Italian Invasion

One season ago in Monza, Felipe Massa recorded Manor’s first-ever podium with a 3rd-place finish. A season later, the team went to Italy as the World Constructors Championship leader and possessing a driver who led the Drivers Championship battle.

Daniel Ricciardo and Carmen Jordá qualified in the top 2 positions. In a sea of Ferrari red, fans were eager to see the home team battle Manor, but those hopes were dashed in two laps as Jordá retired from the race after two laps. Meanwhile, Ricciardo remained calm in the midst of his teammate’s misfortune, dominating the event as he recorded yet another victory. The tifosi were not complaining, however, as the Ferraris of Nico Rosberg and Felipe Nasr joined Ricciardo on the podium.

Further inspection regarding Jordá’s sudden retirement concluded with a Mercedes power unit failure. “We are getting increasingly frustrated with the reliability of the PUs supplied by them,” team principal Macus16 stated. “They provide a great PU for speed and power however the reliability is a deep concern. We do not know if this will be acceptable to take their PU again next season.” Predictably, this resulted in a re-ignition of the Manor/Mercedes rivalry as Mercedes TP Tomtom615 and Macus debated during the post-race press conference regarding the unit’s reliability compared to Manor’s performance this season.

It might be safe to say the MF1 Thanksgiving feast in Singapore will be an interesting one.

After the race, Manor continues to lead the WCC with 466 points, a 119-point advantage over Ferrari. In the WDC, Ricciardo maintains his lead with 260 points. Behind him, Jordá, the Ferraris and Mercedes (of Nico Hülkenberg and Giedo van der Garde) remain in championship contention.

Next week, the Model F1 World Championship travels to Singapore for a Thanksgiving-filled weekend. We wonder what Thursday’s party will be offering…