Category Archives: Cars

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Apologies but due to logistical difficulties I was not able to file my report on the Belgian Grand Prix until now. But here’s what went down on Sunday in the Ardennes at Spa-Francorchamps…

Surging Ricciardo takes 2nd straight win for Red Bull, Rosberg relegated to 2nd after early race incident with Mercedes teammate Hamilton; Bottas grabs another strong 3rd for Williams

F1 Grand Prix of Belgium

The echoes of Senna-Prost grew a little bit stronger Sunday at Spa as Mercedes teammates and Championship contenders Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton clashed early on lap 2, damaging Rosberg’s front wing but catastrophically puncturing Hamilton’s right rear far from the pits. The Englishman, who had been ahead as Rosberg tried an inside move when tire and wing came together, then had to limp home as his tire delaminated and began buggy whipping his bodywork for nearly 4 miles. While his Silver Arrow was able to continue it put him so far back in the pack that eventually the team retired the car in order to save the engine for future use, earning Hamilton zero Drivers’ points after starting from 2nd on the grid. Rosberg, who had won the Pole in wet conditions on Saturday, was able to soldier on despite an off sequence pit stop for a front wing change, showing great pace as the race wound down and coming home in second place and with a tidy 18 Championship points. Afterwards, the acrimony between the teammates was palpable with claims by Hamilton that Rosberg had stuck his nose in deliberately to “prove a point” and Rosberg putting it all down to a racing incident but certainly not apologizing. Mercedes team management was less than thrilled with the loss of Constructors’ points from the clash and vowed to give both drivers a stern talking to. But then again, it’s racing not a Sunday drive in the forest so these things happen between intense competitors and any ill will generated by them only serves to spice up the Championship going forward, especially with Mercedes running away with it. I say keep it up, lads!

Almost lost in all that controversy was another outstanding performance by Red Bull junior driver Daniel Ricciardo, who took advantage of the Mercedes infighting to run away to victory. Continue reading →

F1 Grand Prix of Canada — Qualifying results

Another Mercedes 1-2 as Rosberg grabs second Pole in a row without drama, Vettel back on form to take 3rd on the grid in Canada

After the contentious qualifying session in Monaco two weeks ago where Lewis Hamilton openly speculated that his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg caused a deliberate yellow flag to thwart his final fast lap, Rosberg responded by grabbing a straightforward Pole position in Montreal at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, besting his teammate by less than a tenth of a second. Once again the two factory Silver Arrows were untouchable with Hamilton’s 2nd position over half a second quicker that the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, who wrung the most out of his underpowered chassis to take 3rd on a course that demands speed in the long straights. After showing signs of coming out of his season-long funk in the last couple of races it seems the German 4-time World Champion is primed to at least hold off his junior teammate Daniel Ricciardo for Best of the Rest honors come Sunday. But barring mechanical issues, Team Mercedes look to continue running away with the Championship points with the only real drama seemingly to be which of their two excellent pilots will come out on top from week to week.

Full Qualifying results below courtesy of Autosport.com:

Pos Driver                Team                 Time           Gap   
 1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m14.874s         
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m14.953s  +0.079s 
 3. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m15.548s  +0.674s 
 4. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Mercedes    1m15.550s  +0.676s 
 5. Felipe Massa          Williams-Mercedes    1m15.578s  +0.704s 
 6. Daniel Ricciardo      Red Bull-Renault     1m15.589s  +0.715s 
 7. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m15.814s  +0.940s 
 8. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Renault   1m16.162s  +1.288s 
 9. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m16.182s  +1.308s 
10. Kimi Raikkonen        Ferrari              1m16.214s  +1.340s 
Q2 cut-off time: 1m16.255s                                   Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m16.300s  +1.246s
12. Kevin Magnussen       McLaren-Mercedes     1m16.310s  +1.256s
13. Sergio Perez          Force India-Mercedes 1m16.472s  +1.418s
14. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m16.687s  +1.633s
15. Daniil Kvyat          Toro Rosso-Renault   1m16.713s  +1.659s
16. Adrian Sutil          Sauber-Ferrari       1m17.314s  +2.260s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m18.235s                                Gap *
17. Pastor Maldonado      Lotus-Renault        1m18.328s  +2.578s
18. Max Chilton           Marussia-Ferrari     1m18.348s  +2.598s
19. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Ferrari     1m18.359s  +2.609s
20. Kamui Kobayashi       Caterham-Renault     1m19.278s  +3.528s
21. Marcus Ericsson       Caterham-Renault     1m19.820s  +4.070s
22. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       no time

Race day is tomorrow at 2pm Eastern on NBC here in the US.

RIP Sir Jack Brabham, 1926 – 2014

The Australian triple Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham has passed away at the age of 88. Among his many accomplishments, Sir Jack was the first and only man to win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships in a car of his own design (1966).

Photo from www.brianwatsonphoto.co.uk

From his son David, a fantastic racer in his own right:

On behalf of the family, Jack’s youngest son David said: “It’s a very sad day for all of us. My father passed away peacefully at home at the age of 88 this morning. He lived an incredible life, achieving more than anyone would ever dream of and he will continue to live on through the astounding legacy he leaves behind.

What more can one say? Sir Jack raced in the greatest era of Formula 1 against the best drivers, won 3 championships, left on his own terms and lived to become a beloved figure in his golden years. He may have departed this world but he goes on now to join his rivals and friends Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt among others in that great paddock in the sky. What a legacy and we should all be as lucky to shuffle off this mortal coil as accomplished and fulfilled as this great man. He truly left nothing undone. Godspeed, Sir Jack.