Wolff: Hamilton and Rosberg free to race if battle remains clean

Mercedes will not interfere in the intra-team battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, unless the pair come to blows on the race track, says Toto Wolff.

Hamilton and Rosberg were involved in a gripping wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead of last weekend’s frantic Bahrain Grand Prix, the Mercedes hierarchy allowing both their drivers to fight to the flag, with the 2008 champion the victor on the day.

And Mercedes will continue to shy away from imposing team orders – a sore point for many fans of the sport – as long as the on-track battle between the pair remains clean.

“It’s great watching two drivers of that level racing each other, fair and square, not risking the other car and still delivering a mega show,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

“It doesn’t get any better. It’s advertising for Formula 1 in a moment where lots of people are talking Formula 1 down.”

Wolff maintains that the situation will remain the same all year, until the point that the on-track action begins to reflect negatively on the team.

 ”Yes, until we lose some front wings and then we’ll sit down again and discuss whether this was the strategy. But they are racing drivers so it is all academic…

“I think you need the drivers to understand where the team came from and it’s important not to risk the image of our brand.

“We represent a big brand so we need to know what to do. And they did it in a fantastic and spectacular way.”

Image courtesy of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS

Hamilton tops opening practice in Bahrain for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton started the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in perfect form as he topped opening practice in the gulf state for Mercedes.

Hamilton, who won last time out in Malaysia, seized the top spot in the closing minutes of the session, to edge out his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, as the Brackley-based outfit continued its strong start to the season,

Rosberg ended the opening practice session just two tenths shy of Hamilton, while Alonso was some four and half tenths down on the 2008 champion in third, after the Spaniard was involved in a bizarre incident in the pit lane, when his Ferrari team mistakenly sent him out with one soft tyre, and three medium tyres fitted, which forced him to abort his run.

Nico Hulkenberg, who came home fifth after a race long battle with Alonso in Malaysia, built on his positive start to the season with fourth for Force India.

Jenson Button was fifth for McLaren, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who went straight on  in the Ferrari at turn one after a heavy lock-up on his long-run.

Kevin Magnussen was seventh in the second McLaren, the Dane having struggled with brake issues early in the hour and a half long session.

Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10 for Toro Rosso, Force India, and Red Bull respectively, the defending champion a whole 1.8 seconds slower than Hamilton’s best time.

Felipe Massa was the fastest of the Williams’ in 11th, the Brazilian having spent the majority of the session in the garage, while his temporary team-mate, compatriot Felipe Nasr, was 13th on his first appearance in an F1 practice session, a spot ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who struggled in what was an off morning for Red Bull.

Pastor Maldonado completed 31 laps for Lotus, at the wheel of the troublesome E22, on his way to 16th overall, his team-mate Romain Grosjean was 19th in the second of the Enstone-based squad’s cars.

Like Nasr, Sauber and Caterham reserve drivers Giedo van der Garde and Robin Frijns made their first FP1 appearances of the year, the two Dutchmen 18th and 21st respectively, the latter completing 35 laps, the most of anyone during the session.

Free Practice One – Classification

1. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:37.502 – 14 laps

2. Nico Rosberg – Mercedes – 1:37.733  +0.231  – 13 laps

3. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari – 1m37.953  +0.451 – 17 laps

4. Nico Hulkenberg – Force India-Mercedes – 1:38.122  +0.620s – 10 laps

5. Jenson Button – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:38.636  +1.134s – 16 laps

6. Kimi Raikkonen – Ferrari – 1:38.783  +1.281 – 12 laps

7. Kevin Magnussen – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:38.949  +1.447 – 15 laps

8. Daniil Kvyat – Toro Rosso-Renault – 1:39.056 +1.554 – 24 laps

9. Sergio Perez – Force India-Mercedes – 1:39.102  +1.600 – 21 laps

10. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull-Renault – 1:39.389  +1.887 – 16 laps

11. Felipe Massa – Williams-Mercedes – 1:39.533  +2.031 – 11 laps

12. Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso-Renault – 1:39.862  +2.360 – 26 laps

13. Felipe Nasr – Williams-Mercedes – 1:40.078  +2.576 – 14 laps

14. Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull-Renault – 1:40.406  +2.904 – 19 laps

15. Adrian Sutil – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:40.652  +3.150 – 20 laps

16. Pastor Maldonado – Lotus-Renault – 1:40.793  +3.291 – 31 laps

17. Jules Bianchi – Marussia-Ferrari – 1:40.$89  +3.387 – 20 laps

18. Giedo van der Garde – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:40.913  +3.411 – 20 laps

19. Romain Grosjean – Lotus-Renault – 1:41.036  +3.534  – 24 laps

20. Max Chilton – Marussia-Ferrari – 1:41.794  +4.292 – 20 laps

21. Robin Frijns – Caterham-Renault – 1:42.417  +4.915 – 35 laps

22. Marcus Ericsson – Caterham-Renault – 1:42.711  +5.209 – 21 laps

Image courtesy of Daimler

Bahrain to host night race in 2014 for tenth anniversary

The Bahrain Grand Prix will be run at night in 2014 to coincide with the events tenth anniversary.

The organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix have confirmed that the 2014 race will be held at night to mark ten years of Formula One in the Gulf country.

Bahrain held its first Formula One Grand Prix in 2004, a race won by Michael Schumacher for Ferrari, and has since gone on to host nine Grand Prix in ten years, with the 2011 event cancelled due to civil unrest in the country.

“We are delighted to be able to trial the first phase of our lighting project at the WEC [World Endurance Championship], a major milestone in this hugely ambitious project for the BIC, which is scheduled for completion in February” explained Sheikh Salman bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the Bahrain International Circuit’s Chief Executive.

“This is by far the biggest development project we have ever undertaken at the BIC since the circuit was first built.

“I believe that there can be no better way for us to mark our 10th anniversary in F1 by demonstrating our long term commitment to the sport through this significant investment.”

The circuit’s new lighting system will be trialled at this weekend’s World Endurance Championship meeting.

Bahrain will become the second night race on the Formula One calendar alongside Singapore in 2014, which has hosted a night race around the Marina Bay circuit since 2008.

 Image courtesy of Pirelli Media

Dan Paddock