Tag: nico rosberg

Hamilton charges to Australian Grand Prix pole

Lewis Hamilton started his title defence in glorious fashion to claim his first pole position of the season ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton set a time of 1:26.327, over half a second clear of his team mate Nico Rosberg with both drivers enjoying a good lead over their rivals.

Rosberg may have done better had he not needed to abort his provisional lap after running off onto the grass at the penultimate corner. Hamilton’s provisional time was at 1:26.419.

Rosberg then set his only lap time of the session to finish in second place while Hamilton stormed to a time 0.594 seconds clear of his team mate.

Felipe Massa brought his Williams home in third place ahead of the two Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

Valtteri Bottas struggled a little through Q3 and needed to abort his first lap. He went on to run wide at the end of his second lap and finished in sixth place. Bottas emerged from his Williams with an apparent injury of some sort to his back. Rob Smedley confirmed that he may have jarred his back a little and the Finn was seen limping off to the medical centre. There has been no further confirmation of the situation.

Australian home favourite, Daniel Ricciardo, has had a tough weekend all round but managed to get his Red Bull qualified in seventh place ahead of Toro Rosso rookie driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

The Lotus team managed to get both of their drivers through to Q3 and French driver Romain Grosjean finished ahead of Pastor Maldonado to round out the Top 10.

Felipe Nasr narrowly missed out on a slot in Q3 and will start ahead of F1’s youngest ever driver, Max Verstappen. Verstappen put in an impressive performance in Q1 but had a “big moment” in Turn 5 during Q2.

Daniil Kvyat faced a massive upward struggle during FP3 and despite seeming unlikely that he would even start his qualifying, he managed to post the 13th fastest time.

The Force India duo Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez came in next followed by the Q1 drop outs Marcus Ericsson, and the McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.

The McLarens were excrutiatingly slow with Button finishing almost 3 seconds off the pace. The big expectations for the McLaren Honda partnership have left many fans very disappointed and desperately worried about what is going on with the MP4-30.

The Manor Marussia team will not be allowed to take part in the race after failing to get their cars onto the track this weekend.

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

Lap Time sheets below:

March 14, 2015
Hamilton fastest in final Australian GP practice

Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the timesheets for the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the for the Australian Grand Prix, almost a second ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton posted a 1.27.867 which is more than a tenth of a second off the best time posted by Rosberg yesterday. He did have more pace left in hand though, posting fastest first and second sector times before aborting his lap.

Rosberg, who was fastest in both Friday practice sessions, did report a gearshift problem with his car during his final soft tyre run. The two were split by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who managed to get within 7 tenths of Hamilton’s time.

Valtteri Bottas went fourth fastest for Williams, a second off Hamilton’s time and team mate Felipe Massa finished in fifth place. Raikkonen placed his Ferrari sixth with the Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado behind him.

Carlos Sainz Jnr and Felipe Nasr put in impressive sessions to round out the top 10 with F1 youngster Max Verstappen completing his session in 11th place. Marcus Ericsson finished in 12th despite a spin at the exit of Turn 12.

Red Bull had another dismal session with Ricciardo in 15th and Kvyat slowest of everyone who set times. Ricciardo, who compained about the driveability of his Red Bull on his first timed lap already, had his car stop at the exit of he pitlane and was pushed back by the marshals. He did manage to rejoin the session albeit a most unimpressive show. The two were split by the dismally struggling McLarens.

Manor’s chances of qualifying remain slim as neither of their drivers were able to participage in the session, after also missing all of yesterday’s running.

Here are the full results for FP3

March 14, 2015
F1 2015: Australian GP Preview – All-set for Australia

The pre-season testing sessions are complete and the Australian grand prix waits to either shatter the delusions or fulfil the promises made in Jerez and Barcelona.

The Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia is the first step in what can potentially be an enthralling season of Formula 1 racing.

In a show of dogged determination and resolve the nearly defunct Marussia Formula 1 team has fought its way out of the abyss. After months of hard work behind the scenes energy boss Stephen Fitzpatrick has been revealed as the investor behind the team which will now be known as Manor F1. While the team was unable to attend any of the pre-season testing sessions the car has passed the mandatory FIA crash tests. The governing body signed off on a revised 2014 chassis which will race in Australia.

There is no doubt that McLaren will show up in Australia seriously underdone. The MP4-30 had a nightmarish amount of issues which ranged from oil pressure leaks to sensor problems to significant struggles with the MGU-K component. The Honda engine, in its first year of development, is rough around the edges and unable of being run at full-tilt by the team. At this stage it appears that Ron Dennis’ expectation of winning races will remain as nothing more than a wishful reverie.

To add to McLaren’s gloom Fernando Alonso has been advised by doctor’s not to race in Australia. The lack of details surrounding the Spaniard’s crash and subsequent “concussion” in Barcelona, while testing, has been the source for much confusion. Nevertheless, the team and driver have rightly opted to put safety above all. Reserve driver Kevin Magnussen will partner Jenson Button for the opening round of the season.

By contract things could hardly have gone much better for Mercedes. The reigning world champs maintained quite a low profile during the first few days of testing. However, there is not an inkling of doubt that team has, at least, maintained its advantage at the head of the pack. The more than 6000 km in testing is the most of any team and the pace so nonchalantly put on display in the final two days in Barcelona sent an ominous message to the chasing pack.

Ferrari’s 2014 driver pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso was a highly anticipated partnership which never reached the forecasted levels of grandstand finishes and epic duels. This time around the Finn is partnered by quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel and team has committed to major changes in all departments.

The 2015 Ferrari surprised more than a few onlookers at the first test in Jerez with its inherent pace. In Barcelona the bigger picture revealed that although definitive strides were made the scarlet Ferrari still remains some way off the Mercedes pace. Along with a dramatically improved power unit both Raikkonen and Vettel are satisfied with the predictable front-end of the car.

Ferrari is touted as having taken the biggest step forward of all the teams on the grid. Which isn’t too shabby a start for a team in turmoil just a couple of months ago. While Mercedes is still out of reach the Italian team could very well be sitting with the second fastest package on the grid.

Of the new drivers on the grid Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen will be scrutinized the most. The Dutchman has been talked up by his team for months. Since the team think it worthy to compare the 17-year-old to Ayrton Senna it will make watching his progress all the more fascinating.

An average Formula 1 team employs an average of 300 people who are tasked with the job of ensuring that two grand prix cars are able to race. However, there is nothing average about the level of anticipation and expectation that millions of fanatics have ahead of the first race of a new F1 season.

March 10, 2015
Grosjean Quickest on Final Day of Testing and Alonso Crashes

Romain Grosjean put his Lotus on the top of the time sheets at the end of the final day of the second pre-season test while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was air lifted to hospital after a crash at T3.

Grosjean’s time of 1:24.067 on the soft compound tyres from Pirelli put him on top of the time sheets in the afternoon session which is also the fastest time of the entire 2nd test. Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes finished the day second fastest firing somewhat of a warning shot to rivals. Rosberg’s time of 1:24.321 on the medium compound tyres, was just 0.254s slower than Grosjean’s time. Pirelli say that the gap between the two tyres is about 2 seconds a lap. That should get teams shifting rather uncomfortably in their seats.

McLaren’s test came to an abrupt end when Alonso went off the track and crashed into the T3 barrier. An ambulance was dispatched to the scene. He was then taken to the circuits medical centre. He spent a few minutes at the medical centre and was then airlifted to a nearby hospital for further tests. After a short while, McLaren released a statement saying that Alonso was “conscious and spoke with the doctors”.

The second test did not go too well for McLaren who seem to be still ironing out the kinks with the new Honda power unit. Throughout the 4 days of the test, they managed a total of 104 laps.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat finished 3rd fastest with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr just 0.015s slower in 4th. “It was another good day for us,” Kvyat explained. “We learned a lot that will be of benefit in the future and that’s what testing is all about.”

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas ended his day 5th fastest racking up 129 laps. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr finished 6th fastest. His day came to an early end when he also crashed at the exit of T3.

Sebastian Vettel finished 7th fastest with Nico Hulkenberg finishing 8th and Alonso 9th.

At the end of the day Vettel said that they mainly focused on long runs and different tyre configurations. There were some “teething problems” but he feels positive about the car so far.

Below is the timing sheet for the final day of the second pre-season test:

February 22, 2015
Ricciardo Takes the Honour on Second Day of Barcelona Test

Daniel Ricciardo finished on top of the time sheets for Red Bull on the second day of the second pre-season test in Barcelona.

Ricciardo set his time of 1:24.574 just before the lunch break on the soft compound tyres. This time stood for the rest of the day. Second for the day was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who was just 0.010s off Ricciardo’s pace. Third for the day was Williams’ Felipe Massa who was just 0.098s off the pace. It was very close at the top today with the top three just separated by 0.1s.

Sergio Perez ended his day in 4th with a time of 1:24.702 for Force India. Lewis Hamilton who was not scheduled to drive today got behind the wheel of the W06 in the afternoon session and managed 5th fastest for the day and also managed to complete and impressive 89 laps despite not feeling well. Nico Rosberg drove the morning session and was 6th fastest for the day. He handed over to Hamilton so as to not further aggravate his inflamed nerve on his neck.

Despite the ERS issue on the McLaren, Fernando Alonso managed to complete 59 laps today with his fastest being a 1:25.961. Although well off the pace of the front running cars it is encouraging news for the Woking outfit and for Honda.

Jolyon Palmer had his debut for Lotus today. He finished 8 fastest. Marcus Ericsson finished 9th for Sauber and Carlos Sainz Jr finishing the slowest on the day. Sainz Jr clocked up 100 laps today despite a big off at the very fast T9 right hander.

It was a very strong showing from Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari. Although they may not show it, Mercedes are becoming increasingly weary about the pace of those three teams and will be watching them closely. There is no doubt that the other teams have stepped up their game but something tells me we have not yet seen the absolute pace of the Mercedes cars just yet.

Below are the unofficial times from day 2 of the second pre-season test:

Photo Credit: Infinity Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Team

February 20, 2015
F1 2015: Why you can read into F1 testing

For as long as cars have been running around test tracks, most have warned against reading too much into the pre-season. It is, after all, just that, a test. Teams truck their way to European race tracks with their new cars and set about an examination and assessment of what exactly the engineers and designers have rustled up.

The first roll-out of the cars is closely observed by millions of fans who scour the internet and fervently stalk their favourite forums for the most minute updates and details. Sky F1, for example, sends a whole team of journalists to these sessions to document every move that the teams make. Yet, the warnings that the times at the end of the day don’t mean anything subsist.

These warnings though aren’t necessarily always applicable. For one, should the goings-on from Jerez be disregarded you would fail to notice that Ferrari has made an enormous improvement from last year. Okay, it wouldn’t exactly be hard to build a better car than last season’s F14T which was a colossal waste of carbon fibre. But Sauber, who also runs with Ferrari power, has confirmed that the new power unit is a substantial step forward from the Italian manufacturer’s first attempt at the hybrid-turbo engines.

What’s more, Kimi Raikkonen has said that he finds the handling of this car much better and to his liking. Let’s be honest the ever aloof and not-so-media-friendly Raikkonen will hardly be the type of guy to provide a sound bite just for the sake of it. Now, Ferrari hasn’t suddenly transformed into world beaters but they may just be on to something with the SF15T.

The telltale, good, signs from testing would be stacks of laps and reliability. Here the Mercedes W06 is still way ahead of the curve. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton both completed nearly two full race simulations a day at Jerez. They set about completing their testing program in an ominously reserved manner. There were no proclamations that they were, again, going to blow-away the competition. There was just lap after lap of a car which can seemingly keep going forever.

Even in testing where the laptimes don’t mean that much there is still the odd team/driver who’ll take out the fuel and set a flashy time. It happens for various reasons not least of all to attract a bit of media attention and please the suits that put up the sponsorship cash. The longer runs are what you want to pay attention to. The consistency in laptimes is an important barometer. The more consistent the time, the more it suggests a predictable car. The reasoning then is that the more confidence a driver has in the car’s behaviour the more assured he’ll be in pushing it around the lap.

While what happens at testing isn’t an out-and-out pecking order for the season there is much to learn from it. The next area is the press statements made by drivers. Yes, they get coached to the hilt but sometimes they do reveal a kernel of telling information. At Toro Rosso the engineers and owners are completely infatuated with Max Verstappen who they have dubbed the next Ayrton Senna. It’s noticeable in the Verstappen-obsessed chatter that they don’t talk much about their car which looks a bit of a handful.

The most entertaining and puzzling statements have come from McLaren. New-old driver Fernando Alonso has declared himself impressed with Honda’s “scientific approach.” What did Ferrari use, witchcraft? Once more we see an attempt to deflect from what has been a pretty poor start for the McLaren-Honda alliance. Better that this be the headline than the handful of installation laps they were able to complete at Jerez.

So, there is after all much to glean from testing. Pay attention to the press statements and what they try to detract attention from. Forget about the flashy-headline-grabbing-laptime and instead study the longer runs and determine how consistent the laptimes are. The second test takes place at the Barcelona circuit from the 19^th to the 22^nd of February.

February 17, 2015
Formula 1 Testing Diary – Jerez

The pomp and circumstance of multi-million rand glitzy launches that used to mark the unveiling of a new Formula 1 car is a thing of the past. Instead, some teams opt for an online release of a few images while others invite a few folk over to their factories for a bit of a show. The rest are happy to reveal their cars in the Jerez pitlane and get straight down to business.

It is ultimately the laptimes and reliability that is most important in the early days before the 2015 season. But let’s take a minute to appreciate that Formula 1 is once again stunningly easy on the eye. In fact, it’s hard to pick the best looking car of the lot. At Red Bull they’ve played around with a rad-looking white-and-black camouflage livery. The new look is only interim however team Principal Christian Horner has promised to debut even stronger colours in Australia. The Ferrari SF15T has long, elegant swooping lines that carry all the way through to an elongated nose and the McLaren’s lustrous silver bodywork has been accented by swathes of red as a nod to new engine supplier Honda.

Nevertheless, the most vital test is how, and if, these cars come alive on the track. The first four-day test session took place at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.

Day one: Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest time of the day for the Ferrari team with a time of 1:22:690 with a lap total of 59. Fernando Alonso completed the least amount of laps, six, in his McLaren Honda. The MP4-30’s, dubbed the McHonda, problems centred mostly on their new Honda engine. The Lotus team were absent from the pitlane following their announcement that the E23 wasn’t quite ready to run.

It was a remarkable day for Mercedes who clocked 157 with Nico Rosberg. Although Mercedes did have a shakedown at Silverstone to clock 157 laps in a day is an extremely good sign for the defending champions.

Day two: Once again Sebastian Vettel tops the timing sheets with a fastest time of 1:20:984 in his Ferrari. The Lotus team did a terrific job to show up for the second day of testing and managed a total of 41 laps with Pastor Maldonado and a quickest time of 1:25:802. McLaren managed only a couple of installations with Jenson Button before spending the entire morning in the garage with more electronic issues.

The final few hours of the second day of testing were blighted with rain however Lewis Hamilton was still able to complete 91 laps before a water leak brought an end to his afternoon. Sebastian Vettel racked up 89 laps and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr’s 88.

Day three: Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr set the quickest time of the day ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Nasr completes an impressive 108 laps in the blue-and-yellow Sauber but Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg racks up the most laps with 150.

On their second day of testing Lotus is able to complete 91 laps with Maldonado and provide a consistent base for feedback on the E23. McLaren have a better day with Fernando Alonso who is able to complete 32 laps. However, the McHonda would later stop on circuit with a water pressure problem. Rookie Carlos Sainz Jr has a notable day out with the difficult Toro Rosso by completing 136 laps.

Day four: The final day is topped by Kimi Raikkonen ensuring that a Ferrari-engine has topped all four days at Jerez. The 1:20:841 is the fastest of all four days but is kept in cautious perspective by Raikkonen who calls the SF15T “a good starting point.”

Felipe Nasr and Lewis Hamilton complete the top three while Romain Grosjean’s day was brought to an early end with a “power unit issue.” Jenson Button has no easier time of it in the McLaren as engine problems and a fuel pump issue curtail the team’s program.

February 12, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing Day 3 – Round Up

Sauber’s Felipe Nasr set the fastest time of the third day of the Jerez test on Tuesday.

Nasr set an unofficial time of 1:21.545 to put his Sauber ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in P2 with a time of 1:21.750. It must also be noted that Nasr clocked up an impressive 108 laps. But that was still not enough to beat Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes W06, who racked up an impressive 151 laps. His day was not without incident as he came to a stop on the track just before lunch time which brought out the red flags.

There were two other stoppages today. Once was caused by Nasr after spinning off the track and took a trip through the gravel traps. The other stoppage was because Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus came to a stop on the back straight.

Things are looking much better for Lotus this time around. Maldonado managed to do 96 laps today with his fastest time of 1:22.713.

McLaren had a better day out on track as Fernando Alonso managed to clock up 32 laps in his MP4-30. His day was cut short after a loss of cooling water pressure. His fastest time for the day was a 1:35.553,

Daniel Ricciardo was hamstrung by engine problems for most of the day and was limited to a few short runs. Carlos Sainz Jr. had a good day out for Toro Rosso and did an impressive 136 laps.

The test concludes tomorrow.

Unofficial times from Circuito de Jerez

Photo by courtesy Pirelli

February 3, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing – Day 1 Round-Up

Day one of winter testing ahead of the 2015 season kicked off today at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time overall for the Ferrari team with a time of 1:22:690. The German completed a total of 59 laps. Fernando Alonso completed the least amount of laps, six, in his McLaren Honda.

A relatively cool start to the day, weather wise, was amped with the official launch of several cars. Red Bull stole the limelight with a rather different livery. The Williams FW37 also launched with its official colours in the pitlane while Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg unveiled the 2015 Mercedes. The Lotus team were absent from the pitlane following their announcement that were not quite ready to run the E23. Fernando Alonso took charge of the McLaren Honda for the first day Ron Dennis has said that the McLaren livery will change from its current guise but has remained coy on exactly when that will happen.

Last year’s stuttering start to testing at Jerez saw Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the day in his Ferrari, a time of 1:27:104. Twelve months later, and a whole lot more knowledge on the turbo era of the sport, the cars have clocked times considerably quicker.

It was a remarkable day for Mercedes who clocked 157 with Nico Rosberg. Although Mercedes did have a shakedown earlier in the week at the Silverstone circuit to clock 157 laps in a day is an extremely good sign for the defending champions.

The first day of winter testing is always highly anticipated among fans, teams and drivers alike. It’s the opening salvo ahead of a new season and one that is keenly watched from all around the world. It is also a day for the teams to find their proverbial feet with their 2015 challengers and one where they look iron out small niggles while ensuring that all the systems run smoothly.

Thus the first runs and opening couple of days are hard to read into and it is unwise to do so. There is one thing however that is not in doubt; for 2015 the teams have produced stunning pieces of machinery that are very pleasing to the eye.

Daniel Ricciardo photo courtesy of @redbullracing

Unofficial Laptimes from Jerez de la Frontera:

February 1, 2015
Mercedes Officially Launch the W06

Drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took the covers off Mercedes’ 2015 title defending car at the Circuito Jerez this morning.

With the sun slightly peeking over the mountains the covers came off the new Mercedes W06 Hybrid.

Technical Director, Paddy Lowe says that one of the key focus areas for the car was reliability. “It’s no secret that reliability let us down on a number of occasions in 2014”

“Making a car reliable is a long gane and a lot of effort has gone in on that side. It’s not about fixing individual issues but about raising quality across the many thousands of parts and processes involved.”

The rear wing has a single, central support pylon. This does provide some aerodynamic benefit as there is less disturbance to the air flowing below the main plane of the front wing.

Mercedes say that they have a more extreme version of their front suspension this season. The W06 suspension system was built without FRIC from the begging after it was banned mid way last season.

Photo’s courtesy Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1

February 1, 2015