F1 British GP: Friday roundup

With an upgraded Mercedes W06 Hybrid at his disposal, Nico Rosberg topped the first two practice sessions of the F1 British Grand Prix on Friday, setting a time of 1:34.155 at the legendary Silverstone Circuit.

In stark contrast, championship leader and defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton ended fourth in FP2, claiming he could not ‘‘go any faster’’ in a car that was‘’all over the place.’’ The British driver would be hoping for some favourable set up changes overnight to appease his home fans in qualifying.

Ferrari, as expected, remained as Mercedes’ closest challenger, with Kimi Raikkonen the faster of the Scuderia drivers at both occasions.

FANS WEIGH IN ON F1
The Finn was quoted as the most popular driver in a mass fan survey conducted by the Grand Prix Drivers Association(GPDA).

The findings of the survey revealed that fans are not in favour of gimmicks such as reverse grid or customer cars, having already shown disapproval for DRS and the stillborn idea of standing restarts. However, there was strong support for a return of tyre war. The return of refuelling was also supported by fans 80 percent of the fans who responded to the survey, however its return has been all but abandoned amid the latest measures taken by the F1 Strategy Group in discussion with the FIA and FOM too.

Back to the on-track action, Red Bull enjoyed a successful day at Silverstone, with drivers Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo fifth and sixth fastest respectively in the afternoon session. The latter believes the British Grand Prix will serve as a watershed race for Red Bull, with upgrades to the car and the track configuration, both working in favour of the energy drinks brand.

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr ensured all four Red Bull-owned cars featured in the top 10, as Toro Rosso carried forward the upgrade package they first introduced in Austria a fortnight ago.

Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez, meanwhile, were eighth and 13th quickest respectively for Force India at a track where the ‘Indian team’ finally introduced its much-delayed ‘B-Spec’ car. Although Force India has full belief in the potential of the upgrade, the team is keeping the expectations low for this weekend as its get to grips with the new package.

Williams kept their real pace under cover on Friday, as seen so often since their resurgence, and are likely to feature in the top five come Sunday. Lotus, another Mercedes-powered team, failed to feature in the top 10.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso outpaced both Sauber drivers en route to 15th place in FP2, with Jenson Button trailing by half-a-second in 17th place. Both drives get the upgraded chassis at team’s venue, although that is likely to be insignificant, given the power deficit of the Honda engine.

STRATEGISING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF F1
Coming into the weekend, F1’s decision making body, the Strategy Group, met at Biggin Hills to further discuss the future direction of the sport, the outline for which had already been laid in a previous meeting earlier this year.

Some new proposals were also put to table, including a clamp down on driver aids from this year’s Belgian Grand Prix, with special emphasis on race starts.

A comprehensive overhaul of power unit related penalties has also been agreed with the proposals sent to the F1 Commission. Although such penalties were never well received by the fans, the situation boiled over in Austria when McLaren’s Jenson Button received a 25 place penalty, in a grid comprising of 20 drivers.

Among other changes, a comprehensive overhaul of grand prix weekend format is being discussed, however, no details have been revealed as of yet.

Finally, all new engine manufacturers will get a free fifth engine during their first season, a change that applies retroactively to Honda. This news will be welcomed by potential manufacturers aiming to enter grand prix racing, particularly Audi/VW Group.