Category Archives: Grand Prix

Brazilian Grand Prix: Race Preview For Final Grand Prix on F1 Calendar

by in Brazilian Grand Prix, F1, F1 Grand Prix, Formula One, Grand Prix, KMehaffey | Leave a comment

F1

For the last race of the season, Formula One
returns to the magical Interlagos circuit, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It was a fast and furious start to last year’s race.

For me the Brazilian Grand Prix is one of the highlights of the season. So many great races down the years, so many dramatic wins, this has been the venue for many championship deciding races. The Brazilian fans make for a special atmosphere too and are fiercely patriotic!

The circuit itself lies in a district of Sao Paulo called Interlagos , meaning `between the lakes`. The Brazilian Grand Prix was first held in 1972 here on the bumpy and very demanding longer circuit. The first GP to be included in the F1 World Championship was held the following year and won by defending champion and Sao Paulo resident Emerson Fittipaldi, a very popular win.



The circuit was revised for the 1990 season. It was modernised and shortened in length but still retained its demanding nature. That year saw Alain Prost win, his sixth Brazilian Grand Prix win and one of the most unpopular due to his coming together the previous year with the fans hero Ayrton Senna in Japan. He later complained to the stewards after the race and Senna was stripped of the win that cost him a World Championship.





 
Senna himself had mixed fortunes in his home Grand Prix. He tried many times to win but something would always happen to prevent him from doing so. That all changed in 1991. In one of the most amazing and emotional races, Senna eventually took the chequered flag after nursing his McLaren round with his car stuck in sixth gear! He was so exhausted afterwards he had to be helped out of his car by doctors. Probably one of the most celebrated home wins by any driver ever!

In 2005 Fernando Alonso became the youngest World Champion by finishing 3rd giving him enough points to take the title that year. Just three years later Lewis Hamilton won in dramatic fashion to replace Fernando Alonso as the youngest World Champion! He went for a cautious race strategy needing only 5th place to secure the Championship. Late on in the race it started to rain causing all sorts of trouble for the drivers. Lewis dropped to 5th after Timo Glock stayed out on intermediate tyres and with 3 laps left Lewis was caught and passed by Sebastian Vettel to drop to 6th. However on the last lap both Vettel and Hamilton caught up with Glock who had little grip left and Lewis passed the German on the very last corner before the finishing straight to deny race winner Felipe Massa the Championship win! Still recovering from that unforgettable night in Brazil even now!

The race on Sunday will be 71 laps in total on the 2.7 mile track. My favourite part of the circuit without a doubt would be the Senna `S` which is the first S shape corner after the start finish straight. Named after Ayrton Senna as he had a hand in its design for the 1990 season. Normally a few shunts there at the start! So who will win? Come on, you know the answer to that!

Its always a spectacular way to end the F1 season, bring on Sunday as the F1 2013 season culminates in Brazil.

In memory of Ayrton Senna da Silva 1960 – 1994

TheSportMatrix.com
 – Sports for the Fans, by the Fans.

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Vettel Takes Pole For Penultimate Grand Prix of Season

by in F1, F1 American GP, Formula 1, Formula One, Grand Prix, KMehaffey, Racing | Leave a comment


AUSTIN, TX –  After a dramatic qualifying session at The Circuit of The Americas, Sebastian Vettel grabbed a last gasp pole with an amazing last lap.


 



After yesterday’s practice sessions dominated by missing helicopters and fog, todays qualifying was dominated by changing track conditions, driver attitudes and… oh yes, Red Bull.

Hot, cold, sunny, cloudy, dusty, windy, a lot for a delicate Formula One car to have to deal with. Yet those were the conditions given to the drivers during todays qualifying session. Those conditions played a big part throughout the three qualy sessions.

Q1

Q1 started with most teams opting for the grippier option tyre in warm sunny conditions. Jenson Button started this session knowing he has a 3 place grid penalty after passing under yellow flags during yesterdays practice sessions. He needed a good qualy session. Lewis Hamilton also needed a good session after recent chassis problems had hampered his last two qualification days.

4 minutes in and Sebastian Vettel looks very relaxed as he stands by his car listening to music. Not a good sign to the other teams and drivers. 7 mins in and Lewis radios his team “The track is slow”.  A reference to the dust and gathering wind sweeping across the track playing havoc with the amount of grip he was receiving.

With 8 mins left in Q1, Vettel eventually comes out on the harder Prime tyres to set some lap times. 2 mins left sees Lewis put a great lap in also on primes to go P1. Meanwhile Pastor Maldonado, soon to be vacating his Williams seat, records a slow time that will see him going out and qualifying in 18th. More about him to follow.

The six drivers to go out of qualifying at the end of Q1 were: 17th Sutil, 18th Maldonado, 19th Van Der Garde, 20th Bianchi, 21st Pic, 22nd Chilton. Suprisingly Valtteri Bottas tops the timesheet at the end in P1.

Q2

Q2 starts under clouds and slightly cooler temperatures. Ferrari drivers struggle with the conditions and Williams bound Felipe Massa goes out. Another shock exit from qualy was Nico Rosberg who also went out and qualified in 14th position. Bottas put in another great performance and finished 4th overall. Red Bull dominated though and Vettel finished P1 and Mark Webber P2.

Q3

With so many Mexican fans here supporting Esteban and Sergio Perez, Perez beats his team mate Jenson Button into the top ten shoot out and makes a point to his McLaren team that has terminated his contract for next season. As the session progresses, Mark Webber sets the fastest time with a great lap of 1min 36.699. Lewis Hamilton could only manage 5th. With an amazing last sector time on his last lap this years world champion Sebastian Vettel grabs pole in the dying seconds of the qualifying session.

So, the top ten grid is as follows; 1st Vettel, 2nd Webber, 3rd Grosjean, 4th Hulkenberg, 5th Hamilton, 6th Alonso, 7th Perez, 8th Kovalainen, 9th Bottas, 10th Gutierrez.

Great drives by Bottas and the returning Heikki Kovalainen but Rosberg, Maldonado and Button have a lot to do in tomorrow`s race. After he went out, Pastor Maldonado hinted that someone may have interfered with his car`s set up. To even suggest that a top F1 team would allow that to happen while scrapping for all important world championship points is an absolute disgrace. He may bring a lot of money with him but he doesn`t bring a lot of class.

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel put in an amazing last gasp qualifying lap to grab pole. Can anyone stop him winning the last two races this year? Enjoy the race!

TheSportMatrix.com
 – Sports for the Fans, by the Fans.

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ITALIAN GRAND PRIX: Sebastian Vettel Triumphant Yet Again

by in 2013 GP, F1, Fernando Alonso, Formula 1, Formula One, GP, Grand Prix, Grand Prix 2013, Italian GP, Italian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, KMehaffey, Lewis Hamilton, Motorsport, Sebastian Vettel | Leave a comment

MONZA – In one of the most exciting races of the season, reigning champion Sebastian Vettel dominated and cruised to an easy victory, his 3rd win at the Italian GP and extending his lead to 53 points in the Driver’s Championship.


RedBull’s Sebastian Vettel claimed his 32nd win in his F1 career, tied with Fernando Alonso.
(via BBCSport)

 



Sebastian Vettel took a giant step towards his fourth World Drivers Championship with another dominant display here at the Autodromo de Monza. His win contained just one mistake, a huge lock up going into the chicane at the very start of the race giving him an uncomfortable start.
Just before the start there was indecision by the teams on which tyre to start with. Light rain showers meant that teams were looking to go with intermediate wet tyres. However the track dried as cars went out to the track and teams opted for dry tyres to start with.
 
The first 10 cars started on the softer medium tyre with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen starting on the prime (hard) tyre to give them the benefit of a faster finish with the option (medium) tyre.


So to the start itself. A clean getaway for most except Jenson Button who was slow away and immediately dropped positions. Sebastian Vettel held his position but locked up his front right wheel heavily into the first chicane. However he exited still in 1st place and had a clear run into Curva Grande. The rest of the pack got through with the exception of Sergio Perez who had to take the escape road and give positions back as he rejoined the race. Paul DiResta crashes out at the second chicane.

VIDEO: Di Resta Crashes Out – Thermal Cam
 

The early laps saw Lewis overtake Kimi who had to pit for damage to his wing. Fernando Alonso pulled off one of the great overtakes of the race while passing Mark Webber side by side through the second chicane! Great trust and respect shown to each other during the move clear to see, great stuff!
Fernando went on to easily overtake his team mate Massa going into the first chicane on lap 8, surely team orders there as Felipe offered little resistance. Meanwhile Sebastian receives a radio call acknowledging the discomfort of his flat spotted front right tyre, then promptly puts in a fastest lap of the race at a stunning 1:29.008.
On lap 12 disaster for Lewis as his team inform him he has a slow puncture and needs to box immediately! However a radio problem means Lewis does not hear the call and stays out. Only his mechanic franticly waving a pit board telling him to pit eventually brings him in and he changes to medium tyres.
Lewis and Kimi start recording fastest lap times as they try and catch the leaders. Eventually on lap 23 Seb was very relieved to come in and change his lumpy tyres to a fresh set of primes. On lap 31 Lewis pulls off a stunning overtake on the inside around Curva Grande on Hulkenburg and gets himself up to 5th although would have to stop again.
Lewis has to pit again and comes out just behind Kimi in 14th. Again Raikkonen and Hamilton trade fastest laps and make some good overtakes, clearly the entertainment of the race with fighting drives! At the front, Seb continues despite a gearbox problem and holds off a challenge from Fernando Alonso to take the chequered flag yet again!
Ferrari support swarms the crowd in Monza
at the podium. (via RadioSport)

The podium was engulfed by the amazing Tifosi who made their feelings very clear by booing Seb as he spoke to John Surtees. There was only love for their man Fernando Alonso who put in a great drive for second. Mark Webber’s last ever F1 race in Europe was marked by a 3rd place and he will be sorely missed next season.

My drivers of the day were Nico Hulkenburg (p5) and Lewis Hamilton (p9), great fighting drives under difficult circumstances.

WINNING TIME: Vettel – 1 hour, 18 mins, 352 seconds.

FASTEST LAP: Lewis Hamilton – 1.25.849 (Lap 51)

 


 The championship now moves on to the flyaways and Singapore now beckons in two weeks time. Seb’s rivals need to win or this championship is over!



By @KeithMehaffey

TheSportMatrix.com
 – Sports for the Fans, by the Fans.
 
 
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BELGIAN GRAND PRIX: Preview

by in Belgian Grand Prix, F1, Formula 1, Formula One, GP, Grand Prix, KMehaffey, Motorsport, Race Preview, Racing, Spa | 3 Comments
By Keith Mehaffey

At long last the mid season break draws to a close and now all attention turns towards racing again, at the magnificent Spa Francorchamps circuit.

 



This legendary circuit lying deep in the Belgian Ardennes mountains often delivers unpredictable weather and unpredictable Grand Prix. Surely it is the perfect setting for the teams and drivers to renew their assault on the 2013 drivers and constructors championships.

With his win in Hungary and commanding performance at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton is the man in form and the Mercedes team have the momentum to take the challenge to Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso is hoping that this break will give his team a chance to re group and make the changes to his car he needs to reverse his recent poor form.



Nestled in the beautiful Ardennes hills Belgium, the majestic Spa Francorchamps circuit. (via ausmotive)


The most frustrated entrant to this years Belgian GP must be last years winner, Jenson Button. The McLaren team have yet to get their cars dialled in to this years championship and if they are to make any inroads into the constructors and drivers standings then they need a strong showing at Spa.

With Kimi Raikkonen second in the drivers championship and an improving Romain Grosjean, Lotus are still in the hunt. The question is can they keep up with their rivals updates and car evolutions to stay competitive? The other issue surrounding the team that could have a disruptive factor is Kimi`s whole will he/wont he move to Red Bull next season?



Whatever the outcome this weekend this surely is one of the special races in the calendar. The circuit boasts some extraordinary corners such as Eau Rouge and we are sure to see plenty of DRS assisted overtakes down the Kemmel straight.

  By Keith Mehaffey

TheSportMatrix.com
 – Sports for the Fans, by the Fans.

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F1 Canadian Grand Prix: Sebastien Vettel Takes Pole Position

by in Canada, Canadian GP, F1, Formula 1, Formula One, Grand Prix, Red Bull, Vettel, Waqar | Leave a comment

Sebastien Vettel took control of the Canadian Grand Prix after taking Pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton and also a surprise third place finish from Valtteri Bottas of Williams. Hamilton and Vettel’s teammates Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber finished 4th and 5th while Vettel’s title rivals Kimi Raikonnen and Fernando Alonso finished ninth and sixth respectively.

“It was very tricky, especially as you never knew what conditions it would be next time you were out,” said Vettel. “We decided to have two runs in the final part and we thought the second one would be quicker especially as we had new tyres, but it started to drizzle again and the track was too wet in the final sector.
“It was very tight with Lewis – in the end everyone was improving in the first two sectors but the last two corners did not allow anyone to go quicker. I didn’t mind but it just goes to show how difficult it was for everyone.”
Jean Eric Vergne and Adrian Sutil had decent qualifying as they finished seventh and eightth while Daniel Ricciardo will start the race in tenth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg. Felipe Massa had a dissapointing qualifier as he finished in sixteenth. Sergio Perez finished ahead of his McLaren teammate Jenson Button with Pastor Maldonado sandwiched in the middle of them in 13th position. Scot Di Resta and Roman Grosjean failed to make it out of Q1. Di Resta was furious after his tires were unable to cope with the varying conditions in Canada.