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2016 F1 Grand Prix of Malaysia — Results & aftermath

Red Bull 1-2 in Malaysia — Ricciardo wins & Verstappen places; Hamilton undone by late engine failure, Rosberg fights back for P3

After a string of poor results things finally seemed to be going all Lewis Hamilton’s way this race weekend at the Sepang Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. The Mercedes’ driver was the fastest in two out of three practice sessions and then set a blistering lap for pole in Saturday qualifying. Hamilton even made a clean getaway with no hint of the clutch-bite problems that have plagued his starts recently. Better yet, his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was tagged by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel early in the opening lap, spinning the German points leader and dropping him down through the field. After that Hamilton sped away and controlled the race from the front with only the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen & Daniel Ricciardo giving even token pursuit. He appeared on his way to a sure victory.

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

Pics courtesy GrandPrix247.com

But on Lap 41 Hamilton’s luck ran out. Out of nowhere his nearly new Mercedes engine gave up the ghost, coughing out flame and fluid and bringing his usually impervious Silver Arrow to an abrupt stop. As the Englishman held his head in disbelief, his mechanical misfortune gifted the race lead to the twin Red Bulls, with Ricciardo having assumed the dominant position after a side-by-side dice with his precocious junior teammate, Verstappen. Meanwhile, Rosberg’s chassis had survived not only the opening lap belt by Vettel but also a rash challenge into the side of the other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, earning Rosberg a 10-second time penalty for avoidable contact. Nonetheless, through dint of good fortune and persistence, Rosberg not only fought his way through the field lap after lap at this most sweltering of tracks but pushed clear enough of Raikkonen at the death to negate his penalty. In the end, it was Ricciardo’s victory, the affable Aussie’s first in two years, with Verstappen falling in line after the earlier challenges for an obedient P2. Rosberg came home a remarkable and oh-so-valuable P3 after what could only be described as a Hamilton-esque drive back from adversity. Meanwhile, the man himself could only rue his ill fortune and vent his spleen at such a flukey mechanical failure. Hamilton scored zero points with his DNF after looking like a sure winner and saw his deficit to Rosberg balloon to 23 points. With only 5 contests left in 2016, Hamilton’s task is daunting but not impossible. He can only be hoping that the reliability gods switch sides and bite Rosberg next time.

rosberg-f1gpmalaysia-2016

All credit to Red Bull despite the somewhat gift-like nature of the win. Since about the first quarter of the season the team have made tremendous improvements to the car and bringing Verstappen over from the junior Toro Rosso team now looks like a stroke of genius. Verstappen’s unbridled ferocity and ambition have pushed Ricciardo to up his game and after coming up just short in Singapore two weeks ago, the talented Australian is showing once again why he is so highly regarded in the paddock. The 1-2 in Malaysia was Red Bull’s first in three years, the amazing Vettel-Mark Webber salad days, and the massive points haul put them 46 points up on Ferrari for second in the all-important Constructors’ standings. With a lot of hard work and clever in-season development, as well as wringing ever more power out of the much-maligned Renault engine, it is Red Bull that have put themselves firmly in position to capitalize on days when things go wrong for Mercedes.

hamilton-f1gpmalaysia-2016-2

And that has been at the expense of Ferrari. It was another disastrous day for the Scuderia and another early lap exit for their putative team leader Vettel, as the damage on the front suspension after his first lap clout into Rosberg was instantly terminal. That left it once again in the hands of Raikkonen to fly the colors for Ferrari and the veteran Finn did the best he could to come home P4. Ever since he re-signed with the team, Raikkonen has driven steadily and with poise, salvaging good points and keeping the car out of trouble while his much vaunted teammate has frankly had an erratic campaign. Perhaps the pressure from Maranello has gotten into Vettel’s head somewhat because he has not always been the icy cold killer that he was when he was winning four consecutive titles. On the contrary, the German has often been impetuous and sometimes unlucky, getting caught up in shunts on track that are sometimes his fault and sometimes not. It all points to overdriving a car that has not developed as Ferrari had hoped and has waned as Red Bull has waxed ascendent. While Raikkonen seems to drive within himself, fighting when necessary but bringing the car home safely and in the points, Vettel seems to be trying to manufacture performance from the SF16-H that simply isn’t there. At this late date in the season Ferrari just look like the third best team in F1 and sometimes one has to accept the results. Obviously the team will keep fighting until the end but there’s a fine line between valiant and desperate and Vettel appears to be on the wrong side of that line all too often this year.

Williams got a decent and much-needed result when Valtteri Bottas drove very well to take P5. But after being shutout in Singapore all was still not terrific for the team. Felipe Massa had a disastrous day when his car wouldn’t fire on the reconnaissance lap and then suffered further misfortune after starting from the pits with an early puncture. Needless to say Massa did not finish in the points so Williams’ disappointing season continues. On the flip side, Force India continued to impress with Sergio Perez coming home P6 and Nico Hulkenberg P8, a strong points haul that kept the little team just ahead of mighty Williams for fourth in the Constructors’. Adding further cause for optimism, Force India announced that it had re-signed Sergio Perez for next year, adding welcome stability to the team by holding on to the talented Mexican driver alongside the very good German ace Hulkenberg for much-needed consistency in their driver line-up.

McLaren also had an encouraging day with Fernando Alonso good enough for P7 and Jenson Button finishing P9 in his 300th Fomrula 1 start. That puts Button third all-time amongst divers and sets the Honda-powered team up nicely for next weekend in Japan at the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit. You know McLaren will be wanting a strong showing there at their engine suppliers’ home court, as will Button at what looks to be his final Japanese GP. And after an up and down weekend Jolyon Palmer had a wonderful end to it all with a surprise P10 for beleaguered team Renault. Utilizing a bold one-stop strategy, Palmer drove beautifully, managing his tires until the end and taking the last points-paying position. After suffering a fuel fire on the sister car in Friday practice the team did yeoman’s work to get that Kevin Magnusson chassis ready for quali. And while Magnusson did not finish on Sunday, Palmer’s point seems a just reward for the entirety of the Renault team’s hard efforts this weekend, so kudos to them.

Top 10 finishers in Malaysia:

POS NO DRIVER CAR LAPS TIME/RETIRED PTS
1 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 56 1:37:12.776 25
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 56 +2.443s 18
3 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 56 +25.516s 15
4 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 56 +28.785s 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 56 +61.582s 10
6 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 56 +63.794s 8
7 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 56 +65.205s 6
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 56 +74.062s 4
9 22 Jenson Button MCLAREN HONDA 56 +81.816s 2
10 30 Jolyon Palmer RENAULT 56 +95.466s 1

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race is but a week away from the storied Suzuka course in Japan. Can Hamilton get back on track and cut Rosberg’s lead back down to a manageable size? Will Red Bull continue to thrive on Mercedes’ misfortune? Hope to see you then to find out!

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 Singapore — Qualifying results

Rosberg takes pole in Singapore, Hamilton only good enough for P3; Red Bull’s Ricciardo splits the Mercedes with impressive P2

If there was a blot on Mighty Mercedes’ record during their dominant 2015 campaign it was their underwhelming performance in the Singapore Grand Prix. But this year it appears that the Silver Arrows have eliminated even that small spot of weakness, as Nico Rosberg took pole in Saturday qualifying under the dazzling lights at the Marina Bay Circuit. He set his fast time early in Q3 but his teammate and archrival, Lewis Hamilton, could never catch him. In fact, it was the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo who came closest, beating Hamilton to P2 on the grid by just under a tenth of second. With Lewis starting on Row 2 now and his newly relevant clutch-bite starting issues it could be that Rosberg may well keep his recent momentum up and  recapture the championship points lead. But the tight street circuit can bite at any time and Hamilton is always a determined opponent so expect nothing less than the two Mercedes teammates    duking it out for the victory in Round 15 with only 6 races left in the season after tomorrow.

Ricciardo’s Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen struggled somewhat with his tires but was still quick enough for P4. In truth this tight and windy course suits the very well balance RB12 chassis so if anyone is going to pull an upset and beat Mercedes it could well be one of the Red Bulls. My money would be on Riccardo, as Verstappen will likely struggle to keep his car out of the walls just as he seems to always do at Monaco. Kimi Raikkonen took P5 for Ferrari with a decent run but his teammate Sebastian Vettel will have to start from the back after he experienced some sort of breakage to his rear suspension in Q1. It will be extremely difficult for the German former 4-time World Champion to fight his way to the front on this sort of track and Ferrari seem doomed to have another poor points haul in the Constructors’ Championship compared to their nearest competitor, Team Red Bull, no matter how high Raikkonen places.

The two Toro Rosso’s were quite impressive and gave the team a well-needed lift after several weeks of poor results, with Carlos Sainz fast enough for P6 and Daniil Kvyat showing shades of his 2015 form in P7. Force India also did well, with Nico Hulkenberg fast enough for P8 and Sergio Perez P10 [Perez was later slapped with an 8-spot grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under a double-yellow brought out by a shunt by Haas’ Romain Grosjean’s in Q2] , while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso split them with a P9 after teammate Jenson Button clipped the wall in Q2 and failed to advance.

Top 10 qualifiers in Singapore:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:45.316 1:43.020 1:42.584 12
2 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:44.255 1:43.933 1:43.115 12
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:45.167 1:43.471 1:43.288 12
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:45.036 1:44.112 1:43.328 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:44.964 1:44.159 1:43.540 12
6 55 Carlos Sainz TORO ROSSO FERRARI 1:45.499 1:44.493 1:44.197 14
7 26 Daniil Kvyat TORO ROSSO FERRARI 1:45.291 1:44.475 1:44.469 15
8 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:46.081 1:44.737 1:44.479 17
9 14 Fernando Alonso MCLAREN HONDA 1:45.373 1:44.653 1:44.553 15
10 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:45.204 1:44.703 1:44.582 20

Complete qualifying results alive via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live starting at 8AM Eastern on NBC Sports here in the States. 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 Belgium — Qualifying results

Rosberg starts second half action with pole at Spa; Red Bull’s Verstappen P2 & Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen P3; Hamilton faces raft of engine penalties, will start last

The summer break is over and the F1 circus is back in action at the historic Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium. And with unseasonably warm temperatures and no signs of the infamous Ardennes rains to be found in Saturday’s qualifying session, Mercedes’ Nico  Rosberg made the most of the unusually good conditions — as well as his teammate and archival Lewis Hamilton’s absence — to score the pole for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix. It was just the psychological lift that Rosberg needed upon returning from the hiatus after having been overhauled for the points lead by Hamilton. In truth, Hamilton earned his top position by winning 6 of the last 7 contests prior to the break while Rosberg had a string of self-inflicted misfortunes that cost him valuable points and positions during that time. He despartaely needs to make the most of Hamilton’s penalties this weekend, go out and win this race and perhaps regain the overall lead if Hamilton cannot recover from his back-of-the-pack start to score meaningful points.

Hamilton finds himself in that predicament because he elected to take multiple engine-change penalties for this race and so he didn’t run at all in qualifying, as he was guaranteed to be starting from either the back for the grid or the pit lane after all those penalty points were racked up no matter what he might have done on the track. So Mercedes were in essence writing off the Belgian GP for Hamilton while insuring that he would likely not face any penalties for the rest of the season, having run multiple engines in the 3 Practice sessions to inoculate them from the dreaded “new” label going forward. It should be interesting to see if the pugnacious Englishman is able to fight his way through the field and grab at least some points out of the contest or if he is sanguine enough to simply concede this race and the attendant points to Rosberg, save his car and come back strong next week at Monza. My money’s on Hamilton charging his way through and at least getting into the Top 10. I don’t think he knows how to do anything else but compete even when the odds are stacked against him and in the end he is the fastest guy driving the fastest car out there.

With Hamilton not participating that opened up grid spots for other drivers. Red Bull’s wunderkind Max Verstappen, who seems to have been responsible for a major uptick in ticket sales due to his Dutch-Belgian heritage, capitalized to grab P2 for the race tomorrow, besting his teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s P5. Likewise, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen continued his solid form since being re-signed by the Scuderia, qualifying P3 to teammate Sebastian Vettel’s P4. Sergio Perez had a lap good enough for P6 and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg qualified P7. The Williams of Vatteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were P8 and P10 respectively and Jenson Button will start P9 for McLaren, a much needed lift for the team after Fernando Alonso could not finish a lap in Q1 when his engine died early in the session.

Top 10 Qualifiers for Spa:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:48.019 1:46.999 1:46.744 12
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:48.407 1:47.163 1:46.893 12
3 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:47.912 1:47.664 1:46.910 13
4 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:47.802 1:47.944 1:47.108 14
5 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:48.407 1:48.027 1:47.216 12
6 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:48.106 1:47.485 1:47.407 12
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:48.080 1:47.317 1:47.543 12
8 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:48.655 1:47.918 1:47.612 12
9 22 Jenson Button MCLAREN HONDA 1:48.700 1:48.051 1:48.114 15
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:47.738 1:47.667 1:48.263 12

Complete Qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrow’s race airs live beginning at 7:30 Eastern on NBC Sports here in the States. Can we really have three warm, dry days in the Ardennes? I wouldn’t bet on it and wouldn’t that put the cat amongst the pigeons with everyone married to a dry set up…

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 →

2016 F1 Grand Prix of Germany — Qualifying results

Rosberg grabs pole with last gasp run in Q3, pipping Hamilton; Ricciardo P3 for Red Bull in Hockenheim

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg took pole for Saturday qualifying at his home Grand Prix in Germany, hooking up the best lap of the day after he had been unable to bank a timed lap in Q3 due to electrical issues. That put it all down to the last 3 minutes of the session and with the pressure on Rosberg came through, pipping his teammate and archival Lewis Hamilton by 0.1 seconds. Rosberg desperately needs a good result after a string of dominating performances by Hamilton saw the Englishman wrest the championship points lead from him so he can take some momentum and confidence into the upcoming August break.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was right behind Hamilton and his wunderkind teammate Max Verstappen took P4, showing once again that the Red Bull chassis-engine combo is the most improved in the paddock, outstripping Ferrari for the claim of second best to mighty Mercedes. As if to prove that point, the Ferrrais of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel lined up behind the Red Bulls in P5 and P6 respectively. Force India continued to show renewed strength, with Nico Hulkenberg grabbing P7 and Sergio Perez taking P9 on the grid. Perez split the two Williams, a team that has definitely taken a step back this year, with Valtteri Bottas only fast enough for P8 and Felipe Massa back in P10.

Top 10 qualifiers for the German Grand Prix:

POS NO DRIVER CAR Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS
1 6 Nico Rosberg MERCEDES 1:15.485 1:14.839 1:14.363 12
2 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:15.243 1:14.748 1:14.470 12
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:15.591 1:15.545 1:14.726 14
4 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 1:15.875 1:15.124 1:14.834 12
5 7 Kimi Räikkönen FERRARI 1:15.752 1:15.242 1:15.142 12
6 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:15.927 1:15.630 1:15.315 14
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:16.301 1:15.623 1:15.510 15
8 77 Valtteri Bottas WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:15.952 1:15.490 1:15.530 12
9 11 Sergio Perez FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 1:16.169 1:15.500 1:15.537 17
10 19 Felipe Massa WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:16.503 1:15.699 1:15.615 13

Complete qualifying results available via Formula1.com.

Tomorrows race airs live from Hockenheim beginning at 8AM Eastern on NBC Sports Network here in the States. Can Rosberg put a stop to Hamilton’s blistering momentum before the summer break? Hope to see you the to find out!