Max Maxed Out

Personal commentary. (Chinese Grand Prix 2015 - Race)

I may have been spoilt for given too much hope from the previous race or am I the only one who actually felt that the race was such a torture to watch?

The first lap was really good but aren’t all first laps always the most delightful part of the race? It is the most chaotic lap that builds up to what is to come and pretty much determines where the drivers end up in.

To me, Max Verstappen was the driver to have brought life to the race. Starting from 13^th and having to overtake three times through Marcus Ericsson, Felipe Nasr and Sergio Perez, one has to remember that was a doing of a 17-year-old who is just in his third F1 race of his F1 career. If it was not for him, it was just like watching a two-hour race that is as repetitive as watching NASCAR cars going round in ovals. My heart cried out for how unfortunate Verstappen’s race ended at the second final lap. He was so close to adding more points to make up for what he lost at the Australian GP!

So let me list the other points during the race to take note of. There was the Daniel Ricciardo and Marcus Ericsson duel that lasted for a few laps. It was a great overtake to watch when the rest were just idly racing in the same position. Then we have that team order in Red Bull where Daniil Kvyat was ordered to give up his position to Daniel Ricciardo and we see the Russian retiring a few laps after from engine failure, making it his second unfinished race of the year. 

 

This is the race we finally see McLaren catching up to get closer to the top ten. It was also the one they had caused Pastor Maldonado to be falsely accused. Jenson Button and the Venezuelan made contact, the Briton touching his rear that had resulted in a spin. Just at the right time, Button’s teammate Fernando Alonso had seized the opportunity to move up when the two were struggling to get back their grip from their cars.   

Mega congratulations to both McLaren and Manor-Marussia for getting both cars through the chequered flag. It definitely is not the best positions to be in but it is definitely an achievement and progression. Also the same extend to the Saubers who have both cars through the top ten and Romain Grosjean for scoring Lotus' first points. 

I have not found the time to watch the replay of the post race press conference but I did read tweets about it and it seems like Mercedes will have a difficult time controlling their drivers from next race onwards. More team orders will be broken and putting Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will never be the same again. Everyone will be in a state of nerves as the race goes on to the final races of the season. 

I have a friend who saw the race in a different viewpoint. His views somehow opened my eyes to watching races. He pointed out that different tracks are designed differently and they cannot be made perfect in the sight of a F1 fan. This is how there will be a specific race that will be etched in our memory at the end of each season. There has to be a stand out to make that race special and the most memorable. As a true F1 fan, one should not miss the other aspects in the race that that makes up for it. If you are a true F1 fan, we should actually look forward to each race and end up enjoying it rather than picking on it. Boring is too much of a vague description (a big UNLESS you are completely watching a race that has zero overtakes). We can definitely do better than that. That being said, I will still set my expectations at a minimum before watching the race next Sunday (it will be Monday midnight for me, hah) just so I will not be let down. 

Chinese Grand Prix Race: 

1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-Mercedes 56 laps 1hr 39m 42.008s 
2. Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes-Mercedes +0.7s 
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Ferrari-Ferrari +2.9s 
4. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Ferrari-Ferrari +3.8s 
5. Felipe Massa BRZ Williams-Mercedes +8.5s 
6. Valtteri Bottas FIN Williams-Mercedes +9.8s 
7. Romain Grosjean FRA Lotus-Mercedes +19.0s 
8. Felipe Nasr BRZ Sauber-Ferrari +22.6s 
9. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Red Bull-Renault +32.1s 
10. Marcus Ericsson SWE Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap 

11. Sergio Perez MEX Force India-Mercedes +1 lap 
12. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren-Honda +1 lap 
13. Carlos Sainz Jr ESP Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap 
14. Jenson Button GBR McLaren-Honda +1 lap * 
15. Will Stevens GBR Manor-Ferrari +2 laps 
16. Roberto Merhi ESP Manor-Ferrari +2 laps ** 

Rtd Max Verstappen NED Toro Rosso-Renault 53 laps completed engine 
Rtd Pastor Maldonado VEN Lotus-Mercedes 50 laps completed accident damage 
Rtd Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull-Renault 16 laps completed engine 
Rtd Nico Hulkenberg GER Force India-Mercedes 9 laps completed gearbox 

Mercedes Still Shang (above) the Rest

Personal commentary (Chinese GP 2015 - FP1, FP2, FP3 and Qualifying) 

Nope, you did not miss the Malaysian GP weekend blog entries. They were simply not posted and created in the first place. Although F1 is something I hold dear, I had to set the right priorities that weekend. It was a painful decision to make but I simply did not want to put my dad’s money to complete waste and flunk in any more assessments (yes, I failed in one of my early assessments and it was absolutely depressing because it is the first in a long time). Despite so, I have a deep heartfelt of regrets for not blogging that weekend. That was perhaps the most entertaining race I have watched in a long time. It was not because Sebastian Vettel won the race (in case you are unacquainted about my favourite driver, there you have it: a Vettelian), it was because it just shows there is a higher chance of a F1 revival. 

The Shanghai International Circuit is not one of those Asian races I particularly like, mainly because it is such a long track (mind you, it is the longest currently used F1 track on the calendar) that is mostly featureless. It just looks like driving on a smooth highway, added with the pressure of being overtaken by your rivals (that is just a teensy likelihood).

This week’s practice and qualifying sessions were not that special either. McLarens are still struggling albeit the two drivers positively saying the car is getting better and that it has been big progress (that might be true but not to a huge extent, we see their cars still grappling with reliability issues). It is like working on a complete new car so some people have to understand that this might take more than just a few months (yes, I have read some of my Instagram followers’ comments stating they just want to move on to support another team because they cannot even make it to top ten, such narrow-minded thinking if he/she claimed to be a F1 fan). Once they get the hang of it, it can only get better and they might just end up in those glory days when they will be back in close battle for the championship. Take a look at Sauber and Lotus this year and compare it to the last. Never underestimate a struggling team.

This week we once again hear the open threats of Red Bull quitting F1. With how little the cars are able to provide this weekend: Daniil Kvyat failed to make it through Q3 for the second time in three qualifying sessions, and Daniel Ricciardo only came in seventh, behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams, it does not seem Dietrich Mateschitz will have any more patience for the team. I just think he should have a deep study on the other teams before actually making such foolish comments. Just because you are a four time world constructors’ champion, it does not mean you will not encounter obstacles. I love Red Bull and their line-ups because this is the team where they pick the best out of their Red Bull junior programme (Toro Rosso) and these drivers usually turn out to be winners. Without them, it will not only be a loss in F1 but also to the team who might lose out in nurturing potential world champions. I just hope they will be up to speed and get somewhere closer to the front-liners just so they can satisfy Dietrich Mateschitz and stay for a few more years. F1 cannot afford to lose more teams and drivers.

Williams and Sauber seem to have gained back the resurgence during qualifying. Williams have found the speed in getting closer to the Mercedes, listing them as another rival of the German team alongside Ferrari.

Mercedes and Ferrari have been really close this week. Lewis Hamilton has won his third pole in the Chinese Grand Prix, beating Fernando Alonso's qualifying record. Nico Rosberg is no inept driver on this track either with a record win and pole. I suppose the race will all come down to tyre strategy. The weather will be way cooler than what we have at Sepang but tyre wear will be on the extreme side due to the combination of fast long and tight abrupt corners. I recall having a lack of interest before the race start of the Malaysian GP two weeks back, only to have things turned around due to the many actions we see in both the front runners and mid-tier teams. I am just hoping tomorrow will be the same just so it shows that F1 is not on the verge of “extinction” just of yet and in the near future.   


Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying: 

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:38.285 1:36.423 1:35.782 12
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:38.496 1:36.747 1:35.824 12
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:37.502 1:36.957 1:36.687 17
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:38.433 1:37.357 1:36.954 15
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:38.014 1:37.763 1:37.143 15
6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:37.790 1:37.109 1:37.232 17
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:38.534 1:37.939 1:37.540 18
8 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:38.209 1:38.063 1:37.905 20
9 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:38.521 1:38.017 1:38.067 16
10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:38.941 1:38.127 1:38.158 15
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:38.563 1:38.134 13
12 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull Racing 1:39.051 1:38.209 13
13 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:38.387 1:38.393 14
14 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:38.622 1:38.538 14
15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:38.903 1:39.290 10
16 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:39.216  6
17 Jenson Button McLaren 1:39.276  6
18 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:39.280 8
19 Will Stevens Marussia 1:42.091  6
20 Roberto Merhi Marussia 1:42.842  8