2014 Formula One Season

[Ryan]

The official start of the F1 season is almost here but the final pre-season test in Bahrain has been so significant that I thought it was worth a discussion.

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 33.283secs 174 laps (4)
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 34.263secs 141 laps (3)
3. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes 1min 34.910secs 127 laps (2)
4. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1min 34.957secs 169 laps (4)
5. Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 1min 36.445secs 137 laps (2)
6. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 36.516secs 160 laps (2)
7. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 36.718secs 125 laps (4)
8. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.066secs 65 laps (3)
9. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1min 37.180secs 151 laps (3)
10. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.328secs 171 laps (2)
11. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 1min 37.367secs 76 laps (3)
12. Felipe Nasr Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1min 37.569secs 87 laps (4)
13. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Lotus-Renault 1min 38.707secs 85 laps (4)
14. Daniil Kvyat Russia STR-Renault 1min 38.974secs 62 laps (3)
15. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 1min 39.837secs 43 laps (4)
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault 1min 39.855secs 83 laps (2)
17. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1min 40.224secs 73 laps (1)
18. Adrian Sutil German Sauber-Ferrari 1min 40.443secs 89 laps (1)
19. Jean-Eric Vergne Russia STR-Renault 1min 40.472secs 77 laps (4)
20. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 1min 41.670secs 26 laps (2)
21. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 1min 42.130secs 102 laps (3)
22. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 1min 42.511secs 21 laps (2)
23. Robin Frijns Netherlands Caterham-Renault 1min 42.534secs 68 laps (1)
24. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari No time 6 laps

[(Number in brackets) denotes day quickest time set]

Comparative laps times - Bahrain Grand Prix 2013:

Pole position:
Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1min 32.330secs

Fastest (race) lap:
Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1min 36.961secs


Combined lap counts – Driver:

1. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 174 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Mercedes 171 laps
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 169 laps
4. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 160 laps
5. Esteban Gutierrez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 151 laps
6. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes-Mercedes 141 laps
7. Nico Hulkenberg German Force India-Mercedes 137 laps
8. Kevin Magnussen Denmark McLaren-Mercedes 127 laps
9. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari-Ferrari 125 laps
10. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Caterham-Renault 102 laps
11. Adrian Sutil German Sauber-Ferrari 89 laps
12. Felipe Nasr Brazil Williams-Mercedes 87 laps
13. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Lotus-Renault 85 laps
14. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Caterham-Renault 83 laps
15. Jean-Eric Vergne Russia STR-Renault 77 laps
16. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 76 laps
17. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 73 laps
18. Robin Frijns Netherlands Caterham-Renault 68 laps
19. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 65 laps
20. Daniil Kvyat Russia STR-Renault 62 laps
21. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Red Bull-Renault 43 laps
22. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 26 laps
23. Max Chilton Britain Marussia-Ferrari 21 laps
24. Jules Bianchi France Marussia-Ferrari 6 laps


Combined lap counts – Team:

1. Williams 323 laps
2. Mercedes 315 laps
3. McLaren 296 laps
4. Ferrari 285 laps
5. Caterham 253 laps
6. Sauber 240 laps
7. Force India 213 laps
8. Toro Rosso 139 laps
9. Red Bull Racing 116 laps
10. Lotus 111 laps
11. Marussia 27 laps


Combined lap counts – Engine:

1. Mercedes 1147 (286.75 laps per team average)
3. Renault 619 (154.75 laps per team average)
2. Ferrari 552 (184 laps per team average)

Who the hell saw this coming? Cars running with Mercedes engines aren't just doing well, they're dominating. Granted Ferrari is running well so far too but the teams running Renault must be kicking themselves right now and those who just switched *cough*Williams*cough* must be celebrating. I can't even believe the trouble Renault is having this year given their bulletproof reliability in the past. They're pretty much F1's pre-eminent engine constructor (how many titles have been won by teams running Renault engines? 10-15, including the last four), at least until Honda returns, and this year Renault powered cars can barely complete a lap. I think it's safe to say we're gonna see a new champion crowned this year and I think it might be a serious wild card. Mercedes is running great times and Mercedes powered cars round out the top five so I'm definitely excited to see some serious competition this year. I think that even though Mercedes is running strong now Ferrari has too strong a team to discount and I really hope to see Kimi competitive this year. Should be a good year of racing.

#DateRaceWinner/Time (*)
1
Mar 16
Australian Grand Prix
2:00 AM
2
Mar 30
Malaysia Grand Prix
4:00 AM
3
Apr 6
Bahrain Grand Prix
11:00 AM
4
Apr 20
Chinese Grand Prix
3:00 AM
5
May 11
Spanish Grand Prix
8:00 AM
6
May 25
Monaco Grand Prix
8:00 AM
7
Jun 8
Canadian Grand Prix
2:00 PM
8
Jun 22
Austrian Grand Prix
8:00 AM
9
Jul 6
British Grand Prix
8:00 AM
10
Jul 20
German Grand Prix
8:00 AM
11
Jul 27
Hungarian Grand Prix
8:00 AM
12
Aug 24
Belgian Grand Prix
8:00 AM
13
Sep 7
Italian Grand Prix
8:00 AM
14
Sep 21
Singapore Grand Prix
8:00 AM
15
Oct 5
Japanese Grand Prix
2:00 AM
16
Oct 12
Russian Grand Prix
7:00 AM
17
Nov 2
United States Grand Prix
3:00 PM
18
Nov 9
Brazilian Grand Prix
11:00 AM
19
Nov 23
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
8:00 AM
*All times are in ET