Drive a lap with the MP4/4 and Fernando Alonso

Comparing the 2015 teammates: McLaren

Today I will continue the series by comparing Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

I will start with the 2009 world champion Jenson Button. First the year, the teammate and how it went.

2000 - Ralf Schumacher. His first teammate was hard to beat because Ralf was at his best at the time. He was also the younger brother of the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher. Ralf got twice the amount of points than Jenson (24-12).

2001 - Giancarlo Fisichella. 8-2! That was the score between Fisi and Jenson at Benetton. It looked like Jenson's career was going backwards.

2002 - Jarno Trulli. This year Benetton became Renault and Button became a better driver! He won his more experienced teammate by 5 points. Button was 7th in the championship which was his best yet. Trulli was 8th that year.

2003 - Jaques Villeneuve and Takuma Sato. At BAR Honda Jenson had to fight against a former world champion. So how did it go? He got more points than his two teammates combined. Sato drove for only one race but still got a 6th place which was also Villeneuve's best result that year. 

2004 - Takuma Sato. Button was clearly the better driver and got the number one driver treatment from his team. This was Button's best season yet when he was 3rd in the championship. The only ones in front of him were the unstoppable Ferrari's driven by Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

2005 - Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson. This year the BAR Honda was illegal and was excluded from 2 races and disqualified from 1. Sato was also disqualified from one more race but Button wasn't. If we look at the points that they managed to get then Button won them both again. He got 37 points when his teammates got only 1 single point combined (Davidson didn't get a single point).

2006 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the team became Honda and Barrichello joined them from Ferrari. Button took his first ever victory in Hungary and was 6th in the championship. Barrichello was right behind in 7th place but had over 20points less than Button.

2007 - Rubens Barrichello. This year the car was just awful! Button was 15th in the standings and Barrichello didn't score one single point and was 20th.

2008 - Rubens Barrichello. This time Barrichello got 11 points and Button only 3. Well.. at least he got 3 points instead of no points. Barrichello was 14th in the standings and Button was 18th.

2009 - Rubens Barrichello. This year Button won the world championship with Brawn GP which had been Honda and BAR Honda earlier. The score was 95-77 between him and his teammate. 

2010 - Lewis Hamilton. The 2009 world champion joined McLaren as the 2008 world champion's teammate. People were sure that Jenson had no chance against Lewis but made everybody shut up by winning a race before him. In the end the score was 240-214 between the two of them which ment that Lewis was better (as the press had predicted).

2011 - Lewis Hamilton. This time Jenson was hungry to beat his teammate and did just that with a score of 270-227. Button was runner up in the championship and Hamilton was 5th.

2012 - Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton's last year with McLaren and also the deciding year; who was better Hamilton or Button? Hamilton won 4 races and Button 3. If we look at the points it was 190-188 between them. Very close but Hamilton won with two points.

2013 - Sergio Perez. This teammate couldn't really fight against Button. He had his moments but usually he was just overdoing everything. He crashed into people and he missed braking points. At the end of the season the score was 73-49 with Button on the 9th place and Perez on the 11th. McLaren didn't wanna continue his contract and signed Magnussen for 2014.

2014 - Kevin Magnussen. Even though Kevin Magnussen started the season by taking a 2nd place for McLaren, Button won his younger teammate in points (126-55). Magnussen made a lot of mistakes (mostly front wing related) but still got to stay at McLaren as a reserve driver. He will drive in the first race instead of Alonso because of the Spaniard's crash in testing.

Now let's continue by comparing Alonso's teammates.

2001 - Tarso Marques/Alex Yoong. Fernando lost to Tarso Marques but won Alex Yoong. None of the drivers got any points though. Back then only the first 6 got points.

2002 - DID NOT RACE

2003 - Jarno Trulli. Fernando won his more experienced teammate by 22 points. Trulli felt like Renault's team boss Flavio Briatore wanted him to be the number 2 driver.

2004 - Jarno Trulli/Jaques Villeneuve. Fernando got 13 points more than his teammates combined.

2005 - Giancarlo Fisichella. Fernando won his teammate with 75 points which is very much! He also won the championship. For some reason Fisichella had a lot of problems the whole year with the car and retired 6 times when Alonso only twice.

2006 - Giancarlo Fisichella. Fernando won Fisichella with 62 points. Again a big amount of points more than his teammate who retired this time only twice.

2007 - Lewis Hamilton. They got exactly the same amount of points, and won races equally but Hamilton had more 2nd positions which made him the "better" driver that year. Fernando left McLaren right away after the season came to an end. Some say that he didn't like the situation where he wasn't the clear number one driver. Some others say that McLaren favored the rookie Hamilton over the two time world champion. This year Alonso is returning to that same team. Alonso says that he has matured a lot after that season and thinks this is going to be different.

2008 - Nelson Piquet Jr. Fernando won the young newcommer with 42 points and was the clear number one in the team again. The team also asked Piquet to crash on purpose so that the Spaniard would win in Singapore.

2009 - Nelson Piquet Jr./Romain Grosjean. This year Fernando only got 26 points but his teammates got none.

2010 - Felipe Massa. Fernando won his teammate by 108 points with the new scoring system and was 2nd in the championship. He lost the championship in the last race when he got stuck behind Petrov.

2011 - Felipe Massa. Fernando's victory over his teammate was even greater. 139 points!

2012 - Felipe Massa. Even more! 156 points, but Ferrari gave Felipe Massa one last chance to prove himself to the team.

2013 - Felipe Massa. Fernando won his teammate again very clearly which forced Ferrari to sign Kimi Räikkönen instead of Massa.

2014 - Kimi Räikkönen. The 2014 car was awful but Fernando won the Finn clearly. Some say that the car was designed for Alonso and was too different for Kimi. Some others say that Kimi has lost his touch even though he drove a very good season the year before.

2006 European GP (FULL RACE)

The 2006 European Grand Prix (round 5) full race! There is so little going on in F1 right now so I am forced to post a lot of races etc. so that you will survive the off-season time we have left. Enjoy!

McLaren's new era

If you haven't seen this then check it out!

McLaren confirm Alonso and Button for 2015

Jenson Button will partner Fernando Alonso at McLaren next year, after the team announced the two former champions as their race drivers for the 2015 Formula One season on Thursday.

Kevin Magnussen, who drove alongside Button for what was his rookie campaign in 2014, will serve as McLaren’s test and reserve driver.

McLaren Group chairman and CEO Ron Dennis said a partnership of Button and Alonso - whose return to McLaren had been widely predicted following his departure from Ferrari - would drive the team forward for what will be the first year of their renewed partnership with Honda.

“McLaren’s policy has always been to assemble the strongest line-up possible, and in Fernando and Jenson I firmly believe that is exactly what we have,” said Dennis. “We signed Fernando a little while ago, but we decided not to announce the fact until we had also re-signed Jenson as his team mate.

“For many reasons our negotiations with Jenson took quite a long time, but, now that they have been concluded, we are confident that our collaboration with him will continue to thrive in the future every bit as well as it has in the past. Make no mistake about it, Jenson is 100 percent committed to McLaren-Honda, to Formula One, and to winning.

“As a pair, he and Fernando are supremely experienced. Fernando has started 234 Grands Prix, has converted 32 of those starts to victories, has stood on a Grand Prix podium 97 times, and has won the drivers’ world championship not once but twice. He is a class act.

“He is 33 - which, for an athlete as physically fit as he is, constitutes a Formula One driver’s professional prime of life. Moreover, he is old enough to be experienced and expert, yet young enough to be enthusiastic and energetic. I therefore firmly believe he will deploy those four e’s - experience, expertise, enthusiasm and energy - to drive forward McLaren-Honda’s on-track success next season and for quite a few seasons to come.”

Alonso said he was delighted to finally confirm his switch from Ferrari to McLaren, for whom he previously contested the 2007 season.

“I am joining this project with enormous enthusiasm and determination, knowing that it may require some time to achieve the results we are aiming for, which is no problem for me,” commented the Spaniard. “Over the past year I have received several offers, some of them really tempting, given the current performance of some of the teams that showed interest. But, more than a year ago, McLaren-Honda contacted me and asked me to take part, in a very active way, in the return of their partnership - a partnership that dominated the Formula One scene for so long.

“McLaren-Honda’s repeated and open desire, perseverance and determination in making it possible for me to join their exciting renewed partnership, have been some of the main factors that made me take this decision, not forgetting the most important factor of all: we share a common objective and expectations, and there is a very solid future, with confidence, ahead.

“I have had in-depth discussions with all the senior people at both McLaren and Honda, I have viewed their fantastic facilities in both the UK and Japan, and it is clear to me that, together, McLaren and Honda are in the process of beginning what is sure to be a long and successful partnership. And I intend to give 100 percent effort to help make it exactly that.”

Button said he was excited to line up for what will be his 16th F1 season. The Briton had been vying with Magnussen for the right to partner Alonso. The two were evenly matched for pure pace in 2014, with Button out-qualifying the Danish rookie 10-9. The Briton had a more pronounced advantage in the races, however, scoring twice as many points over the season.

“Like Fernando, I am certain that McLaren and Honda will achieve great things together, and I feel sure that, working together, all of us will pull incredibly hard to create a brilliantly effective winning team,” commented Button, who drove for the Japanese company’s former works team earlier in his F1 career.

“I admired Ayrton Senna enormously, but, for me, it was the exploits of his McLaren-Honda team-mate Alain Prost that inspired me most as a boy. The way he stroked those beautifully brutal red-and-white cars to grand prix wins and world championships was to my mind poetry in motion, and I have tried to emulate his driving style ever since.

“Being a part of new-look McLaren-Honda is a wonderful opportunity for all of us, and I am very pleased to have been invited to do my bit. In fact, I am absolutely raring to go. I am also very glad that Kevin will remain part of the team. He is a very quick driver and a really nice guy.

“Looking forward, I know the Honda guys well, having driven Formula One cars powered by their engines from 2003 to 2008. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for them, and promise to give 100 percent to make their partnership with McLaren a success.

“Last but far from least, I am very much looking forward to having a driver as fast and as experienced as Fernando as my team mate. I am sure we will work extremely well together.”

(source: f1.com)

Alonso working on new deal with Ferrari

Fernando Alonso says it is his 'wish' to stay at Ferrari, and that he is currently in negotiations to extend his contract with the Italian team.

The two-time world champion's future has been the subject of much speculation in recent months, with rumours even linking him with a return to former team McLaren.

However, Alonso has labelled the conjecture around his future 'disruptive', insisting that he is determined to remain a Ferrari driver - particularly as his desire to drive the team forward is being matched by the impetus provided by new team principal Marco Mattiacci.

"It's a year now that I've been saying I want to stay at Ferrari and extend my contract - that's my wish," Alonso told the official Ferrari website when asked about his F1 future.

"I have a contract for another two years and as I always say on the subject of rumours and to ensure calm, what I want is to continue. In fact, we're working on it [renewing his contract with Ferrari].

"Talk of other teams has never come from my lips; in fact it's always been the opposite. It's not nice because it creates a bit of stress and it means it is disruptive for me, the fans and for the people in the team."

Asked what he needed to see from Ferrari in order to commit to the team, the Spaniard added: "Obviously the most important thing is to win, because that's the same for all sportsmen. 

"However, I think Ferrari can offer a lot more than ‘only' winning - there is a passion for this team, which as a driver means you are already proud of what you are doing, independent of the results.

"The most important thing is to fix the things that are not going well on the car and in the team and to do everything that is needed. 

"[Marco] Mattiacci also shares this desire to change things and to be more aggressive in our approach to our work. This renewed will to win makes staying at Ferrari even more attractive."

Alonso conceded that Ferrari have been off the pace in 2014, but believes the team are improving - and that they can bridge the gap to Mercedes ahead of the 2015 championship.

"This year has definitely been the toughest in the five I've been with Ferrari, in coming to Monza in greater difficulty and without having a really clear idea of what the race can hold for us - in the other years, we were fighting for the title or a podium was definitely within our grasp or maybe even a win," he said.

"For eleven races now we have been fighting to sort out the situation and become more competitive and I think we have done that. I would say the progress is visible, because in the last three or four races, we have become more competitive.

"What's certain is that we must reduce the gap over the winter and much more than in other winters, because it's a gap of around one and a half seconds. Clearly, the expectation for next year is to improve a lot. 

"It's a major challenge for the whole team, because I think we have the ability, we have the structure, so it's just down to us to work hard."

(source: f1.com)

The Science of Driving Excitement in a Ferrari 458

Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso had a very interesting test before the previous grand prix to see how much their heartbeat changes when driving fast.

They were both pretty calm but later a journalist tried the same thing (you can't see it on this video) and his heartbeat went up like a rocket!

Di Montezemolo: Ferrari laying foundations for winning cycle

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is convinced that the team have made significant strides over the first half of their 2014 Formula One campaign, even if results are "not always visible".

For the first time since 2009 Ferrari have failed to win once over the opening 11 races, with Fernando Alonso's podiums in China and Hungary the only two occasions on which the Italian squad have cracked the top three.

However, Di Montezemolo says changes are already being made in order for the Scuderia to rediscover front-running form, starting with an overhaul of how the team operates away from the circuit.

"We are making in-depth changes on both the organisational side, in our approach and culture," he told the Ferrari website. 

"We have taken important decisions and have made significant progress, even if, at the moment, the results of all this work are not always visible. 

"The aim is to get back to being as competitive as we were before in the shortest possible time, while at the same time putting everything in place so that we can embark on another winning cycle."

Di Montezemolo also dismissed speculation about the futures of Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, both of whom have been the subject of rumours suggesting they could leave Ferrari at the end of the season.

"We are lucky to have two great champions, who are working with the whole team to get back to being competitive again," Di Montezemolo added. 

"Of course, as is the case every summer, there is unfounded gossip about alleged problems with senseless rumours bandied about, such as the ones relating to Alonso's contract. We know that the summer heat always produces silly stories. 

"Our drivers must now relax in order to return in top form. The season is still long and we need Fernando and Kimi to be in great shape."

Ferrari currently sit third in the constructors' championship on 142 points - 77 points behind Red Bull, and seven ahead of Williams. Alonso is third in the drivers' standings, while Raikkonen languishes in 12th, sandwiched by Force India's Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne.

(source: f1.com)

2014 German Grand Prix review

Hello there! I am sorry that I am writing the race review today and not yesterday. I have been a bit busy but now I have a little time so here goes.

The race was entertaining as usual. It was exciting that Hamilton started from the back and I was sure that he would be on the podium. He didn't let me down and overtook a lot of cars!

It's just a bit stupid with DRS because it's very easy to come from the back to the front. It's not that special anymore. I remember when Räikkönen started from the back in the 2005 Japanese GP and overtook Fisichella on the last lap and won the race. No KERS/ERS or DRS! just pure skills and a fast car.

Don't get me wrong I like to see overtakes but it's like comparing basketball and soccer. In basketball there's a lot of points very often and in soccer when you score it's more important cause it doesn't happen that often. DRS/ERS/KERS has made F1 like basketball. Maybe you got the picture?

I realized that overtaking isn't as cool as it used to be in 2012 (Abu Dhabi) when Sebastian Vettel started from the pits and was 3rd when the race was over. He had the best car with these new buttons you just push and then you are in front like that.

But now let's talk more about the actual race!

The start was a disaster for Felipe Massa who collided for the 3rd time this season on the first lap. Maybe it is bad luck or maybe he should start looking more in the mirrors? The man who hit him was Kevin Magnussen who has also hit Kimi Räikkönen about 3-4 times this season and every time with his front wing. This time it was also his front wing and tyre that touched Massa's car.

It was difficult to say who's fault it was because Massa couldn't see him coming and Magnussen was as close as he could be to the grass. The brazilian had to retire after sliding upside down for a few meters. 

Kimi Räikkönen had an ok race and was overtaking car after car also but had a lot of bad luck again. He got hit by at least these drivers: Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and his teammate Fernando Alonso. The worst part was when Vettel and Alonso hit him at the same time from both sides.

If I say one more thing about Kimi then it's this: WHY AREN'T THEY EVEN TRYING WITH HIM?! Kimi said that he must pit because the tyres are destroyed and they just respond calmly that he should continue. Then when he says several times "WE MUST PIT!" then they believe him. If Alonso would have said that they should pit they would have ran outside with flames coming out of their asses.

I can't believe that Kimi drove so well with Lotus and then with Ferrari it's like he is a terrible driver. What is going on?! Seriously! It's so weird that I can't understand this. This has been his worst season of his career. Let's move on..

Later we saw two pretty weird retirements. First of all Daniil Kvyat was on flames and was obviously not happy about it:

..and then we saw Adrian Sutil spinning on the main straight saying "something's wrong with the car".

Then I'm gonna talk about my new hero! Valtteri Bottas! what a driver! It was like nothing could stop him. Not even Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes!

Bottas has now scored in 10 races more than the whole Williams team in three seasons!
This has now lifted Williams to third position in the constructors championship. Ferrari doesn't like that! Better get Kimi's car to work now. At least he was happy with it in the last race even though he had a lot of bad luck again.

What else? Lewis Hamilton said before the German GP that Nico Rosberg is not German because he is half finnish and lives in Monaco. He obviously tried to make him nervous before his home race. Instead he made him more hungry to prove him wrong and to win the race.

I am going to say this again in this post: NICO ROSBERG WILL BE CHAMPION IN 2014!
I have a very strong feeling of this.


And then! Here are my predictions for the 2014 German GP and how it went:

Pole position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - CORRECT

The race:

1. Valtteri Bottas, Williams - WRONG. He was 2nd.
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. He was 1st.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. It was the other Mercedes driven by Lewis Hamilton.

First to pit in the race: Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso - WRONG. Kevin Magnussen pitted after crashing with Felipe Massa.

Surprise: Jenson Button, McLaren - He will be very close to a podium finish - WRONG. It didn't go THAT well.

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS:  1st - 3  2nd - 5  3rd - 10 

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun. 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes. 

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps. 

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

2014 German Grand Prix preview

Hi there! It's time for some Grand Prix racing again this weekend and the event will take place at the legendary Hockenheim ring in Germany.

The track used to be a bit different and here you can see the difference:

I personally liked the old circuit more with the forrest part. I know it was mainly just driving straight but you could see a lot of overtaking there. Smaller teams that didn't do that good could get an advantage in Hockenheim too if they were fast on the straights. 

One of the fastest on the straights this year is Williams so they would have probably been the best on the older track. They might be pretty awesome on the new version of the track as well but Mercedes is very close and are hungry for more wins.

Sauber, McLaren, Force India and Ferrari are getting big updates and I am pretty sure that the other teams are not just sitting around so this could be a very interesting weekend! I am very sure! You will see something radical in my predictions as well ;) (the winner)

Before I reveal my predictions I would like to show you a few videos from the 2010 German GP to refresh your memory:





I hope something like this doesn't happen this year but I hope the weekend will be unforgettable anyways. 

Tell me what you think of that "scandal" below or on the facebook page or send me an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com


Here are my predictions for the 2014 German GP:

Pole position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

The race:

1. Valtteri Bottas, Williams
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

First to pit in the race: Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso

Surprise: Jenson Button, McLaren - He will be very close to a podium finish.

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS:  1st - 3  2nd - 5  3rd - 10 

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes. 

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps. 

THIS TIME YOU ALSO GET BONUS POINTS! PREDICT POLE POSITION AND FASTEST LAP CORRECTLY TO EARN 2 EXTRA POINTS! AND NOW ALSO THE DRIVER WHO PITS FIRST IN THE RACE.

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

Ferrari: Raikkonen will prove his class

Ferrari insist Kimi Raikkonen will rapidly get on top of his early 2014 struggles and reassert himself as a Formula One frontrunner.

Raikkonen has found it difficult to get comfortable with the F14 T and has been outperformed by team mate Fernando Alonso as a result - he is yet to beat the Spaniard after the first four Grands Prix of the season, and has racked up 11 points to Alonso's 41. In China, he finished more than 50 seconds adrift of his team mate.

Raikkonen also trails Alonso in qualifying, although he did have the edge in Bahrain where he lined up fifth, four spots ahead of his team mate.

Ferrari's chassis technical director James Allison believes Raikkonen will soon be back to his best however, tipping the Finn for a rapid resurgence.

"Kimi is working extremely well with this team, collaborating extremely well with his engineers, with the other car, and helping us drive this car forwards; helping to show us where it is weak and helping us to make it stronger," Allison said. 

"He has class written all over him, and we know that within a very short space of time we will also be seeing the results on the track."

Allison also paid tribute to Alonso, saying his form over the opening four races has been phenomenal.

"With Fernando we have seen an extraordinary level of performance, scavenging every possible point at every possible opportunity," he said. "We have to say thank you to him for what he has managed to do with the car so far this year.

"We are very fortunate to have two good drivers with impeccable pedigree. Until we deliver both our drivers a car they can really put to work on a track, we are just fortunate to have these guys helping us drive the programme forward."

Allison believes it is imperative for Ferrari to continue finding gains at every remaining Grand Prix, in order to continue the improvement the team enjoyed between Bahrain and China.

"The performance we saw at China - was that the real performance of the car, or was it Bahrain?," he said. "In fact it is a mistake to think in those terms, because it wasn't the same car at those tracks: between Bahrain and China we improved the car quite substantially. 

"That is the key to having a successful season: you need to keep improving at every race. If we can do that successfully, bringing a meaningful amount of performance to every race, we will keep seeing a step forward."

(source: f1.com)