Pirelli, the tire supplier for Formula One, has changed their tire choices for the Grand Prix in Brazil after the Sao Paulo circuit was resurfaced.  

The compounds available for the 18th round will be the soft and medium compounds, originally the medium and hard sets were going to be used.  This decision comes after a heavily criticized Russian Grand Prix that saw Nico Rosberg do 52 laps on one set of medium tires.  

Pirelli’s director of motorsport Paul Hembery commented on the change in tire choice, saying “We’ve always said that we would be open to changes if they were required.”

“After further technical analysis of the impact of the revised circuit surface, together with a risk assessment suggesting a low probability of compounding overheating due to extreme track temperatures,” the change was issued.  

The decision was made “with the unanimous agreement of all 11 teams,” he added.  

There are just three races left in the 2014 Formula 1 season, which leaves a maximum of 100 points left for any one driver to claim.  

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Daniel Ricciardo are the only three drivers left in the championship running.  Valtteri Bottas sits in P4 but is 42 points out from being able to contend for the championship.  

Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is the current leader with a 17 point gap to his teammate, Rosberg.  It has been a late season run for Hamilton, winning the last four races and overtaking his Mercedes partner for the points lead at Singapore.  This was largely due to Rosberg’s DNF there as well as a fantastic drive himself.  

Constructor’s Championship
Since Singapore, there have been two more silver arrow one-twos to add on to the already dominant season.  With that lockout at Sochi, Mercedes F1 clinched the Constructor’s Championship with three races to go.  This is the first time Mercedes AMG has won this title in their time in modern1 Formula 1.

Nico Rosberg
If Rosberg hopes to secure his first Driver’s Championship this year, he’ll need near flawless appearances in the final three races.  If Mercedes continue their one-two finishes in the final three races, Rosberg will need to win all of them in order to secure the championship win.  But that task (obviously) isn’t going to be easy.  

Hamilton is on a run of good form this year and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Between his dominance in qualifying and race performance, it’s going to take a DNF or Hamilton screw up for Rosberg to have a shot.  

Ricciardo also needs Mercedes finishes outside the top ten in all of the remaining races for a shot at the title. 

Hamilton, Rosberg, and Ricciardo are the only drivers mathematically eligible to win the 2014 Championship.

Footnotes
1. Mercedes has been involved in racing since the 1900’s, but weren’t a full time constructor until 2010.  The team was an engine supplier throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s to Sauber and McLaren.  Nico Rosberg scored the team’s first win in their return to F1 in 2012 at the Chinese Grand Prix. 

The brand new Formula One track in Sochi, Russia, is set to host it’s first Grand Prix this Sunday with Lewis Hamilton leading the field when the lights go out.


Schedule:
          Race: 7 a.m. EDT

Key Stats:

The circuit is brand new for 2014, so the only rubber on the track is from cars running this weekend.  Overall, the Mercedes duo have been looking fast at Sochi, locking out the front row in qualifying by two tenths of a second.  Valtteri Bottas put his Williams into P3 followed by Jenson Button and the Russian Danil Kvyat in P4 and P5, respectively.  The drivers have been impressed with the track conditions this weekend.  Lewis Hamilton talked about the track after qualifying on Saturday:

“The track surface is great, it’s very smooth but it has a lot of grip. The kerbs are just done really nicely and obviously the surroundings, you know when I landed here seeing the mountains – and also being around where they put the Olympics on, it’s quite an incredible place.”

Nico Rosberg also talked about the tire degradation at the circuit, or lack their of, after qualifying second:

“It’s very unique here because there is hardly any tyre degradation. The track is so smooth on the tyres or I don’t know what. It’s completely different to everything else we’ve seen this year and that makes it very unique. It’s been a big challenge set-up wise and everything to get to grips with the track this weekend.”

Getting to grips with the track conditions didn’t seem to be a big hurdle for the teams this weekend in terms of times, though.  The Mercedes guys showed real pace throughout the entire weekend but could be challenged by Williams’ Bottas on Sunday. 


The Race:
Mercedes F1 have locked out the front row for yet another Grand Prix this year, and Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position in a quest to improve on his three race win streak that started in Monza.  A win here could really help him build a gap to his second place teammate Nico Rosberg; the current gap is ten points.  Rosberg commented on the importance of this race to his championship hopes:  

“Every race is important at the moment. We have four to go. They are all just as important. Yeah, today Lewis was quicker – all weekend really. So I’ve been working hard to try to get close but didn’t manage to get closer than those two tenths now but that’s the way it is. I need to accept that.”

Sauber driver Adrian Sutil turns laps at the Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia on Saturday.

There are 125 points left up for grabs for any one driver with double points in Abu Dhabi this year.  This leaves only Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, and Daniel Ricciardo mathematically left to win the 2014 Driver’s Championship.  Ricciardo qualified in P7 ahead of his teammate Sebastien Vettel, and he will need a good result tomorrow to stay in the championship fight.  A poor result could send him spiraling to the edge of contention with only three races to go after Sochi:

“It’s tough to get a lap together around here, for a new track it’s really high in grip but at the same time it’s hard to read the grip; it’s not such a natural feeling that it gives us behind the wheel, but it’s fun and a new challenge. We were trying to get the fronts in and get grip out of them and on the last lap I lost the rear. We’re better off than we were yesterday, but I was hoping for more than seventh.”

What to Expect:
It should be an all out fight between Mercedes as both of the drivers look to retain or reattain the championship lead.  Bottas could prove to be a difficult competitor for them as well, he was just two tenths off the pace in qualifying.  

Your Turn:
Who do you think will come away with the inaugural Sochi Grand Prix victory?  Let us know your thoughts and predictions in the comments below.

Image © Force India and Getty

Mike Conway in the #20 Fuzzy’s machine.

Mike Conway finished the 2014 IndyCar season in 23rd place in the championship, just behind teammate Ed Carpenter.  Let’s break down his 2014 season.  

We’ll be doing a statistical breakdown of all of the drivers who ran in the 2014 IndyCar season, starting from the back of the points standings and ending with the championship winner, Will Power.  To view all of the driver breakdowns, click here.  


The Year

Mike Conway only ran on the street courses this year, but that didn’t stop him from making his mark on the track.  He picked up wins at Long Beach and Toronto with help from strategist Matt Barnes. Both of his race wins came while using a different strategy than the majority of the field.  This was due to the relatively poor qualification results this year, only managing to start in the top ten twice.   

Another troubling factor came in the way of technical failures; Conway had three DNF’s this year with one crash and two car issues.  This led to him only completing 88.8% of the laps run this year compared to 99.99% for championship winner Will Power.  

It looks as if Mike Conway will rejoin forces with Ed Carpenter in 2015 and unite with Sarah Fisher Racing driver Joseph Newgarden.  Having a teammate will be good for both of the drivers and give the team a little more data to work with on race weekend.  

Update 1/31/2015: The original analysis was written before CFH Racing announced Luca Filippi as their third driver for the team.  

Form Guide