F1 Madness

Tag: williams

  • Hulkenberg turned down Lotus offer to replace Raikkonen

    Hulkenberg turned down Lotus offer to replace Raikkonen

    Nico Hulkenberg has turned down an offer to replace Kimi Raikkonen at the Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of the 2013 season.

    Hulkenberg, who currently drives for Sauber, is tipped as the favourite to replace the outgoing Raikkonen when he moves to Ferrari next season. The deal however hinges on  Lotus concluding an investment deal with Quantum – a deal which many insiders suspect will fall through. Should this happen, Pastor Maldonado who will be leaving Williams at the end of the season, is expected to move to Lotus – along with his substantial PDVSA sponsorship.

    Earlier this week, Hulkenberg’s manager Werner Heinz, admitted to German newspaper Bild that an offer had been made for him to replace Raikkonen who will miss the final two races of the season after deciding to go for back surgery in preparation for 2014 with Ferrari.

    “We had an offer from Lotus and we discussed it,” Heinz told Bild. “We decided that Nico will do the last two races with Sauber.”

    Lotus reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, a F1 rookie and last year’s GP2 champion, is now the favourite to replace Raikkonen in Austin and Brazil.

  • F1 2013: Texas GP Preview – F1 Giddy’s Up For Austin

    F1 2013: Texas GP Preview – F1 Giddy’s Up For Austin

    It seems appropriate that Texas is the second biggest state in America as it gears up to host the biggest motorsport series in the world.

    Legendary racing tracks from Watkins Glen to Indianapolis have hosted the Formula 1 world championship and in total ten different circuits throughout the United States have featured on the F1 calendar. In 2012 Austin’s Circuit of the Americas joined this list as it welcomed the F1 paddock to the lone star state. The inaugural race in Texas was lauded by drivers and fans as highly successful. “It’s a real credit to everyone involved in organising the inaugural event (last year) that it passed so smoothly. And Austin is a great city, so I see no reason why F1 can’t gain a true foothold in the US at this venue,” said Red Bull driver Mark Webber.

    USGPThe saying in racing is that you can’t win the race in the first corner. However, it can certainly be lost in the first corner and the Austin GP’s first corner is a mammoth climb with twenty-two Formula 1 cars heading for its blind apex. The remainder of the first sector is features a series of several high speed changes of direction similar to Korea’s Yeongam circuit.

    The second sector of the lap includes the straight and medium to low speed turns requiring good traction and precision on throttle application. The long continuous curve from turns fifteen to seventeen highlights the final part of the 5.513 km lap.

    Drivers are expected to make 59 gear changes every lap and run at an average speed of 200 kph. The circuit’s demand on engines is quite high with 63% of the lap spent at full throttle. Pirelli has made the white side-walled medium compound and orange side-walled hard compound tyre available for this weekend. Coincidentally, neither Pirelli’s green Cinturato Intermediate tyre nor its blue full wet tyre has been used in a race this season. This stat is unlikely to change for the 18th round of the season as the typical weather around these parts predict a warm & sunny weekend.

    From a set-up point of view, drivers’ and engineers’ first priority will be to understand how the track surface has evolved in twelve months since F1’s last visit. “Last year we were all sliding quite a lot because the tarmac was still so new, especially on the tight and twisty bit towards the end. It was sometimes almost more rally style than Formula One, because it was so slippery! Thelewisaustin section after the steep hill at the beginning is particularly challenging. Last year it took me quite a while to get my bearings and to position the car correctly,” said Sebastian Vettel.

    Then McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural race in Texas by delivering a fine drive which included overtaking four time champ Sebastian Vettel on track.  The Brit called it one of the best wins of his career and will unquestionably want to defend his victory this weekend. It is debatable however whether or not Hamilton’s Mercedes will be up to the task. Despite solid performances in Saturday’s qualifying sessions Hamilton has been, for most of the time, unable to translate the pace to race day. Nevertheless, the Brit may not be such a bad bet this weekend.

    The fight of second place in the driver’s title will be contested without Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn will miss the final two races of the season to undergo back surgery in Salzburg on Thursday. The Finn’s manager Steve Robertson shared the news on Sunday morning and said the 2007 champion will need four weeks to recover; thereby ruling Raikkonen out of both the Austin and Brazilian GP. Lotus are expected to promote development driver Davide Valsecchi to the race seat for the final two rounds of the 2013 season.

    The saying goes that everything is bigger and better in Texas and as Formula 1 finds a foothold in the States here’s hoping the on track racing takes this adage to heart. Giddy Up!

    Photo credit: Lewis Hamilton at 2012 Austin GP via mclaren.com

  • Pastor Maldonado set to leave Williams

    Pastor Maldonado set to leave Williams

    Pastor Maldonado, and his PDVSA sponsors, are set to leave the Williams F1 team at the end of the season.

    Maldonado and his backers are in exit talks with the Williams outfit, making way for the incoming Felipe Massa. Massa confirmed last weeks that he was in talks with Williams and after much speculation, it was today revealed by Autosport as well as the BBC that Maldonado will leave the team, taking PDVSA with him.

    The exit deal has not yet been concluded but it is believed that this will be completed soon in order to allow Maldonado to secure a contract with another team.

    Maldonado has already been in talks regarding a 2014 seat with Lotus, Sauber and Force India and will bring with him a £20 million per season backing of the oil company, PDVSA.

    Lotus, who have also been in talks with Nico Hulkenberg, would prefer the German driver to join their team but this rests on an investment deal with Quantum Motorsports. Should the investment deal not go through, it is most likely that Maldonado will then get the Lotus seat.

    PDVSA is contractually bound to Williams until the end of the 2015 season but it is understood that an agreement will be reached whereby Williams will be compensated for the change in plans.

    Maldonado has openly admitted that he is not enjoying the sport this year and is looking for a more competitive car to race in.

    Photo credit: Williams F1 Twitter Team

     

  • Maldonado to leave Williams?

    Maldonado to leave Williams?

    It has emerged that Pastor Maldonado, who is frustrated with the performance of his Williams team, might leave the team at the end of the 2013 season.

    If Maldonado leaves he would take with him a massive chunk of sponsorship money from Venezuelan oil giant, PDVSA, which is reportedly valued at 35 million Euros a year. According to sources, PDVSA, who are under contract for two more years at Williams, are in talks with Williams deputy team boss, Claire Williams to discuss and exit deal to buy its way out of the contract.

    According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Maldonado is keen to make a move to Lotus next year. If PDVSA get out of their Williams contract, he could bring with him a very large cash injection that is so desperately needed at the Enstone based team.

    Of course, all of this is just rumour and speculation at this point. Although the F1 silly season does tend to spring a few surprises at times.

  • Post Qualifying Report: Korean GP – Vettel Continues Domination

    Post Qualifying Report: Korean GP – Vettel Continues Domination

    Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has secured pole position ahead of the Korean grand prix.

    The qualifying session for the Korean GP got underway under blue skies with the threat of rain having completely sub-sided. The first session saw the elimation of both the Marussia and Caterham teams and suprisingly both the Williams’ drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valterri Bottas failed to advance beyond the first part of qualifying.

    The elimination of both Williams drivers was somewhat surprising given the relative pace both drivers were able to show throughout the free practice sessions. The Williams team has also brought several upgrades to the car including a new front-wing on Maldonado’s car.

    The second session of qualifying seemed to follow the two-by-two elimination process as both Force India’s, both Toro Rosso’s and both McLaren’s didn’t make the cut. Jenson Button and Force India’s Paul di Resta complained about traffic towards the end of their laps. The biggest improvement was shown by the Sauber duo of Esteban Gutierrez and Nico Hulkenberg as both drivers advanced to the final part of qualifying.

    The final top ten shoot-out was expected to a be close fight between Mercedes’ s Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. While Vettel did not annihilate Hamilton in terms of pace it decidedly comfortable for the three time champ.  margin of two tenths ultimately secured pole position for Vettel. Mark Webber set the third quickest time in the session but slide back to thirteenth as a result a ten place grid penalty.

    Romain Grosjean recorded the fourth fastest time but will move onto the second row of the grid at the expence of Webber. Nico Rosberg quietly slotted into fifth ahead of Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez was quick enough for 8th and ninth as Kimi Raikkonen bailed out of his final qualifying run after making a mistake on his one and only set of new supersport tyres.

    Sebastian Vettel continues his domination with yet another pole position and the rest as they say is record breaking history.

    koreaquali

     

  • Bernie Ecclestone working hard to keep Massa in F1

    Bernie Ecclestone working hard to keep Massa in F1

    Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he is working hard to ensure that Felipe Massa does not drop out of Formula One.

    Currently, Massa is the last remaining Brazilian F1 driver on the grid but he has lost his Ferrari seat and will be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen for the 2014 season.

    Massa’s manager, Nicholas Todt, is working hard to tap into Brazilian sponsors to ensure that Massa will be in contention for a ride with the Lotus, Williams, Force India or Sauber F1 teams.

    Brazil and South America are important markets for F1 and the sport’s chief whip, Bernie Ecclestone, told the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, “I am trying to help; it’s not easy, but we’re working on it.”

    Ecclestone admitted that Massa’s future in F1 could depend on whether he can attract sponsorship to take with him to his next team.

    “If Felipe gets some sponsors, everything will change and Brazil should have a driver on the grid in 2014,” Ecclestone said. “A strong economy like the one in Brazil is in a good position to invest in a driver,” he added.

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    FP2Sing

  • F1 2013: Italian GP Post-Qualfying Report – Red Bull Romp To Front Row

    F1 2013: Italian GP Post-Qualfying Report – Red Bull Romp To Front Row

    Sebastian Vettel secured his thirtieth and Red Bull Racing’s fiftieth Formula 1 pole position in Saturday’s qualifying for the Italian GP.

    Sebastian Vettel’s domination has been tempered by Lewis Hamilton in the last four races but the German maestro was not going to play second fiddle at the same historic venue as where he memorably won his first ever grand prix.

    The pace of the Williams car wasn’t much to write home about but Pastor Maldonado still manged to drag his Renault powered car into the second part of qualifying. Teammate Valterri Bottas didn’t manage to emulate the Venezuelan as he joined Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, Giedo van der Garde, Charles Pic, Jules Biachi and Max Chilton at the back-end of the grid.

    Drama and a closely fought battle was predicted for the final pole position shoot-out but the second session of qualifying is where the real commotion materialized. Paul di Resta, in recovery mode after a practice crash, failed to advance to the top ten and was joined by teammate Adrian Sutil and Pastor Maldonado. The real kicker however was the failure of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean to advance to the final session of qualifying.

    Lewis Hamilton, notoriously hard on himself, was quoted as saying that he “drove like an idiot” in the second part of the qualifying session. Twelfth place is certainly not what the Brit expected but chin up LH there’s always tomorrow. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean bemoaned the fact that he was unable to heat up his medium compound tyres prior to his final effort and Kimi Raikkonen…said nothing. Nevertheless, it is rather peculiar that the Lotus team dedicated both free practice sessions on Friday to testing the long wheelbase car with Kimi Raikkonen and then electing to pursue it further this morning.

    The final top ten shoot-out could not have worked out better for Red Bull if they had scripted it themselves. Untroubled be the rest of the pretenders Vettel and Webber locked out the front row of the grid for the 20th time.

    Ferrari’s ‘towing’ system didn’t quite go to plan in the final minutes of the session much to the displeasure of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard could be heard during the run telling his team that Felipe Massa was too far ahead of him to gain an advantage from the tow. Sky F1 later reported that the former world champion allegedly told his team: “You are stupid, you are all stupid, you wrecked my qualifying.” Felipe Massa out qualified his teammate.

    The undoubted star of qualifying was Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg who miraculously qualified third on the grid for tomorrow’s race. Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Jenson Button and Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top ten.

    Monza2013_Qualifying

  • 2014 F1 Silly Season Grid Predictions

    2014 F1 Silly Season Grid Predictions

    With silly season in full swing and with rumours flying everywhere we thought it would be a good idea to flesh out a few grid predictions for the 2014 season.

    Red Bull

    Red Bull have confirmed Daniel Riccardo for their second 2014 seat, in what was probably the worst kept secret in Formula 1. While there was much speculation about the seat and that Kimi Raikkonen was in contention for the seat, and at some stage even Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was said to be interested, it all seemed rather certain that Ricciardo would get the nod.

    Sebastian Vettel | Daniel Ricciardo

    Ferrari

    Kimi_RaikkonenThe Maranello based team announced on Wednesday 11 September that they’ve signed Kimi Raikkonen as their second driver. That came a day after Felipe Massa announced to his fans on Twitter that he will not be driving for Ferrari in 2014.

    The opinion is divided amongst commentators on weather this is a good move for Ferrari. There are vast personality difference between Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. One the one hand we have the fiery, very political Alonso and on the other side we have a very cool and calm Raikkonen that doesn’t say much. Many are saying that it will be another McLaren 2007 situation, some think that being the strongest driver line up for 2014, Ferrari have their best chance of taking on Red Bull.

    Fernando Alonso | Kimi Raikkonen

    McLaren

    With Jenson Button most likely to extend his contract at the Woking based team, Sergio Perez expressing his desire to stay at the team and Martin Whitmarsh determined to keep both his drivers, it is unlikely that we are going to see a change at McLaren for 2014.

    Jenson Button | Sergio Perez

    Mercedes

    Lewis Hamilton has a contract to stay on until the end of the 2016 season and Nico Rosberg has been given the option to extend his contract at the end of 2013. So it seems as though Mercedes will also have an unchanged team for 2014.

    Nico Rosberg | Lewis Hamilton

    Lotus

    Nico_HulkenbergLotus have been a rather curious case. There is lots of controversy surrounding the team recently with their money problems, the falling out between Kimi Raikkonen and Allan Permaine, and the “will it happen, wont it happen” investment deal with investment group Quantum. The future of Nico Hulkenberg sort of depends on this deal. If the deal goes through, Hulkenberg will get the drive. If the deal does not happen, it is very likely that Pastor Maldonado will swoop in and get the drive at the Enstone based team.

    It could mean that Hulkenberg will be left without a drive for 2014. This would be such a shame as he is a very talented driver. A good option for him could be McLaren. Martin Whitmarsh has made it public that they are looking for a driver, and with Jenson Button having signed a contract for 2014, its Perez’s seat that’s available. Lotus are not saying anything about the investment deal at this time. A few weeks ago it was a done deal. Nothing has been signed or announced till this day. The long it takes for the announcement, the more likely it looks that Maldonado will get the drive.

    Romain Grosjean | Pastor Maldonado

    Force India

    With Paul Di Resta secured for 2014, we’re left with Adrian Sutil. The German has performed well in his comeback season. At the start of the season he has showed very good pace. While the changes to Pirelli’s tyres have resulted in the pace of Force India dropping considerably, Sutil has still been bringing home the points. It seems unlikely that he’ll be replaced this time round.

    Paul Di Resta | Adrian Sutil

     

    Sauber

    Sauber have made it public that they would like rookie, Sergey Sirotkin to drive for them in 2014. This is obviously on condition that he obtains his Super licence. Sirotkin brings in much needed money from Russia which should hold the team over for the 2014 season. Another possibility is Pastor Maldonado. Having left Williams, the Venezuelan is looking for a drive in 2014 and the money that he will bring with him will be very welcome at Sauber.

    With McLaren also looking for a second driver it could mean the return of Sergio Perez to his former team. The other option is that Nico Hulkenberg could return to Sauber if the deal with Lotus falls through. At this stage we cant say who we think could fill the space in Sauber.

    TBA | Esteban Gutierrez

    Williams

    We got this one half right. Williams have announced Felipe Massa as their next driver, but they’ve kept Valtteri Bottas and have negotiated and exit payout with Maldonado’s sponsor, PDVSA. Next year we see Massa for the first time in an England based team. It is a good move from Sir Frank Williams to put Massa in the team. At a time where the new regulations come into play, you need a driver that can provide very good feedback about the car to the engineers as well as the experience.

    We will have to wait and see how it goes for Massa at Williams. Thier 2013 car was not very good, but their new engine partner for 2014, Mercedes, will be very interesting and they are confident that they can bring the Williams name back to the front of the grid.

    Felipe Massa | Valtteri Bottas

    Toro Rosso

    daniil-kvyat

    Toro Rosso have confirmed Daniil Kvyat as their second driver for 2014. This was a very unexpected move as we all here at F1 Madness were pretty sure that Antonio Felix Da Costa would get the 2014 drive for the Faenza based team. Dr Helmut Marko thinks that Kvyat shows more potential than the other rookies out there.

    Coming from GP3 it’s going to be a very big change into F1 for nineteen year old Kvyat. No doubt that he will be bullied on track by other drivers. It’s up to him to hold his nerve and show them that he can mix it up with the best of them.

    Jean Eric Vergne | Daniil Kvyat

    Caterham

    Charles Pic is already contracted for 2014, leaving only Giedo van der Garde’s seat with a question mark hanging over it.

    There is word that Heikki Kovalainen will make a F1 comeback for 2014. He has already been driving for the team in Free Practice sessions. But since he is not a pay driver, it makes it less likely that Caterham will bring him back on-board. There is also a chance for Rodolfo Gonzalez to take van der Garde’s seat. However, money talks in F1 so it seems likely that Caterham will keep their existing line-up.

    Giedo van der Garde | Charles Pic

    Marussia

    Both Marussia drivers need contracts for 2014. With Ferrari wanting Jules Bianchi in a mid-field team it will be interesting to see who Marussia signs up if Bianchi were to leave.

    Being the test driver for Ferrari and for Force India does help him out a bit and with him finishing above his team mate, it would seem that Chilton might be the one that will get the chop. For now, there’s no indication that things will change though.

    Jules Bianchi | Max Chilton

     

  • Monza Preview Quotes – Williams F1 Team

    Monza Preview Quotes – Williams F1 Team

    Preview quotes from the Williams F1 Team ahead of the Italian Grand Prix this weekend at Monza.

    Pastor Maldonado, Williams
    “I really enjoy driving at circuits that are rich in history and Monza is one of the most historic we visit and the fans are incredibly passionate. It’s the fastest track of the season and we will be reaching speeds of up to 340 km/h. Most of the corners are high speed which makes it more of an adrenaline boost and the downforce will be very low on the car which makes it more challenging to drive. This circuit gives everyone the chance to open the car up and see what it is capable of on the long straights. I also have a personal affiliation with the area as I lived very close to the circuit for three years at the start of my career, when I was competing in Formula Renault and Italian F3000, so I enjoy coming back. We had a disappointing result at the Belgian Grand Prix, but our car has good straight line speed so should be suited to this track and hopefully we can continue the progress we made in Hungary and score more points.”

    Valtteri Bottas, Williams
    “In Monza straight-line speed is very important for lap time as well as overtaking or defending in a race so we will run the car with the lowest amount of downforce and drag of the season. Tyre wear will not be as big an issue at this race as some other circuits and because of the high pit loss teams will be trying to pit as little as possible. This is an old fashioned circuit that is high speed and has a number of good overtaking opportunities and traditionally leads to some very close and competitive racing which makes it a good spectacle for the fans. I have fond memories of Monza as this is where I won the GP3 title in 2011, so hopefully I can draw upon that experience and have a good weekend.”

    Xevi Pujolar, Williams chief race engineer
    “The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is another historic track which we enjoying visiting. It is a circuit of extremes and it differs significantly from most Formula One circuits. It features the highest top and average speed of all circuits, with the second lowest turn angle of the year. It has a high pit loss time and a low fuel effect, which typically pushes the race towards a one-stop strategy.

    “As always it is a compromise in terms of set-up, however low drag is favoured here due to the long straights and high track efficiency, although the lack of downforce makes the chicanes tricky. Monza, alongside Monaco, is one of the two races where teams will often take specific aerodynamic components only used at those tracks. The brakes are under considerable mechanical stress due to the magnitude of the change of speed at the end of the long straights, although the long straights do aid in cooling them down again. Monza marks our last outing before the final flyaway races of the season so we will be aiming to leave Europe with some more points on the board.”

    Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations
    “Monza represents the ultimate test for an engine’s outright performance and reliability. Over three-quarters of the lap is spent at full throttle and the maximum speed goes over 330 km/h four times per lap. The cars will also be at the highest average speed of the year; very close to the 250 km/h mark. Only three chicanes break the flow of the lap so drivers try to straightline them as much as possible, however this places its own demands on the engines as the drivers ride the kerbs, momentarily unloading the internals of the units. The phases of heavy braking and acceleration only compound this challenge so we tend to use a new engine where possible.”

    Photo by the Williams F1 Twitter Team.