Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Nico Rosberg wins 2014 German GP

2014 German Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg has capped of a great few days by winning his home grand prix for the first time. He did it in a canter, too, with a 20.7 second margin over Valtteri Bottas in P2. Lewis Hamilton couldn’t quite make it a 1-2 for Mercedes, but should be happy with third after starting the race from P20.

Since the disappointment of his gearbox failure in British Grand Prix Rosberg has signed a lucrative contract extension, got married and seen his country win the World Cup. Not a bad run of results and don’t forget he’s also extended his world championship lead over Hamilton to boot.

Hamilton’s charge through the field might have yielded an even better result had he not suffered front wing damage after making his way past former teammate Jenson Button. In the end he didn’t quite have enough pace to get past Bottas.

Sebastian Vettel finished fourth, ahead of a desperately close late stoush between Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. Alonso crossed the line less than a tenth ahead of Ricciardo, having overtaken him just a few laps prior.

Nico Hulkenberg continued his run of points-winning results in every race so far this year with P7. Jenson Button led home his junior teammate Kevin Magnussen. While Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10.

Another spectacular first lap incident ended the race of Felipe Massa after he clipped Magnussen at the first corner, sending both cars off track. Massa’s car flipped before ending on its wheels and the Brazilian emerged unscathed.

Ricciardo had made a clean start off the line but was forced off track to avoid the Massa-Magnussen incident and rejoined the track well down in P15. Clearly, Daniel could have done better than P6 today; he displayed flashes of brilliance at times while charging through the field and especially late when defending against a much quicker Alonso.

Other incidents attracting attention was a fire to Daniil Kvyat’s Toro Rosso and a late race spin at the last corner from Adrian Sutil, which left his Sauber stricken on the main straight. It took some time to move his car off the track and you have to wonder why a Safety Car was not deployed to allow marshalls increased safety while dealing with the car.

We back up again next week for the Hungarian Grand Prix and let’s hope that race offers some of the excitement and close racing we saw at Hockenheim.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

2014 German GP: Qualifying report

2014 German Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg will start tonight’s German Grand Prix from pole position after his teammate Lewis Hamilton crashed out due to a brake failure in Q1. In his first lap of Q3 Rosberg laid down a marker (1:16.540) that nobody could match. It’s his fourth pole in the last five races.

In the first serious hit out since the teams ditched the FRIC suspension the order we have come to expect in 2014 remained largely in tact. Perhaps we’re not used to seeing both Williams drivers in the top three, but their form has been on the improve in recent times and seeing Valtteri Bottas (1:16.759) almost challenge for pole was not a total surprise, nor was seeing Felipe Massa (1:17.078) in the frame as well.

In P4 was Kevin Magnussen (1:17.214) who claims McLaren has benefitted from the recent suspension changes. Once again Daniel Ricciardo (1:17.273) has qualified ahead of Sebastian Vettel (1:17.577) and the Red Bull pair will start from P5 and P6 respectively.

“It wasn’t too bad today, we would like to be further forward than fifth, but the lap I did was pretty good,” Ricciardo said. “I made quite an improvement in Q3 from Q2 so I can’t really argue with the lap I did, but as a team we are still a bit off.

“We know the Mercedes is strong, but the Williams was also continually showing their pace today and the McLaren with Kevin was good, so we have to keep working but we did what we could.

“I think the race will be close between the top eight tomorrow and it will be a battle for the final podium spot.”

The top 10 was rounded out by Fernando Alonso (1:17.649), Daniil Kvyat (1:17.965), Nico Hulkenberg (1:18.014) and Sergio Perez (1:18.035).

The major drama from qualifying was Hamilton’s crash in Q1. He is okay, although he was a bit shaken and has bruised knees after making heavy contact with the tyre barrier. Immediately afterwards Lewis claimed a brake failure caused him to lose control. Mercedes later confirmed a front right disc failed.

Mercedes has changed the discs on Lewis’ car and will now most likely start the race from the pit lane.

Nico Rosberg explained in the press conference he knew he could not be affected by the same problem as he runs different brake components to Lewis. Which is an interesting discussion point on its own.

Rosberg will be hoping to cap-off a great start to his home grand prix with a win, something made that little bit easier by Hamilton’s woes. Perhaps, things are just going to go Nico’s way this year.

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Formula 1

All F1 teams FRIC-off for German GP

2014 British Grand Prix

If you haven’t heard the term Front-and-Rear Interconnected Suspension before, otherwise known as FRIC, you’re going to be hearing all about it this weekend during the German Grand Prix.

In very basic terms FRIC systems do exactly as they say, they link the front and rear suspension with the aim of improving stability of the car, especially under heavy braking when the car will pitch forward shifting as much as 300kg of load towards the front wheels. This load transfer increases the work of the front tyres and also affects aerodynamics underneath the car, in turn making the rear wheels light and unstable.

FRIC systems have been around in some form for decades and are designed to counter the affects of load transfer. All the teams in F1 have been using the technology to varying degrees. However, after the British Grand Prix the FIA’s Charlie Whiting issued a technical directive which questioned the legality of FRIC technology used by some of the teams. Some, not all.

So, heading into the German Grand Prix we were facing a situation whereby protests could be the order of the day. Thankfully that crisis has been averted after all teams were found to have removed their FRIC systems for this weekend’s race.

In typical F1-style this move from the teams was not agreed to in a unified meeting, rather it was discovered at the completion of pre-race scrutineering. FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer, referring to all cars, said: “I can confirm that no car is fitted with a front to rear linked suspension systems of any sort.”

It’s believed FRIC can save up to 0.4s per lap, although Fernando Alonso isn’t too concerned about the impact of altering the suspension.

“It is a system that has been on F1 cars for some years now and there is not a big implication in terms of driving style or anything that can change the behaviour of the car,” he said. “It is like changing from soft to medium tyres.

“OK, you will go a little slower and some teams will adapt maybe a bit better but we will not see a Marussia on pole position or something like that. It is just a couple of tenths for everyone.”

Championship leader Nico Rosberg, hopeful of a win in his home race, is unsure how the car will be affected.

“Everybody has it [FRIC] to some extent,” Rosberg stated. “It’s impossible to predict. For sure it can have some influence but we just need to wait and see what happens.”

Sebastian Vettel is hopeful the removal of FRIC suspension will allow the teams to close the gap to Mercedes, but says it may take more than this weekend to find out.

“I hope it brings the field closer to Mercedes but it’s difficult to say,” Vettel said. “All of the teams have been playing with it to some extent. How much it has an impact? I think it has to be seen this weekend and also probably next week in Hungary. After those two races I think you can have another judgement.”

[Source: Autosport]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

About a boy

Sebastian Vettel

Taking any opportunity to get stuck into Sebastian Vettel is something most Australians like to indulge in. Until this year we’ve been used to seeing young Seb toy with our Mark as the young charge did as he pleased with the best car on the grid.

So far 2014 has been a nightmare for Vettel. In addition to having a relatively poor car, where poor equals not streets ahead of the competition, Sebastian has had to deal with the arrival of another pesky Australian. This time, though, Vettel is in the senior role and Daniel Ricciardo is playing the part of precocious upstart.

And isn’t our Daniel playing that role well! In the intra-team battle Ricciardo is currently dominating Vettel in much the same way the German dominated Mark Webber in previous years. Not only has Daniel chalked up his first grand prix win, he’s allowed some of the more biased Aussie F1 fans (erm, that would be us, and probably you too) to take their Vettel schadenfreude to new levels.

So when we saw this article on the BBC website titled “Sebastian Vettel says Formula 1 can be ‘very cruel'” we were ready to laugh and poke fun at Seb.

Yet, when you read Vettel’s full quote in context it doesn’t seem to be a whinge at all, rather a statement of fact:

It’s been a tough start, a rough season so far. F1 can be fantastic, as I have experience of, but it can be very cruel in retiring from problems. You rely on your car. It is part of the game.

Keep reading and the article is pretty level headed stuff from the four-time world champion. And then you stumble across these words which Vettel says he reminds himself of from time to time and you realise, hey, maybe he’s not such an arsehole after all:

I have one quote I very often read to myself, from a very good friend: ‘Forget the people around you now; remember the little boy who was racing in go-karts, what you were dreaming of and what he wanted to achieve one day and what was his goal. Race for him.’

[Source: BBC | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Caterham Formula 1

New owners, new nose!

2014 Monaco Grand Prix

Word in the Formula 1 pit lane says Caterham’s new owners are about to give the ungainly looking CT05 a development push which will include the welcome task of redesigning the car’s ugly nose.

It’s said that previous owner Tony Fernandes limited the budget on development of this year’s car while he was trying to find a buyer for the team.

Media reports have suggested a restyled scale model featuring a “more efficient nose” is undergoing wind tunnel testing in Toyota’s facility at Cologne, Germany. Once the team is happy the new nose will have to undergo a formal FIA crash test. Assuming the new nose passes that test we could see the new and hopefully better looking CT05 in time for the Belgian Grand Prix (24 August).

Christian Albers, former F1 driver and now part of Caterham’s trackside management team, said: “We obviously have a lot of work to do, but we’re prepared for the challenges ahead.”

[Source: motorsport.com]

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Ferrari Formula 1

Going ice cold on the Iceman

2014 British Grand Prix

The return of Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari has not gone well. In nine races the 2007 champ has qualified ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso only twice and and is yet to finish ahead of him on race day.

Kimi’s best result this year is P7, achieved in Australia and Spain. Alonso has finished sixth or better in all nine races to date. And while many are feeling for Kimi after his big crash in the British Grand Prix his lack lustre results haven’t escaped the eye of Darren Heath. It’s fair to say the F1 photographer has fallen out of love:

Sadly those days of daring-do on a Sunday afternoon followed by wild nights of well-deserved frivolity are long gone. The down-in-the-mouth look and the surly attitude are no longer cool, rather just tedious and old.

The Iceman legend may well be emblazoned on Räikkönen’s helmet and even tattooed large on his left forearm, but I’m afraid the winter is over for our chilly hero. A thaw has set in.

You can read Heath’s thoughts in full over at his blog.

Oh yeah, while Kimi is taking some time off to recover from his 47G impact, Jules Bianchi stepped into his car and set the fastest time in testing at Silverstone overnight.

While it can be folly to compare times from test sessions, Bianchi’s best lap of 1:35.262 was almost 1.3 seconds better than Kimi’s best across the British Grand Prix weekend and only 0.018s slower than Alonso’s quickest lap.

Jules to Ferrari in 2015 and Kimi to have his contract torn up? Stranger things than that have happened in F1 before.

[Pic: Ferrari]

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Formula 1 Lotus

F1 tyres: 18-inch or 13-inch?

F1 tyres 18-inch tyres compared with 13-inch

Following yesterday’s test of 18-inch wheels and tyres on the Lotus E22, here’s a pictorial comparison of the two wheel and tyre setups. Given the change to a larger diameter format would be done purely because it looks better we’d like to know what you think.

Do you prefer the new 18-inch tyres or the more traditional 13-inch sizing?

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Formula 1 Lotus

Lotus F1 Team trials 18-inch tyres

Lotus E22 on 18 wheels and tyres

At the Formula 1 in-season testing held at Silverstone overnight Lotus ran part of the day on 18-inch wheels and tyres, instead of the usual 13-inch setup. The test was done purely to judge the aesthetics of the larger wheel setup. Although, of course, with such a reduction in sidewall height there will be handling changes too.

Charles Pic was at the wheel of the Lotus E22 and completed 14 fairly sedate laps. His official comments can be read below, but of more value is the feedback he gave to Autosport.

“If we go with this type of tyre one day, it will be a big challenge,” Pic said. “For the teams, because they will have to build a completely new car around it because the philosophy is completely different, and also for the drivers because they are completely different.

“The overall grip was very low, I think it was five or six seconds off the pace, mainly for the reason that the rest of the car was made for the normal tyre, not the prototype.

“It is true that they are more reactive and nervous, and then on top of that you lose a lot of aero.”

Pirelli’s current contract runs out at the end of the 2016 season, so 2017 would be the most likely year the larger wheels would be introduced. Although, Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport boss, says with enough notice they could be brought in for 2016 and that he has a preference for 19 or 20-inch tyres.

“The regulations are talking about 2017 at the moment but we feel ready for 2016 if they wanted to bring it forward a year,” said Hembery. “The priority today was to show people what a current F1 car would look like with a change in rim.

“We said many years ago that the larger diameter rims were something we would always go along with, but we have also said we will do what the sport wants and that is the over-riding factor.

“It is about aesthetics. Does it make F1 more relevant for road cars and is it a direction the sport wants to take? The 18-inch tyre is one solution, but going forward I think 19-inch or 20-inch tyres are the direction you want to go.”

What do you think of the look of an F1 car running 18-inch wheels? Would 19s or 20s look better or worse?

Click on the image above to view in 2000px sizing. The images after the break are not available in larger sizes.

[Pics: Lotus F1 Team]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 British GP: Post-race press conference

2014 British Grand Prix

Here’s the transcript from the post-race press conference at the British Grand Prix. We’ll start with a few words from Daniel Ricciardo who explained a one-stop strategy wasn’t his original plan.

“We chose to restart on the prime,” Daniel said. “It didn’t seem like the best thing to do at first because we were really slow at the restart. Valtteri and Fernando got past me pretty easily and pulled away and I was coming on the radio basically saying ‘let’s see if we can try something a little bit different’ as we didn’t really have the pace as we hoped.

“Once we came in for the option, we just ran and pushed pretty much for the whole stint. I didn’t intend on doing a one-stop when I started on that tyre but laps ticked off and we were still able to keep the pace. The team said ‘do you think you could do another 15–20 laps’ and I was like ‘at the moment, yeah, I think we can’, so we stayed out and just held on at the end. It was awesome.

“I think all three of us had a bit of redemption on our plate today. It was a pretty dismal Saturday for us. I think we’re all pretty happy. This is definitely one of my best podiums this year.”

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 British GP

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 British Grand Prix

On the weekend Silverstone celebrated its 50th anniversary Lewis Hamilton delighted the home crowd by winning the British Grand Prix. It’s his 27th career win and brings him alongside Sir Jackie Stewart to equal seventh on the all-time list.

In even better news for Lewis he has reduced the championship title race to just four points after teammate Nico Rosberg was forced to retire with gearbox issues. Rosberg led the race up until his Lap 28 retirement. Lewis, though, was only too happy to assume the lead which he held comfortably until the chequered flag.

Valtteri Bottas achieved his best grand prix result by finishing second, improving one step at a time after his third place in Austria. It was an impressive result after starting from P14 and using a one-stop strategy to climb twelve places. Daniel Ricciardo also employed a one-stop tyre strategy to elevate himself from a P8 starting position to finish in third place.

An opening lap crash by Kimi Raikkonen brought out a red flag. Raikkonen ran wide into Turn 5 and when he rejoined the track on Wellington Straight he ran over a bump which caused him to lose control and crash head-on into an armco barrier. The impact spat him back across the track and Felipe Massa, in his 200th grand prix, clipped Raikkonen’s Ferrari while trying to avoid contact.

Both drivers were forced to retire from the race and concerns over Raikkonen’s immediate health were eased when he emerged from his car. He later complained of ankle pain and will be monitored after Ferrari later revealed the impact of the crash was registered at 47G.

Jenson Button finished fourth after also opting for a one-stop strategy. Button was closing in fast on third place as the race drew to an end. Perhaps with another lap or two he may have been able to overtake Ricciardo for P3.

A stoush between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso provided entertainment as they diced wheel-to-wheel. Both drivers got on the radio to complain about poor standards from the other and in the end Vettel came up trumps finishing in P5, Alonso in P6. Although, Vettel will be sour after he started the race on the front row, while Alonso will feel better about his day after starting form a lowly P16.

The top 10 was rounded out by Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rossos of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne.

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Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 British GP: Qualifying report

2014 British Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg will start from pole position after a topsy turvy qualifying at the British Grand Prix. It’s the German’s fourth pole for the year and once again he was lucky to gain a big advantage over his key championship rival and teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Rain was present throughout all three qualifying sessions which meant the times were a bit all over the place. Both Ferrari drivers and both Williams drivers missed progression to Q2, which will add extra spice to the race as they try to charge past slower cars.

But it was the final session which held the main drama. All drivers except Sebastian Vettel set times in the early part of Q3 with the results seeing Lewis Hamilton (1:39.232) on provisional pole ahead of Rosberg.

Midway through the session rain became heavy in parts of the track and drivers sat it out in pit lane waiting as late as they dare before reemerging for a last gasp effort.

Hamilton and Rosberg crossed the line to start their final laps with moments to spare, the provisional pole sitter ahead of his teammate. Rosberg desperate to push for P1 was right on Hamilton’s tail. The first two sectors were slow for Rosberg, but he kept pushing. In the final sector he made up significant time and landed pole position (1:35.766) with a time more than three seconds faster than Hamilton’s who had aborted his final lap.

Other drivers to benefit from pushing right until the end were Vettel (1:37.386) and Jenson Button (1:38.200). Nico Hulkenberg (1:38.329) was the first of the late runners to show there was time to be made up in the final sector and briefly held provisional pole.

In the wash up Hamilton finished in P6 and looked bitterly disappointed with that outcome as he emerged from his car after quali.

Daniel Ricciardo was in P4 after the first round of laps early in the session but chose not to set another lap and he will line up from P8 on the grid. It’s fair to say Daniel was surprised at how much faster his opponents could go.

“I didn’t expect it to go quicker at the end of the session there, as the rain kept coming,” Ricciardo said. “We really thought the track wouldn’t get quicker, Vettel only went out as he didn’t have a time at that point. We have to learn from it I guess – I’m gobsmacked how much faster the circuit got, it must dry a lot quicker here than I thought. We’ll move forwards from there tomorrow.”

The final grid, which has been affected with a number of penalties, can be seen after the break along with the full text from the post-qualifying press conference.

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Caterham Formula 1

Caterham F1 Team sale confirmed

2014 Canadian Grand Prix

As expected the Caterham F1 Team has announced a change of ownership with Tony Fernandes making way for a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors. The new ownership group is being advised by Colin Kolles, former HRT Team Principal.

Christijan Albers, former F1 driver with Minardi and Midland/Spyker, will be calling the shots on a day-to-day basis with assistance from Manfredi Ravetto, also previously from HRT.

Caterham will continue to operate from its Leafield base in the UK and will maintain its current team title. The ownership change takes place with immediate effect.

“We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the Championship,” Christijan Albers said. “Our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 Championship.

“We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of.”

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