2014 Formula 1 Report:  USA Edition

Drafting the Circuits

Week 25

Grand Prix                          Date                   Tire Compounds      

British Grand Prix             July 4-6            Medium.Hard

German Grand Prix          July 18-20        Supersoft/Soft

Hungary Grand Prix        July 25-27         Medium/Soft

 

Drivers’ championship:

1.  Nico Rosberg                  165

2.  Lewis Hamilton            136

3. Daniel Ricciardo            83

4.  Fernando Alonso          79

5.  Sebastian Vettel            60

6.  Nico Hulkenberg          59

7.  Valtteri Bottas              55

8.  Jenson Button               43

9.  Felipe Massa                 30

10.  Kevin Magnussen       29

11.  Sergio Perez                 28

12.  Kimi Raikkonen           19

13.  Romain Grosjean          8

14.  Jean-Eric Vergne          8

15.  Daniil Kvyat                   4

16.  Jules Bianchi                 2

 

Constructors’ championship:

1.  Mercedes                       301

2.  Red Bull                         143

3.  Ferrari                           98

4.  Force India                   87

5.  Williams                       85

6.  McLaren                       72

7. Toro Rosso                    12

8.  Lotus                             8

9.Marussia                         2

Austrian Grand Prix

 photo 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mercedes again collected a 1-2 finish as Formula 1 returned to the picturesque mountains of Austria.  The Red Bull Ring, home to the Championship Red Bull Racing squad put forth a top-notch event, which was a welcome return to the historic track.

Nico Rosberg flagged his 3rd  win of the year and his 6th victory in Formula 1.  With this win he surpassed father Keke Rosberg who has 5 Grand Prix wins.

photo 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mercedes again battled cooling issues, which compromised ERS and braking again.  The same issues that bludgeoned them in Canada.  Mercedes however seemed to have their heads around the problem as they were able to keep the pace up and get both cars to the finish in Austria.

Mercedes looked beatable on Saturday as the surging Williams team showed impressive speed.  Felipe Massa nipped Valtteri Bottas for pole position and an all Williams front row.

photo 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Williams held position through the first pit stops, but lost time in the pitlane and was unable to match the pace of the Mercedes.  Lewis Hamilton spun in Q3 and was unable to post a time.  The  led to him starting the race from the 9th position.

 

photo 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A clean and uneventful Mercedes dominated race saw Valtteri Bottas stand on the podium for the first time in his F1 career. Bottas explained,  “It’s difficult to explain how I feel right now. That was the best champagne I’ve ever tasted.  All the hard work that the team puts in shows in moments like this. I had one pitstop that really put in me in the fight and that changed my race, so well done to the boys for that. I had put in a good lap before that and so I got in front on Felipe and from there I could manage my pace with the cars in front. Having both cars score good points is what we wanted and so third and fourth for the team is a great result. There are still two places to go up the podium, but for now we will enjoy this moment.”

Rob Smedley, head of Performance Engineering for Williams  summer up the effort of the Williams team.  “Considering where the team was 12 months ago, to where we are today, everyone should be very proud of this result and enjoy this moment. Securing 27 points is a great result today.”

The Austrian race was truly a showcase for Mercedes power as Renault teams simply were lacking pace.  Christian Horner when asked about the Renault power plants was quite blunt.  It’s frustrating for Horner to see that the situation is not improving.  For a team used to running at the sharp end, and hosting at their own event, this was unacceptable for Red Bull.

Making matters worse, Sebastian Vettel instantly went 1 lap down when he lost drive on the opening lap.  He regained power but then lost his front wing in a minor touch with Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.  Red Bull elected to retire the car and save parts on the engine.

If there is truly a “Red Bull” this year, it lies in the form of Fernando Alonso.  Alonso is single handedly carrying the red Ferrari team to their current position of 3rd in the constructors championship.  Again, Alonso somehow made the most of his sluggish car and brought his Ferrari home 5th.  As always is the case with Alonso, he finds a way to finish in the points.

Beautiful return to the Austrian countryside, but Mercedes are running full bore ahead.  Hamilton needs a good few weeks before the summer break and Silverstone could be the track to start his assault.  It needs to come quickly or even double points wont help!

Results – 71 laps

Pos Driver                Team                   Time/Gap

1. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes

3. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Mercedes

4. Felipe Massa          Williams-Mercedes

5. Fernando Alonso   Ferrari

6. Sergio Perez           Force India-Mercedes

7. Kevin Magnussen  McLaren-Mercedes

8. Daniel Ricciardo   Red Bull-Renault

9. Nico Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes

10. Kimi Raikkonen     Ferrari

11. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes

12. Pastor Maldonado   Lotus-Renault

13. Adrian Sutil             Sauber-Ferrari

14. Romain Grosjean   Lotus-Renault

15. Jules Bianchi          Marussia-Ferrari

16. Kamui Kobayashi   Caterham-Renault

17. Max Chilton            Marussia-Ferrari

18. Marcus Ericsson    Caterham-Renault

19. Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari

 

Retirements

 

Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Renault

Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault

Daniil Kvyat          Toro Rosso-Renault    

For those who use twitter, you can follow me @steve_aibel or check us all out at Drafting the Circuits.