Austrian GP is coming this weekend!

Few facts and trivia:

- This year sees Austria host its 28th round of the world championship. The inaugural Austrian Grand Prix, in 1964, was staged on Zeltweg’s notoriously bumpy airfield, but all subsequent rounds have been held just down the road at the same location in Spielberg.

- In terms of lap distance Spielberg is the third-shortest track of the year after Monaco and Brazil, but in terms of lap time, it's the shortest.

- Niki Lauda is the only Austrian national who won on home soil.

- Nico Rosberg is the only driver of the current field who have won in Austria.

- Rosberg’s victory last year was Mercedes’ first on Austrian soil.

- Alain Prost is the record holder for most wins on the track, with three.

- if Lewis Hamilton spends one or more laps at the front of the field in Austria he will tie Jackie Stewart’s record of having led in 17 consecutive Grands Prix.



Red Bull Ring




Lap data

Lap length: 4.326 km
Race laps: 71
Race distance: 307.02 km
Pole position: Left-hand side of the track
Race Lap record: 1’08.337 (Michael Schumacher, 2003)
Fastest lap: 1’07.908 (Michael Schumacher, 2003, qualifying one)
Maximum speed: 301.5kph
DRS zones: Pit straight and second straight
Distance from grid to turn on: 185m


Car performance

Full throttle: 63%
Longest flat-out section: 868 m
Downforce level: Low/medium
Fuel use per lap: 1.34 kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel: 0.056s


Championship standings

1 - Lewis Hamilton 151
2 - Nico Rosberg 134
3 - Sebastian Vettel 108
4 - Kimi Räikkönen 72
5 - Valtteri Bottas 57
6 - Felipe Massa 47
7 - Daniel Ricciardo 35
8 - Daniil Kvyat 19
9 - Romain Grosjean 17
10 - Felipe Nasr 16
11 - Sergio Perez 11
12 - Nico Hülkenberg 10
13 - Carlos Sainz Jr 9
14 - Max Verstappen 6
15 - Pastor Maldonado 6
16 - Marcus Ericsson 5
17 - Jenson Button 4
18 - Esteban Gutiérrez 0
19 - Fernando Alonso 0
20 - Roberto Merhi 0
21 - Will Stevens 0
22 - Kevin Magnussen 0


1 - Mercedes 285
2 - Ferrari 180
2 - Williams / Mercedes 104
4 - Red Bull / Renault 54
5 - Lotus / Mercedes 23
6 - Sauber / Ferrari 21
7 - Force India / Mercedes 21
8 - Toro Rosso / Renault 15
9 - McLaren / Honda 4
10 - Manor Marussia / Ferrari 0

McLaren are running new upgrades which could improve the.............

we have hope for some improvements.............. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND IT'S GONE

It sounds more like a comedy show !!

Button gets 25-place grid penalty

which will be impossible for him to take.

                          

Lets hope that Qualifying is as wet as Free Practice Three! Looks like Ferrari are another step closer to Mercedes. 

In the end, a slightly surprising pole for Hamilton, who had looked to be struggling all weekend. Amazing last lap with Hamilton spinning out on the first corner and Rosberg on the last! Ferrari inching closer (well, one of them anyway!)

Kimi Raikkonen Team Radio Message "How the f*ck is this possible?"

F1 2015 Austria GP Q1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ0jhCMvIZ8

http://f1newspaper.com/2015/06/20/ki...ge-afet-eliminating-in-austria-q1/

       

This time it was for his disbelief after ending up a lowly 18th in first part of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

  

First the beaver now Ferrari Boss Maurizio almost gets hit by Felipe Massa in the pits 

Who is next?

#fiat #ferrari #forzaferrari #felipemassa #massa #Austria #ferrarif1 #f1humor #formulaone #formula1 #formulaoneracing #pits #getoutoftheway #65yearsoff1 #austraingp #motorsport #motorracing #prancinghorse #red #gp #f12015 #pitlane #speilberg #massa19 #williamsf1 #williams #williamsmartini #martini #felipemassa19 #fm19

http://instagram.com/p/4JTnwnIHqx/?taken-by=f1instapage

http://instagram.com/f1instapage/

                    

[Edited 2015-06-20 10:20:19]

Trying to find a local bar here in Greece to watch it.......here's hoping for Rain!
(In Austria I mean, not in Greece!)

Good to see Verstappen out-qualifying his team mate for a change!

No Tax On Rotax

Looks like Kimi had similar issue from the Montreal GP. Surge of power and he and Alonso made contact.

At least Alonso now avoids the farce of having to retire on lap 10 ala Button...

Nice to see Rosberg win because he was the faster driver on the day. And good to see Hulkenberg that high up.

Lars

Nice to see Massa hold off Vettel and get his 40th Podium finish of his career. The Ferrari looked to have good race pace with Vettel but the bad pit delay cost him the chance of 3rd but did set up a nice pursuit for us to watch. Good race overall.

When Alonso said he wanted McLaren to get on top of things...



       

So much fun...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfmn3dpM7ZY

Quoting Acheron (Reply 12): So much fun... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfmn3dpM7ZY

Pastor is a risk taker.

That was total genius!!!

  

I don't normally complain about F1 races being boring (especially when they're at a circuit I like), but that one certainly was. The only savior was the Massa/Vettel battle in the end and Maldonado's two great saves.

Quoting CPH-R (Reply 8): At least Alonso now avoids the farce of having to retire on lap 10 ala Button...

Also got to miss all of those blue flags.  

Quoting larshjort (Reply 9): Nice to see Rosberg win because he was the faster driver on the day.

   Hamilton just couldn't match his pace. Fantastic start by Rosberg.

Quoting larshjort (Reply 9): And good to see Hulkenberg that high up.

Certainly. I hope he can make podium this year.

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 11): When Alonso said he wanted McLaren to get on top of things...

So close to Kimi's head!

Quoting Acheron (Reply 12): So much fun...

Its nearly 99 days since Pastor has crashed.  

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 14): Hamilton just couldn't match his pace.

Hamilton never looked to be "on it" all weekend. I said him qualifying on pole was a surprise. But, given the short lap and limited overtaking opportunities for reasonably matched cars, if he had made it to turn one in the lead I believe he would have won the race. A very comfortable second place isn't exactly a disaster and I expect him to be VERY strong at the next race!

Quoting photopilot (Reply 10): Nice to see Massa hold off Vettel and get his 40th Podium finish of his career.

Indeed. Good to see Williams score their second successive podium this season. Ferrari are probably still a bit quicker, and had the Ferrari not had a slow pitstop, we wouldn't have beaten them.

Silverstone's next - should be another good race for Williams. Hopefully we'll be able to mount a serious challenge for second in the constructor's championship by season's end.

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 14): I don't normally complain about F1 races being boring (especially when they're at a circuit I like), but that one certainly was. The only savior was the Massa/Vettel battle in the end and Maldonado's two great saves.

... and the Bottas/Hulkenberg battle? Maldonado/Verstappen? Sure, this wasn't one of F1's finest hours, but I've seen worse races.

Hamilton and Rosberg are only 10 points apart at almost the half way point of the championship. The battle is far from over, and I think it'll be very interesting over the remainder of the season to see who comes out on top. This is a championship battle that could go down to the wire.

[Edited 2015-06-22 06:54:27]

Quoting scbriml (Reply 15):

If Ferrari hadn't made a mess of Vettels pitstop he would have been close to 2nd place on the podiu, with Hamiltons 5 second penalty.

Quoting larshjort (Reply 17): If Ferrari hadn't made a mess of Vettels pitstop he would have been close to 2nd place on the podiu, with Hamiltons 5 second penalty.

Was he not a lot further than five seconds behind Hamilton before his botched stop?

Quoting larshjort (Reply 17): If Ferrari hadn't made a mess of Vettels pitstop he would have been close to 2nd place on the podiu, with Hamiltons 5 second penalty.

Well they're not really at fault. If a bolt is stuck, it's more bad luck than anything else, no?

Quoting CXB77L (Reply 16): ... and the Bottas/Hulkenberg battle? Maldonado/Verstappen?

Forgot about the Bottas/Hulkenberg one. The Maldonado Verstappen one didn't last very long.

Quoting CXB77L (Reply 16): Sure, this wasn't one of F1's finest hours, but I've seen worse races.

Maybe I'm just getting old and struggling to stay awake at the ridiculous hours that FOM schedules the races for (well, for those of us on the wrong side of the world, at least).

Edit:
It seems that GP attendance at Austria is down nearly 50% from last year. That's pretty awful, though the weather will have presumably played some role in it.

http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/n...hwund-in-oesterreich-15062220.html

Quoting GrahamHill (Reply 21): That's the thing: whatever time they'll choose, it will be handy for some and crap for others. Unfortunately for you, Europe is a much bigger market than New-Zealand.

Yeah, I appreciate this, but its very frustrating nonetheless. Canada is good, since that starts at 0600, though that's on the Monday.

[Edited 2015-06-23 07:36:25]

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 20): struggling to stay awake at the ridiculous hours that FOM schedules the races for (well, for those of us on the wrong side of the world, at least).

That's the thing: whatever time they'll choose, it will be handy for some and crap for others. Unfortunately for you, Europe is a much bigger market than New-Zealand.

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 20): It seems that GP attendance at Austria is down nearly 50% from last year. That's pretty awful, though the weather will have presumably played some role in it.

From what I saw on the TV pictures, surely it's also to with the fact that, other than the start/finish straight, the crowds appeared to be seated quite the distance away from the track itself.

Miami Dolphins owner and Qatar to bid for Formula One - the key questions answered
All you need to know about the news that there could be a change at the very top of F1

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross understood to be teaming up with Qatar Sports Investments to buy out CVC Capital Partners and Bernie Ecclestone

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...ne-the-key-questions-answered.html

 

Formula One could be the subject of an £5billion joint bid by Qatar and the owner of an American football team to buy a controlling stake in the sport.

Stephen Ross, the sports tycoon who owns the Miami Dolphins, is understood to be teaming up with Qatar Sports Investments – which also owns Paris Saint-Germain – to buy out both CVC Capital Partners and Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s embattled chief executive.

Donald Mackenzie, the publicity-shy co-chairman of CVC, has been attending more and more races this season and is aware of the sport’s struggles. The private equity company are eager to sell but are believed to hold a valuation closer to $9 billion (£5.7 billion). Formula One could be the subject of an £5billion joint bid by Qatar and the owner of an American football team to buy a controlling stake in the sport.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...ar-set-to-bid-for-Formula-One.html

 

How does Qatar have unlimited funds?

 

New nose for Force India:




Lotus F1 Team having some fun on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/Lotus_F1Team/status/613780991581233152

Ferrari have bid € 4,000,000 for Bottas. Williams wants € 15,000,000:
http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/06/...3A+Yallaf1com+%28Grand+Prix+247%29

Quoting CPH-R (Reply 22): From what I saw on the TV pictures, surely it's also to with the fact that, other than the start/finish straight, the crowds appeared to be seated quite the distance away from the track itself.

I think that the Red Bull Ring is one of the better circuits in that regard. While the fans are seated further back, you can see much more of the circuit from the grandstands. If I had to choose a F1 race to visit in person from the European calendar, the Red Bull Ring would be my second choice (after Spa, obviously).

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 23): Miami Dolphins owner and Qatar to bid for Formula One - the key questions answered All you need to know about the news that there could be a change at the very top of F1

Maybe this is one of reasons F1 is in its current state; it is run to make CVC Money, rather than to entertain fans. Think about how many viewers F1 has lost over the last fifteen years, due to switching to Pay TV in most countries (since that's where the money is). It annoys me how WEC can have such a good app for viewing the race, yet F1 can't, because the Pay TV providers would get upset. I don't know for sure if things would be better under a different management system (FIFA comes to mind as a reason why it might not be), but I have my suspicions.

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 24): Maybe this is one of reasons F1 is in its current state; it is run to make CVC Money, rather than to entertain fans. Think about how many viewers F1 has lost over the last fifteen years, due to switching to Pay TV in most countries (since that's where the money is). It annoys me how WEC can have such a good app for viewing the race, yet F1 can't, because the Pay TV providers would get upset. I don't know for sure if things would be better under a different management system (FIFA comes to mind as a reason why it might not be), but I have my suspicions.

and then the choice of places where they build the new tracks for the new races?

How much paying public will they have at Sochi? They might have to give away lots of free seats to get their grandstands full?

    

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 25): How much paying public will they have at Sochi? They might have to give away lots of free seats to get their grandstands full?

The grand stands don't matter to the FIA or CVC because the tracks pay the same amount of money to host the race anyway, whether the stands are empty or full. The track bears the risk.

F1 has a much larger TV viewership than attendance, so thats what needs to be played to - so do these tracks have a negative effect on TV viewing figures? Not really.

You know what puts me off about F1? Its not the tracks, its not the lack of ability to stream (which I can do with Sky), its not the scandals etc that surround the sport.

Its the infighting and the fact that not one week goes by without someone complaining about how the sport should be "fixed".

Martin Whitmarsh is "sadden" by the current state of F1:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...ng-whitmarsh-idUSKBN0P42DJ20150624

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 24): New nose for Force India:

Is it permitted by the current rules?

[Edited 2015-06-25 11:17:25]

Quoting GrahamHill (Reply 27): Martin Whitmarsh is "sadden" by the current state of F1:

Is it not amusing how those who are doing badly are upset with the current state of F1...?

Hey, Whitmarsh, how about your team and your engine supplier gets its act together and starts competing, eh? It was your choice to switch engine suppliers, so grow a pair.

Fortune and fame got to his head...........
Bad boy Hammy! Can't he learn table etiquette when invited by the Queen?
He lives in Monaco so he should know better!


Queen tells Lewis Hamilton: 'Mind your manners!'
The Queen has chided Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton for failing to observe proper etiquette at a Royal luncheon party

Lunch with the Queen is a privilege not enjoyed by many of her subjects.

But even those lucky enough to be graced with a gilded invitation confess that the experience can be a nervous one fraught with protocol pitfalls.

So it was for Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton who received a summons to dine at the Monarch’s side.

The mineral water had barely been poured before Hamilton was chided by Her Majesty for his poor table manners.

-50%
read more...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...is-Hamilton-Mind-your-manners.html

          

Quoting moo (Reply 26): The grand stands don't matter to the FIA or CVC because the tracks pay the same amount of money to host the race anyway, whether the stands are empty or full. The track bears the risk.

The attendance is what pays the bills for the host. So while FIA still gets the same amount of money, as you said, the host loses millions of € on race weekend. So, while host a race in the first place ? The way it is now, it's just a matter of time until Silverstone pulls out, Spa pulls out, Monza pulls out, there's alrady no German GP this year, France GP is long gone. All countries with a long motorsport history. The only reason to host a race is prestige, hence the Russian GP, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, probably Qatar in the future. Wouldn't be surprised to have a race in North Korea soon if they pay Bernie enough. You may not care where they race, but I do, and I'm certainly not the only one. So in the end, it is a problem for the FIA.

Quoting GrahamHill (Reply 27): Is it permitted by the current rules?

No idea, but presumably they wouldn't be wasting their time testing it if it wasn't?

Quoting MadameConcorde (Reply 29): Fortune and fame got to his head........... Bad boy Hammy! Can't he learn table etiquette when invited by the Queen?

Being that pedantic about etiquette is stupid. I'd have thought that her majesty would have bigger things to worry about.

Quoting cfischaleck (Reply 30): Spa pulls out

This will be the same day I stop caring about F1.

Quoting cfischaleck (Reply 30): The attendance is what pays the bills for the host.

   If the promoter isn't making money, they won't be back next year.

Quoting moo (Reply 28): It was your choice to switch engine suppliers

Was it? I thought Dennis had a say in this too.

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 31): No idea, but presumably they wouldn't be wasting their time testing it if it wasn't?

Well, Williams tested a device that is currently not permitted by the current rules:



They said they were testing it for "future design considerations".

Quoting ZKOJQ (Reply 31): This will be the same day I stop caring about F1.

F1 has a lot of things not working well, and the fact that they are leaving (or could leave) historic places is part of it. Me too, when Monza or Spa will be out of the calendar, I think I'll give up on Formula 1.

Mazda 767B crashes during Goodwood, suffers heavy damage [UPDATE]

A Mazda 767B Group C racer suffered a crash the Goodwood Festival of Speed that tore off the rear wing and did some fairly serious looking front end damage. According to Jalopnik, the racer was taking a timed run during the event's famous hillclimb when it went into the hay bales.

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/06/26/m...ing-goodwood-suffers-heavy-damage/


Published on Jun 26, 2015
The theme for this year's Festival of Speed is "Flat Out and Fearless", the driver of this Mazda 767B may have been trying a bit too hard to live up to it and crashed at Molecomb. The important thing is that the driver was OK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URs9Z1DgWC4


RIP Mazda 767B