Sunday Afternoons

F1Weekends brings you the best F1 related content whether it be on the track or off the track.

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F1 2013

Thats it. The end of a season is always sad, but like all fun things, there must be an end. Its been a pleasure engaging on Twitter and producing F1 oriented content for you all this year. I've got big plans for 2014, namely involving switching blogging platforms and taking everything I've learned from producing technology-oriented news, and applying it here. Have a good off-season everyone, it won't be long before F1 2014 is in action!

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Is Indycar Becoming More Appealing Than F1?

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Vettel Still Gets Pole, But Not by Much From Rosberg and Alonso

The final Qualifying session of Formula 1 2013 got underway this weekend, with the predicted rain being the dominant factor in how the teams cultivated their running. It started off with most of the teams electing to run on the Intermediate tyre, before some started to talk about a potential crossover onto the dry, Medium tyre as a dry line started to appear in certain areas of the track. The rain then came down, forcing most of the drivers to stay out and put in a lap time, to avoid the risk of loosing time to the increased intensity of the rain. Whilst most got their laps in, it was Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen and the two Toro Rosso's who were having to battle with the Williams of Pastor Maldonado. Kovalainen had issues with his previous team Caterham, as he found himself behind them on his laps, making him run wide an oversteer in the dirty air. He never the less, managed to just get a lap in at the end. Then it was the Toro Rosso's who elected to run a new set of Inters, as the used sets they were running were not providing them with the sharp tread edges, required to disperse the water at the rate needed, to get some purchase and traction out of the corners. Vergne managed to get a lap in, as did Riccardo in the end, with Maldonado loosing time in the last sector, ultimately deciding the drivers who will no longer take part in Qualifying. Q2 started then, with what can only be described as under the same intensity of rain as the previous session. The two McLaren's struggled, despite both of them having brand new sets to play with. Bottas was also unable to get a good lap time in for Williams. Towards the end, the two McLaren's were fighting to try and stay in Qualifying, with Perez fighting his car a little too hard....

The rear snapped on him as he went up the hill into turn 6, and for a moment he held the slide before the paint on the rumble strip sent his car backwards and into the barrier, breaking the front wing and rear suspension in the process. Not the way I'm sure Perez wanted to complete his final Qualifying session of McLaren and indeed 2013 with. Q3 was next, however as the conditions worsened towards the end of Q2, Race Control decided to delay the session by 30 minutes due to the amount of standing water on the track. We did eventually see running though. The two Red Bull's were posting some quick lap times initially, with the Mercedes of Rosberg looking fast. Romain Grosjean could only manage P6, after he could not find enough pace on the Intermediates. Alonso however, was looking quick. With Vettel at the top, he was the only one that could rain on his parade. Fernando put in his fastest sector one, before going off at turn 4, which pretty much ended his run for pole. Rosberg posted a pretty competitive lap, six tenths slower than Vettel. Whilst Mark Webber will start P4 in his final Grand Prix. Its almost certainly going to be a wet race tomorrow. If its not then we don't really know what to expect from the dry tyres. But for the wets, to echo what we said before, it will be all about the crossover point between the two tyres should the rain be intense at the start. Even for the wets, it will still be important. 1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:26.479 2. Nico Rosberg - 1:27.102 3. Fernando Alonso - 1:27.539 4. Mark Webber - 1:27.572 5. Lewis Hamilton - 1:27.677 6. Romain Grosjean - 1:27.737 7. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:28.052 8. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:28.081 9. Felipe Massa - 1:28.109 10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:29.582 11. Heikki Kovalainen - 1:27.456 12. Paul di Resta - 1:27.798 13. Valtteri Bottas - 1:27.954 14. Sergio Perez - 1:28.269 15. Jenson Button - 1:28.308 16. Adrian Sutil - 1:28.586 17. Pastor Maldonado - 1:27.367 18. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:27.445 19. Charles Pic - 1:27.843 20. Giedo van der Garde - 1:28.32 21. Jules Bianchi - 1:28.366 22. Max Chilton - 1:28.950

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Crossover Point To Be Crucial In Qualifying and the Race

Whilst the rain still interrupted practice this morning, the teams had to use the track conditions to their advantage, as the crossover point between the Full Wet and Intermediate tyre could prove to be crucial in both Qualifying today and the Race tomorrow. The times being done by drivers who went out initially; Sauber, Marussia, Mercedes, and Force India were all in the low 1:35s, 1:34s on the Full Wets. Then as conditions improved, we started to see the crossover point become more apparent, as the drivers dipped into the mid 1:31s, high 1:30s. Then with fifteen minutes to go before the session ends, the rain stopped coming down and teams started to think about switching to Inters. Mark Webber was first out, immediately setting a lap time three seconds faster then everyone else by lapping in the high 1:27. Romain Grosjean also posted a competitive time in the low 1:28s. A team that didn't do much running however, was Ferrari. After their install laps, Alonso and Massa looked chilled in the garage as they saved their allocated set of Wet tyres for Qualifying and the Race. The reason being because, if we have a similar situation in either session, he who has the newer, sharper tyres, will be able to cope better in the greasier conditions. Sebastien Vettel also limited his running in Practice Three, however we saw a number of drivers still struggling with balance. Lewis Hamilton in particular, was not happy with his car, nor was the two Saubers, who were seemingly locking up at some of the higher speed corners. They had to use their tyres, in a bid to find the right setup. Whether or not that will compromise the amount of laps they will do in Qualifying will be interesting, as it could leave them more vulnerable if the track is evolving at a high rate. Anyway, we'll know in the next hour, when the final Qualifying session of F1 2013 commences.

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Rain Interrupts The Final Practice Session of F1 2013

The final F1 weekend on the year is underway at Brazil, with the drivers having to bring out their swimming goggles for both sessions. Rain stopped the teams from running the Pirelli 2014 development tyres, with only the Intermediate and Wet tyres being run by the teams today. Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastien Vettel were the top three in both practice sessions today, even though the Red Bull only went out with the 15 minutes to go in the session. Vettel did get some running on the development tyre in Practice 1, but it was only a lap and a half before the team called him in, with his race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin telling him that they "have all of the data we need." After a lap and a half in damp conditions on dry tyres, decide for yourselves whether or not that information will be crucial for next year. As for any dry running, we expect the teams to get some in tomorrow at least in Practice 3 or Qualifying. The race could also be dry, but there is a 65 per-cent chance of rain affecting running, as is the case tomorrow. Chances are we might see dry Practice 3 running, then maybe a rain interrupted Qualifying thats something along the lines of 2010, where dry tyres will be used to set lap times towards the end. Pirelli's Paul Hembery however, thinks the conditions we saw today will be representative for the rest of the weekend, so the running was relevant for the teams. "The conditions we saw are likely to continue for the rest of the weekend, so it was useful for the teams to establish a wet set-up and assess the performance of the wet and intermediate tyres with different fuel loads." "It was a pity that the drivers didn’t get the chance to try the development tyres as this was an important opportunity," he continued. "On the other hand, the 2014 tyres are obviously designed for a completely different type of car to what we see competing for the final time this weekend, so there was only a limited amount to learn anyway. In the end the situation was just a bit unlucky, as on the two previous occasions that we brought development tyres to Brazil in 2011 and 2012, conditions remained dry on a Friday. As for which tyre is the strongest, "The intermediate tyre has shown itself to be very adaptable yet durable over a wide range of conditions," says Hembery. "It’s hard to predict a strategy under these circumstances, as in the end it’s the most quick-thinking and flexible tactics that tend to win in the rain – and of course there’s always an element of luck as well.” One of the teams that will be praying for a crazy wet race on Sunday will be Caterham, who are looking at finishing ahead of Marussia again in the championship. At the moment they are last because Marussia managed to finish in 13th place, so it will be both Pic and Van Der Garde's job to try and match or better that this weekend. Mercedes meanwhile, believe their best chance of winning will also be if there is a wet race, since their car seems to suit those conditions better, as evidenced earlier this year in Australia. McLaren also think wet conditions are their best bet for a good race, with Sauber looking more at a dry race for balance purposes.

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2013 United States Grand Prix Result

1 Sebastian Vettel 2 Romain Grosjean 3 Mark Webber 4 Lewis Hamilton 5 Fernando Alonso 6 Nico Hulkenberg 7 Sergio Perez 8 Valtteri Bottas 9 Nico Rosberg 10 Jenson Button 11 Daniel Ricciardo 12 Felipe Massa 13 Esteban Gutierrez 14 Heikki Kovalainen 15 Paul di Resta 16 Pastor Maldonado 17 Jean-Eric Vergne [Time Penalty +20 Seconds] 18 Jules Bianchi 19 Giedo van der Garde 20 Charles Pic 21 Max Chilton 22 Adrian Sutil - DNF [Collision]

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One-Stop Expected To Be The Strategy Today

Pirelli are expecting the one-stop strategy to be the favourite amongst drivers today. With them bringing the hard and medium compound tyre to Austin this weekend, it will be all about track temperature as the races progresses. As exhibited in qualifying, a lot of drivers suffered a change in their cars pace as the track temperature went down a couple of degrees from what it was in Practice Three. Jenson Button in particular, who has been struggling this year with the cars consistency just wasn't showing the clear pace that McLaren have due to these circumstances. It wasn't all bad for some though. William's Valteri Bottas managed to get into Q3 after he found some pace in the car. Both Sauber's were also looking strong, with Hulkenberg in a solid 4th place. Lotus' Romain Grosjean also showed some cunning pace, with his new teammate for the next two races Heikki Kovalainen also showing some outstanding pace in the Lotus qualifying in P8. Mercedes are set to be among those who struggle, with McLaren also expected. “Our tyre choice here is on the conservative side, which means that getting the tyres up to the right temperature was important. That was not necessarily an easy task today as the track temperature actually fell slightly during the session, which is not the normal pattern we see in qualifying," says Pirelli's Paul Hembery. So obviously the track temperature will be something to look out for this afternoon. We expect it to be in the thirty degrees range. "Tyre wear and degradation should not be a considerable factor for the race with either compound. As a result, we will probably see just one pit stop for most runners, as was the case last year," says Hembery. The one-stop is theoretically the fastest strategy for the 56-lap Grand Prix; which means starting on the Medium, then switching to the Hards around lap 19.

We predict some might go to lap 26 - 28, providing the track conditions are consistent in the first opening laps. That one-stop could easily turn into a two-stop for some though. If someone in the midfield decides to run it and the track conditions do change, expect there to be a mad dash to the pitline as if its just started to rain. An alternative to the Medium/Hard one-stop strategy would be the Hard/Medium; start on the hards and finish on the Mediums with 19 laps to go. 1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:36.338 2. Mark Webber - 1:36.441 3. Romain Grosjean - 1:37.155 4. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:37.296 5. Lewis Hamilton 1:37.345 6. Fernando Alonso - 1:37.376 7. Sergio Perez 1:37.452 8. Heikki Kovalainen - 1:37.715 9. Valtteri Bottas - 1:37.836 10. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:38.131 11. Paul di Resta - 1:38.139 12. Nico Rosberg - 1:38.364 13. Felipe Massa - 1:38.592 14. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:38.696 15. Jenson Button - 1:38.217 16. Adrian Sutil - 1:39.25 17. Pastor Maldonado - 1:39.351 18. Giedo van der Garde - 1:40.491 19. Jules Bianchi - 1:40.528 20. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:38.034 21. Max Chilton - 1:41.401 22. Charles Pic - 1:40.596

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Track Evolution Plays A Part In Pace At Austin

We’re in Austin, Texas this weekend for what has only just recently become our favourite race on the calendar. F1’s break into the United States has been epic so far, with the successful run of the 2012 US GP last year, the sport it well on its way to turning many heads away from the catastrophe that was the 2005 US GP held at Indianapolis. The penultimate race of the season is really about points for the teams, which means gasping the tyres over the weekend will be key to ensuring that they take home as many points as possible. Pirelli have made it somewhat easier for the teams this weekend, nominating the satsuma orange Hard tyre and the white-marked Medium compound tyre. Pirelli say that the nomination is a good test of the tyre’s all-round ability, with traction demands out of slow corners just as important as lateral grip through the high-speed changes of direction that are also a key characteristic of the Circuit of the Americas. “When you have more energy going through the tyre, you have a bigger heat build-up - which is what increases wear and degradation,” says Pirelli’s Paul Hembery. “Now that we’re coming to the USA for the second time we have a better idea of what to expect, whereas last year - when we also nominated the hard and the medium - it was much more of a step into the unknown.” “This year’s compounds are softer, so we would expect around two pit stops in the race, depending also on the rate of track evolution,” says Hembery. Practice One saw a lot of track evolution, with the Medium tyre degrading more so than the Hard. But both compounds seem to be “hanging on” according to McLaren driver Jenson Button. In terms of strategy prediction, based on the data in both Practice One and Practice Two, Hembery says that “we could well be looking at a one-stop race for most runners, as was the case last year, although some may try two stops if they feel it offers a speed advantage.” The medium tyre will be the one to qualify on for the drivers, which means the pitstop window could be between lap 18 for most, with the ones kinder to their tyres looking at lap 26 - 28. The times in practice three will be something to look at, as the teams finalise their setups for Qualifying later in the day. 1 Sebastian Vettel - 1:37.305 2 Mark Webber - 1:37.420 3 Nico Rosberg - 1:37.785 4 Lewis Hamilton - 1:37.958 5 Heikki Kovalainen - 1:38.073 6 Esteban Gutierrez - 1:38.229 7 Nico Hulkenberg - 1:38.254 8 Romain Grosjean - 1:38.255 9 Jenson Button - 1:38.269 10 Fernando Alonso - 1:38.461 11 Valtteri Bottas - 1:39.512 12 Adrian Sutil - 1:38.719 13 Felipe Massa - 1:38.938 14 Sergio Perez - 1:38.941 15 Pastor Maldonado - 1:39.784 16 Daniel Ricciardo - 1:39.246 17 Paul di Resta - 1:39.410 18 Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:39.579 19 Daniil Kvyat - 1:40.065 [Practice 1] 20 Charles Pic - 1:40.376 21 Giedo van der Garde - 1:40.563 22 Alexander Rossi - 1:41.399 [Practice 1] 23 Max Chilton - 1:46.226 24 Rodolfo Gonzalez - 1:43.716 [Practice 1] 25 Jules Bianchi - 1:47.987

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Pitstop Podcast: Our Take On The Silly Season

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Abu Dhabi GP Result

1 Sebastian Vettel 2 Mark Webber 3 Nico Rosberg 4 Romain Grosjean 5 Fernando Alonso 6 Paul di Resta 7 Lewis Hamilton 8 Felipe Massa 9 Adrian Sutil 10 Sergio Perez 11 Pastor Maldonado 12 Jenson Button 13 Esteban Gutierrez 14 Nico Hulkenberg 15 Valtteri Bottas 16 Daniel Ricciardo 17 Jean-Eric Vergne 18 Giedo van der Garde 19 Charles Pic 20 Jules Bianchi 21 Max Chilton 22 Kimi Raikkonen - DNF: Collision

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Can Webber Convert Pole Into Win?

Mark Webber starts in the best possible place to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tomorrow. The Australian starts in pole position, ahead of teammate and recently crowned four-times world champion Sebastien Vettel. The two Mercedes also start on the second row, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg set to start in the in the fifth position grid slot ahead of Lotus' Romain Grosjean. As we said on Friday, track temperature should be key to how the weekend progresses. "From what we can see so far there is approximately 1.5 seconds between the two compounds: enough of a difference to make strategy a key consideration," says Pirelli's Paul Hembery. “Two key factors shaped the strategy during qualifying: the big lap time difference between the two compounds and the high degree of track evolution, which meant that the fastest times were usually set at the end of each session once the most rubber had been laid down on the surface," explains Paul. "As an extra factor, track temperature was consistently falling with the sun going down during qualifying, which adds another challenge from a tyre engineering perspective." As such, we expect the one-stop strategy to be the popular option amongst the drivers, although a two-stop is still possible without loosing time to the one-stop runners. "With the wear and degradation rates that we can see so far, the options are open," says Hembery. "While the soft tyre has a significant performance advantage, it’s also capable of consistent performance over a longer run." Drivers starting on the Soft, which is the majority of the top ten, we expect them to pit around lap 12 and then see the stint through to the end of the race on Mediums. Alternatively, those starting on the Medium compound tyre will likely pit on lap 43 for Soft, then go to the end. The two-stop strategy meanwhile, employs starting on the Soft, then changing to the Medium on lap 9, before pitting for a fresh set of Mediums on lap 32. With 24 laps to go, that switch to a fresh set of rubber could be crucial for some. There is also the chance of a Safety Car in the opening phases of the race, which could also play into the strategists hands. 1 Mark Webber - 1:39.957 2 Sebastian Vettel - 1:40.075 3 Nico Rosberg - 1:40.419 4 Lewis Hamilton - 1:40.501 5 Nico Hulkenberg - 1:40.576 6 Romain Grosjean - 1:40.997 7 Felipe Massa - 1:41.015 8 Sergio Perez - 1:41.068 9 Daniel Ricciardo - 1:41.111 10 Fernando Alonso - 1:41.093 11 Paul di Resta - 1:41.133 12 Jenson Button - 1:41.200 13 Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.279 14 Pastor Maldonado - 1:41.395 15 Valtteri Bottas - 1:41.447 16 Esteban Gutierrez - 1:41.999 17 Adrian Sutil - 1:42.051 18 Giedo van der Garde - 1:43.252 19 Jules Bianchi - 1:43.398 20 Charles Pic - 1:43.528 21 Max Chilton - 1:44.198 22 Kimi Raikkonen - DSQ [Car failed a floor deflection test, due to damage sustained during session]

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Abu Dhabi Preview: Track Evolution Means Strategy To Play Another Key Role On Sunday

From smog of India to deserts of Abu Dhabi, the Formula 1 circus will set up shop for the 17th time this year, at the Yas Marina circuit. This race is quite a contrast from the one held in New Delhi just last weekend, with it being the only twilight race on the calendar. The tyre nominations that Pirelli will be bringing to the Grand Prix this weekend will be the Soft and Medium tyre compound. Pirelli say that because this race set during twilight hours in a country in the middle east, rather than rise with the progression of the race, the track temperature actually decreases. “The way that the track temperature falls in Abu Dhabi obviously has an effect on both wear and degradation, meaning that teams are able to do longer runs even on the softer compound later in the race,” says Paul Hembery. So like the last race out in India, strategy will play a key role in how each stint progresses. “Tyre wear and degradation isn’t especially high here: last year, when we also nominated the medium and soft, most drivers just stopped once. As the compounds are generally softer this year we’d expect two stops this time, although it’s quite possible that some teams might try just one.” Expect the usual drivers; Lotus pair, Vettel, possibly Sauber and Force India to try and go for the one-stop strategy. Although we may have to wait to see what kind of times the drivers are doing on each set of tyres, before we draw to any conclusions. “We’d [Pirelli] anticipate race pace among the frontrunners to be reasonably closely balanced,” says Hembery. “It’s always under these circumstances that having the right strategy can really make a significant difference." From a technical point of view, the Yas Marina circuit requires a compromise between mechanical and aerodynamic grip. The track itself is located at sea level, which means with the high air density, engine performance is good. But whilst this is a good thing for reliability, the extra boost means there will be more demands placed on the rear tyres. This is why the teams will run a medium downforce set-up, in order to not put too much loading onto the tyres in the higher speed sections of the track. Track evolution also plays a part in the course of the weekend, which means we will see drivers getting more and more confident with the grip levels - especially with the support race fininalies such as GP2 and GP3 taking place. Safety cars are also a factor, with a period happening almost every year since 2010. With the drivers title already decided, you can bet that the race for second is on. After a disappointing Indian Grand Prix finishing outside of the points, Fernando Alonso will be looking to defend his second place in the championship against Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, who draw ever close with each race.

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Indian Grand Prix Results

1 Sebastian Vettel 2 Nico Rosberg 3 Romain Grosjean 4 Felipe Massa 5 Sergio Perez 6 Lewis Hamilton 7 Kimi Raikkonen 8 Paul di Resta 9 Adrian Sutil 10 Daniel Ricciardo 11 Fernando Alonso 12 Pastor Maldonado 13 Jean-Eric Vergne 14 Jenson Button 15 Esteban Gutierrez 16 Valtteri Bottas 17 Max Chilton 18 Jules Bianchi 19 Nico Hulkenberg - DNF [Gearbox Issue] 20 Mark Webber - DNF [Alternator Failure] 21 Charles Pic - DNF [Car Problem] 22 Giedo van der Garde - DNF [Collision]

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Sebastien Vettel On Pole, As Strategy Driven Race Ensues

It was unlikely that we would see anyone other than Sebastien Vettel starting from the P1 spot in tomorrow race. His form has been exemplary throughout the weekend, just total dominance. But whilst he will be on the front row with all this pace, it could be strategy that determines Sunday's race. You see, some of the drivers behind Seb are starting on the Medium tyre, which we all know is the longer lasting tyre - you're looking at 15 to 18 laps before its finished at race pace. Those that start on the Soft tyre meanwhile, will find themselves pitting in around lap 5 to 8, ten laps earlier than those who will be on the Mediums. This means the drivers on Mediums can run in the low 1:26's to open up that gap to those who have switched to the harder compound of tyre, and are trying to get heat into them. Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso in particular, are likely going to employ this strategy, then run the Soft in the middle stint. Another possibility could be for the drivers on the soft to switch to the soft again on lap 8, so they can cover off the pace of those on the Mediums, then pit another 13 laps later for Mediums and run them to the end of the race. Of course, an issue there could then be the possibility of having to three-stop, which isn't the fastest of strategies. Sauber however, might look at doing such a thing with Hulkenberg, who felt more comfortable on the Mediums in Practice. Such a strategy could prove to be annoying for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who realistically needs to get past Hulk in the opening couple of laps if he wants to finish on the podium. As for the Mercedes and Lotus, they will likely go for the Medium, Medium two-stop strategy, although Mercedes could still employ the aforementioned Soft, Medium strategy. McLaren meanwhile, will likely do the Medium, Soft strategy, which could prove to be quite quick in the middle stint. Only issue is the possibility of the Soft's dropping off towards the end of the race, which could undo all of their hard work they did in the second stint. 1 Sebastian Vettel - 1:24.119 2 Nico Rosberg - 1:24.871 3 Lewis Hamilton - 1:24.941 4 Mark Webber - 1:25.047 5 Felipe Massa - 1:25.201 6 Kimi Raikkonen - 1:25.248 7 Nico Hulkenberg - 1:25.334 8 Fernando Alonso - 1:25.826 9 Sergio Perez - 1:26.153 10 Jenson Button - 1:26.487 11 Daniel Ricciardo - 1:25.519 12 Paul di Resta - 1:25.711 13 Adrian Sutil - 1:25.740 14 Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:25.798 15 Valtteri Bottas - 1:26.134 16 Esteban Gutierrez - 1:26.336 17 Romain Grosjean - 1:26.577 18 Pastor Maldonado - 1:26.842 19 Jules Bianchi - 1:26.970 20 Giedo van der Garde - 1:27.105 21 Charles Pic - 1:27.487 22 Max Chilton - 1:28.138 Expect Sebastien Vettel to be crowned World Champion tomorrow. Despite strategy playing its big role, it will be the opening pace that might seal the deal for Vettel. But with Mercedes looking quite racy behind him, its not completely out of the question for Vettel's pace to be challenged tomorrow.

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Red Bull On Top, As Front Graining Troubles Chasing Drivers In Practice

As you might expect, Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel is on top in both practice sessions this weekend alongside his teammate Mark Webber. The Red Bull's managed to lead the pace whilst others struggled with front tyre graining. The Soft and Medium compound tyres are the nominations for this weekend, and whilst Red Bull have benefited on both compounds, it has been varying for some teams. Mercedes for example, are good on soft tyre pace but slower on Medium tyre pace. Lotus are also hooked up on the Soft tyre more than the Medium, with Sauber meanwhile, finding more time on the Medium tyre. A lot of the drivers were complaining about front-to-rear limited grip. We saw the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen in particular, who we noted was suffering with the tyre compound construction change, spinning and locking up in areas as he tried to chase the frontend of the car through the corners. Nico Rosberg also found that whilst his setup for the morning was all about dialling in understeer to compensate for the lack of grip the rear was experiencing, as the track evolved the understeer started to affect the handling, in turn creating the graining. It wasn't just Rosberg, other drivers were also experiencing the same thing including Hulkenberg. "With varying elevations and a wide variety of corners India provides the tyres with quite a test, as there are forces coming from all directions, so tyre management will once again prove to be important," says Pirelli's Paul Hembery. "As usual, it should be very warm in India, which increases thermal degradation as well." We're probably looking at two-stops as the popular choice, with three-stops a possibility. Drivers who use too much tyre life in qualifying might end up three-stopping, especially if they go for the longer seventh gear option for better straight line speed, and try to chase the lap time to start as high up as possible. "Wear and degradation is generally in line with our expectations but there have been some issues with blistering on the soft compound while some drivers ran up to 24 laps on the medium tyre," says Hembery. "The medium seems set to be the optimal race tyre, while the soft tyre should be the one to qualify on, as it has been about 0.8s to a second per lap faster up to now." This means assessing the drop-off performance will be key for engineer and drivers, in determining their strategy. Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen was told in Practice Two to run the tyres until they are "unsafe to use." Whilst that particular choice of words was quite alarming, it was signs of the team trying to find that terminal drop-off point, where they see how much the lap time drops by each sector per-lap, once the driver feels they are already finished. "Consequently, some teams will also be evaluating the potential benefits of starting on the medium. However, the track hasn’t finished evolving yet, so the final decisions won’t be taken until after free practice tomorrow.”

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Why You Shouldn't Hate Sebastien Vettel

Addressing the Sebastien Vettel hate, in video form. Distribute, discuss.

[f1weekends-blog]

Kimi Raikkonen's Uncharacteristic Practice 'Offs' Caused By Revised Pirelli Tyres

Ever since Pirelli changed their tyre compound structure mid-season in Hungary, some teams and drivers have found it hard to adapt their setup and driving style to the new compound. Force India for example, have lost pace ever since the first race back in Spa after the mid-season. There have also been noticeable lapses in pace from Ferrari as well, who have failed to convert the race pace into qualifying pace. Now it seems the change has affected Kimi Raikkonen. Whilst the Finn has been able to put in some staggering performances since returning from the summer break, amongst all of the news that he isn't getting paid on-time by Lotus and the change in compound structure, in the last couple of races there have been noticeable uncharacteristic errors from him, particularly in Practice. For example in Korea, he lost the rear heading into the penultimate corner in Practice One, resulting in a late lunch for the Lotus mechanics on his side of the garage. In Practice Two at Suzuka last weekend, Raikkonen also lost the rear of the car heading into turn seven, resulting in him missing valuable last minutes as the teams finalise their setups for Saturday. Speaking to Autosport, Trackside Operations Director Alan Permane says [with regards to Raikkonen] that he "doesn't like the front end. He doesn't like the turn in. It is not sharp enough for him," he says. "But, if you try to sharpen it up too much, you then lose the rear." That is exactly what we have been seeing. Anyone who has ever watched an onboard of Kimi Raikkonen knows that he likes to chase the front heading into the corners. Spa is a notable example. Going through Brussels, the car just looked soo much more hooked up going through the corner than his rivals; who were taking the 'Mark Webber wide-line-in, fast-line-out.' However, in the last couple of races we have seen the harder tyre compounds used by Pirelli, which take longer to get to their optimum working window than the softer tyre compounds. The result saw Raikkonen spin as he has tried to chase the front end through some of the more high speed corners which require a lot of downforce at the rear, where the tyres just weren't up to temperature to handle the loading. Whilst the change in Pirelli tyre compound structure has affected some teams, it has actually benefited some. Sauber for instance, have been able to put in some great results with Hulkenberg and Gutierrez. Red Bull meanwhile, have seemingly been unaffected with the change in structure. However, whilst all of those are car-related advantages, in the case of Lotus its more driver-related. "There is no stopping Romain at the moment, that is for sure," says Permane. Grosjean has been able to capitalise on the new tyres in the last couple of races, putting in a stella performance last weekend at Suzuka, where he lead the majority of the laps ahead of the challenging Red Bulls.