The GSOH - Round One - 1995 vs 2016

[crmalcolm]

The next match of the GSOH bracket puts 1995 up against 2016.

Summaries from Wikipedia:

1995 - Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive Drivers' Championship, and Benetton won the Constructors' Championship, the first and only Constructors' title for the Benetton team.

Schumacher won nine races en route to the championship, equalling the record set by Nigel Mansell in 1992. He also continued his rivalry with Williams-Renault driver Damon Hill, including collisions at the British and Italian Grands Prix. Both these races were won by Schumacher's Benetton teammate Johnny Herbert, taking his first two F1 victories. Hill's Williams teammate, David Coulthard, claimed his first victory in Portugal, while Ferrari's Jean Alesi achieved his only F1 victory in Canada. Just like Honda in 1988, Renault engines won all but one race in this season.

The 1995 F1 season featured several dramatic incidents, including seven Grands Prix affected by rain and four Grands Prix which were red-flagged on the first lap of the race.

The Formula One regulations underwent several changes prior to the 1995 season. The most significant change was to the engine capacity, which was reduced from 3.5 litres to 3.0 litres in order to reduce horsepower. Higher sidepods were required, together with raised cockpit side protection (above shoulder height; to be raised even more for 1996) and a larger cockpit opening than that of the 1994 cars. The front and rear wings were reduced in depth to lessen downforce, thereby reducing cornering speeds. To further reduce downforce, the flat-bottomed undertray which was made mandatory in 1983 was to now feature a large "stepped" section underneath each sidepod, raised about an inch higher and parallel to the wooden plank originally introduced in 1994. The overall height of the car was also lowered. Deformable structures, particularly the sidepods and nose section, were subject to more stringent crash testing. Many of these changes were in reaction to the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, who both died of head and neck injuries. Some of the circuits were also changed, with larger run-off areas featuring at tracks such as Monza and Imola.

The Benetton team had Renault V10 engines for the first time, after running Ford V8s for several years. Michael Schumacher won nine out of the seventeen Grands Prix, and won his second World Championship. Schumacher's main title rival was Damon Hill, who was driving for Williams-Renault. Hill and Schumacher were involved in some very close battles at numerous races, including at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, where the two championship contenders fought wheel-to-wheel for extended periods. Making its last appearance in F1 to date was the V12, used consistently by Ferrari since the 640 in 1989. They would use V10s in 1996.

Damon Hill received criticism during 1995, after several incidents that were attributed to driving errors. The 1995 British Grand Prix was overshadowed by a controversial collision between Hill and Schumacher, and Hill was widely blamed for the accident. Hill also suffered with mechanical problems in his Williams-Renault.

Jean Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, which was his first and only victory in Formula One. Alesi also nearly won the European, Italian and Japanese Grand Prix, only being passed by Schumacher with a few laps to go in the former, and retiring with a wheel bearing and driveshaft failure in the latter two, respectively.

Nigel Mansell made a brief return to Formula One with McLaren. The McLaren-Mercedes cockpit was initially too small for Mansell, and he had to miss the first two races whilst McLaren redesigned the monocoque. His eventual return for the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix was disappointing, and he was outpaced by Häkkinen. After another disappointing race at the Spanish Grand Prix Mansell and McLaren parted ways, and Mark Blundell drove the second McLaren for the remainder of 1995. Mika Häkkinen suffered serious head injuries after a high-speed crash during the first qualifying session on the Friday of the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. The fast actions of the medical crew, including performing an emergency tracheotomy, saved his life, and he later returned to the track in 1996. Later that year, Mansell revealed that he intended to "fight for the championship with Williams", but the Williams team chose David Coulthard instead.

One of the rookies for 1995 was Taki Inoue who drove for Footwork Arrows. During the first qualifying session for the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix his car stalled on the track, and the session was stopped in order to recover the car. A course car driven by Jean Ragnotti was travelling too fast and Ragnotti was unsighted by the barriers on the twisty circuit. Ragnotti's car crashed into Inoue's stranded car, flipping the Arrows. Inoue was knocked unconscious but he recovered and took part in the race on Sunday. At the 1995 Hungarian Grand Prix Inoue's car retired with a mechanical problem. He got out of his car and grabbed a fire extinguisher in order to put out a small fire on his car. Inoue then walked into the path of a course car, and was knocked over. Inoue bounced off the front of the car and collapsed on to the grass. He suffered minor leg injuries.



2016 - The season started with the Australian Grand Prix, and featured the newly introduced elimination-style qualifying format. This format was heavily criticized by teams, drivers, fans and the press, which led to a review of the format before the next race. The race ended with a 1–2 finish for Mercedes with Nico Rosberg taking victory from Lewis Hamilton in second. Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari finished on the last remaining step of the podium. Teammate Kimi Räikkönen retired with a suspected turbo failure on lap 21. On lap 16, whilst attempting to overtake Esteban Gutiérrez in the new Haas F1 car at turn three, Fernando Alonso crashed at high speed into the outside barrier before barrel-rolling and landing upside-down against the barrier. Gutiérrez ended up in the gravel trap with terminal rear tyre damage, and quickly went over to Alonso who managed to exit his cockpit unaided. Due to the huge amount of debris caused by the accident the race was red flagged, with the cars subsequently lining up in the pitlane. Romain Grosjean finished sixth in the other Haas and they became the first brand new team to score points in their inaugural race since Toyota did so in 2002.

At the next race in Bahrain, Alonso was ruled out of taking part on medical grounds and was later revealed to have suffered broken ribs and a pneumothorax as a result of the previous race's collision, and was replaced by rookie Stoffel Vandoorne. Following the widespread criticism of the new qualifying format, the teams voted to abandon it and revert to the system used in 2015. However, in the week before the race weekend, the sport's Strategy Working Group over-ruled the teams in order to keep the elimination style for 2016. After qualifying, the system once again came under heavy fire with Hamilton securing pole position ahead of Rosberg and Vettel. The race saw Rosberg take his second consecutive victory of 2016 followed by Räikkönen and Hamilton, respectively. The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and the Renault of Jolyon Palmer retired before the race started with engine and hydraulics failures, respectively. Following a first-lap collision with Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas was penalised and given two points on his licence.

At the next Grand Prix in China, the elimination style qualifying format was permanently dropped in favour of the previous format used between 2006 and 2015. This yielded Nico Rosberg's first pole position of the year after Hamilton suffered a number of setbacks both in qualifying and during the race itself, eventually finishing in seventh place, with his teammate taking his third consecutive victory of the 2016 season. The race finished with no retirements, a feat that has only been achieved six times. The next race in Russia featured a number of incidents on the first lap with Vettel and Kvyat getting involved. Kvyat hit Vettel twice forcing him to retire. Rosberg won the race with his teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second after starting 10th and Rosberg achieved his first grand slam and extended his championship lead going into the European races.

Max Verstappen became the youngest ever winner in Formula One when he won the Spanish Grand Prix.
Before the race in Spain, Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen swapped places with Kvyat going to Toro Rosso and Verstappen to Red Bull. The start of the race saw Hamilton and Rosberg collide, handing the lead to Daniel Ricciardo. The race also saw the youngest race winner as Max Verstappen won the Grand Prix, defending against Kimi Räikkönen after Red Bull committed Ricciardo to an additional pit stop.

At the next round in Monaco, Ricciardo took the first pole position of his career. Helped by the race starting behind the safety car he held the lead for 33 laps, but was unable to convert it to a win after his team made a costly error during his pit-stop. As a result, Lewis Hamilton inherited the lead and went on to win the race, his first of the season. Ricciardo finished second ahead of Sergio Pérez. Hamilton then went on to win the Canadian Grand Prix despite losing the lead to Sebastian Vettel at the start, reclaiming the position with a one-stop strategy while Vettel and Ferrari committed to two stops. Valtteri Bottas finished third, his first podium of the season. Rosberg won the returning European Grand Prix with his second grand slam of the season and of his career, ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Pérez, while Hamilton finished fifth after struggling with a software issue that limited his engine's ability to harvest energy.

Hamilton took pole position at the next round in Austria while Rosberg started sixth after a grid penalty. The two drivers followed opposing strategies to be first and second after the pit stops, with Hamilton on the preferred racing tyre gradually catching Rosberg. The two made contact as Hamilton tried to pass Rosberg on the final lap; Hamilton won the race, while Rosberg broke his front wing and finished fourth behind Verstappen and Räikkönen. A stewards' inquiry found that Rosberg had caused an avoidable collision, and handed him a ten-second penalty, though the race result was not affected. Hamilton reduced the deficit to Rosberg to a single point at the next round in Great Britain, where difficult conditions saw the drivers contend with a drying circuit and varying grip levels. Hamilton established an early lead, while Rosberg and Verstappen fought over second place. Rosberg prevailed, but suffered a critical fault with his gearbox late in the race. Mercedes instructed him to reset the gearbox and to avoid using seventh gear or else risk a catastrophic failure, which prompted an investigation by the stewards for providing him with assistance. Rosberg was ultimately penalised for the radio call, having ten seconds added to his race time, which demoted him to third behind Verstappen.

Following the Austrian Grand Prix, Sauber was the last remaining team that had not scored a single point in the 2016 Formula One World Championship.
Lewis Hamilton took the championship lead from Nico Rosberg at the next round in Hungary, leading another Mercedes 1–2 finish to gain a six-point lead in the Drivers' Championship standings. The Grand Prix was marked by controversy: Rosberg secured pole position on a drying circuit in qualifying after McLaren's Fernando Alonso spun in front of him necessitating a double waved yellow flag. Although race stewards confirmed that Rosberg had slowed, he nevertheless secured pole with his lap time. The race saw Jenson Button fall afoul of new restrictions on pit-to-car communications that demanded that any car with an issue serious enough to require the intervention of the team be pitted or retired. Button reported a brake issue—which was later revealed to be a faulty sensor—and was penalised for unauthorised assistance.

Following penalties for Rosberg and Button for unauthorised pit-to-car communications in the previous races, the FIA repealed all regulations for the next round in Germany. Hamilton further consolidated his championship lead, beating Rosberg off the line at the start; for his part, Rosberg was caught by the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen and was unable to pass them. Rosberg's race was further complicated by a time penalty for an aggressive pass on Verstappen that forced the Red Bull driver wide. However, Hamilton remained pessimistic about his position as championship leader, as with nine races left in the season, he was anticipating grid penalties for exceeding his engine allocation.

With Mercedes opting to take a series of grid penalties to build up a stockpile of components, Hamilton was forced to start the next race in Belgium from the back of the grid. He took advantage of first-lap contact between Vettel, Räikkönen and Verstappen to work his way through the field before a heavy accident involving Kevin Magnussen at Eau Rouge forced the race to be temporarily stopped. When the race resumed, Nico Rosberg led the race until the chequered flag, while Hamilton ultimately finished third after being unable to catch Daniel Ricciardo. Further down the order, Verstappen was subject to increasing criticism over his driving tactics after being caught in several incidents with Räikkönen and Sergio Pérez, while Esteban Ocon finished sixteenth on debut for MRT.

Rosberg reduced Hamilton's championship lead to two points at the next round in Italy, taking advantage of a slow start by Hamilton to establish an early lead that went unchallenged through the race. Hamilton dropped as low as fifth at the start, recovering to fourth in the opening laps and got ahead of the Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen by making one pit-stop less. Vettel went on to finish third—his first podium finish in five races—with Räikkönen fourth as the team introduced upgrades to the type 061 power unit in the hopes of recovering second place in the World Constructors' Championship from Red Bull.

Rosberg reclaimed the championship lead in Singapore, qualifying on pole while Hamilton was forced to settle for third after struggling with mechanical issues and driving errors. A late pit stop during the race by Mercedes saw Hamilton pass Kimi Räikkönen for third which he held until the end of the race. Red Bull Racing decided to pit Daniel Ricciardo from second to prevent coming under threat from Hamilton. Rosberg decided to stay out because his lead over Ricciardo was not large enough to pit and stay ahead, but was able to hold on to first place to take the win. Ricciardo made late efforts to catch Rosberg from 27 seconds behind, but could not quite catch him, finishing 0.6 seconds behind at the chequered flag. With Hamilton finishing third, Rosberg turned a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

Mercedes's streak of ten consecutive wins came to an end in Malaysia. Hamilton established an early lead, but retired sixteen laps from the end of the race when his engine failed, leaving Daniel Ricciardo in control of the race. Nico Rosberg was turned around by Sebastian Vettel in a first corner accident that eliminated Vettel and forced Rosberg to work his way up through the field. Ricciardo raced Max Verstappen for the lead when Hamilton's retirement triggered a Virtual Safety Car, prompting Red Bull to pit both drivers at the same time. On fresher tyres, Ricciardo was able to withstand pressure from Verstappen to win his first race since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix. Nico Rosberg finished third despite having ten seconds added to his race time for contact with Kimi Räikkönen, extending his championship lead to twenty-three points.

Rosberg further extended his championship lead to thirty-three points in Japan, starting the race from pole and winning it. Meanwhile, Hamilton suffered a poor start, slipping from second on the grid to eighth by the end of the first lap. He was forced to run a race of recovery, using pit strategy to reclaim third place going into the final phase of the race, but was unable to pass Max Verstappen, and finished third. The result secured Mercedes's third consecutive World Constructors' Championship title.

With the championship leaving Asia for the Americas, Hamilton gradually started to erode Rosberg's championship lead. Mercedes scored a 1–2 finish in the United States, with Rosberg taking advantage of a Virtual Safety Car triggered by Max Verstappen to take second place from Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton led another Mercedes 1–2 in Mexico, with the race overshadowed by a late incident that saw Verstappen run wide and cut part of the circuit, triggering an angry radio message from Sebastian Vettel. Vettel inherited third place when Verstappen was penalised, only to be penalised himself for dangerous driving when defending against Ricciardo. The final amended results saw Ricciardo finish third, ahead of Verstappen and Vettel. Treacherous weather conditions saw the Brazilian Grand Prix subject to several race stoppages—most notably after Kimi Räikkönen crashed on the main straight—but when racing resumed, Mercedes took another 1–2 finish. Hamilton won the race ahead of Rosberg for the third time in as many races, with Max Verstappen completing the podium.

Going into the final round at Abu Dhabi, Rosberg led Hamilton by twelve points. That meant that if Hamilton won the race, Rosberg needed to finish third to win the championship. Hamilton secured pole ahead of Rosberg and led from the start. In the closing laps of the race, he slowed down in attempt to allow other drivers to catch and pass Rosberg, despite repeated instructions from Mercedes not to risk losing the race to Sebastian Vettel, who used pit strategy to bring himself into contention and was quickly catching up. Hamilton went on to win the race, while Rosberg secured his maiden Drivers' Championship title with second place.

Five days after winning the title, Rosberg announced his immediate retirement from the sport at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Vienna. He was the first reigning champion to do so since Alain Prost in 1993.