Justin:
Well, there is so much to cover. Perhaps the thing to kick off with is to say, that whilst I was attempting to blog after every race this year, I noticed the last race I did so for was Singapore.
This is kind of appropriate. Nico Rosberg obliterated Hamilton in Singapore, probably giving his best performance of 2016. Nico himself said after that it was his best ever qualifying.
And so, from Singapore to Abu Dhabi - Nico Rosberg is our 2016 Formula 1 World Champion.
It was an exciting race, thanks in most part to Hamilton going only as quickly (or slowly) as he needed to, to back Rosberg into the chasing pack.
I don't understand the amount of backlash in the media regarding the tactics employed by Hamilton really. Rosberg himself has said he understood why he raced like that.
It truly was the drive of a champion by Nico Rosberg. The dive on Verstappen was a balls out overtake of the finest margins. Absorbing all the pressure as Hamilton drove slowly ahead whilst Vettel and Verstappen filled his mirrors. Brilliant under pressure. He held firm.
A worthy World Champion, for sure ;-).
Time to go
And then, a shock for us all. Nico announced his retirement a couple of days after the race.
After it had sunk in with me, I thought, you know what...fair play mate. He is happy with his choice. He has achieved all he wanted to and 2016 was the most emotional and stressful for him. He was under a lot of pressure, especially from Japan onwards. The relief was etched all over his face after he won.
I watched the FIA Prize Giving online and it was awesome, for sure.
Speculation
And now, silly season commences again. Most seats for 2017 had been filled, but Rosberg leaving could potentially start another merry-go-round.
There are a lot of rumours swirling around about this, and a lot of funny internet memes about the race to the Mercedes seat.
Will Vettel want to tear up his Ferrari contract? I don't think they will be winning next year. I expect Red Bull to be the ones who go up against Mercedes. Will Alonso even be allowed to leave McLaren? Will Mercedes go for a number 2? If they do, it will be a boring 2017 watching Hamilton race up front with no fast teammate to push him.
All will be revealed. Into a winter of over 3 months with no F1 we go.
Enjoy your next role as father and husband Champion.
Sunday 4 December 2016
Sunday 25 September 2016
Round 15: Singapore
Justin:
I've fallen in love with F1 all over again.
No matter what gripes one might have with the current rules and regulations and all that stuff, when you see F1 live you are instantly reminded as to how bloody awesome our sport is.
Though, people with earplugs in Singapore....that is sad. You don't need them! Try out the V8's from 2013 and before...those will make your ears bleed!
The Singapore #F1NightRace is truly unique. It is intense, in your face, jam packed and a truly beautiful thing.
I was in the Waterfront Esplanade grandstand, which gave me a pretty good view (and a welcome breeze from the water) of a slower corner and I witnessed up close the cars accelerating out of the corner (just as they slide towards the barrier, they power and squirm away - amazing!).
Even the engine noise, whilst quieter than 2013 and before, is still pretty meaty and deep (more so than those last year in Hungary). When the exhausts face you as the cars power out of the corner, it's all pretty impressive.
The absolute poetry of a car going through a corner right on the edge, riding the kerbs on the outside right next to the barrier, before powering away - It is something to savour. Wow.
The drivers are artists, the track is their canvas, the car is their paint brush.
Nico Rosberg continued his winning run that started in Belgium and carried on in Monza.
He dominated Lewis in qualifying and in the race. It was probably just as much Hamilton not finding a correct setup as it was Rosberg having the qualifying lap of his life as he said afterwards. 0.7 seconds ahead of your teammate is a lifetime in F1.
It was a pretty fun race, where for a while you had interest up front as the first four cars stayed within touching distance.
Elsewhere there was a lot of fun - Vettel storming through from last to 5th should get a special mention, as should Alonso storming the start and going up to 5th until around half way through, eventually finishing 7th.
I'll share a couple more pictures I took here. The one of Alonso above is definitely getting framed on my wall, as are the two below.
Onto Malaysia! Sadly I didn't have the time or money to stay in Singapore for a few more days and leap across to take in the Malaysian Grand Prix too.
PS - I saw none other than the legend that is Damon Hill on my flight out. I should have asked him to sign my copy of his autobiography. No matter, he liked a Tweet I sent about it, so it's all good.
I've fallen in love with F1 all over again.
No matter what gripes one might have with the current rules and regulations and all that stuff, when you see F1 live you are instantly reminded as to how bloody awesome our sport is.
Though, people with earplugs in Singapore....that is sad. You don't need them! Try out the V8's from 2013 and before...those will make your ears bleed!
The Singapore #F1NightRace is truly unique. It is intense, in your face, jam packed and a truly beautiful thing.
I was in the Waterfront Esplanade grandstand, which gave me a pretty good view (and a welcome breeze from the water) of a slower corner and I witnessed up close the cars accelerating out of the corner (just as they slide towards the barrier, they power and squirm away - amazing!).
The absolute poetry of a car going through a corner right on the edge, riding the kerbs on the outside right next to the barrier, before powering away - It is something to savour. Wow.
The drivers are artists, the track is their canvas, the car is their paint brush.
Nico Rosberg continued his winning run that started in Belgium and carried on in Monza.
He dominated Lewis in qualifying and in the race. It was probably just as much Hamilton not finding a correct setup as it was Rosberg having the qualifying lap of his life as he said afterwards. 0.7 seconds ahead of your teammate is a lifetime in F1.
It was a pretty fun race, where for a while you had interest up front as the first four cars stayed within touching distance.
Elsewhere there was a lot of fun - Vettel storming through from last to 5th should get a special mention, as should Alonso storming the start and going up to 5th until around half way through, eventually finishing 7th.
I'll share a couple more pictures I took here. The one of Alonso above is definitely getting framed on my wall, as are the two below.
Onto Malaysia! Sadly I didn't have the time or money to stay in Singapore for a few more days and leap across to take in the Malaysian Grand Prix too.
Monday 29 August 2016
Round 13: Belgium
Justin:
Welcome back old friend. Whilst in my last post I said I needed a break from F1, a month is long enough!
Ok, once again there was no real racing for first, right at the front. This has been my bugbear for a lot of races this year.
But, there was absolute mayhem and carnage on the opening few laps which distracted from Rosberg scampering off into the distance.
Max, Kimi and Seb nerfed into each other on the first corner and Max and Kimi kept coming across each other during the race too. The first corner incident really was not the fault of Kimi at all. Seb had to turn into the corner, but perhaps didn't see Kimi. He definitely didn't see Max.
Now, we'll give Max the benefit of the doubt for his first of many cock ups during the race. But, whilst a lot of people are blaming Seb...did nobody see that Max was actually fully on and over the kerb and he sort of just went straight on into Kimi?
He later moved over on Kimi at 200mph, after Kimi had made his move. Dangerous driving Max. If Kimi is bothered enough to be vocal about it after the race, then, well, you know it's a shit move mate.
The supidity of youth me thinks. Max later said he was pretty much driving angry after the first corner incident and said something along the lines of "better push him off than let him by".
Jesus christ. Calm down young man. That attitude will get people killed.
Elsewhere, I don't believe Rosbergs race was as easy as made out. The red flag restart will have required upmost concentration.
Great drives from Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Alonso (the latter two sailed through the grid as they started on medium tyres as everyone in front of them pitted due to safety cars and general utter carnage).
In all the mayhem I totally missed that Button had been punted out too!
So, nine points in the title race - Let's see a straight fight between the Merc boys in Monza please.
One last thing. Even if a driver I despised was the winner, I would never boo them if I was at a Grand Prix.
I couldn't believe it when Rosberg received a lions share of booing. Totally unnecessary.
Why boo him? It may have been the fact that the whole crowd wanted a Max win, but even still it's a bit harsh. I wouldn't put it past some of the Lewis fans too you know. There were a lot of Brits there.
Talk about football crowd mentality!
Oh, and K-Mag is fine. Yey. Typical F1 driver. 200mph crash, does his ankle in and is racing 5 days later. Most footballers fall over like they have been shot, then get up two minutes later totally uninjured. Pft.
Welcome back old friend. Whilst in my last post I said I needed a break from F1, a month is long enough!
Ok, once again there was no real racing for first, right at the front. This has been my bugbear for a lot of races this year.
But, there was absolute mayhem and carnage on the opening few laps which distracted from Rosberg scampering off into the distance.
Max, Kimi and Seb nerfed into each other on the first corner and Max and Kimi kept coming across each other during the race too. The first corner incident really was not the fault of Kimi at all. Seb had to turn into the corner, but perhaps didn't see Kimi. He definitely didn't see Max.
Now, we'll give Max the benefit of the doubt for his first of many cock ups during the race. But, whilst a lot of people are blaming Seb...did nobody see that Max was actually fully on and over the kerb and he sort of just went straight on into Kimi?
He later moved over on Kimi at 200mph, after Kimi had made his move. Dangerous driving Max. If Kimi is bothered enough to be vocal about it after the race, then, well, you know it's a shit move mate.
The supidity of youth me thinks. Max later said he was pretty much driving angry after the first corner incident and said something along the lines of "better push him off than let him by".
Jesus christ. Calm down young man. That attitude will get people killed.
Elsewhere, I don't believe Rosbergs race was as easy as made out. The red flag restart will have required upmost concentration.
Great drives from Hulkenberg, Hamilton and Alonso (the latter two sailed through the grid as they started on medium tyres as everyone in front of them pitted due to safety cars and general utter carnage).
In all the mayhem I totally missed that Button had been punted out too!
So, nine points in the title race - Let's see a straight fight between the Merc boys in Monza please.
One last thing. Even if a driver I despised was the winner, I would never boo them if I was at a Grand Prix.
I couldn't believe it when Rosberg received a lions share of booing. Totally unnecessary.
Why boo him? It may have been the fact that the whole crowd wanted a Max win, but even still it's a bit harsh. I wouldn't put it past some of the Lewis fans too you know. There were a lot of Brits there.
Talk about football crowd mentality!
Oh, and K-Mag is fine. Yey. Typical F1 driver. 200mph crash, does his ankle in and is racing 5 days later. Most footballers fall over like they have been shot, then get up two minutes later totally uninjured. Pft.
Tuesday 2 August 2016
Hungary and Germany were really quite dull races if you think about it
Maybe you don't need to think about it....
Nigel Mansell tweeted after Germany "World Championship lost maybe in Germany. Wow I cannot tell you how many times I got forced wide or knocked off track. Very different now."
If it wasn't lost there, the race was run at the start where Lewis got a flyer and Nico bogged down.
There was fun racing further down the field, but for me, for it to be a barnstormer, you need racing for the win. Hungary and Germany were totally lacking this.
Whisper it, but I am glad of the month long break now.
For the record, I don't think Nico did much wrong with his move on Max. He is only acting as Lewis has acted towards him many a time.
Belgium next. Ah, Spa 2012. Then a certain blogger is off to Singapore soon enough after that and Monza! Yeah.
Nigel Mansell tweeted after Germany "World Championship lost maybe in Germany. Wow I cannot tell you how many times I got forced wide or knocked off track. Very different now."
If it wasn't lost there, the race was run at the start where Lewis got a flyer and Nico bogged down.
There was fun racing further down the field, but for me, for it to be a barnstormer, you need racing for the win. Hungary and Germany were totally lacking this.
Whisper it, but I am glad of the month long break now.
For the record, I don't think Nico did much wrong with his move on Max. He is only acting as Lewis has acted towards him many a time.
Belgium next. Ah, Spa 2012. Then a certain blogger is off to Singapore soon enough after that and Monza! Yeah.
Sunday 17 July 2016
Austria, Britian reviewed and a preview of Hungary
Austria:
Whoops! Nico probably thought, well Hamilton hung me out to dry so many times that this time it is my corner and I'll run him out of road. Hamilton was optimistic trying to overtake around the outside of a 90 degree right hander.
I love how nine out of ten British media reports said Nico bottled it. He didn't. He was experiencing a few brake problems, which resulted in him coming out of the first corner slowly.
Britain:
Fair play to Lewis. A dominant win. Nico again struggled in the wet.
Standout drive had to be Max 33!!
Hungary:
This is a must win for Nico, to turn the tide of momentum. It will ebb and flow through the year. He won the first four races. Lewis has won four of the last five.
Ah Hungary...memories....
Whoops! Nico probably thought, well Hamilton hung me out to dry so many times that this time it is my corner and I'll run him out of road. Hamilton was optimistic trying to overtake around the outside of a 90 degree right hander.
I love how nine out of ten British media reports said Nico bottled it. He didn't. He was experiencing a few brake problems, which resulted in him coming out of the first corner slowly.
Britain:
Fair play to Lewis. A dominant win. Nico again struggled in the wet.
Standout drive had to be Max 33!!
Hungary:
This is a must win for Nico, to turn the tide of momentum. It will ebb and flow through the year. He won the first four races. Lewis has won four of the last five.
Ah Hungary...memories....
Tuesday 21 June 2016
Round 8: Baku
Justin:
Well, the track and Baku certainly looked the part. A beautiful setting for an F1 race and indeed an interesting track. Castle Corner looked insane...single file only through there chaps please!
Because we had incidents in each practice session and a chaotic GP2 race, people thought the F1 race would at least have a Safety Car or two. Alas, it was not to be and what we got was actually a fairly dull race.
In a shameless effort to get more views, I shall link to more external websites in this blog. I did it for Bahrain and got around 190 views! Compared to the usual 10 or so. Ehem.
Hamilton had all the momentum coming off a storming win in Canada.
Rosberg doing what he needs to do
He was impressive in Baku. Hamilton was quickest in every practice session. Hamilton just went for it and was nearly a second up on Rosberg in P1. Rosberg took his time to catch up, but he was within a couple of tenths by the end of P3. Has to be said that Hamilton's instinctive racing style gets him a bloody long way.
I have to say, looking back on that last line...tortoise and hare anyone?
Everyone was saying that Lewis would have beaten Nico to pole had he kept it on track. But, he didn't keep it on track. He admitted he was just not on it. The car setup was changed and he just didn't feel the car, or adjust to it.
Indeed, Toto Wolff covers this in the column of Andrew Benson on the BBC website.
So, with Hamilton in the wall in qualifying, Rosberg raced off into the distance in the race. When his one pitstop came, he was 40 seconds ahead of second place (ok second had stopped), and he ended up 17 seconds ahead of Vettel.
The way Rosberg seems to be taking each race at a time impresses me. After two Lewis wins on the spin, it would be easy for Nico to lose his cool and let the momentum of Lewis affect him. In Baku he didn't.
I felt a bit for Lewis and the engine setting nonsense. The rules are currently a bit stupid. His engineers couldn't help him, resulting in him fiddling with his steering wheel for many laps at 220mph!
I also sort of agree with Andrew Benson here. Just, you know, for more views ;-).
Colourful radio!
Kimi - we love you! How many swear word bleeps can he get into one broadcast??!! Classic.
Lewis' radio messages were amusing too.
Driver of the day
Perez. Duh!
To Austria we go.
Anyone stumbling across this thinking it's not in-depth or whatever, this particular blog edition may not be I grant you. Check out the last 6 years though people :-).
Well, the track and Baku certainly looked the part. A beautiful setting for an F1 race and indeed an interesting track. Castle Corner looked insane...single file only through there chaps please!
Because we had incidents in each practice session and a chaotic GP2 race, people thought the F1 race would at least have a Safety Car or two. Alas, it was not to be and what we got was actually a fairly dull race.
In a shameless effort to get more views, I shall link to more external websites in this blog. I did it for Bahrain and got around 190 views! Compared to the usual 10 or so. Ehem.
Hamilton had all the momentum coming off a storming win in Canada.
Rosberg doing what he needs to do
He was impressive in Baku. Hamilton was quickest in every practice session. Hamilton just went for it and was nearly a second up on Rosberg in P1. Rosberg took his time to catch up, but he was within a couple of tenths by the end of P3. Has to be said that Hamilton's instinctive racing style gets him a bloody long way.
I have to say, looking back on that last line...tortoise and hare anyone?
Everyone was saying that Lewis would have beaten Nico to pole had he kept it on track. But, he didn't keep it on track. He admitted he was just not on it. The car setup was changed and he just didn't feel the car, or adjust to it.
Indeed, Toto Wolff covers this in the column of Andrew Benson on the BBC website.
So, with Hamilton in the wall in qualifying, Rosberg raced off into the distance in the race. When his one pitstop came, he was 40 seconds ahead of second place (ok second had stopped), and he ended up 17 seconds ahead of Vettel.
The way Rosberg seems to be taking each race at a time impresses me. After two Lewis wins on the spin, it would be easy for Nico to lose his cool and let the momentum of Lewis affect him. In Baku he didn't.
I felt a bit for Lewis and the engine setting nonsense. The rules are currently a bit stupid. His engineers couldn't help him, resulting in him fiddling with his steering wheel for many laps at 220mph!
I also sort of agree with Andrew Benson here. Just, you know, for more views ;-).
Colourful radio!
Kimi - we love you! How many swear word bleeps can he get into one broadcast??!! Classic.
Lewis' radio messages were amusing too.
Driver of the day
Perez. Duh!
To Austria we go.
Anyone stumbling across this thinking it's not in-depth or whatever, this particular blog edition may not be I grant you. Check out the last 6 years though people :-).
Thursday 9 June 2016
Round 6: Monaco, plus Round 7 Preview
Justin:
Headline. Ricciardo fails to smile after race.
You can't blame him at all. Red Bull fucked up big time and cost him what was looking like his first win at Monaco.
He said he didn't like being the miserable guy in interviews, but he just wanted to get out of there and skip the team de-brief. He just didn't want to hear what they had to say. I read somewhere that he told them on the radio not to say anything, as nothing they had to say would help. Crikey.
Driver of the day
Goes to either one of the first three frankly. Hamilton was on fire, plain and simple.
After being released by Rosberg, Lewis dropped him like a dead weight and began reeling in Ricciardo bit by bit. Hamilton was at one with his machine and the elements. The cream rises to the top in the wet at Monaco. Case in point, Perez storming to third. Fantastic.
What of Rosberg? He clearly had a bad day at the office. He was due one. He struggled with break temperatures, tyre temperatures...you name it. He also said he just didn't have confidence in the car to push hard, otherwise he would have been in the barriers.
It's not like he is shit around here, having won the last three Monaco races. However, in one swoop Hamilton has nearly halved his deficit in the points standings.
Fifty and still going
Well done McLaren. Alonso and Button and both got points finishes. Alonso probably quite enjoyed keeping Rosberg behind him in the closing stages.
News (9 June)
The driver merry-go-round has started for 2017, or as we all call it, silly season.
The facts are this:
1. Nico Rosberg and Kimi are the only guys out of contract for 2017 at one of the top 3 teams (Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari). I'm calling Red Bull the second fastest now, as frankly they are on top of Ferrari right now.
2. Rosberg is highly likely to sign again for Mercedes. He has said as much, and Mercedes have said they wish to keep him. Why would he leave? Nowhere else would give him a car as dominating as the Merc. There was a brief rumour that Ferrari were sniffing around him, to replace Kimi. I really don't see that happening. It does make more sense for Ferrari than Nico though.
3. Kimi holds the key to the top line driver market. He wants to stay, Ferrari feel his relationship with Vettel works well. So, signing him for 2017 should be going ahead right? We'll see. He is still quick that is for sure.
4. There are a whole host of potentially better drivers wanting that Ferrari seat. Perez has done his top team hopes no harm at all recently. The 2013 McLaren was a bag of shit and I feel that perhaps a top drive came at the wrong time for him - He was on the way up, McLaren were well on their way down! Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas are all waiting for that top drive.
Though, Kimi is ahead of Vettel in the standings right now.
5. Ferrari need to decide - Do they maintain the status quo for the sake of the team, or do they draft in a hungry, younger racer to come and shake things up? Who knows?
6. Button is out of contract at McLaren. What he does not deserve at all is being treated like shit yet again in a "will they, won't they?" sign him for another year...
He is a champion and deserves only the best treatment frankly.
Rumour is that Williams will let Massa go and draft in Button when Vandoorne takes his seat.
7. Will Kvyat be at Torro Rosso in 2017? He has been slagging Red Bull off here and there non-stop since being sacked by the big team. We shall see.
Round 7: Canada predictions
Monaco was the place where a powerful engine matters least.
I cannot see Red Bull ruffling the feathers of Mercedes as much in Canada.
Hamilton knows how to win there, that is for sure.
You heard it here first! Top two will be Mercedes (I cannot predict which way around), then Ricciardo in third.
Headline. Ricciardo fails to smile after race.
You can't blame him at all. Red Bull fucked up big time and cost him what was looking like his first win at Monaco.
He said he didn't like being the miserable guy in interviews, but he just wanted to get out of there and skip the team de-brief. He just didn't want to hear what they had to say. I read somewhere that he told them on the radio not to say anything, as nothing they had to say would help. Crikey.
Driver of the day
Goes to either one of the first three frankly. Hamilton was on fire, plain and simple.
After being released by Rosberg, Lewis dropped him like a dead weight and began reeling in Ricciardo bit by bit. Hamilton was at one with his machine and the elements. The cream rises to the top in the wet at Monaco. Case in point, Perez storming to third. Fantastic.
What of Rosberg? He clearly had a bad day at the office. He was due one. He struggled with break temperatures, tyre temperatures...you name it. He also said he just didn't have confidence in the car to push hard, otherwise he would have been in the barriers.
It's not like he is shit around here, having won the last three Monaco races. However, in one swoop Hamilton has nearly halved his deficit in the points standings.
Fifty and still going
Well done McLaren. Alonso and Button and both got points finishes. Alonso probably quite enjoyed keeping Rosberg behind him in the closing stages.
News (9 June)
The driver merry-go-round has started for 2017, or as we all call it, silly season.
The facts are this:
1. Nico Rosberg and Kimi are the only guys out of contract for 2017 at one of the top 3 teams (Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari). I'm calling Red Bull the second fastest now, as frankly they are on top of Ferrari right now.
2. Rosberg is highly likely to sign again for Mercedes. He has said as much, and Mercedes have said they wish to keep him. Why would he leave? Nowhere else would give him a car as dominating as the Merc. There was a brief rumour that Ferrari were sniffing around him, to replace Kimi. I really don't see that happening. It does make more sense for Ferrari than Nico though.
3. Kimi holds the key to the top line driver market. He wants to stay, Ferrari feel his relationship with Vettel works well. So, signing him for 2017 should be going ahead right? We'll see. He is still quick that is for sure.
4. There are a whole host of potentially better drivers wanting that Ferrari seat. Perez has done his top team hopes no harm at all recently. The 2013 McLaren was a bag of shit and I feel that perhaps a top drive came at the wrong time for him - He was on the way up, McLaren were well on their way down! Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas are all waiting for that top drive.
Though, Kimi is ahead of Vettel in the standings right now.
5. Ferrari need to decide - Do they maintain the status quo for the sake of the team, or do they draft in a hungry, younger racer to come and shake things up? Who knows?
6. Button is out of contract at McLaren. What he does not deserve at all is being treated like shit yet again in a "will they, won't they?" sign him for another year...
He is a champion and deserves only the best treatment frankly.
Rumour is that Williams will let Massa go and draft in Button when Vandoorne takes his seat.
7. Will Kvyat be at Torro Rosso in 2017? He has been slagging Red Bull off here and there non-stop since being sacked by the big team. We shall see.
Round 7: Canada predictions
Monaco was the place where a powerful engine matters least.
I cannot see Red Bull ruffling the feathers of Mercedes as much in Canada.
Hamilton knows how to win there, that is for sure.
You heard it here first! Top two will be Mercedes (I cannot predict which way around), then Ricciardo in third.
Sunday 15 May 2016
Round 5: Spain
Justin:
Erm, wow. What an absolutely stonking race. Now, THAT's why I love F1.
Aggression Vs Defence = Crash, Bang, Wallop
Hamilton made a good start, getting the better of Rosberg, but then Nico caught a good tow and went around the outside at turn 1. A ballsy move, proving that he was ready to fight with Lewis in a one on one race. Then coming out of turn 3, Nico was a lot slower (which we later found was an engine mode issue...though I inferred at one point that it was a battery thing from Wolff's interview...anyway).
At first, after I'd finished jumping up and down and screaming at the TV, I thought it was possibly more Lewis at fault...or did I think anyone was really at fault? It looked to me like the overspeed had caught Lewis out a bit (though later he said he knew Nico had engine mode problems and that he had to go for the gap).
So, Lewis went aggressive and wanted to take advantage and pass there and then, Nico went defensive. Bang.
Nico was entitled to shut the door, in my opinion. Lewis is a racer and was going for a gap, but it was very much from the Senna school of "I'm coming through, don't you dare turn in, if you do, we crash!".
File under racing incident. The stewards and indeed Mercedes said no guy was 100% to blame. Judge for yourselves.
Of the two drivers, Rosberg looked slightly more annoyed in the post race interviews - See here a link to Channel 4 F1.
Hamilton seemed rather at peace with it all. I should point out that neither tripped up over the tricky interview questions. "Are you saying you weren't to blame?"......Nico replied "I didn't say that". Plus he said what was talked about in the de-brief stays private.
Lewis too was pretty fair and even handed in his answers.
Monaco next. That will lessen the tension for sure...
The race they left behind
It was an awesome race. 4 cars in with a shout of winning, near the end too, is somewhat of a rare sight in F1 these days.
I'm getting a bit annoyed with Vettel having a good old heat of the moment whinge when someone does something he doesn't like, such as try and overtake him - gasp! Then afterwards he admitted he said stuff in the heat of the moment when Ricciardo tried a bold pass into turn 1.
I think Ricciardo is completely correct to ask Red Bull why he was pulled in and changed to the slower three stop strategy, which seemingly released Max to victory on the two stop.
Congratulations to Max Verstappen though. He drove an absolutely flawless race and really has to be my driver of the day doesn't he?
We should spare a thought for Daniil Kvyat. I can't find the Channel 4 interview with him after the race, but boy did he look peeved.
Channel 4 coverage
I was tweeting before the race started and noticed a few ney sayers regarding Steve Jones.
I like him as an F1 presenter. He works well with DC. And Susie and Alain were awesome today also.
People have short memories. It took Suzi Perry a while to hit her stride and she made a few errors in her first year. That's the nature of live TV.
I liked the Channel 4 nod to the fact that some people on the internet didn't like Jones much, when he was told by Susie to be a travel agent instead of an F1 presenter on their car journey to the track.
Steve is enthusiastic and happy to be there. To be fair, if I was presenting, it's probably not far off how I'd be. He's a bit of a fanboy. Anyone notice him touching Prost a lot during qualifying? Heehee.
Kudos to them bringing in Prost. That man is a legend. They also had to nearly cut him off from talking too long a few times. Hehehe.
The way they present too, is working well. Chopping and changing from one presenter to another, in a different part of the paddock. True, the BBC coverage did some of this, but C4 do it on another level.
To Monaco we go!!! The Mercedes boys will be trying to not touch each other at all.
PS - worth noting that Andrew Benson tweeted after qualifying that Alonso was right to leave his contract early, based on the fact he wouldnt have won any titles if he'd have seen it to the end of 2016. Bang on frankly. Ferrari were over a second behind the Mercedes duo.
Erm, wow. What an absolutely stonking race. Now, THAT's why I love F1.
Aggression Vs Defence = Crash, Bang, Wallop
Hamilton made a good start, getting the better of Rosberg, but then Nico caught a good tow and went around the outside at turn 1. A ballsy move, proving that he was ready to fight with Lewis in a one on one race. Then coming out of turn 3, Nico was a lot slower (which we later found was an engine mode issue...though I inferred at one point that it was a battery thing from Wolff's interview...anyway).
At first, after I'd finished jumping up and down and screaming at the TV, I thought it was possibly more Lewis at fault...or did I think anyone was really at fault? It looked to me like the overspeed had caught Lewis out a bit (though later he said he knew Nico had engine mode problems and that he had to go for the gap).
So, Lewis went aggressive and wanted to take advantage and pass there and then, Nico went defensive. Bang.
Nico was entitled to shut the door, in my opinion. Lewis is a racer and was going for a gap, but it was very much from the Senna school of "I'm coming through, don't you dare turn in, if you do, we crash!".
File under racing incident. The stewards and indeed Mercedes said no guy was 100% to blame. Judge for yourselves.
Of the two drivers, Rosberg looked slightly more annoyed in the post race interviews - See here a link to Channel 4 F1.
Hamilton seemed rather at peace with it all. I should point out that neither tripped up over the tricky interview questions. "Are you saying you weren't to blame?"......Nico replied "I didn't say that". Plus he said what was talked about in the de-brief stays private.
Lewis too was pretty fair and even handed in his answers.
Monaco next. That will lessen the tension for sure...
The race they left behind
It was an awesome race. 4 cars in with a shout of winning, near the end too, is somewhat of a rare sight in F1 these days.
I'm getting a bit annoyed with Vettel having a good old heat of the moment whinge when someone does something he doesn't like, such as try and overtake him - gasp! Then afterwards he admitted he said stuff in the heat of the moment when Ricciardo tried a bold pass into turn 1.
I think Ricciardo is completely correct to ask Red Bull why he was pulled in and changed to the slower three stop strategy, which seemingly released Max to victory on the two stop.
Congratulations to Max Verstappen though. He drove an absolutely flawless race and really has to be my driver of the day doesn't he?
We should spare a thought for Daniil Kvyat. I can't find the Channel 4 interview with him after the race, but boy did he look peeved.
Channel 4 coverage
I was tweeting before the race started and noticed a few ney sayers regarding Steve Jones.
I like him as an F1 presenter. He works well with DC. And Susie and Alain were awesome today also.
People have short memories. It took Suzi Perry a while to hit her stride and she made a few errors in her first year. That's the nature of live TV.
I liked the Channel 4 nod to the fact that some people on the internet didn't like Jones much, when he was told by Susie to be a travel agent instead of an F1 presenter on their car journey to the track.
Steve is enthusiastic and happy to be there. To be fair, if I was presenting, it's probably not far off how I'd be. He's a bit of a fanboy. Anyone notice him touching Prost a lot during qualifying? Heehee.
Kudos to them bringing in Prost. That man is a legend. They also had to nearly cut him off from talking too long a few times. Hehehe.
The way they present too, is working well. Chopping and changing from one presenter to another, in a different part of the paddock. True, the BBC coverage did some of this, but C4 do it on another level.
To Monaco we go!!! The Mercedes boys will be trying to not touch each other at all.
PS - worth noting that Andrew Benson tweeted after qualifying that Alonso was right to leave his contract early, based on the fact he wouldnt have won any titles if he'd have seen it to the end of 2016. Bang on frankly. Ferrari were over a second behind the Mercedes duo.
Monday 2 May 2016
Round 4: Russia
Justin:
Best radio transmission of the year, or any year in recent history..
Clearly goes to Mr Vettel. Amongst the many bleeps, he was essentially exasperated at being punted off not once, but twice! Classic, amusing stuff there. Kvyat admitted fault for turn 2 as he locked up, but at turn 3 Vettel was lifting off because he thought he had damage. It's a bit more difficult to react when you are following someone a metre behind at 200mph, when they suddenly slow down where they are meant to be doing flat out.
Ferrari are not having the best of starts to a season at all. Then again, Kimi has collected two podiums in as many races. You'd have thought Vettel could have done more though.
Fun racing, but not at the front
It was a great race to watch, with plenty going on through the field, except at the front. Rosberg was comfortable in leading throughout and took his 4th win of the year, 7th in a row (joining Ascari and Schumacher on that tally, with only Vettel on 9 ahead of him). I've said this before...Hamilton ran off like a scalded dog for most of 2015 and there was no fighting at the front. Same for Rosberg right now.
Once again his main competition had problems and fell away at the start (Vettel), or even before the start (Hamilton with his engine issues starting 10th).
Rosberg knows the challenge will come eventually. Hamilton knows too. He also knows he can't buy any luck at all right now.
McLaren rising?
Alonso the racer and fighter is still there, as evidenced by him going round the outside of all the mess at turn 3. Opportunity/ luck/ instinct...call it what you will, it lifted him to 8th and he eventually finished 6th. Button took 10th and despite Vettel falling off the track, both guys said the pace was there and a double points finish was on merit.
Driver of the day
Max was running second for a while, Alonso got a good result. Both Williams drivers did well too. Magnussen came 7th....in a Renault. Right there is my driver of the day I think. Either him or Hamilton.
To Spain in two weeks we go. I want a fight at the front between Lewis and Nico.
Might be worth pointing out that it's twenty years since Damon Hill won the championship. To date, he is the only world champion son of a world champion. To date. Twenty years is a nice round number no?
The final word is for Ayrton Senna. I read somewhere that the Russian GP this year was the first to be held on May 1st since Senna died 22 years ago. Wow. 22 years. Still feels like yesterday.
A legend. He passed away on raceday, but of course we cannot forget Roland Ratzenberger, who died the day before.
Both guys were 34, which I only just realised.
Best radio transmission of the year, or any year in recent history..
Clearly goes to Mr Vettel. Amongst the many bleeps, he was essentially exasperated at being punted off not once, but twice! Classic, amusing stuff there. Kvyat admitted fault for turn 2 as he locked up, but at turn 3 Vettel was lifting off because he thought he had damage. It's a bit more difficult to react when you are following someone a metre behind at 200mph, when they suddenly slow down where they are meant to be doing flat out.
Ferrari are not having the best of starts to a season at all. Then again, Kimi has collected two podiums in as many races. You'd have thought Vettel could have done more though.
Fun racing, but not at the front
It was a great race to watch, with plenty going on through the field, except at the front. Rosberg was comfortable in leading throughout and took his 4th win of the year, 7th in a row (joining Ascari and Schumacher on that tally, with only Vettel on 9 ahead of him). I've said this before...Hamilton ran off like a scalded dog for most of 2015 and there was no fighting at the front. Same for Rosberg right now.
Once again his main competition had problems and fell away at the start (Vettel), or even before the start (Hamilton with his engine issues starting 10th).
Rosberg knows the challenge will come eventually. Hamilton knows too. He also knows he can't buy any luck at all right now.
McLaren rising?
Alonso the racer and fighter is still there, as evidenced by him going round the outside of all the mess at turn 3. Opportunity/ luck/ instinct...call it what you will, it lifted him to 8th and he eventually finished 6th. Button took 10th and despite Vettel falling off the track, both guys said the pace was there and a double points finish was on merit.
Driver of the day
Max was running second for a while, Alonso got a good result. Both Williams drivers did well too. Magnussen came 7th....in a Renault. Right there is my driver of the day I think. Either him or Hamilton.
To Spain in two weeks we go. I want a fight at the front between Lewis and Nico.
Might be worth pointing out that it's twenty years since Damon Hill won the championship. To date, he is the only world champion son of a world champion. To date. Twenty years is a nice round number no?
The final word is for Ayrton Senna. I read somewhere that the Russian GP this year was the first to be held on May 1st since Senna died 22 years ago. Wow. 22 years. Still feels like yesterday.
A legend. He passed away on raceday, but of course we cannot forget Roland Ratzenberger, who died the day before.
Both guys were 34, which I only just realised.
Monday 18 April 2016
Round 3: China
Justin:
Chaos and carnage, yet Rosberg sailed serenely into the sunset 38 seconds down the road at the end.
It was a fantastic race in China, almost too good for me to do it justice in this blog (or I can't be doing with writing another huge blog. There's only so many times you can dump a huge blog out, after all).
My main gripe, whether it's Lewis winning last year, or indeed Nico winning this year is that there is no fighting at the front.
I want people fighting for the win every race.
That said, Rosberg is doing all he needs to. As his competition falters, he sails on regardless.
6 wins in the last 6 races. The last 9 drivers to win the first 3 races at the start of a year all went on to become world champion.
That said, Rosberg has his head screwed on and is taking it on a race by race basis. Even he pointed out that none of those 9 drivers had Lewis Hamilton as a team-mate.
Hamilton and Vettel will come back at him, but his confidence must be surging right now.
Last year he started the campaign off very poorly. He needed a better start and middle.
He is doing all the right things right now.
Hamilton has some work to do.
164 page views from Poland last time out? Cheers!
Chaos and carnage, yet Rosberg sailed serenely into the sunset 38 seconds down the road at the end.
It was a fantastic race in China, almost too good for me to do it justice in this blog (or I can't be doing with writing another huge blog. There's only so many times you can dump a huge blog out, after all).
My main gripe, whether it's Lewis winning last year, or indeed Nico winning this year is that there is no fighting at the front.
I want people fighting for the win every race.
That said, Rosberg is doing all he needs to. As his competition falters, he sails on regardless.
6 wins in the last 6 races. The last 9 drivers to win the first 3 races at the start of a year all went on to become world champion.
That said, Rosberg has his head screwed on and is taking it on a race by race basis. Even he pointed out that none of those 9 drivers had Lewis Hamilton as a team-mate.
Hamilton and Vettel will come back at him, but his confidence must be surging right now.
Last year he started the campaign off very poorly. He needed a better start and middle.
He is doing all the right things right now.
Hamilton has some work to do.
164 page views from Poland last time out? Cheers!
Sunday 3 April 2016
Round 2: Bahrain
Justin:
Alonso Vs Herbert
Didn't really see this battle coming around, but it did, sort of. Johnny Herbert wrote about his thoughts on why Alonso should retire. He went in-depth about it all. It's his opinion. As a pundit, he is paid to do this.
Erm, possibly what he didn't count on was waking the Spanish Fighter into a response. Oh dear. Awkward!
Fair play to Alonso for doing it face to face with a handshake (lulling Herbert into a "oh this is going to be a respectful exchange....oh...it's not" false sense of security). Herbert is paid to give his opinion, Alonso was merely airing his with someone who had clearly pissed him off.
Herbert's column is here, as well as the video of the slightly comical put down live on air (snigger).
A thumbs up for Alonso on this one. Thanks to Zeenews India for me nicking their pic!
Rosberg starting strong
The problem Nico had last year was Hamilton destroyed him over the first half of the year and never looked back. Nico just never got going, mostly because Hamilton got up a head of steam and totally crushed him. Rosberg knew he needed to have a strong start to 2016 to stand a chance of matching Hamilton.
He is doing that. No doubt Hamilton will come back strong, once he gets the starts sorted out. Nico admitted as much that it was at the start where he won the race. Lewis went backwards fast. Nico started like a bullet. Lewis bogged down and this resulted in him being involved in a nerfing incident where Bottas clattered into him.
Vettel out and Lewis down to 9th - I was screaming at the TV in joy!
I don't say this often, but it was a shame that Vettel conked out before the start. It robbed us of a potentially more interesting fight at the front. That will come soon enough though.
Carbon fiber carnage
As DC pointed out - was there a points scoring system for people hitting each other through the opening laps?! Blimey!
There was plenty of action away from the front of the field - from 4th down there was some awesome racing for sure (always add a "for sure" in, when "yeah, no, absolutely" isn't used for once!).
Ricciardo drove a great race, as did Kvyat in fact - an awesome drive from 15th to 7th - fair play!
Vandoorne showed what he is made of, picking up the first points of the year for McLaren. Great drive there.
Williams seem to be going backwards, but I absolutely loved the smile Frank Williams gave late on when one of his cars was overtaken around the outside in a properly racy move. He is a pure, pure out and out racer.
Driver of the day
There are simply too many candidates here once again. Lewis for a great recovery drive. Kimi for showing up to a race for once. Nico, doing what he needed to do and leading out front all race. Vandoorne for an astonishing debut. Either Red Bull driver....
At the risk of sounding like a broken record....Grosjean is my driver of the day yet again.
5th! In just the second race of a brand new team. That is insane. The guy just sailed through the field serenely. He is super fast and a super safe pair of hands these days.
Surely Ferrari cannot afford to not look his way in 2017.
Channel 4
Coverage was good. Steve Jones is hitting his stride well. The exchange with Toto Wolff about body blows was hilarious. As was the interview where he couldn't hear his wife's questions.
Bernie
Calling the drivers windbags and referring to your relief that they can read and write (when he spoke about their open letter) was not a good move in my opinion. I'm sure Jackie Stewart had plenty to say about his remarks. The qualifying debacle is still not sorted. Qualifying at the moment is shit. Change it!
Alonso Vs Herbert
Didn't really see this battle coming around, but it did, sort of. Johnny Herbert wrote about his thoughts on why Alonso should retire. He went in-depth about it all. It's his opinion. As a pundit, he is paid to do this.
Erm, possibly what he didn't count on was waking the Spanish Fighter into a response. Oh dear. Awkward!
Fair play to Alonso for doing it face to face with a handshake (lulling Herbert into a "oh this is going to be a respectful exchange....oh...it's not" false sense of security). Herbert is paid to give his opinion, Alonso was merely airing his with someone who had clearly pissed him off.
Herbert's column is here, as well as the video of the slightly comical put down live on air (snigger).
A thumbs up for Alonso on this one. Thanks to Zeenews India for me nicking their pic!
Rosberg starting strong
The problem Nico had last year was Hamilton destroyed him over the first half of the year and never looked back. Nico just never got going, mostly because Hamilton got up a head of steam and totally crushed him. Rosberg knew he needed to have a strong start to 2016 to stand a chance of matching Hamilton.
He is doing that. No doubt Hamilton will come back strong, once he gets the starts sorted out. Nico admitted as much that it was at the start where he won the race. Lewis went backwards fast. Nico started like a bullet. Lewis bogged down and this resulted in him being involved in a nerfing incident where Bottas clattered into him.
Vettel out and Lewis down to 9th - I was screaming at the TV in joy!
I don't say this often, but it was a shame that Vettel conked out before the start. It robbed us of a potentially more interesting fight at the front. That will come soon enough though.
Carbon fiber carnage
As DC pointed out - was there a points scoring system for people hitting each other through the opening laps?! Blimey!
There was plenty of action away from the front of the field - from 4th down there was some awesome racing for sure (always add a "for sure" in, when "yeah, no, absolutely" isn't used for once!).
Ricciardo drove a great race, as did Kvyat in fact - an awesome drive from 15th to 7th - fair play!
Vandoorne showed what he is made of, picking up the first points of the year for McLaren. Great drive there.
Williams seem to be going backwards, but I absolutely loved the smile Frank Williams gave late on when one of his cars was overtaken around the outside in a properly racy move. He is a pure, pure out and out racer.
Driver of the day
There are simply too many candidates here once again. Lewis for a great recovery drive. Kimi for showing up to a race for once. Nico, doing what he needed to do and leading out front all race. Vandoorne for an astonishing debut. Either Red Bull driver....
At the risk of sounding like a broken record....Grosjean is my driver of the day yet again.
5th! In just the second race of a brand new team. That is insane. The guy just sailed through the field serenely. He is super fast and a super safe pair of hands these days.
Surely Ferrari cannot afford to not look his way in 2017.
Channel 4
Coverage was good. Steve Jones is hitting his stride well. The exchange with Toto Wolff about body blows was hilarious. As was the interview where he couldn't hear his wife's questions.
Bernie
Calling the drivers windbags and referring to your relief that they can read and write (when he spoke about their open letter) was not a good move in my opinion. I'm sure Jackie Stewart had plenty to say about his remarks. The qualifying debacle is still not sorted. Qualifying at the moment is shit. Change it!
Thursday 24 March 2016
The state of F1...
Justin:
My review of the Australian GP was pretty positive I think.
Then this.
I need to write about the last few days.
Driver statement
Andrew Benson, from the BBC, reviews the statement here. The statement/ letter in full is here.
I read the letter and it made a fair amount of sense. They spoke of "changing landscapes in TV viewing" and the "current global economic climate" to name but two things. They also referred to various rule changes, technical changes etc. They referred to them, without referring to them.
Just a few hours later...
Ok, either one of two things happened. Either the GPDA knew of the Sky exclusive deal from 2019 and decided to get a statement out first....OR...The powers that be in F1 decided to announce the deal as a reply to the drivers rising up against them. Would not surprise me in the slightest at all!!!!
So, Sky has all rights to live F1 from 2019. It will decide to sell a highlights, scraps if you will, package to a free to air channel.
I am furious.
No, not because I don't have Sky TV.
I am furious because F1 is going down the shit pan commercially.
Why?
1. The audience on Sky is nowhere near as big as on free to air TV. Fact.
2. This new 2019 TV deal just stinks of the F1 powers that be...Bernie, the F1 company...hell even perhaps the FIA!!!....They grab as much money as they can, no matter the cost. Look at the many new Grand Prix venues that pay a crap load of cash to hold a Grand Prix, then they have empty stadiums the whole weekend. Then they give a tiny amount to the teams compared to how much they earn!
At the expense of other races where the crowds would attend in their hundreds of thousands.
Follow the money. And it is a stinking trail back to Bernie and CVC.
3. The drivers, the guys that put their lives on the line every race, pointed out their concerns. They are bloody ignored!! Ask Alonso.
4. The complete fuck up with the new qualifying format. F1 claims to "listen to fans". Erm. No. Fact
Everyone. Literally everyone, said the new qualifying format didn't work and let's go back to the 2015 version, which didn't really need changing. Teams, team bosses, drivers, fans = unanimous.
Even Bernie said he didn't like it (perhaps he realised he might lose money somehow).
Then, a few days later (after it was put out there that obviously everyone hated it and we'd go back to old qualifying as soon as Bahrain) - F1 powers that be suddenly change their mind and say "oh hang on a minute, new qualifying is not great, but lets give it another race first (BEFORE WE ACTUALLY LISTEN TO EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD)".
Urgh.
The drivers are on the fans side.
Why the hell aren't the people that run F1 on our side too? Oh, thats, right. Follow the stink of cash.
My review of the Australian GP was pretty positive I think.
Then this.
I need to write about the last few days.
Driver statement
Andrew Benson, from the BBC, reviews the statement here. The statement/ letter in full is here.
I read the letter and it made a fair amount of sense. They spoke of "changing landscapes in TV viewing" and the "current global economic climate" to name but two things. They also referred to various rule changes, technical changes etc. They referred to them, without referring to them.
Just a few hours later...
Ok, either one of two things happened. Either the GPDA knew of the Sky exclusive deal from 2019 and decided to get a statement out first....OR...The powers that be in F1 decided to announce the deal as a reply to the drivers rising up against them. Would not surprise me in the slightest at all!!!!
So, Sky has all rights to live F1 from 2019. It will decide to sell a highlights, scraps if you will, package to a free to air channel.
I am furious.
No, not because I don't have Sky TV.
I am furious because F1 is going down the shit pan commercially.
Why?
1. The audience on Sky is nowhere near as big as on free to air TV. Fact.
2. This new 2019 TV deal just stinks of the F1 powers that be...Bernie, the F1 company...hell even perhaps the FIA!!!....They grab as much money as they can, no matter the cost. Look at the many new Grand Prix venues that pay a crap load of cash to hold a Grand Prix, then they have empty stadiums the whole weekend. Then they give a tiny amount to the teams compared to how much they earn!
At the expense of other races where the crowds would attend in their hundreds of thousands.
Follow the money. And it is a stinking trail back to Bernie and CVC.
3. The drivers, the guys that put their lives on the line every race, pointed out their concerns. They are bloody ignored!! Ask Alonso.
4. The complete fuck up with the new qualifying format. F1 claims to "listen to fans". Erm. No. Fact
Everyone. Literally everyone, said the new qualifying format didn't work and let's go back to the 2015 version, which didn't really need changing. Teams, team bosses, drivers, fans = unanimous.
Even Bernie said he didn't like it (perhaps he realised he might lose money somehow).
Then, a few days later (after it was put out there that obviously everyone hated it and we'd go back to old qualifying as soon as Bahrain) - F1 powers that be suddenly change their mind and say "oh hang on a minute, new qualifying is not great, but lets give it another race first (BEFORE WE ACTUALLY LISTEN TO EVERYONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD)".
Urgh.
The drivers are on the fans side.
Why the hell aren't the people that run F1 on our side too? Oh, thats, right. Follow the stink of cash.
Sunday 20 March 2016
Welcome back old friend - Round 1: Australia
Justin:
So much to cover...
First off, hats off to Channel 4 for their first effort at covering this awesome sport. There was definitely room for improvement....too many advert breaks for a highlights show, Steve Jones interrupting DC and Webber a fair amount (to be fair that is probably just because he can't quite believe his luck) and a few other bits.
All in all (as Vettel would say), not bad at all people. Hell, you have saved me from either missing F1 entirely or having to turn to the dark side and purchase Sky!
Was lovely hearing The Chain and indeed hearing Ben Edwards shouting "Lights out, away we go!".
Where I'm at
I sometimes lost the will to live with F1 last year. Hamilton dominating and not even his teammate coming close to being near him = Formula Bore! Rosberg sprang into life over the last few races, giving us and him hope for 2016.
I've missed F1 so much over the winter, don't get me wrong. But, I don't think I could take much of the same this year...
Race report
...Which is good, because the Australian GP was a solid season opener. Ferrari and Vettel cocked up big time - so much so that had they fitted the medium tyres when everyone else did, they may very well have won. Though, Rosberg showed pretty awesome pace throughout anyway, keeping up with the red guys.
As a friend pointed out, Channel 4 managed to not show Rosbergs amazing out lap to be on the tailpipe of Vettel. All we saw was Rosberg appearing behind him.
Ok, there wasn't a great deal of fighting at the front, but there was a bit. For the rest of the season, it is imperative that Rosberg and Vettel challenge Hamilton. Throw Kimi in there too - what rotten luck he had yet again. He was keeping pace until his engine blew up! Hell, Ricciardo could be in there too, who knows. Williams not so much on this display. They were nowhere.
Hamilton had a shabby start, which kind of threw his race out of whack from the start. He recovered very well for a strong second place.
Picking up where he left off
I'd imagine nobody knows more than Rosberg that he has to do it every race this year. He needs to be on it all year. Nothing else will come close to being good enough. He was on it today. He has won the last 4 races and will be gaining belief all the time now.
Grosjean and Haas
My driver of the day has to be this guy. He is a class act. Haas took him on board because he is fast and consistent. He delivers. He is my driver of the day, no question at all. For Haas to get 6th place on their debut is a stunning, amazing result. Well done to all of them! Does Grosjean have an eye on a Ferrari seat for 2017? Ferrari would be silly not to have one eye on him.
Palmer
I can only name one driver of the day. This guy was on TV more, battling with more people, and indeed giving himself a pretty damn good name in F1. He defended well, overtook well and it was an awesome debut frankly.
McLaren pace
Promising improvements here. Both drivers seem much happier. Then again, the only way was up after 2015. That said, they qualified only 1.5 seconds behind the Mercedes pair.
I think I speak for everyone..
Alonso's crash was absolutely horrifying frankly. The car was a total mangled mess of carbon fibre. Very happy to see him get out and walk away. He'll be back fighting hard in Bahrain.
Sainz vs Verstappen
This could be the teammate rivalry to end all others at this rate (Merc boys aside). Sainz doesn't seem to Verstappen spitting his dummy.
To round off with
I actually thought it was quite fun seeing Webber and Vettel joking around on the podium. I don't like Vettel, but it goes to show that once guys leave F1, there is always a thawing of frosty teammate relationships. They were enemies whilst being teammates, but with time, it's nice to see they can have a joke every now and again.
How to be Mark Webber...
Just add "mate" onto the end of every sentence :-)
To Bahrain!!!!
Me, the blog author, in Hungary 2015 decked out in Alonso gear.
So much to cover...
First off, hats off to Channel 4 for their first effort at covering this awesome sport. There was definitely room for improvement....too many advert breaks for a highlights show, Steve Jones interrupting DC and Webber a fair amount (to be fair that is probably just because he can't quite believe his luck) and a few other bits.
All in all (as Vettel would say), not bad at all people. Hell, you have saved me from either missing F1 entirely or having to turn to the dark side and purchase Sky!
Was lovely hearing The Chain and indeed hearing Ben Edwards shouting "Lights out, away we go!".
Where I'm at
I sometimes lost the will to live with F1 last year. Hamilton dominating and not even his teammate coming close to being near him = Formula Bore! Rosberg sprang into life over the last few races, giving us and him hope for 2016.
I've missed F1 so much over the winter, don't get me wrong. But, I don't think I could take much of the same this year...
Race report
...Which is good, because the Australian GP was a solid season opener. Ferrari and Vettel cocked up big time - so much so that had they fitted the medium tyres when everyone else did, they may very well have won. Though, Rosberg showed pretty awesome pace throughout anyway, keeping up with the red guys.
As a friend pointed out, Channel 4 managed to not show Rosbergs amazing out lap to be on the tailpipe of Vettel. All we saw was Rosberg appearing behind him.
Ok, there wasn't a great deal of fighting at the front, but there was a bit. For the rest of the season, it is imperative that Rosberg and Vettel challenge Hamilton. Throw Kimi in there too - what rotten luck he had yet again. He was keeping pace until his engine blew up! Hell, Ricciardo could be in there too, who knows. Williams not so much on this display. They were nowhere.
Hamilton had a shabby start, which kind of threw his race out of whack from the start. He recovered very well for a strong second place.
Picking up where he left off
I'd imagine nobody knows more than Rosberg that he has to do it every race this year. He needs to be on it all year. Nothing else will come close to being good enough. He was on it today. He has won the last 4 races and will be gaining belief all the time now.
Grosjean and Haas
My driver of the day has to be this guy. He is a class act. Haas took him on board because he is fast and consistent. He delivers. He is my driver of the day, no question at all. For Haas to get 6th place on their debut is a stunning, amazing result. Well done to all of them! Does Grosjean have an eye on a Ferrari seat for 2017? Ferrari would be silly not to have one eye on him.
Palmer
I can only name one driver of the day. This guy was on TV more, battling with more people, and indeed giving himself a pretty damn good name in F1. He defended well, overtook well and it was an awesome debut frankly.
McLaren pace
Promising improvements here. Both drivers seem much happier. Then again, the only way was up after 2015. That said, they qualified only 1.5 seconds behind the Mercedes pair.
I think I speak for everyone..
Alonso's crash was absolutely horrifying frankly. The car was a total mangled mess of carbon fibre. Very happy to see him get out and walk away. He'll be back fighting hard in Bahrain.
Sainz vs Verstappen
This could be the teammate rivalry to end all others at this rate (Merc boys aside). Sainz doesn't seem to Verstappen spitting his dummy.
To round off with
I actually thought it was quite fun seeing Webber and Vettel joking around on the podium. I don't like Vettel, but it goes to show that once guys leave F1, there is always a thawing of frosty teammate relationships. They were enemies whilst being teammates, but with time, it's nice to see they can have a joke every now and again.
How to be Mark Webber...
Just add "mate" onto the end of every sentence :-)
To Bahrain!!!!
Me, the blog author, in Hungary 2015 decked out in Alonso gear.
Monday 25 January 2016
2016...just 54 days until "Lights out, away we go!"
With a new season nearly here, it occurred to me that we actually started this blog way back in 2010. The first blog takes us back through nearly 6 years of F1. Blimey.
Wow, that is a fair while ago. That was back when my long time co-blogger actually blogged once in a while ;-). That was when Alonso was fighting for titles and Webber was in his prime also fighting for titles.
A lifetime in F1 terms.
So, the season ahead...
Well, will we be hearing the famous words of Ben Edwards as the cars line up on the grid in Oz? Chances are, yes we will. It's complicated, but David Coulthard's production company have been hired by Channel 4 to take care of the F1 coverage. So, DC has swiped a lot of the BBC team - Ben Edwards included. It provides continuity for us folk who don't want Sky.
There isn't a great deal of news, but here is a quick roundup...
Honda have allegedly found 223BHP over the winter. I'd like to believe it. However, the piece reads like a lovely bit of PR frankly. The Honda engineers cancelled Christmas and worked 24/7? Yeah, ok! (I should note here that Honda have since said they don't know where the figure or report came from).
The Honda engine will be as fast as the 2015 Ferrari. Erm, I guess that is progress, but they will still be behind.
Though, they should at least have Manor, Renault and Haas behind them.
We welcome Jolyon Palmer to the grid with Renault. He has Pastor as a teammate - all you need to do is not crash and you'll be doing better than him!
To be fair, all the news is stuffed full of drivers training and drivers off having a good time.
There isn't a great deal going on right now.
Car launches soon and then testing. That's when we and indeed JB and Alonso find out whether the McLaren is still far off the pace or not.
PS - you may or may not have noticed that I failed in my "write a blog a day for 30 days in November". I got to day 8 which was pretty good. Turns out I gave myself too many challenges!
Wow, that is a fair while ago. That was back when my long time co-blogger actually blogged once in a while ;-). That was when Alonso was fighting for titles and Webber was in his prime also fighting for titles.
A lifetime in F1 terms.
So, the season ahead...
Well, will we be hearing the famous words of Ben Edwards as the cars line up on the grid in Oz? Chances are, yes we will. It's complicated, but David Coulthard's production company have been hired by Channel 4 to take care of the F1 coverage. So, DC has swiped a lot of the BBC team - Ben Edwards included. It provides continuity for us folk who don't want Sky.
There isn't a great deal of news, but here is a quick roundup...
Honda have allegedly found 223BHP over the winter. I'd like to believe it. However, the piece reads like a lovely bit of PR frankly. The Honda engineers cancelled Christmas and worked 24/7? Yeah, ok! (I should note here that Honda have since said they don't know where the figure or report came from).
The Honda engine will be as fast as the 2015 Ferrari. Erm, I guess that is progress, but they will still be behind.
Though, they should at least have Manor, Renault and Haas behind them.
We welcome Jolyon Palmer to the grid with Renault. He has Pastor as a teammate - all you need to do is not crash and you'll be doing better than him!
To be fair, all the news is stuffed full of drivers training and drivers off having a good time.
There isn't a great deal going on right now.
Car launches soon and then testing. That's when we and indeed JB and Alonso find out whether the McLaren is still far off the pace or not.
PS - you may or may not have noticed that I failed in my "write a blog a day for 30 days in November". I got to day 8 which was pretty good. Turns out I gave myself too many challenges!
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