Formula One: 2015 Jerez Test Recap

Usually the Formula One off-season seems to last forever before the stars of F1’s travelling circus return to the track for pre-season testing. However, if the two-month layoff between Abu Dhabi and Jerez seemed short to you, imagine how short it must have seemed for the teams.

After this first test, the off-season probably seemed far too short for McLaren who barely got any running in over the four days. Lotus was also hoping for a longer break as they missed the first day because they only fired their new Mercedes engine for the first time the day before the test began.

Up front, two of the familiar suspects found themselves frequently near the front of the timesheets with a very unexpected pair of faces in the top two all week.

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F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Double the Points, Double the Fun

f1-2014-abu-dhabi-hamilton-world-championDouble points, regular points and no points. It doesn’t matter what the points on offer would have been in the final race of the 2014 Formula One World Championship because the result would have been the same. With an ERS failure crippling his car for the final half of the race, reliability was finally on Lewis Hamilton’s side as he scored the win and clinched the World Drivers’ Championship.

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F1 Russian Grand Prix: From Russia, No Love

f1-2014-russia-hamilton-checkered-flagFor the first time in 100 years, Russia held a Grand Prix motor race and for the first time, it was Formula One racing in Russia. And while the Bond film might be called From Russia With Love, there is no love lost between the two chief protagonists in the 2014 F1 World Drivers’ Championship. The fierce rivalry between the two led to a spectacular first corner confrontation that was the race’s only memorable moment as Lewis Hamilton held his nerve and picked up the win in Russia.

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F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Rain, Rain, Go Away

f1-2014-japan-hamiltonHeading into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, all the talk was about the weather and whether it would allow for the race to be run at all let alone to the 75% mark where full points would be awarded. The race made it four laps past the 75% mark, completing 44 of the scheduled 53 laps. When the race was red flagged and ruled complete, Lewis Hamilton was declared the winner but no one was focused on that.

A couple of laps prior, Jules Bianchi lost control in the deteriorating conditions and hit a car recovery tractor. As of writing, Bianchi is in an ICU in Japan after surgery for a head injury suffered in the collision.

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F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Stop. Spanner Time.

Just when you thought that none of the luck at Mercedes was going Lewis Hamilton’s way, his championship chances got a massive boost in Singapore. When the cars formed up on the grid, it looked like it was going to be another week of Hamilton slowly chipping away at Nico Rosberg’s championship lead. Instead, Rosberg suffered a massive failure before the formation lap. That handed the win and the championship lead to Hamilton.

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F1 Italian Grand Prix: I Am My Own Worst Enemy

f1-2014-italy-hamilton-checkered-flagRegardless of the drama of the Belgian Grand Prix, this season has been all about the battle of the Mercedes teammates. Nico Rosberg might be leading the championship right now but he still has fewer wins than teammate Lewis Hamilton. He also has fewer retirements than Lewis which is why he’s in the Championship lead.

But that doesn’t mean that Rosberg is untouchable. Just because luck and speed has been on his side for most of the season doesn’t mean that the championship is his. All it took was one big slip up for Rosberg to throw away the lead of this race and hand momentum back to Hamilton.

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