Tag: F1

Malaysian Grand Prix Preview, Can Ferrari Bounce Back?

Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia.
Thursday 28 September 2017.
World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _X0W6776

Formula One, is heading to Malaysia for the last time this weekend, as the government decided that the race is not profitable any more. Sepang International joined F1 in 1999, it was a part of Bernie Ecclestone’s plan to expand Formula 1 in countries around the world. Bernie’s idea has not worked very well so far Turkey and South Korea had the same fate with Malaysia and maybe more countries will follow.

Sebastian Vettel would like to say goodbye to the Malaysian Grand Prix with a victory, if the German wins it will be his fifth victory in Malaysia. Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have won three times in Malaysia, whilst Kimi Raikkonen celebrated two victories in Sepang Circuit.

The leader in the drivers’ championship, Lewis Hamilton, has won only once, in 2014, since the track re-joined Formula 1 in 2007. Lewis is facing difficulties in Malaysia, but the Brit has the advantage of the 28 point gap, a finish ahead or close to Vettel will be positive for him.

2006 Malaysian Grand Prix – Wednesday Preview
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. 15th March 2006
xxx
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic
ref: Digital Image YY8P1797.

This weekend a new driver will make his appearance on the grid, the French Pierre Gasly will replace Daniil Kvyat and he will be racing for Toro Rosso in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sepang International Circuit

Laps: 56

Circuit Length: 5.543 km

Race Length: 310.408 km

Lap Record: 1:34.223 (Juan Pablo Montoya – 2004)

Sepang is one of the most technical circuits in the calendar, designed by the German architect Hermann Tilke, it combines long high speed straights and tight twisting turns like turn number five and six.

High temperatures are the biggest challenge for the drivers, the average air temperature during the race is about 30 C which means that the temperature in the cockpit is around 50C and the drivers must race under these conditions for one hour and thirty-five minutes. Rain is expected in all sessions this weekend, which will be an extra challenge for the drivers.

Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) – “I am not worried, I am excited about making my debut in Sepang this weekend. I have worked hard to prepare for this and to get to F1. I am very happy to have this opportunity. I know it will be different to anything I’ve done before and the other drivers have been racing all season, so I will have a lot of things to get used to and learn about. It’s a super challenge and I can’t wait for it to start. I have raced in Sepang. It was last year, when I took pole position for the GP2 race, so clearly it’s a track I like. It is very tough with the high level of humidity but I am well prepared physically.”

Esteban Ocon (Force India) – “Sepang is such a beautiful track. I really love it. I enjoy chicanes and there are quite a few in Malaysia, with some nice combinations of fast and medium-speed corners. When you have a good car in qualifying, you can just feel the grip; it’s very enjoyable. On the other hand, it’s a very tough race because of the heat and humidity. The rain can play a big part – at least I am told! Last year everyone kept telling me that, but it was just mega sunny and warm all weekend. It’s sad we will be racing here for the last time because it’s such a cool track. I am going to miss it.”

Watch Max Verstappen talking about the fitness in Formula One, by Mobil 1 the Grid

Victor Archakis

Twitter @FP_Passion

28th September 2017
Forget Toro Rosso – Daniil Kvyat’s F1 career is now on the line

Yesterday probably marked the beginning of the end for Daniil Kvyat.

Toro Rosso’s decision to drop him for the highly thought of Pierre Gasly is the Russian’s second such demotion in 18 months, after his bumper cars episodes with Sebastian Vettel at the start of 2016 saw him swapped for Max Verstappen.

Put bluntly, it is something that he has not recovered from.

Where Romain Grosjean flourished after criticism of his driving up until the middle of 2013 to mature into a driver often ahead of his car, Kvyat has floundered and only shown flashes of his 2014 form.

While teammate Carlos Sainz has been a consistent fixture in the points, Kvyat is languishing in 19^th in the World Drivers’ Championship with just four compared to ninth-placed Sainz’s 48. In a midfield-team, that gap is huge.

Franz Tost explained that the decision was taken as a result of him not fulfilling his potential this year, and it’s not difficult to see his point.

Indeed Kvyat, like last year, hasn’t been a stranger to first-lap collisions as his greediness on the brakes sent him into Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen, ending their races.

In the following race at the British Grand Prix, he and Sainz needlessly clashed on the opening lap in an incident that ended the Spaniard, who’s off to Renault for a year in 2018, retiring.

Perhaps it was cruel, if not deliberate, for Daniel Ricciardo to mention the nickname “Torpedo”, given to him by Vettel after the Chinese Grand Prix last year.

Where Red Bull were hammered for dropping him in 2016, this time around there will be far fewer public complaints.

Not that it would bother Dr. Helmut Marko, the man in charge of driver choices, in the slightest anyway.

Kvyat now finds himself at a crossroads.

Toro Rosso are fighting Williams for fifth in the Constructors’ Championship and are just seven points behind, and ten in front of Renault.

So the decision to demote him once again suggests that this time it is probably terminal, that he might have used his nine lives up at Red Bull.

How Kvyat reacts should he find himself with another chance at motorsport’s top table will determine his career path.

As for Gasly, a lot have tried and failed in going through the Red Bull Driver Academy. With Daniel Rcciardo’s contract up in 2019, he must prove that he’s no gamble.

27th September 2017
Daniel Ricciardo’s Season Update Ahead Of The F1 Malaysian Grand Prix – Mobil 1 The Grid

Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which Daniel Ricciardo talks about his teammate, Max Verstappen, and how he (Daniel) doesn’t see Sebastian or Lewis as better than him.

Make sure that you follow Mobil 1 The Grid:
Website: mobil1thegrid.com
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25th September 2017
Discipline is the Key to the Success

Marina Bay Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore.
Sunday 17 September 2017.
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _R3I1034

Discipline is the key to the success, is what every athlete must have, even if we are talking about a team sport like football and basketball or even if we are talking about a one man show sport like tennis.

In Formula One if a driver is willing to win a world title must be able to control himself and his reactions, must be able to know when he must attack and when to hold off in order to secure his position and score points and must have the luck to his side.

A few days ago, in Singapore, Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap in the Saturday’s qualification session and took the pole-position, but the next day he ruined everything. Kimi Raikkonen had a good start, squeezed Max Verstappen they collided with Sebastian Vettel, who moved aggressively left, and a few seconds later, Raikkonen, tagged Alonso’s car, who retired a few laps later due to heavy damage on his McLaren.

Marina Bay Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore.
Saturday 16 September 2017.
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _R3I9943

Four of the best drivers on the grid retired in the first meters of the race, Lewis Hamilton, as a smart and an experienced driver, took advantage of that incident, lead the race from the start to the end and won the Singapore GP. A victory which even Mercedes’ most ambition fan couldn’t imagine. Now Hamilton is enjoying his loneliness at the top of the drivers’ standings, 28 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

I am not willing to blame some of the three drivers (Verstappen, Raikkonen, and Vettel), but my question is why Vettel had to close Raikkonen and Verstappen instead of letting them go or even let them pass him and catch up later in the race. Here comes today’s key word, discipline. The German has won four world titles in his Formula One career, this year has the chance to win his fifth title, but decided to ruin everything in a few meters.

Let’s assume that Vettel couldn’t think clearly, not an easy thing to do especially under this conditions, Ferrari’s team principal Maurizio Arrivabene had to inform and advice his driver to take it easy, as it was a very good chance for Vettel to re-take the lead on the drivers’ championship and put some pressure on Hamilton for the following races. When Lewis took the lead of the race, Mercedes said to the Brit, through the team-radio, to deliver the car home in one piece, that is what Ferrari had to say to Vettel before the race.

Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore.
Sunday 17 September 2017.
World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _X0W5640

Both Vettel and Arrivabene are on pressure now, Ferrari had/have the chance to return to trophies after nine years, but now the chances to achieve that is very low. Six races are remaining to complete this season, and most of these races suit more to Mercedes’ car set-up, that means that Ferrari must make the ‘break’ and Sebastian Vettel must win more than two races, hoping that at the same time Hamilton will finish third or even a lower position.

The next race will take place in Malaysia, Ferrari must win at least once in the two following races if they want to close the gap or even pass Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship. The ‘second’ drivers will play a crucial in this year’s title.

Victor Archakis

Twitter @FP_Passion

23rd September 2017
Project CARS 2 Review

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Slightly Mad, Beautifully Authentic

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Project CARS 2 is a sequel to the original game released in May 2015. Once more developed and published by Slightly Mad Studios, the game doubles in car size, now boasting 182 cars from 38 different manufacturers with additions from Ferrari and Porsche. Electronic Arts lost their exclusive contract with Porsche recently, the manufacturer now appearing on all new driving releases, Slightly Mad used RUF in 2015.

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It now holds the record, taking it from the first edition for most tracks, 46 locations and 121 different formats, Knockhill in Scotland, Long Beach in America and historic tracks such as the high speed Hockenheim in Germany which you can see above.

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It is the first game in recent years to have secured a contract with Verizon who own Indycar, boasting the full 2016 car roster and liveries with the Indy 500 as an official event. This is a tier 1 category in career mode. All cars and tracks are available on single player and online from the start so no need to do any unlocking if you are a casual gamer.

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The weather/physics system they use, Livetrack, is in its third form a truly dynamic approach to rain, and especially to dirt and snow taking a leaf from Codemasters’ critically acclaimed DiRT series with Rallycross entering the fray.

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Because of such unique situations, where puddles form and dry out individually, the track never seems static, always evolving in the process throughout the race. A true challenge especially in the lower categories. As you can see below the spray in the Formula rookie series around Watkins Glen. You can also see from this the lovely graphics the game has and graphical interface of position on track, track map and speedometer.

The career mode which was such a success on the first game is just polished further, having the tiers of category, starting low down in tier 6 with Go-Karts or Formula Rookie, heading towards the heights of Indycar and the World Endurance series.

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Depending on your success, you will be invited to a series of invitationals, so much so you might do a Nico Hulkenburg or Fernando Alonso and attempt the historic events of the Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500, of which if you fancy can be the full duration, but shortened down to a smaller time if you wish.

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The most fine tuned cars on the gaming market. The noise and handing of them are so realistic, the way you could tune the setups for the cars is amazing. There are probably thousands of different setups, where a 0.1psi change on a tyre makes a huge difference.

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They have also got eSport interest and will be streaming events on the internet. Qualification for these events will begin shortly. For all you gamer nerds the achievements on Xbox and trophies on Playstation are a slight challenge, but doing these give you the full appreciation of the game.

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Project CARS 2 is everything you wish for a sequel to be, bigger, better and amazing. One of, if not the best driving simulator I have ever driven on! Further DLC is announced, so more tracks and cars to get aswell! Gaming at its highest level.

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Chris Lord

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_{Pictures are captures on a Playstation 4, from @C_Lordy91 twitter. This game is out on PC, PS4 and Xbox One from 22/09/2017.}

22nd September 2017
Formula 2’s super licence points overhaul; the wrong answer to the right question?

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.

13th September 2017
Red Bull Racing 2017 Review #2

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.

Chris Lord

04/09/2017

9th September 2017
Lewis Hamilton is on Cruise Control Mode

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy.
Saturday 02 September 2017.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W08 EQ Power+.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I1954

Lewis Hamilton is on cruise control mode, his steering wheel seems to have an extra hidden button, and the British found it and pressed it with his thumb. At the Italian Grand Prix, Hamilton took his 69^th pole-position, he is now the driver with the most pole positions in Formula One, he also became the first driver, in 2017, who won two consecutive races and now he is leading the drivers’ championship by three points from Sebastian Vettel.

In Belgium, Lewis looked comfortable and unbeatable, even at the re-start, after the safety car, when Vettel made his move, the Britt managed to defend his first position and a couple of laps later he increased the gap between him and Sebastian Vettel. By seeing the final gap between the two drivers, after 44 laps, someone might assume that Vettel was pushing and was very close to Lewis, but the reality was totally different. The German, was close but still that was not enough for him to make his move and attack for the first place.

At Monza, the Tifosi were expecting to see a fast and competitive Scuderia Ferrari, but instead of that, Ferrari was not even close to Mercedes. The Silver Arrows, were not stopped by the rain and the hours of delay which took place in the FP3 and during the qualifying session. Lewis Hamilton claimed his 69^th pole position, followed by Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon qualified fourth and fifth respectively, but after the grid penalties which applied almost to every driver on the grid, Stroll promoted to the second position and became the youngest driver who started from the front row.

The two Ferraris qualified seventh (Kimi Raikkonen) and eighth (Sebastian Vettel), both drivers promoted to fifth and sixth respectively. Max Verstappen dropped down to 13^th position, while his team-mate started the race from the 16 position.

Lights out

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy.
Sunday 03 September 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I4027

Lewis Hamilton had a clean start and remained first after lights out, Lance Stroll lost his second position by Esteban Ocon and dropped down to third place. A few laps later Max Verstappen had a collision with Felipe Massa, Max suffered a puncture which cost him time and dropped him at the back of the grid. The stewards decided to take no further action for the incident between the two drivers. Verstappen managed to recover at the end of the race, the Dutch finished 10^th ahead of Kevin Magnussen.

Valtteri Bottas, who qualified sixth, had a good start and gained two positions on the first lap of the race. He was behind Hamilton, Ocon and Stroll and it was a matter of time until he was able to attack the two drivers in front of him. The Finn, had a good pace during the race, he completed Mercedes’ 1-2 as he finished second behind his team-mate.

Daniel Ricciardo started the race from the 16^th place and finished fourth, a few seconds, behind Sebastian Vettel. The Australian had an amazing race, he passed the slower cars on the first part of the race, while he was on softs. He had the advantage of fresher and faster tyres during the final laps of the Italian Grand Prix. Twelve laps before the chequered flag, the Australian made his move on Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn was unable to defend his fourth position, Daniel took the inside at the first chicane and with an incredible move, he promoted to fourth place. Ricciardo, was gaining on Vettel lap by lap, but he didn’t have enough laps to close the gap with the German, and finished fourth, about four seconds, behind Vettel.

Both McLaren’s drivers watched the end of the race from the garage. Vandoorne and Alonso retired on 33th and 50^th lap respectively. Stoffel had electrical issues, whilst Fernando had problems with his McLaren’s clutch.

The next race will take in Singapore, a circuit which suits more to the Ferrari than to Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel is looking to win his fifth race in 2017 and retake the lead in the drivers’ championship. Lewis Hamilton from the other hand, has the momentum. The British driver, looks very strong, he will have to fight hard to keep his lead and his aim will be to expand his winning streak in Singapore.

Victor Archakis

Twitter – @FP_Passion

7th September 2017
Q&A with Nikolas Tombazis, ex Ferrari Chief Designer

Nikolas Tombazis born in Greece on April 22nd in 1968, his father, Alexandros Tombazis was an architect. In 1989, Nikolas graduated from the Trinity College in Cambridge as an engineer, a few years later (1992) he completed his PhD in aeronautical engineering at the Imperial College London.

Tombazis, entered to the Formula One world on November 1992, he became aerodynamicist at the Benetton Formula 1 team, a couple of years later he promoted to Head of Aerodynamics. In 1994, he was a member of the team, which celebrated Michael Schumacher’s world title. The following season Benetton won both the constructors’ and the drivers’ championships.

In 1997, Tombazis followed Michael Schumacher and moved from Benetton to Ferrari. One year later he became Ferrari’s Chief Aerodynamicist and he was responsible for Ferrari’s dominance from 1998 to 2003, Nikolas celebrated six constructors’ titles and five drivers’ championships with the Scuderia Ferrari.

In 2004, the Greek designer, moved to McLaren, he remained in Woking for two years and then returned to Ferrari as Chief Designer. At that period Ferrari, won two constructors’ titles and Kimi Raikkonen won the drivers’ championship in 2007.

Manor, was Tombazi’s final team in Formula One. Nikolas, joined Manor as Chief Aerodynamicist but he was unlucky as the team didn’t take part to the 2017 championship, due to financial problems.

I have the honour to host an interview with one of the best Greek engineers, and the person who played a major role to Ferrari’s dominance.

When did you realise that you wanted to interact with Formula One and what influenced you?

I was hooked to this sport as a kid, when I was around 10 years old. In those days the TV did not show that many races, and of course there was no Internet, so finding all the information required quite a lot of research. These were also the years of the start of ground effect (Lotus 78 and Lotus 79) and the subsequent heavy emphasis on aerodynamics. So I guess that also influenced quite a lot the direction that I followed subsequently.

What were your worst and your best memory during your years in F1?

Best memories: championship wins… 2000 with Schumacher, 2007 with Raikkonen (my first car as Chief Designer), stand out. Most wins were very special, but these championships had something extra.

For sure the worse moments were when a driver was killed. Senna’s death (which was very early in my career) shocked me even though I never had the luck to meet him. But there have been other difficult moments: periods when the car was uncompetitive, losing championships in the last race, retiring from races while leading…

How much role plays the physical characteristics of a driver in the designing of a car?

Depends exactly what you mean. If you mean his actual body dimensions (height, width, etc.) we do need to package the bigger / taller driver in our cars, and to make them comfortable. This is not a major exercise, but it has to be done.

If you mean the driving characteristics, some times drivers have a particular sensitivity to a certain aspect of the car and we try to make sure that we do not design something that they will be uncomfortable driving. But this is not perhaps as frequent as it used to be: nowadays we rely a lot more on telemetry and measurements.

In 1998 you became Ferrari’s Chief aerodynamicist, Scuderιa had not celebrated a title since 1983, how much pressure did you have and how easy was for you to keep “producing” a winning car for six consecutive years?

The pressure was always high in Ferrari. The constructors’ championship in 1999 was bitter-sweet, because we had also lost the drivers’. The real special moment came in 2000, and I still remember the feeling when I saw Michael come out of his final pit stop in Suzuka ahead of Hakkinen.

Who was the best driver that you have worked with and why?

Schumacher and Alonso. Difficult to compare them, but their understanding of the car and their speed was on another planet. There were numerous other drivers I enjoyed working with (and most were very good) but these two were something special.

What is your opinion about Halo and how much can affect the aerodynamics of a Formula One car?

The aerodynamic effect is not massive, and the teams will do what they can to keep it to a minimum. Every time a driver has been killed or seriously hurt we wonder why we did not do certain things earlier. So while the aesthetics are clearly not its strong point, we need to do what we can to keep the drivers safe.

They are saying that to be an aerodynamicist in Formula 1 is one of the most challenging jobs because you have to combine downforce with low drag. Which part of an F1 car is the most important and how long does it takes to design a car?

The design of the car never really finishes, it is a continuous process of development. All the areas close to the ground are difficult, the front wing and the area between the diffuser and the rear wheels are particularly complicated.

Being an aerodynamicist is very challenging (and also satisfying when things go well), but there are many jobs in Formula 1 which are very difficult and important for the final result.

Many kids and students are dreaming to work in Formula One, what would you advise them?

Work hard, take your studies at university seriously, participate in a Formula SAE or some other minor category, learn a lot of skills (CAD, CFD, simulations, etc.)

At the beginning of the year, Manor’s staff posted a 50 percent scale model of the MRT07 as a goodbye to F1, how hard was that for you, and do you believe that Liberty Media should offer more funds to smaller teams in order to avoid situations like Manor’s?

It was a shame that Manor collapsed, and that we did not see the fruit of our effort. There were a couple of hundred people who suffered this big disappointment, and all the difficulties being left without a job caused them.

Formula 1 should become more sustainable both for the small teams but also for the big ones. How this will happen we just have to wait and see.

With what are you working now?

I am currently consulting a number of clients, and I find the varying range of problems very enjoyable. For reasons of confidentiality I cannot say who my clients are.

Victor Archakis

Twitter – @FP_Passion

29th August 2017
Belgian Grand Prix Preview, Feel the Action

GP BELGIO F1/2016 – SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (BELGIO) – 28/8/2016
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

After a short break for the drivers and long for the fans, Formula One is back at our lives. The action returns to one of the most thrilling circuits on the calendar, at Spa in Belgium. Everyone is looking forward to watch a battle between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton for the drivers’ championship.

Ferrari is willing to keep their driver line-up same for the next year, they started with Raikkonen’s contract. The Finn, extended his contract for one more season and he will remain with Scuderia Ferrari until 2018. Next on the schedule is Sebastian Vettel.

Mercedes will try to respond to Ferrari’s 1-2 in Hungary. The Silver Arrows, are aiming to gain points in order to extend their lead in the constructors’ championship which is currently at 40 points. Lewis Hamilton, has to win at least one of the two upcoming races (Spa, Monza) in order to stay close or even pass Sebastian Vettel. Valtteri Bottas looks confident and able to challenge the two contenders and win his first title in his Formula One career.

Toto Wolff – “The summer shutdown came at the perfect time for us to make a step back and take stock of our season so far. It has been a good one – and has shown a lot of the qualities of our team. On paper, people will assume that Spa should suit our car because it is a circuit where aerodynamic efficiency is extremely important. But assumptions are dangerous – we have seen too many times already this season that the form book can be rewritten from one weekend to the next. So we will be making no assumptions; we have to tick off the items on our work list and make sure we do the best job to maximise our potential points score. The motivation and determination in the factory are greater than ever. Hungary showed the strength of our team – and we intend to use the second half of this season to prove that strength.”

CIRCUIT DE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

Laps: 44

Circuit Length: 7.004 km

Race Length: 308.052 km

Lap Record: 1:47.263 (Sebastian Vettel – 2009)

Tyre sets available: Soft (Yellow), Supersoft (Red), Ultrasoft (Purple)

Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most historic circuits on the Formula One calendar, hosted a non-championship race in 1924. Spa it is also one of the longest circuits (7.004 km), it combines a mix of long straight and fast corners which makes it an attractive and challenging track for the drivers. The most famous corner is known as “Eau Rouge” and it is one of the most technically demanding corners, because of the evaluation change and the high speed.

Fernando Alonso – “I love the first race after the summer break! It’s a great feeling to come back feeling rested, relaxed and recharged, and ready to go again for the second half of the season. I’ve enjoyed time away with family and friends, worked hard on my training and now I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car. Spa is incredible – for many of us it’s one of our favourite tracks. It’s got a legendary reputation and it’s totally deserved. The feeling when you drive Eau Rouge is completely different to any other corner on the calendar. You’re so low in the car and the gradient is so steep that as you go up it you can only see the sky – it’s completely surreal. As the season goes on we’re getting stronger and stronger, and I hope the second half of the year will bring us some more points-earning finishes. This race is a difficult challenge for the whole team – the engineers and the mechanics – as you’re on the throttle for almost three-quarters of the lap, which makes it’s a tough circuit for both the car and the driver. We know we’ll have to work hard to get any kind of result there, but it’s a long lap and there are plenty of overtaking opportunities, so we’ll keep pushing to get everything we can from the weekend.”

GP BELGIO F1/2016 – SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (BELGIO) – 28/8/2016
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

McLaren will try to repeat their success and score more points in Belgium, Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne finished sixth and tenth respectively in Hungary.

I am expecting a close battle between Ferrari and Mercedes, but the Silver Arrows might have a small advantage at the Spa.

Don’t miss our live race coverage on Sunday!

Twitter- @FP_Passion

22nd August 2017