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Formula 1 After Jules Bianchi’s Crash

Formula 1 is a dangerous sport and it has never been more evident after the accident that befell Jules Bianchi at the Suzuka Circuit during the Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi’s car crashed into a recovery vehicle that had taken the track to get to the Sauber driven by Adrian Sutil that lost its rear due to an earlier crash. He has undergone surgery for the head injury that he sustained from the aforementioned incident. The Marussia F1 Team has yet to issue a definitive statement regarding Bianchi’s status and has called for patience with regard to their driver’s medical updates. The accident is not the first (and probably not the last) accident in the history of Formula 1.

The Accident at the Suzuka Circuit

There has been some controversy on whether it was prudent to start the race considering the weather conditions at that time on the Suzuka Circuit. Regardless of the weather, the race did proceed as scheduled with a safety car leading the way. However, after just two laps the race was red flagged and restarted. Much like the first time, a safety car led the way for the drivers on the re-start. Prior to Bianchi’s accident in the 43^rd lap, Adrian Sutil crashed his Sauber which prompted race officials to send a recovery car. It was during the 44^th lap that Bianchi’s Marussia crashed onto the recovery vehicle which then rendered him unconscious.

History of Accidents

Though there has been a drop in fatalities since Ayrton Senna’s demise at the San Marino Grand Prix, accidents still do happen. This is to be expected since Formula is the fastest motorsport in the world after all. Even with technological advances that have made the sport safer, the probability of accidents is still high. With cars frequently reaching speeds of 220 mph, Jules Bianchi is lucky to still be alive right now. Others have been less fortunate. It was just recently that businessman/Formula 1 racing enthusiast Denis Welch got killed in the Silverstone Classic while driving a 1960 Lotus 18.

Bianchi’s Status

Bianchi is currently in intensive care after undergoing surgery for what the FIA termed as a “severe head injury”. Whether Bianchi can still race after this incident is still up in the air but other drivers have already expressed their support for him. The podium celebration to announce the winners was visibly subdued. Lewis Hamilton also noted that the result of the race was insignificant compared to the accident that befell their fellow driver.

What’s Next for Marussia’s Formula 1 Team?

The next leg of the Formula One season will be held at Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia. The Russian Grand Prix will be held for the first time in a hundred years after being abandoned due to Russian Civil War and World War I. The loss of Jules Bianchi is a big blow for Russian-owned Marussia who now has to rely on Max Chilton and either Alexander Rossi or Will Stevens. Earlier in the season Bianchi had scored the team’s first points when he finished ninth at the Monaco Grand Prix. We’ve yet to know whether Marussia can recover from the loss of their fastest driver. As for the FIA, there are still numerous questions that need to be answered regarding the incident which hopefully will be the last for this season.

In the meantime everyone is concerned for the young driver and at this time all we can do is pray the young F1 driver will make a speedy recovery.

Daniel Ricciardo the new face of RedBull Racing

Daniel Ricciardo was initial a surprise signing by RedBull then they had a chance to sign Kimi Raikkonen but instead the team went with their young driver in Ricciardo. When he got a chance to test with the team before the season started, Daniel was significantly faster than Vettel and it showed that the kid had promise.

For the 2014 season Ricciardo has already made a name for himself winning a few races during a season where Mercedes are the clear cut fastest drivers, or rather have the fastest cars. Vettel is a 4 time champion and is struggling with the new V6 engines and is showing that maybe his time is behind him. He is showing he is an average driver but people don't pay you to be just average. So Ricciardo has cemented himself as the better driver than Vettel and it is up to him to win back the respect. That said it is safe to say that Ricciardo has earned the respect from everyone and he isn't a driver of the future, rather he is here now and ready to challenge for the most wins and to win a championship. 

Daniel Ricciardo is now the new face of F1 racing for Australians taking the lead from Mark Webber who had an excellent career.

If you believe Daniel Ricciardo is the real deal, find the latest odds and betting tips at F1-bettings where this season players have won good money picking Ricciardo for podium finishes and points finish. 

Sebastian Vettel triumphs once again in F1

Sebastian Vettel triumphs once again in F1 Sebastian Vettel is well on his way to become a legend of his own thanks to his recent fourth consecutive win at Sunday's 2013 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi. The German’s victory also means that the constructors' crown for Red Bull is secure. Vettel needed to finish at least in fifth place or higher to secure another drivers’ crown, but with an amazing display of precision and skill he managed to arrive at first, half a minute clear of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg who was second, with Lotus's Romain Grosjean in third place (an impressive feat, considering the fact that he started ). For gambling fans around the world , the race was full of unexpected events 17th which left millions spectators gasping for breath.

As expected, it was Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey who joined Vettel on the podium when he was handed the constructors’ trophy on behalf of the magnificent RB9 car he had designed. The only bad news for Red Bull was Mark Webber’s retirement from second place, clearing the path for Vettel, which was a surprising event in itself. Later in the race, the German racer was told on the 52nd lap to stop using his drinks bottle and not to engage KERS, as the team was quick to tell him not to take any more energy out of the car than necessary.

Ferrari’s own Fernando Alonso was out of luck this time around. Since he was the only racer around with firm odds of preventing Vettel from securing the title in India, once he was out, Vettel was unstoppable. Right from the beginning of the race, as Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen and Webber collided at the first corner, Alonso had trouble going forward. Once he collected the Red Bull, he ended up damaging his front wing, forcing him to pit for a replacement on the second lap. After this unfortunate event, the Ferrari could never recover properly and ended up with an 11th place finish.

However, some experts assure that even without Webber's many misfortunes in the race, Vettel would surely have won. He did not in fact, lead every lap, which he had previously done in two races here, but, he dominated once the time was right.

Formula 1 in 2013: Fastest cars

The 2013 season is underway for Formula 1 racing and there have been some changes from last year.

In the 2012 season RedBull won everything again but only by the smallest margins. Kimi Raikkonen had a strong season in his welcome back and Lewis Hamilton was really close to winning another title, closer than people have thought and if you take into consideration some accidents he had plus team f*ups then he might have been the 2012 World Drivers Champion.

Fernando Alonso almost won and he did this on a bad car that the team struggled with all season. That just shows how great of a driver he is. 

In 2013 one of the biggest changes is Lewis Hamilton drivers for team Mercedes, which is a team that has struggled in the past few years. With the move we now see McLaren struggling to score points and this also comes as the team launched a new car and are struggling to get the most out of it, similar to Ferrari last season. Lewis Hamilton is no doubt one of the best drivers in the sport so he is already helping Mercedes and McLaren are struggling with Button as the #1 guy with a young Sergio Perez struggling to show he is worthy of being their driver.

RedBulls are fast as expected and this isn't a surprise. Team Lotus are doing not bad and they seem to have a consistent yet fast car.

So the teams and drivers that will do the most in 2013?

Ferrari: Alonso & Massa
RedBull Racing: Vettel & Webber
Mercedes: Hamilton & Rosberg
Lotus: Raikkonen & Grosjean

The popular McLaren team most likely won't do better than these 4. That means your champion for the 2013 season is going to be either one of the big 4: Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel or Raikkonen.  

US Grand Prix 2012

The US Grand prix 2012 in Austin Texas could be the track of the year and why not.  The design of it is being well praised by many of the drivers and it appears to be a track designed first for the drivers which should keep the fans happy as well. 

McLaren driver Jenson Button has already stated that 'the track will be epic'. You can read more about what some of the drivers have to say about the new track and the return for F1 racing in the United States after a 5 year hiatus. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20272806

The odds are already out on which drivers will win the race and this is a really tough one to pick. Kimi Raikkonen won the last race and Vettel had a chance to win as well, actually Hamilton looked like he was going to win it so when you factor in the above. The drivers that could win the next race could be either McLaren, either RedBull, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. You can get the latest odds from f1-bettings.com for the US grand prix here:

http://f1-bettings.com/f1-news/united-states-prix-2012-betting-tips-odds/

This race could be won by whomever has the fastest car and as of late that has been normally the RedBulls.  If Vettel can pull off another pole position this might be his chance to try to secure more points against Fernando Alonso. 

There are many Formula 1 racing fans in the United States but they haven't had an F1 race in 5 years. Racing in American is different as they have many of their own leagues including Nascar and the IndyCar series is different but most racing fans around the world acknowledge F1 as the pinnacle of motorsport racing. 

F1 fans and F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone are hoping that Vettel doesn't win the title in the US grand prix so that the Brazilian Grand Prix still means something and gets the maximum ratings. What would setup the best Brazilian GP season finale is if Alonso wins the next grand prix while Vettel scores some points and evens the score to make it a competitive race. 

Will Sebastian Vettel join Fernando Alonso at Ferrari?

Two of the best drivers in the world almost seem destined to join the same team but will this actually happen and will it work out? 

Sebastian Vettel has won the last 2 world drivers championships while Alonso hasn't won a title in many years but is still considered a content for this season and is always a threat. 

So it was announced that Ferrari will sign Vettel in 2014 when his contract with RedBull perhaps will either expire or rather that Vettel will be given the chance to leave the team and pursue another one. Certainly Vettel could only drive for a few teams and that will only be top teams based on his history of winning and the fact that he is still relatively young in his career.

However it seems Fernando Alonso might not be happy with this and perhaps doesn't want Vettel as his teammate. This could jeopardize Alonso's status as the #1 driver for Ferrari and maybe he fears that Vettel might get preferential treatment as the main guy. Certainly both drivers classify as top drivers but will 2 work out well on the same team?

History Repeating ... in Formula 1

As history has shown, it hasn't worked out when the best drivers partner up on the same team. On paper it sounds like a great idea but the history has shown that this isn't the case and it seems to cause more problems for everyone, the team and the 2 drivers. So maybe Alonso is aware of this and wants a strong teammate but doesn't want someone that would beat him and have to compete against his teammate for a chance to win. 

Who knows if McLaren would be out of the running but they did sign Sergio Perez to be their new driver for 2013 but it is unknown if they would be willing to walk away from him after a single season. So far we have Mark Webber retiring most likely in 2014 and Felipe Massa was signed on for an extra year at Ferrari. Not to mention Michael Schumacher is retiring at the end of the 2012 season so things are certainly looking interesting for all the drivers.

Who knows, maybe Kimi Raikkonen still has more to offer as a driver and although his Lotus car has done well the whole season for reliability, he is a big name and certainly there is room for him at RedBull should Vettel decide to join one of the most historic teams in Formula 1 racing history.

 

Sergio Perez predictions 2012

Sergio Perez F1 driver is hot

2012 prediction: 6th place in drivers championship

After a stellar performance in the second round of the 2012 Formula One season, young Mexican driver Sergio Perez has made many sit up and take notice. When Perez scored his first second place finish at the 2012 Malaysian GP he confirmed that he is one of the hottest new drivers in F1. Throughout his fledgling career he has proven himself a consistent and talented driver and he may be set to truly break into the top flight of the sport.

Sergio's career, like those of many other F1 drivers, began in karting where he won no less than five championships. In 2004, at the age of 14, he found himself promoted to single-seater racing in the Skip Barber National Championship. A year later he found himself in Europe, racing in the Formula BMW ADAC series and making an immediate impact with podium finishes. Over the next few years he moved around various European championships, turning in impressive performances while he climbed his way up the ranks, finally earning recognition from the world of F1 in 2010.

With an impressive second place championship finish in GP2 in 2010, Perez was given a chance to test for BMW Sauber. His performance earned him a seat for the 2011 season and straight away he made an impact, finishing seventh in his first ever race. Due to technical problems with the car, however, he was stripped of the result and disqualified. Throughout the rest of the season Perez performed well, qualifying consistently at the back of the mid-field and usually gaining several positions by the end of the race. His best result was another seventh place and by the end of the season he was 16th overall with 14 points.

In 2012 he retained his drive at Sauber, and as a member of the Ferrari young drivers academy is poised to one day drive for the Ferrari team. Already this season he has impressed by coming from 22nd on the grid in Australia to finish 8th and coming from 9th in Malaysia to finish 2nd. It has taken him just two races in 2012 to earn 22 points and outscore his 2011 performance. If Sergio can continue to perform well it is very likely that before long that he will be behind the wheel of a Ferrari car, replacing Felipe Massa who has been disappointing so far this season.

Thanks to f1-bettings.com for the Sergio Perez sketch.

F1 2012 predictions: Hamilton will win drivers championship

Our prediction for the 2012 Formula 1 season is F1 driver Lewis Hamilton will win the drivers championship and block out Vettel from a 3-peat.

Why are we so confident that Hamilton will come to life this season and dethrone Seb Vettel? We have many reasons.

Hamilton overcomes troubles in 2011

Lewis was dating Nicole Scherzinger and they were breaking up and it seemed Lewis wanted her out of the picture to focus on work. He seemed to have done better towards the end of the season with her out of the picture. The irony is rumors are they are seen as back together but who knows if she will be a 'distraction' for the season. 

New car MP4-27

If you haven't seen the new car it looks good but truth is all F1 cars look good. Both drivers Button and Hamilton have said the new car is better this year and it should be more competitive to help them catch the leaders. If the drivers are that good then it will be more about skill and less about a car advantage.

No more Exhaust Blown Diffuser advantage for Vettel

Vettel is a great driver but his car was just too powerful and in 2011 the competition said they just don't have a car as fast as the Red Bull Racing one. The result was Vettel winning most of the pole positions, starting the race at the front and winning most of the races fairly handily. The advantage RBR had last year was the use of EBDs. This year they are banned and that means all the teams should have a similar car making it the most competitive season ever. Expect the last race of the season to determine the world champion for 2012. 

We think Vettel's dominance will end this season because not only is everyone wanting him to lose but Bernie Ecclestone says he would prefer to see the season be more competitive and Vettel's dominance to end. Another winner might make the ratings go through the roof.