Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

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

Result of the 1st practice session :

1. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:44.355
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:44.407 +0.052
3. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:44.986 +0.631
4. Sergio Perez - Force India 1:45.146 +0.791
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:45.233 +0.878
6. Carlos Sainz jr -Toro Rosso 1:45.488 +1.133
7. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:45.691 +1.336
8. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:45.746 +1.391
9. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 1:46.203 +1.848
10. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:46.215 +1.860
11. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:46.231 +1.876
12. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:46.333 +1.978
13. Felipe Nasr - Sauber 1:46.747 +2.392
14. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 1:47.443 +3.088
15. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 1:48.006 +3.651
16. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 1:48.096 +3.741
17. Jolyon Palmer Lotus 1:49.094 +4.739
18. Roberto Merhi Manor F1 Team 1:52.994 +8.639
19. Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:54.272 +9.917
20. Will Stevens Manor F1 Team 1:58.254 +13.899

Nico Hulkenberg tops disrupted first practice :
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg topped the timesheet at the end of a truncated first practice session for the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix. What was described by the FIA as "a significant diesel spillage" on track shortly prior to the start of FP1 resulted in a 30-minute delay. With the circuit being prepared for action, a tanker suffered a failure that resulted in the spill through turns eight and nine. Initial attempts to cover the diesel with cement dust proved fruitless, which forced the marshals into a more thorough clean-up operation as they washed down the asphalt. Once the action finally got under way the installation laps took place primarily on intermediates to cope with the wet part of the track, with Williams duo Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas even opting for full wets.
There were, however, further issues for the 20-strong field to contend with as most complained of the track being very dusty in the dry parts, and in turn slippery where the washed sections were slow to dry out. Fernando Alonso was the first to post a timed lap 20 minutes into the shortened hour-long session, stopping the clock at a fraction just over two minutes on what was a very tentative outing on soft tyres. Gaining in confidence Alonso swiftly lowered that mark by seven seconds over the next two laps before Sauber's Marcus Ericsson embarked on a steady run of laps to move within four tenths of a second of the Spaniard. Alonso's team-mate Jenson Button then set a slightly more representative time soon after of 1:50.920s before spots of rain threatened to add to mix of a disrupted session. But the rain forecast for FP2 held off, ensuring for the last 10 minutes of the session at least there was some meaningful running. Come the conclusion it was Hulkenberg who led the way with a lap of 1:44.355s, a full second off the best FP1 time from Mercedes' Nico Rosberg a year ago ahead of the debut Russian race. It was Rosberg who had to settle for second best, finishing just 0.052s adrift, with Sebastian Vettel third quickest in his Ferrari, 0.631s off the pace. The German was followed by the second Force India of Sergio Perez and then Daniel Ricciardo in his Red Bull, the Australian the only other driver to finish within a second of Hulkenberg. Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr was sixth quickest, 1.133s back, followed by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes a further two tenths of a second down, and with the reigning champion incurring a late spin at the penultimate corner on what would have been a faster lap. Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top 10, the latter 1.860s adrift. Button finished 11th and Alonso 14th, the duo sandwiching Felipe Massa and Felipe Nasr. Lotus reserve Jolyon Palmer, standing in for Haas-bound Romain Grosjean, was down in 17th, 4.7s back, with Will Stevens bringing up the rear for Manor, with the Briton almost 14 seconds behind.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

The Russian Grand Prix - Sochi International Circuit – second edition (9-10 and 11 october)
The circuit is built around the Sochi Olympic Park, but I do not like the layout of this track.
Pirelli has selected a softer choice than last year.
Instead of medium and soft compound as in 2014,
they will bring for this week-end yellow soft tyre and the red supersoft tyre

2014 Podium: Hamilton (Mercedes) – 2° Rosberg and 3° Bottas
Fastest lap: Bottas
pole position : Hamilton (Mercedes) 1.38.513 (soft tyre)
Saturday, the pole position time will be marked on supersoft tires, so it will be, in case of dry weather conditions,
certainly better than last year
2014 Pit stop strategy: only one. This is the reason why for this week-end, Pirelli has nominated a less conservative choice of tyres.

Stats of the season
Wins: Hamilton 8: Roberg and Vettel 3.
Pole position: Hamilton 11 – Rosberg 2 – Vettel 1.
Fastest lap: Hamilton 6 – Rosberg and Ricciardo 3 – Raikkonen 2

stats saturday F1 game

Grid position for Perez: 14°-14°-15°-11°-18°-7°-10°-13°-11°-13°-4°-7°-13°-9° after 14 races.
(average start position for Sergio Perez: 11,35)

2015: grid position of Perez
One time (from 1st- to 5 position)
4 times (from 6° to 10° position)
8 times (from 11° to 15° position)
One time (from 16° to 20° position)

Qualifying comparison 2015: Red Bull drivers
Ricciardo vs Kvyat (9-5)

Average start position: Ricciardo 8.21
Average start position: Kvyat 10.79

Tv program for this weekends GP race in Russia :

Friday 09/10 :
1st practice session : 09.00u - 10.30u CET
2nd practice session : 13.00u - 14.30u CET

Saturday 10/10 :
3rd practice session : 11.00u - 12.00u CET
Qualifying : 14.00u - 15.00u CET

Sunday 11/10 :
Race : 13.00u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the Japanese race :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:36.145 - 1h28
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:37.147 + 18.964
3. Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari 1:37.906 + 20.850
4. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:38.035 + 33.768
5. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:38.241 + 36.746
6. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:38.331 + 55.559
7. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 1:38.167 + 1m12.298
8. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 1:38.136 + 1m.13.575
9. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso 1:38.237 + 1m35.315
10. Carlos Sainz jr - Toro Rosso 1:38.686 + 1 lap
11. Fernando Alonso - McLaren 1:39.614 + 1 lap
12. Sergio Perez - Force India 1:38.591 + 1 lap
13. Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing 1:38.366 + 1 lap
14. Marcus Ericsson - Sauber 1:39.343 + 1 lap
15. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:38.898 + 1 lap
16. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:40.121 + 1 lap
17. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:38.595 + 2 laps
18. Alexander Rossi - Manor F1 Team 1:41.467 + 2 laps
19. Will Stevens - Manor F1 Team 1:41.452 + 2 laps
Did Not Finish :
20. Felipe Nasr - Sauber 1:40.088

Fastest Lap : Lewis Hamilton - 1:36.145
Pitstop A. Rossi : 2
Bat 2 Teams : S. Vettel > V. Bottas
Grid Pos. D. Ricciardo : 15th place

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 14 RACES :

1. Mercedes 506 points
2. Ferrari 337 points
3. Williams 208 points
4. Red Bull 139 points
5. Force India 77 points
6. Lotus 60 points
7. Toro Rosso 44 points
8. Sauber 26 points
9. McLaren 17 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 14 RACES :

1. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 277 points
2. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 229 points
3. S. Vettel GER Ferrari 218 points
4. K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 119 points
5. V. Bottas FIN Williams 111 points
6. F. Massa BRA Williams 97 points
7. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 73 points
8. D. Kvyat RUS Red Bull 66 points
9. R. Grosjean FRA Lotus 44 points
10. S. Perez MEX Force India 39 points
11. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 38 points
12. M. Verstappen NED Renault 32 points
13. F. Nasr BRA Sauber 17 points
14. P. Maldonado VEN Lotus 16 points
15. C. Sainz jr. SPA Toro Rosso 12 points
16. F. Alonso SPA McLaren 11 points
17. M. Ericsson SWE Sauber 9 points
18. J. Button GBR McLaren 6 points