Tag: Valtteri Bottas

F1 2014: US GP Preview – Formula 1 Goes Country

Judging by the harmonious blend of NASCAR and beer the Americans have a pretty good idea on how to spend most of their weekends. More recently they struck on another golden combination by bringing the world’s premier racing serious to the lone star state of Texas.

Dubbed the Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, Formula 1’s return to the US was celebrated with a rowdy return in 2012. This circuit too was designed by Herman Tilke but unlike his other occasionally tedious attempts at modern circuit design COTA has been lauded by drivers and fans. “Hand on heart, this is probably the date on the calendar I look forward to the most,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “The Circuit of The Americas, in my opinion, is the best of the new breed of circuits. The nature of the corners is interesting. It’s also a very busy track where you don’t get much respite. The first sector is very special and that first turn, blind up the big hill is like nothing else in Formula 1. It’s also a good example of the excitement a late apex can create: you can have a really good lunge there. They’ve done a very good job.”

A storm is brewing towards the back of the Formula 1 grid as two teams in particular are having a difficult time in coping with the new turbo-charged-money-pit-era of the sport. It has led to the announcement that neither Caterham nor the Marussia team will be taking part in Texas this weekend. The great hopes once held for Caterham now lay in shards as administrators Smith and Williamson, who now own the team, set out to look for a possible buyer. Its debut in 2010 and the following season for Caterham seemed to suggest a lot of potential. They were the team most likely to be snapping at the heels of the mid-field and possibly score a point or two, such was their progression. However, in the last two seasons the team seems to have hit a brick wall and was overtaken by main rivals Marussia. Caterham’s absence, with permission from Bernie Ecclestone, will also include the team missing the Brazilian GP. At Marussia financial woes have meant that team cannot run either.

This should make for an interesting qualifying session. Along with the four cars already missing from the line-up Red Bull has already announced that Sebastian Vettel will not take part in the qualifying session. Vettel has chosen not partake as he will incur a ten-place grid penalty for using a sixth power unit, one more than is allotted for a season.

Not that long ago the announcement that Formula 1 would transform to hybrid, turbo-charged cars for 2014 was met with serious speculation as to the cost involved. Several teams, some of the big-wigs too, had genuine fears about the financial implication of such an imposing transformation. With two teams not making the trip to Texas or Brazil; a few others like Lotus and Sauber are in quite a fight to keep their head above water; and with Vettel missing in action from quali you have to wonder if those who pushed for the comprehensive rule changes are still as boisterously confident as before.

Formula 1 is a sport of extremes and over on the other side of the grid Mercedes is making merry and raking in the prize money. The circuit in Austin, Texas isn’t as power-hungry as Russia’s Sochi track but this will do little to eat into the colossal competitive advantage that Mercedes wields.

America – the land of opportunity so goes the famous saying. With three consecutive victories Lewis Hamilton has been making the most of his and now sits seventeen points clear of teammate Nico Rosberg. What can Rosberg do to break the ominous momentum of his champion teammate, more importantly; does he have the mental fortitude to beat an extremely confident and ridiculously comfortable Lewis Hamilton on an equal playing-field? There isn’t a doubt that Rosberg is a quick driver with some savvy skills. As this championship draws to a climax he’ll need to call on all of it to prove that he has what it takes to be the 2014 world champion. How deep can Nico Rosberg truly dig?

October 29, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

Drivers:

1st Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2nd Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

3rd Valtteri Bottas (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Alex Popov)

Q: What a wonderful race guys – thank you very much. I know Lewis you are a real fan of Russia, of Russian racing. Now you’ve won the first Russian Grand Prix in 100 years exactly. How do you feel?
Lewis Hamilton: So happy to be here. We’ve had an amazing week. The fans and really the organisers… Russia’s been so good to me and to the team. I’m so grateful for all the support and I’m really looking forward to coming here many, many more times. It’s not very far from where I live so I’m going to be hopping over for some holidays for sure.

Q: I know you’re impressed by the ski resorts here. Look, 17 points now, you have. Seventeen points in front of Nico. You think it’s enough or not?
LH: Obviously Nico did a great job to recover from his mistake earlier on today but the car was performing really well. We did a great job as a team. It’s history for us, so I feel very proud to be a part of it – me and Nico and all the team members. To get the first constructors’ championship for Mercedes Benz is amazing, so it’s a beautiful day.

Q: Nico, it was a really wonderful fight with Valtteri and you won it. Do you really think the tyres were gone or was it a bluff, like in poker?
Nico Rosberg: No, it was a great strategy from the team. The thing is that our car is unbelievable. It’s so good; everybody has done such a great job building this car. That’s why half of me of course is extremely disappointed that I messed up today but the other half, I’m really, really happy, because everybody in the team deserves it so much. For them the most important title of the year is the constructors’ championship, that’s why I can even smile a bit, because I’m happy for everybody to have achieved that.

Q: Ladies and gentlemen, 52 laps on the same set of tyres, what a great race. Valtteri, on the last lap of the race, you set the first ever Formula One fastest lap in a Russian Grand Prix. But you lost the fight with Nico, so are you happy or not?
Valtteri Bottas: Well, I need to be happy for us as a team. You know, what we have been doing since last year is amazing. Again on the podium, so a good amount of points. We were today ‘best of the rest’. Unfortunately, Mercedes is still quite a bit ahead but, you know, we did the best we could from where we started, so we need to be happy as a team.

Q: This man is still in the fight for third [in the drivers’ championship] with Daniel Ricciardo. But we are back for one quick question [with Lewis] because we all know the Russian story: the evening after the race, we must celebrate. And you have three weeks…
LH: Is there vodka?

Q: It’s OK for you?
LH: Yeah, I don’t mind. Thank you.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, congratulations, tremendous win there. We could see you were pushing very hard by the number of fastest laps you did – but you seemed to have virtually no problems. Any problems with fuel consumption? Any problems with tyres? Just one little lock-up we saw from you.
LH: Yeah, it was a good, good day and an amazing weekend. Firstly, I’m just so proud to have contributed to have worked with this great team, to get the first constructors’ championship for Mercedes-Benz. I could have only dreamed of that when I joined this team. So, a great day for that. Huge congratulations to all the guys that are here and back home in the UK and also in Germany. But yeah, today, once I was out in the lead I was really just having to control, just looking after the tyres, managing the fuel was quite straightforward. And then, towards the end of the race the car felt great so I could push or not push. I wasn’t really having to push much and even when I was having to pick up the pace a little bit when I eventually found Nico was behind, it was easy to match the times. And the car’s been amazing this weekend and I really, really enjoyed the track. I tell you, Russia’s been one of my favourite places so far this year, so it’s very cool to have won the first race here.

Q: Nico, a fantastic drive through the field really – but what happened on the first lap? We heard you say you had a vibration. Did that go with the change of tyres? Tell us about that because that really governed your whole race.
NR: Yeah, of course. It was just a mistake on my side, braked too late and that’s it. Very unnecessary because it was my corner and should have been in the lead after that. So, obviously very disappointed with that. After that my tyres were just square. They were vibrating so much I couldn’t see where I was going so I knew that I had to pit. For me, I thought that was it. I thought that was the end of the day – but then of course, partly happy to get back all the way to second, passing Valtteri along the way and then… yeah, it’s just thanks to my car. My car was just unbelievable today and that’s what allowed me to come back through the field. That’s the main thing really. In hindsight really, even if it was a bit…I could have pushed more during the race, y’know? But it’s always easy to know afterwards but even at the end my tyres were fine. So, yeah, that’s a pity but anyway, it’s difficult to know that during the race.

Q: Valtteri, at one point the pace seemed to be really close to Mercedes, perhaps closer than we’ve seen in any race so far this year.
VB: Yeah, the beginning seemed to be very good and I was not far off from Lewis and everything was going into the plan. The tyres were feeling good and suddenly the rear tyres started to go, started to lose pace and was struggling more and more and Lewis was getting far away. Then we stopped for the prime and it took just a really long time to get the prime tyre to work. It was just getting better towards the end. I did my best lap in the last lap of the race. It was really weird. And as it took so long to get the tyres to work, Nico got me in Turn 1. It was a bit of a surprise for me, didn’t expect him to come inside. Luckily I saw him in time so there was no contact. Yeah, as a team I think we again did a good job. We’ve come so much forward from last season so it’s again, really good to be on the podium.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, when you tried to overtake Lewis at the first corner, you were on the inside line; is it because it’s not the racing line, is that line, let’s say, that you normally have to brake a little bit earlier to compensate?
NR: No, I don’t think so. It was definitely doable and I just messed up, very simple, no explanation. Just braked too late and too hard.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, last year you had your best result in Austin. Is it going to happen this year also?
VB: I really hope so. I got my first points in Formula One in Austin last year so it would be nice to have a good weekend there. I think the track should be OK for us so let’s aim for that.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Nico and Lewis: now that the constructors’ title has been won, will you change your way of racing together or will it be the same?
LH: Same.

NR: It’s the same, you know. Up until now, it’s always been we can fight and it continues to be like that. We can fight, it doesn’t change.

Q: (Haoran Zhou – F1 Express) Lewis, can you describe your experience on the podium and especially when you were handed the trophy? Be as specific as possible.
LH: Well, it was kind of normal really. Kind of surreal for the president to be presenting the award. That was a great experience. The crowd have been amazing this weekend. I don’t know, I just never… I didn’t know that Formula One was something that people followed here in Russia. I didn’t know that there was actually a real love for it. To see the people turn out in their thousands yesterday and the grandstands full and then again today… They’re really enthusiastic, it looks like they’re really excited that we’re here and on top of that they did an amazing job with the track, the layout, with the surface, with the actual event. You would have thought they’d had this event many many times. I take my hat off to them.

Q: (Leonid Khayremdinov – Red Star) Lewis, you had a wonderful season with this ninth victory and your lead is now 17 points, but I remember this in 2007 and you had the same 17 points behind Kimi Raikkonen. Are you not afraid of repeating the situation as in 2007?
LH: I remember 2007 very well. I wasn’t afraid then either but I guess I was perhaps less experienced so I’m a completely different man today so I’m looking forward to the races coming up.

October 12, 2014
Hamilton dominates in final Russian practice

Lewis Hamilton set a dominant pace during the final practice session at the Sochi Autodrom ahead of this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s time of 1:38.726 was comfortably faster than the rest of the pack, despite a spin at the penultimate corner which saw him destroy his tyres and unable to complete his lap. At the time he had over a second advantage over his rivals and was on course to improve his own lap time.

Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas did improve and Rosberg ended the session 0.29s down on his team mate’s time.

Daniel Ricciardo finished the session in fourth spot for Red Bull, followed by Felipe Massa and Daniil Kvyat.

Kimi Raikkonen finished the session ahead of his Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso. The two were 7th and 8th respectively. Jean-Éric Vergne and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10.

Jenson Button finished in 11th place, unable to match the awesome pace McLaren had showed during the Friday practice sessions. He repeatedly complained about balance saying that it was “just aweful”.

His McLaren team mate, Kevin Magnussen had himself a bit of trouble on track. His gear box failed and the Danish driver found himself doing some scary stunt driving to keep his car out of the wall. He managed to do that but the gearbox change will mean a 5 place grid penalty for him.

Pastor Maldonado did not set a time due to an ERS problem.

Top times for the session are below. Please join us on Twitter, @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat during this afternoon’s qualifying session.

October 11, 2014
F1 2014: Hamilton Wins Overshadowed Japanese GP

Every now and then we lapse into an almost oblivious comfort zone where we’re inclined to almost forget that we’re witnessing some of the greatest motorsport talent in the world.

Treacherous conditions at the Japanese GP brought these driver’s tremendous talents into sharp focus this weekend. The grand prix had been under threat of a typhoon for several days but the worst of it was always predicted for Sunday. The calculations proved spot on as the heavens opened a few hours before the start of the race. Streams of water across the track surface and poor visibility demanded a start behind the safety car but it was soon evident that even this precaution would not be enough. The race was red-flagged after two laps behind the safety car.

Pole sitter Nico Rosberg was led into the pitlane for what would become a 25 minute delay. The safety car restart brought drama for Ferrari as Fernando Alonso was forced into retirement with an electronic problem. The resumption of racing brought with it the much anticipated battle between Rosberg and Hamilton. It was Hamilton, renowned for his wet weather skills, who piled on the pressure and eventually took the lead with a terrifyingly courageous move around the outside of turn one. If Rosberg was struggling with his tyres, or conditions or even car performance the fact remains that when it comes time to go wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton he has not yet stepped up. By being consigned to second place Rosberg finds himself ten points adrift of the championship leader.

Another master in wet conditions Jenson Button made an early call for intermediate tyres and was running as high as third. JB eventually fell prey to the much faster Red Bulls and brought the McLaren home in fifth. Although the 2009 champion is yet to nail down his seat for 2015 his display in this race underlined his class.

The superstar that is Daniel Ricciardo once again lit up the race with several brilliant overtaking manoeuvres. The Aussie boldly overtook both Williams’ drivers in the Esses in indescribably difficult conditions. Of Williams there was regrettably not much to get excited about. Despite locking out the second row of the grid Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were decidedly absent from proceedings. So much so, that you wouldn’t have been blamed for thinking that they had already closed up shop and headed off to Russia.

Sebastian Vettel, who announced that he will be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season, kept close quarters with his teammate but a late stop for fresh tyres dropped him to fourth. However, on count back, following the second and final red flag the future Ferrari driver was elevated to third.

Sadly, the Japanese GP was overshadowed by an accident for Marussia’s Jules Bianchi. The 25-year-old went off at Turn seven on lap 43 and crashed heavily into a recovery vehicle which was in the process of removing the Sauber of Adrian Sutil who had crashed a lap earlier. The accident resulted in the second red flag and prompted race control to call the race result. The Frenchman was taken to the circuit medical centre and soon afterward transported to a nearby hospital. The official news, confirmed by the FIA, is that Bianchi suffered a severe head injury which has required surgery.

The mood amongst Japanese GP podium finishers Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel was decidedly sombre after having learnt of Bianchi’s crash as it was for all motorsport fans. In a show of respect and great sportsmanship no champagne was sprayed on the podium.

We get used to it when nothing happens and when something does happen we are surprised, understandably upset and looking to place blame where it seems to be most convenient. The truth is, and will remain, that hindsight is always 20/20. We want to blame the FIA for not starting the race earlier; we want to blame race control for not hanging out the red flag earlier or putting out a safety car, we’ll even speculate as to why Bianchi did not slow in the face of double waved yellow flags.

Ultimately, this is a reminder that regardless of how well organised or how many contingencies are put in place there will occasionally be a situation that exposes the danger of Formula 1. All our thoughts and prayers reside with Jules Bianchi. Forza Jules.

October 5, 2014
Hamilton Ahead in Practice 2 at Suzuka

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished the session with a 1:35.078 ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg in P2 with a 1:35.318, 0.240s slower. Valtteri Bottas in the Williams finished the session P3 with a 1:36.279, 1.201s slower than Hamilton. McLaren’s Jenson Button finished the session in P4 with the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel rounding off the top 5.

The session got off to a rather interesting start with Kobayashi crashing into the barriers at the exit of T3. Replays showed that he lost the rear of the car on the entry to T3 which sent him into a spin and into the barrier backwards destroying his rear left suspension.

Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne had apparent electronics issues twice in the session. The first time was at the beginning of the session, the second time with just 2mins before the end of the session at the exit of Spoon.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo crashed out 20 mins into the session. He was about to start a timed lap and got on the throttle a bit early at the final corner. The rear of the car swung around, he corrected but unfortunately he ran out of track which meant he was on the gravel and into the barrier taking off his front left suspension in the process.

With just under an hour left in the session, Sauber’s Estaban Gutierrez had a bit of and off at Spoon Corner. replays show that he went straight on into Spoon. It looked as though he carried too much speed into the corner.

With 20mins left in the session there were some spots of rain around the circuit. The drivers were well into their long runs at this point but it did prove quite tricky for some. Most of the drivers were being caught out by the damp conditions as some were locking up and running wide while others were too early on the throttle out of the slow corners.

The session ended prematurely as Jean-Eric Vergne stopped on track again. This time at the exit of Spoon. The replays showed that as he made a tweak on the steering his car cut out and the screen on the steering went blank.

Mercedes were once ahead on the long run pace. Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams and McLaren were all very close together. McLaren, however, are looking more comfortable around Suzuka despite Jenson Button saying that Suzuka wont suit the car.

It’s going to be an interesting qualifying session. With the rain forecast it will mix things up and make things very interesting.

Below is the timing sheet for the FP2 session for the Japanese Grand Prix

October 3, 2014
F1 2014: Japanese GP Preview – Who Will Be The Man In Japan?

In Japan there is a circuit known as Suzuka, it is roughly 5.8 km in length and throughout its history has witnessed the both the greats of the sport and some of the most dramatic moments in the history of Formula 1.

Adored by drivers and fans Suzuka is simultaneously one of the most iconic circuits on the calendar and one of its biggest challenges. Beyond the narrow strip of asphalt there are run off areas, no second chances. Here, a bit of gravel is all that precedes brutal punishment. This degree of difficulty is why Suzuka is so revered by one and all. The level of skill required around these parts are second to none and the reward for a driver, when he gets it right, is huge sense of achievement and most likely a pretty good lap time to boot. “When you finish a lap at Suzuka you really appreciate it because you know both the car and you have been really tested. You can be proud if you have got the maximum from everything,” says last year’s podium finisher Romain Grosjean.

The refreshing Daniel Ricciardo describes the first sector of the lap as a delight. “It’s a dream. You have those fast changes of directions through the Esses, hard around the Dunlop Curve and then, arguably the best bit, turns Eight and Nine: Degner. Through Eight you’re hanging on, it’s so narrow and there’s no room for error but you want to push as hard as you can.”

The great thing about Suzuka is that the lustre isn’t all contained in the first sector. Sector two is distinguished by the Spoon curve and the frighteningly flat-out 130R which follows on from the back straight. Despite the near non-existent margin for error and narrow track surface a few overtaking opportunities exist. Turn one is a popular choice but has to be preceded with a decent exit off the final chicane and a respectable straight-line speed. Another occasion for overtaking could present itself under braking into the final chicane and if a driver is feeling particularly adventurous, and perhaps a tad desperate, the first part of the Spoon curve may even be an option.

The demand for downforce isn’t as great around the Japanese track. However, striking the balance between having enough grip in the twisty bits and ensuring that they can reach reasonable speed down the straights is the key to set-up. It bodes well for Red Bull to be the best of the rest behind the outlandishly fast Mercedes.

The sinister underbelly of Formula 1 has struck once more. At least this is what the Formula 1 conspiracy theorists have been peddling. Giving rise to their frenzied ramblings was a Mercedes announcement that Rosberg’s retirement in Singapore was caused by a contaminated substance and subsequent electronics short circuiting of his car. It turns out, after a thorough examination, that the steering column electronics were contaminated by an undetectable substance. The loudest of the conspiracy theorists maintain that Rosberg’s car was deliberately sabotaged by the Mercedes management. Besides the fact that the team lost out on scoring points, and the cash that goes with it, what possible explanation could there be for deliberately taking one of its cars completely out of the race?

From a perspective more slanted towards the neutral the Rosberg retirement wasn’t exactly a full blown tragedy. Yes, for at least ten minutes we all felt bad for Rosberg and we sympathised with his desperate attempts to get going. But after this period of gloominess subsided the realization of F1’s skulking unpredictability sunk in. And just maybe you would’ve concluded that this little sequence of events could result in a cracking end to the season. Now we head to Japan with a slender three-point gap between the duelling teammates. Neither Hamilton nor Rosberg has ever won here which tees up the battle perfectly. All that is needed is for Messrs Rosberg and Hamilton to set it on fire.

September 30, 2014
F1 2014: Singapore Lights Up Championship Fight

If there are only a handful of things that can be counted on as a certainty in Formula 1 one of them will be the erratic fickleness of it all. Singapore played the joker that may just have turned the 2014 F1 season on its head.

The unfortunate victim of the ever dependable randomness of F1 was Nico Rosberg. A healthy, even comfortable, 22 point lead was completely blown away as unreliability struck the German before the start of the Singapore GP. An apparent steering wheel problem relegated Rosberg to a pitlane start which only delayed the inevitable. With already having to stage a comeback from the back of the field Rosberg was lapping five second off the pace and eventually had to retire with an unresponsive car. Toto Wolff confirmed that the entire system had broken down due to the failure of a “lume within the steering column.”

It left Lewis Hamilton with the delectable opportunity of regaining the championship lead. However, the characteristics of the Marina Bay circuit and a safety-car period allowed both Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari to within striking distance of the Silver Arrow, or so they thought. It was to be nothing more than a far-fetched pipedream for those behind Hamilton as he easily dismissed their feeble attempts at beating him.

If Formula 1 is our religion then we need to bow down the designers of the W05 Mercedes. In the last decade we’ve seen the Red Bull domination net itself four world championship titles but it certainly did not boast a lap time advantage as great as three seconds.

Never let it be known that Hamilton isn’t a man who doesn’t rise to the occasion. The safety-car appearance meant the Brit would have to pit and re-take the lead in order to win the race. First he would have to build a gap to second place and within several laps Hamilton’s staggering pace had ensured that he would emerge in the thick of the Red Bull fight. His superior speed, and fresh rubber, easily saw him past Sebastian Vettel and just to rub a bit of salt in the wounds he again extended the gap to fourteen seconds by the chequered flag.

Ferrari showed improved pace on the Singapore streets and with added benefit of the supremely gifted Fernando Alonso the Scuderia’s weekend wasn’t too shabby at all. The never-say-die Spaniard once again unleashed a masterful driving performance. The double world champ got to within touching distance of the podium, even second place, but was stranded behind the two Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo in fourth.

What is it about this Fernando Alonso that makes him the wonder that he is? To consistently out-perform what he is given and make a car do things no one dares think is possible. He’s preference for over-steery cars makes the current Ferrari a bit easier to drive but beyond this there is very little of the F 14T that is good. Surely then it can only come down to him, it does. His relentlessness seemingly knows no bounds and there is very much a feeling of a single-minded stubbornness when Alonso is in the cockpit. The sort of tenacious belief that he will get a lap time out of that car come hell or high water. Even if he isn’t your Formula 1 be-all-and-end-all he is still to be admired and commended.

Felipe Massa defied belief, and all statistical predictions, as he completed a mammoth 35 lap stint on the soft compound tyres to finish fifth. Teammate Valtteri Bottas nearly pulled off the same feat but lost several positions on the final lap as his tyres finally gave up the ghost. Jean-Eric Vergne overcame two five-second penalties to finish a brilliant sixth.

There was a bit of argy-bargy and some lost carbon fibre in the mid-field between Sauber’s Adrian Sutil and Force India’s Sergio Perez. Perez suffered significant front-wing damage as he was squeezed up against the barriers by Sutil and the shards of carbon fibre strewn across the track were the catalyst for the safety-car deployment. It was a bit surprising that the Stewards didn’t penalise Sutil whose actions did appear a bit dicey. Nevertheless, Checo did stage a fine recovery to finish seventh.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen never recovered from a software glitch in qualifying and finished eighth ahead Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India. McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen wrapped up the final point of the day but teammate Jenson Button lost sixth position after being forced into retirement with a suspected electronic issue.

A slender, but perhaps decisive, three points is Lewis Hamilton’s world championship lead over teammate Nico Rosberg. With five races remaining, and double points on offer in Abu Dhabi, this exceptional battle is, thankfully, far from over.

September 22, 2014
Singapore GP Free Practice 3: Alonso Finishes Top

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso pulled out one very quick lap in Free Practice 3 to finish top of the time sheets for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Alonso topped the session with a 1:47.299, 0.051s quicker than Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who finished P2 with a 1:47.350. Nico Rosberg ended his session in P3 with a 1:47.488, 0.189s slower than Alonso’s time.

It would seem that Mercedes were sandbagging in this session and not revealing their true pace. When asked, Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff said that is was a normal free practice three for them. When pushed further by SkySports F1’s Ted Kravitz, all he said was “This is free practice and not qualifying”.

The turn of pace of the Ferrari is very encouraging, although on the other end of the garage, team mate Kimi Raikkonen could only manage a P9 finish nearly a second off the pace.

The surprise of the session was Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne who finished the session in P4 with a 1:47.711 ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton in the other Mercedes could only manage 1:47.738 to finish P6.

The Williams team looks like they’ve sorted out their oversteer issues with the car and finished in P7 with Felipe Massa and P8 with Valtteri Bottas.

This session was much more closely contested with the top 9 all withing 1-second of each other. With Ferrari and Red Bull showing encouraging pace, we may see a Mercedes upset. On the other hand, Mercedes could’ve just been taking it easy and will blitz the field in qualifying.

Below is the full timing sheet for FP3

Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1

September 20, 2014
Hamilton On Top after Practice 2 in Singapore

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished top of the time sheets in the second practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix, at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Hamilton topped the session with a time of 1:47.490. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished the session in P2 with a 1:47.623, 0.133s slower than Hamilton. Although it seems as though Hamilton may have a few tenths of a second in the bag. Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull finished the session in P3 with a 1 47.790, 0.3s slower than Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen finished in P4 in the sister Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel managed P5 after spending most of the session in the garage after and engine replacement following his engine problem in FP1.

Nico Rosberg reported understeer early on in the session but pounded around. He was called into the pits and the mechanics got to work on his car. On his flying lap, Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado crashed at the exit of T12 after running over the kerbs into T11 and getting a bit of oversteer into T12. He went straight into the barriers which brought an end to his session. It just didn’t work out for Rosberg who finished the session in P13.

McLaren have said that they intend to challenge Red Bull at the Singapore Grand Prix. They’ve come out fighting and they’re quite close to Red Bull in terms of pace. They’re not there yet, but its encouraging news for the Woking based team. Williams on the other hand are struggling for pace. The Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished the session in P17 and P18 respectively. The FW36 does not seem to like the slow nature of the Marina Bay Circuit.

The session was a very close session with the top 7 all within 1-second of each other. The long run pace of the Mercedes cars was quick. The Red Bulls and the Ferrari’s were not far off Mercedes in the long run pace either. All this has the making of a very exciting race.

The full timing sheet for FP2 is included below:

September 19, 2014
F1 2014: Singapore GP Preview – Stage set for Singapore Showdown

It wasn’t that long ago that the thought of Formula 1 cars under lights was just something the ringmasters were talking about for the future. Now, in 2014, Singapore marks its seventh year on the calendar. It’s no exaggeration to say that after nearly a decade of glittering floodlit F1 cars it still tickles the fancy.

Sebastian Vettel has won the last three Singapore Gp and it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that he could notch up number four. A complete domination, not a Mercedes victory is a given this weekend. Singapore’s Marina Bay circuit has the most corners of all the tracks on the 2014 calendar and its dependence on mechanical grip rather than pure engine power creates the potential for some rivalry. “The demands on the car are very high in terms of braking, steering and also the engine. It’s also a long race – often running to the full two hour limit and frequently characterised by safety cars,” says Paddy Lowe, Mercedes technical director.

The battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will too recommence. In Italy, Hamilton got the better of Rosberg but the latter still holds a 22 point lead. As proven in Monaco, minus the dubious qualifying incident, Rosberg is no slouch around the street circuits. But the small mistake, that cost him victory at Monza, is the tiniest indication of a crack in the ever polished veneer. As a result Hamilton is in the ascendency where the psychological fight is concerned but it means little if you’re still trailing in the points. However, the Brit and not Rosberg, is the one under more pressure this weekend. Because, unlike Hamilton, never before has Rosberg been lauded as the fastest man in F1, never has he been called a championship contender before this year, and never has he been expected to win simply because of who he is. This all translates to the fact that Rosberg has very little to prove and has far less pressure than megastar Lewis Hamilton.

Change is abounding in the Ferrari camp as the ubiquitous Luca di Montezemolo has stepped down as President. Montzemolo must be praised for the terrific and tireless job he has done to maintain the team’s legacy. This is another in a long line of significant changes within the Italian team and while all the re-shuffling and re-working and hiring and ‘gardening leave’ is fine and dandy there is still a worry that all the moving and shaking may not pan out where it matters most – on the track.

Nevertheless, one of its two drivers, Kimi Raikkonen, is optimistic about a better performance around the Singapore streets. A disastrous home grand prix last time out again drew attention to its dismal power unit and Raikkonen has pointed out the ERS (energy recovery system) as the team’s biggest Achilles heel. However, the less power hungry and more twisty the circuit the better it will play to the Ferrari. “I think the next few circuits will suit us as they’re not so fast. We have to go there and see how the car is, but I expect to be in a stronger position,” says Raikkonen.

One of the things that have always been liked about Formula 1 is its excessive attention to detail. No element or point is too small to escape the hawk-like, near obsessive, meticulousness with which these teams go to work. Recently, this continuous aim towards perfectionism has spilled over to ‘driver coaching.’ We say recently because audiences have only been exposed to radio communications between car and pitwall over the last few seasons.

‘Driver coaching’ has been noted most frequently between the Mercedes drivers and their respective engineers this season. On numerous occasions Hamilton and/or Rosberg would be instructed as to where they could potentially gain time or where they were losing time in comparison to the teammate. No more says the FIA who have clamped down and outlawed all messages that aid driver or car performance. This includes informing a driver about how to manage his fuel consumption.

Long since some have been moaning that the drivers are simply puppets merely following instruction from the pitwall. Now driving will be instinctual rather than a reaction to reams of telemetry data. By golly, they’ll have to think for themselves and it could just improve F1’s image.

Invariably, because F1 employs some of the most brilliant minds in the world there is likely to be coded message passed to the drivers even if the FIA has said these are not allowed. Good news is that we will still here Bonno telling Hamilton that it’s “hammer time” and Kimi Raikkonen will be left alone as he so memorably requested at the 2012 Abu Dhabi grand prix.

September 18, 2014