Category: Formula One

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Who will win in SilverMonaco?

 

Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.
Sunday 16 April 2017.
World Copyright: Charles Coates/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _27I8921

Welcome to the fourth round of the season, Sochi, Russia. A circuit that I like to call SilverMonaco, because I see a lot of Silverstone in the first part and a lot of Monaco in the final, in this beautiful racetrack we should see another intriguing battle for victory.

Now we know for sure that Ferrari has closed the gap to Mercedes. Now they are side by side. Only in qualifying the Brackley-based squad has a little advantage still. After the brilliant pole position achieved by Bottas in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton will be determined to re-establish his dominance of the team. The driver was really surprised by his team mate’s performance but he was happy to find a competitive Sebastian Vettel too. I think even against himself, every driver, including an arrogant Lewis, prefers to fight against another driver to win the title instead of a lone run towards it.

I think there is a regardable difference between the two drivers of Mercedes and Ferrari. I mean that, while at Mercedes Bottas can be at Lewis’ pace in qualifying, for now, at Ferrari we still see a too slow Kimi Raikkonen. I am sincere, I’ve never thought the Finn was a great driver. He’s good if he has a perfect car but he always struggles to find the right set up, he makes many mistakes while driving, sometimes it seems Kimi loves to stay in the shadows. So what I suggest to Ferrari is to change their second driver next year. Constructor championship is important as well.

I think the future is already here and his name is Max Verstappen. Everybody knows he is the most talented driver now, considering his age. And every top team would love to have him on board. Ferrari should think about him. The Dutch driver impressed a lot (again) in China and he is doing a lot more than his Red Bull can allow this year.

Sochi is a high skill level circuit. The walls are really close to the track in some corners. So no mistakes are needed and the drivers will have to preserve their brakes which are the most stressed part of the car here. Danil Kyvat, the local hero, is called to take a little bit of revenge here after his bad start to the season and thinking about the 2015 Grand Prix when he eliminated Vettel by touching him twice.

We hope for a clean race for the Russian and a lucky one for Sebastian, in order to see a spectacular battle with Mercedes. Williams and Red Bull are expected to be finally closest to the top teams but nothing will change in the midfield, I guess. Mclaren Honda should have a new spec engine in Sochi, so we are all curious, and hopeful, to see where they will be on the grid and on the last lap of the race, also hoping that Fernando Alonso will not think too much about other Honda-powered cars!

Massimo Trapanese

(Image Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

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Ocon: “tenth isn’t enough for me”

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain. courtesy of Sahara Force India Formula One TeamEsteban Ocon has said he is determined to take away more than just a single point from this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, after finishing each of the opening races of 2017 in tenth place.

Alongside the two seventh- and one ninth-place finishes logged by teammate Sergio Pérez, Ocon’s run of results has helped contribute to Force India’s most

lucrative start to a season since 2014, not to mention making them the only team bar Mercedes and Ferrari to have both cars in the points at every round so far.

But despite the stats, Ocon insists there is more to come from him in 2017:

“After three races in the points I’m feeling happy about my start to the season,” the Frenchman said ahead of Sochi, “[but] at the same time, I feel a bit of disappointment that we haven’t achieved more.”

In Bahrain, Ocon believed that the ill-timing of the safety car “probably cost me three positions”, whilst in China a miscommunication with the team sent him on an unnecessary trip down the pitlane in which he lost at least fifteen seconds of lap time.

“With a bit more luck on my side, I would have come away from China and Bahrain with even more points,” Ocon said. “Finishing tenth three times in a row isn’t enough for me—I want more!”

Nevertheless, those around Ocon have continued to voice their approval of his achievements so far in 2017. Vijay Mallya has labelled Ocon’s first few races with Force India a “super start” to his first full Formula One season, whilst Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said Ocon is on “the right trajectory” as he continues to “benchmark himself against…a very strong teammate in Pérez”.

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Sahara Force India F1 VJM10.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain. courtesy of Sahara Force India Formula One Team

James Matthews, Deputy Editor

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Hülkenberg: “quite a bit of optimism” for strong Sochi finish

Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.

Nico Hülkenberg has said he is feeling confident that he and the Renault team can secure a good result in this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, following a fruitful outing at the last race in Bahrain.

Hülkenberg claimed his and Renault’s first points of 2017 at the Sakhir International Circuit two weeks ago, finishing in ninth place after another strong qualifying performance saw him start from seventh for the second race in succession.

He then went on to record the sixth-fastest time at the post-race Bahrain test, just a few tenths off the Williams of Felipe Massa as Renault evaluated new updates to the RS17.

“I have quite a bit of optimism,” Hülkenberg said, regarding the forthcoming Russian Grand Prix. “I think we made good progress to enable us to improve our race pace when testing in Bahrain and we have some new bits for the car to facilitate this too.

“Of course, the Sochi Autodrom is a completely different circuit [to Sakhir], so we can’t accurately predict our performance until we get there, but I’m feeling positive.”

Expanding on the work Renault conducted in Bahrain, Hülkenberg added: “We want more downforce and to improve the car aerodynamically and to use the tyres better in the race. The car is basically good, it’s just a number of details we need to improve.”

His teammate Jolyon Palmer has also praised the development of the RS17, despite settling for a “frustrating” thirteenth-place finish in Bahrain, saying “There’s definitely been progress, but there’s certainly more to come.

“Getting into the top ten in qualifying for the first time in Bahrain was particularly satisfying,” the Briton reflected. “I’d struggled a lot in the FP3 session, so myself and my engineer, Chris Richards, sat down and we changed the set-up of the car so it worked far better.

“The real positive is that the team is taking a step forward at every race so we’re hopeful that Sochi continues in this vein.”

Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Friday 14th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.

James Matthews, Deputy Editor

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A Dreaming Start for Scuderia Ferrari

Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.
Sunday 16 April 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I3281

Two wins in the first three races have moved the Ferrari in the first place on the championship board, not far from Mercedes which is just three points behind.

Sebastian Vettel has found his lost personality and leads the Scuderia to one of the most thrilling seasons. Two chequered flags, a second position in China and 68 points for the four-time world champion so far in this season. Whilst his main title contender, Lewis Hamilton, won one race and finished two times in the second place.

It’s still too early to judge, but I strongly believe that it will be a very close battle between two of the best drivers on the grid. Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have the ability to get the 100% of their car and fight wheel to wheel for the title. Lewis Hamilton looks satisfied because finally Ferrari is competitive and Sebastian Vettel is a respected opponent in his eyes. From the other side, Vettel wants to return to the top and win his fifth title in his Formula One career and fulfill one of his childhood dreams.

In China the safety car gave an advantage on Lewis to lead the race, as Ferrari called Vettel into the pits earlier, when the virtual safety car was deployed, but in Bahrain the safety car was in Ferrari’s favour, and a five seconds time penalty which Hamilton received might cost him the race or at least a battle between him and Vettel for the chequered flag.

The only ‘disappointing’ so far is that Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen are not as fast as their team-mates. The Finns, are struggling to follow Hamilton’s and Vettel’s pace, Valtteri showed some of his skills by taking the pole position in Bahrain, but that was not enough to secure him a good race on the following day. But it is not fair to judge Bottas, as he moved from Williams to Mercedes only a few months ago and he is still trying to find an ideal set-up for him.

From the other hand, Kimi Raikkonen is far away from his good side, the Finn is looking lost and unable to help Ferrari at that moment. Kimi finished fourth in Australia and Bahrain, and fifth in China, so far he has scored 34 points in the championship, half the points which Vettel have scored.

Raikkonen had a good season last year, hence everyone was expecting something good from him this year, but he failed to satisfy his fans. He is a very experienced driver, and I hope that he will improve his performance and will manage to fight for a place on the podium and for a victory in the following races.

The new regulations have improved the quality of the sport. Faster cars, wheel to wheel battles and very impressive overtakes make the 2017 season the best season of the last years.

It was obvious from last year that Ferrari wanted to take advantage of these changes and make a reliable and fast car, the risk paid off for the reds until now and Tifosi are dreaming a tittle after almost nine years.

I cannot predict the winner of the 2017 season, but I certainly can say that this year will make us to hold our breath until the final chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

Victor Archakis – F1 Editor – @FP_Passion

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A very deep and big move

picture courtesy of Red Bull Media.

The hot and thrilling Bahrain weekend Grand Prix, Things are beginning to become even more interesting, with the pole position of Valtteri Bottas and the increasing fight for the title between Mercedes and Ferrari, the attention focused towards Mclaren Honda’s performance, still poor, but that unexpected announcement from the team that Fernando Alonso will race in the Indy 500! In fact, according to the team announcement, the Woking based team, helped by team Andretti, will be on the Indianapolis circuit grid with Alonso, who obviously will miss the Monaco Grand Prix, held on the same weekend. To the joy of many enthusiastic fans all over the world, he will be replaced for the Monaco race by the comeback kid Jenson Button. For sure this move is an incredible marketing one. Everybody will gain something from that, Indy car will have a double F1 world champion on the grid, which will no doubt attract many of Alonso’s and F1 fans to the world-famous race, the Monaco race will have a refreshing moment seeing Jenson Button on the grid, the 2009 world champion, who is missed by all the paddock,. Both teams but mostly Mclaren will have a very big audience focused on them. So, yes, it’s all so promising. But there are some questions that come to my mind and maybe to yours too? We start with Fernando: will he test the Indycar before the race weekend? If yes, when and where? It’s clear that Indy car is very different from an F1 car and the kind of race too. Not forgetting all the different rules the Indy car series has. Can Fernando learn so many things in only one month? It will be very interesting to follow how Alonso will arrive at the Indy 500, I am curious. What about Jenson Button? You may think he will have an easier job to do. No way!! F1 has changed a lot since he left. A very different car will await him in Monaco. So I may have the same questions for him. Will he test the car before the Grand Prix? if yes, where and when? Anyway, for Jenson it will be a sort of homecoming. (He lives in Monaco!) He won’t have difficulties learning the circuit or the rules. But I really hope he will find a better car. Unfortunately, Mclaren Honda is still struggling with their chronic problems. Alonso will start from 15th place on the grid, an engine change due to a failure didn’t allow to the Spaniard to take part to the Q2. So, Alonso will compare the in best and the worst of a great motorsport brand: Honda. It will be interesting and maybe it will remind many people how strong Honda is in racing, as they showed for many years in the US series. Fernando will race in the elite, in the delta Honda racing. This makes me very happy: giving Honda the right value it deserves. With F1 the world is receiving the wrong message of what Honda is. Anyway, it seems all the world is waiting for the Mclaren Honda renaissance. Maybe the Indy 500 and Monaco Grand Prix could be a turning point for Mclaren Honda, for Alonso and for Button. Each of them has to demonstrate and gain something, Or more simply, all will remain the same, and the most important races of the year on the two sides of the world will be the only two bright stars in a dark night. We’ll see. For now, we keep all the emotions and vibes waiting for those moments and we wait for the answers we need.

Massimo Trapanese, F1 correspondent

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Haas F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Review

Picture courtesy of HAAS F1

The sun dropped, the lights glowed and things were a little windy in the Arabian desert as twilight hours hit for one the aesthetically pleasing but quite soulless and empty atmosphere of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Still, at least the racing is usually good around the 5.412 kilometer (3.363 mile) circuit, and it didn’t let down this time either.
Romain Grosjean, who donned a special golden flaked helmet to replace the usual bright orange accents for the occasion, and Kevin Magnussen both started on the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tyres.
Starting in 20th and rising to as high as 15th after the start Magnussen went off at Turn 8 on lap 9 bringing out the caution flags temporarily. Electronic issues cut the cars power supply meaning he had no choice but to stop the car.
Grosjean meanwhile started 9th and held position until a short caution on lap 10 after Lance Stroll was hit by Carlos Sainz. Sainz, who’s been talked about as a possible Ferrari replacement or someone who deserved Bottas’ Mercedes seat, crashed into Stroll coming out of the pits in what was a widely and loudly recognized fault of Sainz by the racing community and stewards who handed him a 3-place penalty for the next round in Sochi, Russia. Shortly thereafter Max Verstappen went off on lap 15 in apparent brake failure, not a huge lock up, we are told. This made for just the 3rd safety car in Bahrain history (I still can’t believe that stat no matter how many times I hear it).
At the restart on lap 16 Grosjean was between the two Force India’s defending from Estaban Ocon while trying to overtake Perez in front. After his second and final stop Grosjean was again on P Zero Red supesofts. On lap 38 Grosjean caught the Toro Rosso of Dannil Kvyat from P9 on the pit straight and overtook him on the inside of Turn 1 getting him into his finishing position of 8th and giving him 4 points in the WDC.
“It was a pretty good race…we had bad luck with the safety car, as we’d pitted just before. I saw Perez come out and I thought, ‘How did he come out in front of me when he’d been 10 seconds behind?’…At the restart I struggled a little bit with top speed. But, eventually we made the right strategy call and pushed on good laps with some great overtaking maneuvers.”
– Romain Grosjean
“Conditions until then [electrical DNF] were pretty good..It would have been a good race. I just look forward now and am happy with the car. It’s running in the points and qualifying in Q3.”
– Kevin Magnussen
It’s a relief the teams arguably #1 driver has gotten points you definitely don’t want your strongest driver to become frustrated which Grosjean is prone to do, but Magnussen is quietly been proving he is a good racer despite the reputation bouncing from team to team has given him. Haas need to make a double points finish quickly to help themselves out later in the season when things may get close. VF17 performance is still obviously very strong but the reliability is a question mark.
Haas will head to Sochi Russia next for the 4th Round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship starting with FP1 on April 28th.

Jeremiah Doctson

 

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Totally Toro Rosso in Bahrain

Quick recap from the Chinese GP, it started off damp and slippery. It was a mixed weekend for the drivers with Sainz finishing an amazing P7 and Kvyat having a car failure.
Moving on to Bahrain, which is a back to back weekend on the calendar, which is hard for teams as they have FP1 just 5 days after the last GP and have to work quickly on Sunday night to get the equipment packed and ready weekend ahead.
Kvyat said “This is a twilight race, the challenging part is always the start, the sun can sometimes still be too bright for your eyes dazzling. I like hot races like Bahrain, especially for its unusual night atmosphere. Also, I love the hotel we stay at because you can play tennis do jet skiing and some sunbathing, the beach is very clean. Very nice to be here racing at night is exciting”.
Sainz Said “It’s very frustrating to not have finished a race in Bahrain yet. In both cases, I remember doing qualifying very well and good starts but that’s it. We normally like to go karting on the small track next to the circuit, its great fun”. He says “It’s a similar weekend to China as you get very little practice as FP1 and FP3 are run in the day when it very hot and data has nothing to do with what the conditions will be like in qualifying and the race”.
On Thursday the boys joined the Red Bull Racing boys for a little filming clip of them having a typical Bahraini breakfast in a tent at a beachside hotel.
Moving on, Friday and the heat and sunlight of FP1, Kvyat setting 1.34.8 and Sainz a 1.36.0 but these times are not important as the qualifying and FP2 are run at night when the temperature is a lot cooler. FP2 Kvyat got a 1.32.7 while Sainz got a 1.34.0 before breaking down, only completing 5 laps in the most important practice session.
Saturday, as normal, saw FP3 and qualifying. Starting off with FP3 Sainz P9 with a 1.33.6 and Kvyat a 1.33.7 so close between them in that session. Qualifying arrived and it was a mixed session with Sainz getting eliminated in Q1 because of a second car failure of the weekend which meant he would be starting the race in P16. Kvyat managed to get his car to P11 which is not all bad because it makes him the first car with a free tyre choice.
Race day, with not a car starting in the top 10, its the lowest grid slots of the season so far. The race did not go to plan either with Sainz colliding into the Williams of Stroll as he was exiting the pits, which put him out the race and gave him a three-place grid drop for the Russian GP, the other side of the garage was not smiling after finishing in P12, meaning they didn’t score points for the first time in 2017.
After the race, Kvyat said “I thought after lap 1 my race was over, I had no grip and went off track after a misunderstanding with another car. Today was not my day we can’t afford situations like this as the midfield battle is very tight and we lost a bit of ground today. I look forward to the next race in Russia my home GP, in front of my fans hopefully we can get the car working and battle for points”
Sainz said “Today we had to start from p16 but I managed to get up to p11 during lap 1, but the weekend ended up with a DNF, but weekends like this happen we’ve had ours. let’s move on and get back on track for the next one and get back into the points and catch up with our rivals.”

Picture courtesy of Red Bull Media
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Haas F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Preview

Formula 1 travels from the far to Middle East for Round 3 of the FIA World Championship in Bahrain. The tiny Country tucked on the East border of Saudi Arabia will play host at its 5.412 kilometer (3.363 mile), 15 turn circuit. Many heavy braking zones and several long straights, run off areas are plentiful and the circuit itself is very wide which will hopefully lead to great battles. However, sweltering dry heat and conditions which can be quite sandy at times will test the reliability (and grip) of the cars and perseverance of drivers throughout the weekend.

In 2016, the teams first season, Haas made their best finish of 5th place in the Bahrain desert, causing Grosjean to say it was “The American dream!” over team radio at the end of the race. The 5th place finish preceded didn’t translate into similar results for the rest of that season, but Grosjean, and the team are looking to repeat the performance and build on their first points finish last race in China that put them 7th in the Constructors World Championship ahead of Renault, Sauber and McLaren. Grosjean 19-11 Magnussen finished 8.

Adding to the teams best finish of 5th at Bahrain in 2016 Grosjean also has two back to back podium finishes in 2012 & 2013 with Lotus finishing 3rd in each out of his 5 Formula 1 starts in Bahrain. The track seems to suit the Frenchman who is probably nearing frustration with his lack of points after a DNF in Australia and a strong drive from 19th to 11th just outside of the points in China.
“Bahrain is not a circuit that looks very technical from a paper point of view, but I love driving it every year….turns 9 & 10 are pretty tricky. That’s the braking going downhill and there’s a lot of g-forces and front locking, with tricky traction on exit. That’s the place where you really need to focus” Grosjean said.

Magnussen meanwhile has two starts, one with McLaren in 2014 and the other with Renault in 2016 where he made his best finish of 11th coming back from dead last of 22nd on the grid.
“I’d say turns 11, 12, and 13 are cool.” Magnussen said. It’s a track with some good braking zones, fast chicanes and medium speed corners. It’s quite fun.”

Pirelli are brining three tire compounds to the Bahrain circuit this weekend; P Zero White mediums, Yellow softs, and Red supersofts. The P Zero White mediums may be the most suited to Bahrain, from Pirelli; “less grip, less wear (used for long race stints). This is Pirellis most balanced tire, with an ideal compromise between performance and durability. It’s extremely versatile, but often it comes into it’s own on circuits that tend towards high speeds high temperatures, and high-energy loadings. It is a low range working compound.”

I believe Haas are going to preform well this weekend, the VF 17, if it’s predecessor is any indication, will preform well, the circuit may be one of Romain Grosjeans strongest and Magnussen is on form after a confidence building 8th place finish in China. The VF 17 is ready for it’s first performance of the season under the bright lights in the desert

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Haas F1 Chinese Grand Prix Review

Image courtesy of HAAS F1

Haas F1 have gotten their first points in China. After predictions of a chaotic rain filled race the Chinese Grand Prix was would start damp with plenty of dry patches, starting all drivers but one Carlos Sainz on green intermediate tires which would create a forgettable start for the him. Romain Grosjean P17 and Kevin Magnussen P12 opted instead for the green P Zero intermediates. Two laps in after a decent strat for both cars, Lance Stroll was knocked out of the race by Sergio Perez bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Haas brought both drivers in, Magnussen in front, for Red supersofts. Track conditions remained wet though and another crash on the damp pit straight ended Antonio Giovinazzis forgettable weekend and brought a physical safety car.
Magnussen remained on track in P12 while Grosjean farther back and with less to lose pitted for Yellow softs and returned to track under full green in P17 behind the Renault of Jolyn Palmer. By lap 28 he had passed Palmer and several other cars to gain to P13 putting him one position behind his team mate Magnussen who returned from the pits from his final stop for new P Zero Red supersofts. Grosjean too made his final stop on lap 36 also for a set of Red supersofts and rejoined the track P13 again this time behind Nico Hulkenberg. He passed the German two laps later on lap 38 and to prove the Frenchman’s determination and pace Grosjean hunted down the Williams of Felipe Massa 15 laps later and took P11 from the experienced and on form driver cleanly around the slow turn 2 finishing him just outside of the points.
With a strong VF17 under him Magnussen was able to salvage the teams weekend with an exclamation point overtaking both Mercedes powered Force India cars. First Ocon on lap 40 then and catching Perez at the end of the long back straight for P8 where he finished giving himself and the team 4 points in the World Championship putting them 4 behind 6th place Williams who also had one car DNF. We now have one example (since we will not make any permanent conclusions here yet) that the Ferrari power of the VF17 and its chassis design is on par with if not outperforming the Mercedes power of the Williams and Force India.
It’s unfortunate Grosjean was not in a better position at the start and was so close to a double points finished for the team, but as he said after being forced to lift on the penultimate corner of his qualifying lap due to Giovinazzi’s crash “When it’s not your day, it’s not your day”. Haas F1 will go to Bahrain next, the sight of the team’s best ever finish of P5 with Romain Grosjean in 2016 for Formula 1’s first back to back weekend of the season. Haas are now in 7th in the Constructors Championship and the team need to focus all out on a double points finish for this weekend to remain close in the WCC with Williams and avoid being left behind by the rest of the midfield with the pointless Sauber, McLaren and Renault.

 

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Talking Points: Chinese Grand Prix

 

Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China.
Sunday 09 April 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONZ6440

The headlines following Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix were all about the tie between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at the top of the 2017 World Drivers’ Championship. But what else did we learn from F1’s weekend in Shanghai?

The championship will continue to swing

After the first couple of races we were all hoping to get a clearer picture of whether Mercedes or Ferrari would be the team to beat in 2017. But if the Chinese Grand Prix is anything to go by, the answer to that question looks like it will continue to change from race to race.

According to Shanghai’s long straights and Lewis Hamilton’s two 2017 pole positions, it would appear Mercedes still enjoys enough of an advantage in pure engine power that it should have the edge around the likes of Spa, Suzuka, and the newer Tilkedromes. But when it comes to street and chassis-dependant circuits like Barcelona and Singapore, Ferrari’s better handling will make all the difference in race trim.

Add to that the usual variables of reliability, weather and individual driver performance, and the result should be a title battle that keeps on pitching from one camp to the next.

Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China.
Saturday 08 April 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY5020

The driver market is taking shape

It’s never too early to start talking about silly season. We may have only just finished the second of twenty races, but already certain drivers are coming to the fore as potential linchpins in this year’s contract negotiations.

Carlos Sainz was one of those whose CV enjoyed some added sparkle in Shanghai, as he ran in sixth place and within touching distance of the leading pack for most of the race; likewise, his compatriot Fernando Alonso’s efforts in hauling his MCL32 into the points before retiring looked every bit a sales pitch to the likes of Mercedes in the final year of his McLaren contract.

On the other end of the spectrum, Jolyon Palmer had yet another dismal weekend in China, and was shown up considerably by qualifying eleven places behind teammate Hülkenberg. Nor will Valtteri Bottas be particularly pleased with his Shanghai performance—once again the Finn was too easily muscled out at the start by Vettel, which is a trend he cannot allow to continue if he wants to remain with Mercedes beyond the terms of his current one-year deal.

Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.
Sunday 26 March 2017.
World Copyright: Sam Bloxham/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _J6I4837

Ferrari needs new blood

Another driver feeling the pressure after China is surely Kimi Räikkönen. Whilst his teammate was carving through the Red Bulls and chasing down Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Flying Finn spent most of the Chinese Grand Prix cruising some way off the leaders, seemingly unable to affect any of the passes that Vettel made look so easy.

Now that Ferrari is in a position to win races and fight for the championship, Räikkönen’s tailing form is being made painfully clear beside Vettel—and not to mention in the light of burgeoning talents like Sainz and Pérez. As much as the sport will miss him, perhaps the time has finally come for the Iceman to move on.

James Matthews, Editor-at-Larges

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