F1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix -Sunday, November 23rd 2014


Lewis Hamilton wins race and 2014 Formula 1 title

By Ben Anderson
http://www.autosport.com

Lewis Hamilton clinched his second Formula 1 world championship by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as engine problems ruined title rival Nico Rosberg's race.

Hamilton came into the 2014 F1 finale with a 17-point lead over Rosberg in the standings, and only needed to finish directly behind his Mercedes team-mate to guarantee the title, regardless of the unpopular double points awarded for this race.

Rosberg secured his 11th pole of the season in qualifying on Saturday, and his title hopes rested on another car coming between himself and Hamilton if he converted that pole into victory.
As it transpired, excessive wheelspin at the start ensured Rosberg lost the lead to Hamilton before the first corner, which consigned him to chasing his rival.

He stayed within a handful of seconds through most of the first half of the race, but suffered an energy recovery system (ERS) failure on lap 24 of 55, which cost him engine power and effectively ended his challenge.

Rosberg tried to manage the problem with help from his Mercedes team, but tumbled down the order and eventually hobbled home a pointless 14th, refusing a suggestion by the team to retire his car in the closing stages as the engine problems worsened and insisting he end his title bid by taking the chequered flag.

Hamilton also lost pace in the middle of the race, though not to the same extent as his team-mate, but recovered sufficiently to beat the charging Williams of Felipe Massa by just 2.576 seconds and clinch the crown with his 11th grand prix victory of the season.

Hamilton narrowly denied Massa his first win since the 2008 Brazilian GP - scene of Hamilton's maiden title triumph for McLaren - but second place nevertheless represented Massa's best result of his first campaign with Williams.

Team-mate Valtteri Bottas recovered from a slow start from third on the grid to record Williams's first double podium finish of the year, while Daniel Ricciardo charged from a pitlane start to fourth following Red Bull's exclusion from qualifying for a technical infringement concerning the RB10's front wing.

Jenson Button produced another strong drive in what could turn out to be the final grand prix of his career to finish fifth for McLaren, ahead of Force India pairing Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, and the second Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, which also started from the pits.

Fernando Alonso finished ninth in his final race for Ferrari, a couple of seconds clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who claimed the final points on offer for 10th place.

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen survived a collision with the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez, and being forced off the track by Hulkenberg - who was penalised five seconds - on the first lap to finish 11th, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso.

The second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat started fifth on the grid, but retired early on after its Renault engine lost power.

RESULTS - 55 LAPS:
PosDriverCarGap
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1h39m02.619s
2Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes2.576s
3Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes28.880s
4Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/Renault37.237s
5Jenson ButtonMcLaren/Mercedes1m00.334s
6Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1m02.148s
7Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes1m11.060s
8Sebastian VettelRed Bull/Renault1m12.045s
9Fernando AlonsoFerrari1m25.813s
10Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1m27.820s
11Kevin MagnussenMcLaren/Mercedes1m30.376s
12Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso/Renault1m31.947s
13Romain GrosjeanLotus/Renault1 Lap
14Nico RosbergMercedes1 Lap
15Esteban GutierrezSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
16Adrian SutilSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
17Will StevensCaterham/Renault1 Lap
-Kamui KobayashiCaterham/RenaultVibration
-Pastor MaldonadoLotus/RenaultEngine
-Daniil KvyatToro Rosso/RenaultElectrical 

FINAL DRIVERS' STANDINGS:
PosDriverPoints
1Lewis Hamilton384
2Nico Rosberg317
3Daniel Ricciardo238
4Valtteri Bottas186
5Sebastian Vettel167
6Fernando Alonso161
7Felipe Massa134
8Jenson Button126
9Nico Hulkenberg96
10Sergio Perez59
11Kevin Magnussen55
12Kimi Raikkonen55
13Jean-Eric Vergne22
14Romain Grosjean8
15Daniil Kvyat8
16Pastor Maldonado2
17Jules Bianchi2
18Adrian Sutil0
19Marcus Ericsson0
20Esteban Gutierrez0
21Max Chilton0
22Kamui Kobayashi0
23Will Stevens0

FINAL CONSTRUCTORS' STANDINGS:
PosConstructorPoints
1Mercedes701
2Red Bull/Renault405
3Williams/Mercedes320
4Ferrari216
5McLaren/Mercedes181
6Force India/Mercedes155
7Toro Rosso/Renault30
8Lotus/Renault10
9Marussia/Ferrari2
10Sauber/Ferrari0
11Caterham/Renault0


F1 - Brazilian Grand Prix Sunday, November 9th 2014

Nico Rosberg defeats F1 title rival Lewis Hamilton

By Ben Anderson

Nico Rosberg ended Formula 1 title rival Lewis Hamilton's five-race winning streak by beating the sister Mercedes to victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

By converting his 10th pole position of the 2014 F1 season into victory, Rosberg closed team-mate Hamilton's points lead down to 17 heading into the Abu Dhabi GP double-points finale.

Hamilton's hopes of challenging Rosberg's supremacy were largely undone when he half spun at the Descida do Lago on lap 28 of 71.

The Brit ran wide after correcting a snap of oversteer as he braked for the corner. He subsequently revealed over the radio that he had wound his brake bias too far to the rear.

Hamilton hustled superbly to recover the time lost to Rosberg, and put him under pressure by remaining within DRS range during a franctic final stint (in which both drivers exchanged fastest laps), but ultimately Hamilton had to settle for second.

Local hero Felipe Massa brought smiles to the faces of the home crowd by completing the podium.
The Williams driver survived a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane at his first stop, and the embarrassment of accidentally driving into the McLaren pit at his last, to finish a distant third.

Team-mate Valtteri Bottas should have been well-placed to capitalise on Massa's errors, after running fourth early on, but a lengthy delay at his first pitstop set him back badly, and he lost more time when Nico Hulkenberg's Force India forced him wide while overtaking into the Senna S.
Bottas eventually wound up a lapped 10th.

McLaren's Jenson Button took that fourth spot with a brave pass around the outside of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari at the Descida do Lago with 10 laps to run.

Their side-by-side duelling also allowed world champion Sebastian Vettel to nip through into fifth in his Red Bull.

Vettel might have finished higher but for ground lost while battling Kevin Magnussen's McLaren on the opening lap, while team-mate Daniel Ricciardo retired shortly before half-distance with a left front suspension problem on his Red Bull.

Raikkonen started 10th and dropped behind the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez on the first lap, but made progress by being the only driver to complete the race on two pitstops.

The Finn lost time to what appeared to be a front jack problem at his second stop, and defended desperately in a battle of world champions with Fernando Alonso in the closing stages, but ultimately couldn't prevent his Ferrari team-mate passing him for sixth with a handful of laps to go.

Hulkenberg made good use of alternative tyre strategy - running the soft tyre at the end - to finish eighth, ahead of Kevin Magnussen's McLaren and Bottas, who just held off Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat to claim the final point.

RESULTS - 71 LAPS:
PosDriverCarGap
1Nico RosbergMercedes1h30m02.555s
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes1.457s
3Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes41.031s
4Jenson ButtonMcLaren/Mercedes48.658s
5Sebastian VettelRed Bull/Renault51.420s
6Fernando AlonsoFerrari1m01.906s
7Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1m03.730s
8Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1m03.934s
9Kevin MagnussenMcLaren/Mercedes1m10.085s
10Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes1 Lap
11Daniil KvyatToro Rosso/Renault1 Lap
12Pastor MaldonadoLotus/Renault1 Lap
13Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso/Renault1 Lap
14Esteban GutierrezSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
15Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes1 Lap
16Adrian SutilSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
17Romain GrosjeanLotus/RenaultPower Unit
-Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/RenaultSuspension

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
PosDriverPoints
1Lewis Hamilton334
2Nico Rosberg317
3Daniel Ricciardo214
4Sebastian Vettel159
5Fernando Alonso157
6Valtteri Bottas156
7Jenson Button106
8Felipe Massa98
9Nico Hulkenberg80
10Kevin Magnussen55
11Kimi Raikkonen53
12Sergio Perez47
13Jean-Eric Vergne22
14Romain Grosjean8
15Daniil Kvyat8
16Pastor Maldonado2
17Jules Bianchi2
18Adrian Sutil0
19Marcus Ericsson0
20Esteban Gutierrez0
21Max Chilton0
22Kamui Kobayashi0 

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
PosConstructorPoints
1Mercedes651
2Red Bull/Renault373
3Williams/Mercedes254
4Ferrari210
5McLaren/Mercedes161
6Force India/Mercedes127
7Toro Rosso/Renault30
8Lotus/Renault10
9Marussia/Ferrari2
10Sauber/Ferrari0
11Caterham/Renault0

F1 - US Grand Prix - Sunday, November 2nd 2014

Lewis Hamilton defeats Nico Rosberg in Austin F1 battle

By Ben Anderson
http://www.autosport.com

Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the Formula 1 world championship to a commanding 24 points by beating main rival Nico Rosberg to victory in the US Grand Prix.

Having taken a brilliant pole position on Saturday, Rosberg narrowly led Sunday's F1 race at Austin through the first round of pitstops, as Hamilton nursed a set of soft Pirelli tyres that he flat-spotted during qualifying.

The German seemed less comfortable than Hamilton when they switched to the medium compound tyre though, and his Mercedes team-mate pounced to take the lead by using DRS and diving down the inside under braking for Turn 12 on lap 24 of 56.

Thereafter Rosberg was powerless to prevent Hamilton clinching his 10th grand prix victory of the season - the 32nd of his career, making him the most successful British driver in the history of the sport.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo overcame a poor start to beat both Williams drivers and complete the podium.

The Australian's slow getaway from fifth on the grid cost him four places initially, but he climbed back up to sixth before the end of the opening lap, when the safety car was deployed after Sergio Perez's Force India bounced off Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and into Adrian Sutil's Sauber.


 The Williams drivers finished fourth and fifth, Felipe Massa coming home ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas after jumping him at the start.


Ricciardo's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel gambled on a pitlane start and low-downforce settings, after exceeding the five-engines-per-season limit at this race.

The reigning world champion found it difficult to make progress initially, but climbed as high as sixth before being passed by Alonso's Ferrari (on a much fresher and softer set of tyres) in the closing stages.

Vettel then plummeted to 14th place after making a late stop for fresh rubber, but recovered back to seventh as the cars ahead battled to the end on much older rubber.

The McLaren of Kevin Magnussen succumbed on the final lap and thus finished eighth, while Lotus scored its first points since May's Monaco GP as Pastor Maldonado finished 10th.

The Venezuelan passed Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso for ninth on the final lap, but was bumped back by his second five-second penalty of the race, in this case for pitlane speeding.

Vergne was classified ninth, but is under investigation for hitting Romain Grosjean's Lotus while lunging down the inside at Turn 1 with six laps to go.

Both Vergne and Maldonado received earlier five-second penalties for speeding behind the safety car.
Grosjean finished 11th on the road, ahead of the second McLaren of Jenson Button, which fell away badly in the closing laps.

Kimi Raikkonen ran close behind Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso early on, but lost ground with a late first stop and never recovered.

The 2007 world champion finished a disappointing 13th, ahead of the Sauber of Estaban Gutierrez and the second Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, last of the classified finishers.

RESULTS - 56 LAPS:
PosDriverCarGap
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1h40m04.785s
2Nico RosbergMercedes4.314s
3Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/Renault25.560s
4Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes26.924s
5Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes30.992s
6Fernando AlonsoFerrari1m35.231s
7Sebastian VettelRed Bull/Renault1m35.734s
8Kevin MagnussenMcLaren/Mercedes1m40.682s
9Pastor MaldonadoLotus/Renault1m47.870s
10Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso/Renault1m48.863s
11Romain GrosjeanLotus/Renault1 Lap
12Jenson ButtonMcLaren/Mercedes1 Lap
13Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1 Lap
14Esteban GutierrezSauber/Ferrari1 Lap
15Daniil KvyatToro Rosso/Renault1 Lap
-Nico HulkenbergForce India/MercedesPower Unit
-Sergio PerezForce India/MercedesCollision
-Adrian SutilSauber/FerrariCollision

DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
PosDriverPoints
1Lewis Hamilton316
2Nico Rosberg292
3Daniel Ricciardo214
4Valtteri Bottas155
5Sebastian Vettel149
6Fernando Alonso149
7Jenson Button94
8Felipe Massa83
9Nico Hulkenberg76
10Kevin Magnussen53
11Sergio Perez47
12Kimi Raikkonen47
13Jean-Eric Vergne22
14Romain Grosjean8
15Daniil Kvyat8
16Pastor Maldonado2
17Jules Bianchi2
18Adrian Sutil0
19Marcus Ericsson0
20Esteban Gutierrez0
21Max Chilton0
22Kamui Kobayashi0   

CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP:
PosConstructorPoints
1Mercedes608
2Red Bull/Renault363
3Williams/Mercedes238
4Ferrari196
5McLaren/Mercedes147
6Force India/Mercedes123
7Toro Rosso/Renault30
8Lotus/Renault10
9Marussia/Ferrari2
10Sauber/Ferrari0
11Caterham/Renault0
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)