An Emotional Farewell

The 2016 Brazilian GP will live long in the memory of F1 fans for numerous reasons, whether it be for the many (and at times unnecessary delays), the high-profile crashes or the sensational wet weather skills of Max Verstappen. However, for myself at least, the race will be remembered for the outpouring of emotion shown by Felipe Massa and the Formula 1 community on his final appearance at the Interlagos circuit.  The toughest of people would have been forgiven for having a small tear in their eye at the sight of Massa in the wall at the entrance to the pit lane. It was not how the script was supposed to end. His incident caused the pit lane entrance to be closed, which allowed viewers around the world to witness just how much the Brazilian GP means to him, and what he means to the Brazilian people.

His long walk from his stricken Williams car to the garage saw him draped in the Brazilian flag, and fighting back the tears. What came next is something that I doubt will be seen again in Formula 1. Upon his arrival to the garages, what seemed to be the entire Mercedes and Ferrari teams came out to applaud Massa, with a guard of honour waiting for him at Williams. It was a stunning show of respect from the teams and shows just how much Massa will be in the paddock. 

He can look back at his career in F1 with pride and knowing just how much of an effect he had on the paddock and the fans in his home country. His two wins in Brazil in 2006 and 2008, the latter giving him the World Championship for all of 25 seconds were massive highlights in a distinguished career. The 2016 Brazilian GP shares one big similarity to that day in 2008 which was the way Massa handled himself. He could have moped about and sulked, but this is not who Felipe Massa is. He carries himself in a way a World Champion would: professionally and in a humble manner. He is a unique character in Formula 1, one that will be truly missed in 2017.

European GP 2016

Rosberg Boosts Championship Lead

The European GP returned to the F1 calendar after a 4-year absence to give Nico Rosberg the title boost he needed, with a comfortable win at the Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan. The excitement before the race was building as the supporting GP2 races had seen carnage and brilliant action. Even the F1 practice sessions and qualifying was a brilliant watch, as the winding street circuit was catching out even the best drivers. Ultimately though, as with many of the new circuits in recent years, the race fell flat and Rosberg eased to a 20 second victory. Sebastian Vettel did what he could to challenge Rosberg, but could only finish a distant 2nd. Sergio Perez continued his superb form to take another 3rd place for Force India, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who finished 4th. Lewis Hamilton finished almost a minute behind Rosberg in 5th, after he suffered technical issues throughout. Williams' Valtteri Bottas was 6th, ahead of the Red Bull pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa rounded off the points positions with 9th and 10th respectively.           

It was a comfortable afternoon for the championship leader who led every lap of the race after fending off Ricciardo at turn 1. From then on, he drove off into the distance to record his 19th win in Formula 1. His team mate Lewis Hamilton however did not have as easy an afternoon as his team mate and championship rival. Throughout Friday and Saturday, Hamilton looked almost certain to overhaul Rosberg in the championship come the end of the race on Sunday. His pace was scintillating throughout practise, and going into qualifying he was building momentum. This came to an end in Q2 however when Hamilton pushed that bit too hard and ending up crashing out of qualifying and started 10th. As with Rosberg in Canada, many expected Hamilton to fly through the field and maybe challenge Rosberg. Again, as with Rosberg, Hamilton struggled to make it through the field due to an engine settings problem on his car, the tight and twisty nature of the track certainly didn’t help. 

Elsewhere on track, it was a very drab race with nothing else really happening. Red Bull's race was ruined by strategy calls due to the risk of safety car deployments. Unfortunately for Red Bull, there was no such incidents. One highlight of an otherwise dull race was the performance of Jenson Button who came from 19th on the grid to finish in 11th place. Despite expectations before the race, there was next to no drama at all, with 18 of the 22 drivers finishing the race.  

Perez Equals Mexican Podium Record

Sergio Perez's rejuvenated Formula 1 career continued at the European GP as he equalled Pedro Rodriguez's record of 7 podiums for a Mexican driver. It is amazing what can happen in just three years. His 2013 season was a disaster at McLaren, with a series of high profile errors leading to the team dismissing him after one season. Force India could clearly see the talent the young Mexican possess and have really changed his career prospects in the sport. His performance in Baku, I believe, has put him in pole position to take Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari in 2017, should Ferrari drop the Finn.    

His podium in Baku was his second in three races, and that was after a big mistake in practice resulted in him receiving a 5 place grid penalty. Without the penalty, Perez would have started an incredible 2nd place behind Rosberg. Furthermore, Perez's race craft was brilliant throughout the race. To top everything off, Perez overtook Raikkonen, despite knowing that Raikkonen had a time penalty and would have finished behind Perez. What Perez did with this move was send out a clear message to the F1 world, especially Ferrari. What is certainly clear is that Perez has matured since the McLaren fiasco and is ready to return to the F1 big leagues. Ferrari would be foolish not to seriously consider Perez for 2017.   

Has the Radio Ban Gone Too Far?

Not for the first time in F1, rules and regulations off the track dominated the post-race talk, with the radio ban sparking huge debate. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen suffered with technical issues throughout the race that could have been solved with a reset message from the team. However, due to the restrictions on radio communications, both drivers were not able to solve their issues. This message effectively ruined Hamilton's race as he was seriously down on power. Hamilton was getting more frustrated as the race progressed and threatened to reset everything to solve the issue. Eventually Hamilton figured out the issue and made the changes. By the end of the race, he was the fastest on the circuit. This has led to the debate about the ban. Many feel that this ban cost the fans the opportunity to see what Hamilton could do coming through the field. Had the ban been a bit more relaxed, an actual race might have broken out. With this ban in place, I feel it has taken something away for the fans. I used to enjoy listening to what went on inside the cockpit as it gave a brilliant insight into just how focused these drivers need to be. There has to be a happy medium with regards to this ban. I agree that drivers should not be almost coached by their engineers throughout the race, but these cars are extremely complicated. Knowing how to reset every little thing and focus on racing is a challenge. There has to be a way of balancing this out so that we do not have to keep talking about the ban. Formula 1's talking points should be made on the track not off it.

Chinese GP 2016

Rosberg Eases to Sixth Consecutive Victory

Another dominant display from Nico Rosberg ensured that he maintained his 100% start to 2016 with victory in China. Sebastian Vettel recovered after a first corner incident with team mate Kimi Raikkonen to finish 2nd with Red Bull's Dani Kvyat finishing behind Vettel in 3rd. Another recovery drive saw Daniel Ricciardo finish 4th ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who also had to recover after the Vettel incident. Felipe Massa drove a solid race to finish 6th with Lewis Hamilton coming from 22nd on the grid to finish 7th. The Toro Rosso pair of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were 8th and 9th with Valtteri Bottas rounding off the point scoring positions in 10th. All 22 drivers finished the race, with bad days for the Renault team as their cars only managed 17th and 22nd. Romain Grosjean's stunning start to the season stuttered on what was his 30th birthday as the Haas couldn't adapt to the conditions in China and he finished a very lowly 19th.

After showing his dominance in qualifying by setting his fastest Q2 time on soft tyres, it was Rosberg's to throw away from the start. Everybody around Rosberg started on the super-softs which would last only a matter of laps, so if anyone was going to stop Rosberg, they had to do it off the line. Step up Daniel Ricciardo, who from an outstanding 2nd on the grid, got the jump on Rosberg into turn one. Behind them, it was bedlam with the race resembling that of a dodgem park. The other fast starting Red Bull of Kvyat saw a fantastic opportunity to take the two scarlet Ferrari's into turn 1 which in turn led to the dodgems that followed. Vettel felt aggrieved by the young Russians manoeuvre which resulted in Vettel colliding with Raikkonen, ruining the Finns race before it even started. As a result of Raikkonen coming back on the track without his front wing, Felipe Nasr in the Sauber had to take avoiding action that only led him into the charging Hamilton, who lost his front wing and really his chance of a podium finish. That was until all of the debris caused leader Ricciardo's tyre to puncture, adding more debris to the track and resulting in a safety car, essentially bringing Hamilton and Raikkonen back into play. The majority of the field decided to pit to ditch their super-softs, allowing drivers who started on the softs to move up the field, notably Pascal Wehrlein in the Manor and Esteban Gutierrez in the Hass moved into 4th and 5th. From the restart, Rosberg drove off into the distance and was barley seen for the rest of the race. Vettel's charge through the field after the safety car was tremendous to watch. Watching his overtakes for me shows that his all round talent is most certainly there despite what people may say. He had his hands full when it came to the two Red Bulls but showed brilliant race craft to get past. His team mate Raikkonen also showed why he won a World Championship with a superb drive, showing the Kimi of old. Despite these brilliant drives, I don't think they would have gotten near Rosberg who controlled the race superbly and won by a stunning 37 seconds.

Vettel Criticises Kvyat

Sebastian Vettel did not hide his displeasure with Red Bulls Dani Kvyat after the race, and during for that matter. Vettel firmly believed that Kvyat should not have tried to pass him at turn 1 citing that there was not enough room which forced Vettel into Raikkonen. Vettel referred to the move over team radio as suicidal, saying Kvyat came at him like a torpedo. Looking at the footage from a height and onboard, I believe Vettel was really trying to make excuses for colliding with Raikkonen, especially with the Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne present in Shanghai. Vettel had left more than enough space which Kvyat was not going to ignore. He was travelling at great speed, but nothing to suggest that he was going to be unable to stop. The mistake ruined Vettel's race and he did superbly to come back and score a podium. Even without the mistake, I don't think Vettel could have beaten Rosberg on the track simply because Rosberg looked too good. Vettel even confronted Kvyat in the cool down room before the podium to show his displeasure in which Kvyat laughed his complaint off by simply replying "yea but I'm on the podium and so are you"  

Midfield Competitiveness a Joy to Watch  

Despite the fact that Nico Rosberg drove off into the distance to record a comfortable win at the Chinese GP, it was still a cracking race thanks to the midfield battle. We as fans are so lucky to witness this golden age of F1, with so many talented drivers and teams on the grid, Despite all of the childish political problems that occur on a weekly basis, it does not take away the fact that the on track action has been fantastic over the last few seasons. It seems to have been taken up a level this season thus far, keeping fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish. This is down to the emergence of future title challengers such as Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz just to name two. Also due to experienced drivers such as Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg being at these midfield teams, it really spices up the races. The progression of the midfield teams is something that also contributes, with all of them upping the pace and their reliability, despite a couple of them running into serious financial trouble. I feel as though this season, the gains made by Renault, Ferrari and even Honda have added an extra ingredient to the recipe. Bridging this engine gap has certainly brought the action closer together, although not at the front where we want it to happen. Nevertheless, it is bringing the action closer together somewhere on the track, making the racing edge of your seat stuff and a joy to watch.       

Bahrain GP 2016

Bahrain GP 20165 in a row for Rosberg

Nico Rosberg scored his 5th consecutive win at the Bahrain GP to maintain his perfect start to 2016. Kimi Raikkonen came home 2nd, breaking the record for podium finishes at the same race, whilst Lewis Hamilton had to recover yet another race to finish 3rd. It was another solid 4th for Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean went one better than he did in Australia, bringing his Haas home in 5th. Max Verstappen was 6th for Toro Rosso, with the Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas coming in 7th and 8th. Dani Kvyat was 9th after starting 18th and Stoffel Vandoorne was 10th on his McLaren debut, deputising for the injured Fernando Alonso. It was a day to forget for Sebastian Vettel however as his engine starting smoking on the formation lap and didn't make it to the start.

This failure for Vettel was one of a few incidents that robbed the fans of a potential fascinating battle for the victory, which Rosberg took comfortably in the end. At the start, Rosberg once again got the jump on Hamilton, whilst Raikkonen was almost static and fell back. In the run down to turn one, the fast starting Williams’ were right up there with the Mercedes’, and Bottas tried to go up the inside of Hamilton before with him, causing the Mercedes body damage. The result of this saw Hamilton fall back down the field and another damage limitations drive was needed for the World Champion. Bottas also received a drive through penalty for causing a collision, something I believe was harsh simply because there was definitely a gap for Bottas to try and go for. This, along with Raikkonen's poor start, allowed Rosberg to control the race from the front again and win comfortably. Had Vettel started, Hamilton avoided contact, and Raikkonen started well, it could have been an absolute cracker up front. A significant thing with this victory is the number five. No driver has ever won five races in a row and not won the World Championship. A sign perhaps?

After another shocking qualifying session, the racing again was exciting to watch, albeit not at the front where everyone wants it. Easily from 4th down to last place, cars were going up the inside, around the outside, any possible way just to make up one place, even if it was just for 11th, 12th or 13th. Pascal Wehrlein was a superb example of this throughout the race, eventually finishing in 13th place and showing the progress the Manor team are making with the Mercedes engines. Amongst all the overtaking, bits of front wing and everything else seemed to be flying all over the place. By the end of lap 1 Hamilton was missing bits of car, as was Bottas and Ricciardo. Sergio Perez also had a collision resulting in a new front wing. Formula 1 had turned into a demolition derby for a few laps at least.

Reliability an Issue for Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel's failure on the formation lap at the Bahrain GP is the second reliability issue the team has had this season. In Australia, Kimi Raikkonen had some kind of engine issue which saw flames shoot out from the overhead air duct. Vettel also had issues in practise that looked like engine or gearbox but turned out to be a loose wheel. Even the fact that a loose wheel was the culprit, it still shows that Ferrari have issues. A problem with the wheel gun and the wheel nut was the issue in Bahrain. The most concerning however would definitely be the engine issues that seem to be plaguing the team. They have clearly made progress with the power unit and closed the gap to Mercedes.

The fact that they seem unwilling to run the car to full capacity with regards to the engine shows that the team are aware of this, even if they don't want to openly admit it. Sebastian Vettel has came out and said that the team are surprised by their reliability issues. These engine troubles could also have ramifications for Sauber and Haas who both run 2016 Ferrari engines. For their season to have a real title push, they really need to sort this out fast, or risk losing more ground to Mercedes.

Haas F1 Fallout?

After the Bahrain GP I posted a question on twitter asking should the likes of Williams, Force India and Sauber feel aggrieved by the fantastic start the team have made to F1 life? It prompted many different responses ranging from definitely yes, to absolutely not. Personally I don't think they should. What the Haas team has done should be the new blueprint for any team wanting to compete in Formula 1. In 2010 when Caterham (Team Lotus), HRT and Virgin Racing came to the grid with no proper financial backing or plan it was a disaster waiting to happen. HRT and Caterham failed to score a single point in Formula 1 during their short tenures in the sport. Virgin Racing have had two name changes, now running under the Manor name and have scored just two solitary points in this their 7th season. Haas in just two races have scored 18 points. The idea of planning out the team and setting it up the way Gene Haas has should be applauded. Essentially they are a Ferrari B team with the amount of Ferrari equipment that has been used and using former Ferrari test driver Esteban Gutierrez as one of its drivers. Williams have been vocal in their opposition to the way Haas have entered F1 but fail to mention that they started in very similar fashion. I can see the point of view of Force India and Sauber a bit more as they have been completely independent since joining F1, and never made a secret of the financial difficulties they've encountered. It was even rumoured at Bahrain that the next race in China could be one too many for the Sauber team, something I pray is not true. But what's done is done now, and it is up to these teams to play catch up or maybe try and strike similar deals elsewhere. 

Drivers Who Became Team Owners

This week in F1 history, Olivier Panis scored a podium for the Prost team in only their second race at the 1997 Brazilian GP. Alain Prost, the four time World Champion, had set up his own team carrying his surname and ventured into Formula 1 team ownership. He is not the only driver to set up a Formula 1 team baring their name. There have been a few drivers to take this plunge and, sadly, many do not hand around too long. Here I will look at the Prost team and their short history along with Stewart F1 and Super Aguri. 

Stewart F1 - 1997-1999

Sir Jackie Stewart set up his own Formula 1 team in 1997, hiring former Footwork designer Alan Jenkins, acquiring Ford engines and Bridgestone tyres for its debut year. Adding in Rubens Barrichello and Jan Magnussen as drivers, the team had all the ingredients for an impressive debut season. Unfortunately for the team, it did not all come together the way they had hoped. The team did have some impressive moments throughout the season, thanks to Barrichello who qualified 5th in Argentina and finished a spectacular 2nd at Monaco in wet conditions. Magnussen on the other hand seemed to encounter all of the team’s misfortune. 

After a good showing in their debut season, the team wanted to progress further, and do it quickly. Early 1998 showed that the team had not made the progress it wanted, and Magnussen paid the price, getting dropped after only scoring a point at the Canadian GP. He was replaced by Jos Verstappen who did not fare much better and only lasted until the end of the season.

Johnny Herbert was drafted in as Verstappen's replacement for 1999, and progress was clear throughout the season. A podium in San Marino for Barrichello was followed by the team’s first pole position, courtesy of Barrichello, in the wet at the French GP, which resulted in another 3rd place finish. Later in the season though, the teams greatest day came at the European GP, held at the Nurburgring when Herbert scored the teams only F1 win, in changing conditions with Barrichello in 3rd. This enabled the team to finish 4th in the  Constructors Championship, ahead of the Williams team. This was as good as it would get for the team as it was sold to Ford and rebranded as Jaguar for the 2000 season.

Super Aguri F1 - 2006-2008

Super Aguri was founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki in 2006. The team was based in Japan, but operated out of the old Arrows teams factory in Oxfordshire. The team was effectively known as an unofficial "B"-team for Honda. Public pressure in Japan saw the team hire former Honda driver and Japan's own Takuma Sato as one of its drivers for its debut season alongside Yuji Ide. The team debuted in Bahrain and managed to get one car to the finish with Sato bringing the car home. Australia saw both cars finish which was a brilliant achievement considering how little pre-season testing was completed by the team. Ide was then replaced after round 4 in Spain after having his superlicense was revoked after a clash with Christijan Albers.

Franck Montagny took over from Ide only to be replaced by Sakon Yamamoto from the German GP onwards. The team’s updated car that arrived in Germany with Yamamoto impressed - although failed to finish. Progress continued during the season and saw the team overtake Midland in the pecking order.

2007 did not start as the team would have hoped. Teams such as Williams and Spyker were unhappy that Super Aguri planned on using the 2006 works Honda car and took the matter to the FIA. The team suffered a further setback when its car failed a crash test and the launch of the car was delayed. So when the team turned up in Australia, with Sato and Anthony Davidson driving for the team and qualified 10th and 11th, it was a special moment. No points were scored but clear progress had been made. The team then scored its first points at the Spanish GP when Sato finished 8th, mainly down to other cars dropping out of the race. Canada was very different as Sato finished 6th on merit alone after a tremendous drive. Had it not been for a poor pit stop, Sato could have finished 4th. No more points were scored for the team but a solid was achieved for the team.

2008 saw the team retain Sato and Davidson but their championship would be a very short one, as the team run into financial trouble. The team had countless setbacks during pre-season including failed takeover bids. The team managed to compete in the first four races but that would be it. Suzuki stated that the breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Group Oil & Gas Company resulting in the loss of financial backing as putting the team into financial difficulties. It was confirmed on 7th May that Super Aguri had gone into administration after a team of corporate recovery partners was appointed to seek a buyer for the operation.

Prost Grand Prix - 1997-2002

1997 saw Alain Prost buy the Ligier team and rebrand it Prost Grand Prix. He would inherit Olivier Panis and Shinji Nakano, Mugen-Honda engines and Bridgestone tyre. He would later sign a deal for Peugeot to supply engines for 98, 99 and 2000. The team’s debut season was not an easy one, but the car was competitive when the tyres were working. Panis finished 5th on the teams debut and scored a podium in Brazil at the following race. Argentina should have seen Panis win but his car broke down. Monaco was another strong race for Panis finishing 4th and then 2nd in Spain. Going to Canada, Panis was 3rd in the driver's standings but then broke both of his legs and was replaced by Jarno Trulli. Trulli did a great job, and should have won in Austria but once again, the team hit trouble and Trulli retired. Panis did return for the European GP in September and scored a point making it a good debut season.

1998 was a different story. The car was so unreliable, modifications to the poor gearbox made the car such a handful that no driver could have done anything with it. Prost knew something had to be done for 1999 and did a deal with John Barnard to become a technical consultant and used his B3 Technologies to help design the AP02. Panis and Trulli stayed with the team and had a good car to boot, although the Peugeot engine had become too big and heavy. Further technical reinforcements were brought in midway through the season with Alan Jenkins hired as technical director. The team was optimistic for the 2000 season.

The optimism was unfounded as the 2000 season was nothing short of disastrous. Nick Heidfeld and Jean Alesi were hired to drive but the car was poor. Jenkins was fired during the summer and Prost reconstructed his technical department again. Joan Villadelprat was brought in as managing director and Henri Durand as technical director. Prost also sold a shareholding in the team to the Diniz Family. His dealings went beyond this as well as he signed a deal for the team to use Ferrari engines for the 2001 season, again giving an optimistic view for the future. Again this was short lived as the team’s money ran out and they eventually went out of business in 2002, with a debt of around $30 million.   

Australian GP 2016

Ferrari Ruin Vettel's Chances of Victory

The 2016 Formula 1 season kicked off at the traditional curtain raiser in Australia, and saw Nico Rosberg continue where he left off in 2015 securing his fourth consecutive win. Team mate Lewis Hamilton finished in 2nd with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finishing 3^rd. But how different the story could have been… After the farce that was qualifying on Saturday, the race certainly made up for it as there was action throughout up and down the grid. From the lights going out there was action. The Mercedes pair were sluggish off the line, which allowed Vettel, who made a superb start, to breeze past them like they were not there. His team mate, Kimi Raikkonen also got past both silver arrows. By turn three, Rosberg was 3rd and Hamilton was 6th, behind the Williams of Felipe Massa. Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz occupied 4th and 5th as the race settled down. Hamilton made ground but struggled against the two stubborn Toro Rosso drivers who held their own brilliantly. Vettel was comfortable out front, until a turning point in the race occurred on lap 17. At turn 3, Esteban Gutierrez moved slightly left on Fernando Alonso, which saw the double World Champion plough into the back of the Haas driver, which caused the car to flip and fly through the air. The car was a total wreck but Alonso got out and thankfully walked away unharmed. The incident was so huge the red flag had to be brought out and the race was suspended while the marshals cleaned up the track. Just prior to this accident, pit stops were being made, or just about to be made. Hamilton switched to the medium tyre, whereas most others stayed on the super-softs or the softs. During the red flag, teams are allowed to work on the car, change tyres, whatever they please. Many teams decided to change to the medium tyre here, which would allow them to go to the end of the race. Ferrari opted not to put Vettel on these tyres, instead keeping him on the super-softs. When the race restarted, it was clear almost immediately that the two Mercedes would have the advantage. Rosberg would keep pace with Vettel whilst Hamilton, once in clear air, would hunt down his team mate. Vettel pitted and came out behind the Mercedes pair but was left with too much to do and could only finish third. What started out as a fantastic race ended in disappointment for the German. Had they mirrored the Mercedes pair, I am positive that Vettel would have went on to win comfortably.  

Behind all of this, home favourite Daniel Ricciardo finished a brilliant 4th for Red Bull with Felipe Massa finishing 5th. Story of the day though was Romain Grosjean scoring points on the Haas team's debut with a brilliant drive to 6th. He held off Nico Hulkenberg's Force India and Williams' Valtteri Bottas, who finished 7th and 8th, ahead of the Toro Rosso pair of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen who were 9th and 10th. Jolyon Palmer had a solid debut for Renault on their return as a constructor to finish 11th, with team mate Kevin Magnusson behind him in 12th. Sergio Perez, Jenson Button, Felipe Nasr and Pascal Wehrlein rounded off the classified drivers.

Toys Out of the Pram at Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso were considered dark horses coming into the Australian GP after having an impressive pre-season in Barcelona. This pace was seen throughout the weekend, despite the team running a 2015 Ferrari spec engine. Verstappen qualified 5th with Sainz 7th, showing how impressive that new car really is. From the off, both drivers showed their talent and the potential of the car with Verstappen running 4th and Sainz keeping Hamilton behind him for a long period of time. After the red flag, both drivers found themselves outside the points due to pitting before the flag came out. The result of this was toys out of the pram from Verstappen. Verstappen was stuck behind his team mate and behind Palmers Renault, which angered the young Dutchman. Sainz's inability to move saw Verstappen use some colourful language over the radio to vent his anger. For me this was unnecessary and showed Verstappen's inexperience. We saw last season how good Verstappen was with regards to overtaking and he showed have applied this during the race. I believe this is an area that the team need to work on with Max to help his development so this incident is not repeated, although I can see repeated incidents occurring in the future.        

Haas with a Cracking Debut

It was a debut to remember for the new Haas F1 team as Romain Grosjean scored a brilliant 6th place. His team mate Esteban Gutierrez was not as fortunate as his tangle with Alonso saw him retire, but Grosjean stood out with his points finish. During testing the team looked like it had a decent outfit but technical issues were scuppering them. Qualifying did not look promising either, as both drivers qualified way back in 19th and 20th. However Grosjean showed exactly why he was brought in by Gene Haas as he put in a confident drive to score points on the team’s debut. He was maybe helped by the red flag in which he chose to put on the medium tyres and went until the end. Grosjean took everything in his stride and showed just how good of a driver he is. Haas's result was the best by a new constructor since Brawn in 2009 and the best by a brand new team since Toyota in 2002.

Qualifying Shambles

Formula 1's new elimination style qualifying system was nothing more than a total failure. It was an intriguing concept and one that seemed would work on paper, but when put into practise, it was an absolute shambles. The teams gave off the impression that they didn't understand how the system worked, with a lot of drivers not even having enough time to complete a lap when on the brink of elimination. The cameras would also only focus on the driver that was on the brink of elimination, so the fans were deprived of seeing stunning laps from Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. What was also frustrating for the fans, was the lack of graphics indicating the time left before elimination occurred, although this was rectified during the session. On top of this, we saw drivers exiting cars when the they still involved in the session, but were timed out due to errors by the teams. To top this shambolic start to the season, we had the top eight shoot out finish with four minutes or so remaining! Both Ferraris only ran once and then got their drivers out the car, not posing any more threat to the Mercedes pair, who ran twice and then left the car. Fans were left with no action for the final four minutes of qualifying, which is simply shocking. This new system was meant to shake up a Saturday, to add a bit of spice ready for Sunday. All it has given is an already dwindling audience yet another reason to dwindle. It produced nothing along the lines of excitement, and it was seemingly just like the grid fans and pundits would have predicted before the start of the weekend. Thankfully discussions took place before the race on Sunday and it seems the unanimous decision is that the teams will revert to the old system for Bahrain.     

F1's Colourless Grid

So, the first week of Formula 1 testing has been and gone. What stood out more than Mercedes' ridiculous bullet proof reliability, or the Honda power unit still completing the least mileage, is the shocking lack of colour on the grid for 2016. It has been noticeable over the last few years that colourful liveries are disappearing off the grid, making it more difficult for fans to know who is who. For more hardcore fans, they will probably know the difference, however fans new to the sport will be looking at the cars thinking they are all the same. Obviously the red of the Ferrari stands out amongst the dull, dark paintjobs on the grid, along with the white Williams and three tone colours of Manor. Other than that, the grid consists of darkened colours, with the only prominent colour being that of the sponsorships. I understand that having sponsorships stand out on cars is a big thing, and has been throughout the years. In the past though, teams have always had the sponsors stand out and retained the colour. Why not now? Here, I will be looking at teams who have had liveries that have stood out like a saw thumb during a Grand Prix. Obviously there are many other colourful F1 cars in history, but these are my personal favourite three.

British American Racing (BAR 01) 1999 Season

At the end of 1998, the historic Tyrrell team was bought by British American Tobacco and rebranded British American Racing, BAR for short. The teams debut season saw them run a livery that was different on each side of the car. Originally the team wanted separate liveries for each car, one running the Lucky Strike blue, and the other running the red and white of 555, both brands of cigarettes owned by British American Tobacco. This was rejected by the FIA, so instead the team split the livery down the middle. It was a unique idea that was easily noticeable during the 1999 season. The livery was able to corporate other sponsors due to its "zip" up the centre, which spread out at the end of the nosecone. This way, the dual colour wouldn't affect the other sponsorships on the car. Even the rear wing of the car featured the duel colour scheme, seeing the blue Lucky Strike on the front and the red and white 555 occupying the back. It was a unique livery, and one that stood out on the grid. The idea of seeing something with this much vibrancy on the grid today is unthinkable. 

Image Taken From: http://wtf1.co.uk/the-cool-wall-cigarettes-and-alcohol/

7up Jordan 1991 Season

This car was the car that gave Michael Schumacher his Formula 1 debut in the Belgian GP in 1991. Eddie Jordan's first Formula 1 car came onto the grid in 1991 - and immediately stood out. It gave the team its visual identity and although it only lasted for one season, the way it stood out on T.V was brilliant. Its main body of emerald green was supported by flashes of lighter green which broke up any potential repetitiveness of colour, and gave something more to the livery. On top of this, dark blue is separated from the green with a strip of white, giving it a simple, yet brilliant look. The red of the 7up logo on the engine cover means that bits of red can be used elsewhere without seeming out of place, particularly on the wing. On the sidepods there were two variants of sponsor, Fujifilm and later on, Tic Tac. The Tic Tac logo looked like a better fit with its white standing out better against the blue. The Fujifilm one looks less effective as the red does not stand out from the blue. What helps the Tic Tac stand out more is possibly down to the fact it was on Schumacher's  first car in the sport.  

Images Taken From: http://www.diecast.org/diecast98/html/asp/list_reviews/xq/ASP/id.MP100-910032/qx/reviewpix.htm

Jaguar R1 2000 Season

When Ford bought the Steward team and announced it would run under the Jaguar guise for the 2000 season, every F1 fan knew it would be seeing a green livery on the grid. Mock-ups were made by many people during 1999 of the distinct British Racing Green and the famous Jaguar logo (the "leaping cat") on the engine cover. That is what the fans were given as the Jaguar launched with its traditional green and the well incorporated white and red of the HSBC sponsor, that carried over from the Stewart team. The shade of green wasn't exactly BRG (British Racing Green) but was optimised for T.V audiences. On top of this, the subtle touches on the car were fantastic, in particular the gold wheels, which had the potential to look hideously cheap but looked superb. A smart move on the part of Jaguar was to keep all sponsors on the green parts of the car white. Jaguar competed in F1 until 2004 which never saw a massive change in the team's livery.  Changes were made over these years which took away the class from this first design. For example using the Beck logo in full on the barge board, even though it matched the main colour scheme of the car. To add to this, in 2002, the team added the blue of sponsors EDS and AT&T making the car look extremely messy. Although the team's performances never lived up to the historical name, the cars livery is iconic, recognisable and one that is loved among racing fans in general.  

Image Taken From: http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/687698,19843,0,0/photo.aspx