Tag Archives: 2014 Spanish Grand Prix

Mercedes Marches On in Spain

Barcelona – Today’s F1 Spanish Grand Prix was simply an easy run in the park for Mercedes AMG Petronas. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominated the day, with neither Mercedes Works driver falling below 3rd place throughout the day. On the contrary, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso did not fare nearly as well as he would have hoped this year at his home grand prix.

The race started with a few grid penalties. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA) received a grid penalty which had him start at 22nd place on the starting grid. Likewise, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (GER) started at 15th, receiving a 5 place grid penalty for having his gear box changed following his breakdown in Q3.

From Lap 1, the two Mercedes quickly left the rest of the pack in the dust. Their next closest competitor was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas (FIN), who kept 3rd place for much of the first few laps of the race. At Lap 3, Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado made contact with Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson, earning the Venezuelan a 5-second stop and go penalty at Lap 11.

One could certainly tell that today’s grand prix was no longer within the Reign of Red Bull. At Lap 16, 4-year consecutive champion Sebastian Vettel found himself attempting a pass on Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi (JPN), the key word there being “attempting” as Kobayashi was able to defend against the German.

By Lap 25, Vergne, who already had been having problems with his car this weekend was forced to retire due to “an exhaust problem” as BBC Sport reported.

Out of all of the Mercedes engined cars, the McLarens have been the most disappointing. Neither of the two cars from Woking were able to finish with points in Spain, setting a rather unhappy scene for the races to come.

On the flip side, Ferrari’s performance improved dramatically today, with Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) holding onto 5th place until Lap 64, when he was passed by his teammate Alonso, much to the home crowd’s rejoicing. However, Alonso was outdone by Räikkönen’s countryman, Valtteri Bottas who finished in 5th.

By this point the Ferraris had been passed by both Red Bulls, with Ricciardo maintaining 3rd and Vettel taking 4th. The German had an impressive drive today, rising a total of 9 positions from his start at 15th.

All this being said, the Mercedes of Hamilton and Rosberg lapped everyone from Räikkönen at 7th on down the line. When the chequered flag fell with the top 3 being Hamilton, Rosberg, Ricciardo, the Australian in 3rd finished a total of 48.9 seconds behind the Briton in 1st.

Undoubtedly, the intrateam rivalry at Mercedes is growing, considering just how close Rosberg came to passing Hamilton, at one point being a mere 1.1 seconds behind the Briton. Perhaps it will all play out on the streets of Monaco on the 25th.

The final result from the 2014 Pirelli F1 Spanish Grand Prix are as follows:

  1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (GBR), 1:41:05.155
  2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (GER), +00:00.600 secs
  3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (AUS), +00:49:000 secs
  4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (GER), +1:16:700 secs
  5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (FIN), +1:19.200 secs
  6. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (ESP), +1:27.700 secs
  7. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (FIN), lapped
  8. Romain Grosjean, Lotus (FRA), lapped
  9. Sergio Pérez, Force India (MEX), lapped
  10. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (GER), lapped
  11. Jenson Button, McLaren (GBR), lapped
  12. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (GBR), lapped
  13. Felipe Massa, Williams (BRA), lapped
  14. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (RUS), lapped
  15. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (VEN), lapped
  16. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (MEX), lapped
  17. Adrian Sutil, Sauber (GER), lapped
  18. Jules Bianchi, Marussia (FRA), lapped
  19. Max Chilton, Marussia (GBR), lapped
  20. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (SWE), lapped
  21. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (JPN), retired 34 laps
  22. Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (FRA), retired 24 laps

F1 Midweek – Preparing for España

Kansas City – In most cases, I’d argue that when the Formula 1 circus comes to a particular country, nothing can possibly beat it in terms of media attention and popularity. However, two cases immediately stand out from the rogues gallery as exceptions to the aforementioned rule. 1. Here in the USA, because it’s America and there’s so very much always going on, and 2. Spain in May 2014, with the upcoming Derbi madrileño in the UEFA Champions League final on the 24th.

In general what I’d say should be expected from this weekend’s race in Catalonia is fairly simple: much of the same from the last race in Shanghai. Mercedes will most likely dominate the field, taking at the very least 1st place, if not 2nd as well, on the podium. What the viewer should watch most for will be how Ferrari and Red Bull fare in aiming for 3rd and the middle of the road in regards to points scoring.

My own prediction is that Fernando Alonso will drive well for his home crowd, finishing at least at 3rd place, followed close at hand by Red Bull’s Ricciardo. Given the recent trends in driver performance, I would not be surprised if Force India also drive quite well, perhaps with one of their two drivers even finishing in 5th or 6th.

Unfortunately, some clouds do hang over this coming weekend. For one thing this will be the closest race weekend to the 20th anniversary of the deaths of Germany’s Roland Ratzenberger and Brazil’s Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. On the ongoing side of things, in the period since Shanghai, the trial of Formula 1’s boss Bernie Ecclestone on corruption charges in Munich has begun. Undoubtedly the court’s final ruling will have a major impact on the sport as we know it today, possibly even advancing Ecclestone’s retirement date by a year or so.

The 2014 Pirelli Spanish Grand Prix will take place on Sunday 11 May, Mother’s Day here in the States, at 14.00 Barcelona (07.00 Chicago, 13.00 London.)