Tag: red bull racing

F1 2013: Hungarian GP Preview – Qualifying king at the Hungaroring

After a three week gap the 2013 Formula 1 season restarts with the Hungarian grand prix.

In its own right the Hungarian GP has written its own part in Formula 1 history. The circuit has rewarded Damon Hill (1993), Fernando Alonso (2003) and very memorably Jenson Button (2006) with their first victories in Formula 1.

The first grand prix held at the Hungaroring was the first to be held behind the Iron Curtain. Formula 1 has been frequenting the Hungarian grand prix since 1986 and the Budapest located circuit is a guaranteed staple of a Formula 1 race calendar until 2016.

As a high downforce circuit the Hungaroring is famous for its tight and twisting nature. The dusty track surface confirms how little action the track sees which makes track evolution at the Hungaroring a crucial aspect for judging a qualifying effort. Throughout the 4.381 km lap the Hungaroring’s old-school layout is packed with fourteen corners.

The Hungaroring is technically demanding, bumpy and narrow, loved by drivers and adored by fans for its traditional atmosphere. The key to a good result here is a good grid slot. Having the fastest car will mean nothing if you’re stuck in the pack. In 1990 Thierry Boutsen in a sluggish Williams held off a much quicker Ayrton Senna to win the race. The chances of overtaking, even with DRS, are slim to none. No one knows the frustration of not being to overtake better than Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn has finished second at the Hungarian GP on four separate occasions.

The new tyres, tested during the three days of the young driver’s test at Silverstone last week, will be used this weekend in Hungary. The test was opened to current race drivers by the FIA to assist Pirelli. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg pointed out that testing the new tyres wasn’t a “day and night” difference and that running on the new compounds for the first time in Hungary “will be fine too.” The 2013 Pirelli P Zero tyres have been matched with 2012 construction to enhance consistency and improve safety.

Pirelli’s initial conservative choice of the medium and hard compounds would’ve hampered teams such as Lotus and Ferrari who thrive on getting the softer tyre to its working temperature quicker and stretching the life of the tyre. However, coupled with high temperature, forecast at mid-thirties, Pirelli’s reversion to the medium and soft compound will play to the strengths of the two teams.

McLaren have won eleven of the twenty-seven Hungarian grands prix but victory this weekend is unlikely to be a possibility for the Woking based team. Jenson Button believes that the team are moving the right direction. “A win in 2013 is going to be difficult, but I actually think the team is working very well right now: in Germany, our tyre-usage, strategy and management of the race was as good as it’s ever been.”

Sebastian Vettel was the quickest of the drivers at the three day young driver’s test at Silverstone last week. He will no doubt want to continue in the same vein this weekend. Red Bull has never been very prolific at the Hungaroring and of the two it is only Mark Webber who has won here before. Then again, a few weeks ago Vettel hadn’t won the German GP either.

Mercedes have proven their prowess in qualifying which makes the likelihood of the Silver Arrows locking out the front-row of the grid, or getting a car on pole very good. Given the lack of overtaking on the circuit they will have a prime opportunity to control the race and win it. However, the unknown for Mercedes this weekend will be their performance on the new Pirelli tyres.

Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari hasn’t looked anything special in qualifying trim but his lightening starts can potentially transform fifth on the grid to second – a vital part to a successful race. The key to this weekend is having a car that can cope with the twisting demands of the Hungaroring. But even more so, qualifying and making a good start to the race can be the difference between winning or not.

July 24, 2013
F1 2013: British GP Review – Rosberg tops at dramatic Silverstone

Formula 1 in 2013 hasn’t been short of drama but it well and truly ramped up for the eighth round of the season at Britain’s Silverstone grand prix.

It was home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton who thrashed the field to take only his second pole position at the famous circuit. The margin between the 2008 champion and teammate Rosberg was the biggest it had been all season as Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel was ever present in third ahead of retiring teammate, Mark Webber.

Force India’s Paul Di Resta delivered an excellent lap for fifth but would later be excluded from qualifying for an underweight car. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari of Fernando Alonso seemed to struggle in qualifying trim as the duo only managed to start eighth and ninth.

Lewis Hamilton led cleanly away from pole position as Vettel slotted into third ahead of Rosberg. Mark Webber’s race was made a lot tougher after a clash with Romain Grosjean left the Australian with damage to the front-wing. A bit of damage to a front-wing would be the least dramatic issue of the day.

Lewis Hamilton easily in the lead of the race and steadily building a gap over Vettel would become the first driver to suffer a left rear tyre blowout. The Pirelli tyre seemed to completely disintegrate without any indication whatsoever. Somehow Hamilton was able to return his Mercedes to the pits but his chances of victory had been thrown out the window.

It looked like horrible luck for Hamilton until two laps later Felipe Massa’s Ferrari suffered the exact same failure. Jean-Eric Vergne became the third driver to suffer a tyre blow-out on lap 15 as his left rear spectacularly exploded on the Hangar straight.

The Toro Rosso driver’s tyre failure brought out the safety car as debris from the blowout littered the circuit. McLaren’s Sergio Perez would be the final driver to suffer an identical tyre blow-out on lap 46. At this point drivers were being told to avoid the kerbs in case they were the cause for the tyre problems. But Fernando Alonso didn’t share the same opinion after the race. “I have been racing here 12 years & never had this problem (tyre). I think the kerbs were perfectly ok,” said the Ferrari driver.

Racing resumed on lap 22 with no certainty of whose Pirelli could fail next but there was still a race to be had as Vettel led Rosberg over the start/finish line. The Red Bull driver extended his advantage over Rosberg to two seconds but the Mercedes driver was gradually starting chip away at his lead. Rosberg wasn’t required to do much more work in catching Vettel as the reigning world champion’s car grinded to a halt at the pit entry with a gearbox failure.

The stricken Red Bull prompted another safety car and Rosberg, Webber and Alonso dived into the pitlane for a fresh set of medium tyres. The only front-running driver not to take a fresh set of tyres was Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen was running second when he asked his team why they had not called him into the pits for fresh tyres. The Lotus pitwall had roughly half a lap behind the safety car to decide on a pitstop but responded to Raikkonen’s question with “I don’t know” and “It’s too late now.” On a day when championship leader Vettel failed to score any points the Lotus pitwall destroyed what could have been a significant gain in the championship stakes. Raikkonen eventually finished fifth, defenceless on hard tyres he had put on twenty laps earlier. It is on moments like this that championships are lost and won.

Mark Webber’s announcement of his retirement at the end of the season sent the rumours of Raikkonen joining the Red Bull team into overdrive. Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has said that they are doing everything they can to keep the Finn in the team. He believes that the ‘atmosphere’ within the team is enough to make Raikkonen stay put – it isn’t. During his two year hiatus from Formula 1 the Iceman let it be known that he is only interested in winning races – not fighting for second. The doubt is whether Lotus can consistently deliver up to that standard. Mistakes such as this will surely make Raikkonen’s decision to stay or leave a lot less difficult. Lotus are a good team but many suggest that the only thing making them great is Kimi Raikkonen. Since his return to Formula 1 he hasn’t put a wheel wrong and he has rekindled a kind of speed and driving class second to none. Give this guy what he needs and he will win you a world championship. Lotus’ mistakes could be more costly than they expect.

Mark Webber, recovered from front-wing damage, charged through the field in the closing laps to within seven tenths of race leader Rosberg. Similarly, Fernando Alonso’s fresh tyres allowed him pass several cars and finish third overall. Fernando Alonso was happy to salvage third place on a weekend where Ferrari look decidedly off the pace but called on his team to ‘raise their game’ in the coming races.

Nico Rosberg inherited the lead of the race but he won the British GP on pure merit. Never putting a wheel wrong he soaked up the late-race pressure from Webber like a pro. Career victory number three was well deserved for the most improved driver of 2013.

The Pirelli tyregate saga took a very dramatic turn during the British GP prompting the teams to angrily demand answers from the Italian tyre supplier. So serious was the tyre situation that race director Charlie Whiting admitted post-race that he was close to putting out the red flag.

Paul Hembery has failed to appear at press conferences at the last two races but at some point Pirelli and their motorsport director will have to face the music. Pirelli have been invited, by FIA President Jean Todt, to attend the Sporting Working Committee meeting at the Nurburgring next week in order to find a solution to the tyre problems.

The teams are now pushing for next month’s young driver’s test to be scrapped in favour of a fully fledged tyre test.

July 1, 2013
New side impact system for F1 in 2014

The FIA Institute has been working with Formula One teams to develop a new side impact system that will be on all cars in 2014.

One of the biggest safety developments for F1 in recent years is underway and will feature on all cars next season.

This is the result of a year-long collaboration between the FIA Institute and F1 teams where they have been developing a side impact system that works effectively, regardless of the angle of impact.

The FIA Institute’s research consultant Andy Mellor, who headed up the project, says, “We went back to basics to examine what a side impact structure really needs to do in different types of accident. We used Robert Kubica’s crash in Montreal as a specific reference point since that was a major impact at an acute angle.”

At the moment, crushable tube structures attached to the side of the chassis are deployed by the current side impact system. This has proven to be very effective during normal impacts but they can break off during side impacts due to extremely high tangential forces that are generated during the first few milliseconds of an impact.

Mellor approached Formula One teams to help develop a better side impact system that would solve the problem and Marussia, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing stepped forward to assist.

Two options were investigated: optimised carbon tubes and crushable carbon sandwich panels. Testing concluded that the carbon tubes had far more potential to provide a lightweight, efficient and robust solution which would be able to manage impact loads effectively no matter the angle of impact.

The winning solution was based on an initial design by the Marussia F1 team which then underwent detailed optimisation by Red Bull Racing. It is an evolution of the current system, but using high-performance carbon fibre with a very bespoke external and internal geometry and precise layup configuration.

The new system incorporates a pair of structures fitted to each side of the car that do not shatter on impact. Instead they progressively crush and decelerate the car in a very controlled manner.

The teams agreed to implement this system for 2014 at the F1 Technical Working Group meeting on 17 May 2013. While there, all technical requirements for mounting the structures to the chassis were defined and it is now up to each team to decide exactly how they want to incorporate it into the design of their cars from 2014 onwards.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Car Engineering at Red Bull Racing says, “The tube has a common specification but how teams put it into their cars is entirely their business. The static tests that will be undertaken on the monocoque will determine the strength of the mounts and make sure that they are sufficient to support the tube. After that, it’s down to the teams as to how they integrate it and how they design their car around it.”

The new system will improve safety while at the same time reducing costs for the teams. Monaghan explains, “One of the driving forces for this was to spare teams extra expense in the testing process. Assuming everybody has a monocoque which is strong enough and passes the static tests, then they’ve saved money, as they’re not doing an impact test. It should be a cheaper solution.”

Established by the FIA and the FIA Foundation in October 2004, the FIA Institute is an international not-for-profit organisation that develops and improves motor sport safety and sustainability. It leads projects that encourage the rapid development of new and improved safety technologies, that facilitate higher standards of education and training, and that raise awareness of safety and sustainability issues.

June 26, 2013
Spanish Grand Prix Preview Quotes: Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing Spanish Grand Prix Preview Quotes with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Sebastian Vettel:
Q: What’s your best memory of competing at the Spanish GP?
SV: The win in 2011 was very special. It was a long race and for the last 20 or 30 laps I had a lot of pressure from behind from Lewis. I had no KERS to defend, so it was good to come out on top at the end.

Q: What’s your favourite bit of the track?
SV: The whole Barcelona circuit is interesting as it includes all types of corners and offers a really good mix, but my favourite part is still the first sector, because it has really quick corners.

Q: How’s it racing back in Europe?
SV: Yes it’s good to be back in Europe, and in Spain in particular. The atmosphere is always very special at the European races and the weather is usually good too. It helps that the travelling time to and from events is shorter and there’s no need to adapt to a time difference.

Mark Webber:
Q: What’s your best memory of competing at the Spanish GP?
MW: My win in 2010, I qualified on pole and it was a race which I controlled from the front. I pulled a gap from Sebastian, then Lewis was behind me and put a little bit of pressure on me in the middle of the race, but he had a mechanical failure towards the end. It’s rewarding because we do so much testing there, so it’s good to go there and get a nice result. It’s always a brilliant atmosphere in Spain. After the 2010 race I threw my race helmet into the crowd as a present for the fans.

Q: What about before you were driving?
MW: Probably Senna and Mansell on the front straight – I think it must have been 1992.

Q: Favourite bit of the track?
MW: The first sector, I like the exit of Turn 2 into Turn 3. I also like Turn 13, which is a weird little right hander, downhill, blind corner, but I think it’s quite a nice little corner to get right.

Q: How’s it racing back in Europe?
MW: It’s a little bit easier; obviously the travel is very convenient and everything is within a striking distance of two hours. We all know the hotels well and the drill of how to get around. It’s much more straightforward than some of the new venues; it’s a nice time to be racing in Europe with the weather generally and it’s a good atmosphere.

May 4, 2013
Dr. Helmut Marko calls for further tyre changes

Red Bull Racing advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, has reiterated his dissatisfaction with the current F1 tyre situation and has called for further tyre changes from Pirelli.

Despite ongoing pressure from Red Bull and other teams, Pirelli has stood their ground and announced that they will only be making a minor tweak to the ‘hard’ compound tyre for next month’s Spanish Grand Prix, and beyond.

Marko told a group of journalists at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, “We want a tyre that does not restrict our potential.”

“It should be that you are able to get the maximum out of your car. Currently it is a compromise, the car has to be adjusted to minimise pit-stops.”

Marko went on to argue that the Pirelli tyres are punishing the best of the cars on the grid – like Red Bull’s RB9.

He went on to say that the team had two top drivers, “which is not cheap.”

“To tell your drivers that they are not allowed to drive some corners properly is not easy,” he added. “This distorts competition.”

Despite their complaints, Red Bull hold a 16 point lead in the Constructors’ World Championship – ahead of their nearest rivals, the Lotus F1 team.

Photo: By Morio (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

April 30, 2013
Video: Dougie Does Red Bull Racing

12-times World Trials Champion and UK Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin came to play at the Red Bull Racing Factory. As well as driving through offices, upstairs and riding on transporters, he jumped a Formula One Car on two wheels. Here’s what happened …

April 30, 2013
No bullshit with Raikkonen as team mate, says Vettel

In the aftermath of the Multi-21 saga and with speculation around Red Bull considering Kimi Raikkonen as a replacement for Mark Webber next season, Sebastian Vettel has told Sport Bild that he would be happy if that were the case.

“I don’t care who my team mate is. If you want to win, you have to beat everyone” said the German world champ.

“If Kimi was my teammate, fine! We have no problem with each other and we’re mature enough to deal with it even in a difficult situation. I get along well with him,” said Vettel. “He’s just very honest. There’s no bullshit with him.”

Raikkonen also only has good things to say about Vettel but has been very careful not to give away anything about his future plans beyond his contract with the Lotus F1 team.

“We trust each other in a duel to not do anything stupid,” said Raikkonen.

“We’re both open and honest. If we were to crash, we would probably complain about each other, but that’s just normal.”

There is no confirmation from Red Bull regarding the potential move but rumours continue to circulate and there is clearly no love lost between Vettel and Webber so it is doubtful whether Webber will continue with the team.

Eric Boullier has commented that Kimi would be better served staying with the Lotus F1 team where he would not need to play second fiddle to Sebastian Vettel.

April 29, 2013
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix Review: Vettel back to his best in Bahrain

As great a day as Saturday qualifying can sometimes be it never quite is a predictor of what’s to come in Sunday’s race. There are still some exceptions that make pole the imperative but Formula 1 2013 is whole lot more complex than the position you start in.

The expectation was for Ferrari, Red Bull and Lotus to duke it out for the first few rows of the grid but they hadn’t counted on Nico Rosberg to upset the status quo. The Mercedes driver stunned the F1 paddock as he swept his way to the second pole position of his career.

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso rounded out the top three but it was Force India that caused the further surprise on Saturday with Di Resta and Sutil lining up fifth and sixth behind the Ferrari of Felipe Massa. Lewis Hamilton managed fourth but a gearbox penalty pushed him down to ninth.

Rosberg led the first two laps of the race but after falling prey to Vettel and Alonso wasn’t ever in contention for either step of the podium. Nevertheless, an extraordinary wheel-to-wheel fight between the top three ensued. Within mere inches of his each, at 200km/h the racing between Alonso, Vettel and Rosberg is as close as three F1 cars will ever get. There is no question why these drivers are considered the best in the world.

Ultimately, Vettel seized the lead of the race and never looked back. His three stop strategy worked to perfection and it was obvious the German had some pace in hand should it be needed. The reigning champion proved unbeatable and controlled his run to the chequered flag effortlessly.

Down the road drivers opted for differing strategies and it would eventually be Kimi Raikkonen, on a two stopper, who finished second. Raikkonen, compromised by an eighth place starting position, found himself stuck in traffic in the early part of the race. But even without these issues it seems unlikely that the Lotus driver would have been able to challenge Vettel at the front.

Clad with a brand new chassis for the Bahrain GP Romain Grosjean delivered his best race of 2013. An alternative strategy starting him on the harder compound tyres, wheel to wheel racing and clean overtaking had the Frenchman on the third step of the podium for only the fourth time in his Formula 1 career. It is rumoured that Lotus are running Grosjean’s contract on a three-race basis and the result in Bahrain will have loosened the leash slightly. The podium was a good step for Grosjean and should be celebrated but his focus should immediately turn to repeating if not bettering this result.

Force India faded slightly from their starting positions but Paul Di Resta kept the Indian team in the hunt for the podium until the closing stages of the race; but with his two-stop strategy was always going to be tough to hold off Grosjean on a fresh set of tyres.

Mark Webber and the two McLarens were involved in a duel throughout the race with the two teammates coming to blows on more than one occasion. Sergio Perez found his feet in the Bahrain GP and aggressively hustled teammate Button but the Brit gave as good as he got.

His eighth place finish may not look remarkable on paper but Fernando Alonso again drove a stunning race to salvage three points. The Spaniard stopped for new tyres on lap 7 but had to dive back into the pits on lap 9 when his DRS wing flap fixed in the open position. It left him way down the field, having to fight back without DRS. It can only be through sheer class and determination that Alonso salvaged anything at all.

Formula 1 in 2013 is all about strategy, about managing tyre degradation. But the reality is that F1 has always had a strategic element to it. Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped Red Bull from being Pirelli’s most vocal detractor. They maintain, as frontrunners, that they are being unfairly punished. However, with two wins from four races and both the leads of the drivers’ and constructors’ championship it seems that their argument has been shot to pieces.

April 22, 2013