The video has been "edited" so that YouTube hopefully wont delete it. It is still the full race so enjoy!
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Sunday, December 6, 2015
Saturday, December 5, 2015
The confirmed F1 race calendar for 2016
Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, has formally ratified a 21-race calendar for the 2016 season, running from March to November.
A meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday confirmed a change in the F1 sporting regulations, increasing the maximum permitted number of races in a season from 20 to 21. The 2016 campaign will therefore feature more rounds than any other in F1 history, surpassing the previous benchmark of 20 from 2012.
The expanded calendar features one new race - in Baku, Azerbaijan on June 17-19 - and the return of a Grand Prix in Germany, with Hockenheim hosting the race. Australia will once again host the season opener, on March 18-20, while Abu Dhabi will stage the final round for a fifth time, on November 25-27.
The 2016 calendar also includes six back-to-back weekends - Canada and Baku, Austria and Great Britain, Hungary and Germany, Belgium and Italy, Malaysia and Japan, and the USA and Mexico will all be held on respective consecutive weekends. The USA’s slot remains provisional.
The 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar in full:
March 20 - Australia
April 3 - Bahrain
April 17 - China
May 1 - Sochi
May 15 - Spain
May 29 - Monaco
June 12 - Canada
June 19 - Baku*
July 3 - Austria
July 10 - Great Britain
July 24 - Hungary
July 31 - Germany
August 28 - Belgium
September 4 - Italy
September 18 - Singapore
October 2 - Malaysia
October 9 - Japan
October 23 - USA**
October 30 - Mexico
November 13 - Brazil
November 27 - Abu Dhabi
*race start to be scheduled to avoid conflict with the conclusion of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
**subject to agreement with the promoter and the ASN
(source: f1.com + FIA)
Friday, December 4, 2015
Renault confirm works F1 entry for 2016
Renault will return to Formula One racing as a works entrant in 2016, the French manufacturer announced on Thursday.
The confirmation comes more than two months after Renault signed a Letter of Intent to acquire a controlling share in Lotus - the team it operated from 2002 to 2009. Principal contracts between the two parties were signed on December 3, though Renault say work continues on finalising the terms of the acquisition “in the shortest timeframe possible”.
“Renault had two options: to come back at 100 percent or leave,” said Carlos Ghosn, Renault’s Chairman and CEO. “After a detailed study, I have decided that Renault will be in Formula One, starting in 2016. The final details supplied by F1’s main stakeholders gave us the confidence to accept this new challenge. Our ambition is to win - even if it will take some time.”
(source: f1.com)
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Greater tyre choice among regulation changes for 2016
New freedoms for teams regarding tyre choice were among a number of rule changes approved for the 2016 Formula One season in Wednesday’s Paris meeting of governing body the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
Three, rather than two, dry-weather compounds will now be available to teams at each round. Of the 13 sets of tyres allocated to each driver at a Grand Prix, tyre suppliers Pirelli will select three sets, while drivers will have the choice of compound for the remaining 10.
In other changes, the number of in-season development tokens available to power unit manufacturers has been revised, while power units from previous season may now be re-homologated. This means Ferrari are free to supply a fourth customer team with a 2015-specification power unit in 2016.
The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) may now be used in practice sessions as well as races, in order to reduce stoppage times, while DRS will now be re-enabled immediately after a VSC period.
The Council also passed a mandate for FIA President Jean Todt and Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone to make decisions on pressing governance issues such as power units and cost reduction.
The full statement from the FIA's World Motor Sport Council:
The World Motor Sport Council approved, by a near unanimous number (just one vote against), a mandate for the FIA President, Jean Todt and the Representative of the Commercial Rights Holder, Bernie Ecclestone to make recommendations and decisions regarding a number of pressing issues in Formula One such as governance, Power Units and cost reduction. Mr Todt and Mr Ecclestone expressed their intention to establish conclusions on these matters by 31 January, 2016.
The World Motor Sport Council also approved a number of changes to the F1 Technical and Sporting Regulations.
Technical
The number of power unit tokens allowed for in-season development will be allocated as follows over the coming seasons:
- 2016 – 32
- 2017 – 25
- 2018 – 20
- 2019 – 15
Any new Power Unit manufacturer will be allocated 15 tokens in their first year, and 32 in their second.
The padded areas around the driver’s head have been increased in thickness for improved safety.
Sporting
Changes have been approved by the World Motor Sport Council in regard to the way that tyres are used by teams in order to encourage differing race strategies in 2016. These include:
- The tyre supplier will now provide three dry-weather compounds instead of two
- Of the 13 sets of dry tyres available to each driver, the tyre supplier will choose two for the race (only one of which must be used in the race), and one set (the softest available) that may only be used in Q3. Each driver may then choose their remaining ten sets from the three available compounds
- Unless intermediate or wet-weather tyres have been used, a driver must use at least two different specifications of dry-weather tyres – at least one of these must be the one chosen by the tyre supplier.
In the event of a Virtual Safety Car (VSC), DRS will now be re-enabled immediately after the VSC period. Furthermore, the VSC may also be used in practice sessions to reduce the amount of time lost during a stoppage.
Power Units homologated in previous seasons may now be re-homologated. Previously no manufacturer could supply more than one specification of PU. The World Motor Sport Council was also advised that the FIA had agreed for Ferrari to supply a fourth customer team with a 2015-specification Power Unit in 2016.
The maximum number of Championship events in a season has been increased to 21 (from 20).
(source: f1.com)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Winners and Losers - Abu Dhabi
The best thing to end a season with? Probably a world championship, as Yas Marina runner-up Lewis Hamilton pointed out. Second best, however, must be momentum - something his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg has in spades after scoring his sixth successive pole and third consecutive win over the weekend. Others leaving Abu Dhabi happy included Force India, who secured their best-ever championship finish, and Jenson Button, who revelled in his battling race for McLaren. Among the less content were first-corner retiree Pastor Maldonado, and Max Verstappen, a lowly 16th after not one, but two time penalties for driving offences. We take a team-by-team look back at Sunday's 2015 finale…
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg, P1
Lewis Hamilton, P2
Rosberg had his hat-trick in the bag from the moment he left the start line, but Hamilton pushed him as hard as he could. The Englishman tried a different strategy by running 10 laps longer on his second set of soft Pirelli tyres, having hoped at one stage that he might even get the first set to the finish, but was dissuaded from trying that by his engineers. He cut a 12.5s deficit to 6.8s before being blocked by Verstappen for a lap, and eventually finished 8.2 s adrift as Mercedes scored their 12th one-two of the year.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, P3
Sebastian Vettel, P4
Vettel’s race would always be subservient to Raikkonen’s here. The Finn drove very well to take the final podium slot after starting on supersofts and doing two stints on softs, and his only real problem was when the right front wheel was sticky during his second pit stop. Vettel started on softs and a long first stint helped him to his eventual fourth, as his strategy called for supersofts from the 39th lap to the finish. That worked perfectly as the team maximised their score.
Force India
Sergio Perez, P5
Nico Hulkenberg, P7
Perez was on great form and thoroughly deserved his fifth place after race-long pressure from Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Hulkenberg said he was disappointed with only seventh, not quite able to match his team mate’s pace. It nevertheless capped a strong end to Force India’s best-ever season.
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo, P6
Daniil Kvyat, P10
Ricciardo did everything he could to keep the pressure on Perez and was pleased with his sixth place. Further back, Kvyat had likewise hounded Hulkenberg, but eventually fell back when electronic problems hampered his progress.
Williams
Felipe Massa, P8
Valtteri Bottas, P13
Williams’ performance was hugely disappointing after last year’s effort here. Massa had a strong start to his race but was generally not able to challenge anyone thereafter, and only just resisted the supersoft-shod Grosjean in the final laps. Bottas made a terrible start, then was unsafely released into Button’s path on the eighth lap. That meant a stop for a new nose, and another to serve a five-second penalty.
Lotus
Romain Grosjean, P9
Pastor Maldonado, Retired lap 1, hit by Alonso
Grosjean had to fight up after a five-place post-qualifying grid penalty was levied for a gearbox change. Like Vettel, he started on softs and ended on supersofts, which enabled him to gobble up Sainz and Kvyat and snatch two points in his final outing for the team. Maldonado was the innocent victim when his E23 Hybrid was hit by Alonso at the first corner just after the start.
Toro Rosso
Carlos Sainz, P11
Max Verstappen, P16
Sainz had the better race and was unlucky that Grosjean was able to catch and pass him in the closing laps, thus denying him a point. Verstappen had an adventurous race. He needed a stop to replace badly flat-spotted tyres, then got a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits while racing hard with Button, and another 20-second penalty after blocking Hamilton in the closing laps. That dropped him from 12th on the road to 16th.
McLaren
Jenson Button, P12
Fernando Alonso, P17
Button had what he described as his best race of the season, taking a fighting 12th after battles with Verstappen and Ericsson. Alonso had the race from hell; he hit Nasr approaching the first corner which pushed him into Maldonado. That delayed both and earned the Spaniard a drive-through penalty. He struggled thereafter and at one stage threatened to give up, but when running supersoft in the closing stages he set the race’s third fastest lap.
Sauber
Marcus Ericsson, P14
Felipe Nasr, P15
Both drivers struggled to maintain midfield pace, and Nasr damaged his nose after contact with Alonso at the first corner, pushing him into Maldonado.
Marussia
Will Stevens, P18
Roberto Merhi, P19
Neither driver had any real problems, as an era drew to a close with the last race for team founders Graeme Lowdon and John Booth.
(source: f1.com)
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