Long straights should favor Mercedes power in Mexico. - 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Preview

In just a couple of days till the first practice session for the newly reinstated Mexican Grand Prix will be taking place. The last time Formula 1 visited the country was back in 1992 and it saw Nigel Mansell take victory. Now 2015 will see a similar layout used but not exactly the same. The track has been repaved and revamped with the notable changes being the removal of the classic "esses" and the removal of the last corner parabolica type "Peraltada" with the new circuit cutting through a baseball stadium and joining back on the circuit halfway through the old Peraltada.

The Red arrow points to the old Peraltada whilst the Orange markings represents Mexico's main straights.

The image above shows the main straights (Orange) on the new Mexican Grand Prix circuit. For me I think its the point of interest on the circuit this weekend. As the teams have never run on it we can't be 100% sure of who will be the strongest but it looks as though it's going to be a power hungry circuit. Teams such as Red Bull and McLaren should find trouble as teams will most likely close up on the main straight and then overtake on the second biggest straight that follows after Turns 1, 2 and 3. The teams the circuit should suit are Mercedes, Williams, Force India and Lotus. In other words, the Mercedes powered teams. Here is what to watch for this weekend:

Force India

Force India have been a team to watch for many races and Mexico won't change that. Firstly there main battle to contend with in the Constructors Championship is with Red Bull. It is highly unlikely that Force India can take 4th in the Constructors race but they will keep trying everything. Force India will also be hoping to have a strong showing here as there driver Sergio Perez is a proud Mexican. Checo has said he is aiming for a podium to really give his home fans something to cheer about this weekend. With his good run in the last few races I wouldn't doubt him. Nico Hulkenberg will also be hoping he can have a good result after retirement in the previous two races after being in a strong points scoring position.

Force India driver Sergio Perez will be hoping for a good result at his home race.

Turn 1

Turn 1 on lap 1 will be an interesting prospect this weekend as none of the drivers have gone through it before. Decisions on lines to take will be different and could truly bring some extra and unexpected shock exits on the first lap. The new turn 1 at Mexico is a tight 90 degree right hander that has not much room on the track, but plenty of asphalt run off around for the people who cannot make the corner.

The start will be critical in Mexico.

Anyone

Lets remember that no driver has raced a Formula 1 car around this circuit yet meaning that the teams are very inexperienced in terms of set up, they really have no clue and are coming into this weekend on the back foot. This can mean that if a team such as Williams can hit the set up bang on they could find themselves on the top step of the podium. So expect a few teams to be out of place this weekend.

Lastly Lewis Hamilton has now won the Drivers World Championship meaning that the race between Ferrari and Mercedes is relatively irrelevant. So take your eyes of the front of the field and set them on teams like Force India and Lotus who should provide some real thrills and spills this weekend.

Stay here for coverage and analysis over the weekend.
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The Championship battle WON'T be the most important at the US Grand Prix.

The US Grand Prix is coming up this weekend and the most important battle won't be for the lead. It is almost certain that Lewis Hamilton will win the championship either this round or the next. If he outscores Nico Rosberg by two points, the German won't be a mathematical chance, and if he outscores Sebastian Vettel by 11 points he too will be out of mathematical contention. This means fights between Force India, Lotus, Toro Rosso and Sauber become the most important as finishing higher in the championship pays out more money to said team.

Current World Championship leader, Lewis Hamilton.

The battles taking place range from Force India in 5th down to McLaren in 9th. The biggest gap between two teams between 5th and 9th is 26 points and the lowest being just 9. The maximum points a team can score in 1 weekend is 42. However the battles this year will be easier to defend with the removal of double points for the last race. I think this is a good thing as it could have seen a team lose it all in the last race after being strong and consistent throughout. Retirements due to car problems had a bigger impact and it just didn't really work for Formula 1.

Here are battles playing out in Austin:

Force India v Lotus 

Force India and Lotus are 5th and 6th respectively in the Constructors Championship and separated by only 26 points. At this stage of the season a strong result for each team could see Lotus really in reach, or Force India far out in front.

The track realistically suits the Force India car much better as Lotus appear to not quite have the same aerodynamic efficiently. On straightaways both teams should find themselves relatively equal as they both run the same Mercedes power unit. But as mentioned earlier the Force India will be much stronger through high speed corners such as the Esses through sector 1 and the Multi Apex corners of Turn 17 and 18. Force India also have the advantage of general reliability as Lotus have struggled this season with Maldonado recording 8 retirements in 15 races. Force India also dominate Lotus in terms of confidence after Force India recorded only there 3rd podium in the teams 8 year history, meaning they'll be very bright and chirpy coming to Austin.

If Lotus can shrink the gap to Force India ahead, I'd be very surprised. All of us know the talent that Romain Grosjean has and all it takes is another first lap incident from Hulkenberg to see Lotus ahead. This will be a battle to watch.

Sergio Perez will be feeling confident after a strong 3rd in Russia.

Toro Rosso v Sauber v McLaren

Toro Rosso currently find themselves in 7th place in the Constructors Championship after they have struggled for reliability all season. 11 points behind them is Swiss outfit Sauber, and they look hungry for the positions to change.

Sauber could really do something this weekend as the power demanding circuit will strain the Renault engine in the back of the Toro Rosso. Sauber have a Ferrari engine in the back of there car and have proved they can have the pace. They'll take confidence into this weekend after Felipe Nasr scored himself a well driven 6th place finish last time out in Russia (which you can read more about here). Sauber have been quiet assassins this year by taking strong results when nobody expected (Australia, 5th and 3 consecutive points finishes from Marcus Ericsson). However there is no denying the aerodynamic efficiency of the Toro Rosso as it has proved all season that it is a strong chassis with results such as 4th in Hungary. Toro Rosso will be at there strongest through the Esses in sector 1 and the Multi Apex corner of Turns 17 and 18. This could see a strong qualifying for the team, but weak race performance as other teams (for instance Sauber) dwill take advantage on the straights.

Toro Rosso v Sauber will most likely be the best battle in Austin and its almost too close to call. Sauber have always got points when least expected and this weekend is no different. The real question is: Will Toro Rosso's straight line speed deficit be overcome by there strength through the corners?

But wait, where do McLaren drop into all this? They are 9th in the Constructors Championship and 15 points behind Sauber. As mentioned above, you cannot always rely on Sauber to fire, and if they don't in Austin, a surprise shock result that McLaren keep producing could see them jump in front. If McLaren's claim of having one of the strongest chassis on the grid is true, then this is a track to show it at.

McLaren pit stop for Fernando Alonso.

Overall it's shaping up to be a good weekend. Personally I would love to see a retirement to Hamilton, to just throw a curve ball into the championship fight. Sadly I think even a retirement won't push Lewis Hamilton away from crown.

Force India will fight Lotus, Sauber will take it Toro Rosso. Which one though will be the more interesting? Its up to you. Ask yourself, who's side are you on?

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The Elite Drivers from Sochi - Perez, Vettel and... Felipe Nasr?

In the 2015 Russian Grand Prix, we saw some spectacular driving from the front to the back of the field. Lets take a look at the top 3 drivers who showed us throughout the weekend that they had the skill to create a good result for themselves.

1st) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes, started P7, finished P3.

The best drive of the weekend without a doubt went to Sergio Perez. The Mexican scored his 5th podium in Formula 1 with a brilliant, but very lucky 3rd place finish. To read more about Sergio's tense last few laps, click here. Sergio Perez deserves the top drive of the weekend as he performed throughout. He finished 4th overall in both Practice 1 and Practice 3 and then took that form over to qualifying and took a very comfortable and convincing 7th place on the grid directly behind team mate Hulkenberg. The race went even better for Perez as he firstly managed to miss the first lap calamity caused by his team mate, and secondly was the first person to pit under the second safety car (for Romain Grosjean) on lap 12. Once every else pitted under the usual pit window (laps 27 through 35) Perez found himself in effective P3 with both Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen behind him. The class of his driving began to show as he continued to post the lap times he needed to stay competitive in 3rd whilst also managing the tire degredation to a desirable amount. The car was a handful for him and he defended brilliantly whilst he still had the rubber. When Bottas and Raikkonen overtook him on the penultimate lap, millions of hearts round the world sunk as Perez throughly deserved to be on the podium. It was only fate that Raikkonen and Bottas would collide on the last lap, giving Perez the podium he truly deserved, one that I'm sure he won't forget for a long time.

Sergio Perez celebrates his brilliant 3rd place.

2nd) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari, started P4, finished P2.

Sebastian Vettel drove a brilliant race after a mediocre qualifying in Sochi. He could only manage 4th on the grid behind the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. On the start his team mate Kimi Raikkonen just behind jumped him and he was down into 5th. The German's day hadn't gotten off to a good start and he made sure it didn't get worse. On the second safety car restart he got a run on Raikkonen into Turn 2 and they went side by side. Raikkonen however left the track and conceded the position to Vettel. He then preceded to continue with blistering pace toward the second placed Valtteri Bottas. Then 14 laps later on Lap 27 Vettel was within DRS range and forced Bottas to dive into the pits as he was struggling to hold off Vettel. As Bottas got fresh and faster rubber, he was hampered by traffic ahead. Meanwhile Vettel was posting some incredible lap times in clear air and when he eventually pit on lap 31 he comfortably jumped Bottas with Daniel Ricciardo in between them. Vettel was now in 2nd. He stayed there for the rest of the race and drove with smooth and calm manner which meant he never looked challenged. I thought Vettel drove brilliant simply because with a bad qualifying and a bad start to the race he still knuckled down and got his 4th consecutive podium.

Sebastian Vettel gets caught in an awkward pose on the podium.

3rd) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari, started P12, finished P6

Felipe Nasr is one driver from the Russian Grand Prix who everybody has bat a blind eye too as they've been too busy focusing on Perez's achievements up front. The Brazilian secured a spectacular 6th place finish for the team, there 2nd best finish of the season behind 5th in Australian Grand Prix. This puts him 13th in the Drivers World Championship, just ahead of Pastor Maldonado and now just 8 points behind Max Verstappen. It wasn't the most entertaining drive as he didn't fight his way to 6th, he actually drove a patience and well timed race and managed to finish "best of the rest" ahead of rivals such as Maldonado, Verstappen and both McLarens. Nasr stayed out of trouble and definitely got the reward for it. I think he deserves more credit than he has been given. He is a driver to watch out for Austin.

Felipe Nasr of Sauber-Ferrari.

These are my 3 Elite Drivers from Sochi, Agree of Disagree? Comment your thoughts below. Keep right here for updates on the 2015 US Grand Prix.

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2015 Russian Grand Prix - Race Recap and Analysis: Hamilton has dominant win as Force India achieve unexpected podium.

The 2015 Russian Grand Prix has finished and it saw Lewis Hamilton take his 9th victory of the 2015 season. He now leads the World Drivers Championship by 66 points from Sebastian Vettel and only needs to score 11 more points than Vettel in the next round to take the Title. Mercedes have also rapped up the 2015 Constructors Championship after Kimi Raikkonen received a 10 second time penalty which dropped him lower than the points Ferrari needed to still be a mathematical chance.

Race winner Lewis Hamilton.

The race was contested over 53 laps and saw Nico Rosberg start from the pole. People were very optimistic that Rosberg could produce a result as he had dominated Hamilton all weekend. It came to the start and Rosberg got away ahead of Hamilton and slip stream saw them go side by side through Turn 1 and into Turn 2. Rosberg got Hamilton up the inside through 2 and we were expecting a good battle through the next corners but it was cut short as the safety car was deployed for trouble down the field. Nico Hulkenberg had spun by himself on the exit of Turn 2, this caused Verstappen to spin and get a right rear puncture and Marcus Ericsson had no where to go but straight into Hulkenberg, taking them both out of the race.

The first lap incident between Nico Hulkenberg and Marcus Ericsson.

The safety car was in on lap 3 and we were back to racing. On the restart the Mercedes engine in Valtteri Bottas's Williams showed its strength as he overtook Raikkonen for 3rd behind the two works Mercedes. But 2 laps later trouble began. Nico Rosberg reported a "sticky" throttle pedal. Then on lap 7 Lewis Hamilton breezed past Nico Rosberg as he struggled to slow the car down for Turn 2 having clear problems with the throttle. Then on lap 8 he pulls into the pits to retire, an unfortunate end to what was looking like a good weekend. Hamilton took a comfortable lead from Bottas, Raikkonen then Vettel.

Fast forward to Lap 12 and the safety car was back out, Romain Grosjean had a snap of oversteer through the endless left hander of Turn 3 and he found himself in the wall. Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo dive for the pits whilst the top 4 all choose to stay out. This decision by the leader not to pit put the people who choose to stay out, mainly Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo in a very strong position to challenge for the podium.

On the restart on Lap 16 Vettel found himself side by side with Raikkonen down into Turn 2. Raikkonen was forced wide and off the track but rejoined ahead in Turn 3, Kimi yielded the position in the next corners and Vettel was ahead into 3rd. After this Vettel began to catch Bottas ahead in 2nd. By Lap 26 Vettel had closed the gap down so much he was within DRS range. Lap 27 Bottas takes a gamble and pits, but comes out behind traffic. Vettel takes the opportunity and puts his foot down and boxes 5 laps later on lap 31. The traffic proved to difficult for Bottas and Ferrari's excellent pit stops saw Vettel get out ahead with Ricciardo in between the two drivers. Raikkonen also had a chance of jumping Bottas after some fast laps but he only managed to come out just behind his fellow country man.

Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

As we got up to round about lap 35 everyone had made there one stop and one thing was becoming very clear, Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo's gamble to pit under the safety car was paying off big time as they found themselves in effective 3rd and 4th respectively. Sergio Perez was in the better position though as Daniel Ricciardo backed Bottas and Raikkonen behind, creating a gap to Perez ahead. Bottas couldn't find a way past Ricciardo and it stayed like that till lap 45 when Bottas slip-streamed past down the start/finish straight.

It then briefly looked like another safety car was going to spoil the fight between Bottas and Perez as Carlos Sainz spun with a brake failure and lightly hit the wall, dropping debris on the track as he tried to recover. Sector 3 yellows were out, but no safety car. At this stage Lewis Hamilton was a comfortable win, Vettel 2nd with the biggest battle being Bottas catching Perez for third and Raikkonen and Ricciardo just seconds behind them.

1 lap later Raikkonen then got past Ricciardo through Turn 2 and looked like joining the Bottas/Perez fight up ahead. Just after this overtake was made, another yellow was out for Daniel Ricciardo who was forced into retirement for a presumed suspension issue. After the yellow was lifted 4 laps were left. Valtteri Bottas in 4th was much faster than Sergio Perez in 3rd, with Raikkonen 2 seconds back in 5th. On the penultimate lap at Turn 13 Bottas made the move down the inside and got by Perez for third and this also allowed Raikkonen to sneak through. In the space of one corner Sergio Perez dropped from 3rd to 5th. As the trio came onto the last lap Raikkonen was now attacking Bottas for 3rd place. Both Bottas and Raikkonen came into the Turn 4 right hander and Raikkonen decided to make a risky divebomb move which backfired when he made contact at the apex, damaging his car and taking Bottas out of the race. After fighting for nearly 15 laps holding Bottas off, Perez had lost his podium and now he had got it back. He sped past the limping Raikkonen who would eventually finish 5th and drop to 8th after receiving a 10 second time penalty for his role in the incident. Bottas did not finish and was classified 12th. He commented on the team radio: "What the f*ck did he (Raikkonen) do?".

The Raikkonen/Bottas incident.

Eventually after the spectacle of the last lap ended, the race order looked like this:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
3) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
4) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes
5) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault
6) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
7) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
8) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari (10 SECOND TIME PENALTY)
9) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda
10) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault
11) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda
12) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
13) Roberto Merhi - Manor-Ferrari
14) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
15) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault (DNF)
16) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault (DNF)
17) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes (DNF)
18) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes (DNF)
19) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes (DNF)
20) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari (DNF)

Overall this has been focused very much on the most exciting battle between Perez, Bottas and Raikkonen and many people have been forgotten. Felipe Nasr deserves a mention for a brilliant maintained 6th place finish as well as Jenson Button who finished 9th for McLaren.

Sergio Perez got his first podium since the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix.

A team by team analysis will follow in the next few days.

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2015 Russian Grand Prix - Practice 1 Analysis: Ferrari WILL NOT supply Red Bull engines in 2016.

The first practice session for the 2015 Russian Grand Prix was cut short today by a diesel spill and bad weather. The times eventually set weren't very representative but give a rough outline of what we could see later in the weekend.

The intermediate tires had to be used as rain interrupted dry running.

Firstly the session was delayed by half an hour as a diesel spill on the track was deemed to be dangerous for the cars. When they did eventually get out on track it was relatively wet and teams such as Lotus and Mercedes choose not to run. As the track dried we got a limited amount of dry running but the more we got the more a rough outline of performance at the track was given to us. Sahara Force India appear to be strong here at Sochi as they topped the session with Nico Hulkenberg. Sergio Perez backed this effort up with a 4th place finish. Ferrari appear to be strong as Vettel finished in 3nd, 7 tenths adrift of Hulkenberg. Mercedes looked both strong and weak and Nico Rosberg finished in 2nd, just 0.052 seconds behind Hulkenberg and Hamilton could only manage 7th place as a late spin in the damp track saw him through a good lap time away.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

However the off track action made up for the lack of on track as Ferrari announce that they will not supply Red Bull or Toro Rosso a 2016 spec power unit next season. However Ferrari have said they will supply a 2015 spec engine to 1 team, hinted at being Toro Rosso over Red Bull. This means Mercedes have said no, Ferrari have said no, they've divorced Renault and another 2 teams is the last thing that Honda need. It is imminent that the Red Bull brand will most likely leave Formula 1.

Bernie Eccelstone (left) and Maurizio Arrivabene (right)

Personally Red Bull have pushed the scales to hard, and now they've tipped to a point where leaving F1 is there only option. Could we potentially a Ross Brawn like effort from Christian Horner perhaps?

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Singapore Grand Prix 2015 - Practice 2 Analysis. Kvyat shows Mercedes that Red Bull are a realistic shot for Sunday.

It was a much more interesting and action packed session at Marina Bay today, and we finally saw an answer to Mercedes dominance, provided by Red Bull's young Russian Daniil Kvyat. Red Bull finished a convincing 1st and 3rd as they showed pace which could cause an upset in qualifying and the race.

Lewis Hamilton (Left) was off the pace in 4th.

Mercedes should be concerned if they were running a normal agenda in Practice 2 because the time the session was held corresponds with Qualifying and the Race meaning track conditions will be relatively similar. The Mercs could only manage a mediocre 4th and 7th with Lewis Hamilton beating his team mate Nico Rosberg with a gap of 3 tenths separating them.
Ferrari were another strong performer in Practice 2 and they look as though they could also be in the running on Sunday as Flying Fin Kimi Raikkonen showed team mate Sebastian Vettel how its done finishing just 3 hundredths of a second behind Kvyat in P2. Vettel couldn't match and finished in 5th just a mere 8 thousandths of second behind Hamilton, For me I think Ferrari could be competing realistically against Mercedes on Sunday.

Kimi Raikkonen managed 2nd place.

After Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes the next strongest team set for strong points was without a doubt Sahara Force India. Good laps from Sergio Perez saw him take 6th ahead of team mate Nico Hulkenberg who finished 9th just behind Fernando Alonso. Force India would be happy to score a lot of points here to put a gap to Lotus for 5th in the constructors championship and begin to challenge Red Bull for 4th as we head into the power dominated tracks like Russia and USA.

As mentioned above in 8th place was Fernando Alonso in the McLaren-Honda. I'm sure the whole team would be seriously happy with the result as they set themselves the task of getting both cars in the points. Jenson Button didn't quite provide the same lap times as Alonso as he was back in 14th.

Williams are a team who are really struggling in Singapore's low traction corners and tight, twisty sections. Felipe Massa could only manage an 11th place whilst Bottas was down in 17th. From onboard laps you could really see how much the Williams was struggling in the slow tight and twisty complex of sector 3.

Felipe Massa finished 11th.

Lotus were another team off the pace with Grosjean and Maldonado finishing in 16th and 18th respectively.

Toro Rosso and Sauber both had average days in the office as Verstappen finished in 10th with Sainz in 15th place. Sauber were 12th and 13th with just 4 hundredths of a second separating Ericsson from Nasr.

Last but not least, Manor finished with Alexander Rossi beating Will Stevens down in 19th and 20th. Stevens bought out a Red Flag near the start of the session as he lightly hit a tire barrier. He only got 3 laps of Soft tire running.

Official timing as follows:

1) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault 
2) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari +0.039s
3) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault +0.114s
4) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes +0.337s
5) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari +0.345s
6) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes +0.517s
7) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes +0.639s
8) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda +0.817s
9) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes +1.152s
10) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault +1.285s
11) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes +1.542s
12) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari +1.613s
13) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari +1.653s
14) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda +1.746s
15) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault +1.870s
16) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes +1.954s
17) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes +1.976s
18) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes +3.952s
19) Alexander Rossi - Manor-Marussia +10.597s
20) Will Stevens - Manor-Marussia +13.790s


This sessions results pose a lot of questions for Saturday and Sunday. Personally I think Mercedes still have the advantage in the 1 lap pace because they seem to be able to turn the engine up, put in a quick lap and snatch a 1, 2. Sunday is really where its going to count and Mercedes have shown they really don't have the tire deg against the likes of Red Bull. Both Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo did a 12 lap stint on Supersofts and Hamilton average lap times were only 1:50.8s whereas Ricciardo was averaging 1:50.3s. This 5 tenth gap could be the difference between first and second in the race and I wouldn't be surprised if we see Red Bull take a victory here at Marina Bay.

Qualifying commences in just under 12 hours.

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Italian Grand Prix 2015 - Qualifying Analysis. Raikkonen and Vettel split Mercedes dominance.

Qualifying for the 2015 Italian Grand Prix took place yesterday and Ferrari proved that they could rise to the occasion and pressure of the Tifosi at Monza. Ferrari took there best qualifying of the season with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively behind a very dominant Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes.

Tensions were high heading into qualifying as Nico Rosberg took an engine change which saw him use a fairly worn engine instead of the new prototype Mercedes were testing this weekend. Due to the engine being an older one Rosberg will not incur any grid penalties. Lewis Hamilton will continue to run the prototype engine.

Polesitter Lewis Hamilton

As Q1 rolled around all cars took there first runs on the white striped medium (Prime) tires except for both McLaren's and Manor-Marussia's. At the session started work was still being done on the Toro Rosso of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull. They looked unlikely to post times.

There was an early frustration for Nico Hulkenberg as he was twice held up by Marcus Ericcson on a flying lap (at Parabolica and the 2nd chicane). Towards the end of the session it looked as though 1 McLaren-Honda would make Q2, but Daniel Ricciardo spoiled the party as he managed to get out of the garage and set a lap time good enough for 15th pushing Button down into the cut off zone. Max Verstappen also managed to get out of the garage, albeit with 20 seconds to go. It proved though they had rushed the decision because as he went through Turn 3 the rear bodywork of his car flew off due to it not being sealed down tight enough. The FIA later have said Verstappen will have a drive through penalty which must be served in the first 3 laps of the race. So at the end of Q1 both McLarens were gone with Button leading Alonso, and both Manor's with Stevens leading Merhi, whilst Max Verstappen didn't set a lap time and finished 20th

Felipe Nasr of Sauber

Q2 started and it was to be a terrible session for Red Bull. There Renault power unit worries continued to grow because for the first time since 2008 a Red Bull didn't make Q3. Daniil Kvyat was 14th whilst Ricciardo choose not to set a lap time and finished 15th. Grid drops will see them start from further back. The other 3 unlucky people to be knocked out were Pastor Maldonado who missed Q3 by under a tenth and will start 11th, Felipe Nasr in the Sauber and the Toro Rosso of Sainz who finished 13th. However he will be dropped down the grid due to engine penalties.



So Q3 started and it was 7 Mercedes powered cars and 3 Ferrari powered. It was a phenomenal session as Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel both put in 2 of there strongest qualifying laps of the season to see them qualify 2nd and 3rd respectively. Ferrari have worked very hard since Q1 where the gap to the Mercedes was over a second and now Lewis Hamilton could only grab the pole by under a quarter of a second. Nico Rosberg couldn't match his team mates efforts as he could only manage a very low 4th on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel (L) and Kimi Raikkonen (R) line up 3rd and 2nd respectively.

Williams opted to give Massa a tow on his laps by sending Bottas out just ahead of him, giving Massa extra slipstream on the straight. This saw him get the better of Bottas in qualifying and they line 5th and 6th respectively. The race will be interesting for Williams as Massa definitely wouldn't have been 5th without the tow. It will be interesting to see in Bottas will have the race pace to overtake him.

Felipe Massa of Williams lines up 5th

Sergio Perez managed 7th for Force India as they look for some strong points on Sunday. He achieved his main objective of out-qualifying Lotus and a good race could see Force India regain 5th in the Constructors Championship. On the other side of the garage it wasn't good news as Nico Hulkenberg's car lost all power on his in-lap and we are unsure yet if the problem promotes a grid drop or not. Hulkenberg finished the session in 9th as he did manage to set one lap.

Nico Hulkenberg will start 9th after problems in Q3

Lotus take 8th as Superman Romain Grosjean continues his good form and he once again outqualified his team mate Pastor Maldonado.

The last spot in the top 10 goes to Marcus Ericsson who managed to get into Q3. If he can hold his own on Sunday he could bring home some much needed points for Sauber.

The grid (including confirmed grid penalties) will look like this:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari
3) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari
4) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
5) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes
6) Valterri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes
7) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes
8) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes
9) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes
10) Marcus Ericsson - Sauber-Ferrari
11) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes
12) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari
13) Will Stevens - Manor-Ferrari
14) Roberto Merhi - Manor-Ferrari
15) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda (Grid Penalty)
16) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda (Grid Penalty)
17) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault (Grid Penalty)
18) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull Racing-Renault (Grid Penalty)
19) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing-Renault (Grid Penalty)
20) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault (Grid Penalty)

The Italian Grand Prix gets underway in just under 10 hours. It will be constested over 53 laps and is expected to be a 1 stop race. There will be an interesting battle up front, can Ferrari win at Monza for the first time since 2010? Will Raikkonen take the lead into Turn 1? Can Force India find some of the FP1 and FP2 pace they had? and can Red Bull still score points? Find out later today!

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Italian Grand Prix 2015 - Practice 3 Analysis. Vettel splits Mercedes as morning rain disrupts running.

In the last practice session for the 2015 Italian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton again secures P1 but the gap to Ferrari closes down to 0.264 seconds.

The running in the session was mainly disrupted by a big early morning downpour which saw the first times set on the intermediate tires. The teams managed to have a qualifying simulation in the last 10 minutes of the session in which good was shown by Vettel, both Williams and even the two Saubers. Whereas Force India opted for a race simulation which saw them finish in 8th and 12th.

Rain disrupted a lot of running in FP3.

The biggest moment of the session was definitely Daniel Ricciardo who stopped on the outside of the Turn 4 chicane. "It's something terminal on the engine, it unfortunately looks like an engine change" said Red Bulls Christian Horner. The engine was brand new and it is going to promote more penalties and waste a fresh engine. This deepens the cut that Red Bull already have this weekend and they will definitely be struggling on Sunday.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo had a session ending engine failure

Williams finally began to show the pace they are capable of with Bottas leading Massa by 2 tenths in 4th in 5th. Williams will be hoping to get a car onto the 2nd row of the grid and spoil the party of Ferrari with Kimi Raikkonen clearly under performing after he only managed 7th behind Pastor Maldonado.

Williams are looking like a strong prospect for qualifying.

It was a positive day for Sauber as there Ferrari power unit is beginning to work well with Ericsson finishing 9th and Nasr in 11th. The Swiss outfit will be looking for more points to take a fight to the struggling Toro Rosso in the constructors championship for 7th place. A good race is the most crucial part of the weekend for Sauber as they will instantly out qualify the two Toro Rosso's which are set for big grid drops.

Nico Rosberg will have work to do in qualifying as Sebastian Vettel managed to creep into the P2 slot. However Mercedes may have been running heavier fuel which would ultimately make there pace slower.

Qualifying is now just under 2 hours away. Lets not kid ourselves as we know that Lewis Hamilton will be on pole position. The real question is who is going to take P2? Can Sebastian Vettel mount that challenge? Can Williams get a car on the front row? Could Force India spoil the party after strong Friday pace?

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Italian Grand Prix 2015 - Practice 2 Analysis. Front runners close the gap to Mercedes

Todays 2nd practice session at the 2015 Italian Grand Prix was again dominated by both Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with the Brit beating his team mate by 2 hundredths of a second to P1. It was again a relatively quiet session with no red flags with the only real excitement coming from a few people who went through the gravel at the Ascari Chicane.

Sebastian Vettel again finished in third for the Scuderia but he was 7 tenths off Lewis Hamilton's time. In a post session interview Vettel told the media: "We can and we have to improve for tomorrow (Saturday)". Ferrari will be under huge pressure from the Italian public at there home Grand Prix this weekend and will be expected to close the gap to Mercedes. The other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen finished in 6th and again behind two very competitive Force India's.

Speaking of Force India it was again another strong session from them which proves that they have some pure pace in there car. This time there drivers switched with Hulkenberg following home Perez in 4th and 5th. The team is in a very good position to gain some strong points on Sunday and they have proved they have the quickest car in a straight line which ultimately means they won't be easy to overtake in the race. Williams and Ferrari will definitely be worried about the threat they pose.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg is looking very good for strong points.

Lotus had a better session this time around and Romain "The Superman" Grosjean led home Pastor Maldonado in 7th and 8th. This was by far a better performance from the team than FP1. There main competitors this weekend will be Force India due to the 1 point gap they have in the constructors championship, Lotus do need to find more pace to be at Force India's level.

Williams had another typical Williams session as they again opted not to show there true pace in 9th and 10th. This time Valterri Bottas led Felipe Massa with a gap of just over 2 tenths.

Williams Valterri Bottas goes through Turn 11 of Parabolica.

Sauber had a positive session as Felipe Nasr finished 11th and Ericsson 12th, perhaps putting Sauber in with a chance for some points on Sunday.

It was a very difficult day for the Renault powered teams of Red Bull and Toro Rosso as they struggled to find pace and grip. Max Verstappen provided a heart in your mouth moment when he went through the gravel at the Ascari Chicane and came to a stop just centimeters from the barrier which would have ended his session. The Red Bull's had a really bad day in the office with Daniel Ricciardo finishing in 12th and Dany Kvyat in 20th place. Ricciardo missed a good chunk of running with a software problem that was affecting his gearbox which if damaged would promote a 5 place grid drop. Toro Rosso weren't much better with 13th and 14th, Max Verstappen getting the edge over Carlos Sainz.

Daniel Ricciardo lost valuable time with a software problem affecting the gearbox.

It was another bad day for McLaren with only 3 laps of running for Jenson Button down in 19th place. Fernando Alonso had a trouble free session in 16th with 31 laps of running under his belt.
A really good day for Manor Marussia saw Will Stevens lead Roberto Merhi home in 17th and 18th place.

Overall the strong competitors heading into Practice 3 and Qualifying are definitely Force India after finishing both Friday sessions in 4th and 5th. Can they realistically mount a fight against Vettel for the 3rd position on the grid and on Sunday? Can Lotus find more pace and repeat the great race pace they had in Spa? and can Red Bull realistically even be in the Top 10 of the grid (not counting penalties)?

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Italian Grand Prix 2015 - Practice 1 Analysis, Force India strong as FP1 comes to an end.

Free Practice 1 for the 2015 Italian Grand Prix has ended with another Mercedes 1, 2 with Lewis Hamilton leading home team mate Nico Rosberg. The main point gained from FP1 is that Mercedes are completely on another level compared to Sebastian Vettel who finished 1.5 seconds off the pace in third.

The most positive session came from Force India. Nico Hulkenberg led Sergio Perez in 4th and 5th in what seems to be a true representation of pace. An interesting battle to see on Saturday will be where Williams slot in, can they leap frog Force India or will they be stuck behind them? Force India had a relatviely trouble free session with only a slight wobble when Nico Hulkenberg reported that there was a small amount of fluid in the cockpit that smelt of fuel.

Force India had a strong session finishing P4 and P5.

Kimi Raikkonen had a mediocre session in the Ferrari only managing sixth place, 5 tenths behind Vettel in 3rd place.

One of the bigger moments in FP1 was a spin that ended the session for Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso. As the Spainard jumped on the brakes going into Parabolica the rear slipped from and he slid straight into the gravel and was beached. The worst part was due to him being stuck on the outside of the track, the car couldn't be returned to the pits, therefore ending his session prematurely.
Sauber and Red Bull were both quiet during the session with the Swiss outfit finishing in 11th and 13th, whilst the Milton-Keynes unit were 7th and 12th.

Monza is the home race of Scuderia Ferrari

Williams were off the pace as they ran larger fuel loads again in practice, but by there standards had a very good sessions. The previous races they find themselves out the top 10 whereas today Massa led Bottas in 8th and 9th.

It was an odd an quiet session for Lotus as they only managed 10th and 15th. They were without there superman Romain Grosjean as Jolyon Palmer took part in his 8th FP1 session of the season.

McLaren once again found themsleves struggling finsihing in 17th and 18th with Alonso leading Jenson Button. Will Stevens also got the better of his team mate at Manor-Marussia.

Lewis Hamilton takes photos with fans before FP1

So what is going to happen in FP2? I think the team to watch is again Force India. After the strong showing in Practice 1 they'll want to back it up. But can Lotus get back on the pace and challenge the Silverstone based outfit? Will Williams challenge them or run there own agenda? and can Ferrari realistically close the gap to the Mercedes at the top?

Practice 2 commences in just under a few hours.

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Italian GP Preview: Every corner just gives you the feeling that you are doing something special - Kvyat

Its only 5 days to the Italian Grand Prix at the famous Speed Temple of Monza. A 5.79km track which it made up mainly of straights split by tight chicanes it will provide an advantage for the Mercedes powered teams.

The weekend will mark the last race of the European season and the 12th of 19th rounds of the Formula 1 season.

As the home race of Ferrari, many fans turn up and huge pressure is on the team to perform. It will be Sebastian Vettel's first race at Monza whilst racing under the prancing horse and we expect a direct fight with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton (Left) and Nico Rosberg (Right)

Teams to watch are again the Mercedes powered, so Lotus and Force India will be a very strong prospect for points in Monza as the Renault powered Red Bulls and Toro Rosso's will be fighting an uphill battle.

Lotus are coming off a strong Belgium Grand Prix as they scored there first podium of the season with Romain Grosjean finishing 3rd. It was Lotus's first podium since USA in 2013. Theoretically Monza should suit the E23 chassis more than what Spa did, so Lotus are definitely the team to watch. With reliability issues plaguing Maldonado again in Spa, Lotus will know the first key to a successful weekend is a trouble free weekend. In an interview Formula1.com Lotus's deputy team principal Fredrico Gastaldi stated “Monza is a fantastic race track. As in Spa, we have good chances to perform well in Italy with the E23 and bring back home a haul of points".

Lotus deputy Team Principal Fredrico Gastaldi.

Force India were a few steps behind Lotus in Spa in terms of experience and race craft. After a good start to the race which saw Sergio Perez into 2nd, Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo managed to pressure Perez to the point where Force India weren't aggressive enough with strategy compared to Lotus. The team would probably have been disappointed to only finish Perez in 5th after starting 4th. Monza should hopefully give them another shot at strong points, and Team Principal Vijay Mallya Force India will definately be looking for strong points and Vijay Mallya has stated on Force India's official Facebook: “Monza is a track where we expect to be competitive. We go there aiming to get both our cars in Q3 on Saturday and in the points on Sunday – that must be our target for all the races to come.”.

Force India race driver Sergio Perez

As usual Mercedes will be strong in Monza but don't fully discount Ferrari. Even though they were off the pace in Spa, this is Monza, this is the home of Ferrari. If theres any a time that Ferrari can pull something out of the bag, its Monza.

The Italian Grand Prix begins tommorow with FP1 starting at usual European times.

Belgium Grand Prix - Qualifying Analysis

It appears once again that when Lewis Hamilton needs to turn up his game he simply can. The Brit stole the show and recorded his 6th straight pole position of the season yesterday in Spa.

Pole Sitter Lewis Hamilton

It was again a second fiddle for Nico Rosberg as he couldn't find an answer to Hamilton and finished almost 5 tenths down to his team mate.

One of the best chances for a win other than Mercedes is Valterri Bottas. In the last 2 races, the car in the P3 grid slot has found themselves leading out of turn 1. If Mercedes can continue to have problems with the starts, especially with the new rules applied here, Bottas could be a chance to secure his first race win. The numbers are also good for him considering the Brackley team haven't yet experienced the winners champagne in Spa.

P4 was taken by the flying Frenchman of Romain Grosjean in his Lotus but due to a gearbox change has a 5 place grid drop. This will promote Force India to the best grid spot of the season with Sergio Perez qualifying in 5th after flying lap time in Q3. The odds are with him as well as the Silverstone based team tend to do well here with a 1, 2 finish in 1998 (As Jordan Grand Prix) and Giancarlo Fisichella scoring Force India's maiden pole position and podium here in 2009. Perez will hope to repeat the scenes of Bahrain 2014 where he drove his Force India to 3rd place behind the Mercedes.

Force India consider themselves a chance for serious points with P5 and P11 on the grid.

This has certainly been made easier for him with a disappointing session from Ferrari. With Kimi Raikkonen in 14th place after his engine gave up down at turn 15 on his out lap. Sebastian Vettel was the last man to cross the line in Q3 and could only manage a very mediocre 9th. It's definately advanatge Williams in the constructors battle for 2nd.

Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari will start in P14.

Red Bull weren't much better with Ricciardo managing 6th and Kvyat only 12th. This probably points to a low fuel load being used in practice where the team appeared to be quite strong and now we are just seeing there true pace.

It was no better day for McLaren as Jenson Button managed to outqualify Fernando Alonso in 17th and 18th places. Both cars will drop to the back due to there engine penalties.

The Belgium Grand Prix will commence in just under 5 hours. The grid order looks like this:

1st) Lewis Hamilton

2nd) Nico Rosberg

3rd) Valtteri Bottas

4th) Romain Grosjean (5 Place Grid Penalty)

5th) Sergio Perez

6th) Daniel Ricciardo
7th) Felipe Massa
8th) Pastor Maldonado
9th) Sebastian Vettel
10th) Carlos Sainz
11th) Nico Hulkenberg
12th) Daniil Kvyat
13th) Marcus Ericsson
14th) Kimi Raikkonen
15th) Max Verstappen (10 Place Grid Penalty)
16th) Felipe Nasr
17th) Jenson Button (50 Place Grid Penalty)
18th) Fernando Alonso (55 Place Grid Penalty)
19th) Will Stevens
20th) Roberto Merhi

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Belgium GP 2015 Preview: I believe we should be in a reasonable position - Lotus

With the Belgium Grand Prix now just 2 days away many enthusiasts are thankful that the Summer Break has come to a close and what better track to start the second half of the season on then the fast and flowing Spa-Francorchamps in the beautiful Belgium countryside.

The circuit is the longest track of the season at a tick over 7km. Famous for its long striaghts and fast corners like Eau Rouge and Blanchimont Spa is very power dependent and teams like McLaren-Honda and Red Bull should find themselves struggling to keep up. This opens the door for a team to follow behind the top three of Mercedes, Williams and Ferrari. But just who exactly would this team be?

The first option is the newly Mercedes powered Lotus. With an experienced driver line up of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado the team is definitely in a good spot to contest Red Bull. The reason why Lotus aren't already there has been reliability with Maldonado retiring in the first 4 races of the season. With only 11 finishes out of a potential 20, Lotus have been in the points 7 of those 11 times. If Lotus isn't plagued by any of these niggling issues they should be on for a very good weekend. In an interview with formula1.com Lotus technical director Nick Chester has said: “It’s a strong power track and we have a strong power unit. We have fairly low drag on the E23 so I believe we should be in a reasonable position.”

Pastor Maldonado at Pre-Season testing in Jerez.

Lotus had strong competition from Force India though, with a new car they'll have both the grip and the speed and will be tough to beat. Force India's team principal Vijay Mallya told formula1,com that "We expect to be in good shape this weekend and we will be aiming for Q3 on Saturday and good points on Sunday.”

Sahara Force India race driver Sergio Perez

Sauber is another potential to spoil the party. After an amazing start to the season with 14 points the Swiss team have only managed 7 more points and have really dropped off in terms of pace. But with a newer spec Ferrari power unit and brand new aero package the team is feeling confident to launch up the field.

Once again Belgium is a track to suit Mercedes but don't fully discount Ferrari. They will have a lot of confidence from the result in Hungary.

The Belgium GP begins on the 21st of August with Friday practice.

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Sahara Force India - Mid Season Report

Crossing the line first in Formula One is usually the main goal, but today lets take a look at a team (that I coincidentally support) that are just happy to be crossing the line at the moment. They are currently holding on to an impressive 5th place in the constructors standings, Sahara Force India.

It was back in February of 2015 when pre-season testing commenced for the forthcoming 2015 Formula 1 season at the Circuito Jerez. Silverstone based Force India knew things were bad for them when they weren't present because there car wasn't ready. They had to wait to the second day of the third test in Catalunya before there first running commenced. The car was underdeveloped in terms of aero and wasn't fast with only the 13th and 14th fastest times, the only thing the new VJM08 had on its side, was a strong and reliable Mercedes power unit. The team was really on the backfoot in terms of pace going into Round 1.

Force India's Race Drivers, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

However this power unit reliability advantage allowed the team to score its first points in Australia. Hulkenberg finished in 7th and Perez 10th (out of only 11 finishers) whilst most of the Renault and Honda power units hit trouble. The team knew it would be a long battle to Round 8 of the championship to a mid-season test where the team would debut its much faster "b" spec car.
The next 7 rounds proved relatively difficult with no points in Malaysia, China and Spain. But a very good race in Round 8 in Austria, a very power dependent circuit which suited the under developed car. Hulkenberg finished 9th and Perez a season-best 6th.

Nico Hulkenberg has a scary moment in Hungary as his front wing spontaneously fails.

Then finally, the team had crawled through 8 rounds and had 31 constructors points and found themselves sitting in 5th place ahead of Lotus, Sauber and Toro Rosso. The Austrian test was upon the team. Confidence was high after great results in the race. Everyone had worked hard. This was the moment. A brand new car. Esteban Ocon fresh at the controls. The garage opens and the light goes green at the end of the pit lane. This brand new sleek car pulls out of the garage, and the first thing you notice is these massive huge nostrils on the nose cone of the car! I have to admit I saw it on Facebook and was laughing. But as I began to read I realized the team had done what they do best. They had bought innovation, individuality and a lot of imagination to this new design. It's pushing the regulations to the limit, the limit, thats what Formula One about. For me this was the best moment of the season. It was such a proud thing to be a fan on this innovative team who were achieving new things. We headed to Silverstone with our heads high and hopeful for good results. The team didn't disappoint with both cars in the points with a 9th and 7th place.

The new Force India VJM08 with the unique "nostril" design.

The season hasn't been the best one for Force India so far but we are now looking up, it was more bad luck that caused a double DNF in Hungary and I don't think the team will dwell. I know the last nine races should suit them with power hungry circuits like Belgium, Italy and the new Mexican circuit.

One interesting question that I have been wondering, is how have we managed 5th in the constructors with such an underdeveloped aero package? One word: Reliability. At the halfway point in the season, Force India has only had 3 retirements, (it's only 1 if you minus Hungary!). Whereas competitors Lotus have had 9 and Toro Rosso 8. *I quietly thank the F1 gods for letting Vijay Mallya not buy Renault engines*. Now the team is looking forward to the Belgium Grand Prix a circuit which will suit the car and its power-unit.

Sergio Perez Practicing in Hungary.

But before I finish I have a message for the Milton-Keynes team of Red Bull. You better make sure that Kvyat and Ricciardo's mirrors are cleaned well in Spa, because that Sahara Force India is going to be right up nearly touching your rear diffuser through Eau Rouge and at that moment you will truly #FeelTheForce

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3 Days Before Spain - Who's jumping up the field?

3 days till the eagerly anticipated Spanish Grand Prix, and most people including myself can not wait, it's been a long three week break since the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix and its good to be back into racing. Myself as a F1 fan support the Sahara Force India F1 Team, because I enjoy the way that Hulkenberg and Perez drive aggressively. I also believe they have been unlucky in there respective career's so far, and I would love to see them progress to the top of the grid and take Force India with them. Plus the team has good origins dating back to Eddie Jordan's original team.

Sergio Perez at the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix

Anyway, with 3 days to go, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez have stated there thoughts on the upcoming weekend. With Hulkenberg returning from the WEC (World Endurance Championship) 6 hours of Spa, after achieving a 6th place with his Porsche Hybrid 919. Hulkenberg's said in an interview with the Formula One Website: “We all know the Barcelona track really well. You have to think about how to approach a lap because it’s important to look after your tyres. If you take too much out of them in the first sector, you end up paying the price in the final one, so finding the right balance is the key". Sergio Perez also said in the inteview: “As a track, Barcelona is a demanding place to drive a Formula One car, with both fast and slow sections. It’s a big test of the aero package - similar to somewhere like Sepang. Overtaking is never easy because it’s difficult to get really close to another car, so good track position really pays off".

Sahara Force India drivers, Sergio Perez (L) and Nico Hulkenberg (R)

Force India have had a pretty miserable season so far, after arriving at pre-season testing late, they have only managed to pick up 11 points and 8th in the constructors standings. However progress has come for the team in Bahrain, with Perez finishing in 8th place, after Hulkenberg had a blistering run in qualifying, with 8th of the grid. Vijay Mallya the teams owner and principal has stayed positive and was quoted saying: “It’s still early days in the season, but it’s worth noting how closely-matched the midfield teams remain. There are times when we see up to ten cars within half a second of each other, which means that any improvements we can bring to the car will have a big impact on our results".

Sergio Perez at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix

Its great to see my team staying nice to positive, and I personally can't wait to see the progress they can make in the Spanish Grand Prix. 3 days till go, I can't wait. Drop your predictions below if you want.