F1 Madness

Tag: pole position

  • F1 2014: Qualifying Results – Rosberg Romps to Bahrain Pole

    F1 2014: Qualifying Results – Rosberg Romps to Bahrain Pole

    Nico Rosberg has secured pole position for the 2014 Bahrain grand prix.

    In celebration of its tenth year on the Formula 1 calendar thousands of floodlights lit up the Sakhir International Circuit in the middle of the Bahrain dessert.  The dominance of the Mercedes team remained intact around the floodlit Sakhir circuit as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locked out the front row of the grid. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was the best of the rest in third place but will drop ten places on the grid due to a penalty incurred in the Malaysian GP.

    The first part of qualifying relegated the usual suspects to the back of the grid. Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi out-qualified teammate Marcus Ericsson and both Marussia’s of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi. Sauber driver Adrian Sutil and Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado were the other drivers who failed to advance to the second part of qualifying.

    Romain Grosjean, who had snatched a spot in Q2 by nine thousandths of a second was unable to better than 16th overall. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel were the high profile drivers who did not advance to the top ten shoot-out. Hulkenberg had threatened throughout the practice session but was unable to make it count. Sebastian Vettel reported an issue on the downshift of his gearbox before being eliminated from qualifying. Nevertheless, Vettel will start tenth due to teammate Ricciardo’s 10 place grid penalty.

    Despite having two bites at the cherry Nico Rosberg’s first lap in the third part of qualifying was enough to secure the German’s fifth career pole position. A mistake on his second attempt meant that Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second. Daniel Ricciardo’s relegation means that Williams’ Valterri Bottas will start the Bahrain GP in third place. Mexican Sergio Perez delivered a stunning performance in his Force India and will share the second row of the grid with Bottas.

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will line up fifth while McLaren’s Jenson Button, celebrating his 250th GP, share the third row of the grid in sixth. Felipe Massa and Kevin Magnussen will start seventh and eighth respectively. Fernando Alonso was  unseen for the majority of the final minutes of the qualifying session and will start tomorrow’s race in ninth place.

    It seems highly unlikely that the Mercedes duo will be troubled on Sunday. Who will be the best of the rest is anyone’s guess.

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  • F1 2013: Post Qualifying Report – Vettel Storms To Texas Pole

    F1 2013: Post Qualifying Report – Vettel Storms To Texas Pole

    Sebastian Vettel has secured pole position for the 2013 US Grand Prix.

    In dominant form since hitting the Circuit of the Americas on Friday morning the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were untroubled as they locked out the front row of the grid. This is the 44th career pole position of Vettel’s Formula 1 career.

    The first session of qualifying saw the usual suspects cut with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde qualifying ahead of Jules Bianchi, Charles Pic and Max Chilton. Adrian Sutil failed to advance to the second part of qualifying however the German was struck by a mechanical issue which may have contributed to his 17th place starting position. Pastor Maldonado will start tomorrow’s race in 18th and chose the post-race media interview to hurl accusations at the Williams team. “You have to ask the team why the car is so slow,” Maldonado said. Deputy team Principal Claire Williams later commented that the Williams team would never place one of its drivers at a disadvantage. It seems that the relationship between Maldonado and Williams has well and truly broken down.

    The second session of qualifying saw several high-profile drivers be eliminated. Struggling for pace throughout the weekend Felipe Massa’s elimination may not have been as big a surprise as that of Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg. Rosberg later contended that the tyres were to blame for his lack of pace. McLaren’s Jenson Button also failed to advance to the top ten shoot-out and will drop a further three places of the grid for overtaking under a red flag during Friday’s first free practice session.

    The final ten minutes of qualifying resumed an eerily familiar storyline as Sebastian Vettel secured pole position ahead of Mark Webber. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean underlined his qualifying speed with third on the grid ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso, suffering from back pain and headaches, somehow slotted his Ferrari into sixth overall followed by McLaren’s Sergio Perez. Stand-in driver Heikki Kovalainen hit all the right marks as he qualified an impressive eigtht. The star of the day was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. The Finn qualified a notoriously difficult car in ninth overall. The top ten was rounded out Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.

    The full time-sheet:

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  • 2013 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix Free Practice 2 Report

    The preparations for Sunday’s Singapore grand prix kicked off today with three hours of free practice around the floodlit Marina Bay circuit.

    The first free practice session was topped by the 2009 winner of the Singapore GP, Lewis Hamilton. However, free practice two is where Sebastian Vettel stamped his, and Red Bull’s authority, quite ominously.

    The three-time reigning world champion dominated the timing sheets for the majority of the session. Vettel not only set a time six tenths of a second quicker than teammate Mark Webber but more stunningly a full second faster than the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Vettel’s closest rival in the world championship fight, Fernando Alonso, managed the 6th quickest time.

    An initial flurry of activity had the entire field out on the red walled supersoft tyres simulating a qualifying run. The difference between the two compounds ranged from eight tenths of a second up to 1.4 seconds in the case of Mark Webber. Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen was the only driver who elected not to run a quali sim instead focusing on the set-up and long run pace of the E21.

    A few minor excursions included both Mark Webber and Felipe Massa kissing the wall towards the end of the lap. Both these driver’s escaped without damage to their cars but Pastor Maldonado wasn’t as lucky. The Williams driver spent the majority of the session sliding his car around perilously close to the barriers; unfortunately for the Venezuelan it was one slide too many as he lost his front wing after skidding into the barriers. In his defence, the Williams looked a right handful  from the moment it left the pitlane. Romain Grosjean reported to his team that he had “hit something” and that he had lost the brakes.

    As the session settled in so the driver’s got on with the task of evaluating their long run pace. The differing fuel loads in the various cars is privileged information but irrespective of this knowledge the Red Bull looked on rails around the Marina Bay circuit. More importantly, was Vettel’s ability to set metronomically consistent lap times.

    It’s early days yet in this race weekend but Red Bull again look the odds on favourite to feature prominently. Nevertheless, some of the best qualifying laps that has been seen this season has come from Lewis Hamilton. The Brit may yet find something overnight and should be a good bet for a front row starting position if not a stolen pole.

    FP2Sing