Formula 1

There have been too many talks about possible cancellation of the Russian Formula 1 Grand Prix lately. Breathe out, ladies and gentlemen! Sergey Vorobyev, the promoter of the race, made his opinion known — everything runs to plan, there are no force-majeure conditions. And definitely no cancellations.

A contract has been agreed with Bernie Ecclestone to hold Formula 1 Grand Prix in Azerbaijan. It was reported by the country’s Minister of youth and sports Azad Ragimov. This event has not come as a surprise as the F1 boss does not usually use words lightly and he had already given a few hints about Baku earlier.

Is stability a sign of skill or luck? Lewis Hamilton was first again in the fourth Grand Prix of the 2014 Formula 1 season. Daniil Kvyat scored points and took 10th position. However, miracles still do happen to the ‘Queen of Motorsports’. This time the chequered flag was waved too early. Why did it happen? The race was too stressful or was it just a sudden hand move? We will figure it out…

For those who miss the good old Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone decided to create a racing series with “that very” race cars and drivers. It does sound strange, as if they had announced that dinosaurs would be walking in the streets.

It was suspected that after the shutdown of Marussia Motors the similarly-named Formula 1 team could change its name. However, everything remains the same. In spite of the fact that right now the team is taking the penultimate position in Constructors' Championship, Tracy Novak, PR & Communications Director at Marussia F1 Team, stated that the racing team is not economically dependent on the Russian carmaker.

Each Grand Prix brings new changes in Formula 1. Scuderia Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali shouldered the blame for Ferrari’s poor performance and resigned. Domenicali joined the team in 1991 and became its principal in 2007.

Discussion of sound amplification of the Formula 1 engines will be held during the Chinese Grand Prix. All three engine makers — Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari — will be present. Debates around the sound of race cars do not seem to subside. “If the Formula 1 fans don’t like the current sound, we should find a way to change it”, said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff. “But on the other hand, it does not mean we need to turn everything upside down and rewrite the rules again”.

The race in the lights of Bahrain turned out to be really beautiful not only because the venue looked fantastic but also because of true racing competition which unfolded on the track. At last the pilots remembered that they are not taxi drivers but sportsmen who have to use the tools they are equipped with and need to unlock their full potential. And that was a really keen struggle. The Mercedes Team won the Bahrain Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton scored his second victory after the Malaysian Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg was second and Sergio Pérez came third.

In spite of disastrous rain during the qualifying and the temperature of asphalt rising to 46°C on the start of the main event Lewis Hamilton clinched the Malaysian Grand Prix title and the Russian driver Daniil Kvyat was able to score points rounding out the top 10.

Renault and Caterham have dropped plans for cooperation. It was reported by Autocar; however, there is no official word from the manufacturers yet. If the information proves true, the companies will produce two independent cars in 2016 instead of one joint sports car.

Without specifying the reasons, Oleg Zabara quit the post of the promoter of the Formula 1 race in Sochi. Sergey Vorobyov (in the center of the photo) came to office and from now on he is the acting deputy CEO at the OJSC Centre Omega and is responsible for organising and conducting the Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix.

Nikolay Martsenko started his collaboration with the Red Bull Racing team. It’s not a ticket to Formula 1 yet, it just helps the pilot to make more serious preparations for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series.

Who could have thought that the quite engines of F1 race cars might become the headache of Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. He received a lot of complaints after the first Grand Prix held in Australia regarding the changes in the sound of motors, which have become much quieter.

The new season has officially begun. Long weeks were dragging on and on while the teams were getting ready for the first race — the Australian Grand Prix held on the Melbourne track. Nico Rosberg, the F1 pilot for the Mercedes team, won the season-opening Grand Prix, while the Russian pilot Daniil Kvyat, who had his first appearance in the world racing series, was nineth. But first things first.

Michael Schumacher’s press secretary reported that the former Formula 1 driver is getting better. He is being brought out of his artificial coma he had been put into after an urgent operation which was conducted as a result of a serious head injury received in a skiing accident which happened in France on December 29, 2013. And finally, Sabine Kehm, the representative of the famous racing pilot, reported to the Independent magazine that doctors started slowly reducing the level of sedation which has been keeping him in the induced coma. However, as it was stated by Sabine, this process might take a lot of time. Apart from that, she mentioned that Schumacher started showing encouraging signs of improvement.

Formula 1 President Bernie Ecclestone said that Azerbaijan might host F1 grand prix in 2015. No further detail was given: “We need to wait and see if we can hold the race next year”. If Bernie does make up his mind, the race will be held in the city.

One of the Formula 1 chiefs, Bernie Ecclestone, suggests the Russian Grand Prix to be held at night. He thinks the illumination of the Olympic objects is powerful enough for the race to be held during the hours of darkness with only minor modifications required. Till 2014 the only floodlit race in Formula 1 was the Singapore Grand Prix (on the picture). This city track has a specially designed lighting system which neither blinds the pilots nor produces any flares or shadows during TV broadcasting and camera work.

Sauber, the Austrian Formula 1 team, keeps bringing surprises for the 2014 season. It all started after signing a contract with the Russian racing driver Sergey Sirotkin. And now here comes another remarkable event. The team signed a contract with the former IndyCar female racing driver Simona de Silvestro. Officially, Simona was announced as an “affiliated driver”. According to Sauber, its major task is preparing her for a race seat in Formula 1 in 2015.

The Japanese automaker Honda will become the new sponsor of the racing team. The auto giant will invest €100million into the Formula 1 McLaren team annually. This amount includes free engines, 50% of the drivers’ salaries and €50million of direct sponsorship cash. Honda engines will be used by McLaren starting from 2015. But the cash had already begun flowing in this season.

Quite recently the raceway at Jerez in Spain hosted the first tests of the new Formula 1 cars prepared according to the new technical regulations. It brought a lot of new impressions to the pilots and teams. One of such impressions, as mentioned by the majority of pilots, was that 6-cylinder turbocharged engines lack speed and the cars are now more difficult to handle. The measurements performed during the tests did prove that the new race cars lost some speed in cornering.

Bernie Ecclestone, who has been in command over the royal races for almost 30 years, leaves his position as the head of F1. But he will still be in charge of the sports section. The reason of such decision is that Ecclestone will face a court hearing in Munich. He is claimed to bribe a German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky in 2006 when selling Formula 1 commercial rights.