Belgian Grand Prix Preview

After the four-week summer break, Formula One is back this weekend at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, where Nico Rosberg looks to keep Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton behind him in the Championship; and with only 11 points separating the pair, this weekend could be crucial in the title battle.

This week, however, news relating to the other end of the paddock has made all the headlines.

Verstappen, currently racing in the European F3 Championship

It was announced on Monday that 16 year-old Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen would replace Jean-Eric Vergne next season at Toro Rosso. Verstappen, who will become the youngest F1 driver in the sports history, replaces Vergne who so narrowly missed out on a Red Bull seat this season.
The team thanked the Frenchman for his hard work over the past 3 years.  

32 year-old German, Lotterer

Then, Caterham revealed 3-time Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer would replace the experience Kamui Kobayashi for the weekend, with the team insisting that Kobayashi still remains part of the team.

Rounding off an eventful week, Max Chilton 'volunterred' to sit out of this weekends Belgian Grand Prix whilst 'contractual issues are resolved'. Marussia, who have been hit with financial difficulties, are looking to sell the Brit's Marussia seat to raise all important funds.

Alexander Rossi

22 year-old American Alexander Rossi, who was released by Caterham in July as their reserve driver, will step in alongside Jules Bianchi for his first race in F1.

Free Practice 1 begins on Friday 22nd August at 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT)

#HitTheBeeps

Going into the winter break ahead of the 2014 season, the anticipation was molecular in how it shaped up; with numerous variables and changes fans of the sport questioned and followed with interest, building their excitment. Aside from the technical and aesthetic, there was a constant that looked to develop into a real contender for Sebastian Vettel's crown- Romain Grosjean.

Romain Grosjean celebrates his 2nd place at the US Grand Prix last year.

 His displays in the final races demonstrated maturity, confidence and self-assurance, looking as if the Frenchman could assert himself as Lotus' Number One driver and lead the team to his first win on the step to challenging the top teams for both Driver and Constructors gold. But, those regulation changes have hurt Lotus and stifled Grosjean's success- with the spoils going to others in the paddock; Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo taking his first win, and Williams Valterri Bottas imitating the form Romain carried last year.

So what has happened to Lotus?

Ayrton Senna and Lotus. Both legends.

 The black and gold livery is as prestigious as the history it holds underneath its chassis; 7 constructors championships and 6 driver titles, these astounding feats almost lend Lotus to have unequivocal success. But, as Ferrari and Mclaren know all too well, the hands of time cannot be rested upon and are unbiased to the champions of the future to come, as Red Bull and Mercedes have risen to become the top teams in F1. 

Ending the 2013 season 4th in the constructors table (315 points), Lotus find themselves 8th, with Romain Grosjean's sole 8 points keeping the team ahead on the finest of margins from Sauber and Marussia.
Financially, the cracks were evident last year as Kimi Raikkonen confessed the team hadn't paid him for numerous races and then Team Principal Gerard Lopez admitting Lotus were in £114 million debt. These money difficulties would unsettle any organisation and the ramifications from that are being seen on track. The loss of key personnel also, from Kimi leaving for Ferrari and former Team Principle Eric Boullier joining Mclaren just hours after the E22 was unveiled, further dislocated the team.

Nico Hulkenberg

 After Raikkonen's departure, Nico Hulkenberg was seen by many as the likely candidate to fill the Finn's boots due to merit. However, Lotus's money problems were the underlining reason they opted for reckless Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado, who brings vast resources and sponsorship courtesy of his connections with oil company PDVSA and ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The prospect of receiving figures in the region of £45 million (which Maldonado brought to Williams in 2012) were surely not to be refused by Lotus' owners Genii Capital. So, instead of progressing forward with a solid driver partnership, Lotus found it a necessity to address being in the red at, arguably, the expense of aiming for gold...which shows the magnitude of the crisis.

Pastor Maldonado

 Switching from V8's to turbo V6's presented challenges for all teams, but Lotus once again have struggled in particular. Renault power is inferior to that of Mercedes, but Lotus have not been able to harness the potential and develop a reliable package, with both drivers suffering numerous DNF's or failures throughout a race weekend. Pastor Maldonado said,

''When you have a big transition like that in terms of technology you always have some problems, but we didn't expect to have that much. At the moment, in my opinion, its just too much.''

As was announced last month, next year will see Lotus use Mercedes engines, which is a sign of their intent for the future to improve on where they find themselves at the moment.

All these factors have led to poor performances not fitting of the Lotus name. Is a Ferrari-style reshuffle in order to see them back to winning ways? Or it may be a case of those personnel changes at the start of the year taking their toll on a team hit on all fronts by problems and needing time to nurture a team crying out for stability.

#HitTheBeeps

'Down to the wire.' Four simple words, but enough to send a burst of adrenaline down the spines of motor racing fans.

I first heard that phrase uttered from the voice of Formula One, Murray Walker, as a bleary-eyed 6 year old, waking up in a part of the morning you didn't realise existed, to watch the 1996 Championship showdown in Suzuka between Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.

Damon Hill celebrating his 1996 World Championship after the Japanese Grand Prix

 The Canadian, who was on Pole, needed to win the race and Damon not to score any points for him to win the title.
To his dismay however (but to me and my mother's jubilation), it was he who retired and Damon Hill won the race and the Championship in a thrilling and emotional finale.

Those are the moments we remember and become forever etched into the history of the sport; unscripted, yet elegantly orchestrated to deliver drama audiences are gripped by.

And it is this that Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone wants to synthetically recreate with the introduction of the new double points system for the last grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi by allowing the fight for the Championship to be contested for as long as possible and keep spectators, and audience figures, captivated.

Although all the teams agreed to its implementation for the 2014 season (with Ferrari Chairman Luca Di Montezemalo agreeing to it as long as it was only on a trail basis), many high profile figures, including Bernie Ecclestone himself, have raised concerns and anxieties over how it will impact the events to come and whether in fact, it may have the opposite effect and leave audiences perplexed by a skewed system that could turn 'down to the wire' sour.

Ecclestone, who in January wanted to increase the number of double points races from 1 to 3 (which would have included the USA and Brazil GP), admitted in April, ''(It is) probably not fair that somebodies done all that work early on and get so many points and somebody could just pop in and do a couple of races.''

As it stands now, the ones the double points system may haunt (and in actual fact be their biggest rival), is Mercedes whose drivers stand first and second, with Nico Rosberg currently 84 points ahead of 3rd place Daniel Ricciardo.

In previous years, we could be confident in predicting that the Number 6 or Number 44 silver arrow would be crowned World Champion, but, even though the likelihood of it happening is slim, it isn't out of the question that if Ricciardo, Alonso or even Bottas bridge the gap to the Mercedes by November and if they have the racing gods on their side, then with 50 points on offer for the winner in Abu Dhabi, the Championship is still open.

Executive Director of Mercedes AMG Petronas, Toto Wolff, who on Tuesday of this week sustained a fractured shoulder, collar bone, elbow and wrist in a cycling crash along the Danube River, stated it was a mistake by Formula One to award double points for the finale.

Toto Wolff

  ''I don't think it is fair and I don't think we should have done it.''

''But the commercial rights holders, who takes the sponsorship and cares about the TV audiences, said we need to keep the excitement until the last race, and it looks like he was right.''

It would be unimaginable for a driver to be denied the Championship because of the double points system; a cruel hand of fate robbing the title that all but had his named carved into it, being handed to another who clinched it in the dying embers of the season. Wolff pointed out that scenario would devastate the psyche and mind frame of the individual,

''I think the driver who loses the title because of double points will need some psychological treatment, but we are not there yet.''

How would double points in the past rewritten F1 history?

'If only...' Felipe Massa on the podium at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

 In 2003, Kimi Raikkonen would have won his first World Championship beating the legendary Michael Schumacher by 5 points.
Felipe Massa was celebrating in Brazil as he thought he was the new 2008 Champion, only for Hamilton to cross the line in 5th and beat him by a single point. If double points would have been available, Massa would have been crowned champion.
And finally the image of Fernando Alonso standing statuesque and empty as he watched Sebastian Vettel bask in the celebrations of winning the 2012 World Championship would have been reversed as the Spaniard would have earnt his 3rd World Title with his 36 points for 2nd place and Vettel only finishing 6th, enough to win the Championship by 7 points.

Crowds love an underdog story; a tale of one rising from adversity and winning against all odds. But when that comes at a cost- not only for the drivers, but to fans and audiences across the world who invest their time following the sport religiously seeing events unfold only for the ending to be that of a champion unveiled who may not be, in essence, truly deserving of it, may leave a bitter taste in the mouths in those who believe the likes of Rosberg and Hamilton have already done enough to be deserving of called champion.

Would it be a bad thing to see Daniel Ricciardo or Valterri Bottas take advantage of the double points system? Of course not; the desired effect would have been attained- audiences glued to their seats and talk of what had taken place in a wider spectrum for many weeks to come, keeping the interest in F1 burning bright.
Beneficially, it would not just count commercially but prove the talents of this golden age of new up-and-coming drivers like Ricciardo, Bottas and Magnussen who rightfully sit equal alongside the current masters of the sport like Alonso, Vettel and Button.

That is the reason why we'll all be watching on Sunday 23rd November- there is still a long way to go in this Championship and in the back of our minds an inquisitive voice may sound over the V6 engines and red lights and say, ''...What if...?'' 

'Die Perfekte Woche'

The Perfect Week

In a week which Nico Rosberg will surely never forget, he won the German Grand Prix in front of his home crowd, edging out his lead in the Driver's Championship by 14 points to team mate Lewis Hamilton who fought his way from the back of the grid to take a podium finish.

Wet weather hung over Hockenheim prior to the race, and thanks to the cloud coverage it brought down the track temperature, that all the teams had to battle with throughout the weekend, which would help reduce tyre wear for the 67 laps to come.

The only drivers not to start on the super-soft tyre would be Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton starting in 20th place- but as he did not take part in Q2 or Q3 because of the crash at Sachs Curve due to brake failure, he would have 4 new sets of the option tyre at his disposal.
Caterhams Marcus Ericsson started from the pit lane after not setting a time in Qualifying and therefore not reaching the 107% cutoff rule.

Frightening moment as Massa flips onto the roll hoop of his Williams

 As the lights went out it was a good start by both Rosberg and Bottas on the front row of the grid. Watching as the cars made it down into the first corner, and everyones hearts were in their mouths as Felipe Massa's Williams was shunted from behind by Kevin Magnussen which caused the car to flip over and come to a rest back on all four wheels. Thankfully, Felipe was uninjured and is testimony once more to the stellar standards in driver safety in Formula One.
Massa's luck continues to desert him as once again he is taken out of a race where he was on target for a podium.
This accident brought the safety car out for 3 laps before normal race conditions continued. Lewis Hamilton was already making ground on the field wereas Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo suffered due to Massa's accident, finding himself down in 14th place.

Daniil Kvyat and Sergio Perez made contact on lap 9, taking the Russian off but Kvyat was able to rejoin.
A great battle then ensued for 6th place between Perez, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Hamilton that led to Lewis braking late and clipping Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari; taking off a part of the Scuderia's front wing. More of the Finn's front wing would again be taken off as he found himself sandwiched between 4-time World Champion Vettel and 2-time World Champion Alonso going into the hairpin.

The action didn't cease as more bodywork would fly as old team mates Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button collided. The Mercedes, expecting a straightforward pass down the inside, made contact with the sidepod of Jenson's Mclaren, removing components of Hamilton's front wing. Although the damage was slightly affecting the aerodynamics of the car around his front left tyre, it was decided on changing the balance of the car rather than lose time replacing the nose.

On lap 46, the rear of Kvyat's Toro Rosso caught ablaze ending his race, but thankfully he was able to jump out of the car safely.
Disappointingly for Adrian Sutil in front of his home crowd, he retired from the race after a spin on the pit straight.
In the remaining laps, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso showed their class with wheel to wheel racing lap after lap in the battle for 5th place which would eventually be won by Alonso.

Das Beste: Rosberg celebrating after his win.

Rosberg crossed the line 20.7 seconds ahead of 2nd place Valterri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton finishing in a crucial 3rd position to keep the gap between him and his team mate as little as possible as they prepare for the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend. 

Race Results

 

Rosberg Takes Pole.

Nico Rosberg beat the Williams of Valterri Bottas and Felipe Massa to claim Pole Position at his home Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton spun off into the barricade in Q1.

With the track temperature at just below 60 degrees, tyre degradation was a real concern for the teams, in contention with dealing with the decision by the FIA to ban the FRIC (Front and Rear Inter-Connected) System on the grounds of breaching technical regulations by positively influencing the aerodynamics of the car. Outlawing the system was thought to possibly damage Mercedes the most whose FRIC system was the most efficient on the grid, but there was no signs of this damaging the Mercedes performance in Hockenheim.

Q1 began with Marussia's Jules Bianchi taking to the 2.8 mile, 17 turn circuit as all 22 drivers looked to advance to the next session.
As the times kept falling, Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton and then Valterri Bottas, with a time of 1:18.213, all topped the timesheet. Then, with over 7 minutes remaining, the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton veered off the track, spinning through the gravel and into the wall which brought out the red flags to temporarily end proceedings.
From his team radio, Lewis was obviously shaken up by the impact, and was taken to the medical centre to check his knees. But the Brit was luckily uninjured.
The cause of the incident at the Sachs Curve was the right front brake disc failing which caused the front of the car to snap left and spin. Those brakes which failed were replaced that morning with ones from a different make- Brembo.

Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes after the impact at Sachs Curve

Once the action got back underway and the remaining time for Q1 end, it saw the cars of Adrian Sutil, Jules Bianchi, Pastor Maldonado, Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson who didn't set a time due to a hydralic leak from the throttle.

Hamilton would start in 16th place for the race as his time was enough to put him through to Q2 in the previous session. There was a dramatic end to the 15 minute session were Sergio Perez had just one lap to get his Force India into the final shootout and was able to knock Jenson Button down into 11th, knocking him outside of the top 10. Joining Jenson were Kimi Raikkonen who's still showing signs of finding the Ferrari's brakes difficult to master, as well as Jean-Eric Vergne, Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean.

The top 3 drivers for the German Grand Prix

 Going into Q3 and there were no scares for Nico Rosberg, not with team mate Lewis Hamilton unable to contend Pole Position. The Williams of Bottas and Massa were 0.2 and 0.5 of a second off of Rosberg's Pole time of 1:16.540.
Kevin Magnussen recaptured the form he showed at the start of the 2014 calendar with a solid 4th place in front of the Red Bull's of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull were promised 3% more power from the Renault engine for this Grand Prix, but four-time World Champion Vettel admitted that wasn't the case and the RB10 is still suffering with a lack of speed.

Rosberg, with his first Pole Position at the German Grand Prix, gave himself the best possible opportunity to edge his lead out in the Driver's Championship even more to capitalise on Lewis' misfortunes.

Qualifying Results 

* Esteban Gutierrez will start in 17th due to a 3 place grid penalty occurred at the British Grand Prix
**Lewis Hamilton had to change the gear box so he drops 5 places to 20th
***Marcus Ericsson failed to set a time and therefore will start in the pitlane.

Hat-Trick As Rosberg Ends FP3 Fastest

Nico Rosberg ended Free Practice 3 with a hat-trick for Mercedes as the Silver Arrows again topped the timesheets prior to Qualifying for the German Grand Prix.
Hamilton was 2nd- half a second down on his team mate and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was only fractions behind in 3rd.
The Williams duo of Massa and Bottas performed strongly, lapping times which saw them in P4 and P5.

Nico Rosberg awash in red, black and gold for his home Grand Prix.

Below is the full timesheet for Free Practice 3

Free Practice 3

 

Mercedes Continue German Celebrations

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets at Hockenheim today in Free Practice 1 and 2 for the German Grand Prix.
Rosberg, who this week got married, saw his national side lift the World Cup and signed a new contract with Mercedes looks to add winning his home Grand Prix to that list to round off an incredible 7 days.
Williams Development Driver, Susie Wolff, ran in FP1 and finished an impressive 15th- just 0.227 seconds slower than her team mate Felipe Massa.
Kimi Raikkonen returned to the track after a horrendous crash at Silvestone 2 weeks ago where he sustained bruising to his leg and knee. The Finn was fourth fastest in FP1, beating Alonso by half a second.

Below are the full standings of FP1 and FP2.

Free Practice 1

 

Free Practice 2

#HitTheBeeps

30 years ago, on the 3rd June 1984, a 24 year-old grabbed the attention of the world after sensationally taking a lowly Toleman to narrowly miss out on victory, from the closest of margins, away from Mclaren's Alain Prost around the rain-soaked streets of Monaco.

That, of course, was to be the prologue of a man destined to forever be immortalised as a Formula One legend. Ayrton Senna.

Now, 30 years later, on the 25th May 2014, a 24 year-old grabbed the attention of the world in Monaco...

It was not to be in quite the same scintillating fashion as Senna's charge through the grid in wet conditions, but Jules Bianchi's drive in Monte Carlo- the highlight of which being his aggressive, yet fair, overtake at Rascasse on Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi, is no less extraordinary; especially considering the Frenchman's 9th place would not only earn him his first two Formula One World Championship points, but also his team, Marussia, who had gone 83 Grand Prix's waiting to be the first new Formula One teams of 2010 (HRT, Lotus- now Caterham and Virgin Racing which is now Marussia), to see points against their name.

Bianchi in his Championship winning year in Formula 3 (2009)

Jules started his racing career in 2007 when he won the French Formula Renault 2.0 Championship, winning 5 races and achieving 5 Pole Positions. Over the coming years, more race wins and Championships in Formula 3 and GP2 helped him be the first signing of the Ferrari Driver Academy programme in 2009.
In 2011, he would become a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari before joining Force India as their reserve driver the following year.

Following Kimi Raikkonen's horrific crash at the British Grand Prix at the start of this month where he was fortunate to walk away with only heavy bruising to his leg and ankle, this meant he was unable to take part in the In-Season testing at Silvestone the following week. This allowed Jules Bianchi to fill in for the Finn. On the final day of testing, Bianchi was fastest of all with a time of 1:35.262, further signalling the potential this young man from Nice has and what he is capable of achieving behind the wheel of a car that can compete at the front end of the grid, unlike the Marussia which has masked the speed he naturally possesses.

Staring at a permanent seat in Ferrari?

Arguably, Bianchi's spike in performance could not have come at a greater time; as Ferrari look to drastically restructure the team and try and bring back the glory years the faithful Tifosi are accustomed too; with Marco Mattiacci taking over from Stefano Domenicali as Team Principle. There is speculation too of a quiet frustration building within Fernando Alonso who so desperately yearns for a third World Championship. Take into account as well the fact Kimi Raikkonen is highly likely to retire from Formula One after his contract ends in 2015, which presents the possibility of two empty Ferrari seats if Alonso does decide to leave for Red Bull or Mercedes.

If Jules continues to impress and maintain this form, he would have to be at the top of Ferrari President Luca Di Montezemolo's wishlist of drivers and in doing so would vindicate the youth programme of Ferrari that, as Red Bull have proven with Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, is vital for producing the stars of tomorrow- motioning the start of a truly new era of Ferrari with one of the brightest new talents of this golden generation.

Will Bianchi follow in the footsteps of Jean Alesi, the popular Frenchman? Time will tell. But if Jules is given the opportunity to drive for the infamous prancing horse, we will look back on those two Championship Points of the 2014 season in Monaco that may prove to be the prelude to a future legend of the sport in the making.
 

#HitTheBeeps

The history of Sauber may not be as infamous as some of the more illustrious names in Formula One like Ferrari and Mclaren, but for 20 years they have been an integral part of the sports DNA.
And it's saddening to see a race winning team who, under BMW Sauber (Robert Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2008), and last year finishing 7th in the Constructors Championship, sat anchored with Caterham at the bottom of the table with no points so far this season.
Even more bitter is Marussia, one of the new teams of F1, overtaking them in the standings after Jules Bianchi's 9th place at Monaco.

Suffering on all fronts; be it reduced finances, a lack of resources and issues surrounding the C33 car itself; most noticeably down to the cars excess weight.
Having reduced 10 kilos off of the Barcelona spec car back in May, driver Adrian Sutil called for the need to lose a further 10 kilos for the car to be competitive.

Unsettling times ahead for Esteban Gutierrez?

 

What hasn't helped either is the poor performances of Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, whose highest 12th place finish was at the opening race of the season in Australia, and so far has had 4 DNF's.
This abysmal form was highlighted yesterday in the British Grand Prix when he caused a incident down the inside at Vale corner with Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, launching him into the air and awarding himself a 3 place grid penalty for the German Grand Prix in 2 weeks times.

At moments like these, 'rookie' mistakes only exacerbate matters more for Team Principle Monisha Kaltenborn, and as we reach the half way point of the season, it would be no surprise if a change in driver line up was instigated to rejuvenate the team and try something new to score those all important points which are worth millions of dollars.

Many would see Dutch reserve driver Giedo Van Der Garde as the obvious replacement for Gutierrez, who, after driving for Caterham last season, has been a part of 4 Friday Practice sessions including one back in April where he was over 2 seconds faster than Esteban Gutierrez at the Shanghai International Circuit for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Van Der Garde is also set to be a part of Wednesdays test session at Silvestone.

The 29 year-old's experience, going back to 1998 when he was crowned Dutch karting champion and then winning the Formula Super A World Championship in 2002, could be the catalyst that Sauber need to ride this storm and turn things around for the Swiss team.

Hamilton wins British Grand Prix

Great Britain's Lewis Hamilton finally gave the country reason to be proud as he won the British Grand Prix at Silvestone today after a horrendous crash on the first lap between Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa stopped the race for an hour.

Before the race had begun there was some changes to the race order; Max Chilton took a five place grid penalty for a gear box change, Gutierrez would start 19th, Lotus' Pastor Maldonado, unable to provide a fuel sample after Saturday's qualifying went down to 20th place and both Caterhams of Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson would line up at the very back of the grid as they failed to meet the 107% rule.

All cars decided to go out on the option tyre apart from the Ferrari's; opting for a different strategy and a likely one-stop race plan to try and push their way through the field.
Knowing the Ferrari's and Williams starting at the back would be something to keep close attention to was proved right for all the wrong reasons on the very first lap.

Kimi Raikkonen was pushed wide on the entrance to the Wellington straight, and as he joined back onto the track he went over a bump causing his car to instantly snap- losing control of the car as the Ferrari veered to the right into the armco barrier, the force was enough to send the car spinning back into the paths of on coming cars- one of which being the man celebrating his 200th Grand Prix. Felipe Massa's razor-sharp instinct avoided a head-on collision, reducing the impact through a self-applied spin hitting the car on Massa's rear left tyre.

Kimi Raikkonen was able to limp away from the crash; with later medical examinations reassuring everyone that he was okay- suffering only bruises to his right ankle and knee.
The race was stopped as the cars lined up in race order that would prove to be an hours delay to ensure the damaged armco barrier was repaired.

There were further incidents on the first lap as Sergio Perez and Jean Eric Vergne came together on Turn One but were able to both continue without any sanctions from the race stewards. And Max Chilton would receive a drive-through penalty for entering the pit lane once the red flag was waved.
Another driver to make an unusual characteristic mistake was Fernando Alonso who misjudged his grid box for the start of the race and would receive a five second stop and go penalty.

As the race got back underway under the safety car, Jenson Button was looking to capitalise on his impressive start going from 3rd to 2nd, but as the safety car came in, race leader Nico Rosberg stormed away- already increasing the distance between them by nearly two seconds.

Lewis, trying to turn the negative of yesterday's qualifying into a positive race, being spurred on by his home crowd moved past Mclaren's Kevin Magnussen as he ran wide and then former team mate Button putting him around five seconds behind Rosberg.

Sauber, still without a point on the board, had a day to forget as Esteban Gutierrez whose poor form asks a question whether he'll still have a race seat until the end of the season, woefully crashed into Pastor Maldonado forcing him airbourne at Luffields.

Complaining about issues with downshifting, Nico Rosberg experienced what Lewis Hamilton has had to endure two previous times this year, as the Mercedes gearbox failed on him, in vain of his best efforts to get the car going again, Rosberg had to retire the car on Lap 30, giving up the lead to teammate Lewis Hamilton, sending the crowd into jubilation.

Toast of Britain: Hamilton on the podium

From there on in, it was a comfortable race for Hamilton, unchallenged by the impressive Finn of Valterri Bottas coming from 14th to 2nd and Australian Daniel Ricciardo in 3rd who proved once again he is a highly talented racing driver who only looks set to improve.

Wheel to wheel racing from two drivers sharing six world championships between them caused drama as the battle the 5th place took to the radio with Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso complaining of one anothers perceptions of the track limits and the Spaniard insisting Vettel was using his DRS in undesignated areas of the circuit.

But an overwhelmed Lewis took his fifth win of the season and repeated what he did six years to the day as he won The British Grand Prix for the second time in his career.
Fellow Brit Jenson Button finished a hugely impressive 4th in a race that his late father John, would surely of been proud of as were all of Formula One and its supporters.

Lewis now goes into the next race with just four points separating him and his teammate for the Driver's Championship.

Below are a rundown of the final standings:

Rosberg steals Pole as Hamilton slips up

For those casting a casual eye over to the start of the Women's Wimbledon Final towards the close of Qualifying, sensing Lewis Hamilton had already done enough to clinch Pole for the second successive year, would have missed a dramatic climax which saw Nico Rosberg take advantage of drying condition to give him his fourth Pole Position of the season.

95,000 spectators were in attendance to celebrate Silvestone's 50th anniversary of being home to the British Grand Prix- not letting the dismal weather dampen their spirits. So far, for the Brits at least, it had been a disappointing start to the weekend after Williams Test Driver Susie Wolff suffered an oil pressure issue which cut her running in Friday Practice painfully short.

However, with three drivers flying the flag for Britain, there was still every reason for the home crowd to have something to celebrate with high expectations resting on Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, looking strong to start on the front row of the grid for Sundays race.

Rain and the threat of showers hung over the circuit for the start of Qualifying as both Marussia's and Sauber's took to the track first- Max Chilton opened with a time of 1:48.724 with Jules Bianchi and Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez going quicker still with times of 1:46.908 and 1:46.701 respectively.

Actor and F1 fan Michael Fassbender (right) was in attendance.

Stars from the silver screen looked on as the silver arrows of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg once again dominated- Lewis 2.5 seconds up on Gutierrez's time alone through Sector 2 eventually finishing the lap on a 1:43.676.

In the closing stages of Q1, conditions looked to be improving as Mclaren's Jenson Button chose the Option tyre, justifiably so and proving it was time to switch to slicks, going fastest of all.

The interchangeable conditions were proving to be advantageous for Marussia; once again showing signs of real progress from their first points finish at Monaco, as Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi sat proudly in P1 and P2 with 90 seconds left.

There was a shock in store with the signal of two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso spinning off around Luffield and then Sauber's Adrain Sutil taking a trip in the gravel.
Williams' Felipe Massa, celebrating his 200th F1 start tomorrow, wouldn't have imagined starting it in 18th place, but that's where he finds himself alongside teammate Valterri Bottas who failed to reach Q2 alongside both Ferrari's of Alonso and Raikkonen.

Ferrari and Williams later laid blame on the changing track conditions and dealing issues with slick tyres and traffic as to why non of their drivers made it to the next stage of qualifying. Rob Smedley, Head of Vehicle Performance, was quoted on Twitter to say, ''We didn't see the rain coming as quickly as it did, thats not an excuse, it's an error which we can't make again.''

As well as Massa, Bottas, Alonso and Raikkonen, the Caterham's of Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson will start at the back of the grid.

All cars ran on the Intermediate tyre for the start of Q2 as Vettel started with an impressive time of 1:44.085- 0.5 seconds faster than Hamilton, but the time was cancelled for overrunning the track limits at Turn 9.

Carrying on from the previous 18 minutes, Lewis and Nico were on top of the time sheets yet again as things weren't going as smoothly for Gutierrez who went off at the first part of Luffield, damaging his rear wing.
And Lotus' Pastor Maldonado's luck continues to desert him after losing fuel pressure, forcing him to settle for 15th place*.
With the news of Lotus switching engine manufacturer from Renault to Mercedes for the 2015 season, this comes as a relief to a team, steeped in history and success, drastically under-performing.

The flag waved to signal the end of the session, and with it, the loss of Adrain Sutil, Pastor Maldonado, Esteban Gutierrez, the impressive Marussia's of Chilton and Bianchi and Romain Grosjean.

Jenson Button and his helmet this weekend in honour of his late father, John.

 A downpour shortly after the start of Q3 fooled many drivers who had opted for slick tyres, one of which being Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel needing to come back into the pits immediately after going out to begin his in-lap.

Toro Rosso's duo of Jean Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat set the initial pace with times of 1:40.855 and 1:40.707.
Hamilton looked to have all but secured Pole after a 1:49.232 with seven minutes left to run.
Yet, with minutes to go, the conditions changed once more catching out Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, already out of the car and Lewis Hamilton who bailed on his final lap feeling his time was enough to get Pole and sensing the track wasn't improving.
The final sector of 26.5 seconds made all the difference as it had in fact dried considerable as Vettel crossed the line fastest before Nico Rosberg got Pole, with Sebastian Vettel in P2, seeing Hamilton eventually drop all the way down to P6 because of that error.
Jenson Button made his father, affectionately known as 'Papa Smurf', who passed away in January, proud with a stunning third place, was the highest placed Brit on the grid and is sure to have all the British fans behind him.

Tomorrow's race, which appears to be carried out in dry conditions, is set to be another enthralling spectacle; can Jenson Button achieve an emotional Podium finish? And it isn't just the front of the grid we should be watching- with two Ferrari's and two Williams' at the back, they will sure to push through the order and make for some exciting overtaking opportunities.    

Below are the final Qualifying standings:

(*) #13 P. Maldonado will start at the back of the grid after failing to provide a fuel sample after Qualifying.

#HitTheBeeps

 Why Mercedes Biggest Rival Is Honda.

 

On current form, will we see anythiing but Mercedes 1-2's?

 No one can compete with Mercedes...

The sheer scale of performance between themselves and the other 10 teams are unlike anything previously seen in F1; even taking into account Red Bull Racing's 4 consecutive Championship winning seasons from 2010-2013.

With the biggest set of regulations introduced since 2009, the biggest and most controversial is the change from a V8 2.4 litre engine to Turbocharged 1.6 litre V6's with added energy recovery systems, (ERS) in a mind-set to make the sport more sustainable and environmentally friendly...

Teams using the Mercedes AMG high performance Powertrains, built in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, have had an obvious advantage in both speed and reliability in the first 3 rounds of the season.

In the 2 days of Free Testing at The Bahrain International Circuit held this week, (8th and 9th April 2014) in which Caterham, Mercedes and Williams all ran with 6 new compounds and 8 new constructions of Pirelli tyres to be used next season, Nico Rosberg topped Day 1's standings whilst Lewis Hamilton, on experimental Pirelli tyres lapped 1.421 seconds quicker than the Renault-powered Torro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne.

Vettel worshipping the car which had brought him so much glory.

In Red Bull's hunt for continued success in the previous Formula using V8 engines, the possible reason why Renault have not been able to match Mercedes power is becuase their focus was on building Sebastian Vettel's legacy without contemplating the future after V8's.
And after perfecting the aerodynamics of the previous cars thanks to Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, the RB10 doesn't suit the new engines; not harvesting and releasing power as well as the Mercedes W05. 

Yet, it's the unwritten page of tomorrow which doesn't seem as if the history book's author will be Renault.

Will Vettel win his 5th consecutive championship? If he does, he will have every right to be named as the greatest racing driver in history.
But even if Red Bull manage to catch Mercedes this season, it is highly likely that the silver arrows may have won both the Drivers and Constructors championships already.

That is why Mercedes greatest rivals aren't even on the grid. Next year is where we'll see a true contest. One that will dismiss all the talk of changing the regulations and how quiet the sounds of the engines are, because once Honda step back into Formula One after a 7 year hiatus, all the talk will be on the racing.

Confirming their multi-year technology deal in May 2013, the iconic partnership reunite with the intention of bringing former success and glory back to Mclaren as seen in the late 80's and early 90's, when Senna and Prost reigned supreme.

Developing the V6 turbo power units in Sakura City, Japan, Honda says it is making 'steady progress' with their F1 programme and by June 2014 their dynamo and assembly facilities will be operational in the UK.

Button in the cockpit of the BAR. (2003)

 It isn't just the constructor and engine makers who have a lasting friendship; Mclaren driver Jenson Button has close ties with Honda after driving Honda-powered cars since 2003 up until Honda left F1 at the end of 2008. He of course also has strong ties with the country of Japan itself as fiancee Jessica Michibata resides from there.

It feels as if Jenson is waiting for the new engine supplier, biding his time with Mercedes and anticipating a reunion that has every potential to see Button and Mclaren as, once again, the 'Ichi ban*' in Formula One.

* 'Number One' in Japanese.
   

Lights, Camera, Action!

Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain Grand Prix after Formula One puts on a show to the world in one of the most intense and electrifying races in recent years.

Race winner Hamilton celebrating with his team in the garage post-race.

The Brit commented after Qualifying that the gap between the two would be reduced as Rosberg had learnt a lot from Malaysia, and he wasn't wrong as they battled it out in a series of wheel-to-wheel racing throughout which excited the crowds but had the Mercedes team's hearts firmly in their mouths.

Underneath the 5,000 lights of the Bahrain International Circuit above the night sky made conditions somewhat easier on the drivers; improving tyre wear because of the cooler temperature. But that would not stop them having to use energy saving mode to be able to run until the end on the 100kg allowance of fuel teams are restricted to.

Hamilton and Rosberg both got away well, but it was Lewis who led into the first corner, dedicated to Michael Schumacher after his skiing accident at the end of 2013, and nearly coming together at Turn 4. William's Felipe Massa made an incredible start; weaving in front of Raikkonen and Alonso to go from 7th to 3rd.

Incidents were aplenty early on; Torro Rosso's Jean-Eric Verne sustained a right rear puncture at Turn 1 and Kimi Raikkonen was hit by young Dane Kevin Magnussen.

High-profile advocates to change the regulations imposed for this season were in attendance; FIA president Jean Todt and Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo watched on as Fernando Alonso's Ferrari was easily overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg; Montezemolo in particular expressing his disgust as his Scuderia shows no signs yet of challenging to where there legacy should enable them to be- at the top. 

Adrain Sutil and Jules Bianchi had a collison on Lap 16, damaging Sutil's left rear tyre. Further up the running, Daniel Ricciardo was allowed over team radio to overtake his 4-time World Champion teammate, whose rear tyres were starting to wear, in order to have a better chance to catch the cars ahead.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Turn 1

35 seconds ahead of 3rd place Bottas, Hamilton and Rosberg fought for the lead, and after Rosberg went ahead of Hamilton for a fraction until Lewis sharply undercut him on the exit, veering left forcing Nico to pull out to avoid his front wing being damaged. The fashion in which Hamilton overtook him annoyed the German, venting over his team radio, ''Warm him that's not on.'

Half way through the 57 lap distance, Williams and Force India were having an excellent race, locking out 3rd to 6th. Again, displaying the power of Mercedes V6 1.6 litre engine.

Esteban Gutierrez thankfully unhurt after this incident.

Then saw a dramatic and worrying moment lap 41 as Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber flipped in the air, landing forcefully on the top of the air box taking the on-board camera clean off, before rolling back upright. The impact happened at Turn 1 with Pastor Maldonado who was leaving the pits, hitting him side-on. Luckily, Esteban walked away unhurt but was taken to a medical facility for precaution.

With the Safety Car called out, it reduced the gap the Mercedes had made from the others. But, as soon as it was called back into the pits after 5 laps, the silver arrows pulled away- going 3 seconds faster than 3rd place man Sergio Perez who was displaying the form which saw former CEO of Mclaren Martin Whitmarsh bring him over from Sauber last season.

Retiring from the race included Marcus Ericcson and both Mclaren's; a disappointing way to end Jenson Button's 250th Grand Prix.
At the front the action and tension increased as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton raced hard, switching back and forth between the two. Paddy Lowe, Executive Technical Director, tried to avoid both his drivers taking each other off by cooling them down on the radio reiterating to bring the cars home safe.

On the podium. (Aldo Costa- Engineering Director between Lewis and Nico.)

Lewis Hamilton was able to fend of Rosberg who was on the Option tyre, matching Fangio's 24 F1 wins and winning for the first time in Bahrain as fireworks lit up the sky.
Rosberg finished second who still leads the Driver's Championship, with Sergio Perez getting himself on the podium in 3rd, that could very well be the start of more top 3 finishes.

Pastor Maldonado will receive a 5 place grid penalty for the next race at China for T-Boning Marcus Ericsson; which seems unjust when Daniel Ricciardo was handed a 10 place grid penalty for an unsafe pit release. The Stewards reprimands must clearly reflect the seriousness of the actions- especially when it risks the lives of drivers.

Below is the full results of The Bahrain Grand Prix:

1) #44 Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes
2) #6 Nico Rosberg- Mercedes
3) #11 Sergio Perez- Force India-Mercedes
4) #3 Daniel Ricciardo- Red Bull Racing-Renault
5) #27 Nico Hulkenberg- Force India-Mercedes
6) #1 Sebastian Vettel-Red Bull Racing-Renault
7) #19 Felipe Massa- Williams-Mercedes
8) #77 Valterri Botta- Williams-Mercedes
9) #14 Fernando Alonso- Ferrari
10) #7 Kimi Raikkonen- Ferrari
11) #26 Daniil Kvyat- Torro Rosso-Renault
12) #7 Romain Grosjean- Lotus-Renault
13) #4 Max Chilton- Marussia-Ferrari
14) #13 Pastor Maldonado- Lotus-Renault
15) #10 Kamui Kobayashi- Caterham-Reanult
16) #17 Jules Bianchi- Marussia-Ferrari
RET) #22 Jenson Button- Mclaren-Mercedes
RET) #20 Kevin Magnussen- Mclaren-Mercedes
RET) #21 Esteban Gutierrez- Sauber-Ferrari
RET) #9 Marcus Ericsson- Caterham-Renault
RET) #25 Jean-Eric Vergne- Torro Rosso-Renault
RET) #99 Adrian Sutil- Sauber-Ferrari

Rosberg Takes The Spotlight

All smiles from the fastest men.

Nico Rosberg clinched his 5th career Pole Position in dominant fashion, beating  teammate Hamilton by 0.279 seconds.

After the 2008 World Champion topped each of the 3 practice sessions prior to Qualifying, those sat in the grandstands, under the darkness of the nights sky, expected Lewis' blistering pace to flow right through to Q3 with car number 44 once again to be fastest.

Sebastian Vettel's final practice stint saw him spin off between Turns 1 and 2, cancelling any running with light fuel loads around the Bahrain International Circuit- jeopardising Red Bull's chances of a place on the front row without that important data.

Maldonado's Lotus in Free Practice 3.

Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez set the first time of Q1 with a 1:38.521 which was soon eclipsed by Ricciardo over 2 seconds quicker.
Lotus were the only team to go out on both the soft (option) tyre, highlighting just how much they are struggling. Matters weren't helped for the team from Enstone amid Free Practice 3 when Pastor Maldonado's E22 was launched into the air after riding over a protruding orange curb at Turn 4. This was later altered and removed in time for the first part of Qualifying at 16:00 local time .

Without the unpredictable nature of the previous 2 qualifying sessions that threw wet conditions into the equation, all drivers were able to push their cars performance more than we've seen this season.
Mclaren's Jenson Button broke the 1:35.000 mark on a set of soft tyres before German Nico Hulkenberg edged him off the top spot by a fraction under a tenth who was fastest for the remaining 3 minutes.

At Turn 13, Force India's Adrian Sutil was deemed to impede Romain Grosjean whose Lotus still was able to scrap through into the next session. Sutil, who swerved to the inside, catching Romain by surprise and was fortunate not to cause a collision, was sent to the stewards and awarded a 5 place grid penalty for the race.

The 18 minute session came to a close and the bottom 6 cars knocked out of Q2 were;

17) #13 Pastor Maldonado- Lotus-Renault
18) #99 Adrian Sutil- Force India-Mercedes (5 place grid penalty)
19) #10 Kamui Kobayashi- Caterham-Renault
20) #17 Jules Bianchi- Marussia-Ferrari
21) #4 Max Chilton- Marussia-Ferrari
22) #9 Marcus Ericsson- Caterham-Renault

Hulkenberg carried on from where he left off in the second part of Qualifying; on a used set of softs he crossed the line with a time of 1:35.682. However, after achieving the fastest time in Q1, Nico was pushed down into 12th position overall and out of the final practice session. Speaking to BBC's Lee McKenzie, he highlighted a slight mistake at Turn 11 which cost him a couple of tenths but was confident of his chances for the race knowing the team's good long race pace.

A dispondent Vettel taking the press' questions after qualifying 11th

But the biggest casualty to fall was Sebastian Vettel who blamed poor downshifts for not getting into the top 10 shoot-out. Adrian Newey, Chief Technical Officer of Red Bull Racing, revealed that the spin Vettel sustained in practice led to a fault with the wastegate on the turbocharge that the team wasn't able to fix fully going into Qualifying.
The 4-time World Champion bluntly summed up the day saying they were 'not quick enough.'

Out of Q3 saw the following 6 cars;

11) #1 Sebastian Vettel- Red Bull Racing-Renault
12) #27 Nico Hulkenberg- Force India-Mercedes
13) #26 Daniil Kvyat- Torro Rosso-Renault
14) #25 Jean-Eric Vergne- Torro Rosso-Renault
15) #21 Esteban Gutierrez- Sauber-Ferrari
16) #8 Romain Grosjean- Lotus-Renault

Now that the 10 remaining drivers in final sessions of Qualifying start the race on the tyre they set their fastest lap on in the previous session, all cars are given licence to push than in previous years, where we saw teams opting to stay in the pits to save tyres.
As all cars were on track battling for Pole Position in the closing stages of Q3, the Force India of Sergio Perez, who seems to relish this circuit, and both Williams were quicker than Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen only able to put their Mclaren's 6th and 8th respectively with only minutes left.

Under the lights, it was Rosberg who shone brightest

Nico Rosberg went purple, setting a time of 1:33.185 that both Raikkonen who suffered a huge left lock-up on his timed lap, and Daniel Ricciardo, were unable to beat.
All eyes were on Lewis Hamilton. Under 3 tenths off his teammate's time, Hamilton began his last attempt to get Pole and be named the first Brit to take Pole Position in Bahrain. But a lock-up at Turn 1 made him abandon the lap.

Daniel Ricciardo was pleased with his performance, finishing an impressive 3rd. But his 10 place grid penalty from the previous race means he will start in 13th place.
Asked about Vettel's view regarding the Red Bull's not being quick enough, yet Ricciardo being able to drive the car on to the second row of the grid, the young Australian said;

''When he's talking, he's probably referring to the silver cars (Mercedes) in front of us. Red Bull's been a dominant car these last few years...bit of new territory for him.'' 

Those Silver Arrows lock out the front row of the grid, boosting their chances to make it 3 consecutive race wins and seeing them increase the gap from the rest of the field so early on. Capitalising on this dominance could prove invaluable as the other manufactures try to close the gap in performance for the European stages.

However, with the likes of Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenberg all looking to charge early through the cars in front of them, Mercedes may not have it all their own way.

This is how the cars will line up for The Bahrain Grand Prix;

1) #6 Nico Rosberg- Mercedes
2) #44 Lewis Hamilton- Mercedes
3) #3 Daniel Ricciardo- Red Bull Racing-Renault (10 place grid penalty)
4) #77 Valtteri Bottas- Williams Mercedes
5) #11 Sergio Perez- Force India-Mercedes
6) #7 Kimi Raikkonen- Ferrarri
7) #22 Jenson Button- Mclaren Mercedes
8) #19 Felipe Massa- Williams-Mercedes
9) #20 Kevin Magnussen- Mclaren-Mercedes
10) #14 Fernando Alonso- Ferrari
11) #1 Sebastian Vettel- Red Bull Racing-Renault
12) #27 Nico Hulkenberg- Force India-Mercedes
13) #26 Daniil Kvyat- Torro Rosso-Renault
14) #25 Jean-Eric Vergne- Torro Rosso-Renault
15) #21 Esteban Gutierrez- Sauber-Ferrari
16) #8 Romain Grosjean- Lotus-Renault
17) #13 Pastor Maldonado- Lotus-Renault
18) #99 Adrian Sutil- Force India-Mercedes (5 place grid penalty)
19) #10 Kamui Kobayashi- Caterham-Renault
20) #17 Jules Bianchi- Marussia-Ferrari
21) #4 Max Chilton- Marussia-Ferrari
22) #9 Marcus Ericsson- Caterham-Renault