Tag: jim clark

F1 2018: Belgium Gp Preview – Spa, Meaning of Brilliance

Good things are worth waiting for and they don’t come any better than the mythical Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the foothills of Belgium’s Ardennes.

Formula 1 returns this weekend after its nearly month long ‘shut down’ but while the racing on track may have ceased for a few weeks the sport that never sleeps has continued to churn at quite a dramatic rate.

For years if not decades the driver market has been one of the most intriguing aspects of the sport. Who would race where and when has relentlessly dominated paddock discussions, arguably, since the sports inception. So much speculation has surrounded driver moves that it even coined its own phrase to become known as the silly season. It’s been no less dramatic in 2018 and the last month either. First, Daniel Ricciardo astonishingly announced his departure from Red Bull to join Renault for the 2019 season. It’s a bold move from a confident driver and only time will tell if it was the right move for Ricciardo.

It wasn’t the least of the driver announcement over the break as Fernando Alonso too announced that he would be stepping away from the sport at the conclusion of the 2018 season. It appears that he may run a dual program that features racing in the World Endurance Championship and the IndyCar season as he tries to obtain the much-vaunted Triple Crown. His 17-year career in F1 has simultaneously been highlighted by brilliance and underscored by controversy but the fact remains that, for Formula 1, Fernando Alonso is undoubtedly a loss.

It’s been well known for a few months that Carlos Sainz will take over Alonso’s seat at McLaren where he is likely to be partnered by F2 driver Lando Norris for 2019.

Elsewhere the most high profile seat that remains officially open is at Ferrari and is currently occupied by Kimi Raikkonen. While rumours swirled early in the season that Charles Leclerc would be drafted into the team for 2019 it is looking fairly certain that Raikkonen will remain at Ferrari for 2019. In fact, rumours suggest that a 1+1 deal has been agreed to between the two parties. This means an assured seat for Raikkonen in 2019 and a team option to extend his contract for 2020.

It’s no great surprise that Raikkonen would be kept on given the way he has driven in 2018. Third in the championship standings despite two DNF’s and bulletproof consistency is likely what sealed the deal. It seems all the more fitting that F1 returns to action at a circuit where Raikkonen has won on four occasions.

The famed Spa circuit is an old-school masterpiece infused with the memories of a bygone era that tested man and machine to the absolute limit. While fabled corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont may be easier to navigate in the 2018 era of F1 car it’s no less spectacular when it all comes together. It’s seven kilometer long lap is characterized by long straights and challenging fast corners against one of the most picturesque backdrops on the calendar.

Another unique and notorious characteristic of the Belgian grand prix is its changeable weather conditions. Such is the vastness of the circuit that it often simultaneously rains on one part of the track while it remains dry on another. The list of names who have won more than twice on the demanding Spa circuit is a short one that includes only the likes of Fangio, Hill, Raikkonen, Clark, Senna, and the great Michael Schumacher who won a staggering six times.

The undulating circuit and its distinctive power dominant demands bring Mercedes and Ferrari to the fore this weekend. Red Bull will have to work much harder to make an impact in the middle sector where its aero efficiency will be its biggest strength. For Sebastian Vettel it will imperative to stop Hamilton’s momentum and stem the loss of points to the reigning champion.

But there is every opportunity that neither Vettel nor Hamilton will be on the top step of the podium this weekend. After all it is a circuit where Kimi Raikkonen has always shone.

August 22, 2018
F1 2017: British Gp Review – Hamilton Untroubled Amid Ferrari Drama

The phenomenon of home ground advantage has nearly always been touted in the world of sport as a sort of mythical influence that makes the team or a person nearly unbeatable. This advantage was no more evident as Lewis Hamilton took a record-equaling fifth British grand prix win around the famed Silverstone circuit.

While Hamilton blitzed the field in Saturday qualifying to the tune of half a second he, similarly, ran unflustered towards the checquered flag on Sunday. While the second-place starter Kimi Raikkonen, who shaded his teammate the entire weekend, briefly threatened in the Ferrari he could, ultimately, not get within striking distance of Hamilton.

The remainder of the podium places seemed set too as Raikkonen ran comfortably in second ahead of Valtteri Bottas who was recovering from a ninth place starting position after a gearbox penalty. Nevertheless, two laps from the chequered flag the thread on Raikkonen’s left-front tyre appeared to come apart and forced him into the pitlane. The easy second place he’d been heading too suddenly transformed into fourth. But the drama was far from over as Sebastian Vettel, now running third, suffered a seemingly identical front-left failure on the final lap of the race. The German was able to limp back to the pits but the chance of salvaging a podium was long gone as he emerged in seventh place.

Pirelli has announced that the failures on Raikkonen and Vettel’s car were not caused by the same problem. In Raikkonen’s case Pirelli found that the thread had separated from the tyre, which makes it a manufacturing fault. However, in Vettel’s case the failure was put down to tyre age. But Vettel’s tyres were not being pushed beyond what Pirelli had said were possible. While Ferrari was the only team to pay a price in terms of points several teams revealed post-race that their own tyres were on the edge of suffering similar failures.

The drama-filled ending to the British grand prix meant that Mercedes strolled to a one-two victory with Raikkonen in third. Max Verstappen provided some early race entertainment in a fight with Sebastian Vettel but ultimately ran a fairly anonymous race to finish fourth. Daniel Ricciardo, starting from the back of the grid due to reliability issues, delivered a storming drive through the field complete with several stunning overtakes to finish an impressive fifth. Renault’s day started poorly as Jolyon Palmer failed to take the start with mechanical issues but the ever-impressive Nico Hulkenberg’s sixth place finish saved the day. With Vettel in seventh the Force India pairing of Esteban Ocon, eighth, and Sergio Perez, ninth, continues to score important points over their rivals Williams who secured the final point in tenth with Felipe Massa.

Besides the formation lap retirement of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer there were only two further retirements. A clash between Toro Rosso teammates Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz saw the latter punted out of the race while Fernando Alonso suffered yet another engine failure despite Honda’s introduction of a so-called reliability upgrade.

While Ferrari has not only fallen 55 points behind Mercedes in the Constructor’s standings Vettel’s late race troubles have all but eviscerated his championship lead over Hamilton from twenty to a single point.

It is evident now that the early season pressure has transferred from Merc to Ferrari and the Italian team needs to pull something out of the bag for the Hungarian Gp in two weeks time.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

July 17, 2017
Hamilton claims masterful Chinese Grand Prix pole

Lewis Hamilton claimed his fourth pole position with a time of 1.53.860 ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in a rather damp and drizzly qualifying session. In doing so, the Briton surpassed Jim Clark’s record for pole positions by a British driver.

Daniel Ricciardo will start second on the grid tomorrow after out-qualifying Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel by half a second. But Ricciardo’s Red Bull was a full 0.6 seconds off Hamilton who was fastest in all three qualifying sessions. The Mercedes driver’s 34th pole position moves him one clear of two-time world champion Jim Clark, and places him fourth in the all-time record list behind Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Vettel.

Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg had looked set to challenge Hamilton for pole position, but the German made two costly mistakes in the final session which resulted in him only qualifying in fourth place.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso set the fifth fastest time under the watchful eye of new team principal Marco Mattiacci. The Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas brought their cars home in 6th and 7th places. Nico Hülkenberg was eighth, with Jean-Éric Vergne and Romain Grosjean rounding out the top 10 qualifiers.

Several of the top drivers did not make it through to Q3 including Kimi Raikkonen who came close to being eliminated in Q1 already but set the 11^th fastest time in the end. Fellow world champion, Jenson Button also failed to impress an only managed 12^th.

Pastor Maldonado will start from the back of the grid after power unit problems kept his Lotus E22 parked in his garage.

After plenty of wet running so far this weekend, we are not expecting rain for the race tomorrow. What we are expecting is more Mercedes dominance and if Lewis Hamilton has anything to say about – come rain or shine – he’ll be holding the trophy on the top step of the podium tomorrow.

Join us for what’s bound to be an action packed race tomorrow. We’ll be running live commentary on Twitter @F1_Madness with pre and post race news, analysis and quotes from the teams and drivers.

Full timesheet for the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying:

April 19, 2014
F1 2013: British GP Preview – Silverstone: The Heart of Motorsport

On this same Silverstone circuit legends such as Senna, Fangio, Stewart and Clark unleashed their virtuoso talents. The circuit, the ground, the grandstands, everything here is drenched in motorsport history and is considered one of the most unique racing venues in the world. The memories will linger forever but the times and the talents have changed as F1 heads into the eighth round of the 2013 season.

There wasn’t much wrong with the ‘old’ Silverstone layout, in fact, it was pretty darn special. The magnificent Copse corner, the breathtaking Maggots and Becketts section, ultra quick Stowe corner is enough to make any race fan nostalgic. Nevertheless, an upgrade in time for the 2010 grand prix vaulted the circuit into the 21^st Century and what is considered the modern Formula 1 era. But it wasn’t some wishy washy attempt. The major overhaul of the paddock area was slick and eye-catchingly impressive and the changes to the layout, importantly, retained the essence of what makes this place great.

It wouldn’t be Silverstone if the perennially unpredictable weather wasn’t a topic of conversation. The British weather is sure to have its say at some stage during the weekend and the forecast predicts showers for Friday with low temperatures present throughout the weekend.

Three weeks have elapsed since the Canadian GP but F1 is after all the sport that never sleeps. Sebastian Vettel has entrenched himself deeper into the Red Bull Racing family by extending his contract to the end of the 2015 season. Talks about who will partner the German continue as Mark Webber is yet to announce his plans for 2014.

Mercedes escaped the International tribunal in France with a mere slap on the wrist. The Brackley based team was called to the tribunal in Paris on the 20^th of June to explain a secret 1000 kilometer tyre test they had completed after the Spanish GP. Despite being found to be in breach of the sporting regulations Mercedes’ only penalty was a ban from the young driver’s test slated for mid-July. It seems tad light considering the possible advantage that they could’ve gained. Ironically, the two races following the Spanish GP, both street tracks, wouldn’t have given any indication if Mercedes’ had gleaned a genuine advantage from the test. Silverstone is a return to a ‘proper’ high-speed F1 circuit and should be a better gauge.

With any luck it will also be a return to proper racing instead of days spent in front of tribunals and waiting for verdicts. Patience is what Kimi Raikkonen has called for in his pursuit of the driver’s crown. The Finn has conceded a hefty forty points to Sebastian Vettel but believes that the title is still within reach. In pursuit of his quest Lotus is planning its biggest upgrade package of the year at this weekend’s race. Lotus’ track operations director, Alan Permane, laid out the parts that will be fitted to the car. “We have a tighter, figure-hugging bodywork package which should give some benefit; especially if the weather is quite cool at Silverstone. There’s a new front wing, suspension profiles and suspension upgrades in addition to various other aero upgrades, which combine to give us what should be our biggest step forward of the year.”

There are a few others drivers who will have the same desire for the top step of the podium. Mark Webber has been more than handy around Silverstone in the past and needs a good performance to bolster his lacklustre season. By having won the race on two previous occasions and the very fact that he is Fernando Alonso the Ferrari driver will be a factor.

There aren’t many things better than a grand prix in the very heart of motorsport; besides the fact that twenty-two of the world’s best drivers will add 52 more laps of history to magnificent Silverstone.

June 27, 2013