Formula One

14th July 2017

Gasly’s chance to send out Reminder

Formula E heads towards New York, for the inaugural event but it is missing something. Formula E is missing championship leader Swiss born Sebastian Buemi who drives for DAMS Renault. Buemi is also a vital part of the World Endurance team for Toyota, taking part in the 6 hours of Nurburgring. Step forward Frenchman Pierre Gasly.

Pierre Gasly is a logical choice, a heavily experienced Red Bull Junior and current GP2 Champion. He is following the path current of Mclaren Honda driver Stoffel Vandoorne who entered into Formula 1 by driving in the Japenese based Super Formula Series. The situation being that in the rules of GP2/F2 the champion cannot race in the series the following year. This opportunity is one not to be missed, he is already creating buzz in the paddock, it seems to be a certainty he will receive the all important fan boost in the races. This could be a great chance to lay down his credentials to Toro Rosso for the F1 2018 season.

There is a feeling of uncertainty at Toro Rosso currently with its drivers. Danil Kvyat looking once more under pressure and his recent collision at the Austrian GP has done him no favours, especially taking out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Carlos Sainz is also rumoured to be unhappy in the current situation, feeling he is was held back as when Verstappen moved up to Red Bull switching with Kvyat, he was also doing a fantastic job. Sainz has a contract until 2018, whilst Kvyat has one until the end of this season. With his poor form, would they offer the Russian a new contract, and could the Spaniard decide to walk? This would open a space for a Red Bull Junior. Antonio Felix Da Costa of Formula E & Nico Kari of GP3 are some names to come to mind but Gasly is the one to come to mind first. A good performance would only remind Dietrich Mateschitz who is control of Red Bull F1 that he is more than ready to enter Formula 1 and might result him reconsidering any new deals with current contracted drivers.

The field of Formula E consists of a mixture of veteran and youthful talent from the likes of Nick Heidfield to Felix Da Costa. Former F1 drivers take part in the series such as Heidfield and fellow county compatriot Jean-Eric Vergne. Laying down a marker and being competitive would only increase chances of a move.

Gasly is a smooth driver and did great keeping the life of the Pirelli tyres in the GP2 series. This would only benefit him with the scenario that the Formula E series have regarding energy. To keep and reserve energy the drivers have to avoid slides and wheel spins in corners so gives flexibility when it comes to strategy.

With Formula 1 returning to France in 2018 at Paul Ricard, it would be great to see the French having an increased interest in the sport, with a third French driver joining the F1 contingent of Romain Grosjean and Esteban Ocon. Gaslys name is one continuing to be rumoured to having a seat on the F1 grid in 2018. Performing well this weekend could seal his place.

Chris Lord
12/07/2017

Image courtesy of Renault Sport

12th July 2017

Silverstone must remain in Formula One

2014 Formula One British Grand Prix, Silverstone International Race Circuit, Towcester, Northampton, Great Britain, 3rd – 5th July 2014.
Flags, Atmosphere,
World Copyright: © Andrew Hone Photographer 2014.
Ref: _ONY9209

Save Silverstone, this must be Liberty’s first target. The British Grand Prix is one of the most historic races in Formula One. Silverstone was an aerodrome during the Second World War, when the war ended in 1945, the Royal Automobile Club decided to make Silverstone the base for the British Grand Prix in 1948.

Two years later, Silverstone hosted the first official Formula 1 race, in history, Guiseppe Farina was the winner with his Alfa Romeo.

The British Grand Prix is now in danger, the reason is simple: money. In our days it is very expensive to host a Formula 1 race. A 17 year contract, between FIA and Silverstone, was signed almost eight years ago, but the extremely high cost does not allow the owners to keep their deal.

In 2010 the cost for hosting a Grand Prix was £12m, this year the price increased to £16m and by 2026 the cost will be more than £25m.

“We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer let our passion for the sport rule our heads, put simply, it is no longer financially viable for us to deliver the British Grand Prix under the terms of our current contract.” said BRDC chairman John Grant.

According to British Racing Drivers’ Club chairman, in 2015 they suffered losses equal to £2.8m, almost £5m the following year, and they are expecting the same losses for this year.

“We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer let our passion for the sport rule our heads. It would not only risk the very future of Silverstone and the BRDC, but also the British motorsport community that depends on us.” said John Grant.

The owners gave a two years termination notice, which means that the final race will be held in 2019, there is only one away to avoid Silverstone’s departure, Liberty Media has to offer an affordable contract to the owners and the two sides must agree and extend the British Grand Prix under new rules and less costs.

“I want to be clear that although we have now activated the break clause, we are fully supportive of the changes the Liberty team are making to improve the F1 experience. Our hope is that an agreement can still be reached, so that we can ensure a sustainable and financially viable future for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone for many years to come.” said Grant.

Liberty Media is in talks with Silverstone in order to find a solution and solve the problem between them, F1’s commercial boss, Sean Bratches said on Sky that the “break clause would not represent a black mark for the Northamptonshire circuit.”

Hopefully, the two sides will manage to find a solution and save Silverstone. It is one of the most fantastic circuits on the calendar and Silverstone is the track which must keep hosting the British Grand Prix.

Twitter – @FP_Passion

10th July 2017

Analysis: is Bottas now a title contender?

When Valtteri Bottas crossed the finish line in Austria to take his second career Grand Prix win, the calls from F1’s pundits were all but unanimous—the unassuming Finn, not so long ago dismissed as Mercedes’ number two driver, was now firmly in contention for the 2017 Drivers’ Championship.

Steve Etherington / Mercedes-AMG Petronas

Statistically speaking, it’s a solid claim to make. At 35 points adrift in third, it would take a couple of perfect storms in Britain and Hungary for Bottas to assume the lead of the championship before the summer break; but the odds of him overcoming the fifteen-point gap to Lewis Hamilton in second between now and August are certainly far from negligible.

It’s worth remembering too that if Bottas were to rack up another victory at Silverstone next week, as well as making him the first back-to-back winner of 2017, that would also bring the Finn level with Hamilton’s and Sebastian Vettel’s respective win tallies this year. Looking over his other results, Bottas has also taken only one less podium than Vettel and one more than Hamilton this season, whilst his lowest finish of sixth in China is still one better than Hamilton’s seventh place in Monaco.

Furthermore, all that is in spite of Bottas being the only driver of this title trio to suffer a DNF so far this year, when his engine blew at the Spanish Grand Prix—and if we were to assume that that had not happened, and Bottas joined Hamilton and Vettel on the podium in third that day, then the Finn would now be level on points with his teammate.

Wolfgang Wilhelm / Mercedes-AMG Petronas

Of course, ifs and should-haves aren’t enough to win a championship, and if Bottas is to take the crown at the end of 2017 he will need to continue pushing beyond the base expectations of himself and his car. His triumphs in Sochi and Spielberg have displayed beyond doubt Bottas’ serene control at the front of the field, but he is only just beginning to show the kind of aggression necessary to assert himself as more than just the third-fastest man on track—something he will certainly need more of if he is to keep touch with Vettel and Hamilton across the season.

That is something that will only become more pronounced now that Bottas has been thrust into the title race spotlight. Up until Austria, the Finn has been able to profit from all the media attention being focused on Hamilton and Vettel, allowing Bottas to quietly rack up points in the background without being subjected to the pressures of a declared championship tilt. But now that his rivals are aware of the threat he poses, Bottas can no longer rely on the element of surprise and must come out of the shadows fighting.

Fortunately for Bottas, though, that should just be a case of doing what he’s always done, and doing it more. His two pole positions and near-level qualifying head-to-head with Hamilton are proof that he has more than enough speed to run his teammate hard on Saturday; and even if qualifying doesn’t go his way, the lightning starts he’s made all year (not to mention his stellar recovery from last to second in Baku) will ensure Bottas remains a looming presence in any polesitter’s mirrors.

What’s more, Bottas has proven time and again that he has the focus and mental strength needed to take on a full title challenge—even against opponents as intimidating as a three- and a four-time world champion. His level head has been one of the Finn’s defining attributes ever since winning the 2011 GP3 title at the first attempt; it was particularly evident in 2014 when, partnering a reborn Felipe Massa in a podium-worthy Williams, Bottas dove his way to an outstanding fourth in the final standings. So far, the only visible dent to his determination came under the frenzy of Ferrari speculation in 2015, but from the way Bottas has settled into his new Mercedes seat despite the rumours surrounding it would suggest that he has learnt from that episode.

His grounded nature should stand the Finn in good stead as he wades into the Hamilton–Vettel battle. He will have seen first-hand how unsettled his opponents can be by the championship’s many twists and turns, and know that when that happens (as it undoubtably did in Austria) he has only to drive a solid weekend to take full advantage. If they didn’t already, Hamilton and Vettel will now have their hands full making sure their own turbulent duel doesn’t leave Bottas with an open goal.

Make no mistake, Bottas faces a considerably tall order if he is to wrest this 2017 Championship away from Vettel and Hamilton. No amount of comparisons to Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 will guarantee Bottas comes out on top after Abu Dhabi—as ever, all that counts is what happens on track this year.

But if the Finn can drive home his current momentum with another victory or two before the flyaways in Asia and the Americas, there’s no reason why he can’t push his rivals all the way to the final round. Whether he quite has what it takes to beat two of modern F1’s biggest stars across the ultimate finish line is another matter—but when it comes to his talent, composure and performances so far this season, there’s no denying that Valtteri Bottas is well and truly in this title fight.

9th July 2017

Austrian Grand Prix Review, Valtteri Bottas wins like a Bull

Bull Sculpture at Formula One World Championship, Rd9, Austrian Grand Prix, Preparations, Spielberg, Austria, Thursday 6 July 2017.

Valtteri Bottas secured his second victory in his Formula 1 career and he achieved it with the same way as he won his first Grand Prix, by starting from the pole and defending his position from Sebastian Vettel, who finished second.

A perfect start allowed to the Finn to remain first and despite Ferrari’s and Vettel’s acquisitions for a jump start, the stewards didn’t take any further action. After lights out, Kimi Raikkonen had a poor start which cost him two positions, the Finn dropped down to fifth and both Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean moved up one place. Ricciardo had a great pace during the race and scored another podium which gave points for his team.

Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso retired after the start of the race after a collision with the Toro Rosso. Kvyat lost his breaks and collided on Alonso which cost the race to the Spaniard and Daniil had to pit for a new nose.

Lewis Hamilton started eighth, after the five-place grid penalty who received because his mechanics had to change his gearbox on Saturday. The Britt, had a good start and moved up to the fifth position behind Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis was struggling to pass Kimi and remained behind him until the 45^th lap, Kimi pitted and re-joined behind Hamilton.

The three-time world champion lost time behind Raikkonen, Ferrari decided to waste Raikkonen’s chances for a place on the podium as they were seeing that it was very difficult to close to Red Bull for the third place. Raikkonen’s excellent drive didn’t allow to Hamilton to take advantage of his super-softs tyres and forced the Brit to pit on lap 33.

When Hamilton re-joined with the ultra-softs he was struggling with his tyres and could not follow the leaders. Mainly he was unable to close the gap with Ricciardo.

Everything changed during the final laps, Lewis Hamilton closed with Daniel Ricciardo and was looking for a space to make his move. At the same time, Sebastian Vettel with the super-softs was less than a second behind Bottas.

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.
Friday 07 July 2017.
World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _ONY0445

Hamilton made his move, took the outside, but Ricciardo defended his place and remained third, it was Ricciardo’s fifth consecutive podium. Sebastian Vettel was on Botta’s tail, but didn’t have the chance to attack.

After 71 laps Valtteri Bottas took the second chequered flag of his F1 career, and scored 25 points. Whilst, Vettel scored six more points than Hamilton and increased his leading on the drivers’ championship to 20 points from Lewis Hamilton.

Very good race for Romain Grosjean, the French passed Raikkonen in the beginning but lost the fifth place a few laps later, at the end he finished sixth and scored crucial points for Haas.

Williams, despite their poor qualification, managed to finish in the top 10, Felipe Massa finished ninth, while his team-mate finished tenth and scored one point.

The next race will take place at Silverstone in one week.

Twitter: @FP_Passion

(Image Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

9th July 201711th July 2017

Micro Machines Review

Codemasters had one aim with this video game, and that was ‘Nostalgia’. Micro Machines was a major hit in the 90’s which focused on miniature cars battling across unique tracks, based around the likes of your breakfast and workbench.

THE GOOD

The game concentrates heavily on the multiplayer aspect of the game, and playing with 12 people at anytime it is a case of forgetting to blink. If a person cannot be found, they are automatically replaced with an AI, so its never an easier event due to a reduced amount of players.

The game has three game modes, Race, Elimination and Battle.

– Race is the traditional mode like in any racing game. You have the 12 racers and have to do so many laps and first to cross the line wins.

– Elimination is the mode where a reduced amount of cars race. You have to get away from the field, and if you win you get closer to winning the game, but if you get eliminated you move further away from the goal.

– Battle is much like a capture the flag game, split up in two teams you battle with the goal of using the bomb that spawns in the middle of the map to blow up the other teams base. A first to 3 event.

The use of Brian Blessed as the voice of the game, quite ironic that they use one of the biggest and loudest people in the planet. The adventurer, come comedian, come actor has a unique voice that will repetitively make you laugh so much so you might make a mistake! The car engines and background music are what you expect from a casual racing game.

Handling is what you expect from this kind of game, inconsistent! It certain areas of tracks it can be horribly understeery and in others you couldn’t have any more grip. The uncertainty which this creates is brilliant, which allows leaders to make mistakes and others to catch up. Never feel safe in front, with the weapons it is better to be the hunter than the hunted.

THE BAD

The game has per mentioned heavily focuses on multiplayer, but the disappointing factor is that there is no single player game modes. Generically all racing games have some kind of single player. It is used to get to grips with the game before going into the multiplayer and unlocking items to help competing online. It does have the tutorial, but that hardly is sufficient. The likes of championship & time trial mode are absent on the game currently. Some people are competitive in different ways, some like beating others in a race, whilst some like to be on top of the leader board.

Unfortunately another lacklustre topic of the game is the variety tracks and games. The game has 12 cars and 10 tracks to choose from. The cars have various skins you can unlock through levelling up to make your garage different but it does seem a bit stingy as tracks can be repetitive after a while. The 12 cars vary from a police car to a hovercraft, and you can use all the cars on all tracks. You’d think having a water level in the sink that only the hovercraft could do would make sense, just a thought.

OVERALL

The game is great, it is a good game to play with friends online and puts a smile on your face. It is just a shame that you can’t play on your own offline and win things that you can use online. Hope to see future content released in terms of game modes, cars and tracks. A respectable score of 7.5/10 is what Micro Machines World Series has been awarded at this current stage. If it were to beef up its variety would easily increase.

Chris Lord

8th July 20178th July 2017

Mercedes AMG: from Tyrrell to titles

The Mercedes AMG F1 Team is now the dominant force in Formula 1 after returning to the sport from which it had been absent for over half a century. How did they get there? The team has only seemed to have been in existence since 2010, but this is only a small part of a long story stretching back to the Tyrrell team. And to the Mercedes partnership with Peter Sauber and his fledgling outfit.

The Tyrrell Formula One team, established in 1970 by Ken Tyrrell, had its greatest period when Jackie Stewart drove the team to three Drivers’ crowns and one Constructors’ trophy. They were also the team that brought us the six wheeled Tyrrell P34, a car that was so radical it was banned almost immediately and now is part of Formula 1 folklore. Unfortunately they never really reached those heights again and became also-rans, eventually selling out to the BAR tobacco company.

In 1993 after partnering Sauber to success in other motor racing categories including Le Mans, Mercedes—using their Ilmor badge—supplied the Sauber F1 team with engines. In 1994 Mercedes made it official and the team became Sauber-Mercedes with the 3.5 Litre V10 C13 (all Peter Sauber cars are badged “C” after his wife Christine) At the end of the traumatic ’94 season Mercedes, tempted by an offer from Ron Dennis, moved on to McLaren, where they went on to win three Drivers’ crowns: two for Mika Häkkinen from 1998–99 and Lewis Hamilton in 2008, and a Constructors’ trophy in 1998.

In 1999 British American Tobacco came into the sport as BAR (British American racing) with a big budget and even bigger ambitions, running the Supertec engine, the rebadged and once all-conquering Renault power plant.

In their first year and with the reigning world champion Jacques Villeneuve, and despite a move to Honda power, the project was doomed to failure, and after only six years and no wins, tobacco advertising was banned from F1 and BAR sold out to Honda in 2006.

Honda with Jenson Button as lead driver looked a much more promising prospect. They brought in Ross Brawn in 2007 from the dominant Scuderia Ferrari; a man with a proven track record of building winning teams.

Alas, once again the outfit was thrown into chaos and in 2008 with a worldwide recession Honda was unwilling to continue with its $300 million budget and announced its withdrawal from Formula 1. The team was eventually saved by a management buyout headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and was renamed Brawn GP; and with help from up and down the pit lane, not least from Mercedes, they where able to run in the 2009 season. What followed was one of the greatest stories in Formula 1: a true rags to riches tale; a team on the brink of disappearing, turning into a World Championship-winning success

With the now-banned double diffuser (a clever reading of the rules to enhance the downforce effect of the rear diffuser) Brawn GP took the season by storm with Jenson Button winning six of the first seven races and winning the Drivers’ title—and along with Rubens Barrichello, landed the Constructors’ title for Brawn in their maiden and only year of competition. On the 16th of November 2009 it was announced that Daimler AG and Aabar investments had bought a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP and that they would race under the name Mercedes GP from 2010. They brought in an impressive driver pairing, bringing Michael Schumacher out of retirement to partner Nico Rosberg. After deciding to finally close the curtains on his record breaking career Schumacher was replaced with the last man to win a championship with a Mercedes engine, Lewis Hamilton.

The 2014 season had been as dominant as the Fangio–Moss days of the early 1950s. More success followed in 2015 with consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles for Lewis Hamilton followed by Nico Rosberg’s success in 2016.

This year looks like shaping up to be a battle royal between Hamilton’s Mercedes and Vettel’s Ferrari.

Mercedes have truly lived up to the legendary Silver Arrows team.

Will they conquer this term? I’m betting they will.

8th July 20178th July 2017

Joe’s Quali Report

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria.
Saturday 08 July 2017.
World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _O3I7851

Valtteri Bottas secured only the second pole position of his Formula 1 career, and Mercedes’ 80th, on Saturday after pipping Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and teammate Lewis Hamilton to top spot at the Red Bull Ring in Austria with a blistering lap-time of 1:04.251.

The Fin was not only able to replicate the good pace he set throughout the weekend which saw him finish third at the end of FP1, 2 and 3, but managed to overcome the fierce competition set from the red Italians to clinch the vital grid position ahead on Sunday’s race.

“It feels good. I really enjoy driving here. I enjoyed it today the car was getting better and better as the grip was coming”, Bottas told Sky Sports.

“A decent lap at the end, it wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.”

The 27-year-old will have Vettel alongside him for company on the front row, whose best Q3 lap-time was just 0.042 seconds from the pole-sitter. It could have been different however, if Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who ended up in the barriers on Friday, hadn’t lost control in dramatic fashion on his final flying-lap to finish Q3 in the gravel trap under yellow flags.

“At Turn Seven I tried to be a little too aggressive with the throttle and lost the rear”, Verstappen said.

“I’m not sure on pace if we can get both cars on the podium. A lot of things will have to happen in front of us. Rain would be good for us.”

Even though Hamilton posted a time under 0.2s behind Vettel to grab P3, he will start in P8 on the supersoft tyres after a five-place grid penalty was issued due to an unsanctioned gearbox change.

The three-time world champion’s frustration was obviously evident after being unable to give himself the best possible chance of climbing the field, but he was still happy it was a Silver Arrow at the front of the grid.

“Congratulations to Valtteri, he did a fantastic job and Sebastian has been very quick. It just wasn’t meant to be today”, Hamilton stated.

“I’ll do the best job I can. I want to get up there and get a one-two with Valtteri.”

The Mercedes-man’s issues means that Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, whose time pushed him into P4, will start third on the grid alongside Daniel Ricciardo, who for the first time in five races managed to out-qualify his teammate.

Verstappen and Romain Grosjean will occupy the third row, even though the Frenchman’s car had been somewhat difficult to handle this weekend on the high-paced circuit. The remainder of the top 10 will feature the Force India duo Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, split by the penalised Hamilton, and Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso – who sat in P4 at the end of Q1.

Elsewhere, Lance Stroll was brought sharply back down to earth following his podium-clinching heroics in Baku two weeks ago, as the young Canadian and teammate Felipe Massa both failed to make it out of Q1 and will start on the second-last row of the grid.

Nico Hulkenberg will begin Sunday’s race in P11, but could have even forced his way into Q3 if it was not for a rear suspension failure during P2 that forced the German to abandon the remainder of the session.

It remains to be seen whether, similarly to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fortnight ago, the qualifying results will truly dictate the outcome of the race.

But with only four pole-sitters in the past 10 years going on to claim victory at the Red Bull Ring, the same number as P3, Sunday’s race is certainly not a foregone conclusion.

8th July 2017

Mercedes Week: Mercedes AMG F1 2016 Season Review – Nico Rosberg Takes His Chances

The 2016 World Championship was a topsy-turvy, unpredictable fight between two drivers at the peak of their powers.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton slugged it out in a car that was the class of the field, with only two Red Bull victories blemishing a perfect Mercedes record.

Rosberg’s consistency was the deciding factor as he became the second man to follow in his father’s footsteps by winning the World Championship, with consistency also a factor for Keke’s 1982 victory.

Rosberg ended 2015 with three straight wins and carried that form into Australia at the traditional curtain-raiser in Melbourne, and followed it up with another in Bahrain as Hamilton suffered from an early collision with Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton was to suffer again in China as engine woes left him well down in qualifying and a first-lap melee damaged his car. He finished seventh, but Rosberg won again.

Rosberg won the fourth race – and his seventh in a row – in Sochi as Hamilton again battled back from a hampered qualifying, this time to take second. The duo then followed this result up with a shambolic collision at the Spanish Grand Prix that took both of them out of the race and allowed Max Verstappen to claim his first ever win.

Rosberg then proceeded to wobble for the first time. He struggled to seventh at a wet Monaco Grand Prix while Hamilton thrived and took the win after a duel with Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton won again in Canada as Rosberg’s error-strewn race saw him fifth, before Nico redressed the balance with victory in Azerbaijan while Hamilton was a distant fifth.

Hamilton was to rise again in the following three races. Rosberg’s penalty for alleged “Driver Coaching” saw him fall back to third as Hamilton won the British Grand Prix, and he was to win once more in Hungary. Rosberg at his home race was fourth after another penalty as Hamilton once more took honours.

However, the advantage Hamilton now held in title fight was to be short-lived. Rosberg reeled off three straight race victories in Spa, Monza and Singapore as bad luck twice cost Hamilton second place and he was forced to settle for third.

The World Championship took a decisive twist in Malaysia. While Rosberg was only able to finish third after a first lap collision with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton retired with an engine failure when comfortably in the lead.

Rosberg then took the spoils in Japan with Hamilton again third to stretch his lead to 33 points. It meant that all he had to do was finish second in the remaining four races. Which is precisely what he did.

Three comfortable second places in Texas, Mexico and Brazil set up a nervy finale in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton attempted to back Rosberg up into the pack as he needed Rosberg off the podium to stand a chance of winning the title.

The Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo plus a hard charge from Vettel made things interesting, but in the end, it was not enough as Rosberg clung on for his maiden – and sole – World Drivers’ Championship.

The debate will rage over Hamilton’s reliability issues and bad luck at the start of the season, and there will always be talk among F1 fans about the deserving winner. But one thing is for sure. Nico Rosberg extracted from himself the maximum and took every single chance given to him.

7th July 20176th July 2017

The Spark and the Fire

Mercedes is one of the most successful teams in Formula 1, during the recent years, they have won the constructor’s championship for three consecutive years and Lewis Hamilton celebrated his last two titles with the silver arrows, whilst Nico Rosberg won his one and only world title with Mercedes in 2016 (check out our article about Nico Rosberg).

The Silver Arrows made their appearance in 1930, where they won all the European championships after 1932. Their first official entry in Formula 1 was in 1954 which they were known as Mercedes-Benz. Juan Manuel Fangio signed a contract with Mercedes and moved from Maserati to the silver arrows in order to drive in Mercedes’ debus at the French Grand Prix in 1954. That season Fangio won three races and finished first on the drivers’ championship. The following season, Manuel Fangio repeated his success and with four victories and won his second consecutive championship with Mercedes-Benz. A terrible accident which took place at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1955 led to the cancelation of the Grand Prixs and Mercedes retired from Formula One.

The miracle and the firework

Rubens Barrichello, Barcelona, Spain 2009. Author: Jose Mª Izquierdo Galiot

There is one specific year which I believe that most of the young and non-young fans will never forget, the year where a team dominated with almost zero financial support, with only the basic crew and with two very experienced drivers which both had a great “coach”. Of course you will know where I am referring to, the name of the team was Brawn GP and the two drivers where Jenson Button and the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The master behind the success was Ross Brawn, who believed in his team and led them to the top.

Brawn GP participated in 17 races, won eight Grands Prix, finished 15 times on the podium, took five pole positions and scored 172 points. The team became the first to achieve a 100% championship success rate.

Mercedes played a critical role in Brawn GP’s success as they were supporting them with engines.

That season indicated Mercedes’ return to Formula 1, on November 2009, Mercedes with Aabar Investments purchased the 75.1% of Brawn GP. Mercedes had the 45.1%, while Aabar the rest 30%. The next year the team renamed to Mercedes GP. According to reports Mercedes and Aabar paid £110m for the 75.1% and the remaining percentage remained to Ross Brawn in partnership with Nick Fry. Ross Brawn remained as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.

Michael Schumacher, Sepang International Circuit, Selangor, Malaysia 2011. Author: Morio

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were driving for Mercedes the first three years, they managed to get three poles and win three races. After Brawn’s departure the turbocharged engines returned to Formula 1, Mercedes had an advantage as Ross Brawn managed to improve the team’s power unit.

Mercedes dominated during the first three years of the new turbocharged engines, Lewis Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher, and both he and Nico Rosberg secured 56 pole positions and won 51 of the 59 races. In all these years the two drivers have scored 2169 points combined.

This season, Mercedes is leading in the constructors’ championship by 24 points and Lewis Hamilton is second in the drivers’ standings, 14 points behind his main rival Sebastian Vettel.

Undoubtedly, Mercedes is one of the strongest teams on the grid, Ferrari looks able to challenge them, but it is still too early to make a prediction.

Category: Formula One