Round 14: Singapore 2014 - Qualifying

Greetings Internet, 

Well that was closer than we expected it to be, not just between the two cars on the front row but between those in the immediate chasing pack. In two of the three practice sessions leading up to qualifying there was a different team sitting at the very top of the time-sheets. This lead to many confused faces down the pit lane - was this going to be a hiccup in the continuous stream of qualifying dominance. What was more interesting was that for the first time this year there was the slightest hint that something that wasn't powered by a German engine unit might have a chance of sitting at the very front of the grid. The immediate threat appeared to come from Ferrari of all places, after suffering a turbulent year which involved Dominicali and more recently Di Montezemelo parting company. One thing that came through in the commentary was the problem of the super-soft tyre compound, the same compound that saw Mercedes lose out to Williams in Austria qualifying. Perhaps the all conquering and all dominant team doesn't like that particular compound, citing issues regarding rear tyre wear as a possible explanation. But what we do know is that in the race, that car can often turn into a very different animal as Austria demonstrated when Mercedes more than overturned the deficit on the Sunday.

Today was also the first major session with the first tier of radio restrictions in place, and I'm not sure if it was a coincidence, or a function of the track being challenging and 'green' after overnight rainfall. But everyone seemed a little tentative - especially in Q1. Normally on street circuits you'll see cars running millimetres from the walls - brushing the paint off the tyre sidewalls, but today there was a lot less of that sort of thing. Although it has to be said that even if it did happen the camera director would have missed it - as he/she did with most things today. Surely the drivers don't need the teams to tell them how close to get to the walls and what apex speeds to take to maximise the exit points - but it did seem as if they were leaving a little more room for error, of course there were a couple leaving less room than others...

Qualifying 

As soon as any session starts in Singapore we are treated to the almost obligatory helicopter images of the city at night, with all it's fancy multi-story hotels and architectural wonders. All of which has got nothing on this part of the world - we have two wind turbines on our skyline... none of which work most of the time, but they are there mostly for decoration. Q1 opened with a lot of drivers struggling, particularly on the brakes - Nico Rosberg locked up and went down the escape road at turn five... the German found reverse and got on with things. A little reminiscent of Monaco - except without pole position being on the line and the raft of conspiracy theories after the fact. I'd like to be able to tell you who was having difficulties elsewhere on the lap, but the director didn't feel inclined to show us - there were some incredibly useful images of people in the pit lane sitting around while the cars were on track.

One car even vanished across the turn 1-3 complex in a cloud of tyre smoke from a locked front - were we ever shown who was responsible...nope. Thus began the investigation into the mystery of the suspicious cloud - evidence seemed thin on the ground as a train of cars left shot before the cloud appeared. But a few minutes later there was a break in the case, down another escape road on the other side of the track was the Lotus of Romain Grosjean with braking difficulties... could this be the source of the cloud... who knows but for the time being it was out best guess.

I suppose qualifying is all about lap times and making sure yours is better than everyone else's - not that you are allowed to know the other times anymore. For a while it was Bottas in the lead before Hamilton claimed that position normally this would be the end of things - a Mercedes hits the front and no-one can do anything else about it. But due to the characteristics of the tyres and the track - there was over a two second pace difference between the softs and the super-softs. This meant that everyone had to in reality make the change or risk being caught out - conventionally we'd just see all of the contenders to set improved times but stay in the same relative positions... not this time. The super-softs metamorphosed the Ferrari into something much faster, and something Raikkonen enjoyed - and thus the Finn went fastest. Alonso claimed second place, and Hamilton... well the Mercedes driver could only manage third... Rosberg was 6th. The world had gone mad... but the pleasantly intriguing sort of mad... not the straight jackets and padded cells variety (maybe tomorrow for that).

Q2

Off into the second phase of qualifying, and the smaller on track population would probably be good news for Vettel, who seemed displeased with Kvyat not moving off the racing line in the first part. As an aside regarding the German bloke - Christian Horner said in an interview that Vettel was handling the difficult season well, and wasn't getting frustrated or irate... I think that Mr Horner needs to listen to some of Sebastian's team radio in earlier races... he was fairly frustrated in some of those... Back to the action now and Ferrari were at it again, this time Alonso lead Raikkonen by mere thousandths of a second, only for Hamilton to go a few thousandths quicker than the pair of them. The margins between drivers was impossibly small - 0.26s covered the top five in the early phase of the session.

Just like in Q1 the camera director appeared to be taking a vacation because there were a couple of yellow flag alerts published on the screen - but no idea who or what caused them. Yes we don't turn on the TV just to see things crash into other things - but it would be nice to see who was having difficulties, and what the causes and contributing factors are... but nope. Anyway Willams initially looked vulnerable after completing their first runs on used tyres, setting times that were only good enough for relegation - along with both Force Indias and Esteban Gutierrez in the Sauber. The top four drivers elected not to go out again assuming that fresh tyres and track evolution would not give the opposition enough of an advantage to relegate them.

The crew on Daniel Ricciardo's pitwall must have thought that call was a little risky when the first car to cross the line whilst using another set bumped them down a position. If the rest of the challengers replicated Massa's pace then Ricciardo would be out of the session. Luckily for him, they weren't fast enough, Kyvat and Magnussen made it through - knocking Vergne and Hulkenberg out and Jenson Button came tantalisingly close to making it into Q3. Jenson was only 17 milliseconds away from promotion but ended up in 11th place. The session ended with Nico Rosberg putting in an very quick time to go fastest... an ominous sign of things to come perhaps...

Q1

The final and all important pole position shootout and cue more artistic aerial views of the Marina bay circuit with all it's nocturnal splendour on display. Still no sign of any malfunctioning windmills, score one to Blog HQ. The first series of laps saw Felipe Massa setting the early pace, less than a tenth of a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo in second and the two Ferraris along with Vettel a tiny fraction behind that. 0.16s covered the top five cars in an immensely tight final session - yet Mercedes were languishing down in 6th in 7th. I think qualifying should have ended there and then - think of the race that would have generated tomorrow...

Alas the session went on and thus began the final runs, which unfortunately were to be completed without one of the major contenders. Kimi Raikkonen was recalled to the pits on his outlap after a technical problem, the Finn seemed a lot calmer about the technical difficulties than Romain Grosjean had in Q2. The Frenchman was apoplectic over the radio about the engine cutting out and malfunctioning. But we still had a potential fight for pole position between Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes - something we haven't been treated two in a very long time, even Austria didn't have this many contenders. Ricciardo set the initial benchmark time - claiming a provisional pole position away from Massa. The crowd cheer was enormous when the Australian held the top spot. Nico Rosberg spoiled that party chipping out a two tenth margin over the Red Bull driver. So Mercedes on pole again as Vettel, Alonso, Massa and Bottas were unable to beat Rosbergs time, this only left Hamilton... Lewis made a small mistake in the first corner, locking an inside wheel but over the course of the lap kept in touch with his team-mate's time. As Hamilton rounded the final corner and crossed the line he stole pole position by only 0.007s - a ridiculously small margin. In a day when radio communications were the initial taking point it is only fair that the session was ended with a radio message. Rosberg was informed of the final results and the time difference, to which he merely replied "DAMN IT"...oh it is going to be fun tomorrow.

The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners

Fear not I am keeping track of these points, there is a spreadsheet with some VBA code that when the time comes will print out the HTML needed to update the online table. As for today, that was the closest session this season, and barring that time in '97 when Schumacher, Villeneuve and Frentzen all set the same time down to the millisecond - one of the closest in a very long time. That does make scoring this session very difficult, but here are the winners:

• 10pts - Kimi Raikkonen - For once that is the pace we have waited to see, fastest in Q1 and pushing Alonso... until the car broke down again
• 8pts - Felipe Massa - After spending much of 2014 in Bottas' shadow the Brazilian was the dominant Williams today and was one pole... for a bit
• 6pts - Kevin Magnussen - On a track he has never seen before to make it into the top ten ahead of Jenson is a strong acheivement
• 5pts - Jules Bianchi - Utterly demolished the lower division, in a day when margins have been so tight a one second gap over Kamui is mighty.
• 4pts - Daniil Kvyat - Once again the rookie driver is leading the mid-field, admittedly Vergne may be demotivated, but he is ahead of Button and both of the Force India cars as well.
• 3pts - Hamilton/Rosberg - Putting them on the same line is asking for another fight but 0.007s is amazing consistency between team-mates
• 2pts - Romain Grosjean - Gets two points for having the best rant of the day about the Renault engine... very little PR filtering going on there.
• 1pt - Squadron Leader Heidfeld - Nick gets the final point for walking away from a huge accident in the debut Formula E race in China, and for the calmest possible interview afterwards considering he was taken out by a driver he shares a car with in endurance races.

The Penalty Points Series

There is also a spreadsheet for this too, but considering that is was a calm and entertaining qualifying session there should be little to add to that spreadsheet this evening. Agreed little does need to be done, but there are a couple of points that do need to be taken care of.

• The Camera Director - Not a particularly good job today from the person responsible, I would like to know why a driver set a slower time than expected and why those yellow flags were out if you don't mind.
• Nicholas Prost - The other half of the Heidfeld incident, Nicholas was going to lose the lead of the race on the approach to the final corner of the final lap. So the Frenchman made a last second blocking move and crashed into the side of Heidfeld's car. It was a very rash and foolish move which broke Heidfeld's front suspension and launching the car over the curbs at the inside of the corner. The car flew upside down into the barrier and tumbled through the air before landing the wrong way up. Prost had the incredulity post race to blame the German for making an 'impossible move'  on a corner where you can't pass apparently. The same corner where Takuma Sato was able to drive two wide with another car without making any contact...

Looking to Tomorrow

The race is the longest event of the season, closing in on the two hour maximum time limit, and in every one of those races there has been at least one safety car deployment. Anything can and will happen on the streets of Singapore which makes the race tomorrow look like an enticing prospect even in the years of Vettel domination. In 2013 when Sebastian had a two second a lap advantage the race was still enjoyable because of the battles further behind. But this season those battles can take place at the very front of the grid between team-mates who are not afraid of pushing each other out of the way. And once again waiting in the wings for something to go wrong is Daniel Ricciardo - it is set up wonderfully once more for a fantastic race. Bring it on.

Round 14: Singapore 2014 - Preview

Ahoy thar Mateys O' the Internet,

Y'arr upon the day when all mateys parler in the piratical tongue, it be rather fitting that the mighty crews and thar vessels set sail for the most piratical port on the map. Across the open waters through the spyglass lies an ocean of tarmac an' concrete waves waiting to send those who stray offline straight to Davey Jones' locker. When we dropped anchor here this time last season thar was much turbulence in the seas o' the paddock, stories of pirates make to walk the plank, marooned from thar crews lookin' for a new flag to sail under. Today the waters are much calmer, but thar be an uneasy silent breeze in the air as an old scallywag steps back up to the helm. 

Capt'n Bernie was facing the brig for misuse of his doubloons and pieces of eight, but through striking an accord - with more doubloons - he be free to roam the seas once more. Capt'n Bernie set a course to plunder the twitterings between crews and thar First Mateys - he be monitoring the bottled messages and forbidding those regarrrdin keeping yer vessel afloat. These sanctions arrr supposed to stop yer pirates an' other mateys from telling yer Capt'n how to sail his galleon. Things like "change yer heading" or "Set yer main-sail to position four" be cast aside, but Capt'n Bernie and his mateys aboard the good ship 'FIA' got all lilly-livered an they be retreating on thar scrolls this morning. Thar sanctions be lifted err so slightly, ship-to-shore messagin' still forbids navigation an' positionin' thar other crews, but things like "Yer anchor be too slack" or "Set yer midden-mast to starboard map 6" be back on the table - for now.

Thar be other turbulent goings on aboard the Ferrari Galleon, where piratical overlord Capt'n Di Montezemelo has hung up his pirate hat and given up on a life of Piracy with his crew. Struggles with a slow vessel and one pirate a long way behind the other have spawned many a rumour - will First Mate Alonso jump ship to a faster crew, and thar be many mateys writing bottled messages asking to come aboard if the First Mate walks the plank. Thar be Hulkenberg an' Bianchi at the head of the line, an' who knows if Second Mate Raikkonen will stay aboard as well. But for now thar is the more pressing matter of who can mutiny and overthrow the Mercedes crew from atop the championship's crows nest and claim the glittering booty under the mechanical lights of Singapore. 

Yer Tresure Map

Before me keyboard catches scurvy, I be putting thar hat of piratical parle aside for the moment. I must say this pirate stuff was a lot easier last season, but never mind. The Singapore circuit is one that divides opinion across the world, some say it is a needless gimmicky collection of 90 degree corners more about improving the show than fuelling the sport. On the other hand it is a wondrous event underneath the floodlights often fuelled with action and adventure throughout.

Looking at the track however and you can sort of see where the negative comments come from (those people should have a look at the Beijing street course used for Formula E last week - that was a terrible design). In some cases the amount of corners is excessive, and a bit repetitive - the final sector being a prime example. But what it does leave us with is the longest race of the season, which is a stark contrast to last race which is the shortest and fastest of the year. One novel feature of the track, aside from a corner which goes underneath the grandstands is the colour coordinated walls. Each sector of the lap is painted a different colour, so you know where you are - the next step of course is to paint on corner numbers too. I think is it an idea that Valencia should have used, and certainly would work at the new Sochi track in Russia which at the moment does look a little colourless as preparations continue.

The first part of the lap is the only permanent aspect of the track, with some slight undulation as the track falls away slightly through the first three corners. On the exit of turn three the cars are released into the city through the medium speed turn four, this is an important corner as it leads onto the main DRS straight. I assume most of the overtaking and probably crashing will be done at the end of this straight - it is nice to designate somewhere for Maldonado to do what he does best. In many respects it is a relief that GP2 aren't here given how erratic Canamasas has been, so much so that he prompted a very strong blog post from commentator Will Buxton calling for every sanction under the sun. He even went as far as considering cutting ties with the sport to avoid having to commentate on a potentially severe incident involving the infamous driver. But I digress.

Sector two used to be the home of another polarising feature of the turn 10 chicane - it was a horrible corner, it was a clumsy sequence with massive curbs. Many drivers have been fired into the wall after taking a trip through the air - not as much of a trip as Squadron Leader Heidfeld took in China however, demonstrating the dangers of these new large curbs. As of last season the terrible chicane was replaced, a collective hurrah echoed through the racing world... until we saw the replacement. Here was a section that could be improved with a faster corner given how wide the area is, leading into the chicane before the Andersson bridge. But instead what we got is another generic almost 90 degree corner like many others around the lap, thus replacing terrible and unusual with bland and dull.... you just can't win sometimes. 

After the long straight at Esplanade Drive the final sector begins, and it is this sector most people have a problem with (apart from the final corner) because it seems a little too contrived. Just like Abu-Dhabi's hotel section, we have an excessive amount of corners because it seems like the designer wanted to shoehorn a novelty feature into the layout. The grandstand over the track concept, which in fairness is a nice touch, requires six consecutive 90 degree corners to make work. Because the cars have to be moved onto the road that passes under the stands, make the turn under the stands and then cross back out on the outer road. The tunnel turn however does have a tendency to cause safety car periods which can mix things up a bit. To round off the lap there is the magnificent double apexed final turn which for a street circuit is pleasantly fast, again with little room for error on the exit. 

Thar Capt'n's Log

I think that it is time to put on the hypothetical pirate hat once more, Arr! That's better now. At present the Mercedes crew have the wind at thar backs and a very swift vessel at thar beck'n call that can sail through the most tormented seas and come out the other side in the lead. The port o' Singapore saw Shipmate Sebastian make the rest of the grid look cabin boys with an unassailable advantage. I foresee that the same will happen this weekend - unless of course thar be another mutiny within the crew - mateys Hamilton an' Rosberg have fired shots across each others bows since the Belgian incident. Another skirmish could see them squander the loot, and Capt'n Wolf may be throwin' em overboard. Elsewhere the Williams crew and the eternal party ship Red Bull might steal the booty if the scallywags at Mercedes go to war once more.

In the tormented squall of the mid-field, Toro Rosso should sail clear of the opposition. Sauber still be struggling with a little extra ballast in the hull of their vessel and the chances of any doubloons on Sunday be more than a long shot. As for Lotus, thar twitterings o' the 'lectric parrot be full of hope for a better time of it than in Italy. But this afternoon scallywag Maldonado appeared to catch scurvy and scuttled his ship against the concrete turn ten wall in second practice.

Back in the meagre doldrums at the rear of the field Marussia an' thar dinghy seem to have the beatin's o' those mateys in the neighbouring dock. At least in the hands of First Mate Bianchi's case, financeer deckhand Chilton will need to keep a spyglass pointed off stern for the marauding Caterhams will be much closer in attendance. 

Y'arr it promises to be a grand weekend, one best served in the company o' piratical wenches and plenty of booty, and loot too. This galleon may be marooned, but watching thar crews do battle on the city streets is all but the next best thing.

Round 13: Italy 2014 - Review

Greetings Internet, 

Today we hoped for a gigantic battle, one of great vengeance between the two title contenders - knocking more carbon fibre panels off each other and banging wheels... Sadly we were denied that opportunity once again, in fact it is starting to become a regular occurrence to see hopes of more controversy dashed as a race progresses. Hungary and Belgium had their moments which spurned on the conspiracy theories and arguments across the realm of the internet, but not since Bahrain have we had a proper race long duel for the race win. It was supposed to be on the cards for today, all the ingredients were in place, a front row lock out by a pair of dominant cars and a score that needed settling after Spa. But while that particular recipe failed miserably, it was down to the remainder of the field to serve up an alternative menu, even if it was delivered with a delivered in the form of some overly easy DRS enabled overtakes down the main straight. 

The Race

At the start it looked like the race was going to get very interesting, because Hamilton didn't get the best of launches and handed the lead to Rosberg. Magnussen and Massa also followed the German through, demoting Lewis down to fourth place. Bottas also had a reasonably terrible start, and plummeted down the order, Ricciardo also had a reasonably terrible time at the beginning of the day ending up forced across the first chicane by the volume of traffic crowding up at the first apex. The Australian was joined by the Sauber of Adrian Sutil running across the alternative chicane profile. It appeared Hamilton had difficulties with the RS modes which prevented him from making a more successful start. 

From the very back of the grid Daniil Kvyat was making some initial progress, up to 17th place from 21st - taking care of the two Marussias, Kamui and Grosjean. The Toro Rosso making good use strong straight line speed in comparison to those teams at the bottom end of the field. At the front however Rosberg was running away from the chasing pack, because Magnussen was a little down on pace and holding back Massa and Hamilton behind him. Both Lewis and Felipe were putting pressure on the Dane - this had all the hallmarks of a very interesting fight, if Magnussen's defensive efforts at Spa were to be repeated. This time his defensive strategy wasn't quite as effective, blocking the inside line for the Della Roggia chicane - but Massa simply drove round the outside of the McLaren compromising Kevin's exit. This allowed Hamilton to sneak up the inside of the first Lesmo to take third place. Once released from behind Magnussen Massa set the fastest lap of the race, and brought Hamilton along with him.

The second chicane proved to be rather perilous for Max Chilton, the Marussia driver ironically went through a corner a little too quickly for someone who is perpetually last (barring Ericsson). As a result he hid the large curbs at the second apex and launched into the air suffering a hard landing before bouncing into the tyre wall and into retirement. Max's second ever retirement and the first one that didn't involve him taking out his team-mate in the process - I noticed that the internet and media in general weren't all up in arms about that intra-team collision. The yellow flags waving to clear Chilton's car prevented Hamilton from having a look at Massa into the Roggia chicane, but it was only a temporary reprieve. Then something most odd occurred, Nico Rosberg made a mistake, mysteriously missing the first chicane at Rettafilio with only the tiniest hint of a lock up as evidence. Nico had to negotiate the slalom of polystyrene marker boards on the escape road losing almost two seconds to the Massa/Hamilton battle behind. I wouldn't recommend doing that one again Mr Rosberg...

On the next lap, Hamilton put a pass on Massa in the first chicane, going round the outside of the Williams, and Felipe gave Lewis racing room - a far cry from 2011 when the pair were continuously crashing into each other. This meant the two Mercedes drivers were now 1-2 - and hopes for that battle for the lead to take place. While gap between the two lead cars was going to take a few laps to close, it was a good time to take a look at what was happening elsewhere in the field. Starting at the back of the field - where Bianchi was resisting the attentions of Romain Grosjean's Lotus. Romain attempted an outside pass into the first chicane but despite some wheel to wheel contact mid-corner the Marussia maintained control of the position. Grosjean would later take the place and power ahead. Then there was Bottas, initiating a recovery drive after making a terrible start and losing so many positions, Valtteri's progress was helped in part by the fact that Magnussen was backing up everyone from fourth on back. 

Bottas' first target was Kimi Raikkonen, the Ferrari being no match for the straight line speed of the Williams - and so Bottas set after his next victim Sergio Perez. Today Sergio was able to live up to his previous title of 'One-Stop Perez - unfortunately it was one-stop strategies all round so it wasn't really a unique trait this time. Valtteri found it fractionally more difficult to defeat the Force India running a similar engine to the Williams but through the power of DRS and a superior top speed the Finn was through. Alonso was a much easier pass, even though the Spaniard defended the inside line on the main straight, Bottas merely breezed past on the main straight... right in front of the Ferrari fans... that'll not go down too well. Out front the gap was starting to close quite quickly, and Hamilton had narrowed the deficit to within 1.4s enough to start feeling the benefits of the slip-stream effect from the back of his team-mate's car.

Elsewhere Sebastian Vettel triggered a raft of pit stops as the German Bloke became the first driver to take his one and only stop of the race. Having just lost out to another Bottas pass in turn one Magnussen pitted along with Alonso, the pair rejoining behind Vettel who benefited from the undercut. Perez rejoined in front of Alonso and Jenson but behind Vettel and Magnussen in what was turning into a tightly contested battle for what was effectively fourth place - Massa being in an isolated third several seconds further up the road. When Bottas came in for his stop he emerged at the same time the train of cars behind Vettel was powering down the main straight. In many respects the Finn was a little too polite through the first corner, leaving enough racing room for those around him to make the turn. As a result Valtteri lost track position to Vettel and Magnussen.

After the Mercedes drivers came in for their respective stops Hamilton was instructed over the radio to maintain a two second gap to Nico to conserve tyres for the end of the race. Lewis was having none of this and continued his charge towards his team-mate, disregarding engineer advice and the prospect of that overdue conflict sounded very exciting. Made even more so when lapping Ericsson brought the two cars closer together. But just as Hamilton closed almost to within DRS range - the seemingly impossible took place. Rosberg made a hash of turn one again, so much for the clinical and precise approach that typified the German's driving style. This time has he once again skipped through the slalom Lewis Hamilton assumed the lead and drove off into the distance. A striking lack of composure and form from Rosberg does make you question what on earth the team did to him in response to the 'incident' at Spa.

The Retafilio chicane was the scene of more action as Bottas was recovering the positions lost after the stop - this time taking on Kevin Magnussen round the outside. This time the Dane resumed where he left off in Spa and unleashed some more robust defensive driving - leaving Valtteri nowhere to go in the middle of the chicane. The Williams driver having to escape across the chicane, a few laps further down the line Magnussen would be handed a 5s stop/go penalty to be added to his next pit-stop... shame the McLaren wasn't coming back in... Instead the additional time would be appended to his final race time. Meanwhile the bottom was falling out of Ferrari's world here on home turf, first it started with Raikkonen being the first victim of a recovery charge from Daniel Ricciardo after a later stop than the others. But that was small change compared to Fernando Alonso's difficulties - right in front of the main Tifosi grandstand the car completely shut down and ground to a halt. His fist mechanical failure since 2010, and thus ending his 100 run of points scoring positions in 2014.

Despite fending off the Williams once before, Magnussen was unable to keep Bottas behind for much longer and inevitably surrendered the position at the end of the main straight. While that particular contest came to an end, another one was emerging further back - Jenson Button found himself behind Sergio Perez. Jenson was able to take the place from the Force India in turn one, but Perez drafted the McLaren through Curva Grande before firing it down the outside of the Della Roggia chicane. Button edged Sergio wide but the Mexican kept the boot in across the speed humps and still managed to take the place back. Both drivers then ran two wide through the first of the Lesmos, before Jenson had to fall back in line on turn in to the second Lesmo. This brilliant exchange was briefly interrupted by the presence of Daniel Riccardo on newer tyres. The Red Bull had visibly stronger braking capacity and could brake much later than either the McLaren or the Force India. Picking off Jenson in turn one and then sweeping to the inside of Perez on the exit of Curva Grande to take the place from Sergio into Della Roggia. As soon as Ricciardo was clear and gone up the road Perez and Button resumed their little scrap. Again Jenson took the spot in turn one, but his brakes were fading and ran deep, Perez maintained the pressure going into the second chicane forcing Button to out-brake himself. This opened the door on the exit and the Force India was through once again.

Because Bottas had maximised his comeback reaching fourth place, it was time to check on the state of Ricciardo's charge through the field - after sneaking past the Jenson/Sergio battle the Australian took on Magnussen. Daniel once again used the grip advantage of fresher tyres to take the position away from the Dane in turn one. This meant that his next target was none other than Sebastian Vettel, would this eventuality mean that despite falling several places behind on the opening lap - Ricciardo could again out-perform the multiple world champion. Looking at the relative pace of the two Red Bull drivers it seemed increasingly likely. Vettel defended in turn one but slid wide compromising his exit - and in a carbon copy of the move Ricciardo made on Perez, the Australian swept across the track and stole the inside line for the Della Roggia chicane and took the place away from Vettel. 

Further back we see a strange interaction between Grosjean and Gutierrez - Esteban for no apparent reason moved across on Romain in the braking zone for turn one and clipped his front wing. As a result the Sauber driver suffered a rear puncture and dropped to the back of the field - a post race investigation rewarded Esteban with a 20s time penalty moving him to absolute last place, behind Ericisson. Meanwhile Vettel's declining pace on older tyres following the earlier stop had brought Magnussen, Perez, Button and Raikkonen up behind him. It was a battle Perez was reluctant to get involved with considering that Magnussen in front would take a post-race time penalty, and given Kevin's tendency for agressive defensive driving there was logic to Sergio's decision. At the opposite end of the train Raikkonen came perilously close to a double retirement for Ferrari. Brake failure for Daniil Kvyat found his car would not slow down for turn one and narrowly missed the back of Kimi's car as the Toro Rosso fired down the escape road. Daniil did very well not only to miss Raikkonen but keep the out of control missile he was driving out of the barrier as well - only clipping the polystyrene blocks in the slalom. I assume that the death stare momentarily became a rather worried stare when he arrived at over 200mph and realised the car wouldn't slow down.

Out front however it turned into an uncontested victory for Lewis Hamilton after Rosberg stepped out of the way in the first chicane on two occasions. It was still another 1-2 for the team, so no Toto Wolf angry faces today. The final step on the podium belonged to Felipe Massa who was reasonable anonymous after he lost second place to Hamilton in the first stint. A very well executed recovery drive from Bottas saw him take fourth for Williams ahead of the Red Bull pairing lead by Ricciardo. Magnussen crossed the line in 7th place but would be demoted to 10th with the penalty. This moved Perez up into 7th and Jenson in to 8th. Raikkonen kept Ferrari's points scoring streak going - albeit with only two points for 9th place. 

The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners

Even though were denied the battle we all hoped to see once more, today did contain a series of performances that deserved some points:

• 25pts - Valtteri Bottas - After a terrible start and more positions lost in the pit stops it was a valiant recovery drive with many passes.
• 18pts - Daniel Ricciardo  - Not as many passes as Bottas but the quality was so much better, kudos for still beating Vettel
• 15pts - Button/Perez - Have to have many points for their epic battle in the latter stages of the race, no contact at all times
• 12pts - Daniil Kvyat - Not only for avoiding a potentially enormous accident, but last to the edge of the points deserves points
• 10pts - Felipe Massa - His first podium in a long while and his first for the team with some good early racing
• 8pts - Kevin Magnussen - A brilliant start up into second place and probably didn't deserve the penalty he received
• 6pts - Kamui Kobayashi - Finishing as the top representative from the lower teams after being out-bid by Lotterer last time
• 4pts - Jules Bianchi - Gets some points for being able to fend off the Lotus for a little while in turn one
• 2pts -  Max Chilton - Wins the high jump award for his take off in the second chicane
• 1pt - Marcus Ericsson - It might be the result of Gutierrez's penalty, but well done on not being last

The Penalty Points Championship

In a generally average race, it may seem a little harsh to throw penalty points about but some are needed today.

• Nico Rosberg - Made a bit of a mess of that one now didn't we, not only cost yourself the win but ruined what could have been a brilliant fight
• Sergio Canamassass - Gets a penalty point for driving like a complete moron in the second GP2 race this afternoon
• Simon Lazenby - For telling me who won said GP2 race before I had the change to watch it
• The Stewards - Absolutely no consistency in the decision making process at the moment. 

Looking ahead to Singapore

Well from one extreme to another, leaving behind the extreme speeds of Monza under the bright Italian sunshine to the plaudits of the Tifosi, and moving on to the concrete walls and floodlights of the street race of Singapore. In all likelihood it will be another Mercedes walkover, dominating all sessions and vanishing off into the distance again. But this time there is much less room for error - if you were to lock up under breaking there is often only a concrete barrier in the way to greet you rather than a polystyrene slalom. The singaporean GP had produced moments of extreme controversy, most notably of all the 'crashgate' scandal in 2009. The race where Piquet Jnr was instructed to crash on purpose so that the safety car would gift his team-mate at the time Fernando Alonso the race victory. Then in 2011 it was another instalment into the ongoing conflict between Hamilton and Felipe Massa... who knows perhaps this could be another ignition point for the in house battle at Mercedes... can't wait

Round 13: Italy 2014 - Qualifying

Greetings Internet, 

It appears I have returned to this corner of the world, having spend the previous week in the heart of Transylvania, Romania in the city of Cluj-Napoca. It is for that reason that there was no post on Thursday night, that and the fact that I was pretending to know how to be a sociable human being at the frighteningly posh 'Sun Garden Resort' - which is certainly not the conventional setting for a peasant like myself. That said the venture as a whole was rather interesting meeting folk from across the globe, including Turkey, Japan, Germany, China and of course Romania. It does make you wonder why people in this country can't be as civilised or friendly as those at the event and the city as a whole. 

But first order of business upon landing on home turf, that is here in the North, not the pesky south which the plane landed, is taking care of working through the footage of qualifying. In many respects it was going to be a bit of a formality at the front of the grid given the characteristics of the circuit and a certain engine manufacturer. In fact it threatened to be quite an awkward session from multiple perspectives throughout the grid.

Qualifying 

Behind the scenes and across the TV it appears that the whole world was far more concerned with how life was in the Mercedes team and who hates who... and how angry Toto Wolf was that fortnight ago. Mostly because it was funny. So as the session got started, the two Caterhams and Marussias had the track to themselves for a little while, practising sharing the slipstream effect on the long straights at Monza. Out of the quartet it was Kobayashi that eked out a small advantage, wouldn't it be awkward if it was the Japanese driver whose seat was for sale for the highest bidders instead of Ericsson...

Eventually Mercedes went to the front of the field with their inevitable speed advantage, Rosberg was initially in first place before Hamilton took over. All without running into each other which is a little dull and unfortunate, maybe that can all be corrected tomorrow. It seemed as if Mercedes were going to have some company at the sharp end of the grid because Felipe Massa in the Williams closed to within half a tenth of Rosbergs second place time. Massa improved to go anomalously fastest, before Hamilton retook the position. As the session continued several teams moved onto the softer tyre, Toro Rosso made significant gains - firstly by Vergne... Wouldn't it be awkward if the Frenchman was to be fired at the end of the season. The awkwardness continued when Kobayashi not only smashed Ericsson's best efforts but usurped both Marussia drivers... oh dear. Meanwhile Lotus' struggles continues and neither car made it into Q2

Q2

In this second section, Hulkenberg set the initial pace, but the German's qualifying difficulties continued as the Force India dropped down the time-sheet. Again Mercedes lead the pack, and again it was Rosberg who delivered first, followed by Bottas in the Williams. Hamilton responded with the fastest lap of the weekend to take the lead of the session. While Felipe Massa joined Valtteri in a seemingly futile pursuit of the Mercedes team - but at least they were giving it a go unlike the rest. 

But the real battle in this session belonged at the opposite end of the top ten when the field streamed out on their final run. This caused a problem for a certain Mr Kimi Raikkonen who started his final campaign a lap earlier and encountered everyone on their out-lap. Starting with Daniil Kvyat on the main straight distracting the Finn, forcing Kimi to go in a little too deep in the Rettafilio - followed by making a slight mess of the Variante De La Roggia putting a rear wheel into the gravel on the exit (one of the few corners that still has gravel now). Kimi made a similar hash of his final lap and didn't make it into the top ten...in a Ferrari... in front of the Tifosi... in Italy... well oops. Sergio Perez on the other hand was defying team expectations, and dragged the Force India into Q3.

Q3

On the track with the highest average speed and terminal velocities in excess of 215mph - there was no urgency to use the additional two minutes available in Q3. The success story of Q2 - Sergio Perez - was the first to take to the track, only to see his initial lap time obliterated by Nico Rosberg's all conquering Mercedes. Bottas was only a few tenths shy of Nico's top time at the start of the session, but then there was the problem of Lewis Hamilton who appeared to be tearing up the space-time continuum in his crusade for pole position. The end of this lap resulted in the Briton carving a mighty four tenths out of Nico's best effort, in a titanic struggle that has often been decided by hundredths this gap was gargantuan. 

With a seemingly unbeatable target posted on the board it looked like it was game over in the battle for pole position - Rosberg tried to cut the lead down but only manged to trim a few tenths off the deficit. Williams locked out the second row with Bottas in front, while Magnussen and Button set almost identical times on their final runs to lock out the third row. Then there was Vettel, the leading purpetrator of misusing the new blasphemous tarmac on the exit of the Parabolica could only manage 8th, behind the only Ferrari inside the top ten.

The Bonus Points Championship

Even when this was a reasonably straight forward session, in which Mercedes powered cars take up the top six places on the grid - and only one Mercedes car outside the top ten, there are points on offer.

• 10pts - Sergio Perez - The Force India setup doesn't make qualifying easy yet the Mexican made it out of Q2
• 8pts - Kevin Magnussen - One of McLaren's more successful Saturdays and the Dane takes lead honours
• 6pts - Lewis Hamilton - That was a mega lap to take the top spot, and even his slower lap would put him on the front row
• 5pts - Jenson Button - As a driver who might by fighting for a contract for 2015, a respectable run today can't hurt
• 4pts - Kamui Kobayashi - One race after being dumped from the team for money, making an impressive return an justifying his place on the grid
• 3pts - Valtteri Bottas -  Mercedes' closest competition on a track where Ricciardo can't capitalise 
• 2pts - Felipe Massa - Lead the Williams charge up until the all important final session. 
• 1pt - Jules Bianchi - For saving an epic slide through the Ascari chicane in front of Romain Grosjean

The Penalty Points Championship

After being on 'holiday' for a while I didn't think I'd be issuing penalty points upon returning but here are a couple

• Sebastian Vettel - Stop trying to cheat the system, yes the Parabolica has been modified but you can stick to the track you know.
• Monza - Why did you take the gravel away....why... damn you, damn you

Looking to Tomorrow (well later on today now as it is past midnight)

Turn one should be fun - the two Mercedes drivers ploughing down to a very narrow chicane potentially side by side - another collision between the two would be hilarious. The force of the repercussions could tear a hole in the universe - mainly from Toto Wolf's angry face, which is a very severe angry face. On top of that we have Williams lurking just in case it all goes completely wrong, with McLaren on the row behind them. 

Looking further back we have Daniil Kvyat in a car which could challenge for a top ten spot qualifying down in 21st place after taking a 10 place grid penalty for an engine change. A fate many of the Renault powered teams and potentially Sauber as well will come across when their allocations of power unit components run out. Monza can be chaotic with plenty of overtaking - or it could be dull and tiresome - here's hoping for the former. Bring it on.

Round 12: Belgium 2014 - Delayed Review

Greetings Internet, 

I know the race took place yesterday and all the things that happened, did happen a long time ago now - but other commitments meant that it wasn't practical to start making a post after midnight. So as a result this series of characters, words and I am lucky, complete legible sentences, is no longer timely or relevant. There is a valid argument that says that noting posted in this corner of the internet has ever being relevant, and thus probably shouldn't even be here - but on we go. To give a hope of getting this completed this side of midnight, you will be glad to know that I intend it to be a more concise recollection of a race that might prove pivotal in terms of the remainder of the season. Of course no matter what happened across the 44 lap event, the whole world will be all up in arms about the tiniest bit of contact that took place on lap 2. 

The Race

There were some vague concerns about rain at the start of the race, but that merely amassed to a couple of rogue drops rather than anything worthwhile. Maybe if there had have been a little bit of moisture things might have turned out very differently and all those angry faces at the end of the race. It appeared that the Ferrari team forgot when the race was starting and had people working on Alonso's car as the formation lap got underway. Fernando was to be handed a 5s pit-lane penalty which for a clear-cut rule violation seemed to take an age to decide and was a tad lenient. 

Hamilton made the best of the start and moved himself and Vettel ahead of Rosberg through La Source. Towards the back of the grid, Bianchi ran into difficulties, or more accurately difficulties ran into the back of him - due to the lack of any relevant replays I've no idea who did the hitting, but as a result Bianchi suffered a rear puncture. Up at the top of the hill, Vettel attempted to go round the outside of Hamilton at Les Combes - but had to run across the chicane. This promoted Rosberg back up to second - behind his team-mate.

Lap two at Spa will forever be known as "The Incident" at Les Combes. Rosberg had a run on Hamilton up the kemmel straight and went to the outside on turn in to Les Combes. Nico stayed on the outside, with only the tiniest fraction of an overlap - and instead of backing out of the move he argued the point. This became a problem when Hamilton wanted to take the racing line for the second apex and... the incident happened. Rosberg's front wing clipped Hamilton's rear tyre which was immediately punctured. On the way back to the pits Lewis' deflating tyre shredded the undertray of the car. This collision was an inevitable event in team where the only immediate threat comes from the other side of the garage, after a post race 'special meeting' at Mercedes. It was claimed that Rosberg suggested he could avoid the collision if he wanted to, and stayed alongside to prove a point. That point being that he'd refuse to back down...ever, which is all well and good demonstrating a strong stance and a refusal to be pushed around, but this wasn't the way of doing it. Sure Hamilton forced Rosberg off in Hungary in those final laps, and a refusal to let that happen again hurt both cars. Someone should forward Rosberg some footage of Alonso's on board footage - because Fernando knows when to back out of a move - and no-one maintains the opinion that the Ferrari driver is a push over. I understand what Nico was up to, but he wasn't far enough alongside for it pay off.

With Nico now struggling with a car with a damaged front wing he found himself under pressure from a group of pursuing cars. Namely from the two Red Bull drivers, Alonso having lost ground to Ricciardo. In a bizarre case of role reversal it was the Ferraris that were sitting ducks in a straight line while a low downforce setting for Red Bull made them faster... Ricciardo continued he charge forward when he picked off his team-mate after Vettel got sideways in the middle of Pouhon - that lower downforce setup biting the German. In a continuation of the broadcast crew being slightly ignorant of the lower end competitors both Lotterer and Maldonado had retired without the smallest amount of TV coverage. The top four cars all had sight of one another coming into the first round of pit-stops, which in this era is a bit of an oddity. 

After the stops, it appeared that re-occurring debris was to be the story of the middle part of the race. Firstly it was Felipe Massa who got some of Hamilton's shredded tyre caught on the car, and hamper his progress and speed starting off with a position dropped to Sergio Perez's Force India. The Williams team calculated that the time spent with the debis caught on the car cost the Brazilian a total time loss of 40s. Then the debris struck again - almost as if the ghost of Hamilton's dreams were haunting the rest of the field. This time a section of the carcass got caught on Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber which in itself is an unremarkable affair. But after Rosberg pitted for a new front wing he rejoined behind the Mexican - and as he pulled out to make a pass the tyre material dislodged and flew onto Nico's car. Wrapping itself round the aerial such that is was tickling the German's visor - which can't be distracting at all...

As the stops cycled, Jenson Button occupied the lead position, something that McLaren haven't been accustomed to in a while - but it was only temporary as he too had to pit. Promoting Ricciardo up into the top spot after Rosberg lost track position through replacing the nosecone. If one McLaren dropped back, another was make steps further up the grid - Magnussen overtaking Vergne and being another car to effortless breeze past a Ferrari in a straight line. In Bahrain when they were defenceless on the straights Dominicali was encouraged to remove himself. This time they still had one car left in the hunt, after an early stop and some impressive lap times brought Raikkonen onto the back of the leading drivers in second place. Sebastian Vettel was under threat from Nico Rosberg in a recovering Mercedes, and Valtteri Bottas' Williams. The slimmest wing settings on that Red Bull and Sebastian's 'Defence Mode' was actually working out against the raw pace of the Mercedes. Nico tried to make it work on the outside of the Bus Stop chicane and ultimately surrendered the place to Bottas as a result. 

At the half-way point life was getting difficult for Mercedes - Rosberg had to pit again to cure a vibration caused by a significant lock-up when fighting Vettel. Hamilton was still in the race, and was complaining regularly on the team-radio asking to give up, asking to pull the car into retirement. Mercedes urged him to continue in the hope that a potential safety car intervention would bring him onto the back of the field. It took until a few laps from the end of the race, before Lewis' wishes were heeded and the damaged car and his ruined afternoon were officially brought to a close. But when Rosberg rejoined the track, on new un-damaged tyres he was very quick - making light work of Jenson Button and then breezing past Fernando Alonso on the Kemmel straight... That higher downforce configuration wasn't giving anyone in a Ferrari too much to defend with. Raikkonen had the same problem when he found himself dealing with Rosberg's Mercedes - utterly powerless to prevent the German coming through.

Alonso found himself in the midst of another battle when he came across the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen on older worn tyres and what ensued was a display of substantial defensive driving. Kevin refused to give in and unlike Rosberg, Alonso decided not to force the issue backing out in Malmedy to avoid contact. This particular duel was only silenced when Magnussen pitted to remove those older tyres and give Alonso a break. But up front there was the thought of a gargantuan tussle for the lead - because Rosberg was homing in on Ricciardo at a vast rate of knots. Even after a final stop for fresh soft tyres and carving past Bottas the Mercedes was powering towards Daniel at over two seconds a lap... unfortunately Nico required to be travelling about half a second faster to have a change of rescuing a win from a challenging day for the team as a whole.

So as that battle seemed like it was going nowhere, it was fortunate that there was another far more intense one brewing further back. Somehow Magnussen found himself at war with Alonso again, and this time he brought Button and Vettel along for the ride. With laps remaining being in short supply the Dane was getting increasingly desperate - combined with the fact that the Ferrari was having difficulty overtaking anything in a straight line. As soon as Alonso came close to making a pass Magnussen would close the door - even on the middle of the Kemmel straight pushing Fernando onto the grass. This allowed Jenson to pounce on the Ferrari round the outside of Malmedy, Button tried to follow that up with an outside pass of Rivage. True to form Magnussen slammed the door shut pushing Jenson off the track and allowing Alonso back through. Vettel was also able to pass Button into Fagnes. On the next lap Alonso tried to pass Magnussen again - to the outside of Rivage, and once again was nerfed off on the exit - allowing Vettel to steal another position. This duel intensified as the collection of drivers had to negotiate an intense battle between Ericsson and Chilton at the back of the field.

At the very front, Ricciardo was too far ahead to be caught by Nico, and took a third victory for Red Bull in front of the German. Bottas took the third place from Raikkonen after merely blasting past the Ferrari, like so many others have done before. Vettel made sure he passed Magnussen - swerving towards the Dane in the braking zone to La Source and surviving contact with Alonso who couldn't avoid the two cars slowing on the apex. Button remained behind his team-mate as McLarens finished 6th and 7th, and Alonso limped home with a damaged wing in 8th. The points were finished by Perez in 9th and Kvyat in 10th. Magnussen was later penalised for pushing Alonso off track and dropped down to 12th in the results.

The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners

After a day and many hours after the flag brought the event to a close it is time to update the points scorers from the Belgian GP - note that the overall points are being maintained in a spreadsheet which writes out the relevant HTML, just to prevent any hint of points equalisation as the season progresses.

• 25pts - Daniel Ricciardo - As soon as Mercedes mess up Ricciardo is able to capitalise and consistently making Vettel look rather average
• 18pts - Kimi Raikkonen - After a relatively poor season, only a weak top speed kept the Finn off the podium at Spa
• 15pts - Fernando Alonso - A brilliant display of skill in both battles with Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button - and a spectacular save at the top of Eau Rouge, and a less experienced set of hands that car was going in the wall.
• 12pts - Valtteri Bottas - Another podium finish for the Williams driver, considerably beating Massa - although Felipe had issues in the race
• 10pts - Kevin Magnussen - In the first battle he was defending brilliantly, but doesn't score as well due to the actions towards the end even if he was fending off a trio of drivers with seven world titles between them.
• 8pts - Max Chilton/Marcus Ericsson - Even through they are the slower pay drivers of the bottom teams their little scrap almost had the Magnussen fight running four wide as they lapped them. And for virtually high-fiving each other on twitter afterwards.
• 6pts - Jenson Button - Has to have some points for that pass on Fernando at Malmedy and for keeping out of the way of Magnussen
• 4pts - Daniil Kvyat - Despite being absent from all TV coverage throughout the race but still comes home with some more points
• 2pts - Nico Rosberg - Despite making a pigs ear out of that move on Hamilton it was a solid recovery drive with some incisive passes
• 1pt - Artem Markelov - Gets the remaining point for his outstanding pass on Tom Dillman in GP2 when the track was wet on the outside curbs of Malmedy

The Penalty Points Championship

It is not often these days that the penalty points series makes an appearance but after Spa there will be some additions.

• Nico Rosberg - Yes you were trying to make a point, but that was a little silly of you now wasn't it
• Lewis Hamilton - Stop whining, so what if you're last miles off the pace - so are Chilton and Ericsson, but they don't throw in the towel because points are impossible. Sure they don't have a championship to fight and engine components worth conserving - but their race isn't less important than yours
• Camera Director - There are cars outside the top eight - just wanted to remind you
• GP2 Stewards - There was nothing wrong with what Cecotto did (for once) so there was no need to ask him to move over
• The Stewards - Their F1 counterparts get penalty points too, it took an age to penalise Ferrari for a blatant breech of the regulations and even then delivered a weak penalty. Having a loose wheel in the pits beings on all hell fury from the administrators, but a team calling personnel onto a live grid as cars are powering up for a formation lap gets a slap on the wrist...is this the FIA delivering a lesser penalty to Ferrari because they are friends... who knows.

Looking ahead to Monza

From one extreme speed circuit to another, replacing the high speed corners and elevation changes with pure power. A race which should be Mercedes' to lose, but then again so should have been this one and look what happened, but I daresay that the two Mercedes team-mates may be travelling in separate coaches down to Monza with not a word spoken between them - especially if Toto Wolf's face was anything to go by. His post race interview would certainly give Kvyat's death stare a run for it's money when the cameras picked him up yesterday. As it was reported across the internet, following the events of Spa and "The Incident" - it is most certainly on...

 

Round 12: Belgium 2014 - Qualifying

Greetings Internet, 

That has to be a first, hail stones falling the moments before the session got underway and some of the most intense rainfall that the paddock has seen in a long time. A similarly big storm arrived a couple of hours later and drowned the GP2 race for a lap or so. The unpredictability of the weather across the Ardenne region struck once more today, from monsoon rains, hail and then bright sunshine. So a typical day in Spa then, not that it did to much to uproot Mercedes campaign of domination that resumed faultlessly after the summer break. 

In all honesty although I did sit and watch qualifying today, as I do regularly during a season - I can't remember any of it. Because there was various things that needed painting - there is a giant false beak for a tropical bird which doesn't exist and an articulating tortoise... I may as well point out what they are now because as I survey the fruits of my labours I can only glad that the audience are a considerable distance from the stage when these creations are unveiled at the end of the week. This is why I was never too good at art. But on with the show, and I shall now google what did happened in the rain and damp of Belgium and do my level best write something meaningful about today.

Qualifying

The last of the gigantic storms had rolled away before Q1 was due to start and most of the larger puddles had drained from the track surface, leaving the circuit on the cusp of selecting intermediates over the full wet compound. The majority of the field did vote for the intermediate tyre, while Williams stuck with the wet option. It appeared neither had the advantage over the other, the intermediates were faster but were at a higher risk of aquaplaning - Daniil Kvyat hitting a puddle on the way down to Eau Rouge. Fortunately the Russian saved the little slide and didn't end up in the wall. Braking was also proving very difficult - those on the full wet tyres have a smaller contact patch with the tarmac and both Massa and Bottas were experiencing lock-ups under braking. Even the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton ran wide at the Bus Stop after running out of grip on entry. But save of the session belonged to Kimi Raikkonen who got a little sideways in Radillon - which could easily have been an enormous shunt.

On the time sheets the Mercedes team locked out the provisional front row with Hamilton in front, meanwhile Gutierrez pulled his Sauber into retirement on the exit of Stavelot. This meant, in theory that only one car from a team other than Caterham or Marussia would be up for relegation. Neither Lotterer in his Caterham debut or Ericsson looked like they were going to turn their fortunes around like Van Der Garde did for the team in 2013. Marussia however were fairing much better Bianchi and even Chilton, having taken his drive back from Rossi, were out of the relegation zone. In the dying minutes of the session Romain Grosjean was able to bump Chilton down into relegation. Hulkenberg had a chance to do the same to the Lotus driver, but a lock-up in the Bus Stop chicane thwarted his chances. Bianchi however remained safe and paid another visit to Q2.

Q2

More rain was threatened as Q2 began so there was an immediate stream of cars too to the circuit, and because of the length of the track and the time it takes to complete an inlap/outlap sequence the drivers were left to circulate for a while. Perez and Grosjean in the lone contenders for their respective teams were the first drivers to set a time - despite Romain getting very sideways through the first corner at La Source. Grosjean went one step further on his next lap spinning after changing some settings on the steering wheel.
A hint of some additional precipitation started to show as more cars were getting sideways - Kvyat once more having to stop the car spinning into the fence. Daniil always seeming to test the limits of adhesion - in those moments when he is not delivering that infamous death stare. Hamilton had a little wobble in Eau Rouge, and Rosberg benefitted from the extended tarmac on the outside of Beau Rivage. Had the gravel still been there, it'd be curtains for the German. 

In the final few moments of the session it appeared to be a battle between McLaren and the two Red Bull teams to avoid relegation. Initially Magnussen and the Toro Rosso drivers that had the advantage, how Vergne has the motivation to keep going after being dropped by the team. In challenging conditions you can never rule out Jenson Button, and the Briton delivered once again - relegating Vergne as he jumped into the top ten. The second Toro Rosso fell to after a final charge from Sebastian Vettel - and on the drive back to the garage after the session concluded Daniil was noticeably livid. The Russian was shaking his fist and was very unhappy about something - made so much worse when he span the car while trying to drive it with one hand. If there is anything worse than that death stare, it is a very angry death stare...

Q3

To avoid further conflict it is time to move on to Q3 the final session, and it was all set up for another titanic battle between Hamlton and Rosberg for pole position. Mercedes had over a second in hand over the rest of the field - no-one could get anywhere near them on pace. The weather prevented a strike from Williams and everyone else further behind them. Hamilton went first and immediately dropped the ball in turn one, just running wide and losing time before the lap had really begun. Rosberg immediately capitalised on Lewis' error to take the initial pole position, to make matters worse for Hamilton the timing of his mistake prevented a double run at the end of the session. 

Behind the Mercedes pairing Red Bull were running mere centimetres from disaster through Blancimont - Vettel running along the damp curbing on his way to third place. Ricciardo went one better and was sliding across the tarmac run-off through the puddles without lifting - he did lose the chance of beating Vettel in the process. Back to the lead battle and Hamilton was driving inordinately slowly through the final chicane, setting up for a final charge. But once again he almost threw the whole thing away in La Source, but this time kept up the momentum, his challenge did come apart in Stavelot where he just drifted offline and to the grass verge. Lewis managed to improve his time compared to the first lap but was still slower than Nico. To add insult to injury Rosberg went and improved his time and claim a fourth consecutive pole position - this time against a team-mate that was still in contention. 

The Bonus Points Championship Points Winners

It is these conditions that can often exemplify some of the strongest performances and make others look very embarrassed. 

• 10pts - Jules Bianchi - When the conditions get tricky at Spa, Jules manages to shine - making it into Q2
• 8pts - Nico Rosberg - In a straight fight in difficult conditions, and the German comes out on top when Lewis was tipped to dominate
• 6pts - Sebastian Vettel - Best of those drivers who don't have the good fortune of the Mercedes car
• 5pts -  Lewis Hamilton - Gets the car back onto the front row, but still continues to make mistakes.
• 4pts - Andre Lotterer - His first qualifying session in very difficult conditions and the Le Mans champion defeats Ericsson by over a second... why wasn't he replaced this weekend instead
• 3pts - Kimi Raikkonen - Gets some points for the greatest save of the session
• 2pts - Daniil Kvyat - Gets some points for lots of sideways moments and an entertaining mental breakdown on the drive back to the pits.
• 1pt -Konstantin Tereshchenko - A name you might not have heard of, me neither frankly, but this Russian in GP3 practice was thrown several metres into the air after hitting one of those giant curbs. The ones put in place to stop corner cutting, caused an enormous accident - if Red Bull gives you wings than this could be a new way of joining their development program. Here's a link to his incredible flight, which he did walk harmlessly away from. Here

Looking to Tomorrow

Well, the forecasts suggest that tomorrow will be a completely dry race, but given the variability of the Belgian weather don't necessarily mean that is a certainty. Either way for the first time in a few races we are scheduled for a duel for the victory between both of the Mercedes drivers sitting on the front row. A battle hopefully on the same level that we saw all the way back in Bahrain because that was majestic. In fact we have all the main protagonists at the front of the grid on a track which deserves and demands a lot of respect. It should be a brilliant afternoon.

Round 12: Belgium 2014 - Preview

Greetings Internet, 

After a month of digital silence this corner of the internet has returned, no doubt to the sound of international disappointment and a chorus of general indifference. But even if - as per usual - I am indeed merely spouting words out into the most uninhabited reaches of cyberspace, where no-one can hear you type, life and unintelligible writing shall go on.  This time we start off by asking the question - "What on earth is going on?" - because in the past four weeks it appears that the entire paddock has lost the plot. To begin with we had Bernie, F1's deranged overlord and supreme ruler, meandering his way out of a bribery trial.... with a bribe. Normally something like this is followed by the mad troll unveiling an insane change in the regulations, for example when the trial commenced there was a sudden announcement regarding standing restarts in 2015 and an Azerbaijan Grand Prix. This time the old man has been suspiciously quiet... and I'm not sure which response is scarier.

In other news F1 is about to turn into a crèche, after rumours that Sauber would sign Russian teenager Sergey Sirotkin faded away - the sport has acquired it's first child. Enter Max Verstappen, son of former competitor Jos, who has been handed a place at Toro Rosso alongside Kvyat - instead Vergne. This caps off a torrid year Vergne has had with Red Bull's driver program, ignored by the main team in favour of Ricciardo, and now thrown out altogether to make way for Verstappen Jnr. But the influence of young Max's promotion cuts deeper than just alienating Vergne, Antonio Felix Da Costa was the original favourite for Daniil's seat - and he lost out there too. Then there is Carlos Sainz Jnr and Alex Lynn, both doing very well in FR3.5 and GP3 respectively - each with countless more race experience under their collective belts than Verstappen, but they were ignored as well. In the face of a very strong pool of driver talent why Max, admittedly he is doing a remarkable job in Euro F3... not that I've actually seen any of it. But does one season automatically make you F1 material, I doubt it especially as the chap is only 16 at the moment... which is the most depressing fact about the whole thing. 

With one rookie toddler on the way, the grid gains another new face this weekend. Caterham for some bemusing reason have asked Andre Lotterer to drive in the Begian GP - from what I can gather it is a single race deal as a random punt at scoring some points if it rains at Spa. Lotterer is part of the Audi Le Mans squadron and has won the epic 24hr race on three occasions. Unlike Max, Andre is a proven driver with a very successful history in sports cars and endurance racing, including proficiency in changeable conditions. Sounds like a very interesting prospect, and it is, but there are one or two problems with the plan. Problem 1: The team are giving him Kobayashi's car... if the team are looking for points in a crazy race, why take out your current fastest driver... of course the answer is that Ericsson has more money. Problem 2: The Caterham is monumentally different to Lotterer's Audi R18, so in order for this to work Andre has to turn up and be immediately faster than Ericsson. Remember in 2009 when Fisichella went to Ferrari when Massa was recovering - he was miles off the pace because he didn't know the car. How is a complete rookie to this category going to miraculously solve Caterhams problems, Lotterer is a magnificent driver - but I can't see this working out.

The Venue

After that slightly oversized introduction and update, it is about time I moved on to discuss the track for this weekend's action. Spa-Francorchamps is nothing short of wonderful, a graceful relic of how things should be. It has everything, immensely daunting and infamous corners, overtaking opportunities, elevation changes and a rhythm and a flow that Herman Tilke could never find at the bottom of track architecture manual. Even in this modern age of high downforce and driver safety, Spa remains a fearsome prospect. The annual 24hr GT race took place before the summer break, and delivered one of the most violent and destructive races the track has seen - each accident was larger and more vicious than the last, fire and devastation everywhere. Marcus Mahy had to undergo neck surgery after being placed in an induced coma such was the extent of the impact he suffered. So Spa cannot be taken lightly.

The lap begins at the aptly named 'La Source' hairpin, the slowest corner on the track and only a short distance away from the start line. It is one of the primary overtaking spots, but on occasion can put many an errant front wing in danger. La Source exits onto the GT straight, used for fields too large to fit on the start straight - it is a steep descent, straight to the foot of Spa's most formidable landmark. Carved into the side of a mountain is the infamous Eau Rouge, a corner that may be far more challenging this season with lower downforce levels, especially for the lower teams. I'd be surprised if over the course of the weekend, the corner doesn't consume at least one unsuspecting victim - be it through the heart of Eau Rouge or across the top of the hill at Radillon, Spa can be merciless.

If you survive Eau Rouge with all four wheels still attached, there a brief respite in the form of the Kemmel straight - home of the longest of the DRS zones. Kemmel is interrupted by a break in the tree line hiding a clearing, and the Les Combes chicane. Les Comes is a sequence which introduces the magical middle sector of the lap, each corner seems to appear precisely where it feels it should be. On the exit of Les Combes pull the car back over to the left, just in time for Malmedy, followed by a short straight feeding into the challenging downhill and off camber braking zone for Beau Rivage. Rivage on the surface seems to be a generic 180 degree corner, but the radius, duration and elevation change all come together to make it stand out. On the exit the car almost instictively floats to the right as the road naturally sweeps downhill through Bruxelles - the corner which for so many years appeared to have no name. Each organic contour of the land fitting together seamlessly.

Down another steep incline the road plummets towards Pouhon, while downforce and car performance have nullified the challenge of many a corner, Pouhon comfortably holds onto its reputation. The double apex descending left hander is narrow and tantalisingly close to being flat out, but leave the boot in and a potential trip to the scenery is on the cards. Even on the exit you're not safe, drift a little too far over the wrong side of the curb and the car will be fired back across into the inside wall...the track limits will bite. Pouhon gives way to the final part of the middle sector of this monolithic layout, a gentle right-left sequence at Fagnes pinches the cars ever so slightly on the exit - to make you're still concentrating. At the lowest point of the circuit, the final sector begins with Stavelot, a corner which may seem deceptively simple but has seen many visting the tyre barrier after underestimating it. 

The long climb back up to the pit straight is an expression of unrelenting power and top speed, another example things you just don't see anymore in modern circuit design - unless it is an obligatory >1km straight.... This final section first turns gently through Curve Paul Frere before building up even more speed for the fastest corner on the entire calendar. Blancimont, it may be stripped of it's gravel after it put Luciano Burti in an overnight coma, but it is no less ominous. Admittedly these days it is easy flat for most if not all of the grid... but add a sprinkle of rain and the result is terrifying. 

This only leaves one corner left - well one chicane - and after almost 6km of tarmac brilliance it always makes you wonder what on earth was going on in the minds of the people who redesigned the bus stop. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's the Bus Stop chicane was a cheeky combination of corners that weren't too slow and required precision to avoid putting it in the wall. A revision in the mid 2000's was a severe downgrade but still followed some of the ethos of the original. The latest update as part of Spa's regeneration program a few years ago is an utter travesty and an abomination of a corner. Yes overtaking is easier there now, which was the design buzzword at the time, but at what cost... I understand why it happened, in much the same way I understand why the Hockenheimring was shortened... But I don't have to like it. The newer Bus Stop is the equivalent of stapling a giant spoiler on the back of an E-Type, just because it improves downforce... It's just not the done thing. At least they didn't get their hands on the rest of the place.

The Form Guide

I expect to see some updates and upgrades making into circulation after the summer break - Caterham decided to update a driver... and then put him in the wrong car. But will that change the order of things, well probably not, aside from the middle sector Spa is mainly about power - the blast from La Souce to Les Combes through Eau Rouge, and then from Stavelot to the corner that is a shadow of the Bus Stop are both high speed sections. Therefore this should be Mercedes territory as far as the engines go, so look for strong results from Williams, McLaren and Force India. While the factory team, barring any mechanical difficulties vanish off into the distance. But Spa used to be notoriously difficult on the mechanical components, so in this age of increased reliability challenges, that isn't all done and dusted either. 

Away from the Mercedes powered onslaught, Red Bull could be on for a respectable weekend, because the flowing middle sector should play nicely into their hands. It does however remain a case of damage limitation on the faster sections where the opposition have a clear advantage. Of the main teams it could be Ferrari that lose out here, with a car which is neither fastest in a straight line or round corners, but more of a general purpose creation may lack the specialities of those around them to keep up. I sense points but not those towards the very front of the field, but I think the in-house battle could be very interesting given how much Raikkonen enjoy's Spa and his gradual improvement in acclimatising to the car. 

The lower mid-field may belong to Toro Rosso this weekend, with Lotus struggling for both speed and downforce and Sauber much the same, just with better reliability. Depending on race conditions this fight could be for the final championship point on Sunday. Further back, the lower teams really need the traditional rains of the Ardennes to improve their chances of success. Caterham obviously banking on some changeable conditions in their appointment of Lotterer for the weekend. Of all the places to come and learn how to drive one of the most difficult cars on the grid... potentially in the rain as well. 

The Belgian GP is a rare beacon of how things used to be, set on a twisting ribbon of wonder plotted along the sculpted topography of the land. It is a marvellous venue which can deliver magnificent races wet or dry... and occasionally both. But there is always the chance that on a flowing rhythmic circuit such as this that the drivers fall into the trap of a high speed procession. Hopefully the chances of that are relatively slim, bring it on.