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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

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Hamilton and Mercedes on Top but Ferrari Posts Strong Qualifying Result at Monza

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG
 


Predating the Formula 1 championship and a part of the series since the inception of the tour in 1950, the 2015 Italian Grand Prix is the 84th time some of the world’s best racers will compete in the iconic country. All-but one of the Italian Grand Prix races involved in the Formula 1 championship has taken place at Monza. Viewed as the fastest circuit for which Formula 1 currently competes, the Autodromo Nationale di Monza consists of a 11-turn 5.793-kilometer track that severely tests race cars (especially engines). The 11th race in the 2015 Formula 1 season, conventional wisdom suggested Mercedes-Benz powered teams would have the advantage in competition through the Italian Grand Prix race weekend. However, qualifying for Sunday’s Monza event showed at least one competition may for narrowing the gap on the Silver Arrows

Following the first practice, the Mercedes AMG race cars driven by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were alarmingly faster than the rest of the field. Propelled by a new-spec Mercedes-Benz power unit for the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton’s top time was more than 1.5 seconds faster than the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. However, in Saturday’s time trials, the performance gap had narrowed to a point where a viable fight between the Mercedes AMG and Ferrari teams could take shape.

Surviving a valiant effort from the Scuderia Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton defended the Mercedes AMG’s undefeated streak of poles for the season. Taking the top spot on the grid with a 1-minute, 23.397-second lap time, the victory for the Silver Arrows consisted of a concerted threat from the Prancing Horse. On home soil, Ferrari mounted an impressively close performance with the Mercedes AMG cars. For the Italian Grand Prix qualifying, it was Kimi Raikkonen sitting on the front row of the grid. Taking the spot from teammate Sebastian Vettel late in Q3, Raikkonen was 0.234 seconds slower than Hamilton.

The result in qualifying was only the third time this season that an all-Mercedes AMG front row was broken up. In the other two occasions, it was Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari that took the second position on the Formula 1 race grid. Mercedes AMG’s streak of one-two front rows has ended after seven races but the team’s consecutive poles have grown to 23 races. A top spot at the next race in Singapore will tie a series record.

Both Ferraris split the Mercedes AMG duo in Italian Grand Prix qualifying by a narrow time margin. Starting third after teammate Raikkonen took the front row spot, Sebastian Vettel returns to the track where he won his first Formula 1 grand prix in 2008 driving a Toro Rosso powered by a Ferrari engine. Vettel’s top time was only 0.054 seconds off the pace of Raikkonen and 0.288 seconds slower than Lewis Hamilton. Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes AMG car is starting fourth. While both Mercedes AMG team cars received new spec power units, trouble in practice caused the team to revert to older components that were previously used in Belgium.

In the third row, the Williams Martini Racing team has Felipe Massa on the same row with Valtteri Bottas. Earlier this week, Williams confirmed that both drivers will return to the organization for the 2016 season. Revelling in a positive run at the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Sergio Perez starts seventh for Force India. The second Force India driven by Nico Hulkenberg and the Lotus race cars complete the top-10. In all, 8 of the top-10 starters are powered by Mercedes-Benz engines.

McLaren, Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing teams have both been levied with grid position penalties for changes made to Renault and Honda powerplants. Starting at the back, the Toro Rosso-Ferrari driven by Max Verstappen had one of the wildest qualifying efforts of the session. During qualifying the engine cover of Verstappen’s machine came off at speed sending debris onto the racetrack.

 

2015 Formula 1

Italian Grand Prix

Starting Grid



Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine





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