Tag: force india

Hamilton Fastest For Mercedes on Penultimate Day of Barcelona Test

Lewis Hamilton made it two for two for Mercedes on the penultimate day of the Barcelona pre-season test.

Hamilton set his fastest time of 1:23.022 for the day on Pirelli’s yellow soft compound tyre in the afternoon session after spending most of the afternoon in the garage. Felipe Massa in the Williams was second fastest on the day with a 1:23.262, 0.240s slower than Hamilton. Massa completed his lap on the super softs compared to Hamilton on the soft. This is quite an incredible show of pace from Mercedes although we are not sure if Massa was pushing to the absolute limit.

Long runs and a race simulation was the order of the day at Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen finished the day 3rd fastest 0.254s slower than Hamilton. Raikkonen completed his fastest lap on the super softs in what looks like a qualifying type simulation.

Carlos Sainz Jr. and Romain Grosjean finished 4th and 5th fastest respectively both with lap counts over 100 laps. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber ended his day 6th fastest with 123 laps to his name.

Nico Hulkenberg completed a solid day for Force India. This was the first full day of running after launching the VJM08 yesterday afternoon. Hulkenberg finished 7th fastest but completed a 158 laps on the day. “It was a very positive day in terms of reliability and getting a lot of mileage under our belts,” commented Hulkenberg. “It was our first full day of testing so our main focus remained on getting to know the car, the way we set it up and its characteristics.”

After a good day of running yesterday, it seemed to go the other way for McLaren on Saturday. Kevin Magnussen, filling in for Fernando Alonso, only completed 39 laps for the day and was forced to end the day almost three hours early due to on oil leak.

Daniel Ricciardo completed his day 9th fastest with 128 laps on the board. Red Bull focused on long run pace and race simulations after fitting new parts on the car. Daniel Ricciardo was happy with the updates and he feels the team have addressed their weaknesses from last year.

“It looks more promising,” he said. “I don’t think we have shown our true pace on low fuel yet. “High fuel stuff seems like we are a bit happier than where we feel like we should be.”

“We will see in Melbourne when everyone is on the right fuel loads but I think we do look more competitive on high fuel for now.”

Below is the unofficial time sheet for Day 3 of the final pre-season test

February 28, 2015
Grosjean Quickest on Final Day of Testing and Alonso Crashes

Romain Grosjean put his Lotus on the top of the time sheets at the end of the final day of the second pre-season test while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was air lifted to hospital after a crash at T3.

Grosjean’s time of 1:24.067 on the soft compound tyres from Pirelli put him on top of the time sheets in the afternoon session which is also the fastest time of the entire 2nd test. Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes finished the day second fastest firing somewhat of a warning shot to rivals. Rosberg’s time of 1:24.321 on the medium compound tyres, was just 0.254s slower than Grosjean’s time. Pirelli say that the gap between the two tyres is about 2 seconds a lap. That should get teams shifting rather uncomfortably in their seats.

McLaren’s test came to an abrupt end when Alonso went off the track and crashed into the T3 barrier. An ambulance was dispatched to the scene. He was then taken to the circuits medical centre. He spent a few minutes at the medical centre and was then airlifted to a nearby hospital for further tests. After a short while, McLaren released a statement saying that Alonso was “conscious and spoke with the doctors”.

The second test did not go too well for McLaren who seem to be still ironing out the kinks with the new Honda power unit. Throughout the 4 days of the test, they managed a total of 104 laps.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat finished 3rd fastest with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr just 0.015s slower in 4th. “It was another good day for us,” Kvyat explained. “We learned a lot that will be of benefit in the future and that’s what testing is all about.”

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas ended his day 5th fastest racking up 129 laps. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr finished 6th fastest. His day came to an early end when he also crashed at the exit of T3.

Sebastian Vettel finished 7th fastest with Nico Hulkenberg finishing 8th and Alonso 9th.

At the end of the day Vettel said that they mainly focused on long runs and different tyre configurations. There were some “teething problems” but he feels positive about the car so far.

Below is the timing sheet for the final day of the second pre-season test:

February 22, 2015
Maldonado On Top of Time Sheets on Day 3 of Barcelona Test

Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado claimed the fastest time of the day on the 3rd day of the Barcelona test on the super soft tyres.

Maldonado’s run in the afternoon seen him cross the line with a 1:24.348, 0.391s ahead of Max Verstappen in the Toro Rosso who also did a run on the super softs. “We achieved a lot today and it was great to complete so many laps and end the day as the fastest car,” said Maldonado.

Although the rain started to fall later in the day the drivers still managed to put in a respectable amount of laps one the rain had stopped.

The redesigned seal that was intended to fix McLaren’s MGU-K issue did not work as planned. This mean that Button had to run the day on reduced power completing only 24 laps for the day.

Defending World Champion, Lewis Hamilton took third spot of the day ahead of Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber. Hamilton still battling an illness said it was very tough day for him physically. That didnt seem to affect his pace too much though and he completed a marathon 101 laps.

After an out lap spin that put him into the gravel trap, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel completed the day with 105 laps with the 5th fastest time of 1:26.407 which was just marginally faster than Daniil Kvyat in the Red Bull. Apart from the out lap incident. Vettel enjoyed a relatively trouble free day out on track.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas both drive for Williams on the day which seen Massa finishe 7th fastest and Bottas 9th fastest.

Mercedes test driver Pascal Wehrlein was back at Force India today. He completed 81 laps with the fastest time for him on the day of 1:27.333 in the 2014 VJM07.

February 22, 2015
Ricciardo Takes the Honour on Second Day of Barcelona Test

Daniel Ricciardo finished on top of the time sheets for Red Bull on the second day of the second pre-season test in Barcelona.

Ricciardo set his time of 1:24.574 just before the lunch break on the soft compound tyres. This time stood for the rest of the day. Second for the day was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who was just 0.010s off Ricciardo’s pace. Third for the day was Williams’ Felipe Massa who was just 0.098s off the pace. It was very close at the top today with the top three just separated by 0.1s.

Sergio Perez ended his day in 4th with a time of 1:24.702 for Force India. Lewis Hamilton who was not scheduled to drive today got behind the wheel of the W06 in the afternoon session and managed 5th fastest for the day and also managed to complete and impressive 89 laps despite not feeling well. Nico Rosberg drove the morning session and was 6th fastest for the day. He handed over to Hamilton so as to not further aggravate his inflamed nerve on his neck.

Despite the ERS issue on the McLaren, Fernando Alonso managed to complete 59 laps today with his fastest being a 1:25.961. Although well off the pace of the front running cars it is encouraging news for the Woking outfit and for Honda.

Jolyon Palmer had his debut for Lotus today. He finished 8 fastest. Marcus Ericsson finished 9th for Sauber and Carlos Sainz Jr finishing the slowest on the day. Sainz Jr clocked up 100 laps today despite a big off at the very fast T9 right hander.

It was a very strong showing from Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari. Although they may not show it, Mercedes are becoming increasingly weary about the pace of those three teams and will be watching them closely. There is no doubt that the other teams have stepped up their game but something tells me we have not yet seen the absolute pace of the Mercedes cars just yet.

Below are the unofficial times from day 2 of the second pre-season test:

Photo Credit: Infinity Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team

February 20, 2015
Maldonado Puts Lotus on Top of the Time Sheets for Day one of Second Test

Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado finished the first day of the second winter test ahead of the pack after running with the soft compound tyre.

Maldonado’s time of 1:25.011 was 0.156s faster than Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari who held the top spot for most of the day. Although he set the fastest time, it was not a trouble free day for the Venezualan. He stopped twice on track in the morning sessions with sensor issues. Nevertheless a very good day for Lotus.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen enjoyed a good run of 74 laps for the day. Holding the top spot for most of the day is very encouraging for Ferrari at the moment with his and Maldonado’s fastest times are faster than Lewis Hamilton’s pole setting time for the Spanish Grand Prix last year.

Ricciardo finished the day in 3rd for Red Bull with Force India’s Sergio Perez finishing the day in 4th. The Mexican was not scheduled to drive today but was called up when Lewis Hamilton took ill after completing a few laps in the morning. Which meant that the Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein who was driving for Force India today, had to swap the Force India overalls for the Mercedes ones to take Hamilton’s place. Wehrlein managed 8th for Force India and 9th for Mercedes.

Felipe Nasr showed strong pace in the morning session for Sauber completing 79 laps. He ended the day in 5th. Max Verstappen ended the day in 6th with 94 laps on the board, the highest lap count for the day.

Jenson Button’s day came to an early end after and MGU-K failure. The word from McLaren is that they will need to redesign the MGU-K component and that the engine would need to be replaced until the MGU-K was redesigned. There was no guarantee from Honda that the problem may not occur again. Fernando Alonso, who was scheduled to drive on Saturday and Sunday will be in the car tomorrow to prevent Button from having his day affected by the problem.

Susie Wolff ended her day in 10th ahead for Williams ahead of Lewis Hamilton in 11th. Wolff collided with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr on track in the afternoon session. The contact between the two resulted in Nasr ending up in the T5 barriers with Wolff coming to a stop in the gravel. At the time Wolff was on an out-lap while Nasr was supposedly on a timed lap. Both drivers blame each other for the incident.

After Hamilton took ill, news emerged that Nico Rosberg had an inflamed nerve in his neck and will have to rest until the swelling subsides. It looks as though Wehrlein will be driving the Mercedes for a bit longer.

Below are the unofficial times for Day 1 of the second pre-season test

February 19, 2015
F1 2015: Barcelona Test Team and Driver Lineup

The second F1 test of the season will get underway in 2 days time in Catalunya, Spain at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The track is known to all the teams and drivers as it has been the winter testing ground for quite a few years. The 4.655km track has 16 corners which really put an F1 car through its paces. The track has a very good balance between fast and slow corners together with a long straight.

Much has been said about the pace of Mercedes after the first test in Jerez. Many think that they did not show their true pace. This may be true if speed trap data is to be believed where it showed that Mercedes powered cars still hold an advantage in terms of speed over Ferrari and Renault powered cars. One should not read too much into all of that as it is only the first of three pre-season tests. We should get a slightly clearer picture during the upcoming test.

Ferrari seem to have made some progress from 2014 after their cars finished on top of the time sheets on three of the four days of the Jerez test. Williams seemed to have a rather anonymous test as they quietly went along their business and managed to get some good mileage out of their cars. The same can be said for Toro Rosso with their two young drivers.

McLaren had a very shaky start. With a new engine manufacturer there was bound to be plenty of teething problems. They managed to get a handful of laps in the previous test but will be looking to get some decent mileage in Barcelona. Red Bull, with their camouflaged car also got of to a shaky start as they also suffered engine issues.

Lotus with Mercedes engines had a better Jerez test than 2014 with the only hold up for them was the lack of parts on the first day of the Jerez test which lead to them sitting out day 1. No doubt they will be better prepared for this week.

Force India, after skipping the Jerez test, will be out on track in Catalunya with their 2014 car as their 2015 is not yet complete. The 2014 car will have developmental parts on the car that will no doubt go on the 2015 car which should make its debut at the second Barcelona test.

We should see Mercedes pace revealed over the course of the test. If the timing wall from the previous test is to be believed, Ferrari should follow in a close second. But this is testing and no team will revealed their true pace until qualifying in Melbourne.

Below is the schedule for the Barcelona test:

February 17, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Test Driver Line Up
The first test for the 2015 Formula 1 Season gets underway tomorrow in Jerez, Spain.

The test will run from 01 – 04 February. This is how the drivers will line up on each day

Day 1: Sunday 1 Ferbuary
- Mercedes – Nico Rosberg
- Red Bull – Daniel Ricciardo
- Williams – Valtteri Bottas
- Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel
- McLaren – Fernando Alonso
- Force India – Not participating
- Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz Jr.
- Sauber – Marcus Ericsson
- Lotus – Pastor Maldonado
Day 2: Monday 2 February
- Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton
- Red Bull – Daniil Kvyat
- Williams – Valtteri Bottas
- Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel
- McLaren – Jenson Button
- Force India – Not participating
- Toro Rosso – Max Versappen
- Sauber – Felipe Nasr
- Lotus – Romain Grosjean
Day 3: Tuesday 3 February
- Mercedes – Nico Rosberg
- Red Bull – Daniel Ricciardo
- Williams – Felipe Massa
- Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen
- McLaren – Fernando Alonso
- Force India – Not participating
- Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz Jr.
- Sauber – Felipe Nasr
- Lotus – Pastor Maldonado
Day 4: Wednesday 4 February
- Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton
- Red Bull – Daniil Kvyat
- Williams – Felipe Massa
- Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen
- McLaren – Jenson Button
- Force India – Not participating
- Toro Rosso – Max Versappen
- Sauber – Marcus Ericsson
- Lotus – Romain Grosjean
The Caterham and Marussia teams have not finalized their entries for the 2015 season and have been excluded from the list.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
January 31, 2015
Force India to Skip Jerez Test

The Force India Formula 1 Team announced on Wednesday afternoon that they will not participate at the first test of the 2015 season in Jerez, Spain.

The team announced on Twitter that they will skip the test. “We have chosen not to run the old (2014) car in Jerez. The learning opportunities would have been limited so the focus is now on Barcelona,” read the tweet.

They intended to run their 2014 car at the first test, but with just 4 days before the test begins, they’ve decided not to participate. Their focus now turns to the second test in Barcelona where they plan to maximize their time there.

It’s not clear as to why the team has taken the decision to skip the test, apart from their 2015 car not being ready.

Photo credit: Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team

January 28, 2015
F1 2015: Car Launches, Testing Dates and Driver Line Ups

The 2015 Formula 1 Season is upon us and with all the teams releasing teaser pics and with the car launches and testing about to take place within the week we thought we’d give you a quick run down on the testing schedule and the driver line up for each team.

Testing Dates:

01 – 04 February – Jerez, Spain

19 – 22 February – Barcelona, Spain

26 February – 01 March – Barcelona, Span

Car Launches:

29 January – McLaren(Online)

30 January – Ferrari(Online)

30 January – Sauber(Online)

31 January – Toro Rosso

01 February – Mercedes

Driver Line up:

MERCEDES: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

RED BULL: Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat

WILLIAMS: Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas

FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen

MCLAREN: Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button

FORCE INDIA: Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez

TORO ROSSO: Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr.

LOTUS: Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado

SAUBER: Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr

The entries for the Marussia and Caterham teams were on the provisional FIA list subject to confirmation before the season begins.

The complete 2015 Formula 1 World Championship Calendar can be found here

January 27, 2015
Force India unveils VJM08 livery in Mexico

Force India unveiled its new 2015 livery and front nose design at launch event in Mexico.

Team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez pulled the wraps off the new car livery in Mexico City, ahead of F1’s return to Mexico later this year.

The revised colour scheme was presented on Force India’s 2014 car following the team’s decision to delay the introduction of the new VJM08 until the second pre-season test of the year.The team confirmed on Tuesday that the VJM08 will not be present at next weekend’s Jerez test and will only make its debut in Barcelona in mid-February.

Although the VJM08 was not present at the livery launch, Force India say that it is an evolution of the VJM07 which will be used at the opening test of the year in Jerez and carried the team to sixth in the 2014 constructors’ standings.

“It’s another evolution of the contemporary look we introduced last year, which reflects the growth of the team and the global brands with which we are working,” said team principal Vijay Mallya.

“I love the addition of silver, which makes the car appear more sleek and aggressive and I’m sure it’s something that will appeal to the fans as well. Our traditional team colours remain integrated in the livery, but we’ve given it a very modern twist.”

“I’m very excited about 2015,” Sergio Perez added. “It’s my second season with this team so that always makes things easier. I feel very relaxed about the new season in a good way. The regulations are not changing and I believe that will benefit us as a team.

“It means the development from last year can continue and we don’t have to start everything from zero again. I like these regulations and the V6 engines helped produce close and competitive racing. At the end of 2014 I was feeling very confident in the car and I want to carry this momentum into the new season. I want more podiums in 2015.”

“I hope for spectacular things,” Nico Hulkenberg said discussing his 2015 aspirations. “That means scoring many points, great racing and lots of fun. I’m part of a team that is growing and hungry for more. 2014 was our best season yet so we need to aim to go a step further this year and give the teams ahead of us a harder time.”

Technical director Andrew Green said that changes will be most noticeable at the front end of the Mercedes-powered car, “The front of the car looks very different from what we had developed previously,” he said. “It is a redesign that involved a lot of work over the winter, as the new regulations caused a loss in terms of downforce and we’ve been working to claw back all that performance.”

Force India also said that the VJM08 will also feature other more subtle changes which include modified sculpting of the sidepods and new cooling intakes. There’ll also be a completely new rear suspension layout with a new hydro-mechanical system replacing the original torsion springs.

Here’s a gallery of the new Force India VJM08 livery.

January 22, 2015