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F1 2016: Monaco GP – Masterful Hamilton Wins

If a race around the confined streets of Monte Carlo isn’t a big enough challenge the rain that came down made sure that it was emphatically more demanding.

Daniel Ricciardo started the Monaco grand prix from his first career pole position and would’ve felt he had half the job done. As the race got underway behind the safety-car there was no perilous side-by-side running into turn one with Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes or the fear of pushing slightly over the limit any into a barrier.

When racing did get underway Ricciardo quickly carved out a ten second to second placed Rosberg with Hamilton close behind in third. As the circuit started to dry Ricciardo dived into the pitlane for a set of intermediate tyres but the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton stayed out. It was this stint, on the full wet tyre, that won Lewis Hamilton the Monaco grand prix.

But for Hamilton to take his first victory of the season a lot of things had to go his way. First championship leader and teammate Nico Rosberg had to move over and let him by and this move revealed some Rosberg’s character. Regardless of his pace, as the championship leader, there couldn’t have been an argument against Rosberg if he didn’t move out of the way for his biggest rival. By giving way to Hamilton he showed himself to be a team man.

Still victory seemed a long shot as Ricciardo closed right onto the back of Hamilton on his quicker intermediate tyres. Each driver would have to make one more stop for slick tyres. However, as the Australian dived into the pits for dry tyres a communication error meant the team was not ready. A thirteen second pitstop for Ricciardo meant Hamilton squeezed into the lead of race.

Although demoralized Ricciardo refused to give up and hounded Hamilton for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the Australian was unable to take back the lead of the race and finished second. Not too far behind Force India’s Sergio Perez drove a stellar race to hold of the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel for third. Ferrari’s Monaco experience was an unforgettable one as Kimi Raikkonen retired early on after touching the barrier in the hairpin and getting stuck on his own front-wing.

Fernando Alonso showed his class with a fine fifth place finish for McLaren on their 50^th anniversary. The opportunistic Nico Hulkenberg snatched sixth place from Nico Rosberg into the final corner on the last lap of the race. Meanwhile Rosberg, running with suspected glazed brakes, finished seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz in eighth, Jenson Button in ninth, and the Williams of Felipe Massa in tenth.

The race was interrupted by several virtual safety car periods as drivers fell victim to the difficult conditions and notoriously tight circuit. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer crashed in the start/finish straight while Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat took out Kevin Magnussen. Max Verstappen was well on his way to recovering from a pitlane start but stuck his Red Bull into the barrier on lap 34.

To add insult to a serious lack of pace Marcus Ericsson attempted a bizarre move on his Sauber teammate Felipe Nasr into the final corner that ended in a double retirement for the team.

Some stars had to align for Hamilton’s first win of the 2016 season. But it was his masterfully controlled stint on a drying track with worn wet-weather tyres that sealed the deal. A car as dominate as the 2016 Mercedes often disguises a driver’s skill. But on this day not even this could overshadow Hamilton’s near impeccable feel and talent for driving a Formula 1 car.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport.

May 30, 2016
F1 2016: Monaco GP Qualifying Report – Ricciardo Scores First Pole

Red Bull driver Daniel Riccardo has secured pole position for Sunday’s Monaco grand prix.

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo has secured the first pole position of his Formula 1 career around the sunny streets of Monte Carlo. Nico Rosberg will line up alongside on the front row of the grid while Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton will start third.

Sebastian Vettel set the fourth fastest time ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the sixth quickest time but will drop down five position after replacing a gearbox. Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, Dannil Kyvat, and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten.

Two red-flags marred the first part of qualifying as first Felipe Nasr’s engine let go and later Max Verstappen put his Red Bull into the barriers.

Daniel Ricciardo is in prime position for Sunday’s 78 lap race as he will start on the more durable, red-walled supersoft tyre. Meanwhile his closest rivals will start on the purple-walled ultrasoft compound.

Qualifying Standings:

May 28, 2016
F1 2016: Monaco GP Preview – Can Merc Be Toppled in Monaco?

In one way or another the famous streets of Monte Carlo have featured in every one of Formula 1’s 66-year history. The scale and prestige of the Monaco grand prix is no less as it hosts the 6^th round of the 2016 season.

Several street tracks have come and gone in Formula 1 and some, like Singapore, has come to be well liked by drivers and fans. But there’s nothing quite as unique as the race on the sun-kissed streets of Monte Carlo.

In truth racing cars having been threading themselves through the tight Monaco streets since 1929. In 1950 the Monaco grand prix became part of the newly formed F1 world championship. Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio won his first championship race in an Alfa Romeo and would later become a five-time world champion.

It comes as no surprise that the most prolific winners around the famous streets are also the drivers who brilliantly conquered and defined their eras in the sport. Ayrton Senna leads the pack with seven wins while Michael Schumacher and Graham Hill have each taken five Monaco Gp victories.

Across its 78 laps the 3.337 kilometer Anthony Noghes circuit presents the most extreme challenge of concentration and skill seen at any time during a Formula 1 season. The blind rise up the hill after Ste Devote, Casino Square, Portier and the tunnel. The ultra quick left-right chicane just after Tabac at the entry to the swimming pool – all of it lined by barriers which leaves zero margin for error,” says Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. “I believe street circuits like Monaco bring out the best in a driver. It’s visible to the spectators who is running the fine line between risk and reward.”

Pirelli’s purple side-walled ultrasoft tyre compound will make its debut this weekend. Mercedes and Red Bull have chosen an aggressive strategy by selecting ten sets of the ultrasoft compound for the weekend. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have chosen nine sets each of the purple side-walled tyre.

But even the most shrewd tyre strategy could mean nothing as the tight, barrier-lined streets means that overtaking is at an absolute premium. Thus it makes qualifying more critical than at any other race. A mistake or problem in Saturday qualifying carries severe penalty and an unlikely chance of recovery on Sunday.

It is here, in qualifying, that Mercedes still holds a sizeable advantage. However, following the two days of testing at Catalunya, after the Spanish Gp, Sebastian Vettel is convinced that he fight for victory in Monaco where Ferrari last claimed victory in 2001. “I think Monaco should be a strong track for us, last year we were very competitive there,” he said. “Now we have improved the car in the areas you need for that Grand Prix so I think it should help.

But there is more than one team ready to challenge the Ferrari’s. McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier believes his team has a chance at out-pacing Ferrari around the twisty circuit. While the Honda power unit still lacks power the characteristics of Monaco means it will not be as big a deficit.

A more realistic threat is likely to come from Red Bull. The team ran an ungraded Renault power unit at the two-day Spanish test and the result was positive enough to fast track the introduction of it. Originally scheduled for the Canadian grand prix the power unit will be introduced in Monaco. However, Renault is able to provide only one engine for Red Bull and one for Renault.

Will Ferrari, Red Bull or even McLaren be able to end Mercedes’ domination?

May 25, 2016
F1 2014: Spanish GP Review – To The Max!

It’s old and outdated but never has it been more true – to finish first, first you must finish.

The two front-row starting Mercedes’ of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg know this saying well but putting it into practice became entirely too difficult. The teammates dramatic collision in turn four put them both out of the race on lap one.

Rosberg snatched the lead from pole starting Hamilton but had started the race in the wrong engine mode. While he fiddled with his steering wheel Hamilton saw his opportunity to regain the lead of the race and attempted to pass the German going into turn four. Rosberg, down roughly 17kph in his setting, saw the move and moved over crowding Hamilton. The reigning champion took the grass, lost control of his car and slammed into Rosberg.

The incident was investigated after the race but no penalties were forthcoming.

From the camera shots you could say that Rosberg’s move was a tad over-aggressive. But because Hamilton only had his front-wing alongside the rear-wheel of Rosberg’s car the number 6 Merc was within his right to make the defensive move. But come what may this is one of those incidents that will divide opinion and having each driver’s fans blaming the other as the guilty party.

Although this incident was dramatic it blew the race wide open. Between Red Bull and Ferrari it delivered a Spanish Gp that will be remembered for decades. Daniel Ricciardo now led the way from newly promoted teammate Max Verstappen and the fast-starting Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz.

The Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen made relatively quick work of Sainz and were now turning a quicker pace that the two Red Bulls ahead. Ricciardo pitted first on lap 11, Verstappen and Raikkonen a lap later and Vettel on lap 15.

Though Ricciardo and Vettel still led on the road after the first round of pitstops they strangely opted for a three-stop strategy. The Red Bull and Ferrari stopped again on 28 and 29 respectively relegating Ricciardo and Vettel to third and fourth. After their third visit to the pitlane Vettel was able to jump Ricciardo’s Red Bull setting up a great duel between the two for the final step of the podium. The Aussie tried a couple of bold moves to snatch third from Vettel but his left-rear tyre gave up with one lap to go. Such was the frontrunners pace advantage that Ricciardo was able to pit and still finish fourth.

Up ahead Verstappen and Raikkonen successfully ran a two-stop strategy. By now Max Verstappen had already become the youngest driver to lead a race and was now facing severe pressure from Raikkonen for the win. For twenty laps Raikkonen hounded the back of the Red Bull, half a second away from victory. But the 18-year-old soaked up the pressure, never put a wheel wrong and delivered a superbly controlled drive.

Sebastian Vettel made it a double podium for Ferrari in third ahead of Ricciardo. Much further down the road Valtteri Bottas brought his Williams home in fifth ahead of am impressive performance from Carlos Sainz in sixth. Sergio Perez finished seventh in his Force India ahead of Felipe Massa’s Williams in eighth. Jenson Button scored two points for McLaren in ninth while teammate Fernando Alonso was forced into retirement. Dannil Kvyat scored the final point on offer in the Toro Rosso.

The 15^th of May 2016 could’ve been just another day that hosted just another Spanish grand prix. Instead it’s been etched into the history of Formula 1 to be forever remembered as the day that 18-year-old Max Verstappen came of age.

May 16, 2016
F1 2016: Spanish GP Preview – All eyes on Spain

Traditionally the first European race of the F1 season sees a raft of updates made to the cars. It’s no different in 2016 as teams look to take a crucial step forward at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya.

Red Bull Racing dropped the bombshell a few days after the Russian grand prix that Dannil Kvyat and Max Verstappen would swop seats. Ostensibly, the move appears to have been made following Kvyat’s attempt at playing bumper cars with Sebastian Vettel in Russia but there’s a fair bit more at play than that.

For one, Russian driver Kvyat hasn’t been that impressive in the Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo. Then, there’s that incident with the Ferrari in Russia. However, neither of these two things are enough to warrant a demotion to the junior team. Drivers go through indifferent patches and make mistakes but they aren’t dropped at the first sign of strife, usually. Romain Grosjean’s troublesome season at Lotus and Pastor Maldonado’s F1 career is testament to the fact that teams usually stick it out. But not in Kvyat’s case.

The incident in Russia is nothing more than an excuse to promote Verstappen from Toro Rosso into the senior team. While the teenaged Dutch driver may be singing Red Bull’s praises and swearing that he’s never looked elsewhere for a drive we know better. Despite being in only his second F1 season it’s obvious that Verstappen has enormous potential. This makes him a hot commodity for other teams and there’s no better way to keep him close than to move him to the senior team. Well played Red Bull.

What a difference twelve months can make. In 2015 Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg arrived at the Spanish grand prix under pressure to perform. This time around he arrives at the fifth round of the season with four race wins under the belt and a dominant lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Now the questions shifts from can Nico do it to can he keep doing it? The German is convinced that Hamilton will hit back soon and he’s likely right. However, it’s also a great mental space Rosberg to operate in – take it one race and one lap at a time and don’t take it for granted.

Besides a bit of brooding on the Russian Gp podium Hamilton has appeared decidedly chilled, even apathetic, to his dreadful run so far in 2016. But don’t be fooled by his supposedly indifferent approach. The reigning champ more than has the skill to hit back hard and just needs to find the sweet-spot for it to be unleashed.

From the Ferrari garage the hope is that the performance deficit in the last race was specific to the circuit. It could’ve been given that the Russian circuit is power dominant. But though they may be closer in Spain it will extremely tough to beat the Silver Arrows around Catalunya.

McLaren, already vastly improved in 2016, is planning to introduce a significant upgrade to their car this weekend. They hope that a new floor, wings, and various bits of other bodywork will be enough to propel them into the top ten in qualifying and a solid points score with both cars.

The Haas F1 Team will run the upgraded Ferrari engine, introduced in Russia, in Spain. The Renault team will run an updated version of their front and rear wings in the hopes of upping their game in a tight mid-field battle.

Seven drivers on the current grid have won the Spanish grand prix and thanks to its status as a test venue everyone knows their way around these parts. But as familiar as they are with the Circuit de Catalunya it doesn’t do anything to lessen the challenge.

May 11, 2016
F1 2016: Russian GP Review – Rosberg Wraps Up Win Number Four

If you were a neutral there wasn’t much to enthuse about in the Russian grand prix. But these days’ neutrals are few and far between. And even a true neutral would have to be impressed with the spellbinding way in which Nico Rosberg has won the Russian grand prix.

While Nico Rosberg led serenely away from pole position and Kimi Raikkonen snatched second from Valtteri Bottas the carnage behind started to unfold. Sebastian Vettel, recovering from a five-place grid penalty, was attempting to pass Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull for fifth when Daniil Kvyat rammed into the back of him. As if to compound matters Kvyat rammed into the back of Vettel a second time in turn three. The Ferrari speared off into a wall prompting a colourful tirade over the German’s radio.

Kvyat’s catastrophic exuberance resulted in damage for both Red Bulls and the Force India of Sergio Perez and prompted the deployment of the safety car. Through the shower of carbon fibre and expletives Lewis Hamilton emerged in fifth. The Brit was forced to start tenth after another power unit issue in Saturday qualifying.

At the restart Bottas was able to get the better of Raikkonen and snatched second as Hamilton made his way past the second Williams for fourth. He took advantage of Raikkonen’s poor exit off turn three and quickly made it third place on the track. Bottas held off Hamilton until the first round of stops but was unable to resist as Hamilton took second place with a move up the inside of turn two.

By now Rosberg, untroubled in the lead, had built a near fourteen-second gap. Once in clear air Hamilton reduced the gap to 7.5 seconds before being warned of a water pressure issue. In the end Rosberg’s domination ended in a fourth consecutive victory by 25 seconds over Hamilton. Roughly six seconds down the road Raikkonen completed the top three and rather sedately scored Ferrari’s 700^th podium.

Bottas finished a distant fourth ahead of Williams teammate Felipe Massa in sixth. Fernando Alonso scored his first points of the season with a fine sixth place ahead of Renault’s Kevin Magnussen in seventh. Romain Grosjean salvaged an eighth place finish for Haas ahead of Sergio Perez in ninth. Jenson Button made it a double points score for McLaren by taking the final point in tenth.

It’s difficult to say that the Russian grand prix revealed everyone’s true form. Yes, Mercedes are still clearly the leaders of the pack but in modern Formula 1 several factors conspire to control the pace of a driver. For Kimi Raikkonen it was the necessity to save fuel that stopped him from pushing the Ferrari to its full potential. For Hamilton yet another power unit issue halted his assault on victory. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind” Hamilton responded when asked if he could’ve won the race.

As it were Hamilton, in the unfamiliar bridesmaid role, sulkily made his way through the podium ceremony without bothering to spray the champagne. While Hamilton’s mood was understandable given his issues so far in 2016 it was unbecoming of F1’s “best ambassador” as he has dubbed himself.

The 1^st of May commemorated the death of the great Ayrton Senna 22 years ago. A driver who when truly tested delivered the very best of himself and his abilities. A driver who typified what a champion ought to be.

The character of a true champion isn’t revealed as he basks in the glory of win after win. True champion character is revealed in how a driver responds in the difficult moments. For two years Nico Rosberg deferred to Hamilton but now he has responded with the sort of tenacity that, if maintained, could carry him all the way to championship glory.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli)

May 2, 2016
F1 2016: Chinese GP – Rosberg Makes Hay In China

For years we’ve been frustratingly calling for Nico Rosberg to up his game. With a third win out of three in 2016 he’s done it.

The German driver effortlessly converted pole position into victory as the chaos unfolded behind his Mercedes. However, it was second-placed starter Daniel Ricciardo who snatched the lead of the race off the line in his Red Bull. Behind this pair the two Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, starting third and fourth, looked set to challenge for the race win until Vettel barged into the side of Raikkonen to avoid the sister Red Bull of Dannil Kvyat on his inside.

Although Vettel recovered to second place in the end it was a sloppy race for the four time champion. The clash with teammate Raikkonen caused damage to his front-wing which was required replacing. But it would be damaged again as he tried to find his way passed the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.

Visibility in F1 car is limited but into such a tight corner Vettel should’ve been aware of Raikkonen on his outside given that he started close to him on the grid. Though the German did his best to shift blame to Dannil Kvyat the Russian driver was well within his rights to place his car alongside Vettel’s Ferrari into turn one. Kvyat eventually finished third and despite a confrontation with Vettel after the race wasn’t unhappy at all to secure only the second podium of his career.

Raikkonen’s front-wing damage and punctured tyre meant into turn one meant he had to crawl around the entire lap to make it back to the pitlane. It dropped him right to the back of the field and onto an alternative strategy which had him running on the white-walled medium tyre in the middle stint of the race. The Finn had shown great pace throughout the weekend was able to resist an attack from Hamilton on quicker tyres. It left the soft, yellow-walled, tyre for the final stint of the race and with it Raikkonen was able to make up enough positions to ultimately finish fifth.

Even Lewis Hamilton was involved in the mess of the opening lap. After starting last following an overnight power unit change the Brit also lost his front-wing and sustained damage to his barge board into turn one.

In the lead of the race Daniel Ricciardo’s hopes evaporated as he picked up a left-rear puncture on lap three. Ricciardo was able to recover to fourth. If it wasn’t clear before why both Mercedes and Ferrari refused to provide the Red Bull team with an engine from their shed it is surely clear now. The 2016 Red Bull car is a great chassis, with two great drivers and all they’re missing is a great engine.

Debris from Ricciardo’s blown tyre prompted the deployment of the safety car and drivers took the opportunity to fit the more durable soft and medium tyres. Behind Raikkonen in fifth Williams’ Felipe Massa was able to hold onto sixth while Hamilton had to settle for seventh. Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen finished eighth ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in ninth and the second Williams of Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten. Despite numerous incidents throughout the race all twenty-two cars saw the chequered flag at the end of the race.

Since the start of the 2016 season things haven’t been going Lewis Hamilton’s way. Less than ideal starts off the line, unreliability, and damage early in the last two races have severely tested the champion. He’s response has been to remain remarkably cool about it all. However, three victories and a thirty-six point lead in the driver’s championship for a perfect Nico Rosberg is getting to be a bit tight. It’s a good thing Lewis Hamilton likes a fight because he has a big one on his hands now.

(Featured image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

April 18, 2016
Hulkenberg Handed Three-Place Grid Penalty for Unsafe Release

Nico Hulkenberg will drop three-places down the grid ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix race following a wheel nut incident in Qualifying.

The Force India driver was on his out lap in final minutes of Q2 when his front left wheel nut came loose sending the trye careening towards the tyre walls.

The stewards ruled that his car “was released in an unsafe condition as the wheel and tyre fell off at turn 10” and imposed a three place grid penalty for the German. This means he will start in 13th. Hulkenberg’s grid drop means Felipe Massa, will now start 10th, Fernando Alonso 11th and his McLaren team mate Jenson Button 12th.

Photo Credit: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

April 16, 2016
Rosberg beats Ricciardo to Chinese GP pole, Hamilton last

Nico Rosberg resisted what seemed to be a mighty threat from Ferrari to claim the pole position in what turned out to be an action packed qualifying session ahead of the Chinese GP.

Kimi Raikkonen threatened to claim the pole with Rosberg trailing him after the initial Q3 runs but going too deep into the penultimate corner, and a perfect 1:35.402 lap from Rosberg handed the German the pole.

Team mate Lewis Hamilton, who already headed into qualifying with a five place grid drop for a gearbox change, will start from the back of the grid tomorrow.

Mercedes are still trying to fix the problem with Hamilton’s ERS but seem confident that they will be able to solve the problem in time for the race. Hamilton has won the last four Chinese grands prix – he’ll have to really earn his pounds tomorrow if he wants to make it five in a row.

Rosberg cruised his way through Q2 on Pirelli’s soft tyres, meaning that he will be starting the race on the soft compound rather than the super softs which are expected to only last only a few laps.

Ricciardo stormed through his final lap to start on the front row for Red Bull, finishing second – just over half a second down on Rosberg’s Chinese GP pole time.

Raikkonen managed to salvage third – the Finn very disappointed in his result after making the mistake into the penultimate corner.

After having his fans at the edges of their seats with the hopes that the Iceman would claim his first pole position since 2008, the disappointment was more than obvious.

Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel opted to go for only a single run in Q3 in a likely effort to save an extra set of tyres for the race but rand deep at the hairpin and finished only fourth.

Valtteri Bottas finished 5th for Williams with Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Perez and the Toro Rosso drivers behind him.

Nico Hulkenberg had made it through to the Top 10 Chinese GP pole shootout but could take no part in it after his front left tyre simply slipped off at a thankfully low speed during the final minutes of Q2 which brought out the second red flag of the session.

Interestingly there was no word of any investigation from the stewards into the incident.

Felipe Massa only just missed out on a slot in Q3 after being caught out by the red flag.

McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button also felt they had a chance of getting through before the red flag came out, with Alonso repeating a good few ARGH’s over his team radio after being told he wouldn’t be able to have a go at it. Button, just as frustrated responded with a, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

The McLaren Honda team looks to have made some good progress. Both drivers never got to show their true pace but they will however have a free choice of tyres for the race start tomorrow which could help them make out the deficit suffered today.

Romain Grosjean was 14th for the Haas F1 team with Felipe Nasr behind him.

Renault drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer finished 17th and 19th with Esteban Gutierrez splitting the pair in 18th place. Rio Haryanto finished in 20th place.

Pascal Wehrlein took part in only five minutes of Q1 after he lost control on a bump along the main straight and brought out the first red flag of the session. The delay lasted for 20 minutes as marshalls spent time drying wet patches of water.

Many fans took to Twitter to voice their frustration that such action was being taken for what really amounted to puddles considering the fact that these – the best drivers in the world – do have wet and intermediate tyres available. Wehrlein was running on slicks at the time.

Will Lewis Hamilton be able to fight his way through the pack and pose any sort of a threat up front tomorrow? One thing is for sure – this is definitely going to hurt his title prospects. Rosberg has the Chinese GP pole in his pocket, but not the race victory just yet … Perhaps the Ferrari team could unsettle things at the top a little further with both Raikkonen and Vettel hungry for a win. And, with Daniel Ricciardo in the mix up front, we could just be in for a proper cracker of a race tomorrow. Join us for live commentary, banter and opinions on Twitter @F1_Madness before, throughout, and after the Chinese GP.

Photo Credits: Screengrabs as broadcast by FOM

April 16, 2016
F1 2016: Chinese GP Preview – Tyre strategy name of the game in China

From the desert circuit of Bahrain the Formula 1 paddock travels to mainland China and the Shanghai International circuit for the third round of the 2016 season.

Good news is abounding before the weekend of racing even gets underway. A unanimous front by the eleven Formula 1 teams has force fed the FIA enough sanity to compel a reversion to the 2015 qualifying format for the remainder of the season. It wasn’t through lack of trying from the FIA though. The governing body, not wanting to accept defeat, tried one last time to impose itself by putting an aggregate-style qualifying on the table. Thankfully this too was unanimously shown the door.

Besides the fact that it restores the much preferred 2015 version of qualifying, this decision sets a precedent for future decisions. Teams have now shown that if they stick together and push hard enough they can affect some change. And though the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone will try to spin this decision into something that makes them look a bit rosier it just isn’t true. The reality is that it wasn’t a decision by the FIA but rather a bending under the pressure from teams and fans.

Because of this you’d hope that it’s significant also where the fans are concerned. Along with the teams’ unanimous front the fans’ disapproval on social media played its part too. The FIA and Ecclestone have been reluctant in the past to grant social media any clout. Hopefully they’re opinion has been informed enough to start moving the sport towards embracing social media more.

The best news is that now the focus can return to the most important thing – racing. In 2015 Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen brilliantly pulled off several overtaking manoeuvres into the extremely tight turn fourteen which follows on the kilometre long back-strait. Besides being one of the most unique first corners on the calendar the fast changes of direction in the middle sector will test just how good a chassis various teams have built for 2016.

F1 first visited China’s Shanghai International circuit back in 2004 and has marked several landmark victories for drivers and teams. It was here in 2012 that Nico Rosberg won his first race and arrives in 2016 on the back of five consecutive victories and a good-looking lead in the driver’s standings. The best thing about Rosberg’s recent form is that it adds a new dimension to the championship. It’s put Lewis Hamilton into a position not known to him in the last two years, the hunter rather than the hunted.

But we’re talking about Merc as if they’re not facing a determined threat from Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have a good enough car to push Mercedes all the way to the chequered flag. But they don’t have good enough car to out-qualify Rosberg and Hamilton with. Therefore, tyre strategy becomes vital.

Raikkonen and Vettel have chosen an alternative tyre strategy to Merc for the Chinese GP. Both Ferrari drivers have chosen six sets of supersoft tyres while Rosberg and Hamilton have only five sets of the red-walled tyre. Should Mercedes run into rear tyre wear issues in China, as has been the case in the past, they won’t be able to run the supersoft tyre for as long. Whereas Ferrari, who has traditionally been able to get more out of the supersoft tyre, will hold a strategic advantage of being able to run on the quicker tyre for longer.

These permutations are only for the sharp-end of the grid. There is still an all-mighty battle in the mid-field which will undoubtedly rage throughout every one of Sunday’s 56 laps.

April 14, 2016