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  • F1 2017: Australian Gp Qualifying Report – Hamilton Leads

    F1 2017: Australian Gp Qualifying Report – Hamilton Leads

    Lewis Hamilton has secured pole position for Australian grand prix but it was far from the comfortable domination the Mercedes driver has been used to.

    Nipping at the gearbox of the Mercedes was Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari only two tenths off the pole position time. This time is in stark contrast to Ferrari’s last six outing in quali around the Albert Park during which they had failed to come within in, roughly, seventh tenths of the quickest time.

    New Merc driver Valtteri Bottas, in third, will share the second row with Ferrari’s other driver Kimi Raikkonen, in fourth. Red Bull were a distant best of the rest in the shape of Max Verstappen while Daniel RIcciardo in the second part of quali. Constrastingly, Romain Grosjean shone for Haas in sixth.

    Williams’ fresh out of retirement Felipe Massa secured seventh ahead of Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat in eighth and ninth respectively. While Daniel Ricciardo is nailed down in tenth the Red Bull driver is likely to require a gearbox change which will trigger a five place grid drop for tomorrow’s race.

    Sergio Perez will line up the pink-liveried Force India in eleventh while Fernando Alonso managed the twelfth quickest time in the McLaren.

    Standings After Q3:

    Screen Shot 2017-03-25 at 10.11.14 AM

  • Vettel Fastest in Shortened Australain GP 3rd Free Practice

    Vettel Fastest in Shortened Australain GP 3rd Free Practice

    Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time for the 3rd Free Practice session for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Qualifying this afternoon.

    Vettel’s time of 1:23.380 was the fastest lap of the session and is now the fastest time around the Albert Park Circuit. His Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished 4th fastest after a puncture curtailed his run. Interestingly enough, Ferrari only ran the ultra soft tyre the entire session.

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished 2nd fastest ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Bottas set a 1:23.859 which was 0.479s off Vettel’s time with Hamilton a further 0.490s off.

    In 5th was Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg who produced a very quick lap on the ultra softs to cross the line in 1:25.063. This pace is encouraging for the Enstone team, but Jolyon Palmer in the second Renault could only manage 19th fastest after some issues with his car.

    In a rather quiet session for Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo set the 6th fastest time that was 1.712s slower than Vettel’s time. Red Bull seem to be struggling with the car setup and balance with Max Verstappen complaining that there was mid corner under-steer. Verstappen finished his session 12th fastest.

    The two Toro Rosso’s of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat finished 8th and 9th respectively sandwiched by the two Haas drivers of Romain Grosjean in 7th and Kevin Magnussen in 10th.

    The session ended early after William’s Lance Stroll tagged the barrier at the exit of Turn 10. Stroll running a bit wide into T10, took a little too much kerb. He got on the power a little too early and the rear stepped out and smacked the barrier damaging the rear right suspension.

    There were incidents throughout the session with McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne taking a trip through the gravel and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen coming to a stop at T14 after a puncture. The Finn switched off his Ferrari and restarted it using the MGU-K. He limped back to the pits with a clearly deflating rear left tyre.

    The scene is set for qualifying. Ferrari have shown some pace while Mercedes have had a couple bags of sand in their cars and will undoubtedly turn up the engine to eleven for Qualifying. We’ll finally know if Mercedes are the team to beat this year.

     

     

    Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Eric BOULLIER (McLaren), Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Paddy LOWE (Williams)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Opening question to all of you gentlemen: obviously it’s the opening day of a new season of Formula One. Lots of changes on the cars but sum up how your first day went? Eric why don’t you kick us off?

    Eric BOULLIER: Reasonably well. Obviously we didn’t add as many laps as we were expecting but if you compare with the testing it was a little bit better. Obviously the cars look more spectacular more aggressive, It was a good working day for us.

    Christian, obviously you had the incident with Max that lost you a lot of track time but Daniel’s long run looked pretty reasonable.

    Christian HORNER: Yes, not too bad. Certainly the first session today was encouraging. The few changes that we made the drivers didn’t like too much. Max did a little bit of grass mowing at Turn 12 and that compromised his session in the late afternoon but we got a lot of good information and we’re generally quite encouraged.

    And Paddy, how was your first day of action at Williams?

    Paddy LOWE: It was sort of a mixed day because we had a great first session, some encouraging pace. [It was] Lance’s first practice ever in Formula One, so he was taking it steady, step-by-step, making good progress. But into the afternoon we had an electrical problem on Felipe’s car, a short circuit, and that really ended his session very early. So we didn’t get the homework we would have liked on that car. But overall, quite encouraging for tomorrow.

    Maurizio, did today go as you thought it would?

    Maurizio ARRIVABENE: We were working mainly on car balance. This morning we were struggling a bit more than normal. But then in the afternoon we were still working on the car balance, but nothing different versus our Friday programme.

    Toto, Lewis looking very much the man to beat.

    Toto WOLFF: Yes, he had a very good day overall. For the team it was one of the better Fridays. Having had some question marks over testing in Barcelona it was encouraging to bounce back in that way, but it is a day that doesn’t matter.

    Q: Eric, coming back to you. We hear you are collecting quite a lot of air miles at the moment going forwards and backwards to Japan. How serious are your problems and what steps are you taking with Honda to resolve them?

    EB: Well, obviously we had a very bad winter testing, a lot of troubles, didn’t do many miles, no race simulations but like you said we are having many, many meetings with Honda. We both take it very seriously. All the options are open. Today we discussed how we can catch up and recover from that situation.

    Q: Toto, they say you should never change a winning team, but here you are after three dominant seasons with a new technical chief and a new driver, so how has the dynamic in the team changed?

    TW: It’s a very large organization, between Brixworth and Brackley it’s almost 1500 people and the dynamic is positive. Every year we are trying to reinvent ourselves without compromising performance and we are in good spirits.

    Q: Christian, a slightly quieter testing period than with Ferrari and Mercedes, but lots of new parts arriving on the car today. Tell us how the development race will impact this year’s championship. Is it going to be the deciding factor and are you going to come out on the right side of it?

    CH: Well, I think it’s going to be a big factor. These regulations are still very immature and there are going to be a lot of gains in a short space of time and it’s a matter of who can most efficiently develop their car and effectively get components on the car that drive performance forward. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect the cars to be 1.5s quicker by the time we get to Abu Dhabi than where we are here today. It will ebb and flow during the season but at the front of the grid hopefully we get a bit closer to Toto’s guys and have some closer races this year.

    Q: Paddy, you’ve gone back to the team you did some winning with back in the early 1990s, a dominant period with Mansell and Prost. Why is this move to Williams the right thing to do at this time of your career?

    PL: I had a great three years in my previous team, some great success there, but there was a great opportunity, a challenge at Williams. As you say, it’s going back to the team where I started my career in Formula One. It was quite emotional and special going back there a week ago, seeing people I literally hadn’t seen for 24 years, but fantastic team and we look forward to making substantial progress over the years to come.

    Q: Maurizio you have been downplaying expectations going into this season, but what I’d like to know is, inside the team, how hard it was to build what looks to be a very competitive car given all the technical changes and staff upheaval that you had in the second half of last year?

    MA: If you change something, it’s for the better, not to get worse. We have a change, the team is working very well together. Over the winter the guys were exchanging information; they have a common goal. Working all together, having a common goal and exchanging all the information they have, the car becomes not the car of one but the car of everybody and this is what has driven us until today and into the future.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (John McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Maurizio. Liberty have arrived, and one of the things they have said they want to do early on is make everyone more available to the media, but after arriving here it seems you have gone in the other direction. One of your drivers was unavailable yesterday in advance of this big race at the beginning of the season, from an organization as big as Ferrari. I was wondering why that is, whether that will go on or whether that will be addressed?

    MA: Define media. What do you mean by media? Today, defining media is quite large in terms of communication media. It’s also social media. It’s not only what we are thinking about. Yesterday we had Sebastian who was talking and we were using social media and posting something related to Kimi. Liberty also said that in this business at the moment the digital platforms are used at only 1% of the potential. So, the good thing is to find the right balance. Instead of having two drivers on Thursday and talking and doing a copy and paste of one versus the other with the same questions we made sure that Sebastian was talking in one way and Kimi in the other. So we cover all the communication platform. Making happy also Generation Z.

    Q: (Seff Harding – Xero Xone News) – To follow up on that, a question for all of you, do you feel that there does need to be a change in accessibility to the press, to arrange interviews that may be on social media, Facebook Live, Instagram, to reach out to other audiences, in other markets and of course to other demographics?

    CH: I think the changes that have been put in place this year have been positive. I think that relaxing the rules regarding the digital platforms, allowing content to be generated… non-circuit content giving the ability for fans and followers to get a little bit beneath the covers and closer to seeing the personalities of the drivers in the build-up to a grand prix or pre-season is certainly positive. It’s a media business at the end of the day. Formula One is a media business. We have to engage with the media. It’s important that we give access to the drivers, access to the fans or how else are we going to promote the sport.

    Toto?

    TW: I think like Maurizio said, we have to cover three different generations. We have to cover the long-time followers, so-called middle ages, the Millennials and Generation Z. You kind of need to play the full span. For example, when we launched the car we put some time into the car launch, which is a risk on the engineering side, you’re compromising your time, and we did a Facebook Live launch, 360, and we had almost a million views in 24 hours and it was successful. We have to embrace all that, not forget any audiences within these groups but target all of them and Liberty’s approach has been right so far, in opening up.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for all of you: we’ve had the big regulation change this season, can you tell me whether you think we will actually see better racing and the reason why this is so or why if not?

    Eric, why don’t you start?

    EB: I think the car, obviously it’s a hot topic with everybody talking about overtaking numbers and manoeuvres and whatever. I think 90 per cent of the overtaking is thanks to DRS since this device has been introduced. So as far as we are concerned the DRS is still on so I don’t think there will be many changes on this: the number of overtaking. The car philosophy stays the same as the previous generation and, as long as it is dictated by this front wing, you will have this loss of downforce effect into the corners. On the positive side, I think the drivers were the ones lobbying us, all of us, to have a faster car, fastest cornering cars and clearly we have achieved this, I think, with bigger tyres, more downforce, fastest cars today and obviously that’s going to facilitate, or help the bravest drivers to try or attempt some manoeuvres to overtake. So, I don’t think there will be a big difference compared with before. I think, and the drivers as well, I can already feel – and I’m talking for McLaren only – Fernando clearly was the one who was complaining about the previous generation, and he’s clearly happier now with this kind of car. He enjoys driving the car and you can see the cars today, in some fast corners they are flat-out already on Friday afternoon – so I think it’s a good sign about what we wanted to achieve. I think all the drivers happier should make the show better.

    Paddy, any thoughts?

    PL: Yeah, I agree with what Eric said but on top of that I think the other element we will see with much higher loads now in the car, with higher cornering speeds, driver endurance is much more demanding, so we may see more mistakes in races, drivers more on their human limits. So, I think that could be another interesting factor.

    Anything to add Christian?

    CH: I think the guys have covered it pretty well. I think the cars are going to stretch the drivers. I think sitting here, and we don’t know whether the racing is going to be better over the year or not, but I think the drivers are going to be working harder, you’re going to get perhaps more differential between drivers and they’re going to have to work harder for overtakes when arguably some of them have been a little bit too easy over recent years.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Based on comments that Ross [Brawn] made earlier today and also previously, it appears that the Commercial Rights Holder could play a more active role in the regulatory process. Which means that possibly entertainment could take precedence over technology etc. How do you feel about this? About the commercial rights holder getting increasingly involved in the regulatory process?

    Toto?

    TW: This is an entertainment platform and it should be around the entertainment of the fans and I think with Ross in place it’s the right individual. He has seen it from the other side; he knows pretty much what matters to the teams and now trying to seek a good balance between keeping the DNA of Formula One, keeping it at the pinnacle for racing drivers and for engineering and equally making sure it’s the best possible show for our fans will be the main priority. I think we are definitely in an interesting place and it looks positive.

    Maurizio?

    MA: I think for the future cost and performance, they are two key factors. Reducing the cost and increasing the performance, they are the two key factors. Then, of course, it’s an entertainment, what we are doing here. It’s part of the entertainment business. Everybody, they’re open to discuss and talk about new ideas in the appropriate places. At the moment we have governance, so talking to everybody to help the sport to grow is fine until we are all aligned to the actual governance. Or, if we want to change it, we have to sit and discuss about this.

    Paddy?

    PL: yeah, we welcome a focus on entertainment. That is what this sport is all about. I think the really encouraging thing is that Ross is building a team behind him who are going to do proper research into proposals that are under consideration, so I think there’s every reason to feel positive about the future.

    CH: I personally think there is far too much emphasis on technology at the moment and we’re spectacularly bad at communicating that. I think the average fan and viewer understands very little about the technology that’s in a Formula One car which, as Maurizio alluded, is enormously expensive. So, I think the Commercial Rights Holder, it’s their business at the end of the day. They have to decide what they want the sport to be and, if the route is fan-attraction and creating a really exciting product, and at the end of the day they want to create great content on TV then it’s vital they come up with an outline of what their vision of Formula One is. And then, obviously, the FIA have a regulatory position and the teams need to be involved in that process. We have a process that that can be achieved in if two of the three parties agree.

    EB: All has been said I think

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Maurizio, given the results of the test and what happened today, do you have an accurate idea of the position of Ferrari?

    MA: Yes, we have it in Barcelona and in Barcelona we have our programme, we follow our programme since the last week and as well it’s what we are doing here on Friday. On Friday we are working on the balance of the car, as on Day One in Barcelona we were working on finding the best performance day after day without panicking, without being under pressure and being focussed on what we were doing.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Another one for Maurizio. Daniel Ricciardo recently told us in an interview that Sebastian Vettel becomes even quicker and more motivated when he has a winning car in his hands. Do you expect him to give an extra performance this season? And what do you need: Ferrari and Seb to go home together, to sign another contract for 2018?

    MA: I’ll start from the end of the question. Talking about contracts now is only distracting the attention of our drivers so I’m not ready to talk about any contracts. Then, I would like to see Sebastian happy during the season because if Sebastian’s is happy that means the car is very quick.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Maurizio, do you have as much belief that you can win this race now, as you did this morning. I hear what you’ve said and the work you’ve done during the day – but do you have as much belief that you can win it as you did at the start of the day?

    MA: We want to keep our feet on the ground. It’s Friday. We have to work this evening. Tomorrow we continue our job and then, until Sunday, we have a lot of things to do, still. So, I don’t want to do any prediction.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For Christian. It’s only Friday but can you imagine Daniel winning on Sunday or is the gap too big?

    CH: I think, being realistic, the performance we’ve seen today from Lewis, he’s the absolute favourite. He was the favourite coming here and all today has done is underline that. But then it’s motor racing and anything can happen. We’ve seen spurious results in opening grands prix in previous years and obviously to have a home winner would be an unbelievable result – but if you look at the pecking order at the moment that is a long shot.

    Q: (Andre Leslie – DPA) Question for Mr Wolff, to do with the makeup of your team this season, with Valtteri Bottas now replacing Nico Rosberg, obviously Nico leaves a big hole in the team but Valtteri is keeping pace brilliantly today – we’ve seen twice. How do you see his role going forwards this season?

    TW: It’s obviously very big shoes to fill. Nico is the reigning World Champion and Valtteri has to fill those shoes. He has a couple of days of testing behind him which were very positive and the work with the engineers went very well and today was the first proper day on a race weekend. I think that in terms of the mindset, he has settled in very well into the team and how he has to find his grip and benchmark himself against probably the best driver in Formula One at this time. I’m very confident he is going to find the pace and his place in the team.

    Q: (Heath McAlpine – Auto Action) For all of you: today’s first practice session saw minimal running from the teams worried about engine mileage. Would you support a change in the engine regulations to increase the Friday running for your teams?

    EB: Good question. I think if we don’t run it is because we may have some technical limitation or let’s say no interest to gather data at that stage so if we do between let’s say 18 and 30 laps per session it’s because it depends on the engine plan generally. I know you can have a different regulation to have more laps but we could do it simply by making sure there is an interest for the teams to run.

    PL: I don’t entirely agree with what you’re saying, really. I think the teams are running pretty much a full programme during both sessions. If anything they’re limited by tyres more than engine mileage.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) I would imagine that this is the first Grand Prix that any of you have attended without having Bernie Ecclestone in overall control and charge. Have you, today, thought about the fact that you can’t just pick up the phone and phone Bernie if there’s some sort of issue?

    CH: How do you know he’s not still in charge? What Bernie’s done for Formula One has been amazing. The sport is what it is today because of what he created. I think in the role that he has, he’s still going to be in a position to contribute, he still has a huge amount of historical knowledge, respect and relationships around the world and I think that harnessed and used in the right way is an asset to Formula One. I’m sure he’ll be at some forthcoming events and yeah, I think hopefully the new owners can use him constructively and beneficially to build on the good work that’s already been done.

    MA: I think that Bernie deserves all our respect because if we are here and if the sport grows it is thanks to him. I think that the new group that is owning Formula One is here to make this sport grow even more so there is no future without the good historical base. If we have a good historical base then I think the new owners are looking forward to continue to grow and that’s thanks to Bernie for everything he’s done and now we need to look forward.

    Q: (Mat Coch – pitpass.com) Earlier there was a question about cars not running on the circuit; what can be done in the interests of entertainment to spice up the Friday action which is comparatively dry for those at the circuit, given that everyone’s involved in their own programmes, preparing for the weekend?

    PL: I don’t know. We used to have qualifying on Friday as well as Saturday back in the old days. Maybe that could be considered. I think the great thing now is that we have an evolving process to consider the rules properly and develop a sport that incorporates new ideas.

    TW: I think you need to differentiate because we had a very busy afternoon with lots of track action. We had a morning which is completely normal and a green track so there is not a lot of interest in testing cars on a track that’s going to develop a lot with the limitation on tyres, with the limitation on engine mileage and if you start to open that up it’s like Pandora’s box because we’re trying to limit costs. The question is that as much as you need an entertainment most of the time entertainment on track, I think we have a good compromise at the moment.

    Q: (Sam Tickell – Flagworld.com) We’ve had a lot of positive reaction to the change and the look and the appearance of the cars this year and it was mentioned previously that Liberty are looking to research for the future. How radical to the change in the appearance of the car would teams like to go to in the future, should the research suggest that a major change should be needed?

    MA: Radical change with the new rules, everybody already changed their car and I think these regulations are offering the possibility to the designers of the cars, to the aeros, to exploit even more in terms of creative approach is the first step and then in the future we can do something more. We need to make sure that the car it’s still looking like a car and not something that is a bit strange, that’s for sure.

    CH: I think the looks of the car… I think they currently look great. I think it’s all about evolution. I think that rather than focus on the looks I would prefer to focus on the sound. I think the best sounding car we have here this weekend is a 12-year old Minardi that 12 years ago had the worst sounding engine in it and was hopelessly uncompetitive and I think that when you hear the acoustics of a V10, you’ve only got to go and see the faces around the circuit to see what it embodies in fans of Formula One, so I would be far more focused on addressing that element than the aesthetics of the cars at the moment.

    TW: I think we’ve changed the aesthetics of the car. I think trying to figure out what we could do next is maybe too far. Like Christian says, if we can work on the sound of the car and if we look into a future generation of engines that is something that needs to be considered. There wasn’t enough emphasis on the sound in the past and if we can combine great technology, affordable technology with a lot of horsepower and a good sound, that would be really ticking a box.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Last year Ferrari lost the pace compared to Red Bull for example in the second part of the season. Are you confident you can have a quick and a more efficient development during the season this year?

    MA: What I can tell you is that we are putting all our effort to do all our work best to avoid the same result as last year. That’s it. What more can I say?

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1fan) Regarding the new commercial deal and the discussions that will be taking place soon, we have already heard from the new owners that they are planning to scrap the historical status for a team and the money that that brings. Would you agree that in order to have a more fair distribution of the prize money and a more competitive sport or not and why?

    MA: This kind of discussion you do it with the people who have the contract with you and not in public.

    EB: I guess if you ask the people for more money they will be against and you ask less money they will be in favour but this is a discussion behind the scenes, not to be done in public.

    CH: Well, there’s probably not a team principal in the paddock that would say they are happy to take less money. If they are, they’re mad so therefore I think it’s a question of bringing the bottom up rather than the top down and hopefully that may well be achievable.

    PL: Sounds like a good idea, we’ll support that one, yeah

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Practice 1 & 2 Round Up

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Practice 1 & 2 Round Up

    Free Practice 1

    The 2017 Formula 1 season got underway at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne Australia this morning with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton picking up where Mercedes left off by finishing fastest in both Friday sessions.

    Hamilton’s fastest FP1 time of 1:24.220 was completed on Pirelli’s purple marked ultra-soft tyres. Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas finished the session 2nd fastest just a little over half a second off the pace from Hamilton with a 1:24.803 also completing his fastest lap on the ultra-soft tyres.

    Rounding out the top 3 was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo with a fastest session time of 1:24.886, 0.666s off the pace. His team mate, Max Verstappen was 4th fastest a little further off the pace with a time of 1:25.246.

    Ferrari were 5th and 6th fastest with Kimi Raikkonen leading Sebastian Vettel. Felipe Massa back in the Williams seat finished 7th fastest ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean in 8th.

    Previous team mates, but now at different teams, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finished 9th and 10th respectively rounding out the top 10.

    FP1 started very slowly as all the teams eventually got settled into their Free Practice programs.

     

    Free Practice 2

    Lewis Hamilton once again topped the time sheets in FP2 for Mercedes as they continue with their early domination for the race weekend.

    FP2 got off to a smooth start but just before 30mins into the session Renault’s Jolyon Palmer lost the rear of his Renault at the exit of the final corner. He made contact with the outside barrier which bounced him back on to the track. The Renault sustained damage to the rear wing, rear suspension and the front left suspension. The session was red flagged to allow the marshals to clear the track.

    Williams ran into issues after Felipe Massa ground to a halt with gearbox issues. Kevin Magnussen spent most of his session in the garage after his car developed a water pressure issue. He was able to go back out but was immediately called back into the pits.

    Marcus Ericsson’s session ended prematurely as well after over-steering into the gravel at Turn 6.

    Ferrari appeared to have made some progress from FP1 after Vettel was able to finish 2nd fastest but still more than 0.5s off Hamilton’s pace and just narrowly finishing faster than Bottas.

    Red Bull finished 5th and 6th with Ricciardo ahead of Verstappen.

    In the mid-filed battle it looks as though Toro Rosso has the early upper hand ahead of Haas with Renault not far behind. Force India seem to be struggling slightly but are looking solid.

    It’s a bit of a mixed bag for McLaren at the moment with Fernando Alonso finishing 12th fastest with Stoffel Vandoorne down in 17th position.

    Mercedes have the early advantage after the Friday sessions in Lewis Hamilton. FP3 should give us a better indication where things stand. Whether Ferrari and Red Bull are sandbagging is a question that everyone is asking. It’s still too early to call it but we do know that it looks like Hamilton is picking up where he left off.

     

     

    Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    PART TWO: DRIVERS – Valtteri BOTTAS (MERCEDES), Esteban OCON (FORCE INDIA), Felipe MASSA (WILLIAMS), Lance STROLL (WILLIAMS)

    Q: It’s been a Mercedes one-two here for the last two seasons. Presumably another one would suit you just fine. Is that why you made this move?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Sure, that would be a good way to start. Obviously we do need to see where we are standing against all the other teams. It’s a completely new season, a new era of Formula One, a new team for me but that’s always the ultimate target. I feel in a good place and definitely it’s always some kind of dream coming true, being part of a team like this that has pretty much dominated the last three years in Formula One. I feel very happy but just keen to get going.

    Q: We could see from testing that you settled in during the first week and then managed to close up a bit to your teammate Lewis Hamilton’s pace at the second test so are you more or less where you expected to be at the first race?

    VB: I feel well prepared, I feel definitely ready to race. I really think we made the most out of the short period of time I had to prepare with the team and get into everything perfectly. Obviously it’s been a massive learning curve for me, since mid-January until today and that is still going to continue but I felt testing was good. Every single time I was in the car I felt better and better and I’m sure that is just going to continue and I’m feeling more and more part of the team so happy to be here racing.

    Q: Lance, welcome to Formula One, at 18-years of age, the second youngest driver after Max Verstappen to take part in Formula One. How’s the preparation gone and what would success look like for you this year?

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, thank you. I think preparation has been going really well so far. We had a good test in Barcelona, the second week me and Felipe did all the running which was good. I think just a solid year, a clean year, obviously still a lot to learn so I don’t think putting a position or a number would be the right way to approach the whole thing. I think we’re just going to take it race by race. It’s still going to be a big learning curve for me, there’s still a lot for me to understand about everything but listen to the people around me that are there to help me and take it race by race. Looking forward to the whole thing.

    Q: With all the rule changes that have gone on from last year to this year, is this a really good year to come in as a rookie or is it actually quite tough?

    LS: I don’t know. It is what it is and I’m just going to have to make the best of it. I don’t want to look at it as a negative or a positive, it’s the way it is, it’s a new regulation and it’s for everyone. It’s my rookie year and I just have to learn what I have to learn and get on with it.

    Q: Felipe, welcome back. Does this mean we get to have another party? How’s the surprise comeback worked out so far?

    Felipe Massa:  Well, first of all, I didn’t expect to be here on Thursday. Maybe I was planning to be somewhere (else), eating more, getting more fat, whatever, maybe not being here on Thursday which is an amazing day in Formula One. But things change in life – which actually didn’t change, to be honest but for reasons… Yeah, I’m really happy, motivated, ready for this challenge and I think everything I hear, when Claire calls me, and I said ‘I think we need to talk in a proper way’ so then we had a long meeting and everything that I asked,  that needed to be different, especially on the technical side, so many different things that didn’t work in the proper way need to be better and everything she said and everything Williams is doing I believe is correct. So many new people arrived and are still arriving, so many things that we are working hard to make work in a better way so yeah, I’m staying in Formula One, I think to be racing for a team that I believe is professional and important, I feel important as well. Yeah, that’s why I took this decision to carry on. I feel really happy and yeah, so we will see. I think the real answer to where we are we will have here on Sunday but also during the championship. I had some good feelings in the Barcelona test and I’m really looking forward to having another great, competitive season and a nice job also, that gives me pleasure, so I’m really looking forward, really fit and ready for this challenge.

    Q: Just continuing on the theme we spoke of with Lance a minute ago, the challenge of being a rookie. You made your debut when you were obviously very young as well back in 2002. What did you wish that you’d been told then and how did you handle coming into Formula One?

    FM: Well, I am a rookie. I stopped, I retired! We start the first race, two rookies! No, I’m joking. It’s his opportunity, he’s allowed to learn, he shows that he has a talent for that, that all of us had the opportunity at the start and yeah, I met him when he was eight years old, one year more than my son which is really painful, to be honest, and here we are teammates. I have all the happiness to work with him but also to pass on everything I can. We are working for the team, together, both drivers so we need to score as many points as we can. It would be nice to work with him and to have a great championship together and for the team which is the most important thing.

    Q: Esteban, obviously you were a rookie last year, now a move up the grid from Manor to Force India. It’s a team that’s been able to score podiums consistently in the last few years so easy question: is that the target for 2017 for you?

    Esteban OCON: Well, I think it’s a bit early to speak about that at the moment. No one has done a race yet so we see where everyone is. I think in testing everyone had a little bit left in the pocket so you know it’s early to speak about that but I think to start the weekend here, the approach would be to do a strong weekend, to reach the finish line because in the past you always had problems for the other teams and for teams and if you arrive at the finish line you always have a strong result so I think that’s the way to approach it.

    Q: You’re obviously part of the Mercedes Junior programme; do you feel that if you perform now for Force India there’s a real possibility of getting into a Silver Arrows at some point in the near future?

    EO: I’m obviously a Mercedes Junior driver but at the moment I’m a Force India driver and I’m fully focused on this target, to do a strong job this season and I think it’s still early to speak about being a Mercedes F1 driver in the future, so no, at the moment I’m very happy to be with Force India and I’m fully motivated with them.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Esteban, where were you and what did they tell you about your car would be pink this year? What were your first thoughts?

    EO: I was actually at home, I was just training when I had the call. No, I think it’s a really good thing, overall, for the team.  BWT coming in to Formula One is a great thing as well, it also changes the perspective… a pink car – you don’t see one a lot of times so I think it’s a good thing but also a good sponsor like BWT makes money coming into the team and it can only make the car go faster.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, so far you have been three times on the front row. If this is a winning car, would P2 be a satisfying or disappointing result for you?

    VB: Well it depends if your teammate is P1 or… Obviously the result targets are going to be completely different now than what they have been in the past few years but as I said before, we still need to wait and see where we are, really. We will see on Saturday, we will see on Sunday. It’s only the very beginning of the year but for sure as a driver you always want to be on the front row and in the best place, P1, but let’s wait and see and go step by step and day by day.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Felipe, first question is how did you feel coming back into F1 because it’s like the Godfather, you tried to get out but they pushed you right back in again. And what were you doing when Claire did throw up the W and the symbol and you had to put your super suit back on and get back in the car?

    FM: Well, for sure, things change for a reason. I had a lot of support from everybody to carry on. I have a lot of support from my family, a lot of support from my fans. It was really amazing to see everybody pushing me: carry on, carry on. We want to see you there and that everything that happens around the team that… maybe, we will see where we are now which I believe is correct what is happening so then we need to work to make it better. Yeah, to be honest, I had an amazing feeling when I decided to stop in the second part of the season and I didn’t have a reason to carry on. If I don’t have what I believe is correct, which maybe I have now. Then also the feeling that I had in Brazil, also in the last race which gave a lot of happiness in the way that I’m stopping, it’s fantastic you know, but also it was not easy for me to take the decision to carry on because everything was just beautiful. But maybe something has happened for a reason and maybe it was not the reason to stop. I’m ready, motivated and we will see where we are going to be and how the season will be. I’m really 100 percent ready to do it in the right way.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Couple of questions for Valtteri: now you’ve had some time in the car in testing, do you feel that you’re at a stage where you’re able to get the most out of the car now. And second question, I know it’s still early days but assuming you’re sitting in a title-contending car, what’s your approach going to be: step by step, get that first win or do you feel under pressure to mount a fully fledged title challenge?

    VB: Yeah, like I said before, I definitely feel every single time I was stepping into the car and out of the car in testing, I felt like I’d made progress and between the two tests as well. I feel I was getting very close to getting pretty much everything out of the car  and being absolutely perfect. As always, it requires a lot of work, a lot of time in the car and a lot of effort, a lot of talent so as mentioned, I’m sure things will just get better and I will feel more and more comfortable every single day of the race weekend and every single race but I feel that I’m ready to race, I’m ready to bring the car where it should be, what the pace of the car, what the limits of the car is. I feel comfortable with that. About the second question, definitely… I always set my targets very high so from the first race, this race onwards, immediately, I want to perform where the car can be. That is my target. Of course I always go day by day and step by step but I want to start at a very high level and keep getting better from that .

    Q: (Heath McAlpine – Auto Action) Valtteri, Paddy Lowe recently made some comments about Williams having some elements that Mercedes does not. Have you been able to make any comparisons between the teams, after moving in the opposite direction?

    VB: For sure I see a lot of difference between the teams. Definitely there are some things very very good at Williams, some things have been massively impressive at Mercedes. Williams have a great facility, a good bunch of people, a lot of clever engineers so for sure both teams have a lot of strong points, definitely differences in the way they work, so it’s difficult to really point out exactly what parts maybe are better here or better there but overall, as the last few years have shown, Mercedes is a winning team, it definitely has this winning mentality at the moment. No one is standing still, everyone is pushing flat out  – what Williams is also doing is definitely no bad, worse but you just sense that at this point, the group of winners know how to win at the moment and I hope that that can continue but the hunger is definitely still there at Mercedes. But I definitely agree with Paddy: Williams is a great team and has massive potential and it’s a shame that we couldn’t achieve the results together that I think the team deserves, but hopefully the future is good for Williams.

    Q: (Kathy Watt – Inside Sport) I’m just wondering what you do in the off-season to prepare: is it on the bike or running or different other sports to get fit for the season?

    Q: Esteban – you’ve been up a mountain or something?

    EO: Yeah, I was up in the mountains at almost 2000m for almost two months. I felt this was the best way for me to prepare. When you get high in altitude, when you get down again it’s easy to breath so I was training there a lot. It was about nine hours of cardio per week, ten hours of gym per week and all the rest was reaction work, co-ordination work, visual perception work, how the detection is as well, balance of body as well so it was complete training. It was very tough, for sure the toughest of my career but I’m happy that I’ve achieved it now, looking at how the cars are tough to drive.

    LS: I was just moving sports, some biking, some running, some gym work, some strength work, some neck work but just staying fit in all different areas and just gaining fitness by increasing the amount of training I was doing. Just moving and keeping active.

    Q: How about you Felipe? You were eating feijoada and drinking beer and then when the phone call came: stop. Right?

    FM: Which was pretty much straight away actually so I didn’t have enough time to drink and to eat feijoada, I would say, so yeah, I was definitely… most of the drivers didn’t know how the new car was going to be so I was definitely preparing myself in a much different way to how it was in the past, even if I was always training very hard but I took on a new trainer, a guy who is following me everywhere I go, training every day. I had to train more also, for sure cardio but also a lot more my muscles to be stronger, for these loads that we have in the cars now, so I was training in a very different way, to get a little bit stronger and training my neck a lot more which I think works pretty well because on one day in Barcelona I did 168 laps, which was my record in one test and I feel really good, so yeah, ready to start the season and really hope I’m totally fit to accept anything different that we might have this year compared to how it was up to last year.

    Q: (Michael Lamonato – ABC) On a related question: how different have you found these cars in the sense of that strength component? What specifically have you changed in your training and in your first days in the car in testing? Was there anything in particularly that you felt a bit of pain or a bit of strain from the new cars?

    VB: I think always after the winter, it doesn’t matter how much training you do and if  you’re the fittest you’ve ever been starting the year, it’s so unnatural driving a Formula One car for the human being that the first reactions are always a bit strange but very quickly you get used to it, your body gets used to it. Obviously if you have a new seat as I did for this year, it’s tuning those kind of things and yeah, you might get some bruises and stuff but that’s part of the winter testing but specially with the new cars there’s more G-forces, more load going through your body which makes more fatigue and means being able to maintain the same level of focus and alertness – you need to be fitter than before and like every driver have a good preparation for that but the main thing is the G-forces, the cornering speed and that way you maybe need a bit more strength especially the neck.

    Q: (Trent Price – SEN Radio) A question for Felipe and Lance. Paddy Lowe has already identified a few areas where Williams are stronger than Mercedes. What’s your first impressions of Paddy coming into the team. What has he brought in already and how is the relationship building?

    FM: Well, as Valtteri said, Williams has many areas that work pretty well. Definitely we have some other areas that we need to improve, which is what I was saying before, things didn’t work in the proper way, as even Valtteri said. This are the points we need to make better, improving, as quick as we can, because it means results, it means performance, it means everything. But I am sure he is a very important engineer, manager, that he can help to improve things in the right way. Bringing some good ideas from other areas that we were not so strong as a team like Mercedes where he won the last three years the championship – they are really strong. Not only him, but so many people, engineers, people that are working in different areas. That is something we are working very hard on, so he has just arrived, but I’m sure he understands things pretty quick. We are the beginning of a very important work but I believe we can do it in the right way. I really hope that the car is helping, because the car is there; it’s ready. If you have a good car it’s helping the job in so many areas that it needs to be better, it needs to improve. That’s the way I believe it is. I was talking already with Paddy and I’m sure with all the important and very good engineers we have I believe and I hope we can do a very good job.

    Q: Lance I believe you signed before it was clear that Paddy was going to Williams, so what did you feel when you found out?

    LS: Yeah, Felipe said most of it. I’m obviously new this year, so I don’t have the experience that Felipe and also even Valtteri have of Williams, so a lot of it is just new for me. Starting with winter testing, I obviously went to a couple of races last year and I got to know some of the people but really, until you’re a driver and properly involved in everything that’s going on, you don’t pick up on everything. But for sure I think having Paddy in the team is positive for everyone. He’s obviously had great success in recent years and I think it’s just positive energy for the team. I think we have a great group of people at Williams and I think everyone is aiming for the same thing, which is achieve the best possible results we can achieve and Paddy’s here to help us do that. I think it’s all good.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Felipe, how tough an opponent was Valtteri in qualifying and in racing and how was it compared to your time with Kimi at Ferrari?

    FM: Definitely different times. Different cars and everything. I think Valtteri shows his talent. He really improved year by year since he started. I think it’s a great opportunity for him to race for a team like Mercedes. I believe he’s ready for his job, he’s ready to show what he can do and definitely he has an incredible team to work with, very strong team-mate – but I think he’s ready to do a great job. I really hope the best for him. It’ll be nice if he’s behind me – but we will see.

    Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) A couple of questions for the young drivers. But different questions. Esteban, first of all, your target before the training was to gain 5kg of muscle, and you achieve it. And now I heard – I don’t know if it’s true or not – you have to go back 2kg. If it’s true, how difficult it will be now?

    EO: Yes, it’s true I gained 5kg over the training course, which was very hard but I achieved it and feel good in the car. But then you know, all the teams are quite conservative with parts on testing, and they got heavy parts, and then once they see reliability is good they start to put lighter parts on the car. I think that’s what’s going to happen this race. On myself, I didn’t lose any weight and I kept my weight to feel fresh in the car.

    Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) For Lance, it’s more about a performance target. Another young driver will fight the team-mate from race one. You’re in the position of having like a coach in the team, like an elder brother. Will you try to not to lose too much or beat your team-mate from race one?

    LS: Felipe’s not here to be a coach. He’s a competitor like everyone else and he has his helmet on racing like everyone else. Everyone sets their targets differently and everyone is in a different situation – but all the teams have two drivers competing for the same thing, which is to try and finish as far up the grid as possible. That doesn’t change – but my targets are obviously different to some other young drivers. Everyone’s in their own situation: I’m just going to focus on my stuff and do the best I can – which is what I always do. That doesn’t change.

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Let’s start with Lewis Hamilton – a two-time Australian Grand Prix winner, record five times pole sitter here at Albert Park? Lewis, you and the other drivers have spoken about how much you enjoy driving this new generation of new cars. Could you perhaps give us an idea from your own point of view of a few areas you particularly like about it?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly, hi everyone, it’s good to see you, it’s good to be back. I don’t know, as racing drivers and in general you want to drive the quickest cars in the world and you always want to go faster and the cars are faster than they were last year. And the challenge of exploiting that speed with your car on track is a great challenge. It’s more in the direction of how Formula One should be, in the sense of the physicality side of it. We are athletes, and Formula One should be the most physically demanding sport in terms of all the driving series. In the previous years that’s not been the case. To the level we train to it’s relatively easy for us to, but now you are going to have to push the boundaries, which I like.

    There’s a saying in sport – never change a winning team. But you have a new Mercedes technical boss and a new team-mate. How’s that all working out?

    LH: So far, great. I sat down with James and had a great conversation with him and he’s really blended well into the team and super-excited to work with him. It’s always great to have great new creative minds and he’s one of the smartest people I have ever met, if not the smartest. I’m excited to see what he can bring out of me and the team and all the guys we’re working with. Valtteri has, as I said before, Valtteri has been gelling really well into the team, working really hard to be the best he can be, which is all I want.

    Sebastian coming to you, of course 2011 Australian Grand Prix winner. You had a good chance to win this race last year and the recent testing would suggest you will be in the hunt again on Sunday. Is there a more solid baseline do you feel to this year’s Ferrari attack.

    Sebastian VETTEL: We’ll see. So far we don’t know anything. For all of us it will be exciting to find out where we are on Saturday/Sunday, to get a first impression. For us a lot of new things last year didn’t really go the way we expected, so I think for this year we have really focused on ourselves. We have tried to do our job back in the factory and in testing… I think testing times, I don’t think they are that crucial, I think it matters much more what you show from here onwards. We’ll see. I think we are a bit in the dark like everyone else, not knowing what other people have done. For ourselves we can be reasonably happy, we did decent mileage, we didn’t have any major issues with the car and hopefully we can carry that momentum into the race.

    Well, the car looks pretty competitive but the real question I guess is how it will do in qualifying. Ferrari have only taken five pole positions this decade, since 2010, so how have you addressed that? Have you got a go-faster engine setting for the final part of qualifying?

    SV: Not necessarily. I think we worked on all areas, trying to improve. Obviously we all know that qualifying is important to have a good race, so the higher up you qualify the better the chance you have in the race. Statistically it doesn’t look that good, so hopefully we can turn that around.

    Fernando, coming to you, 2006 winner here of course, there’s no hiding the fact that McLaren and Honda are in a very difficulty position at this stage. Do you have any expectations at all for this season?

    Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think let’s wait and see. We have only done the testing period, so I think the first race now will put things a little bit more clear. It’s a question mark also for us where we exactly are. We were not able to push the car to anywhere close to the limit at any lap on the testing, due to different problems. Let’s see. If we can have a good first weekend, see a little bit more of the potential of the car and hopefully see where we are. But yeah, still a long way to go for us and a lot of work to do.

    It’s been only three weeks since testing began and the problems came to light. Have you and team been able to put the rescue plan in place yet or is that something that’s going to come in the next few weeks?

    FA: The team is always working to improve the situation – to word as hard we can, to identify the problems and to improve those areas. I guess everyone did the maximum in the last three weeks and let’s see what we can find tomorrow on the track and that’s more a question for Eric and Honda.

    Daniel, it’s a stat they don’t care for much around these parts, but no Australian has won the Australian Grand Prix since it became a championship round in 1985, so come on Dan, are you going to put that right this weekend?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I’ll try. I’ll try to. It would be nice. If anyone could win just one race they’d always say their home, so that’d be cool, it would be good.

    SV: Didn’t Alan Jones win here?

    Not since it became a world championship round, no.

    SV: So what race did he win in 1980?

    DR: That was the world championship. He’s here; I’ll ask him.

    Daniel, do you want to add anything more?

    DR: I’d love to. We’ll see what happens. I’m prepared. As Lewis touched on, it’s more physical this year and I think we’ve all done our work in the pre-season. I’m sure all of us up here feel like we’re coming in as well prepared as possible and it’s been fun to put more emphasis on that, on the training. The cars are more enjoyable. They are going to be fast. For the fans here this weekend to see the cars on track, the cornering speeds, I think they’ll definitely see that. Hopefully we’re cornering quicker than anyone else.

    Well, you got a really good look at your team-mate Max Verstappen in the second half of last season. How tough are the battles between you two this year?

    DR: Hopefully tough. Hopefully we’re fighting for victories, I think that would be something we would welcome. He’s obviously fast. It’s his third year now and although he’s young, he’s no longer a rookie anymore so I think we both carry a bit of experience. I think the team is excited to see how we go and I think everyone else is. They’re starting to hype it up a little bit. Hopefully it’s hyped up by the fact that we’re fighting at the front, that’s what we both want.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) I want to say good afternoon to everyone and I want to wish us good press conferences for the rest of the season and a good, robust conversation. This question is for the entire panel. This year we have some new owners, the sport is owned by Liberty Media and they have a big, bold vision for the future of F1. What would be your top three wishes for the new owners of Formula One?

    DR: A race in Vegas.

    SV: A race in Germany.

    DR: That’s it; I’ve said mine.

    LH: Miami race…. More ladies in the paddock? More paddock access to some women, there’s too many dudes in the paddock.

    SV: V12s.

    LH: V12s, I agree.

    Fernando?

    FA: I agree. I agree with everyone… equal engines for everyone.

    LH: I don’t agree with that one.

    DR: But not electric.

    LH: And not Honda. I’m kidding…

    Q: (Andy Benson – BBC) We had Charlie Whiting in here a couple of hours ago and one of the things he was saying was that the so-called ‘Verstappen rule’ has been removed, just leaving the general catch-all regulation about potentially dangerous driving. Are you all happy with that situation?

    SV: I don’t know. I’m not…

    You’ll be told tomorrow.

    DR: We’ll be told tomorrow? You know everything before us! Let’s see. I think we can… the good part of it is it means less decisions to be made on track. If they leave it up to us I guess the positive is that we sort it out on track. Hopefully we can get redemption if we feel like something has not gone our way. We’ll see., I like being able to race. That’s the positive from it.

    SV: Will I get my trophy back… it makes sense!

    DR: I guess he wants his trophy back from Mexico. It was a pretty small one actually. Right, I’ll shut up.

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1fan) A question for Daniel. For many years it has been talked of to have a second grand prix in the USA. In the past Germany, Spain and Italy had a second grand prix in the same year. Your thoughts about a possible second grand prix in Australia and where would you like that to be?

    DR: I’m going to sound greedy if I ask for another one here. We’ve got some great circuits… Seb’s saying Bathurst. That would be an amazing circuit for sure. Adelaide, I believe… I was very young but I did go to the 1993 grand prix, I was very young but I heard Adelaide was amazing, they still do it with the V8 supercars. Phillip Island, they host a great event for MotoGP, so there’s a lot. I wouldn’t say no, but I feel a bit greedy asking for more than we have got already. I think everyone else would like to come here. You guys like Australia, right?

    Q: (Rebecca Williams – News Ltd) A question for Fernando. You were involved in a frightening smash here last year at Albert Park. Just wondering how you feel about your return to the track this year, and if that’s something that’s going to be at the back of your mind when you get out there, specifically at that corner?

    FA: Not really. You try always to forget all the accidents, all the moments you were scared in the car, so yeah, it was a pretty big one here last year but it will be perfectly OK and I’m really looking forward to go back here. I like the circuit. I like how passionate the fans are when we are on the track so it will be a good experience to go through those turns.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere Della Sera) To Sebastian. You said it’s too early to have a judgement on your car. But do you feel this car has enough quality to let you fight for the title?

    SV: Well, it’s March now! I think if you are in a fight for the title that’s a question for October, November. I think looking at the performance of the cars obviously it was expected to be a big step up and that’s how it felt on the track. I think that’s what we all said when we first got out of the car, that it’s a big step forward. It’s not entirely fair to judge to the previous years because it’s a different formula but I think they will be the fastest cars we have ever driven. Naturally, the day I came into Formula One the cars got a bit faster, a bit faster, then they tended stall a little bit. We distributed straight line speed versus cornering speed and I think for us what really gives us a good feeling is cornering speed and I think we are back to the level we were probably ten years ago, and maybe a bit faster. For us it’s always nice to have the feeling that these are the fastest cars we have ever driven. On competitiveness we are all here to find out, that’s why we go racing I guess.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Sebastian, last year it was very tight between you and Kimi in qualifying. With this better car do you think it can be even tighter or is it easier for you in qualifying against him?

    SV: I think it’s never easy. You try to get the best out of yourself, out of your car for one lap. I think last year has been closer than the year before but it’s always been fairly close. Obviously I want to be in front of him and he wants to be in front of me but I think starting the season priority number one is hopefully we are in front of the others. But as I said its still very, very early. We try to do the best job for ourselves and the team and we go from there.

    Q: (Andre Leslie – DPA) Question for Daniel. Daniel, this week in Australia – I’m sure you’ve been here longer than that – how has it been with the pressure and the reception that you’ve received around the country? Is it something that is a weight on your shoulders or is it something you look forward to?

    DR: It’s not a weight on my shoulders. It means more work, for sure. This week is easily the busiest F1 week of the year for me. But it’s all positive support. It’s kind-of overwhelming actually. I’m surprised that so many people are getting behind me and the event but it’s obviously cool. It’s nice and encouraging to see. I hear that ticket sales and everything is up quite a chunk from last year. I try to enjoy it. I appreciate it won’t last for ever. It’s demanding, it’s a tiring week but it’s pretty cool to see so many people supportive of me and the event. I don’t see it as pressure in terms of, if I don’t win on Sunday, they’re all going to leave the track and say I’m hopeless and never come back. They want to see me do well and that’s how I see it. It’s just a bit of extra motivation for me and I think the drivers’ parade on Sunday I’ll see that and feel it and get me jacked-up for the race.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid Day) Question for Fernando. Fernando, you’ve spoken about how much you’re enjoyed driving these cars, this new generation of cars, despite all the problems in testing. I just wanted to ask you, does the joy of these new cars take away some of the pain – or is it a case that if you’re not competitive then it’s no-longer fun? Thank you.

    FA: No, I think they are two separate things. One is how you enjoy and how much adrenaline these cars are giving to you on the cornering speed. Comparing with the last couple of years I think it’s a good step forward. Not only for us drivers but also for the spectators: for the people here in the grandstands and watching on television they look spectacular and that’s a positive thing. And then, yeah, naturally I think all sportsmen, we are competitive and y’know, when you arrive to race like we are doing now in the first grand prix of the year, you know that joy is together if you are competitive. Let’s see how competitive we can be this year. At least when you are driving alone, you are enjoying. Then when you have a car close to you and they go much faster than you, that’s a little bit less enjoyable.

    Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Do you think that the new regulation can stop Mercedes’ domination or do you expect Lewis to still be the man to beat this weekend and this year? And Lewis, do you consider yourself the favourite for the Championship?

    SV: Well, I think he must be. Mercedes obviously has been in very, very strong form the last three years and even though we changed the regulations, if a team is strong then they will build a strong car the year after, no matter what you do with the rules. I think it’s very clear who is the favourite. For all of us sitting here, we are trying our best to catch-up. How much we have succeeded, we will see and, as the season goes on, I’m sure the cars will have big progression and all the teams will bring lots of stuff to develop the cars. So, whoever’s in a good place in the beginning and still in a good place at the end will have a chance.

    DR: I think for everyone, it’s like when Red Bull were dominating a few years ago, everyone wanted to see someone else win. So it’s natural. People like change. And for us drivers not being in a Mercedes, we want to see change as well. I think even to have more cars fighting for a win, it makes it more exciting. I’ll let Lewis answer but I think if he wins a race against four of us as opposed to just maybe his team-mate, I think that reward is bigger as well. So, I think if you can win against more, it’s not only good for the fans but that feeling of self-accomplishment is greater. We’ll see. Ferrari showed good pace in testing. If they can maybe take a few points away as well, it opens up the Championship over the long term.

    See it that way Lewis?

    LH: I see Ferrari being the quickest at the moment and I think they will definitely be the favourites but we’ll find out more going into the weekend. It’s interesting to see Sebastian’s usually a lot more hype and I can tell he’s trying to keep a lid on it. But their pace was obviously great in testing. I’m very keen to see what Red Bull bring because they were quite far behind through testing, at least compared to Ferrari and didn’t see them bring many upgrades – or an upgrade as far as I could see. So I’m assuming they’re bringing something here which I’m excited to see what they do bring. And I agree with Daniel in the sense of having more teams and more drivers up at the front fighting for wins, that’s what racing is all about. I’m hoping that’s the case. We, as a team, I don’t believe, as far as I know, no team has won back-to-back through rule regulation changes, so that is our goal as a team. We’re here to win, we’re here to do something no-one else has done. Whether or not we’re in the right place at this moment in the season, we’ll find out. But I have every belief in my team that we can do that.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Can you remember how many cars were on the grid during your first grand prix weekend. And the real question is, is 20 enough to keep the public satisfied.

    FA: Yes. Enough. Obviously, it’s nice to have many cars on track and many teams in Formula One but at the same point it’s a sport that’s quite difficult to get in, quite difficult to stay for many years. We see with some of the smaller teams how they struggle to keep their financial situation healthy in the year. I think to have a good ten teams and 20 cars on track is more or less the number that we see in Formula One for many years. I think it’s OK.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) You just touched on this. The last three years you’ve been fighting for the title, just between you and your team-mate. Would this year be more significant, would you enjoy it more if it was a two- or three-way fight with Ferrari, Red Bull and other drivers. Would it mean more to you?

    LH: Well, as I just mentioned, every year your goal is to beat everyone, of course, and the more of a fight you have, the more satisfying it is when you are victorious, so we’re fully up for a challenge and for a fight. So, that’s what I prepare for. I think it’s not a bad thing. I can’t remember the last time we had three years and then a rule change – but I think they should probably shorten that, maybe, and do more changes. Because there can often be dominance for a certain team and it’s hard to catch up. There’s a limit to how much development you can do through a year, and the top teams can generally develop at a similar pace. If you’ve got a gap already at the beginning it’s hard to squish that gap being that there are rules in terms of how much investment and time you can put into developing your cars. Doing drastic changes kind of spices it up. I’ve never seen the fans so excited about the season as they are this season, being how that it is we don’t know where the cars and the teams are. So, more of these kinds of experiences would, I think, be welcome.

    Q: (Shane McInnes – Radio 3AW) Just about the length of the season, we know it’s 20 races this year but new owners have suggested they might like to see it get out to 25 races. Is 25 too many, and do you think 20 is the right amount or even less, going forward?

    DR: I think it depends on how they structure it. It’s not too many. NASCAR do 36 or something. It’s a lot but the travel’s a lot less because they’re just in the US. So, I think it depends logistically how they do it. It’s all… I don’t know. I like racing. If it means just racing and no testing and less other stuff then… maybe. We spend more days in front of cameras and other things than actually behind the wheel of a racing car. I’d be open to the idea.

    SV: I think 25 is too many. I think 20 is enough. We don’t need more. I think anything between 16 and 20 is the right number. Also, thinking of the efforts going in from the team point of view. For us it’s fairly easy, arriving more or less with hand luggage, doing the job and getting back. I think we’re on the better side. For a lot of the team, for the staff, it’s hard work. So, I think we are having enough races.

    LH: I think if you asked any member of my team whether they’d want to do more races or less, they’d ask for more. It is definitely tough on the guys that are travelling but they love it. They’re addicted to it. They love motor racing and, of course they love time at home but… I’m like Daniel, I love racing so I’m not opposed to more races but I think they’ve got to change the structure, at least on different weekends. If it’s the same four days for 25 races, oh my God I think that would be too much. If they spice it up and make it more… a period during the season that’s perhaps more exciting than another, I think there’s a lot they can do. As long as they are in countries that have a good following. There’s no point in going to a country… for example Turkey, which was a beautiful place but there was no-one that turned up to a race. But if you go to places where there’s a real great atmosphere then you can create a great event, then I think that would be awesome.

    Fernando, any thoughts?

    FA: The same. We all love racing I think so more racing will be always welcome – but in a couple of years’ time.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, how excited are you about the prospect of taking on Seb, a driver that’s won four titles. Obviously, you have three. Do you think this could be the start of a great rivalry that Formula One needs with arguably the two best drivers of their generation going for the title?

    LH: Yeah. I’ve not had a lot of battles with Sebastian on track so, of course, would love to have that. I think the fans want to see that but even between all of us. We need this guy [Fernando] to have a good car so he can get up there and fight with us as well – before his time’s up. We got a hint that it’s another couple of years at least, so that’s good. I feel we’re yet to see the best of Fernando. The sport needs that and he deserves to be able to show that. So, yeah, you want to be racing against the best. I think that’s what the fans want to see. That close racing and sheer competitiveness and see the ups and downs of the best doing their best. I’m definitely looking forward to racing with all these guys and I hope there’s lots of close racing.

    Q: (Andrew Tate – The Age) Lewis, does part of you wish you were racing the reigning champion for the championship this year.

    LH: Not really. When I walked in here I was thinking it was kind of neat because I have a champion here, a champion there and a potential champion here as well.

    DR: Thanks!

    LH: …so it obviously doesn’t make any difference if the reigning champion’s here or not. At the end of the day every year it’s a brand-new year, a brand-new start, it’s a brand-new challenge and a brand-new championship to win. So, I think we’re all out there to beat each other – but as far as I’m aware you don’t say ‘that guy over there’s the current World Champion, I want to go and beat him’. You just want to beat whoever it is you’re up against.

  • Suspension Design Changes for Red Bull and Mercedes

    Suspension Design Changes for Red Bull and Mercedes

    It all started with a letter from Ferrari to the FIA asking for clarification on a concept that would replicate the FRIC suspension, that was used by Mercedes and Red Bull in 2015 and halfway through 2016, for the 2017 season.

    Reports were circulating that there might a protest at the Australian Grand Prix about the suspensions that Mercedes and Red Bull were going to run for the race weekend. But after a clarification by the FIA which stated that suspension systems must not be designed to aid aerodynamic performance, it emerged that Mercedes and Red Bull were ordered to make changes to their suspension systems following inspections by the FIA during pre-season testing in Spain.

    “You are not allowed to have a suspension system that affects the aero performance of the car in anything other than an incidental way,” said FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting at a media briefing on Thursday.

    “We wanted to see whether the suspension is generally suspension or if it is there predominantly for the aerodynamic performance of the car.

    “That is the change. We have been focusing far more on that this year.

    “If a suspension system behaves asymmetrically, then there is not a very justifiable reason for behaving like that – if a suspension system goes down at one speed and comes back at a different speed.

    “If they are not able to convince us then they are not able to use it.”

    On Thursday, all the teams had passed initial scrutineering by the FIA.

  • F1 2017: ‘Verstappen Rule’ Dropped

    F1 2017: ‘Verstappen Rule’ Dropped

    The ‘Verstappen rule’ which regulates a driver’s movement under braking, which defending his position, has been dropped for the 2017 season.

    FIA director Charlie Whiting has confirmed that the regulation, dubbed the ‘Verstappen rule’ is no longer in the regulations. Instead, race stewards will be given more freedom when assessing similar incidents in the future. Specifically, Whiting has said that no driver will be given a penalty unless he is “wholly or predominantly to blame for an incident”.

    The reasoning behind the regulation change, Whiting explains, is to provide stewards with more flexibility when making decisions and to give the ability to apply common sense.

    “I think there would be a small change in some of the incidents that we’ve seen last year — they’d be handled quite differently simply because the so-called “Verstappen rule” is gone to the effect that before we said any move under braking will be investigated,” he explained. “Now, we have a simple rule that says effectively that if a driver moves erratically or goes unnecessarily slow or behaves in a manner that could endanger another driver, then he will be investigated. So there’s a very broad rule now.

    Max Verstappen - US GP FP3Whiting went on to say that stewards will focus on each incident and to judge it on its merits. Therefore, each incident will be considered on the basis of whether it was a dangerous manoeuvre, instead of simply determining if a driver has moved under braking.

    What’s more, stewards will now also have instant access to archived footage of past incidents to ensure that decision are made quicker and more consistently. “What we’ve done to try and help the stewards is to introduce what we call a video archiving system which allows them to instantly refer to other incidents of a similar nature. Without having to trawl through and find what happened with so-and-so, they’ll be able to pull up any similar incidents. They’ll be sorted by type of incident for example, causing a collision, click click, six of those incidents, see what the decisions were because they will be tagged to the incident.”

    The question now is what will the FIA and its stewards consider to be a dangerous manoeuvre?

  • Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    The wait for the 2017 Formula 1 season is nearly over as it heads into the first round at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.

    This weekend one of the most dramatic overhauls of F1 regulations will finally come to life as the battle commences for the 2017 championship. From a purely visual perspective the wider tyres and different aerodynamic layout of the cars present a rather different, but appealing, new look to Formula 1. They will be much faster too and may be up to five seconds a lap quicker than their predecessors.

    With the new era comes a change in several sporting regulations too. For the tyres Pirelli have attempted to provide more durability so as to allow drivers to push harder for longer before it begins to degrade. Whether this will have a detrimental effect on strategy, cutting down on the number of stops, remains to be seen.

    Should it rain Down Under the race will longer start behind a safety-car. Instead, the safety-car will take the field around the track until it is deemed safe to re-start in which case the cars will line up on the grid for a standing start. Further, the launch off the grid has been tightened up where it concerns the clutch. It’s now up to the driver to find the correct bite point, without any pre-programmed settings, and to ensure the best start without getting wheelspin or bogging down the engine.

    TEST F1/2017 - T2 SPAGNAThe eight days of running, across two sessions of testing, suggested that the top three teams might be the closest they’ve been since the start of the hybrid era. Lewis Hamilton has been on record calling Ferrari the favourite. Race drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen shied away from such declarations but there is no denying that the Scuderia have made an impressive step forward. So impressive in fact that it is likely the team to beat in Australia. But they aren’t buying into the hype though as Ferrari president, Sergio Marcionne, has insisted that Mercedes are still ahead.

    For their part Mercedes have announced that it will be running a second, upgraded, specification of engine in Australia. While reports are that it would’ve been introduced later on because of reliability concerns to the timetable has been moved up. There could be several reasons for this but the likelihood is that Mercedes is feeling slightly nervous about the Ferrari hence the early introduction.

    What is a fact is that both Ferrari and Mercedes were sandbagging at different times during testing in Spain and the true pace of both cars will only be revealed in Saturday’s qualifying session.

    2017 Barcelona Pre-Season Test 2, Day 2 - Steve EtheringtonAlong with Ferrari and Mercedes, Red Bull are tipped to be part of the front-running group the true pace of the RB13 is the biggest mystery of the top three teams. While Renault has made impressive progressive with its 2017 power unit it is still behind the Mercedes and Ferrari. Despite this, given the street-like layout of Albert Park, Red Bull is very much the dark horse. While they are well capable of springing a surprise with all things being equal it’s unlikely to be for the top step of the podium.

    As part street-track with a layout comprised, mostly, of medium speed corners, the Albert Park circuit is an outlier on the calendar that is unlikely to present the truest representation of the pecking order in 2017. Nevertheless, at the end of it there will be twenty-five important points and it is the first step of a 2017 season in which it seems that there might finally be a three-horse race.

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Hardest Braking Point

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Hardest Braking Point

    First Stop: Albert Park – Wake up, Formula One is back – with wider tires and more downforce. See what it means for the brakes. Don’t miss the hardest braking point before corner three. The driver has to slow down from 312 km/h to 93 km/h in just 1,3 seconds on 110 meters. 2168 kW of power are being generated here, whilst 4,8 g are affecting the driver. He has to step on the brakes with 163 kg for this.