UBS Chinese Grand Prix Circuit Guide.

A feature on in my blogs is going to be circuit guides of the upcoming races. 

The next Grand Prix is going to be in Shanghai, China. A 5.4 Km circuit consisting of 16 corners and one of the longest straights in the Formula 1 calendar. 

Sector 1: 

Offering tight corners and some great opportunities for overtaking. Turn 1 being high speed  at 205km/h before some downshifts to be at the right speed for a sharp turn 2 at 90km/h. Then a sharp left hander leads them on to turns 4 and 5 where sector 1 comes to an end. 

Sector 2:

Turn 6 offers late braking and full lock to take the sharp right hand turn at 85km/h before getting a good exit to bring you the long left hander of turn 7 taken at 265km/h almost flat out. Straight into turn 8 down to gear 3 to set you up for turn 9 and 10 which is crucial to get right otherwise you could throw a good lap away. At the exit of turn 10, a small straight leads them to the end of sector 2. 

Sector 3:

Turn 11 is similar to turn 6, offering late braking and some overtaking opportunities. Taken at 90km/h in gear 2 where steering adjustments are needed to make sure they have a good exit  into turn 12 and the long right hander of turn 13 to have enough grip to stop the back end from stepping out. Turn 13 leads them into the long straight where DRS is available for maximum overtaking opportunities. Full throttle pushes the car to over 300km/h before heavy braking into turn 14, by far the slowest corner of the track taken in gear 1 at just 65km/h. A good exit means that they can get good speed before 2 quick downshifts for the final corner and onto the pit straight for easy finish crossing the line at 265km/h. 

This is the circuit guide for the UBS Chinese Grand Prix Circuit. 

Much more to come in the near future including the prospects of the UBS Chinese Grand Prix Circuit. 

Hope you enjoyed reading. 

Constructors Championship Analysis

Here are the top stories and analysis of the Constructors Championship

Firstly we have Red bull at the top of the table. After solid points from both drivers in Australia gaining them 23 points, it put them in a good position for the Malaysian Grand Prix. A week later a 1-2 finish gave them maximum points on the weekend, putting them 16 points in the lead ahead of joint 2nd Lotus-Renault and Ferrari. 

In joint 2nd the is Ferrari and Lotus-Renault. Starting with Ferrari, a strong 2nd place considering a retirement from Fernando Alonso in Malaysia. In Australia they gained strong points from a 2nd and 4th place, totting up a total of 30 points. Massa running strong in Malaysia secured them a further 10 points putting them 3 points ahead of Mercedes.

Next in joint 2nd we have Lotus-Renault securing most of their points with the win in Australia. Grosjean only securing 1 point that weekend. A better performance in Malaysia by the young Frenchmen secured the team 8 points, while his team mate lost his dominance and only secured 6 points. These results put both teams in joint 2nd chasing leaders Red Bull. 

In 4th we have a very strong, positive Mercedes team looking very good during both of the previous races, although Rosberg retired during the Australian Grand Prix. Both drivers being consistent and gaining good solid points. After Malaysia this team looks most likely to contend with leaders Red Bull. Mercedes have the pace to keep up with the top teams and have a good chance to compete for the title.

Force India look very strong with both drivers finishing in the top 10 securing 10 points for the team. Unfortunately some unrehearsed pits stops in Malaysia made for some delays during a tyre change causing damage to brake disks and clutch. This lead to both cars to retire. 

Mclaren looking in really bad shape, only have 4 points after the first two races. Only 2 points secured in Australia puts them low in the constructors table. Malaysia was just as bad if not worse with a retirement from Jenson Button running in a strong 5th place putting pressure on the Mercedes, after a poor pit stop which put him far down the field. Perez showing that he has not quite settled only managed 9th. 

These are in my opinion the tops stories from the Constructors Championship Table

Drivers Championship Analysis

Here are the top stories and analysis of the Drivers Championship. 

To start off with we have Vettel at the top of the table after a 3rd place at Albert Park Australia and a controversial win at Sepang Malaysia. 

Should Vettel be at the top? 

Even if Vettel did follow team orders his result would have put him in joint first with team mate Mark Webber. Vettel would be there either way. 

Räikkönen in second place after a dominant win at Australia. A 7th place secured him 6 points but lack of consistency. Lets hope that the consistency we saw last year falls into place. 

An unhappy Mark Webber in 3rd place. Not where he could have been, but now the feud between them has settled we should see Webber thrive in the following races to come including his all time favourite Monaco. 

Lewis Hamilton in a very happy 4th place not expected by the Mercedes team. His position showing that consistency keeps you high up the table.

Nico Rosberg in 7th could be slightly higher if team orders were not in place. The favour should be returned in the future. 

Jenson Button in a unhappy 13th place after a very disappointing race result in Australia and a retirement in Malaysia. 

Jules Bianchi doing very well the Marussia even competing with the Williams of Maldonado and Bottas. Bianchi deserves some points even though only two races have passed and it would be very good too see him progress up the table.

Pastor Maldonado in last place will be disappointed with the start to the season but should pick up points as the season progresses. 

These are what I think are the top stories in the Driver Championship Table.

F1 Update 2

Malaysian Grand Prix Part 2.

The bigger story of the weekend causing controversy and chaos after and during the race was of course the Vettel and Webber incident. A battle between teammates going too far. A furious Webber's trust for Vettel has been destroyed. Vettel's actions not taken lightly. 

Lap 26 - Vettel's frustration coming through in a team radio saying let me go past him, he's too slow. 

Final pit stop - Webber and Vettel neck and neck into the first corner with webber on cold tyres. A small battle takes place where there is close tight cornering both wheel to wheel, fighting for the top spot on the podium, a battle Webber wins with some great driving.

End of the lap - Vette has DRS and tries to pass Webber on the inside where there was only a gap of only a couple of centimeters between Vettel's car and the wall and Webber's car to Vettels. It's the closest wheel to wheel action I have ever seen! 

It doesn't end there Vettel's success was short lived and Webber fought back with short burst of acceleration and skilled driving. Finally Webber thought the better of it and gave the place up at turn 4. 

Vettel went on to win but the celebrations were hardly happy, Webber ignored Vettel and kept to himself. A 1st place he should have celebrated. 

So whats the controversy about? 
Team orders were in place to keep these positions and bring the cars home, Webber's engine was turned down but little did he know that his team mate was out for the win. 
Vettel ignored the team orders and attempted passes that could have got them both climbing out of their cars early.  Webber realising this, let Vettel pass before an inevitable crash happened. 

Webber has not yet accepted apologies from Vettel and feels that the trust has been broken. Both drivers unhappy with the race that day. 

Hope you enjoyed reading.

DT14 

F1 Update

So the Malaysian Grand Prix had a few EPIC stories and adventures but 2 of them really stood out. 

Firstly the Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn had to fight a slightly frustrated Nico Rosberg who wanted to pass team mate Lewis Hamilton yet team orders was stopping him. A cool Ross Brawn handled the situation well and kept Rosberg at bay. Although Hamilton took the final place on the podium he still thought he didn't deserve it as much as Rosberg. An honest Hamilton dedicating this podium to his team mate. Rosberg hoping for the favour to be returned and I'm sure it will be. 

Both drivers drove a good race and held a good solid 3rd and 4th. Although there could have been bigger success. As we know Hamilton has been with his former team Mclaren for many years and he's used to driving into their pit box. So we saw in the Malaysian Grand Prix Hamilton take a visit to his former team stopping there during his pit. Mclaren team delighted to see him, wave him past. An 'oops' moment for the mercedes driver not easily forgotten. 

The next part of Malaysian Grand Prix to come! 

DT14

New Blog!

Hi, 

     I am a young driver and a keen Formula 1 fan. An ambition of mine is to make it to Formula 1! 

I will be posting updates and other info about the current F1 situation and my own progress toward the final goal. 

Nice to be blogging and hope you guys enjoy reading!

DT14