Category: Formula 1

Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Nico Rosberg wins 2014 Brazilian GP

2014 Brazilian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg has kept his title hopes flickering by winning the Brazilian Grand Prix this morning. He was fast all weekend, he started the race from pole and he was fast when it mattered most. Lewis Hamilton was second, of course. It’s the eleventh 1–2 finish for Mercedes AMG this year.

Rosberg’s winning margin was only 1.4 seconds and but for a spin early on Lewis Hamilton might have overtaken Rosberg during the second round of pitstops. As it stands the Brit takes a 17 point lead into the final race, with a maximum of 50 points for first, 36 points available for second and so on.

Felipe Massa’s good late season form continued and he was able to overcome clumsy tyre change and a five second penalty for speeding in pit lane to finish third in his home race. Jenson Button reminded Ron Dennis that he’s actually a pretty handy driver by finishing fourth (five places ahead of his teammate Kevin Magnussen).

Sebastian Vettel made a clunky start, losing two places, but clawed his way back to fifth, finishing ahead of the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. There was a moment late in the race where Alonso was behind Raikkonen and clearly the faster of the two. In the past Ferrari would have paved the way for Alonso to stroll past his teammate, this morning though he was made to earn it. There’s no favours now for the wantaway Spaniard.

Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top 10 in a race that didn’t have any major incidents or excitement it has to be said. If you slept in past your 3am alarm call you didn’t miss much.

Daniel Ricciardo’s race came to an uncustomary early finish on Lap 39 when his front left suspension broke, forcing him into only his second retirement for the year. The other was in Malaysia, where he suffered wing damage late in the race.

In better news for Daniel other results from Sao Paulo mean that he will finish third in the world championship this year; he enjoys a 55 point lead over Sebastian Vettel, who now sits fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas.

The season will reach its climax in two weeks at Abu Dhabi and with Lewis Hamilton’s title chances looking good the bias and focus on his fortunes during the race from the British media and commentary crews will be nigh on unbearable. C’est la vie. Love or hate Lewis, with 10 race wins already to his name, it’s hard to deny him the championship this year.

Continue reading “Nico Rosberg wins 2014 Brazilian GP”
Categories
Formula 1

Marussia F1 Team closes its doors

2014 Belgian Grand Prix

The Marussia F1 Team has been shut down and will not race again this year or in 2015. Administrators FRP Advisory LLP were unable to find a buyer for the team and as a result all staff have been made redundant.

“It goes without saying that it is deeply regrettable that a business with such a great following in British and world motorsport has had to cease trading and close its doors,” wrote Geoff Rowley from FRP.

“The group was put into administration last month following a shortfall in ongoing funding and the administration process provided a moratorium to allow for attempts to secure a long term viable solution for the company within in a very limited timeframe.

“Sadly no solution could be achieved to allow for the business to continue in its current form. We would like to thank all the staff for their support during this difficult process.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber Team Principal, has her own financial pressures to deal with, having recently threatened to boycott the United States Grand Prix and then selling its 2015 driver lineup to the highest bidders.

Commenting on the demise of Marussia, Kaltenborn said: “We have a turnover of billions of dollars and yet we are not in a position to keep 11 teams alive.

“And that tells you it is not a good signal the sport is sending out and we are creating a bad image.

“So you have to look at how the revenues are distributed and you have to find a way to reduce the costs.”

After the US GP Donald MacKenzie, co-chairman of F1’s largest shareholder CVC Capital Partners, said he was prepared to act above Bernie Eccelstone and take measures to improve the plight of the struggling teams.

[Source: Autosport & BBC]

Categories
Caterham Formula 1

To the Manor (re)born

2014 Hungarian Grand Prix

The future of the F1 teams we currently know as Marussia and Caterham are bleak, as we know. However the official entry list for the 2015 Formula 1 season shows a pathway does exist for them to carry on, but not as we know them.

Entered on the 2015 list are Manor Grand Prix Racing (née Marussia) and 1Malaysia Racing Team (née Caterham). While both teams are still looking to secure their financial futures their appearance on the official entry list should make things more appealing for prospective buyers.

Meanwhile, Caterham’s immediate future has improved with the team’s administrator saying he expects they will be competing in Abu Dhabi.

“I think I’ve got enough confidence now to say I’d be very surprised if we were not racing in Abu Dhabi,” said Finbarr O’Connell, from administrators Smith & Williamson. “I’m now really hopeful for the future of the team.”

[Source: BBC]

Categories
Formula 1

Sauber signs Felipe Nasr for 2015

Felipe Nasr

“The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to announce Felipe Nasr as its driver for the 2015 season and Banco do Brasil as its partner. Felipe Nasr completes the driver line-up alongside Marcus Ericsson.”

And with that Sauber has finalised its 2015 driver line up with the 22-year-old Nasr to drive alongside Marcus Ericsson, who was announced by Sauber during the United States Grand Prix.

Nasr is currently the reserve driver for Williams and is competing in the 2014 GP2 series, where he has accumulated four wins and is second in the championship. He also won the 2011 British Formula 3 championship and joins former alumni in Jaime Algeursuari, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne as title holders who have progressed to F1.

“This is an unforgettable moment that I owe to all of those who have supported me,” said the young Brazilian. “Today the dream has come true.

“Sauber was responsible for the arrival in F1 of great names such as Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. I am proud now to also be part of this racing family.”

The signing leaves current Sauber drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez with uncertain F1 futures. The prominence of Nasr’s personal sponsor Banco do Brasil in the official team statement probably gives a clue as to why that may be the case. Although, Nasr’s achievements in the junior categories do look sound.

Continue reading “Sauber signs Felipe Nasr for 2015”
Categories
Formula 1

But first, Martin Brundle has some good news

Martin Brundle

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could access highlights and full race videos for every Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1981? Yes, yes, yes!

Patience grasshoppers.

Formula One Management is the custodian of the F1 TV archive, from 1981 to the present day. They’ve started the process of digitising this footage, with the view to facilitating in-house browsing for post-production purposes, and online offerings of either short-form website clips, or complete race programs for Internet-based audio and video services.

They’re the opening words from Martin Brundle in a video, which you can see below, promoting the F1 Connectivity Innovation Prize being run by Tata Communications.

We’re not sure what form such digital footage will be made available, and there may well be a sting in the tail, but we can hold out hope that all that glorious racing footage will be easily accessible to F1 fans around the world.

[Source: reddit | Thanks to Wes for the tip]

Continue reading “But first, Martin Brundle has some good news”
Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren

Alonso set to push Button out of McLaren

Fernando Alonso

It’s hardly a surprise to learn that Fernando Alonso is getting closer to signing a deal with McLaren for the 2015 Formula 1 season. However, it’s now looking likely that it will be the 266-race veteran Jenson Button who will make way for Alonso.

The expectation is that 22-year-old Kevin Magnussen has done enough in his rookie year to keep his seat next season and will drive alongside the 33-year-old Spaniard. That will give McLaren another good blend of youth and experience as it reunites with Honda in 2015.

It’s understood Alonso had initially wanted to sign a single year deal with McLaren, in case a seat opened up at Mercedes in 2016. It’s now being reported that Alonso will sign a two-plus-one deal with McLaren which could secure him with the Woking-based team until the end of the 2017 season.

On pure performance, Button may seem miffed at being pushed out in favour of Magnussen. The young Dane leads Button nine–eight in qualifying, but the 2009 world champion has performed much better on race day, with 94 championship points compared with Magnussen’s 53 points.

If Button is pushed out then a switch to endurance racing is expected, with a high profile move to join Mark Webber at Porsche his most likely option.

[Source: BBC]

Categories
Formula 1

Bernie’s grip weakens as CVC acts to end F1 crisis

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone’s once unshakeable grip on Formula 1 has unmistakably loosened in recent days, with the F1 supremo admitting he was at fault for the financial woes facing the mid- and lower-ranked teams.

“There is too much money being distributed badly,” Ecclestone admitted in the build up to last week’s United States Grand Prix.

“Probably my fault,” he added. “Like lots of agreements people make, they seemed a good idea at the time. I know what’s wrong, but don’t know how to fix it.”

In response there was a very real threat that Force India, Lotus and Sauber were going to boycott the race in Austin. Thankfully, for US F1 fans, who are used to being shafted by the sport, that mini-crisis was averted.

But it wasn’t Ecclestone who saved the day, it was Donald MacKenzie, co-chairman of F1’s largest shareholder, CVC Capital Partners.

MacKenzie called Lotus boss Gerard Lopez and assured him his concerns would be addressed, regardless of Ecclestone’s position. Therefore, it was only Caterham and Marussia who were missing from the starting grid, as expected.

Up to £100m in base payments is said to be distributed among the smaller teams, irrespective of their championship positions, with a view to securing their medium-term participation.

“To be honest, it’s really not a complicated thing to do,” said Lopez. “It just requires a bit of goodwill. The overall amount we’re discussing, once you start dividing it by the number of teams, is not that massive.

“I really think there is a way to solve this in the coming days, probably even to get to a proposal before Brazil [next Sunday]. In which case I don’t see the point in doing anything drastic that would damage the sport.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber Team Principal, added: “Nobody is asking for anything unreasonable here. We have to recognise times have changed, the level to enter Formula 1 has changed.

“There was a reason for the system earlier, now things have really changed, so one has to rethink that. We have all put in too much investment into this. You can’t just let it fizzle out.”

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

Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 United States GP: Post-race press conference

2014 United States Grand Prix

Here’s what the first three drivers in the United States Grand Prix had to say after this morning’s race. Not surprisingly there were a few questions about the double points coming up in Abu Dhabi. We can expect those questions to increase until the season climax in the middle east.

In some ways the best result in Brazil this weekend would be to see Nico win and Lewis have a retirement. That way the two drivers would go into the final race separated by a single point and the double points novelty is just that, a novelty and not the determining factor in who wins the championship.

Continue reading “2014 United States GP: Post-race press conference”
Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States GP

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has extended his championship lead by winning the United States Grand Prix. With two races left he now enjoys a 24 point lead over his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who finished second in Austin.

Rosberg made a clean getaway from pole and held Hamilton at bay until around one third race distance. Once Hamilton took the lead he had Rosberg’s measure.

Finishing third was Daniel Ricciardo who dropped places after a poor start from P5. He fought his way back up the field through a combination of great on track driving and clean pit stops.

The Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and fifth. Ricciardo overtook Massa in the last round of tyre changes and opened up a small but comfortable gap. Massa came back late in the race but couldn’t get past the likeabkle Australian.

Fernando Alonso finished sixth ahead of a fast charging Sebastian Vettel who made a late change for fresh tyres and spiced up the latter part of the race with his charge through the pack. Kevin Magnussen, Jean-Eric Vergne and Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top 10.

Maldonado finished P9 on track but was given a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He still finished in the points, the first time for him in 2014.

The F1 circus backs up next weekend in Sao Paulo before the double points novelty of Abu Dhabi closes out the season. Of course, that means Rosberg can easily close up that 24 point gap to Hamilton with a good drive or a stroke of luck.

However, Hamilton has won five races in a row now and has 10 wins for the year, compared with Rosberg’s four victories. It would be unjust if Hamilton didn’t win his second world title. And if that proves to be the case won’t the British F1 media mafia let it be known!

Continue reading “Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States GP”
Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel to sit out USGP qualifying

2014 Japanese Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel expects to miss qualifying for the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend due to an enforced penalty for exceeding his allocation of five power units for the year.

“As far as I know, the plan is to use the opportunity to change, to have a sixth component of all the various components,” Vettel said. “Obviously for that as far as the regulations are concerned we have to start from the pitlane.”

As you can see the regulations make the prospect of participating in a pointless qualifying session pretty unattractive.

“For the weekend, our plan could be a little bit different in terms of how we approach practice and qualifying in particular,” Vettel explained. “Once you have to start from the pitlane your focus is not on qualifying because no matter what you do in qualifying it doesn’t matter because you still have to start from the pitlane.

“So that’s why in practice, largely, we will try to focus on the race.”

The grid is already down four cars thanks to the absence for Caterham and Marussia and the prospect of last year’s winner in Austin sitting out quali is not ideal. But as Vettel says, he doesn’t make the rules.

“I didn’t make the rules,” he said. “It’s a rule that is the same for everyone. But for the people come to watch the cars, to watch qualifying, it’s a very bad rule.”

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

Categories
Caterham Formula 1

How much does it cost to run a Formula 1 team?

2014 Singapore Grand Prix

With confirmation that we’ll only have 18 cars on the grid in Austin this weekend much of the chatter around Formula 1 has been to do with the costs of running a team. People are asking: is F1 in crisis?

Every time serious discussion about putting a cap on spending is raised one of the bigger teams, usually Ferrari or Red Bull, threatens to throw its toys out of the cot in disgust. Clearly, F1 doesn’t want to lose one (or more) of its biggest drawcards and we’re left with a perennial problem; the haves keep winning, which in itself is nothing new, but the have nots keep folding.

The introduction of new regulations this year hasn’t helped matters much. In a bid to highlght the issues at the back of the grid Caterham, Force India, Marussia and Sauber have written to FIA President and former Scuderia Ferrari boss, Jean Todt, saying teams now need around $120 million per year just to stay afloat.

Sauber, usually a team able to compete well with limited funds, hasn’t scored a championship point all year and is currently coming tenth out of 11 teams in the constructors’ title race.

The cost breakdown provided to Todt and revealed by Autosport is as follows:

ItemCost
Windtunnel/CFD facilities$18.5 million
Chassis production/manufacturing$20 million
Hybrid power system$28 million
Gearbox and hydraulics$5 million
Electronics$1.95 million
Fuel and lubricants$1.5 million
Tyres$1.8 million
Salaries (not including drivers)$20 million
IT$3 million
HR and professional services$1.5 million
Utilities and factory maintenance$2 million
Travel and trackside facilities$12 million
Freight$5 million
TOTAL$120.25 million

 

As well as driver salaries, other items not included in the above list are: building leases, hospitality, marketing and media. Obviously, teams like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are spending a lot more than that, while Caterham and Marussia are (or were) spending a lot less.

No form of motorsport, no matter how good it should be, is any good if teams can’t afford to race.

[Source: Autosport+]

Categories
Formula 1 Video

VIDEO: A drone’s eye view of COTA

Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

Here’s a very different view of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It’s a drone’s eye view and gives us a good look at the circuit ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. It would be nice to see a repeat clip with the F1 circus in town, with all the added colour and scale that would bring.

[via WTF1]

Continue reading “VIDEO: A drone’s eye view of COTA”