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Sunday, October 30, 2016

Lewis Hamilton Scores 10th Pole Of 2016 In Mexico

Photo Credit: Daimler AG/Mercedes-Benz
With three races remaining, a 26-point lead for Nico Rosberg in the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship standings. While a cozy lead that the German would maintain even in a non-point finish in one of the final three events, the position at the top is precarious for Rosberg as Mercedes AMG teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton regained winning form at the Circuit of the Americas.

 The second race of a three-race late season stretch within the Americas, the Mexican Grand Prix plays host to a 22-car field that includes last year's event winner Nico Rosberg. After a long-awaited return to the updated Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2015, teams are left with a thin notebook of how to get around the 4.304-kilometer permanent race track in Mexico City. Saturday's qualifying for the Grand Prix of Mexico in 2016 repeated to be a successful outing for Mercedes AMG as the team again swept the front row. For the second race in a row, Lewis Hamilton bested Nico Rosberg for pole position. Clocking a lap of  1-minute, 18.704 seconds, the achievement was Hamilton's 10th pole in 2016 and 59th in his career. While Rosberg could only mount a second-fastest time, the Q3 time the German driver used to capture the spot was remarkable in comparison to his pace through much of qualifying. Rosberg's top time in Q3 was more than one-second faster than is fastest Q1 lap.

With both Mercedes AMG drivers placed on the front row in Mexico for Sunday, championship implications could transpire in the opening seconds of the grand prix. Even if Hamilton would win the last three races of the 2016 Formula 1 season, Rosberg would maintain the championship lead to the end if he would grab the runner-up spot in those grand prix rounds. However, if a situation would arise in the Mexican Grand Prix where Nico Rosberg would win and Lewis Hamilton fails to finish, the championship could end with two races remaining.


Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

Posting quickest time in Q2, Max Verstappen performed the third fastest lap in the final time trial round for Formula 1 cars at Mexico. While Verstappen's top Q3 time was 0.350 seconds slower than Hamilton, the young driver was 0.079 seconds quicker than Red Bull Racing teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull TAG Heuer cars both occupy the second row.

 Wrapping up his second stint with the Sahara Force India F1 Team at the end of this season, Nico Hulkenberg grabbed an impressive 5th place in qualifying. Described by the German driver as, "possibly my best qualifying lap of the season," Hulkenberg outran both Scuderia Ferrari race cars. Kimi Raikkonen starting the Mexican Grand Prix in 6th and Sebastian Vettel taking a seventh place grid position both commented to underachieving efforts with cars that showed greater speed in earlier qualifying sessions.

 The two Mexican native drivers in the Formula 1 tour both encountered trouble in their qualifying attempts on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Haas F1 Team driver Esteban Gutierrez spun during the Q1 session and just missed the 16-car cutoff mark for advancement in qualifying. Breaking into Q2, Sergio Perez in the Force India-Mercedes posted a 7th fastest time in the first session. Intent to crack the top-10 on the time sheet for Q2, Perez locked the front wheels of his car entering turn 1 while pressing for an important late session run. Mexican spectators witnessed Sergio Perez settling for 12th place in the starting field for Sunday's race while Esteban Gutierrez is placed in the 17th spot.

 A 71-lap race, the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix will start at 1:00 PM local time (3:00 PM Eastern time).

2016 Formula 1

Mexican Grand Prix

Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
7 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
11 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
12 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
13 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
14 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
16 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
17 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
18 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
19 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
20 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz
21 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
22 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault


Sunday, October 23, 2016

Hamilton Reached For The Stars In US Grand Prix Qualifying

Photo Credit: Daimler AG Mercedes Benz
One year ago, Lewis Hamilton put the cap on a remarkable 2015 Formula 1 season by clinching his third world championship at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas with victory in the race. It was after the 2015 United States Grand Prix when circumstances emerged that would preview a different 2016 for the reigning champion.

As Hamilton settled into his title-winning rhythm in the late part of last season, the other Mercedes AMG driver Nico Rosberg had broken into a late-season rush by winning the final three races. A driver who was perhaps underestimated and sometimes discounted compared to his proven teammate, Rosberg carried his new-found momentum after the United States Grand Prix into the early races of 2016. Now, as Formula 1 returns for the 2016 event at the Circuit of the Americas, it is the German driver who holds an advantage on Hamilton. However, with four races remaining and a 33-point lead for Rosberg, the twisty 20-turn, 5.516-kilometer track in Texas provides a showdown in the twilight of a season.

With pole position at stake on Saturday afternoon, the fight for the qualifying supremacy in the United States Grand Prix became the latest show of equality between the title contenders Mercedes AMG drivers jostled for the top spot throughout qualifying. Lewis Hamilton posted the top time in Q1 while Nico Rosberg was faster in a Q2 session where Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo was the ultimate quickest. Hamilton's late lap in Q3 at a time of 1-minute, 34.999 seconds was the edge the Brit needed for his first pole at the Circuit of the Americas 0.216 seconds faster than teammate Rosberg. Despite coming short in qualifying at track, Sunday's main event has been highly fortune for Hamilton who won on three of the four races held on the circuit.

As Mercedes AMG race cars achieved a front row lockout for the 11th grand prix in 2016, Red Bull Racing again appeared highly visible as the second-best team on the current Formula 1 grid for the 2016 United States Grand Prix. Daniel Ricciardo outran fellow Red Bull-TAG Heuer racer Max Verstappen. Ricciardo will be the highest driver at the start of Sunday's race to start on Pirelli's Supersoft compound tires. The pattern of teams dominating grid rows continued with the Scuderia Ferrari team. Kimi Raikkonen is placed in the 5th place spot beside 6th place Sebastian Vettel.


Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media


Announcing new plans for the 2017 season earlier this month involving a switch to the Renault team, German driver Nico Hulkenberg posted the seventh fastest time in qualifying in association with his current Force India outfit. Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas joins Hulkenberg on the fourth row while teammate Felipe Massa will starting one spot behind in ninth. Carlos Sainz Jr driving a Toro Rosso-Ferrari is the final driver settled into the top-10 for the United States Grand Prix.

No grid place penalties for mechanical changes or dispensary reasons means all 22 Formula 1 drivers will start in their qualifying positions. The 2016 United States Grand Prix is slated for a 2 PM local starting time (3 PM in the eastern time zone).


2016 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
4 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
5 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
11 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
12 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
13 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
14 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
15 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
17 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
18 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
19 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
20 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
21 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
22 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz





Thursday, October 13, 2016

Nico Rosberg Extends Point Lead With Japanese GP Win

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

As the 21-race 2016 Formula 1 calendar narrows into a five-race stretch consisting of two long-standing circuits as well as three events first held in 2009 or sooner. First part of the world's top open wheel racing tour in 1987, the Suzuka International Racing Course is a reputable venue for challenging drivers and teams with slow and high-speed sections requiring a well-rounded race car.  Suzuka's late season location in the Formula 1 schedule has presented some landmark championship-related outcomes with the Ayrton Senna/Alain Prost battle of 1989 and 1990 being the most iconic. During five of the past six Japanese Grand Prix events, the race winner has went on to win the world drivers' championship. The enthusiasm leading up to the 17th round of the 2016 race in Japan was linked to the intense title fight between Mercedes AMG drivers as 53 laps.

Despite the full distance of the Formula 1 event at Suzuka, the race was heavily decided on the start. In fact, it could be argued Saturday's qualifying where Nico Rosberg edged-out Mercedes AMG teammate Lewis Hamilton could have wound up as the winning move for Sunday. Achieving a ninth front row dominance for 2016, the Silver Arrows assembled as did the remainder of a 22-car field as the Japanese Grand Prix would commence following a longish five-light start. When the competitors were unleashed, Nico Rosberg was able to optimize his prime starting position launching away with the lead. While Rosberg shot away on the outside of the Suzuka track into turn 1, the inside front row starter left his grid position slowly. Hamilton first seconds of the Japanese Grand Prix saw him fall prey immediately to the Red Bull-TAG Heuer machines as the Mercedes AMG appeared to struggle. The three-time world champion would fall to 8th place on the opening lap of the event he had won in the previous two occasions. In a post-race interview, Hamilton cited a lack of traction and wheel spin as the reason for this poor start that would result in a 53-lap recovery mission strikingly similar to what his teammate needed to perform the previous week in Malaysia. This early incident for the Brit would serve as a major attraction over the course of the race in Japan.


Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Bucking the trend of recent Formula 1 races heading into the latter part of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix went without a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car Period. There allowed Nico Rosberg to cruise away from Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen. Deeper in the field, Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes AMG needed to exercise the pace to reunite with his teammate. With Hamilton contending with a gap that extended to as much as 17 seconds between himself and the leading car of Rosberg in the early stages of the event, himself and his Mercedes AMG pit crew worked together to climb to fourth place after lap 13.

Lewis Hamilton's run to the front eventually netted the Brit third place running position into the late stage of the Japanese Grand Prix. Attempting to cap off a fierce, determined drive with a runner-up position, Hamilton approached and began hovering over the rear of Red Bull-TAG Heuer of Max Verstappen. Into the final laps, the Mercedes AMG closed in on second place's Max Verstappen pulling within a second of the Red Bull Racing car with several laps remaining. The three-time world championship experience of Hamilton tested the young grand prix winner Verstappen. With 2 laps remaining, Hamilton made his attempt at the runner-up spot into Suzuka's turn 16 chicane but locked-up and overshot the turn-in leaving him to settle for third place. Mercedes AMG issued a protest following the late-race incident insisting Verstappen performed a dangerously defensive move. However, the protest was promptly withdrawn as Lewis Hamilton who later clarified on Twitter he did not want to pursue a penalty for Red Bull Racing and Verstappen for the incident.

Running a clean, steady race, Nico Rosberg captured the Japanese Grand Prix in an overwhelmingly underwhelming manner. Capitalizing on his pole position, the German was left unchallenged over the 53 laps for what was a 9th grand prix victory for the 2016 season. A win that allows Rosberg to push his drivers' championship point lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton to 33 makers heading into the final four Formula 1 events, Mercedes AMG's united efforts between their two drivers in Japan clinches the constructors' title for the 3rd consecutive year.

Finishing outside of the podium positions, both Ferrari racers participated in a quiet but respectable outing that saw drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen overcome grid place penalties after qualifying. Starting 6th, Vettel reached fourth place while Raikkonen rose from a five-position demotion due to a gearbox change to finish 5th. While the 2016 Formula 1 Constructors' Champion was won by Mercedes AMG, Ferrari is still in the hunt for the runner-up position in the standings 50 points behind Red Bull Racing. The second Red Bull-TAG Heuer machine driven by Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth.


Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

After a sluggish start to the season, Force India has continued to show impressive consistency in Japan, Sergio Perez crossed the finish line at Suzuka in 7th place while teammate Nico Hulkenberg followed in 8th. Since the British Grand Prix, at least one Force India car has scored points elevating the Mercedes-Benz powered race team to the position of fourth in the constructors championship standings.  

For what proved to be the leading strategy for lapping the Suzuka Circuit through the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix, a two-stop plan was exercised by the top eight finishing competitors. The Williams Martini Racing team drivers rounded out the top-10. Felipe Massa finished 9th ahead of Valtteri Bottas being the only competitors finishing the points paying positions to endure the Japanese Grand Prix's 53 laps with a one pit stop strategy after starting the event on medium compound Pirelli tires. Bottas' Williams-Mercedes was able to narrow fend off the Haas F1 Team's Romain Grosjean for the tenth place spot.

Since there were no retirements due to mechanical or on-track incidents, every driver of the 22-car field finished the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix.

Austin, Texas' Circuit of the Americas will serve as the next venue for deciding the outcome of the 2016 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship as well as one of four chances to leave 2016 triumphant. The United States Grand Prix will take place on October 23rd.

2016 Formula 1
Japanese Grand Prix
Race Results


Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
5 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
7 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
10 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
11 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
12 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
13 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
14 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
16 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
17 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
18 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
19 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
20 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
21 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz
22 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz


Sunday, October 9, 2016

By A Narrow Margin, Rosberg Beats Hamilton for Japanese GP Pole



The remaining five races in the 2016 Formula 1 season has the promise to be a tight battle between Mercedes AMG drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Braking away from the remainder of the grand prix race grid in a similar way as happened in the previous two seasons, the Mercedes AMG team is all but guaranteed to clinch the manufacturers' championship. As for the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship, never before in the previous two championship seasons for the German factory organization has resulted in such a fierce battle into the latter stages. Following a bizarre Malaysian Grand Prix last week, Rosberg leads Hamilton by 23 points.

A week after the race where Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo won following Nico Rosberg's lap 1 contact from Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton suffering a power unit failure while leading, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka presents a chance to add another chapter to the circuit's storied history for affecting world championships. For qualifying at the 18-turn, 5.807-kilometer track defined for requiring power, balance and durability from a race machine, Suzuka epitomized the uncertainty of this year's championship.

In the final stage of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, the difference between the Mercedes AMG race cars was just 0.013 seconds. At the end, it was Nico Rosberg that inched his way to a 8th pole position for the 2016 season. The third consecutive year that the German driver will be starting at the front of the race in Suzuka, Rosberg is still chasing his first victory on the track while teammate and front row starter Lewis Hamilton is hunting for this third victory in a row in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Ferraris led the way in the Q1 session in Japanese Grand Prix qualifying with Sebastian Vettel claiming a slight 0.015-second advantage on teammate Kimi Raikkonen. At the conclusion of the time trials, the two drivers were the second fastest team. Raikkonen was slated to start third on the grid for Sunday's race but his team would need to make a late change of his Ferrari's gearbox resulting in an 8th place starting spot. The second Ferrari of Vettel will also not be able to assume the fourth place starting spot. Following the last race incident, Sebastian Vettel was assessed a three-place grid penalty starting 6th. Vettel is the most winning active Formula 1 driver at Suzuka with four event wins on the track.

Promoted to the second row for the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing team continues to be floating on a wave of success and fortune following the 1-2 finish in Malaysia. The youngster Max Verstappen is starting third while Daniel Ricciardo will be fourth on the grid.

Aside from Mercedes AMG, Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, two other teams have inserted their two drivers into the top-10 at Suzuka. Sergio Perez will lead the charge of Force India powered Mercedes-Benz race cars in Japan by grabbing the 5th spot. Nico Hulkenberg will launch from 9th place. Attempting to iron out some late season bugs in what has otherwise been a decent rookie season, Haas F1 Team ended up with both drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez in the top-10.

In addition to Scuderia Ferrari team cars, two other drivers have been demoted to the back of the Japanese Grand Prix due to penalties due to mechanical repairs. At the back of the field serving a grid penalty is the Manor Racing car for Pascal Wehrlein who's team switched the gearbox ahead of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. Also announced hours before the race's start was news from McLaren Honda that Jenson Button would drop to the back of the grid field due to a engine change. Button's final race at Suzuka as a Formula 1 competitor, the 2011 winner of the Japanese Grand Prix starts in an unremarkable position for a track he fondly races.

Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix will be a 53-lap event set for 2:00 PM local time (1:00 AM Eastern time).

2016 Formula 1
Japanese 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 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
5 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
7 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
8 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
10 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
11 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
12 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
13 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
14 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
15 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
16 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
17 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
18 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
19 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
20 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz
21 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
22 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda