One year on, and I'm still blogging! After my review of last year's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off my blogging bug, I have covered the majority of the major sporting events in the last 12 months, and I am massively looking forward to more posts in the future: the Premier League race and the World Cup to name just a couple. This F1 season has begun ominously for the rest of the pack, with Mercedes dominating the open races of the season. Major changes to the regulations have beset the majority of teams with considerable issues, putting world champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on the back foot.
The decision was made at the beginning of the season to make Bahrain another dusk race, to follow the successes of the Abu Dhabi and the Singapore Grand Prix. Whilst I am not necessarily a fan of the night races, as I do not believe that we need to challenge the drivers with unnecessary weather conditions and add danger (though they do make it easier at times for European audiences), it does add another intrigue for Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps levels the playing field a touch. I would be wary of adding new 'unpredictable' weather conditions (such as the frankly ridiculous idea to create fake rain) to any more races, as I am a fan of seeing what the weather throws at you and how you adapt, and that means starting races in the day.
However, news this week overshadowed the importance of the race. With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher still in his medically-induced coma in Switzerland after his tragic accident on the ski slopes, the news that he is having moments of consciousness comes as a massive relief to Formula 1 fans worldwide. We can only hope that the German continues to see recovery, and we get to see the great man on the track very soon. A controversial but brilliant driver, competitive to the last, we all know Schumacher is a fighter, and it great news that he is showing signs of recovery.
With every car having the #keepfightingMichael emblazoned across it, qualifying began with Mercedes once again the dominant force. With the German manufacturer and the Red Bulls seemingly happy to get through Q1 on the harder tyre, it offered an unusual name the chance to top the initial leaderboard. The honour fell to Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who had been unfortunate not to receive a move to a bigger team in the winter break. With the Indian team seeing positive steps, it was almost the opposite for Lotus. The team that won two of the Grand Prix last season has been struggling with the rule change, and have failed to get out of Q1 in each of the two previous races. In Bahrain, their two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, found themselves fighting between them for a place in Q2. This time it was Grosjean who came out on top, beating Maldonado's time by 0.009 of a second. This was despite the interference of Sauber's Adrian Sutil, who clearly blocked the Frenchman off during a lap. This costed the Sauber driver 2 penalty points on his license, with the Sauber man warned about his future conduct.
Q2 saw a complete turnaround of fortunes. Sadly, whilst Mercedes continued their dominance, finishing a second ahead of the pack, Hulkenberg's Force India, who had topped the board in Q1, could not manage to get himself into the final session. Even more shockingly, neither did Sebastian Vettel. The world champion, having not missed out since Spa in 2011 before this season, has now failed to qualify in two of the three races this year, demonstrating the enormous swing away from Red Bull.
The final session of qualifying saw a frenetic opening period, as the battle for pole once again surrounded the two Mercedes teammates. Despite Lewis Hamilton being the one that was largely considered to be the faster of the pair throughout the weekend, it was Nico Rosberg that managed to get himself in front of the Briton in the first run, bettering his team mate's trial by 0.3 seconds. The second runs for both were considerably slower, with Lewis making a huge error at turn one, ruining his chance of pole. However, with the rest of the pack so far behind, no-one could take advantage of this slip. The only surprise of the session was the brilliant effort of Daniel Ricciardo to get himself into third. Though the Aussie would suffer a 10 place grid penalty for a misdemenour in the previous race, it was nevertheless a statement of intent to his more illustrious team mate.
With the race all about the two Mercedes, it came as little surprise to see the pair turning their cars towards one another off the line, indicating that the pair would ready for the fight, and that Mercedes were more than willing to let their drivers race. Off the line, there seemed no difference between the pair, but it was Hamilton that had the better second phase of the start, getting down the inside of Rosberg at turn 1. However, the German did not give up, fighting Lewis all the way up to turns 3 and 4, but just could not make it past. Further back, contact between Raikkonen and Magnusson for the second race running left the Ferrari driver fuming, and his mood would not have been helped by the fact that his car had no performance. Neither Ferrari could live with the pace of the Force India or Williams cars, with Fernando Alonso being passed by Perez on lap 6.
As the pair of Mercedes flew away from the pack, it was not the same story as Malaysia. Hamilton could not break the attentions of Rosberg, though he had managed to escape the DRS zone. This would continue to play a key theme throughout. After his horrendous qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had not made up the places that many would have expected, though it is important to note that he, unlike the rest of the field, started on the harder tyre. As a result, Vettel was actually doing well to stay on the back of the group in front. The race for third was quickly becoming the most interesting, with the Force Indias and the Williams both seemingly having the opportunity to grab it. Ferrari and McLaren could also harbour outside aspirations of the podium, but they would need to perform better. In that race, it was Force India who grabbed the initiative, with Sergio Perez overtaking Felipe Massa for 3rd on lap 12.
Ferrari's struggles were demonstrated just one lap later, when Alonso became the first of the front runners to pit. However, this strangely aided the Spaniard, giving them the undercut that we have already seen be effective in the last two races. Kimi Raikkonen, after his first stop, began setting fastest laps, however, that new found speed was short lived. Once all of the first stops had been completed, the Ferraris found themselves on older and slower tyres than the rest of the pack. They quickly became mobile chicanes for the other top teams, with the Williams and the Force Indias passing them.
However, this was not the only battle, as the race for the lead began to hot up once more. With the stops coming up, Rosberg managed to close the gap to his team mate to just a few tenths. Another wheel to wheel battle insued, with the German managing to get past Hamilton. The Brit, knowing that he needed to be in the lead to get the first choice on stops, and he nipped back in front at turn 4, before grabbing the initiative and diving into the pit lane. Interestingly, the pair opted for different tyres, with Hamilton choosing to continue on the option tyre whilst Rosberg went for the harder prime. As we had seen throughout, Hamilton, due to the fact that he pitted earlier, managed to stretch his advantage to 3 seconds by the time Rosberg emerged two laps later. By this point, the race saw 2 Mercedes followed by 2 Force Indias and 2 Williams, all 6 cars powered by Mercedes power systems.
The battle for third continued to hot up, as the Williams chose to use a different strategy to their rivals. Unlike those around them, Bottas and Massa used a three stop strategy, seemingly putting them out of the race for 3rd, and favouring the resurgent Force Indias. Daniel Ricciardo, who had been toiling in anonymity for the majority of the race, beginning in 13th, had found some pace, managing to get his way into the lower end of the points by passing Kimi Raikkonen. With Hamilton pulling away from Nico Rosberg on his quicker tyres (though not as quickly as initially expected), his chances of winning were dealt a hammer blow. Pastor Maldonado, having emerged from the pit lane, seemingly failed to judge the speed difference between himself and Esteban Gutierrez. As a result, the collision ended up flipping the Sauber, leaving debris littering the track and bringing out the safety car.
With both Hamilton and Rosberg pitting, the Briton's 9.5 second lead had been eradicated, and he had to survive the remainder of the race on the slower tyres. A mean feat even if facing a slower car, but against the Mercedes seemed impossible. The crash had benefitted the Red Bulls and Jenson Button's McLaren, who had managed to jump the three stopping Williams drivers. However, Sebastian Vettel was instructed by his engineer that the Williams' newer and quicker tyres meant that they would come under threat later in the race. The final few laps of the race saw two enormous battles, with the lead taking the majority of air time, whilst the battle between the Force India driver and Daniel Ricciardo for the final podium was equally as interesting.
From the restart, the Mercedes flew away from the rest, opening up a 10 second gap within just a few laps, demonstrating their dominance over the rest. However, a furious battle continued to rage between the pair, with Rosberg making a number of lunges down the inside into turn 1. However, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep his nose in front of his team mate. On several occasions, the Briton had to get aggressive in his defence, forcing his team mate off the circuit in an attempt to keep his place. And keep it he did, beginning to slowly but surely ease away from Rosberg as his tyres began to lose their edge. This led the cameras to switch their attention to battle for 3rd, as Hamilton seemed to have the race under control going into the final few laps.
As Jenson Button's McLaren fell off completely, dropping behind both Willams, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the battle continued between the two Force Indias for the final podium, with Daniel Ricciardo reeling the pair in quickly. Sergio Perez, who has had to play second fiddle to Hulkenberg for the majority of the first few races, finally got his chance to shine, holding on to his first podium for the team ahead of his team mate, and slowly edged his way away. This meant that Hulkenberg fell back into the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian managing to get himself into a remarkable fourth. But there were not enough laps left to pull off a podium. Another nice moment for the Aussie will have been the overtake he pulled on Vettel (not the one that was due to team orders) as he showed the world champion that he is not there simply to make up the numbers.
But the day, as has been the case at every race so far, belonged to Mercedes. As the cars get more reliable, we will see this kind of thing continue to happen, with the Silver Arrows seemingly having by far the superior package. Unless we see a huge swing in fortune, I fear more races where the battle for third is the most interesting spectacle. However, at least the racing between the pair, and the fact that Mercedes have said they will not stop this with team orders, means that we may have something interesting to watch up front.
Not as controversial as a year ago, nor (arguably) as interesting a race, but we are ushering a new era of Formula 1. Love it or loathe it, it seems as though it is here to stay, so we had all better get used to it, and hope that another team can develop their car throughout the season!
Analysis of sporting events, talking points and controversies.
Showing posts with label Prix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prix. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Japanese Grand Prix: Not A Racer? Not A Problem
That finger. That victorious, but unbelievably annoying, digit. The sight of Sebastian Vettel's right index finger, oddly turned the wrong way around, will be imprinted onto the memory of F1 for some time to come. It has certainly been the only thing F1 fans will have seen for the entirety of the second half of this season. Red Bull's dominance has led to F1 being accused of being repetitive and borderline boring, with Vettel generally qualifying on pole and leading a practically lights to flag victory. Though it didn't happen this way in Japan, the end result was the same. The irriting twisted index finger raised in triumph come the end of the race. However, there have also been recent questions asked of Vettel's ability as a racer. Seeing as the vast majority of his victories have been won from the front, a question mark can still be raised above his head over his ability to relentlessly chase down and overtake those infront of him. When you think back over recent years, races like Japan in 2005, when Kimi Raikkonen, then at McLaren, came from 17th on the grid to overtake Giancarlo Fisichella on a pulsating final lap to win the race, really illustrate how much real racing ability you have. Similarly Jenson Button's 2011 Canadian Grand Prix win gives us the impression of a racer, coming from last place to win the race on the final lap. Vettel has not yet had that moment, and this was another race where he had the opportunity, but it went begging.
The race was overshadowed by the tragic news on Friday that Maria de Villota, a former test driver for Marussia, had been found dead in her Spanish hotel room. After a horrific crash during a test in July 2012, which saw her lose her right eye, and suffer massive head injuries, Maria showed incredible bravery to fight back. Whilst the crash effectively ended her career as a race driver, she would not be kept away from the paddock, becoming an inspiration to millions worldwide. Her smile and fighting spirit was matched only by her generosity and desire to do good, and she will be remembered by everyone involved in Formula 1, and the motorsport world in general. Such were the extent of her injuries from her crash, it was concluded that she had died as a result of her injuries, and the coroner released a report of 'death by natural causes' the following day. In memory of the 33 year old, many of the teams adopted her 'star' crash helmet design. Marussia had it emblazoned on several parts of the car, whilst Jenson Button had his own tribute, placing a star on his helmet to show his respects. She was a bright and bubbly personality for the sport, and Formula 1 will miss her dearly.
The Suzuka circuit in Japan has been described by many as a drivers' favourite. With its twisting, technically challenging corners, it is a race-track that forces every ounce of concentration and driving ability from the racers. Whilst it is unlike Monaco, in that one mistake does not necessarily earn you a trip to the barriers, one mistake can certainly cost you an exceptional amount of time. Every corner needs to be entered and exited smoothly, otherwise you have a great disadvantage to the cars behind and in front. The iconic corners include Dunlop, Spoon Corner and, of course, the 180 mph 130R corner. It is a circuit where we have seen some of the best, and most dramatic races in the history of the sport. This year's qualifying certainly added to this drama. In qualifying one, we had two separate fires! After fumes caught light in the Sauber garage, Esteban Gutierrez had to make a swift exit from his vehicle as a small fire started behind his head. Thanks to extreme safety regulations, and layers of fire retardant clothing, fire is, thankfully, not the threat it once was in Formula 1. However, it is always disconcerting to see flames in a garage, and luckily, it was an easily containable situation. If one fire during qualifying is unusual, two is extraordinary. However, just ten minutes later, John-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso was seen lapping with both of the rear brakes on fire, forcing him to retire from qualifying and pull up next to a marshal. This brought out the red flag, causing chaos as the lights went green. With several cars still under pressure from those behind, there was a free-for-all at the end of Q1, with both Massa and Raikkonen making daring passes in an attempt to find space. The big loser at the end of all this was Adrian Sutil. The Force India driver failed to find enough space, meaning that he had to start from the back (having opted to change his engine).
Q2 saw no real surprises, with all of the protagonists comfortably through to the shootout. The main winner of Q2 was Nico Hulkenberg. The German is having a tremendous second half of the season with Sauber, and he has been linked with several teams further up the grid. Once again, he managed to drag a mid-grid car into the top 10. Q3 began quite slowly, with only 4 cars opting to take the opportunity to go out early. In the battle between the Red Bulls for pole, it looked like luck was finally on Webber's side. Vettel had been radioed to explain that his KERS system had failed, costing the German up to three tenths a lap. This would prove crucial. For the first time this season, the Aussie managed to beat his team mate. Such has been the dominance of Red Bull, that generally means pole. Behind that pair, Lewis Hamilton produced an excellent lap to edge ahead of Romain Grosjean, who has been ending the season strongly. Hulkenberg, however, was a revelation. In a far inferior car, he managed to outqualify both Ferraris and the Lotus of Raikkonen: a good effort. But the day belonged to Webber, who may have just had his final pole position.
The Australian will have woken on Sunday morning hoping for the victory to go with his pole, however to do that, he would need to rectify a serious ongoing problem. Webber starts have been extremely suspect, and this has often cost him valuable places and points. Nowhere is this more important than on pole. However, Webber would have a nightmare start, but, even more unusually, as did his teammate. Off the line, the Red Bulls were swamped by Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean, with the latter soaring into the lead. The Mercedes was less fortunate. In the process of overtaking Vettel, Hamilton clipped his front wing, causing a right rear puncture. This caused him to drift wildly, and dropped him right to the back of the field. It would eventually end his race, as the damage to the floor of the car from the delaminating tyre was too much to continue with. Further back, Jules Bianchi and Guido van der Garde tripped over one another on the run down to the first corner, spearing the pair into the gravel. The yellow flags proved a great aid to Romain Grosjean, as it disabled the DRS, preventing the Red Bulls gaining too much time. By the time the yellow flags were rescinded, the Frenchman had broken the 1 second window, and was looking good for the win.
Suzuka is not a track known for its wealth of overtaking opportunities, and as such, the race would all come down to the most effective strategies. The front three all made their first stops within three laps of one another, retaining their places. This meant that round one of the tactical battle had gone to the Lotus team. Further back, overtaking was few and far between, with the race characterised by a large amount of car trains, most notably, the train forming behind Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso in 4th place. With the Aussie running a long first stint, many of the earlier stoppers became trapped behind Ricciardo. This included the other Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Mercedes day had gone from bad to worse in the laps after Lewis Hamilton's retirement. At the German's first stop, he was released into the path of Sergio Perez, earning him a drive-through penalty and dropping him back into 12th place. With both Ferraris and Lotuses infront of Rosberg, Mercedes were looking like dropping a long way out of the race for 2nd place in the Constructors Championship.
Back up front, the change of tyres had seemed to have a profound effect on the Red Bulls, moving them closer to Grosjean. Webber was looking particularly racy as he came towards the end of his stint, getting within the one second window. Like the first time, it was Webber to pit first and attempt the undercut, but this time, Grosjean and Vettel stayed out longer. The Lotus's pace had dropped away, allowing Vettel to reel him in quickly. However, try as he might, the German could not get past the Lotus. This time, when Grosjean pitted on lap 30, he had no defence to Webber behind, rejoining a good 5 seconds behind. Vettel then turned his attention to jumping the pair, however, he would have to do so on old tyres. It also became very clear that Webber would need to stop again, as the Aussie was setting fastest lap times and burning through his tyres. When Vettel did evetually stop, for the final time, he rejoined behind Grosjean. However, this time, on fresher tyres, he did not find it difficult to overtake the Frenchman. This was his only pass of the race, and he would need just the one.
With Vettel flying away at the front, Mark Webber made his final stop, changing to the softer tyre on lap 47. If he could pass Grosjean quickly, he could make an attempt at hunting Vettel down. Grosjean, however, seemed to have learnt his lessons from the time spent being hounded by Vettel. Lap anfter lap passed, with the Australian becoming increasingly frustrated, and the race win slipped out of his hands. Though he eventually made an excellent pass on Grosjean on lap 52, there was little he could do to reel in his team mate. Vettel took the chequered flag to win his 9th race of the season, by 7 seconds from his teammate. Though Fernando Alonso finished 4th, meaning that the title was not mathmatically over, he conceded defeat to his rival. The title will be decided in India if Alonso fails to outscore Vettel by 16 points. Seeing as the German has had only 1 retirement in a year, it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to deny him from here.
But the question remains: is Vettel a true racer? Here, he had the opportunity to show everyone how tenacious and capable he is, however he at times looked out of ideas against Romain Grosjean. Though he did eventually overtake the Frenchman, it was the perfect execution of a better strategy that won the German this race. He certainly prefers to be out in front, as he is the expert of creating gaps and running away from the rest of the field. Whether he will ever win a race from the back of the field, putting the race in the annuls alongside those races like Japan 8 years ago, I am unsure. His car seems too good to need him to do this at the minute, so we may be waiting for some time to find this out.
The race was overshadowed by the tragic news on Friday that Maria de Villota, a former test driver for Marussia, had been found dead in her Spanish hotel room. After a horrific crash during a test in July 2012, which saw her lose her right eye, and suffer massive head injuries, Maria showed incredible bravery to fight back. Whilst the crash effectively ended her career as a race driver, she would not be kept away from the paddock, becoming an inspiration to millions worldwide. Her smile and fighting spirit was matched only by her generosity and desire to do good, and she will be remembered by everyone involved in Formula 1, and the motorsport world in general. Such were the extent of her injuries from her crash, it was concluded that she had died as a result of her injuries, and the coroner released a report of 'death by natural causes' the following day. In memory of the 33 year old, many of the teams adopted her 'star' crash helmet design. Marussia had it emblazoned on several parts of the car, whilst Jenson Button had his own tribute, placing a star on his helmet to show his respects. She was a bright and bubbly personality for the sport, and Formula 1 will miss her dearly.
The Suzuka circuit in Japan has been described by many as a drivers' favourite. With its twisting, technically challenging corners, it is a race-track that forces every ounce of concentration and driving ability from the racers. Whilst it is unlike Monaco, in that one mistake does not necessarily earn you a trip to the barriers, one mistake can certainly cost you an exceptional amount of time. Every corner needs to be entered and exited smoothly, otherwise you have a great disadvantage to the cars behind and in front. The iconic corners include Dunlop, Spoon Corner and, of course, the 180 mph 130R corner. It is a circuit where we have seen some of the best, and most dramatic races in the history of the sport. This year's qualifying certainly added to this drama. In qualifying one, we had two separate fires! After fumes caught light in the Sauber garage, Esteban Gutierrez had to make a swift exit from his vehicle as a small fire started behind his head. Thanks to extreme safety regulations, and layers of fire retardant clothing, fire is, thankfully, not the threat it once was in Formula 1. However, it is always disconcerting to see flames in a garage, and luckily, it was an easily containable situation. If one fire during qualifying is unusual, two is extraordinary. However, just ten minutes later, John-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso was seen lapping with both of the rear brakes on fire, forcing him to retire from qualifying and pull up next to a marshal. This brought out the red flag, causing chaos as the lights went green. With several cars still under pressure from those behind, there was a free-for-all at the end of Q1, with both Massa and Raikkonen making daring passes in an attempt to find space. The big loser at the end of all this was Adrian Sutil. The Force India driver failed to find enough space, meaning that he had to start from the back (having opted to change his engine).
Q2 saw no real surprises, with all of the protagonists comfortably through to the shootout. The main winner of Q2 was Nico Hulkenberg. The German is having a tremendous second half of the season with Sauber, and he has been linked with several teams further up the grid. Once again, he managed to drag a mid-grid car into the top 10. Q3 began quite slowly, with only 4 cars opting to take the opportunity to go out early. In the battle between the Red Bulls for pole, it looked like luck was finally on Webber's side. Vettel had been radioed to explain that his KERS system had failed, costing the German up to three tenths a lap. This would prove crucial. For the first time this season, the Aussie managed to beat his team mate. Such has been the dominance of Red Bull, that generally means pole. Behind that pair, Lewis Hamilton produced an excellent lap to edge ahead of Romain Grosjean, who has been ending the season strongly. Hulkenberg, however, was a revelation. In a far inferior car, he managed to outqualify both Ferraris and the Lotus of Raikkonen: a good effort. But the day belonged to Webber, who may have just had his final pole position.
The Australian will have woken on Sunday morning hoping for the victory to go with his pole, however to do that, he would need to rectify a serious ongoing problem. Webber starts have been extremely suspect, and this has often cost him valuable places and points. Nowhere is this more important than on pole. However, Webber would have a nightmare start, but, even more unusually, as did his teammate. Off the line, the Red Bulls were swamped by Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean, with the latter soaring into the lead. The Mercedes was less fortunate. In the process of overtaking Vettel, Hamilton clipped his front wing, causing a right rear puncture. This caused him to drift wildly, and dropped him right to the back of the field. It would eventually end his race, as the damage to the floor of the car from the delaminating tyre was too much to continue with. Further back, Jules Bianchi and Guido van der Garde tripped over one another on the run down to the first corner, spearing the pair into the gravel. The yellow flags proved a great aid to Romain Grosjean, as it disabled the DRS, preventing the Red Bulls gaining too much time. By the time the yellow flags were rescinded, the Frenchman had broken the 1 second window, and was looking good for the win.
Suzuka is not a track known for its wealth of overtaking opportunities, and as such, the race would all come down to the most effective strategies. The front three all made their first stops within three laps of one another, retaining their places. This meant that round one of the tactical battle had gone to the Lotus team. Further back, overtaking was few and far between, with the race characterised by a large amount of car trains, most notably, the train forming behind Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso in 4th place. With the Aussie running a long first stint, many of the earlier stoppers became trapped behind Ricciardo. This included the other Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. Mercedes day had gone from bad to worse in the laps after Lewis Hamilton's retirement. At the German's first stop, he was released into the path of Sergio Perez, earning him a drive-through penalty and dropping him back into 12th place. With both Ferraris and Lotuses infront of Rosberg, Mercedes were looking like dropping a long way out of the race for 2nd place in the Constructors Championship.
Back up front, the change of tyres had seemed to have a profound effect on the Red Bulls, moving them closer to Grosjean. Webber was looking particularly racy as he came towards the end of his stint, getting within the one second window. Like the first time, it was Webber to pit first and attempt the undercut, but this time, Grosjean and Vettel stayed out longer. The Lotus's pace had dropped away, allowing Vettel to reel him in quickly. However, try as he might, the German could not get past the Lotus. This time, when Grosjean pitted on lap 30, he had no defence to Webber behind, rejoining a good 5 seconds behind. Vettel then turned his attention to jumping the pair, however, he would have to do so on old tyres. It also became very clear that Webber would need to stop again, as the Aussie was setting fastest lap times and burning through his tyres. When Vettel did evetually stop, for the final time, he rejoined behind Grosjean. However, this time, on fresher tyres, he did not find it difficult to overtake the Frenchman. This was his only pass of the race, and he would need just the one.
With Vettel flying away at the front, Mark Webber made his final stop, changing to the softer tyre on lap 47. If he could pass Grosjean quickly, he could make an attempt at hunting Vettel down. Grosjean, however, seemed to have learnt his lessons from the time spent being hounded by Vettel. Lap anfter lap passed, with the Australian becoming increasingly frustrated, and the race win slipped out of his hands. Though he eventually made an excellent pass on Grosjean on lap 52, there was little he could do to reel in his team mate. Vettel took the chequered flag to win his 9th race of the season, by 7 seconds from his teammate. Though Fernando Alonso finished 4th, meaning that the title was not mathmatically over, he conceded defeat to his rival. The title will be decided in India if Alonso fails to outscore Vettel by 16 points. Seeing as the German has had only 1 retirement in a year, it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to deny him from here.
But the question remains: is Vettel a true racer? Here, he had the opportunity to show everyone how tenacious and capable he is, however he at times looked out of ideas against Romain Grosjean. Though he did eventually overtake the Frenchman, it was the perfect execution of a better strategy that won the German this race. He certainly prefers to be out in front, as he is the expert of creating gaps and running away from the rest of the field. Whether he will ever win a race from the back of the field, putting the race in the annuls alongside those races like Japan 8 years ago, I am unsure. His car seems too good to need him to do this at the minute, so we may be waiting for some time to find this out.
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.
Sunday, 25 August 2013
The 2013 Belgian Grand Prix: Questions Asked, Questions Answered?
After the traditional four week break, Formula 1 was back with a bang this weekend, travelling to the idyllic and historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. With recognised corners like Eau Rouge and Pouon, the longest circuit in Formula 1 is also a drivers and fans favourite, making up one of the traditional 'big 3'-Monaco, Italy and Belgium. Those races were always the ones to win to be a successful race driver. The considerable break did nothing to prevent the rumours and gossiping up and down the paddock about potential changes and moves among the drivers and teams. Top of the list was the second Red Bull seat. With the news that Mark Webber will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of the season a few weeks ago, several names have been put into the frame, making it one of the most hotly debated topics in the sport. As the team currently lead both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships, it was assumed that a big name would be announced.
The initial reports suggested that the race was between Fernando Alonso, who had seemingly become disenchanted with Ferrari, and the Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, being the most consistent driver in the field, having just broken Michael Schumacher's record for the most consistent points finishes, has yet to be in a title challenging car since his return to Formula 1. The thinking was that the Finn would jump at the chance to join a title-winning team. Those reports were refuted by Alonso, albeit after a reprimand from the head of Ferrari, Luca Demontezemalo. Nevertheless, Alonso's chances were seemingly kai-boshed by Sebastien Vettel's admission that he would far rather see Raikkonen at Red Bull than the Spaniard. However, after extensive negotiations between Raikkonen's representatives and Red Bull, no agreement was made, and the Finn decided that Lotus was his preferred destination. With the two obvious big-name options extinguished, a third contender had been quietly but effectively putting his name forward. Australian youngster Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, has been putting in remarkable performances so far this season, finishing consistently in the points in a much weaker car, and regularly getting into the final session of qualifying. For me, he is the sensible choice, as Red Bull have always attempted to bring through the younger drivers in the sister team (with the likes of Vettel, Sebastien Buemi and John Eric-Vergne all coming through Toro Rosso's ranks). To bring in a big name seems to undermine the work that that team does.
Moving back to the events in Spa, qualifying proved one of the most exciting and unpredictable of the season. With rain teeming down before the session, only to stop minutes before the drivers were to begin their qualifying, the changeable conditions meant that tactics would play a bigger part than in many other grand prix. Fortunately for the top drivers, they managed to negotiate session 1, with the main casualty being the man touted for the Red Bull job, Daniel Ricciardo. With both Toro Rossos and Williams out of contention, the Caterham of Guido van der Garde and both of the Marussias made the cut, thanks mainly to the risky, but ultimately justified decision to swap to slicks before the end of the session. Q2 saw a relatively dry session, meaning that the top teams could return to the normal setup. Once again, this saw little in the way of surprises, with the mid-grid teams the ones that perished. Q3 was the one where all the action lay. With rain threatening to arrive, there was a queue of drivers at the pit exit waiting for the beginning of the session. As the rain will inevitably slow the cars down, the one that can get a dry lap in will be the one on pole. Unfortunately for those cars, the rain began heavily on their outlaps, meaning that none were able to set a fast lap on the dry tyres. With the weather only looking likely to deteriorate, it was Paul Di Resta that took full advantage. The Scot had elected to run on the intermediate tyres, meaning that he was able to take advantage of the conditions before they worsened. His 2:02 time seemed nailed on for pole, especially with his closest challenger Massa a full 0.5 seconds behind. However, events took another twist, with the weather clearing again as the clock ticked down. As the flag dropped, Nico Rosberg beat Di Resta's time by 0.08 seconds, ensuring that the Force India driver's heart did the same. However, the two Red Bulls and Lewis Hamilton had played the clock to perfection, meaning that they had an additional lap in the drying conditions in which to take the pole. All three went massively faster than Rosberg's time, as firstly Webber took pole, before Vettel and finally Hamilton beat the time. This meant that the Mercedes driver took his fourth consecutive pole, and 7th consecutive front row start.
In order for the Mercedes man to take his second consecutive win, a good start would also be required. Off the line, it looked as though he had got the jump on the Red Bull, with both Vettel and Webber struggling. Webber in particular had an atrocious start, falling from 3rd to 6th within a matter of moments, threatening to wreck his race. Vettel fought hard to keep both Rosberg and Button behind him, coming under pressure from the German into turn 1. Further back, Fernando Alonso once again proved his ability to start quickly in his Ferrari, moving from his 9th slot to an impressive 5th by the end of the first sector. After a good start from Hamilton, he struggled at the top of Eau Rouge, giving Vettel the chance to slipstream him down the back straight. The triple world champion seized the opportunity to gain an early advantage, taking the lead at Les Combes. He then set about breaking the DRS zone, a feat he had achieved by the end of the lap. With a comfortable 3.5 second lead within 5 laps, the German was instructed to keep an eye on his tyres, as wear would become increasingly important as the race went on.
Vettel's tyre issues were not the only concern in the paddock, however. Just behind, Kimi Raikkonen was struggling with brake problems. Almost from the very beginning of the race, his front left brake duct seemed to be pouring smoke at every braking zone, with the disc glowing a bright shade of orange. This was a danger warning for what was to come. On lap 26, after a long and protracted battle with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, the Finn attempted to overtake down into the Bus Stop chicane. Instead of making the pass stick, the Lotus driver was unable to slow his car down for the turn, indicating that his brakes were in severe risk of failure. As the speeds reached at part of this track are unthinkable, risking a failure was not an option, forcing Kimi to retire the car. A shame, as this broke his record of 30 consecutive points paying finishes, eclipsing the record held by Michael Schumacher, however we always knew that eventually the run would come to an end.
The pit stop began for the top teams on lap 12, with Lewis Hamilton coming in and rejoining behind Romain Grosjean. Despite the Frenchman being on much older tyres, he struggled to pass the Lotus driver, losing time to both Vettel and Alonso. The Frenchman's reluctance to allow the Briton to pass was perhaps born out of the events of a few laps ago, where Grosjean got into a battle with the McLaren driver Sergio Perez. After the Mexican reeled in the Lotus in the DRS zone, overtaking him, he then forced Grosjean off the road, leaving the Frenchman angered, and the McLaren with a drive through penalty. Hamilton's inability to pass Grosjean was compounded by Alonso rejoining from his pit stop directly behind. After the Brit finally passed the Lotus, he was hunted down and eventually passed by the Ferrari. This battling allowed Vettel to extend his lead to nearly 8 seconds. There was more memorable battling down the field, as both of the Force Indias' and Perez attempted to go through Eau Rouge together, with a perfectly organised overtake the end result.
After the final stops, Alonso had managed to extend his lead over Hamilton to 3.5 seconds, whilst Vettel had a full 13 seconds over the pair. With the result of the race seemingly decided, the most exciting thing that happened was further down the field. In a four way battle, Esteban Gutierrez attempted to overtake Pastor Maldonado around the outside in the final sector, before being forced off the road by the Venezuelan. Though it seemed that the move was over, the Mexican appeared on his inside at the Bus Stop chicane, forcing the Williams driver wide. In trying to rejoin ahead of the Force Indias behind, Maldonado firstly clipped Sutil, before smashing into the side of Di Resta. Questions were raised as to whether this would bring out the safety car, meaning that Vettel's substantial lead would be erased. Fortunately for the Red Bull, the car was cleared, and the German could continue on his path. The only further excitement in the final few laps was the idea that Webber could be able to chase down and overtake both Mercedes' drivers. As it was, that never materialised, with the Red Bull having to settle for a respectable 5th place. For Vettel, this grand prix represented a Sunday afternoon stroll, with the German eventually winning by almost 17 seconds from Alonso, and a full half minute in front of Lewis Hamilton, the man he started on the front row with.
Before Spa, questions were being asked over whether Vettel was under threat from those behind him in the championship race. After this response, the firm favourite for this year's title is unequivocally the Red Bull driver. Something is going to have to go seriously wrong to prevent the German from taking his fourth consecutive world title, and I simply do not see it happening. Are we in for a reign of dominance that eclipses even that of Schumacher?
The initial reports suggested that the race was between Fernando Alonso, who had seemingly become disenchanted with Ferrari, and the Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, being the most consistent driver in the field, having just broken Michael Schumacher's record for the most consistent points finishes, has yet to be in a title challenging car since his return to Formula 1. The thinking was that the Finn would jump at the chance to join a title-winning team. Those reports were refuted by Alonso, albeit after a reprimand from the head of Ferrari, Luca Demontezemalo. Nevertheless, Alonso's chances were seemingly kai-boshed by Sebastien Vettel's admission that he would far rather see Raikkonen at Red Bull than the Spaniard. However, after extensive negotiations between Raikkonen's representatives and Red Bull, no agreement was made, and the Finn decided that Lotus was his preferred destination. With the two obvious big-name options extinguished, a third contender had been quietly but effectively putting his name forward. Australian youngster Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, has been putting in remarkable performances so far this season, finishing consistently in the points in a much weaker car, and regularly getting into the final session of qualifying. For me, he is the sensible choice, as Red Bull have always attempted to bring through the younger drivers in the sister team (with the likes of Vettel, Sebastien Buemi and John Eric-Vergne all coming through Toro Rosso's ranks). To bring in a big name seems to undermine the work that that team does.
Moving back to the events in Spa, qualifying proved one of the most exciting and unpredictable of the season. With rain teeming down before the session, only to stop minutes before the drivers were to begin their qualifying, the changeable conditions meant that tactics would play a bigger part than in many other grand prix. Fortunately for the top drivers, they managed to negotiate session 1, with the main casualty being the man touted for the Red Bull job, Daniel Ricciardo. With both Toro Rossos and Williams out of contention, the Caterham of Guido van der Garde and both of the Marussias made the cut, thanks mainly to the risky, but ultimately justified decision to swap to slicks before the end of the session. Q2 saw a relatively dry session, meaning that the top teams could return to the normal setup. Once again, this saw little in the way of surprises, with the mid-grid teams the ones that perished. Q3 was the one where all the action lay. With rain threatening to arrive, there was a queue of drivers at the pit exit waiting for the beginning of the session. As the rain will inevitably slow the cars down, the one that can get a dry lap in will be the one on pole. Unfortunately for those cars, the rain began heavily on their outlaps, meaning that none were able to set a fast lap on the dry tyres. With the weather only looking likely to deteriorate, it was Paul Di Resta that took full advantage. The Scot had elected to run on the intermediate tyres, meaning that he was able to take advantage of the conditions before they worsened. His 2:02 time seemed nailed on for pole, especially with his closest challenger Massa a full 0.5 seconds behind. However, events took another twist, with the weather clearing again as the clock ticked down. As the flag dropped, Nico Rosberg beat Di Resta's time by 0.08 seconds, ensuring that the Force India driver's heart did the same. However, the two Red Bulls and Lewis Hamilton had played the clock to perfection, meaning that they had an additional lap in the drying conditions in which to take the pole. All three went massively faster than Rosberg's time, as firstly Webber took pole, before Vettel and finally Hamilton beat the time. This meant that the Mercedes driver took his fourth consecutive pole, and 7th consecutive front row start.
In order for the Mercedes man to take his second consecutive win, a good start would also be required. Off the line, it looked as though he had got the jump on the Red Bull, with both Vettel and Webber struggling. Webber in particular had an atrocious start, falling from 3rd to 6th within a matter of moments, threatening to wreck his race. Vettel fought hard to keep both Rosberg and Button behind him, coming under pressure from the German into turn 1. Further back, Fernando Alonso once again proved his ability to start quickly in his Ferrari, moving from his 9th slot to an impressive 5th by the end of the first sector. After a good start from Hamilton, he struggled at the top of Eau Rouge, giving Vettel the chance to slipstream him down the back straight. The triple world champion seized the opportunity to gain an early advantage, taking the lead at Les Combes. He then set about breaking the DRS zone, a feat he had achieved by the end of the lap. With a comfortable 3.5 second lead within 5 laps, the German was instructed to keep an eye on his tyres, as wear would become increasingly important as the race went on.
Vettel's tyre issues were not the only concern in the paddock, however. Just behind, Kimi Raikkonen was struggling with brake problems. Almost from the very beginning of the race, his front left brake duct seemed to be pouring smoke at every braking zone, with the disc glowing a bright shade of orange. This was a danger warning for what was to come. On lap 26, after a long and protracted battle with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, the Finn attempted to overtake down into the Bus Stop chicane. Instead of making the pass stick, the Lotus driver was unable to slow his car down for the turn, indicating that his brakes were in severe risk of failure. As the speeds reached at part of this track are unthinkable, risking a failure was not an option, forcing Kimi to retire the car. A shame, as this broke his record of 30 consecutive points paying finishes, eclipsing the record held by Michael Schumacher, however we always knew that eventually the run would come to an end.
The pit stop began for the top teams on lap 12, with Lewis Hamilton coming in and rejoining behind Romain Grosjean. Despite the Frenchman being on much older tyres, he struggled to pass the Lotus driver, losing time to both Vettel and Alonso. The Frenchman's reluctance to allow the Briton to pass was perhaps born out of the events of a few laps ago, where Grosjean got into a battle with the McLaren driver Sergio Perez. After the Mexican reeled in the Lotus in the DRS zone, overtaking him, he then forced Grosjean off the road, leaving the Frenchman angered, and the McLaren with a drive through penalty. Hamilton's inability to pass Grosjean was compounded by Alonso rejoining from his pit stop directly behind. After the Brit finally passed the Lotus, he was hunted down and eventually passed by the Ferrari. This battling allowed Vettel to extend his lead to nearly 8 seconds. There was more memorable battling down the field, as both of the Force Indias' and Perez attempted to go through Eau Rouge together, with a perfectly organised overtake the end result.
After the final stops, Alonso had managed to extend his lead over Hamilton to 3.5 seconds, whilst Vettel had a full 13 seconds over the pair. With the result of the race seemingly decided, the most exciting thing that happened was further down the field. In a four way battle, Esteban Gutierrez attempted to overtake Pastor Maldonado around the outside in the final sector, before being forced off the road by the Venezuelan. Though it seemed that the move was over, the Mexican appeared on his inside at the Bus Stop chicane, forcing the Williams driver wide. In trying to rejoin ahead of the Force Indias behind, Maldonado firstly clipped Sutil, before smashing into the side of Di Resta. Questions were raised as to whether this would bring out the safety car, meaning that Vettel's substantial lead would be erased. Fortunately for the Red Bull, the car was cleared, and the German could continue on his path. The only further excitement in the final few laps was the idea that Webber could be able to chase down and overtake both Mercedes' drivers. As it was, that never materialised, with the Red Bull having to settle for a respectable 5th place. For Vettel, this grand prix represented a Sunday afternoon stroll, with the German eventually winning by almost 17 seconds from Alonso, and a full half minute in front of Lewis Hamilton, the man he started on the front row with.
Before Spa, questions were being asked over whether Vettel was under threat from those behind him in the championship race. After this response, the firm favourite for this year's title is unequivocally the Red Bull driver. Something is going to have to go seriously wrong to prevent the German from taking his fourth consecutive world title, and I simply do not see it happening. Are we in for a reign of dominance that eclipses even that of Schumacher?
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.
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!
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