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The only surprising thing about Mercedes’ sweep to a front-row lockout in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix was that it was their first of the season instead of their third. They won the first two races comfortably and seem to have a slightly larger performance advantage in Bahrain – perhaps because the circuit doesn’t play to the strengths of Red Bull, who until now have been their closest competitors. But while Bahrain’s switch to a night race may mean cooler temperatures for the grand prix, no team is exempt from the ever-present concerns about the reliability of these complicated new power units. Most drivers are using the same engine for the third race running this weekend. As they can only use five complete power units for the 19-race season, most of their engines will have to do four grand prix distances, and if they reach the chequered flag they will be well on the way to achieving that. It was at this stage of their engines’ lifespans during testing that the … [Read more...] about 2014 Bahrain GP pre-race analysis: Reliability may decide – F1 Fanatic

On the back of Ferrari’s strongest Friday – and Red Bull’s weakest – for many months in Hungary, cynical observers questioned just how Ferrari would manage to end up being beaten to pole position on Saturday. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free As it turned out, those expectations were well founded. But it was not Max Verstappen who denied Carlos Sainz Jnr and Charles Leclerc pole position at the Hungaroring and nor was it Sergio Perez. It was not even the man with the most poles in the history of Formula 1 – Lewis Hamilton. Instead, Ferrari were stunned by George Russell , who delivered a fantastic final lap to deny Sainz and take a shock maiden pole position of his career, despite not setting a single fastest sector in the process. For Mercedes, it was a stunning turnaround from their poor Friday – and no one was more stunned than the team themselves. “It’s a total unknown,” Russell admitted. “We’ve turned the car upside down since yesterday.” … [Read more...] about Is Mercedes’ mystery “big step forward” enough for Russell to beat Ferrari? · RaceFans

With the French GP absent from the 2023 calendar, Jean Alesi has hit out at what he believes is the “politics” behind its removal. The French Grand Prix was one of the seven circuits in the inaugural season of Formula 1 and remained a near permanent fixture on the calendar up until 2009. The race was brought back for the 2018 season but is again absent from the 2023 schedule with no sign of a second comeback any time soon. Getting any race on the F1 calendar can be a political minefield but nowhere does that seem more true than in France with the host of the grand prix frequently being shifted depending on whose voice was loudest. In total, seven different tracks have held the race and in 1991, the venue moved from Paul Ricard to Magny-Cours as the French Federation of Automobile Sport sought to increase attendances. The centrally located Paul Ricard is 600km south of Magny-Cours. But in 2018, the race returned to Paul Ricard after the French government refused to subsidise … [Read more...] about Jean Alesi blames ‘politics’ for end of French GP, not the circuit

The first dry qualifying session of 2014 saw Mercedes continue their monopoly on pole position this year – though this time it was Nico Rosberg , not Lewis Hamilton, on the top spot. But while a Mercedes front-row lockout was predicted by most, there were some interesting upsets and incidents throughout the rest of the field that could also be heard playing out over team radio. Romain Grosjean has often sounded unhappy on the team radio this year but for once his frustration wasn’t directed at his uncompetitive Lotus. Grosjean fumed at Adrian Sutil who got in his way during Q1, for which the stewards later penalised the Sauber driver . An unusual message from Valtteri Bottas pointed to a new kind of problem for drivers to cope with. It appears he was directed onto the weigh bridge between sessions and when a marshal turned his steering wheel to manoeuvre his car they accidentally changed some of his settings . Sebastian Vettel complained of gear change problems … [Read more...] about 2014 Bahrain GP qualifying team radio transcript · RaceFans

What kind of a Formula 1 team is Williams Racing? Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free For the last two-and-a-half years, Williams Grand Prix Engineering, formerly owned by its founder family, has been in a state of transition. Its new owners, American investment firm Dorilton, have invested considerable time, effort and funds to rebuild neo-Williams in their own image. Through swanky promotional films with Hollywood actors or hosting public exhibitions during grand prix weekends to bring the team to the fans, Williams has sought to write a new narrative for itself while still proudly embracing its illustrious heritage. But while the team appears to have clarity over how it wishes to present itself, it has struggled to find its footing on the race track in that same time. Rooted to the rear of the grid, sucked into the black hole that tends to hold down any team that falls to the back of the field, Williams would have been disappointed with their 2022 … [Read more...] about Is this the year Williams break free from the back of the grid? · RaceFans

Listen to this article After McLaren decided last summer to replace him for 2023 by rookie Oscar Piastri , Ricciardo's chances of landing a solid seat for this season were dwindling when the Australian decided to take a sabbatical instead. Ricciardo said he wanted to use 2023 to take a break and mentally reset after two punishing years with McLaren, in which he failed to get to grips with the car and was outshone by teammate Lando Norris . His third driver role at his old Red Bull team was designed to give him that chance, with his focus initially more on marketing and simulator work than driving. The 33-year-old says his first grand prix appearance this year, when he attends his home race in Melbourne at the end of March, will probably give him a good indication on whether the fire is still burning to come back, or whether he is satisfied with life outside Formula 1. "I'll be watching the first race from likely television, so I think that'll start to maybe warm … [Read more...] about Ricciardo: Australian GP buzz will tell me a lot about F1 comeback

His beloved Buffalo Bills may not be there but Daniel Ricciardo has picked out his favourite for the Super Bowl. When he is not busy driving fast cars around the circuit, F1’s Ricciardo is known for being quite the sport enthusiast, especially when it comes to American ones. In the past, he has shown his love of UFC but he is also a huge NFL fan, regularly attending games when he can and being a big Buffalo Bills fan. February 12 sees the biggest game of the season when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the Super Bowl at the State Farm Stadium in Arizona and while his beloved Bills are not going to be there, Ricciardo revealed he would be in attendance. “I’m actually going to be there next week, which is really cool,” Ricciardo told media including PlanetF1. “So that’s another perk about not racing this year. The upside is I will get to do some fun things which deep down I’ve wanted to do for a long time and scratch some itches.” In terms of who he … [Read more...] about Daniel Ricciardo makes his prediction ahead of Eagles v Chiefs Super Bowl showdown

Introducing a green Red Bull as it was dubbed at the Spanish Grand Prix, Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says they “anticipated” accusations of copying – but that there was never a “war of words” with Red Bull. Aston Martin raised eyebrows at the Barcelona race when they hit the track in their upgraded AMR22, the revised car showing a resemblance to the race-winning Red Bull RB18. Team boss Christian Horner told the media it was “no coincidence” the AMR22 resembled the RB18 given Aston Martin had employed several former Red Bull personnel, including technical director Dan Fallows. He added that while “what they take in their head, that’s fair game, that’s their knowledge, what isn’t fair and what is totally unacceptable, which we wouldn’t accept, is if there has been any transfer of IP at all.” Nothing, though, came of that with chief technical officer Andy Green saying: “The FIA came in and did a thorough investigation, examined all the data leading up in the history of … [Read more...] about Aston Martin: ‘No war of words from our side’ over Red Bull copying allegations