After Race 6: Monaco

Note: a bit of a long preamble this week, covering the Mercedes fallout (briefly), supposed regulation changes, alcohol sponsorship and the Indy 500…

It’s only been a couple of days but the fallout from Mercedes pitting Lewis Hamilton has already been done to death. It was a grave error but this is a team sport. Whether a strategy miscue or a last-gasp mechanical failure (think of Mika Hakkinen in Barcelona 2001), it’s always the cruellest way to lose a victory. The reaction of some Mercedes ‘fans’ on social media was jaw-dropping. Several Formula One fans like to think that they are of a different breed to football fans but, as with any sport, there are both good and (unfortunately) bad fans.

Since the Spanish Grand Prix, the FIA announced a raft of changes for 2017, including brining back refuelling. Such a change seems unworkable to me – purely on the grounds of cost. Take the Haas F1 team, for example, they will now have to build a new car for 2016 and 2017. Formula 1’s biggest problem is that they are continually radically changing the rules – and that costs $$$. Would refuelling make a difference? Well, cars would be faster from the start of the race, but if you look at the number of ‘exciting’ races and title battles decided with and without refuelling, the difference is negligible. In either case, a team has the potential to dominate if they get it spot on.

Will refuelling make a return to F1? (also note the Marlboro barcode...)
Source: Guardian, AFP/Getty

The topic of alcohol sponsorship was also discussed – and whether it should be discouraged, or even banned. Frankly, F1 teams are still reeling from the ban on tobacco advertising. It’s no coincidence that the average grid size has steadily declined over the last decade or two as laws have become more stringent (the FIA creating more barriers to entry has also contributed to this). Between rule and sponsorship changes, the future of F1 is under increasing scrutiny – with midfield teams seemingly in ever-more jeopardy.

And finally, Monaco Grand Prix weekend also means it’s time for the Indianapolis 500 – and Juan Pablo Montoya won a thrilling race, prevailing in a terrific duel between arch-rivals Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi to take his second Brickyard victory (in three starts). Consider this, the last time JPM won the race (as a rookie in 2000), only Jenson Button was on the F1 grid!

Source: Juan Pablo Montoya (Facebook)

1. Lewis Hamilton (no change)

Mercedes got it wrong. Was it arrogance? Possibly. The team profusely apologised. Let’s all move on, please.

If only Mercedes fans focused on this photo...
Source: Mercedes AMG Petronas (Facebook)

2. Sebastian Vettel (no change)

The quadruple champ lucked into P2 – but it’s a position he probably should’ve held before Hamilton’s stop (which would have likely meant that Merc would not have pitted him). Ferrari were too cautious with their strategy and never gave Vettel a genuine shot at the undercut on Rosberg (reminiscent of Williams at Austria last year). Rosberg took advantage and kept the position – which then turned into victory.

3. Carlos Sainz (up one spot)

For all the eye-catching overtaking of Max Verstappen, it was once again Sainz who ultimately delivered the results. It says a lot about STR’s performance on Thursday and Saturday morning that 8^th (Sainz) and 10^th (Verstappen) was almost considered an underachievement – and that was before the Spaniard was kicked out of quali for missing the weigh-bridge (probably partly down to both driver and team). A magnificent recovery drive saw him score a point from the pit-lane after a mammoth 65+lap stint on his tyres – despite being held up by the Manors just after his early stop, preventing him from getting the undercut on Marcus Ericsson and co. Oh, and he produced an INCREDIBLE save to avoid slamming into the Swede at the Nouvelle Chicane when he locked his brakes.

Stunning photography
Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso (Facebook)

4. Sergio Pérez (up ten spots)

Seldom do drivers ever rise up the F1 Power Rankings by so much but Checo Pérez had an anonymously outstanding weekend. A magnificent P7 in both quali and the race, he extracted the utmost from the unfancied Force India.

Checo was easily driver of the day
Source: Sahara Force India (Facebook)

5. Max Verstappen (no change)

Having never driven on the street circuit before, Verstappen took the track like a duck to water. A disappointing quali (as mentioned above) and a catastrophic pit-stop put him back in the pack, before Toro Rosso rolled the dice with strategy. He was excellent with his tactics of tagging on the leaders going through the blue flags (although probably shouldn’t have revealed his idea over team radio!) before clobbering the back of Romain Grosjean. Did his age cause it? Absolutely not: it was a racing incident – although the penalty is deserved given it knocked Grosjean out of the points.

The second massive collision at Ste Devote of the day (after the WSR 3.5 race)
Source: Autosport

6. Valtteri Bottas (down three spots) & 7. Nico Rosberg (no change)

Checo’s emphatic rise up the F1 Power Rankings was aided by the likes of Bottas, Rosberg and Grosjean having mediocre weekends – and they even came under threat from the Red Bull duo and Felipe Nasr. As it is, Rosberg stays put at P7. A Monaco hat-trick is a Monaco hat-trick, and he has crucially also won back-to-back races for the first time in his career - despite being thrashed by Hamilton in quali and the race. The less said about Williams’ weekend the better, but Monaco was surely a one-off (hence Bottas doesn’t fall even further).

8. Daniel Ricciardo (up one spot)

Danny Ric moves up a spot after RBR recorded their best result of 2015. He lost out to his team-mate at the start and that cemented his eventual P5 finish. Credit the team for excellent team orders in the closing stages as they allowed the Aussie temporarily past Daniil Kvyat to chase down the leading trio after his ‘interesting’ move on Kimi Räikkönen in the closing stages on fresh tyres.

Kvyat led home Ricciardo for RBR's season best result
Source: Infiniti Red Bull Racing (Facebook)

9. Romain Grosjean (down three spots)

A rather underwhelming weekend for Grosjean: outqualified by his team-mate and spent most of the day running on the bubble of the points before the Verstappen collision.

=10. Daniil Kvyat (up three spots) & Felipe Nasr (up two spots)

Congratulation to Danii K on securing by far and away his best F1 result with P4 (previous best was 9^th). A good start saw him vault past his team-mate and he never looked back. Nasr continued his fine start to the season with a fine drive to P9 – he’s probably a tad unlucky not to be placed even higher in this week’s F1 Power Rankings. This duo, along with Pérez and Sainz (and Hamilton) the undoubted stars of the weekend.

All smiles at Sauber!
Source: Sauber F1 Team

=12. Kimi Räikkönen (down five spots) & Felipe Massa (down two spots)

Poor weekend for Kimi. A crash in FP3 saw him enter the most important quali session of the year on the back foot – and he paid for it. Massa to his credit comfortably outqualified Bottas but Williams had an awful weekend.

14. Fernando Alonso (down four spots)

Monaco was the golden chance to score points – as Jenson Button showed – but it all went wrong on both Saturday – with salt rubbed into the wounds on Sunday. P7 was on the cards but he just can’t catch a break.

15. Pastor Maldonado & 16. Jenson Button (both up three spots)

It might seem strange that Pastor rises three spots in this week’s F1 Power Rankings but there’s nothing more he could have done. Having outqualified Grosjean, his race was over in the opening laps and his disastrous 2015 continued. JB, meanwhile, just missed out on Q3 but kept his nose clean on Sunday and finally got McLaren on the board.

Was it the CR7 magic or the glamour of Cara Delevingne that helped McLaren get off the mark?
Source: McLaren (Facebook)

17. Nico Hülkenberg (no change)

Points were evidently on the table for the struggling Force India team this weekend (as back up by Checo), but The Hulk had a scruffy quali which saw him exit in Q2 and that put him in the danger-zone for Lap 1 in Monaco – where, for the second year running, McLaren and Force India came together at Mirabeau, with the German losing out. Credit his fine recovery to P11 but it’s a missed opportunity.

18. Will Stevens & 19. Marcus Ericsson (both down three spots); 20. Roberto Merhi (no change)

Credit where it’s due to Roberto Merhi – he finally got the better of his team-mate on Sunday afternoon, despite crashing on the bump at the Nouvelle Chicane on Thursday. At a track where his weight-difference matters less, a good result was important for the Spaniard. Ericsson, meanwhile, was once again blown away by his rookie team-mate.

And finally... one happy Montoya family photo
Source: Juan Pablo Montoya (Facebook)

All views expressed in this blog are my own and no copyright infringement is intended.

After Race 5: Spain

The Formula 1 circus kicked off its ever-shortening European schedule with Nico Rosberg finally getting his first W of the season as he continued his rather odd record of finishing every race in the same position he qualified.

Source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

If I may digress for a moment in this edition of F1 Power Rankings…

On a personal note, I actually watched the entire Spanish GP weekend on Monday (from FP1 through to Ted’s Notebook post-race) because I was attending the Formula E Monaco ePrix. Amidst a stunning backdrop – where F1 will head to in less than two weeks on the classic Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 weekend – it was a remarkably accessible weekend. Free tickets, an accessible paddock, test-driving a Renault Twizy on the Monaco hills, and the chance to get up close to the drivers on the Friday before the race day (with all the action taking place on the Saturday) reflects glowingly on the new series.

It was almost access all areas - for anyone - in the Formula E paddock
Source: my own personal photography - Blayne Pereira (please credit if using)

1. Lewis Hamilton (no change)

There was a lot of chatter about Hamilton’s off-field activities in the three-week gap before the Spanish GP, most notably his trip to Las Vegas to see Floyd Mayweather maintain his undefeated record against Manny Pacquiao. Was the criticism substantiated with Rosberg finally getting the better of his team-mate? Probably not; Hamilton’s finished in the top-two in the last twelve races, winning nine of them. He remains the man to beat.

2. Sebastian Vettel (no change)

Much was made about Ferrari’s strategy call on Sunday but third was probably the best they could have hoped for. Hamilton would’ve likely netted the undercut after his second stop, so the Scuderia did the right thing by trying a different strategy. Ferrari were well beaten but at least Vettel helped disrupt Hamilton’s momentum.

Source: Scuderia Ferrari

3. Valtteri Bottas (up five spots)

For the second race running, Bottas managed to fend off a Ferrari and break-up the dominant Mercedes-Ferrari quartet. After a slow start to the season, his back problems are firmly behind him.

4. Carlos Sainz (up one spot) & 5. Max Verstappen (no change)

Sainz just edges Max Verstappen to an outright fourth spot in this week’s F1 Power Rankings after he got the better of his teenage team-mate in both quali and the race. The STR duo starred on Saturday, locking out the third row of the grid for the team’s best qualifying effort since Monza 2008 (Vettel pole, Sébastien Bourdais 4^th). Both fell back in the early stages as they struggled when laden with fuel but Sainz especially came alive in the closing stages, taking advantage of the leaders lapping the midfield to use his DRS. Thankfully he retained his points for P9 – after Daniil Kvyat locked his brakes and ran into the Spaniard it was clearly a racing incident.

Carlos Sainz gets ready for his first F1 home race
Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso

6. Romain Grosjean (down two spots)

It’s a two-place drop for Grosjean despite ultimately scoring what was probably the best possible result for the team in P8. A rather scruffy move on Sainz in the early stages saw him run wide at T1, and then get a little bit too close to Pastor Maldonado – contact which almost certainly caused the Venezuelan’s rear wing endplate to fail. A catastrophic overshoot during his second pit-stop could’ve been even uglier and Grosjean apologised profusely on his in-lap.

Complete with 'Mad Max' sponsorship, Grosjean's chassis exploded in free practice
Source: F1 (Twitter)

=7. Kimi Räikkönen (down four spots) & Nico Rosberg (up eight spots)

Räikkönen will leave Catalunya miffed after Vettel was effectively given all the aero upgrades as Ferrari weren’t sure what was working out of their new parts. He slumped to P7 on the grid before a scintillating first lap saw him execute a couple of superb moves on the Toro Rosso boys… but that was as good as it got, as the Kimster.

For the neutrals, Rosberg’s win is just what the championship needed. Having been decimated by Hamilton in the last dozen races, he’ll hope that he’s mentally turned the corner and will look to clinch a Monaco hat-trick next time out (…although I wonder how many times last year’s qualifying session will be mentioned).

It's not quite visible here, but Mrs Rosberg's baby bump combined with the over-enthusiastic photographers and the gating almost didn't end too well...
Source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

9. Daniel Ricciardo (down one spot)

Having been outqualified by Daniil Kvyat, Danny Ric was rather anonymous in the opening third of the race before he finally moved up to P7 – a position which he never relinquished in the final 45 laps.

=10. Fernando Alonso (no change) & Felipe Massa (down three spots)

It was a rather gloomy scene at McLaren – with Jenson Button especially bemoaning the team’s lack of, well, everything. Alonso was running inside the top ten on an alternate strategy until a bizarre failure caused by his visor tear-off hampering his brake ducts. Kudos to the savvy front jackman who leaped out of the way as a brake-less Alonso came steaming into his box. Massa had a largely anonymous weekend, and the pendulum has firmly swung to his young Finnish team-mate.

Incredibly, McLaren's new paint job is a kilogram lighter than the previous car(!)
Source: McLaren

12. Felipe Nasr (down two spots)

I could quite easily copy and paste the same thing for the Sauber and Force India quartet. None of them had anything noteworthy to write home about, occupying positions 15-18 on the grid and finishing collectively three spots higher thanks to the DNFs of Alonso and Maldonado and Button’s woes.

13. Daniil Kvyat (up two spots)

Difficult again what to make of Kvyat’s weekend; he again makes steady progress up the F1 Power Rankings – although that’s also in part down to others falling (i.e. Force India, Sauber). A good effort in quali evaporated with a poor opening lap and he spent the first third of the race working his way back up to P9, a position which he more or less held onto until the final lap, when Sainz got the better of him.

14. Sergio Pérez (down two spots)

15. Will Stevens (no change)

16. Marcus Ericsson (down three spots)

17. Nico Hülkenberg (down four spots)

As mentioned above with Nasr and Kvyat, the massively underwhelming performances of Sauber and Force India have seen a collective slump down this week’s F1 Power Rankings. Ericsson moves clear of The Hulk by virtue of having a better overall weekend, and the group sandwich Will Stevens, who once again comfortably outperformed his team-mate (despite falling behind him at the start).

18. Pastor Maldonado (up two spots)

Yet again, we can only wonder “what might have been?” with Pastor. He was a man on a mission in the opening stages with some superb overtakes before the contact with Grosjean, which effectively ended his charge. He did well to continue with the damage as long as he did.

Source: Reddit

19. Jenson Button and 20. Roberto Merhi (both down one spot)

At the risk of repeating myself; rather like the Sauber and Force India lot, this duo struggled all weekend. Button was especially vocal about how bad the McLaren was while Merhi again consistently brought up the rear. Whether it’s due to his weight or otherwise, his days in F1 could well be coming to an end sooner rather than later… Will he really be on double duty in Monaco with F1 and FR3.5 both racing at the circuit?

All views expressed in this blog are my own and no copyright infringement is intended.