Tag: pirelli

F1 2017: Belgium Gp Preview – Spa Kicks of Second Half of F1 2017

The 2017 Formula 1 season resumes this weekend at the celebrated Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. As one of the most iconic and beloved circuits in the world the Belgian race weekend is eagerly recommended as one of the great races to attend in your lifetime.

The reason for it isn’t only the grand circuit, which encompasses such memorably brave corners like Eau Rouge, Pouhon, or Blanchimont. Instead it’s the atmosphere created by the fervent supporters, being in the heart of the Ardennes forest, and watching the best driver in the word’s most elite racing series attempt to conquer the most classic circuit of them all.

Often classified as the driver’s track at 7.5 kilometers Spa comprises of everything that makes a circuit great. Several elevation changes, off chamber corners, and a slew of overtaking opportunities should make the 44 laps a must watch.

The high average speed of the circuit, and its layout, calls for a low downforce setup to be coupled with a good amount of power output. It sounds tailor-made for Mercedes and they will start the race weekend as favourites.

Their most likely challengers are unlikely to be either Daniel Ricciardo or Max Verstappen. One of the most disappointing aspects of the 2017 season is the fact that Red Bull didn’t hit the ground running. With the major regulation change it was expected that the Austrian-based team would be challenging for the titles in 2017 but this aspiration is a bridge too far for them now with only nine races remaining in the season.

Nevertheless, team principal Christian Horner believes that his team will “at least” be able to match Ferrari’s pace for the remainder of the season. Their rate of development has been impressive especially since the Spanish gran prix. But it’s a bold statement given that Ferrari will be throwing everything at the remaining races in order to secure the respective drivers and constructors championship titles.

The championship battle between Ferrari and Mercedes is likely, and hopefully, one that will go down to the wire at the season-ending Abu Dhabi grand prix. However, a single misstep in any of the next nine races could put serious pains to gaining the coveted trophies.

For Mercedes, the gains have to come from improving the downforce of their 2017 car especially for the races that follow after the Belgian and Italian grand prix. “We definitely do have work to do, they [Ferrari] are quick through the corners, and we need to work on that. We need to work on our maximum-downforce package, that’s the main thing,” Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas confirmed.

It’s not straightforward for Ferrari either. They’ve been lacking a bit of pace at certain races, most recently, Silverstone. However, the last race before the summer break was a momentum-building, and important, one-two victory.

It means that Ferrari will arrive in Belgium with confidence and with two drivers who can run right at the sharp-end. What’s more, championship leader Sebastian Vettel firmly believes that the team has identified its areas of weakness and is now more able to set about improving the car.

Arguably, Spa is one of the circuits where Kimi Raikkonen excels most. As a five-time winner and with impressive performances in the last two Raikkonen isn’t too bad a bet for victory this weekend, if Vettel isn’t in second.

August 23, 2017
F1 2017: Mid-Season Report

The 2017 Formula 1 season ushered in fundamental change both on and off the circuit.

One of the biggest changes to F1 came in the form of the new aerodynamic regulations that drastically changed the aesthetics and the speed of the cars. Wider and faster the 2017 cars have, mostly, brought a refreshing change to F1. While cars have been cornering significantly quicker than they ever have before the issue of overtaking has still not been solved. The wider cars, and bigger tyres, have instead made the ability of following a competitor closely a lot tougher. However, the flip of side of this has been that, when presented with an overtaking opportunity, drivers have been more aggressive in making their moves, which has led to more entertaining racing.

While the change to the cars has been a substantial change the biggest change has been, arguably, the resurgence of Ferrari. Less we forget, up until 2017, Mercedes has dominated the hybrid era with consummate ease. The fact that Ferrari is a bona fide championship challenger has been a refreshing change that the sport desperately needed. While the championship battle will likely, and hopefully, carry all the way to the final race of the season, the most impressive aspect of Ferrari’s resurrection has been how the team has achieved it. Though it may be paying off in this season it isn’t something that’s happened overnight. The first pieces of the puzzle were put in place years ago, as noted in this column back in 2014, and is testament to an inspired dedication by all involved at Maranello.

Nevertheless, while Ferrari has been, mostly, impressive in 2017, Mercedes haven’t exactly been slouching. Lewis Hamilton, faced with consistent pressure from Sebastian Vettel, is probably driving as well as he ever has in his career. With due respect to the deserved 2016 Hamilton always believed that he had enough to beat Rosberg and he did so two times out of three. But with Vettel it’s different as he’s now up against a four-time champ who is relentless, ruthless, and ready for title number five.

One of the most impressive drivers this season has been Valtteri Bottas. The Finnish driver has quietly made his way into the championship fight with some impressive drives. It’s never beating a master of qualifying such as Hamilton and Bottas has finally begun to fulfill the potential he entered F1 with. Many wouldn’t have easily written off his chances of beating Hamilton, over a season, at the start of the year. But this question isn’t so comfortably answered after half a season of Bottas vs. Hamilton.

Formula 1 is a baptism of fire for any driver but even more so for rookie drivers.Williams’ newly signed Canadian rookie Lance Stroll had one such rough start to his F1 career. While he wasn’t to blame for the three retirements in the first three races of the season it was evident that he was struggling and over-driving his car.

But the turning point came in Canada with a fine ninth place finish on home soil. Since then, he’s matured and become more comfortable which he capped, so far, with a memorable third place in Baku. While circumstances conspired to elevate him to that position he still needed to do the job in the cockpit.

Elsewhere, Esteban Ocon has quickly found his feet in Force India and F1. So much so that he’s been more than a nuisance to his highly rated teammate Sergio Perez. Yes, he’s made a few mistakes but overall Ocon has been a brilliant addition to the team who could easily be mistaken for a seasoned F1 driver.

As it stands Vettel leads Hamilton by fourteen points in the driver’s championship but its not a comfortable lead by any stretch of the imagination.

And the best thing of all about the 2017 Formula 1 season as that for the first time in quite a while we have no idea which way the championship will go. The season resumes at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit on August 27.

August 7, 2017
F1 2017: Hungarian Gp Review – Formation Flying For Ferrari

The Hungaroring was always a circuit slated to suit the characteristics of the 2017 Ferrari and the Italian team drove home their advantage with a controlled one-two victory.

As in Saturday qualifying the Ferrari driver pair of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were line astern in first and second at light out. As the pair cleanly led at lights out the Mercedes duo, Bottas and Hamilton, had there hands full of fast starting Red Bulls. However, while the initial start went relatively well Verstappen clouted the side of his teammate Ricciardo in a clash that would ultimately come with a hefty price. The coming together put Ricciardo out of the race while Verstappen incurred a ten second time penalty for his part in the incident. While Verstappen’s move was rather silly there was, clearly, no intention on his part, which made the penalty somewhat harsh.

Initially, pace set by Vettel and Raikkonen was much too quick for Bottas to live with who quickly fell seven seconds behind in the opening stint. Vettel too seemed to have the measure of Raikkonen in the opening laps but as the race drew towards its pitstop phase the Finn was clearly the quickest of the two Ferrari’s and easily maintained a second gap to his race leading teammate.

Despite the track temperature soaring in the mid fifty degree range and fears of increased tyre degradation they Pirelli compounds held up well, perhaps a bit too well. It’s no secret that Pirelli’s approach to the manufacturing and construction of their 2017 tyres has been conservative. It is this conservatism that has led to drivers being able to make one stop per race.

It is likely that Pirelli conservative approach stems from an apprehension that the quicker, and heavier, 2017 cars needed more robust tyre construction. Here’s hoping that with all the data gathered this season that 2018 sees malleable range of compounds.

While Vettel wrapped up the 46^th victory of his career it was clear that he was not the fastest Ferrari driver on the day. For the majority of the second half of the race teammate Raikkonen ran within a second of the leader clearly illustrating his superior pace. But as the Hungaroring is notorious for lack of overtaking second is what the Finn was confined too. It didn’t make for a comfortable afternoon for Ferrari though as both Mercs of Bottas and Raikkonen started closing down the leading pair at a rate of knots.

There was a suggestion that Ferrari swap Vettel and Raikkonen so as to ensure a comfortable victory but this move never happened. Contrary to many on social media, who slated Ferrari’s unwillingness to swap its drivers around, it was the right move. The reality of the team orders debate is that you can’t have it both ways. In Monaco, Ferrari handing Vettel the optimum strategy and ultimately the race win was rightly criticized. If this was unacceptable from Ferrari it shouldn’t have been accepted, or called for, in Hungary either.

While it ended well for Ferrari in Hungary Mercedes and Hamilton would’ve won a few more fans with the spirit they displayed. On the instruction of the team Bottas had let Hamilton, with better pace, through to third with the aim of catching the Ferrari pair and giving back the place if he couldn’t do so. However, by the start of the final lap Bottas was seven seconds adrift and under pressure from a recovering Verstappen.

Nevertheless, Hamilton, in a superb show of sportsmanship, slowed significantly in the final corner to give return Bottas’ third place. While Hamilton gave up three points by finishing fourth his move has earned respect. Verstappen, apologetic after the race for the clash with his teammate, eventually finished fifth.

Amazingly, Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the race and finished a solid sixth ahead of Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz in seventh. The Force India drivers continued to keep each other honest with Sergio Perez in eighth and Esteban Ocon in ninth as the second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne scored the final point in tenth. Williams’ Felipe Massa withdrawal from the Hungarian Gp with an inner-ear issue meant that reserve driver Paul di Resta was subbed it almost literally at the last minute. While he ultimately retired with an oil leak the Williams reserve driver did his reputation no harm with a measured performance in a car he’d never driver before.

The majority of the 70 laps of the Hungarian Gp were nervy for Ferrari but they emerged with an important one-two finish. It allows Sebastian Vettel to stem Mercedes’ momentum and to crucially take a fourteen-point lead into the month-long break.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

July 31, 2017
2017 Hungarian GP: Friday Press Conference Part 1

PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Frédéric VASSEUR (Sauber), Mattia BINOTTO (Ferrari), Mario ISOLA (Pirelli)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Mattia, it’s very tight at the top of the timesheets this afternoon. How did today go for you, Ferrari, and how do you assess the pace of nearest rivals?

Mattia BINOTTO: Obviously we just finished the session so we are looking at the data. I think it has been a difficult session because of a lot of traffic, red flags, so difficult somehow to complete the programme. We had to do some compromises on the programme but trying to collect as much data as possible. As you said, the field is very close but nevertheless we are concentrating on ourselves. Trying to optimise the balance of the car will be very important for qualifying and the race. It will be quite hotter Sunday compared to what we got today, so preparing and working on the balance will be very important and key.

Q: And knowing what you know now, are you confident you can be more competitive here than you were at Silverstone two weeks ago?

MB: I think it’s always difficult to judge but certainly today was less negative, let’s say, compared to what we have seen in Silverstone. But Silverstone is in the past. I think somehow we need to forget it, being focused on what is this weekend. I don’t think the comparison is really necessary. More important just being focused on Hungary.

Q: In the past week it has been announced that the Halo head protection is going to be introduced in 2018. Can I ask you about the practicalities of including the Halo on next year’s car, just from a cooling point of view, an aerodynamic point of view, how far down the road are you with those developments?

MB: Obviously the decision has been made at the last Strategy Group meeting in the last week. It’s quite a late decision compared to the project but nevertheless, because of the safety it’s important everybody tries to work very hard on it. The implications are from the chassis structure point of view. So we need to make sure that we are fitting well the Halo on the chassis and the chassis is resisting to the loads that are required by regulations. As well from the aero point of view it may affect certainly the back of the car and that has to be taken into account when designing the new car.

Q: Mario, just a word on today’s running. What have we learned about tyre performance, tyre wear, degradation? How many pit stops can you foresee on Sunday?

Mario ISOLA: Difficult question, because, as Mattia said, during FP2, which is the most representative for us to collect some data, we had two red flags. In terms of delta lap time between soft and supersoft we saw something like 0.8s, 0.9s per lap. It is a bit more than we expected. Our estimation was 0.6, but more or less in this range. We know that the medium is not going to be used during this weekend. The temperature is very high, so degradation will be a key factor on the supersoft, especially on the supersoft, but we don’t have a number now. The number of pit stops will be dictated by the degradation of the supersoft. The tarmac is new. Last year the circuit was resurfaced. Very smooth, but very black. So the temperature is going up easily and we expect more than 50 degrees tarmac on Sunday, so it could be quite a challenge.

Q: You’ve done a lot of analysis since Ferrari had their tyres problems at Silverstone two weeks ago. Can you just tell us about the conclusions you have drawn and whether or not they were freak incidents?

MI: We made a lot of analysis to be sure that we were not underestimating any potential issue on the tyres. So we didn’t want to say anything about Vettel’s tyre, because we saw together with Ferrari the loss of pressure starting from Turn One since Sunday afternoon. We wanted to take some time to analyse deeply both the tyres. We saw two different failures. One was a puncture. The conclusion was, on Vettel’s tyre, that it was a puncture with a loss of air starting in Turn One and obviously at a certain point the construction is not able to support the load and in Turn 6 it failed. For Kimi, it was more difficult, because it was not clear at the beginning. The carcass was still in one piece. We had a part of the tread missing and we had two points in which the belt was damaged, on the inside shoulder. So we had to analyse not only Kimi’s tyre but most of the tyres used during the race to exclude that there was any other potential issue. We can away with the conclusion when we were 100 per cent sure that we didn’t have any other issues. I cannot say it was debris or an impact or something like that because I don’t have the evidence but the evidence is that we have the belt that is damaged in two specific points and the rest of the tyre is still OK, but Kimi had to stop to replace the tyre, so this is the result of the investigation.

Q: Fred, welcome back. Hefty accident for Pascal this afternoon. Just a word on his condition and also the state of the car?

Frédéric VASSEUR: It’s a bit too early to have a clear conclusion on the reason of the accident, but we will do the investigation. The monocoque looks OK, but we have to investigate a little bit more. I left the garage straight after the end of the session.

Q: You’ve been in the new job, team principal, for just a week or so, but it’s been a busy week. I just wondered if you could talk us through the reasons behind the switch from Honda power in 2018 to Ferrari power?

FV: Yeah, Sauber and Honda signed a memorandum of understanding a couple of weeks ago but things move forward quite fast in our world and I think that the situation was a bit unclear also regarding the collaboration between McLaren and Honda and on our side the engine supplier had to find a solution for the gearbox. We had a deal with McLaren and the situation was a bit more complicated. On the other end, the collaboration with Ferrari is based on a long-term relationship and we had the opportunity to discuss with Ferrari to get the new-spec engine and I think it was a good choice and we found a mutual agreement with Honda to stop the collaboration.

Q: Just to confirm, it will be a current-spec Ferrari engine that the team has…

FV: Not the current one, the next one!

Q: Exactly! Just to finish, I know you have only been there a week but I’d love to get your thoughts on Sauber as a team, both in the short term and in the long term?

FV: The short term, that will be difficult to achieve something – it’s a long-term project for sure. But I think the basics are there. The facility is impressive compared to the other teams. I think we are in a good move. The wind tunnel is a good one and the team, I think that Sauber is still in F1 an iconic name and there is a real team spirit, quite comparable to the team spirit I had last year at Enstone. Everybody is really dedicated, pushy, and now that the financial structure is stabilised I think we can have some hope for the future.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Roksana Cwik – SwiatWyscigow) A question for Mr Vasseur. When you brought Robert Kubica to Spa and he drove the RS01, did you think he would be here?

FV: No, at this stage he did some test sessions in the simulator before. I tried to help him for different reasons. We had the opportunity to do a race in the RS01 in Spa. He did it and he did a good job, but it’s not my project anymore!

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Question to Fred, I wonder if you could clarify exactly what your position is please? Are you responsible for the total Formula One programme, including marketing, sponsorship, whatever, or only the sporting side. And if not, who else reports to Mr Picci?

FV: My position is quite clear, that I’m the CEO of the company and team principal. It means that at the end of the day I am in charge of all the departments.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Mattia, this track might be a completely different story but in the last few races we’ve seen Mercedes maybe gaining a bit on Ferrari. Do you think it was because there has been some decisions like the restrictions regarding the floor or engine oil burning, or just because you’re at different phases of development during the year and it will ebb and flow between you?

MB: I think that each race is different to the others. There have been races at the start of the season where we have been competitive and others where Mercedes has been competitive. If you look, for example, Bahrain very early in the season, they have been very competitive in qualifying, we have been in the race. I don’t think that there is a clear tendency and a clear trend on the competitiveness of the two teams. Certainly the development is very important. That has to be done race by race. There are still many races to go, we are just half of the season and I don’t see any reasons why this should be one trend or another one. I think that oil burning, as you mention, is something that is not directly related to Ferrari and the floor, honestly I don’t think there is any impact on our performance.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) This is again to Mattia. We have seen that both of your drivers are now on their fourth turbochargers. Is it just normal as you are playing around with the element or is it cause for concern and now basically you are sure you will have to take a penalty later this year?

MB: Certainly it is somehow a concern in the fact that we had failure on the turbo at the start of the season and we have to replace them at the very start and you introduce very early in the season turbo number three and turbo number four. Having said that, we introduce as well in the following turbos some modifications for reliability. They are running well at the moment, so we’ve got all the pool at the moment that have been introduced but we’ve got all the mileage available on each turbo, so we are rotating them and, obviously it’s our objective to conclude the season with the current pool of turbos.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Mattia, a lot of your motorsport and road car competitors are embracing Formula E with a vengeance. Could you see Ferrari ever doing that?

MB: That’s something that sometimes we have discussed internally but no decision have been taken and honestly it’s a decision that is not down to my responsibility. So, I have no clue and no answer for you.

July 28, 2017
F1 2017: Free Practice 1 Report Hungarian Gp – Ricciardo Quickest

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo set the quickest time of the first free practice session ahead of the 2017 Hungarian grand prix.

Ricciardo’s 1:18:486 was roughly two and a half tenths quicker than Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen while Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, an Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top five. Sebastian Vettel was sixth quickest while the McLaren’s showed well on a circuit which should suit their car with Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne in seventh and eighth respectively. Renault teammates Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer rounded out the top ten.

Mid-way through the practice session a red flag was brought out by Antonio Giovinazzi. Subbing for Kevin Magnussen in the first practice session Giovinazzi seemed to aggressive on turn in to turn 11 and binned the Haas in the outside barrier, tearing the front-left suspension off.

A second red flag was brought out right at the conclusion of the session for debris strewn across the circuit as Jolyon Palmer in the Renault tore off his front wing on the Turn 11 kerb.

Free Practice 1 Standings:

July 28, 2017
External Damage to Blame for Raikkonen’s British GP Tyre Failure

After revealing their findings on Sebastian Vettel’s tyre failure at the British Grand Prix, Pirelli has now announced their findings on Kimi Raikkonen’s tyre failure and have concluded that damage to the tyre was caused by an external source effectively absolving he Italian tyre manufacturer of any blame.

Pirelli say that they uncovered damage to the tyre in two places near the edge of the belt close to the internal shoulder area of the tyre and that the same type of damage was not found anywhere else on the tyre.

“The results of the analysis on Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen’s front-left soft compound tyre, which experienced an issue at the end of the recent British Grand Prix, reveal specific damage in two places at the edge of the belt close to the internal shoulder area,” said Pirelli in a statement.

“This damage is not present throughout any other areas of the tyre whatsoever. Furthermore, the belt and the structure do not show any signs of fatigue.”

The damage may have come from an object that may have made contact with the edge of the tyre according to Pirelli.

“The possible initial cause of this damage is consistent with contact against an external body, leading to a partial separation of the belt from the carcass in the two affected areas. In one of these two places, as a logical consequence, part of the tread also became detached,” added Pirelli in their statement.

While this may have damaged the rubber tread of they tyre, the tyre remained structurally sound and was not compromised as Raikkonen was able to make it back to the pits on the tyre still inflated.

Further tests were carried out by Pirelli on tyres that have done similar or more mileage than Raikkonen’s tyres and it was found there were no signs of any detachment, fatigue, or laceration on the tyres.

This lead Pirelli to conclude that the construction of the tyre and integrity of the tyre was sound and that the damage was caused by an external object.

“A number of detailed tests have since been carried out, both destructive and nondestructive, on other tyres used by frontrunners at the British Grand Prix with a similar or bigger distance on them compared to the set used by Raikkonen (for 25 laps). On no occasion was there any sign of fatigue, detachment or laceration or even the beginning of such problems – that affected the structure of the tyre.

“In conclusion, Pirelli can confirm that no issues have emerged connected with the tyre itself.”

July 26, 2017
F1 2017: Hungary Gp Preview – Hungaroring Vital Piece In Championship Puzzle

In an F1 championship as closely contested as the 2017 edition every race weekend becomes an important one. At this stage, as Vettel and Hamilton are separated by a single point, none are more vital than the last race before the summer break.

The 2017 Hungarian grand prix runs around the Hungaroring. A tight and twisting cacophony of medium speed corners this circuit is often described as a supersized karting track. It’s flowing nature mandates total precision, as an error in one corner will be carried through an entire lap and ultimately result in loss of laptime. “It has many low and medium speed corners, which demand stability on corner entry and strong traction on the exit. It’s quite hard on both the front and rear tyres so overall it can be characterised as a tough handling circuit,” said Renault’s Nick Chester.

The circuit is further notorious for being green at the start of the weekend, as it doesn’t see much running for the rest of the year. However, grip improves throughout the weekend for which Pirelli have brought the supersoft, soft, and medium compounds. While the Pirelli compounds have proved to a step harder than in 2016 the hotter conditions in Hungary should allow for better tyre performance. Meanwhile, the belief is that the medium compound will simply be a travelling tyre as it is too hard to be considered for use.

Which teams will the flowing corners of the Hungaroring favour? Traditionally, the streets of Monaco have been a good indicator as to who could do well in Hungary. However, a few things have changed since May race dominated by Ferrari. Significantly, the biggest change has been Mercedes’ ability to get on top of their tyre issues by understanding how to correctly bring them into their operating window. While on the face of it seems as if Merc have pulled away in terms of car development it is in fact in this area where they have made the biggest gain. Red Bull too could go well here as the circuit highlights chassis more than power. What’s more is that overtaking around the Hungaroring isn’t abundant.

Therefore, if Verstappen or Ricciardo can get ahead of either Merc or Ferrari drivers, and work the strategy in their favour, they could have enough pace to step on the podium at the end of it.

For Finns Kimi Raikkonen and Valterri Bottas Hungary is as close as they’ll get to Finland and it, obviously, brings out a serious amount of support from across the border. Both Finns had good drives in Silverstone too, barring Raikkonen’s late race puncture. With the championship as close as it has been at any point in the season what the teammates of the two title contenders do is equally as important. With two race wins this season Bottas has already shown his prowess and it’s about time that Raikkonen do the same.

July 26, 2017
Pirelli Concludes Investigation into Vettel’s British GP Tyre Failure

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has concluded the investigation into the tyre failure that dropped Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel from 4th to 7th.

Pirelli say that a slow puncture was the cause of the first failure. Vettel ran off the track out of Brooklands 2-laps before the end of the race as a result of his tyre failure but was able to make his way to the pits and finish the race. Pirelli say that further damage to the tyre was caused by Vettel driving back to the pits.

“As appeared clear since Sunday afternoon, a full investigation has now confirmed that the original cause of the failure was a slow puncture,” said Pirelli in a statement.

“The consequent driving back to the pits on an under-inflated and then flat tyre led to the final failure.”

Vettel’s tyre failure came almost immediately after team mate Kimi Raikkonen suffered, what looked like a similar tyre failure. Replays of Raikkonen’s tyre failure showed otherwise and initially it looked like the rubber de-laminated form the tyre canvas.

Pirelli say that they are still investigating the cause of Raikkonen’s tyre failure but they expect to conclude their investigation in a few more days.

“Kimi Raikkonen’s damaged tyre shows less evidence of what occurred, so further tests and analysis are still ongoing in Pirelli’s laboratories and indoor testing facilities,” added Pirelli in a statement.

“It will take a few more days to reach a definitive conclusion.”

Photo by courtesy Pirelli

July 21, 2017
F1 2017: British Gp Review – Hamilton Untroubled Amid Ferrari Drama

The phenomenon of home ground advantage has nearly always been touted in the world of sport as a sort of mythical influence that makes the team or a person nearly unbeatable. This advantage was no more evident as Lewis Hamilton took a record-equaling fifth British grand prix win around the famed Silverstone circuit.

While Hamilton blitzed the field in Saturday qualifying to the tune of half a second he, similarly, ran unflustered towards the checquered flag on Sunday. While the second-place starter Kimi Raikkonen, who shaded his teammate the entire weekend, briefly threatened in the Ferrari he could, ultimately, not get within striking distance of Hamilton.

The remainder of the podium places seemed set too as Raikkonen ran comfortably in second ahead of Valtteri Bottas who was recovering from a ninth place starting position after a gearbox penalty. Nevertheless, two laps from the chequered flag the thread on Raikkonen’s left-front tyre appeared to come apart and forced him into the pitlane. The easy second place he’d been heading too suddenly transformed into fourth. But the drama was far from over as Sebastian Vettel, now running third, suffered a seemingly identical front-left failure on the final lap of the race. The German was able to limp back to the pits but the chance of salvaging a podium was long gone as he emerged in seventh place.

Pirelli has announced that the failures on Raikkonen and Vettel’s car were not caused by the same problem. In Raikkonen’s case Pirelli found that the thread had separated from the tyre, which makes it a manufacturing fault. However, in Vettel’s case the failure was put down to tyre age. But Vettel’s tyres were not being pushed beyond what Pirelli had said were possible. While Ferrari was the only team to pay a price in terms of points several teams revealed post-race that their own tyres were on the edge of suffering similar failures.

The drama-filled ending to the British grand prix meant that Mercedes strolled to a one-two victory with Raikkonen in third. Max Verstappen provided some early race entertainment in a fight with Sebastian Vettel but ultimately ran a fairly anonymous race to finish fourth. Daniel Ricciardo, starting from the back of the grid due to reliability issues, delivered a storming drive through the field complete with several stunning overtakes to finish an impressive fifth. Renault’s day started poorly as Jolyon Palmer failed to take the start with mechanical issues but the ever-impressive Nico Hulkenberg’s sixth place finish saved the day. With Vettel in seventh the Force India pairing of Esteban Ocon, eighth, and Sergio Perez, ninth, continues to score important points over their rivals Williams who secured the final point in tenth with Felipe Massa.

Besides the formation lap retirement of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer there were only two further retirements. A clash between Toro Rosso teammates Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz saw the latter punted out of the race while Fernando Alonso suffered yet another engine failure despite Honda’s introduction of a so-called reliability upgrade.

While Ferrari has not only fallen 55 points behind Mercedes in the Constructor’s standings Vettel’s late race troubles have all but eviscerated his championship lead over Hamilton from twenty to a single point.

It is evident now that the early season pressure has transferred from Merc to Ferrari and the Italian team needs to pull something out of the bag for the Hungarian Gp in two weeks time.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

July 17, 2017

F1 2017: British Gp Qualifying Report – Hamilton Supreme

Mercedes driver and home-town favourite Lewis Hamilton scored the 67th pole position of his career ahead of the 2017 British grand prix.

There was little in the way of a challenge to Lewis Hamilton under the cloudy Northamptonshire skies as he imperiously took pole position by half a second. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will share the front row of the grid with the Brit while Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen line up in third and fourth, respectively.

While Valtteri Bottas set the fourth quickest time in the final part of quali his five place grid penalty for a gearbox change means that he will start ninth. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg punched above his weight and will start fifth in Renault. Equally impressive was McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian driver will start ninth and has out-qualified teammate Fernando Alonso for the first time in 2017.

Saturday qualifying was already compromised for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo incurring a five place grid penalty for a pre-cautionary gearbox change. However, to add insult to extreme frustration the Aussie driver suffered a suspected Turbo failure in the first part of the qualifying session which will see him start 19th on Sunday’s grid.

Qualifying Standings:

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m26.600s	–
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1m27.147s	0.547s
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1m27.356s	0.756s
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull/Renault	1m28.130s	1.530s
5	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1m28.856s	2.256s
6	Sergio Perez	Force India/Mercedes	1m28.902s	2.302s
7	Esteban Ocon	Force India/Mercedes	1m29.074s	2.474s
8	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren/Honda	1m29.418s	2.818s
9	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Penalty	–
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas/Ferrari	1m29.549s	–
11	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1m30.193s	–
12	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m30.355s	–
13	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso/Renault	1m31.368s	–
14	Felipe Massa	Williams/Mercedes	1m31.482s	–
15	Lance Stroll	Williams/Mercedes	1m42.573s	–
16	Kevin Magnussen	Haas/Ferrari	1m42.577s	–
17	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber/Ferrari	1m42.593s	–
18	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber/Ferrari	1m42.633s	–
19	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull/Renault	1m42.966s	–
20	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1m30.600s	–

July 15, 2017