2014 Formula 1 Report: USA Edition
Drafting the Circuits
Week 16
Grand Prix Date Tire Compounds
Grand Prix of Spain May 9-11 Medium/Soft
Grand Prix of Monaco May 22-25 Supersoft/Soft
Canadian Grand Prix June 6-8 Supersoft/Soft
Drivers’ championship:
1. Nico Rosberg 79
2. Lewis Hamilton 75
3. Fernando Alonso 41
4. Nico Hulkenberg 36
5. Sebastian Vettel 33
6. Daniel Ricciardo 24
7. Valtteri Bottas 24
8. Jenson Button 23
9. Kevin Magnussen 20
10.Sergio Perez 18
11. Felipe Massa 12
12. Kimi Raikkonen 11
13. Jean-Eric Vergne 4
14. Daniil Kvyat 4
Constructors’ championship:
1. Mercedes 154
2. Red Bull 57
3. Force India 54
4. Ferrari 52
5. McLaren 43
6. Williams 36
7. Toro Rosso 8
Chinse Grand Prix
The first series of fly away races are complete and Mercedes have utterly dominated both the drivers and constructors championships. As the teams return to Europe for the bulk of the summer races, Mercedes have to feel extremely comfortable with what they have done with the 2014 specifications.
Although Nico Rosberg leads the driver’s championship, it is Lewis Hamilton who returns to Europe with momentum on his side. His runaway victory in China was his third in a row and Hamilton is full of confidence at this point.
As Hamilton flashed away, the China start could have become eventful. Contact was made between Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso as well as between Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas. None of the machines were damaged, but Massa was hindered later when a balky pit stop resulted from trying to fit the wheels on the opposite side of the car. Rosberg ran his entire race without telemetry which was lost before the formation lap.
The pole winner was actually gifted the win one lap early when the checkered flag flew on lap 55 instead of lap 56 lap. Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi actually made a pass on Jules Bianchi’s Marussia, which was disallowed because of the error from the flag man.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who had a stronger showing this weekend and filled the final slot on podium. Kimi Raikkonen struggled again, not making it into Q3 and finishing in 8th position. Still, as Raikkonen mentioned “for the team it was probably our best weekend…not a bad debut for new team principal Marco Mattiacci.
Four time champion Sebastian Vettel again finished behind Daniel Ricciardo. This was a good points day for Red Bull, especially considering the issues they have had with the RB-10. Late in the race, Vettel was asked to let Ricciardo through and his response of “tough luck” seemed to indicate that he was going to make his teammate race for the position. Vettel, however, pulled aside and Ricciardo sped away finishing in 4th, 20 seconds ahead of the German.
The series heads to Spain next and hopefully many teams will bring upgrades to their cars.
Pitside Chatter
Red Bull Sensor Issue
Red Bull racing lost their appeal to the FIA to reinstate Daniel Ricciardo’s points lost during the Australian Grand Prix. Red Bull has also been deemed responsible for the costs associated with bringing their appeal to the FIA.
Surprisingly, Red Bull again struggled with sensor readings this week in China. They did however follow the FIA instructions and were able to use their own sensor readings after approval from the FIA.
Interesting in this case are reports that the fuel used by Red Bull from sponsor Total, is degrading an O ring in the sensor which damages the seal and kills the sensor. Fabrice Lom, FIA head of powertrain, said that several teams have made modifications to the sensors which also could contribute to the sensor issues. By the Spanish Grand Prix it is expected that no teams will be able to modify the sensor as an FIA directive has made this illegal.
Stefano Domenicali Replaced By Marco Mattiacci as Ferrari team principal
After 6 years as Ferrari team principal, Stefano Domenicali has stepped down as head of the Scuderia. “After a poor start to the season, it’s time to make an important change.” He has been replaced by Marco Mattiacci, former head of Ferrari North America.
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