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
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.
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.
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.
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
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