Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result of the 3rd practice session :

1. N. Rosberg - Mercedes 01:17.779
2. L. Hamilton - Mercedes 01:18.380
3. F. Alonso - Ferrari 01:18.384
4. F. Massa - Williams 01:18.575
5. V. Bottas - Williams 01:18.611
6. K. Magnussen - McLaren - 01:18.756
7. D. Ricciardo - Red Bull - 01:18.769
8. K. Raikkonen - Ferrari - 01:18.842
9. S. Vettel Red - Bull - 01:18.890
10. N. Hulkenberg - Force India - 01:19.127
11. D. Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 01:19.131
12. J. Vergne - Toro Rosso - 01:19.470
13. J. Button - McLaren - 01:19.489
14. S. Perez - Force India - 01:19.505
15. E. Gutiérrez - Sauber - 01:19.601
16. R. Grosjean - Lotus - 01:20.078
17. J. Bianchi - Marussia - 01:20.198
18. P. Maldonado - Lotus - 01:20.466
19. A. Sutil - Sauber - 01:20.844
20. K. Kobayashi - Caterham - 01:21.018
21. M. Ericsson - Caterham - 01:23.077
22. M. Chilton - Marussia - 01:23.449

Rosberg tops final Hockenheim practice :
Nico Rosberg comfortably topped Saturday's final practice session for the German Grand Prix, setting a 1:17.779 to lead Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by six tenths. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished third. After a sweltering first day at Hockenheim, the heat showed no signs of letting up, with air and track temperatures reaching 30°C and 50°C. Williams duo Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa led the initial Soft tyre runs as drivers worked through further race preparation, but the Silver Arrows regained the top two places when the switch to Super Softs arrived. Rosberg ultimately enjoyed a cleaner run, pulling out 0.601 seconds on his main championship rival. Alonso was only four thousandths adrift of Hamilton, with Massa getting the better of Bottas for fourth.
Kevin Magnussen, whose successful evaluation of a new front wing on Friday saw the upgrade carried over to both McLarens for the rest of the weekend, wound up sixth, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo's leading Red Bull. Kimi Räikkönen finished eighth but again lost track time due to a fuel system issue. The Finn was the first driver to switch to the Super Soft rubber before being forced to pit, thus missing out on the best of the conditions. The top 10 positions were rounded out by the Force India of Nico Hülkenberg. Jenson Button finished 13th. Towards the rear of the field, Jules Bianchi put his Marussia ahead of Pastor Maldonado's Lotus and Adrian Sutil's Sauber, the latter suffering a hybrid system issue and only managing to complete six laps. The Caterhams and the second Marussia of Max Chilton, plagued by an electrical fault, brought up the rear.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:18.341
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:18.365 +0.024
3. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:18.443 +0.102
4. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:18.887 +0.546
5. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:18.960 +0.619
6. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:19.024 +0.683
7. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:19.221 +0.880
8. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:19.248 +0.907
9. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:19.329 +0.988
10. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:19.385 +1.044
11. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:19.417 +1.076
12. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:19.452 +1.111
13. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:19.581 +1.240
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:19.593 +1.252
15. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:19.760 +1.419
16. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:20.158 +1.817
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:20.358 +2.017
18. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:20.504 +2.163
19. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:21.328 +2.987
20. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:21.870 +3.529
21. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:21.898 +3.557
22. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:23.728 +5.387

Hamilton pips Rosberg in 2nd practice :
Lewis Hamilton pipped Formula 1 title rival Nico Rosberg to the fastest time on the opening day of practice for the German Grand Prix. Rosberg had been the faster of the pair early in the session while on the slower medium-compound Pirellis, outpacing Hamilton by just over three tenths of a second. But the world championship leader made a mistake at Turn 2 on his first flying lap on super-soft rubber, meaning he was unable to improve his time until his next lap. Hamilton then put in a 1m18.341s on his first flier, setting the fastest time in the middle sector, with Rosberg ending up 24 thousandths of a second slower. Mercedes later had a problem in the pits when Hamilton came in and the team had Rosberg's tyre's ready, meaning that it took time to get his correct tyres. With Hamilton sat in the pits, Rosberg came in and had to queue to wait for the team to put on the correct tyres amid concerns about his brakes overheating. Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull, just a tenth off the pace, with Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen a strong fourth, half-a-second down. Kevin Magnussen continued his recent run of impressive form with fifth fastest, just ahead of Williams driver Felipe Massa, who was briefly second fastest in the early stages of the super-soft runs. World champions Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were eighth and ninth fastest, the former failing to extract as big an improvement on super-soft rubber as those at the front. Sauber driver Adrian Sutil was 11th fastest for Sauber ahead of Daniil Kvyat, with Force India pairing failing to break the top 10 for the second grand prix Friday in a row in 13th and 14th place. Caterham had a troubled session, with both cars stopping on track. Kamui Kobayashi stopped with flames emerging from the rear of the car after completing 12 laps, while Marcus Ericsson was ordered to stop his car on track because of a drop in oil pressure after just three laps. But the team did get Ericsson's car back and he was able to return to the track in the final half hour, allowing him to set the 20th fastest time. With the ambient temperature at over 30C throughout the afternoon, track temperatures hit 58C, the highest so far this season.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 1st practice session :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:19.131
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:19.196 +0.065
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:19.423 +0.292
4. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:19.697 +0.566
5. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:19.833 +0.702
6. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:20.097 +0.966
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:20.105 +0.974
8. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:20.210 +1.079
9. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:20.337 +1.206
10. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:20.505 +1.374
11. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:20.542 +1.411
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:20.586 +1.455
13. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:20.592 +1.461
14. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:20.598 +1.467
15. Susie Wolff - Williams - 1:20.769 +1.638
16. Giedo van der Garde - Sauber - 1:20.782 +1.651
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:21.603 +2.472
18. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:21.854 +2.723
19. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:22.572 +3.441
20. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:22.982 +3.851
21. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:23.256 +4.125
22. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:23.299 +4.168

Rosberg leads Hamilton in first practice :
Nico Rosberg went fastest for Mercedes in first practice for the 2014 Formula 1 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.The Merceds driver went 0.065s quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was best of the rest, 0.292s off Rosberg's pace. The Mercedes pairing were among many to explore the track limits frequently as the drivers adjusted to life without the FRIC suspension systems that all teams have removed in advance of the weekend. Sebastian Vettel was fastest on 1m20.295s in the busy first half-hour of session as several drivers made use of the extra set of soft tyres that have to be handed back to Pirelli at the 30-minute mark. He improved that time during a multi-lap run later in the session, but by that time both Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo had gone even faster. At that point Mercedes finally showed its hand as first Rosberg, then Hamilton, went half a second faster than their rivals, a gap only Alonso could partially bridge - and then only with a committed lap. Hamilton was quickest of all in the first two sectors, but could not unite the two over the course of one lap, finishing on 1m19.196s to Rosberg's 1m19.131s.
Ferrari used the early part of the session to evaluate aero characteristics of Alonso's rear wing with flow-vis paint, but its programme was set back when Kimi Raikkonen had a water pump failure that took half an hour to resolve. Raikkonen returned to the track but, in spite of completing a respectable number of laps, set a best time of 1m20.210 that was only eighth fastest overall. McLaren sported a fresh look, with a new rear wing design featuring sophisticated detailing around the endplates, and a new race engineer for Jenson Button: Olympic medallist Tom Stallard. They had a reasonably encouraging session, Button completing 24 laps and Kevin Magnussen 32, finishing fifth and seventh quickest. Williams tester Susie Wolff enjoyed a lengthier stint in the cockpit than she did at Silverstone, despite a scare in the opening minutes when her FW36 slowed with a sensor issue. She closed out the session just two tenths of a second off the pace of Felipe Massa, well under the half-second benchmark the team had set. There was a substantial gap between the runners at the bottom end of the timesheets as Lotus, Caterham and Marussia languished over two seconds off the pace. Romain Grosjean had a rear wing failure that caused his DRS to stick open under braking in a high-speed section, while Max Chilton brought up the rear after a number of power unit problems.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

German F1 Grand Prix – Hockenheim circuit – 18-19 and 20 July
it will be the 61° edition (in the past 33 Hockenheim, 26 Nurburgring and 1 Avus)
The Nurburgring and Hockenheim circuits host the German GP on alternate years. The Nurburgring has the odd-numbered years so in this week-end the Grand Prix will take place in Hockenheim. I preferred the old layout, used until 2001. It was simple but very fast. In the past, the F1 cars had here a low aerodynamic downforce to optimize speed through the long straights; but with this set up, the final sector named Motodrom, was like "being on skids on snow.(JP Montoya)". In 2002 the circuit was shortened and for me it became worse, because has lost its principal characteristic. Now is a more conventional circuit and is similar to many others.
Pirelli has chosen for the German Gran Prix the “yellow stripe Soft tyre” and “red stripe supersoft tyre” as in Monaco, Montreal and Spielberg. Pirelli used the medium and soft tyres the last time F1 visited the Hockenheimring in 2012.
Two years ago the winning strategy was: 2 pit stops

.2011: Nürburgring Podium: Hamilton (Mc Laren) – 2° Alonso and 3° Webber.
Fastest lap: Hamilton – pole position : Webber

2012: Hockenheim Podium: Alonso (Ferrari) – 2° Button and 3° Raikkonen.
Fastest lap: Schumacher – Pole position : Alonso

2013: Nürburgring Podium: Vettel (Red Bull) – 2° Raikkonen. and 3° Grosjean.
Fastest lap: Alonso – pole position : Hamilton

Stats 2014 after 9 races
Wins: Hamilton (5); Rosberg (3); Ricciardo(1)
Pole positions: Hamilton (4); Rosberg (4); Massa(1)
Fastest Lap: Rosberg (3); Hamilton(2): Vettel, Raikkonen Massa and Perez (1)
Podium: Rosberg (8); Hamilton (7); Ricciardo(4); Vettel and Bottas(2); Magnussen, Button, Perez and Alonso(1)
Constructors: Mercedes(15); Red Bull(6); Mc Laren and Williams(2); Ferrari and Force India(1)

Rudy Caracciola is the pilot who has won more times the Grand Prix of Germany (Avus and Nurburgring)
6 editions :1926 -1928-1931-1932 -1937 and 1939 (5 times at the wheel of the Mercedes and one time at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo) Races run before the beginning of F1 world championship(1950)

Three places penalty in German GP for Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) for the collision with Maldonado (Lotus).

Mercedes will remain in Silverstone for 2 days of test, Tuesday with Rosberg and Wednesday with Hamilton.
No tests for Kimi Raikkonen after the crash in Silverstone : he still feels pain in left ankle and knee and will be
replaced by Jules Bianchi.

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 9 RACES :

1. Mercedes 326 points
2. Red Bull 168 points
3. Ferrari 106 points
4. Williams 103 points
5. Force India 91 points
6. McLaren 90 points
7. Toro Rosso 15 points
8. Lotus 8 points
9. Marussia 2 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 9 RACES :

1. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 165 points
2. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 161 points
3. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 98 points
4. F. Alonso ESP Ferrari 87 points
5. V. Bottas FIN Williams 73 points
6. S. Vettel GER Red Bull 70 points
7. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 63 points
8. J. Button GBR McLaren 55 points
9. K. Magnussen DEN McLaren 35 points
10. F. Massa BRA Williams 30 points
11. S. Perez MEX Force India 28 points
12. K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 19 points
13. J. E. Vergne FRA Toro Rosso 9 points
14. R. Grosjean FRA Lotus 8 points
15. D. Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso 6 points
16. J. Bianchi FRA Marussia 2 points

Result of the race :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:37.176
2. Valtteri Bottas - Williams + 30.135
3. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing + 46.495
4. Jenson Button - McLaren + 47.390
5. Sebastian - Vettel Red Bull Racing + 53.864 52
6. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari + 59.946
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren + 62.563
8. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India + 88.692
9. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso + 89.340
10. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso + 1 lap
11. Sergio Perez - Force India + 1 lap
12. Romain Grosjean - Lotus + 1 lap
13. Adrian Sutil - Sauber + 1 lap
14. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team + 1 lap
15. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham + 2 laps
16. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team + 2 laps
Did Not Finish :
17. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - engine
18. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - gearbox
19. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - unknown
20. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber -crash
21. Felipe Massa - Williams - crash damage
22. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari -crash

Fastest Lap : Lewis Hamilton - 1:37.176
Pitstop N. Hulkenberg : 1 ( lap 29 )
Bat. 2 Teams : Jean-Eric Vergne > Romain Grosjean
Grid Pos. F. Massa : DNF

Hamilton takes home win as Rosberg retires :
Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of a terminal gearbox problem for Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to claim victory in Sunday's British Grand Prix, slashing the title advantage to four points. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas claimed his second successive podium, while Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo completed the top three. As the lights went out at Silverstone, Rosberg maintained his lead into the first corner, while the McLaren drivers and Hamilton took advantage of Sebstian Vettel's sluggish start to move up the order.But drama ensued on the exit of The Loop, with Kimi Räikkönen, who had taken to the vast run-off area, snapping to the right when re-joining the circuit and slamming into the barriers. Williams driver Felipe Massa, just a few corners into his 200th Formula 1 race, did his best to avoid contact with Räikkönen, but the Brazilian spun and collected his rival, with both of their cars sustaining significant damage. Räikkönen hobbled away from his stricken Ferrari and embarked on a precautionary trip to the Medical Centre, while Massa crawled back to the pits with a heavily damaged left-rear where his retirement was confirmed. With the race red flagged, what was set to be an already sizeable delay grew longer as a result of required guardrail repairs. The restart, behind the Safety Car, came just over an hour after the initial getaway. As the Safety Car peeled in to the pits, McLaren driver Jenson Button, up to second after the first start, was caught napping and Rosberg pulled out almost two seconds by the time he reached the start/finish line.
Hamilton quickly set about deposing the McLaren pair, passing Kevin Magnussen on the first green lap before finding a way past Button one tour later. He then turned his attentions to team-mate Rosberg, but the latter was able to keep a comfortable margin throughout the opening stint, despite complaining of downshift problems. Rosberg was the first of the Silver Arrows drivers to enter the pits for fresh rubber, taking on another set of Medium tyres, with Hamilton going five laps longer and making the call to switch to the Hard compound. Despite the irritation another slow pit-stop, Hamilton delivered a series of rapid lap times to slash the gap to Rosberg. But before he could think about a pass the latter ground to a halt amid worsening gearbox issues. Hamilton inherited a massive lead over Bottas, and enjoyed a smooth run to his fifth win of the season. Bottas went one better than he managed in the Austrian Grand Prix by crossing the line in second, while Ricciardo fended off a late charge from Button, spurred on by the home crowd, to claim another podium. Sebastian Vettel finished fifth after a mammoth battle with Fernando Alonso, but the Ferrari driver – who lost five crucial seconds due to a stop/go penalty for lining up beyond his grid slot at the opening race start – reported over the radio that his Red Bull rival illegally used DRS directly after making a move stick at Copse. McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen added to the team's points haul in seventh, while Force India's Nico Hülkenberg stayed out of trouble to continue his 100 per cent scoring record for the season. The top 10 positions were rounded out by Toro Rosso team-mates Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Éric Vergne. In addition to Rosberg, Massa and Räikkönen, Esteban Gutiérrez, who sustained severe car damage after tipping Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado into the air, and Marcus Ericsson (technical-related) failed to finish.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Accident of Kiki Räikkönen and red flag in the first lap.
The race will be continued at 14:30.

Edit.: It seems that the race will be delayed a few minutes more.

Edit.: The race definitely will restart at 15:05.

Mr_Niceguy wrote:Thx Daz, you're no help whatsoever

I aim to please btw weather report for where i live says, dry today and then rain next 5 days, so i hope this explains british weather better

Thx Daz, you're no help whatsoever

Mr_Niceguy wrote:hmmm, anyboy know the weatherforecast for tomorow? rain or shine, Vettel or Rosberg

UK mid summer, so go for rain

I checked the weather report and it shows it will rain not long after the race ends, so think dry race but UK so expect wet

Three drivers penalized after the end of qualifications : Gutierrez (Sauber, 14th) will start from last place, Maldonado (Lotus, 15th)
from 20th place (car remained without fuel) and Chilton (Marussia, 13th) from 17th place.

hmmm, anyboy know the weatherforecast for tomorow? rain or shine, Vettel or Rosberg

Result of the qualifying :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:35.766
2. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:37.386 +1.620
3. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:38.200 +2.434
4. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:38.329 +2.563
5. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:38.417 +2.651
6. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:39.232 +3.466
7. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:40.457 +4.691
8. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:40.606 +4.840
9. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:40.707 +4.941
10. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:40.855 +5.089
Q2
11. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:38.496 +2.730
12. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:38.709 +2.943
13. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:39.800 +4.034
14. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:40.912 +5.146
15. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:44.018 +8.252
16. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - no time
Q1
17. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:45.318 +9.552
18. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:45.695 +9.929
19. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:45.935 +10.169
20. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:46.684 +10.918
21. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:49.421 +13.655
22. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:49.625 +13.859

Qual : 1:35.766
Pole : Nico Rosberg
Team Bat. : Valtteri Bottas > Felipe Massa
Grid Pos. Adrian Sutil : 16th place

Rosberg grabs pole in dramatic qualifying :
Nico Rosberg mastered changing weather conditions to claim pole position during Saturday's qualifying session for the British Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver posted a 1:35.766 on Medium tyres in a drying shootout, placing him 1.6 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. McLaren's Jenson Button finished third. Rosberg's team-mate and championship rival, Lewis Hamilton, had held the advantage in the early stages of the final qualifying segment, putting in a solid first lap as the track continued to dry from previous showers. Further light rain had looked set to end any chances of improvements, but it eased off and the majority of drivers opted to embark on a final run. Force India driver Nico Hülkenberg held the top spot for a few seconds as lap times tumbled, but Button, Vettel and Rosberg all went quicker than the German with their own last-gasp efforts in a thrilling end to the session. Kevin Magnussen took fifth in the second McLaren, ahead of Hamilton, who lost out amid his rivals' late gains. Sergio Pérez capped off a strong session for Force India in seventh position, while the remaining Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo and the Toro Rossos of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Éric Vergne completed the top 10 places. Marussia performed heroics to get both cars into Q2, with Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton finishing 12th and 13th respectively, just behind Romain Grosjean's Lotus. Chilton, however, drops five places due to a gearbox change. The Saubers of Esteban Gutiérrez and Adrian Sutil and the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado were the others to drop out in the second phase. Sutil was unable to compete in Q2 after spinning out and getting beached in the gravel at the end of Q1, Gutiérrez lost control of his car at Luffield and Maldonado ground to a halt late on. Gutiérrez will fall to the back of the grid for the 10-place grid penalty he picked up at the Austrian Grand Prix. The opening qualifying third yielded plenty of drama, with the Williams and Ferrari drivers getting caught out by the conditions and failing to make the Q2 cut. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were the first to fall in 16th and 17th, just ahead of Fernando Alonso, who spun out on his final timed attempt, and Kimi Räikkönen. Caterham drivers Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi failed to reach the 107 per cent time at the back of the field, meaning their participation in Sunday afternoon's race now relies on the stewards' discretion.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi