Here’s what Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso had to say following the announcement that Button will be taking a step back from Formula One in 2017.
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FIA post-qualifying press conference – 2016 Italian GP
Drivers: 1 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2 – Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 3 – Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari).
Q: Lewis that fifth Italian Grand Prix pole is equaled only by Senna and Fangio in history but the margin is perhaps what’s most impressive, describe your emotions?
Lewis Hamilton: Obviously very happy today. I was only made aware of that record as I came into this weekend, so of course that was in the back of my mind, but hoping that it wouldn’t steer me off course. Yeah, I feel incredibly proud and honoured to up amongst Senna and Juan Manuel, incredible drivers. I never in a million years thought my name would be mentioned in the same sentence as their, so very proud of that. But today, this weekend, a very strong feeling and obviously came with my A-game today and particularly that last lap felt incredible. It’s such a great track; it’s got such a great crowd. Big thank you to all the people that came out. But what this team has achieved, as race by race I continue to say, is just phenomenal. I’m so fortunate to be driving for this team, to be representing them and to drive a car as it was today, I got it right in the sweet spot and I was able to do an exceptional time with it.
Q: Very well done. Nico, coming to you, by the standards of your battles with Lewis in the last couple of years, which are normally very tight, that was a large margin. How do you explain it?
Nico Rosberg: I think the best explanation is that he did some good laps and that’s it, because I’ve had a decent weekend until now and got some good laps in today but just not quick enough.
Q: OK, thank you. Sebastian, Kimi was ahead after the first runs in Q3 but you managed to pull out a lap at the end, running a little bit wide though on the exit of Parabolica, tell us about that?
Sebastian Vettel: First of all, I wasn’t that happy with the first shot in Q3, I sort of lost the rhythm a little bit. And then I was obviously able to get it back and I had a good lap. I went just on the limit in the last corner. I actually lost and was a bit late going on throttle but I think the lap itself after let’s say not a great start, not a great first sector, where I was still losing out a little bit compared to Q2, I brought it back in Sector 2 and Sector 3 and obviously very happy for us to look our the second row as a team. I’m not entirely happy because the gap is quite big to those guys ahead. Looks like they have been in a world of their own today, but who knows what happens tomorrow. For sure it’s great to see that we’ve got so much support. Last year was already phenomenal and this year seems even better. Every out lap you do people stand up and wave. It’s great to see all the flags; I think the support we get around here is massive. Bit thanks to everyone around the track, to all the tifosi and hopefully we’ll give something back tomorrow.Q: Thank you for that. Coming back to our polesitter then, Mercedes’ strategy seems clear, you and Nico will both start on the soft tyres tomorrow, one stop therefore is possible for you, but is there any concern about that flat spot? We heard that radio message; you wanted to do another run in Q2 because you felt you had damaged your tyres. Does that compromise you at all for the opening stint tomorrow?
LH: I didn’t really damage the tyres, I just had a small lock-up into Turn One and ultimately for the race tomorrow you want everything to be perfect. I had the pace so I went back out but I was actually up but I just lost it in the last corner. The flat spot is minimal; you can’t really feel it, so I don’t think it will be a problem,
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, I’m going to hit you with another stat you might quite like: surprisingly, pole position is more important than Monaco, since 2000 13 times out of 17 the polesitter has won, whereas in Monaco it’s only 10 out of 17. Why is that?
LH: I probably don’t have all the facts, but it is a low-downforce circuit. It is a track you can overtake on but for some reason you need to have a delta of nearly a second advantage to the car in front to be able to really put the overtaking move into action. When you’re doing a qualifying lap you have to get a gap from the car in front of at least six seconds because you’re still towing someone six seconds up ahead. With these long straights, the turbulence lasts a long time and I guess the closer you get the less downforce you have and we already have low downforce here, so I would imagine that’s it.
Q: Coming to you Nico, obviously the start tomorrow represents an opportunity, it’s always a ‘particular’ start here at Monza isn’t it, but I guess, as well, in your mind you want to make up for last year, your DNF, you want to get a strong result here in Monza?
NR: No, that’s not in my mind. What’s in my mind is just tomorrow’s race. Starting from second is a great opportunity. It would be awesome for me to have a great result here in Italy, because it’s a special place for and I feel a little bit Italian myself in many ways, so it’s great to race here and I would love to have a great result.Q: Alright, coming to you Sebastian, obviously still no front row start in 2016, but how would you assess the improvement on the power unit you’ve brought into this weekend, how it’s performed for you today, particularly with an eye to where your rivals like Red Bull and Williams are?
SV: Well, I think it was working as expected. I think the guys are pushing on hard at the factory, both chassis and engine side. Obviously for it’s low-downforce, so we have a low-downforce package on the car. For the engine we did a step forward. But it looks like other people are improving as well. It’s not just you who is bringing stuff to the car, it’s others as well, so we need to make sure we bring more and better bits. But the season is not over yet. I think the last two races the car felt a lot better than the races before that. I think we lost a little bit… circuits maybe didn’t come our way and I think the weekends weren’t entirely clean, we had lots of issues that we probably caused ourselves, so it just wasn’t clean and now I think the last two weekends were more in the groove. I think for tomorrow we can be reasonably confident and I’m sure that when we move on from here it’s not going to change much. I think at the tracks that are coming we should be fairly competitive and it should be a fairly exciting second part of the season.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, on a track with only a couple of corners, eight-tenths is a big difference. Mattia Binotto told us yesterday that actually between the engines only about three tenths covers all of then at Monza. So where do you think is the deficit – which is way bigger than last year.
SV: Well, we’re not happy that we are further behind than last year. I think there’s a lot of stuff leading into the actual lap time that you are able to do, like Lewis said, he was completely happy with his car. I think we were happy all weekend but in quali, here and there, it didn’t… yeah, I think it could have been a bit better. So there’s a little bit in that. I think if you look at the compares, it’s not a big surprise in qualifying, Mercedes seems able to turn it up probably a little bit more. So for the race that does come down because they can’t run – I hope they can’t run – those engine modes for the whole race. I think it’s partly explained by that. Then obviously the fact that we’re just not quick enough yet. It’s nothing to… y’know, try to make it super-complicated, we know that the combination of car and engine, we’re a little bit behind on both sides, so it’s up to us to catch up. As you can imagine, it’s not that easy – unless you know how, then sign the contact and join us.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis and Nico, Lewis is was very simple, your explanation about your fantastic lap, and Nico, did you have any difficulty in the car that you can understand this almost half a second of difference.
LH: I don’t know what I said before. What did I say before? It felt great. Through qualifying the laps were just getting better and better. I think Q2, first lap was so-so. I went again and was up but didn’t finish it off. Then the last two laps were just fantastic. The first one was a great banker, was up on my delta – but I felt that there was just a little bit more in it. Honestly, the last lap was super-clean. Didn’t have any lock-ups, aced… I came out of Turn One already a tenth up and just maintained that generally through the lap. I think I pulled a little bit more out of Turns Eight, Nine and 10 and the last corner, I did that definitely the best I’ve done it all weekend. Parabolica was… I mean it’s such an amazing corner. The speed we hit that corner and the grip that’s there that allows us to carry speed through is phenomenal. Because you’ve got a big straight going in, a big straight coming out, trying to find the right balance and not braking too much, not carrying too much in, not losing too much on the mid-part to make sure you get the exit… it’s probably one of the most difficult balances to get.
Q: And the second part of the question was ‘Nico, did you have any particular problem?’
NR: No problem, no. The problem was that I think he had his best qualifying in a long time and that’s it.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian, in your final attempt we saw that you were maybe off track at the Parabolica. Did you have that feeling or is everything OK?
SV: I had two wheels out, I think but I think I was just fine. I lost a little bit, if anything. I was already up quite a long way compared to the lap of Q2. The last corner was a match. Was not really an improvement.Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Sebastian, Kimi starts right behind you and there’s a chance you will be side-by-side in the first corner. How will be your approach? Will you be a bit more careful?
SV: I think normally you’re a bit extra careful when you’re racing a team mate – so nothing changes obviously. I think we’ve elaborated enough on what happened last week so I don’t think… first of all he’s not starting behind me, he’s starting next to me but I think both of us, our target is to have a good start and then it’s a long way down to Turn One. We are on a different tyre which should give us a bit of an advantage given our start is good. Then we’ll see.
Q: (Agris Lauzinieks – Kapitals)Lewis, often you have referred to your faith. How important is religion in your life and what is your prayer routine, and when was the last time when your prayer was answered?
LH: That’s really private stuff. Obviously it’s something that’s really important to me in my life and I think every day my prayers are answered. I feel very fortunate to be doing what I do, what I love. I’ve got a wonderful family, great friends, get to visit all these beautiful… there are so many blessings all the time. I never actually ask for anything in prayers, for everyone to be safe, so most of the time that happens.Q: (Peter Hartig – Danish F1 Magazine) Sebastian, I would like to ask you how you cope with the fact that all the tifosi want nothing less than victory on their home ground?
SV: Well, I think it’s normal that they always want the best and I think I said it going into this weekend, I think Monza’s coming at the right time. It’s the race when we get the most support and I think now is the time we need that, so it feels great and it gives extra boost. I’m sure the people would be happiest with a victory like you said but equally I think the people understand as well if we are nine or eight tenths behind in qualifying that there is a chance of miracles, but if you just go and be realistic, you have to also say that we are not the favourites going into the race. I’m sure we’ll try to create whatever is possible and I think in that regard they are actually clever and fair and appreciate the fact that if we do a good job tomorrow, I’m sure they give us credit for that. Of course our target is to win, always something you aim for, your target in your home Grand Prix and no doubt Monza is the best podium in the whole championship and being dressed in red, it’s probably the best combination you can have tomorrow. So all eyes first of all on the start, the first corner, lap one and then we go from there. It’s nice to know what people expect, what ideally you want to achieve but you mustn’t forget what it needs and it needs a lot of small steps starting from now, where we know which position we start from, what we need to do.
Q: (Lionel Froissart – Sport Auto) Technical question for Seb: what’s happened with your nose?
SV: No, I jumped the fence after qualifying to give a wave to the crowd and there was another rope that I didn’t see and hit my face. In the face!
Q: (Ralf Bach – Auto Bild Motorsport) Mr Vettel, do you think Marchionne is here and he’s really satisfied with the nearly one second you are behind the Mercedes?
SV: I tell you what, I think above all, knowing what’s going on, he’s realistic. I think he knew, going into qualifying, that we’re not the favourites but it’s something everyone in the team is up for and willing to change. Now, the way you need to look at it is not that we get smashed by Mercedes. I think the way we need to look at it first of all, and it is a question of respect, is to say that they do a very very good job, they’ve strung a very strong team together. Both drivers are hardly making any mistakes, they are really clean every weekend and if we can be behind that, that’s a positive because the level is very high. Obviously it’s not satisfying for us, for anyone going from our president to us at the track, to all the people in the factory but as I said, I think what we need to do and what we know is our biggest strength is to do what we can do and rely on what we have. I think we know we need to improve for the future and that’s what we target, every single one and for tomorrow, as I said the target is clear and of course you always aim for the highest, otherwise what’s the point of going on the grid if you think that you can’t win. But you have to be realistic as well, saying that they are the favourites but we’ll try to give them a very very hard time.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis, just to elaborate a bit more on that: the difference between you and Nico tends to be a bit bigger here than at most tracks. Even last year it was three tenths, now it is almost five tenths so what’s the secret, what makes you so confident and supreme on this low downforce track?
LH: I don’t really have a great answer for that. It is obviously a heavy braking circuit, it’s a bit more like a go-kart circuit where you have to throw the car around, in the lower speed, I would say. I don’t know. It’s probably more a question for Nico, I would say. I just try to turn up and perform my best wherever I am. I love being here in Italy and for some reason Italy’s been good to me.
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Jenson Button Announcement
Jenson Button has announced that he will not be racing in Formula 1 in 2017.
The 2009 champion announced at a press even on Saturday that he will not be driving for McLaren in 2017. However, the Brit confirmed that he will remain with the team in a team and car development role.
“I’m delighted that I’ll be staying on as a key member of the McLaren-Honda team. In fact I’m massively excited about my new role, which has come about as a result of a number of in-depth chats with Ron,” said the Brit at the press conference after qualifying on Saturday.
“Specifically, I’m looking forward to becoming even more deeply involved in the team’s efforts to bring about the success we’ve all been striving to deliver.
Button squashed any rumours that have tipped him for a Williams drive in 2017.
“I love McLaren-Honda – I firmly believe it’s made up of the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked with – and I have no intention of ever driving for another Formula 1 team.”
He made it clear that he is not retiring from Formula 1 and confirmed that McLaren has the option to call him back to the cockpit in 2018.
“To be clear, I’m very definitely not retiring. I’m contracted for both 2017 and 2018, I intend to work hard on car-development, and I’m sure I’ll get behind the wheel of the new car at some point.”
Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne has been announced as Button replacement and will race alongside Fernando Alonso in 2017.
“First of all, I want to express my gratitude to everyone at McLaren-Honda, and especially Ron, for showing faith in me.,” said Vandoorne.
“It’s an enormous honour to become a McLaren-Honda race driver, and I promise to work as hard as any Formula 1 driver ever has before.
“I already know the team extremely well – they’re a fantastic group of extremely clever people – and I’ve already raced the car once and tested it often
“I have total confidence in the potential of the McLaren-Honda project, and I firmly believe that, racing alongside a brilliant and experienced driver, I’ll be able to make a strong contribution to the team’s future World Championship successes.
“There are a lot of other people whom I’d like to take this opportunity to thank – too many to list in fact. So all I can say is: you know who you are, and thank you.”
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Hamilton claims Italian GP pole by nearly half a second
Lewis Hamilton stamped his authority all over the Italian GP weekend by claiming the pole position by nearly half a second over his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton was fastest in Q1 and Q2 and fastest in both Q3 runs. Hamilton already had the edge over his team mate with the fastest first Q3 run but blasted his way to pole with a 1:21.135. This is Hamilton’s fifth Italian Grand Prix pole and with it, which equals the record held by Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio.
A lock up in Q2 added a small flat spot on his race tyre but Lewis did not seem too concerned about it saying that he could hardly feel it and doubted that it would have much of an effect on his race tomorrow.
What did become very apparent was the absolute advantage that Mercedes has over its rivals this week. Sebastian Vettel finished three tenths down on Rosberg for Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen locking out the second row of the grid with his team mate.Valterri Bottas staked his claim on an impressive fifth place for Williams – finished just 0.001s ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen claimed the eighth grid spot ahead of the Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
The Haas F1 team were very impressive and made their first appearance in Q3. Esteban Gutierrez took up the 10th place, 0.3s behind the Force Indias.
Felipe Massa who recently announced his retirement from Formula One failed to impress, failing to make it through to Q3. He had to settle for 11th place but gets a free choice of which tyres he’ll start on tomorrow.
Romain Grosjean qualified 12th but a five place grid penalty for a gearbox change after FP3 will push him back to 17th place on the Italian GP grid. Fernando Alonso complained of a loss of power on his final run and finished only 13th fastest. Pascal Wehrlein put in a good show to split the McLarens and Carlos Sainz rounded out the Q2 runners.
Daniil Kvyat was not able to make it through to Q2 and set off the bleeper with a string of expletives after his run, questioning his Toro Rosso team about what had gone wrong. Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson will take up the next two spots ahead of the Renaults who had a very tough qualifying session. Jolyon Palmer qualified 20th with Kevin Magnussen behind him after KMag had to run across the grass at the exit of Ascari on his final lap.
Esteban Ocon’s qualifying session was over before it even started really. He was forced to park his Force India at Turn 1 as he started his flying lap. He will need to ask the stewards for permission to race, since he has no qualifying time but his practices were within the 107% mark so there should be no reason not to allow him to race.We’re not expecting much strategy-wise for tomorrow’s Italian GP. For most, it’ll be a quick, 1 stop race. It’ll all be about the start tomorrow and both Hamilton and Rosberg are likely to have their mirrors full of Red Ferrari off the the line. Hamilton has every chance of cruising to a victory if he makes a faultless start and given his current form, and the absolutely dominant performance of his Mercedes, it’s hard to think that he will not make it so.
Join us on Twitter @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat throughout the Italian GP.
Here is the final Italian GP Qualifying time sheet.
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F1 2016: Italian Gp Free Practice 3 Report – Hamilton Dominates
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton dominated the field in the final free practice session ahead of the 2016 Italian grand prix.
The number 44 Mercedes set a quickest time of 1:22:008 while teammate Nico Rosberg’s 1:22:401 was some 0.393 adrift in second. The first of the Ferrari’s came in the form of Sebastian Vettel who set a quickest time of 1:22:946. Kimi Raikkonen, in the other Ferrari, set a 1:23:196.
The Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were fifth and sixth respectively. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were only quick enough for seventh and eighth while Force India’s Sergio Perez and Haas F1’s Esteban Gutierrez rounded out the top ten.
The session endured a brief interruption earlier when Romain Grosjean’s beached Haas brought out the virtual safety car.
Final Free Practice Three Standings
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F1 2016: Italian GP Free Practice 2 Report – Merc Maintain Lead
The Mercedes driver pairing maintained their position on top of the timing sheets with Lewis Hamilton setting the quickest time ahead of Nico Rosberg in the second free practice session.
The normal format for the second one-and-a-half hour session on Friday’s include a qualifying simulation run as well as a focus on the long run pace of the respective drivers and teams. In both cases Mercedes showed a clear advantage as Hamilton set a quickest time of 1:22:801 on the red-walled supersoft tyre. Nico Rosberg followed some 0.193 tenths adrift with a 1:22:994.
The two Ferrari’s set the third and fourth quickest times followed by two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso set the seventh quickest time for McLaren but the Spaniard is unlikely to maintain this position throughout the weekend as McLaren tend to run a higher engine mode during the early stage of the weekend.
While Ferrari’s pace appear comfortably off that of the Mercedes drivers it should be noted that the Italian team ran a truncated programme in terms of mileage and are only expected to make the introduction of their upgraded power unit on Saturday.
Final Free Practice Two Standings
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F1 2016: Italian Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Merc Lead The Way
The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of the first free practice ahead of Sunday’s Italian grand prix.
The session got underway under sunny skies and in front of a boisterous Italian crowd. Nico Rosberg set the quickest time overall with a 1:22:959 ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton who set a 1:23:162.
The local favourite Ferrari team were third and fourth with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel respectively. However, the Italian team limited running in the first free practice session and are expected to introduce an engine upgrade on Saturday.
Sergio Perez continued Force India’s uptick in pace with fifth ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in sixth. Max Verstappen set the seventh quickest time in his Red Bull while the first of the Haas F1 cars appeared in eighth in the form of Esteban Gutierrez. Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top ten in the second Red Bull in a weekend that team principal Christian Horner describes “would be difficult”.
No major incidents befell any driver as they got into the rhythm of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. However, Felipe Massa lost most of the first half of the session due to a turbo issue on his Williams while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso ended the session with a suspected gearbox issue.
Final Free Practice One Standings
Pos. Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.959s – 37 2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:23.162s +0.203 36 3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:24.047s +1.088 16 4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:24.307s +1.348 17 5 Sergio Perez Force India 1:24.650s +1.691 32 6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:24.763s +1.804 17 7 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:24.785s +1.826 37 8 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:24.982s +2.023 25 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:25.113s +2.154 19 10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:25.120s +2.161 17 11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:25.351s +2.392 23 12 Alfonso Celis Force India 1:25.367s +2.408 30 13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:25.507s +2.548 14 14 Felipe Massa Williams 1:25.840s +2.881 18 15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:25.853s +2.894 20 16 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:25.973s +3.014 20 17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.074s +3.115 20 18 Esteban Ocon Manor 1:26.391s +3.432 30 19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:26.439s +3.480 21 20 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:26.762s +3.803 28 21 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:26.811s +3.852 35 22 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:26.956s +3.997 32 -
2016 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference
DRIVERS – Esteban GUTIERREZ (Haas), Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Renault), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Kevin, obviously a horrible accident in Spa. How are you and what did you have to do to get ready for this race?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I have just relaxed. Nothing was broken, I wasn’t injured so just a bit sore in my body and I didn’t need to do anything special. No special treatments or anything. Yeah, just took a couple of days at home and ready for the next race.
And what happened?
KM: I spin at the top of Eau Rouge. I hit a bump and lost the rear. I thought I was going to go left into a spin, but then the car caught grip again and I went right and into the wall. Yeah, that’s what happened.
Thanks for that. Kimi, coming to you: some strong feelings after the Spa weekend, especially with regard to Max Verstappen. What would you like to happen now with regard to the rules of engagement between drivers out on the track when it comes to attacking and defending?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I think it’s quite clear what they are and obviously sometimes you feel it’s not correct what happens on circuit but obviously I think the biggest problem is it’s not always the same. I think as drivers we always discussed it and it’s a bit up and down and I think that could be improved. Personally I have nothing against Max. He is doing a good job and he’s fast. It’s not a personal thing but certain things, at least in my feeling, were not correct if you have to slow down or brake under full speed but those things are never ending discussions but let’s see what happens.
You’ve also now had a chance to study video of the collision at the start with Sebastian. Have you discussed it together during the week and what conclusions did you come to?
KR: Obviously it was an unfortunate thing. Not really an awful lot to discuss except probably he said sorry and I said OK and you know we go forward. It wasn’t ideal for us or any of the three to be involved, but that’s how it goes sometimes. So next time we try to give a bit more room but it’s done now.
Thank you for that. And your side of that, Seb? Kimi’s said you apologised to him. You’ve had a good chance to review it, to think it through again, what are you feelings now in the cold light of day?
Sebastian VETTEL: Not so much to talk about,. It’s clear what happened. Obviously I thought there was Kimi on the inside but as it turned out there was three cars. The room that I gave was for Kimi, it was not for three cars because I think Max had a bad start and was out of that fight, but decided not to, so in the end we had three cars with not enough room. From my side, it’s clear. Obviously if I know that – I can’t see much in the mirrors, I could see that Kimi was there and I was slightly ahead – if I had to do it again, knowing that, I would give a little bit more room, at least I make I don’t know about the cars on the inside then, but I think it was a pity for all three to be involved and not to come out of the corner being able to race for the podium after that.
OK, moving forward, Italian Grand Prix this weekend, special atmosphere here as always. You had a great experience here 12 months ago, on the podium, all that warmth from the tifosi. Is it fair to say, though, that this race comes at a slightly difficult moment for the team – you haven’t had a podium for a few races and Red Bull have moved ahead of you in the championship?
SV: No, I think it comes at the right time, I think we need a bit of a boost and support, so very much looking forward to this weekend. Last weekend was very positive for us. Obviously the race didn’t unfold the way we expected or we hoped for but it was very positive in terms of pace. I think we had a couple of races before the summer break where we were struggling a bit and we seemed to reconnect to the group ahead again, so I’m pretty confident the car should be fine here. Obviously it’s a different track and unique in many ways, but like I said, I think it comes at the right time, with people supporting us. Already now the couple of hours this day has had it was very positive with a lot of fans and it’s one of the biggest pleasures for us to race in front of the home crowd.
OK, thank you very much for that. Coming to you Esteban, you’ve finished just outside the points four times this season, do you feel that breakthrough points-scoring finish for Haas is just around the corner?
Esteban GUTIERREZ: Yes, it is and it’s very important to have found the consistency and the rhythm we have in the last three months, because by being consistent and being persistent we will go an break through the top 10, which for us is obviously the target in every race from now to the end of the season. It hasn’t been an easy task, especially with how my season started, but we have been making very good progress inside the team in many ways and we can look into the positive sides and keep pushing and keep doing our best to get there.
Haas obviously has a technical partnership with the home team here this weekend, Ferrari, a special weekend I’m sure, but how do you see the collaboration evolving?
EG: I think it’s an important part for the team of course. It is something that gives a lot of confidence right from the beginning to have the support and obviously the relationship is important for the whole team. So I think that’s going to keep going and it’s going to keep going forward in the way that it has to be done, properly considering the regulations that have to be well respected but the relationship is there and it’s going to continue forward in the next years.
Thank you very much for that. Carlos, coming to you, 22 years old today, happy birthday. A little bit of a frustrating race for you last weekend going out with a puncture and presumably it’s not a great moment as well for the championship for you, as it seems that the lack of updates now on the power unit is beginning to cost in terms of performance. What are your feelings about the rest of the races this season?
Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, we are not going through our best moments at the moments. Yeah, since Hockenheim and the last race in Spa it looks like it’s taking us a lot more effort to get close to the top ten. Spa was kind of expected; Hockenheim not so much, but we are definitely not where we want to be. In theory we think were prepared for the performance drop-off of the engine in the second half of the season but it has been maybe a bit more than expected, so now there is a lot work going on in Toro Rosso, a lot of analysis, a lot of testing coming up in free practice to try to turn around this bit of a bump we are going through. I still have full confidence. Spa – it would have been nice to see what we could have achieved after being P7 at the start, but it’s how it is sometimes.
Just looking at your record this year: when you’ve finished you’ve scored points in all but two of those races. So, from a personal point of view, comparing last season with this one, do you feel pleased with the progress you’re making?
CS: I think I have to be very pleased, because last year I went through very difficult moments with the reliability and I kept telling the people ‘wait, because the moment I stop having these issues I will be able to show what I am more capable of in Formula One’. And that first half of the season was also to prove myself and to prove also that when I don’t have so many problems I can score some points. This consistency has allowed me to create a lot of points in the first half of the season… that will be probably be very difficult to keep for the second half!
Thank you. Coming to you Jenson, obviously the power unit upgrades in Spa seemed to work pretty well, and rival team engineers tell me your corner speeds were very impressive in Spa as well, so it seems that it’s all starting to come together for McLaren?
Jenson BUTTON: Well, yeah, I only did four corners, but I think they all look fantastic, so very happy with them! No, seriously, as a whole we probably did better in Spa than most people expected. I think we were probably running a little bit more downforce than other people as well. But if you look at Fernando, if you forget the first few laps, if you look at the actual pace of the car, Fernando was actually good in the race. It’s promising coming here, you know these are two reasonably difficult circuits for us, but we’ve definitely made good progress. Honda have done a great job of bringing the upgrade to Spa and it’s good to see progress pretty much every race we have with Honda and also with the car, so yeah, I think it’s progressing well.
What about yourself? When do you expect to announce your plans, what you’re going to do next?
JB: That’s progressing well as well. So, progress is the name of the game? So it’s good.
Before we move on to the floor, just a few moments ago Felipe Massa announced that he is retiring from Formula One. Just some thoughts from each of you maybe about him, his contribution as a driver and as a colleague. Kimi, you were a team-mate of his, so maybe you could start?
KR: Obviously it’s a big shame, but this is his choice in the end. We had a good relationship when we were in the same team and obviously he has had some difficult moments in F1, with the accident, but he’s been strong always and he’s a very nice guy. So, life goes on, and I’m sure he made the right choice for himself, so hopefully he has a good end to his F1 career.
Kevin?
KM: He’s had a long career. I don’t think I’ve seen Formula One when he wasn’t racing, so he’s had a long career. He’s had a good one. As Kimi said, if he feels it’s the right time then good luck to him and not much more.
Sebastian?
SV: He’s a really nice guy, really funny. It’s a shame to see that he quits because he will be missed. Obviously I wish him all the best for whatever he decides to do in the future. I think apart from the talent and speed he has on the track, as I said, he’s a great guy and very easy-going and he will be missed.
Esteban?
EG: Well I think it was quite a wise decision to make – which is probably not an easy one to make for everyone’s career. I have great memories for when he accepted my call and invited me for dinner back in 2008, when I was racing Formula BMW. At that time, that meant a lot for me. Now, I wish him the best. He has made an incredible career and he has to be proud of that.
Jenson?
JB: I’ve raced with Felipe since he started in Formula One, I think it’s about 15 years we’ve been racing together, so yeah, it’s always a strange feeling when someone retires from the sport that’s achieved so much, so many victories, and being so close as well to a world championship. But we all have our own reasons. I think it’s a brave decision but he’s chosen to retire so it’s definitely the right one.
And finally, Carlos.
CS: From my personal side I remember meeting him for the first time in 2005. I think I was 10-11 years old. He was really kind to me and was my hero Formula One driver. He was very funny, very kind to me and since then I’ve had lots of respect for him. Five minutes before coming here I went to give him a hug, wish him all the best and I’m sure he’ll have a good life from now on.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) This is for anyone who cares to comment on Max Verstappen’s driving but especially to the Ferrari guys. Sebastian, you said last weekend you were not a fan of punishing drivers because of how they drive. Have you maybe talked to Max about it and what do you think is the way to go to make him understand that he’s sometimes overstepping the limit. And Kimi, could you please clarify, when you overtook Max on lap 12, I think, when you both went off because he outbraked you after you left him on the straight. Who was it who asked you to let him pass again.
KR: Obviously I asked from the team if I have to give the position back or not and they asked the FIA or Charlie and the answer was that I have. I haven’t seen where he went or if he stayed on the circuit or not and… kind of stayed on the circuit, much more than me, so obviously that was a pretty easy decision from my side.
Sebastian?
SV: Not sure I remember all of it but haven’t spoken to him yet. I think the thing that we’ve spoken about before and has come up again in Spa was the bit that is the moving under braking which obviously, as the lead car, is the wrong thing to do. The following car can react but there are situations where you can’t react any more and it will end up in a crash which has been something that we’ve talked about. I think he understood when we spoke about it so we obviously need to maybe have another chat. But as I said in Spa, I’m not a big fan of running to the stewards and complain there. I think it’s much better if we do it face to face. Unfortunately we haven’t done that yet but I’m sure we will.
Q: (Nadia Enevoldsen – bmf1.dk) I have a question for Vettel. In 2008 you won your first grand prix here where you were the youngest driver ever – can you win on Sunday and if so will the feeling be even better than this feeling from 2008?
SV: I think we should have a good weekend. I think Spa was a good step to come back and obviously this race means a lot to us, means a lot to me. Not only… I mean of course because being one of the Ferrari drivers driving on home soil is… with all the tifosi coming and supporting is great – but it also means a lot to me because it’s the place, as you mentioned, where I won my first race. I think the first race win is always something that will stand out and something that you don’t forget. Obviously I’ve been very lucky in the last couple of years to have some more wins but for sure, after last year’s experience here, being on the podium in the red suit, I probably realized that, yeah, people don’t hate me as much as I thought after the last couple of years with Red Bull! Very much looking forward to the race on Sunday and that’s definitely something that would be a dream coming true to win here dressed in red. We’re working very hard for that.
Q: (Ralph Woodall – L’Equipe) Question for Kevin. After such a big crash how to you feel about going back in the car? Are you apprehensive? What are your expectations for the weekend?
KM: After a crash like that it’s clear that the car is very safe and there’s not too much to worry about. I’m going to be flat-out again and pushing as hard as I can. I think in terms of expectations for this race, we had a stronger weekend in Spa and were a little bit surprised by our pace in qualifying especially. On this track the setup is not too different, the setup is very similar, so hopefully it will show that we are still on that level.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have never won in Italy and have had three podiums here. How would you describe your relationship with the Monza circuit?
KR: I enjoy the circuit, usually it’s always a great weekend, even before I raced for Ferrari. I had some good memories and some not-so-good memories from here. It’s never been straightforward weekends of races for me. But it’s a great place to come and, for racing, it’s quite a special place. The circuit layout and obviously the history what is in the place, plus being part of Ferrari, we have amazing support and obviously our home race so hopefully this weekend goes well. We feel we have a good chance so hopefully we make all the right things and… choose right things when it comes and get the best out of it. But I enjoy to come here and race.
Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Question for Seb, couple of things. Why do you think this season hasn’t gone how you guys would have hoped. What reasons do you have in your mind for that, that you haven’t met the targets you set yourselves. Second to that, you moved to Ferrari to win the championship. How much patience do you have with the team to get it right? Are you going to be here until you win?
SV: Maybe I start with the second one. I don’t feel old so I think I’ve got some time. I’m not a patient person, I’m pretty much the opposite, which I think goes hand-in-hand with your first question. It’s very simple: we were not quick enough up to that point. We didn’t therefore collect as much points as we wanted to. Obviously if you’re a lot quicker then you’re in a much better position to win races, you score more points and you get nicer questions. That’s usually how it goes. I’ve been on the other side as well. But yeah, I’m pretty confident we’ll have better days again and we have our home race ahead of us. Sounded pretty negative but I think actually it’s a lot of positives to look forward to. I think it will be amazing in terms of support. It’s great to come here, the place means a lot to us, to myself and I think we have a good chance to fight for a good and strong podium – maybe even more. We will see. I think it’s clear that all of us inside the team, we are not very patient, we have very high expectations which I think we’ve expressed many times at the beginning of the year. We want to fight for the championship but, as I said, as a net result so far we haven’t been competitive and quick enough – yet. We are trying our utmost to improve it. There’s a lot of things happening on the track, even more things happening back in Maranello at the factory to work on that and change that. People are fired up – even if it still takes a little bit.
Q: (Fulvio Solms – Corriere dello Sport) Question is for Seb and Kimi. You have a very good relationship, that’s clear and that’s OK but wouldn’t you like to live every race with a really stressing weekend, fighting each other with a winning car like Lewis and Nico at Mercedes?
SV: I don’t understand the question… the first part you say we get along and the second part you ask if we… wouldn’t like to get along basically! Oh, of course, if both of us could choose we’d love to drive the car that is more competitive and is a bit easier to win races – but I don’t think it would change anything in the relationship. Obviously we’re driving the same car, as you saw on Sunday we’re fighting for the same bit of tarmac, sometimes things go wrong which, obviously, is bad when it happens, but it happens. So in that moment, or after, nothing you can do but overall, I think that’s what we’re working for. Us and the whole team. To have that winning car and fight for the championship.
Kimi?
KR: We race as hard as we can against each other, we try to beat each other every time and what would it change? We all want the team to be fighting for wins and fighting for the championship with both cars. I don’t see what… nothing would change. We still try to beat each other but we can still be friends. Would be just better for all of us.
Q: (Ralf Bach – Auto Bild Motorsport) Sebastian, you said something before about nice questions. So what is a nice question for you in the current situation with Ferrari?
SV: No, I think what I said was that obviously if you keep winning races and doing a good job people don’t ask you what’s wrong because clearly everything is fine. If you’re not winning, then obviously everybody is curious why you’re not winning. I think there’s always a reason and obviously, as I said, the more competitive you are the less then you have to deal with that sort of question, which is not a problem but it’s just a little boring if every weekend it’s the same question. You give the answer, you thought you’ve answered their question and then it comes up again and again and again. I think we’ve all been there so it’s part of the deal.
Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) To the Ferrari drivers: you were quite unhappy with Max’s driving in Spa but he said that you should be ashamed for causing a collision and destroying his race. Sebastian, you are 29, Kimi you’re almost 37. Looking at the fact that he’s just a teenager, does this make his comments and actions even more annoying for you?
SV: Well, I think it’s nothing. I don’t think we have anything to be ashamed about, first of all, and secondly, I think as I tried in the answer before, it’s a question of respect. I think we’re all here to race, we love what we do, we share one great passion which dictates a very very big part of our lives. It’s something we all have in common. We might get along, we might not get along but that’s not really that important, but I think we should always have respect for each other.
KR: Everybody is allowed to say what they feel like. Like I said before, I’ve nothing personally against him. It’s just certain things in my view that are not correct. I’ve no interest to call Max into it but obviously if somebody says during the race that he does something because of what happened in the first corner, that it’s payback, I don’t think it’s the correct sport to start doing purposely paying back something that has happened. It can end up in a very bad way. Yes, people make mistakes, everybody has made it and it will happen to probably all of us and you just have to accept it but it’s not the place to start acting silly in a way and paying back for something that has happened.
Q: (Ralph Woodall – L’Equipe) Jenson, would you be interested in going to Williams or is your priority elsewhere, staying with McLaren? Now you know there’s a seat.
JB: I would love to make this really exciting because yeah, but I’ve got nothing else to say on what I’m doing next year or my future. Sorry to say.
Q: (Jens Nagler – Sport Bild?) Sebastian and Kimi, the two of you obviously made contact at the start in Belgium and you did in China earlier in the year as well, even if in both cases another driver was involved. I can imagine you will be quite keen to avoid a repeat of making contact with each other here in Monza. I don’t imagine as racing drivers you will admit to going a little more cautiously but will you be doing any extra homework, looking maybe at tapes of earlier races to avoid making contact with each other?
SV: You answered the question yourself there. I don’t think we have to explain anything.
KR: Nothing to add, not really.
Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Carlos Sainz, I want to know what changed in the team after the change-over between Daniel and Max?
CS: Not much. My teammate has changed but my approach and my attitude to work, to Formula One, is exactly the same. The team, internally, had a bit of a reshuffle but it was all in a good direction. I think we can be happier with the first half of the season of Toro Rosso. We will see how the second half goes but it’s going to be tough for us. We need to make sure we put everything in our hands to keep McLaren in our sights. I think it’s going to be very difficult because they’re already ahead but it’s going to be tough but we’re going to try our best.
Q: (Peter Varkas – Auto Motor) Jenson, last year you often said that you felt like a sitting duck while trying to defend, because of the engine deficit. From the cockpit, how much easier has it become to defend against other people this year and is it fair to say that Monza will be one of the toughest tests of the Honda progress?
JB: Yeah, especially here and Spa, it limits your strategy massively or it has done in the past, it really does because you can’t hold people up on the straights but it’s very different now, very different situation I think in terms of the power unit itself. We’ve moved on a lot but also with the deployment; I think we’ve probably got the best deployment out there. I’m much happier coming here, especially after… the whole weekend of Spa was positive, the feeling of the car, the feeling of the power unit. We still know there’s a long way to go with it before we’re properly competitive but it’s great to see progress at almost every Grand Prix we go to, whether it’s a qualifying map becoming a race map or something completely new. The guys back at Woking as well, at the MTC, bringing new parts to almost every race and I think that’s probably more than most teams out there so we’re still pushing and obviously a lot of the stuff that we do that we are putting on the car is stuff that will help next year’s car as well, so yeah, it’s good to feel that progress and it’s so much more enjoyable to drive when you’re inside the top ten and fighting even further forward. It’s a really nice feeling, considering where we were last year which was very difficult, so big big progress but you always want more. When you finish sixth or seventh, it’s a good job for where we are right now but you’re still sixth or seventh, it’s not winning the race. When you’re used to winning – quite a while ago now – but you still want to get back there and it’s obviously the aim for the team.
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2016 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix Weather Preview
Formula 1 returns to Monza – the temple of speed – for round 14 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Italian Grand Prix.
Built in 1922, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza became the 3rd purpose built track in the world. The initial layout which combined the current F1 circuit, minus the chicanes, and the the high speed loop was 10 km long. There have been numerous modifications and layout changes to the circuit. The current Grand Prix Circuit layout is 5.793 km long with notable corners such as the Curva Grande and the very fast and tricky Parabolica Turn 11.
The Belgian Grand Prix showed that Mercedes was able to maintain it’s dominant form this season. Red Bull have emerged as the next challenger to Mercedes with Ferrari close behind. At the end of the Belgian Grand Prix race, Ferrari say that they were much quicker than they showed. The incident at the start between Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen destroyed any hope of a podium finish for both Ferrari’s.
Coming into the Italian Grand Prix there is huge pressure and expectation on Ferrari. This is a home Grand Prix and the Tifosi at Monza can become very scathing if Ferrari fail to perform. They’ll be pulling out all the stops to try and be close to Mercedes this weekend.
Monza is also one of the expensive races for teams in the paddock as they have to develop “Monza specific parts” to fit the characteristics of the high speed track. Teams usually run very lean rear wings with the emphasis on top end speed on the long straights.
A lovely autumn weekend in Monza can be expected this weekend. Temperatures will remain in the low 30s with the hot weather set to continue throughout the weekend.
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F1 2016: Italian GP Preview – Uniquely Monza
Most would agree that the Autodromo Nazionale Monza is one of the most unique circuits on the F1 calendar. It’s uniqueness doesn’t just stem from one thing either.
When you describe Monza as a classic it is a literal description as the first grand prix it ever hosted was in 1950. It may have undergone a few tweaks but every legend that has ever inscribed their name in the folklore of Formula 1 history has raced around this circuit. The infamous Ferrari one-two for Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto in 1988, to Sebastian Vettel first grand prix win in 2008, to the emotional announcement of Michael Schumacher’s (first) retirement here in 2006.
The layout too is another factor which adds to Monza’s uniqueness. The long straights places an overwhelming demand on a low downforce setup and pushes the engine to its absolute limit. There are some quite famous twiddly bits in between which demand precision on braking and good traction. “People often think that Monza is all about the straights, with tight, small corners – but that’s not really true: corners like the Lesmos, the Ascari chicane and Parabolica are big, fast corners that require precision and commitment. It’s a great track,” says McLaren’s Jenson Button.
And then there is the Tifosi. Ferrari’s fanatically passionate supporters who only see red. Ferrari’s 2016 season has made for some uncomfortable viewing and that’s without the two red cars swopping paint. Despite this, there will be high expectations for the Italian team this weekend. Ferrari are determined to meet the expectation head on and are expected to role out an engine upgrade this weekend in the hopes of thrilling their Tifosi.
However, as far as beating rivals go putting one over them on home soil as hallowed as Monza is always going to rank high on the priority list regardless of the era. Therefore, Mercedes will be more determined than ever to climb onto the top step of the podium on Sunday. The Italian circuit has always been a favourite of Hamilton who currently holds a nine point lead over teammate Rosberg and a significant advantage where spare power unit elements are concerned.Red Bull performed well in Belgium but will find the going a bit tougher given the extra emphasis on engine power. Dutchman Max Verstappen arrives in any paddock with a bunch of attention how there will be a bit of a different air to it in Italy after his shenanigans at Spa. It won’t bother him though, nothing much seems to get under the 18 year old’s skin…yet.
If a definition for pure, unadulterated passion is being searched for then look no further than the Italian grand prix. It is passion defined. And should a red car make it to the chequered flag first expect an outpouring of emotion and elation the likes of which have not been seen in many a year.
