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Formula 1Nigel RoebuckMark HughesReportsOpinionHistoryRaceVideoGalleryFormula 1Sports CarsUS SceneDriver columnsMotoGPHistoryEventsRoadTestsOpinionPodcastsHall of FameCars for saleDirectoryMagazineEditorialDigital editionCompetitionsHistoryEditorial TeamMedia PackArchive IndexContact UsSubscribeForumPhoto StoreInsuranceShop 31 March 2014 F1 Reports 35Malaysian GP report by Mark HughesMark HughesExcellence compounds itself in Formula 1 2014. It’s why aero grip equals good tyre temperature, which gives efficient harvesting, giving more electrical stored power, giving greater fuel savings, giving access to greater boost.
All of which is why the Mercedes W05 is currently the class of the field. Its fantastic packaging, derived from a key component innovation (explained fully in the magazine out later this week) allows a currently unbeatable combination of downforce, low drag and horsepower.
That virtuous compounding effect also goes some way to explaining the dominance of Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Malaysia, even over team-mate Nico Rosberg, the pair giving a full silver arrows team its first one-two since Monza 1955.
Out front from pole, with Rosberg initially having his hands full fending off Red Bulls, Hamilton was in an unbeatable rhythm, one where everything just flows. Taking greater momentum into the corners, carrying more speed through them, he was using significantly less fuel than anyone else – just 47.7 per cent of the allowed 100kg by halfway through the race, compared to 49.3% for Rosberg, who followed 10 seconds behind, 50% for Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull and 50.8% for Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.
Faster yet more economical, this all feeds upon itself in the new hybrid formula. The faster the car, the faster the car becomes, its advantage exaggerated. Likewise the driver.
“Although I had the edge over Nico in qualifying pace,” Hamilton recalled post-race, “during the long runs on Friday, he was running a similar pace to me and able to go a lap longer. But from that running I learned a lot where to improve. It’s one thing learning it, but another being able to apply it and it doesn’t always work. Today it worked.”
Whereas on Friday he’d been pushing hard against the fuel consumption limits to run at Rosberg’s pace, with a bit of fine tuning of technique by Sunday he was able to run faster and leaner.
“I just love this car,” he enthused. “Last year, although the car was very quick I never felt good in it. There were a lot of things, such as the brake feel, that just didn’t suit me. Considering that, I had not such bad results. But if I was as comfortable as I am now…
“I’ve had time to mould things the way I want them”
“I knew I’d be more comfortable this year. I’ve been with the team [for a bit] and they know what I like. I’ve had time to mould things the way I want them, get my pedals right, get the feeling right and it’s given me confidence. I have no braking feel issues with this car.”
Superb stability into the two hard-braking zones of the final turn and turn one, each at the end of long 200mph straights, marked out the Mercedes and Red Bull. Every other car was losing time correcting several slides and twitches from turn-in to apex as their brake-by-wire systems gave their drivers all sorts of problems when the energy harvesting torque reversal on the rear axles was released.
Red Bull vs MercedesThrough the fast, flowing middle sector the Red Bull was every bit as quick as the Mercedes despite its estimated 80bhp deficit and into the turn nine hairpin, for example, the RB10 was in a different league to anything else, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo able to drive on a line reserved just for them, super-late turn-in and essentially making a ‘V’ of the corner, direction change completed way before the apex, enabling them to be on the power at a phase where the others – even the Merc drivers – were still trying to balance lateral load against how much throttle they could use.
“I’ve looked at overlay traces on GPS,” said Hamilton, “and they are absolutely as fast as us through the fast corners. I have no doubt at all that Renault is going to fix their engine and when they do you’re going to see some big races between us and them.”
Generally Vettel was around 0.5 seconds per lap off Hamilton’s race pace; though Hamilton’s fastest lap was 1.2s quicker, that came late in the race as Lewis enjoyed himself burning off the fuel he’d saved up to that point, a luxury not available to the Red Bull.
QualifyingBut things had been a lot closer in the wet of qualifying, with the Merc unable to use as much of its power advantage. There, Hamilton had taken pole by a scant few hundredths from Vettel who managed to split the Mercs just as Ricciardo had done in Australia.
Fernando Alonso reckoned his fourth-fastest time, just ahead of Ricciardo, represented one of the best qualifying laps he’d ever done, the Ferrari’s front geometry askew after a steering arm had to be replaced following a collision with Daniil Kyvatt’s Toro Rosso.
Behind the second Red Bull were Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari, Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India, Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren (its diffuser damaged from a Q2 trip through the gravel), Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso and the McLaren of Jenson Button whose inters gamble – hoping the track would dry enough in the last moments to give him an advantage over the wet tyres of the others – failed to come off.
Wet qualifying ensured everyone had more than enough new dry tyres for the expected three-stop strategies of race day. Even with the hard/medium pairing selected by Pirelli for this race, rear wear was enough to give high degradation rates.
Although this was much improved on race day, three-stopping was still strategically safer. Everyone started on the option (medium) tyre for its greater grip off the line and an initial pace advantage over the hard of around one second per lap.
The track temperature was still hovering at around 50-degrees at the 4pm race start as Hamilton got away perfectly to head the pack on the long drag down to turn one. Rosberg’s start was better than Vettel’s, allowing him to get between the Red Bull and the pit wall, with Vettel then squeezing him hard.
“I thought he was going to put me into the wall”
“I thought he was going to put me into the wall,” recounted Nico. “I had some practice with that last year,” said Seb, referring to how he’d been on the receiving end of the same treatment from Mark Webber. “That doesn’t make it right,” countered Rosberg, who just managed to prevail down to the switchback of turns 1-2-3.
But with Red Bulls swarming all over him, the Mercedes got very sideways as Nico tried to get all that torque to the wheels exiting turn three, allowing them to get a run at him as they charged up to four, Rosberg forced to get very defensive.
Ricciardo – who’d scythed past Alonso through the opening corners – now sat it out with Vettel, and prevailed for third. Alonso had been bundled back to sixth by Hulkenberg, though was able to retake the place from the Force India into turn one next time around.
Just behind them, Magnussen tried screaming around the outside of Räikkönen through turns one and two but his front wing endplate sliced through the Ferrari’s left-rear tyre, damaging the McLaren and ensuring a slow crawl back to the pits for Kimi, his race effectively ruined. Magnussen, compromised by the front wing damage, was passed by team-mate Button next time through and spent a few laps dicing with Felipe Massa’s Williams.
He would later be given a five-second stop/go penalty which, under revised rules this year can be taken during a tyre stop, lessening the severity. The McLarens generally did not have their Melbourne pace, lacking aero performance in the high-speed sections.
Through the aero-demanding middle sector they sat roughly halfway between the identically powered Williams and Force India and around one second adrift of Mercedes.
All the action was happening ever distant in Hamilton’s mirrors. He’d been over two seconds clear at the end of the opening lap, an advantage he’d doubled by the third. Rosberg’s hectic few opening corners had temporarily overheated his rears and, once he’d thwarted the Red Bull attack, he’d had to gently nurse the rubber back.
Mercedes had even considered short-fuelling here before realising that they had no need to…
It was all the advantage Lewis needed, whose afternoon was now just a beautiful routine of aced braking zones and apexes and great fuel read-outs. Sepang is nowhere near as demanding as Melbourne for fuel usage, and Mercedes had even considered short-fuelling here before realising that they had no need to, such was their pace advantage.
Vettel sliced back ahead of team-mate Ricciardo at the end of the DRS zone into turn one and was able to keep the pressure on Rosberg. With the threat of the undercut around the pit stops being particularly acute because of the fairly high tyre degradation, Nico was being urged to pull out a bigger gap over the chasing RB10, but to do so would eat into the Merc’s reserves of fuel.
Ricciardo – whose fuel flow sensor had failed even before the race started (the FIA accepted the flow info from the engine’s fuel rail this time) – kept pace with them through the opening stint and Alonso was within striking range too as the first stops approached.
Tyre stop preparationIn this new era, there is a certain loading of the guns in preparation for the flurry of tyre stops. You need to ensure your battery is fully charged, harvesting heavily for a couple of laps in order that you can do a full-attack out-lap (if you’re the one coming in first) or in-lap (if you’re the one responding to an undercut attempt).
This was happening from around the ninth lap and Ferrari brought Alonso in at the end of lap 11, challenging Red Bull to the undercut. In accepting that challenge by bringing Ricciardo in next lap, the strategic trigger effect confirmed the race as a three-stopper up front, as Vettel, Rosberg and Hamilton came in on successive laps, all continuing on fresh option tyres.
As Ricciardo exited the pits, Alonso was bearing down fast, his new tyres having bought up the 2.7 seconds by which he’d trailed before, Danny’s in-lap having been unremarkable as Fernando set the fastest sector two time of anyone so far on his out-lap.
The Ferrari cut across the Red Bull as they scrambled through turn one, but Ricciardo had the better line into two-three and managed to scrabble back ahead. Vettel was able to stay comfortably clear of his team-mate as he rejoined, Rosberg in turn emerging still ahead of Seb.
By the time Hamilton exited from his stop, he was leading by 8.4 seconds. The pace Mercedes had in hand was suggested by the respective in-lap comparisons to the Red Bulls and Alonso. Ricciardo, Alonso and Vettel had all taken 1m 52.3s. Rosberg took 1m 51.7s, Hamilton 1m 51.2s.
With the V6 turbo pack’s muted growl muffled further in the tropical late afternoon muggy heat, Hulkenberg led, before pitting at the end of lap 16. Hulk had done a great job hanging onto the tail of the lead group in a car definitely not as fast. Now Force India was throwing down the gauntlet to Ferrari, trying to beat Alonso by two-stopping.
He rejoined well behind the Ferrari but was soon lapping as quick or quicker, and with one stop less to make, the Force India’s aero shortfall to the Ferrari compensated for by a Mercedes engine with what is currently estimated to be a 40bhp advantage. With such a big gap behind to Button’s McLaren, it was a zero risk ‘gamble’ for Force India.
Hulk was carrying all the team’s hopes as the sister car of Sergio Pérez had failed to start, unable to select gears on its way to the grid. Similarly, Toro Rosso had its hopes pinned on Daniil Kyvat after Vergne’s engine had been triggered into limp mode by the high temperatures as it sat on the grid and was soon out.
The Williams battleButton had been forming the blockage to a Williams challenge. Although the FW36 definitely wasn’t as quick as in Australia, a downforce shortfall hurting it more here, it still looked like it had the measure of McLaren – if only it could get past.
Earlier in the race as Massa had hassled Magnussen but without actually putting a move on it, Valtteri Bottas – who had started the sister Williams 18th, penalised for impeding Ricciardo during qualifying – had been irritated when told not to attack his team-mate.
“I’ve got much more pace than him”
“Well tell him to pass, then,” he demanded. “I’ve got much more pace than him.” With Magnussen out of the way because of his early stop to change the nose, Button then became Massa’s barrier. Bottas attempted to break the stalemate by running a couple of laps longer than Massa to the first stops, reckoning the shorter subsequent stints on fresher tyres might allow him to leapfrog them both later.
That plan floundered on coming out behind Kyvat and having to spend five laps finding a way past. He then quickly closed down the nine-second deficit to the Button/Massa train, to be right back where he was: forbidden to attack his team-mate, to his immense frustration. He was certain he’d be able to pass Button, if only Massa would get out the way.
Through the second stint Hamilton more or less maintained a 10-second margin over Rosberg. Any time Nico upped the pace, Lewis would respond with a lap yet faster – and still he was using less fuel.
“He was just better today”
“He was just better today,” was the honest assessment of Rosberg, whose focus was more on keeping Vettel behind than closing the gap to Hamilton. Again, Tony Ross would come on the radio suggesting he try to open out the gap over the Red Bull to five seconds – and again he wasn’t quite able to do so, as Seb stayed relentlessly on it. Ricciardo had fallen to around six seconds adrift of Vettel on the eve of the second stops.
Alonso was again the first to break ranks, coming in at the end of the 27th lap. Ferrari fitted him with a set of primes in response to Hulkenberg’s two-stop. This way it would ensure Fernando would be on fresh options late in the race when he’d need to overtake the Force India.
Red Bull responded to the Alonso stop by bringing in Ricciardo and they, like Ferrari, went with primes – for the same Hulkenberg-inspired reason.
Clear of the Hulkenberg threat, Vettel and the Mercs stayed out longer and made the more conventional choice of options for their third of four stints. In this way their advantage over the Hulkenberg-combating Ricciardo and Alonso was increased.
This time Vettel had been able to get very close to Rosberg as Nico had rejoined and, in chasing the Mercedes down on his fresh tyres, set the fastest lap of the race so far. Seb kept the pressure on, Nico remained calm, just marshalled his resources to stay just out of reach.
It helped that even with the benefit of DRS, Seb couldn’t get close enough to put a move on the Merc and its extra 80bhp. Occasional drops of rain were beginning to fall on parts of the track. But it never developed, the cloud never burst and Seb’s only real hope was gone.
“It was like he found another gear”
After carefully looking after his fresh tyres Rosberg simply upped the pace and left Vettel unable to respond. “It was like he found another gear,” related Seb. Hamilton in turn responded to Rosberg’s new pace, with his gap now out to 11-12 seconds.
Ricciardo’s problemsComing up to the third and final stops Ricciardo and Alonso needed to be around 27 seconds clear of Hulkenberg if they were not to be passed by the Force India as they sat in the pits. They were unable to get the gap out to more than about 14 seconds. But that was soon to be the least of Ricciardo’s concerns.
On the 40th of the race’s 56 laps, there was a problem attaching his front-left. The mechanic wasn’t sure it was fully secured and so went to apply another burst of the air gun but inadvertently switched the latch as he did so – thereby undoing the nut.
The car came off the jacks and accelerated away but even as the mechanic was waving his arms, Danny could feel there was a problem and stopped short of the white exit line. The Red Bull guys ran down there and pushed him back. By the time this was all sorted he’d lost a lap.
Furthermore, his front wing – possibly damaged as the car was pushed – became detached over the turn 14 kerbs and its endplate damaged the tyre. He was back in three laps later for a new nose and to cap his day off he was given a drive-through penalty for the original unsafe release. This now also carries a 10-place grid penalty for the next race. The car was retired.
Alonso stopped and got out on his fresh option tyres 14 seconds behind fourth-placed Hulkenberg but was lapping much faster. As the other front runners began peeling in and rejoining on their primes, the charging Alonso was frequently the fastest man on track.
The combination of low fuel and new options flattered his fastest lap, just a couple of tenths off Rosberg and ahead of Vettel. In reality the Ferrari averaged around 1 second off the ultimate pace, the Red Bull around 0.5 seconds off. “But we have already improved a lot since Australia,” Alonso said. “We were a similar distance away at the end but in Australia we had a safety car.”
With 10 laps to go Alonso was catching the old-tyred Hulkenberg at over 2 seconds per lap. By the 52nd lap he was with him and trying to DRS his way past down the pit straight. Hulk resisted, they wrestled through the switchback of turns one-three, but ultimately Alonso came out ahead, as he was always going to.
Nonetheless it had been another great performance from Hulkenberg, who finished over half a minute ahead of Button. Jenson spent most of his race watching two Williams’ in his mirrors, but only occasionally had to get properly defensive to hold off Massa.
With four laps to go Felipe must have been dismayed to hear echoes of Hockenheim 2010 over the radio as the team told him to move aside for Bottas. This time, he elected not to comply. In this way, Button was let off the hook for sixth. The delayed Magnussen took a lapped ninth, with Kyvat again scoring a point in 10th.
With three laps to go Hamilton had let rip to set the race’s fastest lap by the margin of almost 0.9s as he enjoyed burning up all the Malaysian Petronas fuel he’d saved. Acutely aware there’s a Red Bull challenge coming, making hay while the tropical sun shone had felt just great.
Malaysian Grand Prix results
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 1h40m 25.974s
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes +17.313s
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault +24.534s
4. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari +35.992s
5. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes +47.199s
6. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes +1m23.691s
7. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes +1m25.076s
8. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes +1m25.537s
9. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap
10. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso-Renault +1 lap
11. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault +1 lap
12. Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari +1 lap
13. Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham-Renault +1 lap
14. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham-Renault +2 laps
15. Max Chilton, Marussia-Ferrari +2 lapsRetirements:
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault 49 laps
Esteban Gutiérrez, Sauber-Ferrari 35 laps
Adrian Sutil, Sauber-Ferrari 32 laps
Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso-Renault 18 laps
Jules Bianchi, Marussia-Ferrari 8 laps
Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Renault 7 laps
Sergio Pérez, Force India-Mercedes 0 lapsDrivers’ Championship:
1. Nico Rosberg 43
2. Lewis Hamilton 25
3. Fernando Alonso 24
4. Jenson Button 23
5. Kevin Magnussen 20
6. Nico Hulkenberg 18
7. Sebastian Vettel 15
8. Valtteri Bottas 14
9. Kimi Räikkönen 6
10. Felipe Massa 6
11. Jean-Eric Vergne 4
12. Daniil Kvyat 3
13. Sergio Pérez 1Constructors’ Championship:
1. Mercedes 68
2. McLaren-Mercedes 43
3. Ferrari 30
4. Williams-Mercedes 20
5. Force India-Mercedes 19
6. Red Bull-Renault 15
7. Toro Rosso-Renault 7
8. Sauber-Ferrari 0
9. Lotus-Renault 0
10. Caterham-Renault 0
11. Marussia-Ferrari 0
The next race (all times BST/GMT)
More from Mark Hughes
Red Bull’s fuel flow appeal
Success should come to Valtteri Bottas
Australian Grand Prix report
Not a bad GP, good racing in the lower positions and great to see the cars moving around and the drivers having to work.
Still trying to decided if I like the engine note.
On that subject, why could there not be 3.0 lit N/A V8/V10/V12 with all the “green” stuff added instead of turbo Formula Ford motors?
Good Report on a tedious race, but we get them from time to time.
2 things stood out for me:
1) On about Lap 15, or around that point, Ricciardo’s Engineer told him to keep a 2 second gap to Vettel to ‘save his tyres’. Likewise, Vettel was then told to maintain a 2 second gap to Rosberg to ‘save his tyres’
In effect, both Drivers were being told NOT to race the car in front, even if it was a car run by a different team. That left me questionning what we are all doing even bothering to watch. They MUST make durable tyres that can be thrashed for a race if required. – To me, the above radio messages meant the fundamental’s of the sport could not be adhered to.
2) About 2/3's though the race, Ben Edwards stated on BBC Commentary ‘Vettel’s gone for the mediums, now thats interesting’. In my opinion it wasn’t, then again, in the context of the race, it probably was.
With so little happening on Track, watching a Grand Prix and listening to the commentary can be like listening to a Science / Engineering lecture, whilst watching moving images of cars. The contstant drone of it all can get tiresome. Years ago, Murray Walker would get round these sorts of races by constantly referring to the split times, stating who was gaining on who, who was doing it lap after lap..etc. Nowadays, this seems to have been shelved for constant Engineering lectures that have little do do with what we’re watching. I love the BBC team, but this one was tough going.
Rant over. Mark’s Race report was better entertainment than the race itself. How’s that work?
Lezza, 31 March 2014 12:02Terrific report Mark, well done.
Michael Spitale, 31 March 2014 12:05The Mercedes boys are on another planet and don’t even look to be pushing right now which is a bad sign for others. I was bummed that Kimi was nearly around Alonso at one point on lap 1 and 30 seconds later his race was over essentially. Riccairdo can’t seem to buy a break at this point…
JSaviano, 31 March 2014 12:08My comments:
- the pre-season difficulties of Red Bull are no longer relevant. SV & DR will be challenging Mercedes all season
- more evidence that the whole blue flag/”so and so” is faster than you, needs to go away. If the following car is faster, then it should pass. If it can’t, and the other driver isn’t blocking, then it may not be faster. Whatever the reason, pass the slower car!
- McLaren & Ferrari need to “get it together.”
- Lastly, too many penalties for obvious racing incidents.
So, Ricciardo’s RB suffered another fuel flow sensor failure? What an odd coincidence to have it fail two races in a row. Nothing like Massa’s gearbox troubles in Austin last year, I trust.
Does anyone believe what the RB team principal says?
John Fox, 31 March 2014 12:40Most boring GP for quite a while. Not helped by the dull drone of the new engines. Planning now to give Bahrain a miss and watch historics at Donington instead.
Graham Rabagliati, 31 March 2014 12:41If the Red Bull Team are at fault for the unsafe release of Daniel Riccardio, why are not both cars punished at the next race with a 5 place penalty each for Daniel Riccardio and Sebastian Vettel? It was not Daniel Riccardio’s fault.
Ray In Toronto, Canada (Ray T (The other one)), 31 March 2014 12:44Yes, “another great perfomance from Hulkenberg” indeed!
I’ll be giving the Hulk a 10 for pulverizing Perez in qually, for giving Alonso something to think about in the GP, for out-qualifying Raikkonen – and for wiping the floor with the similar-powered Button/Magnussen and Massa/Bottas in Qualifying and the Grand Prix.
Can’t wait for the FIA to change the weight rules that penalize poor Hulkenberg simply for being tall and muscular.
The Hulk will rule Formula One one day.
Perez out-qualified Button 10-9 last year and went wheel-to-wheel with him many, many times. I doubt Button would trouble Hulkenberg much in the same machinery.
As per Hamilton, I will have to dig up my post in the pre-season Podcast thread where I agreed with you (Mark Hughes) that, “cerebral” era or no, Lewis would beat Nico by a larger margin than he did in 2013.
We all know that Hamilton wasn’t fully comfortable with his new car and new digs in ’13 – and yet he out-scored Rosberg in the WDC.
The only thing that separates Lewis from his 2nd World Championship is Mercedes politics and his W05's reliability.
Trevor, 31 March 2014 13:09I’ll have to catch it on iPlayer. Like other true enthusiasts I was at Goodwood.
Propjoe, 31 March 2014 13:3960 2-sentence paragraphs on what was essentially one car starting from pole trundling off into the distance, unchallenged.
That is a remarkable difference on the Motorsport Magazine articles last year, when the race reports invariably moaned that F1 was so boring when Vettel dominated a race.
It seems that whatever Newey advantage the Red Bulls had last year, its insignificant to the advantage Mercedes has over their rivals. F1's new ‘road relevant’ engine format rules have effectively made this a Mercedes whitewash.
I cant wait for Red Bull and Renault to fix their engines, and Vettel lap the whole field twice, and see if the Motorsport Magazine race reports will stay as exciting as this article.
Other news of importance for F1 fans:
Bernie Ecclestone has said all the race promoters have complained about the lack of noise from the new engines. The forums are flooded with people cancelling their tickets, and many have refused to even watch this race. And though it is their bread and butter, even live commentators like DC and Brundle have voiced huge displeasure of the current lack of noise in F1.
Wouldnt it be nice if youd read about such important facts in race reports?
Steve Hyde, 31 March 2014 13:53@JSaviano: am I missing something here? Surely you only get the blue flag if you’re being lapped. It doesn’t get shown if you’re in 6th position and the car following you is in 7th, do you? Is this another FIA rule change that I’ve missed?
Jack Holt, 31 March 2014 14:04The new formula seems a vast improvement on recent years – whenever power exceeds grip the excitement is heightened: watching Rosberg’s car squirm through the first few corners under pressure from the Red Bulls was thrilling! The cars are harder to control, mistakes are more common and talent is shining through.
I love the new engines, not just for the racing they’re delivering, but for the sounds they make. This is a new hi-tech spec, I want to hear the authentic sound it makes, I don’t want it to be adulterated to conform to some out-dated idea of how a ‘real’ engine should sound. Word to the FIA: no more tinkering, you’ve got it about right (except for the silly double points rule).
Terry Jacob, 31 March 2014 14:25What a tedious ‘race ‘ – the sort of thing that makes paint drying look positively exciting by comparison – apparently looking at fuel percentage use is the new ‘ key ‘ viewing highlight . How pathetic . Beginning to grow tired of being told ‘ this is what we’ve got ‘ and how we should learn to like it . Frankly the FIA , the teams , and the journalists who think this rubbish is so wonderful can stick it where the sun don’t shine . Can’t wait to get to a historic meeting to remind myself what real racing cars look and sound like .
Ray In Toronto, Canada (Ray T (The other one)), 31 March 2014 14:28By the way, congratulations to Motor Sport for bringing Mark Hughes aboard!
That was a truly excellent report on a race that had me earning for sleep.
The Grand Prix started at 4:00 am Toronto time – and I had a TOUGH time staying awake once the first set of pitstops was out of the way.
Luckily I had recorded qually and the GP – and noticed I hadn’t missed much during the middle 3rd of the race.
High marks to Hughes, Hulkenberg, Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso for “Extracting the Maximum out of the Meeting”…
:)
The Original Ray T, 31 March 2014 14:34Turns out, Mercedes parades are no more interesting than Red Bull Renault parades.
The Massa/Bottas message: Bottas actually then went and whined to the press about how another car should get out of his way …based on data. I would be embarrassed to do this as a professional driver, but this is the team order/DRS generation of drivers. Young driver aggression is now measured by fiercity of one’s press conferences.
The press is really hanging on Vettel’s every word (and thankfully,he is not just an RBR/FIA puppet), but I really can’t fault them for that since there is little to report on in the race.
I guess if Gilles Villeneuve had raced the 1981 Spanish GP today he would have just had to move over.
Remember Murray Walker’s ” ..catching is one thing, passing is another….”? Well, that’s no longer true in F1, and that really needs to be fixed.
“Felipe, Bottas is faster than you…”
How come he could not make a passing move even with the DRS, at a track “gifted” with one of the longest straights of the year???
Ah! He wasn’t that faster, then…
And the guy was sure that he could overtake JB as well…
Dear Lord: a driver in his second year in F1, no wins, no podiuns, surely fast but with no significant results to give him “weight”, demanding that his team mate be simply told to move aside???
Great future…
Dave Cubbedge, 31 March 2014 15:41I recorded the race and watched it yesterday afternoon, yet a full nights’ sleep couldn’t stop me from drifting off 1/3 the way in. I awoke to see the Massa/Bottas issue….
No worries, I then watched the Indycars from St. Pete and couldn’t stay awake for that either (Indycars sound almost as boring as F1 this year)…. I need to find something more exciting to watch on Sundays like curling…..
More exciting to me (racing-wise) was following a minor sprint car race in Texas from a ‘live-timing’ app on my smart-phone Saturday night. I didn’t need to see it, I knew the action was intense and mind blowing. Oh, and I also knew the engines would sound like true racing engines – American V8's, raucous and loud!
Another couple of weeks and it’ll be time for sprint cars at Eldora again and the real racing will commence!
R Richards, 31 March 2014 15:44My interest in the race and in the 2014 season ended about lap 15, when I switched to a curling match and found it more exciting. Little use in pointing out how these mini turbo engines represent the green future and are an important development exercise with the auto manufacturers. F1 may have made a faustian bargain with the auto companies, but I see no reason why their R&D has to be carried out on the racetrack.
The cars do not sound, or even look very much like race cars; with so many painted black/grey/white they are even hard for me to distinguish on my ancient TV. Perhaps it is my eyes in my 53 F1 season.
I think F1 has hugely missed the boat with this formula. Good luck in promoting these cars when they get to classic venues like Monaco, Spa, and as for Texas, they may have further explaining to do there.
F1 is no longer F1
almost 10 sec slower than the lap record, way is too much.
it´s ok that the drivers have to work harder but the facination
and excitement of seeing (and hearing) a F1 car through the corners is totally gone. F1 should be superior speed and soundwise to anything else now its just sad to watch and hear. And that silly fuel control thing on top of that. I know performance will get better but as it is now F1 is restricted
and CONTROLLED to death. And all that comunication between pit and driver just adds to that feeling of control. I wish there was less talk and also fewer buttons on the steering
wheel.
It looks as though I’m not alone in not having seen the whole of the Malaysian F1 race (sorry, can’t call it a Grand Prix any more). I got to about lap 25 but then the smell of warm croissants and fresh coffee got too much for me.
I didn’t miss any of last season, even when Vettell was winning everything, but this time round I think I will be spending much more time at my local circuit (Croft).
John Read, 31 March 2014 17:20Now we have a ‘percentage of fuel used’ graphic.
The commentators suggested this is something we will be focussing on more and more during the season.
Sounds like an Economy Run to me.
Very sad.
john miller, 31 March 2014 17:26Following on from the magazine’s attack on the greed of F1's owners, what about this one?
This was the first one I watched live, so I went to the F1 official site to watch the live timing, which used to display lap times, sector times and gaps between cars.
Not anymore.
Oh no, to get more than just the basic lap time information, you have to upgrade to the premium app.
Which, you will be unsurprised to discover, is not free.
So, in the UK, you not only have to pay a subscription to watch all the races, you have to pay again to get the same information they give all the teams.
I was verging on giving up on F1 after 46 years, but the new formula held my interest. But the sheer naked greed is becoming a slow burn turn off.
David H, 31 March 2014 17:51Have never been a Vettel fan (was in Webber’s camp) but my opinion of him certainly took a jump at his four-letter comment on the engines. And manly of the governing body to admonish him.
Mikey, 31 March 2014 18:09Did I hear correctly? First: Dietrich Mateschitz is passionate about F1. Then: RB may leave the sport if it does not suit RB (more or less). What are we hearing here? Is DM threatening to take his ball home if the big boys don’t let him score? Is this a precursor to the hearing? If that is passion for the sport, perhaps it is time to go now? If it no longer floats your boat DM, set Mr Newey free! Britain’s America’s Cup challenger might like to speak to him.
On engine noise – ok, its not the best but better that than doctoring the exhausts to improve it; it is a car not a musical instrument. Or let them build whatever configuration motor they would prefer. :)
Likes?: Seeing the power exceed the grip occasionally.
Martini stripes.
Seeing RBR not in such dire straits as predicted pre-season.
Dislikes?: Noses.
Constant droning on about fuel.
Coaching the driver from the pits, just who is controlling the car?.
” ‘X’ is faster than you”
Seeing Lotus struggling.
Hopes?: Closer racing.
Less radio.
Different faces on the podium.
Hi John,
It seems Mark Hughes is not very interested in what the fans think is important. The omission in this 2nd race report about the lack of live timing for the fans at home except if you have a tablet and are willing to pay money for software that doesnt work.
Another omission: Lewis Hamilton scored a Grand Chelem. Apparently for guys like Hughes who only cover the sport for about 10 years, such things are not important.
Andrew Muggeridge, 31 March 2014 18:54I found it incredible that Massa was asked to move over for Bottas “because he is faster”. It’s the 2nd race for God’s sake ! And if Bottas was that much quicker why didn’t he get past Massa anyway with better driving or DRS ? Good on Felipe for ignoring it.
Thought the race was a 5 out of 10 but that seems par for the course these days…
If you want proper racing tune in to the BTCC. It was a great start to the season at Brands.
Am somewhat pleased I missed large portions of this race… was at the Goodwood meeting instead. Personally, I was much more enthused listening to the mid-80s F1 turbo cars (which weren’t even ‘racing’) than listening to this current crop. I really can’t get my head around the ridiculous idea of two joint penalties for Ricciado’s pit stop disaster. Their own mess-up cost them time and was a penalty in its self.
Alex Milligan, 31 March 2014 21:00I cant make up my mind which droning noise is the most annoying – the new hairdryer engines or PropJoe’s constant whingeing and whining in this comments forum.
Perhaps PJ should start submitting a race report…….
I try….and try again. I cannot make ugly beautiful. F1 cars are at the outer edge of ridiculous: via “cheese grater” front and mid-sections; and small rear wings not proportional to the human eye. How do I get excited about racing when I have, minimal tolerance visually of what I see? Naturally costs are out-of-control. Aerodynamics is sophisticated, fine science. What is the end-point? Cars which may run upside down? And, they can. If you spray painted one F1 flat black: it would scare a young boy. He might think you had a “ray gun”! Racing is, to me, the best drivers controlling something vastly more powerful than we mortals can imagine. That references driver control, not traction or electronic circuit power mapping. Aero bits produce Klingon spaceships. F1 is akin watching “The Ugliest Things In Sports” Contest!
There are but three ways to increase velocity: Increase power; decrease friction; or decrease the head of resistance. I know the former two yield marginal gains. Common sense says the engineers will go to number three. Until they cannot by dictum, or Imperial control.
Damien March, 31 March 2014 23:41I have long enjoyed Mark Hughes’ embrace of detail, technical, sporting and political, in his coverage of F1.
His one vice though is the periodic out break of Hamilton fan-boy. I will gladly eat humble pie, however, if he describes great winning drives by other drivers as “a beautiful routine of aced braking zones and apexes and great fuel read-outs.”
We all have our favorites (Raikkonen is mine), but a writer as good and intelligent as Mark should be able to keep that to him self.
After all, wasn’t Hulkenberg’s “afternoon” equally “a beautiful routine of aced braking zones and apexes and great fuel read-outs”?
If he was in a Mercedes, we would all most likely have to readjust our doers of merit.
Damien March, 31 March 2014 23:43That should be “orders of merit”; though EJ might think “doers” the appropriate choice!
Mark Hughes, 1 April 2014 03:06Hello again PropJoe. Amuses me greatly that you should have the will to count how many paragraphs and sentences the report contains. I salute your motivation! Noise and fans being ripped off are covered in various MS pieces already. No need to clog a race report up with repetition. As for ‘guys like Hughes who’ve only covered the sport for about 10 years’, wrong again. Try 25 (15 in F1, though first F1 report was 21 years ago, for Motoring News) – and following it race by race for 44 (forty-four years). But continue with your rants, I enjoy ‘em.
Propjoe, 1 April 2014 06:51Thanks Mark, your BBC-articles end with “Mark Hughes is a writer who cover F1 for more than 10 years, and that was only 2 years ago, so there you go.
When 18 of the 30 comments in the motorsport section are from fans that thought this race was one of the most boring in recent years (one said it was the most boring since Spanish GP of 1999) you have to ask yourself: was this race really worth 60 2-sentence paragraphs? Or could some part of that be devoted to the utter, utter sleep inducing events on track?
I have to applaud your devotion, but the cynic in me says its only because you want to write a new book about Lewis Hamilton at the end of the season. There you go.
Some choice utterings from fans on another forum:
“We should call this The Prius Challenge instead of F1?
“Drivers. I think their title should be changed to car managers”
“Fuel gauges on screen now. Why not a graph showing how they are reducing the melting of the polar ice cap.”
“Getting fuel data! How exciting this info. made the race! It’s as if we could see little fuel drops being used by the engines as the laps went by, biting our nails every lap to see if someone would run out! I hope soon they will project a slow-mo animation of the pistons moving too.”
“When commentators spend most of the race critiquing what’s wrong with F1 and trying to find ways to revive it, you know something’s gone very, very wrong.”
“The next step must be introducing traffic jams and traffic lights at races. Road relevant you see”
Mark Hughes, 1 April 2014 08:33You’ll be getting exactly the same service regardless of who wins. I have zero interest in who that is, only in discovering why it was them and not someone else. Will be as happy to write a Vettel book as one on any other driver. Those decisions made by the people who commission them, not me.
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Jean Todt reportedly furious with Vettel's engine noise comments. Interesting dynamics, with the Red Bull appeal case coming up...
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