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.     

U.S GP 2015

Hamilton Makes History

Lewis Hamilton took victory at the U.S grand prix and in doing so, ensured a third World Championship, becoming the first British driver to successfully defend his title. He also joins an elite list of drivers, including his idol, Ayrton Senna in winning three championships. Nico Rosberg finished second after a mistake cost him victory, and the chance to extend the championship race for a further week. Sebastian Vettel took third after coming through from 14^th, with Max Verstappen taking a fantastic fourth. Sergio Perez finished fifth with Jenson Button taking a brilliant sixth place. Carlos Sainz, who started last, finished behind Button in seventh, with Pastor Maldonado eighth, Felipe Nasr ninth and Daniel Ricciardo rounding off the top ten. It could have been all so different at the front however, with changeable conditions from the start and virtual safety cars and individual errors. Ultimately though, the day belonged to Hamilton, who took his tenth victory of the season.

The whole weekend in Austin had been a complete washout, with qualifying not taking place until the Sunday morning, and even then the rain was still coming down hard. The session only got as far as Q2, where the conditions were deemed unsafe. Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Hamilton; but with the race only hours later, the forecast was that the rain would pass and we could go racing.

When the time for the race came, it was still very damp, with everyone starting off on the intermediate tyre. With a tricky first corner on the cards, it was Hamilton who got to turn one first, but with a seemingly over aggressive move on Rosberg, forcing the German off track. This saw him drop down into fifth place behind the Red Bull pair of Dani Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez's Force India. In the damper conditions, it was the Red Bull's that looked more comfortable, with Kyvat taking the lead from Hamilton with ease, but ran wide and surrendered that lead before the first virtual safety car of the day occurred.

When the racing resumed, the track began to dry out and drivers started to struggle with the intermediates. Ricciardo wasn't struggling however, and breezed past the struggling Hamilton for the lead. Hamilton's struggles then allowed Rosberg past for second before drivers started pitting for dry tyres. The dry tyres saw the Red Bull charge dwindle, and both Rosberg and Hamilton resumed a Mercedes one-two, with Rosberg leading and pulling a gap to Hamilton. A safety car period caused by Nico Hulkenberg's broken Force India brought Hamilton back into the play, only for a second virtual safety car to hamper Hamilton again, as he stayed out and Rosberg pitted for fresh tyres. This wasn't the last twist in this race however, as a heavy crash from Kvyat brought out the safety car again, allowing Hamilton to pit without losing position and able to challenge Rosberg. On fresh rubber, Hamilton put pressure on Rosberg and forced him into an unforced error, costing him victory and the opportunity make Hamilton wait another week at least for his title.

Sainz and Verstappen Talent Shines Again

Many people pay so much attention to the fact that Red Bull have threatened to quit F1 next year if they can't get a competitive engine deal. What many people haven't seemed to pay attention to is the fact that that pull-out could also have an effect on Toro Rosso. Don't get me wrong, there has been whisperings of their future as well but not on the scale that it should be on.

This is a team with so much talent it would be an absolute travesty is it wasn't on the grid next season. The U.S grand prix was a prime example of the sheer talent the team possess. Obviously, it isn't the only time this season that we have seen both drivers drive tremendous races, but it just highlights what the team itself brings to the grid. Max Verstappen will be a World Champion one day that much is clear; his 4th place in the U.S grand prix was another testament to how good he is. When everyone was struggling in the damp conditions, Verstappen kept control and drove a brilliant race. Carlos Sainz, despite a few silly errors, especially speeding in the pit lane, finished a solid seventh place. This was after starting last on the grid! Had he not have had a time penalty, he would have finished sixth. Again, his on track overtakes and coolness behind the wheel is something that can't be ignored. Like I have said before, it is just a pity for him that Verstappen is his team mate this year. Hopefully, this team will be here next year because this would be a colossal waste of talent.

Sauber Celebrate 400th GP Weekend

It wasn't just Lewis Hamilton celebrating a milestone at the U.S grand prix. Sauber celebrated their 400th GP weekend, a magnificent achievement for the small team from Switzerland, who have been in the sport since 1993. The team has had many ups and downs over the last 22 years, but still have a rich history within the sport. Many great drivers have driven for them over the years, including former World Champion Jacque Villeneuve, although he wasn't to be the driver to deliver the teams first, and only win in F1. Under the BMW guise, Robert Kubica stepped up on a crazy and dramatic day at the 2008 Canadian GP, and headed a BMW Sauber one-two with team mate Nick Heidfeld. When BMW left the sport at the end of 2009, Peter Sauber bought back control of the full team. It has been a difficult five years financially for the team, who have never made any secret of this. Despite this, on track they have had some very strong performances, most notably in Malaysia 2012, where Sergio Perez probably should have won the race, only to be beaten to the flag by Fernando Alonso and ended up second. The team has done brilliantly with the limited resources at its disposal, and I'm sure that they will be racing against the odd for many more years to come. Here's to another 400 GP weekends.    

Russian GP 2015

Rosberg Retires as Hamilton Closes in on Third Championship

Nico Rosberg's title challenge is all but over after he retired from the lead of the Russian grand prix and handed the win to team mate Lewis Hamilton; who now only needs two points to clinch his third world championship. Sebastian Vettel came home in second place whilst Sergio Perez finished a spectacular third place. But, unfortunately for Perez and Force India, it was the retirement of Rosberg that caused a lot of the talk after the race. Having taken pole position on the Saturday, Rosberg made a brilliant start and kept the lead into the first corner, something that has somewhat eluded him in recent races. No doubt he would have had last year's nightmare start on his mind, where he out braked himself into turn 1, ruining his tyres and his race. No such problem this time though as he kept Hamilton behind him and set about building a gap. However, Romberg’s luck just wasn't there again, as he seemed to have a problem on lap 6. By lap 8, he had pulled into his pit box and turned the engine off. His race and championship were over. For Hamilton though, it was another casual Sunday afternoon drive for the British driver, who cruised another win closer to equalling Ayrton Senna's haul of three World Championships.

Behind Rosberg and Hamilton at the start, Nico Hulkenberg caused bedlam whilst spinning at turn 1, causing Max Verstappen to pick up a puncture and fall to the back of the grid. Amongst all this, Kimi Raikkonen managed to creep into third place ahead of his team mate Vettel and fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas. A few laps later, a huge crash where Romain Grosjean lost control of his Lotus at turn three resulted in the barriers needing a quick repair job. This incident not surprisingly brought out the safety car again, at which point Sergio Perez made his only stop of the race. Perez was able to make good uses of his tyres, as we have seen him do over the years and kept a tight hold on the final podium place. With older tyres though, both Raikkonen and Bottas were catching the Mexican hand over fist. With just two laps to go, Bottas got a head of Perez, as did Raikkonen, and Perez's first podium since Bahrain 2014 seemed to be gone. There was one more twist involved however. Raikkonen wanted that final podium place, and had one lap to get his move done. He went for a move on Bottas which ultimately took out his countryman, allowing Perez to drive through and take the final podium place. Raikkonen's antics saw him penalised thirty seconds and end up finishing in eighth.

Perez's Quality Shining Unnoticed

Over the last few years, it has been Nico Hulkenberg that has grabbed the headlines as F1's most underrated, should be in a top car driver, and obviously with great justification. He won the Le Man 24hour in June, and constantly displays his talent at every event. His team mate Sergio Perez seemingly had his shot at a top drive at McLaren and blew it massively, not displaying the talent that saw him replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season. 2013 wasn't the season that Perez thought it would be, with the team’s decline starting steadily, with Perez's highest finish for the team a 4th place. We must not forget that this is a driver who could have, and probably should have, won the Malaysian grand prix in 2012 for Sauber, only to finish second behind Fernando Alonso. Throughout his time at Saucer, he showed just how good of a driver he is, especially with his tyre management.

When the announcement came in near the end of the 2013 that Perez wouldn't be getting kept on at McLaren, there were a lot of people who thought that that was it for Perez and his F1 career. Step in Force India to save him from the F1 abyss and inject a resurgence into his career. Since he signed for Force India, he has been the Perez of old, with some really eye catching performances - especially this season. His confidence has came back which has been a key factor in his F1 stock rising again. What stands out most for me is that whilst Perez has had two podiums for the team, the more highly rated Hulkenberg has none. Potentially, Force India have one of the strongest driver line ups on the grid, if only they could produce the car to go with the talent they have in it.

Sainz Has Eventful Weekend

During qualifying, Carlos Sainz suffered what could only be described as a horror crash. Sainz crashed into the barriers at turn 13 at 200mph and hit the barrier with an impact around 46G. Sainz spent the night in hospital and many wondered if he would race at all on the Sunday. Unbelievably, Sainz was cleared to race and didn't look back. He did admit to feeling dizzy at the beginning of the race, which does throw questions about his fitness into the spotlight. Despite this, Sainz had a fantastic race and his retirement late on was very harsh on the young Spaniard. If Max Verstappen wasn't his team mate this season, I believe a lot of talk would have been about Sainz. If you look at the amount of times Sainz has retired from a points position, he would be right up there with Verstappen. Sainz's only issue with having Verstappen as a team mate is that Max is still on a learning curve, and can only get better. Sainz obviously is still very young and on a learning curve himself, and still has plenty of time to establish himself in Formula 1.