2015 Austria - Thursday Press Conference

FIA press conference schedule - Austria

Newly-crowned Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg will be among the drivers fielding questions in Spielberg on Thursday, while on Friday it is the turn of team technical personnel to face the media. The line-ups in full…

Thursday, June 18, 1500 hours local time (1300 hours GMT)
Fernando Alonso (McLaren), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

Friday, June 19, 1600 hours local time (1400 hours GMT)
Mattia Binotto (Ferrari), James Key (Toro Rosso), Tom McCullough (Force India), Paul Monaghan (Red Bull), Pat Symonds (Williams), Rob White (Renault)

The qualifying and post-race conferences with the top three drivers will take place immediately after the respective sessions.

(source: f1.com)

2015 Austrian Grand Prix preview

Austrian GP 1997

The Austrian GP is here again! I have been in Austria and I absolutely love the whole country. A very special and beautiful place so why not combine it with Formula One? ;)

A1 Ring, now known as Red Bull Ring looks like this:
(an old video with Ricciardo and Vettel)



Last year Felipe Massa took pole position and Valtteri Bottas was second in qualifying. Everybody were stunned. In the race the Mercs got ahead with Nico Rosberg as the winner and Lewis Hamilton 2nd. Valtteri Bottas was 3rd and Felipe Massa was 4th. I am pretty sure that this year Williams will also surprise us and be ahead of Ferrari.




























Last year it was the first time in many years they raced in Austria. So when was the previous race before 2014?

It was in 2003. Michael Schumacher was fighting for the championship with Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were no match for Michael and his Ferrari, so of course he won the race. Kimi was second and Juan Pablo retired from the race.

If we look at the most experienced drivers who have raced in Austria before 2014 there is Kimi Räikkönen who I mentioned earlier, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. From these drivers Kimi has been the most successful there so keep an eye on him. He even took a 4th place with Sauber in his first year. Back then Sauber never got podiums so that was a very good result.

What kind of memories do I have from this track then? I remember in 1998 when Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard took a 1-2 for McLaren and Schumacher was 3rd. Those three were fighting for the championship in 1998. In the end it was just Mika vs. Michael.


Then it's time for my predictions. 

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

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

Fastest lap: Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari

Surprise: Williams will take a step closer to Ferrari

Who will pit first: Jenson Button, McLaren

POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10

+ possible bonus points

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. For example if you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points.

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!

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side AE, JT, MW & MH. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.

Hulkenberg thrilled after debut win at Le Mans

It was Hulkenberg’s first attempt at the epic endurance event, and Porsche’s first outright victory since 1998.

The trio’s #19 car came home a lap ahead of the second-placed sister #17 Porsche machine driven by Formula One veteran Mark Webber, former Red Bull F1 reserve Brendon Hartley and German racer Timo Bernhard.

“I enjoyed every moment," said Hulkenberg afterwards. "These cars are great fun to drive and then to be on a huge track like this one.

"The pace was really high, and not what you would expect from endurance racing. Of course, I didn’t think I would come here and rock ’n’ roll this race, this would be silly because there are so many challenges in that race.”

The German also thanked Force India for allowing him to take part, and in particular team principal Vijay Mallya who was present at Le Mans to witness his driver's success.

Hulkenberg is one of only a handful of recent drivers to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours race midway through a Formula One world championship campaign.

Though it was common in the past, the last driver to do so was Sebastien Bourdais, who raced for Toro Rosso and Peugeot in the respective disciplines in 2009.

Only four drivers in history have won both the Formula One world championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours overall - Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill.

(source: f1.com)

1982 Austrian GP Österreichring - Full Race

The Austrian GP is next weekend so I thought you guys would like to see a classic race from Austria. The finish was one of the closest ever. Take a look!

Hulkenberg to start third at Le Mans

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg will join an elite club this weekend when he becomes one of only a handful of recent drivers to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours race midway through a Formula One world championship campaign.

Hulkenberg lines up third for the epic endurance event, sharing a works Porsche 919 Hybrid with British driver Nick Tandy and New Zealand’s Earl Bamber. Porsche also fill the front row of the grid, with F1 veteran Mark Webber among the men at the wheel.

"I am very pleased the 2015 Formula One calendar allows for it and I'm grateful to my Sahara Force India Formula One Team's generosity to let me go for it,” said Hulkenberg when announcing his Le Mans plans.

Though it was common in the past, the last driver to compete in both Formula One racing and the Le Mans 24 Hours at the same time was Sebastien Bourdais, who raced for Toro Rosso and Peugeot in the respective disciplines in 2009.

Only four drivers in history have won both the Formula One world championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours overall - Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill.

(source: f1.com)

More Friday outings for Palmer at Lotus

The reigning GP2 champion, who has already participated in opening practice in China, Bahrain and Spain, will also take part in the two-day post-race test in Spielberg for the Enstone team.

“I’m really looking forward to driving the E23 again in FP1 and then at the in-season test in Austria especially after not having been in the cockpit these past couple of races,” Palmer told Lotus’s official site.

“The pace of the car looked very strong in Montreal so the car has come on quite well since the last in-season testing I did in Barcelona. It’ll be good for me to do some more mileage and be in a more competitive car since the last time I drove it.”

Despite his lack of recent cockpit time, Palmer said he was pleased by the progress made with the E23 Hybrid in recent weeks, which culminated in Lotus’s first double points finish of the year in Canada.

“The E23 looked strong on the Friday straight out of the box. Maybe on the outside some might have thought that we were running quite low on fuel and then in qualifying we surprised everyone. The pace in the race itself could have been a little bit better but definitely the overall pace of the car is strong and shows a big step. Hopefully we can keep up the good work and make more progress these upcoming races.”

Lotus have scored a total of 23 points this season, putting them fifth in the standings just two points ahead of Sauber.

(source: f1.com)