rewalker

2019 Japanese Grand Prix

In a weekend interrupted by typhoon hagibis, the 2019 Japanese Grand prix found both qualifying and the race on the same day. Qualifying was dry and sunny but plagued with high winds.

During qualifying Kevin Magunssen was struck by a tailwind and found himself into the grass and spinning. The damage to his car seemed mostly cosmetic but he did start the race at the back of the pack since he did not post a qualifying time and the team had to change a gear box.

Romain Grosjean had a very good qualifying session. The flying Frenchman mad his way into the third round of qualifying yet started in the 10th position.

At the race start Magnussen jumped 6 positions to P13 and Grosjean dropped 4 positions just behind his teammate to 14th.

The Ferrari’s of Vettel and Leclerc locked out the first row with the German taking pole and his teammate in 2nd position. Vettel did not get a good start and both Ferrari’s were jumped by the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Leclerc tried found himself behind Verstappen’s Redbull by turn two. Leclerc tried to regain that spot at the inside of turn two and, forcing off the Redbull of Verstappen. Leclerc was forced to pit and change his front wing.

By lap 11 of the 53 lap race Magnussen was leading the two Haas cars were running 12th and 13th. But on lap 18 and 19 the two Haas cars pitted. Both cars were fitted with hard tires. We’re not sure which one stopped first. But fast forward to lap 22 and Grosjean was down to 15th and Magnussen was down to 18th.

After more midfield pitting in what appears will be a three stop race, lap 29, Grosjean P12, Magnussen P15.

With 10 laps remaining the Haas cars are running Grosjean 14th and Magnussen 16th.

Mercedes Finished first and third with Bottas taking the win and the Ferrari of Vettel splitting the Silver Arrows and taking second position. But with that finish Mercedes has clinched the 2019 constructors championship and their 6th in a row.

2019 Russian Grand Prix

After 28 laps of racing the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel experienced an MGU failure and retired from the race. This caused a yellow flag condition and allowed the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to pit and gain the undercut advantage over the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Vettel’s comment over the team radio was music to every F1 fan’s ears, “bring back the fucking V12’s”.

2019 Russian Grand Prix

Romain Grosjean started 8th, and Kevin Magnussen 11th.
Magnussen got a great start and gained 3 positions by turn 3. Romain Grosjean retired from the race on the first lap as Daniel Ricciardo hit Grosjean in turn 3 and sent the Haas car into the wall, and out of the race.

At the end of the lap 28 incident, the Hass of Kevin Magnussen landed in 6th position when the race resumed at lap 33. At this point of the race the entire field had pitted and would make the remaining race distance without stopping. It was a 20 lap sprint for the checkered flag.

But it was Sebastian Vettel who was the prime mover as he jetted from third, past the number 2 car of Hamilton, into the slipstream of his teammate Charles Leclerc and into the lead by turn 3

Lap 43, Magnussen was passed by the Redbull of Alex Albon. On lap 44, Magnussen was passed by the pink Racing Point of Sergio Perez… as Magnussen droped to P8.

Lap 47, Kevin Magnussen received a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track limits, which at the time of the penalty would have put the Haas car out of the top 10 points position. But as it turned out, KMags was able to make up enough time on track so as to only drop one position. Kevin Magnussen finished 9th, scoring 2 championship points for the Haas F1 Team.

Yea, it was a bit heart wrenching to see Grosjean out of the race on lap 1.

Next up on October 13th is the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka International Racing Course. Suzuka is one of the great tracks on the Formula 1 circuit. Until then, Sayōnara.

2019 Singapore Grand Prix

Under the cover of darkness, and in the sweltering heat, 280,000 race fans lined the streets of Singapore to watch the 15th race of the Formula One season.

The 2019 The Haas F1 Team announced earlier in the week that they would be retaining both h Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean for the 2020 season. With that air of optimism, the two Haas cars qualified 13th and 17th respectively.

By the end of the first lap Magnussen had gained three positions and moved up to 10th position. Romain Grosjean lost one spot and dropped to 18th place when he took the bypass in turn 1 to avoid contact with a Williams car but ended up 16 after some bumps and grinds forced Hulkenberg’s Renault and Sainz’s McLaren to pit. One cannot help but wonder if Grosjean is curbing his competitive spirit and taking less risk during race starts. At the front of the pack was the pole sitting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc maintaining his first position, followed by the Mercedes of Hamilton, the Ferrari of Vettel, the Redbull of Max Verstappen, then the Mercedes of Valteri Bottas.

By the end of lap 2 Magnussen had moved up to 9th position. The field held their positions until lap 19 when Magnussen pitted and returned to the field in 14th position.

For the most part the race was boring as hell. The Singapore street circuit design does not allow for passing. And most of the excitement was among the Sky TV commentators creating excitement where none existed. George Russel hit the wall in lap 35 and caused a full course caution. When the race resumed at lap 41 magnussen found himself in 8th position while Grosjean languished in 17th.

Laps 35 through 51 were plagued with safety cars. When racing resumed, we saw Magnussen drop positions and was down to 14th position by lap 53. We will later learn that Magnussen picked up a plastic bag which was bocking his cooling and effecting his performance. And by lap 56 Magnussen had dropped to last position, 17th ahead of Raikkonen, Perez and Russel; all retired.

Kevin Magnussen pitted on lap 58 for new tires and claimed the fastest lap. He finished the race in 17th position. But since he did not finish in the top 10, he does not receive the point for the fastest lap.

Grosjean finished in 11th position. AGAIN!!!

The Haas F1Team failed to secure points.

Next up on the Formula 1 schedule is the Russian Grand prix in Sochi.

2019 Hungarian Grand Prix

Expectations are high for the Haas F1 Team. On a beautifully clear and warm summer day at the Hungaroring Romain Grosjean starts the race in P9 as hemade the third round of qualifying for the second race in a row. The junior Haas driver, Kevin Magnussen started in the 14th position.

Max Verstappen got a fantastic start in his pole sitting Redbull and held that lead through turn 1 of the race and beyond. Unlike last weeks German Grand Prix, the first few laps were relatively uneventful Aside from a broken wing on the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas after contact with Leclerc’s Ferrari, the entire field of 20 cars were on track and in race trim through lap 8. Grosjean found himself in P9 and magnussen in P15.

Lap 20, Grosjean pitted and returned to the track in P16. By lap 27 Grosjean has held at P16, Magnussen holding station at 11th.

Lap 40, Kevin Magnussen pits, switches to soft tires, and returns right ahead of his teammate in 16th position, and also on soft tires, though 20 laps older.

Lap 52, Romain Grosjean retired from the race. But oddly, at no point did the commentators mention why….

As Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud waves the checkered flag for Lewis Hamilton, Kevin Magnussen finished in 13th position.

2019 German Grand Prix

Dateline: Hockenheimring Deutschland

Hamilton Pole, Verstappen P2, Bottas P3, Gastly P4, Raikkonen P5, Romain Grosjean P6 and Kevin Magnussen P12. This may be the best combined starting position for the two Haas cars this year.

On a rain soaked track amid speculation of a rolling start, and under a steady drizzle, the race started after threel formation laps from standing start. By turn 5 Grosjean fought up to 5th position and Magnussen up to 10th.

The first safety car came at the end of lap2 when Sergio Perez spun his pink Racing Point car. Most of the cars pitted to switch from full to intermediate wet tires including Grosjean. Magnussen decided to stay on track with his full wet tires and moved up to P2.

The race resumed at lap 5, and Magnussen was quickly passed by Bottas and Verstappen, both on intermediates. The full wet tires seemed to be a gamble which is not paying off. It was short lived, but fun to watch magnussen fight at the front of the pack. By lap 6 Magnussen was down to P6 as he was passed by the Renault of Hulkenberg. By lap 7 MKMags was down to P7 as he was passed by Raikkionen.

Sebastian Vettel started last and was up to P8 by lap 8 who then passed magnussen to take P7 from the Haas car. And before you could blink Magnussen was down to P9. The Haas team is doing the rain dance praying for a safety car. But on lap 9 Magnussen finally pitted and switched to intermediate tires, rejoining the race in P16, Grosjean P11. By lap 10 a dry line was developing on sections of the track.

During the series of pit stops Charles Leclerc caused Grosjean to pause before his pit stop because of an unsafe release by the Ferrari. As a result Ferrari was issued a financial fine, but no penalty against Leclercl’s race… absolute bullshit.

The engine on Daniel Ricciards’s Renault went kablamo on lap 15

By lap 18 the dry line was becoming well developed and teams were starting to thinking about switching to full slick tires. But it was not until lap 24 when Vettel decided to pit and switch onto soft slick tires. He reentered the race on P11 as Grosjean moved up to P10. Magnussen also pitted and moved to soft slick tires.

Lap 35 – After several spins, mechanical failures and safety cars, the two Haas cars were in positions 12th for Grosjean and 13th for Magnussen.

Lap 41 – Hulkenberg spun into the wall and the two Haas cars advance to P11 and 12 respectively with Grosjean leading his teammate. Byu when racing resumed on lap 45 magnussen pitted and dropped to P15, the last car… But then on lap 47 the rest of the field pitted and Magnussen regained P12. Grosjean also pitted on lap 47 and dropped to P14.

Lap 48 the leaders pitted and Lance Stroll was the race leader, but for just half a lap and Verstappen reestablished P1. Meantime, Magnussen moved to P6

Lap 47, Kevin Magnussen tried to pass his teammate and the two Hass cars bumped each other, but no damage was sustained by either. But… what are these drivers doing?

Following another safety car after the crash of Bottas’s Mercedes, racing resumed with 5 laps remaining, with Grosjean in P9 and Magnussen P11. In the remaining 5 laps the two Haas cars advanced and finished the race Grosjean P7 and Magnussen P8, scoring 8 and 6 points respectively.

2019 British Grand Prix

Romain Grosjean started the British Grand Prix in the 14th starting position, Kevin Magnussen the 16th.

At the end of lap 1… Magnussen 4 running 20th by the end of the first lap. The two Haas cars touche on the first lap, and they punctured each other rear tire. Magnussen was blue flagged on lap 3, he retired from the race on lap 8.

Romain Grosjean dropped 5 positions by the end of the first lap of the race. He was running 19th, of the 20 car field. Grosjean was lapped by the Mercedes Silver Arrows on lap 9. He retired from the race on lap 12.

Note* It was on lap 31 that the Sky F1 reporters decided to tell the “American audience” that Grosjean retired due to a lack of down force, and Magnussen a vibration.

The Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi spun out on lap 21. Lewis Hamilton was the first into and out of the pits, and with a new set of hard tires. Enough to take him to the end of thee race. Because of the safety car, and the position of the field at the time of the safety car, Hamilton was able to pit and reemerge back into first place. He would not have been able to do this under normal racing conditions, but the reduced speeds of his competitors from the safety car, the expanded approach time was enough to keep him in first place.

Lewis Hamilton won his 6th British Grand Prix. With 10 laps remaining, there were calls from the Mercedes pit were for Hamilton to pit for new tires. A defiant Hamilton finished the race on those same hard tires. His teammate Valtteri Bottas finished second, and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc would take the third step.

For Haas… they will regroup. The German Grand Prix is in two weeks; July 28th.

2019 Austrian Grand Prix

Kevin Magnussen finished fifth in qualifying, a blistering rate for the Haas car. He was given a five grid place penalty for an engine change, so he started 10th. His teammate, Romain Grosjean started 11th.

By the end of lap 2, Kevin Magnussen was still in 10th. Grosjean dropped 4 spots and was down to 15th. By lap 9 the Haas cars started to drop off. By lap 17 Kevin Magnussen was in dead last and Grosjean had dropped to 16th.

The problem for Magnussen was twofold. First of all, his car was past the line in his grid box. That required a pit lane pass through penalty. But the other problem, which effected both Haas cars were the tired. The tires on the Haas cars were developing a burnt crust on the outer layer of their tired. The inside of the tires were not heating up, and the cars were not performing.

The Austrian Grand Prix was a 71 lap race around the 2.7 miles Redbull ring. Lap 35 was the mid way point, and found the Haas car of Grosjean in 16th, and Magnussen in 19th positions. That is where the pair would finish.

The race was won by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was the car to beat all weekend . He was fastest in practice, and started the race on pole. Leclerc lead the race until lap 69, when max Verstappen lunged in a huge racing move to take the lead. Valtteri Bottas would take the third step of the podium… ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

For the Haas squad… the performance is difficult to accept. Obviously the team is doing everything that they can. The overheating of the tires is on the team; the drivers cannot overcome that difficulty. But I’m not to sure Grosjean is not facing other difficulties. Race after race he continues to lose positions on the first lap. These are positions he never gets back. The die is cast for 2019. I think it is time to start thinking about 2020…..

Next, Silverstone, and the British Grand Prix.

2019 French Grand Prix

The Haas F1 Team is in a rut, and the stink is starting to get bad. The team scored no points in Canada, a single point at Monaco by Grosjean.

The French Grand Prix did not fail to meet expectations. Romain Grosjean made an error on his final hot lap of Q1 and finished qualifying in 17th position, out of 20 drivers. Kevin Magnussen passed into the second qualifying round, but finished at the back of that group, 15th. Lewis Hamilton took pole and Valttari Bottas was 2nd; another Mercedes front row lock out. Charles Leclerc started 3rd in his Ferrari and Max Verstappen 4th in his Redbull. Sebastian Vettel was down in 7th position.

By the end of the first lap of the race Romain Grosjean had lost two positions and was down to P18, Magnussen was +1 and up to the 14th spot, dropped to last on lap 17 when he pitted. He would never recover. Grosjean pitted on the 33rd lap and rejoined the field one spot ahead of his teammate . The Haas cars were P17 and P18, only ahead of the two Willaims of George Russel and Robert Kubica.

Romain Grosjean dropped out of the race on lap 48 of the 53 race distance. Magnussen will finish in 14th.

Formula 1 is becoming painful to watch.

2019 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2019 Canadian Grand Prix will go down in history as one of the most controversial races in a long time.

The race was won by Ferrari driver Sebestain Vettel. But the win was handed to Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton after Vettel was handed a 5 second penaly on lap xx for an unsafe entry after cutting turn x and skidding across the grass and into hamilton’s racing lane. Everyone from Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansel, Jensen Button, Sky F1 analysys martin Mrundel, Karun Chandhok, Leigh Diffy, David Hobbs are among those who have called the stewards ruling incorrect.

It seems that any of the other facts from the race are meaningless. When Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansel both agree with your opinion regarding a Formula 1 racing, you’re on solid ground.

But regarding the race…

Kevin Magnussen was the only Haas Car to make it to the third round of qualifying, but he kissed the wall of champions in the closing moments of Q2. As the rear of his car bounced off of the wall, the car spun around and hit the wall on the opposing side of the track. The qualifying session ended under the red flag created by the accident. Kevin Magnusssen was not injured. His crew was able to rebuild his car and he started the race from the pit lane, 20th position. He finished 17th.

Romain Grosjean”s qualifying session was interrupted by Magnussen’s crash. As a result, Romain Grosjean did not get out of the second qualifying session and started 14th. He lost 4 positions on the race start when Alexander Albon’s Toro Rosso lost it’s front wing in a three wide converging incident. Grosjean would finish 14th. Both Renults finished in the points as Ricciardo and Hulkenberg finished 6th and 7th respectfully for a total grab of 14 points. Lance Stroll scored two points in the home grand pris for himself and Racing Point. And Dany Kvyat rounded off the scoring with 1 point in his Toro Rosso.

At one point in the race Kevin magnussen declared that it was the worst experiences he’s ever had in a racing car. One can only assume that his car could have used some adjustments on the setup.

With this race behind us it is back to Europe for the French Grand prix on June 23rd. This will be Romain Grosjean’s home race. He will be anxious to perform for his home crowd. Let’s hope he can provide a good result along with his teammate. Well see you then!

2019 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying

The Monaco harbor master is usually the one with the most frayed nerves during Grand Prix weekend. Until the fairy tale arrival of Charles LeClerc was shattered into an Italian tragedy, the scarlet blood-red Ferrari failed to qualify for the second session of competition. Was it incompetence? Was it…. No, it was incompetence. Perhaps harsh. Call it a passionate miscalculation. Regardless, LeClerc was OUT in Q1! It was not meant to be…. And fantasy Formula 1 leagues tumble on the disappointment which is motor racing!

The Rich Energy Haas F1 Team, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, were able to advance to Q2. Q3 is when tragedy struck a Haas car. This time the villain is Pierre Gasley in the Toro Rosso. He was driving slowly on the racing line and backed up Grosjean’s hot lap. Kevin Magnussen qualified 6th with what Martin Brumble called a “fully committed lap”. KMags was brilliant! Behind the scenes there is a bitter argument between two Frenchmen going on, Grosjean and Gasley… at the time of this writing we are aghast with Gasley, as are the stewards.

But as cars rolled onto the track for the third round of qualifying, Haas fans had one eye raised with measured optimism. Bottas immediately went to the top with a 1:10.252. Magnussen held P4 with a .999 gap to Bottas. But Magnussen quickly droped to 5th, behind Gasley, Vettel, Verstappen and Bottas. He dropped to 6th as Hamilton beat Verstappen for P2. But going into the final run for pole, KMags maintained that .999 second gap to the leader. This is by far the best qualifying run for any Haas car, ever. Imagine if Grosjean was able to make the final qualifying session? I suspect that Ricciardo’s Redbull would be easy pickings on this day for Grosjean.

With 2 minutes remaining in qualifying, the cars took to the track for their final run. Ricciardo was the first to strike and displace the Haas of Kevin Magnussen for 6th. Magnussen responds, to gap with the leader by .890, but not enough to take Ricciardo’s P6. With 12 seconds remaining, Lewis Hamilton jumps to the pole with a 1:10.166 , and the gap to Magnussen parts to 1.066. But as Magnussen’s Ferrari powered Rich Energy Haas car crossed the line, he closed the gap to .943 seconds from Hamilton’s 1:11.109. In doing so, Magnussen finished 6th, ahead of Ricciardo’s Renault by .089 sec. Very sweet!

Following the qualifying sessions, Red Bull driver Pierre Gasley was summoned to the race control. His block of Grosjean’s qualifying run was not well-received by the race stewards. Gasley was given a three grid spot penalty and one point against his FIA super license. So Gasley’s penalty moved Kevin Magnussen up to the 5th starting position. That translates to row three, and next to Vettel. Anything can happen between the start of the race, and the end of turn 1. Without any Renault powered cars ahead, the likely hood of a mechanical failure at the front is reduced. Regardless, the podium is within sight of a Haas car… we’re getting somewhere!