Final Pole for 2015 Formula 1 Season Captured by Rosberg in Abu Dhabi

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

A 19-race 2015 Formula 1 season has landed in its final destination as they arrive in the United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the 21-turn, 5.554-kilometer Yas Marina Circuit delivers a symbolic close to the season as a race where drivers and teams transition from daylight into night time. Saturday's qualifying in dusk-like conditions gave 20 drivers of the current Formula 1 one final moment to mount total driving efforts on a single lap. With almost the entire Formula 1 grid in place for the 2016 season even before the final race of 2015, a good deal of drivers are returning to their current rides. However, some drivers are confronted with a last chance to prove themselves in surroundings they have grown comfortable with after 18 races.

The last qualifying session of the season resulted in another battle between the Silver Arrows piloted by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Close in all three time trial sessions, Hamilton held the top spot through Q1 and Q2 holding a narrow 0.221-second advantage on Rosberg after the latter session. In the deciding Q3 session, Nico Rosberg once again showed his newly-recovered championship calibre performance. With each hot lap, Hamilton and Rosberg bettered each other on track. Setting the last lap was the Mercedes AMG race car driven by the German who took the pole position in last minute of qualifying. His final 1-minute, 40.237-second lap time was 0.377 seconds quicker than the best effort of teammate Lewis Hamilton.

On pole for the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg's sixth consecutive success in qualifying equals him in third-place overall in the Formula 1 record books with Nigel Mansell and Niki Lauda (Lauda is currently the Mercedes AMG non-executive chairman). Earlier this year, Lewis Hamilton set the mark of seven consecutive poles that was derailed by the Singapore Grand Prix.

Continuing with the ongoing tale for much of the 2015 season, Mercedes AMG has been operating in a league of their own in qualifying.  Almost half a second slower than Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen timed in third with his Ferrari. Teammate and three-time 2015 winner Sebastian Vettel will be capping off his first season with Ferrari deep down in the grid. Starting in 16th place, Vettel faulted a misjudgement in qualifying where another car was said to have interfered with his timed lap,

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.

Starting alongside Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez is rounding out the 2015 Formula 1 season strong with Force India. Since gaining an updated race chassis for the British Grand Prix, Perez has missed out on scoring points on just 3 occasions over 10 races. At the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Perez is in striking distance of a second potential podium finish. The second Force India-Mercedes race car of Nico Hulkenberg will be positioned in the seventh place position. There may be a chance that this race could be the final one for the Force India team as we know it. Rumours indicate the race organization could be rebranded as under the Aston Martin umbrella.

Daniel Ricciardo will roll off the grid of the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in fifth place able to make full use of his Red Bull race car's updated Renault power unit gained in Brazil. Renault registered fairly well in qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit with two other vehicles from the French automaker posting a top-10 effort in time trials (Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull in 9th and the Toro Rosso team driver Carlos Sainz Jr.in 10th spot). Ricciardo will start alongside Williams' Valtteri Bottas who is battling intensely for the fourth place in the overall world drivers' standings with Kimi Raikonen. Following an exclusion in the final results after the Brazilian Grand Prix due to a tire temperature, Felipe Massa will start his Williams-Mercedes in 8th place.

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Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

Deeper in the grid for the final Formula 1 race of 2015 is teams with ongoing struggles. McLaren Honda is reaching an end of an exceptionally difficult debut year for the Honda powerplant. Jenson Button will start in 12th place while Fernando Alonso is positioned in 17th. With questions whether or not their team will exist in any form for 2016, the Lotus F1 Team is also bidding goodbye to Romain Grosjean leaving for the new Haas F1 Team. In qualifying, Pastor Maldonado out-performed Grosjean posting a 13th place effort compared to the Frenchman's 15th.

With no grid penalties suffered by any drivers or teams, the starting line-up for Sunday's race is a mirror of qualifying at Abu Dhabi. A 55-lap event, the grand prix on the Yas Marina Circuit will start at 5:00 PM local time (8:00 AM in the eastern time zone).

2015 Formula 1
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Starting Line-up

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
4 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz
9 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
11 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
12 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
13 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz
14 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
15 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
16 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
17 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
18 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
19 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
20 98 Roberto Merhi Manor Marussia Ferrari

Victorious Rosberg Controlled Brazilian Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

As 20 entrants of the top open wheel racing series arrive in Brazil's Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, the penultimate round of the 19-race 2015 Formula 1 season ha already decided many aspects for what has been another sterling effort for the Mercedes AMG team. While recently-crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton has been the most effective on-track for much of 2015, the latter part of the season has saw teammate Nico Rosberg, a driver thought to be Hamilton's main adversary for the year's title, showing-up his fellow corporate-affiliated rival. Claiming his fifth consecutive pole earlier in the Brazilian Grand Prix race weekend, the German was on a quest to repeat his victorious effort in Mexico.

Contrary to some weather forecasts calling for rain for the race, the Brazilian Grand Prix started and ended with a dry race track. Defending the lead on the start after receiving pressure from Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg was largely in control of the Brazilian Grand Prix throughout the race. A moment of heightened tension for Rosberg did occur on lap 13. After a slow first pit stop for Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes AMG team cars ran closer to each other. Despite hovering within DRS range after the pit stops were completed, Rosberg was again able to stretch out a safe lead as the race's second stint progress. Hamilton cited in post-race the DRS zone wasn't long enough on the 4.309-kilometer track.

In the final run of race, Nico Rosberg pulled away from Lewis Hamilton as tires begin to wear. A four-second lead rapidly shifted towards a 7.756-second advantage for Rosberg as he crossed the line to win the 2015 edition of the Brazilian Grand Prix. His fifth grand prix victory for the 2015 Formula 1 season, it also allowed Rosberg to post repeat wins on the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. Indicating "It was the perfect weekend for me" in post-race comments, the first-place finishing Mercedes AMG driver has described the latter part of his Formula 1 season as a reason to advance his game. Nico Rosberg also secured to second spot in the 2015 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship with his win.

For what resulted to be a three-stop race for the podium finishers, both Mercedes AMG race cars started on soft compound Pirelli racing slicks before trading their initial tire set for medium compound rubber. The team cited higher tire wear for the election of the the triple-pit stop strategy. The remaining Formula 1 teams competing in the Brazilian Grand Prix were roughly split between a two-stop and three-stop strategy.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

In 2nd place for the second-straight event, Lewis Hamilton is being examined critically despite winning the season's championship in Austin. While Hamilton has appeared to be upstaged by his teammate in the final races of the 2015 Formula 1 season, the three-time drivers' champion has only missed the podium on two occasions this year.

After 71 laps, the top-four starters of the 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix ultimately finished in their grid positions. Behind the Mercedes AMG squad, Scuderia Ferrari proved to once-again be the second-best team effort in a grand prix. Taking the final spot on the podium Sunday at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit was Sebastian Vettel who finished in 3rd place 14.244 seconds behind the winning Mercedes AMG car. Vettel operated on a three-stop strategy while the Ferrari team serviced their second car only twice. Kimi Raikkonen opted for a two-stop race chancing his tire preservation on the second stint of the race and effectively skipped the middle pit stop other frontrunners made. Crossing the line fourth, Raikkonen was 47.543 seconds behind Rosberg and was the last vehicle to finish on the lead lap.

The first driver to improve his position from qualifying was Valtteri Bottas was finished fifth. Supposed to have started fourth in Brazil, Bottas received a penalty for a Friday practice incident where he overtook on a red flag. In the race, the Finnish driver's Willliams-Mercedes race car made up 2 of the 3 lost positions. Bottas' climb resulted in the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg as well as Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull-Renault falling one spot from their starting spots to sixth and seventh place.

Crossing the line in 8th place was Felipe Massa but a late race has been excluded from the final results of the Brazilian Grand Prix. At issue is a right-rear tire on Massa's Williams-Mercedes race car at the start of the race ruled to be above the maximum temperature allowed. Measured at a temperature of 137 degrees Celsius compared to the permitted 110-degree Celsius limit, their effort and points now rely on a pending appeal filed by the Williams Martini Racing team. Because of this, 8th place and lower is subject to possible change if Williams is successful in having Massa's finish reinstated.

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. 

Following a disastrous qualifying outing, both drivers of the Lotus F1 Team redeemed themselves after 71 laps on the Brazilian race track. Romain Grosjean started the race in 14th place after a mishap in the Q2 session of qualifying while Pastor Maldonado was unsuccessful in escaping the initial Q1 segment starting 15th. Grosjean finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in 8th place while Maldonado took the final point in the event placed in 10th following the event. The Lotus F1 Team effort sandwiched Max Verstappen's Toro Rosso in the final running order of the race.

After starting 19th, Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull race car finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in 11th place in a maiden effort with a new-spec Renault engine. Following all the rumblings and rumours surrounding the Red Bull Racing team's prospects for a 2016 season powerplant, it seems more than likely the team will continue to use Renault power last year. There's also mention the engines could be badged as Infiniti power units to heighten the global profile of the luxury brand for 2016.

The 2015 Formula 1 season will conclude in two weeks time at the Yas Marina Circuit holding the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 29th.

2015 Formula 1
Brazilian Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
4 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
5 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
6 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
7 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault
8 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
9 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
10 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz
11 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
12 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
13 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
14 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
15 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
17 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
18 53 Alexander Rossi Manor Marussia Ferrari
19 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
20 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz (Excluded from results pending appeal)

Rosberg Rolls to Fifth Consecutive Formula 1 Pole of Season in Brazil

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

For the past four grand prix events, German driver Nico Rosberg has been attracting the limelight away from his championship-winning Mercedes AMG teammate Lewis Hamilton.  Since the Japanese Grand Prix, Rosberg has held a stranglehold on the top spot of the starting grid in qualifying for every race. Taking a dramatic win in the Mexican Grand Prix two weeks ago, the late season effort is working effectively to give Hamilton something to be jealous about after winning the 2015 drivers' title.

The second-to-last event on the 2015 Formula 1 tour, the Brazilian Grand Prix ends a three-race swing in the Americas. A track known for attracting a steady crowd from the massive of Sao Paulo, the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (routinely referred to as Interlagos) has underwent several upgrades including a new set of curbing placed in the circuit's corners. As a result, the 4.309-kilometer race track presented an added challenge for veteran drivers to adapt to the slight chance.

In qualifying, the Mercedes AMG once again prevailed triumphantly in Brazil. Through Q1 and Q2, it was Lewis Hamilton who took the session lead with nearly identical runs. However, the final session deciding the top-10 runners was the moment where Nico Rosberg made the most crucial run. With a 1-minute, 11.282-second lap time, Rosberg spirited to a fifth-straight pole position. Generating an all-Mercedes AMG front row for the 14th time this season, the difference between the two team cars was just 0.078 seconds. If Nico Rosberg manages to score a pole at the final race in Abu Dhabi, he will tie four drivers in third place all-time. The record for most consecutive pole positions is eight set by Ayrton Senna.

The factory Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen faired well in qualifying to claim the 2nd row of the Brazilian Grand Prix but were still a distant pace slower than the Mercedes AMG cars. Though Vettel mounted an effective Q2 lap to split the Silver Arrows for the timed session, his top time in Q3 was more than half a second off the pace of Nico Rosberg's pole effort. Both Ferrari drivers are previous winners at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Due to several grid position penalties, the starting grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix has undergone a noticeable transformation. Williams' Valtteri Bottas was demoted from a 4th place result in qualifying to a 7th place after a 3-position grid penalty suffered on Friday when the Finnish driver was ruled to have overtaken under a red flag in practice. An immediate benefactor of Bottas' loss of position was Nico Hulkenberg. In 2010, the Brazilian Grand Prix was the site of the one and so far only pole in Nico Hulkenberg's Formula 1 career with Williams. Starting fifth on Sunday, Hulkenberg's Force India team is continuing to enjoy a fruitful effort in the second-half of the 2015 Formula 1 season as the German as well as teammate Sergio Perez have been fairly consistent in adding to the point standings.

Another significant penalty has been taken by Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo who is running a new Renault engine at Interlagos. Ricciardo will drop from a 9th place spot to 19th place. The older spec Renault powerplant in the Red Bull Racing machine piloted by Daniil Kvyat is starting sixth for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

A confrontation between Brazilian drivers at their home grand prix race also led to one of the Saubers being dropped down the field at the start. In Q1, Felipe Nasr was cited with a 3-place grid penalty for interfering with a timed lap made by the Williams-Mercedes driven by Felipe Massa. Nasr's Sauber-Ferrari will start in 13th on Sunday (one position behind teammate Ericsson). The two Williams-Mercedes race cars are planted in the 4th row in the starting line-up set to once-again place third in the constructors' points for a second-consecutive season in Formula 1.

The 71-lap 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix will start on Sunday at 2 P.M. local time (11 A.M. eastern time). Weather forecasts have predicted a cloudy day with rain showers as well as a thunderstorm risk at race time.

2015 Formula 1
Brazilian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
4 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault
7 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
8 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz
9 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
11 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
12 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
13 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
14 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
15 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz
16 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
17 53 Alexander Rossi Manor Marussia Ferrari
18 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
19 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
20 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda

Nico Rosberg Clinches Pole for 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Revival

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

This weekend, a Formula 1 grand prix returns to schedule after a 23-year absence. The third-to-final race on the 2015 Formula 1 tour, the Mexican Grand Prix on the upgraded Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez’s 4.304-kilometer hosts the third stop for a season in North America. Positioned at a high elevation 2,285 meters above sea level, the high-powered open wheel cars run through the circuit’s thin air has been an immediate topic of intrigue. Engines as well as the drivers’ general comfort level is expected to be tested in the main event on Sunday.

For Saturday’s qualifying, the latest inner-team rivalry saga between the Mercedes AMG drivers Nico Rosberg and the newly-crowned 2015 Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton challenged each other for the Mexican Grand Prix pole. Fresh off the emotional outing at the Circuit of the Americas the previous week, the factory Mercedes race drivers have seemed to have intensified their on-track warfare. Rosberg posted the top time in Q1 while Hamilton topped his German teammate in the Q2 session. By an advantage of 0.188 seconds, Nico Rosberg grabbed the pole position for Sunday’s race over Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg’s 1-minute, 19.480-second time provided him his fourth-consecutive appearance in the top spot after qualifying wheeling the Mercedes AMG race machine. The trouble in the previous three grand prix races for Nico Rosberg is parlaying the pole into victories on Sunday. Each of those races resulted in a Lewis Hamilton win.

Despite pre-qualifying estimations that the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez will likely favour the Mercedes-Benz powered vehicles in the Formula 1 grid, the Scuderia Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel posted a respectable third fastest time in Q3. Vettel’s best lap time was 0.370 seconds slower than the Mercedes AMG racers but is relatively close compared to the rest of the field for the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix. Unfortunately for Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel has to lead the team's best chance at a top result alone. Kimi Raikkonen suffered a fire and brake problem with his car in the third practice session of the weekend. The Ferrari crew were able to install a replacement engine and gearbox into Kimi Raikkonen's car in time for qualifying but the Finnish driver will have start 18th in Mexico.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

Posting nearly identical times, the Red Bull-Renault team cars start fourth and fifth. Russia’s Daniil Kvyat found a mere 1/1000th of a second in Q3 qualifying to place him ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Both Red Bull-Renault vehicles are more than 9/10th of a second slower than the pace of Nico Rosberg.

Behind the Red Bull Racing duo is the pairing from Williams Martini Racing. Valtteri Bottas starts in sixth place ahead of his more veteran teammate Felipe Massa. Behind eighth place qualifier Max Verstappen’s Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso, the Force India-Mercedes team fills the fifth row of the race grid. Significant for the Mexican audience is Sergio Perez who was able best teammate Nico Hulkenberg for the edge in qualifying.

Photo Credit :FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

At the back of the grid are the McLaren team cars of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Still struggling to find speed with their Honda power units, both McLaren Honda cars are serving grid penalties for various infractions. Button did not even participate in qualifying due to an engine misfire detected in the final practice. This weekend, Honda returns to the track where they scored their first grand prix victory a little more than 50 years ago in Mexico.

Starting at 12 PM local time (2 PM Eastern time), the 2015 resurrection of the Grand Prix of Mexico will consist of 71 laps at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

2015 Formula 1
Mexican Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
4 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
6 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
7 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz
8 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
9 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
11 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
12 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
13 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz
14 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
15 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
16 53 Alexander Rossi Manor Marussia Ferrari
17 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
18 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
19 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
20 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda