2014 Monaco Grand Prix

2 hours of onboard material from Monaco (2014)! Enjoy!

Tomorrow I will post the Belgian GP preview. Don't forget to post your PREDICTORS LEAGUE predictions.

Helmut Marko: Verstappen has all the ingredients of a champion

Max Verstappen has all the qualities needed to be a future Formula One world champion, according to Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.

Toro Rosso announced on Monday that Verstappen, newly recruited by the Red Bull Junior Team, will drive alongside Daniil Kvyat from the start of the 2015 season.

Though the Dutchman will have just one year of single-seater experience to draw upon, Marko says Red Bull are convinced there is no risk, given what the 16-year-old has already proved capable of.

"I think he has unbelievable speed," Marko told Red Bull. "For his age he is very mature, and he is a hard worker. He has all the necessary ingredients you need to be absolute champion.

"It was a surprise how quickly he adapted to Formula Three. The moment I thought [he was] something really special was at the Norisring. In mixed conditions - it was more wet than dry - he was per lap two seconds and more faster than anyone else.

"He will be 17 when he has his first race, which is pretty young, but I don't think it is a risk. He proved in various races that he can use his head. I had quite a few conversations with him and there you see how mature he is. 

"Toro Rosso is well known for educating and training young drivers, so he comes into [that] environment, and with all the possibilities which are around the Red Bull family - I think he'll go into the season well prepared. We can't see any risk doing it like that."

Verstappen, son of Formula One veteran Jos, admitted his deal with Toro Rosso - which will make him the youngest F1 driver in history - has yet to sink in, but insists he is ready for the challenge.

"I couldn't believe it in the beginning but I'm really, really happy at the moment," he said.

"It happened so fast, in one year and from Formula Three only…you start to realise it a bit more when you see a Formula One car, but I think you completely realise it when you are in the car. Then you are ‘okay this is it'.

"Of course I will do a lot of training from now on to be prepared to the big step. I think the age doesn't really matter. You want to be fast of course, but the main goal is just to try and be very consistent and not make too many mistakes. 

"I think it will be very good for Holland to have a new Dutch F1 driver - and also I am the second Verstappen name now, so I think that will be really cool. In the future of course I hope to become a world champion - that is also a dream."

Marko said the announcement had been made now in order to give Verstappen the maximum time possible to ready himself for his debut season, and also to give the outgoing Jean-Eric Vergne a chance to prove himself to other F1 teams.

"We are announcing it in the middle of the season to end all the speculation, to give a really good preparation for next year," Marko said.

"We were a little bit spoiled by what we have seen from Kvyat, who came into F1 with nearly no testing and was immediately in the points. I think we expect similar things from Max.

"On the other hand [there are] eight races left for Jean-Eric Vergne. He can make a good impression by having some really good results [which can] help him further his Formula One career."

Verstappen has won eight times and scored 13 podiums in his maiden FIA European Formula Three campaign, and lies second in the championship with two rounds to go.

(source: f1.com)

Assessing the hybrid revolution - the mid-term tech report

For the 2014 season, Formula One racing undertook the most comprehensive regulation changes seen in the last three decades, with a move to more fuel efficient, hybrid turbocharged power units.

With 11 of the year's 19 Grands Prix complete, F1 technical expert Gary Anderson looks back on how these changes have played out so far - and looks ahead to what we can expect in the remaining races...

Chassis and aerodynamics
Here the regulation changes were aimed primarily at losing some of the downforce that the teams' engineers seem to find from nowhere year on year. This is important as it keeps a cap on performance and, more importantly, safety.

The most visible area of change resulting from this has been the nose, where the front-impact area at the nose's leading edge was lowered to reduce the risk of cars being lifted upwards when they make contact with a rotating wheel.

We have seen four different styles of nose: Mercedes and Ferrari with their low and wide solution; Red Bull and Marussia with their very neat designs featuring an impact pod hanging down underneath; Lotus with their twin tusks; and the most popular ‘anteater' design which the other teams incorporated (even Caterham's strange-looking nose is a version of this).

The detailing of this area is all about getting as much airflow as possible between the two front wheels. Achieving this means that the front wing will work better and the airflow to the underfloor will be improved, both increasing overall downforce.

Of all the different concepts I believe that the Mercedes and Red Bull versions are best overall, with the detailing of the Williams anteater solution a very close second. On any of these concepts it's all about the fine detail.

The front wing itself has been reduced in overall width. This means that the detail of the front wing endplates is a little different, but the concept remains very similar and the development direction seen over the last five years continues.

At the rear of the car the lower beam wing has been outlawed. This component produced a reasonable amount of downforce, and also helped the consistency of the downforce generated by the underfloor, especially under braking. This lost downforce has been the most difficult to replace and, together with new underfloors and diffusers, has been the area of the most chassis development.

With the chassis regulations as restricted as they are, we have not seen any major developments in the first half of the season. Instead it has all been about detail and optimisation - and I think this trend will be similar in the second half of the year.

Power unit and ERS packaging
Without doubt the biggest impact on 2014 performance - and the most difficult thing for the teams to implement - has been the introduction of the new power unit.

This consists of a 1.6 litre V6 single turbo-charged internal combustion engine (ICE), with an intercooler to reduce the intake temperature, revving to a maximum of 15,000 rpm and fuel limited to a maximum flow rate of 100kg per hour, with maximum fuel consumption of 100kg per race. Connected to that is an electrical energy recovery system (ERS).

The ERS consists of an electrical motor or MGU-K (motor generator unit-kinetic) mounted on the engine that can recharge the battery pack during braking and also increase the power of the engine under acceleration. Along with this is another electrical motor or MGU-H (motor generator unit-heat) mounted on the turbo. This can be used to charge up the battery pack, speed up the turbo to reduce turbo lag, slow the turbo down to reduce over boosting, or simply generate electrical power and send it directly to the ICE.

The battery pack and its control unit are mounted underneath the fuel tank in the middle of the car, and because of the amount of energy going into and out of this pack it needs to be fluid cooled.

Based on the season's performance so far, Mercedes appear to have a better handle on this package than Ferrari or Renault. It is not one thing that makes their unit work more efficiently: it is a very complicated package and it is about understanding the unit as a whole and optimising every detail.
For example, Mercedes have separated the hot and cold sides of the turbo and mounted their MGU-H between them. This has a benefit in packaging, heat management and also in how you can use the electrical energy. Ferrari, meanwhile, have a very neat intercooler concept that mounts in the V of the engine.

I would imagine that all of these different concepts will merge for 2015, creating one similar package that will equalise the potential performance from the different power units. However, it will still be down to how and when each team and engine supplier use the available energy.

The removal of FRIC
Just before the German Grand Prix the FIA questioned whether what was known as FRIC (front and rear interconnected) suspension had possibly gone too far and was now controlling the aerodynamic platform of the car. With the system's legality in question, the teams had to come up with normal suspension settings to control the cars.

FRIC enabled the cars to run softer suspension settings and also allowed them to run with lower ride heights, which ultimately meant they produced more downforce. Now the cars are running stiffer springs on the suspension, which means they are not as compliant over the kerbs and the locking of wheels under braking is more pronounced.

As most teams had some version of this FRIC suspension, the relative difference in performance between them when it was removed was negligible. These teams are made up of very intelligent people: give them time to scratch their heads and they will find a solution.

The reckoning
Though it would be wrong for me to pass judgement on which team is doing the best job, the numbers speak for themselves. In the table below, I have averaged the best laps completed by each driver over the 11 Grand Prix weekends to date and expressed that as a percentage of the overall fastest laps - in other words, if a driver had been quickest every weekend he would be on a perfect 100 percent. From this it is fairly easy to see which teams and drivers need to pull their fingers out. Mercedes came out on top, with Nico Rosberg fastest at seven of the 11 weekends.

1. Mercedes (Rosberg) - 100.102
2. Mercedes (Hamilton) - 100.495
3. Red Bull (Ricciardo) - 100.958
4. Ferrari (Alonso) - 101.145
5. Red Bull (Vettel) - 101.196
6. Williams (Bottas) - 101.285
7. Williams (Massa) - 101.440
8. Ferrari (Raikkonen) - 101.728
9. McLaren (Button) - 101.783
10. McLaren (Magnussen) - 101.812
11. Force India (Hulkenberg) - 102.040
12. Toro Rosso (Vergne) - 102.122
13. Toro Rosso (Kyvat) - 102.251
14. Force India (Perez) - 102.275
15. Lotus (Grosjean) - 102.847
16. Sauber (Sutil) - 103.130
17. Sauber (Gutierrez) - 103.181
18. Lotus (Maldonado) - 103.524
19. Marussia (Bianchi) - 104.448
20. Marussia (Chilton) - 105.103
21. Caterham (Kobayashi) - 105.353
22. Caterham (Ericsson) - 106.038

Still to come in 2014
The second half of the season is very tough, with the majority of races being long-distance flyaway rounds. Most teams will focus on power unit optimisation, as this is all about ICE and ERS integration. However, some teams and drivers are going to start getting penalties for using too many ICE components and this could have a major effect at the later races.

The last major developments we will see will be for the upcoming Belgian Grand Prix, as these components will have been in manufacture well before the summer break. After that it will be a split as far as chassis development is concerned. Teams who are fighting for a championship position and who still have a mathematical chance of improving their position will keep developing their cars. By contrast, teams who are not performing as they should will start to focus on 2015. We will see a few aerodynamic developments on their cars, but most of them will be circuit specific.

Looking ahead
2015 is now just around the corner and if you ask any team how competitive they are going to be they will all say they are going to win the world championship. But that is what you have got to believe - no team knowingly builds a poor car: it is the areas of the car that they don't quite understand that lets them down. What you have to do is minimise these risk areas, and if it isn't broken don't fix it.

McLaren with their new Honda relationship should be very strong. Honda have been able to sit back and see how the other power units have performed this year and this will have allowed them to put together a jigsaw of the best bits. McLaren too will have learned a lot this year and next season will want to show they are the McLaren we expect to see racing at the front.

In summation
It's been a fantastic season so far and I am really looking forward to the second half. We have had very competitive racing all the way through the field, with the extra spice of a little bit of intra-team controversy which always adds to the on-track battles. Long may it continue and with double points for the last race it could all be won or lost right there in Abu Dhabi.

(source: f1.com)

F1 CHAMPIONS FOREVER : THE QUICK & THE DEAD

I have posted this earlier in two blocks but now I am posting this again as a whole video. This documentary is a must see if you are a true Formula One fan.

Michael Schumacher Documentary

Michael Schumacher full documentary from 2013 SkySport F1 HD. This is a must see!

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)

David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen drive old McLarens

I have posted a few Mika Häkkinen pics and quotes lately and now I found this! Häkkinen and DC are very funny of course as usual.