F1 Madness

Tag: daniil kvyat

  • F1 2017: Australian Gp Review – Ferrari On Top Down Under

    F1 2017: Australian Gp Review – Ferrari On Top Down Under

    For the first time since the hybrid era started in Formula 1 a team other than Mercedes is leading the world championship. That team is Ferrari and the driver is Sebastian Vettel.

    It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a Ferrari claimed the top step of podium as all signs in testing pointed to the fact that the Italian team had built a good car. While not too surprising, it was a breath of fresh air. Consider how refreshing it is to have a red car cross the finish line when you take into account that this is the Ferrari victory since the 2015 Singapore grand prix and the first time since November 2008 that Ferrari has led the constructor’s championship.

    It was a measured start to the grand prix that Lewis Hamilton led into turn one from pole position with Vettel in close attendance. There was however a coming together of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber a bit later in the lap. While the rest of the pack sorted themselves out Vettel was glued to the back of the Mercedes exhaust, this time Hamilton wasn’t simply scampering off into the distance.

    1169This meant while Hamilton could control the front of the race he couldn’t run at too conservative a pace. This meant that Hamilton was not able to extend the life of the ultrasoft tyres and was forced into the pitlane ahead of the Ferrari. This gave Vettel the impetuous to push ahead and take the lead of the race.

    Hamilton’s early visit to the pits came a surprise too many as the new-for-2017 pirelli tyres have a much long lifespan than their 2016 counterparts. Nevertheless, the three-time champ emerged behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and was stuck behind the Dutchman for a handful of laps while Vettel pulled away up front.

    Mercedes, and Hamilton, would have you believe that this is where the race was lost but Verstappen didn’t play as big a role. Firstly, Hamilton dived into the pitlane because he’d exhausted the tyres and was losing grip. Secondly, while he did lose a few seconds behind Verstappen he wasn’t stuck behind him for the remainder of the race, in fact, it wasn’t even half distance yet. The simple fact is that the Mercedes just didn’t have the pace to beat the Ferrari.

    Post-race Hamilton bemoaned the inability to overtake Verstappen. Given the unique characteristics of Albert Park it’s not yet clear whether overtaking in 2017 will be more difficult. Shangai, in two weeks time, should be a better barometer. But again, this didn’t seem like a valid point as several other drivers pulled of overtakes, including a stunning double-overtake from Force India’s Esteban Ocon on Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. But we’ve seen before that the Merc isn’t a car that runs as efficiently as others in dirty air, and it seems, at least from Australia that it’s an issue that haven’t gotten on top yet.

    1142Valtteri Bottas impressed with his performance in third only two seconds off Hamilton. Ideally he’ll want to be ahead but he’ll take a lot of confidence from the margin to his teammate in only his first race with the team. Kimi Raikkonen came home a distant fourth and said that understeer in the first stint on the ultrasoft tyres put him in no-mans land. But when he swithced to the soft tyre he was able to run the pace of the top three and set the fastest lap of the race. Was fourth ideal? No, but the important thing is that Raikkonen and the team indicated that they knew where they’d gone wrong on the set-up and know what to fix for China in two weeks time.

    Max Verstappen, in fifth, brought the Red Bull home in a predictable position given the team’s pace. Daniel Ricciardo never recovered from a qualifying crash as he first broke down on the lap to the grid then joined the race two laps down only to break down again.

    Verstappen, in fifth, ended up pretty much where you’d have predicted for Red Bull. The unretired Felipe Massa was sixth for Williams ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Daniil Kvyat was ninth in the other Toro Rosso ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Force India in tenth.

    1166It was a day to forget for McLaren as Stoffel Vandoorne finished last and Fernando Alonso retired with suspension failure. What is evident for the Honda-powered team is that 2017 will be another painfully long season.

    After Friday practice Hamilton was crowned champion at least seventeen different times and Ferrari had no chance of even getting close to the Mercedes. Just as it was premature to write off Ferrari after Friday it is equally unwise to declare them the team to beat after one race. It’s a new formula with a lot of room for improvement throughout the season. Even if a team dominates the first races it doesn’t mean that they will be the team to beat at the end of the year. The learning curve on these cars will be enormous.

    But Ferrari’s victory is no fluke, or once-off, the SF-70H is a good car that has every possibility of taking the fight to Mercedes through all of the nineteen remaining races.

  • Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    The wait for the 2017 Formula 1 season is nearly over as it heads into the first round at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.

    This weekend one of the most dramatic overhauls of F1 regulations will finally come to life as the battle commences for the 2017 championship. From a purely visual perspective the wider tyres and different aerodynamic layout of the cars present a rather different, but appealing, new look to Formula 1. They will be much faster too and may be up to five seconds a lap quicker than their predecessors.

    With the new era comes a change in several sporting regulations too. For the tyres Pirelli have attempted to provide more durability so as to allow drivers to push harder for longer before it begins to degrade. Whether this will have a detrimental effect on strategy, cutting down on the number of stops, remains to be seen.

    Should it rain Down Under the race will longer start behind a safety-car. Instead, the safety-car will take the field around the track until it is deemed safe to re-start in which case the cars will line up on the grid for a standing start. Further, the launch off the grid has been tightened up where it concerns the clutch. It’s now up to the driver to find the correct bite point, without any pre-programmed settings, and to ensure the best start without getting wheelspin or bogging down the engine.

    TEST F1/2017 - T2 SPAGNAThe eight days of running, across two sessions of testing, suggested that the top three teams might be the closest they’ve been since the start of the hybrid era. Lewis Hamilton has been on record calling Ferrari the favourite. Race drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen shied away from such declarations but there is no denying that the Scuderia have made an impressive step forward. So impressive in fact that it is likely the team to beat in Australia. But they aren’t buying into the hype though as Ferrari president, Sergio Marcionne, has insisted that Mercedes are still ahead.

    For their part Mercedes have announced that it will be running a second, upgraded, specification of engine in Australia. While reports are that it would’ve been introduced later on because of reliability concerns to the timetable has been moved up. There could be several reasons for this but the likelihood is that Mercedes is feeling slightly nervous about the Ferrari hence the early introduction.

    What is a fact is that both Ferrari and Mercedes were sandbagging at different times during testing in Spain and the true pace of both cars will only be revealed in Saturday’s qualifying session.

    2017 Barcelona Pre-Season Test 2, Day 2 - Steve EtheringtonAlong with Ferrari and Mercedes, Red Bull are tipped to be part of the front-running group the true pace of the RB13 is the biggest mystery of the top three teams. While Renault has made impressive progressive with its 2017 power unit it is still behind the Mercedes and Ferrari. Despite this, given the street-like layout of Albert Park, Red Bull is very much the dark horse. While they are well capable of springing a surprise with all things being equal it’s unlikely to be for the top step of the podium.

    As part street-track with a layout comprised, mostly, of medium speed corners, the Albert Park circuit is an outlier on the calendar that is unlikely to present the truest representation of the pecking order in 2017. Nevertheless, at the end of it there will be twenty-five important points and it is the first step of a 2017 season in which it seems that there might finally be a three-horse race.

  • 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.

     

  • F1 2017: F1 2017: Team-by-team Guide, Part 2

    F1 2017: F1 2017: Team-by-team Guide, Part 2

    McLaren – Fernando Alonso & Stoffel Vandoorne

    Given the results it’s produced over the last two seasons it’s safe to say that McLaren’s renewed partnership with Honda has been miserable. As proud and prominent a company Honda may be there is no doubt that they underestimated the task of re-entering the sport.

    Fernando Alonso and 24-year-old Stoffel Vandoorne will drive for the team in 2017. In the 2016 Bahrain grand prix Vandoorne made his debut as Alonso sat out with fractured ribs from a crash in Australia. The Belgian driver not only out-qualified teammate Jenson Button but when on to finish in tenth, scoring one point for the team. What was most impressive about Vandoorne’s grand prix debut was the ease with which he slipped into the role of race driver. There were no wild off-track moments and hardly any mistakes. Regardless of the car’s performance in 2017 he’s unlikely to rattle Alonso’s cage but he has already revealed himself as a driver to watch.

    For a driver of Fernando Alonso’s caliber 2017 will be catalyst for his future in the sport. It’s unlikely, if McLaren were to underperform again, that he would stick around for much longer. It’s unlikely that he’ll slip into retirement either given his hunger for success. Come 2018 there is likely to be a plethora of options and all of them would welcome Alonso with open arms.

    Carlos Sainz_Russia 2015Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz JR & Daniil Kvyat

    The sister Red Bull team should have had a much better 2016 season. But running a year-old Ferrari engine encumbered it. This season they revert back to Renault power and with a good chassis they could, potentially, threaten a team like Force India.

    For one of its drivers, Russian Daniil Kvyat, it’s likely the last chance to make a real impression. His very public demotion from the Red Bull team last year was a spirit breaker and he took months to show some sort of recovery from it. But he did so as he fiercely held off her replacement Max Verstappen at the 2016 Singapore grand prix. On the other side of the garage Carlos Sainz Jr. must underline the enormous talent shown in the previous season. If he does, a better drive at a bigger team is definitely in his future.

    Sauber_RearWing ComparisonSauber – Marcus Ericsson & Pascal Wehrlein

    In the nick of time the Swiss-based team was given a new lease on life from Swedish investment firm, Longbow Finance. Though an independent team Sauber has rich history in the sport. Much credit must go to Monisha Kaltenborn and her team for continuing to fight for a team in a near financial death spiral. Sauber has already stressed the importance of chassis design and development in the new season. Thanks to relatively comfortable financial position the team will be able to maintain a program of development in 2017 unlike in 2016.

    Marcus Ericsson remains as driver and while his performances have been solid an uncompetitive car has dwarfed them. Pascal Wehrlein slots in alongside and has a lot to prove to the paddock and himself. He will feel hard done by for not getting the Force India or Merc drive. But there’s a reason he didn’t get – the powers that be didn’t think him ready to step up. 2017 is his chance of changing that opinion not just on the track but in the garage too.

    Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Bahrain Grand Prix - Practice Day - Sakhir, BahrainRenault – Nico Hulkenberg & Jolyon Palmer

    The French team is very much in a re-building phase and wouldn’t expect to make a massive splash in the new season. But their expectation will be to see a steady improvement throughout the season.

    With several crashes and lackluster showings Jolyon Palmer has not impressed in the Renault. And now he’ll be matched up against one of the most highly rated drivers on the grid in Nico Hulkenberg. German-driver Hulkenberg is the sort that fits well into any team but is running short on time to make it into one of the top teams in the sport.

    kevin-magnussen_haas

    Haas F1 – Romain Grosjean & Keven Magnussen

    The American-owned team started the 2016 season like a house on fire. That fire has dampened slightly but it is still a team of immense potential that is run, by Gene Haas, in the best way possible.

    There is a sense of unfulfilled potential when you think about Romain Grosjean. His stint in the Lotus a few seasons ago looked like it would be the springboard to greater things but it hasn’t worked out for the Frenchman. But he’s a quality driver who should easily have the measure of teammate Kevin Magnussen if he can learn how to drive around the issues that may be present in the 2017 Haas car.

     

  • Magnussen Penalized for Off-Track Pass on Kvyat

    Magnussen Penalized for Off-Track Pass on Kvyat

    Renault’s Kevin Magnussen was handed a 5-second time penalty for his pass on Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat at Turn 12 at the United States Grand Prix.

    Magnussen who was fighting Kvyat for 11th in the race passed Kvyat into T12 after the long back straight at the Circuit of the Americas.

    The Dane went deep on the brakes and ran wide at the exit of T12 and rejoined the track ahead of Kvyat.

    The stewards ruled that Magnussen gained an advantage and handed down the time penalty and 2 penalty points on his super licence.

    “Car 20 left the track in turn 12, gaining a lasting advantage,” said the stewards in the penalty decision document.

    The penalty meant that Magnussen, although finishing 11th, dropped down to 12th promoting Kvyat to 11th.

    Massa-Alonso Incident

    Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were summoned to the stewards after the race after Alonso passed Massa at T15 with a dive down the inside making contact with the front left wheel of the Williams. Massa picked up a puncture and was forced to pit. The Brazilian finished the race in 7th with Alonso going on to pass Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso to finish 5th.

    Alonso felt that the move was fair. Massa, however, felt that his race was compromised after that.

    The stewards ruled that no further action should be taken and neither driver incurred any penalty.

    Unsafe Release for Raikkonen

    Ferrari were fined €5000 for the unsafe release of Kimi Raikkonen on lap 38 after the right rear wheel was not properly fastened.

    At first glance the pit stop looked like a routine stop for Raikkonen until he came to a stop at the exit of the pit lane. Because of the incline to Turn 1, Raikkonen was able to release the brake and roll the car back to the pit lane. He parked his car off to the side in the pit lane and he got out of his car ending his race.

     

    Photo credit: Renault Sport Formula One Team

  • 2016 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Jenson BUTTON (McLaren), Felipe MASSA (Williams), Esteban OCON (Manor), Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Nico HULKENBERG (Force India), Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Jenson let’s start with you. Your 300th grand prix, only the third driver to do it, it’s a big number. What does your place in Formula One history mean to you?

    Jenson BUTTON: That’s a good question that deserves a very long answer and I’m not going to give it to you here. It means I have been around for a hell of a long time. I remember when Rubens got to 300 – it was unbelievable that he’d reached 300 grands prix. I was like, “I’m never going to race for that long”. I remember when I started in 2000 – I’m not going to give you my life story – but when I started in 2000 I remember speaking to my dad and he said: “How long do you think you’re going to race for?” and I said: “No! I’ll be done by the time I’m 30 years old.” And here I am at 36 and this weekend I’m starting my 300th grand prix. It definitely sucks you in, Formula One. It doesn’t let go for a long time, as long as you are performing. So it’s been a great ride to 300. Lots of ups and downs, as every career will have, and the important thing is that you stay on top of those bad times and you enjoy the good times as much as you can, because you never know how long they are going to last. A very exciting career to this point, 300 races, and if any of these guys can achieve it around me, fair play to them, because it’s a long time doing the same thing.

    Now, Honda have said, going into this weekend, they’re going to review whether to use updated power units, presumably with tokens used, during the weekend at some point. What will be the decisive factors and what would you personally like to do from a strategic point of view looking at this race and at their home grand prix in Suzuka?

    JB: Obviously they don’t want to take any penalties in Suzuka, which is completely understandable. It’s basically our second home race. Here – I can’t speak for the other car – but I personally won’t be having a penalty. It will be a normal weekend for me.

    OK, that’s very clear, thank you very much for that. Nico Hulkenberg, coming to you, Force India are now fourth in the Constructors’ and have outscored Williams 39 to 19 in the last five races. Is there a belief in the team that you can beat them at the end of the season?   

    Nico HULKENBERG: Yeah, absolutely, of course. We’re doing well, especially since Barcelona the second half has been quite successful. The scores and the points back that up. But obviously there is still a long way to go. For us we definitely aim for and target that’s fourth place, but Sunday night in Abu Dhabi, that’s when we count everything and that’s when we have to be ahead. Now it’s a tight margin, they’re not going to give it to us for free. We have to work for it and yeah, make it work.

    Let’s throw that same question to Felipe. Is that scoring ratio causing concerns internally at Williams and how are you addressing it?

    Felipe MASSA: It’s definitely a big fight. So they are doing a very good championship. I think they improved the car a lot during the season. I believe we can fight them to the end and I believe maybe we can finish in front of them. But you don’t know. You will count race to race the amount of points we are doing compared to them, so I would say some of the tracks you have now are a bit better than some of the tracks we did, like maybe Singapore, the road tracks where they really have a very quick and competitive car. The circuits now are a little bit better for us, but the fight will be race by race and I hope we can do it.

    And back to Nico Hulkenberg: you’re both using the same engine, so what’s giving your side the added value?

    NH: The car hopefully. It is close and I think it will be a battle all the way to the end. I think good clean weekends, consistent from here is very important, maximise the opportunities we get, and yeah, that will determine at the end who will be fourth.

    We’ll move on to Dany Kvyat and come back to Felipe in a moment. You said after the Singapore Grand Prix performance that you had rediscovered your love for Formula One after a tough few months. Why? What was so special about that race for you?

    Daniil KVYAT: Well, it was an enjoyable race first of all, first time in a while, because we managed to have a good start. We were fighting all the race for quite high positions and it was a bit of a relief for the whole team to find ourselves fighting for the usual positions we used to fight for. Even though maybe the final result left us slightly disappointed, but the race itself was exciting. It was full of good fights. It was always promising pace. Our car was quite kind with the tyres and hopefully it’s a good confidence boost for the whole team, including myself.

    It’s no secret that Toro Rosso lost the way a little bit with an update introduced around the time of the German Grand Prix, which seems to have been rectified now, so how confidently do you approach the reaming races of the championship?

    DK: Well, like I said, Singapore gave us good indications. Obviously there were a lot of tests carried out by the people in the team and hopefully there was a few things discovered. Obviously we had a good Singapore but now we need a few more confirmations and hopefully they will arrive here in Sepang, even though the track layout is a bit different, maybe not as favourable as Singapore. Probably it won’t be an easy one for us but we will hope to have another confirmation that we are moving in the right direction from Singapore onwards.

    Q: You made the announcement in Monza about your retirement at the end of this season, it’ll be your 250thgrand prix in Abu Dhabi. Do you now arrive at these grands prix between now and the end of the season with a slightly different mindset? Are you determined to enjoy every experience, to take the most out of every grand prix?

    FM: Yes, definitely! I’ll just enjoy massively doing what I’m doing – since I always did in my life. In a way you can say I have less pressure now – but we do have a lot of pressure with this fight with Force India. I just want to give everything I can to finish well, to get the fourth place in the Championship and enjoy every race, enjoy every moment. I’m still really happy with my decisions so I’m sure there’s a lot to do in life for this second step so, as Jenson was saying before, it’s a really long career, so even if we are pretty young… y’know you stop pretty young, he’s 36, I’m 35 and you’re like, retired! That’s why there’s still a lot of things to do in life. I’m really ready for that and happy. I’ll have a little bit more time at home as well. So, yeah, just thinking… so many things for the future and enjoying every race, every moment in different countries, different places. Really it’s fantastic to see all the support from the fans. From everybody around the sport. Enjoying the moment.

    Q: Esteban, you’ve finished all of your grands prix so far. How do you assess your performance in qualifying and race compared with your team-mate?

    EO: Coming into the season with less experience, of course, it’s not an easy thing. We had some ups and downs I think. We are pretty happy with the first grand prix we did. I improved quite a lot during the weekend. Of course it was my first grand prix so the pace was not great but we were pretty happy with that. Then unfortunately in the second qualifying in Monza we had a problem so we couldn’t show our pace, but I think we could have done a great result there. And in Singapore it has been a bit more difficult. So, we have to put all the details together and come back stronger for this race.

    Q: If you look back through recent history, Alonso, Ricciardo, they all started out in a similar level team to the one you’re in at the moment, to learn the ropes in Formula One. Do you think another year at that level would be good for your development – especially, as you say, given that you came in, in a difficult situation quite late this year?

    EO: For sure. The more you drive, and more you take experience. Any year, any races would help me. For sure. Getting in, after three races, you start to discover everything and start to build up a strong relationship with the team and see how they work. It’s a lot of details that you have to put right and once they are right, you can start to see some performance.

    Q: Nico, Mercedes can wrap up its third consecutive Constructors’ Championship this weekend. How does this year compare from the team’s point of view to the two previous ones. What’s stood out for you about this year?

    NR: It’s been another incredible year really. Every time we think it can never repeat itself and be as good as that again, and yet we manage to do it again. And this year as well now, so early in the season we have the opportunity to clinch the Constructors’ Championship, which is phenomenal. Everybody’s done an unbelievable job. Very impressive.

    Q: It’s an open secret that the Mercedes team feel that your qualifying lap in Singapore is the best that you’ve driven since you’ve been with them – and Toto Wolff said it was the most complete, I think, performance he’d seen from you across the whole race weekend. What can you take out of that Singapore weekend that will make you a consistently strong competitor to the end of the season?

    NR: I don’t need to take anything from the Singapore weekend. It was a great result, great weekend and all, so I’m very happy about that, but now it’s in the past. Now I’m here in Sepang and ready to go. Of course I believe that I have a great chance to win here as well. Just going to try to go for that.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, you are all the time insisting that you are not thinking about the championship. How can you avoid it when you are leading the championship?

    NR: It’s not that I don’t think about it – I’m aware of the situation, I’m aware of the points and whatever else – that’s fine but I try and focus on the race weekend I have in front of me because that’s been working really well for me to do that and not think about anything else. That’s it. I want to win here in Sepang and I’m going to go for that.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Daily Telegraph) Another one for Nico. You guys leave no stone unturned in trying to beat each other – just out of interest, does that extend to things like the event you and Lewis were doing at the mall the other day? Are there silly little games that go on? Do you try and unsettle each other, nobble each other, anything like that?

    NR: It’s not quite that extreme, that we’d be doing stuff at the mall, no. It’s not. But yes, for sure, we’ll be pushing each other very hard on the race track and even off the race track in many different areas, yeah, definitely. It’s a great battle and everything counts.

    Q: (Chris Lyons- AP) Felipe, the calendar for next season came out with an asterisk next to Brazil saying it’s to be confirmed. Are you disappointed with the state of things in Brazil and how confident are you that it will stay on the calendar?

    FM: Well, to be honest, I think it’s very difficult to answer in a proper way. We are just racing and we don’t know what’s happened behind (the scenes) with the contracts. Sometimes you just see some pressures over a country because maybe something’s not working like Bernie –  or who decides – is thinking. We know that you always have pressures around. It’s not nice, definitely. Brazil is part of this sport, it’s part of Formula One since a very long time so it would be really disappointing to lose a race in Brazil even if I will not be there. But I will be supporting my country for new Brazilian drivers, so I know the situation in Brazil is not really easy for the moment economically, so this is maybe some fact around this. But you never know, maybe this is just some pressure but maybe this can happen as we saw it happened last year in Germany. I hope it will not happen to Sao Paulo, Interlagos. It’s also one of the most fun and great races to watch so I hope the best for them, for my country, for Brazil and I hope these guys will still enjoy their race in Brazil.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To all of you, how will the new tarmac affect your way of driving during the Grand Prix?

    Q: Let’s start with Jenson; have you done your track walk yet?

    JB: Er, no, but I’ve seen lots of pictures. It’s dark so that’s a major difference. I think it’s going to…  with the temperatures that we see here anyway are very high, so if it’s clear then the temperatures are going to be very high on track, which obviously has quite a big effect on the way the tyres work. It’s very smooth, from what I see. Obviously we’re going to try and watch every practice session that runs today. You get a better understanding. What else? And the last corner is obviously very different with the off-camber but yeah, I don’t know if it’s similar to Sochi or not but it seems like it, the bitumen, the way that the asphalt is. So it might be a completely different circuit, but we won’t know until tomorrow, probably get a bit of an understanding from watching GP2 and GP3.

    NR: It will be a big challenge because it will be very different and we all need to adapt to the new asphalt, which we don’t know how it’s going to handle here.

    EO: I have been around on a track walk but it will be my first time on this track so I come here as I don’t know how it was before.

    NH: Neutral, same for everyone but generally the smooth tarmac…  we’ve seen recently we perform quite well on that so hopefully again here.

    DK: I think I just copy and paste Jenson’s answer. It was perfect. It’s enough.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) For the five drivers who raced here before: what is your best Sepang memory?

    JB: I’m the oldest. Yeah, I won here which was a pretty good memory, back in ’09. It was also quite a strange race. The rain was so severe that we had to red flag the race and it wasn’t restarted. I won the race but I got half points which was a bit of a pain. It’s always been a great circuit to race on, it’s also the place where I scored my first podium in 2004. I was running in third place in 2002 as well. On the last lap my suspension failed and handed the third place to Michael Schumacher. So that would have been my first podium. So this place… I’ve got lots of memories from here.

    FM: Well, actually I always love this place, the circuit, the layout. I never won but I twice started on pole position, 2007, 2008. I will keep those memories but I was never on the podium here. Amazing. But I really love the circuit. I’ve had some great races, even if I wasn’t on the podium. Hope this one will be a better one.

    NR: Just the track which is a really cool track to drive on. That’s it.

    NH: I think my best or favourite memory would be qualifying 2010, coming here in my rookie year. I think it was only my second event, qualifying went  pretty well, like full wets. In the conditions it was going pretty well, I think I qualified fifth or something so that was good fun and probably my best memory here.

    DK: Yeah, actually quite a special track because I did my first ever race here in Formula BMW and won my first ever race in Formula BMW in single seaters, so it’s quite cool memories.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Esteban, you started in the Formula Three European championship when you were very young, you won the championship, you beat future Formula One star Max Verstappen. Then you moved to GP3, in your first season you won the championship. Now you’re in Formula One, the reality is very different. Can you make a comment on the main difficulties you are facing, the challenge is maybe higher than you expected or less?

    EO: No, I don’t think it’s harder than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be hard, coming after eleven Grands Prix or twelve Grands Prix. It’s never easy if you come in any championship at halfway through the season, all the drivers have had time to work on everything, on all the points and you arrive, you have to catch up everything again, so of course it’s tough. But at the end, you are working for the same thing and the important thing are the tracks. For sure there is much more things to do in F1 and you work with many more people. But at the end, it’s the same thing and the track is the important bit.

  • F1 2016: Singapore Gp Review – Nail-biting Victory For Rosberg

    F1 2016: Singapore Gp Review – Nail-biting Victory For Rosberg

    There are twenty-three corners crammed into the Marina Bay circuit and the Singapore grand prix delivered nearly as many talking points.

    Nico Rosberg dominated Saturday qualifying while Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo beat an off-colour Lewis Hamilton to the front row of the grid. It was a weekend in which Hamilton never looked comfortable or close to matching the pace of his teammate. He had no reason for it either, choosing to say that it just didn’t come together at the important moments.

    Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean never made it to the start of the race as he suffered a brake-by-wire failure and start-line incident ended Nico Hulkenberg’s race in a shower of carbon fibre before it even began. The Hulkenberg crash demanded a short safety-car period but because it was at the start of the race it had no impact on the race.

    Nico Rosberg, who had a clean getaway from the line, re-started the race with Ricciardo, Hamilton and Raikkonen in close attendance. The Red Bull driver was able to keep the Mercedes of Rosberg honest with a gap of four seconds while Hamilton came under increasing pressure from Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

    GP SINGAPORE F1/2016The dominance of Mercedes over the last while often disguises what finely tuned machines they are and just how much they flirt with the edge at most races. In Singapore both Rosberg and Hamilton were required to manage their brakes from early on. This and relenting pressure from Raikkonen forced Hamilton into a mistake that allowed the Finnish Ferrari driver to pull off a great overtake for third.

    By the second round of pitstops Rosberg still held an advantage over Ricciardo while Raikkonen was holding off Hamilton for third. However, Mercedes opted to switch Hamilton to Plan B, which meant an extra stop. Ferrari opted to cover Mercedes and Raikkonen dropped to fourth behind Hamilton. The mistake however wasn’t that Ferrari covered the Hamilton pitstop but the fact that they reacted too late. Had the pitted Raikkonen a lap earlier, or even on the same lap as Hamilton, he would’ve emerged in third place. But when a team is reacting rather than pre-empting you end up with a season, which, for Ferrari, has been littered with strategic errors.

    While Rosberg stayed out Red Bull brought Ricciardo in for a fresh set of boots. The Aussie closed down a 26 second gap to the race leader but ultimately fell an agonizing 4 tenths of a second short. Behind Hamilton and Raikkonen Sebastian Vettel earned the driver-of-the-day tag by recovering from last to fifth overall. Max Verstappen finished sixth ahead of Fernando Alonso in seventh. Force India’s Sergio Perez finished eighth ahead of Daniil Kvyat in ninth and Renault’s Kevin Magnussen in tenth.

    GP SINGAPORE F1/2016Since being demoted from the Red Bull team Kvyat has been missing in action and has often appeared demoralized after races. But the Singapore Gp felt like a turning point for him as he shone in a feisty battle with Verstappen, the man who took his place at Red Bull. F1 isn’t like other sports where you can glean information from an athlete’s body language or facial expression in the heat of battle. But as Kvyat fought tooth and nail against Verstappen, and kept him behind, the pride and passion were evident and very much welcome.

    In the last few weeks Nico Rosberg has accomplished something he’s never done before. He has taken first-time victories in Belgium, Italy, and Singapore. He heads the table by eight points with six race remaining. If he carries his methodical approach through the remainder of the season, and doesn’t slip against Hamilton, he could accomplish something else he’s never done before, the driver’s world title.

  • Nico Rosberg takes German GP practice hat trick

    Nico Rosberg takes German GP practice hat trick

    Nico Rosberg completed a hat trick of the German GP practice sessions, leading the way during the final practice session ahead of this weekend’s race.

    Rosberg posted a time of 1:15.738 on his second super soft run, which was 0.057s clear of Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton has been summoned to the stewards for an unsafe releas ahead of Romain Grosjean in the pit lane. Paddy Lowe commented that the pit garage exit is extremely tight and there’s not much room to bring the drivers out.

    Red Bull and Ferrari finished within spitting distance of the Mercedes drivers with Daniel Ricciardo completing his session only 0.099s behind Rosberg’s time. Kimi Raikkonen finished 0.164 behind the German.

    Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen finished 5th and 6th fastest, Vettel completing the session with some damage to his front wing. Verstappen had complained earlier in the session that his battery was not charging.

    Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were the only other drivers along the grid to lap within a second of Rosberg’s time.

    Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the Top 10.

    Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat posted the 11th and 14th fastest times for Toro Rosso split by the Mexicans – Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez.

    Renault finished 15th and 16th with Kevin Magnussen going a dash faster than team mate Joylen Palmer. Button set the 19th fastest time amid plenty complaints of a loose rear and very low grip. He completed only 6 laps.

    Manor drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto finished 20th and 21st with Romain Grosjean only managing four laps before spinning out at Turn 3 with gearbox complaints. Grosjean will need to take a gearbox change resulting in a five place drop following qualifying.

    Join us at 14:00 GMT+2 on Twitter @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat from qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

    Nico Rosberg Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

  • Electronic sensors installed to monitor Hungarian GP track limits

    Electronic sensors installed to monitor Hungarian GP track limits

    The FIA has confirmed that electronic sensors will be installed on the outside of the kerbs around certain corners of the Hungaroring this weekend to monitor the track limits during the Hungarian GP.

    The F1 governing body has made the decision in a bid to catch any drivers gaining an unfair advantage by exceeding the track limits and running wide around these corners.

    The Austrian Grand Prix saw a number of drivers using excessive amounts of kerb, often having all four wheels off the track, resulting in several suspension failures and other related incidents. At Silverstone, drivers running wide at certain corners during the British Grand Prix weekend saw their times deleted in lieu of penalties but race control admitted having trouble monitoring all corners of the track.

    This weekend, the FIA have installed electronic sensors at Turns 4 and 11 to monitor the track limits electronic following Charlie Whiting’s report.

    In a note to the teams, Whiting said: “In Turns 4 and 11, the new double kerb has been installed and the artificial grass removed. However, the run-off areas behind the kerbs have been set at the same height as the kerbs themselves, the required deterrent is therefore not present,”

    “With this in mind we have installed loops 1.6 metres from the track edge which will alert us when a car has all four wheels off the track in these two locations.”

    The F1 grid is pretty evenly split in their reaction to the electronic sensors being installed.

    Sebastian Vettel led the unimpressed group of drivers saying, “It’s the FIA to blame for building circuits that make it faster to run off the track than on the track. It’s quite disappointing.”

    “The result is it’s faster to go off track than to stay on track,” he continued. “It doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

    Daniil Kvyat was also pretty unimpressed saying that the FIA should just, “put a normal kerb there and you don’t need all these electronic systems.

    “Now we have some electronic sensors, maybe they’ll work correctly, maybe they’ll fuck everyone up.

    “I personally trust my eyes more than the sensors.”

    Jenson Button on the other hand reckons it’s a good idea because some form of limit is required to stop drivers exceeding track limits.

    “It’s good, I like it,” he said. “The way things are, all of the kerbs are pretty similar on all circuits now, so they’re easy to run over on exits.

    “We need something, we need a limit to stop us going over there.”

    Lewis Hamilton was also in favour of the idea. Hamilton, who lost one of his lap times during qualifying for the British Grand Prix after running wide, said: “It will be an easier thing for them to police because at the moment some corners we’re allowed to go out,” he said.

    “Silverstone Turn 7, you’re allowed to drive straight off the track no problem, which is an advantage but at Turn 9 you’re not allowed to, which isn’t an advantage if you go off.

    “It’s a good step forward.”

    The electronic sensor technology has previously been used by the FIA to monitor chicanes but this weekend will be the first time it is used to monitor the kerbs.

    Photo: Red Bull Racing 

  • F1 2016: British Gp Review – Hamilton Scores 4th Home Win

    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.

    GP GRAN BRETAGNA F1/2016As 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.

    GP GRAN BRETAGNA F1/2016Controversy 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)