Tech-know-crat

Your Dose of obsession from Formula 1, Flying, Travel, Football, Watches, Collectibles and everything inspirational everywhere in daily life

Posts for Tag: Germany

Paddock Club Diaries - German GP 2013 Day 2

Day 1 at the German GP was a memorable one. Saturday would feature the Saturday Practice and the Qualifying Sessions for F1. Teams would try to get some more clarity about their race pace and more importantly run "Qualifying Simulations" in the Practice.

Enroute to the Circuit ( A different route this time ) :


I started early in the morning but couldn't make it in time for the Team Pit-Stop Practice. The Saturday Practice was pretty early in the morning to give the teams ample time to prepare cars for Qualifying.

Some shots from the Saturday Practice :



The Lotus F1 team going about their job :


Sebastien Vettel was the Fastest in the session, Kimi 6th and Romain 8th Fastest


The Top Bosses from Auden McKenzie shared the table and we were soon joined by the 1996 F1 World Champion Damon Hill. A healthy discussion was followed by lunch. Meeting the legend all over again was a great feeling  :


Lunch, forgot to click the Main Course in the excitement of meeting someone special ;)


The Lunch also overlaps the 2nd Pit Lane Walk timings. We all rushed to the pitlane to prepare for the arrival of the one and only ICEMAN KIMI RAIKKONEN!!

A quick Meet and Greet event. I was also able to give Kimi the gift I had made for him.

THE ICEMAN COMETH :


Jean-Eric Vergne's Car being wheeled back to the garage post FIA Checks


The Main Grandstand here is a lot closer than other tracks. Helps the Fans to be closer to the action!


It was time for the Qualifying to start! The Session that would decide the Race Grid.

Shots from Q1 :


Lotus F1 Team in Q1 :


Felipe Massa surprised everyone with the Fastest time. Kimi was 2nd and Romain 9th Fastest


Q2 began a few minutes later. The 2nd elimination would separate the Top 10 for the Final shootout in Q3.

Some Shots from Q2 :


Lotus F1 Team in their quest to make it to Q3 :


Felipe Massa was the Fastest again. Kimi was 2nd and Romain 4th Fastest.


Q3 was the final shootout for the Final 10 drivers. I was taken down to the Garage to be with the Team for Q3. However I was able to capture some stills.

The Final 10 minutes was a game of strategy. Everyone wanted to have their final stint as late as possible.

Q3 ended with Lewis Hamilton on top. Kimi made an error in the First sector that denied him a front row start. Kimi was 4th and Romain qualified 5th.

Both had strong qualifying positions and the signs looked good for the race.


We Returned upstairs and were soon informed that Sebastien Vettel was coming to the Red Bull Hospitality Area. I couldn't get too close but managed to capture some canny shots :


Eric Boullier and Alan Permane looking relaxed after the session. So Happy to see both Cheerful!


The New Wheels of the Lotus F1 Team :


It was a memorable Saturday and it was time to return in the evening. The Roads are very scenic. You have to love the Autobahns.


A Big Thank You to the Lotus F1 Team for all the Hospitality shown and a special thanks to Oliver Anderson too for all the help.


The Events that unfolded on Sunday shall be updated soon. God Bless Everyone!


Paddock Club Diaries - German GP 2013 Day 1

I start a new series today. Its called the "Paddock Club Diaries". I shall be documenting my experiences from the various Paddock Clubs at the Grand Prix I have had the privilege of being at. The Silverstone GP in 2012 was already documented. The Indian GP ( 2012 ) shall be done soon but first I shall be sharing my experience of The Paddock Club of the German GP held at the Nurburgring from 5th July to 7th July 2013. The Circuit is nestled amongst the hills in the Eifel Region and has a great history in Motor-racing. The Circuit's chance of hosting the GP was almost jeopardized but Bernie Ecclestone ensured that this did not happen.


Once again as a guest of the Lotus F1 Team I was able to have the privilege of seeing my favourite driver KIMI RAIKKONEN up-close.

My passes were delivered a day before the GP - Elegant as ever :



All preparations done, it was time to leave for the circuit early in the Morning. Enroute to the circuit :


Nurburgring, Friday Morning :

The Paddock Club wasn't ready for its guests yet but the Pit Lane was open for the Pit Lane Walk and it was time to explore the garages up-close! As a guest of Lotus F1 , I had the privilege of entering their garage!!

The Lotus F1 Mechanics preparing the Cars for Battle :

The Pit Lane Walk lasted 45 minutes and we were then ushered into the Club Suite. The Location of the Suite was perfect and offered fantastic vantage points to view the sessions!!

Before we knew it, the First Friday Practice Session was already upon us! FP1 saw teams tinker with various setups and upgrades to monitor car performance. Some Shots from the FP1 :


The Iceman doing his job!


The Teams monitoring all the data :

Lewis Hamilton was the Fastest in the session, Kimi Raikkonen was 5th and Romain Grosjean 9th.


FP2 was still a couple of hours away so I dug into some sweets


Lunch was served on time and was delicious as always :


We were joined by Davide Valsecchi, the Lotus F1 Reserve Driver post lunch. A Very Humble and Gracious person indeed!

His Departure was soon followed by the 2nd Pit Lane Walk.

The 2nd Pit Lane Walk saw more guests and some teams had a lot more on display :


The Podium and the Safety Car :


Williams F1 were celebrating their 600th GP Weekend. A Big Congratulations to them!


FP2 finally began and I was able to capture some great photos. FP2 is a session that teams utilize to monitor Race Pace. Qualifying Simulations are also run. Some more stills!


Kimi Raikkonen flying again!


Sebastien Vettel was the Fastest in the session, Romain Grosjean was 4th and Kimi Raikkonen 5th.


Finishing my Desserts during FP2 :


FP2 ended and it was time for the GP2 Qualifying Session. The Train of Cars :


The Club Suite. A Fantastic Place to enjoy an F1 Weekend!


The Team Motorhomes from the Paddock Club :


I was also taken down to the Team Garage on 4 occasions. I was able to see the team work up-close during the sessions, the race engineers conversing with their respective pilots and the mechanics making setup changes and doing practice pit-stops. It was an amazing experience! ( Photography forbidden within the Team Garages )


The Paddock Club shut at 6:30 pm and I had some time to explore the F1 Village. This is the First Covered Village I have seen. The arrangements done by the organisers must be commended.


The Journey back to the Hotel :


It was a great day at the Paddock Club, a really memorable one.

A Big Thank You to the Lotus F1 Team for all the Hospitality. A Big Thank You to Oliver Anderson too for all the help. Really appreciate it!

The Saturday experience shall be coming soon! Watch this Space!!


A Gallery of Memories - Part 3

We are halfway through the 2013 F1 Season and I had the privilege of being at the Malaysian GP thanks to Tourism Malaysia.

My First Paddock Club of the season was at the German GP at Nurburgring with the Lotus F1 Team.

3 Fantastic Days and a double podium for the Team was the Icing on the Cake!! Met many new faces in F1.

As always, let the pictures say it all!!


Davide Valsecchi, Current GP2 Champion and Lotus F1 Reserve Driver. A Great Guy, extremely humble and definitely Championship Material!! GO DAVIDE!!!



Damon Hill, 1996 F1 World Champion!! Had a nice chat about the Tyre Crisis.



KIMI RAIKKONEN!!! THE ICEMAN COMETH again & again & again!! Go KIMI!!



Sebastien Vettel too made an appearance



Romain Grosjean, The Flying Frenchman!!



Mark Webber visited the Paddock on Sunday Morning. He will be missed!



The Team enjoyed a double podium!! So had the opportunity to get photos with the Trophies!!!



The Team Members with the trophies!!!



Photo - op with the Team Members!



Our Beloved Accolades that No One can take away from us!!



All in All a memorable experience and a Big Thank You to the Lotus F1 Team for all the Hospitality Shown!!

More to come.... Soon....

German GP Review - The Spaniard asserts his Dominance

Germany is one of the most popular races on the Formula 1 calender. The Country has produced some of the best racing drivers. Sebastien Vettel, 2 Time F1 World Champion was yet to win a race in his homeland. Could this be the year??

 

QUALIFYING :

Qualifying was a mixed bag in terms of the weather, with a little bit of everything. It started out dry before the rain came and saturated the track.

Kimi Raikkonen topped the Q1 session Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Q2. Nico Rosberg was the first casualty as he failed to qualify into Q2. Q2 sprung some surprises as Massa, Perez, Kobayashi and Grosjean failed to make the cut.

The Ferrari and Red Bulls dominated Q3. Fernando Alonso snatched pole from Vettel and Webber completed the top 3. Schumacher, Hulkenberg, Maldonado, Button, Hamilton, Di Resta and Raikkonen completed the top 10.

However Penalties galore caused many changes in the grid. Romain Grosjean suffered Gearbox problems in Silverstone and had to opt for a new one. 5 places lost. Rosberg and Webber also suffered the same fate. Sergio Perez was handed a 5 place grid penalty for impeding Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen in Q2.

 

RACE :

Red Bull was the centre of all attention over an alleged Engine Mapping Issue. However the FIA chose Not to penalise them.

As the Five lights went out, Alonso led into turn 1. Webber and Raikkonen jumped Hamilton at the start. Button got a good start and was 5th behind Hulkenberg. A lot was happening at the back though. Grosjean ran wide, Massa drove into Ricciardo's car damaging his front wing. A Lap Later the debris on the track took out another victim - Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton pitted but the handling of the car became so bad that the Brit wanted to retire.

Raikkonen soon wrestled past Di Resta into 9th, fantastic racing by both drivers as they left space for each other. Perez who had started in 17th had made a fantastic start and moved upto 10th after overtaking Ricciardo. Button made a move on Hulkenberg at the end of the DRS into the hairpin and took 4th position.

Alonso, Vettel, Schumacher, Button, Hulkenberg, Maldonado, Webber, Raikkonen. Perez & Di Resta were the top 10 after 10 laps.

Button then made the move on Schumacher and moved up into 3rd. Raikkonen jumped the duo of Maldonado and Webber after the first round of Pit-Stops. Hulkenberg overtook Schumacher for 7th on the 15th lap but the latter regained it on the next lap. Raikkonen took advantage of this and tucked in behind Schumacher to demote Hulkenberg into 9th. Alonso pitted on Lap 19, Button on 20th and Vettel on 21st. The top 3 remained unchaged after the first round of Pit-Stops. Vettel was slowly closing in on Alonso and the gap reduced to only 1 second on lap 27. Hamilton pitted for the third time on Lap 30 and emerged 18th. A lot was in store in the next few laps.

Kobayashi overtook Webber for P7 on lap 33. Hamilton was lapped by Alonso and Vettel on lap 34. The battle at the front had helped Button to close in on Alonso and Vettel.

The top 4 comprised of Alonso, Vettel, Button and Raikkonen ( The Finn ran an extra 4 laps on the soft and was doing exceptionally well ).

Hamilton was within 1 second of Vettel and unlapped himself on lap 36. A frustrated Vettel gestured foolishly as Hamilton seemed to impede him. Hamilton soon harried Alonso ( Lap 39 ) but the Spaniard was focussed on the job at hand.

Vettel lost KERS on lap 38 and Button was closing in on the German.

Button pitted on lap 41 and Raikkonen set the fastest lap. Button's Crew set a new world record in pitstops : 2.4 Seconds!

Alonso and Vettel pitted on Lap 42. Button managed to jump Vettel as the latter came out of the pits and was into 2nd!!

Vettel ran wide though turn one on Lap 43 and Button now had Alonso in his sights.

The top 10 on Lap 48 were Alonso, Button ( less than a second behind ), Vettel, Raikkonen, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Perez, Rosberg, Webber, Di Resta.

Lap 58 saw the Retirement of Lewis Hamilton. A wise decison as a points finish seemed difficult. A sad end on his 100th Grand Prix Appearance. Schumacher was setting a series of fastest laps.

Lap 60 brought more surprises. Button's tyres were suddenly losing grip and Vettel was now catching up. Alonso now had a clear run to the chequered flag.

Lap 64 had Vettel only 0.4 seconds behind Button. The fight for 2nd Position had become interesting.

Lap 66 was the lap where Vettel used DRS to great effect. Button and Vettel were side by side coming out of the hairpin but better grip pushed the latter ahead. Button however reported on the radio that Vettel had all 4 wheels off-track.

The Chequered Flag was waved and Alonso extended his lead in the championship. Vettel, Button completed the podium. Raikkonen fought through the field to finish a fine 4th. Grosjean had a race to forget as he finished a dismal 18th.

Button informed Vettel about the investigation initiated by the Marshalls concerning the overtake.

Post Race the FIA summoned both Vettel and Button in regards to the incident. Vettel was subsequently punished. 20 Seconds were added to his time and he was demoted form 2nd to 5th.

The Revised top 4 now were Alonso, Button, Raikkonen and Kobayashi!!

A Fine Reward for Raikkonen for all the efforts he put to move up from 3rd.

 

Alonso had now extended his lead in the championship to 34 points. Webber's 8th position didn't do his Championship aspirations any good.

 

Lets analyze the 2 incidents...

The HAMILTON - VETTEL Incident :

Vettel was in hot pursuit of Fernando Alonso and the duo had just lapped Hamilton. ( Lap 34 ) However on Lap 36 the DRS got activated on Hamilton's car ( less than a second behind ) and Hamilton unlapped himself hindering Vettel in the process.

Was the action Justifiable?

There is No Rule which says that a Driver Cannot Unlap himself. If there was one, then such a Rule would rarely come into effect. Backmarkers normally would not have the pace to catch up on the Lead Drivers and try a manouevre to unlap themselves. Safety Car Periods however authorize drivers at the back to unlap themselves.

This simply was a very rare incident. However there are a few things that one should take a note of. Hamilton unlapped himself against Vettel but did not do so with Alonso. He stuck himself behind the Ferrari and Vettel's pace dropped significantly.

At the same time, Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button was third behind Alonso and Vettel. Hamilton's "impeding" of Vettel helped Button to bring down the gap.

McLaren Mercedes played smart too. Hamilton was running 18th when lapped by Alonso and Vettel on lap 34. Hamilton positioned himself behind Alonso ( he tried to unlap himself against the Spaniard too ) after the Vettel incident. Hamilton was matching the pace of the leader and they quickly came up to other backmarkers. Blue Flags ensured that both Alonso and Hamilton went through, the latter making up positions quickly, thus saving him the trouble of fighting for the same.

Hamilton eventually retired after it was clear that a points finish was a remote possibility.

 

Was Hamilton's Move Illegal? - NO.

Could Hamilton be Penalised? - NO.

Hamilton escaped punished thanks to the absence of such a rule. However Considering the Circumstances & the Experience of Lewis Hamilton, I would have expected a more Sportsman-like attitude from him. He should have opted to stay away from the LEAD BATTLE.

This incident could have serious consequences in the Championship Battle.

 

 

The VETTEL - BUTTON Incident :

Vettel lost 2nd position to Jenson Button after the final round of pitstops. However the German persevered and closed in on him. Button was having trouble finding grip into the final stage of the race. Vettel was on his tail in the DRS zone and both were battling wheel-to-wheel going into the hairpin. Vettel jumped Button after getting a better exit out of the hairpin. Button however reported that Vettel had all 4 wheels off-track while completing the overtake. Vettel was later Penalised. The 20 second penalty demoted him from 2nd to 5th.

Analysis :

Button's tyres had "gone off the cliff". Vettel with his Fresher set of tyres was all over him. Lets analyze the overtake. The McLaren Mercedes has better Horsepower than the Renault Powered Red Bull. Button took a defensive line going into the hairpin ( the inside ). As a defensive measure a driver always tries to brake later than usual. I suspect Button did that. Button was also aware of the straight just after the hairpin, so if he could get a good exit, Vettel would find it difficult to overtake him. However the lack of grip pushed Button slightly wide on the exit. Vettel who was on the outside was left with little room out of the hairpin. Button also suffered a slight twitch on the exit. Simply put, There wasn't enough racing space for both drivers. So Vettel used the run-off area for his overtake.

Button was always going to stick to the racing line ( lack of grip on worn out tryes ) and the line was a wide exit from the hairpin. Vettel on the outside should have known this. If we study the Throttle Usage out of the hairpin, we see Vettel floor the throttle earlier out of the turn ( at that moment only two wheels were off-track ). This pushed the German's Car further away from the track. The Better Grip and Traction obviously propelled Vettel of Button.

Was the overtake legal? - The Rulebook says NO.

Was the Penalty Justified? - Its harsh but YES

The Driver can't overtake another car by having all 4 wheels off-track. Vettel could have escaped Penalty had he conceded the position back to Button and attacked him again into the next turn. The Urgency or rather Impatience of the German got the better of him. Button was going to make it diffcult for Vettel. Vettel should have backed off. However you can't blame the German in the heat of the moment.

Red Bull would feel hard done by the Decisions taken by the FIA. Rules are Rules.. However Harsh they may seem. Hamilton's actions in the earlier incident were those of an amateur driver. I am sure he would have been penalised if there was a rule in place.

 

So another Race done and dusted. Vettel went away from his Home Race as an unhappy man. He would have to do it all over again next year. Red Bull was in the news for all the wrong reasons. They simply had to pick themselves up and girder their loins for Hungary in a week's time.

 

ADVANTAGE ALONSO.