Chinese Grand Prix Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Antonio Giovinazzi is set to continue his duties with the Sauber F1 Team as Pascal Wehrlein’s replacement for the Chinese Grand Prix, with a possibility of the Bahrain Grand Prix as well. The team said the following: “Pascal Wehrlein will again be replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi to ensure that the German will be back in the cockpit of the Sauber C36-Ferrari, in best physical shape, at the earliest possible opportunity – either the Bahrain Grand Prix or the Russian Grand Prix.” Wehrlein participated in the openingRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen saw his solid qualifying effort of third evaporate just one corner into Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. The Finn got a decent start, moving to the inside of eventual race winner Nico Rosberg for second entering Turn 1 before pushing up the track and opening the inside lane. It was then that Scuderia Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel went in for an overtaking maneuver on Raikkonen, but at the same time Daniil Kvyatt was making the similar move on Vettel, pushing him to the middle lane.Read More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief After qualifying a season-best second and jumping out to a sensational opening lap lead, Daniel Ricciardo saw his day fall apart just two laps into the Chinese Grand Prix. The Australian ran through debris that was left over from a Turn 1 melee moments after lights out. After holding off eventual race winner Nico Rosberg, Ricciardo relinquished the lead on the long backstraight as his left rear tire began to shred. The Red Bull Racing driver managed to nurse the car back to the pits beforeRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Immediately following the Chinese Grand Prix, a clearly upset Sebastian Vettel accused Daniil Kvyat of racing “like a crazy” while waiting for the podium celebration. Everything stemmed from the opening lap heading into Turn 1 when an overly optimistic Kvyat charged to the inside of the right-hand corner while Vettel ended up between Kvyat and Scuderia Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, whom he made contact with. The contact compromised Raikkonen’s race and damaged what were high expectations heading into Sunday’s race, with both Ferrari drivers sharing theRead More

Nico Rosberg’s perfect start to the 2016 Formula One season continued in Shanghai as the Mercedes driver took a controlled Chinese Grand Prix victory, while behind him a dramatic race saw Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel recover from a first-corner collision to take second place ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat. While the bulk of the race was comfortable for Rosberg, his grand prix began shakily as he was beaten off the line by a hard-charging Daniel Ricciardo who lined up beside the Mercedes driver on the front row of theRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer Sebastian Vettel led a wet 3rd practice session where the majority of teams limited running to protect their cars for qualifying. Williams Valtteri Bottas took second position while the Force India of Sergio Perez took 3rd. The session saw the grid upended with teams such as Renault and Manor occupying top 10 positions in the wet session. Rain and standing water throughout the track limited running until midway through the session with only 14 drivers actually setting a time. Free Practice 3 Results Pos DriverRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer The tables were upended in the second practice session as the two Ferrari’s took top positions in Shanghai at the Chinese Grand Prix. Mercedes took the next two positions with Lewis Hamilton stating that it looks like the red cars have the advantage. This does not bode well for Hamilton who will also suffer a 5 place grid penalty for changing the gearbox in his Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen set the pace with Sebastian Vettel close behind in the second practice session. Raikkonen set his timeRead More

By Steve Aibel, Senior F1 Writer The great wall of Mercedes is being assembled at Shanghai International Circuit as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took the top two positions in the opening practice session for the Chinese Grand Prix. Points leader Rosberg took the top position by a slight margin over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg, however, limped home with an engine issue at sessions end which could place him in a similar situation as Hamilton with a grid penalty if repair is needed on the engine. Two red flags halted the session asRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Lewis Hamilton will take a 5 spot grid penalty for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix for Mercedes changing the gearbox in his car. It was damaged after contact from William’s Valtteri Bottas in the wild start to the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team released the following statement via Twitter and shed some light on their decision to change the box ahead of China. The gearbox of Lewis Hamilton’s F1 W07 Hybrid sustained damage in Bahrain which required a physical inspection for full assessment. Having done so, theRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The letter worked! Just hours after all 11 teams unanimously signed a letter demanding the old qualifying system of 2006-2015 be reinstated, it has been reinstated! Miraculously Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt and the FIA went down without a fight this time and agreed to terms the teams, drivers and fans have been calling for since qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix on March 19th. Once rubber stamped by the Strategy Group, the F1 Commission and lastly the World Motorsport Council, the return to the tried and true qualifyingRead More