Fernando, Felipe is Faster Than You

Personal commentary. (Brazilian GP 2014 - Race)

The sun was shining unabated yesterday since morning. There was no sign of the reported rain that was predicted to happen at Sao Paulo. The track was as dry as the desert ground. Whoever said we were having a wet race again?

Thanks to the searing heat, it did make the race more interesting with the already tricky circuit. The top three from qualifying had so many obstacles thrown at them. The weather did the tyres no justice.

Felipe Massa was a podium favourite. A Brazilian for a Brazilian podium. He got into the race and received a repeat of history: a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Just when we thought that was the end of his misery, he wasted some time on the second pitstop, deciding to leave for Williams and race for McLaren? Each overtake from the Massa was constantly cheered on by the Brazilian crowd. "OLE OLE OLE MASSA MASSA MASSA." Indeed, with his well-informed understanding of the track and the car he was driving this year, it had placed him back on third place. Third place was already enough for the hungry Brazilian crowd. Parabéns, Felipe Massa! You so totally deserve the last podium yesterday! He may not have the most Brazilian GP wins but he is definitely the Interlagos king of the 21st century.

Romain Grosjean seemed to have horrible bad luck whenever he races during the Brazilian GP. The track does do him "wonders" every single race he has there since 2012. He has not finished a Brazilian GP before. He did pass the tenth lap mark successfully yesterday (at least) but he was still brought down at the 63rd lap for a power unit failure. What an abominable misfortune!

Kimi Raikkonen may have been overtaken by Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel on lap 62, he did, however, put up a stronger front when his teammate was hot on his heels. It displayed some amazing defences from the Finn. Even the team was so silent during the battle. We all knew that his position would eventually be snatched by Alonso due to his older set of tyres but those few laps were enough to conclude that Raikkonen has found himself at a very good position in the F14T at last.

The Honey Badger was not a Honey Badger for long. He was down with suspension failure while former finger boy soared to the fifth spot. Due to Valtteri Bottas' one point finish and Alonso finishing behind Sebastian Vettel, this had placed Vettel right behind Daniel Riccciardo in the world drivers' championship, surpassing the two drivers.



Nico Rosberg had such a trouble free race thanks to Lewis Hamilton's constant display of his ballet techniques (in reference to Burn's tweet "Hamilton performs a pirouette"). He spun again which ultimately cost him a possible win. The points are now narrowed down to 17. This makes the Abu Dhabi GP 10x more exciting and nerve-racking. Bring on the fire! Well, we all know it is either of the Mercedes drivers but the real answer we would want to know is, who will it be? Will it be the one time British F1 champion or Britney who has already won the sassiness award but is yet to win the driver's championship?

Brazilian Grand Prix Race: 

1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 71 Winner 1 25
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +1.4 secs 2 18
3 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 71 +41.0 secs 3 15
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 71 +48.6 secs 5 12
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 71 +51.4 secs 6 10
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 71 +61.9 secs 8 8
7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 +63.7 secs 10 6
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 71 +63.9 secs 12 4
9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 71 +70.0 secs 7 2
10 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 70 +1 Lap 4 1
11 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 70 +1 Lap 17
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 70 +1 Lap 16
13 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 70 +1 Lap 15
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 11
15 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 70 +1 Lap 18
16 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 13
17 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 63 +8 Laps 14
Ret Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 39 Suspension 9

Overcast Weather, Overcast Emotions

Personal commentary. (Brazilian GP 2014 - FP1, FP2, FP3 and Qualifying)

The F1 world closed the curtains to the Anglo-Russian team on Friday, leaving an unconscious Jules Bianchi oblivious to the disappearing state of his former team he had scored his first points with and Max Chilton without a 2015 drive (at the moment). How can we not include the people behind the team at the race tracks and back at the HQ? From this day on, Marussia's days with F1 have officially come to an end. It is with great sadness to hear this devastating yet shocking news. I thought they were the backmarker team with the most potential. They are actually placed 9th on the WDC, the team to beat Sauber and Caterham. I do recall that there are talks on them having a few interested buyers and even mentions of the team being listed as Manor F1 Team on the 2015 provisional team list. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. :( Starting from its Virgin Racing days up to now, the team has been in the motorsport for six years. Thanks for all the memories, Marussia! You guys will definitely be missed! <3

Apart from Marussia, Caterham is the next team which is facing trouble on the possibility of getting axed from the sport. The team is currently seeking fans to play a part in chipping in so as to hopefully see Caterham for another race. As of now, the they have raised a total close to £1,067,535, which is also known as 45%. YES, THEY ARE GETTING CLOSER EACH HOUR! They have about five days to earn as much money towards their goal of £2,350,000. I hope you guys are able to meet the target! I simply cannot bear to see another team not being able to contest in F1 next year!

As for driver updates, it seems like Sauber has a full line-up ready for the 2015 season with a Swedish and the new addition of a Brazilian by the name of Felipe. No, it is not Massa, he is still with Williams. It is none other than GP2 driver/Williams reserve driver Felipe Nasr! I was again appalled to read the news. I would have thought the last seat would be taken up by one of the remaining Sauber drivers (Esteban Gutierrez, Adrian Sutil, Giedo van der Garde). I have no complains about Nasr joining F1, he is a driver of superb quality. I just did not expect him to be driving for Sauber. I thought he would have stayed on with Williams and maybe join them when one of their drivers retires or changes team. Either ways, he has been signed on and he will be joining Max Verstappen as rookies in 2015! Parabéns, Nasr! May you end the final GP2 race in tip-top condition and have a pleasant time preparing for your road to F1 during the break! :)

Interlagos may have gone through slight track changes but it still gives both drivers and tyres a hard time. Some drivers were seen spinning due to the low grip their cars seem to have on the track. The difference the 2014 Interlagos track has over its predecessor is its pit lane, turn 2 and turn 15. I would say the track changes did not affect the drivers in any drastic way, it may be safer, yes. That is perhaps the number one priority in F1 right now.

Nico Rosberg has scored a hat trick in the two days of the pre-race sessions, constantly beating Lewis Hamilton with his flawless driving. His teammate, on the other hand, did not have the same fate as him, seeming to have a considerable amount of lock-ups. It was the lock-up that had again put the pole out of Hamilton's reach.

It seems like Felipe Massa has the advantage over Valtteri Bottas in his home race. He has been in the top ten in day one and top three on day two. Cheers directed to the two time home race champion were insistent. With the undeserved penalty he was given last year in his final year with Ferrari, he is certainly ready to pounce and get back what could have been his.

This is Rosberg's tenth pole, two out of which has only been converted to a win this season. Will this be the third for him? What about local hero Massa? Will we see him beating the Mercedes to the top? We are just one and a half hours to the penultimate grand prix!


Brazilian GP Qualifying: 

1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:10.347 1:10.303 1:10.023 14
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.457 1:10.712 1:10.056 14
3 Felipe Massa Williams 1:10.602 1:10.343 1:10.247 17
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:10.832 1:10.421 1:10.305 17
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1:11.097 1:11.127 1:10.930 16
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:11.880 1:11.129 1:10.938 19
7 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:11.134 1:11.211 1:10.969 16
8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:11.558 1:11.215 1:10.977 18
9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:11.593 1:11.208 1:11.075 20
10 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:11.193 1:11.188 1:11.099 18
11 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:11.520 1:11.591 18
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:11.848 1:11.976 14
13 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:11.943 1:12.099 17
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:11.423  9
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:12.037  8
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:12.040  10
17 Sergio Perez Force India 1:12.076  9
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:12.233  7
 
* Grid penalties for Daniil Kvyat (remainder of engine penalty from previous race) and Sergio Perez (collision involving Adrian Sutil). *

Everything is Bigger in Texas

Personal commentary. (US GP 2014 - Race)

Let's be honest here. Being an extreme F1 fan in this 21st century is rather tough. There are so many social media platforms out there a typical F1 fan will own. I myself own most of the popular ones: Facebook (to interact with my fellow F1 friends I have made in Twitter/Instagram), Twitter (to tweet real-time race weekend updates and check up updates from the teams/drivers/significant people in the F1 field), Instagram (to post pictures with the occasional addition of breaking news captions on the race weekend), Tumblr (reblog/favourite/post pictures/quotes) and of course Google+ (that is the reason why I am here right now, hehe). With that in mind, it is undeniably tough to be active in all places at once during race weekends with such odd timings. Truth is, I just want to apologise on this super late post and I hope you guys understand now that I am a rather committed F1 fan in all aspects. HAHA. :) 

I was still in a fuddled state when I tuned into Martin Brundle's grid walk, an hour before the race began. I had only managed to fit an hour's sleep as I was simply too stubborn to leave those Instagram photos I have found and edited for another day, seeing that I would be posting behind schedule if I were to procrastinate. So yes, I was not 100% into the race up to the point I saw the crash between a Force India and a Sauber. Yes, I was that disoriented. I had zero clue on who exactly crashed into who until a few minutes after the names were announced. My eyes just popped wide open when the accident was replayed. I thought that was what Pastor Maldonado only does (no hate on him, just a rather straightforward reference) because Perez had done it so dangerously. Furthermore, this is not his very first mistake. This is no stranger to him. He did it to Felipe Massa earlier this year at the Canadian GP, the EXACT SAME mistake. I did praise him before but at times like this, any driver deserve the criticism and Perez truly deserved the seven-place grid penalty this time round. I did feel a bit of heartache for the Mexican though because he had to retire at the track so close to home. BUT he bumped Kimi Raikkonen and then crashed into Adrian Sutil who could possibly have won the first points for the Swiss team if not for that accident. In conclusion, I would say these two did not deserve the retirement but who am I to stop the crash? It was so abrupt and I am not god... At least both of them are safe.  

Joining alongside Perez was his teammate Nico Hulkenberg who simply lost drive on lap 17. This is the second race since the Hungarian GP which had both of them retiring from the race.  

It must be his beard that has been doing wonders 

to Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian was initially struggling as he lost grip in the starting lap. He easily picked up pace after a while, overtaking a frustrated Fernando Alonso and the Williams to put the Renault powered car right behind the Mercedes for the eighth time. As for the other Red Bull driver, Sebastian Vettel was seen struggling throughout the race, having to start all the way from the pit lane with an uncooperative car. He had to go for four pitstops and his last one had changed his chances around. His option for the softs had given him a mad chase in the final lap, moving him from the no-point to the point finish in the final seconds. It seems like Vettel does work extremely well under pressure. 

This race had brought rise to a number of smashing overtakes by the best drivers as compared to the previous race at Sochi. We had the usual Vettel and Alonso, Alonso and Button (a battle to see who keeps or takes over the 2015 seat of McLaren?), Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg (basically, it was just the two of them for the first place but it was a dramatic fight because the gap in their lap times were so close to each other). Not forgetting Romain Grosjean's and Jean Eric Vergne's French kiss in lap 51 which had our speakers filled with Grosjean's French accent and other stuff that the FIA would not approve of if I were to type the word. :p The two friends did banter about the accident on Twitter, teasing each other on exchanging the car part for time loss. Friends forgive and forget no matter what eh? Fair play! 

The Lotus were definitely back in running form yesterday. Pastor Maldonado was so fast in his E22 that he was penalised twice in a day, that second 5 second stop/go penalty affecting his final finish position. As for Grosjean, he was not as fortunate as Maldonado. He was just one position short of the points, where he originally started from 17th. If he was given a few more laps to tend to his injured front wing and recover from the crash, I believe he could easily send the E22 to a top ten finish. 

Here we have another 1-2 Mercedes. This puts the final two races a battle for the world drivers' championship just between Hamilton and Rosberg. Hamilton's win has made him the most successful British F1 driver with 32 wins. He has become the fifth driver with the most wins, on par with Alonso's 32 wins (I believe that won't last that long). 

I would say the race was WAY BETTER than the Russian GP but it was not the best race of the 2014 season. One more (South) American race will take place this week and I will be done with midnight races for the year! Hoping to see some serious title fight between the Brit and the German to the end! 

US Grand Prix Race: 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 Winner 2 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 56 +4.3 secs 1 18
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 56 +25.5 secs 5 15
4 Felipe Massa Williams 56 +26.9 secs 4 12
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 56 +30.9 secs 3 10
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 56 +95.2 secs 6 8
7 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 56 +95.7 secs 18 6
8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 56 + secs 7 4
9 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 56 + secs 14 2
10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 56 + secs 10 1
11 Romain Grosjean Lotus +1 Lap 16
12 Jenson Button McLaren +1 Lap 12
13 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +1 Lap 8
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber +1 Lap 15
15 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso +1 Lap 17
Ret Nico Hulkenberg Force India +40 Laps 13
Ret Sergio Perez Force India +55 Laps 11
Ret Adrian Sutil Sauber + secs 9

Mercedes Remains Yeehawesome

Personal commentary. (US GP 2014 - FP1, FP2, FP3 and Qualifying) 

It is a month since that unbelievably shocking accident. The latest news on Jules Bianchi's condition has not changed since the Japanese GP: "critical but stable". This same piece of information just makes me feel rather low-spirited. In addition to the absence of the two backmarker teams: Marussia and Caterham, the week has gone by as quietly as the Russian GP (with the exception of the usual tyre screeches coming from our dear Pastor Maldonado). I believe everything will be okay in the end. Prayers and miracles make a triumphant recovery possible. Bianchi deserves so much more.

I did mention earlier that I would be back in Singapore so here I am, back for my four months summer break. I am back home where I am no longer blessed with free-to-air sports channels. With this week's race taking place right at the other side of earth with its odd timing, it feels like I have been cursed. So I would say, no, I honestly did not stay up late enough to have finished watching this morning's qualifying (it started at 2:00 Singapore time). I did not even watch it in the first place. I was just scrolling Twitter for live updates because that voice in me blatantly told me it was pointless to find the link to watch it. I will be definitely be more prepared this time round for the actual race in ten hours' time!

Nothing has changed after the three week break. However, I would like to congratulate Romain and Marion Grosjean for expecting another child. Also another congratulation goes out to Marcus Ericsson for securing a Sauber seat next season. Glad to see that the proverb of "every cloud has a silver lining" was applicable to both these drivers despite Grosjean's nightmarish qualifying and the Caterham crisis surrounding Ericsson.

Something new has been added to all cars during Friday practices and that was the virtual safety car. It is basically a programme that forces the cars to slow down to approximately 35% of race speed until the green flag. I would say that is an intelligent move and I hope it will be implemented next season onwards. It does help a huge lot to everyone. More crashes can be avoided especially in bad weather conditions. Drivers can drive fast and still feel safe at the same time.

Mercedes has been facing reliability issues over the weekend. There either has been a hydraulic or brake problem but lucky for them, they have always emerged champions in all sessions.

With the recent announcement on Ericsson's move to Sauber next year, the two current drivers are in danger of losing their seats. It could be either or both of them. Well, yes, I did mention both. Giedo van der Garde has been dropping several hints on Twitter last month on him returning to F1, one of the tweets to Nico Hulkenberg has a wink after "like the old days". He could be the next driver to be announced as Ericsson's teammate. Then again, I could be wrong and he may just be hoping he will be granted one. McLaren has been really quiet on their 2015 line-up and Sebastian Vettel has not yet been confirmed to be signed onto the suggested Italian team. We have the three-car teams to consider too in the upcoming season. Time will tell on who goes and who joins.

That announcement seemed to have put Adrian Sutil on edge the most. Between him and his Mexican teammate, he was seen as the one who had pushed the C33 the most from the first practice this week. In the last two sessions, he was in the top ten. It has been a long time we have seen a Sauber making it to Q3, there has been none this year. Seeing Sutil being able to do so just shows me that the C33 is not as bad a machinery as it seems. It could be slow, yes, but it could be faster than many other mid-tier teams if this "power" had been unleashed a few months ago! Not just the car, it also shows that Sutil could have given the team so much more if the car was more reliable. He has always been the better driver as compared to Esteban Gutierrez at most times.

There will only be 18 drivers competing in this week's race with three drivers receiving grid penalties. It will be interesting (or nor) to see how this plays out...

US GP Qualifying: 

1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.303  1:36.290  1:36.067 20
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.196  1:37.287  1:36.443 16
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:38.249  1:37.499  1:36.906 19
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:37.877  1:37.347  1:37.205 20
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:38.814  1:37.873  1:37.244 17
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:38.349  1:38.010  1:37.610 16
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:38.574  1:38.024  1:37.655 17
8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:38.557  1:38.047  1:37.706 16
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:38.669  1:38.263  1:37.804 22
10 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:38.855  1:38.378  1:38.810 15
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:38.608  1:38.467  16
12 Sergio Perez Force India 1:39.200  1:38.554  16
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:38.931  1:38.598  16
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:38.936  1:38.699  17
15 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:39.250   10
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:39.555   10
17 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:39.621   3
18 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:39.679   8

* Grid penalties for Sebastian Vettel (power unit), Jenson Button (gearbox) and Daniil Kvyat (combustion engine). *