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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Canada 2007

The sixth race into Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel’s rookie year saw Ferrari topping the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikonnen won the first race of the season while his teammate, Felipe Massa achieved victory in Bahrain and Spain. McLaren had taken P1 in Malaysia and Monaco that year with Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton took pole position with a time of 1:15.707, followed by teammate, Alonso with a time of 1:16.163.  With a front row lockout for McLaren, Hamilton took the lead off the starting line. Alonso ran wide, allowing the BMW Sauber driver of Nick Heidfeld to overtake him.  

Image Credit: Motorsport Images

Jenson Button suffered a gearbox issue, forcing him to retire from the starting grid. On lap nine, the Toro Rosso of Scott Speed retired due to clipping the rear wing of Alexander Wurz’s Williams. 

Alonso had a damaged car, resulting in him running off the track another three times. On lap 15 going into turn one, he fell further away from his teammate and by lap 18 he had fallen to fourth. The pit stop window had opened, Heidfeld pitted on lap 20, promoting Massa up to second after overtaking Alonso. Two laps later, the race leader pitted and was able to re-join in third.

Spyker driver, Adrian Sutil caused a safety car due to crashing at turn four. As the safety car was deployed on lap 22, the pit lane closed. However, Alonso and Nico Rosberg had to pit to refuel. They both received a 10-second penalty. The pit lane reopened and the rest of the grid pitted. Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella would later be disqualified for the mistake of leaving the pit lane while the red light was on.

On lap 26, Robert Kubica hit the back of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota as the race restarted. In the accident the car lost three wheels and suffered major damage to the sidepods. He came out of the incident with a sprained ankle and concussion.

Image Credit: Reddit

The safety car was deployed for the second time. It was then deployed for a third and fourth time due to debris from Christijan Albers’ crash on lap 49 and Tonio Luisi crashing into the wall of champions on lap 55. They both made it a double DNF for Spyker and Toro Rosso. 

Lap 37 saw a thrilling battle between Trulli and Rosberg. As they were going into turn one, they both were able to synchronise their spin off the track without touching each other. That lap also saw Anthony Davidson pit because he claimed a beaver had damaged his front wing, it was in fact a groundhog. David Coulthard, who was driving for Red Bull at the time, had to retire due to a gearbox issue on lap 38. With 16 laps to go, Trulli and Wurz were battling. Trulli tried to pass and his front track rod was clipped, resulting in a crash.

With the chequered flag closing in, Hamilton had miraculously not sustained any damage, despite the amount of retirements and safety cars. The Williams driver, Wurz also had managed to gain 16 places. Takuma Sato, Super Aguri driver was able to overtake the Ferrari of Raikkonen and also overtook Ralf Schumacher. Later, on lap 67 Sato passed Alonso, putting him in P6.

Image Credit: gannett-cdn.com

On 10th June 2007, the chequered flag flew for Hamilton. His first, but certainly not last, victory in his Formula One career. He went on to win a further three races, finishing second overall in his rookie season. He became and remains the most successful rookie to date.

Image Credit: imdb.com

Written by Chloe.

Featured Image Credit: cdn.24.co.za

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Malaysia 2015

Held on 29th March 2015 at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this race was the second round of the 2015 Formula One Championship. Going into the weekend, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was leading the Drivers’ Championship, followed by his teammate, Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

The Mercedes cars topped all three practice sessions over the weekend, with Ferrari close behind, making it look like a Mercedes victory was imminent.

In Q1, the McLarens of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were knocked out with the Sauber of Felipe Nasr who had issues with the balance of his car. Both Manor-Marussia cars also did not make it out of Q1.

Rosberg managed to complete a fast lap on the dry track before the rain started. No other car managed to do this, meaning their laps were much slower due to the wet conditions. The rain only became worse over the course of the session. Most cars were unable to improve on their first time of Q2.

After the rain stopped before the beginning of Q3, the cars ventured onto the track in intermediate tyres for the final round of qualifying. Hamilton took pole, followed by the Ferrari of Vettel and the other Mercedes of Rosberg in third position.

The race on Sunday was rather tumultuous, mainly thanks to the high temperatures on track that day. On lap one, Kimi Raikkonen and Pastor Maldonado suffered punctures following contact with other cars. By lap four, there was a safety car due to a spin from Marcus Ericsson leading to his retirement from the race. In the end, after great battles with the Mercedes, Vettel won the race. This was Ferrari’s first win since the Spain 2013.

Image Credit: Autoblog

Vettel’s teammate, Raikkonen had a brilliant Sunday race, driving through the field from eleventh place up to fourth despite the puncture his car suffered on lap one. This result only increased the Ferrari celebrations.

What races would you like to see us cover next on Flashback Friday? Leave your comments below.

Written by Alexandra.

Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Brazil 2012

Racing around the São Paulo circuit, the 2012 Brazilian GP provided some heart stopping moments.

Initially, Mark Webber’s tactical driving closed Sebastian Vettel into a corner, allowing both the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, as well as Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India, to attack from all sides. This pushed Vettel down the order. To add to the challenge for Vettel, he unfortunately was tagged by Bruno Senna in the Williams, dropping him into P22.

Red Bull’s hopes of rain to level the playing field were rewarded as the clouds rolled in. As the drop in temperature eased the strain on his damaged car, Vettel was in a recoverable position. 

Image Credit: Auto123.com

Alonso, who had already passed Webber for third place, went wide at turn one, sacrificing third to Nico Hulkenberg. Massa demoted Webber, and Vettel carved through the field in a quick time. McLaren drivers briefly swapped positions, but Lewis Hamilton regained the lead with intermediate tyres. Jensen Button stayed out on slicks, taking the lead from his teammate.

The presence of the safety car led to success in strategy. Due to the previous 23 laps of chaos, the safety car brought some time to think for the drivers. Unfortunately, Hamilton was disadvantaged due to an extra pit stop. Vettel prepared in great time to make his only pitstop during the safety car. 

However, after some brief success for Vettel, fortunes turned against him. Due to his previous crash, his Red Bull was carrying aerodynamic issues and he failed to make a move on Kamui Kobayashi while within DRS range. 

Image Credit: ESPN

The race ended in a dramatic way after Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg collided, catapulting Vettel to success due to the safety car. The safety car, driven by Bernd Maylander, paved the way through the drying track to the finish line.

This secured Sebastian Vettel to his third consecutive driver championship win, later making it a fourth and final championship win. 

Written by Frankie.

Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Spain 2012

24 drivers lined up for the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, with Pastor Maldonado starting on pole (the first Venezuelan driver to do so). Lewis Hamilton was excluded as he failed to return to the pits under his own power and supply a fuel sample.

At lights out, Fernando Alonso took the lead going into the second corner. Sergio Perez ran wide going into turn three, causing a left rear puncture. Starting from the back, Hamilton had made his way from P24 to P12 within the first nine laps.

On lap 13, Michael Schumacher suffered the first DNF of the race after running into the back of Bruno Senna, who also later retired on the same lap. Within 17 laps, Hamilton managed to make his way up to P4 – behind Alonso in P1, Maldonado in P2, and Kimi Raikkonen in P3.

Image Credit: BenzInsider

On lap 23, HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan had to retire due to wheel problems. Alonso went into the pits on lap 27, giving Williams’ driver, Maldonado the opportunity to take first position and set the fastest lap of the race so far. The following lap, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa were handed drive-through penalties for ignoring the yellow flag.

Hitting the halfway point of the race on lap 33, Kamui Kobayashi made minor contact with Jenson Button while overtaking him for seventh place. Lap 37 saw Charles Pic retire due to a drive shaft failure. Three laps later, a young Perez retired due to a transmission fault. Vettel suffered damage to the left side of his front wing on lap 43 forcing him to pit for fresh tyres and a new front wing.

Raikkonen led the race for two laps, only for Maldonado and Alonso to overtake him using DRS. He later took a late pitstop in the hopes of putting pressure on the Williams and Ferrari drivers. However, he emerged fourth behind teammate Romain Grosjean. Raikkonen regained third position when his teammate pitted on lap 52.

Image Credit: Stephen English

Going into the last 10 laps, Vettel braked late and overtook Button for eighth. There was a collision between Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg into turn five and Kobayashi took the opportunity to overtake to get into fifth position. Vettel was able to hold off the McLarens and overtake a struggling Rosberg to take sixth.

Maldonado took his first win as he crossed the finish line, bringing home the first Williams team win in eight years. It is also Williams’ most recent win as of today. Maldonado also became the first ever Venezuelan F1 grand prix winner.

Image Credit: Williams

Despite overwhelming happiness from the Williams team, about 90 minutes after the race the Williams garage caught fire, reportedly due the fuel rig leaking. Williams, Force India, and Caterham pit crews worked together to control the flames. Bruno Senna’s car was damaged in the fire. The other teams were reported to have lent replacement equipment to Williams for the next grand prix. 31 people were injured, with seven of them were sent to a local hospital. 

Image Credit: Guardian

Written by Chloe.

Featured Image Credit: motorsportmagazine.com

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Spain 2016

On 15th May 2016 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, Max Verstappen was already making history in his first race as a Red Bull driver. He became the youngest Formula One grand prix winner at only 18 years 228 days old.

The weekend did not begin with Verstappen as the clear favourite to take victory. Saturday’s qualifying saw the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg topping the time sheets. The two Silver Arrows lined up on the front row, with Hamilton on pole following a superb Saturday, dominating again as they had for the year up to this race.

An early crash between the Mercedes cars left the race wide open for a fight between the Red Bulls and Ferraris. Rosberg had immediately squeezed Hamilton to the grass around Turn Four, causing the Brit to spin, taking out his teammate in the process.

Image Credit: Fangio_The_Master on Reddit

This was a prime example of the breakdown that took place at Mercedes throughout the 2016 season as Rosberg campaigned for a Driver’s World Championship for himself. After reviewing the crash, Race Control deemed there was no further action to take as it was a race incident where both drivers were at fault. Verstappen, who led from lap 44 of the race, consistently held off the challenge posed by Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in order to win. This was not a straightforward victory in the absence of the Mercedes cars.

The podium was Verstappen in first position, Raikkonen in second, and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel taking third place.

Image Credit: F1 Fansite

For Red Bull, this was their first race win since 2014 at the Belgium Grand Prix that year. It began the upwards trajectory of the whole Red Bull team, and their prodigy Verstappen. The record he set at this race was beating Red Bull’s previous golden boy, Sebastian Vettel, by two and a half years. Verstappen also became the first ever Dutch race winner with this victory.

As both Mercedes DNFed at this grand prix, the Driver’s Championship standings did not change drastically, with Rosberg maintaining his 43 point lead over his teammate Hamilton.

Which races would you like to see us cover next on Flashback Friday? Leave your comments below.

Written by Alexandra.

Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Canada 2008

It is the 8th June 2008 at the Circuit Giles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. The street circuit is hot with temperatures approaching 31°C, and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes is on pole following an excellent Saturday qualifying session.

At this, the seventh round of 18 for the 2008 season, Hamilton topped the Drivers’ Championship standings, with Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari in second and Felipe Massa, also of Ferrari, in third. Robert Kubica held fourth place in the overall standings.

Despite Hamilton’s pole, the star of the weekend was Kubica. The BMW-Sauber driver qualified in second place. Following the retirements of both Hamilton and Raikkonen after a crash, Kubica came through to take the victory. This was both his first and only win, and it catapulted him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings.

BMW-Sauber executed a two-stop strategy for Kubica, with his teammate Nick Heidfeld finishing in second on a one-stop race. The team scored an excellent 1-2 podium finish. David Coulthard of Red Bull-Renault took the third step on the podium, having raced up from the P13 he had achieved in qualifying.

Kubica’s win was first for a German constructor since the 1962 French Grand Prix, continuing the streak of historic firsts at this race. This win marked the peak of Kubica’s career. His redemption was especially sweet considering that he had crashed at the Canadian Grand Prix the previous year.

Which races would you like to see us cover next on Flashback Friday? Leave your comments below.

Written by Alexandra.

Featured Image Credit: Max F1

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: 2002 British Grand Prix

For this week’s Flashback Friday, we take a look back at the 2002 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where the history of the Formula One World Championship all began.

During the qualifying for the 11th race of the season, Juan Pablo Montoya took pole position for Williams, closely followed by Rubens Barrichello and the Schumacher brothers – Michael and Ralf. Minardi driver, Alex Yoong, was unable to qualify due to failing to set a lap time in the 107% time.

Image Credit: Motorsport Images

Leaving 21 drivers on the starting grid, during the formation lap Barrichello stalled and was pushed to the back of the grid before lights out. As the lights went out for the 52nd British Grand Prix, Allan McNish took an unforgiving path onto the white line because of a clutch failure, spinning him off the track. Montoya held the lead from the Schumacher brothers for a while, however, Michael was gaining precious time on him.

Image Credit: Motorsport Images

As this was going on, Kimi Raikkonen was putting pressure on Ralf Schumacher, who was in 3rd. Behind the front of the pack, we saw Barrichello go from P21 to P13 and still pushing for more. The battle between Ralf Schumacher and Raikkonen gained more tension as the other McLaren driver, David Coulthard, joined in the battle for 3rd place.

By lap six, Barrichello gained positions back up to 8th, with Raikkonen securing 3rd. As the rain started to fall over Silverstone, the drivers came into the pits. The first driver in was Felipe Massa, followed shortly by Montoya.

Nine laps in, the Aussie, Mark Webber, spun off the track due to clutch failure. Michael Schumacher and both Williams drivers all decided to pit on lap 13. Teams using the Bridgestone tires had an advantage of having intermediates, whereas teams using Michelin tyres were forced to change to wets. Jenson Button and Raikkonen were battling for 6th. The McLaren’s move on the Renault was successful, resulting in Raikkonen moving up a place. Raikkonen pushed his way past Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, putting himself in 4th. As the track started to clear up, Ralf Schumacher took his second pitstop, insisting on keeping all wets on.  Both McLaren’s were sent into the pits to change back onto slicks.

Image Credit: Motorsport Images

However, in typical British form, the rain got heavier causing many problems for the teams. By lap 20, Toyota driver, Mika Saló, and Arrows driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, both suffered an early retirement due to engine and transmission problems. Eddie Irvine spun off the track on lap 23. The Brazilian driver, Enrique Bernoldi, faced problems with the driveshaft, resulting in the 6th retirement of the race. Just before the half way point in the race, Trulli faced electrical issues. Raikkonen (on lap 44) and Sato (on lap 50) both retired due to engine failure. 

At the chequered flag, Michael Schumacher took his 7th victory of the season with a 14.5-second lead, ahead of Barrichello. Barrichello had a 17-second lead over the last podium sitter, Montoya. The lapped cars finished the race as follows: Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis, Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fischella, Ralf Schumacher, Massa, Coulthard and Pedro de la Rosa. Teammates Villeneuve and Panis brought back the first points of the season for BAR-Honda.

Image Credit: Motorsport Images

Written by Chloe.

Featured Image Credit: Motorsport Images

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: Hungary 2014!

Taking a look back to one of Daniel Ricciardo’s finest hours in his F1 career, this week we head back to the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix which saw a drying track cause chaos and a charging Daniel Ricciardo come through to take the win!

Source: F1Madness.com

The starting grid saw Nico Roseburg on P1 for Mercedes with Sebastian Vettel in P2 for Redbull. Ricciardo started P4 for Redbull behind Valtteri Bottas in the Williams. The cars started out on intermediate tyres as the track was still very wet from rain earlier in the day. Despite the clean start, many drivers quickly had issues with Lewis Hamilton, Marcus Ericsson, and Romain Grosjean spinning off the track. 

Source: Pittas.com

On lap 23, Sergio Perez in the Force India hit the barriers down the start/finish straight bringing out the safety car. It was under the safety car that Ricciardo’s team made the tactical decision to swop to a two-stop strategy. Drivers continued to spin with Vettel being the next to take the long way down the straight!

On lap 54, Ricciardo made his second pitstop and began to place race leader Fernando Alonso under pressure in his Ferrari. Hamilton was also chasing Alonso for the lead, but his tyres began to fade making an overtake easy for Ricciardo. Ricciardo went on to win the race, claiming his second podium of the year! Ricciardo finished 5 seconds in front of Alonso making it one of the most impressive drives of his career.

Source: SCMP.com

Ricciardo would go onto win again in Belgium and claim his best finish in the Driver’s Championship, finishing the season in 3rd. Despite the intense chaos of the race and multiple drivers spinning and going off track, Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus Renault was the only driver to not finish the race!

Do you remember Hungary 2014? What were your thoughts!?

Written by Cesca.

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday: France 2021

France 2021 was another instalment of the exhilarating 2021 Formula 1 season. It once again witnessed the intense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen for the 2021 World Drivers Championship.

Source: Motorsport.com

The strategists predicted a one-stop race in France, but Red Bull gambled after Verstappen’s lap 1 mistake by pitting for a second time. It was then a question of whether he had the pace to get close and then pass Hamilton, who opted to stay out on a one-stop. In the end he did – though he only pulled it off two laps before the chequered flag, leaving racing fans in suspense!

The race captivated fans up and down the grid with drivers fighting for vital championship points. On lap 11, Alonso, Ricciardo, and Norris battles it out for 8th, 9th, and 10th place. Strategy played a huge part from the start of the race with drivers starting their first round of pitstops on lap 17. For many, it was a question of a successful undercut in the pits or a two-stop strategy.

Source: gp-videos.com

Lap 20 saw Hamilton pit and Verstappen pull of his undercut, taking the lead of the race. Lap 32 saw Verstappen pit for the second time, giving up the race lead to Hamilton. Norris pulled off several impressive overtakes to get himself into the points scoring places.

Lap 42 was the start of Verstappen’s charge on Hamilton needing to pass the other Mercedes of Bottas, who on lap 44 made a mistake, going wide in a corner and allowing Verstappen to go sailing through. With the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez also passing Bottas a couple of laps later, both Mercedes drivers began complaining on the radio about the strategy calls the team had made by only stopping once as their tyres were not up to racing the Red Bulls on fresh tires.

Source: PlanetF1.com

Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the penultimate lap of the race, and it finished with Verstappen in 1st, Hamilton in 2nd, and Perez in 3rd.

What did you make of the 2021 French GP?

Written by Cesca.

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Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday – Brazil 2012

The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix was one of the most exciting races of the modern Formula 1 era with the championship being decided in the last race of the season. Sebastian Vettel won his 3rd driver’s championship in a row after securing 4th place in the race, giving him a 3-point cushion to his championship rival, Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian GP also marked the 306th and final race for Michael Schumacher who announced his retirement for the second time. 

Source: GPTODAY.net

The starting grid saw the McLaren Mercedes team lock out the front row with Lewis Hamilton on pole and Jenson Button in P2. The Red Bull Racing Renault team locked out the second row with Mark Webber in P3 and Sebastian Vettel in P4. Alonso started the race in P7 for Ferrari. In the opening lap of the race, the championship was blown wide open when championship leader Vettel was involved in a multi-car incident! After getting his car back on track he was in last place while Alonso stayed out of trouble and got himself into P5. Alonso had made it into the podium positions by the end of lap 1.

Source: Autosport.com

If Alonso finished 3rd in the race, Vettel had to come 10th or better to secure his 3rd world championship but after the catastrophe of lap 1 the results were far from clear. Lap 8 saw Vettel work his way up to P8. Many drivers were struggling for grip on the track as it was still slightly damp after heavy rainfall the night before. Most drivers started the race on intermediate tires and by lap 16 rain was starting to fall. The rain remained a drizzle and Nico Hulkenberg was able to lead much of the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, but on lap 54 he collided with Hamilton after the back markers got in the way, ruining his race, and ending Hamilton’s. This put Alonso into a world championship taking position!

Source: PlanetF1.com

With the rain beginning to fall harder, a crash for Paul Di Resta on Lap 70 made it clear that the 2012 season was going to end under the safety car. It was Button who took the race win with Alonso in 2nd and Filipe Massa in 3rd. However, Sebastian Vettel’s 6th place was enough to secure him and Red Bull their 3rd Driver’s and Constructor’s championships. Vettel was congratulated by long-time friend and mentor Michael Schumacher as he said goodbye to the sport and let his protégé carry on the legacy. 

Source: Skysports.com

Written by Cesca.