F1 Madness

Tag: daniil kvyat

  • 2019 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Lance STROLL (Racing Point), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo), Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Dany, if we could start with you please. Home race, tell us about the build up, how busy have you been?

    Daniil KVYAT: Well, yeah, not too busy. It’s a back-to-back race with Singapore so pretty much arrived to Moscow for one day, got a little break, and then here on Wednesday. Had a bit of an event yesterday evening, you know, the usual stuff at the home grand prix and yeah, today just a bit busier than usual, but it’s always a pleasure for your home grand prix, so it’s OK.

    Q: Tell us about the reception you got from the fans when you arrived here in Sochi?

    DK: Well, I haven’t seen too many fans yet, but we’ll see tonight during the autograph session. Yes, I was doing the track walk and a few people definitely were quite excited. I think people love Formula 1 here and it’s quite good to see for me. I hope to see a lot of people in the grandstands on Sunday and Saturday, it would mean a lot to me. It would mean also that motor sport in Russia is growing a lot and obviously I’m happy to contribute.

    Q: Now, you said after the Singapore Grand Prix that you struggled with the car. What were the issues and how confident are you that you can bounce back here this weekend?

    DK: It was a specific grand prix. I mean I wouldn’t really say I struggled with the car. I skipped FP3, and then in quali, going straight into Q1, I just maybe didn’t put the best lap in because I didn’t have much reference and once you start from there it’s harder on a street circuit. And then the race, yeah, it was a bit messy. Some moves… I was getting a bit stuck behind people when I had fresher tyres. This year it was usually good for me and then in Singapore maybe it wasn’t so good. My mirrors were foggy, so I couldn’t really fight with people properly. The race was just difficult to be honest. We had contact with Kimi, but by that point my race already wasn’t looking very good. But I was still in contention for maybe a point, but yeah, it was a difficult race. Sometimes they happen and sometimes they are necessary.

    Q: Thanks and good luck this weekend. Lance, a big update package for Racing Point in Singapore, how effective was it?

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, it’s still early days. I think on paper they looked quite positive, we were quite competitive throughout the weekend. Qualifying was a struggle on my part, with gaps and stuff in Q1. So we had a bad qualifying on Saturday but then in the race the pace looked better. Yeah, it was just a messy weekend overall for both cars. Sergio had a technical issue in the race and we had to stop him. I was looking good up until I clipped the wall in my second stint and I got a puncture. It was a messy weekend but I think there’s still a lot to come. The early signs are good with the upgrade, things are looking good, but it’s about unlocking it to its full potential.

    Q: You say the early signs are good, but where is the car better with this upgrade?

    LS: It’s just general grip. Rear grip is much better, stability is better, and now it’s just about getting the right balance with this new upgrade and that sometimes takes a weekend and Singapore is a unique circuit, it’s one of a kind, so I’m looking forward to this weekend and the coming events.

    Q: Now, you’ve been involved in some great on-track battles this year. Tremendous last lap in Singapore with Grosjean, Sainz and Ricciardo. How much are you enjoying those battles?

    LS: Yeah, it’s always fun. Unfortunately at that stage in the race we weren’t in a position to score points. It’s always fun though. Wheel-to-wheel racing is always good and this year in the midfield it’s so tight. We’ve seen a lot of good fights and close racing in the midfield, so I’m sure it’s very exciting for the fans. But unfortunately our race was kind of done at that stage. It was really done after I clipped the wall and I got that puncture. It was exciting and I’m sure it was fun to watch from the outside.

    Q: Kevin, you have a great record here – qualified fifth last year and a lot of points finishes at this race track. Can you tell us about the track: what is it like to drive and what do you need from your car to be quick?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I would say it’s a little bit kind of a specific track – lots of medium-speed corners, like 90 degrees. You need a good strong front end here, but as always you need good traction as well, so it’s not that you need much of a different car to usual but it’s, I think, a pretty good track. It’s decent to drive and it offers good opportunities for racing and overtaking. I quite like it.

    Q: On the subject of car performance: are you starting to make progress now and do you understand the car now?

    KM: I think it’s a pretty ongoing process. It’s much more important to understand what’s gone wrong with this car than to try to come up with quick fixes. It’s not lost this year at all, but it’s better to focus for next year and try to get as ready as we can and have as much confidence in correlations and stuff like that to produce a better product for next year, rather than, in a desperate way, to try to fix this year’s car, because that’s going to be a little bit difficult. So the focus is more on different experiments with different packages to try to learn more about correlations and sensitivities and stuff like that. It’s a little but frustrating because obviously we’d all prefer to just be maximum flat out, trying to perform the best we can, which of course we are, but at the same time we are spending a lot of energy on experiments.

    Q: You mention the word package there. What package are you going to be driving this weekend?

    KM: The new one. That’s still part of this whole learning process, so I think Romain will stay on the old-ish one, with a few of the new parts. We’ve gone to a bit of a hybrid car to try to make it possible to swap over and swap between different parts and experiment as much as possible and get as much learning as we can. That part is going well and we are making progress in terms of understanding but we don’t see that understanding in terms of lap time. It’s hard to show in terms of lap time what progress we are making.

    Q: Kimi, frustrating race for you in Singapore, different kind of street track here, with longer straights. How confident are you of having a better weekend?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Never know really but I think it should be better for us – hopefully it is. I think Singapore, some points, it felt pretty OK, mainly not, but I think maybe our car is not the best over the bumps and things that you need for Singapore but yeah, let’s see how it comes – but I would expect to be a bit better here.

    …better because of the smooth track surface or better because of the Ferrari power unit? Why do you think it will be better?

    KR: Just track layout and how the surface is and everything. I might be wrong but hopefully not. Hopefully we have a bit more smoother weekend, a bit more speed.

    Q: Now Kimi, this is a bit of a landmark race for you. It’s race number 307, which takes you to third overall in the most-experienced list. You’re surpassing Schumacher and Jenson Button this weekend. When you started out in 2001, did you ever imagine you’d be around for this long?

    KR: Definitely not. I think I was wishing to stop much earlier. I kind of stopped it already but no, for sure not. I don’t think I had any ideas how long. Hopefully at least one or two years. Things have turned out a bit different – but I didn’t really have a plan before, I still don’t. We’ll try to go good things and as long as we enjoy it, obviously we’ll keep racing and see what happens.

    Q: Given the competitive nature of this sport, do you take a lot of pride in your longevity?

    KR: Not really. I mean, to me, as long as I feel myself that I can drive where I expect to be, and I can do things as I, in my head, I feel I should, then I’m happy to keep going, plus, as long as the racing is the bigger part than all the other nonsense. I don’t really think ‘Oh, I’ve done this much racing, and it’s a great thing’. For me, the results are much more important than another other fact. Maybe the day you stop, and after a while when you look backwards, it means something. But right now, no.

    Q: Valtteri, you have a great record here. First win, 2017, pole last year, looking good for the win until that didn’t happen. Why are you so quick here – and how much confidence does your record give you coming into the weekend.

    Valtteri BOTTAS: For sure it gives confidence to come into a weekend when you know previously it’s been one of the good tracks for you, so that’s obviously a nicer way to start the weekend but always, in every case, you start from zero. Every season, every track changes a little bit, every car is always different every year, so setup, everything is different, so you’re starting from zero – but for sure, we have a good mindset coming here, knowing that it’s been good in the past. I don’t know, just since the first year coming here I’ve found a good flow on the track and haven’t really had many problematic corners or anything, so been on the pace. Obviously, there’s always things I can do better this year than last year and that will be the aim.

    Q: You say you’re coming here with a good mindset but there must have been – tell me if I’m wrong – frustrations after being told by the team, to effectively hold station in Singapore last weekend in the race. What’s been said since then?

    VB: Well, first of all, that was last weekend. I’m not thinking about that any more coming to this weekend. But if you want to talk about it I can’t go into details. Obviously we always review everything by the finest detail with the team, and I was at the factory on Tuesday. We had meetings about that and that we’ll keep just for us. Whatever we’ve spoken about it. We have certain rules, both ways, they’re equal. That’s how it goes but I just need to make sure I’m not going to be in that kind of situation again.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Daniil, you have, since Spa, a new team-mate. You live the same thing that he lived, being demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso. How long did it take for you to get back to competitiveness and how did you work on that special thing?

    DK: I think it’s hard to compare – you know everyone has their own life situations and their own approach to the things, so for me it’s very hard to compare. For me, I’ve turned the page already. I have been through it, I have no problems with that any more. So, I even managed to go out and come back again to Red Bull, so I have no issues regarding that and from my side, I have full focus now on this year and on the future. So for me now it’s a closed chapter.

    Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – motorlat.com) Valtteri, now that Max and Charles are getting closer to you, they are now 31 points behind you, to what extent do you see them as threats for second place?

    VB: For sure, Ferrari has been improving a lot and Red Bull is very close every weekend now, depending on track layout. So, it’s still a big chunk of points to be had for the rest of the year, so for sure I need to keep performing and we need to perform as a team to get those bigger points. I’m still aiming and focussing really ahead. Focussing on short team goals: the next one is this weekend, try to win the race. Then, at the end of the year, we’ll see if there’s still a threat or what’s happening. I’m not really thinking about that too much. I’m thinking about my performance and our performance as a team.

    Q: (Dzhastina Golopolosova – The Paddock Magazine) Next year the racing calendar is expanding and by 2021 they are predicting more races. What do you think of this trend and will this increase the value of the sport?

    KM: I think it’s a difficult question for me. Obviously the biggest problem is probably the team, the mechanics; all those guys are working very hard already, so it would be pretty tough for a lot of people in the team and I don’t know if it’s going to make it, each race, less valuable in terms of viewers and all that sort of stuff. Probably you can see why it would but it’s not an area I’m an expert in so I don’t really know.

    VB: I think if it’s just one more next year it’s not too bad. Obviously it is, like Kevin said, hard work for many of the team members, doing so much work between the races as well. There’s going to be a limit, for sure, at some point but I don’t know in detail after how many races that would come but I think we can still do one more but we will see. It’s OK so far.

    DK: Yeah, I don’t have much to say. I agree with these guys, it’s true. It wasn’t bad when it was 18 races but let’s see how it goes when the championship goes to more races. For sure we will apparently have to find the limit by touching it.

    KR: No comments.

    Q: Do you welcome more races yourself? We understand the pressures on the team but from a driving point of view do you welcome more?

    KR: I don’t know. It depends really where we go. If we raced in Europe I wouldn’t mind but it’s obviously much easier for everybody. It’s nice to race on new tracks, hoping that they’re good ones for racing but we will see. Usually it’s a habit to keep changing races and some come and some go. We never know until we get there.

    LS: Yeah, more than 22 races is probably a lot, it’s a lot for the whole team but from what I understand it’s balanced out with some testing days. It’s nicer to be racing than testing.

    Q: (Vladimir Zayvyy – RussianRt.com) Daniil, according to the Daily Mail, Russian president Vladimir Putin backs a plan for the F1 race to move from Sochi to St Petersburg. What do you think about this?

    DK: Yeah, I think as long as there is a racing in Russia I am up for it. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to have it closer to that region, also, where it’s more accessible to the people from Moscow, from St Petersburg, maybe it will bring more spectators which is cool, and maybe also from Europe, from Finland, let’s say, it’s a very popular sport there, it will be cool. Why not? It’s not a bad idea. Here is very nice but who knows if there it could be even better? Why not?

    Q: Fans coming from Finland, perhaps a comment from one of you guys, Valtteri?

    VB: Yeah, for sure, maybe we could have some more. Obviously a Finnish Grand Prix would be nice as well but maybe more Finns would be there, possibly.

    Q: Kimi, what about a race in St Petersburg from your point of view?

    KR: We go where the race is. I would guess that there’s Finns, I guess there’s Finns watching here, I’m sure. It’s a lot easier, for sure.

    Q: (Daria Panova – Motorlat) At the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel said that reverse grids is not a good idea for Formula One. So what do you guys think about it?

    LS: I think it would be a shame to see the current format disappear. It’s very exciting, the fans love it, especially today’s Formula One.  A short, 25-lap race would be really boring to watch in my opinion. Today’s Formula One races depend on strategy which a 25 lap race wouldn’t really offer so I think it would just be a train from start to finish and that would take away some of the excitement from the sport.

    KR: I think it depends on how they would do it, obviously, but probably qualifying can be more exciting than a short race. Who knows?

    Q: Do you like the current qualifying format?

    KR: Yeah. But if I would change, I would go back to where it was when I started: one hour of time and I think there were three sets of tyres and 12 laps, do it when you want those. Over the years, there have been many different ways of doing it. Honestly I don’t know if it really changed the entries an awful lot so…

    DK: Yeah, it sounds just like a short fix to a bigger problem, which is just that we need to try and bring all the teams closer competition-wise. There’s still a big gap between the top three teams and the rest of the field and if we could have five or six teams competing for podium and a win I think it would be just a lot more exciting racing as well. Now, this year, there have been many exciting races of course but I still think that’s the main issue and if it’s a short term fix, these races, then so be it, we will have to do it of course but I think the bigger picture needs to be sorted, more than that.

    VB: Not a big fan, myself, personally, about the reverse grid idea. I think it would be a real shame to lose proper qualifying. I think all the drivers really enjoy pushing the car to the limit for that one lap in qualifying. I find it really enjoyable so it would be a shame.

    KM: Yeah, I agree. As Dany said, we need to try and fix the problem organically by making the competition closer and I also think qualifying is a fantastic event, so I think it’s a bad idea.

  • 2019 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Robert KUBICA (Williams), Lance STROLL (Racing Point), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Romain GROSJEAN (Haas)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Daniil, if we could start with you. It’s been a whirlwind few days for you with that podium finish last time out and the birth of your daughter. Have your feet touched the ground yet?

    Daniil KVYAT: Yes. I mean, it’s OK, we are already here in Hungary now but talking about last week it was a quite special 24, or 48 hours, either way you want to look at it. Obviously I found out on Saturday night that I became a father, that my daughter is born and is doing great, so it’s a great feeling – but obviously the next day there was a race to do. It was important to stay focused on it. The race was great as well. It’s a podium. So, many things happened in 24 hours for me and, yeah, fantastic feeling. Happy few days after and now we’re here.

    Q: Just tell us about your schedule in those following days. Where have you been?

    DK: Went straight to hospital on Sunday night, slept there with them – not too much sleep straight away after the race. So, for me, it was good. And then just home until leaving here to Hungary. Bit of recovery between races, light training but obviously always visiting Kelly and our daughter. And that’s it. Yesterday I arrived here.

    Q: What was the reception like in the Formula 1 paddock to your podium. Did you get a 7am phone call from Dr Marko on Monday morning?

    DK: No. You should tell me! You’re a journalist, how was the reception. Generally, talking about the team, everyone was very happy. I think first podium in 11 years for our team. It was a fantastic achievement and I think we were very happy. Everyone. Every member of the team. I was so happy to see that everyone was so happy in the team. When I crossed the start-finish line it was a very special feeling. A lot of emotions. I really enjoyed those few hours after the race. It was unforgettable.

    Q: Robert, talking of happy vibes in a team, there was certainly a happy Williams team late on Sunday evening when news came through that you’ve got the point. You’ve scored many World Championship points in your career – 274 – but how different was this one to the ones that came before because of what it meant to Williams?

    Robert KUBICA: Yeah, I mean, you know, it’s a bit mixed feelings in the end because of course it’s good to have this one point on the scoreboard but the way it came is for sure is not the way you would expect. Of course, it was a crazy race, many mistakes. We managed to stay on track, although our pace was questionable but still, managed to keep it on the black. And then, with Alfa being penalised, we gained two positions, so it meant that we would be tenth, which is for sure good – but still we have to keep working, keep pushing and definitely  this point is somehow… thanks to the guys which are doing a great job on track, pushing really hard, we are really not having a great moment but still, Hockenheim was also thanks to them.

    Q: What’s your realistic assessment of the upgrades the team brought to Hockenheim?

    RK: Realistic, well, it’s good to have them. I think it’s something for which they’ve been working for long. We do see some improvements. Of course it’s difficult to judge and compare Silverstone to Hockenheim: completely different tracks ambient temperature, so all those things were not easy to have clear judgement. Our guys can see the improvement in the data – but I think everyone is improving, so you know in order to close the gap we need to make bigger improvements compared to our competition and this is not easy with Formula 1 standards: all the teams are pushing hard – so it is a big battle, I think even more at home in the factory, that the people are working hard but you know it’s so difficult with current Formula 1 teams to close the gap to them.

    Q: Lance, fourth was a great haul of points for you at Hockenheim. Are you sensing an upward curve from the team from now on.

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, it was a great result. Like you said, a lot of points. We were really happy about that. I am sensing some improvement. I definitely think we took a step in Hockenheim, looking at our pace throughout the weekend, Friday, Saturday, we were much more competitive than we’ve been in recent events, which is always a good thing. That being said, it’s still very, very tight in the midfield and every tenth counts. I’m sure it will be very track-dependent from now until the end of the season – which tracks suit our car, more than others. But yeah, it was a great Sunday but also a much better weekend in terms of performance and where we’ve been throughout the weekend in comparison to other weekends.

    Q: So, more performance in Hockenheim but just looking at the season so far, as a whole, how has this year compared to your previous two seasons in Formula One?

    LS: Every year is unique in its own way. When I reflect on the last couple of years, I definitely think that the sport is much more competitive than it was two years ago. Looking back at 2017 when I came into it, it was… yeah, there were much bigger gaps between the teams and I think, at the time, coming into the weekend, when I was at Williams, we had a pretty good idea where we’d be relative to the competition. And in the race it was, yeah, there was definitely more guarantee of scoring points – and now you really see tight margins between the teams and very close racing in the midfield. Last year, of course, was a challenging season for me at Williams. We didn’t really have the pace to score points like we did in 2017. When I look at this year in comparison to a couple of years ago, it’s definitely become much more competitive, the sport – which is a good thing. I think, hopefully, in the near future, we can start seeing that from first place onwards where we can be battling between teams every event.

    Q: I’d like to come on to Kevin and Romain together now. First up, congratulations on the double points finish in Hockenheim, however the race marked the third time you guys have hit each other on track this year: Spain; Silverstone and, of course, Hockenheim. I just want to ask why this keep happening? Kevin, perhaps we could start with you?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I don’t know really. I think it’s… you know… it’s happened a few times this year and, in terms of… it happened in Silverstone and it had a consequence for both of us. We punctured. I think that was pretty unlucky, to have two cars puncturing for such a small contact. There were no bad intentions from either of us in that moment. It was just… we came together and then punctured . Later in the race you see other cars flying into each other, flying over the track and nothing happened. Got to look at that as well to say, bad luck really. That’s pretty much it.

    Romain, your thoughts

    Romain GROSJEAN: We love each other. That’s why we get on, have a bit of a kiss on track. No, I think, as Kevin said, there’s been a bit of bad luck in Silverstone. I think the relationship, people could think that it doesn’t look good but actually the relationship with Kevin is really good. We phone each other once a week or so. We sat down and said, ‘what can we do better’, just to make sure that’s not happening again. Obviously we’ve got the same car, so it’s happening that we are side-by-side on track more often than with the Mercedes, for example. Yeah, there are things we can probably do better. I think the most important is that we always try to do our best for the team, and give our best and maybe just the cursor wasn’t well positioned on some of the occasions we had, and we just going to make sure we get better from there. Honestly, the relationship is very good and we actually like – well, I like working with Kevin, maybe he doesn’t – but I think he likes it also. We work well together and we get on nicely.

    And Kevin likes working with Romain?

    KM: Absolutely.

    RG: Just don’t say no now…

    KM: I think in the heat of the moment, we’re blaming each other on the radio and stuff like that – but what people don’t see is that we get together between the races and talk it through and try to be constructive and move on in a constructive way. Apart from those incidents on track, I feel that we have a pretty good working relationship. And actually, Romain is a cool guy, and we actually have a good time when we go to work. So, it’s being blown out of proportion a little bit. I know you guys love a bit of a conflict and stuff like that, so… but it isn’t as bad as it looks.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Racing Line) A question for Robert. First of all, you really have good heritage here at the Hungaroring, you’ve scored many points here. Do you think this year, with the Williams, at this track, where you don’t need so much power, can you score again?

    RK: Well, I think, actually, Hungary has never been very lucky for me. I don’t remember how many points I scored. I think the power is the only area where we are not lacking anything in our car, so power, thanks to Mercedes’ power unit, is the strongest area of our car. This track is very complex. I think there are sections that require a lot of mechanical and aero grip, so I would say it’s not the kind of track where we will be closer to the competition than others.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Romain and Kevin, Guenther has said that he is going to have to take a firmer approach with you two to stop these clashes on track – rules of engagement, things like that. What’s your response to that? Do you feel it is necessary to put this in place between you two? Is it disappointing that that action has to be taken?

    RG: No, I think again we are here to do the best for the team and if that’s the solution, the short-term fix, then why not. I think, as I say. We’re not here fighting for the first or second place in the world championship. I don’t really give a damn if I finish 14th or 16th at the end. We don’t have a fast car at the minute and the focus is on getting that car to work well. The team has been reverting me back to the car from Melbourne. I have been running for three events now, just trying to understand everything, so I think the bigger picture, the big keys, is to understand how we get faster and better, how we can come back in the Constructors’ Championship and to make sure that the future of the team is not compromised by a non-understanding of the car.

    Q: Kevin, rules of engagement?

    KM: At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what we think, we will just respect what is being said and required by the team. I can understand the team’s point of view. We had a pretty bad experience in Silverstone and clearly they want to avoid that happening again and we’re just going to deal with it in the way we’re required and make the best for the team, as Romain said.

    Q: (Eva Vandor – HVG) Daniil, congratulations on so many levels – becoming a father, on getting back to the podium and getting back to Hungary as well, it’s been a while. Can you tell us a little bit about the mental transformation of the last few years – from being out of F1 to getting back to the podium?

    DK: Well, I think it was important to realize the points that you can improve as a driver and as a person before my comeback to Formula 1. Obviously it wasn’t easy to lose the seat in the Formula 1 and at some point it was thought that there was no way back in for me. But since I got the call; back in, it was important to come back very prepared and better mentally prepared as well, I think. I think now all this work is paying off and I’m very happy with how things are working out. I’m happy with the people around me, the team around me, how we work on things. It’s important that now I feel a much better driver than I was in the past. It’s also very important also to back this up with strong results. This year in general has been strong and I think we can continue in this way. I’m really enjoying this, so hopefully we can keep going.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Good to see, Romain and Kevin, that you’re best of buddies and that you’ve got a great relationship, but it does appear that you’re very quick to blame each other when you have these incidents. Do you both still believe that the other one is very much at fault or would you say that you should both share the responsibility for what’s happened at the team recently?

    KM: I think that in the heat of the moment, you know, you’re always feel that you’re in the right, and then you analyse things after you see it’s probably more level and not as big a deal as it felt like on track. At the end of the day I don’t think it’s such a big deal, you know. We will try to do everything we can to not have these issues again. I think, as I said before, it became a very big issue when we both punctured in Silverstone. Apart from that, the end of the story is that we do respect each other and we want to do the best for the team and there have been laid out some guidelines for us now that we’re going to respect and then just carry on.

    RG: I think on the football pitch you don’t have any microphone listening to what… even inside a football team between the team players they can say things, they’re not happy with each other, and you’re not saying that ‘oh that team is having any issue’, because I think in Formula 1 it’s great that everything is broadcast but also it makes a story out of nothing. As I say, our relationship is good. When you’re driving at 300kph obviously you’re not going to say ‘Oh, please, I think I was in my right, and he was in his wrong and would you mind giving me the position back, but I my only, please’. You’re just going to say: ‘F**k of, just give me the position.’ Unless you want us you want us to be very, very boring, then I’ll remove the microphone from the helmet, then I think it’s always going to happen. Still it’s false but that doesn’t really matter, does it.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) To Romain and Kevin again: how concerned are you both that this could be putting your future at the team at risk?

    RG: Ah, let me answer the question differently. I was more worried last year than this year. Last year there were a lot of reasons that I could have ended up this year at home and I did many mistakes that I shouldn’t have done with my experience. But I think since then I have recovered pretty well. I think everything we have been saying this year – the eye opener for the guys on reverting back to the old spec car, because I asked, shows that the experience is very important in Formula 1. Everything in the team has now changed. The focus is on the different parts and how we make sure we improve the car other than we just put upgrades without really knowing where we are. The races I’m happy with my performance. I think in qualifying I could have been better earlier in the year but now it’s back to where it was. As I said, last year there were many reasons, to be frank, to stay home. This year I guess there are many less.

    KM: Not worried at all.

    Q: (Dániel Horváth – The Paddock magazine) There has been some talk about the possible return of refuelling into the sport. Do you think that’s a good idea?

    RG: If I may jump in for the GPDA on that one? I think if you guys agree… No? OK go ahead, save me doing what I say all the time! No, it was brought up by the GPDA because we have four key points that we want to improve to improve the show and those are tyres, aero sensitivity, weight of the car and money distribution. Robert came back into Formula One one or two years ago and said the cars felt really heavy and they are and the regulation makes it that they are getting heavier and heavier year after year and we don’t have any solution with the current engine to bring the weight down. Therefore the idea of refuelling was brought in as a short term fix to help the tyres to not overheat that much and get better racing and better following in the car early in the race. It needs to be looked at but it’s not that we want refuelling, it’s that we need to find a solution to get the car lighter to be easy on the tyres and therefore having a better show.

    RK: Copy paste.

    DK: I think it’s not just one simple thing that just needs to be changed and it’s a magic switch and that’s it and we will have amazing races every race. It’s a combination of things that just need to be put together and strongly put together by one person who will say it will be done this way, obviously who will consider everyone’s opinion. Refuelling doesn’t seem a bad idea. I think we’re looking at more general things like the aero of the car, tyres, how we follow each other, brakes, common parts. Say for example a radio ban wouldn’t change anything on the racing or small things like if we do less switches on the steering wheel it would not change a lot, will not have a big impact on the racing itself. So I think all the points that were discussed in GPDA meetings and so on were all very good and we had a good agreement between drivers on which direction to move.

    KM: On refuelling, I think it wouldn’t only help on the weight issue, I think that shouldn’t be the only thing about it because the cars need to be lighter anyway, refuelling or not. It would also make a bit more possibilities of strategy and a bit more variation in strategies rather than always a one-stop and so I can’t see any negatives but if we do introduce it back then I hope that it’s not an excuse to then keep making the cars heavier because even though it comes back, it would help the weight issue in the race but they still need to not make them heavier.

    LS: I think that there are other priorities at the moment that we need to think about to improve the racing. I don’t think lighter cars will… is the main fix. I mean refuelling could be exciting in many ways, maybe not, maybe it won’t change anything but I think that there’s bigger things to focus on like aerodynamics, like Romain pointed most of them out: money distribution, just to make the series more competitive. Even if the cars maintain their current weight, with the much more competitive series will come much more exciting racing and that’s where we need to be focused.

    Q: (István Simon – Autó Magazin) Robert, according to the Hungarian Grand Prix organisers they are expecting some 35-40,000 supporters from Poland for this weekend, which is like one third of the whole capacity of the Hungaroring. Robert, could you please tell us what kind of motivation does this support give to you, not only for this race this weekend but since the beginning of your whole career which started here in 2006?

    RK: Yeah, for sure it is kind of our home race, as Hungary is the closest race track to Poland and I think it’s not a surprise that there will be a lot of Polish fans here, which is always nice. Of course I would like to pay them back for their support with a good performance but I think this will be quite difficult, looking at the season up to now. But still it’s great to see such big support, not only in Formula One, they have been around also when I was rallying, when I was doing some other racing series so yeah, always good, and hopefully they will enjoy their weekend.

    Q: (Tom Richtr – Sport TV) Romain, it’s the middle of the season and the last race in Germany was also a difficult test for the new race director, Michael Masi. At least from our perspective, some great decisions such as wet standing start or his comments towards Lewis Hamilton spinning behind the safety car, what is your view as a director of GPDA on a more relaxed approach, maybe? Or what is the general feeling in regard to co-operation with Michael Masi’s first half year?

    RG: I think he stepped into big shoes – I don’t know if you say that in English – but Charlie was a big part of Formula One for a very long time and replacing a role of Charlie was not easy. I believe he’s done a good job. Personally I’ve been happy with what he’s been doing. I think the standing start in Germany was a good idea. It’s great to see the conditions and then when you think they are OK to go for it. I haven’t seen his comments on Lewis spinning under the safety car. They were tricky conditions. We know the cars don’t have a big operating window so when it’s starting to rain and you’re on slicks you are obviously not in the operating window. I spun just doing the switches on my steering wheel. I think everyone pretty much spun in that race at least once so I guess it was difficult but generally – I don’t know what the others are thinking – but I think he does a good job and listens to us. He’s well on board and (has) a new view on Formula One because he hasn’t been here for a very long time and sometimes it’s good to have new eyes on (it).

    Q: Anybody else have anything to add on the job of Michael Masi? No? OK, next question.

    Q: (Bart Van Dooijweert – nu.nl) Question to all drivers about the pit stop record last weekend set by Red Bull with 1.88s: can you tell me how much effort your team puts into a quick pit stop and do you think it’s possible to do it even quicker than 1.88s?

    LS: Yeah, that’s very impressive and yes, that’s something that the team puts a lot of focus on. It’s a very important part of the race, important part of the strategy so we’re always trying to go quicker. I have a lot of confidence that our guys can go quicker than that.

    KM: Yeah, it’s pretty impressive, I would say, 1.8s but what you really want is consistency and yeah, it’s fine to have a 2.5s stop if you have it every time. But impressive.

    DK: Yeah, I think they are consistently under two seconds now so it’s impressive and incredible to see how the machine… I guess it’s a combination of them together with machinery, how they work. It’s great to see and for sure it’s a lot of hard work but everyone in the paddock works hard to make those pit stops as fast as possible, I think, so it’s impressive what levels they reach.

    RG: Yeah, pretty much the same. I think it’s a new reference in terms of every team is going to try to go as fast as they can and reach that level of performance, because obviously half a second in the pits can be a position on track and much more at the end of the race.

    RK: Well, I think we are in good shape in that; already the second positive thing after engine power is our pit stops. If we would be judged by our pit stops we would be fighting with Red Bull for the championship but unfortunately they are fighting for winning races, we are ending up races lapped most of the time, but it’s a good thing. I think everyone is trying to balance – as Kevin said – performance against the risk. Actually our guys are doing it very fast quite regularly so it looks like that on this point we are pretty on it, so let’s focus on the others.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.Net) Dany, you said after the race in Germany that you felt that you’d sent the message that you can fight at the front of the field on a more regular basis. If an opportunity were to arise with the senior Red Bull team next year, would you feel ready to return?

    DK: I think this kind of thing is decided by the management of Red Bull so it’s better to address these questions to them. At the moment I am driving for Toro Rosso but long term I want to be fighting for podiums and wins but right now the situation is that I am a Toro Rosso driver and the bigger decisions will be made by Red Bull management in the future.

  • F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    On its day there isn’t a sport that can match the drama, exhilaration, and rapture of Formula 1. And on a rainy day in Germany Formula 1 was most definitely delivered a race to remember.

    Saturday qualifying was as embarrassing a day as Ferrari has experienced in some time. Well set to claim at the very least one spot on the front row neither Vettel nor Leclerc made it to the final shootout as both cars suffered technical failures. It left Hamilton to pick up the pieces and secure pole position with Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.

    Though most of the weekend had seen the Hockenheimring drenched in sunshine race day was markedly different as the rain came down. It prompted a couple of formation laps behind the safety car but conditions were good enough for a standing start. It was Hamilton who led away cleanly from pole as bad start, similar to Austria, dropped Verstappen down the other. It allowed Valtteri Bottas into second while Kimi Raikkonen scythed his way into third.

    Charles Leclerc, starting tenth, made an impressive start to be running sixth within a few laps while Seb Vettel too charged his way through the back-markers to fourteenth. The first Safety Car was brought out by Sergio Perez’s crash, which triggered the first round of pitstops with driver’s swopping full wets for intermediate tyres. The race settled momentarily before the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed for Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault that expired in a plume of smoke.

    As conditions improved drivers dived back into the pitlane for dry tyres. With Hamilton and Bottas still running one-two Verstappen struggled to heat his medium tyres and spun in the stadium section but rejoined without any damage. Again, the VSC would be called on as this time Lando Norris retired from the race with a loss of power.

    2019 German GPThe most dramatic sequence of events was just about to unfold. Leclerc, now in contention for the podium and even the race win, ran wide at the penultimate corner and slammed his Ferrari into the barrier and out of the race which prompted the appearance of the Safety Car. No sooner had Leclerc stepped out of his cockpit when race leader Hamilton lost control of his car at the same corner. Though the Mercedes driver too hit the barrier he was able to rejoin with the need for a few front wing.

    He dove into the pitlane but in doing incurred a five second penalty for failing to enter the pitlane before the bollard that indicates the correct pit entry. It wasn’t the end of Hamilton’s misery though as his arrival in the pitbox caught his team unaware. The pitcrew rushed around for the correct tyres and a new nose but thanks to the Safety Car and reduced speed Hamilton emerged in fifth overall.

    As the race ‘settled’ Verstappen was comfortably in the lead with Nico Hulkenberg in second ahead of Bottas. No sooner had the whispers begun spreading that Hulkenberg could be on for his first ever podium than the German driver found himself in the same barrier as Hamilton and Leclerc moments later. Yet another Safety Car was called on as drivers were back in the pits to swop dry tyres for inters. However, Lance Stroll and Racing Point gambled on dry tyres which worked a treat as the Canadian driver found himself in the lead as the rest of the field to the pitlane. Verstappen regained the lead of the race shortly afterward with Stroll desperately holding on to second ahead of Kvyat, Bottas, and Carlos Sainz. As Kvyat took second place from Stroll a few laps later it was going from bad to worse for Hamilton who flat-spotted all four tyres in a high-speed 360 in Turn 1.

    Mercedes’s day was about to get even worse when Bottas, just like Hamilton, spun at Turn 1. Unfortunately for the Finn he didn’t get away with it and destroyed the front of the Merc prompting yet another Safety Car.

    As the race re-started it was Vettel’s turn to come alive. He produced several brilliant overtakes and was past Sainz, Stroll and Kvyat in quick succession. It was a brilliant drive for Vettel who started 20thand last on the grid, kept his composure amid the chaos, and finished a fabulous second.

    2019 German GPUp ahead and well clear of the pandemonium Verstappen led serenely and apart from the earlier spin had no other issues. Apart from Mexico 2018 nearly all of Verstappen’s other race wins have come in dramatic fashion and Germany 2019 was no different. The seventh victory of Verstappen’s career was likely his most mature and reveals a driver ready to be a championship contender.

    While Verstappen marched to his second win in the last three races his teammate Pierre Gasly had a miserable afternoon. There were some good moments for the Frenchman but they were clouded by several off-track excursions before a coming together with Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon which put him out of the race. You cant help but feel as Gasly brought his damaged car to a halt it likely also marks the end of stint as a Red Bull driver.

    As impressive as Verstappen was it is undoubtedly Daniil Kvyat who deserves driver of the day for a sensational third place finish. It has been a long road back from the doldrums for Kvyat who was first replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen and later sacked by Toro Rosso. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Russian driver who may find himself back at Red Bull in quick time.

    Elsewhere, Stroll eventually finished fourth ahead of Sainz in sixth who survived his own spin in the penultimate corner. Alex Albon made it a double-points finish for Toro Rosso in sixth. While the Alfa Romeo’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished seventh and eighth on the track the two cars were later given a 30 second penalties for a pre-race rule infringement of, effectively, driver coaching. Alfa have stated their intention to appeal the penalties.

    This promoted Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen to seventh and eighth while Hamilton too benefited by being elevated to ninth. It also means that Williams secured their first point of the season with the elevation of Robert Kubica to tenth.

    Although this German grand prix is likely the last for the foreseeable future it went out on a spectacularly high-note. There’s little time for F1 to catch its breath as the paddock head to the Hungaroring this weekend for the final race before the month-long summer break.

  • 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
    3 – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Martin Brundle) 

    Q: [Question inaudible]
    Max VERSTAPPEN: ….I had a little moment, but I made a nice 360, so that was nice. I enjoyed that. Of courser to come out on top here it was all about trying not to make too many mistakes. Yeah, really tricky conditions but amazing to win.

    Q: It’s a day for a wise head. You’re such a young man but you still you’re wise head on young shoulders. You really kept your head in the most treacherous conditions when others didn’t. 
    MV: Well you learn, isn’t it, over the years. Of course very happy with the whole performance today.

    Q: Congratulations. Sebastian, well done, you must be so pleased with that, 20th to second. 
    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, thank you. It was a long race, at some stages it felt like it was never-ending. But it was a lot of fun. It was very tough with the conditions. It was very tough to read what was the smartest move, but yeah, I’m just happy.

    Q: Did we hear that you had a little turbo problem early on? You seemed to be struggling for pace and then it really came good. 
    SV: It took a while. I don’t think there was a problem but in the beginning with the intermediates I really couldn’t get the hang of it. Eventually then I got going so it was good that the afternoon took so long. Obviously I stayed tidy for most of the race but yeah, it was a long one. I don’t know if I can recap the whole race now but congratulations to Max, I think he drove superbly, but for us it was just go and get the next car and the next car and the next car.

    Q: When did you first smell a podium? 
    SV: I think before the last safety car, when I realised that I was quite a bit quicker and happy to pass people, it was quite straightforward. I was a little bit faster and could time it right. I saw a lot of people being cautious into the first corner and that’s where I was really giving it everything and it worked to get really into DRS range and I had good moves down the back straight but I don’t know, this race was so long…

    Q: You need to watch your back. 
    SV: Yeah, exactly.

    Q: OK, thanks a lot, Sebastian. Daniil, well done, a podium. Not your first podium but a very enjoyable podium for you. 
    Daniil KVYAT: Yes, it is amazing to be back on the podium. Incredible for Toro Rosso after so many years to bring as podium to the team is amazing and the race was crazy. Finally I managed to put everything together to get this podium and I’m really happy.

    Q: Any big moments? Any scary things going on out there? 
    DK: It was a horror movie with a black comedy. At some point I thought the race was done for me, but then it came alive again, it was an incredible rollercoaster. A bit like my whole career!

    Q: And you’re expecting your first child soon as well.
    DK: Yeah, she was born last night…

    Q: Oh, fantastic, congratulations. 
    DK: Thank you very much.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Many congratulations Max, what a bonkers race. How does it feel? How does it compare to the other six wins? 
    MV: Are you going to keep asking me that question: ‘how does it feel compared to the other ones’? I don’t know. It’s always different. It’s always a different feeling, but this was really good, because it was very tricky out there. We had to stay very focused; we couldn’t afford too many mistakes. I mean now, after the race, I can say I did that 360 for the crowd, but at the time it was a bit tricky out there with the medium tyre, very low grip. I think the information between myself and the team was crucial today. I think we made the right calls and that gave us the victory also. Once I was ahead of the Mercedes cars you could really see the pace we had, because I was stuck in the dirty air in the4 first few laps behind Valtteri but once you are ahead you can basically save your tyres a bit more and everything was a bit more under control. But yeah, good victory.

    Q: Great victory. Congratulations. Sebastian, your 50th podium for Ferrari. It’s been a bit of an emotional weekend for you if you think what happened yesterday and you’ve charged through from the back today. Just describe how it feels? 
    SV: Well, obviously after the disappointing day yesterday, where everything was ready: the crowd was ready; I was ready, the team was ready. Obviously we didn’t have qualifying, so starting last today I was very excited about the race in these conditions. Anything can happen. Obviously the racer turned out a lot crazier than I thought beforehand but yeah I’m very happy obviously. I’m very happy for the team first of all. It’s a tough period for us. We are pushing very hard, we are doing mistakes, we are not where we want to be, but we need to keep believing in ourselves, in our abilities, our strengths, and I’m confident that our days will come. Obviously today very happy for myself, at my home race and it was great to see the crowd, especially at the end, every time I passed in the car they were really excited. I really did enjoy that. A crazy race, a lot of decisions to make, a lot of communications between the car and the pit wall, but I think we stayed calm and tried to do the best at the time. Most of the time we were right, sometimes we were wrong but we kept it clean and I think that was the key and in the end I really started to come alive in these mixed conditions on dry tyres, we were quite comfortable and able to make good progress, because I think two safety cars to the end I was still not even in the top 10 and I was thinking ‘what happened?’ But it was a day like that and a race like that, so I’m quite happy.

    Q: Well done. Dany, what a huge race for you. The birth of your daughter last night and what a way to celebrate that. At what point in the race did you realise the podium was on?
    DK: Yes, thank you. It was an incredible race for myself, a lot of things going on. I guess it was the same for everyone. The beginning of the race was so-so, I think, I was always around the top 10 and I thought some points were possible today. The first when I chose to go on slicks, it was the wrong moment. The second time I think it was the perfect moment and when I saw that others didn’t pit for slicks when I did i thought that’s our moment and I was right and I exited in P3. I had to overtook Stroll forP2 and then from there I just had to hope that quicker cars would take time to catch me at the end of the race. So yeah, I’m very happy with this podium. It’s fantastic also for the team – 11 years since the last podium, which Sebastian did in 2008. I think everyone is very happy today and we have to be happy. From my side of course I would dedicate this podium to my girlfriend Kelly and to my daughter.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Dany, your career’s been on a bit of a rollercoaster over the past couple of years. To now have this result and this breakthrough, how good does that feel over everything that’s happened the last couple of years, and repaying that faith Toro Rosso have shown in you. 
    DK: Yes, you’re right. It was an incredible few years in my life. A lot of realisations in my life because it was sometimes tough times and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and maybe I thought, especially podium, I would never ever have it again, but life just proves that if you work hard and never give up, things are possible. I think that’s exactly what happened today. Even the race was tough for everyone, I managed to keep it cool and just… all these three difficult years, just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally. I lost these chains today. It was hard work to reach this moment and hopefully I can send the message out there that I’m ready now to fight for this kind of moment on a consistent basis – and there is no stronger message than a podium like this.

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportswereld) Question for Max. Big drivers, big champs crashed today. Christian Horner just told Sky that under these chaotic, difficult circumstances, you always stand out, don’t lose your head. Can you explain why you are always so talented under these circumstances?
    MV: A lot of practice I think, from when I was young, in the wet. Working many hours together with my Dad who, I think, was also pretty decent in the wet. So he always gave me good tips. And not only driving in the wet. It’s also making decisions as well, while driving, and paying attention to what’s happening around you. And, of course, experience. In life, in Formula 1. I think if you do over 90 races, you have experienced a lot already and, based on that, of course, you can also make better decisions, I think.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) To all three guys. I guess this is a special result for each and every one of you – but it’s probably even more special for Dr Marko because, at some point in your careers, you went through his hands. Can you probably remember a couple of stories with him? Tell us what he meant for your careers and sort of give us some thoughts on that. 

    Sebastian, why don’t we start with you?
    SV: He’s calling on a regular basis. Not any more for me so regular. I don’t miss the early calls at 7am! “How are you?”

    MV: “I’m in the gym!”
    DK: “Running!”

    SV: It probably pops up on your phone as a pre-select message: ‘I’m in the gym’. No, I mean, obviously he has a great talent for spotting young drivers early on and certainly he’s very tough and very straightforward – but I think you can learn to cope with that. I’m very grateful for the support that I had throughout my career from his side. I think it’s the same for these two. Yeah. I have too many memories; too many stories. Some to share, some not to share, better not to share. He’s always been very funny and we still keep in contact and I appreciate him now as a friend very much.

    Max, Dr Marko?
    MV: Yeah, of course, we are dealing with Helmut every day still, so for me, of course he took the gamble of putting me in Toro Rosso when I was still very young. I’m still young  – but back then I was very young.

    SV: You’re not very young any more…
    MV: Getting old?
    SV: Older.
    MV: Older, yeah…
    DK: You look quite old…
    MV: Already? I should retire in five years than I think. I look older than you?
    DK: I don’t know.
    SV: I look older than you two.
    MV: It’s fine. OK, so back to this story. Helmut is a real racer and he has a good eye of what’s happening still, at his age. So, it is quite impressive still, to see that. But it’s also no nonsense. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. If you do a good job, you do a good job. I think he prefers when  you come up to him and tell him honestly if you made a mistake, or like something went wrong, than make a whole story – because that’s what he doesn’t appreciate. Basically I grew up like that because my Dad was the same – or maybe even worse than that. So… yeah. It’s good to have people like that in the team, of course, and in charge as well. For me, he is still very important and yes, of course it’s great to have him around and experienced a lot of stories with him still – and hopefully many more to come.

    Dany?
    DK: Helmet yeah, so many rollercoasters he organised for me in my career! Maybe more than them. Yeah, a special person in my life, of course our lives now, I guess. And, well, thanks to him very big time we are who we are and the personal improvement, the professional improvement I made thanks to him is huge – and obviously I appreciate what he’s done for me. And I’m here thanks to him. Obviously stories, like Sebastian said, many to share/not to share. I think the most relevant today, it was raining I think once, again 7am, at a test and I was maybe three or four seconds off in my first wet test in Formula BMW at the time and he said: “So, you’re quite useless in the wet,” and just hung up on me.

    MV: You’re imitating him really well!
    DK: Lot of practice! Lot of hearing. So yeah, there was that – and many others. He is always tough on you but he’s always – most of the time – he’s right. And maybe at first it’s hard to take but then you analyse and you improve, simple as that. He always give you the opportunity if you deserve it and I’m very thankful for him.

    MV: You still picking up the phone at seven?
    DK: Yeah! I started to wake up at seven every day now, thanks to him.
    MV: I just turn my phone off, pick up after nine… better. Anyway now, you have to wake up at like… well, you wake up every three hours, go to bed, wake up…
    DK: Well, now that you’re doing so well, you can even sleep until mid-day.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – Racing News 365) Many congrats to all three, especially to Dany with being a father now. Question to Seb and Max though: you’ve shown today that Mercedes can be vulnerable, in their home race in fact. Do you think this has in any way blown open the championship fight again? 
    MV: I don’t know, they are so miles ahead in the championship.
    Q: You’re 62 points behind. 
    MV: Yeah, still quite a lot, isn’t it? It’s more than two victories, and they are still the dominant team, I think. Today was just very tricky out there and it’s easy to make a mistake, as you could see. Yeah, today was not their day. We managed to do a good job but we still have to work very hard to close that gap and actually really fight for the victory every single race so still a lot of work to do. But of course when you can, it’s good to score more points than them.
    SV: Not much to add. We still have a lot of races to go, a lot of things can happen but it’s not like we can expect them to score no points for the rest of the season so pretty much the opposite –  they will be up there. We need to make sure we improve and give them a much harder time and naturally if you put people under pressure then things start to move. So it’s up to both of us, I guess, or us as Ferrari and them as Red Bull.

    Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriera della Sera) Seb, do you consider this second place almost as a victory from what happened yesterday, from what happened today? You did a fantastic job, congratulations.
    SV: Well, I know that Max finished first so it’s not a victory but starting last, I think, with the race that we had, I think we can certainly be very happy recovering and I think it was a very tough race, easy to lose focus or momentum but we kept it throughout. I’m very happy, especially also racing here. I hope that we don’t lose this race. I think not only for me and Nico as German drivers, I think for the German crowd that we saw today and yesterday is very passionate, a lot of people turning up. It was sold out today despite the weather. I think we had a great race and it would be a shame to lose it. Obviously I’m not quite sure what’s in the future, whether there’s a chance to keep it but certainly when it comes to passion and effort that people put into this race it’s pretty high up, so I hope that it’s not… People make some decisions on common sense and not based on how much the wallet is opening. I think we have Grands Prix that we just mustn’t lose such as Monza, such as the race at Silverstone in the UK. I think Germany and Spain have a long history of racing so it would be a shame to lose those and instead go to a place where they pay millions for the race to turn up but nobody is sitting in the grandstand. For us it’s dull, as drivers so I think we rather enjoy here, close to the Netherlands with a lot of Dutch people coming…
    MV: It was a bit tricky today because it was orange against red, you know those colours don’t really match.
    SV: Well, they’re similar. I was taking the orange as well on my side.
    MV: When they were going up, right?
    SV: No, but I think it’s great to see. Obviously for the Germans and the Dutch in particular it will be difficult to go to… I don’t know… overseas. Anyway, to come back to your question, it’s certainly a tough time for us as Ferrari with days like yesterday because it shows that we have things that we need to sort out, we have things that we need to do better but I think in this period it’s very important that we keep the morale, we keep supporting the team. From the inside that is happening, from the outside I hope it’s happening as well. I know the tifosi are behind us but sometimes the headlines can shift in either way so it’s important that we keep the support because I think things are moving, we are pushing very very hard and when it comes to passion I think we put a lot of effort and a lot of hours in; the people are very determined. I’m as impatient as everyone else to get the results finally but it will take a little while. We know what we can improve and that’s where we are working on but in the meantime I hope that people are a bit patient and give us that freedom in that time. But yeah, so in that regard it feels like a small victory today.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volksrand) It was pretty spectacular over there all day, where does this race rank in your top five of craziest races? 
    DK: I think it was clear enough how crazy it was. I think it was the first wet race in a while – and especially this year, so new tyres for everyone, no one knew how to use them very well at the beginning. The spray in the beginning was very high, then the track started drying, then it was on the borderline with slicks and it was very important not to make any mistakes. It was very easy to lock up the wheels under braking or just go a bit wide in some corners and I think today was just about avoiding those costly mistakes and making the right calls at the right time, so it was all about that but the race, I think, must have been quite spectacular to watch from outside. Lucky you.
    MV: Yeah, bit like Brazil 2016 was also quite crazy, all the time switching between extremes and intermediates. Of course we didn’t really get to try slicks, I think. Maybe some tried, I’m not sure but maybe not
    SV: Not in Brazil, no.
    MV: I don’t think so. So it’s maybe a little bit different to here but it’s definitely been one of the most challenging ones.
    SV: Well I’ve had a lot of races, also a lot of great crazy races but it was certainly among the craziest for a while. Max mentioned 2016 in Brazil. Always when the weather is really funny and you have all sorts of conditions it’s very challenging. Today we had between three and five stops for everyone or some even more. Obviously I had a crazy race in 2012 in Brazil as well, Korea 2010.
    MV: Malaysia in 2009?
    Q: Red flag after 36 laps wasn’t it? 
    SV: I had stopped a bit earlier than that, actually! I was out before, I spun out so it wasn’t that crazy. As I said, it’s mostly when the weather is up and down and you have to make those decisions. It’s very tough, you are on the fine edge but it’s also very exciting because you know you can make the difference very quickly. Sometimes you have laps and laps and laps and you’re fighting for half a second that you can make up and other times in these conditions you can gain or lose five seconds and five places.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-total.com) Seb, a couple of drivers lost it in the stadium section today: Lewis, Nico, Charles as well. Does it make you feel any better one year after that the world kind of sees how quickly that can happen in conditions like this? 
    SV: Not really, no. I think that the answer is no. To protect them, I think they know what they’re doing and mistakes happen so I don’t think you should give them a hard time. It was very very tricky out there. I think we all had small mistakes here and there. Obviously some had a bit bigger ones in the wrong places but that’s part of racing so obviously nowadays a lot of people tend to judge everything very quickly but I think as much as they, I am not listening to all of those people. It happens in these conditions, it’s part of racing, as I said.

  • 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.
  • 2019 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    ART ONE: DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Lance STROLL (Racing Point), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

    Lance, it’s both yours and the team’s home race. Just describe how that feels?
    Lance STROLL: Well, it’s obviously a very special weekend; it’s good to be back home. I don’t get to come back often. The week leading up to the race has been great, catching up with friends and family. I enjoyed my time playing hockey with the Montréal Canadiens yesterday, that was fun, and now back to business.

    Q: And I think you’ve got your own grandstand this weekend, is that right?
    LS: That’s right, yeah, at the hairpin, like last year, so that will be very special, my installation lap tomorrow, all the Canadian flags in the grandstands. It’s one of the best weekends on the calendar and definitely the highlight of my season.

    Q: Well, let’s hope that Sunday’s race lasts longer for you than it did last year. Tell us about the car’s potential here at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. What do you think you can achieve?
    LS: Well, historically it’s been a track that’s suited our car. I mean of course it’s a new year and the competition in the midfield is very tight. But I think there is an opportunity for us this weekend. It’s been a challenging couple of events, in Spain and in Monaco, not managing to score points, but we’re looking to turn that around this weekend.

    Q: Well, you have scored points this year, in Australia and Baku. Qualifying seems to have been quite tough for you so far. How does the car feel on light fuel, is it very tricky?
    LS: Yeah, I mean at times I think we have just unfortunately missed out. There are reasons behind why the performance has been poor, but it’s definitely a focus point and we’ll be working on it moving forward.
    Q: Thank you and good luck this weekend. Daniil, your best ever result with Toro Rosso in Monaco, where you finished seventh. Fair to say it was one of your best races?
    Daniil KVYAT: Yeah, I mean, you know how it is in Monaco – you start and pretty from there the positions are consolidated. It was good to get this kind of way, you know. It was a very good day for myself, for the team and to be honest the whole weekend felt quite good in the car – good qualifying. Lately it’s been getting better and better, so I’m pretty happy with things, how they are going, the way they are moving. Hopefully we’ll carry on the momentum and bring it into here as well.

    Q: You say it’s getting better. Is your own performance getting better and better? Are we seeing the best Kvyat we have every seen in Formula 1?
    DK: Perhaps, yes. I wanted to come back to F1 as an improved version of myself and I think I’m managing to do that so far and hopefully again it will be getting better and better.

    Q: You’re equalling a record this weekend: With your former team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne, you’re starting your 58th race for Toro Rosso, which is a record, and you’re only 25. How does that feel and how has the team evolved in that time?
    DK: You’ve made me feel very old now. Yeah, I’m happy with where the team is going to be honest. I’ve seen a lot of things in Toro Rosso and now I think I’m happy with the team around me and I’m quite happy there. The guys are doing a very good job this year, I think improving many things that in the past were maybe holding this team back, and I’m happy to contribute, to help the team improve these things.

    Q: Good stuff and good luck this weekend. Lando, you first time here in Montréal. What are you expecting from this race track? The walls are pretty close.
    Lando NORRIS: It’s pretty difficult to say. I’ve obviously done my share of sim work and preparation and seen onboards and whatever, just what the usual is. It’s a new weekend. Monaco didn’t go quite so well for me but it’s an exciting one. From what I’ve seen in the past it looks a fun track, it’s a fun track to drive, although it’s pretty tricky. I’m just looking to have fun and hopefully some racing on Sunday and I guess our aim for the whole weekend is before we go into more details, let’s say it’s to get into Q3 and have a points finish. But the midfield is very tight, like Lance said, and it’s going to be tough. We just need to make sure we’re at the front of that, and yeah, just give it our best.

    Q: The intra-team battle between you and Carlos is proving pretty tight this year, just six points between you? How’s the working relationship between you?
    LN: It’s going pretty well, actually. I’ve team-mate in other categories of course, but it’s always different when you get to Formula 1, a lot of people… People try to make a lot more of fierce battle between team-mates, a lot of media and everything always look into that kind of things. But we’re have a lot of fun and yeah, we’re friends away from the track. We’ve had a lot of fun so far this season. There has been no conflict. There have not been any points so far where we’ve had different decisions or different opinions on different things; we’ve gelled pretty well. And for the team anyway that has been very positive. We have similar comments. We have different feelings and prefer different things on the car, but we work together, which also helps the team improve, go in a similar direction and that’s a positive thing. Looking ahead to the future, I’m trying to improve the car and become a better team. It’s been good fun and I’m sure it’s going to improve and help things going forward.

    Q: You say you are looking to improve the car. Tell us a little bit about the car, as it appears that it tends to fluctuate a little bit from track to track. Is that a fair assessment?
    LN: Yeah, I think if you look back…. I don’t know, the one fairly standout one was China and that was just not a good weekend altogether for us, as a tea. But we bounced back fairly well and apart from that we have been fairly strong – top 10 contenders shall we say. I think just because the midfield is close, it’s four teams, five teams, and different teams are better in different areas and at different tracks and it’s hard to make those differences sometimes more than others. Coming into this weekend, it’s just going to be one of those times where we could be very strong or not be strong but we never really know, although we have assumptions on where the car is good or bad. Other teams as well. It’s always a different track when you go out and drive. It’s getting there. It’s improving slowly, but it’s not where we want it to be yet.

    Q: Thank you Lando and enjoy yourself this weekend. Kimi, we’ve heard about the performance of the McLaren, tell us a little bit about the Alfa Romeo. The season started very well for you guys but it appears to have dropped off in the last couple of races. Why do you think that is?
    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Honestly, we were not that fast. I think, definitely not what we wanted but in Monaco if you qualify quite badly that’s pretty much where you are going to race. After Saturday, after the first few laps and the first pit stop you know where you are going to be. But in Barcelona I think we understood some things that were wrong. Those are two separate things but I think those circuits overall were not very good for us. Hopefully we are back here a bit more normal position but we are only going to find out over the weekend, so we’ll see. Nothing major wrong, it’s just that we lack speed.

    Q: Now, it’s Lando’s first weekend here. It didn’t go so badly for you back in 2001, your first time here, you finished fourth. Tell us a little bit about the track, the highlights from a driver’s point of view?
    KR: It’s quite a tricky track in the end, because obviously… It’s not really a street circuit but it’s very narrow on the exit of the chicanes, so if you get it wrong you have to push over the kerbs and if your car is not very good over the kerbs it’s easy to touch the walls. Plus, there are a lot of brakings (sic) that have to be right. It not an awful lot of corners but it’s not the easiest place to get right.

    Q: Thank you, Kimi. Lewis, well, fourth for Kimi on his first outing here in 2001, and of course you won your first ever grand prix here back in 2007. Can you tell us what it’s like to come back to Montréal, a track where you’ve had so much success and what you are looking forward to this weekend?
    Lewis HAMILTON: [To Lando Norris] I’m just wondering, how old are you?
    LN: Nineteen.
    LH: Shoot… No, I love coming back to Montréal. The weather is often great here. The circuit is fantastic and it’s a track that I think everyone enjoys. It’s definitely in the top three of the favourite circuits of the year. And I think the city is a big part of that. The city is very vibrant. The people are super welcoming, great food. Even just today, you see the whole bridge is covered with fans, so you already know that you have a massive turnout for this race. From a driver’s perspective the track is awesome. It’s a bit go-kart-esque, with great long straights, so you can overtake, and you’re throwing the car over these big, huge kerbs around the track and there are not massive run-off areas, so it’s a bit of a high-speed street circuit, which is great.

    Q: Why do you think you excel here?
    LH: Well, I don’t think I’ve really excelled for quite a while here, if I’m really honest. When I was at McLaren it worked quite well. I think our car was quite nimble back then and working really well here. I don’t think I’ve been massively successful as far as I can remember in recent years. But it’s been a bit harder in the hybrid era, especially since we’ve had a longer car, since 2017, so it’s a little bit harder to get turned around some of these corners. But our car is a lot better this year in the slower-speed, medium-speed corners, so I anticipate that this year we will be stronger than we have been in the past. But being that we have these long straights, you k now that the Red Bulls and the Ferraris will be particularly really strong this weekend and I’m excited for that fight.

    Q: Can you just elaborate on how you see the balance of power coming into this weekend? Are you more nervous about this weekend than the previous six this year?
    LH: No, I wouldn’t say I was more nervous about this weekend. You do notice in Monaco that everyone gets a lot closer, or the top teams particularly are a lot closer, but generally everyone is more packed together. A lot of these other teams have got great packages and are getting closer and closer throughout the year, which is great to see. Here, there are not a huge amount of corners and it’s a lot of straight-line speed. Honda have really picked up their pace with their engine this year, so the Red Bulls should be really strong and they’re great through corners. The Ferrari is generally the quickest car in a straight line, all year long. In the past races we’ve been able to catch them up through the corners, but whether or not that will be the case this weekend, time will tell. But I hope there is a close battle between us all.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, when we were in Monaco, you said you expected to have an upgraded engine here. The team’s confirmed that. Because you’ve had six races, the team has won every race despite not having that engine upgrade your rivals have. How much of a step do you expect to take this weekend. And with the improvements to the car, making it better in lower and medium speed this year, do you feel the team’s in its strongest all-round position that it’s been since you’ve been with Mercedes?
    LH: Well, on the engine side, the guys back at Brixworth have been working incredibly hard. It’s not been the easiest beginning of the year in terms of preparing an engine. Whilst it’s an evolution of previous years, each time you’re always trying to push the envelope, and there’s so many people working so hard to improve it. As I said, it’s not been the smoothest ride but we’ve had great reliability with the first engine. It’s always great when you have a new engine, being that it’s fresh. This is a power circuit, so it’s come at the perfect time. If you look at the previous years, this is the race we always bring our second engine. It’s Phase II so it will have all-new mods. Slight improvements everywhere: it’s not a massive… it’s not like at the beginning of the hybrid era where you took massive strides forwards – or even last year. It’s just small steps. The biggest difference is that it’s brand new; fresh. The old engine that’s done six races will have degradation etc., But the guys have worked so hard, it’s now small percentages but they’re very much appreciated.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonese – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Lewis. You come from two difficult life periods, not about yourself but we have the funeral of Niki and then there was death on Thursday of the poor kid, Harry [Shaw]. I know that you drew inspiration in Spain from this poor guy. I would like to know if these two things can stimulate you more over this grand prix to honour the memory of Niki and the memory of the young guy? Thank you.
    LH: I don’t know if it stimulates more. It’s just that, as you go through life, when you see things happen, or you experience certain things, you naturally grow through it. I think, naturally we continue to race with Niki in our hearts and that’s not going to stop. We always want to continue to make him proud. Of course, devasting to… I can’t understand how… life is so precious and how such a young… how young people can lose their lives so early on. It’s just beyond me. But I have the greatest memories with little Harry. God has another angel. Coming into this weekend we’ve all got to stay positive. I’ve got a lot of people relying on me to continue to do the job. So, it’s just strange how the world continues to move on. The world just continues. What’s really important for each and every single one of us. We all have our own lives and we don’t know how long or short they’re going to be. You just have to maximise every opportunity. Every day that I have, I’m trying to grow, trying to be the best I can be, do what I love, regardless of people’s opinions, and just live life to the fullest.

    Q: (Walter Buchignani – Montreal Gazette) I have a very local question for those of you who’ve been here before. Can we have your impressions on the new installations please?
    DK: They renewed the paddock this year. I think it looks wider but looks good I guess. I don’t know. For me, more important is the track. The room is there where I can sit down and that’s it, that’s all that matters. The track is fine. Some other things stayed old. It’s good, always welcome the renovations.

    LH: It looks beautiful. I’ve not really seen much of it – obviously we’re in it now. It’s only taken the 13 years I’ve been here for them to put it together, being it’s one of the most attended races, I’m surprised they didn’t do it sooner but it’s great that they have. It means that they’ve made a real investment, it means this track is going to be here for a long time, as it should be. They’re still working on the road works outside. That bridge! I swear they’ve been working on that since I started in Formula One! I don’t know if it’s every going to get done. Maybe they should hire the same people that did this building because they’ve done a good job.

    LS: It’s beautiful. It’s great for the city, great for the grand prix. I hope it sticks around because we all think it’s a great place to come race. It’s awesome to drive around here and there’s great racing as well. Really please for Montreal. Let’s enjoy it.

    KR: I haven’t been in the boxes or in a garage, so its hard to say. What I heard is that it’s better for the guys to work, so I think they will appreciate a lot. I think you’ll get the very honest answer from them if you ask after the weekend how was it. I’m sure it’s better for them to work and for everybody here, so that’s a good thing.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Question for Kimi and Dany. Kimi, one-third of the season almost done. How is it to be back in the midfield after 16 seaons fighting at the front. And Daniil, you’re back to where you started in terms of teams. You just mentioned how much the team has changed and improved. How different are you from when you were driving for them the first time around, now that you have the experience?
    DK: Yeah, I think, like I said also before, I think the team is moving in a good direction. I think in the winter there was a plan to improve certain areas that in the past weren’t fantastic. It’s important to see that it’s getting better. Also, our car, I think, is showing consistent performance on most kinds of track. Me likewise. I wanted to work on certain things for my comeback in Formula One. There’s been a lot of good work put in behind the scenes and it’s paying off, which I am very pleased to see. Hopefully it will carry on like that. We should never stop, as  a team, and I’m happy with the team around me as well. We should never stop developing and just aim to move in the same direction, for me and for the team.

    KR: I think the work itself is no different. Basically do the same stuff, it doesn’t matter which team you are in. Racing, I think there has been some good battles. If it’s like Monaco, even in the front, if you’re stuck behind somebody, it’s not the greatest place for racing but there’s been good battles here and there. I wouldn’t say that a lot of things have changed. I think you get more close battles in quite a few races because the midfield teams are more close together. At least there’s been some overtaking this year – but generally the working side hasn’t changed. It’s a bit less busy, so that’s a good thing.

    Q: (Philippe Lague – 98.5FM Montreal) I have a question for Lewis. We’ve talked about Niki Lauda and it was quite a loss but here I would like to have for our local audience your personal input. I read somewhere that he made you a better driver. Can you elaborate on that please?)
    LH: Niki never talked to me about driving. As racing drivers, we don’t really do that necessarily. He hired me to do a job. He didn’t hire me to then tell me how to do the job. He was just, for me, a massive part of my journey. Obviously I wouldn’t have joined this team if it wasn’t for Niki. And then, along the way, just understanding how he was a racer and his approach and how he pushed the people around him to help extract more from the team. I definitely learnt that sort of thing from him. I could see that from him all the time, so I’ve definitely incorporated that in how I manoeuvre throughout my year. In terms of driving, that’s all been trial and error through myself really but as I said, I wouldn’t have had the platform to develop as a driver; I wouldn’t have the platform I currently have without Niki.

    Q: (Stu Cowan – Montreal Gazette) Question for Lance. What do you like most about this track and what’s the most challenging and/or fun part of it for a driver?
    LS: I think just the technicality of it in general. It’s got a lot of character. Lewis mentioned it earlier. You’re riding the kerbs, there’s not a lot of room for error. Long straights which allow for good overtaking, so there’s a bit of everything. For a racing driver, that makes the weekend in general very exciting. It’s a lot of fun to drive over one lap. You have to be very committed and use all of the race track. On Sunday it’s a proper race, and that’s great for the fans as well.

    Q: (Oliver Brown – The Telegraph) Question for Lewis. The programme that you did with David Letterman. There was an interesting section where your Dad was referring to the management breakup back in 2010, and he said that it broke his heart. I just wondered if you could reflect on how difficult that period was and how much more it makes you appreciate the relationship you have with him now.
    LH: There’s nothing that hasn’t ever really been spoken about before. The relationship is fantastic now and unfortunately it wasn’t always great but that happens within families. The great thing is that… actually this year I had the first Christmas with my whole family this year. With my Mum and my Step-Mum and my Dad and sisters together and my brother together. So it was the first united Christmas that I’ve had over the years. So, there’s been massive growth within the family and between me and my Dad, we just went out partying for him birthday the other day until the early hours of the morning in London, which was awesome. Sometimes it just takes people time apart to build and grow within themselves so then they can come back into relationships. But for sure, as you get older you realise how precious time is. I’ve got friends who don’t have their dads any longer and some that didn’t speak to their dads for 25-30 years. I never ever want that to happy. My Dad’s someone who I think is the greatest man I know and someone I aspire to be a lot like and for sure want him to be around for a long time. So, that’s why I’m pushing him in the gym to stay fit. Health is everything.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Lewis, you said this was one of the top three tracks in your opinion. Which are the other two?
    LH: Silverstone and Austin, they are my… Why? Literally because… look, we’ve got Monaco which is spectacular. I live there, I love it but you all know how the race is from the day before. It’s not a race that… I personally don’t enjoy driving the race because you can make your car as wide as you want, you can’t actually entertain. You don’t turn passes in, for example. Austin, you can overtake, it’s a brand new circuit but it’s got a lot of great character, you can actually follow. Same with here, it’s a race track where you can get quite close. It is a street circuit on this incredible little island in this big city and it’s just very unique in its own way. It’s very high speed braking, big stops and there are some big curves. And then the Silverstone Grand Prix, that track has history galore, the layout is just incredible. It’s all high speed and medium speed and it’s the ultimate test… probably of all the tracks the ultimate test of the downforce of a car and you’ve got some of the coolest sections: Copse, Maggotts, Becketts, Stowe. Those sectors, that whole combination is not… I don’t think there’s many tracks in the world that have a better combination of corners in my personal opinion. But also there, you can, being that it’s wide enough, you can naturally follow and there is some really good racing there so that’s why it’s my personal favourite.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – Press Association) Just on that Letterman interview, Lewis, you spoke about dealing with mental issues and instabilities. Is that something you still sort of not struggle with but contend with during your career now and is it easier to manage that aspect of your career now than it was perhaps in the earlier days?
    LH: Yeah, it’s definitely better when you’re… I think probably the older you get, the more you understand about the world and yourself and about your health. I think a bit step for me was when I decided to go to a plant-based diet, that really changed a huge amount for me and the positive impact that’s had, mentally and physically, means I just wish I did it a lot earlier. Unfortunately, the education (about it) is pretty poor so for kids that are at school, and obviously parents aren’t probably educating their kids because they also don’t know of the positive effects it can have. Not every day is easy, you still come across humps but ever year I’m getting new tools to be able to handle and deal with them and learning new things all the time, so (I’m) definitely in the best place I’ve ever been but you’ve really seen that shift over the past years and I don’t think that’s ever going to stop, I think that continues to learn and grow and improve.

    Q: (Bob Fouaur – The Correspondent) I have a question for Lewis and Lance. The rules are being considered for revision and right now we’ve got a pretty substantial gap between the top three and the midfield. I’m wondering what you, as drivers, think should happen to the rules?
    LH: Regulations or rules? Which one? Regulations. In my personal opinion if you look over the last 12 years and beyond that, they always shift and change the regulations for the car, trying to improve costs, trying to improve overtaking and I think in general the decisions have not been great in all those years. You’ve got Liberty that’s taken over now and you still have the same issues, people are not so excited, you still have that separation between all the top wealthier teams and the lower teams. I think there’s more to it than just changing the regulations of the car. That continues to be a fundamental issue but there’s also the entertainment aspect. If you look, every weekend is the same four days for 21 weekends in a year and that format’s never changed, so I think there’s also the entertainment aspect of it that probably has to shift, to suit different tracks. You’ve got Monaco on which you can’t overtake – maybe you have two races there, I don’t know what it is but I don’t have the answers for it but I think that element also needs to have a real look into it because the fans are the reason that we continue to be able to do what we do and I see that whilst there’s a lot of people here, there are races where there are not big attendances, promotion is perhaps not always the best in some places. People do continue to comment that it’s boring because you still have a period of time where Ferrari wins for a period of time, McLaren wins for a period of time, Mercedes, Red Bull. How you stop that, that is definitely a part of the regulations but I think on a more global scale, I think there needs to be some more changes even outside of the regulations in my opinion. I think Ross and that (team)  are hopefully thinking about that for 2021 but ultimately we… if I had the choice I would go back to V12s, naturally aspirated engines, I would have manual gearboxes, I’d make it harder for the drivers, take away all these big run-off areas that you have everywhere, should not have steering assistance or even if you do have steering assistance you’ve got to have it low. I like it having low so it’s harder for me. You should be just so physically exhausted after the race, to the point… like a marathon. Sometimes you do these races and you can get up and… I could do a race… I could probably do two or three races in a row and Formula One should not be like that. Also it’s a man’s sport, you know, and a lot of youngsters come in and it’s quite easy for them to get straight into it but I do think it should be the most physically challenging and probably why a lot of us drivers are able to go on for a long period in time is because we can handle it. There’s a bunch of different things I have.
    LS: I think closer racing, to start off with is the main thing. There’s a bunch of other factors which could use change but I think closer racing, budget caps to make the field more equal would be much more exciting. You look at the NHL, the NFL, the NBA, the teams are so close. On any given Sunday in the NFL any team can win. That’s because it’s capped properly, it’s managed properly and that allows for exciting competitions and it would be great to see the same thing in Formula One where instead of a second and a half, two seconds between the field, it comes down to tenths. I think that would really spice things up and then of course, closer racing, regulation changes to allow us to race wheel to wheel which I know is definitely a focus point so really all these things.
    LH: We need better tyres. We need better tyres.

    Q: (Yhacbec Lopez – Motorlat) Lance, this year you have had some trouble in qualifying. It’s for a particular reason with the car or set-up or what is the problem exactly?
    LS: I think there’s always reason. I think we’ve been unfortunate a couple of times: traffic here and there, there’s always things but the last couple of races the car hasn’t been very competitive which is the main reason really. In order to qualify well, you need a quick car under you and the midfield being so tight, we see from track to track the strengths and weaknesses of different teams on different types of tracks. The last couple of events haven’t suited our car and then yeah, there’s definitely things on my side that I definitely need to work on, get to grips with the car. It’s a new car, new environment for me and I need to work on my weaknesses and build on my strengths. On a positive side, the race pace has been very good. We’ve managed to score points in a couple of events but we definitely want to be consistently in the points more often and fighting up at the front, that’s the goal.

    Q: (Maxime Sarasin – 98.5 FM) Lewis, we were talking about possible changes to the rules. Do you think personally that drivers should have a louder say in all those changes, for the future? And what is the legacy you really want to leave as a driver, personally?
    LH: Well, all the drivers are united for the first time. We are all part of the GPDA so we are all united, we are all working together, we all communicate. Unfortunately, the technical regulations are done by the people with power, with money and we generally have a little say, if any, as to what changes will take place. Ultimately we know what it’s like to race, we know what the challenges are and so we’re very open to being a part of it and contributing any of our ideas because we all naturally do have ideas and we all know where the limits are. One of the guys who works with us, Alex Wurz, for example, an ex-driver, he also knows and understands – because it’s pretty similar to when he was racing in terms of issues. So we do want to be a part of the conversation because ultimately we can help for the future. Also, a lot of the things that we push for are for the younger generation of drivers, things that we change in the rules for the drivers’ side of things is so that the younger drivers that come through will benefit from those things.
    In terms of my legacy, it’s difficult to say, really. I think there are so many elements that are to be worked on. Ultimately, I want to somehow find some more… help pave the way for some younger drivers to come through from a similar background to myself for example. That means getting involved in go-karting from the early phases of motor racing. It’s so expensive now, to race go-karts. I think when I started, I think me and my Dad told me we spent £20,000 in the first year which was a huge amount of money from where we come from on a council estate in the UK. But today, to do a professional season of karting, it’s in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, like two or three hundred thousand dollars or something to be professional. Now that’s a lot of money to spend in a year. I want to be a part of somehow shifting that, also helping shift the diversity a little bit because there really is the most minimal diversity within this sport and I really somehow want to be a part of shape-shifting that with Formula One, working in co-operation with Formula One and the FIA. I don’t know why there’s not enough university students, engineers, mechanics and even within the media, coming through from more diverse backgrounds. I don’t know that’s always been the way it is today but I see a real opportunity there to be a part of shape-shifting that.  So that’s ultimately, in 20 years time, I want to look back or if I ever hear someone whispering they would say that I was a part of shifting that.

  • F1 2019: Baku Gp Review – Bottas 2.0 Wins Again

    F1 2019: Baku Gp Review – Bottas 2.0 Wins Again

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

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

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

    2019 Azerbaijan GPIf it’s organizational brilliance at Mercedes then at Ferrari it is the calamitous opposite. The dubious decision to put both cars out on the medium compound tyre for the second session of qualifying was the beginning of Ferrari’s unraveling this weekend. Not only was the track temperature not conducive to the medium tyre but also strategically it made little sense for Sunday’s race, more on that later.

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

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

    2019 Azerbaijan GPAhead Bottas had the race firmly in control despite a late VSC (Virtual Safety Car) deployed for the stricken Red Bull of Pierre Gasly. Elsewhere the other biggest incident of the race was a misjudgment on the brakes from Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who took out himself and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. To add to his blushes Ricciardo strangely reversed into side of Kvyat when trying to rejoin the track and has been given a three-place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.

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

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

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

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport 
  • F1 2019: Australian GP Preview – Ready to go

    F1 2019: Australian GP Preview – Ready to go

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

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

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

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

    Valtteri Bottas_Silverstone 2017_Thursday P1It’s a big year for the teammates. At Mercedes Valtteri Bottas has to impress Toto Wolff and co enough to keep Esteban Ocon out of his seat. Not in the Finn’s favour is the fact that in order to do so he has to beat, or at least match, his teammate and five-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. It’s a tall order for the Bottas but his task is crystal clear.

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

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

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

  • Kvyat Dropped by Toro Rosso Again

    Kvyat Dropped by Toro Rosso Again

    The Toro Rosso Formula One Team announced that they will drop Daniil Kvyat and will bring back Pierre Gastly for the Mexican Grand Prix.

    Kvyat Returned to Toro Rosso for the United States Grand Prix after he was dropped for Gasly at the Malaysia and Japanese Grand Prix. With the early departure of Carlos Sainz to Renault Kvyat was brought back together with rookie Berndon Hartley.

    But now Toro Rosso are dropping the Russian for the third time in favour for Gasly.

    Toro Rosso are locked in a mid field constructors battle with Williams and Renault. Toro Rosso are currently sitting in 6th with 53 points. Williams are 5th with 68 points with Renault 7th with 48 points. With Sainz starting rather well at Renault collecting points on his first outing for the team, Renault have a good chance of overhauling the points difference to Toro Rosso with two rookies.

     

  • Sainz to Join Renault after Japanese Grand Prix, Palmer Out

    Sainz to Join Renault after Japanese Grand Prix, Palmer Out

    Carlos Sainz will move to Renault following the Japanese Grand Prix after Renault’s Jolyon Palmer announced after qualifying that he will participate in his final race on Sunday afternoon at Suzuka.

    Sainz was supposed to join Renault from next year but according to a statement released by Toro Rosso “circumstances have changed” and they are able to release Sainz earlier.

    “First of all I would like to thank Toro Rosso and Red Bull for allowing me the possibility of finishing this season with Renault Sport Racing,” said Sainz.

    “More specifically, I really want to thank all my engineers and mechanics for their support and tremendous work throughout these years.

    “Toro Rosso is made up of a fantastic group of people and I wish them only the best for the future.

    “On my side, I will definitely do my very best in tomorrow’s race… this would be the best possible send-off! Additionally, competing in these last four races with Renault gives me a good opportunity to get to know the team and the car earlier than expected. I am looking forward to start working with them.”

    Daniil Kvyat will return from the United States Grand Prix to see out the end of the season and will race alongside Pierre Gasly, the man who replaced him at the Malaysia Grand Prix.

    Team Principal of Toro Rosso Franz Tost: “I would like to thank Carlos for all his efforts over almost three Formula 1 seasons.

    “He always did his very best, demonstrating an excellent attitude and commitment to his work, which helped him and us to get some great results during that time.

    “Therefore, on behalf of everyone at Toro Rosso, I wish him all the very best with his new team. We look forward to beating him on track!”

    Jolyon Palmer_Japan 2017Early Renault Exit for Palmer

    The Renault F1 Team confirmed that Jolyon Palmer, who’s future at the team was in doubt, will race his final race for the team in Japan.

    Renault say that they have reached a “mutual agreement” with Palmer to terminate his services for the rest of the season.

    “The Japanese Grand Prix will be my last race for Renault,” commented Palmer.

    “It’s been an extremely challenging season and I’ve been through a lot in the last three years, but it’s been a tremendous journey overall with the team.

    “I can look back proudly at the performance in the second half of last season, my first point in Malaysia and of course reaching a career high of sixth place in Singapore this year.

    “I wish the team all the best for the future. My immediate focus is now on achieving the best possible result in the Japanese GP, and then I can assess my options for the future.”

    There were reports that Sainz would, in fact, switch over to Renault before the end of the season pending a financial settlement with Palmer who did not want to accept any settlement and wanted to race till the end of the season. It appears that this may have happened or at least some pressure may have been applied on Palmer to perform.

    Cyril Abiteboul, Renault Sport Racing Managing Director: “I would like to thank Jolyon for his commitment to the team and his professionalism.

    “Since Renault’s return to Formula 1, Jolyon has been highly dedicated in an evolving environment.

    “He has shown great personal qualities and we wish him all the best in his future career.”