F1 Madness

Tag: niki lauda

  • F1 2017: Russian Gp Free Practice Three Report – Ferrari Maintain Top Billing

    F1 2017: Russian Gp Free Practice Three Report – Ferrari Maintain Top Billing

    Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time in the final free practice session ahead of the Russian grand prix.

    Ferrari driver Vettel set a fastest time of 1:34:001 ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in second. Valtteri Bottas slotted in third ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

    Meanwhile Jolyon Palmer didn’t get out of the garage as his Renault required an engine change in addition to the safety cell that had been replaced last night. For Red Bull the best position went to Max Verstappen in fifth with Daniel Ricciardo setting the eighth quickest time in the one-hour session.

    Expectations are for a close battle for the front row of the grid in the qualifying session for the Russian grand prix.

    Final Free Practice Three Standings:

  • F1 2017: Russian Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Raikkonen On Top

    F1 2017: Russian Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Raikkonen On Top

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has topped the first free practice session at the Sochi Autodrom ahead of the Russian grand prix.

    The first free practice session got underway in stunning clear conditions with a track temperatures hovering in the mid-thirties for the duration of the session. Local driver took over the Renault seat from Nico Hulkneberg but didn’t last too long at his home event. The Renault ground to halt shortly after exiting the pitlane thus ending Sirotkin’s run. While the car was returned to the pitlane the team were unable to get the Russian driver back out on track.

    A brief red flag, caused by the engine cover flying off Esteban Ocon’s Force India, in the second half of the start/finish strait. It was a short stoppage however as the session got back underway in little more than two minutes. Later on a loss of power brought Stoffel Vandoorne’s session to a premature end.

    But for lurid spin from Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari there were no other noteworthy incidents in the session. Teams opted to run the soft tyre for the first part of the session before switching to the supersoft compound for the last 50 minutes of free practice. Pirelli have nominated the ultra-soft, super-soft, and soft compound tyres for the weekend.

    Traditionally the Sochi Autordom shows little degradation on the tyres may be a straight forward one-stopper on Sunday. This was further evidenced by Bottas late session run on the soft tyres in which he consistently set lap times in the 1:40 range before dropping his times to high 1:39s.

    Standings after Free Practice One:

    Screen Shot 2017-04-28 at 11.36.49 AM

  • F1 2017: Chinese Gp Review – Hamilton Wins For Mercedes In China

    F1 2017: Chinese Gp Review – Hamilton Wins For Mercedes In China

    Just about the only thing that was predictable for the 14th running of the Chinese grand prix is that Lewis Hamilton started from pole position alongside the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel while Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen locked out the second row of the grid.

    Friday’s running at the Shanghai International Circuit was abandoned due to weather conditions prohibiting the medical helicopter from landing at the designated hospital in Shanghai. It meant that teams and drivers entered into Sunday’s race with only the data and knowledge of the one-hour final practice session and whatever number of laps they completed in qualifying.

    The weather conditions on Sunday were best described as dank as the field started the race on intermediate tyres. The only exception to this was Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso who opted to start the race on the dry, supersoft tyre, much to this dismay of his engineers. While the circuit was wet in some parts it was drying quickly in others and the intermediates were discarded within four laps.

    1310A virtual safety car was deployed for the recovery of Lance Stroll’s Williams, which had been dumped off the circuit by Sergio Perez. It is at this point that Ferrari decided to call Sebastian Vettel into the pits for a change of boots. Unfortunately, a full safety car would be deployed shortly after to clear the heavily damaged Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi. This afforded race leader Hamilton a free pitstop while Vettel was stuck behind a Verstappen/Ricciardo/Raikkonen train.

    While Vettel launched a bid for recovery, Hamilton was comfortable at the front and without any real pressure, he could control his pace. The cooler temperatures also played into Mercedes’ hand as it means less tyre degradation.

    Despite finishing second to Hamilton, Vettel delivered a telling performance in the Ferrari. Take into account that Hamilton had a free pitstop under the safety car, and factor in that Vettel lost a good amount of time behind the Ricciardo train. The fact that he finished only six seconds off Hamilton indicates that Ferrari had a car that could’ve won the race.

    1309Meanwhile, Max Verstappen brilliantly recovered his race and went from sixteenth to finish third ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in fourth. The sister Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen finished in a frustrated fifth. While the Finn struggled through the race with an intermittent power issue, the Ferrari pit wall compounded his frustration by calling an absurd strategy. Their inexplicable decision left Raikkonen out while all the front-running drivers made their stops while the driver was adamant that the tyres would not make it to the end of the race. From the radio messages, it was clear that Raikkonen had to force the issue and he eventually pitted, what was ten laps too late.

    There weren’t a high a number of overtakes in this year’s race but what we did see were several pretty spectacular overtakes. There were two from Vettel, one on his own teammate, and one around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo. There were several from Max Verstappen too and an especially spicy one from Romain Grosjean around the outside of turn two on Felipe Massa. The point is that while there weren’t a 100 passes, there were genuine and very bold overtakes that came about as a result of some driver heroics instead of being aided by DRS.

    1323While conditions flattered Red Bull on the day Valtteri Bottas did not cover himself in glory as he spun out of contention early on. The Finn eventually finished sixth. Sainz, who had started the race on supersofts, drove brilliantly to recover from an early spin and finish a spectacular seventh. Kevin Magnussen delivered Haas’ first points of the season in eighth ahead of the two Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon in ninth and tenth.

    Neither McLaren saw the chequered flag as first Stoffel Vandoorne retired with a fuel-pressure issue and later Fernando Alonso pulled off the track with a driveshaft failure.

    Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel head to the Bahrain Gp this weekend equal on 43 points. The hotter temperatures in Bahrain will boost Ferrari’s challenge in what is sure to be an enthralling battle with Mercedes.

  • F1 2017: Chinese Gp Preview – China Set For Mercedes Reaction

    F1 2017: Chinese Gp Preview – China Set For Mercedes Reaction

    From the quaint streets of the Albert Park circuit in Australia the Formula 1 paddock heads the grand architecture of the Shanghai International circuit in China for the second round of the 2017 season.

    Remarkably, F1’s latest visit to China marks the 14th year that the Shanghai circuit has been on the calendar. There is a bit of history about the circuit too. Its inaugural race in 2004 was won by then Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and in 2006 Michael Schumacher scored what would be his 91st and final victory. A year later Kimi Raikkonen’s win in changeable conditions would set up an unlikely championship triumph while, in 2012, the Chinese grand prix was also the very first race win for the reigning champion Nico Rosberg.

    Nevertheless, while these stats and victories remain firmly in the history books the 2017 crop arrives with what is still very much an era in its infancy. While Ferrari has won the first race of the season the Shanghai International circuit demands a far different type of car performance. For one, this circuit is far more front limited which means that a car will need to work well with its front tyres to set competitive lap times. The tyres too will be tested more than in Australia as the Chinese circuit is far more abrasive.

    Tyre wear may prove to be a significant factor, especially for Mercedes. It was this issue that Lewis Hamilton singled out as the reason for his defeat by Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari. What’s more, in Australia it was clear that Mercedes W08 is not as comfortable following other cars as the Ferrari appears to be which, by itself, can substantially influence tyre degradation and wear.

    Driver tyre choices for Chinese Grand PrixHowever, these aren’t the only issues Mercedes are facing and the team has admitted that it needs to reduce the weight of its 2017 car. An overweight car not only costs lap time but also takes away the teams ability to position ballast in the car to aid handling. What’s more, Haas team principal Guenter Steiner thinks that Ferrari’s 2017 power unit might be on a par with than that of Mercedes, if not better. The make up of the Chinese circuit, which includes several high speed corners, and long straits, will be a good test of Steiner’s theory.

    But by no means is Mercedes ruled out of taking the top step of podium this weekend. The prediction of fairly low temperatures for the race weekend will be in their favour as cooler condition will mean less overheating of their tyres. But they’ll have to work hard if they are to withstand the threat of Ferrari. For Red Bull the fight is highly unlikely to be for the podium considering the deficit of the Renault engine to that of Mercedes and Ferrari.

    Shanghai_F1_Circui_01Several critics have railed about the difficultly of overtaking in 2017. The detractors felt vindicated by the overall lack of overtaking in Australia but Albert Park, as a semi-street circuit, is not the best barometer in this case. While the jury is still out in what is still a fairly immature point of the season the Shanghai International circuit, thanks to its two long straits, will offer more overtaking opportunities. It will not be definitive but it will begin to reveal how easy or difficult overtaking will be in 2017.

    Since the start of the hybrid era in 2014 Mercedes have been an unstoppable juggernaut only rarely tripped up by themselves. In these three years the world has witnessed how the Mercedes team runs and conducts itself as the dominant force. At the start of 2017 they are by no means down and out but are, at the very least, perceived to be ever so slightly on the back foot. Therefore, it will be fascinating to observe how they respond.

  • F1 2017: Australian Gp Review – Ferrari On Top Down Under

    F1 2017: Australian Gp Review – Ferrari On Top Down Under

    For the first time since the hybrid era started in Formula 1 a team other than Mercedes is leading the world championship. That team is Ferrari and the driver is Sebastian Vettel.

    It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a Ferrari claimed the top step of podium as all signs in testing pointed to the fact that the Italian team had built a good car. While not too surprising, it was a breath of fresh air. Consider how refreshing it is to have a red car cross the finish line when you take into account that this is the Ferrari victory since the 2015 Singapore grand prix and the first time since November 2008 that Ferrari has led the constructor’s championship.

    It was a measured start to the grand prix that Lewis Hamilton led into turn one from pole position with Vettel in close attendance. There was however a coming together of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber a bit later in the lap. While the rest of the pack sorted themselves out Vettel was glued to the back of the Mercedes exhaust, this time Hamilton wasn’t simply scampering off into the distance.

    1169This meant while Hamilton could control the front of the race he couldn’t run at too conservative a pace. This meant that Hamilton was not able to extend the life of the ultrasoft tyres and was forced into the pitlane ahead of the Ferrari. This gave Vettel the impetuous to push ahead and take the lead of the race.

    Hamilton’s early visit to the pits came a surprise too many as the new-for-2017 pirelli tyres have a much long lifespan than their 2016 counterparts. Nevertheless, the three-time champ emerged behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and was stuck behind the Dutchman for a handful of laps while Vettel pulled away up front.

    Mercedes, and Hamilton, would have you believe that this is where the race was lost but Verstappen didn’t play as big a role. Firstly, Hamilton dived into the pitlane because he’d exhausted the tyres and was losing grip. Secondly, while he did lose a few seconds behind Verstappen he wasn’t stuck behind him for the remainder of the race, in fact, it wasn’t even half distance yet. The simple fact is that the Mercedes just didn’t have the pace to beat the Ferrari.

    Post-race Hamilton bemoaned the inability to overtake Verstappen. Given the unique characteristics of Albert Park it’s not yet clear whether overtaking in 2017 will be more difficult. Shangai, in two weeks time, should be a better barometer. But again, this didn’t seem like a valid point as several other drivers pulled of overtakes, including a stunning double-overtake from Force India’s Esteban Ocon on Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. But we’ve seen before that the Merc isn’t a car that runs as efficiently as others in dirty air, and it seems, at least from Australia that it’s an issue that haven’t gotten on top yet.

    1142Valtteri Bottas impressed with his performance in third only two seconds off Hamilton. Ideally he’ll want to be ahead but he’ll take a lot of confidence from the margin to his teammate in only his first race with the team. Kimi Raikkonen came home a distant fourth and said that understeer in the first stint on the ultrasoft tyres put him in no-mans land. But when he swithced to the soft tyre he was able to run the pace of the top three and set the fastest lap of the race. Was fourth ideal? No, but the important thing is that Raikkonen and the team indicated that they knew where they’d gone wrong on the set-up and know what to fix for China in two weeks time.

    Max Verstappen, in fifth, brought the Red Bull home in a predictable position given the team’s pace. Daniel Ricciardo never recovered from a qualifying crash as he first broke down on the lap to the grid then joined the race two laps down only to break down again.

    Verstappen, in fifth, ended up pretty much where you’d have predicted for Red Bull. The unretired Felipe Massa was sixth for Williams ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Daniil Kvyat was ninth in the other Toro Rosso ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Force India in tenth.

    1166It was a day to forget for McLaren as Stoffel Vandoorne finished last and Fernando Alonso retired with suspension failure. What is evident for the Honda-powered team is that 2017 will be another painfully long season.

    After Friday practice Hamilton was crowned champion at least seventeen different times and Ferrari had no chance of even getting close to the Mercedes. Just as it was premature to write off Ferrari after Friday it is equally unwise to declare them the team to beat after one race. It’s a new formula with a lot of room for improvement throughout the season. Even if a team dominates the first races it doesn’t mean that they will be the team to beat at the end of the year. The learning curve on these cars will be enormous.

    But Ferrari’s victory is no fluke, or once-off, the SF-70H is a good car that has every possibility of taking the fight to Mercedes through all of the nineteen remaining races.

  • F1 2017: Mercedes Launch W08

    F1 2017: Mercedes Launch W08

    The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team has launched its 2017 challenger, the WO8, ahead of the 2017 Formula 1 season.

    Ahead of the official online launch of Mercedes’ car its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas put the new car through its paces at the Silverstone racetrack. However, the event was not an official test but rather a filming day for publicity purposes.

    “The car feels wider, the front tires feel huge,” said Hamilton of his first impression. “It’s a big day for me. I’ve been waiting for this moment,” added new signing Valtteri Bottas.

    Immediately noticeable is the streamlined shark fin engine cover that the Merc is sporting. It is believed however that the team will run a larger version of the cover at official testing. Also noticeable are a pair of vents on the front of the car, ahead of the side pods. The nose of the car appears more rounded than its 2016 predecessor with the German team shying away from the snub-nose design already sported by Williams, Sauber, and Renault.

    There is also the addition of more turquoise into the livery of the car. Toto Wolff revealed that it is due to Mercedes’ new brand, Electric Intellegence, which will also be adapted to suit road cars.

    What’s more is that earlier in the day Mercedes customer team Force India’s technical director Andy Green believes that the Mercedes engine has moved even further ahead than it was last year. “Mercedes HPP [High Performance Powertrains] have done a fantastic job over the winter and made another unprecedented step. It is impressive.”

    Before the conclusion of the official online launch Toto Wolff had some words of wisdom for new driver Valtteri Bottas ahead of his first time in the cockpit of a Silver Arrow. “It has an aura, the car stands for a lot of history for Mercedes Benz,” he said.

    Testing officially starts at Spain’s circuit de Catalunya on the 27th of February.

  • F1 2016: British Gp Review – Hamilton Scores 4th Home Win

    F1 2016: British Gp Review – Hamilton Scores 4th Home Win

    The notoriously unpredictable British weather was surprisingly docile right up until ten minutes before the race start.

    As the rain came down on the Silverstone circuit race director Charlie Whiting declared that it would start behind the safety car. Although safety is of paramount importance the safety-car start deprived everyone of the battle, into turn one, between the front-row starting Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

    The safety-car pulled into the pitlane after five laps most of the field switched to intermediate tyres while Hamilton continued to build a gap to second-placed Rosberg. Hamilton, Rosberg and the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo had not swopped their wet tyres for intermediates. They would have been at a disadvantage to those behind was it not for Pascal Wehrlein aquaplaned his Manor into the gravel trap and out of the race on lap seven and brought out the virtual safety-car.

    As the race settled after the first round of stops Hamilton comfortably led the way from his teammate. On occasion Rosberg threatened to close the gap to Hamilton but never follow through. He also had to deal with a spirited Max Verstappen snapping at his heels. After a few laps of hounding Rosberg’s gearbox the 18 year-old pulled off a stunningly brave move around the outside of Chapel to take second place. The season still has some way to go but this overtaking move will take some beating.

    GP GRAN BRETAGNA F1/2016As the circuit continued to dry the next round of stops saw everyone switch to dry medium compound tyres. Behind Hamilton, Rosberg, and Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo was running a very distant fourth with Sergio Perez and Kimi Raikkonen even further behind. Despite no rain falling the circuit was slow to dry and several drivers including race leader Hamilton had several off track moments.

    Though it would take some time Rosberg eventually found a way by Verstappen. He closed the gap to Hamilton from eight to six seconds but never truly looked likely to threaten the lead of the race.

    Hamilton masterful in wet condition just as in 2008, which to date it arguably his best grand prix win. While Ricciardo drove an uninspiring race to fourth Ferrari’s newly re-signed Kimi Raikkonen was able to close down a substantial gap to Perez for fifth. Perez finished sixth ahead of Force India teammate Nico Hulkenberg in seventh and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz in eighth. Sebastian Vettel completed a miserable day for Ferrari in ninth. The German driver started the race in eleventh after suffering yet another five-place gearbox penalty. Though there was nothing deliberate about it he was slapped with a 5-second penalty for forcing Felipe Massa off the tack. The penalty didn’t affect his final position in the race. The second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat scored the final point in tenth.

    GP GRAN BRETAGNA F1/2016Controversy enveloped the Mercedes team as Rosberg ran into gearbox problems late in the race. The pitwall gave instruction on which setting to change and coached Rosberg to shift through seventh gear. By telling the driver to shift through the gear the team breached the driver communication rule, which prohibits the team from giving instructions to fix a performance issue. Nearly four hours after the race the stewards imposed a ten-second penalty on Rosberg, which dropped him to third in the race classification. Mercedes has stated their intent to appeal the decision.

    A new precedent was set as it’s the first instance where a penalty had to be imposed for the breach of driver communication rules. However, a ten-second penalty isn’t much of a deterrent if the alternative is retirement.

    Nico Rosberg started the season with four consecutive wins but has only claimed victory in one of the last six races. Add to this that a fourth win on home soil has put Hamilton only one point adrift of the championship lead and it appears as if the Brit is gaining an ominous momentum.

    (All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

  • F1 2014: Spanish GP Review – To The Max!

    F1 2014: Spanish GP Review – To The Max!

    It’s old and outdated but never has it been more true – to finish first, first you must finish.

    The two front-row starting Mercedes’ of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg know this saying well but putting it into practice became entirely too difficult. The teammates dramatic collision in turn four put them both out of the race on lap one.

    Rosberg snatched the lead from pole starting Hamilton but had started the race in the wrong engine mode. While he fiddled with his steering wheel Hamilton saw his opportunity to regain the lead of the race and attempted to pass the German going into turn four. Rosberg, down roughly 17kph in his setting, saw the move and moved over crowding Hamilton. The reigning champion took the grass, lost control of his car and slammed into Rosberg.

    The incident was investigated after the race but no penalties were forthcoming.

    Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg crashFrom the camera shots you could say that Rosberg’s move was a tad over-aggressive. But because Hamilton only had his front-wing alongside the rear-wheel of Rosberg’s car the number 6 Merc was within his right to make the defensive move. But come what may this is one of those incidents that will divide opinion and having each driver’s fans blaming the other as the guilty party.

    Although this incident was dramatic it blew the race wide open. Between Red Bull and Ferrari it delivered a Spanish Gp that will be remembered for decades. Daniel Ricciardo now led the way from newly promoted teammate Max Verstappen and the fast-starting Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz.

    The Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen made relatively quick work of Sainz and were now turning a quicker pace that the two Red Bulls ahead. Ricciardo pitted first on lap 11, Verstappen and Raikkonen a lap later and Vettel on lap 15.

    GP SPAGNA F1/2016Though Ricciardo and Vettel still led on the road after the first round of pitstops they strangely opted for a three-stop strategy. The Red Bull and Ferrari stopped again on 28 and 29 respectively relegating Ricciardo and Vettel to third and fourth. After their third visit to the pitlane Vettel was able to jump Ricciardo’s Red Bull setting up a great duel between the two for the final step of the podium. The Aussie tried a couple of bold moves to snatch third from Vettel but his left-rear tyre gave up with one lap to go. Such was the frontrunners pace advantage that Ricciardo was able to pit and still finish fourth.

    Up ahead Verstappen and Raikkonen successfully ran a two-stop strategy. By now Max Verstappen had already become the youngest driver to lead a race and was now facing severe pressure from Raikkonen for the win. For twenty laps Raikkonen hounded the back of the Red Bull, half a second away from victory. But the 18-year-old soaked up the pressure, never put a wheel wrong and delivered a superbly controlled drive.

    GP SPAGNA F1/2016Sebastian Vettel made it a double podium for Ferrari in third ahead of Ricciardo. Much further down the road Valtteri Bottas brought his Williams home in fifth ahead of am impressive performance from Carlos Sainz in sixth. Sergio Perez finished seventh in his Force India ahead of Felipe Massa’s Williams in eighth. Jenson Button scored two points for McLaren in ninth while teammate Fernando Alonso was forced into retirement. Dannil Kvyat scored the final point on offer in the Toro Rosso.

    The 15th of May 2016 could’ve been just another day that hosted just another Spanish grand prix. Instead it’s been etched into the history of Formula 1 to be forever remembered as the day that 18-year-old Max Verstappen came of age.

  • F1 2016: Spanish GP Preview – All eyes on Spain

    F1 2016: Spanish GP Preview – All eyes on Spain

    Traditionally the first European race of the F1 season sees a raft of updates made to the cars. It’s no different in 2016 as teams look to take a crucial step forward at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya.

    Red Bull Racing dropped the bombshell a few days after the Russian grand prix that Dannil Kvyat and Max Verstappen would swop seats. Ostensibly, the move appears to have been made following Kvyat’s attempt at playing bumper cars with Sebastian Vettel in Russia but there’s a fair bit more at play than that.

    For one, Russian driver Kvyat hasn’t been that impressive in the Red Bull alongside Daniel Ricciardo. Then, there’s that incident with the Ferrari in Russia. However, neither of these two things are enough to warrant a demotion to the junior team. Drivers go through indifferent patches and make mistakes but they aren’t dropped at the first sign of strife, usually. Romain Grosjean’s troublesome season at Lotus and Pastor Maldonado’s F1 career is testament to the fact that teams usually stick it out. But not in Kvyat’s case.

    daniil-kvyatThe incident in Russia is nothing more than an excuse to promote Verstappen from Toro Rosso into the senior team. While the teenaged Dutch driver may be singing Red Bull’s praises and swearing that he’s never looked elsewhere for a drive we know better. Despite being in only his second F1 season it’s obvious that Verstappen has enormous potential. This makes him a hot commodity for other teams and there’s no better way to keep him close than to move him to the senior team.  Well played Red Bull.

    What a difference twelve months can make. In 2015 Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg arrived at the Spanish grand prix under pressure to perform. This time around he arrives at the fifth round of the season with four race wins under the belt and a dominant lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Now the questions shifts from can Nico do it to can he keep doing it? The German is convinced that Hamilton will hit back soon and he’s likely right. However, it’s also a great mental space Rosberg to operate in – take it one race and one lap at a time and don’t take it for granted.

    Besides a bit of brooding on the Russian Gp podium Hamilton has appeared decidedly chilled, even apathetic, to his dreadful run so far in 2016. But don’t be fooled by his supposedly indifferent approach. The reigning champ more than has the skill to hit back hard and just needs to find the sweet-spot for it to be unleashed.

    TEST PRE CAMPIONATO F1/2016 - T2 - BARCELLONA (SPAGNA)From the Ferrari garage the hope is that the performance deficit in the last race was specific to the circuit. It could’ve been given that the Russian circuit is power dominant. But though they may be closer in Spain it will extremely tough to beat the Silver Arrows around Catalunya.

    McLaren, already vastly improved in 2016, is planning to introduce a significant upgrade to their car this weekend. They hope that a new floor, wings, and various bits of other bodywork will be enough to propel them into the top ten in qualifying and a solid points score with both cars.

    The Haas F1 Team will run the upgraded Ferrari engine, introduced in Russia, in Spain. The Renault team will run an updated version of their front and rear wings in the hopes of upping their game in a tight mid-field battle.

    Seven drivers on the current grid have won the Spanish grand prix and thanks to its status as a test venue everyone knows their way around these parts. But as familiar as they are with the Circuit de Catalunya it doesn’t do anything to lessen the challenge.

  • F1 2016: Russian GP Review – Rosberg Wraps Up Win Number Four

    F1 2016: Russian GP Review – Rosberg Wraps Up Win Number Four

    If you were a neutral there wasn’t much to enthuse about in the Russian grand prix. But these days’ neutrals are few and far between.  And even a true neutral would have to be impressed with the spellbinding way in which Nico Rosberg has won the Russian grand prix.

    While Nico Rosberg led serenely away from pole position and Kimi Raikkonen snatched second from Valtteri Bottas the carnage behind started to unfold. Sebastian Vettel, recovering from a five-place grid penalty, was attempting to pass Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull for fifth when Daniil Kvyat rammed into the back of him. As if to compound matters Kvyat rammed into the back of Vettel a second time in turn three. The Ferrari speared off into a wall prompting a colourful tirade over the German’s radio.

    Kvyat’s catastrophic exuberance resulted in damage for both Red Bulls and the Force India of Sergio Perez and prompted the deployment of the safety car.  Through the shower of carbon fibre and expletives Lewis Hamilton emerged in fifth. The Brit was forced to start tenth after another power unit issue in Saturday qualifying.

    At the restart Bottas was able to get the better of Raikkonen and snatched second as Hamilton made his way past the second Williams for fourth. He took advantage of Raikkonen’s poor exit off turn three and quickly made it third place on the track. Bottas held off Hamilton until the first round of stops but was unable to resist as Hamilton took second place with a move up the inside of turn two.

    GP RUSSIA F1/2016By now Rosberg, untroubled in the lead, had built a near fourteen-second gap. Once in clear air Hamilton reduced the gap to 7.5 seconds before being warned of a water pressure issue. In the end Rosberg’s domination ended in a fourth consecutive victory by 25 seconds over Hamilton. Roughly six seconds down the road Raikkonen completed the top three and rather sedately scored Ferrari’s 700th podium.

    Bottas finished a distant fourth ahead of Williams teammate Felipe Massa in sixth. Fernando Alonso scored his first points of the season with a fine sixth place ahead of Renault’s Kevin Magnussen in seventh. Romain Grosjean salvaged an eighth place finish for Haas ahead of Sergio Perez in ninth. Jenson Button made it a double points score for McLaren by taking the final point in tenth.

    It’s difficult to say that the Russian grand prix revealed everyone’s true form. Yes, Mercedes are still clearly the leaders of the pack but in modern Formula 1 several factors conspire to control the pace of a driver. For Kimi Raikkonen it was the necessity to save fuel that stopped him from pushing the Ferrari to its full potential. For Hamilton yet another power unit issue halted his assault on victory. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind” Hamilton responded when asked if he could’ve won the race.

    GP RUSSIA F1/2016As it were Hamilton, in the unfamiliar bridesmaid role, sulkily made his way through the podium ceremony without bothering to spray the champagne.  While Hamilton’s mood was understandable given his issues so far in 2016 it was unbecoming of F1’s “best ambassador” as he has dubbed himself.

    The 1st of May commemorated the death of the great Ayrton Senna 22 years ago. A driver who when truly tested delivered the very best of himself and his abilities. A driver who typified what a champion ought to be.

    The character of a true champion isn’t revealed as he basks in the glory of win after win. True champion character is revealed in how a driver responds in the difficult moments. For two years Nico Rosberg deferred to Hamilton but now he has responded with the sort of tenacity that, if maintained, could carry him all the way to championship glory.

    (All images courtesy of Pirelli)