F1 Madness

Tag: daniel ricciado

  • F1 2019: Canadian Gp Preview – Ferrari to the Fore?

    F1 2019: Canadian Gp Preview – Ferrari to the Fore?

    Formula 1 travels from Monaco to Montreal for the seventh round of the 2019 championship this weekend. The Canadian grand prix track is a relatively short one with a lap time below seventy seconds highly likely in 2019. But the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, seemingly innocuous, has quirks and nuances that have caught out many drivers. From barriers just beyond the edge of the rumble strips to the famed Wall of Champions together with a number of big braking points combine to produce a fast, low downforce circuit.

    Seven races into the 2019 season and Ferrari’s best result is Seb Vettel’s second place finish at the Monaco grand prix. On merit the Ferrari was the third quickest car at the last race which is a far cry from pre-season expectations. But for several mechanical and driver errors in 2018 the Scuderia could well have won the championship and it seemed as if they were on the path towards maintaining the challenge in 2019. While their engine is currently the class of the field Ferrari’s biggest problem with the SF90 is that it lacks downforce. This means that while they may be the quickest on the straight they fall painfully shy of Mercedes, and even Red Bull, in cornering.

    It stands to reason then that in Canada Ferrari should fare better. In Spain they introduced an upgraded engine but because of the layout of Catalunya and Monaco the gains were masked by the circuit layouts. However, a fresh, upgraded engine will aid them on the power sensitive Canadian circuit. While it may not be outright domination by Ferrari the expectation is that they could be significantly closer to Mercedes but only if they check all the boxes, including a seamless strategic and organizational weekend.

    M193406Mercedes are likely to bring an upgraded engine to Canada as will have to manage their own inter-team battle given the manner in which Bottas 2.0 has stepped up in 2019. While he has never taken victory on this circuit Valtteri Bottas has been somewhat of a Canadian Gp specialist. In 2013, his debut year with Williams, he secured an impressive third on the starting grid before taking his first podium, still as a Williams driver, at the same circuit in 2015 and 2016.

    If Bottas could be classed as somewhat of a specialist around these parts then Lewis Hamilton must be the master. His first career win came here in 2007 and he’s followed it with five more victories for a grand total of six wins in Canada and only one adrift of the great Michael Schumacher. Hamilton has recently been quoted as saying that he hasn’t been driving particularly good this year. If he is to be believed this weekend’s Canadian grand prix, where he has exceled brilliantly in the past, could well spur him into stepping up his game.

    If it is to be battle between Mercedes and Ferrari the expectation is that Red Bull would be the third quickest team. But on a circuit layout like this which rewards engine prowess they too will have to tick all the boxes if they are to have a solid weekend. There is the added element of unpredictability of this grand prix which has turned many races here on its head. And it is this randomness that has made the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and the Canadian grand prix one of the most anticipated races of the year.

  • F1 2018: Russian Gp Preview – In-form Mercedes Favourites

    F1 2018: Russian Gp Preview – In-form Mercedes Favourites

    If the Singapore grand prix was a must win for Ferrari then the race in Russia this weekend and the twenty-five points on offer are even more critical from Sebastian Vettel’s perspective.

    The 2018 Formula 1 season started with a lot of promise for Ferrari. In Australia they hit the ground running and genuinely seemed to have built a great racecar. It’s true, they did built an extremely quick and perhaps even championship-winning car but they’ve never really hit their stride. Sure, there were a handful of victories in the early part of the season but their inconsistency has always lurked not too far away.  Not inconsistency in speed per say but in executing strategy and clinical decision-making. The irony here is that this is an area in which Ferrari has struggled for a number of years and it may, still, be something they’re not aware of. Instead they diverted and invested all attention and energy into producing a quick car and they have but it isn’t enough to win a world championship against an opposition like Mercedes.

    Though they are imperative Mercedes’s might isn’t only in the car it produces or Lewis Hamilton. Many would have you believe that Vettel throwing away 25 points at the German grand prix was likely the seminal moment of the season but they would be mistaken. The Singapore grand prix weekend was far more pivotal. Not because Ferrari could only manage third but for how Mercedes turned around their fortunes on a circuit where they had been embarrassed previously. For all to see the brilliance of the entire Mercedes operation was put on display. It allowed a for a glimpse of their unyielding tenacity and their relentless drive for success on and, importantly, off the track.

    Russia 2016_Mercedes Pit WallThe result in Singapore will have galvanized the team and infused them with an unshakeable believe that the both 2018 titles are very much within their grasp.

    The next step is the Russian grand prix and the Sochi Autodrom.  Built by F1 architect Herman Tilke the 5.8 km long circuit has several distinguishing features with the most prominent being turn 3, a 750-meter constant radius left-hander. Besides a long fairly straight and flat-out drag to turn 2 the rest of the lap is littered with 90-degree corners that lends the middle sector its fast and flowing nature. Because the track is built around the Olympic Park it utlises some of the internal roads of the park making it, effectively, a street circuit. However, there will be no fear for the durability of the Hypersoft tyre this weekend as the track surface of the Sochi Autodrom is notoriously smooth.

    sirotkinThere is no way to hide the fact that the Williams F1 team has endured one of the most difficult seasons in its storied history. Far from competitive the once championship winning team has been nailed to the back of the grid for most of the 2018 season. But it’s not all doom and gloom as the team recently advanced to the final part of qualifying in Italy and followed it with a double points score in the race. Tenth place in Italy secured Sergey Sirotkin’s first points in F1. As the third Russian driver to compete in the sport, following Vitaly Petrov and Daniil Kvyat, Sirotkin has been, mostly, under the radar. But he’s been quite impressive even if the results don’t reflect it. Besides driving the wheels, figuratively, off his Williams and ekeing out every last milli-second of speed his demeanour outside of the car has been noteworthy. Never one to criticize he’s remained positive and continually looked to boost the morale of the team with what he says. While talk is cheap in F1 and it wont make you go any faster it does boost self-esteem in a moment when Williams needs all it can get.

    Formula 1 often tends towards throwing up contrary results and you predict it at your peril. But on current form Mercedes should see the chequered flag first on Sunday unless Ferrari can get its house in order.