F1 Madness

Tag: carlos sainz

  • F1 2019: Mexican Gp Review – Hamilton one step closer

    F1 2019: Mexican Gp Review – Hamilton one step closer

    The Mexican grand prix had all the makings for a potentially epic showdown for the race win. Unfortunately none of it ever materialized.

    On Saturday Max Verstappen set the quickest time in qualifying for only the second time in his career. But failing to slow under yellow flags, brought out by Valtteri Bottas’s crashed Mercedes meant that race stewards demoted the Dutchman to fourth on the grid. The irony is that Verstappen may just have gotten away with it had he not boasted about failing to slow under the yellow flag in the subsequent post-quali press conference. It was rather arrogant manner of declaring that not slowing didn’t really matter that prompted stewards to call him and award him a three-place grid penalty.

    Verstappen is an exciting talent who, potentially, has the speed to become an F1 champion one day. However, his approach to this incident, and some others, is foolish. There can be absolutely no judgment call from any driver when it comes to the safety of marshals or other drivers. Claiming that drivers are well aware and capable is certainly true but it is not acceptable reasoning for ignoring safety protocols. These safety protocols have been instituted as a result of Formula 1 learning hard and painful lessons not least of all with the crash and death of Jules Bianchi. Therefore to dismiss the safety protocols are not only arrogant it is deeply disrespectful.

    2019 Mexican GPVerstappen’s grid drop translated to a front-row lock out for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc led teammate Sebastian Vettel off the starting line. The two were relatively evenly matched. Behind the Ferrari pair Hamilton, starting third, battled with Verstappen to the point of touching and running off track. This allowed Alex Albon and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz to slip through while Hamilton was now fourth and Verstappen down in eighth.

    There was a brief delay in the action as a virtual safety car was deployed to clear debris from the Hamilton/Verstappen clash. Racing resumed with Verstappen surprising Bottas with an overtake into the hairpin in the stadium section. Unfortunately for the Red Bull driver his right-rear wheel was clipped by Bottas’s front-wing endplate resulting in a puncture that eventually dropped him dead last.

    Up ahead Leclerc was holding off teammate Vettel by 1.5 seconds with Albon running comfortably in third. The Thai driver was the first to take to the pitlane on lap 15 with Leclerc following a lap later, both drivers opting for a two-stop strategy. Mercedes called in Hamilton on lap 24 and fitted the hard compound tyre with the aim of running to the end of the 71 lap race. Hamilton wasn’t convinced that the tyres would last the distance but was repeatedly reassured that the plan would work.

    Meanwhile Vettel and Bottas extended their first stints on the medium compound and only stopped for new rubber on laps 37 and 38 respectively. All indications were that the pair of them, with significantly fresher tyres, would cruise up to the back of race leader Hamilton and pass the number 44 Mercedes. However, the big showdown never materialized as Hamilton brilliantly managed his tyres all the way to the chequered flag for race win number 83. While Hamilton’s ability to run a 48 lap stint on a single set of tyres was impressive there is something for F1 to consider and Pirelli to consider here – it does little for the ‘show’ if one set of tyres lasts for two-thirds of a race.

    2019 Mexican GPIt was a bit of a missed opportunity for Ferrari as Vettel’s pace was easily a match for Hamilton. But they needed to be sharper on their strategy calls to make the difference in Mexico. Valtteri Bottas took the final step of the podium and delayed Hamilton from securing the driver’s title. Leclerc brought the second Ferrari home in fourth ahead of Albon in fifth while Verstappen recovered impressively to sixth.

    A jubilant Mexican crowd cheered home Sergio Perez in an outstanding seventh place while Daniel Ricciardo brought his Renault home in eighth. Pierre Gasly was ninth for Toro Rosso ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in tenth despite a late acquaintance with barriers. Daniil Kvyat was awarded a ten-second time penalty for punting Hulkenberg into the barriers in the final corner.

    Four points is all that Lewis Hamilton will need in Texas this weekend to become a six-time champion.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • 2019 Mexican Gp Preview: Bottas vs. Hamilton

    2019 Mexican Gp Preview: Bottas vs. Hamilton

    Only four races remain in the 2019 Formula 1 season and in this weekend’s Mexican grand prix only two drivers are still in contention to win the driver’s title.

    The result at the Japanese grand prix not only secured Mercedes a monumental sixth consecutive constructors crown but also insured that only Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas are in contention for the driver’s championship. Bottas’s victory in Japan was impressive but he still trails teammate Hamilton by 64 points with a maximum of 104 available in the last four races. It’s is a enormous gap to overhaul and Bottas himself knows that in order to do so he’ll need some luck on his side. “Everything’s possible although I’m realistic as well that I will need to be very lucky, that’s a fact, to win all the rest of the races but I don’t really think about that much at this point,” said Bottas.

    For Hamilton the prospect of a sixth crown looms larger than ever and he could clinch it this weekend. If he outscores Bottas by 14 points he will secure the title. But given the layout and characteristics of Mexico’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it may not be all in Mercedes hands this weekend.

    The 71 laps of the Mexican grand prix will be run around the 4.304 km circuit situated in the heart of Mexico City. One of its most striking features is that sits nearly two kilometers above sea level. The high altitude, and subsequently thinner air, somewhat dulls the power output of the power unit but the long straits will still reward those with an advantage in the engine department. It has evident for some time now that Ferrari has surpassed Mercedes in terms of power output and delivery. And since turning a metaphorical corner in Singapore they have looked in much better shape, pace wise. It means that the prancing horses could well be the team to beat this weekend which plays more into Bottas’s hands than it does Hamilton.

    Mexican GPTraditionally, Red Bull would be expected to be at the sharp end in Mexico given that Max Verstappen has won here the last two years. However, the Dutchman seems less than enthused about his chances. “I don’t think there’s one track left this season where we can do a particularly good job. Several incidents since the summer break and an overall lack of pace has seen Verstappen drift away from the frontrunners. “So I think if we can fight for the podium [in Mexico] this time around, we’ve done a good job,” added Verstappen.

    Much of the crowd in attendance will be there to cheer on one of their own in the shape of Sergio Perez. Checo, as he is affectionately known, made his F1 debut for Sauber in 2011. His performances were impressive enough to net him a drive with McLaren for 2013 during which fifth was his highest placed finish. The early version of Checo Perez was often overly aggressive but his speed was evident too. It wasn’t enough for McLaren who cut the Mexican loose at the end of 2013. He took up with Force India, now Racing Point, and delivered some truly memorable performances including several stunning podium finishes. He is contracted to remain at Racing Point until the end of 2022. At 29 years old he chance at driving for a top team has likely gone but he is no less beloved in his native Mexico whom are likely to be out in full force and garb this weekend.

  • F1 2019: Japanese Gp – Bottas Dominates at Suzuka

    F1 2019: Japanese Gp – Bottas Dominates at Suzuka

    The 2019 Japanese grand prix weekend was one with a twist. Not least of all because qualifying was moved to Sunday morning in order to avoid the worst of Typhoon Hagibis.

    Given the layout of the Suzuka circuit it came as a bit of surprise when Ferrari locked out the front row of the grid with Seb Vettel and Charles Leclerc respectively. Mercedes shared the second row but with Bottas out-qualifying teammate Lewis Hamilton for the first time since the summer break. Amazingly, Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Alex Albon set the exact same laptime in the final part of qualifying and shared the third row of the grid.

    For Ferrari it was a morning of celebration but they knew they had their work cut out to beat a Mercedes pair who had shown impressive pace in the Friday practice sessions. It all went terribly pear-shaped for the Scuderia as Vettel appeared to jump the start only to slam on the brakes and take off again a split second later. But the hesitation was enough to allow Bottas into the lead.

    Elsewhere, Leclerc was so focused on beating Vettel into turn 1 he seemingly forgot about the chasing pack. A collision between himself and Verstappen dropped him to the back of the field and later forced the Dutchman into retirement. Initially, the incident did not warrant further investigation according to the stewards. However, led by ‘Mr. Le Mans’ they later changed their minds and opted to investigate the incident after the race. Subsequently, Leclerc was given a five second penalty for causing a collision and another ten-second penalty for failing to heed the FIA’s directive to pit his damaged car.

    2019 Japanese GPIn the lead Valtteri Bottas increased the gap lap-by-lap until he built a more than seven second advantage over Vettel. Ferrari attempted to switch up the strategy by opting for soft tyres in the second stint of Vettel’s race but it was clear that the Ferrari just didn’t have the pace to live with Bottas. As it were Vettel just held off a late charge from Hamilton to finish second. Nevertheless, a first and third for Mercedes, with a bonus point to Hamilton for fastest lap, meant that they secured the constructor’s championship title for a staggering sixth consecutive time. The results in Japan means that Mercedes will also retain the driver’s title as only their two drivers remain in contention for the prize.

    Alex Albon delivered his best finish in fourth for Red Bull while the ever-impressive Carlos Sainz racked up another fifth place finish for McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo crossed the finish line in sixth while teammate Nico Hulkenberg was tenth. However, the result remains in question after Racing Point lodged a protest against the Renault team. Leclerc ended up seventh after the application of his penalties while Pierre Gasly finished eighth for Toro Rosso. Despite being punted into the barriers Sergio Perez was still classified in ninth thanks to a timing glitch, which saw the chequered flag deployed one lap early. The mid-field entertained all day with a plethora of overtaking.

    It’s been a long wait for Bottas whose last race win came on the streets of Azerbaijan in late April. This win, and especially his dominance over teammate Hamilton, will do his psyche the world of good. A 64-point gap is a monumental one to overhaul but if this Valtteri Bottas shows up at the last four race weekends it certainly isn’t impossible.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • 2019 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Nico HULKENBERG (Renault), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Carlos SAINZ (McLaren), George RUSSELL (Williams)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: George, you haven’t raced at Suzuka before, so how excited are you about what lies in store this weekend?

    George RUSSELL: Yeah, extremely excited. It’s a circuit I’ve been looking forward to driving for years actually. It’s actually one of the best and purest out there, so just hoping we don’t get rained off tomorrow or Saturday.

    Q: Is there one particular aspect of the track you’re looking forward to the most?

    GR: I’d say the thing I’m looking forward to the most is probably the ‘Esses’ to start with, you know, such an amazing flow of corners. But just generally I think the whole circuit is really incredible, so just the whole experience of it.

    Q: Can we take stock and reflect on your first season in Formula 1. What have you learned and has F1 met your pre-season expectations?

    GR: I think it has met my pre-season expectations, just the whole Formula 1 rollercoaster itself. I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect but I’m really happy with how the season has gone generally. From the good moments personally to the tougher times I wouldn’t change anything at all because especially from the tougher times I’ve learned a huge amount and generally being in the position I have been, at the back of the grid, it’s given me an opportunity to just explore a bit more and go under the radar and hopefully that will help me out in years to come when we should be fighting.

    Q: Thanks, enjoy the weekend ahead and good luck. Max, Hondas home race this weekend. Has it been a particularly busy build-up for you?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, yeah it has been. On Tuesday the whole day. But actually I got to drive the very first Honda F1 car so that was actually quite cool. But I guess it’s more than normal that you start a bit early this week with some commitments.

    Q: And how was the RA272, the car with which Honda won that Mexican Grand Prix back in 1965?

    MV: I didn’t fit in very well; I was a bit stuck. It was just a really cool experience.

    Q: Now let’s throw it forward to this weekend. What can we expect from you and Red Bull. You’ve scored a podium for the last three years at Suzuka. Given a clean race is a fourth consecutive podium realistic?

    MV: That’s definitely the target. First, also, let’s wait and see how the weekend is going to go and also with the weather, but of course we’ll try to do our very best this weekend to have a good result.

    Q: Thanks. Nico, you’ve enjoyed a purple patch recently and you’ve reached Q3 in the last four races. You’ve also go a new front wing this weekend, so what are you expecting from the car and from yourself this weekend?

    Nico HULKENBERG: I think it’s kind of the same build-up business as usual. Obviously we want to score as many points as possible on Sunday. We’re still fighting in the championship and it’s just about getting the maximum out of the car and ourselves, especially Saturday but Sunday.

    Q: And this new front wing?

    NH: Yeah, it’s new, so we’ll see how that copes and if it brings something to the party or not.

    Q: OK, let’s throw it further forward now. Lots of your fans are waiting to hear about your plans for next year. Has there been any movement? Is there anything you can say?

    NH: No, frankly not. There’s no news, so it’s a little bit more of a patience game, so I’ll have to and see a little bit longer.

    Q: Carlos, great race in Sochi for you and you’re now looking to score your 50th points finish in Formula 1. How confident are you of achieving that this weekend at Suzuka?

    Carlos SAINZ: Fairly confident. I think this year whenever we have been doing solid weekends like we did in Russia we have been in a very strong position to score points. Those first three races at the beginning of the season and those first three races in the second half of the season that put us a bit on the back foot but hopefully after Sochi we are back to scoring points. I didn’t know that stat, that 50th points scoring, but it would be a nice thing to do here in Suzuka.

    Q: You talk about some races that put you on the back foot. Well, you’ve already scored 66 points this year, which is more than any others season in your Formula 1 career. How much satisfaction does that give you?

    CS: Yeah, it’s quite a lot of satisfaction obviously because we didn’t know coming into the year more or less where we were going to be so scoring so many points, seeing the hard work of the tea, paying off and putting together, whenever we’re in the points, solid points finishes – P6s, P7s, P5s. It’s really good news. We’re still very far from where we want to be. We want to make good progress in the next couple of years but at least this year we made a very big step forward and that’s a good starting point.

    Q: You say you want to make progress, well in 2021 McLaren are going to be using Mercedes power units. Your thoughts on that deal?

    CS: Obviously it’s a deal for the future. At the moment we are focused on our relationship with Renault, which honestly has helped us a lot – to realize our own problems and to realize where we need to work the most, thanks to last year’s competitiveness with Renault and Red Bull we could judge our package better thanks to that engine and thanks to the progress Renault has done on this year’s power unit we are actually scoring a lot of points. The Mercedes deal is part of the plan, to our road to recovery, let’s put it like that, and hopefully that will also give us another good step.

    Q: Charles, thank you for waiting. You’re top scorer in the last four races. How confident are you of Ferrari’s performance this weekend?

    Charles LECLERC: Yeah, it’s working pretty well since we came back from holidays. The car feels great. We’ve had, I think, four poles in a row, which is always nice. The last two races have been a bit… not what I expected, but the performance is there, which is the most important, and there are no reasons for us not to be competitive this weekend. So, yeah, we’ll see how it goes. I think we need to focus on the Friday especially. Saturday seems to be very tricky, if not impossible to drive, so Friday will be very important. And I hope we can have a very positive Sunday.

    Q: You say the last couple of races have been a bit tricky, obviously Russia didn’t go as smoothly as you would have hoped. How were your discussions with the team and with Sebastian after the race?

    CL: Yeah, obviously there was some misunderstanding from the car but I think we’ve had a discussion and everything is clear now. Obviously it felt like it was a huge deal from the outside – which it definitely wasn’t but yeah, now everything is fine.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) George, on paper, the car on race results is where it was at the start of the year – but how much has the car improved?

    GR: It’s definitely improved a lot, just in the driveability side of things. So, from within, it’s definitely a nicer car to drive. It is obviously, always difficult to make huge leaps forward for any team but I think the foundations we have in place now are really positive going into next year. We’re trialling a new front wing this weekend, which shouldn’t necessarily bring much performance to this year’s car but should hopefully unlock quite a lot for us moving into 2020, so I’ve got faith we should be fighting. Probably towards the lower end of the midfield but hopefully in the mix much more than we are at the moment.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question for Charles Leclerc. Sorry to come back to the subject. Did you have talks with Mattia Binotto and Seb Vettel since last race in Russia. Did you go to Maranello when Seb was there?

    CL: No, unfortunately I had some things happening on the day he was in Maranello, so we didn’t have the chance to meet-up together – but I had a meeting with Mattia and he had one with Seb the day earlier. Yeah, everything is fine, as I’ve said.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) To all five drivers please. At the moment we do have the topic of the typhoon that’s expected to hit the area on Saturday. Obviously the FIA and F1 are monitoring the situation – but just from a drivers’ perspective, you know what it’s like driving these cars and these tyres in the wet. How much rain do you really need where it’s a position where it’s unsafe for you to go on track? Do you want to be consulted when it comes to deciding whether it goes ahead on Saturday?

    NH: Yeah, I think we’ve seen in recent years that, in terms of rain, we don’t need too much for it to be unsafe. Especially when you throw wind in there as well. It gets, I think, pretty tricky. We can obviously debate a lot and discuss but I think we just have to wait and see what actually hits us and how bad it is, or not, and make the right call at the time. Obviously there’s a lot of fans here. We want to race; they want to see us drive. So, I think we need to try and make this weekend happen – but obviously we need to see what happens and we’re at the mercy of the weather there.

    Q: Max?

    MV: I’ve got my speedboat on standby so I’m ready to go for Saturday.

    Q: Max, would you like to see the drivers being consulted about the conditions?

    MV: Yeah, I guess so, but it’s going to be very clear anyway if it’s possible or not. At the moment, it doesn’t really look very likely on Saturday. Sunday looks fine. Yeah, let’s see.

    Q: Charles?

    CL: Yeah, as Max said, I think it’s pretty clear if the typoon is going to come here there’s no way we can drive but off my previous experience – and I’ve only done one year and a half in Formula One but they’ve always been quite safe with the conditions. So yeah, they’ve always asked what we thought about the track once we’re in the car. So, yeah, happy. We will see.

    Q: And Carlos?

    CS: Nothing to add. I have full trust in Michael and his team that we will run in safe conditions if we do so. Hockenheim is a good example. The first five laps of the race it was clearly a bit too wet and until the drivers there in the midfield, we didn’t say it was safe enough, it wasn’t clearly green flag. So, it’s not a problem for me.

    Q: And George?

    GR: Not much to add. As the guys said, it will be pretty clear come Saturday what the situation will be. I think we can handle quite a lot of water. It’s just the standing puddles and the aquaplaning that is the biggest limitation for us. So, like Carlos said, I’m sure they’ll make the right decision.

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – AD Sportwereld) Question for Max. If qualifying will be postponed until Sunday, how would that change your approach and routine towards qualifying and the race, and also for the team?

    MV: Bit more free time on Saturday and waking up a little bit earlier on a Sunday. I mean, we have done it before. From my side, I have experienced it once before, I think in Austin 2015? So, yeah, it is what it is. It doesn’t really affect me.

    CS: More FIFA!

    MV: Yeah, I brought it here, so if you want to have a game on Saturday.

    CS: Always up for it.

    MV: If you’re ready to lose…

    CS: Hmmm… we will see.

    Q: (Giusto Ferronato – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Charles, at this point of the season what is more important for you: to help Ferrari to stay in front of Red Bull or stay in front of your teammate?

    CL: Well, I think as a team it’s always a priority to do good for the team but then as (in) every team, Seb wants to beat me, I want to beat him as much but yeah, the priority is to do good for the team which (is what) we all do.

    Q: (Jake Michaels – ESPN) To the four guys who have driven here before: can you just describe what it’s like to drive this track, particularly the first sector, the difficulties and why it’s so enjoyable?

    CS: I think not only the first sector, I think the whole track just has a very good flow and a very good sequence of corners. I think the fact that the track also penalises mistakes in the first sector and maybe put a wheel wrong you have a chance of… not crashing but putting it in the gravel also makes the adrenalin and also the difficulty of the track a bit harsher. Because of that, I think many Formula One drivers we miss these kind of tracks. I wish, like in the future, we can go towards designing these kind of tracks instead of others where – and I’m not going to mention now – but yeah, I really like it, the fact that it’s also a bit narrower than the average track and in sector one makes it a bit more demanding. So it has a lot of things – elevation changes… a lot of things that make it really special.

    CL: The first sector, I absolutely love it. As Carlos said, you can’t make any mistakes and the fact that you need to be so precise in every corner otherwise you are late for the other and you lose quite a lot of lap time makes it quite challenging for us. I really enjoy driving here.

    MV: Yeah, good flow. Yeah, it’s the first sector, right, that you wanted to know (about). We were actually talking about the first sector. Really good combination of corners, especially in qualifying on low fuel it’s really enjoyable. Of course it’s more enjoyable if you have a good car balance as well but I’m counting on that. It’s always good to be here, it’s one of my favourite tracks. Is that good enough?

    NH: Yeah, it’s just very quick and dynamic and everything that these guys have said. It’s a very good package as a track.

    Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Nico, you have had a pretty good run since the summer break, closing up to your teammate points-wise, but still no drive for next year. Is there any scenario you can think of that doesn’t see you in a race car next year? What are the options?

    NH: Pizza baker? No. You mean in Formula One or in general? General. I guess there is that scenario but to be honest, if it wasn’t to continue here, after that, honestly I haven’t given (it) that much thought. I think, also for me personally, I would take some time to get clarity over what I want, find a new challenge. Of course I will be in some racing car again in the future because that’s what I love doing, it’s my passion so I think only time will tell what happens then.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Charles, you said everything’s clear now between you and the team and Sebastian. What exactly is clear? How do you all have to behave in those situations in the future? Do you have to obey team orders as didn’t happen in Russia? How’s it going to work?

    CL: Yeah, I think that’s clear from the beginning of the season, we need to obey team orders and what is clear is that the situation wasn’t clear for both of the drivers, starting the race, and I think that’s the most important (thing). So we spoke about it and we’ll make sure that this situation doesn’t happen again in the future.

    Q: (Julien Biliotte – AutoHebdo) Max, you sounded disappointed if not resigned after Sochi. How much more patient are you willing to be with Red Bull Honda before looking at other opportunities to find a championship-winning car?

    MV: I was not really disappointed but I was also, of course, not very happy but I think that’s pretty normal when… for me it was a pretty boring race, you know. I think you will always sound happier when you win or you have a really exciting race and you finish on the podium and of course maybe the last few races they have not been our strongest but I believe we can do better and we are working very hard of course to make that happen but I think it would be wrong if I would come out of the race in Sochi and be very happy to the cameras, so we just keep pushing very hard and for the future, I don’t know. I’m not too worried about it, I just want to win and I will do my very best all the time and so is the team trying to do so. Yeah, let’s see.

  • F1 2019: Russian Gp Review – Ferrari Hit By Karma

    F1 2019: Russian Gp Review – Ferrari Hit By Karma

    Ferrari arrived in Russia less than seven days after stunning the paddock with a sublime one/two in Singapore. They had turned a corner in the Lion City, no pun intended, and when they hit the track in Russia it seemed it would be more of the same.

    And it was, as Charles Leclerc became the second Ferrari driver, after the great Michael Schumacher, to take four consecutive pole positions of the Italian team. Lewis Hamilton delivered an impressive lap which was good enough for the front row while Seb Vettel was third quickest. Pole position at the Sochi Autodrom though isn’t the be all and end all. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be a driver’s first choice of starting position for the simple reason that this circuit has the longest run to turn 1 of any on the calendar. It means that while the car in front is punching a big F1-sized hole in the air those behind can take advantage of the slipstream and simply sail past.

    But it still requires a driver to make a good start at lights out. This time around neither Leclerc or Hamilton nailed the perfect start but Vettel did. From third on the grid he surged into the lead of the race. And yes he did gain some benefit from the slipstream. Slowly but surely Vettel began to pull away from Leclerc and the pair of Ferrari’s were in turn leaving Hamilton, in third, and Bottas, in fourth, well behind.

    2019 Russian GPSoon though the radio messages from Leclerc started trickling through the airwaves. His tone became increasingly disgruntled and revealed an awfully exasperated driver. It seemed Ferrari had agreed before the start of the race that Leclerc would allow Vettel to pick up his slipstream, tow him to turn 2, and thereby ensure a Ferrari one/two at the start of the race. But what Ferrari, and likely young Leclerc, failed to account for was a lightening start from Vettel that rendered this plan mute. While Leclerc was adamant that he had helped Vettel into the lead of the race. On-board footage and replays clearly show that Vettel’s spectacular launch off the line catapulted him into the lead with little help from his teammate.  A back-and-forth ensued with both drivers and the Ferrari pitwall who eventually instructed Vettel to swop positions with Leclerc as early on as lap 5. But the four-time champion was clearly quicker that Leclerc who at this stage had fallen more than three-seconds behind the leading Ferrari. A swop would have required Vettel to slow significantly and run the risk of falling into the clutches of Hamilton and he was having none of it.

    The first round of pitstops rolled around and Ferrari seized the opportunity to give Leclerc, despite being the second Ferrari on the road, the lead of the race by pitting him first. On fresh tyres he was able to undercut Vettel and take the lead of the Russian grand prix. Ferrari had doctored the running order and in doing so clearly upset the karmic balance of things. A few hundred meters after exiting the pitlane from his own stop Seb Vettel was forced to pull over and out of the race with a MGU-K failure. Ferrari had contrived to manufacture and manipulate the race and Karma kicked them in the teeth for it. One would think, and hope, that Ferrari had learnt by now to leave well enough alone. But instead their ridiculous games took them from a net race win to handing Mercedes an unlikely one/two at the chequered flag.

    A Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover Vettel’s stricken Ferrari and it allowed Hamilton, effectively, a free pit stop. By staying out longer on his medium tyre Hamilton emerged in the lead of the race. Had Ferrari simply allowed their drivers to race flat out Leclerc likely would have been clear of Hamilton and in P1.

    2019 Russian GPA full Safety-Car was called on a bit later to collect the crashed Williams of George Russell. But Ferrari’s tomfoolery had already caused them to lose the race. Leclerc pitted for fresh tyres and emerged behind Bottas with the hope that with twenty laps to go he could mount a challenge and overtake both Merc drivers. He couldn’t. As it were, and excuse the pun, Ferrari handed Mercedes victory on a silver platter. Hamilton cruised home ahead of Bottas and has now put Mercedes in a position to potentially secure the constructor’s title next time out in Japan. Leclerc, in third, normally the toast of social media was dubbed ‘LeJerk’ for his petulance over team radio. It was desperately unlucky for Vettel who easily looked the class of the field on race day. Fans around the world clearly agreed as he was voted driver of the day despite failing to finish.

    Elsewhere, Max Verstappen recovered to fourth after taking grid drop for engine penalties. The fresh and upgraded engine bits put Red Bull in good stead for Honda’s home race in Japan next time out. Alex Albon completed an impressive afternoon’s racing by going from pitlane to fifth while Carlos Sainz continues to deliver brilliant performances for McLaren in sixth. Sergio Perez finished seventh for Racing Point ahead of Lando Norris eighth. Haas F1’s newly re-signed Kevin Magnussen was ninth ahead of Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg.

    Seb Vettel was certainly the most high profile retirement of the race but not the only one. Earlier a coming together at turn 1 at the start of the race meant the end for Romain Grosjean and Daniel Ricciardo would follow him into retirement a few laps later with floor damage from the same incident. Williams also opted to retire Robert Kubica’s car in order to save parts for the upcoming races. It reveals the desperate state that Williams are currently mired in and one hopes that there is some light at the end of the tunnel for the legendary team.

    Since the Summer-break Ferrari has clearly turned a corner. The two wins in Span and Monza were impressive but somewhat expected. However, victory in Singapore and genuinely superior pace in Russia makes it clear that they have unlocked authentic and indisputable pace in the car. Now, they just need to get out of their own way.

  • F1 2019: Hungarian Gp Review – Hamilton Charges to Victory

    F1 2019: Hungarian Gp Review – Hamilton Charges to Victory

    For the first time in his career Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Hungarian grand prix with a breathtaking lap on Saturday. Not only was P1 a new experience for the Dutchman but so would be leading a grand prix from the front.

    For nearly all of his previous seven race wins Verstappen has been the hunter. However, the tables were turned and it was up to the Red Bull driver to control the race and maintain the lead while being hunted by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. And until the last third of the race Verstappen had been doing a mighty fine job of holding P1.

    But such was the pace of the leading pair that it created a colossal gap to the Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Vettel. A gap big and obvious enough for Mercedes to bring Hamilton into the pits for a fresh set of tyres. While Verstappen tried to eek out the laps on his set of hard tyres Hamilton was unleashed on fresh rubber and eviscerated the nineteen-second gap to the leader. Initially, Verstappen seemed able to respond and for the briefest of moments it seemed possible that he could hold the lead. But Hamilton delivered a blistering pace, sometimes more than two seconds a lap quicker, to be right on the Red Bull’s gearbox with four laps to go. He made short work of a defenseless Verstappen and career victory number 81 was in the bag.

    It’s gone from bad to worse for Ferrari in the first half of the season and Hungary was no exception. Sebastian Vettel, on an alternate strategy, was able to snatch the final step of the podium from teammate Charles Leclerc but it was an embarrassing outing for Ferrari who finished more than a minute adrift of the race-winner. Fundamentally, the 2019 Ferrari is lacking in downforce. So it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise then that they would struggle around the long medium speed corners of the Hungaroring. Still, to be more than a minute behind will smart all the way through the summer break.

    2019 Hungarian GPElsewhere, Carlos Sainz finished in a fine fifth place ahead of the ever under pressure Pierre Gasly in sixth while Kimi Raikkonen, in seventh, once again punched well above the Alfa Romeo’s weight. Valtteri Bottas finished eighth after suffering front-wing damage on the opening lap with a coming together first with teammate Hamilton and then Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris made it a double points score for McLaren in ninth while Thai-born driver Alex Albon secured the final point on offer in tenth.

    After pre-season testing the mid-field battle looked as if it would be an extremely close fight between several teams. And while it is for the most part still closely fought the opening half of the season hasn’t gone quite the way many would have expected. What has gone accordingly to expectation is that McLaren are well in charge of the mid-field battle with 82 points on the board. Toro Rosso too will be pleased with 5thplace in the constructor’s championship courtesy of Kvyat’s podium finish in Germany.

    But there are big question marks at Renault as they are not only being beaten by their customer team in McLaren but also by both Honda powered teams. For a works team it simply isn’t good enough and the French team will have serious conversations over the break. It could possibly result in some restructuring at the top with team principal Cyril Abiteboul likely the most under pressure.

    2019 Hungarian GPAlfa Romeo may not say so publically but they’ll be thanking their lucky stars for Kimi Raikkonen who has scored 31 of the teams’ total of 32 points in 2019. They might even try to extend the Finn’s contract which currently takes him to the end of 2020. Despite a significant uptick in investment Racing Point it hasn’t materialized in the way they would’ve expected. There is still half a season to go however and they may yet come good as that investment begins to filter through.

    So far 2019 has been a head-scratcher for Haas. Though the American-based team clearly has a quick car it’s only shown in brief flashes. By their own admission they have struggled to understand the car and are still trying to comprehend why and how of it. For Williams there has hardly been a more difficult time than this season. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, as a new upgrade package appears to have pushed the team closer to the rest of the field. The important thing now for Williams will be to continue with this trend.

    In Austria, Silverstone, Germany, and Hungary Formula 1 have delivered four stunning races in succession and the good news is that there is still half a season to go.  It re-starts with the famed Belgian grand prix on August 30.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport 
  • 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Carlos SAINZ (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Alex ALBON (Toro Rosso)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Welcome gentlemen. A question to the two German drivers, please. Can you just tell us about the build-up to your home race here at Hockenheim and the emotions of racing at home? Nico, can we start with you please?

    Nico HÜLKENBERG: A fairly calm and steady build-up to be honest this year, which is quite nice. No particular events, just the usual day-to-day I would say. No, it’s good to come back here. I remember last year, I loved this weekend, it was an amazing atmosphere. Hockenheim was I think packed. Every grandstand ticket was more or less sold, and it was full of people and there was this magic atmosphere all weekend. I really enjoyed it here last year. It happened to be the best race of the season for me as well, so obviously it would be nice to repeat something like that, although sporting-wise we don’t seem to be as strong but of course we are going to give it our best shot. But yeah, happy to be back here and looking forward to a hot weekend.

    Q: Thank you. Sebastian?

    Sebastian VETTEL: yeah, it’s been pretty calm on the build-up, so pretty straightforward. Obviously I like this place very much, it’s pretty close to where I come from. We had a nice dinner together with the team last night, but other than that it’s been fairly calm. But like Nico said, very good memories of last year in terms of atmosphere. Obviously the final outcome wasn’t great, but overall the weekend was fantastic – the amount of fans, the amount of German flags, the enthusiasm around the track. Hopefully we can have something similar this year.

    Q: Your 10th German Grand Prix.

    SV: Yeah, here we go.

    Q: Here we go indeed. Thank you guys. Alex, turning to you, a frustrating race for you last time out at Silverstone with an electrical problem. Can you tell us about that problem and without it would a points finish have been possible?

    Alex ALBON: Yeah, it was a bit frustrating. Basically, the car was live, so we couldn’t really touch the car. I think the mechanics would have been a bit electrified if they did, so we had to stay out on track. It was frustrating, but it’s hard to say if we… I think we would have finished where we were before we had the issue. I think we were running about eighth, around there. Of course, it was just points missed, so that was a frustrating weekend, because we had two tough races before that, and that was kind of the time…. At Silverstone we were back on track and it was an opportunity to score some good points. Fortunately Dany did, so it wasn’t too bad at the end of the day.

    Q: So, a frustrating race for you at Silverstone, but how do you sum up the season so far, because half distance in the race here will be the halfway point of the 2019 season. So how would sum out how it’s gone and what have the team told you about 2020?

    AA: It’s going well. I would say I’ve had a few ups and downs. But yeah, I’m quite happy with how it’s gone so far. And regarding 2020, who knows? I think that’s in other people’s hands.

    Q: Thank you. Nico, same sort of question to you really. As we reach the halfway point in the season, how are you feeling about the Renault project, how has it evolved during your three years with the team and looking ahead, do you stick, do you twist? What are your plans?

    NH: Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that so far this season we can’t be entirely happy with what we have achieved. I mean, to start with we had a lot of issues and missed out on results. But, a little bit more disappointing is just where we are in terms of pace, the development rate, it’s not where we really needed it and wanted it to be. Behind the expectations this year, so probably maybe, all in all, as well, not entirely happy and if you look across the three years we can’t be entirely happy with everything we’ve done. Nevertheless, the outlook is good. We still see light at the end of the tunnel and we still believe we can catch up to some extent, how much is always difficult to say with entire certainty. Yeah, we’ll see what happens in the future and what happens to me as well. As for now, there is nothing set in stone, but I think it’s quite likely that I will remain with the team.

    Q: You’re 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship now. Do you think that’s a fair reflection of the relative performance of the two teams?

    NH: Well, it is. That’s a fact. It is 21 points but I think we could be right up there with them, if you add up all the complications we had, all the missed results, problems, we should be there or thereabouts, but for sure McLaren are very strong at the moment and are probably one of our main competitors that we will be battling from here until the end.

    Q: Ok, good luck this weekend. Carlos, just to ask you about that battle with Renault. When you came into this season, did you expect to be ahead of them at this point?

    Carlos SAINZ: No. I think the right answer is no. I wouldn’t expect to be in front of Renault. There was a good trend going last year in Renault and I think we finished off the season quite strongly but McLaren was at that time in Abu Dhabi more than half a second behind in qualifying, pretty much in every qualifying. Then in the race, also, it was difficult to match, or to see Fernando and Stoffel battling more at the back than Nico and me. It was very difficult to predict that at this stage this year we would be in front. I don’t think we are in front. I think we are in front in the championship but we are very equal in performance and it makes the battle good fun, like it was in Silverstone, in Austria, in France, and we are happy to be battling with a team like Renault. I think just the objective of us two is to keep moving forward, both together, towards the top. Not looking too much to what Renault is doing, but keep looking forward, keep looking to Mercedes, keep looking to Red Bull, Ferrari and try to get that gap down.

    Q: You mention Austria and Silverstone. You raced very well at those races – 19th to eighth in Austria, 13th to sixth at Silverstone. So clearly you’re racing very well, but progress hasn’t been quite as sweet in qualifying. Why is that?

    CS: Yeah, it’s a good point actually. I’m not entirely happy with how things are going in qualifying. If you go race by race, it would be very easy to point out three or four races where obviously I was affected by issues away from my own. But what is important or what I feel is like I have the speed in the car. Every time I jump in the car I feel like I can extract the maximum out of it, I feel like I understand the car, I feel like I am quick every time I jump in, but then circumstances in qualifying they always come down to one lap then you’re whole qualifying picture looks bad, but what is important is that I feel speed, I feel comfortable with the car and I can prove it on race day and race days are going very well.

    Q: They are. Thank you. Kimi, coming to you, you’ve scored in seven of the 10 races so far, including the last three. Is that the level of performance and consistency you expected from Alfa Romeo when you joined them?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say, because obviously where they’ve been the last few years it’s not been the greatest. Last year they made good gains from half way through. So, very unknown. I just went into the season to try to do the maximum, to see what we get. We had a bit harder part, three or four races where we were not very fast. But we managed to recover from that a little bit. There is still a long way to go but I think it’s not been too bad, at least in their own book. So we’ll keep trying and try to make the car faster.

    Q: How much have you improved the car so far?

    KR: For sure we have improved. I don’t know how much. It’s depends on what you compare. Obviously we compare to the guys that are close to us and obviously we are still behind on pure speed but we bring as much as we can new parts and try to improve. At least usually the parts work very well, what we brought. So that’s a good thing. Obviously with a small team like us it takes a bit longer to bring new parts. But I think we are quite happy with how things have gone forward. But like I said, there is still an awful lot of work to be done to get more faster and to try to get closer to McLaren and things like that.

    Q: You’re happy with developments but how happy are you this year Kimi? How much are you enjoying Formula 1 in 2019 and how different is your experience now compared to last year?

    KR: I don’t think it’s a lot different. Obviously racing a bit more rearwards. But if you don’t count that the big picture hasn’t really changed. It’s a different team, but I’ve worked with some of them before. I think F1 hasn’t changed. We still this press conference, we have the same kind of meetings, interviews. That hasn’t changed, but obviously, outside of racing I have a bit more free time, so that is the nice part, but I don’t think it’s night and day what happened last year to this year.

    Q: Sebastian, let’s start by talking about the car. You’ve told us in the past that it’s tricky to drive. Can you tell us why it’s so hard to find the sweet spot of the SF90?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think we had occasions where things were looking very good and other occasions where it was a bit more difficult but I think that’s also pretty normal throughout the season: you have different tracks with different characteristics and sometimes the car feels more the way you like and other times less – but yeah, I think we have, after the first couple of races we were able to get quite a good picture of what was missing compared to the performance we seemed to have at the beginning of winter testing. With that, I think we’ve made progress. Obviously we are not where we would like to be, not as competitive as we would like to be, but I think overall, the understanding and the direction is going in the right way.

    Q: You say you’re not as competitive as you want to be – well, Red Bull have taken a step forward in recent weeks, so how do you see the pecking order at the front of Formula One now?

    SV: Well, I think obviously Mercedes does have an edge on everyone else, that’s, I think, pretty clear. Similar to previous years, they seem to struggle on tracks where tyre wear and degradation is a bit higher – like we’ve maybe seen in the last part of the race in France, or in Austria. But in terms of raw speed, they are the benchmark – and I think for myself and for us, that’s the benchmark. I think obviously between ourselves and Red Bull, it’s been sometimes closer, sometimes we were ahead, most of the times I believe we were ahead, sometimes we were behind but y’know, that’s not the objective. The objective is to fight for wins and to do so at the moment you need to be level or better than Mercedes.

    Q: And what would a victory here, on home soil, mean to you on Sunday?

    SV: I think it’s always special, first of all to have the opportunity to race in your home country; yeah, obviously I was very close last year, let’s see how close we can get this year. I think we are, y’know, a less strong position to start the weekend. Then again, I think we’ve seen some recent races, we’ve been very strong in terms of qualifying – but also race pace. So yeah, I think we’re fairly open minded. I’m fairly open-minded, to be honest. We start the weekend, see where it goes, obviously it’s going to be very hot initially and then probably cool off a little bit.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Kimi, you’re back at Sauber – or Alfa Romeo – the first team that you started with in Formula One. Is this full circle for you? Are you going to end your career here or do you consider moving teams?

    KR: I have no idea. I mean, obviously, I have a two-year contract, this and next year, and then we see what happens. No plans really. That’s about it really.

    Q: (Stefan Ehlen motorsport-total.com) Question to Sebastian. How badly do you want to win on Sunday, and how badly do you need to win on Sunday?

    SV: Not badly. Oddly I want to win, that’s for sure – but as I said, I’m also realistic. So, coming here, I don’t feel as we are the favourites but I feel we have a chance. For me, that’s the point of going racing. You have a chance of do well. So, that’s the objective and we will find out during the weekend. But certainly it’s a special place to me. It’s very close to where I’m from, it’s a lot of family around and friends close by. To find a good way to celebrate, I wouldn’t need to go very far, so that would be quite handy.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat)  Sebastian, Kimi will be shortly 40 years old, can you see yourself racing as long as that?

    SV: I don’t know – I’m not as handsome as Kimi now, so I won’t be as handsome as he is when I’m 40! I don’t know, there’s not much point thinking about it. Imagine if you had asked Kimi when he was 32 if he can imagine to race when he’s 40, I don’t think you would have got an answer. I don’t know, it depends on how the next years go. It depends, I think, on where the sport is going with the big run change that will or will not come for 2021, and then we’ll see what happens after that. I’ll be 40 in 2027, so I don’t know is the answer. Sorry Heikki!

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for Sebastian. You’ve said in the past you struggle when you’re not feeling the car. Can you tell us, are you feeling this car and, if not, is it compounding the weaknesses that it already has?

    SV: Well, I think it’s not… as I tried to explain earlier, I think it’s normal that sometimes you feel more comfortable and sometimes less. I think for us it was important after the first couple of races to understand what brings this inconsistency, where the strength of the initial feeling with this car has gone and why we’re not able to repeat it the way we would like. But I think we do have a very good understanding by now. I think we are trying a lot of things to obviously make it better, to find a direction. I think a lot of things we tried are very good, other things we tried we went back on but yeah, obviously there are some things that probably this year are different than maybe they have been before – but nothing that you couldn’t adapt to.

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian. What’s it like… it’s obviously been a long while since Ferrari won the Drivers’. Do you feel a sort of burden to lead them to victory to lead them after, what 11, 12 years? Does that sort of weigh on you? I mean, the sort of Ferrari dynamic, what it means to the nation. How do you feel bearing that responsibility?

    SV: It doesn’t feel like a burden, it feels like a privilege, y’know, to go out and race for Ferrari and obviously my mission or my goal, as well as the team’s goal, is to get back to, y’know, the – how do you say? – the winning ways. If we do that then we have a much better chance to fight for the Championship. Having said that, I think from when I joined and where we are now, obviously this year hasn’t gone the way we wanted after the last two years, but still, I think things are progressing in the right direction. In the big picture – but naturally the big picture doesn’t interest you if you are not currently where you would like to be. So, I think we all know that Formula One is a world where people are very short-sighted, which is also fair and part of the game. Like I said, overall, even if things look good, we still obviously miss that final step and that’s the most important step.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question to Seb and Nico. How do you see the state of Formula One in Germany. Do you think it’s still as popular as it was 15 or 20 years ago – and in terms of drivers, behind you of course, there is a lot of interest for Mick Schumacher in Formula 2 but beyond him there doesn’t seem to be many German young talents – do you think it is because Formula One is not as inspiring as it was when you guys were growing?

    NH: I think, based and judged on last year, people were very interested. Like I said earlier, I’ve never seen that much interested since I’m in Formula One, since my career in Germany, and that was pretty amazing and nice to see. I think generally, Germans, we are known, we are a car country and we love our cars and the interest is still there. I think naturally some years it’s a bit more, some years it’s a bit less but I think yeah, we have a spoilt history in racing, so that’s also one thing to consider – but I think in general, the appetite and the interest of the population is still very much alive. And yeah beyond Mick, to be honest, I’m not really sure entirely what’s coming through the go-kart series and the young formulae, so can’t really comment on it.

    SV: I think obviously it’s normal that the biggest hype, I believe was when Michael started winning as he was the first German to win the Championship. Being the first, there is always more momentum and more interest – but as Nico said, I think the atmosphere last year proved that there is still very much an appetite for racing but I also feel that the German crowd is a very fair and direct and honest crowd, so maybe some things that have happened in our sport didn’t help the popularity. For the future, I think you need to draw, a bit, the bigger picture. I think, again, Germans are quite straightforward with the way they spend their money and unfortunately junior racing, starting from karting and through the series after that are – I think – way too expensive. Nico and myself we enjoyed each other in go-karts and racing each other. I think the background is not that dissimilar. I think giving us the same chance today, I think our career would stop fairly soon because we simply wouldn’t have the pocket money to do it. So, I think overall, to allow more kids – boys and girls – to start racing, the sport would need to be a lot cheaper, as currently I think it’s way too expensive and unaffordable for most.

    Q: (Manuel Sanchez – Il Tamburello.net) My question is for Nico Hülkenberg. Renault will be the first team to test the future Pirellis. How much advantage will have Renault with this?

    NH: When are we going to test those tyres? Honestly, I don’t know? I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.

    This weekend, it’s published that Renault will be the first team to test the new Pirellis…

    In October, Nico.

    NH: I think it’s very hard to say if that’s an advantage or not. I think all teams in rotation do tyre tests but, as far as I’m aware, you are kept in the dark as to what compounds you are testing and what kind of tyre it is, so it is hard for teams to take conclusions from that and use it for the future. So I don’t think it’s a big player or a big advantage.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – Press Association) Sebastian, just following on from the earlier question about racing for Ferrari, is this a team you would like to see out your career with or do you envisage racing for someone else?

    SV: Not at the moment. As I said earlier to Heikki that I don’t know how long I’m going to be here but I love racing, I think they’re the best cars to… the fastest there are. The joy that I get from driving is like it’s ever been and as I said, obviously the motivation is high to get the job done with Ferrari so that’s the two things that are, I guess, dictating whether I’m going to be around for long or not.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel Gomez – AutoHebdo Sport) Carlos, what is the secret to be the best of the rest?

    CS: At the moment there’s no secret. If I find it, I will obviously keep it secret. I think it’s a combination. I think it’s a combination of hard work done by the team and creating a package good enough to do what we are doing on race day. It’s a combination of good strategies come Sunday. It’s a combination of good starts, good pace when you need to have good pace and good development. Nowadays the midfield battle is so tight that you need to be on top of everything and be very good at everything and I think this year we’ve been very good at mostly everything and that’s why we are leading in that battle. We haven’t been the fourth fastest car every race weekend but somehow we’ve managed to score good results when we were not the fourth fastest car and in the midfield I think that’s important but my wish is to separate a bit from this midfield and see if the team can keep improving and keep separating itself from the midfield which I think this year is going to be nearly impossible to do. It’s more thinking in the future.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Sebastian, sorry to take you back to 12 months ago here. You had your mistake in the race; since then there’s been a few mistakes along the way, all the way through to Silverstone and the last race. How satisfied are you on your performances over the past twelve months? Is it fair to say that you haven’t delivered, given the car that you’ve been given by Ferrari? And do you feel under pressure?

    SV: Well, I always put myself under pressure so I can’t be happy, obviously, if things go wrong. I think some of the things, obviously, were bigger than others. I think the main thing is that – as I said previously – that we keep progressing in the right way but for sure if I get something wrong and make a mistake I can’t be happy with that. The pressure I put on myself after that I think is bigger than any external factors. This has been the same as long as I can remember. I think for me it’s the most honest and straightforward way to deal with it myself because I know what I’ve done wrong and what I’ve done right. I know when I had the opportunity to do well or not. I think you’re always your best judge, no matter what you do so that’s the rules by which I play.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Sebastian and Kimi, do you ever miss each other as teammates and can you say what the best qualities were about each other as a teammate?

    KR: The meetings are a lot shorter now, now that we’re not in the same meetings any more. Or in the same team. We see each other still. I enjoy it, for sure, it was very good but we were friends before and it never changed and it’s still the same so life goes on. I think it’s always been very honest with Seb so it’s easy, easy going.

    Q: His best qualities?

    KR: Straightforward, honest.

    SV: I can only return. Obviously now the meetings are not as short as they were which is a pity. Yeah, as Kimi said, we’ve sort of got on with each other before, had respect for each other and it’s the same now. Best qualities? Straightforward and honest! Yeah. No, I think the interesting thing is, even if, no, we look very different from the outside in terms of what people think but I think inside, as I said, we got along with each other fairly quickly right from the beginning and it’s probably because we share a lot of the same values and key to that is there were never any games or any attempt to play anything or… just no attempt to waste time, basically.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Seb and Nico, following the earlier question about the future of F1 in Germany, you mentioned Mick Schumacher. How significant do you think the return of the Schumacher name to an F1 race seat in the future could be for F1 in this country and also how important is it that he’s not rushed on that journey?

    SV: Yeah, I think it’s crucial that he’s given the time he needs. I think it’s fair to judge him and his racing like every one of us has been judged and will be judged but it’s not right to measure and compare too much to other people and to his father. I don’t think it’s fair. It’s a different time, different racing but for sure, as I tried to explain earlier, Michael was the one who set off a huge hype when we were kids and therefore the name Schumacher is one hundred percent known in Germany due to him. Obviously to have Mick at the doorstep of F1 and one day hopefully joining would be huge and hopefully a big boost for Germany. On top of that, despite the name, he’s a great guy, he’s a nice kid so I think our fingers are crossed for him. There’s been a time when I think we had a lot of Germans in Formula One – like six or seven – and everyone was wondering why and so on. Now we have two we don’t get these questions any more but back then I think there were zero French guys and now you have quite a lot of French guys in Formula One and very close so I think it’s just how it goes around but yeah, hopefully he gets the chance one day and does well and brings some more enthusiasm.

    NH: Yeah, not much to add. I feel and think the same as Seb said. I think he needs his time, of course, also to go through his development but I’m sure he will get his chance. But then for Germany that could be quite… obviously another big ignition to motivate people to go back to a Formula One race to watch so it could play a big part in that and it would be great to see.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian, a question about the past. I wanted to ask you about one of your most successful cars, the 2011 Red Bull RB7. What do you remember about that car and how challenging was it to get the most out of that, given that there was the exhaust blown downforce and you had to adapt your technique to get the most from it?

    SV: Yeah, obviously it was a very experimental phase because back then exhaust blowing was unknown and the effects of it and the logic behind it and so on. It was the first year where we really explored the limits, up to the point where we blew up a tyre on the grid because the plume and the hot air on the tyre obviously was coming at very high speed and made a big difference to how the car felt, made a big difference to how you had to drive the car, made a big difference to how you set up the car but I think we got the hang of it. I think key to one, a very clever way to design the car. Second was Renault’s input back then which I think they’ve been first in class and most extreme and probably the most brave to adapt and come up with solutions to help the demands of our aero department at the time. Obviously then it got banned and the years after, what people have been trying ever since is to find a way to get back because it’s proved to be so powerful. Season-wise it was a great season because I think we as a whole team matured a lot from little hiccoughs in 2010 so it was a lot more straightforward in 2011.

    Q: (Rosal Mohedano – MomentoGP.com) Carlos, Andreas Seidl has been in the team for some months now, has he changed a lot in the team to make a midfield car the top midfield car?

    CS: I think the credit of this year’s car is mainly due to what happened last year, all the development that happened during that second half of the season, where the team basically decided to stop developing the 2018 to try and understand why the 2018 car was so poor and the job done, obviously in the early months of this winter, going into March, the job of Andreas, what he’s doing very well now is doing a whole analysis of the situation that we are in in the factory, especially back in Woking and he’s just having an overlook and have a very good look into what can be improved and it’s more a midterm to a long term project. I think he’s quite advance and he’s going to start having a very big influence in the upcoming months but you need to give him time. I think when there is an environment of six hundred to eight hundred people like we are in McLaren at the moment, to notice any kind of change you need years, you needs months or even years to feel the change and that’s going to take time for sure.

  • F1 2019: British Gp Review – Brilliant from start to Finish

    F1 2019: British Gp Review – Brilliant from start to Finish

    By just six milliseconds Valtteri Bottas snatched pole position for the British grand prix from Lewis Hamilton. It was as important a pole position as Bottas had ever had – beat Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone and you sent a pretty emphatic message.

    And Bottas did everything right on Sunday too. He led cleanly off the start and held teammate Hamilton behind for the first laps of the race. And though Hamilton was able to take the lead of the race into Luffield corner Bottas hit back straight away to retake P1 into Copse corner. It remained fairly close between the two Mercedes and as they gradually pulled away from the rest of the field Bottas seemed to have it all under control.

    Though Ferrari and Red Bull were unable to match the Mercedes race pace a tasty battle that lasted for the majority of the race raged between the four drivers. First it was Leclerc against Verstappen and although it wasn’t for the lead of the race as in Austria it was every bit as exhilarating. Verstappen, somewhat quicker, tried everything to get past the Ferrari driver but just couldn’t pull it off on the track. The two pitted together and some brilliant work from the Red Bull crew had Verstappen emerge ahead of Leclerc. The joy would be short-lived though as Verstappen ran wide out of the pits and allowed the Ferrari back into third.

    Up front Bottas pitted from the lead while Hamilton stayed out. It proved a vital decision as Antonio Giovinazzi beached his Alfa Romeo in the gravel trap. It prompted the deployment of the safety car and handed Hamilton a free pitstop and the lead of the British grand prix. Sebastian Vettel too gained as result of the safety car and emerged in third place. Ferrari had, once again, called a baffling strategy for Leclerc that left the Monegasque driver in sixth overall after being brilliantly dispatched by Verstappen.

    2019 British GPVerstappen quickly eased past teammate Gasly and was soon on the gearbox of Vettel’s Ferrari. A brilliant overtake into Stowe saw Verstappen ahead of Vettel only for the Ferrari driver to midjudge his braking and slam into the back of the Red Bull. It sent both drivers into the gravel trap but able to rejoin the race. While Vettel limped back to the pits with a broken front-wing Verstappen, miraculously, raced on and eventually finished fifth.

    Vettel was, rightly, handed a ten second penalty for causing the collision. Though never intentional the incident was definitely questionable. For one, Ferrari will do well to admit that they are no longer the second quickest car on the grid, that’s Red Bull. Second, while Vettel may be one of the top drivers in F1 with four titles behind his name his driving, in totality, over the last season-and-a-half is rather alarming. The talent is undoubtedly there but Sebastian Vettel cuts a somewhat disillusioned figure at the moment.

    Ahead Bottas would likely feel hard done by the safety car but that’s part of motor racing. The Finn had to settle for second while Hamilton scored a record-breaking sixth British Gp win. Leclerc drove through the carnage of the Verstappen/Vettel crash to take a fourth consecutive podium finish. And in a very timely fashion Pierre Gasly secured his best finish of the season in fourth with Verstappen recovering to fifth.

    It was an overtaking extravaganza behind the top teams with Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo finishing less than a second apart in sixth and seventh. In eighth was Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Daniil Kvyat in ninth and Nico Hulkenberg in tenth.

    The British grand prix delivered a race brimful of entertainment which makes the news that it will be on the F1 calendar for at least five more years all the sweeter.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • F1 2019: British Gp Preview – Formula 1 at its British Best

    F1 2019: British Gp Preview – Formula 1 at its British Best

    The adage goes that you’re only as good as your last race. It will take some doing then for Formula 1 to top itself after the thrilling Austrian grand prix of two weeks ago. Nevertheless, the Silverstone circuit and British grand prix is as iconic as it comes in motorsport.

    Rookies

    Being a rookie in Formula 1 is almost always a baptism of fire. But as the F2 champion and runner-up in 2018 George Russell and Lando Norris have been enormously impressive in their respective debut seasons.

    Lando Norris was drafted into McLaren with the team still very much in the doldrums. However, 2019, and especially the last two races, has shown the progress that the Woking-based team has made. Progress means little however if the drivers in the cockpit are unable to capitalize and deliver the results. So far, Norris has produced nearly every time that he has been behind the wheel. With four races in the points he sits eighth in the world driver’s championship. Added to this is that he qualified a brilliant fifth in Austria, his noteworthy race-craft, and the fact that he hasn’t made any major mistakes. At only nineteen years old and with one of the best Instagram accounts in the paddock Norris has all he needs to a star of the future.

    George Russell’s superb and self-determined initiative to personally contact Williams and present himself as the best choice for a 2019 drive impressed Williams enough to agree and draft him into the team. Though he has been unable to trouble the point scoring positions in 2019 he has impressed not only in his demeanour but also in the complete demolition of teammate Robert Kubica both in qualifying and the races.

    Similarly, Russell had kept his nose clean and his car on the black stuff. Williams are expected to bring a major update to the German grand prix weekend and while it’s unlikely to propel them up the grid it may bring them closer to the field in terms of pace. If all goes to plan Russell seems the more likely of the two Williams drivers to extract performance from the car.

    Silverstone under threat

    As much as Silverstone forms part of the fabric of Formula 1 the threat that it could disappear from the calendar is ever present. Commercial rights owner Liberty Media has evidently renewed their interest in a London street race which suggest that it could take over Silverstone’s slot on the calendar.*

    One of the biggest problems for Silverstone and the BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) is the hosting cost. The suggestion is though that the BRDC and Liberty Media understand the importance of a British grand prix on the F1 calendar. It is not impractical for Liberty Media to consider offering a discount on hosting costs to those venues such as Silverstone, Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, etc. that are historically significant to the sport and thereby ensure their presence on the calendar.

    2010 British Grand Prix StartAs a fan you get a little bit of everything at Silverstone. An incredible track layout highlighted by the incomparable Maggots-Becketts complex, Stowe, and Copse Corner combine for a supreme test of aerodynamic efficiency. It stands to reason then that Mercedes will be in the pound seats this weekend, no pun intended.

    The last few races hasn’t seen the best of Valtteri Bottas and while Lewis Hamilton is habitually exceptional at Silverstone it will be a good place for the Finn to re-state his designs on the world title. To beat Hamilton on home soil would go a long way, mentally, to begin chipping away at the reigning champion.

    But with all being equal it is difficult to bet against another British grand prix victory for Lewis Hamilton.

    *It has since been announced that Silverstone has struck a deal that will keep itself on the calendar for five more years.
  • F1 2019: Austrian Gp Review – Verstappen & Formula 1 Win

    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.

    2019 Austrian GPRecord-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.

    2019 Austrian GPStewards 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.

    spielbergsunday13-780782Carlos 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.