Belgian GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

The Belgian GP had quite the turnout & It was a spectacular race indeed. The weather threatened a shower towards the end of the race, but luckily, no drop of rain hit the circuit during the event.

    Before the lights went out, there was plenty of drama on the starting grid. Nico Hulkenberg waved his hands back and forth, signaling trouble with his car. During the formation lap, the team had told him to pit and that there was a problem, but ended up deciding he would take the start. However, that did not happen and he retired before he even got a chance to begin. He was not the only one in trouble - Carlos Sainz also had car issues and after being in the garage for quite awhile, the team was able to send him out from pit-lane to start the race.

    The start of the race was a problem for some with the new start procedure. Rosberg had a poor start, leaving Lewis Hamilton up in front to battle with Force India's, Sergio Perez, who moved from 4th to 2nd quickly. With Hulkenberg unable to start the race, it was up to Perez to bring Force India the most points he could.

    Pastor Maldonado was the first to retire due to engine issues. Romain Grosjean, however was playing catch up from where he'd started in 9th after a grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

    It was not a good day for Williams, especially Bottas, who was the victim of a bad pit-stop. When he came in for a new set of tyres, he got 3 of one and 1 of the other. He was given a drive through penalty for this and it cost him a lot of time and the potential for a podium. Felipe Massa was having trouble staying ahead of quite a few cars.

    Daniel Ricciardo retired next with a Hydraulics issue & the Virtual Safety Car was put into action while they moved his car off the track. This gave drivers a chance to pit without worrying too much. A bit later after this, Toro Rosso retired Carlos Sainz, due to earlier issues with the car.

    Meanwhile, up in front, the battle for the last place on the podium was between Sebastian Vettel & Romain Grosjean. Grosjean had passed Ricciardo and Perez and was coming up on Vettel quickly. With only a few laps to go, it looked like it would be Vettel holding a trophy. However, it was not the case. Vettel's rear right tyre suddenly exploded into bits and he was limping the Ferrari around the circuit. The team told him to pit and it was race over for him. Grosjean then sped around the circuit for the final few laps before coming across the finish line in 3rd. Lotus's first podium since 2013.

    Hamilton brought home the win in Spa and added more points to his lead in the Drivers Championship. However, with plenty of races left this season, the title is still up for grabs for the likes of Rosberg and Vettel. Both Max Verstappen & Sergio Perez proved to be the mid-field heroes of the race with both making phenomenal passes and battling with some of the top drivers. Perez finished 5th and Verstappen 8th & both moved up in the drivers standings.

Both McLaren-Honda drivers finished the race, although there was little to celebrate after both had such hefty grid penalties and a lack of pace throughout the pace. However, things continue to look up for the Woking-based team. Both Button & Alonso continue to be optimistic about the teams progress.

Here are the race results - Next up is the Italian GP at Monza.

RACE RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 18 Points
3. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Mercedes / France / + 15 Points
4. Daniil Kvyat / Red Bull-Renault / Russia / + 12 Points
5. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 10 Points
6. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 8 Points
7. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 6 Points
8. Max Verstappen / Toro Rosso-Renault / Netherlands / + 4 Points
9. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 2 Points
10. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden / + 1 Point
11. Felipe Nasr / Sauber-Ferrari / Brazil
12. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / ( RETIRED - Qualified as finished - Tyre)
13. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain
14. Jenson Button / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain
15. Roberto Merhi / Manor-Ferrari / Spain
16. Will Stevens / Manor-Ferrari / Great Britain

RETIRED - Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso / Spain / ENGINE
RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia / HYDRAULICS
RETIRED - Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Mercedes / Venezuela / ENGINE
DID NOT START - Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / ENGINE

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk
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American GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

It was bright, sunny & overall great conditions for racing in Austin, Texas & what a race, what a race indeed. This season has not failed to disappoint and there's still 2 races left.

When the lights went out, the 17 cars were ready for 56 laps of pure adrenaline. Rosberg had a strong start & was eager to gain a lead to stay ahead of team-mate, Lewis Hamilton. But the Brit was right in Nico's mirrors, ready to fight for that win.

In the middle of the pack, we saw the collision between Perez, Sutil & Raikkonen. Perez was closing in on a gap, trying to overtake the Sauber, while also trying to avoid the Ferrari. But things didn't work. As Kimi rounded the corner, Perez unfortunately made contact with the back of the Ferrari, which caused his car to slide into the side of Sutil's Sauber. This caused damage to both of the cars, ending the race for both Perez and Sutil. Kimi was lucky to escape with minor damage to the rear of his car.

It ended up being a double DNF for Sahara Force India when only a handful of laps later, Nico Hulkenberg slowed and pulled over to a stop, before hopping out of the car. He'd reported a loss of power. It turned out to be an engine issue that ended his race.

Meanwhile, up at the front, Lewis was continuing to fight, trying to overtake his team-mate. It was not an easy task as Nico was not about to let his chance of a victory slip away. British and German flags were held up high and people cheered as the two Mercedes passed by at nerve-raising speeds.

Two other drivers who had their own wheel-to-wheel battle going were Jenson Button & Fernando Alonso. Around every turn it seemed one was in front of the other, until Alonso gained the position and Jenson was called in for a pit-stop.

Esteban Gutierrez, the lone Sauber on the track, was putting in his best efforts to catch up after having to take a 5 second drive through penalty for speeding behind the earlier Safety Car. He was not the only one either. Button, Maldonado & Vergne were all investigated for either speeding in the Pit-Lane or speeding behind the Safety car. Button was the only one who was cleared from investigation & did not receive a penalty.

Maldonado impressed when he fought his way to the end in Tenth and got his first point of the season. However, that changed when Jean-Eric Vergne was given 5 seconds added to his race time for a collision with Pastor's team-mate, Romain Grosjean. That meant Maldonado was promoted to 9th with now 2 championship points.

In the end, Lewis Hamilton was the one who brought home the win in Austin, making it his 5th consecutive win and also his second win at COTA. Rosberg came in second while Ricciardo held back the Williams duo long enough for that last spot on the podium.

So, with the race complete and another victory celebrated, it's time for the next race. The teams are off to Sao Paulo, Brazil! 

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points

2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 18 Points

3. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia / 15 Points

4. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 12 Points

5. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 10 Points

6. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari-Ferrari / Spain / + 8 Points

7. Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull-Renault / Germany / + 6 Points

8. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren-Mercedes / Denmark / + 4 Points

9. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Renault / Venezuela / + 2 Points

10. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso-Renault / France / + 1 Point

11. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / France

12. Jenson Button / McLaren-Mercedes / Great Britain

13. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

14. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber-Ferrari / Mexico

15. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia

DNF - Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / Engine Failure

DNF - Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / Collision Damage

DNF - Adrian Sutil / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany / Collision Damage

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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F1Insider Featured Article: Perez takes Force India to the Podium

Late last year, one of the biggest questions in F1 was "Where will Sergio Perez land?" - The young driver from Mexico was replaced at McLaren with Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen. Although there is no hard feelings between Perez and the Woking-based team, he still needed somewhere to go.

Sergio was picked up by Force India at the end of 2013 and partnered with Nico Hulkenberg, who drove for Sauber that year. Sergio has never been a driver for Force India before, but was welcomed and greeted like a part of the family.

The team had only ever got a podium finish once, back in 2009 and while most people would rate them as "Midfield" - I rate them much higher and say they're in the same playing field as Mercedes this year. With 3 races already completed this year, Nico finished all 3 in the top 10. Sergio, unable to start in Malaysia, shocked many when he rose to secure 3rd in Bahrain, getting the first Podium for the team in over 5 years. It was an incredible feeling, as he was quoted saying he'd almost "Quit" F1 after being left-out of McLaren's 2014 Line-Up. He didn't want to take a back-marker seat just to stay in the sport. He wanted a good team and car capable of winning and it seems he has it this year.

I believe both he and Nico can finish on the podium more than once this year and I'm definitely cheering them on.

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
No Copyright Infringement Intended.