Tag Archives: Kimi Raikkonen

2016 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Results & aftermath

Hamilton storms to much-needed victory in America, Rosberg limits damage with P2; Ricciardo strong again for Red Bull with 3rd place

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finally had the end to a race weekend he was looking for at a track he absolutely owns. Facing a victory drought dating back to Round 12 in Germany that also saw his championship lead ceded to his teammate and archrival Nico Rosberg over the course of those five winless Grand Prix, Hamilton was peerless in the USGP at the beautiful Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. After setting a blistering pole time on Saturday, Hamilton finally made a good start when the lights went out, avoiding his chronic clutch-bite problems and warding off his nearest challengers, Rosberg and the two chasing Red Bulls, as they all climbed the iconic hill into Turn 1. The Englishman was never seriously challenged for the rest of the race and flew away to an unsurmountable lead free of any pit dramas or mechanical gremlins that might cost him this certain victory. In the end it was a drama-free and flawless run for Hamilton’s 50th Formula 1 victory, which also put him the exclusive 50-win club that heretofore counted only Alain Prost (51) and Michael Schumacher (91) as members. Even more mind-blowing, it was Hamilton’s astounding 4th victory in five races at COTA and his 5th overall US Grand Prix win in 6 contests dating back to 2012 at Indianapolis. Rarely has driver been so simpatico with a circuit and a country as Hamilton is with COTA and the USA. Truly, racing deep in the heart of Texas was the tonic the Briton needed to get him back on the front foot in his quest to overhaul Rosberg and take his third world title in a row. Hamilton now trails his German teammate by 26 points in the Drivers’ Championship with three races left to be run.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Facing a Hamilton utterly in tune with a track and his car, the day for Nico Rosberg was one of damage limitation. While the current points leader had nothing for his Silver Arrows squad-mate, Rosberg drove a very solid race and avoided problems and contact that might have cost him valuable positions and points. Using matching tire strategies, Mercedes was able to correctly anticipate Red Bull’s plays and match them, using a Virtual Safety Car to quickly pit for fresh rubber and their chassis’ overall superiority to run a very long closing stint on the Medium tires, the hardest compound on offer this weekend. That kept Rosberg safely out of the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo and allowed him to score a valuable P2 that limited Hamilton’s gains and kept Rosberg looking like the favorite for his first-ever title.

Red Bull’s Ricciardo was foiled by that VSC period and must have been doubly flummoxed when he found out it was produced by his teammate Max Verstappen’s on track engine failure on Lap 31. Until then it looked like the smiling Aussie had a decent shot to fight it out with Rosberg for the second step on the podium. But with Mercedes capitalizing to make that quick pit stop and Ricciardo still out circulating at reduced VSC speed Rosberg came out well ahead. Ricciardo would never again have an opportunity to make it close and finished 15 seconds adrift of Rosberg. Still, it was good run for Red Bull’s veteran driver and a solid P3 for the team. Unfortunately, they had to reckon with Verstappen’s DNF and even before that the young phenom had inexplicably pitted without the team calling him in. So the Dutchman’s race would have already been somewhat undone by the time his engine expired, though he almost certainly would have scored points.

f1gpusa-2016_2

Fortunately for Red Bull and their goal of second place in the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari had problems of their own. Looking to capitalize on a strong run at Suzuka two weeks ago, the Scuderia instead scored an own goal when the team botched a pit stop for Kimi Raikkonen and failed to properly tighten a wheel nut. The Finn, who had been running very strong and might even have had something for Ricciardo at the end, instead had to stop at pit out on Lap 38 with a loose right rear wheel, backing in ignominiously to retirement after that unsafe release. That left it to Vettel to fly the flag for the Prancing Horse and the former 4-time World Champ was able to manage his tires well enough to take P4.  But with Verstappen already out of the race on Lap 31 this was a golden opportunity to make up ground on Red Bull with a strong double-points finish and Ferrari frankly flubbed it. With only three more contests remaining in the 2016 season Ferrari now trail Red Bull by a seemingly insurmountable 53 points.

McLaren saw some promising glimmers of hope at COTA despite a mostly dismal and desultory year so far. After being shut out of the points at their engine supplier Honda’s home track at Suzuka two weeks ago, Fernando Alonso showed real pace in Texas and was able to dispatch with some competitive cars and capitalize on retirements to take a hard-earned P5. Better yet, Alonso’s teammate Jenson Button clawed his way up from way back in P19 after a frustrating qualifying to come home a remarkable P9. It was only the fourth time this year that both McLarens finished in the points and the strong result gave the team hope that the future could well be brighter than these last two subpar rebuilding years.

Torro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz also got a superb result for both himself and his beleaguered team when he gave a very strong effort to take P6 at the checkered flag. While he was overtaken late by a storming Alonso, Sainz still had to be well pleased at being able to show his quality again on such a big stage and giving the disappointing Toro Rosso team valuable points and a much-needed lift. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa managed to come home P7 in his last USGP but he was the sole Williams to finish in the points, as Valtteri Bottas was undone by a first lap puncture from which he could never recover. The Finn could never really recover and finished a disappointing P16, another poor result for a 2016 campaign that underwhelming Team Williams would like to forget.

Force India’s Sergio Perez was also forced to fly his team’s colors all by his lonesome in the Lone State State, coming home an acceptable P8 after his teammate Nico Hulkenberg was taken out in a Lap 1- Turn 1 melee with Vettel that was also responsible for Bottas’ puncture at the start of the race. The normally steady German has now retired in three consecutive F1 Grand Prix at COTA and has never finished higher than P6 in the US Grand Prix. He’ll be hoping for better things in the USA when he’s driving for the factory Renault team next year. Romain Grosjean took the last points-paying position with P10 in his Haas. It was nice moment for the French driver and his American team, as Haas were able to score in their maiden run at their home GP. It also broke an 8-race scoring drought for the first-year team.

Top 10 finishers in the United States Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 56 1:38:12.618 25
2 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 56 +4.520s 18
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 56 +19.692s 15
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 56 +43.134s 12
5 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 56 +93.953s 10
6 55 Carlos Sainz TORO ROSSO FERRARI 56 +96.124s 8
7 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 55 +1 lap 6
8 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 55 +1 lap 4
9 22 Jenson Button MCLAREN HONDA 55 +1 lap 2
10 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 55 +1 lap 1

Complete race results amiable via Formula1.com.

The next race is but a week away — The Grand Prix of Mexico from the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Hope to see you then to find out if Hamilton can keep up the pressure on Rosberg and keep his championship dream alive for another week!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of the United States — Qualifying results

Hamilton dominates with blistering lap for pole at COTA, Rosberg P2; Ricciardo P3 for Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton served notice that he is not ready to relinquish his championship just yet with a blistering lap at the Circuit of the Americas good enough not only for pole but also the F1 record at this relatively new circuit. After a string of disappointing results and bad mechanical luck, Hamilton’s stunning 1:34.999 time earned him the top starting spot for Sunday’s Grand Prix and reaffirmed his mastery at a track where he has always seemed to have a special affinity. Remarkably, Hamilton has won three out of the four F1 contests ever held at COTA. His Mercedes teammate, archrival and current points leader Nico Rosberg was just a blink beheind at 1:35.215, proving once again that there is very little to separate this dynamic but disparate duo. Hamilton must, repeat must avoid the clutch-bite issues that have plagued him and ruined so many of his starts this season if he is to regain momentum and get himself back into championship contention. One slip and Rosberg has shown repeatedly that he has what it takes to capitalize and drive perfectly from the front to victory and one step closer to his first-ever and much coveted Drivers’ Championship.

The Red Bulls showed the next best pace in the field, with Daniel Ricciardo pipping his younger teammate Max Verstappen, P3 to P4. Verstappen was nearly 4-tenths faster than the nearest Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen in P5 and the other Prancing Horse of Sebastien Vettel was another 2-tenths behind that. The fabled Scuderia looks to have essentially conceded second in the Constructors’ Championship to surging Red Bull and will probably shift to expending their considerable resources on next season’s much changed specification.

Nico Hulkenberg was very strong for his soon to be former team, Force India. It was announced after the Japanese GP two weeks ago that Hulkenberg will be leaving the overachieving little Indian team for a factory drive with Renault next year. The two Williams had a reasonably encouraging day with both Valtteri Bottas (P8) and Felipe Massa (P9) sneaking into Q3 for a change. And Carlos Sainz finally gave badly underachieving Toro Rosso a small glimmer of hope by taking P10 on the starting grid.

Top 10 qualifiers for the US Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:36.296 1:36.450 1:34.999 13
2 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:36.397 1:36.351 1:35.215 13
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:36.759 1:36.255 1:35.509 12
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:36.613 1:36.857 1:35.747 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:36.985 1:36.584 1:36.131 12
6 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:37.151 1:36.462 1:36.358 13
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:36.950 1:36.626 1:36.628 12
8 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:37.456 1:37.202 1:37.116 12
9 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:37.402 1:37.214 1:37.269 12
10 55 Carlos Sainz TORO ROSSO FERRARI 1:37.744 1:37.175 1:37.326 14

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s US Grand Prix airs live at 3PM Eastern tomorrow on NBC. Can hamilton convert pole into a much needed win to keep his championship hopes alive? Or will Rosberg foil him yet again en route to his his first title? Hope to see you then to find out?

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Results & aftermath

Rosberg sails to victory at Suzuka after another poor Hamilton start; Mercedes claim 3rd consecutive title; Verstappen powers his Red Bull to P2

A week after his engine blew up en route to a sure victory in Malaysia, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton went back to having only himself to blame for his on-track misfortunes. Starting alongside his pole-sitting teammate Nico Rosberg on the front row in P2, Hamilton once again got a very poor getaway from the line as the lights went out and saw himself swamped by nearly all of the rest of the top 10 starters before he could recover. Meanwhile, Rosberg swanned away and instantly began pulling out a gap on his nearest pursuer, Red  Bull’s Max Vertstappen. Starts have been Hamilton’s unexpected bête noir this season and as has often happened after the summer break, he found himself fighting back furiously to recover from his own unforced error. But fight back he did, scrapping with and passing Ferraris, Red Bulls, Williams & Force Indias to claw his way back from a seemingly perilous points deficit. In the end, Rosberg scored an easy maiden victory at Suzuka, his eighth victory of the 2016 season, while Hamilton was able to salvage a hard-fought P3 for some level of redemption for his poor getaway. The high finishing places also insured the Mercedes factory team’s impressive third Constructors’ Championship in succession, a remarkable feat for any F1 team.

But for their battling drivers, everything remains to be settled. With only four Grand Prix left, Rosberg stretched his points lead to 33 over his teammate and arch-nemesis. The German looks well-poised to take his first-ever title from current champion Hamilton but, as the old saying goes, anything can happen in motorsport. One thing’s for sure: Hamilton will never quit and if he is going to go down, he’ll go down swinging. So Rosberg had better be prepared for the four toughest races of his career if he’s going to grab that elusive first Drivers’ Championship.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Splitting the two Silver Arrows, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drove a superb race to come home P2. The Dutch phenom fought his way forward after Hamilton’s initial slow start and was able to use solid tire strategy and determined driving to outpace both Ferraris, fight his way through stubborn backmarkers and then hold off a charging Hamilton as the laps wound down. His superb effort culminated with making himself just wide enough to thwart Hamilton’s optimistic passing maneuver on then penultimate lap, sending the Englishman down an escape road when he overcooked the overtake. While Mercedes and Hamilton complained that Verstappen made an illegal block at the time, replays showed no such excess movement and eventually the team dropped their protest. It was another sweet podium for Verstappen, his 6th so far in this his breakout year, and an amazing 6 podiums out of only 13 starts with the big Red Bull team.

All was not as joyful for Verstappen’s senior teammate Daniel Ricciardo. A week after his lucky victory in Malaysia, the Aussie had an uncharacteristically poor start from the wetter side of the track and had to fight for the rest of the race just to stay in reach of the leaders. In the end, Ricciardo finished well back in P6, a sure disappointment to him on a day when his precocious teammate thoroughly outscored him. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel could never quite make his tire strategy work even after looking very quick and battling back from a 3-spot grid penalty that saw him start from P7 instead of P4. Try as he might he could never close down Hamilton late in the race and had to settle for P4. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who also was penalized for a gearbox change and had to start from P8 drove with controlled aggression to work his way up to P5, decent if unspectacular day at the office for the Scuderia.

Rounding out the Top 10, the two Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were P7 and P8 respectively. After the race rumors swirled that Hulkenberg would be jumping from Force India over to Renault, something of a surprise when it seemed his ride was already settled for next year. And both Williams managed to score points after neither made into the third round of qualifying on Saturday. Felipe Massa was P9 and Valtteri Bottas was P10, as Williams’ race pace proved superior to their nearest competitors, the American Hass F1 team, even after they were comprehensively out-qualified by them.

Top 10 finishers at the Japan GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 53 1:26:43.333 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +4.978s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +5.776s 15
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 53 +20.269s 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 53 +28.370s 10
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +33.941s 8
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +57.495s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +59.177s 4
9 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +97.763s 2
10 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +98.323s 1

Complete results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks — the United States Grand Prix from COTA in Austin, Texas. With the weather predicted to be much better than last year’s soggy affair, the beautiful purpose-built track should get back to delivering excellent racing and plenty of passing. It’s also a circuit that Hamilton loves, having taken victory in three out of the four GPs held there. With time running out on the season, he’ll be desperate to take the fight to Rosberg and salvage his aspirations of a championship 3-peat. Hope to see you then!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Japan — Qualifying results

Rosberg pips Hamilton for pole at Suzuka; Raikkonen good enough for P3 for Ferrari

Nico Rosberg kept his recent positive momentum going by nabbing pole in Saturday qualifying at Suzuka in Japan. The Mercedes championship points leader pipped his nearest pursuer, teammate and archival Lewis Hamilton, by a mere .013 seconds as time wound down in Q3 and the checkered flag flew. That excellent performance capped off a terrific first two days in Japan that saw Rosberg fastest in every session and gave the German continued confidence in his quest to secure his first career F1 championship and take the title belt from his gifted English teammate. Despite his disappointment at being bested in quali all is not lost for Hamilton. The battling Briton was victorious the last two Grand Prix at Suzaka after starting from P2 and there is really nothing between the two Mercedes’ aces. But with the races running out and following a mechanical failure last week in Malaysia that cost him a sure victory and precious points Hamilton needs a good finish tomorrow and a sub-par performance or perhaps a reciprocal mechanical problem for Rosberg.

As he has so frequently in the second half of the season Kimi Raikkonen carried the fag for Ferrari with a lap good enough for P3. But while his much-vaunted teammate Sebastian Vettel was also quick with a P4 effort, the 4-time World Champion will be assessed a 3-spot grid penalty after last week’s first lap collision with Rosberg. An while the Red Bulls move up because of Vettel’s punishment, the team its drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have to be puzzled at being out-paced by Ferrari after making such great strides in their battle against the Scuderia. A week after a 3-4 finish at Sepang, Verstappen qualified only P5 and Ricciardo was P6. Rounding out the Top 10, the Force India team was once again impressive, with Sergio Perez quick enough for P7 while Nico Hulkenberg nabbed P9. And Haas F1 got both their drivers into Q3 for the first time in this their inaugural season, with Romain Grosjean a solid P8 and Esteban Gutierrez over half a second behind but still starting from P10 on the grid tomorrow.

Despite high expectations and recent signs of improvement, McLaren was back to being  completely adrift only this time at their engine supplier Honda’s home track. Fernando Alonso could do not better than P15 and Jenson Button couldn’t make it out of Q1 and was way back in P17. It was a sobering reminder that the team still has a long way to go to get back to the Olympian heights of their storied past. Williams was also out to lunch and neither Valtteri Bottas (P11) or Felipe Massa (P12) could make it out of Q2.

Top 10 qualifiers for the Japanese Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:31.858 1:30.714 1:30.647 13
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:32.218 1:31.129 1:30.660 13
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:31.674 1:31.406 1:30.949 12
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:31.659 1:31.227 1:31.028 12
5 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:32.487 1:31.489 1:31.178 14
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:32.538 1:31.719 1:31.240 14
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:32.682 1:32.237 1:31.961 12
8 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:32.458 1:32.176 1:31.961 17
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:32.448 1:32.200 1:32.142 12
10 21 Esteban Gutierrez  HAAS FERRARI 1:32.620 1:32.155 1:32.547 15

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix airs live in the wee hours here in the States — coverage starts at 1AM Eastern on NBC Sports Network. Hope to see you then for all the action from Suzuka!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Malaysia — Qualifying results

Hamilton lays down blistering lap in Malaysia for pole, Rosberg salvages P2 at last moment; Verstappen P3 for Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton responded to the loss of his championship points lead two weeks ago in Singapore with a blindingly fast lap for pole at the newly re-surfaced Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Hamilton was the only driver to break into the the 1:32s with a stunning 1:32.850, over half a second ahead of his teammate and closest pursuer, Nico Rosberg. That puts Hamilton in prime position to get back on the front foot in tomorrow’s race and try to overhaul Rosberg one again for the Driver’s Championship lead after a string of excellent post-summer break results from his German archival . To his credit, however, Rosberg was able to vault himself up to P2 from deep in the pack with a solid run after the checkered flag had fallen in Q3, ensuring the first-ever Mercedes’ team front row lockout in Malaysia. Victory could come down to the start of the race for both drivers and lately Hamilton has had crucial difficulties getting away cleanly when the lights go out, costing him valuable finishing spots and championship points.

The two Red Bulls proved once again that they are Mercedes’ nearest competitors this year, continuing to show marked improvement from the beginning of the season and rewarding the big team’s decision to promote wunderkind Max Verstappen from Toro Rosso, their B-squad. Verstappen showed outstanding pace yet again, with the now 19-year-old taking P3 and his more senior teammate Daniel Ricciardo slotting into P4. So once again Ferrari find their aspirations impeded by Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel only good enough for P5 and Kimi Raikkonen P6. The fabled Sucderia has got to be praying for rain to shake up the field come Sunday but in truth that could help Red Bull’s supremely balanced RB12 chassis more than Ferrari’s faltering SF-16H.

Force India continued their strong showings of late and saw Sergio Perez grab P7 and Nico Hulkenberg fast enough for P8. Jenson Button was impressive for a man who is not going to race in F1 next year, putting up a P9 time in his McLaren. And Felipe Massa came home P10 in his Williams. His teammate Valtteri Bottas was only good enough for P11, however, and the team desperately need a strong result tomorrow after scoring zero points at the last race in Singapore.

Top 10 qualifiers in Malaysia:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:34.444 1:33.046 1:32.850 11
2 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:34.460 1:33.609 1:33.264 12
3 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:35.443 1:33.775 1:33.420 15
4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:35.079 1:33.888 1:33.467 12
5 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:34.557 1:33.972 1:33.584 17
6 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:34.556 1:33.903 1:33.632 16
7 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:35.068 1:34.538 1:34.319 17
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:34.827 1:34.441 1:34.489 15
9 22 Jenson Button MCLAREN HONDA 1:35.267 1:34.431 1:34.518 17
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:35.267 1:34.422 1:34.671 13

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live at the ungodly hour of 3AM Eastern here in the States on NBC Sports Network. Either brew a lot of coffee or set your DVR and hope to see you then!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Singapore — Results & aftermath

Rosberg edges out Ricciardo for victory in Singapore, reclaims Championship lead; Hamilton only good for enough P3

Nico Rosberg continued his run of fine form and drove a flawless race from pole to claim victory at the beautifully lit Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore on Sunday evening, holding off the surging Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo by just half a second as the checkered flag flew. While the Mercedes driver dominated for most of the day the pace of Riccardo in the closing stages of the race forced Rosberg to forego a final pit stop and nurse his older tires to the end, which accounted for much of Ricciardo’s late-race gains. Regardless, Rosberg has now won three races in a row after the summer break, regaining his previously stalled momentum and recapturing the Championship points lead. With his victory, Rosberg vaulted past his teammate and archrival Lewis Hamilton and now leads the chase for the title by 8 points with only 6 Grand Prix remaining.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Rosberg’s win capped a frustrating weekend for Hamilton. Not only did he see his points lead evaporate but he could never really overcome his disappointing qualifying effort after technical issues in Friday practice. In the end Hamilton couldn’t make any real headway against Ricciardo but held off the competitive Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and finished where he started, P3, flummoxed by his inability to wring any more speed from his usually nonpareil WO7 chassis, as well as persistent brake overheating issues. After winning 6 of 7 contests before the break, Hamilton has now lost that superb momentum through a combination of technical issues, misfortune and his own mistakes, particularly his poor start at Monza two weeks ago. Now that fortune seems to have returned its favor to his teammate in this back-and-forth season, it is now up to Hamilton to somehow try to wrestle back the lead from Rosberg. With Hamilton seeking his fourth title and Rosberg still hunting his first both drivers will be amply motivated for the closing contests. Whoever takes the crown will certainly have earned it and so evenly matched are the Silver Arrows teammates in their supreme cars that it may come down to a simple stroke of luck for one or the other.

ricciardo_f1gpsingapore_2016

For Ricciardo and Red Bull it was very good race that saw their always aero-efficient chassis excel on the tight and twisty Marina Bay street circuit. Riccardo drove beautifully and even made Mercedes nervous with his closing pace. His eventual P2 helped the team stay 15 points clear of Ferrari in the all-important Constructor’s standings. His teammate Max Verstappen was not as successful, once again struggling to get away from the line, where he started from P4, and getting somewhat caught up in a big shunt by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg as the race got underway. The wunderkind had to battle back all race long with the likes of Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and eventually finished a decent but somewhat underwhelming P6. The Dutch phenom has now struggled to some degree in the last three races as the reality of just how difficult attaining consistent success in F1 sinks in. But to his credit he kept it out of the wall and raced cleanly despite his frustrations so that bodes well for his maturity going forward.

hulkenberg_f1gpsingapore_2016

The two Ferrari’s split the Red Bulls with Raikkonen driving well to take P4 just a little over 2 seconds behind Hamilton, although he might have been even closer to a podium if the Scuderia hadn’t opted for a late tire change, and Sebastian Vettel making a brilliant run from all the way in the back of the field to capture P5. It was an astonishing drive for Vettel on a track where passing is notoriously difficult, as he used smart tire strategy, patience and opportunistic overtaking to overcome mechanical problems that doomed his qualifying and show once again how good the 4-time world champ can be when he has the bit between his teeth. Fernando Alonso also drove extremely well bringing his McLaren home an impressive P7, while Sergio Perez carried the flag for Force India after his teammate Hulkenberg’s first lap crash out to take a valuable P8. Daniil Kvyat rediscovered some of his 2015 form at his favorite venue and drove an excellent race, coming home with much needed points for Toro Rosso in P9, the team’s first score in 4 races. It was a pivotal confidence boost for the much-maligned Russian whose F1 future appears very much up in the air. Kevin Magnusson got the last points-paying position with P10 despite starting from P15 in his Renault. With decisions about next years drivers’ line up also hanging over the Dane that was also a key result and an exemplary drive in the usually pokey Renault.

Top 10 finishers in Singapore:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 61 1:55:48.950 25
2 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 61 +0.488s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 61 +8.038s 15
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 61 +10.219s 12
5 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 61 +27.694s 10
6 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 61 +71.197s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 61 +89.198s 6
8 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 61 +111.062s 4
9 26 Daniil Kvyat TORO ROSSO FERRARI 61 +111.557s 2
10 20 Kevin Magnussen RENAULT 61 +119.952s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is in two weeks time from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. With the championship tight as a tick and the season down to only 6 more races every lap is ever more crucial. Hope to see you then!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Results & aftermath

Hamilton stumbles at start, Rosberg pounces; Vettel soothes Ferrari pride with P3 at Monza

As closely matched as the two Mercedes teammates and archrivals are this year, it only takes a small error for one to emerge victorious over the other. So it was on Sunday in Italy when Lewis Hamilton fumbled his Monza pole start in a style reminiscent of his early season clutch-bite problems, allowing himself to be swallowed up by the front part of the field. In an instant the championship points leader had fallen back to P6, a nightmare for the Englishman but a dream come true for Mercedes’ teammate Nico Rosberg. Unlike Hamilton, Rosberg made the perfect getaway and was able to fight off the two pursuing Ferraris on the opening lap, immediately pulling out a gap on the Prancing Horses and the rest of the field that he would never truly relinquish. In the end, Rosberg drove a perfect race and sailed to victory by a whopping 15 seconds, his first-ever victory at historic Autodromo Nazionale Monza, on a day when everything broke his way. That made it his second victory in a row after last week’s promenade at Spa and gave the German contender renewed momentum is his desperate quest for his first F1 title. After ceding the points lead during Hamilton’s remarkable July onslaught, Rosberg has won the first two tilts after the summer break to cut the deficit to a mere 2 points with 7 Grand Prix remaining. In this back-and-forth season, the pendulum of luck appears to have swung back his way yet again.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

After his remarkable back-of the-pack to P3 finish last week at Spa, Hamilton could have been forgiven for thinking that he had all the luck firmly on his side, as well as perhaps fatally damaging Rosberg’s confidence with that miracle run in Belgium. But with one pivotal moment of wheel spin as the lights went out, he conceded all that momentum back to his closest competitor in a season when, once again, Mercedes are the class of the field by far. Despite Hamilton’s bobble the team stuck with their 1-stop tire strategy for him, enabling Hamilton to jump the Ferraris and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and come home a well-deserved P2, at least minimizing the self-inflicted damage. Still, Hamilton had to have been rueing what might have been and the missed opportunity to keep Rosberg down. Instead it looks to be game on between these two rivals until the bitter end and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it all come down to the final contest in Abu Dhabi.

Rosberg-GPItaly-2016-2

Ferrari had a classic damage-limitation day in front of their rabid home fans, the always enthusiastic tifosi. Faced with the inescapable fact that they are nowhere near as fast as the Silver Arrows especially on a high-speed circuit like Monza, the storied team from Maranello deployed a somewhat risky 2-stop tire strategy. But their drivers were able to execute it perfectly to at least keep Red Bull in their place and reestablish themselves in the battle for second place Constructors’ points. Team leader Sebastian Vettel took the last podium spot with a decent P3 while Kimi Raikkonen set a number of fast laps on his way to P4. All in all, it was realistically about as well as the Scuderia could have expected to do when faced by the outright pace of the Mercedes while competing at their notoriously speedy home track.

For Red Bull the day was a bit of a reality check, as they too saw the limits of their power plant on this brutally fast circuit. Daniel Ricciardo drove an excellent race within those limitations to take P5, while wunderkind Max Verstappen made a poor getaway and had to fight his way back into the points. In the end he was able to recover somewhat to come home P7 in a rather subdued race for the Dutch teenager a week after he received loads of criticism for his borderline reckless driving at Spa. But look for Red Bull to bounce back next week on the very tight and twisty street circuit in Singapore where their RB12 chassis should shine… if Verstappen can keep it out of the walls. Valtteri Bottas scored valuable points for Williams with a hard-fought P6 while his teammate Felipe Massa, who announced this week that he is retiring at the end of the season, came home further back in P9. The two Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished P8 and P10 respectively, a valuable haul for the little team on a day when they made the most of what they had and kept the McLarens and Haas duo behind them and out of the points.

Top 10 finishers in the Italian GP:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 53 1:17:28.089 25
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 53 +15.070s 18
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 53 +20.990s 15
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 53 +27.561s 12
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +45.295s 10
6 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +51.015s 8
7 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 53 +54.236s 6
8 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +64.954s 4
9 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 53 +65.617s 2
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 53 +78.656s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

Italy marked the last of the European races this year. The next race is at the always exciting and visually stunning Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks time. Hope to see you then under the dazzling lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Italy — Qualifying results

Mercedes lockout front row at Monza as Hamilton scores dominant pole, Rosberg P2; Vettel saves Ferrari’s honor with P3 in front of home crowd

The Mercedes Silver Arrows showed their true from at the ultra-fast Monza Autodromo in Italy during Saturday qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton laying down a scorching lap for pole, besting his teammate Nico Rosberg, who qualified P2, by half a second. It was Hamilton’s record-tying fifth pole at Monza, leveling him with F1 legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Ayrton Senna. After Hamilton’s miracle P3 finish last week at Spa when he carved his way through the field after starting at the back of the pack his pole once again laid down a marker for excellence and sent a clear message of dominance to his teammate and archival. Rosberg is going to have to take the belt from the champ and Hamilton, still leading in the points, ain’t giving it up without a serious fight.

Ferrari was the best of the rest of the teams, with Sebastian Vettel grabbing P3 and bettering his hot teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s P4. The pressure is really on at Ferrari in front of their home fans and in the midst of a disappointing season but it seems unlikely that the Prancing Horses have anything for Mercedes unless the two Silver Arrows teammates once again come to blows.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas put his Mercedes power to good use to take an impressive P5 on the grid, while the Red Bulls showed their Achilles’ heel, the lack of pure pace at a speedy track like this one, with Daniel Ricciardo only good enough for P6 and Max Verstappen at P7. No doubt, though, the always well-prepared Red Bull team will have some strategic tricks up their sleeves to try to move their men up come race day. Force India continued their recent excellent form with Sergio Perez good enough for P8 and Nico Hulkenberg taking P9. Esteban Gutierrez had an terrific P10 fast lap for first year American Team Hass on the debut of their new rear wing, a very impressive result that saw him out-qualify not only his more experienced teammate Romain Grosjean but also both McLarens and the Williams of Felipe Massa.

And speaking of those latter two teams, both Massa and McLaren’s Jenson Button announced that they would retire from F1 at the end of the 2016 season. The two veteran stalwarts will be sorely missed but a new generation will be racing to take their spots. So it goes in Formula 1 just as in life!

Top 10 qualifiers for the Italian Grand Prix.

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:21.854 1:21.498 1:21.135 16
2 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:22.497 1:21.809 1:21.613 15
3 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:23.077 1:22.275 1:21.972 13
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:23.217 1:22.568 1:22.065 15
5 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:23.264 1:22.499 1:22.388 12
6 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:23.158 1:22.638 1:22.389 17
7 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:23.229 1:22.857 1:22.411 15
8 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:23.439 1:22.922 1:22.814 15
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:23.259 1:22.951 1:22.836 18
10 21 Esteban Gutierrez  HAAS FERRARI 1:23.386 1:22.856 1:23.184 21

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live on NBC Sports Network here in the States beginning at 8:00 AM Eastern. Hope to see you then to how it all shakes out at the always thrilling cathedral of speed, Monza!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Belgium — Results & aftermath

Rosberg sails to victory at Spa but Hamilton charges from rear to nab 3rd; Ricciardo P2 for resurgent Red Bull

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

The first race back from the summer break was marked by clashes, shunts and remarkable performances in Belgium. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg had a flawless drive from pole, making a speedy getaway, getting the most out of his tires for long stints and leaving the drama in the rest of the field far behind. In the end it led to a dominant victory at the historic Spa-Francorchamps track on Sunday. But while Rosberg was untouchable in the win he still must have been slightly unnerved seeing his teammate and archival Lewis Hamilton charge through the field and astonishingly come home P3. Hamilton started from the back of the grid after the team made multiple strategic engine changes and somehow willed his way to the podium, limiting Rosberg’s gains on the day. If there was a thought bubble above Rosberg’s head as he looked at Hamilton during the podium ceremonies it probably read: “What the hell are you doing up here?” For surely in his heart of hearts the German contender was expecting — and hoping — that Hamilton would finish out of the points completely and that he, Rosberg, would re-take the championship lead. Instead, despite his perfect day in the Ardennes, Hamilton’s scrappy effort insured that Rosberg remained behind him by 9 points as the two head into next weekend’s tussle at Monza, where they will once again be fighting on even terms. As has been said more than once before, if you want some serious passing done in Formula 1 better call Lewis Hamilton. And if you want to beat Hamilton in the championship you better keep him out of the points on those rare days when all the cards seem to be stacked against him.

All due credit to the English defending champion but Hamilton was also helped by a lengthy Red Flag period that bunched up the field and neutralized a lot of potential tire strategy with free changes available in the pits (as an aside, it is truly a ridiculous rule that tires can be changed in the pits during Red Flag periods in F1 — absolutely incomprehensible for race that has been “frozen”). The stoppage came when Ranault’s Kevin Magnussen suffered a prototypical Spa crash on Lap 7 when he lost control at high speed coming to the top of the big uphill sweeping left-hander Eau Rouge and smashed into the tire barriers. Though it looked nasty, Magnusson suffered only a minor ankle injury and was able to limp away with help from the medical crew. But the tire wall he speared into was badly damaged by the fierce impact and required 17 minutes worth of significant repairs. It capped a hectic opening stanza to the race featuring multiple collisions and retirements but after the Red Flag period the contest would settle down somewhat.

The Grand Prix got off to that contentious start when Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s wunderkind Max Verstappen all came together trying to squeeze through Turn 1, damaging all of their cars to some degree in the process. But the Red Flag period also wound up helping that combative trio when they were able to recover valuable track position after time-consuming repairs to front wings and under trays that should have destroyed all their races. While the two Ferraris got quickly back up to speed, Verstappen could never seem to recover his poise after that early incident where he felt hard done by. And while he diced and made life difficult for both Prancing Horses to the point of dangerous blocking maneuvers, they were able to overtake him eventually and score at least some points to salvage what had looked to be a dismal day in Belgium for the Scuderia. In the end, Vettel finished P6 and Raikkonen came home P9, which is something but maybe not enough to forestall major shakeups at Maranello. Verstappen, meanwhile, finished out of the points in P11 and with his erratic performance in front of huge crowd boosted by many of his enthusiastic Dutch countrymen (he also claims Belgian heritage) it seemed like the sheer moment of the occasion got to him. On days like yesterday it’s worth remembering that while Verstappen shows all the signs of being a super talented prodigy he is still just 18-years-old. At the intense Spa circuit and under the weight of so much expectation that lack of maturity seemed to cost him.

But all was not lost for resurgent Red Bull, as their senior driver Daniel Ricciardo drove a beautiful race, keeping his nose clean and maximizing his car’s greatly improved pace to come home P2 after starting from 5th on the grid. The Aussie was all smiles after the race and his ebullient spirit seems to have reemerged in full after a bit of a down period post-Monaco, where his team fumbled away what appeared to be a certain victory. The fact that Red Bull are now 22 points up on Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ standings and that it was also his third podium in a row couldn’t be hurting Ricciardo’s mood either. Also all smiles were the Force India duo of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, who came home P4 and P5 respectively. While Hulkenberg may have been slightly disappointed that he couldn’t score his first career podium in F1, The Little Team That Could saw their drivers’ excellent efforts vault them ahead of mighty Williams for 4th in the incredibly lucrative Constructors’ standings.

And speaking of bettering Team Williams, Fernando Alonso did just that in his at long last improving McLaren, besting a game Valtteri Bottas P7 to P8. It was fine finish for the Spaniard, who also started at the back of the pack due to penalties, and the McLaren team as a whole. One has to wonder what might have been had Jenson Button, starting from P9 on the grid, not been punted out of the race early on by Manor’s Pascal Wehrlein. Bottas’ teammate Felipe Massa took the last points paying position with P10 but all in all it was forgettable weekend for Williams, where their chassis’ continued lack of downforce proved too big a challenge to overcome at this long, fast but also twisty all-time great circuit.

Top 10 finishers for the Belgian Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 44 1:44:51.058 25
2 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 44 +14.113s 18
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 44 +27.634s 15
4 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 44 +35.907s 12
5 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 44 +40.660s 10
6 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 44 +45.394s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 44 +59.445s 6
8 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 44 +60.151s 4
9 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 44 +61.109s 2
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 44 +65.873s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is but a week away and it’s at yet another historical European track — the very fast, very storied Monza Autodromo in Italy. It’s Ferrari’s home circuit but the fight for victory should end up being between the evenly matched Silver Arrows of Hamilton and Rosberg. With only eight more contests to go each race becomes more and more important in determining 2016’s champion and every little twist and turn takes on added significance — hope to see you then!

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Germany — Results & aftermath

Hamilton lays down the hammer in Hockenheim, Rosberg relegated to 4th by mistakes; Ricciardo & Verstappen P2 & P3 for ascendent Red Bull

Nico Rosberg desperately needed everything to go right for him at his home Grand Prix in Germany to stanch the hemorrhaging of his once-dominant tally of championship points. Instead the Mercedes driver frittered away a hard-fought pole position with a dreadful start off the line as the lights went out, muffing his clutch bite point and bogging down. He was then overtaken not only by his hard-charging teammate and archrival Lewis Hamilton but also by the two surging Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Once again on the back foot, the would-be contender compounded his difficulties by obviously pushing Vertsappen off track on Lap 29 while attempting to claw back a position and the stewards handed down a 5-second stop-and-hold penalty. With an extra-conservative Mercedes team seeming to hold Rosberg even longer than the penalty demanded, the German’s race was effectively destroyed and he was unable to drag himself any higher than fourth for the rest of the 67-lap race. Despite threatening skies towards the end, no rain fell to shake things up and give Rosberg a chance at redemption. The German will no doubt be mulling over this poor performance — the latest in a recent sequence of disappointments since an aberrant win in Baku — for the entirety of the long upcoming August break.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

For Hamilton, his results and momentum have been the complete opposite, as the English defending World Champ swanned away from the rest of the field in Germany after his excellent getaway and stayed ahead for the rest of the race. In truth the Red Bulls had nothing for Lewis and with his teammate self-destructing behind him, Hamilton was free to fly home for the victory, his fourth win in a row and remarkable sixth victory in the last seven contests. Ever since the two Mercedes took each other out in mid-May in Spain, another incident where the majority of commentators put the blame on Rosberg, Hamilton has seemed to grow in determination while Rosberg has seemed to crumble under the pressure. When push came to shove earlier this month in Austria and the two Silver Arrows came together again in the dying laps it was Rosberg who came off second best in an attempted blocking move trying to hold on to to a win but instead losing a sure podium while Hamilton sailed away unscathed to the victory. And while early in the season Hamilton suffered mightily with his starts now it is Rosberg who seems to have the yips when the lights go out. Continue reading →