Hamilton Takes Pole Ahead Of Final Championship Duel With Rosberg In Abu Dhabi

Photo Credit: Daimler AG/Mercedes Benz

After 20 races, the 2016 Formula 1 season reaches a climatic end on Yas Marina Circuit this weekend. In a year where Mercedes AMG dominated the tour (with exception to a handful of grand prix events), team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are contesting against each other for the ultimate prize. The 2016 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship has come down to the wire as the pair of nine-time grand prix winners are separated by 12 points leading into 55 laps for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Setting the grid for the season finale event for the 2016 Formula 1 tour, qualifying produced results that surprised few spectators who have followed the auto racing through the year. Mercedes AMG once-again owned the front row after Q3 was completed. This was the 14th time the feat of an all Silver Arrows front row was accomplished in 2016 and also saw one driver claim the team's 20th pole position for the season. Prevailing for the top spot, Lewis Hamilton was able to guide his hybrid-powered Mercedes-Benz powered #44 car around the 5.554-mile Yas Marina Circuit with a 1-minute, 38.755-second lap. Hamilton's fastest time displaced his teammate Nico Rosberg from the pole position the German driver won the two previous years in Abu Dbahi. On a mission to come from behind to take his third-straight championship, the British driver dominated all three sessions of qualifying and clicked-off a final lap 0.303 seconds quicker than Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg has seen his late season points lead chiseled down by 21 points in the past three events. Hamilton has won the previous three grand prix races leading to a more tenuous hold on the championship lead for Rosberg. However, if Lewis Hamilton wins for a fourth consecutive occasion to close out the season, Nico Rosberg needs only to finish in third place on Sunday to capture the 2016 drivers' title in Formula 1.

Emerging as the only team that could so-far muster victories against the constructors' championship-winning Mercedes AMG juggernaut in 2016, Red Bull Racing has grabbed the best result among other organizations in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying. Malaysian Grand Prix victor Daniel Ricciardo starts third on Sunday after setting a fastest time that trails Nico Rosberg's car by more than half a second. Although the second Red Bull-Tag Heuer machine seemed poised to join Ricciardo on the second row for the main event, Max Verstappen slipped into turn 11 concluding with a sixth place starting position. Slotted between the Red Bull Racing duo is the two Scuderia Ferrari vehicles. Kimi Raikkonen found just a tick more speed in qualifying to claim the fourth spot ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel.

The fourth row of the Formula 1 finale is completely occupied by the Force India team that showed flashes of brilliance throughout 2016 but is still chasing a first race win as an organization. Nico Hulkenberg will start his final race with the Force India team in 6th place ahead of Sergio Perez.

While several competitors are bracing for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race to be their final effort with their 2016 team, the final race of the 2016 Formula 1 season will prove to be an emotional time for at least one driver. Ending a career stemming 14 competitive grand prix seasons (15 years if including his test driver role with the Ferrari team in 2003), Felipe Massa will launch from 10th place on the grid at the Yas Marina Circuit. Massa's Williams-Mercedes is joined on the grid row by past Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso who is starting 9th in his McLaren-Honda.

The start for the final Formula 1 race of 2016 is set for 5:00 PM local time in Abu Dhabi (8 AM for viewers in the eastern time zone.

2016 Formula 1
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

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

Canadian Stroll Joining 2017 Formula 1 Campaign With Williams

Photo Credit: Williams Martini Racing

Among some of the great young Canadian drivers emerging in recent years, many Canadian eyes were focus roughly halfway across the world at a young Montreal-born talent. Having just turned 18 years old on October 29th, Lance Stroll rose to become a globally-recognized prospect in the motorsport world after he was recruited by the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2013. Just a mere 3 years later, Stroll has risen to the big time with an announcement by the Williams Martini Racing team that he will become a Formula 1 competitor for the 2017 season.

Joining established Williams competitor Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll will join the premier series of open wheel auto racing as a 2017 rookie following a year spend as a test driver for the team. Recently earning the 2016 Formula 3 championship with Prema Powerteam, Lance Stroll demonstrated a remarkable ability to mount front-running performances. Winning 14 of the 30 races in the 2016 campaign, his successes have also included the 2014 Italian Formula 4 title and a championship in the New Zealand-based 2015 Toyota Racing Series. Lance Stroll's elevation to Formula 1 was widely expected when veteran Williams driver Felipe Massa expressed he would retire at this season's end.

“To be racing in Formula One in 2017 is incredible, I can’t thank Williams enough for showing faith in my ability. Racing in F1 was something I dreamt about as a young kid. When I began karting seriously, F1 was then the ultimate goal and especially when I started racing cars in 2014." said Lance Stroll after being named to the Williams Martini Racing team.

Lance Stroll's rise to Formula 1 was almost predicted immediately after his addition to the Ferrari Driver Academy. At one time, it was widely rumoured that Lance Stroll's billionaire businessman father Lawrence Stroll was looking to buy the Sauber F1 Team in order to secure an eventual ride for his son. Despite a father's affiliation to Ferrari, the now 18-year-old driver joined Williams Martini Racing's Young Driver Development Program late last year seeing a more direct path to a top Formula 1 outfit with the Mercedes-Benz powered team.

Next year will mark the 40th year for the current incarnation of the Williams Martini Racing organization. Having earned 9 constructors' championships and 7 drivers' championships with 114 race wins, Bottas and Stroll will be fighting to add to those tallies in 2017 after what may be four winless seasons if the 2016 season ends without a victory.

Lewis Hamilton Scores 10th Pole Of 2016 In Mexico

Photo Credit: Daimler AG/Mercedes-Benz

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

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

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

Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

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

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

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

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

2016 Formula 1

Mexican Grand Prix

Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz

2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz

3 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer

4 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer

5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz

6 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari

7 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari

8 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz

9 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz

10 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari

11 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda

12 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz

13 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda

14 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault

15 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari

16 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz

17 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari

18 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari

19 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari

20 31 Esteban Ocon Manor Mercedes-Benz

21 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari

22 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault

Hamilton Reached For The Stars In US Grand Prix Qualifying

Photo Credit: Daimler AG Mercedes Benz

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

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

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

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

Photo Credit: Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

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

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

2016 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

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

Nico Rosberg Extends Point Lead With Japanese GP Win

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

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

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

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

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

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

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

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

Foto Studio Columbo Per Pirelli Media

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

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

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

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

2016 Formula 1
Japanese Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2016 Formula 1
Japanese Grand Prix
Starting Grid 

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

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

What The Night Can Do: Rosberg Retakes Championship Lead With Singapore GP Win

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Providing an stunning atmosphere for witnessing 22 high-powered, hybrid open wheel machines, the Singapore Grand Prix's Marina Bay Street Circuit has quickly emerged as a standout event on the Formula 1 calendar. Ever since the first running of a Formula 1 grand prix at the street race, the race is known as unforgiving to the point that mistakes can prove costly to both a driver's own run or to other drivers based on the close quarters created by the track configuration.

Last year, the Singapore Grand Prix served as a massive abnormally in the season. Sebastian Vettel won the race for Ferrari while the two Mercedes AMG team cars astonished by missing out on scoring a podium position. After a surreal 2015 outing for Mercedes AMG, the race team returns one year later as teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are engaged in an ongoing title fight unlike any seen in recent previous years. Opening domination by Rosberg was countered by Hamilton over the late spring and early summer overtook his teammate ahead of the summer break. When the series returned to action in late August, Nico Rosberg returned to early season by two claiming victories at the Belgian Grand Prix and Italian Grand Prix. With recent wins, Nico Rosberg recovered to be within 2 points of his fellow Mercedes AMG teammate and reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton. In qualifying Rosberg carried on his recent momentum by taking pole starting alongside the Red Bull-TAG Heuer car of Daniel Ricciardo.  

Before the race started, the first casualty of the 2016 event would be left in the garage as the remainder of the grid assembled. The Haas F1 Team car of Romain Grosjean developed a brake-by-wire issue that put a cap on a nightmarish outing in Singapore for the French driver. Grosjean encountered problems on Friday and Saturday that also kept the Haas F1 Team crew busy maintaining the race car. "I love the race here in Singapore and I love the challenge, but this weekend was just not ours.” said Romain Grosjean in post-race.

A tradition with the previous eight Singapore Grand Prix events has been the appearance of the safety car at some point in the 61 laps. For the ninth event, the perfect record of safety car arrivals was protected after an early altercation on lap 1. A collision involving Carlos Sainz Jr's Toro Rosso-Ferrari impacting the left rear of the Force India-Mercedes of Nico Hulkenberg resulted with the latter mentioned contender impacting the track wall. While Hulkenberg's car suffered race-ending damage, Sainz Jr continued and would finish outside of the points in 14th place.

FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

The factor that played the most pivotal role in deciding the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix was the use of Pirelli tires. The field almost evenly split the execution of two-stop and three-stop strategies with Nico Rosberg being the most notable to only pit twice. Last pitting on lap 33, the lead Mercedes AMG appeared to be in a position to regret this tire plan late. Daniel Ricciardo's three-stop strategy involved pitting at the final time for supersoft tires on lap 47. Despite the extra pit stop, Ricciardo's Red Bull-TAG Heuer car's on-track pace provided some suspense in the closing laps. At one time up to 27 seconds behind Rosberg, the Red Bull Racing machine piloted by the Australian driver made up considerable ground per lap. On the final lap, Nico Rosberg faced the lurking threat of Daniel Ricciardo but was just able to cross the line first maintaining just effort of a gap after 63 laps.

With a narrow advantage of 0.488 seconds over the charging Red Bull Racing challenge, Nico Rosberg rolled to the Singapore Grand Prix victory serving as the German driver's 8th victory for the 2016 season. The win for Rosberg also secures another major first place returning to the top of the season's drivers' standings. With Lewis Hamilton taking a quiet third place in Singapore, the 10-point lead by Nico Rosberg translates to a lead of 8 points heading to Malaysia.

Once-again, Daniel Ricciardo settles for second place this year at a low-speed street course. Following disappointment in Monaco after starting on pole position, the Singapore race was more of a hard, earnest effort. "I don't really leave here with any regrets." said Ricciardo in a post-race discussion. Totaling four runner-up finishes in 2016, the Red Bull Racing driver has taken sole ownership of the record for second-place results so-far this season.

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

A two-time winner at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Lewis Hamilton finished a little over eight seconds behind his teammate. Though losing the points lead in the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship, the race did extend a streak of podium results to seven races for Hamilton.

Ferrari arrived at the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix with optimism after winning the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 2015. Splitting a two-stop and three-stop tire plan, the additional pit stop allowed Kimi Raikkonen to finished one position ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel.

For one of the McLaren Honda drivers, the first leg of this recent Asian tour shows a great improvement for the second year of the team and engine partnership. After both cars failed to finish the 2015 event due to transmission issues, McLaren Honda collected a 7th place result thanks to inaugural 2008 and 2010 Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button was unable to complete his final race on the Marina Bay Street Circuit after minor early race contact on lap 1 eventually led to a brake issue.

Climbing 9 positions from his starting spot, Sergio Perez with the sole remaining Force India race car rose to 8th place. Perez is just 4 points short of 7th place in the overall drivers' championship behind Williams Martini Racing's Valtteri Bottas (both Williams-Mercedes race cars failed to score any points in Singapore).

Finishing for positions behind teammate Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen put the second Red Bull-TAG Heuer race car (two positions higher than his rookie run last year at the track with Toro Rosso. Verstappen was the end driver to finish in the top-10 to operate on a three pit stop strategy. For the Russian driver, the 9th place finish was the first time he recorded a top-10 spot since the British Grand and only the third time since being transferred to the Scuderia Toro Rosso squad. Grabbing the final spot in the top-10, Kevin Magnussen driving for Renault finished for only the second time in the points for a grand prix this season.

With six rounds remaining, the 2016 Formula 1 tour next prepares to run at the Sepand International Circuit for the Malaysian Grand Prix set for October 2nd.

2016 Formula 1
Singapore Grand Prix
Race Results

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

A Meaningful Beginning: Rosberg Wins At Monza Following Hamilton's Troubled Start

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

The second half of the 2016 Formula 1 season is well underway as Monza, Italy hosted the 14th race for world tour of open wheel racing's most powerful vehicles. Racing one week after Formula 1 competitors competed in Belgium completing a nearly month-long break for the summertime, the Italian Grand Prix serves as the final European round for the year. Autodromo Nazionale di Monza guaranteed a high-speed finale on the continent consisting of 11 turns and a 5.793-kilometer circuit length.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

What was not promised was whether which one of the Mercedes AMG teammates could prevail in the 22-car field. In qualifying, defending event winner of the previous two years Lewis Hamilton stormed to pole at Monza by a convincing margin over Nico Rosberg. Embroiled in a championship fight with one another, the Mercedes AMG teammates have traded the championship point lead early this summer. Following Rosberg's barn-burning start to the 2016 Formula 1 season, Hamilton re-entered his true form at Monaco. The British driver eventually leapfrog his German corporate rival holding a 19-point lead on Rosberg into the mid-season break. Through past seasons, many analysts of Formula 1 would hand an advantage to Lewis Hamilton based on his instant success reflected by a championship earned in only his second full season. This year appears to be a different scenario as Nico Rosberg has been showing himself to be more resilient and a formidable match to Hamilton.

Lined up for the 2016 Italian Grand Prix, the two Mercedes AMG race cars stood at the front of the grid. As Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were positioned side-by-side, the light signals summoning the official start of the 53-lap race flicked off. It was through that initial stage at Monza where one Mercedes AMG car would rise and the other would fall almost instantly as Hamilton launched slowly. By the end of the first corner, the pole sitter of the Italian Grand Prix had fallen from 1st to 6th place as the pair of Ferraris as well as the Williams-Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo found a way by the #44 Mercedes AMG race car. In contrast, Nico Rosberg engaged in a fine start taking a strong lead into the first lap.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA

While the race in Italy would not have the same magnitude of collisions as what was experience last week at Spa-Francorchamps, some coming-togethers were part of the 53 circuits. Deep in the field for the first lap, Felipe Nasr's Sauber and the Renault race car of Jolyon Palmer made contact through the Variante Ascari complex of the Monza course. Fighting for 18th place at the time, Nasr's rear tire touched the front tire of Palmer's car resulting in secondary contact damaging the Renault's front wing and the tire of the Sauber. Neither drivers was able to complete the Italian Grand Prix becoming of just four competitors who didn't make it to the finish (joined later by mechanical failures on the vehicles of Daniil Kvyat and Pascal Wehrlein).

While Nico Rosberg lead the way for Mercedes AMG, Lewis Hamilton had to regain ground from the poor start. Hamilton quickly took fifth place and would later overtake Bottas' Williams-Mercedes but his rear-mounted Pirelli soft compound tires quickly wore out through his charge back to the front. Both Mercedes AMG race cars opted for a single pit stop plan and were the only vehicles that finished in the top-10 using the strategy. Since other competitors chose a two-stop tire plan, this led to a majority of runners pitting between lap 13 to 16. Following the opposing team's pit stops, Lewis Hamilton was promoted to second place in the running order.

After an eventful start, the Mercedes AMG team settled into a typical pace. Cruising to a second consecutive victory, Nico Rosberg took his seventh win of the season at Monza with a 15.070-second advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Citing the race as a perfect outing for him, Rosberg stated in post-race team transcript, "It means so much for me to win here at Monza. The crowd were unbelievable over the entire weekend and especially during the podium ceremony. A momentum-building set of races for the German driver, he now closes to within 2 points of his Mercedes AMG teammate Hamilton in the current points standing. Settling for second, Lewis Hamilton had been the Italian Grand Prix winner during past two seasons.

A country containing perhaps the most energized and passionate devotion to Ferrari (understandable since the company operates in the nation), the final spot on the podium was a sentimental achievement. Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel held onto a third place spot he earned in qualifying. Vettel was followed across the finish line by teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Still hunting for a first win for the 2016 Formula 1 season, a third and fourth place result for Ferrari did provide a worthwhile reason to celebrate. Mentioning engine upgrades to the Ferrari, Vettel was proud of the effort at Monza but acknowledges challenges as the organization has been working to break into the win column for 2016 saying, "This podium here, it’s not the Adriatic sea, it is the sea of tifosi.. We had a rough season, we had high expectations, we have put ourselves on high pressure, we have also done mistakes, but the most important thing is that we stay a team, that we stay together."

Photo Credit: Ferrari S.p.A.

the 5th and 6th place spots swapped positions from the starting lineup with Daniel Ricciardo taking fifth while Valtteri Bottas captured sixth. Max Verstappen had a quiet grand prix at Monza concluding 53 laps in seventh place with the second Red Bull-TAG Heuer machine.

Overall, the finishing results of the Italian Grand Prix maintained a remarkable amount of stability to the starting order. Positioned at a season-high starting spot with the Haas F1 Team, Estaban Gutierrez would be filtered out of the top-10 over the course of the 53 laps in Italy. Gutierrez would finish 13th placing two positions behind his teammate Romain Grosjean in a similarly prepared Ferrari-powered race car. With the Haas F1 Team out of the points, the second Williams Martini Racing car of Felipe Massa would enter the top-10. Taking 9th place, Massa joined fellow Williams-Mercedes pilot Bottas in the points. Scoring constructors' points with both cars, Williams Martini Racing has claimed at least one point in all but one grand prix in 2016 (the British Grand Prix in Silverstone was the only non-point scoring event for the team). Force India also enjoyed a third-straight double-point finish with drivers Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. Perez grabbed 8th place while Hulkenberg took the final available point in the Italian Grand Prix finishing order in 10th.

Although to McLaren Honda team were not able to crack the top-10 for the Italian Grand Prix, the mid-marker team does leave Autodromo Nazionale di Monza with a small, discrete victory. Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap of the race with a 1-minute, 25.340-second lap time achieved on a set of supersoft Pirelli tires. Two-time winner at the circuit in previous seasons, Alonso finished 14th in the Italian Grand Prix.

The last race on the 2016 Formula 1 schedule takes place in Singapore. On September 18th, the unique nighttime street race at the Marina Bay Circuit will provide an illuminating next round.

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