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Weather Report for the 2015 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

The Formula 1 Circus heads to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and round 9 of the Formula 1 World Championship.

The Silverstone circuit, situated in Northamptonshire, is a fast and flowing circuit which many of the drivers and fans enjoy. The high speed corners put enormous amounts of energy and stress through the tyres which leads to high degradation and wear on the tyres. With temperatures expexcted to to be in the mid 20’s for the weekend the rate of degradation is expected to be higher than normal. Cars also tend to run high down-force levels throughout the weekend. For that reason Pirelli are bringing the two hardest tyre compounds at their disposal for the British Grand Prix weekend. The white medium compound and the orange hard compound tyre.

The hard and medium tyre compounds will be best suited for the quick direction changes for the Maggotts,Becketts and Chapel complex which a quick, left-right-left-right-left combination of corners taken in 6th gear at about 270 km/h. The minimum speed of the complex is about 170km/h. Copse corner is another very high speed corner taken in 6th gear at 255km/h. With the heat and the wear rate of the tyres we could see a two to three stop race.

This weekend in Silverstone will be sunny and hot with glorious weather all round. Temperatures will hover in the mid-to-high 20s for Friday and Saturday. Low 20s are forecast for the race on Sunday. No rain is expected over the course of the weekend.

July 1, 2015
Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix and round 9 of the Formula 1 World Championship brings us to the home of Formula 1, Silverstone.

The Silverstone circuit, situated next to the Northamptionshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury, has been hosting the British Grand Prix since 1987. Between 1955 and 1986 the British Grand Prix was alternated between the Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Aintree circuits.

With 18 corners, the circuit is a mix of old school with a bit of new school thrown in. There is a very good mix of slow, medium and high speed corners which shows of the skill of a driver. Any shortcomings in a cars setup will also be highlighted.

Formula 1 at Silverstone is always special. Its the birthplace of Formula 1 and it always feels as if F1 is at home at Silverstone. The weekend festivities never seem to let up and come rain or sunshine the grand stands are always packed with very passionate and knowledgeable F1 fans. The circuit is also a home grand prix for many teams that are based close to the facility, Force India being the closest situated right next to the circuit. Mercedes’ Brackley plant is a few kilometers away while Lotus with their Entsone base are not far away. Marussia, Williams and Red

The circuit characteristics should suit Mercedes well. Lewis Hamilton will aim for a second victory at Silverstone on the trot, while Nico Rosberg who has found some good form recently will be looking to close the points gap to the championship at the top of the table. He is just 10 points adrift of Hamilton who is at the top of the championship table.

Much has been said about Ferrari’s improvements over the past few weeks. But come race day, they are still a few seconds down the road from Mercedes. If anything, it seems as though Williams have closed the gap to the Maranello based team. The fast and flowing nature could play to Williams’ strengths this coming weekend.

Coming off the back of some good results in the last two races Force India feel that they are in a good position to finish higher up the grid. They are expected to launch their 2015 car this weekend after running a modified version of the 2014 car until now. The team are confident that their new car will deliver on its promises this weekend.

The race times this weekend are in line with typical European times with the race taking place in the afternoon. Below are your broadcast times for the 2015 Fomrula 1 British Grand Prix.

Free Practice 1: Friday 11:00

Free Practice 2: Friday 15:00

Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

Race: Sunday 14:00

June 30, 2015
F1 2015: British GP Preview – Time-tested Silverstone

The first ever Formula 1 world championship season took place sixty-five years ago in 1950. The British grand prix was the first official world championship race in that 1950 season and it remains, though altered, on the Formula 1 calendar.

The high speed circuit of Silverstone and the famously quick sequence of Maggots and Becketts are where Formula 1 cars are pushed to the limit of adhesion. The circuit and the venue is a part of many team’s history as some make their home’s literally down the street from the Silverstone gates. It’s one that all driver’s love to race on. “I mean, Silverstone’s great in a Formula Renault 2.0. In an F1 car? Epic,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

The British weather is always in doubt even with talks of a possible heat wave. Yet, whether it is wet or dry Silverstone presents a stiff set-up challenge for drivers and engineers because of the assortment of low, medium and high speed corners.

It is here two years ago that Pirelli faced its biggest controversy as tyres appeared to completely disintegrate. It prompted an almost instantaneous change to the tyre construction and a complete redesign of the rubber. While tyre safety has improved Formula 1 in 2015 isn’t exactly in a happy place.

Yes, Mercedes’ dominance takes away a bit from the spectacle but they’re only getting their dues. They, like the rest of the paddock, were given a set of rules which they hit perfectly on the head. This is the way Formula 1 has always worked, in cycles. A period of dominance is not unusual as most Ferrari and even Sebastian Vettel fans will know.

But what is detracting from the showpiece is what Pirelli has brought to Formula 1. The Italian tyre manufacturer will say that they are simply dancing to Formula 1’s tune and producing what they are asked for. But to be able to complete 50 laps on one set of tyres is ludicrous. It leaves zero room for any sort of bold strategy which the 2012 and 2013 version of their tyres encouraged. At that stage the tyres were criticised for their fragility but what we wouldn’t give know for teams to have to think outside of the boring Pirelli box on tyre strategy. Hopefully the recent addition of Michelin as a potential tyre supplier spurs Pirelli to supply a range of tyres that will to the sport rather than detract from it.

A driver that needs a good weekend is Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The second place to Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain grand prix feels like a long time ago and a few unflattering results has stunted the Finn’s momentum since then. But while some are questioning the 2007 champion’s future at the team Ferrari team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has ruled out making a decision “so early in the season.” Nevertheless, a solid run this weekend almost certainly won’t go unnoticed in the greater scheme of things.

The passion of the British Formula 1 fan has never been in doubt. Come serious rain or come shine nothing can stand in the way of these devoted enthusiasts. They have a lot to shout about too as Lewis Hamilton is aiming at world championship title number three. A win this weekend, on home soil, would be big for the Brit too. To win his home grand prix will come with a sort of euphoria that could carry Hamilton all the way to that coveted third title and importantly extend his points lead.

It is quite something to think that sixty-five years ago pundits of a different era sat down to write about the driver’s of their time ahead of the British grand prix. It goes to show that while the times may change where Formula 1 is there the legendary Silverstone will be.

June 30, 2015
Video: Brembo Brake Facts – Round 09 British Grand Prix

The hardest braking point on the Silverstone Circuit lies ahead of Vale Corner. The Formula One driver decelerates by 132 km/h over just 72 metres. 2,351kW of power are released in the process. The driver is subjected to 5.5 g, while having to push with 166 kg onto the brake.

June 29, 2015
Video: Formula 1 On The Edge

A great collection of Formula 1 clips over the years

June 26, 2015

Wehrlein Tops The Time Sheets on Day 1 of Rain Hit Austria In-Season Test

Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein ended on top of the time sheets after the first day of the final in-season test at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The young German set a best time of 1:11.005, 0.187s clear of Force India’s Esteban Ocon who’s best time was 1:11.192.

The session got off to a very wet start on Tuesday morning with just Ferrari Academy driver Antonio Fuoco and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne heading out for installation laps on full wets. The track remained quiet for the rest of the morning. The session was red-flagged 30mins in due to the heavy rains that showed no sign of letting up.

There was much deliberation between the teams to cancel running for the day and extend the test for an extra day to Thursday. It was eventually decided, as the rain started to ease up, that Monday’s running should be extended by 2 hours.

Cars started firing up and heading out after the lunch break. First on full wets and then on intermediates as the track quickly dried up. Not long after that it was time for dry weather tyres and we were able to see more cars on the track.

Finishing 3rd fastest for the day was Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen. He set a best time of 1:11.328 clocking up 97 laps, the most from all the drivers on the day.

Ferrari Academy driver Antonio Fuoco’s fastest time was 1:11.331 which was 0.326s off Wehrlein’s pace. He’s lap time steadily climbed all afternoon but a slight mistake into Turn 1 saw him spin off the track and hit the wall damaging the front end of the SF15-T. “I am very angry with myself for making a mistake today,” commented Fuoco. “But getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari has always been my dream and today it finally came true. All the same, I am pleased with the work I was able to do, gathering useful data for the team, even if the rain affected our programme today.”

GP2 driver Stoffel Vandoorne ended his day for McLaren 8th fastest 1.525s off the pace with a fastest time of 1:12.530 and managed to rack up 76 laps for the dayLotus’ Romain Grosjean ended his day 5th fastest ahead of Red Bull’s Peirre Gasly. Another Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello was in the driving seat at Sauber. He racked up 53 laps for the Swiss based team with his fastest time of the day of 1:11.826.

Williams test driver Susie Wolff was 9th fastest for Williams with a best time for her of 1:13.248. Wolff says that her runs in the dry were mainly for aerodynamic evaluations and preparation work for Silverstone. The Williams did emerge from the pits with interesting looking winglets ahead of the rear wheels which, if deemed legal, could provide the team with a really big advantage come Silverstone.

Force India were trailing parts for their B-spec car which they hope to run in Silverstone. Deputy Team Principal Robert Fernley says that the team hopes to have two complete B-spec cars ready for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. At the moment, he says they are on track to meet their deadline.

Wednesday’s driver line up:

Mercedes	Nico Rosberg
Ferrari	Esteban Gutierrez
Williams	Valtteri Bottas
Red Bull	Daniel Ricciardo
Force India	Pascal Wehrlein
Lotus	Jolyon Palmer
Sauber	Felipe Nasr
Toro Rosso	Marco Wittmann
McLaren	Fernando Alonso

Below is the unofficial timing sheet for Day 1 of the Austrian in-season test.

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Pascal Wehrlein	Mercedes	67	1:11.005	–
2	Esteban Ocon	Force India	76	1:11.192	+0.178
3	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	97	1:11.328	+0.323
4	Antonio Fuoco	Ferrari	71	1:11.331	+0.326
5	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	45	1:11.509	+0.504
6	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull	80	1:11.757	+0.752
7	Raffaele Marciello	Sauber	53	1:11.826	+0.821
8	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	76	1:12.530	+1.525
9	Susie Wolff	Williams	39	1:13.248	+2.243

June 23, 2015

F1 2015: Austrian GP Review – Rosberg Strikes In Spielberg

Control is a concept that when given up is difficult to regain. Yet, Nico Rosberg overcame his pole starting teammate and controlled all seventy-one laps for an important victory in Austria.

The multi-lingual German secured his third victory of the season and second consecutive Austrian race win. But for a “vibration” late on in the race the afternoon was smooth as it could be with Rosberg firmly in the lead. This was an important victory for Rosberg to stymie Hamilton’s momentum ahead of the British Grand Prix.

For Lewis Hamilton a supposed issue with the clutch complicated his afternoon. The reigning champion also cut the white line on pit exit for which he was given a five second penalty.

It didn’t influence his second position as he brought the number 44 Mercedes home in a rather quiet afternoon.

The Austrian country side is a beautiful vista of mountains and greenery but Kimi Raikkonen probably had enough of it. A communication error on Saturday landed the Finn at the back of the grid and Sunday’s race lasted all of three corners before a hefty clash with Fernando Alonso ended his race.

The crash itself was quite strange as Raikkonen appeared to lose rear grip and collected the front of Alonso’s McLaren. Some sources suggest that Raikkonen had a rear puncture which contributed to the rear end becoming unstuck but the Finn himself could not pinpoint a specific reason.

Sebastian Vettel fared slightly better and was running third but a problem with a wheelnut cost the German third place as he fell behind Williams’ Felipe Massa. The four time champion was able to close the gap in the closing stages but similar to the Bahrain Grand Prix was unable to overtake the Williams. Vettel declared the Williams the most difficult car to overtake after finishing the race in fourth.

McLaren’s afternoon only got worse and that in the presence of new Honda managing director Takahiro Hachigo. Jenson Button’s McLaren gave up the ghost after only ten laps of which at least six were behind the safety car. Sadly, McLaren’s Honda issues have not gotten any better since pre-season testing and its drivers were given a combination of fifty grid place penalties, in Austria, for changing several parts of their power units.

The issue of power unit penalties has been a point of heated contention. Nevertheless, the validity of this particular gripe is mostly unfounded. All manufacturers started with the same set of rules and the reality is that some, namely Merc, did a significantly better job than others. In all probability the manufacturers in Formula 1 would have thought that the second year of the hybrid power unit era would have looked far better in terms of power and reliability. In Renault’s case it’s showing a significant downturn in performance and reliability. Improvement from year one is possible though as Ferrari has proven. For Honda and Renault the level of frustration is further inflated by penalties but they are a consequence of a much bigger problem.

The race up front wasn’t as exciting as many would’ve liked but there were several juicy battles further down the field. For fifth place, Valtteri Bottas duked it out with an inspired Nico Hulkenberg. Bottas ultimately got the better of the tussle but the Force India driver, still on a high from winning Le Mans, put together a brilliant weekend which culminated with a sixth place finish.

The fight for seventh too was an exhilarating scrap between Pastor Maldonado and Max Verstappen. The teenager’s never-say-die approach made for a great spectacle but didn’t go down too well with Maldonado who felt that the youngster didn’t “respect the rules.” Ninth place went to Force India’s Sergio Perez ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

There are many factors which contribute to the current state of Formula 1 not least of all the tyres provided by Pirelli. Daniel Ricciardo was able to run fifty laps on the yellow-walled soft tyres before having to pit. The blame isn’t solely on Pirelli but surely a nigh indestructible tyre is not going to add to the showpiece. Even the 2012 and 2013 version of their tyres, which dramatically fell away, would be a welcome return at this uninspiring point. Michelin has announced their interest in becoming the official tyre supplier of Formula 1 with a promise of allowing drivers to push to the limit at all times. It’s easier said than done of course but it’s clear that, on the tyre front, things have to change.

The start of the 2015 season didn’t go to plan for Rosberg who was being summarily spanked by Hamilton. But little by little Rosberg has clawed his way back both on the leaderboard and mentally. With his confidence soaring a ten point gap doesn’t seem much at all.

Rosberg Hamilton Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG F1

June 22, 2015
Alonso, Raikkonen explain their collision

Both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen walked away from a very scary first lap collision at the start of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

Raikkonen veered left while accelerating out of Turn 2 and collected Alonso on the way. The Spaniard slid into the barriers before landing on top of the front of Raikkonen’s car – the Ferrari carrying the McLaren further along the barriers. Alonso’s car narrowly missed Raikkonen’s head and both were very lucky to walk away.

“I got some wheel spin and then it just went left, it was a bit of an unusual place as it was a bit higher speed,” Raikkonen said.

“The end result is what it is, a really poor weekend, but that’s how it goes.”

Alonso, who retired for the fourth consecutive race made it clear that they were both very fortunate to not have picked up any injuries in the collision.

“I started very good today, made a lot of places at Turn 1 and Turn 2,” Alonso said.

“Kimi was with the Prime time, so he was exiting Turn 2 with a lot of wheel spin, so the car was moving and we were all overtaking him left and right.

“At one point he lost the car to the left, and I was on the left, so we went both on the wall, and I was lucky to not hit him on the head. Looking at the replays I was braking but my wheels were in the air, so I was close with him, but luckily we are both fine.”

June 21, 2015
Austrian Grand Prix Post-race Press Conference

Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa faced both Gerhard Berger and the media after Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix. Transcripts of the podium interviews as well as the post-race press conference below.

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Gerhard Berger)

Nico congratulations. My first question is: Nico why you don’t drive every race like this?

Nico Rosberg: I will try from now on, I promise!

I have to say you did a brilliant start, that’s where you really made it until the first corner, and then I saw you coming into the pits and I say ‘shit, that’s really on the limit’. You blocked all four wheels; you went sideways on the line, just. I say ‘well, that’s close to a penalty’ but you did it well. You were pushing from the first [corner] until the end. Tell us how did you feel it and how do you feel today?

Nico Rosberg: It’s an awesome feeling, of course, to win again here. Very, very happy. The start made the race. It was a great start and I managed to defend in the first couple of corners and then I really just tried to push flat out this time. I was really happy with the car and happy to see the gap open up to Lewis, so it really worked out perfectly today.

Well done, Lewis…

Nico Rosberg: Nico, but it’s easy to confuse us!

Ah, Nico. Well done, let’s go to Lewis.

Lewis, you are one of the quickest guys I’ve ever seen in Formula One. You are really great. You have a quick car. But you must say, well, that you have a headache in the team. Whenever, you think you are just going away, winning the championship, he’s coming back again and he’s fighting back and again and keep you honest. I think it’s great to watch you both…

Lewis Hamilton: It’s great to see your enthusiasm man. It’s really great to see your enthusiasm. Nico did a fantastic job today. At the end of the day, he was quicker during the race. I had a really bad start, which obviously lost me ground and after that I was just really pushing as hard as I could. I think in the second stint it was really just about making the distance and that’s what I was trying to do.

We are watching you and you guys are really giving everything – you can see lap-by-lap, it’s qualifying every lap. I think it’s really great to see you both fighting since the karting time up to the Formula One.

Lewis Hamilton: It’s been a long time.

Well done, Lewis, keep pushing.

Lewis Hamilton: Thank you.

Felipe – old men! When I saw Sebastian catching you, I said, ‘well, Felipe is very, very experienced, has a Mercedes engine in the back, he’s going to be very difficult to overtake’. So Sebastian is waiting always for a mistake or a problem on the Mercedes side and Felipe is always just in the back of Sebastian on the Ferrari, see how he can put himself into next position. He did a fantastic job. But you are every year going extremely well here in Austria. What is it motivating you here? Is it the dirndls of the girls on the starting grid?

Felipe Massa: Yeah, maybe, I don’t know. For sure it’s great people here supporting. It’s always fantastic to be here. I think it was a fantastic race today. So we managed to get Sebastian, with his problem that he had in his pit stop, which I didn’t see, I don’t know what’s happened, but I managed to pass him there. I understood that maybe at the end of the race he would be behind me, because they were maybe one or two tenths quicker every lap. At the end he got there and I juts managed to keep the line and not making any mistake, just using a little bit of experience and I’m so happy. It was an amazing race and it was a fantastic result for the whole team, so happy.

I think, Felipe, there was a lot of experience involved, because I saw you fighting the tyres, you were a little bit off-line already in some corners but you kept in front. Well done.

Felipe Massa: Thank you.

POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Nico, many congratulations, a fantastic start from you, set you up for that win. You did sound a little worried on the radio towards the end. That chequered flag couldn’t come soon enough I guess?

Nico Rosberg: It was just a vibration picking up on the right front. So, just telling them to keep an eye on it – but it was fine in the end. It sort-of stabilised so it was not a problem. It just came from the tyre wear and just feels a bit uncomfortable when that happens – but, no, it was all fine.

Q: You’ve got a one hundred per cent record around this track that a lot of people describe as ‘difficult’. Why is it you’re so good around here?

Nico Rosberg: I don’t know if there’s a trend on this track or anything. It’s just today was just a great day. Good start and then good pace also in the race – and that’s what I’m most happy about. The car felt good, I was able to push from the first lap onwards all the way, so that’s cool. I think this year I found what I needed to find last year in terms of race, y’know, and just doing a little bit better in the races and that’s really working out for me this year.

Q: Lewis, a tough start for you, not the start you would have wanted. Just talk us through how your race unfolded from there.

Lewis Hamilton: It was pretty straightforward there. Just keeping up with Nico in the first stint, and then in the second stint Nico generally had better pace so he did a fantastic job today, so congratulations to him and otherwise it was just bringing the car home.

Q: What happened at the start?

Lewis Hamilton: I had a problem with the wait revs. I took my foot off the gas and it was still on – like the throttle was still on – and then I dumped the clutch and just lots and lots of wheelspin. So, it’s, y’know, not the best way to start the race – but something we will work on to improve on my side of the garage.

Q: Felipe, a thousand career points now, your son even predicted you’d finish third today – but talk us through those final laps as well as your race when you knew that Sebastian was bearing down on you.

Felipe Massa: Yeah, I think it was a great result today. So we managed to get the opportunities, which it was a mistake of another team or Sebastian, I don’t know what’s happened so I cannot say, but enough, and we managed to keep the pace, which was good – but maybe a little bit slower compared to him. I expect him to be close to me at the end of the race and he was but I managed to keep him behind which was the most important thing, so I’m so happy for our results today, working for the team and everything. My son said I was going to finish third so he’s right and, yeah, just hope we can celebrate after this interview.

Q: A third and a fifth for the team today though, that’s some important points over Ferrari as well, isn’t it?

Felipe Massa: Yeah, I think it was very good for the team. It was important points against Ferrari, also, looking what’s happened to Kimi today. So, we are not giving up, we will fight until the end. We understand that maybe they have a little bit of a quicker car compared to us but we are working very hard to improve and to be there and really trying to get back the points that they are in front, which is not easy but it is what we’re trying.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis, could you please explain what exactly happened at the pit exit? Were you just too much in a hurry or looking at the dash?

Lewis Hamilton: I have no idea, to be honest. I don’t think I went over anything, so…

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Felipe, did you believe that Vettel could overtake you; did you defend yourself hard at any moment?

Felipe Massa: Well, I think he got very close with maybe ten laps to go. I thought it could have been possible. We know that Ferrari manage the tyres very well, especially at the end of the race. We did maybe 40 laps, maybe more with these tyres so I expected him to be strong at the end of the race and he was. But you never know, I had to defend myself so I think when you are defending, you don’t know what’s going to happen so you just need to try and do your best and not make any mistakes. I think that was the only point that I had in mind, so I tried not to make any mistakes and if he was going overtake me because he managed to get the right line or pass me, you don’t know, but I was trying and we managed to make this happen.

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) To all three of you; I’m sure you haven’t seen the footage yet but there was an accident on the first lap between Kimi and Fernando where Fernando’s car was lifted up and was only centimetres away from Kimi. If you see something like that, do you wish to have a closed cockpit in Formula One or is it still a risk you can live with?

Nico Rosberg: Well, I haven’t seen it of course but it’s an ongoing process you know? We know that that’s an area of concern still, this open cockpit and the risks that there are in that sense so of course it’s an ongoing investigation to try and improve the safety, step by step and we need to see what we can do about it in the near future.

Lewis Hamilton: I must say that, to be honest, I don’t really have an opinion about it.

Felipe Massa: Yeah, I agree with Nico. Definitely we always need to look where we can improve so if you see that after what happened to me in my accident, they improved the helmets, they improved the visors and I think we definitely always need to look where to look. I don’t know if completely closing the cockpit… We have some improvements to do – we need to do it.

Q: (Zsolt Godina – Fana Media) Felipe, could you please tell me something about the new updates on your car and about your chances in the next races?

Felipe Massa: Everything we brought here we are using on the car, so for sure there is still some work we need to do to make the pieces that we brought even better. It’s definitely positive, so everything we saw in the wind tunnel we can see here at the track, but there is still some more working, some details that we need to improve but I’m sure we’re going to do that. Yeah, I think maybe next race we can be competitive. We cannot forget that Ferrari have a strong car so even today they were a little bit quicker than me, so we need to push hard and we need to try to make this car maybe a little bit quicker, then we can fight at a good level, maybe being quicker than them in the next races, so that’s what we want.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Nico, in the middle of the first stint you seemed to increase the gap to Lewis a bit and then towards the end he seemed to come back to you again. Did you maybe have some problems with the tyres, your right front seemed to be graining a bit, and how confident were you of staying ahead after the pit stops?

Nico Rosberg: Yeah, it was the graining on the right front and it’s very difficult to predict how it comes, when it comes and I suppose that I just got more than Lewis at the time. But yeah, I was confident that I could stay ahead because the guy who stops first then has the new tyres and I could push and definitely open up the gap again, so that was all fine.

Post-race press conference Photo Credits:

Mercedes AMG Petronas

Sky F1 screenshot

June 21, 2015
Hamilton secures pole after both Merc drivers spin off

Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix during a pretty dramatic final qualifying shootout session at the Red Bull Ring, after both Mercedes drivers went off track in their final runs.

Hamilton claimed the pole position with a time of 1:08.455, beating team mate Nico Rosberg, who was comfortably quickest in Q1 and Q2.

Rosberg had already claimed provisional pole four tenths of a second clear of Hamilton, but despite improving on his next lap, Hamilton went even quicker and moved two tenths up on his team mate.

Both drivers came out for their final flying laps – Rosberg ahead of Hamilton on track.

Hamilton was first to spin off. He spun under braking for Turn 1 while Rosberg set a personal best in the first sector and went fastest of all in the second sector. But, the German ran a little wide at Turn 8 and slid off at Turn 9, parking his car in the gravel.

That sealed the deal for Hamilton, securing his pole position, ahead of Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel who’s team mate had a horrid session, getting knocked out in Q1.

Kimi Raikkonen was caught out in Q1, ending the session in 18th place. He will however move up to 14th following penalties for both McLaren and Red Bull drivers.

Felipe Massa, who locked out the front row of the grid with team mate Valtteri Bottas last season, will start from fourth place on the grid ahead of 2015 Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg and team mate Bottas.

Young Max Verstappen starts in seventh place for Toro Rosso, with Daniil Kvyat qualifying eighth but will drop to 18th after his engine penalty.

Felipe Nasr qualified in 9th place and Romain Grosjean 10th. He however did not register a Q3 lap due to brake issues. His team mate Pastor Maldonado was 11th fastest with Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz Jr behind him.

Daniel Ricciardo managed only 14th after going off at Turn 3. Fernando Alonso registered 15th on the time sheets but both drivers will slip further back due to their engine penalties.

Sergio Perez was 16th quickest and Jenson Button 17th but he’ll start at the back of the grid and also serve a 10 second stop and go penalty as a result of changes to his car.

The two Manor drivers finish up the grid, with Roberto Merhi beating team mate Will Stevens who also headed through the gravel at Turn 7.

June 21, 2015