After Sebastian Vettel's dominant win in Singapore last time out, there has been little in the way of controversy and talk in Formula 1. The majority of drivers places have been sorted out for next season, there have been no significant bust-ups, and the titles both seem pretty much sewn up. This means that the last few races can be just be enjoyable on the part of both the drivers and those watching. All we can hope for is more in the way of competitive races, as it has become a bit repetitive with the German winning the last 4 races. Certainly the Red Bulls have adjusted better to the mid-season rule change, after the 'Silverstone-gate' tyre problems prompted a swift rule change. Whether the German has lucked into a fortuitous situation is up for debate, but it could certainly be argued that the title race would be considerably closer had the tyres not been forced to changed.
Yesterday saw the beginning of the end of this 2013 Formula 1 season, with the cars making the short trip from Singapore to Yeongam in South Korea. As I stated earlier, we are now hoping for more competitive races from her to the end of the season. And in the practice sessions, we appeared to get our wish, as the Mercedes seemed far closer to the Red Bulls, Hamilton being ahead of Vettel in both. This set qualifying up much more nicely than it has been ordinarily, as we are currently used to seeing the Red Bull and Vettel dominate. This time, whilst the result was the same, the manner was rather different, promising a rather different type of Grand Prix on the Sunday.
The early minutes of qualifying saw the Mercedes drivers setting the pace, with Hamilton leading his teammate. The structure of the qualifying was unusual, with all the drivers fuelled for three to four timed laps. This meant that the session had the appearance of being slow and tedious. The challenge for those in Q1 was seeing who could get through without using a set of the super soft tyres. As the session progressed, it seemed obvious that it would only be the pace-setting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel that would get this advantage. However, moving onto the super softs, Hulkenberg, Rosberg and then Raikkonen all beat the Hamilton time. Towards the bottom, Paul di Resta, who has been going through a poor patch of form recently, was blocked on his final lap by Jules Bianchi, leaving the Scot perilously close to the cut-off. Fortunately for Force India, the two Williams' drivers struggled in Korea, meaning that di Resta got away with his poor time to qualify for the first time in three races. Q2 had the same structure to it, with Hamilton going quickest early on his new super softs, leaving Vettel to beat that time much later on. This already looked to be far closer than usual, and promised a much more exciting Q3. Further back, the big winners of Q2 were Sauber, with both Hulkenberg and Gutierrez making it into the final session. The Mexican's feat was particularly impressive, having qualified for Q3 on each of the last 2 races. The losers were McLaren, with both cars unable to make it into Q3, despite having started the session well.
Q3 began slowly, with only 5 of the 10 cars choosing to leave the garage immediately. In the race for pole, Red Bull won the first round, with Vettel and Webber edging out Hamilton and Rosberg. Even worse for the German driver, Romain Grosjean managed to get his Lotus between him and his Mercedes teammate. Red Bull were not having things all their own way however, as Mark Webber would have to take a ten place engine penalty after his qualification spot, as punishment for his misdemenour in Singapore. One thing that would have helped Mercedes enormously would have been Vettel to make just a small mistake on his out lap, as he cut it extremely fine with time to get across the line to start a lap. Fortunately for Red Bull, he just about made it. But as it was, he needn't have bothered. Lewis Hamilton was the only car to improve on his previous lap, jumping Webber, but he couldn't beat the world-champion elect. This handed Vettel his 6th pole of the season, and fourth in succession. There remained just a glimmer of hope for his rivals though, as no pole-sitter had ever gone on to win the Grand Prix the following day.
The Yeongam track in South Korea is one I find particularly unusual. Having watched all of the Grand Prix held there, as well as having driven around it (albeit in my bedroom on the Playstation), I find that whilst the short first straight before the first corner avoids the majority of first corner incidents, cars infront are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the third and fourth corners. As there are two 1km straights for the drivers to negotiate, those behind have the opportunity to get a fantastic tow and fly straight past. It is little wonder, then, why the pole sitters have traditionally not been particularly successful. The middle section I also find bizarre. Whereas in other tracks I feel like the corners fit the circuit, like at Monza, the Yeongam circuit appears to have deliberately overcomplicated the twisty middle section. The pit entrance/exit also looked similarly overcomplicated, though I was glad to see that the pit exit had been altered for this year. Rather than feeding back into the heart of turn 1, which was certainly dangerous, it now feeds out on the exit of the turn, leading down onto the straight. Though it may not be one of my favourite tracks, it always provides us with great entertainment, and yesterday was no different.
As the cars lined up on the grid, Vettel would have known that here, more than anywhere, a good start is essential. Fortunately for the Red Bull driver, he got one, catapulting himself away from the stranded Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes instantly came under pressure from the fast-starting Grosjean, and found himself behind after the third corner. Further back, the two Ferrari's came millimetres from disaster, as Felipe Massa span, causing teammate Fernando Alonso to take avoiding action. This left the Brazilian way down the field, and compromised Ferrari's goal of securing 2nd in the Constructors Championship. This chaos allowed Daniel Ricciardo, who had started the race in 12th place, to jump to 7th. Even more incredibly, Pastor Maldonado, who had started the race a disappointing 18th, managed to jump to 11th by the end of lap 1. There was no such jump from Webber though. The Australian, having started 13th, could only make up a single place on the opening lap, and was struggling to pass those in front. The McLaren's were particularly troublesome, but having cleared the pair of those, he made his way to 8th by lap 8.
Back up at the front, Vettel had managed to break the DRS gap, but he was not scampering away from the rest as we are so accustomed to seeing from the German. Interestingly, it was Hamilton that seemed to be struggling most during this phase, beginning to fall back from Grosjean and forcing him to pit on lap 9. Just a lap later, presumably to cover the Mercedes stop, the Frenchman was in. However, Hamilton's pace on his out lap was such that he and Grosjean came out side by side, with the Lotus clinging onto second place by the skin of its teeth at the end of sector 1. Vettel, having seen the change in pace, pitted the next lap, but he too lost time to the pair of them, rejoining just 1.5 seconds ahead. Just behind this trio, Daniel Ricciardo, who was trying to 1 stop, occupied 4th. However, this was swiftly taken from him as Rosberg quickly reeled in and passed the Aussie, forcing him to abandon his race strategy and pit.
During the middle section of the race, a number of drivers began complaining of their tyres 'graining'. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is when, due to the extreme temperatures and pressure on the tyre, little balls of rubber begin to form on the tyre's surface. This has the effect of dramatically reducing grip, as the friction means that the tyres begin to slide on the track. Normally, graining cleans up eventually, but too long a period can play havoc with a race strategy and potentially cost vital points. Webber and Alonso both complained about it in the mid-20s lap-wise, but it was Lewis Hamilton that suffered the most. The Mercedes performance dropped dramatically as the race ticked towards lap 30, allowing his teammate to take 2-3 seconds per lap out of the Brit. Eventually, the German caught Hamilton coming onto the pair of 1km straights. He got into the slipstream and opened his DRS. However, no sooner had he moved to overtake, he had a front wing failure. The nose had bent down and was now touching the floor, sending sparks flying everywhere. Much to Hamilton's frustration, Rosberg refused to let him past, and to add insult to injury, then stole the pit stop that Lewis was supposed to have, meaning that Hamilton had to do yet another lap on the ruined tyres. He eventually pitted on lap 30, but that stop pushed him back behind the chasing foursome of Hulkenberg, Alonso, Webber and Raikkonen.
Whilst Rosberg's sparking front wing was dramatic, it was nothing compared to the following 10 laps. Just 2 later, on the same straight, Sergio Perez had a front right tyre delamination, caused by a horrendous flat spot on his tyre. Luckily, this does not seem to be a recurrance of the old Pirelli problems, simply overusage by the driver. The carcass of the tyre was left on the road, along with a sizeable amount of debris. This forced the safety car out, enabling Raikkonen and Hamilton to gain back a few of the places that they had lost. On the restart, Raikkonen took full advantage of a poor Grosjean restart to nip infront of his teammate at turn 1 to claim 2nd. Further back, Sutil attempted to pass Webber on the way into turn 3, but only succeeded in colliding with the Red Bull. The collision must have ignited something in the engine, as Webber's car swiftly set on fire, forcing him to pull over and retire, and prompting the safety car out once again. However, confusion reigned as the marshals car was seen on track before the safety car had managed to pick up the leaders. Eventually, the situation was resolved, but it could have ended very badly.
The race restarted (for the second time) on lap 40, and this time Vettel was not allowed to scamper clear quite as easily, as Raikkonen remained right on his tail. Behind them, Hamilton had a very poor restart, being mugged by the fast starting Nico Hulkenberg for 4th. The Sauber driver was having one of the drives of his career, but he would need to defend superbly to keep this 4th place. Fortunately for the Sauber driver, his set-up enabled him to keep Hamilton behind him in the top speed section, and he used all of his skill and car to keep the Brit behind in the twisty section. It meant that even with DRS, Hamilton could do little about the Sauber, and even resorted to an exasperated question of 'has anyone got any ideas' to his team. Up front, Vettel had begun to pull away from Raikkonen, as the Finn's tyres grew older. This allowed Romain Grosjean to close up on his teammate. Being encouraged by the entire Lotus garage, the Frenchman simply could not make the manoeuver stick, and eventually had to settle for 3rd. The fact that the Lotus team were so keen to have Grosjean ahead of Raikkonen implies that the Finn may have to endure a few tough and awkward races at the British-based team before heading back to Ferrari, as there is a clear sense of favouritism.
But the day, as has so often been the case in recent weeks, belonged to Vettel. Another mature drive from the front to become the first man ever to win the Korean Grand Prix from pole. The records keep tumbling for the German, and I am certain that very soon he will be able to lay claim to the first ever quadruple world champion, where all of his titles have come in succession. For me, it will be interesting to see how Vettel reacts when he is given a car that is not constantly leading races. If he were in Alonso or Hamilton's position now, I think that Vettel may struggle, as we are yet to see him pull off many stunning overtaking moves or come from behind victories. Despite Vettel having won the race, my Driver of the Day is certainly Nico Hulkenberg. A phenomenal drive from 7th, and to keep Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, two world champions, at bay for the best part of 20 laps, is quite incredible. I would be extremely surprised if he doesn't recieve a phone call from a larger team in the next couple of years offering him a seat. Korea once again delivered on drama, action and intensity, but failed to deliver us a different result than the one we all now all too familiar with.
Analysis of sporting events, talking points and controversies.
Showing posts with label Alonso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alonso. Show all posts
Monday, 7 October 2013
Saturday, 28 September 2013
2013 Singapore Grand Prix: Has The Night Race Put The Title To Bed?
This weekend's Singapore Grand Prix from Marina Bay has perhaps pull the final nail in the coffin of this season's Driver Championship. With Sebastian Vettel leaving the Asian city-state 60 points ahead with only 150 remaining, it seems now a case of when and not if the German will take his fourth consecutive drivers' title. It is an incredible feat, matched only by fellow German Michael Schumacher, and he will be hoping to surpass his compatriot's record in the coming years. With the amount of years left in the Red Bull driver's career, I would not be at all surprised if Vettel did manage to take all of Schumacher's records away from him one-by-one, just less than a decade after people said they would never be beaten. It is an indication of the incredible domination Vettel has had on the sport, and no race has illustrated this more than the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
The big news in the weeks in between the Italian Grand Prix and the trip to Marina Bay is that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who had already spurned an approach from Red Bull, decided instead to move to his former employers Ferrari for the start of the 2014 season. My initial reaction to the Finn's decision was that he had decided to return to the team he won his one and only title with, and that the Italian side remained the most likely team to repeat that success with. Therefore, the decision seemed to be odd from the perspective that the Finn turned down Red Bull, but sensible on the basis that he is familiar with many of the Ferrari team, and I feel that he will settle in quicker with. However, reports over the following days suggested that Raikkonen's decision was motivated by both success and finances. The former McLaren man, in interviews with the international media, implied that he had decided to make the move to the Scuderia as Lotus had failed to pay his wages for a month. This simply puts the icing on the cake for the Finn, who has enjoyed a reasonable amount of success with the British team, but he needs to make that step up the grid if he wants to realistically challenge for any titles in the future.
Raikkonen, who was also suffering the effects of an injection he had into his back, was clearly still distracted by his new contract, as his qualifying did not go to plan. On any street circuit it is important to qualify well, as those further down the grid are more succeptible to first lap incidents, and getting stuck behind slower cars in front. In Q1, the Red Bulls, who had also dominated the practice sessions, were the only team able to cruise through into Q2 using only the hard tyres. Even the Mercedes, who have been notoriously good on a single lap, were unable to just stay on the hard tyres. Ferrari had an unwanted scare, as Felipe Massa found himself in the bottom 6 as the flag dropped. Fortunately for the Italians, the Brazilian managed to get himself into the relative safety of mid-table, but he did little to put himself in the shop window. The big casualty from Q1 was Paul di Resta. The Brit has struggled in recent races, and is no longer a stranger to exiting in the first qualifying session, so perhaps it should not be such a shock. Q2 saw Raikkonen depart as the big name dropout, as his back caused him too much pain to get his best lap. The man to take his place was Esteban Gutierrez. The Sauber driver managed to break into the top 10 for the first time, outqualifying his more experienced teammate in the progress. Vettel's dominance in the first two qualifying sessions seemed to be continued in the final shootout, as he blasted into the 1:42's, a full seven tenths faster than his nearest rivals. So convinced was the German that he had done enough, he decided not to return to the track, instead becoming a spectator. However, he would have been a nervous onlooker as Nico Rosberg set the fastest first sector on his final lap. As the Mercedes passed the line, Vettel managed a sigh of relief, as Rosberg could only get within a tenth of his initial time.
That one tenth would prove pivotal in the run to the first corner. Unusually, the Red Bull was beaten off the line by Rosberg, who powered off the line. Having passed Vettel before the first corner, the Mercedes ran wide into turn 2, allowing Vettel to sneak back up the inside to get the lead back. Behind, the big winner was, once again, Fernando Alonso, who went from 7th to 3rd in the space of two corners. Steering clear of any danger, the Spaniard went all the way around the outside of two rows to claim the final podium spot. In fact, the entire field managed to avoid contact on the opening lap, showing incredible driving accuracy. Once he had maintained his lead, Sebastian Vettel quickly made the break, scampering away from Rosberg. By the time the Mercedes made his first pit stop, Vettel was over 7.5 seconds clear. As the race ran on, it became more and more obvious that Vettel was strolling to a comfortable victory, so attention turned to the chasing pack behind. After the first stops, Hamilton and Grosjean began reeling in Mark Webber quite quickly, with the Australian on older tyres. Just as it looked that the result was inevitable, Daniel Ricciardo made an uncharacteristic error, locking up both front tyres and sliding into the barriers. This brought out the safety car, eradicating Vettel's lead and throwing the result back into the air.
This lasted next to no time however, as no sooner had the safety car pitted then Vettel made the break once again. With one Red Bull scampering away, the attention turned to the other. Aussie Mark Webber had been battling with Hamilton and Grosjean since the early laps, and this seemed set to be an ongoing rivalry. However, his cause was aided by the sight of Grosjean's engine giving in on lap 38. When the pair then made their final stops, they fell back behind the majority of the chasing pack, meaning a full-throttle race to the finish. It seemed to be a tactical decision that worked, as the Aussie managed to perform the undercut on Nico Rosberg, to take an effective 3rd place. However, this was swiftly wiped away by Raikkonen's ability to perform the same undercut. With both Alonso, who was trying to one stop, and Vettel way up the road, the final podium spot was the only thing up for grabs at this point. With both McLarens one stopping, there were mobile chicanes that needed passing for those behind. However, this often became easier said than done, as Hamilton and Rosberg almost collected one another on several occasions when trying to pass Perez.
Despite chasing Raikkonen down to try and claim the final podium spot, Webber began to struggle massively into the final couple of laps, losing four seconds a lap to the Mercedeses behind. He was eventually passed by both, before being forced to retire with a lack of fuel, and a sick engine, eventually setting fire to itself on the final lap. It is just the latest in a long list of misfortune for the Aussie, who will be glad to leave the sport at this rate! In contrast, his teammate Vettel came home to win the race with ease, leading by over 30 seconds from Fernando Alonso. However, for both, the day ended badly. For Webber, having accepted a lift from Fernando Alonso, he was penalised with a 10 place penalty at the next race in Korea, for three reprimands in a season. For Vettel, despite his dominant victory, almost guaranteeing the title, he was roundly booed on the podium. Whilst this was not the first time (it happened at Monza), the first time could easily be explained as being deep Ferrari territory. Singapore is not. To boo any racer is unacceptable, especially when they have performed so admirably this season. Whilst it could be argued that F1 is getting boring, as the German is sweeping everything and everyone aside, this is not justification for booing someone. I do not recall Schumacher being booed wherever he went, or Senna. I think that we have to credit Red Bull for making a terrific car, and Vettel for driving it so well.
As for the title: it looks over. 60 points is a lot to recoup out of 150. We would need to see a few Vettel non-finishes for this to be anything other than a Red Bull and Vettel success. I simply hope that we do see a few more interesting and close races over the next few weeks, otherwise F1 will begin to become a touch tedious and repetitive. Since the change to the tyres Red Bull have seemed best prepared to deal with the rule changes and the tyres, giving them an inherent advantage. Next season, hopefully we will see a slightly different story, getting us back to the start of the season, where any one of 6 or 7 cars could win races.
The big news in the weeks in between the Italian Grand Prix and the trip to Marina Bay is that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who had already spurned an approach from Red Bull, decided instead to move to his former employers Ferrari for the start of the 2014 season. My initial reaction to the Finn's decision was that he had decided to return to the team he won his one and only title with, and that the Italian side remained the most likely team to repeat that success with. Therefore, the decision seemed to be odd from the perspective that the Finn turned down Red Bull, but sensible on the basis that he is familiar with many of the Ferrari team, and I feel that he will settle in quicker with. However, reports over the following days suggested that Raikkonen's decision was motivated by both success and finances. The former McLaren man, in interviews with the international media, implied that he had decided to make the move to the Scuderia as Lotus had failed to pay his wages for a month. This simply puts the icing on the cake for the Finn, who has enjoyed a reasonable amount of success with the British team, but he needs to make that step up the grid if he wants to realistically challenge for any titles in the future.
Raikkonen, who was also suffering the effects of an injection he had into his back, was clearly still distracted by his new contract, as his qualifying did not go to plan. On any street circuit it is important to qualify well, as those further down the grid are more succeptible to first lap incidents, and getting stuck behind slower cars in front. In Q1, the Red Bulls, who had also dominated the practice sessions, were the only team able to cruise through into Q2 using only the hard tyres. Even the Mercedes, who have been notoriously good on a single lap, were unable to just stay on the hard tyres. Ferrari had an unwanted scare, as Felipe Massa found himself in the bottom 6 as the flag dropped. Fortunately for the Italians, the Brazilian managed to get himself into the relative safety of mid-table, but he did little to put himself in the shop window. The big casualty from Q1 was Paul di Resta. The Brit has struggled in recent races, and is no longer a stranger to exiting in the first qualifying session, so perhaps it should not be such a shock. Q2 saw Raikkonen depart as the big name dropout, as his back caused him too much pain to get his best lap. The man to take his place was Esteban Gutierrez. The Sauber driver managed to break into the top 10 for the first time, outqualifying his more experienced teammate in the progress. Vettel's dominance in the first two qualifying sessions seemed to be continued in the final shootout, as he blasted into the 1:42's, a full seven tenths faster than his nearest rivals. So convinced was the German that he had done enough, he decided not to return to the track, instead becoming a spectator. However, he would have been a nervous onlooker as Nico Rosberg set the fastest first sector on his final lap. As the Mercedes passed the line, Vettel managed a sigh of relief, as Rosberg could only get within a tenth of his initial time.
That one tenth would prove pivotal in the run to the first corner. Unusually, the Red Bull was beaten off the line by Rosberg, who powered off the line. Having passed Vettel before the first corner, the Mercedes ran wide into turn 2, allowing Vettel to sneak back up the inside to get the lead back. Behind, the big winner was, once again, Fernando Alonso, who went from 7th to 3rd in the space of two corners. Steering clear of any danger, the Spaniard went all the way around the outside of two rows to claim the final podium spot. In fact, the entire field managed to avoid contact on the opening lap, showing incredible driving accuracy. Once he had maintained his lead, Sebastian Vettel quickly made the break, scampering away from Rosberg. By the time the Mercedes made his first pit stop, Vettel was over 7.5 seconds clear. As the race ran on, it became more and more obvious that Vettel was strolling to a comfortable victory, so attention turned to the chasing pack behind. After the first stops, Hamilton and Grosjean began reeling in Mark Webber quite quickly, with the Australian on older tyres. Just as it looked that the result was inevitable, Daniel Ricciardo made an uncharacteristic error, locking up both front tyres and sliding into the barriers. This brought out the safety car, eradicating Vettel's lead and throwing the result back into the air.
This lasted next to no time however, as no sooner had the safety car pitted then Vettel made the break once again. With one Red Bull scampering away, the attention turned to the other. Aussie Mark Webber had been battling with Hamilton and Grosjean since the early laps, and this seemed set to be an ongoing rivalry. However, his cause was aided by the sight of Grosjean's engine giving in on lap 38. When the pair then made their final stops, they fell back behind the majority of the chasing pack, meaning a full-throttle race to the finish. It seemed to be a tactical decision that worked, as the Aussie managed to perform the undercut on Nico Rosberg, to take an effective 3rd place. However, this was swiftly wiped away by Raikkonen's ability to perform the same undercut. With both Alonso, who was trying to one stop, and Vettel way up the road, the final podium spot was the only thing up for grabs at this point. With both McLarens one stopping, there were mobile chicanes that needed passing for those behind. However, this often became easier said than done, as Hamilton and Rosberg almost collected one another on several occasions when trying to pass Perez.
Despite chasing Raikkonen down to try and claim the final podium spot, Webber began to struggle massively into the final couple of laps, losing four seconds a lap to the Mercedeses behind. He was eventually passed by both, before being forced to retire with a lack of fuel, and a sick engine, eventually setting fire to itself on the final lap. It is just the latest in a long list of misfortune for the Aussie, who will be glad to leave the sport at this rate! In contrast, his teammate Vettel came home to win the race with ease, leading by over 30 seconds from Fernando Alonso. However, for both, the day ended badly. For Webber, having accepted a lift from Fernando Alonso, he was penalised with a 10 place penalty at the next race in Korea, for three reprimands in a season. For Vettel, despite his dominant victory, almost guaranteeing the title, he was roundly booed on the podium. Whilst this was not the first time (it happened at Monza), the first time could easily be explained as being deep Ferrari territory. Singapore is not. To boo any racer is unacceptable, especially when they have performed so admirably this season. Whilst it could be argued that F1 is getting boring, as the German is sweeping everything and everyone aside, this is not justification for booing someone. I do not recall Schumacher being booed wherever he went, or Senna. I think that we have to credit Red Bull for making a terrific car, and Vettel for driving it so well.
As for the title: it looks over. 60 points is a lot to recoup out of 150. We would need to see a few Vettel non-finishes for this to be anything other than a Red Bull and Vettel success. I simply hope that we do see a few more interesting and close races over the next few weeks, otherwise F1 will begin to become a touch tedious and repetitive. Since the change to the tyres Red Bull have seemed best prepared to deal with the rule changes and the tyres, giving them an inherent advantage. Next season, hopefully we will see a slightly different story, getting us back to the start of the season, where any one of 6 or 7 cars could win races.
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Italian Grand Prix 2013: The Place Where Ferrari's Dreams Died?
Today's Italian Grand Prix marked the end of the European F1 season. Next, the Formula 1 roadshow rolls into Asia, with races at Singapore, Japan and Abu Dhabi to come. With Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel so far in the lead in both championships, it looks as though the end of the European season has coincided with the end of the F1 season as a competitive entity. Vettel's victory in the heart of Ferrari territory, at a circuit where they were unfavoured, signals a level of dominance that I fear will continue for the rest of the season.
But just how dominant have the Red Bulls been in Europe? It is interesting to look at the statistics of the European season, and the winners of each race. I will do a run down of the races undertaken, the winners, and the points based purely on European races. Spain was the first race of the season, which saw Fernando Alonso take his second victory on home soil. Monaco saw a win for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, who took their second win in the following European race in Britain. Another home victory saw Vettel take his first European victory of the season at the Nurburgring. He would win another two, in Belgium and today in Italy, after a first Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst the Red Bull man has won the most European races this year, he only beats Nico Rosberg by one, and the majority have come in the latter part of the season. This implies that his dominance is not as strong as initially suspected.
This is supported by the points accrued. Though Vettel does remain in the lead on European points, he is only 16 clear of Fernando Alonso. If we compare that to the 53 point lead that the German enjoys overall, 37 points of that must have come outside of Europe. Bearing in mind that there have been only 5 races thus far away from the continent, it implies that Vettel's dominance is considerably greater in Asia and America than in Europe. A little further analysis of the points also indicates that Vettel's dominance in Europe has only occurred since his home win in Germany. 75% of his European points have come in the final four races of the European season. If we compare this to Alonso, the last four account for only 55%, meaning that he has remained the more consistent. Whilst Vettel may not have been as dominant in Europe as elsewhere, Red Bull as a team certainly have. Between them, Vettel and Webber have accrued 206 points on European soil, a full 53 points clear of their nearest rivals, which would be Mercedes, with Ferrari a further four points back. Overall, Red Bull's lead currently stands at 102 points, which implies that Red Bull's dominance as a team is almost identical in Europe to away from it. Obviously, these statistics may alter, with a further 7 races to take place away from Europe this season.
In terms of the Italian Grand Prix, the practice sessions were all dominated by the world-champion elect. The qualifying session on the Saturday was expected to have a similar result. After the heroics of the Marussias and Guido van der Garde in Belgium's Q1, they sadly could not replicate the feat, perishing at the first time of asking. Q2 proved far more shocking, as the pole sitter of the four previous races Lewis Hamilton, 'drove like an idiot', in his own words, and could only manage 12th. Both of the Lotuses also had to watch Q3 from the pits, with Nico Hulkenberg and the two Toro Rossos being the shock inclusions to Q3. Having sauntered through to third session, Vettel cruised to pole, with team mate Mark Webber ensuring that Red Bull locked out the front row for the first time since the second race of the season. The big surprise happened immediately behind them, as Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg angered the Italian population, beating the Ferrari pair to 3rd on the grid. In double disappointment, Alonso had to settle for 5th, being beaten by his teammate for the first time in several races. This would do his race victory chances no favours, and would ultimately see his title bid go up in smoke.
The start at Monza is always chaotic, with the opening chicane normally causing several collisions throughout the field. This danger will not have been lessened by the start of Vettel. The German locked both front brakes on the turn into turn 1, sending a considerable amount of smoke up, clouding the vision of those behind. This inevitably had an impact on the consertina effect that occurred behind, with Kimi Raikkonen damaging his front wing in contact with Sergio Perez, sending the McLaren driver onto the escape road. Even more concerning for Vettel, the lock-up left worries of flat-spots on his tyres, with the potential to cause damage to the car, and ruin his one stop race. The Ferraris both had excellent starts, passing both Hulkenberg and Webber by the end of lap 2, with Alonso making an exceptional pass around the Red Bull man at the Curva Grande. Inter-team cooperation then started taking place, with Massa offering no resistance to a move from Alonso a few laps later, meaning that the Spaniard could get after Vettel. The German, though, was showing no signs of a flat spot, edging out a gap of 7 seconds by lap 10.
Further back, after a good start, Lewis Hamilton was still struggling in the midfield. Having made up two places from the start, the Brit had failed to surge through the field, instead being stuck in a battle with Jenson Button for 10th. However, his afternoon was ruined by a couple of early problems. First, the engineers discovered an issue with the radio communications between the driver and the team, meaning that no message could be delivered throughout the race. Even more dramatic was the announcement that the Mercedes had a slow puncture, meaning that the Brit needed to pit, wrecking his plans for a one-stop race. This also explained the slow progress that Hamilton had been making. That message could not be delivered to the driver though, meaning that Hamilton stayed out for a further 2 laps before finally recieving the message and making the stop, but this will have cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been fighting back from the first lap incident. The Finn had been setting a succession of fastest laps, and looked like flying through the field. Hamilton, on fresher tyres, got right among the fastest laps, swapping the honour with the Lotus. As a result of this scintillating pace, the pair of them managed to pass those they were fighting before they made their stops (Button, Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo). But would they have to stop again?
Vettel's suspected problems seemed to be coming back to haunt him, as when he past the 20th lap, he began to lose half to three-quarters of a second a lap. Clearly concerned, the Red Bull mechanics decided to pull him in on lap 23, when the lead was just 5 seconds. After a quick inspection (2.7 seconds), they concluded that all was fine, and sent him back out. Alonso, attempting to press home his advantage, stayed out. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, this plan completely backfired. The Red Bull team's decision to keep Vettel out there was vindicated, as the German extended his lead to 10 seconds by the time Alonso made his pit stop. Instead of retaining the lead, the Spaniard nearly fell back behind Webber. Further back, Hamilton and Raikkonen continued their onslaught on the field, passing the other Mercedes in Nico Rosberg. However, this was halted by the unsurprising decision by Lotus to pit Raikkonen a second time, dropping him way down the field. Hamilton pressed on, passing Nico Hulkenberg for 5th, but ultimately his progress came to the same end, requiring another stop. However, just like the stop before, continuing radio problems meant that he stayed out a further two laps than they intended. Despite the best efforts of the Mercedes pit crew, he rejoined behind Raikkonen once again, in 14th, meaning that he would need to pass him on track. But would they be able to trouble the points?
Up front, whilst Vettel scampered away at the front, Alonso was challenged heavily by the other Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Red Bull team would have liked nothing more than a 1-2 on Ferrari territory, further showing their dominance. However, once again misfortune struck the Aussie, who was told that they had a gear issue between the 2nd and 3rd gears. This meant that he couldn't get the necessary acceleration to reel in the Ferrari, meaning that he began to fall back a little. Even worse news was to follow for Christian Horner and the boys on the pit wall at Red Bull. Vettel seemed to be developing the same problems as his team mate. Fortunately, he had built up a healthy lead of over 12 seconds, meaning that he could take it a bit easier without costing himself the race. However, the news that the Red Bulls were having problems had filtered back to the Ferrari pit wall, and the drivers were soon pushing hard to catch the pair in front.
In the battle for the points, Hamilton took the lead in the push for the top 10, passing the Lotus brilliantly round the Curva Grande, before getting past Perez's McLaren to make it into the points. But he wasn't finished there. He quickly managed to catch and dispatch the other McLaren of Button, before chasing down the pair in front of him. This led to a final lap dash for 7th place, with both Grosjean and Ricciardo in the Mercedes's sights. Up front, despite struggling through the final few laps, Vettel managed to nurse his car home for the maximum 25 points, winning by just 5.7 seconds. His 53 point lead seems insumountable, but this race could have been a different story had the problem emerged a few laps sooner. Perhaps he will have a bigger fight from his new Australian team mate, but for now he remains the top dog in Formula 1.
But just how dominant have the Red Bulls been in Europe? It is interesting to look at the statistics of the European season, and the winners of each race. I will do a run down of the races undertaken, the winners, and the points based purely on European races. Spain was the first race of the season, which saw Fernando Alonso take his second victory on home soil. Monaco saw a win for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, who took their second win in the following European race in Britain. Another home victory saw Vettel take his first European victory of the season at the Nurburgring. He would win another two, in Belgium and today in Italy, after a first Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst the Red Bull man has won the most European races this year, he only beats Nico Rosberg by one, and the majority have come in the latter part of the season. This implies that his dominance is not as strong as initially suspected.
This is supported by the points accrued. Though Vettel does remain in the lead on European points, he is only 16 clear of Fernando Alonso. If we compare that to the 53 point lead that the German enjoys overall, 37 points of that must have come outside of Europe. Bearing in mind that there have been only 5 races thus far away from the continent, it implies that Vettel's dominance is considerably greater in Asia and America than in Europe. A little further analysis of the points also indicates that Vettel's dominance in Europe has only occurred since his home win in Germany. 75% of his European points have come in the final four races of the European season. If we compare this to Alonso, the last four account for only 55%, meaning that he has remained the more consistent. Whilst Vettel may not have been as dominant in Europe as elsewhere, Red Bull as a team certainly have. Between them, Vettel and Webber have accrued 206 points on European soil, a full 53 points clear of their nearest rivals, which would be Mercedes, with Ferrari a further four points back. Overall, Red Bull's lead currently stands at 102 points, which implies that Red Bull's dominance as a team is almost identical in Europe to away from it. Obviously, these statistics may alter, with a further 7 races to take place away from Europe this season.
In terms of the Italian Grand Prix, the practice sessions were all dominated by the world-champion elect. The qualifying session on the Saturday was expected to have a similar result. After the heroics of the Marussias and Guido van der Garde in Belgium's Q1, they sadly could not replicate the feat, perishing at the first time of asking. Q2 proved far more shocking, as the pole sitter of the four previous races Lewis Hamilton, 'drove like an idiot', in his own words, and could only manage 12th. Both of the Lotuses also had to watch Q3 from the pits, with Nico Hulkenberg and the two Toro Rossos being the shock inclusions to Q3. Having sauntered through to third session, Vettel cruised to pole, with team mate Mark Webber ensuring that Red Bull locked out the front row for the first time since the second race of the season. The big surprise happened immediately behind them, as Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg angered the Italian population, beating the Ferrari pair to 3rd on the grid. In double disappointment, Alonso had to settle for 5th, being beaten by his teammate for the first time in several races. This would do his race victory chances no favours, and would ultimately see his title bid go up in smoke.
The start at Monza is always chaotic, with the opening chicane normally causing several collisions throughout the field. This danger will not have been lessened by the start of Vettel. The German locked both front brakes on the turn into turn 1, sending a considerable amount of smoke up, clouding the vision of those behind. This inevitably had an impact on the consertina effect that occurred behind, with Kimi Raikkonen damaging his front wing in contact with Sergio Perez, sending the McLaren driver onto the escape road. Even more concerning for Vettel, the lock-up left worries of flat-spots on his tyres, with the potential to cause damage to the car, and ruin his one stop race. The Ferraris both had excellent starts, passing both Hulkenberg and Webber by the end of lap 2, with Alonso making an exceptional pass around the Red Bull man at the Curva Grande. Inter-team cooperation then started taking place, with Massa offering no resistance to a move from Alonso a few laps later, meaning that the Spaniard could get after Vettel. The German, though, was showing no signs of a flat spot, edging out a gap of 7 seconds by lap 10.
Further back, after a good start, Lewis Hamilton was still struggling in the midfield. Having made up two places from the start, the Brit had failed to surge through the field, instead being stuck in a battle with Jenson Button for 10th. However, his afternoon was ruined by a couple of early problems. First, the engineers discovered an issue with the radio communications between the driver and the team, meaning that no message could be delivered throughout the race. Even more dramatic was the announcement that the Mercedes had a slow puncture, meaning that the Brit needed to pit, wrecking his plans for a one-stop race. This also explained the slow progress that Hamilton had been making. That message could not be delivered to the driver though, meaning that Hamilton stayed out for a further 2 laps before finally recieving the message and making the stop, but this will have cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been fighting back from the first lap incident. The Finn had been setting a succession of fastest laps, and looked like flying through the field. Hamilton, on fresher tyres, got right among the fastest laps, swapping the honour with the Lotus. As a result of this scintillating pace, the pair of them managed to pass those they were fighting before they made their stops (Button, Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo). But would they have to stop again?
Vettel's suspected problems seemed to be coming back to haunt him, as when he past the 20th lap, he began to lose half to three-quarters of a second a lap. Clearly concerned, the Red Bull mechanics decided to pull him in on lap 23, when the lead was just 5 seconds. After a quick inspection (2.7 seconds), they concluded that all was fine, and sent him back out. Alonso, attempting to press home his advantage, stayed out. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, this plan completely backfired. The Red Bull team's decision to keep Vettel out there was vindicated, as the German extended his lead to 10 seconds by the time Alonso made his pit stop. Instead of retaining the lead, the Spaniard nearly fell back behind Webber. Further back, Hamilton and Raikkonen continued their onslaught on the field, passing the other Mercedes in Nico Rosberg. However, this was halted by the unsurprising decision by Lotus to pit Raikkonen a second time, dropping him way down the field. Hamilton pressed on, passing Nico Hulkenberg for 5th, but ultimately his progress came to the same end, requiring another stop. However, just like the stop before, continuing radio problems meant that he stayed out a further two laps than they intended. Despite the best efforts of the Mercedes pit crew, he rejoined behind Raikkonen once again, in 14th, meaning that he would need to pass him on track. But would they be able to trouble the points?
Up front, whilst Vettel scampered away at the front, Alonso was challenged heavily by the other Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Red Bull team would have liked nothing more than a 1-2 on Ferrari territory, further showing their dominance. However, once again misfortune struck the Aussie, who was told that they had a gear issue between the 2nd and 3rd gears. This meant that he couldn't get the necessary acceleration to reel in the Ferrari, meaning that he began to fall back a little. Even worse news was to follow for Christian Horner and the boys on the pit wall at Red Bull. Vettel seemed to be developing the same problems as his team mate. Fortunately, he had built up a healthy lead of over 12 seconds, meaning that he could take it a bit easier without costing himself the race. However, the news that the Red Bulls were having problems had filtered back to the Ferrari pit wall, and the drivers were soon pushing hard to catch the pair in front.
In the battle for the points, Hamilton took the lead in the push for the top 10, passing the Lotus brilliantly round the Curva Grande, before getting past Perez's McLaren to make it into the points. But he wasn't finished there. He quickly managed to catch and dispatch the other McLaren of Button, before chasing down the pair in front of him. This led to a final lap dash for 7th place, with both Grosjean and Ricciardo in the Mercedes's sights. Up front, despite struggling through the final few laps, Vettel managed to nurse his car home for the maximum 25 points, winning by just 5.7 seconds. His 53 point lead seems insumountable, but this race could have been a different story had the problem emerged a few laps sooner. Perhaps he will have a bigger fight from his new Australian team mate, but for now he remains the top dog in Formula 1.
Monday, 29 July 2013
The Hungarian Grand Prix 2013: 'Miracle' Maiden Win For Hamilton
With the spectre of gender equality being the main topic of conversation in Formula 1 over the last two weeks, the Hungarian Grand Prix gave the sport a chance to escape the controversy. With Red Bull dominating the first two practice sessions, however, fears were raised that this weekend was going to be the most boring of the season. Fortunately, this was not the case. This blog post will review the events of the weekend in Hungary, but first, I wanted to give my own view on the issue that has dominated Formula 1 news over the past few weeks.
During the 'young driver' test scheduled for last week at Silverstone, Williams opted to run 30-year-old Susie Wolff, making her the first female driver to run in an official Formula 1 test for 10 years. This sparked great debate, with the BBC Sport website having only the news that a woman would be running a test at Silverstone as their F1 news on the front page. Despite what feminists across the country would have us believe, in my opinion this is a much lesser story than it has been made out to be. I do not hold the same, slightly bigoted views, of Sir Stirling Moss, that women lack the 'necessary mental attributes for Formula 1'. There are two logical reasons behind my view. Firstly, the accusations of nepotism. The fact that Susie Wolff, the Williams test driver, is married to Toto Wolff, the Executive Director of Mercedes, is suspicious enough. It becomes even more suspicious when you learn that he also holds 16% of the shares in Williams, giving him adequate sway to suggest potential test drivers.
However, argument one is irrelevant without argument two. I am a great believer that jobs should be earned on merit, meaning that the best driver gets the drives in the Formula 1 teams. I recognise that with the influx of cash and sponsors that this is often not the case, which is a shame. I also believe that positive discrimination is not 'positive' as its name suggests, but can often be as sexist and discriminatory as the alleged treatment of women in the first place. In such a competitive economy, reserving jobs for any gender, race, or ethnic group, which may result in a second-rate candidate being selected over the best, is unacceptable. The results of the Silverstone test reinforce my point. Had Susie Wolff blown the rest of the field away, setting faster times than her male counterparts, then I would absolutely say that this was newsworthy, and she would be a name to remember for the future (though the fact that she is 30 kind of makes a mockery of the 'young' part of the 'young driver test'). This would also have made my initial argument of nepotism irrelevant, as she could rightly have claimed to be there on merit. The fact remains that she was not, setting a pace a second off race driver Maldonado, and, even worse, 0.4 seconds slower than her fellow male test driver, who had less experience than herself in the same car. We do not make a massive issue of male drivers who set slower times than their male counterparts. Women say they want equality, so why should a female race driver who is slower be given any more airtime? It would be good to see a female Formula 1 driver, but when, and only when, the individual is fast enough to merit the drive.
Moving back to the events of this weekend, qualifying proved to be a major shock, based on the results from practice. Q1 gave us initial indications of the end result, with both of the Mercedes looking strong. With Vettel appearing to be off the pace, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took advantage, finishing in a strong 1/2 for the German team. Romain Grosjean, who had also looked strong in practice, finished 3rd, giving Lotus hope for a positive qualifying session. Red Bull had further problems in the shape of Mark Webber, who suffered firstly from an electrical problem, and then with a failure of the KERS system. This ensured that he would not be challenging for the pole, forcing him to withdraw from Q3. The main shock in Q1 was the disappearance of Paul di Resta. The Scot, whose team had been performing well in qualifying at the start of the season, struggled with the new Kevlar-lined Pirelli compounds, and found himself in 18th. Force India's loss was McLaren and Williams's gain. The two teams have made significant improvements since Silverstone, which we can only assume is to be attributed to a better handling of the new tyres. Q2 saw a continuation in the trend, with Mercedes once again securing a 1/2 finish, beating out the improved Vettel. Q2 will be best remember for the incredibly tight finish on the bubble at the end, with 8th to 12th all within the 1:20.5 bracket. This time, it was Sergio Perez who was the beneficiary, the Mexican fighting back from a crash in P3 to get into the top 10 for the first time this season. Q3 saw Vettel out of the traps early, to set a stunning 1:19.5, the fastest time of the day. This threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the pack. Could Mercedes respond? Rosberg crossed the line first of the pair, with his effort only good enough for 4th. But Hamilton is supreme around the Hungaroring, winning on 3 of his 6 races there. His 1:19.3 managed to beat Vettel's last-ditch attempt by 0.04 seconds to secure the most unlikely of poles. His third in a row, but could he now go and convert it into a victory?
From the lights out, Hamilton managed to navigate the opening turn without losing a place, unlike in Germany. If Mercedes thought they had had a good start, they were sadly mistaken. Rosberg ran wide at Turn 3, before clipping Massa. This saw the German tumble down the field, going from 4th to 12th in just one lap. After trading fastest laps with Vettel, Hamilton eventually managed to break the vital DRS 1 second window on lap 8, ensuring that Vettel did not have the advantage in straight line speed. Vettel's inability to catch Hamilton was dropping him back into the clutches of the impressive Grosjean, and soon the young Frenchman was on the triple-World Champion's tail. Behind that trio, the Ferraris were struggling to keep up with the pace, heaping further pressure on Alonso's title aspirations. Hamilton's lightning-fast start had appeared to catch up with him when he had to dive into the pits on lap 9 for a fresh set of tyres. Rejoining behind Button, he quickly dispatched his fellow Brit on fresher rubber the following lap. This would prove to be the most critical pass of the race.
Hamilton's early stop seemingly handed the advantage to Vettel, as it suggested that the Mercedes struggled with tyre wear. However, just two laps later, Vettel's tyres went 'off the cliff', and he was forced into the pit lane. He too, rejoined just behind McLaren's Button, except he found it far more difficult to pass the Englishman. After the first round of pit stops, the order was the same, but Vettel being held up behind Button allowed Lewis Hamilton to scamper clear at the front, and backed the Red Bull man into Grosjean, Alonso and even his teammate. Eventually, on lap 24, after 13 laps of trying, the German passed Button, but by this point Hamilton was already 11 seconds up the road. Vettel's pass left space for Grosjean, who took full advantage, only to bang wheels with the McLaren and force the Frenchman onto the escape road, cutting the chicane. This would have devastating consequences on the Lotus's race. Just a few laps later, he was handed a drive through penalty for 'exceeding the track's limits', dropping him into 8th.
With Hamilton now in clean air, he could attempt to peg the gap. However, a rampant Vettel began eating into the considerable lead, and with Hamilton still unsure about Vettel's strategy, he knew he had to keep pushing. The Mercedes man pitted for a second time on lap 32, rejoining behind Mark Webber. This had potentially serious consequences, as the Red Bull man could easily back up the leader into his team mate. Fortunately for the Brit, he pulled an outrageous passing manoeuvere around the outside of the Aussie at Turn 2, once again giving himself a clean track ahead. Vettel's race strategy seemed certain once he had pitted just two laps later, as going a full half distance on a single set of tyres would have been highly unlikely. With Hamilton's lead now out to 15 seconds, a maiden race victory looked in the bag for the Stevenage-born man. The fight was now on for the podium places. With Raikkonen and Webber both 2-stopping, and with Grosjean now out of contention, both had a chance at 3rd, or even 2nd.
Hamilton's final pit stop, on lap 50, meant that he had a seemingly comfortable run to the line. However, Vettel's pace once the Brit had stopped, forced the Mercedes to up his game again. Taking well over a second a lap out of him, Vettel rapidly brought the gap down to 10 seconds, and left Hamilton concerned once more. Lap 56 would have been a sight for sore eyes then, as the German finally pitted. As he made his final stop, it became obvious that the intended target with those laps was not to catch Hamilton, but to avoid slipping behind Raikkonen! He rejoined a full 5 seconds behind the Lotus man, but was now on fresher tyres. Quickly reeling in the Finn, he relentlessly attempted to pass, a pass which would have handed him another vital three points in the title race. However, despite the German's best efforts, Kimi kept him at bay for the remaining laps. Up front, Hamilton, who looked to be cruising, would have had a nervy last few laps when he learnt that his team mate, Nico Rosberg, had been forced to retire with an engine problem. This capped an incredibly disappointing Sunday for Nico, who had looked on course for a podium before the first lap incidents. Fortunately for Lewis, no such problems occurred, and he took the chequered flag in Hungary by a full 10 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen, with Vettel having to settle for third.
A maiden Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton, who, after so many pole positions, has finally converted one into a race win on Sunday. A mature drive, especially considering his personal circumstances, events that have been made all too public. Predictions of Lewis coming roaring back into the title picture are perhaps a tad premature, but I see no reason why we will not see that distinctive yellow crash helmet in the winner's enclosure more often this season.
During the 'young driver' test scheduled for last week at Silverstone, Williams opted to run 30-year-old Susie Wolff, making her the first female driver to run in an official Formula 1 test for 10 years. This sparked great debate, with the BBC Sport website having only the news that a woman would be running a test at Silverstone as their F1 news on the front page. Despite what feminists across the country would have us believe, in my opinion this is a much lesser story than it has been made out to be. I do not hold the same, slightly bigoted views, of Sir Stirling Moss, that women lack the 'necessary mental attributes for Formula 1'. There are two logical reasons behind my view. Firstly, the accusations of nepotism. The fact that Susie Wolff, the Williams test driver, is married to Toto Wolff, the Executive Director of Mercedes, is suspicious enough. It becomes even more suspicious when you learn that he also holds 16% of the shares in Williams, giving him adequate sway to suggest potential test drivers.
However, argument one is irrelevant without argument two. I am a great believer that jobs should be earned on merit, meaning that the best driver gets the drives in the Formula 1 teams. I recognise that with the influx of cash and sponsors that this is often not the case, which is a shame. I also believe that positive discrimination is not 'positive' as its name suggests, but can often be as sexist and discriminatory as the alleged treatment of women in the first place. In such a competitive economy, reserving jobs for any gender, race, or ethnic group, which may result in a second-rate candidate being selected over the best, is unacceptable. The results of the Silverstone test reinforce my point. Had Susie Wolff blown the rest of the field away, setting faster times than her male counterparts, then I would absolutely say that this was newsworthy, and she would be a name to remember for the future (though the fact that she is 30 kind of makes a mockery of the 'young' part of the 'young driver test'). This would also have made my initial argument of nepotism irrelevant, as she could rightly have claimed to be there on merit. The fact remains that she was not, setting a pace a second off race driver Maldonado, and, even worse, 0.4 seconds slower than her fellow male test driver, who had less experience than herself in the same car. We do not make a massive issue of male drivers who set slower times than their male counterparts. Women say they want equality, so why should a female race driver who is slower be given any more airtime? It would be good to see a female Formula 1 driver, but when, and only when, the individual is fast enough to merit the drive.
Moving back to the events of this weekend, qualifying proved to be a major shock, based on the results from practice. Q1 gave us initial indications of the end result, with both of the Mercedes looking strong. With Vettel appearing to be off the pace, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took advantage, finishing in a strong 1/2 for the German team. Romain Grosjean, who had also looked strong in practice, finished 3rd, giving Lotus hope for a positive qualifying session. Red Bull had further problems in the shape of Mark Webber, who suffered firstly from an electrical problem, and then with a failure of the KERS system. This ensured that he would not be challenging for the pole, forcing him to withdraw from Q3. The main shock in Q1 was the disappearance of Paul di Resta. The Scot, whose team had been performing well in qualifying at the start of the season, struggled with the new Kevlar-lined Pirelli compounds, and found himself in 18th. Force India's loss was McLaren and Williams's gain. The two teams have made significant improvements since Silverstone, which we can only assume is to be attributed to a better handling of the new tyres. Q2 saw a continuation in the trend, with Mercedes once again securing a 1/2 finish, beating out the improved Vettel. Q2 will be best remember for the incredibly tight finish on the bubble at the end, with 8th to 12th all within the 1:20.5 bracket. This time, it was Sergio Perez who was the beneficiary, the Mexican fighting back from a crash in P3 to get into the top 10 for the first time this season. Q3 saw Vettel out of the traps early, to set a stunning 1:19.5, the fastest time of the day. This threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the pack. Could Mercedes respond? Rosberg crossed the line first of the pair, with his effort only good enough for 4th. But Hamilton is supreme around the Hungaroring, winning on 3 of his 6 races there. His 1:19.3 managed to beat Vettel's last-ditch attempt by 0.04 seconds to secure the most unlikely of poles. His third in a row, but could he now go and convert it into a victory?
From the lights out, Hamilton managed to navigate the opening turn without losing a place, unlike in Germany. If Mercedes thought they had had a good start, they were sadly mistaken. Rosberg ran wide at Turn 3, before clipping Massa. This saw the German tumble down the field, going from 4th to 12th in just one lap. After trading fastest laps with Vettel, Hamilton eventually managed to break the vital DRS 1 second window on lap 8, ensuring that Vettel did not have the advantage in straight line speed. Vettel's inability to catch Hamilton was dropping him back into the clutches of the impressive Grosjean, and soon the young Frenchman was on the triple-World Champion's tail. Behind that trio, the Ferraris were struggling to keep up with the pace, heaping further pressure on Alonso's title aspirations. Hamilton's lightning-fast start had appeared to catch up with him when he had to dive into the pits on lap 9 for a fresh set of tyres. Rejoining behind Button, he quickly dispatched his fellow Brit on fresher rubber the following lap. This would prove to be the most critical pass of the race.
Hamilton's early stop seemingly handed the advantage to Vettel, as it suggested that the Mercedes struggled with tyre wear. However, just two laps later, Vettel's tyres went 'off the cliff', and he was forced into the pit lane. He too, rejoined just behind McLaren's Button, except he found it far more difficult to pass the Englishman. After the first round of pit stops, the order was the same, but Vettel being held up behind Button allowed Lewis Hamilton to scamper clear at the front, and backed the Red Bull man into Grosjean, Alonso and even his teammate. Eventually, on lap 24, after 13 laps of trying, the German passed Button, but by this point Hamilton was already 11 seconds up the road. Vettel's pass left space for Grosjean, who took full advantage, only to bang wheels with the McLaren and force the Frenchman onto the escape road, cutting the chicane. This would have devastating consequences on the Lotus's race. Just a few laps later, he was handed a drive through penalty for 'exceeding the track's limits', dropping him into 8th.
With Hamilton now in clean air, he could attempt to peg the gap. However, a rampant Vettel began eating into the considerable lead, and with Hamilton still unsure about Vettel's strategy, he knew he had to keep pushing. The Mercedes man pitted for a second time on lap 32, rejoining behind Mark Webber. This had potentially serious consequences, as the Red Bull man could easily back up the leader into his team mate. Fortunately for the Brit, he pulled an outrageous passing manoeuvere around the outside of the Aussie at Turn 2, once again giving himself a clean track ahead. Vettel's race strategy seemed certain once he had pitted just two laps later, as going a full half distance on a single set of tyres would have been highly unlikely. With Hamilton's lead now out to 15 seconds, a maiden race victory looked in the bag for the Stevenage-born man. The fight was now on for the podium places. With Raikkonen and Webber both 2-stopping, and with Grosjean now out of contention, both had a chance at 3rd, or even 2nd.
Hamilton's final pit stop, on lap 50, meant that he had a seemingly comfortable run to the line. However, Vettel's pace once the Brit had stopped, forced the Mercedes to up his game again. Taking well over a second a lap out of him, Vettel rapidly brought the gap down to 10 seconds, and left Hamilton concerned once more. Lap 56 would have been a sight for sore eyes then, as the German finally pitted. As he made his final stop, it became obvious that the intended target with those laps was not to catch Hamilton, but to avoid slipping behind Raikkonen! He rejoined a full 5 seconds behind the Lotus man, but was now on fresher tyres. Quickly reeling in the Finn, he relentlessly attempted to pass, a pass which would have handed him another vital three points in the title race. However, despite the German's best efforts, Kimi kept him at bay for the remaining laps. Up front, Hamilton, who looked to be cruising, would have had a nervy last few laps when he learnt that his team mate, Nico Rosberg, had been forced to retire with an engine problem. This capped an incredibly disappointing Sunday for Nico, who had looked on course for a podium before the first lap incidents. Fortunately for Lewis, no such problems occurred, and he took the chequered flag in Hungary by a full 10 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen, with Vettel having to settle for third.
A maiden Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton, who, after so many pole positions, has finally converted one into a race win on Sunday. A mature drive, especially considering his personal circumstances, events that have been made all too public. Predictions of Lewis coming roaring back into the title picture are perhaps a tad premature, but I see no reason why we will not see that distinctive yellow crash helmet in the winner's enclosure more often this season.
Thursday, 11 July 2013
German Grand Prix 2013: Home Hero at the Nurburgring
The German Grand Prix represented the chance for many unlikely 'firsts' for several teams and drivers, as the 2013 Formula 1 season moved into its ninth race. For pole-sitters, and eventual winners of the last Grand Prix, Mercedes could claim their first home Grand Prix win since their re-introduction into the sport, somthing that the Silver Arrows craved. Similarly, both Nico Rosberg and, more surprisingly, world champion Sebastian Vettel were also looking for their inaugural victory on home soil. Of the rest of the field, the most surprising name to never win the historic race was Kimi Raikkonen. The championship contender had come within a lap of taking victory at the Nurburgring in the European Grand Prix of 2005, and had to retire from the lead of the German Grand Prix of the same year (held at Hockenheim), but had never managed to take the top step. All of these storylines led to an intriguing battle in both qualifying, and the race.
Before any racing had even begun, there was the very real possibility that there would be no racing at the circuit this last weekend. After the serious problems with the Pirelli tyres supplied at the British Grand Prix, many of the drivers stated that they would boycott the event should the problems resurface. Certainly an eventuality none in the world of F1 wanted, but an understandable conclusion, given the danger of the race at Silverstone. This meant that even more scrutiny was placed upon the tyres supplied, with Pirelli workers toiling day and night in an attempt to ensure the security of their products. As it was, there were no significant incidents in either free practice, or the qualifying. This meant that, thankfully, the race could continue undiminished.
A more positive note accompanying the Grand Prix was the Williams' milestone of 600 Grand Prix. Whilst the team have been noticeably struggling this year, failing to accrue any points from the opening 8 races, I remember many glories in my Formula 1 watching. Whilst I have not been alive long enough to see any of their world championship winning cars, there have been many memorable moments. One that springs instantly to mind are the many confrontations between Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya between 2001 and 2004. With the up-and-coming Montoya threatening to outdo his more illustrious teammate, a long-running spat developed between the two drivers. Whilst they did come to a 'working relationship', there were more than enough arguments, and more than a few collisions between the pair, that indicated there was no love lost. Another more recent moment is last year's incredible maiden victory for Pastor Maldonado at the Spanish Grand Prix. After a fortuitous pole, the Venezuelan held off the challenge from his competitors, particularly Fernando Alonso, to claim the most unlikely of victories for Sir Frank Williams and the team. A genuine giant of Formula 1, it will be a very sad day if the name Williams disappears from the sport. So here's hoping for many more memorable moments!
Back to the action of last weekend, the German Grand Prix qualifying took place in sweltering heats, with the threat of rain a distant memory. This allowed us to see the true pace of each of the cars, putting Red Bull at a distinct advantage in the earlier practice sessions. Whilst Williams were celebrating their 600th Grand Prix, a double elimination in Q1 will have done little to increase the party atmosphere in their section of the paddock. Other than the Williams, the back of the field was filled with the usual suspects, the Marussias and Caterhams. Going into Q2, the from 4th to 14th were covered by just 0.7 seconds, promising an unpredictable and entertaining session. Whilst both the Red Bulls and the Mercedes had managed to make it into Q2 using just the harder tyres, the rest of the pack were not guaranteed such an easy ride. The big shock of Q2 involved the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Despite being tipped to contest the pole position, the German side failed to accurately anticipate the cut-off time, dropping Rosberg into 11th, and out of the session. The main losers of the second session were Force India, who after a couple of promising qualifying sessions, failed to get either of their drivers into the top 10, finished 12th and 15th. The main beneficiaries were McLaren, getting Button into the top 10, and Toro Rosso, with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to stake his claim to take over from Mark Webber at the parent team at the end of the year. Into the final session, the consensus around the paddock was for a Vettel pole, if not a front row lock-out for the Red Bulls. However, Lewis Hamilton threatened to derail the charge when he popped his Mercedes in front of the Red Bulls after the first round of lap times. Vettel responded, going to the top of the leaderboard as the chequered flag dropped. But Hamilton was still on a lap, and the Mercedes driver shocked everyone to beat Vettel by nearly 2 tenths.
After their success at Silverstone, everyone expected the Mercedes to be competitive in the race. And starting on pole at a circuit where they appeared to be on the back foot looked ominous for the rest of the grid. However, their dreams of controlling the race from the front went up in smoke as Hamilton was overtaken by both of the Red Bulls by the end of the first corner. Ferrari's low-key afternoon continued, with Felipe Massa spinning out of the race after just 4 laps. It is unclear whether it was a mechanical failure or a simple driver error, but it capped a fairly poor weekend for the Brazilian. Unfortunately, the main two talking points of the race were not for racing incidents. The first, and most serious, happened at the first round of pit stops. Mark Webber entered the pits on lap 9, for a routine stop as the soft tyres began to 'go off'. Due to the desire for a quick stop, sometimes the tyres are not quite fastened on correctly, as either human or mechanical error does sometimes occur. Usually, these errors are spotted and the driver is stopped as he leaves the pitlane. Unfortunately, in this case, Webber's tyre was so unsecurely fastened that it flew off as he left his box, causing mechanics to scamper out of the way and catching a FOA cameraman square in the chest. This comes as a stark reminder that F1 is a dangerous sport for more than just the driver. I wish the cameraman a speedy recovery, and I hope to see less incidents like this in the future.
Despite the incident, Webber was able to continue, albeit at the back of the field. After a few laps in which Lewis Hamilton fell back behind Raikkonen and struggled to keep Alonso at bay, the second talking point occurred. A routine engine failure on lap 25 turned into a nightmare, as Marussia's Bianchi pulled off to the side of the track. After a few flames and a lot of smoke, the drama had seemingly ended. That was until the car began rolling backwards across the track! At least there was no oncoming traffic to collide with the out of control Marussia, which would have made the situation far more serious. The safety car was deployed to deal with the incident, and when the race restarted, the two Lotuses began heavily pressurising the leader Vettel. When Grosjean pulled in for his second and final stop a few laps later, Red Bull's response was instant. They pulled Vettel in the next lap, ensuring that he rejoined in front of the Lotus. All eyes then turned to Kimi Raikkonen, who remained on track, worrying the Red Bull garage that he planned to one-stop. As each lap passed, the mood became ever more tense. Unfortunately for the Lotus team, 50 laps is all Raikkonen could manage on the tyres. However, his change to the soft tyres promised a nervous last 10 laps, as Kimi could now go a full second faster than his teammate and Vettel in front. Alonso too took that gamble, hoping to chase down the Lotuses for the podium.
The change in speed was instant. Both Raikkonen and Alonso began reeling in the front two very quickly, with Grosjean eventually moving out of his teammate's way to allow Kimi to chase down the race leader. Further down the field, Williams's 600th Grand Prix ended in disappointment, as an epically slow stop prevented Pastor Maldonado from claiming their first points of the season. An incredibly poor season so far from the veteran team, who need to improve in the second half if they are to challenge for the top 10. As we moved into the final lap, we were promised a showdown, with both the race win and the final podium spot up for grabs. It seemed it was destined to come down to the final DRS zones of the race. However, in both cases, they ran out of time. This meant that Sebastian Vettel took his first victory on home soil, and the 30th win of his career. Raikkonen maintained his incredible scoring run, and Grosjean took an encouraging podium, hoping to kickstart his Formula 1 career after a difficult first season. Alonso had to settle for 4th, pushing him even further behind the overall championship lead. After a promising qualifying, Hamilton and Mercedes faded, finishing 5th after a brief resurgence to overtake Jenson Button on the last lap. But the day belonged to hometown hero Vettel, who now takes an increasingly healthy lead into the second half of the season, knowing that the title is now his to lose.
Before any racing had even begun, there was the very real possibility that there would be no racing at the circuit this last weekend. After the serious problems with the Pirelli tyres supplied at the British Grand Prix, many of the drivers stated that they would boycott the event should the problems resurface. Certainly an eventuality none in the world of F1 wanted, but an understandable conclusion, given the danger of the race at Silverstone. This meant that even more scrutiny was placed upon the tyres supplied, with Pirelli workers toiling day and night in an attempt to ensure the security of their products. As it was, there were no significant incidents in either free practice, or the qualifying. This meant that, thankfully, the race could continue undiminished.
A more positive note accompanying the Grand Prix was the Williams' milestone of 600 Grand Prix. Whilst the team have been noticeably struggling this year, failing to accrue any points from the opening 8 races, I remember many glories in my Formula 1 watching. Whilst I have not been alive long enough to see any of their world championship winning cars, there have been many memorable moments. One that springs instantly to mind are the many confrontations between Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya between 2001 and 2004. With the up-and-coming Montoya threatening to outdo his more illustrious teammate, a long-running spat developed between the two drivers. Whilst they did come to a 'working relationship', there were more than enough arguments, and more than a few collisions between the pair, that indicated there was no love lost. Another more recent moment is last year's incredible maiden victory for Pastor Maldonado at the Spanish Grand Prix. After a fortuitous pole, the Venezuelan held off the challenge from his competitors, particularly Fernando Alonso, to claim the most unlikely of victories for Sir Frank Williams and the team. A genuine giant of Formula 1, it will be a very sad day if the name Williams disappears from the sport. So here's hoping for many more memorable moments!
Back to the action of last weekend, the German Grand Prix qualifying took place in sweltering heats, with the threat of rain a distant memory. This allowed us to see the true pace of each of the cars, putting Red Bull at a distinct advantage in the earlier practice sessions. Whilst Williams were celebrating their 600th Grand Prix, a double elimination in Q1 will have done little to increase the party atmosphere in their section of the paddock. Other than the Williams, the back of the field was filled with the usual suspects, the Marussias and Caterhams. Going into Q2, the from 4th to 14th were covered by just 0.7 seconds, promising an unpredictable and entertaining session. Whilst both the Red Bulls and the Mercedes had managed to make it into Q2 using just the harder tyres, the rest of the pack were not guaranteed such an easy ride. The big shock of Q2 involved the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Despite being tipped to contest the pole position, the German side failed to accurately anticipate the cut-off time, dropping Rosberg into 11th, and out of the session. The main losers of the second session were Force India, who after a couple of promising qualifying sessions, failed to get either of their drivers into the top 10, finished 12th and 15th. The main beneficiaries were McLaren, getting Button into the top 10, and Toro Rosso, with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to stake his claim to take over from Mark Webber at the parent team at the end of the year. Into the final session, the consensus around the paddock was for a Vettel pole, if not a front row lock-out for the Red Bulls. However, Lewis Hamilton threatened to derail the charge when he popped his Mercedes in front of the Red Bulls after the first round of lap times. Vettel responded, going to the top of the leaderboard as the chequered flag dropped. But Hamilton was still on a lap, and the Mercedes driver shocked everyone to beat Vettel by nearly 2 tenths.
After their success at Silverstone, everyone expected the Mercedes to be competitive in the race. And starting on pole at a circuit where they appeared to be on the back foot looked ominous for the rest of the grid. However, their dreams of controlling the race from the front went up in smoke as Hamilton was overtaken by both of the Red Bulls by the end of the first corner. Ferrari's low-key afternoon continued, with Felipe Massa spinning out of the race after just 4 laps. It is unclear whether it was a mechanical failure or a simple driver error, but it capped a fairly poor weekend for the Brazilian. Unfortunately, the main two talking points of the race were not for racing incidents. The first, and most serious, happened at the first round of pit stops. Mark Webber entered the pits on lap 9, for a routine stop as the soft tyres began to 'go off'. Due to the desire for a quick stop, sometimes the tyres are not quite fastened on correctly, as either human or mechanical error does sometimes occur. Usually, these errors are spotted and the driver is stopped as he leaves the pitlane. Unfortunately, in this case, Webber's tyre was so unsecurely fastened that it flew off as he left his box, causing mechanics to scamper out of the way and catching a FOA cameraman square in the chest. This comes as a stark reminder that F1 is a dangerous sport for more than just the driver. I wish the cameraman a speedy recovery, and I hope to see less incidents like this in the future.
Despite the incident, Webber was able to continue, albeit at the back of the field. After a few laps in which Lewis Hamilton fell back behind Raikkonen and struggled to keep Alonso at bay, the second talking point occurred. A routine engine failure on lap 25 turned into a nightmare, as Marussia's Bianchi pulled off to the side of the track. After a few flames and a lot of smoke, the drama had seemingly ended. That was until the car began rolling backwards across the track! At least there was no oncoming traffic to collide with the out of control Marussia, which would have made the situation far more serious. The safety car was deployed to deal with the incident, and when the race restarted, the two Lotuses began heavily pressurising the leader Vettel. When Grosjean pulled in for his second and final stop a few laps later, Red Bull's response was instant. They pulled Vettel in the next lap, ensuring that he rejoined in front of the Lotus. All eyes then turned to Kimi Raikkonen, who remained on track, worrying the Red Bull garage that he planned to one-stop. As each lap passed, the mood became ever more tense. Unfortunately for the Lotus team, 50 laps is all Raikkonen could manage on the tyres. However, his change to the soft tyres promised a nervous last 10 laps, as Kimi could now go a full second faster than his teammate and Vettel in front. Alonso too took that gamble, hoping to chase down the Lotuses for the podium.
The change in speed was instant. Both Raikkonen and Alonso began reeling in the front two very quickly, with Grosjean eventually moving out of his teammate's way to allow Kimi to chase down the race leader. Further down the field, Williams's 600th Grand Prix ended in disappointment, as an epically slow stop prevented Pastor Maldonado from claiming their first points of the season. An incredibly poor season so far from the veteran team, who need to improve in the second half if they are to challenge for the top 10. As we moved into the final lap, we were promised a showdown, with both the race win and the final podium spot up for grabs. It seemed it was destined to come down to the final DRS zones of the race. However, in both cases, they ran out of time. This meant that Sebastian Vettel took his first victory on home soil, and the 30th win of his career. Raikkonen maintained his incredible scoring run, and Grosjean took an encouraging podium, hoping to kickstart his Formula 1 career after a difficult first season. Alonso had to settle for 4th, pushing him even further behind the overall championship lead. After a promising qualifying, Hamilton and Mercedes faded, finishing 5th after a brief resurgence to overtake Jenson Button on the last lap. But the day belonged to hometown hero Vettel, who now takes an increasingly healthy lead into the second half of the season, knowing that the title is now his to lose.
Monday, 1 July 2013
2013 British Grand Prix: When Will The Tyres Get Sorted?
The 2013 Formula 1 season is in full flow, as the roadshow moves onto British soil. The home grand prix of 4 drivers in the field, and home to the owner of the entire franchise. After years of turbulence between the governing body and Silverstone, racing fans will be pleased to see the grand old track claim its rightful place on the Grand Prix calendar. In contrast, a name we will soon see disappearing from Formula 1 is, sadly, Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who announced his retirement from the end of the season before one of his favourite races. The feisty but likeable Aussie will be sorely missed from the paddock, but conspiracy theories have begun emerging that this was a case of 'jump before he was pushed', as his relationship with the World Champion Sebastian Vettel has deteriorated in recent months. With Red Bull inevitably plumping for their three-time World Champion, Webber has arguably been cast out into the cold by Christian Horner after 7 years of loyal service.
With this news initially detracting from the build-up to the British Grand Prix, thoughts were transferred back onto the job in hand for qualifying. With the early favourites in practice being the traditional one-lap specialist Mercedes cars, it was Ferrari who found themselves lacking in pace in the early stages, with Felipe Massa nearly failing to make it out of Q1. As it finished, it was the usual suspects who ended the first session at the bottom, with home debutant Max Chilton finishing at the back, a full 1.7 seconds behind his teammate. Q2 saw further woe for the usually big teams, as Felipe Massa could only manage 12th. McLaren also struggled, with neither of their cars able to make the top 10 shootout. This time, Britain's Jenson Button outqualified his Mexican counterpart, with 11th the best he could manage. Q3 was all about the battle between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes, with the resurgent Austrian team fighting back against the Silver Arrows' dominance in Q2. However, the Germans were not to be denied, completing a lock-out of the front row. To the home support's delight, it was Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton who took pole, with a scintillating lap. The question now, though, was could Mercedes translate their qualifying pace into race pace?
Even before the start of the race, there was further controversy and heartbreak, with Britain's Paul di Resta being disqualified from his all-time highest qualifying position of 5th, for performing in an underweight car. This meant that he cascaded to the back of the grid. A silly mistake from the Force India team, and one that threatened the Scot's chances of a good points haul on the Sunday. The race itself began equally eventfully. A first corner incident between Webber and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean forced the Red Bull driver off track and way down the field. Back up front, Lewis Hamilton and Vettel began trading fastest laps, with the Mercedes man eventually breaking free of the vital DRS activation point of 1 second. With Hamilton's lap times comparable with Vettel's, the question began to be asked whether the Mercedes had developed a race winning car. Unfortunately for the British driver, disaster then struck. He suffered a left rear tyre failure mid way through lap 8, forcing him to limp back to the pits, costing him bags of time, and any chance of winning the race.
With Hamilton's demise, Force India's disappointment the previous day was beginning to be recified by the achievements of Adrian Sutil, who moved into the final podium position. The racing was brought to a shuddering halt just two laps after Hamilton's incident, as Felipe Massa also exited the track courtesy of a left rear tyre failure. Just 5 laps later, in almost exactly the same part of the track, John-Eric Vergne suffered a left rear tyre failure. With three such similar incidents in quick succession, concerns were once again raised over the condition of the Pirelli tyres. With the recent controversy over the Italian manufacturers, they can ill-afford this type of debacle. Whilst spokesmen for the tyre supplier claimed it was more to do with the kerbs at Silverstone than the tyres, these claims fell on deaf ears, with a full inquiry to be held in the future days. After these incidents, the safety car was deployed as sweepers were used in an attempt to clear the track of any debris. When racing eventually resumed on lap 21, Vettel scampered away at the front, eventually taking a lead of 3.2 seconds before his second, and final, pit stop of the afternoon.
Further down the field, the action was coming thick and fast. Brits Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta found themselves locked in an enthralling battle for the 7th place, with the Mercedes driver beginning to make his way back through the field. With both Alonso, and Raikkonen, coming through after their second pit-stops, Hamilton attacked the Force India, only to fall back behind the chasing pair in successive corners. Back up front, Nico Rosberg made his second pit stop before Vettel, in an attempt to undercut his rival. Advantage Mercedes? The Red Bull mechanics instantly recalculated, bringing their man in the following lap to cover off the Rosberg threat. Vettel rejoined 3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes, with the race now his to lose.
Then lap 42 threw the race, and arguably the championship, back into the balance. After a few laps of Rosberg gaining on the triple World Champion, Vettel's Red Bull coasted to a halt, with a gearbox problem ending the leader's Grand Prix, and opening the door for his title contenders. The fact that this was the first time the championship leader had failed to finish anything lower than 4th this year, and the fact that this was the German's first retirement since Italy of the previous year says a lot for the consistency of the Red Bull, clearly illustrating the bedrock upon which Vettel's success has been built. With the safety car once again being deployed, race leader Rosberg used his 13 second advantage to make a precautionary pit-stop, leaving him on fresher tyres to complete the final few laps. Once Vettel's stricken car was removed from the racing line, the contest could begin again. However, after nearly 50 laps without tyre controversy, Sergio Perez's left rear also let go on lap 46, causing further worries of another safety car period. Fortunately, the carcass was cleared quickly, and racing could continue.
Immediately after the restart, it was clear that Mark Webber had not given up on his chances of, at least, a podium finish. He began cutting through the field, dispatching Ricciardo and Sutil, before a stunning pass on Kimi Raikkonen secured the Aussie 2nd place. Could he now catch Rosberg for the most unlikely of wins? Similar movements were going on behind, with Alonso and Hamilton also making late dashes through the field. From 8th and 9th places at the race restart, the pair finished in a remarkable 3rd and 4th place respectively, overtaking 5 cars each in 6 laps. Just up the road, Webber was closing in on Rosberg, getting the gap down as low as 0.7 of a second. This was going to come down to a final corner finish. Unfortunately for the Aussie, he had perhaps one lap too few, running out of time, and having to settle for 2nd place. Whilst the fairytale send-off from Silverstone will not happen, he can nevertheless be extremely proud of a tremendous drive, on a day where, for once, he got the better of Sebastian Vettel.
The events of yesterday has heaped further doubt onto the reliability of the Pirelli tyres, with many in the FIA undoubtedly questioning whether it they are more trouble than they are worth. I would not at all be surprised if we saw a switch back to the Bridgestones or Michelins of yesteryear in the very near future, as Pirelli have demonstrated they cannot be trusted. As for the title race, whether yesterday was a blip or the beginnings of a collapse or reliability issue cannot be decided in one race. The next few races will certainly be interesting, as it now gives those around Red Bull hope that they can push their cars into failure.
With this news initially detracting from the build-up to the British Grand Prix, thoughts were transferred back onto the job in hand for qualifying. With the early favourites in practice being the traditional one-lap specialist Mercedes cars, it was Ferrari who found themselves lacking in pace in the early stages, with Felipe Massa nearly failing to make it out of Q1. As it finished, it was the usual suspects who ended the first session at the bottom, with home debutant Max Chilton finishing at the back, a full 1.7 seconds behind his teammate. Q2 saw further woe for the usually big teams, as Felipe Massa could only manage 12th. McLaren also struggled, with neither of their cars able to make the top 10 shootout. This time, Britain's Jenson Button outqualified his Mexican counterpart, with 11th the best he could manage. Q3 was all about the battle between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes, with the resurgent Austrian team fighting back against the Silver Arrows' dominance in Q2. However, the Germans were not to be denied, completing a lock-out of the front row. To the home support's delight, it was Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton who took pole, with a scintillating lap. The question now, though, was could Mercedes translate their qualifying pace into race pace?
Even before the start of the race, there was further controversy and heartbreak, with Britain's Paul di Resta being disqualified from his all-time highest qualifying position of 5th, for performing in an underweight car. This meant that he cascaded to the back of the grid. A silly mistake from the Force India team, and one that threatened the Scot's chances of a good points haul on the Sunday. The race itself began equally eventfully. A first corner incident between Webber and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean forced the Red Bull driver off track and way down the field. Back up front, Lewis Hamilton and Vettel began trading fastest laps, with the Mercedes man eventually breaking free of the vital DRS activation point of 1 second. With Hamilton's lap times comparable with Vettel's, the question began to be asked whether the Mercedes had developed a race winning car. Unfortunately for the British driver, disaster then struck. He suffered a left rear tyre failure mid way through lap 8, forcing him to limp back to the pits, costing him bags of time, and any chance of winning the race.
With Hamilton's demise, Force India's disappointment the previous day was beginning to be recified by the achievements of Adrian Sutil, who moved into the final podium position. The racing was brought to a shuddering halt just two laps after Hamilton's incident, as Felipe Massa also exited the track courtesy of a left rear tyre failure. Just 5 laps later, in almost exactly the same part of the track, John-Eric Vergne suffered a left rear tyre failure. With three such similar incidents in quick succession, concerns were once again raised over the condition of the Pirelli tyres. With the recent controversy over the Italian manufacturers, they can ill-afford this type of debacle. Whilst spokesmen for the tyre supplier claimed it was more to do with the kerbs at Silverstone than the tyres, these claims fell on deaf ears, with a full inquiry to be held in the future days. After these incidents, the safety car was deployed as sweepers were used in an attempt to clear the track of any debris. When racing eventually resumed on lap 21, Vettel scampered away at the front, eventually taking a lead of 3.2 seconds before his second, and final, pit stop of the afternoon.
Further down the field, the action was coming thick and fast. Brits Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta found themselves locked in an enthralling battle for the 7th place, with the Mercedes driver beginning to make his way back through the field. With both Alonso, and Raikkonen, coming through after their second pit-stops, Hamilton attacked the Force India, only to fall back behind the chasing pair in successive corners. Back up front, Nico Rosberg made his second pit stop before Vettel, in an attempt to undercut his rival. Advantage Mercedes? The Red Bull mechanics instantly recalculated, bringing their man in the following lap to cover off the Rosberg threat. Vettel rejoined 3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes, with the race now his to lose.
Then lap 42 threw the race, and arguably the championship, back into the balance. After a few laps of Rosberg gaining on the triple World Champion, Vettel's Red Bull coasted to a halt, with a gearbox problem ending the leader's Grand Prix, and opening the door for his title contenders. The fact that this was the first time the championship leader had failed to finish anything lower than 4th this year, and the fact that this was the German's first retirement since Italy of the previous year says a lot for the consistency of the Red Bull, clearly illustrating the bedrock upon which Vettel's success has been built. With the safety car once again being deployed, race leader Rosberg used his 13 second advantage to make a precautionary pit-stop, leaving him on fresher tyres to complete the final few laps. Once Vettel's stricken car was removed from the racing line, the contest could begin again. However, after nearly 50 laps without tyre controversy, Sergio Perez's left rear also let go on lap 46, causing further worries of another safety car period. Fortunately, the carcass was cleared quickly, and racing could continue.
Immediately after the restart, it was clear that Mark Webber had not given up on his chances of, at least, a podium finish. He began cutting through the field, dispatching Ricciardo and Sutil, before a stunning pass on Kimi Raikkonen secured the Aussie 2nd place. Could he now catch Rosberg for the most unlikely of wins? Similar movements were going on behind, with Alonso and Hamilton also making late dashes through the field. From 8th and 9th places at the race restart, the pair finished in a remarkable 3rd and 4th place respectively, overtaking 5 cars each in 6 laps. Just up the road, Webber was closing in on Rosberg, getting the gap down as low as 0.7 of a second. This was going to come down to a final corner finish. Unfortunately for the Aussie, he had perhaps one lap too few, running out of time, and having to settle for 2nd place. Whilst the fairytale send-off from Silverstone will not happen, he can nevertheless be extremely proud of a tremendous drive, on a day where, for once, he got the better of Sebastian Vettel.
The events of yesterday has heaped further doubt onto the reliability of the Pirelli tyres, with many in the FIA undoubtedly questioning whether it they are more trouble than they are worth. I would not at all be surprised if we saw a switch back to the Bridgestones or Michelins of yesteryear in the very near future, as Pirelli have demonstrated they cannot be trusted. As for the title race, whether yesterday was a blip or the beginnings of a collapse or reliability issue cannot be decided in one race. The next few races will certainly be interesting, as it now gives those around Red Bull hope that they can push their cars into failure.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
The 2013 Canadian Grand Prix: Is The Vettel Dominance Ominous?
The F1 season took a break from Europe to take a trip across the Atlantic to Canada this week for the seventh race of 2013. With the current standings in the World Championship beginning to favour triple and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, a victory for the German would begin to see him move ominously away from the chasing pack. With Mercedes chasing a fifth successive pole position, and the German chasing his third successive pole at Montreal, qualifying seemed a mouth-watering prospect. In terms of the race, Lewis Hamilton has always loved the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, taking his first ever victory there, and a three time winner, promising to claim his first victory as a Mercedes driver. In qualifying, these two protagonists took centre stage.
Qualifying, like last time out in Monaco, was thrust into chaos with the introduction of rain throughout the Saturday. This meant that the entirety was undertaken on the intermediate tyre, with initial slick tyre forays onto the track by Felipe Massa and Gilles Bianchi ending in spins and slides. Even with the wetter weather tyres, oversteer and drifting was common, leading to an unpredictable first qualifying session. Like Monaco, it was Force India's Paul di Resta who bore the brunt of the track increasing in pace as the session went on, being eliminated in 18th place. A bitter disappointment for the Scot, who was similarly unhappy on the radio two weeks ago. Q2 saw more improvement in the weather, leading to an ever improving track condition, however no-one dared risk the move to slick tyres. This once again meant a dash to be last over the line, thereby gaining the best track condition. More similarities to Monaco occurred in this session also, with Massa crashing off in the early part of the lap, leaving the Ferrari languishing in 16th place, and a real struggle to gain any serious points. The final section of qualifying was once again interrupted by rain, with firstly Hamilton, and then Vettel hitting the sweet spot and lighting the timing screens purple. With a late flurry of rain, it was the German who took his third consecutive pole in Canada, denying the Mercedes team. The real winner of qualifying, however, was Williams's Valtteri Bottas. Williams, beginning the seventh race of the season with 0 points, have a driver starting on the second row, with an impressive 3rd place finish. I doubt they will have a better chance to pick up points this season.
The two big DRS zones at the end and beginning of each lap seemed to suggest that we were in for a race of many overtaking manoeuvers. And so it proved. From the very beginning, although Vettel scampered off into the distance, leading by 2.8 seconds after just 2 laps, the midfield squabbled throughout the afternoon. Bottas, after his tremendous qualifying show yesterday, suffered the worst possible start, dropping three places in the opening lap, immediately putting his hopes for points in jeopardy. The Finn's early laps failed to get any easier, with Adrian Sutil spinning in an attempt to overtake the Williams driver on lap 6, forcing those immediately behind to take evasive action onto the grass at turn 3. The midfield switches seemed set to continue in the early stages, with the Ferrari of Massa and both Lotuses attempting to make their way through the field, meaning that overtaking was commonplace. Up front, even Sebastian Vettel was not having an undramatic beginning to the Grand Prix, coming dangerously close to wiping himself out of the race on lap ten, brushing the wall at turn 3, being lucky to avoid breaking an element of the suspension.
Moving towards the mid-part of the race, Vettel continued to stretch the gap back to Lewis Hamilton, eventually giving him a full pit stop advantage over the Mercedes driver. The initial round of stops began on lap 13, where pit stop strategies began to become evident. The majority of the top drivers seemed to be on a firm 2 stop strategy, meaning that the top few places were pretty much nailed on, but for the minor points place, drivers like Button, Raikkonen, di Resta and Grosjean all attempting the more risky one stop strategy to maximise their rewards. The overtaking remained relentless, with an intriguing scrap evolving for the final podium position between Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. The Mercedes certainly looked like he was backing up the quicker two drivers, and this pace eventually told, with the German losing two places in two corners, and then continued to fall away. The fight between Webber and Alonso continued for many laps, with the Aussie seemingly maintaining the gap. However, a collision when attempting a routine pass on backmarker Guido van der Garde allowed the Spaniard to close right up again, and cost the Red Bull driver part of his front wing. Eventually this, combined with wearing tyres, told, with Alonso passing Webber on lap 42 to assume the 3rd place position.
With the first position practically sewn up by half distance, the attention turned to the battle for the final podium positions, with Alonso closing in quickly on Hamilton. Having caught him by lap 60, an enthralling few laps ensued. Hamilton suffered behind the lapped traffic, allowing Fernando to overtake the Mercedes man on lap 63, albeit with a bit of contact. The Brit did not give up his place easily, challenging Alonso repeatedly for the place back. Further behind also remained interesting to the finish. Most notably, an incredible run from Paul di Resta, as he remained on the tyres on which he began the race until lap 57, meaning that he was the only one-stopper that did not have to worry about tyres come the end of the race and gave him a great chance of scoring points. Despite starting in a promising 3rd place, Valtteri Bottas failed to claim Williams's first points of the season, finishing in a disappointing 14th.
In complete contrast to the midfield action, Sebastian Vettel strolled to a 15 second victory over Fernando Alonso, leading all but one race laps. He finished a full 70 seconds ahead of 5th placed man Nico Rosberg, and lapped the rest of the field, in a devastating show of dominance. After a fantastic first stint, di Resta got his reward with a seventh place finish, with Toro Rosso's John Eric-Vergne taking an impressive 6th. Kimi Raikkonen continued his incredible record of scoring in consecutive races with a 9th place finish, leaving him level on points with Michael Schumacher's record of 24, and all eyes will be on the Finn in the next race. The day belonged to Vettel, however, with his dominant display firing a warning shot across the bows of his championship contenders, laying down the gauntlet for the rest of the campaign.
Qualifying, like last time out in Monaco, was thrust into chaos with the introduction of rain throughout the Saturday. This meant that the entirety was undertaken on the intermediate tyre, with initial slick tyre forays onto the track by Felipe Massa and Gilles Bianchi ending in spins and slides. Even with the wetter weather tyres, oversteer and drifting was common, leading to an unpredictable first qualifying session. Like Monaco, it was Force India's Paul di Resta who bore the brunt of the track increasing in pace as the session went on, being eliminated in 18th place. A bitter disappointment for the Scot, who was similarly unhappy on the radio two weeks ago. Q2 saw more improvement in the weather, leading to an ever improving track condition, however no-one dared risk the move to slick tyres. This once again meant a dash to be last over the line, thereby gaining the best track condition. More similarities to Monaco occurred in this session also, with Massa crashing off in the early part of the lap, leaving the Ferrari languishing in 16th place, and a real struggle to gain any serious points. The final section of qualifying was once again interrupted by rain, with firstly Hamilton, and then Vettel hitting the sweet spot and lighting the timing screens purple. With a late flurry of rain, it was the German who took his third consecutive pole in Canada, denying the Mercedes team. The real winner of qualifying, however, was Williams's Valtteri Bottas. Williams, beginning the seventh race of the season with 0 points, have a driver starting on the second row, with an impressive 3rd place finish. I doubt they will have a better chance to pick up points this season.
The two big DRS zones at the end and beginning of each lap seemed to suggest that we were in for a race of many overtaking manoeuvers. And so it proved. From the very beginning, although Vettel scampered off into the distance, leading by 2.8 seconds after just 2 laps, the midfield squabbled throughout the afternoon. Bottas, after his tremendous qualifying show yesterday, suffered the worst possible start, dropping three places in the opening lap, immediately putting his hopes for points in jeopardy. The Finn's early laps failed to get any easier, with Adrian Sutil spinning in an attempt to overtake the Williams driver on lap 6, forcing those immediately behind to take evasive action onto the grass at turn 3. The midfield switches seemed set to continue in the early stages, with the Ferrari of Massa and both Lotuses attempting to make their way through the field, meaning that overtaking was commonplace. Up front, even Sebastian Vettel was not having an undramatic beginning to the Grand Prix, coming dangerously close to wiping himself out of the race on lap ten, brushing the wall at turn 3, being lucky to avoid breaking an element of the suspension.
Moving towards the mid-part of the race, Vettel continued to stretch the gap back to Lewis Hamilton, eventually giving him a full pit stop advantage over the Mercedes driver. The initial round of stops began on lap 13, where pit stop strategies began to become evident. The majority of the top drivers seemed to be on a firm 2 stop strategy, meaning that the top few places were pretty much nailed on, but for the minor points place, drivers like Button, Raikkonen, di Resta and Grosjean all attempting the more risky one stop strategy to maximise their rewards. The overtaking remained relentless, with an intriguing scrap evolving for the final podium position between Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. The Mercedes certainly looked like he was backing up the quicker two drivers, and this pace eventually told, with the German losing two places in two corners, and then continued to fall away. The fight between Webber and Alonso continued for many laps, with the Aussie seemingly maintaining the gap. However, a collision when attempting a routine pass on backmarker Guido van der Garde allowed the Spaniard to close right up again, and cost the Red Bull driver part of his front wing. Eventually this, combined with wearing tyres, told, with Alonso passing Webber on lap 42 to assume the 3rd place position.
With the first position practically sewn up by half distance, the attention turned to the battle for the final podium positions, with Alonso closing in quickly on Hamilton. Having caught him by lap 60, an enthralling few laps ensued. Hamilton suffered behind the lapped traffic, allowing Fernando to overtake the Mercedes man on lap 63, albeit with a bit of contact. The Brit did not give up his place easily, challenging Alonso repeatedly for the place back. Further behind also remained interesting to the finish. Most notably, an incredible run from Paul di Resta, as he remained on the tyres on which he began the race until lap 57, meaning that he was the only one-stopper that did not have to worry about tyres come the end of the race and gave him a great chance of scoring points. Despite starting in a promising 3rd place, Valtteri Bottas failed to claim Williams's first points of the season, finishing in a disappointing 14th.
In complete contrast to the midfield action, Sebastian Vettel strolled to a 15 second victory over Fernando Alonso, leading all but one race laps. He finished a full 70 seconds ahead of 5th placed man Nico Rosberg, and lapped the rest of the field, in a devastating show of dominance. After a fantastic first stint, di Resta got his reward with a seventh place finish, with Toro Rosso's John Eric-Vergne taking an impressive 6th. Kimi Raikkonen continued his incredible record of scoring in consecutive races with a 9th place finish, leaving him level on points with Michael Schumacher's record of 24, and all eyes will be on the Finn in the next race. The day belonged to Vettel, however, with his dominant display firing a warning shot across the bows of his championship contenders, laying down the gauntlet for the rest of the campaign.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Mercedes Finally Manage The Tyres?
The Monaco
Grand Prix, the most historic and glamorous F1 race on the calendar, is always
set on the backdrop of vast wealth, with yachts and diamonds as far as the eye
can see. Underneath all the materialism, a serious Formula 1 race takes place
on the streets of Monte Carlo. Historically, McLaren are the most successful
team around this famous circuit, but come to Monaco with a vastly inferior car
than the team are used to. Red Bull and Ferrari have shared the majority of the
race victories so far this season, with Kimi Raikkonen the only other man to
win a Grand Prix outside these two constructors. Mercedes have promised much in
qualifying, but have too often failed to deliver when the lights go out. In
Monaco, where qualifying is of utmost importance, Mercedes had another chance
to rectify this problem. However, even before the event started, the team was
embroiled in controversy.
Mercedes, on
the Saturday, were the subject of a Ferrari and Red Bull protest, accusing them
of doing illegal testing. Pirelli, the F1 tyre supplier, used the Mercedes team
to a tyre test between the Spanish and Monaco grand prix. As in-season testing
is illegal in F1, the other top teams are now accusing the German constructors
of attempting to gain an unfair advantage with the tyres. In defence of
Mercedes, Pirelli made a statement, suggesting that they had a contract with
the FIA, which allows the Italian suppliers to ‘limited testing’. This debate
overshadowed the events of the race, as the dispute was to be determined after
the event.
In practice
session 3 (P3), the first real drama of the weekend on track unfolded, with
carnage being the best adjective. Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean and Adrian
Sutil all had significant impacts with the vicious Monaco barriers, with the
Brazilian needing all four corners of his car replacing. This meant that he was
unable to complete a qualifying lap, meaning that he would start from the very
back of the grid. For a grand prix track like Monaco, this is a virtual death
sentence in terms of points. With overtaking so difficult, any mistakes can
prove pivotal for the whole weekend. Such mistakes got even more likely in
qualifying.
Saturday
morning broke with drizzle and rain hanging overhead, making track conditions
even more perilous, and room for driver error even lower. Q1 saw havoc, as the
changeable weather conditions saw all of the drivers out early to set banker
laps, with the genuine possibility that any of the top runners could fall. The
ever improving track conditions meant that the times tumbled towards the end of
the session, leaving Paul di Resta the big name casualty in Q1. Caterham’s
Guido van der Garde, on the other hand, was the primary beneficiary,
progressing from Q1 for the first time in his career. Q2, on a drying track
proved just as difficult for the drivers, as the switch to slick tyres seemed
imminent but a wrong decision could cost you a place in the top 10. Despite the
confusion, the only big name casualty from Q2 was Lotus driver Romain Grosjean.
Fernando Alonso had looked like he was in trouble, but a good decision on tyres
got him out of danger, and comfortably into Q3. Q3 was undertaken with the
track practically bone dry, and the super soft tyres made their first proper
appearance. This left Mercedes, and Nico Rosberg, to take their 4th
and 3rd consecutive pole positions respectively. Even more
importantly for the German constructors, Lewis Hamilton managed to put his car
alongside Rosberg’s, giving Mercedes a first row lockout. A priceless
achievement, with overtaking so difficult in Monaco, it allowed Mercedes to
control the race pace.
The start of
the race was typically chaotic, with cars attempting to go three abreast
through what would ordinarily be a single file corner. Sebastian Vettel,
knowing the importance of splitting the Mercedes drivers, started pressurising
Hamilton intensely, giving the Brit a mirror full of Red Bull. However, he
found it difficult to pass, allowing Rosberg to begin scampering away at the
front. Further down the field, collisions between Pastor Maldonado and Guido
van der Garde wrecked the pair’s race, and gave an indication of what was to
come. The two McLaren drivers, after a dressing down post-Bahrain, continued to
squabble, with Jenson Button’s ire all too evident over the radio. After the
initial jostling for position, it became ever more obvious that this was to be
a strategic race, meaning that whoever managed the tyres best would win, with
the Mercedes being traditionally poor at this.
Felipe Massa’s
weekend then went from bad to worse on lap 31, with the Brazilian involved in a
carbon copy of his P3 crash, putting him out of the race, and into the hospital
for checks. This brought the safety car out, eliminating Nico Rosberg’s lead,
and allowing the Red Bulls to jump Lewis Hamilton in the stops, giving them the
perfect opportunity to attack the race leader. However, after a long safety car
period, it looked like the Mercedes’ tyres were in better shape than their
Austrian counterparts, enabling Nico Rosberg to escape once more, and put
Hamilton on the rear wing of Webber. Once again, due to the largely ineffectual
DRS zone into St Devote, positions were maintained, meaning that up to half
distance, Hamilton had to look at the rear wing of the Aussie’s Red Bull. Then,
in a very crash-heavy Grand Prix, Marussia’s Max Chilton and Pastor Maldonado
collided, skewing the Venezuelan into the barriers. Gilles Bianchi, the next
man on the scene, careered into the already displaced barrier, bringing out the
red flag.
This stop
benefitted the Red Bull drivers, allowing them to change their badly worn tyres
on the newly-formed grid. After a coming-together with Sergio Perez, championship-chasing
Fernando Alonso was told to give the place back to the Mexican after the
restart. This had disastrous consequences for the Ferrari man, with him falling
back behind both Sutil and Button before the end of the race. Red Bull’s tyre
changes also had relatively little effect, as once again Rosberg was able to
scurry clear, and put Hamilton all over the back of Webber. Whilst little
changed at the front, a final safety car period was still to come. Under
pressure Lotus driver Romain Grosjean mistimed his braking point and careered
into the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo. This will have done little to enamour
himself to the Lotus bosses, and will also have annoyed Rosberg, as once again
his hard-earned lead was eradicated. Nevertheless, despite these setbacks, the
Mercedes driver held on to claim his first Monaco success, and become part of
the first father-son pairing to win the historic grand prix, with father Keke
having won the 1973 Monaco GP. Sebastien Vettel’s 2nd place also
represented a significant success, as his title rivals Alonso (7th)
and Raikkonen (10th) both finished way down the field, extending the
German’s overall lead. Despite his disappointing 10th place finish,
Kimi Raikkonen will still have cause to smile, as he extended his scoring run
to 24 races, now just two behind Michael Schumacher’s record. Knowing the Finn
though, he will not be smiling!
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Gateway to Europe: The 2013 Spanish Grand Prix
After the four ‘flyaway’ Grand Prix around the Middle East
and Asia, Formula 1 returned to Europe in the form of the Spanish Grand Prix today. The return to Europe certainly has
its advantages for those watching in Britain, as finally qualifying and race
times remain fairly stable. Getting up in the early hours of the morning to
watch a race is never as pleasant as enjoying it over lunch! The 2013
championship remains incredibly open, with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull
looking the early favourites to take their fourth successive title, but Ferrari,
Mercedes and Lotus believe they have a realistic chance. The Spanish Grand Prix certainly
puts the most pressure on the Ferrari driver of Fernando Alonso, being his home
Grand Prix. The vast majority of the 95,000 fans that arrived at the Catalunya
circuit were undoubtedly supporting their home man. However, in qualifying,
fans that had come supporting the Ferraris were left disappointed.
Qualifying
has very much been Mercedes forte so far this season, and so it proved again
yesterday. A front row lockout for the German team, with Nico Rosberg leading
Lewis Hamilton by a couple of tenths. A second successive pole for the German,
who would have hoped to perform better in the race this time, having finished 9th
after starting from pole in Bahrain. Nevertheless, after qualifying, both
Rosberg and Hamilton made statements to the press claiming that they were not
confident about race pace. Vettel was once again successful in qualifying,
finishing in 3rd place and giving himself a great chance for his
third successive race win. Home favourite Alonso, however, had to settle for 5th
place, behind Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. British drivers, apart from Lewis
Hamilton, had a relatively poor qualifying session, with Paul di Resta top in
10th place. Fellow Brit Jenson Button had a poor qualifying
campaign, finishing in 14th place, a full 6 places behind his
McLaren rookie teammate Sergio Perez.
The
early talk pre-race was all about pit stops and how many each team would do,
with much debate over three or perhaps even four stops. As soon as Mark Webber
pitted on lap 7, the decision appeared to have been made for four pit stops. With
the developments Mercedes have brought to this Grand Prix, there was also much
discussion over whether the Mercedes drivers would be capable of keeping the
pack behind them. This was particularly important after the dismal performance
of the Mercedes from pole last time out. The start of the race was certainly
better for Rosberg from pole than Bahrain, as he led away for the first few
laps. Hamilton, on the other hand, was instantly swamped by both Vettel and
Alonso, falling back behind the pair of them by the end of the first sector.
Whilst Rosberg may have led, he was certainly not pulling away from the lead
group, causing a six car queue for the early laps. The first round of pit stops
reshuffled the order slightly, with Rosberg maintaining the lead after a tight
battle with Vettel, only for Alonso to split the pair of them after his stop.
Alonso then went on to take the lead a few laps later, causing Rosberg to lose
a further two places on the same lap. The indication was very much that the
Mercedes were once again struggling to compete for race pace. This was
illustrated by Lewis Hamilton, who at one point was fighting for 15th
place with a Williams, causing several exasperated exchanges on the radio. He
continued to have a disappointing afternoon, finishing 12th.
In the
second half of the race, both Ferraris and the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen appeared
to get stronger as the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and the Mercedes faded.
Raikkonen’s claim to the race win was strengthened once it was realised that he
planned on stopping one fewer times than the Ferraris, forcing Alonso to push
harder to attempt to widen the gap. Felipe Massa, having a rather undramatic
but successful race, had managed to get himself from his qualifying spot of 9th,
to 2nd, by the end of the 2nd stops. Whilst he had to
relinquish his 2nd place to Raikkonen after the final stops, a
strong 3rd place is certainly something he would have settled for at
the beginning. Home boy Alonso, however, could not be touched, eventually
opening up a gap of 12 seconds to the rest of the field, and comfortably taking
the victory at the Spanish Grand Prix. As with Bahrain, the crowd were treated
to a final few laps battle, this time between Rosberg and Paul di Resta, for
the 6th spot, which Rosberg eventually took. An incredibly
disappointing end to a promising day for the Mercedes team, who will have to seriously
re-think their race approach for Monaco.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2013: Rising Above Controversy?
In a week in which F1 has been plagued with controversies
regarding sexism, with former champion Sir Stirling Moss arguing that women
lack the necessary ‘mental fortitude’ for racing, a relaxing trip to a hot,
tranquil country and an exciting but uneventful race seemed precisely what F1
required. Unfortunately, step forward Bahrain. A country currently in the
centre of considerable political distress, with arguments over the monarchy and
human rights dominating recent headlines. Indeed, such has been the scale of
the problems that several British MPs have made suggestions, in the last week,
that the F1 roadshow should not roll into Bahrain. The events of 2012 further
support the argument not to return to the country this year. Whilst the race itself
was relatively uneventful, the event will be best remembered for petrol bombings near the Force India garage, leading to a significant pit lane
fire. The hacking of the official F1 website by an anonymous group, wreaking
havoc with the live timing also overshadowed the grand prix itself. Recent
reports suggest that the latter will reoccur this year, after heavy protests on the streets in recent days. The reason? The belief
that F1 coming to Bahrain legitimises the current undemocratic regime, causing
the worlds of politics and sport to clash.
Nevertheless,
F1 is in Bahrain this weekend, and with all of the discussion over political
trouble, we seem to forget that a serious sporting event is taking place. Whilst
arguments over postponing the race may be levied at Bernie Ecclestone and the
heads of the FIA, it is important to remember that the political concerns are
not the fault of the drivers. Therefore, assuming there are no significant
security concerns, we can all enjoy the spectacle of the race itself,
irrespective of the political issues. The start of the 2013 season suggests
that the championship will be every bit as close as last year, which leaves F1
fans a mouth-watering 17 grand prix to enjoy over the next 7 months. Qualifying
yesterday gave us much of the same indication, with 6 or 7 teams having the
ability to challenge for Q3, and at least 3 teams (Red Bull, Ferrari and
Mercedes) believing they had what it takes to snatch pole. As it was, Mercedes
took the top spot. However, it was Nico Rosberg, not Lewis Hamilton, who was
fastest, with a stunning lap of 1:32.330. Hamilton, who had outqualified his
new teammate at every race previously, started 9th after a 5 place penalty for a gearbox
change in P3. That left Force India’s Paul Di Resta as the highest placed Brit,
as he, and his teammate Adrian Sutil, started on the 3rd row, a very
encouraging result for the small team.
The
talk before the race was all about rear tyres, as the hot conditions in the
desert-based track were considered to take a significant toll on the back end
of the cars. Therefore, the winner of the race was considered to be most likely
the one who could best look after the rear tyres. This gave assumptions that
the race would be fought ‘Ferrari versus Red Bull’. Much of the
rhetoric coming from Mercedes pre-race, and Ross Brawn in particular, suggested
that they did not believe they would look after the tyres sufficiently to win.
This was clearly illustrated by Rosberg falling drastically down the field
early on. After starting on pole, and fighting Vettel very hard in the first
corner, Rosberg had a disappointing afternoon, eventually ending in 9th. This led
to an early fight between Vettel and Fernando Alonso. However, this intriguing
battle ended prematurely, with Ferrari driver Alonso developing a DRS problem
on lap , wrecking his race. After all of the recent talk of team orders,
McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez had obviously not been paying close enough
attention to the pre-race team briefings, as they collided on lap 31. Whilst
both continued, after their persistent squabbling over position, one can
imagine that team boss Martin Whitmarsh would have been unimpressed. After
Alonso’s DRS failure, Ferrari’s afternoon imploded, with Felipe Massa suffering
2 separate punctures, leading to questions over the Pirelli tyres supplied. Despite
a rousing Alonso fightback, the Tifosi were left in disappointing 8th
and 15th places. Ferrari’s misfortune was Lotus’s (2nd
and 3rd) and Force India’s (4th) gain. This capped a
dream weekend for di Resta, having been quoted after qualifying as saying that
4th would be perfect for the Brit. The problems behind left
three-time and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel free to stroll to a
practically lights-to-flag victory, ending with a huge margin of 9.1 seconds
from Kimi Raikkonen. Interestingly, the podium was identical to that of last year, with Vettel victorious from the Lotus pair of Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean. The final few laps were lit up with a ferocious scrap
between Hamilton (5th) and Red Bull’s Mark Webber (7th),
where at more than one point it looked like contact was inevitable.
Luckily, both managed to make it to the end unscathed in a truly thrilling climax.
Picture from GoogleImages
Those
who argue that Formula 1 is boring due to the lack of overtaking clearly failed
to tune in to the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix. Throughout the field there were
incidents and accidents, giving F1 fans a fantastic preview into the rest of
what promises to be an exciting, competitive and action-packed season. Based on
the action on-track, I hope Formula 1 returns to Bahrain for many years to
come. The clash of off-track politics with sport, however, threatens to derail
F1 in this part of the globe. Until the controversial issues are resolved, I
fear we may be seeing similar scenes of protest before future Bahrain Grand
Prix, if indeed we see another.
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