F1 TREASURES X

This DVD arrived in the mail last week and I have just watched it. I love it when you can buy season reviews etc. when it's between seasons. You get your dose of F1 and you stay happy for a little while.

This was a double DVD with over 5 hours of material. I had ordered this DVD earlier from Spain but I never got it. This came from the UK with no problems.

I have all the season reviews that have been released on DVD and also a lot of the VHS versions as well. I'll try to find them all and take a picture for the Facebook page later.

Earlier this weekend we have asked the fans of our Facebook page to send us pictures of your F1 stuff and also pictures from races etc. So if you have something to show us then please do.

Send them to our facebook-inbox at the F1 4 Life page so that our wall doesn't flow with pictures. We will post them on the wall ourselves if there is something really cool.

I want to thank everybody who have already sent us pictures! It is always interesting to see what kind of Formula One maniacs we have in our "F1 community" ;)

Next weekend it's Formula One time and this time for real! No more testing! No more waiting!

I will post a GP preview again before the weekend as I always do. After the GP I will post a review as well and see how it went.

I am very exited and can not wait for the season to start!

The Limit - Discovery Channel Documentary

The 2014 driver's achievements so far

Jenson Button is the most experienced driver of the grid. He has been in F1 since the year 2000.

I thought I could post a few listings where you could see which drivers are the most experienced and which ones have achieved the most etc. I am only listing current drivers that have a seat in a Formula One team for 2014. Here we go!


Championships

1. Sebastian Vettel - 4
2. Fernando Alonso - 2
3. Kimi Räikkönen - 1
4. Lewis Hamilton - 1
5. Jenson Button - 1

Grand Prix races

1. Jenson Button - 249
2. Fernando Alonso - 217
3. Kimi Räikkönen - 193
4. Felipe Massa - 192
5. Nico Rosberg - 147
6. Lewis Hamilton - 129
7. Sebastian Vettel - 120
8. Adrian Sutil - 109
9. Kamui Kobayashi - 60
10. Nico Hülkenberg - 58
11. Pastor Maldonado - 58
12. Sergio Perez - 57
13. Daniel Ricciardo - 50
14. Romain Grosjean - 45
15. Jean-Eric Vergne - 39
16. Valtteri Bottas - 19
17. Esteban Gutierrez - 19
18. Jules Bianchi - 19
19. Max Chilton - 19
20. Kevin Magnussen - 0
21. Daniil Kvjat - 0
22. Marcus Ericsson - 0

Wins

1. Sebastian Vettel - 39
2. Fernando Alonso - 32
3. Lewis Hamilton - 22
4. Kimi Räikkönen - 20
5. Jenson Button - 15
6. Felipe Massa - 11
7. Nico Rosberg - 3
8. Pastor Maldonado - 1

Podiums

1. Fernando Alonso - 95
2. Kimi Räikkönen - 77
3. Sebastian Vettel - 62
4. Lewis Hamilton - 54
5. Jenson Button - 49
6. Felipe Massa - 36
7. Nico Rosberg - 11
8. Romain Grosjean - 9
9. Sergio Perez - 3
10. Pastor Maldonado - 1
11. Kamui Kobayashi - 1

Pole positions

1. Sebastian Vettel - 45
2. Fernando Alonso - 22
3. Lewis Hamilton - 31
4. Kimi Räikkönen - 16
5. Felipe Massa - 15
6. Jenson Button - 8
7. Nico Rosberg - 4
8. Nico Hülkenberg - 1
9. Pastor Maldonado - 1

Fastest laps

1. Kimi Räikkönen - 39
2. Sebastian Vettel - 22
3. Fernando Alonso - 21
4. Felipe Massa - 14
5. Lewis Hamilton - 13
6. Jenson Button - 8
7. Nico Rosberg - 4
8. Sergio Perez - 2
9. Kamui Kobayashi - 1
10. Nico Hülkenberg - 1
11. Esteban Gutierrez - 1
12. Romain Grosjean - 1

Teams

1. Jenson Button - 7 (McLaren, Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn)
2. Kimi Räikkönen - 4 (Ferrari, Sauber, McLaren, Lotus)
3. Fernando Alonso - 4 (Ferrari, Minardi, Renault, McLaren)
4. Kamui Kobayashi - 4 (Caterham, Toyota, BMW-Sauber, Sauber)
5. Sebastian Vettel - 3 (Red Bull, BMW, Toro Rosso)
6. Sergio Perez - 3 (Force India, Sauber, McLaren)
7. Adrian Sutil - 3 (Sauber, Spyker, Force India)
8. Nico Hülkenberg - 3 (Force India, Williams, Sauber)
9. Felipe Massa - 3 (Williams, Sauber, Ferrari)
10. Daniel Ricciardo - 3 (Red Bull, Hispania, Toro Rosso)
11. Lewis Hamilton - 2 (Mercedes, McLaren)
12. Romain Grosjean - 2 (Lotus, Renault)
13. Pastor Maldonado - 2 (Lotus, Williams)
14. Nico Rosberg - 2 (Mercedes, Williams)
15. Kevin Magnussen - 1 (McLaren)
16. Esteban Gutierrez - 1 (Sauber)
17. Valtteri Bottas - 1 (Williams)
18. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1 (Toro Rosso)
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1 (Caterham)
20. Daniil Kvjat - 1 (Toro Rosso)
21. Max Chilton - 1 (Marussia)
22. Jules Bianchi - 1 (Marussia)

Williams announce title sponsorship deal with Martini

Earlier there were speculation that the car would look something like this if Martini and Williams would work together.

Williams’ cars will feature a revised, though not unfamiliar, white colour scheme this season following a new title sponsorship deal with Italian drinks firm Martini, which will see the team renamed as Williams Martini Racing.

The Grove-based squad, who ran their 2014 challenger, the Mercedes-powered FW36, with a ‘heritage blue’ livery during testing, revealed their new look at a special launch event in London on Thursday. 

This is the one you will see in Australia next week.

“We are thrilled to welcome Martini to the Williams family and officially launch Williams Martini Racing,” said Sir Frank Williams, founder and team principal.

“Williams and Martini share a rich history in the world of motorsport, and the values of our two brands and our shared passion for racing make this partnership a natural fit. It will be great to see the distinctive stripes of Martini Racing return to Formula One once again in unison with Williams.”

The Martini brand’s longstanding relationship with motorsport began in 1968 with the creation of Martini Racing and the company has previously sponsored Formula One teams including Brabham, Lotus and Ferrari.

“The decision to partner with Williams was a natural one for us as it provides an unparalleled opportunity for the Martini brand to connect with consumers through one of their lifestyle passions, Formula One racing,” said Andy Gibson, Chief Marketing Officer of Bacardi and President of Bacardi Global Brands, who oversees marketing for Martini.

“Williams Martini Racing provides a powerful, integrated marketing platform and delivers dynamic opportunities that will strengthen the Martini brand.”

The new-look Williams team will take to the track for the first time at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia next week, with their revised driver line-up of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas at the wheel.

(source: f1.com)

Does size matter? - The 2014 drivers heights and weights

Felipe Massa is one of the smallest drivers in Formula One. He drives for Williams this year.

Here's a subject I haven't seen in any other blog and it's quite interesting too!

By the way I am sorry if you are not familiar with the metric system but that's the only way I can do this.

If you really need to know exactly in pounds, feet and inches then just type the height or weight in google and write "in pounds", "in feet" or "in inches". For example "178 cm in feet".


Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel - 174cm, 64kg
Daniel Ricciardo - 178 cm, 66kg

Ferrari
Kimi Räikkönen - 175cm, 69kg
Fernando Alonso - 171cm, 64kg

McLaren
Kevin Magnussen - 174cm, 68kg
Jenson Button - 183cm, 72kg

Lotus
Romain Grosjean - 180cm, 71kg
Pastor Maldonado - 173cm, 63kg

Mercedes
Nico Rosberg - 178cm, 66kg
Lewis Hamilton - 174cm, 67kg

Sauber
Esteban Gutierrez - 180cm, 61kg
Adrian Sutil - 183cm, 75kg

Force India
Sergio Perez - 173cm, 63kg
Nico Hülkenberg - 184cm, 74kg

Williams
Felipe Massa - 166cm, 59kg
Valtteri Bottas - 173cm, 67kg

Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne - 182cm, 69kg
Daniil Kvjat - 175cm, 58kg

Caterham
Marcus Ericsson - 180cm, 69kg
Kamui Kobayashi - 168cm, 58kg

Marussia
Max Chilton - 182cm, 65kg
Jules Bianchi - 179cm, 68kg

There they are. Surprised? Who was smaller or bigger than you thought?

Analysis - the big talking points from the final Bahrain test

The final pre-season test in Bahrain gave the teams four last days in which to hone their machines ahead of the opening round of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship in Australia.

Once again, Mercedes-powered cars dominated both the timesheets and the mileage charts, but there were plenty more talking points to emerge from a fascinating session in Sakhir…

Mercedes and Williams looking strong
Two teams dominated the aggregate test times from the second Bahrain test - Mercedes and Williams. Felipe Massa recorded the fastest lap in Sakhir this winter, but Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were only a fraction away from the Brazilian’s headline time, with Valtteri Bottas just behind. 

Neither team has been immune to problems - indeed, Mercedes seemed to pick up more and more niggles as the test went along, perhaps as a result of running so many laps. However, both appear to have been able to diagnose and solve issues quicker than others. 

It has to be said that while many expected Mercedes to be at (or very near) the front in terms of pace, Williams’ form has been more surprising, particularly as the team are coming off one of their worst ever seasons. Of course, having the front running Mercedes power unit has helped their cause, but the Grove-based squad must be congratulated on producing a car that is seemingly not only fast, but also more reliable than most. Williams completed 936 laps during pre-season testing and the FW36 only stopped out on track once - and that was a high mileage failure in the internal combustion engine on the final afternoon of running.

Perhaps understandably, both Williams and Mercedes have played down their form somewhat (Hamilton preferred to focus on how quick Red Bull’s RB10 couldbe once they get on top of their problems), but Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali was less hesitant in his appraisal, saying: “From what we have seen so far, there are two teams out in front: Mercedes and Williams. After them, it could be us.”

Ferrari not quite where they want to be
Speaking of Ferrari, the Italian team have been ‘there or thereabouts’ throughout the entire pre-season, and it was the same at the final test. They don’t look to have the pace of the leading Mercedes-powered cars, but the Scuderia are convinced that there is a lot of potential that still needs to be unlocked from the F14 T, and in particular from its power unit. 

"I think the most important thing to understand on our side is how to manage the balance between electrical power, the ERS, the battery, all these things have an effect in terms of horsepower," said Domenicali.

Fernando Alonso, who along with team mate Kimi Raikkonen lost a fair chunk of track time in pre-season because of technical issues, agreed with his team principal’s assessment:

“There are a lot of things to learn with the use of the power unit to improve the performance of the car and we are not yet where we want to be. 

“Everyone in the team is very competitive and we are working day and night in order to get all the potential out of the F14 T as soon as possible.”

Force India looking like the dark horses
Force India didn’t achieve the same outright pace as Williams, Mercedes or even Ferrari in Bahrain, but after early teething troubles with the Mercedes-powered VJM07 in Jerez, they looked swift and -more importantly - reliable in Sakhir. The team completed three successive days of 100-plus laps to begin the final test, and that bodes well heading to Australia, as does the fact that both Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were able to conduct important set-up work and race simulations.

“Our time in Bahrain has gone largely to plan with the mileage achieved leaving us in good shape going into Melbourne,” said Andrew Green, Force India’s technical director. 

“We’re feeling positive about our reliability and have explored some encouraging directions for improving car performance. The other focus has been on our race readiness and we’ve done a great deal of homework to prepare the drivers for the challenge that awaits them in Melbourne."

Red Bull making progress - but not quickly enough 
Red Bull might have managed 77 laps on the final day in Bahrain - their best tally of pre-season - but that doesn’t make up for the fact that on several days they barely turned a wheel. The world champions’ tally of 320 laps this winter was bettered by every team bar Marussia and Lotus (who missed the first test in Jerez entirely).

Many will point the finger at power unit suppliers Renault, but Red Bull must take some of the blame. The RB10 may be an inherently quick machine, but Christian Horner’s team simply haven’t been able to get it working for long enough to prove it. Whilst their rivals have completed numerous race simulations, Red Bull’s runs have mainly been on the short side, with regular pit stops to check everything is okay (particularly at the rear of the car where overheating has been a problem). All of this makes a strong showing in Melbourne - and even a race finish - improbable (though not impossible). 

But for all their troubles, it mustn’t be forgotten that Red Bull are quadruple world champions for a reason and therefore it’s inconceivable that they’ll be in their current predicament for too much longer. As for the team themselves, they remain optimistic.

“Obviously we have had a lot of problems during testing, but we understand the problems and hope to have fixes in place for Australia,” said Red Bull’s race engineering co-ordinator Andy Damerum.

“We know the pace is in the car, as we saw from Daniel's performance here; what we have to do now is put all the pieces together and establish reliability for the race in Melbourne. There is plenty of motivation in the team and we'll keep working hard over the next two weeks."

Lotus well behind the curve
If Red Bull’s test period was bleak, Lotus’s wasn’t any rosier. After missing the first session of the year in Jerez, the Enstone team needed the remaining two tests to run smoothly, but after a successful shakedown of the twin prong-nosed E22, things went downhill rapidly in Bahrain. 

Clearly they are having issues with the Renault power unit and its installation and even if the problems can be fixed before Australia, Lotus will head to Melbourne significantly under-prepared, and not just from a car point of view, but from a driver point of view too.

“We’ve ended our pre-season test programme with a lot of unknowns and a full workload for the days ahead,” said Alan Permane, Lotus’s trackside operations director, after Sunday’s final test running. “We’re all focused, both at Enstone and in Viry, on analysing all the data we have gained to make as much improvement as we can before we get to Australia for the first race of the season. Today we put some more mileage on the E22, but once again we stopped early, which is obviously not what we wanted. There will be some long days and nights before the first race but we are determined to make as much progress as possible.”

No one knows what to expect in Australia!
Trying to get anyone in Bahrain to commit to a prediction for the season’s first race in Melbourne was like trying to get blood out of a stone. All anyone could agree on was that it is going to be highly unpredictable and reliability is likely to be the defining factor. 

(source: f1.com)

Pre-season testing in numbers - who went fastest and furthest

In terms of pace it was Williams and Mercedes who finished winter testing on a high, with the former’s Felipe Massa clocking the fastest time of the second and final Bahrain session. Factor in the first Sakhir test and the Jerez opener to see who’s accrued the most mileage pre-season and again it’s Mercedes and Williams leading the way…

Unofficial aggregate test times from second Bahrain test:
1. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1m 33.258s, 202 laps
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m 33.278s, 159 laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 33.484s, 192 laps
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 33.987s, 236 laps
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1m 34.280s, 196 laps
6. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1m 35.290s, 213 laps
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 35.426s, 141 laps
8. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1m 35.577s, 189 laps
9. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1m 35.701s, 135 laps
10. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1m 35.743s, 105 laps
11. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1m 35.894s, 197 laps
12. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1m 36.113s, 137 laps
13. Adrian Sutil, Sauber, 1m 36.467s, 181 laps
14. Max Chilton, Marussia, 1m 36.835s, 105 laps
15. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1m 36.901s, 74 laps
16. Jules Bianchi, Marussia, 1m 37.087s, 153 laps
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1m 37.303s, 192 laps
18. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1m 37.468s, 77 laps 
19. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham, 1m 38.083s, 172 laps
20. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham, 1m 38.391s, 125 laps
21. Romain Grosjean, Lotus, 1m 39.302s, 65 laps
22. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus, 1m 40.599s, 62 laps

Total laps in second Bahrain test - by team (power unit, where different):
1. Williams (Mercedes), 438
2. Force India (Mercedes), 402
3. Sauber (Ferrari), 373
4. Mercedes, 351
5. Ferrari, 337
6. Caterham (Renault), 297
7. Toro Rosso (Renault), 272
8. McLaren (Mercedes), 271
9. Marussia (Ferrari), 258
10. Red Bull (Renault), 182
11. Lotus (Renault), 127

Total laps in second Bahrain test - by power unit:
1. Mercedes, 1462 (4 teams)
2. Ferrari, 968 (3 teams)
3. Renault, 878 (4 teams)

Total 2014 test distance - by team (power unit, where different):
1. Mercedes, 4972.644 km
2. Williams (Mercedes), 4893.432 km
3. Ferrari, 4488.516 km
4. McLaren (Mercedes), 4153.464 km
5. Sauber (Ferrari), 4039.32 km
6. Force India (Mercedes), 3974.868 km
7. Caterham (Renault), 3313.128 km
8. Toro Rosso (Renault), 2436.384 km
9. Red Bull (Renault), 1705.764 km
10. Marussia (Ferrari), 1686.084 km
11. Lotus (Renault), 1288.056 km (Lotus missed opening Jerez test)

Total 2014 test distance - by power unit:
1. Mercedes (4 teams), 17994.408 km
3. Ferrari (3 teams), 10213.92 km
2. Renault (4 teams), 8743.332 km

(source: f1.com)