2016 Mexican Grand Prix review

It was an interesting Grand Prix this weekend and I enjoyed the race. It had a lot of thrilling moments and I will talk about the things that I enjoyed or wondered about the most.

At the start the first four rows moved out of the grid without any problems but then suddenly Lewis Hamilton went off track and gained a huge advantage. No penalties were given which was very strange. He was far away from the rest but had to slow down when the virtual safety car was deployed. The reason for that was Pascal Wehrlein's retirement. If it wasn't for the VSC deployment then Hamilton would have gotten a penalty for sure.

What should they do so that the drivers wouldn't go off so much? In my opinion they should have more gravel or sand so that the cars would get stuck. When the drivers know that it is possible to even retire from the race if they go off then they wouldn't do stuff like that anymore. In Australia for example they have a lot of areas with gravel and nobody wants to go off track in those places.

Nico Rosberg also went off track after the first corner because Red Bull's Max Verstappen pushed him from the side. Typical Verstappen, is it a good or bad thing? I honestly don't know but at least it gave us some excitement.

Red Bull's strategy to make Daniel Ricciardo pit after the first lap was interesting. It dropped him to the back but in the end seemed to have payed off.

In the meantime when Ricciardo was making his way through to the top we saw very good fighting between Rosberg and Verstappen. Verstappen almost overtook Rosberg at one point but had too much speed and went off track. Rosberg was confident and didn't try anything foolish. He just continued calmly in 2nd place. It seems that he is not taking any risks so that he can secure his world title.

Later on in the race Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was behind Verstappen and it was thrilling to see them race for 3rd place. At one point Vettel came very close and Verstappen went off track again and gained a huge advantage. Vettel was screaming on the radio and Red Bull even told Verstappen to let Vettel pass him. He didn't and that made Vettel furious. Verstappen was simply waiting for the official call from the stewards.

When Vettel was busy screaming on the radio to his team, Ricciardo had caught his former teammate and almost overtook him. Vettel then panicked and changed his racing line when braking which almost lead to a crash. Vettel blamed Verstappen because he didn't let him through earlier. He continued to scream on the radio and even told Charlie Whiting to "FUCK OFF". Not very smart of him but it gave the race some color.

Some say that Vettel's behavior is bad for the sport because he is a role model for young kids and rookie racing drivers but in my opinion it is good publicity. Now all the papers are writing about what he did and said. I bet people are going to remember this race from this but the previous race in Austin is already forgotten.

Verstappen crossed the finish line in 3rd place and was about to go on the podium. Then they finally gave him a penalty for cutting the chicane and Vettel was asked to go on the podium. He was very happy of course but also got a penalty after the ceremony and Ricciardo got 3rd place. Very dramatic finish to the race but in my opinion both of them deserved the penalties.

I really enjoyed the race! But what else happened?

Valtteri Bottas was the fastest man ever in an F1 race by driving 372km/h. The previous record was from 2005 and the record was made by Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren Mercedes). Before someone comes to me and says that it was Juan-Pablo Montoya I must tell you that his "record" was not in a race. It was in one of the practice sessions. If I remember correctly, before 2005, the fastest man had been Nico's father Keke Rosberg in the 80's.

That's about it for today and now let's see my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. His teammate took pole on Saturday.

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - CORRECT
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. Ricciardo was fastest.

Surprise: Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa might get good results here - CORRECT. They both got points and drove well.

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 AE, JT, MW, MH, JI and PM. 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. 

If you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - Updated race results

2016 PREDICTORS LEAGUE standings after the Mexican GP (and Vettel's penalty)

1. Larry Gallagher - 195 points

2. James Redman - 162 points

3. AE (F1-4-LIFE) - 149 points

4. PM (F1-4-LIFE) - 127 points

5. JT (F1-4-LIFE) - 77 points

6. Darcy P. Lang - 76 points

7. Leonardo Machado - 63 points

8. Vitor Lobo - 46 points

9. JI (F1-4-LIFE) - 15 points

10. Denis Borges Nastasi - 13 points

11. Dylan Curry - 3 points

(The ones who have not scored points are not on the list)

Come onboard in the next GP if you want to be a part of our league!

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, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.

2016 PREDICTORS LEAGUE standings after the Mexican GP

1. Larry Gallagher - 205 points

2. James Redman - 152 points

3. AE (F1-4-LIFE) - 139 points

4. PM (F1-4-LIFE) - 127 points

5. Darcy P. Lang - 76 points

6. JT (F1-4-LIFE) - 67 points

7. Leonardo Machado - 63 points

8. Vitor Lobo - 46 points

9. JI (F1-4-LIFE) - 15 points

10. Denis Borges Nastasi - 13 points

11. Dylan Curry - 3 points

(The ones who have not scored points are not on the list)

Come onboard in the next GP if you want to be a part of our league!

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, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.

2016 Driver Standings after the Mexican GP

2016 Constructors Standings after the Mexican GP

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - Race results

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - Qualifying

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - Third practice session

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - Second practice session

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016 - First practice session

2016 Mexican GP - Drivers Press Conference

2016 Mexican Grand Prix preview

The F1 circus returned to Mexico last year and in my opinion it was a great track. But what happened at the race last year?

The start was good for most of the drivers in the top 10 (no big changes really). Only Sebastian Vettel had a big loss when he got a puncture and had to pit. He dropped to the back of course and had a long way to the front. His teammate Kimi Räikkönen overtook a lot of cars through the race and seemed to do better than Vettel. Until he had a rerun from Sochi with his fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas. This time Kimi was in front and Bottas behind, they collided and Kimi had to retire. Bottas didn't loose any positions like Kimi in Sochi and managed to stay 5th or 4th most of the time. 

Later on Vettel made a weird mistake and went off track into the barriers. Some say that the track wasn't good for Ferrari but I don't believe that. Kimi did better than Vettel in the race even though his car had been broken in many ways through the weekend. I say that the track wasn't good for Vettel (even though he got 3rd in qualifying).

Vettel's mistake brought out the safety car and several drivers pitted right after. Williams did a mistake again by not bringing in Bottas first. Well they did after the rest had pitted but Bottas could have done quicker laps with the new tires earlier. Now he was stuck behind Daniil Kvyat in 4th place. Luckily for Bottas he managed to overtake the Russian right after the safety car left the track and stayed 3rd till the end. So Bottas took back what he might have lost.

In front were the Mercedes drivers as usual but this time it was Nico Rosberg 1st and Lewis Hamilton 2nd. They stayed like that through the race and Lewis didn't really have a chance against Nico and it bugged him after the race. You could clearly see that even though he was already the 2015 world champion. Lewis just likes to win even though the championship was already decided.

Hamilton tried to pull a couple of tricks in the race though. Mercedes asked Rosberg to pit first and when it was Hamilton's turn he didn't pit. He said that he will drive the race till the end with his older tires. His engineer got a bit angry with Hamilton and told him to pit right away because his tires are getting cold by the pit box. Hamilton pitted and demanded to see proof that his pitstop wasn't just Mercedes way of securing a 1-2.

All in all a good race, great track and awesome fans! I loved how they had put the podium at the old baseball stadium so that most of the fans could see everything. I hope Mexico stays in the calendar for many years to come.

Now let's see my predictions for this years grand prix:

Pole position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Surprise: Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa might get good results here

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 AE, JT, MW, MH, JI and PM. 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

Drivers Report Back After The Race | US Grand Prix 2016

2016 American Grand Prix review

This must have been one of the most boring US Grand Prix's of my life. OK the 2005 race in Indianapolis was worse but just barely. I mean there was some good moments but why can't I really remember anything else than Gerard Butler drinking Red Bull out of Daniel Ricciardo's shoe? I had to watch the race again and made some notes.

First of all at the start we saw Ricciardo go between the Mercs once again which was nice. We also say Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen overtake Red Bull's Max Verstappen which was interesting. We saw a crash with Force India's Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Williams' Valtteri Bottas. The Finn dropped to the back and the Hulk had to retire from the race.

One of the most interesting things in the race was Verstappen arguing with his team about pitting earlier. Red Bull told him on the radio that they have to follow the strategy and use the tyres for the amount of laps that they have calculated. Verstappen said that he is not here to finish 4th but ironically he didn't finish the race at all due to some kind of technical faulty with the engine.

Before his retirement we also saw Verstappen pit too soon and surprised his whole team which cost a lot of time. At first I thought that was he pitting earlier because he wanted to or did he really hear his team tell him to pit? That's what Verstappen said on the radio after the pitstop! "Sorry I thought you told me to box" or something like that. I don't know but it was a disaster.

Now Ferrari had a chance take points with both cars when Red Bull only had one car on track (Ricciardo). They had a chance yes but they messed it all up with Räikkönen's pitstop. He got a green light from the team before the right rear tyre was on. He had to retire from the race. Very sad and unfortunate for the Finn because he has been in front of Sebastian Vettel this season in the points and dropped behind him now because of mistakes that he didn't even do. Räikkönen has had a better season than Vettel all together in my opinion.

Nico Rosberg had some luck when he pitted for the last time during the virtual safety car due to Verstappen's retirement. He gained an advantage on Ricciardo and got in front of him. Rosberg drove safely to the checkered flag and took 18 points. This will be enough for him for the last three races if he finishes 2nd in every race. If his teammate Lewis Hamilton wins every race it doesn't even matter because Rosberg will still win the championship. Hamilton must be nervous at this point.

What else? Oh yeah! McLaren had one of the best races after they got Honda engines. Jenson Button was 9th and Fernando Alonso was 5th! Great job guys! You deserve it... and more.

Now let's see my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - CORRECT
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. Sebastian Vettel clocked the fastest lap at the end of the race.

Surprise: Keep an eye on Nico Hulkenberg. He has been pretty good in Austin with Sauber and Force India. - He retired right after the start so we never really saw his potential.

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 AE, JT, MW, MH, JI and PM. 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

2016 PREDICTORS LEAGUE standings after the United States GP

1. Larry Gallagher - 182 points

2. James Redman - 144 points

3. AE (F1-4-LIFE) - 121 points

4. PM (F1-4-LIFE) - 119 points

5. Darcy P. Lang - 68 points

6. JT (F1-4-LIFE) - 67 points

7. Leonardo Machado - 63 points

8. Vitor Lobo - 41 points

9. JI (F1-4-LIFE) - 15 points

10. Denis Borges Nastasi - 13 points

11. Dylan Curry - 3 points

(The ones who have not scored points are not on the list)

Come onboard in the next GP if you want to be a part of our league!

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, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.

2016 Driver Standings after the United States GP

2016 Constructors Standings after the United States GP

2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - Race results

A Bird's Eye View Of The Circuit Of The Americas | US Grand Prix 2016

TOONED Special Edition: #Hunt40

2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - Qualifying

2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - Third practice session

2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - Second practice session

2016 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX - First practice session

What Makes Austin's Turn 1 So Special? | US Grand Prix 2016

2016 United States GP - Drivers Press Conference

2016 tyre choices for the Mexican Grand Prix

F1 Circuit Guide | United States Grand Prix 2016

2004 Australian Grand Prix (full race)

2016 American Grand Prix preview

Did you know that 10 different circuits in the United States have staged an F1 world championship round - but only six of those have hosted a US Grand Prix? Or that seven drivers in the current field have led at least one lap on American soil, but only two - Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel - have actually won? Here are some more facts about the Grand Prix:

Circuit: Circuit of The Americas

Circuit length: 5.513 km

Number of corners: 20 (9 right, 11 left)

DRS zones: 2

Race laps: 56

Race distance: 308.405 km

Circuit lap record: 1m 39.347s - Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2012

First world championship US Grand Prix: 1959, Sebring (won by Bruce McLaren, Cooper-Climax)

Number of US Grands Prix: 36 (Watkins Glen - 20; Indianapolis - 8; Phoenix - 3; Austin - 4; 
Sebring, Riverside - 1)

Additional Formula One Grands Prix in the US:* 18 (Long Beach - 8; Detroit - 7; Las Vegas - 2; Dallas - 1)
*Not including the Indianapolis 500, which was officially a world championship round between 1950 and 1960.

Longest US Grand Prix: 1960 Riverside (2h 28m 52.2s)

Shortest US Grand Prix: 2005 Indianapolis (1h 29m 43.181s)

Last year's podium: 1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 3 - Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

Most US Grand Prix appearances (current field): 11 - Jenson Button; 10 - Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen; 8 - Felipe Massa; 6 - Nico Rosberg; 5 - Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel

Most US Grand Prix wins (driver): 5 - Michael Schumacher; 4 - Lewis Hamilton; 3 - Jim Clark, Graham Hill; 2 - Jackie Stewart, Carlos Reutemann, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna; 1 - Bruce McLaren, Stirling Moss, Innes Ireland, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Francois Cevert, Ronnie Peterson, Niki Lauda, Gilles Villeneuve, Alan Jones, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel

Most US Grand Prix wins (constructor): 9 - Ferrari; 8 - Lotus, McLaren; 3 - BRM; 2 - Tyrrell, Mercedes; 1 - Cooper, Matra, Brabham, Williams, Red Bull

Most US Grand Prix wins (engine manufacturer): 11 - Ford; 9 - Ferrari; 5 - Mercedes; 4 - Climax, BRM; 3 - Honda; 1 - Renault

Most US Grand Prix pole positions (driver): 4 - Michael Schumacher; 3 - Graham Hill; 2 - Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg; 1 - Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, Ronnie Peterson, Carlos Reutemann, Niki Lauda, Alan Jones, Bruno Giacomelli, Gerhard Berger, Kimi Raikkonen, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli, Lewis Hamilton

Most US Grand Prix pole positions (constructor): 8 - Lotus; 7 - Ferrari, McLaren; 2 - Cooper, BRM, Brabham, Tyrrell, Red Bull, Mercedes; 1 - Williams, Alfa Romeo, Toyota

Most US Grand Prix pole positions (engine manufacturer): 11 - Ford; 7 - Ferrari; 5 - Climax; 4 - Mercedes, Honda; 2 - BRM, Renault; 1 - Repco, Alfa Romeo, Toyota

Number of US GP wins from pole: 16 from 36; one from four in Austin

Lowest US GP winning grid position: 10th (Bruce McLaren, Cooper/Climax, at Sebring in 1959)

Most US GP podium places (current field): 4 - Lewis Hamilton; 3 - Sebastian Vettel; 2 - Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Nico Rosberg; 1 - Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Daniel Ricciardo

Number of American drivers to have started at least one Grand Prix: 40

Best F1 finish by an American driver: 1st (by five different drivers - Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Peter Revson, Richie Ginther)

Best finish by an American driver on US soil: 1st (Mario Andretti, in the USA West Grand Prix at Long Beach, 1977)

Fascinating fact: Bruce McLaren, Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi are among a number of well-known drivers to have claimed their breakthrough F1 wins in United States Grands Prix. Of the current grid, though eight different drivers have led at least one lap, only Lewis Hamilton (2007, 2012, 2014-2015) and Sebastian Vettel (2013) have triumphed on US soil.

Now let's see my predictions:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Keep an eye on Nico Hulkenberg. He has been pretty good in Austin with Sauber and Force India.

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 AE, JT, MW, MH, JI and PM. 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

2000 Monaco Grand Prix (ITV)

Hulkenberg joins Renault from Force India

Nico Hulkenberg will switch from Force India to Renault in 2017 after signing a 'multi-year' deal with the French manufacturer.

Hulkenberg has spent four of the last five years with Force India, but will contest his final Grand Prix with the team in 2016's Abu Dhabi season finale. Force India had an option to keep the German on for 2017, but confirmed they would not stand in his way of joining a factory team.

"I’m very happy to join Renault Sport Formula One Team in 2017," Hulkenberg said. "Renault has always been a big player in the motorsport world that brings up incredible memories: in his stint with Renault [in their former guise as Benetton], Michael Schumacher not only helped make Germany an F1 nation, he also sparked my enthusiasm and fire for racing. As a part of the Renault family, I want to develop the car and write new success stories.



"It has always been my dream to work for a manufacturer team. F1’s new regulations will change the game and give our team a good opportunity. In the years to come, Renault will play a challenger role, which fits my approach to racing 100 percent. I can’t wait to become part of the family.

"For the remaining races this year, I will give my best for Force India to reach fourth place in the constructors' championship. This would be a great achievement for the whole Force India team, the biggest success in its history and a great end to a fantastic time there.

“I am grateful that Force India has given me the chance to take up this new opportunity.”

Renault Sport Racing chairman Jerome Stoll said Hulkenberg would help drive the team on to the next level.

"2017 will be the second season of Groupe Renault’s return as a manufacturer entry in Formula 1 and the next step in our journey," Stoll commented. "This season has been about putting the foundations in place for future success.

"For our next step we required an experienced driver who is still hungry for podiums. Nico Hülkenberg fulfils this role perfectly and is an excellent complement to what we want to achieve. He is a highly talented, dedicated and motivated driver. Nico will enable us to harness all the hard work completed this season and translate it to improved results on track in 2017 and beyond. We look forward to seeing him in our new car for 2017."

Force India team principal and managing director Vijay Mallya said the team would miss a driver of Hulkenberg's calibre, adding: "Everybody at Sahara Force India wishes Nico well as he embarks upon a different path in Formula One.

"Having spent five years with us, Nico has become a great friend and contributed a huge amount to the team’s success. He’s an outstanding driver, who has scored more points for this team than anybody else. While it’s true we will miss Nico, we respect his decision to explore fresh opportunities and it would be wrong to stand in his way.”

Having first broken into F1 with Williams in 2010, Hulkenberg is now one of the most experienced drivers on the grid - indeed only five drivers will have started more Grands Prix than him when the 2017 season gets underway.

He has finished in the points in more than half of the 111 races he has contested, and has also claimed one pole and led three races - although his wait for a first Grand Prix podium continues, with fourth - achieved on three different occasions - his best result.

Last year he won the Le Mans 24 Hours at his first attempt with Porsche.

Hulkenberg's move opens up a seat at Force India alongside Sergio Perez - with Manor's Pascal Wehrlein among those linked to the newly-available drive. At Renault, meanwhile, the likes of Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer are believed to be in contention to partner Hulkenberg.

(source: f1.com)

F1 2016 Japan: Full Race

MiniDrivers - 8x17 - 2016 Japanese GP

2016 PREDICTORS LEAGUE standings after the Japanese GP

1. Larry Gallagher - 159 points

2. James Redman - 121 points

3. PM (F1-4-LIFE) - 111 points

4. AE (F1-4-LIFE) - 98 points

5. Leonardo Machado - 63 points

6. JT (F1-4-LIFE) - 67 points

7. Darcy P. Lang - 58 points

8. Vitor Lobo - 31 points

9. JI (F1-4-LIFE) - 15 points

10. Denis Borges Nastasi - 13 points

11. Dylan Curry - 3 points

(The ones who have not scored points are not on the list)

Come onboard in the next GP if you want to be a part of our league!

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, JI & PM. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway.