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  • 2016 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES:

    Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault Sport)

    Toto WOLFF (Mercedes)

    Eric BOULLIER (McLaren)

    Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari)

    Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing)

    Gene HAAS (Haas F1)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Cyril, let’s begin with you – welcome back as a Renault works team. Great history, 35 wins, two world championships and 100 podiums. How tough will it be to repeat those records against today’s competition?
    Cyril ABITEBOUL: I think it will be very tough and I know that there were a lot of comments regarding the time that it took us to make our decision last year. It’s not so much the appetite to be in Formula One but to be in a capacity to be successful in Formula One, that was the question mark. So we come in that competition with lots of humility. As you mentioned we have been there fro quite a long period of time, almost 40 years but we equally we know that the level has raised considerably. So we know it’s going to take time; it’s a long journey, a long-term plan but we think we have all the ingredients – financial, technical, the support of a large group – to make that a successful one. We’re going to take it step by step but it’s absolutely possible.

    What’s the plan for the engine this year? You’ve not used so many tokens so far. Do you expect to be close to Ferrari and Mercedes by the end of the season?
    CA: Well, actually, I think that this is a demonstration that we have used little tokens but I hope in connection to the fact that we have made a substantial step in terms of performance will be actual evidence that there is no connection between token use and performance. You can use a lot of tokens and bring absolutely nothing in terms of lap time, which actually is maybe something we did last year. I think the whole debate of tokens should go away and we should focus on performance. There is a plan to use more tokens during the course of the season, that’s the plan and we have made lots of comments about that. Hopefully it will happen, both for the benefit of the Renault works team and also Red Bull.

    Maurizio, coming to you – Sebastian told us here yesterday in the press conference he feels Ferrari has enough to challenge Mercedes this year. Tell us about the effort that has gone on behind the scenes to raise the level?
    Maurizio ARRIVABENE: We are doing our job. We are working very hard during the winter and we know where we are, but where you really are depends on what the other competitors are going to be. During this weekend we will know.

    We’ve got some new rules this year, qualifying rules, team radio rules, tyre rules etc coming into force, what differences do expect these to make, especially in the qualifying we’ll see tomorrow.
    MA: I don’t want to be against any changes, Ferrari don’t want to be against the change, I simply think that maybe giving a bit more time to the team to work on ideas was better. But I can’t say so with a certainty. The only certainty is that more probably tomorrow at the beginning of the qualifying we are going to see a line like on Saturday at the cashier of the supermarket – everybody wants to go out. Then we will see. It’s not fair to criticize before that has happened.

    Eric, your thoughts on that, the new regulations?
    Eric BOULLIER: Well, we’ll see this weekend. There is some upside and downside. The qualifying format we had before, I think we all agree, was a successful format. We were used to it. I think it is true that there will be more traffic at the beginning of each qualifying segment and there should be more unpredictability for the final result, but we will see.

    It was a tough year for McLaren last year to say the least. What’s the winter been like at Woking and what do you expect for 2016?
    EB: Well, I think every year we keep working harder and harder. It was a very, very busy winter for us. We’ll see. Obviously there is a lot of progress. We have been able to work through this Friday this weekend, which is good for both Honda and McLaren. We will see where we are. Obviously we don’t want to overpromise everything. We will go step by step and there is still some more to come.

    Coming to you Gene, a very warm welcome to Formula One. Your start-up has been a few years in the development. How does the reality match up to the expectation?
    Gene HAAS: Well, I’m nervous. I think there are a lot of things going on here that I’m new to and the team is new too. So, putting all of the pieces of the puzzle together along with all the personnel and having it all come together for the first time has been a learning experience. That’s really what we’re here for is to learn how Formula One really operates from the ground floor. Your can watch this racing your whole life but there’s nothing like being a participant to really understand it and I have a lot of respect for the teams that are here and the level of technical competence you have to have to even start one of these races. I’m pretty much in awe. It’s a challenge and I hope it’s a lot of fun.

    You’ve done it before, of course. You built a NASCAR team from scratch, won races, won championships. Formula One is obviously a different ball game from NASCAR but what would success in Formula One on a global scale mean to you?
    GH: I think you have to look at it in terms of years. I have the feeling that if you over-anticipate what you can do in the sport it will humble you very quickly. I think the first year or two just to be able to come to the races, be competitive, not make any major mistakes would be a tremendous achievement. I know a few of our drivers are hoping to score some points and that would certainly be an accomplishment.

    Christian, coming to you – a new season, several new partnerships for the team. It feels, maybe from the outside, a little bit like a team in transition. What’s the plan for the next stage?
    Christian HORNER: I think that it’s exactly that. I think we are in transition and I think we are hopefully getting on an upward curve now. We’ve had a positive winter, a busy winter. All the teams work hard. You know if you come into Formula One everybody works hard and arguably the smaller teams work the hardest as they have the least resource. But it’s about working smartly and I think this winter the team has worked not only hard but creatively and cleverly. We have a good basis of a car to develop throughout the year and with the different partnerships we have introduced, some exciting partnerships, welcoming Tag Heuer to the team not only as a sponsor but as branding on our power unit and also the announcement yesterday with Aston Martin, it’s very exciting for Red Bull Advanced Technologies.

    Coming back to the discussion about the rules, specifically on the team radio I’m interested. What are your thoughts on those restrictions and the repositioning of the driver as very much the man in control, the decision-maker?
    CH: Well I guess like modern technology these days and how people communicate, we’re working by text – maybe to SMS the driver would be an easier way, because we’re not allowed to say much these days. I think it’s going to be a voyage of discovery and I hope we haven’t gone too far on the radio stuff, because that’s taking away an element of dialogue between the engineer and the driver and some of that from behind the scenes can be quite entertaining, some it X-rated, but quite enthralling for the fans. We’ve got quite a few changes to take on board this year, let’s see how it goes.

    Coming to you Toto, obviously the last couple of years some records that pushed the boundaries a bit beyond where they have been before. But nothing lasts forever, as I’m sure Christian will tell you. How nervous do you feel and do you think you have enough this year to hold everyone at bay?
    Toto WOLFF: Before I answer the question, first of all I’d like to welcome the group and if you listen to what he says, that is certainly the right approach to enter Formula One. He’s been successful in NASCAR and obviously with his own company and I have no doubt that you will be successful in what you do here. You have to stay on your toes, that’s clear. You can be caught out quickly, either by regulations or just by not taking the right decisions and we’ve seen that over the last couple of years. There is a constant skepticism whether we have done a good enough job over the winter and we’re going to know more tomorrow.

    Mercedes has some young drivers coming through the system – Pascal Wehrlein racing here with Manor, Esteban Ocon coming through and seconded to Renault as a reserve. Will we see more of this sort of development of drivers coming through from Mercedes in the next couple of years?
    TW: I think it’s a good development. In the past it was only Red Bull holding up young drivers and transitioning them into Formula One on merit and now with Renault coming in and having Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen being back in a car, Pascal Wehrlein in a Manor and an additional team which has financial resource, I think it’s good news and hopefully we will see more good young people come into Formula One based on merit. For us certainly it’s about finding the right places. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to start an inflationary system and just enter many young kids if you don’t have a place in Formula One. With Esteban and Renault I think we found a good solution for our mutual benefit. Equally with Pascal, a completely different challenge for him this year than last and we’ll see how that pans out.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Martin Moravec – DPA) Maurizio, last year you said that if Ferrari would win four races then you would go into the hills of Maranello barefoot. What would you do this year if Ferrari becomes World Champion?
    MA: I’ll let you know when it’s happened.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Last month the Commercial Rights Holder was quoted as saying “this sort of thing is what is commonly known as a cartel and cartels are illegal. We are running something that is illegal. On top of all that it is anti-competitive.” Given the EU laws etcetera and also the complaint that’s also recently been filed, is Formula One really being run as a cartel? How do you feel about this comment? Any comeback on that?

    TW: Hi Dieter! It’s nice to start all over again. First of all, when you’re looking at today’s press conference, there’s a lot of positivity around what’s happening. Red Bull has bought Aston Martin back into the sport, a mega-brand. Renault is back as an official works team, Haas has entered the sport, an American team. But having said that, I don’t think there is any cartel around here, nor is the sport run as a cartel. Bernie is always good for controversy and throwing one in. If that were to run like a cartel we wouldn’t be sitting here. Some of us are part of multi-national global companies and we’re taking compliance very seriously. So… it just causes headlines but nothing else.

    Maurizio?
    MA: I think this talk of a cartel is simply ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. Everybody, they are doing their job, they try to do their best. We are talking here about brands who have a long story. They are not going to throw out of the window their story, their reputation for this comment that they don’t deserve even one word. I have to say, it’s strange because in this world you have to be careful sometimes because, if you are talking a bit more with somebody, if I’m going to go to the dinner with Toto or Cyril, I do a cartel? It’s simply a dinner! We have to learn something from rugby, that when you are in the field, you play very hard, you punch, whatever you have to do. And then afterwards, they go to the dinner and no-one is talking about having a cartel or creating some mismatch during the match. It’s simply ridiculous.

    Cyril?
    CA: No, I would not agree with that definition of cartel for the simply reason that we are all in a competitive environment, so at the end of the day Ferrari wants to win against Mercedes and hopefully one day Renault will want to win, I don’t know, against Ferrari. So, for that simple reason, any sort of unity will not last. So I will not agree with you. I will not concur with that. Plus, you have to accept that only a limited number of manufacturers have the financial capacity to subsidise the cost of the technology in accordance with the current regulation that we have all accepted. So no, I would not concur with that view.

    Christian, you’re on the outside of the manufacturer equation, what’s your perspective?
    CH: Look, I think you can understand that Bernie’s frustrated and his comments are borne out of frustration of being unable to influence change. You’ve got a dynamic in Formula One at the moment where the manufacturers collectively have a lot of strength. That primarily is through the technical regulations and the current situation regarding the power unit. I think Bernie’s frustration as a promoter is that he can’t influence that at this point in time. His comments obviously I think have come off the back of that. Our situation is different to that of a manufacturer team. As an independent team we rely on the manufacturers for the supply of an engine and, of course, there’s been great debate as to what price that engine should be, what format it should be and, of course, you have a divergence of performance as well. So, there’s some key issues that do need to be addressed. Hopefully consensus and agreement can be found on that in the near future.

    Eric, do you have a view on that?
    EB: I think it’s been debated.

    Gene?
    GH: Well, I think the complexity of the engine- turbo-electrical package was maybe underestimated by everybody, including Bernie and the teams of how hard it would be to build. It would seem to me that maybe in hindsight that maybe if there had been a price that had been set initially that said ‘this is what is has to be built for and what you have to sell to the teams for’ maybe the manufacturers would have had to make a compromise, saying “well, we can’t build the current package for that money, we’ll have to compromise.” I think it’s something that just wasn’t anticipated and unfortunately… I can certainly tell you what I know about the Ferraris is that the money they put into their [power unit] is probably well worth what they charge us for those packages but unfortunately that kind of technology doesn’t really make it back to the fan base, which is the people that we rely on. So, going forwards, those sort of things, cost, has certainly to be part of the equation before they make any kind of rulings.

    Q: (Peter Habicht – The Auto Channel) I have to two-part question, Gene, the first is to you and the next is to the team principals. So Gene, all credit to you, Gunther and the team and bringing America back to the sport after nearly 30 years. While there’s been little time for nostalgia, now that you’re here has there been anything more you’d like to share about your experience so far this weekend with American fans back home. And, to the rest of the team principals, do you have any words of advice for Gene?
    GH: Well, I tell you all of a sudden I’m sitting here in awe that I’m sitting among all these team principals from Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault and Honda and Red Bull, that’s pretty awesome for someone who… you look at these things in magazines. To be sitting among this group of elite is humbling, I can say that. It’s been a long journey, I’m not sure how I really got here but here I am. I think, if you probably ask everybody here, how you wind up here is somewhat unique. Things in life, I guess  you have to grab them. This is just part of the process of being able to compete at this level. It’s just awe inspiring. I know there’s some hard times ahead but I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to the challenge.

    As for words of advice from the other team principals, maybe start with Christian.
    CH: I think it’s fantastic to have Haas join Formula One as an independent team, as a really credible independent team. Formual One’s a big challenge, it’s great to have an American, and a true American presence in Formula One. Words of advice… get a good lawyer!

    Eric?
    EB: Very similar. I think it’s very exciting for Formula One to have, as Christian said, a true American team and an American character like Gene joining us who had a deep understanding of racing, who has also useful experience in America with NASCAR, which he could share and I would be very happy to hear sometime. I don’t have any advice to give. He knows about racing enough and he is serious about what he had built already and I think it is going to be a nice surprise and maybe a difficult but a nice journey in Formula One.

    Cyril, you’re in a Renault shirt now but you were a team principal of a start-up. Any advice for Gene?
    CA: I was expecting that one. No. I think it’s interesting. I understand that you’re following and it’s interesting to see a new model, in particularly a collaboration with Ferrari because I think that there is a whole field of collaboration between teams which is not explored at this point in time by most teams, so I think I’ll be really curious and, to be honest, a bit frightened to see what it gives on Saturday. In terms of pieces of advice, I’ve heard a lot of people come in with big plans, willing to do things completely differently. So, don’t try to do things too differently because the good old recipes, they also work.

    Toto?
    TW: I think Gene doesn’t need any advice. He has done it very successfully in NASCAR and much more successful than all of us with his own company. If there is advice in Formula One it’s to manage expectations – because pressure is going to increase the better the results are and, the way you’ve been doing it, keeping both feet on the ground and staying humble, I think is the right approach.

    And Maurizio, presumably you speak all the time?
    MA: I think that what I have to say, we are talking most of the time about teams that left or want to leave Formula One and not enough about people like Gene. He’s a serious person, financially reliable, committed and with a lot of experience. I don’t have to give him any advice – but I have to congratulate people like Gene Haas, that they want to invest in Formula One and they want to take this sport seriously and not as a kind of speculation. In terms of a lawyer, he got a good lawyer – but he’s using his lawyer properly.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Serra) Maurizio, yesterday we read some quotes from president Marchionne. Is he putting too much pressure on the team or is he right to say that Ferrari is ready to win all the time?
    MA: If your editor is asking you to sell more copies, it is putting pressure on you. It’s normal that the president, when you do something, is not asking you, the following year, to do less than what you have done. The role of the president is to push his people to do better, better and better. If he’s going to create pressure this is normal, this is part of our job, this is part of any kind of job. He’s doing his role. He was giving to us what we were asking for and he’s pushing us to strive for the best.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Christian, you expressed some misgivings about the radio communication rules, which I’m sure some of us agree with. I personally agree with you but is there not a disconnect here, because we tend to think that nothing happens unless you guys have agreed to make it happen? Or am I wrong there? Can we not blame you for having it in the first place?
    CH: Not me personally, hopefully not. Look, I think out of well intention, sometimes we don’t think through the consequences. The intention of restricting the radio is that the drivers need to drive the car and I don’t think anybody enjoys hearing a driver being told how to operate his car. I think the problem that we have is that the complexity of these cars is so great now and the assistance that is required from the pit wall and behind the scenes is very different to Formula One of even three, four years ago. And it’s finding that line: is it right to help a driver find a bit of clear space in traffic or to pit now and so on? I think it’s going to be a bit of a voyage of discovery with this rule and I think applying it to the operation of the car is one thing; applying it to other sporting measures… we need to find that right balance and I’m not sure we’re going to achieve that immediately in one weekend.
    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Just to come back on that point, if you’re going to take away the radio, surely the logical thing is to replace that with other radio, because the fans do love to hear the radio, it’s part of the show now? And hearing the technology on the radio was actually a good thing, I think.
    CH: Absolutely, I think there’s entertainment through the radio and I think that what’s fascinating is to hear these guys communicating at the speeds that they’re achieving and in the heat of the battle – that radio content can produce good entertainment behind the scenes for the fans and it’s finding that balance. The bit that you should really hear is the intercom because there’s a far more interesting discussion going on on the pit wall on the intercom than there is on the radio and we, for sure, would love to hear the Mercedes intercom.

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1Fan.gr) Question to Mr Boullier: we presume that this season McLaren will be fighting with the midfield teams instead of at the front for the title, no title sponsor yet and two expensive drivers. Would you say that for now or with hindsight for the past that there has been a mistake, plans for investment for the development of the car instead of putting all this money into the drivers without having an actual good car to drive from the start of the project?
    EB: Well, definitely we at McLaren had a difficult year last year and we are not where we want to be and definitely we have the ambition to be. If you want to be the winning team you need to have all the best elements and if you have the best drivers before the best chassis or the best engine it’s a risk but it’s also a challenge than for the chassis and the engine to be the best. I think that as far as we are concerned, in terms of money, we have signed three new sponsors this year: Chandon, Richard Mille, Volvo Trucks. We have renewed another three sponsors. We are part of the McLaren Group which is profitable this year so I don’t think we have any issues on this part of the business. After that, it is just to be the best combination to catch Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull and others.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Cyril, amongst all the announcements and personnel movements and promotions, one name wasn’t mentioned at all and that’s Rob White. Is he still with the company, what is he doing, is he involved?
    CA: Yes, he’s involved, he’s part of the company. There will be more announcements regarding the exact management structure in Enstone and in Viry but in particular in Viry after the appointment of Remy Taffin as our new technical director, so there will be more coming, so I will invite you to the staff meeting that we will do in that respect.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Christian, in this room yesterday, Dan Ricciardo was asked about these rumours of Ferrari and among the things he said was that he’s completely focused on Red Bull and this season and then “not exactly out of contract either.” I realise these things are confidential but can you enlighten us a bit?
    CH: Yeah, he’s under contract, so I think he was pretty accurate with his comment. Red Bull invests in these guys at a young age, they develop them, they give them the opportunity through the Junior team and Toro Rosso. Sebastian Vettel was a prime example of that, Daniel Ricciardo is doing an excellent job, Dany Kvyat and the two exciting talents we obviously have in Toro Rosso. The contractual situation we have with Daniel Ricciardo is extremely clear. How long? That’s confidential.

  • F1 Australian GP FP2: Hamilton fastest, Rosberg crashes

    F1 Australian GP FP2: Hamilton fastest, Rosberg crashes

    The Mercedes F1 team suffered pretty mixed fortunes in another practice session dominated by unpredictable wet weather conditions. Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the time sheets once again in FP2 ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, while his team mate Nico Rosberg suffered a crash into the barriers at turn 6 during a very wet session.

    The wet weather put a real damper on FP2, with conditions only improving ever so marginally during the session. While we got to see some slick running during the first free practice session, drivers were not able to run on anything better than Pirelli’s intermediate rubber during FP2.

    Most teams preferred a cautionary approach with seven drivers failing to set a time and three not venturing on to the track at all for any FP2 running. Nico Rosberg’s turn 7 crash early on in the session caused extensive damage to the front wing of his W07. Rosberg was forced to abandon his Mercedes track side for fear of causing further damage to the car. Team Principal Toto Wolff confirmed that Rosberg had been running one of the team’s new S-duct noses. Mercedes does have spares for later in the weekend but sent Hamilton out with an old spec wing so as not to risk losing another one.

    Nico Rosberg FP2 AustraliaWith Rosberg forced out of FP2, team mate Hamilton was left to head up the field. He posted a time of 1:38.841. The time was nearly 10 seconds slower than his top time posted for FP1. It was good enough though to finish nearly half a second clear of Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India. Force India are looking impressive – Sergio Perez had set the fastest first and second sectors before losing the rear of his car in Turn 12. There was potential for him to better Hamilton’s time but as conditions worsened his chances of taking a time at the top were quickly snuffed.

    Kimi Raikkonen was third quickest for Ferrari, followed by Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz. The McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button followed in sixth and seventh places.

    Sebastian Vettel – who had not completed a timed lap in FP1 despite being the first driver out on track – set the eight fastest time with Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat rounding out the top 10.

    Esteban Gutierrez ended the FP2 session 11th in the Haas and Pascal Wherlein finished 12th fastest ahead of Romain Grosjean, Rio Haryanto and Rosberg. The remaining seven drivers chose not to set times and Marcus Ericsson, Felipe Nasr and Max Verstappen opted to remain in the dry comfort of their pit garages.

    The weather for tomorrow is currently still rainy at times but more favourable than Friday conditions.

    Photo Credits: FP2 Screenshots from Sky F1.

  • FIA Confident It Can Police Radio Ban

    FIA Confident It Can Police Radio Ban

    At the beginning of the 2016 season the FIA issued a directive stating that it will enforce Article 27.1 in a more stricter manner than it did in 2015.

    What that essentially means that all radio communication from the pit to the driver are banned except for “critical” events. What is deemed as critical is not very clear at this point.

    Some drivers voiced their dissatisfaction at this saying that it will be impossible to regulate.

    The FIA’s Charlie Whiting has said that they have the ability to police all the radio transmissions between the pit wall and the driver during all the sessions over a  race weekend.

    “We will hear every single message, I’m absolutely sure of that,” said Whiting.

    “We are listening to it in real time. We have four people in race control who are listening to three drivers each.

    “Then we have four or five software engineers listening to two or three each.

    On the topic of coded messages Whiting said that they will analyse the drivers telemetry after receiving a suspected coded message. If the driver has a similar pattern of behavior in the next race they will take action

    “With coded messages, we have to be a little bit careful about that.

    “We could, for example, if we have some suspicion that a message is rather odd, we could then look at the data from the car to see if the driver did anything in response to that message.

    “Then maybe, at the next race, if we hear the same message and notice the same switch change, then we will build up a little knowledge.”

    The pit boards which relay information to a driver at the end of every lap will be filmed throughout the race. This is to ensure that no additional information will be passed on to the drivers.

    “They are allowed to give the same messages that they are allowed to pass on the radio, and no more,” he explained.

    “There has been some suggestion that by putting the lap count for example in red, it means something, if it is yellow it is means one thing, if it is white it means another. Those sorts of things.

    “We have a camera looking at all the pit boards so if we see something unusual then we might have to ask why.

    “I think they will do their very best to try to get as much information as they can to the drivers, but I just hope that they continue to do it in a legal way.”

     

  • F1 2016: Australian GP Free Practice 1 – Hamilton Tops Wet/Dry Session

    F1 2016: Australian GP Free Practice 1 – Hamilton Tops Wet/Dry Session

    Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton topped the first free practice session for the 2016 Australian grand prix.

    The 2016 season got underway as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel ventured out onto track with the full wet Pirelli tyres fitted to his car. Overnight rain and a consistent drizzle in the morning had ensured a wet start to the first practice session.

    The track seemed to dry quickly with a blustery wind but just as driver were getting into their stride on the yellow-walled soft tyres the rain appeared once more. So it continued throughout the session which was difficult to classify either wet or dry.

    Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time of the session with a 1:30:364. The Red Bull duo of Dannil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo were second and third as the chequered flag dropped to signal the end of the session. Rather embarrassingly, Ricciardo dropped the Red Bull into the gravel at the end of the session. Given the slippery conditions and the fact that Ricciardo was on slicks means we can give him the benefit of the doubt.

    Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen rounded out the top five. The 18 year old Verstappen had earlier spun his Ferrari-powered car but, luckily, didnt sustain any damage. Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button,  and Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten.

    The changeable weather conditions mean that the first free practice session of the season didnt represent anything as to how the rest of the weekend may pan out.

  • 2016 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2016 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Rio HARYANTO (Manor)

    Jolyon PALMER (Renault)

    Esteban GUTIERREZ (Haas)

    Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes).
    PRESS CONFERENCE
    Daniel Ricciardo, let’s start with you. Here we are, 20 years on from the grand prix moving across from Adelaide to Melbourne, tell us about what a buzz it is for you to showcase your sport once a year here and what it means for the fans in Australia?
    Daniel RICCIARDO: It’s exciting, definitely. It’s exciting to be racing again in general. But to come here… (coughs)… pardon me, it’s emotional, jeez! It’s cool, you know. Every year that I’ve been here now there’s still an awesome buzz. It’s something that will definitely never get old as long as we keep coming here, as long as I’m racing. So yeah, Melbourne is great, especially when the sun shines. Everyone is super enthusiastic by the race here and there are always cars on track – woken up this morning by the two-seater. They really fill up the schedule and the fans definitely get their money’s worth.

    Your long run performance in particular looked strong during the tests in Barcelona. Do you feel you will be able to compete more perhaps in the race than in qualifying, certainly in the early part of the season at least?
    DR: yeah, I think the long pace will be better for us. The short runs are going to be a little more… I think in qualifying we’re probably not going to be as strong but long runs we should be good. Let’s see what happens. I don’t know, time will tell. I’ve been answering these questions all week and you can’t really answer them at the end of the day. On Sunday everyone will see where the real pace is, including us.

    OK. Let’s turn to Esteban – welcome back. Thirty-eight grands prix contested in your two previous seasons in Formula One. You were in the points for Sauber in 2013. How has your period as a Ferrari reserve driver made you a stronger competitor?
    Esteban GUTIERREZ: Well, it was very interesting with this guy in front of me [Sebastian Vettel]. I think in general as an experience it helped a lot in my career being able to observe many things from a different perspective and obviously getting very hungry to get back racing and finally reaching this moment, starting what I love most, to be racing, to be in a race seat.

    How has the build up to the first race gone for Haas? What are the biggest challenges for a star-up team in the sport?
    EG: I think the biggest challenge is to really integrate ourselves as a team, because the flow of communication in general… everything is new, there are a lot procedures that need to be defined. I think Barcelona, as a test, was a great experience for the team, a lot of character building. We had some difficult moments, some other good ones and all in all it’s where we need to focus – to be efficient and very dynamic for the development of the following races.

    Rio, coming to you, 23 years old, from Indonesia, one of three rookies in the field. First Formula One driver, more importantly, from Indonesia. Let’s start with that. What’s the response been like and how does it feel to be a pioneer?
    Rio HARYANTO: Yeah, there’s been tremendous support back home. Obviously to be able to compete in Formula One is a great thing. I’m very proud and I’m sure the whole nation are proud too to have me in Formula One.

    You won races in GP2 and GP3 during your apprenticeship for this opportunity. What are your expectations for this season with Manor?
    RH: I’m new to Formula One so there are a lot of things to learn. My expectation is to try to learn as quick as possible and to try to build a good relationship with the team and we’ll see how it goes in the races?

    Ok, coming to another rookie, Jolyon Palmer – welcome. Twenty-five years old, GP2 champion in 2014, you’ve also waited a few years for this opportunity. What’s the best thing about now becoming a Formula One driver?
    Jolyon PALMER: Well, racing! It was a bit frustrating last year having a year on the sidelines after GP2, but I learned a lot and it makes it even sweeter to be here racing again. I was out here last year seeing what Melbourne’s all about, did the track walk, was ready to go, but of course as a reserve driver you rarely get the chance. So looking forward to getting behind the wheel for at least an FP2 and an FP3 as well this time.

    Well, it was Lotus last season, the team has now become Renault, so what should we expect from you and this team this season?
    JP: Well, it’s difficult to say at this moment. Taking over from Lotus there were a lot of difficulties over the winter, everything was a little bit late. The expectations are pretty low and this year is just about building a foundation. So I think we need to build a solid base and the team has a lot of potential to move forward in the next few years.

    Let’s turn to the world champion – Lewis Hamilton, two-time Australian Grand Prix winner, four time polesitter here in Albert Park, Melbourne. Lewis, you said recently there’s still more to come from you this season. What are you looking for?
    Lewis HAMILTON: I don’t remember saying that, but OK…
    Let’s presume you did!
    LH: Cool. That’s good. I hope there is! I don’t know, I think you are always searching for perfection, always learning, always growing, both inside and outside the sport. I’m just looking forward to that journey. I don’t know what’s to come. I don’t when I’m going to be growing or more, but I guess that’s the same for every single one of us, so that’s what I’m excited about.

    When you say perfection, what do you mean exactly?
    LH: You’re always looking for that perfect lap; you’re always looking for the perfect race, you’re always looking to raise the bar every time you go out, because it can always be raised.

    There are quite a few more variables this year due to the regulation changes. Looking at the team radio restrictions in particular, do you think that’s something that could actually play to your strengths – given that you guys are all going to be much more on your own now? Is that something that could work for you?
    LH: We’re all in the same boat. Some of us will handle it better than others. I don’t particularly see there being much of be a problem. But is it good? I don’t really know but we’ll manage it the best way we can.

    OK. We’ve heard from the champion, let’s hear from one of his main challengers, Sebastian Vettel, 2011 Australian Grand Prix winner, three-time polesitter here. Sebastian, you know what it takes to win in Formula One, do you and Ferrari have enough to trouble Lewis and Mercedes this year?
    Sebastian VETTEL: I think we have. Obviously, the question is whether we are ready in time, but we are on a good track, we are making progress, we did so last year, I think we did a step over the winter, but as I said, whether it’s big enough or not I think we need to wait for the first couple of races and see. But for sure our target is to turn things around, but going into this season I don’t think it’s a surprise when I say that Mercedes is still the favourite but, as I said, we try to become the favourites in the future.

    It’s not hard to see where the problem has been, qualifying has been Ferrari’s weakness in recent times, when fighting you and Red Bull in those days and more recently Mercedes – only five poles in the last six seasons, seems astonishing really. So has the team put any particular focus on qualifying pace and unlocking that qualifying pace with this car to give you the tools you need to fight on Sunday?
    SV: Well, usually qualifying pace is all about raw pace so I think by trying to make our package quicker, make our car quicker, our engine stronger, we enhance our chances also in qualifying to do well. I don’t think there is a big secrete behind it – usually in qualifying, as I said, it’s all about the raw performance of the car and we know that we are still a little bit behind. We have been last year and obviously we try to be a lot closer this year, how close, I don’t know, I don’t have an answer… yet. But we have a plan; we know what we want to do; we know where we want to go, so bit by bit I hope we improve and we’ll be in a better position very soon, with more pole positions under our belt.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid-Day) Question to Lewis. Mercedes has ran a lot of miles in testing. From a drivers’ point of view would you have preferred to do some more performance running to feel the ultimate limit of the car?
    LH: Definitely. Of course, the performance runs are always the most fun, the long runs are, kind of, long. And less exciting. But we did what we had to do and I guess we went into the testing with a goal of achieving 800km a day. We didn’t actually think we were going to do it so perhaps in hindsight we would have shifted our running. But at the end of the day it suited us perfectly.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian, could you describe what could be the point of strength of the new car in the season, and would it be a surprise if you are not as close as you expect to the Mercedes?
    SV: Well, we’ve worked very hard. Obviously the project of this year’s car started very early so I think it is definitely a big improvement, big step forward overall. Obviously from the outside it’s easy to see the main differences but I think especially on the inside we’ve done a very, very nice job and it allows us to be, first of all, quicker from the start and also have more chance of improving throughout the year. So that’s good news. Whether it’s good news right from the start, I don’t know. As I said earlier, I don’t know yet. I hope so. We know that our challenge is very, very big, we know that Mercedes in the last two years have built a very, very strong and solid platform for the whole package. Not just the engine but also the car has been very, very strong, in particular last year, and I think it is quite difficult to start the next season with a worse car than you had before. So we know the bar is high, but we’re pushing, pushing very hard.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Lewis, I was wondering, after we saw the video of you riding a bike and filming as you were going along, whether you feel you have any responsibility to, as an example to others, not to do that? Or maybe not…
    LH: Not particularly, no. I don’t really have much of an answer for you unfortunately.

    I was just wondering if you think you… you’ve always said you were an example to young dudes. I was wondering if you thought in light of that, this is where you should show an example?
    LH: Again, I don’t really have much of an answer for you, so…

    Q: (Lennart Bernke – Bild) Seb, why and when did you decide to name your car after a pizza?
    SV: It’s not named after a pizza. It’s a name, first of all. So, I think…
    DR: What’s it called?
    SV: Margherita.
    DR: It’s a cocktail!
    SV: I think if you look up, the first thing that comes it is that it’s a name, not a pizza.

    Why Margherita then?
    DR: Because it’s a pizza!
    SV: No, because it’s a drink! No, various reasons. We like the name. Every year we give the car a name. Last year Eva, this year Margherita. We’re happy with that.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – Daily Telegraph) A question for Seb. A lot’s been made, and people are getting quite excited about the prospect of you versus Lewis for the title and having quite different styles and characters. Lewis, obviously, has his style and uses Snapchat and things like that. I was wondering if you could describe how your… what your style is and whether looking at any of that ever tempts you to get on Snapchat or Twitter or Instagram or any of that?
    SV: Up to now I haven’t understood all of the modern technologies fully so I’m sure he can give me some classes but I’m not that interested. I think everyone picks his style, and the things they like. I think we’re all different. Some people like pizza plain – like Margherita – some people like a lot of stuff on top of it. I think that’s a good summary.

    Q: (Alex Popov – NTV/Match TV) For Lewis – but a little bit more of a racing question: it’s about tyre allocation. Because you never used the supersoft of Barcelona, and most of Barcelona testing you and Nico was on medium and here, your personal allocation is just one set of medium and again it’s Pirelli who chose it for the race. Then for supersoft you never train, tomorrow it’s rain forecast so for the race it will be OK?
    LH: I think it will be OK. You’re right, we didn’t use the supersoft and, once again, I think once we realised how much mileage we’d done, perhaps in hindsight we may have changed it, who knows? But we’ll face it as we always do. I don’t believe they’ve changed a huge amount with the tyre so I don’t think it’s going to be a big issue for us.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Lewis, are you using a Blackberry or an iPhone?
    LH: Both

    Q: (Shane McGuinness – Radio 3AW) Dan, Australian motor racing legend Alan Jones has come out and said that he’d like to see you at Ferrari next year, obviously out of contract this year. Does that become a distraction at all for you and how do you ensure that it doesn’t affect your driving, and bat away these questions during the season? And would you like to be teammates (with Sebastian) again?
    DR: I don’t know if Seb wants that, to be honest, so we’ll see. I heard AJ say… or I heard some comments yesterday and got asked the question. Yeah, last year I was asked as well. I honestly can’t… I don’t have much more to say on that. It’s still very early in the season and to give you a boring but honest answer is that I’m just completely focused on this year now and with Red Bull. That’s where it stands. Not exactly out of contract either. Don’t get too excited.
    I don’t know (if I’d like to be teammates with Sebastian again). Maybe if he joined social media…
    SV: I will not dance with you in the pit lane so if you’re looking for that…
    DR: I’m looking for something more from my teammate. We’ll think of something, eh?
    SV: I can offer you marguerita. I don’t mind Danny, we’ve never had issues. Obviously the year we had together was very good for him, not so good for me. I think that’s one thing that happens on the track but outside the track, which I think is more important when you talk about your teammate, whether you get along or not, we never had – at least I don’t remember… It’s a bit weird when he gets changed but other than that…
    DR: I walk around in my underwear a lot! Get comfortable with that. This question’s gone pear-shaped, hasn’t it? Next question.

    Q: (Abhishek Tackle – Midday) To the front row: everyone says in testing, we’re just testing, we don’t know where we stand, we don’t know anything, but given the simulation and data analysis tools you have these days at your disposal, how good an idea do you have of where you stand relative to each other in the pecking order?
    DR: I don’t know. You get an idea, you definitely get an idea. I guess I’ve driven a few years now in F1 and I know what a good car feels like so at least with us I know… at least from testing I can take out that our chassis is pretty good. What’s still an unknown is what Seb and Lewis are saying. Are they hopping out of their car saying this chassis is a lot better than last year’s as well? I still expect them to be the front runners, Ferrari and Mercedes, at the start of the season but me knowing what I know from previous years, yeah, I think we’ve started off with a good chassis and as we’ve done in the past, we can keep improving that. If we can improve that, along with the power unit this year, then by probably the second half of the year we should be able to maybe challenge them but again, it’s still really guesswork, it’s not like numbers, it’s not like they all add up to victory at the end of the day. It’s still a bit inconclusive until we get going, probably the first four or five races.
    SV: The answer’s  probably a bit more accurate than that. I think Mercedes are the favourites going in, they seem to be very reliable but also very quick in Barcelona. I think we are closer than last year, especially in the race. Then I think Toro Rosso has made a massive step. They had a very strong car last year but probably with the Ferrari engine this year they will be quite a bit stronger. Daniel touched on it himself and some of you touched on his long run pace, they looked very strong for the race. I think Esteban and Team Haas could surprise and the others are a bit unknown I would say.
    LH: I agree with what they’ve said. I think this year that the whole pack looks like it’s a little bit closer but personally I think that they’ve got something up their sleeve this weekend. I think Ferrari are going to be a lot closer than they talk about, than just arriving on a low but going to deliver high.
    Q: Do you welcome that?
    LH: Absolutely.

    Q: (Chris Lines – AP) Question for the back row: are points achievable for you this year and how soon do you think you might be in a position to challenge for points?
    EG: Well, it’s very ambitious as a new team to arrive and set a target to score points but we will work very hard to achieve that. It’s definitely the way we want to go. I think initially it’s very important to keep our feet on the ground, make sure that we run smoothly during the weekend and if we accomplish that this weekend we can get out in a very happy mood. Obviously we have everything to gain so achieving points would be something extraordinary.
    JP: I think for us it’s definitely a goal for us to be in the points at some point in the season. I think that if we can start off with a solid base this weekend then I think we’ve got good potential to improve over the course of the season and so definitely, we hope to be in the points.
    Q: Rio, it looks like Manor have made quite a big step forward in performance from last year to this year. Is that giving the team confidence that they will be in the points regularly?
    RH: Yeah, definitely. It’s a much better package that we have in comparison to last year and that’s the goal, to score points. We don’t know when but we’ll try our best every race as the races will be long and let’s see what we can do.

  • Red Bull-Aston Martin Parntnership Paves the Way for Aston Martin Hypercar Project

    Red Bull-Aston Martin Parntnership Paves the Way for Aston Martin Hypercar Project

    Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Advanced Technology announced a partnership with British luxury sports car manufacturer Aston Martin to create the next generation hypercar.

    This collaboration will see Red Bull Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey and Chief Creative Officer of Aston Martin, Marek Reichman team up to create a ground breaking Aston Martin hypercar.

    The project will be called “Project AM-RB 001 and will feature a blend of Formula 1 technology combined with Aston Martin’s signature luxury sports car design.

    As part of the deal, the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 car will carry the Aston Martin Logos on the sidepods and on the nose from the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

    “This is a very exciting project for everyone at Red Bull Racing,” commended Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.

    “Through this Innovation Partnership the iconic Aston Martin logo will return to grand prix racing for the first time since 1960, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, led by Adrian, will be using Formula One DNA to produce the ultimate of all road cars.

    “It’s an incredible project and also realises a dream and vision long held by Adrian to design a road car. We are very much looking forward to what I’m certain will be a successful partnership.”

  • Watch:Tyre Rules Explained By Pirelli

    Watch:Tyre Rules Explained By Pirelli

    Still confused about the tyre rules? Pirelli has made a really cool video explaining how they work.

  • 2016 Australian Grand Prix Broadcast Times

    2016 Australian Grand Prix Broadcast Times

    The 2016 Formula 1 curtain raiser is finally upon us. Round one of the Formula 1 World Championship will get underway in Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix.

    With testing done and dusted and with a few interesting observations that came out of it, the season ahead looks set to be a close one between Mercedes and Ferrari. But as we have seen many time in F1, what happens in testing is just that, testing. The real battle is on the track and it is expected that Mercedes will once again be ahead of the field.

    Mercedes have worked very hard during the off season and by looking at the raw testing data it does seem as if they are in a very good position going into the season. But while Mercedes have been working hard, other teams have been doubling their efforts. Ferrari emerged as the closest contender to Mercedes during testing and they look to be in a similar position as in 2015 only a little closer to Mercedes. They are quietly confident that they can take the fight to Mercedes this season.

    Mercedes and Red Bull are not far behind Ferrari and will be waiting in the wings and will pounce on any mistakes made by the Scuderia.

    The midfield looks to be even more competitive this season than last year. McLaren look like they are ahead of their engine issues that plagued them last year while Force India have carried the momentum from the great from they were in last season. New entrant Haas F1 are looking to fight in the mid field. If testing is anything to go by they are going to have a tough time. This is a learning season for them and they can only get better from here. Their close partnership with Ferrari also puts them in somewhat of a good position.

    The race will start in the late afternoon to make it favorable for the folks up in Europe. The practice sessions will be at a very early hour for most. Although there is nothing like a bit of Formula 1 to enjoy with your morning coffee.

    Session Day Local Time GMT GMT+2
    Free Practice 1 Friday 12:30 01:30 03:30
    Free Practice 2 Friday 16:30 05:30 07:30
    Free Practice 3 Saturday 14:00 03:00 05:00
    Qualifying Saturday 17:00 06:00 08:00
    Race Sunday 16:00 09:00 07:00
  • F1 2016: Australian GP Preview – F1 season of possibility

    F1 2016: Australian GP Preview – F1 season of possibility

    The question at the forefront of everything is can Ferrari take the fight to Mercedes. All indications are that the Italian team has made strides since last year and has closed the gap to Mercedes. All that remains to be seen is how close they can get.

    As F1 2016 gets under way this season will be longest in the sport’s history with 21 races. Germany’s Hockenheim makes a return to the calendar and Azerbaijan hosts its first ever race on the Baku City streets. The confirmation of the US grand prix gives the teams an added bonus. The F1 sporting regulation state that one engine must be used for four race weekends. As the US Gp makes it 21 races the teams will be given a fifth engine thanks to the wording of the rule.

    When the change to the qualifying format was announced it left many perplexed. The quali format hadn’t been a bad one so why fix something that isn’t broken? But, let’s give it chance and see how it pans out.

    The one hour session will still consist of three parts. Q1 will be 16 minutes, after the first seven the slowest car is eliminated. Thereafter, the slowest car is eliminated every 90 seconds. Seven drivers will be eliminated while 15 advance to Q2.

    Hamilton-Australia-MercedesQ2 will be a 15 minute session with the slowest driver eliminated after 6 minutes. Likewise, every 90 seconds will see the slowest car eliminated. Seven drivers will be eliminated in this session with eight advancing to Q3.  The Q3 session will run for fourteen minutes with the slowest driver eliminated after five minutes. The slowest driver will continue to be eliminated every 90 seconds. Two drivers will remain in the final 90 seconds of the session to shoot it out for pole position.

    An interesting aspect of this style of qualifying will be that the quickest cars will no longer be able to rely on getting through to the second part of qualifying on the harder of their tyre selection. It’s sure to throw the cat amongst the pigeons when there is rain about, and if it’s a lap longer than 1 minute 30 seconds. And let’s be honest anything that adds a bit of drama and intrigue is never a bad thing. What the new format has in its favour is that it takes the excitement from the final ten minutes of the session and spreads it throughout the entire hour.

    australiaThe Albert Park circuit is a well known one. But there are many unknowns at the first race of the season. A new qualifying format, new tyre regulations, more driver freedom on strategy calls, to name a few. The clampdown on radio communication from the pitwall carries its own connotation, especially where the start of the race is concerned. Drivers are not allowed any feedback during the formation lap and are only being allowed to use one clutch at the start. This combined with Albert Park’s tight turn one could result in dramatic start to the grand prix. And all of this has the potential to combine into an explosive season-opening race.

    Mercedes has chosen to play up Ferrari’s performance so far. Choosing to send both Nico Rosberg and Niki Lauda into the press with statements of Ferrari being a great threat. It could just be some clever psychological play by the champions. Or it could be real and we could in for a F1 season to be remembered. One way or the other the more than 100 day wait is finally over.

  • Spanish Grand Prix Tyre Choices Revealed By Pirelli

    Spanish Grand Prix Tyre Choices Revealed By Pirelli

    Pirelli have revealed the tyre choices for round 5 of the Formula 1 World Championship at the Circuit De Catalunya.

    For the Spanish Grand Prix Pirelli have nominated the Orange Hard, White Medium and Yellow Soft compound tyres. The hard and medium compound are the tyres that must be used at some point in the race. According to the rules each driver must have both sets available for the race and will have to use at least one of those sets.

    The soft compound tyre will be made available for Q3.

    The teams will be free to choose the remaining sets of tyres to make up the 13 sets in total for the race weekend.

     

    Picture courtesy Pirelli