Selection box - Hit the open road - A touch of nostalgia, and then looking ahead to Japan
Published by Christine
It's been a while but I've gathered together some light reading ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, in case you're missing the sport in the four days it has been since we saw anything. In this batch of the best of the web we've got some nostalgia, some forward looking items, plenty of talk about Malaysia and of course a glance ahead to this weekend's race in Suzuka.
Let's start with some talk about the previous race in Malaysia, from some great statistical analysis, to thoughts on how easy it is to stir a conspiracy.
Next we saw a great duel between the drivers with Max just unable to get past Daniel. However, the whole complexion of the race was changed with 15 laps to go when race leader Hamilton was forced to retire. Daniel and Max were now P1 and P2. A virtual safety car was deployed and Red Bull took the opportunity to pit both drivers, costing Max 3 seconds.
I can’t help but get that creepy feeling whenever Lewis Hamilton dog-whistles that there is some sort of issue going on other than he and his team experiencing mechanical failures this year. Sure, he has borne the brunt of the issues at Mercedes in 2016 but so has Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, Fernando Alonso at McLaren and many others on the grid as well as throughout history in Formula 1.
Next up a couple of personal stories, one is a nice little insight from an F1 fan with Asperger's and the other is a fabulous look inside the slightly nerdy life of an engineer in the paddock.
I have been to four British Grand Prix's sitting at Farm curve, Copse and twice at Luffield. I have enjoyed each time the only problem for me is that I don't drive meaning I have to get a coach leaving at five in the morning, but I love going to such a historic circuit. Twice I have met up with friends which is nice to meet other formula one fans. My dream is to stay for the whole weekend of the grand prix.
Imagine having to take your datacenter with you everywhere you go. Daniel Martland does: it’s his job. Being a Trackside IT Engineer for Formula One racing team Scuderia Toro Rosso takes him to over 20 different countries every year. It’s a challenging job, he says, but at the end of each race, there is a great sense of fulfillment, another weekend well done.
A glimpse back through time now, as we first analyse how far Lewis Hamilton has come since his debut ten years ago, and in fact how things have pretty much stayed the same for him as well. There's also a sobering but enlightening post highlighting some of the things that have changed in the sport since Jules Bianchi's accident two year's ago.
Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007 but it was in November the previous year that it was announced he would drive for McLaren alongside Fernando Alonso... The 21-year-old Hamilton was told to keep schtum for two months, which must have taken some doing considering the excitement bursting within him.
Since the incident, the FIA have made changes to race start times in Australia, Malaysia, Japan and China to ensure there is enough sunlight for the race. The start times for the selected races start an hour earlier than their originally start time. The main reason they started so late was to suit European audiences. With an extra hour added to these races, they can make any changes with the start time in an threat of late thunderstorms.
Looking ahead to the weekend and beyond, next up is some analysis on how to get the best out of a race in Japan, particularly in terms of making the tyres work for you and not against you. I've also linked to a post that gathers together what we know about next year's driver lineup, where the changes are and where it is staying exactly the same.
The soft tyre performed very well in Malaysia. This weekend is likely to be much cooler, but the corners at Suzuka put more load on the tyres and that contributes to the degradation. Mercedes and Ferrari weren’t happy with the medium tyre in Malaysia and avoided it, but the cooler conditions of Suzuka are likely to suit it much better and one would expect them to do quite a bit of work on Friday to establish if it is the race tyre of choice.
With the announcement that Perez will stay with Force India for 2017, Force India also has a unchanged driver lineup for 2017. I feel that FI does have one of the best lineup's on the grid and it's a good thing they were able to keep both drivers. Let's cross our fingers they can keep up the ongoing line in terms of performance and to become a regular top 10 contender, working out the highs and lows they experience this year.
Finally, a little bit of fun with the Circuit of the Americas asking F1 drivers for their choice of music when going for a long drive in the States. Some of the choices might surprise you!
With two of the biggest names in world music performing at COTA during the 2016 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, we decided to ask the stars of Formula 1 to combine their love of music and fast cars by telling us their favorite songs to listen to whenever they get the chance to hit the open road in the USA. The resulting playlist is as eclectic, exciting, traditional and fun as the F1 grid itself.
