Tag: Lotus

Rosberg Takes Charge of Day 1 of Barcelona In-Season Test

Nico Rosberg picked up right where he left off for Mercedes on Tuesday in testing after victory at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.

Rosberg’s fastest lap of 1:24.374 came in the morning session with an unmarked Pirelli compound was 0.307s quicker than his pole setting time for the Spanish Grand Prix. He also clocked up 146 laps around the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, the most of any driver for the day.

Marcus Ericsson at the wheel of the Sauber was second quickest on the day. His time of 1:26.624 pushed Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello down to 3rd fastest after he held second spot for most of the day for Ferrari. Both drivers completed 98 and 125 laps for their respective teams. Ericsson will make way for Marciello on Wednesday at Sauber while Esteban Gutierrez will get his first drive in the Ferrari SF15-T.

Despite reliability problems throughout the season so far, the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat made it around the track 101 times with the 4th fastest time of the day. Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus had a trouble free day to finish his day 5th fastest for Lotus.

Nick Yelloly made his debut for Force India, albeit a day early. He was called up when Pascal Wehrlein fell ill and was forced to pull out of the test. Yelloly enjoyed his day out in the car finishing 6th fastest with a time of 1:27.396 and clocking up 109 laps for the day.

“It felt really good to finally get my chance in a Formula One car. I’ve been working towards this day for a long time and I need to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone at Sahara Force India for giving me this opportunity,” said Yelloly.

“The first few laps felt a bit unusual, but I soon got comfortable in the car.

“I’m feeling really positive about the day and I hope it’s been useful for the team.”

Wehrlien is scheduled to drive for Mercedes on Wednesday. They are hopeful that he’ll be fit to drive for the team.

Another F1 debutant was GP2 driver Pierre Gasly. He was at the wheel of the Toro Rosso and racked up a marathon 131 laps. He ended the day 7th fastest with a 1:27.639. Felipe Massa in the Williams was 8th fastest for the day and completed just 54 laps.

McLaren’s Oliver Turney was 9th fastest on the day with a 1:28.542 and clocked up 68 laps. McLaren were trailing a whole host of new parts at the track today and were trying to make the most of their time by testing as much as they could.

As the test goes on, Formula 1 Tyre supplier Pirelli are, with the help of Mercedes, Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Red Bull, testing out new compounds.

Pos	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:24.374	–	146
2	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1:26.624	2.250s	98
3	Raffaele Marciello	Ferrari	1:26.648	2.274s	125
4	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull/Renault	1:26.904	2.530s	101
5	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus/Mercedes	1:27.338	2.964s	60
6	Nick Yelloly	Force India/Mercedes	1:27.396	3.022s	109
7	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso/Renault	1:27.639	3.265s	131
8	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	1:27.911	3.537s	54
9	Oliver Turvey	McLaren/Honda	1:28.542	4.168s	68

Testing line up for Wednesday 13 may 2015 available here

Photo credits: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Sahara Force India Formula One Team

May 12, 2015

Broadcast Times for the Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Pirelli 2015

The first round of fly away races are done and dusted. We’ve had a little break and now we get back to the European leg of the Formula 1 World Championship.

The first circuit the teams visit on the European leg of the F1 calendar is the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo. All the teams know this track extremely well. Two of the three pre-season tests were held at the circuit. The Circuit de Catalunya has held it’s spot on the F1 calendar since 1991.It is a highly technical circuit with 16 corners in total and has a good blend of fast, slow and medium speed corners which tests a Formula 1 car to its limit.

The first European race is also the first race where teams usually bring major upgrades to their cars. We can expect most of the teams to have updated body work and many new parts underneath said body work.

Lotus are feeling quite confident ahead of the weekend and they are expecting a good points finish. They are bringing some aerodynamic updates which they feel will earn them some well deserved points.

“It will be an interesting weekend as many teams will bring decent upgrades to the first European race of the season and we are working on bringing a reasonably significant package in terms of bodywork upgrades ourselves,” said Lotus Technical Director Nick Chester.

“There’s nothing to say that we shouldn’t have another strong race in Barcelona, just as we did in China and Bahrain,”

Williams who are currently in 3rd on the Constructors table are hoping to close the gap to the teams up front. “Barcelona is a good measure of everyone’s upgrade packages and shows how well teams have developed their cars,” commented Williams Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley.

Ferrari are still chasing down Mercedes who seem to be holding on to their pace advantage and also, have no doubt, been working on their car and are expected to bring some aerodynamic changes to the car.

We return to the normal viewing time for European audiences this weekend. Below are your broadcast times for the Formula 1 Grand Premio de Espana Pirelli 2015. All times are GMT+2

Free Practice 1: Friday 10:00

Free Practice 2: Friday 14:00

Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

Race: Sunday 14:00

May 5, 2015
F1 2015: Bahrain Grand Prix – Hamilton Brilliant in Bahrain

It’s no secret that several past Bahrain Grand Prix had been a bore fest. However, since the introduction of a night race two years ago the desert circuit has come alive.

Lewis Hamilton’s dominant start to the 2015 season continued with yet another faultless victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pole position by four tenths of a second over Sebastian Vettel was the precursor for an even more authoritative performance in Sunday’s race. Seemingly always in control, Hamilton’s latest victory is his third of the season.

Ferrari would have wished that the Bahrain Grand Prix was a few laps longer than the allotted 57. An alternative strategy had Kimi Raikkonen within three seconds of race leader Hamilton as the chequered flag beckoned. But the second step of the podium was the best result possible for a team who has once again underlined their staggering progress.

For most, the final stint of the on the softer option tyre would’ve been the headline grabber. After all, the Finn closed down a nineteen second gap and took second place from Nico Rosberg. But it was the middle stint of the Bahrain Grand Prix that defined Raikkonen’s race. While Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel opted for the option tyre at the first stop, Raikkonen fitted the harder medium compound tyre. Logic dictates that top three should’ve been lapping at a quicker pace than Raikkonen given the off-set of tyre performance. Yet, Raikkonen delivered a stunning stint on par and occasionally quicker than those ahead of him.

Lewis Hamilton’s Bahrain Grand Prix drive was faultless and far superior to his teammate who is considered somewhat of a Bahrain-specialist whilst Kimi Raikkonen’s incredible pace on the softer tyre nearly netted him a victory.

It’s difficult to choose a driver of the day between the top two finishers but it bodes well for the rest of the season.

Sebastian Vettel endured an off-colour afternoon as several errors cost him a shot at the podium.

An off track excursion while trying to maintain his position ahead of Rosberg caused the German some front-wing damage and any chance at a podium finish.

A late-race fight with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas added some flavour to an otherwise disappointing race but the German was not able to take fourth place from the Finn.

Timing was everything as Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line for sixth under an enormous plume of smoke as the Renault engine let go mere meters from the finish line.

The spectacular, and smoky, end of Ricciardo’s engine doesn’t bode well for the remainder of the season as the Aussie has now used his allotted four engine units.

Lotus Romain Grosjean put a fine drive for seventh ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez in eighth.

Daniil Kvyat recovered from a difficult weekend to finish ninth while Felipe Massa’s race was compromised by a clash with none other than Pastor Maldonado. The Brazilian suffered floor damage which hampered the performance of his Williams and ultimately finished tenth.

Fernando Alonso dragged the McLaren-Honda into eleventh place but it was dreadful weekend for teammate Jenson Button who suffered issues throughout. The calamity came to a head as the 2009 champion was unable to start his 100^th race for McLaren with a suspected electronic issue.

Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff confirmed after the race that Hamilton and Rosberg struggled with brake issues towards the closing stages. While Rosberg blamed the brake issue for losing second place Hamilton dismissed it as “not really a problem.” Rosberg did show some fight with the two Ferrari’s but didn’t threaten Hamilton at any stage of the weekend. The difference in mentality between Rosberg and Hamilton is noteworthy.

The Spanish Grand Prix around the circuit de Catalunya is three weeks away. It is at this the point of the season that the first big upgrade packages are introduced. It could be a significant moment in the 2015 season which turns the championship fight into more than just a Mercedes show.

Photo credits:

Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain Grand Prix first place trophy: Mercedes AMG F1

Kimi Raikkonen, Bahrain Grand Prix second place trophy: Scuderia Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain Grand Prix winner on the podium: Mercedes AMG F1

Sebastian Vettel off the Bahrain Grand Prix track: Screenshot from SkySports F1

Daniel Ricciardo crossing Bahrain Grand Prix finish line: Screenshot from SkySports F1

April 20, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Sergio PEREZ (Force India)

Max VERSTAPPEN (Toro Rosso)

Will STEVENS (Manor)

Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, you’re coming off the back of three straight poles to a circuit where you’ve never been in on pole position before in your career. How do you see this weekend and the battleground that is qualifying on Saturday?

Lewis HAMILTON: The same as every race. Excited for it. The team have worked very hard to try to learn from the last race and improve. Naturally, for me, as you suggested, I’ve been on the front row but I’ve not been on pole here. So naturally that’s something I want to try to change.

Now throughout Formula One history the psychological battle between title rivals has always been intense. Can you tell us a bit about how you’ve evolved your attitude that and your thinking about that as you’ve matured as a driver?

LH: It’s not really changed much. I just do my talking on the track, that’s how it’s always been since I was eight years old. And naturally you juts try to learn from decisions you take and experiences you have and hope that you get better.

So, the approach is not to get involved then?

LH: That’s not what I said. You just do your talking on the track and try to do your best. All the stuff that comes out of the car I have no particular interest in it.

OK thank you for that. Coming to you Pastor, some good battles in China last time out and breakthrough points for the team, scored by your team-mate. How do see this Lotus team evolving in 2015?

Pastor MALDONADO: To be honest we’ve been a bit unlucky in the first two races, especially for me in the first corner I’ve been hit by Nasr in Australia and I was P6 already and the same in Malaysia, I was P8 or P9, I think it was P8, and I’ve been hit by Bottas in the first corner, so the first two races have been completely compromised by the first corner, you know. Last race was actually our first race where we’ve been able to compete against the other teams, or the other teams around us. We confirm what we’ve been expecting, the pace of the car. Actually in qualifying we still maybe are not at the top of our package. We’ve been working quite hard and hopefully this weekend it should be a bit better than it was in the past three races. But actually the race pace was quite good, encouraging and we are really looking to do our best and to finally be in the points this weekend.

There’s been a Lotus in the final part of qualifying at every round this year so far but you yourself have only managed it once. Can you tell us what areas you are focusing on in particular to make sure that you get yourself into Q3?

PM: Yeah, quali is maybe the main focus for the team. We just need to try to put everything together. I think the speed is there. But normally it has been like this, even in the past, we’ve been less competitive in quali than in the race. I really expect, and we will approach different ways the qualifying to try to get 100 per cent from the car and then trying to keep the same situation or the same pace for the race.

Thank you for that. Coming to you Max: the performance in China. No points but plenty of praise worldwide for your performance there. Do you feel it’s put you on the Formula One map and what was the highlight?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Well, first of all, I was really enjoying my race. We didn’t have a great qualifying, but still I was very confident that we could do a good race because I think the car and it’s race pace is really strong, especially high speed. I had some good overtakes, I was really enjoying that. It’s also every race I’m getting more and more confident in the car. Especially in the first two race you don’t want to take too many risks and I decided in China it was time to do some overtakes and take some more risk.

Toro Rosso, apparently, have never scored a point here in Bahrain, amazingly in their ten years. This weekend that, I’m sure, will be your target, but you do have some engine issues going into this weekend. Can you give us your thoughts on how that’s going to stack up?

MV: Yeah, for sure it’s very short notice for us after China, where we had the engine issues. But we will try to do our best to deliver a good race and try to score points, because I think at the moment the car is capable of it and I’m feeling much better every race in the car. So I’m really looking forward to this race.

Sergio, coming to you, obviously 12 months ago here a very strong weekend, qualified well, in fourth, got up on the podium. Presumably it’s one of your favourite tracks. What is it about this place and you?

Sergio PEREZ: Obviously it was great, no, to remember that day. It was a fantastic day, a fantastic race for me. It was really difficult to make it onto the podium, as it was a very intense race all the way through. Generally, I have been doing well [here]. The year before I did quite well at this track, so I think I get on with the track quite nicely. Unfortunately we are not in a similar position to dream about a podium for this weekend but I think, hopefully, we can score some points and make a great improvement. I think we managed to do a good step in China, we just finished out of the points, so I hope that here we can score some points.

You have a big update coming in Austria. From what you know of it what is the target of where it’s going to put you in the pecking order?

SP: It’s difficult to say, as everyone is improving all the time and everyone is bringing upgrades. We are not the only ones who are going to bring them but we really have identified our issues with the car, our weaknesses, so in that respect it should put us a lot better. I think if we can solve the general issue of the car, the main weakness of the car, then it can be a really good step that can put us in a really good position to be a constant points scorer.

Q: Will, obviously didn’t start in Australia or Malaysia but a 15^th place finish last time out in China. Tell us about the mindset in the team and how you set goals and objectives for each race – and what they are here.

Will STEVENS: As you said, China was the first race that I did personally this year – but as far as the weekend went, I think it was a big step forwards for the team. I think it was good to get both cars to the finish for the first time this year. As the weekend went, it ran pretty smoothly. I think, looking forward to this weekend, obviously we want to finish the race with both cars again. Every time I we back in the car, especially for me, missing Malaysia, I’m getting more and more comfortable. I think the pace that I showed in China was pretty strong. We just need to keep moving forward and see where we can get to.

Q: From what you’ve seen and experienced so far, what makes you believe in this project.

WS: From where we set out, we knew the first few races were going to be difficult. The team, where they finished last year in the Constructors’, they’re in a different position now to what they were before. So I think, moving forwards for the future, we can only get better. I think moving towards the end of this year, hopefully we’ll get the new car coming in and then we can really start to make some progress.

Q: Daniel, coming to you, you’ve scored in all three races so far but not the kind of scores I imagine you were hoping for when the season started. Can you give us a window in on the mindset with things like engine duty cycles and other challenges you’re facing, and how that’s changed your expectations?

Daniel RICCIARDO: It sounded pretty good, finishing the first three in the points – but obviously we hope for more at this stage. Look, we’re trying to do what we can, that’s for sure. There is progress being made. Still, obviously, we’re wanting more each race and I obviously felt we had a better… or rather we all expected a bit more from China. I thought the weekend was going to be better for us, especially after Friday. I think we’d made real good progress. Didn’t turn out that way but here we are a week later. Obviously there’s not much, updates-wise, that can happen in a week but from myself and the team as well, we still know there’s more potential in what we’ve got for now, and I think we can definitely try to grab that this weekend.

Q: Obviously your start in China was a bit of a talking point. I think I’m right in saying that, apart from your start in Malaysia, both you and Kvyat off the line have lost places every single time in the first three races this season. Can you tell us what that’s all about.

DR: Yeah. To be honest, Melbourne wasn’t as bad as it looked. As I guess most people are aware, we had a lot of driveability issues going on in Melbourne and it wasn’t until we got the gears, and where these problems were affecting us, that’s what really hindered our performance in Melbourne – otherwise the actual launch was decent. And yeah, Malaysia wasn’t bad. Obviously it wasn’t ideal, what happened in China, and obviously after looking through everything, yeah, it was my mistake in the end. Sometime I obviously won’t let happen again. The important thing is that I’m aware why it happened and what happened and will move on from there. Definitely last year the starts weren’t the strongest on the grid. In general it’s a point that we all want to improve. I think it’s got to be better this weekend.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Kate Walker – motorsport.com) I’ve got a question for Lewis. Your weekend in Shanghai has been rather overshadowed by coverage of the podium ceremony. I don’t know if you’ve heard the comments from the grid girl who was finally contacted and said she thought the entire thing was a bit of a fuss for something that lasted one or two seconds. What are your thoughts on the podium ceremony and the media furore that has surrounded something entirely normal in motorsport?

LH: Good question. I hadn’t really heard too much about it until today. Obviously when you come into the team you get a kind of debrief of what’s happened during the week. So fortunately for me it’s not overshadowed my week. Ultimately it was a great weekend. My actions are through excitement. This is Formula One, it’s the pinnacle of motorsport, I’d just won a grand prix for the team and… I usually see it as a fun thing. I would never intend to disrespect someone or try to embarrass someone like that. So, yeah, I guess… I don’t really know the reasons why people are starting to bring those kind of things up but this is a sport that so many people love and the more we show character and fun, perhaps it reflects just how great this sport is. That’s what I try to do. I don’t really know what to say about it. It hasn’t really affected me and it’s nice to know that the lady wrote in… if it had been the other way and she’d wrote in and she was really unhappy, then perhaps there would be more concern.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Daniel, you said China didn’t go quite the way you thought it would. Is there just maybe some fine-tuning in the setup that you can get the car much better to your liking?

DR: I think so. I mean, there’s definitely, I believe, within the car, there’s more to be unlocked, so to speak. In terms of setup, I don’t think myself or Dany have really found a balance or setting that we’re really comfortable with. I think China took a step forward, we did start to feel more comfortable but it still obviously didn’t give us a big chunk of lap time that we thought was still in there. So, there’s still a few balance things. If we keep ironing them out we will find… I don’t think it’s a second but we are going to find a fair few tenths that will put us in that group with Williams and hopefully get us onto the back of the Ferraris. Yeah. Good race here last year. I think we had good pace. Again just optimistic for a better weekend here. Everyone’s ready to go, and obviously after my start last week I’m hanging out to get back on the grid and redeem myself.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Two questions for Lewis: the first is about management of the rear tyres. This is a hot track like Malaysia, the race is in the night. How afraid are you about the performance of Ferrari with the rear tyres? And the second one is about what Toto Wolff said about team orders. What comment can you make? If a driver says ‘too close’ they can make some unpopular decisions. I would like to have a comment from you.

LH: Regarding the tyres, still as it was in Malaysia, very much a rear-limited circuit so you have to assume that Ferrari will be very strong again, but I think we’re going to try and take, from our experience with Malaysia, we’re going to try and take a slightly different approach and hope that that helps us combat that whatever you want to call it: weakness or area in which we can improve. I feel quite confident that as a team we can rectify that issue that we had in Malaysia, but it’s still going to be tough and Ferrari have been very very competitive in the last couple of races. So I anticipate they will be very strong this weekend and our race is definitely with them.

I’m not really aware of Toto’s comments so I don’t really know anything about it. Team orders is not something we generally talk much about. It’s not our approach but ultimately our job as two drivers is to try to help the team get the best result overall and regardless of whether you’re first or second, it’s your job to try and make sure you try and secure the most points as possible for the team.

Q: (Khodr Rawi – F1Zone.net) Sergio, how do you motivate yourself coming into this weekend, knowing that the maximum you could do is to score some points while last year you had a podium here?

SP: Yes, it’s already the position that we have at the moment and only 12 months ago it was a different story but now it’s time to give our best, the same as we did those months ago. The difference is now that a great result would be to finish in the points, whereas 12 months ago a great result would be to finish on the podium. But it doesn’t really change anything. As a driver you have to be committed all the time and give your 120 per cent to your team to try to maximise the package that you have. It doesn’t really change anything. Obviously I wish to have a more competitive car with which I can show the potential that I have as a driver but it’s what it is and we will try to do our best. It doesn’t really change anything.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Lewis, did you really understand what Nico meant after the race that you drove too slowly? Did you truly understand what he meant?

LH: Well, it’s something we spoke about after the race so I don’t particularly see a reason to go back into it. Obviously you know what my comments were after the race and some people have spun those words in whichever way they wanted to spin them. Yeah, we’re moving forwards and we will re-unite as a team this weekend and try to do a great job. There’s no issue between me and Nico. We saw each other this morning and everything is good. They’re going to be times when people are unhappy about some things but we’re grown-ups and we move past it.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) The winner of the race is normally the quickest guy on the track, that’s what I mean.

LH: But I was.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Lewis, if I can go even further back, to last year’s race when you and Nico had a real battle here, given the comments that have been made over the last few days, do you think he’ll be even more fired up to try and get past you this time?

LH: Well again, I don’t know what comments have been made over the last few days, I don’t read it, simply just not of interest to me, but last year we had an amazing race here, it was really fantastic, great fun, huge huge challenge both for Nico and for me and hopefully… that was the first night race here. It was honestly the best race, visibly, that I had seen here in Bahrain so it was great and I’m looking forward to that. I think with these tyres and with Ferrari in the mix, I think we could see a real special race here. On my part, I’m just going to keep doing what I do and try to… ultimately I want to improve. Last year I didn’t qualify on pole here, I’ve never been on pole here so that’s the challenge but as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the challenge of trying to win the race.

Q: (Nahed Sayouh – Autosport Middle East) Max, after this race you will go to the European season where there are tracks which you have previously raced on. Do you believe that this will help you to show more speed?

MV: To be honest I think so. You always try to do your best on every track and that’s how we are going to continue.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speed Sport magazines) Will, you did your first race distance in China; these guys all did race distances in testing. Do you foresee that you have a much better baseline now, starting out the weekend as far as the car is concerned?

WS: Yeah, the longest stint I did before the race was six laps. So I had to learn the race as I was going. I think the race ran pretty smoothly so for sure starting here this weekend, we’re starting off from a much better position so I think as a team we can only progress and keep moving forward.

April 16, 2015
F1 2015: Bahrain GP Preview – Hamilton vs Rosberg In Bahrain

It was just about a month ago that the agonising wait for the start of the 2015 season was all but over as the Australian grand prix loomed large within touching distance of starved Formula 1 fans.

As the Bahrain grand prix approaches, a mere seven days after the third round in China, Lewis Hamilton is firmly in the lead of the driver’s championship and Mercedes still have the quickest car on the grid.

But there is much that is different about the 2015 season. The narrative has changed slightly and now includes Ferrari’s captivating turnaround. Even though the SF15-T isn’t on par with Silver Arrows it has given Mercedes something to ponder. Sebastian Vettel’s debut with the team he idolised as a youngster has gone better than he likely could have dreamed. Three podiums, including a stunning victory, have proven that 2015 may not be all about misters Hamilton and Rosberg.

It is going to take some time however for Ferrari to be genuine threat to Mercedes in all conditions, on all circuits. Kimi Raikkonen concedes that Bahrain will likely produce the same result as China but the Finn is sure that Ferrari will catch up to Mercedes. “I think we have good plans already since last year and made big gains and will make big gains during this year,” says Raikkonen. “Everybody improves and it depends what the rest are doing but we trust the way our team is working altogether and what we are doing.”(sic)

Notwithstanding the fact that Bahrain will host the first night race of the season temperatures are still expected to be appreciably higher than in China. Pirelli have brought the medium and soft compound tyre to this circuit at which the management of rear tyre degradation will be vital. The first sessions may not be indicative of true tyre performance at the circuit characteristics continue to change throughout the weekend. “A defining characteristic of Bahrain now is that tyre performance changes over the course of the weekend as we slowly edge towards afternoon sessions,” predicts Pirelli motorsport director, Paul Hembery.

Twelve months ago the Sakhir International circuit was the one and only site of a true wheel-to-wheel battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. It was the eventual champion, Hamilton, who got the better of his teammate in the spicy fight for supremacy in this race and the ensuing season.

It’s safe to assume that, before the season started, Rosberg would have predicted himself to be ahead of Hamilton or, at least, a very close second. On the face of it this battle appears much the same as in 2014. However, the tone of this inter-team battle is quite different and decidedly tilted to Hamilton’s advantage.

Not only has Rosberg not been able to match his reigning champion teammate he appears to have lost significant ground. It wasn’t long ago that Rosberg vowed to give Hamilton the fight of his life in 2015 but the German is yet to deliver on his boisterous declaration. Significantly, it also appears that Rosberg is losing the psychological battle and quite early on at that. The moaning about his teammate in Chinese Gp was not indicative of a driver with the mental toughness to beat his highly talented teammate.

Bahrain has been a good hunting ground for Nico Rosberg and if he is indeed serious about winning the world championship then he has to transform all of the talk into action.

April 15, 2015
F1 2015: Chinese GP – Hamilton Takes Control

Formula 1 is the biggest patience game you’re ever going to play. From Mercedes’ response, to Ferrari’s progress, to McLaren’s struggles, all of it requires buckets loads of determination and persistence.

Mercedes showed a bona fide champion’s mentality after being beaten at the Malaysian grand prix. As speculation about strategies, tyre performance and pace dominated the lead up to the Chinese grand prix the Mercedes F1 team always maintained a sense of calm. Yes, a possible re-think of strategy was considered but it was done in a calculated and controlled manner.

Lewis Hamilton firmly embodied these qualities as he dominated the entire race weekend. Every single session was headed by the double world champion and capped with a well measured Chinese GP victory. The race didn’t ever reach the dramatic levels of two weeks ago but Hamilton’s control of proceedings reaffirmed that Mercedes still holds a sizeable advantage over Ferrari.

The first stint of the race was a relatively close affair as the two Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were able to maintain the pace of Mercedes.

It soon became clear however that Hamilton was merely controlling his pace and seemed to have quite a bit in hand when he needed it. He emerged from the first round of pitstops with a comfortable six second gap to teammate Rosberg who had seemingly settled for second place.

Sebastian Vettel was able to apply some early pressure to Rosberg but was unable to level a real threat on second place.

Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen, who had made short work of both Williams drivers after qualifying sixth, exerted sustained pressure on Vettel for the final step of the podium. However, the retirement of Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso on the main-straight dictated that the race, disappointingly, came to an end behind the safety-car.

The virtuous quality of patience was called for by Raikkonen as the Ferrari team continue to forge their way to the front of the grid. “We didn’t expect to be strong here [in China]. We’re going to get closer and we’re going to catch them at some point. We have to be patient,” said Raikkonen.

A serious amount of patience will be called for at McLaren Honda for 2015. Both Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso struggled through the weekend with balance issues, amongst others, and ultimately failed to advance beyond the first part of qualifying. It didn’t get much better in the race as both cars were lapped by Mercedes and Ferrari. The drivers are still optimistic about the long-off future of the car but you have to wonder for how much longer Button and Alonso will be happy to tow the company line of “making important progress” before they too get fed up. This certainly doesn’t mean that either driver will stop pushing but it’s the subtle difference in attitude that can have a telling effect on the entire operation. After all, just look what a change of attitude has made to the atmosphere at Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa completed an anonymous run to the flag for Williams and finished a solid, but unspectacular, fifth and sixth respectively ahead of Lotus’ Romain Grosjean. Elsewhere, Max Verstappen again delivered a stonking drive through the field along with a few dicey, but scintillating overtakes. The Dutchman was on course for a fine eighth place finish until an engine failure brought an end to his race. Felipe Nasr, Daniel Ricciardo and Marcus Ericsson rounded on the top ten.

The often tense relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is not a new development given all that happened in the 2014 season. But there is a marked difference in the tension at the start of this season. For all three races Rosberg has been second-best to Hamilton and it’s starting to show in his demeanour. The German accused his teammate of deliberately driving at a slow pace so as to force him into the clutches of Vettel. He blamed Hamilton for compromising his race and aired his unhappiness at the “incident” in the post race press conference.

Whether it was deliberate ploy by Hamilton is inconsequential. He started the race with the goal of winning and achieved it. Anything that happened behind is of no significance to him.

Here’s a wild idea for next time – perhaps Rosberg could up his pace and pass the much-to-slow Hamilton. Whinging in a post-race press conference is so unbecoming.

Lewis Hamilton image credited to @MercedesAMGF1

April 12, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)

Nico HULKENBERG (Force India)

Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

Felipe MASSA (Williams)

Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Sebastian, it must have been a few really amazing days for you and we’ve heard you’ve been back to Maranello. What’s it been like to be back there as a winner and do you have to temper the enthusiasm right now?

Sebastian VETTEL: No, I think we are realistic about where we are and what we want to achieve. I think the targets haven’t changed. Obviously it was a great victory we had in Malaysia and great for us as a team, and especially for myself a very emotional day – my first win with Ferrari. And then to come back – I think it was Wednesday – coming back to the factory and to see all the people there was quite special. There are a lot of people working there, so you can imagine, and of course they were very, very happy. The team hasn’t won for quite a while, so I think they enjoyed the fact that they had something to celebrate, there are a couple of rituals involved and it was nice for them to get that feeling again, but as I said, for the next races nothing has changed: we want to confirm that we have a strong package, we have a strong car and we want to make sure that we stay ahead of the people we stayed of in the last couple of races, but knowing that obviously Mercedes is in a very, very strong position.

We saw really good pace from Ferrari in Malaysia. Is this pace for real and continue to take the fight to Mercedes?

SV: I think it was for real two weeks ago. I don’t think Mercedes backed off and everyone else. It was obviously nice for us to see that we were so competitive but I think there were also a couple of circumstances coming together but most important we managed to capitalise and get a very good result and win the race. But for here and for the next races, I think in general [at] the start of the season, things can be up and down. We want to make sure that there is quite a lot of up, not so many downs but it’s normal that some races you are more competitive than others, so I think, as I said, that we managed to do a very good job in Malaysia but for here and for the next races we have to be realistic about what we want to achieve.

Thank you very much. Moving on to you Felipe, Williams haven’t had the start to the year that they were hoping for. Have we seen the real pace of Williams this season or is there still a lot more to come? Can you claim you place back here in China?

Felipe MASSA: Well, I think we cannot complain about how we start the season. You always want to be on top, but we are third in the championship, so we scored some good points as well, even losing some good points in the first race from Valtteri who was not there racing. But even counting that, I think it was OK. So we cannot complain [about] where we are, we always want to have more, we always want to be better, to be more competitive, and also we saw that Ferrari was pretty good. I think it was the team that made the most steps forward compared to how we finished the last race. We need to work as hard as we can to fight with them and even trying to get closer or better compared to Mercedes as well. We’re working for that, we just need to keep pushing and knowing race by race where we are, but I think we cannot complain. We are not far away compared to where we finished [last season] so we are there in the fight.

The team admitted after Malaysia that there might be some operational procedures that need fine tuning, that there’s still room for improvement, and there are also some new upgrades to be shown or tested here in China. What are you hoping for this weekend?

FM: I think you always have some room for improvement. You always can improve and you always need to keep working to improve the car, that’s what we’re doing, but it’s also what the other teams are doing, to improve maybe the car, the procedures, the pit stops, the pace – everything is important for every race, Here we have some new parts but I think maybe other teams will have as well, so we need to wait and see. I hope we bring what expect to bring race by race, which is always what we are working for.

Marcus, coming to you: this year has been a step up for you coming from Caterham to Sauber. It’s been a quite promising start, pre-season testing, the first race, but Malaysia was a big learning process. Has the prospect of scoring points changed your approach going into racing?

Marcus ERICSSON: First of all, it’s a big step up, like you say, coming from Caterham into the Sauber team. We’ve been competitive from the start and Australia was great for us, with both cars in the points. Then I think Malaysia was a really good weekend. I was top 10 in every session and managed to get to Q3, so it was a really great weekend and then obviously I did my mistake in the race, which I had to pay a big price for but that’s something you learn from. I’m not the first one and I’m not the last one that makes a mistake in a race. But yeah, overall, I think the Malaysia weekend was very positive and we bring a lot of good stuff from that and we showed again that we can be competitive and we’re going to aim to continue that form in China and I think it’s realistic that we can do as well. I’m really looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.

The pecking order is beginning to take shape at the moment. Have you and Sauber set any targets for this year already?

ME: Not specific targets for championship position but I think for us it’s the target for every race weekend now to try and score points and like I said, it’s a realistic target with the pace we have at the moment. We need to try to score the points and also keep up with the development of the car. That’s the big aim for us for now.

Thanks. Moving on to you Nico. It’s been a difficult start to the season for you and also the team, with all the delays and pre-season testing. Force India seem to have slipped back in this pecking order we were talking about, so what are the challenges you are facing at the moment, especially now that the B-spec car has now been pushed back to Austria?

Nico HULKENBERG: Well, yeah, the challenge is to get a faster car, to find performance. Like you say, clearly we are not in the easiest situation and Malaysia has been particularly tough on us but I think everybody in the team is pushing really hard and there is hope. There is still room for improvement with this car before we get major upgrades, so we just keep our heads down, focus hard and try to get the most out of it.

We saw a lot of wheel-to-wheel racing in Malaysia. Do you think this something that can be repeated this weekend and which are the main challenges that everyone is going to face this weekend in terms of tyre deg or temperatures or reliability?

NH: Usually China is well know for front graining so we’ll have to wait and see if that happens again this year. But Malaysia, with those high temperatures tyre deg was high and whenever tyre deg is high you have a lot of wheel-to-wheel racing. I think it was quite entertaining from that point of view. I think it’s going to be a little bit more difficult here to overtake but we’ll see what happens.

Moving on to you Romain: 11^th in Malaysia. We saw very good qualifying pace but then Lotus seemed to struggle for pace during the race and we haven’t seen a clean race from a Lotus this year, so where does Lotus stand in the pecking order?

Romain GROSJEAN: Well, I do think our race pace is actually better than our qualifying pace. Of course, we didn’t show much in Australia and in Malaysia I think we had a good race. We didn’t finish where we were supposed to, we had a few issues with the car but generally I think we could have done better than we did and on paper everything is looking in that direction, so it’s very positive. We haven’t put everything together right now. I’m sure that we’ve learned a lot and from where we come back from last year it’s a massive step forward and I think we enjoy driving the car. There are updates coming and every time we put something on the car it works in a good direction so hopefully this weekend it’s going to be a bit better, an easier race and from there we can start scoring points.

I was going to ask you: there’s obviously a lot more to come from this car this this year that we haven’t seen yet but how much are you enjoying it this year compared to last year and what are the targets to be set?

RG: I’ll tell you one thing: if you could delete from the cloud of your life a year I would delete 2014. So let’s speak about 2013 and 2015. I have fun in the car, I do enjoying driving it, it works pretty well, you can set it up and I think all the credit goes to the engineers who have managed to listen to us and get in a good direction. After three laps in this car this year I was just happy that it goes right.

Q: Moving on to Jenson. It’s also been a difficult start to the season for McLaren-Honda, especially pre-season. A lot of work but massive steps taken between pre-season to Australia and then Australia to Malaysia. What is expected for this weekend? How big can the improvement be?

Jenson BUTTON: Hopefully very big! Yeah, it’s always tricky when you start off in the winter with not doing much mileage. I think for everyone it was a big surprise to see us finish in Melbourne. I think for the outside world, they probably didn’t think we made a big step from Melbourne to Malaysia but we did. It was very, very big. We weren’t able to finish the race but we got a lot of useful information, again for another big step forwards. We’ve got to see what we’ve got here. It’s a very long straight here, which makes it a little bit tricky but we’re all working very well together. I feel we still haven’t got the best out of what we have right now, so hopefully we can do that this weekend – and there’s a lot in the pipeline for the future. A lot of people have asked me how I’m so positive and how the team are so positive and upbeat, and it is because we see a great future. It’s just a lot of hard work now improving before we can get there.

Q: There’s two world champions in the team and a lot going on behind the scenes: a lot of work, a lot of hours but there’s also a very interesting competition between both team-mates. You seemed to have the upper hand in Malaysia. Did you enjoy that?

JB: I don’t really think that was the case but when you’re fighting at the front or fighting at the back I think that’s when you more concentrate on your performance against the guy that’s in the same car. When you’re fighting in the pack it’s obviously very different. For us two to be competitive, like any team-mates in Formula One, it’s important for us to improve and to make big strides forwards. It’s great having such an experienced driver in the other car. Hopefully that’s going to help us, first of all get into the points and then hopefully challenge for something better in the future.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian, a couple of questions. Do you expect only the confirmation of the potential of the car here or also a step forward? Second question, are you going to invite Nico, Lewis to the Ferrari debriefing tomorrow?

SV: No, I think we rather stay amongst ourselves. Then, I think in general we had two races, usually you need a couple of races to really understand where you are. I think we have a decent understanding but the target is to confirm the fact that we were very close to the top cars in Australia and fighting with Williams for the podium. Obviously in Sepang two weeks ago we were very, very close, and close enough to win, so that was a great success – but, as I said, in general I think we want to establish as probably the team right behind Mercedes. That means that we stay ahead of strong teams like Williams, Red Bull, and not just for one or two races but ideally for the whole season. Once we’ve confirmed that, then the target is to ensure that the gap gets closer and closer with Mercedes.

No invitation. No.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid-Day) Question to Sebastian. This is a two-part question. I’m sure you’re aware that you’re just one win short now of Ayrton Senna’s mark of 41. Is that something you think about heading into this weekend? And, as someone who’s very interested in the history of the sport, could you describe your emotions that you’re just one win shy of that mark? Second part, you and Lewis could both surpass that mark potentially this season – so do you think that number, the 41 is more attainable in modern-day Formula One, and if so, why do you think that is? Thank you.

SV: First of all, I wasn’t aware, to be honest. I know Michael’s number but that’s just ridiculous, if you look at numbers. I think it’s very special. Obviously it took me a long while to get the number forty done. I hope the next one is not that far away but, yeah, I think it would certainly mean a lot for any driver. That’s why I think statistics in this regard are quite nice. Once you are on the track it doesn’t really matter so much. The second part of your question, I think nowadays it’s probably not entirely fair to the guys in the past simply because we have more races. So, we were supposed to have 20 races but we have 19 this year, and in the past, if you really go back many years they only had ten races and then 13, 14, 15. Only in the last, probably ten years, it ramped up to 20 races a season – which obviously increases your chances of winning more races.

Q: (Weian Mao – Titan Media) Question to Felipe and Jenson. You have been racing here in Shanghai since the very first one in 2004. What’s the most impressive thing for you, on track or in the city? And Seb and other drivers, if you would like to share your past memories of Shanghai.

FM: Well, I think it’s a nice track. It’s a track that has a lot of high-speed corners, quite difficult for the front tyres, front-left. Very long straights, see some overtakings, is a nice place to be, so it for sure, since I came here for the first time – it was 2004 – to now, you see how much this place develops. Amazing. I remember on the first year, I was taking maybe two hours in the traffic from the city to the track, and now it’s much better. You see how much this country develops, and you see how nice it is here, the people. It’s nice, I really enjoy a lot to come here in China – and is also a nice track. Maybe we just need a little more people to watch the race, because here… I don’t know if it’s too expensive or what, but people, they’re always in the hotel waiting for you, a lot of fans but maybe they are not here on the track, so we need to push on that.

JB: I agree with Felipe. This place has changed a lot since we came here in 2004. I think the circuit is a fun circuit to drive. I also think that the last couple of years we’ve had more people at the race, more supporters. Obviously the first year there was quite a lot because it’s new and it’s exciting but I would say the last couple of years it’s been pretty good. It’s still looks like we need more advertising in the city because, when you’re in the city you don’t know there’s a grand prix going on apart from the fans outside the hotel – but it’s great to see how passionate they are about the sport. And it’s men and women as well, which is good. Hopefully it can just keep growing – like China’s economy has.

Sebastian, your best memories.

SV: It’s quite funny. In 2007 I had a very good race here, finishing in the points for the first time with Toro Rosso. Finishing fourth. Before the race it was dry and I was speaking to Jenson on the drivers parade and Jenson’s car was not very competitive that year, not at all, so he wasn’t very keen to race in the dry, let’s say, and he was praying for some rain – otherwise he was looking forward to the party, he said, on Sunday night. But then the rain came and I think for both of us it was a great race. He finished fifth, I finished fourth and we both started P18 and P20, something like that. Definitely good memories. Also the win in 2009, the first win with Red Bull. Obviously quite a special place.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To you all: you were talking about how the fans are passionate here and that means you are met at the airport and you get loads of presents from the fans. What was the most interesting, strange or different present you’ve ever got from a fan here in China?

JB: I don’t know about strange and interesting. The little badges are pretty cool. Have you seen the badges? They put like bear faces with… it’s panda (faces). That’s pretty cool. Apart from that it’s traditional things like chopsticks and fans and what have you. It’s great, I love coming here, lots of goodies to take back home.

SV: I had a panda experience as well but it was a stuffed panda, not a real one, obviously. But it was too big to take it home so I had to leave it in China I’m afraid. That was some years ago. It’s nice when you get something small to take along but that was too big, I struggled.

JB: That poor, devastated person that gave you the panda, eh?

SV: But I’m honest. At that time I couldn’t afford an extra seat to pay in the plane, so I couldn’t take the panda with me.

FM: Well, I had a panda as well. I always have a lot of books and on every page they put pictures of all the fans, like a big book and it’s fantastic. So it’s really nice to put in the… I also have a museum where they can put everything, even some gifts and everything from the fans which is nice. I always receive a lot of things for my son as well, gifts and sweets and everything. They are really amazing.

NH: No panda for me, no. It’s pretty much like the other boys say, local stuff, a lot of sweets, books, Lonely Planet so I can find my way around Shanghai, stuff like that.

RG: I’ve received a very nice box of macaroons when I arrived at the airport. After a long flight that was pretty nice.

ME: No panda experience for me so far but I’ve had some candy and stuff like that, local stuff.

Q: (Gergely Denes – GP Live) Sebastian, can you give us a bit of an insight about the celebration at Maranello after the win? If I’m correct, you mentioned some rituals after a win. Can you give us just a little bit of insight about that process at Maranello?

SV: Well, I was there anyway to do some work. It was planned to come on the Wednesday to be in the simulator but obviously it was also quite nice to receive a bit of a welcome after the win. All the factory got together for a quick lunch which was quite nice, to have all the people in one room – it was a big room – all together and able to celebrate a little bit. Also I learned that when you win with Ferrari, they put a Ferrari flag right at the entry gates. Obviously the last couple of years… it has been a long time since there has been a flag. I think some ten years ago there were a lot of flags, especially at the end of the season, so this flag will stay for the rest of the year. We will of course try to maybe put another one sometime soon, but it’s tough right now.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) Romain and then to Nico, there was some discussion among the fans and journalists about the incidents each of you had in Malaysia. I want to hear your views on that. Was the punishment a correct call or was it a racing incident in your opinion?

RG: Well, I think, to be fair, it wasn’t really… with Sergio. During the race, it was a good move on the outside of the high speed corner. He took a risk and he came out of the way… ended up. Sergio came to see me and just apologised. He had no more tyres at that point of the race and he just went a bit wide. I think that was… Yeah, he got a penalty. He didn’t bring back by flat tyres of my spin the time lost but I think you just need to be careful in the high speed corners, not to get wheels in between other wheels.

NH: Yeah, also I spoke to Dany after the race and he just didn’t expect me to dive back in and he didn’t see me as well. I still tried to pull out of it but it was too late so we touched. The penalty was maybe a bit harsh but it’s history now and we will move on.

Q: (Gary Chappell – Daily Express) Sebastian, according to Bernie Ecclestone, you weren’t a very good World Champion, you didn’t represent the sport very well, at least, not as good as Lewis Hamilton. How hurtful are those comments and what’s your opinion of them?

SV: Well, I think he’s free to say what he wants so it’s fine. For me, I’m very happy with what I have achieved so far and looking forward to what might be coming and that’s it.

JB: Maybe it’s because you’re not on Twitter.

SV: Yeah, is Bernie on Twitter then? I don’t know.

JB: I didn’t think he was into that social media stuff.

SV: Wonder how he knows, then?

April 9, 2015
F1 2015: Malaysia GP Preview – Sepang First True Test

The first race of the season around Australia’s Albert Park circuit is a highly anticipated one. It’s the keenness to kick off a new F1 season which gives the streets of Melbourne that distinctive feeling of excitement. Its twenty-five points awarded to the winner are no less important than some of the more iconic races on the calendar but it can often disguise the teams’ true form and potential.

The second round of the season, around Malaysia’s Sepang International circuit, will highlight those who have taken a genuine step forward. Equally, the dazzlingly high-speed corners and tantalising long straights of Sepang is also going to emphasize any shortcomings a car might have.

Not much has changed at the sharp-end of the grid which Mercedes still, comfortably, dominate. But behind the silver arrows’ Williams and Ferrari appear to have traded places in the competitive order. Much of the Ferrari turnaround is down to the notorious power unit. Not long ago the Ferrari power unit more closely resembled a slow trotting donkey than its famed emblem of the prancing horse. But the Maranello team has produced a unit worthy of its heritage with a rumoured initial 80 horsepower gain since last year. It even has Williams raising a few eyebrows and admitting that the Ferrari unit may be “a bit quicker” than their Mercedes. This has made such a big change at Ferrari that it’s even spurred to normally tacit Kimi Raikkonen into a notably bullish state. “I believe in the race, we are not far from Mercedes. I’m sure we can be up there and fight at the front,” said Raikkonen.

At this stage no there has been no news on Valtteri Bottas’ readiness after suffering a partial muscle tear in the Oz quali session. If Bottas is not Finn he will undoubtedly be missed by Williams who will likely find themselves in a spicy fight for the podium with Ferrari. The lofty predictions for an all-out fight could not happen thanks to the temperamental weather system in the area.

Of the things that will happen this weekend Red Bull whinging and finding fault with Renault is a given. If their problems were evident Down Under then they will be glaring in Malaysia because Sepang is a power hungry circuit and Red Bull has nothing to feed it. So unhappy is Red Bull with the competitive order that Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has threatened that Red Bull will quit the sport because of its current regulations. Team boss Christian Horner suggests that the FIA should look into an equalising engine performance to close up the field. It’s quite ironic, and perhaps even a bit hypocritical, given Red Bull plethora of victories during Vettel’s four consecutive championship seasons.

Let’s be clear Red Bull may have won four consecutive drivers and constructors championships but it doesn’t have the legacy of a Ferrari or Williams or McLaren so its threat to quit the sport doesn’t elicit the same fear. In the meantime, they’ll do their PR image a huge favour by taking it on the chin and focusing on the track. The form suggest that their fight will be for the lower points paying positions with Lotus and Toro Rosso and perhaps on a good day they may even challenge for a top five place.

Malaysia will provide a more realistic pecking order which will unquestionably be headed by Mercedes. It is ridiculous to suggest that the mighty Silver Arrows will face any form of pressure but it will be fascinating to see Sepang reveal Ferrari’s true progress.

March 25, 2015
F1 2015: Australian GP Review – Mercedes Canter to Oz Victory

If winter testing was anything to go by, then few would’ve expected the surprising war of attrition in the first round of the 2015 Formula 1 season.

Even before the Australian GP got underway three drivers failed to make it to the grid.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was deemed unfit to race by the FIA medical delegate after the Finn suffered a slight muscle tear in his lower back.

In the event that Bottas will not be able to participate at the Malaysian grand prix the team will have to employ a reserve driver for the task. Susie Wolff has been ruled out of the equation as she only fulfils the role of test and development driver. Red Bull’s Danill Kvyat ground to a halt on the way to his grid slot with a suspected gearbox issue.

The Saturday Australian GP qualifying session was far from decent for the McLaren team whose cars were the slowest qualifiers on the day. If it didn’t seem possible to get any worse Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren Honda made it all of a couple hundred meters out of the pitlane before expiring as huge plumes of smoke poured from the back before the race.

The first corner was no less dramatic as Pastor Maldonado ended up in the turn two barriers with significant damage. A handful of minutes later the sister Lotus of Romain Grosjean pulled in to the garage with a loss of power. Grosjean was still quite chipper despite the double retirement and it has a lot to do with the car that Lotus has built for 2015. The long faces and awkward shoulder shrugs of 2014 are long gone for a team who truly have made a significant step forward. The first round of the season is always a tricky one, as RoGro rightly pointed out. It’s unfortunate that the Lotus’ weren’t able to showcase their progress but there is no doubt that will be right in the thick of the mid-team battle.

The rookies weren’t too shabby either. Yes, only eleven cars made it to the chequered flag but managing an F1 car in today’s technological era is a rather complicated assignment. To do that while defending, or in some cases attacking, drivers far more experienced and still keeping it on the road is a job well done. Max Verstappen was set to become the youngest ever points scorer only to be felled by a mechanical issue. Team mate Carlos Sainz Jr gave Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen a bit of a punt at the first corner but apart from that lapse he was solid and brought the Toro Rosso home in ninth.

In their decades long presence it’s safe to say that the Sauber team experienced one of the most challenging weeks in their existence. A menacing battle in the Victoria State court hung over the team for the majority of the Australian GP weekend as Giedo van der Garde staked his rightful claim on a race seat. Somehow, the team and van der Garde reached a sort of understanding and the focus was transferred back to the track. Rookie driver Felipe Nasr shone on his debut with a faultless drive into fifth place while team mate Marcus Ericsson pulled off a few tasty overtakes to finish in eighth. This result deserves a bit of recognition if you consider that Sauber was unable to score a single point in the entire 2014 season.

If you were watching a television broadcast of the Australian GP you wouldn’t have seen much of the Mercedes duo but don’t be disappointed because neither did the rest of the field. Hardly bothered Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg strolled towards the chequered flag for yet another dominant one-two victory. Hamilton’s race was dotted with a few trivial threats from Rosberg on occasion but the German never got close enough to really make the reigning champion bat an eye. It is early days yet in the Hamilton/Rosberg battle but it was a decidedly effortless drive from Hamilton who simply managed the 58 laps towards inevitable victory.

Half a minute behind, or eons as it’s known in F1 terms, Sebastian Vettel held off Williams’ Felipe Massa in his scarlet Ferrari to finish third in his first race for the prancing horse. Throughout the weekend Vettel’s absolute delight at being a Ferrari driver was almost palpable. The way he got down to business and the general joviality from the German is especially obvious.

Alas, a combination of issues ensured that Kimi Raikkonen’s Australian GP race did not go according to plan. The hit from Sainz into turn one sent the car into anti-stall dropping the Finn down the field and later on a slow first pitstop lost the former champion roughly fifteen seconds. Raikkonen was making his way back through the field, at quite a clip, only to be forced into retirement with a loose left-rear wheel following his second stop.

It was a disappointing turn for the team who has now confirmed their resurgence. Even though the Albert Park circuit is unique from the rest of the tracks on the calendar the Ferrari is a quick car. It isn’t Mercedes quick, nothing is, but the team will be buoyed by the pace that both drivers were able to turn. No one was sure whether the dramatic overhaul of the team was going to make a positive difference. It hasn’t just made a difference, this team seems completely transformed. There is real sense of optimism and dare I say even happiness from the Ferrari garage.

The days of championship glory seem inordinately far removed from the 2015 McLaren team. Where previously nothing less than victory would have sufficed, now they see getting to the end of the race as “a massive step forward”. Jenson Button finished eleventh but that is stone dead last and even if tyre performance is taken into account he was still four seconds off the pace in qualifying. If there is a shred of a positive to the weekend for McLaren it’s the fact that they have gained valuable information about the car’s performance.

Even more surprising than McLaren’s Honda woes is Red Bull’s downturn in form and Adrian Newey is placing the blame squarely on Renault’s shoulders. “We’ve got an engine which is quite a long way behind with no obvious light at the end of the tunnel with all sorts of failings,” said Newey. Daniel Ricciardo is already using the second of his four allotted power units and complained throughout the Australian GP weekend of bad driveability. “In terms of pace we’re not one second off, it’s more 2s, 2.5s off,” said Ricciardo.

Throughout the past twelve months team principal Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey have vilified Renault. To question the manufacturer’s commitment and to call its power unit rubbish every chance you get doesn’t seem like the way to encourage a good working relationship.

Realistically speaking Red Bull were roughly two tenths a lap faster than Toro Rosso in Australia who share the same power unit. Whereas Mercedes were 1.4 seconds a lap quicker than Williams who also run a Mercedes engine. For that reason it couldn’t be all evil Renault’s fault but they are a convenient scapegoat.

March 15, 2015
Hamilton Fastest For Mercedes on Penultimate Day of Barcelona Test

Lewis Hamilton made it two for two for Mercedes on the penultimate day of the Barcelona pre-season test.

Hamilton set his fastest time of 1:23.022 for the day on Pirelli’s yellow soft compound tyre in the afternoon session after spending most of the afternoon in the garage. Felipe Massa in the Williams was second fastest on the day with a 1:23.262, 0.240s slower than Hamilton. Massa completed his lap on the super softs compared to Hamilton on the soft. This is quite an incredible show of pace from Mercedes although we are not sure if Massa was pushing to the absolute limit.

Long runs and a race simulation was the order of the day at Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen finished the day 3rd fastest 0.254s slower than Hamilton. Raikkonen completed his fastest lap on the super softs in what looks like a qualifying type simulation.

Carlos Sainz Jr. and Romain Grosjean finished 4th and 5th fastest respectively both with lap counts over 100 laps. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber ended his day 6th fastest with 123 laps to his name.

Nico Hulkenberg completed a solid day for Force India. This was the first full day of running after launching the VJM08 yesterday afternoon. Hulkenberg finished 7th fastest but completed a 158 laps on the day. “It was a very positive day in terms of reliability and getting a lot of mileage under our belts,” commented Hulkenberg. “It was our first full day of testing so our main focus remained on getting to know the car, the way we set it up and its characteristics.”

After a good day of running yesterday, it seemed to go the other way for McLaren on Saturday. Kevin Magnussen, filling in for Fernando Alonso, only completed 39 laps for the day and was forced to end the day almost three hours early due to on oil leak.

Daniel Ricciardo completed his day 9th fastest with 128 laps on the board. Red Bull focused on long run pace and race simulations after fitting new parts on the car. Daniel Ricciardo was happy with the updates and he feels the team have addressed their weaknesses from last year.

“It looks more promising,” he said. “I don’t think we have shown our true pace on low fuel yet. “High fuel stuff seems like we are a bit happier than where we feel like we should be.”

“We will see in Melbourne when everyone is on the right fuel loads but I think we do look more competitive on high fuel for now.”

Below is the unofficial time sheet for Day 3 of the final pre-season test

February 28, 2015