F1Minute - Bitesize Formula One News

For the second race in a row, qualifying did not go defending champion Lewis Hamilton’s way. The Brit made his way into Q3 but couldn’t participate due to the same engine problem that caught him out in China. That left Nico Rosberg untroubled in his quest for pole position, the German finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari. Vettel’s five place grid drop, however, means that it will be Valtteri Bottas, who completed an impressive lap for Williams, who lines up on the front row of the grid tomorrow.

Sebastian Vettel has had a difficult start to his Russian race weekend, enduring a curtailed practice session after his Ferrari stopped out on track, and now picking up a five place grid penalty before qualifying has even begun. Ferrari decided to change the gearbox on Vettel’s car after finding damage that is reportedly left over from the German’s first lap collision with his teammate in China.

After Formula One bosses tried and failed to come to an agreement about engines, the F1 Commission finally got the teams to come together and submit a proposal for 2017’s power unit regulations. The WMSC have ratified the proposed changes, with the FIA saying: “The global agreement on power units covers four key areas relating to the cost and supply price, obligation to supply, performance convergence and the sound of the power units.”

Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver in first practice for the Russian Grand Prix, as he and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton duked it out for the top spot in those initial ninety minutes. Vettel and Räikkönen were close behind with Felipe Massa fourth fastest, despite having a short session due to a clutch problem.

Daniel Ricciardo debuted the cockpit protection design from Red Bull during the first practice session in Russia, completing just one installation lap to give the canopy its first run. Red Bull’s design is simply like a windscreen and as you might imagine, the visibility was relatively good.

Ex-team principal of the Manor Marussia squad John Booth has been hired by Toro Rosso as a consultant, with the official title of Director of Racing. Booth left Manor behind at the same time as Graeme Lowdon, both departing under something of a shadow after disagreeing with the new bosses there.

There’s been a storm brewing between the FIA and Pirelli recently, regarding the tyres for next season. The new tyres are significantly different as they are wider and according to Pirelli have “a much larger thermal zone.” The Italian supplier wanted to increase the amount of in-season testing specific to the tyres during 2016 so they’d be ready for the new year.

The Chinese Grand Prix was end to end action, with Daniel Ricciardo getting into the lead off the line but falling back behind polesitter Nico Rosberg after picking up a puncture. The safety car was called moments later to clear up some debris after first lap crashes.

A dramatic qualifying session ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix saw mixed fortunes for the Mercedes team. Lewis Hamilton suffered an engine problem that meant he couldn’t set a time in the first session, but he was joined by Pascal Wehrlein who also didn’t complete Q1 after knocking his Manor car against the barriers.

The first practice session in Shanghai was a stop-start affair, with two red flags during the ninety minutes of running. The first came after Felipe Massa’s rear left tyre punctured, and tipped his Williams into a spin through the gravel. After recovering to the pit lane, Massa headed out again and the exact same issue happened a second time – the team realising they’d made an error somewhere and patching him up for some flawless running in the afternoon.