2016 Spanish Grand Prix: Race Analysis

Grand Prix win in just 18 years and 228 days

Occasionally, sport will provide a storyline which defies belief. Max Verstappen has completed the impossible, writing his own fairytale by winning his first Grand Prix at the tender age of 18. He has not only broken Sebastian Vettel’s record as the youngest ever race winner, but managed it in his first race with Red Bull. There is not a superlative to do justice to the scale of the achievement.

It was, however, made possible by the latest drama in the Mercedes camp. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided on lap one, with both ending the race in the gravel trap at turn four, following decidedly aggressive maneuvers.

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Dissecting Mercedes’ extraordinary letter to fans

Ever since F1’s regulations were overhauled ahead of the 2014 F1 season, Mercedes have been the class of the field. A brace of Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles have been achieved in dominant fashion, with 701 and 703 points amassed by the team in 2014 and 2015 respectively. While 2016 has seen Nico Rosberg claim four victories from a possible four and Mercedes secure two one-two finishes, unreliability has hindered them, particularly on Lewis Hamilton’s side of the garage.

Following accusations that the team are deliberately favouring Rosberg this season, Mercedes have written an open letter to the fans looking to quell the speculation.

Image Credit: Chritiano Frigo (via Flickr) [CC-BY-NC-2.0]

2016 Russian Grand Prix: Race Analysis

Rosberg makes it a magnificent seven

Nico Rosberg is the man you want picking your lottery numbers at present. The German was once again imperious out in front, taking a dominant fourth win from four races in 2016. Yet again though, his chief rivals were heavily compromised, with Lewis Hamilton battling back to second after enduring yet more unreliability in qualifying, while Sebastian Vettel filled the swear box to the brim on lap one, as he was punted out of contention by none other than Daniil Kvyat.

Littered with spikes of drama, the Russian Grand Prix threw up plenty of talking points.

2016 Bahrain Grand Prix: Race Analysis

Rosberg capitalises on first lap chaos

With his fifth consecutive victory and second of the 2016 campaign, Nico Rosberg’s rich vein of form continued in Bahrain. Despite losing out to teammate and chief rival Lewis Hamilton on Saturday afternoon, Nico dominated Sunday’s race after the Briton was heavily compromised by another poor start, followed by contact with Valtteri Bottas at the turn one pressure point. Recovering to finish third, Mercedes’ inter-team battle currently sees Rosberg a substantial 17 points ahead having recorded the maximum so far.

2016 Australian Grand Prix Analysis

Rosberg capitalises on Ferrari’s strategic mistake

The 2016 F1 season is underway and some things never change. Mercedes achieved their second consecutive Australian Grand Prix one-two finish, while Sebastian Vettel occupied the final step of the podium for Ferrari. However, read only the final result at your peril, as this year’s season opener was a thriller. With Ferrari matching their pre-season performance and challenging Mercedes down to the wire, it is game on in 2016.

The start of Rosberg’s third title tilt

The first of 63 days of competitive on-track action this season was somewhat of a teaser. Limited running in Melbourne due to inclement conditions has meant that the pecking order remains a mystery for yet another day.

As such, it is still unclear whether Mercedes will have enough of an advantage over Ferrari in order for the 2016 title fight to be a third straight tussle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg – a duel in which the latter has emerged as second best in both 2014 and 2015. In short, if the W07 is the pre-eminent force of the 2016 field, Rosberg must win his maiden title this year.

Image Credit: Renan Katayama (via Flickr) [CC-BY-SA-2.0]

Five things we learnt on day one (test two)

The second and final pre-season test in Barcelona commenced today and it was a familiar face at the top of the timesheet. Nico Rosberg managed 82 laps this morning before handing driving duties over to his teammate, and sat on top spot throughout with impressive times on both the medium and soft compound Pirelli’s. For the first time this pre-season, Ferrari and Williams looked adrift of the Mercedes on pace.

Here are five things we learnt on the fifth day of winter testing.