The predictability of qualifying was set to continue at the Nurburgring this weekend, as the Mercedes cars displayed their usual great pace and dominated the first session. Things fell apart, for Rosberg at least, when he was pitted at the end of the second session and sat watching his name tumble down the order, as car after car slammed in faster times than him. The track conditions obviously changed in the closing laps and Mercedes were simply caught out. It's difficult to know who to blame for the failed gamble, but it's interesting to consider that there will be somebody in the Mercedes garage whose job it is to predict changes in track conditions.
In the end it was Lewis Hamilton who lead the Mercedes team to another great pole position, just pipping Sebastian Vettel to the top spot. The Mercedes is looking better and better in race set up and so the team and Hamilton will be hoping that things can keep developing in that direction. The Red Bull drivers will be breathing down Lewis' neck at the start of the race, in second and third, and Lewis will be up against it from the off.
The Ferrari's showed a lot more pace than they have in the last couple of races. However, here in Germany, they have shown a lot more conviction and despite finishing seventh and eighth were very strong in the first two sessions. They always show good race pace so, combined with the reasonable grid positions, we may see a really good result from Alonso and Massa, launching them back in to the title fight.
As long as the tyres can remain intact, after being reinforced with Kevlar and redesigned, then it looks like we are in for a fantastic race.
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Sunday, 30 June 2013
British Grand Prix: full blown mayhem!
The British Grand Prix was explosive, but unfortunately not in the right way. At one point during the race I couldn't help thinking, it really should have been abandoned, as Pirelli tyres failed left right and centre, resulting in at least two drivers almost having very big crashes. Massa had a big spin when his tyre delaminated and exploded on one of the fastest corners of the circuit. During the first of two safety car periods, pundits, officials and teams were trying to work out exactly what was going on, through a combination of speculation, investigation and simple guess work. Could it have been a failure of the Pirelli tyres themselves? A particular corner on the circuit? Or simply the geometry of the track? As the race progressed it looked like things had been resolved, however a blowout for Sergio Perez, in the final few laps, proved otherwise. Should the race have been abandoned after the first three blowouts? I think so.
The beginning of the race saw Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, displaying some unusually good race pace. Rosberg lost second to Vettel, in to the first corner, but then both Mercedes cars kept up the pace very well. Webber had another characteristically bad start and dropped all the way from fourth down to fourteenth, whilst Massa engineered the opposite for himself, powering from thirteenth all the way up to fifth. Things were going well for him, up until the tyre failure that really scuppered his race.
It was Hamilton who experienced the curse of the tyres first, much to the disappointment of his adoring followers. To make matters worse, the blowout occurred right at the end of the lap and after the pit lane entrance, meaning he was forced to drive an entire lap on three wheels. It was a credit to Lewis that he was able to work his way all the way up to fourth place by the chequered flag.
The end of the race was extremely exciting. Rosberg put in a sterling effort to take the win and its nice to see Mercedes managing to convert a perfect qualifying result in to another win. Webber caused a lot of excitement by discovering some blistering pace and storming past car after car, to take second place. He almost managed to snatch the win from under Nico's nose, but in all fairness Rosberg didn't deserve for that to happen.
The biggest story of the race, for me, was the British fans displaying their lack of sportsmanship, at the apparent 'home of Formula One'. It was shameful to hear a huge roar go up as Sebastian Vettel suffered an engine failure on the home straight. I think what made it worse was the fact that, it wasn't the case that Vettel's cruel luck allowed a Brit, Hamilton or Button, to come through for the lead. It was the bitter jealousy and soreness that resulted in a crowd of baying patriotic Brits, jeering and mocking (and later booing) the brilliant young German driver. I think its time we moved on and put the boring and poorly managed 'home of Formula One' behind us, to enjoy some racing in a far more welcoming venue.
The Race Result:
The beginning of the race saw Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, displaying some unusually good race pace. Rosberg lost second to Vettel, in to the first corner, but then both Mercedes cars kept up the pace very well. Webber had another characteristically bad start and dropped all the way from fourth down to fourteenth, whilst Massa engineered the opposite for himself, powering from thirteenth all the way up to fifth. Things were going well for him, up until the tyre failure that really scuppered his race.
It was Hamilton who experienced the curse of the tyres first, much to the disappointment of his adoring followers. To make matters worse, the blowout occurred right at the end of the lap and after the pit lane entrance, meaning he was forced to drive an entire lap on three wheels. It was a credit to Lewis that he was able to work his way all the way up to fourth place by the chequered flag.The end of the race was extremely exciting. Rosberg put in a sterling effort to take the win and its nice to see Mercedes managing to convert a perfect qualifying result in to another win. Webber caused a lot of excitement by discovering some blistering pace and storming past car after car, to take second place. He almost managed to snatch the win from under Nico's nose, but in all fairness Rosberg didn't deserve for that to happen.
The biggest story of the race, for me, was the British fans displaying their lack of sportsmanship, at the apparent 'home of Formula One'. It was shameful to hear a huge roar go up as Sebastian Vettel suffered an engine failure on the home straight. I think what made it worse was the fact that, it wasn't the case that Vettel's cruel luck allowed a Brit, Hamilton or Button, to come through for the lead. It was the bitter jealousy and soreness that resulted in a crowd of baying patriotic Brits, jeering and mocking (and later booing) the brilliant young German driver. I think its time we moved on and put the boring and poorly managed 'home of Formula One' behind us, to enjoy some racing in a far more welcoming venue.
The Race Result:
| 1. |  Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:32:59.456 |
| 2. | Mark Webber | Red Bull | +0.765 |
| 3. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +7.124 |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +7.756 |
| 5. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | +11.257 |
| 6. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | +14.573 |
| 7. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | +16.335 |
| 8. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +16.543 |
| 9. | Paul di Resta | Force India | +17.943 |
| 10. | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | +19.709 |
| 11. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | +21.135 |
| 12. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | +25.094 |
| 13. | Jenson Button | McLaren | +25.969 |
| 14. | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | +26.285 |
| 15. | Charles Pic | Caterham | +31.613 |
| 16. | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | +36.097 |
| 17. | Max Chilton | Marussia | +1:07.660 |
| 18. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | +1:07.759 |
| Did not finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 19. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | +1 Lap |
| 20. | Sergio Perez | McLaren | +6 Laps |
| 21. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | +11 Laps |
| 22. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | +17 Laps |
Saturday, 29 June 2013
British GP: Qualifying
As the start of qualifying for the British Grand Prix approached, the people who really understand the venue were beginning to find all the praise and outpouring of love tiresome. The Silverstone supporters, in the media and influential positions, shamelessly plugged the troubled circuit, whilst fans were again frustrated by the venue's deficiencies. The fact is, a huge amount of money has been hurled at the complete overhaul of the paddock and pit area, whilst fans still find themselves wading through mud and having to put up with sub standard facilities. All of this to watch Formula One cars driving around one of the less spectacular circuits on the calendar.
Qualifying is becoming a bit of a foregone conclusion, as again both the Mercedes performed dominantly in all three sessions and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg filled out the front row. Its nice to see Hamilton on pole at his home grand prix, however I and many others would have put money on that outcome, whilst predicting that both drivers will struggle to hold on to those positions come the start of the race. The Red Bull's were third and fourth and the Force India drivers looked strong again as well, qualifying in fifth and seventh.
The only real surprises were the performances of the McLarens and Ferraris, with Button, Perez and Massa, failing to make it to Q3, and Alonso only managing tenth in the top ten shootout. It's uncharacteristic for Ferrari to be struggling for pace, with Alonso being a definite title contender. McLaren, on the other hand, are continuing to decline this season and its especially sad to see it happen so spectacularly at Silverstone.
However, the big story of the weekend is Mark Webber's retirement from Formula One and the speculation over his replacement. Mark Webber was an honourable competitor and a very fair and professional sportsman and will be missed by many, if not the Vettel collective. Mark Webber regularly ruffled the feathers of Vettel and his supporters and I wonder if Webber's predecessor will be more placatory and prone to rolling over and letting Sebastian have his own way.
Qualifying is becoming a bit of a foregone conclusion, as again both the Mercedes performed dominantly in all three sessions and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg filled out the front row. Its nice to see Hamilton on pole at his home grand prix, however I and many others would have put money on that outcome, whilst predicting that both drivers will struggle to hold on to those positions come the start of the race. The Red Bull's were third and fourth and the Force India drivers looked strong again as well, qualifying in fifth and seventh.
The only real surprises were the performances of the McLarens and Ferraris, with Button, Perez and Massa, failing to make it to Q3, and Alonso only managing tenth in the top ten shootout. It's uncharacteristic for Ferrari to be struggling for pace, with Alonso being a definite title contender. McLaren, on the other hand, are continuing to decline this season and its especially sad to see it happen so spectacularly at Silverstone.
However, the big story of the weekend is Mark Webber's retirement from Formula One and the speculation over his replacement. Mark Webber was an honourable competitor and a very fair and professional sportsman and will be missed by many, if not the Vettel collective. Mark Webber regularly ruffled the feathers of Vettel and his supporters and I wonder if Webber's predecessor will be more placatory and prone to rolling over and letting Sebastian have his own way.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Canadian Grand Prix: Seb back to dominating ways...
It was an unusually exciting Canadian Grand Prix, irrespective of the fact that Sebastian Vettel totally dominated from the front, and the 40% chance of rain stuck to the 60% side of that prediction and staved off. Vettel was impressive, if a little over eager at times, all the way through the Grand Prix. Vettel haters will again claim that the German is in a very fast car, however Mark Webber was really nowhere to be seen.
The Mercedes cars looked surprisingly quick in race pace and this race could signal a bit of a turn around for them, finally being able to utilise their blistering qualifying pace. Hamilton was unlucky to be pipped to the post by a determined Fernando Alonso. Hamilton fought back valiantly, but Alonso's Ferrari was just too quick, even for the Brit to take advantage of DRS and KERS. Rosberg showed the same competitive pace as Lewis, but made a silly error near the end, flat spotting his tyres, resulting in him needing to make another pitstop. We may see some better performances from the Mercedes in future races.
Predictably, although unfortunately, the Williams drivers were unable to stay in the top ten, to claim their first points, as they hoped. Bottas lost positions very rapidly and was down to sixth after only a few corners. Force India looked strong again today, with Di Resta battling to the end. Sutil on the other hand, despite putting in a great performance all weekend, blew it by stupidly ignoring blue flags, in front of Hamilton and Alonso. Sutil was given a drive through penalty, wrecking his own race, and his poor judgment held up Lewis so much that it may have directly resulted in Hamilton losing the second podium position.
Overall, a great race, packed with incident and impact. Once again this season, viewers and fans have been surprised by a race that doesn't normally get the blood racing too much. Oh, and the tyres weren't the main focus for a change.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Monaco Grand Prix: Get in or go home, on the streets!
It was a case of do or die in Monaco this weekend, with lunatic plunges in to corners, specifically from some of the less experienced drivers in the field. There was very little respect shown to former world champions when it came to passing, as the likes of Perez and Sutil took the fight to seasoned racers like Button and Alonso. At times the race became quite processional, however despite this it was far from boring. It was extremely cagey for long periods, but kept you on the edge of your seat with the threat of exploding in to action, which it did, a number of times.
The big story of the race was the fantastic performance from Mercedes and, the race winner, Nico Rosberg. I have spoken about the very poor race pace of the Mercedes cars and also hinted at the fact that Nico and Lewis might have had the chance to hold the others behind them, around the tight streets of Monte Carlo. Far from that, they showed some very good pace, with Nico finishing the race a good distance ahead of the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton may have come in behind Rosberg, but for his poor luck during the first safety car period. He pitted with his team mate, on lap 30, after Massa had a massive smash on the first corner and the safety car was deployed. Nico Rosberg was able to leave the pits in to first place again, whilst Lewis Hamilton was released in to fourth, the two Mercedes cars split by the Red Bulls.
As to that drama at the front, things remained pretty much the same for the rest of the race. It was further back that things really got messy. It was back around fifth and then down the order that drivers were dicing and taking wild lunges at their rivals. Amazingly, one of the drivers in the limelight was Sergio Perez. I say amazingly because most of his crazy passing attempts were down in to the Nouvelle chicane, where a few years ago he had a huge crash in a Sauber. He had run ins with Button, Alonso and eventually came to grief when he went a step to far against Kimi Raikonnen and caused fatal damage to his own car.
Adrian Sutil flew the flag for Force India this weekend, taking similar risks to Perez, but ultimately being more successful. He managed to finish fifth and continues Force India's great season. Di Resta didn't fair too badly either, finishing in ninth place, just behind the battling pack that Sutil led over the line. Overall, it was a race of cagey and tightly strung processions, pock marked with short periods of high action and high risk. Plenty of incident, plenty of great racing and, thankfully, no rain; a thoroughly enjoyable Monaco Grand Prix.
Full Race result:
The big story of the race was the fantastic performance from Mercedes and, the race winner, Nico Rosberg. I have spoken about the very poor race pace of the Mercedes cars and also hinted at the fact that Nico and Lewis might have had the chance to hold the others behind them, around the tight streets of Monte Carlo. Far from that, they showed some very good pace, with Nico finishing the race a good distance ahead of the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton may have come in behind Rosberg, but for his poor luck during the first safety car period. He pitted with his team mate, on lap 30, after Massa had a massive smash on the first corner and the safety car was deployed. Nico Rosberg was able to leave the pits in to first place again, whilst Lewis Hamilton was released in to fourth, the two Mercedes cars split by the Red Bulls.As to that drama at the front, things remained pretty much the same for the rest of the race. It was further back that things really got messy. It was back around fifth and then down the order that drivers were dicing and taking wild lunges at their rivals. Amazingly, one of the drivers in the limelight was Sergio Perez. I say amazingly because most of his crazy passing attempts were down in to the Nouvelle chicane, where a few years ago he had a huge crash in a Sauber. He had run ins with Button, Alonso and eventually came to grief when he went a step to far against Kimi Raikonnen and caused fatal damage to his own car.
Adrian Sutil flew the flag for Force India this weekend, taking similar risks to Perez, but ultimately being more successful. He managed to finish fifth and continues Force India's great season. Di Resta didn't fair too badly either, finishing in ninth place, just behind the battling pack that Sutil led over the line. Overall, it was a race of cagey and tightly strung processions, pock marked with short periods of high action and high risk. Plenty of incident, plenty of great racing and, thankfully, no rain; a thoroughly enjoyable Monaco Grand Prix.
Full Race result:
| 1. | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 2:17:52.056 |
| 2. | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | +3.800 |
| 3. | Mark Webber | Red Bull | +6.300 |
| 4. | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +13.800 |
| 5. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | +21.400 |
| 6. | Jenson Button | McLaren | +23.100 |
| 7. | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +26.700 |
| 8. | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | +27.200 |
| 9. | Paul di Resta | Force India | +27.600 |
| 10. | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | +36.500 |
| 11. | Nico Hülkenberg | Sauber | +42.500 |
| 12. | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | +42.600 |
| 13. | Esteban Gutiérrez | Sauber | +43.200 |
| 14. | Max Chilton | Marussia | +49.800 |
| 15. | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | +1:02.500 |
| Did not finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | Sergio Perez | McLaren | +6 Laps |
| 17. | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | +15 Laps |
| 18. | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +17 Laps |
| 19. | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | +20 Laps |
| 20. | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | +34 Laps |
| 21. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | +50 Laps |
| 22. | Charles Pic | Caterham | +71 Laps |
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Monaco Qualifying...
Monaco is, by far, my favourite grand prix. Understandably it is the favourite of many, because of it's atmosphere, track layout and individualism. It doesn't matter how much any of the modern street circuits try (the likes of Singapore or Valencia), they never seem to match up to the legendary Monte Carlo. It is interesting to consider the influence that the Pirelli tyres will play in the race, as cars begin to slide around on used up rubber and get too intimate with the imposing barriers.
Qualifying started as an exciting prospect with rain in the air and more predicted. The opening session, as it turned out, was more exciting than the other two, as driver after driver banged in faster and faster laps. Q1 presented the drivers with a wet track that forced them to opt for Intermediate tyres. The excitement and drama was rife, as the track began drying almost immediately and pole position was traded time and again. It appeared that Q1 was going to be more a case of perseverance and timing over raw pace and precision, because almost every car was clocking up a faster time as they crossed the line. The main story of Q1 was Grosjean's great lap, in a car that had been rebuilt overnight after his shunt in Friday practice. He flew threw to Q2 in fourth position.
Unfortunately Grosjean was unable to qualify for the top ten shoot out and there was similar disappointment for Van Der Garde. He put in a stirling lap, in the second half of Q2, only to be bumped down the order and out of the session. However, Caterham can be pleased with a very strong performance and will look to build on that. Paul Di Resta was one driver who fell foul of poor timing, when Force India kept him out on rapidly deteriorating Intermediate tyres, making him a sitting duck in the final moments of Q2.
It looked to be the Red Bull show in the final stages of Q3, until the Mercedes drivers came to ruin their day again. Rosberg popped his silver arrow on pole whilst Lewis banged in a time that secured the front row for himself as well. The important thing to consider is that passing is extremely difficult on the tight streets of Monaco and the sluggish race pace of the Mercedes may still be able to hold everyone behind it.
The Grid:
Qualifying started as an exciting prospect with rain in the air and more predicted. The opening session, as it turned out, was more exciting than the other two, as driver after driver banged in faster and faster laps. Q1 presented the drivers with a wet track that forced them to opt for Intermediate tyres. The excitement and drama was rife, as the track began drying almost immediately and pole position was traded time and again. It appeared that Q1 was going to be more a case of perseverance and timing over raw pace and precision, because almost every car was clocking up a faster time as they crossed the line. The main story of Q1 was Grosjean's great lap, in a car that had been rebuilt overnight after his shunt in Friday practice. He flew threw to Q2 in fourth position.
Unfortunately Grosjean was unable to qualify for the top ten shoot out and there was similar disappointment for Van Der Garde. He put in a stirling lap, in the second half of Q2, only to be bumped down the order and out of the session. However, Caterham can be pleased with a very strong performance and will look to build on that. Paul Di Resta was one driver who fell foul of poor timing, when Force India kept him out on rapidly deteriorating Intermediate tyres, making him a sitting duck in the final moments of Q2.
It looked to be the Red Bull show in the final stages of Q3, until the Mercedes drivers came to ruin their day again. Rosberg popped his silver arrow on pole whilst Lewis banged in a time that secured the front row for himself as well. The important thing to consider is that passing is extremely difficult on the tight streets of Monaco and the sluggish race pace of the Mercedes may still be able to hold everyone behind it.
The Grid:
| 1 | N Rosberg (GER) | Mercedes | 1'13.876 |
| 2 | LC Hamilton (GBR) | Mercedes | 1'13.967 |
| 3 | S Vettel (GER) | Red Bull | 1'13.980 |
| 4 | M Webber (AUS) | Red Bull | 1'14.181 |
| 5 | KM Räikkönen (FIN) | Lotus | 1'14.822 |
| 6 | F Alonso (ESP) | Ferrari | 1'14.824 |
| 7 | S Perez (MEX) | McLaren | 1'15.138 |
| 8 | A Sutil (GER) | Force India | 1'15.383 |
| 9 | J Button (GBR) | McLaren | 1'15.647 |
| 10 | JE Vergne (FRA) | Toro Rosso | 1'15.703 |
| 11 | N Hülkenberg (GER) | Sauber | 1'18.331 |
| 12 | D Ricciardo (AUS) | Toro Rosso | 1'18.344 |
| 13 | R Grosjean (FRA) | Lotus | 1'18.603 |
| 14 | V Bottas (FIN) | Williams | 1'19.077 |
| 15 | G van der Garde (NED) | Caterham | 1'19.408 |
| 16 | P Maldonado (VEN) | Williams | 1'21.688 |
| 17 | P di Resta (GBR) | Force India | 1'26.322 |
| 18 | C Pic (FRA) | Caterham | 1'26.633 |
| 19 | E Gutiérrez (MEX) | Sauber | 1'26.917 |
| 20 | M Chilton (GBR) | Marussia | 1'27.303 |
| 21 | J Bianchi (FRA) | Marussia | - |
| 22 | F Massa (BRA) | Ferrari | - |
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Spanish Grand Prix: Ferrari back on top
The Spanish Grand Prix wasn't the most exciting race this season, with relatively predictable results and very little incident. The usual suspects performed well, Red Bull having quite a mediocre race, but finishing in fourth and fifth, and Alonso, dominating the precedings. Massa was in close range of Alonso and fought well against the very quick Lotus of Kimi Raikonnen. Alonso ran an impeccable race, extending his lead when he needed to, to give himself time for his pit stop. Really, all the action came in the first few corners of the first lap, which is also, arguably, where the race was won by AlonsoFernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, were extremely aggressive at the start and displayed their desire to take the win by challenging the Mercedes drivers straight away. Hamilton succumbed almost immediately, clearly unable to get anything like competitive pace out of his racecar, from the very beginning. He finished in twelth place and will be terribly frustrated to finish ten places lower than what he qualified, without experiencing any incidents or technical issues. Rosberg had better luck holding off his rivals in the opening laps, but eventually he also had to concede to faster competitors. It is incomprehensible how much slower Mercedes are in race set up to qualifying set up. The team are going to have to work hard to bring the race pace in to syncronisation with the qualifying pace.
McLaren were also well off the pace and struggled just to finish inside the top ten. Button was eighth and Perez was ninth. They found themselves fighting with teams like Toro Rosso and Williams, which is a massive fall for them, in comparison to last season. On the plus side, as I've said before, it brings the likes of Williams, Sauber, Toro Rosso and of course Force India, in to the top ten battle. The teams are very close this season and the tyres serve to mix things up even more.
Force India appeared to be racing further down the pack, which was slightly disappointing, as I have been extremely impressed by their efforts in the opening stages of the season. Paul Di Resta put in a good fight near the end, to try and steal sixth place off Nico Rosberg, but it wasn't to be. I just hope they can be back in the hunt next weekend and back to the kind of form they showed in the first four races. All in all, a great and emotional result, for one of the best drivers in the sport.
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