Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2017: Start Time, Drivers, TV Schedule and More
Apr 15, 2017
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 13: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP in the Drivers Press Conference during previews to the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on April 13, 2017 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
After losing the opening race of the campaign, Lewis Hamilton stormed to victory in China, and he has to maintain his momentum to stay ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at the 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix in Formula One on Sunday.
The two former world champions promise to make this season a classic edition in the sport as they battle tooth and nail for the championship title.
Mercedes have a credible challenger this term, with the famous Italian constructor finding racing power once again.
Mercedes-Honda's British driver Lewis Hamilton steers his Formula One during a practice session ahead of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit in the desert south of the Bahraini capital, Manama, on April 14, 2017.
The Formula One seas
Hamilton was back to winning ways in Race 2 of the year, holding off Vettel with a display of dominant driving from the front in testing conditions.
Vettel struggled to keep up with the motivated British star, and it already appears the title will be decided between the phenomenal pair.
Hamilton initially found pace issues in practice, as his German competitor went fastest on Friday, and the expected higher track temperatures could be a blessing for the Scuderia.
Ferrari is the team to beat on the hottest days of the year, and the SF70H will excel at venues such as the Bahrain International Circuit, even with the race being staged at night.
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - APRIL 14: Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H on track during practice for the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on April 14, 2017 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Mason/
According to Formula One's official website, Hamilton admitted his main race rival could hold an advantage over the scheduled 57 laps.
The Silver Arrows driver said:
Ferrari are very good in hotter conditions. If anything, Ferrari have got a bit quicker and the gap's even closer – they will be very, very quick.
When it steps up in temperature...so far in the first race it's been shown as not to be the greatest for us just yet, so we're just learning on the tyres. Hopefully it will be better…
Kimi Raikkonen has had more successes in Bahrain than any other circuit, giving the Prancing Horses a real shot at claiming a double-podium finish. However, despite standing on the rostrum on eight occasions, the Ice Man has never won the race in the Persian Gulf.
Raikkonen's car also had reliability issues in practice, with the Finn forced to take stock back in the garage on Friday, per Autosport:
#F1 Raikkonen may be in the pits in FP1 with a problem, but he stands as the driver with the most podiums in Bahrain with eight to his name. pic.twitter.com/RsnqoFQsab
Vettel will believe this is an opportunity to pressurise Hamilton in the early stages of the world championship, and Mercedes might find the desert conditions too much on their tyres and power unit.
But the passion and desire in Hamilton's heart will not allow him to be bullied by any of his contemporaries, and he will expect at least a podium finish at the end of the battle on Sunday.
Mercedes W08 F1 Car Launch: 2017 Images and Details Revealed
Feb 23, 2017
The Mercedes logo is displayed at the company's booth at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, January 10, 2017. / AFP / Geoff Robins (Photo credit should read GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images)
Mercedes revealed their new Formula One car that will be used in the 2017 season on Thursday, the Mercedes W08 EQ Power +.
The constructor unveiled the car on YouTube:
Mercedes-AMG F1 also shared pictures of it on Twitter:
The Silver Arrows have won the world championship three years running, and Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will be the drivers targeting a fourth successive win.
Bottas is evidently a fan of the new design, per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson:
.@ValtteriBottas sums it up: "What I really like about it is how clean it looks, but at the same time there's a massive amount of detail"
The car has been designed according to new regulations from the FIA, with bodywork and tyres "getting wider in order to boost downforce and grip, making the cars both faster and physically harder to drive," according to Formula One's official website.
Mercedes explained the impact of the changes on the car's power unit:
The constructor has left its rivals in its wake in recent years, with their drivers' biggest threats coming from their team-mates.
As such, the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull will be hoping for a more level playing field this year courtesy of the new rules.
The Silver Arrows have had the best engines and vehicles over the last three years, and their latest effort under the new regulations is a polished and visually striking design—it will be intriguing to see how it holds up on the track.
Lewis Hamilton Does Not Deserve Criticism, Punishment for Ignoring Team Orders
Nov 28, 2016
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 27: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo leads Nico Rosberg of Germany driving the (6) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on November 27, 2016 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
In a last-ditch effort to swipe the Formula One title from Nico Rosberg, his Mercedes team-mate, Hamilton drove as slowly as he could, attempting to push Rosberg back into the clutches of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton needed a victory coupled with Rosberg finishing off the podium if he was going to grab the championship, but Rosberg held on to second place despite the Brit's ploy.
After the race, Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff was clearly not pleased that Hamilton had repeatedly ignored team orders to pick up the pace. He said the team would review the situation and might consider changing the rules for their drivers, but he also did not rule out punishing Hamilton, per ESPN F1's Laurence Edmondson.
But Wolff and anyone else who thinks Rosberg (or any other driver on the grid) would not have done the exact same thing in Hamilton's position are dreaming.
In fact, if any driver in Hamilton's position did not do everything (legal) within their power to win the championship, they would not belong in F1.
As Hamilton explained in the post-race press conference, "I don't think I did anything dangerous today. So, I don't feel I did anything unfair. We're fighting for a championship, I was in the lead, I control the pace. That's the rules."
Indeed, this wasn't Michael Schumacher slamming into Jacques Villeneuve. Anyone feeling the need to criticise Hamilton's tactics should first take a deep breath and then close their Twitter app.
"It was naive to think that there would be any different approach with what's at stake," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, per Autosport's Lawrence Barretto, Ben Anderson and Edd Straw.
Likewise, though, anyone questioning whether Rosberg "deserves" the title should pause for a quick F1 history lesson. Newsflash: The best driver does not always win.
Yes, Hamilton had more car problems than Rosberg this year. That was out of his control, but sometimes that's just the way it goes in F1. Jim Clark probably would have won the 1967 title if his Lotus hadn't broken down so often, but there aren't too many people campaigning to retroactively strip Denny Hulme of his world championship.
Hamilton also had more poor starts than Rosberg this year—something that was in his control. But in 10 or 20 years, no one will be questioning whether Rosberg was a worthy champion. They will just remember him as a champion.
Hamilton might be the better driver, but that does not mean we can deny Rosberg's title.
Incidentally, Hamilton's win in Abu Dhabi gave him 10 for the season, one more than Rosberg. Back in 2010, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone suggested the championship should be given to the driver with the most victories at the end of the year, regardless of how many points they scored.
At the time, Hamilton said, "Out of the many ideas that have come out, this is potentially one of the worst," according to the Guardian's Paul Weaver.
One suspects he would have had a different view in the immediate aftermath on Sunday night.
Hamilton's ease in toying with Rosberg just underlines his incredible skills behind the wheel. Two weeks ago, Hamilton demonstrated his superior car control as he drove away from everyone in a Sao Paulo downpour. In Abu Dhabi, he showed the same supreme control, but in a different way, holding Rosberg up while doing just enough to stay ahead.
Vettel said Hamilton was "playing some dirty tricks," per ESPN F1's Nate Saunders, but Rosberg seemed nonplussed.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 27: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP shakes hands with second place finisher and F1 World Drivers Champion Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP on the podium during the Abu Dhabi F
"You can understand Lewis because it's the world championship," Rosberg said, per Autosport's Barretto.
"We are out there fighting, we're drivers and you can understand he wants to try something."
But perhaps that is just because Rosberg had won his first title and couldn't be bothered to argue.
Either way, Mercedes should re-examine their internal rules. They had already clinched both world championships, so it came off as petty for them to attempt to micromanage Hamilton's race from the pit wall.
The optics would be even worse if they actually decide to penalise Hamilton for his supposed indiscretion.
After the race, referring to Mercedes' goal to finish every race in first and second, executive director Paddy Lowe said, "We don't distort our objectives in the context of the drivers' championship," per Autosport's Ben Anderson and Scott Mitchell.
A little flexibility is necessary, though, particularly if you want your drivers to maintain their edges. They can't spend the whole season scrapping for every point and then suddenly turn it off in the last race and pretend not to care whether they win the title or not.
If Hamilton had broken an actual regulation or done something unsafe, then criticise him all you want. But when all he did was drive slightly slower than the computers back at Mercedes' Brackley, England, headquarters determined was optimal? Please, a little perspective.
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and the Globe and Mail.
Lewis Hamilton Interview: Distractions, Social Media and His Approach to Racing
Nov 6, 2016
BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - JUNE 16: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP talks to the media in the Paddock during previews ahead of the European Formula One Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit on June 16, 2016 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images,)
Lewis Hamilton is an easy target. He is young, rich, successful, attractive and, it must be said, he seems to enjoy showing it all off.
He is also the only current Formula One driver with any pop culture currency, which must be unsettling to those who would rather think of them as joyless automatons, singularly dedicated to the craft of driving and shaving another hundredth-of-a-second off off their Sector 2 time.
Because Hamilton has other interests in his life and because those interests include partying with fellow celebrities and jetting around the world on his private plane, he receives an undue amount of criticism from some segments of the media and of F1's fanbase.
Bleacher Report spoke with Hamilton about handling that criticism, among other topics, in a telephone interview on the Wednesday before the U.S. Grand Prix, as part of an event for Mercedes sponsor Epson.
One oft-repeated critique of the three-time champion is that he does not appear focused on F1. Former driver and current Channel 4 pundit David Coulthard threw his hat in that ring earlier this year, per the Guardian's Paul Weaver.
Hamilton dismisses that sort of speculation out of hand. Yes, there are times where he has been at an event or party before the race weekend, but he said that is not the determining factor in how his weekend goes.
"Sometimes, I arrive at races more energetic and clear-minded than ever and then I have a terrible race. And the opposite is also true."
Such is the randomness of F1 and sport in general, where the most talented athlete doesn't always win. And Hamilton is certainly one of the most talented drivers on the grid. Perhaps that is also where some of the negative judgement comes from—people concerned the outside distractions have limited his ability to live up to his massive potential.
To be fair, Hamilton has admitted that, in the past, his personal life affected his professional one, according toThe Telegraph's Tom Cary.
But that is the past. Hamilton has won the last two titles, has a shot at another one and just tied Alain Prost for the second-most victories in F1 history. His winning percentage of 27.4 is fifth all-time, trailing only Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark and Michael Schumacher.
During F1's recent Asian tour, for the Singapore, Malaysia and Japanese Grands Prix, Hamilton said he was distraction-free, even if the results were not what he was hoping for.
"I was in Asia for three or four weeks with nobody except my trainer. I was reading and travelling, just relaxing and enjoying myself."
"It takes me forever to read a book," he said, when asked about his reading list. "I have such a small attention span." Still he enjoys reading, just not novels. "I don't like to read fiction," he said. "I like to learn something when I'm reading."
Any suggestion that Hamilton is so naturally gifted that he doesn't need to work as hard as, say, Nico Rosberg, his Mercedes team-mate, rankles the champ.
"It's frustrating to me because people make up stories that aren't real," he said about the view of him as more instinctive, versus Rosberg's supposedly more cerebral approach.
"I don't drive by the seat of my pants and happen to win races. I work very hard to interpret the data and drive a certain way. My engineers have confidence in me and, more often than not when I tell them what I need or what I am feeling with the car, it's right."
SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 07: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP talks with Paul Pezzack, Trackside Control Systems Engineer, Mercedes GP in the garage during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 7, 201
Speaking of data, since it was an Epson event, we spoke a bit about the Japanese electronics company's involvement with Mercedes.
"When I arrive at the track tomorrow morning, my engineers will have put together a package with too much to read," Hamilton said, laughing. "It's all printed on Epson printers."
Asked how the company helps the team succeed, he said, "You might see these little labels all over the cockpit. With the regulations, there is so much we can't say on the radio, so we put it on the labels."
"Exactly. There are so many specific sequences to run through so it helps to look down and remember."
Back in 2014, after Hamilton wrapped up the championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he was asked in the post-race press conference about the race in Belgium, where Rosberg collided with him and which proved to be the turning point of the season.
"I came back to the next races with a slightly different approach and I won't explain exactly what I did because I need to bring it to the next races next year but I did tweak some of my approach throughout the weekend which helped me get those wins," he responded.
SPA, BELGIUM - AUGUST 24: Debris flies in the air as Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP makes contact with Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP during the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 24, 2014 in Spa, Belgi
Asked whether now, two years later, he could share some of his secrets, Hamilton first said that he didn't really remember. Then he thought about it a bit more and gave a lengthy response.
More important than what he said, though, is the fact that he took the time to stop and think about the question and give a non-cliched answer. This thoughtfulness, which is characteristic of all the interactions I have witnessed between him and the media, does not always come across in a soundbite or an Instagram post, but it is refreshing.
For the record, Hamilton said the biggest change he made after Spa 2014 was becoming more aggressive on the track. He said that after Rosberg clipped his car, he thought, "Oh, so that's how it's going to be," and then went on to win six of the final seven races to claim the title.
Perhaps inevitably, our conversation circles back to where it began: Hamilton's social media presence. You might recall that little Snapchat row in Japan, but when asked whether he ever feels benefits of interacting with his fans are outweighed by the criticism he receives, Hamilton said no, but, "I wish all the negativity wasn't there, though."
"I have lots of incredible followers," he continued, "but I wish you didn't have to share everything with certain people.
"Sometimes, you have to be more selective about what you share."
Hamilton, it should be noted, is one of the sport's social media pioneers. His nearly four million Twitter followers are more than any other driver or team—more even than the official F1 account—and his ability to reach people outside F1's existing fanbase is invaluable.
If he does not win the championship this year, though, get ready for another round of criticism, deserved or not. Just know that it does not bother Hamilton.
"I am very single-minded," he said. "I take any excess baggage and get rid of it. I try to shut out anything else."
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and the Globe and Mail.
Poor Starts, Not Engine Problems, Will Cost Lewis Hamilton the F1 Championship
Oct 9, 2016
SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 09: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 9, 2016 in Suzuka. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
As the red lights blinked out, Hamilton, starting second, barely moved off the line and was immediately swarmed by the cars behind him. By the exit of Turn 1, he had fallen to eighth place, his championship hopes slipping away as his team-mate and rival, Nico Rosberg, disappeared down the road.
Shortly afterward, the television broadcast picked up his team radio. "Sorry, guys," Hamilton said, the disappointment evident in his voice.
For all the fuss made after the Malaysian Grand Prix about Hamilton's engine problems and the squawking from conspiracy theorists who believe Mercedes are sabotaging their own driver, if Hamilton loses the championship (and that seems certain), it will be because of his poor starts.
Car problems happen to everyone in Formula One. That is the nature of the sport, where machines built as light as possible are pushed to their limits for two hours at a time, often in extreme temperatures. Sure, sometimes one driver or another will have an extra failure or two, but everyone has to deal with them.
But while the drivers cannot control engine and gearbox failures, they can control their starts. And quite often this year, Hamilton has messed them up.
To be fair, Rosberg has had problems with his starts too—just not as frequently. And Mercedes admitted back in April they had problems with their clutch, per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble. Still, if you were to pick one factor that has swung the championship from Hamilton to Rosberg, it would be Hamilton's poor starts.
"If you gauge my season, then the championship could be lost by starts," Hamilton said after the Italian Grand Prix in September, when he started on pole and was fifth after the first corner, per the BBC's Andrew Benson. "From a lot of pole positions, I've lost the race from the start."
Hamilton scored his 100th podium finish at Suzuka on Sunday, but it was bittersweet. In the post-race press conference, he repeatedly paid tribute to his team, who secured their third straight constructors' title with Rosberg's win and Hamilton's third-place finish.
When asked to explain his poor start, though, and whether dampness on his side of the grid played a part, he said: "I don't think the damp patch had really anything to do with it. I just...made a mistake, and then just working my way up from there was tricky, but y'know, I did the best I could."
Later in the press conference, Hamilton was asked if he explain in more detail what happened. "Not really," he said. "I just got wheelspin."
That inability to explain or find a solution to their starting problems has characterised Mercedes' season. In fact, the problems with race starts date back to 2015. Somehow, despite a massive budget and hundreds of employees, the team has yet to find an answer.
For Hamilton, the worst part about the Japanese Grand Prix result is that, for the first time, it takes his championship fate out of his own hands.
Arriving at Suzuka, Hamilton sat 23 points behind Rosberg but could at least take comfort in the knowledge that, if he won the remaining five races of the year, he would be champion no matter what Rosberg did.
Now, down 33 points with four races left, Hamilton could win out, and all Rosberg would have to do is follow him home in second at each race to claim his first title.
SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 09: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP celebrates his win on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 9, 2016 in Suzuka. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Although Rosberg said in the post-race press conference that "there’s no point in changing my approach now, so I’m sticking with what I’m doing because it’s working well," the knowledge that he doesn't need to win will certainly be in the back of his mind.
It means he can be slightly more conservative and that we should not see a reappearance of the uncontrolled aggression that nearly derailed him earlier in the season.
The Englishman, meanwhile, has gone five races without a victory. His last win came in the German Grand Prix at the end of July. Despite his dominant run of six wins in seven races between Monaco and Germany, you get the feeling this just might not be his year.
Hamilton may be a better driver than Rosberg, but in F1, the best driver doesn't always win—especially if he cannot get off the start line.
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and the Globe and Mail. Follow him on Twitter: @MatthewWalthert
Will Poor Starts Cost Lewis Hamilton the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship?
Sep 4, 2016
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 01: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP walks into the paddock during previews for the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 1, 2016 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
By now it has become an all-to-familiar refrain to the 2016 Formula One season. Again, at Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton made a poor start from pole position that cost him a chance at victory.
Hamilton has qualified first at seven of the 14 grands prix so far this year, but he has won just three of those races. His record from pole is not quite as bad as that of his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, two years ago, but like Rosberg, his inability to turn Saturday speed into Sunday wins could end up costing him the drivers' championship.
Back in 2014, Rosberg converted just three of his 11 poles into race wins, a historically awful mark. In fact, of the 12 drivers to score at least 10 poles in a single season, Rosberg's 27 per cent win-conversion rate is the worst (tied with Mika Hakkinen's 1999 season).
Hamilton is on pace for 10 or 11 poles this year, and his 43 percent conversion rate would also rank near the bottom of that list.
Earlier this year, I questioned whether Mercedes' poor starts might cost them the constructors' championship, but their cars are so much faster than everyone else's that they can usually make up any places they lose on the first lap. The one person the Merc drivers have trouble passing if they fall behind is their team-mate.
Instead, the question should be: Will Lewis Hamilton's poor starts cost him a third straight drivers' championship?
When the lights went out at Monza, Hamilton seemed to be moving in slow motion as Rosberg and four other cars streamed past him before the first corner. When he finally reemerged in second place, Hamilton was nearly 15 seconds adrift of Rosberg—a gap that proved impossible to make up.
Rosberg's victory means Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship is down to just two points, but it could be so much larger. In just the four races he has lost from pole, poor starts have potentially cost him 49 points.
Race
Started
Finished
Potential Points Lost
Australia
1st
2nd
7
Bahrain
1st
3rd
10
Spain
1st
DNF
25
Canada
1st
1st
–
Austria
1st
1st
–
Great Britain
1st
1st
–
Italy
1st
2nd
7
Total
49
Of course, he may not have won all of those races even with quick starts, but he has definitely left some points on the table.
Mercedes' start problems, which have also affected Rosberg (though not to the same extent), have been ongoing since last year and were exacerbated by new race-start regulations that put more control in the drivers' hands.
Hamilton actually predicted as much when the new rules were announced, telling the official F1 website: "There is such a differential between the first [formation lap] and the real start, there will be a lot of people getting bad starts."
Obviously, a solution has not yet been found. In the post-race press conference in Italy, Hamilton said: "We have a relatively inconsistent clutch and it's hard to...In the past we were able to be told our clutch temperature, and it was easier to hit our target as well, but now it's a lot less easy to know what your clutch is going to be delivering and what it's not."
Ironically, Hamilton and Mercedes' struggles have been good for F1 fans. With Mercedes' dominance over the last three years, there have been many, many complaints that the sport is too predictable and not competitive enough.
Sure, the Silver Arrows have still won 13 of 14 races this year, but at least you can't count on them to make a perfect start and ride off into the sunset. At Monza, it took Hamilton a whole 16 laps to fight his way back to second place and set up a one-two formation finish with Rosberg.
OK, it's not a Gilles Villeneuve-Rene Arnoux duel to the finish, but it's something!
Hamilton's fourth world championship is there for the taking. He is driving the best car, leading the title chase with just seven grands prix remaining and his 55-place penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix ensures he will have enough engine parts for the rest of the year.
MONZA, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 02: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy at Autodromo di Monza on September 2,
However, this year's championship battle also looks like it will be the closest of Hamilton's three head-to-head contests with Rosberg. With seven races remaining in 2014, there was a 29-point gap between the Mercedes team-mates (although Rosberg was leading), and in 2015, it was 53.
Only two drivers in F1 history—Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna—have more pole positions than Hamilton's 56. Three months from now, though, if he does not start converting more of them into victories, we may find ourselves pointing to that failure as one of the key factors in Rosberg's first drivers' championship.
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and the Globe and Mail. Follow him on Twitter:
Why Lewis Hamilton Should Start from Pit Lane in 2016 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa
Aug 26, 2016
SPA, BELGIUM - AUGUST 25: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP talks to the media during previews ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on August 25, 2016 in Spa, Belgium. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
As Lewis Hamilton made a stuttering start to the 2016 Formula One season, it didn't take long for the conspiracy theorists to crawl out of the woodwork.
Following the three-time world champion's poor getaways from pole position in Australia and Bahrain, and his two identical MGU-H failures in as many qualifying sessions in China and Russia, those stuck in cyberspace quickly became convinced Mercedes were deliberately plotting against their star driver.
After almost two years of Hamilton dominance, they said, the team had clearly decided this was the turn of Nico Rosberg—who had quickly established a 43-point lead with victories in the opening four races—to share some of the Silver Arrows' success.
SOCHI, RUSSIA - MAY 01: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP looks at his team-mate Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP as he celebrates his win on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on May 1, 2016 in
Why else would they decide to swap the mechanics of each driver ahead of the new season, upsetting the balance of the team and suddenly turning some of Hamilton's most trusted colleagues into enemies within?
Those cries of sabotage, of course, were soon denied by Hamilton and Mercedes—who even issued an open letter to reassure their supporters—and quickly faded away when the No. 44 car returned to winning ways in May's Monaco Grand Prix, sparking a run of six wins in seven races.
But during that very volatile period, perhaps the only thing the lunatics—as team boss Toto Wolff politely referred to them, per Sky Sports—didn't complain about to @MercedesAMGF1 was among the most glaring, strangest errors made by F1's most meticulous team since they became the sport's dominance force in 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3dFTAKZDDw
When Hamilton suffered the first of those MGU-H issues on Saturday afternoon in China, where he failed to set a lap time in qualifying and was condemned to last place, Mercedes had the option to take their world champion out of the line of fire.
With the Chinese GP usually featuring one of the more hazardous first laps—mostly due to the long, closing-radius, multi-apex Turn 1 that almost folds back on itself before the track falls away into Turn 3—they should have forced Hamilton to start from the pit lane and wait for the inevitable first-corner storm to pass.
Yet rather than taking the initiative, the team—undoubtedly determined to get to the bottom of the No. 44 car's lacklustre launches and maybe under pressure from Hamilton to begin the race as normal—were uncharacteristically weak and allowed him to take a traditional start.
And what happened?
Following his wheelspin worries at Melbourne, Australia, and Sakhir, Bahrain, Hamilton enjoyed his best start of 2016 to date and promptly—predictably—sped straight into someone else's accident, losing his front wing when Felipe Nasr suddenly swerved to avoid Kimi Raikkonen's limping Ferrari.
An early safety car period minimised the pain of that collision, and Hamilton ultimately recovered to seventh position.
SHANGHAI, CHINA - APRIL 17: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes damages his front wing during the Formula One Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on April 17, 2016 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Peter J Fox/Getty Images)
But as he suffered damage to "some aero parts" and the suspension to the point where his W07 handled "like a four-poster bed," as he toldSky Sports' Matthew Morlidge, it was worth wondering just how much higher Hamilton would have finished had he had a fully functioning car at his disposal.
It is precisely those thoughts he, now nursing a 19-point lead over Rosberg in the drivers' standings, must avoid at the end of Sunday's Belgian GP.
As reported by Sky Sports' Pete Gill, the reliability gremlins that followed Hamilton in the early weeks of the campaign have come back to haunt him at Spa-Francorchamps, where he will start at the very rear of the field for exceeding the engine component-usage regulations.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 26, 2016
A number of engine changes over the course of the weekend could see the three-time world champion drop as many as 75 places on the 22-car grid, with the sheer number of positions lost aimed at preventing him running the risk of more grid penalties in the final three months of 2016.
With Marcus Ericsson (10 places) and Fernando Alonso (35 places) taking similar punishments, Hamilton will be in good company at the back of the grid.
But instead of taking his place alongside the Sauber and McLaren-Honda drivers on Sunday afternoon, he should opt for a far more comfortable seat at the end of the pit lane, which would not only allow Mercedes to prime his car for overtaking, but protect Hamilton from being dragged into another Shanghai-style incident.
The starts at Spa, after all, have long been regarded as the most chaotic moments of a given season, with the multi-car pileup in 1998 and Romain Grosjean's airborne crash in 2012 evidence of just what can go wrong when a front wheel or three is put out of joint in the Ardennes forest.
In his nine previous seasons in F1, Hamilton has been involved in several collisions in the early stages at Spa, having been shoved wide by Alonso at La Source in 2007, taken out by Grosjean in '09 and '12 and, of course, hit by Rosberg on the second lap of the 2014 race.
Starting from the pit lane would allow Hamilton to miss any tangles at La Source, tip-toe past any incidents later on the opening lap and soon catch the back of the pack when the breathlessness of the latest Spa start has faded and the backmarkers will be composed enough to spot a charging Mercedes in their mirrors.
SPA, BELGIUM - AUGUST 26: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during practice for the Formula One Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Aug
When asked what would be a realistic finishing position for him from the back of the grid, Hamilton told Thursday's official FIA press conference he has "no idea" just "how far [he] can get up," admitting he would be satisfied just to "get into the points."
But—to paraphrase a commonly used motor-racing mantra—to finish in the points, first he will have to finish.
Avoiding the usual start-line silliness will be key to his progress at Spa.
Breaking Down What Nico Rosberg Must Do to Get F1 Title Challenge Back on Track
Aug 9, 2016
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JULY 24: Nico Rosberg of Mercedes and Germany during the Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 24, 2016 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Peter J Fox/Getty Images)
It was, as ever, Martin Brundle who called it right.
The champagne was only just beginning to dry on the Russian Grand Prix podium when the Sky Sports television pundit, armed with a microphone, marched onto the balcony and toward the race-winner.
"Congratulations!" he told Nico Rosberg as he accepted a handshake that, whether he liked it or not, quickly morphed into a borderline man hug.
"Wow, the man who can't stop winning! Seven in a row. Only three other drivers in the history of Formula One have done that: Alberto Ascari, the great Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and now..."
And then a pause. Only a slight pause, only a faint pause, but a pause just long enough to have the desired effect.
SOCHI, RUSSIA - MAY 01: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP looks at his team-mate Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP as he celebrates his win on the podium during the Formula One Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on May 1, 2016 in
"And now you," he added, flicking his arm in Rosberg's direction. "Well done."
As the man of the moment droned on about his latest "awesome weekend" and thanked the local crowd for staying awake during Mercedes' latest one-two finish, Brundle had once again conveyed what the watching world was thinking: that Rosberg's start to the 2016 season was too good—far too good—to be true.
How, after all, had a driver who was comprehensively beaten to the world championship by Lewis Hamilton in each of the last two years managed to establish a lead of 43 points in just four races? How had someone of his calibre managed to displace Sir Stirling Moss as the most frequent race-winner never to win the title?
And just how had he—of all people—come within striking distance of equalling the tally for the most consecutive grand prix victories, a record that stood untouched for six decades but was in danger of being matched twice in under three years?
After stepping from the Sochi Autodrom podium, Rosberg admitted he was as surprised as anyone to begin 2016 exactly how he ended 2015, describing how four consecutive wins was "not something" he "could have expected to start the season," per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble.
"I am very happy about it," he continued. "It has been a great four races, very enjoyable, and I am aware it will not continue like that forever.
"The sport is all about ups and downs, and the down will come at some point. You just need to mentally prepare for that to come straight back up when it happens."
The inevitable "down" finally arrived four weeks later on the morning of the Monaco GP, when Rosberg peered out the window of his apartment to find his local circuit-come-hometown under dark, cloudy skies.
Having convinced himself a driver with a lead the equivalent of almost two race wins had no business playing dare with the crash barriers in the wet in Monte Carlo, Rosberg drove a cautious, conservative race on the assumption he, in a Mercedes W07, would finish second or third at worst.
Except he finished seventh.
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - MAY 29: Nico Rosberg of Germany driving the (6) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit de Monaco on May 29, 2016 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco.
And unlike most world champions, Rosberg—despite his promise, despite his vow—has been unable to "come straight back up" from that low.
While Hamilton has won six of the seven grands prix since Monaco, Rosberg has been restricted to just three podium finishes. His lead has evaporated almost as quickly as it was built, and his supposed breakthrough year is rapidly turning into a repeat of the last.
With Hamilton's current advantage of 19 just two points smaller than the gap he held at the halfway stage a year ago, most within F1 are expecting him to waltz to a fourth title over the remaining nine races.
Yet although he threw his lead away, although he has lost all his early momentum and although the man on the other side of the garage traditionally performs at his best in the second half of a given season, Rosberg can still emerge from this year with a first world title to his name.
Much, of course, will depend on how he channels the frustration of his fall to second in the standings, having entered the annual summer break in a foul mood, on the back of a miserable race, for a third year in succession.
His tumble from pole position to fourth in the recent German GP mirrored the result of Hungary 2014, after which Rosberg spent a whole month replaying the events of that afternoon in his mind before returning to the cockpit at Spa and promptly hitting Hamilton on the second lap.
Such a clumsy incident, which signaled the beginning of the end of his title challenge, was typical of a driver new to the pressures of a world championship fight and, two years on, there will be a large emphasis on Rosberg to demonstrate he is now completely at ease in that climate.
One way he can make himself much more comfortable is by taking pole position and keeping it for a change, having lost the lead to the No. 44 car at the first corner in both Hungary and Germany.
As with his team-mate's lacklustre starts at the beginning of the year, there is more to Rosberg's poor getaways than mere misfortune and they seem to be directly related to Hamilton's tactics at the end of the formation lap whenever the No. 6 car starts from pole.
Close observers will note that Hamilton often dramatically slows his pace as the field approaches the pit straight, allowing Rosberg to saunter alone to his grid spot, where he sits motionless for an extended period of time and his engine, clutch, tyre and brake temperatures go into overdrive, severely affecting his launch.
After being badly caught out by that trick at Suzuka last year, Rosberg responded by deliberately bunching up the pack to extreme levels at subsequent races in Russia and the United States—so much so that Vettel complained about the "ridiculous" pace of those parade laps, per Autosport (h/t Eurosport).
Perhaps it is because Rosberg has only rarely led a Mercedes front-row lockout since late 2015, or maybe Vettel and Co. have pressurised them into speeding up during drivers' briefings. Yet that awareness—that determination to watch and counteract every move made by Hamilton—has been absent in recent weeks.
But with 2016 arguably his last chance to win the world championship, Rosberg can no longer afford such lapses in concentration or to pander to the demands of his fellow competitors on the relatively rare occasions he starts from pole.
The good news, at least, is that Rosberg won't need to frantically check his rear-view mirrors during at least one of the remaining nine formation laps, for Hamilton's early-season reliability problems are set to come back to haunt him.
Per Sky Sports' James Galloway, the three-time world champion will almost certainly incur a grid-place penalty for exceeding engine-component usage restrictions, with a "double-hit" punishment leaving him starting at the rear of the field in either Belgium or Italy.
HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY - JULY 30: Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP in the garage during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Germany at Hockenheimring on July 30, 2016 in Hockenheim, Germany. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Whenever Mercedes and Hamilton eventually elect to pay the penalty, all Rosberg can do is remain professional—take the pole, take the win, take the 25 points, protect and preserve his own car—and then hope and pray.
Hope and pray that Hamilton, as he did in China, stumbles into someone else's accident as he makes his way through the pack. Hope and pray that those engine gremlins reappear, forcing him to retire from a race and leaving him staring at the prospect of another power-unit penalty.
Hope and pray that the world champion becomes his worst enemy and receives a third reprimand of the season and, with it, an additional 10-place grid drop.
From a position of such control, the champion elect—the man who couldn't stop winning—has been reduced to hoping and praying the title will somehow fall into his lap.
We all whispered it at the time, but now we have confirmation: Rosberg's start to 2016 really was too good—far too good—to be true.
Will Nico Rosberg's Aggression Cost Him the 2016 F1 World Championship?
Jul 31, 2016
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg of Germany steers his car during the German Formula One Grand Prix in Hockenheim, Germany, Sunday, July 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)
Everything was falling into place for Nico Rosberg to end Lewis Hamilton's three-race winning streak at Sunday's German Grand Prix and reclaim the lead in the Formula One drivers' championship that he had lost to his Mercedes team-mate the week before in Hungary.
On Saturday, Rosberg qualified on pole (he won the German race from the front of the grid in 2014), but things started to go wrong as soon as the race began.
Hamilton and the two Red Bulls swamped Rosberg on the run to the Hockenheimring's quick first turn and Hamilton immediately began to pull away. It would only get worse for Rosberg.
On Lap 29, he made a clumsy, perhaps desperate, passing manoeuvre on Max Verstappen at the hairpin, forcing the Red Bull driver off the track. Rosberg gained the position, but received a five-second time penalty after the stewards reviewed the incident.
In the post-race press conference, Verstappen said, "He braked really late and at one point I thought he was going to run into me, so I opened up and then he didn't turn in. He was just driving straight so I had to go off the track otherwise we would have crashed."
Rosberg, meanwhile, said the penalty cost him a podium finish, per the official F1 website. "Without the penalty I was in front of the Red Bulls; with the penalty I couldn’t challenge them. [Finishing fourth] was down to the penalty," he explained.
"Without the penalty, I was in front of the Red Bulls"
Poor starts have been an ongoing problem for Mercedes since last season. Running rival drivers off the circuit is a more recent problem for Rosberg.
His mistake in Germany was very similar to his last-lap crash with Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix at the beginning of July, when he also turned extremely late in a tight corner. Rosberg was penalised by the stewards for that incident, too.
More worryingly for Rosberg than time penalties, though, are the championship points he has lost as a result of his ham-handed cornering.
Had Rosberg finished second (instead of fourth) in both Austria and Germany, his gap to Hamilton would be just seven points instead of 19, as it currently stands.
Rosberg was understandably disappointed with the penalty in Germany.
"It took me by surprise, definitely," he said, according to Autosport's Edd Straw and Ian Parkes. "I didn't expect a penalty for that.
"It was racing. I was really ecstatic at the time because I thought 'wow, that was awesome, I came from miles behind'."
However, Sebastian Vettel received the same penalty for forcing Felipe Massa wide in a very similar incident at the British Grand Prix. Given that precedent, Rosberg's penalty was certainly fair, despite Sky Sports' Anthony Davidson's contention that different driver stewards at each race make for inconsistent rulings.
Over the last two years, Rosberg has been criticised for being too soft in head-to-head battles. He has often lost out to Hamilton, in particular at last year's U.S. Grand Prix, for example, or earlier this year in Canada.
We should not be too harsh, therefore, when he does make an aggressive move. However, if Rosberg wants those moves to propel him to his first drivers' title, as he surely does, he needs to start making them cleanly.
If the season remains as close as it has been, the 12 points Rosberg lost in Austria and Germany could decide the championship.
Hamilton has been the more assertive of the two Mercedes drivers in their battles over the last two-and-a-half seasons, but he has managed to do it without incurring the wrath of the stewards. Perhaps that is because many of his aggressive manoeuvres—such as the aforementioned ones in the U.S. and Canada—occurred on the first lap, when the close bunching of the cars means the stewards are more lenient.
Had Rosberg been more offensive at the first corner in Germany, he may not have had to pass Verstappen at all later in the race. Instead, he looked tentative and then overcompensated for it later.
Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff thought Rosberg losing out on Lap 1 may have affected his mindset and contributed to the incident with Verstappen, telling Sky Sports' Simon Lazenby and Damon Hill that Rosberg was caught in a "downward spiral."
Luckily for Rosberg, he now has a full month to rest and get his mind in the right place before the Belgian Grand Prix on August 28.
There are nine races remaining in the season—more than enough time to make up the 19-point gap to Hamilton. But in the last eight races, he has just one victory, which is also the only time he has finished ahead of Hamilton. In fact, since the end of Rosberg's season-opening four-race winning streak, Hamilton has outscored his team-mate 160 to 98.
Rosberg will need his newfound aggression if he is to slow down Hamilton's momentum, but he must also be clean. He has to be able to overtake when the opportunity is there but patient enough to hold back when it isn't.
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and The Globe and Mail. Follow him on Twitter:
Is Lewis Hamilton's Hungarian Grand Prix Victory His Most Dominant of 2016?
Jul 24, 2016
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JULY 24: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO7 Mercedes PU106C Hybrid turbo on track during the Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary at Hungaroring on July 24, 2016 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
Like Sasquatch or Kimi Raikkonen's smile, the so-called "hot hand" may or may not exist.
One thing we can be certain of, though, following Lewis Hamilton's victory in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, is that if the hot hand does exist, the British driver currently has it.
Hamilton's win at the Hungaroring, northeast of Budapest, was his fifth in the last six Formula One races. More importantly, the 25 points he scored pushed him past his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, and into first place in the drivers' championship.
Hamilton won the world championship in 2014 and 2015, but this is his first time at the top of the table this year. In 2014, he also got off to a slow start and spent much of the season trying to catch Rosberg. This year, Rosberg's lead was 43 points after the Russian Grand Prix in May—now that is all gone.
Back in 2014, after a collision with Rosberg ended Hamilton's Belgian Grand Prix (and left him 29 points adrift in the championship), he won six of the final seven races to lock up the title.
After a variety of struggles earlier this year, Hamilton is in the midst of a similar streak. This time, the turning point looks to have been the Spanish Grand Prix, where Hamilton took both himself and Rosberg out on the opening lap.
Yes, he made a mistake in qualifying at the European Grand Prix, but the defending champ was flawless in Canada, Great Britain and Hungary. When he has confidence in himself and his car, Hamilton is nearly unbeatable.
Such is his self-possession that, in Hungary, he controlled the gap to Rosberg like a boxer with a 10-inch reach advantage, using his long arms to keep his opponent at bay.
"This is a race where, because it's so hot here, you don't need to do more," Hamilton explained on the Sky Sports broadcast. "You don't need the five-second, 10-second gap. I need to just do what I had to do, even if I win by a tenth of a second. So I was just managing that gap at two seconds, two-and-a-bit seconds and even if he got 1.8, 1.5, it doesn't matter."
Asked how in control he felt throughout the afternoon, Hamilton answered, "100 percent. There was never a moment that I felt that I was going to lose it."
Two parts of the race illustrate that control perfectly.
The first was the start. Hamilton lined up second on the grid after Rosberg's questionable pole lap under double-yellow flags on Saturday. By the exit of the first corner, Hamilton was alone in the lead, while Rosberg was struggling to fight off the two Red Bulls.
"I lost the win into Turn 1, which was really disappointing," Rosberg told Sky Sports.
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 24, 2016
When they crossed the start/finish line at the end of the first lap, Hamilton already had a 1.076-second advantage. From there, he just kept jabbing with that long reach, almost toying with Rosberg, pushing him back if he got too close.
The second illustration of Hamilton's control came near the end of the race. When the Mercedes duo began Lap 52, Hamilton was 1.768 seconds ahead and was already being held up by Haas' Esteban Gutierrez, who later received a penalty for ignoring the blue flags telling him to get out of the way, as he was a lap down on the leaders.
After spending the lap behind Gutierrez, Hamilton's lead was down to 0.619 seconds. Both Silver Arrows passed the Haas on the pit straight at the start of Lap 53 (with Hamilton giving the Mexican a well-deserved middle-finger salute on his way by).
As they entered Turn 1, the on-screen timing showed the gap was reduced to just 0.474 seconds and Rosberg was not much more than one car length behind his team-mate.
Freed of Gutierrez, though, Hamilton built his lead back to nearly a second (crucial for denying Rosberg the use of his drag reduction system) by the exit of Turn 2. At the end of Lap 53, it was back to 1.208 seconds.
Despite driving identical cars, Rosberg just could not match Hamilton's speed when it mattered.
"There was just so much pace in Lewis' driving that, once he put the feet to the floor, he was just gone," Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff told the Sky Sports crew after the race.
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team's British driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates his victory at the Hungaroring circuit in Budapest on July 24, 2016 after the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix. / AFP / ATTILA KISBENEDEK (Photo credit should read ATTILA KI
Rosberg is a good driver. His ability to push Hamilton and, at times, beat him confirms that. But Hamilton is great—maybe one of the greatest ever.
In their three-and-a-half seasons as F1 team-mates, Hamilton has 27 wins to Rosberg's 18. More crucially, though, he has two world championships (plus a third with McLaren). Rosberg has none.
At the post-race press conference in Hungary, Rosberg said, "It’s been a good season so far up to now, it’s been a good battle with Lewis and as I’ve always said, I’m not counting the points, there’s still a long long way to go."
He may not be counting points, but everyone else is, and Hamilton is now ahead by six. The new championship leader is facing engine penalties in the near future, but even that may not be enough to tilt the balance back in Rosberg's favour.
Matthew Walthert is an F1 columnist for Bleacher Report UK. He has also written for VICE, FourFourTwo and The Globe and Mail. Follow him on Twitter:
