Month: September 2017

2017 Singapore Grand Prix – Post Race

The Formula 1 Grand Prix at Singapore is perhaps one of the most exotic races on the F1 calendar. It is a night race which takes place on a lighted street circuit on the streets of Singapore, and has a video game aspect to the broadcast. The political intrigue surrounding the country entices feelings of a still far off place with back alleys and lurking uncertainties. In this regard, the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix did not disappoint.

Rain was falling before the race as teams prepared their cars on the starting grid. The rain stopped by the start of the race, but it was wet. With Vettel on pole and Verstappen lined up to his left on the front row, the race start was a sprint to turn one. As Vettel launched for his start he started to fade sharply to the left in an attempt to block the Redbull of Max Verstappen. What Vettel did not realize was that the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was closing to the inside, and the gap between the three cars did close rather quickly. By the time they reached turn 1 the three cars smashed and were out of the race. I must say that I did predict that Vettel nor Verstappen would make it past turn 1. Max and Seb have similar approaches to dealing with aggression; their fists are already clinched and ready to throw. Clearly it was Vettels fault. But I digress…

As to the race… Romain Grosjean get the Haas F1 Fans Mail Man Award f.or delivering points to Gene Haas. In a very ho hum fashion Romain Grosjean qualified 15th. He just squeaked into the second qualifying round as his teammate Kevin Magnussen did not and started 16th. But in the end Grosjean finished in 9th place and earned 2 points for both himself and the Haas F1 Team.

Kevin Magnussen did not have such a ho hum race but did not finish. On the 26th lap of the race the Haas Team decided to be the first team to try full dry tires. Kevin Magnussen pitted for a set of Ultrasoft Pirelli’s and his lap times began to drop significantly. But despite his jump in speed he never really capitalized on the improvement. The rest of the field jumped to dry tires and Magnussen remained in the P13 position. On the 51st lap of the race KMags lost the hybrid drive in his Haas VF-17, and his day was done.

So Haas gets 2 points… in 8th place for the constructors championship with 37 points.  In two weeks, Malaysia!

2017 CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

POS TEAM PTS
1 MERCEDES 475
2 FERRARI 373
3 RED BULL RACING TAG HEUER 230
4 FORCE INDIA MERCEDES 124
5 WILLIAMS MERCEDES 59
6 TORO ROSSO 52
7 RENAULT 42
8 HAAS FERRARI 37
9 MCLAREN HONDA 17
10 SAUBER FERRARI 5

 

2017 Italian Grand Prix – Race Review

Hopes for the Haas F1 Team were over on Saturday after just 2 minutes into the first qualifying session. The rainy conditions during the first two minutes of qualifying were greater than the Blue Pirelli full wet tires could accommodate, and Romain Grosjean hydroplaned off of a straight part of empty track. The car simply lifted and Romain was a a passenger, like a kid at the beach sliding along on his skim board among the receding waves. When the rains finally did recede at The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and qualifying resumed, Grosjean did not participate. The best Kevin Magnussen could manage in his qualifying session was P16. But remarkable, because so many grid place penalties were assigned Magnussen started 9th. The lack of penalties to the Haas Team is an easily overlooked aspect amidst so many teams being so heavily penalized.

It was lap 47 of 53 that Kevin Magnussen lost his  10th place points position when Max Verstappen passed him. KMags finished in that all too familiar 11th place for the Haas F1 Team. He was in the points for most of the race, but in an post race interview admitted that he finished where they belonged. The Mercedes powered cars of the Williams and Force India and of course AMG Mercedes F1 cars were too much for the power of Scuderia Ferrari and the Haas F1 team.

But without a doubt, the Ferrari Tifosi at the Italian Grand Prix are the greatest podium in all of motor sports. As Lewis Hamilton was soundly boo’d for his first place podium, Lewis himself recognized the unique passion of Ferrari fans in Italy.  There is no other manufacturer, team or fans like Ferrari.  It was an incredible spectate as thousands of fans filled every camera angle for as far as you could see.

For Haas F1… it’s on to Singapore in two weeks. We enter the fly-away portion of the series where the teams now rely on their air cargo for everything. The Singapore is a night race and a beautiful spectacle to watch. The lights among a night background provide an almost video game like appearance. The track is unforgiving as it has very limited run off areas, and the guard rails will win against every impact.

For Haas F1, the Italian Grand Prix allows them to bond with their Ferrari partners, and hopefully sell some CNC machines… keep feeding the goose that lays those F1 golden eggs, and less eggs by the team! 0 points!

Thick and thin, they’re our team, it’s why we’re fans! Go Haas F1!

2017 Belgian Grand Prix – Race Review

The second half of the 2017 Formula 1 Season has begun, and the Haas F1 Team has made a strong showing. Romain Grosjean finished in 7th place and as earned 6 points for both the team for the constructors championship and himself for the drivers championship.

It was lap 29 when the Force India on track circus happened. Their two drivers had an on track incident where they touched and both cars would ultimately be eliminated from the points. Kevin Magnussen was running at P7 when this occured. Sergio Perez hit the car of his team mate Esteban Ocon. , his race did not end as well as it started. It was the race restart on lap 34 when Magnussen lost his race. He had been running strong all day, and a definite points contender for his Haas F1 Team. It was on turn 1 as the race was resuming that KMAGS found himself squeezed off of the track. By the time he re-entered the track and assumed racing speed he was at the very back of the pack in P17.  He would end the day in that 15th position, 5 places out of the points positions.

One of the best racing moments in the 2017 season occured on lap 15 of this race. Sebastian Vettel was leading the race followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton third in his Mercedes. On lap 14 Vettel pitted, which put Kimi in the lead. Lewis Hamilton Attacked Kimi Raikkonen on the turn 3-4 up hill climb which is known as Eau Rouge and made the pass at the crest of the hill as the road fades left into turn 5, or Raidillion.  Hamilton tore into Raikkonen on the uphill climb and could not have time a more perfect pass on a more iconic corner for the race lead. Again Vettel and Hamilton proved themselves the class of the field by both beating their teammates soundly. Hamilton finished first and Vettel second. The Red Bull of Daniel Riccardo took the final step on the podium.

The Belgian Grand Prix was the 200th career start for Lewis Hamilton, and his 68th start from pole, tying Michael Schumacher’s record for the most formula 1 pole positions. Following the qualifying session Lewis was given a message of congratulations from the Schumacher family directly from the FIA Managing directory himself, Ross Brawn. It was a very moving moment as Lewis continues to stack up his performance milestones. It was an extremely graceful sentiment from Michael’s family. Be Strong Michael… the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time.

But for the Haas F1 Team… 6 more points gives the team a 2017 total of 35. the Haas Team is just 5 points behind the 40 points of Toro Rosso, and 10 behind Williams who has 45 points.

Romain Grosjean gets our Mailman Award for delivering the points for Gene Haas. The Haas cars are strong and their drivers are a match for any of their competitors. We’re not going to cry over Magnussens lost points, maybe pout for a short time of fan pity… but it is a short week and we’ve got Monza next Sunday. The Haas Team is getting it done in the pits, with their strategy and on track performance.  But Formula 1 is not very forgiving of mistakes, and Magnussen’s cost the team some points today. But Haas F1 Fans are finding soemthing to be positive about at every turn of the 2017 season… bring on the Italian Grand Prix… bring on Monza!!!