UBS Chinese Grand Prix Practice 2

Practice 2. A session where the teams test tyre ware, and do low fuel runs to determine their pace. An important session as it it at the same time as qualifying and the race. 

So how did it go? 

Medium compound tyres were used at the beginning. This was to learn Q1 pace. Again the Mercedes both put in quick laps. Rosberg being 6 tenths faster then any one else. During this period Max Chilton of Marussia stopped out on track with an electronic failure, the car was then recovered. 

Everyone was happy, so we stated to see people switch to the quicker softer compound tyre. This is where it got interesting. Mark Webber was one of the first people we saw with the yellow marked tyre on, putting a healthy lap knocking over a 1.5 seconds off his medium compound tyre and some 7 tenths quicker the leader Rosberg.

Not long after, Rosberg put in an even faster lap 3 tenths faster then Webber. This set off all the other drivers to push and we saw the lap times drop. Putting in faster laps then Rosberg we had, Alonso, Räikkönen and Felipe Massa who put in an outstanding lap time late in the session. Lewis Hamilton kept up with the pace, but on his quickest flying lap he came across traffic that slowed him right down. This mean't that he stayed in 7th place behind Jenson Button. 

With around 45 minutes to go, the teams then started to try and do long stints on both tyres, seeing how long they last. Hamilton and Massa both stayed out for more then 20 laps on the same tyre putting in consistent laps. When teams came into change tyre, we saw that a lot of them had high tyre ware and graining. Mercedes and Ferrari were the two teams who showed that they could look after their tyres as the degradation and graining were not as much as others. 

People who had good race pace - 

The two Force India's looked consistent and competitive,

Mercedes looked strongest with their pace, 

Red Bull putting in good laps, 

Ferrari up there with the faster teams

Lotus looking strong to get good points 

McLaren look like they can get good points for both drivers. 

Thats the round up of Practice 2. Hope you enjoyed reading.                            

UBS Chinese Grand Prix Practice 1

Well sunny skies and a dry track mean't that good testing can commence with out the threat of rain. A early 10am start in China, but a even earlier 3am start here in England. 

So how did it go?
At every weekend the first practice session is the one to get to grips with the car and of course the track. Many of the drivers struggled with an unusual spin from Räikkönen and some offs on turns 1 and 2. Dust on the track stopped the drivers from pushing until they all vacuumed it off, but that still didn't stop them all from struggling. Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez kept going of on turns 1 and 2 trying to fine the perfect line to take the tricky spiral turn. 

Pase then started to rise as Drivers starting pushing. Mercedes Rosberg and Hamilton both went out at the same time and immediately put in quick lap times. It wasn't that much of a breeze as Hamilton's time was beaten by Webber. Rosberg has definitely shown that he can be competitive with a world champion as a team mate. A few laps later, both still together, the track temperature increased and they both went for it. Rosberg improving his time by 6 tenths at 1:36.717 and Hamilton only 4.5 tenths down at 1:37:171. At this point the Mercedes were unbeatable. 

Lap times kept being posted with the two Red Bull's in the 3rd (Webber) and 4th (Vettel). Crucially Webber showing that he can be just as fast as his team mate, if not quicker. 
Alonso next, putting in a good lap time to keep in touch with the faster drivers and Button producing a lot from the car with upgrades and developing part on the car in 6th overall. 
Massa, Sutil, Grosjean and di Resta completing the top ten. 

So an simple, easy first practice with not many incidents but a lot of testing, Mercedes showing theirs strengths with both drivers while Williams and Sauber showing that they have not got the pace. The checkered flag dropped and the session came to a close but it can't always go perfectly. Cold tyres and graining on Perez's tyres were too much for the sharp corner into the pit lane, locking up, the car didn't turn and it went straight into the gravel. A bad way to end a otherwise successful session. 

Thats the round up of P1. 

Round up of P2 to come next, Hope you enjoyed reading. 

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Contender Analysis.

With only 2 races gone its hard to say who is looking good and someone who is likely going to be up on the top spot of the Drivers Championship table at the end of the season. BUT its not to say that we can't see who is going well and strong in the last 2 races. 

Massa and Alonso - Two team mates who last year were the difference of night and day. Massa struggled at the start of the season while Alonso got a grip of the car and went to contend for the title. This season they both look strong although Alonso retired after contact that caused damage to the front wing resulting in no downforce and it to flip under the car restricting control. So far the team have taken 40 points with Massa's results being 4th and 5th and Alonso's result being 2nd. These two Ferrari's are looking good.


Räikkönen - A consistant driver always surprising us and racing a good solid race. 1st and 7th from a grid penalty shows that under the helmet there is a person always looking to go forward! His consistency looks like something that could disturb the top drivers at any time. 

Vettel and Webber - Now, here after all the controversy we have two very strong drivers both capable of dominating any race. A strong rivalry may stun their dominance on the grid and could stop both drivers from being within title range. For now though both of the Red Bull's look very strong. We'll see if the rivalry will puncture their chances of Winning the title. 

Rosberg - A young driver team mates with a f1 superstar. I say he's is keeping up to pace. Even better then drivers he previously didn't keep up with including his team mate. With a strong team behind him Rosberg looks like he could settle well at each race and focus on the objective to help him and his team thrive. Another driver looking very strong. 

Hamilton - A new driver to Mercedes looked to have settled well in the new team and giving them all a boost. Two good race results and strong points for the team with 5th and 3rd place. He looks happy. I think he has a strong car this yeah and with drive the living daylights out of it. He looks strong for the title. 

Sutil and di Rester - Here are two drivers who are surprising a few people with their pace. Both drivers doing well could be into for a shot at the title. With heavy competition around them, can they pull it off. I reckon they could, with very good driving and consistency points will be flooding in and taken from top drivers. Everyone would be stunned if they do and it would be a great achievement, no one else would be disappointed. 

Here is the Contender analysis. Hope you enjoy reading. 

McLaren Under pressure

This is a team analysis on McLaren, which to be honest we haven't seen very much of. 

2 races have passed yet unusually McLaren have only managed to gain 4 points. Running in 7th place on the Constructors Championship table, the team look like they are struggling to keep up with previous contenders pace of Ferrari and Red bull. Now they find themselves competing with midfield teams of Sauber and STR-Ferrari.

Although they haven't gained many points, Jenson Button has been running in good shape especially in Malaysia where he was in a very strong 5th place until a pit stop where the front right was not screwed on. He was released but stopped in the pit lane, the team managed to get him back out but the long stop mean't he went way back up the field to 17th place. He then retired later on in the race realising he wasn't going to get any points.

Sergio Perez at McLaren - Last year we saw glimpses of the young driver taking races into his own hands and showing great potential with a unexpected podium in Malaysia and other podiums in Canada and Italy. McLaren saw the potential and after Lewis Hamilton's deal with Mercedes was announced, McLaren decided to take a gamble on the less experienced driver and sign a contract with him. 

In 2013 at the start of the season we can see that a unexperienced driver in a very experienced team may not be the right choice. His results are 11th and 9th in the first two races a lot further back then they should be. 

Is McLaren missing something? 
Well since Hamilton has gone, McLaren have seemed as if they are lost. A big part of the team left and now a less experienced driver has filled a big person's shoes. Does this mean that McLaren have been dropped from contending for the title. I say no. Button is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid and a solid structure in the team, with his wise wisdom and Perez's new vibe the team is more then good enough to conjure the perfect car, for the season. 

Hope you enjoyed reading more blogs to come!

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Prospects of the UBS Chinese Grand Prix.

A feature on in my blogs is going to be prospects of upcoming races.
The next race is the Chinese Grand Prix. 

This year the cars performance are close together and not much has come between them. Tyres have also been a large part of driver strategy and could be the difference of good points or no points. 

China offers a variety of corners from some tight slow right and left handers to some high speed corners. This means that tyre where could be quite high and makes strategy crucial to get a good result. 

Who is likely to win? 
Over the past 2 races we have seen pace from a few drivers including Adrian Sutil and the two lotus'. Consistency has been shown from Red Bull and Mercedes who both look good for the next race. Although Red Bull have the pace past race results show that Mercedes Lewis Hamilton has been consistently higher in race finishes. Also Nico Rosberg has shown that he has good race pace as he has consistently been getting high into the points especially with his win in China last year. 
This makes it likely that we are going to see Mercedes on the podium.

Tyre strategy: 
This year the tyre degradation happens very quickly, within 7-8 laps drivers start to feel some lack of grip. This makes strategy important during the race. 
The likely strategy for this year is likely to be a 3 stop. Looking at the previous races there is some indication that the tyres won't last long enough for a 2 stop strategy. This is not taking into consideration what the weather will be like on the weekend which can definitely change the strategy and could dictate someone in the points to out of the points. 

These are the prospects of the UBS Chinese Grand Prix. 

Hope you enjoyed reading.