A dramatic, chaotic, emotional and unexpected race took place in Malaysia. The race was full of surprises for Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and the two Red Bulls.
The British champion was in control of the race, until lap 43, where we witnessed Lewis to saying “Oh, no, no, no” through his radio to his mechanics. The Mercedes engine was on fire and the three times world champion forced to retire and lose the race.
Daniel Ricciardo was under heavy pressure from his team-mate Max Verstappen at that time. The VSC was deployed and Red Bull called both drivers into the pits for fresher tires. At the re-start, Ricciardo had a 2.3 seconds advantage from Max. That allowed him to control the race for the remaining 13 laps and win his first Grand Prix of the season and fourth in total.
Max Verstappen finished, behind his team-mate and both completed Red Bull’s first one-two since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Australian deserved this victory, his top-form in the last races gave many points to Red Bull and kept them ahead of Scuderia Ferrari.
“It made total sense, after Lewis had blown up, there was a free stop for both of them – give them both fresh tyres and then flat-out to the finish. They have great respect for each other. They are young, they were racing hard and it was right to let them race today.” Said Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner after the race.
Nico Rosberg had a great recovery in Malaysia. The German had a collision at Turn 1 with Sebastian Vettel and dropped at the last places of the grid. Rosberg managed to recover and even with a 10 seconds penalty he finished, third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and extend his championship lead from Lewis Hamilton to 23 points with five races to go.
Next stop for teams and drivers is Japan, the sushi country.
Laps: 53
Length: 5.807 km
Race Length: 307.471 km
Fastest Lap: 1:31:540s (Kimi Raikkonen, 2005)
2015 Winner: Lewis Hamilton
Honda built Suzuka’s track as a test facility in 1962, the designer of the circuit was the famous Dutchman John Hugenholz. Suzuka is a track which many drivers like to race, it has some of the most demanding corners a famous one is the “Spoon Curve”.
Last season Lewis Hamilton was out qualified by Nico Rosberg, but at the end, he won the Japanese Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel finished third, behind the two Mercedes.
This year, Lewis Hamilton has to win if he wants to challenge Rosberg for the title. Only five races remained until the end of the season, Lewis must dominate and hope that Nico will lose points from Red Bull or from a mechanical failure.Red Bull will play a key factor in the championship. The bulls are on top form and they can cut points from Hamilton or Rosberg.
Formula 1 continues its tour in Asia. This time, it’s Malaysia’s turn to host a Formula 1 race.
In Singapore, Nico Rosberg took the chequered flag, whilst his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, finished third. It was Nico’s third consecutive victory after the summer break, and he increased his lead in the drivers’ standings to eight points, from his main rival Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton couldn’t follow Rosberg’s pace. Mercedes decided to go on a three-stop strategy for the British. The three times world champion had to take fight for a place on the podium with Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, was on a top form and with an impressive move at turn seven passed Hamilton and took the third position. Kimi didn’t manage to hold his position, and Lewis took it back after a good strategy plan from Mercedes.
Last season Sebastian Vettel, with Scuderia Ferrari, won in Malaysia. The German qualified second, but he finished about eight seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton and won his first victory with Ferrari. It was Vettel’s 40th victory in Formula 1. Nico Rosberg took the third place on the podium, while Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, followed by the second Finn of the grid, Valtteri Bottas.
The high temperatures gave an advantage to Ferrari, can they repeat their success this year?
Sepang International Circuit
Laps: 56
Length: 5.543 km
Race Length: 310.408 km
Lap Record: 1:34:223 (Juan Pablo Montoya, 2004)
Available tyres: Hard (Orange), Medium (White), Soft (Yellow)
The circuit is located a few kilometres outside of Kuala Lumpur and it’s one of the most demanding and technical circuits in Formula 1. The track was designed by Hermann Tilke, and it combines long high-speed straights and tight twisting complexes.
Past summer I had the chance to visit the track, I travelled to Malaysia for a few days and as an F1 fan, I had to go and visit the circuit. I really enjoyed the hospitality and despite a misunderstanding with the guys in the reception, they offered me a great and unique tour, around the track.
It was a great experience for me, I went into the control room, enjoyed the view of the Sepang International circuit from the grandstands and also I had my moments on the podium (without champagne!).
I believe that Mercedes will win in Malaysia, Nico Rosberg is on top form and he needs this victory before the Japanese Grand Prix. From the other hand, Lewis Hamilton has to stop Nico’s form and show him that he will fight until the end for the title.
Ferrari will introduce their new aero packages in Malaysia, they will fight with Red Bull Racing for the second place. Daniel Ricciardo won’t gives up easily, Scuderia will have to fight hard for a place on the podium.
I’m expecting to see an interesting race between these three teams.
I would like to thank everyone at Sepang circuit for the hospitality and for the tour!
23.11.2006 Valencia, Spain, Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), BMW WTCC Driver, Tests the BMW Sauber F1 team, F1.06 – DELL Formula BMW World Final 2006, 23th – 26th November, Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo
Alex Zanardi is the guy who never gives up. He is a person which inspires generations and has become the idol of the many young kids. Alex has taught to all of us that life is hard, but we must never give up. He is a true inspiration.
Born in Italy on 23 October 1966, Alex Zanardi had the chance to race in Formula 1 for Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and Williams. In 1991, the Italian driver made his debut in Formula with Jordan, where he remained only for one year. The following year, Zanardi raced for Minardi, but again the next year he changed a team and signed a contract with Lotus.
In Lotus, Alex had his best moment of his F1 career. He scored his first point in the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1993. Alessandro qualified 15th, but after a tremendous race, he managed to finish sixth, behind two British drivers, Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell. Despite the good result that Alex had in Brazil, 1993 was not a good year for the Italian driver. Zanardi had an accident with his bicycle, but that was not enough to hold him of the sport. Alex raced in Germany with several broken bones, but a spun didn’t let him finish the race.
Zanardi’s injuries forced him to postpone his racing in 1994, Alessandro had to wait to fully recover from his injuries. Hence, he missed the season premiere, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, where he replaced Pedro Lamy, who at that time was racing for Lotus.
In 1999, Zanardi raced for his last time in Formula 1. At that time he was driving for Williams and his last race was in Suzuka. The Italian, qualified 16th, but he forced to quit the race due to electrical issues.
That was the end of his career as an F1 driver.
15 September 2001
25.11.2006 Valencia, Spain, Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), BMW WTCC Driver, Tests the BMW Sauber F1 team, F1.06 – DELL Formula BMW World Final 2006, 23th – 26th November, Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo
Zanardi continued his career as a driver in another series, in Indy Car. At the EuroSpeedway Lausitz September 15, Zanardi had a terrible crash which it could cost him his life. During the final laps he was leading the race, his team decided to call him for a late pit-stop, when he re-joined the race, Alex had spun and lost control of his car, while he returned to the track, unable to control his car, his car was avoided by Patrick Carpentier, but Alex Tagliani crashed on Zanardi’s car. Tagliani’s car crashed on the side of Zanardi’s car, behind the front wheel. From the crash, the Italian lost both his legs and lot of blood. The doctors managed to stabilise his condition and save his life.
After his surgery, the Italian joined a rehabilitation program, he even designed and built his own custom legs. Zanardi continued to race in European Touring Car Championship. Alessandro won his World Series race in August 2005, he also won in Istanbul in 2006 and won twice in Brno in 2008 and in 2009. At the end of 2009, the Italian decided to quit the WTCC series.
In 2006, BMW Sauber gave a chance to Alex to drive a modified Formula 1 car, where he could control it with his hands. Zanardi knew that he would never sign a contract with an F1 team, but still, it was very special for him.
Zanardi’s new chapter
25.11.2006 Valencia, Spain, Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), BMW WTCC Driver, Tests the BMW Sauber F1 team, F1.06 – DELL Formula BMW World Final 2006, 23th – 26th November, Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo
In 2007, Zanardi decided to try something different and started practising with a handcycle. His aim was to enter the Italian Paralympic team. Zanardi managed to fulfil his dreams. In 2011, Alex won a silver medal at the UCI Paracycling.
It was not long before his first race in London’s Games. In 2012, the Italian lifted with his hands his handcycle above his head. It was a very memorable moment at Brands Hands race circuit, it was the moment where Alex Zanardi celebrated his first gold medal in Paralympic games.
Alex won a gold medal in the individual road race H4 and a silver medal in the mixed relay team H1-4.
The Italian made himself known to everyone, he was awarded the Best Male at the 2013 Paralympic Sport and Media awards.
“This is a great accomplishment, one of the greatest of my life.” Zanardi said about his gold medal in London.
Zanardi travelled to Brazil with the thought to win more medals and inspire the world.
“Even my accident, what happened to me, became the biggest opportunity of my life, all the things I am doing today are related to my new condition.” He said.
“When you find yourself in a certain situation you have to identify where you want to go and focus on what you can achieve on that given day.Whether it is a small thing or big one, step-by-step you can make things happen.” Zanardi added.
In Rio, the Italian claimed his third gold medal in Paralympics. He won the H5 time trial at Pontal in Rio de Janeiro. It was a hard race for Alex, he passed Tripp over the second half of the route and won the gold medal by 2.74 seconds.
“It has been a long journey, which basically started the day after the London games when I decided that I would focus on a new horizon in my life and that this would be Rio. After the exciting years of preparation and coming here to a course that was not really my kind of course, it is just fantastic to finally enjoy the taste of gold once more.” Said Zanardi.
Fifteen years has passed since Zanardi’s terrible accident, but the Italian is still racing and he never gave up. During his hardest moments in his life, Alessandro found the courage and he didn’t give up.
He is a legend for me, and he is the idol that all the generations must have. I don’t want to underestimate any Paralympic athlete, every each of them has a history which is admirable.
Never give up.
(Images are courtesy of BMW)
Victor Archakis @FP_Passion
BMW (Bavarian Motors Wors) made its first appearance into the world of Formula 1 in the 1950s and 1960s. Their history as an engine supplier started in 1982, where BMW supplied the Brabham team, which was owned by Bernie Ecclestone. The result of this agreement was Nelson Piquet’s victory in the Canadian Grand Prix in 1982.
The following year, Nelson Piquet won the Drivers’ Championship with the BMW-powered Brabham BT52.
At the same time, BMW also supplied ATS, Arrows, Benetton and Ligier with the BMW M12/13 inline-four turbocharged engine. The M12/13 was producing more than 1350 bhp.
A few years later, Brabham decided to withdraw from F1 and BMW also withdrew their official engines. Arrows was still supplied by BMW with engines but under the “Megatron” badge.
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1.07
Andrian Newey’s decision to move from Williams to McLaren in 1998 and also Renault’s decision to quit from Formula 1 at the same season, left the Williams exposed. Renault was Williams’s engine-supplier since 1989.
Williams had to look for a new engine supplier and BMW was the ideal candidate for that time. In 1999 Williams made a six-year agreement with BMW, with one condition: that they had to have a German driver in their team. Hence, Williams announced Ralf Schumacher as their driver. The following season, R. Schumacher and P. Montoya won four Grand Prix with the FW23, and Williams finished third in the Championship. In 2003, Williams achieved to finish second in the Constructors’ standings and Montoya finished third in the Drivers’ Championship with four victories. It was one of the most successful seasons for BMW-Williams.
The June of the same year, Williams and BMW agreed to extend their deal until 2009. But whilst everyone waiting for better results, Williams performance dropped rapidly and they finished fourth at that season and fifth in 2005.
The results created a crack, between Williams and BMW. In June 2005 Frank Williams said to Autosport: “Our partnerships in the past with Renault and Honda have been more successful and co-operative, you never had this constant finger-pointing. We do not constantly ask why BMW had some 150 engine failures in 2000 alone.”
BMW took the decision to start their own team in Formula 1, and they made an offer to purchase Williams, but they refused their offer. Hence, BMW had to aim at another team. This team was Sauber.
That summer, BMW spend $100 million to acquire 80% of Sauber. The teams split their responsibilities, Sauber had to design the chassis and run wind tunnel test in their Hinwil factory, while BMW was responsible for the design of the engine.
The following season, 2006, Sauber-BMW signed a deal with Nick Heidfeld who used to race for Williams. Jacques Villeneuve joined him and the two were the main drivers for Sauber, whilst Robert Kubica signed a deal as the third driver.
The first results were not satisfied and many assumed that BMW used Formula 1 in order to test technologies which they could transfer to their public cars.
Villeneuve scored the first points for Sauber in the second race of the season, in Malaysia. The next race was held in Australia, Nick Heidfeld finished fourth, ahead of his team-mate. In Hungary, Robert Kubica replaced Villeneuve and since then Robert remained as the second driver for the rest of the season. Two podium finishes followed that season, the first one was in Hungary, where Heidfeld finished third. The second podium achieved by Kubica in Italy, where the Polish driver finished 3rd.
At that year, Sauber finished fifth in the Construction’s standings, ahead of Toyota.
The following year, Villeneuve announced his departure from Sauber and Kubica was his official replacement. It was Sebastian Vettel’s turn to sign a deal with Sauber as a reserve driver.
BMW-Sauber considered as the third most powerful team on the grid, behind Ferrari and McLaren. Nick Heidfeld started the season with three consecutive fourth-place finishes, whilst his team-mate Kubica had three top-four finishes and three retirements in that season.
Heidfeld finished twice on the podium. In Canada, he finished second, while in Hungary he finished third. Also, Vettel finished eighth in the USA.
In 2007, Sauber-BMW finished 2nd in the championship and scored 101 points.
Sauber’s second position and high performance in 2007 set the bar high for the next season. Everyone in the team hoped that either Heidfeld or Kubica will manage to win at least one race during the season.
In the season premiere in Australia, Nick Heidfeld finished second, and just a race later, in Malaysia, it was Kubica’s turn to finish second and score another podium for the team.
Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1.07
In Canada, Sauber-BMW felt for the first time, how it is to be a winner. Robert Kubica qualified second, behind Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren and at the end of the race he managed to take the chequered flag first, a year on from a horror crash at the same circuit. Nick Heidfeld, started the race from the eighth position, but he finished behind his team-mate and they scored the first 1-2 for Sauber-BMW.
At the end of the season, BMW-Sauber finished third, behind Ferrari and McLaren.
In 2009, BMW-Sauber faced some serious problems. Before the start of the season, Sauber hoped that they can challenge Ferrari and McLaren for the title, but the season didn’t go as they planned.
The team focused on the new regulations and the tried to upgrade their aerodynamic package and also invested almost everything into the KERS system. The results were disappointing, at the first half of the season, BMW-Sauber had less than ten points. New upgraded packages for Kubica and Heidfeld never arrived, due to some huge financial issues.
All these issues meant the team was only 6th in the constructors championship and relationships between Sauber and BMW were not the same as they used to be.
In July, of the same year, BMW announced their departure from Formula 1 and the German group decided to focus on the commercial sales and improve the quality and design of their commercial cars.
Sauber took the decision to buy BMW’s shares and in 2010 Formula 1 decided to allow to Sauber to race in F1.
“When I decided to take over, I had to make the decision in a short period of time, I was led purely by my gut feelings, which is something you should try to avoid. If it was a purely logical decision, you wouldn’t have done it, but, in the end, I didn’t have a choice because Hinwil would have been closed down.” Sauber said.
Now Sauber uses Ferrari’s engines and their two drivers are Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.
At this point I would like to thank BMW for their help and also to mention that all the pictures are courtesy of BMW.
Liberty Media is the new owner of the Formula 1. The deal will be separated into two parts. Liberty Media acquired Formula One for $4.4 billion, the American group will immediately hold the 18.7 percentage in Formula 1 and at the early of 2017 the deal will be completed and the company will receive the rest stakes.
Liberty Media Corporation is a group of companies which invest in media, communications, and entertainment businesses. The company splits into three parts, the first one is the Liberty Braves Group, the second one is the Liberty Media Group and the final one is the Liberty SiriusXM Group. These groups invest in different types of businesses.
Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball club is also owned by Liberty Media, also the company has stakes in many other sports, and now Formula 1 will be one of them.
The American company is owned by John Malone. Chase Carey, who is the executive vice president of 21st Century Fox, will be the new chairman of Formula 1, whilst Bernie Ecclestone will remain in his position for the next three years.
Formula 1, current CEO, Bernie Ecclestone said: “I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula One and I look forward to working with them.”
The total cost of the deal is about $8bn. Liberty Media will pay the current debt of F1 which is about $4 billion, also the group will pay $1.1 billion in cash, 138 million Liberty Media shares and $351 million worth of an exchangeable debt.
The president and chief executive officer of Liberty Media, Greg Maffei, said: “We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula One and benefit fans, teams and our shareholders. We are excited to become part of Formula One.”
Liberty Media intends to change the name of the Formula One, once the deal is completed. “After completion of the acquisition Liberty Media will own Formula One and it will be attributed to the Liberty Media Group which will be renamed the Formula One Group.” Maffei said.
The American group wants to improve the image of the sport and to attract new fans, mainly in the USA. Also, their aim is to take advantage of new marketing opportunities which will be created through promotion, digital rights, and social media.
“I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world. I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.” Carey said.
It will be interesting to see what will happen, once the deal is approved by the European regulators. What can Liberty Media change in Formula 1 in order to improve the current situation and also how they intend to attract new fans.
It’s a historical moment for the motorsport, which will hopefully be beneficial for the Formula 1 and motorsport fans.
Formula 1 re-started after the summer break and everyone was hoping to watch an exciting race in Belgium. The spa is one of my favourite circuits and it didn’t let me down. From the first lap until the last one there were many battles, some of them forced collisions between the drivers some others were some easy overtakes from the faster drivers to the slower ones.
Rosberg took the pole position in Saturday’s qualification session, whilst his team-mate received a grid position penalty and started the race from the last row.
Max Verstappen started the race from the second position, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, while his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth.
Lights out and the race starts, Rosberg has a good and clean start, but behind the two Ferraris collided with each other and Kimi Raikkonen damaged Max Verstappen’s front wing. Sebastian Vettel took the outside on the first corner, but he was very close to Kimi Raikkonen who didn’t have any space to turn because Max Verstappen dived in the corner from the grass and trapped Kimi Raikkonen between him and Sebastian Vettel.
Max Verstappen pitted and replaced his damaged front wing, with a fresh one, whilst both Ferraris lost places. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton started from the last row of the grid and they moved up to fourth and fifth place respectively. Both drivers started the race on the mediums, which allowed them to do a longer stint with the same set of tyres.
On the eighth lap, Kevin Magnussen lost the control of his Renault, at the final part of the famous Eau Rouge, and crashed into the tyre wall. His Renault was destroyed, but Magnussen walked out of the car and he was transferred to the medical centre. Kevin Magnussen said on twitter that he went home with an ankle injury, but he will be fine for the Italian Grand Prix. The race was red-flagged after two laps were all the drivers were behind the Safety Car.
At the re-start, Daniel Ricciardo tried to remain close to the Nico Rosberg, but the German was unmistakable during the race and managed to increase the gap with the Australian. Lewis Hamilton passed Fernando Alonso and on lap 18 and managed to pass Nico Hulkenberg and moved up to the third position. A few laps later, Mercedes called into the pits the Brit champion and switched his tyres with a fresher set, this move gave an advantage to Hamilton over Ricciardo for the second position.
On lap 32, Lewis Hamilton made his final pit-stop, but he couldn’t catch and pass Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso, with his Honda-powered car, wasn’t able to defence his position from Perez and Vettel, hence he dropped seventh ahead of the two Williams and Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn suffered a puncture after the collision with Verstappen and Vettel, and during his pit-stop fires created at the body of his Ferrari.
Kimi Raikkonen was frustrated and angry with Max Verstappen, mainly because of Max’s defensive moves when Kimi tried to pass him on the straight.
The Finn said: “If I had not braked, we would have had a massive accident. It will happen sooner or later if this doesn’t change. I am fine with good, hard racing but that is not correct.”
Next race will take place in Monza, where the Tifosi will cheer for the favourite team.
An interesting season for Scuderia Toro Rosso so far, before the Spanish Grand Prix Max Verstappen was swapped with Daniil Kvyat, a move which cost points to Toro Rosso.
Toro Rosso is currently sixth, behind Force India, but it will be difficult for the team to score points and finish higher than that position.
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Points: 30
Position: 11th
Best Result: 6th
Carlos Sainz is trying to finish in the points in every race, but he struggles as he doesn’t have a very competitive car. Carlos best finish position was the 6th place in the home race in Spain, he started the race from the eighth position. Sainz is eleventh in the drivers’ standings, only three points behind Nico Hulkenberg.
Daniil Kvyat
Points: 23
Position: 14th
Best Result: 3rd
Daniil Kvyat had to change teams, before Spain. Daniil swapped his seat in Red Bull with Max Verstappen. A move which he didn’t like, but he had to accept it. Kvyat needed some time to get used the new car and the new settings. His best result was the 3rd place in China with Red Bull Racing.
McLaren
A dream season for McLaren so far. Compared to their last season’s results, McLaren-Honda shows a totally different face. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso scored 41 points for the British team. Despite some reliability issues, McLaren has made a significant improvement and makes me think that next season they might be very close to the top team. In Hungary, both drivers entered the final stage of the qualifying session, for the first time since 2014.
Fernando Alonso
Points: 24
Position: 13th
Best Result: 5th
Fernando Alonso has finished only six of the twelve races, due to reliability issues. The Spaniard looks satisfied with the MP4-31 and he has scored 24 points so far. Fernando is in the 13th position, just four points behind Grosjean and six points behind Sainz.
Jenson Button
Points: 17
Position: 15th
Best Result: 6th
Jenson Button looks calm and he enjoys his moments in the sport. Jenson scored fewer points than his team-mate, but their results are almost similar. Button’s contract ends this season and McLaren might replace him with Vandoorne who scored McLaren’s first point this season in Bahrain.
Haas
Haas couldn’t imagine a better debut season, the team has 28 points so far and they look very competitive to the low budget teams. They managed to finish in the top six and in the top fifth in the first two races of the season, since then they finished only two times in the top 10, but still, it’s a great achievement for them.
Romain Grosjean
Points: 28
Position: 12th
Best Result: 5th
Romain Grosjean is the driver who has scored all the points for Haas. The French, finished four times in the points, in the first two races he finished sixth and fifth respectively. Generally, it’s a positive season for Romain who has out-raced and outscored his team-mate.
Esteban Gutierrez
Points: 0
Position: 19th
Best Result: 11th
No points for Gutierrez so far this season, but the Mexican finished four times eleventh and also Esteban finished in front of his team-mate in the last two races. Luck is not with him so far, but I believe that he will get his chance and he will score his first point with Haas.
Renault
Renault returned to Formula 1 after six years of absence. It was known that it will be a difficult season for Renault. They didn’t have the required time to build a proper car, but despite their issues, they managed to score six points. Renault hasn’t announced their driver line-up for 2017 and it will be interesting to see if they will keep Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.
Kevin Magnussen
Points: 6
Position: 16th
Best Result: 7th
Kevin Magnussen decided to join Renault and try his luck for the second time in Formula 1. The Danish driver is the one who scored the first points for Renault so far, he finished 7th in Russia. His future in Formula 1 is not clear yet.
Jolyon Palmer
Points: 0
Position: 20th
Best Result: 11th
Palmer is on the of the rookie drivers this season, the British showed some good driving skills at the start of the season and he almost scored his first point in Formula 1 in Australia, but Jolyon finished 11th behind Max Verstappen.
Manor
Manor scored their first point of the season in Austria, and that was the second time where the team finishes in the points in their Formula 1 history. Manor decided to replace Rio Haryanto with Esteban Oco for the second half of the season.
Pascal Wehrlein
Points: 1
Position: 17th
Best Result: 10th
Pascal scored his first point in his Formula 1 career in Austria, his results are better than Rio Haryanto’s and the German has high chances to remain in Formula 1, and maybe sign a contract with a bigger team in the future.
Rio Haryanto
Points: 0
Position: 23rd
Best Result: 15th
Bad season for Rio Haryanto, Manor’s driver struggles to finish above the 15th position and the team will replace him with Esteban Oco. Haryanto will remain in Manor as a reverse driver.
Sauber
Sauber is the only team who hasn’t score a point far. Financial problems keep the team behind. Good news is that new owners were announced and will be revealed in July. That allows for the team to upgrade the existing car. A new front wing will be available for Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr in Belgium.
Marcus Ericsson
Points: 0
Position: 21st
Best Result: 12th
Marcus Ericsson hasn’t scored a point in this season and his results are similar with Felipe Nasr. Marcus finished twice in the 12th position, the first one was in Bahrain and the second one was in Barcelona.
Felipe Nasr
Points: 0
Position: 22nd
Best Result: 12th
The Brazilian, had some nice highlights during the season with wheel to wheel battles, but Sauber lack of power didn’t allow him to challenge his opponents. Nasr’s best result was in Baku circuits where he finished 12th.
Next race will take place in Belgium, Spa at the end of the month. Take a deep breath, Formula 1 is almost back!
The ideal way to spend your summer break is to be on the beach, with friends and drink cocktails. But if you are a motorsport fan you will not be satisfied until your read an article about Formula 1.
Now you can relax, put your sunglasses on and enjoy the fresh summer mood article.
It’s the best time of the season to analyse how good each time and driver was during the first half of the season.
Mercedes
Another great season for Mercedes so far, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collected 415 combined and they are the first two drivers in the championship standings. Mercedes won 11 of the 12 races, Max Verstappen with Red Bull Racing was the only driver who managed to beat Mercedes and win the Spanish Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton
Points: 217
Position: 1st
Best Result: 1st (6 wins)
Lewis Hamilton had a bad start this seasons, in Australia, he finished second behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg and in Bahrain Hamilton finished third. Everyone had high expectations from the three times world champion, but the Brit needed some time to return to his top form.
After the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton, realised that if he wants to win this season’s title he must beat his team-mate. Lewis won his first Grand Prix of the season in Monaco, it was the begging of his dominance. After Spain, Hamilton won six of the seven races and now he is on the top of the drivers’ standings.
Nico Rosberg
Points: 198
Position: 2nd
Best Result: 1st (5 wins)
Nico Rosberg started the season with the ideal way. The German won the first four races and showed that this year he will stop Hamilton’s dominance and win the title. After the collision he had with his team-mate in Spain, Nico’s performance wasn’t as good as it was before Spain. Rosberg managed to win only one of the seven races. Nico couldn’t follow his team-mate form and dropped to the second position, 19 points behind Lewis Hamilton.
Red Bull Racing
Red Bull decided to swap Daniil Kvyat with the young Max Verstappen during the season, a move which proved to be right for the team. Max Verstappen’s abilities gave more points to the team and improve their position in the constructors’ standings. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen scored 256 points so far.
Daniel Ricciardo
Points: 133
Position: 3rd
Best Result: 2nd
A very positive season for Daniel Ricciardo so far, the Australian finished on the podium the last two races, and he almost won in Monaco. Daniel finished twice in the second place, the first time was in Monaco and the second time was in Germany. He is the only driver who managed to get the pole from Mercedes and he achieved that in Monaco.
Max Verstappen
Points: 115
Position: 6th
Best Result: 1st
No words can describe Max Verstappen’s season. The Dutch won in his debut with Red Bull in Spain and he became the youngest driver who wins a race in Formula 1. After Spain, Max has scored more points than any other driver (except Lewis Hamilton). In every race, he shows how skilful driver he is and why he deserves a seat in Formula 1.
Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari started the season with high expectations, in the first races, Ferrari was close to Mercedes and they always had a driver on the podium. In Canada, Sebastian Vettel finished second, almost five seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, but after that race, Ferrari’s performance dropped dramatically. The Italians couldn’t follow Mercedes’s pace and they lost the second position from Red Bull.
Ferrari collected 242 points so far.
Sebastian Vettel
Points: 120
Position: 5th
Best Result: 2nd
The four-time world champion finished five times on the podium, three of the five times Sebastian finished second. Vettel hasn’t finished on the podium in the last four races. The German struggles to beat his team-mate have dropped to the fifth position. Hopefully, Vettel will be better after the summer break and he will manage to challenge Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull.
Kimi Raikkonen
Points: 122
Position: 4th
Best Result: 2nd
Kimi Raikkonen forced Ferrari, with his results, to renew his contract for another season, and secured a seat in Formula 1 for 2017. The Finn has a good season and despite Ferrari’s issues, he managed to score 122 points and be ahead of his team-mate. Kimi is enjoying every moment in Formula 1. Raikkonen finished four times on the podium, his best result was the second place in Bahrain and the second place in Spain. A few days ago, Kimi Raikkonen married Minttu Virtanen in Italy (F1 Gossip).
Williams
It was clear before the season premiere that this season will be tough for Williams. Despite the parts on the FW38 Williams still, struggles to find the required speed in order to finish in the top 4. Valtteri Bottas managed to finish on the podium once and that was in Canada. Not the best season for Williams so far, Bottas and Felipe Massa collected 96 points combined.
Valtteri Bottas
Points: 58
Position: 7th
Best Result: 3rd
Bottas is trying to keep Williams in the game, has scored more points than his team-mate and managed to finish on the podium in Montreal. It is clear that Bottas can’t challenge Max Verstappen for the sixth position, as the gap between them is 57 points.
Felipe Massa
Points: 38
Position: 9th
Best Result: 5th
Felipe Massa started impressively the season, he finished in the points in the first six races, but that was not enough to secure him enough points in order to be close to his team-mate. The Brazilian cannot find the speed he used to have as a Formula 1 and shows that it will be difficult for him to have a seat in the sport the next season.
Sahara Force India
Force India has a positive season so far, despite the first disappointing results, scored eight points in the first four races, they managed to improve their performance and scored 73 extra points. Team’s aim is to catch and pass Williams in the constructors’ standings.
Sergio Perez
Points: 48
Position: 8th
Best Result: 3rd
Checo has finished twice on the podium (3rd place) so far, the first time was in Monaco and the second one was in Baku. The Mexican scored 48 points and he is only ten behind Valtteri Bottas.
Nico Hulkenberg
Points: 33
Position: 10th
Best Result: 6th
Hulkenberg is not as good as his team-mate, he has scored fewer points, but still, his role is important for the team and his last results show that he is becoming better. The summer break might affect him positively and might help him to score points in Spa and Monza.
This is the first part of the summer break analysis, more to follow the next days. Enjoy the summer.
Oliver Turvey is a British racing driver, who is currently driving for the Formula E team,NEXTEVTCR.Oliver was awarded with the McLaren Motorsport BRDC Award in 2006 and with Cambridge’s highest award “Full Moon” in 2008.
TPCO: Describe Nelson Piquet Jr. in three words
OT:“Fast, determined, racer.”
TPCO: What do you think has been the most challenging aspect of racing in Formula E?
OT: “Learning new circuits every weekend.”
TPCO: How often do you visit MTC these days and what’s your favourite thing about the place?
OT: “I am there most weeks when in the UK.The whole factory is an amazing place but I particularly like the boulevard with the historic and championship winning McLaren F1 cars on display.”
TPCO: LeMans is almost upon us, can you describe to us what you felt the moment you knew that the team would win in 2014?
OT: “Ahead of the final stint we were in P2 so I knew it would come down to my final stint in the car. After doing qualifying laps for a whole stint, I got us into the lead after the final pit stop by a matter of seconds ahead of the TDS car. I then managed to pull a20 second gap so realised then that we could win at Le Mans. It was super special to be able to cross the finish line as a winner at Le Mans, especially as a few days earlier I wasn’t even due to be there! It was one of the greatest moments in my career and I hope to be able to stand on the top step again.”
TPCO: In 2008, during your studies, you were awarded the Full Blue award from the University of Cambridge, was that the most important award for you?
OT: “It was very special to be awarded the first ever Full Blue for Motorsport from the University of Cambridge and I am very proud to have graduated with an Engineering degree whilst continuing my racing career. It was also very special to win the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award in 2006, due to the list of previous winners and for the prize test in Formula 1 with McLaren which went successfully and led to my role as test driver with the team.”
TPCO: What was the best moment in your career so far, and how did you celebrate it?
OT: “Winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award was one of the greatest moments in my career and along with the support of the Racing Steps Foundation allowed me to continue racing. In terms of races, winning at Monaco in World Series by Renault on my first ever time there was amazing, as was winning LMP2 at the Le Mans 24 Hours. I have celebrated all of them with close members of my family, friends and the team members that have made these achievements possible.”
TPCO: You have scored 10 points so far this season, do you think that you can score more points in London ePrix?
OT: “Yes, I am aiming to score more points in London and improve on our best result of the season.”
TPCO: Which is your favourite circuit?
OT: “My favourite circuit in the World is the street track in Macau. It’s fast, narrow, undulating and has a great flow!”
TPCO: How difficult is it to drive in LeMans 24-hour and how can you remain concentrated for so many hours especially during the night?
OT: “It’s a challenging race for the team and driver but as long as you prepare well and get enough rest then I feel I have been able to push flat out throughout all my stints – last year I completed over 12 hours of the race in our come back through the field after a technical issue in the first stint to take the fastest lap of the race and another podium.”
TPCO: Who is better at parallel parking between you and Nelson?
OT: “We’ve never had to parallel park but I did win a parking challenge in Japan at the end of last year so I fancy my chances!”
TPCO: Do you believe that other motorsport series, like F1 and WEC, should follow Formula E example and become more “green”?
OT: “I think that it is important for motorsport in general to be developing technology that will benefit everyone in the World and help to protect our environment.”
TPCO: In which series do you see yourself in three years?
OT: “I hope to be racing in the most competitive series’ in the World.”
Piquet born in Germany in 1985, he moved and grown up in Brazil. Nelson started his career in karting in 1993 and he is currently driving in Formula E for NextEV TCR.
TPCO: Describe Oliver Turvey in 3 words
NP: Great team mate!!!
TPCO: What sets Formula E aside from all the other disciplines you’ve raced for?
NP: I’ve had a long career in racing (20 years!) and I’ve competed in a lot of different championships. I raced in F1 from 2007 to 2009 and over the past five years have done everything from NASCAR to sportscars and rallycross. When I heard about Formula E I thought it was a really interesting concept and the technology involved is the future. I knew I wanted to be involved and it’s been a great first season learning more about electric technology.
TPCO: When you made your first steps in Motorsport, had you ever dreamed that you could finish on the podium in a Formula 1 race? How did you feel when you finished second at the German GP in 2008?
NP: Getting the podium in Hockenheim was a great moment; that was in my debut season. In fact, I had the most successful debut season of any Brazilian in Formula One. Then a very hard fought fourth place in Japan later that year was a very good moment.
TPCO: How do you prepare yourself before a race?
NP: I don’t have any kind of superstition or anything special, I just like to be calm and maybe listen to some music.
TPCO: If you could dine with three current/past motorsport drivers who of these would it be and where would the dinner take place?
NP: That’s difficult! I would probably pick my father, James Hunt and maybe Niki Lauda – they would all have some good stories to tell! We could go to a great sushi restaurant.
TPCO :How did you take the decision to go from Formula 1 to NASCAR and then to Formula E? And what difficulties did you face during this journey?
NP: I put all my effort into everything that I do. I love racing and I’ve always loved being diverse in my racing career. Formula One was a part of my life for a few years but I have done a lot since then and I’m loving what I’m doing.
TPCO: In your biography, there are listed lots of victories and podiums finish, which one was the most special for you?
NP: I have had some career highlights that I am very proud of. In Formula 1, highlights were my first podium in Hockenheim 2008, my fourth place finish in Japan 2008 and my sixth in Hungary the same year. Before I reached F1 I had some amazing career moments that I will always remember. I won every championship I raced in go-karts. I was South American F3 champion in 2002, British F3 champion in 2004. I set the record in GP2 for the first driver to have a perfect weekend, scoring the maximum points available, in Hungary 2006. In NASCAR, the highlight has to be the win at Road America in the Nationwide Series last year in only my third NNS start. That was an amazing moment. And then of course the championship win in Formula E was so special. I can’t pick a favourite championship!
TPCO: In 2015, you won the World Title in Formula E, how special was that for you? Do you believe that you can repeat this success?
NP: Becoming World Champion of FIA Formula E is one of my best successes, I think even my best success. My aim is definitely to win another title in the future.
TPCO: Formula E is still something new for most of the motorsport fans, if you could change something in the series what would that be?
NP: What Formula E have done to put together this championship is amazing. If you look at the final in London alone, there were 60,000 people there over the weekend, completely packed with people. Also the achievement of getting races in the city centres of places like Paris and Berlin, and Hong Kong where we are going next season. I can’t imagine what’s it’s going to look like in a few years time. I’m scared of how big this is going to get! We just need to keep moving in the right direction.
TPCO: How difficult is it to drive a NASCAR car, and what are the main differences from the other motorsport series you have raced so far?
NP: When I first starting driving NASCAR it was a big learning curve for me as it was a very different way of driving than I was used to. I had to learn an entirely new discipline. But over the past six years my career has become so diverse with me racing in open wheel, NASCAR, rallycross and sportscars that I don’t have any problem jumping from one car to another. Back in August last year there was a crazy week where I tested the Formula E car on the Monday and Tuesday, tested an IndyCar on Thursday and raced in a Global Rallycross car on Friday and Saturday! And I won the race!
TPCO: Your favourite place for vacations?
NP: Well I lived in Miami for a while but now I live back in Europe. So maybe I would say Miami!
Malaysian Grand Prix, Preview 30 Sep – 02 Oct
