Tag: charles leclerc

F1 2019: US GP Review – Six Titles for Hamilton

The 2019 American grand prix wont go down as one of the most exciting races but it will undoubtedly be remembered as the day when Lewis Hamilton became a six-time Formula 1 world champion.

Valtteri Bottas made the perfect start from pole position and drove a stellar race to take the seventh win of his career. The victory in Texas makes 2019 Bottas’s most successful season to date in which he will finish as runner-up in the driver’s championship.

Max Verstappen ran comfortably second for the opening stint of the race while Hamilton, starting fifth, made relatively short work of both Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. A cunningly slow formation lap from Bottas had meant that neither Ferrari was able to get their medium compound tyres in the operating window that subsequently saw them struggle for grip.

In addition to struggling for grip there was clearly something amiss with Vettel’s Ferrari as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo easily passed him. Vettel appeared to be recovering and closing the gap to the McLaren and Renault ahead of him but a few laps later the German driver suffered a startling right-rear suspension failure. It didn’t get any better for the Italian team as Leclerc ran a distant fourth for the remainder of the race without ever having the pace to threaten even the last step of the podium.

Up front Bottas and Verstappen opted for a two-stop strategy while Hamilton banked on a one-stop strategy. However, unlike in Mexico a week earlier Hamilton was not able to hold onto the lead. On lap 52 a charging Bottas swept past his teammate and into the lead. Hamilton’s problems weren’t over though as Verstappen too closed to within less than a second of him in the closing stages.

However, the Dutchman never got close enough to attempt an overtake and eventually finished third while Leclerc trundled home a distant fourth.

After being squeezed off the track, forced into the pitlane on lap 1, and being plumb last Alex Albon drove a brilliant race to bring his Red Bull home in fifth. The Thai driver, only seven races into his Red Bull career, has grown in confidence at every race weekend and seems to be a shoe-in to remain at the team for 2020.

Daniel Ricciardo too delivered an impressive driver to finish sixth in the Renault ahead of the ever-impressive McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth while for a second straight week Daniil Kvyat was given a last-lap penalty for causing a collision. Sergio Perez, the casualty of the collision was promoted to tenth as a result of the Russian’s penalty.

One of the most beautiful things about sport is that it cannot be predicted. There was simply no way to know that the young boy from humble beginnings in Stevenage would one day become a six time Formula 1 world champion.

There will be those who protest vehemently against the idea that Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. And while opinions can certainly be made they cannot be quantified. But titles can and Lewis Hamilton has six of them.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

November 4, 2019
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.

Verstappen’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.

It 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

October 28, 2019
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.

Traditionally, 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.

October 23, 2019
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.

In 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

October 14, 2019
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 50^th 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 50^th 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.

October 11, 2019
F1 2019: Japanese Gp Preview – Suzuka – An Incomparable Classic

The Japanese grand prix is one always highly anticipated on the Formula 1 calendar. The trip around the celebrated Suzuka circuit is a nostalgic and highly demanding one.

It’s nostalgic for it reminds racers and fans alike of how circuits used to be constructed – fast, demanding, and with little room for error. It’s nostalgic for less positive reasons too. It was here five years ago that then Marussia driver Jules Bianchi crashed heavily sustaining injuries that would sadly claim his life several months later. Bianchi, a Ferrari Academy driver at the time, held much promise to be an F1 star of the future. Earlier in the season he scored a sensational point in Monaco for the otherwise embattled Marussia team. It underlined his enormous potential and drew a line under the knowledge that he was likely to end up in a Ferrari sooner rather than later. Sadly, Bianchi’s potential will remain forever unfulfilled.

However, in a rather romantic twist of fate Bianchi was the Godfather of current Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. The Monaco-born driver has impressed in his short stint as a Ferrari driver and currently sits with the most pole positions starts of anyone in 2019. Ferrari’s recent uptick in form, including three wins in the last four races, comes on the back of a tremendous amount of work in Maranello and, specifically, the fast-tracking updates meant for 2020. The team will be buoyed but still wary of the challenge in Japan. It is markedly different circuit than those of Spa, Monza, Singapore, and Russia. Still, given Leclerc’s incredible form in the last two months it would be brave to bet against him, especially in quali. Seb Vettel too looks a man renewed after an emotional-fuelled win in Singapore.

Nevertheless, the Italian squad will face stern opposition from Red Bull and Mercedes. After all, it was here that Max Verstappen made his debut, in practice, just three days after his 17^th birthday. It’s a rollercoaster for the Dutchman since that includes 7 victories and slew of impressive drives from the back of the field. Though Red Bull has lagged behind since the summer break the Suzuka circuit should suit the characteristics of the car. As it happens to be engine supplier Honda’s home race to boot nothing less than a podium will suffice.

In Russia Mercedes one-two victory would have re-installed a much-needed calm. Of course there wasn’t any great panic in light of the results since the month-long break but there has undoubtedly been a few nervy and uncomfortable moments in the last two months. Japan should be a good track for Mercedes given the high to medium speed make-up of most of the corners.

Through the decades Japan’s Suzuka circuit has delivered some of the best and most memorable races in the history of the sport. It was here in 1990 that Ayrton Senna, arguably, drove into the side of archrival Alain Prost, took him out of the race, and won the championship title. It was here too that produced one of the best races in the history of the sport when in 2005 Kimi Raikkonen came from 17^th on the grid to pass Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault on the last lap of the race for a extraordinary and unforgettable win.

And it is here in 2019 where teams and drivers will arrive to fervent fans and one of the most iconic and beloved circuits in the world. On form the suggestion is that Mercedes head into the weekend as favourites but only by the smallest margin. But this Suzuka circuit has its own ambience, its own way of dishing up the unexpected and because of that so-called form and results from years gone by may not be the best predictor in Japan.

October 9, 2019
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.

Soon 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.

A 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.

September 30, 2019
2019 Russian Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Q: Lewis, congratulations on another race win here in Russia. That’s Mercedes dominated all of these races here since we’ve come here in 2014. But you were up against it. You were pushing hard; you did something very different on strategy. When Ferrari had that issues, the perfect storm, you capitalised on it didn’t you?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah. First of all, just an incredible job for all of the guys here this weekend, not giving up, trying new things, pushing forwards, always trying to be innovative and just never giving up. That makes me incredibly inspired and it’s just incredible to have this result today considering how quick they were off the start. Just keeping up with them was an incredibly hard task. But, as I said, we haven’t given up, we keep on pushing and the car was really fantastic today. So a big thank you to everyone here and also back at the factory, because I know they’re all sitting on their couch with their fingers crossed. And we’ve got a great crowd today as well.

Q: This mindset that you’re in Lewis, generally, we wouldn’t see you quite as happy, getting on the front row as you were yesterday and obviously to go out there and get the job done when you’ve struggled to get on top of Ferrari. What now? Are you thinking about the championship only or do you think it’s about winning races all the way to the end of this?

LH: Honestly, I try not to… I say this every season, I try not to think too much about the championship and [take it] one race, one step at a time. I think collectively that’s what we’ve been working on. Obviously it’s getting harder and harder as the season goes on. No, it’s one step at a time; one foot in front of the other, we don’t want to stumble. But of course we have got to keep on putting performances like this in and I know the bosses back in Stuttgart will be super-excited about today.

Q: The team are absolutely rock solid and you can hear it from everybody how excited you are about it?

LH: Oh man, it feels like a long time coming but it feels like the first time as well, so that’s why it feels special.

Q: Enjoy. Valtteri, P2 I guess starting from P4, you can’t be too disappointed with that. Lewis had track position and it was bringing it home to the end.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I think starting fourth and finishing second is not bad. For sure, it’s not a win, but as a team, for us it is a big win. It’s been a tough few so it’s good to get back to these kind of results. I had a good race myself. Just the first stint I was lacking a bit of pace, I couldn’t keep up and I was stuck behind one of the McLarens at the beginning. But the second stint felt decent and I just had to keep Charles behind and I managed to do it, so not too bad.

Q: You had that Ferrari in your mirrors. Honestly, did you expect then to have that race pace they did today, because that’s been a strong point of the Mercedes over the past races?

VB: We saw that we should have good race pace for today and we believed we could do it. We really need to raise our game in the qualifyings now but race pace is OK and I had fun.

Q: Charles, the perfect storm happened for Ferrari. Obviously they lost a car through reliability and you finished in P3. I know you’re going to be critical at how it happened but at the same time that’s a podium finish?

Charles LECLERC: Yeah, I mean at least we are quite consistent. It’s good to be back on the podium. It’s a shame for the team not to have the second car up here, but yeah, on our side an OK-ish race. Mercedes are still very quick in the race runs, a lot quicker than compared to qualifying. So we need to work on that, to try to understand and improve that for the next races.

Q: We heard you on the team radio saying that you wanted to swap back, Sebastian didn’t stick to the rules, obviously something was discussed before. Are you starting to lose trust with that, that something wasn’t followed?

CL: I will always trust the team. The tactic was me giving the slipstream to be one-two at the end of the straight, which happened. But then… I don’t know, I need to speak with the team to know better the situation.

Q: OK, and on to the next one. You can look back and the race performance has certainly has been increased, hasn’t it?

CL: Yeah, we were quite quick. I think we definitely had the pace to finish in front of Valtteri but it was quite tricky to follow. As soon as I was getting around 1.5s behind him everything would overheat and it would be quite a difficult time for us. Third today was the best we could have done unfortunately with the safety car.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, a huge day for you and the team. Just tell us before the start of this race, how confident were you?

LH: To win the race? I don’t think we were particularly confident. We knew that we were on obviously tyre and we put ourselves on a slightly different strategy in that respect and I was hoping that was going to give us an opportunity to dice and fight with them at some stage through the race. But before the race we sat down and we were like, our estimations of whether the soft tyres will last or not, either we’ll be correct or they’ll be correct. And ultimately, I think they were right, because the soft tyre was much stronger than we anticipated. Obviously there was that difference between the compounds, so keeping up with the softs, with their consistency and their speed, was… Oh God, it was so hard. So I wasn’t expecting that. There was obviously that slight tail-off towards the end where I was able to start closing the gap but it wasn’t massive chunks out that I was taking out of them but then were obviously able to extend, we were planning to extend for like 15-plus laps or something like that and hoping that when we came back out on the soft we would have the chance to fight with one of them who is on a different tyres. Obviously safety car and all those things came into it. Valtteri did an exceptional job, because it’s not easy keeping the Ferraris behind and Charles has been driving so well, so ultimately just an incredible day for the team considering the challenges that we have had. I think this weekend we knew that we had have to pull more out of this car and there was more potential there, but we didn’t know where it was. I think we pulled ourselves a little bit closer to the Ferraris this weekend and it was just enough to get ahead of them.

Q: And you got swamped by the Ferraris at the start. Was that the result of you being on the mediums and them on the softs?

LH: I think partly. When we did the laps to the grid, I didn’t have a lot of grip, I don’t know about Valtteri, but I was a bit worried. And then obviously we definitely lost a little bit from the initial phase but then I wasn’t able to get to the tow because he stayed on the left and gave Seb the tow. I tried to sneak in behind Seb but there was a McLaren there so I had no tow down to Turn 1 and I nearly lost another place. After that it was just trying to keep up with them, but it was like trying to do qualifying laps every lap trying to keep up with them because they were so fast. Massive challenge but one I’m really proud of, really proud of everyone and I hope that everyone back at the factory is able to relax for a second but then come back and work hard tomorrow, because we still have plenty of races to go and a lot of challenges ahead of us.

Q: Valtteri, great performance from you today, fourth on the grid to second. How much pressure were you under from Charles in that last phase of the race?

VB: Yeah, for sure, it’s never easy. I think they had a strong car today, good pace and, as we’ve seen this year, they’ve been extra quick on the straights. So I knew if they get close enough, especially in Sector Three, they are going to be a big threat into Turn Two. Just really had to try to keep it together, try to minimise the mistakes and, you know, the car felt pretty decent today, especially with the soft tyre in the corners. So, try to really maximise everything I could in the corners, and try to get a good Sector Three and good exit out of the last corner and that way I could keep the position. But yeah, to be in that position beforehand, I think the team did all the right things today. Already the decision yesterday to start on the mediums to go long in the first stint, you know then, at certain points when you go long in the first stint, you start to hope for that VSC or Safety Car to come – and today it came. Like a miracle. So, that’s always good. So, yeah, bit better feeling than yesterday for sure.

Q: Charles, congratulations on third place – but it was a complicated afternoon for Ferrari. Can we just go back to the start. Can you just tell us about this agreement that was in place between yourself and team-mate Sebastian?

CL: I think everything was respected. At the start, obviously I went to the left to give Seb the slipstream. I knew he would overtake. We knew that. Then we just had to do the swap back, and we did it at the pit stop later on in the race and yeah, then our race went downwards. As soon as Seb had the issue, the Safety Car didn’t come at a great time for us and, yeah, everything was more complicated from then on.

Q: Charles, just to clarify, so you’d agreed to stay to the left and Sebastian was expecting you to hold that side of the track to get the tow. Is that what was agreed?

CL: I mean, staying to the left whatsoever… If there was Lewis and Seb side-by-side I obviously had to advantage Seb and not Lewis, which is normal. So yeah, that is what was agreed.

Q: And how surprised were you that Sebastian didn’t swap back immediately?

CL: I don’t know. I think the situation was quite tricky. There was a Safety Car straight away, so then it was quite difficult. I tried to stay as close as I possibly could for two or three laps but then it was very difficult to follow, especially first and second sector. Tyres overheated and then I dropped back a little bit. But then I was, as I said on the radio, I had one hundred per cent trust in the team to do it themselves, as it was agreed before the race, and that’s what they did at the pitstop.

Q: And any reliability concerns for you after Seb’s engine problem?

CL: I don’t think so. I don’t know. I actually don’t even know what is the issue. First I need to speak with the team but I don’t think there was any concern on my side.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Charles, you mentioned there having one hundred per cent faith in the team to sort the situation, and you did it at the pit stops but obviously the team needed to get involved to sort that. Do you have the trust in Seb after this to honour team agreements? And to the Mercedes drivers, you’ve talked about how good your relationship is, and how hard you work for one-another in the team. How damaging would it be to that relationship if one of you openly didn’t follow a team order?

LC: Yeah, I think the trust doesn’t change and we need to trust each other, Seb and myself, because I think it’s usually important for the benefit of the team in some situations to know that you can count on the other car, and vice versa – I mean in both ways. So yeah. I think it’s very important but yes, the trust is still here.

Lewis?

LH: I mean we work together, so it’s about having respect. And I think the respect has been there since day one. We talk about the scenarios very openly. Valtteri has always been respectful in all those scenarios and I think it’s vital that we’re both acting accordingly, which we do, I think.

Valtteri, anything to add?

VB: No, that’s fine.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Charles. Do you think if Seb would have given you the place earlier, you could have fought for the win?

CL: Not if the Safety Car would have been the same – I mean at the same time. To be honest, that was our main… the main thing that went wrong today was this. But this is nothing we could have done. It’s a shame for the team because I believe we had the potential to do very good today and, yeah, with the Safety Car at that time of the race, was not great for us. Yeah, that’s it.

Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for you Charles. You said you gave Seb the tow. Does that mean you could have done anything differently if you would have fought against him?

CL: I actually had absolutely no reason to fight because, as I said, I trusted completely in the fact that we will swap back after, so there was no need to take any risks at that time, and yeah, that’s why I just didn’t fight.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Charles, do you think the second pit stop was not too optimistic – because at the end you lost the position with Valtteri?

CL: I think it was a tricky situation. Because obviously staying on mediums that had already five or six laps, compared to softs that were new. Especially for a restart after the Safety Car. We are, I think, everyone on the grid is struggling to keep these tyres in temperature any time we are behind a Safety Car. If you are on a Medium, already it’s a disadvantage, and if it’s a bit worn, then it’s another disadvantage. So, we didn’t want to take the risk to lose more than one position. I think we did the right choice. Looking back, you can always think about a better scenario – but at that time I think it was the right decision for us.

Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) For the two Mercedes drivers. Lewis, at the start, you could stay within three seconds of Seb. Was that the limit for keeping the tyres alive and going for as long as possible – or you couldn’t get any closer. And to Valtteri, exactly the opposite. After the restart was the priority just to keep Charles behind, or you couldn’t get closer to Lewis because you didn’t have the pace?

LH: I think that was probably the limit. I was on the Medium tyre; they had the advantage with the Softer tyre which is quite a bit quicker. And then secondly, when you’re towing, two seconds is quite hard to follow. So yeah, I think I dropped back to around 3.3s or 3.5s, but I was trying to keep up. I wasn’t managing it, that’s for sure! They were just pulling away initially, and I think once we got to like, 15 or 18 or whatever it was, I started to be able to keep up with them a little bit better and as their tyres started to drop off a little bit, I was able to then start making some headway, and start taking time out of their gap.

Valtteri?

VB: I think at that point we were on a similar tyre with Lewis, same car. For me the priority was definitely to try to keep Charles behind. For sure I was trying in the beginning. If I could get a chance at the restart of the Safety Car and the first lap, but there was no way. So, I was trying to balance out in the first few laps to push hard enough to keep Charles behind and, at the same time, try and leave a little bit of margin to Lewis. Because when you follow very close behind obviously you slide and destroy the tyres easier. So, I think the few seconds gap I had most of the second stint at the end was ideal. I Could get a bit of a tow effect on the straights and not too much sliding in the corners. So, that’s pretty ideal. But I have to say, Lewis was very quick today and, especially the first stint, I don’t know why, I didn’t have the pace to match. Second stint was a lot better.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) There’s been a fair amount of concern and criticism raised by the drivers over the direction of the 2021 rules and how much you guys have heard. We know that Chase and Ross gave you a bit more of an update this weekend. Do you feel a bit more informed now? Would you like a little bit more inclusion, even away from the meetings that you’ve attended with the FIA?

LH: I think it’s been a huge step for us to be involved, it’s a big step for all the drivers to be united and I think we’re building a new and better relationship with the FIA, the GPDA and the FIA communicating and I think they’ve been quite open. I think there are things that we ask about and they are like ‘we can’t change it now’ but there’s no such thing as can’t for an engineer. There’s lots of things that can be improved but the thing they did show us the other day is that the amount that you lose behind a car today… what their simulations say that we will lose in terms of downforce behind the new car… I think it looks great, so I’m working as hard as I can to make sure I can stay around for then and get to drive those newer cars. And naturally we don’t want the cars to be slower either – I think they said they’re two or three seconds off so hopefully we can push that forward but some things like weight, we don’t want the car to get heavier but it is going in that direction. But I know they’re working really hard at it.

VB: Yeah, I think, as Lewis said, it’s a good start that we are closer to them and they are actually sharing the ideas with us and I think we have a pretty good understanding when it comes to driving and racing and we’re always happy to give our opinion and I think we have the best understanding what makes us happy and what makes the racing better. It means happier fans and so on so for sure it’s nice to be involved and hope that that really continues.

CL: Yeah, I completely agree. I think it’s very important that, as has been said, we are all united for the same goals. I think our ideas are clear, what we want and it’s important that we are involved because we just feel things that sometimes on the data doesn’t look the same way. It’s a good step.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you’re 73 points clear of Valtteri, 107 clear of Charles now with just five races to go. Is it difficult, in your mind, not to think that you’ve already pretty much got this sixth world title?

LH: I just don’t try to think about it. It’s not that it’s difficult, it’s pretty easy just to focus on the task in hand and it’s not easy at the moment so honestly just focusing on trying to be the best I can be each weekend, one race at a time and making sure I’m just delivering at a high rate. What’s really impressive is just to see how naturally we’re fighting against the Ferraris who have got great pace but Charles, Valtteri, Seb, Max, Carlos, some of the other drivers are really performing so well. I think it’s one of the best years I’ve seen the drivers perform in terms of just class performances, so it’s meaning that everyone is having to raise their bar including myself. I’m enjoying that challenge and as I said, just one race at a time. The next one is going to be super hard to keep… to trying to beat these guys again but not impossible as we’ve shown today.

Q: (Doria Panova – motorlat) To the Mercedes drivers: another podium, congratulations, but obviously it wasn’t a perfect weekend for you, so what is your opinion about this Grand Prix and what areas do you think you need to improve?

LH: Well, we’ve been very fortunate to have come to Russia and quite incredible performances for many years now. I think the Ferrari had the front row last year or the year before…

VB: Year before…

LH: …and obviously again incredible performance this weekend. I think we’ve done a good job today so it’s ended up being a good weekend but of course we were on the maximum limit and I think those guys are still quite dominant at the moment so it’s taken quite a special job from us today to pull out ahead of them. I’ve really enjoyed my time here. I’ve not spent a huge amount of time in Russia but the people seem so welcoming and just generally really nice people and I think that getting used to Formula One… you know, when you grow up I see Russia and you see the Kremlin in the movies and you see Moscow and it’s freezing and when I came out here, I didn’t even know that they had a seaside and it’s beautiful. I wake up and open my curtain and I see the sea. I have no clue what point of Russia I’m actually in but it’s obviously got a lot to offer. In terms of the racetrack, I think it’s growing on me and it’s obviously got the great straight. I think we can do better in making it somehow better for closer racing, because the corners are all so fast, it’s very very hard to follow as we are all saying. So perhaps in the future we might be able to make the corners tighter or something. I don’t know.

VB: Yeah, definitely. I’ve always enjoyed coming here, it’s been pretty successful for me personally. I’ve had many podiums and my first ever win for me here so it’s a special place on that side and obviously neighbours with Finland. You say we didn’t have a perfect weekend but we had a perfect day today and it’s Sunday that really matters in Formula One, so happy days! But we definitely have work to do.

Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Lewis, you mentioned this a bit but Suzuka is a different kind of track but with Ferrari now being quick on the corners and possibly the Red Bull Hondas having no grid penalties, how tough is it going to be between all three of you and the other three drivers from the top teams? What balance do you expect there?

LH: It’s going to be awesome. Suzuka is incredible, it’s one of the most exciting parts of the year and now so more than ever before because you’ve got three solid, incredibly fast teams, particularly pushing each other and having the ability, the potential to win a race. I have no idea who is going to be quickest there. Obviously, at the moment, Ferraris are quite dominant but maybe it will suit our car a little bit more, who knows? Or the Red Bull, maybe. So it’s exciting to go there because that’s a serious driver’s track, one of the best ones of the whole year. The tarmac run-off areas that you see here or around the world… it’s proper grass and gravel and walls so it’s the ultimate test, I would say, that track, for the car and also for the driver. I just hope that we get to have a good race there.

VB: Yeah, look forward to it. Not much to add. I think it’s going to be exciting, good fight between three teams and between all the drivers and I really look forward to it. Personally, it is my favourite track if I had to chose one so it should be fun.

Q: Charles, how confident are you of Ferrari’s pace at Suzuka?

CL: I think, as I’ve said earlier this week, we’ve been quick in Singapore, we’ve been quick in Monza and both of them are the complete opposites so I think it shows that we are doing some progress so there are no reasons for us to be very slow in Japan, but it doesn’t mean that we will have an easy life. I’m pretty sure that Mercedes and also Red Bull will be very strong there. I’ve only been to Suzuka once but it’s a track I loved, last year I took so much pleasure driving especially through the first sector. It was just a really great experience so I’m really looking forward to going back there.

LH: It’s pretty incredible it’s your second year, only your second year. Already in Ferrari and he’s doing… is it four wins this year?

CL: No, no, you are over-estimating me. No, two.

LH: OK, anyway, that’s still pretty impressive.

CL: Thanks man.

Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – motorlat) Charles, given Sebastian’s DNF today, how much of a concern is reliability to you at the moment?

CL: As I’ve said, I don’t even know what the issue is so for now, I’ll speak with the engineers. I don’t think reliability has been an issue or a concern from the beginning of the year on our side so I don’t expect it to become one now but let’s see. I’ve got no idea what the issue is so I firstly need to speak with the team to understand what went wrong.

September 29, 2019
Singapore GP Qualifying Recap: Leclerc takes stunning pole for Ferrari

Charles Leclerc claimed his third consecutive pole position for Ferrari, taking both the Mercedes and Red Bull teams by surprise ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Leclerc outpaced Hamilton by 0.19s seconds to clinch the pole despite losing control of the car on several occasions, according to the Frenchman. Sebastian Vettel had held the provisional pole position after the first runs in Q3, but both Hamilton and Leclerc improved on their times during their second runs to claim the front row of the grid.

It was expected that Ferrari would struggle around the streets of Singapore, but both Ferrari drivers made significant progress with the setup of the car during the course of the race weekend.

Leclerc was strongest in the first sector, where Ferrari is able to maximise its power advantage. That said, Leclerc did have to put in the work to fend off Hamilton in the next two sectors where Mercedes appears to be the stronger car.

Vettel aborted his second run after making an error which meant his time would not improve. The German will be starting from third position. Vettel said that he had “peaked too early in the session,” and that his lap “should have been better”.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had been hoping to be stronger and challenge the front row of the grid, but finished in fourth place, just under 6 tenths off Leclerc’s time. Valtteri Bottas initially showed some good pace but failed to improve on his Q2 time and had to settle for fifth place in the second Mercedes.

Alex Albon impressed on his first visit to Singapore, claiming sixth place in the second Red Bull. Carlos Sainz finished seventh fastest for McLaren ahead of the Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg. Lando Norris claimed the last spot in the top ten for the second McLaren.

Sergio Perez qualified in eleventh position but will drop five grid places with a penalty following a gearbox replacement. That moves Antonio Giovinazzi up a position, and he’ll start ahead of the Toro Rosso of Pierre Gasly.

Kimi Raikkonen damaged his front wing on his first run out in Q2 and was unable to improve on his second run. Magnussen will start the race behind him with Daniil Kvyat, Lance Stroll, Romain Grosjean, George Russel, and Robert Kubica rounding out the grid.

UPDATE: Daniel Ricciardo has been excluded from the qualifying results for exceeding the MGU-K power limit during Q1.

September 22, 2019
F1 2019: Singapore Gp Preview – F1 Ready to Rule the Streets

After the back-to-back stops in Belgium and Italy Formula 1 heads off for the fly-away races for which the first stop is the Far-East Asian city state of Singapore.

The Marina Bay Circuit, first introduced in 2008, is famed for being the first night race on the F1 calendar. It hasn’t been without controversy with the most contentious incident being the 2008 Crashgate saga. Then Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was ordered by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds to deliberately crash in assistance of teammate Fernando Alonso. Luckily, the Singapore grand prix and F1 has moved on from then to deliver several memorable races on the city streets of Singapore.

The 5.063 kilometer stretch around the harbour is comprised of a tapestry of twenty-three corners. The proximity of the barriers combined with the relentlessly nature of corner-after-corner gives drivers little time to relax and demands persistent attentiveness and concentration in fairly extreme conditions of 80% humidity and more than 30 degree ambient temperatures.

Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel each have four wins a piece in Singapore. It was Vettel’s win 2015, seemingly out of the blue, that stopped Mercedes’ domination, albeit momentarily. Last year’s qualifying session saw Hamilton deliver, arguably, one of the most perfect quali laps of his career. The lap may have been only three tenths clear of second-placed Max Verstappen but the way he danced the Silver Arrow around the twisting Singapore streets will live long in the memory.

Ferrari arrives on a tremendous high after winning in both Spa and Monza. But they also arrive with the understanding that it will be far greater task to take the top step of the podium. Given the characteristics of the Ferrari and its struggle in low speed corners it is almost inevitable that this weekend will be an uphill battle to beat either Red Bull or Mercedes.

The story this weekend isn’t expected to be all Ferrari and Mercedes though. There is every expectation that Red Bull will be solidly in the mix for top honours, especially in the form of Max Verstappen who always excels on street tracks.

September 16, 2019