F1 Madness

Tag: ferrari

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Post-Race Press Conference

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Post-Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Mark Webber)

    Q: Sebastian, all those thousands and thousands of hours of work from the whole team over winter testing, you guys have shown the form early in the season, massive victory, how do you feel?
    Sebastian VETTEL: Unbelievable. Thank you everyone, it was a fantastic grand prix. It was quite, in a positive way, when I was coming back to the pits and there were people running on track going wild with Ferrari flags. It was unbelievable. Thanks for the support. Like you said, it was what we needed. The whole team has been working really, really hard. The guys didn’t get much sleep here and back in the factory. The car is really behaving well, incredible to drive, a beautiful day. Thank you.

    Q: We’ll move across to second place. Lewis Hamilton, who did everything right, he did everything right. Come on, Australia. Absolutely world class is Lewis. On pole position, phenomenal start, mate. And for me, I think the strategy didn’t quite work out for you today. Did you have to pit? Why was it so early? And obviously for you then to get the race victory back off Sebastian was going to be very difficult from then onwards.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, definitely. Firstly, a big congratulations to Ferrari and to Sebastian, they did an amazing job this weekend. It’s been a great weekend for us and the team, but just in the race, I struggled with the tyres at the end. I had to pit a lot earlier than these guys because I just ran out of grip. Pitted and I got stuck behind one of the Red Bulls and sometimes that’s just the way it goes. But overall, a great race and good points for the team and I mean look at this crowd. Thank you for coming out today and it’s always such a great place for us to be.

    Q: Well done Lewis and great sportsmanship there and I wouldn’t expect anything different from a world champion. Valtteri, first time up here with Mercedes, how does it feel? Big weekend for you, no errors, talk us through it.
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, obviously first race with the team and really want to thank everyone. The team has been so welcoming. We worked really hard for this first race to be ready. Everything went nice and smoothly but it’s just that the red guys are a bit too quick, so that means we need to work harder. We are definitely ready for that. I am ready for that. This is just the start, starting with a podium, we can improve it from here, so I’ll look forward to the next few races.

    Q:Well done mate, we’ll finish with Sebastian Vettel. Your 43rd victory. The last time I saw this kind of atmosphere was with both our hero, Michael Schumacher. So emotionally for you it must be massive for you to have all these Italian fans down here in Melbourne, in Italy and around the world, winning the first race of the season and taking the championship fight to this man.
    SV: Yeah, it’s a long, long way ahead. For now I think we’re just over the moon. I think it’s been a hard winter and an incredible race today. At the start I wasn’t entirely happy. I think I was a little bit too nervous.

    I was surprised. I thought you were going to do it.
    SV: I had a bit of wheel slip off the line. Lewis was a tiny bit better and then I had to take care of Valtteri in Turn One, but then I had a decent exit. But after that I was really trying to keep the pressure on to make sure that they get that message that we are here and we’re here to fight. Obviously got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic but still we were hanging in there, the tyres were still good, the car was working, so excellent job. And as I said, the support around the track: I had a look with 20 laps to go left and right and especially last sector they were always on fire with the flags, so it was really great. Yeah, thank you.

    Q: And a quick word on the beast: what are the cars like now compared to last year?

    SV: Ah, you could push much harder. Usually the first couple of laps you were pushing last year and then the tyres were dropping off. Now the tyres are still dropping off a bit but you can keep pushing. You can keep braking at the same point. The car is screaming “more, more, more!” Also, at the end with the harder tyres there is hardly any degradation so it’s really good fun, especially in the fast corners. You could keep going forever, it was a great race, and I enjoyed it a lot.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Congratulations Sebastian, your second win here in Australia and the 43rd of your Formula One career. Great start to your year. Talk us through the conversation on the radio after Lewis made that early pit stop. What were deliberations in terms of the strategy? And when you came in and went out on the soft tyres, to try to warm that thing up, you had quite a bit of action behind you, tell us about how tense that got?

    SV: I think we realised early on that we had decent pace. I was able to follow Lewis and then I think after 10 or 12 laps he was really pushing, trying to open a gap, and he succeeded a bit. I was struggling to keep up, but still hanging in there. And I knew if there was anything to happen around the first stop then I need to be right behind him to either put them under pressure or have a chance to jump into the pits earlier to pass him through the stop. Once it was clear that he went in, there was no point to follow. We stayed out, the tyres were still holding on and the pace looked alright. I wasn’t aware of the traffic situation at that point and I just tried to calm down a bit because I was quite hot on the previous laps, but still keep the pace up and hope for an ‘overcut’ so to say. Then I was told he was facing some traffic, which I didn’t know who and how fast the traffic was and whether he would clear but I just tried to hang in there. And then obviously we saw the gap, went into the pits and it worked. It was very tight. I lost a lot of time on the in-lap because I had a lapped car, I think it was a Williams. I lost about a second so I was a bit angry but that’s how it goes sometimes and still it was just enough and I had Max right behind me and Lewis as well, so that was quite tight. Turn One was a bit slippery, but I managed to get a decent exit and a decent run down to Turn Three. I just held the inside. I knew that Max would probably try something but I just kept in front. That was obviously crucial for our race. I tried to push for as hard as I could for the one or two [laps] Max was still out because he was slower on the older tyres, to open a bit of a gap and control the race. The car was really good, working well and I could control the gap and the pace, going through traffic and just bringing it home. It was very pleasant. A different race to last year, where you had to manage a lot. Now I think it was a bit more raw, especially the beginning. Even if it wasn’t a wheel-to-wheel fight I could see Lewis was pushing really hard. There were some corners where he was on top of me and other corners where I was catching up. It was nice that we could just push and race to let’s say the first stop. Then obviously we got a bit lucky with him facing some traffic. But equally we pushed him to the pits and did well. Otherwise, if he had a big lead after 15 laps then he could stay out, control the race and pit into free air. We did a very good race. I’m very happy with the calls today. It worked brilliantly and as I said, big thanks to the team. We say this all the time but I think if you’re not part of the team I think it’s difficult to realise but what this team has done in the last six months has been really tough, rough as well, not easy to manage the whole team but I think the new car, in general… obviously today is fantastic, a big reward a big relief for everyone. It’s just the tip of the iceberg. The foundation has been laid a
    long time ago and really proud to see it coming together. This is just one race. I’m sure we’ll have a great night, we’ll create… we did already, but we will create some great memories tonight and we’ll take it from there. I think we enjoy what we do, the spirit is great in the team and that’s for us to keep it up.

    Q: Congratulations. Lewis, a lot of pressure on you at the start but the getaway looked pretty flawless so talk us through that. Then Sebastian said he felt he pushed you into the pits and you came in relatively early, lap 18, did you have to come in?
    LH: We had a really good start, which is fantastic; it’s good to have a good getaway. After that, I was struggling with the grip from the get-go. Sebastian was able to always answer in terms of lap time and the majority of the time do faster lap times and then towards the end I got a bit in traffic and the car started to overheat the tyres and I was struggling with grip and it was to the point that I needed to come in. Plus, the gap was closing up and I was sliding around. So it was my call because otherwise he probably would have come by anyway. So then I came in and then I got obviously stuck in traffic, which is a little bit unfortunate but that’s motor racing. But a big congratulations to Sebastian and Ferrari. I know it’s been a long time coming for them to get a result like this. It shows we are going to have a race on our hands, which we are very happy to have, which is great for the fans. Unfortunately it’s harder than ever to get close to cars, which is a shame. We can’t even have a close battle but who knows, maybe in the future we will.

    Q: Valtteri, so we learned that Ferrari’s pace from testing is real. What did you learn this weekend about your new car, your new team and where you yourself can improve going forward?
    VB: Well, first of all I think it is a start. There are always things that could have gone better but it is a good starting point for the journey for me driving for Mercedes. I think the main things were obviously yesterday, the qualifying, I didn’t get everything perfect but it was the first qualifying with the team and this track really hasn’t been fantastic for me ever in qualifying. But there’s a long season ahead. Today, I think the race was good. As a team I think we did a good job with the car we have. I think Ferrari was quicker today, there’s no doubt about that. They have obviously done a great job and a better job for this race. From my side the main thing today was the first stint. I struggled quite a lot with the ultrasoft tyres. It felt like I was just sliding around, always missing front grip, rear grip, especially after like 10 laps of the first stint. That wasn’t easy. But once we put the soft tyres on it was quite a good feeling with the car and the car was behaving really nicely. It was really nice to drive. But it was a bit too late and still missing a bit of pace. Overall, I think not a disastrous first race weekend with the team but I do have my points I will take and I can do better next time and I look forward to that.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian. Can you tell us please which was the road map that the team had to follow to achieve this victory and how much is it a surprise to be on the top now?
    SV: I think for all of us it is a positive surprise. I think the road we followed is pretty simple: we didn’t look left; we didn’t look right; we didn’t look forward; we didn’t look back. I think we focussed on what we had to do at the time. Obviously there has been a lot of up and down, left and right the last 12 months but I think, especially the last couple of months, things calmed down and we just tried to do our job. Obviously there has been a big reshuffle but, as I said, people are happy, happy to work, working with each other. That’s the key. At the end there’s no shortcut, you need to get the job done and invest a lot of hours thinking. Passion, I think, is a great driver back in the factory, also here. I think up and down the pitlane the amount of hours the guys are covering is mad. You need to love what you’re doing but especially… I said it years ago joining Ferrari, there seems to be an extra passion just working for the Prancing Horse and, I think, just focussing on ourselves really has been the big difference. I think a key to deliver a great car, which we obviously have. The speeds look alright, both on the straights and in the corners we are competitive. As I said, I was able to stay with Lewis. They had a little bit the upper hand yesterday but I knew, y’know, we had much better balance yesterday than on Friday so I knew in the race anything can happen. It’s the first race of the season, I’m surprised we didn’t have a Safety Car but anything can happen. I wanted to stay in there and make it clear we had the pace. It was nice to see that we have and, as I say, to get the job done.

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1fan) Question to all of you, now that you have completed a decent sum of laps with 2017 cars around the Circuit de Catalunya and Albert Park, for which track and individual turn a re you most looking forward to?
    SV: I don’t know if I can get all the races together! Probably Silverstone. I think with that amount of grip and downforce. Probably Suzuka as well later on in the year. Also I guess the cars will be even faster from what they are now. So, yeah, I think that would be quite nice. I’m looking forward to that.

    Lewis?
    LH: Yes, Silverstone, I agree.

    Valtteri?
    VB: Yeah, I think all the quick ones: Spa; Suzuka; Silverstone will be nice. But I think even street circuits will be a bit more challenging I think – not that it wasn’t challenging before, but with these cars it will be nice.

    Q: (Lennart Bernke – Bild) Seb, you are always talking about a different spirit inside the team and how you have changed from the last year. Can you tell us how exactly you have managed that or what happened inside the team that made the spirit different this year?
    SV: I didn’t manage anything, I’m not the team manager so you need to ask other people. In the end it was clear that when we started off two years ago, three years ago that there’s a lot to do, a lot to reshuffle. I think the team was at a low. The spirit was very good in the first year, in 2015. I think last year was a very good year. Obviously not for the results but in terms of growing the team. It’s good also to hit some lows and go through difficult periods – even though it pretty much sucks – but if you look race-by-race it’s not great but seeing what happens in the background is important. I think people always kept the belief and, as I said, the last six months have been very calm. We have done our work and it starts to slowly pay off. Now it peaks and we are at the top of this grand prix but that’s a small achievement. If you look at who we are up against, I think Mercedes has been phenomenal the last couple of years: incredible team effort, incredibly by both drivers. I think Valtteri just fitted in and kept doing a fantastic job for the team. No weak link from the outside, not that we can see. They will be the ones to beat but for sure today I’m just happy and we take it as a team. You saw the guys: they were smiling, singing, so I’m sure we’ll see more of that tonight.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) For all three. The first time with the new clutch rules at the start. None of you lost a position but how did your start go?

    Lewis you’ve already dealt with that. Sebastian?
    SV: I had a bit of wheel slip. It’s tough, obviously, it’s a very fine line. You try to guess where to go. If you get it right it feels fantastic; if not it’s… yeah, you’re not getting the maximum out of it. Hopefully a better start in China.

    Valtteri?
    VB: I think mine was quite average. Not the best possible for these conditions but not too bad. So yeah, pretty happy with that all obviously. Would have been nice to jump at least one car but yeah, it was good. Definitely been working hard on the starts and it seems to pay off but for sure we can improve on that.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, in the Championship, is this the most important podium for you so far and was that the most physical also?
    VB: Most important podium… I don’t know. For sure it is good to start with a podium this season with a new team. I think every position is important for the Championship itself. So it is too early to say if it is the most important. Most physical? I think one of the most physical. This is not one of the most physical tracks – but the new cars definitely make it harder. But yeah, based on what I felt today, some of the circuits will be quite a challenge but I was OK today. It’s nice to feel a bit more physical effect and a little bit more fatigue. I like it.

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Lewis, just saw you stretching out your left shoulder there a bit. Any discomfort after that race? And also, was it as physical as you guys expected? More? Less? With these new cars over a race distance.
    LH: No, I’m just stretching. It was more physical but it was no problem for me and doesn’t look like it was for these guys either.

    SV: It’s not the most physical circuit in the year. I think later on it will be very interesting. Here is very technical. So, first couple of laps, at least for me, were very intense. Obviously it’s easy to have an error, get
    something wrong under braking, go a bit wide etcetera. Later on I had a bit of a gap and I could control it, and therefore it was a bit easier.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, Ferrari won the first race of the season last time seven years ago. Is this the biggest chance for the team and are you going to refresh your song compilation for victory?
    SV: Was that in Bahrain? Yeah. What was the second part of your question? I was thinking about which race it was.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Are you going to refresh your victory song compilation?
    SV: Ah, no, no, no, no. I’m not a good singer otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’m pretty sure I will think of something if we’re lucky enough to repeat what we did today but no plans. I think it came very spontaneously now two years ago. We’ll see. I think that’s a very nice problem to have, to worry about which song to sing but for now I think we’re very happy with how the race went today.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Lewis, in the second part of the race you seem to have struggled to close the gap to Sebastian even when you had a free track in front of you. At one point you were asking the team ‘is there damage to the floor?’ Has there been anything with your car or were you just struggling with the tyres?

    LH: Not that I know of. In the second part of the race… I had stopped about eight laps before these guys so I just didn’t know how long the tyres were going to go so I just took it easy and at the end, obviously, I got more pace but even if I did close the gap, you can’t overtake so… and I may not have made it to the end of the race having stopped so early.

    Q: (Paul Gover – News Ltd) Sebastian, the last time Ferrari won here in Australia was Kimi and he went on to be World Champion. Do you have any feeling at all yet about how the championship might go for you this year?
    SV: No, not interested at this point to be honest. Obviously I was very fortunate so far in my racing career. I’ve had some good races and good years but definitely the first race is not the time to look at the table. As I’ve said before, you really have to go step by step. It’s good to know that we have a great car but it’s just the beginning: new regulations, new generations of cars so there will be a lot of progress. These guys have proved to be the ones to beat for the last couple of years, more and more so. We know that they have a great engine but also they had a great car the last couple of years and they made good steps forward so we are the ones who need to catch up but as I said, for today I am just very happy and for sure whatever happens this year, the race today doesn’t hurt.

    Q: (Phil Branagan – Auto Action) Lewis, we heard some of the radio communication after your tyre stop; there was a conversation about a switch to plan B and then a switch back to plan A. Did something happen in the car to prompt that change of strategy during the second half of the race?
    LH: Strategy A is a one-stop, strategy B was a two-stop and I was in second so they were looking at alternatives of other ways to get me back to first.

    Q: (Andre Leslie – DPA) Lewis has now suggested a couple of times that it’s very tough to overtake. Can I ask Sebastian and Valtteri if that is what you guys are feeling and can you explain to us why?
    VB: I think it is definitely… you know even in the years before it’s been difficult to follow once you get within one and a half, one second just because of the turbulent air which messes up the aerodynamics of the car and that way we don’t have that much grip. Now, as more of the grip from the car is relying on the aero it’s a bigger effect and the cars are wider so I think there’s more turbulent air so now I think it’s more like two seconds or even two and a half because you actually feel quite a big effect from the car in front and that way in the corners it’s more difficult to follow. Obviously you have a bigger slipstream on the straight but if you can’t follow in the corners it’s tricky to get a slipstream. That’s the problem.

    SV: Nothing to add.

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Lewis and Seb, the two of you have been the dominant drivers of the past decade in terms of World Championships but you’ve rarely had a year when you have been able to fight
    each other in fairly equal machinery. Sat here now, knowing that you’ve both got cars that are closely matched, is there a bit of anticipation between the two of you to go head to head?
    SV: Great respect for Lewis. I think he had an amazing debut here ten years ago. I still remember his move around the outside, when he made other people look a bit silly. I think since then, since day one, he’s proved that he’s very very quick, very talented but also working hard. I think it was a matter of time before he won the World Championship which I tried to stop him doing in Brazil, as hard as I could, in my Toro Rosso. Great memories – but I don’t remember the last ten years. Roughly we’ve been racing each other but if I have the same outcome as you had on that day…

    LH: I’m going to get you back.

    SV: Yeah, to cut it short, I have great respect. He’s proven to be one of the quickest drivers on the grid and for sure I would love to have a close battle. Obviously right now it looks like we have equal machinery. I hope it stays that way and then we will see how it turns out but it’s obviously a lot of fun to race for victories and a lot of fun to race against the best.

    LH: Yeah, I second that. Incredible amount of respect for Sebastian and what he’s achieved in his career. It’s been a privilege to be racing in an era with him and now finally at a period of time when we can actually have a real race. I wish we could race a lot closer in the cars that we have today but still I think the fact that we are similar pacewise, it’s going to be a very very hard slog this season I think. It’s going to be physically and mentally demanding but as Sebastian said, racing the best is what Formula One is all about and ultimately makes you work that much harder, having to raise the bar and I’m looking forward to that.

  • F1 2017: Australian Gp Qualifying Report – Hamilton Leads

    F1 2017: Australian Gp Qualifying Report – Hamilton Leads

    Lewis Hamilton has secured pole position for Australian grand prix but it was far from the comfortable domination the Mercedes driver has been used to.

    Nipping at the gearbox of the Mercedes was Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari only two tenths off the pole position time. This time is in stark contrast to Ferrari’s last six outing in quali around the Albert Park during which they had failed to come within in, roughly, seventh tenths of the quickest time.

    New Merc driver Valtteri Bottas, in third, will share the second row with Ferrari’s other driver Kimi Raikkonen, in fourth. Red Bull were a distant best of the rest in the shape of Max Verstappen while Daniel RIcciardo in the second part of quali. Constrastingly, Romain Grosjean shone for Haas in sixth.

    Williams’ fresh out of retirement Felipe Massa secured seventh ahead of Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat in eighth and ninth respectively. While Daniel Ricciardo is nailed down in tenth the Red Bull driver is likely to require a gearbox change which will trigger a five place grid drop for tomorrow’s race.

    Sergio Perez will line up the pink-liveried Force India in eleventh while Fernando Alonso managed the twelfth quickest time in the McLaren.

    Standings After Q3:

    Screen Shot 2017-03-25 at 10.11.14 AM

  • Vettel Fastest in Shortened Australain GP 3rd Free Practice

    Vettel Fastest in Shortened Australain GP 3rd Free Practice

    Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time for the 3rd Free Practice session for the Australian Grand Prix ahead of Qualifying this afternoon.

    Vettel’s time of 1:23.380 was the fastest lap of the session and is now the fastest time around the Albert Park Circuit. His Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished 4th fastest after a puncture curtailed his run. Interestingly enough, Ferrari only ran the ultra soft tyre the entire session.

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished 2nd fastest ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Bottas set a 1:23.859 which was 0.479s off Vettel’s time with Hamilton a further 0.490s off.

    In 5th was Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg who produced a very quick lap on the ultra softs to cross the line in 1:25.063. This pace is encouraging for the Enstone team, but Jolyon Palmer in the second Renault could only manage 19th fastest after some issues with his car.

    In a rather quiet session for Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo set the 6th fastest time that was 1.712s slower than Vettel’s time. Red Bull seem to be struggling with the car setup and balance with Max Verstappen complaining that there was mid corner under-steer. Verstappen finished his session 12th fastest.

    The two Toro Rosso’s of Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat finished 8th and 9th respectively sandwiched by the two Haas drivers of Romain Grosjean in 7th and Kevin Magnussen in 10th.

    The session ended early after William’s Lance Stroll tagged the barrier at the exit of Turn 10. Stroll running a bit wide into T10, took a little too much kerb. He got on the power a little too early and the rear stepped out and smacked the barrier damaging the rear right suspension.

    There were incidents throughout the session with McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne taking a trip through the gravel and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen coming to a stop at T14 after a puncture. The Finn switched off his Ferrari and restarted it using the MGU-K. He limped back to the pits with a clearly deflating rear left tyre.

    The scene is set for qualifying. Ferrari have shown some pace while Mercedes have had a couple bags of sand in their cars and will undoubtedly turn up the engine to eleven for Qualifying. We’ll finally know if Mercedes are the team to beat this year.

     

     

    Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Eric BOULLIER (McLaren), Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Paddy LOWE (Williams)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Opening question to all of you gentlemen: obviously it’s the opening day of a new season of Formula One. Lots of changes on the cars but sum up how your first day went? Eric why don’t you kick us off?

    Eric BOULLIER: Reasonably well. Obviously we didn’t add as many laps as we were expecting but if you compare with the testing it was a little bit better. Obviously the cars look more spectacular more aggressive, It was a good working day for us.

    Christian, obviously you had the incident with Max that lost you a lot of track time but Daniel’s long run looked pretty reasonable.

    Christian HORNER: Yes, not too bad. Certainly the first session today was encouraging. The few changes that we made the drivers didn’t like too much. Max did a little bit of grass mowing at Turn 12 and that compromised his session in the late afternoon but we got a lot of good information and we’re generally quite encouraged.

    And Paddy, how was your first day of action at Williams?

    Paddy LOWE: It was sort of a mixed day because we had a great first session, some encouraging pace. [It was] Lance’s first practice ever in Formula One, so he was taking it steady, step-by-step, making good progress. But into the afternoon we had an electrical problem on Felipe’s car, a short circuit, and that really ended his session very early. So we didn’t get the homework we would have liked on that car. But overall, quite encouraging for tomorrow.

    Maurizio, did today go as you thought it would?

    Maurizio ARRIVABENE: We were working mainly on car balance. This morning we were struggling a bit more than normal. But then in the afternoon we were still working on the car balance, but nothing different versus our Friday programme.

    Toto, Lewis looking very much the man to beat.

    Toto WOLFF: Yes, he had a very good day overall. For the team it was one of the better Fridays. Having had some question marks over testing in Barcelona it was encouraging to bounce back in that way, but it is a day that doesn’t matter.

    Q: Eric, coming back to you. We hear you are collecting quite a lot of air miles at the moment going forwards and backwards to Japan. How serious are your problems and what steps are you taking with Honda to resolve them?

    EB: Well, obviously we had a very bad winter testing, a lot of troubles, didn’t do many miles, no race simulations but like you said we are having many, many meetings with Honda. We both take it very seriously. All the options are open. Today we discussed how we can catch up and recover from that situation.

    Q: Toto, they say you should never change a winning team, but here you are after three dominant seasons with a new technical chief and a new driver, so how has the dynamic in the team changed?

    TW: It’s a very large organization, between Brixworth and Brackley it’s almost 1500 people and the dynamic is positive. Every year we are trying to reinvent ourselves without compromising performance and we are in good spirits.

    Q: Christian, a slightly quieter testing period than with Ferrari and Mercedes, but lots of new parts arriving on the car today. Tell us how the development race will impact this year’s championship. Is it going to be the deciding factor and are you going to come out on the right side of it?

    CH: Well, I think it’s going to be a big factor. These regulations are still very immature and there are going to be a lot of gains in a short space of time and it’s a matter of who can most efficiently develop their car and effectively get components on the car that drive performance forward. It wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect the cars to be 1.5s quicker by the time we get to Abu Dhabi than where we are here today. It will ebb and flow during the season but at the front of the grid hopefully we get a bit closer to Toto’s guys and have some closer races this year.

    Q: Paddy, you’ve gone back to the team you did some winning with back in the early 1990s, a dominant period with Mansell and Prost. Why is this move to Williams the right thing to do at this time of your career?

    PL: I had a great three years in my previous team, some great success there, but there was a great opportunity, a challenge at Williams. As you say, it’s going back to the team where I started my career in Formula One. It was quite emotional and special going back there a week ago, seeing people I literally hadn’t seen for 24 years, but fantastic team and we look forward to making substantial progress over the years to come.

    Q: Maurizio you have been downplaying expectations going into this season, but what I’d like to know is, inside the team, how hard it was to build what looks to be a very competitive car given all the technical changes and staff upheaval that you had in the second half of last year?

    MA: If you change something, it’s for the better, not to get worse. We have a change, the team is working very well together. Over the winter the guys were exchanging information; they have a common goal. Working all together, having a common goal and exchanging all the information they have, the car becomes not the car of one but the car of everybody and this is what has driven us until today and into the future.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (John McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Maurizio. Liberty have arrived, and one of the things they have said they want to do early on is make everyone more available to the media, but after arriving here it seems you have gone in the other direction. One of your drivers was unavailable yesterday in advance of this big race at the beginning of the season, from an organization as big as Ferrari. I was wondering why that is, whether that will go on or whether that will be addressed?

    MA: Define media. What do you mean by media? Today, defining media is quite large in terms of communication media. It’s also social media. It’s not only what we are thinking about. Yesterday we had Sebastian who was talking and we were using social media and posting something related to Kimi. Liberty also said that in this business at the moment the digital platforms are used at only 1% of the potential. So, the good thing is to find the right balance. Instead of having two drivers on Thursday and talking and doing a copy and paste of one versus the other with the same questions we made sure that Sebastian was talking in one way and Kimi in the other. So we cover all the communication platform. Making happy also Generation Z.

    Q: (Seff Harding – Xero Xone News) – To follow up on that, a question for all of you, do you feel that there does need to be a change in accessibility to the press, to arrange interviews that may be on social media, Facebook Live, Instagram, to reach out to other audiences, in other markets and of course to other demographics?

    CH: I think the changes that have been put in place this year have been positive. I think that relaxing the rules regarding the digital platforms, allowing content to be generated… non-circuit content giving the ability for fans and followers to get a little bit beneath the covers and closer to seeing the personalities of the drivers in the build-up to a grand prix or pre-season is certainly positive. It’s a media business at the end of the day. Formula One is a media business. We have to engage with the media. It’s important that we give access to the drivers, access to the fans or how else are we going to promote the sport.

    Toto?

    TW: I think like Maurizio said, we have to cover three different generations. We have to cover the long-time followers, so-called middle ages, the Millennials and Generation Z. You kind of need to play the full span. For example, when we launched the car we put some time into the car launch, which is a risk on the engineering side, you’re compromising your time, and we did a Facebook Live launch, 360, and we had almost a million views in 24 hours and it was successful. We have to embrace all that, not forget any audiences within these groups but target all of them and Liberty’s approach has been right so far, in opening up.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for all of you: we’ve had the big regulation change this season, can you tell me whether you think we will actually see better racing and the reason why this is so or why if not?

    Eric, why don’t you start?

    EB: I think the car, obviously it’s a hot topic with everybody talking about overtaking numbers and manoeuvres and whatever. I think 90 per cent of the overtaking is thanks to DRS since this device has been introduced. So as far as we are concerned the DRS is still on so I don’t think there will be many changes on this: the number of overtaking. The car philosophy stays the same as the previous generation and, as long as it is dictated by this front wing, you will have this loss of downforce effect into the corners. On the positive side, I think the drivers were the ones lobbying us, all of us, to have a faster car, fastest cornering cars and clearly we have achieved this, I think, with bigger tyres, more downforce, fastest cars today and obviously that’s going to facilitate, or help the bravest drivers to try or attempt some manoeuvres to overtake. So, I don’t think there will be a big difference compared with before. I think, and the drivers as well, I can already feel – and I’m talking for McLaren only – Fernando clearly was the one who was complaining about the previous generation, and he’s clearly happier now with this kind of car. He enjoys driving the car and you can see the cars today, in some fast corners they are flat-out already on Friday afternoon – so I think it’s a good sign about what we wanted to achieve. I think all the drivers happier should make the show better.

    Paddy, any thoughts?

    PL: Yeah, I agree with what Eric said but on top of that I think the other element we will see with much higher loads now in the car, with higher cornering speeds, driver endurance is much more demanding, so we may see more mistakes in races, drivers more on their human limits. So, I think that could be another interesting factor.

    Anything to add Christian?

    CH: I think the guys have covered it pretty well. I think the cars are going to stretch the drivers. I think sitting here, and we don’t know whether the racing is going to be better over the year or not, but I think the drivers are going to be working harder, you’re going to get perhaps more differential between drivers and they’re going to have to work harder for overtakes when arguably some of them have been a little bit too easy over recent years.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Based on comments that Ross [Brawn] made earlier today and also previously, it appears that the Commercial Rights Holder could play a more active role in the regulatory process. Which means that possibly entertainment could take precedence over technology etc. How do you feel about this? About the commercial rights holder getting increasingly involved in the regulatory process?

    Toto?

    TW: This is an entertainment platform and it should be around the entertainment of the fans and I think with Ross in place it’s the right individual. He has seen it from the other side; he knows pretty much what matters to the teams and now trying to seek a good balance between keeping the DNA of Formula One, keeping it at the pinnacle for racing drivers and for engineering and equally making sure it’s the best possible show for our fans will be the main priority. I think we are definitely in an interesting place and it looks positive.

    Maurizio?

    MA: I think for the future cost and performance, they are two key factors. Reducing the cost and increasing the performance, they are the two key factors. Then, of course, it’s an entertainment, what we are doing here. It’s part of the entertainment business. Everybody, they’re open to discuss and talk about new ideas in the appropriate places. At the moment we have governance, so talking to everybody to help the sport to grow is fine until we are all aligned to the actual governance. Or, if we want to change it, we have to sit and discuss about this.

    Paddy?

    PL: yeah, we welcome a focus on entertainment. That is what this sport is all about. I think the really encouraging thing is that Ross is building a team behind him who are going to do proper research into proposals that are under consideration, so I think there’s every reason to feel positive about the future.

    CH: I personally think there is far too much emphasis on technology at the moment and we’re spectacularly bad at communicating that. I think the average fan and viewer understands very little about the technology that’s in a Formula One car which, as Maurizio alluded, is enormously expensive. So, I think the Commercial Rights Holder, it’s their business at the end of the day. They have to decide what they want the sport to be and, if the route is fan-attraction and creating a really exciting product, and at the end of the day they want to create great content on TV then it’s vital they come up with an outline of what their vision of Formula One is. And then, obviously, the FIA have a regulatory position and the teams need to be involved in that process. We have a process that that can be achieved in if two of the three parties agree.

    EB: All has been said I think

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Maurizio, given the results of the test and what happened today, do you have an accurate idea of the position of Ferrari?

    MA: Yes, we have it in Barcelona and in Barcelona we have our programme, we follow our programme since the last week and as well it’s what we are doing here on Friday. On Friday we are working on the balance of the car, as on Day One in Barcelona we were working on finding the best performance day after day without panicking, without being under pressure and being focussed on what we were doing.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Another one for Maurizio. Daniel Ricciardo recently told us in an interview that Sebastian Vettel becomes even quicker and more motivated when he has a winning car in his hands. Do you expect him to give an extra performance this season? And what do you need: Ferrari and Seb to go home together, to sign another contract for 2018?

    MA: I’ll start from the end of the question. Talking about contracts now is only distracting the attention of our drivers so I’m not ready to talk about any contracts. Then, I would like to see Sebastian happy during the season because if Sebastian’s is happy that means the car is very quick.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Maurizio, do you have as much belief that you can win this race now, as you did this morning. I hear what you’ve said and the work you’ve done during the day – but do you have as much belief that you can win it as you did at the start of the day?

    MA: We want to keep our feet on the ground. It’s Friday. We have to work this evening. Tomorrow we continue our job and then, until Sunday, we have a lot of things to do, still. So, I don’t want to do any prediction.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For Christian. It’s only Friday but can you imagine Daniel winning on Sunday or is the gap too big?

    CH: I think, being realistic, the performance we’ve seen today from Lewis, he’s the absolute favourite. He was the favourite coming here and all today has done is underline that. But then it’s motor racing and anything can happen. We’ve seen spurious results in opening grands prix in previous years and obviously to have a home winner would be an unbelievable result – but if you look at the pecking order at the moment that is a long shot.

    Q: (Andre Leslie – DPA) Question for Mr Wolff, to do with the makeup of your team this season, with Valtteri Bottas now replacing Nico Rosberg, obviously Nico leaves a big hole in the team but Valtteri is keeping pace brilliantly today – we’ve seen twice. How do you see his role going forwards this season?

    TW: It’s obviously very big shoes to fill. Nico is the reigning World Champion and Valtteri has to fill those shoes. He has a couple of days of testing behind him which were very positive and the work with the engineers went very well and today was the first proper day on a race weekend. I think that in terms of the mindset, he has settled in very well into the team and how he has to find his grip and benchmark himself against probably the best driver in Formula One at this time. I’m very confident he is going to find the pace and his place in the team.

    Q: (Heath McAlpine – Auto Action) For all of you: today’s first practice session saw minimal running from the teams worried about engine mileage. Would you support a change in the engine regulations to increase the Friday running for your teams?

    EB: Good question. I think if we don’t run it is because we may have some technical limitation or let’s say no interest to gather data at that stage so if we do between let’s say 18 and 30 laps per session it’s because it depends on the engine plan generally. I know you can have a different regulation to have more laps but we could do it simply by making sure there is an interest for the teams to run.

    PL: I don’t entirely agree with what you’re saying, really. I think the teams are running pretty much a full programme during both sessions. If anything they’re limited by tyres more than engine mileage.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) I would imagine that this is the first Grand Prix that any of you have attended without having Bernie Ecclestone in overall control and charge. Have you, today, thought about the fact that you can’t just pick up the phone and phone Bernie if there’s some sort of issue?

    CH: How do you know he’s not still in charge? What Bernie’s done for Formula One has been amazing. The sport is what it is today because of what he created. I think in the role that he has, he’s still going to be in a position to contribute, he still has a huge amount of historical knowledge, respect and relationships around the world and I think that harnessed and used in the right way is an asset to Formula One. I’m sure he’ll be at some forthcoming events and yeah, I think hopefully the new owners can use him constructively and beneficially to build on the good work that’s already been done.

    MA: I think that Bernie deserves all our respect because if we are here and if the sport grows it is thanks to him. I think that the new group that is owning Formula One is here to make this sport grow even more so there is no future without the good historical base. If we have a good historical base then I think the new owners are looking forward to continue to grow and that’s thanks to Bernie for everything he’s done and now we need to look forward.

    Q: (Mat Coch – pitpass.com) Earlier there was a question about cars not running on the circuit; what can be done in the interests of entertainment to spice up the Friday action which is comparatively dry for those at the circuit, given that everyone’s involved in their own programmes, preparing for the weekend?

    PL: I don’t know. We used to have qualifying on Friday as well as Saturday back in the old days. Maybe that could be considered. I think the great thing now is that we have an evolving process to consider the rules properly and develop a sport that incorporates new ideas.

    TW: I think you need to differentiate because we had a very busy afternoon with lots of track action. We had a morning which is completely normal and a green track so there is not a lot of interest in testing cars on a track that’s going to develop a lot with the limitation on tyres, with the limitation on engine mileage and if you start to open that up it’s like Pandora’s box because we’re trying to limit costs. The question is that as much as you need an entertainment most of the time entertainment on track, I think we have a good compromise at the moment.

    Q: (Sam Tickell – Flagworld.com) We’ve had a lot of positive reaction to the change and the look and the appearance of the cars this year and it was mentioned previously that Liberty are looking to research for the future. How radical to the change in the appearance of the car would teams like to go to in the future, should the research suggest that a major change should be needed?

    MA: Radical change with the new rules, everybody already changed their car and I think these regulations are offering the possibility to the designers of the cars, to the aeros, to exploit even more in terms of creative approach is the first step and then in the future we can do something more. We need to make sure that the car it’s still looking like a car and not something that is a bit strange, that’s for sure.

    CH: I think the looks of the car… I think they currently look great. I think it’s all about evolution. I think that rather than focus on the looks I would prefer to focus on the sound. I think the best sounding car we have here this weekend is a 12-year old Minardi that 12 years ago had the worst sounding engine in it and was hopelessly uncompetitive and I think that when you hear the acoustics of a V10, you’ve only got to go and see the faces around the circuit to see what it embodies in fans of Formula One, so I would be far more focused on addressing that element than the aesthetics of the cars at the moment.

    TW: I think we’ve changed the aesthetics of the car. I think trying to figure out what we could do next is maybe too far. Like Christian says, if we can work on the sound of the car and if we look into a future generation of engines that is something that needs to be considered. There wasn’t enough emphasis on the sound in the past and if we can combine great technology, affordable technology with a lot of horsepower and a good sound, that would be really ticking a box.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Last year Ferrari lost the pace compared to Red Bull for example in the second part of the season. Are you confident you can have a quick and a more efficient development during the season this year?

    MA: What I can tell you is that we are putting all our effort to do all our work best to avoid the same result as last year. That’s it. What more can I say?

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1fan) Regarding the new commercial deal and the discussions that will be taking place soon, we have already heard from the new owners that they are planning to scrap the historical status for a team and the money that that brings. Would you agree that in order to have a more fair distribution of the prize money and a more competitive sport or not and why?

    MA: This kind of discussion you do it with the people who have the contract with you and not in public.

    EB: I guess if you ask the people for more money they will be against and you ask less money they will be in favour but this is a discussion behind the scenes, not to be done in public.

    CH: Well, there’s probably not a team principal in the paddock that would say they are happy to take less money. If they are, they’re mad so therefore I think it’s a question of bringing the bottom up rather than the top down and hopefully that may well be achievable.

    PL: Sounds like a good idea, we’ll support that one, yeah

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Practice 1 & 2 Round Up

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Practice 1 & 2 Round Up

    Free Practice 1

    The 2017 Formula 1 season got underway at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne Australia this morning with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton picking up where Mercedes left off by finishing fastest in both Friday sessions.

    Hamilton’s fastest FP1 time of 1:24.220 was completed on Pirelli’s purple marked ultra-soft tyres. Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas finished the session 2nd fastest just a little over half a second off the pace from Hamilton with a 1:24.803 also completing his fastest lap on the ultra-soft tyres.

    Rounding out the top 3 was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo with a fastest session time of 1:24.886, 0.666s off the pace. His team mate, Max Verstappen was 4th fastest a little further off the pace with a time of 1:25.246.

    Ferrari were 5th and 6th fastest with Kimi Raikkonen leading Sebastian Vettel. Felipe Massa back in the Williams seat finished 7th fastest ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean in 8th.

    Previous team mates, but now at different teams, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finished 9th and 10th respectively rounding out the top 10.

    FP1 started very slowly as all the teams eventually got settled into their Free Practice programs.

     

    Free Practice 2

    Lewis Hamilton once again topped the time sheets in FP2 for Mercedes as they continue with their early domination for the race weekend.

    FP2 got off to a smooth start but just before 30mins into the session Renault’s Jolyon Palmer lost the rear of his Renault at the exit of the final corner. He made contact with the outside barrier which bounced him back on to the track. The Renault sustained damage to the rear wing, rear suspension and the front left suspension. The session was red flagged to allow the marshals to clear the track.

    Williams ran into issues after Felipe Massa ground to a halt with gearbox issues. Kevin Magnussen spent most of his session in the garage after his car developed a water pressure issue. He was able to go back out but was immediately called back into the pits.

    Marcus Ericsson’s session ended prematurely as well after over-steering into the gravel at Turn 6.

    Ferrari appeared to have made some progress from FP1 after Vettel was able to finish 2nd fastest but still more than 0.5s off Hamilton’s pace and just narrowly finishing faster than Bottas.

    Red Bull finished 5th and 6th with Ricciardo ahead of Verstappen.

    In the mid-filed battle it looks as though Toro Rosso has the early upper hand ahead of Haas with Renault not far behind. Force India seem to be struggling slightly but are looking solid.

    It’s a bit of a mixed bag for McLaren at the moment with Fernando Alonso finishing 12th fastest with Stoffel Vandoorne down in 17th position.

    Mercedes have the early advantage after the Friday sessions in Lewis Hamilton. FP3 should give us a better indication where things stand. Whether Ferrari and Red Bull are sandbagging is a question that everyone is asking. It’s still too early to call it but we do know that it looks like Hamilton is picking up where he left off.

     

     

    Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

  • 2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Let’s start with Lewis Hamilton – a two-time Australian Grand Prix winner, record five times pole sitter here at Albert Park? Lewis, you and the other drivers have spoken about how much you enjoy driving this new generation of new cars. Could you perhaps give us an idea from your own point of view of a few areas you particularly like about it?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly, hi everyone, it’s good to see you, it’s good to be back. I don’t know, as racing drivers and in general you want to drive the quickest cars in the world and you always want to go faster and the cars are faster than they were last year. And the challenge of exploiting that speed with your car on track is a great challenge. It’s more in the direction of how Formula One should be, in the sense of the physicality side of it. We are athletes, and Formula One should be the most physically demanding sport in terms of all the driving series. In the previous years that’s not been the case. To the level we train to it’s relatively easy for us to, but now you are going to have to push the boundaries, which I like.

    There’s a saying in sport – never change a winning team. But you have a new Mercedes technical boss and a new team-mate. How’s that all working out?

    LH: So far, great. I sat down with James and had a great conversation with him and he’s really blended well into the team and super-excited to work with him. It’s always great to have great new creative minds and he’s one of the smartest people I have ever met, if not the smartest. I’m excited to see what he can bring out of me and the team and all the guys we’re working with. Valtteri has, as I said before, Valtteri has been gelling really well into the team, working really hard to be the best he can be, which is all I want.

    Sebastian coming to you, of course 2011 Australian Grand Prix winner. You had a good chance to win this race last year and the recent testing would suggest you will be in the hunt again on Sunday. Is there a more solid baseline do you feel to this year’s Ferrari attack.

    Sebastian VETTEL: We’ll see. So far we don’t know anything. For all of us it will be exciting to find out where we are on Saturday/Sunday, to get a first impression. For us a lot of new things last year didn’t really go the way we expected, so I think for this year we have really focused on ourselves. We have tried to do our job back in the factory and in testing… I think testing times, I don’t think they are that crucial, I think it matters much more what you show from here onwards. We’ll see. I think we are a bit in the dark like everyone else, not knowing what other people have done. For ourselves we can be reasonably happy, we did decent mileage, we didn’t have any major issues with the car and hopefully we can carry that momentum into the race.

    Well, the car looks pretty competitive but the real question I guess is how it will do in qualifying. Ferrari have only taken five pole positions this decade, since 2010, so how have you addressed that? Have you got a go-faster engine setting for the final part of qualifying?

    SV: Not necessarily. I think we worked on all areas, trying to improve. Obviously we all know that qualifying is important to have a good race, so the higher up you qualify the better the chance you have in the race. Statistically it doesn’t look that good, so hopefully we can turn that around.

    Fernando, coming to you, 2006 winner here of course, there’s no hiding the fact that McLaren and Honda are in a very difficulty position at this stage. Do you have any expectations at all for this season?

    Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think let’s wait and see. We have only done the testing period, so I think the first race now will put things a little bit more clear. It’s a question mark also for us where we exactly are. We were not able to push the car to anywhere close to the limit at any lap on the testing, due to different problems. Let’s see. If we can have a good first weekend, see a little bit more of the potential of the car and hopefully see where we are. But yeah, still a long way to go for us and a lot of work to do.

    It’s been only three weeks since testing began and the problems came to light. Have you and team been able to put the rescue plan in place yet or is that something that’s going to come in the next few weeks?

    FA: The team is always working to improve the situation – to word as hard we can, to identify the problems and to improve those areas. I guess everyone did the maximum in the last three weeks and let’s see what we can find tomorrow on the track and that’s more a question for Eric and Honda.

    Daniel, it’s a stat they don’t care for much around these parts, but no Australian has won the Australian Grand Prix since it became a championship round in 1985, so come on Dan, are you going to put that right this weekend?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I’ll try. I’ll try to. It would be nice. If anyone could win just one race they’d always say their home, so that’d be cool, it would be good.

    SV: Didn’t Alan Jones win here?

    Not since it became a world championship round, no.

    SV: So what race did he win in 1980?

    DR: That was the world championship. He’s here; I’ll ask him.

    Daniel, do you want to add anything more?

    DR: I’d love to. We’ll see what happens. I’m prepared. As Lewis touched on, it’s more physical this year and I think we’ve all done our work in the pre-season. I’m sure all of us up here feel like we’re coming in as well prepared as possible and it’s been fun to put more emphasis on that, on the training. The cars are more enjoyable. They are going to be fast. For the fans here this weekend to see the cars on track, the cornering speeds, I think they’ll definitely see that. Hopefully we’re cornering quicker than anyone else.

    Well, you got a really good look at your team-mate Max Verstappen in the second half of last season. How tough are the battles between you two this year?

    DR: Hopefully tough. Hopefully we’re fighting for victories, I think that would be something we would welcome. He’s obviously fast. It’s his third year now and although he’s young, he’s no longer a rookie anymore so I think we both carry a bit of experience. I think the team is excited to see how we go and I think everyone else is. They’re starting to hype it up a little bit. Hopefully it’s hyped up by the fact that we’re fighting at the front, that’s what we both want.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) I want to say good afternoon to everyone and I want to wish us good press conferences for the rest of the season and a good, robust conversation. This question is for the entire panel. This year we have some new owners, the sport is owned by Liberty Media and they have a big, bold vision for the future of F1. What would be your top three wishes for the new owners of Formula One?

    DR: A race in Vegas.

    SV: A race in Germany.

    DR: That’s it; I’ve said mine.

    LH: Miami race…. More ladies in the paddock? More paddock access to some women, there’s too many dudes in the paddock.

    SV: V12s.

    LH: V12s, I agree.

    Fernando?

    FA: I agree. I agree with everyone… equal engines for everyone.

    LH: I don’t agree with that one.

    DR: But not electric.

    LH: And not Honda. I’m kidding…

    Q: (Andy Benson – BBC) We had Charlie Whiting in here a couple of hours ago and one of the things he was saying was that the so-called ‘Verstappen rule’ has been removed, just leaving the general catch-all regulation about potentially dangerous driving. Are you all happy with that situation?

    SV: I don’t know. I’m not…

    You’ll be told tomorrow.

    DR: We’ll be told tomorrow? You know everything before us! Let’s see. I think we can… the good part of it is it means less decisions to be made on track. If they leave it up to us I guess the positive is that we sort it out on track. Hopefully we can get redemption if we feel like something has not gone our way. We’ll see., I like being able to race. That’s the positive from it.

    SV: Will I get my trophy back… it makes sense!

    DR: I guess he wants his trophy back from Mexico. It was a pretty small one actually. Right, I’ll shut up.

    Q: (Leon Alepidis – F1fan) A question for Daniel. For many years it has been talked of to have a second grand prix in the USA. In the past Germany, Spain and Italy had a second grand prix in the same year. Your thoughts about a possible second grand prix in Australia and where would you like that to be?

    DR: I’m going to sound greedy if I ask for another one here. We’ve got some great circuits… Seb’s saying Bathurst. That would be an amazing circuit for sure. Adelaide, I believe… I was very young but I did go to the 1993 grand prix, I was very young but I heard Adelaide was amazing, they still do it with the V8 supercars. Phillip Island, they host a great event for MotoGP, so there’s a lot. I wouldn’t say no, but I feel a bit greedy asking for more than we have got already. I think everyone else would like to come here. You guys like Australia, right?

    Q: (Rebecca Williams – News Ltd) A question for Fernando. You were involved in a frightening smash here last year at Albert Park. Just wondering how you feel about your return to the track this year, and if that’s something that’s going to be at the back of your mind when you get out there, specifically at that corner?

    FA: Not really. You try always to forget all the accidents, all the moments you were scared in the car, so yeah, it was a pretty big one here last year but it will be perfectly OK and I’m really looking forward to go back here. I like the circuit. I like how passionate the fans are when we are on the track so it will be a good experience to go through those turns.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere Della Sera) To Sebastian. You said it’s too early to have a judgement on your car. But do you feel this car has enough quality to let you fight for the title?

    SV: Well, it’s March now! I think if you are in a fight for the title that’s a question for October, November. I think looking at the performance of the cars obviously it was expected to be a big step up and that’s how it felt on the track. I think that’s what we all said when we first got out of the car, that it’s a big step forward. It’s not entirely fair to judge to the previous years because it’s a different formula but I think they will be the fastest cars we have ever driven. Naturally, the day I came into Formula One the cars got a bit faster, a bit faster, then they tended stall a little bit. We distributed straight line speed versus cornering speed and I think for us what really gives us a good feeling is cornering speed and I think we are back to the level we were probably ten years ago, and maybe a bit faster. For us it’s always nice to have the feeling that these are the fastest cars we have ever driven. On competitiveness we are all here to find out, that’s why we go racing I guess.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Sebastian, last year it was very tight between you and Kimi in qualifying. With this better car do you think it can be even tighter or is it easier for you in qualifying against him?

    SV: I think it’s never easy. You try to get the best out of yourself, out of your car for one lap. I think last year has been closer than the year before but it’s always been fairly close. Obviously I want to be in front of him and he wants to be in front of me but I think starting the season priority number one is hopefully we are in front of the others. But as I said its still very, very early. We try to do the best job for ourselves and the team and we go from there.

    Q: (Andre Leslie – DPA) Question for Daniel. Daniel, this week in Australia – I’m sure you’ve been here longer than that – how has it been with the pressure and the reception that you’ve received around the country? Is it something that is a weight on your shoulders or is it something you look forward to?

    DR: It’s not a weight on my shoulders. It means more work, for sure. This week is easily the busiest F1 week of the year for me. But it’s all positive support. It’s kind-of overwhelming actually. I’m surprised that so many people are getting behind me and the event but it’s obviously cool. It’s nice and encouraging to see. I hear that ticket sales and everything is up quite a chunk from last year. I try to enjoy it. I appreciate it won’t last for ever. It’s demanding, it’s a tiring week but it’s pretty cool to see so many people supportive of me and the event. I don’t see it as pressure in terms of, if I don’t win on Sunday, they’re all going to leave the track and say I’m hopeless and never come back. They want to see me do well and that’s how I see it. It’s just a bit of extra motivation for me and I think the drivers’ parade on Sunday I’ll see that and feel it and get me jacked-up for the race.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid Day) Question for Fernando. Fernando, you’ve spoken about how much you’re enjoyed driving these cars, this new generation of cars, despite all the problems in testing. I just wanted to ask you, does the joy of these new cars take away some of the pain – or is it a case that if you’re not competitive then it’s no-longer fun? Thank you.

    FA: No, I think they are two separate things. One is how you enjoy and how much adrenaline these cars are giving to you on the cornering speed. Comparing with the last couple of years I think it’s a good step forward. Not only for us drivers but also for the spectators: for the people here in the grandstands and watching on television they look spectacular and that’s a positive thing. And then, yeah, naturally I think all sportsmen, we are competitive and y’know, when you arrive to race like we are doing now in the first grand prix of the year, you know that joy is together if you are competitive. Let’s see how competitive we can be this year. At least when you are driving alone, you are enjoying. Then when you have a car close to you and they go much faster than you, that’s a little bit less enjoyable.

    Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Do you think that the new regulation can stop Mercedes’ domination or do you expect Lewis to still be the man to beat this weekend and this year? And Lewis, do you consider yourself the favourite for the Championship?

    SV: Well, I think he must be. Mercedes obviously has been in very, very strong form the last three years and even though we changed the regulations, if a team is strong then they will build a strong car the year after, no matter what you do with the rules. I think it’s very clear who is the favourite. For all of us sitting here, we are trying our best to catch-up. How much we have succeeded, we will see and, as the season goes on, I’m sure the cars will have big progression and all the teams will bring lots of stuff to develop the cars. So, whoever’s in a good place in the beginning and still in a good place at the end will have a chance.

    DR: I think for everyone, it’s like when Red Bull were dominating a few years ago, everyone wanted to see someone else win. So it’s natural. People like change. And for us drivers not being in a Mercedes, we want to see change as well. I think even to have more cars fighting for a win, it makes it more exciting. I’ll let Lewis answer but I think if he wins a race against four of us as opposed to just maybe his team-mate, I think that reward is bigger as well. So, I think if you can win against more, it’s not only good for the fans but that feeling of self-accomplishment is greater. We’ll see. Ferrari showed good pace in testing. If they can maybe take a few points away as well, it opens up the Championship over the long term.

    See it that way Lewis?

    LH: I see Ferrari being the quickest at the moment and I think they will definitely be the favourites but we’ll find out more going into the weekend. It’s interesting to see Sebastian’s usually a lot more hype and I can tell he’s trying to keep a lid on it. But their pace was obviously great in testing. I’m very keen to see what Red Bull bring because they were quite far behind through testing, at least compared to Ferrari and didn’t see them bring many upgrades – or an upgrade as far as I could see. So I’m assuming they’re bringing something here which I’m excited to see what they do bring. And I agree with Daniel in the sense of having more teams and more drivers up at the front fighting for wins, that’s what racing is all about. I’m hoping that’s the case. We, as a team, I don’t believe, as far as I know, no team has won back-to-back through rule regulation changes, so that is our goal as a team. We’re here to win, we’re here to do something no-one else has done. Whether or not we’re in the right place at this moment in the season, we’ll find out. But I have every belief in my team that we can do that.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Can you remember how many cars were on the grid during your first grand prix weekend. And the real question is, is 20 enough to keep the public satisfied.

    FA: Yes. Enough. Obviously, it’s nice to have many cars on track and many teams in Formula One but at the same point it’s a sport that’s quite difficult to get in, quite difficult to stay for many years. We see with some of the smaller teams how they struggle to keep their financial situation healthy in the year. I think to have a good ten teams and 20 cars on track is more or less the number that we see in Formula One for many years. I think it’s OK.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) You just touched on this. The last three years you’ve been fighting for the title, just between you and your team-mate. Would this year be more significant, would you enjoy it more if it was a two- or three-way fight with Ferrari, Red Bull and other drivers. Would it mean more to you?

    LH: Well, as I just mentioned, every year your goal is to beat everyone, of course, and the more of a fight you have, the more satisfying it is when you are victorious, so we’re fully up for a challenge and for a fight. So, that’s what I prepare for. I think it’s not a bad thing. I can’t remember the last time we had three years and then a rule change – but I think they should probably shorten that, maybe, and do more changes. Because there can often be dominance for a certain team and it’s hard to catch up. There’s a limit to how much development you can do through a year, and the top teams can generally develop at a similar pace. If you’ve got a gap already at the beginning it’s hard to squish that gap being that there are rules in terms of how much investment and time you can put into developing your cars. Doing drastic changes kind of spices it up. I’ve never seen the fans so excited about the season as they are this season, being how that it is we don’t know where the cars and the teams are. So, more of these kinds of experiences would, I think, be welcome.

    Q: (Shane McInnes – Radio 3AW) Just about the length of the season, we know it’s 20 races this year but new owners have suggested they might like to see it get out to 25 races. Is 25 too many, and do you think 20 is the right amount or even less, going forward?

    DR: I think it depends on how they structure it. It’s not too many. NASCAR do 36 or something. It’s a lot but the travel’s a lot less because they’re just in the US. So, I think it depends logistically how they do it. It’s all… I don’t know. I like racing. If it means just racing and no testing and less other stuff then… maybe. We spend more days in front of cameras and other things than actually behind the wheel of a racing car. I’d be open to the idea.

    SV: I think 25 is too many. I think 20 is enough. We don’t need more. I think anything between 16 and 20 is the right number. Also, thinking of the efforts going in from the team point of view. For us it’s fairly easy, arriving more or less with hand luggage, doing the job and getting back. I think we’re on the better side. For a lot of the team, for the staff, it’s hard work. So, I think we are having enough races.

    LH: I think if you asked any member of my team whether they’d want to do more races or less, they’d ask for more. It is definitely tough on the guys that are travelling but they love it. They’re addicted to it. They love motor racing and, of course they love time at home but… I’m like Daniel, I love racing so I’m not opposed to more races but I think they’ve got to change the structure, at least on different weekends. If it’s the same four days for 25 races, oh my God I think that would be too much. If they spice it up and make it more… a period during the season that’s perhaps more exciting than another, I think there’s a lot they can do. As long as they are in countries that have a good following. There’s no point in going to a country… for example Turkey, which was a beautiful place but there was no-one that turned up to a race. But if you go to places where there’s a real great atmosphere then you can create a great event, then I think that would be awesome.

    Fernando, any thoughts?

    FA: The same. We all love racing I think so more racing will be always welcome – but in a couple of years’ time.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, how excited are you about the prospect of taking on Seb, a driver that’s won four titles. Obviously, you have three. Do you think this could be the start of a great rivalry that Formula One needs with arguably the two best drivers of their generation going for the title?

    LH: Yeah. I’ve not had a lot of battles with Sebastian on track so, of course, would love to have that. I think the fans want to see that but even between all of us. We need this guy [Fernando] to have a good car so he can get up there and fight with us as well – before his time’s up. We got a hint that it’s another couple of years at least, so that’s good. I feel we’re yet to see the best of Fernando. The sport needs that and he deserves to be able to show that. So, yeah, you want to be racing against the best. I think that’s what the fans want to see. That close racing and sheer competitiveness and see the ups and downs of the best doing their best. I’m definitely looking forward to racing with all these guys and I hope there’s lots of close racing.

    Q: (Andrew Tate – The Age) Lewis, does part of you wish you were racing the reigning champion for the championship this year.

    LH: Not really. When I walked in here I was thinking it was kind of neat because I have a champion here, a champion there and a potential champion here as well.

    DR: Thanks!

    LH: …so it obviously doesn’t make any difference if the reigning champion’s here or not. At the end of the day every year it’s a brand-new year, a brand-new start, it’s a brand-new challenge and a brand-new championship to win. So, I think we’re all out there to beat each other – but as far as I’m aware you don’t say ‘that guy over there’s the current World Champion, I want to go and beat him’. You just want to beat whoever it is you’re up against.

  • Suspension Design Changes for Red Bull and Mercedes

    Suspension Design Changes for Red Bull and Mercedes

    It all started with a letter from Ferrari to the FIA asking for clarification on a concept that would replicate the FRIC suspension, that was used by Mercedes and Red Bull in 2015 and halfway through 2016, for the 2017 season.

    Reports were circulating that there might a protest at the Australian Grand Prix about the suspensions that Mercedes and Red Bull were going to run for the race weekend. But after a clarification by the FIA which stated that suspension systems must not be designed to aid aerodynamic performance, it emerged that Mercedes and Red Bull were ordered to make changes to their suspension systems following inspections by the FIA during pre-season testing in Spain.

    “You are not allowed to have a suspension system that affects the aero performance of the car in anything other than an incidental way,” said FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting at a media briefing on Thursday.

    “We wanted to see whether the suspension is generally suspension or if it is there predominantly for the aerodynamic performance of the car.

    “That is the change. We have been focusing far more on that this year.

    “If a suspension system behaves asymmetrically, then there is not a very justifiable reason for behaving like that – if a suspension system goes down at one speed and comes back at a different speed.

    “If they are not able to convince us then they are not able to use it.”

    On Thursday, all the teams had passed initial scrutineering by the FIA.

  • Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    Australian Gp Preview: F1 2017 Finally Comes To Life

    The wait for the 2017 Formula 1 season is nearly over as it heads into the first round at Australia’s Albert Park circuit.

    This weekend one of the most dramatic overhauls of F1 regulations will finally come to life as the battle commences for the 2017 championship. From a purely visual perspective the wider tyres and different aerodynamic layout of the cars present a rather different, but appealing, new look to Formula 1. They will be much faster too and may be up to five seconds a lap quicker than their predecessors.

    With the new era comes a change in several sporting regulations too. For the tyres Pirelli have attempted to provide more durability so as to allow drivers to push harder for longer before it begins to degrade. Whether this will have a detrimental effect on strategy, cutting down on the number of stops, remains to be seen.

    Should it rain Down Under the race will longer start behind a safety-car. Instead, the safety-car will take the field around the track until it is deemed safe to re-start in which case the cars will line up on the grid for a standing start. Further, the launch off the grid has been tightened up where it concerns the clutch. It’s now up to the driver to find the correct bite point, without any pre-programmed settings, and to ensure the best start without getting wheelspin or bogging down the engine.

    TEST F1/2017 - T2 SPAGNAThe eight days of running, across two sessions of testing, suggested that the top three teams might be the closest they’ve been since the start of the hybrid era. Lewis Hamilton has been on record calling Ferrari the favourite. Race drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen shied away from such declarations but there is no denying that the Scuderia have made an impressive step forward. So impressive in fact that it is likely the team to beat in Australia. But they aren’t buying into the hype though as Ferrari president, Sergio Marcionne, has insisted that Mercedes are still ahead.

    For their part Mercedes have announced that it will be running a second, upgraded, specification of engine in Australia. While reports are that it would’ve been introduced later on because of reliability concerns to the timetable has been moved up. There could be several reasons for this but the likelihood is that Mercedes is feeling slightly nervous about the Ferrari hence the early introduction.

    What is a fact is that both Ferrari and Mercedes were sandbagging at different times during testing in Spain and the true pace of both cars will only be revealed in Saturday’s qualifying session.

    2017 Barcelona Pre-Season Test 2, Day 2 - Steve EtheringtonAlong with Ferrari and Mercedes, Red Bull are tipped to be part of the front-running group the true pace of the RB13 is the biggest mystery of the top three teams. While Renault has made impressive progressive with its 2017 power unit it is still behind the Mercedes and Ferrari. Despite this, given the street-like layout of Albert Park, Red Bull is very much the dark horse. While they are well capable of springing a surprise with all things being equal it’s unlikely to be for the top step of the podium.

    As part street-track with a layout comprised, mostly, of medium speed corners, the Albert Park circuit is an outlier on the calendar that is unlikely to present the truest representation of the pecking order in 2017. Nevertheless, at the end of it there will be twenty-five important points and it is the first step of a 2017 season in which it seems that there might finally be a three-horse race.

  • Kimi Raikkonen Closes Out Pre-Season Testing Fastest of All

    Kimi Raikkonen Closes Out Pre-Season Testing Fastest of All

    Ferrari had left us wanting more after day 3 of the second pre-season test by teasing us with Sebastian Vettel’s fastest lap of 1:19.024. On the final day, however, Kimi Raikkonen bolted on a set of super softs and lit up the timing screens by setting the fastest lap of pre-season testing for 2017 and was the only driver to break the 1:18’s with a fastest time of 1:18.634.

    “There’s a good feeling with this car and that’s the most important thing,” said Raikkonen.

    “We have been reliable for almost all of these days of testing and that is another good sign of the great work the team has done over the winter.

    “We are starting from a stronger base than last year: but it’s really too early to say how fast the car is compared to the others.”

    Max Verstappen had some turbo issues but still got the 2nd fastest time completing 71 laps. Topping the joint lap count on day 4 was Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso with 132 laps to his name and the 3rd fastest time for the day.

    Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton finished the day 4th and 5th fastest completing 107 laps between them.

    Both drivers were out for Renault today with Nico Hulkenberg piloting the R.S.17 in the morning session before Jolyon Palmer in the afternoon. Hulkenberg lauded the performance of the Renault describing his morning as a “quality morning”. Hulkenberg placed 6th while Palmer ended his day in 8th.

    Finishing 7th fastest between the two Renault’s was Force India’s Sergio Perez. He clocked up 128 laps in the VJM10 and concluded a solid day for Force India.

    Lance Stroll was back in the Williams for the final day of running and like Sainz, racked up 132 laps before the chequered flag at the end of the day. Stroll who is still finding his footing with Williams was 9th fastest.

    Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 10 for the Haas team. He had to cut his running short after suffering from a water leak 20mins from the end of the afternoon session.

    Fernando Alonso had another day in the McLaren which he would want to forget. The MCL32 suffered from electrical issues which caused the Spaniard to stop twice out on track. The team managed to complete some running and he was able to complete 43 laps.

    Rounding off the running was the Sauber drivers with Marcus Ericsson piloting the C36 in the morning with Pascal Wehrlein in the afternoon. Between the two drivers they completed 101 laps.

    Teams now begin the pack up and head back to their respective factories to run the data they’ve collected over the past two weeks. The cars will be much more improved by the time they turn a wheel in Melbourne in two weeks time and we’ll finally get an idea of the running order.

     

  • Vettel Ends His Pre-Season Testing Top of the Time Sheets

    Vettel Ends His Pre-Season Testing Top of the Time Sheets

    Sebastian Vettel topped the timing sheets for Ferrari on the penultimate day of testing before the start of the 2017 season.

    The session before lunch was topped by Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel who set a time of 1:19:024 on a set of the purple marked ultra softy tyres. However, what was eye-catching about the German’s time was the manner in which he set it. Twice on his approach to the start/finish line he deliberately lifted off the throttle making his time significantly slower than it would’ve been. There could be several reasons for this approach but most point to Ferrari wanting to disguise their true pace ahead of the season-opener in Australia.

    Mercedes had another good day with 147 laps between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton was 2nd fastest just a little over three tenths down on Vettel’s time. Hamilton also setting his time on the ultra soft tyres. Taking over in the afternoon was Bottas who completed 95 laps before calling it a day.

    It was not a smooth start to the day for Toro Rosso who suffered with technical issues in the morning session. But things looked much more encouraging in the afternoon session and Daniil Kvyat was able to put in some good times and his fastest time of 1:20.416 earned him 4th fastest.

    Quietly going about their business was the Haas team with Kevin Magnussen at the wheel of the VF-17. Magnussen set the 5th fastest time of the day and completed a very respectable 119 laps. Finishing behind Haas on the day was Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull who seemed somewhat off the pace today. Red Bull have put the pace down to setup. Despite the slow pace Ricciardo completed 128 laps in the RB13.

    There were yet more woes for McLaren as Stoffel Vandoorne ground to halt and brought out the red flag. The Belgian’s stoppage wasn’t crash related but it was an electrical issue. This comes merely a day after Alonso fingered Honda as the villain in McLaren’s 2017 story. Vandoorne manage to complete 48 laps before the chequered flag and finished 7th fastest.

    Both Sauber drivers were out in the car once again today with Pascal Wehrlein 9th fastest and Marcus Ericsson 11th fastest. Between the the Sauber drivers was Renault’s Jolyon Palmer in 10th.

    The two Williams drivers finished 11th and 12th with Felipe Massa ahead of rookie Lance Stroll. Williams concentrated on race simulations and long run tyre evaluation. They had a very good day of running and between the two drivers completed 165 laps.