It had been coming for some time. Prior to today, Sebastian Vettel had won 5 races in a row and was looking for his 10th victory of the season. More importantly, he was aiming to secure his fourth successive championship, and Red Bull were also looking to secure their fourth consecutive Constructor's title. To do this, Vettel would only have to finish 5th or higher if Alonso won the race, but it turns out Vettel planned to do it in style.
After qualifying on pole on Saturday, Vettel's main threat was believed to be team-mate Mark Webber. Webber had qualified in 4th, but on the medium tyres and these were the tyres to be on in the race because of the low degradation. Vettel had qualified on the soft tyres, meaning that he would be making an early stop and then working his way back through the field.
When the lights went out and the race started, Vettel maintained his record of being the only person to see the first corner of the Indian GP first, no other driver has ever lead the Indian GP going into the first corner. There were also excellent starts from Lewis Hamilton, with aside from some wheel spin could have seriously challenged Vettel for the lead at beginning of the race. However, the excitement of the thought of Webber challenging for the win today was affected when the driver made contact firstly with Raikkonen and then with Alonso during the first few corners. In addition to this, any doubts that Vettel wouldn't secure his championship were reduced when because of the contact between Webber and Alonso, Alonso was forced to pit for a new nose cone. After this the Spaniard had a rather quiet afternoon, eventually finishing in 11th place, but pulling a spectacular move on Gutierrez during lap 22, but he never looked to challenge the top 10.
Another driver that suffered from early problems was Jenson Button. He suffered a puncture to his medium tyres in the early part of the race and so this massively affected his strategy for the entire race, as he had to put on the soft tyre for a short amount of time before going back to the mediums. This resulted in a disappointing 14th place, especially when you compare the result to that of Perez. The Mexican had a supreme drive today, battling from 9th to finish in 5th, equalling McLaren's best finish of the season. Considering this, I think that if Button didn't have the problems from the first lap, McLaren could have left India today with a decent haul of points.
Although he may be driving a multiple championship car, Mark Webber has had more than his fair share of reliability problems in his Red Bull. Today we saw yet another problem which forced him to retire around lap 40, because of an alternator problem. Any hope of breaking down Vettel's 12 second lead at that time was destroyed, and it left a very nervous Red Bull pit wall. For the remainder of the race the team carefully managed Seb's car, ensuring that they were able to nurse it home. Luckily with the advantage that Vettel had, they made it look very easy indeed. When Vettel saw the chequered flag 29 seconds before his nearest competitor Nico Rosberg, it confirmed that both Red Bull and Vettel had won their fourth consecutive Constructor's and Driver's titles, and that mathematically the season was over. All the hard work and the dominance finally paid off and it was lovely for fans to see the raw emotion from Vettel in the room post race before the podium. For the fans at home we could see what it meant to the young 26 year old, as his success was slowly sinking in. Whether or not you like the driver, support the team or the dominance that he has brought, you cannot help acknowledge that he is now considered one of the greats of the sport and an ambassador and role model for younger fans watching and trying to get involved with the sport. You do not become a multiple champion by accident, but it is important to remember that without the hard work from the entire team alongside the people we see on our tv screens such as Vettel, Horner and Newey, none of these championships would have been possible.
The driver of the day for me was Romain Grosjean. After a mistake in qualifying yesterday leaving him starting 17th on the grid, it was interesting to see where he ended up. If this time last year you told someone within the F1 world that this driver would make up 14 places and finish on the podium, you wouldn't believe them. He is a completely different driver from the one we saw last season, especially in Belgium and now we are really beginning to appreciate his speed and talent. He stayed out of trouble today and has left me wondering what he could have done if he had qualified within the top 10 like his team-mate did.
With the world of Formula One not returning to India next season, what better way to say goodbye to the track than to watch newly crowned four times world champion Sebastian Vettel perform donuts and bow to his car after winning supremely his 10th win of the season.
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Belgium GP 2013: Race Reaction
After the F1 summer break, both fans and teams were looking forward to starting the second half of the season and to close in on the title races. What better place to start the nine remaining races than in Belgium.
Lewis Hamilton had taken a surprise pole, which with 2 minutes remaining looked as though belonged to Di Resta after a wet qualifying brought surprises and shocks. Suddenly though, the track seemed to have dried considerably and this meant that Hamilton was able to take his fourth pole in a row.
All 22 drivers lined up on the grid and completed the formation lap without any problems with a dry track and a mixture of soft and hard tyres chosen for the drivers. 44 laps later the race was won, and although it wasn't a classic race at Spa and didn't provide as much action as we were expecting, it was still a fairly interesting race with a few incidents to provide discussion points.
Sebastian Vettel yet again proved to the world this afternoon how and why he is a triple world champion. Although he is not best known for his overtaking and sometimes comes under criticism regarding it, he vitally overtook Hamilton on the first lap of the race and then dominantly controlled and eventually won the race. Once Vettel had the lead, it didn't really look like it would change from there. Essentially the race was won in the first lap, because Vettel is so good at building and managing a gap, as well as making sure he isn't within the DRS range. As a result of his victory, he has also extended his championship lead, and with only 8 races left of the season, it is going to be difficult for his rivals to close this gap.
After a disappointing season and revealing that they don't expect to win races this season, McLaren had a solid race today. Button had a good qualifying session yesterday relative to where McLaren currently are, starting 6th on the grid. Button got an even better start, and by the middle of the first lap was in 3rd position. Although realistically we knew he would not finish in that position, he drove a decent race to finish 6th, beating the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, which indicates some improvement from the team. I'm really looking forward to seeing what package they bring to the Italian GP in two weeks time.
Compared to Button, Perez had a rather eventful race. After a good start, where he made up places, he tried an overtake on Grosjean on lap 8, which resulted in a drive through penalty. The stewards believed he had forced Grosjean off the road once the move was complete and this rather ruined his race because it meant that he was out of the points. He managed to get back into 10th place, but that was then claimed by Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages of the grand prix.
There were three retirements in total today, all for different reasons. The first of these was for Caterham driver Charles Pic, after a leak forced him to retire. Secondly Kimi Raikkonen, who is known for his consistency, retired after his brakes failed on lap 26. Even on the grid we saw his brakes smoking and throughout the first few laps we saw brake dust coming from the front of his car so it wasn't a surprise to see that eventually they failed.
The final retirement of the afternoon was for Force India driver Paul Di Resta. He retired after suffering extreme damage to the rear of his car after Pastor Maldonado drove into the back of him. Maldonado was able to go to the pits and continue his race, but for Paul it was his afternoon over. This meant that with Button scoring more points that Sutil, McLaren had grabbed 5th in the constructors championship.
For me, the driver of the day was Fernando Alonso. After a bad qualifying session, by his standards and starting in 9th, he made an incredible start and found himself in fourth place in the first lap. He continued to have a good race in which he stayed out of trouble and maximised the performance of the Ferrari and picked up another podium position in 2nd. Ferrari have seemed to make some considerable progress through the summer break and this has shown here at Spa.
One thing I love about watching the races live on TV are that they show you the top three drivers as they prepare to go onto the podium. Today we saw how Hamilton and Vettel interacted after the race and it was rather entertaining to see them soak David Coulthard with champagne on the podium during the post race interview.
Looking forward to Italy, I think we will continue to witness the pace of the Red Bull, the strength of the Mercedes in qualifying and hopefully some more improvements from McLaren. Although today wasn't the most spectacular of races, Vettel has shown that is is moving ever closer to a fourth successive world championship.
Lewis Hamilton had taken a surprise pole, which with 2 minutes remaining looked as though belonged to Di Resta after a wet qualifying brought surprises and shocks. Suddenly though, the track seemed to have dried considerably and this meant that Hamilton was able to take his fourth pole in a row.
All 22 drivers lined up on the grid and completed the formation lap without any problems with a dry track and a mixture of soft and hard tyres chosen for the drivers. 44 laps later the race was won, and although it wasn't a classic race at Spa and didn't provide as much action as we were expecting, it was still a fairly interesting race with a few incidents to provide discussion points.
Sebastian Vettel yet again proved to the world this afternoon how and why he is a triple world champion. Although he is not best known for his overtaking and sometimes comes under criticism regarding it, he vitally overtook Hamilton on the first lap of the race and then dominantly controlled and eventually won the race. Once Vettel had the lead, it didn't really look like it would change from there. Essentially the race was won in the first lap, because Vettel is so good at building and managing a gap, as well as making sure he isn't within the DRS range. As a result of his victory, he has also extended his championship lead, and with only 8 races left of the season, it is going to be difficult for his rivals to close this gap.
After a disappointing season and revealing that they don't expect to win races this season, McLaren had a solid race today. Button had a good qualifying session yesterday relative to where McLaren currently are, starting 6th on the grid. Button got an even better start, and by the middle of the first lap was in 3rd position. Although realistically we knew he would not finish in that position, he drove a decent race to finish 6th, beating the Lotus of Romain Grosjean and the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, which indicates some improvement from the team. I'm really looking forward to seeing what package they bring to the Italian GP in two weeks time.
Compared to Button, Perez had a rather eventful race. After a good start, where he made up places, he tried an overtake on Grosjean on lap 8, which resulted in a drive through penalty. The stewards believed he had forced Grosjean off the road once the move was complete and this rather ruined his race because it meant that he was out of the points. He managed to get back into 10th place, but that was then claimed by Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages of the grand prix.
There were three retirements in total today, all for different reasons. The first of these was for Caterham driver Charles Pic, after a leak forced him to retire. Secondly Kimi Raikkonen, who is known for his consistency, retired after his brakes failed on lap 26. Even on the grid we saw his brakes smoking and throughout the first few laps we saw brake dust coming from the front of his car so it wasn't a surprise to see that eventually they failed.
The final retirement of the afternoon was for Force India driver Paul Di Resta. He retired after suffering extreme damage to the rear of his car after Pastor Maldonado drove into the back of him. Maldonado was able to go to the pits and continue his race, but for Paul it was his afternoon over. This meant that with Button scoring more points that Sutil, McLaren had grabbed 5th in the constructors championship.
For me, the driver of the day was Fernando Alonso. After a bad qualifying session, by his standards and starting in 9th, he made an incredible start and found himself in fourth place in the first lap. He continued to have a good race in which he stayed out of trouble and maximised the performance of the Ferrari and picked up another podium position in 2nd. Ferrari have seemed to make some considerable progress through the summer break and this has shown here at Spa.
One thing I love about watching the races live on TV are that they show you the top three drivers as they prepare to go onto the podium. Today we saw how Hamilton and Vettel interacted after the race and it was rather entertaining to see them soak David Coulthard with champagne on the podium during the post race interview.
Looking forward to Italy, I think we will continue to witness the pace of the Red Bull, the strength of the Mercedes in qualifying and hopefully some more improvements from McLaren. Although today wasn't the most spectacular of races, Vettel has shown that is is moving ever closer to a fourth successive world championship.
Friday, 23 August 2013
Belgium GP 2013: FP1 & FP2
This weekend, the world of Formula One visits one of the most iconic and oldest tracks in its history. Although it has been changed since motor racing first visited the circuit in 1925, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is still a favourite racing circuit for both drivers and fans.
I particularly love the high speed, flowing corners of the track and it is one of my favourite tracks to watch to watch Formula One drivers attack each corner and fly down the straights. Although I've never personally been to the track, it is one which I would love to visit in the future, especially to see Eau Rouge in its full glory.
Whilst I am watching coverage of the F1 weekend, I do not usually write posts relating to them specifically. Most of my previous posts have focused on drivers or rumours or the overall performance of a team so this weekend I thought that it was time to try something different. I've decided to write posts both regarding Free Practice 1 & 2, which took place today (Friday) and I will be writing another post on Sunday afternoon giving my race reaction. What better place than the Belgium GP to start my posts regarding a race weekend?!
I decided to watch the Sky Sports F1 coverage of Free Practice 1 and 2 and found immediately that there was a lot of focus on Mark Webber's replacement. As of yet Red Bull have not announced who has inherited the race seat and so even after the F1 summer break, this topic is still being constantly brought up. With no new developments in the story aside from a few rumours that Daniel Ricciardo has already signed the contract, it seems as though Sky have gone far enough with the story now. Granted, FP1 this morning was damp so there was not a lot of action on the track to discuss, but I think there should be less focus on this now. Apart from this and the annoying advertisement breaks throughout the programme, I enjoyed FP1 this morning.
It was good to see the cars back on the track for the 90 minute session albeit with the intermediate tyres on in the damp conditions. Damp conditions unsurprisingly caught some drivers out, as they explored the limits of the race track and we saw a lot of lock ups and run offs at the bus stop chicane, from Raikkonen to Bottas to Gutierrez to Vettel.
Alongside these excursions, teams were also testing new development parts for their cars. Most notably, Lotus and Sauber were testing their own versions of the 'double drs' system, which when operated dumps drag and can gain up to 3 tenths of a second per lap. Lotus had already trialled this system last season, but it has yet to feature in any of the races, either last season or during this one.
Red Bull had also made changes to their nose cone on the car, as it is slightly flatter than previous versions of the part and Ferrari had also made changes to their brake ducts alongside Lotus. Ferrari had also been running two rear wings, one with lower downforce on Massa's car and one with higher downforce on Alonso's car.
With around 45 minutes to go, Mark Webber was the first to put slick tyres onto his Red Bull, which was interesting to see as each driver had a dilemma. In some parts the track was dry and therefore needed the slick tyres, however around the pit lane the track was still clearly too damp for the slick tyres. In the dry section of the track, sector 2, Webber set a time of 50.8 seconds with 40 minutes to go, which was 4 seconds off Jenson Button's 46.6 he set in the same sector during qualifying in 2012 which gave him his first pole position for McLaren.
At 24 minutes to go, Alonso and Perez were swapping the quickest times at the top of the board, after most runners had also put on a set of slick tyres. Compared to a 2:00.500 set by Button at the beginning of the session, Perez' 1:55.518 illustrated that the track was drying out and drivers were finding their confidence.
However, with around 19 minutes left of the session, the rain started to fall again and so it was hard for drivers to get in any quicker times. At the end of the session the top ten looked like this:
1. Alonso 1:55.198
2. Di Resta +0.026
3. Sutil +0.175
2. Di Resta +0.026
3. Sutil +0.175
4. Perez
5. Rosberg
6. Vettel
7. Gutierrez
8. Hulkenberg
9. Ricciardo
10. Bottas
With the damp conditions and limited running during FP1 it is impossible to know if this data is representative of what the cars are actually capable of. It will depend on the weather during qualifying and the race, and at this early part of the weekend I wouldn't look too much into the times.
FP2 gave us totally different weather conditions. Instead of a damp track and the threat of rain, it was sunny and dry at the circuit and this meant that the teams and drivers were able to complete more running. This weekend the tyres available are the hard and medium compounds, and we saw both of these being run during the session.
There was a busy start to the session, with most cars getting out on track to make up for the limited running in the first session and with this we also saw some more development parts on the cars.
McLaren were running a new rear wing n plate on their car, Mercedes had a new rear wing and Lotus had taken off their 'double drs' system, which they ran earlier in FP1.
With 30 minutes gone of the session, Webber had set the fastest time of 1:49.390, considerably faster than in FP1. Red Bull were looking competitive during the session, and finished with Vettel topping the session with a 1:49.331 and Mark Webber close behind. The only downside of the session as far as they were concerned was that Vettel suffered from a right rear puncture near the end of the session, which signalled the end of his session.
Caterham driver Van Der Garde suffered from a setback at the end of the session after crashing into the barriers after turn 14 after losing the rear of the car which brought out yellow flags and the end of his session.
The top ten at the end of FP2 were:
1. Vettel
2. Webber
3. Grosjean
4. Massa
5. Vergne
6. Raikkonen
7. Alonso
8. Perez
9. Rosberg
10. Di Resta
With the Friday sessions now over, the drivers have one session left tomorrow before qualifying. As usual the Red Bulls seem competitive, in both racing and qualifying pace. Lewis Hamilton has had a few set up issues and has not been entirely happy within the car, but it would be foolish to write him off for pole position just yet. He always seems to get it right for Saturday.
I still think it is too early to see the improvements that Ferrari and McLaren have been trying to make and we will get a better idea of that tomorrow perhaps after FP3. My prediction however as it stands now is that it will be Red Bull and Mercedes going head to head for pole position.
Predictions:
Pole: Hamilton
Pole: Hamilton
Win: Hamilton
Thursday, 22 August 2013
F1 Team Review 2013: McLaren
At the beginning of the 2013 F1 season, we were all expecting to see the big teams fighting it out for both the World Driver's Championship and the World Constructor's Championship. These teams included reigning champions Red Bull and previous constructor champions Ferrari and McLaren, the two oldest outfits in the Formula One world.
However, with 10 races now gone and with nine remaining there have been some unexpected teams in the title hunt as well as teams under performing, which as surprised spectators and reporters alike. With Lotus winning the first race of the season and consistently performing well, it has left them fourth in the championship, only 11 points behind Ferrari.
Ferrari have had a similar season to one in which they had last. They've picked up race wins and podiums, had a less competitive car than some of their rivals, yet still find themselves third in the championship. Considering the fact that Felipe Massa has experienced some trouble in the last few races, to see them still third in the standings illustrates the impact the Spaniard Alonso has on the team.
Ferrari have had a similar season to one in which they had last. They've picked up race wins and podiums, had a less competitive car than some of their rivals, yet still find themselves third in the championship. Considering the fact that Felipe Massa has experienced some trouble in the last few races, to see them still third in the standings illustrates the impact the Spaniard Alonso has on the team.
One team which even by their standards has fallen way below expectation is McLaren. Since Lewis Hamilton's departure from the Woking based team they have failed to pick up a podium finish, let alone a race win. Admittedly, this may not be because Hamilton has left the team, it has more to do with the fact that they have not produced a competitive car this season.
As a McLaren fan myself, it is very difficult to criticise the performance of the team because obviously I want them to be winning races and challenging for the titles. However, it has been hard being a McLaren fan because we've witnessed them challenging for fifth place in the standings whereas this time last year they were challenging Red Bull and Ferrari for 2nd or 1st. So far this season, with 10 races done and dusted McLaren have scored 57 points, which is 6th in the standings. Compare this with last season, McLaren had already scored 55 points after the first two races of the season, and after ten races their total stood at 189 points.
It was claimed that McLaren had over-performed last season, but I do not believe this for one moment. How can a team which has won WCC's and WDC's in the past think that a 3rd place finish for the 2012 season is an over achievement? McLaren arguably had one of the fastest cars last season yet still suffered with technical and reliability problems so I don't believe they could claim to have 'over-achieved.' They were expected to be challenging and I don't believe this to be the right attitude for the team to have. Yes, it's true they don't have a competitive enough car this year and they took a big risk in changing the way the suspension works and other aspects of the car, but they have the resources and experience which should have allowed them to close the gap quicker than they have done. In some races they are over 1 second off the pace of the front-runners and this is a massive amount of time to be losing.
McLaren's best finish this season has been 5th place, and this isn't something us fans should be excited about. The rocket red race victory shirts should be on, and we should be celebrating perhaps Sergio Perez' first race win or Jenson Button's overtaking at a particular race, which brings him the race win.
The optimism and positivity seems to have gone from the outfit as well, as I've recently heard that they do not think they can win a race this season. Is this realistic? Perhaps, but it is still important to have some belief and as a fan it is disheartening to hear this. I really hope that this is just a dip in performance this season and McLaren are able to get back to winning ways in 2014 because it doesn't seem right to see them outside the podium positions. It's hard to watch races that the team have previously been successful at, such as in Hungary and with the Belgium GP this weekend, it will be tough again to potentially see a different team win a race that Jenson Button and McLaren brilliantly won last year.
This season for McLaren can hardly be called a success, but securing at least 5th in the constructor's will be vital for the team, considering the millions of pounds difference you receive between each place. The championships may be over for McLaren now, but I still believe they should be working towards at least one win this season, even if it is just for all the loyal fans who have stuck by them this season.
As a McLaren fan myself, it is very difficult to criticise the performance of the team because obviously I want them to be winning races and challenging for the titles. However, it has been hard being a McLaren fan because we've witnessed them challenging for fifth place in the standings whereas this time last year they were challenging Red Bull and Ferrari for 2nd or 1st. So far this season, with 10 races done and dusted McLaren have scored 57 points, which is 6th in the standings. Compare this with last season, McLaren had already scored 55 points after the first two races of the season, and after ten races their total stood at 189 points.
It was claimed that McLaren had over-performed last season, but I do not believe this for one moment. How can a team which has won WCC's and WDC's in the past think that a 3rd place finish for the 2012 season is an over achievement? McLaren arguably had one of the fastest cars last season yet still suffered with technical and reliability problems so I don't believe they could claim to have 'over-achieved.' They were expected to be challenging and I don't believe this to be the right attitude for the team to have. Yes, it's true they don't have a competitive enough car this year and they took a big risk in changing the way the suspension works and other aspects of the car, but they have the resources and experience which should have allowed them to close the gap quicker than they have done. In some races they are over 1 second off the pace of the front-runners and this is a massive amount of time to be losing.
McLaren's best finish this season has been 5th place, and this isn't something us fans should be excited about. The rocket red race victory shirts should be on, and we should be celebrating perhaps Sergio Perez' first race win or Jenson Button's overtaking at a particular race, which brings him the race win.
The optimism and positivity seems to have gone from the outfit as well, as I've recently heard that they do not think they can win a race this season. Is this realistic? Perhaps, but it is still important to have some belief and as a fan it is disheartening to hear this. I really hope that this is just a dip in performance this season and McLaren are able to get back to winning ways in 2014 because it doesn't seem right to see them outside the podium positions. It's hard to watch races that the team have previously been successful at, such as in Hungary and with the Belgium GP this weekend, it will be tough again to potentially see a different team win a race that Jenson Button and McLaren brilliantly won last year.
This season for McLaren can hardly be called a success, but securing at least 5th in the constructor's will be vital for the team, considering the millions of pounds difference you receive between each place. The championships may be over for McLaren now, but I still believe they should be working towards at least one win this season, even if it is just for all the loyal fans who have stuck by them this season.
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Focus on F1: Paul Di Resta
Through all the rumours and the matter of the World Driver's Championship, there are many different aspects to Formula One. Sometimes, I find that the media focus so heavily on the latest rumour linking Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari or how Lewis Hamilton is now seemingly in the hunt for the 2013 World Title, that we forget about the other talented drivers which we encounter at every race, but do not necessarily receive the attention they should.
The media is quick to notice when someone performs extraordinarily well or when someone falls short of expectation or when they become outspoken, but no driver is given the nod when they are doing well within their team and is quietly getting on with the business in hand. There are so many underrated drivers on the grid at the moment and I believe one of these to be Paul Di Resta. Although he has captured the media's attention over the past couple of races due to his allegations against his team, prior to this I found that there was not much focus on the young Scot.
Already in his third season competing with Sahara Force India, it seems as though Paul is ready to show everybody exactly how talented he really is. Many people may not know that he beat Sebastian Vettel whilst competing and winning his Formula Three title and this is one indication of his speed and talent. I've noticed recently many people criticise Paul and his performances, suggesting that he perhaps isn't good enough. This baffles me somewhat as it makes me wonder if they can see the same thing as me when I'm watching the tv. The important thing to remember here is that he isn't driving the fastest car with the most downforce yet he is still managing to regularly score points in races and qualify within the top 10 (prior to recent qualy problems.) Clearly the car he is driving at the moment isn't capable of winning races or podium finishes because there are teams such as Red Bull, Lotus and Mercedes which are much faster. Di Resta is capable of overtaking, racing other drivers hard and fairly, and is rarely involved in accidents or incidents with other drivers.
One side of Paul that we've seen more of this season is when things start to go wrong. For three consecutive races from Monaco to the British GP and even in Hungary, Di Resta has qualified towards the lower end of the grid, for various reasons.
In Monaco he qualified in 17th place due to the team failing to put on a new set of intermediate tyres in time for him to set a time at the end of the session when times were tumbling, similar to the way that the team didn't manage to get him out in time during qualy in Canada at the next race, resulting him starting the race from a familiar 17th. For these errors Paul blamed the team, but faced criticism for being quick to blame them. Personally, I do not feel as though he did anything particularly wrong here, he was obviously frustrated as he knew what the car was capable and it was clearly better than the 17th place it qualified. After it happened twice in as many races, it's no surprise that he was disappointed and I'm glad he felt as though he could be honest about his feelings at the time. Formula One is a team sport, and so the team should rightfully accept some of the blame for the situations although on the flipside of that some would argue that Paul so accept some responsibility too. Maybe he should.
One of the most impressive moments of the season was when Di Resta qualified in 5th place for the British GP. However I cannot imagine his frustration when he was later disqualified from qualy and made to start from the back of the grid for being 1KG underweight. Nevertheless, it was still an amazing effort from the driver, and even more amazing to learn that even with the added kilo, he still would have qualified in that position. He really outperformed the car that afternoon and fought back the next afternoon coming from 22nd to 9th to score 2 points at his home race.
As it stands Di Resta is currently 10th in the WDC standings, after 10 races. He has 36 points, a career best and has scored more points in the first half of the 2013 season than for the total of the 2012 or 2011 seasons. More importantly, he is consistently beating his team-ate Adrian Sutil, who is no F1 rookie, and this shows in the current 13 point difference between the two drivers. Paul is constantly improving, and surely deserves his chance at a bigger team with a more competitive car that is capable of competing for championships.
With still 9 races to go in this season, although Di Resta is very unlikely to win the WDC, he is historically stronger in the second half of the season and this provides an exciting feeling for the rest of the season. Along with all the other drama that constantly surrounds F1, you're going to want to be watching the Belgium GP weekend, starting on on 23rd August, with the race on the 25th.
The media is quick to notice when someone performs extraordinarily well or when someone falls short of expectation or when they become outspoken, but no driver is given the nod when they are doing well within their team and is quietly getting on with the business in hand. There are so many underrated drivers on the grid at the moment and I believe one of these to be Paul Di Resta. Although he has captured the media's attention over the past couple of races due to his allegations against his team, prior to this I found that there was not much focus on the young Scot.
Already in his third season competing with Sahara Force India, it seems as though Paul is ready to show everybody exactly how talented he really is. Many people may not know that he beat Sebastian Vettel whilst competing and winning his Formula Three title and this is one indication of his speed and talent. I've noticed recently many people criticise Paul and his performances, suggesting that he perhaps isn't good enough. This baffles me somewhat as it makes me wonder if they can see the same thing as me when I'm watching the tv. The important thing to remember here is that he isn't driving the fastest car with the most downforce yet he is still managing to regularly score points in races and qualify within the top 10 (prior to recent qualy problems.) Clearly the car he is driving at the moment isn't capable of winning races or podium finishes because there are teams such as Red Bull, Lotus and Mercedes which are much faster. Di Resta is capable of overtaking, racing other drivers hard and fairly, and is rarely involved in accidents or incidents with other drivers.
One side of Paul that we've seen more of this season is when things start to go wrong. For three consecutive races from Monaco to the British GP and even in Hungary, Di Resta has qualified towards the lower end of the grid, for various reasons.
In Monaco he qualified in 17th place due to the team failing to put on a new set of intermediate tyres in time for him to set a time at the end of the session when times were tumbling, similar to the way that the team didn't manage to get him out in time during qualy in Canada at the next race, resulting him starting the race from a familiar 17th. For these errors Paul blamed the team, but faced criticism for being quick to blame them. Personally, I do not feel as though he did anything particularly wrong here, he was obviously frustrated as he knew what the car was capable and it was clearly better than the 17th place it qualified. After it happened twice in as many races, it's no surprise that he was disappointed and I'm glad he felt as though he could be honest about his feelings at the time. Formula One is a team sport, and so the team should rightfully accept some of the blame for the situations although on the flipside of that some would argue that Paul so accept some responsibility too. Maybe he should.
One of the most impressive moments of the season was when Di Resta qualified in 5th place for the British GP. However I cannot imagine his frustration when he was later disqualified from qualy and made to start from the back of the grid for being 1KG underweight. Nevertheless, it was still an amazing effort from the driver, and even more amazing to learn that even with the added kilo, he still would have qualified in that position. He really outperformed the car that afternoon and fought back the next afternoon coming from 22nd to 9th to score 2 points at his home race.
As it stands Di Resta is currently 10th in the WDC standings, after 10 races. He has 36 points, a career best and has scored more points in the first half of the 2013 season than for the total of the 2012 or 2011 seasons. More importantly, he is consistently beating his team-ate Adrian Sutil, who is no F1 rookie, and this shows in the current 13 point difference between the two drivers. Paul is constantly improving, and surely deserves his chance at a bigger team with a more competitive car that is capable of competing for championships.
With still 9 races to go in this season, although Di Resta is very unlikely to win the WDC, he is historically stronger in the second half of the season and this provides an exciting feeling for the rest of the season. Along with all the other drama that constantly surrounds F1, you're going to want to be watching the Belgium GP weekend, starting on on 23rd August, with the race on the 25th.
Monday, 12 August 2013
The F1 Title Battle
Aside from all the rumours flying around in the world of Formula One, there is still the small matter of the World Driver's Championship. We are over the half way point of the season, and it is usually at this time where we can determine how well each team has performed.
However, instead the main focus will be on the title battle and the chances of each contender ultimately winning the WDC at the end of the season in Brazil.
Currently there are four drivers which stand out in terms of being in contention for the title as they have amassed the most amount of points and there is a fair gap in points between the 4th and 5th placed drivers, illustrating a clear group which have stood out from the rest. These four drivers are reigning triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel, former double World Champion Fernando Alonso and former champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton. Each driver represents a different team, consisting of Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and Mercedes and this illustrates how competitive this season is becoming and how close each car is to each other in terms of performance.
Leading the standings with 172 points from 10 races is Vettel. With his worst result this season being a retirement in the British GP from a technical problem, and an impressive record of four wins and three additional podium finishes so far, it is clear to see why he is at the top of the standings. Aside from the retirement, his worst results have been fourth place at the Chinese and Spanish Grand Prix.
Leading the standings with 172 points from 10 races is Vettel. With his worst result this season being a retirement in the British GP from a technical problem, and an impressive record of four wins and three additional podium finishes so far, it is clear to see why he is at the top of the standings. Aside from the retirement, his worst results have been fourth place at the Chinese and Spanish Grand Prix.
A further 38 points behind in the championship is the Finn Kimi Raikkonen. After scoring points in 19 out of the 20 races last season, Kimi has contiuned his consistent form in 2013. So far he has finished and scored points in every race and alongside his win in Australia, his consistency has been rewarded with 2nd place in the standings. Not only is Raikkonen consistent, but he is also consistently good, with 5 2nd place finishes this season.
A single point behind Raikkonen is the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, driving for Ferrari. Like Vettel, Alonso has only had one non point scoring race this season, but what has stopped him from being higher in the standings is the lack of race wins and podiums. From the nine races Alonso has had 5 non podium finishes, which illustrates that the Ferrari is not as competitive as the other cars surrounding it. Alonso takes the most out of the car at each race, which is evident when you look at Alonso's performance against his team mate Massa.
Finally, 48 points adrift from the top of the standings, but still in with a chance, is Lewis Hamilton driving in his first season for Mercedes. Like Vettel and Alonso, Hamilton has also had one non points finish and has only so far managed to pick up a single win. However, this season's Mercedes is a huge improvement from the one we saw last season and after seemingly putting their tyre trouble behind them they are now starting to pull in some good results with Hamilton. With Hamilton so far this season it has quite consistent like Raikkonen, but instead of consistent 2nd place finishes, they have been consistent 3rd, 4th or 5th place finishes.
Sebastian Vettel now has over a race win between himself and his closest rival. This means that as it stands, even if Vettel wasn't to finish the Belgium GP and Raikkonen was to win, he would still be leading the WDC, by 13 points. Even if Raikkonen then went on to win the next GP as well, Vettel would only need to finish 4th to keep them on the same amount of points. A 3rd place would mean that he would still be leading the championship. However, with a fairly reliable and extremely quick race car, if Vettel can just keep doing what he has already done this season, a fourth successive championship is surely inevitable. The Red Bull has the pace to win races, which also massively improves his chances. Some believe that he has already done enough to secure another championship, in terms of securing enough early points and only needing to remain consistent for the rest of the season.
Although Vettel has won the previous three championships, the 2012 season was not as dominent as the previous. The title went down to the final race, which was something he has not experienced in 2011. This illustrates that it is getting harder and more competitive to win the WDC, although many were not shocked when he won it last season.
Another factor which plays into Vettel's hands is the fact that he has three close contenders. Although this may not seem as though it is an advantage, in the coming races we will see Hamilton, Raikkonen and Alonso all taking points off each other, which will allow Vettel to further extend his lead.
With only 9 races left of the 2013 season, it is now that we usually see the bigger teams pull away from the smaller because of their budgets and rates of development. Some teams will now also put more focus into their 2014 car, especially because of the new regulations coming in. However, I still expect to see these four compete for the title, with it hopefully going down to the last race in Brazil. I still also hope McLaren can spring a surprise, although their title hopes went nearly as quickly as the season started. Will Raikkonen be able to continue his consistent form? Will Hamilton win more races during his first season with Mercedes? Will Vettel suffer with any problems with the car? And will Alonso have a more competitive car for the remainder of the season?
Only time will tell, and with the Belgium GP under two weeks away, it's nearly time to start the speculation again.
Sebastian Vettel: 172
Kimi Raikkonen: 134 (-38)
Fernando Alonso: 133 (-39)
Lewis Hamilton: 124 (-48)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)