F1 Madness

Tag: grosjean

  • F1 2020: Hungarian Gp Review – Merc in a class of one

    F1 2020: Hungarian Gp Review – Merc in a class of one

    Ninety-one race victories and seven world championship titles seemed inaccessible for so long. But now it is case of when rather than if Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will reach and break the lofty records set by the great Michael Schumacher.

    Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant victory in round three of the 2020 championship. An eighth win around the Hungaroring, with a fastest lap and pole position to boot, has also given Hamilton the lead in the driver’s standings. So comfortably dominant was Hamilton’s pace that he was able to pit near the end of the race and still emerge well ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas who completed the podium in third.

    The races started in damp condition but the switch to slick tyres happened within a few laps of the race start. There was drama before the race even started for Red Bull as Verstappen fell foul of the slippery conditions on the way to the grid. The Dutchman clouted a barrier with the front-left of his car breaking the track rod and front-wing. Somehow his mechanics were able to change the track rod in record time to get their driver into the race. Max Verstappen may have been voted Driver of the Day by fans on social media but the real MVPs were unquestionably his mechanics.

    Saturday qualifying confirmed Racing Point’s pace as they locked out the second row of the grid with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez. It is often easy to dismiss Lance Stroll seeing as his father owns the team he’s driving for. But his performance and fourth place finish in the Hungarian Gp deserves praise. He thoroughly outpaced Checo Perez whom is the much more highly rated of the Racing Point drivers.

    Alex Albon recovered from a nightmarish qualifying position of 13th to finish fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in sixth. Ferrari’s woes were eased somewhat with Vettel but Charles Leclerc was only able to bring his Ferrari home in 11th. It’s going to be a long old season and, unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel is nowhere near in sight for the Scuderia.

    Sergio Perez was seventh for Racing Point however Renault hit them with another protest after the race. Renault had also lodged a protest with the FIA following the Stryrian Gp (Austria Part 2) challenging the legality of the Racing Point’s car design. Racing Point has made no secret about the fact that they had copied, from pictures, the design of the 2019 Mercedes. Renault believe though that Mercedes lent more of a helping hand than was legal.

    Renault would likely not have raised the issue if they were ahead of Racing Point on pace, but they aren’t. As it were Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth for Renault ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz in ninth and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in tenth. Magnussen had finished ninth on the track but was subsequently dealt a ten-second-time penalty for receiving prohibited instructions during the formation lap.

    On current pace it is clear that Hamilton might only have one challenger in 2020 – Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri Bottas started the season like he has in the last few years. Victory in race one is almost a given for the Finn but inevitably he is bested by Hamilton in the next few races. Bottas made two mistakes in the Hungarian grand prix. A stutter, nearly a jump start, at the beginning of the race saw him lose several places but luckily avoid a penalty as he was adjudged to still be in his grid slot despite a small amount of relative movement before the lights went out. The second slip-up was his inability to overtake Verstappen despite having significantly fresher tyres and boatload more pace. Yes, overtaking around the Hungarian circuit isn’t the easiest feat but if Bottas is serious about taking the challenge to Hamilton then he must make that pass for second. The fact is that Bottas is not going to beat Hamilton, over a season, on pace. The only way of beating Lewis Hamilton is to get inside his head. Bottas needs to be utterly relentless and to make Hamilton aware that he isn’t going to yield.

    The good news for Bottas is that there is unlikely to be a consistent challenge from anywhere else. Mercedes Benz is simply in a class of its own. The on-board footage of Hamilton’s qualifying lap pretty much defied the laws of gravity so ridiculously planted was the Merc around the Hungaroring.

    It is quite astonishing that the Mercedes factory and engineers is still able to produce an even quicker car than they have in the previous six years. Every year the car created is a masterpiece of engineering and innovation to the point where one thinks it surely cannot get any better. But it does. And what they have conjured with the W11 in 2020 is gob-smacking. It is unfathomable to imagine that the championship titles will be going anywhere other than Mercedes’s undoubtedly overflowing trophy cabinet in Brackley. In fact, the rest would do well to get a win off them this season, on merit.

  • F1 2019: Azerbaijan Gp Preview: Must Win For Ferrari

    F1 2019: Azerbaijan Gp Preview: Must Win For Ferrari

    The Baku circuit, the newest street track on the F1 calendar, was first introduced in 2016 and delivered one of the most stunning races of the year. Amid a melee or crashes and safety cars a year later Daniel Ricciardo emerged to take victory ahead of Valtteri Bottas and a surprised third place finisher in the form of then Williams driver Lance Stroll.

    Against a stunning backdrop of the old town the circuit is characterized by two distinct but opposite sections. The massively long start/finish straight is perfect of slipstreaming but after Turn 1 the layout quickly transforms into a tight and twisty tour through the city’s medieval walls. The close proximity of the walls means that the slightest mistake is more often than not punished severely. The dichotomy of the track layout also prompts a compromise in car set-up, as one half requires downforce and the other less drag to achieve the ultimate top speed.

    It should ostensibly favour Ferrari then as, in China, their advantage in straight-line speed was considerable. But on race day that supposed advantage was nowhere to be found. This could be an indication that Ferrari is not running its power unit to its full potential on race day due to reliability concerns. What adds fuel to this fire is the fact that all Ferrari-powered cars, except Alfa Romeo were forced into changing the control electronics ahead of the Chinese grand prix. Alfa’s reluctance to not change the system ended in regret as it kept Antonio Giovinazzi from competing in the qualifying session.

    GP MESSICO F1/2016If reliability isn’t a genuine concern for the Italian squad that Baku’s enormously long straight should play well into their hands. But already team principal Mattia Binotto has played down any suggestions of a performance advantage. “I don’t think there is much on the straights in between us and the others”. And on top of the standings Mercedes are sitting pretty without having been truly pushed in 2019. Yes, if Leclerc didn’t have a reliability issue in Bahrain he would’ve won the race by the reality is that he didn’t and Ferrari are already playing catch-up in several areas heading into only the fourth races of the season.

    There is no doubt that behind the scenes Mercedes are pushing to the absolute limit to extract everything from its car, engineers, and drivers. But from the outside there is something very comfortable about the situation in which they find themselves. Even psychologically they’re playing the game better than their rivals by continually pushing the message that Ferrari have the quicker car. It’s obvious that Ferrari need desperately to get some momentum going in their 2019 campaign and this weekend’s Azerbaijan grand prix is where it has to start.

     

  • F1 2015: Japanese GP Review – Hamilton Back On Top

    F1 2015: Japanese GP Review – Hamilton Back On Top

    As it turns out the only show that the Japanese grand prix put on was to demonstrate just what a difference seven days could make.

    In Singapore Mercedes were shockingly off the pace and never got close to troubling the top step of the podium. It now appears that this performance was a merely an anomaly. With a distinct and obvious pace advantage in practice and a front row lock-out in qualifying both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg returned the status quo of Formula 1 in 2015.

    Nico Rosberg lined up his Mercedes in pole position alongside Lewis Hamilton for the start of the race. The German’s advantage, however, would last only a handful of seconds as Hamilton derisively pushed Rosberg aside to take the lead of the race into turn two. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel slotted into second, after starting fourth, while Rosberg slipped down to fourth behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.

    The race seemed to settle early on as Hamilton extended his lead over second-placed Vettel who had no answer for the pace of the Mercedes. It appeared for all as Hamilton was cruising his way to victory but the driver confirmed that he had to cope with a tyre issue during the race. “At one stage I had such a vibration it was giving me a headache and everything was blurred,” said Hamilton.

    Even so, Hamilton lorded his unbeatable pace over the entire field on occasion lapping more than a second faster than anyone else. Nico Rosberg, through pitstop strategy and a pace advantage, was able to recover to second place by the end of the 53 lap race only two seconds ahead of third place finisher Sebastian Vettel.

    suzuka-rosbergIn the end Rosberg finished nearly twenty seconds adrift of his race-winning teammate and has seen the points gap extend to 48 points. It isn’t yet mathematically impossible for Rosberg to take the driver’s crown but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that he will do so.

    Naturally, there are many variables, such as reliability, that could factor into the final results. But as was evidences again in Japan in a straight out wheel-to-wheel fight with Hamilton Nico Rosberg just doesn’t have what it takes to beat his double world champion teammate.

    Behind the top three finishers Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen used pitstop strategy to undercut the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and take fourth place on the day. Despite finishing in fifth Bottas would’ve been disappointed with the pace of his car considering that he was overtaken by both Rosberg and Raikkonen, on the hard tyre, while running on the effectively quicker medium compound tyre.

    The sister Williams of Felipe Massa had a slight coming together with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo off the start line. Both drivers suffered punctures which weren’t able to recover from and eventually finished the race in fifteenth and seventeenth respectively. The only retirement of the race came in the form of Sauber’s Felipe Nasr with a one lap remaining.

    suzuka-maxForce India’s Nico Hulkenberg finished a solid sixth ahead of the Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. It was an impressive showing by the Lotus drivers considering the financial difficulties the team are currently facing. Toro Rosso’s ever impressive rookie pairing of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz finished ninth and tenth. It wasn’t a clean run to the flag for Sainz however who smacked the bollard coming into the pitlane destroying his front-win the process.

    In eleventh place and a lap down is where McLaren’s Fernando Alonso finished his Japanese GP much to his displeasure. Owing to a dreadfully uncompetitive season the Spaniard’s frustration seemed to boil over. As he was mugged for position on the straights he compared his Honda engine to that of a GP2 car; there’s a bit of amusement in there if you squint really hard. The good news for Alonso is that it can hardly get any worse than it is right now.

    The days of being a McLaren driver are just a fond memory for Lewis Hamilton now as he stands on the cusp of becoming a three-time Formula 1 world champion. The victory is Japan is the 41st of his career and brings him level in the number of wins with his great hero Ayrton Senna. It’s never wise to compare drivers of different eras so we won’t. Instead we are safe in the knowledge that in this moment Lewis Hamilton is well and truly the man.

  • F1 2013: British GP Review – Rosberg tops at dramatic Silverstone

    F1 2013: British GP Review – Rosberg tops at dramatic Silverstone

    Formula 1 in 2013 hasn’t been short of drama but it well and truly ramped up for the eighth round of the season at Britain’s Silverstone grand prix.

    It was home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton who thrashed the field to take only his second pole position at the famous circuit. The margin between the 2008 champion and teammate Rosberg was the biggest it had been all season as Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel was ever present in third ahead of retiring teammate, Mark Webber.

    Force India’s Paul Di Resta delivered an excellent lap for fifth but would later be excluded from qualifying for an underweight car. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari of Fernando Alonso seemed to struggle in qualifying trim as the duo only managed to start eighth and ninth.

    Pirelli tyre failures during the British Grand prixLewis Hamilton led cleanly away from pole position as Vettel slotted into third ahead of Rosberg. Mark Webber’s race was made a lot tougher after a clash with Romain Grosjean left the Australian with damage to the front-wing. A bit of damage to a front-wing would be the least dramatic issue of the day.

    Lewis Hamilton easily in the lead of the race and steadily building a gap over Vettel would become the first driver to suffer a left rear tyre blowout. The Pirelli tyre seemed to completely disintegrate without any indication whatsoever. Somehow Hamilton was able to return his Mercedes to the pits but his chances of victory had been thrown out the window.

    It looked like horrible luck for Hamilton until two laps later Felipe Massa’s Ferrari suffered the exact same failure. Jean-Eric Vergne became the third driver to suffer a tyre blow-out on lap 15 as his left rear spectacularly exploded on the Hangar straight.

    The Toro Rosso driver’s tyre failure brought out the safety car as debris from the blowout littered the circuit.  McLaren’s Sergio Perez would be the final driver to suffer an identical tyre blow-out on lap 46. At this point drivers were being told to avoid the kerbs in case they were the cause for the tyre problems.  But Fernando Alonso didn’t share the same opinion after the race. “I have been racing here 12 years & never had this problem (tyre). I think the kerbs were perfectly ok,” said the Ferrari driver.

    Racing resumed on lap 22 with no certainty of whose Pirelli could fail next but there was still a race to be had as Vettel led Rosberg over the start/finish line. The Red Bull driver extended his advantage over Rosberg to two seconds but the Mercedes driver was gradually starting chip away at his lead. Rosberg wasn’t required to do much more work in catching Vettel as the reigning world champion’s car grinded to a halt at the pit entry with a gearbox failure.

    The stricken Red Bull prompted another safety car and Rosberg, Webber and Alonso dived into the pitlane for a fresh set of medium tyres. The only front-running driver not to take a fresh set of tyres was Kimi Raikkonen.vettel-onboard Raikkonen was running second when he asked his team why they had not called him into the pits for fresh tyres. The Lotus pitwall had roughly half a lap behind the safety car to decide on a pitstop but responded to Raikkonen’s question with “I don’t know” and “It’s too late now.” On a day when championship leader Vettel failed to score any points the Lotus pitwall destroyed what could have been a significant gain in the championship stakes. Raikkonen eventually finished fifth, defenceless on hard tyres he had put on twenty laps earlier. It is on moments like this that championships are lost and won.

    Mark Webber’s announcement of his retirement at the end of the season sent the rumours of Raikkonen joining the Red Bull team into overdrive. Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has said that they are doing everything they can to keep the Finn in the team. He believes that the ‘atmosphere’ within the team is enough to make Raikkonen stay put – it isn’t. During his two year hiatus from Formula 1 the Iceman let it be known that he is only interested in winning races – not fighting for second. The doubt is whether Lotus can consistently deliver up to that standard. Mistakes such as this will surely make Raikkonen’s decision to stay or leave a lot less difficult. Lotus are a good team but many suggest that the only thing making them great is Kimi Raikkonen. Since his return to Formula 1 he hasn’t put a wheel wrong and he has rekindled a kind of speed and driving class second to none. Give this guy what he needs and he will win you a world championship. Lotus’ mistakes could be more costly than they expect.    

    Mark Webber, recovered from front-wing damage, charged through the field in the closing laps to within seven tenths of race leader Rosberg. Similarly, Fernando Alonso’s fresh tyres allowed him pass several cars and finish third overall. Fernando Alonso was happy to salvage third place on a weekend where Ferrari look decidedly off the pace but called on his team to ‘raise their game’ in the coming races.

    merc-team-photoNico Rosberg inherited the lead of the race but he won the British GP on pure merit. Never putting a wheel wrong he soaked up the late-race pressure from Webber like a pro. Career victory number three was well deserved for the most improved driver of 2013. 

    The Pirelli tyregate saga took a very dramatic turn during the British GP prompting the teams to angrily demand answers from the Italian tyre supplier. So serious was the tyre situation that race director Charlie Whiting admitted post-race that he was close to putting out the red flag.

    Paul Hembery has failed to appear at press conferences at the last two races but at some point Pirelli and their motorsport director will have to face the music. Pirelli have been invited, by FIA President Jean Todt, to attend the Sporting Working Committee meeting at the Nurburgring next week in order to find a solution to the tyre problems.

    The teams are now pushing for next month’s young driver’s test to be scrapped in favour of a fully fledged tyre test.