F1 Minute – Page 2 – Racing Podcasts

November 4, 2017November 4, 2017 racingpodcasts

Felipe Massa confirms second retirement from Formula One

Published 4 November 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: LAT Images

Massa announced his F1 retirement at the end of 2016 but was recalled to Williams after they needed an experienced driver at the last minute. Fast forward one year, and with the Williams team fifth in the championship standings, they’re looking forward to the 2018 season and their driver lineup. That won’t include Felipe Massa, as the Brazilian driver has announced his second retirement from the sport.

He said: “As you know, last year I decided to announce my retirement from Formula One, but because of Williams’ request, I decided to do another season. But this time will be my last races in Formula One, so I’d like to say thank you very much to my family, my friends, my sponsors and my fans, you guys support me a lot.”

He mentioned moving on to other racing categories next year, although of course nothing has been confirmed as yet. Meanwhile, Williams are considering their 2018 selection, with Robert Kubica still in the mix as well as current driver Lance Stroll, ex-Renault man Jolyon Palmer and Toro Rosso racer Daniil Kvyat.

October 30, 2017

October 30, 2017October 30, 2017 racingpodcasts

First lap drama in Mexico gives Verstappen victory, but Hamilton the title

Published 30 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix

The pressure was all on Sebastian Vettel’s shoulders going into this race, the title fight in his hands. Earning pole position was the best he could do on Saturday, but unfortunately it was all for nothing. In the first two corners, he, Verstappen and Hamilton ran alongside each other, jostling, bumping wheels, so that eventually Max moved into the lead, whilst Hamilton and Vettel dropped back with a puncture and front wing damage respectively.

They had to fight back through the field, with Vettel more successful at this than Hamilton, but his fourth place finish wasn’t enough to stop Hamilton securing the championship, despite only finishing eighth. Huge celebrations all round, even though it was Verstappen who actually won the race. Bottas was second, and Räikkönen took the final step on the podium.

Verstappen finally had some luck, as four of the six Renault powered cars retired with power unit problems. Ericsson also pulled his Sauber into the garage on fire, capping off a dramatic weekend of incidents from start to finish.

October 29, 2017

October 29, 2017October 29, 2017 racingpodcasts

Vettel snatches Mexico pole from Verstappen with Hamilton behind

Published 29 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Ferrari Media

After several close practice sessions, we were expecting a tight fight for pole position ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. It was exactly that, with Max Verstappen looking supreme and set for his first pole in Formula One, until Sebastian Vettel swept past and snatched P1 by just 0.086 seconds.

Behind them, Hamilton and Bottas beat Kimi Räikkönen, whilst Daniel Ricciardo was down on pace in seventh behind the Force India of Esteban Ocon. The two Renault drivers and Sergio Pérez rounded out the top ten, with Williams just missing out.

Toro Rosso endured a difficult day, with Pierre Gasly having an engine issue in final practice that continued into qualifying and stopped him participating. Brendon Hartley managed to get into Q2 but also suffered an engine malfunction that stopped his run. McLaren got both their drivers into Q2 but opted not to run as they both have engine penalties to take, whilst Sauber and Haas were disappointed to drop out early in Q3.

October 28, 2017

October 28, 2017October 28, 2017 racingpodcasts

Spins and punctures dominate Mexico practice sessions

Published 28 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The first practice session in Mexico featured a lot of Friday drivers, including Giovinazzi, Leclerc, Gelael and Antonio Celis, who was driving in front of his home crowd. Unfortunately, he spun his Force India and hit the barriers, causing a red flag whilst the incident was sorted out. Stoffel Vandoorne only managed three laps due to an engine problem, Verstappen spent much of his morning in the garage, and Brendon Hartley stopped out on track, before getting going again only to disappear in the garage.

In FP2, it was all about spins, with Hamilton, Hartley and Stroll all facing the wrong way. Romain Grosjean had a significant spin and then suffered a puncture, which spread debris all over the track and caused a red flag. Verstappen halted his running with engine trouble, whilst Sebastian Vettel had an unsettling moment when an extinguisher burst and was leaking into his seat.

In terms of pace, Bottas was fastest in the morning, whilst Ricciardo posted the fastest lap of the track ever for FP2, but the top ten were all within one second of each other.

October 9, 2017

October 9, 2017October 18, 2017 racingpodcasts

Hamilton takes Suzuka victory, extending title lead as Vettel retires

Published 9 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Pirelli S.p.A.

Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix but it wasn’t an easy victory for the Mercedes driver, as he was chased to the line by Max Verstappen, with Daniel Ricciardo making it a double podium finish for Red Bull. Verstappen crossed the line just one second behind the race winner after a close battle to the finish, but Hamilton would have been happy it was a Red Bull following him and not a Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel, hoping to recover some of the damage done to his title challenge in the last few races, suffered yet more troubles and retired from the race early on. He now trails Hamilton by 59 points with four races still to go.

Elsewhere, Sainz spun out on the opening lap, Ericsson spun into the barriers, and Stroll’s car broke towards the end, all of these bringing out safety cars – virtual or otherwise. Haas and Force India had better luck, bringing home double points finishes each.

October 7, 2017

October 7, 2017October 7, 2017 racingpodcasts

Palmer leaves Renault, making way for Sainz to join the team

Published 7 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Renault F1 Team

The recent reshuffles at Toro Rosso aren’t over this season, with news at Renault having an impact on the team after this weekend’s race in Japan. Jolyon Palmer announced after qualifying that Japan would be his last race with Renault, and that being the case, the team have snapped up Carlos Sainz for the rest of the season. And, for Daniil Kvyat, that means a chance to step back into a race seat, after being cast aside in favour of Pierre Gasly last weekend.

Palmer’s exit has been widely foretold but took longer than anticipated. The British racer said: “It’s been an extremely challenging season and I’ve been through a lot in the last three years, but it’s been a tremendous journey overall with the team… my immediate focus is now on achieving the best possible result in the Japanese GP and then I can assess my options for the future.”

October 7, 2017October 7, 2017 racingpodcasts

Hamilton scores another pole as Grosjean crashes out

Published 7 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Daimler AG

All of the sessions in Suzuka so far this weekend have featured a crash, and qualifying was no different. Romain Grosjean was the unlucky culprit, crashing his Haas into the barriers hard, and ending Q1 a minute early. The session wasn’t restarted and there was plenty of damage to the Frenchman’s car.

In Q2, the McLaren drivers were split, with Fernando Alonso managing to make it into the top ten shootout, but Stoffel Vandoorne just missing out. Up front, it was all about Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton swept to pole with Bottas behind him, followed by Vettel and the two Red Bull drivers. Penalties will need to be applied though, with power unit grid drops hitting hard again in Suzuka. The provisional grid is mixed up to Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo and Verstappen, with Esteban Ocon getting a handy fifth place start for the race tomorrow.

October 6, 2017October 6, 2017 racingpodcasts

Sainz crash and heavy rain delay practice sessions in Japan

Published 6 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Sauber AG

The anticipated rain hit both free practice sessions in Suzuka, but FP1 got underway on time. About halfway through the session, however, Carlos Sainz crashed heavily in his Toro Rosso, ending with the car sprawling across the track and bringing out the red flags. The action got going again with twenty minutes to go, but halfway through that the rain started to fall and the times saw no improvement – Vettel was the fastest.

Kevin Magnussen had to recover from water pressure issues in the first half of the session and Pierre Gasly tested the halo on his Toro Rosso in only his second F1 weekend.

Meanwhile, FP2 was a quiet affair track-wise. Heavy rain saw the start delayed and the teams working on their pit lane river rafts rather than the cars. Eventually it cleared up enough so that with 45 minutes on the clock, cars started to emerge. Only 14 cars hit the track though, with full wets on, and only five of those set a timed lap. Hamilton led the way with the two Force India and two Williams drivers behind him.

October 1, 2017

October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 racingpodcasts

Verstappen takes race victory in Sepang as Vettel minimises the damage

Published 1 October 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton’s pole position saw him lead the race in Malaysia initially, but he couldn’t stop the charge of Max Verstappen, who overtook the leading Mercedes and never looked back, taking his second victory in Formula One. Joined on the podium by teammate Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull had a really good day.

Results at Ferrari, however, were mixed, and perhaps not in the way anyone could have predicted. Kimi Räikkönen failed to make the start of the race, after his car suffered a turbo problem on the installation lap to the grid. Vettel, meanwhile, benefitted from an engine change that propelled him from last place on the grid to fourth – minimising the damage to his championship challenge that could have been inflicted if the race had finished as qualifying did.

Elsewhere, Sainz had an electrical issue that saw his race over midway through, whilst Pierre Gasly finished a solid but unspectacular 14th on his F1 debut.

September 30, 2017

September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 racingpodcasts

Lewis Hamilton takes Malaysia pole as Vettel fails to qualify

Published 30 September 2017 by Christine Blachford

Credit: Ferrari Media

Sebastian Vettel may have been hoping for a slightly calmer weekend in Sepang than he had in Singapore, but that was not to be. The Ferrari driver found himself down on power in the first qualifying session, returning to the garage at a slow crawl. The team tried to patch up his power unit but found themselves unable to send him out again, meaning the German failed to qualify. He’s been given permission to race by the FIA, but will be at the rear of the field.

His bad luck meant the way was clear for Lewis Hamilton to snatch an easy pole position. Kimi Räikkönen tried his best to keep tabs on the Mercedes but had to settle for second, with the two Red Bull drivers behind him. Bottas was down in fifth. Both McLarens made it into the top ten, whilst Gasly was out in Q2 alongside his teammate, just a tenth of a second down on Sainz in his first F1 qualifying session.

Category: F1 Minute