2014 Chinese Grand Prix preview

First of all happy 10th anniversary for the Chinese Grand Prix! 

The first event back in 2004 ended with Rubens Barrichello taking the checkered flag as the race winner followed by Jenson Button and Kimi Räikkönen.
Michael Schumacher had spun off the track in qualifying and didn't set a time. He started from the pit lane and was 12th in the race.

Then in 2005 Renault was the best car so the podium had the two Renaults in front (Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella) and Kimi Räikkönen was best of the rest in third.

The next year in 2006 the same thing - Renault was the best car but what is this? The Renaults were 2nd and 3rd and the winner was Michael Schumacher! Well.. the 2nd best car was Ferrari so it wasn't that strange.

My favorite race in China was probably in 2007. McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had been the favorites for the championship and in this race something else happened. Their luck changed and the black horse (also known as the Iceman) started breathing down their necks. Hamilton made a mistake and then...



Kimi won the race! He really needed that victory. Alonso was 2nd in his McLaren, Felipe Massa was third in his Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel was 4th in his Toro Rosso which was his best result at that point and here's his reaction...



In 2008 Hamilton didn't make a mistake and won the race followed by the two Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen.

The year after that it was all about Brawn GP and Red Bull started showing some improvement as well.  In this race Sebastian Vettel took the first win ever for Red Bull and Mark Webber was 2nd which made it a perfect day for them. Jenson Button was 3rd after winning the two previous races.

In 2010 Red Bull were very hungry after they barely lost to Brawn in 2009. They wanted to win more than ever but the man who had switched teams from Brawn to McLaren (Jenson Button) won the race! His teammate Lewis Hamilton was 2nd and Nico Rosberg was 3rd.

Then in 2011 it was the other McLaren, Lewis Hamilton who won the race. This time the Red Bull's were right behind in 2nd and 3rd.

In 2012 Lewis Hamilton's current teammate Nico Rosberg took his maiden victory in Shanghai followed by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Lewis Hamilton was on the podium in 2013 as well but in 3rd. Just Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen were in front of him.

It seems that the most successful drivers at Shanghai are Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel.. oh and Nico Rosberg too! So the champions and a future champion perhaps.

Then it's time for my guesses as usual but this time it's a bit different. We started a predictors league on the Facebook page as some of you may know so I am forced to give you the same top3 answer as I gave earlier. Pole position, fastest lap and surprise is not in the game but I will continue posting those predictions as well.

If you don't know what I am talking about then check out this link: http://f14life.blogspot.fi/2014/04/we-have-made-this-season-more.html

Please join the league because it's more fun to predict these results together and not just me doing it alone. You will see that this is actually very difficult even though Mercedes is by far the best team.

OK so let's do this!

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

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

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Surprise: Nico Hülkenberg, Force India

That was it for today. Tomorrow I will post everything about the press conferences.

Red Bull lose Ricciardo disqualification appeal

Red Bull have lost their appeal against Daniel Ricciardo’s exclusion from last month’s Australian Grand Prix results. Ricciardo was disqualified from second place after his car was found to have exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow rate.

Following Monday’s sitting in Paris in which it heard evidence from all parties, the International Court of Appeal decided to uphold the decision of the Melbourne stewards. Red Bull have accepted the Court's verdict, full details of which will be published by the FIA later this week.

Red Bull chose to rely on their own fuel calculations at Albert Park, after experiencing what they termed ‘inconsistencies’ with the FIA-approved flow meter, but insisted they could prove they never exceeded the 100kg per hour limit.

The FIA - Formula One racing’s governing body - countered that allowances had been made for any such ‘inconsistencies’ and that using alternative calculation methods without its express permission was in itself also a breach of the regulations.

Accepting the Court’s ruling, Red Bull said: “We are of course disappointed by the outcome and would not have appealed if we didn’t think we had a very strong case.

"We always believed we adhered to the technical regulations throughout the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. We are sorry for Daniel that he will not be awarded the 18 points from the event, which we think he deserved. We will continue to work very hard to amass as many points as possible for the team, Daniel and Sebastian (Vettel) throughout the season. 

“We will now move on from this and concentrate on this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.”

Below is the Court’s official statement, as released by the FIA on Tuesday.

Decision of the International Court of Appeal

The Court, after having heard the parties and examined their submissions, decided to uphold the Decision N°56 of the Stewards by which they decided to exclude Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s car N°3 from the results of the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

The International Court of Appeal was presided over by Mr Harry DUIJM (Netherlands), and included Mr Rui BOTICA SANTOS (Portugal), Mr Philippe NARMINO (Monaco), Mr Antonio RIGOZZI (Switzerland) and Mr Jan STOVICEK (Czech Republic).

(source: f1.com)

Domenicali steps down as Ferrari team principal

Stefano Domenicali has resigned from his position as team principal of the Ferrari Formula One team with immediate effect. 

He will be replaced by Marco Mattiacci, currently president and CEO of Ferrari North America.

Ferrari have made a disappointing start to the 2014 season, with neither Fernando Alonso nor Kimi Raikkonen scoring a podium over the first three races. In a statement, Domenicali said he "takes responsibility" for the "situation Ferrari are experiencing".

Domenicali joined Ferrari in 1991 and after a series of promotions was appointed sporting director in 2003, when Michael Schumacher took the fourth of his five straight world championship crowns with the team. He then took over from Jean Todt as team principal ahead of the 2008 season.

The team secured the constructors’ championship in Domenicali’s first year in charge, but have since failed to clinch the drivers’ crown despite several near misses.

Felipe Massa famously lost the 2008 championship to Lewis Hamilton on the final corner of the final round, while Alonso was beaten by Sebastian Vettel in final-race title showdowns in both 2010 and 2012.

The advent of Formula One’s new 2014 rules had offered Ferrari a chance to return to the very top of the sport, but a lacklustre start to the season was compounded by Alonso and Raikkonen fighting at the lower fringes of the top ten in Bahrain, with Ferrari’s power unit struggling to match that of Mercedes.

Mattiacci joined Ferrari in 1999 and was president and CEO of Ferrari Asia Pacific for four years before his move to the corresponding position for the North American market. 

(source: f1.com)

Pit stops from 1950 compared to 2013

The difference is huge!

Change the angle in this video google streetview-style!

Jump aboard on a Mercedes Formula One car and grab the screen, flip it around and check out Silverstone from every angle!

If you didn't understand then try it yourself from this link and be amazed:

http://www.mercedesamgf1.com/en/car/f1-w05-360-video/

Pirelli reveal tyre choices for Spain, Monaco and Canada

Pirelli have confirmed the tyre compounds that will be available for Spain, Monaco and Canada.

Formula One racing’s official tyre suppliers will bring their hardest two compounds for the fifth round of 2014, held on the high-energy Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 9-11.

Pirelli will then provide their red-marked supersoft compound for the first time in Monaco, alongside the yellow-marked soft compound. The same allocation will also be provided two weeks later in Canada.

The Italian tyre company said the allocations reflected the respective track characteristics, with much lighter tyre wear expected in Monaco and Canada - both of which rely heavily on mechanical grip - compared to the abrasive surface in Spain.

At a glance - tyre compounds for 2014:
Australia - medium, soft
Malaysia - hard, medium
Bahrain - medium, soft
China - medium, soft
Spain - medium, hard
Monaco - supersoft, soft
Canada - supersoft, soft

(source: f1.com)

FIA grants Formula One entry to Haas

Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, confirmed on Friday that it has accepted an application from Gene Haas to enter a new team in the F1 world championship.

The American NASCAR team owner’s entry was granted after a lengthy evaluation process and the new squad now hopes to be on the grid for the 2015 season. 

“Obviously, we’re extremely pleased to have been granted a Formula One license by the FIA,” commented Haas. “It’s an exciting time for me, Haas Automation and anyone who wanted to see an American team return to Formula One.

“Now, the really hard work begins. It’s a challenge we embrace as we work to put cars on the grid. I want to thank the FIA for this opportunity and the diligence everyone put forth to see our license application come to fruition.”

Stewart-Haas Racing won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2011, whilst Haas Automation, founded in 1983 and based in California, is the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world. 

Haas also founded Windshear, a 180-mph rolling-road wind tunnel in North Carolina, that is the first of its kind in North America. It is only the third rolling-road wind tunnel of its scale in existence and the world’s first commercially available, full-scale, rolling-road wind tunnel.

The FIA said that other applications “of a high standard” had been received to join the F1 grid and that it is in the process of conducting further investigations for another potential new team, Forza Rossa.

Following Friday’s meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Marrakech, the FIA also announced that a study on the noise produced by 2014’s new turbo V6 engines is underway, with preliminary results expected shortly, and that the relevant stakeholders will be meeting next month to clarify how to achieve a substantial cost reduction for F1 teams.

(source: f1.com)