Formula One

27th July 20163rd July 2017

Sauber Hold Station In Hungary

The Sauber F1 team headed to Hungary on the back of the news that Longbow Finance, a Swiss based organisation, had acquired ownership of the team, essentially securing their future in F1.

Despite the good news, race day itself was not ideal as Marcus Ericsson started in the pit lane after his Q1 crash resulted in a chassis change and Felipe Nasr (who had briefly been P1 in Q1) found himself stuck in traffic on a circuit that is notoriously difficult to pass at.

MARCUS ERICSSON

Finished P20 – 3 Stop Strategy

The Swedish driver suffered his second crash in succession at a Grand Prix weekend, after the damp conditions in Q1 saw him crash into the advertising hoardings. Starting in the pits, he hoped to be able to move up the field quickly in his characteristic style.

He however found himself stuck behind Rio Haryanto in the early stages which put pay to his alternative strategy. Buoyed by a large contingent of Swedish fans, he improved in the middle stint but tyre degradation forced a stop closer to the end of the race which saw him hold station in 20th place.

FELIPE NASR

Finished P17 – 2 Stop Strategy

Nasr briefly ran in P1 during the first qualifying session in wet conditions on Saturday and had hoped to be able to fight for points on Sunday, which got off to a positive start after he gained a place on the first lap.

The nature of the Budapest circuit however tripped up the Sauber driver as the traffic and the limited overtaking opportunities prevented the Brazilian star from climbing up the order. He remains upbeat and believes that the team can improve step by step.

Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn is understandably not satisfied with the result but remains positive given the fact that the much needed finance has been secured which will inevitably lead to the necessary development on the car.

It has been an historical week for the team as the legendary Peter Sauber has stepped down as owner of the team, leaving it in the hands of Kaltenborn and the new backers. Sauber have formed a part of the fabric of F1 and the mid-season break after Germany should bring with it a renewal of that spirit.

27th July 20163rd July 2017

Red Bull Racing Germany GP Preview

GP UNGHERIA F1/2016 – BUDAPEST (UNGHERIA) 24/07/2016
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

Red Bull Racing Germany GP Preview

Red Bull closed to within a point of Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship as Daniel Ricciardo finished in third with Max Verstappen in fifth.

The German Grand Prix returns to the Formula One race schedule this year after a break in 2015.

In 2014. The ‘Honey Badger’ finished in sixth at the Hockenheimring and the Australian should be confident of extending his strong performances over the past month:

“I think the Hockenheimring is actually a pretty fun track. I like entering the stadium section. Also the fans are huge motorsport fans, which is always pretty awesome.

Ricciardo is looking forward to his trip to Germany especially as Austria has good local food to feed his big appetite:” There are some cool little towns around the track which offer some traditional German food and after my week in Austria I can’t wait to enjoy my second round of Schnitzels.”

Verstappen will be determined to get one over his team-mate Ricciardo this weekend after his highly entertaining battle with Kimi Raikkonen.

The Dutch man and the Finn fought for fifth position in Hungary but ultimately the 18-year-old won the battle.

If Red Bull can get both cars in the top five places after qualifying, then they might overtake Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of the break at the half way stage.

Red Bull Racing Hungarian GP Preview

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished in third as the Milton Keynes based team showed they have the quality to challenge Ferrari.

Max Verstappen ended the Hungarian Grand Prix in fifth but his battle with Kimi Raikkonen was the standout moment at the Hungaroring: “It was a shame because at the beginning we were quick and I tried to create a gap to the Ferraris which lead to me having to back off as I got too close to the car in front.

“Regarding my battle with Kimi I was simply protecting my position. I drove hard and just made sure I didn’t lock up or make a mistake, “said Verstappen.

Team boss Christian Horner was pleased they had one car on the podium and that Red Bull are closing on Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship: “Unfortunately Max dropped behind after the first round of stops and thereafter both drivers entered into battles with the respective Ferrari drivers.

“There was some great racing between Daniel and Seb and Max against Kimi (Raikkonen), some robust defending from our guys particularly Max, who was firm but fair holding off Kimi. It was great to see Daniel finishing on the podium again, and to close the gap on Ferrari to within one point at the halfway point of the year.”

The ‘Honey Badger’ is third in the Drivers’ Championship despite being winless in 2016 but he is confident of winning despite the challenge of Mercedes:

“Three podiums in a row here is great, it’s a good place for me. I feel really good. Fridays and Saturdays have been really good for us from the start of the season but the last few Sundays, for whatever reason, I haven’t been that satisfied with, so it was important to put it together from Friday to Sunday this weekend and I believe I did that,” said an ever smiling Ricciardo.

27th July 20163rd July 2017

Hamilton Takes Control In Hungary

Lewis Hamilton has taken command of the Drivers’ Championship for the first time this season, fending off Nico Rosberg to take a record fifth Hungarian Grand Prix victory.

The Briton was forced to settle for second behind his teammate on the grid after being caught out by yellow flags in Q3, but pounced when Rosberg bogged off the line and stole into the lead through the inside of Turn 1.

Rosberg then looked set to lose another place as Daniel Ricciardo went around the outside of the Mercedes at Turn 1 even as Hamilton was on the inside, though a bold switchback move through Turns 2 and 3 saw Rosberg wrestle back second place.

The German then continued to keep his teammate in check, repeatedly lowering the fastest lap in the early stages and even closing into DRS range as Hamilton struggled for pace on soft tyres after his first pit stop.

But as close as Rosberg came, he simply couldn’t find a way past Hamilton, who exploited every inch of the famously tight Hungaroring to hold onto the lead and eventually take the chequered flag a comfortable two seconds ahead of his teammate.

The win was Hamilton’s fifth at the Hungaroring, now making him the most successful driver at the circuit ahead of Michael Schumacher. As his fifth win of the season as well, the Hungarian Grand Prix brings Hamilton level with Rosberg on victories and six points ahead in the standings with ten rounds remaining.

“I don’t know what the secret is here,” Hamilton insisted. “Naturally, having a great team and everything coming together is key, but it’s a track that I think works really well for an aggressive driver.

“I’ve not really thought about the standings much but it’s definitely a good feeling to get the job done here. It’s been an awesome few races and I’ve just got to keep that kind of form up for the rest of the season.”

The result was also Mercedes’ first ever 1-2 at the Hungaroring, and incredibly their first win at the venue in their dominant hybrid era.

“We’re delighted with today’s result,” said Toto Wolff. “This place has been Red Bull and Ferrari territory, so it just shows what a great place we have got to with our chassis and engine package that we were able to…control the race like we did.”

5th July 20163rd July 2017

Double retirement in Austria for Force India

It was a weekend to forget for Force India in Austria as both Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg failed to see the chequered flag.

Perez was languishing in the midfield when he had a failure at the rear of his car and ended up in the wall. This went largely unnoticed due to the battle between the Mercedes’ of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton taking the attention of the cameras. Meanwhile Hulkenberg struggled with his tyres from the start.

He dropped from P2 on the grid and was hit by graining issues on his tyres almost immediately, before retiring a handful of laps before the end of the race.

MELBOURNE (AUSTRALIA) – 19/03/2016
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

This weekend was a large contrast to last time out in Baku where Perez and the team were celebrating a third podium in three races.

There was cause for optimism before the weekend with the upgrades the team made paying off and seeing the team taking podiums. These thoughts were amplified when Hulkenberg qualified third behind the Silver Arrows duo.

He was promoted to second thanks to Rosberg’s gearbox penalty but got a poor start and was overtaken by Jenson Button at turn one. Over the next few laps the Ferrari’s and the Red Bull’s got past Nico, thus the end of his points chances. He retired the car to save the power unit a few laps before the end of the race.

Meanwhile Perez qualified poorly, starting 16th he made his way up the grid and was fighting for points when coming into the last lap he went off into the barriers at turn three. It appeared to be a brake issue as he went straight on and seemed unable to slow his VJM09 down.

Overall not the weekend the team wanted, and with the next race being right in their backyard at Silverstone, they’ll be keen to make sure this is a minor blip in what appears to be the season of resurgence for Force India.