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
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). *
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