F1 Madness

Tag: lewis hamilton

  • No FIA investigation into Rosberg-Hamilton Spa incident

    No FIA investigation into Rosberg-Hamilton Spa incident

    The FIA has confirmed that there will be no investigation into the Nico Rosberg-Lewis Hamilton collision at the Belgian Grand Prix.

    The accident occured on Lap 2 of the Belgian Grand Prix as Rosberg clipped the rear of Hamilton’s Mercedes when the two rounded Les Combes. Hamilton sustained a puncture and ultimately retired from the race after struggling to make any progress through the field.

    The Spa-Francorchamps race stewards decided not to investigate the collision at the time, classifying it as a racing incident. However, talk emerged that the FIA may well take action against Rosberg after Hamilton claimed that during a post-race team meeting, Rosberg admitted to deliberately crashing into him.

    “He said he did it on purpose, he said he could have avoided it. He said ‘I did it to prove a point,” Hamilton said.

    The FIA has however confirmed that they will not intervene in the issue and that there will be no further investigation into the incident unless any “new element” was officially submitted that could justify opening an investigation.

    FIA communications boss Pierre Regent confirmed, “The FIA will not intervene in this issue. Only a ‘new element’ that would have appeared after the results became final could justify us opening an investigation. A comment alleged to have been made in an internal briefing and later denied by the team itself does not constitute such a ‘new element’.”

    Naturally, Mercedes are not going to submit any application to launch an investigation into an incident involving the two team mates, so the matter is considered a closed case.

    Video: Nico Rosberg’s Post-race reaction
    Video: Lewis Hamilton’s Post-race reaction

    Photo: Screengrab of SkySports F1 footage

     

     

  • F1 2014: Belgium GP – Rampant Ricciardo Wins Again

    F1 2014: Belgium GP – Rampant Ricciardo Wins Again

    No matter whom you’re a fan of in Formula 1 it’s never a hardship to see Daniel Ricciardo take the top step of the podium. The highly likeable Aussie snapped up his third career victory in brilliant style and is still the only driver to have beaten Mercedes to the chequered flag.

    The Mercedes team management had given their driver’s only one rule: do not crash into each other. By the second lap of the Belgium GP the temptation proved too great for Nico Rosberg who’s eyes must’ve lit up as he chucked his car around the outside of Lewis Hamilton into Les Combes; Nico, you rebel you. Rosberg’s front wing damage was far less dramatic than Hamilton’s puncture which dropped the Brit completely out of contention.

    What Nico Rosberg did was effectively catapult an atomic bomb of tension right in the middle of the Mercedes garage. Rosberg has since declared his unwavering belief in his relationship with Lewis Hamilton and believes this hullaballoo will blow over. It may, and although the two rivals may make pretty for the cameras there is no doubt that Hamilton will be a bit silent-ragey about this for quite a while. Not least of all because Hamilton revealed, post-race, that Rosberg admitted to “doing it on purpose” and though he could’ve avoided the collision he wanted to “prove a point.”  Hamilton wasn’t making it up either as Mercedes management confirmed that Rosberg had indeed made these astonishing statements during the team de-brief.

    Hamilton_Rosberg_Spa 2014_LesCombesIt doesn’t seem that far-fetched to be honest. Fact is that Nico has been quite reserved when it came to overtaking other drivers. In Hungary he virtually set up camp behind Jean-Eric Vergne and in Spa he barely showed a wheel to Sebastian Vettel before scaring himself off the road at the last chicane. It could’ve been a case of him wanting to show that he has the pluck to overtake. He may want to do a bit more cleanly next time though.

    Whatever point Rosberg was so desperate to prove will be irrelevant to race fans. He is now a driver who has admitted to deliberately colliding with a fellow competitor. Rosberg has earned praise this season for his relentless consistency and for delivering some wonderful victories. After this, he hasn’t only had to put up with some booing but more importantly might just lose some respect.

    As the Merc boys were swapping carbon fibre Daniel Ricciardo sailed into the lead of the race and masterfully controlled his drive. The Red Bull driver again underlined his class by holding off a monstrously fast Rosberg in the closing stages. As long as this Aussie bloke keeps that superstar talent churning we can’t help but be giddy about the future of F1.

    Kimi Raikkonen ran as high as second place in the race but being a sitting duck in the straight bits of the circuit doesn’t make defending very easy. A relatively comparable pace to the frontrunners, at least for some part of the race, kept the Iceman in touch but the podium proved a bridge too far. The weakness of the Ferrari power unit was well and truly on display as a straight-line speed deficit ofAlonso_Magnussen_Spa 2014_Rivage thirty odd kilometres to the Mercedes powered Williams of Valtteri Bottas meant Raikkonen was relegated to fourth place on the day. Although Raikkonen is highly unlikely to be gushing about fourth place it is the Finn’s best result of the season.

    Kevin Magnussen’s race wasn’t too shabby either. The Dane more than held his own against a determined Fernando Alonso in a stonking wheel-to-wheel battle with the Spaniard and his teammate Jenson Button. Regrettably, the stewards took a severe view on some of his racing and slapped him with a twenty-second penalty which results in a twelfth place finish. All the same, the on-track performance won’t have done K-Mag’s contract negotiations any harm at all.

    The fall-out of the Rosberg/Hamilton incident may have far reaching consequences, so says Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. The consequences referred to was probably of an internal nature but if they’re not careful the now sixty-five point gap to Daniel Ricciardo may not be as insurmountable as they may think.

  • Ricciardo eyeing title challenge

    Ricciardo eyeing title challenge

    Belgian Grand Prix winner, Daniel Ricciardo, says that he intends to keep fighting for the Formula One Drivers’ Championship title until it is mathematically impossible after claiming his third victory of the season this past weekend.

    Ricciardo took his spot in the pound seats after a collision between Mercedes team mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and notched up the maximum 25 points, moving to within 64 points of Rosberg.

    When asked whether he considers himself a title contender, Ricciardo said, “If I’m within 50 coming into Abu Dhabi then yeah, but there’s still a few races to go. While it’s still mathematically possible we’ll keep fighting. Today was a big day for that.

    “To come and steal some points on a circuit where let’s say we weren’t supposed to is nice but I think what’s important, looking ahead, is to capitalise on the circuits that we should be strong on and if we can take maximum points, let’s say, at a couple of those then it’s never over.”

    Ricciardo believes he’s exceeded expectations after winning three of the season’s 12 races.

    “Obviously for me it’s great, it’s what I wanted to achieve, to get some race wins,” he said.

    “To have three in 12 races I think has exceeded a few expectations. Let’s say the in-team battle has gone really well. Obviously I’ve showed speed throughout qualifying and also races now.

    “I’ve demonstrated good racecraft and good consistency so I think let’s say the team has been really pleased and I’ve been pleased so we’re in a good place. I’m enjoying it more than ever. Each race that goes on I’m having more and more fun so yeah, just having a good time.”

    Ricciardo is the only driver so far this season to have beaten a Mercedes driver having been there to capitalise on any slip ups from the silver team.

    “It couldn’t have gone better, considering everything, particularly pre-season. It’s been awesome – I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. I’m happy to keep it up like this and let it continue. Monza will be challenging but then we’ve got Singapore and Suzuka which should be fun for us. We’ll just keep going and if they [Mercedes] slip up then we’ll be there to capitalise.”

  • Video: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton Post Race Reaction

    Video: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton Post Race Reaction

    Lewis Hamilton gives his version of events after his incident with his team mate Nico Rosberg on Lap 2 of the Belgian Grand Prix

  • Video: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg Post Race Reaction

    Video: 2014 Belgian Grand Prix: Nico Rosberg Post Race Reaction

    Nico Rosberg gives his view on the booing of the fans and his take on the 2nd lap incident between himself and team mate Lewis Hamilton

  • Hamilton: “Rosberg Did It To Prove A Point”

    Hamilton: “Rosberg Did It To Prove A Point”

    Lewis Hamilton unleashed a storm on Sunday afternoon after the Belgian Grand Prix and claimed that Nico Rosberg ran into him on purpose on the second lap of the race to “prove a point”.

    Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff was left fuming after the race and when asked by Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz what he though about Rosberg’s driving  he only had two words to say: “Unacceptable race”.

    “This is an absolutely unacceptable race for us. It lead to two of our drivers crashing into each other… Unbelievable!” he added.

    Hamilton was interviewed after his team debrief and he revealed that Rosberg ran into him to prove a point.

    “We just had a meeting about it and he basically said he did it on purpose,” said Hamilton. He said he could have avoided it. He said ‘I did it to prove a point’. He basically said I did it to prove a point.”

    “And you don’t have to just rely on me. Go and ask Toto [Wolff] and Paddy [Lowe] who are not happy with him as well.”

    Hamilton felt that he was the innocent in the matter as he felt he left enough room for Rosberg and used Sebastian Vettel’s attempted pass on Rosberg at the start of the race as an example. “Look at Sebastian [Vettel]. He was actually further up [in a lap one move] and he knew he wasn’t going to go out the other side. He was sensible about it,” said Hamilton.

    Mercedes Executive Director, Toto Wolff, clarified the matter later in the evening. Wolff said that Rosberg suggested he has not backed down from the move, rather than admitting to deliberately hitting his team mate.

    Talking to AutoSport, Wolff had this to say: “Nico felt he needed to hold his line. He needed to make a point, and for Lewis, it was clearly not him who needed to be aware of Nico. [Rosberg] didn’t give in. He thought it was for Lewis to leave him space, and that Lewis didn’t leave him space.”

    Both drivers agreed to disagree in the debrief. Wolff also added that Nico’s anger towards Hamilton had not subsided.

    This does not mean that the situation between the two has been diffused. There will be some serious discussions between the drivers and the team management. We could see Mercedes implement team orders after this incident. But to what extent these team orders will be implemented is the question.

     

  • Hamilton’s Qualifying Exit at Hockenheim Explained by Brembo and Mercedes

    Hamilton’s Qualifying Exit at Hockenheim Explained by Brembo and Mercedes

    Brembo and Mercedes Benz AMG Petronas F1 Team have released a statement detailing Lewis Hamilton’s brake failure issue in qualifying for the German Grand Prix. Brembo have revealed that it was the interaction between the brake material and mounting that caused the front right brake failure of Hamilton’s W05

    Included below is the Mercedes and Bremo statement in full:

    ‘Following extensive joint analysis of the previously unseen failure mode experienced by Lewis Hamilton during Q1 at the German Grand Prix, Brembo and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS have reached definitive conclusions concerning the cause of the failure.

    ‘First of all, both parties can now confirm that the quality of the disc material was not a contributory factor.

    ‘Instead, extensive analysis and experimentation has demonstrated that the specific interaction between the structure of the brake material in question and the brake mounting on the F1 W05 Hybrid was at the root of the failure.

    ‘Countermeasures have already been applied to both the disc geometry and the mounting to ensure there can be no repeat of the failure.

    ‘These developments allow the team to once again run Brembo brake disc material, should it choose to do so, in race conditions.

    Thanks to the close technical relationship between Brembo and MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, we have been able to collaborate to objectively analyse, diagnose and resolve the failure, and we remain committed to a close working relationship in the future.’

  • 2014 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Qualifying Press Conference

    2014 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1st Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    2nd Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3rd Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, many congratulations, your first Spa pole. Typical Spa conditions of course today, tell us how special the feeling is right now?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it’s awesome definitely at this track. It’s one of the most special tracks of the year, so to be in front here is great. Not quite as difficult out there as on some other occasions as the conditions were pretty much always intermediates, just varying slightly, so that made it a bit easier today. But still, it’s always difficult on this track in the wet, so I’m really, really happy. The car was handling well and together with my engineers we fine-tuned it perfectly now in qualifying and really got there in the end. So, in the end I was really feeling comfortable and able to push, so fantastic. But it’s only qualifying, so still a long race tomorrow but of course, very happy.

    In terms of the detail, the first sector was always particularly strong for you throughout this qualifying session, why is that?

    NR: I’m not sure, it’s Eau Rouge mainly the first sector you know. I was feeling good through there, really going for it and maybe that’s where the time was done. I haven’t looked.

    Very well done. Coming to you Lewis, you were right in the hunt all the way through qualifying but it seemed, if anything, Q3 wasn’t quite as comfortable for you from the outset as the previous sessions had been, why was that?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I had a glazed front-right or front-left brake, so the car was pulling to the left or to the right and there was nothing I could do on the out laps to try to get rid of that, so I was struggling under the braking. I had to bring the braking point a little bit further back and I was losing massive amounts out of particularly turn one.

    Before that it looked like you were enjoying yourself out there, though. How much can you enjoy driving in conditions like these?

    LH: It’s more fun in the dry but it’s still a huge challenge and as Nico said the conditions were quite good so…Lewis Hamilton Press Conference

    Coming to you Sebastian, you were a winner here last year for Red Bull Racing. Your feelings on this result and what you can do from here tomorrow?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think it would be nice to be a bit further up but obviously the gap is quite big. I think it was the best we could do for today. I think it was a tricky qualifying, especially Q2 looked very tight for us. I tried to stay out on the same set of tyres. It started to rain heavier, so I was quite confident that the track won’t get quicker and I wanted to save that extra set for Q3. It was quite tight. I got the lap in in the end because the circuit did pick up and in Q3 I was able to use both sets of tyres. It was obviously very tight behind the Mercedes. It was tricky out there, especially on low downforce, especially through Eau Rouge, so I had a couple of moments. But it was a good challenge and for sure happy with third.

    Coming back to you Nico. You’ve never been on the podium before in Spa either. Clearly a big fight in prospect tomorrow in what promises to be, at the moment anyway, a dry race with Lewis and Sebastian. Your thoughts on tomorrow’s grand prix?

    NR: Again, we have a great car here. We’re leading the way and that’s so cool to see that, definitely, that the team is doing such a great job. Just keeping it going all the time, staying ahead and keeping that gap. That’s nice to see. So yeah, definitely a really good chance tomorrow. I need to get a good start and from there I’m looking forward to it.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Nico, one of the things that was noticeable from the outset of this session – obviously it was very wet, had been very wet before the start of the session – was the performance difference between the Mercedes and the rest, right from the outset of Q1. You’ve been quick obviously all season but was this about downforce? Was there any specific reason in your mind why you had such a big advantage all the way through?

    NR: I have really no idea. It was amazing to see that, how quick our car is. That was really great. Obviously then it was just Lewis I had to focus on, and that makes it a bit easier too –when there’s not a whole bunch, just one guy. Yeah, but really impressive car.

    Q: Lewis, you’ve got to go back to Canada in June for the last time you were this far up the grid. It’s been a difficult period of time for you on Saturday afternoons. So, although I’m sure you’re disappointed today, nevertheless this gives you the kind of platform you’ve been looking for on Sunday to challenge, right?

    LH: I’m not disappointed today actually. If you look at the previous years, P2 is the best place to start here so I feel quite blessed that this is the case. I started on pole here last year and Sebastian flew past me down the top straight, so I think it gives you the most opportunity here at the start. And I’m just happy to be up here. I was nervous going into qualifying, not knowing if the car was going to make it through it, and grateful for all the hard work the team put in to make sure we have no problems. It’s a great feeling to be back up here.

    Q: Sebastian, you mentioned driving this circuit, in these conditions, with low downforce and it did seem that Red Bull had decided to run quite low levels of downforce, obviously thinking ahead to tomorrow’s grand prix. Is that the case?

    SV: Yep!

    Q: And how did that feel? A gamble clearly…

    SV: It was very tricky in the wet. We knew it would be even trickier obviously when qualifying is wet, qualifying was wet so we can Sebastian Vettel_Press Conferenceconfirm it was trickier – but the reason behind it is fairly simple: we know that we are down on power, obviously Mercedes can run a lot more wing level and they have a very strong car this year, you have to admit, so they have a lot of downforce but they can still take that wing onto the straights. If we do that I think we are similar in the corners but quite a long way off on the straights and therefore vulnerable in the race. So, I think that’s the reasoning behind it, and in the wet probably it hurt us a bit more, but hopefully tomorrow we’ll be closer in terms of race pace and closer to them than in the last couple of races.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Angelique Belokopytov – AutoDigest) Sebastian, you are a four time champion and this year you’ve never won a pole so how long can you, a champion, live with that?

    SV: As long as I have to, I guess. I’m trying very hard so it’s not like I’m deciding consciously not to qualify on pole. Obviously these guys are doing a very good job from the drivers’ point of view, their team is very strong so that is what makes them very difficult to beat. Obviously we’ve been on the other side for quite a while but that’s the name of the game. Obviously my season wasn’t the way I was hoping for but there are still some races to come. I think we did the maximum today so I’m hoping for a strong result tomorrow.

    Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Sb Belarus) Nico, to your left is one champion, to your right is a second champion but today you have pole position. How do you feel here between two champions?

    NR: I feel very good but not because it’s Lewis and Sebastian. To me they’re competitors like all the others: great drivers. I’m just happy to be first; first is the best position for tomorrow’s race.

    Rosberg_SpaQ: (Paulo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Nico, this morning the Williams were pretty fast and many people were expecting them to be a challenge in the dry. Do you think that having a wet qualifying helped you a little bit to keep them away or you just were hiding a little bit this morning?

    NR: I think even in the wet we would have been strong. Maybe the others would have been a little bit closer. It’s very difficult to say who exactly, I’m not too sure about that but for sure it helped us that it was wet because in the wet, clearly the gap was a lot bigger and our car was really dominant.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo OnLine) Lewis, you had a problem with your brakes today. In German qualifying you also had the same; you had a problem with the engine in other races; a lot of problems. How can you understand it, so many difficulties that you’ve had?

    LH: I don’t really know. Today, this is a circuit where – as on all circuits – you need to have confidence in the brakes.  You saw a couple of times in Q3  when I was just going straight on everywhere because the left brake wasn’t working  and then for some reason – I don’t really know why – it went into glazing but yeah, I’ve had some good experiences and bad experiences but it’s OK. Who knows, it might be a blessing in disguise.

    Q: (Sven Heidinger – Sport Woche) Lewis, do you fear that the issue with the brakes will appear again tomorrow or was it a one-off? What do you think?

    LH: Well, when it glazes, it’s sometimes very hard to recover, especially in the wet. You have to put the brake balance forwards but whilst you’re trying to clear that, you’re also overheating the rears so it’s really not that easy to always clear but in the evening they’re able to scrub it and get rid of the glazing. I think it goes shiny and then you lose that bite so hopefully over the evening we will lose that and in the dry tomorrow it shouldn’t be a problem.

  • F1 2014: Belgium GP Qualifying- Rosberg Rules Wet Spa

    F1 2014: Belgium GP Qualifying- Rosberg Rules Wet Spa

    The Mercedes team dominated the field in a wet qualifying session ahead of the 2014 Belgium GP.

    Nico Rosberg mastered slippery conditions to out-qualify teammate Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. Sebastian Vettel secured third position for Red Bull Racing but his fastest time was some two seconds slower than the high flying Mercedes pair. Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five grid positions.

    The star of the first part of qualifying was Marussia’s Jules Bianchi as the young Frenchman brilliantly advanced to the second session of the one hour session. Andre Lotterer, who has taken over from Kamui Kobayashi, impressed in the Caterham by out-qualifying teammate Marcus Ericcson by a full second. Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India was the surprise casualty in the first session of qualifying. The German complained about losing brake temperature throughout the session.

    Neither Toro Rosso driver was able to advance beyond the second session of qualifying. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean out-qualified his teammate, Pastor Maldonado, but failed to make any further impression and will start tomorrow’s grand prix in 15th position.

    Despite a brief appearance by the sun in the final part of qualifying all drivers remained on the intermediate tyres for the fastest runs of the session. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were relegated to sixth and ninth respectively in the tricky condition. However, tomorrow’s potential forecast of fair weather is likely to reinstate the Martini sponsored team’s hopes.

    spaquali

  • Bottas fastest in damp final practice

    Bottas fastest in damp final practice

    Williams driver, Valterri Bottas, topped the timesheets after the third and final practice session at Spa Francorchamps, ahead of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Bottas set a time of 1:49.465 to finish the session 0.268s clear of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

    Drivers were greeted by damp conditions today with overnight rain, and rain expected for qualifying later this afternoon. Most drivers used intermediate tyres for their installation laps with some opting for full wets.

    Andre Lotterer was the first driver to set a time before sliding wide at La Source. Jules Bianchi soon beat his time and remained fastest for the first half of the session as most drivers chose to stay in their garages.

    eau-rouge-mclarenThe track dried considerably halfway through and the track was once again abuzz with action.  Esteban Gutierrez broke the silence and ventured out Primes, lowering Bianchi’s benchmark by a second.

    Inevtiably, the Mercedes drivers made their way to the top of the timesheets with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg switching at the top for a short while. At one stage, Hamilton snatched the fastest time off his team mate by a crazy one thousandth of a second! It is times like these that really make Formula One.

    After switching to soft tyres for qualifying simulations, the Mercedes drivers found themselves getting knocked off the top spots.

    It was Bottas who finished in front, with Ricciardo second and Nico Rosberg third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, who set identical lap times during a frantic end to the session.

    Alonso finished in sixth, with Daniil Kvyat, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Jean-Eric Vergne rounding out the top 10. Full timesheet for the session below.

    We’ll be back for qualifying shortly! Please join us on Twitter @F1_Madness for live tweets and chat throughout. Rain is expected so we’re expecting a cracker of a session.

    Photo Credits: Williams and Mclaren F1 teams

    FP3 Timesheet

    fp3-spa