Tag: nico hulkenberg

Hamilton claims masterful Chinese Grand Prix pole

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Full timesheet for the Chinese Grand Prix qualifying:

April 19, 2014
F1 2014: Chinese GP Preview – Mercedes battle resumes in China

The Shanghai International Circuit is properly modern Formula 1 track – A gigantic complex of grandstands, large run-off areas and an intricate track layout incorporating long straights, high-speed corners and several chances for overtaking.

The Shanghai International circuit and paddock is an engineering feat which speaks to the country’s determination to be a part of the world’s most prestigious racing series. Thirteen months is all that was needed to convert the swampland to an internationally recognised racing mecca.

Since making its debut in 2004 the Chinese grand prix has seen its own share of Formula 1 drama. In 2005 Renault clinched the constructor’s championship title as Fernando Alonso headed towards his first driver’s crown; four years later a young Sebastian Vettel won his first Formula 1 race for Red Bull; and the most dramatic of the lot was the retirement of Lewis Hamilton during the 2007 race which ultimately handed the initiative to Kimi Raikkonen, the eventual champion that season.

The track layout is typical Herman Tilke, F1’s preferred track designer. Long straights and medium to high-speed corners are abundant, as is the amount of run-off. Overtaking won’t a scarcity this weekend as the Shanghai circuit boasts the longest straight on the Formula 1 calendar. The tight hairpin at the end of the straight will be the prime overtaking zone on Sunday however Shanghai provides several further chances. The intricate complex of turn one/two is a key positioner for an overtaking manoeuvre into turn six. The only defence will be to have a car with good traction out of the slow speed corners.

The weather for the Chinese GP tends to be fairly cool with a track temperature ranging from the high teens to early twenties. The lower temperature is good news for those teams who have been struggling with overheating power units. The likelihood of rain at some point of the weekend is a possibility; and given the performance deficit to the Mercedes team some may even be do a few rain dances themselves.

Unless, there has been a dramatic reversal of form and pace over the last fourteen days the fight to be best of the rest is the most that Red Bull, Williams, McLaren and Ferrari can hope for. Kimi Raikkonen has said that his Ferrari team is “not stupid” and that he believes the team has the ability to turn around their deficit to the frontrunners. The fighting words from Raikkonen will be appreciated by those slogging it out in Maranello. However, with the 2014 season already into its fourth race the question is how fast Ferrari can affect a turnaround in their performance.

In China the Ferrari engine will most likely still be lacking power in comparison to the Mercedes power unit. Nevertheless, the F14T fared fairly well in the high-speed corners of Malaysia’s Sepang circuit which is a feature of this 5.541 km track. However, Ferrari’s biggest change in China will be the absence of the recently “resigned” Stefano Domenicalli. This significant shake-up in the team may have been building for quite some time but is a rather messy situation to deal with in the thick of the season. The question remains if Ferrari’s latest change will the ‘upgrade’ they desperately need or if it is a sign of a much more complicated problem.

The Mercedes’ team domination may lead some to suggest that it’s all a bit predictable. But what they may not be factoring into the equation is the exhilarating clash between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Their breathless battle for victory in Bahrain ensured the highest viewership ratings since the 2012 finale and has been the talk of F1 pages throughout the globe. The prospect of these two re-igniting their spine-tingling duel for supremacy is enough to whet any fanatic’s appetite.

April 17, 2014
F1 2014: In Season Test,Bahrain – Rosberg Continues Mercedes Dominance

Mercedes driver Nico Roberg set the fastest time on the first day of testing in Bahrain.

In-season testing returned to Formula 1 in 2014 with two days of running at the Sakhir International Circuit. Six further days, or three additional tests, are scheduled throughout the rest of the season. All eleven teams were present during the first of day of testing which was headed by Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

The German driver completed a total 121 laps with a time of 1:35:697 nearly four tenths clear of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was third on the timing sheets but remained a second adrift of Rosberg’s Mercedes. However, the Spaniard believes that the Ferrari’s performance around the Bahrain track may be a once-off. “We are missing some of the characteristics that this track has so in China I expect [we will be] more competitive, Barcelona, Monaco, there are some circuits coming that we need to get some podiums at, hopefully,” said Alonso. “It’s not good. We would like to have extra speed and be able to battle with anyone but at the moment we miss on that aspect.”

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen finished fourth at the end of day one with a time of 1:36:634 and was the only other driver to complete more than 100 laps. The difficult start to the season continued for the Lotus team as new signing Pastor Maldonado completed only sixteen laps.

Lewis Hamilton will take over testing for the Mercedes team on day two.

April 9, 2014
F1 2014: Bahrain GP – Mighty Hamilton Victorious

It would be ridiculous to deem the impressive Mercedes team as anything but imperious in Formula 1 2014. Normally, domination by one team in a sport leads to a bit of monotony.   But the Mercedes pair ensured that the tenth anniversary of the Bahrain GP was one of the most exhilarating races in recent memory.

The Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton proved to be in a class of their own as they obliterated the field with searing pace. A front-row lock out of the grid pitted the two Silver Arrows against each other. As soon as the red lights extinguished Hamilton scythed into the lead and produced the most memorable victory on his career.

An astounding and unforgettable wheel-to-wheel battle ensued between the two for nearly all of the 57 laps. At times the Mercedes pitwall would’ve been watching the duel between its drivers from behind a pillow, praying that it wouldn’t end in a shower of carbon-fibre. It didn’t. Instead it gave rise to spectacle worthy of being called a definitive Formula 1 race; terrifyingly passionate and shockingly spectacular.

The rest of the field lapped some two second a lap slower but still managed to deliver an outstanding race. After a difficult year as a McLaren driver Sergio Perez joined the Force India with the hope of rebuilding his stock in Formula1. It has taken the Mexican only three races to show that he has something special to offer.

The Force India driver delivered a stellar drive to secure the final step on the podium. Perez outpaced his highly regarded teammate Nico Hulkenberg and resisted both Williams’ of Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas for the majority of the race. The job wasn’t done however as Daniel Ricciardo made a late charge for the podium. Checo, as he is known in the paddock, resisted an almighty onslaught from the Australian and crossed the line four tenths ahead of the Red Bull.

The second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg nearly fell victim to Sebastian Vettel but held off the German in the closing stages for a fifth place finish. Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas finished line astern in seventh and eighth. Given the dreadful 2013 season experienced this team the Bahrain result will be accepted with both hands. But before long Williams will have to find a way to unlock the potential which seems to be looming just out of reach.

In ninth and tenth Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen would have been relieved to finally see the chequered flag. A dismal showing by the Ferrari team did little to paint the Italian squad as potential championship contenders. Far from prancing horses Alonso and Raikkonen looked more like sitting ducks as several Mercedes powered cars breezed past the Scarlet cars with embarrassing ease.

Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado assured the deployment of a safety car by ploughing into the side of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez on exiting the pitlane. The Sauber driver was spectacularly flipped over but escaped without injury. Maldonado, known for his dicey reputation, was given a ten second stop/go penalty for causing a collision and will serve a five-place grid penalty for the Chinese GP.

Kudos to Mercedes for letting their drivers’ race each other to the final lap of the race. Lewis Hamilton had no right to win the 2014 Bahrain GP. He didn’t start from pole position, he was on the slower tyre in the final stint of the race and vulnerable in the DRS zone. But the way he barged Nico Rosberg out of the way to seize the lead of the race said a lot. It revealed a passion, skill and determination so staggering it is difficult to foresee it being matched.

AMG Petronas Mercedes F1 team images courtesy of Mercedes Benz

April 7, 2014
Mercedes dominate and Hamilton sets the pace in FP3

Mercedes continued to show their excellent form during the final practice session ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets a tenth of a second ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg, with Checo Perez in the third spot for Force India, a half-second country mile behind them.

Despite spending the first half of the session in the Williams garage, Valterri Bottas and Felipe Massa managed to secure the 4th and 5th spots for the Williams team, showing a good improvement in their performance.

Jenson Button managed 6th place for the McLaren team and Fernando Alonso secured 7th in the first non-Mercedes powered car, for Ferrari. The Ferrari drivers seemed to be struggling a great deal with rear grip around the track. While many drivers were caught out by the tail wind around T11, the Ferrari drivers seemed to be getting to know the outskirts a little too well around there.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Nico Hulkenberg for Force India, Toro Rosso’s Daniel Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen for McLaren.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel ended his session early – without the opportunity to head out on soft tyres, after spinning off at the exit of Turn 2 and stalling his car in the gravel trap.

Conditions during the third practice session were far from those we can expect during qualifying and the race tomorrow now that Bahrain has joined the elite night race hosts. Temperatures drop considerably in the evenings at the desert circuit so expect a few surprises from qualifying later this afternoon.

Who can catch the Mercedes drivers to steal the pole position for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix? Right now, it would seem absolutely nobody can!

Time sheets and full tyre info below. Please join us later on @F1_Madness for live commentary and chats during qualifying for the Bahrain GP.

FP3 Timesheet:

Tyre info:

April 5, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Jules BIANCHI (Marussia)

Jean-Eric VERGNE (Toro Rosso)

Marcus ERICSSON (Caterham)

Nico HULKENBERG (Force India)

Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)

Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Jenson, if we could start with you. Obviously you’ll reach 250 grand prix this weekend – congratulations on that. Later this year I guess you’ll become the third most experienced grand prix driver of all time. Maybe your thoughts on that what lessons you’ve learned along the way.

Jenson BUTTON: I’ve learned a lot along the way, as you can imagine, racing for 14 years in Formula One. The thing that surprises me is how quickly it goes by. Fifty races ago I was in Hungary, celebrating my 200^thgrand prix, which I won by the way! So, it’s amazing how time flies. You really do have to enjoy every moment of it as much as you can. For me, being 14 years in the sport, I still feel like I have more to learn. I’m definitely not the perfect driver yet, and I never will be, but there is always still more to learn. That’s something, for me, that’s exciting about the sport. New regulations obviously are changing the sport quite a lot, especially with these new regulations, and again, you always have more to learn. For me that’s what keeps the sport exciting and that’s what has kept me on my toes for the last 14 years and hopefully for many more.

Judging from the first two races and also from some of the messages from the team, it seems that McLaren is a bit better perhaps in the cooler conditions than it was in the heat of Malaysia. What are you expecting this weekend – we’re in a warm place but it’s a night race?

JB: Well, we have a good engine, which helps us here. There isn’t as much high speed as Malaysia and Malaysia was also hot. So hot and high-speed corners are tricky for us. It’s an area we know we’ve got to work on, high-speed downforce. So, here it should be quite a bit better. Fuel consumption is pretty tricky here though, I think for everyone, some more than others for some reason. There’s a lot of work needed before the race to get the right balance for a night race – our first night race here, which should be pretty interesting.

Coming to you Marcus. Obviously your first Formula One finish, in Malaysia – congratulations on 14^th place? Can you describe your feelings and the progress at Caterham?

Marcus ERICSSON: Yeah, it was a good feeling to finish my first F1 race. I think we have done good progress. It’s been a tough, a difficult year so far, with the problems we had in pre-season and then Australia was obviously a very difficult weekend for the whole team. But we’ve been working really hard and making progress all the time, which is the key for us. To have both cars finishing in Malaysia in our home race was a great effort from everyone. Hopefully now in Bahrain we can continue to work forward and first of all a trouble-free Friday, so we can start setting up the car and then see what we can get form the set-up.

I wonder if being a rookie in a year with such new and complex machinery proved harder or easier than you expected?

ME: It’s been quite hard because especially in pre-season there were quite a lot of issues. So it was difficult to get ready for it before you arrive in Australia, with very limited running. So I wouldn’t say it’s easier but it’s been alright.

Jules, coming to you, obviously a very frustrating first couple of grands prix for you in Australia and Malaysia, with very few race laps. But the car seems to have run OK the rest of the time. I wonder what your feelings are at this point?

Jules BIANCHI: Yeah, obviously the feeling is not the best. We are trying very hard to improve everything. For sure the car is running well at the moment. We had a small issue in Australia before the start but now it’s fine all that. Another issue on the first lap in Malaysia but actually we don’t have big problems on the car, so this is the positive thing and now we have to have everything going well for the next races.

As Jenson was saying it’s the first time we have a night race here in Bahrain. I wonder what your thoughts are on that and how it will add to the challenge of racing here?

JBi: Well, obviously the lights will be good, as it’s always good on night races in Formula One, so I don’t expect that to be a big challenger. But it will be good to have a night race in Bahrain. I think it will be a nice one for us.

Nico, obviously the last two grand prix, two fantastic battles with Fernando Alonso and Ferrari. Give us some insight into those two battles and what it’s been like from your cockpit.

Nico HULKENBERG: Well, I think Australia was not quite a battle. I was just driving in front of him and he overtook me by strategy. And in Malaysia there was not much I could offer in the end. I was struggling on my tyres; he was on a fresh set of softs. Still I was trying to make him work a little bit for the move. But it was always clear that he, coming two second a lap at me, that I don’t have to offer so much. But I think a really positive start to the season for us at Force India. Eighteen points for me already, which is good. I feel we have a good foundation but we need to keep pushing and I need to keep the momentum up because it’s a good opportunity to collect good points this early in the season.

This race last year was obviously one of the strongest for Force India last season. Is there much optimism within the team going into this weekend’s race?

NH: Absolutely. The whole team is very positive, everybody is working in the right direction. We had two strong races, we’re basically trying to keep the races and keep plugging away at good results. I think here this weekend here is a little trickier. In Malaysia, we had surprisingly good performance on Sunday maybe stronger than we expected. We were quite clear on McLaren and Williams, which was a little bit of a surprise, but I think here things might be a bit more tricky and a bit more tight.

Q: Jean-Eric, double points finish for Toro Rosso in Australia, Daniil Kvyat in the points in Malaysia; is it fair to say Toro Rosso has started this season on the front foot, feeling competitive?
Jean-Eric VERGNE: Yeah, I think Toro Rosso has done a massively good job during the winter and even before that, produced a good car and I believe there is still a lot more to come from this team. Many things have changed in a good way and you can definitely feel it inside the team and I’m really happy, they’ve showed some really good results. I think if I didn’t have a problem, I think we could have finished again in the points, a double points finish in Malaysia as well, and that’s what we’re going to try and do here in Bahrain. But overall, I think it’s a good start but the good thing is that I’m sure there is a lot more to come.

Q: Speaking of changes, can you talk a little about the changes that you’ve made, in that some of the people you’re working with, the way you’re going racing this year?

JEV: I’ve changed many things, I would say. I will not go into much detail but I needed to change my approach a little bit and I think the changes that I’ve made have been in the right direction. I feel better as a human being and as a racing driver as well, and enjoying more of what I do; I can see that already inside the team, outside the track and on the track. As for the team, I think I still have a lot more to give, so it’s all positive so far.

Q: Romain, obviously 11^th in Malaysia, close to the points but not quite there. It’s been a real up and down couple of Grands Prix for you. I wonder if you could describe your emotions and how they’ve evolved over the last couple of races.

Romain GROSJEAN: Yeah, I won’t say exactly everything I could say inside my helmet sometimes. I think it was good for all the guys that we could finish the Malaysian Grand Prix. Of course it was not the way you would like to see when you start a Grand Prix but at the moment that’s where we are plus we were not that far from the points. I think without a small issue at the end of the race, we could probably have got closer and maybe fight for points but it was good and as I said, the guys had three nights in Melbourne when they didn’t sleep, all that for not a big reward. And then we went to Malaysia and again, they worked very hard and we all know it’s humid and hot there so conditions were tough but we managed to get to the end of the race. I think we learned more about our car and we wish from now on that we get troublefree weekends as was the case on Saturday and Sunday and then from there we can learn, improve and get closer to where we would like to be.

Q: Do you feel that the team is on a path back to where it was; how long is it going to take?

RG: Yeah, I don’t know, to be honest. I know that we still have in our genes the winning spirit and we can still fight back. Of course, when you start the season with everything in the right direction it’s easier to move forward but at the moment we’ve had some issues, we’ve solved most of them, hopefully no more coming, then we can go from there. Of course, Renault is well aware that the power unit needs to improve a little bit compared to certain other manufacturers, but I think it’s going to be good and we can work on our car.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) Jenson, in all the seasons that you’ve been racing now, which car has been the most memorable for you? Not the year or the season but the specific car. There must be one.

JB: There have been quite a few, for different reasons. 2009 obviously was good, it was the year I won the World Championship so an enjoyable car to drive. I liked the big front tyres that we use to have as well. 2011 was good fun. It was quite difficult because we had the blown diffuser that everyone had but it was quite unusual to drive, but when you got used to it, there was so much downforce, it was pretty awesome. But then if you look back, 2004 was also a great year: V10 engines, 900 horsepower, revving to 20,000rpm. Obviously there was a tyre war then as well. Most of the lap times that were achieved then, the fastest laps, have not been beaten in ten years. That was a pretty special car to drive as well. All very different eras in the sport, if you like.. It’s great to have been around through the V10, V8 and now the V6 periods. I think it’s been some exciting times that I’ve had in my career.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To all drivers: in less than one month, motor sport will pay tribute to Ayrton Senna on the 20^th anniversary of his passing. I would like you to recall what impact that Sunday at Imola had on your lives and the ones who were too young to remember, maybe how Ayrton Senna relates to you as a driver?

NH: What that Sunday had, the impact of that Sunday? Not many memories, it was just my first contacts with motor racing and therefore I can’t really remember so much of it but obviously having heard a lot of stories and have seen a documentary, obviously he was a very passionate guy about the sport, about racing and was always pushing the limit very hard.

JB: Obviously I was four years old when this happened, so I don’t remember many things but let’s say I remember just the fact that all the people were loving him so this is what I remember the most.

JEV: Same as Jules. I was four years old so I have absolutely no memory of this but obviously it took me a few years to realise who he was and what he has done for the sport. I think everybody has a massive respect for this guy. Obviously I love all the sportsmen that changed the philosophy of world sport, like Michael Jordan in basketball; I believe he is part of the really big sportsmen of any kind of sport, Ayrton Senna, and I think that’s why everybody loved him.

ME: Yes, the same, I was four years old so I don’t remember anything but obviously he was a great driver and a great person from the look of it. When you watch the documentaries and stuff like that, you can see how great he was both on and off the track.

RG: Yeah, I think it was the first or second year that I was starting to watch Formula One and of course it was Prost and Senna when I started watching in ’94. I remembered that Sunday, I was watching the race with my Dad and I didn’t understand what exactly was going on and why the race was stopped and it was so long. And then, well, I found out a little bit later and of course, Ayrton has been part of the sport… Again, I started watching Formula One when he was fighting with Alain, I think it was a great era and they were fantastic drivers.

JB: I wasn’t four years old, I was fourteen years old, still very young obviously but I was racing in Italy that weekend, karting, I had just started racing there so it was a massive shock. Basically the kart meeting was over as soon as we heard the news from Imola. A horrific day for everyone but as the guys said, sometimes it takes something like that – a terrible tragedy – to really change the sport for the better and in terms of safety for us guys, it’s had a very big impact.

April 3, 2014
F1 2014: Malaysia GP Review – Mercedes Asserts Dominance

Not a lot of people were delighted when news broke towards the end of 2012 that Lewis Hamilton would become a Mercedes driver. The gutsy decision went a long way towards being justified as Hamilton dominated the 2014 Malaysian grand prix.

A single victory in Hungary was all Hamilton had to show for his first season with the Silver Arrows. He remained patient in the building of this new relationship and when the all silver Mercedes hit the track in Jerez on the first day of testing it was starting to pay off.

After retiring from the Australian grand prix two weeks ago Lewis Hamilton showed up in Malaysia with the single goal of scoring twenty-five points on Sunday. A second consecutive pole ensured the best possible starting position for Hamilton who shared the front-row of the grid with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg rounded out the top three with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in fourth place on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton comfortably maintained the lead of the race over teammate Rosberg and ran untroubled for the rest of the afternoon. One of the few battles during the Malaysian GP transpired at the start of the race as Rosberg and the two Red Bulls jockeyed for position.

Sebastian Vettel finished in third place overall after getting within one second of Rosberg’s Mercedes. It has been a tremendous recovery for the Red Bull team who looked in dire straits two months ago. A podium finish proves that the RB10 is a fundamentally quick car and that should Renault get on top of their issues that Red Bull will be a serious factor in this championship battle.

Daniel Ricciardo was supposed to follow Vettel home in fourth place but a disastrous final pit stop totalled the Australian’s race. An improperly secured front-left tyre forced Ricciardo to stop in the pitlane before being pushed back to his pit box. Eventually released, he was given a ten second stop/go penalty for an unsafe release. As if to add insult to injury the Aussie was forced back into the pits with a damaged front-wing which appeared to have been caused by the front-jack during his stop.

Ricciardo failed to finish the race and was subsequently handed a ten-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Bahrain GP. It is rather extreme to double up on the punishment but the 2014 rule concerning unsafe releases is clear-cut in the application of two penalties. Clearly, Ricciardo has taken over Mark Webber’s rotten luck as well as his race seat at Red Bull.

Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso battled for fourth place on the road with the Ferrari driver winning the close contest. Hulkenberg underlined his class with a solid performance on a tricky two-stop strategy. The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen showed a marked improvement throughout the practice sessions but an overzealous Kevin Magnussen left the Finn with a right-rear puncture at the start of lap two. After limping around the circuit Raikkonen made it to the pits but had lost seventy seconds to the frontrunners.

Jenson Button confirmed post-race that his McLaren struggled in the high-speed corners but still salvaged sixth place. A spicy fight for seventh between Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas resulted in some inter-team controversy. In the closing stages of the race Massa was given the instruction to let his teammate past. However, amongst several messages to the Brazilian was “Felipe, Valtteri is faster than you.” This message was a near exact carbon-copy of the one given to Massa during the infamous 2010 German GP. For a split second the former Ferrari driver must have felt like he never left the Italian squad. Massa’s engineer will do well in the future to pick his words more carefully. Team boss Claire Williams diffused the situation by claiming that no team orders were imposed on either driver. Rookies Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top ten.

It’s bad enough not seeing the chequered flag at the end of the race but it’s exponentially worse when a driver does not even make it onto the starting grid. Force India’s Sergio Perez, struck with software issues, was such a driver. Lotus retired the car of Pastor Maldonado as the turbo was in the process of failing while Sauber suffered a double retirement. Seven cars in total failed to see the chequered flag.

In seven previous attempts Hamilton had never won the Malaysian GP but Sunday’s dominant display resulted in his first victory around the Sepang circuit. The absence of significant pressure from behind allowed Hamilton to set a modest pace. It is clear that underneath him he has a Mercedes that is the class of the field at the moment and, if needed, has quite a lot more speed to call on.

It isn’t a case of if but rather when Red Bull, Ferrari and perhaps McLaren will catch up. The gap will be closed. However, Mercedes is making some serious hay while the others are scrambling – and this is ominous. Trust that this team will be working as hard to maintain their pace advantage. And they’re already ahead there too. While others struggle with their power units Mercedes already has the strongest and most reliable engine. At this stage other teams are trying to solve problems and combat issues that Mercedes have long since overcome. The mindset of the Mercedes team isn’t how to fix problems it’s how to go even faster.

March 31, 2014
Bahrain Test: Day 4 Quotes

Lewis Hamilton ended the final day of pre-season testing on top in Bahrain.

All attention will be towards the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. Below are some quotes from the drivers.

Lewis Hamilton(1:33.278) | Mercedes | 70 laps: “This has definitely been the most challenging winter I’ve experienced and the car is still very much a work in progress, but we’ve learnt a lot over the course of these last few weeks and overall it’s been a good winter of testing for us. There’s been an incredible amount of work put in by the team back at the two factories and on track. I have to say a special thanks to the crew here today who had a tough task in front of them but never lost their cool. It was a tough start to the day but they managed to get the car turned around for me to complete some good laps in the afternoon, which was a fantastic effort. There’s so much to learn with these new cars; it’s just mind-blowing and I don’t think anybody can be fully ready for the challenge of this season. But I feel as ready as I can be and I’m looking forward to seeing where we are in Melbourne.”

Valtteri Bottas(1:33.987) | Williams-Mercedes | 108 laps: “I think our final day of testing was very good, right up to a very unlucky failure just one run before the end. Overall, it was a still a good day as we had no other issues throughout and made a lot of progress with the car set-up. I think with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be. The team has done a great job and thank you also to Mercedes-Benz. We still need to work very hard in these next two weeks but I overall I’m happy with how testing has gone for us. As I didn’t have the chance to do a quick time on the supersoft tyre today, I am looking forward to picking up where we left off when we get to Melbourne.”

Fernando Alonso(1:34.280) | Ferrari | 74 laps: “The team did its utmost to carry out changes on the car as quickly as possible, but again today, we had planned to do more laps than we managed. There are a lot of things to learn with the use of the power unit to improve the performance of the car and we are not yet where we want to be. Everyone in the team is very competitive and we are working day and night in order to get all the potential out of the F14 T as soon as possible. We have gone through twelve days of testing that were very demanding for everyone and I would like to thank the whole team for all its efforts.”

Nico Hulkenberg(1:35.577) | Force India-Mercedes | 74 laps: “The final day of testing went pretty well. In the end we didn’t do the race simulation, but we did some long runs and signed off a lot of other things on the job list. We didn’t do as many laps as yesterday, but we still made progress and learned some new things. So it’s been two good days for me and I’m feeling pretty satisfied. You always want more time to prepare, but I think we’re in good shape. The car has come a long way since the first Jerez test and we have made progress every day.”

Adrian Sutil(1:36.467) | Sauber-Ferrari | 91 laps: “It was a good morning. We covered everything that we had planned, just in a shorter time frame. Yesterday was unlucky, but it’s better to have a problem here than in Melbourne. I feel much more comfortable after this morning’s session. Now we have a lot more data to analyse. Overall we had a tough testing programme to go through and we had unexpected problems here and there. However, we don’t get any more tests, so we will take what we have and get the most out of it in Melbourne, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Sebastian Vettel(1:37.468) | Red Bull-Renault | 77 laps: We did a lot of laps today so that was useful. We tried to do a race simulation today; for one reason or another that didn’t work out, but in two week’s time things should look a little bit different. Obviously it’s difficult to know where the car is. It’s not just the number of laps that you do, but also the type. There are so many different running options as well – full power, low power etc, so its’ impossible to say where we are. We know we have to catch up in a lot of areas, but with that said, I’m happy today, we did a lot of laps, we learned a lot and it was a positive end to a tough week here.”

Kamui Kobayashi(1:38.391) | Caterham-Renault | 106 laps: “106 laps is a good way for us to finish the tests, even though the clutch problem we had in the last hour meant we didn’t have a chance to do any of the performance runs we’d planned for today. However, I’m very happy we were able to have two such good final days in Bahrain as it’s showed that our reliability is good and that could be very important in Australia and for the whole season, especially when you look at how quite a few of the other teams have struggled both here and in Jerez.”

The next we get to see the teams and drivers again will be in Australia. The way things stand now is that Red Bull are struggling, Mercedes and Mercedes powered teams are looking very good and Ferrari, and Ferrari powered teams are not far behind. We must not, however, write off Red Bull, they have the potential to come back and dominate throughout the season.

It’s very hard to tell the pecking order for this season. A few races into the season and we will have a very good idea of where things stand. Reliability will be the big thing this season. It’s wide open for this seasons title race.

Photo Credit:

Title Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

Article Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

March 2, 2014
What’s in a number?

The FIA announced late last year that drivers would be issued with permanent numbers to be carried throughout their Formula 1 careers. All drivers were asked to nominate two numbers between #2 and #99 as Sebastian Vettel has an automatic hold on #1 as the current F1 champion.

The complete list of numbers that the drivers will carry, starting in 2014, was recently announced by the FIA with many of the choices revealing the nostalgic sentimentality of several drivers.

Current world champion Sebastian Vettel will race with the #1 while he has reserved #5 not so much as an homage to former British champ Nigel Mansell but rather as a return to the number he used as a child in karting. Should Vettel not make it five world titles in 2014 he will run with the #5 in 2015. Red Bull Racing teammate Daniel Ricciardo has also chosen his first number in karting but tweeted that #3 is also a result of being a fan of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.

Lewis Hamilton continued the trend of karting numbers and the 2008 champion will race with #44 emblazoned on both his helmet and car. Nico Rosberg has chosen his number as a tribute to his father Keke Rosberg who carried #6 during his championship winning year in 1982. However, the number six seems to run in the Rosberg family as Nico also secured the 2002 Formula BMW title while carrying the same number.

Fernando Alonso carried the nostalgic trend further as he too reminisced about his karting days with the choice to race #14. Believe it or not Fernando Alonso is the only driver on the grid to have won the Karting World Cup and he did so using kart #14 when he was 14 years old.

While sentimentality overflowed Kimi Raikkonen delivered his trademark, unaffected reasoning for his choice. “It was my number the previous year so I saw no reason to change it,” he said. Raikkonen will race with #7.

Romain Grosjean has similarly elected to retain his 2013 number. However, the Frenchman revealed that his choice to retain #8 is based on the fact that he had experienced his best ever season last year. Newly signed teammate Pastor Maldonado has brought back #13 to Formula 1 which is considered to be unlucky in many circles. However, Maldonado’s choice could be down to the fact that this particular number in considered lucky for Venezuelans. Several Venezuelan Baseball players all carry #13.

Jenson Button has returned to his championship winning season of 2009 with the choice of #22 while rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen is continuing the trend of karting numbers with #20.

Nico Hulkenberg’s choice of #27 hasn’t been given much clarification as yet but the romantics amongst the F1 fans would like to think that German’s choice is in honour of the great Gilles Villeneuve. Coincidentally, Ayrton Senna clinched the 1990 world driver’s championship with #27. Mexican Sergio Perez has picked #11 as the second Force India driver. “Ever since I was a kid I always wore the 11, in karting. Actually my email has 11 in it as well,” he grinned. “A lot of things have to do with 11 so I identified myself with that number,” said Perez.

Adrian Sutil, a Sauber driver for 2014, will run #99 which was the highest possible number up for grabs. Esteban Gutierrez will race #21. Jean-Eric Vergne hand-picked his karting number 25 while rookie teammate Danniil Kvyat has confirmed #26.

Williams driver Felipe Massa has selected #19 which could be in honour of Ayrton Senna as this was the Brazilian’s first number in Formula 1. Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas has seen the marketing potential in his choice of #77 as it resembles the letter ‘T’ in his name. Marussia driver Jules Bianchi had to be content with his third choice of number 17. The FIA has confirmed Max Chilton as the second driver at Marussia for 2014 but the Brit is yet to select a number. Caterham are still to announce their driver pairing for the upcoming season.

The issuing of permanent numbers is a great homage to the history of Formula 1. Gilles Villeneuve will always be as synonymous with #27 as Nigel Mansell will be with #5. Now it is the chance of a different era of drivers to breathe new life into these legendary numbers.

January 13, 2014
Martin Brundle expecting “total calamity” for F1 in 2014

Formula One driver turned commentator Martin Brundle has warned that F1 will experience “total calamity” in the early part of the 2014 season.

F1 will adopt new 1.6-litre turbo-charged engines next year, while teams will also need to make greater use of energy recovery systems.

“I’m expecting total calamity in the early stages of 2014 and it remains to be seen if that’s entertaining or confusing, but I have no doubt that these brilliant engineers and designers will master the issues sooner than later” Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports F1 column.

He did however agree with Jenson Button that certain revisions in the new 2014 regulations and technical changes like those to aerodynamics could dent Red Bull’s supremacy and make for a more level playing field.

Button recently said that he’s expecting the 2014 cars to be more difficult to drive due to increased torque and less downforce, something he doesn’t seem to excited about but he expressed his views that we should be looking at a more level playing field next season.

“I agree with Jenson Button, big changes can only hurt Red Bull given they have such an advantage, but no doubt the usual suspects with the biggest resource will get there first. I’m hoping that we won’t have a three-tier Ferrari – Renault – Mercedes championship in whichever order for both power and efficiency, but it’s possible,” Brundle wrote.

Brundle added that teams have a lot of work ahead of them saying, “I’ve asked my trusted sources in the paddock and they just roll their eyes and throw their arms up in the air. There’s a huge amount of work to do in a very short space of time.”

The Briton seemed most concerned about a crisis in the sport around the current financial state some teams are finding themselves in. He added that, “The midfield driver market should settle down in the next week or so,” just prior to the confirmations that Pastor Maldonado will move to Lotus in 2014 and Nico Hulkenberg will head to Force India.

Brundle added, “I’ve never seen anything like it frankly, and it doesn’t bode well when the only team – Lotus – to consistently take the fight to Red Bull can’t afford to chose its own driver line-up and take the best available.”“My alarm bells are going off for the general health of F1 and it needs urgent action, if not then a crisis, before it’s back on track,” Brundle said in closing.

Photo Credit: By greenmashup (Martin Brundle) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

December 5, 2013