Formula One

9th May 20173rd July 2017

Let the Kismet Decide, Spanish GP Preview

BARCELLONA (SPAGNA) – 15/05/16
© FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO PER PIRELLI MEDIA (© COPYRIGHT FREE)

Spanish Grand Prix Preview 12-14 May

One of the most exciting races of the season is taking place in Spain this weekend. In Barcelona, Ferrari will try to overtake Mercedes in the constructors’ championship and Hamilton aims to get closer or even ahead of Vettel on the drivers’ championship.

Bottas’ victory in Russia, was a pleasant surprise for the Formula One community, if the Finn remains fast and concentrate during the season, he will play a key role in the championship in his debut year with Mercedes.

Barcelona is a familiar track for most of the Formula 1 drivers as they were driving there during the pre-season tests in winter, but that does not mean that it is an easy track to drive.

Last season, kismet decided that Max Verstappen must win one of the most thrilling races in 2016 and celebrate a victory on his debut with Red Bull Racing. A collision between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton forced both Mercedes out of the race and the safety car was deployed for the first time.

Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen were on a different strategy from their team-mates, they pitted two times while Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel stopped three times. That gave them an advantage and also gave the lead to Max Verstappen. After 66 laps the Dutch became the youngest ever race winner in Formula One.

Circuit De Barcelona – Catalunya

Laps: 66

Circuit Length: 4.655 km

Race Distance: 307.104 km

Lap Record: 1:21.670 (Kimi Raikkonen – 2008)

Nominated Compounds: Soft (Yellow), Medium (White), Hard (Orange)

Personal Race Prediction: Vettel (Ferrari), Hamilton (Mercedes), Bottas (Mercedes)

During the pre-season tests in Barcelona, a 1.5 second gap between medium and soft tyre compounds was detected, this is expected to be lower this weekend as the fuel load will be different and most of the teams are expected to present new upgrades on their cars.

It will be Fernando Alonso’s and Carlos Sainz’s home race and it will be nice to see them racing alongside their fans.

Carlos Sainz – “When racing at home, the feeling is so different to any other race – every time you drive out on track you know there’s more people watching and cheering for you, and this makes the whole weekend very special. I’ve been to the Barcelona track since I was nine years old, and now I’m the one racing there, it’s just amazing. Of course the whole weekend is also a bit busier than normal, but you just do everything with a big smile on your face, as I know I’m a very lucky person.”

Fernando Alonso – “I’m really excited about returning to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix. It’s my home race, I’ve had some great times there, and the atmosphere is always crazy. We spend a lot of time there in pre-season testing, but there’s nothing quite like the emotion of racing there in front of your home fans. It’s a very special feeling. After a run of difficult races for us, I’m not sure what we can expect from this weekend. We’re expecting some various new parts – which we bring to every race – but we can’t really focus too much on performance until we have solved our reliability issues. That’s always our focus.”

The upgrades which the teams are bringing might play a critical role in the race, but personally, I don’t see Red Bull to be able to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, the new parts will affect the battle between the ‘middle’ teams.

Bellow you can watch Red Bull Racing’s head of Aerodynamics, Dan Fallows, Spanish Grand Prix Preview via Mobil 1 The Grid.

Victor Archakis – @FP_Passion

(Images Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media)

4th May 20173rd July 2017

F1 to return to the Glen?

Ever since purchasing Formula 1, Liberty Media have sought after increasing the calendar, especially in North America as it is such an untapped market to enter.

Watkins Glen could be the answer. The interest in F1 cannot be higher especially after the now success of the Circuit of the Americas at Austin and Alonso’s Indy 500 participation this year.

Watkins Glen International, or known as The Glen for short, is full of history, and has the experience to hold an event. The track was part of the Formula 1 calendar for 20 years, last held in 1980, traditionally in autumn. This could allow a back-to-back with Austin on the current calendar structure.

The Glen has an annual schedule, and is regularly used, from its traditional 6 hour endurance to the various NASCAR events and Verizon IndyCar events throughout the year. Hulman & Company, owners of the IndyCar series, are in talks with extending the contract, only back on the 2017 calendar this year due to the collapse of the planned street track in Boston.

In recent years various redevelopments on and off track have been completed which have increased interest in the track. The much out-of-date media centre has been taken down and completely reconstructed with a state of the art control tower which allowed the full 43-car NASCAR grid last year.

Whilst on track in recent years from 2010 onwards the track has been repaved, including its extension ‘the boot’ which was added to the track in the early 90’s.

To make the track look more modern, they took away the rumble strips and added the more common red & yellow designs with extending the asphalt run off areas for safety.

Charlie Whiting, Formula 1’s race director, is a big fan of Watkins Glen. “It is a wonderful circuit,” he stated last year. Every few years he inspects the track, with a visit in 2016 after the most recent repave increasing speculation that Formula 1 was to return. This was before Liberty Media bought the sport but still led to major rumours around the paddock.

Above you can see a layout of the Watkins Glen track; as you can see though, we have colour co-ordinated it to accommodate possible areas for DRS zones. The only amendment you could make to the layout really is to make the pit entrance before the last corner for safety concerns. The Glen has a lovely flow to it, especially in the chute through to the boot section on the bottom right of the track.

Liberty Media want more races in America; Bernie Ecclestone for many years sought Formula 1 to be in New York, for the Grand Prix of New Jersey as it would be known.

But when you have a fully fledged historic race track in the state of New York, so why let it go to waste? The Glen currently holds an estimated 38,000 on race days, but with a few more stands it could easily have space to accommodate 45,000+ fans.

Currently an FIA grade 2 track, Watkins Glen is compliant with every racing series except for Formula 1, similar to established tracks like Sebring and Le Mans; but if a contract can be put in place, plans can made to bring the track up to the Grade 1 that it needs. Most recently, look at the renovation that was put into place with Mexico to increase the grading of that venue.

The Glen has had great entertainment in recent years, and with a contract with Formula 1 that could only continue to grow.

Chris Lord, F1 Correspondent

4th May 20173rd July 2017

Valtteri Bottas, F1’s 107th Different Winner

Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia.
Sunday 30 April 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _31I1948

Valtteri Bottas, in Russia, won his first Grand Prix in his Formula One career after 81 starts. The Finn started from the third position, passed the two Ferraris on the first lap and led the race until the end.

Sebastian Vettel with his Ferrari finished only 0.617s behind Bottas. The German had a fresher set of tyres and tried to take advantage of that in the final laps. The Finn defended his position even when Vettel was in the DRS zone and remained until the chequered flag.

In Sochi, Valtteri Bottas became F1’s 107th different winner and the fifth Finn who has won a race, the other four are Keke Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen.

Get in PitCrew’s time travel machine, fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a trip to the past! Where and when did some of the greatest drivers, in Formula 1, won their first race?

Ayrton Senna

In the second race of the 1985 Formula One season, Ayrton Senna with Lotus-Renault, celebrated his first victory in his F1 career. The Brazilian started the race from the pole and he was leading for 67 laps. Michele Alboreto with Ferrari and Patrick Tambay with Renault finished second and third respectively. Sixteen drivers retired in that race and Manfred Winelhock was not classified.

The race was originally scheduled for 70 laps, but at the beginning of lap 67, Ayrton Senna received a ‘one lap to go’ signal from the race director as the race esceeded the two-hour time limit.

The Portuguese Grand Prix was held in Estoril on April 21, 1985, and it was Senna’s first of the 41 Formula One victories.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher raced for the first time in Formula 1 in 1991 at the Belgian Grand Prix, it took him almost a year and in 1992 at the same race, he won his first Grand Prix in F1. The German won with Benetton and it was the first of his 91 victories. Eighteen drivers finished that race, Nigel Mansell with his Williams-Renault took the pole position, but Michael Schumacher, who started third, took the chequered flag.

It was a wet race at the Spa circuit which gave to the German his first F1 victory. At that season, Schumacher finished third in the Drivers’ Championship and scored 53 points. Michael Schumacher’s last Grand Prix was in 2012 at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Nigel Mansell

Two races before the end of the 1985 Formula One season, Nigel Mansell at the European Grand Prix, took his first chequered flag. The race held at Brands Hatch on October 6, 1985. Ayrton Senna was the fastest driver during the qualifying session and with 1:07.169 he took the pole position. Nigel Mansell qualified third and started the race behind the two Brazilians, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.

Frank Williams signed Mansell to drive alongside Keke Rosberg and the Brit said that ‘Keke was probably one of the best team-mates I’ve had in my career’. The British driver won 31 races in total, took 32 pole positions and celebrated one championship in 1992. During his Formula One career, he drove for Lotus, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren.

Jenson Button

Jenson made his Formula One debut in 2000 at the Australian Grand Prix with Williams. The British replaced Alex Zanardi and became the British youngest Formula 1, driver. On August 2006, in Hungary, Button after a long waiting, won his first Grand Prix and finished on the highest step of the podium followed by Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld. In qualifying, Kimi Raikkonen secured the pole position, while Button qualified fourth, but received a 10 place grid penalty due to an engine change.

The track was wet when the race started and Jenson Button fought all the way up to the first position. A collision between Raikkonen and Vitantonio Liuzzi deployed the safety car, at that moment Jenson Button decided to stay out on track and that led him up to the second position behind Fernando Alonso. When the safety car returned into the pits, Button was pushing Alonso but the Britt pitted for fuel, whilst the Spaniard pitted for dry tyres.

When Alonso rejoined the track he had problems with his rear wheel nut, Alonso lost the control of his car and crashed. That allowed to Button to take the lead and remained first until the end of the race.

Sebastian Vettel

Four world titles, 90 podiums, 44 points and 2,194 points are some interesting numbers in Sebastian Vettel’s career. The German, made his F1 debut in Indianapolis Motor Speedway with BMW Sauber and replaced the injured Robert Kubica. Almost a year later, Vettel became the youngest driver in the history of Formula One to win a Grand Prix.

Heavy rain before the start of the race, made the track slippery and that forced the stewards to start the race behind the safety car. When the safety car returned to the pits, Sebastian Vettel increased his lead, from Kovalainen to two seconds and secured his first victory as an F1 driver.

Sebastian Vettel with his Toro Rosso-Ferrari scored 10 points and he was leading the Italian Grand Prix for 306.720 km.

These were a few of the 107 different winners in Formula 1 and I believe that the current grid has some skilful drivers which can increase that number.

Victor Archakis – @FP_Passion

3rd May 20173rd July 2017

Russian Grand Prix: winners and losers

Großer Preis von Russland 2017, Freitag – Steve Etherington / Mercedes AMG Petronas

Winners

Valtteri Bottas: He claimed his first victory in F1, even starting from third and managed to hold his nerve to cross the line ahead of the chasing Vettel. Even with all the talk before the weekend about him going to be the “number two” driver and moving over to let Hamilton past, this weekend Hamilton was off the pace all three days. Will we now see Bottas joining the championship battle and giving Mercedes another driver headache?

Ferrari: They managed to claim their first front row lock out for 9 years on Saturday with Vettel on pole and Räikkönen behind. Even though they lost they lost the lead going into Turn 1, they managed to keep Hamilton behind and take the remaining podium positions, which allowed Vettel to build on his championship lead by another six points. It was also a much needed confidence boost for Räikkönen to get back on the podium after struggling in the first three races. This might keep the “Kimi out” rumours a bit quieter for another couple of weeks.

Force India: What a brilliant weekend for the small team from Silverstone: with both cars in the top ten in qualifying for the first time this season, they managed to build on that in the race to finish sixth and seventh while their main championship rivals struggled. This keeps their 100% points finishes with both cars, and makes Perez the best-of-the-rest in the championship as he ties on points with Ricciardo in seventh. As for Ocon in his first full season in the sport he managed to improve on his run of tenth-place finishes from the previous races, with a superdrive bringing it home in seventh that helped Force India pull a small gap from Williams in the standings.

Nico Hülkenberg: One side of the Renault garage can be happy with a new front wing seemingly helping Hülkenberg’s and Renault’s race pace. He once again managed to get into Q3 and qualified eighth, where he managed to finish the race once again collecting valuable points for the team.

Losers

Lewis Hamilton: Even though he still managed to finish fourth and collect good points, his main championship rival extended his lead, and he was totally out-paced all weekend by his teammate. He only qualified fourth, which was extremely disappointing by his standards, and stayed there all race.

Red Bull: With a second brake failure in as many races costing them even more championship points it’s not looking good for Red Bull. Already a full second slower than Ferrari and Mercedes and with poor reliability too, they really need their B-Spec car to be a huge improvement or it could be a long year.

Williams: Falling behind Force India again, with Massa only managing ninth with a late slow puncture issue which cost him three positions and the team a lot of points. Stroll was also off the pace only finishing eleventh, though doing a good job to take his first race finish, and he has to improve quickly or with the midfield battle so close we could see Williams dropping down the championship. And to make things worse, they even missed out on the fastest pit stop this weekend.

McLaren: Already acquiring penalties for using more engine parts at race four of twenty, its going to be a very long season for Alonso and Vandoorne: even if Honda can fix their reliability issues, there will be many back row starts guaranteed—but at least that’s better than breaking down on the formation lap. It’s not good enough from a team with such great history.

Jolyon Palmer: A very poor weekend for him: crashing in qualifying was the start, and with his teammate Hulkenberg setting a time 1.3s quicker than him Palmer has to quickly rethink his strategy over the next two weeks. Crashing during the race going into Turn 1 didn’t help either, and with many other drivers waiting for a seat could Palmer’s time be running out fast.

Richard Hindson, F1 Correspondent

3rd May 20173rd July 2017

Valtteri Bottas: the dark horse of 2017?

Großer Preis von Russland 2017, Sonntag – Steve Etherington / Mercedes AMG Petronas

Valtteri Bottas secured his first win in Formula 1 last weekend after overcoming the first Ferrari lock-out in nine years. Going into turn two and holding onto the lead, the Finn had seemingly learnt from mistakes made in Bahrain fourteen days beforehand.

The 27-year-old crossed the finish line in Sochi 0.617s ahead of Sebastian Vettel and 36.320s before fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in fourth.

The 25 championship points secured thanks to a near-flawless drive placed the Fin just ten points behind his Mercedes teammate and within a race win of the German leader.

However, Bottas has already shown inconsistency this season—falling from pole in Bahrain to finish third and losing another three places in China where the former Williams man finished sixth.

So is there correlation between this season and the last? Or, is Bottas really in the title chase?

Well, during the first four races of the 2016 campaign Bottas impressed, out-qualifying then-teammate Felipe Massa on three occasions; Bahrain, China and Russia, including a front-row start alongside Nico Rosberg in Sochi.

However, this season seems to be a similar scenario: Bottas has again showed great pace in what seem to be his favoured tracks, but, similar to last year, struggled with the opening race in Australia.

Barcelona again seems to be one that the Finn relishes. The 4.65km circuit was another happy hunting ground for Bottas in 2016 finishing fifth behind both Red Bull and Ferrari after the infamous collision between the Mercedes drivers early on.

However, throughout the remainder of the 2016 campaign, Bottas struggled to match both qualifying and race pace of Williams’ nearest rivals leading to an eighth-placed Drivers’ Championship finish.

The Monaco Grand Prix seemed to be the catalyst for this downfall, with a finish just inside the points which inevitably lead to a fifth-placed Constructors’ Championship finish for Williams—35 points behind Force India.

Using this, you cannot say that Bottas is in the title picture just yet. His downward spiral last season after a promising start showed no evidence that the 27-year-old is able to provide a consistent challenge.

However, if the Finn was to secure similarly impressive qualifying times and results to that of his previous two races, then he may well be considered as the third-horse in a current two-horse race.

Joe Owens, F1 Correspondent

3rd May 20173rd July 2017

Sauber shake-up: more than just engines

Despite the 2017 F1 season still being in its infancy, one team has already raised their proverbial hand in respect of the 2018 season.

The on-track action at Sochi saw both Sauber drivers struggle all weekend, however Marcus Ericsson put on, what Monisha Kaltenborn described as, a fighting performance, to finish in fifteenth place ahead of team mate Pascal Wehrlein who brought home the car in sixteenth place.

It was however the off-track activity that garnered attention after the Swiss outfit announced that they would part ways with long time partner Ferrari in favour of a new engine supplier in 2018—Honda.

Honda, who have faced a barrage of detractors this season including two-time world champion and incumbent McLaren-Honda driver Fernando Alonso are looking forward to the challenge that Sauber will bring, according to Katsuhide Moriyama, Chief Officer, Brand and Communication Operations for Honda.

Kaltenborn likewise sees this as yet another milestone in the storied history of the independent team, who celebrate 25 years in F1 during this 2017 season. The move is in line with changes envisioned by the new ownership of the popular team.

While a feature-length debate could be made about the decision and the advantages and disadvantages to both sides, it has led to an interesting, albeit early look at possible 2018 driver line up.

Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
Wednesday 08 March 2017.
World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _X0W7668 -via Pirelli F1 media

THE McLAREN SIDE AND OTHER MOVES

Kaltenborn has not confirmed any links with the McLaren team; however, if history is to be relied on then it is possible that McLaren may supply Sauber with a gearbox and technical knowledge. This could lead to a driver placement, akin to that utilised by the Mercedes team in recent years. Two names stand out as far as McLaren are concerned:

NYCK DE VRIES

The 22-year-old McLaren Development driver, who is managed by one Anthony Hamilton, is currently racing in the Formula 2 series for Rapax and had been considered for the Ferrari GT programme, but McLaren had retained the faith in their protégé, keeping him in single seaters.

It is faith that seems well-placed, albeit with just the Bahrain F2 round complete, with De Vries finishing in the points in both races, and ahead of his very experienced teammate, giving him 9th place in the championship standings.

2017 FIA Formula 2 Round 1.
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.
Sunday 16 April 2017.
Nyck De Vries (NED, Rapax)
Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2.
ref: Digital Image _56I1747

Why could De Vries make the hypothetical jump to F1 in 2018? For one, he is incredibly quick and a fast learner who could slot in a role next to the more experienced Ericsson (who is fancied to be retained) with ease. In Hamilton, he has a manager who is au faire with the ever-evolving animal that is the F1 paddock and who could make the transition an easier one that most.

His Dutch nationality could also count in his favour: ever since the arrival of Max Verstappen and the entrance of Heineken into F1, the Netherlands has seen an upsurge in the popularity of the sport, which can only be an advantage to De Vries.

OLIVER TURVEY

The 2014 LMP2 Le Mans winner is a favourite in the motorsport world and is McLaren’s test driver having been signed in 2012, and is spending the 2017 season in the Formula E series with NextEV NIO.

Turvey’s racing acumen holds him in excellent stead for a possible entry into F1 and he has the intelligence to take on the technical side given that his Masters dissertation is based on F1 aerodynamics. Turvey will bring a wealth of racing knowledge to a team and would need very little time to learn the dynamics of F1.

2016/2017 FIA Formula E Championship.
Mexico City ePrix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodrguez, Mexico City, Mexico.
Saturday 1 April 2017.
Oliver Turvey (GBR), NextEV NIO, Spark-NEXTEV, NEXTEV TCR Formula 002.
Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
ref: Digital Image _O6I1965

SHAKEN AND STIRRED?

The Sauber Honda partnership has the potential to shake up other driver moves. The current lineup of Ericsson and Wehrlein have not been paired together for very long, given the latter’s slow recovery from injury.

Ericsson has carried the proverbial can at Sauber through the very difficult seasons of late and is expected to be retained by the Hinwil team as a reward for his hard work.

Wehrlein is the heir-apparent at the Mercedes team, albeit only after and if Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas leave the team. If neither of them do in 2018, his position in the Sauber team would fall under the spotlight. Wehrlein is a talented driver but has been unsettled in F1 with the Manor team falling out of the sport and the Sauber 2018 decision.

Pascal Wehrlein (D), Sauber F1 Team.
Bahrain International Circuit.

In the hypothetical scenario of a McLaren man at Sauber-Honda, could Wehrlein be moved to another Mercedes engine team? The simple answer is an obvious yes, but at whose cost? Esteban Ocon has been placing well for the Force India-Mercedes team and has impressed hugely thus far.

Williams have the unique dynamic of Felipe Massa, who retired and then emerged to replace the moving Bottas, and the rookie Lance Stroll. Wehrlein could conceivably replace Massa at Williams, if the proverbial powers that be are happy to pair relative “rookies” together.

If Wehrlein leaves Sauber, it seems likely that his best fit would be at Williams, rather than upsetting the good pair Force India.

The crystal ball of F1 is one that is foggy at the best of times. Sauber’s decision is not merely confined to that of an engine supplier (which is a debate for another time). It has the potential to affect the driver market much like a domino ripple. In a sport where tenure is as certain as a few seasons ago, this thought, we can assure you, is not lost on the drivers, even this early in 2017.

Sauber have always been the dreamers and chance takers of F1 and the Honda decision is no different. All that remains to be seen is who will take this jump with them.

Rhea Morar, deputy F1 editor

1st May 20171st August 2017

Contrast In Characters

The weekend passed and for some motor racing fans, memories of twenty-three years ago remained as strong and emotional as ever.

Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were two contrasting characters from different backgrounds who are now tied by a date.

Senna’s rise and subsequent legendary status in motor racing has been told many times in articles, books and on film. What isn’t so well documented is that Roland Ratzenberger is a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.

He had forged his way to Formula One via Formula Ford, Formula 3, Touring Cars and Sportscar racing. It was in 1993 he was co-driver with Mauro Martini and Naoki Nagasaka in a SARD Toyota 93C-V when they took the C2 class title at Le Mans. One year later Ratzenberger would find himself in F1 with the Simtek team.

I never had the honour in meeting my racing hero, Ayrton Senna, but I did have the pleasure in meeting Roland Ratzenberger. It was 1987 and I was just starting out on my writing adventure as a junior admin. I bumped into a young Roland, who was testing in British Formula 3. I had been involved in karting at the time and when it became apparent I was not going to make it in racing I decided to write about it.

That is how the initial conversation with Roland came about, our mutual love of racing. I could see the passion in his eyes when he spoke, it was so infectious and as a young teenager it spurred me on to put that kind of passion into my writing.

I was a doing a piece on testing for the team we were assisting around press work and I just found Roland so friendly and accommodating. He would take time out to speak with me about the car and giving his opinion on how it was handling, the conditions out on track and his thoughts on other drivers in the championship. These opinions were always courteous and I never once heard him talk rubbish about another driver.

It was in 1991 when I was now assisting with some Le Mans promotional work when I happened to bump into Roland again. He was co-driving with Will Hoy and Eje Elgh in a Porsche 962C. Not only did he remember me from those years earlier, he remembered my name. We had a chat about Le Mans and he was so excited about the direction his career was heading. He also put aside his own ambitions and was asking me how my writing was developing and wished me luck on my adventure. That was the mark of the man.

Two years later he would be a class winner at Le Mans.

Senna had quickly grown to become my racing idol. The man could be a confusing paradox with his thoughts on life, religion and racing and he did split opinions on his racing style at times with fans. My love of all things Senna stemmed from his days with Toleman. Any racing fan worth their weight in gold could see what a talent he was even then. I was young and had no real concept of his rise through karting and the lower single-seater series at that time. It was not until later in life when I was able to read back when it added to the legend of the man.

There will always be debate on who the greatest Formula One driver of all time is, based on opinions, facts and figures but in my humble opinion Ayrton Senna was and still is the greatest driver to grace Formula One. Even Michael Schumacher said that Senna was the greatest and he’s won more titles than anybody else.

That weekend, twenty-three years ago, was the only time I have ever cried as a racing fan. Not only did a man I had met, worked with and found so friendly lost his life doing a sport he was so passionate about, the very next day the motor racing world lost a legend.

A very difficult weekend for racing (add to that the injury to Rubens Barrichello) and one which I found difficult to watch back until recently.

It feels like yesterday since we lost these two men.

A contrast of characters who are both now connected by one tragic weekend.

I will never forget either man.

See you at the chequered flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

1st May 20173rd July 2017

Renault Barcelona MGU-K Upgrade

The dust has settled on an uneventful Russian Grand Prix, with no on-track overtakes from lap two through to the finish (we are not including when Ricciardo slowed due to the fire in his right rear brake). Very much a power related track the Renault-engined cars struggled in sectors one and two on the long straights. A Herman Tilke-designed track always tends to have two long straights if you look at the likes of Austin and Sepang.

Renault-engined cars reverted back to their 2016 MGU-K at the start of the season due to the poor reliability in pre-season testing, but is keen to bring the new version back. Their 2017 version is five kilograms lighter, and packs more power within itself. Renault said that whilst they race with 2016 they will look at solutions to fix the reliability and introduce as soon as possible, and the fifth round in Barcelona was the goal.

In such a complex era of Formula One a matter of centimetres and grams makes a huge difference. Scenarios such as Verstappen not having a drinks bottle in Australia is equivalent to one kilogram, as well as the twenty-centimetre wheelbase difference between the Ferrari and Mercedes making Ferrari extremely strong in the more twisty section of Russia.

A supposed huge engine upgrade by Renault is due for the Canadian Grand Prix, with that and this being implemented the power of the Renault engine could finally be unleashed.

Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

With a B-spec chassis coming for Red Bull in Spain, and a power upgrade there or in Canada, could it heat up the battle at the front? With arguably the most exciting driver partnership, throwing Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo into the mix sure does add a sense of excitement.

It doesn’t only help the energy drinks giants, but for their partners Toro Rosso & Renault an upgrade should give them the boost they need. Renault need something to kick start their season, especially Jolyon Palmer: after a string of poor results and a turn one incident at Russia, surely the frustration is building inside the Englishman.

Toro Rosso originally looked like in testing the fourth-fastest team, with a very similar design to the Silver Arrows in terms of suspension and front end. But just as with their year-old Ferrari engines last season, the power aspect with Renault is once more what they are struggling with.

As a whole Renault seem to be on the up in terms of the engine department, just down to the teams now to improve their chassis and aerodynamics.

Chris Lord, F1 Correspondent

1st May 20173rd July 2017

Opinion: Palmer risks losing the chance of a lifetime

Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team on the grid.
Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday 17th April 2017. Sakhir, Bahrain.

For most racing drivers, the wealth of opportunities Jolyon Palmer has enjoyed in the infancy of his F1 career is the stuff of dreams. Signed up by one of the sport’s most prestigious manufacturer outfits after a year of extensive test and reserve running with Lotus, retained by Renault for 2017 despite scoring just a single point last year, and now given a car capable of regular top ten appearances—it’s a dizzying height at which to begin one’s Formula One journey.

But if Palmer’s season doesn’t begin to improve soon, he stands at risk of throwing his once-in-a-lifetime chance away.

Having been given some reassurance following a rocky debut campaign, it was expected that Palmer would begin to settle into his seat at Renault, providing a degree of stability and consistency whilst the team worked to integrate Nico Hülkenberg into their development programme.

But in actuality, Palmer has so far finished only two of the opening four races, both times a lap down in thirteenth position. His 2017 scorecard is also blotted by costly shunts in practice and qualifying sessions, not to mention his race-ending collision with Romain Grosjean in Russia, and although the Briton made his first top ten qualifying appearance in the Bahrain Grand Prix, he has also twice lined up on the back row of the grid.

To a team like Renault, these results will be seen as nothing short of unacceptable. The opening flyaway races have shown that on pure pace and potential, Renault should be fighting the likes of Williams and Force India this season; yet when it comes to the points table, the French marque has only just begun to pull away from Sauber and McLaren.

Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17.
Russian Grand Prix, Sunday 30th April 2017. Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia. Courtesy of Renault Sport F1 Team

Of course, in the spirit of fairness the blame for Renault’s thus-far underwhelming points haul cannot be laid squarely at Palmer’s door. Neither of the Briton’s two DNFs this year have been entirely his fault—his brake failure in Melbourne especially—and both he and Hülkenberg have suffered from tyre degradation issues that have held back the potential of the RS17.

But on the other hand, for it to be said that Renault have missed out on genuine opportunities they at least need to have their cars running in points positions to begin with, which means logging the kind of qualifying results that Palmer has so far only been able to produce the once.

In 2016, performances of this kind could largely go unnoticed for Palmer. He had the allowance that it was his debut season, and also that his car was—in the gentlest of terms—a handful. Renault wasn’t expecting much more than it got and Palmer knew his seat was relatively safe, if only because the team would have a hard job convincing anyone else to take it.

Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17.
Formula One Testing, Day 4, Thursday 2nd March 2017. Barcelona, Spain. Image courtesy of Renault Sport F1 Team

But a year on and there is no longer any such place to hide for Palmer. With Renault targeting the top five of the Constructors’ Championship and Hülkenberg proving that goal to be more than possible, any absence of results from Palmer’s side of the garage can be easily traced back to the driver.

And unlike last year, Palmer will now face a very real threat of being dropped from his seat if he cannot keep that deficit to his teammate under control. He doesn’t have to be matching Hülkenberg point-for-point, but he does need to begin showing Renault that he is an asset to the team, that they do in fact have two drivers capable of qualifying well and bringing home consistent, constructive results.

What’s more, he will need to start doing so soon—if the opening rounds were a grace period for getting used to the new breed of F1 cars, then that period is now over, and Palmer will need to hit the ground running in the European season before talk turns to contracts over the summer.

If he can’t, there’s no doubt that a rejuvenated Renault will have a much easier time finding an ambitious and dependable new driver to put in his place. It’s worth remembering the words of Palmer’s own father Jonathan, no less, speaking to The Guardian about his son’s promotion last year: “If you don’t make the best of the opportunity you’re going to get spat out very quickly”.

James Matthews, Deputy Editor

1st May 20173rd July 2017

What have we learnt from the first four races of 2017

Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Russia.
Sunday 30 April 2017.
World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images
ref: Digital Image _X4I8803 – Courtesy of Pirelli F1 Media

What have we learnt from the first four races of the season?

Mercedes and Ferrari are in a different league to the rest of the field. It was staggering to see that in Russia alone, the difference between Hamilton in fourth and Ricciardo in fifth was over a second in each of the three qualifying sessions. We know that The Tag Heuer branded Renault has some deficiencies to both the Mercedes and Ferrari power units, but we wouldn’t have been expecting to see a second gap between the top two teams and their third placed competitors. It’s going to have to be a wet or mixed up race with several safety cars if we are going to see anything other than a silver or red car taking the chequered flag.

Even without the win at the weekend, it is fair to say that Bottas has found his feet pretty quickly at Mercedes. He’s out qualified Lewis in half of the races so far and has just as many wins as him. To say that it’s an even head to head is to mis-read the statistics on purpose. No-one is going to be arguing that Bottas is as good as Hamilton already, but the Finn has certainly rattled his cage with some confident driving.

Either Lewis underestimated his new team mate or he underestimated the challenge which would be coming from the Ferrari’s, but he has changed his happy tune in the last few weeks. Initially, when Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix, Lewis seemed pleased that he was going to be having a challenge from somewhere. Now he knows that he might well be fighting off the pressure from Vettel, Bottas and maybe even Raikkonen.

At the other end of the spectrum is the other World Champion attempting to even get to the start line. Alonso is not being subtle with his interactions in the media and pointing out that he has driven the best lap of his life just to get into Q2 is merely highlighting the fact that he wants a good car. Either from Honda or from another team.

When Alonso moved to McLaren, he knew they would not be competitive right away and accepted this with his reportedly £25.5 million a year pay cheque. Two years further down the road and the power unit actually looks worse. If the figures reported are correct, then Alonso has earnt £46,500 per race lap he has completed this year. Even that is not enough compensation for ruining three years of a world-class career.

It’s been really positive that the sole focus of the race weekend has not be the tyre degradation and how Pirrelli’s are performing. The new spec look to have matched the requirements the teams have laid out. They do degrade and there is a difference between the performance of the compounds, but they don’t seem to suddenly fall of the cliff and become useless.

On the useless note, the announcement that Honda are to power Sauber was interesting. One of two things have gone on here. Either Honda have decided that they can’t get faster or more competitive and therefore will just slow down the rest of the competition. OR Sauber have money issues and Honda have offered them a lot of money to become the second factory team. A long-term deal would really suit the Swiss team and could be the security they need. The extra data and running times should help out Honda and then the McLaren team might have a decent engine.

Andy Robinson