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  • F1 2016: Austrian Gp Preview – Quali The Key In Austria

    F1 2016: Austrian Gp Preview – Quali The Key In Austria

    From the medieval city streets of Baku the Formula 1 paddock travels to the crisp countryside of Austria for the eighth round of the 2016 championship.

    A case could never be made that Formula 1 lacks diversity. It swops the mostly tight confines of the Baku City circuit for the mountains and fresh air of Austria’s Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Located in the picturesque Styrian Mountains the 4.3 kilometer circuit is dotted with only nine turns. The average speed of a lap around the Ring is estimated at 224 kph while 70 percent of the lap is spent at full throttle.

    There are only seven braking zones around a lap but they are big stops from high speeds, which classifies the brake wear rate as high. This no longer appears to be an issue for Mercedes in 2016 but should they not be running in clear air it could rear its head.

    As the shortest lap on the calendar at less than 70 seconds the grid is expected to be tighter, which makes qualifying vital. In 2015 the top three positions in qualifying were covered by four tenths of a second. The circuit’s four long straights mean that there is opportunity for overtaking but getting past a car with a good straight-line speed will be difficult.

    Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull RingFor this year’s grand prix teams and drivers have selected the yellow-walled soft, red-walled supersoft, and purple-walled ultrasoft tyres. Both Ferrari drivers have selected nine sets of the ultrasoft tyres while Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have each opted for eight sets of the purple-walled tyres. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have chosen seven sets of the softest compound. Tyre wear last year was minimal as Daniel Ricciardo was able to run a fifty lap stint on the soft tyre before needing to pit.

    Ferrari’s tyre choice could be put down to fact that this track surface is a relatively smooth one with normally cool conditions. This combination often presents some struggle in getting tyres to the optimum temperature. As they’ve continually struggled to get the tyres to their optimal working range Ferrari should find it easier to do with the ultrasoft  tyre. This will be a crucial element of Ferrari’s progress and position this weekend.

    GP AUSTRIA F1/2014There is no doubt that Nico Rosberg is sitting pretty. He starts the weekend with a 24 point lead over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the race for the driver’s title. The fickleness of Formula 1 demands that even a gap of 24 points must not be taken for granted. It’s this approach that has been Rosberg’s secret in 2016; to take every race on its individual merit. But the two Merc drivers might have to focus on more than just each other, especially in Saturday qualifying.

    Williams are notoriously good performers at the Austrian grand prix thanks to the Mercedes power unit and Red Bull are no slouches thanks to the stop up they’ve made with the upgraded power unit. But while they are looking at each other all of them are aware of what Mercedes can deliver. On several occasions in 2016 its been shown that the Silver Arrow is not as potent when it runs in dirty air and under pressure. The qualifying session on Saturday will be the critical point for any driver or team to stop a complete Merc domination.

  • F1 2016: Sainz At Toro Rosso for 2017

    F1 2016: Sainz At Toro Rosso for 2017

    Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has announced that Carlos Sainz Jr. will remain at Toro Rosso for 2017.

    It believed that Red Bull has enforced its option to retain the young Spaniard for next season. “We took up his option earlier this week, so he is committed to Red Bull for an extra 12 months,” said Horner.

    “As with all the drivers they are contracted to Red Bull Racing, and then we have the ability to place them where we want.Of course, he is currently at Toro Rosso which is where he will be next year.We had until the end of the year to take up the option, and we chose to do it early to put his mind at rest.”

    The 21-year-old driver is currently in his second year at the Toro Rosso team and has scored 36 points to date. His best finish to date is 6th with a best qualifying position of 5th place.

     

  • Watch: Tracking an F1 Drivers Eyes

    Watch: Tracking an F1 Drivers Eyes

    Just where does a Formula 1 driver look while he’s driving around the circuit? Nico Hulkenberg takes part in this fascinating insert.

    The Force India driver drives around the track with an eye tracking device which shows just exactly where he looks when entering corners, exiting corners and at a start of the race.

     

  • Watch: Don’t Blink – Williams’ Record Breaking Pit Stop

    Watch: Don’t Blink – Williams’ Record Breaking Pit Stop

    The Williams Formula One team set the record for the fastest pit stop in Formula 1 by breaking the 2-second barrier and completing a pit stop in 1.96s

  • F1 2016: European GP Review – Rosberg Rules In Baku

    F1 2016: European GP Review – Rosberg Rules In Baku

    If you’d asked most people to point out Azerbaijan on a map they would probably struggle. If you then told them that its capital city Baku is going to host its first F1 race in 2016 it would possibly have been met with reluctant enthusiasm.

    Nevertheless, on the edge of the Caspian Sea the Azeri organisers plotted a street circuit unlike any other. The combination of the stunningly high-speed section and incredibly tight section around the city’s beautiful medieval architecture merged perfectly to highlight the strengths of Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes. The German driver cleaned house in Baku by taking pole position, fastest lap and the race win in dominant fashion.

    Rosberg led cleanly off the line and was never challenged as he completed the 51-lap race on a one-stop strategy. It yielded his fifth win of the season and a sizeable increase in his lead atop the driver’s table. As faultless as Rosberg’s weekend preceded so the opposite was true for teammate Lewis Hamilton. Seemingly out of sorts, Hamilton stuck his Merc in the wall on Saturday and confined himself to a tenth place starting position. An ERS (energy recovery system) issue disrupted his charge through the field. Thanks to the FIA regulation, which bans certain radio communications, Hamilton was left to figure out the setting himself. The Brit was able to eventually resolve the issue and set two blisteringly quick laptimes before cooking his tyres.

    GP EUROPA F1/2016Behind race leader Rosberg Sebastian Vettel overtook Daniel Ricciardo for second. To cover the Red Bull stop Ferrari called Vettel into the pits. However, the driver overruled the pitwall and stayed out. It paid off ultimately as Vettel finished second without any realistic shot at victory.

    Force India’s Sergio Perez secured third to score his second podium in three races. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ran third for nearly the entire race. The Finn stopped early on lap 8 and ran a 43-lap stint on the soft tyre. But a five-second penalty for crossing the pit-entry line and a late ERS issue meant he was unable to keep Perez at bay. Eventually Raikkonen, suffering with a bout of food poisoning, finished fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished a lonely and disappointed fifth ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in sixth.

    Both Red Bull drivers were forced onto two-stop strategies with overheating rear tyres and faded badly throughout the race. Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh ahead of teammate Max Verstappen in eighth. Nico Hulkenberg brought his Force India home in ninth while Williams’ Felipe Massa scored the final point in tenth.

    GP EUROPA F1/2016All expectations were that the safety car would appear several times throughout the race given the tight confines and close proximity of the walls. But all twenty-two drivers were exceptionally well behaved and there were no major incidents. In fact, only four drivers did not make it to the chequered flag. Toro Rosso has some investigating to do as both their drivers, Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, were forced to retire with suspension issues. Manor Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein retired with brake failure as Fernando Alonso’s McLaren was pulled into the garage with a gearbox failure.

    Remarkably Rosberg had the same ERS issue as Hamilton but was able to rectify it by changing the right settings. This resounding victory increases Rosberg’s championship lead to 24 points over Hamilton. But given that thirteen races remain on the calendar the race for the 2016 driver’s crown is just warming up.

    (All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

  • 2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
    3 – Sergio PEREZ (Force India)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

    Azerbaijan, Baku: what an amazing city and what an amazing race and we have your winners here today. Nico, tell us, you needed this today didn’t you, your fifth win of the season? Tell us about it.
    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, Eddie, it’s been an amazing day really, an amazing weekend. Thank you all here in Baku for welcoming us in this way. It’s been spectacular, great track you’ve made, really exciting racing. Of course, for me the weekend went perfectly: qualifying, race, everything to plan, so it was really awesome.

    When we saw you at the beginning of the week, you had some concerns about how you would approach this particular weekend. That’s all forgotten about I expect?
    NR: No concerns; flat out.

    Brilliant result for your today, we’ll come straight back to you. Second place, ladies and gentlemen, please, Sebastian Vettel. Come on Seb, tell us, second place in Canada, second place here, is this a complete Ferrari revival or are you going to have a word with Sergio, your boss and your President at Ferrari. Are you going to look for more horsepower?
    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, first of all, thank you very much. It’s the first time we are here in Azerbaijan. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it’s been a great track, a great pleasure, a great welcome for all of us. I think the circuit is incredible. You need to be ‘well-equipped’, let’s put it this way, around here, so some proper high-speed corners and very, very close. Today has obviously been a great job for us. Already by the end of yesterday the car was coming alive. We were struggling a bit on Friday, but to see where we are now I think is a great recovery. Second place in a row, two times on the podium now in a row after Canada, which is great, scoring some good points – even though this weekend was a bit different to last week. But still I think the pace is there, the car is good, we are coming along, so all in all a great day and thanks to the team.

    The two different make-ups of the circuit – the slow speed and then the high-speed – did you enjoy that difference between the two?
    SV: Yeah, definitely, especially because in the low speed you have to tackle quite a lot of kerb and be very, very aggressive. Very easy to get caught out. I think a lot of people lost a lot of money because they were betting on a safety car and we didn’t have one! I think it also speaks for the quality of the drivers. So it was a clean race. I expected a couple of safety cars, but it didn’t come out. But it’s a great circuit, a great challenge and with the high-speed sections where it’s really narrow it’s a lot of fun.

    Well, it’s delightful to see you on the podium; we all love it. Ladies and gentlemen, the pride of Mexico! You’ve got a lot fans here.
    Sergio PEREZ: Many Mexicans I hope.

    We thought you’d blown it yesterday: you ran into the wall with a lap to go in the qualifying [sic] and to have to need a new gearbox, I said “well, he’s just cost the team a podium”. You’ve proved me wrong!
    SP: Me either. I knew yesterday when I put the car in the wall in P3 that this was a big chance for us to score a massive result [potentially lost]. I was so frustrated with myself. Then going into qualifying, my boys did an amazing job to fix the car, to put everything together. And then I had to do the job, you know. I had to get on with the job. We had a great qualifying but still we were starting P7 today and we had to make our way through. Very good start, very good first lap. Very nice overtaking in Turn Two for Massa and Kvyat and then fighting with Kimi all the way to the end. I knew that he had a five-second penalty, but it was still nice to get him on the last lap.

    Exactly – how sweet was it just to pip him on the last lap?
    SP: Very nice. Although I knew that the podium was secure but when I saw the opportunity, that it was safe enough to do it and no risk at all, I went for it, because it obviously feel a lot nicer to finish the race P3.

    Well, we’re very pleased, amazing drive from seventh to third. We come back to the winner – Nico! Nico we have to talk about the championship. You won the first four races, everyone thought it was in the bag and then you had a couple of little hiccups, so to speak. Are you back with a vengeance?
    NR: To be honest, today I’m just enjoying this win, because that’s what I came here for. I wanted to win Baku and it worked out, so ecstatic, can’t wait to go down and see everybody….

    You could answer my question!
    NR: I’m not answering the question; I’m avoiding it! I’m going to go down and see everybody and big celebrations.

    Q: Nico, great victory for you this afternoon: Pole, win, fastest lap, led every lap. Would you say that’s the most dominant of your five victories in 2016?
    NR: It’s been a great and awesome weekend, really, yeah. Everything went cleanly, y’know, from the beginning to the end. And even in the race, it was a special feeling out there in the car because it felt like I could do whatever I wanted the thing would just stick to the line, stick to the ground, there was no risk of making mistakes or anything. It felt really, really special and I’m very, very happy. It’s been an awesome result, first time here, y’know, I think it’s been a big success. The track is exciting, definitely, and a lot of overtaking also today I hear – I think, I’m not sure but I think so – so all in all good.

    Q: Your team-mate Lewis Hamilton had a few technical dramas it would seem along the way. Anything going wrong with your car or was it perfect all the way through?
    NR: I think I had the same but I’m not sure. It was just a matter of getting out of ti with the right combination of switches.

    Q: Sebastian, great recovery by you and Ferrari this afternoon – but are you a little bit unnerved by the pace of the man on your left [Rosberg]?
    SV: Surely it’s not great news but all weekend they’ve been very, very quick. First session, after four laps they were putting lap times in that took us the probably the whole day to copy – so yeah, I think we didn’t have a good day on Friday, we were lacking pace. The car didn’t feel bad but it was just not quick enough. Then we changed quite a lot for Saturday, changed again quite a lot going into quali, so we did what we could here, reacting to it and came back and in the end finishing second… of course we benefitted a little bit from the problem that Lewis, or the mistake that Lewis did yesterday because both Mercedes were very, very quick throughout the weekend – but that’s how it’s done. So I’m very happy and very proud. We kept our head in and, as a team, worked well. Shame that Kimi couldn’t quite keep the third place but, for sure, he made it very nice for me to secure the second. Obviously at that point with a lot of laps to go we didn’t know how quick Lewis will be and how much him and Checo would be able to catch up so it has priority to make sure that we ran away. Surprised there was no Safety Car but, all-in-all, it’s been a great track and a great weekend.

    Q: Checo, you’ve made it hard for yourself this weekend. How much satisfaction do you get from this third place?
    SP: A lot. I knew that the podium was possible today but it was very hard, very hard work to get it. We really did an incredible first lap to get around the Williams and the Toro Rosso. I think that was one of the keys. The first laps were really difficult with the graining. Just basically not panicking. The easiest thing would have been to stop when the graining occurred, especially  when Kimi and some people behind stopped and we decided to stay longer. It cleaned up. That was one of the keys of my race. Obviously pitting early to go onto the one stop and as soon as I left the pits I was under pressure from Lewis. So I couldn’t introduce nicely my tyres. I had to push straight away. The warm-up with the soft for me was a bit difficult. Those first laps were really tricky to keep Lewis behind. Then I managed to open a gap and then I was attacking Kimi but at the same time looking after the tyres, thinking that there’s going to be a Safety Car at some point. Unbelievable it didn’t happen. I was just looking after my tyres to make sure I made it to the end. I think Kimi was very strong with his pace given the lap-age that he had. I knew that he had a penalty, so I get pretty close to him, and at the end I saw the opportunity that it was safe enough to do it and it was good to take it and finish in P3. It is well-deserved for the team because they have done an amazing job. All my boys to fix the car from yesterday, so very pleased. It’s only the eighth race and we’ve done two podiums already. It’s been an incredible year so far.

    Let’s open this up to the floor…

    Q: (Sebastian Vettel – Scuderia Ferrari) Question to anyone. Who won the Le Mans…?
    Porsche
    SV: How did Toyota manage to lose?
    Last lap
    SV: Retired? Nooooooo…!

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Sebastian, going to the very first part of the race, can you confirm that you were asked to come into the pits but you preferred to stay out?
    SV: Yeah, yeah, basically I was called in. We wanted to react to Daniel who pitted. He was struggling a lot with his tyres; obviously we passed him and then he went into the box. But I had a decent feeling, the pace was quite OK, I thought, and then we decided to stay out so I was asking the team to stay out, the tyres felt OK and I wanted to keep going. I was maybe at that point, seeing that Daniel was struggling and feeling that the tyres were not feeling so comfortable in the first, six, ten laps, a bit worried that the second stint would be very very long. In the end I don’t think there was much in it. Obviously we lost position to Kimi who undercut us but obviously we played well as a team together to make sure that when I came out behind him with the fresher tyres to use the pace and secure second place.

    Q: (Oana Popoiou – F1 Zone) Sergio, do you think you had the pace to fight for a victory today if it wasn’t for the grid penalty?
    SG: No, I don’t think so. I don’t think we could have fought Nico. He was very strong, in another league, but certainly I would have had a really good fight with Sebastian for P2.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte.com) Sebastian and Sergio, we saw in Monaco and Canada some teams more close to Mercedes and here Mercedes was one second faster per lap. How do analyse that please?
    SV: Well, I think they had a very strong package here. I think, as I explained, Friday was a bad day for us and we managed to recover, get away from here with a second place. I think it’s the optimum so we can be happy with that but surely not happy with the gap. Why they are quicker? I think looking at the comparison yesterday they were gaining quite a lot down the straights. I think maybe we carried a little bit too much wing. The other bit, we were losing quite a bit in low speed corners. Arguably they are doing something clever to pick up some pace there in low speed, the way they treat the tyres but if there’s something clever to be done, we need to be as clever as them and not be lacking that.
    SP: Yeah, for us I think relatively on this track we certainly got a little bit closer to Mercedes but not a lot. I think everyone else dropped behind and they lost some performance so for us, I think the track suited our car well. Obviously a good power unit and I think good balance around the track. People were probably struggling more than we did but I think that was the main reason why we managed to be so much further up.

    Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) For all of you, after we have seen yesterday in qualifying and during the GP2 races, we were all expecting a crazy race. It hasn’t been the case; do you have any explanation for that? Have you been more cautious or was the track less tricky than yesterday?
    NR: I think for sure a little bit the experience helps in that case. We’re all much more experienced and we’re able to avoid the incidents better and we also learned a lot from what was going on in the GP2 for sure, because we were watching and that was mayhem so I think we picked up a few things there as well and that’s it, but very surprising anyways.
    SV: Well, surprised, yes, but then again I think it speaks for the quality. I think we’ve talked a lot about this track being high risk, dangerous. It reminds me. A couple of months ago I had a very nice lunch with Sir Stirling Moss. Obviously in ‘their’ time, you can argue it was very dangerous everywhere they went and he said it was a big deal of the reason why he jumped in the car, because it was dangerous.. Otherwise anybody could do it, so the thrill of it was exactly that challenge. I think we had some corners here where you don’t want to think about  what’s happening if you get it wrong, very little room for mistakes and error but then it definitely makes you more alert, you’re awake and obviously you try to go as hard as you can and push but I don’t think we were taking it easy, any one of us, but equally, obviously, you don’t take any stupid approaches to risk because it could end quite badly.
    Q: Checo, how do you describe the lack of safety car?
    SP: To be honest, I’m very surprised, given how difficult this track is but it also speaks for the quality of the drivers that we have in Formula One. It’s not that we were taking it easy out there, I think we were all pushing and every braking point you really feel it can go wrong at any point. There is no room for mistakes in any place. The very least that can happy to you if you make a mistake is you lose a couple of seconds but I’m really surprised and I think well done to everyone because nobody made a mistake. Very surprised for that.

  • Verstappen labels Bottas’ qualifying behaviour ‘dangerous’

    Verstappen labels Bottas’ qualifying behaviour ‘dangerous’

    Max Verstappen was more than a little frustrated with Valtteri Bottas following the first ever qualifying session at the Baku International Circuit on Saturday.

    Red Flags ruined Verstappen’s best qualifying effort for the session and subsequent efforts were also ruined while he fought with Bottas for track position.

    Here’s what young Verstappen had to say to reporters …

    Q: Max, what was that thing going on between you and Valtteri Bottas in qualifying?

    Max Verstappen: I think it was just not clever from him. I was preparing for my timed lap and I understand that he wanted a tow – but there was not one point for him being able to overtake me – and brake – under normal conditions. The result was he ruined my lap and destroyed his lap as well. If that happens once, okay, forget about it – but if you do the same thing again in Q3, that’s not smart.

    Q: Did you see him after qualifying and have a word with him?

    MV: No! Because I don’t need to be the person to go to him – he should come to me!

    Q: Do you expect him to get a penalty?

    MV: I don’t know about a penalty – but it was dangerous what he was doing. It was dangerous and unnecessary – and not clever!

    Q: For you it had pretty grave consequences. Your lap was destroyed and any hope for a good grid position gone…

    MV: Yes. That was the consequence!

    Q: And the incident before, where you went wide in Turn 1?

    MV: Yes, same story…

    Bottas in Verstappen's way - Baku QualifyingQ: You went wide because of him?

    MV: Because he was locking up and I was afraid that he would hit my side so I thought that it is better to go wide. But I’d lost my set (of tyres) – I had to come in and had only one run in Q2. So that was all not really pleasant!

    Q: That all sounds as if the two of you will never be best buddies…

    MV: Ha, in Formula One you can never be best buddies – no matter what. The moment we speak I am over it and hopefully he learns from it.

    Q: You said you have not spoken with him but aren’t you interested what was going through his head?

    MV: My guess is nothing was going through his head that very moment!

    Q: Without all these incidents what would have been your chances?

    MV: If I check all the data before the red flag I could have challenged for P2. So it is a massive frustration, as we know that the speed is there. I know there are chances for overtaking in the race, but I prefer to start from row one than P9 – that is for sure.

    Q: The first GP2 race in Baku was pretty chaotic with a first corner incident taking out four cars. There was also a lot of slipstreaming. Do you expect that to happen also tomorrow?

    MV: I think so. But let’s hope we don’t lose four cars on the first lap. And never forget GP2 cars all have similar engines – and that will be the biggest difference to the F1 race.

    Q: The Bottas incident aside, how would you sum up your driving on this track? Are you satisfied?

    MV: Yes, actually very happy. I built it up very differently to what I did in Monaco – and it worked super well. I was improving with every session. And finally I arrived in Q3 and would have had a good lap. I am satisfied with myself, the car and the team – we all did a great job to improve the car compared to yesterday, so it is really annoying not to have the result that we would have deserved.

    Q: You ran very little downforce…

    MV: …yes, we’ve been slower than our competitors on the straights! You’ve probably seen that our rear wing is pretty tiny. We probably lose a bit of downforce through the low speed corners – but I think we’ve found a good compromise. But there is no magic stick that gives you more horsepower suddenly on the straights! (laughs)

    Q: You been running now for two days on this new track: what is the hairiest part for you?

    MV: I think it is sector two – corners eight to twelve. It is difficult and tricky to get to the limit. If you lock up going into the corner it is game over. In Q1 and Q2 you are trying to build up – to get it right in Q3.

    Q: When you just said that you’ve learned from Monaco – what does that exactly mean?

    MV: Well, it is basically about understanding the car more. We have a great car so there is no need to go on the limit straight away as you have margins to improve. So in Q1 you don’t need to be at one hundred or ninety-nine per cent – you will also make it into Q2 with ninety-two per cent. And then step it up for Q3.

    Q: Isn’t it also a different psychological approach to a race having a car that is eligible for front rows?

    MV: Yes, it is of course – and you probably need some weekends to grow into that!

    Q: After the red flag and only a bit over two minutes left of qualifying all the cars lined up at the pit lane exit. Your teammate Daniel (Ricciardo) was at the front: wouldn’t it also have helped you being more at the front of that queue?

    MV: Maybe. We can speak in the team about it. But in the end that is not the main reason why my qualifying was not as it should have been.

    Photo Credits:

    Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing

    Verstappen vs Bottas – FIA screengrab

     

  • Hamilton Shoulders Blame for Poor Qualifying Performance

    Hamilton Shoulders Blame for Poor Qualifying Performance

    Lewis Hamilton has taken the blame for his poor showing in Qualifying for the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.

    Hamilton ended qualifying in 10th after hitting that barrier wall at the tight Turn 12. Hamilton’s qualifying sessions were not as clean and clear cut as one would usually expect from the three time world champion. Mistakes in Q2 almost got him eliminated and with yellow flags coming out at all the wrong times it seemed as though he would not make it to Q3. But Hamilton used the superior pace of the Mercedes to take him to 2nd fastest in Q2 comfortably promoting him to Q3.

    During Q3 it looked like he just was not getting a good rhythm going. He was seen locking up and running wide and taking to escape roads at some corners. Then with just a little over 2 minutes left in Q3 it came to an end for the Briton when he clipped the barrier at Turn 12 which broke the steering arm on his car.

    “It’s a fine line between being on it and not being on it – and I just wasn’t on it today,” he said after qualifying.

    “I had a fantastic rhythm yesterday but none whatsoever today.

    “There’s no specific answer or excuse. I wasn’ t hitting the right apexes or the right braking zones… it was just one of those sessions.

    quali-lewis-hamilton“Sometimes it happens. It was my fault, so I’l l apologise to the team and try to make up for it tomorrow.

    “It’s always difficult to come back from this kind of position so it’ll be damage limitation tomorrow.

    “I highly doubt I can challenge for the win – but I’ll give it my best shot and try to bring home as many points as I can.

    “The car is good here and we’ve got more pace than most of the others. I’ve just got to make my way through any tangles at the first corner and see where I go from there.”

    If Hamilton hopes to stand any chance at a high points finish or even a podium he will have to stay well clear of trouble. Starting from 10th on the grid will be a tough ask if the GP2 race was anything to go by where there was chaos at Turn 1.

    With no previous race data to go on there is still a high possibility of a safety car owing to the nature of the track with it being a street circuit.

    One thing is quite certain. It’s going to be an unpredictable inaugural European Grand Prix in Baku.

     

    Photo credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

  • 2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
    2 – Sergio PÉREZ (Force India)
    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, that was an emphatic performance by you and Mercedes, just how good was qualifying for you?
    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was great. It was one of the more challenging sessions out there, but everything worked out well. There was a bit of reorganizing because for example in Quali 3 Lewis had an off in front of me, so I had to abort that lap and then I just had one more attempt at the end, but that worked out fine. No, I’m very, very happy. It was great.

    How was the car technically for you, because we saw Hamilton obviously have a few problems in that session?
    NR: Yeah, I’m really pleased with that, because all weekend we’ve been building towards it and in qualifying it was really optimum, so it felt good.

    Congratulations to you. Sergio, if I can come to you: second on the grid, but does that feel like pole position for you?
    Sergio PÉREZ: Yeah, it does. To be honest it does. The effort the whole team has done… especially all my boys today to put my car together, first of all to make the qualifying. Obviously I’m a still a bit angry, no, from the mistake of this morning. But very happy, I think it’s a mix of feelings today. I think the lap that we put together in Q3 was very, very strong. It was a very difficult session for me, because obviously there is not a lot of time. After a crash you obviously lose some confidence. To get it back, to get in the rhythm again was great. Very pleased with that and hopefully tomorrow we can do a lot of progress and aim for a very strong position. I think definitely the team deserved. Obviously, with the penalty I’m starting seventh. I think the team deserves more than and hopefully tomorrow we can put together a strong race.

    Has the pace of the car surpassed your expectations?
    SP: Yes, definitely. I think we were expecting ourselves to be strong around here but not that good. To come away with P2 in this track… it’s so easy to mistake, so easy to clip the wall and just damage your car. Unfortunately it happened to me in the worst possible time in P3 and yeah, so I think we have to look forward to tomorrow and do a strong race.

    Well done. Daniel, if I could come on to you. You set exactly the same time as Sebastian Vettel at the end of Q3 there. Just give us a word on what it was like to get the job done when there was only two minutes of the session remaining?
    Daniel RICCIARDO: It was hectic; it was intense. Yeah, thanks to the guys, the team, for getting me out at the front and giving me that clear track to obviously make sure that I got a lap in. My first run in Q3 was pretty average to say the least. I made a few mistakes. Then obviously I thought I had one more chance but then the red flag came out. I thought that was looking like that was it. They got me out in front and then I put in the lap, so it was good. I knew not everyone would get a lap, so I was just trying to thing “do a good enough lap to at least jump up from seventh”, but in the end it was third. I think Seb… I maybe gave Seb a little bit of a tow, I don’t know how close he was to me, but it was good, very close and I’m really happy to bounce back with top three.

    Well done to you. Nico, if I can just come back to you and get some thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s race. It’s the first grand prix here in Baku, what do you think are going to be the main flashpoints in the grand prix?
    NR: Well, I think they’ve done a great job up to now, with the track especially. We’ve seen one of the most exciting qualifying sessions for a long time. Of course I understand that the gap was pretty big in front but there was a lot going on all over the place, and that’s down to the track. Also, the race I’m sure is going to be very exciting. It’s one of the easiest tracks to overtake, so there’s going to be a lot of changing places I think, probably a lot of safety cars as well, exciting re-starts and everything, so it should be a good show.

    Who do you think are going to be challengers?
    NR: Of course it’s going to be Daniel… [Ricciardo raises his hand behind Rosberg]. What’s so funny about that? Of course it’s going to be Daniel, Sebastian, Kimi and then Lewis. Never forget him. He can always come back from tenths as he’s shown very often this year.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Nico, you didn’t even do a second run in Q3, how much more time was there in your car?
    NR: It wasn’t planned to do a second run. We’d planned one run and just hit it two times: lap two and lap four. Lap two was looking good but Lewis went off in front of me so I had to back out of that one, and then went again on lap four so it worked out well.

    Q: And Checo, was there any more to come from your car?
    SP: Not on that lap, definitely not. I think that lap was quite strong, hitting every single braking point, getting the exits as close as possible to the wall. I struggle to think that lap could have been better but definitely I think there was some track improvement towards the end but obviously with the track position that I had – obviously I had the Williams and the Red Bull ahead, and we were tight on time as well. I had to warm up the tyres but at the same time I had to go very quick to be able to make it. It was just a disaster. We were all racing the last lap, so it wasn’t a proper chance but I think the lap that I did was pretty special.

    Q: Daniel, the other two guys have been there or thereabouts all weekend. We’ve seen the Red Bull performance fluctuate a little during practice. Is the car now where you want it?
    DR: We definitely improved today. We took a step in the right direction. Already this morning we were looking like we were in a better… more in the competition. Yesterday we struggled and it didn’t help with me losing a bit of track time with the crash in P1. So, yeah, qualifying was good, we were able to chip away at it. Q3 wasn’t very clean. The first lap was… yeah, made a few mistakes and didn’t put it together and then yeah, obviously the red flag made the second run… just go out and try to set a time. Obviously I put in a time which was good enough to be here so I’m happy with that. I think we recovered well. Did I think we’d be here yesterday? No. Did I think we’d be starting on the front row? Not really – but thanks to Pérez and a few circumstances I think we’ve put ourselves in a really good position.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Auto Bild Motorsport) A question for Nico. How sad are you that there is only one Mercedes in the front row?
    NR: It’s always divided, you know? On the one side I’m sad for all my team colleagues because they want to have a one-two – and it’s still possible tomorrow but it’s going to be more difficult now, for sure, but you know that Lewis has shown very often that from tenth place he can come back strong, and where he finished easy second in Russia, y’know, so for sure still need to reckon with him.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – globoesporte.com) Daniel, we had the impression you crossed the line of the pit entrance in your last lap. What is the agreement yesterday in the briefing with Charlie Whiting when it happens?
    DR: Yeah, so I think it was originally… well I thought you couldn’t cross anything, and then the notes from last night said if you put all four wheels inside the pit entry line then you have to commit to pitting but otherwise you can straddle… you can split the line, as long as you keep two wheels on the track, let’s say, it wasn’t a problem. I’m pretty sure that’s what I did.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Question to Nico. You always did two warm-up laps to set your fast time. Does that mean if tomorrow there are some restarts after the start we will see again the scenario we saw the last two races with the Mercedes, that you have a warm-up problem?
    NR: Let’s see. It’s not been our strength recently but we’ve worked on it and today everybody needed two laps, not just us. It was the optimum for everybody – so I think it will be OK.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Sergio, you said in Spanish something like ‘that was the best lap of your life’. And in terms of just the track, we can say this is the track you love most or just because of the circumstances?
    SP: First of all, I think the car has worked really well around here. For some reason we are very competitive, we struggled to understand what is making us so competitive and yeah, I think that my lap has definitely been one of my best laps in such a difficult place to get 100 per cent of the car. It was definitely difficult so yeah, I’m pleased with the result. Obviously the penalty of tomorrow is a bit of a shame but let’s see what we can do tomorrow. I think this is a track where you can overtake and you can have a good race so it will be good to enjoy the race. I think there will be a lot happening, a lot of safety cars, a lot of things happening so looking forward to tomorrow.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) All of you crossed the finish line on the very left side. Is there a reason for that? Why is it better than let’s say on the other side?
    NR: Everybody was following Daniel!
    DR: I think it’s probably… it looks good, it looks aggressive, you know? If you go down the middle of the straight, it doesn’t look so spectacular but if we hug the wall and brush, it looks spectacular.
    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) It’s not less bumpy or something like that?
    DR: The straight is bumpy, sure, and to be honest, I think all of us, all weekend are trying to find where there’s less bumps and I think it’s actually even changed a little bit compared to yesterday.. But yeah, I think the key for Checo and I today was not the way we took the straight, it’s turn 15. I think having the crash there was very character-building and that’s the reason we’re here today.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte.com) Daniel, here is a genuine power unit engine and it looks like you’re in very good shape and concerning what you just said, is it because if you go near the wall, it’s the more straight line, it means shorter distance? You’re fighting for thousandths of seconds…
    DR: Yeah, yeah. You want to find… there’s a few jokes in my previous answer but yeah, you want to find the shortest line and then the line of least resistance. Yeah, that’s why I was doing it!
    Oh, the engine? Yeah, it looks like everyone’s a lot closer this weekend. The Mercedes-powered cars seem quite quick from yesterday; Force India and Williams were very competitive. We had to take a little bit of downforce off to try and get closer but yeah, as Canada, we’re seeing improvements so we’re getting there.

    Q: (Oana Popoiou – F1 Zone) Sergio, we are yet to see a clean race for Force India. Is it going to happen tomorrow?
    SP: I hope so, I really hope so. I think the team definitely deserves it. I think Nico had a problem today. I think he should definitely be around here, you know, and hopefully tomorrow we can put together a great race and make a lot of progress and who knows what can happen? It’s going to be a lot going on in this race and hopefully we can do a strong performance tomorrow.

    Q: (Niharika Karnasingh Ghorpade  – Top Gear India Magazine) To all three of you: almost 60 percent of the drivers have had off-track moments at T15, T3 or T4. How do you think you’re going to avoid those in tomorrow’s race, knowing how critical it is?
    NR: It is a very exciting track, it’s a tough track so that’s why we have been seeing so many mistakes everywhere and that’s why tomorrow’s race is going to be – for sure – very very interesting and I think there’s going to be a lot going on.
    SP: Yeah, we’re pushing to the maximum and sometimes more than that. As soon as you go over it you pay for it. It doesn’t matter if it’s T15 or it’s T2 or T3, it doesn’t matter, you really pay for it here. Tomorrow, I think, you’re going to see some crashes, some mistakes. Hopefully not me again but there will obviously be mistakes around this place because it’s so difficult and we are all pushing to the maximum.
    DR: Yeah, I think they’ve really done a really great job with the circuit. It’s very challenging, very easy to make mistakes so I think that’s what’s going to create an exciting race. It makes it difficult for us but that’s why we enjoy racing as well. We love the challenge and some of the real modern circuits, I feel, are too open and you don’t really get that sense of risk and reward and that adrenaline rush that you get through, so here, you get that on several corners and you know if you brake a little bit late you’re going to pay the price.  In saying that, I think it’s still done safely, I think if you crash, the run-off or how the barriers are shaped it’s safe but sure it’s going to ruin your race. I think it’s got a really good balance.

  • Rosberg takes pole as Hamilton crashes out of Baku qualifying

    Rosberg takes pole as Hamilton crashes out of Baku qualifying

    Nico Rosberg claimed the pole position for the European Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit while team mate Lewis Hamilton binned his Mercedes out of Q3. Hamilton will start tomorrow’s race from 10th place.

    Rosberg will start the inaugural grand prix at Baku from pole after posting a supremely dominant time of 1:42.758 which he set not long before the qualifying session was halted to allow marshalls to recover Hamilton’s car from the track.

    Baku GP Qualifying - Top 3After pretty much writing off his Force India in the final practice session ahead of qualifying, Sergio Perez qualifyied in second place ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

    Perez left his Force India mechanics with a lot of work to do before the qualifying session underway but managed to bag the second fastest spot for the session. He will, however drop down to seventh place for a gearbox change resulting from the practice crash.

    Daniel Ricciardo grabbed position from Sebastian Vettel in an all out final effort with only 2:05s remaining on the clock when the session restarted. Ricciardo will start the Baku GP from second, and Vettel third. The two drivers’ qualifying times were identical with the front row spot decided by Ricciardo having set the time before Vettel.

    Kimi Raikkonen will line the second Ferrari up in fourth place on the grid tomorrow, ahead of Felipe Massa’s Williams, the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat and Sergio Perez.

    Baku QualifyingValtteri Bottas, who is taking some flack for holding up both Jenson Button and Max Verstappen, will start from eigth position ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton.

    Romain Grosjean finished 11th fastest for the Haas F1 team after adding a few more escape roads to his excursion map for the weekend.

    Nico Hulkenberg threw away what looked to be an excellent opportunity to qualify well by spinning out of Turn 16. Hulkenberg will start the Baku GP from 12th place.

    Carlos Sainz Jr will start from 13th with Fernando Alonso’s McLaren alongside him in 14th place. Esteban Gutierrez qualified 15th fastest with Felipe Nasr taking up the final Q2 qualifying classification position.

    The Manor team ever so nearly made it through to Q2. Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein took up 17th and 18th places ahead of Jenson Button who could only manage 19th fastest after running wide at Turn 15. Marcus Ericsson qualified 20th fastest for Sauber with the two Renaults of Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer completing the grid.

    Baku Qualifying Classification:

    qualifying-classification