Rosberg takes pole at Chinese GP; Hamilton to start at back

SHANGHAI, China—Mercedes has become used to starting on the front row after a dominant couple of years in Formula One. Not so much from the back of the field.

Nico Rosberg will take the team’s customary spot of pole position at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, but defending world champion Lewis Hamilton will have to start from the last row after an early exit from qualifying due to a power unit problem.

Rosberg set a time of 1 minute, 35.402 seconds on Saturday despite using a harder tire than his rivals, qualifying a half-second ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in a surprise second place.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel qualified third and fourth, respectively, after misjudging the final hairpin turn on their last laps.

Hamilton had issues with his engine throughout the first segment of qualifying and, even though his team tried to repair the problem, he couldn’t set a timed lap.

The last time Hamilton started this far back on the grid was at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix when he qualified last after his engine caught fire. He worked his way through the field to finish third in that race.

The British driver was hoping to replicate that feat on a Shanghai circuit where he’s had particular success in the past, winning four races.

“I take encouragement from (the fact) I’ve been driving a long time … there’s no question in my mind of how I’m going to battle my way through tomorrow,” Hamilton said. “Whether or not you can get all the way up to third, I think that’s going to be a very, very tough challenge, for sure.”

It’s been a frustrating few weeks for Hamilton, who already faced a five-place grid penalty in Shanghai for making an early switch of his gearbox after it was damaged in a collision at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Rosberg, meanwhile, has been on a roll of late, capturing the first two races of the season and five straight dating to last year.

“I’m pleased, of course. The whole weekend has gone well,” Rosberg said. “I’m not ecstatic because Lewis had bad luck and his car broke down so the fight (with him) didn’t happen.”

Ricciardo has a pair of fourth-place finishes so far this year and is hoping he can hold off the Ferrari cars — and perhaps Hamilton — on Sunday to get back on the podium for the first time since last year’s Singapore Grand Prix.

“It’s testament to how far we’ve come since the end of 2015,” Ricciardo said. “It feels good to be back up here.”

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas qualified fifth, followed by Ricciardo’s Red Bull teammate, Daniil Kvyat, in sixth. Sergio Perez of Force India was seventh, with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso eighth and ninth, respectively.

After early showers wiped out Saturday’s final practice session, qualifying got off to an eventful start when Manor driver Pascal Wehrlein hit a bump and lost control in a wet patch just three minutes in, skidding off the circuit and slamming into the barrier.

He walked away uninjured but the red flag came out for 20 minutes as his car was removed and officials dried the track.

Then, at the end of the second segment, Nico Hulkenberg’s front left tire came loose, popped off the car and rolled across the grass. Another red flag was shown, ending the session a minute early as both McLaren drivers were trying for a final flying lap to advance to the third qualifying segment.

Fernando Alonso, racing for the first time since fracturing a rib in a dramatic crash at the Australian Grand Prix, let out a loud groan over his radio when the session ended early.

“It was massively frustrating today because we felt competitive,” Alonso said. “That was a shame.”

Hulkenberg received a three-place grid penalty after F1 officials deemed his team released his car from the pits in an unsafe condition. He initially finished 10th but with the penalty will start 13th, elevating Williams driver Felipe Massa to 10th. Alonso will start 11th, followed by teammate Jenson Button.

Formula One reverted to last year’s qualifying format after experimenting with a new rolling-elimination system for the first two races of the season that proved unpopular with drivers and fans alike.

Some fans in Shanghai showed their appreciation for the change, hanging a giant banner from the stands that read, “Finally ‘Real’ Qualifying is Back.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Vettel seizes historic world title with Indian Grand Prix domination

GREATER NOIDA — Sebastian Vettel roared into history as Formula One’s youngest four-time champion in superlative style as he dominated the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Pole-sitter Vettel pitted early to change his soft tyres but then sped through the field to win 30 seconds ahead of Mercedes’s Nico Rosberg, with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean third.

The 26-year-old German becomes the youngest man to win four straight titles, with Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher the only other drivers to achieve the feat.

“Unbelievable day,” said the jubilant Vettel over the team radio. “We did it! Yes! Yes!”

Vettel celebrated in uproarious fashion by spinning doughnuts in front of the grandstand. He then stood on top of his Red Bull and saluted the crowd before bowing to his car in mock worship.

Despite team-mate Mark Webber’s retirement with a mechanical problem, Red Bull also sealed their fourth straight constructors’ title in what has become an era of dominance.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who was Vettel’s nearest challenger going into the race but 90 points adrift, managed only 11th place.

Vettel’s sixth win in a row, 10th in 16 races this season and 36th of his career left him poised to shatter more records in the remaining three races in Abu Dhabi, America and Brazil.

If he wins all three, Vettel will equal Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in 2004 and become the only driver to secure nine consecutive victories in a season.

Italian Alberto Ascari drove a Ferrari for nine straight wins, but his run was spread over two seasons in 1952 and 1953.

The German, who won the Indian race in both 2011 and 2012, once again dominated the circuit with record times in all three practice sessions this year and a perfect qualifying round on Saturday.

Vettel, made a quick change to medium tyres after the second lap and dropped to the back of the field, but was he returned to second place by the 21st lap behind Webber.

The German regained the lead in the 30th lap but then saw Webber drop out of the race in the 40th due to gearbox problems.

As Vettel took charge in familiar fashion, his team were taking no chances in the pitlane and at one stage even admonished him for trying to set the fastest lap.

The big turnout at Buddh International Circuit would have pleased the organizers, who hope to return to Formula One in 2015 after being left out of the 2014 calendar.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Red Bull’s Vettel wins German Grand Prix

NURBURGRING — Sebastian Vettel finally won a race on his home soil on Sunday when he survived spells of intense pressure to steer his Red Bull to victory in the German Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old German, who also had never won a race in the month of July, came home narrowly ahead of fast-closing Finn Kimi Raikkonen and his Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean of France.

Vettel’s win was his fourth this year and the 30th of his career and it lifted him 36 points clear of nearest rival, Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, in the drivers’ championship.

Alonso came home fourth ahead of Britons Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Jenson Button of McLaren with Australian Mark Webber seventh in the second Red Bull.

Mexican Sergio Perez finished eighth for McLaren ahead of Germans Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg of Sauber.

Vettel became the first German to win a German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in the history of the Formula One world championship.

After the drama of four exploding tyre blowouts in last Sunday’s British Grand Prix, the race was run without similar incidents other than when an errant wheel flew off Webber’s car during a pit-stop and struck a TV cameraman in the back.

He was taken to the circuit medical center, but later said to be bruised and shocked, but not seriously injured.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Ferrari president suggests shorter and later F1 races

MONZA - Formula One should consider holding shorter races later in the day to attract a younger audience, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo suggested at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time).

Making a regular appearance at Monza, the circuit near Milan that is a temple to all things Ferrari, the elegant Italian repeated familiar calls for the glamor sport to rein in costs and improve 'the show.'

He said Ferrari wanted more testing, to allow younger drivers to get experience, and returned to his long held view that teams like his should be allowed to supply third cars for others to race.

"Looking at young people, the races are too long," he declared.

"Maybe I'm wrong but I think that we have to look very carefully what we can do to improve the show of Formula One.

"I give you one example: one hour and a half for the young, it's a long time. Maybe why don't we do a test and we do two starts?

"Maybe it is a mistake, but we have to think of something, we cannot stay always the same...we have to be innovative without losing the F1 DNA.

"Maybe it's better to maintain the races as they are, or maybe it's time to change."

While most European grands prix start at 1400 local time, some of those elsewhere are much later.

Singapore's race is a night-time one under floodlights while Abu Dhabi starts in daylight and ends in the night. Australia and Malaysia also have later starts to increase European audiences.

Montezemolo suggested some European ones should also change.

"I don't think it's good to race in July and August at two o'clock in the afternoon, when the people are at the sea and on vacation," he said.

"If you look at a sport like soccer, they play six o'clock, seven o'clock, eight o'clock."

The Ferrari president, who has been involved in Formula One since 1973, said the sport was about innovation and technology but a new engine planned for 2014 was being introduced at the wrong time.

Montezemolo was speaking to reporters after a meeting with International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Jean Todt and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone at Ferrari's Maranello headquarters on Friday (Saturday, PHL time).

"I want to have rules that permit us to spend less," he said.

"We have to look ahead, starting from the point of view that we have an economic crisis in the world and the world is different to what it was 10 years ago." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com