F1 Madness

Tag: daniil kvyat

  • F1 2015: Hungarian GP Review – “This victory is for Jules” – Vettel

    F1 2015: Hungarian GP Review – “This victory is for Jules” – Vettel

    Formula 1 headed to the Hungarian grand prix with a heavy heart after the passing of Jules Bianchi. The hope was that it could put on a show that the young Frenchman would have revelled in. As fate would have it the Hungaroring saw the best and most dramatic race of the season.

    It wasn’t a surprise to see Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg lock out the front row of the grid. But the ultra-quick starting Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen turned the race on its head from the second the lights extinguished. The two scarlet Ferrari’s exploded off the line and swept into first and second halfway through the first lap.

    Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton lost three positions off the line but it was only the start of a dramatic afternoon of racing. The defending champion would first run wide at the chicane and later incur a drive-through penalty and lose his front-wing in a clash with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

    GP UNGHERIA F1/2015By the mid-way point of the race Vettel and Raikkonen had built a nearly fifteen second lead over Nico Rosberg which left the Mercedes driver in a fairly distant third place. Ferrari looked set for a one-two finish but a MGU-K (kers) failure of Raikkonen’s car meant an eventual retirement for the Finn. A cruel end to a very good race.

    Ferrari would have to face more pressure as Vettel had to cope with a safety-car completely eradicating his healthy lead after Nico Hulkenberg’s front-wing failed spectacularly littering turn one with shards of carbon fibre. It didn’t take long for Rosberg to take second-place off a wounded Raikkonen but again the German was unable to make an impression on Vettel’s number five Ferrari. By now Daniel Ricciardo, on the quicker option, tyre was catching second-placed Rosberg and with a handful of laps to go lunged for the inside line into turn one. It appeared to be a clean move on the Aussie’s side but Rosberg’s cut back on the exit of the corner ensured a damaged front-wing for the Red Bull and a punctured right-rear for himself.

    This incident promoted Daniil Kvyat into second and with the nifty reward of his first ever F1 podium. Ricciardo recovered to third with Max Verstappen scoring an impressive fourth place finish. This marks the first race since the 2013 Brazilian grand prix which did not feature a Mercedes driver on the podium. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso boosted the team’s morale with a fighting fifth place finish.

    Hungarian Grand Prix, tribute to Jules BianchiIt is on such dramatic days and moments that world championships turn. Hamilton was given a helping-hand with the safety car but needed a new nose after sliding into the side of Ricciardo at turn one. He was also given a drive-through penalty and emerged from the pitlane in twelfth. It looked for the majority of the race as if the lead of the drivers’ championship would go to Rosberg. Miraculously, after several incidents and a penalty Hamilton fought his way to sixth and extended his championship lead.

    Romain Grosjean finished seventh for Lotus ahead of a recovering Rosberg who finished eighth ahead of Jenson Button in ninth. Marcus Ericsson took the final point in tenth for Sauber.

    Up front Sebastian Vettel serenely led the way from lights to flag. The four-time German champion is now equal with Ayrton Senna on 41 victories. He capped the impressive win by dedicating it to the memory of Jules Bianchi.

     

  • 2015 Formula 1 Pirelli Hungarian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Pirelli Hungarian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2 – Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Kai Ebel)

     

    Sebastian, congratulations, and it’s your first ever Hungarian victory. How proud are you in front of all these people after this very special race?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Incredible day but this victory is for Jules. We know that it has been an incredibly tough week and it’s, I think, for all of us very, very difficult, so this one is for him and especially all the people in Ferrari and all the Ferrari we knew that sooner or later he would have been part of our team, part of this family. Cette victoire, c’est pour Jules.

    Great gesture from Sebastian. Sebastian, coming back to this very exciting race – what was going through your mind when you heard the safety car is coming out after a fantastic first part of the race?

    SV: Well, there was definitely, from our point, no need for that, but it obviously made it a lot more interesting at the end. We had a great start and obviously it was crucial to get in the lead straight away. The car was difficult but great to drive and it has been a great race, we showed great pace. Thank you very, very much to the team for the recovery since Friday and today I think it just came together and despite the safety car we still managed to win, so this one is for the team as well.

    Dany Kvyat, it seems to be the day of surprises – your very first podium. How surprised are you by yourself?

    Daniil KVYAT: Well, yeah, thank you, thank you to everyone, it’s been a very tough year, race, everything, but I think as a team we all deserve this podium very much. I thank my team very much for this podium. But you know this podium it goes first of all to Jules Bianchi and to his family. We lost a great guy, a great driver. So all my thoughts are with him right now. But first podium, like you said, it’s a great achievement and it feels great.

    Thank you, great gesture from you, Dany. But at what stage of the race did you start thinking, well, I can do it today?

    DK: Well, after Turn One I thought my race was over to be honest, because I had such a massive flat spot I could hardly stay on track. But then the team told me to keep pushing. You know some people say “never give up” but they don’t know what they’re saying and until today I didn’t also know what it means really, but today I really learned what it means to never give up because it can always come your way.

    Thank you Dany and coming to the next Danny – Daniel Ricciardo come to me – the honey badger is on the podium. Lots of tough fighting today. How tough was the fighting on track for you?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: It was a crazy race. There was contact in Turn One, I thought there was a lot of damage, I thought the race was over. Then contact on the restart with Lewis, I thought the race was probably over and then contact with Nico as well. We were resilient today. I left it all on the track. Let’s say I put my heart into everything today. I think that’s the way Jules would have wanted it, so I owe that race to him and I’m very grateful to be on the podium, it’s feels like a victory. It’s been a long time, a long season for me, so I feel that I gained some strength today and I owe this one to me. Yeah, that’s it.

    Coming back to… a lot of incidents today, to the incident today. Did you think you would keep the third position? We have to talk about this, because it was a really tough manoeuvre between the two of you?

    DR: I came from a long way back. We know we don’t have the speed on the straight, so… I knew we were quick enough to win. I saw Seb wasn’t getting away, so I thought if I could get Nico I could probably get Seb, so the laps were counting down, I saw a gap and I went for it. At that stage the move was clean and then it just looked like Nico cut back on the exit and came across and just… I guess I didn’t have enough room and we touched. I touched his tyre and he touched my wing. It was close. It’s disappointing, we both obviously ruined our chances of a win but I wanted to leave it all out there.

    Thank you Daniel. Final word with Sebastian. Sebastian, going to the summer break and I know you’re here with your mobile home. Why not spend a couple of weeks here in this fantastic land of Hungary with all the guys?

    SV: Yeah. The weather is always great, the people are great…. Now I have no choice! No, I’m sure we’ll have a great night. Obviously I still remember what happened in Malaysia after the race, so I hope it’s going to be very similar. No, it’s great, it’s great; so many fans around here, so much support all around the track, a lot of German flags, it’s really special. Thank you.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, congratulations and amongst the other things to note today, you equalled Ayrton Senna’s 41 career victories, and a great example of how motor sport can stir the emotions in so many ways. The win obviously built on the performance at the start; the safety car threatened it towards the closing stages, but how proud are you of the win that you achieved today and the way that you did it?

    SV: Well, as you mentioned, it’s incredible the ups and downs you can go through… look, in the end we have a common passion, something we love, something… we are very different people, different guys, but we share a great passion and that is what drives us. I think the love for racing is bigger than anything else. It was a tough start, a tough week, obviously with Tuesday, and then to think about Jules again on the grid – certainly very emotional and difficult to get back in the rhythm. But then you find yourself back in the car, visor down and there are so many things you have to think about there’s not really much space for other things. I guess we do what we love to do, what we have to do. Equally mentioning Senna’s record is something incredible. I don’t know how to put this in words. I think nevertheless today is for Jules and his family. I think that’s bigger than everything else. But certainly for us, for the team, for myself, it was an amazing day. A great start. Obviously a bit hairy at the end where we had to push again. Unfortunately lost Kimi’s comfortable second position, also due to a problem that he suffered. So, I don’t know, I think if you take the last couple of days, the up and down, both emotionally and in terms of performance, I think it’s difficult to beat, but obviously it’s great to come out on top and sit here now.

    Thank you, coming to you Daniil, your second season in Formula One, your first podium. Early on in the race you had to let Daniel through but you made quite a recovery to finish in second place. Was strategy they key to that?

    DK: Well, yeah, it’s fantastic to be on the podium for the first time, it’s hard to describe what I feel today. I think first of all, the second place goes to Jules Bianchi and his family. You know, we lost a great guy, a fantastic person and a great driver. Yeah, it was a race where everything happened for me to be honest. After the start I thought my race was over, because I had a massive flat spot. We were discussing with the team whether we should box straight away or not, but we decided to stay out. Then we had a decent stint on the prime but still it wasn’t feeling great through the race. But then something picked up and it was going in the right direction in the second half of the race. The rivals were fighting and I found myself in second place. Today I definitely learned never to give up, whatever happens. It’s a great lesson today. The team, you know, we’ve been having such a hard year and I think all the team, all the guys in the team, all the mechanics have been working so hard and they all deserve this so much. Today I understood that we want to be back to the top one day.

    Q: Coming to you Daniel, obviously a double Red Bull podium, your best result of the season as well. You had such an eventful afternoon: the start, I think you dropped down to seventh place in the opening lap, contact with Bottas I believe, later on you had contact with other drivers as well, including, obviously, Nico Rosberg at the end. In amongst all of that some trademark Ricciardo overtakes as well – so it was an afternoon that had pretty much everything I guess?

    DR: It was a crazy race. Already from the start, the first corner there was pretty big contact with, I think, Bottas and yeah, the front of the car jumped and I thought we’d damaged something. It was quite a big hit. But then, yeah, we seemed to still have relatively good pace. I saw Dany in front was struggling, so then the team decided to, let’s say, let me go through. I was saying I was faster and knew we could do better pace. So then we got quickly past the Force India and then quickly back past Bottas with some good moves. Then the pace was pretty good. At the restart we had the Option, that was an advantage. That was pretty much an advantage from yesterday by only using the Prime in Q1 so were able to take advantage of that today I guess. Then the restart, I just tried to go around the outside of Lewis. You don’t see much in the cars. Obviously your peripheral vision’s pretty limited but I just felt him come in, so I just assumed he’d locked the front wheel and slid up into me, so we had more damage after that. I saw the right sidepod flapping around. Nonetheless, we’re in third. I saw the pace was good, we were catching Seb and Nico and I was close – but not close enough – to Nico and obviously they’re not so slow on the straights. The laps were ticking down, I had to try something and I got a pretty good run out of the last corner and yeah, just said ‘I’m going for it this lap, no matter what,’ and I went for it. To be honest, the move, it was, for sure, late but it was clean. Up until the apex it was fine. Obviously Nico saw me and left me room on the entry and then, just the exit, from what I recall he just came back across and just basically didn’t give me enough room. I don’t know if he thought he’d cleared me yet – but we made contact and that was when he earned a puncture and I got the front wing damage. We gifted the young Russian his first podium – but obviously he was there to take it so congrats to him and, I mean, we pitted for a front wing and fortunately we still ended up on the podium. As all the drivers have said, this race was for Jules. I left everything on the track. Whether some competitors like it or not, that’s how I wanted to do it and that’s how I’ll always do it. And watching Jules grow up, that was how he did it. He had amazing race craft and made some pretty impressive lunges. I feel all the moves on track were… I drove inspired today and I’m happy to be standing up here. It’s been an emotional week. Before the race was emotional. Obviously very nice to have his family in the presence and, yeah, this one’s for him. Hopefully we find… yeah… some happiness from this weekend and move on.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speedsport Magazines) Daniel, you’ve told us that, other than winning, you love fierce battles. You had those today but is it a bit bittersweet that you saw second and maybe first sort-of slip away?

    DR: Yes, it’s a lot of mixed emotions about many things right now. Firstly, I’m definitely still grateful to be on the podium. It’s been, I guess, a long year, a tough one definitely. All of a sudden to find two of our cars on the podium, it’s pretty surreal. But yeah, I knew I could have sat in third and accepted that but knowing that I had the pace – I had the Option, compared to Seb and Nico on the Prime – I had an opportunity to do something about it. It was nearly like Déjà vu, nearly like the end of the race last year. Basically I’ve come third before, I thought ‘we have a chance to win,’ so I went for it. I guess it’s a bit of a shame how it ended up but at the same time I don’t regret anything I did on track today. I definitely left it all on there and I thought I drove with a heavy but a strong heart, and that makes me happy. Definitely no regrets.

    Q: (Oleg Karpov – motorsport.com) My question to Dany – two questions actually – first of all, you were catching on those last laps Daniel and Nico. Do you think you had the pace to give them a fight in the end. Secondly, what did you think when they collided, what was going through your mind?

    DK: After the safety car restart there was an open fight for the podium between all of us. To be honest, I must give a credit to Daniel. His pace has been better this weekend than mine, I think he had a better chance of a shot for victory this weekend than I did. Certainly had a shot for podium in the end but, y’know, my tyres were not in a great condition, to be honest. I was coming closer, step-by-step but I think it would be really hard, especially considering the Mercedes straight line advantage, to give them a fight for the podium, so Daniel, I think, did the right thing trying to go for it – but yeah, this weekend I think, like I said, I’ve been able to take every opportunity and that’s where I am right now. The pace we will have to analyse. But, you know, sometimes you are faster, sometimes you are slower and this is how it goes in racing.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Congratulations Sebastian for winning the so-called Finnish Grand Prix first time! How much better it would have felt to have to have first one-two for Ferrari in five years?

    SV: I think it looked pretty promising off the line. Obviously it was a great move from Kimi. I think, obviously, he started another row back and we managed to be one-two after the first couple of corners. So, I guess he did a hell of a job to get these Mercedes in the first two corners. Yeah, then I was told during the safety car phase that he has a problem with the car. He lost the [MGU]-K and obviously then you’re pretty chanceless, you lose a lot of power and then all the systems start to misbehave, so in the end he didn’t finish. It’s a shame – because I think it could have been, first of all, a very, very strong team result and second, y’know, a one-two. Yeah, it’s a great day for Ferrari but not as great as it could have been. Obviously a bit of a shame for Kimi – it’s not my job but all the bullshit that’s been going around recently, I think both of us were driving a very consistent race and deserved a one-two today. I think that’s a couple of answers to some questions.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Sebastian, this is your ninth Hungarian Grand Prix but only your first win. On most of the tracks you’ve got much better statistic. Do you think that with this victory you can change your luck in the future here?

    SV: I hope so! It has been a while. In all honestly, I’m a little bit disappointed because we didn’t have the traditional Hungarian trophy with the porcelain on the podium today. So, 99.8 per cent happy. I was looking forward to that – not that I have a crush on porcelain or a weakness for porcelain but I think it belongs to this grand prix. To the organisers, please go back and… [to Daniel] did you have a porcelain one last year?

    DR: No, same as yours

    SV: S*** I don’t know what happened. I think 2010 I was very close to win and did a stupid mistake and then we had this very ugly – I’m not saying the brand – dog with four legs, or five legs, or six, I don’t even know – then they went back to the porcelain one, now they’ve gone back to something else! Obviously it’s great to win but not entirely perfect. I’ve always liked this track. Great to see so many fans, a lot of German flags, a lot of Germans and Austrians coming to support… I guess a little bit less Austrians this year… supporting me but therefore a lot of Italian and Ferrari flags around, so it was great. I’m very, very happy to tick this box finally.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, how much of a surprise was the pace of the Ferrari to the… where has it come from because we didn’t see it on Friday and Saturday? And did you think it was a mistake to switch to the medium tyres behind the safety car for the last stint?

    SV: Well, we had to run the primes at some point so no choice. Obviously we knew that by going option, option and then have to go prime, it’s not ideal for the safety car but it was the quickest race. I think without the safety car no questions to be answered now but that’s how it goes:  sometimes it’s in your favour, sometimes it’s not. I think Friday was obviously a bad day for us so I don’t think you can take that as a reference and yesterday I think we had a good recovery and then it remained open how quick we really were on a long run but today was really really good, I think. It makes a difference if you find yourself in clean air, dictating the pace rather than following the top two cars. In some races we didn’t really see them for long. In other races we were sort of stuck behind them and you cannot really show your true pace so I think – especially in the beginning of the race, but then again, I think the whole race – the pace was really really good. I think Lewis was still probably a little bit quicker but didn’t have a smooth Grand Prix so this is how it goes sometimes.

    Q: (Viktor Bognar – Magyarszo) I think this must be the best ever race for Red Bull drivers because all three of you were part of Red Bull plus Max Verstappen finished fourth. What do you think Helmut Marko is thinking right now?

    SV: I think he’s pretty happy. To be honest I have a… obviously Helmut loves racing, he’s very straightforward as we all know and for sure he would have loved me to be third and not first today but he has always been a man with great respect and since I obviously told him my decision, he has still been a supporter, we are still in contact. It’s great to see that despite the colour that we wear that we still share something that is larger than that. I think that he has… I know that he has received a lot of criticism in the past for his programme, his Junior programme that he’s mostly looking after and I think that if you look at the podium today, I think he’s very happy.

    DK: I owe a lot to Helmut, Dr Marko. He’s a kind of racing father for me. I wouldn’t be sitting here without his support right now.

    SV: We all wouldn’t.

    DK: We all wouldn’t actually so yeah, Seb answered it correctly right now. Always great opportunities, great chances but you have to deliver, simple as that and today it felt like I did my best, super opportunities and this podium is also… you know we all share this podium with him today and I’m extremely happy to share it with him as well.

    DR: You never know what he’s thinking! I’m sure he’s happy.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To both Red Bull drivers: here is a circuit where the power of the engine doesn’t have as great importance. Can you analyse the development of Renault and the development of the chassis?

    DR: I think that what’s been the most positive thing about this weekend is from Friday morning, first run on the track, the car felt good. I think it’s the first race in a long time where we haven’t really touched the balance throughout the weekend. We haven’t been chasing our tail, the car had more feeling about it this weekend, at least from my side. I felt like I could dictate the balance a bit more and position the car more where I wanted to. It’s quite a bumpy circuit. I felt the car was behaving well over the bumps, even comparing to last year I thought we definitely made some progress. Even though for sure this circuit suits our car more, I did feel like we’ve taken a step forward and the updates and everything we brought over the last two races, we made them work in the right way this weekend so definitely a lot of positives and yeah, it’s nice to have I guess a smile on both of our faces but also the team, give them some positivity coming into the break now. I’m sure Spa… you know there’s more straights there but I’m sure we can still be strong. We’re going to be enjoying the second sector a lot. It was a pretty good circuit for us last year. I think we’ve made some good progress nonetheless even though it’s track specific.

    Renault?  On Friday it was an old power unit, old spec everything  so that was not an issue. Today in the race I thought it performed well. Here it’s obviously less… yeah, less sensitive, thanks Seb, with the power and everything. It was good. As we saw in the last part of the race, we had the pace to win. We were there, fighting for it so I think from Renault’s side, from the team’s side, it’s been our best weekend yet and I’m proud for everyone in the team to show that and show some progress and maybe we won’t get asked so many questions now in Spa.

    Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) Sebastian, before you leave Hungaroring, please sign the 2015 picture in the pit tunnel and draw a picture of you. There is a picture now? OK. Great.

    SV: That’s quick.

    Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) You can sign it now.

    SV: I’ve been thinking about that all weekend when I’ve walked through. I was looking at Piquet, Senna and then Daniel at the end and I thought haaa.

    Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) Now it’s your opportunity, yes. And of course is Hungary right now in a special place in your heart because your last World Series by Renault race was here, your first race for Toro Rosso was also here and after nine years, you managed to win?

    SV: Yeah, it’s definitely special. I remember I was late, I missed the flight coming for my first Formula One race on the Thursday, I was late, obviously my first time with Toro Rosso. It’s a good story now but back then I wasn’t making myself very popular being the new guy in the team and arriving late. I don’t know, it has been a little bit up and down here. I don’t know why. I think we had quite a lot of pole positions in the recent years. I think 2010 was the most obvious race that I should have won but messed up with that silly mistake during the safety car phase and after I think that we had the pace but then the races decided to go a different way and yeah, despite the fact that we had a great car… we always had a great car around here, couldn’t really use that. It’s great, obviously, to turn around, very special to do it now with Ferrari as well, so very happy and hopefully it’s a sort of turning point in my Hungarian Grand Prix career.

    Q: (Attila Lenart – Auto 2) Danil, does it mean anything to you… I mean does it make the champagne sweeter that your first podium actually happened in a country where most of the people have been taught to learn Russian, so they can more or less spell your name correctly?

    DK: Well, yeah, it’s been a story for a while I guess. It’s only five letters but so challenging to say.

    SV: How do you actually say it?

    DK: I already forgot how to say it right to be honest myself! It’s Kvyat, it’s quite easy but you’re right. Before the Russian Grand Prix, before any Russian circuit was built, this was kind of a home race for myself, I would say, because it’s the most eastern country in Europe where we race. It’s a pleasure. The Hungaroring has been up and down for me in the junior formulae; there have been good races, bad races. Today was a really good race so yeah, like you said, a very special day.

  • Hamilton secures pole after both Merc drivers spin off

    Hamilton secures pole after both Merc drivers spin off

    Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix during a pretty dramatic final qualifying shootout session at the Red Bull Ring, after both Mercedes drivers went off track in their final runs.

    Hamilton claimed the pole position with a time of 1:08.455, beating team mate Nico Rosberg, who was comfortably quickest in Q1 and Q2.

    Rosberg had already claimed provisional pole four tenths of a second clear of Hamilton, but despite improving on his next lap, Hamilton went even quicker and moved two tenths up on his team mate.

    Both drivers came out for their final flying laps – Rosberg ahead of Hamilton on track.

    Hamilton was first to spin off. He spun under braking for Turn 1 while Rosberg set a personal best in the first sector and went fastest of all in the second sector. But, the German ran a little wide at Turn 8 and slid off at Turn 9, parking his car in the gravel.

    Austria 2015_Post QualifyingThat sealed the deal for Hamilton, securing his pole position, ahead of Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel who’s team mate had a horrid session, getting knocked out in Q1.

    Kimi Raikkonen was caught out in Q1, ending the session in 18th place. He will however move up to 14th following penalties for both McLaren and Red Bull drivers.

    Felipe Massa, who locked out the front row of the grid with team mate Valtteri Bottas last season, will start from fourth place on the grid ahead of 2015 Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg and team mate Bottas.

    Young Max Verstappen starts in seventh place for Toro Rosso, with Daniil Kvyat qualifying eighth but will drop to 18th after his engine penalty.

    Felipe Nasr qualified in 9th place and Romain Grosjean 10th. He however did not register a Q3 lap due to brake issues. His team mate Pastor Maldonado was 11th fastest with Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz Jr behind him.

    Daniel Ricciardo managed only 14th after going off at Turn 3. Fernando Alonso registered 15th on the time sheets but both drivers will slip further back due to their engine penalties.

    Sergio Perez was 16th quickest and Jenson Button 17th but he’ll start at the back of the grid and also serve a 10 second stop and go penalty as a result of changes to his car.

    The two Manor drivers finish up the grid, with Roberto Merhi beating team mate Will Stevens who also headed through the gravel at Turn 7.

  • Grid Drops for Both McLaren Drivers

    Grid Drops for Both McLaren Drivers

    The McLaren F1 team face a difficult Austrian Grand Prix after confirming that both their drivers will incur grid penalties.

    It was announced on Friday that Fernando Alonso will incur a 20-place grid drop for replacing an engine, a turbo charger and a MGU-H. 

    During a rain hit Free Practice 3 on Saturday , Alonso came to a stop on the pit straight. It later emerged that he suffered from a gearbox problem and that his gearbox needed to be replaced. This means that Alonso will incur a further 5-place grid penalty for the gearbox change which makes it a 25-place grid drop in total. 

    On Saturday morning McLaren confirmed a complete power unit change for Jenson Button. This would mean a 25 place grid drop for the Briton.

    With McLaren not qualifying very high on the grid there is a high probability that neither of their drivers will be able to completely serve their grip drop penalties. This will mean that the stewards, at their discretion, convey a time penalty. The time penalties are applied based on the number of places a driver will drop after qualifying.

    If a driver drops 4 places or less, he will incur a 10 second stop-and-go penalty. A 1-5 place drop or less will get the driver a 5 second stop-and-go or a 5 second post race time penalty. For a driver that drops between 6-10 places it will be a 10 second stop-and-go or a 10 second time penalty after the race. A drop of less than 11-20 places is a drive through or 20 second penalty after the race. The big one is if a driver drops less than 20 places. He will then incur a 10 second stop-and-go or a 30 second time penalty after the race.

    This is a bit confusing but for example, if Button or Alonso qualify in P18, after their grip drop penalty is applied, Alonso would still need to drop 18 more places which means he will incur a drive through penalty during the race or a 20 second stop and go. It is likely that both drivers will get drive through penalties for the race.

    Else where on the grid, both Red Bull’s of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat will drop 10 places due to engine changes.

  • F1 2015: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Dominate In Montreal

    F1 2015: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Dominate In Montreal

    Most would hold the opinion that the Canadian grand prix was far from the riveting showpiece it typically delivers. In terms of on track action they would be right but there were a number of significant goings-on for various teams.

    It wouldn’t have been considered outlandish to expect McLaren to be threatening the outskirts of the top ten by race seven of the 2015 championship. The reality however is far from this lofty expectation. Neither Jenson Button nor Fernando Alonso saw the chequered flag at the end of the Canadian grand prix and whilst they were running it wasn’t pretty.

    An ERS (energy recovery system) failure on Jenson Button’s number 22 McLaren meant that the Brit had to sit out qualifying which was the preface to yet another retirement this time due to an exhaust issue. The sister McLaren of Fernando Alonso ran until lap 44 until he too was forced into his third consecutive retirement. The Spaniard’s race was rather painful as the double world champion appeared as nothing more than a mobile chicane with cars sauntering past him with embarrassing ease.

    Fernando Alonso_Canada 2015The McLaren drivers have been measured in their comments to the press since the start of the season but the frustrations are starting to show. First it was Jenson Button who described the McLaren as a scary car to drive which he then promptly walked back with a bit of PR spin. And then there is Fernando Alonso who remains adamant that he does not regret his departure from Ferrari.

    The driver’s statements to the press are more often than not just PR drabble regimented by the team.  But occasionally we are privy to the radio comms between car and pitwall and here the unadorned feelings often come to light in very colourful ways.

    Fernando Alonso irritation was evident as he told his team over the radio that he was being made to look like “an amateur” during the race. Similarly, when he was asked to save fuel after a meagre twenty-four laps Alonso responded with “I don’t want, I don’t want.”   As much as the blame has been placed at Honda’s doorstep McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier accepted that improvement is needed “everywhere.”

    This year’s Canandian grand prix was far less dramatic for Mercedes than twelve months ago when brake failure devastated Lewis Hamilton’s race and severely impeded Nico Rosberg’s progress.  But even though Hamilton and Rosberg appeared to be untroubled as they secured a dominant one-two victory several issues needed managing throughout the race. At various stages both Hamilton and Rosberg were instructed to manage sky rocketing brake temperatures and the inevitable phase of fuel saving to get to the end of the grand prix.

    GP CANADA F1/2015Just when it looks as if Ferrari has taken a step towards closing the chasm to Mercedes it’s found to be off base. The long run pace in the second free practice session suggested that the Ferrari was looking in great shape to take the fight to Ferrari. Besides the reality that Ferrari is still off the Merc pace, circumstances combined to make it a difficult weekend.

    Sebastian Vettel’s ERS issue in qualifying and subsequent 5 place penalty for overtaking under red flag relegated him to the back of the grid. Yet, the German was able to make his way through to a solid fifth place by the end of the race. Kimi Raikkonen’s Saturday afternoon had a far better outcome with a season’s best third place on the grid.

    The race itself wasn’t going too badly for the Finn who was keeping both Mercedes in sight. Alas, a couple of laps after switching onto the yellow side-walled soft tyre a spin at the exit of the turn ten hairpin comprised his afternoon’s work. The spin was eerily similar to one Raikkonen suffered in last year’s Canadian grand prix which was prompted by a difference in the torque map.  The Ferrari driver, who had now slipped to fourth, confirmed on the radio that the spin was “the same as last year.” A second pitstop for the supersoft tyre didn’t lose the number seven Ferrari any positions but left it nearly twenty seconds adrift of the third placed Williams of Valtteri Bottas. Despite Raikkonen’s best efforts his fellow Finn still held a five second gap by the time the chequered flag was unfurled.

    Williams driver Felipe Massa too suffered issues in qualifying which dropped him to the back of the starting grid. The Brazilian was able to recover to sixth overall which included an inch perfect overtake on Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Pastor Maldonado, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat and the second Lotus of Romain Grosjean rounded out the top ten.

    Canada 2015_StartLast year’s Canadian Gp winner Daniel Ricciardo described his race as horrible beyond his wildest dreams. And this less than pretty statement was followed with a threat from Renault, via Christian Horner, that they may quit the sport in 2016. Notably Carlos Sainz junior out-performed his highly fancied teammate Max Verstappen.

    Contrary to Canadian grand prix history the 2015 edition was a meek outing with little to amp up the excitement factor. There were several overtaking manoeuvres but no close dices for position. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was slapped with a five second penalty for clipping the edge off Will Stevens’ Manor.

    Often we get caught up in the chaotic world of Formula 1 to the point where the bigger picture is sometimes overlooked. Yes, Lewis Hamilton is in the most magnificent car built for at least the last decade; but what has been truly impressive is make-up of Hamilton and how he has evolved. The Monaco grand prix debacle was undoubtedly a tough moment but the driver he is now and the temperament he has now allows not for a showy comeback but rather a deafening response which declares that he can surmount whatever obstacle is placed in his way.

  • Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Sergio PEREZ (Force India)

    Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

    Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

    Max VERSTAPPEN (Toro Rosso)

    Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    Felipe MASSA (Williams)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    If we could start with a general question to all of you: obviously the story in Monaco, of the race, was triggered by the safety car and here in Montreal 11 of the last 17 races have featured at least one and as many as four safety cars. Can you speak about what your first thought is, as a driver, what kind of communication you have with the team at that time and what are the most important things to take care of from a driver’s point of view? Felipe, maybe you could start.

    Felipe MASSA: Well, I think, first of all, it depends on the track. You have some tracks that you have more possibility of accident, or are more difficult, more easy to have a contact or crashes or low grip from the asphalt, which is like Monaco. Maybe here a bit more, a bit better, but with all these chicanes, with the wall nearby, so it’s very easy to have an accident or to crash – I know very well from my past, especially from last year. But I think you always need to be very close to your team, understanding everything happening in the race, the safety car and the strategy. The communication counts always and you can gain position or maybe get a good strategy if you are doing things in the proper way.

    Sergio, what do you like to make sure you take care of at a time like that?

    Sergio PEREZ: I think it’s important to make your team make the decisions. Don’t speak too much at certain points of the race, for example if there is a critical situation with the safety car out. This track, for example, it’s quite easy to have a crash, every single lap there is a risk. There are certain corners where you can simply not do any mistake, and if you do a mistake you will definitely end up in the wall. This track is one you should definitely take care of for the whole race.

    Max, as a rookie, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind when you hear that the safety car has deployed?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: It also depends on where you are on track, where you qualified. For sure, here for me will be an interesting race. I will have to hope for a safety car. Depends also how hard the track is for the tyres. All those things you take [into account] before you make a decision and you also talk to your team quite a lot because they have a lot of data and they see where you are on the track compared to other competitors.

    Lewis, your thoughts on it? What do you like to take care of when you hear that the safety car has been deployed?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I think you just have to stay cool and follow the procedures that you know and also the feedback that the team gives you.

    Pastor?

    Pastor MALDONADO: Yeah, maybe it’s a very crucial moment for the race – not only for the driver, but also for the [pit] wall, for the team. The strategy can change immediately, so you must be very alert for whatever is the team call and, yeah, respect the procedures and trying to gain places.

    Daniil, final word?

    Daniil KVYAT: Well, as you hear the safety car is out, I think you just speak with the team, what’s happening around you and rely [on them] because they know all the gaps with the other cars and so on. And then you make a decision, together with the team, and then once you stay out or anything else, it’s a calm period, you just look after the temperature of the tyres and nothing else.

    OK, thank you for that. Coming back to you Max, a big crash in Monaco and you’re carrying a five-place grid penalty this weekend in Montreal as a result. What did you learn from that whole episode, that experience, and how do you evaluate your performance overall during that Monaco weekend?

    MV: I learned the cars are pretty strong. I was happy about that, that I didn’t have any injuries. I’m happy… I didn’t have any problems after that, I went go-karting on Wednesday, so I was fit again. Yeah, I will have some work to do on this track, but I think it will not change me as a racing driver. I will keep fighting and especially when you want to fight for points, I will still go for it.

    Lewis, coming to you, obviously it’s been a happy hunting ground for you over the years: three poles, your first ever victory, from pole, in Formula One, back in 2007, three wins in total. Is this the ideal place, then, for you to bounce back from what must have been an extremely painful experience two weeks ago in Monaco?

    LH: It’s a good track. As you said, I had my first grand prix win here, so generally always been relatively quick here. More so, just to have a better weekend than we had last year here. So that’s the target.

    Daniil, coming to you, a career-best fourth last time out. How much of a confidence boost was that result for you in Monaco? One interesting stat for you is that you’ve yet to finish the finish the first lap of a race this season in the same position you started, so maybe you’d like to say a little bit about that?

    DK: Yeah, I mean, the Monaco race was a very good race. We had a clean weekend all day long. I think we saw as a team how important it is to have a clean weekend and, yeah, we grabbed quite a lot of points as a team as well. I hope it is a very good confidence boost for all of us in the team, that’s what we needed, and now we hope to keep growing from there onwards. I hope it’s going to bring us something else in the future.

    Pastor, your run of bad luck seems to have continued – now five retirements from six races. What’s the team saying to you and what is your mindset going into this weekend?

    PM: Yeah we have been very unlucky, especially because we have been having a few different problems during the races, but on the other hand we have a competitive car, which gives us the opportunity to try again and do our best. Let’s re-try again this weekend. This should be a good track, a good opportunity for us. I’ve been always fighting for the points before the problems we had, so there is not any point to don’t do it from now to the rest of the season.

    Felipe, coming to you: on a positive note, you’ve got over double the points at this stage, after six races, that you had in 2104 at the same stage. But looking at your record here, why is it that Canada has never been a particularly happy hunting ground for you?

    FM: I don’t know, so many things happened on this track with me, to be honest. I always drove pretty well here. I was always having competitive races. So I hope this will be the good one.

    OK, and Sergio, finally with you, obviously you matched Force India’s best result of the season so far in Monaco, with seventh. You were running second here in the closing stages last year before the accident Felipe mentioned and you were on the podium, back in 2012, so what are you feelings on this track?

    SP: This track is definitely one that I really enjoy: it’s just like driving on a karting track. I really, really enjoy this place, doing a lap, having a race here. It’s quite demanding mentally, because, as I said before, it’s a track where it is very easy to make a mistake. I have had a couple of good runs here; as you say back in 2012 I was on the podium. Last year I was very close to win the race but unfortunately later in the race I had some issues and then the contact with Felipe came but up to that point it was a great race and so close to actually win the race. I hope… this year we are in a different position, but we can definitely make it into the points.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Lewis. Lewis, this is the first time that you meet the team after Monaco. How as the atmosphere in the team, and did you learn a lesson, maybe not to complain any more during the race, the tyres, and maybe stay a little bit more cooler in the race and don’t make the people, the strategy staff, have a Plan B that could be dangerous for you?

    LH: Okey Dokey. No, things are good with the team. Excited to move on to this weekend. So, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing because that’s done pretty good for me up until now.

    Q: (Dave Stubbs – Montreal Gazette) Lewis, how much of this track becomes muscle memory for you? When a driver does really well on a track, is it easy for you just to be able to arrive here and visualize what you need to do or is it a re-education for you every time you arrive here?

    LH: It’s not a re-education but it’s kind of… you have to re-boost or re-awaken your mind to remember what the circuit is like. But you’re always trying to improve every time you come here. You’re always trying to be faster. There’s always areas in which you can improve. For example, last year’s qualifying wasn’t strong enough here. There are areas where… I didn’t finish the race in the end so there’s things we’ve learnt from that weekend so we should be stronger here naturally this weekend. But I’ve generally been strong over here over the years – but I can be faster. So that’s the plan this weekend.

    Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) How would you describe the confidence level to the team right now?

    LH: Same as always. 100 per cent.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Lewis, in Monaco, in the immediate aftermath of it all, you were asked ‘can you put it into words how you feel?’ You said you couldn’t because it was all so raw at the time. Looking back now, can you put into words how it felt and how you then subsequently got over the events of Sunday?

    LH: First of all, I don’t look back. I’m looking forwards, so honestly I don’t really… I have not thought about the last race for a long time and I’ve just really been thinking about the next race, putting my mind to other things, training and trying to come back strong this weekend. So, it’s really irrelevant what happened in the past now. There’s nothing you can do about it so there’s no point dwelling on it.

    Q: (Graham Keilloh ­– Grand Prix Times) I’ve got a question for all of the drivers. Jacques Villeneuve in recent days spoke in support of a tyre war returning to F1. I wondered what each of you thought about the possibility of more tyre suppliers competing with each other, whether it would improve things or not.

    Felipe, you remember the tyre wars from the last time. Would you welcome a return?

    FM: For sure, when we had the big fight between the tyre suppliers it was amazing the grip we had on the tyres. It was really… I mean all the companies were giving the best they could, y’know? So, I think when you have only one company, whatever they’re doing it’s the same for everybody. It’s the same for every driver so for sure they can spend less money on that, y’know? For the driving point of view, for sure it was better before but for the money point of view I think it maybe was too expensive. Especially now. How it’s going in Formula One. For sure it would be too expensive. So, I’m not so sure it will happen. I don’t think so to be honest.

    Your thoughts Lewis – and also maybe its impact on overtaking – does it make it easier or harder?

    LH: I don’t think I was… I never really got to drive when it was a tyre war but I agree with Felipe in the sense that I can only imagine one manufacturer… they’re always pushing technology and that’s naturally what the sport is about. When you have one manufacturer there’s no need to push the technology. That’s how all of us teams… we’re always pushing each other. Everyone wants to get faster and get better and improve and naturally that’s what happens if you have a tyre war.

    Max?

    MV: I don’t have a lot of experience with that. I think it’s always good to go to the limit of something, and also with the tyres it’s exactly the same. Try to push each other forwards and improve the tyres again. I think that would be great to see again. We’ll see, maybe it happens one day.

    Sergio, do you have any thoughts?

    SG: Yeah, of course I never experienced that. I think there is definitely room to improve the tyre that we have. The way we have it right now. If it’s good for the sport I will definitely be in favour of that.

    Pastor?

    PM: Yes, I agree. I mean, it’s always fun to see competition everywhere in Formula One. Not only from the teams, drivers, different supplier and maybe the tyres will be great fun. But we need to think. Not only about the competition, even about the cost. As everyone knows the budgets and the sponsors and the economic situation of Formula One now is not the best, not the greatest – so it’s a point to argue maybe.

    Daniil, final thought.

    DK: I don’t know really. To be honest if we have one supplier that gives us just a very strong tyre with good grip, I think it’s fine. If you have two different suppliers and one does a much better job than the other, then probably there is disadvantage for some teams and advantage for another. So, it can always go one way or another.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi  – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Two questions for Lewis; the first is about the engines. You have a fresh engine here but without using a token. You don’t use a token and Ferrari have new engines which the advantage of three tokens. Do you believe that Ferrari can be a little bit more dangerous than usual here? And the second question, coming back to Monaco, if you don’t have any complaint – if you don’t feel yourself there are some complaints about yourself, your behaviour during the race?

    LH: I don’t know what Ferrari have done so I have to assume that they have improved. For us, we’ve just improved reliability. We still have a fantastic engine so I feel quite confident going into the weekend but naturally, Ferrari have been fast in the previous races so they should be fast this weekend. And… really happy how I did the last race.

    Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Max, up until you crashed in Monaco, your first Monaco weekend was phenomenal, finishing just a tenth and a half off Lewis in FP1, your qualifying etc, so if you had the chance to turn back time and do it all over again on that lap when you were approaching Romain, what would you do differently?

    MV: Not much.. I was attacking, I wanted those points, especially after the pit stop we had. I don’t know. Maybe turn a bit earlier to the right, try to avoid it a bit more and maybe try to do it  another lap again. I don’t think there were so many things I had to do differently, up until then.

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Felipe and Max; Felipe, in the aftermath of the crash in Monaco that brought out the safety car you said a few things about Max and about young drivers and the dangers of inexperienced drivers on the track. Do you stand by that and Max, what’s your response to what Felipe said?

    FM: First of all, I said when I had the interview after the race, he was not penalised and they asked me what I thought and I said ‘I think he needs to be penalised because what he did was wrong.’ So that’s what I said and I think, especially when you’re in your first year, 17-years old and if you do something like that and you’re not penalised, it’s completely wrong. I think the FIA needs to be strong in a proper way which is what they did actually, that’s the only thing I said and I don’t change my mind. That’s what I believe. We need to follow the rules. I said what he did was wrong. That’s what I said.

    MV: Well, everybody can have their opinion, that’s the first thing but I looked at my data, I didn’t brake any later. I have braked later in the race before that but on the lap I crashed, it was exactly the same lap as the lap before and I got my penalty. I’m focusing on Canada right now and maybe you should review the race from last year and see what happened there.

    Q: Are you clear what you got the penalty for ‘though?

    MV: Well, you know I have my own view when we discussed it with the team. I don’t think there’s any reason to look back at Monaco and just focus on Canada like I said and we’ll try to score some points again and I will not change my driving style.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Max, I would like to know if you expected Carlos Sainz to be as strong as he is because he’s doing very well as well and he’s a rookie like you? What is your feeling about him and his performances?

    MV: He’s a very good driver, he won 3.5 last year and so he was doing a good job. We are pushing  each other forward and that’s also something that’s very good for the team.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Felipe, just picking up on what Max said there; we’re not drivers here so help us out. I kind of assume that you’re saying that Max needed a penalty in Monaco because he was the guy behind Romain and crashed into him. So what is the difference between what happened in Monaco to Max and what happened to you with Sergio here last year?

    FM: I think it was a little bit different, no? I was on the side and he moved the car on braking so… I don’t think Grosjean moved the car on braking, no? But he was before the braking as well, here, what’s happened.

    Q: (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF) Lewis, sorry to come back a last time to Monaco. There are two parts in my question: could you have over-ruled your team decision and when you stopped at Portier, in your mind, was it a real possibility to do like Senna a couple of years ago, to go directly to your flat?

    LH: No. There’s going to be a lot of questions about Monaco. I’m really not going back to Monaco. I’ve moved on. I don’t even have to think about it. I’m literally moving on. I couldn’t care less about it, I’m literally focused on… I can’t do anything about the past so there’s honestly no point in thinking about it. It’s about trying to shape the future. I’ve got lots and lots of races to come, lots of improvements that can be made, I’ve got a great team, got a great car and there’s a championship to be won so that’s all I’m focused on. Doesn’t matter what I feel or had felt or feel now because actually I don’t feel anything about. I’m literally thinking about this race, I’m excited, I feel good, I feel fit, I feel strong so all positives.

    Q: While respecting that, it would be good to know the second part of the question about Portier, why you stopped at Portier?

    LH: I know there would be but there is no answer to it.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Lewis, on the subject of looking forward there, do you have full trust in the strategic calls that the team make and do you feel that for the following races there’s any need to change any procedures you may or may not have at the moment?

    LH: No, I think I answered the question early on: I have full trust and confidence in the team so… We’ve won, we’ve had pretty incredible successful together. One race doesn’t dent the solid foundation that we’ve got.

  • F1 2015: Monaco GP Review – Mercedes Bungle Monaco

    F1 2015: Monaco GP Review – Mercedes Bungle Monaco

    To be perplexed is to be completely baffled or mystified as to what has happened. Suffice it to say that Mercedes ensured that entire Formula 1 fraternity was left entirely stunned.

    Lewis Hamilton secured his first ever pole position around the famous streets and easily led his teammate from the starting grid as the red lights extinguished. The race settled quickly and the seventy-eight laps of the Monaco grand prix appeared to be nothing more than a formality as yet another victory beckoned for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

    The Brit had a more than comfortable lead ahead of Nico Rosberg and was cruising towards the chequered flag. As the grand prix drew towards its conclusion Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen clipped the back of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus and ploughed headfirst into the turn one barrier. The Toro Rosso teenager was given a five place grid penalty at the next round for causing a collision. It first brought out the safety-car and prompted a serious malfunction of logic on the Mercedes pitwall.

    Hamilton was called into the pitlane for a new set of supersoft tyres and emerged back on track behind Rosberg and Vettel. The fresher tyres on Hamilton’s car were negated by the notoriously narrow Monaco circuit as the championship leader went from assured victory to third.

    Max Verstappen crashes into Rimain Grosjean at the F1 Monaco Grand PrixThe reasoning behind the stop remains remarkably vague. As neither Rosberg nor Vettel, in third, pitted for new tyres there was nothing to cover from Hamilton’s perspective who held a nearly 21 second lead.  It was a peculiar call that saw a rightly morose Hamilton on the makeshift podium. An immediate debrief within the team revealed a miscalculation of the gap between Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel.

    Call it a stroke of luck but there is much to be said for being in the right place as Nico Rosberg and his side of the Mercedes garage found out. A third consecutive Monaco victory takes Rosberg into elite company and only ten points off the championship lead.

    Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel shadowed Rosberg for most of the afternoon and reaped the benefits of Mercedes mistake by securing second overall whilst holding off Hamilton. Red Bull enjoyed its best outing of the season with a fourth and fifth place finish for Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Raikkonen paid for a lacklustre qualifying performance and an inability to overtake with sixth place on the day.

    It was a good weekend all-round for Sergio Perez who finished seventh overall in what is effectively a 2014 Force India. After six races McLaren opened their points account with Jenson Button’s eighth place finish. It’s a welcome reward for the team as Fernando Alonso was once again sidelined, this time with a gearbox issue. Sauber’s Felipe Nasr and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten.

    A major talking point of the weekend was the supersoft and soft compound tyres that Pirelli rolled out for the Monaco grand prix. A pronounced lack of grip and an inability to get enough heat into the tyres was a problem up and down the pitlane.

    Of late there have been rumblings that additional tyre suppliers may be brought into the equation. Pirelli, along with the likes of Michelin, will have to bid in 2017 to be the official tyreRosberg_Hamilton_Monaco 2015 Podium supplier of Formula 1. Several drivers confirmed that the supersoft tyre could easily do half of the Monaco grand prix and the soft, yellow-walled compound, the entire race distance. While Pirelli are following instructions as to the make-up of the compounds it certainly is not conducive to entertaining racing Formula 1 so badly seeks.

    Flashback two years ago when Pirelli’s supersoft tyre faced different criticism for all but falling apart after a handful of laps. In 2013, the tyres had to be coddled and cajoled, sometimes to the extreme, but even that produced a better show than the damp squib of a one-stop race with nearly indestructible tyres.

    Ultimately, a race that was rather dull was infused with a dramatic plot twist that no one saw coming. While Lewis Hamilton is allowed his interlude of woe-is-me that is all it’s likely to be. The 2015 version of Hamilton is, mentally, much stronger than at any other stage of his career and by the time Canada rolls around will have consigned the incident to the history books.

     

  • Rosberg Takes Charge of Day 1 of Barcelona In-Season Test

    Rosberg Takes Charge of Day 1 of Barcelona In-Season Test

    Nico Rosberg picked up right where he left off for Mercedes on Tuesday in testing after victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. 

    Rosberg’s fastest lap of 1:24.374 came in the morning session with an unmarked Pirelli compound was 0.307s quicker than his pole setting time for the Spanish Grand Prix. He also clocked up 146 laps around the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, the most of any driver for the day.

    Marcus Ericsson at the wheel of the Sauber was second quickest on the day. His time of 1:26.624 pushed Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello down to 3rd fastest after he held second spot for most of the day for Ferrari. Both drivers completed 98 and 125 laps for their respective teams. Ericsson will make way for Marciello on Wednesday at Sauber while Esteban Gutierrez will get his first drive in the Ferrari SF15-T.

    Despite reliability problems throughout the season so far, the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat made it around the track 101 times with the 4th fastest time of the day. Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus had a trouble free day to finish his day 5th fastest for Lotus.

    Nick Yelloly made his debut for Force India, albeit a day early. He was called up when Pascal Wehrlein fell ill and was forced to pull out of the test. Yelloly enjoyed his day out in the car finishing 6th fastest with a time of 1:27.396 and clocking up 109 laps for the day.

    “It felt really good to finally get my chance in a Formula One car. I’ve been working towards this day for a long time and I need to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone at Sahara Force India for giving me this opportunity,” said Yelloly.

    Motor Racing - Formula One Testing - Barcelona Test - Day One - Barcelona, Spain“The first few laps felt a bit unusual, but I soon got comfortable in the car.

    “I’m feeling really positive about the day and I hope it’s been useful for the team.”

    Wehrlien is scheduled to drive for Mercedes on Wednesday. They are hopeful that he’ll be fit to drive for the team.

    Another F1 debutant was GP2 driver Pierre Gasly. He was at the wheel of the Toro Rosso and racked up a marathon 131 laps. He ended the day 7th fastest with a 1:27.639. Felipe Massa in the Williams was 8th fastest for the day and completed just 54 laps.

    McLaren’s Oliver Turney was 9th fastest on the day with a 1:28.542 and clocked up 68 laps. McLaren were trailing a whole host of new parts at the track today and were trying to make the most of their time by testing as much as they could.

    As the test goes on, Formula 1 Tyre supplier Pirelli are, with the help of Mercedes, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Red Bull, testing out new compounds.

    Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:24.374 – 146
    2 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1:26.624 2.250s 98
    3 Raffaele Marciello Ferrari 1:26.648 2.274s 125
    4 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull/Renault 1:26.904 2.530s 101
    5 Pastor Maldonado Lotus/Mercedes 1:27.338 2.964s 60
    6 Nick Yelloly Force India/Mercedes 1:27.396 3.022s 109
    7 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso/Renault 1:27.639 3.265s 131
    8 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1:27.911 3.537s 54
    9 Oliver Turvey McLaren/Honda 1:28.542 4.168s 68

     

    Testing line up for Wednesday 13 may 2015 available here

     

    Photo credits: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Sahara Force India Formula One Team

  • 2015 In-Season Barcelona Test Line Up

    2015 In-Season Barcelona Test Line Up

    The first in season test for 2015 will be held at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona from the 12th – 13th May 2015.

    Most of the teams have already confirmed their driver line up for the test apart from Manor, who will not be participating in the test.

    Below is the line up for both days for the Barcelona test

    Mercedes
    Tuesday: Nico Rosberg
    Wednesday: Pascal Wehrlein

    Ferrari
    Tuesday: Raffaele Marciello
    Wednesday: Esteban Gutierrez

    Red Bull
    Tuesday: Daniil Kvyat
    Wednesday: Pierre Gasly

    Williams
    Tuesday: Felipe Massa
    Wednesday: Alex Lynn

    McLaren
    Tuesday: Oliver Turvey
    Wednesday: Jenson Button

    Lotus
    Tuesday: Pastor Maldonado
    Wednesday: Jolyon Palmer

    Force India
    Tuesday: Pascal Wehrlein Nick Yelloly
    Wednesday: Esteban Ocon

    Toro Rosso
    Tuesday: Pierre Gasly
    Wednesday: Carlos Sainz Jr

    Sauber
    Tuesday: Marcus Ericsson
    Wednesday: Raffaele Marciello

     

     

  • No Penalty for Sainz and Kvyat For Turn 1 Incident

    No Penalty for Sainz and Kvyat For Turn 1 Incident

    The stewards have decided not to penalize Toro Roso driver Carlos Sainz and Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat for their incident on the final lap of the race.

    The two were fighting for 9th place and on the final lap of the Spanish Grand Prix the pair made contact into Turn 1. Kvyat, on the inside line after making three moves, locked up under braking and went straight on as Sainz attempted a pass around the outside. The contact between the two forced Sainz off the track into the run off area. Sainz then continued over the sleeping policemen and rejoined the track ahead of Kvyat before Turn2.

    A statement by the FIA read: “Stewards accept the statement of the driver of Car 26(Kvyat), the concurrence of the driver of Car 55(Sainz) and confirmation from the video evidence, that the first two moves were not defensive and that only the third move was defensive,” read the statement from the stewards.

    “The stewards agree with the assertions of the drivers and team representatives that this was a racing incident.

    “The Stewards consider that Car 55(Sainz) was in front at the time it entered the corner and accept the evidence of the driver that he slowed in re-joining the track at Turn 2 and gave room at Turn 3 for Car 26(Kvyat), in order to avoid gaining a lasting advantage. The driver of Car 26(Kvyat) also admitted that he slowed at Turn 2 and gave room for Car 55(Sainz) to re-join the track.

     

    Photo Credit: Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1