F1 2017: Australia GP Review

The first race of the 'new' Formula 1. New regulations came in and made sure that the order was changed only slightly. Who came out as winners of the race and who were the losers of todays race?

Winners:

Sebastian Vettel:

A very strong performance by the German, staying within striking distance of Lewis during the first stint. He could take advantage of Lewis stuck behind Max Verstappen and managed to create a good gap over the few laps that he could drive away of the pair. After Max made his stop, Sebastian still managed to drive away a bit, making sure he could take traffic in a fast way. A very solid drive, no real errors or complains on the radio. A class drive from him and the Ferrari team. 

Antonio Giovinazzi:

Alright, he did not score points or performed anything special, but the way he managed to do his job and be quite competitive with it, shows his true talent that he has. He hopped in as replacement for Wehrlein on Saturday and he was close to Ericsson, with the lack of knowledge of car and track. He did not take any risks in the opening laps and was very easy on the blue flags, but I did not expect anything different from someone who joined during the weekend.

McLaren-Honda:

Again, they did not score points whatsoever. But the fact they were able to run almost the entire race with both cars showed some huge improvements over the weekend compared to the 2 test weeks in Spain. Fernando was around the point-scoring positions for most of the race, Vandoorne had some issues during his first pitstop in which he lost much time. And even though I am still very careful with predicting the progress for McLaren, I'm pleased to see some reliability improvements; To finish first, you first have to finish ;)

Losers:

Daniel Ricciardo:

Made a mistake during qualifying, spinning off in Q3. Has issues driving towards the grid for his homerace, which he eventually started 2 laps down on the field. But that wasn't all his bad luck: He eventually had to retire the car and that way, his awful afternoon became even worst. A bad way to start the new season for him.

Kevin Magnussen:

The new Haas F1 recruit showed some decent things during the winter testing, but showed perfectly why I am still sceptical about him in Formula 1. He hasn't shown it that often, with a podium finish in his first race as best result so far. He needs to show his talent this year, otherwise it may be his last season in Formula 1.

F1 2017: Thoughts ahead of the 2017 Australian GP

With the first grand prix of the 2017 season this weekend, it's the perfect time to make a expectation of who is going to be fast and, perhaps more important, who isn't.

Starting off with defending constructor champion Mercedes GP. They seemed to be the favourite before the season had even begun and they have showed very good pace and a even better reliability throughout the 2 testing weeks. A few little problems hindering the team, they did manage to complete the most amount of laps.

Scuderia Ferrari has had a very disappointing 2016 season, without a single victory to be recorded and beaten by Red Bull Racing. In the tests, they seemed to be quick and reliable, although tests may not be the best thing to base it on. Let's see if they can manage to get back on 2015 form or even better, with a couple of wins and more competitive than last year.

Red Bull seems to be the opposite from Ferrari: They seem to have lost a bit of ground to Mercedes and Ferrari over the winter.

F1 2017: The Grid

We are closing in on the first race of the 2017 season, with new regulations around the corner. Bigger, faster, better?? How do the cars look now and which drivers are going to compete with the teams?

Mercedes:

Drivers: Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas

Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz

Red Bull Racing:

Drivers: Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen

Power Unit: Renault (Badged as Tag Heuer)

Ferrari:

Drivers: Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Räikkönen

Power Unit: Ferrari

Williams:

Drivers: Felipe Massa & Lance Stroll

Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz

Force India:

Drivers: Sergio Perez & Esteban Ocon

Power Unit: Mercedes-Benz

Renault:

Drivers: Nico Hülkenberg & Jolyon Palmer

Power Unit: Renault

Haas F1:

Drivers: Romain Grosjean & Kevin Magnussen

Power Unit: Ferrari

McLaren:

Drivers: Fernando Alonso & Stoffel Vandoorne

Power Unit: Honda

Toro Rosso:

Drivers: Carlos Sainz & Daniil Kvyat

Power Unit: Renault

Sauber:

Drivers: Marcus Ericsson & Pascal Wehrlein

Power Unit: Ferrari

F1 2016: Brazilian GP

In a weekend full of excitements, full of emotions and full of waiting (let's be honest), one of the best races of 2016 took place in Brazil. A race full of safety cars and red flags, we eventually saw some great races by some big and some less big teams. The last home race for Felipe Massa, perhaps the most noticable. Who were this weekends winners and losers? Let's take a look!

Winners:

Max Verstappen:

Source: Click here

Perhaps his best drive so far? Red Bull gambled on the intermediates, had to take a extra pitstop under the last safety car and from that moment on the Dutchman was (quite literally) on fire. From P16 in lap 55 to a podium finish (Lap 71), and the easy-looking way he did it, showed his true skills as a rain driver. And of course, his mighty save can not be missed.

Though I do not always agree of the Driver of the Day, this time it was more than obvious to see Max been given it. 

Felipe Nasr:

And if Max did not perform that well, Felipe Nasr might have been the perfect Driver of the Day. Haven't seen him making a single mistake and took great advantage of the weather situation, he managed to score Saubers first points of the season. With those 2 points, they also pass MRT for 10th place in the constructors championship. 

Losers:

Romain Grosjean:

He did a magnificent job on Saterday, taking P7, but he managed to crash his car on his way to the starting grid. It must be said: The complete straight was a hell to drive, and he wasn't the only one to be caught on that part (Felipe Massa, Marcus Ericsson, Max Verstappen). I'm sure he could have finished in the points, but it wasn't supposed to be.

Source: Click here

Jolyon Palmer:

At first I did not even notice what happened, but what a way to end your race. He just drove on the back of Daniil Kvyat, who (in this case) had nothing to be blamed for. It was a pity, as I felt Jolyon was doing a much better job during the last couple of weekends. 

Hamilton VS. Rosberg: Who is favorite for the F1 World Championship?

We are heading towards the last 2 weekends of F1 this year: First we will head to Brazil this weekend, which is followed by the Abu Dhabi GP in 2 weeks time. Who (statistically) has the biggest chance of winning the World Championship: Nico Rosberg or Lewis Hamilton? Let's find out!!

Nico Rosberg:

Nico Rosberg has had a very strong season so far. Starting with 4 wins in a row, he took a big advantage over his main rival Lewis Hamilton in the championship. He lost that lead over the course of the season, up until after the summer break where he got back in winning moods. He holds a 19-point advantage right now, which means he can come home second in both races and still be world champion.




Lewis Hamilton:

Whereas Nico's season has been great, Lewis' hasn't been. Although he scored a quad triple win in July, all the failures he suffered made his championship one with a immense battle. He still has a chance of winning the title, but must hope for failures on the other side of the garage or a Red Bull/Ferrari having a great day.



Statistically:

I don't just want to post this based on my own opinion. That's why I want to compare some statistics and see if it's showing us a clear image of what we could expect.

In Brazil, there seems to be a clear favorite. Nico Rosberg has (almost) dominated against Lewis Hamilton since 2007, in terms of race results. Especially since them being teammates, Rosberg has always finished higher than Lewis.

Rosberg was the fastest of the 2 6 times, whereas Hamilton was the best of the 2 in 3 races. Also, those 3 were all in his Mclaren-Mercedes time, when Rosberg was part of Williams (2006-2009) and Mercedes GP (2010 to now)

In Abu Dhabi, it's way closer between the 2 rivals. Both drivers were the quickest of the 2 twice in normal race conditions: Lewis retired in 2009, Nico hit trouble in 2014 (You know, where he did not want to box the car and wanted to go to the end). And in the 2012 edition, they both did not see the finish flag (Rosberg finding a certain HRT on his way: Specifically Karthikeyan's HRT, Click here for footage) It's fair to say they both have a big chance of winning it.

So who is the favorite to win the 2016 Formula 1 world champion? Based on the mentioned statistics above, it's fair to say Nico has the bigger chance. He seems to be the favorite driver of the 2 to win in Brazil and that would mean he would be world champion as well (As he would gain 7 points, giving a 26 point advantage). Lewis really has to hope on bad luck for Nico to have a chance or a great day for Red Bull, other than that there is almost no chance to win it. It would be hard to see all the failures have led to this, but it has had an affect on the title race.

Who will win the drivers world championship you think? Leave a comments with your expected world champion!!

F1: US and Mexico GP

[WEC] Audi to leave WEC after 2016 season

Shocking news from the world of endurance racing: Audi is going to leave the WEC after the current season. After a 18-year long commitment to endurance racing in the LMP class, they will shift their focus to other racing classes.

Source: Click here

As 2-times WEC champions and 13 time overall winners in the 24 Hours of Le mans since 2000, Audi have announced to withdraw their cars from the WEC after the current season. With only 1 win so far this season and a couple of podium finishes, this year hasn't been a success for Audi. They were not even close during the 24H, the highlight of the season.

Audi wants to put their focus on other racing series, especially the DTM and the FIA Formula E. They just lost the drivers title in the DTM to Marco Wittman, but won the title in the team championship with Team Abt. They also work together with Abt in the Formula E, the team that lost the drivers championship during the last weekend last season.

There are still 2 races left this season: Begin November in Shanghai, China and the last race will take place in Bahrain. They can still win the WEC titles, but will need a bit of luck in the process. They are 59 points down on Porsche in the constructors championship and the driver combination Duval/Di Grassi/Jarvis are 28,5 points down on the leadings in the driver standings.