Its the Pits For Hamilton and Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a first win at Monaco in seven years was dealt a cruel blow by a disastrous strategy call which gifted Nico Rosberg his third consecutive win at the street circuit.

Hamilton had controlled the race from the start

Hamilton had been in total control of the race and was 15 seconds ahead of his Mercedes team-mate going into the final 15 laps.

The race was then turned on it's head when Max Verstappen crashed out and brought out the safety car.

Verstappen was fighting back into a point-paying position after an earlier lengthy pitstop and was cleverly using Sebastian Vettel as he passed through the back-markers to gain positions.

Vettel had come up to pass Romain Grosjean at the Fairmont Hairpin and Grosjean was aware of Verstappen's tactics thanks to radio communications. Grosjean took the inside line into the hairpin, forcing Vettel to pass him around the outside and close the door on Verstappen.

The 17 year old Dutchman was on softer tyres and was looking to get past Grosjean's Lotus going into the first corner. Grosjean braked early and Verstappen didn't react in time to avoid him. Verstappen ran into Grosjean's right rear and gathered speed as he clipped the curb before burying the front nose cone into the barrier.

Verstappen's collision with Grosjean brought out the pivotal safety car

The crash initially led to a Virtual Safety Car period but the actual safety car was quickly dispatched from the pit lane. Jenson Button had a nice cushion to ninth place, Felipe Nasr, and pitted for new tyres. Mercedes also thought Hamilton had a big enough cushion to pit and called him in.

Hamilton, who had earned his first Monaco GP pole position a day before, had reported that his tyres were losing temperature and was called in for a new set. Mercedes had expected Ferrari to pit Vette but, with a lengthy safety car period and the finish line in sight, Vettel was never going to change tyres.

Lewis Hamilton (left) came out of the pits in third

Rosberg hadn't seen Hamilton pit and was surprised to be the first one behind the safety car. He looked in his mirrors to see Vettel and Hamilton wheel-to-wheel up the hill but the second Mercedes car had to yield to the Ferrari after Vettel had crossed the safety car line moments before.

Triple consecutive Monaco winners: Rosberg, Prost, Graham Hill & Senna 

Hamilton was on quicker tyres compared to the two cars in front but the tight nature of the Monaco track prevented him from making any gains. Rosberg must have been grinning from ear-to-ear as he drove down the final few laps and won to become only the fourth driver to win three consecutive Monaco GPs.

This year's truimph is, however, a hollow victory, but the result now sees him cut the deficit to 10 points between him and championship leader, Hamilton. The result ensures that the season is now more closely poised since previously thought after Rosberg trailed his team mate by 27 points after Bahrain.

Third place trophy is little consolation for Hamilton 

Rosberg won last time around in Spain after Hamilton's slow start and an even slower pit-stop forced him to pit one extra time than Rosberg. It still remains to be seen whether the German can beat Hamilton this season in a straight fight.

Hamilton had earlier said to his pit crew that "we've lost this haven't we guys" and the desolated Hamilton momentarily stopped at Poitiers during the parade lap to gather his thoughts and to possibly avoid the parc femme celebrations of Rosberg and his crew.

With this being the cramped confines of Monte Carlo, Hamilton was unable to avoid Rosberg's jubilations as the cars stopped on the start and finish straight. Hamilton's frustrations were clear to see as he didn't stop in time to avoid hitting the third place sign which ironically toppled over towards the finish line.

Hamilton's despair on the podium was evident

His time on the podium allowed Hamilton to gather his thoughts for the post race interview where he professionally answered Martin Brundle's questions by saying that he races together with the team and that he will just have to go and win the next one.

Rosberg won his second consecutive race of the season at Monaco

Such a statement shouldn't be taken lightly by Rosberg as Hamilton will have the wick turned up when he returns to Canada and races on the track where he got his first F1 career victory eight years ago.

In the meantime, Toto Wolff, Nikki Lauda and Paddy Lowe will have to preside over another team inquest after the Brackley based team have once again shot themselves in the foot.

McLaren were back in the points with Button's 8th place

A much happier team down the pitlane will be McLaren. Monaco was targeted by the team as being an ideal opportunity to get their first points of the season due to the deficiencies of their Honda engine being less of a hinderance at the street circuit.

Button was on course to make it into Q3 of qualifying for the first time this season but was prevented by yellow flags being waved at the start of his final hot lap. Grid penalties for Grosjean and Carlos Sainz saw Button start the race in 10th and drove confidently to finish in 8th. 

Alonso looks on at another retirement

Fellow McLaren driver, Fernando Alonso, had an eventful start after nudging Nico Hulkenberg into the barrier and was later penalised with an extended pit stop. The two-time World Champion was running in the points when a gearbox issue brought his race to an end.

The Renault powered Red Bulls improved to finish behind the podium with Daniil Kyvat in fourth and Daniel Ricciardo in fifth. Kimi Raikkonen had a forgettable day to finish sixth whilst Sergio Perez drove well for seventh place. Sauber's Felipe Nasr and Torro Rosso's Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10.

Traffic proved to be an issue as the leaders came through the pack

Despite the safety car coming in with less than 10 laps to go, both Manor drivers and Felipe Massa's Williams were lapped by Rosberg.

It was a day to forget for Williams as Valteri Bottas finished a place ahead of Massa in 14th whilst Hulkenberg (11th) and Grosjean (12th) were prevented from winning points after falling victim to poor decisions other drivers. Sauber's Marcus Ericson finished behind them in 13th place.

Alonso sent Hulkenberg into the barriers but the German recovered

Monaco is a circuit that requires consideration at all times as one simple mistake can catch you out. These mistakes are usually punished by the driver hitting the barrier but the blow Hamilton received as he came out of the pits in third would have been just as painful.

Last year showed that Hamilton is able to overcome adversity but I feel, without assistance, 10 points is as close as Rosberg can get to Hamilton.

Drivers' Standings after Round 6 of 19:

1. Lewis Hamilton       126 points
2. Nico Rosberg           116
3. Sebatian Vettel        98
4. Kimi Raikkonen        60
5. Valtteri Bottas         42
6. Felipe Massa            39
7. Daniel Ricciardo       35 
8. Daniil Kyvat             17
9. Felipe Nasr              16
= Romain Grosjean       16
11. Sergio Perez           11
12. Carlos Sainz Jr.       9
13. Nico Hulkenberg      6
= Max Verstappen          6
15. Marcus Ericsson       5
16. Jenson Button         4

Constructor's Standings after Round 6 of 19:

1. Mercedes        242 Points
2. Ferrari            158
3. Williams          81
4. Red Bull          52
5. Sauber            21
6. Force India      17
7. Lotus              16
8. Torro Rosso     14
9. McLaren          4

Vettel Storms Ahead of Mercedes

Sebastian Vettel won his first race for Ferrari by powering ahead of the Mercedes team at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The four-time World Champion was able to bring Ferrari their first win in 34 races on a day that Mercedes rued their strategy decisions.

Lewis Hamilton earned his 40th career pole position for his 150th race and only Ayrton Senna has had more poles after 150 races. Hamilton led the field through the first corner after Vettel had fought off Nico Rosberg's attempts to squeeze by the Ferrari on long the pitwall.

Marcus Ericsson's spin proved to be decisive (Sutton Motorsport Images)

The race unfolded on Lap 4 when Marcus Ericsson beached his Sauber in the gravel at Turn One and the need for a recovery vehicle led to a Safety Car period. Both Mercedes drivers pitted to change on to the harder tyre but Vettel stayed out and was able to stretch his first stint into a two-stop strategy thanks to Ferrari's lower tyre wear.

Vettel's Ferrari team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen was having a harder time with his tyres after suffering a left rear puncture following contact with Sauber's Felipe Nasr as Raikkonen made his way up the field from 11th. Ferrari's ultimate pace was underlined by Raikkonen coming through the field to finish fourth.

Kimi Raikkonen suffered a puncture (Sutton Motorsport Images)

Mercedes made another tactical blunder when they fitted Hamilton with hard tyres on his final pit stop and the current World Champion was unable to close down Vettel on the same tyres. Hamilton questioned why he had been put on the "wrong" tyres and was puzzled to hear team director, Paddy Lowe, discuss a possible fourth pit-stop that was accidentally relayed to Hamilton's radio. 

Mercedes bosses Toto Wolff and Nikki Lauda rue their team's mistakes (Getty Images)

Mercedes had needlessly used a set of medium tyres in the first period of qualifying and Hamilton was told over the radio that the softer tyres had already been used. The team's confusing strategy was further highlighted when Rosberg was fitted with medium tyres on his final pit-stop.

Williams had finished pre-season testing on par with Ferrari but haven't been able to keep up with the Prancing Horse. Valtteri Bottas, racing for the first time this season after a back injury, pipped his team mate, Felipe Massa, to fifth spot by passing Massa on the penultimate lap.

Max Verstappen became the youngest-ever driver to win points (Sutton Motorsports Images)

Max Verstappen showed poised overtaking to take seventh and the 17-year-old became the youngest ever driver to score world championship points. His Torro Ross team mate, Carlos Sainz was the last driver to be lapped by Vettel and finished eighth.

Red Bull's lack of pace was shown in dry conditions and Daniil Kvyat finished ninth after tangling with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 2, ahead of fellow Red Bull driver, Daniel Ricciardo. 

Nico Hulkenberg and Daniil Kyvat clash (Sutton Motorsport Images)

Romain Grosjean in the Lotus missed out on the points by finishing 11th after being spun by an aggressive Sergio Perez and finished ahead of Felipe Nasr's Sauber. 

Both Force India drivers were made to sit in the naughty chair after stewards awarded Perez and Hulkenberg 10-second penalties for their tangles but Hulkenberg may have felt aggrieved for being penalised for what looked like a racing incident. Hulkenberg was further frustrated by being beaten by his team mate by just 0.4 seconds.

Manor were able to bring home one of their cars with Roberto Merhi finishing three laps down in 15th and last place after Will Stevens was unable to start the race. Unreliability also hit the McLaren pair of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso who both retired but McLaren will be encouraged with the cars competing with the rest of the pack.

Vettel’s first victory since the Brazilian Grand Prix in late 2013 signals a Vettel and Ferrari resurgence. Hamilton and Mercedes now have a serious contender to their current titles and, as Rosberg said on the podium, it's game on.

Drivers' Standings after Round 2 of 19:

1. Lewis Hamilton       43 points

2. Sebatian Vettel       40

3. Nico Rosberg          33

4. Felipe Massa           20 

5. Kimi Raikkonen       12

6. Felipe Nasr             10

= Valtteri Bottas         10 

8. Daniel Ricciardo       9

9. Nico Hulkenberg      6

= Max Verstappen       6

= Carlos Sainz Jr.        6

12. Marcus Ericsson     4

13. Daniil Kyvat           2

14. Sergio Perez          1

Constructor's Standings after Round 2 of 19:

1. Mercedes        76 Points

2. Ferrari            52

3. Williams         30

4. Sauber           14

5. Torro Rosso    12

6. Red Bull          11

7. Force India      7

Hamilton Leads the Way in Soggy Sepang

Lewis Hamilton took pole position in a rain-delayed qualifying session for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.

The session was stopped for half an hour before the final round of qualifying began and Sebastian Vettel was able to split the two Mercedes with a time just 0.074 seconds behind Hamilton.

Nico Rosberg admitted in the post-qualifying press conference that he was "annoyed" by not "driving well enough" and was a second behind his team-mate on the first run of final qualifying. Hamilton was improving on his second run but had to back off after passing a slow Rosberg through Turns 7 and 8 and Hamilton remained coy afterwards when he couldn't recall the incident during the press conference.

Vettel showed skill in the rain to split the Mercedes pair

Traffic had earlier cost Kimi Raikkonen a likely second row grid slot after Marcus Erikkson slowed Raikkonen going round the final corner and the 2007 World Champion couldn't improve on 11th when the downpour curtailed the second qualifying period.  

The qualifying session had started in tropical sunshine and McLaren continued their fight at the back of the grid. Fernando Alonso returned behind the wheel this weekend following his pre-season accident in Barcelona that Alonso blamed on a car steering issue. The double world champion also rubbished wild rumours of the concussion he suffered after the accident. Alonso had the measure of his team-mate, Jenson Button, all weekend but a mistake caused Alonso to run wide and allowed Button to out-qualify his team-mate with a time of 1 minute 41.636 seconds. This underlined McLaren's lack of pace with a time that was almost 2.5 seconds off Hamilton's time at the top of the Qualifying One timesheets.

Manor hit the tarmac in Malaysia for the first time this season 

Manor returned to the track after not racing in Australia but only Roberto Mehri could post a time after Will Stevens suffered a fuel system problem. Mehri's time was outside the 107% classification rule but stewards cleared the team to race after Manor had earlier posted practice times that was within 107% of the fastest driver's time. 

Felipe Nasr was unable to continue his form from Australia and finished half a second behind the cut-off point and didn't progress into the second round of qualifying.

Tropical storm clouds gather over the Sepang circuit

Rain can often be a great equaliser and the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Dannil Kyvat qualified in 4th and 5th in a turbulent week for the Milton Keynes-based team.  Renault chief Cyril Abiteboul told Friday's press conference that Renault may quit the sport after earlier accusing Red Bull Technical Director, Adrian Newey, of lying about their engine performance. 

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Abiteboul was "brave" to sit between him and Torro Ross team boss, Franz Tost, at the press conference as the two teams are unhappy about the quality of their Renault engines.

Unhappy couple - Renault's Cyril Abiteboul and Red Bull's Christian Horner

Abiteboul said that Renault "are looking at a lot of options, including getting out of Formula One" as well as purchasing a team. Horner joked that Renault's lack of power had left him "depressed" and contemplated the possibility of Red Bull being "forced" out of the sport if they cannot find an engine supplier. Despite achieving four consecutive Constructor's and Driver's titles, Horner conceded it's now "worrying times" for the Red Bull brand in F1.

It's also worrying times for the future of the German Grand Prix with the announcement on March 20 that owners of the Nurburgring have backed out of staging the race. The German Grand Prix had been alternating between Nurburgring and Hockenheim and it had been hoped that Hockenheim could step in but track officials were unable to come to an agreement with F1 commercial boss, Bernie Ecclestone.

Hockenheim officials may have been hesitant in promoting a race in just four months after last year's race brought low crowds. It's hard to understand why the Germans have quickly turned away from F1 after the success of German drivers, Michael Schumacher and Vettel, still fresh in their minds. The current German combination of Rosberg in a Mercedes racing for the championship should inspire the imagination of German motorsport fans but it hasn't.

There has been a German Grand Prix every year since 1960 and it's removal from the calendar once again highlights race entrance fees and the disappearance of F1's European race tracks.

Max Verstappen showed maturity beyond his 17 years by qualifying 6th in Sepang and, not only equalled his father Jos' best grid position, but he became the first teenager in 54 years to qualify in the top six. Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will line up on Row 4 after Lotus' Romain Grosjean received a two-place grid penalty after queue jumping in the pit-lane before the start of the rain affected second qualifying period.

Drivers line up in the pit lane below the oncoming storm clouds

The second of the 19-race 2015 season will see Hamilton looking to continue his successful start but Vettel and Rosberg will have other ideas going into Turn One.

Grid for Malaysian Grand Prix:

Hamilton (Mercedes)             Vettel (Ferrari)

Rosberg (Mercedes)              Ricciardo (Red Bull)

Kyvat (Red Bull)                   Verstappen (Torro Rosso)

Massa (Williams)                  Bottas (Williams)

Ericsson (Sauber)                 Grosjean (Lotus)*

Raikkonen (Ferrari)              Maldonado (Lotus)

Hulkenberg (Force India)      Perez (Force India)

Sainz (Torro Rosso)              Nasr (Sauber)

Button (McLaren)                 Alonso (McLaren)

Merhi (Manor)                      Stevens (Manor)  

* After two-place grid penalty

The Terminator Is Back

Lewis Hamilton became the Silver Arrow Terminator as he lapped half of the field to win the season opener in Melbourne.

Hamilton must have said "hasta la vista, baby" to the seven drivers who failed to finish the race, three of which didn't even start. Valtteri Bottas wasn't passed fit from back pain suffered in qualifying with Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kyvat failing to make the grid with power unit and gear box issues.

Nico Rosberg was unable to get the jump on his team-mate at the start and a first corner incident behind the Mercedes brought out the safety car. Sebastian Vettel was alongside his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen going into turn one. Raikkonen backed out, ran wide, came back on to the track and sandwiched Felipe Nasr with Pastor Maldonado.

Nasr touched Maldonado and sent the Lotus into the barrier. Raikkonen would later retire after being released from the pits with an unsecured rear left tyre. Max Verstappen's early promise was cut short when he was forced to retire, as was Romain Grosjean.

Sauber ended a turbulent week by having both drivers finishing in the points. Nasr showed composure to take 5th with his team-mate Marcus Ericsson 8th. Force India also brought their cars home with Nico Hulkenberg 7th and Sergio Perez 10th. Daniel Ricciardo and Sainz took their Renault powered cars across the finish line in 6th and 9th.

With 11 finishers, the driver who missed out on the points was Jenson Button. The 2009 world champion Honda held off Perez before the first round of pit-stops. Button was able to get some much needed mileage by finishing the race after a truncated pre-season testing. McLaren will be looking forward to Fernado Alonso returning for Malaysia. 

Hamilton savoured his sixth victory in seven races when Hollywood came to Albert Park with Arnold Schwarzenegger conducting the podium interviews. A chill must have gone down the pit-lane when Hamilton and Arnie, in unison, told the crowd "I'll be back."

Business As Usual

Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off last season by going 0.594 seconds faster than Nico Rosberg to take pole at the Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton had the edge over his team-mate throughout the session and was substantially faster than Rosberg through the first sector. Taking Turn 1 in fourth gear, Hamilton was able to get on the power quicker than Rosberg, who took the corner in third gear. Rosberg had felt the pinch in the first run in the third qualifying period when he ran wide at Turn 15 and later posted a time of 1.26.921 that was unable to dislodge Hamilton from pole position.

Williams showed their strength with Felipe Massa taking third position but his time was 1.391 seconds off the pace and further underlined Mercedes dominance. His team-mate Valteri Bottas was denied a place on the second row when he had a tank slapper after running wide on the last corner. Bottas qualified sixth but will have a medical assessment before the race after suffering back pains half way through the session.

Ferrari backed up their pre-season pace with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen taking fourth and fifth. Daniel Ricciardo took his under-powered Red Bull Renault to seventh and rookie Carlos Sainz Jr. impressed in the Torro Rosso in taking eighth. Lotus put behind their troubles of last year by rounding out the top ten with Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

The race to fill the bottom five spots on the grid in Q1 became a battle for the three lowest positions with Manor Marussia staying in the pit garage. 

Honda had decided to turn down their engines for reliability reasons and Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen fought for the ignominious last position on the grid. Button got the edge on his team-mate with a time that was almost four seconds slower than the Mercedes. McLaren have it all to do and can only hope for a 58 lap practice session.

Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber also missed the cut of Q1 and his team-mate Felipe Masr (11th on the grid) can be rest assured they'll be racing this weekend after the team came to an agreement with Guiedo Van de Garde. Van de Garde had earlier given up his claim to race this weekend and it remains to be seen whether Sauber will be willing to race the Dutchman this season.

Max Verstappen in the Torro Rosso qualified ahead of Red Bull's Daniil Kyvat and the Force Indias of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez to round out the grid in Q2.

To recap, the grid for the Australian Grand Prix is:

Hamilton - Rosberg

Massa - Vettel

Raikkonen - Bottas

Ricciardo - Sainz

Grosjean - Maldonado

Nasr - Verstappen

Kvyat - Hulkenberg

Perez - Ericsson

Button - Magnussen

Rosberg will be hoping to make the jump on Hamilton into Turn One but Lewis will have other ideas.

Back With A Bang - F1 2015 Season Preview

It doesn't seem that long ago that Lewis Hamilton made that quick start off the line and flew the Union Jack proudly around Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi to become only the fourth British driver to win the Formula One World Championship more than once.

A lot has happened for the Stevenage racer since then. He pipped Rory Mcllroy to BBC Sports Personality of the Year and his six year on-off relationship with former Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger, looks to be permanently off. Hamilton was surprised when he realised that he was the oldest driver in the room during Thursday's Driver's Press Conference and he is a much more wiser man compared with the one that last defended the title in 2009.

Hamilton admitted he has a car more likely to defend the title than five years ago and the formidable Mercedes will take some beating. Across the Mercedes garage is Nico Rosberg. A driver who has now experienced a title fight and is hungry to make the next step. In order to do that, Rosberg will have to beat Hamilton in a straight fight, and not crack under the pressure like he did going into Turn One at Monza.

Hamilton, beginning this season's gamesmanship, said that Fernando Alonso is the best team mate he has driven against, and this is the season Rosberg has to prove himself.

Alonso has proved himself time and again what he can get out of an under performing car and he has just that with McLaren Honda. The team's glory days of late 1980s/early 1990s are a distant memory now as McLaren have had a lot of reliability issues in pre-season testing. Honda are a year behind the other engine suppliers in power unit development and their pre-season woes have been similar to Renault last year. Renault's reliability improved later in 2014 and Honda are hoping they'll do the same this year.

Pre-season testing was eventful for Alonso as he crashed out of the Second Test at Barcelona. Running wide on Turn 3, the McLaren snatched back across the track and hit the inside barrier side on at 134mph. With no tyre barrier cushioning the blow to the most unprotected area of the car, Alonso suffered a concussion and awoke in hospital with retro-grade amnesia. Momentarily, Alonso believed he was back in 1995 and had obviously forgotten the day we met when I got an autograph from a little known Minardi driver at a Donington Park race day back in 2001! 

The doctors were cautious about Alonso suffering a second concussion and have put him on bed rest. Kevin Magnussen gets his old job back, for a race at least, and partners Jenson Button once again. Button considered trying out for the Olympic triathlon at Rio 2016 if he hadn't got a drive this year and it is disappointing he hasn't had a fast car for most of his time at McLaren. Hopefully the team can get back up the field but they'll have to fight past a few teams.

Williams and Ferrari have shown in pre-season testing that they will be the best of the rest and will be hoping to clean up any scraps that the battling Mercedes may offer. Sebastian Vettel looks settled and rejuvenated at Ferrari and Valteri Bottas showed a lot of promise last year. Daniel Riccardo is now the undisputed Number One at Red Bull and can get a lot out of the car.

Red Bull's sister team, Torro Rosso, will be hoping success runs in the family with their rookie driving pair of Carlos Sainz Jr. (son of rally world champion) and Max Verstappen (son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen).

Lotus will look to improve on a poor 2014 and their change from Renault to Mercedes engine should help this. Lotus and Force India driver line-ups remain the same and this consistency may prove vital in the mid-field battles.

Marussia were destined to join Caterham as the defunct 2014 teams but an 11th hour deal has seen the team relaunched as Manor Marussia. Their 2014 car has been modified for this year's safety regulations and they should see a 2015 spec model by the European races in May. Jules Bianchi is unfortunately unavailable due to the horrific crash in Japan last year so British driver Will Stevens will have Roberto Merhi as his Manor Marussia team mate. However, Manor Marussia have had technical issues which have forced the team to remain in the pit garage. The driver line-up at Sauber has been a lot more problematic.

Giedo Van de Garde successfully fought Sauber in court over a breach of contract after he was ditched for Felipe Nasir and Marcus Ericsson and their more lucrative sponsorship money. Pay drivers have always been a part of the sport with Nikki Lauda paying his way into F1 but their necessity has become vital in modern F1. 

Van de Garde arrived at the Albert Park track this week and had to apply for a guest pass to be allowed into the paddock. Armed with the guest paddock pass, he had to wear Ericsson's overalls because he didn't have any of his own. 

Sauber's team principal Monisha Kaltenborn faces jail or a fine for contempt of court if Van de Garde doesn't drive this weekend. A fine is more likely, especially with Van de Garde not having a super licence. The FIA will have to grant Van de Garde a super licence before Saturday's final practice session for him to race and this may be unlikely with Sauber terminating his contract. Even if Van de Garde is successful in getting back in the car, his relationship with the rest of the team will surely be toxic.

Sauber are trying to settle the case out of court but the financial ramifications for the team could be fatal as they slip further down the grid.

The grid this weekend will likely be led by a Mercedes 1-2 with Rosberg pipping Hamilton in Second Practice by 0.1 seconds and Vettel by 0.715 seconds. Button finished in 13th and would be happy with that result in qualifying. But being 3.69 seconds off the pace, his team-mate hitting the wall, and four drivers not taking part in the session, the first aim for Button is to get into the second qualifying session.

Felipe Massa and Ricciardo sat out the session due to power unit issues and reliability problems plagued Pastor Maldonado and Verstappen as well.

So, can Hamilton join Sir Jackie Stewart, as a three-time British World Champion by the end of this season? Can Rosberg get the better of his team mate? Which other teams will win races this year? Can McLaren Honda surprise us all? Will Manor Marussia survive the season? Will Van de Garde get a drive?

The journey starts with lights out on Sunday.