The Ferrari and Force India F1 teams have been fined for pit lane speeding after both Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez were caught exceeding the 80km/h speed limit during the first practice session for the British GP.
Perez was the faster of the two, caught travelling 83.6km/h down the pit lane while Raikkonen was caught at 82.5km/h.
Ferrari has received a €300 fine and Force India will have to pay up €400.
Catch up on what happened during FP1 ahead of the British GP here.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets at the end of the first free practice session.
Nico Rosberg set a fastest time of 1:34:274 ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen. The Mercedes driver sent a clear message of intent to Hamilton as he set the quickest time of the session despite missing out on the majority of the session due to a hydraulic leak.
The session was relatively error free for most drivers save for a few locked wheels and a couple of spins including one for Sauber driver Felipe Nasr. Kimi Raikkonen set the fourth fastest time in his Ferrari ahead of the second Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren had a difficult start to their weekend as “a leak” meant that Jenson Button was only able to complete a handful of laps towards the end of the session.
Sebastian Vettel was sixth fastest in the other Ferrari with Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing), Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull Racing), Nico Hulkenberg(Force India), and Felipe Massa (Williams) rounding out the top ten. Several test and development drivers had a rare opportunity of some track time and Susie Wolff was the quickest of this lot in thirteenth place. Jolyon Palmer was 14th in the Lotus of Romain Grosjean while Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello clocked the sixteenth fastest time for Sauber.
DRIVERS:
Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)
Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)
Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari)
Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)
Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)
Will STEVENS (Manor)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Valtteri, why don’t we start with you? You finished second here last year from, I think, 14th on the grid – equal best result so far in Formula One, your finish. Is this one of your favourite tracks?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, it’s one of them, definitely. It’s one of these old school tracks and really high speed, so it’s always really fun to drive here. I think it should be good for our car as well, like we saw last year. We had some new bits for Austria and I think they should work maybe slightly better here, so looking forward to the weekend.
Well, podiums for Williams at the last two races, but can you tell us a bit more about why you think your car particularly suits this circuit and the things that you’re bringing here that are going to help that?
VB: Long straights – that’s where we have been strong the last one-and-a-half years and I think we’ve been this year pretty good in high-speed corners as well and probably the updates we had in Austria… they definitely created more downforce but maybe were a bit too draggy for that circuit. Maybe we can make better use of that and if we just get everything right it could be a strong weekend but let’s see.
Jenson, coming to you, this year I think it’s fair to say it’s been ‘hard yards’ as we say here in England, but does racing here on home soil raise the spirits a bit?
Jenson BUTTON: It does. Every race that we race in is a special race, you can find reasons to be excited, but when it’s your home grand prix it’s always very special. The British fans and public whether it’s raining, 32 degrees, there’s a British guy at the front or a British guy at the back, they will always be here to support us, which is fantastic. It’s always a very, very special atmosphere here and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
World champion drivers are obviously leaders within a team. What’s the message to Honda and the McLaren management? What strategy do you want to adopt in terms of performance, reliability and what would be a win at the moment?
JB: Well, first of all I don’t think a press conference is the best place to do that, you know. We are one team and we work together and if we have issues we talk amongst ourselves and that’s the only way to improve a situation. The confidence is high within the team. You might say why is that, as the last two races have been very difficult, which they have, but there is a massive belief within the team that we will improve. There is a lot in the pipeline. I don’t want to look too far into the future, you know, I’m on of those people that wants to live in the moment and do the best I can right now. It’s the British Grand Prix, in front of them home crowd and I’m really looking forward to it and I will maximise what we have this weekend.
Thank you for that. Kimi, coming to you, the GPDA fans’ survey revealed that you are the most popular Formula One driver it would seem, amongst those polled. What’s your reaction to that?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: I think it’s a good thing. I would rather take the fans than not having them. Obviously, some people… maybe I was lucky that they were ones that answered the survey, but I’m happy to have fans and obviously that’s a good thing.
What do you think it is about your character that appeals to them?
KR: You’d have to go and ask them who voted, so…
There’s a few too many to do that I think. The team is telling us that retaining your seat for next season is in your hands, do you feel you are on the right track to meet their targets.
KR: I don’t know. Obviously they’ll make the decision. We try to do good races. Obviously the last race was a bit difficult but that’s part of the game, sometimes you have that. Who knows: I don’t know anything more than you guys, so I will know hopefully at some point what will happen. There are always speculations to start off the year and it’s always the same stories. It doesn’t really surprise me a lot so let’s see what happens.
Thanks. Marcus, coming to you, you edged it over your team-mate in Canada, he edged it over you in Austria, describe the duel between you this season at Sauber and what the atmosphere is like within the team.
Marcus ERICSSON: The atmosphere is good. I think me and Felipe are working well together. Obviously he has had the upper hand so far but I’m looking to change that, working hard for that. Now, coming to Silverstone, it’s one of my favourite tracks, I really enjoy driving here, some really great corner combinations, so hopefully I can fight back and have a good weekend.
It looks like Sauber has been caught after that strong start, with the big points finished in the early races – only one points finish in the last five races for the team. Do you have some answers up your sleeve in development terms for the second half of the season and how much of a boost do you think Mark Smith, the new technical director, will be?
ME: I think we knew that the summer would be a bit difficult for us; we have a big upgrade coming after the summer. We are hurting a bit at the moment with people bringing updates to the recent races and we lost a bit of touch to some of them. But I think still we showed in Austria last time out that if we maximise what we have we can still be competitive and fight in the midfield, so that’s what we needs to focus on doing. On Mark Smith, obviously I worked with him a bit last year at Caterham and I have a very positive feeling with him joining the team. Obviously he’s not going to be able to much short-term, but I think in the longer term he is a very good person to have in the team, with his experience, so it’s a good thing for Sauber.
Q: Pastor, points scored in the last two races but you’ve never scored points at Silverstone, amazingly. Looking to put that right this weekend?
Pastor MALDONADO: I hope so. Do my best.
Q: How did you leave it with Max Verstappen after the battle in the last race, in Austria? Spectacular action on track. How have you left it on a personal level?
PM: I mean it was a great battle. This kind of battle I always enjoy, y’know? This is real fight in Formula One, which is always fair. For sure a couple of times it was very close, because he was trying to put me over the track – but this is part of the race. I really like the stewards that allowed us to race and to have more opportunities to fight in the track. Yeah, it was great. For me it was OK. After that, the race started very badly, we had some problems in the start and then we recovered quite well, thanks to the strategy, thanks to the team as well, and I drove quite well.
Q: Will, celebrated your 24th birthday last weekend – what are your feelings on making your home Formula One debut in front of a capacity crowd on Sunday at the British Grand Prix?
Will STEVENS: I’m really looking forward to this race. I have been for a long time. Clearly for us, growing up we watch this race and have come to it for many years. So, to be here for my first home grand prix is really exciting. Can’t wait to get out there on Friday and see everybody around the circuit.
Q: The last couple of races haven’t been so good for you or the team. The margin – particularly in Austria – seemed to be bigger than it’s been elsewhere. Are there technical reasons for that due to the package that you’ve got – and how do you think you’ll be fixed this weekend?
WS: I think the last few races have been a little more up-and-down. I think the actual times from the free practice sessions in Austria were pretty strong. Quali for us didn’t really work out because of the conditions – but looking ahead to this weekend, we should be making some steps forwards with the car for sure. We have quite a few upgrades here, which is nice. So, looking forwards to Friday to see how much that can help us out.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, accident here last year, accident in last race in Austria, how difficult is it for you to come to this weekend?
KR: It’s a new race, different weekend. It doesn’t matter if you have an accident. It was obviously bad for our race but that’s part of the game. It doesn’t change this weekend at all. I’ve had accidents before and probably will in the future, you pay the price when things do wrong.
Q: (Mike Doodson – Grand Prix Plus) A question for Jenson and Kimi. Last weekend we had Formula E racing in London, there were a few good, old F1 names among the drivers. Did either of you see the race and would you seriously consider switching to electric racing after Formula One?
JB: To answer the second question: no. And did I watch the race? No. I have watched a race this year and the reason is, it’s not because of the cars themselves, it’s because of the drivers. There’s a lot of drivers that I’ve raced against over the years, I think there’s 13 ex-F1 drivers, and that’s what makes the category exciting: they’ve got some real talent there; they’ve done a good job of getting talented drivers in the cars. I think there’s a great place for electric racing – if that’s what you want to call it – but I think it’s great and there’s a good fight amongst the talented drivers that are there. But it’s not something that interests me. Motorsport is motorsport for me. Something that I love is the smell, the sound and the speed – and that’s what Formula One is all about.
Kimi?
KR: yeah, actually I saw it. I saw the race and I’m not so interested in the future in some point to race them. It’s… I mean they’ve done well to go in the places that they race – I think it’s nice for people but, I mean, for me, unfortunately… we always talk here: it doesn’t go fast; it doesn’t look spectacular. They are… in my view they are pretty slow. The concept is probably nice in the future. Right now, yes, they get the good racing out of it but it doesn’t really… it’s something that doesn’t really excite me really – but obviously I’m happy for them to make such a good race series out of it.
Q: (Daan de Geus – NU.NL) Kimi, you let it be known earlier in the season that you were quite happy about the 2015 Ferrari and the way it handles and it fits your driving style. Ferrari have obviously been updating the car and made some changes to it. Do you still like the way it handles and the way it suits your way of driving?
KR: I don’t see why I wouldn’t suddenly like it; because I’ve had an accident doesn’t change anything. I’ve had accidents sometimes, like I said, it’s part of the game. We improved the car and it’s still a great car, obviously probably not fast enough to challenge Mercedes all the time but it’s a very good car and it’s a massive improvement from last year. Things go wrong sometimes but it doesn’t mean that you suddenly hate the car or you don’t like things. It’s just a part of the game. Like I said, it’s a good package and obviously we want to improve it and make it faster. Things could always be better. Even if you’re in a winning car you’re always wanting more out of it. Like I said, we’ve come such a long way from last year which people always forget. We’re still a work in progress to improve things.
Q: (Daniel Ortelli – Agence France Presse) Jenson, you were very vocal and supportive when the survey came out in Monaco and you’re one of the most experienced drivers; what’s your general comment or specific comment about the results of that survey? Were there some things that surprised you, is it in keeping with what you think of F1? Is there anything you can tell us about the reaction to the results?
JB: I don’t think there are any massive surprises in there. Obviously Kimi being the favourite driver of the fans – we knew that anyway, didn’t we? No, I don’t think there were any massive surprises. I think it’s really nice to get the view of the people that are out there that are watching us race, whether it’s at the circuit or on TV or read about Formula One. It’s nice to see their opinions. I think a lot of us agree – probably not with everything – but we all have our own opinions of the ways that Formula One can be improved. It’s great to see that there are lots of ideas that are floating around for the future in terms of making the cars wider, tyres wider, lighter, hopefully more sound. These are all things that are interesting and I think that’s great to see so hopefully they will happen in the near future.
Q: Do any of the other drivers have anything they would like to add on the findings of the survey?
Q: (Joe Bernstein – Daily Mail) Question to Will: you said that you used to watch the British Grand Prix as a kid when growing up. Can you tell us your first memory and also maybe your favourite race memory, watching it?
WS: Being British, obviously it’s a race I come to a lot so… Probably the first race I’ve been to was probably ten, twelve years ago. I remember it was wet but that’s not really too unusual for England. There’s been lots of good races here, more so on the old circuit and now obviously with the new layout – personally, I really like it. The racing here is always exciting, there’s always a good atmosphere here and that’s where the British fans do a good job. I’m sure this year’s going to be the same and I’m looking forward to seeing what it brings.
Q: (Joe Bernstein – Daily Mail) Is there one stand-out memory that you have?
WS: Not particularly for here, no.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, you seem to be very happy with the car after the Austrian test. Is this the best Williams car you’ve ever driven and is it good enough to repeat last year’s result here?
VB: I think we’ve been improving all the time so I think every race it’s the best car we’ve had, I think. It’s good that we’re making the right things because it seems like since last year nearly every single bit we’ve put on the car has made the car better so it’s a good direction and like I said, I’m just looking forward for this weekend to see how strong we can be, possibly even stronger than Austria but let’s see.
There is an age-old question that all Formula 1 are inevitably asked – Who do you support?
In the GPDA global fan survey a third of the fans said that they support more than one team and driver with less than 10% only following one team. It doesn’t really come as surprise that Ferrari ranked as the favourite team with McLaren and Williams in second and third respectively. After all, there are the teams that started Formula 1, the teams that embody the history of the sport.
When asked about favourite drivers Kimi Raikkonen came out on top with Fernando Alonso second and Jenson Button in third. Some may be perplexed as to how Raikkonen could be the favourite driver among F1 fans who participated in this survey. Much of Raikkonen’s appeal surely centers on his genuine personality. He tells it like it is, no matter what and that is something that is appreciated. The infamous quotes and ice cool demeanour help too.
Fernando Alonso is regarded by many as the best all-round driver on the grid and seems like a fairly approachable lad. What’s more Alonso has always understood the importance of his fans; a perfect instance of this was during the 2008 street race around Valencia. Then a Renault driver Alonso sustained damage in a collision, returned to the pits and urged his team to get him back out on the track despite being a few laps down. He understood what it would mean to the Spanish fans to see him on track. Kudos Fernando.
Jenson Button embodies much of the fighting, never-give-up spirit that most adore about Formula 1 drivers. Several years of struggle at BAR and Honda didn’t dull JB’s love and enthusiasm for the sport. There couldn’t have been many who would’ve begrudged Jenson Button his championship winning 2009 season. Similarly, there was a real feeling of sorrow at the thought of Button’s career coming to an end one year ago amongst fans.
That person or team that makes is the reason why your racing heart pumps a little faster. Sure, you can be a neutral but the euphoria of seeing your favourite team or driver succeed is without comparison.
The first ever Formula 1 world championship season took place sixty-five years ago in 1950. The British grand prix was the first official world championship race in that 1950 season and it remains, though altered, on the Formula 1 calendar.
The high speed circuit of Silverstone and the famously quick sequence of Maggots and Becketts are where Formula 1 cars are pushed to the limit of adhesion. The circuit and the venue is a part of many team’s history as some make their home’s literally down the street from the Silverstone gates. It’s one that all driver’s love to race on. “I mean, Silverstone’s great in a Formula Renault 2.0. In an F1 car? Epic,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
The British weather is always in doubt even with talks of a possible heat wave. Yet, whether it is wet or dry Silverstone presents a stiff set-up challenge for drivers and engineers because of the assortment of low, medium and high speed corners.
It is here two years ago that Pirelli faced its biggest controversy as tyres appeared to completely disintegrate. It prompted an almost instantaneous change to the tyre construction and a complete redesign of the rubber. While tyre safety has improved Formula 1 in 2015 isn’t exactly in a happy place.
Yes, Mercedes’ dominance takes away a bit from the spectacle but they’re only getting their dues. They, like the rest of the paddock, were given a set of rules which they hit perfectly on the head. This is the way Formula 1 has always worked, in cycles. A period of dominance is not unusual as most Ferrari and even Sebastian Vettel fans will know.
But what is detracting from the showpiece is what Pirelli has brought to Formula 1. The Italian tyre manufacturer will say that they are simply dancing to Formula 1’s tune and producing what they are asked for. But to be able to complete 50 laps on one set of tyres is ludicrous. It leaves zero room for any sort of bold strategy which the 2012 and 2013 version of their tyres encouraged. At that stage the tyres were criticised for their fragility but what we wouldn’t give know for teams to have to think outside of the boring Pirelli box on tyre strategy. Hopefully the recent addition of Michelin as a potential tyre supplier spurs Pirelli to supply a range of tyres that will to the sport rather than detract from it.
A driver that needs a good weekend is Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The second place to Lewis Hamilton at the Bahrain grand prix feels like a long time ago and a few unflattering results has stunted the Finn’s momentum since then. But while some are questioning the 2007 champion’s future at the team Ferrari team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has ruled out making a decision “so early in the season.” Nevertheless, a solid run this weekend almost certainly won’t go unnoticed in the greater scheme of things.
The passion of the British Formula 1 fan has never been in doubt. Come serious rain or come shine nothing can stand in the way of these devoted enthusiasts. They have a lot to shout about too as Lewis Hamilton is aiming at world championship title number three. A win this weekend, on home soil, would be big for the Brit too. To win his home grand prix will come with a sort of euphoria that could carry Hamilton all the way to that coveted third title and importantly extend his points lead.
It is quite something to think that sixty-five years ago pundits of a different era sat down to write about the driver’s of their time ahead of the British grand prix. It goes to show that while the times may change where Formula 1 is there the legendary Silverstone will be.
Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein ended on top of the time sheets after the first day of the final in-season test at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The young German set a best time of 1:11.005, 0.187s clear of Force India’s Esteban Ocon who’s best time was 1:11.192.
The session got off to a very wet start on Tuesday morning with just Ferrari Academy driver Antonio Fuoco and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne heading out for installation laps on full wets. The track remained quiet for the rest of the morning. The session was red-flagged 30mins in due to the heavy rains that showed no sign of letting up.
There was much deliberation between the teams to cancel running for the day and extend the test for an extra day to Thursday. It was eventually decided, as the rain started to ease up, that Monday’s running should be extended by 2 hours.
Cars started firing up and heading out after the lunch break. First on full wets and then on intermediates as the track quickly dried up. Not long after that it was time for dry weather tyres and we were able to see more cars on the track.
Finishing 3rd fastest for the day was Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen. He set a best time of 1:11.328 clocking up 97 laps, the most from all the drivers on the day.
Ferrari Academy driver Antonio Fuoco’s fastest time was 1:11.331 which was 0.326s off Wehrlein’s pace. He’s lap time steadily climbed all afternoon but a slight mistake into Turn 1 saw him spin off the track and hit the wall damaging the front end of the SF15-T. “I am very angry with myself for making a mistake today,” commented Fuoco. “But getting behind the wheel of a Ferrari has always been my dream and today it finally came true. All the same, I am pleased with the work I was able to do, gathering useful data for the team, even if the rain affected our programme today.”
GP2 driver Stoffel Vandoorne ended his day for McLaren 8th fastest 1.525s off the pace with a fastest time of 1:12.530 and managed to rack up 76 laps for the dayLotus’ Romain Grosjean ended his day 5th fastest ahead of Red Bull’s Peirre Gasly. Another Ferrari Academy driver Raffaele Marciello was in the driving seat at Sauber. He racked up 53 laps for the Swiss based team with his fastest time of the day of 1:11.826.
Williams test driver Susie Wolff was 9th fastest for Williams with a best time for her of 1:13.248. Wolff says that her runs in the dry were mainly for aerodynamic evaluations and preparation work for Silverstone. The Williams did emerge from the pits with interesting looking winglets ahead of the rear wheels which, if deemed legal, could provide the team with a really big advantage come Silverstone.
Force India were trailing parts for their B-spec car which they hope to run in Silverstone. Deputy Team Principal Robert Fernley says that the team hopes to have two complete B-spec cars ready for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. At the moment, he says they are on track to meet their deadline.
Wednesday’s driver line up:
| Mercedes | Nico Rosberg |
| Ferrari | Esteban Gutierrez |
| Williams | Valtteri Bottas |
| Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo |
| Force India | Pascal Wehrlein |
| Lotus | Jolyon Palmer |
| Sauber | Felipe Nasr |
| Toro Rosso | Marco Wittmann |
| McLaren | Fernando Alonso |
Below is the unofficial timing sheet for Day 1 of the Austrian in-season test.
|
Pos
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Laps
|
Time
|
Gap |
|
1
|
Pascal Wehrlein
|
Mercedes
|
67
|
1:11.005
|
– |
|
2
|
Esteban Ocon
|
Force India
|
76
|
1:11.192
|
+0.178 |
|
3
|
Max Verstappen
|
Toro Rosso
|
97
|
1:11.328
|
+0.323 |
|
4
|
Antonio Fuoco
|
Ferrari
|
71
|
1:11.331
|
+0.326 |
|
5
|
Romain Grosjean
|
Lotus
|
45
|
1:11.509
|
+0.504 |
|
6
|
Pierre Gasly
|
Red Bull
|
80
|
1:11.757
|
+0.752 |
|
7
|
Raffaele Marciello
|
Sauber
|
53
|
1:11.826
|
+0.821 |
|
8
|
Stoffel Vandoorne
|
McLaren
|
76
|
1:12.530
|
+1.525 |
|
9
|
Susie Wolff
|
Williams
|
39
|
1:13.248
|
+2.243 |
Both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen walked away from a very scary first lap collision at the start of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.
Raikkonen veered left while accelerating out of Turn 2 and collected Alonso on the way. The Spaniard slid into the barriers before landing on top of the front of Raikkonen’s car – the Ferrari carrying the McLaren further along the barriers. Alonso’s car narrowly missed Raikkonen’s head and both were very lucky to walk away.
“I got some wheel spin and then it just went left, it was a bit of an unusual place as it was a bit higher speed,” Raikkonen said.
“The end result is what it is, a really poor weekend, but that’s how it goes.”
Alonso, who retired for the fourth consecutive race made it clear that they were both very fortunate to not have picked up any injuries in the collision.
“I started very good today, made a lot of places at Turn 1 and Turn 2,” Alonso said.
“Kimi was with the Prime time, so he was exiting Turn 2 with a lot of wheel spin, so the car was moving and we were all overtaking him left and right.
“At one point he lost the car to the left, and I was on the left, so we went both on the wall, and I was lucky to not hit him on the head. Looking at the replays I was braking but my wheels were in the air, so I was close with him, but luckily we are both fine.”
Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix during a pretty dramatic final qualifying shootout session at the Red Bull Ring, after both Mercedes drivers went off track in their final runs.
Hamilton claimed the pole position with a time of 1:08.455, beating team mate Nico Rosberg, who was comfortably quickest in Q1 and Q2.
Rosberg had already claimed provisional pole four tenths of a second clear of Hamilton, but despite improving on his next lap, Hamilton went even quicker and moved two tenths up on his team mate.
Both drivers came out for their final flying laps – Rosberg ahead of Hamilton on track.
Hamilton was first to spin off. He spun under braking for Turn 1 while Rosberg set a personal best in the first sector and went fastest of all in the second sector. But, the German ran a little wide at Turn 8 and slid off at Turn 9, parking his car in the gravel.
That sealed the deal for Hamilton, securing his pole position, ahead of Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel who’s team mate had a horrid session, getting knocked out in Q1.
Kimi Raikkonen was caught out in Q1, ending the session in 18th place. He will however move up to 14th following penalties for both McLaren and Red Bull drivers.
Felipe Massa, who locked out the front row of the grid with team mate Valtteri Bottas last season, will start from fourth place on the grid ahead of 2015 Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg and team mate Bottas.
Young Max Verstappen starts in seventh place for Toro Rosso, with Daniil Kvyat qualifying eighth but will drop to 18th after his engine penalty.
Felipe Nasr qualified in 9th place and Romain Grosjean 10th. He however did not register a Q3 lap due to brake issues. His team mate Pastor Maldonado was 11th fastest with Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz Jr behind him.
Daniel Ricciardo managed only 14th after going off at Turn 3. Fernando Alonso registered 15th on the time sheets but both drivers will slip further back due to their engine penalties.
Sergio Perez was 16th quickest and Jenson Button 17th but he’ll start at the back of the grid and also serve a 10 second stop and go penalty as a result of changes to his car.
The two Manor drivers finish up the grid, with Roberto Merhi beating team mate Will Stevens who also headed through the gravel at Turn 7.
DRIVERS
1st Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2nd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3rd Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
TV UNILATERAL
Lewis, many congratulations, but that looked very hard-earned out there today. Can you just tell us what happened?
Lewis HAMILTON: Generally it was quite a difficult qualifying session, I think, probably for everyone, just with the track conditions. I was grateful that I got my third lap in on the first run in Q3. Always pushing for that bit extra in the next run and I just locked the rears.
Did you fear, once you’d locked them and you were off, that you’d lost pole?
LH: I wasn’t too particularly concerned with it at the time. I was trying to get the car going and look after the car, that was the most concerning for me. Obviously I had been backwards and I was in seventh gear or something like that, standing still, so I was trying to look after that. But naturally, shortly afterwards I was kind of like “you know, I probably lost it there”.
Thank you, well done. Nico, the chance was there when you were on that final lap, you were up as well on that lap, what happened?
Nico ROSBERG: I’m not sure actually. I went on the Astroturf out of the second to last corner and maybe that was still a bit wet or something or I just overdid after that, I’m not sure – just lost it there into the last corner. Definitely gutted but Lewis was two tenths quicker than my lap time and I was exactly two tenths up just up to that point, so I knew that I had to go for it, because it was very, very close and just overdid it.
Why is that last sector so difficult?
NR: This track, generally, is quite difficult, because you’ve got to get the braking right and you’ve got to attack to get a lap time done here and somehow it’s a very, very challenging track and easy to make mistakes.
Well done. Sebastian, we come to you. Today was tough; the Mercedes seemed to have the edge out there today.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, once again I though that we can probably have a bit of a word but unfortunately they were a bit too quick. We tried everything. I think it looked good generally throughout practice and preparing qualifying. Obviously Q1 was a bit tricky for all us but I think we settled into the groove nicely. The last part of qualifying… yeah, I guess generally Mercedes-powered cars seem to be able to turn up the performance quite a bit and if you look at those two guys but also the Williams, they were a lot closer than they were in practice. So there is some work for us to do. Overall, happy with third but as I said I would have loved to be a bit closer. I was happy with the car, I think we did a very good job, thanks to the team, I think we should have a good car in the race.
Lewis if I can return to you: Mercedes managed to dominate the race here last year but are you expecting more of a fight tomorrow from the Ferraris in the race?
LH: Yeah, Ferrari have really shown some great pace this weekend, as have the Williams. So that means that tomorrow’s going to be a tough race. I don’t think the tyres are going to be too much of a problem for everyone but every little bit of time will count tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, many congratulations. It’s been difficult conditions and what looked like a difficult track for you for a while. How satisfying is it to turn that around into pole?
LH: Well, it was really quite a bad qualifying session all around for me. I was off Nico for three or four tenths each session and each run, each lap and I just didn’t have the confidence in the balance I had at the time, and the temperature of the tyres and the brakes. So, I’m really grateful that I at least got one decent… y’know, Q3 first run lap one and then lap three. The third one being much better. I’m grateful that I got those two laps in. And then coming to the end, I don’t know exactly what went on but obviously I locked the rears and snapped it around. A bit similar to what happened last year in Turn Two here so… yeah, I’m definitely do that quite often in this car. Not sure why. Got big feet I think.
Q: Nico, so close and yet unfortunately not quite there in the end even though your last quick lap had looked really, really good until that very final sector.
NR: Yeah, I knew the gap to Lewis was two-tenths before that. Of course there was a possibility he would improve that further and I was exactly two-tenths up, so I was equal with his lap time until, like, two corners from the end. So, that meant that I had to take a little bit more risk and just over did it. I don’t really know what happened. Maybe the tyres got wet on the Astroturf because I went too wide in the second to last corner and then a little bit of humidity on the tyres and maybe that caused the spin – not sure.
Q: Sebastian, couldn’t keep up with those Mercedes boys today but the race pace looked strong in Canada. It’s a reversal of fortunes for yourself and Kimi but looking at the race tomorrow and the short lap around here, are you feeling confident this could be your first chance of another win since Malaysia?
SV: Well we’re always ready, we always fight and obviously wait for our chances. So far it’s been quite difficult because they’ve been bloody quick but yeah, we’ll try tomorrow. Hopefully we can be a bit closer. We know that qualifying doesn’t match the race, so, yeah, we’re ready to attack and try our best.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, wouldn’t it have been better for you to do two quick laps in succession on your Q3 runs like the Mercedes did, to prepare the tyres a bit better?
SV: We were fast, we were happy on the first lap so… I think in the end you do what you feel is best for you so that seemed to be the best for us today. You didn’t do two runs?
LH: We did two runs but we never did two consecutive laps.
SV: Oh no, we didn’t either, just one.
LH: But you did three, basically.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Seb, I saw you had your headphones on going into the garage before qualifying. What sort of music do you listen to before qualifying to get yourself psyched up there?
SV: Help! From the Beatles. I need Help! They’re too quick so if you know how to fix it, please let us know. No, I always listen to the same song that just gets me ready. It’s not the first time I’ve had the headphones on.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, did you know that Lewis had spun on your last lap?
NR: No. Didn’t make any difference at the time because his time was two tenths quicker. And anyways it’s just a distraction if someone tells me.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis and Sebastian, I think you are now tied on 45 poles each. Does it means anything to you to beat the other and maybe that’s a separate race for you two?
LH: I’m very fortunate that I’ve had a great car for the last two years to have been able to get the poles and raise the amount I’ve had. I’d much rather have his World Championships than the pole positions, so I’m working towards that.
SV: I like to have both! Obviously he’s been catching up quite a lot but we’re working hard to fight back.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel topped the timing sheets at the end of the third free practice session ahead of the Austrian grand prix.
The running around the Styrian circuit got underway in cloudy conditions and with the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton trading fastest laps. However, the emergence of Sebastian Vettel from his pit garage put him to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:09:994 on the yellow-walled soft tyre. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top three.
As the weather started closing in several drivers including Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson was put out on the red supersoft tyre in order to complete an early qualifying simulations. Alas, it wasn’t to be as Fernando Alonso’s McLaren grinded to a halt, with a gearbox issue, on the start/finish straight and brought out the red flag.
The session was quickly re-started with both Mercedes and Ferrari queuing at the end of the pitlane but by now the rain had started tipping down. The Force India pairing of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez dared to go it on intermediate tyres but quickly returned to the pits after rendering conditions to slippery.
A slight lull in on track action preceded several drivers venturing out on both the intermediate and full wet Pirelli tyres. It wasn’t in vain either as qualifying has a 49% chance of being wet.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Gap |
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:09.994 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.017s |
| 3 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | +0.183s |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Force India | +0.227s |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | +0.338s |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Williams | +0.414s |
| 7 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | +0.423s |
| 8 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +0.442s |
| 9 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | +0.582s |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | +0.869s |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | +1.015s |
| 12 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | +1.064s |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | +1.145s |
| 14 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | +1.145s |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | +1.174s |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | +1.825s |
| 17 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | +1.912s |
| 18 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | +2.622s |
| 19 | Will Stevens | Marussia | +3.334s |
| 20 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia | +3.966s |