Thursday, March 30, 2017

Australian GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results


AUSTRALIAN GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS 

    Sebastian Vettel leads the championship after winning the first race of the 2017 season, after a poor strategy for Mercedes cost Lewis Hamilton the lead of the race.

    Vettel had qualified second and there was hope for Ferrari fans that Hamilton’s notoriously (relatively) weak starts would give the German the lead going into the first corner, but Hamilton got a strong start and Vettel was forced to defend against Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

    Mercedes decided to pit Hamilton early, however, as the team was worried about tyre degradation. After the pit stop, Hamilton was running behind Max Verstappen whilst Vettel built up a strong lead at the front of the field. The Brit was told it was crucial to get past the Red Bull before the pit stops, but it was easier said than done, and Hamilton was only able to pass Verstappen when the teenager pitted.

    By this time, Vettel had already been into the pits and emerged just ahead of Verstappen. Though Hamilton was right behind the German now, he wouldn’t be able to catch him, and actually seemed to be threatened towards the end of the race by Valtteri Bottas, but the Brit finished the Grand Prix second.

    Whilst his teammate was making things difficult for Hamilton, the home hero Daniel Ricciardo was nowhere to be seen. The Australian had had a difficult weekend already with a crash in qualifying seeing him qualify tenth and a gearbox penalty putting him 15th on the grid. Ricciardo never even got that far, though, when he stopped on track on his way to the grid.

    The car was taken to the grid and the Red Bull team were able to solve the problem, allowing Ricciardo to start the race, a handful of laps behind the rest of the field. That wasn’t the end of Ricciardo’s problems, though, as the RB13 stopped on track again, this time with an engine problem, and he was forced to retire from the race.

    A number of other drivers were forced to retire from the race.

    Romain Grosjean, the first retiree, pulled into the pits after a promising qualifying performance from the Haas, smoke coming from the rear of the car. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer wasn’t far behind him. The Brit had been complaining about a reoccurring problem with the brakes, which saw him lock up at the same corner every lap. Marcus Ericsson, who had taken a trip through the gravel trap early in the race after contact with Kevin Magnussen, managed to continue for almost 30 laps before stopping on track for an unknown problem. Magnussen didn’t last much longer. He also pulled off to the side of the circuit towards the end of the race due to a suspension problem.

    Gravel also featured in Lance Stroll’s race. The rookie had made a promising start to the race, recovering from his P20 grid position. He had been slowly making up positions before he ran deep into turn 14 and into the gravel. The Williams driver continued for the rest of the lap, but pitted and retired soon after.

    Fernando Alonso was the final retiree. After a difficult preseason test, most were surprised to find Alonso running in the points. The Spaniard had started the race from 12 but retirements ahead of him had aided his progress and he was running in tenth when Force India’s Esteban Ocon closed in on him. Alonso defended well, and Ocon spent multiple laps behind the orange McLaren as Nico Hulkenberg closed in on the pair.

    As Hulkenberg became close enough for Ocon to have to worry about, the Frenchman made his move. Ocon tried to overtake around the outside of Alonso, pushing the McLaren onto the grass and letting Hulkenberg come up alongside the pair of them. The trio ran side by side but amazingly left room for one another and there was no contact.

    Ocon emerged from the battle in tenth, with Hulkenberg behind him and Alonso demoted to 12th. Not long later, Alonso came into the pits to retire, though McLaren fans were rewarded asStoffel Vandoorne was able to finish the race.

    Twelfth may not seem fantastic but, for Antonio Giovinazzi, it was far more than he had been expecting when he arrived at the circuit. The Ferrari third driver had been drafted in to replace Pascal Wehrlein, who felt he wasn’t fit enough due to limited training allowed by his Race of Champions accident. The Sauber driver started the race 16th, and immediately got stuck in to the race. The Italian defended well from a DRS-aided Lance Stroll early in the race, and eventually finished 12th.

    Vettel now leads the drivers’ championship, with Ferrari leading the constructors’ championship by seven points.

RESULTS:

1. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 25 Points
1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 18 Points
3. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 15 Points
4. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Netherlands / + 10 Points
6. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 8 Points
7. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 6 Points
8. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain / + 4 Points
9. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia / + 2 Points
10. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France / + 1 Point
11. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany
12. Antonio Giovinazzi / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy
13. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

RETIRED - Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain / Suspension Failure
RETIRED - Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark / Suspension Failure
RETIRED – Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada / Brake Failure
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Australia / Fuel Cell Issue
RETIRED - Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / Hydraulic Failure
RETIRED - Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain / Brake Failure
RETIRED - Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France / Water Leak

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Saturday, March 25, 2017

Australian GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results


AUSTRALIAN GP - QUALIFYING - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Lewis Hamilton takes the first Pole Position of the 2017 Season while Daniel Ricciardo crashes out of Q3. Antonio Giovinazzi will be filling in for 'unfit' Pascal Werhlein, marking the first time an Italian has started an F1 race since 2011. Stoffel Vandoorne suffered from a fuel-flow issue and didn't make it out of Q1 while Fernando Alonso managed 13th, but moves up to 12 after Ricciardo's grid penalty for a gearbox change.

HOW IT WORKS:

Q1 = 18 minutes. All cars allowed to go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.
Q2 = 15 minutes. The remaining cars go out. At the end of the session, the five slowest are eliminated.
Q3 = 12 minutes. Final 10 cars go out. The final order at the end of the session is how the grid will line up. Fastest car starts from Pole Position.

GRID LINE-UP

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
3. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
4. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
6. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France
7. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
8. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
9. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
10. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
11. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany
12. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain
13. Esteban Ocon / Force India-Mercedes / France
14. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
15. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia*
16. Antonio Giovinazzi / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy**
17. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
18. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
19. Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
20. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada***

* - (Ricciardo) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for gearbox change
** - (Giovinazzi) Filling in for Pascal Wehrlein since FP3
*** - (Stroll) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for gearbox change 
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Friday, March 24, 2017

Australian GP: Free Practice #3 - Re-Cap & Times


AUSTRALIAN GP: FREE PRACTICE #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    The third and final practice session was dominated by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who set a new track-record with a 1:23.380. Ferrari was quick in testing and they're proving they're even faster in Melbourne. However, it wasn't the easiest session for Raikkonen, who ended up with a rear-left puncture and had to stop in a run-off area.

    Pascal Wehrlein has withdrawn from the rest of the Australian GP weekend, being deemed 'unfit' to race. Wehrlein explained that he does not feel he could withstand the full race distance, following missed training after his injuries sustained from his crash during the Race Of Champions. Antonio Giovinazzi will replace Wehrlein for the rest of the weekend. This marks the first time an Italian has raced in F1 since 2011.

    Mercedes continues to due well in Melbourne with both drivers finishing in the top 3. Bottas in 2nd and Hamilton in 3rd. Raikkonen and Hulkenberg completed the top 5. 

    At the end of the session, with only a handful of minutes remaining, Lance Stroll crashed coming out of Turn 10 and clipped the wall. The car sustained damage but Stroll was able to climb out and walk away uninjured. This comes after Palmer's heavy crash yesterday during FP2. The session was not restarted after the accident.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:23.380 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
2. Valtteri Bottas - 1:23.859 / Williams-Mercedes / Finland
3. Lewis Hamilton - 1:23.870 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:23.988 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:25.063 / Renault-Renault / Germany
6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:25.092 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
7. Romain Grosjean - 1:25.581 / Haas-Ferrari / France
8. Carlos Sainz - 1:25.948 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
9. Daniil Kvyat - 1:26.049 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
10. Kevin Magnussen - 1:26.138 / Renault-Renault / Denmark
11. Felipe Massa - 1:26.237 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
12. Max Verstappen - 1:26.269 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
13. Sergio Perez - 1:26.457 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
14. Fernando Alonso - 1:26.556 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
15. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:26.699 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
16. Esteban Ocon - 1:27.103 / Force India-Mercedes / France
17. Lance Stroll - 1:27.327 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
18. Marcus Ericsson - 1:27.402 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
19. Jolyon Palmer - 1:28.320 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
20. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:28.583 / Sauber-Ferrari / Italy*

* - Notes driver is filling in for Pascal Wehrlein
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Australian GP: Free Practice #2 - Re-Cap & Times


AUSTRALIAN GP - FREE PRACTICE #2 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    It was Lewis Hamilton once again taking the top spot of the time-sheets in the second practice session of the first race weekend of the 2017 season. He set a 1:23.620, which is faster than his quickest FP1 time. Vettel was close behind in the Ferrari with a 1:24.167. Bottas, Raikkonen and Ricciardo rounded up the top 5.

    Haas had an eventful session and things seemed to only go wrong for the American team. Kevin Magnussen's session was hampered due to a water leak and Grosjean took multiple trips through the gravel during flying laps.

    Jolyon Palmer brought out Red Flags after a heavy crash that ended his session. While Palmer escaped uninjured, the same couldn't be said about the Renault and it was taken back to the pits with a lot of pieces missing. Team-mate, Hulkenberg, finished the session in 9th with a 1:25.478.

    Felipe Massa and Max Verstappen also missed some of the session after their running was ended early. Massa's was due to a mechanical issue that caused him to not be able to change gears and Verstappen's was due to damage to the floor of the car that was caused by a rough trip through the grass and over the kerbing. 

    Towards the end of the session, Marcus Ericsson lost the rear-end of his Sauber and spun into the gravel, prompting yellow flags and the Virtual Safety Car.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:23.620 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Sebastian Vettel - 1:24.167 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:24.176 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:24.525 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:24.650 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
6. Max Verstappen - 1:25.013 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
7. Carlos Sainz - 1:25.084 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
8. Romain Grosjean - 1:25.436 / Haas-Ferrari / France
9. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:25.478 / Renault-Renault / Germany
10. Daniil Kvyat - 1:25.493 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
11. Sergio Perez - 1:25.591 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
12. Fernando Alonso - 1:26.000 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
13. Esteban Ocon - 1:26.145 / Force India-Mercedes / France
14. Felipe Massa - 1:26.331 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
15. Marcus Ericsson - 1:26.498 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
16. Lance Stroll - 1:26.525 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
17. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:26.608 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
18. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:26.919 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
19. Kevin Magnussen - 1:27.279 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
20. Jolyon Palmer - 1:27.549 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain

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Thursday, March 23, 2017

Australian GP: Free Practice #1 - Re-Cap & Times


AUSTRALIAN GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Mercedes topped the first practice session of the 2017 season and it was Lewis Hamilton on top with a 1:24.220. This is over 3 seconds faster than the quickest time of FP1 last year. Bottas was second with a 1:24.220.

    Red Bull was close behind, taking 3rd and 4th place on the time-sheets. Many speculated that it would be Ferrari up in the top 3 after their quick pace during the pre-season tests. However, it was 5th and 6th for Raikkonen and Vettel respectively. 

    Force India officially revealed their new pink livery in the pit-lane prior to the session. The new livery comes with a new Austrian sponsor: BWT. Sergio Perez finished the session in 10th while rookie Ocon finished further behind in 16th with a 1:27.656.

    Perez's former team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, finished 9th for his new team, Renault, with a 1:26.183. He's paired up with Jolyon Palmer, who stays with Renault for another year. Palmer finished in 19th and had his session ended early due a 'seal-issue'.

    McLaren has reason to be relieved as they had an overall decent session. Neither car stopped on track or had any severe malfunctions. Vandoorne's car was up in the garage for awhile but both cars got laps in and finished with times on the board; Alonso in 14th and Vandoorne in 20th. Vandoorne also ran aero rakes on his car during the session.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:24.220 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Valtteri Bottas - 1:24.803 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:24.886 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
4. Max Verstappen - 1:25.246 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:25.372 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
6. Sebastian Vettel - 1:25.464 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
7. Felipe Massa - 1:26.142 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
8. Romain Grosjean - 1:26.168 / Haas-Ferrari / France
9. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:26.183 / Renault-Renault / Germany
10. Sergio Perez - 1:26.276 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
11. Carlos Sainz - 1:26.450 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
12. Daniil Kvyat - 1:26.514 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia
13. Lance Stroll - 1:26.734 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
14. Fernando Alonso - 1:27.116 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
15. Marcus Ericsson - 1:27.348 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
16. Esteban Ocon - 1:27.656 / Force India-Mercedes / France
17. Kevin Magnussen - 1:27.667 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
18. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:28.539 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
19. Jolyon Palmer - 1:28.585 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
20. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:28.695 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium

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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Renault


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RENAULT SPORT FORMULA ONE TEAM

Nico Hulkenberg - "I love going to Australia and to Melbourne. I'm super-comfortable there as it's a wonderful place with great people and there's a very relaxed atmosphere. Albert Park itself is just beautiful, especially when you drive into the track in the morning and see that it's packed with fans – you get so much support there. It's great to see so many people come and watch what we do.

The first race of the season is going to be very exciting. The cars are like driving a very fast and spectacular roller-coaster and it's a lot more demanding than before, now you have to wrestle these cars! The tyres allow you to push harder every lap, so you can exploit and be on the limit, it's a lot more work and a lot more demanding. There's a lot that's new, but the game is still the same.

In terms of performance I see us in the midfield at the moment but the pace is good and from here we can improve step by step and work our way up. It's going to be a tough fight as there are some very fast and well established teams currently ahead of us, but we have everything we need to fight for points. Once you're sat in the car, on the grid and watching the lights, it's business as usual. Bring it on!"

Jolyon Palmer - "I'm feeling good and I can't wait to race the R.S.17 for a full Grand Prix. This new generation of car is really awesome to drive and we have a great opportunity to take a strong step forward during the season ahead. I enjoyed driving the car in pre-season testing as the team have addressed all the areas we needed to improve from the R.S.16, and when you add the improvements made to everything that comes with the new regulations it's a good place to be. I'm happy and positive and can't wait to race.

It's great to be going into my second season as an F1 driver as I can use all my experience from last season. I know the tracks and I know what is possible from an F1 car. It's going to be really interesting for the first few races as we learn how our car goes in race conditions and see how competitive we are relative to our opposition."

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SAHARA FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM

Sergio Perez - “The first race of the year is always good fun. We’ve had a long winter to recharge the batteries, but now I just want to go racing again. Australia is the best place to start the season: it’s a great country and I really enjoy going there. There is so much to do in Melbourne and it’s a fun weekend, even if it’s busier than some of the other races.

    It’s important not to get distracted: we want to start well and get back into the race weekend rhythm, and get on with our work. The track itself is quite enjoyable and it’s a challenge to drive because it’s almost a street circuit. It starts the weekend very green and as you go on, you get more grip and more confidence in your new car.

    I am confident we can do well and score points from the first race: Australia is a place where anything can happen and we have seen some very unpredictable races there in the past. You never know what opportunities turn up in a race so you have to be ready at all times to take them.”

Esteban Ocon - “I am feeling great after a long winter and I’m very excited to go to Melbourne. It will be the first time racing at Albert Park for me, so I do not really know the track, but last year I went there and I liked what I could see. It’s a proper old-school track and those are the sorts of circuit I really enjoy. Of course it’s not easy when you don’t know the track in advance, so it’s especially important to learn quickly in the Friday sessions and listen to the feedback from the engineers - whether it’s where I can be faster or where we can make the car quicker. I think I have all the tools and all the people around me to do that.

    Joining this team has gone very smoothly from my perspective. The team welcomed me and made me feel at ease straight away. I feel very comfortable about the way we work and I feel this will help me give my best in Australia.

     I think we did a good job as a team during winter testing and I also feel confident because of all the simulator work we did over the winter. We continue to push on the simulator and I was at the factory a few days ago doing the final preparation for Melbourne. I was very open to the team – I told them I’d be available at HQ as much as they needed me over the winter and I feel satisfied with the work we’ve done together so far. I think we’re on track to extract everything we can from the car, which is our objective. We’ll go out and do the best we can and see where we are.”

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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - McLAREN HONDA FORMULA 1 TEAM

Fernando Alonso - “The start of a new season always gives us a range of feelings – great excitement to be racing again, and the sense of the unknown as we go into a formula with a brand-new set of regulations. We don’t yet know where everyone stands as testing was a proving ground for the teams more than ever before, and it’ll be interesting to see how quickly teams show their hand over the course of the weekend.

    I’m incredibly motivated for 2017 and I can’t wait to see what kind of racing this new shake-up of the sport will bring. We already know the sport is a lot more physical and the cars are more challenging to drive – from a driver’s point of view this is exactly what we were looking for in the new regulations, and I really hope this will translate to good battles on track. 

    After a difficult two weeks of testing we’re prepared to face a difficult weekend in Melbourne. We’ll do our best with what we have and there’s a lot of hard work and collaboration happening within the team, but the lack of time before the first race means you have fewer options for big changes. The first step will be to work on reliability before we can make any assumptions or predictions about performance, and we will try to enjoy the weekend as much as we can.”

Stoffel Vandoorne - “Since my position as full-time racing driver for McLaren-Honda was confirmed back in September, it feels like the Australian Grand Prix weekend has been a long time coming. It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m about to start my full first season in Formula 1 and it’s a dream I’ve been working towards for my entire racing career. 

    I’m looking forward to stepping into the MCL32 cockpit on Friday morning and I feel totally ready for the challenge ahead. I’ve prepared very well over the winter, worked a lot on my training and in particular my strength and endurance, and I’m incredibly motivated to work hard with the team to make improvements step by step. I’ll be pushing hard as always and I’m looking forward to getting back into the car. 

    In terms of performance, I’m not setting myself any particular targets, other than to keep my head down, learn a lot from the team and from Fernando, and do my best. I know the guys and girls at McLaren and Honda very well, and I feel very much part of the family, so there’s no sense of nervousness about starting my first full season as a Formula 1 driver. It’s my first time in Australia so I’ll be soaking up the atmosphere, enjoying the buzz of the first race of the season, and we’ll see how the weekend unfolds from there.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

Felipe Massa - "Australia is a fantastic place to start the season, not only because it’s a beautiful country, but also because the people are so nice. So it’s always a big pleasure to go to Australia. It really is the perfect place to get started. It’s quite a tricky track though. It’s half racetrack, half street circuit, so it’s definitely not easy. It’s good to have a difficult challenge at the start of the season though. I’m just really looking forward to getting started! It’s always a very important race because it’s the first time all of the teams will be together and racing for real."

Lance Stroll - "I am really excited for Melbourne. It’s going to be quite an experience being my first ever Grand Prix. It’s a new track and I have never been to Australia. I am just really looking forward to it all and very excited to get started. I can’t wait. I have driven the track in the simulator and I have seen some videos, and onboards. It looks quite tricky. Even though it is a new track for me it’s a different track also. It’s kind of a road course, so the track really changes a lot throughout the weekend, so that will be a good challenge. I will just take it as it comes, push as hard as I can, enjoy it and look forward to the weekend."

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “I enjoy Albert Park. It changes a lot during the weekend. It’s not a permanent circuit, so the grip is changing a lot. The race start is quite late, but it’s one of my favorite grand prix. It’s not an easy track to get on with. It’s very hard on fuel consumption as well. For the first race of the season, it’s going to be interesting.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It’s always important to have a good start to the year just to kick-start everything. It gives you a boost to have a good beginning. The end is important too, but it’s always nice to start off the year with a good race. We’ll do our best and see what we get.

    My goal for the season, and it’s the same for the team, is to try and improve on the result from last year, which was very good. Going on to then finish eighth in the constructors championship, with 29 points, was a great result for a first-year Formula One team. To improve on that, even just a little bit, would be a good target.”

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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Sauber


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SAUBER F1 TEAM

Marcus Ericsson - "I like Melbourne a lot as it is a fantastic place. The fans and the atmosphere there are just great – I always enjoy being downtown in Melbourne and on the circuit at Albert Park. I can't wait to finally kick off the 2017 Formula One season in Australia. After challenging pre-season testing with a lot of data collection and preparation, I am going to Melbourne with a positive mindset. Now we have to see how things work out during the first race weekend with the new car. The Albert Park circuit is a bit tricky with a mix of permanent race track and a street circuit. In general I think it is going to be a challenge to find the right set-up, but I am confident we will get this done."

Pascal Wehrlein - "The Australian Grand Prix will be very special for me and also for the Sauber F1 Team. It is the beginning of my new role as a Formula One race driver in the Swiss team, and I am sure when those five lights go out it will be a unique moment on the race day. During the second week of pre-season testing I had productive days, where I was able to get quite familiar with the Sauber C36-Ferrari procedures. After intense physical preparations in the last few weeks I am excited about going to Melbourne, and I feel ready and well-prepared for the challenging season opener. It looks promising at the moment for me, but we never know until we get to Melbourne. I have full trust in our teamwork."

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Australian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Red Bull


DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RED BULL RACING FORMULA ONE TEAM

Daniel Ricciardo - “It’s always good to be back on home soil and enjoy a bit of sunshine after winter testing. My home race is awesome in so many ways but it’s also super busy and full on, the week for me starts on Monday and doesn’t stop until Sunday night. It’s nice that there’s so much media attention at the start of the season and everyone is super excited to see how I go. I try and attend as many events as I can but I’m still there to do a job.

    We get a pretty big greeting from everyone when we arrive at track each morning, the fans are so enthusiastic! This year they have named a grandstand after me, the Ricciardo Premium Grandstand with views of turns three, four and five, which is pretty cool. It’s another bit of motivation for me to do well and I will of course give the fans a wave. It’s great to have such positive support and I’ve heard the tickets sold out pretty quickly for the stand. I will definitely embrace the weekend, have some fun with it and try and give the fans a reason to celebrate on Sunday.”

Max Verstappen - “We always arrive in Australia a bit early due to the time difference, this way we have a bit longer to acclimatise. The first two or three days you struggle with jetlag a bit but then it's fine because you are just really excited for the first race of the year.

    I enjoy going to Melbourne as it’s a cool city, nice environment and good weather so generally a great place to stay. I found some nice restaurants down by the Yarra River so whenever we have time I will head down there for some dinner.

    The first race is always exciting as you never really know where you are in terms of performance with the car because everything is so new, this is reflected in the paddock too, it’s a refreshing feeling.

    Being Daniel’s home Grand Prix he obviously gets a lot of support which is very nice for him. I can’t wait to feel the buzz of all the cars going out for the first practice and seeing the excitement on everyone’s face.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Monday, March 20, 2017

Australian GP: Circuit Preview


AUSTRALIAN GP - CIRCUIT PREVIEW + 2016 STATS

Name: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
Location: Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
Opened: November 20th 1953
Length: 3.296 Miles
Capacity: 80,000
Runs: Clockwise
Turns: 16
Race Laps: 58

2016 STATS:

Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton
1st Place: Nico Rosberg
2nd Place: Lewis Hamilton
3rd Place: Sebastian Vettel
Retirements: Daniil Kvyat (DNS - Electrical Issue), Fernando Alonso (Collision), Esteban Gutierrez (Collision), Rio Haryanto (Driveshaft), Kimi Raikkonen (Turbo) & Marcus Ericsson (Transmission) 

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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Australian GP: Track Schedule


AUSTRALIAN GP - TRACK SCHEDULE

March 23rd / Thursday

09:00 - 10:20 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
13:25 - 13:55 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
15:00 - Drivers Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)
18:30 - 19:30 - Pit-Lane Walk (4-Day-Ticket-Holders)

March 24th / Friday

10:05 - 10:35 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
12:00 - 13:30 - Free Practice #1
14:30 - 15:00 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
16:00 - 17:30 - Free Practice #2
18:00 - 19:00 - Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)

March 25th / Saturday

11:20 - 12:00 - Team Pit-Stop Practice
11:20 - 11:50 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
14:00 - 15:00 - Free Practice #3
16:05 - 16:40 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
17:00 - 18:00 - Qualifying

March 26th / Sunday

11:00 - 11:30 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
12:00 - 12:50 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
14:25 - 2017 Season Drivers Photograph (Starting Grid)
14:30 - 14:40 - Drivers Track Parade
15:46 - National Anthem
16:00 - 18:00 - Race

(Subject to change)

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Written By: Amy Hawk
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Sunday, March 19, 2017

John Surtees - 1934-2017


JOHN SURTEES - 1934 - 2017

    The only racer to win world championships on both two and four wheels, John Surtees, died aged 83 on March 10th 2017.

    Surtees will be remembered for his extraordinary bike racing career, his F1 championship win in 1964, and his work to raise money for research into head injuries.

    Surtees made his racing debut at the tender age of 14. His father, Jack Surtees, was a big name in car racing at the time, and John Surtees made his debut in his father’s sidecar, only for the duo to be disqualified as John was underage.

    The love for racing never left, though, and, in 1952, Surtees enjoyed a successful season racing Norton factory bikes, winning 68 and of the 76 races he competed in. That caught the attention of MV Augusta, where he won his first world championship in 1956, only 22 years old. It was the first of many.

    It’s Augusta we have to thank for Surtees making his car racing debut. The team didn’t like their star rider racing outside of his commitments with them, and they banned him from racing his own bikes outside of those commitments.

    They didn’t say anything about racing cars, though.

    In 1960, Surtees made his car racing debut in Formula Junior at Goodwood. He was spotted by Lotus’ Colin Chapman, and he made his F1 debut with the team later that year.

    It wasn’t long before Surtees was catching the attention of other teams. The Brit saw plenty of success in his first season, including a second place finish in his second ever race, but he left Lotus after an argument with Chapman and Innes Ireland.

    In 1962, Enzo Ferrari made him an offer to come and race with him, but Surtees turned him down. He wasn’t ready for Ferrari, he thought. A year later, Ferrari made the same offer, and Surtees accepted it.

    1964, he became a Formula One world champion.

    Not one to stay in one place for very long, Surtees raced in other series at the same time, as well as driving for multiple other teams after leaving Ferrari in 1966. The Brit even started his own team, but he didn’t find very much success and the team closed in 1978.

    Outside of racing, Surtees had started a family. He married, and had three children: two daughters and a son, Henry Surtees. Henry followed his father into racing, but tragically died of injuries sustained in a Formula 2 accident. He was only 18 years old.

    The accident prompted Surtees to set up the Henry Surtees Foundation, which raises money for research into head injuries, and supports educational programmes related to motorsport.

    He was also an ambassador for the Racing Steps Foundation organisation, which aids young British drivers as they make their way up through the junior series in both car and bike racing.

    Many people in motorsport believed Surtees should have been knighted for his racing achievements and charitable work, and he was given a CBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Saturday, March 18, 2017

Paddy Lowe Joins Williams


PADDY LOWE JOINS WILLIAMS F1 TEAM

    Paddy Lowe will replace Pat Symonds as Chief Technical Officer at Williams following his departure from Mercedes in January.

    Claire Williams has described Lowe’s return to the team he made his F1 debut with as a “game changer” for the team.

    Lowe will also be a shareholder in the team and sit on the board of directors.

    “I’ve always had a deep respect for Williams – my first team in Formula One,” he said. “It is a huge honour to return in this leadership position and to have the opportunity to become a shareholder. I am extremely motivated to play my part in bringing success back to the team."

    “The vision for the future set out by the Williams Board is powerful and has compelled me to join an organisation committed to building on its unique legacy and to reaching the pinnacle of Formula One once again.”

    Lowe first started at Williams in the 80s, and was a key part of the team’s success in the 90s.
Since then he has worked at a variety of teams including McLaren and Mercedes.

    As Executive Technical Director, Lowe helped Mercedes to three consecutive teams’ and drivers’ championships.

    Now Williams hope he can bring some of that success to them. The team suffered their worst result in this era of engines last season, falling behind Force India in the constructors’ championship.

    “Having someone of Paddy’s calibre and engineering competence is not only a morale boost for everyone at Williams, but I know it will also significantly support our efforts to return this team back to the front of the grid,” said Claire Williams.

    "Our ambitions at Williams are unwavering, we want to win races and championships, but to do that you need the best talent in the business."

    “In Paddy we believe we have just that as well as a leader who will drive change. This is a game changer for us and once again makes us extremely excited about the team’s future.” 

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Saturday, March 11, 2017

Pre-Season Test #2 - Day #4 - Re-Cap & Times


PRE-SEASON TEST #2 - DAY #4 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Kimi Raikkonen topped the times on a red flag ridden final day of testing. A number of teams, including Ferrari suffered mechanical problems as the teams headed onto the track for the last time before Melbourne.

    As has become the norm, the early part of the session was where most of the fastest lap times came. Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg, and Max Verstappen each topped the times at points, but nobody was able to beat the 1:18.634 Raikkonen was able to set.

    The first red flag of the day came an hour and a half into the first session, when Romain Grosjean ran into the gravel at turn 5. It wouldn’t be the last time the Haas driver ran into trouble. He stopped on the back straight just before the lunch break, bringing out the red flag again.

    Unsurprisingly, the Honda powered McLaren fell into trouble again. Fernando Alonso had completed less than 20 laps when he stopped on track due to the same electrical issue that had caused problems for Stoffel Vandoorne yesterday, even though the team had changed parts of the power unit and chassis overnight. Alonso did manage to get back out before the end of the session, only to stop almost immediately.

    The team seemed to clear up the problem by the afternoon, as Alonso was able to get back out. He managed to complete 43 laps before the end of the day.

    McLaren weren’t the only driver to have limited morning running. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull hadn’t been out much after his pitch for the top spot early in the session. That was because Red Bull were fixing a turbo issue on the car, but the teenager was still able to get out in the afternoon. By that point, though, he’d already set the second fastest time of the day and Red Bull’s fastest time of the test.

    Anybody watching the timing screens would have had a less exciting afternoon, as many of the teams began race simulations again, but the simulations were disturbed by red flags. None from McLaren this time though.

    Raikkonen was the first to bring out the red flag in the afternoon. The Ferrari was on a race simulation when it suffered a problem. Raikkonen moved onto the unused part of the circuit to try and return to the pits, only to lock the rear wheels and spin at the unused chicane.

    Carlos Sainz was the culprit for the sixth and final red flag of the day as he stopped on the start finish straight after setting the third fastest time earlier in the day.

    Mercedes had a quiet day, with their two drivers finishing fourth and fifth by the end of the day with just over 100 laps between them, but the German team still heads to Australia favourites.

TIMES:

1. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:18.634 / Ferrari-Ferrari / 110 Laps
2. Max Verstappen - 1:19.438 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / 70 Laps
3. Carlos Sainz - 1:19.837 / Toro Rosso-Renault / 131 Laps
4. Valtteri Bottas (AM) - 1:19.845 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
5. Lewis Hamilton (PM) - 1:19.850 / Mercedes-Mercedes / 53 Laps
6. Nico Hulkenberg (AM) - 1:19.885 / Renault-Renault / 45 Laps
7. Sergio Perez - 1:20.116 / Force India-Mercedes / 138 Laps
8. Jolyon Palmer (PM) – 1:20.205 / Renault-Renault / 43 Laps
9. Lance Stroll - 1:20.335 / Williams-Mercedes / 132 Laps
10. Romain Grosjean - 1:21.110 / Haas-Ferrari / 76 Laps
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:21.389 / McLaren-Honda / 43 Laps
12. Marcus Ericsson (AM) - 1:21.670 / Sauber-Ferrari / 59 Laps
13. Pascal Wehrlein (PM) - 1:23.527 / Sauber-Ferrari / 42 Laps

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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