Tag: mark webber

Belgium GP: Post Qualifying Report – Hamilton times it to a tee

The notorious Spa weather had a definitive say in today’s qualifying sessions as Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position in the dying seconds of the session.

The fickle weather dampened the 7 km long circuit enough to prompt the fitting of intermediate tyres all twenty-two cars. It was the opportunists who would cash into the difficult conditions and on this occasion both Caterham and Marussia happily took the gamble to run the medium compound slick tyres towards the end of the first twenty minute session.

As the circuit dried considerably so the laptimes tumbled. The Williams duo who had found themselves heading the timing sheets ultimately ended up outside the top sixteen. Giedo van der Garde for Caterham and Marussia Chilton and Bianchi all advanced the second part of qualifying thanks to some quick thinking tactics.

The second session was run in completely dry conditions and it was Kimi Raikkonen who a set a low 1 minute 48 to end the session quickest of all. While Jenson Button stuck his McLaren into 5^th place on the sheets teammate Perez failed to advance.

The dry running would be confined to the second part of qualifying as the light rain marked the start of the top ten shootout. As the field rushed out of the pitlane on white-walled medium tyres only Paul di Resta opted to remain in his garage. The Force India emerged shortly afterwards on intermediate tyres. It appeared to be a stroke of tactical genius by the Force India team as the other nine cars on circuit all returned to the pitlane for inters.

Di Resta was left with a clear track and what appeared to be the best track conditions as the rain intensified and circuit became a slippery thrill ride. For the majority of the session it looked as if the Scotsman was on course for his first pole position. Nevertheless, there would be a late twist in the tail. The rain had ceased and conditions had hugely improved towards the end of the ten minutes.

As several drivers snatched the top spot it was Lewis Hamilton who timed it to perfection. The Brit was the last driver to cross the line – therefore setting his lap at the time the circuit was at its best.

Hamilton snatched the pole position by two tenths of a second from championship leader Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber lines up third ahead of the sister Mercedes of Nico Rosberg in fifth. Paul di Resta ended up with fifth place ahead of Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa rounds out the top ten.

August 24, 2013
2013 Belgian Grand Prix: Free Practice 2 Report

Free Practice 2 for the Belgian Grand Prix was dominated by Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel setting the quickest time of the session followed very closely by his team mate, Mark Webber.

Vettel set a P1 time of 1:49.331, just 0.059s ahead of Mark Webber in the other Red Bull, who set a time of 1:49.390. The session was not without incident though. Vettel suffered a rear right puncture with 30mins left in the session. Eyebrows will be raised at this incident since Pirelli changed the construction of the tyres. Thankfully the entire construction stayed intact and did not explode in the same way as the tyre failures as the British Grand Prix.

Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde had a moment out of T15. He lost the back of the car and spun out into the tyre barrier. Interestingly enough, it looks as though he’s incident was in the same area where Vettel picked up his puncture.

The long run pace of Red Bull and Lotus is looking very strong. With some teams that will opt for a 1-stop strategy, it could make things very interesting come race day.

Included below is the timing sheet for FP2 for the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix

August 23, 2013
F1 2013 Mid Season Review

Starting with a hazardous Australian Grand Prix with ever changing weather conditions to a controlled race in Hungary we’ve had everything from tyre explosions to loose wheels, pitlane accidents, cars on fire and controversy galore. The 2013 F1 season has been a thrilling, wild ride for teams, drivers and fans alike.

With ten races behind us, it’s time to look at the season so far and how things have been shaping up.

Here is our F1 2013 Mid Season Review ahead of what is set to be an tumultuous second half of the season.

Red Bull Racing – 277 points

Sebastian Vettel – 172 points, Mark Webber – 105 points

Red Bull is still the team to beat and are the only team to really maximise their results every race so far this season. Leading the championship with 60 points over Mercedes in second place, it’s bound to be business as usual for the team following the break. Sebastian Vettel is sitting pretty in the drivers’ championship too – 38 points ahead of his nearest rival, Kimi Raikkonen in second place.

Vettel has raced all out so far this season – even defying team orders to score an extra 6 points – and remains on track for his 4th world championship.

Red Bull have an incredibly quick car – perhaps the quickest on the grid – and have remained incredibly consistent but have suffered like the other teams with tyre degradation issues and saw Vettel retiring from the British Grand Prix with mechanical failures. Vettel however will be very hard to beat going forward and his rivals know it.

Mark Webber, who announced that he will be leaving F1 at the end of the season, has had a more inconsistent – and really unlucky – season. Webber has had no wins yet this season but you can be sure that he’ll be looking to add to his nine career wins before he bows out of F1. His frustration became very clear in Malaysia when Vettel defied team orders to pass Webber for what would have been his only win this season.

Mercedes – 208 points

Lewis Hamilton – 124 points, Nico Rosberg – 84 points

With Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff assuming high profile positions and Lewis Hamilton joining the Brackley based team, all eyes were on Mercedes even before the season got underway.

Nobody expected Hamilton to be challenging for race wins in his first season at Mercedes, but he was on the podium within two races and took his first race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Team mate Nico Rosberg has already recorded two race wins so far this season and continues to impress.

Mercedes has made quite a turn-around this season and their prospects are not looking bad at all. With a 69 point deficit to championship leaders Red Bull, it seems unlikely that they will challenge for the championship though.

Ferrari – 194 points

Fernando Alonso – 133 points, Felipe Massa – 61 points

A mid season review of the Ferrari team’s performance so far this year, seems all too familiar. Ferrari started off really well with both drivers having a really good start to their season.

Alonso banked a solid second place at the first race in Australia, and Massa also started off well – regularly out-qualifying his team mate and recording point finishes.

But things have been on a downward spiral after Alonso’s wins in Spain and China. In contrast to the 2012 season when Alonso had a 40 point lead at the summer break, the team has lost their second place in the championship and qualifying seems to be a big problem for the team. Massa was struck by a number of crashes and race retirements pushing him far behind his team mate as far the driver standings go.

They’ve just not kept up with the pace of development at Red Bull. Alonso has slipped back into third place in the championship – but it would be silly to discount the Spaniard just yet – his entire championship lead was wiped clean by Vettel in the second half of the 2012 season so that should be a clear indication of how quickly things can change.

Lotus – 183 points

Kimi Raikkonen – 134 points, Romain Grosjean – 49 points

The Lotus F1 Team started the 2013 season on a high, with a win for Kimi Raikkonen at the Australian Grand Prix. But that early strong form has not led to further victories for Raikkonen or the team, with the Finn collecting five second-place finishes and teammate Romain Grosjean – the former ‘first lap nutcase’ added two third-places to his name.

Lotus have been in the midst of the battle at every race. Their constant evolution and the way the tyres work for them has made this team a contender for the podium every race weekend. But their downfall is Saturday qualifying – the E21 has simply not had the outright pace in qualifying to make Sundays a little easier for the team.

Raikkonen has moved up to second place in the championship, one point ahead of Alonso, but if he hopes to catch Vettel they’re going to need to start winning races and with technical director James Allison leaving for Ferrari, it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to keep up the development pace that will be required to catch the Red Bull.

Force India – 59 points

Paul di Resta – 36 points, Adrian Sutil – 23 points

For the purposes of a mid season review it can be said that Force India have had a pretty impressive season in general – especially in the earlier part of the calendar. Their car has far outshone the team’s resources and their drivers have both delivered on track, scoring points and making Force India’s mark as the strongest of the mid-field teams.

Adrian Sutil, who recently celebrated his 100th race, has driven really well especially in Monaco when he fearlessly overtook his rivals on the narrow street circuit. But unfortunately, like his team mate Paul Di Resta, the pace has just not lasted and they’ve both been rather lack-lustre of late. The final two races before the mid season break were their worst of the year so far and the tyre change in Budapest seemed to affect them particularly negatively.

Both drivers have worked really hard though and this has culminated in the team now ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ championship. The Woking-based team is breathing down their necks though and they’ll have to pull up their socks in the remainder of the season if they hope to hold onto 5th place in the championship.

McLaren – 57 points

Jenson Button – 39 points, Sergio Perez – 18 points

The fact that McLaren is being discussed this far down in the mid season review should be a clear indication of the difficult, disappointing season the Woking-based team have had. McLaren are used to being in the heat of the battle for the championship but are currently on 6th in the standings, behind Force India. The dramatic slump in their form will certainly be a surprise to most.

Their drivers both try really hard – sometimes a little too hard as is often the case with Sergio Perez, but their car can’t keep up and they’re left fighting the mid-field.

Jenson Button’s strategy calls have been his only saving grace – in the last four races he was able to challenge for 5th and 6th places but this is obviously not where the team are used to being.

McLaren has said that they are no longer developing their 2013 car and are now working on their 2014 car instead, so don’t expect too much from them in the second half of the season. Jenson Button however has said he is very positive going into the Belgian Grand Prix and has predicted a podium at Spa. Let’s wait and see how that pans out.

Toro Rosso – 24 points

Daniel Ricciardo – 11 points, Jean-Eric Vergne – 13 points

Toro Rosso may not be fighting for titles and race wins but they have shown some significant progress during the season so far.

Daniel Ricciardo, who is still first in line for Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat, has put in some very strong qualifying performances.

Team mate Jean-Eric Vergne has brought home some very impressive race drives. With Vergne out of the running for the Red Bull seat, one can only hope that the Frenchman will still come out fighting for the rest of the season as the battle of the team mates has been the most interesting thing to watch within the Toro Rosso team.

It is unsure how long Toro Rosso will continue development on their current car, given the mammoth task of developing the much-changed 2014 cars that lies ahead.

Sauber – 7 points

Nico Hulkenberg – 7 points, Esteban Gutierrez – 0 points

Sauber has had a really challenging season so far and the mid season review of their performance leaves a disappointed taste in the mouth. Everyone had great hopes for Sauber – their car was the star of the 2013 car launches, but things have just not materialised for the team.

I guess a lot can be blamed on their budget and financial troubles but from the very beginning Sauber were on the back foot with a car that has struggled from the word go, and two brand new drivers in the team.

Nico Hulkenberg has done his best with the car he’s been given and has managed to secure 7 points for the team. His team mate Esteban Gutierrez has not done too badly for a rookie but has failed to bring home any points.

Sauber have closed a deal with Russian investors to help save the team, so let’s hope that pans out well for them or we may never see a C-33.

Williams – 1 point

Pastor Maldonado – 1 point, Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

At the back of the grid it’s been a very disappointing season for the Williams team. After winning a race last year in the FW34 we all expected much more from the FW35 but alas. They only scored their first point for the entire season at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

The car lacks downforce and both Pastor Maldonado and team mate Valtteri Bottas have found the car difficult to drive, resulting in the team doing a mid season review of their own and overhauling their technical team. Most notably, technical director Mike Coughlan has left the team and been replaced by former Renault and Marussia man, Pat Symonds. He is bound to make a huge difference to the team but I’m afraid it’s a little too late to expect it to make a difference for the 2013 season though so let’s hope they’re already working on next year’s car.

Marussia – 0 points

Jules Bianchi – 0 points, Max Chilton – 0 points)

Marussia continues their battle for tenth place in the championship with the Caterham team. They started the season very impressively and after the Australian Grand Prix you would have been forgiven for thinking they may even be set to trouble the mid-field teams this season, but instead they’ve pretty much been racing the Caterham team all season.

They have gained a lot since last year though, especially in the form of rookie driver Jules Bianchi who has had some impressive performances.

His fellow rookie team mate Max Chilton has struggled a little to come to grips with driving an F1 car but the Marussia team have been impressed by his consistency and the feedback they get from him.

They’ve been dealt a pretty big blow with Pat Symonds leaving for Williams but for now, they still hold on to tenth place thanks to Bianchi’s 13th place finish in Malaysia.

We’re not expecting much in terms of development from the Marussia team for the rest of the season but for now, it seems they should be able to stay ahead of the green machines for the remainder of the season.

Caterham – 0 points

Charles Pic – 0 points, Giedo van der Garde – 0 points

Caterham’s season has been an uphill battle all the way. The team was targeting the mid-field but have just not managed to make any headway. It was only after Heikki Kovalainen was called in to advise the team that they started making some headway and finally in Bahrain – at the fourth race of the season – they managed to out qualify Marussia.

Slowly but surely their car has been improving and their upgrades have steadily resulted in progress. In Hungary they were able to easily out qualify both Marussia’s.

Both Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic have put in solid performances, doing they best they can with what they have so they’ll be hoping that they can take back tenth from Marussia before the end of the season.

And that’s a wrap on our mid season review of the 2013 Formula 1 season. The first half of the season has been a thrilling one but has been dominated by tyres. With that behind us, and teams now on revised Pirelli rubber, the second half of the season should see some real battles taking shape. As we head to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix you can bet that everyone will be bringing their A game.

What are you hoping for in the second half of the season? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Photo credits:

Photo of Bianchi’s car on fire – F1 Madness screen grab

Photo of Vettel gearbox failure – F1 Madness screen grab, Sky Sports HD

Lewis Hamilton after the Hungarian GP – Mercedes F1 Twitter Team

Massa and Alonso – Ferrari F1 Twitter team

Raikkonen – Lotus F1 Team

Adrian Sutil – Force India Twitter team

Jenson Button – Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull Twitter Team

Sauber launch – Sauber F1 Team

Pastor Maldonado – Williams F1 Twitter Team

Max Chilton – Marussia F1 Twitter team

Giedo van der Garde – MyCaterham Twitter team

August 19, 2013
Silly Season Update – Red Bull drops another hint?

Red Bull have said that there is no pressure for them to put one of it’s young drivers into their car for 2014.

Rumours have been rampant the past month on who will replace Australian Mark Webber. The confirmed potential drivers on the shortlist are Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. And as of the Hungarian grand prix race weekend Fernando Alonso also seems to be under consideration for the champion squad. However, it remains to be seen whether Alonso will be contractually available, whether Ferrari would let him go without too much of a fight and most importantly, whether or not the rumour is just a bit of political by-play from Alonso.

Even though the Toro Rosso team was set up with the aim of bringing young talent into the sport Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that Ricciardo will not be selected if it is not in the best interest of the team. “Of course we want the strongest drivers in the cars that you possibly can,” said Horner.

It makes sense to plan for the future with a younger driver. But what Horner is saying makes more sense. Formula 1 is about now and having the best driver line-up ensures at the very least a chance of fighting amongst the front-end.

Daniel Ricciardo proved his prowess at the three-day Silverstone test. However, being in the thick of things against a triple world champion teammate, with every miniscule move scrutinised by the world’s sporting media is whole different prospect. Does Ricciardo have the talent to perform in the Red Bull? Almost certainly. Can Ricciardo cope with the pressure of racing for Formula 1’s premier team? Big question mark. Chances are that he could handle it without any problems but the doubt is there.

Contrastingly, having a driver of Raikkonen or Alonso’s calibre in the team is a guarantee. A guarantee of speed, consistency and knowing how to handle the world’s media.

It will also be more beneficial for Sebastian Vettel to have either Raikkonen or Alonso as his teammate. Though Vettel is a triple world champion he has hardly ever been pushed by a teammate for an extended period of time. Some suggest that for Vettel to be truly regarded as one of the greats he needs to beat the best drivers on the grid. With all things being equal, armed with the same car, would he be able to do that against Raikkonen or Alonso? No matter the answer of this question pairing Vettel with either one of these two is going to be one hell of an explosive ride.

Photos by Red Bull Racing Twitter Team.

August 1, 2013
F1 2013: Hungarian GP Race Review – Miracle man Hamilton routs the pack

Ten races into the 2013 Formula 1 season Lewis Hamilton has claimed his first win of the year and the first for his Mercedes team at the Hungarian grand prix.

Red Bull and Mercedes found themselves locked in the battle for pole position on Saturday. 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position from Sebastian Vettel’s grasp by a mere 0.038s. It couldn’t get any closer and it couldn’t have been a more perfect lap for the Brit. Regarded as a qualifying ace, Hamilton has played second fiddle to teammate Rosberg but if the tables were going to turn Hungary is where it would happen. On three occasions Hamilton had won the Hungarian GP. However, all of these victories were behind the wheel of a McLaren. This weekend Hamilton mentioned those who thought he was daft to make the move to Mercedes. He regards his first victory for Mercedes as one the most special of his sparkling career and though he may not say it, he will be enormously satisfied to have proved the non-believers wrong.

While Hamilton had it mostly his own way for all of the seventy laps of the race the battle for the podium positions was anything but straightforward.

Sebastian Vettel barely maintained second place off the starting line before he had to defend against a feisty Romain Grosjean in a somewhat pacier Lotus in the early stages of the race. Despite Grosjean’s best efforts however the notoriously difficult overtaking conditions around the Hungaroring meant he stayed behind the Red Bull driver.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso made his customary lightening start but could only gain one position to run fourth at the end of the first lap. The afternoon wasn’t one to remember for the Marenello based team as Alonso lacked the pace to fight amongst the frontrunners for the entire race. “We didn’t have the pace. We were too slow with the soft. We were too slow on the medium. We just had no pace,” said a frustrated Alonso.

There is no doubt that as a true championship winning driver Fernando Alonso can be expected to be fighting for this world title until the last possible moment. Questions have always been about how a driver will acclimatise to team, how he will adapt to the DNA of a new car. In Alonso and Ferrari’s situation it’s the opposite. The question is can Ferrari deliver a car that is worthy of Alonso; and if not how much longer can Fernando Alonso be expected to remain loyal to the prancing horse? Ferrari and Fernando Alonso were also fined 15,000 Euro for illegally using DRS three times while not within the prescribed one second range of the car in front.

This particular Sunday was all about Lewis Hamilton. Doubts about how Mercedes would fare of the new Pirelli tyres were on the forefront of most people’s minds. In the post qualifying press conference, despite being on pole position, Lewis Hamilton said that it would take ‘a miracle’ for him to win the Hungarian grand prix. However, as the race progressed it was evident that Hamilton was not going to face the immense level of tyre degradation the team had suffered at previous race weekends. Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners to enter the pitlane as he swopped his softs for the medium compound tyres on lap nine.

As Vettel encountered a slower Jenson Button after his first pit stop Lewis Hamilton edged the gap out to nearly ten seconds over the Red Bull driver. By the halfway mark of the race it was evident, due to Hamilton’s pace that the three time former winner of the Hungarian GP was not going to be caught.

It set up a fight between the two Red Bull’s and the two-stopping Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn had pitted thirteen laps earlier than Vettel and should have been a sitting duck for Vettel and his fresh rubber. Raikkonen, not a pushover by any stretch of the imagination, held off the German for second place. Raikkonen completed the longest stint of laps on the medium compound – 33 laps in total.

Mark Webber put in a fighting drive to recover from tenth on the grid to fourth on Sunday. Fernando Alonso held off Romain Grosjean for fifth in a typically determined drive. Grosjean pulled off a tremendous move around the outside of turn four to overtake Felipe Massa but was later struck with a harsh drive-through penalty for leaving the circuit and gaining an advantage. It went from bad to worse for Grosjean as he was hit with a 20 second post race penalty for a causing a collision with Jenson Button. Nevertheless, Grosjean retains his sixth place finish.

Jenson Button and Felipe Massa finished seventh and eighth respectively while the sister McLaren of Sergio Perez was ninth. Nico Rosberg’s late retirement from the race, which appeared to be engine related, gave Pastor Maldonado tenth place overall and Williams their first point of the 2013 season.

Lewis Hamilton ended his victory drought in great style by taking a dominant fourth victory at the Hugaroring. A first win for Mercedes will undoubtedly by cherished but what was more impressive about Hamilton’s drive was the sheer determination and hunger that practically oozed from the former champ. An on song Lewis Hamilton is a formidable opponent and if Hungary is anything to go by he is far from letting go of this championship without a fight.

Photo credits:

Lewis Hamilton – Photo via Mercedes F1 Twitter Team

Grosjean vs Vettel – Screen grab by F1 Madness Team

Alonso – Screen grab by F1 Madness Team

Raikkonen – Lotus F1 Twitter Team

July 28, 2013
F1 2013 Hungarian GP – Qualifying Report

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton secured his thirtieth career pole position as he set the fastest time in qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix.

The biggest casualty of the first session of qualifying was Force India’s Paul di Resta. The Scot seemed struggled throughout the first part of qualifying and sounded perplexed on the radio to his team. Some suggest that the new kevlar belted tyre may not be as well suited to the characteristics of the Force India as was the old steel-belt construction. Di Resta will start in 18th position.

The second part of qualifying, always a bit more frantic, saw drivers leaving the pitlane on scrubbed sets of the softer tyres. Mark Webber’s pitwall informed the Australian that he had suffered a kers failure making the Red Bull driver’s afternoon all the more difficult. Nevertheless, Webber was able to advance to the final part of qualifying.

For the majority of the second part of qualifying Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg appeared to be on course for the top ten. However, the track evolution and several drivers opting for a new set of softs saw the Sauber driver relegated to 12th place. McLaren’s Jenson Button missed out on advancing but teammate Sergio Perez, recovering from a crash in the final practice session, managed to scrape through.

Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo delivered another impressive qualifying performance and will start from 8th on the grid.As Mark Webber departed the scene without taking to the track in the final session of qualifying it was teammate Vettel who carried Red Bull’s hopes. However, by 0.038s Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position from the German. Hamilton has won the Hungarian grand prix on three previous occasions and is the only driver in the last eight years to win the race from pole (2007, 2012).

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean underlined the pace shown in the morning practice session with a third place starting position for tomorrow’s race. Nico Rosberg will start fourth – some four tenths off teammate Hamilton.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso quietly qualified fifth ahead of Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen in sixth. Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez* and Mark Webber** round out the top ten, respectively.

* Sergio Perez has opted for an alternate strategy by setting his fastest lap on the medium compound tyres.

** Mark Webber did not complete a lap in the final part of qualifying; this allows him his choice of tyre on which to start tomorrow’s race.

July 27, 2013
F1 2013 Hungarian GP – Free Practice 2 Report

The second free practice session for Sunday’s Hungarian GP was headed by Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

An incident free second free practice session was run in scorching conditions around the Hungaroring this afternoon. The track temperature reached a high of 45 degrees celcius and the Red Bulls’ pace was just as hot.

Where Mercedes is expected to hold the advantage over a single flying lap teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg could not get closer than half a second to Sebastian Vettel’s fastest time of 1:21:264.

The long runs didn’t swing it anyone else’s favour either. Mark Webber looked to be the quicker of the two Red Bull drivers on the medium compound tyres as the Australian set several laps within a tenth of each other. The soft compound tyre looks in the region of a second a lap faster than the white-walled medium tyre but the degradation level revealed a life-span of roughly eigth to ten laps.

Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen was the only question mark with regards to his one lap pace as the Finn encountered traffic on both attempts of setting a flying lap. However, the Iceman did pop in a time quickest enough for eight after three flying laps while Grosjean set his fastest time on his second flying lap. An indication perhaps that the Lotus is looking after the softer compound a bit better than their competition.

Ferrari looked to be struggling on the softer of the two compounds with a drop off of about two seconds being the result for both Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

As the checquered flag fell at the end of the second free practice session it was Red Bull who looked to have the best package both in quali and race trim. It’s up to the rest of the pack to find something overnight.

July 26, 2013
2013 Hungarian Grand Prix: Free Practice 1 Report

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time for FP1 at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. He came out on track with 30 minutes left in the session and set a time of 1:22.723. Mark Webber in the other RB9 finished the session in P2 with a 1:22.982. Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished the session in P3 and P4 respectively, 0.3s off the pace of Vettel’s time.

There was a very brief point where McLaren’s Jenson Button was in P1, but his time of 1:23.370 earned him sixth fastest of the session. The good news is that they do seem quicker at the Hungaroring.

The full time sheet is included below:

July 26, 2013
F1 2013: Hungarian GP Preview – Qualifying king at the Hungaroring

After a three week gap the 2013 Formula 1 season restarts with the Hungarian grand prix.

In its own right the Hungarian GP has written its own part in Formula 1 history. The circuit has rewarded Damon Hill (1993), Fernando Alonso (2003) and very memorably Jenson Button (2006) with their first victories in Formula 1.

The first grand prix held at the Hungaroring was the first to be held behind the Iron Curtain. Formula 1 has been frequenting the Hungarian grand prix since 1986 and the Budapest located circuit is a guaranteed staple of a Formula 1 race calendar until 2016.

As a high downforce circuit the Hungaroring is famous for its tight and twisting nature. The dusty track surface confirms how little action the track sees which makes track evolution at the Hungaroring a crucial aspect for judging a qualifying effort. Throughout the 4.381 km lap the Hungaroring’s old-school layout is packed with fourteen corners.

The Hungaroring is technically demanding, bumpy and narrow, loved by drivers and adored by fans for its traditional atmosphere. The key to a good result here is a good grid slot. Having the fastest car will mean nothing if you’re stuck in the pack. In 1990 Thierry Boutsen in a sluggish Williams held off a much quicker Ayrton Senna to win the race. The chances of overtaking, even with DRS, are slim to none. No one knows the frustration of not being to overtake better than Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn has finished second at the Hungarian GP on four separate occasions.

The new tyres, tested during the three days of the young driver’s test at Silverstone last week, will be used this weekend in Hungary. The test was opened to current race drivers by the FIA to assist Pirelli. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg pointed out that testing the new tyres wasn’t a “day and night” difference and that running on the new compounds for the first time in Hungary “will be fine too.” The 2013 Pirelli P Zero tyres have been matched with 2012 construction to enhance consistency and improve safety.

Pirelli’s initial conservative choice of the medium and hard compounds would’ve hampered teams such as Lotus and Ferrari who thrive on getting the softer tyre to its working temperature quicker and stretching the life of the tyre. However, coupled with high temperature, forecast at mid-thirties, Pirelli’s reversion to the medium and soft compound will play to the strengths of the two teams.

McLaren have won eleven of the twenty-seven Hungarian grands prix but victory this weekend is unlikely to be a possibility for the Woking based team. Jenson Button believes that the team are moving the right direction. “A win in 2013 is going to be difficult, but I actually think the team is working very well right now: in Germany, our tyre-usage, strategy and management of the race was as good as it’s ever been.”

Sebastian Vettel was the quickest of the drivers at the three day young driver’s test at Silverstone last week. He will no doubt want to continue in the same vein this weekend. Red Bull has never been very prolific at the Hungaroring and of the two it is only Mark Webber who has won here before. Then again, a few weeks ago Vettel hadn’t won the German GP either.

Mercedes have proven their prowess in qualifying which makes the likelihood of the Silver Arrows locking out the front-row of the grid, or getting a car on pole very good. Given the lack of overtaking on the circuit they will have a prime opportunity to control the race and win it. However, the unknown for Mercedes this weekend will be their performance on the new Pirelli tyres.

Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari hasn’t looked anything special in qualifying trim but his lightening starts can potentially transform fifth on the grid to second – a vital part to a successful race. The key to this weekend is having a car that can cope with the twisting demands of the Hungaroring. But even more so, qualifying and making a good start to the race can be the difference between winning or not.

July 24, 2013
World Motor Sport Council confirms FIA’s F1 pit lane safety clampdown

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council have confirmed regulation changes for Formula One pit lanes, after the council voted in favour of the changes in order to increase safety in F1 pit lanes.

In response to an incident where FOM cameraman, Paul Allen, was hit by Mark Webber’s loose wheel, the FIA announced that it wanted to make immediate changes to the regulations and pit lane rules. These changes were set to only be made in 2014 but the WMSC has voted that the changes will be made with immediate effect.

Starting from the Hungarian Grand Prix, the pit lane speed limit will be reduced from 100 kph to 80 kph.

Furthermore, a rule has been introduced that stipulates that all F1 team members who work on a car during pit stops must now wear helmets.

This is stated in Article 23.11 of the revised F1 Sporting Regulations: “All team personnel carrying out any work on a car during a race pit stop must be wearing head protection.”

July 22, 2013