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 :-).
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
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.
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