#12 Formula One TM Half-term Report (Part 1)

With the Formula 1 season approaches the summer break, some teams are looking forward to the break more than others while some cannot wait for the next race to come. It is cruel but true all the time because in Formula 1, when your progress or rate of development are slower than others, then you are taking a step backward relative to your competitors, and, vice versa.

Formula One heading for the beach

As the compulsory break for teams get underway, we take a brief analysis over the key themes of the first half of the FIA Formula One 2014 season.

Ø  The dominance of Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid

The team has enjoyed a flying start to their campaign; claiming every pole, led every lap and most importantly, won every race up to the Monaco Grand Prix. The winning streaks only came to a halt at the Canadian Grand Prix where Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing beat Nico Rosberg to the win, after the car’s motor generator unit for MGU-K failed.

As the season progresses, Mercedes went on to win a few more races up to the German Grand Prix by their drivers. However, the last race before the summer break was the Hungarian Grand Prix. With chaotic conditions between the rain and safety car interventions, Daniel Ricciardo, once again took initiatives and pounced on the chances with perfect strategies to win his second race of the season and also in his Formula1 career.

The Mercedes W05 Hybrid

The F1 W05 Hybrid is said to be so dominant because of an innovative design feature on the PU106A, the car’s engine. It is reportedly that the compressor and turbine of the turbo are packaged at the opposite ends of the internal combustion engine, which gives them the edge in packaging, aerodynamic efficiency and battery usage. (For more detailed explanation on the engine’s configurations, see #7 Understanding 2014 Formula One Engines - Technical Specifications and Configuration

To sum it up, Mercedes has won 9 races out of 11 in the first half of the season, with the remaining two won by Red Bull Racing. In the constructor stakes, Mercedes lead the table with 393 points after 11 races, followed by Red Bull Racing with 219 points in second. Only 7 points separate the third and fourth-placed teams of Ferrari and Williams at 142 points and 135 points respectively.

Ø  The Championships fight getting more intense as the season evolves

The fight for the driver’s championship looks increasingly likely to be the affairs between the Mercedes drivers – Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Given the superiority of their cars on the tracks in terms of efficiency and performance, few would have bet their money against any one of the Mercedes drivers claiming away the most coveted prizes in Formula 1 this year.

Nico Rosberg (left) and Lewis Hamilton (right) in happier times

Nico Rosberg has 4 wins under his belt to his Briton team-mate Lewis Hamilton, 5 wins. Owing to more finish in the points, the German leads his team-mate by 11 points. The following is a synopsis detailing the duo’s key battles for the title that we have witnessed so far this season.

Australia

ü  Hamilton took pole position but retired from the race due to an engine problem.

ü  Rosberg won the race.

The start of Australian Grand Prix 2014

Malaysia

ü  Hamilton won from pole.

ü  Rosberg finished second to complete a Mercedes 1-2.

The Malaysian Grand Prix podium

Bahrain

ü  Rosberg took pole but lost place to his team-mate to finish second.

ü  Hamilton won the race.

Playful fisticuffs between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg may just get serious

China

ü  Hamilton won from pole.

ü  Rosberg finished second.

The Chinese Grand Prix 2014 podium; Rosberg (far left), Hamilton (second from right), Alonso (far right)

Spain

ü  Hamilton won from pole.

ü  Rosberg finished second behind his team-mate for the fourth consecutive time.

Monaco

ü  Rosberg stopped and skidded his car down an escape road at Turn 5, Mirabeau during the dying period of qualifying, bringing out the yellow flags.

An aerial view of the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix

ü  This prevent Hamilton from setting his own pace and the relationship between the two became severely strained as a result.

ü  Rosberg won, Hamilton finished second.

Canada

ü  Rosberg took pole, finished second due to a MGU-K failure.

ü  Hamilton retired with a rear brake problem.

Daniel Ricciardo claims his maiden F1 win in Canada

Austria

ü  Rosberg qualified third, won the race.

ü  Hamilton does the damage limitation, started ninth and finished second.

Britain

ü  Hamilton won after qualified sixth.

ü  Rosberg suffered his first race retirement of the year.

Germany

ü  Rosberg won from pole.

ü  Hamilton finished third after suffering brake disc failure in his car during qualifying that left him starting in 20^th place.

Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barriers during the qualifying session of the German Grand Prix

Hungary

ü  Hamilton’s car caught fire in qualifying, require a change of gearbox and chassis; started the race from pitlane. Rosberg on pole.

This guy is hot on fire!

ü  Hamilton was told not to hold his team-mate up with one-third of the race still remaining due to different strategies employed between the drivers.

ü  Hamilton ignored the team orders and the relationship between the two may have subsequently worsened as a result.

ü  Hamilton finished third, Rosberg fourth.

ü  The Formula 1 season approaches the annual compulsory break before the next race in Belgium.

Ø  Dwindling worldwide TV audience

Unlike in seasons past, Formula 1 have suffered big decline in global TV ratings in recent years. According to reports, a number of factors are apparently responsible for the alarming drop in the ratings.

In the Latin American zones alone, the decline in ratings has been a staggering 50 per cent. In Italy, the number of audience depends on the successes of Ferrari, the drop is 20 per cent based on the data from the first five races of 2014. In Spain, the decline is around 15 per cent.

Sebastian Vettel

According to analysis, the ratings decline began with Sebastian Vettel’s utter dominance a few years ago, when the global audience fell from 515 million in 2011, to 500 million in 2012. 

A further drop of 50 million viewers was recorded last year, ending with a nine-race winning streak by Vettel.




The major market in China and France did not help ease the situation, whereas Germany’s ratings decline was reportedly 10 per cent last year, but it has continued to drop a further 3 per cent in 2014, despite the prominence of Mercedes.

When conducting a survey across the globe to receive the feedback from fans about the new Formula 1, many were unconvinced with the quieter V6 engines. Most agreed that drivers are starting to save fuel and do not race their heart out during the race.

Ø  Summary

What is FRIC?

Have we had enough? Definitely not. In the first part of the article, we take a brief look at how the championships fight evolve as the season wear on as well as global audience’s perceptions concerning the V6 eras.

The sequel to this article will feature more technical aspects that set the difference between teams as well as the regulation changes which occurred in mid-season – abolishment of the Front-Rear Interconnected Suspensions (FRIC) system (pic)

Besides that, further improvements aimed to bring back those glitter days of Formula 1 will be discussed. So, stay tuned for the next part of this article to keep yourself abreast with the latest mind-blowing technical changes analysis!

Sources: http:// en.m.wikipedia.org

               http:// www.skysportsf1.com

               http:// www.grandprix247.com

               http:// www.formula1.com
By: Vincent Ti