Hungarian Grand Prix: Weekend Preview

Three weeks without F1 is always a painful experience however, as the paddock arrives in Hungary anticipation for the latest installment of the 2013 season reaches a crescendo. Following the YDT at Silverstone, the Pirelli tyre concerns seem to have abated yet now attention turns to mastering and understanding the new compounds. In terms of the complex battles within both championships, can anyone catch Sebastian Vettel? Can McLaren overturn the deficit to Force India? Can Lotus maintain momentum following their impressive double podium in Germany?

Grosjean Wanted YDT Opportunity

Following the intensive restrictions Pirelli placed upon the race drivers at last weeks Young Drivers Test, the majority of teams opted to allow their young stars all important track time. Lotus were one of these teams, with Nicolas Prost running two of the three test days, with GP2 reigning champion Davide Valsecchi putting the car through its paces on Thursday. Neither Kimi Raikkonen or Romain Grosjean received track time; A decision which has left the latter disgruntled.

Young Drivers Test: Day 3

The third and final day of the Young Drivers Test was certainly an interesting one. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel was on show this afternoon and made the most of his time on track, claiming the top spot on the timesheet. Meanwhile, Williams development driver Susie Wolff stole the headlines as she took part in her first timed Formula One test; the first women to achieve this since 1992.

Young Drivers Test: Day 1

As Britain experiences the longest prolonged warm spell since 2006, Silverstone welcomed an excellent turn-out today for the first of three days of the Young Drivers Test. While the emphasis has been taken away from the youngsters in the wake of the test becoming a Pirelli tyre test, their was still an array of young blood on show throughout the day. McLaren youngster Kevin Magnussen made the most of his track time and recorded the fastest time of the day, following up his timesheet topping first day of last years YDT at Abu Dhabi. Kevin is certainly making a name for himself.

As with any test, times are somewhat irrelevant. Particularly in the case of young drivers, consistency and feedback are the key attributes which are being observed. This is even more poignant, considering that the teams are desperately looking to obtain vital information regarding the new tyres ahead of Hungary, while being restricted to Pirelli's programme.

German Grand Prix: Weekend Preview

So soon after the controversy which gripped the British crowd at Silverstone, Formula One arrives in Germany, with all eyes firmly on Pirelli. The tyre manufactures have been under fire since the delaminations during the British Grand Prix and are now concluding preparations to the new Kevlar-belted tyres which make an appearance this weekend. Hopefully these more expensive construction tyres will provide exciting, but above all safe racing. Perhaps we can stop talking about tyres and focus on the ever improving battle between Mercedes and Red Bull, as the resurgent Silver Arrows look to impress on home soil.

Pirelli have frantically prepared the Kevlar-belted tyres which will feature this weekend.
(c) Sky Sports

Rosberg Ready To Continue Merc Resurgence

Undoubtedly, everyone at Brackley will have been encouraged by the team's race performances in recent times. They appear to have reduced the offset gap between their dominant qualifying pace and their previously underwhelming race pace. It has taken several races, yet the W04 is now capable of challenging the Red Bull's on both Saturday and Sunday.
In today's press conference, Nico Rosberg insisted that it is "too early" to begin considering the German as a true championship contender, despite the undeniable pace of the W04 in its current guise. With a 50 point deficit to current championship leader Sebastian Vettel, this is an unsurprising analysis. However, with consistent results outperforming that of his fellow countryman, Rosberg could well be in the running during the final stages of the year. "Short-term I just want to annoy Sebastian and Red Bull race-to-race by being ahead of them," he said. "That's the most important thing, to be ahead of them and other teams and try to win more races. That's what we're focused on at the moment."
In response to being suggested as a title contender, Nico claimed; "It's too early to say that. We're really focusing on getting our momentum, keeping it going and concentrating on one race to the next to get the most out of them - just as we have done in the last couple of races. Then we will see in a few races time."
He concluded; "It's a really nice time in my career. It's new; I've never had a car as quick as this one is now and never been able to go out in qualifying knowing I can fight for a position right at the front. And now the car is getting better and better so the chances are higher on Sunday that I can keep my qualifying position. It's very motivating."
To boost the Mercedes charge, the team have brought an intriguing new front wing this weekend, which features many redesigned elements. It features a fully detached top flap, as well as an additional tier, (fifth element). Moreover, the wing has smaller IR sensors which are attached to the cascade wiglet. This should be more efficient at channeling air into the turning vein and suspension elements, creating more front downforce. Many of these features have been adopted from Ferrari's front wing which first appeared at Silverstone. Other developments for Mercedes this weekend include modified brake ducts, new rear suspension elements and an improved floor. They are certainly looking to maintain momentum in the development race, especially now that they have the talents of Paddy Lowe in their arsenal.

The new Mercedes front wing, featuring a fifth tier and a fully detached top flap
(c) Sky Sports

Alonso Hopes For A Vast Improvement

In contrast to 2012, Ferrari have been a reasonably consistent team in this campaign. However, Fernando Alonso has failed to match the efforts of Red Bull and Vettel. Despite this, Fernando maintains a strong position in the title race, as Sebastian Vettel's closest challenger, yet a dismal British Grand Prix meant that he was unable to capitalize fully on the Red Bull tribulations.
"We need to answer what is our real performance," Alonso acknowledged. "We have been very good this year apart from the Silverstone weekend where we were not competitive, not good enough to fight with the top guys. So I am curious to see if it was only one race or whether we lost performance somewhere,"
Mercedes have arrived on home soil as the team to beat and Fernando has recognised that to challenge Sebastian's current control of the championship, he will need to beat the Silver Arrows - which is a tricky task in itself. Alonso noted, "They are very strong. They have proven that they are extremely quick. Before it was qualifying, now they are also very quick in the race. I have no doubts that they will fight until the end. Nico and Hamilton will be tough contenders."

Drivers Content With Pirelli Changes

With safety being a major concern for the drivers as they departed Silverstone, Pirelli realized that action had to be taken quickly. Most of the drivers have stated their satisfaction with Pirelli's immediate response to their fears, after initial threats of a German GP driver boycott were quickly quelled in the wake of the British Grand Prix. However, many remain unclear on how the Kevlar-belted tyres will affect the pecking order, with teams such as Lotus and Force India thriving on the high degradation tyres. 

Kevlar Tyres For German Grand Prix

Following yesterday's announcement that the forthcoming Young Drivers Test at Silverstone would become a Pirelli tyre test in which the race drivers would take part, Pirelli are expected to announce that they will revert back to the Kevlar-belt tyres as oppose to the current steel versions which wreaked havoc during the British Grand Prix. The official statement is expected to be made later today, with the new tyres being used at next weekend's German Grand Prix.
The sudden decision from Pirelli has been made on account of two reasons. Firstly, both Lotus and Force India stated after Sunday's race that they would no longer object to a mid-season change of tyres on safety grounds. Secondly, Pirelli and the FIA have been forced by the teams to act on driver's concerns following the threats of a German Grand Prix boycott.

Tyre Testing Finally Approved

Following 'Test-Gate' many respected members of the paddock have been calling for official Pirelli tyre tests to create more coherent and transparent testing arrangements. Following yesterday's drama at Silverstone, Bernie Ecclestone has announced that Pirelli will be permitted to conduct two more tyre tests, which will involve all of the teams. In addition to this, the forthcoming Young Drivers Test has been converted into a tyre test, as the FIA look to distinguish the German GP boycott threats which arose this morning.

British Grand Prix: Race Analysis

The British fans were today treated to an enthralling British Grand Prix, packed with controversy, strategy and on track action. Safe to say, it was an explosive race. Lewis Hamilton led Sebastian Vettel early on before he became one of four drivers to experience frightening tyre blowouts which shook the paddock. Teams frantically looked for explanations to prevent the issues and Pirelli frantically examined the suspect rubber. Meanwhile, it was Nico Rosberg who took his third career win despite being moments away from a similar blowout himself as a hole formed on the tread of his left rear tyre, right before his scheduled pit stop. A day of fine margins, but Rosberg came away with a fine result.

Tyre Test Gate: The Verdict

Following a tense day in front of the International Tribunal, both Mercedes and Pirelli anxiously prepared to discover their fate. Day 1 went as well as could be expected for Mercedes, while Pirelli had suffered a reputation damaging affair. The verdict brought results which had been somewhat anticipated - Mercedes have been excluded from the forthcoming Young Drivers Test at Silverstone and Pirelli have been reprimanded for instigating a test which contravened the regulations. However, many will feel that the penalty does not reflect the severity of the crime.

New Construction Suffers More Delays

Pirelli's 2013 season seems to be one miscalculation followed by another. The Italian tyre manufacturer announced that the new construction tyres would be available and used throughout the Canadian Grand Prix weekend onwards. After they realized that their ambitious estimate was not set to be matched, Pirelli stated that the tyre would be available in free practice sessions only. Now, Pirelli have said that they will not race their revised tyres at British Grand Prix after completing insufficient mileage in last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix practice sessions.

Pirelli Delay Amended Compound

Crisis has befallen tyre manufacturers Pirelli, over the past few weeks. After an 82 pit-stop race in Barcelona, they had been strongly criticized for their high degradation compound. Consequently, Pirelli announced that they would be restructuring all dry weather compounds, to make the tyres more durable. While the initial plan was to have the tyres ready for the Canadian Grand Prix, Pirelli have altered the forecast, stating that the new compounds will only be available in practice as they look to further amend them ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Spanish Grand Prix: Race Analysis

Never before has there been a more belated Race Analysis! For that, I apologize  As I announced in a previous article, revision for exams has to come first and on this occasion, a late analysis of the Spanish Grand Prix is the resultant bi-product. It may seem like a long time ago, but Fernando Alonso took his second win of the season on Sunday, delighting his home fans in Barcelona. Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen reduced Sebastian Vettel's lead in the championship, with an impressive second place. However, tyres were the major talking point as a ludicrous 82 pit-stops were made over the duration of the race.

Pirelli Alter The Hard Compound

With Red Bull leading the appeal against Pirelli's radical 2013 tyre compounds, the Italian manufacturers have reacted, announcing that a more durable hard tyre will be available from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards. However, will this change quell the vocal dissatisfaction within certain teams in regards to the state of the entire tyre range. Super-soft, soft and medium compounds will remain unchanged.