Full Preview For Chinese Grand Prix 2014

Formula 1

BY KEITH MEHAFFEY

Lewis Hamilton bids for a hat-trick of wins as Ferrari pick up the pieces as their Team Principle Stefano Domenicali stands down – the next installment of the F1 season takes place in China next weekend.



Poor results will not be tolerated. Luca di Montezemolo is not a boss you would like to disappoint! However I am really not sure that replacing him with Marco Mattiacci former CEO of Ferrari North America is the answer! How much race team experience does he have? None! The team have two former world champion drivers, they have won multiple world championships so getting rid of an experienced Team Principle and replacing him with someone totally inexperienced is their answer? Personally, I don`t think so!

Outgoing Team Principle Stefano Domenicali, poor team results have cost him his position just 3 races into the new season.

Ferrari is a proud team with a proud heritage, I would hate to think they have made a scapegoat out of Domenicali but from where I`m sat that`s what it looks like.

So to China then and the return of this new brave F1 season. For anyone moaning about this season`s regs and engine noise ruining their F1 experience, the last race at Bahrain was one of the sports best ever in recent years! Can it be repeated here in China this weekend? Yes of course.

That race in Bahrain featured many inter team battles and overtakes all down the field for the entire length of the race and I can`t see a reason why that will not happen again this weekend. Bring it on.

At the sharp end of things, Lewis and Nico will lock horns again with the German driver desperate to grab back team bragging rights from his British counterpart in what looks likely to be a season long duel between the two talented Mercedes drivers.

Punch and counter punch between the 2 Mercedes team mates this year for the title?

Down the order, many interesting battles are developing between team mates, most notably Bottas, Massa at Williams and Hulkenberg, Perez at the impressive Force India team.

The Shanghai circuit is another classic Hermann Tilke designed track 3.3 miles in length. It features one of the most challenging corner combinations on the F1 calender in turns 1 to 4! This year it will feature 2 DRS zones along the start finish line and the back straight between corners 13 and 14. Last year`s pole sitter was Lewis Hamilton with a time of 1:34.484. Hamilton and Fernando Alonso share the most wins here with 2 race wins each since the Circuit`s debut on the F1 calender in 2004.

Really looking forward to this weekends Grand Prix, If it is half as entertaining as last time out we are in for a treat again!

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Complete Race Preview For Malaysian Grand Prix 2014

Formula 1

BY KEITH MEHAFFEY

The new season moves on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one man desperate to bounce back is Lewis Hamilton. Who will win? What should we expect? All that and more in this extensive preview for the race.

Last year`s race start, Webber and Vettel on course to clash into controversy.

Red Bull – the team seemingly unstoppable in recent years. This year the team seemingly struggling with the new regulations. In Australia an early bath for 4 time World Champion Sebastian Vettel and an exclusion for 2nd place local hero Daniel Ricciardo. Where did it all go wrong? Well maybe here in Malaysia! 12 months ago Formula One witnessed one of the most bitter inter=team battles ever when Sebastian Vettel ignored the infamous ‘Multi 21’ team order and overtook his team mate Mark Webber to take the win. Thus sparking a bitter feud in the Red Bull camp and condemnation of Sebastian Vettel.

A quiet 2013 Podium as Vettel wins in very controversial circumstances

One year on, the team are playing catch up in terms of car development and have suffered a shocking race in Australia where their one reliable car was excluded from race classification due to an illegal fuel flow sensor. This year I confidently predict they will not have the luxury of issuing team orders to settle 1st and 2nd place in this years Malaysian Grand Prix! 

So to the circuit itself, situated in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, aproximatley 60km south of the capital city Kuala Lumpur. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and the first F1 Grand Prix was held on 17th October 1999. A very modern circuit with a mix of tricky corner complexes and long straights.

A lap aboard Lewis Hamilton`s Mercedes AMG last year.

So who will do well this year? I fully expect Lewis Hamilton to bounce back from his Australian GP setback and boss this race if his car remains reliable. I expect McLaren’s Jenson Button to have a better race in the impressive McLaren MP4-29 and grab a podium. Williams are back in the reckoning this year and my driver of the race in Australia Valterri Bottas should get a top 5 finish. Ferrari? Not a good start and sadly the legendary Maranello team have not produced a race winning car to start the season, so expect a top 10 finish for both drivers.

My ‘loose cannons’ for the race will be Kevin Magnussen, Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen, these guys are potential race winners so keep an eye out for them during the race!! My predicted podium? 1 Lewis Hamilton 2 Jenson Button 3 Sebastian Vettel. 

This race will give us all a real indication of this years F1 championship! Bring on the 2014 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix!

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Complete Preview For 2014 Australian Grand Prix

Formula One

BY KEITH MEHAFFEY

It’s back! The fastest sport on the planet returns as we go down under to Australia for the start of the F1 season. Gear up for the race here with our extensive preview of the race.



So a new season awaits. New cars, new team personnel, new drivers, new engines and new circuits! Excited? You should be!

Now I don’t want to bore you with all the new regulations however it would be remiss of me not to mention the key changes. With respect to the cars, they are smaller, lighter and have had their wings clipped! Front and rear wings are narrower to restrict aero downforce. The new regs dictate that noses have to be lower at the front resulting in designers producing unusual and slightly ridiculous solutions.

Perhaps the biggest change to the cars are the power units. Gone are the normally aspirated 2.4 litre V8’s and in come the smaller 1.6 litre turbo charged units with two energy recovery systems, (ERS).

Although the RPM has also been limited to 15000 these power units should produce similar power levels to last years cars. They are however not as loud and if you are attending a Grand Prix this year you wont need to bring any earplugs! As a long standing F1 fan I think that`s a bit of a shame.

In terms of Driver changes, Kimi Raikkonen moves from Lotus to take Felipe Massa`s seat at Ferrari while Massa moves to Williams Martini Racing alongside Valtteri Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo comes in to replace the Porsche bound Mark Webber at Red Bull while the talented young Russian Daniil Kvyat replaces the Australian at Torro Rosso. For McLaren, out goes the Mexican Sergio Perez to Force India and in comes the promising rookie Kevin Magnussen, son of former F1 driver Jan Magnussen, to partner Jenson Button. Going to be some great team mate battles this year!



During winter testing, the Red Bull team have struggled and have been beset by fires and overheating, limiting their test mileage. Has Adrian Newey got it wrong this year? He has got it wrong in the past, the unraced McLaren Mercedes MP4-18 probably the best example of this. The Mercedes engine teams (Mercedes AMG, McLaren, Force India) have performed best in testing and I would say that either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg are favourites to win the season opener in Melbourne.

So to the Australian Grand Prix itself, we return to the fantastic Albert Park! A fast yet challenging circuit set around the Albert Park lake in Melbourne Australia. The circuit has been the venue of the Australian GP since 1996 when it took over from the street circuit of Adelaide. The circuit is 3.295 miles long and has 16 turns. The current lap record is 1:24.125 set by Michael Schumacher for Ferrari in 2004.

Michael Schumacher also has the most number of wins here with 4 Australian Grand Prix victories. McLaren have been the most successful constructor with 12 wins. Last year saw Kimi Raikkonen win in the Lotus Renault with Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Prediction

The Mercedes powered teams have performed best in testing. Lewis Hamilton has been very focussed during the winter and I will now predict a Hamilton Mercedes win! My 2014 Australian GP podium, 1 Lewis Hamilton, 2 Kimi Raikkonen, 3 Nico Rosberg.

The winter is over, bring on the new season, cant wait to see you all down under for a beer and a barbie mate! Bring on the 2014 FIA Formula One season!

Dedicating this preview to the great Michael Schumacher. We are all behind you champ, keep fighting.

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ITALIAN GRAND PRIX: Preview

By Keith Mehaffey

With his dominant drive at Spa, Sebastian Vettel extends his championship lead. Can any of his rivals put together some strong results and prevent him from winning his fourth World Drivers Championship in a row? Welcome then to another legendary circuit, The Autodromo Nazionale Monza!

 

 

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, home of the Italian Grand Prix since 1922. The old banked circuit still visible!

There are two words which are synonymous with the Italian`s love of cars and motorsport, `spirit` and `passion`, or as they say in Italy, `Lo spirito e la passione`! It`s an emotion, a feeling, something that you just cant put your finger on. Whatever it is the Italians have it by the bucket load and it surrounds their cars, race circuits and fans! This is what makes the Italian Grand Prix a truly special occasion.

Monza is also a very special place as along with Silverstone formed part of the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship in 1950. The dominant team then was Alfa Romeo and the first ever Formula 1 World Champion was Giuseppe Farina winning it in his supercharged Alfa Romeo 158 at Monza. The first and only time in F1 history a driver has won the F1 World Championship at his home race!.

Of course the track has changed since then, the old banked oval circuit no longer is raced on and instead we have a super fast low downforce modern circuit some 5.8 km in length. The Grand Prix will be 53 laps and last years winner Lewis Hamilton completed the race in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

So how do the teams and drivers stack up going into this years race? Lewis will be very concerned that his Mercedes car looked slow on the equally fast low downforce Spa track. He was dogged by set up problems during free practice, however showed that no one could live with him in an astonishing qualifying session that saw him take a breathtaking last gasp pole! The Mercedes team still need to work on their car`s race pace as it was once again found wanting in Spa.

There is a saying in F1, “If you stand still you go backwards”. The Red Bull team most certainly did not stand still during the summer break! Sebastian Vettel`s powerfull first lap overtake of Lewis down the Kemmel straight was a big warning to their rivals that they had made some big upgrades to the car! I expect that Sebastian and Mark will be the drivers to beat yet again here at Monza.

The home team, Scuderia Ferrari will take Fernando Alonso`s second place in Belgium as an encouraging sign that they can compete for the win on their own doorstep and send their fans, the Tifosi, into hysteria! The Maranello team have won the most Grand Prix here, an amazing 19 times! Every true Formula 1 fan would welcome and cheer a Ferrari win here!
Second on the list of all time Italian GP winners lie McLaren. They would so love to get a podium here but the team have all but admitted they are concentrating on development of the 2014 season car from now on. A fact that will disappoint their many fans who will have taken heart from Jenson`s strong showing at Spa.

Whoever is going to win this race in Monza they are going to need plenty of “spirito e passione” When the lights go out on sunday afternoon, turn the sound up and absorb some Italian spirit and passion for yourselves! Forza Formula 1!

In memory of Paolo Gislimberti 1967 – 2000
 
 By @KeithMehaffey

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