Hamilton Edges Out Rosberg For Fourth Straight Win

The Spanish Grand Prix in Catalunya went as expected, with the Mercedes drivers finished first and second and either a Red Bull or Ferrari finishing in third. Lewis Hamilton continued to show his dominance of Formula 1 all weekend by achieving pole position and setting the fastest times in the practice sessions.



Hamilton's team mate, Nico Rosberg was never far behind Hamilton, however, almost taking pole position from him and finishing just six tenths of a second behind Hamilton in the race. Both Mercedes drivers lapped everyone on the grid apart from the top six drivers, which is unusual for a Formula 1 race and shows the true pace of the Mercedes car this season.

Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull finished in third place, gaining his first ever podium in Formula 1. He would have gotten his first podium in Australia if he wasn't disqualified from the race for his illegal fuel intake. Ricciardo's team mate and returning Formula 1 World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, finished in an unsurprising fourth place. Sebastian Vettel got used to winning the majority of the races for the past four years, winning the Drivers Championship all four of those years as well, but this year he has been let down by his unusually uncompetitive car. However, Vettel had a fantastic race in Spain since he started fifteenth on the grid due to gearbox problems in qualifying, and he made his way up to fourth place, a finish that even I can applaud.

The Ferraris both qualified and finished in sixth and seventh place, which stayed consistent with their usual finishes this season. Ferrari has promised their fans better finishes this season and if they want to do that, they will have to work a lot harder than they are right now, because sixth and seventh place finishes won't please anyone.

One of the big surprises both this race and this season has been the performance of McLaren. With a World Champion paired with a rookie, McLaren has had a tough season, struggling to reach the top ten in the past three races. There was a glimmer of hope in the first race of the season, with Kevin Magnussen, the rookie, finishing in second, and Jenson Button, the World Champion, finishing in third. McLaren say that if they don't see improvements before Silverstone, they could imploy a radical new race strategy as a desperate push for results.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg continue to show the dominance of Mercedes this season, with their only real competition being each other, as they fight for the top spot on the Drivers Championship table. After Spain, Hamilton took the top spot by just three points, and was the first driver this year to break into three digits of points. However, Rosberg stays close behind Hamilton and it will be interesting to see how the season plays out as Rosberg continues to fight against his team mate's dominance.

Here are the race results and the current Drivers and Constructors Championship tables (courtesy of F1.com):

Race Results:

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	66	1:41:05.155	1	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	66	+0.6 secs	2	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	66	+49.0 secs	3	15
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	66	+76.7 secs	15	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	66	+79.2 secs	4	10
6	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	66	+87.7 secs	7	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	65	+1 Lap	6	6
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	65	+1 Lap	5	4
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	11	2
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	10	1
11	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	8
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	14
13	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	65	+1 Lap	9
14	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	65	+1 Lap	12
15	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	65	+1 Lap	22
16	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	65	+1 Lap	13
17	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	65	+1 Lap	16
18	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	64	+2 Laps	18
19	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	64	+2 Laps	17
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	64	+2 Laps	19
Ret	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	34	Brakes	20
Ret	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	24	Exhaust	21

Drivers Championship:

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Team	Points
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	100
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	97
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	49
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing-Renault	45
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing-Renault	39
6	Nico Hulkenberg	German	Force India-Mercedes	37
7	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams-Mercedes	34
8	Jenson Button	British	McLaren-Mercedes	23
9	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren-Mercedes	20
10	Sergio Perez	Mexican	Force India-Mercedes	20
11	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	17
12	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams-Mercedes	12
13	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus-Renault	4
14	Jean-Eric Vergne	French	STR-Renault	4
15	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	STR-Renault	4
16	Adrian Sutil	German	Sauber-Ferrari	0
17	Esteban Gutierrez	Mexican	Sauber-Ferrari	0
18	Max Chilton	British	Marussia-Ferrari	0
19	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Caterham-Renault	0
20	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus-Renault	0
21	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Caterham-Renault	0
22	Jules Bianchi	French	Marussia-Ferrari	0

Constructors Championship:

Pos	Team	Points
1	Mercedes	197
2	Red Bull Racing-Renault	84
3	Ferrari	66
4	Force India-Mercedes	57
5	Williams-Mercedes	46
6	McLaren-Mercedes	43
7	STR-Renault	8
8	Lotus-Renault	4
9	Sauber-Ferrari	0
10	Marussia-Ferrari	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

Catalunya Race Preview

The Spanish Grand Prix in Catalunya is a about to kick off. Here is a preview I made with the style of Sam Posey's legendary previews in mind:

Rosberg Drives Fangio's Silver Arrow

Nico Rosberg recently took a break from preparing for the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix to drive a Formula 1 legend's car at Mercedes' home track, Hockenheim. That legend is Juan Manuel Fangio, who raced in Formula 1 from 1950-1958, winning 24 races out of 51 starts and five World Drivers Championships. Fangio drove for Mercedes in 1954 and 1955 and won nearly every race both years driving the Mercedes-Benz W196. Fangio has the highest win percentage of any Formula 1 driver, with 46.15%. Fangio has been regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time and it must have been quite the honor and privilege for Nico Rosberg to drive the car Fangio won two of his world championships in.

Nico Rosberg took with him on his drive a video camera to take one of the best selfies ever taken in Fangio's W196. This gives viewers a new perspective on what it is like to drive older Formula 1 cars and puts them in the shoes of both Nico Rosberg and Juan Manuel Fangio. The video below speaks for itself.

The Legend That is MIchael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher has been widely regarded as the greatest driver to ever compete in Formula 1, rival to only Ayrton Senna. Schumacher has won 7 world drivers championships (the most of any driver), 91 races (the most of any driver), finished on the podium 155 times (the most of any driver), achieved 68 pole positions (the most of any driver), accrued 1,488 points (the most of any driver (before the whole point revamp of 2010, which makes the record even more amazing)), and he holds the records for most wins in a season at 13 and most fastest laps at 77. If you couldn't tell from all those records, Schumacher dominated Formula 1. He raced from 1991-2006, and then he came out of retirement in 2010 and raced for three more seasons before retiring again in 2012. Schumacher not only won 7 drivers championships, but he also helped his team win 7 constructors championships, 1 with Benetton and 6 with Ferrari. Schumacher had the skills and mindset to succeed in Formula 1 and, even though he set nearly every individual record there is, his team always came first. The pinnacle of Schumacher's career was from 2000-2004 when he and his team, Scuderia Ferrari, won their respective championships every season.

In 2004, Schumacher was the second highest paid athlete in the world and in 2005, Schumacher became the first billionaire athlete. Schumacher has owned multiple mansions in Switzerland and he even owns the largest and most modern horse racing track in Switzerland. However, Schumacher spends a large portion of his money on charities around the world. In his last four years as a driver, it is estimated that Schumacher donated $50 million to charities worldwide. During his retirement, he has donated tens of millions of dollars to many charities, but an exact figure has not been calculated.

On December 29th of 2013, Michael Schumacher was skiing with his family when he crashed and suffered serious head injuries. Schumacher fell into a coma and he hasn't woken from it yet, despite several rumors saying he has. Schumacher has always been a "crazy daredevil", as many F1 drivers have described him, so it is not that surprising that this happened. Schumacher has been in multiple car and motorcycle accidents off the track, but none of them have been very serious. Schumacher has recently been showing signs of consciousness and that is a good sign for the millions of people that are hoping and praying for him and his family. 


When Michael Schumacher retired from Formula 1 in 2006, he told the world that "life is about passions-- thank you for sharing mine." This shows how much he loved Formula 1 and how much it meant to him. Racing is truly his passion and Schumacher's fans mean everything to him and now, when Schumacher is in one of the most difficult times of his life, his fans need to continue to support him and his family. 

My thoughts are with Michael Schumacher and his family and I wish him and his family the best in this difficult time. 

Remembering Senna 20 Years Later

On May 1st, 1994 at exactly 2:17pm, the racing world lost one of the most remarkable drivers it ever had. Ayrton Senna da Silva was on his seventh lap of the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari when his brakes failed and he lost control of his car and came crashing into a wall at about 185 miles per hour. Everyone watching the race was stunned and they prayed for Senna to get out of the car using his own power, as opposed to getting carried off by a stretcher, which was eventually what happened. Senna was then airlifted to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead hours later. Senna's funeral was one to remember. Over one million people lines the streets of São Paulo as Senna's casket drove through the streets.

Ayrton Senna has always been remembered as one of the most successful drivers ever during his time in Formula 1 and that is because he had a powerful drive to succeed in everything he did. Every day Senna would live life the best he could and he would accept nothing less than victory. Senna also knew that he could be killed at any time and even on the morning of his death, his good friend, Dr. Sid Watkins, said to him, “’What else do you need to do? You have been world champion three times, you are obviously the quickest driver. Give it up and let's go fishing.’ Senna replied: ‘Sid, there are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit, I have to go on.’” This shows that Senna had a drive for success greater than anyone else. Senna wanted to continue winning even though he was already enormously successful and this shows how great his drive for success was. Ayrton Senna accepted nothing but total victory in everything he did and his drive for success was greater than any racecar driver there ever was, even on his last day on Earth. 

Ayrton Senna da Silva grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, a place that always had a special place in his heart. Senna loved his home country and throughout his life, he was always helping people living in poverty in São Paulo by giving them money for food and shelter. Senna did an unbelievable amount for the people of São Paulo and Brazil as a whole, and in honor of his death, Ayrton's sister, Viviane, started the Ayrton Senna Foundation whose mission is "to positively intervene in the lives of Brazilian children and adolescents, providing them with conditions and opportunities to promote their full development as human beings, citizens, and future professionals."

Ceremonies to remember Ayrton Senna include moments of silence, a remembrance at the corner where the crash occurred, and even the Corinthians wearing helmets out onto the field before their Copa Do Brasil match. 


Ayrton Senna is the greatest driver to ever have raced in Formula 1 and his untimely death was a tragedy not only in the racing world, but in the entire world, because it lost a truly remarkable person. 

Marshal Accidentally Waves Flag Too Early

Lewis Hamilton was cruising 18 seconds ahead of his second place team mate, Nico Rosberg, finishing lap 55 of 56 when he caught a glimpse of the checkered flag one lap too early. Hamilton said that "I thought I was starting my last lap and I glanced up and saw something waving and realized it was the checkered flag. I lifted and lost about a second and a half but the team said 'No, no, keep going.'... It was very, very strange." Hamilton went on to finish the final scheduled lap despite the race marshal's mistake.

According to article 43.2 of Formula 1 regulations, if the checkered flag is waved early, the results go back to the last completed lap before the flag was waved, in this case, lap 54. No one in the top 10, really the only positions that matter in the long run, was affected by this rule. The only change in positions that happened on one of the last two laps that weren't counted was Kamui Kobayashi's overtake on Jules Bianchi for 17th place in the last lap.

Even though this small mistake didn't affect anyone in the points positions this race, in many other races where the top 10 are closer together and more overtakes happen in the final laps, this early checkered flag could have had more of an effect on the championship table and could have won or lost someone the drivers or constructors championship. This mistake could also lead to stricter marshal rules or management, just in case there is a closer race and someone makes the same mistake again.


Here are the official race results kept by the FIA (courtesy of F1.com) :

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	54	1:33:28.338	1	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	54	+18.0 secs	4	18
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	54	+23.6 secs	5	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	54	+27.1 secs	2	12
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	54	+47.8 secs	3	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	54	+54.3 secs	8	8
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	54	+55.7 secs	7	6
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	54	+76.3 secs	11	4
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	54	+82.6 secs	16	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	53	+1 Lap	13	1
11	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+1 Lap	12
12	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	53	+1 Lap	9
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+1 Lap	15
14	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	53	+1 Lap	22
15	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	53	+1 Lap	6
16	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	53	+1 Lap	17
17	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	53	+1 Lap	19
18	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	53	+1 Lap	18
19	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	52	+2 Laps	21
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	52	+2 Laps	20
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	28	Gearbox	10
Ret	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	5	Engine	14