What's happening this weekend?

I'm glad you asked!

With no F1 action the main focus this weekend is on the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship where Sahara Force India reserve driver Jules Bianchi competes.

Jules is one of the favourites for the title but he had a dismal opening weekend in Spain, scoring no points. However he got his title quest back on track during round two at Monaco, picking up 18points for 2nd place. Round three is held this weekend at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium. There are two races as part of round three, one on the 2nd and one on the 3rd. Of course the aim for Jules will be at least one race win, it would be his first of the season!

 (Jules sitting in his Formula Renault 3.5 car, click to enlarge)

The only other action this weekend from our point of view is in the Indy Lights championship where Armaan Ebrahim will be taking part in round five of his rookie season. The Indian driver will be racing at the temporary Belle Isle street circuit in Detroit, Michigan. Armaan currently sits 11th in the championship, but due to the high-scoring nature of the series; his result this weekend could see him move upto 5th, or down to 15th - it's still all to play for!

(Armaan on track in his Indy Lights car, click to enlarge)

Monaco GP, Monte Carlo- 6 from 6, will there be 7?

Now we have 6 different winners from 6 races and this has gone down in the history books. When did it happen last time? NEVER. Such has been the season really but it’s all good, enough of one team/driver domination. The race in Monaco was not very exciting as we have seen in the previous 5 races but it was definitely a close one as top 6 drivers finished within 6 seconds. The winner this time was Mark Webber with Nico Rosberg at P2 and Fernando Alonso at P3.

The detailed review of the weekend is down here:

Practice Sessions, FP1:

Thursday start to this weekend as normally happens in Monaco. It was bright sunny morning in Monte Carlo for FP1 as teams took to the track to assess the supersoft & soft tyres around the track. It was the debut of SS tyres in the season but it was soft tyres used mostly in the morning session. Alonso ended at P1 at the end of the session with Gorsjean at P2 and Perez at P3. The SFI duo took the circuit in the soft tyres as usual, Hulkenberg ended at P12 & Di Resta at P16. Karthikeyan on the other hand surprised us all as he ended at P20 in that HRT which was looking better than what it had been in the previous races.

FP2:

Not many teams could do much run on the supersoft tyre as the sunny weather changed to a wet one soon after the practice session begun. There was limited dry running in this session but still teams did fairly good number of laps. Button ended at P1 as he set his time before the rain, Grosjean at P2 and Massa at P3, whose weekend was turning out to be a good one. The SFI duo finished at P12 (Paul) & P14 (Hulkenberg) as they couldn’t run much on the SS tyres. At the end of the day they were in good mood, both said they need to work on the rear but overall they were happy. So was Karthikeyan as he ended at P24 but that HRT was looking in a good shape in Monaco.

FP3:

After a gap of Friday, business resumed on Saturday morning in FP3 in a dry condition. Even though the season has been unpredictable, qualifying remained the top focus in a track like Monaco. And so this session became important for the teams finding out the one-lap performance. Rosberg popped up and finished at P1 at the end of the session with the somewhat resurgent Massa at P2 and Vettel at P3. Di Resta had a minor off as he clipped to the wall and damaged his front wing and perhaps missed out running on SS. Hulkenberg ended at P15 while Di Resta at P18. Karthikeyan continued the impressive run as he ended at P23.

Well, the pole battle was once again spread out but where we going to see a surprise from Massa or Grosjean? They were looking good for the pole battle but we couldn’t count out the rest of the top blokes. SFI weren’t looking the best in those sessions but I was hopeful of one driver in Q3 as the pace difference wasn’t much and it was evident that Karthikeyan would make it under 107% time without any hassle.

Qualifying, Q1:

This weekend’s qualifying was the most important of all the qualifying’s we have had in the season. All the teams were geared up for the challenge, more so Perez after last year’s big shunt. But perhaps his Monaco jinx continued as he brought out the red flag after just about 5 minutes. By the end of the session it was Hulkenberg at P1 with Kobayashi at P2 7 Grosjean at P3. The notable out goers were the usual suspects of Caterham, HRT & Marussia along with Perez this time. Both SFI made it through without much hassle. Karthikeyan was well under the 107% time and due to other penalties was to start at P22.

Q2:

The real battle for qualifying begun in Q2 as per the season. Getting into top 10 has become a lot harder for every team than what we have seen in previous seasons, the competition is such that no one is sure of booking it’s place in Top 10 until they have it in their bags. Rosberg ended at P1 with Webber at P2 & Schumacher at P3. Hulkenberg almost made it to top but was bumped to P11 on the last lap by Kimi but fortunately due to penalties, he was due to start at P10. Di Resta wasn’t happy with his lap as he ended at P15 (to start P14). Hulkenberg had the fastest time in the speed trap. Another close run for the drivers in Q2.

Q3:

There was rain prediction all day but there was no sign really as it was extreme dry situation there. The start to the final session was a bit slow but it was a fantastic end and for some an emotional end as well. Yes, the master Schumacher was back on pole as he ended at P1. But not for long as he had a grid penalty which meant Webber got the pole and was to start at P1 with Rosberg at P2 & Hamilton at P3. It was the return to the top for the master but unfortunately not for a long period of time, that’s how F1 is.

The journos and commentators were pitting Grosjean for pole but Schumacher had other ideas and it was great to see him up there, unfortunate with the penalty but I was happy for Webber as well. I was upbeat about SFI race chances as well and was seriously thinking about double point finish for them. Also, as Karthikeyan was looking great all weekend and so a strong finish was the best possible thing to sign off his weekend.

Raceday:

6 different winners from 6 races was on our way, everyone did predict but we all had to wait for the 78 laps to get over first. Another nervous situation was in had for the teams as it was cloudy and rain was predicted mid-race though it wasn’t 100% if it will be. So, we were all set for the race to begin and a first lap or first corner incident was really possible owing to the nature of the track. And it did happen as Grosjean was squeezed between Schumacher & Alonso as he lost control and spun, Kobayashi’s car suffered some damages as Maldonado & Rosa too hit each other to DNF. Ahead in the field Webber took a good lead as Rosberg was behind him. Both SFI’s had a good start as Hulkenberg was at P9 & Di Resta at P11. Even Karthikeyan had a good start as he rose to P19.


After the first round of pit stops, Vettel was leading the race as he opted for a different strategy than most of the front runners. He had hoped for rain to try and delay his pit stop but it didn’t rain and he had to come in but he had grid positions over Hamilton & Massa. Meanwhile, Hamilton had also lost a place to Alonso in the pit stops, the Britain just hasn’t been able to convert good positions into race wins yet. Behind the front field, Kimi was fending off Schumacher (until he retired), Hulkenberg, Senna Di Resta & rest as he too was hoping for some rain. In The back Button clearly couldn’t get in front of the Caterham of Heikki which was surprise even though track was tough to overtake.


The SFI duo were having some good time during the race, the pace was looking good. Hulkenberg suffered mostly due to Kimi as he was stuck behind him for most of the race while Di Resta initially struggled to keep up with the group of Kimi & ahead of Ricciardo but managed to stay ahead of the group with his pit stop strategy. He even overtook his team mate in the pit stops as both the drivers went on reverse strategies of each other. They had a fairly lonely ride as both stayed together for the latter part of the race. Karthikeyan on the other hand in the sole remaining HRT was doing all he could to match with top teams and only get lapped maybe twice or thrice. The car was looking decently well.


Towards the end it was 6 drivers fighting out for the top position, it was ironic indeed. 6 drivers fighting for becoming the 6^th different winner of the season. Webber lead Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton & Massa. It came very close in the end laps as the top 6 were covered within just about 5 seconds. But Webber was calm and composed as he took the win thus becoming the 6^th different winner this season, this win secured RBR’s second win of the season. Will this ensure the Constructor’s Championship? Di Resta finished a fine P7 behind the top 6 with Hulkenberg at P8 behind his team mate. Guess, they were enjoying within themselves in the end part. Hulkenberg posted the second fastest time of the race. Karthikeyan finished off at P15, only 2 laps behind the leaders which is a good finish considering the short track. SFI gathered a haul of 10 points in a race where their rivals gathered none, the gap is big but getting down and perhaps one podium position could change the scene soon.


The season has been tremendous really, I have enjoyed it like anything. Think you guys have as well? Next up we will have the Canadian GP which can be lottery for any team again owing to the unpredictable weather and use of DRS as it has got some long straights. Meet you guys after 2 weeks, till than cya!!

Weekend sweep-up

F1
Di Resta 7th (6 points), Hulkenberg 8th (4 points), Karthikeyan 15th.

A very good weekend in terms of F1 for Indian fans. Sahara Force India picked up 10points with both cars coming home ahead of Kimi Raikkonen; is that justice for 2008? (If you're not sure what we're referring to checkout the second entry for May 2008 here).

Narain Karthikeyan meanwhile had his best result in F1 since his return to the sport in 2011. True, the 15th place was due to a large number of retirements but Narain still did well to maintain his concentration and keep his car out of the barriers to complete the race.

What this means for the championship is that Sahara Force India have closed to the gap to alot of the teams infront. The gap to the target of 5th place is now only 33pts - in a season as random as this - that's nothing! I still maintain that all teams, excluding the newer ones, have almost identical baseline setup. This season will be decided on data collection, understanding the tyres and the drivers.

As for the drivers championship; Paul di Resta has jumped into 11th place on 21pts, just behind Sauber's Perez on 22pts. Nico Hulkenberg remains in 15th place but now the German has 7pts on the board. Meanwhile that 15th place finish for Narain Karthikeyan was crucial for the Indian:

Drivers Championship (drivers on 0pts)
19) Kovalainen (best finish: 13th)
20) Glock (best finish: 14th)(x2)
21) Pic (best finish: 15th)
22) Karthikeyan (best finish: 15th)
23) Petrov (best finish: 16th)(x2)
24) de la Rosa (best finish: 19th)

Narain gained positions and is now ahead of Caterham's Petrov and HRT-teammate de la Rosa.

Here are the review quotes:

Paul di Resta (Sahara Force India driver)
"A great result today and I'm very happy to make up so much ground on my starting position. We went aggressive with the strategy and I have to say the team really optimised it. The secret was managing the tyres and trying to find clean air when we could. The car felt really good, much stronger than yesterday, and that allowed me to push when we needed to. Fortunately the rain held off at the end because that could have had a big impact on the end of the race. It’s great that we managed to get both cars in the points and we can celebrate tonight".

Nico Hulkenberg (Sahara Force India driver)
"It was a pretty messy start with lots of cars touching and I was lucky to make it through because I had to avoid Grosjean, who was in the middle of the track. For the first few laps I was running with Michael and we were stuck behind Kimi who was struggling on the supersofts, but it was difficult to get by. Unfortunately Kimi stopped on the same lap as me so I remained behind him and we came out in a lot of traffic, which is when Paul jumped ahead of me. The rest of the race was quite uneventful and I just focused on looking after the tyres. It's a great result for the team and we should be happy with the result".

Vijay Mallya (Sahara Force India team principle)
"A very enjoyable Monaco Grand Prix and I am delighted to see both Sahara Force Indias well inside the points. Paul drove a very strong race, making up seven places on his grid position and managing the tyres perfectly. Nico was running the reverse strategy to Paul, which also worked out well, and means we leave here with ten important points. Now we look forward to the next race in Canada where we hope to continue our run of points finishes".

Narain Karthikeyan (HRT driver)
"It was a tough race because we were very limited on our tyres. We tried to keep a constant pace, stay out of trouble and finish the race; we knew that if we managed to do that we would be able to finish in a good position. 15th position is a good result and a good way of getting over the disappointment from Barcelona. Now what I need to do is work on putting together a good lap in qualifying as that has been my weakest point this season. Hopefully I'll be able to carry the momentum from here onto the next race in Canada and continue to progress".

Formula Renault 3.5 
Bianchi 2nd (18 points).

After a disappointing opening weekend in Spain, Sahara Force India's reserve driver got his title challenge back on track with a 2nd place finish in Monaco. The Frenchman finished just 2.689s behind race winner Sam Bird. After three races, Jules is 6th in the championship, 27pts behind the leader.

Formula Two
Sureshwaren 12th (race one), 12th (race two).

The Indian driver had a consistent weekend finishing 12th in both races. Unfortunately though this means that his pointless run now extends to 23 races.

Indy Lights
Ebrahim 13th (17 points).

Going into the race named the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Armaan Ebrahim sat in 12th place in the championship on 60pts. The Indian driver could only manage 13th place in the race however the way other drivers finished meant that Armaan has actually gained a spot in the championship. He now sits 11th on 77pts making him the 5th best rookie out of the 14 rookie drivers this season.

Sunday Report- F1, F2

Sorry for the delayed Sunday report but here's a brief one:

F1- Sahara Force India, Narain Karthikeyan

Race: Paul Di Resta- P7, Nico Hulkenburg- P8, Narain Karthikeyan- P15

Well, that was indeed a great race in the end for all the fans more so with performances of both the SFI drivers and Narain, all finishing strongly in the race. All the three drivers had to avoid Grosjean car at T1 at the start and everyone came off well from there. After the start Hulk was at P9, Di Resta at P11 while Narain was at P19, relatively good positions after the first lap melee. From then on it was conserving tyres and avoiding all the incidents as strategy took over. Hulk was behind the car of Kimi & Schumacher as Kimi was holding off everyone behind but as he went in for pit stop the other cars behind him went in as well and so Hulk got behind him again. Meanwhile, Di Resta took the advantage and got ahead of this group. From then on it was all saving the tyres till the end which both managed well as Di Resta finished ahead of Hulk getting a strong 10 points when our closest rivals scored none. Also, Hulkenberg got the second fastest laps. As for Karthikeyan it was another strong finish in the race, though he was last he did manage to finish only 2 laps behind the leader in a short track. The car looked good all weekend and interestingly the fastest lap he did was not bad at all.

F2- Parthiva Sureshwaran


Qualifying 2: P11 (1:46.676), Race 2: P12

After not so great results on Staurday, Sunday proved to be better for Parthiva. It was better than Saturday at least. He qualified at a good position at P11 with a good time. In the race he lost a position and thereby ended at P12, not the best effort but decent enough once again. It's tough to see him not do very well in the series, more so because prior to the series he had high hopes from this season. We hope the next races will be great for him.

F1, F2, Indy 500 Report

This is a brief report on the all the series going on this weekend.

F1- Sahara Force India & Narain Karthikeyan, FP3 & Qualifying report:

FP3: Nico Hulkenberg, P15 (1:17.027) & Paul Di Resta, P18 (1:17.390), Narain Karthikeyan, P23 (1:19.147)

It was a nice and sunny weather for FP3 as team prepared for the qualifying. After a gap of Friday, the teams had plenty of time to analyse the Thursday data. Sahara Force India drivers went through their normal FP3 program as both started of on softs as Paul even did a 7 run stint after which his rear tyres gave up. Both did two stints on soft tyres before taking up supersoft towards the end of the session. Paul had a minor off as he hit the barriers and had damaged the car's nose a bit. Hulk ended at P15 while Paul at P18, the times were close yet again. Karthikeyan continued his good performance in the HRT as he ended at P23, the team is looking rather good than the other races. There was no real problems in that HRT as they went of with all they had planned.

Qualifying: Nico Hulkenberg, P10 (1:15.421), Paul Di Resta, P14 (1:16.062), Narain Karthikeyan, P22 (1:19.310)

There were talks about qualifying being affected by rain but it didn't happen and the day went without any rain hassle. Qualifying started off well for Sahara Force India as Hulkenberg ended at P1 in Q1 though he used a supersoft tyre towards the end. Both the guys went into Q2 without any problems and then the real test begun for them to get through to Q3. They started on used softs as most of the field did went on to use the supersofts. Hulkenberg was right on the brink and was sitting good to make it to Q3 but Kimi bumped him down to P11 while Di Resta didn't get a good lap at all as he did most he could do, he said post qualifying that he was struggling with rear and traction. Additionally, Hulk ended at P1 in the speed trap with a speed of 282.5. Both stand to gain a position due penalty to Maldonado. Karthikeyan on the other hand made it under the 107% by a good margin, doing that in the small Monaco track is a very good sign of the development. He too stands to gain a position due to Maldonado's penalty. (Note: Above positions mentioned are after Maldonado's penalty)

F2- Parthiva Sureshwaran

FP1: P6, 1:48.479, FP2: P16, 1:50.360, Qualifying 1: P12, 1:48.302, Race 1: P12

Parthiva started off the weekend in Nurburbring in style as he ended at P6 in the first practice session, it was looking all good at the start but the rest of the weekend the results weren't good enough for him as ended last in P16 in the second practice session. Today in qualifying 1 he ended at P12 as ran just 9 laps. While in the race also he ended at P12, he did loose a place as one of the car suffered a DNF. Things haven't been going well for him this season at all. There's Qualifying 2 & Race 2 tomorrow, he would be hoping to do well and end in a higher position as we too hope for some good results from him.

Indy 500- Armaan Ebrahim, Fan Force United

Qualifying: P12, Race: DNF

This was the results the team wasn't hoping for at all after all the preparation they went through for this big weekend. A double DNF and luckless time on track is the worse result a team can get. With Emerson joining the team prior this race, the teams were in high hopes with two of their drivers but something else had been written for them. Having qualified at P12 though Armaan pointed out that he used a wrong gear otherwise he could have ended at a higher position but nevertheless it was good enough position to start his first ever oval race. In the race, he got away from the start melee in which his teammate got involved but towards the end the team found out about a fuel pump problem and his race ended 5 laps before the end. He got 17 points which takes his tally to 77 points and he is P11 in the drivers standings in his first season.

Also Aditya Patel was in action last weekend where his team Audi won in the 24 Hours of Nurburbring as we update you guys on our Facebook page. If you haven't checked it then head on to our page and check for the results.

Well, that's it from our brief report. Sorry for the lack of updates as our members are bit busy this weekend.