Hockenheim plays a vital part of the F3 season. © FIA F3 Media Services.
The FIA European F3 Championship has elected to maintain an eleven round campaign for the 2015 season, albeit with slight modifications.
As per usual, the championship will play support to the DTM at seven rounds, while also running alongside the FIA WEC, ADAC GT Masters and Italian GT Championship at one round each.
As has often been the case in recent years, Formula 3 will headline the prestigious Pau Grand Prix.
Like last year, the season will kick off at Silverstone in April alongside the WEC, before moving onto Hockenheim in support of the DTM season opener over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
The Pau Grand Prix’ request to move to the weekend of May 15th-17th has been approved and the month will finish with the championship’s return to Monza in support of Italian GT.
Initial plans to link a visit to Spa-Francorchamps as opener for the Total Spa 24 Hours have not materialised; however the Belgian classic does appear on the calendar in mid-June, albeit on the ADAC GT Masters programme.
The end of June sees Formula 3 making its annual visit to the mad streets of Norisring and will return to Zandvoort in July and then the Red Bull Ring at the end of the month.
Formula 3 then moves to Moscow Raceway at the end of August – a round that caused much tension earlier this year, when three British teams did not travel to the Russian event due to heightened costs.
As such, in the latest version of the championship’s Sporting Regulations, the FIA has declared that ‘any competitor who fails to participate in an event will be reported to the stewards of the event in question.’
Thereafter a month break will follow, with the championship moving to the Nürburgring at the end of September, before the series returns to Hockenheim for the finale over the third weekend of October.
2015 FIA European F3 calendar April 10-12: Silverstone, UK (WEC) May 1-3: Hockenheim, Germany (DTM) May 15-17: Pau, France (Formula 3 Grand Prix) May 29-31: Monza, Italy (Italian GT) June 19-21: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (ADAC GT Masters) June 26-28: Norisring, Germany (DTM) July 10-12: Zandvoort, Holland (DTM) July 31 – August 2: Red Bull Ring, Austria (DTM) August 28-30: Moscow Raceway, Russia (DTM) September 25-27: Nürburgring, Germany (DTM) October 16-18: Hockenheim, Germany (DTM)
© Leigh O’Gorman
It was far from the best of seasons at Maranello. Rather being the champions or contenders that they used to be in Formula One, Ferrari were mere bit players through 2014.
Their successes – few as though there were – amounted to little more than discarded scraps when things did not come together for the leading trio – Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams.
For Kimi Raikkonen, this was surely to have been a great annoyance, although his lot was far better than it would have been had he persevered with Lotus for another year. Yet what could have been should not act as a disguise for his season-long anonymity.
On the other side of the garage, Fernando Alonso was not finding the situation even remotely tolerable and now after five seasons with the Scuderia, Alonso’s patience had worn out.
The Spaniard had arrived in a blaze of glory in 2010; winning on his “red” debut in Bahrain, but this was a partnership destined to never deliver ultimate success. He was close in 2010 and there or thereabouts for a time in 2012, but 2011, 2013 and 2014 quickly became write offs.
And so, Alonso is on the move again and although it has not been made official, the talk is of the 33-year-old rejoining McLaren, albeit at the behest of returning engine supplier Honda.
Meanwhile Sebastian Vettel – the man who denied Alonso success for so long – takes Fernando’s place at Ferrari. Vettel will be hoping for some of the Ferrari of 1997-2006, but right now life with the Scuderia looks more like a mad asylum within a clown college.
Alonso performed magic at Ferrari just to claim wins and podiums on occasion. Vettel may need to do the same in order to keep his interest at Ferrari afloat.
He’s 27 now and doesn’t want to lose five years of his career.
© Leigh O’Gorman.
Evening in Abu Dhabi and even though the sun withdraws, the cars continue to circulate.
It is the 2nd Free Practice session on Friday and the twenty Formula One drivers pull at speed, gauging the conditions ahead of Sunday’s twilight race.
It will be their only representative running in these conditions prior to qualifying, as both the first and third practices run under the burning afternoon sun.
The evening is still warm of course and the humidity ever present, but as the temperatures will change drastically during the race, it is vital that this session goes to plan.
When the lights go out, the metres will tell of an air temperature settling in at approximately 32°C, but come race end, one can count at least seven or even eight falling from that.
Combined with the changes in air pressure and lowering fuel numbers, the balance will slip and alter through significantly through the race. And for this reason – and others – Friday evening is critical.
Luca Ghiotto, Andrea Pizzitola and Mathéo Tuscher made the best of the end of year GP3 Series tests at the Yas Marina cirrcuit this week.
Although the experienced Kevin Ceccon topped the times at the end of day one in his Jenzer machine, it was Pizzitola who got the ball rolling in his ART Grand Prix machine, with Ed Jones (Carlin) and Antonio Fuoco (Koiranen GP) also setting the early pace.
There was a brief stoppage in time when Raoul Hyman (Jenzer) stopped on circuit. Thereafter Ceccon set a quickest of 1:55:501s, demoting the rest of the pack as the morning wore on, with Pizzitola dropping behind Jones and George Russell (Arden).
Pizzitola got on the pace early in the later session, although some time was lost when Alex Palou spun his Trident car. More time was lost later in the session when Fuoco stopped on track, but that was followed by an accident for Matt Rao who hit the barriers in turn three.
Tuscher made the best of the day two sessions, while Ghiotto at least headed the morning times.
The opening session was interrupted almost as early as it had started when Tatiana Calderon (ART Grand Prix), hit the barriers in turn two. Upon restart, Fuoco (now with Carlin) took to the top of the timings, only to beaten later by Palou, before Dylan Young (Hilmer) spun bringing out a second red flag. Thereafter Fuoco went faster still until Ghiotto blitzed all-comers – a status assured when Jack Aitken (Carlin) crashed at turn nineteen.
Mitch Gilbert (Arden) and Jimmy Eriksson (Koiranen GP) tangled with the top spot in the early afternoon running, before Ghiotto set a faster time, while Seb Morris improved to 2nd, impressing in his Status GP drive. Soft tyre runs ruled the roost late in the day, with many improving, including Tuscher who best of 1:55.583s proved a mere eight-thousandths faster than Morris.
Fuoco joined Ghiotto at the top of the class on the final day, but it was the latter who proved fastest of the pair. As with the GP2 tests, the final day proved the quickest by far, with the final times nearly half-a-second up on the opening two days. While Fuoco controlled the top from Palou, it was a difficult morning for Riccardo Agostini and Kourosh Khani (both Hilmer), both of whom stopped on circuit.
Fuoco was again quick after the break, but so too was Tuscher who found the peak, while Eriksson and Jones showed their form. Yet it was Ghiotto who helped himself to head of the pack with a best of 1:55.132s – setting what was easily the best-timed lap of the week.
GP3 Series; 2014 Post-season test: Combined classification Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Luca Ghiotto Trident 1:55.134s 160 2. Antonio Fuoco ART GP 1:55.298s 56 3. Kevin Ceccon Jenzer 1:55.501s 26 4. Mathéo Tuscher Jenzer 1:55.369s 146 5. Ed Jones Carlin 1:55.378s 94 6. Alex Palou Trident 1:55.590s 86 7. Seb Morris Status GP 1:55.591s 155 8. Ralph Boschung Jenzer 1:55.392s 153 9. Jack Aitken Carlin 1:55.435s 106 10. Mitch Gilbert ART GP 1:55.452s 66 11. Matt Parry Koiranen GP 1:55.635s 58 12. Alex Palou ART GP 1:55.649s 53 13. Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen GP 1:55.660s 69 14. Antonio Fuoco Carlin 1:55.684s 59 15. Gustavo Menezes Status GP 1:55.709s 106 16. Matt Parry Status GP 1:55.744s 104 17. Alfonso Celis Jr ART GP 1:55.763s 117 18. Andrea Pizzitola Arden Int. 1:55.764s 110 19. Mitch Gilbert Arden Int. 1:55.815s 104 20. Andrea Pizzitola ART GP 1:55.832s 54 21. Steijn Schothorst Koiranen GP 1:55.888s 81 22. Steijn Schothorst Status GP 1:55.888s 54 23. Artur Janosz Arden Int. 1:56.060s 111 24. George Russell Arden Int. 1:56.078s 50 25. Riccardo Agostini Hilmer 1:56.151s 60 26. Kang Ling Jenzer 1:56.256s 17 27. Artur Janosz ART GP 1:56.258s 43 28. Amaury Bonduel Trident 1:56.298s 155 29. Patrick Kujala Arden Int. 1:56.309s 44 30. Raoul Hyman Jenzer 1:56.316s 113 31. Ryan Cullen Koiranen GP 1:56.354s 94 32. Matt Rao Carlin 1:56.377s 159 33. Christopher Mies Hilmer 1:56.474s 60 34. Alfonso Celis Jr Status GP 1:56.491s 48 35. Gustavo Menezes Carlin 1:56.560s 49 36. Tatiana Calderon ART GP 1:56.697s 88 37. Antonio Fuoco Koiranen GP 1:56.783s 46 38. Zaid Ashkanani Trident 1:57.092s 53 39. Kang Ling Hilmer 1:57.114s 108 40. Raoul Hyman Arden Int. 1:57.664s 56 41. Kourosh Khani Hilmer 1:58.454s 64 42. Dylan Young Hilmer 1:58.609s 59
Palmer was this year’s GP2 Series champion. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
It is often forgotten that junior categories do not necessarily exist for entertainment purposes, but rather are there to deliver the next generation of drivers to the top level of motorsport – whatever that may be in each driver’s eyes.
While titles and big race wins are all well and good – and yes, that is often how the newcomers are adjudged – how a driver manages their respective situations and develops with it, while learning how best to utilise their skills is what really counts.
But in a sense, there also lies the rub. As a spec series with long stable rules, GP2 Series champion Jolyon Palmer has gained a large dose of knowledge from previous years running in the category. It is arguable that his four years in GP2 may work against him as his future comes up for evaluation for those young, sharp shooters who are destined for the stars showed their marks early…
Considering that, one might reasonably rate the performances of Stoffel Vandoorne and Raffaele Marciello in GP2 very highly indeed. Even moreso than Palmer..?
There is little doubt that Palmer has matured greatly in the last eighteen months – both as a driver and noticeably as a person on the occasions that I have met him. His attitude and outlook have developed significantly and while the Briton was not the fastest driver in GP2 this year – nor the best in terms of raw talent – there is little doubt that he was the driver who best utilised his experience and his abilities to construct a successful championship campaign and that is impressive.
Junior championships can be entertaining facilitators, but that is not really their purpose and so it would best to keep that in mind before judging one’s relative talents based on a Wikipedia table.
© Leigh O’Gorman
Friday evening at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi and with both free practices complete, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have yet to emerge to the awaiting media at the back of the team garage.
For the British Hamilton, it had been a very good Friday – top of both sessions was good; consistently quick through his longer runs was better; well ahead on pace of any other team was best.
But this was only Friday.
Come the following day, Rosberg topped the final practice and then – again – qualifying, while the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa also began to show their hands. The Martini un-liveried cars were certainly causing a few wrinkles at Mercedes, but whether they could prove as potent in the race…
Through the Sunday evening spectacular, Hamilton needed to finish at least 2nd to secure the title and a lightning start gave him an instant lead.
There were, of course, some worries that reliability would spoil the event and to a degree it did when Rosberg’s ERS failed on lap 23, muting his challenge with immediate effect.
Hamilton won the title, but Massa’s strategy gave the Brazilian a shot at the race, but realistically that was more down to Hamilton’s power unit being ‘turned down’ than anything.
But before all that, the media waited – the gathered throng keen for words and analysis. On Friday evening, the crux of these stories were still to be woven; their tales to be told.
By Sunday night, the full-stop had been applied and a breathless Lewis Hamilton departed a double-world champion.
For more words and pictures from trackside, go to and have a quick follow at: Leigh O’Gorman’s Instagram Page
Leal to stay with Carlin. © Dunbar/GP2 Series Media Service.
Colombian racer Julián Leal has committed to a fifth season in the GP2 Series and a 2nd with Carlin.
The 24-year-old scored two podiums at the beginning of the season in Bahrain, but found life tough going thereafter and eventually finished 10th in the standings.
While the results on paper may not instantly impress, the former Italian Formula 3000 champion did show improved speed and was more than occasionally close to his F1-bound teammate Felipe Nasr.
In a statement Leal was keen to press home how vital Carlin were in his development this year. “With all the teams I have worked with this is the best one for me,” said Leal. “It’s a team that listens to what you say and follows you and advises you and this is good for me because I can learn a lot in a good environment.”
Team boss Trevor Carlin added, “Based on the pace we have as a team and Julian has as a driver, together we should have had better results this year. Next year we intend to deliver our full potential with Julian who is a delight to have at Carlin; he is a great team player and great to work with.”
It would be interesting to note if Leal thinks he a genuine title contender or a driver keen to learn more before moving on to pastures anew. Back to Leal: “I’m very happy for this opportunity. I want to prepare a lot and work hard for next year and get the car as perfect as we can. I want to start the year as we did this year [with a podium] but then maintain that performance for the whole season.”
Leal enjoyed a reasonable three days testing at Abu Dhabi, with the Colombian setting plenty of times around the mid-table range – but since when has that ever told the story in testing.
Hamilton took his 2nd F1 title in Abu Dhabi. ©2014 MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
“It’s very hard to soak all this up,” exclaimed a clearly tired and exultant Lewis Hamilton.
Following a nervous and tense Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks, ago, the Englishman went into this weekend’s double-points finale still as favourite, but also with plenty on ones mind.
While Mercedes teammate, team-rival and fellow championship contender Nico Rosberg was imprerious at Interlagos, Hamilton was also guilty of blowing the race, by spinning on lap 28. “When you’re going through the race, when you’re coming here this weekend, there’s so much pressure from around you, you’re just trying to ignore it, trying to keep your eye on the ball.”
A champion now in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton’s words did not always flow easily. Sometimes they poured; others times they seemed like slow stutters eeping out, as the double-world champion checked himself.
The 29-year-old has let his emotional state get the better of him before and has been burnt by criticism as a result, but now in the post-race press conference, the strengths, frailties and triumphs and losses were exposed.
That is not necessarily a bad thing of course. Hamilton’s emotional reactions add so much flesh to his person. It devides opinion, drives conversation and occasionally arguments, and fuels the passionate.
For a sport that so often is criticised for possessing sterile personalties, this can only be good for the sport. Meanwhile, Hamilton continued: “Niki [Lauda] was right, I didn’t sleep last night. I went to bed at about 1am and woke up at like 5am this morning and I went for a run […] and a massage and everything.
“I thought for sure I’m going to be tired when it gets to the race but somehow I felt composed and my family came and surprised me at breakfast, which was really a great thing.”
Rosberg needed to win at the Yas Marina circuit – of that there is no doubt. Had Hamilton suffered another spin like he had at Interlagos, or had a first lap incident as he had at Spa-Francorchamps, or even a race ending mechanical issue as he had at Melbourne or Montreal, then the 50 points for the victory could have played into Rosberg’s hands.
“Coming to the last race, knowing it’s double points, which… jeez… do you think it was a good idea? Didn’t feel like a good idea when we came into it. I’ll take the points though…” Yet a champion is declared over the course of a season and not a single race. Realistically Hamilton has performed the better of the two Mercedes driver’s this year and had he lost the title to a gimmick, then Formula One would only have been damaged.
Unlike the youthful Hamilton who emerged in 2007, this champion is a far more reflective person and despite the fires lit by a UK media so often desperate for a story to flog trees and digitals figures.
“Spa was a low, the lowest point,” he admitted. “This is the highest. By a long, long, long way. I said coming into this weekend that I wouldn’t change the season, the way it’s gone, for anything really because I’ve learnt a lot. If anything, I felt very, very strong with the way I came out of the good and the bad.”
There is little doubt that Hamilton is beginning to hit his peak and that the Stevenage-native is only getting better. Of that, his rivals must contemplate, for as he becomes one of the sport’s elder statesmen, it is their futures that may be cast in shadows.
Although occasionally clumsy, Hamilton rarely sprout words simply for the sake of it; there is far more to the man than that. Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone could do much to learn from Hamilton’s example.
It is douybtful anyone would have said that following Hamilton’s first title in 2008, but then again, the Lewis Hamilton of 2014 is a very, very different animal – and far more potent too.
The Mercedes team also won the Constructors. ©2014 MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this evening and with it his 2nd world championship title.
Williams duo Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium – the team’s first double podium in nine years.
Hamilton jumped teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg off the line, leading for much of the race thereafter.
Unfortunately for Rosberg, there was little chance of a fight back. The German racer held close to the leader for a time, with both opting to stop on laps ten and eleven for fresh tyres, briefly allowing Massa into the front.
Once the status quo had set again, but as the race aged Hamilton began to edge away from the German. This all changed when on lap twenty-four Rosberg, his Mercedes machine suddenly humbled by an ERS failure, began to slow dramatically.
Losing 2-3 seconds per lap, Hamilton sped into the distance, while Rosberg was helpless to defend against the onslaught of a healthy field drawing in with each tour.
With the Rosberg threat evaporating with every single lap, Mercedes ‘turned down’ Hamilton’s power unit to help prevent a similar issue on the champion’s machine.
The Mercedes man dropped to 2nd when he stopped for a 2nd time on lap 31; however where Hamilton reveled on fresh rubber, Massa continued to set a solid pace on aging Pirelli rubber.
Indeed the lowering temperatures helped Massa’s cause a great deal. With heat gently evaporating from the road surface and fuel tanks emptying at a steady rate, so the Williams FW36 powered at the front, maintaining a 15s gap to Hamilton.
As Massa and Hamilton continued to set the order, Rosberg’s decent down the timing screen made Hamilton champion by default.
In feisty mood, Hamilton set several fastest laps from lap 41 onward, prompting Williams to react and bring Massa in for supersofts come the 43rd tour, allowing Hamilton back into the lead.
On fresh rubber, Massa fought back with four fastest laps in a row, but Hamilton upped the tempo once again and capped the distance to Massa at just over 3s through the final few circulations.
This was more than enough to give Hamilton the title – admittedly the artificial add-on of double points served to inflate the gaps in the points standings somewhat, but ultimately the result would have remained the same.
A deserved champion, Hamilton’s crowning glory was this fabulous performance under the Middle East lights – at the pinnacle of motorsport, there is precious little more valuable than winning to take the title.
Rosberg’s machine, however, was humbled in the final stint. Hampered by an ailing car, the German dropped out of sight and the contender was lapped on the 53rd lap as he dropped to a lowly 14th position.
Massa settled into 2nd place, missing out on the victory by just 2.5s after 55 tours, but in reality Hamilton had the Brazilian covered.
His teammate Valtteri Bottas scored another podium with 3rd place in his Williams machine – the first double-podium for the Grove team for nine years. Bottas’ result comes despite a dreadful start that dropped the Finn from the second row to 8th by turn one.
Stopping after only ten laps allowed Bottas to play an aggressive strategy giving him a clear pace advantage when clear air made itself available. Yet Bottas’ aggressiveness did not destroy his tyres, as his naturally smooth nature
As tyre stints unfolded, Bottas rose back up the order, taking Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo (twice) along the way.
It proved an important podium for the Finn, who secured 4th in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to his sixth podium finish, but more than anything this was startlingly good drive by Bottas, who kept his head as the race appeared to fall apart at the start, once again marking himself out as a racer who should be feared in the future.
Ricciardo ended the day 4th, despite starting 20th on the grid after his exclusion from qualifying. The Australian persevered through a long opening stint, that only saw him make the move for tyres at the halfway mark.
Such was Ricciardo’s care, from lap seven to his eventual stop twenty tours later, the Red Bull man registered sixteen laps in the late-to-mid 1’48s, as his calm approach and intelligence behind the wheel allowed him to pick off competitors as strategies fell away.
Jenson Button enjoyed a good race to 5th in what may be his final Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg headed a force India 6th-7th- in front of Sergio Perez, despite Hulkenberg taking a five-second stop-go penalty in his first pitstop.
The German was found guilty by the stewards of causing an avoidable collision on the opening lap, when he momentarily lost control of his Force India over the kerbs at the exit of turn five and clattered Magnussen.
Like Ricciardo, Vettel was forced to start from the rear of the field due to a technical infringement in qualifying, although the four-time world champion could do no better than 8th place.
Ferrari endured a tough time at Abu Dhabi with Fernando Alonso leading Kimi Raikkonen him to 9th and 10th place finishes during what could be best described as anonymous events.
Outside the points, Magnussen ended the day 11th, with the Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) just behind in 12th.
Lotus’ Romain Grosjean led the charge of the lapped cars in 13th. The Frenchman’s miserable season ended with just the hobbling Rosberg (14th), , Sauber duo Esteban Gutierrez (15th) and Adrian Sutil (16th) behind, while Caterham’s one-off driver Will Stevens rounded out the rear of the field.
The other Caterham of Kamui Kobayashi retired from what might be his last Grand Prix thirteen laps from the end. He went further than Pastor Maldonado – who Lotus machine caught fire in spectacular style – and Daniil Kvyat – who Toro Rosso ground to a halt with a suspected electrical failure after only thirteen laps.
Vandoorne won again in Abu Dhabi. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
Stoffel Vandoorne took his fourth GP2 Series victory in superb style at the Yas Marina circuit today.
Series champion and DAMS man Jolyon Palmer finished 2nd, while RUSSIAN TIME’s Mitch Evans completed the podium.
From pole, the ART Grand Prix man led the field with relative ease, as Palmer, Felipe Nasr (Carlin), Evans and Stéphane Richelmi (DAMS) fought to settle the top five positions early on.
Vandoorne was in the process of building an early lead while the tussling continued, with Nasr easing past Palmer on the far end of the circuit to slot into 2nd spot.
This lead would be slashed early doors however, when an over-optimistic Rene Binder clattered John Lancaster in the turn 9/10 chicane, with the stranded duo also collecting the innocent Marco Sørensen in the process.
After two-and-a-half laps, Vandoorne raced back into the lead, while the Nasr / Palmer battle continued in his mirrors.
It would prove crucial, for while they turned and posed, with Palmer retaking 2nd place, Vandoorne made good his escape, with the Belgian building a 4.1s gap to the chasing man. Nasr followed Vandoorne in – the pair ridding their machines of the supersoft Pirelli tyres at the end of six tours.
Now leading the pack, Palmer gapped the now 2nd place Evans, but only to the tune of 2.5s, as the soft tyre shod Vandoorne slipped to 11th, but in clear air for a time. With temperatures having plateaued, Palmer set a solid pace, but Vandoorne held a gap of approximately thirty seconds to the DAMS racer, but with laps ticking away, Vandoorne would have to make hay.
Some time was lost behind the struggling Artem Markelov and Jon Lancaster, with Vandoorne clashing with Lancaster’s Hilmer machine as he swept by at the beginning of lap fourteen.
Again in clear air, Vandoorne excelled, while Palmer’s pace began to drop away – only slightly, but enough to push DAMS into an earlier than desired pitstop. Come lap 23, Palmer and Evans took to the pitlane; however a sluggish getaway and a rear-end fling into the path of Evans upon his exit almost cost the Briton a drive through penalty…
Almost.
That Palmer emerged eight seconds adrift of the leading (again) Vandoorne may be viewed as punishment enough for the Englishman. On fresh supersofts, Palmer pushed hard and had closed the gap to Vandoorne to 5.5s – setting the fastest lap in the process – but after six laps, his tyres had cried enough.
Vandoorne’s steady pace and intelligent drive, especially in the early part of his second stint earned the Belgian more than enough air to easily clear the opposition and with Palmer’s tyres fading, Vandoorne made a 12.1s gap to the next man by the flag.
It is a result that allows the McLaren to leapfrog Nasr in the standings, with Vandoorne taking a nine-point gap into the final race tomorrow morning.
Palmer settled into the runner-up position, a long way ahead of Evans, whose tyres had also faded in the later laps.
Evans was fortunate though. Unable to capitalise following his stop, Nasr lost precious time to the front of the field and also spent too long attempting to take Lancaster and Markelov. That Nasr finished only 3.04s adrift of the podium is an indication of how much the Brazilian lost in the middle of the race, where he was often up to 1.5s-2.5s per lap slower than Vandoorne…
Stéphane Richelmi drove a feisty race in the early stages, but the Monegasque driver will rue a poor start, during which he fell from 3rd to 5th. On paper, Richelmi made no further moves from there, but like Nasr, the 24-year-old became locked in the midfield at the very time he needed to push harder.
Richelmi did take Johnny Cecotto Jr in the final tours, demoting the Colombian to 6th, while Stefano Coletti made the most of an early stop from the medium tyres to claim 7th.
Coletti looked as if he might drop back prior to the end, but Arthur Pic did not have enough time to take his Racing Engineering rival, with the Frenchman coming home just 0.245s adrift of Coletti at the final flag. If nothing else, Pic will lay claim to the reverse grid pole position.
Rio Haryanto took a competent 9th for Caterham, while Danïel de Jong passed a struggling Raffaele Marciello on the last lap to claim the final point.
The race was not without its silliness. André Negrão retired from the race when an ill-conceived move of Pierre Gasly effectively took Negrão out of the event, while also having damaged Gasly’s front wing.
Unnecessary.
Series champion Palmer took yet another podium for DAMS. Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
Rosberg has pole for the season finale. © MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
Nico Rosberg will lead another Mercedes lock out ahead of tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German racer dominated much of the crucial third session of qualifying with a stylish touch, emerging nearly four-tenths clear of Hamilton, while the Briton struggled with vibrating Pirelli tyres.
Indeed Hamilton led the first two sessions, but where it really counted Rosberg was supreme, with the 29-year-old German setting a best of 1:40.480s on his final lap.
Such was his advantage over Hamilton, Rosberg’s first run in Q3 – a 1:40.697s – would have been enough for pole, but with the threat of Hamilton lingering, the championship challenger could not afford a moment of complacency.
Hamilton did improve on his final run. He took two-tenths of his previous best; however a scrappy first sector rendered his task close to impossible. As Rosberg set purple sectors clean across his final lap the task was complete.
Valtteri Bottas heads an all-Williams second row, with Felipe Massa settling for 4th place having been unable to improve on his final tour. Red Bull locked out the third row, with Daniel Ricciardo once again out-qualifying the Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel.
Row four broke the two-by-two mold, as Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) edged McLaren’s Jenson Button for 7th place. Although Button out-qualified teammate Kevin Magnussen again, the Englishman did find annoyance with his team during Q2 when he was told to return to the pits to top up with fuel.
Disappointingly Ferrari were left to hold the fifth row to themselves, with Kimi Raikkonen (rarely) going quicker than Fernando Alonso.
Kevin Magnussen led the list of names that departed from Q2. The Dane’s best of 1:42.198 came as the session drew to a close; however it was not enough to displace Raikkonen from the top ten shoot-out.
The McLaren man will have Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne alongside, while Force India have locked out the seventh row, with Sergio Perez leading Nico Hulkenberg. Adrian Sutil capped off another miserable qualifying for Sauber. The German could do no better than 15th place, some seven-tenths shy of Hulkenberg.
Both Lotus entries missed out on graduating to Q2. A late run by Sutil was enough to drop Pastor Maldonado (16th) into the drop zone after the chequered flag.
Meanwhile the following Romain Grosjean could only take 16th on the scoreboard, having missed the cut-off point by 0.022s; however with all the penalties in place due to his power unit change, the Frenchman will have to start last and then take an additional stop-go penalty during the race.
As expected, both Caterham’s filled the bottom of the time sheets, with Kamui Kobayashi almost two seconds shy of Maldonado’s benchmark; however it was a good effort by Formula One debutante Will Stevens whose best was just over half-a-second shy of Kobayashi.
Rosberg was quickest in FP3… © Mercedes AMG Formula 1 Team.
Lewis Hamilton headed both of today’s free practices ahead of the 2014 Formula One finale in Abu Dhabi, while Nico Rosberg topped Saturday’s session.
The Briton led his Mercedes teammate and title challenger Rosberg in both sessions, with Hamilton securing the peak with a 1:43.476s (FP1) and a 1:42.113s (FP2), although Rosberg fought back come the third session (1:41.424s).
During what was a standard and reasonably uneventful series of sessions for the Brackley team, during which they displayed significantly kind tyre preservation, Hamilton took to the front of FP1 with a half-hour remaining in FP1 and then doing the same with one hour left in FP2.
Rosberg made the most of the final session, which is often geared toward qualifying set-ups; however a slide during Hamilton’s final run means we will never know if the points leader could have overhauled his rival.
Of Friday, Hamilton said, “We’ve run the same programme as we run every race weekend but this time we had the whole of both sessions to work with the tyres, look at long runs, analyse setup and the countless other things you need to assess in practice which was great.”
On what is generally a low wear circuit, the Pirelli tyres held up under scrutiny, despite the temperature rising as the afternoon wore on.
Indeed, Hamilton was able to find performance for three-to-four laps in the Pirelli supersoft tyre – a tyre that was initially thought to only have one lap’s worth of life.
Despite this, the Briton believes there is still more to come. “We made good steps forward with the setup but, as always, there is still more time to be found. We’ll keep chipping away at it and look to improve in every area possible but the car feels great – the best I’ve ever driven here without doubt.”
Realistically Hamilton only needs to finish 2nd in Sunday’s race to claim the title, but the Mercedes man is keen to take the race by the scruff of the neck. “I’ll just drive the way I always drive and what will be, will be. So far it’s all moving in the right direction so I just have to keep working away at it.”
On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Rosberg was not prepared to consign his title run to history yet, although the German did concede that his opening practice day had been less than perfect. “It’s been a good day today but I really haven’t got my best lap together yet,” noted Rosberg, while adding, “There is still a lot of work to do over the rest of the weekend. In general the car felt great out there today. I just need to fine-tune it so that the set-up is exactly to my liking, then go for it and get the job done.”
The prospect of an interloper splitting the Mercedes battle took a significant dent during both of today’s sessions. Indeed, the closest anyone got to the silver machines was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (FP1) and Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) in FP2; however they were 1.71s and 0.78s adrift respectively.
For the Spaniard, he set his best on new tyres, while the Silver Arrows took theirs on used Pirelli rubber and while the gaps will conceivably close as the circuit continues to come to life, the chance of a non-Mercedes runner getting in between the contenders is incredibly slim.
Indeed Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo said it best when he commented, “Mercedes are … yeah I won’t even mention them! But anyway, they’re fighting for the title so we’ll let them go, but as for the rest it looks pretty tight as always for third place…”
…while Hamilton topped the Friday sessions. © Mercedes AMG Formula 1 Team.
The podium trio celebrate. © Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service.
Koiranen GP’s Dean Stoneman took the first GP3 Series race at Abu Dhabi today, jumping to 2nd in the championship ahead of rival Marvin Kirchhöfer as a result.
The Briton jumped the former-German F3 champion off the line and immediately took control of the race, while Dino Zamparelli beat Emil Bernstorff and series champion Alex Lynn into the opening corner.
The competition would be neutralised approximately halfway around the first tour when the slow starting Patrick Kujala attempted an unrealistic move on Mathéo Tuscher into the turn nine chicane, who as a result was pitched into Luís Sá Silva.
Stoneman initially marched away from Kirchhöfer at the restart. In fact, he jumped so early, he came close to overtaking the safety car before the Mercedes SLS before it had taken to the pits.
It would be crucial. From the restart, Stoneman led Kirchhöfer by 1.9s come the end of lap four; however the German teenager quickly began to eat away into the lead. Kirchhöfer pulled half-a-second out of Stoneman on the following lap and an additional three-tenths on the next lap.
As the race aged, the pace settled with the leading pair locked into the 1’57s for much of the running, allowing Stoneman to stabilise the gap to Kirchhöfer.
Kirchhöfer did close to with less than-a-second, only to outbrake himself at the turn 9/10 chicane on the penultimate tour, effectively ending any chance of catching Stoneman.
The Koiranen GP driver drew his lead to the line and while Kirchhöfer closed the gap back to eight-tenths, the race was lost. Stoneman’s fifth victory of the season vaulted the 24-year-old back to the runner-up place in the championship, as he now holds a two-point lead going into tomorrow’s finale.
If nothing changes tomorrow, Kirchhöfer’s runner-up finish will at least gift him 3rd in the championship; however there is little chance the German is ready to settle.
Zamparelli enjoyed a quite race behind Kirchhöfer. With a good start in the bag, the Bristol-native held sway ahead of Bernstorff and Lynn and while both pressed Zamparelli for a time, neither truly placed the ART Grand Prix man under significant pressure.
Bernstorff took 4th, but also pulled away from Lynn as the race aged, while the latter faced off Alex Fontana toward the end of the race. Although Fontana pressurised the champion, the Swiss driver spent much of the early running keeping countryman Patric Niederhauser (7th) at bay.
Once Fontana had built a reasonable gap to Niederhauser, the Arden man began to come under scrutiny from Status’ Nick Yelloly, with the Englishman ending the event just one second adrift come fourteen laps. It gave Yelloly reverse grid pole for the Sunday Race 2.
Kevin Ceccon took 9th for Jenzer thanks to a good start that saw him claim two spots. Ceccon held a feisty Jimmy Eriksson off toward the conclusion, after the Swede bullied his way past teammate Santiago Urrutia on lap nine to take the final point.
While Carlin still lead the Teams’ Championship, the performances of Kirchhöfer and Zamparelli mean ART Grand Prix are now only five points adrift of the British rivals, although the reverse grid may just play into Carlin’s hands come Sunday.
Kruger confirmed as final British Formula Ford champion. © MSA.
Jayde Kruger success in the MSA British Formula Ford championship was confirmed this week when The National Court dismissed an appeal from runners-up Harrison Scott and Falcon Motorsport.
The appeal derived from an incident during the second race of the final round at Brands Hatch, when Kruger clashed Harrison, taking the latter out of the race.
Kruger continued and eventually won, only for the stewards of the meeting to throw the South African out of the race; however JTR and Kruger successfully appealed the decision to the MSA, with the UK governing body concluding that the clash was merely a ‘racing incident.’
The overturned decision gives the 26-year-old Kruger the title by just six points over Harrison and although Kruger was also reprimanded by the stewards and had two penalty points applied to his licence, it is less likely that the South African will be too concerned by that outcome.
Irrespective of the decision, this is a messy and ugly way for British Formula Ford’s legacy to have been curtailed.
Kirchhöfer takes Abu Dhabi pole. © Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service.
Marvin Kirchhöfer took pole position for the Gp3 Series finale at Abu Dhabi, crowning Alex Lynn as series champion in the process.
Championship contender Dean Stoneman needed to score every available point this weekend to keep the title battle alive; however the when Briton could do no better than 2nd on the grid, he lost the four points offered to the top qualifier.
With a best of 1:55.163, Kirchhöfer held the pole for much of the latter part of the session, with a series of yellow flags denying several drivers runs for the top spot.
If nothing else, Kirchhöfer’s advantage over the field is somewhat disingenuous. The German racer holds a gap of 0.471s over Stoneman, but it was a lap that was unchallenged due to the persistent yellow sectors.
Behind the leading pair, Carlin secured the second row, as Emil Bernstorff grabbed 3rd ahead of new champion Alex Lynn. Dino Zamparelli and Jimmy Eriksson locked out the third row of the grid.
Lynn headed opening GP3 practice. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
Alex Lynn took the top spot in this morning’s GP3 Series practice session at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
With a quickest tour of 1:56.241s, the Carlin man headed a British 1-2 in the session with Nick Yelloly taking 2nd, just 0.027s adrift of the quick Lynn.
Marvin Kirchhöfer also came with one-tenth of the leading man, with championship contender Dean Stoneman 4th overall.
Stoneman will need to do better come this evening’s qualifying session. With a deficit of 47 points, the Koiranen man will need to score every single point on offer this weekend (with Lynn not scoring) in order to take the title.
The session was dominated by cars breaching track limits, but with so much run-off area surrounding the Yas Marina circuit, that is not unexpected.
Rosenqvist took Pau thsi year. © FIA F3 Media Services.
The FIA have requested a date change for the 74th edition of the Pau Grand Prix.
According to reports, the classic event – which hosts FIA European Formula 3, Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and French Formula 4 was originally set to run during the second weekend in May; however a request has been made to move it to the 15th-17th of the same month.
As well the Grand Prix itself, the Historic Pau Grand Prix may also be set for a date change and will most likely occur over the following May Bank Holiday Weekend. Confirmation of next year’s FIA championship calendars will be revealed next month by the World Motorsport Council.
© Leigh O’Gorman.
Antonio Fuoco was a popular chap on the FIA European F3 Championship trail. The Italian is a favoured youth in red at the moment.
A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Fuoco grabbed the Formula Renault Alps crown in 2013 and was expected to create a storm in Formula 3 this year.
And for a time, he did.
Victory at the opening European F3 round Silverstone was deserved, as he made his presense felt alongside fellow rookies Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen.
It would not continue though. As the year progressed, so too did Ocon’s and Verstappen ferocious pace, while Fuoco appeared to stagnate through weekends.
Too often Fuoco appeared to panic early in weekends, as his fellow rookies marked their territories. The fallout from Friday practice errors had the penalty of rendering his weekend mute before it had truly begun.
In any other year, Fuoco may have been considered a quick, but flawed rookie, but the performances of Ocon and Verstappen only served to shadow the Italian.
…or perhaps the bar was set far too high in the first place.
This year was, indeed, only Fuoco’s 2nd year of racing and while winning the FR Alps category last season was impressive, to expect the Prema Powerteam man to storm the European F3 championship in a similar manner was probably a touch ambitious.
Both Verstapeen and Ocon are special talents and all eyes will be on them as they progress forward in 2015, but one should not count Fuoco out so easily.
He will have the new Italian F4 champion Lance Stroll alongside him at Prema, and possibly Brandon Maïsano and Jake Dennis, so the interteam battle will not ease up any time soon.
For now though, Fuoco’s impressive fanbase continue to show their support irrespective of his results. This band of fans – always in red – appeared at a large number of his events, enthusiastically waving banners and flags.
At Imola, Fuoco rewarded his fans with a 2nd place finish in Race 3, having taken a 2nd win at the Red Bull Ring two rounds earlier. This will need to happen more often if he wishes Ferrari to maintain its level of support in the future.
Pic won in Hungary. © Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service.
French racer Arthur Pic is to stay with Campos Racing for a 2nd season in the GP2 Series.
The 23-year-old brother of former-F1 driver Charles Pic joined the F1 feeder category this year after competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for three seasons.
In what has been programme peppered with speed, consistency and occasional anonymity, Pic lies in 7th position, having taken one podium at Monza and a surprise race victory in Hungary.
Pic’s Hungarian success marked the height of Campos Racing’s return to the GP2 Series, following their takeover of the slot left by Barwa Addax. Of the 114 points scored by the Spanish team, Pic has scored a very impressive 110 of them, with the other four made up by Auto GP champion Kimiya Sato and one-round interloper Alexander Rossi.
Understandably happy with the decision to stay with the team, Pic sees a championship campaign on the horizon in 2015. “I am delighted to be extending my partnership with Campos Racing into next season. It is now up to us to carry our momentum into the winter and ensure we are in the title hunt next year,” stated Pic.
“We have taken tremendous strides together in 2014, which is particularly encouraging given that I am a GP2 rookie and they are returning to the championship.”
Keen to emphasise the significance of their achievments thus far, Pic added: “I also have an excellent relationship with [team principal] Adrian Campos and the whole crew, so there is a mutual desire to succeed which made it natural to stay together for a second season.”
The 2014 season has been something of a turnaround in form for Pic, who appeared to enjoy racing on the faster wearing Pirelli tyres, as opposed to the rock hard Michelin tyres utilised in Formula Renault. After a three-year stint that saw Pic only manage one win and two podiums, the adaptation to GP2 has been rather impressive.
Team boss Adrian Campos agrees: “[Pic’s] work this season has been incredibly good; he never gives up and his results have not gone unnoticed. We’re sure he will be fighting for the title and we will support him fully in doing so. It is a pleasure to work with such a fast, mature and professional driver.”
There is still the matter of the 2014 season finale at Abu Dhabi, where Pic will be aiming to overhaul Johnny Cecotto Jr and Stefano Coletti for 5th in the final stanndings.
TheMotorsportArchive.com 