Melbourne hopes new deal will bring Ricciardo home win

Australian Grand Prix organisers are optimistic that Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo will score a home win in Melbourne by the end of the decade, after the city signed a new contract to host the race through to 2020.

Melbourne will celebrate its 20th running of the Australian Grand Prix next season, and having renewed its deal for a further five years over the weekend, wants to witness two-time F1 winner Ricciardo add an Albert Park victory to his tally.

“Within this contract we hope to see Australia’s own Daniel Ricciardo win the Formula One Australian Grand Prix and become world champion,” said Victoria Premier Denis Napthine on announcing the extension.

As one of several global sporting events staged in Victoria, the Australian Grand Prix - in which Ricciardo finished second this year before his car was disqualified - brings up to $39 million of economic benefits to the state and generates in the region of 400 full-time equivalent jobs.

“In addition, the worldwide broadcast delivers invaluable promotion and coverage to Melbourne and Victoria,” added Victoria’s Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher. “These cornerstone events enhance our international reputation as the world’s most liveable city.”

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One group CEO, said the signing of the new contract was well deserved, commenting: “I congratulate Melbourne for the excellent way in which it presents Formula One to the world.”

(source: f1.com)

The History Of Grand Prix Racing

Another documentary for you guys. I have got a lot of requests for these and I try to post documentaries every time I find any. For now you gotta enjoy the ones that I have already posted ;)

Tomorrow I will write about the 2014 drivers a little. Let's say that I will compare them again with each other and see how well they have done this season to this point.

Turbo Engines Return 2014 - How it All Started [Documentary HD]

An interesting documentary I found today on YouTube. Haven't posted these for a while again so enjoy this one ;)

Kimi vs. Brundle, Herbert and Davidson on.. lawn mowers?!

Found this funny video today. I have read about this but this was actually the first time I saw the video. If you haven't either then take a look. It's pretty funny.

Next year's F1 game to feature in-season updates

Next year's official Formula One video game will be available on new-generation platforms and will feature live, in-season updates for the first time, Codemasters have confirmed. The game, which will be playable on the Xbox One, Playstation 4 and PC, will also be released earlier in the season.

Players will receive digital updates for the game as the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship unfolds, enabling them to compete against the drivers and teams they watch week in and week out.

Codemasters have also revealed a release date of October 17 for their F1 2014 game, which boasts several new features including an enhanced career mode and an intuitive driver evaluation system that tunes the game difficulty to each player's individual ability

The 2014 game will cover the rule changes made at the start of the season, meaning new turbocharged cars - with refined handling - and new circuits in Sochi and Spielberg. For the first time, Bahrain will also be a night race, with the transition from day to night also incorporated.

Stephen Hood, creative director of Codemasters' F1 series, said sweeping changes within the sport will make for a radically different game.

"This is the year it all changes - for the sport and for the game," he said. "There's been a dramatic shift in the sport; the largest shake up in the rules and regulations for a very long time and the new power units provide a very different kind of challenge, for both driver and team.

"By delivering all of these changes, F1 2014 will make for an exciting and refreshingly different experience. 

"Additionally, with the new driver evaluation system analysing each player's skill level and suggesting appropriate game settings, plus re-graded difficulty levels including a brand new Very Easy setting, we aim to deliver a thoroughly rewarding F1 experience for players of all abilities, from the novice to the seasoned pro.

"Our [2015] title for the new generation formats will mark a huge step forward for the F1 series. We want to be out there earlier in the season and deliver content updates digitally as the season progresses; it’s very exciting for the series and our players."

The 2014 game will be available on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. Codemasters will reveal further details of their 2015 game in the coming months. For more information visit www.formula1-game.com.

(source: f1.com)

Ferrari announce reshuffle of power unit department

Luca Marmorini is to leave his role as the director of Ferrari’s engine and electronics department as the Italian team restructure their power unit department. 

The move, which was announced on Thursday, sees Mattia Binotto assume the role of chief operating officer, whilst Lorenzo Sassi retains his position as chief designer of the power unit.

James Allison, Ferrari's technical director, continues to be responsible for the entire car project, supported by chief chassis designer Nikolas Tombazis.

(source: f1.com)

F1.com's Hungary analysis - Ricciardo, Alonso, Hamilton share the plaudits

Daniel Ricciardo's inspired drive to victory for Red Bull stole the headlines in Hungary, but the two men he beat - Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton - also shone in a sensational finish to a breathtaking Grand Prix. For Alonso, an astounding 32-lap stint on the soft tyres yielded a second podium of 2014, and very nearly a first triumph. Hamilton, meanwhile, came close to an unprecedented charge from the pit lane to victory, and while powerless to halt Ricciardo, still gained points on his team mate, title rival and polesitter Nico Rosberg. We take a team-by-team look back at Sunday's formbook after a remarkable race in Budapest…

Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo, P1
Sebastian Vettel, P7
Quick thinking under the first safety car helped Ricciardo to get into contention, and even though the second wasn't so beneficial he was in play from then on. He was forced to do some judicious juggling mid-race in order to reset things when he feared an imminent power loss, but all was well and after his final pit stop he was able to play catch up on fresh soft rubber, passing both Hamilton and then Alonso in the final four laps to grab his second career victory. He did all of that in great style, and thoroughly deserved the plaudits. Vettel, meanwhile, was also in the thick of the fight for the lead, until he spun exiting the final corner on the 32nd lap and dropped back. He was lucky to get away with that, and later elected to stay out to the finish rather than stop for fresh tyres. The gamble just paid off as he held Williams' Valtteri Bottas at bay for seventh.

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P2
Kimi Raikkonen, P6
Alonso drove brilliantly to keep his F14 T in contention right up until the penultimate lap, and never left an opening for Hamilton even though his soft tyres were 32 laps old by the end of the race. He had earlier survived an off-track moment at Turn 1 and kept himself in contention despite the unfortunate timing of the first safety car - an astounding drive which was a massive boost to Ferrari morale. With Raikkonen having a more convincing race than of late to take sixth from 16th on the grid, the Scuderia move back ahead of Williams and into third place in the constructors' championship.

Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, P3
Nico Rosberg, P4
All things being equal, Mercedes should have walked the race - but things weren't equal. After opening up a lead of nine seconds, Rosberg lost out under the first safety car, got held up chasing after Ricciardo, Massa and Alonso by Vergne, and then to his frustration was also held up by his team mate when the latter declined team requests to let him through so that his three-stop strategy might work. He was phenomenally quick at the finish, closing a 20-second gap in 10 laps to finish right on the tail of Hamilton and Alonso's fight for second. Hamilton, meanwhile, survived a spin and a clash with the barriers at Turn 2 on the opening lap, having been caught out by how cold his brakes and tyres were following his pit-lane start. But when he did get going he used the safety cars well and was even in contention for what would have been an unprecedented charge from pit lane to victory, on an afternoon when many had doubted that a podium would be achievable - even in a Mercedes. The fact that he did scythe his way up the order, and his robust refusal to make life easier for his team mate, were two of the enthralling factors of the race.

Williams
Felipe Massa, P5
Valtteri Bottas, P8
Bottas was one of the four leading drivers to lose out under the first safety car, as timing and traffic dropped him from second to 11th and forced him to play catch-up thereafter. In the end a late tyre stop prevented him from doing better than eighth. Massa drove a tricky race well, and was second before the second safety car, before eventually coming home fifth. The team may have dropped behind Ferrari and into fourth in the constructors' championship, but they can still hold their heads high at the season's midpoint.

McLaren
Jenson Button, P10
Kevin Magnussen, P12
McLaren were undone by their early gamble to re-equip Button with more intermediate tyres at the first pit stop, with their prediction of more rain proving totally wrong. The Briton did at least lead a lap, but his tyres were soon finished and he was forced to pit for slicks and thereafter dropped away. Magnussen, who elected to stay out on his intermediates and therefore moved from the pit lane to fourth in the space of the opening 14 laps, also felt that a chance had been fumbled as he suffered a similar fate.

Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne, P9
Daniil Kvyat, P14
Vergne's occupancy of second place between laps 24 to 33 was a high point, especially as he was fending off Rosberg, Vettel and Hamilton with aplomb. Thereafter, however, he struggled with brake temperature problems and dropped back to ninth at the flag. Kvyat had a tough time after his engine stalled on the formation lap, forcing him to start from the pit lane and limiting him to 14th in the race.

Sauber
Adrian Sutil, P11
Esteban Gutierrez, Retired lap 33, ERS failure
For a while Sauber looked likely to score their first points of 2014, with Gutierrez having his best race of the year to run eighth from laps 24 to 29 - although he later dropped out with an ERS problem. Then Sutil started harassing Button for 10th, with the pair finishing less than a second apart at the flag.

Lotus
Pastor Maldonado, P13
Romain Grosjean, Retired lap 11, accident
Maldonado spun on one of his warm-up laps before the race, later collided with Bianchi, and was never in contention for the points. Grosjean, meanwhile, crashed at Turn 3 while running behind the safety car on lap 11. Not a happy day for Lotus.

Marussia
Jules Bianchi, P15
Max Chilton, P16
The two Marussia drivers battled throughout, with Bianchi leading Chilton by half a second at the flag. The Frenchman had to cope with a car whose balance was damaged in the collision with Maldonado.

Force India
Sergio Perez, Retired lap 22, accident
Nico Hulkenberg, Retired lap 15, accident
For the first time this season Force India failed to score points. Hulkenberg took off his own front wing and slid out of the race when he collided with Perez in the final corner, an incident for which he subsequently apologised. Eight laps later and Perez was also out, spinning exiting the final corner and trashing his car against the pit wall.

Caterham
Kamui Kobayashi, Retired lap 25, fuel system
Marcus Ericsson, Retired lap 8, accident
Caterham also had a terrible day, with Kobayashi retiring with fuel system gremlins and Ericsson crashing heavily exiting Turn 3 on the eighth lap, triggering the first safety-car intervention.

(source: f1.com)