2015 Spanish Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg has spent most of the past year coughing from the exhaust of his teammate Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. Even his second place finishes have left him feeling frustrated despite the points he has racked up. Rosberg needed a win, badly.

The Spanish Grand Prix seemed like his best bet in the days leading up to the race. Rosberg led in two of the three practice sessions and scored his first pole position of the season. Of course, that was no guarantee for a win, considering that Rosberg nabbed 11 poles in 19 races in 2014 and only converted three into victories. (His other two wins came when he did not have the pole.)

This time, however, Rosberg had another edge. Hamilton had been very busy in the weeks between Bahrain and Spain, constantly flying back and forth across the Atlantic, making appearances at social events such as the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and the Met Gala. Hamilton's hectic night life may have thrown him off his game.

Rosberg capitalized immediately, shooting forward and solidifying his place in front of the pack. Hamilton got off to a slow start and was passed by Sebastian Vettel for second place. The Toro Rosso drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen, had qualified a surprising fifth and sixth respectively, but quickly fell when passed by veteran Kimi Raikkonen in the opening seconds of the race. Just two laps later, Felipe Massa, who ran wide on the first turn of Lap 1 and had been complaining of vibrations from the front right wheel, easily got by Sainz, and would slip past Verstappen on the next lap. With Pastor Maldonado's pass on Sainz on Lap 5, Toro Rosso's phenomenal positions had dissipated.

Up front, Nico Rosberg was pulling away from the rest of the drivers, having built a six and a half second lead over Vettel after just nine laps. Vettel was also increasing the gap between him and Hamilton, who was complaining to his team that he couldn't get close enough to Vettel while still protecting his tires. Despite the fact that the Catalunya track is known for severe tire degradation, Hamilton's team called for "hammer time," which is Lewis Hamilton-speak for "give it all you've got." Even with a mistake from Vettel, running just wide on Turn 12 of the 13th lap, Hamilton still couldn't catch up, and came into the pits on the next lap. It seemed like an eternity before the Brit was back on the track, his pit taking 5.3 seconds due to error on the left rear tire. By the time he was out again, he had fallen to 7th place. Vettel meanwhile, boxed on the next lap, and his phenomenal pit time of 2.3 seconds meant he only dropped to fourth place. The field was reshuffled during the next few laps, when the other drivers came in for a new set of tires, so that by Lap 18, the order was back to Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton.

For the next fifteen laps, Hamilton chased Vettel, always right behind, but never close enough to get by. After these intense laps, Hamilton's tires were torn up, and he had to come in for a new set. He emerged into 5th place behind Bottas and Raikkonen, but easily sped past the Ferrari and Williams, although he remained 20 seconds behind Vettel. The average pit lane time at this point in the race was about 22 seconds, but Hamilton whittled Vettel's lead to 10 seconds, making Vettel's unbelievable pit time of 2.2 seconds irrelevant. Hamilton even briefly gained first place, but Rosberg patiently waited for his opportunity. His team told him to maintain 2 second gap between the cars and preserve his tires, expecting Hamilton to have to run on a 3-stop strategy.

This tactic worked brilliantly and after Hamilton pitted Rosberg cruised to an easy and much-needed victory. Hamilton, however, held off the four-time World Champion Vettel, who felt he was unfairly blocked by lesser drivers whom he was lapping. Caught up in the traffic of cars, he screamed over his radio for blue flags but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the most dramatic battle was for fourth place where Williams driver Valteri Bottas held off the faster Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen. Superb pit stops of 2.9 and 2.5 seconds definitely helped him maintain his lead over Raikkonen, who took a bit longer in the pits. On Lap 60 however, the increasingly desperate Raikkonen was right on Bottas' tail, but a costly mistake at Turn 16—running wide, kicking up turf, and almost losing control—meant The Ice Man could not improve upon his fifth place position. Raikkonen began complaining of an issue with grip in his front tires two laps later, and would finish behind Bottas.

The rest of the Spanish Grand Prix was relatively drama-free but there were a few quirky moments. Fernando Alonso was heartbroken when a brake problem at Lap 27 sent his McLaren-Honda skidding wide, demolishing all hopes of a points-earning finish at his home race. Worse, when Alonso came into the pit stops at the end of the lap, his brakes locked up again, and in a flurry of smoke, he drifted right through the middle of his pit crew, coming to rest about ten feet away.  His pit team raced after him, and began to push the car back towards their tools, but the brake calipers overheated and the car was soon engulfed in smoke. Unfortunately Alonso was forced to retire for the second time this season.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean also brought some excitement to the pits. During his second pit stop of the race, Grosjean didn't stop soon enough, plowing into his front jackman, and launching him through the air. Remarkably, the crewman was still able to lift up the front of car enough so the tires could be changed. A few minutes later, he was shown clutching a ice pack to his crotch, as his fellow pit crew members laughed. While not a pleasant experience for the mechanic, this was a memorable moment in a relatively humdrum race. 

Of course, there is no such thing as a  Grand Prix where something strange doesn't happen to Pastor Maldonado. On Lap 9 of the race, the lower section of Maldonado's rear wing had collapsed inward, but Lotus decided they would not attempt to change it at his next stop, because that is a very long procedure. Seven laps later, he pitted, and while stopped one of the crew members grabbed onto the section of the wing, and with all his might, tore it off. Maybe Lotus should have taken the time to replace Maldonado's wing, because he ended up having to retire on Lap 48.

Like in Bahrain, where Daniel Ricciardo's engine blew right before the finish line, there was some last lap entertainment. In a desperate battle for 10th, and the final points available at the Spanish Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat collided with Carlos Sainz Jr as he was trying to pass around the outside. Luckily, Kvyat was able to pull his car away quickly, preventing any serious damage. Sainz would end up in 9th, with Kvyat taking 10th position.

Of course, the main focus of the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg's win, his first of the season. The phenomenal race propelled him 11 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel and just 20 points behind Lewis Hamilton. If he can continue winning, than 2015 should be an interesting battle between the two Mercedes and Vettel's Ferrari.

2015 Bahrain GP

     At last year's Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg duked it out for the entire 57 laps, sparking a rivalry which would continue for the rest of the 2014 season. This year, tensions were already high prior to the race because Rosberg accused Hamilton of purposefully driving slow at the Chinese Grand Prix the previous week to allow Sebastian Vettel to catch Rosberg. Harsh comments were traded between the childhood friends, with Hamilton shifting the blame back to the German, "It's not my job to look after Nico's race."
        The pre-race drama was not limited to the front runners. McLaren-Honda continued to be plagued with technical issues, with Jenson Button forced out of the race that morning due to an ERS (energy recovery system) problem. The race's start was also filled with distractions. Rookie Carlos Sainz Jr. was given a 5 second penalty for exceeding the maximum speed during the recon lap, then
William's Felipe Massa couldn't get his car started on the formation lap and had to be pushed off by his crew. (He ended up starting from the pits.) The start was delayed even longer when Pastor Maldonado of Lotus drove into the wrong grid position.
     Finally the lights flashed green and the 2015 Bahrain Grand Prix was on its way. Hamilton retained his position in front, while Vettel followed right behind. Rosberg, feeling the pressure because Hamilton already has two wins and a second place finish, tried to find a way to pass Vettel. He was so focused on Vettel, however, that he didn't account for Raikkonen, who overtook him on the outside.
      A battle between Rosberg and Raikkonen ensued, with Rosberg making a brilliant pass on the "The Ice Man," pushing him wide as they dove into Turn 1 on the fourth lap.  Rosberg then returned his attention to the other Ferrari, gaining ground when Vettel drove off track going around Turn 1. The four-time champion's mistake caught up to him when, on the next lap, Nico Rosberg got the better of him on the inside of Turn 1, with a flurry of sparks shooting up behind the two cars.
        Meanwhile, many at the back of the pack had experienced early brake lock-ups, not uncommon at the often sandy track and 17-year-old Max Verstappen hit Maldonado causing possible damage to his front wing. The more experienced Massa and Fernando Alonso both had solid starts from the back of the field and gradually climbed towards the middle.
       Pit stops began around lap 11, and Massa lost ground again falling back to 13th, while Alonso worked his way to 9th before his own slow pit stop (3.4 seconds) dropped him back to 15th.  Vettel, by contrast, got in and out in 2.4 seconds, helping him keep the leaders in sight. On lap 15, both Mercedes drivers pitted, with Rosberg emerging after a respectable 3.2, while his teammate lingered for 3.7 seconds. Hamilton still had enough of a lead to get out in front of Vettel but he had fallen behind Raikkonen. Vettel passed Rosberg while he was in the pits and, feeling the pressure, Rosberg exited the pits aggressively, almost crashing in to the Ferrari. He barely sneaked past Vettel and came up hard on Hamilton's rear, but he could not get by.
       The stage was set for an epic four way battle between these two top teams. The excitement, however, was not limited to front drivers – Nasr, Massa, and Alonso were all competing for the 10th and final spot in the points. On lap 23, with Nasr close on his heels, Felipe Massa was hit by crash-happy Pastor Maldonado. The Lotus driver, who would end up finishing 15th, had a particularly unusual race–he started in the incorrect grid spot, hit Max Verstappen early on, left the track twice on the opening lap, drove the fastest lap in the race, crashed into Massa, and had his brakes overheat and smoke during a pit stop on lap 43. Meanwhile, Massa did not recover well from the incident with Maldonado and  Nasr easily passed him two laps later. Although Massa eventually climbed his way into 8th, he was passed by Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat with two laps to go, and fell to 10th. Maldonado's reckless driving wound up hurtingboth  him and Massa, as well as Verstappen, who ended up retiring from the race along with teammate Carlos Sainz.
     Both rookie Nasr and veteran Alonso raced hard and battled with Massa but fell back to 11th and 12th respectively. Alonso's performance was encouraging after McLaren's dismal start to the season, and shows that they could potentially compete with the midfield teams. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo, who had been relatively quiet, ended on an especially exciting note. Just as he was about to cross the finish line into 6th place, his engine blew, spitting black smoke, and he was barely able to coast to the checkered flag before his Red Bull rolled to a stop.
      However, the main focus of the 2015 Bahrain GP remained the intense back and forth between the Ferraris and the Silver Arrows. Raikkonen controversially switched to the harder medium tires on a speedy pit stop on lap 18, and he began to shave seconds off the gap between him and Vettel. On the 27th lap, Vettel ran wide yet again, falling further behind 2nd place Nico Rosberg and shortening his dwindling lead over his teammate. On the 34rd lap, Vettel pitted in a exemplary 2.4 seconds and Hamilton pitted in an impressive 2.6 seconds, while Rosberg came in a lap after, staying for just over 3 seconds. This reshuffled the pack, with Raikkonen in 1st, Hamilton in 2nd, Roseberg in 3rd, and Vettel in 5th behind Valtteri Bottas. The Ice Man didn't stay in front for long, with the defending world champion passing him easily on lap 40. He then had a fabulous 2.3 second pit stop on lap 41, as a result dropping only to 3rd place. Hamilton's tires, meanwhile, were being torn apart by the air flow from the last place Manors, who he was in the process of lapping. Raikkonen expertly used this traffic to his advantage, catching up to Rosberg, and cutting the gap from 5 to 3.7 seconds by the 5
1st lap.
     A few cars behind, Bottas was desperately fending off the faster Vettel. The German came close to passing the Williams multiple times, almost crashing, and eventually having to brake and take a wide path around turn 1. Vettel's earlier mistakes at this turn caused him to get stuck behind Bottas, and Bottas' brilliant defensive maneuvers earned him a 4th place finish, with Vettel coming in close behind.
     Raikkonen had managed to cut Rosberg's lead down to just over one second by just the 54th lap. Rosberg, like many others in the race, ran wide at turn 1 on the next lap, and Raikkonen easily blew by him into 2nd place. Rosberg finished the race in 3rd, and it was later revealed that he had suffered a brake problem going into that turn, which caused his car to lock up and give up his position. On the last lap, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was afflicted with a similar brake issue, and Raikkonen began to slice away at this gap as well. Luckily for Hamilton, the race ended before the Ferrari could catch up. If Raikkonen had five more laps, he would've easily passed Hamilton for the win. The Ice Man responded to congratulations from his team in a typical Raikkonen fashion, a nonchalant "Yeah, thanks." Hamilton, on the other hand, mimed smashing a home run while standing atop his car below the podium. While Hamilton did win the race, Raikkonen should've been the one hitting the homer, his performance far outshining the other drivers.