Published in Volume 2 Issue 11 Page 26 of The Australia Times.
Daniel Ricciardo
Dan Ricciardo = Australia’s New Hero
Formula 1, Spultured
He’s the young pup who started out in Formula 1 with his teeth covered in braces and his ambitions high to make it to the top. Well, four years later and this rising star has clinched his maiden Grand Prix win in Montreal, with his dentist gifting Ricciardo the biggest smile any racer has ever had, making Aussies more proud than ever.
The world was not ready for his smile, let alone the skill and determination this Australian has to offer. Many non-believers thought he would end up in the same position as Mark Webber being defeated by his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Oh boy, were they wrong.
Of course the Merecedes’ Silver Arrows have dominated the 2014 season so far, but Ricciardo has been the talk of the pits with his dominance in the Infiniti Red Bull team this year. He also broke the Mercedes winning streak, being the first driver this year to defeat the victorious Nico Rosberg and the swag of Lewis Hamilton.
Not only is the rookie sitting third in the championship, he’s out-performing Vettel. VETTEL! The guy who was booed every time he was on the podium last year. Just, wow.
Only two Australians have tasted Formula 1 world championship glory – Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones – I wouldn’t mind betting$1,000 that Ricciardo makes that tally three.
Ricciardo may have an Italian last name, but his heart is full of Aussie gold. He has the Australian fighting spirit and has blood the colour of wattle. This bloke is going to break history, and eventually will give us the Formula 1 championship that Webdog was so close to claiming.
And you know what, who cares about the Queen’s fake birthday. Let’s make this public holiday dedicated to Daniel Ricciardo and his firstFormula 1 victory. Happy Daniel Ricciardo Day people, hope you had a lovely long weekend.
And Dan, cheers to your maiden victory at the Canadian Grand Prix!
Published by Spultured
(Image source: ABC)
Hamilton takes hat-trick win in China
Fiasco Sports, Formula 1Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed his third consecutive race victory, finishing first at the Chinese Grand Prix.
British driver Lewis Hamilton has broken a personal racing record, winning three consecutive rounds in the Formula 1 Drivers Championship.
Hamilton lead from pole, taking the chequered flag at the Shanghai circuit, finishing ahead of his German teammate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton drove away from the start, racing his own race ahead of the rest.
Rosberg endured telemetry dramas throughout the entire Grand Prix, forcing the German to report the data from his steering wheel to the data engineers, costing Rosberg at the very beginning of the race.
Red Bull Racing were unable to catch Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, with the Spaniard able to race his #14 Ferrari to third, despite clashing with former teammate Felipe Massa at the start of the race.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo fell shy of his first podium finish in Formula 1, crossing the line only 1.2s behind Alonso, despite starting the race on the front row.
Ricciardo and German teammate Sebastian Vettel battled mid-race, with Vettel being told by team principle Christian Horner to surrender his position to Ricciardo because the Australian was faster.
Vettel quoted, “tough luck” on the radio communications and let Ricciardo race Vettel for fourth position.
Vettel was outshone by his new Australian teammate, finishing behind the Red Bull rookie in fifth place.
Both Force India drivers scored points, Nico Hulkenberg racing his way to the end to defeat Williams driver Valtteri Bottas for sixth and Sergio Perez falling seconds shy from Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari to finish ninth.
Rookie Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kyvat finished tenth, the 19-year-old consistently scoring points.
McLaren failed to make it into the points, Jenson Button finishing 11th and Kevin Magnussen crossing the line 13th.
Rosberg still leads the Formula 1 Drivers Championship, Hamilton close behind in second.
Mercedes extend their comprehensive lead in the Constructors Championship.
Round 5 of the Formula 1 World Championship will be hosted in Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix on 11 May.
Chinese Grand Prix Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1h36m52.810s |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | +18.686s |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | +25.765s |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | +26.978s |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | +51.012s |
| 6 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | +57.581s |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | +58.145s |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | +1m23.990s |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | +1m26.489s |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Renault | +1 lap |
| 11 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | +1 lap |
| 12 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Renault | +1 lap |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | +1 lap |
| 14 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | +1 lap |
| 15 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | +1 lap |
| 16 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 17 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | +1 lap |
| 18 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 19 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | +2 laps |
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | +2 laps |
| RET | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 27 laps |
| RET | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 4 laps |
– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/hamilton-takes-hat-trick-win-in-china/#sthash.7Gj9w88L.dpuf
Australia v Vettel
Formula 1, The Australia TimesPublished on The Australia Times Issue 3
Sebastian Vettel. Source: Wikimedia Commons
By Loren Hazelwood @LorenHazelwood
Sebastian Vettel. A name well-known in Australian households for being the German that caused fans to yell at their TV sets every time he was near or in front of our Australian Mark Webber.
He’s won world championship after world championship, and the more he won, the more frustrated Australian fans have become, saying, “Why can’t Webber achieve the same results?”
Well, this year should be completely different for our Aussie fans.
With Webber now retired and racing for Porsche, young-pup Daniel Ricciardo has graduated from his team at Torro Rosso, joining the German at the top of Formula 1. And to most people’s surprise (Vettel’s in particular), the young Aussie has outperformed his teammate on numerous occasions this season.
With the new generation of Australian racing overseas, Ricciardo has built respect with his new teammate, managing to outshine his world champion colleague.
In three out of four races this year, Ricciardo has blitzed Vettel in qualifying, and has also finished races in front of the German, causing a bit of tension in the pit paddock at Red Bull.
At the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Vettel was in front of Ricciardo, with both running different tyre strategies. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner immediately went on the radio to Vettel sending him a team order to let through our Aussie racer.
Vettel’s reply was simply, “Tough love.”
Ricciardo then raced Vettel passing him into Turn 1, enabling Ricciardo to finish fourth, with Vettel fifth overall.
Although Vettel is currently in front of Ricciardo in the Drivers’ Championship, this won’t stop Ricciardo over-achieving at his new squad.
With the new 1.6-litre turbo-charged power trains, this season of Formula 1 has been nothing but completely unpredictable.
We thought we’d see many surprises, but would never predict seeing an Australian finally stand on the podium in Melbourne only to later be stripped of second place due to a fuel system failure.
Everyone could see from the Australian Grand Prix that Ricciardo had pace, and that he knew how to drive these innovative cars.
With a year that has so far been dominated by Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton taking the last three race victories, it’s easy to say that Red Bull seem not to have the pace and straight-line speed they had over the last four years.
Vettel has been struggling with the new car technology, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Ricciardo passed the world champion in the Drivers’ Championship.
Australia only has two Formula 1 World Champions including Alan Jones and Sir Jack Brabham. Webber was extremely close but was outshone by Vettel; can our Ricciardo defeat the German and make it three drivers to take the momentous championship? Only time will tell…
Rosberg Triumphs in Australian Grand Prix
Formula 1, The Australia Times
http://www.theaustraliatimes.com/emagazines/sport/issue203/#p=18 © The Australia Times
New F1 is too quiet according to race goers
Australian V8 Supercars, Formula 1, On The RecordBy LOREN HAZELWOOD
Kamui Kobayasi crashing out after a brake-by-wire failure. Photo: AP Photo/Ross Land
Australian Grand Prix organisers claim the new F1 cars may have breached race contracts because they were not loud enough.
Fans have also spoken and agreed that the new V6 turbo-charged powertrain cars sound duller than a lawnmower on a Saturday morning.
The Australian Grand Prix Coordination’s (AGPC) organiser Andrew Westacott said the new cars took away the fascinating spectacle of Formula One racing.
“One aspect of it was just a little bit duller than it’s ever been before and that’s part of the mix and the chemistry that they’re going to have to get right,” Mr Westacott told Fairfax radio.
Westacott also mentioned that AGPC chairman Ron Walker told Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone who said that the quieter sound might have breached the race contract.
“Ron spoke to [Ecclestone] after the race and said fans don’t like it in the venue,” Mr Westacott said.
“We pay for a product, we’ve got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches.”
Not only were the big bosses disappointed with the sound of the new cars—the fans and racing drivers were in disbelief with the V6-turbo sound, including NSW Formula Ford Driver, Daniel Holihan.
“They should definitely bring back the V8 or even the V10 and V12 engine, it’s the fans that come to hear the high pitch roar of a Formula One around the city of Melbourne,” Mr Holihan said.
“I was getting more of a thrill watching the rolling starts of the V8 Supercars.”
Although the cars were not as loud—the racing spoke for itself, with the drivers battling for position throughout the whole race, while trying to not break down.
The competition level was high and it was unpredictable who would win the race before it started, with reliability also playing a big part during the first race in Australia.
“I loved the action, the race was very entertaining because it was a complete fresh start for every team and there was a lot of passing going on,” Mr Holihan said.
Not only did the race deliver great action and unpredictability, it also saw controversy unfold as Australian young gun Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified after a fuel-flow sensor error.
Ricciardo’s team at Red Bull have appealed the decision, with the verdict expected to take a few weeks to be announced.
Nico Rosberg was the eventual winner of the race, with McLaren rookie driver Kevin Magnussen replacing Ricciardo for second on his Formula One debut, with McLaren teammate Jenson Button rounding out the top three.
Formula One management are yet to comment on the hybrid-generation cars.
New F1 Cars Are Too Bloody Quiet
Australian V8 Supercars, Formula 1, Spultured
After never attending a Formula 1 race, I was more than excited to hear the roaring sound and ear-piercing ring of what people had explained a Formula 1 car to be… Unfortunately this year, they sounded flatter than a lawnmower on a Saturday morning.
Not only were fans disappointed with the new V6 Turbo-charged power-train, but so was the Australian Grand Prix Coordination’s (AGPC) organiser Andrew Westacott, who said the new cars took away the fascinating spectacle of Formula 1 racing.
“One aspect of it was just a little bit duller than it’s ever been before and that’s part of the mix and the chemistry that they’re going to have to get right,” Westacott told Fairfax radio.
Westacott also mentioned that AGPC chairman Ron Walker told Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone that the new sound may have breached race contracts with Formula 1 management.
“Ron spoke to [Ecclestone] after the race and said fans don’t like it in the venue.
“We pay for a product, we’ve got contracts in place, we are looking at those very, very seriously because we reckon there has probably been some breaches.”
Not only were the big bosses disappointed with the sound of the new cars—the fans and racing drivers were in disbelief with the V6-turbo sound, including NSW Formula Ford Driver, Daniel Holihan.
“They should definitely bring back the V8 or even the V10 and V12 engine, it’s the fans that come to hear the high pitch roar of a Formula 1 around the city of Melbourne,” Holihan said.
“I was getting more of a thrill watching the rolling starts of the V8 Supercars.”
Although the cars were not as loud — the racing spoke for itself, with the drivers battling for position throughout the whole race, while trying to not break down.
The competition level was high and the winner was unpredictable before the race had even started, with reliability also playing a big part during the first race in Australia.
“I loved the action, the race was very entertaining because it was a complete fresh start for every team and there was a lot of passing going on,” Holihan said.
Not only did the race deliver great action and unpredictability, it also saw controversy unfold as Australian young gun Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified after a fuel-flow sensor error.
Ricciardo’s team at Red Bull have appealed the decision, with the answer expected to take a few weeks to be decided.
Nico Rosberg was the eventual winner of the race, with McLaren rookie driver Kevin Magnussen replacing Ricciardo for second on his Formula 1 debut, with McLaren teammate Jenson Button rounding out the top three.
Formula 1 management are yet to comment on the hybrid-generation cars.
Hear for yourself, what do you think?
Nico Rosberg takes victory at Grand Prix
Formula 1, On The RecordBy LOREN HAZELWOOD
Nico Rosberg crossing the line in Melbourne. Credit: AFP
After a strong pre-season testing, Formula One favourite Mercedes proved too strong at the weekend’s Grand Prix with driver Nico Rosberg taking the victory at Melbourne’s Albert Park street circuit.
Rosberg managed to win the first Grand Prix of the season by over 23 seconds, with Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo crossing the line in second place. However, he was later disqualified due to the fuel flow reading after the race.
Because of Ricciardo’s disqualification, McLaren’s rookie driver Kevin Magnussen stole the show, finishing second on the podium for his first ever Formula One race.
Mercedes was the strong favourite to win right from the start with driver Lewis Hamilton putting the car on pole position during qualifying.
The start of the race saw everything unfold, with Rosberg getting the jump and leading into the first corner.
Ricciardo was right behind in second place, making the country proud as he put the new Red Bull on the front row.
Turn one also saw the first crash for the season with Williams driver Felipe Massa being forced off the circuit after Kamui Kobayashi’s car had a rear brake-by-wire failure, causing Kobayashi’s Caterham to crash into the side of Massa.
With Rosberg and Ricciardo leading the pack, Hamilton started to fall backwards with the Mercedes V6 Turbo-charged engine having a failing cylinder, forcing him to retire early.
Reliability issues also saw current world champion Sebastian Vettel having to retire with the car down on power, while the two Lotus cars raced by Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado both stopped on the circuit with few laps to spare.
The battle of the race was further down the field with William’s driver Valtteri Bottas making a great comeback and managing to finish in fifth position after brushing the wall and damaging his rear right tyre.
McLaren’s new car was looking strong, with driver Jenson Button also finishing on the podium due to Ricciardo’s after-race penalty.
Meanwhile Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished in fourth place.
German Rosberg currently leads the Formula One Drivers’ Championship, with Round Two of the FIA Formula One Championship being held at Malaysia from 28-30 March.
The year ahead in Formula 1
Formula 1, The Australia Times
2014 Formula 1 season preview
Fiasco Sports, Formula 1With cars changing and the future of the sport flashing before our eyes, Fiasco Sports looks at what is changing for the 2014 Formula 1 season.
Source: Formula 1 official
Recent testing at Jerez has shown that luck in Formula 1 can change almost immediately.
Red Bull Racing’s engineers had to fly back to England to work on electrical issues with the new RB10 car, some issues still being unresolved with the new design at the Bahrain testing, with Adrian Newey explaining, “we have gone too aggressive with the new car design, and that has cost us testing laps.”
Source: Ausmotive
Mercedes and Ferrari look to be strong, according to the test days and the amount of laps they have completed and the driver line-ups.
It is set to be a competitive season with Kimi Raikkonen joining Fernando Alonso at Ferrari.
The 2014 season will see three new young drivers step-up from the development ranks to Formula 1, including McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, Toro Rosso’s Danill Kvyat and Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson.
Source: Ausmotive
Due to new weight regulations, teams are required to reconsider car design for the 2014 championship to enhance better fuel consumption as well as using a different size motor, with the 2014 cars using a V6 1.6 litre turbo-charged engine.
Below is a breakdown of what has changed for each individual team for the 2014 championship, including drivers, chosen race numbers and the updates for the team’s cars.
Source: Ausmotive
Red Bull Racing
Sebastian Vettel #1
Daniel Ricciardo #3
RB10: The Renault-powered Formula 1 car requires to be cooled more than any other engine, the new design is too aggressive causing the car to overheat.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso #14
Kimi Raikkonen #7
F14 T: Ferrari have developed a car retaining last year’s pull-rod suspension, but have changed nearly everything else by increasing the cooling system while keeping adequate aerodynamic downforce and changing the body shape to balance the weight of the car.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton #44
Nico Rosberg #6
F1 W05: The Mercedes-powered car includes an elegant design. Mercedes having a strong advantage working directly with the motor suppliers and being able to mould the car to the engine, rather than build the motor to the car like other teams, giving them the edge gaining important laps during testing.
McLaren
Jenson Button #22
Kevin Magnussen #20
MP4-29: McLaren have chosen the “anteater” nose style and the rear wing has completely changed this year, being held up by one single pillar. McLaren will continue to use Mercedes engines for the 20th season, before heading to Honda for 2015.
Lotus
Romain Grosjean #8
Pastor Maldonado #13
E22: Lotus were one team that didn’t feature at the first pre-season test in Jerez, unveiling the car at Bahrain and believing they can be the lead Renault team this year, currently working on optimising the power delivery allowing drivers to more time to get used to it.
Force India
Nico Hulkenberg #27
Sergio Perez #11
VJM07: Force India has changed their livery to a black-dominant colour, utilising an unusual nose design, with the team continuing to partner with Mercedes who will supply the entire drive train.
Source: Ausmotive
Sauber
Adrian Sutil #99
Esteban Gutierrez #21
C33: The Ferrari-powered Formula 1 car has included new elements used for the Ferrari’s F14, while opting for an unusual nose design.
Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne #25
Daniil Kvyat #26
STR9: The Renault-powered car began work during the summer of 2012, with the team working on the aero-package of the car and focusing on the development of creating a more current and competitive shape.
Williams
Felipe Massa #19
Valterri Bottas #77
FW36: Due to new regulations, Williams have decided to attach the end plates to a new ‘beam wing’, which is placed less than 150mm above the reference plate, where there are no restrictions, utilising the rear diffuser and making the new innovation just as effective as 2013′s rules.
Marussia
Jules Bianchi #17
Max Chilton #4
MR03: Using a Ferrari engine for 2014, the MR03 compared to other cars on the grid is using a more simplistic design; similar to McLaren they are using a single-pillar rear wing.
Caterham
Kamui Kobayashi #10
Marcus Ericsson #9
CT05: For the fourth year in a row, Caterham will use Renault F1 Sport engines, while unveiling a car with a very unusual nose design in striking green paint.
Source: Ausmotive
Some changes have also occurred with the official 2014 race calendar, with the Korean and Indian races dropped for the Austrian and Russian Grand Prix.
The official Formula 1 Championship will kick off with the Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne’s Albert Park on March 16, starting the nineteen-round season.
| Round | Date | Race | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Mar 16
|
Australian Grand Prix
|
|
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2
|
Mar 30
|
Malaysia Grand Prix
|
|
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3
|
Apr 7
|
Bahrain Grand Prix
|
|
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4
|
Apr 20
|
Chinese Grand Prix
|
|
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5
|
May 11
|
Spanish Grand Prix
|
|
|
6
|
May 25
|
Monaco Grand Prix
|
|
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7
|
Jun 9
|
Canadian Grand Prix
|
|
|
8
|
Jun 22
|
Austrian Grand Prix
|
|
|
9
|
Jul 6
|
British Grand Prix
|
|
|
10
|
Jul 20
|
German Grand Prix
|
|
|
11
|
Jul 27
|
Hungarian Grand Prix
|
|
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12
|
Aug 24
|
Belgian Grand Prix
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|
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13
|
Sep 7
|
Italian Grand Prix
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|
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14
|
Sep 21
|
Singapore Grand Prix
|
|
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15
|
Oct 5
|
Japanese Grand Prix
|
|
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16
|
Oct 12
|
Russian Grand Prix
|
|
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17
|
Nov 3
|
United States Grand Prix
|
|
|
18
|
Nov 10
|
Brazilian Grand Prix
|
|
|
19
|
Nov 23
|
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
|
Written by Loren Hazelwood. @LorenHazelwood
– See more at: http://fiascosports.com/2014-formula-1-season-preview/#sthash.G9w3IMPz.dpuf
Media by Loren Hazelwood 