July is now upon us, and with it the penultimate and most hotly-anticipated stop on the 2017–18 Formula E calendar—New York City.
It’s a shame, really, that given New York’s billing as this season’s headline event (sorry, Montréal), the championship leader Sébastien Buemi will not be present at either race this weekend. His Toyota WEC priorities have hardly come as a surprise, and in his place Formula E will get to welcome another exciting young talent in the form of Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly, but for one of the sport’s box office stars to miss an event like New York is still regrettable.
But on a more positive note, the impact of Formula E’s clash with the WEC’s 6 Hours of the Nürburgring has proven to be much less than first expected. Of the half-dozen drivers previously at risk of skipping the New York round, only Buemi and his Toyota LMP1 teammate José María López will in fact leave vacant seats—meaning Gasly and DS Virgin reserve Alex Lynn will be the only new faces on the grid this weekend. Sam Bird, Nelson Piquet, Nico Prost and Jean-Éric Vergne have all opted to forego the fourth round of the WEC and contest New York instead.
Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E
The other upside to Buemi’s absence is that it naturally opens the way for a fresh change to the podium predictions. Lucas di Grassi will obviously be among the favourites to capitalise on his title rival’s double booking, and a pair of strong top three results would even see him assume the lead of the championship before the final round in Canada.
But if the previous round in Berlin is anything to go by, di Grassi will more than have his hands full keeping back the rapid Mahindra pair of Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld, the former of whom scored his and the team’s first victory last time out and will surely be eager for more of the same. Vergne also ought to pose a major threat at the front in New York with his Renault-powered Techeetah, as will his former DS Virgin teammate Bird, and nor can Prost be discounted; although the Renault driver has yet to finish on the podium this season, Prost is the only man to have scored in every round so far and is a proven ePrix winner.
Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
The presence of two rookies at Renault and DS Virgin may also present an opportunity for some of the midfield teams to take a larger bite at the top ten than usual this weekend.
Such an opening will be especially attractive to Dragon Racing, currently languishing at the bottom of the standings and looking for a first points finish since Buenos Aires. But with only a handful of points splitting Dragon from Jaguar, Venturi and Andretti ahead of them, it will be a close fight between their respective drivers to see who comes out on top.
Jaguar and Venturi would seem to have the current edge in that regard, with Mitch Evans and Maro Engel contributing heavily to their teams’ rising points totals of late. But Andretti’s pairing of da Costa and Frijns is capable of brilliance on the right day, such as their fifth- and sixth-placed finishes in Hong Kong, and Dragon’s two-time ePrix winner Jérôme d’Ambrosio is no slouch either.
When Valtteri Bottas crossed the finish line in Austria to take his second career Grand Prix win, the calls from F1’s pundits were all but unanimous—the unassuming Finn, not so long ago dismissed as Mercedes’ number two driver, was now firmly in contention for the 2017 Drivers’ Championship.
Steve Etherington / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
Statistically speaking, it’s a solid claim to make. At 35 points adrift in third, it would take a couple of perfect storms in Britain and Hungary for Bottas to assume the lead of the championship before the summer break; but the odds of him overcoming the fifteen-point gap to Lewis Hamilton in second between now and August are certainly far from negligible.
It’s worth remembering too that if Bottas were to rack up another victory at Silverstone next week, as well as making him the first back-to-back winner of 2017, that would also bring the Finn level with Hamilton’s and Sebastian Vettel’s respective win tallies this year. Looking over his other results, Bottas has also taken only one less podium than Vettel and one more than Hamilton this season, whilst his lowest finish of sixth in China is still one better than Hamilton’s seventh place in Monaco.
Furthermore, all that is in spite of Bottas being the only driver of this title trio to suffer a DNF so far this year, when his engine blew at the Spanish Grand Prix—and if we were to assume that that had not happened, and Bottas joined Hamilton and Vettel on the podiumin third that day, then the Finn would now be level on points with his teammate.
Wolfgang Wilhelm / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
Of course, ifs and should-haves aren’t enough to win a championship, and if Bottas is to take the crown at the end of 2017 he will need to continue pushing beyond the base expectations of himself and his car. His triumphs in Sochi and Spielberg have displayed beyond doubt Bottas’ serene control at the front of the field, but he is only just beginning to show the kind of aggression necessary to assert himself as more than just the third-fastest man on track—something he will certainly need more of if he is to keep touch with Vettel and Hamilton across the season.
That is something that will only become more pronounced now that Bottas has been thrust into the title race spotlight. Up until Austria, the Finn has been able to profit from all the media attention being focused on Hamilton and Vettel, allowing Bottas to quietly rack up points in the background without being subjected to the pressures of a declared championship tilt. But now that his rivals are aware of the threat he poses, Bottas can no longer rely on the element of surprise and must come out of the shadows fighting.
Fortunately for Bottas, though, that should just be a case of doing what he’s always done, and doing it more. His two pole positions and near-level qualifying head-to-head with Hamilton are proof that he has more than enough speed to run his teammate hard on Saturday; and even if qualifying doesn’t go his way, the lightning starts he’s made all year (not to mention his stellar recovery from last to second in Baku) will ensure Bottas remains a looming presence in any polesitter’s mirrors.
Steve Etherington / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
What’s more, Bottas has proven time and again that he has the focus and mental strength needed to take on a full title challenge—even against opponents as intimidating as a three- and a four-time world champion. His level head has been one of the Finn’s defining attributes ever since winning the 2011 GP3 title at the first attempt; it was particularly evident in 2014 when, partnering a reborn Felipe Massa in a podium-worthy Williams, Bottas dove his way to an outstanding fourth in the final standings. So far, the only visible dent to his determination came under the frenzy of Ferrari speculation in 2015, but from the way Bottas has settled into his new Mercedes seat despite the rumours surrounding it would suggest that he has learnt from that episode.
His grounded nature should stand the Finn in good stead as he wades into the Hamilton–Vettel battle. He will have seen first-hand how unsettled his opponents can be by the championship’s many twists and turns, and know that when that happens (as it undoubtably did in Austria) he has only to drive a solid weekend to take full advantage. If they didn’t already, Hamilton and Vettel will now have their hands full making sure their own turbulent duel doesn’t leave Bottas with an open goal.
Steve Etherington / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
Make no mistake, Bottas faces a considerably tall order if he is to wrest this 2017 Championship away from Vettel and Hamilton. No amount of comparisons to Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 will guarantee Bottas comes out on top after Abu Dhabi—as ever, all that counts is what happens on track this year.
But if the Finn can drive home his current momentum with another victory or two before the flyaways in Asia and the Americas, there’s no reason why he can’t push his rivals all the way to the final round. Whether he quite has what it takes to beat two of modern F1’s biggest stars across the ultimate finish line is another matter—but when it comes to his talent, composure and performances so far this season, there’s no denying that Valtteri Bottas is well and truly in this title fight.
When summer comes and F1 takes to its European heartlands, that can only mean one thing—the time for silly season is here. At time of writing, only six drivers on the current grid have contracts in place for the 2018 season, and while many can be expected to renew their existing deals, there is still plenty of scope for changes over the course of the next few months.
Wolfgang Wilhelm / Mercedes-AMG Petronas
Starting at the very front of the grid, it looks unlikely that Mercedes will feature much in the contractual rumour mill this season. Lewis Hamilton is one of those half-dozen drivers with a 2018 deal already in place, and although many speculated early in the year that Valtteri Bottas’ one-year deal was just a placeholder until a superstar name became available, the Finn seems to have established himself as an asset to the team and is likely to be retained.
The same cannot be said of Ferrari, however. With the Scuderia now locked in a close title fight with Mercedes, it’s hard to imagine much desire among the bosses to retain Kimi Räikkönen for yet another season when there is much younger blood to be found elsewhere. The obvious candidate for his seat is Sergio Pérez, who carries that blend of proven talent and North American sponsorship so desired at Ferrari, although Carlos Sainz is also well-known to join him on their shopping list.
An alternative name to throw into the Ferrari pot is that of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian has been visibly disheartened by Red Bull’s lack of a title bid this season, and although he already has a supposedly ironclad contract in place for next year, his departure may actually suit Red Bull in the long run—especially when one considers the alternative is losing Max Verstappen to Ferrari instead.
Judging by frustration alone, the Dutchman looks far more likely than Ricciardo to want out of Red Bull this year. But allowing him to become the team’s new and undisputed leader would appease Verstappen no end, and promoting one of the Toro Rosso juniors to be his teammate would prevent them from leaving the programme to strengthen the hand of a rival like Renault or Williams. With all five of its drivers (including understudy Pierre Gasly) under interest from all ends of the F1 grid, Red Bull could well be forced this year into losing a finger to save the hand.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
If Red Bull decides to stick with (or rather, refuses to let go of) its current senior lineup, then the likely price will be to lose one of its junior drivers instead. It’s obvious that Sainz, with at least some interest from all four works teams, will face the most attractive offers, but considering Daniil Kvyat’s difficult relationship with both the Red Bull and Toro Rosso management, it’s he who in all probability will find it easier to leave.
Should Kvyat be released from the Red Bull stable he will no doubt carry some considerable weight among the midfield teams. Questions of consistency aside, with a proven points and podium record the Russian will make an appealing option to replace Pérez at Force India, or the ageing Felipe Massa at Williams.
Another potential home for Kvyat would be alongside Nico Hülkenberg at Renault. The French marque is known to like its Russian drivers (not to mention their sponsors), and if Sergey Sirotkin doesn’t prove up to an F1 seat in 2018, the team could do worse than signing Kvyat in place of Jolyon Palmer—particularly as the former’s history of Renault engines at Red Bull and Toro Rosso will help him slot quickly into their development programme.
As for Palmer himself, even with his underwhelming performances so far it would be surprising not to see him somewhere on the grid in 2018. The Briton’s GP2 title and substantial personal backing was known to have put him on Force India’s radar when it sought a replacement for Hülkenberg last season, and could do so again this year; if not, he may well find a welcome home at Sauber-Honda.
Renault Sport F1 Team
If Palmer were to pitch himself to Sauber, it’s almost a given that his drive would come at Pascal Wehrlein’s expense. The German is understood to have developed a difficult relationship with both Marcus Ericsson and the team’s new owners for starters; and with Sauber taking on a new engine deal with Honda for next year, Mercedes may feel it’s best to place Wehrlein elsewhere.
Had Lance Stroll not found his F1 feet in Baku, it would not have been much of a shock to see Williams switch him with Wehrlein to allow the Canadian time to mature outside of the spotlight. And whilst Williams could still opt to take on Wehrlein to partner Stroll instead, the team would probably prefer to find a more experienced driver should it decide against resigning Felipe Massa for a fifth season—a driver like Romain Grosjean, for example, whose vexation with Haas’ continued brake issues has been made all too public this year, and who might be on the hunt for fresh inspiration now that his Ferrari hopes seem to have vanished.
Alternatively, at 31 and with no clear shot at a front-running seat, Grosjean might be tempted to chance one last throw of the dice at McLaren. It’s hard to see who else the former champions would be able to attract if Fernando Alonso walks away and leaves them with an empty seat, unless they take a substantial risk and promote F2 protege Nyck de Vries. Nevertheless, the matter of any driver replacing Alonso remains dependant on the Spaniard actually leaving McLaren—something that still seems a long way from happening with no obvious top-tier cockpit for him to assume.
11th July, 1926: thirty-two drivers line up on the grid at AVUS, Berlin, to take the start of the inaugural Grand Prix of Germany. Among them is a young Rhinelander by the name of Rudolf Caracciola, a mechanical engineering student and car salesman attempting to launch a racing career.
Fielded as an independent entry in a loaned and outdated Mercedes-Benz M218, Caracciola’s first Grand Prix start was almost a disaster when he stalled his engine off the line and eventually got going several minutes behind the field. But when heavy rain washed the AVUS track shortly after, Caracciola was given a second chance; as the more seasoned drivers ahead of him careened off the road, Caracciola pressed on, unaware of his position but determined to finish, and after twenty laps he emerged astonished from the dense fog and rain to find himself as the winner of the first-ever German Grand Prix. The press hailed him as the Regenmeister, or “Rainmaster”, and a winning partnership between Caracciola and Mercedes-Benz was born.
Rudolf Caracciola navigating the spray en route to victory at the 1936 Monaco Grand Prix. Courtesy of Daimler AG.
Rudolf Caracciola’s performance at the 1926 German Grand Prix was a prime example of the racing legend he was well on his way to becoming—one who would be remembered for his supreme ability and resolve in even the most challenging circumstances, and for the integral part he played in the pre-war successes of the Silver Arrows.
Caracciola was born in 1901 in Remagen, Germany, and like most early Grand Prix drivers came from a background of wealth and class: his ancestors were of the historic House of Caracciola, a prominent family in the Naples aristocracy whose members included princes, politicians, artists and clerics. Aided by such an upbringing, it wasn’t long before the young Rhinelander had developed a fierce passion for motoring, and by the age of fourteen—despite pressure from his father to attend university—he was already set on a future as a professional racing driver.
His first opportunity to realise that dream came when he took up an apprenticeship at the Fafnir factory in Aachen, and he found success as early as his first races for the company in finishing fourth at AVUS and first at the Opelbahn in 1922. But it was in the following year, after a brawl with an occupying Belgian soldier forced Caracciola to relocate to Dresden, that the German really began to make his mark on the European motoring world: finding new work as a Daimler salesman, Caracciola was allowed to enter up-to-date Mercedes touring cars in prestigious events across Germany, and went on to take numerous rally and hillclimb wins before his infamous German Grand Prix victory in 1926.
From then on, Caracciola’s star continued to ascend. Using the prize money from his first Grand Prix win, he married his girlfriend Charlotte and opened up a Mercedes-Benz dealership of his own in Berlin—all the while continuing to race state-of-the-art Mercedes’ tourers across Europe, in races such as Le Mans, the Mille Miglia, and the first Grand Prix of Monaco in 1929. He secured his second and third German Grand Prix wins at the Nürburgring in 1928 and ’31 (the latter requiring those same wet weather skills that took him to victory at AVUS in ’26) and also displayed his prodigious talents outside of circuit racing with two European Hillclimb titles in 1930 and ’31 and overall victory in the 1931 Mille Miglia.
Caracciola in his Mercedes-Benz SSK during the Schwabenberg round of the 1930 European Hillclimb Championship. Courtesy of Daimler AG.
In 1932 Caracciola was forced to move to Alfa Romeo, after the Wall Street Crash and resulting global economic depression drove Mercedes to withdraw from motorsport altogether. Alfa Romeo was easily one of the most respected teams of the era and, as the dominant force in Grand Prix racing that year, enabled Caracciola to score podiums in Monaco, Italy and France, as well as a fourth win in Germany and a third consecutive hillclimb title.
But although the partnership was a fruitful one, it was far from harmonious. Alfa Romeo would initially only offer Caracciola a contract as an independent entrant, as the marque doubted his capacity to adapt from his old Mercedes-Benz tourers to their lighter Italian cars; even when he was promoted to the works team, his finishes behind Italian teammates Tazio Nuvolari and Baconin Borzacchini were plagued by accusations of team favouritism. Compared with his close, respectful relationship with Mercedes-Benz racing manager Alfred Neubauer, Caracciola’s time at Alfa Romeo was undeniably one of intense strain, and proved to be just the beginning of a period of great personal trial for the German.
Caracciola (centre) with Mercedes manager Alfred Neubauer (left) and engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut (right). Courtesy of Daimler AG.
Just a year after joining Alfa Romeo, Caracciola found himself without a seat once again when the Italian marque followed Mercedes in pulling its factory squad from competition. His response was to join forces with friend and fellow racer Louis Chiron and set up Scuderia C.C., a privateer entry built around three blue-and-white Alfa Romeo 8Cs and a Daimler-Benz truck to transport them—but at the first race of the year in Monaco, Caracciola’s brakes failed in practice and he was sent hurtling into the wall at Tabac, suffering an impact that destroyed his car and left the German with a badly fractured right thigh.
After doctors at the local hospital doubted he would ever race again, Caracciola was determined to defy them and spent the rest of the year recovering in private in Italy and Switzerland. But even as his leg began to heal, he was hit by an even greater tragedy when his wife was killed in an avalanche whilst skiing in the Swiss Alps; under the pain of his injuries and his grief, Caracciola retired in mourning from public life and all but abandoned his racing career.
That may well have proved the end of Rudolf Caracciola’s story, had it not been for the efforts of his one-time teammate Louis Chiron. During their years as racing rivals, the Monegasque had developed a close bond with Caracciola and continued to visit him through his isolation, and it was during one of those visits that Chiron persuaded Caracciola to drive the lap of honour before the 1934 Monaco Grand Prix—and despite still suffering considerable pain in his right leg, the experience of returning to a Grand Prix circuit was enough to ignite Caracciola’s flame for racing once again.
Caracciola (far right) with Mercedes-Benz teammates Manfred von Brauchitsch, Richard Seaman and Hermann Lang (left to right), and Alfred Neubauer (back). Courtesy of Daimler AG.
As if by design, Caracciola’s return to the track coincided with the revival of the Mercedes-Benz racing team, which in 1934 was making its way back to the top of Grand Prix racing as the global economy recovered. In April of that year Caracciola had his first taste of the new Mercedes challenger, the supercharged W25, in an AVUS test session; and even in the face of numerous setbacks (chiefly mechanical issues with the W25 and a right leg that, once healed, was now two inches shorter than the left) the Rainmaster proved that he had lost none of his skill in his brief retirement, finishing second at the Spanish Grand Prix and first in the Klausenpass hillclimb before the end of the season.
The following year, Caracciola made a triumphant return to the top of the rostrum when he won in sweltering heat in Tripoli, his first Grand Prix victory since 1932. This marked the beginning of Mercedes-Benz dominance in the European Championship, and over the course of 1935 Caracciola took his W25 to further wins in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain as well as collecting a third place in Germany—with the trauma of his Monaco crash clearly behind him, Rudolf Caracciola was firmly back where he belonged and was all but unchallenged in becoming the 1935 European Drivers’ Champion.
The Rainmaster began his title defence in characteristic style in 1936 by winning the torrential opening round in Monaco, but over the duration of the season the W25 proved second-best to the new Auto Union Type C, and Caracciola lost the title by some margin to countryman Bernd Rosemeyer. Their championship battle sparked an intense rivalry between the two Germans both on and off the track, one which saw a flashpoint at the 1936 Swiss Grand Prix when the stewards ordered Caracciola to cede position to Rosemeyer in punishment for being too aggressive in his defence of the lead.
Caracciola (second) behind teammate Hermann Lang, and leading Bernd Rosemeyer and Hans Peter Müller of the Auto Union at the Nürburgring in 1937. Courtesy of Daimler AG.
For 1937, spurred on by their loss to Auto Union the previous year, Mercedes-Benz introduced the brand-new W125. With an eight-cylinder, 5.6-litre engine capable of producing over 600 BHP, the W125 was considered the most powerful race car ever built—and with Grand Prix engine capacity limited to just 3,000cc the following year, that became a title it would hold until the introduction of turbo-charged engines to Formula One in the 1980s.
Emboldened by the might of his new Mercedes-Benz challenger, Caracciola put the frustration of 1936 behind him in convincing fashion, winning three of the ’37 season’s five championship Grands Prix to reclaim his European title. He followed up his racing success by taking a streamlined W125 to the Frankfurt–Darmstadt Autobahn, and taking aim at the previous road speed records set by Auto Union’s Hans Stuck and Rosemeyer—to this date, the average speed of 432.7 km/h (269.9 mph) set by Caracciola over a flying kilometre remains the fastest ever speed recorded on a public road.
Mercedes-Benz then continued its Grand Prix dominance in 1938 with the W154, a new design built to match the reduced 3.0-litre engine formula. Caracciola opened the season with second place in a Mercedes 1-2-3 in France, and took another two podiums and victory in Switzerland—again in the wet—to secure his third and final European Drivers’ title, sealing his legacy as the most successful driver in the championship’s history; Mercedes-Benz also finished the season with each of its drivers occupying the top four positions in the final standings.
Caracciola leading the rain-soaked 1938 Swiss Grand Prix in his Mercedes-Benz W154. Courtesy of Daimler AG.
Despite the great heights achieved by both parties that season, 1938 turned out to be the final chapter of Caracciola’s and Mercedes-Benz’ Grand Prix success story. The 1939 championship was abandoned after the outbreak of war in September, and with Hermann Paul Müller leading a fightback for Auto Union, Caracciola could only manage one final career win—fittingly that was a sixth German Grand Prix win at the Nürburgring, making him the last German to win a home Grand Prix until Michael Schumacher in 1995, and still the most successful driver in that event’s history.
During the Second World War, Caracciola and his new wife Alice lived in exile in Lugano, Switzerland, during which time the injuries to his right leg returned to pain him. In 1946 he was invited to take part in the Indianapolis 500 in a loaned Thorne Engineering Special, but was struck on the head by a bird during practice and crashed into the south wall, leaving him with severe concussion and in a coma for several days. He returned to active racing six years later when Mercedes-Benz invited him back to drive a 300SL in the 1952 Mille Miglia, in which he finished fourth despite being given an inferior engine to his teammates Hermann Lang and Karl Kling; but in that same year, a heavy accident at the Grand Prix of Berne resulted in a fractured left leg and forced him into retirement for good. In 1959, after enduring a variety of serious illnesses, Caracciola suffered a fatal liver failure and died at the age of 58.
Caracciola and co-driver Peter Kurrle at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz 300SL in the 1952 Mille Miglia. Courtesy of Daimler AG.
Though his story may not be as widely known as those of later Formula One legends, there is no doubt that Rudolf Caracciola is a name that deserves to be remembered. He was a driver of unparalleled skill, possessing the same calculated resolve as Niki Lauda or Fernando Alonso, the formidable versatility of Graham Hill, and with a flair for wet weather driving to rival the great Ayrton Senna; moreover, his legacy includes speed records and a tally of six German Grand Prix wins that still have yet to be surpassed nearly eighty years on.
In the words of his Mercedes manager Alfred Neubauer, Rudolf Caracciola was “the greatest driver of the twenties and thirties, perhaps even of all time. He combined, to an extraordinary extent, determination with concentration, physical strength with intelligence. Caracciola was second to none in his ability to triumph over shortcomings.”
Großer Preis von Monaco 2017, Sonntag – Wolfgang Wilhelm/Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Toto Wolff has spoken of the challenge his Mercedes team faces if it is to come out on top in its championship fight with Ferrari.
His comments follow what he described as a “bruising” race in Monaco, which saw Lewis Hamilton struggle in practice before qualifying only thirteenth, and Valtteri Bottas beaten to the podium by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
“It’s painful, but we are not the favourites for this year’s championship,” Wolff said. “At the moment it’s Ferrari. They have a very strong package and we need to rise to the challenge to prove once again that we are the team to beat.
“Everybody at the factories is working absolutely flat out to assess the current difficulties we are facing. We’ve had bruising weekends [like Monaco] before and it’s about showing resilience and getting up after falling.
“We have to fight for all we are worth for every single win, pole position, podium finish and every point. You can no longer expect when you look at a timesheet that the two Mercedes will be right at the top.”
Großer Preis von Monaco 2017, Donnerstag – Steve Etherington
Steve Etherington/Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
Wolff also likened the Monaco result to that of the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix, in which the Silver Arrows again failed to reach the podium after losing pole and the win to Sebastian Vettel, and added that in both cases the team’s response has been “to define our objectives, work with the data we have and then come up with the right solutions.
“We gave ourselves a deadline [after Singapore] to address that setback before switching our focus to the next race in Suzuka, which we won. We’ve done exactly the same thing after Monaco—addressing the problems before turning our attention to Montréal.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, the Mercedes boss said the team is confident that Montréal will offer “the chance to bounce back with a strong result”, as the circuit has been a successful one for Mercedes’ two drivers throughout their careers.
Lewis Hamilton is the only repeat winner of the race on the 2017 grid, and with five wins in Montréal to his name is the most successful driver at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve besides Michael Schumacher. Valtteri Bottas, meanwhile, has finished on the podium there in the last years, and also qualified an impressive third for the 2013 race in his debut year with Williams-Renault.
At the start of the 2017 season, hopes were high that this would be the year F1 found its feet once again. After years of processional racing, unattractive cars and an all-too-corporate image under Bernie Ecclestone and CVC, we were promised a whole new era for the sport, one that would take it back to the spectacle for which it was once renowned.
But when the championship got underway in Melbourne, the product appeared very much different from the initial pitch. The new regulations were slammed for stringing-out rather than levelling the field, and the apparent “sex appeal” of the aggressive new car designs was hard to find beneath an array of shark fins, thumb noses and T-wing appendages. Before long, the optimism surrounding Liberty Media’s acquisition of F1 also faded as its plans for T-shirt cannons at Grands Prix and a 25-race calendar prompted fears of a slide towards an “Americanised” sport.
Such criticisms were then amplified once it became clear the 2017 title fight would not become a legendary battle royale, with the likes of Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen held back once again by the inequality between F1’s engine suppliers—nor was the sport’s image helped by the censure directed at the on-track struggles of Jolyon Palmer and Lance Stroll. In short, Formula One has been left more bruised than bettered so far in 2017, and has been in desperate need of a pick-me-up for months.
Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Thursday 22 June 2017. A view of the circuit. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I6235
Strange, then, that it should find that at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Although last year’s inaugural visit to the Baku City Circuit was a success logistically, from a fan’s perspective there was little to commit to memory—the race result was a walk in the park for Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, and all the usual drama of street circuit racing was absent amidst a glut of run-off areas and spacious 90-degree corners. It seems safe to say that, given the response to 2016’s event, anticipation for F1’s return to the City of Winds this year was pretty muted.
Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
But for all the pessimism, the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix turned out to be—in no uncertain terms—a surefire classic. Teammates collided, the title contenders clashed and controversy brewed all over the grid; and all that before the race was won by a driver who crashed out in qualifying, and a teenager in only his eighth Grand Prix start took a maiden podium finish. Looking through the classification tells only half the story of a race that would belong in the same camp as Senna’s Monaco ’84 podium, or Button’s infamous last-to-first win in Canada—and one that might prove exactly the shot in the arm that F1 needs right now.
For starters, the end result was packed full of good news stories. As neutral as we journalists are, it’s hard not to enjoy the sight of Daniel Ricciardo beaming down from the top step of a podium—especially when his victory makes Baku the first time three different constructors have won in a single season since 2013. Furthermore, Valtteri Bottas proved by finishing second that overtaking is clearly not impossible for the 2017 cars, having come back from last place after a collision with Kimi Räikkönen on the first lap.
Just as enjoyable was the return of Williams to the rostrum courtesy of Lance Stroll. The Canadian’s ability to bounce back from being blasted as F1’s worst-ever rookie to becoming its second-youngest podium finisher was astonishing to see, and will surely give the sport’s media something positive to discuss all the way to Austria. It may still be too early to tell if Stroll’s maiden podium will be the first of many or a one-off delivered by fortune, but the maturity he has shown in progressing from first finish to first points to first podium definitely suggests a promising second half of the season now that the wind is in his sails.
And as if that weren’t enough, there was also plenty of celebration at the lower end of the top ten as Fernando Alonso came home ninth to take McLaren’s first points of 2017. Admittedly, a haul of just two championship points is hardly the kind of result McLaren and Alonso fans want to be seeing, but for the two former champions to finally get on the board in such a woeful season can only be a good thing for them and F1 both.
Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan. Sunday 25 June 2017. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, arrives on the grid. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _R3I3731
But as uplifting as those relative victories were, where F1 really won out in Baku was through the numerous controversies that unfolded on and off track.
When Sebastian Vettel banged wheels with Lewis Hamilton at the second safety car restart, it was almost possible to hear the collective intake of breath from spectators around the world. Although the contact was far from race-ending, the exit of Baku’s Turn 15 had all the hallmarks of a moment that turns a title fight from a fierce-but-friendly rivalry into a veritable powder keg: think Hamilton and Rosberg at Spa in 2014, or Vettel and Mark Webber at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix. Without shared team management to cool things down between Hamilton and Vettel, the friction will surely only continue to escalate over the coming races, providing F1 with the kind of fiery headlines seen during the days of Senna and Prost—and that would hardly be a bad thing, as I’m sure any racing fan will agree.
And as the title battle rages, there is also a much greater chance for that tension to spill over into the intra-team relationships at Mercedes and Ferrari. As Hamilton chased down Vettel in Baku, he was heard on team radio apparently calling for teammate Valtteri Bottas to call off his own hunt for second place and hold up the Ferrari behind him. It’s hardly the first time Hamilton has intimated he would prefer a more favourable hierarchy within the team this season, and will no doubt be the last; especially as Räikkönen’s slumped position to fifth in the standings with less than half Vettel’s points will surely mean team orders coming into play at Ferrari sooner or later.
Großer Preis von Aserbaidschan 2017, Samstag – Steve Etherington /Mercedes AMG-Petronas
What’s more, although the box office clash at the front has become the dominant talking point from Baku, Hamilton and Vettel were far from the only ones cooking up a storm in the City of Winds on Sunday.
Force India endured what must have been one of its most painful races in a long while on Sunday, as Esteban Ocon tripped over the front wing of Sergio Pérez and turned what might have been a double podium into a sixth place and a retirement respectively. It was an incident that has frankly looked inevitable since their falling out at the last race in Montréal, but for things to come to such a head so soon was surprising, and it will be fascinating to see how the team manages this situation over the next twelve races.
Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson were also in the wars late in the race, rubbing wheels and shedding carbon fibre as they fought for position behind the top ten. Despite not producing the kind of fireworks as Ocon and Pérez, this will surely not help to ease the discord that has apparently arisen in the Sauber garage following media reports of the team favouring Ericsson over Wehrlein—especially as the German reputedly disobeyed a pitwall order to let his teammate through for tenth in the closing stages of the race.
What makes these two intra-team brawls particularly interesting (besides the resulting carnage and curse words) is that they’ve come at that point in the season when drivers’ eyes begin turning towards the negotiating table for 2018. A deteriorating relationship with one’s teammate now will make those summer break offers all the more enticing; factor in also the pointedly visible contact between Alonso’s entourage and the heads at Mercedes and Renault, and Max Verstappen’s continued displeasure with Red Bull’s reliability issues, and we could well have Baku to thank for one of the most engrossing driver markets in recent years.
Pascal Wehrlein (D), Sauber F1 Team. Baku Street Circuit.
Of course, only time will tell if the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix has earned a place in F1’s Hall of Fame. But what can’t be denied is that, at a track lambasted as soulless and bland, we were gifted with a race as compelling as it was unpredictable, one that has set a fire beneath an already-simmering championship contest and generated enough subplots to keep the press supplied with headlines all season long.
And if that’s not just what Formula One needs right now, I don’t know what is.
Daniel Ricciardo has said he believes the narrow, technical sections of Baku City Circuit should give him and teammate Max Verstappen plenty of optimism for this Sunday’s Grand Prix, despite the Azerbaijan track’s emphasis on top speed favouring Red Bull’s rivals.
Speaking ahead of the race, Ricciardo said “[Baku] doesn’t suit our car that much but there are lots of opportunities for things to happen. I think the circuit is definitely as tight as it looks and…there are a few interesting lines past the castle which adds to the toughness. The straight is so long that it gives you time to think, which is nice as the corners are technical and you really need to concentrate.
“Another street circuit is exciting for me as I really enjoy those types of tracks. I’m looking forward to having another go on it.”
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Last year’s race in Baku was something of a mixed bag for Ricciardo: after crashing in first practice the Australian went on to qualify third ahead of both Ferraris, but in the race the RB12 fell behind the Mercedes power of Force India and Williams and Ricciardo could only finish in seventh.
His teammate fared little better, qualifying ninth and improving to just eighth behind Ricciardo after 51 laps, but Verstappen has also expressed his eagerness to return to Azerbaijan despite his struggles last year.
“Baku in my opinion is quite a special street circuit,” the Dutchman said. “It’s really unique in terms of having quite wide sections but also some of the tightest parts of track on the calendar. Sector 2 is tighter than parts of Monaco which has always been regarded as really narrow and challenging.
“When you drive up into the old town and past the castle it is fun and tricky but also amazing to watch as a spectator. That section of the track is my favourite.”
Realistically, Red Bull’s duo should be facing many of the same battles in Azerbaijan this year as in 2016, as the circuit’s long straights lift Williams and Force India up into the frame for the top six. However, thanks to a string of podium finishes from Ricciardo in the last three races, Red Bull currently enjoys a buffer of 41 points back to Force India in fourth, and is almost a hundred clear of Williams in sixth.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. Saturday 10 June 2017. World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _O3I9191 courtesy of Haas F1 Team
The Haas F1 team has set its sights on scoring significant points at the upcoming Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having been buoyed by the increased consistency shown in its sophomore campaign.
So far in 2017, Haas has finished in the top ten in five out of seven races, already equalling its total number of points hauls for the whole of 2016 with thirteen Grands Prix still left to run. And although Haas currently has seven fewer points on the board than it did at this stage last year, it has seen a substantial improvement this season with both cars proven capable of scoring.
Speaking ahead of Baku, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner described the team’s 2017 scoresheet as proof that “the team is maturing”, and added that to build on that start the goal is now “to score more points each event, not just one or two points.”
Romain Grosjean, who has scored ten of the team’s fifteen points in 2017, echoed Steiner’s comments on Haas’ progression from its debut season: “I think from last year we’ve made some big steps forward in all places. We’re more consistent. We’ve been able to score more times than last year, which is good. There are still a lot of areas where we want to improve and we can improve.
“Generally, I’m very pleased with the way the team has been moving forward.”
Grosjean also said the team will be aiming to mirror its general improvement over the season with a step forward in Azerbaijan. The Frenchman finished only thirteenth in last year’s Baku race, but said that Haas ought to do better this year now that it has previous experience to work from: “We’ll look at what we did last year, what our setup was like, and what we could’ve done better in the race. I think we’ve got some ideas and we’ll apply that with the deltas of this year.”
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. Friday 09 June 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONZ0572 courtesy of Haas F1 Team
Kevin Magnussen is also hunting his first points at the City of Winds on Sunday, having finished close behind Grosjean in fourteenth when driving for Renault last year, but says he is not concerned that returning to the track with a whole new generation of cars will present too great a challenge.
“Now I know the track…coming back this year will be easier to adjust,” the Dane said. “A couple of corners might be easy flat now, maybe even Turn 13 will be flat now, which it wasn’t last year. That will be a cool experience.
“It’s going to be fun. We’re going to be a bit slower on the straights [than last year], so I suspect Baku might be one of the tracks where we’re not going to be that much faster than the old cars, but it’s still going to be massively fun and challenging in the corners.”
Haas will enter the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship, just three points behind next-highest Renault and fourteen points adrift of Toro Rosso in fifth.
Carlos Sainz and Haas team boss Günther Steiner have become engaged in a war of words after the former crashed into Haas driver Romain Grosjean on the opening lap of the Canadian Grand Prix.
The incident eliminated Sainz from the race straight away, as he lost control of his Toro Rosso and collected the Williams of Felipe Massa as well before ending up in the Turn 3 wall himself. Grosjean however was able to continue and finished in tenth place, albeit after pitting for repairs and putting on a fresh set of supersoft tyres for the remaining laps.
After the race, Sainz issued an apology via Twitter to both Grosjean and Massa, saying that “Romain was simply on my blind spot and [I] never got to see him. Glad we are all OK!”
He later clarified his remarks when talking to the media, insisting that the limitations of his rear-view mirrors were partly to blame for the clash:
“We’ve been complaining [about rear-view mirrors] all year. We all know what’s happening this year with the low rear wings, having the mirrors just in front of us doesn’t give you a clear picture of what’s going on around you.”
He also added that he hopes the FIA takes notice and “finds a solution for this kind of thing.”
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada. Sunday 11 June 2017. World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _X4I8582 via Haas F1 Team
Steiner, however, dismissed Sainz’ explanation, and countered that “If he knew before [the mirrors] were too small, [Toro Rosso] should have changed them.
“You can’t say, ‘Oh my mirrors are too small and I can’t see, but I keep on using them!’ That is not our problem. If he has got too small mirrors, that is quite a dull excuse.”
The Sainz-Grosjean collision was one half of a generally unhappy race for the Haas team, in which Kevin Magnussen finished a lap down in twelfth position after being penalised for passing Stoffel Vandoorne under Virtual Safety Car conditions.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Round 7 – Berlin ePrix, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany. Saturday 10 June 2017. Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Spark-Mahindra, Mahindra M3ELECTRO, celebrates after winning the race. Photo: Andrew Ferraro/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _FER1353
When the Formula E circus arrived at Tempelhof Airport for the double-header Berlin ePrix, there were few who would have bet against Sébastien Buemi running away into the lead and adding another two ePrix victories to his season three tally.
But instead the weekend saw Buemi forced onto the back foot almost immediately, as his Renault powertrain appeared to suffer a serious lack of drivability around the Tempelhof circuit compared to the likes of Mahindra and DS Virgin. Buemi was fastest in first practice but only a scruffy ninth in the second session, and when qualifying for race one came around he was not only knocked out in the group stages but lined up well off the mark in fourteenth position.
His woes were compounded when title rival Lucas di Grassi went on to claim his second pole position of the season, thus taking three points out of Buemi’s lead before the first race had even begun.
When the lights went out it looked as though it was only a matter of laps before di Grassi took another bite from that lead to the tune of 25 points for victory. The Brazilian was unopposed off the line thanks to second-placed starter José María López faltering and slipping back down the order, and with free air ahead of him set about stretching his legs ahead of Mahindra’s Felix Rosenqvist and Nick Heidfeld, who duly assumed the remaining podium positions at the start.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Round 7 – Berlin ePrix, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany. Saturday 10 June 2017. Lucas Di Grassi (BRA), ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, Spark-Abt Sportsline, ABT Schaeffler FE02, leads at the start of the race. Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _X0W8808
But although di Grassi was able in the early stages to lead by over two seconds, he was forced to back off as high battery temperatures and tyre wear began to affect his ABT Schaeffler-Audi. As the race approached its midway point, di Grassi’s lead over Rosenqvist had been reduced to nothing, and on the lap before they entered the pits the Swede went around the outside of Turn 1 to assume the lead of the race.
Rosenqvist then held on to that lead for the remaining laps, even extending it to two seconds by the end as di Grassi continued to struggle with the handling of his ABT, and at the end of 44 laps crossed the line to take his and Mahindra’s maiden Formula E series win. Di Grassi held on to second and edged another eighteen points closer to Buemi, and Nick Heidfeld finished third to complete Mahindra’s first-ever double podium.
Initially, Buemi looked to ward off di Grassi’s advances in the standings by making a supreme recovery drive from fourteenth to fifth, netting him ten points. But after the race it was found that all eight tyres on both his cars were below the minimum pressure and Buemi was excluded from the results. With grip and degradation playing such a key role in the race, there’s little doubt that these lower tyre pressures gave Buemi a huge helping hand in passing half the field—though quite how a team as well-oiled as Renault e.Dams allowed such a costly mistake to occur is something of a mystery.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Round 7 – Berlin ePrix, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany. Saturday 10 June 2017. Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16. Photo: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _J6I8087
Sam Bloxham/LAT/FIA Formula E
This left Buemi with it all to do in the second race, with the possibility looming over him of losing not only points but even the championship lead to di Grassi. But any signs that the defending champion was feeling the pressure had apparently disappeared overnight. In the second round of qualifying Buemi looked his usual self again as he planted his Renault on the front row of the grid—despite there being nothing he nor anyone could do to stop Saturday’s winner Rosenqvist from storming to Sunday’s pole.
Nevertheless, that front row start turned out to be all Buemi needed to return to the top step of the podium. Although Rosenqvist remained out in the lead from lights to flag, a strategy stumble in the Mahindra garage saw the Swedish driver almost collect his teammate as he exited the pits, and the resulting ten-second unsafe release penalty meant Buemi had only to keep sight of Rosenqvist’s gearbox to inherit his victory.
Unfortunately for Buemi, however, he and Rosenqvist were also joined on the podium by Lucas di Grassi—the Brazilian had a quiet but profitable second race, rising from seventh on the grid to third at the flag, although he was too far adrift from the front to pick off another position from Rosenqvist’s penalty. Di Grassi’s double podium means that, even with Buemi’s 25 points on Sunday, the gap at the top of the standings has dropped to 32 points, and that could well be enough to change the lead of the championship when Buemi misses the next round in New York.
2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship. Round 8 – Berlin ePrix, Tempelhof Airport, Berlin, Germany. Sunday 11 June 2017. Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Mahindra Racing, Spark-Mahindra, Mahindra M3ELECTRO, congratulates Sebastien Buemi (SUI), Renault e.Dams, Spark-Renault, Renault Z.E 16. Photo: Alastair Staley/LAT/Formula E ref: Digital Image _X0W1575
Rosenqvist also benefited enormously this weekend, not only in taking his first win but in scoring more points in Berlin than at the previous six races combined, and he has surged from sixth to third in the championship. With four races left to go it would take something spectacular for the rookie to form a title bid off the back of his maiden ePrix victory, but there’s no doubt now that he will continue to be a serious contender for seasons to come.
DS Virgin also had an encouraging weekend in Berlin—despite missing out on the podium, both Bird and López made it into the Super Pole shootout on both occasions and converted those starts into two double points hauls for the team, López leading them home with a fourth- and fifth-place finish respectively.
By contrast, Techeetah had an off-colour weekend at best as its cars suffered the same drivability issues as the factory Renault machines. Jean-Éric Vergne could only manage two lower points finishes from his dual Super Pole appearances, whilst new signing Stéphane Sarrazin was unable to get to grips with his new car in time to score points, and took a best finish of eleventh on Saturday.
With the usual form-book shaken up in Berlin, the Formula E title race now heads into the unknown as it prepares to close out with inaugural races in New York and Montréal. There will be many questions over the coming weeks as to whether Renault’s Tempelhof form was a temporary blip, or if Mahindra and ABT can get close enough to the front to spoil Buemi’s party—but whilst we wait for answers, we can at least be sure that the fight for the 2016–17 Championship is still far from over.
