2014 Formula 1 Report: USA Edition
Drafting the Circuits
Week 21
Grand Prix Date Tire Compounds
Grand Prix of Canada June 6-8 Supersoft/Soft
Grand Prix of Austria June 20-22
British Grand Prix July 4-6
Drivers’ championship:
1. Nico Rosberg 122
2. Lewis Hamilton 118
3. Fernando Alonso 61
4. Daniel Ricciardo 54
5. Nico Hulkenberg 47
6. Sebastian Vettel 45
7. Valtteri Bottas 34
8. Jenson Button 31
9. Kevin Magnussen 21
10. Sergio Perez 20
11. Felipe Massa 18
12. Kimi Raikkonen 17
13. Romain Grosjean 8
14. Jean-Eric Vergne 4
15. Daniil Kvyat 4
16. Jules Bianchi 2
Constructors’ championship:
1. Mercedes 240
2. Red Bull 99
3. Ferrari 78
4. Force India 67
5. McLaren 52
6. Williams 52
7. Lotus 8
8. Toro Rosso 8
9. Marussia 2
Monaco
The Grand Prix of Monaco lived up to its billing as a mega show rivaling the Boonta Eve Pod Race on Tattooine.
Nico Rosberg won his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix as he stretched into victory leaving Lewis Hamilton to battle with a charging Red Bull emerging star in Daniel Ricciardo. Rosberg took over the Drivers Championship by a mere four points in what is shaping up to be a great battle between teammates.
But this was no podium love fest. At this point, Nico and Lewis are barely on speaking terms.
In addition to the lavish yachts and celebrity, can ya see me parties, the F1 paddock exploded with drama as the Merc pilots engaged in a soap opera that will be the story to follow throughout the rest of the 2014 season.
Gadgets and “boys will be boys”!
Seems like the Mercedes drivers have been playing with the engine settings on the steering wheel. In Spain, Hamilton kept his settings on high against team protocol and in Bahrain, reports indicate the Rosberg did the same thing.
So this has been boiling in the last few races between the Mercedes aces and it absolutely blew in Monaco. With Mercedes providing a bullent proof entry, this Drivers Championship may come down to who has the strong mental character, or as Lewis has been saying, who is hungrier.
On of the most gripping aspects of F1 qualifying is the final moments of a session as the checkers fly and a few drivers are still on flying laps. It is here that poles are often won and each driver wants that final chance to master the track and secure the top spot.
Hamilton was on track to gather up the Monaco pole in the final minutes of Q3, however a late session yellow flag ended that chance.
The flag was brought out when teammate Nico Rosberg aborted his final flying lap with a trip into the escape road at the Mirabeau corner. This brought out the yellow and ended qualifying.
The question is, did Nico deliberately stop Hamilton from grabbing pole by causing that final yellow flag?
Both parties looked at the telemetry and landed on different pages. Lewis said is was obvious from the data and the kwanky steering inputs that Rosberg did this on purpose. Rosberg gave the schoolboy answer of how could you even ask me if I did such a thing….look at the telemetry!
The FIA sided with Nico and Lewis was pissed!
It was under this brooding sky that the race in Monaco was run. Lewis was on edge. Rosberg got a great start and held the lead into the first corner of Sainte Devote followed by Hamilton.
Rosberg was able to control the race from the top of the chart and was set up for a final assault from Hamilton which never came. Hamilton seemed to be managing his fuel better than Rosberg who was told to coast into corners and save whatever fuel he could.
The late charge finally arrived, however it came from the Red Bull RB10 of Daniel Ricciardo. And instead of Hamilton attacking Rosberg, it was Ricciardo attacking Hamilton for second.
Hamilton essentially lost his chance when something impeded his image and he could not not see out of his left eye. He lost his chance at catching Rosberg, and instead, allowed Ricciardo to close the gap and make the final laps interesting as he fell only .4 seconds short of catching Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel after a good start, again, experienced problems with his Red Bull machine. He retired after only 5 laps with a mechanical turbo failure.
Kimi Raikkonen had perhaps the best start of the race, but a puncture from contact with Max Chilton’s Marussia during a safety car period lost Kimi track position and a chance for a positive result.
And speaking of Marussia, a huge day for them as they scored their first ever Formula 1 point. Jules Bianchi brought the Marussia car home 9th and picked up 2 Championship points. Well Done!
So in a season where the Drivers Championship seems to be the only trophy up for grabs, the Mercedes boys are giving us plenty of heat to sustain us. Niki Lauda has already stated that the drivers have gone to far. Niki would know. His battles with teammate, Alain Prost are legendary. So for now, everything is revolving around Mercedes!
Pos Driver Team/Car
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
7. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
9. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes
11. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault
12. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
13. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault
14. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari
Retirements:
Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari
Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes
Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault
Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes
Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault
For those who use Twitter, you can follow me @steve_aibel or check us all out @RacingDTC for Drafting the Circuits.