Hello F1 fans! The last race was an action packed unpredictable rollercoaster ride! It was’t just the race, the whole weekend was filled with drama! It was also announced the sport would revert back to the 2015 format qualifying format for this race.

The drama in qualifying started with Manor’s Pascal Wherein crashing into the barriers on the pit straight because of small puddles of water on the track. Lewis Hamilton was going receive a 5 place grid penalty for changing his gearbox. However the the new gearbox failed ,not allowing him to set a time. He had to start from the back!

https://youtu.be/7GmNv1qsGBk

Q3 had even more drama! The two Ferraris both made a mistake at the same corner! They both went wide at the hairpin after the straight and qualified third and fourth. Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Rosberg were on the front row.

                 FERRARI TANGLE AT TURN 1

At the first corner, the two Ferraris collided as a result of a brave move from Daniil Kyat. This probably hurt their chances of winning as Kaikkonen dropped to 15th and Vettel suffered front wing damage. This collision proved controversial after the race.

                DISASTROUS WEEKEND FOR HAMILTON

Lewis Hamilton’s weekend went from bad to worse after having to start from the back after a gearbox problem. He was then affected by the Ferrari incident and badly damaged his front wing. After making 5 pitstops he finished 7th and now has a 36 point deficit to Rosberg in the championship.

ROSBERG CRUISES TO VICTORY 

Nico Rosberg was untouched from the start. He was lucky to not be affected by the first corner incident. Through all the carnage and chaos behind him he won. He must have wondered where everyone else was.

This was Rosberg’s sixth win in a row

  GREAT RACE FOR RED BULL

Red Bull had an impressive qualifying by getting second and fifth on the grid. On the second lap, Daniel Ricciardo even passed Rosberg for the lead! However, on the back straight he suffered a puncture from debris on the track. He did well to finish 4th after dropping to 18th. Daniil Kyat got a podium with a great strategy and strong race pace. He managed to stay with Vettel’s Ferrari.

Red Bull has shown increased competitiveness

HEATED ARGUMENT OVER 1ST CORNER INCIDENT

There was a heated argument between Vettel and Kvyat over the incident at turn 1. Vettel called Kvyat a “Madman” over the radio.

https://youtu.be/dn6_2QfmOxM

Fact of the day: Nico Rosberg has won the first 3 races of the season, which has happened 9 times before. All of the drivers who did that went on to win the world championship.

Hello F1 fans! The season was kicked off with a great race in Australia. The whole weekend was eventful with the bad weather in Practice, the qualifying system and of course, the race itself. There were three rookie drivers and even a new team!

3 weeks before the start of the season, a new qualifying system was going to be tried out for this race’s qualifying. Read my other post for more about this. The new system did not go very well. Most of the fans thought it was too complicated, and for the last 4 minutes, there was no track action! Only 18 hours after qualifying a decision was made to go back to the old qualifying system for the next race in Bahrain .

Lewis Hamilton took his 50th pole with at time of 1:23.837. It was his first pole since the Italian Grand Prix from last year!

Nico Rosberg’s time was almost 4 tenths slower than Hamilton in qualifying. The two Ferraris locked out the second row. Behind them was Max Verstappen  with one of his best qualifying performances.

At the start of the race, the two Ferraris had a great start passing both of the Mercedes cars. Hamilton dropped to 6th and Rosberg dropped to 5th. It was probably the new start procedures that caught them out. Vettel pulled out a big lead until lap 18 when there was a huge crash. This was the turning point in the race.

Alonso was lucky to walk away from that violent crash.

The crash caused the race to be red flagged. Ferrari had an aggressive strategy and put on the fastest and most grippy, super soft tyres. Mercedes chose to put on the more durable medium tyres. That way, the two Mercedes cars could go to the end of the race. Ferrari would have to stop for another set of tyres to go to the end.

At the restart of the race, Vettel couldn’t pull away a big enough lead from Nico Rosberg’s car for his strategy to work. Meanwhile, his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen retired with a fire in the engine. Vettel eventually did a pit stop on lap 35 to put on the soft tyre compound. He emerged in 5th place behind Lewis Hamilton. Vettel and Hamilton passed Daniel Ricciardo for 2nd and 3rd place. Now, Vettel Had to drive like crazy to catch Hamilton.

With 5 laps to go, Vettel was within 1 second of Lewis Hamilton. However passing him is the harder part. Vettel pushed really hard hoping to mount a serious attack, until he spun with two laps two go. I wonder what would have happened if he didn’t spin.

In the end, Rosberg won the race untouched at the end despite tyre and brake problems. Hamilton managed to fend of Vettel for 2nd. Daniel Ricciardo finished 4th in his home race. Romain Grosjean finished an impressive 6th in his debut for the brand new Haas team.

Haas became the first team to score points in their debut since Toyota in 2002

Brawn GP won in their debut, but was actually a team that bought Honda.

I hope you enjoyed my post. The next race will be Bahrain in 2 weeks time. My next post will be a special YouTube video…

I have just created a Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/kidslovef1/

Hello F1 fans! It is only 1 week until the first race of the season in Australia. Lot of things have happened leading up to the inaugural race. The qualifying system has drastically changed. This has caused controversy amongst the drivers.

NEW QUALIFYING FORMAT 

The sports governing body, the F.I.A. voted through a new system that will increase unpredictability in qualifying sessions. Here is what the system would look like:

   Q1

• Session is 15 minutes, 3 shorter that last year.
•  Slowest driver eliminated 7 minutes into session
• Every 90 seconds, driver is with slowest time is eliminated until end of session
• 7 drivers knocked out in Q1

  Q2

• 15 drivers remain in Q2
• Session lasts for 15 minutes
•  Slowest driver eliminated 6 minutes into session
•  Driver with slowest time eliminated every 90 seconds until end of session
• 7 drivers knocked out in session

Q3

• 8 drivers remain in Q3
• Session lasts for 14 minutes
•  Slowest driver eliminated 5 minutes into session
• Driver with slowest time eliminated every 90 seconds until there are 2 drivers left
• Last 2 drivers have 90 second shootout for pole position
• Driver with faster time of 2 fastest drivers gets pole

Most drivers are against this changed format. Their worry is that the system is too complicated and will be hard for fans to follow. Most of the top drivers are opposed to the new system because it will be a lot harder for them to get a good grid position. The biggest difference from the old and new format is the length of the sessions and the fact that drivers will be eliminated so early in the session.

I am excited to see how the new format works out at the first race because the new format will bring unpredictability and excitement. Imagine how crazy things would be if it was raining! The old system was getting boring and predictable because the same teams kept getting pole position. Wouldn’t it be fun to see a McLaren Honda on pole!

Hello F1 fans! F1 season is right around the corner. I can’t wait until BBC F1’s Ben Edwards says “Lights out away we go!” like he does at the start of every race. Testing in Barcelona concluded 3 days ago. Lets have a look at all the teams on the starting grid.

                           MERCEDES 

CAR: MERCEDES W07 HYBRID

Here is the car the defending champions have entered to retain their title. Last year, they were pretty much invincible! You can’t get much better than that. This car has lots of minor changes on the inside. They will remain the team to beat.

                                    FERRARI

CAR: FERRARI SF16-H

This is the team that will most likely give Mercedes a run for its money. The have returned with even further innovation from last year. Just like Red Bull, they have a short nose. The front wing is the same as last year’s. Ferrari have also gone with a higher and straighter body shape. Sebastian Vettel is very confident, aiming for a fifth title this year. It’s going to be a fantastic season.

The 2016 car (top) compared to last year’s car (bottom)

                            WILLIAMS

CAR: WILLIAMS FW38

Last year’s best of the rest after Mercedes and Ferrari. However it will be harder this year with all the steps that the other teams have taken. They have retained last year’s white and black livery. The car has all the same attributes, especially straight line speed, but has also added a few small updates.

                                         RED BULL

CAR:RED BULL RB12

Red Bull have had a very difficult last 2 seasons after winning 4 straight constructors championships from 2010 to 2013. The team almost split up with their engine supplier Renault, but had to retain the deal for 2016. The new engine is branded “Tag Heuer”. They have struggled with the hybrid engine regulations that were enforced in 2014. Red Bull expect  season of two halves. They hope they can make some real progress mid season, around the summer break. They have a different livery from last years car. I like the other design, because it looks more metallic.

FORCE INDIA

CAR: FORCE INDIA MJVO9

Force India made great progress towards the end of last year and are hoping to pick up where they left off. The team will retain lat year’s drivers, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg. The team have made lots of aerodynamic upgrades, with hours of wind tunnel testing.

TORRO ROSSO

CAR: TORRO ROSSO STR11

This team has a very bright future, with their two young second year drivers, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. They had the second highest number of laps completed in testing, only behind Mercedes. Toro Rosso have also changed their engine supplier from Renault to Ferrari.

MCLAREN HONDA

CAR: MCLAREN MP431

I feel bad for Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. These drivers had a unreliable,slow and bad sounding car to deal with for a whole year! It is probably very different from Alonso’s glory days at Renault. Not blame the team though. The team’s engine supplier, Honda had it’s first season in F1 in years. McLaren had an all work no play offseason, developing the engine’s ERS (energy recovery system) and the reliability of the car. The team are expecting a much improved car, getting them to the middle of the pack.

                                         RENAULT

CAR: RENAULT RS16

This is the team’s first season since 2010 when Robert Kubica was driving for the team. I was only 5 at the time, and I was a really big fan of him. They are hoping to emanate their title winning years of 2005 and 2006. The team had a long two sessions of testing, gathering endless information and data. We are going to see how competitive they are at the first race in Australia.

Fernando Alonso won 2 championships with Renault.

SAUBER 

CAR: SAUBER C35

At the start of the season, Sauber were pretty competitive with top 10 finishes in Malaysia and China. However, as other teams updated and developed their cars, the dropped to the back of the field competing with McLaren Honda. They have made lots of big changes, and are hoping to be in the midfield in the mix with Toro Rosso.

HAAS

CAR: HAAS VF16

The American team that is new to the sport have ventured in to the world of Formula 1. They were very successful in Nascar racing. They have ambitious expectations, hoping to be in front of Manor, Sauber and McLaren Honda. Testing for them wasn’t the best, with a few problems with some of the parts on the car. We have to see how they do at the opening round in Australia.

                                 MANOR

CAR: MANOR MRT05

The team was almost wiped out in 2014, but managed to be on the grid in 2015 despite all their data on the team computers being deleted. They have a very aggressive car and are expecting to climb the ranks of the grid with their Mercedes power unit. The team’s technical director, John Mcquillam says it is the best car they have ever built.

That concludes the post. All the teams had a very busy offseason developing their cars and hoping it pays off. We’ll see the outcome of the first race in less than 2 weeks. I am really looking forward to it.

Read my previous post about all of these great corners in F1 racing, and tell us what you think. Vote for your favorite!

Hello F1 fans! This is a very special post! It is about the 5 greatest corners in Formula 1.

                       NOUVELLE CHICANE- (MONACO)

This sequence makes up turns 10 and 11 on the Monaco Circuit. The drivers exit the tunnel at 280 kph and have to slow down to 100 kph to make the corner. I really like this corner because you are so close to the the barrier to the left when you are exiting. Up to the early nineties, the curb was a lot bigger that it is now, which made the line through this corner even tighter!

Passing attempts through this corner usually end up like this- or worse

                                     130R- SUZUKA (JAPAN)

130-R is a truly great turn where you experience everything in just a split second. The corner was given this name because that is the angle of the corner: 130 degrees. Drivers go through this tight left hander at speeds up to 300 kph. Only a few brave drivers have dared to attempt a pass through this corner…

PARABOLICA- MONZA (ITALY)

How could I not add this corner? Monza would not be the same withought this 200 kilometer per hour corner. To get a good lap, you MUST get this long right hander correct. The best way to get it right is to enter the corner through a tight line and then use up lots of the road during the exit.

EAU ROUGE- SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (BELGIUM)

Eau Rouge is more than a corner. It is the ultimate test for a driver. This corner separates the men from the boys. The good drivers and the great drivers are separated. You go through this up hill 300 kph corner and don’t even think of lifting of from the throttle!  Even worse, the new corner (Radillon) is invisible! One mistake and you’re dead! This almost happened to Fernando Alonso.

“WALL OF CHAMPIONS” CHICANE- CIRCUIT DE GILLES VILLENUVE (CANADA) 

I wonder how many champions have been caught out by this chicane and ended up slamming the wall? That is what gave the corner its name. Champions including Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve (twice), Sebastian Vettel and many others. I feel for the drivers who crashed into the wall on this corner. You have to break from the 335 kph straight (one of the fastest in F1) to 80kph. If you carry only just too much speed, or the back end steps out a little bit, your race is over. This infamous turn is both a SUPER tight and fast corner.

Now for the fun bit: seing drivers crashing in to this corner!

WHICH OF THE 5 CORNERS IS YOUR FAVORITE?

Make your opinion count and vote for your favorite corner!

https://kidslovef1.com/2016/01/30/what-is-the-greatest-corner-in-f1/

Hello F1 fans! It is now the end of the season! I hope you enjoyed it (I certainly did) the next one will be even better! Nico Rosberg’s fantastic end to the season opens up possibilities for 2016

                                                 MERCEDES

Their drivers, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Wow! That is all I can say. They have dominated this season,  winning all but 3 races this year. They ran away with the drivers title being won by Lewis Hamilton, and the constructers title which they won by 275 points. You would need 11 wins to close that gap! That is more than half the season!

                                                        FERRARI

Ferrari won 3 races this season. The only team to have beat Mercedes this year.

After a frustrating season last year (firing 3 team principals) Ferrari bounced back and reached their goal of winning 3 races this year. They have had a solid year, being one of the most consistent teams. The italian team will continue to make big strides next year. Hopefully we can see them in the mix for the championship in 2016.

      WILLIAMS

The car is good on the straights, but struggles around the corners.

Last season was very good for Williams. The beat Ferrari and secured third place in the constructors championship last year. However this year, they have kind of stayed the same. Williams have shown good pace, beating Red Bull, but have been leapfrogged by Ferrari this year.

                                                     RED BULL

Adrian Newey,  is responsible for making the best chassis in F1. He is also responsible for Williams’ success in the early 1990s

Disappointing season for Red Bull considering that they were a dominant force from 2010 to 2013. Their engine supplier Renault, have struggled with the new hybrid engines. Red Bull were looking for another engine supplier, but could not find one for this reason: They simply have the best chassis in F1. No one wants to give them engines because with a decent engine and a fantastic chassis, Red Bull will go back to their dominant ways. For example, at the United States Grand Prix it was raining very hard  for the first part of the race. When it was raining, the were battling with the Mercedes! At one point Red Bull even took the lead! They are good in conditions or tracks where horsepower is not a factor.

                                             TORO ROSSO

Starting the season with two rookie drivers. You think 17 years old is too young? Talk to Max Vestappen. Have a chat with Carlos Sainz also. These two drivers have done an amazing job this year. They have shown great maturity for their age. A few signs of youth here and there. Other than that, both drivers have been fantastic. Max Vestappen completed some amazing passes this year.

                                                    FORCE INDIA

Sergio Perez got Force India’s only podium of the year by finishing third at the Russian Grand Prix

Solid season. Both drivers are very familiar with the sport and have consistently been in the points. A few surprises, for example when Sergio Perez finished third in Mexico. If they had a little more luck, they could have done better.

                                               LOTUS

Lotus hasn’t had a win since the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A terrible, terrible, terrible season for them last year, scoring only 10 points! They were looking forward to getting Mercedes engines for this year. However, it hasn’t really suited Lotus. Although there have been a few who hoos  here and there like Grosjean’s podium at Spa, it has been a disappointing season. However, they were recently bought by Renault.

                                      SAUBER

At first they were very competitive, finishing in the points in two of the first 3 races. As other teams updated or improved there cars, they fell down the pack. Both drivers did well, considering the machinery they have, consistently finishing just outside of the points.

                                MCLAREN

McLare had 12 non finishes in total

Poor guys at McLaren. The crew might be one of the stars of the season just for getting through it. Reliability issues, penalties, the power unit. Problem after problem. They are wasting arguably the best driver line on the grid. Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. It’s okay, the new engine supplier Honda will have to develop their engine more to make it better.

MANOR MURUSSIA

Almost exited F1 in 2014 like Caterham. Usually the back marker, but at least they are back. It will be interesting how they compete with the new team Haas that is coming next year..

Hello F1 fans! Welcome to my post for this years Abu Dhabi Grand Prix! It was a great way to end a fantastic season. There was a big coincidence. Lewis Hamilton’s car number is number 44. Abu Dhabi is in a nation called the United Arab Emirates which is celebrating it’s 44th year of independence. Lewis Hamilton was also going of for his 44th win in his career. Talk about timing!

Coming into the race, Nico Rosberg had found some recent form, winning the last 2 races and 5 straight pole positions. Rosberg won pole position and denied Hamilton his 50th pole. The 3 time world champion will Just have to wait until next year to get his 50th. Kimi Raikkonen qualified third, 8 tenths of a second behind Rosberg. Sergio Perez got one of his best grid positions of the year, qualifying 4th. Sebastian Vettel qualified 16th after a miscalculation from the team.

Rosberg had a time of 1:40.237

There was a lot of action at the start, with Rosberg acing the start and Hamilton having a terrible one.

There was action at the back to. Fernando was hit by one of the Saubers, which caused him to hit Pastor Maldonado ending Maldonado’s race. Sebastian Vettel was lucky to just miss the incident.

The incident with Alonso took Maldonado out of the race.

Rosberg built a 5 second lead over Hamilton before he came in for his first pit stop of the race on lap 10. Hamilton caught up to Rosberg on the second stint, closing the gap. For the last stint, Hamilton decided to go on the soft tyers instead of the faster super soft tyers. He did this so he could go faster for longer. The super soft tyers wear out very quickly. There were 12 laps to go and he was 12 seconds behind. For the first few laps, Hamilton gained on Rosberg. (1 second a lap) After about six or seven laps, his tyers started to wear out which neutralized his advantage.

Sebastian Vettel rapidly gained places throughout the race, repeating his performance in 2012 when he started from the pit lane and finished third.

He gained 3 places on the first lap, and many more as the race went on. At one point, he was in third before he made his second pitstop. For his final pitstop on lap 39, he was 5 seconds behind Sergio Perez in fourth. He put on super soft tyers for his final stint and passed Perez after 6 laps. Vettel did well to finish 4th after starting 16th. His teammate Raikkonen did well to get the final podium spot in third. He hasn’t had the best of seasons, but turned things around this race.

As the laps wore down, it became clear that Nico Rosberg would win the race. He did with Hamilton in second. Third was Kimi Raikkonen, who started third and was undisturbed for the whole race (very good drive from him). Sebastian Vettel finished fourth after starting 16th on the grid. I think him, Perez and Rosberg would be the drivers of the day.

I hope you enjoyed my post, and I will write my next post on Monday. A special post for the end of the season. I hope you liked this 2015 season (I certainly did) and I am 100% sure the next one will be fantastic.

Fact of the day: Mercedes scored the most points in a season than any other team has done. 703 points.

I have a lot of pictures that shows my experience at the race I wen’t to in 2010.

ON THURSDAY WE DID THE PIT WALK

We got very good access and got to see the team working on the cars

Ferrari working on their car

Isn’t it cool? We were this close to Lewis!

We got a good shot of Jenson to!

The teams do whatever they can to make the cars as fast as possible. They are constantly looking for advantages or breakthroughs.

One of the things that makes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix unique is that it starts off very bright, but ends in the darkness.

Bright…

Dark

We were at the west grandstand, near turn 8. It is one of the best grandstands because you see the cars brake from 320 kph to 80 to make the tight corner.

Our grandstand was at turn 8

Cars zooming down the straight

Im wearing the headset I showed you in the You Tube video

End of the race

I remember seeing Vettel on the big screen

In most of the races, a driver wins, there is a podium celebration and the fun ends there. Things were different in Abu Dhabi.

A music artist called Prince performed at the after race concert.

I hope you enjoyed my post and I hope you will enjoy the next race in Abu Dhabi!