Champions Forever - The Formula One Drivers

Reupload! The previous video was erased.

Top 10's - Best drivers who didn't win a championship

The Top 10's -series continues again! 

Today I am listing the best drivers who didn't win a championship. Remember that these are my opinions!

I am picking drivers who have won several races and drivers who have fought for the championship.

1. Stirling Moss
2. Tony Brooks
3. Gilles Villeneuve
4. Ronnie Peterson
5. Carlos Reutemann
6. Jacky Ickx
7. Felipe Massa
8. David Coulthard
9. Rubens Barrichello
10. Clay Regazzoni

Care to make your own Top 10 -list on the Facebook page for example? Go right ahead! I will read them all because I really want to know your opinions as well.

Winners and Losers - Malaysia

The second race of 2015 threw up several surprises - and not just through Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari eclipsing Mercedes. Toro Rosso beat both Red Bulls for the first time in almost six years; McLaren made massive gains, even if they still have an equally massive workload ahead; and Marussia saw the chequered flag for the first time this year. We take a look at the best, and worst, of a dramatic race as Ferrari turned up the heat in sweltering Sepang...


Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel, P1
Kimi Raikkonen, P4

What a fabulous day Ferrari enjoyed, with their first victory since Spain 2013, and the first with Vettel.

The Italian team went to the grid believing that if they could pressure Mercedes into overusing their tyres early on, they might be able to win through decent pace and better tyre conservation. As it was, the intervention of the safety car on lap four - and a clever decision to keep Vettel out on a two-stopper when Mercedes had effectively committed to three by opting to pit both Hamilton and Rosberg - helped pave the way for a historic triumph.

Making it even sweeter, Raikkonen had the pace to fight back from a poor grid position, and a first-lap puncture, to take fourth. The Prancing Horse is back!

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton, P2
Nico Rosberg, P3

Even had they not pitted both drivers under the safety car, Mercedes weren't sure they could have won. Hamilton said he was doubtful as his car's balance was poor all afternoon, while Rosberg professed not to have gone through his whole strategic campaign but said that he lost huge chunks of time stacked behind Hamilton in the pits, and then waiting for the traffic flow to enable Mercedes to release him back out onto the pit lane.

In truth, if Mercedes had hedged their bets and kept either Hamilton or Rosberg out at the safety car, they might just have pulled it off - but the F1 W06 Hybrid was harder on its tyres than the Ferraris in the searing temperatures, so it would have been close. Second and third, and 33 constructors' points, wasn't a disaster, but Niki Lauda's determination to reply to Mercedes' detractors by winning every race in 2015 has already gone awry.

Williams

Valtteri Bottas, P5
Felipe Massa, P6

Bottas was delayed by a clash with Maldonado on the opening lap, but made some ground up thanks to the safety car. He then got his head down and chased after Massa, who said he didn't feel that his car was particularly great, and after a tight little scrap in which they brushed wheels briefly, he came through to beat the Brazilian for fifth on the penultimate lap.

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen, P7
Carlos Sainz, P8

The Toro Rosso rookies had a great race in which they battled hard with each other hard - as well as anyone else around them - as their pit calls ebbed and flowed. Both acquitted themselves well to net another 10 points for the team, with Verstappen also becoming the youngest-ever world championship points scorer with the final unlapped position, seventh. At 17 years, 5 months and 27 days, his record will take some beating. Sainz followed him home in eighth, a second points score in as many races for the Spanish rookie.

Red Bull

Daniil Kvyat, P9
Daniel Ricciardo, P10

How times change! Back here in 2013 the Red Bulls scrapped acrimoniously for victory amid the saga of 'Multi 21'. Now, Kvyat and Ricciardo struggled home ninth and 10th - and had the added indignity of being lapped by Vettel. There were mitigating factors: Kvyat survived being pushed into a spin by Hulkenberg in Turn 2, and Ricciardo sustained front wing damage on the first lap. But the brutal fact is that the RB11 lacked pace...

Lotus

Romain Grosjean, P11
Pastor Maldonado, Retired lap 47, brakes

After a strong showing in qualifying, Lotus had another unhappy Sunday. Grosjean was often well in the top 10, but only because he was out of kilter on tyre changes after he stayed out during the flurry of stops under the safety car. He survived being knocked into a spin by Perez at Turn 9, but couldn't better 11th. Maldonado was in the wars again, suffering a puncture after scraping Bottas on the first lap, and later fell out with a braking problem.

Sauber

Felipe Nasr, P12
Marcus Ericsson, Retired lap 4, spin

Ericsson was out early in the game, as a botched attempt to pass Hulkenberg led to him spinning and getting beached in the gravel at Turn 1. That left Nasr, who struggled home 12th with handling difficulties that were a hangover from qualifying.

Force India

Sergio Perez, P13
Nico Hulkenberg, P14

Perez and Hulkenberg were both involved in incidents with others. The Mexican got a 10-second pit stop penalty for nudging off Grosjean, the German something similar for tapping Kvyat into a spin. Hulkenberg had looked good keeping a slew of cars at bay without resorting to anything naughty early on, having stayed out when the safety car was deployed, but neither car had points-scoring pace.

Marussia

Roberto Merhi, P15
Will Stevens, Withdrawn

Marussia couldn't fix Stevens' car after the fuel system problems which first sprang up in FP3 and also prevented the Briton from running during qualifying. But Merhi did at least enjoy a clean Grand Prix debut to take a much-needed 15th place, which gave the team valuable experience for its 2015 car. Considering the team had done zero winter testing, and had to contend with such brutal temperatures, getting their car home at the first attempt was a laudable achievement.

McLaren

Jenson Button, Retired lap 41, turbo
Fernando Alonso, Retired lap 22, ERS cooling

They might not have got a car to the chequered flag like they did in Australia, as engine-related problems intervened, but both Alonso and Button were pleased that they were able to mix it with others in the lower midfield. Disappointment, then, but also confirmation of the progress the team have made since Melbourne.

(source: f1.com)

Toro Rosso could adopt Renault-inspired livery

Renault’s desire for more visibility in Formula One racing could lead Toro Rosso to adopt a yellow livery in the future, according to Red Bull's motorsport consultant Helmut Marko.

Renault have been linked with a possible purchase of the Italian team in recent weeks, with their F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul admitting in Malaysia that they are "looking at a lot of options". Marko however says that the most likely option would be a rebranding for Red Bull's sister team.

"Renault are spending a lot of money on this power unit - not as much as Mercedes but a significant amount - and are confronted with the same issues that we (Red Bull) have: their F1 involvement has to pay off," Marko told Formula1.com.

"Add to that that Renault feels under-represented on the marketing side so there are considerations to either buy Toro Rosso or more likely give them a yellow livery to have a better marketing platform. But of course the figures have to correspond."

Asked how that potential change might affect Red Bull, Marko added: "Such a scenario would only take off if the close relationship between Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso stays intact, within the rules.

"Red Bull Racing's headcount is much higher, the equipment of the team is more sophisticated - so without the know-how of Red Bull Racing, Toro Rosso would be hurt in its competitiveness. So as I just said, a close interaction of both teams is paramount to such a scenario."

In the official Friday press conference in Malaysia, Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost talked up a potential takeover of his team by Renault.

"I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for Toro Rosso to make the next step forward," he said, "because the team wants to be established in the future within the first five in the constructors’ championship. To be part of a manufacturer - to be owned by a manufacturer - would be exactly [the] step forward the team needs to be established in the first five."

In response, Abiteboul admitted that Renault are evaluating how they might improve their F1 representation "from a marketing and strategic perspective".

"We think that we are a credible player in the sport but we want to compete amongst the best brands," he added.

"We need to think about what else we can do to what we are doing. This is an open market, we have the capacity to have discussions with lots of parties. But as I've said, for the time being the focus is on engines."

Check back tomorrow for the full exclusive interview with Helmut Marko, including a candid assessment of Red Bull's start to the 2015 season and his reponse to rumours that the team could join forces with a new power unit manufacturer.

(f1.com)

Gasly to make F1 debut in Barcelona test

Red Bull junior driver Pierre Gasly will get his first taste of Formula One machinery after being
called up by Toro Rosso for May's in-season test at Barcelona.

Gasly had been a contender for a 2015 race seat with the team, but ultimately lost out to Carlos Sainz - whom he also finished runner-up to in Formula Renault 3.5 last year.

The 19-year-old Frenchman's outstanding record in junior formulae also includes winning the Formula Renault 2.0 Euro crown in 2013, a title previously won by McLaren protegee Stoffel Vandoorne. The pair will both compete in GP2 this year.

The Barcelona test, one of two in-season tests in 2015, takes place on May 12-13 - immediately after the Formula 1 Gran Premio De Espana Pirelli 2015. Austria's Red Bull Ring hosts the second test on June 23-24.

(source: f1.com)

Top 10's - Most legendary teammates

The series continues again! 

Today I am listing the most legendary teammates in my opinion. Here we go again...

1. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost (McLaren)
2. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
3. Niki Lauda and Alain Prost (McLaren)
4. Giuseppe Farina and Alberto Ascari (Ferrari)
5. Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss (Mercedes)
6. Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari)
7. Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren (Cooper-Climax)
8. Phill Hill and Wolfgang von Trips (Ferrari)
9. Denny Hulme and Jack Brabham (Brabham-Repco)
10. Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson (Lotus)

Senna and Prost both won a championship when they drove together, Hamilton and Alonso got the equal amount of points but lost to Kimi Räikkönen by one point, Niki Lauda won Alain Prost by half a point! Rest of the pairs on the list are teammates who I have only read about or seen in documentaries so they have got their spots based on that.

Stirling Moss would have been champion many times but was always 2nd behind Fangio in the championships. If he had driven in some other time period he would have gotten much more respect. Even though he never won a championship he is still one of the all time best. It's not easy to beat Juan Manuel Fangio. I bet most of the champions in history would lose against him.

Care to make your own Top 10 -list on the Facebook page for example? Go right ahead! I will read them all because I really want to know your opinions as well.

Top 10's - Best German drivers of all time

The series continues! 

Today I am listing the top 10 best German drivers in my opinion. Here we go again...

1. Michael Schumacher
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Wolfgang von Trips
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
5. Ralf Schumacher
6. Nico Rosberg
7. Nico Hulkenberg
8. Jochen Mass
9. Timo Glock
10. Nick Heidfeld

Who would you list as the best of all time? Care to make your own Top 10 -list on the Facebook page for example? Go right ahead! I will read them all because I really want to know your opinions as well.