Tag Archives: Daniel Ricciardo

F1 Midweek – Bienvenue au Québec

Kansas City – This week, the Formula 1 circus returns to this side of the Atlantic for the first time in the new V6 era. It makes things far easier for those of us who follow the sport in the Americas, because at long last the races are not in the middle of the night or in the early daylight hours on Sunday morning. This coming weekend is not just an opportunity for Canada to welcome one of the greatest competitions back into its borders, but for Québec to embrace the F1 world as it has every year since the Canadian Grand Prix relocated to Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montréal.

Montréal is one of my favourite events on the sport’s calendar. The beauty of the circuit, built on Île Notre-Dame in the Saint Lawrence River, is unrivalled and quite unique. If for nothing else, this weekend’s grand prix will be one to watch just for the eye-candy that is Québec in June.

On top of that, as a bit of a francophile, I always enjoy seeing Québec make a name for itself. South of the border here in the States, when one thinks of Canada typically Ontario, Alberta, or British Columbia will come to mind first, with Québec coming in second. Though, for Québec’s benefit, I will say that les Habs did far better this year in the NHL than any of the other Canadian teams. On top of that, I have a decent sized readership in Canada, so cheers to you!

What we should expect from the drivers I should think will be more of the same. I would be surprised if the podium from Monaco was not repeated in Canada. Thankfully for Mercedes AMG Petronas, it seems as though Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have settled any discord that had developed between them over the past few months. I suppose they have to be friends to be able to unicycle together shirtless, as tweeted by Hamilton last week following the seeming coldness between the two works Mercedes drivers.

ImageIn the Red Bull paddock, things have been surprising since pre-season testing began in January. Perhaps the biggest surprise is four-time, and defending, world champion Sebastian Vettel’s continued troubles with the new RB10. However, where his Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo is concerned, it seems that he is much quicker than the team thought. Team principal Christian Horner offered his thoughts on the matter to Sky Sports F1‘s William Esler, saying, “Daniel has been a real surprise this year. We knew he was quick – we just didn’t realise how quick.”

I do hope we will be able to see better results for the McLarens and Ferraris in Montréal. However, this appears to be the Year of the Silver Arrows on the ever rotating Formula 1 Zodiac.

Nico keeps Monaco

Monaco – Today’s 2014 Monaco Grand Prix was all for Nico Rosberg from the start of the day. His British teammate Lewis Hamilton, who for the past few races had been in front of the German, had trouble from the start in passing Rosberg. For one thing, Rosberg had a fantastic start off of the grid. Another was the incident at Lap 65, where Hamilton radioed to the team, “I can’t see out of my left eye – I’ve got some dirt or something in my eye.” In general, Hamilton’s misfortune today was Rosberg’s good weather, with the German winning his second Monaco Grand Prix in a row.

From the very start, the race proved to be typical of this circuit, with a plethora of safety car appearances, retirements, and break downs. At the starting grid, Lotus’ Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado was forced to retire. He was quickly followed by Force India’s Sergio Pérez (MEX), who crashed during Lap 1.

On Lap 5, defending world champion Sebastian Vettel’s (GER) ills of 2014 returned in full force, resulting in his own retirement due to a transmission failure. He was followed at Lap 10 by Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat (RUS), who had mechanical issues. At Lap 23, Sauber’s Adrian Sutil (GER), who had been making some excellent passes on the inside, crashed into the wall just before the chicane, resulting in his own retirement.

At lap 50, the engine of the Toro Rosso of Jean-Éric Vergne (FRA) caught fire, resulting in it smoking to a stop just after the tunnel. He was joined at Lap 55 by Valtteri Bottas, whose Williams began to smoke at the hairpin. At Lap 62 the last Sauber of the field to not retire, driven by Mexican Esteban Gutierrez, crashed into the wall, resulting in a puncture in the back right tyre.

Of the 14 drivers remaining, only the three on the podium, Rosberg, Hamilton, and Ricciardo, along with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, were not lapped. According to Tom Clarkson of the BBC, Kimi Räikkönen went in for a pit stop at Lap 61, dropping him down from 3rd place due to a puncture with Max Chilton of Marussia. Chilton would finish in 14th, whilst Räikkönen came in 12th. Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi (JPN) finished in 13th place, between the Briton and the Finn. Caterham’s rookie Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson finished in 11th, the highest of the non-points scoring positions.

On the topic of points scoring, today is a day to celebrate for Marussia and their fans around the world. Their driver Jules Bianchi finished in 9th, scoring the team’s first two world championship points. The question remains as of 10.11 Chicago (15.11 London, 16.11 Monaco) as to whether or not the FIA will take away Bianchi’s points, as he appeared, at least according to the TV feed, to have served a 5 second stop-and-go penalty that was awarded to him, which he served during one of the late safety car laps, an act which is technically against the rules of the sport.

Thankfully for McLaren, both of their drivers finished with points, Kevin Magnussen (DEN) finishing in 10th and Jenson Button (GBR) in 6th. Between them came Williams’ Felipe Massa (BRA) in 7th, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean (FRA) in 8th, and Marussia’s Jules Bianchi (FRA) in 9th. Fourth place was held by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (ESP), with 5th by Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg (GER).

This year’s Monaco Grand Prix was certainly an eventful one, progressing the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg ever further on. I have no doubt that Mercedes will continue to dominate the 2014 season, however it seems that there is a new face at Red Bull on the up. Ricciardo is on the rise.

F1 Midweek – Chilton tops all

Kansas City – The past week has been quite an eventful one in the wild world of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton won his 4th consecutive race this past weekend in Barcelona, Pastor Maldonado crashed, again, and finally Max Chilton was on top of the leaderboard for a while. Don’t worry, your screen isn’t dirty, Chilton was on top of the leaderboard for a while this week at the First Test Day in Barcelona following Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Max Chilton on top at the Barcelona Test Day 1

Max Chilton on top at the Barcelona Test Day 1 / MaxChilton.com

Pardon the interjection of some humour here, but my original title for this article was “Chilton tops all, Bernie’s heart gives out.” Thankfully for F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, that wouldn’t be good journalism because it hasn’t actually happened. Now, back to serious writing…

This past weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix certainly has taught the F1 world something, despite Mercedes’ continued dominance, some from the rest of the field are starting to catch up to the Silver Arrows. In particular, if I were Lewis Hamilton, I’d be a bit worried about his teammate, Nico Rosberg’s, ability to catch up to the No. 44 car. At the chequered flag, the German was just .600 of a second behind the Briton. With Monaco coming up, both drivers stand a good chance at winning, but I’m putting my support on Rosberg. He will want a repeat of last year’s Monaco victory. On top of that, a Rosberg win seems to be the way that the F1 winds are blowing from the tailpipes of fortune.

The chase of the Silver Arrows has been taken up full-heartedly by last year’s champions, the Red Bulls. Both Australian Daniel Ricciardo and German Sebastian Vettel have been driving fantastically. Ricciardo earned his first podium, that wasn’t revoked by the FIA, of his career this past weekend. Likewise, Vettel came back from the adversity of starting in 15th to finish in 4th, just shy of his new Aussie teammate. If this continues, within the next couple races we could see a Red Bull once again finishing first.

As for the rest of the field, the lapping of everyone who finished in 7th or lower is something that certainly concerns the crowd. Force India and Williams continue to be forces to be reckoned with, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas finishing just below Vettel in 5th and the two Force Indias finishing in 9th and 10th with Pérez over Hülkenberg this past weekend.

On the flip side of things, my own preferred team, McLaren, has not been doing nearly as well as they seemed like they’d do following the opening round in Australia. Both drivers had their own set of troubles in Spain, finishing with Jenson Button just in the lead over his rookie teammate Kevin Magnussen in 11th and 12th. As NBC Sports’ F1 commentators put it, “McLaren is about the only team using Mercedes engines that hasn’t been doing well.”

The next round in Monaco, which starts with Free Practise 1 a little less than a week from today, will be a good judge of what is to come for the rest of the season. I will be back with more F1 thoughts next Wednesday. This article is coming out a day late from my usual F1 Midweek day of Wednesday because I was moving out of my house at university for the Summer all day yesterday.

F1 Chinese Grand Prix all for Lewis

Shanghai – Today’s installment of the 2014 UBS Chinese Grand Prix was a thriller for fans of Mercedes AMG Petronas, Red Bull, and Ferrari. At long last, Ferrari made itself known on the podium, with Spaniard Fernando Alonso’s 3rd place finish. Once again, the weekend was Mercedes’ for the taking.

Lewis Hamilton took off from pole and didn’t look back to the extent that even when he had to go in for pit stops he didn’t have to worry at all for his 1st place position. Meanwhile he teammate Nico Rosberg found himself in a bit of trouble when his wheels and those of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas just past Turn 1 on Lap 1. Rosberg was able to come out of that incident without much trouble, passing by the Red Bulls and Alonso’s Ferrari, finishing in 2nd.

Red Bull was quite strong today. Between Sebastian Vettel’s strong race thus far and Daniel Ricciardo’s consistency in his tyre usage, the Red Bulls could very well be back to challenge for 1st. After a few laps of Vettel leading Ricciardo, in part due to continuing tyre degradation, team orders came to Vettel to allow his Australian teammate through. Vettel initially fought Ricciardo on his passing, but after a time let him through largely due to the worsening situation of Vettel’s tyres.

Ferrari equally had a pleasant day. Fernando Alonso’s performance was spot on from the beginning, coming through making contact with his former Brazilian teammate Felipe Massa of Williams on the main straight up to Turn 1 on Lap 1. Despite being overtaken by Rosberg, Alonso was able to hold off both of the Red Bulls to the very end, finishing in 3rd and earning his and Ferrari’s first podium of 2014. No doubt the Ferrari bosses in Maranello will be in better moods after China than they were after Bahrain. Kimi Räikkönen earned points today, but stayed mostly in the middle of the pack, racing with the Williams, Force Indias, and McLarens.

On the topic of McLaren, unfortunately China did not offer good luck. Neither Jenson Button (GBR) nor Kevin Magnussen (DEN) finished in the top 10, thus leaving Shanghai without valuable driver and constructor points. On the other hand, times are looking up for Force India, along with Valtteri Bottas of Williams. 

The final standings from today are:

  1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (GBR), 1:33:28.338
  2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (GER), +18.1 secs
  3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (ESP), +23.6 secs
  4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (AUS), +27.1 secs
  5. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (GER), +47.8 secs
  6. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (GER), +54.3 secs
  7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (FIN), +55.7 secs
  8. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (FIN), +76.3 secs
  9. Sergio Pérez, Force India (MEX), +82.6 secs
  10. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (RUS), +1 lap
  11. Jenson Button, McLaren (GBR), +1 lap
  12. Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (FRA), +1 lap
  13. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (DEN), +1 lap
  14. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (VEN), +1 lap
  15. Felipe Massa, Williams (BRA), +1 lap
  16. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (MEX), +1 lap
  17. Jules Bianchi, Marussia (FRA), +1 lap
  18. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (JPN), +1 lap
  19. Max Chilton, Marussia (GBR), +2 laps
  20. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (SWE), +2 laps
  • Romain Grosjean, Lotus (FRA), retired 28 laps
  • Adrian Sutil, Sauber (GER), retired 5 laps

 

Formula 1 will return to Europe with the Pirelli Spanish Grand Prix on 4 May in Catalonia. This thankfully means that the race will be broadcasted at a decent time (07.30 Chicago) in North America.

Formula 1 – Midweek Madness

Kansas City – Two bits of news are just in from the Formula 1 Press Office, both of which could decide the course of the season to come. Firstly, longtime Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali is quitting the team effective immediately. The second piece of big F1 news is of course the FIA’s ruling against Red Bull’s petition on behalf of Daniel Ricciardo for his fuel sensor issues at his home Grand Prix in Melbourne a month ago.

Despite the fact that one of the current headlines (as of 21.17 CDT on Tuesday 15 April 2014) on F1.com is announcing the team’s plans for becoming the second best in the sport, Domenicali’s departure mirrors the woes felt by the lads from Maranello over the three races already run this season. So far this season, Ferrari’s drivers Fernando Alonso (ESP) and Kimi Räikkönen (FIN) have yet to qualify or finish a race higher than 4th. Not only that, but the situation has proven even more distressing for the Italians in that they were beaten to the podium in Bahrain by the Force India of Sergio Pérez.

Meanwhile, yesterday in Paris a committee of the FIA met to rule on Red Bull’s appeal on behalf of Daniel Ricciardo in regards to his disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix in March after finishing in 2nd. His disqualification came as a result of Red Bull’s choice to rely on their own fuel calculations in Melbourne rather than those provided by the FIA. According to the Red Bull technical staff, the FIA fuel sensors were not working, an issue which has repeated itself since.

A Red Bull spokesperson said today on the ruling that “We are of course disappointed by the outcome and would not have appealed if we didn’t think we had a very strong case.” (F1.com) In regards to the Red Bull ruling, I am not too surprised. I would have preferred to see at the very least Ricciardo’s points restored from the race proper, as he had very little if nothing at all to do with the sensors.

All of this leads into this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, which is sure to be an interesting Easter Sunday spectacle. The race begins at 14.00 Shanghai (02.00 Chicago, 07.00 London) this Sunday.

Mercedes, Force India Storm their Way to Podium in Bahrain

Sakhir – Today’s night race from Bahrain was anything but boring. Firstly, I would like the thank the FIA for making it a night race as at long last those of us in the Americas can watch some of these non-European races in real time rather than tape delayed as per usual.

From the very beginning the two Mercedes AMG Petronas cars of Lewis Hamilton (GBR) and Nico Rosberg (GER) left the rest of the grid far behind. The racing between these two teammates was one great highlight of the weekend, showing off not only the prowess and power of the Mercedes engines and chassis, but also the expertise with which those two drive. It was, as F1.com so eloquently put it, an “epic desert duel” between the two Mercedes drivers.

Even more exciting was the equally invigorating drives by the two Force Indias and two Williams, who for much of the race not only outperformed the Red Bulls, but also the Ferraris and McLarens. Sergio Pérez’s 3rd place podium was the best finish for the team from Northamptonshire since their 2nd place at Spa in 2009. Felipe Massa (BRA) and his Williams were able to hold off the rest of the grid, save the two Mercedes for much of the first half of the race, until tyre degradation forced him and a fair number of the rest of the grid, to pit. His teammate, Valtteri Bottas (FIN) was likewise successful, though he did not achieve quite the success of his Brazilian teammate today.

For the three usual suspects near the top of the grid, the Red Bulls, Ferraris, and McLarens, it was not the best of days. Though the Red Bulls were able to hold their own in the latter half of the race, they stayed mostly in the middle of the pack for the first few dozen laps. The previously ill-fated Australian, Daniel Ricciardo, made his way to a 4th place finish just 0.4 seconds behind 3rd place Mexican finisher Sergio Pérez. Ricciardo’s 4 time champion German teammate, Sebastian Vettel, also was able to move well up the pack, finishing just behind fellow German Nico Hülkenberg of Force India.

The Ferraris simply didn’t have a good day. Under the watchful eye of Ferrari President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo the two Ferraris floundered a bit at the first few laps, being quickly overtaken by each of the Force Indias and Williams in turn, a sight that is quite rare in Formula 1 to say the least. The day was bad enough for the Italian team that their aforementioned President left Sakhir before the race was over.

The McLarens equally had a sour day of it, with neither of their two drivers finishing the race. Briton Jenson Button retired on the 55th lap due to a clutch issue finishing in 17th place. Dane Kevin Magnussen retired 15 laps earlier on a similar issue with his car.

The most shocking moment of the day however came afoul of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez (MEX), whose car was broadsided by Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado (VEN) at Turn 1 just after the Venezuelan had left the pit lane, resulting in Gutierrez’s car performing a spectacular and terrifying roll off to the edge of the track. Thankfully, Gutierrez was able to stand and get out of the cockpit. Maldonado will face a 5-spot grid penalty at the next race in China along with 3 penalty points added onto his Super Licence. I personally find it odd that Ricciardo was given a heavier sentence for a lose tyre in Malaysia, namely a 10-spot grid penalty here in Bahrain, than Maldonado who caused another driver’s car to flip twice, threatening Gutierrez’s life. But, that’s just that.

The resulting safety car laps helped eliminate the distances between the cars on track, adding to some last minute passing and position swapping between the drivers. It should also be noted that thus far in 2014, Marussia has always had at least one car finish the race, which is more than their rivals at Caterham can say. It could very well add up come season’s end at Abu Dhabi in November.

The final race standings are as follows:

  1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (GBR), 1:39:42.743
  2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (GER), +1.1 secs
  3. Sergio Pérez, Force India (MEX), +24.1 secs
  4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (AUS), +24.5 secs
  5. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (GER), +28.7 secs
  6. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (GER), +29.9 secs
  7. Felipe Massa, Williams (BRA), +31.3 secs
  8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (FIN), +31.9 secs
  9. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (ESP), +32.6 secs
  10. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (FIN), +33.5 secs
  11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (RUS), +41.3 secs
  12. Romain Grosjean, Lotus (FRA), +43.1 secs
  13. Max Chilton, Marussia (GBR), +59.9 secs
  14. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (VEN), +62.8 secs
  15. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (JPN), +87.9 secs
  16. Jules Bianchi, Marussia (FRA), +1 lap
  17. Jenson Button, McLaren (GBR), clutch, 55 laps
  • Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (DEN), clutch, 40 laps
  • Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (MEX), accident, 39 laps
  • Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (SWE), oil leak, 33 laps
  • Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (FRA), accident damage, 18 laps
  • Adrian Sutil, Sauber (GER), accident, 17 laps

At the end of today, the current driver’s standings are:

  1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (GER), 61 points
  2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (GBR), 50 points
  3. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (GER), 28 points
  4. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (ESP), 26 points
  5. Jenson Button, McLaren (GBR), 23 points
  6. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (GER), 23 points
  7. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (DEN), 20 points
  8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (FIN), 18 points
  9. Sergio Pérez, Force India (MEX), 16 points
  10. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (AUS), 12 points
  11. Felipe Massa, Williams (BRA), 12 points
  12. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (FIN), 7 points
  13. Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (FRA), 4 points
  14. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (RUS), 3 points
  15. Romain Grosjean, Lotus (FRA), 0 points
  16. Adrian Sutil, Sauber (GER), 0 points
  17. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (MEX), 0 points
  18. Max Chilton, Marussia (GBR), 0 points
  19. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (JPN), 0 points
  20. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (VEN), 0 points
  21. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (SWE), 0 points
  22. Jules Bianchi, Marussia (FRA), 0 points

Finally, the constructor’s championship stands at:

  1. Mercedes, Germany, 111 points
  2. Force India, India, 44 points
  3. McLaren, Great Britain, 43 points
  4. Red Bull, Austria, 35 points
  5. Ferrari, Italy, 33 points
  6. Williams, Great Britain, 30 points
  7. Toro Rosso, Italy, 7 points
  8. Lotus, Great Britain, 0 points
  9. Sauber, Switzerland, 0 points
  10. Marussia, Russia, 0 points
  11. Caterham, Malaysia, 0 points

The 2014 Formula 1 UBS Chinese Grand Prix is next on the calendar. Practise will begin in Shanghai on Friday 18 April with FP1 at 10.00 Shanghai (Thursday at 21.00 in Chicago, Friday at 03.00 in London), with FP2 on Friday at 14.00 Shanghai (Friday 01.00 Chicago, 07.00 London), FP3 on Saturday 19 April at 14.00 Shanghai, (Friday at 22.00 Chicago, Saturday at 04.00 London), Qualifying at 14.00 Shanghai (01.00 Chicago, 06.00 London), and the Race on Easter Sunday at 14.00 Shanghai (02.00 Chicago, 07.00 London).

The Chinese Grand Prix this year happens to fall on Easter Weekend, which is by far the most important weekend of the year for me as a Catholic. I follow the custom of doing no work from 15.00 on Good Friday until sunset on Holy Saturday, so there will be no Practise and Qualifying article going up for the Chinese Grand Prix. However, the race article will be up, albeit a bit delayed as per usual due to the time difference.

Mercedes, Force India, Williams Perform Well in Bahrain Qualifying

Sakhir – This year’s Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is one to be remembered. Firstly, 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of Formula 1’s entrance into the Middle East and the Bahrain Grand Prix. Secondly, and perhaps offering more excitement, this marks the first time that the racing will take place after dark in Bahrain, adding it to the ever-growing list of night races alongside Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Equally exciting however was the 3 qualifying sessions undertaken by the teams in preparation for tomorrow’s race.

Q1 was highlighted by the surprisingly strong performance by both Force India drivers, in particular German Nico Hülkenberg, who quickly made his way to the top of the leaderboard. Hülkenberg, who could very well find himself with a top-tier ride in the next few years, proved himself more than able to keep the Mercedes, Ferraris, Red Bulls, McLarens, and Williamses at bay.

At the end of Q1 the usual suspects at Caterham and Marussia found themselves at the bottom, this time joined by the unfortunate Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado of Lotus and German Adrian Sutil of Sauber.

Q2 was equally impressive and exciting, with strong performances from especially the Mercedes, with both Nico Rosberg (GER) and Lewis Hamilton (GBR) finishing the session at 1, 2. They were closely followed by Australian Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull. Arguably the most shocking moment of the session came at the chequered flag when the reigning world champion, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (GER), finished in 11th and his fellow German, Q1 leader Nico Hülkenberg finished in 12th, eliminating them from the top 10 seat needed to enter the final qualifying round of the day.

Q3 in some ways seemed predetermined, considering how much faster the two Mercedes cars are in comparison to the rest of the pack thus far in 2014. Positions 3 through 10 were left to be determined, however, as the rest of the remaining field seemed evenly matched to the challenge. The McLarens of Jenson Button (GBR) and Kevin Magnussen (DEN) qualified fairly well in 7th and 9th respectively, with Williams’ Felipe Massa (BRA) sandwiched between them. One major surprise of the qualifying results was just how high Force India’s Sergio Pérez (MEX) and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas (FIN) came, with 4th and 5th places respectively.

However, poor luck once again struck the Red Bull paddock, as their Australian driver, Daniel Ricciardo will have to serve a 10-spot grid penalty resulting from him retiring from last Sunday’s race in Malaysia prior to serving a drive-through penalty for leaving the pit with an unsecured tyre. Hopefully the Australian’s luck will return to him here in Bahrain and from here on out in 2014. Likewise, Sauber’s Adrian Sutil will start the race from the back of the grid due to a 5-place grid penalty placed upon him for holding up Lotus’ Romain Grosjean (FRA) in an “unsafe manner” according to F1.com.

The starting grid for Sunday’s Gulf Air Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix are as follows:

  1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (Germany)
  2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (Great Britain)
  3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (Finland)
  4. Sergio Pérez, Force India (Mexico)
  5. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (Finland)
  6. Jenson Button, McLaren (Great Britain)
  7. Felipe Massa, Williams (Brazil)
  8. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (Denmark)
  9. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (Spain)
  10. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (Germany)
  11. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (Germany)
  12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (Russia)
  13. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (Australia)
  14. Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (France)
  15. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (Mexico)
  16. Romain Grosjean, Lotus (France)
  17. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (Venezuela)
  18. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (Japan)
  19. Jules Bianchi, Marussia (France)
  20. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (Sweden)
  21. Max Chilton, Marussia (Great Britain)
  22. Adrian Sutil, Sauber (Germany)

The 2014 F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix will start at 18:00 Kuala Lampur (10:00 Chicago, 15.00 London) and will be broadcast live in the United States in English on NBC Sports at 10.00 y en Español en diferido en Univision Deportes a las 10.00 y 04.00 en Lunes. All US times are in Central Time. In Canada at 10.55 Eastern on TSN in English et il sera dans le même temps sur RDS en français. In the United Kingdom it will be broadcasted at 22.00 on BBC2 and at 14.30 on Sky Sports 1. In Australia it will be broadcasted at 00.15 on Ten.

Mercedes dominates the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix

Kuala Lumpur – From the very start, Mercedes AMG Petronas dominated today’s F1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. Lewis Hamilton started off at pole and didn’t look back for the next 56 laps, finishing a full 17.3 seconds ahead of the next closest driver, his German teammate Nico Rosberg. 

Mishaps and misfortune were afoot once again amongst the drivers as Force India’s Sergio Peréz (MEX) did not start due to a gearbox failure. 6 other drivers would follow him into retirement from the race for various reasons including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) whose bad luck from the disqualification in Melbourne followed him to Malaysia in the form of leaving the pits with his front left tyre not properly attached. The mistake leaves him with a 10 spot grid penalty for the next race in Bahrain.

One of the more interesting struggles to take place in the race was between Williams drivers Felipe Massa (BRA) and Valtteri Bottas (FIN) the former having been ordered by the team to let the latter pass him by, as Bottas had the faster car. Massa didn’t make Bottas’ attempts at passing easy, resulting in the Fin finishing just behind the Brazilian in 7th and 8th respectively.

McLaren’s Jenson Button (GBR) did fairly good, finishing in 6th with his rookie Danish teammate Kevin Magnussen coming in 9th. This comes just after the 2 McLaren drivers finished in 2nd and 3rd on the official tables following the season opener from Albert Park in Melbourne.

Ferrari suffered this weekend, with only one of their two drivers, Spaniard Fernando Alonso, scoring any points. Alonso finished in 4th place, whereas his Finnish teammate Kimi Räikkönen finished in 12th after suffering damage to his right-rear tyre following a collision with Magnussen.

Thus far 2014 has been the year of the Silver Arrows. For a while, it certainly seemed as though the years of Red Bull dominance might well be over, but after German Sebastian Vettel’s 3rd place finish that previous assessment may prove to be false. Certainly between the seasoned champion Vettel and the young, quite talented, if not a bit unlucky, Ricciardo I’d say Red Bull stands a chance at making a strong mark on this year’s championship. Whether they will win outright for the 5th time in a row is for the future to tell.

The results for the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix are as follows:

  1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (GBR) 25 pts. 1:40:25.974
  2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (GER) 18 pts. +17.3 secs
  3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (GER) 15 pts. +24.5 secs
  4. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (ESP) 12 pts. +35.9 secs
  5. Nico Hülkenberg, Force India (GER) 10 pts. +47.1 secs
  6. Jenson Button, McLaren (GBR) 8 pts. +83.6 secs
  7. Felipe Massa, Williams (BRA) 6 pts. +85.0 secs
  8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams (FIN) 4 pts. +85.5 sec
  9. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren (DEN) 2 pts. +1 lap
  10. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso (RUS) 1 pt. +1 lap
  11. Romain Grosjean, Lotus (FRA) 0 pts. +1 lap
  12. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari (FIN) 0 pts. +1 lap
  13. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham (JPN) 0 pts. +1 lap
  14. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham (SWE) 0 pts. +2 laps
  15. Max Chilton, Marussia (GBR) 0 pts. +2 laps

  • Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull (GER) 0 pts. Retired.
  • Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber (MEX) 0 pts. Gearbox
  • Adrian Sutil, Sauber (GER) 0 pts. Power unit
  • Jean-Éric Vergne, Toro Rosso (FRA) 0 pts. Turbo
  • Jules Bianchi, Marussia (FRA) 0 pts. Accident damage
  • Pastor Maldonado, Lotus (VEN) 0 pts. Power unit
  • Sergio Peréz, Force India (MEX) 0 pts. DNS, gearbox

Formula 1 returns this coming Friday, 4 April at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The race will begin the following Sunday, 6 April, at 18.00 Bahrain (10.00 Chicago, 14.00 London.)