#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






 

Silver Arrows Reign

Hamilton's Mercedes lighting up the timesheets on both Practice sessions.

Mercedes dominance showed no sign of wavering today as both W05 cars were fastest in Free Practice 1 and 2 of Friday's session at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets on each occasion, edging out German teammate Nico Rosberg by 0.231 seconds and 0.365 seconds respectively.

Racing underneath the floodlights as dusk set upon the track, Lewis spoke to formula1.com of the importance of the evening session as Bahrain celebrates hosting it's first Grand Prix 10 years ago by staging a night race,

"The focus today was on the second session as the timing and conditions reflects that of the rest of the weekend and the difference in temperature between the sessions was quite large. The key was not to react too much to that change in terms of our approach to set-up and we seemed to manage that well."

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso consistently had the honour of being the best of the rest in each session, but with over 1 seconds difference between himself and Hamilton in FP2, the Scuderia don't look as if they can challenge for Pole Position tomorrow.

Daniel Ricciardo out for 'revenge' this weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo's atrocious misfortune in the previous 2 races at Australia and Malaysia are in need of being reversed this weekend; hopefully converting such strong and impressive starts to his Red Bull career into points to show for it once the chequered flag drops on Sunday.

However, with a 10 grid penalty even before an engine roared in Sakhir for an unsafe pit release in the previous Grand Prix, the 24 year old has his work cut out for him. Yet, a strong 4th in FP2 can be a positive to take into FP3 and Qualifying.

Mclaren's Jenson Button celebrates his 250th Grand Prix start, and this magnificent milestone looks to be one that could see him officially on the podium for the first time since the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. His fastest lap time of 1:35.528, which saw him 6th in FP2, is a performance the team will want to build upon to showcase themselves as real contenders for a trophy.

Rob Smedley

Off the track, Rob Smedley reunited with Felipe Massa at Williams after both left Ferrari last year.
Rob, who was Massa's race engineer from 2006-2013, begins his new position as Head of Vehicle Performance- working under Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds.
And Rob's presence seemed to be a positive influence on Felipe, finishing 5th fastest in FP2.