FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Mercedes make most dominant start since 1992

Lewis Hamilton’s 24th career win means he has tied with Juan Manuel Fangio in tenth place on the list of the sport’s most prolific winners.

Unusually for a driver with so many victories to his name, he is yet to win more than two in a row. This is the fourth time he has done so, following previous back-to-back wins in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

There was no repeat of his Malaysia ‘grand slam’ as team mate Nico Rosberg took the pole position. That was the fifth of his career, giving him as many as his father Keke, as well as Giuseppe Farina, Chris Amon, Clay Regazzoni and Patrick Tambay.

Rosberg also claimed the sixth fastest lap of his career, moving him level with Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Emerson Fittipaldi, Carlos Reutemann and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Having scored their first one-two for 59 years in Malaysia, Mercedes added a second just seven days later in Bahrain. It’s the seventh time they have done so and their 16th win, the same number of victories as Cooper. They also marked their 20th pole position.

For the third race in a row every lap was led by a Mercedes driver. That’s the most dominant start any team has made to a season since 1992, when Williams led all of the first five races, plus the first 70 laps of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez scored the fourth podium finish of his career. Force India is the second team he has taken a podium finish with – he also did at Sauber, but not at McLaren.

This was the first time a Force India has been classified in third place. It’s their second podium finish, following on from Giancarlo Fisichella’s second place in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo scored the best result of his career so far with fourth place – assuming his disqualification from second in the Australian Grand Prix is upheld by the FIA Court of Appeal one week from today.

McLaren posted their first retirement since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix when Kevin Magnussen retired with a clutch problem. As a result Magnussen failed to score for the first time in his three-race career – as did Daniil Kvyat.

This was the first time since last year’s British Grand Prix that there wasn’t a Red Bull on the front row or a McLaren in the points. Meanwhile Ferrari racked up their 70th consecutive race in the points – the last time they failed to score was at the 2010 British Grand Prix.

During practice Felipe Nasr and Robin Frijns made their first appearances in an official F1 session. With Giedo van der Garde also performing practice duties for Sauber this was the first time two Dutch drivers were on track at the same time at a grand prix weekend since practice for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, when Christijan Albers was racing for Midland and Robert Doornbos drove for Red Bull.

Several milestones were reached in Sunday’s race including the 900th round of the world championship.

Jenson Button marked his 250th grand prix start though he failed to score after suffering a similar problem to Magnussen.

This was also the 400th start for the team which started life as Jordan in 1991 and is now called Force India, having also appeared as Midland (2006) and Spyker (2007).

[MIKA27]

BEHIND THE MERCEDES, DAN THE MAN IN EPIC RACE AT SAKHIR

Daniel Ricciardo’s rollercoaster season, which in the opening two races hurtled from incident to incident, finally ignited in Bahrain with the Aussie delivering an excellent drive from 13th on the grid to fourth at the flag. Indeed, with just under half a second separating the Red Bull driver from Sergio Perez in the closing stages, Ricciardo might have stood on the podium for the second time this year had the race been a lap longer.

The Perth racer went into the weekend on the back foot, knowing that wherever he qualified he’d drop 10 places back down the grid. Red Bull’s sessions began in muted fashion with Ricciardo 14th in FP1 as the team spent much of the session “playing around with a few things on the car” but in the second session the Aussie’s soft tyre tyre run netted him the day’s fourth-fastest time, three places ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel. However, he insisted that steady progress was the key prior to the race.

“During the race I will make sure my aggression is on and make sure I’m moving forward,” he said. “But in practice and qualifying not really, I’ll just do what I can to make sure we have a good car for Sunday.”

In final practice Daniel was a low-key 13th, all the attention being focused on Vettel, who spun out with 20 minutes left and missed the end-of-session quali sims.

Ricciardo commandeered the spotlight in qualifying, however. He eased through the opening segment as one of just three drivers to only use the medium tyre (the dominant Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg being the others). His progress through Q2 was even more satisfying, Ricciardo making it to the top-10 shootout in third spot as the only non-Mercedes man to get within a second of Nico Rosberg’s segment-topping time.

That pattern was repeated in Q3 with Ricciardo storming to third spot again, and again the only man to get within a second of pole-sitter Rosberg. He ended the session 0.8s down on the German and +0.25 up on fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas.

Thirteenth place on the grid left Ricciardo plotting an attacking race.

“I don’t think we need to be conservative, we need to push, we are out of position,” he said. “If there is an opportunity to move forward I will do what I can and hopefully take away some points. At the moment it is pretty close between a two or three stop, maybe there is some room for us to try something.”

In the opening laps of the race Ricciardo struggled to make an impact on those ahead, admitting that his first stint was “pretty much follow the leader”. His cause wasn’t helped by a rash lap-nine move on Magnussen for 11th position that saw the Australian run wide.

He passed the Dane two laps later, however, with a good move at the exit of Turn 11, though the McLaren drivers tyre’s looked to have given up. Ricciardo then set of after team-mate Vettel.

And when he closed up on his team-mate, Ricciardo demonstrated once again that while he’s got the broadest smile in the paddock away from the car, behind the wheel he’s more than capable of making demands from his pit wall.

On lap 14 Vettel complained of a DRS problem and within two laps Ricciardo was on the German’s gearbox and radioing through to his team that “he was wasting time” and asking for Vettel to be moved out of the way.

The champion’s engineer Guillaume Rocquelin called through Vettel and delivered the unfamiliar message: “Daniel is quicker than you”. Vettel made it easy and Ricciardo swept past.

The battle between the team-mates was revived late in the race after the safety car was brought out by Esteban Gutierrez’s crash. Tucked in behind Vettel, Ricciardo put a lovely move on the champion into Turn One on lap 50 to steal sixth place. He then bustled past Jenson Button, though the McLaren driver was already experience the clutch issue that would see him retire two laps from the end.

Nico Hulkenberg was a less easy mark but again Ricciardo took no prisoners. His final set of options (taken on lap 35) were still working well as his fuel load lessened and the track temperatures dropped.

He forced an error out of the usually flawless Force India driver into Turn 11, took fourth and chased down Perez, who afterwards admitted that had the race gone on another lap he would likely have lost out on his first podium finish since the Italian GP of 2012.

Afterwards Ricciardo said that while Safety Car had helped he felt he would have been able to claim his first official points finish of the season regardless.

“The race went to plan. We went pretty long in the first stint and from then on it was target two-stop,” he told RedBull.com “The Safety Car probably helped but I think we would have made it anyway. Maybe the last couple of laps would have been… on the edge though.

“Before the race I thought we might creep into the top six if everything went well for us, so to finish fourth… that’s a pretty good day. It was a lot of fun but equally we didn’t get anything for free, we had to really work for it and that’s always a bit more rewarding: you make the moves, you move forward. I really don’t think the race could have gone any better.”

The Red Bull driver confirmed, too, that he felt he could have reeled in Perez if the race had gone on any longer.

“We got close to the podium today, I think within half a second, so I was doing all I could,” he said. The car came to me as the race went on and I was happy with how I moved up through the pack, so a good day. It was good fun to race Sebastian, it was hard but fair and we left each other room. That’s what we want from each other and we discussed it beforehand, we’re racers and that’s what we enjoy doing.”

His team were fulsome in their praise too, with Renault Sport F1’s Thierry Salvi admitting that Ricciardo had “done a good job all race… he was quite impressive” and team boss Christian Horner added that “Daniel put in a great drive and, with another lap, possibly could have made it to the podium”.

If the race confirmed anything, it’s that not only is Ricciardo capable of delivering lightning-quick qualifying laps (as evidenced regularly at Toro Rosso) but that in the right car he’s also a determined, decisive and clever racer who is able to take the fight to the champions he is now qualifying around.

Modest as ever, thought, post-race Daniel reckoned he can still do better.

“It took me a few stabs at a few guys today,” he said. “I think a couple of times I was a bit anxious. I guess I have [established myself]. It is important. Obviously Seb has been dominant in F1 for the last four years at least and it’s nice to come in and show that I can race at the front. Obviously when you have the car underneath you it gives you a lot of confidence to battle and to move forward.”

With his points on the board courtesy of a fine drive in a complex and unpredictable race, that confidence will undoubtedly now bloom.

[MIKA27]

F1 boss predicts 2014 title will be decided before double points finale

When it comes to the loud criticisms of Formula 1′s new ‘double points’ innovation, Bernie Ecclestone simply points to Mercedes.

The Formula 1 chief executive said he proposed the extra points for the Abu Dhabi season finale to add spice to the tail-end of a championship fight.

But even though he dreamed it up to prevent the sort of early title conclusion seen last year with Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, Ecclestone admits double points will not be enough to stop a Mercedes triumph in 2014.

“It (double points) won’t be necessary this year because the championship will be over much earlier than that,” the 83-year-old told British broadcaster Sky.

When told he is obviously referring to a Mercedes driver, Ecclestone agreed: “Exactly.”

Notwithstanding Mercedes’ dominance, the Lewis Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg duel for victory in Bahrain was celebrated as a thrilling triumph for Formula 1.

“Mercedes celebrated in Bahrain after a great show that did not feature Ferrari,” Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport said.

The authoritative daily said the duel was “reminiscent of Senna and Prost at McLaren, or Mansell and Piquet at Williams, showing that a fight within a team can make us hold our breath so long as there aren’t team orders.”

Corriere dello Sport, a major Roman daily, said Bahrain was further evidence that Ferrari is in “clear decline, not even knowing where to begin to change its situation”.

Il Messaggero newspaper added: “The ‘new’ Formula 1 works, and is even thrilling.”

Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, however, warned that it is “inevitable” that eventually the in-house scrap between Hamilton and Rosberg will turn sour, and so “internal discussions” about team orders cannot be ruled out.

Helmut Marko told Servus TV on Monday that he hoped it had gone sour in Bahrain.

“For many laps we were hoping that something (between Hamilton and Rosberg) happened,” he said.

But team chairman Niki Lauda insisted: “We are of the opinion that the drivers can race at the highest level, and it will stay that way,” he is quoted by Sport1.

Fernando Alonso admitted he is worried Ferrari is being left behind altogether.

“The championship is going away,” the German news agency DPA quotes him as saying.

“Hamilton and Rosberg are driving flawlessly and taking advantage of their position.

“What we have to do is work harder,” the Spaniard added. “During the tests, we will work night and day.”

Indeed, Alonso will drive on both days of the post-race Bahrain test this week.

[MIKA27]

Todt unmoved by Vergne extreme diet hospital story

FIA President Jean Todt insists he is not moved by claims that extreme diets are putting Formula 1 drivers at risk.

As the heavier 2014 cars struggle to get beneath the 692kg minimum weight limit, reports of drivers deliberately dehydrating, fasting and even fainting have been swirling in the paddock.

Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne says he even visited hospital after the Australian Grand Prix.

“I did a diet this winter but you get to certain limits that the body can no longer take,” he said, clearly urging for an increase in the weight limit.

But Todt, the president of the FIA, said it is up to the drivers to manage their weight loss in a healthy way within the existing rules.

“Honestly, I don’t know why a driver … I think normally you can do a good diet and not have to go to hospital because you have been losing some kilos,” he is quoted by the Telegraph.

MIKA: I'd love to see Todt do a diet...

[MIKA27]

Teams pushing Ecclestone to embrace internet era

Formula 1 needs to race into the digital era, according to Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali.

A report by the Bloomberg news agency said the official Formula 1 website is only the 39th most popular among rival sports, and worryingly outpaced by the likes of Egyptian soccer and American ‘entertainment wrestling’.

The report said that Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone has resisted embracing the internet to protect the huge revenue stream of exclusive television rights.

Race highlights are therefore limited to a less than three minute clip put to contemporary music, but Domenicali thinks that Formula 1 is being left behind.

“The young generation wants to see sport in a different way – they don’t want to see an entire race for one and a half hours”, he said.

“This is a challenge that we need to” address,” the Italian added, revealing that similarly concerned teams are “almost close” to convincing Ecclestone to change tack.

“People have a more impulsive way of living” today, Domenicali continued. “We need to be able to connect with them.”

[MIKA27]

Alonso: The season is in its early stages and I think we can stage a recovery

Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari can still be title contenders despite the Italian glamour team’s disappointing start to the Formula 1 season.

The Spaniard finished ninth in the Bahrain Grand Prix, one place ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen, after fourth places in Australia and Malaysia. Ferrari are fifth in the constructors’ standings.

Mercedes have meanwhile streaked into the distance with three pole positions and three wins, including two consecutive one-two finishes for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

There are 16 races remaining, with China next up.

“Although we did all we could, we can’t be happy with our level of performance and now our sole focus must be on working day and night,” Alonso, a double world champion with Renault, said after Sunday’s race.

“The season is in its early stages and I think we can stage a recovery. We have the resources and the potential to do it and it’s all down to us.”

Ferrari are testing for two days at the Sakhir circuit this week, with Alonso saying that the team had an aggressive programme lined up ahead of the next race in Shanghai.

Technical head Pat Fry said that the car had lacked top speed on the straights at Sakhir and that his drivers had had to drive defensively to finish in the points.

“In Maranello, we are working on solutions to ensure better power delivery and better driveability. We are also trying to improve the efficiency of the car on the aerodynamic front,” he said.

“The data we acquired in today’s race will provide a baseline for the major checking programme we have planned for the test, right here at Sakhir on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

[MIKA27]

Bahrain Test Day 1: Rosberg on top as Mercedes continue to set the pace

Nico Rosberg ended day one of post-Bahrain Grand Prix testing with the fastest time of the day.

Rosberg, who finished second in the grand prix on Sunday after a memorable duel with Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, had a hassle free day at Sakhir, notching up 121 laps in totalwith a best time of 1:35.697.

Next best was Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India who ended the day 0.367 seconds down on the top time, with 70 laps to his credit.

Also with 70 laps, and the third best time, was Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, albeit almost a second down on Rosberg’s top time.

Kevin Magnussen was fourth fastest in the McLaren and racking up 101 laps and ended the day a mere 0.008 down on Alonso.

On duty for Williams was Valtteri Bottas who only managed 28 laps during the course of the day.

Marussia’s Max Chilton and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo ended up in sixth and seventh respectively. With what appeared to be a hydraulic problem, Chilton lost valuable track time but nevertheless managed to do 60 laps.

Sauber tester Sergey Sirotkin was eighth, Caterham’s Robin Frijns was ninth, Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado tenth and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat eleventh.

Maldonado did only 16 laps, the least of all the drivers, as the E22 was beset with more engine problems.

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Lotus: Power Unit related failures stopped us far short of what we wanted to achieve

Pastor Maldonado kicked off the first of two days testing at the Bahrain International Circuit with a curtailed programme due to Power Unit-related issues. Pastor completed sixteen laps, with a best lap time of 1min 40.183 secs, placing him 10th in the day’s classification.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, 5.4 km.
• Chassis: E22-01.
• Weather: Sunny, ambient 30°C – 32°C, track 34°C – 46 °C.
• Programme: Aero assessment and evaluation.
• Laps Completed: 16.
• Classification: P10, 1m 40.183 secs.
• Interruptions: Power unit related issues .

What’s Next? Romain Grosjean will drive the E22 tomorrow, for the final day of testing.

Pastor Maldonado: ”This morning our programme was focused on aerodynamic work and we achieved a lot, even with a limited amount of laps. This afternoon the plan was to work on performance, evaluating parts and set-ups, however we have not been able to run though the programme due to Power Unit issues. We need to check and understand what has happened. This is what testing is for even though we would have preferred to have been able to complete more laps today. I hope that Romain can continue to work on our testing programme tomorrow and hopefully have a more positive day.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Unfortunately we weren’t able to carry out the programme we had set out to do today as two Power Unit related failures stopped us far short of what we wanted to achieve. Of course, this is frustrating for everyone involved, but our focus is now very much on getting the most we can out of tomorrow.”

[MIKA27]

Haas still not notified of 2015 Formula 1 entry

NASCAR team boss Gene Haas has revealed that he is yet to be notified officially whether or not he will be admitted as Formula 1′s newest team owner in 2015.

In Bahrain at the weekend, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that the NASCAR team co-owner’s entry will almost certainly be accepted, along with another new team believed to be headed by the former Force India and HRT chief Colin Kolles.

FIA president Jean Todt also confirmed the news, saying that it will be announced officially “in coming days”.

In the US, however, Haas said that Ecclestone and the FIA are yet to inform him.

“We haven’t been notified by the FIA, but Bernie is kind of half [of] Formula 1, so I’m sure what he says goes,” he is quoted by the Associated Press.

But Haas, who admitted he decided to enter Formula 1 to raise awareness of his highly successful tool machine business Haas Automation, admitted the delay in getting the 2015 entry approved is a worry.

“We needed to know about two months ago,” he said.

“If Mr Ecclestone says that we’re accepted and the FIA issues us some kind of notice in the next few weeks, then we can entertain 2015. But if we lose another month, I don’t think we could do it.”

Formula 1 supremo Ecclestone admitted he is not sure Haas will “turn up” in 2015.

“It’s easy to put the entry in,” the 83-year-old told British broadcaster Sky.

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Vettel: Not fair to say Ricciardo is better than Webber

Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel insists that it is too early to say that his new Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo is better than Mark Webber.

Ricciardo, who like Webber is also Australian, has already made Vettel’s life difficult in 2014, and in Bahrain the quadruple world champion even had to obey team orders.

“Daniel is quicker than you,” Vettel’s engineer told him. “Let him by, please.”

German Vettel said he complied with the order because “I realised that he was just faster. It would have been pointless for me not to [move over],” he is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

But does all of this mean that, at the very least, Ricciardo is better than the recently-departed Webber, a winner of 9 career grands prix?

“It would be unfair to say that after three races,” Vettel insists.

“Daniel certainly is doing his job very well, but a fair comparison is very, very difficult,” he added.

There is another theory: perhaps Vettel is simply struggling to adapt to Red Bull’s new and unfamiliar place in the pecking order.

“Sebastian is not used to driving cars that are not perfect,” driver turned broadcaster Martin Brundle noted. “Daniel is.”

The Italian newspaper Tuttosport agrees: “Vettel shows the best of himself when he’s driving alone at the front. He is not used to fighting in the bunch.

“Dealing with the competition of Ricciardo is a new thing for him.”

[MIKA27]

Hydraulic issue sidelines Frijns

Robin Frijns was the man behind the wheel as Caterham conducted a Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain on Tuesday.

While the rest of their rivals lapped the track developing their own cars, part of Caterham's duties on Day One at the Sakhir circuit was to develop the Pirelli tyres.

Following on from last year's complaints, this season every team will devote one day of in-season testing to Pirelli's tyres.

However, test driver Frijns managed just 63 laps on the day as a hydraulic issue curtailed his running.

The Dutchman's best time was a 1.40.027, which was over two seconds quicker than what he clocked in Friday's first practice at last weekend's Bahrain GP.

"I'm glad we managed to complete 63 laps this morning but it's obviously a shame we couldn't add to that in the afternoon, especially as I felt good in the car an was enjoying myself," he said.

"When we finished the last run before lunch we found a hydraulic system leak that meant the guys had to take the floor and gearbox off and with the time it would have taken to rebuild the car we made the call to end the session early so we could prepare for Day Two."

As for the Pirelli tyre test, Frijns revealed that neither himself nor the team were aware of what compounds they were running for the tyre manufacturer.

"There's not much I can say about the tyres we were running today as they're obviously development sets and because it was a Pirelli test today we weren't aware of what compounds we were running.

"Now Marcus takes over for tomorrow, our last day on track in Bahrain this year, and we'll aim to have a clear day of our own test so we can leave Bahrain with as much information as possible from our last day here."

[MIKA27]

Say goodbye to F1 cost caps

The 2014 regulation changes may or may not be your cup of tea but one thing for sure is…they have been darned expensive. The new power unit regulations saw manufacturers and teams spend small fortunes on the systems and while any change in regulations prompts a raft of expenses, this year’s changes were massive.

This all came at a time when Formula 1 was very concerned about the cost to participate in the series and many smaller teams on the ropes an in the red which led to some to the demise of HRT and USF1. The 2008 financial crunch also led to the departure of Toyota, Honda and BMW.

To these ends, F1 has been kicking around the idea of a cost cap for the teams but they’ve been unclear on how best to institute this cap with minimal intrusion into a teams balance sheets. After many discussions over many months, FIA president Jean Todt has revealed that there will no longer be a cost cap. The BBC’s Andrew Benson has the call:

“if the commercial rights holder [bernie Ecclestone] and six teams are against it”.

“It’s mathematics. In this case, no more cost cap.”

Under F1′s new governance structure, the six teams in the strategy group – Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Lotus – have one vote each, while Ecclestone and Todt have six each. Votes pass by a simple majority.

“In a way, I am disappointed because it may be more difficult to achieve the reduction which I feel is needed,” said Todt.

“But everyone says we are all in favour of reducing the cost, and through sporting regulations.”

Benson rightfully points out that the new Strategy Group is a creation to prevent gridlock in F1 under a unanimous vote format. To be honest, F1 has really pinned a lot of power on this group and deferred several major decisions to this working body. Cost caps, which was previously the main cause of the now-defunct Formula One Teams Association (FOTA).

Benson goes on to discuss FOTA and their Resource Restriction Agreement but in short, the group did well until it was time to talk team money and that’s when the wheels fell off. Makes one wonder if the Strategy Group will find it easy to simply make rule changes that will curtail costs because the 2014 regulations certainly were no model of cost reduction efficiency.

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Small shoes a pain for Sirotkin on test debut

Sergey Sirotkin’s first appearance at a Formula One test was disrupted by an unusual problem – his shoes were too small.

The Russian teenager had to switch to larger footwear after his first runs in the C33 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

“In the afternoon we had some difficulties with my shoes,” Sirotkin explained. “They were too small, so it was pretty painful when I was braking.”

“When we changed the shoes, it was still not the best and difficult to drive.”

Nonetheless Sirotkin was able to cover the necessary minimum mileage required to obtain an F1 superlicence, which will allow him to participate in grand prix weekends.

“It was not easy, but I am glad we completed the 300 kms,” he said. “We know that there is a lot of potential for improvement and we should all be happy with this.”

Sirotkin, who will begin his second season in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship this weekend, added: “It was the first time for me in Bahrain and I liked the track.”

“In comparison to what I am used to driving in World Series by Renault, I have quite a lot more engine power and more acceleration with the Sauber C33.”

Sirotkin’s best lap during the test was a 1’39.023, the eighth-fastest of the day.

MIKA: Maybe Sauber gave him an old pair of Sergio Perezs' shoes...

[MIKA27]

Marko claims Bahrain was only great because of Safety Car

Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko is not convinced that Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula 1 thriller.

After all the carping about the radical 2014 rules having turned Formula 1 into ‘formula yawn’, Bahrain was hailed as a timely and highly-entertaining spectacle.

“There was a lot of criticism beforehand,” Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg told German television ARD on Tuesday as he began post-race testing in Bahrain. ”But people who watched the race tell me it was one of the best ever.”

But Marko, whose employer Red Bull is one of the teams most vocal about the new regulations, is not so sure.

“Only after the Safety Car was it a really great race,” the outspoken Austrian told Red Bull-owned Servus TV.

There were only ten laps of the 57-lap Bahrain race left when the Safety Car for Esteban Gutierrez’s roll-over shunt finally pulled into the pits.

It was then that Lewis Hamilton’s epic duel with his Mercedes teammate Rosberg really began.

“If the Safety Car had not come out, it would have been a relatively bland race,” Marko claims.

Rosberg said it is “logical” that Mercedes’ rivals are not happy with the current situation.

“We made the best of the new rules and are absolutely dominant at the moment,” he said. “That the other teams don’t like it is logical.

“Last year, it was Red Bull doing the best job, now it’s us. So it’s not nice that now the others are crying all of a sudden about rule changes,” Rosberg added.

[Bartolomeo]

Watched the race last night, pretty good

[MIKA27]

Hamilton reveals data sharing with Rosberg raises the bar

Lewis Hamilton claims that his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg improved between the Malaysian and Bahrain Grand Prix by studying his data.

The 2008 world champion, still 11 points behind championship leader Rosberg despite winning two of the three grands prix in 2014, revealed that when the German arrived in Bahrain, he was handed a “big document”.

A week earlier in Malaysia, Rosberg had been defeated by Hamilton by no less than 17 seconds, but in Bahrain the Mercedes duo diced wheel-to-wheel for the race win.

“Someone in the team did a huge study on my pace in Malaysia,” Hamilton told British newspapers, revealing that the document received by Rosberg detailed “all the places I was quick”.

“So I will do the same for the next round in China and hope I can capitalise,” he added. ”I am going to study hard for the next two weeks and give it a lot of thought and digest a lot.”

Hamilton finished just one second ahead of Rosberg in Bahrain, where the pair fought hard for victory despite team boss Paddy Lowe’s radio call that they should “bring both cars home”.

“It’s great that they’ve allowed us to fight and didn’t get in the way,” said Hamilton.

But he warned that “if every single race is like that from now on, I can’t always guarantee we’ll both come out happy.”

[MIKA27]

Watched the race last night, pretty good

It was indeed and I normally dislike the Bahrain GP

[Bartolomeo]

It was indeed and I normally dislike the Bahrain GP

Ferrari had no speed, dont see this changing for a while

I agree w Marko that Safety Car made race more exciting bunching everybody together

Mercs are last years Red Bull team

Riccardo is impressive along w Botas

Massa's start was sensational

[Lotusguy]

Ferrari had no speed, dont see this changing for a while

I agree w Marko that Safety Car made race more exciting bunching everybody together

Mercs are last years Red Bull team

Riccardo is impressive along w Botas

Massa's start was sensational

Correct.

Without the safety car it would have been just as boring as the first two races.

13k RPM is a travesty!

[stargazer14]

I realize people dislike change and there has been MUCH b*tching going on about the new regs,

but it was a very good race, especially watching teamates go it for almost the entire race.

I may just watch it again tonite!

[Lotusguy]

I realize people dislike change and there has been MUCH b*tching going on about the new regs,

but it was a very good race, especially watching teamates go it for almost the entire race.

I may just watch it again tonite!

That only happened because of the safety car.

[MIKA27]

NIKI LAUDA EXPLAINS FORMULA 1 – 1985

This film, titled Niki Lauda Explains Formula 1, is a 1985 documentary that explains the F1 cars and technologies of the era. It’s a remarkable opportunity to see Lauda in the post-Rush days and listen to him explaining car balance, transmissions and engines from the midst of the original turbo era.

It’s just under 20 minutes in length and is well worth the time, especially if you’re a Formula 1 fan.

The narrator covers almost every aspect of the mid-80s cars including a fascinating look under the skin of Lauda’s McLaren.

http://youtu.be/-Y0ipydYKW8

[MIKA27]

THE QUICK AND THE DEAD

“The Quick and the Dead” is a documentary film that was later released under the title “Champions Forever: The Formula One Drivers”. It was originally released in 1978 and it provides an interesting look into the lives of Formula 1 drivers of the era like Jackie Stewart and François Cevert.

Perhaps the most memorable part of the 90 minute film is being driven around the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a Rolls Royce by Jackie Stewart, the scot explains each sector of the circuit in the matter-of-fact way that only a man like Jackie can.

http://youtu.be/H4Clc7tzDcs

[MIKA27]

1986 BRITISH GRAND PRIX - Full Race, Enjoy!

When it comes to my all time favourite Formula 1 races, the 1986 British Grand Prix is right up near the top of list.

It was to be the last time a Formula 1 race would be held at Brands Hatch, it was the first time Sir Frank Williams returned to the pit lane after his devastating accident in early 1986 and it was the first and only time that the first doctor to the scene of an accident was actually another Formula 1 driver who also happened to be a fully qualified GP – he parked his car to leap out and help the seriously injured Jacques Laffite who was caught up in the massive first corner accident.

The full race is available to watch below, it’s commentated by Murray Walker and if you haven’t seen it you really should – watching vintage F1 races is a great way to brush up on history and remember the true sound of the sport.

[MIKA27]

1990 MONACO GRAND PRIX - Full Race, Enjoy!

The 1990 Monaco Grand Prix was a dramatic affair, the young French newcomer Jean Alesi was setting a remarkably quick pace and Ayrton Senna was feeling the heat. The race would be a battle of attrition between the two men and the whole affair was commentated by none other than Murray Walker.

The full race is 2:26:23 long, meaning you’ll need to get some snacks and a fresh coffee before hitting play.