Watch the second last race of 2014 DTM in Zandvoort here!
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
F1 - Singapore - 2014
The last part of the season starts here, in Singapore. The circus won't land in Europe again before the end of November, when we will have a 2014 Champion. Not much time for the teams to apply any upgrade to their cars, not much time for the drivers to book a seat for the next season. The music will stop soon and the chairs available are only a few.
Everybody is projecting himself into 2015. Well... everybody except who is fighting for the championship. Inside the Mercedes team, very few people will divert their attention from the head to head between the two silver drivers.
Let's step back for a second and let's take a look at the actual race that took place in the astonishing scenery of Singapore.
On the grid we have the by now usual duo Mercedes in front, followed by the two Red Bull in particular good shape on the city track and the positively performing Ferrari of Alonso, first of the two pairs Ferrari-Williams starting in Row 3 and 4.
The first and biggest turn of event takes place even before the first lap. The warm up lap begins with the cars leaving their position on the grid to slowly get ready for the start but Rosberg Mercedes' doesn't move an inch. Some problem in the electrical system between wheel and gear box doesn't work and he has to give up his second position on the grid and start from the pit.
The car will never get back to work properly, it will take laps before Rosberg will attempt, with much struggle, to overtake Marussias and Caterhams. His forth gear won't work and this is not the best track to lose traction at medium speed.
He will come into the pit for the tires change, they will try to use a second steering wheel but that won't solve the problem. He'll watch the rest of the race from the pit, staring at his teammate flying away from the group, finishing in first position, pushing him down from the top of the season standing, feeling sorry for the team because one of them scored no points.
With Rosberg out of the game, everybody in the top positions moves ahead, the two Red Bull fill up the podium behind Hamilton, this time with Vettel in front of the local idol Ricciardo. Alonso, who was dying to get to the podium for once in a while, has to please himself with a forth place. Massa sits in fifth.
With five races to go we have the two contending for the title within 3 points. A family feud that will keep the whole Mercedes team on their toes and will divide even more the supporters in "Team Hamilton" vs. "Team Rosberg".
Who are you gonna go for?
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Marco Wittmann 2014 DTM Champion
It didn't take the whole season to find a Champion this year. Thanks to his four victories in eight races, Marco Wittmann is the DTM Champion 2014.
A BMW car brings its driver to the top of the category, like exactly 30 years ago, when the first DTM Championship was conquered by Strycek, in the BMW 635.
The race is wet and the slippery asphalt of the Lautiz leaves no room for error. Many learn that since the first laps of the race, included Ekstrom, one of the last contendings in the run for the title, but Marco Wittmann kept it together, even with a car not at the same level of the Mercedes that confirmed to be the best car to have at the Lausizring.
The other of the last possible contendings, Edoardo Mortara, went for a different strategy, knowing that the only way to mind the gap to Wittmann was by taking some risks. He opted to start with slick tires although the track was still soaked, hoping in a quick change of condition and eventually in the help of the safety car. Unfortunately for him none of these factors came into place and he crossed the finish line in 16th and last position.
The winner of the day is Pascal Wehrlein who, in 48 hours gets his first pole position in DTM, his first win in DTM and the role of reserve driver for the F1 Mercedes team. yes, quite of a week end!
The verdict is then, Marco Wittmann is the champion for this season 2014. The last two races will still have to crown the top manufacturer and, with only 18 points between BMW and Audi, it will be a close call.
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Monday, September 15, 2014
VIDEO - GP2 - GP3 Monza - 2014
Watch the GP2 and GP3 series races in Monza. Week end September 06-07, 2014.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
F1 - Italian Gran Prix 2014
The spotless venue, the gathering of Very Important People and, off course, the river of fans that embraces the temple of Formula One until overflowing on the Rettifilo as soon as the cars fly under the checkered flag are simply incomparable.
Not to mention the emotion that this scenario arouse in the three lucky people that get to see this from the best spot: the podium. Nobody can be indifferent to the excitement that spread from that mainly red multitude, not even if that same crowd booed you a couple years ago, not even if you see your first opponent climbing the tallest step of the podium due to a couple of mistakes of your own, not even if you are coming back to this venue for the first in a color that is not red anymore and at least half of the people down there treated you like a bus driver for the last four years.
Everything goes away in the blink of an eye....at least during those 10 minutes of glory.
Going back to the race summary, the story unfolded pretty much following the script: the two Mercedes on a pace that puts them in another category, the rest of Mercedes engines performing incredibly good, behind....the rest of all, with a sad note for the performance of the Ferrari Team, disappointing, again, in the race that, by itself, could have saved the mediocre season.
The start of the race goes smoothly, only a little too smoothly for Hamilton and Ricciardo who both loose several positions before the first chicane.
Just the time to understand that the warnings on the silver car number 44 were unfounded and it's Hamilton's show. It will take a while to mend the gap from the teammate Rosberg but he finalize the chase also thanks to a double - photocopy mistake from the German driver who misses the first chicane twice. Many people will argue that those weren't mistakes but that Mercedes, wearing the suit of "KARMA POLICE" "invited" Rosberg to do so to make up after the incident in the last race that compromised Hamilton's race.
Lots of dramas and conspiracy theories that will fill up webpages and blogs at least until the next appointment.
The nicest surprise comes from the third place. He started this season with the expectation of finally getting back the confidence of years ago and, why not, to get his revenge after being relegated in the dark corner of the Ferrari's box for way too long. The history went, again, a little different from what planned, between failures, accidents and wrong set-ups. But the now infamous dose of bad luck who was surrounding him couldn't find any better moment to end up this curse. Right there, right in front of many people that betrayed him overnight but also right in front of those people who still love him for how they had to know him during more than a decade, Massa is torn in a fight of emotions. And is the joy that wins, is the positivity that always distinguished him to overcome any other bad thought. And it's nice to see him smiling again from up there.
The fight for the Championship is now, most likely, a head to head within the Mercedes Team but the thirst for glory and the pursuit of a seat for the next season will keep the tension up to the top for the next and last six races.
With the number of good young drivers (see Magnussen this last week end) that we have to witness this year and many more knocking at the door from factories series, nothing will be left to chance.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Will Power
The 2014 Indycar season ends here, in Fontana, with the last race in calendar, the last of three 500 miles races in this year.
Tony Kanaan finally finds his way back to the highest step of the podium, after a season of struggle and pain, in the only race where all the eyes are not so much on the race winner but mostly on the Champion.
Anyway, good boost of confidence for the good Brazilian in a race not less though and close than all the rest.
The weekend starts unfortunately in a way that we really don't want to see. The brilliant rookie Aleshin looses control of his car during practice, while following a very low and dangerous line around the Fontana oval, and crashes against the wall before getting hit by the unlucky Kimball who project him up in the fence. As a result, the young Russian will be hospitalize with multiple fractures, in stable condition but with a long recovery ahead.
On Saturday, the race unfolds itself as expected. Power, ahead in the Championship standing, starts from second last position and sets his race in "safe mode" keeping his distance from the pack and avoiding any risky situation, at least for the first half of the race. Castroneves, who has to bridge the gap of 51 points from Power, starts in pole position and has only one goal: win and hope to put enough cars between him and the Australian.
Pagenaud, the last contending for the 2014 throne, has problems since the beginning and he is out of reach of good points from the first laps of the race.
The race goes on smoothly for 176 laps (a record by itself) with Power picking up positions and with Castroneves performing strong, always in eye contact on the first positions. For the drivers not involved in the championship this is, after all, the last race of the season and everybody wants to leave Fontana with a good result for the fans, for the teams, for the sponsors and for the chance to live the next six months without any regrets.
It is Kanaan that goes home at the end of the day with one of the biggest smiles in the paddock after being the 11th winner in the season (another record).
Tears and smiles is what you can find inside the helmet of Will Power in the last laps of the race. It took four times for the Australian to finally end the season at the top of the standing. Well deserved after a season (actually five) that saw him being the most consistent driver out there.
Castroneves, after finding himself another time in second position in the championship at the end of the year, has smiles for everyone, knowing that, after all, this season has been exciting for him and c'mon, what are the odds of losing again the championship in the last race again next year?
So this was the end of the 2014 season. It's time to see what the next season will look like. New races, new drivers, new rules. One thing is undeniable: this is one of the most spectacular racing leagues around the world. We will wait until 2015 and we'll be ready to enjoy the show again. Together.
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