Here we are with a bumper edition of F1 pics this week. There’s over 100 photos from the 2013 German Grand Prix for you below, there’s some really great images too. We hope you like them.
Category: Red Bull Racing
One of the benefits of Kimi Raikkonen finishing so close to Sebastian Vettel in the German Grand Prix is that it gave the media at the post-race press conference a chance to quiz both drivers about the possibility of racing in the same team next year. As you’d expect both played a fairly straight bat, but it was still interesting to read what both had to say on the topic of replacing Mark Webber in 2014.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
For all of the amazing things Sebastian Vettel has achieved in his Formula 1 career, a win at his home grand prix had eluded him. But not any more. Victory at the Nürburgring for his first German Grand Prix trophy is Vettel’s 30th career win, becoming only the sixth driver in F1 history to reach that mark.
Close behind the Red Bull ace was Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) who finished strongly, just one second adrift of Vettel. The final podium position was taken by Romain Grosjean (Lotus).
For Vettel it was a controlled race, but behind him there were two bizarre incidents that helped to shape the result. Mercifully, neither included the exploding tyres we saw in Silverstone last week. The first incident ruined Mark Webber’s race. The Aussie made a great start from P3 and challenged for the lead into the first corner. Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG) was swamped by the two Red Bulls and Vettel took the lead.
At the first round of pit stops Webber’s left rear wheel was not put back on correctly, yet he was still waved out and metres later the wheel came loose. Unfortunately the wheel bounced down the pit lane and hit a cameraman. Reports suggest the cameraman suffered minor injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. Mark was able to rejoin the race, after being pushed back into his pit box, albeit a lap down.
The second incident started on lap 22, when Jules Bianchi (Marussia) pulled to the side of the circuit after his car caught fire. The flames were extinguished and the car was abandoned awaiting collection from the marshals. Two laps after the car came to rest, it began to roll down the hill, across the track before coming to rest thanks to an advertising hoarding. Cue the Benny Hill theme, but thankfully no harm was done.
What Bianchi’s runaway car did do was bring out a Safety Car. This not only allowed the field to bunch up, but also allowed Mark Webber to unlap himself. Racing resumed on Lap 30, half race distance.
Vettel maintained his lead, despite a late charge from Kimi Raikkonen. Webber was able to put in a commendable recovery drive to finish in P7, which included a pass on Sergio Perez on the second half of the final lap. Not a bad effort after being dead last after the Safety Car came in.
Speaking after the race Webber expressed his disappointment, knowing he had the package to fight for the win. “Today was a bit of a nightmare and you want to wake up tomorrow and have another go at it,” he said. “We had an excellent start and were in a great position leading up to the first stop with Seb, but we lost all of that. We lost a lot of points today and a chance to challenge for the win, but there’s no rewind button now.â€
Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) was unhappy with his day, which saw him start from P6 only to finish in P12. “A frustrating and rather dull race for me,” Daniel said. “After the start, I was able to hold position on the Option, but once we pitted for the Prime tyre, I really struggled for pace and couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to in order to get more out of the car.
“I can’t explain why for now, so we will need to look at the data to see why we were just too slow for much of the weekend.â€
On the positive side for Ricciardo, his teammate, Jean-Eric Verge, was forced to retire with a hydraulics problem.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Lewis Hamilton has added to his Mercedes AMG’s excellent qualifying performances this year by claiming pole position for the German Grand Prix. The silver arrows have started from P1 six times this year, split evenly at three apiece for each driver.
Hamilton’s best lap (1:29.398) edged out the Red Bull Racing pairing. Home town hero Sebastian Vettel (1:29.501) will start from P2. Mark Webber (1:29.608) will line up on the clean side of the grid from P3, with Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus, 1:29.892) on P4.
Starting from the the third row are Romain Grosjean (Lotus, 1:29.959) and Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso, 1:30.528). The two Ferraris will line up on the fourth row with Felipe Massa (1:31.126) ahead of Fernando Alonso (1:31.209).
Ricciardo’s P6 position equals his career best qualifying result, which was set last weekend at Silverstone. At the Nürburgring he will start 10 places ahead of his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne (1:31.104) who was the slowest of the drivers knocked out at the end of Q2.
Daniel’s stocks are rising as the race for Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat in 2014 hots up. Both he and his team admit P6 is a result they weren’t expecting.
“I’m really delighted with the way qualifying went and it’s very encouraging to be sixth fastest for the second race in a row, which means we are seeing signs of progress and consistency,” the 24-year-old Australian said. “However, it was not as straightforward here as in Silverstone last week and we definitely had to pull something out of the bag to do the time and get into Q3.
“We exceeded our expectations today, as in FP3 we did not look so strong. I was particularly pleased with my Q2 lap. I think we did the best we could today and now we look ahead to the race.”
The great thing is Daniel expectations of what’s possible on Sunday have also changed these last few races, as he later explained.
“Last weekend I felt there was a better result than eighth waiting for me and I would like to go for better than seventh, which is my best finish so far. If there’s a chance of a podium, let’s go for it! Nothing’s impossible.â€
As usual, you can read the thoughts of the top three drivers after the break.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Here’s your pics from an epic British Grand Prix at Silverstone. If not for a customary dodgy start we may have been looking at Mark Webber with hands raised in triumph in the photo above. Instead Mark almost won, on the back of a gutsy recovery effort.
Ifs, buts and maybes—as likeable and charismatic as Mark has been during his F1 career—that pretty much sums him up. Now that his Porsche move has been confirmed, we can enjoy the Mark Webber F1 farewell tour. Certainly a win at Silverstone would have been a great way to start the journey, but a win at the Nürburgring, the venue of his maiden grand prix victory would have a nice symmetry to it as well.
Oh yeah, well done Nico Rosberg. A solid win for you. There’s over 90 pics from the British GP ready to be enjoyed after the break.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) has won an incident-packed British Grand Prix, just 0.765 seconds from Mark Webber (Red Bull). Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) filled the final podium position.
But where to start with the drama this race contained! Off the start line Webber was slow to move, although it appeared he may have been ever so slightly baulked by Rosberg ahead of him. That put the Aussie in thick of the action going into the first corner and unavoidable contact was made with Romain Grosjean (Lotus). Webber was forced wide, with a damaged front wing, and rejoined the track in fifteenth place. His day seemed over.
Out front Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG) made the most of his pole position to establish a two second lead over Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). But on lap eight the story of the day, and Pirelli’s worst nightmare, emerged when Hamilton’s left rear tyre delaminated before it spectacularly exploded. He limped back to the pits and rejoined in last place.
Alas that was the first of four delaminations for the day with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) to lose their left rear tyre in the same fashion as Hamilton soon after. As a result there was debris around all over the place and the Safety Car was deployed to clear the track.
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) inherited the lead from Hamilton and was able to post a small gap back to Rosberg after racing resumed on lap 21. Rosberg stayed in touch with Vettel, but on lap 41 the triple world champion coasted into the last corner with gearbox problems, stopping on pit straight. The Safety Car was brought out to move Vettel’s car out of harm’s way.
Webber, who had worked his way back through the field was in third place after Vettel’s retirement, came in for a final tyre stop coming out behind the Safety Car in fifth place. When racing resumed there were six laps remaining, Rosberg in the lead heading towards his third grand prix win. Webber looked the most likely to challenge, if he could overtake the cars ahead.
Shortly after the restart Sergio Perez (McLaren) suffered the final tyre blowout of the race, he was narrowly avoided by Alonso who was preparing to pass the young Mexican. Thankfully a Safety Car wasn’t needed and we were treated to an exciting race to the flag.
Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) stood between Webber and Rosberg. Mark was able to quickly pass Ricciardo and Sutil in the chase for the lead and Raikkonen, on old tyres, was also overtaken without too much bother.
Less than two seconds separated first from second and Webber really needed to within one second of Rosberg so he could benefit from DRS. To Rosberg’s credit he was able to fight hard to keep his lead out of Webber’s reach to take the race win. Another lap or two may have seen a fairytale victory for Mark, but it wasn’t to be.
For all his troubles Lewis Hamilton also drove a great race and finished fourth. All of the top four drivers will have been pleased to have made some inroads into Vettel’s championship lead.
Daniel Ricciardo slipped down to eighth on his old tyres. His late fade out will be softened by the fact teammate Jean-Eric Vergne retired at about two thirds race distance.
It was a deserved win for Rosberg as the Mercedes AMGs were fast all weekend. He’ll take renewed confidence into next weekend when the German Grand Prix takes place at the Nürburgring.
Lewis Hamilton has blitzed the field to claim pole position for the 2013 British Grand Prix. The 2008 world champion set a best lap of 1:29.607, four tenths quicker than his Mercedes AMG teammate, Nico Rosberg (1:30.059).
So it’s another Mercedes front-row lockout, followed by a pair of very closely matched Red Bulls. Sebastian Vettel (1:30.211) will start from P3. In his final appearance at Silverstone Mark Webber (1:30.220) will line up on P4, just nine one thousandths of a second off Vettel. That’s Mark’s poorest qualifying result here for five years.
“We were up against it to get on the front row against the Mercs, they’re on another level as they have been for the last few events,” Webber explained. “It was disappointing to get pipped by Seb there at the end by a hundredth, it was very close. I was happy with the first part of my lap, but I could have done better in the last sector.”
It’s expected the Red Bulls will have better race pace than the Mercedes duo, a familiar theme so far this season and Webber is hoping there’s more to come. “We have a good balance for qualifying and race pace in terms of where we prioritised things. It should be an interesting race, we can get a good result from there,†he said.
Sensing a need to put his name at the forefront of Christian Horner’s mind, Daniel Ricciardo (Torro Rosso, 1:30.757) shone throughout qualifying to earn himself sixth place on the grid. He’ll start alongside Paul di Resta (Force India,1:30.736), who will be very pleased with himself to start his home race from P5.
Also pleasing for Ricciardo is the fact his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne (1:31.785), and fellow applicant for the vacant 2014 Red Bull Racing seat, could only manage the thirteenth best time. It’s a great result for Daniel who is ahead of both Ferrari and both Lotus drivers.
“Coming off the back of a bad couple of races, I expected to be strong here and I was more motivated than ever,” said Ricciardo. “However, if I’d been told I could be sixth this afternoon, I would have been surprised. We were very close to Di Resta in fifth, but we can be happy with this position.
“Now I am looking forward to the race when I hope I can come away with a good handful of points. I’d like to think I could finish at least in the same place I am starting from. It would be nice to do even better and I will be pushing hard to achieve that.”
The reaction to Mark Webber’s decision to quit Formula 1 and switch to endurance racing with Porsche has captured the attention of the media across the world.
To be honest we’ve been a little surprised by how much coverage there has been, especially in the F1 paddock. Perhaps that says a lot about the high regard in which Mark is held, where his no nonsense and honest approach is greatly appreciated.
So here’s a grab of some of the comments that have been made since Mark’s move to Porsche was announced, starting with the FIA’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
It’s interesting to note that Mark said his mind has been made up for some time, which adds more weight to the early rumours which first emerged in June last year and again in April this year.
Q: A momentous announcement from you today. Tell us the thinking behind the announcement of your retirement from Formula One. And how significant is the year, 2013 to 2014?
Mark WEBBER: Well, the timing is perfect for me. Very, very excited about my new chapter and the new challenge ahead. One of the most famous and most well-respected brands in automotive and motor racing in Porsche, so that’s something which personally I’m very satisfied about taking on. The decision has been there for quite a long time for me actually. So, I’ve known for quite a while, I’ve had a plan and I’ve stuck to it. But still, in the meantime, respecting the profession that I have now at this level and focusing on achieving very, very strong results in my last season in Formula One.
Mark Webber: factory Porsche driver. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think.
Sure, it’s not the most surprising news—over a year since it was first mentioned—but it’s now official that Mark Webber has been signed to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 2014 on a multi-year deal.
Whether multi-year translates to the five-year deal mentioned in April, or a more circumspect two–three year deal is not certain at this stage.
Mark has been a Porsche enthusiast for many years and his expertise and setup skills developed in Formula 1 should be a great boost to Porsche as it prepares for its 2014 LMP1 program.
“It’s an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team,” Mark said. “Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.
“I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.â€
Porsche will run a minimum of two cars for the WEC series, with three likely for Le Mans. Other drivers confirmed for Porsche are Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani.
Now that Mark’s F1 future is known the race will be on to see who replaces him at Red Bull Racing. Will it be Kimi Raikkonen or one of the Toro Rosso drivers, Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne?
The 2013 Canadian Grand Prix was a pretty easy day out for Sebastian Vettel. Indeed those ‘Mounties’ were as close as anyone got to him on race day. We didn’t want you to miss out on the fun, so here’s 86 images from the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that will bring you as close to Vettel as any of his competitors got.
A short and sweet article on the official Red Bull Racing website has confirmed that Sebastian Vettel has extended his contract with the team until the end of 2015.
Vettel is the youngest triple world champion in Formula 1 having won titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After victory in Canada on the weekend the 25-year-old currently enjoys a 36 point lead in the 2013 championship standings.
[Source: Red Bull | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Back whenever it was that the FIA started to interview the drivers on the podium after each race (2012 British Grand Prix) we thought it was a clumsy approach. To be fair, there were some teething problems and it did get better. It’s true, also, that fans at the track probably deserve to hear from the drivers they have paid, in many cases, several hundred dollars to watch.
And yet, when you read the transcript below, you won’t really get too much of a clue that all the while during Eddie Jordan’s interview with Sebastian Vettel the German was being booed while Fernando Alonso was being cheered along.
To be fair, the transcript does read a little odd and Jordan seems to cut-off Vettel. In fact he did cut-off the race winner mid-sentence partly to stop the jeering from the crowd we suspect. It was a bad look all around and perhaps the FIA may have cause to reconsider the practice of on-track interviews.
For now, we expect the status quo will remain, as it probably should, but as much as we dislike Vettel at times, he deserved better than the Canadian crowd gave him.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]