Australian GP – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The 2015 Formula One season has begun, and it looks like it might be a great season. Hamilton took the win, continuing on from where he left off in 2014. Mercedes look like they will again be the ones to beat, with Ferrari and Williams fighting for the best of the rest. Sauber has shown immense progress from last year, while McLaren have fallen to the bottom of the pack. So, what was good, what was bad and what was down right ugly on the first race weekend of 2015.

The Good

Ferrari and Sauber car improvements – Both Ferrari and Sauber have shown huge improvements in the first race of the season. Ferrari only had one podium last year, a third from Alonso in China, and finished behind a resurgent 2014 Williams in the constructors. In Melbourne Ferrari were running with both cars in the points, with Vettel taking third, his first podium since 2013. Sauber were even more a surprise. Failing to score a single point in 2014 Sauber has already scored 14 points with a 5th for Nasr and 8th for Ericsson.

Mercedes dominance continues – While for many the dominance of one team is a negative, as a Hamilton and Mercedes fan it is a perfect result. While I want another season of Mercedes victories, it would be good for another team to push them to the limit.

The Bad

Small finishing field – Before the race weekend 20 cars were meant to compete. After qualifying this went down to 18 cars after Manor were unable to qualify due to software issues. It was then revealed that Bottas would be unable to race due to a back injury sustained in qualifying, bringing us to 17 drivers. On the way to the grid we lost Magnussen and Kvyat. Magnussen had an engine failure, while Kyvat suffered a gear issue. This meant the race started with only 15 drivers. We lost two more drivers in the first lap, with both Lotus drivers finding themselves back in the garage. Maldonado was hit from behind and ending up in the wall, while Grosjean had an engine issue forcing his retirement. The race settled down, and it was in the last half we lost the final two drivers. Verstappen had his debut cut short after his engine died. Raikkonen had pit stop issues, and his second pit stop left him with a loose tire and an investigation into an unsafe release. In the end we only had 11 finishers.

Top teams falling behind – McLaren and Red Bull found themselves under performing, and being behind their 2014 pace. McLaren were the biggest losers. Qualifying in 17th and 18th, Magnussen was unable to even start the race, while Button ended up being the only non points finisher. Red Bull fared better than McLaren, but still struggled. Kyvat didn’t make it to the grid, thanks to gear issues. Ricciardo managed 6th, but struggled with drivibility. Renault have a lot of work ahead of them. Both McLaren and Red Bull are former champions, and are way out of their comfort zones.

The Ugly

Sauber’s legal troubles – The start of the season was almost overshadowed by the legal issues at Sauber. The problem seems to be that Sauber have too many drivers, and not enough cars. In 2014 Van Der Garde was contracted to the team as a test driver, with a clause with a race seat for 2015. Sauber then signed Ericsson and Nasr, leaving Van Der Garde in the lurch. In the build up to the season Sauber were taken to court by Van Der Garde, who ultimately won. However, Sauber were not playing ball and after threats of contempt of court, a very awkward press conference for Kaltenborn and the threat of jail, Van Der Garde and Sauber settled. It did not get him the race seat, and the issue is not yet settled. The saga continues on to Malaysia.

2014 cars are here…

There has been a flurry of action this last week or so, and we are starting to see images of the new cars, along with new drivers. There are some interesting interpretations of the new regulations, especially when it comes to the nose. What do you think of the cars?

Here are the new cars (post will be updated with each car launch):

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo

Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen

Lotus
Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado

McLaren
Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen

Force India
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez

Sauber
Adrian Sutil and Esteban Guttierez

Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Kvyat

Williams
Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas

Marussia
Jules Bianci and Max Chilton

Catherham
Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson

Pre-Season testing – Jerez day two

Day two of testing started off wet, so Pirelli brought forward their proposed “wet day” from Friday to today for the teams to test the new wet weather tyres.

Today saw the Mercedes powered cars completing 212 laps, with Nico Rosberg doing 97 of those on his own and McLaren taking the fastest time via Button. The Renult powered cars seemed to have a lot of issues today, with Red Bull struggling the most with only 8 laps completed and the slowest time set. While it is probably to early to start basing predictions on the lap times, it is plain to see that Mercedes, and those with the Mercedes engine, seem to be the strongest at this point.

Lap times

1. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1:24.165, 43 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:24.812, 47 laps
3. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:25.344, 35 laps
4. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:25.588, 97 laps
5. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:28.376 , 37 laps
6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:33.270, 53 laps
7. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham) 1:37.975, 11 laps
8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1:38.320, 8 laps

Pre-season testing – Jerez day one

The build up to the 2014 is well underway, with car launches almost complete and testing having begun. Today saw the start of the first test in Jerez, and it was clear that the new regulations have shaken a few teams.

One of the main talking points of the tests are the new look cars, with teams taking some very different approaches to the new rules regarding the nose. Some teams have found themselves being the butt of the jokes, most noticeably the Force India, the Caterham and the Toro Rosso. The Mercedes team were crowned by many as the best looking car of the season, although we are yet to see the Marussia and I am sure there will be several upgrades and changes to the cars throughout the season as teams look to find the best interpretation of the rules.

So how did the teams do today:

Red Bull

Red Bull launched their car this morning, with Ricciardo and Vettel both on hand to pull off the covers. It was a subdued day for the current champions as they had issues with their car. When the car was finally ready Vettel was able to do about 3 laps without setting a timed lap. It will be interesting how the car is tomorrow as Newey speaks out at the new regulations

Mercedes

Mercedes also launched their car today, and many were quick to call it the best looking car on the grid and I agree. The team also seem to have got to grips with the car as they were the only team to go out on the track at the start of the testing session, and the first to set a timed lap. Unfortunately, the Mercedes program was cut short after the front wing failed and Hamilton went into the barriers. He still finished second fastest of the day with a time of 1m27.820

Ferrari

The Ferrari was launched last week, and today saw the return of Raikkonen in the red racesuit. After a morning of installation laps the Ferrari started setting times, and ended up finishing the day with the most laps and the fastest timed lap of the day with a time of 1m27.104

Lotus

Lotus were not at Jerez, as they decided to start their pre-season in Bahrain next month.

McLaren

McLaren had a bad day. They were unable to complete any laps due to not being able to start the engine. They hope to be up and running tomorrow.

Force India

Force India had released images of their car already, but revealed it in the flesh today. It is fair to say that they, along with another team, are the butt of the nose jokes. They were able to get some running in, with Perez taking the car out and setting a best time of 1m33.161

Sauber

Sauber were another who had released images of their car before testing, and seemed to have a quiet day. They had Gutierrez in the car, and completed a very small number of laps, and like Red Bull didn’t set a time.

Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso launched their car today, and they join Force India in the nose jokes. With Vergne at the wheel they set the fifth, and slowest, time of the day, clocking 1m36.530. While they were slowest they were able to get a flying lap in, which is a lot more than many teams.

Williams

Williams had released images of their car before today, and they seemed to have a lack of sponsors when they eventually took to the track today. The team had reassured everyone that this is only their test livery, and will have a new livery for us all once we reach Melbourne. After a limited amount of laps Williams ended up the third fastest of the day with Bottas taking the car round, finishing with a time of 1m30.082

Marussia

Marussia should have been launching their car this morning, however they were still working away at their factory in England due to problems in the assembly of the car. However, it has been announced that they are on their way, and will be taking part in the test from Thursday.

Caterham

Caterham revealed their new car today, with a very different approach to the nose. They came out on the track late in the day, completing a handful of laps without setting a time.

Italian GP 2013 – The Race

The Race

With the anticipation of rain, and it being the last race in the European leg of the 2013 season, the stage was set for what was hoped to be an exciting race. The start certainly didn’t disappoint, with the race to the first corner resulting in carbon fibre flying, and a McLaren taking a swift shortcut, before conceding all those place back. It was a bad weekend of Paul Di Resta, who locked up and went into the back of Romain Grosjean, resulting in the Force India driving having to retire from the race with a lack of a front wing, and a very very loose wheel!

As the race progressed it seemed a foregone conclusion that Vettel would run away with the lead, and that the attention should very much stay in the mid field, were the overtakes were coming thick and fast. Hamilton had been making his way through the pack from his qualifying spot of 12th, but found himself in a spot of bother when his front trye developed a slow puncture. This was further complicated by a radio failure, meaning Hamilton could not hear his team, and his team could not hear him, and it took a couple of laps to get the message across to Hamilton to come into the pits. He managed to fight his way up to 9th place by the end of the race, which could have been much higher if had not had to pit twice.

The big surprise today with the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg, a true talent and one for the future. After qualifying 3rd it was expected he would fall down the order, and fall out of the points. However, this did not seem to be Hulkenbergs plan, as he only fell two spaces to 5th, and held that position for the rest of the race, being beaten only by the two Red Bulls and the two Ferrari’s . he was able to fend off fellow countryman Nico Rosberg, and secure much-needed point for his team. Could Hulkenberg be the next big German driver? Could he be a future World Champion? Who knows where he will be next year, but the tops teams had better start the bidding now!

The Tifosi were in full force today, and we happy to see one of their Ferrari drivers on the Podium. The chorus of “Alonso! Alonso! Alonso!” rang out around the Monza paddock, and there was no mistaking where we were. Alonso managed to take a selfie with the crowds in the background, and was very grateful for their support. There was some mutterings of a lack of respect after the crowd booed race winner Vettel, but I think every driver but Alonso or Massa would have been booed, so nothing personal!

Overall, it was a good race, and the battles all along the mid field were by far the best part. Hamilton showed off his skills, picking off a driver a lap towards the end, and picking up fastest lap of the race.

My Points

Vettel stretched out his lead in my point system, as the real changes were down the field

Here is the top 5:

1) Vettel – 43
2) Hamilton – 57
3) Alonso – 59
4) Webber – 68
5) Raikkonen – 74

Check out the whole updated table by going to the Point System page.

Fantasy Racers

Team Generalis were the team to beat this week, as they collected 692 points with Ricciardo, Grosjean, Massa and Vettel. Callum’s 2nd Team remained at the top of the leaderboard, scoring 629 this week.

We now have another 2 weeks wait until the Singapore Grand Prix, a race I love! There is just something about this night race which is so appealing! I will also be watching on Austrian TV, here’s hoping my German is good enough to figure out what is going on!

Italian GP 2013 – Qualifying

Q1

It was back to normal service in Q1 after the surprising results of Spa. It was Force India who were on the cusp of being the surprise casualties of Q1, while Bottas and Guiterrez were unable to match their team mates pace

OUT:17) Gutierrez 18) Bottas 19) Van der Garde 20) Pic 21) Bianchi 22) Chilton

Q2

While Q1 was full of surprises in Spa, it was Q2 that was in for a shock at Monza. With the time counting down Hamilton messed up a flying lap by going off the track in the last bend. As he tried to string a lap together he found himself behind his self-confessed “ex-friend” Adrian Sutil, who appeared to impede Hamilton going into Parabolica. No penalty has been given. Hamilton was not the only underperformer, as both Lotus’s failed to make the final session.

OUT: 11) Raikkonen 12) Hamilton 13) Grosjean 14) Sutil 15) Maldonado 16) Di Resta

Q3

Q3 was a Red Bull shoot out, with very few surprises as it was a Vettel/Webber 1-2. However, there was one huge surprise for the Sauber team as Nico Hulkenburg finished qualifying in 3rd place. The Ferrari’s improved on their positions in Spa, but Alonso was not happy after Massa wasn’t helping him as he felt he should, and finished behind his Ferrari team mate. The Toro Rosso boys managed a solid qualifying, as did Mclaren.

OUT: 1) Vettel 2) Webber 3) Hulkenberg 4) Massa 5) Alonso 6) Rosberg 7) Ricciardo 8) Perez 9) Button 10) Vergne

The Grid

1) Vettel
2) Webber
3) Hulkenberg
4) Massa
5) Alonso
6) Rosberg
7) Ricciardo
8) Perez
9) Button
10) Vergne
11) Raikkonen
12) Hamilton
13) Grosjean
14) Sutil
15) Maldonado
16) Di Resta
17) Gutierrez
18) Bottas
19) Van der Garde
20) Pic
21) Bianchi
22) Chilton

With a 70% chance of rain for the race tomorrow it should be very exciting! Everyone had better you set your alarm for 2pm Italian time!

Italian GP 2013 – Preview

2012 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:24.010
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
First Winner – Jules Goux (Ballot) 1921
First Winner – World Championship race: Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo) 1950

Number of Laps: 53
Circuit length: 5.793 km (3.600 mi)
Race length: 306.720 km (190.596 mi)

Belgium GP 2013 – The Race

The Race

After the ever-changing weather conditions throughout the weekend the race was an extremely dry affair, which cost some drivers who had gone for a wet/dry set up. One such driver was Hamilton, who had a good start off the line, but was taken by Vettel before the end of the first lap. Vettel would go on to lead the rest of the race, in his normal dominant style.

While there wasn’t too much action at the front of the race, there was plenty of it in the midfield. From 4th to 16th there was constant overtaking, and even 3 cars abreast going into Eu Rouge. This risque driving got the better of some drivers, with Di Resta taking the fall. Coming into the bus stop chicane, Maldonado, Sutil, Di Resta and Gutierrez were all vying for the same spot on the track. As the came on to the home straight Maldonado got a slight tap from Sutil, and then took a late decision to dive into the pits, going right into the back of Di Resta. Di Resta retired, while Maldonado got a 10 second stop and go penalty, something I have not seen for a long time.

Elsewhere, Raikkonen’s 38 race finishing spree came to an end, with a brake failure. In the first part of the race Raikkonen’s brakes were sending out black dust at every breaking zone, and glowing an angry red. It was towards the middle of the race that he had what looked like a front brake failure, when trying to overtake Massa he found himself going much deeper into the corner than was normal. He immediately went into the pits to retire, with a call to his team to let them know the issue.

MY POINTS

The big loser in my points this week was Raikkonen, who went from 2nd to 4th due to his retirement. Vettel continued his stay at the top, while Hamilton jumped into 2nd, with no retirements for the season.

Here is the top 5:

1) Vettel – 42 points
2) Hamilton – 48 points
3) Alonso – 57 points
4) Raikkonen – 63 points
5) Webber – 65 points

Check out the whole updated table under the Point System tab.

FANTASY RACERS

In Fantasy Racer it is Callum’s 2nd Team at the top, scoring 628 points this week, the best of the 8 Engine Rule private league. My team 8enginerule could only manage 473 points this week.

We now have 2 weeks until the European part of the season continues. Next race will be in Italy. Can Vettel continue his dominance towards a 4th World Championship, or will someone come up to stop him?

Belguim GP 2013 – Qualifying

It was an exciting qualifying session, with the weather playing a huge part in it.

Q1

Q1 was all about getting a lap together in the wet/dry conditions. The correct tyres was the important part of the puzzle, and there were some surprise drivers making it through to Q2. As the checkered flag fell both Marussia’s had made it through, along with the Catherham of Van der Garde, who had the 3rd fastest time of Q1!

Out: Pastor Maldonado, Jean-Eric Vergne, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Gutierrez and Charles Pic.

Q2

Q2 was again dominated by the weather, and would finish with 3 drivers getting their best ever qualifying result! It was touch and go for a few drivers as they tried to make it through. Both Hamilton and Button left their best lap till late, but eventually made it through to the top 10 shoot out.

Out: Nico Hulkenberg, Adrian Sutil, Sergio Perez, Giedo Van Der Garde, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.

Q3

Q3 started with a wet track, although majority of the drivers went out on the slicks. Only Di Resta took his time and went out on Intermediate tyres. His flying lap stood on top on the timesheets for much of the session, and it was looking like he might get his first pole. However, the track began to dry, and Rosberg seemed to be on fire, posting a fast lap in difficult wet conditions, and an even faster lap as it dried. As the checkered flag fell it was Webber, Vettel and Hamilton to finish a lap, and as the track dried they were all fighting for pole. Both Webber and Vettel took provisional pole, but Hamilton came through on a storming lap to take his 4th pole in a row, and his 5th of the season.

The Grid

1) Lewis Hamilton
2) Sebastian Vettel
3) Mark Webber
4) Nico Rosberg
5) Paul Di Resta
6) Jenson Button
7) Romain Grosjean
8) Kimi Raikkonen
9) Fernando Alonso
10) Felipe Massa
11) Nico Hulkenberg
12) Adrian Sutil
13) Sergio Perez
14) Giedo Van Der Garde
15) Jules Bianchi
16) Max Chilton
17) Pastor Maldonado
18) Jean-Eric Vergne
19) Daniel Ricciardo
20) Valtteri Bottas
21) Esteban Gutierrez
22) Charles Pic

Hungarian GP 2013 – Preview

Here are all the stats you need to know for the Hungarian GP 2013!

Facts and Figures

2012 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton (Mclaren) 1m20.9532012
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (Mclaren)
First Winner – Tazio Nuvolari (Alfa Romeo) 1936
First Winner – World Championship race: Nelson Piquet (Williams-Honda) 1986

Number of Laps: 70
Circuit Length: 4.381 km (2.722 mi)
Race Length: 306.663 km (190.560 mi)

After a 3 week break, and a quick test at Silverstone, who do you think will win the Hungarian Grand Prix?