2014 F1 NEWS

One is a four-time world champion and the other is the team’s newest recruit. Expectations for 2014 were high when Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo lined up on the grid for the very first time together as teammates. When Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s pre-season test program came to an end in Bahrain, it was a positive end to a difficult time for the team.

Ricciardo started the 2014 season as an unknown quantity, but with the way he’s been driving, don’t count out this future star. So far this year, the young Australian has been dominating the raceways. He has won three races with a stunning combination of speed and brave overtaking.

Having completed most of the season, although Ricciardo has been driving very well he may not have enough season left to catch the Mercedes drivers. Team Red Bull has been making strides overall in the standings as improvements to Vettel’s RB10 have given him a fighting chance to be at the front of the pack as he completes the season. There’s still the season-ending quirk this year of Formula One awarding double points to drivers in the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so anything can happen.

SEASON REPORT

It was a case of delight and then huge disappointment for Infiniti Red Bull at the Australian Grand Prix as home hero Ricciardo scored his first podium finish with a superb drive to second place, only for the result to be excluded by the FIA’s stewards hours after the race. Celebrations on the podium and in the grandstands quickly became muted as the news filtered through that the FIA was investigating a possible transgression regarding fuel flow. Ricciardo’s car was believed to have gone beyond the sport’s new call for fuel use of 100 kg/h during the race, and he was disqualified five hours after.

Vettel claimed his first podium finish of the season with a solid third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but Ricciardo’s hopes of finishing fourth in the race were dashed by a pit stop problem during what should have been his final visit of the afternoon to pit lane. Ricciardo came in for new tires on lap 40, but a problem meant he was released into the pit lane with his left front wheel not properly attached. He stopped and the crew wheeled him back to correct the issue. However, when he rejoined the race, his front wing suddenly failed and the broken pieces began to score a deep groove in his front right tire. He pitted again for repairs and then was handed a 10-second stop/go penalty by the steward for an unsafe release. He eventually retired from the race on lap 50, but that wasn’t the end of his woes. Following the race, he was also given a 10-place grid penalty for the following weekend’s Bahrain GP for the unsafe release.

Ricciardo delivered a superb drive in a thrilling Bahrain Grand Prix to claim fourth place from 13th on the grid. Meanwhile, Vettel battled past DRS and power issues to claim eight valuable points with sixth place.

The team moved into second place in the Formula One Constructors’ Championship as Ricciardo and Vettel finished in fourth and fifth places respectively at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Vettel was given a new chassis for the Spanish F1 Grand Prix. He used it to help carve his way through the field moving up from a 15th-place start and finishing fourth just behind teammate Ricciardo. The 26-year-old four-time champion showed his world-class driving skills when he steered by 11 rivals after starting way down the grid. His RB10 had suffered a faulty gear box in qualifying, and changing it out earned him a five-place penalty. Among the group of drivers Vettel managed to overtake were three former champions: Ferrari’s troubled twosome, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, along with Jenson Button of McLaren. With Mercedes winning by a large margin, Red Bull’s engine partner Renault has been playing catch-up with a power unit that has been less competitive than the dominant Mercedes.

Ricciardo recorded his second successive podium finish with a third place in Monaco while Vettel was cruelly denied a good result following a power unit problem that caused him to retire his RB10 in the early stages of the grand prix.

Ricciardo scored a sensational first win at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Australian fought his way past Force India’s Sergio Perez and the ailing Mercedes of Nico Rosberg to claim the first win of the season for Infiniti Red Bull Racing in a thrilling encounter in Montreal. As the race finale approached, a four-car train formed behind the faltering Mercedes of Rosberg, all determined to take a shot at victory. With Perez dealing with failing brakes, it was Ricciardo who made the decisive move. Despite being down on power in the straights to the Force India, he picked his spot expertly and in a bold overtaking move forced his way past through turn one. He then set about chasing down Rosberg and the German soon came into view. Ricciardo made his move on lap 68 and rushed past the Mercedes to assume the lead and march to victory.

Vettel suffered reliability issues and lack of performance from his power unit during the Austrian Grand Prix. Vettel was retired later in the race after he made contact with Esteban Gutierrez on lap 28. Ricciardo salvaged some pride by racing to eighth place at the Spielberg circuit to claim four points.

Ricciardo took a deserved fourth podium finish of the season at the British Grand Prix after switching to a onestop strategy. That allowed him to fend off pressure from rivals behind him and keep his final set of tires intact for 37 laps until the checkered flag. Vettel, meanwhile, finished fifth after an epic battle with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, which defined the last third of the race.

Vettel and Ricciardo both delivered thrilling performances in an action-packed German Grand Prix that saw Vettel finishing fourth and Ricciardo sixth.

Ricciardo took a thrilling second career win with a brilliant drive at the Hungarian Grand Prix that saw him pass both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso during the final four laps. Vettel, meanwhile, finished seventh after an early safety car period compromised his chances of capitalizing on a front-row start.

Ricciardo was superb at Spa-Francorchamps to take the team’s 50th grand prix win. In doing so, he became the first Australian since Jack Brabham in 1960 to win the Belgian Grand Prix. Vettel fought his way to fifth place, winning another titanic battle in the closing stages as he passed McLaren’s Jenson Button, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and the second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen in the final three laps. Ricciardo’s calm and controlled third career F1 win left him with 156 points, just 35 points behind championship contender Hamilton. Rosberg, meanwhile, moved to 220 points as the championship headed toward Monza.

At Autodromo di Monza, Vettel said that despite qualifying behind Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso for the Italian GP, he felt sure that the RB10 would have better pace than either McLaren or Ferrari.

The champion and his teammate Ricciardo delivered on that promise. Ricciardo put in another fine performance charging through the pack to secure a fifth place finish and Vettel took sixth, crossing the finish line ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez, McLaren’s Jenson Button and the sole finishing Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

The race was won by Lewis Hamilton while the 2014 championship leader Nico Rosberg took second. The final podium position went to Williams’ Felipe Massa, the Brazilian’s first podium finish since the Spanish GP last year.

Lewis Hamilton, starting from the pole, secured a victory in Singapore. Behind Hamilton, Vettel who led the race for a time scored his best result of the season so far with second place at the Singapore Grand Prix while Ricciardo took his seventh podium finish of the season with third place after a hard fought race around the Marina Bay Street Circuit. For Vettel, it was his fifth consecutive podium finish at Singapore. Behind Vettel and Ricciardo, Alonso finished fourth and Massa finished fifth. Jean-Eric Vergne, who drove a great race for Toro Rosso, rose from eleventh to sixth in the last nine laps, passing three cars in the final few laps.

Hamilton’s win, and his teammate Nico Rosberg’s retirement due to technical issues, vaulted him into the lead for the second time this season for the 2014 FIA Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship. Infiniti Red Bull Racing scored the most points of any team at Singapore, which gives them a huge boost as the championship race begins to really heat up.

3/16 Australian Grand Prix

3/30 Malaysia Grand Prix

4/6 Bahrain Grand Prix

4/20 Chinese Grand Prix

5/11 Spanish Grand Prix

5/25 Monaco Grand Prix

6/8 Canadian Grand Prix

6/22 Austrian Grand Prix

7/6 British Grand Prix

7/20 German Grand Prix

7/27 Hungarian Grand Prix

8/24 Belgian Grand Prix

9/7 Italian Grand Prix

9/21 Singapore Grand Prix

10/5 Japanese Grand Prix

10/12 Russian Grand Prix

11/2 United States Grand Prix

11/9 Brazilian Grand Prix

11/23 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix