Hamilton heads Rosberg to top second Monza practice

Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace for Mercedes in second practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Hamilton posted a 1m24.279s on the soft tyres to end Friday fastest, 0.021s clear of his team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg, as Mercedes dominated with its newly upgraded engine.

Rosberg had looked set to trump Hamilton on the softer tyres – going purple in the opening two sectors – only to run wide at Parabolica and spoil his run.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third, seven tenths adrift of Hamilton on the same tyre.

Force India continued its strong start to the weekend, with Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg fourth and fifth respectively in the Mercedes-powered cars.

Kimi Raikkonen was sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Lotus team-mates Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

The two Williams team-mates rounded out the top 10, Valtteri Bottas three tenths clear of Felipe Massa.

Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson used Ferrari’s Spa power unit upgrade to lap 11th and 12th fastest for Sauber.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was 13th, the fastest of the Renault-powered runners, despite a gearbox problem.

Max Verstappen survived a spin at Ascari to end the day 14th for Toro Rosso, ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso lapped just 16th quickest, beating the two Manor Marussias of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.

Jenson Button managed just three laps before a technical problem ended his running in the McLaren-Honda, while Daniil Kvyat propped up the timesheets.

This report first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS

Hamilton leads the Red Bulls in second practice

Lewis Hamilton was fastest again in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Red Bull emerged as Mercedes’ closest challenger.

Hamilton, who set the early pace on the medium tyres, clocked a 1m23.949s on the softer Pirelli rubber to beat Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat by three-tenths of a second.

Daniel Ricciardo was third quickest in the second Red Bull, but suffered a late engine failure which force him to park his car at Turn 11, prompting a brief red flag.

Nico Rosberg had to settle for fourth, seven-tenths shy of Hamilton’s session topping time, but ahead of the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel – who spun twice – in fifth and seventh.

Carlos Sainz Jr. continued Toro Rosso’s early practice form in sixth, three-tenths clear of team-mate Max Verstappen in 11th.

Fernando Alonso was an encouraging eighth for McLaren-Honda, while Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa rounded out the top 10.

Jenson Button lapped 12th quickest in the second McLaren, while the two Lotus team-mates bounced back from a frustrating opening session to finish 13th and 15th on the leaderboard.

Sauber team-mates Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson placed just 14th and 16th, ahead of the two Manors of Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens.

Force India opted not to run in second practice as it continued its investigation into Sergio Perez’s accident from the morning.

This report first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Daimler

Force India sits out second practice

Force India will sit out second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, as investigations into Sergio Perez’s accident in the morning continue.

Perez crashed heavily at Turn 11 of the Hungaroring circuit during opening practice, rolling his Force India.

A suspected right-rear suspension failure pitted Perez into a spin, and into the barriers on the right-hand side of the track.

Perez’s front-right wheel then became trapped up the car, forcing the Force India into a roll, where it came to rest upside down.

The Mexican was unhurt in the accident, but Force India will not run again on Friday as a precaution.

“Sahara Force India will not take part in this afternoon’s second practice session at the Hungaroring as the team continues to investigate a suspension problem, which caused Sergio Perez to crash this morning,” reads a team statement.

“Sergio’s car suffered significant damage to the bodywork, wings and floor, and repairs are ongoing.

“As a precaution, the team has chosen not to run Nico Hulkenberg this afternoon.

“The team will work hard to fully understand the cause of the failure and find a resolution in order to be ready for Saturday’s free practice session.”

This article first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Sahara Force India

Perez unhurt after heavy practice crash

Sergio Perez walked away unhurt from a heavy accident in opening practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Perez suffered a suspected right-rear suspension failure coming out of Turn 11, spinning across the track before hitting the barriers on the right-hand side of the circuit.

Perez’s right-front wheel then became trapped underneath the car, pitching the Force India into a roll, where it came to rest upside down.

As the Mexican clambered free of his broken car the session was immediately red flagged, with a medical car sent to the scene.

After a brief precautionary check at the circuit’s medical centre Perez returned to the pits, giving a wave to the onlooking crowd.

“It was a really bad accident, really unlucky,” he told Sky Sports F1.

“I went in at the wrong angle, which made the car roll over, but everything’s all right.

“It was a bit of a strange accident, I thought I was under control but I guess the Astroturf was very dirty and that’s why I went into the wall, but we have to check everything in detail.”

Perez’s accident comes just a week after the death of Jules Bianchi, who passed away on Friday from injuries sustained in a crash at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton topped the interrupted opening session of the weekend at the Hungaroring, lapping a tenth clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

This article first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Sahara Force India

Hamilton fastest as Perez rolls in opening practice

Lewis Hamilton set the pace during an incident packed opening practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, interrupted by a dramatic accident for Sergio Perez.

Perez prompted the first of two red flags after suffering a heavy accident at Turn 11.

A suspected failure of the right-rear suspension pitched the Force India into a spin, with the car rattling off the barriers before rolling over its trapped front-right tyre and ending up upside down.

The Mexican clambered out of his broken car and after a brief assessment at the circuit’s medical centre returned to the pits on foot.

With the debris cleared after a lengthy stoppage, Hamilton, who had gone fastest in the opening runs, improved with a 1m25.141s to end the session fastest for Mercedes, a tenth of a second clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Kimi Raikkonen lapped third fastest, but suffered a bizarre failure in the final five minutes of the session as his front wing collapsed as he ran across the curbs at Turn 12, prompting a late stoppage.

Daniil Kvyat beat Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo to fourth, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who spent the opening half of the 90-minute session confined to the garage.

Carlos Sainz was seventh quickest for Toro Rosso, as Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen rounded out the top 10.

The two McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were 11th and 12th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who was confined to the garage following Perez’s accident.

Felipe Massa was 14th in the second Williams, from the Sauber duo Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

Pastor Maldonado was 18th as Lotus completed limited running after Pirelli withheld the team’s tyres until late on Friday morning owing to a financial issue.

Will Stevens was the best of the Manor cars in 19th, ahead of reserve driver Fabio Leimer, who was 19th quickest on his maiden F1 practice run.

Jolyon Palmer, standing in for Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus E23, failed to complete a flying lap owing to the teams tyre delays.

This report first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS

Hamilton beats Rosberg to win rain-hit British GP

Lewis Hamilton survived a thrilling rain-interrupted British Grand Prix to beat Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and claim his third Formula 1 win at Silverstone.

Hamilton dropped to third at the start, losing out to Felipe Massa, but utilised the undercut to jump both Williams team-mates in the pits and take the lead,

A late rain shower provided some drama in the closing stages, but Hamilton timed his switch to the intermediate tyres perfectly to take the win, leading home Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

A fast-starting Felipe Massa jumped both the Mercedes cars off the start, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas attacking Hamilton for second, with Rosberg dropping to fourth.

As Hamilton forced his way back past the Finn into the Loop there was carnage further down the field as the two Lotus cars and both McLarens were involved in separate accidents, eliminating Jenson Button, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado and prompting an early safety car.

As the safety car pitted on lap three, Hamilton attacked Massa for the lead into Club, only to lock up, run wide, and allow Bottas to sweep into second.

The Finn closed on his team-mate, pulling alongside Massa on the Hanger Straight and forcing the Brazilian to defend into Stowe, prompting a series of frantic radio exchanges.

As the two Williams cars squabbled out front, Mercedes opted to pit Hamilton from third at the end of lap 19, switching the championship leader to the hard tyre.

Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg were in a lap later, with the Brazilian narrowly beating the Mercedes racer out of the pits, but crucially, losing out to Hamilton.

The reigning champion was promoted into the lead as Bottas pitted from the lead, the Finn emerging between the battling Massa and Rosberg in third.

Hamilton quickly built up an advantage from Massa, pulling six seconds clear before the race was interrupted by first a virtual safety car period to clear Carlos Sainz Jr’s stricken Toro Rosso and then a rain shower.

As light rain hit the Silverstone circuit, Rosberg cleared Bottas into Copse, before diving past the struggling Massa into Village to move into second.

With Rosberg slashing his lead as the weather worsened, Hamilton opted to make an early stop for the intermediates, handing the slick-tyre shod Rosberg the race lead.

The call proved to be a masterstroke, as Rosberg, Massa and Bottas were forced to pit for intermediates a lap later, prompting Hamilton back into the lead.

With the track drying in the closing stages, Hamilton cruised home to finish 11s clear of Rosberg and claim his third British Grand Prix victory.

Sebastian Vettel mimicked Hamilton’s brave tyre call late on to jump both Williams cars and claim the third and final spot on the podium.

After leading the opening phase of the race, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were forced to settle for fourth and fifth as Williams lost out in the late rain shower.

Daniil Kvyat made a late charge to take sixth for Red Bull, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who brought the upgraded Force India home in seventh.

Kimi Raikkonen gambled with a premature move onto the intermediate tyres and dropped to eighth, ahead of Sergio Perez, who endured a double-points finish for Force India in ninth.

Fernando Alonso crossed the line in tenth to record his first points of the season, and only McLaren-Hondas second points finish of 2015.

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson ran strongly in the points, but a poor strategy call – moving to intermediates and then back to slicks before heavy rain arrived –  ruined his race, dropping him to 11th.

Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens rounded out the classified finishers, with the latter requiring a late nose change after a spin in the wet.

Max Verstappen was an early retiree after a spin at Turn 2 following the opening safety car period, while Daniel Ricciardo endured a miserable race, stopping three times in the early stages before he was forced to park his Red Bull with an electrical fault before half-distance.

Felipe Nasr failed to take the start after his Sauber stopped on the way to the grid.

This report first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Daimler

Hamilton beats Rosberg to British GP pole

Lewis Hamilton beat team-mate Nico Rosberg to snatch pole for the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton trailed Rosberg going into Q3, but took the early advantage in the final shootout, producing a 1:32.248 on his opening run, lapping a tenth faster than Rosberg.

Both Mercedes racers returned to the track in the dying minutes, but despite a solid first sector Rosberg could not overturn Hamilton’s early benchmark, handing the Briton pole.

Felipe Massa jumped to third with his final flier, relegating Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas to fourth as the Grove based squad locked out the second row.

Kimi Raikkonen beat Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel to fifth, out-qualifying the German for just the second time this season.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was seventh, ahead of Toro Rosso racer Carlos Sainz Jr and Nico Hulkenberg – the German ninth quickest in the upgraded Force India.

Daniel Ricciardo was left to round out the top 10 in the second Red Bull after losing his best lap for exceeding track limits.

Force India’s Sergio Perez missed out on a spot in the final shootout after his fastest time was deleted for running wide at Turn 9, leaving him 11th.

A frustrated Max Verstappen failed to carry his practice form into qualiftying, lapping just 13th quickest, sandwiched between the two Lotus’ of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

Marcus Ericsson was 15th for Sauber, ahead of team-mate Felipe Nasr, who narrowly failed to progress into Q2 after missing the cut by a mere 0.011s.

Both McLaren-Hondas were eliminated in the opening pat of qualifying, with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button just 17th and 18th quickest.

Will Stevens beat Roberto Merhi as the two Manor cars rounded out the order.

This report first appeared on Richland F1 – Image courtesy of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS

Hamilton quickest in final practice at Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton topped final practice for the British Grand Prix as Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg encountered technical problems.

The reigning champion posted a 1:32.917 to top the timesheets for the first time this weekend, ending the session half a second clear of Rosberg.

Rosberg spent the best part of final practice confined to the garage after encountering a gearbox problem – his second technical issue of the weekend after a similar niggle on Friday.

He managed to return to the track in the closing stages to go second quickest, ahead of the two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, albeit half a second shy of title rival Hamilton.

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth fastest as Toro Rosso continued its impressive practice form.

The two Williams team-mates of Felipe and Valtteri Bottas lapped seventh and eight quickest, while Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Lotus racer Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top 10.

Image courtesy of Mercedes AMG

Rosberg ends win drought with commanding Spanish GP victory

Nico Rosberg secured a dominant first win of the 2015 season at the Spanish Grand Prix, leading home team-mate Lewis Hamilton to secure a one-two for Mercedes.

The German took a comfortable lights to flag victory, with Hamilton a distant second, ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who rounded out the rostrum in third.

Rosberg led the field away from pole, with Hamilton dropping to third behind the fast-starting Vettel.

Rosberg quickly dropped Vettel, but Hamilton was unable to clear the Ferrari, prompting Mercedes to switch the reigning champion to ‘Plan B,’ in an attempt to try the undercut.

This meant an early stop for Hamilton on lap 13, but a sticky left-rear tyre cost him precious time, allowing Vettel to retain track position when he pitted a lap later.

Rosberg covered the pair with his own opening stop on the following lap, re-joining comfortably ahead.

The German stretched his lead during the second stint, while a three-stopping Hamilton was in early again for a second stop, moving onto the hard tyres.

Hamilton make quick progress, clearing first Kimi Raikkonen and then Valtteri Bottas, with an eye to jumping the still yet to stop Vettel.

The Ferrari racer pitted on lap 41, re-joining in third, behind Hamilton, who was pushing to build the advantage needed to jump Vettel at his final stop.

Rosberg made his stop five laps later, briefly promoting Hamilton into the lead, which  the reigning champion relinquished on lap 51 as he pitted for the third and final time, crucially coming out ahead of Vettel.

Hamilton traded fastest laptimes with his team-mate in the closing stages, but was unable to seriously dent Rosberg’s advantage as the German cruised home to his first win of 2015.

Vettel, having lost out to Hamilton in the pits, collected his fourth podium finish of the year in third.

Valtteri Bottas crossed the line fourth for Williams, having seen off a late challenge from Kimi Raikkonen, who struggled to make progress from seventh on the grid.

Felipe Massa was sixth in the other Williams, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who came home a lapped seventh.

Romain Grosjean finished eighth for Lotus, despite losing time in the pits when he clipped a mechanic.

Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. slipped down the order to finish ninth after banging wheels with Daniil Kvyat on the final lap, dropping the Russian to tenth.

Like Sainz, team-mate Max Verstappen struggled in the race, coming home 11th, and outside of the points.

Felipe Nasr beat Sergio Perez to finish 12th and lead the Sauber/Force India battle, with team-mate Marcus Ericsson 14th, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.

Jenson Button was a lapped 16th for McLaren-Honda, while team-mate Fernando Alonso ran as high as seventh before encountering a terminal brakes failure which caused him to overshoot his pit box and into retirement.

Pastor Maldonado damaged the rear wing of his car early on but raced on until he parked the Lotus in the closing stages.

The two Manor Marussia cars rounded out the order, with Will Stevens comfortably shading team-mate Roberto Merhi to finish 17th.

Images courtesy of Daimler

Rosberg ends Hamilton’s qualifying streak with Spanish GP pole

Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to record his maiden pole position of the year in qualifying for the Spanish GP.

Rosberg jumped to the top of the timesheets with a 1:24.681 on his opening run in the final shootout, and held on for pole when Hamilton failed to improve on his final flier.

Sebastian Vettel was the best of the rest in third for Ferrari, some eight tenths shy of Rosberg’s pole time, while Valtteri Bottas was fourth for Williams.

Toro Rosso looked out the third row of the grid, with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen fifth and sixth fastest.

Kimi Raikkonen was just seventh in the second Ferrari after a difficult session, while Felipe Massa split the two Red Bulls of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo in ninth.

Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado were 11th and 12th respectively for Lotus, as the pair both narrowly missed out on a place in the final top-ten shootout.

Fernando Alonso was 13th, ahead of McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, while Felipe Nasr was 15th for Ferrari-powered Sauber.

Team-mate Marcus Ericsson was an early casualty of the opening phase of qualifying in 16th.

Nico Hulkenberg was the best of the Force Indias in a lowly 16th, a tenth clear of Sergio Perez in the sister VJM08.

The Manor Marussia team propped up the standings, with Will Stevens once again ahead of team-mate Roberto Merhi.

Image courtesy of Daimler