Thursday 31 July 2014

Formula One set to scrap standing restarts

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Formula One looks set to scrap their controversial place to introduce standing safety car restarts which are due to be introduced at the start of next season, however commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the new rule is set to be scrapped before it has its first roll out. 

A number of safety concerns have been raised about the standing restarts as if they were to happen the tyre's would be cold as the restart's would be under racing conditions which means that no team personnel are allowed on the grid without prior permission.

Ecclestone has also revealed that any changes that will be made to Formula One to boost its popularity will be minor.

One idea that has been suggested by Infiniti Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Hormer who commented in Hungary that opening up the garages and the paddock to fans for tours would be one such way of boosting the popularity of Formula One.

© Ben Johnston 2014


Tost delighted with Kvyat progress

(Vincent Curutchet DPPI for Renault Sport F1)

Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has stated that Russian rookie driver Danii Kvyat 'is doing a fantastic job'. The 20 year old joined the Italian team from the GP3 championship replacing Daniel Ricciardo who was promoted up to reigning world champions Infiniti Red Bull Racing replacing Mark Webber.

So far this season, Kvyat has scored 6 point's and lies in 15th place just two places behind team mate Jean Eric Vergne who had been looked at as Webber's replacement at Red Bull Racing but the team elected to go with Daniel Ricciardo. Speaking about Kvyat's performances in 2014, Tost commented:

'He is doing a very good job, taking into consideration how little mileage he was able to do before the season. He is driving very well, showing that he has natural speed.'

The Russian scored two point's on his Formula One debut Down Under in Melbourne, Australia when he finished the race in 9th place having started the race from 8th place on the grid.

Tost has been delighted with the mature driving style of the young Russian who has made no mistakes and has just been unlucky with reliable issues with his car. Tost also praised Jean Eric Vergne due to the Frenchman's experience and technical feedback to the team. He feels that there is more to come from Vergne in the second half of the season.

Vergne drove extremely well during the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend and was up as high as second place and went on to finish the race in 9th place to collect two points for the team.

Toro Rosso are currently in 7th place in the Constructors championship on 17 points nine clear of the Lotus F1 Team who are in 8th place.

© Ben Johnston 2014


Engine and electronic boss leaves Ferrari

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(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)

The Ferrari Formula One team have confirmed this afternoon that the head of their Engine and Electronics department Luca Marmorini has left the team as part of a restructuring programme within the Italian teams engine department following a disappointing 2014 campaign which has so far yielded just two podium finishes.

Marmorini's departure comes just four months after team boss Stefano Domenicali resigned from the team following their difficult start to the 2014 season.

Ferrari also announced that Mattia Binotto will take up the role of Chief Operations Officer of the the engine department while Lorenzo Sassi will remain at the team in the role of chief designer of the Ferrari power unit. Ferrari chassis technical director James will remain in his role over-seeing the entire car. He will continue to be assisted by Nikolas Tombazis who remains at the team in his current role of chief chassis designer.

Ferrari have struggled with their power unit so far this season and it was reported over the Hungarian Grand Prix that as well as being down on power compared to Mercedes the power unit is also overweight.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Mercedes working hard to stamp out reliability issues

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes Non Executive chairman Niki Lauda has confirmed that the team are working extremely hard behind the scene's to eradicate the reliability issues that have blighted Lewis Hamilton's side of the garage recently. During qualifying for the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring the 2008 world champion suffered a brake failure which resulted is a huge crash for the Englishman.

Last time out in Hungary, Hamilton was once again struck down by a reliability issue as he suffered a fuel fire during qualifying and as a result started the race from the pit-lane. Hamilton also suffered a engine failure in the opening race of the season. 

Hamilton isn't the only driver to have suffered reliability issues, Nico Rosberg has suffered one retirement which came at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone last month when he suffered a gearbox failure. 

Lauda has stated that he would like to see both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton competing on a level playing field. Rosberg has also stated that he would like to see both drivers racing wheel to wheel once again like the way they were in Bahrain earlier this season a race which saw Hamilton take the win while Nico Rosberg finished the race in second place. 

Lauda has insisted that fom day one both drivers have had equal equipment and that is the way it will remain.

© Ben Johnston 2014

I think the regs have become too restrictive

(www.theguardian.co.uk)

Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical officer Adrian Newey has issued Formula One with a warning saying that if the sport continues restricting team designers in what they are allowed to do by constantly changing or introducing new regulations then the sport ins in danger of becoming like a single car racing series. Newey has taken a step back from Red Bull Racing in order to pursue other projects within the Red Bull stable.

Newey has revealed that the constant rule changes in Formula One played a key factor in his decision to leave Formula One. 

This season, following the introduction of the new era of Formula One car each team has a somewhat different looking front wings and nose assembly however from next season onwards the car noses will be very similar. 

His team Red Bull Racing have endured a difficult 2014 season after dominating the sport the past four season's and are currently in second place in the Constructors championship on 219 point's, 174 behind Mercedes while Daniel Ricciardo is in third place in the Drivers championship on 131 points while reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel is in 6th place on 88 points.

Despite their difficult start to the 2014 F1 season Infiniti Red Bull Racing have taken two Grand Prix victories with Daniel Ricciardo winning in Canada while the Australian also took victory at last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

© Ben Johnston 2014



Wednesday 30 July 2014

F1 needs Bernie to make changes not Briatore

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes AMG F1 Team Non Executive chairman Niki Lauda believes that Formula One should trust commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone to make the necessary changes to the sport and not rely on help from former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore. Ecclestone revealed in Hungary that he will host a number of summit meetings to help find ways to boost Formula One's popularity.i

Ecclestone wants to bring former Renault boss Flavio Briatore back into the fold to help find ways to improve the show. Ecclestone and Briatore were former investors in Football club Queens Park Rangers before Briatore sold his shareholding to Ecclestone. However Ecclestone is no longer involved in the club after current owner Tony Fernandes, the former owner of the Caterham F1 Team bought the Premier League team in 2011.

Briatore hasn't been involved in Formula One since he and Pat Symonds were banned from the sport for their role in the 'Crashgate scandal' in 2008.and although Symonds has since returned to the F1 fold and is doing a fantastic job with Williams Martini Racing as their new technical director Briatore has stayed away from the sport despite the fact his ban was lifted.

Lauda has stated:

'Why do we need Flavio? Bernie is the man inn charge and he should stay in charge'.
Despite telling the teams in Hungary that Briatore would be involved in the working group Ecclestone has apparently back tracked on that assertion telling a German newspaper:

'We do not need Flavio. We can do it ourselves'.

Lauda believes that the fact that the race steward have become more lenient towards driver indiscretions has helped the sport and believes that had the safety car come out in Hungary when Adrian Sutil's Sauber spun and stalled on the main straight it would have made the race boring for the fans.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Hamilton relishes fight backs not victories

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has said that coming through the field like he did in Germany and last time out in Hungary at the weekend are more special compared to taking victories. In Germany and Hungary Hamilton came from the back of the grid and the pit-lane to finish in third place. He has now managed to close a gap of 29 points to Nico Rosberg in the race for the championship to just eleven points.

Reliability issues have blighted Hamilton's season with the 2008 world champion suffering a fuel fire during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix while he retired from the opening race of the season in Australia following an engine failure in the back of his Mercedes W05.

Hamilton's team mate Nico Rosberg won the race in Australia while from Malaysia to Spain Hamilton went on a winning streak. In Monaco, Hamilton finished in second place behind team mate Nico Rosberg. In Canada, Hamilton started the race from 2nd on the grid but was forced to retire from the race following a brake failure.

In Austria, Hamilton finished the race just behind team mate Rosberg. At his home race, the British Grand Prix in Silverstone last month Hamilton took a fantastic victory, his first at the circuit since he won there back in 2008. 

In Germany, Hamilton suffered a huge crash at the Hockenheimring during qualifying following a brake failure. The Formula One community is currently on their summer holidays and the sport will return to race from August 22nd - 24th at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa Francorchamps as the sport heads into the closing stages of the European leg of the season with just Spa and Italy remaining before the F1 circus heads to the Singapore Grand Prix.

In Belgium last season Lewis Hamilton finished the race on the podium in third place behind race winner Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso while Nico Rosberg finished the race in 4th place. Mercedes will be hoping to return to winning ways in Belgium.

© Ben Johnston 2014




Force India hopeful of catching Williams to reclaim fourth place in the Constructors championship

(Sahara Force India Formula One Team)

Sahara Force India team boss Dr Vijay Mallya is confident that his team can catch and overtake Williams Martini Racing before the end of the season after his team lost fourth place in Constructors championship to the Grove based outfit following the British Grand Prix in Silverstone. 

The team had a disappointing race last time out in Hungary at the weekend after both Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg went out of the race. Hulkenberg had a heavy crash coming out of the final corner but was unhurt. Force India are now just one point ahead of McLaren who are currently in 6th place in the championship.

Although Force India are 37 point's behind Williams, Mallya is hopeful that in the second half of the season his team will be able to overhaul the Grove based outfit. Speaking to the official Formula One website: Mallya commented:

'Can we catch Williams? Yes, we can, We have to work hard at it, but there's still a long way to go. They have done a great job and one should complement them for this – probably in the same way that we are doing well – unexpectedly – as a midfield, small team. The opportunity is there.'

The Hungarian Grand Prix was Force India's first double retirement of the 2014 Formula One season, despite this Mallya has been extremely pleased with how the team has performed this season.

The team have already scored more points this season then they did during the entire 2013 F1 season. Last season the team scored 77 point's and finished the season in 6th place in the Constructors championship while so far this season they have scored 98 point's and are two points ahead of McLaren.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Raikkonen turning a corner

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(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen feels that following a difficult start to his return to the team he is now turning a corner after recording his best finish of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he came home in 6th place just behind Williams Martini Racing's Felipe Massa.

Raikkonen has said that the team should not get carried away by their performance at the weekend but that Fernando Alonso's podium finish in Hungary shows that the team are now unlocking the potential of the F14-T. Raikkonen described the car as reliable, however he feels that the team need to work on improving down-force, mechanical grip and power.

The Finn also said that he feels that the performance of the car is by no means a disaster because if it was the team would not be in third place in the championship just ahead of the Williams Martini Racing team.

Raikkonen is currently in 12th place in the Drivers championship just ten points off a place in the top ten. The last time the Finn raced at the Belgian Grand Prix for Ferrari in 2009 he won the race after starting on the front row. A repeat result this season is unlikely but with Alonso finishing on the podium in Hungary Raikkonen will be hoping that it will be his turn in Belgium.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Massa happy to get back in the points

(Williams Martini Racing Team)

Williams Martini Racing's Felipe Massa declared himself happy to be back in the points at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the weekend following to DNF's at the British and German Grand Prix. Massa finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in fifth place just ahead of former Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen. The Brazilian had started the race from 10th on the grid.

Massa is currently in 9th place in the championship on 40 point's three point's ahead of McLaren's Kevin Magnussen and 20 behind 2009 world champion Jenson Button who is in 8th place.

The Williams Martini Racing team are now in fourth place in the Constructors championship on 135 points, seven points behind Ferrari who scored their second podium finish of the season at the Hungaroring when Fernando Alonso finished the race in second place in the race behind race winner Daniel Ricciardo.

Williams head into the Summer break having scored point's in every Grand Prix of the season so far however Massa is yet to finish on the podium and will be hoping to change that next time out in Belgium.

© Ben Johnston 2014


Tuesday 29 July 2014

McLaren looking for improvements following disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix

Eric Boullier in the paddock.
(McLaren Mercedes)

McLaren Mercedes head into the Formula One summer break following a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix which yielded just the one point for the Woking based outfit. Jenson Button who took his very first Formula One victory in Hungary back in 2006 and had a great start to the race. The team gambled on a tyre strategy which saw Button on a set of Intermediates while the other drivers were switching to the Option tyre.

Button went on to finish the race in 10th place and McLaren are currently in 6th place in the Constructors championship just one point behind the Sahara Force India F1 Team.

McLaren Racing Director Eric Bouiller has said that after the issue with the strategy on Sunday the Woking based outfit will make a number of changes in how they carry out strategy calls. Jenson Button started the race in 7th place and finished in 10th place while Kevin Magnussen started the race from the pit-lane and finished the race in 12th place just outside the points.

McLaren like a number of the teams have stepped up their game in recent race's and following the Summer break they head to the Belgian Grand Prix where in 2012 Jenson Button won the race after starting the race from pole position and although they don't expect to challenging for the win in Spa the team certainly appear to be moving in the right direction with just two Grand Prix remaining on the European leg of the season.

The team certainly have the resources that will enable them to make their way back up the grid. 

© Ben Johnston 2014

F1 needs more exciting Grand Prix like German and Hungary

(Florent Gooden DPPI for Renault Sport F1)

Formula One is about the drivers and not the teams and the politics and when that comes across is when the sport is at its best. That is the view of Infiniti Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner. The sport experienced an extremely exciting battles throughout the field such as Kimi Raikkonen's great battle with reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel while team mate Daniel Ricciardo secured his second victory of the season.

The sport also saw Lewis Hamilton make his way through the field for the second race in a row to finish on the podium after starting the race from 20th in Germany while in Hungary the 2008 world champion started the race from the pit-lane.

It was recently revealed that a series of meeting will take place on how to improve the show over the coming weeks. Horner feels that the drivers are the heroes of the show and that this needs to be acknowledged. 

Horner felt that in Hungary fans saw the sport at its best and that's the way it needs to stay.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Gutierrez hoping to open Sauber contract talks over the Summer

d_reinhard_h_14_603.jpg
(Sauber F1 Team)

The Sauber F1 Team's Esteban Gutierrez is hoping to open contract talks with the Swiss based outfit of the Summer break. The Mexican, who has been with the team since making his debut in F1 last season has yet to score a point so far this season as the outfit have struggled so far this season. The team have come close to scoring point's on a number of occasions this season but are yet to get on th board.

Last season Gutierrez finished in 16th place and scored 6 point's. The 22 year old Mexican has admitted that the 2014 season has been 'very challenging' but that the Swiss team have great people who are working extremely hard to get the team to where they should be which is scoring points on a regular basis.

Gutierrez brings financial backing from Mexican telecommunications company Telemex and with Mexico city returning to the Formula One calendar Gutierrez is hopeful that he will remain on the grid for that race next season.

Gutierrez has said that he loves a challenge and is looking forward to helping the team improve their performances in second half of the season.

© Ben Johnston 2014

First safety car affected chances of victory

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Championship leader Nico Rosberg has stated that he believes the timing of the first safety car on lap eight of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the weekend cost him a chance of taking victory in the race. Following Caterham's Marcus Ericsson's crash both the Safety and Medical cars were deployed with Rosberg getting caught behind the medical car which circulates the track at a slower pace to the Safety car and the safety car.

Speaking to the media following the race, Rosberg who now leads the drivers championship by eleven points commented:

'It was just the safety car. They sent it out at the wrong time, I got stuck behind it and it was so slow that all those guys who managed to pit first got by me then - and that is not supposed to be the case.'

When the first safety car was deployed Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso had just come onto the main straight so as eventual race winner Daniel Ricciardo had taken the lead from McLaren's Jenson Button and Williams Martini Racing's Felipe Massa.

Rosberg went on to finish the race in fourth place just behind team mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg now heads into the Summer break with an eleven point advantage in the championship standings.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Fry has not been sacked

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(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)

Ferrari have dismissed reports that they have sacked engineering director Pat Fry. The Italian team have endured an extremely tough 2014 season but went into the Summer break having secured their best combined result following Fernando Alonso's second place finish behind race winner Daniel Ricciardo while Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a disappointing qualifying to make his way through the fied from 16th place on the grid to finish the race in 6th place.

Ferrari took to Twitter this after to say:

'For those ask about Pat Fry: just rumors, rumors rumors.'

Speaking following the Hungarian Grand Prix result Fry who has been with the Italian team since joining from McLaren in 2010 commented:

'After the summer break, we come to two races that will be difficult for us, on two tracks where it will be important to make the most of any opportunity, just as we did today.'

Fry went on to say:

'On behalf of the team, I wish to congratulate Fernando and Kimi. We had promised them redemption and we were true to our word. We know that there is still a long way to go, but we will spare nothing in our efforts, continuing to work hard to improve, day by day.'

Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci has stated that in 2015 the outfit will be completely different  but they will retain both Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. 

It was reported earlier this season that Ferrari engine boss Luca Mamorini had been let go by the team following their poor start to the season however this was denied by Scuderia. The first major name to depart the team was boss Stefano Domenicali who left the outfit in April. Ferrari are currently in third place in the Constructors champion.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Hamilton was just doing what he is employed to do...race

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton has stated that he was just doing the job that he is paid to do and that is race when he ignored a call from the team during the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday to allow team mate Nico Rosberg past.

The 2008 world champion went on to finish the race on the podium in third place after starting the race from the pit-lane. 

Speaking following the race Hamilton said:

'It was not about questioning authority, and I don't think I was being ruthless. I was not even being bloody minded, I was doing my job and got to the top. I am hired to race and bring in points for the team. I am also hired to be me and race my heart out. I did not start at the front of the pack. I started from the pit lane, so in my mind I could not afford to lose anything else. I have already given away too much.'

As a result of his podium finish Hamilton has now closed the gap to Nico Rosberg in the battle for the championship to just e;even points as Formula One heads into the Summer break. Hamilton has had his fair share of bad luck so far this season but has done really well in the last two Grand Prix in Germany and Hungary to come through the field to finish on the podium on both occasions.

Mercedes had a difficult weekend in Hungary which saw both Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finish ahead of both Hamilton and Rosberg. 

Both Hamilton and Rosberg have failed to finish on the podium twice this season. The championship has been extremely close between the Silver Arrows duo.

It is very possible that this years championship will go right down to the wire at the season finale in Abu Dhabi which this season counts for double points as a way of ensuring that the championship isn't decided before the end of the season.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Sahara Force India set to retain drivers

(Sahara Force India Formula One Team)

The Sahara Force India Formula One Team look set to retain both their drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez into 2015 according to team boss and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya. Speaking to the media iat the Hungarian Grand Prix Mallya said:

'We have options on both and I’m very happy with both of them and I see no reason why we should be looking at any change.'

At the Hungarian Grand Prix at the weekend the Silverstone based outfit suffered their first double retirement of the 2014 season. 

Sergio 'Checco' Perez who joined the team from McLaren over the Winter scored the Silverstone based squads first podium since 2009 when he finished in third place behind the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. 

The Sahara Force India F1 Team are currently in 5th place in the Constructors championship on 98 point's just one ahead of the McLaren Mercedes team. 

The team along with the rest of Formula One head to the Belgian Grand Prix following the summer break having scored their first ever F1 podium at the circuit when Giancarlo Fisichella finished in second place just behind race winner Kimi Raikkonen. The team will be hoping for  similar result this season.

© Ben Johnston 2014


Monday 28 July 2014

'Truly sensational' Horner delighted with Ricciardo performances

(Florent Gooden DPPI for Renault Sport F1)

Infiniti Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner has described Daniel Ricciardo's recent performances as'Truly sensational' after the Australian claimed his second victory of the season in yesterday's Hungarian Grand Prix. Horner commented saying:

'We knew we'd have to make a final stop, which would put us behind Alonso and Hamilton who were trying to get to the end. But he closed the gap down quickly and then, with some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres in the last five laps, pulled off a dramatic victory to achieve the second in his career and our second of the season.'

Ricciardo's victory sees Red Bull out on their own in second place in the Constructors championship some 174 point's behind championship leaders Mercedes AMG Petronas, while the Milton Keynes based outfit are 77 points ahead of Ferrari who are in third place. Adrian Newey attended the Hungarian Grand Prix and was very happy to see Ricciardo take the win.

Newey's appearance at the race fueled speculation that the Englishman had done a U-turn on his decision to step back form the Red Bull F1 team however he has confirmed that he still plans to step back and is currently working on the design of the 2015 car. 

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel has admitted that it was his mistake that caused him to spin on the main straight during the race however he did no damage to the car and had a great battle with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finishing the race in 7th place just behind the Finn. Horner was happy with the German's performance saying: 

'After a good start and some good battles, Sebastian got the call at the same time as Daniel to pit after the Caterham had an accident, but was too far round the last corner to make it into the pit lane.'

Infiniti Red Bull Racing head into the Summer break having collected seven podium finishes including Ricciardo's two victories. 

© Ben Johnston 2014

Ferrari happy but must not get carried away

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(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)

Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci was pleased with his teams result at yesterday Hungarian Grand Prix which saw Fernando Alonso finishing the race on the podium in second place 5.2s behind race winner Daniel Ricciardo while Kimi Raikkonen made his way through the field from 16th on the grid to finish the race in 6th place to claim his best result of the season so far. Mattiacci described the result as a:

'Starting point'

He went on to say:

'It was a great race and very pleasing to see our team fight back from an extremely complicated Saturday,' "Kimi and Fernando demonstrated just what they are capable of and the whole team was up to the task.'

The team have now go back ahead of Williams Martini Racing into third place in the Constructors championship. 

The team will be hoping to continue moving forward at the next race in Spa Francorchamps from August 22-24.

Ferrari had a disastrous qualifying session with Kimi Raikkonen as the the Finn failed to make it out of Q1 after the team made the wrong call by not sending him back out right at the end of the session on the Soft tyre after he set his lap in Q1 on the White walled Medium compound tyre.

Raikkonen echoed Mattiacci's warning to the team not to get too carried away. The Finn said that although it was a improved performance for the team they still have plenty of work to do in many areas of the car.

© Ben Johnston 2014


Can Ricciardo and Red Bull spoil the Mercedes party?

(Florent Gooden - DPPI for Renault Sport F1)

Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo took a fantastic victory at the Hungaroring on Sunday and in doing so has emerged as a major threat to Mercedes Formula One dominance this season. The Australian remains the only driver other then a Mercedes driver to have won Grand Prix this season. His victory on Sunday was his second of the season and as a result he is now points behind championship leader Nico Rosberg as Formula One begins its Summer break.

Ricciardo has now emerged as Infiniti Red Bull Racing's 'top dog' after beating reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel on a regular basis so far this season.

Following his victory in Hungary Ricciardo has now picked up six podium finishes in only first season with the reigning world champions. 

Championship leader Nico Rosberg is currently on 202 point's while Daniel Ricciardo is on 131 points 71 behind Rosberg and 60 behind Hamilton who is in second place. Ricciardo is currently 43 points ahead of his Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel.

There are still a maximum of 225 points to be won from the remaining Grand Prix with the final race in Abu Dhabi worth double points.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Hamilton upset over team orders call

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Lewis Hamilton has admitted to being stunned after he was told over the radio to slow and let team mate Nico Rosberg overtake him following the German's third pit-stop at the Hungaroring. The 2008 world champion who was on an alternate strategy to Rosberg who currently leads the Drivers championship ignored the call and went on to finish the race on the podium in third place while Rosberg finished the race in fourth place.

Speaking after the race Hamilton said:

'If I'd let him past he would have beaten me, Also, I would have lost points to Nico. Obviously I was in the same race as him, just because he had one more stop than me doesn't mean I wasn't in the same race. He would have had the opportunity to pull away and then I thought he would come back and overtake me. I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that. He didn't get close enough to overtake, I was not going to lift off and lose ground to Fernando [Alonso] or Daniel [Ricciardo], so it was a bit strange.'

Following his final stop, Rosberg was catching the leading pack of Ricciardo, Alonso and Hamilton by three seconds a lap due to the fact that he he had a fresher set of the Pirelli Option tyre compared to Hamilton who was on the Medium compound tyre. 

However Hamilton managed to stay ahead of Rosberg and as a result has closed the gap to Rosberg in the championship. Hamilton, who following qualifying stated that he would find it difficult to score points admitted that he felt greater satisfaction in beating Rosberg then winning the race.

Last night Mercedes non executive chairman Niki Lauda admitted that the team were wrong to attempt to impose team orders on Hamilton. The Austrian said:

'Mercedes has been used to being in the lead and racing against each other, but this race, with the safety car at the beginning and the wet conditions, was a completely different race, So every minute you had to decide something different and in this stress the team told Lewis he should let Nico by because he was on softer tyres and has to come in anyway.'

Lauda went on to say that he felt Lewis was right and that the reason the call came was because the pit-wall panicked as the team were looking to make up for lost time.

Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff confirmed after the race that they will discuss the situation internally.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Sunday 27 July 2014

Mercedes to discuss Hamilton/Rosberg disagreement internally

(Mercedes AMG F1 Team)

Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff has confirmed that the Brackley squad will sit down with both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg over the Summer break to discuss the current situation at the team. Wolff stated that the issue of Hamilton ignoring team orders will be dealt with internally.

Nico Rosberg was closing the gap to team mate Lewis Hamilton towards the end of today's Hungarian Grand Prix when the team came over the radio to ask Hamilton not to hold up Rosberg. In other words to let the German go through. However, the team came over the radio and told Hamilton to let Rosberg past however the 2008 world champion ignored the call and kept racing.

Hamilton even told the team to tell Rosberg to come after him. Rosberg did come close to overtaking Hamilton but was unable to catch Hamilton who did a fantastic job to come through the field after starting from the pit-lane today to finish the race on the podium in third place.

It was second race in a row that Hamilton came through the field to finish on the podium after he finished the race in third place 22.5s behind Nico Rosberg who won the race in the other Mercedes. Hamilton had started the race in Germany from 20th place on the grid.

Following today's race Hamilton goes into the Summer break having closed the gap to team mate Nico Rosberg to eleven points. At last season's Belgian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton finished the race in third place behind race winner Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso while Nico Rosberg finished the race in 4th place.

© Ben Johnston 2014

Disappointing day for Grosjean as Lotus get so near to the points

Hungarian Grand Prix
(Steven Tee for The Lotus F1 Team)

The Lotus F1 Team had a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix after Romain Grosjean who started the race from 14th place failed to finish the race after an accident on lap 10 of the 70 lap race. Despite the crash, Grosjean and Lotus have certainly made progress.

Pastor Maldonado was left disappointed after the Venezuelan finished the race in 13th place narrowly missing out on his first points of the season. Maldonado drove extremely well in Grand Prix having started the race in 20th place. 

The Enstone based outfit head into the Summer break in 8th place in the Constructors championship on eight points and will be hoping for an improved second half of the season. At the midway point in the 2013 season the team had recorded a victory with Kimi Raikkonen in Australia along with 7 podium finishes. 

The Lotus F1 Team's technical director Nick Chester has stated that the team are currently well advanced in the design phase of their 2015 car and are still bringing developments to this years E22 machine. Grosjean has now suffered five retirements so far this season while Pastor Maldonado has recorded three retirements and a Did Not Start.

'The conditions on the circuit this afternoon were very tricky and we couldn’t get the best out of the tyres, We made the right call to move to slicks when the safety car came out – like most of the grid did – but I made a mistake when I was trying to keep the tyres warm. Unfortunately, I touched the white line and spun and that was it. “I feel very sorry for everyone in the team who are giving everything they can to give me the best car possible. We didn’t finish the race today which is very disappointing.'

Romain Grosjean commented by saying:

'It was a tough race for us, It was a struggle to find enough grip and the track surface was very slippery. “We didn’t always have full power, which certainly added to the challenge in what was already a pretty difficult race with the changeable conditions. We weren’t able to close in on the cars ahead along the straight which made it hard to overtake, and there aren’t many places to overtake around here.” 

The Lotus F1 Team have decided that they will head back to Enstone next week before heading off on their two week holiday at the end of the week.

© Ben Johnston 2014





McLaren tyre gamble backfires

Jenson Button on track.
(McLaren Mercedes)

McLaren's Jenson Button was left disappointed after his team decided to run the Intermediate tyre at the wrong time in this afternoon's Hungarian Grand Prix. Button started the race from 7th place on the grid and made a great start on a circuit where the 2009 world champion took his first F1 victory when he drove for Honda in 2006.

Button showed great race pace during today's Grand Prix but went on to finish the race in 10th place collecting just a solitary point. McLaren are now just one point behind the Sahara Force India F1 Team in 6th place in the Constructors championship on 97 points. 

Button is currently in 8th place in the Drivers championship on 60 points just 9 points behind the Sahara Force India F1 Team. The Woking based outfit will be hoping to move ahead of the Silverstone based team at the Belgian Grand Prix which takes place from August 22-24 following the Summer break.

The Spa Francorchamps circuit has been a great hunting ground for Jenson Button who took victory there for McLaren in 2012.

Kevin Magnussen had a fantastic race in the second McLaren because although he failed to finish the race in the points he managed to come through the field after starting from the the pit-lane and finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in 12th place.

© Ben Johnston 2014

More points for Williams as Bottas misses out on a fourth consecutive podium

(Williams Martini Racing Team)

The Williams Martini Racing Team continued their points scoring run in Hungary today as Felipe Massa finished the race in fifth place as the Brazilian scored his first points since the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. The team felt that they would struggle at the Hungaroring this weekend however Felipe Massa started the race from 6th place on the grid while Valtteri Bottas started the race third on the grid.

Felipe Massa had a great battle with former Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen with the Finn coming close to overtaking Massa but on straights due to the performance advantage of the Mercedes power unit in the FW36 compared to the Ferrari engine Massa was able to fend off the challenge from Raikkonen. Speaking after the race Massa commented:

' It was a very difficult race with a lot happening. We had many fights and it was difficult to stay on the track. We took some risks with the tyres in the pitstops and in the end it was a good result. Now we can look forward to the second part of the season and I’m sure we will score a lot more points than we've scored up until now.'

Valtteri Bottas was left disappointed after starting the race from 3rd place he went on to finish the race in 8th place. The Finn is currently out on his own in fifth place in the Drivers championship and with the car that the Williams Martini Racing team have given him has resulted in him becoming a hot property in Formula One and the team will be happy that he is on a long term contract with the team. Speaking following the race Bottas commented:

'After three podiums in a row P8 is not that satisfying, but we got some good points as a team. There was more to come today but we were unlucky with the safety car when I went from P2 to out of the top 10. We need to analyse this race then focus on the next one. There are many more good moments for us to come this season, we are getting stronger.'

The team go into the summer break having scored points in every race so far this season and are now back to fourth place in the Constructors championship following Ferrari's Fernando Alonso's second place today. Speaking about today's race, Williams Martini Racing's Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley stated:

'We've been used to racing for podiums lately, so today was a bit different. The pace of the car wasn't fantastic, which we can accept on a tight and twisty track like this. We did what we could, we got two cars home in the points and pulled away from McLaren and Force India in the championship. We’re happy with fourth in the Constructors’ going into the break and we’ve got some good races coming up, so we will come back eager for more podiums at Spa and Monza. '

© Ben Johnston 2014

Good day at the office for Ferrari put still room to improve

Embedded image permalink
(Scuderia Ferrari SpA via Twitter)

Ferrari head into the Formula One Summer break following their best combined finish of the season for Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso secured his and Ferrari's second podium finish of the season after coming home in second place 5.2s behind Daniel Ricciardo while Kimi Raikkonen recovered from a terrible qualifying finishing the race in 6th place. Despite the improved performance Raikkonen stated that the team cannot be happy.

'Sixth doesn't really give me anything. I think we deserved a bit more, but not after yesterday. I'm here to try and win races, OK it's some good points but it's nowhere near where we want. The car has been feeling pretty OK all weekend but it was a hard race to make any better result from where we started.'

The Finn had a fantastic battle with reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel and beat the German on outright pace in today's race and the Finn was happier with the performance of the car this weekend after an impressive Friday session despite a number of small technical issues with his F14-T. The Finn chased down Williams Martini Racing's Felipe Massa but was unable to match the pace of the Mercedes powered FW36.

Raikkonen went on to say:

'It was more fun, for sure. The car was also feeling a bit better so it makes life a bit easier and means you can enjoy it more. It was a fun race. Difficult, but fun. However the big picture does not change from one result. It's welcome to get some points and a bit better result but it doesn't change the fact that we could have scored much better points in some of our races, but always something happens. I'm happy for it but its disappointing overall how things went and we have to make sure we don't make those things [happen again]. There were some signs of improvements and the car is a lot better than at the start of the year but that's normal.'

Despite today's result Raikkonen confirmed that the team are now switching focus to 2015. While Raikkonen finished the race in 6th place his team mate Fernando Alonso finished the race in second place and stated that second place felt like a win. The Spaniard lead the race briefly but was unable to match the pace of Daniel Ricciardo. Alonso said:

'It means a lot, obviously, We've had some tough races recently and to see a Ferrari again on the podium is the best news. We chose the right thing, to stay out and defend the position the best we could and secure this second place which tastes like a victory for us at the moment.'

The next race in Belgium at the end of August us the scene of Kimi Raikkonen's last win for Ferrari where he took victory ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella who drove for Force India at the time.

© Ben Johnston 2014

A second win of the season for Ricciardo and Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RACE REPORT
(Renault Sport F1)

Renault Sport F1 had a fantastic weekend as Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo took a great victory for the Milton Keynes based outfit taking his second victory of the season for the team. The Australian finished the race 5.2s ahead of second placed Fernando Alonso after starting the race from 4th place on the grid.

His team mate, reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel finished the race in seventh place while Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Vergne added to his points tally after finishing the race in 9th place. The Frenchman drove brilliantly during the race and was as high as second place during the race. 

It was a disappointing day for the Lotus F1 Team as Pastor Maldonado jsut missed out on a points scoring position ending the race in 13th place while Romain Grosjean retired from his second Race in a row. Speaking following the race, Renault Sport F1's Head of Track Operations Remi Taffin stated:

'The conditions gave us a thriller from start to finish. Daniel and the team thoroughly deserved the win today. We know that the twistier circuits suit us a lot better and the chassis and the Power Unit worked well together today to give Daniel the car and confidence he needed to fight for the lead. We have raised our game in the last few races and worked hard with the team over many man hours to be as competitive as possible. Of course there is still room for improvement – which is positive – and we now need to aim to be competitive in all types of conditions.

We’ve also got to use this as motivation for the second part of the year. We know it will be a lot harder when we return, but we know what our strengths are and we’ve got some interesting work in progress that will help. We now need to turn everything to our advantage and maximize opportunities when we return, just as we did today.'

© Ben Johnston 2014

Pirelli Hungarian Grand Prix Report - Pirelli

(Pirelli Motorsport Media)

The start of today's Hungarian Grand Prix was affected by a major rain shower. This resulted in the entire field starting the race on the Green marked Pirelli P-Zero Intermediate tyre's. The race was action packed from start to finish. McLaren's Kevin Magnussen did the longest stint on the Intermediate compound tyre's completing 15 laps.

The Marussia F1 Team's Max Chilton completed the longest stint on the Soft tyre completing 37 laps on the yellow marked tyre's. Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat completed the longest stint on the Medium White walled tyre's. The Russian managed 39 laps.

Daniel Ricciardo made the most of three stop strategy to win the race by 5.2s to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes Lewis Hamilton. Speaking following the race Pirelli Motorsport boss Paul Hembery commented:

'Today’s race at the Hungaroring showed how tyre strategy can benefit a race. The brief we received from the promoter and the teams in 2011 when we entered the sport is still valid and today’s results have shown how the tyres and strategy can help to produce very exciting races. 

The rain that fell just before the start of the race also helped as teams had to determine which of the rain tyres would be the most appropriate to start on. We saw some extremely close battles throughout until the very end, underlining the importance of selecting the right strategy and being able to react to changing circumstances. Now Formula One heads off for its summer break, and after the first half of a season that can only be described as impressive – during which the sport entered a new era, and we even previewed what an 18-inch tyre could look like – we look forward to an equally intriguing second half from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards.'

© Ben Johnston 2014

Ricciardo wins as chaos reigns in Hungary

(Florent Gooden DPPI for Renault Sport F1)

Infiniti Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo took a sensational victory in today's Hungarian Grand Prix after an absolutely incredible race. The start of the Grand Prix was extremely wet with all driver's starting on the Pirelli Green marked Intermediate tyre's. Following the race the Australian commented:

'Winning this today, it honestly feels as good as the first. It sank in a lot quicker this one, so crossing the line today I knew what was going on a bit more and it’s like I could enjoy it immediately rather than it being delayed, it was awesome. 

To have to pass guys again to win the race, as I did in Canada, makes it a lot more satisfying, knowing that we did have a bit of a fight on our hands – you beauty! In this environment now I feel, I am a different driver and in a way a different person, a different sportsman than I was last year. I’ve got a lot more belief in myself and it’s cool, I definitely feel like I belong here now and I’ve got confidence; obviously we’ve converted two races into wins this year so far and I think that confidence is showing. I’ve got some friends from Australia here this weekend, so the plan was to always have a few drinks tonight, so I think we’ve got an excuse to now!'

He finished the race just ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who collected Ferrari's second podium finish of the season. The drive of the day had to go to Mercedes Lewis Hamilton who started the race from the pit-lane and drove an absolutely incredible race to finish just ahead of Mercedes team mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg. Hamilton commented by saying:

'It is a great result today; I was just pushing as hard as possible to get as high as I could. It was obviously damage limitation after what happened yesterday. I can’t express the pain I feel when we have issues such as in the last couple of races; it’s hard to swallow and difficult to come back the next day and get the right balance between not attacking too much, but pushing to the limit. 

The two safety car periods helped quite a lot, but naturally I looked fast and had the pace this weekend, so there was an opportunity for more points. I was in the same race as Nico and if I let him past and he had the opportunity to pull away, then he would have come back and overtaken me. I didn’t understand why the team asked me to do that as he didn´t get close enough to overtake and I didn´t want to lift off and lose ground to Fernando. I would like to say a big congratulations to Daniel and Fernando. It was close at the end and it was getting very hard to keep Nico behind as he was catching at close to 3 seconds a lap. Coming back through shows how great this car and team is, and this result is much more satisfying than an easy win. Going into the break, I’m still in the fight for the championship, which is very satisfying.'


Nico Rosberg commented on the race by saying:

'That was a disappointing afternoon. A few things didn’t work out for me and it was a very up and down race. In the beginning it was all under control. Unfortunately the safety car cost me the lead, because I just missed the pit entry and then I couldn’t pit. I also had some braking issues after the safety car went in and a difficult period of time with handling this, which cost me some positions. Then I was able to push a lot. I had a great last stint and at the end there was one chance to overtake Lewis in the last lap, but it didn’t work out. So that is massively disappointing. We need to sit down and analyse internally what went wrong today. I’m still leading the championship, which is a positive thing, and I’ll be ready to attack again after the summer break.'

Mercedes Motorsport boss Toto Wolff commented saying:

'The conditions today made the race very difficult. The safety car periods worked out better for some and worse for others. If you look at the leading three cars before the safety car period, they ended up in fourth, seventh and eighth – and that was what really cost Nico, when he was held by the Safety Car and couldn’t get back to the pits. The result for us was also down to some brilliant driving from Lewis and Nico. To finish third and fourth on a circuit that’s very difficult to overtake on is probably the best we could have done today, given the challenges that were thrown our way. Again we had reliability issues on Lewis’ car and we had some very difficult decisions to make in the race. Obviously, we need to sit down, discuss and analyse the moment when Lewis was asked to let Nico pass – but, like always, we will do this calmly and work our way through any confusion or misunderstanding. There were so many things influencing the decisions we made and we must still determine whether we were right or not. We are not satisfied with third and fourth today, so we will look at everything and try to improve for the next race.'

Mercedes Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe commented:

'It was a difficult afternoon; but it was never going to be easy with one car starting from the pit-lane. On the other side of the garage we were well lined up with a good car and good pace. We opened up a healthy lead from the start in tricky conditions until the race was overturned by a safety car. 

For reasons we don’t yet understand, the safety car split the pack and Nico got stuck behind it because he had been unable to pit before it was called out. We put Nico on a three-stop strategy and Lewis on a two-stop. This caused an interaction which we explained as best we could to each driver. In the event, neither strategy was capable of recovering the win given the impact of the safety car periods. We had a few issues with brake management on both cars and a fuel pressure issue on Lewis’ car that we will look into more closely. The problems didn’t have a significant effect on performance and at the end of the day, third and fourth was probably the best we could do in the circumstances. As we start ‘half-term’ it’s a good point to say well done to both drivers and the team for all that has been achieved this year, and we wish everybody, including the fans, happy holidays.'

Felipe Massa did a great job for the Williams Martini Racing Team as the Brazilian finished the race in 6th place for the Grove based outfit just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari who did a fantastic job to come through the field after starting the race from 16th place following a team error in qualifying yesterday to finish the race in 6th place.

The Finn finished the race just ahead of reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel in the RB10. 

Vettel finished the race just ahead of the Williams Martini Racing car of Valtteri Bottas. As a result of their fantastic result today Ferrari have moved ahead of the Grove based outfit in the Constructors championship.Speaking after the race Vetel said:

'It wasn’t a great race. I spun, which was my mistake, and before that I was unlucky with the safety car in the first stint. The timing meant the first four cars lost positions to those running behind. Unfortunately we were then in the wrong mode for the restart and I lost two positions. It’s good for Daniel that he won today, I’m happy for him.' 

Infiniti Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner was delighted with Ricciardo's performance saying:

'A fantastic grand prix and the performance by Daniel today was truly sensational. Starting in wet conditions, he benefitted from being a little bit further back and being able to get in for slick tyres at the first safety car and then really managed to make his strategy work on the soft tyres through the next stages of the race. We knew we’d have to make a final stop, which would put us behind Alonso and Hamilton who were trying to get to the end. But he closed the gap down quickly and then, with some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres in the last five laps, pulled off a dramatic victory to achieve the second in his career and our second this season. Sebastian’s afternoon was much more frustrating. 

Unfortunately, after a good start and some good battles, he got the call at the same time as Daniel to pit after the Caterham had an accident, but was too far round the last corner to make it into the pit lane. He then had to stop under the safety car which meant he lost some places. He was making progress but then had the spin and managed to avoid the pit wall, but he flat spotted his tyres and then had a problem at the restart. It was then a question of damage limitation, trying to run the hard tyres to the end of the race and he did a phenomenal job to keep Bottas behind him.'

Jean Eric Vergne did a great job for Toro Rosso as he finished the race in 9th place while Jenson Button rounded out the top ten after the team made the wrong tyre call early in the race.

There were a number of big crashes. Caterham's Marucs Ericsson had a huge crash in turn 4 which resulted in a Safety Car fortunately he was unhurt. It was an extremely disappointing day at the office for the Sahara Force India F1 Team as neither Sergio Perez or Nico Hulkenberg finished the race. Hulkenberg had a huge crash on the main straight which brought out a second safety car fortunately the German walked away unhurt. But the incident would have given the Red Bull Racing pit-wall a big shock as it happened right by their rig. Speaking after the race Hulkenberg said:

'It was not the best day in the office and I’m feeling very disappointed. The track was drying out and I was quite close behind Checo when I made contact with him at the final corner. The previous lap he had taken a much wider line so I tried to overtake on the inside, but he took a tighter line and I couldn’t back out of the move. I made contact with his car, lost my front wing and went straight on into the barrier. It was my mistake and I’ve apologised to the team. It’s especially frustrating because there was a lot of potential in this race, but I guess it was one of those days when things didn’t go our way.'

Team mate Sergio Perez commented saying:

'It's a very disappointing end to our weekend, just when it looked like we could have scored some big points. I went a little wide on the exit kerb of the final corner, lost the rear and that was it – I was in the wall. It was a very unfortunate end to our race and I feel sorry for the team because they deserved some points today. Conditions were very difficult, the track was drying and improving, and it made you want to push to the limit, but there were some wet patches that could catch you out. We'll take the positive elements of this weekend and get back in the points in the next race.'

Team boss Dr Vijay Mallya said:

'It is disappointing to come away from this weekend with nothing, especially as the race was shaping up nicely for us. Both Checo and Nico were on course for a points finish, but it was not our day. Sometimes, this is how motorsport is. But a negative result must not detract from our great first half of the year because this is the first race in 2014 in which we have not scored points. Despite the missed opportunity, we remain in fifth place in the championship. It was also a fantastic race for Formula One with wheel-to-wheel racing and a great show for the fans. We have the summer break now, an occasion to regroup and come back stronger in Belgium and get ready for the final eight races.'

Adrian Sutil was left disappointed as he just missed out on scoring the Sauber F1 Team's first world championship point's of the season. Romain Grosjean was once again left disappointed as he retired fro his second race in a row following his retirement in Germany last weekend. Speaking after the race Adrian Sutil said:

'Finishing in P11 was very close to gaining one point. It was not an easy race, especially at the beginning with the difficult weatherconditions and the two safety car periods. During the first safety car period we made our first pit stop. When I came to the box I had to wait as Esteban had not finished yet. I did loose some time, but I was fighting back. At the end I finished the race in 11th. In the corners I was faster than Jenson (Button), but I could not overtake him as he did not make any mistakes and drove away on the straights. However, it was a positive day as we came closer to the teams in front of us, and this is what counts.'

It was a disappointing race for Esteban Guiterrez as he failed to finish the race in the second Sauber. The Mexican said after the race:

'The race started well, as I could gain positions during the start. I was pushing as much as I could, trying to drive very precisely and consistently. I was able to gain some positions and everything was going in the right direction. During the safety car period I came in for the pit stop, everything was right on target. After the restart, I was fighting with Kimi (Raikkonen) and trying to keep him behind. The pace was good and I was also able to keep up with the drivers in front of me. It was an unfortunate ending, but there are a lot of positives we can take from the weekend.'

Sauber F1 Team principal Monisha Keltenborn commented:

'This was a good performance by the whole team that was unfortunately not rewarded. Esteban was driving strongly, and it’s really frustrating that we had a problem with the Energy Recovery System, which forced him to retire. Adrian also drove strongly, but unfortunately didn’t manage to gain the decisive position on track. The whole team delivered an impeccable performance under very difficult circumstances.'

The team's Head of Track Engineering Giampoalo Dall'Ara said:

'There were two deciding factors in this race for our team. First we lost Esteban due to a failure of the Energy Recovery System. He was running in eighth and could have finished the race in the points. The second key point was that we lost a position on the track, and this car slowed Adrian quite a bit towards the end of the race. During the first safety car period, we made the call to bring both cars in on the same lap, which was not easy to handle, but under the circumstances it was a correct decision. It was positive that we were able to race with quite a lot of competition, but it’s disappointing not to finish in the points.'

Only 16 of the 22 starters finished the race and after challenging for a points finish during the race the Lotus F1 Team's Pastor Maldonado was unfortunate to the finish in 13th place.

Drivers Championship Standings after Round 11

1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG F1 Team 202 Points
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG F1 Team 191
3 Daniel Ricciardo Infiniti Red Bull Racing 131
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 115
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams Martini Racing Team 95
6 Sebastian Vettel Infiniti Red Bull Racing 88
7 Nico Hulkenberg Sahara Force India F1 Team 69
8 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes 60
9 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing Team 40
10 Kevin Mangnussen McLaren Mercedes 37
11 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team 29
12 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 27
13 Jean Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 11
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team 8
15 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 6
16 Jules Bianchi Marussia F1 Team 2

Constructors Championship Standings after Round 11

1 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 393 Points
2 Infiniti Red Bull Racing 219
3 Ferrari 142
4 Williams Martini Racing Team 135
5 Sahara Force India F1 Team 98
6 McLaren Mercedes 97
7 Scuderia Toro Rosso 17
8 Lotus F1 Team 8
9 Marussia F1 Team 2

© Ben Johnston 2014