F1 Russian Grand Prix Qualifying results

For the first time since 2008 Sebastien Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen created a Ferrari front-row lock out in Sochi. Ferrari set the pace and the agenda Critically for Ferrari they were able to lead the tyre strategy through qualifying, putting pressure on Mercedes. The Silver Arrows were already struggling for grip especially in the final…

F1 Chinese Grand Prix – heroes and zeroes

Lewis Hamilton cruised to his first win of 2017 at the Chinese Grand Prix. Mixed weather in Shanghai made for an up and down race, swinging from procession to some of the best overtaking F1 has produced in several years. Here is my run down of the heroes and zeroes from the 2017 F1 Chinese Grand…

F1 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Lewis Hamilton scored Mercedes’ 75th pole position to lead the field at the 2017 F1 Chinese Grand Prix. The 3-time World Champion hooked up an unbeatable lap when it counted, having trailed Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel through Q1 and Q2. Mercedes keep their qualifying advantage Mercedes retained their slight qualifying advantage over Ferrari in Shanghai. Despite Ferrari…

Ferrari & Bottas just limited Alonso’s F1 options

Fernando Alonso’s Australian Grand Prix weekend was bad enough thanks to continuing failings by Honda. But the resurgence of Ferrari  and the performance of Valterri Bottas made things even worse. The great McLaren Honda project version 2.0 is a disaster. Even with the kind of progress Honda made in 2016 – which was very impressive…

F1 Australian Grand Prix – heroes and zeroes

In my usual post-race wrap-up I rate the heroes and zeroes from the 2017 F1 Australian Grand Prix. Find out who covered themselves in glory and who covered themselves in gravel. 2017 F1 Australian Grand Prix Heroes Heroes – Ferrari When Ferrari kept Sebastien Vettel for several laps following Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop, we all thought…

F1 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Lewis Hamilton took a record-equalling 6th pole position for the 2017 F1 Australian Grand Prix. Sebastien Vettel put Ferrari on the front row by splitting the Mercedes pairing, suggesting the Italian team’s pre-season form may be real. Giovinazzi and Grosjean star in qualifying Antonio Giovinazzi and Romain Grosjean were the surprise of the session. Giovinazzi narrowly…

F1 2017 pre-season test 1 review

The first F1 pre-season test of 2017 in Barcelona gave us a chance to see the new era of F1. Wider cars, more aerodynamics and giant tyres saw lap times tumble in Spain. So what did we learn ahead of the 2017 F1 season? Mercedes AMG Make no mistake, the regulation changes for 2017 have…

Why Bottas’ deal is for only 1 year

The worst kept secret in F1 was confirmed earlier this week as Valterri Bottas signed for World champions Mercedes AMG. But a single year deal for the Finn means 2018 could see a seismic shift in the F1 driver market. Why Bottas made sense for Mercedes Mercedes signing Bottas was inevitable for a number of…

F1: What do Mercedes mean by a ‘brave’ decision?

Toto Wolff was quoted this week saying that the Mercedes F1 team are prepared to make a ‘brave’ decision on Nico Rosberg’s replacement. What that means is open to interpretation and could end up with a surprising end result. Mercedes want to be in a position to secure a fourth successive drivers and constructors world…

Rosberg retires: what happens next?

In a year of completely unexpected results Nico Rosberg’s decision to retire from F1 is one of the more shocking. Less than a week after clinching a maiden F1 World title the German has decided to walk away from Formula 1 and the dominant Mercedes team. Mercedes now have to find a replacement for the outgoing…