Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result of the 3rd practice session :

The third free practice for the Grand Prix of America started at the normal 17.00 hours CET . However, the intense rain is still not really diminished in Austin, so the organization has required the riders to ride on the rain tires.

It is currently still uncertain what will happen with the qualification. This session will be held later today, but it is possible that the third free practice session will determine the starting grid. If it rains too hard to qualify, then the third training is used as a qualifier.


1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:59.517
2. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 2:00.380 +0.863
3. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 2:00.496 +0.979
4. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 2:00.523 +1.006
5. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso 2:00.687 +1.170
6. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 2:00.694 +1.177
7. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 2:00.785 +1.268
8. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 2:01.008 +1.491
9. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 2:01.474 +1.957
10. Felipe Massa - Williams 2:02.199 +2.682
11. Sergio Perez - Force India 2:02.660 +3.143
12. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 2:02.825 +3.308
13. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 2:02.921 +3.404
14. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 2:03.375 +3.858
15. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber 2:04.399 +4.882
16. Jenson Button - McLaren 2:05.283 +5.766
17. Will Stevens Manor - F1 Team 2:05.378 +5.861
18. Alexander Rossi - Manor F1 Team 2:05.607 +6.090
19. Felipe Nasr - Sauber 2:06.792 +7.275
20. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 2:09.994 +10.477

Lewis Hamilton fastest in very wet final practice session :
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton set the pace in a rain-hit final practice for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Heavy rain lashed Austin on Saturday casting doubt as to whether the session at the Circuit of the Americas would run on schedule.
But after sending the safety car out to assess conditions, officials deemed the track clear for use and practice began on time.
With second practice on Friday cancelled because of bad weather, there was plenty of running in the opening half off the session before the rain intensified. With rivers running across the track and puddles forming in places, the teams were informed by race control that intermediates were could not be used. Nico Rosberg was among the first drivers to get caught out by the conditions, spinning at Turn 3 and tapping the barrier, which broke his front wing. His Mercedes team-mate Hamilton also had a moment, catching the rear-end as it stepped out at Turn 13 before continuing. However, the reigning world champion managed to get a flying lap in shortly before conditions started to worsen, moving himself to the top of the order. Sebastian Vettel had a messy session, spinning first at Turn 19 and then Turn 9 and then complaining about aquaplaning as conditions worsened in the final half of the session. The Ferrari driver did manage to set the second fastest time of the session though, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz Jr. There were no improvements in the final 20 minutes, but several drivers headed out on track to perform practice starts, particularly as there's a chance the start of Sunday's race could be wet. Daniil Kvyat was sixth with Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa completing the top 10. Should qualifying not be able to take place at any point, the regulations suggest the grid will take the order in which they were classified in final practice. Rain is expected to continue throughout Saturday, but even if qualifying is unable to be completed as scheduled, it could run on Sunday ahead of the race, as was the case for the Australian Grand Prix in 2013.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Update

The 3rd practice session has started at 17.00u CET , but the condition is

Here is a photo from yesterday


[hidden image - please register]

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Update : just read some " live " info on different sites ... it's raining more heavy than yesterday , the condition is worse ...it will be more likely/possible that the 3rd practice session will not be drivin and also the qualifying will not be done today ...this will mean that there will be no test session at all anymore and that the qualifying will be done on sunday .... as soon as we will know more we will bring it out !!!!!!


" Reported by Adam Cooper :
However as things stand the rain is so heavy that it looks unlikely we will get a break in the weather all day "



Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Update

2nd practice session canceld because of the horribel weather...no possibility for Helicopter to get in the air because of this weather !!!!

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

2nd practice session ...heavy rain , thunder , heavy wind

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of a 1st wet practice session :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:53.989
2. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 1:55.224 +1.235
3. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:55.592 +1.603
4. Carlos Sainz jr -Toro Rosso 1:55.667 +1.678
5. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:55.693 +1.704
6. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:55.710 +1.721
7. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 1:55.969 +1.980
8. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:56.326 +2.337
9. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 1:56.839 +2.850
10. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:56.866 +2.877
11. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:57.081 +3.092
12. Sergio Perez - Force India 1:57.139 +3.150
13. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:57.495 +3.506
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:57.518 +3.529
15. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 1:58.319 +4.330
16. Raffaele Marciello - Sauber 1:59.431 +5.442
17. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber 1:59.743 +5.754
18. Alexander Rossi - Manor F1 Team 2:01.154 +7.165
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team 2:01.907 +7.918
20. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - no time

2nd practice session at 21.00u CET !!!

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Schedule for this weekends GP :

Friday 23/10 :
1st practice session : 17.00u - 18.30u CET
2nd practice session : 21.00u - 22.30u CET

Saturday 24/10 :
3rd practice session : 17.00u - 18.00u CET
Qualifying : 20.00u - 21.00u CET

Sunday 25/10 :
Race : 20.00u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Circuit of the Americas – Austin(Texas) – 4th edition; it was inaugurated in 2012
23-24-25 October 2015 – 16th round of the season.

It is a challenging track, with ups and downs and various techniques curves. The first corner goes steeply uphill and is very interesting. The next section is the best part of the track. the curves Three to Nine are a long set of corners similar to the Esses at Suzuka or the Maggots Becketts Chapel sector at Silverstone.

For this week end, Pirelli will bring Soft (Yellow-marked) and Medium (White-marked) compounds,
Last year Lewis Hamilton won from second place on the grid with a two-stop strategy:
Start on soft tyre - (lap n.16) medium tyre and again(lap n. 33) medium tyre.
(in previous years, the winning strategy in Austin was only one pit stop but with different tyre compounds)

2012 Podium: Hamilton (Mc Laren) – 2° Vettel and 3° Alonso
Fastest lap: Vettel (Red Bull) – Vettel (Red Bull) 1.35.657 (medium tyre)

2013 Podium: Vettel (Red Bull) – 2° Grosjean and 3° Webber
Fastest lap: Vettel (Red Bull) – Vettel (Red Bull) 1.36.338 (medium tyre)

2014 Podium: Hamilton (Mercedes) – 2° Rosberg and 3° Ricciardo
Fastest lap: Vettel (Red Bull) – Rosberg (Mercedes) 1.36.067 (Soft Tyre)

Weather forecast: high chance of rain during the week end

Breaking news:
Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will take 10-place grid penalties for the race because the
team chose to introduce an updated power unit.
The new engine will be the fifth of the season for Vettel and Raikkonen and therefore there will be the penalties for both pilots

LATEST NEWS :

Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) got a 30'' penalty for causing a collision with Valtteri Bottas (Williams) in the last lap of the race.
Raikkonen dropped in 8th place in the final result of the Russian GP, with Kvyat (Red Bull) 5th, Nasr (Sauber) 6th and Maldonado (Lotus) 7th.

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 15 RACES :

1. Mercedes 531 points 2015 WORLD CHAMPIONS

2. Ferrari 359 points
3. Williams 220 points
4. Red Bull 149 points
5. Force India 92 points
6. Lotus 66 points
7. Toro Rosso 44 points
8. Sauber 34 points
9. McLaren 20 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 15 RACES :

1. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 302 points
2. S. Vettel GER Ferrari 236 points
3. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 229 points
4. K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 123 points
5. V. Bottas FIN Williams 111 points
6. F. Massa BRA Williams 109 points
7. D. Kvyat RUS Red Bull 76 points
8. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 73 points
9. S. Perez MEX Force India 54 points
10. R. Grosjean FRA Lotus 44 points
11. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 38 points
12. M. Verstappen NED Toro Rosso 32 points
13. F. Nasr BRA Sauber 25 points
14. P. Maldonado VEN Lotus 22 points
15. C. Sainz jr. ESP Toro Rosso & F. Alonso ESP McLaren 12 points
17. M. Ericsson SWE Sauber 9 points
18. J. Button GBR McLaren 8 points

Result from the GP of Russia :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1h37m11.024
2. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:40.071 + 5.953
3. Sergio Perez - Force India + 28.918
4. Felipe Massa - Williams + 38.831
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:40.294 + 42.358
6. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing tijd + 47.566
7. Felipe Nasr - Sauber gee + 56.508
8. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus geen + 1m01.088
9. Jenson Button - McLaren + 1m19.467
10. Fernando Alonso - McLaren + 1m26.210
11. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso + 1m28.424
12. Valtteri Bottas - Williams
13. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team + 1 lap
14. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team + 2 laps
Did Not Finish :
15. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing
16. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus
18. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP
19. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India
20. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber

Fastest Lap : Sebastian Vettel - 1:40.071
Pitstop J. Button : 1
Bat 2 Teams : Max Verstappen > Daniel Ricciardo
Grid Pos. F.Massa : 4th place

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the qualifying :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:37.113
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:37.433 +0.320
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:37.912 +0.799
4. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:37.965 +0.852
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:38.348 +1.235
6. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:38.659 +1.546
7. Sergio Perez Force - India 1:38.691 +1.578
8. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 1:38.787 +1.674
9. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 1:38.924 +1.811
10. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:39.728 +2.615
Q2
11. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 1:39.214 +2.101
12. Felipe Nasr - Sauber 1:39.323 +2.210
13. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:39.763 +2.650
14. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 1:39.811 +2.698
15. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:39.895 +2.782
16. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 1:40.144 +3.031
Q1
17. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber 1:40.660 +3.547
18. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team 1:43.693 +6.580
19. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team 1:43.804 +6.691
20. Carlos Sainz jr -Toro Rosso -no time

Qualifying Time : 1:37.113
Pole : Nico Rosberg
Team Bat . : D. Ricciardo > D. Kvyat
Grid Pos. S.Perez : 7th place

KInd Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of a 3rd horrorfying end of the practice session :

FP3 stopped early due to Carlos Sainz Jr crash :
Final practice ahead of the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix was brought to a halt 15 minutes early following a heavy accident involving Carlos Sainz Jr. With 22 minutes of the hour-long session remaining Sainz ploughed his Toro Rosso deep into a barrier at Turn 13, the culmination of one of the fastest parts of the Sochi Autodrom circuit. The Spaniard's car lost control under braking for Turn 13, slamming into the outside concrete wall before heading straight on into the Tecpro barrier at the end of the run-off area.
Due to a loss of power on the car there was also no communication available from pit to driver, preventing the team from getting an update on Sainz's condition. The FIA took the decision not to restart the session as marshals and medics continued to attend to Sainz, while there were initially no replays of the shunt. Sainz was eventually removed from his car, placed on a stretcher and into an awaiting ambulance, the 21-year-old appearing to give a wave of his hand and a thumbs-up in the process. Following what were two heavily disrupted Friday sessions, the initial 45 minutes of FP3 prior to the accident were hectic. It meant that from the off there was a mix of the tyre compounds used, with some drivers taking the super-soft tyres immediately. Temperatures, however, were hardly ideal, with the track at just 22 degrees and air flitting between 15 and 16 degrees, ensuring for all concerned that getting heat into the tyres would pose a problem. Valtteri Bottas initially led the way on softs with a lap of 1m42.829s, the Finn then consistently improving on his run before lowering the benchmark to 1:40.617s. Twenty minutes into the session Williams team-mate Felipe Massa was Bottas's closest rival, 0.355s off the pace, with the rest of the field clearly running higher fuel loads as Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third, but just over two seconds back. Switching to the supersofts, Bottas shaved just over three tenths of a second off his best time with a lap of 1m40.275s, before Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes became the first to dip below 100 seconds with a 1m38.941s on super-softs. Bottas responded by posting faster times in the first two sectors, only to blot his copybook with an error in the final sector and finish three tenths of a second off the pace. Rosberg then went quicker again with a lap of 1m38.561s before a lock up from Lewis Hamilton in sector one on his maiden super-soft run compromised his lap, with the reigning champion finishing 0.802s down on his team-mate. Outside of the top three of Rosberg, Bottas and Hamilton, Force India's Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished fourth and sixth quickest, sandwiching Massa. McLaren duo Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were seventh and ninth, with Pastor Maldonado eighth, and Felipe Nasr 10th, 2.668s back. Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel finished 12th and 16th, the latter just over four seconds down.

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:38.561
2. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:39.287 +0.726
3. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:39.363 +0.802
4. Sergio Perez - Force India 1:39.616 +1.055
5. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:39.875 +1.314
6. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:39.917 +1.356
7. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:40.581 +2.020
8. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 1:40.767 +2.206
9. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 1:41.200 +2.639
10. Felipe Nasr - Sauber 1:41.229 +2.668
11. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 1:41.358 +2.797
12. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:42.297 +3.736
13. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 1:42.371 +3.810
14. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber 1:42.450 +3.889
15. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso 1:42.683 +4.122
16. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:42.686 +4.125
17. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 1:43.089 +4.528
18. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:43.347 +4.786
19. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team 1:46.767 +8.206
20. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team 1:47.249 +8.688

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd practice session :

1. Felipe Massa - Williams 2:00.458
2. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 2:00.659 +0.201
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 2:00.688 +0.230
4. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 2:00.806 +0.348
5. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 2:01.077 +0.619
6. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 2:01.418 +0.960
7. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso 2:02.805 +2.347
8. Jenson Button - McLaren 2:02.845 +2.387
9. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - no time
10. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - no time
11. Sergio Perez - Force India - no time
12. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - no time
13. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber - no time
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - no time
15. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - no time
16. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - no time
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - no time
18. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team - no time
19. Felipe Nasr - Sauber - no time
20. Roberto Merhi - Manor F1 Team - no time

Felipe Massa fastest as rain spoils Friday F1 practice :
Williams Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa set the pace in a rain-hit second practice for the Russian Grand Prix, as only eight drivers set a time. The Brazilian clocked a 2m00.458s on the full wet tyres at the Sochi Autodrom as rain fell throughout the session.
Drivers bemoaned the slippery conditions, with several getting caught out by the large amounts of standing water on the track. It compounded a frustrating day for the pitlane as a "significant diesel spillage" disrupted the start of first practice. As a result, teams will have to complete a packed-programme in final practice on Saturday to make up for lost time. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was second quickest, ahead of the second Williams of Valtteri Botta, both setting their best laps late on. Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen, who was told he couldn't do a flying lap towards the end of the session because the team needed to save tyres as a precaution for Sunday's race, was fourth. Fernando Alonso was fifth, completing 12 laps, but his session ended slightly early when McLaren instructed him to return to the pits having discovered a problem with his car. Daniil Kvyat, Carlos Sainz Jr and Jenson Button were the other drivers who set a time. Six drivers, including world champion Lewis Hamilton, ventured out but did not complete a timed lap while a further six chose to not leave the garage at all.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi