Tag: antonio giovinazzi

F1 2019: Italian Gp Review – Leclerc Dazzles with Home Win

On lap 69 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria Max Verstappen sent his Red Bull up the inside of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, banged wheels, and snatched the lead of the race and ultimately the victory. This was a significant moment in Leclerc’s fledging F1 career. To that point he’d been refined, a bit too polite for the cutthroat world of Formula 1 racing.

But he learned from Austria and with it his mentality shifted. And it’s a good thing it did for he needed all of that ruthlessness in Monza. Ferrari arrived in Monza fresh off a win in Spa and with the knowledge that their car should be the favourite at Italy’s famed Cathedral of Speed. This was confirmed as they secured pole position with Leclerc on Saturday. The shambolic final few minutes of quali all drivers, except Carlos Sainz, missed the chance to set a laptime because of jockeying for a slipstream. It left Hamilton on the front row and Vettel down in fourth.

It was a bit of a nervy start for Leclerc who had to fend off Hamilton into the first chicane. But he held his own with Hamilton running within 1.5 seconds in second. While Bottas remained in third Vettel momentarily lost out to Nico Hulkenberg but quickly recovered fourth by passing the Renault down the start/finish straight on the start of lap 2.

Vettel’s failure to make inroads at the start wasn’t a particularly big problem as he held the front three well within view. However, a handful of laps later and seemingly out of the blue he spun in the middle of the Ascari chicane. The German rejoined the track and in doing so hit the Racing Point of Lance Stroll. While Stroll attempted his own recovery he too rejoined in an unsafe manner which forced Pierre Gasly into taking avoiding action in the Toro Rosso. Vettel was subsequently, and rightly, handed a ten second stop/go penalty for rejoining the circuit in an unsafe manner while Stroll was handed a drive-through penalty for his own infringement.

It spelled the end of Vettel’s race who ultimately trundled home in 13^th. Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen too was given a ten second stop/go penalty for starting the race on the incorrect tyres. The Finn was forced into a pitlane start after a crash in quali and started on the medium compound whereas his run in Q2 and advancement to Q3 meant he was locked into starting on the soft compound. Newly minted Red Bull driver Alex Albon too was given a five-second time penalty for cutting the chicane and gaining a lasting advantage.

At the front Hamilton continued to hound the rear of Leclerc’s Ferrari but the Monagasque driver was more than equal to the task. There were a few chinks in the Leclerc-armour though. A lock-up into the first chicane late on meant he had to cut the corner, which allowed Hamilton ever closer. Leclerc close the door into the second chicane but crowding Hamilton towards the edge of the track. Opinion will undoubtedly be split on whether the move deserved a penalty but the stewards felt that it required no investigation and, therefore, no penalty. Here is where Leclerc’s experience in Austria stood him in good stead. Had he not learned from that scenario and vowed to take a more aggressive approach Hamilton could well have been passed and into the lead of the race.

Through all of this Leclerc supplied a master-class in absorbing pressure from Hamilton. Consider the factors: he is 21-years-old, in a Ferrari, at Monza, and with a five-time world champion glued to your gearbox. The level of pressure is off the charts and for Leclerc to take it in his stride the way he did is telling. Lest we forget this is only his second F1 season. He is a driver still very much in his infancy but this performance in Monza demonstrates an enormous potential if everything goes according to plan.

Hamilton himself locked up in the first chicane and lost his chance at taking the lead and the win. It was Valtteri Bottas’s chance next but even on fresher tyres Leclerc was too canny, and too quick in the straight. He held off both Mercs and sailed to a hugely popular win that sent the Tifosi into raptures.

While Bottas and Hamilton completed the top three Renault enjoyed their best day of the season with a fine fourth and fifth place for Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg respectively. Albon recovered from his earlier penalty to finish sixth ahead of Sergio Perez in seventh. Max Verstappen recovered to eighth from starting at the back of the grid while Antonio Giovinazzi finished ninth on home soil. Lando Norris completed the top ten for McLaren.

Ferrari and Leclerc will leave Italy having achieved something truly special. And while Mercedes were bested they are safe in the knowledge that extended their lead in the constructor’s championship heading into Singapore where they are expected to be extremely strong.

September 9, 2019
2019 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo), Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso), Nico HULKENBERG (Renault)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: A question for you all to start with. Confirmation came through last night that the Italian Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar for at least another five years. Can we get your reaction to that and can you tell us what this race and this track mean to you? Sebastian, can we start with you?
Sebastian VETTEL: Very happy obviously. I don’t know if I’ll be here for five years. I think it belongs in the calendar, so I’m very happy that it was confirmed. It’s not really necessary to mention the importance of the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari. It’s our biggest race of the season. It belongs here. Obviously for me, a lot of memories. The win in 2008, my first win, for sure was very special. The ones after that people weren’t so happy, but I guess nowadays they would be happy again.

Q: Charles?
Charles LECLERC: Obviously very happy. There’s nowhere else you can see as many passionate people as there are here. As Seb said, driving for Ferrari it feels very, very special and I definitely hope that I will still be here in five years.

Q: Pierre?
Pierre GASLY: Same comment. The passion you see in Monza is really special. The whole atmosphere during the weekend is really amazing. Plus, the track is really cool and usually good racing, so it’s fantastic news.

Q: Nico?
Nico HULKENBERG: Yeah, definitely good news. It’s always a good weekend and to secure another iconic European in the long term is very positive.

Q: And Antonio?
Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Of course, really important. For me it’s the home grand prix. My first time here in F1, so really great to have the news yesterday that we’ll be here for at least another five years. Good for Italy, good for Ferrari, good for Italian drivers, so yeah, really grateful.

Q: Antonio, staying with you. You say this is your first time here in F1. You won the GP2 feature race back in 2016, which was a big moment in your career then. Can you compare your emotions now coming into this race, your first Italian Grand Prix?
AG: Yeah, it’s incredible, I would say. This was one of the grands prix I always watched when I was young, of course supporting Ferrari. Back in 2016 it was one of the best races of that season and of my career as well – coming from last and I won the race in front of all the tifosi, my friends, my family, so it was a really great memory. Now I am here in F1, so I’m looking forward, I have a lot of people coming here to support me. I hope to have a good result and just enjoy my first weekend here in Italy.

Q: Now, you’re the first Italian to race in the Italian Grand Prix since 2011. Why do you think it has taken so long for another Italian, you, to come through?
AG: I think in go-kart already when you are young and you start to dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver, I think karting now has become too expensive, so there is not much support in Italy to give to the young drivers. I think we have a lot of good Italian drivers now, from watching now like some races in go-kart but of course it is really difficult to do already the next step from karting to Formula 4. I hope this can change. From my side, I did a lot of sacrifices. I was lucky to find [Ricardo] Gelael to support me until here, but it is not easy. This is one of my points that Italian drivers are not any longer in F1, but I think it’s difficult also for the other countries. But I’m really that Italy is back after a long eight years.

Q: Thanks and good luck this weekend. Pierre, it’s been a very eventful month for you. Can you describe how you were able to re-set head of the race at Spa last week and get that great result?
PG: For sure it’s quite a challenging time for me at the moment that I’m facing. Coming into Spa they were really busy and intense days – to get on top of all the new things with Toro Rosso, being back with the team, also a new crew around my car. It was just really intense ahead of the weekend. I tried to extract the best and deliver the best performance straight away and that’s what we tried to do. Yeah, I think just now I know that I have eight more races coming with Toro Rosso. I’m just trying to focus on myself, improve myself and to deliver the best performance I can for the team. For sure, what happened in Spa, it was really tough before the race on Sunday and it was difficult to keep the focus, especially in this kind of moment, it’s really tricky for everyone. It was tough mentally but it was important to deliver the best race I could for the team and for Anthoine and I think we can be really happy with the two points we scored for our first race back together.

Q: What are you goals for the remainder of the 2019 season?
PG: I think it’s quite clear – just be fast and deliver the maximum points for the team. They are in a good position in the championship and I will do everything I can to offer the maximum points to the guys.

Q: OK, good luck with that and with this weekend. Nico, on the face of last weekend’s announcement regarding Esteban Ocon moving to Renault next year leaves your future uncertain. The 2020 grid still seems quite fluid, however, so are your plans taking shape?
NH: Not concrete yet, but there are definitely talks going on. But I think it will still be a while. Like I said last week, the situation is what it is now, but it needs to be the right deal, a good sporting perspective, and I’m in no urgency or hurry to sign anything, just to have signed anything. I think there are options out there but nothing to talk about right now.

Q: And looking ahead to this weekend, what can we expect from you and Renault, because it was a difficult one at Spa for you guys?
NH: Yeah, it was a tricky weekend but quite rewarding in the end, getting four points back on the board. That was quite positive and we’re trying to take that momentum here. It’s obviously a new weekend, so a new approach and we’ll see how the car performs here. But there’s no reason to be skeptical about it. We’ll just be pushing and working hard and for me, in terms of my mindset, I just want to get the maximum out of it every weekend, take it weekend by weekend, enjoy it, and maximum attack.

Q: Thanks for that, Nico. I want to come to both Ferrari drivers now. We saw a fantastic celebration at the Duomo in Milan last night. How was it? Sebastian, tell us what went on?
SV: Very busy, packed! I think it’s very difficult to put into words. It’s a very iconic on it’s own, it it’s empty, that place, but with the red sea, or flooded with people dressed in red, it was definitely prettier than I remembered it. Probably I should never go back, because it’s never going to be as pretty. I think it was special for us as current drivers, but there were also a lot of recent drivers, older drivers from the past of the Scuderia, so I think that was a nice thing to get together and have a chat also later on with them. Obviously some of them are very around, but others you don’t see so often, so enjoyed that. A lot of old important cars, important pieces of the team’s history, so for me it was a great day.

Q: Charles?
CL: Yeah, it was unbelievable. I think Seb said nearly everything. For me it was also the first time I arrived here in Italy for the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver. Obviously I knew it was going to be special, but as a first day I could not expect any more. So many people, so much passion, it was just incredible and very, very impressive to see so many people coming together on a Wednesday for us and for Ferrari of course. It was crazy.

Q: Staying with you, you’re now Ferrari’s youngest ever winner in Formula 1. You said on Sunday you were struggling to process what had just happened, so how do you reflect on that achievement now, a week later?
CL: Obviously it was a very tough weekend for different reasons – obviously with what happened on Saturday, but also because we knew with the performance we had in the race it was going to be difficult because Mercedes were very, very strong with their race pace so it was a tough weekend. But in the end we managed to put everything together. I think there was great teamwork between myself and especially Seb, who did the job of keeping Lewis behind for a few a laps that have been very helpful for me towards the end of the race. Looking back obviously I am very happy that this first win is done. It’s always difficult to do this first step but once you do it, it takes quite a bit of weight off your shoulders and of that I’m very proud. Not much time to actually think about it because we are already four days later here in Italy and we need to focus fully on the job that we have to do here.

Q: Sebastian, Charles made reference to the race pace of Mercedes at Spa, how do you think it’s going to play out here?
SV: I can’t predict but I think it should be… It’s a similar track, very different but in terms of the way the cars are set up similar to last weekend. I hope we can be as competitive as we were there. In relative terms it’s difficult to say. For sure we’ve seen the trend that in qualifying we have a bit of an edge on these types of tracks, whereas in the race everything moves very close together. As Charles said, they were very quick last weekend, so I expect the main challenge to be looking after the tyres, finding the right set-up, the right balance in the car, to feel comfortable to extract the maximum. I can’t give you any predictions but I guess it will be very tight. I hope we have something to say. Obviously Mercedes has been in a position to win nearly every race this season but for us it hasn’t been like that, so the more chances we get the better it is for us.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Question for Sebastian. We saw Charles take his maiden grand prix victory last weekend. He’s made a very strong start to life with Ferrari, only 12 points behind you in the Championship. How impressed have you been with Charles start with the team and has he surprised you at all with how good he’s been this year?
SV: No. I think it’s positive that he’s surprised probably a lot of people outside but inside I think we obviously… he’s been with Ferrari, with the Driver Academy for a while and it was clear to see that he has a lot of potential. I think he had a very strong rookie season with Alfa, so, y’know, it’s good to see that he’s right on the pace straight away and obviously form a team point of view I think the most important is that we work together, not against each other. That seems to work, so that’s important. Otherwise it would be a bit of a waste of energy. So, yeah, I think those are the key things. It’s obviously good, I think it was a big weekend for him last weekend, even though it was shadowed by the circumstances, the passing of Anthoine, so not great but as he said, obviously it was his first one and I’m sure he’ll be around for a while so there will be a lot more.

Can I put that question to Pierre as well. Pierre, you’ve known Charles for such a long time. Have you been surprised, impressed by what he’s done with Ferrari this year?
PG: I’m going to say no, because I know he’s like, super-talented and a super-fast guy but it’s the case and we know each other since we were eight years old. He’s been always on top of all the series he’s competed in. So, we’ve been team-mates. I was always surprised and impressed when we were team-mates how fast he was, and all the battles we had, so no, in a way, I’m not surprised but in a way it’s good that he proved it with his first win and I’m sure there will be many more.

Q: (Joe van Burik – racingnews365.nl) Question to Charles, after the race you mentioned you didn’t say a word during the race. Can you describe the state of mind while you were going for that victory?
CL: To be honest, I’ve got no ideas why I didn’t speak but the engineers… they thought there was something wrong on the radio actually because I was not speaking. I had nothing to say. They were giving me the information I needed, and that’s it. I just focused on the job behind the wheel, and that’s it.

Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To both Ferrari drivers. I was wondering, in light of the sad events of last week, whether the drivers thought there was any consideration maybe needed be given to the nature of run-off areas. There’s been less and less gravel for reasons that are well-known, but whether that should be examined, whether gravel could actually slow drivers down and make them stick to track limits better. And b) is there anything that the GPDA have discussed about last week that you will now speak to the FIA about?
SV: I think it’s a question for all of us really but I think the answer will probably be the same one – or should be the same one. I think what happened couldn’t be any worse. I think it will be examined in a very detailed way, which is, I think, correct and what everyone would expect – but I think to draw any conclusions now is probably not right. I think we need to have a full picture of a lot of elements. The ones that you mentioned are definitely part of those – but there might be, or there are, also others. Obviously I’m a fan of holding races in Spa, because it’s a great track, has a great history, a lot of the corners are very unique but for sure, we need to have a very close look and take some time to understand exactly what happened before drawing any conclusions.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Slightly following on from that question. There were some comments Jackie Stewart this week, who said that last weekend’s accident might serve as a bit of a wake-up call, and drivers perhaps are taking too many liberties, particularly on the first lap. I was just wondering what your responses would be to that?
NH: I think obviously some of it is true. Tarmac runoff areas do invite us to keep pushing – because it doesn’t have an immediate consequence. I think it needs to be policed. There is always the right balance somewhere. Maybe it’s also a case where we need to have a customised solution for particular corners like Eau Rouge which is quite unique in the way that we don’t really see that corner until we come up on the hill and see what’s going on. But yeah, sometimes things get a bit hectic and out-of-control on lap one. I think more particularly – even though that wasn’t lap one it was lap two, but still, early in the race when everyone is very bunched up – sometimes you see that happening more in the junior series. We’ll see. They’re motivated, maybe a bit too excited but yeah, like I say, maybe there’s a solution for every corner a little bit different.
SV: I think, looking back obviously he was racing at a horrible time where drivers passed away, not regularly but obviously a lot more frequently. So, for sure, you cannot compare his era to our era. Obviously he’s been around at that time, he’s been racing so he knows what it felt like and is able to judge whether it’s different or not. I don’t think we can have that judgement. But yes, again, as far as I understand it, it was a bit of a chain of happenings, of situations that led into the final accident but, yeah, I think we all had our moment on Saturday and obviously Sunday, going to the race track and driving the race but to some extent it’s part of motorsport. It is dangerous, it’s part of the thrill – but certainly obviously the last years have been a wake-up with the passing of Jules and now Anthoine. It shows that there are still things – even if people think it’s too safe and boring – I think there are still things we can do better, we must improve, we must work on, because I’d rather have boring Formula 1 championships to the end of ever and bring him back – so I think there’s no question about that trade.
CL: On my side I think I was always aware it was a dangerous sport because any time you go at that speed it will always be dangerous. On the other hand, ever time I’m getting into the car, I’m going with the same mindset. I think we are all trying to do that. Even with what happened on Saturday, which was obviously extremely sad and I think it has shocked all of us. Especially the new generation, we haven’t known that – or actually the generation that is in Formula 1 like Seb, it’s a much safer sport than a long time ago, so yeah, at the end, once you are going into the car, you are trying to be in your zone, trying to think to what you need to do, and you need to race as hard as you can to finish as high as you can. So yeah, I think I’ve always been aware that there was some risk, but sometimes it’s obviously a shock when something like this happens.
NH: I agree with all the comments.
AG: Me too.

Q: (Davide Russo – newsf1.it) Question for Charles. How would you describe your relationship now with Seb?
CL: I think very good. I think we found the right compromise with Seb between competition and also working together to try and improve the car and to work for the team. I think this is extremely important for team-mates. Any time we are getting into the car I want to beat him as much as he wants to beat me – but whenever we are out of the car, we manage to share information, speak together and, yeah, just try to do our best to help the team to move forwards and to bring the car where it should be. I think it’s a very good relationship.

Sebastian, how different is your relationship with Charles to the one you had with Kimi Räikkönen?
SV: More words! That’s it. As Charles touched on, we try to work together. We try to push the team. Our car is not where we want it to be. I said earlier that we didn’t have the car and the ability to win every race so far, and that is our objective, so I think it serves both of us if we push in the same direction because I believe one day we will have that car and then we can fight it out.

Q: (Umberto Zapelloni – L’Automobile) Can you give yourself a vote from one to ten for the first 13 races of this year?
NH: Eight. That’s too short for you, right? You want more! Why not? It wasn’t a ten because it hasn’t been the best of seasons. I’ve also left out a couple of opportunities hence two away from ten.
AG: I would say, looking back, I lost a lot of opportunities for issues or whatever. I don’t know. Five and a half? 5.5, yes.
SV: I don’t know. We have had a question like that. I don’t remember what I answered so maybe I should say nothing now because otherwise I say something different. No, I don’t remember so I’m not going to go with that.
Q: Five? Same as Hungary.
SV: Well, we’ve had one race since Hungary. Was it after Hungary or before? I don’t know. Yeah, I think the bottom line is that we know we haven’t had the season we wanted so far. Obviously we started off in a good place in the second half and hopefully we can keep that up but we know also, being realistic, that Mercedes is the clear favourite. As I said, they’ve been in a position to win every race this year so yeah, that’s something that we haven’t been in and we need to get there, that’s the point.
CL: Yeah, I also think I’ve answered one of those questions. I might change my answer but probably the six first races weren’t that positive for me so maybe around six. After that, more seven and a half. Bit happier in qualifying, especially and now I’m targeting to move a bit higher for the rest of the season.
PG: I never like these kind of ratings so… It hasn’t been the best start of the year but now the new goal is to raise this mark.

Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1Vilag.hu) Sebastian, we have seen some pictures of the new 2021 car in the wind tunnel. How do you like it and how will the new regulations affect your decision regarding the future?
SV: I don’t know, I think we’ve probably also seen renderings from Renault in the past and other teams so I don’t know whether the pictures we’ve seen are actually what it will be because as far as I understand there are no regulations yet for ’21 so it’s a bit pointless to post pictures but maybe that’s what some people would like the cars to look like, I don’t know. I think that there are no rules yet for ’21, no decisions, no hard decisions so it’s a bit pointless to look at pictures. Yeah, I think there’s a great chance to make things better. I think we, as drivers, addressed our main points. Obviously it was very nice and very respectful that we had a sort of say or at least people asked our opinions for the first time ever in this kind of decision, the people who make the decisions asked our opinions. We were definitely pushing to keep things simple. We want closer racing. From our side, I think it’s very clear and then however the cars look, I guess it’s a bit secondary. I think if the racing is great and so on, then the cars will look great as well.
Q: Will the regulations for 2021 have a bearing on your future?
SV: Yeah, for sure. Obviously I don’t know how long the decision to stay with these kind of rules will be but obviously my contract now finishes next year. Everything after that is based on the new rules so for sure you have a look. As I said, I think it’s a huge chance for the sport to position itself in a better… or to be in a better place. Having said, it’s not that now everything is awful so I think we need to remember that. It’s a fine balance but every change is a chance – a chance to do better or worse and hopefully we do better.

Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) You spoke about the passion you saw from the Ferrari fans yesterday at the event. It’s been nine years since the tifosi have been able to cheer on a Ferrari driver to victory here at Monza. How much will it mean to you to end that drought and take that win and be up on that podium?
SV: Well, we’ve been on the podium a couple of times but never on the top step, not that it’s a big thing. This is the biggest race for us, no doubt. It’s a big weekend. Obviously we saw the passion that there is yesterday and I’m sure we will see it throughout the weekend. So hopefully I’m sure it will give us a boost, how much, we will see. I mentioned before, it’s difficult to predict but certainly I think now is the time to sort of over-deliver. Yeah, it’s a big weekend so hopefully we can make it count this time. I think we have a good chance, so we will see. We’re ready, I guess.

Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Just along the same sort of lines: Sebastian does this race offer you your best realistic chance of ending your drought, if we can call it that: twelve months now since your last win. Must it be this weekend?
SV: I don’t think so. I think we have lots of races ahead but I’m not looking to… I don’t know, where I am in ten races time; this is the weekend I’m focused on. As I said, we’re not the clear favourites. Obviously there are signs that we are aware of and put us in a good position but I think we have to be carefully optimistic and realistic. There’s a lot of elements during a Grand Prix that can make a difference. One lap is one thing but then obviously there’s a lot of laps on Sunday, plus the weather, plus, plus, plus. There are a lot of things. I don’t see it that way, I see it as a chance, simple as that, but then again, I think you always have a chance when you’re on the grid no matter where you start from but surely we want to make sure we start from the front which gives you a higher chance and then carry that into the race.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Charles, obviously it was a great day in your life to win your first Formula One race, albeit laden with other emotions but is there anything that you’ve done in the last few days to celebrate or bought yourself anything, and what does it feel like, generally, in your mind to be a Formula One winner?
CL: No, I haven’t done much to celebrate that. Hopefully I will be able to celebrate after this one. As I said earlier, there was not much time to celebrate anything.
SV: He asked what you bought.
CL: I didn’t buy anything.
SV: They tell me you bought a boat!
CL: No, no, that’s not true! Obviously it feels good, it’s something that – until you get it, it feels very far away but once you have it it feels obviously very, very good and it gives you a bit of a confidence boost too, so it’s great. Now it’s done and I can focus on the future and hopefully many more will come.

Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Nico, you didn’t always have the best of luck this season but suddenly in Spa that seemed to change. I think Pierre locked up, Antonio crashed out, Lando did not finish. Might that be a turning point for you in that season and do you feel you need a turning point in order to secure a seat for 2020?
NH: If you look across a year, it levels out with luck. Sometimes it’s on your side, sometimes it’s against you. In Spa we did get lucky. We picked up two positions from other people who were unfortunate but yeah, I believe it does somehow, across a year, level out one way or another. I don’t think it needs to change for me to secure a seat. I just need to do my job, for me to focus on it and extract what I can from the car and basically perform. I think then it will all be good.

Q: (Stephane Barbe – L’Equipe) Seb, we’ve seen in Spa a tense game in qualifying with drivers going slowly, looking for a good tow. Do you think you could have the same here in Monza, and what is the importance of the slipstream here in Monza in qualifying and the race?
SV: Yeah, obviously if you look on paper, this is the place where you expect this kind of strange games. Yeah, there’s very little you can do to sort of prepare because it depends on the timing of the session. Here I think the lap is a bit shorter so maybe it buys you a bit more flexibility but yeah, we’ll see on Saturday. I don’t know if it’s going to be dry or wet but obviously in the wet there’s no point, not as much as in the dry. Yeah, it does make a difference, how much it’s difficult to quantify but certainly last year it made a difference and yeah, you need to be on the good side, obviously, and it also depends a bit on tyres, whether it’s easy to prepare them or whether it’s really critical. And then you need to make the trade between tyres being in the right window or being in position for the tow. Could be entertaining but you also hope that obviously you get a nice shot, at least one of the two.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Pierre, in a way, could it be more relaxing for you, driving for Toro Rosso than for Red Bull?
PG: No. I think as a driver you always need to deliver the best of yourself with the car you have. Targets are exactly the same on my performance side.

September 6, 2019
F1 2019: Austrian Gp Review – Verstappen & Formula 1 Win

What a difference seven days can make. From the doldrums of France Formula 1 was transformed, albeit for one race, into the sport that so many millions have come to adore. Drama, some controversy, and adrenaline-charged overtakes dominated all of the 71 laps of Austrian grand prix.

Saturday qualifying was bittersweet for Ferrari as Charles Leclerc secured a dominant pole position. However, a mechanical issue stopped Seb Vettel from participating in the final session of qualifying and left him to start the race at the lower end of the top ten. Lewis Hamilton, second quickest in quali, was demoted to fourth for blocking Alfa Romeo driver Kimi Raikkonen in qualifying. This promoted Max Verstappen to the front of the grid and put him in the perfect position to, at least, secure a podium at Red Bull’s home race.

For only the second time in his career Leclerc lined up in the pole position. And just as in Bahrain earlier this season he aced the start. It wasn’t the same for Verstappen whose anti-stall kicked in and dropped him to seventh place on Lap 1. Behind the race leader Valtteri Bottas took up second while McLaren’s ever-impressive Lando Norris briefly challenged Lewis Hamilton for third.

Kimi Raikkonen too made a good start to run as high as fourth while Vettel rocketed off the line into sixth by the end of the first lap. Several fantastic fights dominated the opening stint of the race as Verstappen and Vettel fought their way through the field. It was far more serene at the front for Leclerc who’d built a healthy lead over the two Mercedes by Lap 20.

Record-high temperatures in Europe severely limited Mercedes performance in Austria as they suffered with cooling issues nearly from the first lap of the race. Their need to lift and coast into the corners severely hampered their pace meant that neither Bottas nor Hamilton was ever in contention for the win.

It was clear that the Ferrari thrived in the hotter condition but still errors abounded. As Vettel pulled into the pitlane for his first stop the Ferrari mechanics were late out of the garage and lost Vettel precious seconds over his nearest rivals. Ferrari later confirmed that a communication malfunction as the reason for the tardy stop. Meanwhile Hamilton was forced to take a new front-wing at his stop after damaging it on the exit kerb of Turn 9.

As things settled after the round of pitstops the Red Bull of Verstappen came alive. Despite holding a clear power deficit to the Ferrari Verstappen scythed past Vettel’s Ferrari for third. A handful of laps later the Dutch driver saw of second placed Bottas and set off after race leader Leclerc. A five second gap was reduced to a few tenths of a second in just a handful of laps by Verstappen’s blistering pace.

On Lap 68 Verstappen stole into the lead of the race but it was only momentarily as Leclerc fourth back and regained the lead. One lap later, and to the utter euphoria of the vast amount of Dutch fans, Verstappen moved to the inside of Turn 4, briefly touched wheels with Leclerc, and seized the lead of the race. This victory was sixth of Verstappen’s career and easily his most impressive to date. It was also Honda’s first win since returning to F1.

Stewards subsequently investigated the move for the lead between Verstappen and Leclerc after the race. More than two hours later Stewards ruled that no further action would be taken and the result would stand. While there will be many who hold the argument that the move deserved a penalty, it simply didn’t. Considering it purely technically it was clear that Verstappen had the racing line, was alongside Leclerc turning into the apex and he did not open his steering to force the Ferrari off the track. From on-board footage it was evident that Leclerc had left the door open and lost the corner. For Formula 1 too it was the correct decision. Just as in Canada this move in Austria did not warrant a penalty. It was a spectacular drive by Verstappen and Ferrari and Leclerc ought to take it on the chin and try again in Silverstone.

While Bottas brought his Mercedes home in third Vettel, after a late stop, recovered to fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and accepted that his car was limited by the conditions. It was another stellar day for Lando Norris in sixth with Pierre Gasly trundling home in seventh. If Pierre Gasly wasn’t under pressure to maintain his Red Bull before the start of this race then he certainly is after it. The French driver out-qualified by a McLaren, a Haas, and both Alfa Romeos and he didn’t fare any better in Sunday’s race. In fact, despite Verstappen dropping down the field on Lap 1 Gasly still found himself lapped by his teammate at the end of the race. The Austrian Gp is easily Gasly’s worst performance and it has undoubtedly edged him closer to being replaced. In fact, it is likely that the Red Bull management has given him until Hungarian grand prix, before the summer break, to drastically improve his or face the axe.

Carlos Sainz underlined McLaren’s clear progress by finishing in eighth despite starting at the back of the grid. Kimi Raikkonen was ninth for Alfa Romeo while his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi finished tenth and scored the first point of his F1 career.

For nearly all of the Austrian Gp the eventual winner was a mystery. It was chock-full of overtaking and brilliant performance up and down the field. This may only be one race but this is what Formula 1 can and should be. Whether this will carry forward to the rest of the season is unknown but one thing is certain Max Verstappen delivered a stellar drive, the best of his career, and there is more where that came from.

July 1, 2019
F1 2019: Baku Gp Review – Bottas 2.0 Wins Again

Since joining the Mercedes team at the start of the 2017 season Valtteri Bottas has had impressive races. But there was recognition by all other drivers that if you show him a front wheel he’d, embarrassingly, give way. But the Valtteri Bottas that has been unleashed at the start of the 2019 season is far removed from the driver of the last two seasons.

Finns are notoriously measured in how much they say and at the start of Sunday’s Baku grand prix Bottas let his peerless driving do all the talking. The manner in which he held his car inches from teammate Hamilton made it clear that he wasn’t going to budge nor was going to simply give up the lead of the race if he could help it. His statement was clear – you’re going to have to go through me. That tenacity kept him the lead of the race off the start line and he backed it up with a faultless drive to secure the fifth win of his F1 career.

Mercedes, quite literally, could not have started the season in a more perfect manner than scoring a one-two victory in all four of the races so far in 2019. Operationally, there are no teams on the grid that can touch the might of Mercedes. They arrived on Friday genuinely unsure of their pace. It appeared that Ferrari easily had the measure of the circuit and a pace advantage that seemed insurmountable. But if nothing else Mercedes must be respected and lauded for the stunning work they do behind the scenes.

If it’s organizational brilliance at Mercedes then at Ferrari it is the calamitous opposite. The dubious decision to put both cars out on the medium compound tyre for the second session of qualifying was the beginning of Ferrari’s unraveling this weekend. Not only was the track temperature not conducive to the medium tyre but also strategically it made little sense for Sunday’s race, more on that later.

It resulted in both drivers hitting the turn 8 wall with Leclerc coming off worst with a wrecked front suspension. Vettel was able to carry on but only managed third on the grid after failing to cash in on the slipstream benefit. Ferrari had gone from a near guaranteed front-row locked out to third and eighth on grid.

But still they had a chance; At least until it came time to make their strategy call. Leclerc made decent headway on the more durable medium tyre in the opening stint of the race and looked set for good result, perhaps even a podium. But Ferrari has become rather infamous for mad strategic calls and it was no different in Baku. They left Leclerc out on track despite the fact that he was losing, often, more than a second per lap to the chasing pack of Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel, and Verstappen. Eventually Bottas and Hamilton made their pitstops, closed down Leclerc and passed him on track. Leclerc eventually finished fifth with a strategy only Ferrari would be able to explain. A late pitstop for fresh tyres earned the Ferrari driver the consolation of an extra point for fastest lap.

Ahead Bottas had the race firmly in control despite a late VSC (Virtual Safety Car) deployed for the stricken Red Bull of Pierre Gasly. Elsewhere the other biggest incident of the race was a misjudgment on the brakes from Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who took out himself and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. To add to his blushes Ricciardo strangely reversed into side of Kvyat when trying to rejoin the track and has been given a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.

While Bottas and Hamilton secured yet another one-two victory for Mercedes Vettel trundled home third in the Ferrari. Though the German driver was only a handful of second adrift of the Silver Arrows it will be scant comfort on a weekend where Ferrari brought several updates to their car. Max Verstappen finished a solid fourth for Red Bull ahead of Leclerc in fifth.

Twice a podium finisher in Baku Sergio Perez was sixth for Racing Point ahead of the McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Lance Stroll made it a double-points finish for Racing Point in ninth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in tenth who started the race from the pitlane in his Alfa Romeo.

At the start of the season Valtteri Bottas noted that, during the off season, he’d spent a lot of time hiking in the Finnish woods and eating porridge. Whatever he discovered in those woods and whatever is in that porridge it has transformed Valtteri Bottas into an uncompromising and unapologetic racing machine. Long may it continue.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 29, 2019
2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS – Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo Racing), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Lance STROLL (Racing Point)

Q: Kevin, we’re going to start with you. We’ve seen dramatic races in each of the last two years here in Baku. How much do you as a driver enjoy the challenge of racing here?

Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I think it’s an exciting race. As you said, lots of action, lots of safety cars, and stuff like that in previous years. We’ll see — this year everyone is trying to go conservative, and maybe we’ll have a boring race. I don’t know. It’s a cool track, it’s fun to drive, and lots of good opportunity to overtake and race people, so yeah. A good place to go racing.

Q: We’re going to get all of your thoughts on this place. Lance, you’ve obviously had a podium here in the past — is it a place that holds fond memories for you?

Lance STROLL: Absolutely. A very memorable day — being on the podium was extremely special. Kevin said it — every year here there’s opportunity, the races are pretty chaotic, especially the last four or five laps. Last year, with the safety car restarts, there’s always positions up for grabs, so we’ll see what this year has to offer.

Q: Nico, you obviously haven’t had the results at this venue, but do you enjoy the challenge of racing here?

Nico HÜLKENBERG: I do. It’s a spectacular track, it’s super fast, it’s massively challenging, a little bit crazy as well, in a positive sense. Racing’s good with all the towing that’s going on, obviously into Turn One that’s your best shot, but the scenery, the setting, just makes for good racing. It’s pretty entertaining from inside the car as well here.

Q: Antonio, moving on to you. This will be your first time racing in Formula One here, but you had a double win in what was GP2 in 2016. How excited are you to get out there in an F1 car?

Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Yeah, it will be my first time in F1 but like you say I have good memories here. Back in 2016 I took my first in GP2 and then double win for the races. So I’m looking forward to it; I know it’s a difficult race, like Kevin said a lot of safety cars and a lot of things during the races, so yeah, looking forward to race here in F1.

Q: We’ll stay with you, Antonio. Frédéric Vasseur, your team principal, said he felt the team let you down in China. You’ve had three difficult races to start the season — do you feel that so far you haven’t been able to show your true potential this year?

AG: I think we are only in the beginning of the race, we are a team, and like the team is believing in me, I believe in the team. We need to just keep working and I’m sure the results will come.

Q: Nico, if we look at things from a Renault perspective, you’ve had a couple of DNFs, which you say are frustrating, but is it more a feeling of frustration at those results or encouragement at the pace the car has shown?

NH: A bit of both, to be honest. Obviously you have to have the hiccups and the DNFs, it’s not great. Especially in the early part of the season — it’s good to get points under your belt, just get them on your account. But on the good

side, the pace has been there. At every track that we’ve been to either both or one car has been in good positions and managed to score decent points, so we feel we have a strong baseline. Obviously the midfield is still very very tight, and the top three still seem well ahead. It’s about maintaining that, keeping momentum, and making sure we make the car faster week by week.

Q: Lance, moving on to you. Racing Point, or Force India as it was, has traditionally developed its car very well and come on strong during the season. What’s the atmosphere like in the team at the moment as you look to chase the pace of Renault and Haas?

LS: Yeah, that’s the goal. It’s a development race all the way to the end of the season. The midfield’s very tight; it’s not a secret. Every tenth counts at the moment, so that will be the focus for the rest of the season — to develop the car, try and pick up as many points as we can over the course of the year.

Q: Kevin, returning to you. Haas has shown some great pace in qualifying but struggled in races. Guenther Steiner seems a bit pessimistic about chances this weekend. Are you a bit more optimistic that you can be fighting for points here?

KM: I would say you always go into the weekend hopeful and positive, looking forward to it. Theoretically, it’s not a track that will in theory help our issues, or at least the issues that we think we have. But, again, we’ve scored points here with a slow car, and I don’t think we have a slow car this weekend. We have a fast car, it’s just that… You know, we’ve had both cars in Q3 at all three races this year and then we’ve been kind of like the second-slowest team in the race almost in all three races also, so there’s clearly an issue there that we need to fix. I hope and think that it will just be a matter of time until we find that problem.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Antonio, you mentioned during winter testing that you’re going to drive as much as possible like Kimi’s driving style in order to help the engineers with setup and development direction. Do you think that did any damage to your performance in terms of you not being able to follow your natural instincts?

AG: I don’t think so. I think in Melbourne we were fast and I just had an issue in the race with a crash on Turn One. Then in Bahrain I was just a half-tenth from Kimi and in China was just a difficult weekend – but so far I think it’s not to the main issue, I would say. Of course, Kimi has a different driving style from my one but, to be honest, we’re quite on the same way and so far we’ll keep working like that and I’m sure when the luck is also on our side, the result with come.

Q: (Valentin Khorounzhiy – motorsport.com) Question to Kevin. There seems to have been the suggestion that already there are some fixes in pace for your problem of tyre warm-up on the car in Baku. Can you elaborate what those fixes are – and do you expect a real, tangible impact from them here already?

KM: Well, we can’t say there’s been a fix. We’ve changed stuff and tried to come up with some things that could be the fix but it’s not like… it’s one of those things where you try to figure out what is the problem, and why it’s happening, and then you find solutions. I think we’re still in the process of understanding what exactly is the problem, and then after that we need to find a fix. So yeah, we have come here with some things that we hope can help the situation – but we will see how it goes.

Q: (Hector Sagues – Diariomotor.com) How much of an advantage has it been having Daniel Ricciardo in the team, compared with other team-mates at Renault in the last two seasons?

NH: Well, obviously he’s a very strong, good driver. Another thing in China, you saw he has arrived at Renault, feels more at home and can extract everything from the car. Obviously also very experienced and he has some real good feedback so far. Good thing is we feel the same way about the car and what we look for from the car and from the team, so I think it’s been fairly positive and very productive – so a good strong addition.

Q: Just on the topic of team-mates, for two of you it’s a new team-mate this year. Lance, what’s it like working with Sergio and coming to a circuit that he’s been particularly strong at in the past?

LS: So far, so good. He’s a very experienced driver, he’s been with the team a long time. We share a very similar opinion of where the car stands at the moment, and that’s always good to help the team develop for the future. So yeah, early days but we’ve been having a good working relationship up until now.

…And Antonio, you knew Kimi from your time working at Ferrari but any surprises racing alongside him in the same team?

AG: No. I think the same. To have Kimi as a team-mate is just a help for my side. He’s a World Champion driver with a lot of experience so it’s just good for me, good for the team as well for the feedback and the development of the car. Really happy to have him as my team-mate.

Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Question for Nico. We’ve seen you adopted a puppy. You posted it on your social media. Is that kind of a mascot because of all the bad luck you had in the last races?

NH: I think you want me to say yes – but not really. It’s just one of those things. I’ve been a dog fan for a long, long time and now felt it was time to get one. Not adopted, just got it

April 25, 2019
F1 2019: Bahrain Gp Review – Ferrari Falter in the Desert

As Formula 1 celebrated its 999^thrace in Bahrain through all of it what has remained true is the undeniable fact that it is the most unpredictable sport in the world.

The 2019 Bahrain grand prix dished up a cracking race filled to the brim with drama, overtakes, and astonishing turnarounds. For the first time in his fledging F1 career Charles Leclerc lined up in pole position for the start of a grand prix. As the 99^thpole sitter in the history of F1 the Monegasque driver did everything right. He outpaced not only the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Bottas but also showed his 4-time world champion teammate Vettel the way in qualifying. Still it was a big day for Ferrari. The front row lockout of the grid finally showed the pace that was indicated in pre-season testing but so conspicuously missing in Melbourne.

Leclerc didn’t make the best of start from pole and quickly fell behind Vettel and Bottas who had jumped his Merc teammate at the start. It was too long though before Leclerc fought his way back past Bottas and into second. Vettel seemed to clear off at the front but such was Leclerc’s pace that by lap 5 he’d let the team know that he was planning to go for the overtake. A lap later he drew alongside Vettel and a thrillingly inch perfect wheel-to-wheel battle ensued before Leclerc took the lead with a move around the outside of turn 4.

Leclerc opened a gap to Vettel relatively easily as the second Ferrari came under increasing pressure from Hamilton. While the first round of pitstops saw Hamilton ahead, thanks to the strategic undercut of pitting a lap earlier, the Merc driver began to struggle on the soft tyre. After the second round of stops the Ferrari and Merc were running in close proximity and ultimately the two went wheel-to-wheel in a breathtaking battle for position. Hamilton, with a slight pace advantage, got the job done around turn 4. It would end far worse for Vettel lost the rear of the Ferrari sending him into a spin. It was shades of 2018 all over again for the German driver who had flat-spotted his tyres so badly the vibrations caused the front-wing to detach itself.

For Leclerc it was easy-going in the lead of the race until lap 46 when he reported that there was something strange with the engine. The Ferrari pitwall confirmed that the MGU-H (Motor Generating Unit-Hybrid) had failed. It resulted in a loss of 160 horsepower and decimated any chance of converting pole position into his first race win. On lap 48 he was little more than a sitting duck as Hamilton overtook him for the lead. Credit to Hamilton who waved regretfully as he passed the young Ferrari driver. A handful of laps later he was passed by the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and looked set to relinquish the final step on the podium to Max Verstappen with two laps to go. But almost unbelievably both Renault’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo simultaneously retired within meters of each at turn 1 which prompted the appearance of the safety car.

As it were Lewis Hamilton scored the 74^thwin of his career ahead of teammate and championship leader Bottas. Some would term Hamilton’s win as lucky and they’d be right to a degree. Reliability has and always will be part of motorsport. But because Hamilton kept enough pressure on Vettel and ultimately overtook him for second on the track he placed himself in the right position to scoop up the win when Leclerc hit problems. That is simply the way the F1 story goes sometimes.

The late safety car meant that Leclerc maintained third place. There would be very few in the paddock or indeed in their living rooms around the world that wouldn’t have been gutted for the 21-year-old. For the entire weekend he’d done everything right only to find out was a cruel mistress Formula 1 can truly be. The good news is that Leclerc has enormous potential and a second chance to secure that first race win will come soon.

Max Verstappen ran a fairly anonymous race for Red Bull and finished fourth while Vettel recovered to fifth. Lando Norris underlined his talent with a fine sixth place finish in the McLaren while Kimi Raikkonen pulled the Alfa Romeo to a seventh place finish. Pierre Gasly recovered from a sub-par quali performance to finish eighth as Alexander Albon in the Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez in the Racing Point finished ninth and tenth respectively.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

April 3, 2019
F1 2019: Australian GP Preview – Ready to go

It’s been an awfully long wait but the start of the 2019 season is here. Twenty-one races, several countries and continents and a excess of expectation await.

Everyone is clamouring to understand and predict the pecking order and while there is a rough idea of who sits where, at least at the top, Formula 1 has always been better when it’s been unpredictable. Still, the probability is that Ferrari are a smidge ahead of Mercedes on pace. But given the unique layout of Australia’s circuit this may not count for much.

The traditional season-opener around the semi-permanent Albert Park circuit is unlike any other on the calendar and thus makes it an outlier in terms of performance. The fiddly track is akin to a street circuit albeit with a bit more run off area should the odd mistake arise. The layout comprises a mixture of medium speed corners and places an emphasis on stability under the braking. It is highly possible for a car to go well around this circuit and not truly be one in the running come Abu Dhabi in December but there are still 25 points for the one who sees the chequered flag first which makes it as important as any of the races in the line-up.

New for 2019 are the aero regulations surrounding the front and rear wing area of the car as well as the simplification of the barge boards. In addition, three colours have replaced the rainbow selection of tyre compounds for this season. White, yellow, and red will make up the range of compounds with white being the hardest of the weekend, yellow the medium, and red the softest tyre available.

It’s a big year for the teammates. At Mercedes Valtteri Bottas has to impress Toto Wolff and co enough to keep Esteban Ocon out of his seat. Not in the Finn’s favour is the fact that in order to do so he has to beat, or at least match, his teammate and five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. It’s a tall order for the Bottas but his task is crystal clear.

At Ferrari expectations are high for young Charles Leclerc too. All indications are that the Monegasque driver has all the speed he needs to well at the Italian team but it remains to be seen how he’ll handle the pressure of racing for the most famous mark in motorsport.

The rivalry between Max Verstappen and his new teammate Pierre Gasly hasn’t been given as much attention as the previous two but is no less intriguing. The French driver arrives from Toro Rosso where he easily had the beating of Brendon Hartley. It will be significantly more difficult to consistently out-perform someone like Verstappen.

All of this and the incredibly tight battle for mid-field supremacy hasn’t even made into the conversation yet. While Williams, now sans technical director Paddy Lowe, are unfortunately expected to prop up the rear of the grid the battle between the likes of Renault, Haas, and Alfa Romeo appears especially tight. The most important thing that needs to be known, for now, is that Formula 1 2019 is here.

March 13, 2019
F1 2019: Ferrari Announce 2019 Driver

It has been announced that the Ferrari team has employed the services of Pascal Wehrlein as development driver for the 2019 season.

The role was filled by Daniil Kvyat and Antonio Giovinazzi in 2018 to great effect. However, with Kvyat returning to Toro Rosso for 2019 and Giovinazzi set to make his debut for Alfa Romeo Sauber it leaves Ferrari with an important vacancy.

Wehrlein has previously been in the thick of the F1 action with stints at both Manor, in 2016, and Sauber, in 2017. Wehrlein scored one point at the Austrian grand prix for Manor in 2016 before making the move to Sauber the following season. He was replaced by Giovinazzi for the first two races of 2017 after suffering an injury at the Race of Champions. He managed to score five points for Sauber in a generally unimpressive showing. During this time the German was under contract as a Mercedes driver however this agreement was not renewed at the conclusion of 2018.

In addition to his role at Ferrari Wehrlein is also committed to the Formula E series with the Mahindra team for 2019.

January 8, 2019
F1 2017: Chinese Gp Review – Hamilton Wins For Mercedes In China

Just about the only thing that was predictable for the 14^th running of the Chinese grand prix is that Lewis Hamilton started from pole position alongside the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel while Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen locked out the second row of the grid.

Friday’s running at the Shanghai International Circuit was abandoned due to weather conditions prohibiting the medical helicopter from landing at the designated hospital in Shanghai. It meant that teams and drivers entered into Sunday’s race with only the data and knowledge of the one-hour final practice session and whatever number of laps they completed in qualifying.

The weather conditions on Sunday were best described as dank as the field started the race on intermediate tyres. The only exception to this was Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso who opted to start the race on the dry, supersoft tyre, much to this dismay of his engineers. While the circuit was wet in some parts it was drying quickly in others and the intermediates were discarded within four laps.

A virtual safety car was deployed for the recovery of Lance Stroll’s Williams, which had been dumped off the circuit by Sergio Perez. It is at this point that Ferrari decided to call Sebastian Vettel into the pits for a change of boots. Unfortunately, a full safety car would be deployed shortly after to clear the heavily damaged Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi. This afforded race leader Hamilton a free pitstop while Vettel was stuck behind a Verstappen/Ricciardo/Raikkonen train.

While Vettel launched a bid for recovery, Hamilton was comfortable at the front and without any real pressure, he could control his pace. The cooler temperatures also played into Mercedes’ hand as it means less tyre degradation.

Despite finishing second to Hamilton, Vettel delivered a telling performance in the Ferrari. Take into account that Hamilton had a free pitstop under the safety car, and factor in that Vettel lost a good amount of time behind the Ricciardo train. The fact that he finished only six seconds off Hamilton indicates that Ferrari had a car that could’ve won the race.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen brilliantly recovered his race and went from sixteenth to finish third ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo in fourth. The sister Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen finished in a frustrated fifth. While the Finn struggled through the race with an intermittent power issue, the Ferrari pit wall compounded his frustration by calling an absurd strategy. Their inexplicable decision left Raikkonen out while all the front-running drivers made their stops while the driver was adamant that the tyres would not make it to the end of the race. From the radio messages, it was clear that Raikkonen had to force the issue and he eventually pitted, what was ten laps too late.

There weren’t a high a number of overtakes in this year’s race but what we did see were several pretty spectacular overtakes. There were two from Vettel, one on his own teammate, and one around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo. There were several from Max Verstappen too and an especially spicy one from Romain Grosjean around the outside of turn two on Felipe Massa. The point is that while there weren’t a 100 passes, there were genuine and very bold overtakes that came about as a result of some driver heroics instead of being aided by DRS.

While conditions flattered Red Bull on the day Valtteri Bottas did not cover himself in glory as he spun out of contention early on. The Finn eventually finished sixth. Sainz, who had started the race on supersofts, drove brilliantly to recover from an early spin and finish a spectacular seventh. Kevin Magnussen delivered Haas’ first points of the season in eighth ahead of the two Force India’s of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon in ninth and tenth.

Neither McLaren saw the chequered flag as first Stoffel Vandoorne retired with a fuel-pressure issue and later Fernando Alonso pulled off the track with a driveshaft failure.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel head to the Bahrain Gp this weekend equal on 43 points. The hotter temperatures in Bahrain will boost Ferrari’s challenge in what is sure to be an enthralling battle with Mercedes.

April 10, 2017
2017 Chinese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

PART TWO: DRIVERS – Antonio GIOVINAZZI (SAUBER), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (FERRARI), Carlos SAINZ (TORO ROSSO)

Q: Kimi, let’s start with you… you finished fourth in Melbourne despite a few handling problems during the race. How confident are you of challenging at the front this weekend?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Well, I think we learned a lot, we understand quite a bit and kind of everything came a bit late. And obviously then you don’t get a very good result. I mean comparing to the last few years it was far from a disaster. Yes, we had some difficulties and we know afterwards that we could have been much faster but still, as a team, we did a pretty solid job and yeah, we got some points – but new place, new circuit, so we’ll see.

Q: Sebastian said a moment ago that he thinks Mercedes are still favourites coming into this weekend. Is that how you see it – or will the rain mix things up?

KR: I don’t know who it will be. We haven’t driven a single lap with the new cars here, so who knows. I think we have had a pretty good package, and feeling with the car whichever place we’ve been but it’s pointless to start guessing who’s going to be in front, who’s not. We will see over the weekend and Sunday we’ll hopefully be a little bit smarter.

Q: You haven’t driven the new cars here but you have driven yours in the wet when the track was artificially watered in the Barcelona test. How was it then?

KR: It wasn’t like proper wet. It’s always hard to make the same conditions if it’s raining outside like it is now or just dumping water on the circuit, so it’s a bit tricky to get the best idea. Plus we have different tyres here for the wet. It’s a bit unknown but the same for everybody. Usually if the car is good on try it’s not too bad in the wet either. We have to wait and see but I think in any condition we should be OK.

Q: Antonio, congratulations on a tremendous first grand prix in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. How do you reflect on it now?

Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Thank you. It was a special weekend. It was my first F1 grand prix. Dream came true. Since I was a kid the dream was to arrive in F1 and to drive there was a fantastic experience, fantastic weekend. It was a quite late call on Saturday morning but I really enjoyed everything I did from FP3 to quali to race. So, I will never forget – and to be here already, to start from FP1 will be more easy. And also to have the experience from Melbourne will make everything a lot more easy. It will be a different race weekend though. The weather also looks difficult. So, it will be maybe wet and also to have some experience in the wet conditions will be good. What I can do is to do my best and hope the result can be good like Melbourne.

Q: What’s your deal with the Sauber team, how many races are you going to do for them?

AG: I’m the third driver of Ferrari. Now we just think race-by-race. I had the call here on Tuesday and I’m here to race for Sauber but already from next week I will be back in red with the Scuderia Ferrari – but then we will see in the future.

Q: So no news on Bahrain yet?

AG: Not yet.

Q: Physically, how tough was the Australian Grand Prix for you?

AG: Of course I keep training in the winter so I arrive there quite prepared. To be honest at the end of the race was not easy but I expected it to be more difficult. Here I think it will be a little bit tough because the track has a lot longer corners so for the neck it will be not easy – but I was training last week and hope to also be OK here.

Q: Carlos, a good result for Toro Rosso in Melbourne; both cars in the points, yourself eighth. How confident are you of maintaining that form going forward?

Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, I think it was a really good weekend for the team after a very tough winter. I think we were the team to only just do more laps than McLaren so it was also an extremely tough winter in Barcelona for us and to turn up to the first race and put both cars in the points, and in Q3, was a success, definitely, so it just shows that the car has a lot of potential and that we can only get better from here. Shanghai will be a bit tougher because it has a bit of a longer straight than Melbourne but I think we can be happy with the first race and we can start from there.

Q: Can you give us your thoughts on the current Renault engine and how it compares to the two-year old Ferrari that the team used last year?

CS: Well, for me it feels great because last year was very painful and all the second half of the season we were something like 15-16-17kph down on the straight compared to our direct competitors. Suddenly, to start the first race and to see yourself 7-8kph back, even six or five in some cases was really good news and something grateful to experience but definitely, as you can see, we are still one step behind the leaders in that regard, or the best engines in that regard, so I have the trust that Renault are working hard on that upgrade package coming to Canada and that can give us the extra 3,4,5 kph that can put us back in a normal, standard top speed deficit.

Q: Kimi, coming back to you, a lot has been made of the physicality of this new breed of Formula One car; how does it compare to the cars that you drove in the mid-noughties, 2005, 2004? Are they more physical than back then?

KR: It’s very hard to compare. It’s a long time ago, I suppose. It depends a lot on the different circuits, conditions and everything and how the tyres will last and obviously these last better and you can push more. I think the key point is that as we do more running, more racing, we get used to it and it’s not a big deal but at the start of the year, when you do the first test, it’s a bit of a surprise but that’s how it usually is after the winter. At least in Melbourne it didn’t feel any different but it’s amazing how quickly you get used to all the things and it feels absolutely normal. I’m sure somewhere it will be more harder than last year but that’s how it is.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To Antonio Giovinazzi: do you think if you score a point this weekend it would change your career?

AG: It’s a good question. Of course it would change but it will be important for me, for my mind. Of course the result we also had in Melbourne, P12, was a good result and yeah, to improve the result from Melbourne is to take… to score a point will be difficult but I will try my best and score a point.

Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Antonio, how would you describe your driving style?

AG: My driving style? I don’t know. I’m quite calm, I think, normal driving style. My strong part, I think, in GP2 was – in the race – to save the tyres. In Melbourne, I didn’t have much experience so maybe I was too slow in the beginning of the race but of course here I will improve, to already have FP1 and FP2 will be good to see how is the degradation, to have a feeling with the car so I hope I can do a better job in the race here.

Q: (Michael Lamonato – Class Act Media) To all three of you: there’s a lot being made about the difficulty of overtaking this season. There was maybe only a handful of passing manoeuvres in Australia. Do you think the new regulations will make attempting an overtake maybe a bit more of a braver thing; will you have to put more on the line now to pass a car and will that contribute to the spectacle of racing?

KR: Every circuit is different, obviously. Melbourne has always been difficult to overtake and of course when you maybe have the fastest car and the slowest car you get round it very easily but I think in China here, usually overtaking is easier so I think we have to wait and see how it is here and then see if it’s harder or less easy than we expected but I think when you have two fast cars against each other, it doesn’t matter if it’s last year or this year, it’s always going to be hard to get past. The other factor is that there is less tyre drop-off so obviously after the pit stops there is a much smaller difference between the speed of the cars because of that so there are all those things which in the end make a difference.

CS: I think it’s definitely a bit more difficult compared to last year but I think it’s a price that is worth paying for, having these cars which are a lot faster and these tyres that are allowing you to push a lot more. At least, myself I have been doing a lot more on the race but also if you would put one-stop races last year, I don’t think you would have seen many overtakings so I think it’s more dependent on pit stops than on the cars of this year.

Q: Antonio, how much harder is it to overtake in Formula One compared to GP2?

AG: To be honest it’s quite different, you know. In GP2 we all have similar cars, only one strategy, only one pit stop so I think GP2 was a good category for overtaking but to be honest I think here in Shanghai with the longer straight it will be easier than in Melbourne but to be honest, I didn’t have much experience compared to last year so what I say is not much to take into account so GP2 was good, F1 I don’t have much experience of so after this race I can tell you better.

Q: (Veljko Jukic – Auto Focus) Kimi, when we look at a race today, how of your concentration is spent on taking care of tyres, on fuel consumption and on pure racing?

KR: Obviously it depends a lot on the conditions and the circuit that we’re on. Some circuits you have to do some fuel saving, some not at all. Obviously it is a big part of those races and it’s the same with the tyres, some circuits are much better for tyres that they don’t degrade so much. You can’t really say that every place is the same. Each place is a special place and it’s different to the previous race and the next race so some days you can go full out for the whole race, some you have to take care of things or maybe if you have an issue then obviously that creates another story. So to really go full out is not an awful lot during the year, it is not often for the whole race. It’s a nice feeling for all of us, I think, when we can really go full speed all the time and not really worry about tyres or fuel, just try and race against it.

Q: (Veljko Jukic – Auto Focus) Do you have to take care of fuel consumption?

KR: Sometimes, it depends on the circuit, obviously. I think it’s the same for all the cars. Between the engines and the cars there’s small differences but I’m sure the places that we have to fuel save the others will also, it’s the same for them.

Q: (Andreas Haupt – Auto Motor und Sport) Antonio, did you set yourself any specific goals, targets for this weekend? For example, beating Marcus or is it just about relaxing for you?

AG: Just as you say, maybe relaxing and enjoying of course and getting more experience. After one race is not enough to set a target so I need to just drive and take experience and do my best and then we will see the results on Sunday.

Q: (Marc Surer – Sky Germany) Kimi, in Barcelona you seemed to do easily the fastest time. It didn’t work out in Melbourne in the race. Are this year’s cars more difficult to set up?

KR: In the race I did fastest lap. It was only one lap and I was a bit light but… No, I don’t think it’s any more difficult to set up this year than any other year but I don’t also think it’s ever going to be easy to find the best set-up. Sometimes you might end up when you go on a new circuit that just happens to be right and you just fine-tune it a little bit but for many different small reasons we never really got it right and it just makes a big difference, at least on circuits like Melbourne, the corners that there are. If it’s not right you’re going to give an awful lot of lap time. That was really the end story. Obviously with big enough understeer you have a little bit more unknown stories from testing still, you never have time to do everything plus you do testing in one place so you kind of end up being in a similar area with the car all testing long, so going to a new place you have to be much more and obviously they are much more experienced now and I think it should be fine now.

Q: (Michael Lamonato – Class Act Media) Antonio, it’s rare for a reserve driver to get a racing opportunity. How are you approaching this race compared to the last race in the sense that… are you treating it like a CV for a race drive next year or is it really just about you filling in the race seat and getting the job done for Sauber?

AG: Yeah, I’m the third driver of Ferrari. Now I’m back here in China. Of course I have more time to prepare for the race so already from FP1 compared to Melbourne and yeah, I just need to take experience, do a lot of laps and of course about next year, this year is still too early to speak. I’m really glad to drive here so I need to say thanks to Scuderia Ferrari and Sauber for this opportunity and I need to just drive and gain experience.

April 6, 2017