The hardest braking point on the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore is approaching Memorial corner. Here the driver has to decelerate by 229 km/h over just 131 metres inside 1.43 seconds. In the process, power of 2,203 kW gets released. The driver is subjected to 5.1g and has to push with 155 kg onto the brake.
Tag: f1
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Liberty Media Agrees to Formula One Purchase
Liberty Media Group has announced that it has agreed to acquire Formula One from CVC Capital and others.
The deal, which values Formula One at $8.0 Billion and a $4.4 billion equity value, will be concluded in stages. An 18.7% minority stake will be acquired initially for $746 million which will be funded in cash by Liberty Media’s cash holdings. The sale will be concluded when Liberty Media acquires 100% of Delta Topco, the holding company of Formula One, around the first quarter of 2017.
The transaction will also include the $4.1 billion of existing Formula One debt and $0.7 billion of cash holdings by Formula One.
CVC will continue to be the controlling shareholder until the sale is complete and will continue to hold 65% of Formula One Group’s equity. CVC will also be represented at board level to support Liberty Media to continue to develop the sport. In addition to the board representation, CVC will also have someone installed on the board of directors of Liberty Media.
Teams will also be given a chance to participate in the shareholding of Formula One. The details of those agreements will be agreed to in due course.
Bernie Ecclestone will remain as CEO of Formula One under Liberty Media with newly appointed Chase Carey will take up the position as Chairman of the new Formula One Group succeeding Peter Brabexk-Letmathe who will remain on the board of Formula One as a non-executive director.
“I am thrilled to take up the role of Chairman of Formula One and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team,” said Carey
“I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world.“I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.”
Greg Maffei, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Media, said: “We are excited to become part of Formula One. We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula One and benefit fans, teams and our shareholders.
“We look forward to working closely with Chase Carey and Bernie Ecclestone to support the next phase of growth for this hugely popular global sport.”
Bernie Ecclestone, Chief Executive Officer of Formula One, said: “I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula One and I look forward to working with them.”
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Watch: Nico Rosberg Previews The Singapore Grand Prix
The Singapore city circuit has 23 corners – more than any other track. Andrew Shovlin – the Team`s Chief Race Engineer comments „The track is demanding for the tires with so many corners. It`s about balancing the whole lap“. For MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 Team driver Nico Rosberg Singapore is very special event – it will be his 200th Grand Prix. Rosberg said, „It is a challenge because having all this lighting, it does make it more difficult visibility-wise.”
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F1 2016: Italian Gp Review – Rosberg Romps to Italian Win
When Lewis Hamilton secured pole position on Saturday by half a second over his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg looked a beaten man. But little did he know that he would be gifted the lead of the Italian grand prix mere seconds after the red lights went out.
A mistake from Hamilton on the starting grid dropped him down to sixth and presented Rosberg the perfect opportunity to make it two wins in two weeks. Hamilton’s trouble promoted the Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen into second and third but the red cars weren’t a match for Rosberg’s Mercedes.
As Rosberg strolled to career victory number 21 Hamilton recovered to second overall. The two Ferraris ran a two-stop strategy, as opposed to Mercedes’ one-stop, and put on a descent show for the Tifosi. Though they were never in contention their third and fourth place finishes were not as far off Mercedes as many feared it would be. Both drivers reported that the engine upgrade introduced in Italy worked well.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo pulled off a stunning move into turn one on Williams’ Valtteri Bottas finish fifth. It was a weekend of damage limitation for Red Bull on a circuit where it always going to be difficult for the Renault engine to stand up to the Mercedes and Ferrari. Valtteri Bottas delivered solid points for Williams in sixth while the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen came home in seventh. Force India’s Sergio Perez had a quiet afternoon, which eventually netted him eighth place. Felipe Massa, who announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2016 season, scored two points in ninth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India in tenth.
Though it didn’t deliver a spectacular result the Italian Gp proved vital for Williams. The sixth and ninth place finishes by Bottas and Massa has allowed Williams to take back into fourth in the constructor’s standings from Force India. This battle is likely to endure for the remainder of the season and has serious financial rewards for whichever teams comes out on top. Jenson Button, who will be taking a sabbatical in 2017, finished twelfth while teammate Fernando Alonso was fourteenth.
Rosberg’s first Italian Gp win puts him only two points off the championship lead. Rosberg remarked in a post-race interview that the battle between himself and Hamilton will carry on for the rest of the season. Rosberg has done a perfect job since the summer break and, as it stands the battle has been as close as it’s ever been on points. But it’s on the track where we are still waiting to see that wheel-to-wheel battle between the two championship contenders.The 2016 Italian grand prix wasn’t the most exciting in recent memory. However, the scene from the podium, which stretches partly onto the start/finish straight, was something to behold. For as far as the eye could see were adoring racing fans waving their flags, cheering their favourites, and sharing their passion for this sport. That is why Monza can never be left off any F1 calendar.
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2016 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference
DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Eddie Jordan)
Nico, I don’t need to tell you, your 50th podium, your 21st race win and more importantly, his first win in Monza!
Nico ROSBERG: Thank you very much everyone, it’s absolutely amazing. It’s a very special day for me. I’m very happy to finally win here in Italy. You guys are unbelievable and it just makes it phenomenal to be up here so thank you very, very much and I’m going to enjoy this day.
Come on, tell us a little bit about the race. It was pretty much trouble-free, could your sort of control it from the front all the time apart from the pit stop?
NR: It was all down to the start. I had an awesome start and that made the win, so it was all there.
We’ll be back to you in a second. Ladies and gentleman, we know this man. Come on, how good is it to be here in front of all your adoring fans. Lewis, was it all down to the start?
Lewis HAMILTON: Firstly, look at this crowd. A big thank you to everyone for coming out. This is the best crowd we get all year; this is incredible. Obviously the start, but it’s still a great day for Mercedes Benz and I’m proud to be a part of it.
I’ve got to say, 14 race gone, two points between you two guys, I mean it’s all to play for isn’t it? it’s fantastic for us, the fans.
LH: Yeah, it’s good for you guys. I don’t know it it’s fantastic for the fans in the sense that there should have been more of us racing, there should have been a bigger race between Ferrari and us this weekend but hopefully in the future there will be.
Lewis, fantastic, well done and well done yesterday, great qualifying. Sebastian, first of all… it’s hard to believe this, isn’t it? It’s unbelievable.
Sebastian VETTEL: Unbelievable. This is the best podium in the world. Noi, Ferrari abbiamo i migliori tifosi del mondo. Grazie a tutti, grazie per essere venuti, grazie!!
This is dreamtime but nevertheless I’ve got to ask you the question: when do you think, how soon can you take these boys from Mercedes on? How soon can you be on the top of the podium?
SV: Well, we’ll try. We’re working very hard. They are doing a very good job, so you have to say “well done” and show them the respect for what the achieved in the last couple of years, but we’re fighting. I’m sure Ferrari will come back. I can’t make any promises about when, but I know we will, so keep believing, keep it up, I know that we believe in it and I’m sure we will succeed.
Why don’t you just say a few words to them in their Italian tongues?
SV: Un’altra volta – grazie, grazie mille. Noi siamo Ferrari.
Nico, a wonderful day for you, can you describe it?
NR: Oh yeah, it’s unbelievable. This makes it unbelievable. A part of me is Italian in a way, because I have a lot of friends and grew up with the culture, so all the more special. Siete i migliori del mondo, veramente. Incredibile. Grazie mille. Troppo bello. Proviamolo!! (then he sings).
We knew you were a driver but we didn’t know you were a member of The White Stripes! Anyway, please tell us, you’ve come back from the summer break and you’ve won those two races, you’re like a new man aren’t you, what’s happened to you?
NR: I’m feeling great. The race is on with Lewis of course, it’s always going to be a great battle and I look forward to what’s to come.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Nico, congratulations, your first Monza victory, second win in a week. Obviously you won it at the start. We talked about the start as an opportunity here yesterday, so tell us about that? Two points in it now in the championship and it looks like you’ve got a future in singalong as well?
NR: As we discussed, the start was the big opportunity and that worked out fantastically. I got a great start, because of course we had the soft and Ferrari had the supersoft and that worked out great and that gave me the race win in the end, because from then on I was able to control the pace and we had good speed. The singalong was awesome. The Italian crowd is just the best in the world and it’s really good fun.
Is that become a new signature when you win now?
NR: It just works here with them.
OK. Lewis, conversely, you lost it at the start. I understand you told the team by radio that it was your mistake and you obviously did everything you did to recover but were the 10 laps behind the Williams of Bottas… did that leave you too much to do in the end?
LH: Well, obviously yeah it was lost at the start. To be honest, I knew my engineers would be worried and nervous of how the start went, so that’s why I tried to put their minds at ease. I don’t really know what happened at the start, though obviously I will try to understand it later. I did everything normal. But, yeah, it’s hard to overtake here. Live to fight another day and you know a great audience here, as every year just an incredible crowd. A lot of Ferrari fans but also a lot of British flags were here today so I appreciate them coming out.
Q: Sebastian, obviously a slightly different strategy, supersoft, supersoft, soft. Was there nothing more you could do to protect the track position that you got after Lewis’ poor start in the first stint, with the tyre choices you had. And what positives do you take from this weekend in general?
SV: Well, he did one stop less, so obviously it was clear after our second stop he would be ahead of us – and I think the problem was that he was too far ahead of us. Simple as that. I think we were slightly quicker, we were on a fresher set of tyres but not quick enough to really catch up. I think in the end the gap was still fairly big. Nevertheless I think it’s been a great day. We’ve had a really good start, got a bit stuck. Maybe I should have gone to the left, I wasn’t sure what Lewis was going to do. Then I decided to go in the middle of them and was side-by-side with Nico but he did a good job braking for Turn One. I was hoping that he’ll go on the brakes a bit sooner but he didn’t. And then I had another crack, another look into Turn Four but I wasn’t close enough to be honest. After that I think we had good pace but it was sort of expected that they are obviously a bit quicker than us, in race pace as well. And I think you could see at the end the result was fairly clear. Still, I think it’s been a mega day for Ferrari. To get so much support. I think it felt even more than last year, which is great and hopefully it all peaks next year. Still, I can’t complain: two podiums in Monza two times at the start with Ferrari. I think it’s a great achievement, really happy and proud of that. But for sure, you’re always aiming for the top step, also to give the maximum support back. It’s been incredible. Coming into the track, leaving the track, even leaving late at night, they’re just happy to wave, with all the Ferrari kit, with all the flags equipped, it’s great to see the passion in this country for Ferrari and to be part of that is great. Obviously our mission doesn’t stop here. It’s only the beginning. We want to win. That’s what we really want. That’s what the people deserve as well.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, I would like to congratulate you to become the first ever Finnish national who has won a grand prix on Italian soil. Winning at Spa and then Monza first time, legendary places, how does that feel in your career.
NR: It feels great.
SV: Being a Finn, you should answer in Finnish…
NR: Just talking about today it’s special because I really feel close to the Italian culture in many ways. All my best friends are Italian, I speak Italian and have a lot of connections with Italy and a lot of support here also, so it’s amazing to see. On this historic track it’s been a special place to win.
I didn’t… Imola, Monza, no Finn has ever won? Wow. Cool.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Lewis, you said you don’t know exactly what happened in the car at the start but can you tell us what was going on in there and how you felt to see all those cars go screaming by.
LH: To be honest I don’t really remember. I do remember a bunch of cars coming by but, as I said, I did the sequence, everything exactly the same and yeah, I think I just got lots of wheelspin. A bit like Nico’s start perhaps in Hockenheim. Yeah.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, yesterday in qualifying, bigger difference to Mercedes than last year, today in the race, maybe a smaller difference, you were even closing on the Mercedes with the soft tyres at the end. What was the reason for that? That you were so much quicker today. And how encouraging is it for the next two races especially?
SV: Well, we had a different strategy so obviously we had fresher tyres, different compound at the end, it was clear and expected that we were quicker and catching up – but probably not enough really to put them seriously under any pressure. I think we extracted our best race which obviously, y’know… it’s been a while since it’s been the case. It speaks for the team. I think we’ve done a very good job this weekend, everyone has been really focused and, y’know many times I hear that coming to Monza, yeah, it’s a sort of extra burden and pressure and all this. I think it’s much the opposite for everyone in the team. You come here, people are able on Thursday, Friday to bring some of their family to the track, Ferrari is very helpful and open to give the chance to some of the mechanics and engineers, a lot of their families come here to see them and support them. And equally we has so much support from all the fans around the track, so of course you want to do well, it’s family in the end. We have probably the largest family we bring to a race track in that regard but I think everyone knows when I’m saying you want to do well in front of your family. So, of course, there is a bit of tension but if anything I think it lifted us up this weekend. It was great to see also the majority of the board of Ferrari coming, turning up, our president, giving the support and it’s been exactly the opposite of what people thought – or wrote probably – about. Really no pressure. We knew it would be tough against Mercedes, it has been tough and we didn’t beat them. Nevertheless, I think we did a great job, we pulled out our best, we had a great race. We finished third and fourth is the optimum we could get. That’s a lot to be proud about. Obviously the fans deserve nothing else but the top step and hopefully we can give it to them the next couple of years.
Q: (Ralf Bach – AutoBild Motorsport) Two questions for Nico: firstly, are you the new Pirelli ambassador or why do you wear this cap here? And secondly, for what reasons didn’t you and Lewis use the supersoft tyres here
NR: I apologise for that mistake to Mercedes, sorry for that. I didn’t realise. I’m sure I’ll hear about that later on.
And what was the second part? Why didn’t we use them? Because the best race for us was soft-medium, that was the fastest way to get to the end of the race, as you could see. It was good speed.
Q: (Livio Orrichio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, curiosity, when you face a situation like today and you see your opponents overtaking you at the start, knowing that you have a very fast car, do you have time at that moment to think ‘oh my God, maybe I lost the race’ or do you only concentrate yourself to try to get some positions back?
LH: I think at that moment you only think about getting back to where you started. So I’d fallen back and my goal was to try and get back up to where I was. But of course, I could see Nico pulling away, and I know from my experience of being here in Formula One that whilst anything can happen, the chances of the win decrease lap by lap, second by second so of course I knew that at quite an early stage that winning the race was not going to be possible but I would try but I got up to second and that’s the best I could do with such a loss at the start.
Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Sebastian, it was quite unusual to see you leaving the pit lane after your second stop with the DRS open on the run down to the first corner. I presume that’s because you were in the activation zone behind Kvyat coming into the pits. Can you talk about that? It’s quite interesting. And b) you had a big lock-up coming in and I wondered if that was due to the DRS being half-closed or not?
SV: No, I had lock-up because to be honest the mindset when you come in is that you don’t really care about those tyres any more and you just to try to hit the brakes as hard as you can and stop for the line, so I had a bit of a lock-up but at that point you’re not really bothered, you just stamp on the brakes so that’s what triggered it. And then on the way out, I did have the advantage of the DRS so even if it’s 0.0 or something, you still go for it.
Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) To the Mercedes drivers; it was the seventh time this year that either of you lost the leading position, just after starting from pole. Usually you very quickly adapt to every technical rule change so can you explain why it’s so difficult to get it right with this simple clutch?
Q: I think he means single clutch.
NR: It’s the rule change, it makes it more challenging. Because now it’s down to the driver to do it. It’s more difficult.
LH: Don’t agree that it’s more down to the driver. I think the driver thing is the same as it was before, it’s just that we have a relatively inconsistent clutch and it’s hard to… In the past we were able to be told our clutch temperature and it was easier to hit our target as well but now it’s a lot less easy to know what your clutch is going to be delivering and what it’s not.
Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Nico, just following up from what you were saying earlier about starting on the harder tyre than Ferrari, are you able to simulate that, practise that, given the allocation situation with tyres? Are you able to be that precise in practice starts?
NR: Well, that’s the thing. No, because we’re not even practising on the grid, we’re practising at the end of the pit lane which is a whole different world. Everybody’s practising, their rubber’s going down so it’s a little bit trying to make the best guess and that’s what makes it so variable
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Sebastian, after Spa with Kimi, were you more cautious at the first corner than usual?
SV: Er, well, I was side-by-side with Nico so yeah, but as I said, they did a good job on the brakes and obviously I didn’t see the car behind. To be honest, at no point did Spa cross my mind. I think after plenty of starts, I think Monza at turn one, we all know it’s tight so I did what I felt was right and it seemed to be right. I think I left enough room for Nico, obviously I wasn’t really a challenge for him into turn one and for the cars behind, obviously I saw down to turn one that Nico and myself were putting up a shield and giving a lot of tow for the cars behind so it was natural that they closed up. Equally I think they behaved well, doing their job right under braking, not overshooting so it all seemed fine coming out of turn two at least.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Nico, it’s often said that it tends to go, for some reason, in waves, between Lewis and yourself. Both of you have waves when you are winning more races one after another and then it tends to change. So after now, winning two races in a row in one week, do you feel that the tide is in, it’s with you now?
NR: No, not at all. I don’t see waves, I just see it race by race and today I’m very very happy to have won here and next is Singapore and I will try to win there and that’s it.
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Jenson Button Announcement
Jenson Button has announced that he will not be racing in Formula 1 in 2017.
The 2009 champion announced at a press even on Saturday that he will not be driving for McLaren in 2017. However, the Brit confirmed that he will remain with the team in a team and car development role.
“I’m delighted that I’ll be staying on as a key member of the McLaren-Honda team. In fact I’m massively excited about my new role, which has come about as a result of a number of in-depth chats with Ron,” said the Brit at the press conference after qualifying on Saturday.
“Specifically, I’m looking forward to becoming even more deeply involved in the team’s efforts to bring about the success we’ve all been striving to deliver.
Button squashed any rumours that have tipped him for a Williams drive in 2017.
“I love McLaren-Honda – I firmly believe it’s made up of the best bunch of people I’ve ever worked with – and I have no intention of ever driving for another Formula 1 team.”
He made it clear that he is not retiring from Formula 1 and confirmed that McLaren has the option to call him back to the cockpit in 2018.
“To be clear, I’m very definitely not retiring. I’m contracted for both 2017 and 2018, I intend to work hard on car-development, and I’m sure I’ll get behind the wheel of the new car at some point.”
Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne has been announced as Button replacement and will race alongside Fernando Alonso in 2017.
“First of all, I want to express my gratitude to everyone at McLaren-Honda, and especially Ron, for showing faith in me.,” said Vandoorne.
“It’s an enormous honour to become a McLaren-Honda race driver, and I promise to work as hard as any Formula 1 driver ever has before.
“I already know the team extremely well – they’re a fantastic group of extremely clever people – and I’ve already raced the car once and tested it often
“I have total confidence in the potential of the McLaren-Honda project, and I firmly believe that, racing alongside a brilliant and experienced driver, I’ll be able to make a strong contribution to the team’s future World Championship successes.
“There are a lot of other people whom I’d like to take this opportunity to thank – too many to list in fact. So all I can say is: you know who you are, and thank you.”
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F1 2016: Italian Gp Free Practice 3 Report – Hamilton Dominates
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton dominated the field in the final free practice session ahead of the 2016 Italian grand prix.
The number 44 Mercedes set a quickest time of 1:22:008 while teammate Nico Rosberg’s 1:22:401 was some 0.393 adrift in second. The first of the Ferrari’s came in the form of Sebastian Vettel who set a quickest time of 1:22:946. Kimi Raikkonen, in the other Ferrari, set a 1:23:196.
The Williams pair of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were fifth and sixth respectively. Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were only quick enough for seventh and eighth while Force India’s Sergio Perez and Haas F1’s Esteban Gutierrez rounded out the top ten.
The session endured a brief interruption earlier when Romain Grosjean’s beached Haas brought out the virtual safety car.
Final Free Practice Three Standings
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F1 2016: Italian GP Free Practice 2 Report – Merc Maintain Lead
The Mercedes driver pairing maintained their position on top of the timing sheets with Lewis Hamilton setting the quickest time ahead of Nico Rosberg in the second free practice session.
The normal format for the second one-and-a-half hour session on Friday’s include a qualifying simulation run as well as a focus on the long run pace of the respective drivers and teams. In both cases Mercedes showed a clear advantage as Hamilton set a quickest time of 1:22:801 on the red-walled supersoft tyre. Nico Rosberg followed some 0.193 tenths adrift with a 1:22:994.
The two Ferrari’s set the third and fourth quickest times followed by two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso set the seventh quickest time for McLaren but the Spaniard is unlikely to maintain this position throughout the weekend as McLaren tend to run a higher engine mode during the early stage of the weekend.
While Ferrari’s pace appear comfortably off that of the Mercedes drivers it should be noted that the Italian team ran a truncated programme in terms of mileage and are only expected to make the introduction of their upgraded power unit on Saturday.
Final Free Practice Two Standings
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F1 2016: Italian Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Merc Lead The Way
The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of the first free practice ahead of Sunday’s Italian grand prix.
The session got underway under sunny skies and in front of a boisterous Italian crowd. Nico Rosberg set the quickest time overall with a 1:22:959 ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton who set a 1:23:162.
The local favourite Ferrari team were third and fourth with Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel respectively. However, the Italian team limited running in the first free practice session and are expected to introduce an engine upgrade on Saturday.
Sergio Perez continued Force India’s uptick in pace with fifth ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in sixth. Max Verstappen set the seventh quickest time in his Red Bull while the first of the Haas F1 cars appeared in eighth in the form of Esteban Gutierrez. Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top ten in the second Red Bull in a weekend that team principal Christian Horner describes “would be difficult”.
No major incidents befell any driver as they got into the rhythm of the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. However, Felipe Massa lost most of the first half of the session due to a turbo issue on his Williams while McLaren’s Fernando Alonso ended the session with a suspected gearbox issue.
Final Free Practice One Standings
Pos. Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.959s – 37 2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:23.162s +0.203 36 3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:24.047s +1.088 16 4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:24.307s +1.348 17 5 Sergio Perez Force India 1:24.650s +1.691 32 6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:24.763s +1.804 17 7 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:24.785s +1.826 37 8 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:24.982s +2.023 25 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:25.113s +2.154 19 10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:25.120s +2.161 17 11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:25.351s +2.392 23 12 Alfonso Celis Force India 1:25.367s +2.408 30 13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:25.507s +2.548 14 14 Felipe Massa Williams 1:25.840s +2.881 18 15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:25.853s +2.894 20 16 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:25.973s +3.014 20 17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.074s +3.115 20 18 Esteban Ocon Manor 1:26.391s +3.432 30 19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:26.439s +3.480 21 20 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:26.762s +3.803 28 21 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:26.811s +3.852 35 22 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:26.956s +3.997 32 -
2016 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference
DRIVERS – Esteban GUTIERREZ (Haas), Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Renault), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Kevin, obviously a horrible accident in Spa. How are you and what did you have to do to get ready for this race?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I have just relaxed. Nothing was broken, I wasn’t injured so just a bit sore in my body and I didn’t need to do anything special. No special treatments or anything. Yeah, just took a couple of days at home and ready for the next race.
And what happened?
KM: I spin at the top of Eau Rouge. I hit a bump and lost the rear. I thought I was going to go left into a spin, but then the car caught grip again and I went right and into the wall. Yeah, that’s what happened.
Thanks for that. Kimi, coming to you: some strong feelings after the Spa weekend, especially with regard to Max Verstappen. What would you like to happen now with regard to the rules of engagement between drivers out on the track when it comes to attacking and defending?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I think it’s quite clear what they are and obviously sometimes you feel it’s not correct what happens on circuit but obviously I think the biggest problem is it’s not always the same. I think as drivers we always discussed it and it’s a bit up and down and I think that could be improved. Personally I have nothing against Max. He is doing a good job and he’s fast. It’s not a personal thing but certain things, at least in my feeling, were not correct if you have to slow down or brake under full speed but those things are never ending discussions but let’s see what happens.
You’ve also now had a chance to study video of the collision at the start with Sebastian. Have you discussed it together during the week and what conclusions did you come to?
KR: Obviously it was an unfortunate thing. Not really an awful lot to discuss except probably he said sorry and I said OK and you know we go forward. It wasn’t ideal for us or any of the three to be involved, but that’s how it goes sometimes. So next time we try to give a bit more room but it’s done now.
Thank you for that. And your side of that, Seb? Kimi’s said you apologised to him. You’ve had a good chance to review it, to think it through again, what are you feelings now in the cold light of day?
Sebastian VETTEL: Not so much to talk about,. It’s clear what happened. Obviously I thought there was Kimi on the inside but as it turned out there was three cars. The room that I gave was for Kimi, it was not for three cars because I think Max had a bad start and was out of that fight, but decided not to, so in the end we had three cars with not enough room. From my side, it’s clear. Obviously if I know that – I can’t see much in the mirrors, I could see that Kimi was there and I was slightly ahead – if I had to do it again, knowing that, I would give a little bit more room, at least I make I don’t know about the cars on the inside then, but I think it was a pity for all three to be involved and not to come out of the corner being able to race for the podium after that.
OK, moving forward, Italian Grand Prix this weekend, special atmosphere here as always. You had a great experience here 12 months ago, on the podium, all that warmth from the tifosi. Is it fair to say, though, that this race comes at a slightly difficult moment for the team – you haven’t had a podium for a few races and Red Bull have moved ahead of you in the championship?
SV: No, I think it comes at the right time, I think we need a bit of a boost and support, so very much looking forward to this weekend. Last weekend was very positive for us. Obviously the race didn’t unfold the way we expected or we hoped for but it was very positive in terms of pace. I think we had a couple of races before the summer break where we were struggling a bit and we seemed to reconnect to the group ahead again, so I’m pretty confident the car should be fine here. Obviously it’s a different track and unique in many ways, but like I said, I think it comes at the right time, with people supporting us. Already now the couple of hours this day has had it was very positive with a lot of fans and it’s one of the biggest pleasures for us to race in front of the home crowd.
OK, thank you very much for that. Coming to you Esteban, you’ve finished just outside the points four times this season, do you feel that breakthrough points-scoring finish for Haas is just around the corner?
Esteban GUTIERREZ: Yes, it is and it’s very important to have found the consistency and the rhythm we have in the last three months, because by being consistent and being persistent we will go an break through the top 10, which for us is obviously the target in every race from now to the end of the season. It hasn’t been an easy task, especially with how my season started, but we have been making very good progress inside the team in many ways and we can look into the positive sides and keep pushing and keep doing our best to get there.
Haas obviously has a technical partnership with the home team here this weekend, Ferrari, a special weekend I’m sure, but how do you see the collaboration evolving?
EG: I think it’s an important part for the team of course. It is something that gives a lot of confidence right from the beginning to have the support and obviously the relationship is important for the whole team. So I think that’s going to keep going and it’s going to keep going forward in the way that it has to be done, properly considering the regulations that have to be well respected but the relationship is there and it’s going to continue forward in the next years.
Thank you very much for that. Carlos, coming to you, 22 years old today, happy birthday. A little bit of a frustrating race for you last weekend going out with a puncture and presumably it’s not a great moment as well for the championship for you, as it seems that the lack of updates now on the power unit is beginning to cost in terms of performance. What are your feelings about the rest of the races this season?
Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, we are not going through our best moments at the moments. Yeah, since Hockenheim and the last race in Spa it looks like it’s taking us a lot more effort to get close to the top ten. Spa was kind of expected; Hockenheim not so much, but we are definitely not where we want to be. In theory we think were prepared for the performance drop-off of the engine in the second half of the season but it has been maybe a bit more than expected, so now there is a lot work going on in Toro Rosso, a lot of analysis, a lot of testing coming up in free practice to try to turn around this bit of a bump we are going through. I still have full confidence. Spa – it would have been nice to see what we could have achieved after being P7 at the start, but it’s how it is sometimes.
Just looking at your record this year: when you’ve finished you’ve scored points in all but two of those races. So, from a personal point of view, comparing last season with this one, do you feel pleased with the progress you’re making?
CS: I think I have to be very pleased, because last year I went through very difficult moments with the reliability and I kept telling the people ‘wait, because the moment I stop having these issues I will be able to show what I am more capable of in Formula One’. And that first half of the season was also to prove myself and to prove also that when I don’t have so many problems I can score some points. This consistency has allowed me to create a lot of points in the first half of the season… that will be probably be very difficult to keep for the second half!
Thank you. Coming to you Jenson, obviously the power unit upgrades in Spa seemed to work pretty well, and rival team engineers tell me your corner speeds were very impressive in Spa as well, so it seems that it’s all starting to come together for McLaren?
Jenson BUTTON: Well, yeah, I only did four corners, but I think they all look fantastic, so very happy with them! No, seriously, as a whole we probably did better in Spa than most people expected. I think we were probably running a little bit more downforce than other people as well. But if you look at Fernando, if you forget the first few laps, if you look at the actual pace of the car, Fernando was actually good in the race. It’s promising coming here, you know these are two reasonably difficult circuits for us, but we’ve definitely made good progress. Honda have done a great job of bringing the upgrade to Spa and it’s good to see progress pretty much every race we have with Honda and also with the car, so yeah, I think it’s progressing well.
What about yourself? When do you expect to announce your plans, what you’re going to do next?
JB: That’s progressing well as well. So, progress is the name of the game? So it’s good.
Before we move on to the floor, just a few moments ago Felipe Massa announced that he is retiring from Formula One. Just some thoughts from each of you maybe about him, his contribution as a driver and as a colleague. Kimi, you were a team-mate of his, so maybe you could start?
KR: Obviously it’s a big shame, but this is his choice in the end. We had a good relationship when we were in the same team and obviously he has had some difficult moments in F1, with the accident, but he’s been strong always and he’s a very nice guy. So, life goes on, and I’m sure he made the right choice for himself, so hopefully he has a good end to his F1 career.
Kevin?
KM: He’s had a long career. I don’t think I’ve seen Formula One when he wasn’t racing, so he’s had a long career. He’s had a good one. As Kimi said, if he feels it’s the right time then good luck to him and not much more.
Sebastian?
SV: He’s a really nice guy, really funny. It’s a shame to see that he quits because he will be missed. Obviously I wish him all the best for whatever he decides to do in the future. I think apart from the talent and speed he has on the track, as I said, he’s a great guy and very easy-going and he will be missed.
Esteban?
EG: Well I think it was quite a wise decision to make – which is probably not an easy one to make for everyone’s career. I have great memories for when he accepted my call and invited me for dinner back in 2008, when I was racing Formula BMW. At that time, that meant a lot for me. Now, I wish him the best. He has made an incredible career and he has to be proud of that.
Jenson?
JB: I’ve raced with Felipe since he started in Formula One, I think it’s about 15 years we’ve been racing together, so yeah, it’s always a strange feeling when someone retires from the sport that’s achieved so much, so many victories, and being so close as well to a world championship. But we all have our own reasons. I think it’s a brave decision but he’s chosen to retire so it’s definitely the right one.
And finally, Carlos.
CS: From my personal side I remember meeting him for the first time in 2005. I think I was 10-11 years old. He was really kind to me and was my hero Formula One driver. He was very funny, very kind to me and since then I’ve had lots of respect for him. Five minutes before coming here I went to give him a hug, wish him all the best and I’m sure he’ll have a good life from now on.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) This is for anyone who cares to comment on Max Verstappen’s driving but especially to the Ferrari guys. Sebastian, you said last weekend you were not a fan of punishing drivers because of how they drive. Have you maybe talked to Max about it and what do you think is the way to go to make him understand that he’s sometimes overstepping the limit. And Kimi, could you please clarify, when you overtook Max on lap 12, I think, when you both went off because he outbraked you after you left him on the straight. Who was it who asked you to let him pass again.
KR: Obviously I asked from the team if I have to give the position back or not and they asked the FIA or Charlie and the answer was that I have. I haven’t seen where he went or if he stayed on the circuit or not and… kind of stayed on the circuit, much more than me, so obviously that was a pretty easy decision from my side.
Sebastian?
SV: Not sure I remember all of it but haven’t spoken to him yet. I think the thing that we’ve spoken about before and has come up again in Spa was the bit that is the moving under braking which obviously, as the lead car, is the wrong thing to do. The following car can react but there are situations where you can’t react any more and it will end up in a crash which has been something that we’ve talked about. I think he understood when we spoke about it so we obviously need to maybe have another chat. But as I said in Spa, I’m not a big fan of running to the stewards and complain there. I think it’s much better if we do it face to face. Unfortunately we haven’t done that yet but I’m sure we will.
Q: (Nadia Enevoldsen – bmf1.dk) I have a question for Vettel. In 2008 you won your first grand prix here where you were the youngest driver ever – can you win on Sunday and if so will the feeling be even better than this feeling from 2008?
SV: I think we should have a good weekend. I think Spa was a good step to come back and obviously this race means a lot to us, means a lot to me. Not only… I mean of course because being one of the Ferrari drivers driving on home soil is… with all the tifosi coming and supporting is great – but it also means a lot to me because it’s the place, as you mentioned, where I won my first race. I think the first race win is always something that will stand out and something that you don’t forget. Obviously I’ve been very lucky in the last couple of years to have some more wins but for sure, after last year’s experience here, being on the podium in the red suit, I probably realized that, yeah, people don’t hate me as much as I thought after the last couple of years with Red Bull! Very much looking forward to the race on Sunday and that’s definitely something that would be a dream coming true to win here dressed in red. We’re working very hard for that.
Q: (Ralph Woodall – L’Equipe) Question for Kevin. After such a big crash how to you feel about going back in the car? Are you apprehensive? What are your expectations for the weekend?
KM: After a crash like that it’s clear that the car is very safe and there’s not too much to worry about. I’m going to be flat-out again and pushing as hard as I can. I think in terms of expectations for this race, we had a stronger weekend in Spa and were a little bit surprised by our pace in qualifying especially. On this track the setup is not too different, the setup is very similar, so hopefully it will show that we are still on that level.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have never won in Italy and have had three podiums here. How would you describe your relationship with the Monza circuit?
KR: I enjoy the circuit, usually it’s always a great weekend, even before I raced for Ferrari. I had some good memories and some not-so-good memories from here. It’s never been straightforward weekends of races for me. But it’s a great place to come and, for racing, it’s quite a special place. The circuit layout and obviously the history what is in the place, plus being part of Ferrari, we have amazing support and obviously our home race so hopefully this weekend goes well. We feel we have a good chance so hopefully we make all the right things and… choose right things when it comes and get the best out of it. But I enjoy to come here and race.
Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Question for Seb, couple of things. Why do you think this season hasn’t gone how you guys would have hoped. What reasons do you have in your mind for that, that you haven’t met the targets you set yourselves. Second to that, you moved to Ferrari to win the championship. How much patience do you have with the team to get it right? Are you going to be here until you win?
SV: Maybe I start with the second one. I don’t feel old so I think I’ve got some time. I’m not a patient person, I’m pretty much the opposite, which I think goes hand-in-hand with your first question. It’s very simple: we were not quick enough up to that point. We didn’t therefore collect as much points as we wanted to. Obviously if you’re a lot quicker then you’re in a much better position to win races, you score more points and you get nicer questions. That’s usually how it goes. I’ve been on the other side as well. But yeah, I’m pretty confident we’ll have better days again and we have our home race ahead of us. Sounded pretty negative but I think actually it’s a lot of positives to look forward to. I think it will be amazing in terms of support. It’s great to come here, the place means a lot to us, to myself and I think we have a good chance to fight for a good and strong podium – maybe even more. We will see. I think it’s clear that all of us inside the team, we are not very patient, we have very high expectations which I think we’ve expressed many times at the beginning of the year. We want to fight for the championship but, as I said, as a net result so far we haven’t been competitive and quick enough – yet. We are trying our utmost to improve it. There’s a lot of things happening on the track, even more things happening back in Maranello at the factory to work on that and change that. People are fired up – even if it still takes a little bit.
Q: (Fulvio Solms – Corriere dello Sport) Question is for Seb and Kimi. You have a very good relationship, that’s clear and that’s OK but wouldn’t you like to live every race with a really stressing weekend, fighting each other with a winning car like Lewis and Nico at Mercedes?
SV: I don’t understand the question… the first part you say we get along and the second part you ask if we… wouldn’t like to get along basically! Oh, of course, if both of us could choose we’d love to drive the car that is more competitive and is a bit easier to win races – but I don’t think it would change anything in the relationship. Obviously we’re driving the same car, as you saw on Sunday we’re fighting for the same bit of tarmac, sometimes things go wrong which, obviously, is bad when it happens, but it happens. So in that moment, or after, nothing you can do but overall, I think that’s what we’re working for. Us and the whole team. To have that winning car and fight for the championship.
Kimi?
KR: We race as hard as we can against each other, we try to beat each other every time and what would it change? We all want the team to be fighting for wins and fighting for the championship with both cars. I don’t see what… nothing would change. We still try to beat each other but we can still be friends. Would be just better for all of us.
Q: (Ralf Bach – Auto Bild Motorsport) Sebastian, you said something before about nice questions. So what is a nice question for you in the current situation with Ferrari?
SV: No, I think what I said was that obviously if you keep winning races and doing a good job people don’t ask you what’s wrong because clearly everything is fine. If you’re not winning, then obviously everybody is curious why you’re not winning. I think there’s always a reason and obviously, as I said, the more competitive you are the less then you have to deal with that sort of question, which is not a problem but it’s just a little boring if every weekend it’s the same question. You give the answer, you thought you’ve answered their question and then it comes up again and again and again. I think we’ve all been there so it’s part of the deal.
Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) To the Ferrari drivers: you were quite unhappy with Max’s driving in Spa but he said that you should be ashamed for causing a collision and destroying his race. Sebastian, you are 29, Kimi you’re almost 37. Looking at the fact that he’s just a teenager, does this make his comments and actions even more annoying for you?
SV: Well, I think it’s nothing. I don’t think we have anything to be ashamed about, first of all, and secondly, I think as I tried in the answer before, it’s a question of respect. I think we’re all here to race, we love what we do, we share one great passion which dictates a very very big part of our lives. It’s something we all have in common. We might get along, we might not get along but that’s not really that important, but I think we should always have respect for each other.
KR: Everybody is allowed to say what they feel like. Like I said before, I’ve nothing personally against him. It’s just certain things in my view that are not correct. I’ve no interest to call Max into it but obviously if somebody says during the race that he does something because of what happened in the first corner, that it’s payback, I don’t think it’s the correct sport to start doing purposely paying back something that has happened. It can end up in a very bad way. Yes, people make mistakes, everybody has made it and it will happen to probably all of us and you just have to accept it but it’s not the place to start acting silly in a way and paying back for something that has happened.
Q: (Ralph Woodall – L’Equipe) Jenson, would you be interested in going to Williams or is your priority elsewhere, staying with McLaren? Now you know there’s a seat.
JB: I would love to make this really exciting because yeah, but I’ve got nothing else to say on what I’m doing next year or my future. Sorry to say.
Q: (Jens Nagler – Sport Bild?) Sebastian and Kimi, the two of you obviously made contact at the start in Belgium and you did in China earlier in the year as well, even if in both cases another driver was involved. I can imagine you will be quite keen to avoid a repeat of making contact with each other here in Monza. I don’t imagine as racing drivers you will admit to going a little more cautiously but will you be doing any extra homework, looking maybe at tapes of earlier races to avoid making contact with each other?
SV: You answered the question yourself there. I don’t think we have to explain anything.
KR: Nothing to add, not really.
Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Carlos Sainz, I want to know what changed in the team after the change-over between Daniel and Max?
CS: Not much. My teammate has changed but my approach and my attitude to work, to Formula One, is exactly the same. The team, internally, had a bit of a reshuffle but it was all in a good direction. I think we can be happier with the first half of the season of Toro Rosso. We will see how the second half goes but it’s going to be tough for us. We need to make sure we put everything in our hands to keep McLaren in our sights. I think it’s going to be very difficult because they’re already ahead but it’s going to be tough but we’re going to try our best.
Q: (Peter Varkas – Auto Motor) Jenson, last year you often said that you felt like a sitting duck while trying to defend, because of the engine deficit. From the cockpit, how much easier has it become to defend against other people this year and is it fair to say that Monza will be one of the toughest tests of the Honda progress?
JB: Yeah, especially here and Spa, it limits your strategy massively or it has done in the past, it really does because you can’t hold people up on the straights but it’s very different now, very different situation I think in terms of the power unit itself. We’ve moved on a lot but also with the deployment; I think we’ve probably got the best deployment out there. I’m much happier coming here, especially after… the whole weekend of Spa was positive, the feeling of the car, the feeling of the power unit. We still know there’s a long way to go with it before we’re properly competitive but it’s great to see progress at almost every Grand Prix we go to, whether it’s a qualifying map becoming a race map or something completely new. The guys back at Woking as well, at the MTC, bringing new parts to almost every race and I think that’s probably more than most teams out there so we’re still pushing and obviously a lot of the stuff that we do that we are putting on the car is stuff that will help next year’s car as well, so yeah, it’s good to feel that progress and it’s so much more enjoyable to drive when you’re inside the top ten and fighting even further forward. It’s a really nice feeling, considering where we were last year which was very difficult, so big big progress but you always want more. When you finish sixth or seventh, it’s a good job for where we are right now but you’re still sixth or seventh, it’s not winning the race. When you’re used to winning – quite a while ago now – but you still want to get back there and it’s obviously the aim for the team.
