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Formula 1 Lotus

“Whoa! What was that?”

Esteban Gutierrez gets flipped off my Pastor Maldonado

The most spectacular incident from this morning’s Bahrain Grand Prix happened when Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado drove into Esteban Gutierrez and flipped over the young Mexican and his Sauber C33.

Gutierrez, bemused immediately after the impact and now resting back on his wheels, asked over the radio: “Whoa! What was that?”

Thankfully, we can laugh about it now because Gutierrez was not hurt.

After the break we have a series of photos captured by those watching the race and shared with the world via twitter, starting with the image above from the BBC.

For his troubles Maldonado received a 10-second stop-go penalty and will also incur a five-place grid penalty after qualifying at the next grand prix. And, yes, in case you were wondering, that is in no way commensurate with the 10-second stop-go penalty and subsequent 10-place grid penalty for harming nobody after driving 100m down pit lane or so with a loose wheel handed down to our Daniel!

Maldonado has also been handed 3 points against his Super Licence, which could lead to a race suspension if he accumulates 12 or more points this season.

UPDATE: Thanks to Scott for the YouTube link, which has been embedded below.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

2014 Bahrain GP: Post-race press conference

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

The post-race press conference from the Bahrain Grand Prix features questions mostly aimed at race winner Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg. As you might expect many of the questions concentrate on their close racing. We would have loved it, though, if someone asked: “Your relationship seems close and friendly now, but if you keep wheel-to-wheel racing like that what happens if, or when, you guys make contact, how will that affect your relationship?”

Meanwhile, with perhaps another lap or two Daniel Ricciardo may have been able to get his Red Bull onto the podium. Instead we’ll have to make do with his comments from the team’s press release.

“It was an awesome race; it was exciting,” Daniel said. “I think the first stint was a bit follow-the-leader, but from the second stint onwards, the race really started to turn up the heat and there were more battles going on in front and behind—it was good to be a part of them.

“We got close to the podium today, I think within half a second, so I was doing all I could. The car came to me as the race went on and I was happy with how I moved up through the pack, so a good day.

“It was good fun to race Sebastian, it was hard but fair and we left each other room. That’s what we want from each other and we discussed it beforehand, we’re racers and that’s what we enjoy doing.”

It’s also worth hearing Sebastian’s words, given he was overtaken for position by his younger and more inexperienced teammate.

“Daniel proved that there was a little bit more to get from the car today,” Vettel explained. “I couldn’t really get to that bit, so I’m not so happy with my day.

“It was straight forward with Daniel today, we worked well together as a team and we raced well, but surely I would like to have finished higher up.”

The transcript of the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers is available in full after the break.

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Bahrain GP

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has edged out his teammate Nico Rosberg to win the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix and the pair delighted fans all around the world in doing so.

The quality of racing throughout the field all race was first class, with most scraps taking place behind the leading Mercedes drivers. The men in the silver arrows must have felt obliged to bring some spice to the front of the field and they gave us some brilliant wheel-to-wheel racing.

After Pastor Maldonado exited the pits following his final pit stop he decided he didn’t need to worry about too much about the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez ahead in Turn 1 and just speared into him, flipping the young Mexican who eventually landed back on his wheels and escaped serious injury.

The wash up from that incident was the obligatory penalties for Maldonado and a Safety Car which bunched up the field and was released with 10 laps to race.

Quickly speeding off into the distance was leader Hamilton with Rosberg hot on his heels. The pair pitted just as the Safety Car came out and Rosberg was on the grippier and theoretically faster Soft tyres. We were set for a grandstand sprint finish and that’s exactly what we got.

Out front the Mercedes pair diced for the lead with millimetres separating cheers from tears. It was great to watch and afterwards Hamilton and Rosberg appeared good humoured and shared a few laughs. One thing is certain, though, if they keep racing that closely there will be contact and we could have a repeat of Turkey 2010 on our hands.

The raw pace of the Mercedes AMG F1 W05 was brutally exposed when you consider the winning margin was 24 seconds from the race winner to P3. That’s not to say the racing behind was boring, though, far from it!

Sergio Perez emerged as the best of the rest in what is just Force India’s second ever podium result. Yet the man who will attract more headlines is Daniel Ricciardo who finished fourth after starting back in P13. In doing so he established once again that he is not afraid of his four-time world champion teammate and fought his way past Vettel on track as he edged his way through the field.

Nico Hulkenberg picked up more good points for Force India and split the Red Bulls, with Vettel finishing sixth.

The Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished in P7 and P8 respectively. The latter may have expected more after starting from P3. The top 10 was rounded out by the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

With the Mercedes power unit being the clear stand out so far this season McLaren will be bitterly disappointed to have endured a double retirement. Kevin Magnussen pulled off track on lap 40 and Jenson Button returned to the pits with just a couple of laps to go.

All in all it was a very exciting race and if there is a coming to blows at some stage between Hamilton and Rosberg this season could get very tasty indeed! Equally, the RB10 is a very strong chassis and if Renault can find some power then Mercedes could have a fight outside of its own garage.

Continue reading “Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 Bahrain GP”
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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 Bahrain GP: Qualifying report

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix

In a bit of a rush this morning so here’s your concise quali report.

Nico is on pole, he was faster than Lewis. Oh yeah, it was dry for a change, too. And hot presumably. The race is in Bahrain after all.

Daniel out qualified Sebastian, who didn’t even make it into Q3. That’s awesome for Daniel. Less awesome is the fact Dan will be start from P13 thanks to that wheelnut cowboy from Malaysia last weekend.

The second row now reads Valtteri and Sergio. That’s pretty cool.

Kimi, Jenson, Felipe, Kevin, Fernando and Sebastian round out the top 10.

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Formula 1 Porsche Red Bull Racing Video WEC

Mark Webber talks about career, past and present

Mark Webber

The chaps at XCAR films managed to get Mark Webber to spend some time in front of the camera during last week’s WEC test at Paul Ricard. They got him talking about his career and a few other bits and pieces.

We learn how Mark got started, hear about his departure from Formula 1 and what he’s looking forward to with Porsche.

One thing we were surprised to learn is how low Mark’s heart rate is during race conditions, especially in the 919. He is ice cool!

[Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]

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Categories
Formula 1

Adrian Sutil is no lightweight

Adrian Sutil

You may have heard Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton recently expressing concern for the measures Formula 1 drivers are expected to take in order to keep their body weight to a minimum. According to the two drivers some of their colleagues are deliberately dehydrating themselves, among other things, in order to drop weight.

It’s prompted former F1 doctor Gary Hartstein to blog about the issue:

Obviously the implications of an unwell driver at the helm of a terrestrial cruise missile are huge—for themselves, for their fellow drivers, and for others. And the message this sends to the public, and to every young driver from go karts to GP2 is obvious—train for the week after a race, then totally fuck yourselves up for a week before the next one. Yeah, that’s the message you should be sending. Brilliant.

Now Adrian Sutil has backed up the comments made by Jenson and Lewis when he revealed his plans to race at Bahrain this weekend without a drink bottle.

“No drinks bottle in the car is one thing,” he said. “For Bahrain, it’s one-and-a-half hours and you have to drive with no drink.

“Normally you have one litre, or even one-and-a-half litres in Malaysia to drink, but in the situation [I am in] you are talking about 300–400g. And that’s already a lot. You also have to count the bottle which has an empty weight of half a kilo.”

Sutil is 183cm tall and reportedly weighs 75kg, which is 16kg more than Felipe Massa, understood to be the lightest driver on the grid at 59kg. Couple that with the fact the Sauber C33 is already over the minimum weight limit and you can see why Sutil feels under pressure to take extreme measures.

The current minimum weight limit for a car and drivers is 692kg. That’s a 50kg increase on last year, although most of that was to allow for the added bulk of the energy recovery systems used by the new V6 power units.

The weight of drivers has been a recurring theme in recent months and now Sutil, who has pushed for an increase in minimum weight during driver briefings, is claiming that some drivers are showing no sympathy for their heavier counterparts.

“The lightest drivers have a problem with it, they block it [increase in minimum weight],” Sutil explained. “I think it’s unfair. I wouldn’t like to win against a driver who is 20kg heavier and if I win by a tenth in qualifying, this is not the truth.”

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Sauber Motorsport AG]

Categories
News

A look at the Nordschleife in 1967

The Nurburgring as it looked in 1967

Over at AUSringers we have a series of photos showing the Nürburgring as it looked in 1967. You should take the time to go and check them out.

Categories
Toyota

You’re looking at a mutually beneficial relationship

Toyota logo

One of the industry types we follow on twitter is a bloke by the name of Scott Brownlee. He works in the PR department for Toyota UK. He often posts links to interesting stuff, yes really, and he first caught our attention prior to the release of the 86. Or perhaps it was during Le Mans one year.

Anyway, Brownlee has just posted this link which explains the meaning behind the Toyota logo. As a graphic designer by day your AUSmotive editor finds this sort of stuff quite interesting. Not in the least because it’s fun seeing how other designers post-rationalise their solutions:

The three ovals in the Toyota logo are linked in a horizontally symmetrical layout – so it is recognisable both head-on and when seen in a rear-view mirror.

The inner ovals symbolise the heart of the customer and the heart of the company, overlapping to represent a mutually beneficial relationship and trust between the two, as well as forming a ‘T’ shape for Toyota. The outer oval one signifies the world embracing Toyota.

Each oval is drawn with different stroke thicknesses, pointing to Japanese calligraphy art and culture.

The space in the background within the logo is meant to exhibit the ‘infinite values’ which Toyota stands for. These are: superb quality, value beyond expectation, the joy of driving, innovation, and integrity in safety, the environment and social responsibility.

That’s pretty good stuff. Almost as good as the stuff they were smoking when they came up with that explanation!

Categories
Porsche

Your first taste of the new Porsche flat-four turbo?

Porsche flat-four turbo

Rumours suggest the new turbocharged flat-four engine, which will power the next-gen Porsche Boxster and Cayman, will boast close to 300kW.

At a recent Nürburgring industry pool test day Porsche was running a 991 911 that doesn’t sound at all like a six cylinder 911 should. With 300kW on tap it’s not out of the question that Porsche could consider offering the flat-four as an entry-level 911 in the future. Whatever the production intent of this 911 test mule might be, if nothing else it appears to be giving us our first taste yet of Porsche’s new four-pot.

Check the video after the break and listen for yourself.

[Thanks to John for the tip]

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Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Renault

Red Bull threatens to throw French toys from cot

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

We’re just two races into the 2014 F1 season and already it’s clear that the Renault V6 power unit is the third of the three engine options available. And when you’ve got four constructors’ championship behind you you’re used to being the best. Right now Red Bull is not happy with its lot in this new V6 power unit era.

Predictably, then, Helmut Marko is throwing his weight around demanding Renault lifts its game, or else!

“If there is no noticeable improvement in two or three months, we will definitely be talking about an alternative,” Marko revealed in an interview with German publication Bild.

At this stage that’s a clear nod towards the Mercedes-Benz PU 106 A Hybrid which has so far proved to be the weapon of choice in 2014.

In order to try and fast track Renault’s work on its V6 power unit Red Bull has sent a representative each from Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso inside the French manufacturer’s F1 factory at Viry.

Red Bull has been using Renault engines since 2007.

[Source: The F1 Times | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Categories
Lamborghini Oh the humanity Video

Lamborghini Aventador no match for a Mazda2

Lamborghini Aventador crash

Here’s a video to make your eyes bleed. It involves a Lamborghini Aventador, a Mazda2 and an intersection on a London street. The end result could have been worse, but it’s still a shame to see.

[Source: Road & Track]

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Caterham F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix in pictures

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

Can you believe it’s over 58 years since we saw a Mercedes driver on steps one and two of a Formula 1 podium, that was at the final race of the 1955 season, the Italian Grand Prix.

Back in 1955 Mercedes won 70% of the races in the season and Juan Manuel Fangio won the third of his five world championships. The mighty W196 silver arrow was powered by 2.5 litre straight eight producing 220kW at 8500rpm.

Now, some 21,386 days after the last Mercedes 1-2, the podium feat has been repeated. Not at a legendary racetrack in Europe, but in Malaysia. Using a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine mated to an arsenal of energy recovery systems that would make Fangio’s head spin. That’s if he knew what the hell it all meant in the first place.

At least we know Juan Manuel would have loved logging into AUSmotive to relive the race in pictorial form. And that’s what you can do after the break as well.

“What’s that Juan; how can you see all these photos?”

“It’s called the internet.”

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