It feels like an eternity since we saw Sebastian Vettel take a dominant victory at the Canadian Grand Prix – well, an eternity if you’re a die-hard Formula One fan. Vettel and Red Bull came out punching and hard. The pair was unbeatable from the time the five red lights extinguished on Sunday afternoon.
Vettel seemed to be on a mission, even with his main rivals relaxing their challenge the young German kept hammering in quick laps during the dying stages of the race. It was a sure indication that Vettel wishes to stamp his dominance on the 2013 title race.
As we draw towards the midway point of the season, Seb has a commanding lead on the championship and (as I predicted in CAR’s annual F1 guide) he is most likely to be crowned the 2013 champion.
Slap on the wrist
Meanwhile, in the Euro summer break there have been some interesting goings on. Mercedes AMG F1 and Pirelli had to appear before the international tribunal to answer for the post-Barcelona testing session that some teams (namely Ferrari and Red Bull) were very upset about.
As it turns out Mercedes escaped severe penalty and the only outcome of the hearing was a ban from the young driver test that will take place later this season. With Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the driving seats does Merc really need to test any new talent?
Either way, some will say that Mercedes were given a get-out-of-jail-free card, while others may point to the fact that the FIA were always aware of the specifics of the test and that the tribunal was merely window dressing.
The comment by the tribunal that most caught my eye was this:
“The decision of the International Tribunal confirmed that the team acted in good faith regarding the Pirelli tests, never intended to obtain any unfair sporting advantage and had no reason to believe that approval for the Pirelli tests had not been given.”
No unfair sporting advantage? Really?
Either way it seems that the FIA will keep an beady eye on everyone from now one:
The FIA wishes that lessons are learnt from this case and from the decision handed down. To this end, the FIA will make sure, in association with all F1 teams, that its control of the testings is strengthened.”
Renault turbo power
Also making news during this quiet period has been Renault’s launch of its 2014 engine. Fans will know that the rules undergo a major change in that the new powerplants are 1,6-litre, V6 turbocharged units. This is a far cry from the 2,4-litre naturally aspirated V8s that the regulations currently call for.
Renault released these images (above) as well as a sound clip of the new engine being run on a dynamometer, which you can listen to here. Red Bull has already confirmed that it will continue to use Renault power. Toro Rosso will ditch its Ferrari engines in favour of Renault while Caterham will remain. Lotus has yet to announce its plans.
This weekend’s British GP, round eight of the 19 race season, will be an interesting one. Tyre wear will once again be a major factor as it has been on so many occasions already.
The chasing pack of Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton will be praying that Vettel befalls some mechanical failure.
Vettel commented earlier this week: “Apart from the unpredictable English weather, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is a highlight of the season and one of my favourite tracks.”
Even if he doesn’t finish the race for some unforeseen circumstance his 36 point lead on the points log will ensure that he leaves Silverstone as champion leader, the same way he enters this weekend’s race.
1 | Sebastian Vettel | German | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 132 |
2 | Fernando Alonso | Spanish | Ferrari | 96 |
3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Finnish | Lotus-Renault | 88 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton | British | Mercedes | 77 |
5 | Mark Webber | Australian | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 69 |