Ever had the feeling that you’re sticking with someone (or something) purely to see if things will get better or not?
I’m in this situation currently, and don’t worry, everything’s rosy in my personal life, but a long time love affair of mine is soon to come to an end it seems. Like the Righteous Brothers, I’ve lost that loving feeling.
I’ll cut to the chase, I’ve been watching Formula One for 15 years, and in those 15 years I’ve staunchly stuck by F1. Even after the US Grand Prix debacle in 2005, when my favourite drivers Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button et al departed. But now I’m struggling to find any enthusiasm for my beloved sport.
Sure this is a tad dramatic and over the top, but I’ve spoken to a few people who’ve suffered the same fate, so I aren’t alone.
I’ve been following the British Touring Car Championship closely this season, article on that to come, and I’ve enjoyed watching that both live and in replays on TV a lot more than I’ve enjoyed F1 in a long time.
I used to religiously watch every session, eyes bolted to the TV, and I’d even watch the highlights a few hours later. But this season I can honestly say I’ve watched two maybe three races live, and even then I’ve struggled to stay enthused. I’d rather see how people are reacting to it on Twitter, because it’s more fun.
What I don’t know is, is why now? I’ve seen some of the worst of F1 in these last few years, the sad deaths of Jules Bianchi and Maria De Villota, scandal after scandal, and dominance aplenty, with Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes all enjoying spells during my time with the sport.
I’ve also endured races being built up as the second coming but turning into damp squibs before my eyes. Case in point being the recent Singapore GP. Ferrari were tipped to be stronger and take the fight to Lewis Hamilton. However neither Prancing Horse saw the first corner, and Lewis romped to victory.
I’m not saying this is the end for us, I’ll still watch and keep up with F1. I mean I can name every champion ever In just over a minute (it’s my party trick), and I have so much knowledge about it that to put that to waste would be a shame.
I’ve complained a lot but I’ve seen some magnificent stuff too. May I present the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix? Four hours of F1, resulting in Jenson Button snatching victory from Sebastian Vettel on the very last lap after being sent to the back of the pack twice. Races like that realise how good F1 can be.
I’ll still watch, but I don’t think I’ll be as enthused as I once was, unless like in all classic love stories it does something to make me stay. Again, a tad dramatic but that’s me, all bells and whistles.
I’ll stick to watching archive footage from a time gone by, much like my music taste, I fear I was born at the wrong time. Now I hear you sharpening your anti-millennial pitchforks. “I was born in the wrong generation,” a typical phrase nowadays, but genuinely, I know how lucky I am to be alive now and not then, but it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened if I was.
What I’d have given to watch greats like Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and so on live and in the flesh.
Anyway, that’s enough of this, I have faith in the sport I’ve followed religiously, and I don’t think it’s time to cancel my F1 Racing subscription just yet. Though like Vettel’s 2017 title chances, it’s very much in the last chance saloon.
Running as the main event this weekend in Jerez, Formula 2 seemed determined to offer up drama and madness to the very last lap of the very last race. And if the on track action was not enough, Jerez provided us with the crowning of the series’ first champion, as Charles Leclerc secured the title on Saturday bagging himself back to back GP3 and Formula 2 championships in his bid to earn himself a seat on the 2018 Formula 1 grid.
His qualifying performance on Friday saw him take his eighth pole position of the season, officially equalling Stoffel Vandoorne’s record for the most poles in a season of GP2/F2. Lining up beside him was Russian Time’s Luca Ghiotto, who was looking for a late season surge to seal the Vice-Champion title. And behind them was MP Motorsport’s Sergio Sette Camara, the youngest driver in the field who has hit his form since his win in Belgium. Likely to Leclerc’s relief, his nearest rival Oliver Rowland only managed fourth in qualifying. Knowing that he needed to outscore Leclerc to stay in contention, Rowland had made his job a little harder than it needed to be.
The start of Saturday’s feature race went exactly to plan for Leclerc, who pulled away and began building a gap between himself and the rest of the field almost immediately. With perhaps a hint of desperation, but all the guts and determination worthy of a championship contender, Rowland overtook Sette Camara in the opening laps in an aggressive move that was entirely necessary to keep his title hopes alive. He set about trying to find away past Ghiotto, but while he battled away with the Italian, Leclerc was storming away in front. Eventually he found a way past on lap eleven, with a stunning move coming into turn one, but by this point, Leclerc was several seconds up the road.
Photo: Andrew Ferraro/FIA Formula 2
The first round of pit stops began on lap seven, but the leader did not pit until lap twelve, followed closely by Rowland. While Leclerc was able to inherit the net lead of the race, with only the drivers running the alternate strategy ahead of him, Rowland found himself stuck behind Camara and Albon, both of whom had successfully undercut him. It was around this time, when everyone was completing their first pit stops, that it became apparent that the DRS system was not working correctly after it became disabled for seemingly no reason. Whilst not detrimental to the race, it would turn out to be the first in a sizeable list of malfunctions that would occur over the weekend.
After cutting his way through the field, Leclerc retook the lead of the race on lap twenty-one, with Rowland trying to follow, but struggling due to the greater number of drivers he had to overtake. And despite the Brit setting several blistering lap times in his pursuit of the Ferrari junior driver, he couldn’t quite find the pace to close up the gap fully.
The race almost looked like it would run its course to an untroubled end, with Leclerc taking the title comfortably. That was until there was contact between Santino Ferrucci and Nobuharu Matsushita on lap thirty-two which, after a lap’s delay in which not even a single yellow flag was waved (despite debris on track and Ferrucci’s car beached in the gravel at turn one), the safety car was deployed.
Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2
As the field bunched together and Leclerc lost the advantage he had worked so hard to gain, it became apparent that some of the late stoppers might be able to use their fresher tyres to make a last minute dash for the podium positions, and possibly even the win. But the real headache for the front runners was the fact that the lapped cars of Sean Gelael and Louis Deletraz either would not or could not, unlap themselves and found themselves caught in the middle of the battle between Leclerc and Rowland with the championship at stake.
To make matters worse when racing resumed neither car was shown blue flags and began to battle with the frontrunners, making it so much harder for Rowland to catch Leclerc, who had bolted at the restart. Rowland even came under pressure from Leclerc’s teammate Antonio Fuoco who had made a stunning recovery drive from fifteenth on the grid and benefitted massively from the late safety car to eventually finish third.
In the end Charles Leclerc was only 0.2 seconds ahead of Rowland when he crossed the line. But it was enough to take the title with three races to spare, an achievement he duly dedicated to his late father after clinching victory in a tribute helmet modelled after one of his father’s own.
Photo: Andrew Ferraro/FIA Formula 2
Formula 2 debutante Alex Palou, racing for Campos in place of Robert Visoiu, took reverse grid pole for Sunday’s sprint race after completing the impressive feat of scoring points on debut. After a delayed start due to a broken down safety car, the race got underway about fifteen minutes later than planned, with Palou making a perfect start and managing to pull away as the rest of the field formed a train behind him.
The feature race on Saturday had proved that while some teams suited the medium tyres (the compound all drivers start on in sprint races), others, including Prema, found it incredibly difficult to maintain any consistent speed with them, and struggled badly for grip. That led to a series of pit stops, which are ordinarily only taken if unavoidable due to the low number of laps in a sprint race.
Amongst the stoppers were the Prema teammates, who, after making their way up to fourth and fifth, found themselves slipping down the order, and crucially behind the DAMS and Russian Times drivers, who they are now fighting with for the team’s championship. And the switch to the soft tyre proved to be the right one. Both Leclerc and Fuoco were posting lap times that were around three seconds quicker than the cars in front of them.
While the Prema pair tried to work their way back through the field Nicholas Latifi and Markelov had closed the gap to Palou who was also beginning to struggle with his tyres. The ensuing battle between the three of them allowed Rowland, who was running in fourth place, to join the fray.
Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2
Though Palou coped well under the enormous pressure being applied by the more experienced drivers he was finally passed by Markelov, who had used his uncanny ability to manage his tyres to kick his pace up a gear with just a handful of laps to go. Palou would eventually fall from the podium places with the DAMS drivers Latifi and Rowland able to score a double podium for their team, and the Spaniard would ultimately finish in eighth place.
Markelov would be able to pull away and win by a stunning margin of eleven seconds earned through pitch perfect strategy and timing. Though both Fuoco and Leclerc did make it back into the points, the overtaking and fighting took it out of their softer tyres, and the best the new champion could do was seventh place, which his teammate leading him home in fifth, with Nyck de Vries sandwiched between them. Despite being run off the track on the first lap and having the fight his way from plumb last, Luca Ghiotto made a single stop strategy work for him as well to make an excellent recovery to finish in fourth place.
Photo: Zak Mauger/FIA Formula 2
It will come as a surprise to few to see Charles Leclerc wrap up the championship so emphatically with a round to spare, but that does not mean there is nothing left to play for when Formula 2 returns in Abu Dhabi for its final two races of 2017. The question of who will take home the title of vice-champion still remains unanswered, and while it may seem like something of a consolation, second and third place in the championship each come with forty super license points – the number required to be eligible for a FIA super license and to be able to compete in Formula 1.
The battle to win the F2 team’s title is also incredibly close, with Prema, DAMS and Russian Time all within six points of each other. It’s anyone’s guess as to who will take home that prize when the chequered flag falls on the sprint race in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton’s second place at the Malaysian Grand Prix coupled with Sebastian Vettel’s fourth meant that the Brit extended his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship to 34 points.
But that doesn’t begin to tell the story of this and indeed the previous race in Singapore.
Vettel missed the last ever qualifying at the Sepang International Circuit, despite an attempt at an installation lap, due to a Power Unit issue.
Consequently, he started last while Hamilton started pole. Hamilton himself was meant to be flanked by Vettel’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
That never happened as the Finn’s turbo failed and he never even made it to the grid.
Game over?
Well, no.
Red Bull have put themselves back into the reckoning over the previous two races, with Daniel Riccardo close in Singapore and Max Verstappen also back on the pace.
Verstappen was quick all weekend in Malaysia and, once past Hamilton in the early stages of the race, simply disappeared into the distance.
While all this was going on, Vettel was making his way up the order and the off-colour Valtteri Bottas was easily dealt with. A late attack on Ricciardo for third was eventually blunted, but the race was a show of force from Ferrari that still has Hamilton worrying.
Singapore and Malaysia are two completely different circuits, and despite the results, Ferrari have shown themselves to be considerably quicker at both of them.
For Vettel, that form will have to carry on over the last five races, not least because of a possible grid penalty for a potential gearbox change after a bizarre post-race collision with Lance Stroll’s Williams.
As for the title race, don’t count your chickens just yet.
2017 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday – Wolfgang Wilhelm
Ferrari has ruined their best chance at winning a driver’s title since 2013 and their first constructor’s title since 2008, it was always going to be a bit of a stretch due to Raikkonen being fourth best out of the two teams, he even finds himself behind Ricciardo in the championship.
Since the hybrid era began, Singapore has been a track on which Mercedes had never been able to adapt, other teams were able to be much closer to them than they are at other circuits. Nico Rosberg did break the trend last year, but if the race was slightly longer then Ricciardo may have got him on fresh rubber. It seemed a case of deja vu for the silver arrows team once more with them locking out the third row and Vettel producing probably the best lap of his life to beat the two Red Bulls who had looked mighty around the floodlit streets. Raikkonen was once again in fourth, looking like a rear gunner.
The weather had been temperamental all weekend, with heavy showers duringthe day and even an almighty monsoon during Saturday afternoon. This was officially the first ever wet night race, as the rain came and went in the build-up to the race It was pretty much decided that with 10-15 minutes to go that the track was wet enough for intermediates, some decided to go on full wets, even in the dry this is a track that keeps you on your toes, especially as it continues to have a very high chance of a safety car.
The calm before the storm came as they lined up in their grid positions, the lights went out and away they went. Raikkonen and Hamilton made the best start of the top teams, Vettel and Ricciardo were rather tardy. Raikkonen went down the inside of Verstappen generally the safer route, whilst Hamilton went on the outside. Vettel much like his hero Schumacher decided to close the gap, very risky on a wet track, closing the door to where Verstappen could go. Vettel didn’t see what an amazing start Raikonnen made, so he was actually squeezing two cars which never would have worked. Verstappen was not in a bad position with only some front wing damage, but Raikkonen got damaged and was a passenger as he careered into Verstappen also collecting Alonso, and in the end, retiring the three. Vettel has also managed to continue, but not for long, his car was severely damaged, spewing out its fluids, spinning and hitting the wall. Hamilton must have thought all his Christmas’ had come at once at once, to find himself leading the race and realistically the only challenger forvictory would be Ricciardo. Hamilton was, as always, good in the changing conditions and was easily gaining time on the Aussie, radio messages weren’t broadcast but it seems early on he had a gearbox problem, more woe for Red Bull. He managed to get the car home but all Hamilton had to do was to keep it out of the wall.
Due to three safety car periods, the race lasted two hours rather than the full distance being completed, but full points were awarded. Hamilton won his 60th Grand Prix, and now has his eyes firmly set on a fourth world title, while Vettel still has it all to do. Vettel, Raikkonen and Verstappen were called individually to the stewards to investigate the first corner drama, The stewards could not point the finger at anyone but from the public response, Vettel was the catalyst in the situation. It was placed as a racing incident, many expecting a penalty for Vettel, but losing further points to Hamilton is punishment enough for the German.
Has the Championship already been decided? As the legendary Murray Walker would say ‘Anything can happen in Formula 1 and it usually does!’ Just look at Malaysia last year, Hamilton’s ‘No, No, No’ moment, when he was clear of the field. Singapore was a major turning point but is there one last twist in the 2017 season?
With the Singapore Grand Prix next on the calendar, most fans and pundits are focused on the close Drivers Championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. Discussions abound over which chassis is better suited to the Marina Bay circuit, which drivers will cope better with the heat, possibly tyre strategies, and the like. Underneath all the excitement lies the fact that this may be the last time that the Lion City hosts a Grand Prix. Though the 2018 calendar lists Singapore provisionally on 16 September, the current contract expires this year and hasn’t yet been renewed.
It would be foolish for Liberty Media and Singapore GP Pte Ltd to miss the opportunity to renew. The benefits are too great to both sides, and losing the Singapore Grand Prix would be a blow not only to Formula One, but to Singapore as well.
While there are other city circuits on the calendar, the nighttime schedule brings a wealth of character and spectacle to the race. The Marina Bay circuit is challenging, and popular with television viewers, drivers, the media, advertisers – it seems that everyone loves Singapore.
Singapore benefits greatly from this love. Formula One has a significant halo effect, raising the profile and prestige of Singapore by showcasing the city to a global audience. Tourism obviously benefits, but beyond tourism there are a host of ancillary business and networking opportunities found at a Grand Prix. It’s a glamorous event, and the highly competitive nature of the sport attracts highly competitive individuals from many other sectors. While the global television feed tends to focus on recognizable faces in entertainment and sport, many other powerful and influential figures are to be found in attendance. Significant deals are often begun during the race weekend.
The net economic benefit? A cool $1 billion over 10 years from the race itself, and another $1 billion in increased tourism and investment, even taking into account the lost retail sales, traffic congestion, and other tourism losses during the event.
Singaporeans in turn are glad for the Grand Prix. According to a YouGov poll, close to 70% of Singaporeans think that the Grand Prix has been positive for Singapore, and 57% want to see the race continue. Indeed, many Singaporeans who aren’t Formula One fans recognize these benefits and believe that the race is worth keeping. Even with the disruptions, the Singaporeans who are directly affected feel that as long as the Grand Prix helps raise Singapore’s profile in the region and the world, and as long as it continues to drive tourism and foreign spending, they’ll manage. It doesn’t hurt that around 80% of the spending on the event goes directly into the local economy. Local firms are involved in every aspect of the event, from circuit setup, to security, to transport.
It’s clear that reasons abound for Singapore to press for renewal, but there are compelling reasons for Formula One as well. With Malaysia out of the picture, Singapore is the sole location in Southeast Asia to host a Grand Prix. This is a key growth market for Liberty Media for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the youth factor. This is a young region with a growing middle class, and they’re eager for travel, sport, and entertainment. In the above-mentioned YouGov poll, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Sydney are the three cities Southeast Asian residents would like to see host new races, but as prior expansion efforts have shown it takes some time to develop a new Grand Prix. While Liberty Media works to expand Formula One through Southeast Asia, Singapore represents an invaluable anchor for Formula One in the region. Its loss would do great damage to the sport’s growth.
These same demographics in the region make the Singapore Grand Prix highly valuable to brands and advertisers as well. It will come as little surprise that the YouGov poll reflects that Ferrari takes the top spot in brand recognition, but they’re not the only ones. Red Bull, Shell, and Mercedes also gain valuable brand recognition in the region via the Grand Prix. Marketing returns are key to brand participation in Formula One, and losing regional exposure will hurt these companies. Liberty Media will only benefit by keeping this constituency’s interests in mind.
It’s clear that everyone will benefit from a renewed Singapore Grand Prix. It’s now up to Liberty Media and Singapore GP Pte Ltd to make it possible.
After a dominant Mercedes win on Ferrari’s home turf at Monza that saw Lewis Hamilton gain the Drivers Championship lead by 3 points, the Formula One world packs its bags for the flyaway races that finish out the season. Next up on the calendar is the dramatic night race in Singapore, taking over the center of the Lion City for possibly the final time. Will we see any major upsets? Who or what will intrude on the track this year?
Unsurprisingly, the ultrasoft compound constitutes the majority of the tyres selected for the weekend. Most drivers will have 10 sets of ultrasofts, though there’s a good mix of supersofts as well. Haas is the outlier here, with both Grosjean and Magnussen opting for 4 sets of supersofts, 1 set of softs, and only 8 sets of ultrasofts.
We may as well begin with McLaren, as they’re already on everyone’s minds. Though official confirmation is to come later in the week, it’s an open secret that McLaren and Honda are splitting up, with Toro Rosso picking up the Honda engine supply and McLaren picking up Renault power, and Renault picking up Carlos Sainz in the midst of this engine-based musical chairs. Alonso will stay at McLaren, and everyone’s happy except probably Jolyon Palmer, who will lose his seat barring a miracle.
In actual McLaren RACE news, Alonso expects some points in Singapore. As it’s a lower-speed circuit McLaren may well be able to hold a good position provided they don’t have to tax the Honda power units too much.
Mercedes will be keen to work hard to consolidate Lewis’ hairs-breadth 3-point lead in the Drivers Championship as well as shore up their 62-point lead in the Constructors Championship. Bottas, his race seat secure with Mercedes for 2018, has indicated that if he’s in P2 behind Hamilton he’ll gladly help the team out rather ‘than try something silly’. On the media front, this being Mercedes, Toto Wolff is busily talking up Ferrari and Red Bull’s chances. Niki Lauda’s also sanguine on Ferrari. How much of this is genuine concern and how much is the typical Mercedes under-promising remains to be seen, though Ferrari have mounted a substantial challenge to Mercedes this season, and Red Bull providing some surprises of their own.
Ferrari will certainly be keen to work their magic to take the Drivers Championship lead back and take a nice chunk out of the Sliver Arrows’ Constructors Championship lead. As they’ve done well at low-speed circuits this year and Vettel has won at Singapore twice as many times as Hamilton, Ferrari pose a real threat to Mercedes, though it remains to be seen if Kimi Raikkonen is as keen to be a team player as his fellow Finn Bottas. Though they may stop short of actual team orders, Ferrari would be foolish to not heavily favor Vettel in Singapore.
After strategic grid penalties overshadowing the Bulls’ stellar qualifying performance in the wet at Monza, and an unfortunate early incident putting Max Verstappen on the back foot, the Bulls are optimistic that Singapore presents the best chance of a win at this stage of the season. As they’ve historically done well on lower-speed, higher-downforce circuits, this isn’t a vain hope provided they can avoid further grid penalties. Good results at Singapore won’t hurt their driver morale either, as both Ricciardo and Verstappen desire a winning car.
Coming fresh off a double-points finish that happily featured no on-track fisticuffs between their drivers, Force India brings upgrades to Singapore. They’ll doubtless be keen to keep Perez and Ocon well in hand, and look to extend their 58-point lead over Williams in the Constructors Champtionship, further consolidating their fourth place standing.
Williams, meanwhile, is focusing on a strong finish to the season. Their gap to Force India isn’t insurmountable, but with only 7 races left including Singapore they need to raise their performance game with immediate effect. As they’ve struggled to make the most of the FW40 all season, it’s likely they’ll remain solidly in the middle of the field.
Toro Rosso, only 15 points behind Williams, should turn in a respectable performance at Singapore barring on-track incidents or unforeseen grid penalties.
Haas, meanwhile, are confident that their good aerodynamic efficiency with high-downforce configurations will pay off, so long as they can stay in the tyre window.
Regarding Renault, they’re expecting a better performance in Singapore due to the higher downforce levels at Singapore. Meanwhile, if Nico Hülkenberg doesn’t claim a podium finish he’ll set the unenviable record for most Grand Prix stars without podium finishes. He’s currently tied with Adrian Sutil at 128, and Singapore will make 129. Palmer, meanwhile, desperately needs to find performance, with his F1 future now almost certainly at stake.
Sauber faces what may be their final chance of this season to get ahead of McLaren. They’ve done heroic work with year-old power units and the upsets in management, but it’s a long shot.
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Sunday 09 July 2017. World Copyright: Andy Hone/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _ONY3502
As we head into the the latter end of the 2017 season, one by one at Pit Crew we are looking into each individual team with specific weeks. This we look into the Austrian outfit Red Bull Racing. The drivers continued from the 2016 season with Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who always is a joy to watch with deep braking and has a cracking personality. Dutchman ‘Go big or go home’ Max Verstappen also stays, his first full season in the Red Bull after his halfway season swap with Danil Kyvat in 2016 from Toro Rosso. Many think that Red Bull have the best driving partnership on the grid.
Pre-Season
Everyone was optimistic about Red Bull’s chances for the 2017 season. The regulation changes were based on aerodynamics for the season forthcoming and Red Bull always are known for their grear aerodynamics and chassis. It was hoping with that it would outweigh the deficit that the Renault has in terms of horsepower to Ferrari and Mercedes. In the original release of the Red Bull the car looked very basic unlike its rivals, which raised concern. It did have the unique hole in its nose. This did though made the car launch more popular.
In the pre-season tests pace did look promising as day by day additions were coming in from Milton Keynes to adapt onto their RB13. Their car was building well, but again reliability was something that was out of their control. Much like Renault and Toro Rosso their gearbox and engines had problems, so much so they had to revert to 2016 items for the first few races. These were heavier and less powerful which hindered them. The cars still looked very basic compared to the depth of sidepod changes that Ferrari had between 2016 & 2017. They also did not introduce a T-Wing till later in the season. Adrian Newey at this time was away so did not have his full say in the car’s full design.
Australia, Melbourne
This was where we first saw the order of the pack, and it showed that Red Bull were in No Mans Land, as per 2016, it seems Deja Vu for the Austrian team. They were too far behind to challenge Ferrari & Mercedes, but too far ahead to be challenged by Force India & Williams. Their race pace was promising but just lack outright qualifying speed. Ricciardo had a weekend to forget, in Q3 he ended up in the wall after a rare mistake. His car then failed twice on Sunday, on the way to the grid, missing the start, and then towards the end of the first sector halfway through the race on lap 25. Verstappen qualified 5th and then finished 5th. He ended much closer to Raikonnen than people expected. Seemed to set the trend that as per mentioned the race pace of the RB13 is strong but lacks outright speed on Saturday.
Driver Points: Verstappen 10 – Ricciardo 0
China, Shanghai
The Chinese Grand Prix was hindered significantly in its Friday running, when the weather restricted the medical helicopter to fly. Only 20 mins of practice was raced throughout weekend. Reliability gremlins were still in the Red Bull pit area following on from Austrailia but this time it was Verstappen that struggled. He suffered with power deficit and the Shanghai back straight is one of longest of the season, it resulted in him being knocked out in Q1. Ricciardo was best of the rest, qualifying 5th, very much a role reversal from Austrailia.
The weather had a say in the race on Sunday, the majority of the track was dry, but on the main straight and few areas it was still wet from overnight rain. 19/20 drivers started on intermediates. Verstappen due to penalties started 16th, his start was simply amazing! He was up in the top ten crossing the line into lap 2 through passing at the start and midpack collisions. Verstappen was coy and through use of his skill as per seen in Brazil last year and the early safety car he managed to finish an incredible 3rd. Ricciardo was hot on his heels finishing 4th. Great wheel to wheel action but it was kept clean. A much better weekend for the Austrian outfit with a double points finish. Verstappen moved to 3rd in the drivers championship, whilst Ricciardo scored his first points of the season.
Driver Points: Verstappen 25 – Ricciardo 12
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Sunday 09 July 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _54I1370
Bahrain, Sakhir
The form of China carried on into the desert of Bahrain. The team looking closer again to the two in front of them. It was just once again, they couldn’t turn their engine up like them. Mercedes had on average a 2 second difference from their Q1 time to Q3 whilst Red Bull only found a second. They were edging closer though, Ricciardo managed to out qualify Raikonnen’s Ferrari. The car was looking better, new additions around the front end of the car was to blame.
They both started well in the Grand Prix, but then on lap 11 after a pit stop for Verstappen trouble happened, heading to the end of sector 1, the second heavy braking area around the track the car didn’t respond to him, it ground to halt in the gravel. He unfortunately retired due to a brake failure. Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll had an incident as well which brought out the safety car, Ricciardo was caugh among a controversial move by Hamilton. He ended at the end of the period ahead of the British driver. Hamilton turned up the engine and passed him easily along the main straight on the restart. Kimi Raikonnen also passed him later on, as a result he finished 5th. Verstappen due to his non-finish dropped to 5th in the overall standings.
Driver Points: Verstappen 25 – Ricciardo 22
Russia, Sochi
Sochi was moved for the 2017 season, swapping places with Maylasia. This track unlike Bahrain is much more focused on the power of the car rather than outright grip. Williams were much closer to Red Bull as a result, Ricciardo qualified 1.9 seconds behind the eventual pole sitter Sebastien Vettel. Felipe Massa in the Williams managed to split the Red Bull duo, a shade quicker than Verstappen.
The race start was clean, not much contact had occurred on the first lap so far this point of the season, with wider cars, everyone thought that it would be even more collisions. Ricciardo was challenging Raikonnen for 4th, but got caught in, as a result Verstappen got passed the Williams of Massa and Ricciardo into 5th place. The race was very lacklustre after the first lap, there wasn’t any overtakes, except if it does count when Ricciardo’s brake caught alight. It did end up with the Australian failing to finish, back to back brake failures, and their third mechanical retirement of the season. Verstappen finished 5th, a whole minute behind the winner Bottas, a very lonely race for the Dutchman.
Driver Points: Verstappen 35 – Ricciardo 22
Silverstone, Northamptonshire, UK. Friday 14 July 2017. World Copyright: Zak Mauger/LAT Images ref: Digital Image _56I8274
Spain, Barcelona
Much promise was made of Red Bull, with the supposed RB13B being introduced at Spain. As per mentioned with Russia swapping with Maylasia, Spain for the first time wasn’t the first European race of the season. Barcelona tends to be where the first big set of upgrades are brought. After a disapointing beginning of the season albeit podium places here and there they want to be fighting for the championship. They brought updates, the car looking much less basic than it was back in Australia. Renault importantly also did too, if you look back to this article we wrote earlier in the season about their MGU-K. The Red Bull had a new colour scheme in practice, quite a lot of flowviz paint was used.
The car was much more competitive but once more others could turn the wick on their engine up. It was much better though, Verstappen was only 0.6 seconds slower to the 1.2 seconds they were back in Sochi. Ricciardo didn’t have the best of days on the Saturday, a whopping 0.4 behind Verstappen.
Race day was upon us, Red Bull looked good in terms of matching on certain compounds Ferrari and Mercedes, it was all down to the start. The original launch was good for Verstappen, was making the most of the new settings they follow this year, got up alongside Raikonnen into turn 1, but a bang of wheels plush on resulted in terminal damage for both drivers. This resulting in the iconic small video clip of the boy in the stand crying his eyes out. Ricciardo as a result moved up into 4th following, the two Mercedes and Vettel, but this soon became 3rd as a rare failure on the Mercedes happened as Bottas car pulled to the side with engine failure. Ricciardo finished 75 seconds behind the two championship contagnists, being the only 1 besides them not to be lapped. Ricciardo overtook Verstappen in the championship for the first time this season.
Driver Points: Verstappen 35 – Ricciardo 37
Monaco, Monaco
The unique race amongst the principality of Monaco was round 6 in the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship, much like Barcelona a less demanding power track, much hoped Red Bull could be in with the mix for the victory much like last year if it weren’t for the mishap that Ricciardo had in the race. From the offset they looked competitive with Verstappen 3rd quickest on the Thursday, Ricciardo was there abouts, albeit he didn’t get to do a full on lap in practice 3 due to another brake failure on his car so his true pace wasn’t seen until qualifying.
Qualifying did show a shock with Lewis Hamilton being eliminated in Q2, this did give the Bulls an opportunity to qualify higher than they have done this season. Verstappen was the closest Red Bull got to pole all season, the top four being himself, Bottas and the two Ferrari’s only 0.3 seconds between them. Ricciardo made a mistake on his fast lap, but was best of the rest in 5th.
For the first time since China both drivers finished the race, and much like China one of them ended up on the podium. This was once more Ricciardo, himself and Vettel both used the overcut to effect rather than at any other tracks more than likely the undercut being the best option. Monaco always a tough one to pass around, but through the sole pit stop phase Ricciardo went from behind Verstappen, to passing him and Bottas. A late safety car piled the pressure on Ricciardo from Bottas behind but it was a great drive from him once more. Verstappen not best pleased with the team as he missed out on that opportunity. They outscored the Mercedes team with Hamilton finishing 7th.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 52
Canada, Montreal
Montreal is such a stunning track, the flow of the circuit and scenery that is surrounded by makes it one of the best on the calendar. The track does have many memorable moments, much like Ricciardo’s 2014 victory. Montreal is back to Russia, more a power themed track than out right downforce than the previous two races. Red Bull had a few more new developments here, and their race pace was promising compatable with the speeds of Hamilton and Vettel. They got close to Raikonnen in qualifying, but Hamilton and Vettel were in a league of their own on the Saturday.
Verstappen without a doubt thus far has the best start of the season award, starting on the 3rd row in 5th he managed to climb 3 places, going into the second corner in 2nd place just behind the gearbox of Hamilton. Ricciardo also managed to pass Raikonnen, at the end of the first lap, they were 2nd and 5th. Hamilton couldn’t get away but on to the start of lap 11 and Verstappen suffered another engine electrical failure, amazing from the teenager but once more with nothing to show for it. Ricciardo held onto 3rd, Raikonnen was nowhere in the race, whilst Vettel only finished 0.7 behind the Austrailian. A third podium in a row now for the Australian, he was closing in on 4th in the championship and pulling away from Verstappen.
Driver Points: Verstappen 43 – Ricciardo 67
Red Bull are not where they are wanting to be at this current time. Adrian Newey, the greatest designer in the F1 world was appearing more often at the Grand Prix. His project with Aston Martin and the Americas Cup boat championship has been put aside. A few new boosts to power were showing from Renault and Newey began to adapt his thoughts on the RB13. Our second part of the Red Bull 2017 series will follow shortly, from Azerbaijan to Italy. Will Newey and Renault’s input make way for further success for the Red Bull team?
Fernando Alonso in IndyCar for 2018? What was impossible to think a few weeks ago, is getting pretty serious after the Belgian GP. Now it seems to be, that a year out in the indycar series could be the last chance for the two time world champion to get a competitive car in F1.
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. . Sunday 30 July 2017. Fernando Alonso, McLaren. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _R3I4275
Currently these are not just serious weeks for McLaren (article is incoming in the next two days) – but also their star driver is facing a tough few weeks of decisions, probably on the destiny of his career.
After a solid performance for McLaren-Honda in the Hungarian GP back at the end of July, everyone was sure that a extension of the McLaren-contract was only few weeks away. But now, after the Belgian GP everything looks different.
After more engine problems in Saturday’s Qualifying, everyone thought about points when the Spaniard was running P7 after a tremendously strong start. But again, a few laps into the race the Honda Powerunit showed the poor performance on the long straight.
Alonso got passed car by car on every lap and his radio messages were angrier then ever before. In the end he pulled the car into the garage, after he told the team that he had some engine problems.
The media reported after the race, that he pulled the car into the garage on purpose. Honda said on Monday, that they didn’t find any problems on the power unit. The suspicion gets stronger when you listen to the team radio, before he reported the engine problems – In that team radio Alonso asked engineer Mark Temple if there was any rain coming. After receiving a negation of his question, the Spaniard told the box “engine problem, engine problem”.
Options for Alonso look slim, after Ferrari extended the contracts of both drivers into 2018 for Räikkonen and until 2020 for Vettel, and the extension of Bottas’ Mercedes contract looks as good as safe. Renault’s team boss Cyris Abiteboul indicates that the french team, isn’t currently the right location for the two time world champion. “There is one thing, i don’t want: A frustrating Fernando in a Renault.”
Next to stay with McLaren, who are probably getting forced to hold the Honda engine in 2018, the spanish driver doesn’t have many options. “My market value was never higher”, he told the media after the race on sunday. “I will win next year, no matter where i am”, he told the media before the summer break.”
But what does he mean with that?
Sabbaticalyear from F1 – Going to Indycar?
If we piece the puzzle together, there is one realistic option that is available for Alonso. And this is the Indycar series. Why? Here are some points:
Winning car with Andretti
If Alonso will go to the indycar series, he will get the spare place on the Andretti team for sure – the team that he competed alongside McLaren in the indy500 with in May. Andretti is one of the best teams in the series and with Takuma Sato they have also the current Indy500 winner in the team. Honda also resolved the engine problems that stopped Alonso at this maiden race a few laps before the end – and differently to F1, they have the best engine.
Popularity in the USA
In the whole month of May, starting with his first test with the indycar, Alonso was getting more popular on every event. Hundreds of autographs and fans stood there cheering for the McLaren-Honda-Andretti team from the grandstands. The Spaniard admitted a few days after the race, that he enjoyed the warm welcome to the world of the Indycar series, because he got respect from every side, from the other teams, drivers, fans and media. “Thats different in F1” he said.
New try at the Indy500
With a full season of Indycar, Alonso could attend the Indy500 directly, and with a high chance again with McLaren. He could give the whole story another go – Something he could only try in some years again, if he stays in F1, because the Monaco GP will again collide with the Indy500 in 2018.
Most competitive driver
The Indy500 showed that Alonso is not only able to impress with an F1 car. The Spaniard in his current form in F1, could possibly let his driving skills shine, in a series where the drivers are most of the time more important than the cars.
The best option for McLaren
For McLaren this scenario would be also a good one providing that they are forced to stick with Honda in 2018. It would be much easier to look at 2018 and give Honda a last chance of building a stronger engine package, without the pressure of staying with Alonso. A driver replacement for one year could be Jenson Button, for example. Alonso stays with Andretti in the Honda family and could stay in touch with the woking based team.
F1-Comeback in 2019
The most important point is, that Alonso also has the opportunity to come back into F1, probably stronger than he is now. In 2018 he could also wait and see if Honda (if they will stay with McLaren) get their problems solved – if now, he could use other options. The contract from Lewis Hamilton expires at the end of 2018 and also Renaults goal is, to be fighting for victories and the championship in 2019. The two time world champion could see the whole evolution of the driver market from a relaxed point of view from the USA and decide than what he wants, without risking another year of driving in the midfield.
It will be another cracking decision at McLaren in the weeks to come. We will have to wait and see!
Fernando Alonso 2018 in der Indycar-Serie? Vor wenigen Wochen hielten wir das noch für verrückt. Nun könnte gerade das die letzte Möglichkeit für Alonso sein, in der F1 wieder an siegfähiges Material zu kommen.
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. . Sunday 30 July 2017. Fernando Alonso, McLaren. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _R3I4275
Das Schicksal des zweimaligen Weltmeisters Fernando Alonso ist ungewiss. Glaubten viele nach dem Ungarn GP, dass der Verbleib vom Spanier bei McLaren nur noch Formsache sei, schwenkte das Pendel nach dem Belgien Wochenende in die andere Richtung und die Frustration des 36-jährigen Altmeisters erreichte ein neuen Höhepunkt, als er nach einem grandiosen Start reihenweise beim Rennen in den Ardennen überholt wurde.
Nachdem Ferrari beide Fahrer für 2018 bestätigte und die Vertragsverlängerung von Valterri Bottas nur noch Formsache ist, blitzt Alonso nun auch nach den neuesten Aussagen von Teamchef Cyril Abiteboul bei Renault ab. “Es gibt eine Sache, die ich nicht möchte: Einen frustrierten Fernando in einem Renault zu haben”.
Neben einem Verbleib bei McLaren, denen voraussichtlich 2018 nichts anderes übrig bleibt, als mit Motorenpartner Honda weiter zu machen, gehen Alonso gute Optionen in der F1 aus. “Ich hatte noch nie einen so hohen Marktwert”, zeigte sich der Spanier in Belgien entspannt. Die Außenstehenden fragen sich: Was meint er damit?
Sabbatical-Jahr in der Indycar Serie?
Alonso betonte immer wieder, dass er 2018 gewinnen würde, egal was passiert. Fügt man alle Puzzleteile zusammen, ist das realistische Bild neben einem McLaren Verbleib ein Jahr Auszeit in der Indycar Serie. Warum?
Siegfähiges Material bei Andretti.
Würde Alonso in die Indycar-Serie wechseln, würde er natürlich den freien Platz beim Andretti Team, mit dem er bei den Indy500 teilnahm, bekommen. Andretti ist einer der besten Teams in der Indycar Serie und mit Takuma Sato stellt der Amerikanische Rennstall von Rennsportlegende Mario Andretti auch den aktuellen Indy500 Sieger. Honda hat die Motorenprobleme, welche Alonso im Mai bei den Indy500 stoppten mittlerweile in den Griff bekommen und anders als in der Formel 1, hat man aktuell den wohl besten Motor.
Erneute Teilnahme am Indy500
Mit einer Indycar Saison würde Alonso auch direkt am Indy500 teilnehmen können, dann sogar wieder zusammen mit McLaren. Er könnte sein Ziel, dort zu gewinnen erneut versuchen.
Indy500 zeigte: Alonso ist konkurrenzfähig
Das Indy500 zeigte außerdem, dass Alonso nicht nur F1 fahren kann. Der Spanier würde in seiner aktuellen F1-Form in der Indycar-Serie möglicherweise noch besser zurecht kommen, als er es im Mai getan hatte.
F1-Comeback 2019
Der weitaus wichtigere Punkt ist aber, dass Alonso wohl sofort die Möglichkeit hätte, in die F1 zurückzukommen. 2018 könnte er abwarten ob Honda sich in der F1 doch noch mit McLaren fängt – Sollte das nicht der Fall sein hat er weitaus bessere Optionen als aktuell. Der Vertrag von Hamilton bei Mercedes läuft aus, während es Renaults Plan ist, 2019 Siege einzufahren und um die WM zu kämpfen. Der Spanier könnte sich in diesem Falll also entspannt aus den USA ansehen, wie sich die Lage auf dem Fahrermarkt entwickelt und dann die bestmöglichste Entscheidung treffen, ohne ein weiteres Jahr hinterherfahren zu riskieren.
Das Beste für McLaren
Doch auch für McLaren wäre dieses Szenario das Beste von allen, vorausgesetzt wenn man dazu gezwungen wird, 2018 Honda als Partner zu behalten. Man könnte Motorenpartner Honda nochmal eine letzte Chance geben, ohne voreilige Schlüsse zu ziehen. Als Pilot könnte man beispielsweise Jenson Button nochmal für ein Jahr aus der Rente holen.
Man darf gespannt sein, welche Entscheidung um den Spanier in den nächsten Wochen fallen wird. Fakt ist: Seine Optionen sind begrenzt.
I caught up with Josh Brookes once more at Cadwell Park. In this latest feature with the effervescent Australian, we talk about the Suzuka 8 Hour, the plan for the remainder of 2017 and what the plan for 2018 may be? Is WSBK still an option?
You took your first win of the season at Thruxton and you’re coming strong at the right point of the year.
It’s kind of how I anticipated things to happen. We were hoping for a little bit better at Brands Hatch but we still took a step in the right direction and we could’ve had a double win, so that showed that we were going in the right direction. I anticipated an easy start into the season to get the ball rolling and get some points on the board before really going for it.
Do you feel now that the bike is working well, that you can challenge week in, week out?
I feel the bike has been strong all year and that I’ve had the package all year. That is why I signed for the team. Having all the right pieces however doesn’t necessarily mean the bike goes well every time you step on it. You have to adapt it and the set it up at each circuit you go to. It’s not perfect and there is still work that needs doing. However, as a rider and as a team, you’ll never be perfectly satisfied and you’ll always think there’s room for improvement. I think we are starting to learn the bike more and more as the season goes on and we are refining the parts that are perhaps our weak areas. As you’ve seen this weekend, Cadwell Park has been a bit of curve ball.
Are you shocked that you’ve struggled this weekend, given your past results?
I wouldn’t say “shocked” because I’ve been in racing too long to be shocked or expect every weekend to go perfectly. However, I’m surprised that the bike isn’t working better. If I was half a second off or something then that’d be better but to arrive after FP3 still struggling with basic set-up, it seems a bit of a surprise.
If you look at the general build of the bike, it is different to the 2015 Milwaukee Yamaha. I can’t reference click for click or spring for spring what set-up we used two years ago, however, I can use it as a guide to what may work. So far in 2017, the exact set-up I used two years ago isn’t achievable on this bike. One reason being the bikes don’t have the same parts and then, when you try to match it, it clearly doesn’t always work out. In some ways, 2017 is a blank canvas. Yes, I have the knowledge of the bike as does Stewart Winton, so information from 2015 is there, but like I say, it’s a totally different bike.
In comparison, the series has really come on in the year I’ve been away. I reached a point in 2015 where I was able to win most races come the end of the year and now, that lap speed and the race times aren’t going to get you near a win, or by no means anywhere near a dominant win. I’m not at all surprised by that though; I always expect riders to improve, bikes to improve, new riders to come along and teams to refine their package.
You’ve had a couple of front end crashes lately. Is this a recurring issue that needs investigating?
The first one that I had was at Knockhill, which was a surprise and quite odd as the bike was almost perfectly upright. As the crash was the first of the year, I just put it behind me and didn’t think much of it. Then, we had another front-end crash at Brands but I was in a race chasing down ‘Shakey’, so again, I just put it to the side and thought nothing of it. However, the one at Thruxton was one of the most surprising crashes of my career. It was completely unexpected and out of character. That has put a question mark on the other two accidents now; I’m starting to think back and wonder if there is something more to it. I don’t want to create an issue that isn’t there but it is definitely worth us as a team looking at a particular area of the bike to then improve it, so that the front end issue goes away.
Is there anything that you could’ve done as a rider to avoid the crashes?
I’ve run over it a number of times in my head and the only one I think that could be explainable is Brands Hatch. I tried to stay on the back of ‘Shakey’s’ rear wheel and had I not done that, maybe it would’ve been more avoidable. But, it is a race! I’d never get any good positions if I just accepted safe results and rode on the side of caution. The one at Thruxton was a complete surprise. I had enough of a gap where I could just ride conservatively and not risk too much whilst I also had to keep pushing on and not become complacent because the gap wasn’t massive either.
What is the plan for the remainder of the year?
At Silverstone, the plans is to win races. That is the only way I’m going to win a championship. If the championship isn’t destined for me this year, then so be it. I’ve got to go out and ride the races and ride as hard as I can. Whatever the points are at the end of the year, if they signify that I’m the winner then we can go out and have a few beers but if not, then we’ll make a plan for next year and come back stronger.
You and Yoshimura Suzuki went to the Suzuka 8 Hour with the expectation of a podium but it wasn’t to be.
The thing with an endurance race is that you’ve got three riders so you kind of put trust into the other guys, likewise for them putting the trust in myself. Either way, everyone can make a mistake and that’s how you have to approach a race like that. You can’t race the race on your own and you can’t do it without them. You have to accept whatever happens as a team.
I’ve done it seven times now and the goal before I retire from racing is to go on and win that event, so I’ll keep going back every year for the next ten years if I have to, in order to try and win it. You could call it a career target.
Sylvain seemed down about the result?
I think that Sylvain doesn’t like the media side of things. I don’t think that was a reference of him as a person or how he felt on the day because of the result. I don’t think he enjoyed someone coming up to him and pushing an iPhone in his face at that time. I don’t think he was interested in the piece to camera or motivated to do it. He just said ‘yeh, what Josh said’, because he wanted to get away and chill out. He probably agreed with what I said but rather than saying the same thing all over again, he just cut it down.
What are your plans for 2018 so far?
All of the conversation in general is in BSB, as WSBK isn’t a strong option; there’s very few paid rides in the series and there’s only four competitive seats. World Superbike isn’t even an interest to me at the moment because I think last year was enough to put me off that series for life! I’m talking to Tag, as it’s been a good year so far and a second year would probably be stronger. All options presented in front of me will be considered; if I get a good bike in a good team with a good salary then I will have to consider it. BSB is my focus at the moment.
WSBK is still an option, just not a strong one. I just really like riding motorbikes! Any championship where I am getting paid will be considered. As long as the racing is interesting and exciting and the pay to do it is good, then it is ‘an option’.
Image courtesy of Gareth Davies of Full Factory Photography.
I caught up with Josh Brookes once more at Cadwell Park. In this latest feature with the effervescent Australian, we talk about the Suzuka 8 Hour, the plan for the remainder of 2017 and what the plan for 2018 may be? Is WSBK still an option?