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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Lewis Hamilton Flies to Silverstone Pole

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Three weeks have past since Sebastian Vettel won the Canadian Grand Prix. The 2013 Formula 1 tour returns to Europe for the coveted British Grand Prix. Since 1987, the permanent home for England's biggest motor race has been set on the property that was formerly a Royal Air Force airfield. Silverstone Circuit holds the many grand prix teams look forward to each year as a home race. Qualifying for the 2013 Formula 1 event, an English driver was able to relish a win on his nation's track.

On a dry track in Q3, Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time in setting the grid for the British Grand Prix. The Mercedes AMG team driver posted a 1-minute, 29.607-second lap time around Silverstone for pole. Hamilton handed Mercedes AMG there fifth pole in the 2013 Formula 1 season. Proclaiming, “It feels incredible to be on pole” Lewis Hamilton captured his second-career British Grand Prix pole. 

It was an overall impressive effort for the Mercedes AMG team in British Grand Prix qualifying when Nico Rosberg scored other front row position. Recording the second-fastest time on Saturday, Rosberg was roughly 0.45 seconds slower than his teammate. Hamilton and Rosberg combined for the third all-Mercedes AMG front row this year.

Setting closely identical times, the Red Bull Racing team drivers will fill the second row of the 2013 British Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel had a 0.09 second faster lap time to grant the German the edge over teammate Mark Webber. With news coming out earlier this week that Webber will be retiring from Formula 1 to pursue new frontiers in sports car racing, the remaining races will be winding down a after five seasons together.

Qualifying fifth, Paul di Resta fantastic effort with a Force India-Mercedes has been completely tarnished in post-race. Weighing 1.5 kilograms less than the minimum weight capacity, the entry was disqualified. In accordance with Formula 1 series rules, Force India's di Resta will either start from the rear of the grid or from the pit lane. Thanks to a Q3 berth by Adrian Sutil, Force India will have one car placed front to the front for the start of the British Grand Prix.


Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service


With Paul di Resta's time being disallowed, Daniel Ricciardo of Scuderia Toro Rosso has been promoted to fifth on the starting grid. In seventh and eighth place, the Lotus F1 Team appears to be losing pace with front-running contenders. Romain Grosjean was marginally faster than his more veteran teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Striking to see in qualifying for the 2013 British Grand Prix is the faltering of Ferrari. Fernando Alonso entered the Q3 top-ten but had a difficult time finding a fast lap at Silverstone. Qualifying ninth, Alonso summed up the time trial session saying, "We can consider this the worst Saturday of the season so far, having never finished so far down, but now we must react immediately to try and return to the form we showed at the start of the year.". The second Ferrari of Felipe Massa settled with an 11th place position as the Brazilian driver pointed to a shortage of track time as a contributing factor to his Ferrari's lack of pace.

The 52-lap British Grand Prix at Silverstone is set to start at 1 PM local time (8 AM Eastern time) on Sunday. The weather forecast calls for a dry race.



2013 Formula 1
British Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





1 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault
4 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault
5 19 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
6 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes-Benz
7 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault
8 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault
9 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari Ferrari
10 5 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes-Benz
11 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari Ferrari
12 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
13 6 Sergio Perez McLaren Mercedes-Benz
14 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari
15 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 Renault
16 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Renault
17 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari
18 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault
19 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth
20 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth
21 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault
22 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes-Benz

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Dominant Performance for Vettel's First Canadian GP Win

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Competing in his sixth full season in Formula 1, Germany's Sebastian Vettel has claimed three championships and 28 race wins heading into the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix event weekend. However, with all of the success Vettel has enjoyed in a career that has recently crossed 100 starts, he was denied victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. That was until this year's running of the Grand Prix of Canada.

From the pole, the 2013 edition of the race was dominated by the German Red Bull Racing driver. Sebastian Vettel utilized dry racing conditions and a solid start over the Mercedes AMG car of Lewis Hamilton to sail into an immediate lead. The #1 Red Bull-Renault conceded the lead of the race for only two pit stops quickly replacing himself at the top of the field on both occasions.



Photo credit: Pirelli Photo Service

While the polesitter of the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix circulated precisely with no immediate pressure, the top-five was very much active. After mustering a hard-fought third-fastest time in the Q3 time trial session, Valtteri Bottas found it difficult to keep his Williams-Renault at the front during race conditions. Tire degradation and a drive-through penalty for an incident with Force India's Adrian Sutil had Bottas settling for 14th place. The second Williams-Renault driven by Pastor Maldonado also suffered from a lack of grip on softer tires. Unable to find the speed of other teams, Maldonado was relegated to a 16th place finish. The Williams F1 Team still lacks a 2013 constructor point after seven completed races.

Lewis Hamilton handily operated in the second place position in the Mercedes AMG car. Though unable to catch Vettel, Hamilton would have the challenge of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari as the race progressed.

The second Red Bull Racing entry of Mark Webber had podium contending speed for much of the Canadian Grand Prix. Itching to be at least on the podium with teammate Sebastian Vettel, Webber's efforts were impeded during the midpoint of the 70-lap race. A minor collision in the infamous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve hairpin with the Caterham-Renault of Giedo van der Garde damaged the front wing of Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault. The incident resulted in a penalty against van der Garde (who later retired from the grand prix) and Webber's car being hindered. Able to survive the race without needing to make an emergency stop to repair the damage to his race car, Mark Webber carried on to finish a distant fourth place. In a surreal development for the tough and challenging race track, only three cars would be classified as out of the Canadian Grand Prix.

After 70 laps, the checkered flag for the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix flew for the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel. Despite finishing 14.4 seconds in the lead without a major foe forcing him to defend his position, Vettel's win was not mistake-free effort. In lap 10 and lap 52, the German make minor bobbles requiring him to hold on tightly to his Red Bull-Renault. Nonetheless, Sebastian Vettel was not to be denied his 29th career Formula 1 race win. Claiming his first career Canadian Grand Prix victory, Vettel has won 18 distinct grand prix events.




Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

For second place, a fierce fight between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso decided the order of the remaining two spots on the race's podium. Near the end, Alonso's Ferrari was fast enough to close a 10-second gap. On the late laps, it was Fernando Alonso who triumphed over the Mercedes driver. A valuable second-place honour for the Spaniard, Alonso takes second spot in the Formula 1 drivers' standings from Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. However, with the leader of the points standing winning the Canadian Grand Prix, the deficient over Vettel grows by seven points. After the Montreal race, Sebastian Vettel at a 36-point advantage.

Despite losing second place, Hamilton was content with the third-place effort. "It would have been nice to have kept second place of course but Fernando was very quick today and it was difficult to keep him behind. I got close to taking the place back but he was just that little bit too fast." said Hamilton in post-race comments. Lewis Hamilton's finish in addition to a fifth-place result for Nico Rosberg gave the Mercedes GP team a solid third place in the constructers' points standing closing to within 11 points to Ferrari.




Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service


While rookie Bottas suffered a massive backslide through the course of the Canadian Grand Prix, the veterans were able to thrust their way into the top-10 finishers. Having topped the leaderboard in a wet practice session on Friday, the Force India-Mercedes of Paul di Resta climbed from a lackluster qualifying effort of 17th place. Netting a seventh result, the effort for di Resta and Force India was aided greatly by a one-pit stop strategy after starting on medium compound tires. Starting 16th, the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa sealed a double-point race for the Italian team. While Red Bull Racing is pulling away in the constructors' points, Alonso and Massa scoring points minimized Ferrari's loss to five markers.   

It was a disappointing outing for the McLaren-Mercedes race cars. The winning team of the previous three Canadian Grand Prix events, McLaren's Sergio Perez and Jenson Button was no where near the race contender of earlier years. In fact, with an 11th place finish for Perez and a 12th place result for Button, the McLaren-Mercedes cars were unable to score a single point. Heading to Silverstone, McLaren will want to greatly remove their fortunes in front of what is considered a hometown crowd for the 50-year old motorsport organization.

Set for June 30th, the British Grand Prix comes with a brief recovery period for drivers and a window for car development for teams.


2013 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





1 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault
2 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari Ferrari
3 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
4 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault
5 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
6 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
7 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari Ferrari
9 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault
10 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes-Benz
11 6 Sergio Perez McLaren Mercedes-Benz
12 5 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes-Benz
13 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault
14 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Renault
15 19 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
16 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 Renault
17 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth
18 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault
19 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth
20 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari
21 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari
22 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault



Sunday, June 9, 2013

Vettel Snaps Mercedes Streak to Grow Personal Canadian GP Pole Streak in Qualifying


Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

The second day of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend presented the 2013 Formula 1 drivers and teams many of the same challenges of Friday. After a mixed weather Friday practicing at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the positive side to the tricky conditions is teams acquired a full set of data for the qualifying and race setup continuing on with this weekend. Saturday's qualifying for the 2013 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Canada was a period of time where the notes from Friday morning's damp practice proved most helpful. However, qualifying outcome deeply contradicted the results of that Friday session.

A wet Circuit Gilles Villeneuve race track called upon the use of intermediate Pirelli tires throughout the qualifying session. In Q1, conditions threw a wrench into the efforts of Romain Grosjean and Paul di Resta. Grosjean was third fastest in Friday's dry afternoon practice but could not find speed to progress out of the first time trial group. A penalty for an incident at the Monaco Grand Prix compounds Romain Grosjean's efforts as he will be forced to start his Lotus-Renault in 22nd place. Despite showing terrific pace in the wet Friday, di Resta missed a chance to advance to Q2 qualifying 17th for the Canadian Grand Prix. Fortunes were more favourable for the second Force India-Mercedes slotting in 8th for tomorrow's Formula 1 main event.

In Q2, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa met trouble on the third turn of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after slipping on a wet painted line. Crashing his Ferrari race car, this continues a recent streak of bad luck for the Brazilian who crashed twice in the last race weekend at Monaco. Fernando Alonso will be carrying the flag for the Scuderia Ferrari organization by starting sixth on Sunday.

Entering the final Q3 session, the fight for the pole was between the Mercedes AMG and the Red Bull Racing. Prevailing as the fastest was the Red Bull-Renault driven by Sebastian Vettel. Muscling out a 1 minute, 25.425 second lap time, the effort placed the defending Formula 1 champion ahead of Lewis Hamilton by 9/100ths of a second. The pole for Vettel is his third-straight time starting at the very front of the Canadian Grand Prix. However, he is still chasing his first Formula 1 win on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Just missing an opportunity to place a Mercedes AMG car on pole for the fifth-straight grand prix in Montreal, Hamilton lines up on the front row as a confident driver in Canada. He has won the Canadian Grand Prix three wins which includes a rookie win on the 4.361-kilometer track.


Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Third place in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix was an interesting surprise for Sunday. A 2013 Formula 1 rookie starting in his highest starting position yet in a race, Valtteri Bottas powered his Williams-Renault to an impressive feat. With certain pressure on the Finnish driver starting on the second row of the grid Sunday, Williams F1 Team is still fighting to gain their first championship points of 2013. Bottas beat out Monaco Grand Prix winner Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes AMG car for the third place position. Mark Webber rounds out the top-five for the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix starting grid.

The 70-lap Canadian Grand Prix is set to start at 2 PM local time. Weather is as unpredictable as the race tends to be.



2013 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Starting Lineup


Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





1 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault
2 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Renault
4 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
5 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault
6 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari Ferrari
7 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
8 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes-Benz
9 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault
10 19 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
11 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari
12 6 Sergio Perez McLaren Mercedes-Benz
13 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 Renault
14 5 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes-Benz
15 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari
16 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari Ferrari
17 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes-Benz
18 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault
19 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth
20 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth
22 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault
22 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Alonso Has Competitors Seeing Red After Friday Canadian Grand Prix Practice

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service


The first 2013 Formula 1 race taking place in the Americas, 4.361-kilometer Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Montreal's ÃŽle Notre-Dame is hosting the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend. Sunday's race will be the 50th Canadian Grand Prix held and the 34th visit for Formula 1 to the track named after a famous Canadian driver. Gilles Villeneuve's career was best remembered for his stint on the Ferrari team where he won all six of his grand prix races. The inaugural Canadian Grand Prix held on ÃŽle Notre-Dame in 1978 was one of those victories driving a red Ferrari. Nearly 35 years since that feat, practice for the 2013 race has a modern Ferrari organization looking good heading into qualifying and the main event.

In what turned out to be the fastest of the two Friday practices, the afternoon session saw Fernando Alonso post the quickest time on the day. On Pirelli supersoft tires, Alonso piloted his Ferrari F138 around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1 minute, 14.818 seconds. The fastest time for the Spaniard was a mere 12/100ths of a second better than the effort of the Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton. Roughly a quarter of a second off the fastest lap of Hamilton was Romain Grosjean's effort in a Lotus-Renault.

Teams and drivers posted their fastest times in the second practice largely due to morning showers that dampened the Montreal race course. Plagued by a wet track, the first practice took place on intermediate treaded Pirelli tires. Despite posting a rather short 10-lap effort through the Friday morning session, Paul di Resta and the Force India team prevailed as the fastest under wet conditions. The 1 minute, 21.020 second time for di Resta was a far cry from the afternoon times posted later in the day. Alonso was fourth fastest in the wetter morning practice for Ferrari. In the afternoon, Paul di Resta's Force India-Mercedes could only muster a 13th quickest time. 

A surprise in both practice sessions was the lack of performance from the constructors' championship leading Red Bull Racing squad. Red Bull-Renault race cars driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had been trailing in the lower half of the top 10 throughout Friday until Mark Webber posted a 1 minute, 15.212 second lap time in the second practice. Ninth fastest in the morning session and seventh-place on the afternoon time chart, Sebastian Vettel reported the day as "tricky".

With Friday presenting drivers and teams one practice in the wet and on a dry circuit, the mix of weather is expected to influence the remainder of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. There's a probability for rain during Saturday afternoon's qualifying and the 70-lap race on Sunday.



2013 Formula 1
Canadian Grand Prix
Friday Practice Session #2 


Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





1 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari Ferrari
2 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault
4 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault
5 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
6 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari Ferrari
7 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault
8 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes-Benz
9 5 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes-Benz
10 19 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
11 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault
12 6 Sergio Perez McLaren Mercedes-Benz
13 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes-Benz
14 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 Renault
15 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
16 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Renault
17 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari
18 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari
19 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth
20 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault
21 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth
22 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Williams F1 Surprises Signing with Mercedes-Benz for 2014

Photo Credit: Daimler AG

With the McLaren Formula 1 team planning a switch to Honda in 2015, Mercedes-Benz had been left with the possibility of one fewer customer of their new turbocharged engine. It didn't take long for the German automaker to ink a deal with a new team.

In what could be viewed as a stunning move, Williams F1 Team decided to abandon their association with Renault in favour of Mercedes-Benz. Accepting the power of Mercedes-Benz's future turbocharged, 1.6 liter V6 engine, Williams F1 Team wants to ring in a more consistently competitive package for the 2014 season. Team founder Sir Frank Williams is particularly pleased inking the new deal. “I’m delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond. Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package". On the side of the engine supplier, Managing Director of Mercedes AMG HPP Andy Cowell is greets the partnership saying,   "Williams is one of the sport’s iconic names and we are very excited to be working together towards a successful future under the new regulations".

The formulation of Williams' new engine partnership is significant for Mercedes-Benz but also news-making in regards to Renault. Williams F1 Team established a dynasty with Renault in the mid-1990s. In fourth out of six years from 1992 to 1997, Williams-Renault race cars were handled by the Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion. When Williams F1 Team reunited with Renault in 2012, winning magic between the two companies returned briefly. Driver Pastor Maldonado drove his Williams-Renault from the pole position to victory at last year's Spanish Grand Prix. That performance has not been repeated since that 2012 win. As a matter of fact, the Williams F1 Team is pointless in the 2013 constructors' points after six races.

The press announcement did not go without acknowledging the outgoing engine supplier for the Williams F1 Team. Sir Frank Williams paid tribute to the history with Renault. "I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Renault for their continued hard work since we renewed our engine partnership at the beginning of the 2012 season. We have enjoyed a strong relationship that has resulted in much success over the years, including powering us to winning ways once again last year at the Spanish Grand Prix.” said Williams. In response to Williams F1 Team's announcement, Renault Sport F1 promptly issued a statement expressing an amicable parting. "We would like to thank Williams for the warmth it has extended to Renault over the last two years and wish the team the very best for the future. Williams and Renault have a long history together and quickly recaptured its winning spirit in the early days of the rekindled partnership with victory in Spain 2012. We will continue to actively work with the team until the Brazilian Grand Prix in November to end the second incarnation of the partnership with results that do justice to its reputation." said Jean-Michel Jalinier, President of Renault Sport F1.

Starting in 2014, the agreement between Williams F1 Team and Mercedes-Benz is said to be a long-term deal.



 

Monday, June 3, 2013

Rosberg's Monte Carlo Dream: Mercedes Driver Wins Monaco Grand Prix


Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

One of the most anticipated events on the Formula 1 schedule, the Monaco Grand Prix is rich in history and prestige. Holding a grand prix race since 1929, a tight 2.075-mile street course serves as an one-of-a-kind scene for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

On Saturday, Nico Rosberg secured his three-straight pole position driving his Mercedes AMG race car to a small advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg and Hamilton have combined for four consecutive grand prix poles for their German team but were still chasing a first race victory in 2013. The 78-lap Monaco Grand Prix would be the precise period where the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team officially equals the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Lotus F1 Team in 2013.

From the start of the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg asserted control over the 22-car field leading commandingly in the early part of the race. As the Mercedes AMG of Rosberg remained unchallenged at the front, the race from second to fourth had Lewis Hamilton fending off the Red Bull Racing duo. The Red Bull-Renaults driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber starting from the second row on a mission to win their fourth straight Monaco Grand Prix.



Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

After 28 laps, the only retirement from the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix was the Caterham-Renault of Charles Pic. Pic's exit has been attributed to a gearbox failure. The retirement from the grand prix would came on lap 29 when the Ferrari of Felipe Massa crashed. Massa's crash closely mimicked his accident in final practice on Saturday. The day following the Monaco crash, Ferrari engineers analyzed Massa's car and determined the Brazilian driver's collision was a result of a front suspension failure.

While the appearance of the safety car has grown more common in recent years, it would prove surprising that there had yet to be a grand prix incident requiring the vehicle. It took the sixth race of the 2013 season for the first safety car period to occur. When the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG safety car was put in control of the Formula 1 field, the appearance was a game-changer for the Monaco Grand Prix

The safety car period provoked the top teams to convert to a two-stop strategy. In what could have been the only misstep for the Mercedes AMG team at Monaco, a double pit stop for Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton resulted in a loss of position for one of their team cars. While Rosberg was successful in jetting back into the lead of the race, Hamilton lost two spots due a small gap on the Red Bull Racing cars. The 2008 Formula 1 World Champion would be unable to regain a podium position but still finished respectfully.




Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

The Massa crash would end up not being the last moment where special considerations had to be made for mishaps. On lap 45, a red flag period was needed to clean up a collision between the Williams-Renault of Pastor Maldonado and the Marussia-Cosworth driven by Max Chilton. The accident also caused damage to the second Marussia car piloted by Jules Bianchi An accident resulting from an error made by Chilton, the Marussia team driver was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident that ended the grand prix for Maldonado. Max Chilton would wind up finishing an impressive 14th place as more cars would retire.

Once more in the race, the safety car was deployed around lap 61. An incident where Lotus-Renault driver Romain Grosjean crashed into the back of Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso-Ferrari spread considerable debris on the street circuit. Grosjean will be penalized at the Canadian Grand Prix for the collision.

As the remaining 2013 Monaco Grand Prix field was unleashed again for an 11-lap sprint to the checkered flag, other battle would result in one more retirement. McLaren's Sergio Perez was attempting to pass Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus-Renault for running fifth. Through a chicane, Perez and Raikkonen made contact. Perez would fall out of the race with suspension problems to his McLaren-Mercedes. After attending pit road to replace a punctured Pirelli tire, Raikkonen would finish the race in 10th.



Photo Credit: Nissan/Infiniti

At the flag, Nico Rosberg took the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix in dominating style. Finishing 3.8 seconds ahead of the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel, the multiple safety car periods might have skewed how effective of a day the Mercedes AMG car had in the 78-lap race. Rosberg's second-ever Formula 1 race win, the triumph comes almost on the 30th anniversary of his father Keke Rosberg's Monaco Grand Prix victory.

As the unfortunate pit stop for Lewis Hamilton cost the Mercedes AMG team a presence of two drivers on the podium, the result was another team accomplishing the double-podium finish. Red Bull Racing took second and third with Sebastian Vettel in front of Mark Webber. In the Formula 1 Drivers' standings, 18 points for Vettel gave the three-time champion a major boost at the top of the board over closest challenger Kimi Raikkonen. For the 2013 manufacturers' points, the strong presence on the podium allowed Red Bull to gain a larger advantage over second place Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Force India driver Adrain Sutil. Sutil's teammate Paul di Resta finished further back in ninth place but recovered well from a 17th place starting spot. Sandwiched between the Force India-Mercedes race cars was Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Jean-Eric Vergne.


The next race on the 2013 Formula 1 racing tour is the first North America stop in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.


2013 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Race Results


Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





1 9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
2 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault
3 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Renault
4 10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
5 15 Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 5 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes-Benz
7 3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari Ferrari
8 18 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
9 14 Paul di Resta Force India Mercedes-Benz
10 7 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus Renault
11 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber Ferrari
12 17 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Renault
13 12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber Ferrari
14 23 Max Chilton Marussia Cosworth
15 21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham Renault
16 6 Sergio Perez McLaren Mercedes-Benz
17 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault
18 19 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
19 22 Jules Bianchi Marussia Cosworth
20 16 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 Renault
21 4 Felipe Massa Ferrari Ferrari
22 20 Charles Pic Caterham Renault