Formula 1 China 2013

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This race is bought to you by Pirelli tyres. Spicing up F1 races since 2012.

No really. If it wasn't for the Pirelli tyres, this race would have been extremely drab and boring. More accurately, it was the choice of tyre compounds that made the difference. Pirelli bought the Soft and the Medium compound tyre to China. Quickly it became clear that the Soft compound wouldn't last all that long, and it was a situation similar to that in Australia, where the Supersoft tyre also degraded quickly.

Hamilton leads Raikkonen

Qualifying was relatively smooth. Until Q3 began. Till the last 3 minutes, no one went out on track. Some didn't. No one wanted to race the race on the Softs as they would barely last a couple of laps on race day. In a thrilling couple of minutes, Alonso, Hamilton, and Raikkonen set blisteringly fast times, all within a second. Lewis got pole position though, by three tenths of a second. Impressive. Although the top 7 all set times, they were on the softer compound. Button, Vettel, and Hulkenberg elected to start on the more durable Medium compound. So they were many different strategies to be played out and many different setups. With the varied pace of the cars, sparks were going to fly. Jules Bianchi once again, outqualified his team-mate by a massive margin of 0.757 seconds.



Sparks did fly, right from the start. Due to a software glitch, Raikkonen selected an incorrect clutch map, and lost two places at the start. Alonso, had a perfect start, and along with Massa they were right on Hamilton's tail, and on lap 5, they both overtook him on the first corner. Webber ran out of fuel in Q2 and started from the pitlane. Then in the race, he collided with Jean Eric Vergne, and smashed his front wing. While pitting for a new wing, his right rear tyre wasn't bolted on properly and his wheel fell off. Too bad he was notified of the defect so he wasn't doing 300 kmph when it happened. Raikkonen damaged his front wing and nose after rear ending Sergio Perez when he tried to overtake him. Kimi went for gap that didn't exist, so it was quite silly. Still, with that awful looking nose, he finished second and managed to preserve his tyres. He lost 0.25 seconds a lap which would later cost him a chance to challenge Alonso for the win. Alonso was in a league of his own. A beautifully timed strategy and brilliant drive ensured him a win. Hulkenberg who started on the medium tyres, switched to the softer compound for his middle stint which meant that he destroyed those tyres as he was still carrying a lot of fuel. Button however only stopped twice(all other stopped thrice) and finished 5th. Impressive with a car which was well off the pace. Sebastian Vettel, this season's new bad boy, like button elected to run the softer tyres toward the end of the race. Vettel saved the softer compound tyres for the last 5 laps of the race, and he had his chance to really push his car. After he switched to the softer compound tyres, he closed a 13 second gap to third placed Hamilton to 0.2 seconds at the chequered flag. Hamilton, meanwhile was battling it out with Kimi throughout the race for 2nd position, and it was a great battle. When Sebastion Vettel came into play in the closing stages, tension ensued till the last lap, where Hamilton was also pushing to catch Kimi who was barely a second ahead of him. On the last lap, backmarkers came into play, adding an extra element in the 3 way battle. Probably the most exciting moment of the race which was pretty action packed. Sutil was rear ended by Esteban, and his rear wing broke and then his brakes caught fire. Rosberg decided to retire with a broken anti-roll bar. Lewis Hamilton finished the Korean GP in 2012 with a broken anti-roll bar. Daniel Ricciardo finished 7th, and there were already rumours of Webber retiring to Le Mans, and Ricciardo taking his seat, or Raikkonen retiring with a final 2014 season with Red Bull.

Drive of the day goes to Alonso for making a very difficult race look easy. Kimi also deserves a mention as he adapted to his damaged car and preserved his tyres while maintaining good pace. A damaged front wing causes imbalance, and with Lotus already suffering understeer and front end grip issues, Kimi handled it all beautifully to clinch 2nd place. Jules Bianchi, who I am now a big fan of, kept his nose clean and finished 15th.

There's no point in criticising Pirelli. They made racing more unpredictable and exciting. It's not the tyres which are to blame/praise for the exciting racing. It's the tyre selection that really mixes things up. That is the reason why toward the end of 2012, conservative tyre choices ensured boring races. I'm pretty sure everyone would like to see Jules Bianchi in a Marussia win rather than Vettel in his Red Bull. If the Pirelli tyres can make it happen, I don't see any reason for complaints.

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Multi-21

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Multi-21 is a phrase which will go down in history as the moment when Vettel established himself as a fast and ruthless racing driver who doesn't stop at anything to win. Multi-21 refers to the command given to both the Red Bull drivers toward the closing stages of the 2013 Malaysian F1 Grand Prix, which orders both drivers to hold position, and cruise to the chequered flag. Webber was leading Vettel to a Red Bull 1-2, when Multi-21 was issued. Webber turned down his engine, and started preserving his tyres, and Vettel too was expected to do the same. Vettel however, had plans of his own.

Post race reaction.

He attacked Webber, and after a fierce battle over the first sector, he pulled out ahead of Webber. The drivers went wheel to wheel in what could be described as street racing fashion. It's a miracle that they didn't collide. Vettel later claimed he ignored the call and was sorry for what happened. Flimsy excuse. I expect more from a man who just pulled the rug from under his team-mate. He then continued to apologize for his actions, which I thought was very funny. He is clearly not sorry for what he did, and he doesn't need to be. He's 25, and he has won 3 world championships. He is already one of the Formula 1 greats. He doesn't need to explain his actions to his team-mate, who hasn't been anywhere near as successful. Vettel has joined the ranks of Michael Schumacher, and Ayrton Senna, and neither of them would settle for anything less than a win. Mark should've known Vettel well enough by now to know that he isn't a chubby teenager anymore.

Awkward podium ceremony

They won't see eye to eye for a while now

Red Bull were worried for obvious reasons. First being that they might just run into each other, and lose valuable championship points. Second being that while battling for the lead, they might destroy the tyres and then struggle to complete the race, and lose championship points. Now that the situation turned out favourably, Red Bull won't see the need to waste time on it any more. Vettel will not be penalized, or reprimanded even. Helmut Marko will ensure driver number one status to Vettel.

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Kimi Raikkonen and James Hunt

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Often Kimi Raikkonen has been compared to James Hunt, and their playboy lifestyles do have a few similarities. Both are world champions, and neither of them give a damn about the consequences of anything they say. The playboy lifestyles they lead were in stark comparison to their fellow drivers at their times. But the key difference lies in their core personalities.

SEX: Breakfast of Champions. James Hunt doing his thing.

James Hunt was English, and he led a quintessentially eccentric english lifestyle. He spoke to the media, and loved appearing on the television. People didn't only love him for his driving, but for his personality as well. James Hunt was rumoured to have slept with 33 British Airways stewardesses. In a week. That does guarantee a certain degree of respect. I'm not sure if it is a record, but that is how James Hunt lived life. He was often to be found before a race, in a small shed, having drugs and sex. It was his pre-race ritual. Apparently James Hunt slept with more than 5,000 women before he passed away at the age of 45. He attended formal functions, and press events barefoot. He would often go for dinner with his alsatian, Oscar at expensive Mayfair restaurants. I'd say he redefined the very definition of a 'playboy'. He won the 1976 championship by one point from Niki Lauda. After retiring from racing, he became a commentator for the BBC covering Formula 1 races with Murray Walker. Hunt had a dry and satiric humour, and he often berated drivers who he believed weren't good enough, or had made silly errors. The day he died of an heart attack, he proposed to his girlfriend of the time, Helen Dyson.

On the streets of Monaco

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen is Finnish, and he is possibly the only man who doesn't give a damn about anything. He hates the media and PR events with a passion with which he loves racing. Unlike James Hunt who struggled to enter Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen had a prodigious rise to the top level of motorsport. Having completed just 23 Formula Renault races, of which he won half, he was given a Sauber race seat, and he scored points at his very first race. Ferrari and McLaren both offered him a race seat after his first year at Sauber, and Kimi wisely chose McLaren, where he became de facto team leader. Throughout his career, showed utter disrespect to the media, and prefers not to speak with anyone. But the wild lifestyle which he leads often makes front page news, and his answers to the questions by the media is now the stuff of legends. He has built a brand around his demeanour. He goes by the nickname of 'Iceman' derived from his ever cool exterior. It might also do with his love of drinking and ice-cream. He might be the most laid back person in the paddock, but he is the fastest man on the track. In 2007, he switched to Ferrari after five frustrating years at McLaren. He also won his title in 2007 by a single point. After being dropped at the end of 2009 by Ferrari, he took the severance pay and went rallying, where his performance came as a shock to the well established rally drivers. He was just as quick, and if not quicker. In 2012, Lotus-Renault bought him back to Formula 1, and Kimi put in the best performance of his career in a car that was often few seconds off the pace of the leaders. He started 2013 with a hugely convincing win, and hopefully his second title is along the way.

James Hunt's iconic helmet design

Kimi Raikkonen's tribute to James Hunt

Kimi Raikkonen is an outspoken James Hunt and in Monaco 2012, he wore a James Hunt helmet as a tribute to the eccentric world champion. Although they might have completely different personalities, they do share one common trait. Both live life as they want to, and not how their sponsors, or media force them to. This individuality is rare, and very few sportsmen dare to express their true personalities. James Hunt and Kimi Raikkonen are different. They might not be as successful as Schumacher, but they will be respected more for their fearless and individualistic attitude toward life.

Raikkonen with Lotus

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Formula 1 Malaysia 2013

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This was a messy race. With the wet track at the start, and rapidly changing conditions, it was a slightly random result. There wasn't too much drama at this race, and it was a boring race to watch. With the faster degrading Pirelli tyres, pit stops decide the outcome of the race, and there is less of wheel to wheel battle.

The only wheel to wheel battle
we saw was that of Vettel and Webber for the lead of the race. Against team orders to hold position, Vettel attacked Webber, in a affair which will now be called "Multi 21-gate". Multi 21 refers to the order given to Vettel to hold position. Hamilton and Rosberg too fought it out for 3rd place, and it didn't end well. Hamilton ended up using too much fuel, and in the closing stages of the race he was coasting in 3rd. Rosberg meanwhile was 4th, and right behind Hamilton. Rosberg was also told to hold position, and after a lengthy debate on the radio, he complied.This meant that no one on the podium was happy. It was pretty tense. Team orders had decided the result, and this not only ruins the race for the fans, but also for the team-mates of the drivers who had benefitted. There will be a tense atmosphere at Red Bull and Mercedes for days to come.

Lotus had a terrible race, with Grosjean finishing ahead of Raikkonen in 6th and 7th respectively. Raikkonen had a nasty fight with Hulkenberg of Sauber, with the two touching. Hulkenberg barely escaping a penalty, finished 8th. Perez finished 9th for McLaren, while Jenson Button retired while en route to a podium finish. Both the Force India's retired on safety grounds after a problem with the wheel nuts. Williams had a horrid weekend, with Maldonado retiring due to a KERS issue. But Valteri Bottas hasn't showed any of the prodigious pace that was seen last year in the free practice sessions. But the car could be at fault.

Jules Bianchi is the best driver on the grid. He drove to the chequered flag in 13th, while his team-mate finished 16th. He was superb. Now Ferrari will probably snap him up next year to replace Massa. He's quicker than any of the rookies, or even the more established drivers. World Champion material. If he had been driving the Force India, he would've been a threat to any of the front running teams for sure.

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Kimi Raikkonen to Red Bull for 2014?

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Mark Webber is due to be replaced in 2014, and so far, none of the drivers at Red Bull's sister team Torro Rosso have impressed. Red Bull would probably prefer to promote António Félix da Costa to the team, or even Jules Bianchi, or Davide Valsecchi. So till they believe the drivers have achieved some level of maturity, they might sign up Kimi Raikkonen for a single year at Red Bull for 2014. This is subject to the fact that Kimi might not continue in Formula 1 in 2014. Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have a great relationship on, and off the track, so a move might be possible.

Kimi Raikkonen at Red Bull next year?
Image by Sutton Images

But there's one factor that makes Lotus a very good team for Raikkonen to thrive at. Lotus doesn't make Kimi do any PR work, and they don't involve in him team politics either. By shielding him away from the media, and PR work, Lotus can get the best out of Raikkonen, as the 2012 standing show quite clearly. 2012 was probably Kimi's best ever season in Formula 1. Kimi enjoys the privileges he receives at Lotus, and so there isn't much of an incentive to join Red Bull. Kimi prefers to enjoy his racing, rather than be outright successful, so there doesn't seem to be much of a case to join Red Bull. But if Kimi wants to win a championship, then he can do so with Red Bull. Red Bull has the budget, and the resource to do so, and Kimi might be tempted to sacrifice some of his PR freedom at Lotus to win a championship. There's no guarantee that either Red Bull, or Kimi want this move, but who knows what could happen next year.


UPDATE: As it turns out, I wasn't wrong after all. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz said: "Kimi is cool and fast and always a candidate."So Raikkonen could spend his final year in Formula 1 with Red Bull, reunited with Adrian Newey from his McLaren days. Although it wasn't an entirely a successful relationship, their last year together in 2005 was a very good one. We saw Raikkonen wallop the competition with an extremely unreliable car. Now both men have gotten better over the years, and we could see ultimate dominance once again in 2014?

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Formula 1 2013 Barcelona Test Summary

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This was a very interesting test session. There is absolutely nothing conclusive that can be derived from the test apart from the fact that the top teams are still fast, and the slow teams are still slow.

@Sutton Images

Here are the pointers, as usual.

• Marussia replaced Luiz Razia with Jules Bianchi as Luiz Razia's sponsors didn't pay up. Jules Bianchi is about a second faster than Max Chilton, so this will not be a fun year for the englishman.
• Caterham did nothing interesting, apart from proving James Allison right by removing their illegal exhaust system.
• Torro Rosso, again nothing eventful. It's got average pace. Reliable.
• Force India confirmed Adrain Sutil as their second driver, hence Jules Bianchi went to Marussia. Smart move, as they get to keep Mercedes engine, and McLaren technical support. Bulletproof car, no issues, fast as well.
• Sauber has a fast car, but their reliability wasn't impressive as they suffered small technical glitches during race simulations. Esteban racked up the highest mileage of any driver.
• Williams has a very good car as well, and Bottas thinks they will challenge the front-runners. It's a bit optimistic, but with a Finn in the cockpit, anything can happen.
• Ferrari also has a fast car, the only glitch being that the front wheel fell off once. Ferrari claim it's no biggie. Oh well.
• Lotus has a good car, but concentrated on getting their rear wing stalling device working properly. Kimi had the least running of any driver, with gearbox issues, and food poisoning. He wasn't complaining though. They did a lot of sandbagging. It's a quick car, but their real strength lies in race distance pace, which was impressive. Romain looks a different man. He's much more mature. He will have a good year by the looks of it. 
• McLaren was hard to judge, as they took a lot of time to make setup changes. They're the only team to have a completely new car. Others have simply evolved their 2012 designs. It's definitely very quick, one of the fastest. Reliable as well. They claim to have some trouble understanding the tyres. They said that many times, repeatedly. Something fishy.
• Mercedes set the fastest time of the test, but they did it on a low fuel run, so it's hard to compare with the other teams. Their race simulation timings weren't that impressive though. Very quick in wet conditions though.
• Red Bull rewrote the rules of sandbagging at this test. It's by far the quickest car, and with the most downforce. Good race distance pace as well. But they deliberately hid the cars true pace, and would constantly try to hide their car from photographers. Vettel was frustrated by the lack of low fuel runs, but the team was adamant about hiding their true potential.

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Formula 1 Jerez Test Roundup

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Formula 1 started 2013 with the first test in Jerez. With limited testing, every testing session is vitally important, and teams have to make use of every test opportunity they can get. Although it is impossible to judge how the teams have improved over the winter in a test, everyone still tries to make some sense of the lap times. Ferrari set the fastest lap time on soft tyres in Jerez, and Red Bull set the fastest time on the hards. This is the only important fact of the whole test session. Ferrari has recovered, and their car is  not a catastrophic disaster as it was last year, and Red Bull is still very fast.

Romain Grosjean in the Lotus

Jerez has an extremely abrasive track surface, so the long runs on a heavy fuel load also do not have relevance whatsoever. The soft tyres barely last for 5-6 laps. So tyre data collection was corrupted somewhat. The other headline facts of the test are,

• Marussia, under technical director Pat Symonds now has KERS and the Coanda exhaust system.
• Caterham is trying to wing this year, and is going to divert all its resources to 2014. They probably want to simply finish in the points this year and keep ahead of Marussia.
• Torro Rosso looks quick, and this improvement is due to their new technical director James Key. Also, the Torro Rosso is called STR8, funnily enough. Torro Rosso might switch to Renault engines in 2014 so that they can use Red Bull mechanicals in the future.
• Sauber has made their smaller sidepods work, and hasn't had any cooling issues. Smaller sidepods mean less drag, so Sauber has had to package their internals very well. Yet. The real test is Barcelona, where the cars will really be driven in anger. But Sauber looks fast as well, and with Nico Hulkenberg at the wheel, they will challenge for podiums and wins.
• Williams ran their 2012 car, so no one knows how fast their 2013 car is. But Valtteri Bottas, another Kimi Raikkonen, had his first taste of how the team works in race simulations.
• Force India looks strong as well, and they have yet to confirm their second driver. It's definitely Jules Bianchi.
• Mercedes had bad time at Jerez. Rosberg had an electrical problem on the first day, and within 15 laps, the Merc was on fire. They had to fix a fundamental electrical design problem, and missed the entire first day of running. The second day, Hamilton binned the car at the fastest part of the track as his rear brakes failed on his 16th lap. Hamilton managed to slow down the car slightly by locking up his fronts, but still smashed the front wing and nose after crossing the gravel trap. And so another day wasted. Meanwhile in the pits, everyone at McLaren were rolling on the floor and laughing. But no one noticed them, as everyone else in the pit lane was also laughing quite a lot. Mercedes recovered on the third and fourth day of the test, clocking on an average of 145 laps each day. Thats a lot compared to other teams who barely did a 100 or so laps. Mercedes also realized that when Hamilton drove hard, the car took quite a beating. When he drove into the pits after along stint, the brakes were smoking, the engine was complaining, and so on. 
• Ferrari has a good car, and Massa and Pedro de la Rosa drove it in Jerez. Interestingly Alonso did not opt for the Jerez test. As Massa completed lap after lap of aero test, engine test, and other such tests, he could not work on setup. When Alonso drives the car in Barcelona, the cars will be ready to use and Alonso can start work on setup right away, and won't have to do the boring work of checking all the systems and collecting data. Jerez is not a track that has similar characteristics to any of those on the calendar, so it's not ideal to setup a car, or even train on. So Alonso has cleverly opted to only run at Barcelona
• Lotus, under technical director James Allison also has a very fast car. Romain and Kimi, both seemed happy with it. Although they didn't run their passive DRS in Jerez, the car was relatively reliable as well. All teams will bring their final updates and new parts in Barcelona, so Barcelona will be a real test to gauge the speed of the cars.
• McLaren has a very fast car, and Jenson set the most important lap time of the test. He set a very fast lap time on a relatively green track, on the first day on hard tyres. So the McLaren is quick as it was last year.
• Red Bull was running different array of tests throughout the session, and so neither Vettel nor Webber pushed the car hard. But they are definitely quick, and more importantly, very consistent. Their longer runs were the most consistent of any team. So they remain favourites.

Only at Barcelona will we know how fast the cars actually are, and how they have coped with the new faster wearing Pirelli tyres.

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Formula 1 2013 Season Predictions

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Lotus E21

2013 will be one the most competitive years in the history of Formula 1, no question about it. The best part is that 6 or 7 teams will be fighting for podiums, and perhaps even wins. What makes 2013 also unique is that it will be an end of an era, the V8 era, forever. With 2014 switching back to Turbo V6's, and bigger electrical energy recovery systems, 2013 will be a tricky year. All teams need to direct a majority of their resources toward 2014, to ensure that they remain competitive. So most of the updates and development of the car will take place quite rapidly towards the beginning of the year, and will tail off midway, and most teams will shift almost all resources to develop the 2014 car.


The 2014 car is so different from the previous cars that the team have to design the cars from scratch. The cars will bear almost no family resemblance to the current cars. It is a huge change. So 2013, with the newPirelli tyres which promises more tyre wear and faster lap times make this one the most challenging seasons in Formula 1 history. Changing the regulations dramatically might actually ruin the racing and we might see only the top teams dominate. The resources required for 2014 are too much for smaller teams to handle. As a result, Timo Glock was fired so that Marussia could get a pay driver just to survive. So only the bigger teams will be competitive in 2013 and in 2014 as well, as they can afford to develop both cars at the same time. I don't think this massive change is a good idea, as it will ruin the competitive racing we've seen lately. If the FIA had proceeded stepwise, they could've have made it work, but then again, the FIA had to do something to justify Formula 1 in current climate of Global Warming, and with various conference being held around the world to save the environment.

McLaren MP4 28

The 2013 season will be a difficult season to predict. Caterham and Marussia will barely have an impact on the proceedings of the race, and are simply trying to survive 2013 for a competitive car in 2014. Sauber and Williams might try to score a few points this year so that they get sponsorship and prize money to help develop the 2014 car, so I expect them to be very competitive this year. Torro Rosso will continue to be average this season, and will finish just ahead of Caterham and Marussia in the contractors standings. They will serve as training program for future Red Bull drivers, and Jean Eric Vergne will probably get Mark Webber's seat in 2014. Force India might surprise everyone and be challenging for podiums this year with Paul Di Resta committed to put in a good performance to impress the bigger teams and will have a good year. Mercedes will have an average year as well, but with Lewis Hamilton committed to prove to everyone that he made a right choice, they might just win a few races, and a handful of podiums.

Force India at Silverstone

Lotus will be a very competitive team. The have a lot of potential. James Allison's car and with a fast and consistent Raikkonen along with Grosjean who is looking to prove his worth adds up to a team which will probably finish in the top 3, with Raikkonen in the mix for the drivers championship. The problem Lotus faces is that, in this hyper competitive top 4 teams of McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, they cannot make a single mistake. Red Bull, and McLaren will have the fastest cars from the word go, and Ferrari will be up there as well, with Fernando Alonso as motivated and consistently quick as ever. It will be brutal in the fight for wins between the top 4 teams, and the championship will be won by the team which keeps developing till the very end. It will be very very exciting to see what happens and the fans will have fun.

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Sauber C32-Ferrari Launch

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Sauber C32-Ferrari

Sauber's online launch was quite a surprise. First off, the colour scheme looks superb, and it is one the best looking cars in 2013. As it says on the tin, the Sauber uses Ferrari engines. Now Nico Hulkenberg might have signed up for Sauber so that he might get noticed by Ferrari, and could potentially replace Massa in 2014.

Sauber has made quite a few changes to the new car.

Sauber has tweaked the car a bit, and it looks quite a lot different from the 2012 model. They've done a halfway job on the step nose. They've used a smaller vanity panel, so a small step can still be seen. They claim that it gives a slight aero advantage, so it's an interesting route they have taken. Another odd feature of the C32 is that it has tiny sidepods. The openings are extremely small compared to a Ferrari, Lotus, or the McLaren ones. Another interesting step taken by Sauber. It'll be interesting to see how fast will the Sauber be, and whether they have taken the right gamble. They haven't opted for the passive double DRS, so till now, only Lotus has a DDRS system in place. The double DRS system is a gamble, as it is quite tricky to setup and fine tune it. So it's not exactly a foolproof mechanism, and might actually lead to further problems.

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Bruno Senna to Force India?

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A screenshot of Paul Di Resta's Twitter feed shows that he welcomed Bruno Senna to Force India. The tweet was deleted minutes later. However, one smart Twitter user, @nismoroger took a screenshot, and if Force India did indeed hire Bruno Senna, it would've been a catastrophic decision. Bruno Senna was a fast driver. Until his mother forbade him to continue his racing career in his formative years of karting. after the deaths of both his uncle, Ayrton and his father. He started racing again at the age of 20. So missed on the crucial time to hone his skills, and thus lost his speed. So Bruno Senna could've been a world champion by now, matching Ayrton Senna for speed and maturity. But unfortunately, he missed out. So hiring Jules Bianchi, or even Adrian Sutil, both of which are fast drivers makes sense, and at the launch of VJM06, Force India claimed that they would make their driver decision on the basis of a long term strategy, so I think they did actually hire Bianchi.

UPDATE: Bruno Senna signed for Le Mans and World Endurance Championship with Aston Martin. So obviously, this screenshot is either a photoshop or a misjudgement by Paul Di Resta.

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Ferrari and Force India Connections

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Ferrari F138

VJM06

Ferrari and Force India both launched their 2013 cars today, and there is a unique link between the two teams. Ferrari is pushing Force India to give Jules Bianchi the second race seat alongside Di Resta, and if Force India oblige, they might just get a good deal from Ferrari if they decide to switch to Ferrari engines in 2014. Jules Bianchi is a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, so quite naturally, Ferrari will want Bianchi to get some vital F1 experience before he probably replaces Massa in 2014. Force India hasn't revealed the identity of the second driver yet, so it remains to be seen what will happen. But I think Force India might opt for either Jules Bianchi or Adrian Sutil.

Luiz Razia has apparently signed up for Marussia, replacing Timo Glock who left via mutual consent, as, to put it bluntly, Marussia is barely able to make ends meet and they desperately need paying drivers.
Force India should retain Mercedes power for 2014, as Mercedes, who now have their own team, and who have also committed most of their resources for 2014, will probably have a better engine.

Another unique similarity between Force India and Ferrari is that both teams have opted to cover the step noses for their 2013 cars.

The Ferrari F138 retains its unique pull rod suspension, which I suspect all teams will switch to 2014, and just like the new VJM06, most of the work done on the car is under the skin, the teams have mostly pushed to optimise and perfect the parts used in 2012.

However there is a clear trend emerging in the 4 cars that have been launched in 2013 till now. All cars have tight and narrow rear end as the teams try to optimise the air flow and try to create more downforce because the exhaust blown diffusers were banned in 2012. Red Bull was one of the first teams to feature this unique design feature in 2012, as they had to compensate for the lack of downforce at the back. Their car was designed to be heavily dependent on the exhaust blown diffusers, so they had to move fast to compensate for the loss of downforce.

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McLaren MP4-28 Launch

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McLaren MP4-28 launch

Today's McLaren launch gave the outside world a good look into McLarens preparation for 2013. This year McLaren celebrates 50 years of its existence, and I suspect they will have a fantastic year. Jenson Button drove into the McLaren Technology Center in the P1, their new road car, and he was simply oozing confidence as he stepped out of that car and into the glare of the cameras. This the Jenson whom we saw back in 2009. Now that the team, and crucially the car is his, he knows he has a fantastic advantage, and a good chance to win the championship. He stressed on the fact that the new car is not only more consistent but also faster than last year. And McLaren did end the 2012 season with the fastest car.
The car itself has undergone a few changes, so it's not radically different, and it still does not carry a nose step as seen on other cars.

Martin Whitmarsh also stated that 2013 was every bit as important as 2014, so this will be one very competitive year, and they will be aiming to win that championship. Sergio Perez meanwhile was simply pleased to be with McLaren and will be looking to make an impact. But there's no doubt that Jenson Button will be in a class of his own if the car is quick and more importantly consistent. 2012's MP4-27 was the quickest car by far, by poor reliability was a sore point and effectively took them out the running for the championship.

2013 is going to be epic. The best drivers, all in the best teams with good cars, fighting for the championship. This will be one of the most competitive seasons in Formula 1 history, and never will a season start will atleast 8 drivers each of which has a fighting chance to win the championship.

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Formula 1 2013 Season Preview

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Lotus F1 launched the new E21 on the 28th of January. And perhaps Kimi's only hope of winning his second WDC title. James Allison, technical head of Lotus F1, who is perhaps even better than Adrian Newey, states that the E21 is an evolution of the E20, as the 2013 rules are similar to the 2012 ones, so it's not a major change. Which is good for Lotus, as the E20 was a fundamentally quick car and managed it's tyres well. With Pirelli claiming their new 2013 tyres will suffer even more degradation, this could be Lotus's year. If the E21 is anywhere near quick relatively as the E20, then they will definitely be winning races, and challenging for the championship, both drivers, and constructors. With Kimi back upto 100% race fit, 2013 looks good for Lotus. Actually, now that Kimi has become older and wiser, not only is the fastest driver on track, but also one the smarter ones. Aiming for consistent podium finishes has also become one his priorities, apart from winning, so he will definitely be in the contention for the championship. Lest we forget, James Allison and his team are geniuses as well, rocking up in 2012 with a ride height control system not seen in Formula 1 since the Williams of 1993. But Newey started crying so it wasn't allowed. This year, James has come up something but he hasn't disclosed what it is yet. Their DDRS system is not banned by the current regulation unlike Mercedes's and Red Bull's so they have that advantage as well.





Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, a car plagues by rear tyre wear will suffer this year, and even with Lewis ability to adapt to any car, they certainly will not be up there fighting or wins as the new 2013 tyres will make them suffer. Jenson Button in the McLaren will be a strong contender as well, with his smooth and classically quick driving style along with a quick McLaren which critically will be his team for 2013, makes him a strong contender. Alonso will be brutally quick as ever in his Ferrari which also will be his team, with Massa playing a supporting role. Vettel and his Red Bull, the defending champions will be quick from the word go as they had a quick car as well last year, winning all the races in Asia. And Red Bull of course is again Vettels team, with car designed for Vettel's driving style and the fact that Vettel worships his team. Quite a deadly package.


Because the 2013 rules are relatively same as the 2012 ones, we will see one unique spectacle. The top tier of drivers standing out and standing head and shoulders above the second level drivers. The top level drivers drive at the cars limit, while the second level drivers drive at their personal limits. This makes a huge difference on the development of the cars as well as the top drivers can tell the engineers how the car behaves at the very limit, as a Formula 1 car should be driven.

The top level drivers according to me are as follows,

• Kimi Raikkonen
• Fernando Alonso
• Lewis Hamilton
• Jenson Button
• Sebastian Vettel
• Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas, another Finnish driver on the grid, is insanely quick. He was consistently quicker then Maldonado in FP1 in 2012 , and by a large margin as well, so with a quick car he will be in the equation in every race. His race craft looks good as well, considering his wins in junior categories.

The rest have either to show their skills or are just not as good them. Romain Grosjean has potential and   all eyes will be on him in Australia. He did win the Race of Champions in 2012, so he is bloody quick.

2013 will be one of the best seasons in Formula 1 history, perhaps even more exciting than 2012. This is the year that drivers will battle it out, not the teams. This will be a good year.

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F1 Monza Track Guide

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Monza is one the most exciting track on the calendar. Fast and deceptively tricky, it is quite a challenge to put in a nice clean lap and break your previous record.

This is the track,

First of all, the setup is very important. This is a low downforce track, and it is very important to maximise your corner exit speed to exploit the low downforce setup on the straights. The yellow dot on the track, just before Turn 1, is the maximum speed the car will reach. If you hit around 340km/hr+, then you're set for a good lap.

The gearing is also very important. As the top speed is very important for qualifying and overtaking, higher gear ratios are better, but they will hurt you on the slower corners. but as Monza only has 1 slow corner, the chicane of Turn 1 and Turn 2, so it won't affect the lap.

So low downforce and high gearing.

Now the track itself.





As you start from the start/finish line with the DRS wing open, and head toward Turn 1, brake as late as possible, and ride the kerbs as much as you dare, without cutting the corner or spinning out. Simply monster the kerbs over Turn 1 and 2 with the momentum from the start/finish straight and get into position to accelerate as soon as possible for Turn 3.

Turn 2

Use KERS on exit of Turn 2 to compensate for the gearing, and open DRS. Take Turn 3 flat and hug the inside line initially, but let the car drift toward the center and then get back on the racing line for Turn 4 and 5 for maximum speed.

Turn 4 and 5 can be taken faster then Turn 1 and 2, and as before, ride the kerbs. But now there are two ways of tackling this corner, both equally fast. Method 1: Barely touch the kerb of Turn 4 and jump over the speed bumps deep into the kerbs of Turn 5 and get back on track using the momentum, and as before KERS and DRS on exit. This method is tricky as you have a high chance of spinning out, or getting a corner cutting penalty. Also, you jump out on the track which means you cannot accelerate immediately. Method 2: Cut deep into kerbs of Turn 4 and barely touch Turn 5 kerbs. It's slightly slower, but you can accelerate sooner as all wheels are on track and it's a lot more stable.

catching air on exit of turn 5 using method 1

Turns 6 and 7, the Lesmo's, are deceptive. Approach Turn 6 and angle nose toward apex of corner, with the DRS wing open, and then brake just before the apex, and wrestle the car around the corner, barely clipping the exit kerbs. You get this wrong, you spin out and end up in the sand traps. Turn 7, same method, DRS open, angle nose in and get the car around the corner. With the DRS open, you get oversteer, so use that extra turn-in.

Turn 7

Exit turn 7 with KERS and DRS. Just leave enough KERS for exit after Turn 10. The Ascari corners are fun, and not too difficult. Approach Turn 8 safely, and brake well. Once again, use the kerbs, and try not to lose the momentum. Accelerate after tackling Turn 8, and just lift while tackling Turns 9 and 10. Finish KERS on exit.

Turn 9

Clean exit from Turn 10, and run wide, clipping the exit and kerbs and follow the racing line toward the final corner, the parabolica. This is a tricky one. With the low downforce setup, you have to be careful not lose the back end and spin off. Brake well, take the inside line and just stay clear of the kerbs on the outside. Open DRS wing once you're nearing the exit of the corner to reduce understeer and for a faster exit toward the start/finish line.

I've lost the back end and i'm spinning out.

I set a 1:31.517 in an HRT, and I adjusted all sorts of settings including balance, and alignment to get that lap time. It's fast track, but a lot of fun.

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F1 2012 The Game Mac: Timeline

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This is my new home.

This is what happened when I got my copy of F1 2012.


Day 1: Finished downloading from Mac App Store by midnight. Took quite a lot of time. Spent all day long watching clips of the real season and ridiculing drivers. Of course I can drive better than them. It's a piece of cake. Pftt.

Day 2: (continued from Day 1 midnight) Fired up the game, and straight into Young Drivers Test. Turns out it's quite hard to drive a Formula 1 car with a keyboard. No wonder real drivers use a steering wheel. Did well in the Test, and got job with Force India. Got bored of career, and went online. Got pwned in every race. Then became extremely angry and smashed into race leader while getting lapped. That b****** recovered and finished the race in P1. I get DNF. Went to sleep with angry and disturbing thoughts of disappointment.
Day 3: Hooked up my PSP as a controller. Turns out you never engage 100% throttle with the keyboard. Why Codemasters? WHY? Suddenly became quite good at the game. Resumed career mode, and won 3 times in a row. Went online and suddenly started leading races and winning them. I feel like a world champion. Lots of confidence, and now I'm ready for the big one. Switching off brake assist. Holy shit, the car is undrivable. Why do the brakes have no effect whatsoever? Went online, and switched off ABS as well. Suddenly brakes become better. A split-second later, front wheels lock up and I drive into the race leader into the very first corner and lose my front wing. Race leader gets totalled. HAHA. I quickly turn brake assist back on again. I don't have the skillz yet. Went to bed happy with my win record.

This made my day. I won three times in a row with an HRT. In Monaco.

Day 4: On an online pwing spree with my PSP controller. Specially in the wet. Or in Monaco. I try to set a good time around Monza with an HRT with no assists. Such a rush. I clock 1:31.517. Is it any good? Online buddy Avinzon clocked a 1:26 with a McLaren. Seems good in comparison I'd say. Went online again, and this time starting pwing everyone with an HRT. Now I'm officially the fastest Indian in the world. Well, in the world of Mac gamers. Mac gamers who play F1 2012. But for God's sake, so many PENALTIES! WHY CODEMASTERS, WHY. Honestly I might as well drag Codemasters to court to prove that I was hit. Not the other way around. As soon as I get hit and spin off the track, I get blamed for the collision. And the ten second penalty is just salt on the wounds. So I need not only catch up, but pull a 10-second lead as well. For god's sake Codemasters, get your Stewards act together.

Day 5: Now I am officially addicted. Someone should open gaming rehabs. It is properly getting out of hand. Now I am actually studying the track, to gain the additional tenth or two. And my exams are a few weeks from now. I simply cannot get enough of online gaming. But Codemasters penalty system and n00bs ruin many a good race. I am going to start an online petition for Codemasters to include a GP2 series in F1 2013 to keep n00bs away. Also, the person who decides my strategy and tyre choice should be fired. Why cannot I be team principle? Add manager mode to the F1 2013 to-do list, Codemasters.

Day 10: Getting ultra confident of my racing skills, as I have mastered the art of braking without ABS. I start sweating halfway through the race even though it's like 15˚C in my room because of all the concentration. Lap times begin to tumble and now I'm pretty sure Sebastian Vettel will eat dust once I become a real Formula 1 driver. I'm already rehearsing my Kimi Raikkonen-esq statements to troll the media. And updating my shopping list once I get all the sponsorship money. And choosing which supermodel I want as my future girlfriend. Lot of them are married already. It's getting sort of hard choosing one. The world definitely needs more supermodels, no question about it. Trust me. I've done my research.

Day 11: Using the Force(which I learnt after playing Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic), I have now stopped my self from playing the game. No more racing till my exams get over. I have controlled myself.

Day 11(at night): I'm in the lead in a Lotus, and a McLaren is on my tail in Valencia, and he HITS ME from behind. FOR F****'s SAKE, WHY DO I GET THE PENALTY FOR THAT? AAARGGGGHHHH!! Writing hate mail to Codemasters now. Will take some time.

Day 12: This time I really stopped myself from playing. The Force is strong with me.

Day 23: Suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Every time I go cycling, I am officially racing. Using my skillz, I draft behind cars and over take them under braking. Lance Armstrong can eat my dust. My superior gear changing skillz shine at the start(from traffic lights). I AM THE GOD OF RACING.

Day 24: Now tyre wear is drilling into my head after I noticed wear on my bicycles treads. Must save my tyres. I should switch to Mediums next time I pit.

Day 25: I have officially lost my mind. And I'm failing my exams as well.

This is how I look at life.

I'm waiting on 5 simple red lights.

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Formula 1 memes

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Most of them are terribly unfunny...

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Formula 1 Quotes

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Here are a few of the less well know Formula 1 quotes,


Sebastian Vettel

"Never lift. Never stop believing"

On the radio, while crossing the finish line in Abu Dhabi in P3 after starting from the pit lane.

"We keep on working, we do our thing, we are who we are"

On the radio, after winning the world title. Also, and indirect response to Hamilton's comment that Red Bull are 'just a drinks company'.

"Like on normal roads, you have some idiots driving around. It seems there is also one driving here."

Sebastian Vettel after a collision with Narain Karthikeyan denied him the chance to finish fourth at the Malaysian GP.

Nelson Piquet

"Driving in Monte Carlo is like riding a bike in your house."

On Monte Carlo

"I don't give a shit for fame, I don't give a shit for society. I don't want to make friends with anybody who's important. I just want to win."

On his mindset toward Formula 1

Kyle Petty

"Why did I take up racing? I was too lazy to work and too chicken to steal."

Mario Andretti

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older. "

Juan Pablo Montoya

"F***ing f***ing Raikkonen, whatta f***ing idiot."

On Kimi during Spa 2002 qualifying

"It's just...you know...basically shit happens." 

Classic Montoya

And now for the most quote-able driver in Formula 1 history, who equals Ayrton Senna for speed and his words,

Kimi Raikkonen

"Not much really."

On winning the Abu Dhabi grand prix in his comeback year in F1

"He’s strange now and then. He always wants to know everything. He doesn’t interest me."

Opinion of Ron Dennis

"It’s the 5th grid place."

opinion of 5th grid place

"The circuit broke totally. Every year same thing happens. They promise to fix it. They probably should hire the guys from Lemminkäinen (Finnish asphalt company) to fix it."

Kimi Raikkonen Q&A

The helmet has a special meaning for many drivers. How important is it to you?

"It protects my head."

Do you have any special rituals when the helmet is concerned like many have?

"I wipe it so that I can see better."




Martin Brundle: “Kimi Raikkonen doesn’t seem interested in the proceedings going on up there. Kimi, you missed the presentation by Pele.”
Kimi (nonchalantly): “Yeah.”
Martin: ”Will you get over it?”
Kimi: “Yeah. I was having a shit.”
Martin: “OK, thanks for that! Obviously you’ll have a nice light car on the grid, then.”


Interviewer: The most exciting moment during the race weekend?
Kimi: I think so it's the race start, always.
Interviewer: The most boring?
Kimi: Now.



During an interview with a journalist in Fiorano, Luca DI Montezemolo gives a surprise visit and his aide calls Kimi to meet him

Kimi see aide, and says: "Hey f*** off!"
Aide "something in italian"
Kimi: "Yeah but I'm doing this, so I dont care."

(pushes aide away) "F*** off now I come when I finish this. Tell him I come whenever I finish. GO!"

Aide gesticulates 

"F***ing idiot. Eh? F*** off"
Journalist(watching this all unfold): "Priceless"




Japan 2012, post qualifying(Q3) interview

Sky: "Kimi what happened?"
Kimi: "I spun."
Sky: "What a disaster then for you, and few others with the yellow flags"
Kimi: "I don't care what happened to the others"

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Formula 1; Mechanics Win Races?

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Sebastian Vettel is team player. In fact, he worships his team. He's even got helmets with his mechanics faces and names on them. Mark Webber, senior driver, and who's been at Red Bull for two years before Vettel, hasn't won a single championship. And he doesn't worship his team as publicly as Vettel does.

Result? Vettel, triple world drivers champion. Webber? Handful of wins.

Of course, the Red Bull is a car designed specifically for Vettel's driving style. But why hasn't the car been designed for Webber?





Even in the Ferrari garage, Massa has been at Ferrari for about 6 years now. Alonso, barely 3 years. But the Ferrari F1 team is Alonso's team. Alonso, as you'll notice, is full blooded team player. He never ever blames the team. He might accept that his car is pretty shoddy, but he won't moan about it.

At McLaren, both Jensen and Hamilton credited their team for their wins, so there isn't much of a difference between them performance-wise.

Even at Team Lotus, or the Enstone team, Kimi has realized this and he too has started thanking and praising his team no matter where he finished. And he did finish in the points an awful lot of times. In Abu Dhabi, he shrugged of his victory, and told the media it was for the team. He barely smiled after winning.

But Vettel really does look at Formula 1 as a team sport, and I don't think he even thinks about shifting to another team, so good is his relationship with his engineers and mechanics who build his car. Of course, Vettel's mentality and driving style are also factors for his success, but the anyone can see that motivating the team is a major factor to win championships.

In Abu Dhabi, Vettel started from the pitlane and finished on the podium with P3. He kept thanking and motivating his team on the radio, "never lift boys. Even in the room before stepping on the podium, he was genuinely a happy man, joking around with Kimi. Alonso on the other hand, was in shock I think, to see Vettel on the podium, and he kept to himself.


So the team working behind the scenes, away from the limelight is a critical part to win a championship. Theoretically the team is supposed to give equal attention to both drivers, but of course, it is never that way...

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Formula 1 Spa-Francorchamps 2012 Crash Re-Analysis

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Carbon fibre galore

Earlier this year, in the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix, there was a catastrophic first corner pile up, and Grosjean, Hamilton, Alonso, and Perez were caught out in the whirlwind of carbon fibre. The blame was promptly put on Grosjean for being too aggressive at the start, and to some extent that is true. But looking at the race footage, I don't think Grosjean was the sole perpetrator. I downloaded the race edit, and saw the video frame by frame, and I think some of the blame can be put on Hamilton's shoulders as well.





Hamilton qualified P8, and Grosjean P9. But  Grosjean had a very good start, and Grosjean was almost a full car length ahead of Hamilton before La Source.

Red Circle: Hamilton; Blue Circle: Grosjean

Grosjean gets a good start, and heads towards clear tarmac ahead of Hamilton, as the track ahead of him is blocked by the Saubers and the Williams of Maldonado.

Grosjean and Hamilton fighting for the same piece of tarmac

So Grosjean goes for the clear track ahead of Hamilton, and this where the massive pile up started.

The stewards blamed Grosjean for being too aggressive at the start and colliding into Hamilton. This is slightly true as Grosjean gives Hamilton almost no space and squeezes him into the barrier separating the track from the pits. And this is also the point where Hamilton should be blamed for the accident which takes place just seconds from this picture.

Here you can see Grosjeans racing line blocked by the slowing Saubers behind the Ferrari, and now approaching toward the clear track ahead of Hamilton.

At this point, Hamilton still has a chance to retain track position and try to pull ahead of Grosjean. But he should have know that he only had a small chance.

Just moments before the havoc starts.

Grosjean now has a 3/4 car length advantage over Hamilton, and has, according to me gained the track position and is perfectly justified to expect Hamilton, which he should have done. Hamilton can clearly see that he has no space left, and should've lifted off and conceded track position. But he put his foot hard down, which wasn't the smartest thing to do, but even stupider on his part was holding his racing line. A collision was bound to take place. 

But Hamilton wasn't really in an ideal state anyway, having posted telemetry of his lap on Twitter!

Detailed as well....

And now as you'll see, all hell breaks loose.

BAM! and it's all over.

I really don't see why Grosjean alone is blamed for the mess. Hamilton had quite a large role to play in this pile up.

Also, Jenson Button has the best victory dance which he performed in his car itself. The man got style.

Now that, is how it should be done.

That is a superb way to celebrate. 

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