Tag: nico rosberg

F1 2014: Australia GP Review – Rosberg Romps To Melbourne Victory

It was at the completion of the 2013 Abu Dhabi grand prix when Sebastian Vettel, on his way to a nine race winning streak, reminded his team to savour their victorious memories. How spot-on he was.

The free practice session made it quite clear that Mercedes’ favourites tag was no gaffe. For the 35^th time Lewis Hamilton ensured that he would start in the best position possible on Sunday while Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo split the Silver Arrows for his first front row start.

It was somewhat surprising that Hamilton didn’t appear more enthused by his pole position. Somewhere in the back of his mind the fear about reliability must still have been lingering. It wasn’t unfounded as the 2008 champion was forced to retire on lap three after dropping a cylinder.

It was apparent that Red Bull Racing had made tremendous strides in Australia as Daniel Ricciardo easily maintained second place throughout the race. However, disaster struck the Milton Keyes based team with the retirement of Sebastian Vettel. The four time champion struggled throughout the weekend with software issues which proved his ultimate demise in the race. After three laps the German reported a lack of power which spelled the end of his Australian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo became the first Australian driver to occupy a step on the podium of an Australian GP. However his joy was short lived as the Red Bull team were called into the stewards’ office as celebrations were no doubt in full swing. The outcome was exclusion from the final standings for Daniel Ricciardo as a result of the fuel flow rate on his car being too high during the race. The fuel flow rate for 2014 is set at 100 kgs per hour. What’s more, during the race, a technical representative from the FIA warned the team that the flow rate was too high. However, Red Bull elected not to change the flow rate. The team has stated their intention to appeal the disqualification. It seems unlikely that the decision will be overturned given that Red Bull chose to ignore the FIA’s helping hand during the race.

Bad news for Red Bull meant an even better day at the office for McLaren. Kevin Magnussen’s drive belied the fact that the Danish youngster was in his first grand prix. It serves as the perfect example of a 21^st century rookie – light years removed from being thrown in the deep-end of a cutthroat motor racing series and having to fend for yourself. ‘Young drivers’ who form part of a team’s driving program are groomed to the hilt with exposure to the team long before they become, officially, a part of it. Just like Kevin Magnussen. But mixing it in the deep-end still requires great composure and skill both of which K-Mag seems to have in abundance.

McLaren will leave Australian shores as the happiest team in the paddock. After suffering their worst season ever in 2013, the Woking based team has delivered immediate results. Not only does Magnussen become the first Dane on the podium but the ever-smooth Jenson Button’s third place secures McLaren the lead of the constructors’ championship after round one.

A total of fourteen cars crossed the finish line in Australia implying that reliability didn’t appear to be as catastrophic as initially predicted. However, several teams will have been working quite hard to mask or manage a range of issues.

Ferrari was such a team. It was a far from spectacular day at the office but both cars saw the chequered flag. It was confirmed that neither of the two Ferrari were able to run at ultimate power due to electrical problem believed to be related to the energy recovery system. Both drivers suffered with graining on their Pirelli tyres and spent most of the afternoon tucked up in traffic. A combination of these issues had a significant impact on their pace. Fernando Alonso finished in his qualifying position of fifth, which later became fourth, while Raikkonen finished seventh overall. However, both drivers appeared frustrated with their F14T Ferrari. A short clip has been making the rounds online in which the usually unemotional Kimi Raikkonen can be heard informing his engineer to tell the team that “it doesn’t work, so ask them to change it.”

As the red lights extinguished, Nico Rosberg grabbed the lead of the race and was never challenged on his way to victory. Rosberg cleared off from the head of pack at the blistering pace that Mercedes had promised throughout the winter testing season. Despite it only being the first round of the season Mercedes has proven to be the team to beat in terms of pace. Where reliability is concerned the Brackley based team are still facing the same questions as most other throughout the field.

It was a memorable day for Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat too. Many doubted his readiness for Formula 1 and questioned whether he deserved a place in the sport. It wasn’t very long ago that the Russian driver obtained his superlicence either and with it he has already broken a record. By finishing ninth overall Kvyat becomes the youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history. He snatches the record from SebastianVettel by a mere 27 days.

In reality, the first race of the 2014 season was far more intriguing than exciting. It is hardly surprising that neither Lotus made the end of the race nor that teams are still striving to understand exactly how their cars work. It will take some time to get on top of this new era of fully hybrid Formula 1. But already the status quo seems to have been thrown out the window.

March 17, 2014
Australian Grand Prix Post Race Press Conference

Drivers:

1 – Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

2 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

3 – Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Alan Jones)

Q: Well Nico, well done. I couldn’t think of a better start to the season. What a great start to the 2014 championship. A great start to the new era of Formula One.
Nico Rosberg: Yes, I mean, already it’s been an amazing time here in Melbourne. Thanks to all of you, you’ve made it all the more special, all your support has been fantastic this weekend. Even though Daniel got a little bit more support than us. Anyway that’s normal. It’s been an amazing day. I’m just over the moon really. It’s incredible, everybody has worked so hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing Silver Arrow to drive is just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today and the reliability was good also, so it was just the perfect start to the season. I’m really thankful to Mercedes, they have done an amazing job over the winter.

Q: Well, all your hard work has paid off well and truly.
NR: Yeah, for now yes. Today, definitely.

Q: Daniel, g’day. You were thinking you may not even finish, let alone be on the podium.
Daniel Ricciardo: Yeah. Two or three weeks ago I would have bet pretty everything I have that we would not be standing up here. Full credit to the team for an unbelievable turnaround. I don’t understand how they did it but they did, so thank you guys. And, of course, the Aussie fans. Wow, completely overwhelming. No words. I’m trippin’ balls right now.

Q: There’s a bloke up in Noosa that’ll be very happy too.
DR: Yeah I thought I’d do a stack just to commemorate Mark as well. It’s an Aussie thing, but yeah, really pleased to be up here. First Aussie on the Aussie podium, so that’s really nice to have. Thanks everyone.

Q: Well you’ve done us all proud. Good on you, mate. Kevin, well done. First Dane on a Formula One podium.
Kevin Magnussen: It’s hard to believe really. It just seems so unreal. What can I say. The car was so much better than it’s been at any point. We just keep improving the car. I had just exactly what I need the whole race. The preparation we’ve done this winter has been fantastic. I’ve never done a Formula One and testing is so limited, so big congratulations to the team for doing such a good job.

Q: Well, your father is racing on the other side of the world this weekend as well, so he’s got something to live up to.
KM: I think they did the race already, so I’ll need to see how it went. I wish he could have been here. It’s a great day.

Q: So you’re looking forward to the next one obviously?
KM: Yes I am – great things ahead.

Q: Nico, what are you going to do now between here and the next one?
NR: We’ll definitely evaluate everything that we’ve learned now from this weekend because for sure there’s some way to go. We still can improve a lot. We must, because our competitors aren’t going to be asleep. Definitely they are going to try to catch up quickly, So just try to learn as much as we can, improve the car, go on holiday a little bit next week and then get ready for Malaysia.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Nico, what a start, what a race, what a win.
NR: Yeah, the start was just… off like a bullet – or off like a Silver Arrow – thanks to Evan he did a great job on my start – my engineer who’s responsible for that. And then after that the car was just really, really quick today and the whole team did such a good job on it. Engine: really good engine, not much of a problem with fuel consumption, didn’t have to worry much about that, pretty much as usual. It just all worked perfectly. Reliability was great. So, fantastic. I’m just so happy for everybody. They work so damn hard, I don’t think people can really imagine how hard everybody works in my team and I’m sure in other teams too – so that’s just the best reward possible. To dominate in such a way the first week, the first race out.

Q: Big winning margin, obviously a lot of pace in the car and there was a lot of radio communication about extending that middle stint – which you seemed to be able to do quite comfortably.
NR: Yeah, got into a bit of a strange situation in that middle stint because I got graining on the front and then somehow I was losing temperature and somehow it started to get really difficult out there. So, I thought I was going to have to come in soon and they just said try to stay out, try to stay out and I did and then the graining cleared on my tyre and I was off, I was able to go again. It was a bit of a strange period but then it was fine again after that.

Q: Dan, as you said on the podium, what a turn around – does this exceed your wildest expectations of your first race with Red Bull?
DR: Definitely. If I look back at where we were three weeks ago – or however long ago it was, definitely. We’ve never done a race distance up until today, so we didn’t really have much confidence we’d see a chequered flag, let alone see it in a podium position. Obviously, as Nico said with his team, the same for ours. They really worked hard over the winter and really clawed back a massive margin. Obviously we still don’t have the pace of the Mercedes but it’s a result that we will definitely take today and we can make a lot of progress from here. So, pretty happy. It’s a bit overwhelming for now but an unbelievable day.

Q: I think we could hear your smile over the team radio at the end there but talk about the support from this Australian crowd here today – and the whole weekend.
DR: Yeah, it’s been a lot. It’s been a crazy amount. The support for Formula One in general. They’ve been really behind this event and always when the drivers rock up at the circuit, everyone’s cheering for everyone and wanting autographs. Obviously there’s been a bit more for me, being the only Aussie on the grid this year and that’s just been more than I could have possibly expected. At times a bit embarrassing. Everyone knows who I am now – but it’s cool. Very positive.

Q: Kevin, no podium for McLaren in 2013. You go on the podium in your first appearance in Formula One. You were pinching yourself in the press conference here on Thursday to be in the company of world champions and race winners and stars. You’re a star yourself today.
KM: Yeah. Nico was just saying, ‘Mate, you’re on third!’ I can’t believe it. It’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win because, as you said, the team is coming off a difficult season and they really wanted to come back and they’ve worked so hard over the winter. And working with a rookie as well who hasn’t got experience. It’s been tough for them, for sure – but they’ve done such a good job, made me feel really at home and made me feel comfortable with everything. Yeah. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Q: Just talk us through the final stint because you started closing up quite a bit on Dan, then you started pulling back a bit, then it was a bit erratic.
KM: I think me and Dan had pretty similar pace but obviously you can do stuff with the engine to try and push for a few laps and then you have to back off because you have to harvest the energy again. And you’re fuel saving as well and then stop for a few laps and then you begin again and you have to do more and catch that up. I guess it makes it exciting from the outside because it creates opportunities for overtaking but it just wasn’t enough today. I didn’t have enough pace to get past Dan.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, congratulations. How does it feel to lead the championship for the first time in your life, and actually be the first Rosberg in front since Keke in 1982?
NR: Mr Statistics! It feels… I don’t think about that. I’m really just in the moment. I have an unbelievably quick car or I had an unbelievably quick car today. That gives me a lot of… you know, it’s such a pleasure to drive. It’s such a great feeling and I really look forward to the next races so much now, having this.. it’s so fast, it’s great. Of course, it’s still going to be tough and reliability is not 100 percent sorted, there’s still lots of work we need to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us but it’s a great start and I’m just excited about the result today and sharing it with the whole team. It’s just fantastic.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, naturally you’ve always believed you could do this, but now you’ve done it, you’ve got the podium, you’ve run at the front. Tell us how this gives you confidence and momentum going into the championship and running at the front for the rest of the year?
DR: Yeah. A lot, I guess. Yeah. It’s nice to be up here. Even yesterday during the post-qualifying press conference, that was already a nice little boost, to be up in that top three and now to be here. It’s strange, because I guess it’s expected to see Nico up here but to have Kevin as well, feels like we’re back in World Series by Renault or something. So it’s a bit surreal still, but I’m sure tomorrow it will all sink in. Yeah, a lot of confidence, I’m really happy with how the whole weekend has gone. Dry and wet conditions, showed a lot of confidence and some good pace. Obviously I’ve got to continue this now but the team has to be pleased with what they’re seeing at the moment.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Nico, you talked about the reliability of your car but obviously a different story for your teammate in what happened to him in first practice and also at the start of the race today. Does that bring any concerns for Mercedes, for yourself going forward as well, that the car isn’t as bullet-proof as we perhaps saw during testing?
NR: Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to the other car but for sure it’s a fact that we’re not 100 percent sorted yet. We know that and the team did a great job to get my car working so well in the race today but there’s still work to be done. We have two weeks now. We need to identify all the things that we can still do better because even leading up to this weekend, there were still a lot of changes on the car and you don’t really want to be doing that just going to the first race. And also in testing there were still a couple of problems at the end there, so great job, but still things to get sorted.

Q: (Jacob Polychromis – F1Plus.com) Daniel, in a weekend where the AFL season started in Melbourne, you still managed to outshine it – perhaps our international guests don’t appreciate how huge that really is but we do. What does that mean to you to essentially become Australian sporting royalty?
DR: Obviously there’s been a lot of support for me this week but the support everyone has shown for Formula One, it’s made headlines every day in the papers, I think. As I said, the crowd was amazing, not only for me but for every other driver this week, they’ve showed incredible enthusiasm for the event and if there’s any doubts that the Oz Grand Prix won’t last, I think they definitely put a stamp on that this year and I’m sure it will keep kicking for a while now, so really pleased to be a part of that.

Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Kevin, can you say if you had any problems with your car today?
KM: If I had a problem? No, no issues with the car that we weren’t expecting. We didn’t really know what to expect but luckily we didn’t have anything really that came up that we couldn’t handle so again, big congratulations to the team and to Mercedes for providing such a reliable power unit. It’s quite impressive in the first year.

Q: How about the fuel, was that ever a concern?
KM: No, I probably saved a bit too much in the beginning which turned out to be alright because then I could give Daniel a little bit of pressure at the end and I didn’t have to save fuel so much which was good. It’s something I will certainly learn more about and get into a rhythm with.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico and Daniel, that was the first start with a V6 turbo. Has it been any different to the starts you have been used to with the V8s?
NR: There are some small bits and pieces that are different, yeah, and then getting away, upshifting through the gears, getting that right, but in the end it’s not too far apart. I think my start was spectacular today, it felt great, felt like last year.

Q: Dan, you hadn’t done too many practice starts before this weekend.
DR: No, not too many. Yeah, it wasn’t perfect but I think probably Nico was the only guy that had a good start from what I saw today and the rest were pretty average but definitely upshifting through the gears with the torque we have with the V6 turbos this year, it is a bit more difficult to manage the wheelspin but as we saw, I don’t think everyone really has it right yet. We managed to do a sufficient enough job today but there’s still a lot of progress to make with launches.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Daniel and Nico, how difficult was it to manage the fuel during the race? Was it easy?
NR: Yeah, yeah, honestly our engine I think even there, they’ve just done a power unit not just engine, they’ve done a great job because it’s not much different than last year, a little bit more than last year but it’s really straightforward and quite easy and this being the most difficult track, it’s really impressive.
DR: Yeah, I think at the start of the race it was a bit of guessing. Some laps I would try and push and not really conserve and then when I felt I had enough gap then I would start conserving. We were basically learning all the time today. First time that we’ve done a race distance so I think we’ll take a lot out of it but in the end I think the system we have to reach the fuel target is not bad, considering we haven’t done too much work on that yet. I think we survived quite well.

Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Nico, a certain Mr Ecclestone predicted that you would win this year’s championship. Do you think that favouritism is now justified by this result today?
NR: Of course I heard about that and I’m thankful for such a statement. It’s always a boost when it comes from Bernie but other than that, I don’t think about that too much at the moment. There’s a long way to go and it’s just been a great day today, great win, great start to the season and just leave it at that.

Q: (Tony Schibeci – SEN Radio) Nico, Malaysia is normally the next week after Australia. This time it’s two weeks away. Is it an advantage for you to have that two weeks or is it a disadvantage because it allows everyone a bit of extra time to get their cars closer to where you’re at?
NR: I don’t know whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage but for sure we’re going to use that time well to further improve our car, make it quicker, more reliable, so it’s going to be a very useful gap now in between the two races.

Q: (Sam McClure – Radio 3AW) Daniel, already today you have achieved what Mark Webber couldn’t, finish on the podium in his home Grand Prix. You’re going to be the new face of Australian motor sport in the papers today, in the news tonight. How does that make you feel?
DR: I don’t know. Obviously really nice but even when I flew into Melbourne this week, it was a bit embarrassing to see my face on a few billboards. I don’t know. It’s obviously nice, all the support is great but I don’t know. The fame is something which I guess maybe I will still have to get used to but it’s nice, really nice to give the fans what they wanted to see. I know they went crazy yesterday when we nearly got the pole and then to back it up with a podium today is great. I think half of Perth is here as well this weekend. I told all my family to stay away from the pits, didn’t need any extra distractions but I’m sure I will catch up with them tonight and enjoy a beer and relax a little bit before Malaysia.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Nico, today we saw you dancing a little bit to Get Lucky going to the drivers’ parade. It looks like you were really confident, in spite of having Lewis on pole position. I want to know if you’re going to dance a little bit more to get Get Lucky in every race?
NR: I was very optimistic for the race today because we just prepared really well for it and so I was confident that we could do well and so I looked forward to it and from the start it just all went fantastically.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kevin, McLaren is leading the Constructors championship, do you think you can hang on there with a rookie and a champion driver together?
KM: Yeah, who knows? We will certainly try our best. I know the team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be at the top of Formula One. So, what can I say? I’ll do my best and they will do their best. Who knows?

Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Daniel, how much of that gap to Nico do you think can be closed just from some consistent running that you’ve got now?
DR: I think it will definitely get smaller and hopefully not bigger over time. I think there’s still a lot to learn today and once it all settles down and I go through the meeting with the engineers tonight I will start to… Now I’m obviously on a high but then I’ll start to break it all down and become critical and places where we can improve. I’ll definitely try and help the guys out with that. Obviously I would like the gap closed. He was pretty far away in front today and obviously second is great but it would be nice to at least have seen him on the straight and not five corners ahead.

Q: (Ralf Bach – R&B) Kevin, one question: I think Mercedes is a very good engine. Would you like to stay with it next year?
NR: Careful. He’s really dangerous so best to say no comment.
KM: No comment.
NR: When he asks a question, no comment.
KM: I’m happy just to be with McLaren. I think what Mercedes and McLaren have done together is amazing and really looking forward to what’s coming ahead.

March 16, 2014
Hamilton snatches Australian pole from Ricciardo in wet Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton claimed the pole position, snatching it from home favourite Daniel Ricciardo, in the final moments of the season opening Australian qualifying session.

The F1 weather gods thought it would be a good idea to spice things up a little – as if they weren’t already complicated enough with all the 2014 regulation changes. The session started in dry conditions but the heavens opened before the end of the first 18 minute phase of qualifying. The weather deteriorated to the point that full wet tyres were required in the final shootout.

With very little wet running during the winter testing, it was a whole new challenge for the drivers. Despite it being his first time driving on the limit in the wet, Lewis Hamilton brought home the pole, snatching it by a solid 0.3s! Ricciardo so nearly had it in the bag, but the Australian will be more than happy with starting on his first ever front row on his first outing for the Red Bull team. Nico Rosberg rounded off the top 3.

Ricciardo’s team mate, four time world champion Sebastian Vettel, did not make it through to the final part of qualifying – despite a valiant effort after his final lap was affected by Kimi Raikkonen crashing his Ferrari into the wall. A little too much throttle and the Finn’s Ferrari headed off the track, bringing out yellow flags in the first sector to compromise Vettel’s lap. Raikkonen will start from 11th, and Vettel from 12th.

McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen put in a very impressive performance and will be starting from 4th place. His team mate Jenson Button was another surprise casualty of the Q2 session and will only start in 10th place (promoted from 11th due to a grid penalty for Valterri Bottas).

Fernando Alonso will start in 5th position, only just making it ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne. Toro Rosso team mate, rookie Daniel Kvyat, also made it through to Q1 and will be starting in 8th place.

Here’s a look at your full time sheet for the session. Join us tomorrow morning on Twitter (@F1_Madness) for live coverage of the Australian Grand Prix! If the final stages of today’s qualifying session are anything to go by, we’re in for a VERY exciting race!

March 15, 2014
Rosberg leads FP3, Mercedes domination continues

Mercedes sent another strong message to their rivals with Nico Rosberg the messenger during FP3 in Australia ahead of qualifying this morning. Rosberg finished the session a crazy 1.3 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Jenson Button, with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finishing the session in 3rd place. Lewis Hamilton finished the session in fourth place but could very easily have made it a 1-2 for Ferrari, had he not run wide at Turn 9 on his second flying lap.

The Mercedes W05 was clearly the fastest car out there on both tyre compounds with both Rosberg and Hamilton comfortably fastest in earlier FP3 running.

Lotus’ woes seem far from over with Romain Grosjean complaining about his engine misfiring, and Pastor Maldonado stopping out on track less than a minute before the chequered flag came out on the session.

Kimi Raikkonen also continued his struggle with his car’s balance, running off the track on more than one occasion and finishing the session in 7th, a full 1.7 seconds off the pace.

Spots of rain threatened just before the green flag on the FP3 session, and a gusty wind made its presence known around the track. Heavy rain is heading for the track just ahead of qualifying which could really impact on how the session will play out.

As always you can join us on Twitter (@F1_Madness) at 7:30am for qualifying build up as well as for live updates throughout the session. We’ll also be around for some post qualifying chat – so do join in!

Here is the full timesheet for FP3:

Photo credit: Mercedes

March 15, 2014
F1 2014: Australia Free Practice 2: Merc Sets The Pace

The Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets for the second free practice session in Australia.

A significant amount of laps were completed by most teams as they set out discovering and fine-tuning their race set-ups for Sunday. The early part of the session was dedicated to a few laps on the yellow side-walled softer tyres. Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the session on his soft tyre run, roughly one and a half tenths clear of his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Red Bull enjoyed a much easier start to the session as the team was able to complete its programme without any issues. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo set the fourth and sixth fastest times respectively. Fernando Alonso slotted into third place overall with a time half a second slower than Hamilton.

The struggle continued for Lotus who was able to get only Romain Grosjean out of the garage. The Frenchman completed twelve laps before hitting the wall and breaking the left-rear suspension of his car towards the end of the session. However, on-board shots revealed that the Lotus was not running at full revs – surely a sign that the team is not yet comfortable in pushing its car. Pastor Maldonado did not make it onto circuit at all. Likewise, Caterham failed to get either car out on track.

If it is to be taken at face value the long run pace painted quite an ominous picture. The Mercedes pairing were by far the quickest with Hamilton setting lap times in the mid 33 second range during his long run. Several other teams, including Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull were clocking times in the mid 34 second range. The two Ferrari drivers were reportedly on different programmes during the long run as Kimi Raikkonen lapped in the mid 36 range. Unfortunately, there is no way of telling the various fuel loads run by the teams during their long run stints. However, tyre degradation appeared to be less of a factor than it was in 2013. At least at this stage.

Final Standings from Free Practice 2:

March 14, 2014
F1 2014: Australia Free Practice 1: Alonso Quickest for Ferrari

The 2014 Formula 1 season officially got underway with the first free practice session from Australia.

It was quite a sizeable crowd that gathered to finally see the 2014 challengers and, more importantly, hear what they sound like. Some may not be a fan of the new V6 Turbo engine but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. Fernando Alonso was the first driver on circuit and the distinctive whistle of the Turbo, as he lifted off for the corners, was quite pleasing.

The season sputtered into life with several laps from McLaren’s Jenson Button and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. However, Lewis Hamilton’s session was completely scrapped as his Mercedes stopped out on circuit during his out-lap. The team later confirmed that a sensor problem caused the stoppage and that it was in no way engine/power unit related.

Local favourite Daniel Ricciardo set the first flying lap of the session in the Red Bull while teammate Sebastian Vettel’s steed was stationary in the garage for quite some time. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas looked comfortable in the Williams who did not experience any issues during the session.

Ferrari’s returned world champion Kimi Raikkonen was struck by an ERS problem which kept him the box for some time. Nevertheless, it was the Finn’s former team who seemed to struggle the most. Lotus managed only one installation lap with new signing Pastor Maldonado while Romain Grosjean was confined to the garage for the entire session. Despite getting Maldonado out on track the Venezuelan returned to the pitlane with smoke billowing out of the cockpit and requiring the assistance of the marshals to get back to his box.

A few lock-ups for several drivers ensured some nervy moments but none sustained any significant damage in their off track excursions. Sebastian Vettel’s eventual venture out onto the circuit resulted in the seventh quickest time overall but ended with the champion stranded at the end of the pitlane.

Noticeably, radio messages between pitwall and driver were significantly clearer thanks to the much quieter power units. The first free practice session proved somewhat different than the catastrophe that was expected. Granted, some teams struggled throughout the session, especially Lotus, but the signs were quite encouraging.

Fernando Alonso ended the session quickest overall and as the only driver to dip below the 1 minute 32 mark. The Ferrari driver set a fastest time of 1:31:840 with a total of twenty laps.

Final Standings from Free Practice 1:

March 14, 2014
F1 2014: Australian GP Preview: Mystery In Melbourne

Eleven teams will start the 2014 Australian grand prix. Beyond this obvious fact not much else can be forecasted. Unpredictability in Formula 1 is back with a vengeance and brings with it a bevy unanswered questions.

How many drivers will finish the Australian grand prix? The saying that to finish first, first you must finish has never been so appropriate; and the prediction of half the field finishing the race is seen as generous by some. Reliability has dominated the winter testing season as teams struggled to integrate the new power units and electronic systems. Renault powered cars were stricken on the side of the track most often with issues ranging from cooling to complete failure. Meanwhile the consistent crooning of the Mercedes power stamped its authority at the top of time sheets.

The pecking order after twelve days of testing suggests that Mercedes, Williams and McLaren are the front running teams, at least on paper. These teams, all Mercedes powered, delivered the most consistent performances over long runs and in qualifying trim. The newly renamed Williams Martini team looks to have taken a significant step forward and Felipe Massa believes that he will start the Australian GP with a good chance of mixing it at the front. It would be especially sweet for the former Ferrari driver should his Williams feature in the top three.

To be the favourite on paper doesn’t carry much weight, if any at all. The reality is that Red Bull Racing may yet show up Down Under and perform quite well. The car rolled into the back of the truck on the final day of testing will hardly resemble the one that takes to the Albert Park circuit this weekend. Several teams will bring a raft of updates for their cars as they aim to learn as much as possible before the start of Sunday’s race.

The Ferrari team has remained under the radar with neither of its mega quick drivers revealing too much about the team’s prospects. The Italian squad’s winter hasn’t been awesomely positive nor has it been disastrous. Fernando Alonso was particularly underwhelmed about driving in 2014. “We were saving the tyres from lap one of the stints last year, and we are saving the tyres from lap one this year. That’s no different. I don’t think things will change that much, but obviously the cars are slower,” said the double champion. It is worth noting that the Alonso is one the greatest politicians in the F1 game. A bit of psychological by-play is never too far from his repertoire.

In a normal year of F1, the first race of the season requires for a variety of factors to come together just right to ensure success – and 2014 is no normal year. Teams are limited to 100 kilos of fuel per car for the grand prix which will call for vigilant fuel management throughout the race. As before, tyres have to be looked after, so too the power units which are limited to five per season. However, in F1 2014 the driver can be the difference. “It really is a driver’s car – more than the old ones,” said McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen. “It’s a bit more difficult with more torque. It’s difficult to take care of the tyres and I think it’s going to be tricky. You need more skill and more sensitivity in your throttle.”

Few things are the same in Formula 1 2014. The cars do not look the same, they do not sound the same and they are a tad slower. However, the skill of the greatest drivers in the world and absolute unpredictability of it all ensure that it remains the greatest spectacle. This is Formula 1 2014.

March 11, 2014
Second Bahrain Test: Day 1: Driver Quotes

Force India’s Sergio Perez set the pace on Day 1 of the final Bahrain test with a time of 1:35.290, almost a full second clear of second fastest man, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. Here are some quotes from the drivers after the first day of the second Bahrain test

Sergio Perrez(1:35.290) | Force India-Mercedes | 105 laps: “We really needed a good day to start this week and today we had it. We managed to do a lot of laps, try several different compounds and mappings, and it’s been a fantastic day in terms of learning about the car. Tomorrow is my last day in the car before the season starts so hopefully we can have another solid day to be in good shape for Melbourne.”

Valtteri Bottas(1:36.184) | Williams-Mercedes | 128 laps: “It’s been another good day for us and it was nice to get the whole run plan done. We didn’t have any issues all day so well done to all the team for getting the car running so well. We have a lot of data to analyse tonight after doing some aero work this morning and a race distance and set-up work this afternoon. We did some very interesting tests and there are still plenty of things to improve so we’ll keep pushing.”

Kimi Raikkonen(1:36.432) | Ferrari | 54 laps: “Before I leave Sakhir, it’s planned that I should do a race distance and that’s the only thing I’m missing. Today we chose to concentrate on some of the many things we still have to work on and we won’t assess the winter testing until the final day, when we will put together all the data we have gathered. What I can say is that I have been through worse winters than this.

We have been on different programmes and I don’t think you can judge a car’s potential from how many laps it does in testing. We have a lot of things to test and we want to make the most of these days to check everythting, because the race weekend doesn’t last long and the hours on Friday fly by, while on the other days you are only looking for performance.”

Nico Rosberg(1:36.624) | Mercedes | 89 laps: “That was not a fantastic day for us. We tried some new parts on the car and you find out a lot doing that. But unfortunately we did not only discover good things today. I managed to do a couple of good laps before lunch but in the afternoon we had a few small problems which ended my running a bit earlier than planned. This shows that we are pushing everything to the limit and we still have a massive challenge in front of us during the last three days of testing. We need to maximise our time here to be prepared for Melbourne. But after a difficult day overall we are on the right path.”

Daniel Ricciardo(1:37.908) | Red Bull-Renault | 39 laps: ” This morning was much better for us with a few longer runs. Behind the wheel, that’s the best I’ve felt so far. The package seems to be coming together better. We still had a few issues today, but at least when the car was on track it was much more useful running and we made progress in the morning. It’s getting there. I’d love to keep going, but at leas Seb has two days after me in the car, so I think we’ll be looking pretty good for the next three days.”

Daniil Kvyat(1:39.242) | Toro Rosso-Renault | 55 laps: “It was nice to be in the car, even if we didn’t get through the entire programme we had planned for today. However, I feel we have made some progress. We ran the Hard Pirelli most of the time, as we were definitely not chasing performance today. I hope Jev manages to get a full day’s running tomorrow, before I drive again on Saturday.”

Included is the unofficial timesheet for the day’s session:

Photo Credits

Title Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Article Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

February 27, 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
Full driver line-up for Bahrain tyre test confirmed

The full driver line-up for this week’s Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain has been confirmed.

The three day tyre test is set to get underway on Tuesday and end on Thursday and will see teams testing using their 2013 cars. All 11 teams were invited to the tyre test but only six agreed to participate. McLaren and Force India however later decided to withdraw. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and Toro Rosso will be on track to put Pirelli’s 2014 tyres through their paces. The running plans however, will be dictated by Pirelli as they gather data for next season.

World champions Red Bull, will be making use of test driver Sebastien Buemi while Toro Rosso will give Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat one and a half days of running each.

Ferrari confirmed that they will be using their development driver Pedro De la Rosa for two days and that Marussia driver Jules Bianchi will take part in one day of the tyre test.

Mercedes were last to confirm their driver line-up and will be using only Nico Rosberg for the tyre test.

December 17, 2013