The second day of The Lowdown’s week-long preview of the 2015 Formula One World Championship continues with some of the recent big news that has occurred. While we’ll be covering the big driver and team moves heading into 2015 in tomorrow’s post, there was plenty more happening in the off-season. Chief among those stories are the on-again, off-again entry of Marussia in the 2015 championship and the fallout from Fernando Alonso’s accident at the Barcelona test.
Fernando Alonso
F1 Japanese Grand Prix: Rain, Rain, Go Away
Heading 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.
F1 Spanish GP: Send Them Home Happy
When putting on live events, most promoters and performers have a simple philosophy: “Send the fans home happy.” Well, Fernando Alonso and Scuderia Ferrari certainly did that at yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix as the Spanish driver and local hero took his second career win in the Spanish Grand Prix.
F1 Chinese GP: Time for Tyres
The talk about tyres has been growing since Pirelli took over as the sole tyre manufacture in Formula One. This weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix saw tyres and pit strategy play a significant part. Fernando Alonso won the race but he certainly wasn’t what people were talking about. Even on the podium, the drivers were talking amongst themselves about the effect the tyres had on the race.
Formula One: 2013 1st Barcelona Test Recap
As per usual, the Formula One circuit will run a pair of pre-season tests at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain. While it’s not the first test of the year, it’s the first one that teams and driver will use to properly gauge how they stand heading into the season. That’s because the teams will spend two weeks in February and March here but also a weekend in May for the Spanish Grand Prix.
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Once, Twice, Three Times a Champion
We all went into the Brazilian Grand Prix thinking that Vettel’s faster car and higher qualifying spot than Alonso meant that he’d cruise to his third-straight World Drivers’ Championship. That lasted until Turn Four and we were treated to the best race of the season as Vettel came from the back of the field to barely win his third Championship. Continue reading
F1 United States Grand Prix: Texas Two-Step
The last time Formula One was racing in America, the race was won by Lewis Hamilton, his second win in a row, and a young driver named Sebastian Vettel made his F1 debut driving for BMW-Sauber and became the youngest driver to score a point. Five years later, Formula One returned to America and it was once again Lewis Hamilton who scored the win and Sebastian Vettel, this time driving for Red Bull, once again scored points but finished 2nd instead of 8th. Continue reading
F1 Abu Dhabi GP: A Bit of Luck and A Bit of Skill
After being disqualified from qualifying and starting from the pit lane, it appeared as though Sebastian Vettel would see his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship shrink, if not disappear altogether. However, the speed of the Red Bull combined with some luck with the safety car mitigated the damage.
Fernando Alonso was able to shrink the lead but didn’t take the win. Kimi Raikkonen benefited from a great start and a little bit of luck to win his first race since returning to Formula One. Continue reading
F1 Indian GP: Four In A Row
The season started with seven different race winners from the first seven races. The narrative has changed slightly as the last four races have been won by one man. Sebastian Vettel picked up his fourth-straight race win after leading every lap of the race from pole. Elsewhere, there was a news update on next season’s Grand Prix of America and more developments in the 2013 driver market. Continue reading
F1 Korean GP: Looking For A Three-Peat
In the two races since the European portion of the season ended, Sebastian Vettel has dominated proceedings. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that Vettel took his third-straight race victory. His win and Alonso’s third place finish has given the twice-defending champion the lead in the World Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, some interesting news broke in the paddock about Force India owner Vijay Mallya and Formula One got a new TV partner in America. Continue reading
The Lowdown 