July 29, 2017
F1 Quals: Hungary 2017
A bright sunny day greeted the F1 Circus, the pleasant atmosphere belying the fact that they were in Hungary. Still, while they were there, they may as well go racing, right? And before you race, you have to qualify, and they did. Here's the provisional grid:
Sharp-eyed readers may notice a name is missing. Felipe Not Retired Massa felt light-headed and dizzy during P2 on Friday. FIA medical personnel gave him a clean bill of health today before Practice 3, but during the session the dizziness returned and Massa removed himself from the car for the rest of the weekend. Thus it fell to Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta, who hadn't actually run the FW40 at all, just sim work, to get in the cockpit for the first time since 2013 and not suck. He wasn't last, so mission accomplished: he didn't suck.
| Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:17.244 | 1:16.802 | 1:16.276 | |
| 2 | 1:17.364 | 1:17.207 | 1:16.444 | |
| 3 | 1:18.058 | 1:17.362 | 1:16.530 | |
| 4 | 1:17.492 | 1:16.693 | 1:16.707 | |
| 5 | 1:17.266 | 1:17.028 | 1:16.797 | |
| 6 | 1:17.702 | 1:17.698 | 1:16.818 | |
| 7 | 1:18.137 | 1:17.655 | 1:17.468 | |
| 8 | 1:18.395 | 1:17.919 | 1:17.549 | |
| 9 | 1:18.479 | 1:18.000 | 1:17.894 | |
| 10 | 1:18.948 | 1:18.311 | 1:18.912 | |
| 11 | 1:18.699 | 1:18.415 | ||
| 12 | 1:18.843 | 1:18.495 | ||
| 13 | 1:18.702 | 1:18.538 | ||
| 14 | Leone | 1:19.095 | 1:18.639 | |
| 15 | 1:19.085 | 1:18.771 | ||
| 16 | 1:19.095 | |||
| 17 | 1:19.102 | |||
| 18 | 1:19.839 | |||
| 19 | 1:19.868 | |||
| 20 | 1:19.972 |
Sharp-eyed readers may notice a name is missing. Felipe Not Retired Massa felt light-headed and dizzy during P2 on Friday. FIA medical personnel gave him a clean bill of health today before Practice 3, but during the session the dizziness returned and Massa removed himself from the car for the rest of the weekend. Thus it fell to Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta, who hadn't actually run the FW40 at all, just sim work, to get in the cockpit for the first time since 2013 and not suck. He wasn't last, so mission accomplished: he didn't suck.
Oh, and Ferrari locked out the first row, with Seb Vettel setting the fastest lap ever around the Hungaroring in the process. Probably no surprise, this is the sort of track that suits the Ferrari quite nicely... it needs more nimbleness than grunt, and it has both. Meanwhile, the Mercs have a longer wheelbase and the best power ensemble. This is great for fast tracks but it's not rewarded around here. The Red Bulls have historically been great in the turns as well, and with them locking out the third row it's clear nothing has changed. The best example, however, of how much Hungary rewards the ability to turn and weave has to be the McLarens, both of which made Q3. We're talking about a car that has been as much as 15mph slower down a straightaway this year, remember.
So if nothing else, Vettel has stolen a march on Hamilton and Bottas, capturing pole on a track where it's... difficult... to pass. I'm thinking the Ferraris will have a win tomorrow, but it won't be overly easy, and Raikkonen will end up fourth or fifth along the way.
Not that I'm predicting or anything. Race is Sunday morning, see ya then!
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July 26, 2017
F1 on NBCSN: Hungary 2017
Hungary. I'm not even going to try to pretend to be enthused about this race. For years, Formula 1's annual visit to the Hungaroring has been my least favorite stop on the calendar. I've only missed two races in the past 12 years, and both of them were Hungarians Grand Prix (weather problems). And y'know what? I'm totally okay with that. Here's the trackmap:
It's been called "Monaco without the buildings." That gives it too much credit, I'm afraid. I gather it's a wonderful place to actually watch a race, built as it is into a natural bowl. However, that bowl also makes it ridiculously hot and humid: no breeze, don'tchaknow? Actually, it's a lot like Duckford in that regard, at least today. It was 83° when I left the job, and according to one weather website or another, 95% humidity. But I digress.
It's bumpy, even with last year's resurfacing, it's abrasive, and it's nearly impossible to pass on. Other than that, it's a fantastic track... grmblgrmblgrmbl.
The best thing that can be said about the Hungarian Grand Prix is that after it's over, F1 will be taking a four-week summer break.
Well, that and we get another race covered by the Legendary Announce Team! Here's the broadcast schedule:
Friday
Practice 2: 7a - 830a live on NBCSN
Saturday
Quals: 7a - 830a live on NBCSN
Sunday
2017 Grand Prix of Hungary: 630a - 9a live on NBCSN
All times Pond Central. All opinions are those of The Pond, and should not be taken internally. Check your local listings for whatever you feel like checking.
I'm going to bed now.
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July 15, 2017
F1 Quals: Britian 2017
Ah, to be in England in the summertime... to feel the warm sun shining down upon me, the gentle breezes, to enjoy England's mountains green. To view the bluebirds over the cliffs of Dover, though it may be a long way to Tipperary.
Or, more likely, to suffer the pissing rain and chill winds whipping in over the microclimate that made RAF Silverstone such a great location for a Wellington bomber training base. It doesn't do much for a F1 car's traction, though, which is why it looked to be an entertaining qualifying session when the tv cameras came on. It had begun raining about 15 minutes before the session, and had just continued on... not heavy enough to stop the proceedings, not light enough to use dry tires. The sort of weather that could easily mix up a grid in other words! So what was the result? Here's the provisional grid for the 2017 Grand Prix of Britain:
The rain more or less stopped during Q1 and a dry-ish line formed around the track right at the end when Indy Alonso made one final desperate dash to get out of the dead zone... and ended up being fastest of the session. Not to worry, he has a 30-grid spot penalty for an engine change so he'll be last anyways tomorrow. Red Bull's Smiley Ricciardo never made it out of Q1, his turbo making a sound like it had ingested a guineapig
| Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:39.069 | 1:27.893 | 1:26.600 | |
| 2 | 1:40.455 | 1:28.992 | 1:27.147 | |
| 3 | 1:39.962 | 1:28.978 | 1:27.356 | |
| 4 | 1:39.698 | 1:28.732 | 1:27.376 | |
| 5 | 1:38.912 | 1:29.431 | 1:28.130 | |
| 6 | 1:39.201 | 1:29.340 | 1:28.856 | |
| 7 | 1:42.009 | 1:29.824 | 1:28.902 | |
| 8 | 1:39.738 | 1:29.701 | 1:29.074 | |
| 9 | waffle | 1:40.011 | 1:30.105 | 1:29.418 |
| 10 | 1:42.042 | 1:29.966 | 1:29.549 | |
| 11 | 1:41.404 | 1:30.193 | ||
| 12 | 1:41.726 | 1:30.355 | ||
| 13 | 1:37.598 | 1:30.600 | ||
| 14 | 1:41.114 | 1:31.368 | ||
| 15 | Not Retired | 1:41.874 | 1:31.482 | |
| 16 | 1:42.573 | |||
| 17 | 1:42.577 | |||
| 18 | 1:42.593 | |||
| 19 | 1:42.633 | |||
| 20 | 1:42.966 |
The rain more or less stopped during Q1 and a dry-ish line formed around the track right at the end when Indy Alonso made one final desperate dash to get out of the dead zone... and ended up being fastest of the session. Not to worry, he has a 30-grid spot penalty for an engine change so he'll be last anyways tomorrow. Red Bull's Smiley Ricciardo never made it out of Q1, his turbo making a sound like it had ingested a guineapig
The rest of Quals went like it usually does... the track dried out, Hamilton went full ham on the place and set the fastest ever lap around Silverstone in the process. He's over a half-second ahead of the nearest Ferrari.
Barring weather, I'd say it's a fairly good guess that Ham'n'cheese will win tomorrow, but that's why they run the races. Tune in to F1U! afterwards to find out what went down.
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July 12, 2017
F1 on CNBC: Great Britain 2017!
If Monaco is the heart of Formula 1, and Monza the throbbing adrenal glands, and Hungary whatever earwax is, this weekend's track is the very soul of the sport. It was here that the F1 championship was born, most of the teams are located within a short drive from the circuit (and one literally across the street from the front gates), and it's been the home track for many of the greatest names in the sport's history. Thus it should come as no surprise to veteran watchers of F1 or readers of The Pond that there's a very good chance indeed that next year will be the last British Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone for a while. Here's the track map:
The British Racing Drivers' Club, the owning body of Silverstone, activated an escape clause in their current contract with Formula One Management... or Liberty Media, whatever the powers that be in F1 are now...citing ruinous fees to host the event. They say they've lost £7million over the last two years, and expect to be another four million in the hole this year. So suddenly we no longer have a track for the British Grand Prix. The BRDC will, of course, immediately begin renegotiating with The Powers That Be, going for lower fees, and who can blame them? By the end of the contract they just got out of, 2026, they would be paying £25million just to host a F1 race... never mind upkeep, improvements, so on and so forth.
Which makes what happened today in London so interesting. See, F1 put on a little show in the heart of the city, meaning we got the spectacle of modern and classic F1 cars prancing around Trafalgar Square. It may not be coincidence that there's a serious push for a race in London. Gotta admit, that'd be really freakin' cool.
19 of the current drivers appeared at the event, the lone no-show being Brit Lewis Hamilton. Gotta say, that's awfully stupid of him, but hell, it's not like I'm a fan anyway.
One thing we know for sure: the Legendary Announce Team will be doing their usual stalwart coverage... hopefully David Hobbs will have recovered from the bug that bit him. Here's the times:
Friday
Practice 2: somewhere between hither and yon.
Saturday
Quals: 7a - 830a, live on CNBC
Sunday
2017 Grand Prix of Britain: 630a - 9a, live on CNBC
All times Pond Central. Accept no substitutes!
F1U! will be along sometime thereafter... see ya then!
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July 08, 2017
F1 Quals: Austria 2017
Well folks, they can't all be gems... my Austria/Australia post proved that one definitively. And so too went today's Qualifying session for the 2017 Grand Prix of Australia Austria. Here's the provisional grid:
So yeah, not much exciting today. We didn't even get the usual shootout for pole, the drivers making one last desperate dash in an attempt to best the leader's time. Lettuce Grosjean's Haas turned into an immobile piece of carbon fiber sculpture on the racing surface towards the end of the session. That brought out the yellow flags, meaning that drivers couldn't improve their times (by rule). And thus we did see Valterri Bottas take pole by a scant .042 seconds over Sebby Vettel. Lewis Hamilton qualified third, but he's going to starting from the eighth spot after an unscheduled gearbox change. Whoopsie! However, he's taken advantage of that by doing his runs in Q2 on the harder "super-soft" tires while everyone else of consequence used the "ultra-softs". In theory, this'll lead to him doing a long first stint and running the faster tires at the end... strategery!
Except all of that skullsweat might go right out the window. There's a good chance of rain for tomorrow's race, and it's almost guaranteed to be raining before the race session. Damp track? Rain race? I'm up for that! Cross your wingtips, lads and lasses, and keep 'em crossed.
Race on Sunday morning, we'll be along with the F1U! sometime after that. See ya then!
| Pos |
Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:05.760 | 1:04.316 | 1:04.251 | |
| 2 | 1:05.585 | 1:04.772 | 1:04.293 | |
| 3 | 1:05.064 | 1:04.800 | 1:04.424 | |
| 4 | 1:05.148 | 1:05.004 | 1:04.779 | |
| 5 | 1:05.854 | 1:05.161 | 1:04.896 | |
| 6 | 1:05.779 | 1:04.948 | 1:04.983 | |
| 7 | 1:05.902 | 1:05.319 | 1:05.480 | |
| 8 | 1:05.975 | 1:05.435 | 1:05.605 | |
| 9 | 1:06.033 | 1:05.550 | 1:05.674 | |
| 10 | 1:05.675 | 1:05.544 | 1:05.726 | |
| 11 | 1:06.174 | 1:05.597 | ||
| 12 | 1:06.158 | 1:05.602 | ||
| 13 | 1:06.316 | 1:05.741 | ||
| 14 | 1:05.990 | 1:05.884 | ||
| 15 | 1:06.143 | No Time |
||
| 16 | 1:06.345 | |||
| 17 | 1:06.534 | |||
| 18 | 1:06.608 | |||
| 19 | 1:06.857 | |||
| 20 | 1:07.011 |
So yeah, not much exciting today. We didn't even get the usual shootout for pole, the drivers making one last desperate dash in an attempt to best the leader's time. Lettuce Grosjean's Haas turned into an immobile piece of carbon fiber sculpture on the racing surface towards the end of the session. That brought out the yellow flags, meaning that drivers couldn't improve their times (by rule). And thus we did see Valterri Bottas take pole by a scant .042 seconds over Sebby Vettel. Lewis Hamilton qualified third, but he's going to starting from the eighth spot after an unscheduled gearbox change. Whoopsie! However, he's taken advantage of that by doing his runs in Q2 on the harder "super-soft" tires while everyone else of consequence used the "ultra-softs". In theory, this'll lead to him doing a long first stint and running the faster tires at the end... strategery!
Except all of that skullsweat might go right out the window. There's a good chance of rain for tomorrow's race, and it's almost guaranteed to be raining before the race session. Damp track? Rain race? I'm up for that! Cross your wingtips, lads and lasses, and keep 'em crossed.
Race on Sunday morning, we'll be along with the F1U! sometime after that. See ya then!
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July 05, 2017
F1 on TV: Austria 2017
Y'know, for the life of me I can't understand just why in the middle of the European leg of the F1 calendar we jump back overseas for a single race. I mean, sure, it's a great track, the fans are wonderful, a local boy is driving for a contending team, all that's fantastic, but do we really need to race in Melbourne twice a year? Do the teams like Fosters that much???
What?
Austria? Not... oh. Well then. That would explain the track map.
Doesn't look a darn thing like Albert Park. What it is, though, is the fastest lap on the F1 calendar, taking around 1:07 to complete. It's not the shortest lap, that's Monaco, but as a 2.7mile long track that's awfully fast with essentially nothing in the way of turns, it's over awful quick. And this year, the potential is there for an sub-one-minute lap. Probably won't happen, but with the cars being ~5seconds/lap faster over last year, it's not out of the question.
One thing that should be a thing here in Australia AUSTRIA is that everything is trying to kill you the track surface is abrasive as a peeved drop bear sheet of 2-grit sandpaper. We should actually get tire wear this race as a result. Tire strategery might be a thing!
Something I learned just this morning: would you believe this is a Hermann Tilke track? If you squint, you can see the seeds of what would become the circuits in Malaysia and Bahrain, but much simpler. And, to be fair, the circuit was whelped from the old Osterreichring, so he wasn't the only designer involved...
All this is interesting, of course, but the important stuff is when the Legendary Announce Team will be doing their gig! Here's the schedule:
Friday
Practice 2: got me hoppin'.
Saturday
Quals: 7a - 830a live on NBCSN
Sunday
2017 Grand Prix of Australia Austria: 630a - 9a live on CNBC
All times Pond Central. The Tour de France is on NBCSN all weekend if it isn't on NBC itself, so that's why the race is on CNBC. Yay.
See ya afterwards with the fromage and the shrimp from the barbie!
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