AE's first VLOG post

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FIA Thursday press conference - Singapore

Drivers – Marcus Ericsson (Caterham), Pastor Maldonado (Lotus), Sergio Perez (Force India), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) Adrian Sutil (Sauber), Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: First of all, a question to all of you about the ban on large amounts of radio traffic between the team and the driver. What's your reaction to this? Sergio, perhaps you could start?
Sergio Perez: Hi everyone. I don't think it's ideal that they, suddenly from one race to another, they change it dramatically that you cannot get certain calls. But it doesn't influence it much. I don't see it as a big deal, it's something that we as drivers need to get more used to. We will have, definitely, more information and we're going to be a bit more busy throughout the race to basically try to keep everything under control – fuel loads and engine modes, all that kind of stuff. I don't see a problem to get used to, it's just a dramatic change from the last race to this one.

Q: Kimi, you famously told the team "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing." Does that mean you welcome this change?
Kimi Raikkonen: Well, obviously we don't speak a lot on the radio in my case usually, when there are no issues – but obviously it might get quite complicated if there are some problems with the car and you have to change certain things to try to finish the race. I don't know how the rule goes at those times. Obviously it makes it more complicated for us but it's part of the game so it's OK.

Q: Pastor, your thoughts on it.
Pastor Maldonado: For sure it's not a great thing, especially with all the complex systems we have at the moment – but it's the same for everyone so it doesn't matter. 

Q: What about from a rookie perspective. Presumably there's been quite a lot of coaching going on over the radio Marcus, so far this season. Are you going to miss it? Particularly on the approach to the start, getting everything prepared for a start, for example?
Marcus Ericsson: No, I think...I like the idea, to be honest. I think it's good to get the drivers more in focus. I think it's good. But for us as a small team I think it's a bit trickier because our steering wheel, we don't have a big display. A lot of the other teams, I think they have a big display, so they can show a lot of stuff on this, whereas we have a very small one. So it'll be a bit more tricky – but yeah, like I said, I like the idea and I think it's good to make us drivers a bit more in focus. 

Q: Jean-Eric, are you supportive as well?
Jean-Eric Vergne: I don't mind it. I think it will be more or less the same as before. I like to do things by my own and many times this year I changed the settings before my engineer told me, so yeah, I will be a bit more lonely on the radio – but it should be fine. 

Q: Adrian?
Adrian Sutil: No problem really. I think all manageable. It's a bit more work but we'll handle it. 

Q: Kimi, coming back to you, obviously this season hasn't been quite what you expected it to be – but did you expect to have your problems sorted out by now? And what's your focus for the remaining six races or so?
KR: Obviously to do as well as we can and have good results for the team and for myself. I expect it to be difficult. Probably the team didn't expect to have such difficulties over all. We expected to be stronger overall. It's part of the game and we have to try to sort things out. I think we have done pretty good improvements – compared to where we started – as a team and obviously then I'm getting more happy with things but obviously still not where we want to be in the end. Still a lot of work to do.

Q: Pastor, front row qualifier here two years ago with Williams, it's always been a strong Lotus track – so is there some optimism there for a top ten result maybe this weekend?
PM: I hope. For sure, the qualifying pace is always a bit tricky for us but during the race, for any reason we are able to recover the pace and sometimes we are much more competitive. So hopefully here we can be a bit more competitive than Monza for sure but it's difficult to say something before we get in the car. 

Q: Sergio, you've scored points in all three of your appearances here at Singapore and you've come off the back of two strong results, so your thoughts on this race? And also how close you are to committing to Force India for another season? 
SP: I think things are settling down and I think we should be very close to committing for next year with the team but you never know; I have experience from the past so you never know what's going to happen. Yeah, we are really optimistic for this weekend. We have a good upgrade package and I believe we can be competitive and definitely our target is the McLarens which we are fighting with really closely and hopefully we can score more points than them this weekend with both cars and the upgrade package gives us some boost.

Q: Adrian, like Sergio you've scored points in your last three races here in Singapore but there's no getting away from the fact that Sauber is yet to get into Q3 this season, so what's the rescue package and what lies ahead for the rest of the season? 
AS: We have a good package here, the last one, but it should give us a little bit more speed. We have to try it out on Friday. We're not so far away - especially in qualifying – from the group in front and it's just missing a little bit to the top ten normally but Monza was quite tricky, especially in the race. We were losing a bit too much time and our performance was a bit slower but this track is very special and very different so I hope it suits our car. There's a lot of work, we need some points and this is the main target for the moment.

Q: Marcus, since the last round, obviously the team principal has moved on so can you tell us a bit about the structure now at the team and the plan for upgrades and so on?
ME: We're still pushing hard like we've done the last couple of races and bringing some more updates for here, so not much has changed. Obviously Christijan left which is a shame, we got along very well, but still I think the team is pushing on quite a lot and it's a positive atmosphere from everyone. We just have to wait and see this weekend, see how it suits our car but in general I have a good feeling. I had a really strong race last time out on a street track so I think hopefully we can try and repeat something similar to that.

Q: Jean-Eric, still six races to go but you've already scored points more times this year than you did last year so what's the plan now for you for the rest of this season and what about next season? Have you made any progress yet with your plans for 2015?
J-EV: Yeah, talking about this weekend and the race and the season, I really want to end the season strongly. I think we should have had a lot more points with our team if we didn't have so much bad luck but I think now that's behind. I really want to make the best out of the last six races with Toro Rosso and then find a good option for next year.

QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta - Turun Sanomat) Kimi, it's two hours in very humid conditions; Nico Rosberg said that the last laps are always very painful here because it's physically so demanding. How painful are they for you?
KR: I don't know. Everybody has their own feelings so I can't know how they feel like but in the past it hasn't been a problem. It doesn't feel as hot or humid in the last years unless the course has slowed in the race, so I don't see why it should suddenly be a problem.

(source: f1.com)

2014 Singapore Grand Prix preview

OK guys it's F1 time again! This weekend the Formula One series will continue at Marina Bay, Singapore.

This place was the first ever in Formula One history to host a night race back in 2008 and it has been a classic from the start. We have seen night races in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi also after that. In Abu Dhabi they start the race in daylight though. I've been there twice and it's great! The atmosphere is Singapore is pretty much the same I guess only the air isn't as dry compared to Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

Last year I wrote a little about crashgate etc. so if you are interested what I wrote about that then check this link: 

http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2013/09/2013-singapore-grand-prix-preview.html


If we try to remember what happened last year in Singapore it was this:

- People started to realize that Sebastian Vettel would win his fourth title in 2013
- Mark Webber had problems with his Red Bull again and retired on the the 60th lap out of 61.
- Fernando Alonso gave Mark Webber a ride on his Ferrari and they were penalized for this.
- Kimi Räikkönen's backpains started here but he managed to get up to 3rd from 13th place without KERS.

This time I believe we will see more fighting between the two Mers and also between the Red Bulls so keep an eye on those two as well!

Fernando Alonso has also been good here with a little help in 2008 and without help too (last year for example). He should do pretty good if you ask me.

Kimi Räikkönen was phenomenal last year with Lotus so maybe we shall see some good driving from him too. On the other hand I think his Lotus last year was much better than his Ferrari now. The F14-T is an embarrassment for the Ferrari name.

Felipe Massa took his first podium for Williams in the last race so I think his motivation is right up there where it belongs. On the other hand Valtteri Bottas is probably even hungrier to beat him. This track is not that good for Williams though.

And now it's time for my predictions:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Pastor Maldonado will have his best result for Lotus if he manages to finish the race.

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 & MH. 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

Vital Statistics - the Singapore Grand Prix

Did you know that Fernando Alonso has missed out on the podium just once in six editions of the Singapore Grand Prix? Or that Sebastian Vettel has led nearly half of the laps that have taken place on the Marina Bay Street Circuit? Ahead of this weekend’s 2014 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, we present all the need-to-know facts, stats and trivia…

Circuit: Marina Bay Street Circuit

Circuit length: 5.065 km

Number of corners: 23 (9 right, 14 left)

DRS zones: 2

Race laps: 61

Race distance: 308.828 km

2014 tyre compounds: supersoft, soft

Circuit lap record: 1m 48.574s - Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2013

First world championship Grand Prix in Singapore: 2008 (won by Fernando Alonso, Renault)

Number of races: 6

Number of races at Singapore with at least one safety-car appearance: 6 (there has been at least one safety car in every Grand Prix run at Marina Bay) 

Longest race: 2012 (2h 00m 26.1s)

Shortest race: 2009 (1h 56m 06.3s)

Last year's pole position: 1m 42.841s, Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull

Last year's podium: 1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 2 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 3 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)

Most appearances (current field): 6 - Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button; 4 - Kimi Raikkonen; 3 - Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg

Most Singapore Grand Prix wins (driver): 3 - Sebastian Vettel; 2 - Fernando Alonso; 1 - Lewis Hamilton

Most Singapore Grand Prix wins (constructor): 3 - Red Bull; 1 - Renault, McLaren, Ferrari

Most Singapore Grand Prix wins (engine manufacturer): 4 - Renault; 1 - Mercedes, Ferrari

Most Singapore Grand Prix pole positions (driver): 2 - Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel; 1 - Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso

Most Singapore Grand Prix pole positions (constructor): 2 - Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull

Most Singapore Grand Prix pole positions (engine manufacturer): 2 - Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault

Number of wins from pole: 4 from 6 races (66 percent)

Lowest winning grid position: 15th (Fernando Alonso, Renault, 2008)

Laps led (current field): 159 - Sebastian Vettel; 93 - Fernando Alonso; 76 - Lewis Hamilton; 17 - Felipe Massa; 11 - Nico Rosberg; 3 - Jenson Button

Most podium places (current field): 5 - Fernando Alonso; 4 - Sebastian Vettel; 2 - Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button; 1 - Nico Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen

Percentage of 2014 season complete: 68 percent

Maximum number of world championship points still available to a single driver: 175

Significant running sequences going into this weekend: Ferrari - 80 consecutive races in the points - the longest run in F1 history; Daniel Ricciardo - 11 consecutive points finishes; Nico Rosberg - has led at least one lap for nine consecutive races

Fascinating fact: Singapore has more corners - 23 - than any other circuit on the 2014 calendar. It is also one of the most demanding to drive - not only do drivers have to make an average of 80 gear changes per lap, but due to the heat and humidity, drivers can lose up to 3kg of fluid during the race

Potential record breakers: Mercedes have scored seven one-two finishes this year. They need four more over the remaining six races to tie McLaren's 1988 record for the most one-twos in a season, and four more to eclipse it.

Turbo history: If a Ferrari-powered car wins the race it'll be the first Ferrari turbo win since the 1988 Italian Grand Prix.

(source: f1.com)

Sir Stirling Moss & John Surtees (video)

More John Surtees for you guys with some Stirling Moss as well!

John Surtees - AUTOSPORT International 2011

I just found this a few minutes ago and I will watch it right now! You do the same if you are interested.

Pirelli reveal tyre choices for Suzuka and Sochi

Formula One tyre suppliers Pirelli have confirmed the tyre compounds that they will take to Japan and Russia.

The Italian company will bring the two hardest compounds in their range to Suzuka - the orange-marked hard and white-marked medium - in order to cope with the high speeds, fast corners and abrasiveness of the Japanese circuit.

The choice for the brand-new Sochi circuit in Russia was much more complex, as there has not yet been any representative running on the track. 

However, using simulation data, Pirelli engineers have calculated that the most suitable compounds to take are the white-marked mediums and yellow-marked softs as this combination is capable of covering a wide range of conditions.

The choices for the final three races of the year will be announced after the 2014 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix.

At a glance - tyre compounds for 2014:
Australia - soft, medium
Malaysia - medium, hard
Bahrain - soft, medium
China - soft, medium
Spain - medium, hard
Monaco - supersoft, soft
Canada - supersoft, soft
Austria - supersoft, soft
Great Britain - medium, hard
Germany - supersoft, soft
Hungary - soft, medium
Belgium - soft, medium
Italy - medium, hard
Singapore - supersoft, soft
Japan - medium, hard
Russia - soft, medium

(source: f1.com)