Were Red Bull too quick to ditch Kvyat?

By Daniel Wilson.

Red Bull’s recent decision to drop driver Daniil Kvyat has been played down by the team themselves, but has divided opinion around the paddock as to whether their actions were too harsh.

The Russian driver was dropped from the senior ranks following a disastrous home Grand Prix in Sochi last weekend.

After starting the race eighth, Kvyat ended up hitting the back of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari into Turn 2, and then again around Turn 3, ending Seb’s race.

Kvyat broke too late into turn two and hit the back of Vettel, who also hit Ricciardo.

And it wasn’t just that, the Russian was also the reason Red Bull failed to score points last Sunday after his accident saw him and teammate Daniel Ricciardo forced onto a slower race strategy – a day the team want to forget.

So, can we judge Daniil on one race alone or has this decision been a long time coming?

In his first year at Red Bull last year, the Russian was more than match for his teammate, finishing ahead of him in 10 of the 19 races and three points ahead in the final standings.

But this year has been a very different story. After another failed start in Australia, Kvyat has been largely outpaced by Ricciardo in the last three races. He finished seventh in Bahrain and as mentioned, was the cause of the chaos in Russia.

Sebastian Vettel went to see former boss Christian Horner about the man who replaced him at the team.

However, do the team have short memories? In China, Kvyat gave Red Bull their only podium of the season up to now, with a hard fought third place. Of course, he took advantage of the safety car and his teammate’s tyre blowout while leading.

And of course, there was controversy between him and Vettel in the pre-podium room surrounding Kvyat’s aggressive drive into turn one.

Max Verstappen is only 18 and has completed 23 Grands Prix in Formula One.

Red Bull just need to assure fans they aren’t being dictated to by their former drivers, as Vettel has had much to discuss recently when it comes to Daniil.

I, personally would’ve kept Kvyat until the end of the season. Of course, removing him paves the way for the talented Max Verstappen. But after some immature outbursts over team radio in Australia, only time will tell as to whether he is ready for the top job at Red Bull.

Can Lewis afford another bad weekend?

By Daniel Wilson.

Anyone who has been looking at the media since Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix will know that Nico Rosberg is now the odds-on favorite to win this year’s world title, despite being only three races into the season.

The German driver has won all three opening events, and victory at the weekend secured a sixth straight win for him – one better than the personal record of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Nico Rosberg is only the seventh driver in F1 history to win the opening three races of the season.

The current world champion suffered his biggest setback yet in Shanghai. As if going into the race with a five place grid penalty wasn’t enough, the Englishman was then let down by the reliability of his Mercedes engine – something not many of us have said in quite a long time.

But after two poor starts had cost Hamilton pole to flag wins in Australia and Bahrain, a last place start in China was the last thing he needed. Lewis recovered back to seventh despite a first corner collision with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr. However, a poor getaway from the Ferrari’s handed Rosberg another win – and with it a 36 point lead in the world championship.

Michael Schumacher was the last driver to win the opening three Grands Prix in 2004.

Statistics are also favoring Rosberg in the long game as he aims for a first world title. The last six drivers to win the opening three races of the season have gone on to win the championship.

Hamilton’s challenge for a fourth crown is also looking bleak when you crunch the numbers. It’s the biggest deficit he has faced against a teammate while fighting for the title – even more than the gap Nico opened up in the mid-part of the 2014 season.

Lewis himself has admitted he has no more jokers left this season, and I think everyone would agree with that. As I mentioned previously, he seems to be in a better state of mind and isn’t letting the poor run get to him – but even the most relaxed of drivers will run out of patience.

Lewis will be looking for a hat-trick of wins in Sochi to get his title hopes back on track.

So the answer in this, the longest ever F1 season, is no – he can’t afford another bad race. The Russian Grand Prix – a race which only he has triumphed at so far – is a must win if he is to mount a challenge all of us want to see for this year’s world title; because as the man himself said – Nico is running away with it.

Has Hamilton lost his focus?

By Daniel Wilson.

There’s no denying that Nico Rosberg is winning the inter-team battle at Mercedes right now. With five consecutive wins under his belt and a best possible start to the season, he seems to have found some much needed form over team-mate Lewis Hamilton in his latest quest for a first world title.

But that form has largely been built on race day – which of course is what counts when you look at the points tally. And after such a dominant season last year, questions are now surfacing about Hamilton’s race day performances. The world champion has been on top of his team-mate in qualifying, taking pole position in both Australia and Bahrain – there beating the lap record set in a V10 engined car.

But its the race starts that have cost Hamilton chances of taking a first win since securing his third championship at the US Grand Prix in October. The Briton went from pole to sixth in the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix and was down to a similar position a fortnight later when he was hit by Valterri Bottas at the first corner at Sakhir.

Valterri Bottas was given a drive-through penalty for the incident.

And while that collision wasn’t Lewis’ fault, it’s a good example of the consequences some drivers face when they don’t get off the line well and so it needs fixing – quickly. He’s already 17 points behind leader Rosberg, but it’s not just the points gap Hamilton has to bring under control – it’s Rosberg’s mindset.

After equalling Hamilton’s best run of wins in F1, Nico has a psychological advantage he’s probably never had, and that is equally as important as a points advantage in this sport and one he needs to carry forward in the next 19 races if he wants to secure the ultimate prize in motorsport.

Nico Rosberg leads the world championship by 17 points after two races.

The questions over Hamilton’s focus now seem to be being carried over from the end of last season, when Rosberg won in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. At that time, most people put it down to Hamilton taking his foot of the gas after securing his life-ambition of three world titles.

But can his shaky start to the 2016 campaign  also be put down to the same reason? Has he now got nothing to aim for because three has always been his magic number? Personally, I don’t buy that. I think Mercedes and Lewis have to address their poor starts because the issue isn’t new – despite only having one clutch this year. Just cast your minds back to Hungary for one example.

Lewis Hamilton dominated F1 in 2015 to win his third world title.

Lewis Hamilton simply has to crack Rosberg’s run and if not win, then at least beat him at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix. Otherwise, his season may be over before it barely got going.

 

TESTING ROUNDUP & SEASON PREVIEW

By Daniel Wilson. It’s been ten days since this year’s testing came to an end, and with the first race now just days away, it’s the perfect time to think about where the teams are…

Source: TESTING ROUNDUP & SEASON PREVIEW

TESTING ROUNDUP & SEASON PREVIEW

By Daniel Wilson.

It’s been ten days since this year’s testing came to an end, and with the first race now just days away, it’s the perfect time to think about where the teams are going to Melbourne and how they are shaping up going into the rest of the new season.

Of course, the obvious place to start would be at Mercedes. The world champions seem to have picked up where they left off last year. The car, like many others, looks largely unchanged, and the one stand out feature from testing was their reliability.

Mercedes are aiming for a third successive constructors title.

There were no real problems at all over the eight day run, and despite not going for fast times, the Brackley-based outfit clocked nearly 4,000 miles under their belt – almost double any other team.

Contrast this with Ferrari though, and it’s difficult to find the answer to a question burning people’s lips – can they really challenge Mercedes? The Scuderia was the quickest car over the two weeks of testing and they generally have a reliable package to work with, but I personally believe they are still some half a second behind Mercedes over one-lap and a couple of tenths in race pace.

Ferrari haven’t won the constructors championship since 2008.

I hope I’m wrong though because if they really can mount a credible threat, then the 2016 season could shape up to be a classic!

As for the rest of the field, it looks as though Williams and Red Bull could once again be battling it out for third in the constructors. Both put in decent testing performances, but both were difficult to read into for different reasons.

Williams are still searching for a win in F1 since their revival in 2014; and Red Bull, now with their engine supplier back as a name team, continue their push to get back to the highs pre-2013.

New F1 team Haas are the surprise turnout so far. Many have commented on their impressive test which has shown they have a lot to progress towards this year – an unusual verdict on a team making its debut in the sport. Points in Melbourne, maybe?

Haas F1 are the eleventh team on the grid in 2016.

Teams like Force India, Renault and Toro Rosso have also upped their game, all putting in good reliable long runs and setting competitive lap times that could make them regular features in the top ten.

Meanwhile, McLaren are staring at another lackluster year in the sport as they push ahead with Honda. Testing was by comparison, an improvement on last year but reliability still looks to be an issue and their power unit doesn’t look very competitive.

McLaren finished ninth in the 2015 table.

Manor will be looking to enter a new age as they take to the track with a Mercedes engine for the first time, but again, reliability and power are the two key ingredients needed to start scoring points.

Finally, Sauber look troubled. After missing the first test, they are already on the back-foot and their problems extend off track as well. Financial concerns around the team have been raised, as have claims their workers were not paid for February on time. I just hope they can emulate the strong start they made last year and avoid becoming another team to fall foul of the money-trap that is F1.

Sauber finished fifth in last year’s Australian Grand Prix with Felipe Nasr.

All eyes now turn to the start of the season this weekend, and I for one can’t wait! I’m sceptical of the new qualifying format and whether it will take some of the limited drama away.

Only eleven cars finished last year’s Australian Grand Prix, which Lewis Hamilton won.

Let’s hope we can see a classic scrap between two teams out front, and an impressive move forward for some mid-field teams over the next record-breaking 21 races.

The 2016 Formula One season begins this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne (18-20 March).

TESTING 2016: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Source: TESTING 2016: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

TESTING 2016: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Daniel Wilson.

It’s that time of year again. The new season is just around the corner and the cars are about to hit the track for the first time as pre-season testing gets under way from Monday.

This year, testing has been limited to eight days rather than twelve, with all running at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Seven of the eleven teams have unveiled their cars ahead of testing, including Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull. World Champions Mercedes released the first images of their car today, with technical chief Paddy Lowe saying although the car looks very much the same as last year, there are some ‘mini revolutions.’ New US team Haas F1 also revealed pictures of their first car on Sunday as they look to make an impact on the sport in 2016.

Mercedes are favourites to take a third constructors title in 2016 with the W07.

 

Ferrari are expected to provide the best challenge to Mercedes again this year.

 

Haas F1 is the eleventh team on the grid.

 

Williams are still looking for an F1 win since their revival in 2014.

 

McLaren-Honda will be looking to put 2015 behind them with the MP4-31.

 

Renault are returning to the sport as a name team in 2016.

 

The Renault-powered Red Bull sporting a fresh look for the new season.

 

Remaining Car Launches:

Force India: 22 February

Toro Rosso: 22 February

Manor: 22 February

Sauber: 1 March

 

Testing Schedule:

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona: 22-25 February

Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona: 1-4 March

 

The new season begins in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix on 18-20 March.

 

RENAULT TEASE NEW CAR AS MAGNUSSEN JOINS

Source: RENAULT TEASE NEW CAR AS MAGNUSSEN JOINS

RENAULT TEASE NEW CAR AS MAGNUSSEN JOINS

By Daniel Wilson.

Renault have become the first F1 team to provide a glimpse of the car they’ll be competing with on their return to the sport this year.

The predominately black livery with tints of yellow is a new look from the car that many Renault fans will be used to.

The team confirmed their return to the grid in December after buying the Lotus team at the end of last season following rising debts at Enstone.

Fernando Alonso won his two titles with the team.

It’s the first time the French team have competed in the sport since 2010 and the new boss is hoping to emulate the successes of 2005 and 2006, when Fernando Alonso won back to back world championships there.

Jerome Stoll said Renault had the “budget, the talent and the people” to win, but admitted achieving that would be hard, especially with the dominance of Mercedes continuing.

For now, the team’s objective is podiums in their first three seasons. And it’s not only the team and the car that’s changed.

Jolyon Palmer dominated the 2014 GP2 season.

The driver line up is an interesting one too. The 2014 GP2 Champion Jolyon Palmer is making his F1 debut in Australia following a number of practice sessions for the Lotus team last season.

Joining him is former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen. The danish driver was dropped from the Woking based team after one year, despite finishing second on his debut in Australia 2014.

Kevin Magnussen was dropped by McLaren to make way for Fernando Alonso.

His return to the sport has meant the departure of Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan driver was with the team for two of his five years in F1, and took a memorable victory for Williams at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.

However, in recent years, he has built a reputation up after being involved in a number of race accidents – even resulting in nicknames like ‘Crashtor’ Maldonado.

Lotus finished sixth in the 2015 Constructors Championship.

I for one am interested to see what Renault can do in 2016 and beyond, and am excited to see another British driver on the grid, especially one who deserves to be there.

It was also nice to hear of Kevin Magnussen’s return because he never got to show his full potential in a McLaren car that was under-performing  two years ago, and it’ll be interesting to see how he settles in at Renault.

However, I don’t think results will be coming their way very quickly. The frustration of Red Bull towards the team’s engines has been blinding to the world, and the continued dominance of Mercedes and now Ferrari seems to be setting a trend against the French company.

 

F1 2015 Season Review: Hammertime

Source: F1 2015 Season Review: Hammertime