We sat down with Williams F1 Team Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams on the morning of the 2013 F1 USGP to discuss her new role with the team, social media in Formula 1, and women in motorsport. (Photo credit: Williams F1 Team)
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Who's Driving?
Alexander Rossi was in Austin last week for the Austin Fashion Week kick off event, "Shift Into Style." Before he took to the runway Friday night, we sat down with Alexander and got a deeper understanding of his appreciation for the new American home for F1, Circuit of The Americas.
What we really like about this interview is Alexander's in-depth analysis of a 3D model of the Circuit, explained to us through the experienced eyes of a driver.
Alexander also autographed some COME AND RACE IT stickers and shirts - keep your eyes peeled for this great giveaway!
For a more in-depth look into Alexander's role as American racing driver, check out: ALEXANDER ROSSI TO JOIN AUSTIN FASHION EVENT.
// A TEXAS-SIZED THANK YOU TO ALEXANDER ROSSI AND TEAM FOR THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH AUSTIN & F1 FANS WORLDWIDE!
Alexander also autographed some COME AND RACE IT stickers and shirts - keep your eyes peeled for this great giveaway!
Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before F1 breaks for the summer. (Note to self: Don't Panic! There are still more races to come after August. I can get through August without an F1 race. Really I can!) It'll likely be a hot and dry race since the Hungarian Grand Prix has never seen a wet race up until the 2006 Grand Prix. Interestingly enough, due to the way the track is situated amongst the nature setting, you can see the track from any point of the stands. This gave the Hungarian Grand Prix track a special name - the dinner plate, as the spectators can sit on the edge of the plate and follow the events from there. Doesn't that just make you hungry for Hungary? Yes, that was a terrible joke.
Some say the track at Hungaroring is twisty, narrow and impossible to overtake. According to Vettel, who has never won here, "The Hungarian GP is one of the hardest for the drivers". Meanwhile, Raikkonen is full of confidence, "Usually this Grand Prix weekend is one of the hottest in the calendar, so it should suit our car very well." Both Button and Hamilton have won twice here before, McLaren must be quietly optimistic for grand results this weekend.
The track has actually proven entirely possible to overtake, moreover, one can even achieve a massive comeback from 14th on the grid to win the race (that was Button's win back in 2006). Like every race, it will certainly be paramount to be in the front part of the grid if not the pole, but if by chance a driver majorly messed up the qualifying, an aggressive race day performance could be key to the podium. We'll also see some great action at the DRS zone, so I imagine we'll see some overtaking around there as well.
Will we see another driver other than Alonso take home the victory at Hungarian Grand Prix? We shall find out soon enough. Catch you after the race!!
// Get a feel for the GP in Budapest by checking out our Pinterest board
Eni Magyar Nagdij on Pinterest
Fernando Alonso came in first while Sebastian Vettel took second position (though Seb was penalized for his overtake on Jenson Butto - Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Nothing throws a wrench into Race day grid positions like a bit of rain on Qualifying day. That is precisely what we had at the German Grand Prix this weekend. Some teams were prepared (or lucky) while others were slightly doomed (or not prepared). Alonso, the front-runner of the championship after British Grand Prix, was certainly prepared with a wet setup and capture Pole position. Not so lucky was Massa, Rosberg and Grosjean, none of them made Q3 Top-10 shootout.
To keep things interesting, Hokkenheim gave the German Grand Prix a sunny and dry race day. Alonso was on pole, followed by Vettel and Schumacher. With 4 wins in the pocket and a 3rd place on the grid, I had high hopes for Schumacher. However, ultimately it was just not meant to be. Schumacher ended the race at 7th.
Taking full advantage of the pole position, however, is Alonso. Alonso blew away the competition, surged ahead and never looked back from the moment the race started. Alonso seems to be ready for any challenge and made his strategy stick in recent races. Even in a seemingly less competitive car, Alonso has driven the wheels off of the Ferrari and took the top spot on the podium for the German Grand Prix. This is the 3rd win for Alonso at the Hokkenheim track. I think he may have shed some joyous tears on the podium. In my pre-race post, I've mentioned that the odds are in Schumacher, Alonso and Hamilton's favor at this Grand Prix, I'm mildly excited that my guesses are getting more accurate in this unpredictable season.
Hoping for a comeback from a disappointing finish last week, Hamilton started on 7th and ended up retiring at Lap 58 due to lack of pace and a puncture. With a bit of reversed fortune, Button did very well in the race, going from 6th to 3rd by lap 12 and just kept pushing up front. It certainly helped that McLaren has dramatically improved their pit stop time, with one of Button's stop taking a fleeting 2.31 seconds, fastest ever in the records. All these with some good driving nudged Button to 2nd near closing stage of the race. That was until Button started losing tyres performance. Vettel saw the weakness and decided to be naughty (and play innocent), attempted to pass Button on Lap 66, went wide AND off the track that give him some grip to slip in front of Button to take 2nd place on the podium.
Even though Vettel was on podium for 2nd, the stewards investigate the overtaking move and decided to give him a 20-second penalty which dropped him to Fifth. Quite the misfortune for Vettel at the home race. As a result, Button is 2nd, with Raikkonen taking 3rd in the 67-lap race. Button must be absolutely thrilled to be back on the podium after a drought of wins.
Honorable mentions of the Hokkenheim race are Kobayashi, who went up 7 spots with a 2-stop strategy to end the race in 5th, and Perez, went up a whopping 11 spots to 6th place. Both of these drivers are not always the front-runners, but are always driving their heart out with their cars, great pleasure to watch and definitely adds to the entertaining factor of the race to see them dual!
Grid girls, what's going on with the outfits? Is it because we're still in Europe that the last few races your outfit has not changed? It's still a red dress with a white bow-knot in the front and red heels. I was hoping that there'd be some new outfits, but alas. And who wins the Post-race Best hair award? That prize goes to none other than Button, who kept his cool on the podium with cool head and hair while waiting for the stewards to decide Vettel's illegal overtaking move.
That's all for the German Grand Prix! Can't wait for the Hungarian Grand Prix to come around July 27-29! Catch you then!