull the fact that the German circuit is very much power limited will have a big impact on their pace. However, expect to see Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen loitering near the top few positions and likely giving the Ferrari’s a tough fight.

The Italian team have been thrown a bit of curveball with the departure of tech chief James Allison. It’s never a good sign when one of the head honchos leaves mid-way through the season but it is likely that Allison did not in order to spend time with his young children. The immediate impact on Ferrari won’t be too significant. They still have scheduled updates to fit to the 2016 car throughout the season as they shift focus to their 2017 challenger.

In Germany the cooler weather may once again be Ferrari’s foe. Throughout the season the team has consistently struggled with maintaining optimum tyre temps in cooler conditions.

The run down to turn one tightens quite quickly and it remains to be seen how hard the two Merc boys will fight for dominance when the light goes out. You can’t help feeling that if Rosberg is beaten by Hamilton here it may be championship over for the German.

July 28, 2016
F1 2016: Hungarian Gp Review – Lewis Hamilton, Hungaro-King

The Hungarian grand prix marked the theoretical mid point of the 2016 season. Yet, after ten races a singular point was all that divided Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the championship fight.

Throughout the weekend’s practice sessions and qualifying it was Rosberg who looked most comfortable. But it wasn’t long before Hamilton got the drop on his pole-starting teammate and seized the lead of the race. Although it was not as dominant a drive from Hamilton he always maintained a big enough gap to Rosberg to ensure his fifth win around the Hungaroring.

The Silver Arrows held a distinct pace advantage over the rest and were hardly challenged by third placed Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver threatened Rosberg’s second place by momentarily closing the gap to 4.5 seconds in the second half of the race but couldn’t make any further impression.

The embattled Ferrari’s ran better in race trim but still fell short of reaching the podium. Sebastian Vettel, who started fifth, closed to within half a second of Ricciardo as the race drew to its ends but was unable to overtake on the notoriously difficult Hungaroring.

Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen were embroiled in a fight for fifth towards the end of the race. Verstappen managed to hold off Raikkonen who started 14^th after a timing error on Saturday. However, the manner in which Verstappen defended his position was questionable, at best. In trying to keep Raikkonen at bay Verstappen changed direction twice which is prohibited under FIA regulations. While stewards saw no cause for investigation the young Red Bull driver’s actions was met with scorn on social media. Raikkonen eventually brought the Ferrari home in sixth and set the fastest lap of the race.

Although a fair distance adrift Fernando Alonso scored some points for the McLaren in a legitimate seventh place ahead Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso and the Williams of Valterri Bottas. The final point went to a rather anonymous Nico Hulkenberg as the only retirement of the day came in the form of a Jenson Button whose McLaren suffered an oil leak.

Lewis Hamilton landed a hammer blow as he not only secured a fifth win at the Hungaroring but with it took over the lead in the driver’s championship. By successfully overcoming a 43 point deficit it also strikes a significant psychological blow to Nico Rosberg. Remarkably, the battle for championship glory is far from over and has all the possibility of turning on its head once more as ten races still remain on the 2016 calendar.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

July 25, 2016
F1 2016: Hungarian Gp Preview – Three-Way Battle Around The Ring

When the FIA announced a 21-race calendar for the 2016 it’s likely that few really took notice of what this actually meant. As the paddock heads to the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary for the 11^th round it will, astonishingly, only reach the halfway mark of the season on lap 35 of the race.

The 70 laps of the Hungaroring are akin to a street circuit thanks to its tight and twisting layout. The second sector especially highlights the flowing nature of the circuit, as it comprises eight medium to high speed flowing turns that demand absolute precision.

The price for its kart-like layout and lack of straits is that overtaking opportunities are not obvious or abundant. The most predictable overtaking opportunity is an out-braking maneuver into turn one.

The top two teams in the championship are split on tyre strategy. Pirelli is bringing the white-walled medium, yellow-walled soft, and red-walled supersoft tyre compounds to the race. Ferrari has loaded up on nine sets of supersoft tyres each for Raikkonen and Vettel while Mercedes have opted for eight sets of the softest tyre for Rosberg and Hamilton. The Hungaroring is a circuit that is notoriously low on grip for which the supersoft tyre is ideal.

The Red Bull team are primed for a good weekend in Hungary. The improved Renault power unit is not quite to the standard of Mercedes and Ferrari but it’s not far off. But they do excel in the aerodynamic department and with a better power unit than ever bolted to the back of the Red Bull and the tight and twisting nature of the Hungaroring Christian Horner and his team can be more than bullish about their chances, pun intended.

The inter-team rivalry between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen will be especially interesting to note this weekend. In their six races, so far, as teammates Verstappen has scored 77 points to Ricciardo’s 64 points. But the Hungarian grand prix will be a big test for the Verstappen vs. Ricciardo battle.

Ricciardo has an affinity for the tight and twisty circuits as he has proved on several occasions including earlier this year in Monaco. The Aussie knows his way around the Hungaroring too as it was here, in 2014, that he pulled off several magnificent overtaking moves to win a memorable race. This will be a good indicator of how Verstappen is progressing. “I have to up my game compared to where I was before in Toro Rosso because he [Ricciardo] is very quick,” said Verstappen.

It should be a better weekend for Ferrari too. As it stands Kimi Raikkonen currently sits third in the championship with 106 points while teammate Sebastian Vettel is fifth on 98 points. However, the team experienced their worst race weekend, in terms of performance, at Silverstone. But Raikkonen believes that the team’s struggles in Britain were a once off. The biggest issue, which plagued Ferrari at the last race weekend, was the cooler weather. It’s a well-documented fact that both drivers struggle to get the front tyres to the correct operating temperature in cool condition. This shouldn’t be an issue this weekend as the Hungarian grand prix weekend in hot summer conditions.

But while Red Bull and Ferrari are likely to be in better shape for Hungary the ever-dominant Mercedes will still be lurking. The qualifying pace advantage will be a big asset around a circuit where overtaking is difficult. Nevertheless, while the two Silver Arrows are in prime form they should, and likely will, face stiff competition for the top step of the podium in Hungary.

July 20, 2016
F1 2016: British Gp Review – Hamilton Scores 4th Home Win

The notoriously unpredictable British weather was surprisingly docile right up until ten minutes before the race start.

As the rain came down on the Silverstone circuit race director Charlie Whiting declared that it would start behind the safety car. Although safety is of paramount importance the safety-car start deprived everyone of the battle, into turn one, between the front-row starting Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The safety-car pulled into the pitlane after five laps most of the field switched to intermediate tyres while Hamilton continued to build a gap to second-placed Rosberg. Hamilton, Rosberg and the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had not swopped their wet tyres for intermediates. They would have been at a disadvantage to those behind was it not for Pascal Wehrlein aquaplaned his Manor into the gravel trap and out of the race on lap seven and brought out the virtual safety-car.

As the race settled after the first round of stops Hamilton comfortably led the way from his teammate. On occasion Rosberg threatened to close the gap to Hamilton but never follow through. He also had to deal with a spirited Max Verstappen snapping at his heels. After a few laps of hounding Rosberg’s gearbox the 18 year-old pulled off a stunningly brave move around the outside of Chapel to take second place. The season still has some way to go but this overtaking move will take some beating.

As the circuit continued to dry the next round of stops saw everyone switch to dry medium compound tyres. Behind Hamilton, Rosberg, and Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo was running a very distant fourth with Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen even further behind. Despite no rain falling the circuit was slow to dry and several drivers including race leader Hamilton had several off track moments.

Though it would take some time Rosberg eventually found a way by Verstappen. He closed the gap to Hamilton from eight to six seconds but never truly looked likely to threaten the lead of the race.

Hamilton masterful in wet condition just as in 2008, which to date it arguably his best grand prix win. While Ricciardo drove an uninspiring race to fourth Ferrari’s newly re-signed Kimi Raikkonen was able to close down a substantial gap to Perez for fifth. Perez finished sixth ahead of Force India teammate Nico Hulkenberg in seventh and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz in eighth. Sebastian Vettel completed a miserable day for Ferrari in ninth. The German driver started the race in eleventh after suffering yet another five-place gearbox penalty. Though there was nothing deliberate about it he was slapped with a 5-second penalty for forcing Felipe Massa off the tack. The penalty didn’t affect his final position in the race. The second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat scored the final point in tenth.

Controversy enveloped the Mercedes team as Rosberg ran into gearbox problems late in the race. The pitwall gave instruction on which setting to change and coached Rosberg to shift through seventh gear. By telling the driver to shift through the gear the team breached the driver communication rule, which prohibits the team from giving instructions to fix a performance issue. Nearly four hours after the race the stewards imposed a ten-second penalty on Rosberg, which dropped him to third in the race classification. Mercedes has stated their intent to appeal the decision.

A new precedent was set as it’s the first instance where a penalty had to be imposed for the breach of driver communication rules. However, a ten-second penalty isn’t much of a deterrent if the alternative is retirement.

Nico Rosberg started the season with four consecutive wins but has only claimed victory in one of the last six races. Add to this that a fourth win on home soil has put Hamilton only one point adrift of the championship lead and it appears as if the Brit is gaining an ominous momentum.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

July 11, 2016