Tag: kimi raikkonen

2014 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Test: Day 1

The first day of the 2014 Abu Dhabi test ended with Valtteri Bottas on top of the time sheets with a time of 1:43.396.

The headline act for the day was McLaren who were debuting their MP4-29H/1X1 with the Honda power unit. However, due to electrical issues and a fuel/data exchange issue the Woking based team was delayed for most of the morning. Reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne did have some track time for a mere three laps where he broke down on all three laps. The second of which resulted in a red flag as his car had to be recovered.

“We’d hoped to get a few more laps today, but we had a fuel data-logging issue that stopped the car a couple of times,” Vandoorne explained.

“However, the team are already analysing the situation and we’ll hopefully cure it ahead of tomorrow”

Although McLaren suffered a setback today, Vandoorne remained upbeat for the second and final day of the test.

Nevertheless, it’s been a very positive day for us. At this stage of development, any lap we complete has a benefit – and it’s better to be solving these initial teething problems in November rather than in Jerez next February,” he explained.

GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer in his first outing in an F1 car for Force India was very excited about his experience. After some problems in the morning they were able to get going and the rookie clocked up 37 laps for the day and managed to finish in P4.

“I really enjoyed my first experience at the wheel of a Formula One car,” said Palmer.

“I always had the ambition to drive a Formula One car: it was surreal when I first got out of the pits, but after the first moment I was just focusing on getting the job done for the team and doing my best.”

Nico Rosberg, on the back of loosing the championship to Lewis Hamilton clocked up a mighty 114 laps for Mercedes, the most of any driver on the day. He finished in P3 with a time of 1:44.512

Kimi Riakkonen finished P2 for Ferrari, with a little under half a second down on Bottas’s time. The highlight of the day for Ferrari was their new singing, four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel paying the team a visit in the Ferari pit garage and getting to know the crew.

Red Bull had Formula Renault 3.5 Champion Carlos Sainz Jr at the wheel of the RB10. He clocked up an impressive 100 laps for the team and set the fifth fastest time.

Will Stevens was at the wheel for Caterham today. Fresh after his F1 debut at the race on Sunday he was given another go in the Caterham. He finished in P6 with a lap time of 1:45.436 and posted 102 laps.

Charles Pic ended the day in P7 with 89 laps under his belt for Lotus. Former Caterham driver, Marcus Ericsson drove for Sauber and finished behind Charles Pic in P8.

Max Verstappen had a suspension issue which ended his session in the morning. He ended up in the barriers because of this on only his third lap of the session. The team managed to get the car repaired for the afternoon session and he was back out on track

Below is the unofficial running order of the day

November 25, 2014
McLaren Gets The Go-Ahead to Debut Interim Development Car

The McLaren Formula 1 team have been given the go-ahead to debut their McLaren-Honda MP4-29H/1X1 at the Abu Dhabi test that starts tomorrow.

The team have already run the development car at a filming day at Silvertone last week to check the installation of the power unit together with other systems in the car. The feedback from the team and Honda seems positive and they’re both confident that they will be able to do more runs at the Abu Dhabi test.

Speaking to F1.com, McLaren team principal has this to say: “On Tuesday and Wednesday, here in Abu Dhabi, we’ll be testing our hybrid McLaren-Honda MP4-29H/1X1 for the first time.”

“It’s an exciting time for both McLaren and Honda, and for all who sail and will sail in the good ship McLaren-Honda. Ahead of us are many weeks of hard graft, but you may be well sure we’re up for the task.”

McLaren’s rookie test driver, Stoffel Vanddorne, will be at the wheel of the new car for both the testing days.

Here’s how the other teams will line up for the test:

Mercedes: Nico Rosberg/Pascal Wehrlein

Red Bull: Carlos Saintz Jr/ Daniel Ricciardo

Ferrari: Kimi Raikkonen/Raffaele Marciello

Williams: Valtteri Bottas/Felipe Nasr

McLaren: Stoffel Vandoorne

Lotus: Esteban Ocon/Charles Pic

Force India: Jolyon Palmer/Spike Goddard

Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen

Sauber: Marcus Ericsson

Caterham: Will Stevens

November 24, 2014
F1 2014: Season Finale – Hamilton Seals Date With Destiny

It is said that privilege is a special right reserved only for a fortunate few. Yet, if you’re a Formula 1 fan every highly anticipated season comes with the guarantee that at the end of it you will be in a position to appreciate something truly special.

In 2014 the wheel-to-wheel battle in Bahrain, the controversy at Spa and the immense fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have made up the majority of moments that will define this season. Ultimately the title of world champion can only belong to one driver and at the conclusion of this season it belongs to Lewis Hamilton.

In Saturday’s qualifying Rosberg comprehensively outdid Hamilton by four tenths of a second. His advantage would be short-lived as Hamilton rocketed off the line on Sunday and into the lead of the race. Williams’ Felipe Massa, who would later become a serious contender, slotted into third ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.

For the majority of the first half of the race Rosberg was within three seconds of his race leading teammate. However, on lap 24 Rosberg’s energy recovery system failed and the German dropped dramatically down the field. The second place Rosberg was running to Hamilton meant that he was never truly in contention for the title and the manner in which he handled the entire afternoon was admirable. As he painfully plummeted down the standings he was offered the option of retiring the car. His request to keep going is indicative of a driver who will not give up until the last possible moment; for more than this no team or fan could ask for. Ever the sportsman Rosberg was gracious enough to congratulate Hamilton in the pre-podium room after the extreme disappointment of finishing a lowly fourteenth.

Mercedes tried to avoid the same reliability disaster befalling Hamilton by de-tuning the engine and giving the Brit just enough power to maintain his position. Felipe Massa and Williams rolled the dice on a bold strategy move which put the Brazilian out on the less durable, but faster supersoft tyre for the final stint of the race. For ten astonishing laps it seemed as if the white-liveried Williams would do enough to win the race but in the end it wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, for the first time since 2005 Williams finished a grand prix with both drivers on the podium. The team’s resurgence has been nothing less than exceptional and has ensured an emphatic third place in the constructor’s championship.

After being excluded from qualifying for an illegal front wing both Red Bulls were relegated to a pitlane start. It was Daniel Ricciardo who made the most of it with another fine drive and fourth place finish. Jenson Button delivered a stellar drive for fifth which crucially kept McLaren ahead of Force India in the constructor’s standings. Several question marks surround Button’s future at the team but surely they would be daft not to sign the driver who scored double the points of his teammate and made it possible for McLaren to hold its head up after a difficult season.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth ahead of his newly re-signed teammate Sergio Perez who fended off Sebastian Vettel for seventh. Vettel’s eighth place bring to an end a gloriously successful era of 45 poles, 39 wins and four world titles with the Red Bull team.

Fernando Alonso’s ninth place completed his final race as a Ferrari driver and he departs the Italian team after half a decade with eleven wins and no title success. Kimi Raikkonen brought Ferrari’s miserable season to a close with the final point paying position.

For as much well deserved praise as we heap on Hamilton so too there must be the acknowledgement of mighty fine job done by Nico Rosberg. His five grand prix wins and plethora of podiums proves that he wasn’t summarily routed by Hamilton. In the next few days and perhaps weeks these stats will be nothing more than cold comfort for Rosberg. However, soon the realisation will settle that he has gained an invaluable level of experience that will make him a much tougher driver and competitor from this point on.

On the podium Lewis Hamilton said that this second world championship title is “above and beyond” his first triumph in 2008 and it isn’t hard to understand why. Back then he was a relative newbie and without the real knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a grand prix driver. In 2014 all of the tenacity and wisdom gained through the years combined with his fabulous skill to deliver a staggering eleven grand prix wins. Now Lewis Hamilton is not only a fully fledged grand prix driver but a most deserving double world champion.

November 24, 2014
It’s advantage Rosberg ahead of Abu Dhabi Qualifying

Nico Rosberg held the advantage over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in the final practice session for the 2014 season at the Yas Marina circuit. Rosberg set the fastest time ahead of the qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with a 1:41.424 – 0.369s faster than his team mate.

Hamilton looked set to take the top spot after setting the fastest two sectors during his final lap but lost too much ground in the final sector.

Williams’ Felipe Massa took the third spot on the time sheets, a full 1.005s down on Rosberg, showing once again the superiority of the Mercedes duo and their lightning fast cars.

We should not, however, forget that the setting sun and subsequent falling track temperatures during qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit will mean that a fast FP3 lap may not translate into the same during qualifying. For this very reason, qualifying simulations were left until pretty late in the practice session to get track conditions as close to qualifying as possible. Mercedes should still nevertheless lock out the front row of the grid in qualifying, with Williams hot on their heels.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso set his time on soft tyres during the early stages of the session, then set a time on the supersofts and never took part in the rest of the session. He ended in fourth place as he and Ferrari attempt to save mileage on his engine.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished his last practice session for the Red Bull team in fifth place, ahead of Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo.

Valtteri Bottas Bottas made a mistake in the final corner on his super-soft run which saw him only managing eigth place but he will most certainly be targeting the second row, come qualifying.

Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top 10.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen posted the 11th best time of the session, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Esteban Gutierrez beat the two Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean to 15th place with Adrian Sutil just behind.

Caterham remained at the bottom of the timesheets on their return to F1 this weekend with Caterham’s rookie Will Stevens getting to within a second of team mate Kamui Kobayashi’s time for the first time.

November 22, 2014
F1 2014: Abu Dhabi Free Practice 2 Report – Hamilton Heads Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton continued his domination of the timing sheets as he headed the second free practice session in Abu Dhabi.

As dusk gave way to darkness the Mercedes teammates of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg once again stamped their season-long authority on the timing sheets. In both the qualifying simulation and long run pace the Silver Arrows had little in the way of competition. In the second of the one-and-a-half sessions of the day McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen emerged as the “closest” competitor in third.

The future Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel slotted his Red Bull into fourth ahead of Williams’ Valterri Bottas. The long-run pace of the Williams didn’t suggest that they will be a nuisance to Mercedes in the race; the closest in lap-time to the mighty Mercedes turned out to be the ever-consistent Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver earlier clocked the sixth fastest time.

Kimi Raikkonen slotted his Ferrari into seventh place but remained decidedly off the pace in the long-run phase of the session. Teammate Fernando Alonso could only complete two laps as his Ferrari ground to a halt with a suspected electronic issue.

It was announced that Lotus’ Romain Grosjean will incur a whopping twenty place grid penalty after the Frenchman had to fit a sixth power unit of the season. Should Grosjean not be able to serve the full penalty on the grid he will be given time penalties during Sunday’s race. Insult to injury.

November 21, 2014
Confirmed: Vettel to Ferrari in 2015

After announcing that Fernando Alonso will leave the team at the end of the season. Ferrari have also announced that four time world champion Sebastian Vettel will drive for the team in 2015 alongside Kimi Raikkonen.

Vettel signed for three years with Ferrari.

“Scuderia Ferrari has decided to put its faith in the youngest multiple champion in the history of Formula 1,” – commented Ferrari Team Principal, Marco Mattiacci.

“In Formula 1 terms, Sebastian Vettel is a unique combination of youthfulness and experience and he brings with him that sense of team spirit which will prove invaluable when, together with Kimi, they tackle the challenges awaiting us, as we aim to be front runners again as soon as possible.

“With Sebastian, we all share a thirst for victory as well as enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and tenacity; key elements for all the Scuderia members to write together a new winning chapter in the history of Ferrari.”

“The next stage of my Formula 1 career will be spent with Scuderia Ferrari and for me that means the dream of a lifetime has come true,” said Vettel.

“When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it’s an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari.

“I already got a small taste of what the Ferrari spirit means, when I took my first win at Monza in 2008, with an engine from the Prancing Horse built in Maranello.

“The Scuderia has a great tradition in this sport and I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top. I will put my heart and soul into making it happen.”

November 20, 2014
F1 2014: Season Finale Preview – Abu Dhabi: All or Nothing

At the very heart of its multi-billion rand, globe-trotting and glamorous veneer lays the ultimate goal – to be the Formula 1 world champion. Since 1950 every driver, team and engineer has embarked on the quest to be a part of the Formula 1 legend. In this iconic sport nothing is more important and nothing is pursued with a greater determination than to be the best.

What are the chances that as the first ever Formula 1 world champion Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina held aloft his title clinching trophy that he dreamt of how this sport would grow to enthrall and fascinate the world, turn into a religion for many, and race in countries and venues as far-off as deserts of Abu Dhabi. So it is that we come to the conclusion of the 2014 season in the twilight of the Yas Marina circuit. A season that has seen ground-breaking technology and will be remembered for a fierce battle between teammates.

Two short years ago Lewis Hamilton went through, arguably, the most difficult period of his Formula 1 career. The 2012 season at McLaren was marred by too many unfortunate performances, an on-track clash with his teammate, and the separation from those who held his best interests at heart. The move to Mercedes coincided with the metamorphosis of Lewis Hamilton. A more mature and re-focused Hamilton dedicated himself to the Mercedes cause and he appeared to be re-invigorated by the ability to stretch his wings and sever the near lifelong tie to McLaren.

In 2014, his father re-emerged in the pit garage; he moved away from manager Simon Fuller. Now he had people in his corner concerned with only his well-being and not that of the brand Lewis Hamilton. This shift has had a monumental effect both on and off the track. Where in the past Hamilton was extremely self-deprecating he now took the difficulties in stride and learnt from them. Gone was the Lewis Hamilton that succumbed, slightly, to the pressure of Formula 1. In his place is a driver and man whose maturity has allowed him to reach an ominous level of focus and determination. A level easily high enough to make him a double world champion at the end of the 2014 Abu Dhabi grand prix.

Up until this season Nico Rosberg’s F1 career has been solid, blotted with a few shining moments, but nothing quite spectacular. Truth be told he hasn’t been outlandishly brilliant this season either. What he has been is quick and devastatingly consistent. Ever the opportunist Rosberg has proven to be a formidable opponent to Hamilton. It isn’t something that many would’ve predicted given Hamilton’s near god-like reputation in some circles. Taking the title is a tad more difficult for the German than it is his teammate. He needs a few things to go his way and not Hamilton’s this weekend. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t but you can bet your bottom dollar that if the opportunity beckons Nico Rosberg will seize it consummate ease.

There are potential stumbling blocks in both these driver’s path. Lest we forget the Mercedes has had its fair share of issues throughout the season. Unreliability is surely one of the cruellest mistresses of the sport and we pray to the F1 Gods that no such travesty has the chance to destroy what should be rousing end to the season.

Then there is the two Williams shaped anomalies. At the very least both the Williams’ will feature heavily in qualifying and from there should be able to be quite a nuisance in the race too. The Yas Marina circuit’s long straights are tailor-made to the Williams’ super-slippery-mega-fast-in-a-straight-line aerodynamics. McLaren‘s racing director Eric Boullier believes that their “downward spiral has ended” and though they shouldn’t be troubling the Mercedes they are embroiled in a fight with Ferrari for fourth place in the constructor’s standings.

The never-say-die mentality of this team has allowed for a steady improvement over the last few races. This improvement will culminate with a “new aerodynamic concept” package, to run this weekend, from the design table of new chief engineer Peter Prodromou.

This has been a mega season. Yes, it’s been bossed by one team but look at it from a different perspective. It’s been dominated by near inconceivable technological advances and we can honestly say that at the end of it all whoever walks away as the champion will do so on the back of some of the finest driving for some time and in the midst of an intricately wicked psychological war that fans have relished. This is what it all comes down to, what this majestic, passion-fuelled sport is all about – the quest to be the best, to be number one, to be the world champion.

November 18, 2014
F1 2014: Brazilian GP – Sao Paulo Success For Rosberg

The one thing Nico Rosberg needed to be this weekend was perfect and he came as close to it as any Formula 1 driver could ever dream of.

Nico Rosberg converted his tenth pole position of the season into victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix under serious pressure from teammate Lewis Hamilton. The two Silver Arrows led cleanly off the front-row of the grid and ran line astern for the shortened first stint of the race. As the soft Pirelli tyres were giving up the ghost on the newly re-surfaced Interlagos circuit it was Rosberg who blinked first and dived into the pitlane for a set of the medium compound tyres.

Shrewdly, Hamilton had been biding his time and unleashed an almighty fast lap as Rosberg pitted. It would’ve been enough to give Hamilton the lead of the race and perhaps even the race victory.

A half spin into turn four undid all the Brit’s progress and handed Rosberg a 7.5 second lead after the round of pitstops.

Hamilton brilliantly reduced the gap to little more than half a second but this time not even his unrelenting tenacity was enough to beat Rosberg.

The F1 Gods seemed to be conspiring against local favourite Felipe Massa as the Brazilian had to overcome several dicey moments during his race.

First, the Williams driver was forced to serve a five second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. Later, and quite comically, Massa nearly stopped in the McLaren pitbox, whose mechanics are similarly decked out in white overalls, as he came in for a fresh set of boots.

Nevertheless, much to the pleasure of the crowd Massa secured his first podium of the 2014 season.

The man who clinched his own world title here in 2009, Jenson Button, underlined McLaren’s recent progress with an impressive fourth place at the end of the 71 laps.

Sebastian Vettel completed a quiet run into fifth in a relatively solid afternoon of racing for the four-time champion. Who would have thought, as Vettel went on a nine race winning streak in 2013, that he would ever be racing in quite such anonymity as he did in this Brazilian Grand Prix. But so the wheel of Formula 1 turns, mercilessly and with emphatic certainty.

Ferrari, to some extent, put together a better performance with a sixth and seventh place finish for Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. The two teammates battled late on in the race as Kimi Raikkonen was the only driver to successfully complete a two-stop strategy.

Eventually, fresher tyres allowed Fernando Alonso past Raikkonen who could’ve had a slightly better afternoon if not for some finger-trouble on the front-jack in the pits which cost the Finn roughly six seconds.

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg finished eighth overall a scant two tenths off Raikkonen while Kevin Magnussen ended a distant ninth in the second McLaren.

Valterri Bottas was never able to recover from a delay in his own pitstop which was owing to a loose safety-belt. Bottas confirmed post-race that severe graining on his tyres significantly affected his pace as well. The only two retirements were in the form of Lotus’ Romain Grosjean who pulled off in a smoking heap and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who suffered a front-left suspension failure.

Perfection is what was called for from Rosberg and what was needed to beat Lewis Hamilton.

He nearly succumbed to the relentless pressure from his teammate but this time unlike in Italy, Russia and the United States, Rosberg’s mental fortitude was resolute.

This victory has repaired some of the psychological damage inflicted by Hamilton and proved that come Abu Dhabi Nico Rosberg will be there fighting tooth and nail until the very last possible second.

November 10, 2014
Brazilian GP Qualifying – Rosberg beats Hamilton to pole

Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to the Brazilian GP pole position by a mere 0.033s. Rosberg’s 10th pole of the year ensures that he has secured the inaugural F1 Pole Trophy.

The German was driver topped all three practice sessions over the course of the weekend but was not about to start celebrating just yet. “Perfect job only if it works out tomorrow. I need to make it happen in the race unlike Austin,” he said in the post-qualifying press conference.

Of course, with the two drivers matching times so closely, he’s perfectly right. Lewis lost the Brazilian GP pole position by fractions of a second after carrying too much speed into Turn 10 on his flying lap, which caused the rear to step out and send him drifting around through the turn.

The Williams drivers put up an exceptionally impressive battle and at one point even threatening to separate the two Mercedes drivers. “We really thought he [Felipe Massa] could have separated the Mercedes drivers,” Clare Williams said in post-qualifying interviews. Massa however locked up at T1 on his final flying attempt and faced traffic in the final sector which forced him to abort his final lap and qualify in third place. His home crowd cheered like crazy as he arrived back in Parc Ferme shouting, “Massa! Massa! Massa!” to let him know they were fully behind him.

Williams team mate Valterri Bottas was also forced to abort his final lap and qualifying in fourth place on the Brazilian GP grid. Jenson Button was fifth for McLaren, ahead of outgoing world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Button is hoping that his team can take the challenge to Ferrari tomorrow and qualifying ahead of them today is a good start, “It’s a massive gap to Ferrari in the constructors. But we have to make them feel like we’re challenging them,” he said.

Kevin Magnussen finished ahead of Fernando Alonso, with Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen rounding out the Top 10 qualifiers.

Both Sauber drivers made it into Q2 with Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil split by Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India. Sutil may have finished a little better but ran wide at Juncao on his first hot lap costing him valuable time.

Daniil Kvyat didn’t set a lap time in Q2 and finished in 14th place but will drop down to back of the grid as he serves the remainder of an engine penalty carried over from Austin.

Romain Grosjean finished only 15th fastest, while Jean-Eric Vergne placed 16th for Toro Rosso after making an error at Mergulho.

Sergio Perez finished in 17th place but will drop back behind Maldonado who qualified in last place. Perez drops back due to his grid penalty for causing a collision with Sutil, which the FIA branded as “reckless”, in Austin.

The stage is set for plenty of drama tomorrow’s Brazilian GP and we’re again faced with a chance of rain. Join us tomorrow on Twitter @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat with fellow F1 Mad fans!

November 8, 2014
Rosberg makes it three out of three in final Brazilian GP practice

Rosberg has sent out a very clear message about his intentions this weekend by completing a clean sweep after topping the time sheets for all three practice sessions ahead of the Brazilian GP.

Rosberg topped the session ahead of his team mate Lewis Hamilton with a lap time of 1:10.446. His time is faster any pole position time ever seen at the circuit, and only six tenths of a second off the record time, which was set a decade ago. It is very likely that we’ll see the record time beaten before the end of the Brazilian GP on the newly resurfaced Interlagos circuit.

An epic storm which hit Sao Paolo last night washed away most of the rubber that had been laid down during Friday’s Brazilian GP practice sessions so grip levels were pretty low to start off with. A good few drivers enjoyed a few minor spins and excursions off the track including Lewis Hamilton who spun into the Senna S.

The Williams duo set the early pace while teams were still running on the Prime tyres but fell behind the Mercedes drivers after the switch to options. Brazilian home favourite Felipe Massa still manage to secure the third spot with Valterri Bottas finishing fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button. Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso placed themselves in seventh and eighth for Ferrari, while Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat completed the top 10.

Sebastian Vettel could manage only 11th for Red Bull, ahead of everybody’s favourite Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado.

Adrian Sutil, who has pretty much been dumped by his team Sauber team, finished 13th, ahead of the two Frenchmen Romain Grosjean and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Esteban Gutierrez, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez rounded out the 18-car field. Only 18 cars will compete in the Brazilian GP following the shutting down of the Marussia F1 team, and Caterham who are now looking for crowd funding in order to still be able to compete in Abu Dhabi.

Nico Rosberg will be looking to secure pole position this afternoon ahead of tomorrow’s Brazilian GP, and with possible rain on the way, there’s no doubt that the stage is set for a nail biting qualifying session.

Please join us on Twitter @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat during qualifying and the Brazlian GP.

Your full time sheet for the third and final Brazilian GP practice session, is below:

November 8, 2014