Tag: stoffel vandoorne

F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Bedlam In Baku

If you had been given absolute free reign to dream up the most dramatic script for a Formula 1 race the chances are you still wouldn’t have come up with what transpired in the 51 laps of the 2017 Baku grand prix.

From the first corner on lap one to the crossing of the finish line there was action and drama and tension stamped on every lap of the race which featured three safety-car periods and red flag stoppage. While Hamilton led cleanly away pole his teammate Valterri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen clashed into turn two. Raikkonen with significant damage the floor of his car somehow maintained a place in the top ten while Bottas’ puncture dropped him a lap down.

Hamilton led Sebastian Vettel by roughly three seconds until lap 13 when the first safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Toro Rosso of Dannil Kvyat. Racing resumed on lap 16 but an overzealous Esteban Ocon attempt to overtake his Force India teammate Sergio Perez ended in a shower of carbon fiber and the deployment of a second safety-car period.

The Pirelli tyres, supersoft and soft, available for this weekend, proved a step too hard as nearly the entire field of drivers struggled with warming the tyres to their optimal working range. A tyre not within this critical working range produces little to no grip and leaves drivers vulnerable. It’s for this reason that Hamilton complained that the Safety car was not going fast enough. Nevertheless, Hamilton bunched up the field into turn 16 which must’ve caught Vettel by surprise as he hit the rear of the Mercedes. The Ferrari driver then pulled alongside Hamilton and turned his Ferrari into the side of the Mercedes. It was an outrageously disappointing, irresponsible and daft reaction from Vettel which earned him a ten second stop/go penalty. While some might like to think Vettel’s actions are defensible consider the fact that, post-race, he could not defend his actions.

So much carbon fiber lay strewn across the racetrack that the race was red-flagged on lap 22 in order to clear it away. While Raikkonen had retired with additional rear-wing damage a lap earlier the Ferrari mechanics had somehow managed to change an entire floor and a rear-wing endplate to get Raikkonen back in the race. Similarly, Force India made running repairs to Perez’s car and he too was back in the race. Unfortunately, the pair would ultimately retire from the race.

The race resumed after a 23 minutes stoppage with Hamilton in the lead and Vettel behind. Through the chaos and carnage Williams’ Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa had emerged in third and fourth. Daniel Ricciardo, who had earlier been 17^th in the Red Bull after an early stop, was not in fifth for long as he pulled off an exquisite move to pass both the Williams’ into turn one on the restart. Felipe Massa would soon after retire with a broken rear-damper.

The drama was still far from over however as the headrest on Hamilton’s leading Mercedes had not been attached correctly. He tried in vain to push it back into place before the FIA directed the Mercedes team to stop and fit a new headrest. It dropped Hamilton to eighth and promoted Vettel into the lead of the race but the Ferrari driver still needed to serve the ten second stop/go penalty. He served the penalty on lap 33 and emerged in seventh ahead of Hamilton.

Now it was Daniel Ricciardo in the lead with Lance Stroll in second and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in third. Magnussen could mount much of a fight for the position though and was quickly shuffled back by Ocon before himself falling victim to a recovering Bottas. Vettel and Hamilton would also pass Ocon and Magnussen.

Bottas’ significantly superior pace to the Williams of Stroll proved just enough as he snatched second place, on the line, by one tenth of a second. As if to prove how crazy the Baku grand prix was Fernando Alonso was running in fifth at one stage and with a bit more grunt from the Honda could justifiably have won the race.

As it were Ricciardo took his first win since Malaysia 2016 ahead of Bottas and Stroll who, at 18, has become the youngest rookie, to score a podium finish. Astoundingly, Vettel emerged in fourth and extended his championship lead to 14 points over Hamilton who eventually finished fifth. Esteban Ocon salvaged sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Carlos Sainz in eighth. Fernando Alonso finally opened McLaren’s points account with ninth as Pascal Wehrlein in the Sauber finished tenth.

The Baku grand prix was undoubtedly the race of the season so far as nearly the entire field ran into some sort of trouble. Roll on Austria.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

June 26, 2017
Grid Drops Expected for McLaren Duo

Both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne are expected to take massive grid penalties going into the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend.

Honda plans to fit an updated MGU-H to both their cars and would mean that both drivers take on new turbochargers. Both drivers will incur a 15-place grid penalty for the new turbo since it’s the 6th new turbo of the season.

Vandoorne will suffer the brunt of the penalties. Honda say that they will replace his power unit except for the control electronics and energy store after the second practice session. A further PU change is planned which will mean Vandoorne will take another 15-place grid penalty for a 7th MGU-H.

Alonso will take his 4th, and final allocated engine for the season after his DNF in Canada.

When asked if the changes will bring about some much needed reliability to the PU Vandoorne could say for certain.

“Difficult to say, to be honest,” said Vandoorne to journalist at the Thursday Press Conference.

“I think it’s probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think there’s many new introductions this weekend, so I don’t think it will be too different.”

While he was unable to say if reliability would improve, Vandoorne knew coming into the weekend that Alonso and himself would incur penalties this weekend.

“We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the situation we’re in, so we’ll try our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs, and hopefully we can play a bit during the race,” Vandoorne added.

June 22, 2017
2017 Azerbaijan GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, if we can start with you. We’re back at a street track this weekend. You took pole position in Monaco a couple of races ago — how confident are you of a repeat here?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Unfortunately it doesn’t give you any guarantees. It’s in the past, and a completely different circuit. Not really any similarities than Monaco, but nevertheless I think we have a good car everywhere. We’ll see how it goes, we can only give our best. Hopefully we’ll be at the front again; we’ll see what happens.

Q: Pirelli are turning up this weekend with slightly harder tyre compounds than in Monaco. How do you think that’s going to affect the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes?

KR: I don’t know. It’s been close, more or less every race this year. Obviously, like I said, the circuits are so much different and it’s not a big surprise that the tyres are slightly different here. I don’t know. I’m not really interested in guessing what will happen, but I guess it’s going to be close like it’s been at other races; I’m surprised if it’s only one team is way ahead of another.

Q: You don’t want to guess what’s going to happen this weekend, but after the technical problems you had in Canada last time out, do you feel you’re due a lucky break here?

KR: No, not really! It’s not something you can count on it. I’ve had some not so good luck for quite a few times, but it’s an unfortunate thing to happen, something completely new that we never found out and it’s fixed now. Things usually go wrong when it’s the worst time it could happen, but at least we managed to finish the race and at least score some points. Obviously it was far from ideal, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Q: Thank you Kimi, good luck this weekend. Stoffel, if we could come on to you now. This is your first time in Baku. Can you give us some insight into how you prepare for a track you’ve never races at? Is it more time on the simulator? Has Fernando given you any tips?

Stoffel VANDOORNE: Definitely spend some time in the simulator, like I do before every grand prix. A lot of laps in there. At least our simulator is reliable, so I managed to do a fair amount of laps there! And then also last year; I watched a lot of the races that happened here, GP2, Formula One as well. Some stuff on onboard videos. That’s about everything I did.

Q: Is Fernando generous with his advice?

SV: So far I’ve not had a chance to chat to him, but I’m sure I will do over the weekend.

Q: You were quiet outspoken about the car’s performance in Canada — fuel saving, you referred to being ‘a sitting duck’ on the straights. Given the nature of this track layout, what are your expectations coming into this weekend?

SV: It is a street circuit as well, but like Kimi said it’s very different to a circuit like Monaco — here we reach very very high top speeds, I think similar to Canada. I don’t think we have high hopes, but we’ll try our best from our side. We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the situation we’re in, so we’ll try our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs, and hopefully we can play a bit during the race.

Q: Just to be clear on that, we knew about Fernando’s penalty coming into this weekend. Have you had penalties as well?

SV: Yeah, I will have a penalty as well. We’re probably competing to start at the back of the grid.

Q: Good luck this weekend. Daniil, thank you for waiting. Coming on to you, you had a very frustrating race in Canada. Having had time to reflect on what happened, what’s your version of events?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a frustrating race; it brought us zero points. It all started on the formation lap when we couldn’t get away, so we lost a lot of time. Then, trying to recover positions I was already side by side with the cars I had to overtake … had to take the start from the grid, and we got a penalty for that — two, actually — and then, of course we couldn’t with the pit stop, yeah… It was all a bit of a spiral: when it starts to go bad, it goes bad. We did 55 laps on one set and we were on course for a point, but still???

Q: Let’s hope you have better luck this weekend. Talking specifically about Baku, you qualified sixth here last year. Are you confident of being a Q3 contender again in 2017?

DK: I think, once again, last year there are two different stories. Of course we had a good qualy last year, but quite different, you know, circumstances, cars, even though conditions will be similar. Car has been similarly competitive between most of the tracks, so hopefully we’ll be in a similar place to usual. Also here, this is one of the longest straights of the championship; it’s still not our favourite part of the track, but we’ll try to minimise the laptime loss through there and try to be competitive in the other parts of the track and try to really be strong.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Simon Lazenby (Sky Sports) Question to Stoffel. Stoffel, we’ve heard your management, senior management, teammate be very outspoken about the relationship with Honda just now. Perhaps it was the first time in Canada we heard you reiterating the woes. It’s obviously making your first full season in the sport very difficult. Which direction would you like to see McLaren take with any future engine partner?

SV: To be honest, it’s not up to me to take such a decision. Yes, it’s been a difficult start to the season; it’s definitely not an ideal situation for everyone. We’d like to be fighting much higher up the grid, but as McLaren we’re trying to put McLaren’s interest at the top, and that’s what’s the most important for us now. We need to fight back, and I’m pretty sure the team is moving in the right direction. Hopefully at some point we will be competitive again, and hopefully that is sooner rather than later.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Kimi, the situation in the championship between Mercedes and Ferrari is obviously pretty tough; it’s very tight at the moment. Are you in a position where you have to play a support role to Sebastian now in the way that in the past things have happened when you’ve been at Ferrari? Obviously Felipe helped you a bit in 2007, you returned the favour in 2008. Are you in that position now of having to help Sebastian?

KR: I think we have very clear roles in the team — what we’re allowed, what we’re not allowed, and what the team wants us to do. You know, it goes by those rules and, I don’t know. I don’t know if I have any interest of, to do, to tell what we talk inside the team in here. I think Maurizio has said something and nothing has changed and we know exactly when things will go either way. That’s fine, that’s how it’s always been, at least in the teams where I’ve been. When I don’t have a chance mathematically anymore to fight for the championship, for sure I will help him. I have no issues with that, I never had in the past. I think it’s just a very easy decision for all of us, at least in our team, and obviously the first thing is to try to make sure that we can be on the top with Ferrari. That’s the most important thing. And then obviously if Seb can win, then fine. If I don’t have any chance then that’s how it goes. The first thing is to work for Ferrari, to put them in the best possible position.`

Q: (Livio Orrichio – GloboSport.com) Kimi, using the same subject. In your view, what is the reason for the difference in points? You have some difficulty with this car? You were unlucky in some races? Because it’s big difference.

KR: It’s a big difference. When you have bad races, you adapt, and obviously Seb has done very good races so far and has been strong everywhere. I was not starting very well the first races — I was not too bad, but I was not where I want to be. Here and there little problems, we have one DNF, the last race was not ideal. That’s how it goes, unfortunately. When your teammate is on the podium more or less every time, a lot of points quickly. That’s racing.

Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) For Daniil. You just posted a very special video of your training – close combat training – on social media. It’s a message to somebody, or it’s just a coincidence?

DK: No, it’s not a message! Training for sure, I do it in Monaco, it’s my hobby and I have a very good trainer there for that sport and really interests me a lot and very enjoyable. It’s not easy to find time with the Formula One calendar for some other specific training. Usually it’s either running or cycling and everything else gets quite boring – so tried something else for once and really liked it, so like to do it, so simple as that.

Q: Daniil, for people who haven’t seen the video can you just elaborate what it is you’re doing?

DK: Come to see my video! No, I just like to train, I got to know a very good boxing trainer in Monaco and because in my gym there is a ring, they can put you in to train. I just ask him to help me a bit to learn it. Very interesting. Very interesting sport, very exhausting for 12 rounds to be there. Very interesting.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Question to Dany – I suppose that could come in very handy if you have any more disagreements with Carlos? Speaking of which, what happened in Canada with a couple of penalties, the retirement for you and then the disagreement over the towing issue in qualifying. Have you got to the bottom of that? How have you resolved it?

DK: Starting with that double penalty, I think we spoke behind closed doors after it with the correct people. With Charlie Whiting, with Jean Todt. It was all very straightforward, all very simple and everyone said his opinion and everyone understood perfectly and the end of the conversation was very positive and everything has been said on that matter. So everything is clear now. Regarding the other matter which you just mentioned, everything has been told already as well and everything will be tried to keep inside the house. That’s what I hope for, at least, from my side.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Stoffel. You mentioned you’re going to have to carry some engine penalties this weekend. Are the engine bits that are going to be on the car this weekend going to give you any more performance or reliability from the bits that will be on there?

SV: Difficult to say, to be honest. I think it’s probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think there’s many new introductions this weekend, so I don’t think it will be too different.

Q: Just as a follow up to the towing in qualifying that Daniil was asked about, is it something, given the length of the straight here this weekend, that you’re going to work with your team-mates during qualifying to get a tow to improve your lap-time? Kimi, perhaps you could answer that one?

KR: No, we haven’t had any plans. I mean, we haven’t really done it in any place so I don’t see that’s going to happen. Probably the biggest reason is that it’s very difficult to manage with all the cars you get. The most important thing is to try to get the free lap for yourself. When you try to plan it like that it’s actually quite difficult to make it happen every time and it can easily make more harm than good for both of you. So…

June 22, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

In 2016 Azerbaijan became the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar as it hosted the country’s first ever street-race in the capital city of Baku. F1’s favourite designer Herman Tilke envisioned and delivered a circuit, which combined the city’s uniquely historical buildings with the modern, and technical world of Formula1.

The Baku City track, the third longest of the season, is an exercise in extreme opposites. While the mid sector of exceedingly tight and twisting corners is more akin to Monaco it is in stark contrast to the enormously long straits that dominates the first and final sectors of the lap and are more reminiscent of Monza. The circuit is the first counterclockwise track on the calendar and provides one of the most picturesque backdrops seen all year.

The last time Lewis Hamilton steered his Mercedes around a proper street circuit was the Monaco grand prix. To put it mildly, thing didn’t go well for the Brit on those streets. Though the Baku race is similarly contested on the streets of Azerbaijan it doesn’t have too many parallels.

There are a few factors in Hamilton’s, and to a greater degree Mercedes, favour this weekend. The longest strait on the F1 calendar will allow Merc to focus on its best feature, the engine. Further the Pirelli compounds on offer this weekend in the soft and supersoft compounds, which Mercedes favour far more than the ultra- and supersoft combo.

From last year’s tyre performance it doesn’t appear that degradation is a big factor in Baku, which saw driver able to run long stints and make fewer pitstops. As there are fewer opportunities for a creative pit strategy on Sunday it ultimately increases the importance of qualifying well on Saturday.

Similarly, there are a few factors that Hamilton will have to overcome this weekend in order to claw back the lead of the driver’s championship. The most important of these are undoubtedly the two Ferrari’s of Vettel and Raikkonen. Be it because of damage or unreliability the Canadian grand prix was a messy one for Ferrari. It was the type of grand prix that will, undoubtedly, harden their resolve of securing a good haul of points this weekend. Given their relative performance on other street circuits so far this year form dictates that the prancing horse will be no slouch around here either.

In 2016 the Italian team delivered a solid race here last year despite not being near the performance level of Mercedes. In far less competitive car than they have in 2017 Sebastian Vettel finished second while Kimi Raikkonen ran third for the majority of the race. Since the Monaco grand prix the team has vehemently denied any team orders are at work between its two drivers. It will make for interesting viewing should the Scuderia be faced with a similar scenario, to Monaco, this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas could yet prove to be a factor for Hamilton too. The Finn is currently thirty-six points adrift of his teammate and that with a retirement in Spain. His first race win, in Russia, came on a weekend when Hamilton was inexplicably off the pace and he delivered in Monaco too and he firmly believes that in a head-to-head battle he has the measure of his teammate. “I think we [Hamilton and I] are very close, I don’t see a difference,” he said. “I believe in myself. But he was shown up in Canada on a circuit where he is considered to be somewhat of a specialist. It’s as perfect a time as any to beat Hamilton in a direct fight.

June 21, 2017
F1 2017: Canadian Gp Review – Hamilton Strolls, Ferrari Struggles

As far as grand prix wins go Lewis Hamilton’s win in Canada appeared no more taxing than a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. Untroubled, the Mercedes driver, for the sixth time in his storied F1 career, reached the chequered flag first on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton’s unchallenged run to the chequered flag was set up by an exquisite qualifying lap on Saturday which netted him a 65^th career pole position. It was this premium starting position on the grid, and a steady get-away, which ensured that he stayed clear of the mess of the first few turns. Though championship leader Sebastian Vettel started alongside in second he fell victim to Max Verstappen who rocketed off the line from fifth to second. In his charge to the front, the Red Bull driver clipped Vettel’s front-wing prompting the Ferrari driver to pit for a replacement and dropping him to 18^th place.

The carnage wasn’t only contained the sharp-end of the grid either. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz triggered a crash that damaged Romain Grosjean’s Haas and ultimately eliminated himself and William’s Felipe Massa from the race all on lap one. The incident prompted a short safety-car period on the first lap. The race resumed with Hamilton able to easily pull away from second-placed Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was running comfortably in second until the Red Bull grinded to a halt with a battery failure on lap eleven. It cleared the way for Bottas in the second Mercedes but the Finn was unable to keep pace with Hamilton for the majority of the race.

Behind Daniel Ricciardo drove faultlessly to maintain third place ahead of the Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. While both the Force India cars sat within striking distance of Ricciardo they were never able to get close enough to attempt an overtake. By now Ferrari had opted for a different strategy that had both Raikkonen and Vettel on the ultrasoft tyre for the last 30-odd laps of the race.

Finally, the Ferrari’s were able to run at the pace that was initially expected of them as they closed down on the battle for the final podium spot. However, as Raikkonen closed on the back of fifth-placed Ocon he suffered a brake-by-wire issue that cost him six seconds a lap. Ultimately, the Ferrari was nursed home seventh place. Vettel, without such issues, boldly scythed his way past both the Force India drivers to finish an impressive fourth.

Ferrari’s pace didn’t simply evaporate into thin air either more so it was the fact that they were unable to run in clean air, which is indicative of how an F1 car’s true pace and performance can be nullified if it is running in traffics. It’s no secret that all F1 cars are designed to run in clear air and as soon as that air becomes disturbed, by a car in front, the ‘dirty’ air causes too much instability to run as efficiently as possible. This is an issue, which Ross Brawn, as part of the new F1 brain trust, has earmarked in his quest to make F1 more “raceable.”

On any other day Force India would’ve been pleased with a double-points finish but Perez’s ignored called to swop positions with teammate Ocon, on significantly fresher tyres, likely cost the team a podium finish. Nevertheless, the pair finished fifth and sixth ahead of an ailing Raikkonen in seventh. Nico Hulkenberg brought his Renault home in a solid eighth ahead of Montreal-native Lance Stroll who scored his first F1 points with a fine ninth-place finish ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean in tenth.

After the struggles of the Monaco the Canadian grand prix was a must-win for Hamilton and Mercedes. He now trails championship leader Vettel by twelve points ahead of the Baku grand prix in two weeks time.

June 12, 2017
F1 2017: Monaco Gp Qualifying Report – Raikkonen Reigns Supreme

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen delivered a breathtaking lap to secure pole position for the 2017 Monaco grand prix.

The Finnish driver took pole position with a quickest time of 1:12:178 ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel to secure Ferrari’s second front-row lock out in three races. Raikkonen’s pole position was the first in 128 races with his last coming ahead of the 2008 French grand prix.

While it was celebrations for Ferrari the Mercedes garage was not as joyful. Though Valtteri Bottas delivered with a fine third place Lewis Hamilton will start 13th after failing to advance beyond the second part of qualifying. While the Mercedes driver was caught out by yellow flags in the final sector of his last flying lap in Q2 the Brit had been struggling with setup for the majority of the weekend.

The two Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five while Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz underlined his credentials with the sixth quickest time. Force India’s Sergio Perez, seventh, Haas’ Romain Grosjean, eighth, Daniil Kvyat, ninth, and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg round out the top ten positions.

While Stoffel Vandoorne was slated to start tenth despite clouting the barriers in Q2 the Belgian driver will drop three places on the grid thanks to a penalty incurred in the Spanish grand prix. Up until the trip into the barriers Vandoorne had delivered a wonderful performance in qualifying. And underlining the fact that the McLaren chassis is a handy one was stand-in driver Jenson Button who qualified in the top ten. Unfortunately, as has been the story of McLaren’s season the Brit will start from the back of the grid for penalties incurred due to changes to elements of the power unit.

May 27, 2017
F1 2017: Monaco Gp Preview – The Eternally Sublime Monte Carlo

The Formula 1 paddock arrives in the Principality of Monaco this weekend for the sixth round of the 2017 season around the famous streets of Monte Carlo.

The Monaco grand prix has long since been regarded at the most glamorous and prestigious race on the calendar. Celebrities pour into the Principality and parties spring up in every corner of the Monegasque country. But, truthfully, this isn’t what makes the Monaco grand prix exceptional. Instead it’s the severe juxtaposition of trying to thread an immensely fast racing car through such tight confines.

Like the tickets to the grand prix passing is at a premium on the Monaco streets. Its tight and twisting nature means that any overtake is attempted is at a high risk. This year it will be exponentially more difficult given the increased width of the cars. The best opportunity for overtaking on this track has always been under braking into Ste Devote, turn one, and at the exit of the Tunnel under braking for the Nouvelle chicane. Traditionally, the start of a race has been the best time to make up positions and given the difficulty of overtaking here it could translate into a frenetic opening lap.

A lap of the Antony Noghès circuit, at 3.3 km in length, lasts just over seventy-three seconds. But its intimidatingly tight and the walls lurk ready to punish the smallest of errors. “There is no such thing as a low risk lap in Monaco, it doesn’t exist if you want to be fast because you have to be on the limit,” says Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. So unique is the Monaco grand prix that the first two practice session for the grand prix take place on Thursday.

Track position around Monaco is king and For Red Bull and all other teams Saturday qualifying could be the most important day of the weekend given how challenging it is to overtake on the streets. While there are still 73 important laps to survive on Sunday a good lap in qualifying is nearly half the job done.

The lesser focus on power unit performance could bring Red Bull into the mix, especially if they choose to optimize their one-lap performance. The Austrian team is still lacking quite a bit in race pace but has edged closer in quali-performance. Still, Mercedes and Ferrari should have enough in hand to see of the Ricciardo-Verstappen threat. The combination of tyre compound, ultra- and supersoft, will be to Ferrari’s advantage. The key to good tyre performance will be the ability of the driver to limit rear tyre wear.

An old friend returns to the paddock too in the form of Jenson Button who steps into Fernando Alonso’s McLaren cockpit while the Spaniard runs his first Indy 500 race in the United States. It certainly wont be an easy weekend for Button given McLaren’s woes. However, a few things will count in his favour. The race in Monaco is often a war of attrition and if he can manage to get to the chequered flag there is a possibility of scoring some points.

The Honda-powered team is also introducing the second part of the major upgrade package in Monaco, which they hope will catapult them into the points paying positions. The final aspect in his favour this weekend is that JB is a bit of a Monaco specialist who has always shone on the Monaco streets.

Though it is one of the shortest laps on the calendar and not as physically demanding as others the Monaco grand prix is the jewel in Formula 1’s crown and victory here means immortality.

May 23, 2017
F1 2017: Spanish Gp Free Practice 2 Report – Mercedes In Front

Lewis Hamilton topped the second free practice session ahead of the Spanish grand prix.

The Mercedes driver quickest time of 1:20:802 was 90 thousands of a second quicker than his teammate Valtteri Bottas in seconds. The two Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were third and fourth quickest with Raikkonen three tenths off the quickest time. The Red Bull’s of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen rounded out the top five.

Conditions around the circuit de Catalunya seemed tricky as intermittent gusts of wind upset the cars in several corners. In addition, the compounds nominated by Pirelli, medium and soft, seemed difficult to keep within the optimal operating temperature.

A brief red flag period was experienced as debris from Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso was collected in turn 10. Nevertheless, when running got underway it was Mercedes who appeared to have the upper hand in long run simulations. At Ferrari it was Raikkonen who appeared to have a few tenths in hand over teammate Sebastian Vettel. While Friday’s long run simulations appear deceptive it does appear as if Mercedes are ahead by a few tenths of a second.

Final Free Practice 2 Standings:

May 12, 2017
F1 2017: Spanish Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Mercedes Lead The Way

Lewis Hamilton led the way from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session of the Spanish grand prix.

The ninety-minute session was topped by Hamilton’s 1:21:521 which was 29 thousands quicker than Bottas’ P2 time. The two Ferrari’s followed in third and fourth with Raikkonen setting a 1:22:456 ahead of Vettel, on a 1:22:600.

Early in the session Fernando Alonso’s McLaren spectacularly expired after only a half a lap out of the pitlane. The team reported a rather obvious engine failure while Alonso left the circuit for a round of tennis. The Renault of Sergey Sirotkin suffered a water leak which limited his running in the session to only ten laps.

While several teams utilized the session to evaluate new upgrades and updates to their cars it remains to be seen what sort of impact these new updates will have on the pecking order.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

May 12, 2017
F1 2017: Spanish Gp Preview – Back To Europe

There isn’t too much about Spain’s circuit de Catalunya that isn’t already known. As the fifth round of the 2017 season this staple of the Formula 1 calendar has, over the years, become the definitive barometer of car performance.

The 4.6-kilometer layout of the Spanish circuit comprises the perfect mixtures to test car balance and aerodynamic efficiency while the start/finish strait provides a modest test of power output. The high and medium speed turns, which litter the first sector, test stability and grip while the lower speed third sector is the perfect test of low speed mechanical grip. A quick car through the twisty bits of Catalunya’s final sector invariably translates into a good at street circuits such as Monaco and Singapore.

From this, it would suggest that Ferrari would be favourite and they are. The stellar aerodynamic package that they have produced in 2017 will be the Italian team’s biggest weapon. In Bahrain the Ferrari excelled in the high to medium speed first sector and in Russia both the Ferrari’s performance in the final, twisty, sector dwarfed what Mercedes was able to produce. Combine these two sectors and you have a layout similar to the circuit de Catalunya.

What may be Ferrari’s Achilles heel are the compounds which tyre supplier Pirelli has nominated for the weekend. While the track surface in Spain tends to be more abrasive in order to get the soft, medium, and hard compounds to its optimal working range will require a substantial track temperature. “I’m not sure if it’ll help us or not but I just don’t think it’s going to be good for anyone,” said Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “Hopefully for Barcelona’s sake it’s hot and therefore these harder tyres work, but if it’s cold then it’s going to be a struggle for everyone.”

The Spanish grand prix weekend, while important for every team and driver on the grid, is vital to the rest of Red Bull’s 2017 campaign. In 2016 the Milton Keyes based team left the Spanish circuit with Max Verstappen as a first-time grand prix winner and with great expectations. The overhaul in regulations held the expectation that Red Bull would be a championship contender in 2017. Nevertheless, the season has started with the team significantly off the pace but they hope that their plan to rectify this begins to fall in place this weekend.

The hope is that the introduction of a B-spec car and a “revamped” chassis will allow the team to make a significant step forward. “I hope we can be a bit closer to the top teams or that we can at least follow them,” said 2016 Spanish Gp winner Max Verstappen. “That would already be a good step forward.” Ironically, even without a chassis upgrade the characteristics of the Spanish circuit traditionally plays well to the strengths of the Red Bull.

In Russia, for reasons unknown, Lewis Hamilton was considerably off the pace. And while both Ferraris and his teammate beat him up it gave Valtteri Bottas a crucial boost of confidence that could be telling. As for Ferrari, their biggest asset is the belief that they have more than a good chance of being at the sharp-end. And if the temperatures soar it’ll likely take more than a good performance to topple them this weekend.

May 11, 2017