After a dominant Mercedes win on Ferrari’s home turf at Monza that saw Lewis Hamilton gain the Drivers Championship lead by 3 points, the Formula One world packs its bags for the flyaway races that finish out the season. Next up on the calendar is the dramatic night race in Singapore, taking over the center of the Lion City for possibly the final time. Will we see any major upsets? Who or what will intrude on the track this year?
Unsurprisingly, the ultrasoft compound constitutes the majority of the tyres selected for the weekend. Most drivers will have 10 sets of ultrasofts, though there’s a good mix of supersofts as well. Haas is the outlier here, with both Grosjean and Magnussen opting for 4 sets of supersofts, 1 set of softs, and only 8 sets of ultrasofts.
We may as well begin with McLaren, as they’re already on everyone’s minds. Though official confirmation is to come later in the week, it’s an open secret that McLaren and Honda are splitting up, with Toro Rosso picking up the Honda engine supply and McLaren picking up Renault power, and Renault picking up Carlos Sainz in the midst of this engine-based musical chairs. Alonso will stay at McLaren, and everyone’s happy except probably Jolyon Palmer, who will lose his seat barring a miracle.
In actual McLaren RACE news, Alonso expects some points in Singapore. As it’s a lower-speed circuit McLaren may well be able to hold a good position provided they don’t have to tax the Honda power units too much.
Mercedes will be keen to work hard to consolidate Lewis’ hairs-breadth 3-point lead in the Drivers Championship as well as shore up their 62-point lead in the Constructors Championship. Bottas, his race seat secure with Mercedes for 2018, has indicated that if he’s in P2 behind Hamilton he’ll gladly help the team out rather ‘than try something silly’. On the media front, this being Mercedes, Toto Wolff is busily talking up Ferrari and Red Bull’s chances. Niki Lauda’s also sanguine on Ferrari. How much of this is genuine concern and how much is the typical Mercedes under-promising remains to be seen, though Ferrari have mounted a substantial challenge to Mercedes this season, and Red Bull providing some surprises of their own.
Ferrari will certainly be keen to work their magic to take the Drivers Championship lead back and take a nice chunk out of the Sliver Arrows’ Constructors Championship lead. As they’ve done well at low-speed circuits this year and Vettel has won at Singapore twice as many times as Hamilton, Ferrari pose a real threat to Mercedes, though it remains to be seen if Kimi Raikkonen is as keen to be a team player as his fellow Finn Bottas. Though they may stop short of actual team orders, Ferrari would be foolish to not heavily favor Vettel in Singapore.
After strategic grid penalties overshadowing the Bulls’ stellar qualifying performance in the wet at Monza, and an unfortunate early incident putting Max Verstappen on the back foot, the Bulls are optimistic that Singapore presents the best chance of a win at this stage of the season. As they’ve historically done well on lower-speed, higher-downforce circuits, this isn’t a vain hope provided they can avoid further grid penalties. Good results at Singapore won’t hurt their driver morale either, as both Ricciardo and Verstappen desire a winning car.
Coming fresh off a double-points finish that happily featured no on-track fisticuffs between their drivers, Force India brings upgrades to Singapore. They’ll doubtless be keen to keep Perez and Ocon well in hand, and look to extend their 58-point lead over Williams in the Constructors Champtionship, further consolidating their fourth place standing.
Williams, meanwhile, is focusing on a strong finish to the season. Their gap to Force India isn’t insurmountable, but with only 7 races left including Singapore they need to raise their performance game with immediate effect. As they’ve struggled to make the most of the FW40 all season, it’s likely they’ll remain solidly in the middle of the field.
Toro Rosso, only 15 points behind Williams, should turn in a respectable performance at Singapore barring on-track incidents or unforeseen grid penalties.
Haas, meanwhile, are confident that their good aerodynamic efficiency with high-downforce configurations will pay off, so long as they can stay in the tyre window.
Regarding Renault, they’re expecting a better performance in Singapore due to the higher downforce levels at Singapore. Meanwhile, if Nico Hülkenberg doesn’t claim a podium finish he’ll set the unenviable record for most Grand Prix stars without podium finishes. He’s currently tied with Adrian Sutil at 128, and Singapore will make 129. Palmer, meanwhile, desperately needs to find performance, with his F1 future now almost certainly at stake.
Sauber faces what may be their final chance of this season to get ahead of McLaren. They’ve done heroic work with year-old power units and the upsets in management, but it’s a long shot.
Ever since the GP2 series became the FIA Formula 2 Championship earlier in the year, much work has been done to try mould the series to fit the vision of the FIA. And the latest announcement is that the FIA are looking to make Formula 2 “almost compulsory” for young drivers looking to make it to Formula 1, through the reallocation of the points required to obtain an FIA super licence.
Currently, a driver needs forty points (accumulated within the past three seasons) to obtain a super licence. Through the regulations in place, the top three placed drivers in F2 are awarded the whole forty points, along with the winners of European Formula 3, Formula E, the LMP1 class in the World Endurance Championship, and the IndyCar Series. Technically, this means drivers can skip Formula 2 all together, and young drivers can enter Formula 1 from lower junior categories such as Formula 3 – which we saw in the cases of Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll.
This kind of rapid career progression, often labelled as ‘skipping’ series, has been widely criticised by some who see it as a way for well funded youngsters to find a place in Formula 1 before they are quite ready for the jump. Though this was an issue that was supposed to be avoided by the introduction of the new super licence system in 2016, brought in as a direct response to the seventeen-year-old Verstappen’s arrival on the 2015 F1 grid, the FIA has decided that a reshuffle of the points system is needed to help improve the junior single seater ladder.
Photo: Mauger/FIA Formula 2
Formula 2’s technical director Didier Perrin told Motorsport.com that while F2 wouldn’t “be mandatory in theory…it will be the preferred path to F1”. And though no specific plans or numbers have been revealed, his words clearly indicate that F2 will be given more weigh in the super license system, particularly above Formula 3. The desired effect is clearly a boost to the profile of the Formula 2 Championship, but there has also been a suggestion that Formula 1 wants to create a structure similar to the one in place in MotoGP, where the series is supported by the Moto2 and Moto3 classes. The success created in MotoGP makes the prospect attractive to the Formula 1 bosses, and it is easy to see the benefits.
With Formula 2’s place in the single seater ladder intended to be above Formula 3, it seems only logical that its winners should be awarded more super licence points, and perhaps an oversight that it was ever given the same amount in the first place. With Formula 1 teams able to overlook the category, much has been made of the fact that many recent stand out performers and even winners of GP2 have failed to get a look in at the top tier. While drivers from Formula 3, Formula V8 3.5 (formerly known as Formula Renault 3.5) and DTM were being called up by the big names in Formula 1, those competing in what was supposed to be top junior single seater series were left languishing. Recent graduates have been forced to look elsewhere.
Another benefit, and what is clearly the main intention behind the move, is to prevent the kind of criticism being directed towards F1 that the promotion of Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll inspired. While both drivers acclimated to Formula 1, and have since proven their worth, the moves were met by concerns about their age and experience. Stroll’s early performance in particular, seemed to prove these doubts, and though he has since overcome these troubles, many would still argue that he would have benefitted from a few more seasons in junior formula. By making a season in Formula 2 the preferred route, then future Verstappens and Strolls will have to wait a little longer before making their top tier debut, and inexperienced drivers will be discouraged from moving too fast.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
However, for all these good intentions. There is the argument that this reallocation of the super license points doesn’t address the real problems with the single seater ladder.
Whilst Formula 2 would not be harmed by additional exposure or sponsorship, and an influx of more top young talent. The reason for the lack of graduates from the series to Formula 1 lies not in the series itself, but rather in the absence of available seats in F1. It is all very well encouraging drivers to take their career through F2, but when the rare opportunities for a Formula 1 drive do present themselves, then drivers and teams will not want to wait around until they have satisfied the FIA by climbing the career ladder just the way they laid out.
But perhaps the most glaring issue with Formula 2 and single seater series like it is cost. With a season in Formula 2 can cost anywhere between 1.5 to 2 million euros, for those young drivers who lack substantial backing, it becomes an increasingly unviable option. If the emphasis is placed on Formula 2, then these drivers who cannot afford to race a full season in a front running F2 team run the risk of being overlooked – just as the stars of the series were in the past. It is no good trying to elevate a series without first making it more accessible for hopeful young drivers.
Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2
Those drivers who find it necessary to take less traditional routes in their motorsport careers could find themselves ignored if the super licence points do not aid racers who choose to take this path.
While the FIA may want to replicate the Moto2/3 system in single seater racing, this is not a realistic goal with the current costs involved. The price of one seat in Formula 2 would probably be enough to fund an entire team in Moto2 for a whole season. While the FIA have outlined curbing expenses as one of their aims for the future development of F1, it seems pointless trying to bring in small fixes and solutions when the real problem is so much bigger.
The problem the FIA is trying to address, and the improvement of junior series are valid and worthy goals. But what they are suggesting is ultimately a temporary solution to a much wider problem. F1’s new owners have highlighted the growing cost of the sport as an issue, and it is one that needs tackling across single seater racing, or they run the risk of finding that the pool of young talent has run dry when those elusive Formula 1 seats finally do open up.
Two of the best drivers on the grid battled several times, each other for the title of the world champion. Fernando Alonso is a two time world champion currently racing for McLaren-Honda, before that he was a test driver for Benetton, joined Minardi in 2001, Renault was his next station from 2003 to 2006, then signed a contract with McLaren where he raced for only one season and returned back to Return in 2008. Fernando’s next step was Ferrari, from 2010 to 2014. In 2015, he returned to McLaren and he is racing there since now.
The Spaniard, while he was racing for Renault, finished first on the drivers’ championship for two consecutive years. Nando, won his first title in 2005 and the following season celebrated his second and final title.
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel born in Heppenheim on July 3rd, 1987, at his early steps as a Formula One driver, Sebastian joined BMW Sauber as a test driver and made his official debut at the United States Grand Prix in 2007, then he signed a contract with Toro Rosso and remained there until 2008. The next stop in his career was Red Bull Racing, during his period with the Bulls he celebrated four championships (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013). In 2015, the German fulfilled his childhood dream, signed a contract with Scuderia Ferrari and he is still racing for Ferrari alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
David vs Goliath
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel fought each other for the championship while they were racing for Ferrari and Red Bull respectively. Two times Fernando was very close to beat Vettel and win the championship with Ferrari, the first was in 2010 and the second was two years later in 2012. The Spaniard wished to become David and finish ahead of his opponent, but unfortunately Goliath was stronger, and Red Bull was unbeatable those years.
In 2010, Sebastian Vettel finished first in the drivers’ championship, the difference to his rival Alonso, was just four points. The German scored 256 points, whilst the Spaniard collected 252 points. In 19 races Vettel and Alonso were fighting wheel to wheel for the world title, during those races Sebastian retired three times and finished out of the points only in Belgian Grand Prix. Furthermore, Vettel won five races same number of victories with his opponent Fernando Alonso.
From the other hand, Fernando Alonso retired in Belgium, didn’t finish the Malaysian Grand Prix and finished out of the top ten at Silverstone. In the last six races of the 2010 season, Nando won three Grands Prix and finished twice third. Fernando played his final card for the championship in the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Vitaly Petrov the Russian title decider
A thrilling race took place in Yas Marina, before the race, Fernando Alonso was leading the drivers’ championship with 246 points, followed by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel which collected 236 and 231 points respectively. Lewis Hamilton had also mathematical chances to win the title as he had 222 points and he was 24 points behind Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, had to secure the first two places in order to win the title without having to consider the other results.
On Saturday’s qualifying, Sebastian Vettel secured the pole-position, Lewis Hamilton was the second quickest driver on the grid and Fernando Alonso took the third position followed by Jenson Button and Mark Webber. At the first lap of the race, Sebastian Vettel was leading the race, followed by Hamilton and Jenson Button. Alonso had a slow start which cost him the third place and dropped him down to fourth. After the first pit-stops, Alonso re-joined behind Petrov. Fernando was on hard tyres and Petrov had already done his pit-stop, Alonso couldn’t overtake Vitaly. Even when the Spaniard tried to attack the Russian, Petrov was always in position to defend his position.
Sebastian Vettel led the race all the way, Lewis Hamilton finished second, Jenson Button third, and Fernando Alonso, after 40 laps of battling with Petrov, finished seventh. That result was enough for Sebastian Vettel to secure his first world title in his Formula One career.
Two years later…
Credit: Pirelli
In 2012, the two drivers crossed their swords once again. Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso fought closely, but at the end the Germans always win. Vettel scored 281 points in 20 races, whilst Alonso scored 278 points. The German, finished five times on the top step of the podium, retired in the European Grand Prix and finished out of the points in two races, the first was in Malaysia and the second in Italy.
Fernando Alonso, won three races during the season and finished ten times on the podium. The Spaniard, retired in Belgium and in Japan, but despite those two retirements he finished in the top-10 in the rest races.
In Italy, Sebastian Vettel retired on lap 47 due to failed alternator, after that race the German won four consecutive races, finished third in Abu Dhabi, second in the USA and sixth in the final race of the season in Brazil. In Brazil, Sebastian Vettel needed to defend his 13 point lead in order to secure his third championship. The fourth position, would be enough for Sebastian to give him the title, even if Alonso won the race.
Fernando Alonso, qualified eighth whilst Sebastian Vettel set the fourth quickest lap on the grid and placed behind Hamilton, Button and Webber. The rain altered everything during the race, the teams were confused about which strategy would be correct for their drivers. On lap 23, the safety car deployed, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso were fifth and fourth respectively. The damage on Vettel’s car didn’t allow him to set a quick dry laps, few laps later the rain forced all the drivers to pit for intermediates.
At the end of the race, Fernando Alonso finished second and Sebastian Vettel sixth, still Vettel collected enough points in order to celebrate his third world title.
Hopefully, one day we will see these top two drivers to fight, once again, each other for the title.
As the Moto3 youngsters descend on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, two Spaniards head the top of the championship looking to carry on their fine 2017 form.
Leopard Racing’s Joan Mir is top of the tree and enjoys a very healthy 64 point advantage, consolidating his position as the title front runner with an important fifth at the British Grand Prix last time out. Despite the huge gap to the chasing pack, the margin is less than what Brad Binder had at this point last year (86 points) and what Danny Kent had in 2015 (70). No room for error then for the 20 year old, who is the only rider to have finished in the points at every round this season across all categories. Consistency is key for the champion elect.
Second place man in the championship and fellow Spaniard, Aron Canet, took his third victory of the season under the sunny skies of Silverstone. Henceforth, leapfrogging home favourite for this weekend, Romano Fenati, in the overall standings. The race win for Canet, who turns 18 later this month, was also just his sixth podium in the Moto3 class and there is no reason why he can’t make that seven this weekend.
As for Fenati, he’s enjoyed a positive season so far after being shown the door out of the Sky racing team VR46 mid way through last season. The Moto3 veteran will look to take back second position in the championship with a strong display in front of the ever passionate crowd in Misano.
Del Conca Gresini Moto3 Italian rider Fabio Di Giannantonio will be hoping he can woo his home supporters, as he sits fifth in the world standings and will want to try and close to gap to team mate Jorge Martin, as well as the other three ahead of him.
We finally saw the Enea Bastianini of old at Silverstone, crossing the line in second position to grab his first podium since his race win at Motegi last year. He picked up a win here in 2015, so he’ll be looking to continue his momentum and finish the year strongly.
Other people to watch out for? I could name about 15 – that’s how close the racing has been this year! John McPhee and the British Talent Cup team will be fighting at the front, whilst Mugello winner Andrea Migno and his Italian comrade Nicolo Bulega will want to do Valentino Rossi proud in his absence aboard their VR46 machines.
The Moto3 boys never fail to put on a spectacle, so what better way to start your Sunday off by watching over 30 lightweight machines go fairing to fairing.
As we carry on with the Red Bull Racing 2017 review…..
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. Saturday 29 July 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONY1841
Azerbaijan, Baku
The European Grand Prix was once more taken off the calendar for 2017, but it was still in Baku, placed at Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Tight and twisty amongst the streets of Baku for the first two thirds, and then that mammoth straight in the final sector of track. The setup on this track is one of the tougher ones in the calendar. Practice looked good for the Red Bull boys as Verstappen was fastest in both sessions on Friday, with Ricciardo also having reasonable pace throughout.
It looked like Mercedes and Ferrari once more turned the power down in practice as they found 2.2 seconds between 3rd practice and the final qualifying positions, Verstappen was best of the rest in 5th. Ricciardo once more crashed when it mattered in Q3, he started 10th. It was the most chaotic start of the season, with Sainz clipping his team mate Kvyat and various drivers stopping with debris. Ricciardo was one of them and on lap 6 he pitted, he returned to track 17th. Verstappen was up in the thick of it but once again it was his car, and oil pressure problem made him ground to halt on the long front straight on lap 12.
Ricciardo then used the safety car periods and the red flag to full effect, as he jumped both Williams drivers at the restart on lap 24, latter on through Vettel’s rage he was awarded a 10 second stop-go penalty for colliding with Hamilton, and Hamilton had to pit due to safety reasons his headrest came loose. This left Ricciardo to drive the closing laps on his own, Bottas was flying and managed to pip Stroll to the line for 2nd, but Ricciardo was just too far away.
Ricciardo with this amazing victory jumped Raikonnen to 4th in the driver’s standings, whilst Verstappen was once more left frustrated with another race of opportunity thrown away with retirement due to mechanical issues.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 92
Austria, Speilberg
The Red Bull Ring is the ninth round of the 2017 calendar of the season, the fast cars they are pushing closer and closer to being near under a minute. Qualifying was as per previous with the two teams leading up front with Red Bull best of the rest, albeit Hamilton due to a gearbox change he has now got a penalty. Ricciardo qualified 5th and Verstappen 6th, as a result of the penalty they start 4th and 5th respectively.
Lights out and away they went Ricciardo had a solid start, but Verstappen got clipped in the rear spinning him around and Alonso collecting him as a result. Verstappen had to retire due to terminal damage, another weekend to forget the Dutchman. Ricciardo was currently 3rd, following Bottas and Vettel. Hamilton was chasing up the field from his low start, Ricciardo pitted and got out just in front of the bit, and he managed to held on for another podium. Only 6 seconds behind eventually race winner of Bottas so much better for Red Bull.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 107
Spa Francorchamps, Belgium. Friday 25 August 2017. World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _R3I9622
Britain, Silverstone
Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England is such an iconic track, the first race in the F1 world Championship history since it begun in 1950. The new cars this year show that copse, maggets and becketts are near enough all flat out now, which make the lap times so quick! Red Bull in their second home race now, following on from Austria, England where the team is based in Milton Keynes. A few new parts have been put onto the RB13, Adrian Newey was seen at the race this weekend. Verstappen did well on Friday, set the 3rd fastest overall, but Ricciardo was just doing his own thing getting the laps done.
Saturday qualifying was far from any of the weather we had on the Friday, it was wet and miserable, and all cars started the session where using the intermediate tyre. They both thrive in the wet, Ricciardo went out to set a lap and managed to go fastest, but the track was getting faster and faster. Ricciardo unfortunately halfway through Q1 stopped, resulting a series of engine penalties, Verstappen starts 5th.
A clean start for the Red Bull boys, Verstappen kept 5th place whilst Ricciardo closed up the field, avoiding the contact earlier on from the Toro Rosso collision. Ricciardo lap by lap moved up the field, eventually finishing an amazing 5th from great pit stop speed and skill from Christian Horner on the pit wall. Verstappen finished 4th, the punctures that Ferrari got did make Red Bull play itself with Verstappen to pit too, rather than risk it for the podium. First time in a while that the team has double points, Verstappen scores points for the first time in a long time.
Driver Points: Verstappen 55 – Ricciardo 117
Hungary, Budapest
Budapest is one of these tracks on the F1 calendar much like Monaco and Singapore is where you need downforce and run high wings. Red Bull as a resultlook strong this weekend, much closer to the front four drivers. Their race pace on the tyreswere close, if not on certain lengths, better than Mercedes. They locked out the 3rd row of the grid, only 9 hundreths behind Hamilton, Ferrari were 0.5 secs ahead of the team.
Lights out on the Sunday in perfect clear skies, Ricciardo got the better start than Verstappen for a change, and they both attacked Mercedes into turn 1, Ricciardo edged Verstappen on the outside into turn 2, drama though as a lock up from Verstappen resulted in the two Bulls hitting each other! Severe damage to Ricciardo’s car unfortunately resulted in an early retirement but Verstappen continued, he received a 10 second penalty as a a result of the contact. Verstappen left it late to pit, was matching the likes of Vettel and Hamilton on their fresh rubber. He pit and then was on fire, closing the two Mercedes, who managed to swap on the last lap, but couldn’t take advantage, so 5th place for him.
Raikonnen finished 2nd, so caught up to Ricciardo, he is now only 1 point behind the Austrailian, Red Bull currently 83 points ahead of nearest team Force India.
Driver Points: Verstappen 65 – Ricciardo 117
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. Sunday 30 July 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ0620
Belgium, Spa
The legendary Spa-Francorchamps, the track that most drivers love and feel to be their favourite, from the formidable Eau Rouge, and flat out corners of Pouhon and Blanchimont. Blanchimont is famous for Verstappen’s outside manoeuvre in previous seasons. Red Bull seemed to take a bit more wing of the car than most to balance their less power down the straight, but still manage to produce enough downforce through the middle sector. Verstappen out qualified Ricciardo, both on the 3rd row of the grid, close to beating Raikonnen, missing out by a tenth.
This is the closest Verstappen will get to a home Grand Prix and the crowds were in bright orange, orange for Holland. He started off well, as like Ricciardo both keeping their positions. The Kemmel Straight was were overtaking could of been done via slipstream, Vettel couldn’t get passed Hamilton and no one could pass Red Bull cars. Once more down the Kemmel Straight was when the next action happened, heart break for Verstappen as his car came to a stuttering halt. He was furious, but held it back and waved to the fans saying better luck next time. It did bring out a virtual safety car, and Raikonnen failed to lift which as a result he received a penalty which helped Ricciardo jump him in the pits.
Force India then collided once again, with a full course safety car out with the bodywork scattered across the track. Few laps remained and it went to green, Ricciardo jumped upon Bottas on the safety car restart, much like when he overtook the Williams at Baku. He then pulled away from Bottas, and Raikonnen eventually overtook his fellow Finn. Ricciardo had another podium finish to his name, much happier for the Honey Badger, but once more it was Verstappen left annoyed with mechanical failure.
Driver Points: Verstappen 65 – Ricciardo 132
Italy, Monza
The 13th round of the season is at the temple of speed, Monza. A track which of recent years hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Red Bulls in recent years due to their lack of brute power on the straight hurts them. Red Bull as a result increase their rake, and they take more wing off than most which also hampers them around the Lemos and Ascari chicane. Tactically they decided to take penalties here, 45 between the two drivers.
Qualifying was literally torrential downpour, a dry tyre wasn’t seen. Verstappen and Ricciardo were the second and third fastest drivers. They both drive so great in the wet, memories came back to fans of Brazil 2016 and that Verstappen’s Dad put dry tyres on his kart on a soaking wet track and told him to go find the grip.
They love those conditions, through various penalties amongst 9 drivers, they started 12th & 16th. Ricciardo drove amazingly to finish 4th, hunting down Vettel for the podium late on. He started on the slower softs and managed to get up the field, Verstappen dug his own grave, a collision with Massa ended up with him pitting with right front puncture. He managed to get into the points and finish 10th place beating Magnussen who was a bit irate with his overtake on him. Ricciardo gained a further few points on Raikonnen.
Driver Points: Verstappen 66 – Ricciardo 144
Looking Ahead
Bit by bit Red Bull seem to be getting there, all in all, it seems its a case of Deja Vu for the Austrian outfit, close but take any opportunity if the car is reliable enough like Ricciardo in Baku, but unlike Verstappen in Canada. Asia is a much more happy hunting ground than the late European season, with the likes of Singapore and Suzuka on the horizon more dependant on the overall down force of the car. Red Bull seem to be more than secure of their 3rd place spot in the standings, with the drivers far clear of the midfield. Just need to hope their reliability is cured, as Verstappen has failed to finish on various occasions now from brakes through to multiple power unit issues. Newey has helped close the gap, am sure that he is most likely looking at 2018 now, when the halo is introduced and shark/t-wings are banned too to see if he can find something to put them back at the front again.
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Sunday 09 July 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONY3502
As we head into the the latter end of the 2017 season, one by one at Pit Crew we are looking into each individual team with specific weeks. This we look into the Austrian outfit Red Bull Racing. The drivers continued from the 2016 season with Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who always is a joy to watch with deep braking and has a cracking personality. Dutchman ‘Go big or go home’ Max Verstappen also stays, his first full season in the Red Bull after his halfway season swap with Danil Kyvat in 2016 from Toro Rosso. Many think that Red Bull have the best driving partnership on the grid.
Pre-Season
Everyone was optimistic about Red Bull’s chances for the 2017 season. The regulation changes were based on aerodynamics for the season forthcoming and Red Bull always are known for their grear aerodynamics and chassis. It was hoping with that it would outweigh the deficit that the Renault has in terms of horsepower to Ferrari and Mercedes. In the original release of the Red Bull the car looked very basic unlike its rivals, which raised concern. It did have the unique hole in its nose. This did though made the car launch more popular.
In the pre-season tests pace did look promising as day by day additions were coming in from Milton Keynes to adapt onto their RB13. Their car was building well, but again reliability was something that was out of their control. Much like Renault and Toro Rosso their gearbox and engines had problems, so much so they had to revert to 2016 items for the first few races. These were heavier and less powerful which hindered them. The cars still looked very basic compared to the depth of sidepod changes that Ferrari had between 2016 & 2017. They also did not introduce a T-Wing till later in the season. Adrian Newey at this time was away so did not have his full say in the car’s full design.
Australia, Melbourne
This was where we first saw the order of the pack, and it showed that Red Bull were in No Mans Land, as per 2016, it seems Deja Vu for the Austrian team. They were too far behind to challenge Ferrari & Mercedes, but too far ahead to be challenged by Force India & Williams. Their race pace was promising but just lack outright qualifying speed. Ricciardo had a weekend to forget, in Q3 he ended up in the wall after a rare mistake. His car then failed twice on Sunday, on the way to the grid, missing the start, and then towards the end of the first sector halfway through the race on lap 25. Verstappen qualified 5th and then finished 5th. He ended much closer to Raikonnen than people expected. Seemed to set the trend that as per mentioned the race pace of the RB13 is strong but lacks outright speed on Saturday.
Driver Points: Verstappen 10 – Ricciardo 0
China, Shanghai
The Chinese Grand Prix was hindered significantly in its Friday running, when the weather restricted the medical helicopter to fly. Only 20 mins of practice was raced throughout weekend. Reliability gremlins were still in the Red Bull pit area following on from Austrailia but this time it was Verstappen that struggled. He suffered with power deficit and the Shanghai back straight is one of longest of the season, it resulted in him being knocked out in Q1. Ricciardo was best of the rest, qualifying 5th, very much a role reversal from Austrailia.
The weather had a say in the race on Sunday, the majority of the track was dry, but on the main straight and few areas it was still wet from overnight rain. 19/20 drivers started on intermediates. Verstappen due to penalties started 16th, his start was simply amazing! He was up in the top ten crossing the line into lap 2 through passing at the start and midpack collisions. Verstappen was coy and through use of his skill as per seen in Brazil last year and the early safety car he managed to finish an incredible 3rd. Ricciardo was hot on his heels finishing 4th. Great wheel to wheel action but it was kept clean. A much better weekend for the Austrian outfit with a double points finish. Verstappen moved to 3rd in the drivers championship, whilst Ricciardo scored his first points of the season.
Driver Points: Verstappen 25 – Ricciardo 12
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Sunday 09 July 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _54I1370
Bahrain, Sakhir
The form of China carried on into the desert of Bahrain. The team looking closer again to the two in front of them. It was just once again, they couldn’t turn their engine up like them. Mercedes had on average a 2 second difference from their Q1 time to Q3 whilst Red Bull only found a second. They were edging closer though, Ricciardo managed to out qualify Raikonnen’s Ferrari. The car was looking better, new additions around the front end of the car was to blame.
They both started well in the Grand Prix, but then on lap 11 after a pit stop for Verstappen trouble happened, heading to the end of sector 1, the second heavy braking area around the track the car didn’t respond to him, it ground to halt in the gravel. He unfortunately retired due to a brake failure. Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll had an incident as well which brought out the safety car, Ricciardo was caugh among a controversial move by Hamilton. He ended at the end of the period ahead of the British driver. Hamilton turned up the engine and passed him easily along the main straight on the restart. Kimi Raikonnen also passed him later on, as a result he finished 5th. Verstappen due to his non-finish dropped to 5th in the overall standings.
Driver Points: Verstappen 25 – Ricciardo 22
Russia, Sochi
Sochi was moved for the 2017 season, swapping places with Maylasia. This track unlike Bahrain is much more focused on the power of the car rather than outright grip. Williams were much closer to Red Bull as a result, Ricciardo qualified 1.9 seconds behind the eventual pole sitter Sebastien Vettel. Felipe Massa in the Williams managed to split the Red Bull duo, a shade quicker than Verstappen.
The race start was clean, not much contact had occurred on the first lap so far this point of the season, with wider cars, everyone thought that it would be even more collisions. Ricciardo was challenging Raikonnen for 4th, but got caught in, as a result Verstappen got passed the Williams of Massa and Ricciardo into 5th place. The race was very lacklustre after the first lap, there wasn’t any overtakes, except if it does count when Ricciardo’s brake caught alight. It did end up with the Australian failing to finish, back to back brake failures, and their third mechanical retirement of the season. Verstappen finished 5th, a whole minute behind the winner Bottas, a very lonely race for the Dutchman.
Driver Points: Verstappen 35 – Ricciardo 22
Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK. Friday 14 July 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I8274
Spain, Barcelona
Much promise was made of Red Bull, with the supposed RB13B being introduced at Spain. As per mentioned with Russia swapping with Maylasia, Spain for the first time wasn’t the first European race of the season. Barcelona tends to be where the first big set of upgrades are brought. After a disapointing beginning of the season albeit podium places here and there they want to be fighting for the championship. They brought updates, the car looking much less basic than it was back in Australia. Renault importantly also did too, if you look back to this article we wrote earlier in the season about their MGU-K. The Red Bull had a new colour scheme in practice, quite a lot of flowviz paint was used.
The car was much more competitive but once more others could turn the wick on their engine up. It was much better though, Verstappen was only 0.6 seconds slower to the 1.2 seconds they were back in Sochi. Ricciardo didn’t have the best of days on the Saturday, a whopping 0.4 behind Verstappen.
Race day was upon us, Red Bull looked good in terms of matching on certain compounds Ferrari and Mercedes, it was all down to the start. The original launch was good for Verstappen, was making the most of the new settings they follow this year, got up alongside Raikonnen into turn 1, but a bang of wheels plush on resulted in terminal damage for both drivers. This resulting in the iconic small video clip of the boy in the stand crying his eyes out. Ricciardo as a result moved up into 4th following, the two Mercedes and Vettel, but this soon became 3rd as a rare failure on the Mercedes happened as Bottas car pulled to the side with engine failure. Ricciardo finished 75 seconds behind the two championship contagnists, being the only 1 besides them not to be lapped. Ricciardo overtook Verstappen in the championship for the first time this season.
Driver Points: Verstappen 35 – Ricciardo 37
Monaco, Monaco
The unique race amongst the principality of Monaco was round 6 in the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship, much like Barcelona a less demanding power track, much hoped Red Bull could be in with the mix for the victory much like last year if it weren’t for the mishap that Ricciardo had in the race. From the offset they looked competitive with Verstappen 3rd quickest on the Thursday, Ricciardo was there abouts, albeit he didn’t get to do a full on lap in practice 3 due to another brake failure on his car so his true pace wasn’t seen until qualifying.
Qualifying did show a shock with Lewis Hamilton being eliminated in Q2, this did give the Bulls an opportunity to qualify higher than they have done this season. Verstappen was the closest Red Bull got to pole all season, the top four being himself, Bottas and the two Ferrari’s only 0.3 seconds between them. Ricciardo made a mistake on his fast lap, but was best of the rest in 5th.
For the first time since China both drivers finished the race, and much like China one of them ended up on the podium. This was once more Ricciardo, himself and Vettel both used the overcut to effect rather than at any other tracks more than likely the undercut being the best option. Monaco always a tough one to pass around, but through the sole pit stop phase Ricciardo went from behind Verstappen, to passing him and Bottas. A late safety car piled the pressure on Ricciardo from Bottas behind but it was a great drive from him once more. Verstappen not best pleased with the team as he missed out on that opportunity. They outscored the Mercedes team with Hamilton finishing 7th.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 52
Canada, Montreal
Montreal is such a stunning track, the flow of the circuit and scenery that is surrounded by makes it one of the best on the calendar. The track does have many memorable moments, much like Ricciardo’s 2014 victory. Montreal is back to Russia, more a power themed track than out right downforce than the previous two races. Red Bull had a few more new developments here, and their race pace was promising compatable with the speeds of Hamilton and Vettel. They got close to Raikonnen in qualifying, but Hamilton and Vettel were in a league of their own on the Saturday.
Verstappen without a doubt thus far has the best start of the season award, starting on the 3rd row in 5th he managed to climb 3 places, going into the second corner in 2nd place just behind the gearbox of Hamilton. Ricciardo also managed to pass Raikonnen, at the end of the first lap, they were 2nd and 5th. Hamilton couldn’t get away but on to the start of lap 11 and Verstappen suffered another engine electrical failure, amazing from the teenager but once more with nothing to show for it. Ricciardo held onto 3rd, Raikonnen was nowhere in the race, whilst Vettel only finished 0.7 behind the Austrailian. A third podium in a row now for the Australian, he was closing in on 4th in the championship and pulling away from Verstappen.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 67
Red Bull are not where they are wanting to be at this current time. Adrian Newey, the greatest designer in the F1 world was appearing more often at the Grand Prix. His project with Aston Martin and the Americas Cup boat championship has been put aside. A few new boosts to power were showing from Renault and Newey began to adapt his thoughts on the RB13. Our second part of the Red Bull 2017 series will follow shortly, from Azerbaijan to Italy. Will Newey and Renault’s input make way for further success for the Red Bull team?
Red Bull currently have four constructors titles and four drivers titles, those four titles are all courtesy of one driver, Sebastian Vettel. The German’s relationship with the team begun in 1998 at the age of 11, when he signed to their junior team. His success in the junior formulae acted as a precursor to his career at the top table as he won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001.
He then went on to win the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship, with a whopping 18 wins from 20 victories. This opened up his door to F1 as he was rewarded with a test in the Williams FW27. While he was winning these cups in the junior categories, in Formula One another German was taking all the plaudits. As Vettel won 18 from 20 races in 2004, Michael Schumacher was taking his seventh world championship in his most dominant season. He took 13 wins from 18 races and took his final championship win.
Vettel begun testing for the BMW Sauber Formula One team in 2006, while participating in the F3 Euroseries, coming second to Paul Di Resta. 2007 saw him get his big break, while racing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Following Robert Kubica’s horror smash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel was called up to replace him for the US Grand Prix. He qualified seventh and finished eighth, taking his first point and becoming the youngest point scorer in history, aged 19 years and 349 days.
BMW released Vettel so that he could join the Scuderia Toro Rosso team for the remainder of the 2007 season, replacing Scott Speed. This is where his journey to Red Bull stardom began. Following a few impressive results, his big break came at the Italian Grand Prix in 2008. He qualified on pole in horrendous conditions, becoming the youngest polesitter, which he then masterfully translated into his and Toro Rosso’s first win. He broke Fernando Alonso’s record set at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix of youngest winner.
For 2009, Red Bull promoted Vettel to their team alongside Mark Webber, and the rest, as they say, is history. He took Red Bull’s first win at the Chinese Grand Prix, with team mate Mark Webber in second. He took four wins that season and finished second in the championship to Jenson Button in the dominant Brawn.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
2010 however, was an interesting year for the team, at the Turkish Grand Prix, while challenging Webber for the lead, the pair collided, putting Vettel out of the race, and the relationship turned sour from that moment on. Both were fighting for the championship come the end of the season, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso joining them, in a winner takes all clash at Abu Dhabi. He took pole and won the race, taking his first championship, following in the footsteps of John Surtees in 1964 and James Hunt in 1976 in not leading the championship at any point during the season.
2011 was another story, he was dominant, taking 11 wins from 19 races, showing his driving prowess and the newly found power of Red Bull in Formula One. The Austrian team had beaten the heavyweights of McLaren and Ferrari in becoming the top team in the sport. Vettel was quickly becoming known as one of the best drivers in the sport, taking record after record. 2012 saw him take his third consecutive title, emulating Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher in the process.
He was in a battle with Fernando Alonso, again, and it went down to the final race in Brazil. After a first lap collision, Vettel was at the back of the grid, he battled back through the grid, taking sixth, while Alonso finished second, meaning there was nothing Alonso could do. A rather symbolic moment from the race however was Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher moving over for Vettel to take sixth place in Schumacher’s final race. It was almost like there was a changing of the guard between the two.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
2013 saw Vettel take an impressive fourth title, not without its hairy moments, with the now infamous multi-21 incident in Malaysia. Vettel ignored team orders and overtook Webber, taking the win, the Australian was incandescent. Their relationship was already fragile following the incident in 2010, and this was the final straw, with Webber believing the team was against him, he decided to retire from Formula One at the end of the season.
He was booed at some races and Vettel revealed it did have a negative impact on him, though it was widely condemned by many drivers. It didn’t appear to faze him too much as he ended the season with 13 wins from 19 races, including nine consecutive wins at the end of the season.
2014 was the beginning of the end for Red Bull and Vettel, with the rules being changed, Mercedes became the dominant force, with Vettel being overshadowed by new team mate Daniel Ricciardo. In Japan it was confirmed that Vettel would join Ferrari, ending a 16 year association with Red Bull. A German at Ferrari, sound familiar?
Vettel is currently fighting for the title with Lewis Hamilton, but it’s clear that without Red Bull, Vettel’s career could have been so different.
The year was 2005 and Red Bull Racing were looking to grow their brand in F1 for both the short and long term. As lady luck would have it, such an opportunity presented itself at the end of that season. Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) was born, and the rest as they say, is history.
The struggling Minardi team was sold to Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz at the end of 2005, when he entered into an equal ownership agreement with F1 legend Gerhard Berger, which lasted until 2008 when the Red Bull team took full ownership.
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Designed to serve as a vehicle for the development of their junior drivers before they could be promoted to the RBR senior team, STR has nurtured the talent of the many young drivers, the most notable of which is 4-time champion, Sebastian Vettel.
It was in an STR that Vettel took the first win of his legendary career when he shook up the paddock with a pole to victory drive at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. He is, to this date, responsible for the only STR win in F1. His victory proved to be the catalyst for his amazing season, which earned him a promotion to the RBR senior team in 2009…. And we all know how that went!
Mateschitz’s vision of creating a sustainable future for his maverick brand in F1, had immediately paid dividends, which has again been repeated by the outstanding talent that is Max Verstappen.
Even though this season has been one to forget for the Dutch driver, his win soon after promotion to RBR again underlined the need for STR in keeping young talent in the paddock, especially given that tenure in F1 is uncertain to say the least. His efforts in the 2015 season resulted in RBR scoring the most points in their history in terms of the constructors rankings.
DRAMA DRAMA
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
That’s not to say it has been all wine and roses for the team. Early on in their tenure, questions were raised of an unfair advantage that STR had gained as a result of their RBR link. The team had struggled with performance and handling issues, which had been alleviated to an extent during Vettel’s sterling 2008 season.
2016 saw STR find themselves inadvertently in the middle of a motorsport storm, when Daniil Kvyat, then driving for RBR was sent back to STR for further development, and replaced in the senior team by Verstappen, to the chagrin of a large contingent of F1 fans. The malcontent died down however, with Verstappen’s success at RBR.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN
Credit: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
There are lessons to learn in the RBR/STR journey, not the least of which is the value of a team that can act both as a developmental vehicle and retain some independence. STR also doesn’t follow a traditional “use the same engine as the parent team” model which is a departure from the usual in F1. But it is their treatment of younger drivers that stands out.
Teams often face the problem of developmental drivers, who usually run the odd FP1 session or in DTM/GP2, coming into the F1 team with little experience of the rigours associated with full time F1 driving. STR has allowed the younger drivers a way of developing their skills “on the job”, so as to speak, giving them a full shot at the F1 world and arguably a better chance when they are eventually promoted to the RBR team or even join another team on the grid.
Currently Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kyvat helm the machines at STR and while they have struggled a bit this season, the upcoming tracks should suit their style of driving and keep them in the mix for points.
Red Bull started their ever-successful F1 adventure in 2005 with David Coulthard and Christian Klien as its first ever driver pairing, while Vitantonio Liuzzi drove several races in Klien’s place. But what of their predecessors at the Milton Keynes base?
Ford took over the old Stewart team in time for the start of the 2000 season and renamed Sir Jackie’s outfit as Jaguar Racing and promised a lot during their five seasons. In Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine, they started out with two Grand Prix winners with Irvine himself fresh from a title challenge with Ferrari in 1999, missing out by two points to Mika Hakkinen.
The season fell way short of their predecessors though. Herbert retired from F1 to go and race in the US off the back of a pointless season, while in a car that clearly struggled Irvine managed to wrestle four points from it. With today’s points system in place, he would have scored 42.
Author: Rick Dikeman
2001 was little better amid turbulence behind the scenes, with successful American team manager drafted in by Ford to turn things around. Irvine was to make the podium in a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix but aside from that results were largely the same. Luciano Burti lasted just four races as Herbert’s replacement before he was himself replaced by Pedro De La Rosa, who would score two points in Italy. Jaguar would finish eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
2002 saw fewer points but ultimately a higher position in the Constructors’, taking the last of their podium finishes at the Italian Grand Prix courtesy of Irvine once more. Irvine would retire at the end of the season, De La Rosa would go through it pointless and lose his seat as the promising Mark Webber and Brazil’s Antonio Pizzonia joined for 2003. In a similar pattern to Jaguar’s three years, Webber would dominate Pizzonia while he became the second Brazilian to leave Jaguar midway through a season. His replacement, Justin Wilson was on closer terms with Webber and would score a point. Webber would score 16.
A stronger performance in 2003 led many to believe Jaguar would be more regular scorers in 2004, but it didn’t materialise. Webber managed just seven before it was announced he’d be joining BMW Williams, while rookie Klien took just three. Before the end of the season Ford announced their intention to sell, their F1 project floundering.
Author: Rick Dikeman
It wasn’t until very late that Dietrich Mateschitz, whose Red Bull company had sponsored Jaguar as part of the deal to sign Klien, bought the team outright, before buying Minardi a year later and renaming that Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team.
