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 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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Italian Grand Prix 2015 - Race Analysis. Raikkonen mistake costs Ferrari win at Monza.

The Italian Grand Prix was run yesterday over 53 laps and it saw pole sitter Lewis Hamilton once again take top spot on the podium. It was a relatively boring race compared to the likes of Hungary and Silverstone, but still a classic Monza race that we won't forget. It saw everything from first lap incidents, last lap retirements and all the chaos in between.

The Ferrari fans had lined the stands cheering on Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen who had qualified very highly and looked strong contenders for a win. But it turned out it wasn't there day as when the lights went green Kimi Raikkonen failed to get off the grid and remained stationary for a few seconds before pulling away. The damage had been done though and Raikkonen dropped to 20th by turn 1.

The Ferrari fans showed there amazing support for there local heros.

The cars piled into the first chicane and Lotus continued to have there knack for first lap incidents as Grosjean was tapped and his rear suspension broken forcing him to retire, whilst Maldonado didn't make the corner and went over the rumble strip which snapped the floor of his car in two also forcing him to retire. The double DNF was made worst because it allowed Force India to have an easy shot at regaining 5th back in the constructors.

Lotus scored 0 points as both cars retired on Lap 1

By the end of the first lap Hamilton had pulled away from Vettel followed by Massa, Bottas, Rosberg and Perez.

Except for Kimi Raikkonen making his way through the field the order changed little till the first pit stops which started around lap 19 as most teams opted for the one stop strategy. The biggest change in position was Nico Rosberg who tried the undercut on the Williams of Massa and Bottas. Williams reacted by boxing Massa the next lap but the damage was done and Rosberg jumped both drivers in the process.

Hamilton continued to pull away from Vettel and was looking like making a 20 second gap. Rosberg began to slowly close down Vettel in 2nd.

Toward the end of the race things got much more exciting. Firstly about 15 laps from the end Nico Hulkenberg was in 7th and was complaining of lack of rear grip and traction. He was under pressure from Marcus Ericcson and Daniel Ricciardo and Force India considered a two stop but ultimately decided against it and it didn't lose anything as Hulkenberg held off both drivers till the end.

Then about 5 laps from the end Lewis Hamilton's engineer (Peter Bonnington) came on the radio and asked Lewis to "push really hard,  and don't ask why". It perplexed all the viewers and the only thing Martin Brundle could think of in the com box was a potential slow puncture and Mercedes wanted the 25 second gap to make a pit stop. It wasn't explained to the end of the race when it was discovered the tire pressure had dipped below optimal and Mercedes were considering a precautionary pit stop to stop the chance of a puncture. Mercedes (as well as Ferrari) were summoned to the stewards after the race concerning low tire pressure but no further action was taken.

Then in the other Mercedes just a few laps from the end, Nico Rosberg's engine gave a cough, and another cough and then caught fire as he pulled off to the side of the second chicane. He retired from the race and lost 25 points in the championship to Lewis Hamilton and now only a 21 point gap between himself and Sebastian Vettel in third. This retirement promoted Felipe Massa back to 3rd and Valtteri Bottas was still right behind him in 4th. A good battle for the last spot on the podium began and team orders didn't intervene.

Nico Rosberg retired from the race with just a few laps left.

Lastly it was more bad luck for McLaren as they lost Fernando Alonso just a few laps from the end, especially after a good battle between himself and Button was brewing up, it was disappointing. But McLaren should be pleased they managed to run most of the Grand Prix without problem.

This was the ending race order:

1) Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
2) Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari + 25.042s
3) Felipe Massa - Williams-Mercedes + 47.635s
4) Valtteri Bottas - Williams-Mercedes + 47.996s
5) Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari + 68.860s
6) Sergio Perez - Force India-Mercedes + 72.783s
7) Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes + 1 LAP
8) Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull-Renault + 1 LAP
9) Marcus Ericcson - Sauber-Ferrari + 1 LAP
10) Daniil Kvyat - Red Bull-Renault + 1 LAP
11) Carlos Sainz - Toro Rosso-Renault + 1 LAP
12) Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso-Renault + 1 LAP
13) Felipe Nasr - Sauber-Ferrari + 1 LAP
14) Jenson Button - McLaren-Honda + 1 LAP
15) Will Stevens - Manor-Marussia + 2 LAPS
16) Roberto Merhi - Manor-Marussia + 2 LAPS
17) Nico Rosberg - Mercedes DNF
18) Fernando Alonso - McLaren-Honda DNF
19) Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Mercedes DNF
20) Pastor Maldonado - Lotus-Mercedes DNF

The next race on the calender is the much loved Singapore Grand Prix which is held under lights on a tight and twisty street circuit. It saw last years turning point in the season where Hamilton gained the lead in the championship. The Singapore Grand Prix will take place from 18th of September to 20th of September. See you then!

Round 13 heads to Singapore!

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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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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.