Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

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

Result of a 3rd " wet " practice session :

1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:52.522
2. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:52.631 +0.109
3. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:53.044 +0.522
4. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:53.566 +1.044
5. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:53.585 +1.063
6. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:53.654 +1.132
7. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:53.911 +1.389
8. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:54.041 +1.519
9. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:54.217 +1.695
10. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:54.558 +2.036
11. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:54.602 +2.080
12. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:54.761 +2.239
13. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:55.003 +2.481
14. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:55.688 +3.166
15. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:56.918 +4.396
16. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:57.091 +4.569
17. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team 1:57.566 +5.044
18. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:57.914 +5.392
19. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - no time
20. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - no time
21. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - no time
22. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - no time

Sebastian Vettel leads Red Bull 1-2 in final practice :
Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo topped the timesheets for Red Bull during a damp third Formula 1 practice session for the 2014 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Vettel, who had a moment at Becketts shortly after setting his session-topping 1m52.522s, edged his team-mate by 0.109s. Both drivers completed just six laps. Running conditions were very different after overnight rain, and the only consistent factor was the gusting nature of the wind, now blowing from the northwest rather than the south. The track briefly began to dry during the opening minutes of the session before a fresh bank of rain blew in, and most teams therefore took a conservative approach. Neither Williams drivers set a time until the final minutes, and both Mercedes drivers aborted potentially quick laps before ducking back in to the pits. Lewis Hamilton was provisionally half a second quicker than Vettel before running off-track at Stowe and heading immediately to the garage. Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean were third and fourth fastest, Maldonado completing 10 laps while Grosjean called it a day after spinning at the exit of Club and nearly hitting the pit wall.
Adrian Sutil was fifth quickest, setting his best lap on intermediate tyres just before the end of the session. Sauber team-mate Esteban Gutierrez struggled to match Sutil's enterprise under braking and finished outside the top 10. Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was an impressive sixth fastest and ran the most number of laps (15), encountering a wide variety of track conditions and testing the limits of his car on a number of occasions. Kimi Raikkonen was the only Ferrari driver to set a time, though he completed just five laps, with Fernando Alonso and both Mercedes at the foot of the timing screens without a flying lap to their names. Max Chilton was another not to set a time, the Briton suffering a terminal gearbox problem on his installation lap that required the team to fit a new gearbox, which will mean a five-place grid penalty.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:34.508
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:34.736 +0.228
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:35.244 +0.736
4. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:35.511 +1.003
5. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:35.627 +1.119
6. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:36.016 +1.508
7. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:36.228 +1.720
8. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:36.299 +1.791
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:36.554 +2.046
10. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso -1:36.583 +2.075
11. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:36.671 +2.163
12. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:36.778 +2.270
13. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:36.951 +2.443
14. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:37.064 +2.556
15. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:37.097 +2.589
16. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:37.236 +2.728
17. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:37.449 +2.941
18. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:37.520 +3.012
19. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:38.658 +4.150
20. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham - 1:39.068 +4.560
21. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:39.224 +4.716
22. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:39.762 +5.254

Flip Flop :
Nico Rosberg was quickest in Free Practice 1 while his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton clocked the second best time, but the order flip flopped in FP2 with Hamilton on top and Rosberg next. Ferrari was the best of the rest with Fernando Alonso third ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Centigrade.) Max Chilton led the way in his Marussia as FP2 began on a sunny and windy afternoon. Missing from action was Felipe Massa who had crashed his Williams in FP1 and mechanics were still repairing the car. The Williams crew had also changed the engine in the car that had had oil pressure woes when Susie Wolff drove it briefly in FP1. Now Valtteri Bottas was back in the car and out on the track. Bottas set the first quick time - 1:39.032 - but Daniil Kvyat beat that with a 1:38.075 in his Toro Rosso. And then Jenson Button clocked a 1:37.608 in his McLaren. He then lowered that to a 1:37.414 11 minutes into the session, Bottas clocked a 1:37.363 only to have Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) beat that with a 1:36.024. Kevin Magnussen slotted his McLaren into second place with a 1:37.264.
15 minutes into the session, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) took over second with a time of 1:36.222. His teammate Lewis Hamilton was now third with a 1:36.694. At this stage the drivers were all on Pirelli's hard compound tires - the Prime - with the orange sidewalls. Later the drivers would try out the medium compound (the Option tire) with the white sidewalls. 20 minutes into the session, Hamilton topped the timing screens with a 1:35.424 while Rosberg now had set a 1:35.645. 25 minutes into the session, Daniil Kvyat did a brilliant job pulling his Toro Rosso back from almost spinning. 28 minutes into the session, Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) jumped to second with a 1:35.511. 30 minutes into the session, the top six were: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Rosberg, Alonso, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Magnussen. 31 minutes into the session, Massa in the repaired Williams was up to eighth in the times. Several drivers were now using the medium tires including Esteban Gutierrez who slotted his Sauber into sixth place. 34 minutes into the session, Romain Grosjean bounced off the track at Turn 7 and continued in his Lotus. 39 minutes into the session, Rosberg, on mediums, clocked a 1:34.736. Hamilton, also on mediums, came back with a 1:34.508. 44 minutes into the session, Alonso took his Ferrari with the medium tires to third place with a 1:35.244. Midway through FP2 the top six were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Ricciardo, Vettel and Bottas. Button, Magnussen, Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) rounded out the top 10. With 42 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo did a run on the mediums and said it was taking a while to get them up to temperature. He did not improve on his time set on the hard compound tires. With most of their quick laps over, the drivers and teams now began working on long runs on the medium and hard tires. With 30 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton stopped on track with engine and gearbox problem on his Mercedes. With 25 minutes remaining in the session, the top 10 were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Ricciardo, Vettel, Bottas, Button, Magnussen, Raikkonen and Vergne, so it was unchanged from the midpoint of FP2. Down at the bottom was Jules Bianchi who had completed just four laps in his Marussia. With 13 minutes remaining in the session, the left front wheel on Vergne's car tried to part company with the hub. He managed to get the car to a halt before anything worse happened.
With 6 minutes remaining in the session, bits of the engine cover on Bottas' car started to tear away. Meanwhile, Marcus Ericsson's Caterham had suffered a major engine failure. There was little further drama as the session wound down and the top 10 remained the same. Still, the track was busy with most drivers out there doing their long runs.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 1st practice session :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:35.424
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:36.155 +0.731
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari -1:36.263 +0.839
4. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:36.623 +1.199
5. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:36.703 +1.279
6. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:36.921 +1.497
7. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:36.963 +1.539
8. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:37.175 +1.751
9. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:37.227 +1.803
10. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:37.231 +1.807
11. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:37.720 +2.296
12. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:37.910 +2.486
13. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:38.056 +2.632
14. Daniel Juncadella - Force India - 1:38.083 +2.659
15. Giedo van der Garde - Sauber - 1:38.328 +2.904
16. Jules Bianchi - Marussia F1 Team - 1:38.917 +3.493
17. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:39.461 +4.037
18. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team - 1:39.814 +4.390
19. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham - 1:40.597 +5.173
20. Robin Frijns - Caterham - 1:42.261 +6.837
21. Susie Wolff - Williams - 1:44.212 +8.788
22. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - no time

Mercedes to , disaster for Williams :
Nico Rosberg set the early benchmark at Silverstone on Friday, but Free Practice One turned into a nightmare for Williams. Fresh from winning the Austrian GP and stretching his lead in the Drivers' standings, Rosberg once again got the better of his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton as he edged him to P1. The German posted a 1:35.424, which was 0.731 better than that of Hamilton. Behind them it was a much better start to a race weekend for Ferrari with Fernando Alonso third fastest with a 1:36.354 and Raikkonen down in fifth. Sandwiched in between was Australian Daniel Ricciardo with his Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel in sixth. It was Williams who made the headlines in FP1 though as Susie Wolff made history when she became the first female in 22 years to take part in an official F1 race weekend. She even posted the best time, a 1:44.212, during the early stages, but her morning lasted only four laps as her FW36 lost oil pressure and she was forced her to park her car. That was that for her. Not long after it was her team-mate Felipe Massa whose session came to a premature halt, but this was his own fault as he went over the curb and lost control of his car. That resulted in a heavy crash after going wide at Stowe. Although the session resumed after a 16-minute break, there were not too many changes to the timesheets. Ricciardo initially reported that "something funny's going on" with his car but he was able to complete the session while Vettel and Romain Grosjean had late wobbles. Grosjean's Lotus team-mate Pastor Maldonado and Caterham pair Marcus Ericsson and Robin Frijns also didn't have happy mornings as they spent most of it in the garage due to technical problems.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

F1 drivers support Monza :

Felipe Massa : "I think that drive in Monza is fantastic, I really hope we can continue there for many years, the circuit is wonderful,
the fans are fantastic, it won't be positive for Formula 1 to leave Monza, Formula 1 must go in places where there is real passion and love
and Monza is one of them, just like Silverstone".
Jenson Button : "Monza is an iconic track, an old school one, there is a lot of history there and fans really love our sport, it's a very
beautiful circuit, unique and different from others, there are always wonderful races, so I hope we can continue there".
Lewis Hamilton : "I can understand business, but we must remember that our sport wouldn't exist without fans, there are tracks where
the stands are empty, but in Monza they are always full; without the fans our sport wouldn't be so important, we have to keep the events that
make our sport important".
Nico Hulkenberg : "Personally I will never cancell the Italian GP in Monza, I will keep all the historical circuits with their heart, their soul
and all they can offer, I know we are not the ones who can decide, but I keep my fingers crossed".
Daniel Ricciardo : "Monza must be in the F1 calendar, it's one of the best weekend for us, for the atmosphere and the passion, Monza is
the history of Formula 1, like Silverstone and Spa".
Kimi Raikkonen : "It would be very stupid to leave Monza, it would penalize the Formula 1 and all the fans, I hope it will never happen".
Fernando Alonso : "We can't decide where to compete, but it's always beautiful to drive in tracks full of fans and where you can feel great
passion and atmosphere like Monza, Barcelona, Spa or Austria".
I agree with all of them, Formula 1 needs Monza, it wouldn't be the same in any other circuit.

Bristish GP – Silvestone circuit – 4; 5 and 6 July

the first Grand Prix was held in 1950. the circuit has been changed many times over the years. The last modification dates back to 2010 Before 1991, the track was better and faster; then some parts have changed, but the section from Woodcote to Stowe is still very interesting with the Copse curve and the complex: Maggots - Becketts – Chapel. (fantastic)
the tyre selection is unchanged from last year. The hardest two compounds will be used at Silverstone. Pirelli has chosen: the “Orange stripe, hard tyre” and “White stripe, medium tyre” as at Barcelona and Sepang
Silverstone is one of the fastest circuits of the season and is very demanding for tyres.

Susie Stoddart, the nice wife of Toto Wolff, will be at wheel of Williams in Free practice 1 (friday morning) at Silverstone
Toto Wolff is the executive director of Mercedes AMG F1 team since 2013 and a 10% shareholder in the Williams Formula 1 team

Podium 2011: Alonso (Ferrari) – 2° Vettel and 3° Webber.
Fastest lap: Alonso – pole position : Webber 1'30''399

Podium 2012: Webber (Red Bull) – 2° Alonso and 3° Vettel.
Fastest lap: Raikkonen – Pole position : Alonso 1'51''746 (wet condition)

Podium 2013: Rosberg (Mercedes) – 2° Webber and 3° Alonso.
Fastest lap: Webber – pole position : Hamilton 1'29''607

the winners
2 wins: Alonso (2006-2011)
1 win: Raikkonen(2007) Hamilton (2008) Vettel (2009) Rosberg(2013)

pole position:
3 pole: Alonso (2005-2006-2012)
2 pole: Hamilton (2007-2013) and Vettel (2009-2010)
1 pole: Raikkonen (2004)

Fastest lap
4: Raikkonen(2005-2007-2008-2012)
3: Alonso (2006-2010-2011);
1: Vettel (2009)

Podium(winner+second+third) for current pilots at Silverstone
6 (2 wins+3 second+1 third) Alonso
5 (1+1+3) Raikkonen
3 (1+1+1) Hamilton
3 (1+1+1) Vettel
2 (1+0+1) Rosberg
Never on podium Button (14 races) and Massa (11 races)

One step in the past.(Silvestone 1956)
One podium(second place) also for Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago, best known as Alfonso de Portago. Spanish nobleman, good driver. He also was a bobsleigh runner and participated in the Winter Olympic games in 1956(Cortina d'Ampezzo)
He died at the wheel of a Ferrari in 1957, just a few miles from my home in the latest edition of the mythical road race called "Mille Miglia"

One step in the future???(yes, no, maybe)
After the shakedown in last June, today at Donington has took place the first official pre-season testing for the FIA Formula E championship.
Formula E means a fully electric single-seater car
the season opening round will run in Beijing on September 13. Then from October 2014 to June 2015, will run others 9 Grand Prix (including Berlin, Miami, Los Angeles, Monte Carlo and London)
10 teams - 20 pilots(Jarno Trulli, Alguersuari, Buemi, Heidfield, Bruno Senna, Nicolas Prost and others), at the moment also 2 women pilots

Bernie Ecclestone said goodbye to Italian GP in Monza from 2017
"I don't think we will sign another contract with Monza" he said "the last has been a commercial disaster,
after 2016 bye bye ..."
Probably the Italian GP will be moved in another circuit, but for now not in Mugello : "I still haven't received any
proposal from Mugello" said Ecclestone.

FIA announced some news for the 2015 season : after every safety-car the cars will restart from the grid, like in a normal start
and every driver will have 4 Power Units (5 if the GPs will be 20)

Schumacher manager Sabine Kehm reported yesterday that Michael's case sheets were stolen, probably during
the transfer from Grenoble to Losanne and offered to the media for 50.000 €
"Since several days stolen documents and data are for sale" she said "we don't know if they are the real ones or not, but Schumacher's
family advises that the pubblication of any document is forbidden".
It's a real shame how some people try to make money on tragedies

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 8 RACES :

1. Mercedes 301 points
2. Red Bull 143 points
3. Ferrari 98 points
4. Force India 87 points
5. Williams 85 points
6. McLaren 72 points
7. Toro Rosso 12 points
8. Lotus 8 points
9. Marussia 2 points