Tag: fernando alonso

Alonso Staying At Ferrari For Now

Fernando Alonso has all but confirmed that he has no intention to move teams before the 2015 season.

This comes after McLaren have made no secret that they are after the Spaniard and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Whether McLaren keep their existing line up or choose to drop one of their drivers depends on the answer of Vettel or Alonso. McLaren are looking for an answer before the Singapore Grand Prix as they’re eager to finalise their driver lineup for next year.

“It’s not my intention at the moment to move,” said Alonso after being asked how he felt about the interest from McLaren.

“I want to win for Ferrari, I want to win here and finish the job that we started some years ago and we will see what the future comes,” he added.

Alonso insists that he has no intention of moving to another team at this moment. He does accept that enquiries from other teams do bring with them their own set of troubles but he also knows that it shows his value.

“There are a lot of speculations which is not disturbing but it creates a bit of tension around and stress. But also you feel proud, you feel happy that the best teams have interest in you and they say it in public. ”

It’s a bit of a gamble for Alonso to pack up and leave Ferrari and move to McLaren next season. Especially when McLaren are entering into a new engine partnership with Honda. His experience might prove valuable for the team during that period but there is no guarantee that the car will be competitive. Conversely he could stay at Ferrari and see what the new leadership structure at the Scuderia will bring forward. Next season’s Ferrari will be the first James Allison creation and despite the expectation management by Marco Mattiacci there is some quiet excitement building at Ferrari.

September 2, 2014
McLaren are pushing to hire Vettel or Alonso

According to Autosport‘s Jonathan Noble, the McLaren F1 Team are in a final push to hire either Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso to lead the team in their new Honda era.

Noble reported that Eric Boullier and Ron Dennis are hard at work to secure the two top-rated F1 drivers as soon as possible.

Vettel is still under contract and commited to Red Bull until the end of 2015 and Alonso remains under contract until the end of 2016, but this has not seemed to deter McLaren at all. As a matter of fact, Autosport reports that the team has told them that it is willing to wait until 2016 or even 2017 if necessary as long as they get a firm commitment now.

The team clearly need the commitment now so that they can finalise their shorter term plans. Thusfar, McLaren has refused to finalise their 2015 line-up until Vettel and Alonso’s longer term plans are clear. This has left their current drivers, Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen hanging around on the sidelines and very unsure of their futures. Button has even indicated that he may be facing retirement in the near future.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Autosport in an exclusie interview that the team was doing all it could to win over Alonso and Vettel and that they will not give up until both drivers have categorically declined accepting a deal with the team.

On being asked about the chances of getting one two drivers, Boullier told Autosport, “I will try any driver that will suit our strategy for the future.

“We are still pushing and we will take the time we need. We don’t want to do a mistake – we have one shot and we don’t want to miss it.

“McLaren is a top team, a big team, with a lot of history and we want to be back where we should be.

“So if we can afford to take the time to think and to prepare our strategy then we have to do it.”

McLaren is expecting to get an answer from Alonso and Vettel very soon and plans to sort out their 2015 driver lineup before the final flyaway races get underway with the Singapore Grand Prix next month.

Boulier would not elaborate any further on when exactly a decision could be expected but apparently made it clear that McLaren would not wait until the winter before deciding on their line-up for next year.

“It will be soon, a few weeks,” he said.

Photo under Creative Commons License

August 28, 2014
Magnussen Handed 20 Second Penalty after Forcing Alonso Off the Track

The stewards have handed McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen a 20 second penalty and two penalty points on his super license after the Belgian Grand Prix for running Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso off the track.

The pair were fighting for fourth position with two laps to go in the race when Magnussen forced Alonso off the track on the run to Les Combes corner. Alonso, at the time, was also under pressure from Jenson Button in the other McLaren in 6th. After being forced off the track, Alonso lost the position to Button, but then fought back though Malmedy and Rivage to take back the place from Button and attempted a pass on Magnussen on the outside at Rivage, but again, Magnussen forced the Spaniard off the road.

Alonso lost the place to Button on the final lap after Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, trying to get ahead of Magnussen, took out most of Alonso’s front wing at the La Source hairpin.

The statement by the FIA reads as follows:

“The driver of car 20 was defending his position on the straight between Turns 4 and 5 [Raidillon and Les Combes], a significant portion of car #14 was alongside car #20. The driver of car #20 did not leave enough space for car #14 and forced the car off the track,”

The penalty dropped Magnussen to 12th and promoted Alonso to 7th.

The Spaniard was very relaxed about the situation and seemed unfazed by what had happened. “”When you are fighting for lower positions, sixth or seventh or whatever, it’s a little bit less important,” he said. “You just try to have fun, with safety as well, but it was not a big deal.”

Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1

August 24, 2014
F1 2014: Belgium GP Qualifying- Rosberg Rules Wet Spa

The Mercedes team dominated the field in a wet qualifying session ahead of the 2014 Belgium GP.

Nico Rosberg mastered slippery conditions to out-qualify teammate Lewis Hamilton by two tenths of a second. Sebastian Vettel secured third position for Red Bull Racing but his fastest time was some two seconds slower than the high flying Mercedes pair. Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five grid positions.

The star of the first part of qualifying was Marussia’s Jules Bianchi as the young Frenchman brilliantly advanced to the second session of the one hour session. Andre Lotterer, who has taken over from Kamui Kobayashi, impressed in the Caterham by out-qualifying teammate Marcus Ericcson by a full second. Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India was the surprise casualty in the first session of qualifying. The German complained about losing brake temperature throughout the session.

Neither Toro Rosso driver was able to advance beyond the second session of qualifying. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean out-qualified his teammate, Pastor Maldonado, but failed to make any further impression and will start tomorrow’s grand prix in 15th position.

Despite a brief appearance by the sun in the final part of qualifying all drivers remained on the intermediate tyres for the fastest runs of the session. Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were relegated to sixth and ninth respectively in the tricky condition. However, tomorrow’s potential forecast of fair weather is likely to reinstate the Martini sponsored team’s hopes.

August 23, 2014
Bottas fastest in damp final practice

Williams driver, Valterri Bottas, topped the timesheets after the third and final practice session at Spa Francorchamps, ahead of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Bottas set a time of 1:49.465 to finish the session 0.268s clear of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Drivers were greeted by damp conditions today with overnight rain, and rain expected for qualifying later this afternoon. Most drivers used intermediate tyres for their installation laps with some opting for full wets.

Andre Lotterer was the first driver to set a time before sliding wide at La Source. Jules Bianchi soon beat his time and remained fastest for the first half of the session as most drivers chose to stay in their garages.

The track dried considerably halfway through and the track was once again abuzz with action. Esteban Gutierrez broke the silence and ventured out Primes, lowering Bianchi’s benchmark by a second.

Inevtiably, the Mercedes drivers made their way to the top of the timesheets with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg switching at the top for a short while. At one stage, Hamilton snatched the fastest time off his team mate by a crazy one thousandth of a second! It is times like these that really make Formula One.

After switching to soft tyres for qualifying simulations, the Mercedes drivers found themselves getting knocked off the top spots.

It was Bottas who finished in front, with Ricciardo second and Nico Rosberg third, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton, who set identical lap times during a frantic end to the session.

Alonso finished in sixth, with Daniil Kvyat, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Jean-Eric Vergne rounding out the top 10. Full timesheet for the session below.

We’ll be back for qualifying shortly! Please join us on Twitter @F1_Madness for live tweets and chat throughout. Rain is expected so we’re expecting a cracker of a session.

Photo Credits: Williams and Mclaren F1 teams

FP3 Timesheet

August 23, 2014
Ferrari: Anyone for a revolution?

Once upon a time the legendary Ferrari Formula 1 team was spoken of in awe and starry eyed worship. The dream team of Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt and Ross Brawn and their towering supremacy defined the entire era of the 90s and early 2000s. The crimson red of Ferrari was in every corner of the world, worn proudly by their dedicated Tifosi.

Since then the wave of Ferrari’s success has dramatically diminished. A disappointing 2014 campaign has effected several changes in the team’s structure but the new regulations haven’t been solely to blame for their struggles. The 2008 constructor’s title was the team’s last championship triumph and since then a few second place finishes is all the team has to show for itself. In the world of Ferrari second place is wholly unacceptable, even downright appalling. Here the only thing that matters is being the best, being number one. Here, the walls of the Maranello factory are saturated with the legacy of success and here being the best is ingrained in the very fabric of its existence.

In 2014 alone several incidents have combined to provide a decisive indication of a team in decline. In Australia someone forgot to fasten Kimi Raikkonen’s seat in the practice session; later the team fitted the wrong tyres to the car, and several glaringly dubious strategy calls in qualifying and races have had significant consequences on grid slots and results. It’s as if the clinical racing machine that was Ferrari has slowly perished over the last several years to be replaced by a slapdash team of headless chickens.

For all of their struggles and non-informative press statements and less than convincing promises of improvement Ferrari has had one thing going for it – the belief that they can do better. That belief, along with major changes in the organisation, has seen it start the transformation it so badly needs. First, team Principal Stefano Domenicalli was expelled and replaced with Marco Mattiacci. The CEO of Ferrari in North America Mattiacci’s appointment was somewhat surprising. The silver-haired Italian is a suit, used to boardrooms and PowerPoint. Yet, the move makes sense. He doesn’t have a blinding infatuation with the Scuderia and he isn’t lovesick about its near mythical greatness. He is a man used to setting out a singular strategy and remaining focused on the objective of reaching it. Mattiacci is no fool either; he knows what changes need to happen where. “It’s not just the power units, the aerodynamics, [or] the chassis; it’s the team, the car – it’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done.”

Last year, James Allison joined the team but not with enough time to have an impact on the design of the F 14T. Allison, second only to Adrian Newey in reputation, is a level-headed bloke. He doesn’t profess to have the secret to fixing Ferrari’s problems overnight. He is a solid team man though with an impressive technical mind. His last two cars, the 2012 and 2013 Lotus were good pieces of kit which allowed for development and improvement. Contrastingly, the F 14T is right mess. It started the 2014 season with a grossly deficient and overweight power-unit. The horrors weren’t confined to one area though. It yearns for downforce and its loose rear-end makes it a nightmare to balance.

The F 14T is fundamentally flawed in design which means any significant improvement can only be made with a remodel of the chassis. In other words, it’s not happening in 2014. But the team can put the groundwork in place for next year. They’ve put Allison in charge of leading the 2015 project and he has already presented his plans to Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Yes, unlike previous years Allison’s plan is for both drivers to have a say in the design principles of the car.

A dodgy and erratic power-unit hasn’t done the team any favours this season and the result is a restructuring in the engine department. Engine chief Luca Marmorini has been sacked by the team in favour of Mattia Binotto who will serve as the chief-operating-officer of the power-unit department. The design of the power-unit will fall on Lorenzo Sassi who has been with the team since 2006.

Ferrari has responded to news of engineering director Pat Fry’s dismissal by rejecting it as mere “rumours.” However, as Allison has all but slotted in as the de facto technical head it fuels speculation as to where Fry will fit into the all-new shiny Ferrari line-up.

You are in an era of change Ferrari fans and this team should be commended for that. They’ve realized their miscalculations and they’re big enough to admit their mistakes and, more importantly, to do something about it.

August 17, 2014
F1 driver salaries revealed

Curious to know whose earning what up and down the 2014 Formula One grid? Well wonder know more the 2014 F1 driver salaries have been revealed and it turns out that the Ferrari duo and Sebastian Vettel are the highest payest drivers this season.

The three top F1 drivers are taking home an astonishing $29.4million each in salary payments. Four time world champ, Sebastian Vettel, got a nice $8million boost thanks to a new deal with Red Bull and Kimi Raikkonen also got a nice increase when he moved from Lotus to Ferrari.

According to Business Book GP2014, who recently published the F1 driver salaries, Lewis Hamilton has dropped to fourth place following his move to Mercedes and is now earning a $26.7million annual retainer.

F1’s new up and coming hero Daniel Ricciardo is earning a whole lot less than his team mate on the F1 driver salaries list, with an annual income of $1million, despite having dominated the world champ so far this season.

Below is the full list of F1 driver salaries which makes for some very interesting reading.

August 13, 2014
F1 2014: Hungarian GP Review – Real-deal Ricciardo Shines In Hungary

In spite of what the circumstances may be, how improbable it seems or how much the odds are stacked against you there is something to be said for never giving up. Daniel Ricciardo, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s performance in the Hungarian GP were phenomenal examples of such resolve.

Lewis Hamilton needed to dig deep as his miserable qualifying run continued. A suspected fuel leak brought a fiery end to his qualifying aspirations. A complete rebuild of the car relegated him to a pitlane start and a seemingly uphill battle.

In contrast, Nico Rosberg reeled off another dominant pole position but Red Bull’s long run pace suggested that Sunday’s race could be closer than Mercedes would be comfortable with. A short rain shower before the start of the race demanded a start of the intermediate tyre but it was still poleman Rosberg who dominated the early stages of the race.

The slippery conditions nearly caught Hamilton out as he survived a brush with the barrier after spinning off a turn 2. Up and down the pitlane the team strategists were made to work hard as questionable weather conditions and safety cars called for rapid decision making.

The first safety car was deployed to recover the wrecked Caterham of Marcus Ericsson.

However, it was too late for Rosberg, Bottas, Vettel and Alonso to dive into the pitlane for slick tyres. A lap later, Daniel Ricciardo emerged in the lead of the race.

Jenson Button, hoping for a timely rain shower, elected to remain on the intermediate tyres. However, as the track surface continued to dry so the chances of the McLaren driver dissipated.

A second stint was required behind the safety car when Force India’s Sergio Perez crashed heavily into the concrete barrier on the start/finish straight. Ricciardo and the two Williams drivers took to the pitlane.

The reshuffle left Fernando Alonso in the lead of the race on a two-stop strategy. It nearly resulted in a spectacular victory for the Spaniard. Alas, it was a task slightly too big for the Ferrari driver to accomplish.

Nevertheless, in what has been a trying year for the Scuderia Alonso’s relentless spirit earned him a stellar second place.

Lewis Hamilton put his misfortune aside to complete a sensational run from the pitlane to the final step of the podium. Third place is not what the Brit aims for but it is a result that will do the psychology of his title bid a world of good.

On a more contentious note Hamilton was asked by his team to let his three-stopping teammate through. For his part it didn’t seem like Hamilton was wholly against the instruction but informed the team that Rosberg would have to get closer if it was going to happen. It makes perfect sense that Hamilton should not lose time to the car ahead in order to let his teammate through.

Despite the differing strategies Hamilton was very much in the same race as his teammate and more importantly in an ever-tightening battle for the world championship.

“I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that [move aside],” Hamilton said after the race. “I’m racing for myself. Not for anyone else.” It was a preposterous request by the Mercedes team that has no place in the sport and, with any luck, will never be uttered over a team radio again.

Nico Rosberg, home in fourth, was fairly unhappy about the incident after the race. The German has been performing at the highest level in 2014 but as the second half of the season approaches he will realize that it is going to require for him to dig deeper than he thought possible.

Felipe Massa brought his Williams home in fifth position ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in sixth. The Finn staged an outstanding comeback after a strategy error left him 16^th on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel survived a spin on the main straight to finish seventh ahead of Valtteri Bottas in eighth.

Jean-Eric Vergne ran as high as second-place in the race but was relegated to ninth to lead home McLaren’s Jenson Button in tenth.

The utter determination of Alonso and Hamilton was a joy to behold but Daniel Ricciardo’s breathtaking race was every Formula 1 fan’s dream.

Late in the race the Red Bull driver pulled off two tremendous overtaking moves on Hamilton and Alonso on course to his second grand prix victory.

The ease and class with which Ricciardo has taken to racing amongst the very best in F1 is indicative of a driver with a serious amount of talent. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that the Aussie is a star of the future; because Daniel Ricciardo is, unquestionably, already a star.

August 3, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Pirelli Hungarian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1st Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

2nd Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)

3rd Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Daniel, what brilliant drive, congratulations. How on earth does that feel?

Daniel RICCIARDO: It feels as good as the first, it really does. I don’t know, I mean the safety car at the beginning played to our advantage and then I thought when the second one came out it didn’t really help us but we managed to pull it off at the end, had to pass our way through and that was a lot of fun in the last few laps.

You rehearsed that big outbraking move on Fernando last weekend in Germany didn’t you? That was from a long way back.

DR: Yeah it was. I knew we had to make a move quick, the DRS was there and I know it could have been my only chance, so I took it and it paid off. Had to be done.

Fernando, you hung onto the tyres, you took a risk and you pushed like crazy. It’s your birthday on Tuesday and you nearly had the perfect birthday present. But second place, is it painful or are you satisfied anyway?

Fernando ALONSO: No, extremely satisfied. I think it has been a tough weekend – a tough season in general – so to get a podium is always a nice surprise let’s say. We took a gamble. We risked today just trying to get the victory. We went close but as I said, extremely proud of the team, extremely proud of the job we did today and very, very happy.

Rain for the start, safety cars, traffic, tyres degrading, you needed all your experience today. You needed everything.

FA: Well, today we have a combination of things that made the race difficult to execute, difficult to understand and we took our opportunities, our experience… we need some crazy races to get some podiums and today we took the opportunity.

Congratulations. Moving over to Lewis Hamilton: pit lane to podium! Lewis, that was also via the barriers of the second corner at the start. What a crazy afternoon you’ve had.

Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a pretty crazy weekend.

When you got out of the car yesterday, you were disappointed you had that failure and you had mentally put yourself over 30 points behind Nico. You were convinced he would win and you would struggle to get into the top five and here you are on the podium.

LH: Absolutely. Big thank you to the team, they did a great job with the pit stops and with the strategy and I just tried my best. The car’s been fantastic – when it’s going. Obviously a lot of points lost, because we could have had a much better weekend but we have a lot of strengths to look forward to in future races.

You were really struggling in the beginning. You were talking about the diff, you were talking about a vibration, we heard you were getting very hot in your seat, you were clearly nursing a few issues as well?

LH: Yeah, to be honesty at the beginning obviously a mistake by myself, but the brakes were very, very cold and locked up and I was gone. Fortunately I got going again, thank the Lord I didn’t damage the car and you know damage limitation again.

One of your finest ever drives?

LH: I don’t think so.

Well, it look pretty damned good from where we were sitting and standing in the grandstands. So Daniel, we go into the summer break, although Spa will be with us soon enough, and you have a great victory. What are you going to do and what does it mean for you in the second half of the season?

DR: Well, definitely going to celebrate tonight and party for a few days I think, enjoy a bit of time off. Then just keep building on what I’ve done in the first six months and then look forward to Spa. Just firstly I want to thank the team, they’ve really let me settle in so well the first six months of the year and to grab two victories it’s honestly phenomenal, so really pleased. Got a few mates here this weekend, so we’ll party hard tonight.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Well done Daniel, that was an amazing victory, very exciting for all of us. You led early one and then obviously came back at the end. When did you think you had it won?

DR: I wasn’t sure. I knew that the first safety car played into our hands, we inherited the lead there, pitting for slicks and then, yeah, we were looking alright. Then we got the second safety car and obviously we pitted again for another set of tyres but we obviously lost the lead. I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. We were stayed out pretty long that stint and we were leading a fair chunk of the mid-race but then I knew we weren’t going to get to the end on that set of tyres. So we had to pit again and that put me back out of position. Then we knew we had to overtake to win the race. Obviously we had the fresher tyres at our disposal but I knew it was going to be an exciting finish. I honestly had a scare in the middle of the race, for a few laps we had some issues. Basically, we were down on power and had to get a bit crazy on the switches, so I thought the race could have potentially ended early but we got through that and yeah, very happy.

What about overtaking these two, the overtaking manoeuvres in the last few laps?

DR: Yeah, obviously there was only one way to win it and that was to get around them. Obviously I had the advantage of the fresher tyres, but I knew they wouldn’t make it easy. I attempted Lewis into Turn Two, I think the previous lap or maybe two before I eventually got him, but just locked up and went too wide. I had a second crack at it and I still locked up but I managed to just hang on and just had a bit more grip around the outside there, so that was that. And then, once I got close enough to Fernando, I knew I just had to go for it. Being in that sandwich there, Lewis was still I think in the DRS zone, basically I couldn’t waste too much time and that’s what I did and then once I got the lead I knew it was just a couple of laps to go. Yeah, it feels good.

Well done. Fernando, coming to you. What does this mean to you? What does it mean to Ferrari, coming just before the break?

FA: It means a lot. Obviously we had some tough races recently and to see one Ferrari again on the podium is the best news. We took the opportunity after a difficult race, with a wet start and then some difficult decisions to make around the safety cars – if pitted or not. Unfortunately first safety car we went a little bit out of position, because the safety car went out and we were in the last corners so we missed the opportunity to stop. We stopped the lap afterwards and we lost a couple of places. We have to attack, we have to overtake a couple of people and just 10 laps to the end we were discussing if we stop and secure the fourth place that we really needed, those points, so just try to defend the position as much as you can and maybe finish in fourth, so at the end it’s the same result but at least you have the chance to fight for the podium positions. So we were in that position 10 laps to the end and at the end we chose the right thing – stay out, defend the position as best we could and secure this second place that, for sure, it tastes like a victory for us at the moment.

Yes, it’s interesting what Ferrari will take from this. Presumably you’ll still be telling them to push on other types of circuit, this was a very tight circuit obviously?

FA: We’ll see. This circuit didn’t change much our performance, our position but today we had a little bit of a chaotic race and we took every opportunity we had in front of us. I think cars from behind also had some issues, with Rosberg, with Hamilton yesterday, with the issues in qualifying, we get this position for free. We had Vettel, had a problem in the last corner today, the Force India. We had some cars out of the way let’s say and we took benefit from this and we secured some very strong points for the team.

And Lewis… I think a lot of people may be extremely surprised to see you here but it was a fantastic race for you. Did you ever think it was possible? You had some great wheel-to-wheel racing as well out there.

LH: I don’t know, I was just pushing as hard as I could to see if I could get as high as I could and yeah, I mean, a great result obviously.

What does this third place mean to you or are you still regretting yesterday?

LH: No, obviously this is damage limitation. On one hand I’m very grateful to have been able to get through with all the difficulties I’ve had this weekend, obviously yesterday and the first lap. I can’t believe how things have gone but to be able to come back through… the safety cars obviously helped quite a lot but naturally I look at the fact that I had the pace this weekend I lost quite a lot of opportunistic points. Still, we’re there in the fight, fortunately I stayed of my team-mate, which means I’m still there or thereabouts.

Q: How hard did he come back at you?

LH: Well, he was catching me at three seconds a lap, so it was very, very tough at the end. Fernando, and big congratulations to Daniel, drove fantastically well, both of them. It was very difficult to keep him behind, and also with Nico, and impossible to get past Fernando.

Q: Quite tricky, the last few laps?

LH: Yeah, definitely.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Lewis, we heard on the radio the messages from the team asking you to pull over and let Nico by, around about lap 50-51. We can now see why you didn’t do it, otherwise you wouldn’t be on the podium. Can you just explain your thoughts at that particular time: what was going through your head? Why you didn’t let him by? And secondly, how do you feel the dynamic of your relationship will again maybe now change, following the summer break, with Nico?

LH: Well obviously I’m aware that when you’re… y’know I was in the same race as him. Just because he had one more stop than me doesn’t mean I wasn’t in the same race as him. And naturally if I’d have let him past, he would have had the opportunity to pull away and when he does pit, he’s going to come back and overtake me, so I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that, to be able to better his position. But to be honest, he didn’t get close enough to overtake but I was never going to lift off and lost ground to Fernando or Daniel to enable him to have a better race. So that was a bit strange. But we’ve got a long way to go, moving forwards still and, as I said, thankfully I’m still in that battle, so, I hope we can come away stronger.

Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) I’ve got a question for you Lewis. Going into the summer break, psychologically, what does it mean for you, the fact that you started in the pitlane, your team-mate started on pole, and you’re here and he isn’t?

LH: Well that in itself is huge for me. I can’t express to you the pain that you feel when you have issues such as the issues that I’ve had in the last couple of races. It’s very, very difficult to swallow, and, to come back the next day and get the right balance between not attacking too much, and not making mistakes, all these different things. So many things that… obviously when you’re at the back you’re having to push way past the limit than perhaps you would off pole position or in the top five. So the fact that I’m managed to come back through obviously is a showing of just how great this car is and how great this team is – but ultimately we’ve worked, I’ve worked hard for it so it feels probably better than perhaps a win, gliding from the lead. It feels definitely much more satisfying when you come back through. And, as I said, to be ahead and to win the fight is really encouraging.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / National Speedsport News) Two questions, one for Daniel: how does this compare to Canada? And for the other two guys, you’ve battled wheel to wheel with Daniel. Has he now established himself as a front-runner?

DR: It honestly does compare to Canada. Obviously the first victory is special but it definitely leaves you wanting more. I was just as hungry for this second one and it feels just as good – I won’t say better but you realise it a bit more so if feels like you can enjoy it a bit more. And when I crossed the line, everything felt a bit more real, so I guess I took in a bit more of this one today. So, yeah, it feels awesome. And I just want of obviously quickly thank the team as well. To have two victories in the first half of the season with them, obviously I owe a lot of that to them as well, for letting me just settle in, establish myself with them. They never put too much pressure on me, they let me roll into it as I liked – and I think that’s been the best balance for all of us. The results are showing and I’ll enjoy this one as much as Canada.

Fernando, your thoughts about Daniel – has he established himself?

FA: Yeah, definitely. I think he’s leading the champion team. That says all. He’s doing a fantastic job this year and now he had a few bottles. In Hockenheim I had a very fresh tyre which probably allowed me to pass with some advantage but even with that it was not easy. Today, I really didn’t have the tools to fight but I tried to do my best – but definitely, congratulations to him for today, for the whole championship and it’s going to be an interesting fight in the next couple of years.

Lewis?

LH: Yeah, as Fernando said, he’s been driving fantastically well from the beginning of the year. So, it’s not only now, it’s through the whole year he’s shown his capability and is going from strength to strength. Not only one of the nicest guys in the paddock but also one of the best drivers here, for sure.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Fernando, a couple of questions, first one: does this result show that something can still be taken from the car, and the second one, your birthday is approaching: we know what you wished last year – what about this year? What is the gift you would like for your birthday?

FA: hmmm… I think from this year’s car there are obviously some positive things and some negative things. Now, together with the team try to analyse what to carry on and what to change. Philosophy of the car probably is not perfectly right because we are not as competitive as wish, so there are things that we need to change but also there are things that are probably working OK. Well last year it was a very big understanding of what was my wish. Especially in Italy. So, this year, I will not wish anything about the car and I will wish a happy day to everyone in Italy.

Q: (Carlos Miquel Gomez – La Gaceta) Two questions for Fernando. Do you think that this race is one of the best races of your career? And the other thing, to hear the people cheering “Alonso, Alonso” is one of the reasons that you are following Formula One.

FA: I don’t think that is one of the best in my career. It has been a good and a complex race, let’s say, to execute and perform – because there were some difficulties around the race that make the 70 laps not straight forward. You just need to make decisions during the race and all of them were, together with the team, and I think we did the best we could. And then in the podiums, the support from the people has been amazing. Especially this two or three last seasons – which is a little bit strange when you think that I won the World Championship the last time in 2006, I suppose that my career should be going down and it’s going up. So that’s definitely something that keeps my motivation very high. I would like to give them something back in terms of trophy and in terms of titles. It’s what we’re working on.

Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe Kiadoi) Daniel, when do you think your next victory will come? This year you are the only Mercedes destroyer. And do you still continue to develop this year’s car or will you focus on next year after Spa?

DR: I think – answering your second question quickly – I think we’re definitely going to keep trying to push for this year. There’s still a lot to play for. In any case, what we learn this year we can still take forward for next year so the team will keep pushing and I’m sure that now this second victory will keep the motivation strong within the team so that’s good. Sorry, what was the first question?

Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe Kiadoi) This year you are the only Mercedes destroyer.

DR: Good. Someone’s got to do it.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis, during this crazy race, what was the main difficulty for you, trying to find your way on the wet track at the beginning or resisting your teammate at the end?

LH: The beginning. The strange thing about starting from the pit lane is that you don’t get ready to go out. Your brakes are cold as you start, your tyres are brand new and obviously I experienced that into turn two. It was an interesting beginning to the race but I’m very very very grateful that I got through.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – UOL) To all of you: three different drivers, three different teams, three different power trains in the last race of this part of the season. Does it mean that in the second part of the season we will maybe see some more competition or did the circumstances of the race create this situation?

DR: I think today obviously the mixed conditions and the safety cars maybe helped out this order in terms of having three different manufacturers up here but I would like to think that it can create something for the second half. I think that in pure dry conditions, Mercedes still have a pretty significant edge on everyone else. Spa, it’s a pretty good place to start the second half of the year. Maybe the weather and the changes they have there could create something exciting but forgetting all the stats, obviously this is a great thing to see today: three teams, three manufacturers all up here. It’s refreshing, for sure.

FA: I agree with everything. Let’s hope so. I think the circumstances and the weather played a big factor today. The circuit characteristics also probably helped some of the power units that we are not on top of the game still, so let’s see at Spa. Monza is quite a tough challenge for us and that will give us some answers for the final part.

LH: I think it’s great for the fans to see. I’m sure today – people say it was a great race – that’s really what the fans want to see so I hope that continues for the future.

Q: (Istvan Simon – Auto Magazin) Lewis, the last time that things didn’t go according to plan was at Silverstone – apart from Hockenheim but that was a technical issue – when something messed up your qualifying, you said that you spent the night or I heard you spend the night with your mother, with your father, with your family, with your loved ones. What helped you through this time, in this dip? What did you do yesterday to prepare yourself for the race day?

LH: I had a pizza last night! I did, some pizza and some chocolate and watched a movie. Went to dinner with Niki yesterday and played a prank on him as it was his birthday and just tried to have some fun. We really have some of the greatest fans here and I think really some of my really close fans that I have here really got me through this weekend. I didn’t have my family here with me and it’s great to be able to turn to them and to be able to receive positive energy from them. I got a letter from one of my fans this morning and just the comments it had in it were really uplifting and really helped kick my mind into gear so I’m grateful for that.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis, yesterday you were quoted as saying that what happened starts to go beyond bad luck. Could you please explain what exactly you meant by that and are you maybe starting to lose confidence in the team, because of the technical problems and now they asked you to move over for Nico who was on a different strategy?

LH: I don’t really remember… I mean yesterday after what was quite a difficult time, I came straight out and spoke to the media so I think fortunately I controlled myself quite well and I don’t really remember what kind of frame of mind I was in at that point but it’s the same as saying ‘it’s beyond a joke.’ Sometimes there’s one joke, there’s another joke and sometimes it gets a little bit past that and obviously with the faults that we’ve had on my car, it’s made it very difficult for this championship but as I said, fortunately I got some points today which means that I’m still there or thereabouts but the telling thing would be how my car performs through the rest of the year.

Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fastmag) Daniel, who do you side with: Fernando said a few races ago that the championship was basically over? It was for one of the guys from Mercedes. And Sebastian said that mathematically it was still on, so what’s your opinion on that? Is it over or is it not?

DR: I think there’s obviously a couple of opinions. When maybe some of us say it’s over, I think it’s just purely looking at the performance of Mercedes. On a normal weekend with normal conditions on pretty much all circuits, they’ve been dominant. I think days like today, with some changing conditions, some safety cars, it helps us keep our nose in the fight. I think Seb’s right in saying that until it’s mathematically over it isn’t. If you look at today, I closed in on the championship but realistically we’re still a long way off. It doesn’t really change the approach in any case. If we’re in it or not, we still race for the highest position possible and obviously as we saw today, the win was there for grabs and we took it. In any case, I don’t think it changes the approach for Sundays. I think with the Abu Dhabi system they’ve applied this year, it’s still going to be pretty open until late on in the season. We’ll just keep doing what we can.

Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver) Fernando, how impressive or how surprising for you and for the team was having such an amazing pace with the soft tyres for such a long time with the degradation of the tyres. Was it really a surprise, a question of weather?

FA: Yeah, it was definitely a surprise. We found ourselves leading the race when Ricciardo and Massa pitted so we thought OK, let’s give the maximum for three or four laps just to open up a gap and stop see whether we are in the final part and then we realised that it was not so many laps to the end and it was a difficult call: stopping and keep pushing and finishing fourth or keep going and risking the cliff with the tyres and finishing fourth or fifth or whatever. So it was surprisingly good, it was surprisingly fast, the car in the race. I think the weather helped us with cooler temperatures and the track a little bit damp in the first part. Obviously you don’t stress the tyres as much as a completely hot track. I felt the car was good and it was definitely a surprise.

Q: (Oliver Barstow – Crash.net) Lewis, yourself and Nico have had the odd technical issue over the course of the year. Given the performance between you two is so close, how concerned are you that the title could be decided between you by who has the least technical issues?

LH: Ultimately it is a concern because I’ve stopped more than him. But as I said, there’s still quite a few races to go and it will be telling, dependent on how… Obviously I’ve got the pace, got the ability, just really whether or not the car holds up.

July 27, 2014
Hamilton sets the pace in first practice

Lewis Hamilton topped the first practice session ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, one tenth quicker than team mate Nico Rosberg and eight tenths faster than Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton, a four time winner in Budapest, exchanged places at the top of the time sheets with Rosberg but set the fastest time at the end of the session with a 1:25.814.

The Ferraris once again came closest to the Mercedes duo continuing their run of being the best of the rest in the first practice session of a grand prix weekend. Raikkonen took the third spot and Fernando Alonso finished his practice session a further four tenths back in fourth.

Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest for Red Bull after struggling initially with the telemetry on his RB10. McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen ended the session in sixth, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.

Jenson Button and Felipe Massa rounded out the top 10.

Several drivers struggled with low grip across the session. The Hungaroring is nutoriously green on a Friday. Only Adrian Sutil and Marcus Ericsson suffered spins though.

Max Chilton could only manage five laps for the session after oil leaking onto the exhaust of his Marussia caused a fire which saw him sitting in the pit garage for most of his practice session.

Hamilton will no doubt be hoping to add another win at the Hungaroring to his championship bid. The second practice session commences at 14:00 pm (GMT +2).

Full timesheet for the session is below.

July 25, 2014