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Sunday, December 6, 2015

Williams Martini Racing Signs Canadian Lance Stroll as Development Driver

Photo Credit: Williams Martini Racing


The last time the Canadian flag was flown by a driver in Formula 1 was in 2006 when Jacques Villeneuve drove for the BMW team. Though there has been no shortage of talented Canadians attracting the attention in Europe such as Bruno Spengler and Robert Wickens, the latest leading hopeful for seeing the maple flag flown in the top open wheel racing series currently rests in Lance Stroll. A young driving prospect from a well-off family (the latter being an important component for access to Formula 1) Stroll has spent the past few years in a transition from karting to smaller open wheel development series. Supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy in recent years, 17-year-old Lance Stroll is now under the umbrella of Williams Martini Racing heading into 2016.  

Lance Stroll’s addition to the Williams Martini Racing’s Young Driver Development Program was announced on November 26th. "I’m really honoured to be part of such a great team and one with so much history and success. I cannot wait to start working with Williams and very much hope we can achieve great things together in the coming years.” said Stroll adding how reaching Formula 1 is a top career goal. Willams Martini Racing’s Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams commented on their new development driver saying, "We have identified Lance as a promising talent for the future and we are happy to provide our support to his development as a driver. We look forward to working with Lance in 2016 and to the success he can achieve in the future."

Graduating from Italian F4 as the champion in 2014, the 2015 saw Stroll involved in the wild and competitive FIA F3 European Championship for Prema Powerteam. The turbulent rookie year for the 17-year-old Canadian in F3 has been marked with some bumps in the road. Enduring a wild crash at Monza that was ruled his fault, Stroll would eventually claim victory in Race #1 at the Hockenheimring. Concluding the 2015 season by scoring 6 podium spots, Stroll has already pledged a return to Prema Powerteam for the 2016 FIA F3 European Championship. Also racing for M2 Competition in New Zealand in 2015, Stroll captured the Toyota Racing Series crown. Realizing his career is still a young one, he believes the resources provided by the Williams Martini Racing Young Driver Development Program could best serve him in his progression up the motorsport ladder.  

Leaving the Ferrari Driver Academy in favour of Williams Martini Racing’s program, the move comes after questions regarding his former development program circulated in late August. There had been rumours earlier this year suggesting Scuderia Ferrari was considering cuts to their Driver Academy. This speculation was strongly denied by Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene.

Stroll’s move to Williams Martini Racing is not without some historical reflection. The Williams Formula 1 team also recruited Canadian Jacques Villeneuve from IndyCar for the 1996 on route to a 1997 championship. Time will determine if Lance Stroll will be a future pilot with the nine-time championship-winning constructor.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Nico Rosberg Wins Abu Dhabi as Light Dims on Formula 1 Racing for 2015

Photo Credit Mercedes AMG 


The final 55 laps for the 2015 Formula 1 season took place with this weekend's running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.

As a 19-event race calender neared closure, the prosperity of teams and drivers on the Formula 1 grid has been well-established since the opening race in Australia. Again, Mercedes AMG has practically left the rest of the other teams in the dust. With exception of a few events, the superiority of Mercedes AMG's F1 W06 Hybrid has left contention of most races between the organization's pilots Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton enters the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix having clinched the 2015 World Drivers' Championship three races prior in the United States. Point scored reflected his dominance in a year highlighted by 10 grand prix victories. In the shadow of Hamilton for much of the 2015 season, Nico Rosberg has emerged into the light after the United States Grand Prix taking both races in Mexico and Brazil. With the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starting in daylight and ending in the darkness of night under artificial lighting, another Mercedes AMG front row result in qualifying, neither driver wanted to be eclipsed in the final race of the season.

Twenty cars on the grid of the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix were led by Nico Rosberg for the sixth consecutive time this season. As the lights went out to start 55 laps at the 21-turn, 5.554-kilometer race track the pole-sitting Mercedes AMG of Rosberg shot to an early lead. Among the top-starters, positions remained unchanged into the first lap. Deeper in the field, misfortune met Lotus F1 Team driver Pastor Maldonado early in the event in a chain reaction collision. After contact with the Sauber-Ferrari of Felipe Nasr, Fernando Alonso's McLaren-Honda hit the Lotus-Mercedes. While Maldonado faced retirement for an incident not of his making, Alonso was assessed a drive-through penalty for the contact with the Lotus F1 Team vehicle. In post-race, Alonso expressed unhappiness with the penalty placing blame on Nasr for hitting him.


Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA


On a lap 8 pit stop, the second McLaren race car was involved in another collision. As the McLaren-Honda of Jenson Button was entering his pit, Williams' Valtteri Bottas came contact with the car as he was released by his team. An immediate, unscheduled pit stop on the next lap for a new nose and a five-second time penalty took Bottas out of contention for points in the final 2015 race. The fault for the Finnish Bottas would result as costly in the season-end standings.

For parts of this season, Ferrari led by four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel had demonstrated an ability to effectively counter the pace of the Mercedes AMG squad. However, after a difficult qualifying on Saturday, Vettel started 16th place and would have to fight feverishly Spending an extended time on his first set of Pirelli race tires pitting more than 10 laps later than the leaders. Climbing to fourth place by lap 29, this would be the endpoint of the Ferrari's recovery from a poor qualifying spot. Finishing a full 20 seconds ahead of 5th place, Vettel crossed the finish line more than 24 seconds later than the driver who took the last podium spot.

In the final for the 2015 season, Formula 1 spectators were treated one last battle between the Mercedes AMG teammates. At the front, Nico Rosberg controlled of the pace for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but was challenged by Lewis Hamilton through the midway portion of the race. Extending his period on track after his first pit stop, Closing on Rosberg's #6 car, Hamilton was hovering outside the one-second DRS range of his German teammate just before the lead car pitted. For 10 laps, Lewis Hamilton led the race but his older Pirelli tires gambling he could preserve a large enough gap to obtain the lead following an upcoming pit stop. When Hamilton pitted on lap 41, Nico Rosberg retook the top position maintaining a sizeable gap that eventually led him to victory. Crossing the finish line 8.271 seconds ahead of second-place Hamilton. His third win, Nico Rosberg reflected on the end of his 2015 season. "This is the perfect ending to the season for me - something I hoped for so much after a tough year. To finish with six poles and three wins in a row is awesome. I am so happy that I found some performance at the end of the season. I also made my peace with this track after the toughest moment of my career here last year, which is a nice feeling." said Rosberg. Scoring 7 points more than Hamilton in the each of his three race wins, Rosberg narrowed the first-second place gap in the World Drivers' Championship to 59 markers.


Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA


Though Hamilton had to play runner-up to his teammate for a third-straight event, the Brit finishes 2015 in a familiar place of honour after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. With second place at the Yas Marina Circuit, Lewis Hamilton's second-consecutive title-winning season ended with him missing the podium on only two occasions. Replying that he wasn't able to finish the season as strong as he started, Hamilton is still grateful to his Mercedes AMG team for propelling him to the 2015 championship and pledges to come back stronger next season.

Joining the Mercedes AMG teammates on the podium for the final 2015 grand prix celebration is the 2012 winner of the Abu Dhabi event. For what has been an up-and-down year for Kimi Raikkonen, 2015 concluded as a better season than 2014 where the former Formula 1 world champion settled with a 12th place in the overall standings. Benefiting with the use of a better Ferrari race car in 2015, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was Raikkonen's third podium of the season. Climbing substantially in the final drivers' point tally, Kimi Raikkonen ended 2015 in a strong claiming fourth place thanks partly to Williams Valtteri Bottas' struggles in the final race. The before-mentioned finish of Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari in Abu Dhabi allowed the Italian race team to symbolically end the season in the position better than almost every team with exception to Mercedes AMG.  

In 5th and 7th place, the Force India concluded the season strong on the Yas Marina Circuit. Sergio Perez led the team effort in the final race while Nico Hulkenberg fended off 8th through 11th place that finished within 10 seconds to second Force India-Mercedes racer. Force India teammates sandwiched a respectable effort of Daniel Ricciardo driving his Red Bull-Renault to sixth. Ricciardo as well as Daniil Kvyat displayed some brilliance this season that is considered an overall disappointment for Red Bull Racing. Garnering headlines mainly on a feud with engine supplier Renault and possible 2016 engine options that included Honda, Mercedes-Benz as well as Ferrari, Red Bull Racing's on track effort was not without some moments of worthy spotlight. However, the season ends without a Red Bull Racing team victory (first time since the 2008 Formula 1 season).

Two final Mercedes-Benz powered machines rounded-out the top-10 finishers. Williams Martini Racing's Felipe Massa ended with an 8th place run at Abu Dhabi. Last season, Massa placed in the runner-up spot at this final race on the calender. The Williams-Mercedes showed strength at times in 2015 but seemed to have lost some ground with the factory-supported Mercedes AMG operation.

After a very weak 2014 season, Lotus F1 Team's switch from Renault to Mercedes-Benz power for 2015 gave the outfit a better showing.by comparison. Not a breakthrough season, the latter part of the season led to concerns whether the team would be able to finish the year in competition. With a likely buyout by Renault pending for 2016, the team is also bidding farewell to Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Having started his career with the team when it was previously the Renault factory team, driver Grosjean ended his season with an 8th place result. Romain Grosjean will drive for the newly-formed Haas F1 Team next year,

The upcoming 2016 Formula 1 is set to start in its customary kick-off in Australia on March 20th.


2015 Formula 1
Abu Dhabi 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 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
5 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz
9 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
10 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault
11 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
12 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
13 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
14 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
15 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
16 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
17 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
18 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
19 98 Roberto Merhi Manor Marussia Ferrari
20 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz


Sunday, November 29, 2015

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




Tuesday, November 17, 2015

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)


Sunday, November 15, 2015

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


Sunday, November 1, 2015

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

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Rosberg Re-Establishes Mercedes Pole-Winning Ways in Japan

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG


The last race in Singapore proved to be the biggest defeat of Mercedes AMG in the last two seasons. Not only was the German factory team defeated in the main event, their long running pole and front-row starting streak was ended by the efforts of Ferrari and lead driver Sebastian Vettel. One week later, the team supporting championship-contending pilots Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg set sights on the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix's Suzuka Circuit in order to reclaim their glory.

For the first time returning to the same track where last year Jules Bianchi suffered his eventually fatal accident in the rain, some competitors appeared apprehensive taking to a wet track on Friday. Since the forecast called for a dry qualifying for Saturday, teams like Mercedes AMG chose to limit their track activity on the first day at Suzuka. In the third and final practice on Saturday ahead of time trials, Nico Rosberg claimed a near 3/10ths of a second advantage over teammate Hamilton. With Mercedes AMG once again positioned with superior pace, the team prepared alongside nine other Formula 1 teams for Japanese Grand Prix qualifying.

Throughout all three sessions, the Mercedes AMG duo fought for the top spot. At the end, it was Nico Rosberg claiming the pole for the Japanese Grand Prix. Clocked setting a 1-minute, 32.584-second lap time around the 5.807-kilometer track, the pole-winning result by the German was just 0.076 seconds faster than teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg's top time was cemented before time officially ran out in Q3.

A frightening high-speed crash involving the Red Bull-Renault race car, driven by Russian pilot Daniil Kyvat, occurring in the last moment of the final qualifying group placed a yellow flag out on the course. The caution flag effectively defeated any possibility of Hamilton being able to set a faster time then Rosberg's. Putting a wheel off onto the grass, the Kvyat's car shot violently against a safety barrier and promptly flipped sideways as wheels dug into the sand of the run-off area. Landing upright, the driver inside the mangled Red Bull-Renault faired well considering his wild ride. While Daniil Kvyat was thankfully unhurt in the massive impact, the Russian driver will have to start the Japanese Grand Prix from pit road due to the extensive damage of his primary race car.

With factory-backed Mercedes-Benz powered vehicle occupying the front row, Valtteri Bottas mounted the charge that placed his Williams-Mercedes in third in Japan. Singapore winner Sebastian Vettel will start fourth in his Ferrari alongside the Williams of Bottas. In the third row, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen will start immediately behind their teammates.

Scheduled to start at 3 P.M. local time, the 53-lap 2015 Japanese Grand Prix will be seen at 1 A.M. in the eastern time zone.


2015 Formula 1
Japanese 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 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
5 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes-Benz
6 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
7 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Renault
8 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus Mercedes-Benz
9 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
11 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus Mercedes-Benz
12 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
14 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
16 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari
17 33 Max Verstappen Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault
18 28 Will Stevens Manor Marussia Ferrari
19 53 Alexander Rossi Manor Marussia Ferrari
20 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Renault

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Singapore Grand Prix Pole for Vettel and Ferrari Ends Mercedes AMG Qualifying Streak

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.


Since 2007, the Singapore Grand Prix has been a memorable component to the second-half of the Formula 1 schedule. The Singpour Street Circuit is a rare occasion to see Formula 1 race cars run under the lights. A spectacle unlike what we normally see from the open-wheel series, it seems to only make sense the race should provide a suspenseful qualifying session.

After a season-long reign in qualifying, Mercedes-AMG was finally bettered by another outfit. Lapping the 23-turn, 5.073-kilometer track at a 1-minute, 43.885-second time in the Q3 session, Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari earned to top grid position. The 2015 Singapore Grand Prix will be the first time Sebastian Vettel will start on pole with the historic Scuderia Ferrari team (the organization's first pole since 2012). His first top effort in qualifying with the famous red-coloured race machine, the result is actually Vettel's second time occasion taking a pole with a Ferrari-powered car. The German's maiden Formula 1 win at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix was accomplished from the top spot with a Toro Rosso with Ferrari engine power. In addition to Vettel's pole, Ferrari celebrated the steady recovery of the second car driven by Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen will start directly behind Vettel in third place.

Beside both factory Ferrari race cars, the Red Bull-Renaults figured well in qualifying. Taking a front row position, Red Bull's lead driver Daniel Ricciardo was 0.543 seconds slower than his former teammate. After setting top time in the Q1 session, Daniil Kvyat is positioned in fourth on the race grid. Over the course of the month, speculation has indicated the Red Bull Racing team's days with Renault engines is likely over. While earlier rumours circulated Mercedes-Benz would propel the four-time world constructor champion, Ferrari and even Audi brands have since been mentioned.


Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA


Sebastian Vettel's pole position-winning performance with a Ferrari destroyed the streak of the Mercedes AMG race team in qualifying. After 23 consecutive poles for the Mercedes AMG team, the organization fell just one position short of tying the Formula 1 record for repeated poles. As is typical, Hamilton is the highest-placed Mercedes-Benz powered driver. The striking difference is the fact the leading Mercedes power unit will be starting a 2015 Formula 1 grand prix in fifth place. Nico Rosberg is placed alongside Hamilton on the third row of the Singapore Grand Prix grid. Mercedes-Benz's leading customer team of Williams Martini Racing starts just below the factory cars. Valtteri Bottas starts in seventh while Felipe Massa will launch from ninth.

Starting at the tail end of 2015 Singapore Grand Prix will be American Alexander Rossi making his Formula 1 debut with the Manor Maruassia F1 Team. Days away from turning 24 years old, Rossi is a former Formula BMW America champion and his spent that past several seasons serving as a test driver for Caterham and Marussia. Alexander Rossi's planned start will be the first in Formula 1 by a driver from the United States since Scott Speed in 2007.

The Sunday night race in Singapore is scheduled for 8:00 PM local time (8:00 AM Eastern time).


2015 Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix
Starting Grid


Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

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





Monday, September 7, 2015

Hamilton Wins Monza Despite Formula 1-Style Deflategate Investigation

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

The 11th race of the 2015 season for some of the top open wheel drivers in the world, 53 laps around the fastest track Formula 1 assembles in a season is a potentially torturous test of machinery. The high-speed, low downforce setup around the 5.793-kilometer Autodromo Nazionale di Monza pushes teams to extract peak engine performance from their vehicles. Before weekend, Honda and Renault added numerous components to the point affiliated teams received grid place penalties assessed after this weekend's qualifying. Even the favored Mercedes AMG team came to Monza with enhancements made to their power units.

Surprising few, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes AMG sat on the pole for the 2015 Italian Grand Prix. What was a matter of bewilderment was the Hamilton's fellow front row occupant. In a Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen started the race as the main focus of the patriotic Italian fan base who would have loved to see the Prancing Horse win on the Monza circuit. It was a short-lived moment of appreciation in Sunday's main event for Raikkonen. When the lights went out at the start of the grand prix, the Ferrari for the Finnish driver stalled at a precarious instant as the field launched. Kimi Raikkonen's car finally got up to speed only after the entire field had flown by. After potentially being in a situation of contending for an easy podium or even a win at Monza, Raikkonen and the Ferrari race car fought a difficult uphill battle.


Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

While Lewis Hamilton faced an immediate challenge from the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, the Mercedes AMG race car quickly pulled away neutralizing the chance for an Italian team winning on its home track. In less than 15 minutes into the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton had a 5.5-second gap over Vettel.

As Lewis Hamilton was enjoying a Sunday drive in Italy, his teammate Nico Rosberg fought in a weekend that had gone the way the German wanted. After suffering engine issues in final practice, Rosberg's car ran an older spec power unit layout that put him in a potential handicap to Hamilton. Qualifying fourth, a poor start by Nico Rosberg opened the door to the pair of Williams-Mercedes race cars. Thanks to a quick pit stop made on lap 18 courtesy of the Mercedes AMG crew, Rosberg leapfrogged the Williams machines when drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas came to the attention of pit lane a few laps later. Elevated to third, Rosberg spent roughly half of the race's distance narrowing the interval between himself and second place's Sebastian Vettel.

After 53 laps, the commanding authority Lewis Hamilton raced would not be challenged. Hamilton crossed the line more than 25 seconds ahead of second-place Vettel. Potentially the seventh win of the 2015 season, the Italian Grand Prix victory came into scrutiny short after the race.

By crossing the line to the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton defended his 2014 race win at the track. However, Lewis Hamilton's 40th grand prix victory would be placed in jeopardy in post-race when it was revealed tire pressures on his Mercedes AMG tested below the mandatory limit. While an underinflated tire was detected on left-rear corner of Hamilton's race car, the amount of the violation was 0.3 PSI. A clear breach of technical rules as well as being a potential safety risk, a deflated tire could potentially provide an advantage in regards to grip. Tire pressures on the second Mercedes AMG driven by Nico Rosberg also had an underinflated tire that was 1.1 PSI under the limit. Since Rosberg's race ended in retirement, there was no concerns for a penalty. In the end, Lewis Hamilton's race stood as official in a weekend the defending British Formula 1 champion described as a perfect one.

In post-race, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff described the ordeal with the deflated tire. "As Mercedes-Benz, our number one priority is to operate our car within the prescribed safety limits and this is not something we would ever take a chance on. Indeed, we worked very closely with Pirelli since Spa to help define these limits for the race weekend in Monza, and we saw today that there were no problems in a very high-speed, hard-fought race; my compliments go to Pirelli for the job they have done here in Monza", said Wolff. With Hamilton's win, the points gap between the Mercedes AMG in the 2015 drivers' championship has widened considerably. The Italian Grand Prix becomes the second in a row for Formula 1 where tires were the talk of post-race analysis. At the last race on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Sebastian Vettel leveled criticism at Pirelli for a tire failure late in the event. In truth, the tire wore out because of excessive distance.

The podium at Monza was immersed by an emotional atmosphere as a loud, the Italian crowd cheered the drivers of three separate teams (the first time such an occurrence happened this season). Mercedes shared the Italian Grand Prix podium with Ferrari and Williams. Sebastian Vettel was unable to keep pace with the exceptionally fast Lewis Hamilton but maintained the second-place position for much of the event even resisting Nico Rosberg's late challenge.


Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA



Collecting his second podium finish in 2015, Felipe Massa was a benefactor of Rosberg's late retirement. By little more than 3/10th of a second, Massa fended off his teammate Valtteri Bottas. "It's really emotional to have been on the podium. It was a difficult but fantastic race, I didn't have the best start but I was still able to pass cars so it was good enough. I worked hard to open the gap to Valtteri, but when I pitted early it gave him the advantage on tyres at the end of the race. It was hard to keep him behind as he really wanted it, but I just about managed it." said Massa in post-race.

Starting on the front row but falling to the back by the first corner of the Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen and his Ferrari hoed a difficult road for 53 laps. At the checkered flag, Raikkonen had climbed to fifth place. Behind Raikkonen's Ferrari, the Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg delivered a favourable performance at Monza. While Force India had a low-yield start of the 2015 Formula 1 season, the recent grand prix races have shown some progress for the team. The Italian Grand Prix was the third time in five events that both cars finished within the points.

After suffering a poor qualifying and a grid position drop to the second-to-last place at the race's start, Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull Racing team had an eventful outcome. From 19th, Ricciardo surged to 8th place. Teammate Daniil Kvyat emerged from 18th place to take 10th in the second Red Bull-Renault. Though the result would not completely satisfy observers concerned with Renault's competitiveness against the Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari machines, the Monza event was nonetheless a decent points showing for the outfit. Splitting the two Red Bull Racing cars, Marcus Ericsson's Sauber-Ferrari accomplished his third consecutive points-scoring run. Every vehicle appearing in the top-10 utilized a one-stop strategy.

Only four cars were record to have not finished the 2015 Italian Grand Prix. Two of the retirements were the Lotus F1 Team entries of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado that occurred early in the race. With each passing grand prix, the Lotus F1 Team is continuing to dodge rumours that the team will be unable to finish the season. Besides Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso's McLaren-Honda suffered what was diagnosed with an electrical control board fault after 42 laps.

With the visit to the fast Monza circuit now completed for 2015, Formula 1's European tour has wrapped for the year. Next on the schedule is the Grand Prix of Singapore set for September 20th.

 

2015 Formula 1

Italian Grand Prix

Race Results



Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





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