Grand prix drivers

It was a strange race for the front-runners in Abu Dhabi but a more typical affair further back. Here’s how the drivers got on in the final race weekend of the year. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton – Started on the right foot by leading Rosberg in both Friday sessions, despite a brief spin in first practice. He was imperious in qualifying, setting a pace Rosberg simply couldn’t match. Delaying Rosberg was obviously the correct tactics ; the argument he should have driven off and left things alone behind him is unrealistic. So why didn’t it work? Hamilton said slowing Rosberg down any more would have been dangerous , but it appeared he was too cautious about preserving his own position to really jeopardise Rosberg’s. He needed to to push things to the limit, putting himself at risk of being overtaken, and it seemed he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Nico Rosberg – Couldn’t keep up with Hamilton in qualifying but the chasing pack was half a second slower. Hamilton took care … [Read more...] about 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix driver ratings · RaceFans

Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend? Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend. Chinese Grand Prix driver-by-driver Mercedes Lewis Hamilton – A handful of off-track moments indicated he was less than happy with the car on Friday. But he might as well have stayed in bed on Saturday as a power unit fault wrecked his qualifying attempt. After picking up front wing damage in the first corner melee Hamilton was still in 21st place when the race restarted. Racing a wounded car once again – Hamilton suspected damage to his suspension as well as aerodynamics, and said the W07 “seemed to be flexing all over the place” – he nonetheless got stuck into the midfield and ran as high as third at one point. However he was forced to use medium tyres for his final stint which confined him to seventh place. Nico Rosberg – With Hamilton compromised and Ferrari tripping up in qualifying, … [Read more...] about Vote for your 2016 Chinese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend · RaceFans

Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend? Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend. Driver performance summary Driver Started Gap to team mate (Q) Laps leading team mate Pitted Finished Gap to team mate (R) Lewis Hamilton 2nd +0.013s 3/53 2 3rd +5.776s Nico Rosberg 1st -0.013s 50/53 2 1st -5.776s Sebastian Vettel 6th +0.079s 53/53 2 4th -8.101s Kimi Raikkonen 8th -0.079s 0/53 2 5th +8.101s Felipe Massa 12th +0.065s 27/53 1 9th -0.56s Valtteri Bottas 11th -0.065s 26/53 1 10th +0.56s Daniel Ricciardo 4th +0.084s 0/53 2 6th +28.963s Daniil Kvyat 13th -0.062s 33/52 2 13th -13.451s Nico Hulkenberg 9th +0.181s 0/53 2 8th +1.682s Sergio Perez 5th -0.181s 53/53 2 7th -1.682s Kevin Magnussen … [Read more...] about Vote for your 2016 Japanese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend · RaceFans

Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend? Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend. Driver performance summary Driver Started Gap to team mate (Q) Laps leading team mate Pitted Finished Gap to team mate (R) Lewis Hamilton 1st -0.102s 71/71 2 1st -11.455s Nico Rosberg 2nd +0.102s 0/71 2 2nd +11.455s Sebastian Vettel 5th +0.091s 0/19 3 5th Kimi Raikkonen 3rd -0.091s 19/19 0 Felipe Massa 13th +0.101s 9/46 4 Valtteri Bottas 11th -0.101s 37/46 4 11th Daniel Ricciardo 6th +0.055s 4/71 5 8th +9.005s Daniil Kvyat 14th -0.194s 8/71 4 13th +22.032s Nico Hulkenberg 8th -0.061s 21/71 3 7th +4.481s Sergio Perez 9th +0.061s 50/71 2 4th -4.481s Kevin Magnussen 18th +0.151s 11/20 4 … [Read more...] about Vote for your 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend · RaceFans

The Miami Grand Prix has added a further 3,000 seats to their capacity as Formula 1 demand in the US reaches an all-time high. The 2023 season will be a landmark year for the United States and Formula 1 with three races set to be hosted in the country, only the third time that has happened in the sport’s history. Las Vegas has been given a November slot while COTA will take place in its usual spot of October meaning the Miami Grand Prix will kick proceedings off in May. The event is in its second year after Max Verstappen won the inaugural race in 2022 and more fans will be able to see the 2023 race with the organisers adding 3,000 more seats to the grandstand. The addition raises the capacity of the grandstand located at the start/finish line to 56,000 with tickets for a three-day package in the stand costing $2,379. The organisers say there has been “high demand” for tickets and have also introduced a ‘Campus Pass’ which allows general admission fans access to areas such … [Read more...] about Miami Grand Prix increases grandstand capacity as ticket demand rises further

Haas boss Guenther Steiner has backed the Las Vegas Grand Prix to become a landmark showpiece as it joins the Formula 1 calendar. After years of expectation, it is just nine months until we see Formula 1 cars speeding down the iconic Las Vegas Strip and already both fans and the sport itself have been getting excited for the return to Sin City. Having now not had a race in the city since 1984, the return to Las Vegas shows the increased interest in the sport from an American audience with a record three grands prix taking place in the country in the season. As the team boss of F1’s only American team, Steiner has appeared on the Texan TV station KVUE to discuss the year ahead and predicted the Vegas race would be the “biggest show on Earth, ever.” “I think it’s a sport which is very interesting and the more you watch it, the more interested you get with each race having a different character,” the Italian American boss said. PlanetF1 recommends Legal loopholes, jail and a … [Read more...] about Guenther Steiner tips the Las Vegas Grand Prix to be the ‘biggest show on Earth, ever’

Nico Rosberg started the Chinese Grand Prix at a strategic advantage as he was able to start the race on the preferred soft tyre while the rest of the top ten qualifiers were all on the super-softs. However within a few laps of the race that advantage was partly negated by the Safety Car. That handed several of his closest rivals a ‘free’ pit stop, although it also dropped them behind some other cars. Even though Rosberg wasn’t able to realise the full benefit of his strategy, he still won the race by a handsome margin of 37 seconds. He clearly wasn’t pushing the car to its limit either, indicating Mercedes still have plenty of performance in reserve. Team mate Lewis Hamilton made five visits to the pits, although two of these were to fulfil the rules requirement to use a second set of tyres, which he got out of the way during the Safety Car period. Even so, he ended up switching to the medium compound at the end of the race. 2016 Chinese Grand Prix tyre strategies The … [Read more...] about 2016 Chinese Grand Prix tyre strategies and pit stops · RaceFans

Ten of the best pictures which tell the story of the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. Valtteri Bottas Sparks and smoke as Valtteri Bottas locks up. Romain Grosjean No points for Romain Grosjean or team mate Esteban Gutierrez in the last race of the year for Haas. Felipe Massa Felipe Massa’s son waved him out of the garage as he embarked on his final race. Team Button McLaren team members sported buttons on their arms in recognition of Jenson Button’s last race. Jenson Button Button himself revived the helmet design from his 2009 championship-winning season for what is widely expected to have been his F1 farewell. Start The title contenders occupied the front row and Lewis Hamilton got away cleanly ahead of Nico Rosberg, setting the scene for a tense race. Max Verstappen Max Verstappen got away less cleanly. Lewis Hamilton Despite his best efforts, Hamilton was unable to provoke any of Rosberg’s rivals … [Read more...] about Top ten pictures from the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix · RaceFans

The tension was cranked up to eleven on the Mercedes pit wall as the laps ticked down towards the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The team was in the unprecedented situation of having both its cars in the lead but one of them actively trying to prevent them finishing first and second. As Lewis Hamilton backed off more and more as he hoped someone would put a pass on his team mate, Mercedes’ calls for him to pick up the pace grew ever more urgent, They reached a peak when executive director for technical Paddy Lowe took over the microphone from Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington and demanded the race leader improve his pace. But the calls of the pit wall proved impotent – Hamilton simply ignored them. Meanwhile second-placed Nico Rosberg was grasping at straws as he called on Mercedes to do something about his team mate. His suggestion that Hamilton be told to let him through must rank as the year’s most optimistic radio message. But ten laps later the chequered … [Read more...] about 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix team radio transcript · RaceFans