F1 2015 Tag

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor An examination of the 2015 Formula One season clearly shows a noticeable dip in the performance of the Williams cars in the latter half of the season. According to Performance Chief Rob Smedley this is because the team stopped development of the FW37 early once they realized they would secure third place in the Constructors’ standings but couldn’t reach Ferrari for second. “We stopped development on this car quite a long time ago having projected we would have a comfortable third position in the championship andRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor McLaren-Honda protege Stoffel Vandoorne topped the time sheets today from Yas Marina in Pirelli’s 12 hour endurance test of its new ultra soft tire compounds. All ten teams tested several unmarked varieties of tire that may or may not become Pirelli’s go to pick for next years most agressive tire compound. The so called ultra softs will be used mainly on street circuits in a bid to decrease lap times, increase the number of pit stops and spice up the on track action. “Whether this willRead More

Nico Rosberg took a third consecutive win with a dominant drive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, beating world championship-winning team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a comfortable eight seconds as Kimi Räikkönen took third place ahead of Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who rose from 15th on the grid to take fourth place. Racing into the lead from pole position at the start, Rosberg was always in control and across his opening stint on used supersoft tyres he opened up a gap of almost five seconds to Hamilton in second place. TheRead More

Formula One can be a mysterious sport and one of its most mysterious areas is money. Not only do the teams spend fortunes the size of small countries designing and racing the fastest cars on the planet, but they also spend enormous sums just securing their driver lineups year to year. Thanks to a study by Business Book GP part of the mystery has just been unveiled as all 20 F1 driver salaries for 2015 have been published by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. Just as with overall budgets, there areRead More

Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, the vast majority of Formula One teams have come out against increasing tire dimensions to 18 inches. Current tire supplier Pirelli and Michelin who have recently expressed interest in F1 are both in favor of such a measure. The marketing behind their decision is simple, as road car tires have grown in diameter, having a more road relevant size will help tie in their motorsport activities with their consumer products. In putting marketing and profit measures ahead of sport, the tire manufacturers andRead More

In a rare sign of unanimous agreement, Formula One has wisely rejected the Strategy Group’s and Bernie Ecclestone’s plan of returning refuelling to the sport in 2017. Refuelling was one of the ways in which the Strategy Group planned to make F1 cars five seconds per lap faster, it was the worst of such strategies. Team Principals met with Charlie Whiting ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix and presented a unified front and concrete evidence that refuelling will not ‘improve the show.’ Aside from the obvious cost increases andRead More

The F1 point standings after today’s grand prix. Drivers’ Championship Pos Driver Team Points 1 Hamilton Mercedes 126 2 Rosberg Mercedes 116 3 Vettel Ferrari 98 4 Raikkonen Ferrari 60 5 Bottas Williams 42 6 Massa Williams 39 7 Ricciardo Red Bull 35 8 Kvyat Red Bull 17 9 Nasr Sauber 16 10 Grosjean Lotus 16 11 Perez Force India 11 12 Sainz Toro Rosso 9 13 Hulkenberg Force India 6 14 Verstappen Toro Rosso 6 15 Ericsson Sauber 5 16 Button McLaren 4 17 Alonso McLaren 0 18 StevensRead More

Nico Rosberg won his third consecutive Monaco Grand Prix after teammate Lewis Hamilton was told by Mercedes to pit from the race lead in the closing stages. Hamilton had built up an incredible 19s lead, only for Mercedes to completely throw it away. A spectacular collision between Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean sent the 17-year-old rookie hard into the barrier at the end of the front straight, bringing out the safety car. During the ensuing safety car period, Mercedes frantically brought Lewis in for fresh tires, but Nico Rosberg andRead More

Lewis Hamilton romped to pole position in Monte Carlo today, beating teammate Nico Rosberg by over 3/10ths of a second. Despite winning the race in 2008, it is Hamilton’s first pole in Monaco as he seeks to stop Rosberg’s recent domination in the principality. It’s been a long, long time. I can’t express just how happy I am. – Hamilton Behind the two Mercedes on the front row, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel dutifully took his usual third on the grid, followed by a hard charging Daniel Ricciardo in fourth for RedRead More

Lewis Hamilton is riding high heading into this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. The defending champ and current points leader just committed to a further three seasons with Mercedes after lengthy, highly publicized negotiations. The deal, reported to be worth nearly $150,000,000 would ensure Hamilton remains one of the highest paid athletes in any sport. Mercedes is my home and I couldn’t be happier, staying here another three years. The Mercedes car I am driving now is the best I have had in my career. – Lewis Hamilton Fresh off theRead More